Note: This is the LONGEST chapter I've ever written. It's amazing. That's also why it took so long for me to get it up. I thank everyone for their pactience and for leaving reviews on other stuff (now go read "Darkness' Eyes"!). There are several new characters, some of which I own. So my friends know, Tala Jessica, Furrah I really have no idea, Kaitlyn me, Valona Kayla, and most other characters are not owned by me or are like Furrah, where I have no real idea. Well, thanks to everyone who's supported me. Now, on with the story!!
Chapter 4: Leap of Faith
"That takes care of one problem." He said, and then he turned to me. "But there's still one left." He gave an extravagant bow. "Congratulations Keybearer, for coming this far. But you're not going anywhere else."
"Why? You don't think you can stop us do you?" I asked.
"Maybe. Maybe not." He said.
He held out his hand and I got a very strange feeling. Then I saw what had flown by me a minute ago. It was a Keyblade made of a strange black glass that glowed with an inner flame, like the kind of fire that burns in the eyes of one who has seen much sorrow and has sworn vengeance for it. The top was a black flame, and the hilt was curved to a spike like old gothic gates.
"I too wield a Keyblade. Mine was passed to me when the previous wielder..." anger flared in his eyes when he stopped. "It doesn't matter anymore." He pointed his Keyblade at me. "You're what matters now." He looked at Tala and Furrah. "You two stay out of this. This is none of your concern."
"Stay back." I told them. "I can handle him."
He held his Keyblade in a fighting stance and charged me.
I blocked it with the Phoenix's Heart and returned with a blow of my own. He paused and gave me a strange smile, one that froze my insides and made my heart jump up to my throat.
"The name is Luc."
He slashed and I parried. We continued fighting, jumping and slashing, parrying and circling, thrusting and deflecting. Then he charged in really close and I was barely able to block his attack. He pushed me down to my knees, and I wondered for a moment what would happen when his strange Keyblade touched me.
"Are you afraid?" He asked. "I don't know if you should be or not. I've never tested this Keyblade on a person before. I have no idea what it does. Oh, but don't worry. I'm not going to test it on you." He flipped backwards and landed out of my range. "I must leave you now and continue on my own quest. I will see you again." He bowed.
A puddle of darkness surrounded his feet, and from it grew a black shape. If it got up on its hind feet it would have been as big as the Behemoth on Kingdom Hearts had been.
"Meet my pet, Tygris. She's been waiting to meet you," Luc said from the back of the large Heartless.
It was a huge tiger shaped shadow. Flame sprouted from each ankle and the neck. Tufts of flame also came off of each ear and the tip of each of its five tails. Its eyes were not red or yellow, as might be expected, but a deep, dark green. There was something peaceful and caring in those eyes, like a light shining out from the darkness.
"Do what you want with them," Luc said, petting the tiger, "But don't forget to finish it. Have fun." He vaulted off Tygris' back and he ran into a portal that formed in the wall.
The deep green eyes narrowed, and the tiger crouched, preparing to spring. None of us were about to wait for it. I ran forward as it sprang to where we were before. The flames on its feet flared as I went under. I held the Ties of Friendship above my head to block them, getting slightly burned due to the amazing heat.
When the flames abated, I turned and sliced at its tails, but I didn't hit anything. To my complete surprise, my Keyblade passes through it like smoke.
"Oh shit," I muttered. "This is going to be harder than I thought."
Tala and Furrah attacked as well, and I could tell by the looks on their faces, that they had come to the same conclusion.
"One more try!" shouted Tala, charging the tiger. She went for the head, but when she passed through it, she tried to hit anything she could reach. The tiger seemed to be completely smoke; nothing worked at all.
It turned and the fires on it flared, burning Tala lightly. She fell to the ground, got up and backed away holding her wounded leg.
"We need to get out of here!" yelled Furrah.
"This way!" I yelled back, running for the entrance to third district. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Tala stumbling to keep up. "Furrah, keep running! Go to the abandoned house! I'll be right behind you!" I turned back to get Tala.
"Ok!" shouted Furrah, racing off down the alleyway.
"Don't worry about me!" Tala called.
Turning to face Tygris, I pulled out my Keyblade. "Get going Tala! As fast as you can! I'll hold it off!"
She nodded and turned into a wolf, quickly limping off.
I turned to Tygris, "Why?" I asked. "Why do you follow him? Why do you fight?" I addressed the gentleness I saw in its eyes.
Because he holds my heart...
"What?!" I yelled, surprised by the fact it could talk and the beautiful voice.
He does not know, but his heart is not his own. And a part of it lives in me. The darkness is tainted, but the light protects the core. I cannot speak much longer; the darkness is winning...Free the core...and he will fight with now! Quickly! It visibly shuddered.
I nodded and took off down the alley. I heard a roar behind me and felt heat rushing down behind me.
I ran through the door to third district, closing it behind me with so little time that the door heated up and my hands got singed.
I leaned back against a nearby wall trying to catch my breath, but I wasn't surprised to see shadows already starting to form. Luck for me the abandoned house was close by.
A Heartless shadow formed and suddenly something was sticking out of its eye.
"Kaitlyn! Hurry!" It was Furrah shooting with her bow out the window. "Quickly! Come in! They won't follow!"
I nodded, running for the house, slicing down the few Heartless that got in my way.
The door opened and I ran inside, Tala closing it behind me. Furrah shot off a few more arrows, then withdrew and closed the window.
"So what happened?" asked Tala.
I returned my Keyblade to its bracelet form and sat on the table in the middle of the one-room house.
"It was strange," I said, pondering how I was going to put this the right way. "When we first saw Tygris, I noticed something...kind, about its eyes. When I turned back to hold it off, I asked it some questions, not expecting what I got. Answers! Tygris said that she fought for him because he held her heart. She said that his heart was not his own, but that it was a light, protecting him from the tainted darkness." I sighed. "I wonder, if it's not his heart, than whose is it? And he doesn't know either. Would that change his mind, if he did know?"
I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry about it," said Furrah. "We'll figure it all out eventually. For now, let's rest for a while and then go see the Magician."
I nodded, got off the table and sat, leaning against the wall. "We'll be fine in here. The Heartless won't enter here," and with that, I drifted off to sleep.
I dreamed of a huge, white door in the middle of a grey path through complete darkness.
Open it... a voice called.
You must...said another.
Help us...this voice was different. You must let us out. Please, hurry, Kaitlyn!
"I'm coming!" I cried out, sitting up. I was back in the abandoned house, sitting up with my hand outstretched.
Tala was lying sideways on the floor with one eye open. Obviously she had been awakened by my yell.
"'Dreams that make you scream are real' my people used to say," she told me. "Where ever it is, we'd best be going. It seems like you've promised someone something." She stretched her wolf body and turned to wake Furrah. "It's time to go."
"Ok," Furrah said, stretching as well. "Let's do this."
We pulled out our weapons and started warming up our muscles. We knew we had to be ready for what ever might try to stop us during this last short stretch.
We stepped out into the square, but to our surprise, nothing came at us. That fact alone made me all the more suspicious. I noticed that Tala and Furrah acted the same way too.
I nodded to the railing; silently signaling to them that that was the way we were going down.
I vaulted over the edge, quickly and quietly landing. Tala and Furrah were right beside me. But no amount of secrecy was enough to hide from those who could sense your life force.
A single flame appeared and grew, forming shadowy, clawed feet, quick, flame-tipped ears, and five, fire-whip tails.
"Tygris." I addressed her. "Will you let us pass, or will we have to fight?"
A jet of flame spurting above my head answered my question. Black shadows formed, soldiers popped out of nowhere, and many flying Heartless appeared.
On a spur-of-the-moment thought, I summoned the Phoenix's Heart to my left hand, while keeping the Ties of Friendship in my right.
Dual-wielding, I thought, slicing into a soldier and blocking an aerial attack at the same time, never imagined I'd be doing this.
I turned and sliced another Heartless, jumping and hacking, blocking attacks, and dodging bursts of flames. Then one soldier got inside my guard and slashed me across my shoulder.
"Move!" shouted a voice.
I disbanded the Phoenix's Heart and ran for the wall, holding my shoulder. Tala and Furrah found places to get out of the center of the fight.
"Thundara!" shouted the voice from above me, and lightning struck many Heartless who disappeared in little puffs of smoke.
He jumped down beside me, his white coat flying behind him. He had blonde hair, green eyes, and a scar across the bridge of his nose. He lifted a strange- and yet familiar- weapon onto his shoulder.
"Let's get rid of these guys," he said, giving his trademark smirk.
"Ok," I responded, nodding.
"You take care of the smaller ones, and I'll stop the big one."
"Ok, but how? We've been trying for a while."
"I have some magic left; I just hope it can buy us some time to get out of here."
"Tala! Furrah! Attack!" I shouted.
We charged, holding off and destroying the smaller Heartless so that he could get through.
"Blizzard!" he shouted, freezing Tygris as we took out the last of the Heartless.
"This way!" I shouted, running for a door emblazoned with a stylized flame. "A fire spell!" I yelled, pointing at the door.
"Fire!" he shouted, flame erupting from his open hand.
The door opened and we were in. We all breathed a sigh of relief when the door closed behind us.
He held out a gloved hand to me. "Seifer," he said.
"Kaitlyn. Thanks for the help," I answered, shaking his hand. "This is Tala and Furrah. Welcome to Traverse Town, Seifer Alamasy."
"How...?" he started.
"I know a lot more about you, too. You and all the others. Squall, who now goes by the name Leon, Selphie, who lives on Destiny Islands. By the way, where are Raijin and Fuijin? They're always with you."
"When my world was attacked, we all fought together against these strange, new enemies. It was the best. But then, something happened, and everything disappeared," he told us, sounding sad, but still hopeful. "I was knocked unconscious. I must have dreamed though, because I heard a voice. It was a beautiful female voice. She said 'You can do good, but you must try. Put the past behind you and find your own happiness. Take this second chance with open arms.' So, I did. I awoke and found myself here, with all my magic and my gunblade, but I was all alone."
"That happens." I nodded. "Each one of us experienced something similar. That's why we're going to see the Magician, who lives over there," I said, pointing at the shack on the island.
"Let's get going," said Furrah. "Most of our questions will be answered there anyways."
Tala was the first to start to the shack. Her wolf form easily jumped across the rocks leading to the island. We were right behind her. I nearly fell in the water, but Seifer caught me.
"Thanks." I told him.
"No problem," he smiled.
When we reached the island, a strong wind forced all of us to close our eyes and when it stopped, a girl with feathers down her arms stood in front of us.
"Stop there. You may not enter," she said, her voice like a finely tuned instrument, like a flute or other wind instrument.
"We wish to talk with the Magician. We have battled Heartless and others to get here. Do we have to go through you too?" I asked, pulling out both my Keyblades.
"Valona!" a voice called from the shack. "Let them in. It's a Keyblade wielder and her friends."
The girl- Valona- turned to us. "I apologize. Please, come in."
We followed her in, and I noticed Seifer staring at her. She turned and looked at each one of us.
"Though you may have fought through many challenges, you must still treat the Magician with utmost respect. If you don't..."she left the threat hanging with a look- almost a glare- at each one of us. Except, I noticed, Seifer. They seemed to have a mutual respect- or maybe affection- for each other.
I smiled and nodded, both agreeing to her demands and silently giving my approval.
We entered the shack through a hole in the wall, and when we passed the curtain- that seemed to have been replaced in the last two years- we entered a room that was bigger than the house should have allowed.
An old man sat in a chair at a table in the middle of the room.
"Welcome, Keywielder. You seem to have a problem. The door is still locked, but the Heartless still come."
"Yes. But I am not alone," I told him. "I have my friends Tala and Furrah. My allies Seifer and," I looked at Valona, who smiled and nodded, "Valona. I am Kaitlyn, the wielder of the Key of Heart. And yes, I do have a problem. Luc controls a Heartless Tygris who I have talked with, who says that Luc's heart is not his own. Sometimes Tygris fights us, but we can't land a blow. It's like attacking smoke. Every attack just goes through it."
"But my last Blizzard spell stopped it, if only for a short time," Seifer interjected.
"Well then, I'll give you an edge for your next fight. Come here," he said, waving us all forward. He took my left hand in both of his. "I'll give you all the Blizzard spell permanently. It'll help next time you face Tygris." He did the same to Seifer and Tala, but Furrah refused.
"I'll rely on my own skills. I'll remain amazed by magic, but I don't want to use it myself."
The Magician nodded. "So how will you travel after this?" he asked. "Together?"
"Actually," Valona stated, "I have been thinking about leaving. I think now would be a good time."
"We're okay with anything really," I said.
"Actually, I was planning on going alone," she said, looking at the floor.
"Well..." Seifer started; "um..." he stopped.
Furrah laughed. "What I think he's trying to ask is if he can go with you."
Valona smiled, looking up at him, "Of course."
"But you might have trouble getting around," the Magician interjected, "unless you have a gummi ship." When Valona frowned at this, he smiled a knowing smile. "But of course you can use mine. Cid gave it to me a long time ago, and I have no real need for it."
"Thank you so much!" Valona cried, throwing her arms around the Magician.
"I'm glad to help. For the time you've been with me Valona, I've always thought of you as a daughter. Go follow your heart," he told her.
She released him, and she and Seifer waved goodbye as they left the house.
"Yes, thank you for everything," Tala added.
We started to leave as well, but he called out, "Kaitlyn, please stay a moment longer."
I told the others to go ahead and then I returned to the Magician's side.
"There is something in you blocked off. I wanted to tell you alone, incase you don't want to tell the others." I nodded, understanding. "Do you want me to unveil what it is?"
"I think I already know," I said, thinking of that dream I had had just before all this had begun, and the scratches- Heartless claw marks- on my arm and leg the next morning. "But yes, I would like to know."
He placed his hands on my temples and suddenly I was back in my room. I nearly cried with joy to be back.
Something was controlling me though and I got out of my bed and grabbed my wooden dagger and staff. My heart was pounding and the adrenaline was rushing. I also noticed that it was about one in the morning.
Something's out there. I thought.
I walked down the stairs and grabbed a metal sword that was hanging on the wall. It didn't have any sharp edges and now I was wondering why I didn't grab a kitchen knife.
Then they were there, in the street.
"Heartless!" I hissed.
They came in, creeping under the door. They solidified and attacked! I tried to hold them off, but it was a futile endeavor. I ran up the stairs to get help from my family, but I felt a burning cold on the back of my left arm and side of my right leg.
I turned and started to scream, but a gloved hand clasped down over my mouth.
"Hush," said the person behind me. "We don't need to let everyone know they are here. It'll just cause panic. We'll take care of these."
"I...R...i...huh? What?" I asked, both parts of me completely bewildered.
My mind was having a mental debate.
This didn't happen last time...what's going on?
And, well, if they are real, why couldn't he be?
Suddenly a golden light appeared and went through every Heartless there. They all disappeared and I realized that the light was a golden Keyblade.
"Um...thanks," I managed to say, still very confused.
I noticed that the first person's arms were still on my shoulders. I turned to face him, and even though I knew who it was, I still gasped. He was wearing a black cloak as was the other, which was why I hadn't seen them before. The first person was wearing a blindfold, but his silver hair escaped the hood of his cloak.
"Hi, I'm..." he started.
"Riku. I know." I interrupted.
"How did you...?" I had obviously surprised him.
"I think there's more to her than we thought," said the other person.
"Hello, King Mickey. It's nice to finally meet you," I looked at Riku, "both of you. My name is Kaitlyn." Riku looked ready to say something, but I stopped him. "Before you ask anything, please tell me how you two got here. Last I had heard, you two were behind the door to Kingdom Hearts."
"Ok," said Riku, "But we're owed and explanation about how you know all this." I nodded, and he went on. "You know how in the real worlds, time and space and physics all have rules. Well, in Kingdom Hearts, the number one rule is: all rules can be bent, but not broken. Slowly but surely, everyone who is over there learns to do many amazing things. We can move ourselves to other places and do things you can't normally do. But when the Heartless attacked you, your heart called out for someone to protect you because you will be a Keyblade wielder."
"Me? Really?" The present time me was surprised that I hadn't caught onto this fact by now.
Riku shrugged. "That's the only reason I can come up with. But because of the rules here, no one else would have made it in time. So we were called, and obviously, we arrived just in time."
I smiled, "Yeah, you did. Thanks." He gave me and expectant look, even though I couldn't see his eyes. "Ok, come with me." I took them to the gameroom, where my PlayStation2 had been on from before. I turned on the TV and up came a paused screen of a battle, where Sora was in the middle of slicing down on a Heartless in Hollow Bastion.
Riku pulled off his blindfold, and his eyes grew wide.
"Sora..." he whispered, his green eyes misting over in nostalgia.
I had never noticed how deep those eyes were, or how much emotion could be displayed in one quick glance. I felt like I could fall into those eyes.
"There's more," I told him. I want over to the computer and turned on the screen. My screensaver came up, and pictures of Mickey, Sora, Riku, and others went by. "This is how I know," I told them, "I make it my business to know, as do many others here." I showed him the case of the game Kingdom Hearts. The sarcastic part of me was saying "I'm NOT going to show him my homepage!"
"This is amazing," Mickey said. "I think I've been to this world before. But last time it didn't look anything like this!"
"You probably were here before," I told him. I pulled up the internet, quickly switching to google before my homepage loaded. I typed in "Mickey" and searched for images. His eyes widened as he saw all the pictures.
I noticed that when Mickey had stepped in front of Riku, he had put his blindfold back on. I was sad to see that.
"So, do you have to go back?" I asked them.
"Regretfully, yes, we do," Mickey told me.
"Yes, but I really wish I could stay," said Riku, "but I think we'll be let out of the darkness soon."
Suddenly recalling another dream, I said to them, "I was told, in a dream, that I would be the one who would help to open the door. Do you think that means the door to Kingdom Hearts?" I asked.
Riku shrugged. "Who knows? But we can hope."
A clock in my house chimed twice.
"We need to leave," Mickey told Riku.
He nodded. "I think it'll be best if you forget all this. At least for now." I nodded. I knew that knowing the future wasn't always good. Plus, this had already happened; there was nothing I could do to change it. He placed his hands on my temples and suddenly I was awake in be, my CD player blaring.
"When you walk away..."
The music faded and I was back in the Magician's house.
"Was it what you expected?" He asked.
"Somewhat. Some things really surprised me though. People were there that I hadn't expected."
"Well, I've done all I can to help you," he said.
"And I thank you for all of it. You've helped me to uncover one mystery. Now the rest is up to me and my friends, but I will still remember your help. Thank you." I bowed to him. "I'll visit sometime soon. I promise." I turned and started walking.
"That would be nice," he waved.
I waved back while looking over my shoulder.
"So what was that about?" asked Tala.
"Dreams," I replied. "Give me a while to think about it. I'll tell you more once I've processed it all."
She nodded and turned to Furrah who was standing looking at the door we had come in.
"It's still there," she said. "It's waiting for us. I can feel it."
"Ok," I said, rubbing my hands together. "Let's go for it!"
"Wait!" Tala stopped me. "A secret weapon is no good unless you can use it. Do you know how to summon a Blizzard spell?" she asked me.
I shook my head, conceding to her point. "Then let's figure it out! We shouldn't waste too much time."
We set up a practice method. After figuring out how to freeze something, we got Furrah to splash water up at us with her staff and we would practice freezing it before it hit either one of us.
We found out quickly how cold that water was. But we quickly got our spells to an adequate level of accuracy and power.
"Are you two done yet?" asked Furrah, obviously bored out of her mind. Splashing water wasn't too much fun when you weren't playing.
"Yeah, I think we can handle this now," I told her. "Ready?" I asked.
"Finally!" they both said.
We headed to the door, and entered the Third District again. As before, it was deserted, but the moment we stepped out into the main square area, Heartless began to appear.
Small shadows, the larger soldiers, and the flying ones punctuated the area. And in the center of all the activity, was Tygris, ready and waiting.
"No more games," I said. "This ends now." And with that, I charged straight into the mass, with my partners close behind me.
With my two Keyblades whirling, I sliced Heartless to pieces, their strange, black substance flying everywhere. Then, smoke surrounded me. I closed my eyes and my body tensed, waiting for the flames to erupt. I opened my eyes and found myself staring into deep, green eyes. Then came the fire.
It was like when I had come into the Phoenix's power, but not nearly so nice. The flames surrounded me, but they were hateful and bitter fires, not the gentle and comforting ones of the Phoenix. My body was seared, and pain flared everywhere.
The fires multiplied and I screamed as the pain intensified.
"Don't give up!" cried a voice. I wasn't sure if I heard it with my ears or my mind.
Then I recognized it. It was someone I had once liked. We had been going out when my world was destroyed. I had been so caught up in everything, and in trying to push the sorrow of losing my world to the back of my mind, I had also hidden all my memories of him.
"I won't give up, Blake! You know I never will!" And like the mighty Phoenix that was my crest, I rose from the ashes of pain and defeat, and summoning a power I had not known until now, I ripped apart the flames that had nearly consumed me. "This ends now!" I shouted, holding out both hands and summoning every blizzard spell that I could. "Blizzard!" I shouted, and suddenly Tygris and most of the other Heartless were frozen solid. I was so worn out by that that I could hardly stand up.
"Kaitlyn!" Tala and Furrah shouted, destroying the last of the unfrozen Heartless on their way to me. "Are you ok?" They asked.
I nodded. "Just have to get my breath back." I tapped the power again, and felt it flowing through me. I summoned the Phoenix's Heart to my hand. "Now I'm ready."
I walked up to Tygris and put my hand on the ice enclosing it.
Do it! cried a voice from inside.
"Like the Phoenix, and like I have done, with the power of this Keyblade, you will rise from the ashes of these flames of revenge and be born anew, your heart and power restored."
I pointed the Phoenix's Heart at Tygris, and the end started to glow. From the end burst out a stream of fire that consumed Tygris and the Heartless. They disappeared in the smoke and flames, but then, out of the center, walked a beautiful white tiger-like creature, with two long tails and fire still surrounding it, but the green eyes looking stronger and more in control than ever before.
Thank you, she said, her voice now clearly feminine, Thank you for everything. Please remember to help Luc though. I am going back to him, to help fight of the taint, but the others and I won't be able to hold out for all that long. Please hurry! Goodbye. She said, and then her image faded.
The flames burned out, and square was completely empty, except for me and my friends.
"What was that voice I heard?" asked Tala.
"Um..." I could feel myself turning red as I scratched my head. "It was someone I knew. We were together before everything was destroyed."
"Oh, so that would explain the attitude change, once you heard him," she responded.
"So, what now?" Furrah asked.
I was about to answer, but I was interrupted by the ground starting to shake. I turned around, and there, in the middle of the square, a huge hole formed. When it was about ten feet across, the shaking stopped. The hole was perfectly circular.
Come...cried a voice from the hole.
"Um..." started Tala.
"We heard that one," finished Furrah.
"I think that voice was right." I told them. "We need to go to where ever that leads."
"We'll follow you where ever you go." Tala said, and Furrah nodded.
"So," I looked at them. "Are we ready?" I asked.
"Yeah." They nodded.
We jumped into the hole and into darkness so deep that light faded in seconds. We passed through a barrier-like thing that we could only feel, and we kept falling.
We fell, and for a time I could see Tala and Furrah falling a short distance away. Then I felt something brush my shoulder and we fell into some trees. I lost sight of the others but then I hit the ground, hard. My head fell back and I felt something hard, like a rock, and the world went dark.
From red giant to supernova
Back to you and me
A cloaked entity within a virtual reality
Mechanised and organised
To me it's plain to see
The hand that's been busy weaving fantasy
It's so hard to understand
And often we are blind
But if truth were an ocean would it fit in the pool of a human mind
You're all alone
And it doesn't seem quite fair
Why we're all left in ignorance
Turning to despair (turning to despair)
Philosophy and theology offer us a glimpse
At something more incredible (incredible)
Than you and I
(Chorus)
So call on the secret life
Call on the secret life
Show me the way of life
Bring on the secret life
-Secret Life, The Corrs
Note: Well, there you go. I've had that last part written since chapter 2 and it took forever to get here. I bet no one can guess where they are cough In the next chapter, an old friend, who we all love, will return to the stage. (hint hint) Well, thanks for everything, please R&R, and come back soon for the next chapter! Later!