It's FINALLY DONE!!!!!! Well, here's the next part of The Key of Heart, and I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 5: "Open, says me!"
I felt a hand on my shoulder and solid ground under me.
"Drink this," said a male voice. I felt water touch my lips and I drank gratefully. By the feeling in my parched throat, I must have been out for a while.
"Here you go," he said, helping me to sit up.
I opened my eyes and looked around, taking in everything, the campfire, the nearby river, and the forest completely surrounding us. "Where're my..." I stopped when I saw who it was. "Oh my gosh. This is too much. First Seifer, then Riku, now you."
Sora's mouth dropped open. "You saw Riku? When? Where? How? I thought he was still behind the door." His eyes flashed over to his left, to something he knew about, but that I couldn't see.
But he was still the innocent, blue-eyed boy he had been before, but his clothes and figure had changed. His clothes were now black, and his eyes showed evidence of an "old soul" like he had seen many things that a person of his age shouldn't have.
"I saw Riku a few days ago," I told him. Was it really only that long? I wondered. "It was at my house, which is no longer there."
"So, your world was destroyed too. Dang it!" Sora said, punching the ground. "I just hate it when I can't save a world. It makes me so mad!"
"I understand. I also wield a Keyblade, and I saw the door that I could have locked to save my world, but...well, 'It's in the past. If you can't run from it, learn from it.' So, where are my friends?" I asked.
"Oh, the cat-girl and the wolf?"
I nodded, "That's Furrah and Tala."
"They went out to find some food. I found them earlier."
"So, how long have you been here?" I asked.
"Oh, my name's Sora." He held out his hand and I shook it.
"I'm Kaitlyn."
"Riku was one of my friends, back at my home..."
"Destiny Islands. You were friends with Tidus, Wakka, Selphie, Riku, and Kairi." His mouth dropped open further than it had before. "I know a lot about you Sora." I went on to explain most of it, all the while thinking, Though knowledge may be power, the truth takes a REALLY long time to tell.
"So, you've been at Traverse Town since then?" he asked.
"Yep. I met Furrah and Tala there, along with Seifer, Valona, and Merlin. Leon, Yuffie, Cid and Aerith must still be at Hollow Bastion; I didn't see them anywhere in Traverse Town."
"Yeah, most people have stayed where they are. The walls only recently came down, and I think we've been the only once traveling."
"Well, there is another," I told him about Luc and Tygris.
"So, more Heartless," he sighed. "I thought I felt them come back. But all the doors I've found are still locked."
"Yes, but maybe it's not closing, but opening that needs to happen. I think, maybe there's a door that needs to be opened."
"Yes," he thought, "what about the door of light? The door I was told that I would open?"
I nodded and told him about the dream I had had when I helped him to open a large, white door.
"A large white door huh?" he sighed, "I haven't seen anything like that in a while. But," he looked over into the woods around us, "I think I sense something over that way."
"Yeah," I nodded, "I feel it too. Like a faint tug on my heart, or maybe my Keyblade."
He nodded and a sudden crash behind us made us both jump. We both jumped up and pulled out our Keyblades.
"Woah! It's just us." It was Furrah and Tala, back with some food. The food was already skinned and skewered, ready to be cooked and eaten. We cooked it over the fire and dug in.
"Hey, we noticed something while we were out." Tala said. "We came across a path in the woods. It was a grayish white color and it had an odd feel to it."
I looked at Sora; he nodded. I told them about the things we had been sensing. "I think we need to follow that path. Can you find it again?" I asked. Tala nodded "Then we'll go when we're done eating.
We finished, put out the fire and restored the camp to a natural look. Tala and Furrah led the way to the path.
When I saw it, I knew we were going the right way. Sora noticed my look of surprise and gave me an inquisitive look.
I turned to him; "Don't you remember, when you closed the door to Kingdom Hearts, that path the door was on?" he nodded. "Look familiar?" I asked, gesturing to the path.
His eyes widened in recognition.
The forest ended abruptly and we saw the door. On the black background of the sky, the door shone with an eerie light. The huge, white door glistened, silently calling "Open, open. It is time to open." The vines outlining it seemed to grow and crawl as we looked at it. The hearts on it seemed to pulse, and I felt my heart responding.
"Open," I whispered, "It's time to open." I heard two other voices echo mine. I turned to Sora and he shrugged. He was the second voice, but he didn't know who the third was either.
Sora drew his Kingdom Key and approached the door.
I drew my Keyblade as well. I pointed it at the Kingdom Key willing it to be strong enough to open the door.
A golden blaze flew from the tip of the Phoenix's Heart to the tip of Sora's Kingdom Key, where it started to glow. The glow rushed down it, making it into a Key-shaped star, burning brightly in the darkness.
Sora swung the Kingdom Key around in a circle, ending pointing at the door. "It's time," he said, "to unlock and open!"
The light flooded out of the Keyblade in a stream into the door, and, when all of it had gone, there was the quiet, but distinguishable, sound of a door unlocking.
The doors swung outward slowly, but quietly.
As it opened, lights shown out, temporarily blinding us all. But as my eyes became used to the light, I was able to discern a distinguishable figure, in a black cloak, standing in the doorway.
"Is it...?" I whispered.
"Riku!!!" Sora cried, running to embrace his friend.
As Riku stepped out of the doorway, I saw something flash near his hand. Is that a bracelet? I wondered, but when I looked again, it was gone, probably hidden in his sleeves or glove...then I remembered the dream that wasn't a dream, and I felt myself turn slightly red.
Riku finished talking to Sora, and turned to me. "Hello Kaitlyn." He was wearing his blindfold still.
"Hello Riku."
He seemed surprised that I was clam, though still a very nice shade of pink.
"Merlin unblocked the memory," I told him. "Even though I had already experienced some of it as a dream."
"Ah, I see. Well, it turns out you were right. You were meant to help open the door that kept us in."
"Us?" Sora asked.
"Did you really forget about me?" called a voice from the door.
There stood a smaller person in another cloak, his Keyblade glinting while resting on his shoulder, his two ears telling the world who he was.
"Welcome back King Mickey," I bowed.
"Who?" then he recognized me. "Oh, hello Kaitlyn, thank you. How have you been?"
As he stepped out of the door, it closed behind him and I told them briefly (I'm getting good at that) about the finding of my Keyblade, the destruction of my world, and meeting with Queen Minnie.
"How is she doing?" Mickey asked.
"Fine, but she wants you to come home soon." I snapped my fingers, "I just remembered. Daisy gave me something for you." I reached into a pocket and fingered the three Keychains Daisy had given me, and I felt them pull towards their owners. "This one is for you," I said, handing Mickey the horn with scales.
He took it and nodded. "Thank you. I'll take good care of the Horn of Justice."
I pulled out the one with a single white claw on it. I turned to Sora. "I think this one is for you, but I feel that it's not complete."
His eyebrows went up suddenly.
"What?" I asked.
"Your pocket is glowing."
"Huh?" I looked down and saw one of my pockets glowing. I reached in and pulled out a single white feather. This is the feather I picked up in my dream! The very first dream, that started this all! I realized. I held it out to the Keychain and they both started glowing. Sora came over to me.
"Let me," he said, taking the feather in one hand and the claw in the other. He placed the feather on the claw and the two melded. The glow receded and the feeling of incompleteness faded with it. He held up the Keychain, the claw and feather together as one. "This is the Griffin's Light."
I reached into my pocket for the last Keychain, but when I touched it, I felt no pull. Well, it was more like a dormant feeling, like the person that it was meant for didn't have his Keyblade yet. So I calmly put both hands in my pockets.
"Thank you so much." Sora said.
"You're welcome. Thank Lady Daisy if you see her." I told Mickey. "You are going back to Disney Castle soon aren't you?"
"Well," he sighed, "I really want to, but I can't. I have a mission still, and I have to fulfill it before I can return home. Speaking of which, I need to leave soon, and get on with my mission if I'm to be of assistance to any of you. Take care Sora, Kaitlyn, Riku. I'll see you all again someday."
I opened my mouth to ask a question, but Riku's hand on my shoulder stopped me.
"He's got it all planned out already. Don't worry about him."
Mickey walked away and disappeared into the forest.
Sora turned to us. "I need to go as well," he said. "I'm sorry. I really want to stay and talk but..."
"We understand," Riku said. "We all have things so do. We'll see you again soon right?"
Sora nodded. "Thanks again Kaitlyn." He turned away from us and disappeared in a small puff of smoke.
We heard a strange voice yelling, "Where the heck were you?"
I laughed when I realized it was Donald. I turned to Riku. "So, what are you going to so?" I asked.
"Well, I'm not sure. But I can't really do anything but fight the Heartless," he said.
"Well, we've got plenty of those around." I told him about Luc and Tygris.
"Looks like it's starting all over again. Or, maybe, it was never truly finished. Nothing ever did feel completed after the door closed," he said.
"So, if you're going to be traveling, how are you going to get around?" I asked.
"Well, I'm not really sure. I've met some people who have traveled by strength of will alone, but if you've got another option, that would be real nice."
"Well, you could travel with us." I offered. Tala and Furrah both nodded, but hesitantly. I could tell that something about him made them distrustful. I knew I'd have to explain it later.
He nodded and we all clasped hands. I closed my eyes and gave the gummi ship a mental command. When I opened my eyes, we were on board.
Riku looked around, or I guess he did. His blindfold was till on. We walked around, exploring the ship and finding all the rooms. The dorm had two bunk beds and the kitchen was close by. Everything that we could need was supplied.
We went to the bridge, debating what we should do next.
"I think we should find Leon and the others. They could help us out," I suggested.
Riku nodded, "That's a good idea." He yawned. "I think I'm going to go get some rest."
Tala spoke up, "Me too. I could use a good, comfortable sleep."
"Good night. Sleep tight," I said as they walked away.
I sat down at the controls for the ship. A screen popped up. It listed several sets of coordinates. I touched one and a description came up. I recognized it as Traverse Town. I touched the others and found Hollow Bastion. When I touched it again, a screen popped up asking if we wanted autopilot. After choosing yes, I turned to Furrah.
"Is there something you want to say?" I asked. "You've been acting strange since we met Riku."
"Well, it's just something about him seems...dark. Foreboding even. I just don't know if I can really trust him," Furrah admitted.
"Dark doesn't mean evil." I told her.
"I know but, I just...don't feel right about this. It's just...strange...having him on board. I mean, wasn't he with them? Could he be a traitor?" She looked up, but I couldn't meet her amber colored gaze. "You know I'm just trying to watch out for you, right?"
"Yeah, I know." I sighed, "It's just...I don't know, but I want to trust him. He protected Kairi once, and Sora too."
We sat in silence for a moment.
"Can I tell you a secret?" I asked.
"Of course you can. I won't tell."
"I want to trust him, and I want him to trust us. I want to...oh, I just don't know how to say it..." I sighed.
"You like him, don't you?" she said for me.
"Well, yeah. But, I also find it hard to trust him, though it's not as difficult for me as it seems to be for you...but, I just don't know."
"It's alright. If you really want to, ask him. Talk to him about whatever you want. On my world, they used to say that 'Words can make real the impossible.'" Then she laughed, "But we're also the people who said 'The easy way to peace is through war' so, I guess you'll just have to interpret our sayings for your self."
"Thanks, Furrah."
"No problem. Just follow your heart. I told you once that I would follow you until the end, and I'm not giving up on you now. I just get a strange feeling from him. Just be careful." She warned.
"I will."
"So, who's Leon?" she asked.
"He's someone Sora met a while ago." I told her. "He and his friends know a lot about Ansem, the Heartless, and things like that."
"Ah. Good idea to go see him then," she sighed and started to stretch. "Want to spar?" she asked.
"Sure. I need something useful to do," I agreed.
We sparred for about an hour, trading blows, and giving advice. We took a break for ten minutes, eating and talking in the kitchen.
Tala and Riku came in, both looking very rested.
"Good morning," Tala said.
"So, how much longer?" Riku asked, blunt and to the point as usual.
I thought for a moment. "About an hour and a half." I suddenly realized how tired I was. Yawning, I stood up. "Well, I think I'm going to go take a nap while I've got some time."
Furrah stood too. "I'll clean up and then I'm going to sleep as well."
I nodded and left. I fell onto the closest bed and was asleep before my head hit the pillow.
I woke up what felt like hours later, but I found out was just minutes. I heard a low, soft growl and jumped. Then I realized that it was just Furrah's snore. She had taken the opposite top bunk, and her arm was hanging off the edge, just like a cat's might have done.
I smiled and got up, planning to go to the kitchen to get a glass of water. But just after I closed the door to the dorm, I heard voices on the bridge. It was Tala and Riku talking. I knew I shouldn't, but I paused and listened to them anyway.
"So what's it like over there, on the other side of that door?" Tala was asking.
"It's dark," Riku said, "and quiet. You get...very lonely. You miss things, like sunlight and starlight. It's like nothing there is good enough. That's one reason that it's so good to be back. Now I can actually be happy."
"One reason?" Tala asked. "What might another be?"
"Well," he sighed. "I'm not sure how to put it but, well, danger dragged us together once, and since we met, I can't stop thinking about her. I feel like...I don't know...she needs me or something. There's a bond there, one that appeared out of nowhere, that draws us together."
Silence. But Tala's curiosity got the best of her.
"So, who is she?"
Thoughts started flying in my head. Do I want to hear this? What should I do? Should I go back to the dorm? Or the kitchen? Or should I go in?
Riku decided for me.
"I don't think I want to say quite yet. I want to tell her and find out how she feels first."
I sighed in relief. I headed into the kitchen and got myself a glass of water. I sat there thinking for a while, until a strange alarm went off.
I raced to the bridge, followed shortly by Furrah.
"What is it?" she asked.
"We're nearly to Hollow Bastion," said Tala.
"What else would it be but the Heartless?" asked Riku sarcastically, though he practically spit the last word.
I jumped into another chair where a joystick-like control waited.
"I'm guessing this is the weapon system?" I asked. I tested the trigger and was satisfied to see a red beam shoot out. "I'm guessing that's a yes."
Furrah and Tala jumped into the other weapon control chairs and Riku took manual flight control.
"There's no turning back. Let's do this!" he shouted.
Then they burst out of nowhere.
Note: Wow, this took a while. It's finally done!!!!! YAY!!!! I have some of the next chapter done too, so that shouldn't take nearly so long. I've got new stuff all planned out and I just can't wait. I've been VERY busy, but I won't stop writing! (I have to get them to Spira too! hint hint wink wink Well, R&R and come back for more later! C y'all!