"Who are you, and what do we need to do?" he asked. I was startled that Sora accepted me so quickly into his being. It had barely been a mere day since we merged, but he was aware that there was a separate, sentient being sharing his body.
"I am Ceres," I responded. "The True Light which is meant to fight the Heartless." I knew what would come next:
"Who is with Riku?" I smiled in spite of myself. He had said 'who' and not 'what'. To me, this meant that he truly had a worthy heart to fight the beings of darkness.
"Nox," I responded. "The True Darkness." I said no more, because I knew it would distress him. Even now, four months later, I do not tell him who else is with his mortal friend. In the name of the Light, I do not want to lose my grip on his body to be shoved out of his being and remain vulnerable to the Dark. I need a shell, and this one was born to be it.
--
It's dark here. Blinding dark except for Riku, who I can see clearly, and a few feet ahead to see the path. Every day, Riku makes me walk a bit farther, and every day it seems to get darker. I believe I could see better with my eyes closed instead of straining them to see the light at the end of the tunnel, or wherever we are heading. It gets harder to walk every day with the baby growing inside of me. I am now at the point where I am waddling more than walking. I wanted to tell Riku about the baby in the beginning, but he already knew somehow, and his reaction scared me. He seem happy, even overjoyed when I told him, but the cold Darkness pressed around me and I could even feel it in my belly. Now, as I think this, I rub the baby in a circular motion. It's beginning to kick around, which makes me happy, but not enough so that I forget where I am.
Riku is but a few yards ahead, and every time I think of him, he stops and turns around, like he is doing now, walks to me and...
"Kairi." Riku walked to her and held her close in his arms, then kissed her roughly. Kairi squeaked and the baby kicked harder inside her. Riku, still maintaining the kiss, send a small flow of darkness into Kairi, and her belly began to swell two inches out and around. Once the baby was five months, he could risk sending more energy into her to make the baby the true heir to the Heartless. Kairi whimpered and broke the kiss when she felt her stomach expand.
"Stop!" I whimpered, shoving myself away. Riku looked down at me with his cold eyes and grinned.
"Kairi," he started, taking a step towards me. I backed up, but I felt like my front had gained another twenty pounds. It hadn't, but something was bringing me down. I was surprised I didn't tip over by now. I had seen women carrying one child within them, and I looked like I was carrying twins in comparison. At least I felt it. There was nothing on which to see my reflection, but Riku claims I am as beautiful as the day he met me. Suddenly, my heart beats faster and I want to run. Where is Sora? I want to go to him! I want this child to be his! Just then, I realized I was screaming these words and felt Riku's cold fingers around my throat. I raised my eyes into his as breathing became hard.
"You are mine now! You were destined to be hundreds of years ago and again today!" He shook me and I felt daggers of energy come from his hand into me, into my blood, boiling it.
I screamed, the baby kicked, he yelled, the baby grew...
---
For four months we have been to each world that was once the whole of Spira. I was amazed at how peoples faces would light up when they saw my shell Sora walk through the streets. He smiled, waved and talked to people, as was his nature, and I wondered how he was originally thought to be the one to fall into Darkness. From my time with him, looking into his memories, he was nothing but pure light. I can even relax my grip on him and allow myself to grow. He knows what I am doing, I think he knows that he can block me out of some parts. I can tell he doesn't want me to spy on the times he and Rikku were together, which is amusing.
But my conscience is begging...no...ordering me to tell him of her deception.
Deception...what an interesting word I used. Others would say lies. Could she be the Deceiver, the one who pitted Nox and I against each other? No, the Deceiver never worked out in the open...I sighed inwardly, and I felt Sora's mind probing me, trying to make me feel better. Within moments, we were both lost in ocean spay and crying seagulls.
Sora was like a child. One that had to be taught that the world wasn't bright and . Since I came to him, he has been uplifted by the power I hold and has lost a grip with reality: he has forgotten the pain he endured in the bowels of Twilight City, of being thrashed by the one you trusted and left for dead. The forgot what if felt like to be wrung of your strength in the morning and having to continue working through the day so you could get you meager night's meal.
Now his mind is spinning, and I was caught off guard and nearly spilled my secrets in his unguarded mind. Sora's arms were wrapped tightly around Rikku and they were in a deep embrace. Every day, the girl seems to tug him more into the bed, but Sora won't give in completely. Never once has he removed his vest, or asked her to do so. He wants this to last, but I cannot allow it. I cannot let the Deceiver ruin Spira again.
As if I had whispered this into his ear, he lay next to Rikku, breaking off the kiss, yet he held her in his arms. They were talking, with frequent and welcomed breaks. His mind is spinning more and I fear if I allow this more, then he'll consent into her and forget his mission.
It had to be now. I should have done it earlier, before they became too serious, but it will be worse if I wait another second.
I slipped into his sub-conscience, and insert a few key questions into his mind, then retreat before he senses my intrusion.
--
"Rikku..." I paused, breaking off the kiss with Rikku. She relaxed, rested her head on my pillow and looked into my eyes with her beautiful emerald swirls. I smiled and almost lost myself in them, but there was a question nagging in the back of my mind. "Do you love me?" I asked, propping myself up by my elbow. She looked startled, then laughed and tried to kiss me. There was another question that kept me from leaning into the kiss.
"You've been lying to me about something," I heard myself accuse. I sucked in a breath quickly. Why did I say that? Rikku, don't cry!
"Sora..." she whimpered. What was she holding back? I asked. Within the next hour, amid tears and pleads, Rikku poured out everything to me. I heard from why Gippal wanted Spira to be reunited, to her part in the plan to seduce me and all of Gippal's plan that she knew of to gain control of the new Spira. And after they were done with me? I had the options of being in monitored stasis to be re-awoken if the Heartless returned, be an experiment for my powers or dying to the amusement of all.
And Rikku? I hear her crying to me, that she loved me, that she never wanted harm to come to me, she as going to make Gippal change his plans for me.
Then it hit me. Nearly everyone I had met was using me and had lied to me. Rikku, Cid, Brother, Gippal, Buddy, Nooj, Baralai...even King Mickey and Auron to an extent...
Who can I trust? Who has been true to me the entire time I knew them? I knew Ansem never lied, but he was one of the last options I could take. Wakka, Tidus, Yuna and LuLu. I loved those four, but I was fighting for them, I couldn't risk their Hearts in a fight. That left Donald and Goofy...and I had pushed them away since Rikku.
I stood suddenly, startling Rikku who was crying that I was ignoring her. Looking down at her now, I saw nothing but lies in her eyes. Her skimpy clothes made me feel shallow and her tears made me feel angry. Each tear coming from her green eyes represented each lie I had believed ever since I had gotten the KeyBlade.
"Sora, please forgive me..." she begged, clinging to my vest. Her body shook with each sob. She was sorry. A sorry creature who was potentially killing thousands of beings by distracting me. The Centigrade's repairs were probably fake, as fake as Cid's laugh and Brother and Rikku's arguments. All used to feed the sucker, and I ate it all up.
Walking out of the room, I don't feel angry. I feel betrayed and stupid.
"I'm sorry that I didn't do this earlier Sora." Ceres apologized. For what? For helping me see the truth? For making me realize how easy it is to be blinded by a kiss and a promise?
"I want the whole truth Ceres," I said aloud. People stared at me as I walked down the hall to the garden of Wonderland. The gardens were as beautiful as ever and the Queen was running around, trying to find work for the stray cards to do while threatening to cut their heads off at any mistake. For a brief moment, I wondered crazily how she would fair against the Heartless if given a large enough ax, then I shuddered and thought that the Shadows, those Heartless who are still connected to humans, didn't deserve that treatment.
"I'm glad you still see humor," he said using my voice. He made it sound deeper, and yet I didn't object to him using my voice. So what if it changed when we talked? At least I could hear the truth with my ears, which I think he knew I wanted.
"I won't survive will I?" I asked suddenly. I felt Ceres stiffen in my mind and I smiled. No one thought that I would cut to the chase so quickly. I never did so before, but hearing everything from Rikku...it made me think about my future if I survived the fight against the Heartless.
---
"I don't think your conscience mind will make it to the final battle." I said. Sora was silent, while his mind was spinning faster than ever. After a moment, a place came into mind. It was hard to get to, and had a picture that transported a person into an upside-down room. In one corner of this squared away place, was a string of bell flowers that gave out magick restorer balls when struck with lightning. The other flora changed season by season, although at the moment, Sora nor I could remember what was currently there.
I left his mind alone as he guided us through the maze of grass walls and tall flowers, up trees and down vines. Flashes of red, yellow and stretches of green were all that registered in Sora's mind. He seemed to be counting the colors, and before I realized it, our right foot splashed into the painting. I was about to panic, but Sora had already regained his balance and was shaking out his foot. When he was satisfied that it was dry enough, he sat and closed his eyes.
"Tell me everything. The initial War, the Heartless, what happens to me, Riku and Kairi, everything!" He ordered this to me in the calmest and kindest manner possible, and if I were standing before him I would have reeled at his calm anger.
--
"The Heartless aren't as old as you or anyone else thinks. Even Merlin believes they are ancient, but I believe I am older then them." I laughed dryly at the misconception and at Sora's confusion. "I was about your age, even a bit younger...when they were first created. They were odd puppets or an odd show made by an odd man. The first Heartless he made were the Shadows, the Soldiers and the Green Requiems, Red Nocturnes, Blue Rhapsodys and the Yellow Operas. They were characters in the odd man's play, and were essentially living puppets. He somehow had a connection to them that allowed them to make the play more realistic. I heard he went insane with only being able to control creatures that had no real emotions or minds of their own. The Heartless, feeling his yearnings, went out of control and ravaged a part of the village the man worked in, then hid in their cases as lifeless dolls. When the villagers came, the crazed man said that his dolls would no longer dance, much less destroy.
From then, during the cover of the night, he had his revenge on all of those that had wronged him. People began to fear and hate him, and even began to pay him to keep his puppets away. Their fear and hatred began to fuel the puppets, making their power stronger and live longer. One night, they assaulted the daughter of the sheriff who was the last to believe the tales of the living dolls, even though he saw the destruction they wrought, but after his daughter found the case where a Soldier lay, with a piece of cloth from her skirt in hand, then sheriff took the man into custody.
The man ranted and raved that his puppets would avenge him, but as soon as he was gone, people's anger and fear of the puppets began to dissipate. Soon, he was a public mockery and his house was destroyed. Oddly enough, the puppets were saved and a souvenir for the sheriff, who put them in his dining hall. His daughters carved large hearts into the chests of the Soldiers and her father crossed the Hearts with his sword for practice. The smaller puppets were colored on by the girls, and poked fun of until one night when the man escaped.
No one knew how he had escaped. He had used all of the money he extorted into buying more wood for puppets, but where he made these puppets no one knew. There wasn't a single coin to be found in his home. His house was searched thrice over, as well as the puppets the sheriff commandeered.
While the town was awake in search for the man, the sheriff's daughters were wide awake in their rooms, listening to their brother, who was barely a year older, tell them tales of princes on white horses who carried good girls away to tall white castles to be their brides, and of the brave battles the princes would fight for them. This, however, did not make the girls feel better, and their fear mounted, just like the fear of the villagers. The boy, sleepy and tired of hearing his sisters complain, left the room and blew out the candle that served as their light.
The girls huddled together on one bed and whimpered, while the older reached out in the darkness for a puppet to hug. She waved it back and fourth over her dresser, but the puppet was gone. Turning her head to look, she could not see more than inches in front of her in the darkness until the room was illuminated with red-orange light, making both girls scream in terror.
The puppet master, fully knowing that he would be hiding from the world because of his creations, set a deadly trap in his house which finally went off and caught his whole home on fire. The sheriff, the firemen crew and his officers rushed forward to move the villagers away, but the sheriff heard his daughters, and left for home as fast as he could run.
The girls fell off of the bed as a pair of red eyes glared at them. It was the first Soldier they cut a heart into. He was that recognizable, for he was the first puppet the puppet man had made, and was the largest one to date. He emitted a low growl from his throat and took an awkward step towards the girls. They screamed again and bolted for the door, but were intercepted by Shadows who shoved them back into the light. They screamed in fear, and more puppets awake within the room and crowded around the girls, holding the door closed and drinking in their fear. The first puppet walked to the older girl, the one he attacked the first time, and placed his face over her mouth and inhaled deeply. The girl gargled and struggled, then fell to the ground crying hysterically. The puppets crowded around the Soldier now, forgetting about the younger girl and looked at the energy it had drained: the human Essence of Fear.
The puppets were in awe of this Essence, and curious. They had their creator's will to have free movement, so they all decided at once to grab the Fear. Their joined thoughts, despite this action, were becoming more dissipated. As they came in contact with the girl's Fear, their wooden bodies began to warp, bulge, and in the case of the lantern shaped puppets, began to soften and float and became living. The Soldiers now had real metal armor to protect themselves, the Shadows had claws and arms strong enough to drag away victims, and the rest had their magic to torture the villagers.
The sheriff burst into the room then, and first saw his eldest daughter crying in the middle of the floor. The newly formed Heartless had hid, sensing his arrival, and awaited for a leader to come forth. The Soldier stepped forward and tapped the sheriff's shoulder, then as the man turned, hit him in the chest with an open hand. The sheriff, a man who was not at all skinny, flew into the wall, leaving an indentation. The Heartless came forward now to him, growling and showing off their new real-ness to him. The man spat and cursed at them, feeding them his hate. The Soldier tilted his head to the side, then moved close to the man as he did to the daughter and inhaled sharply over the man's face.
Out came the Fear again, familiar and new at the same time, but now there was something different, something....infinite. The heartless were confused and sought out their master, who was working on his creation in secret. They held out the Essence to him, and the Puppet Master grinned.
'So,' he said. 'You found what makes every human tick. Their infinite hate for one another. It's whats been feeding you this whole time,' he said. 'Take it, consume it, let it be a part of your being!' There was a scream as the other Heartless dropped the sheriff to the ground before their master. The master grinned and kicked the sheriff hard, then looked at the Heartless. 'Consume him!' Then there was a pause as he looked at the hearts carved and drawn on his puppets. 'No...take away the last thing that keeps him human. Take his Heart!'
The Heartless could barely contain themselves, and all at once they were grabbing for the man, clawing at him while simultaneously absorbing his Fear and Hate as he emitted these emotions. The Puppet Master cackled as the man cried in agony, then stretched a hand out into his body.
'Give it up! Give them your Heart so your children shall live!' the Master threatened. The sheriff screamed, then went limp. For a moment nothing, happened, yet the Heartless kept clawing. Presently, a small, pink orb floated from the man. The Puppet Master shook his hand furiously, and it manifested from a small pink orb into a small, fat, pathetic excuse for a Heartless. The Puppet Master tisked, then nodded his head at the others. They all quickly ravaged the new Heartless, then headed back to the village. The Puppet Master laughed, not knowing that his first Soldier was watching him from above.
-
Dark, Darker, Darkest, Deepest hate that I feel growing within me. It's so strong that were I a human, I could barely contain it.
It was wonderful.
With all of this energy, I bombarded my chosen mate, and watched her wither under the Darkness. There was no need to send her Fear, since she had enough of her own. I felt the energy run through the Heartless, through me, into Kairi. The dying cries of hundreds of creatures whose lives were cut short, or worlds collapsing on themselves into the darkness. Endless energies all directed at her Heart, mind, and child. He watched Kairi as she panted heavily on the ground, clawing and coughing and gasping.
"Kairi," he said, getting down on one knee. Kairi stopped gasping as hard and lifted her head somewhat. Her eyes could see up to Riku's ankle, but her hair was now long enough to touch the ground. Riku lifted her chin so she could look into his eyes and held them with an icy stare. "Sora?" he asked, keeping his words minimal and devoid of emotion. He was testing to see how his power reacted within the princess. Her eyes widened in anger and hate, and she absolutely growled in a strange manner:
"We hates him, yes, we hates him and his Light! It burns us! Bring us to the Dark!" She growled and whimpered at the same time, eliciting a triumph in Riku that he could not contain. He picked up Kairi and held her in his arms as if they were newlyweds, spun for a moment, and then carried her down the long, descending path.
---
"Then?" Sora asked, processing everything he had learned so far in his mind. He could clearly see the newly made Heartless pillage the unsuspecting village and starting fires on anything and everything.
"Then, they went back for the girls. The son was there, trying to rouse his sister with little success. The second was behind him, acting as a scout. The son, unbeknownst to his father, was an apprentice of a magician, and had learned some rudimentary healing spells which he worked on his sister...."
"Cece, please hurry! I want to go find Papa!" the sister cried, tugging her brother's shirt. The boy sighed in weary and exasperation.
"I can't do everything by myself, nor at once! I need to heal Lilah first, Sara!" he snapped at her. The younger sister, Sara, whimpered and ran to her bed and hid under the covers. Cece, or Ceres, sweated heavily while he crouched over his sister, trying to make her wake. Sora found earlier that he could walk through Cere's memories and did so now. He was amazed that after over a hundred years, he could still remember the faces of his younger sisters and their play room, and how little Sarah wore her blonde hair in a bun on the back of her head at night. Pitying the young boy who was hopelessly trying to help his sister, Sora kneeled and touched her forehead.
"Curaga" he whispered, knowing fully well that it wouldn't work. Ceres said nothing as the green power flowed from Sora's hand. The young Ceres look up suddenly, right at Sora. Sora stared back at the boy in pity, then realized that the boy could see him. As both stared at one another, they were aware of three things: Sara was hiding in her covers, so she could not verify Ceres's sanity, Lilah was stirring and the third, another Heartless was in the room.
Sora spun to face the Heartless, but the Green Requiem was faster than Sora had previously remembered and anticipated and cast a spell too late and too close to himself and the children. He fell back and passed right through the wall and fell the ground three flights below. Opening his eyes slowly, he realized that he was no longer 'real' in the dream, and floated back into the room.
"Cece, don't cry for me," Lilah said in a soft voice. Sora assumed he had missed much in the fall, but listened as Ceres cried out to his sister and screamed. It was like a nebula of power in the room. All of the positive energy that the Heartless neglected to take from the girl was attempting to mix with the energy the Heartless stole from her.
"I'll be okay! I promise!" she assured as she turned to get a glance of Sora. He gasped and sidestepped from her view, but saw her smile slightly. "But you must do something for me Cece, promise!" Ceres wiped his eyes an nodded.
Sora watched in keen interest as Lilah made Ceres promise to defend the people form the Heartless and to find a way to lock them away. But not to kill. Ceres asked her why, why not kill the beasts that took her from him?
"Because, these creatures have a part of me in them. And they have Papa and everyone else in the village. If you hurt them, you hurt us all, even though there will be a time where even destroying a Heartless will be necessary. But by then, I will be so far gone within them, that I will not be hurt by their destruction. Right now, they hold my fear and Papa's hate. Hurry, grab Papa's sword before they come for you and Sara!" she cried as the Heartless reentered the village. Ceres nodded and ran from the room, but quickly returned so that Sora assumed that Ceres was training to be a warrior of some kind.
"Lilah, I won't disappoint you." he vowed. Lilah smiled, then closed her eyes and spread her arms. Sora and Ceres shielded their eyes as Lilah's hair flared out from it's hold and her body shone in a bright light. Sara squealed in fear under her covers, and went to the window to look outside for danger with this new light. Ceres nearly dropped his sword in wonder as the miniature green Heartless and his sister fused together into one new being.
"A White Mushroom." Ceres explained. Sora suddenly felt disconnected from the events and looked around. He was back in Wonderland, and his back was incredibly sore from being hunched over. He coughed from dehydration and frantically looked for something to cast Water in for a drink when a shallow bowl was placed in his hands. Sora took it and drank greedily, then looked at the person who handed it to him. Next to him was Goofy, and then there was a third person.
"Ceres?" Sora asked numbly, then fell over on his side.
"Easy there Sora." Ceres said, amused. "I was threatened by Donald to come out. You were out for a while because I had to show them everything I showed you."
"What happened?" Sora asked. "The boy, he saw me, I healed the girl!" He sputtered. Ceres smiled.
"I had been gathering energy for this for ages. Without brining you to the past, there would have never been the first White Mushroom, the only Heartless who does not thrive on the Hearts of others and who actually assists to defeat the other Heartless. I couldn't have helped you go further because I could only keep you there long enough to heal my sister and cast your muddled spell that actually created the White Mushroom."
Sora was silent for a moment.
"So, I am used in a War to fight the Heartless, bring Spira together to be pitted in a civil war which Gippal plans to rule in the end, run to the past and create a Heartless that gets orders from no one?" Ceres nodded slowly, and was quiet when Sora rubbed his temples.
"Okay, where do I start with helping Spira?" Sora asked after a moment to himself.
"We need to talk to that 'Gippal' guy!" Donald said, jumping to his webbed feet. Sora began to smile and Donald went on his usual rant, hopping to one foot to the other and threatening to cast various spells on the young man. Ceres, feeling Sora was more at ease, silently requested permission to enter his body again.
'You never told me where Kairi was.' Sora accused as he followed Goofy out of the gardens.
'Do you really want to know now, or possibly see her later?' Ceres asked. Sora opted for the latter, and spoke to Cid about the new owner of the airship.