Chapter VII

History Lesson 101, Part 2

"Hmm…" Bergljot continued to lie on the soft ground.

She was lying facedown on a bed of flowers, her eyes tightly shut. She did not know how long it was before she finally opened her eyes and sat up. Upon rising, she found that she was not in a bed, but in a field of flowers, a patch of fog obscuring the view behind her. She tried to stand, but her legs refused to comply.

"Hello? Help me! Is anybody out there?"

"Of course we're here," came a ghostly male voice from the fog.

"W-Who said that?" Bergljot asked in fear.

"Do not fear. We will not harm you."

"The last thing I remember was taking Sora's hand…"

"Correct. We are the ones who brought you here. There are a few things you must be made aware of before you fulfill that promise you so readily made," came a female voice from the same area.

From the fog, two figures took shape. Bergljot stared wide-eyed and smiling slightly. One was Sora, the other, Kairi.

"We have some things to tell you," Kairi explained as she sat on a soft bit of grass. "You are our… Well, let's just say very great-granddaughter."

"I know. I can understand that," Bergljot said. "Now, what has happened? Where am I?"

"We have brought you to the Farplane so we could discuss some things with you," Sora explained. Only then did Bergljot notice the pyreflies.

"You mean… I'm dead?"

"No. When your hands touched, Sora took hold of your soul. We brought your soul here, leaving your body still living in the real world. It is unconscious, breathing very little, but not so little that it will die. We must make hast, though. If your body is left too long without a soul, or Renatus tries to send it, it will die and you will be stuck here forever," Kairi told her.

"Oh, Anselm must be so scared."

"We don't want to keep you long, so we better get started. Listen closely. The first thing to know about your journey is a little geography lesson. Thousands of years ago, the worlds were all connected. Some were physically connected while others were a mere twelve hours space flight from each other," Sora began slowly. "Then, back in what would have been the nineteen hundreds on Drummond, there was a cataclysmic event that tore the worlds apart. Some worlds remained in tact, with only parts of the world destroyed. Some others had only small sections, such as cities, which survived by being thrown from the planet. At any rate, that is when the worlds separated."

"Destiny Islands, where we grew up and led most of our adult lives, was one of those that remained on the original planet," Kairi added.

"They never taught us that in school," Bergljot said in surprise.

"It was decided that nobody should know of those events. This is information we've gained throughout our travels. Unfortunately, there is no data about what the event was," Sora shrugged. "Anyway, once Kingdom Hearts is sealed once and for all, the worlds will join as they were long ago."

"If it's not too personal, how did you die?" Bergljot asked. She had always thought of them as great figures, and could think of no reason for them to pass on.

"Our deaths were… unexpected and painful," Kairi started sadly. "We were in our early forties, about to have what would have been our third and fourth children as you can see. They were twins, meant to be our last, and I unexpectedly went into premature labor. One was born and managed to live, but I died before having the other. Because of this, I am cursed to be pregnant forever."

"Kairi's death was shocking, and I became troubled," Sora continued. "One day about six months later, I had been traveling through our world, preparing to visit her grave. Out of the woods came a Heartless. I was surprised, I thought they were all banished, but managed to finish it easily. Many more came, though. I was badly injured, despite the armor, and barely made it back to the village alive. I told them that I was dying, and after I was dead to flee the islands and build a wall around them so the monsters could not follow or attack other places. The people cared for me, but… my injuries were too severe. Riku, Donald, and Goofy were with me when I died. As I felt my life slipping, I told them to each take and care for one of the children. I asked to be alone to die."

"Riku remained, correct?" Kairi asked.

"That he did, but only because he had a confession to make. He told me that before Kairi and I were wed, there was one time when I was on another world, fighting with only Donald and Goofy for the last time. Riku confessed that he and Kairi had sex during the night before returned and she became pregnant. It was about three days before the wedding, and he and I were always competing for her affection prior to the event. I had assumed that I had impregnated her, as she conceived so close to our honeymoon. She never said otherwise. I smiled at him and forgave my old friend. I also told him to take the child that was rightfully his. I passed on just after."

"My god… I never knew that Riku and Kairi had…" Bergljot was having trouble taking it all in. A thought invaded her mind. "Wait… that means I could be related to him, right?"

"You aren't," Kairi stated in a final tone. "You are the very great-granddaughter of the child that brought my death. We have watched our children and descendants grow and we're one-hundred percent sure that you are the one."

"But I never asked for this!" Bergljot exclaimed. She finally managed to stand. "All I wanted was to marry the man I love, get pregnant, have a family! Now I can't have a family because I'm on this journey that's failed every time someone's gone through it for the past millennia!"

"Bergljot," Sora approached the sobbing woman and wrapped his strong arms around her. "I am sorry that this was loaded on you. Your father's untimely death was most unfortunate. We were mourning for days, as we knew that you would be unprepared for this. The Keyblade chose me as its master after Riku turned to darkness. It stays with the same family until the Final Sealing."

"I understand, but I still wish I could pass this to another," Bergljot said as she sank to the ground.

"That cannot happen," Kairi pointed out. "You are the only one. There are a few more things you must know. First of all, no matter how much you do, never hate anybody. Keep as much hate and anger out of your heart as you can as Heartless feed off of them. Never get pleasure from the deaths of even your enemies."

"Yes ma'am."

"Secondly, you must be prepared," Sora continued.

"Prepared? For what?"

"The Final Sealing," the couple said in unison.

"What's that?"

"When you reach the End of the World, you will be shown the door to the light. Ansem will be waiting for you with all of his Heartless. Gather all of your allies before venturing here. No matter how strong you think you are, you cannot defeat Ansem by yourselves," Kairi explained. "If Ansem wins, the worlds will be thrown into infinite darkness, and Kingdom Hearts will be completely destroyed. If you win, you will be able to seal the doors forever. Once sealed, you will have only a few minutes to return to the ship. After the worlds are joined again, the doors will self-destruct. Kingdom Hearts will still exist, but there will be no way to open it. Once the doors are sealed, you must leave the blades. They, too, will self-destruct, the result being disastrous. They and the doors will explode. The force will be so powerful, anyone and anything nearby will be turned to dust."

Bergljot, Sora and Kairi sat in silence for a long while, the ancestors waiting for a reaction, the descendant going over the information.

"It's impossible," Bergljot finally spoke. "No matter how many allies I gain, I can never defeat such a strong enemy."

"It seems impossible, but it is not. Retrieve all the Aeons that are still in existence. Call on all of them at once when you perform the Final Sealing," Sora commanded. "There are strong allies in Hollow Bastion, so be sure to seal that world and gain all citizens as allies."

"I can't…"

"Yes, you can. I was able to defeat Ansem when I was only fourteen years old. You are ten years more than that," Sora snapped forcefully. Tears began to swell in Bergljot's eyes, not because of Sora's anger, but out of despair.

"How? I'm not nearly as strong as you, nor am I as smart. I only wish that you could leave the Farplane with me," Bergljot said quietly. She looked up at them. "How much longer?"

"We have but two things more to tell you," Kairi answered.

"And they would be…?"

"Your brother-in-law. Gwandoya," Sora said plainly.

"What about him?"

"Those nightmares he had of Ansem returning were only the beginning. He will have more, each one worse than the last," Kairi whispered.

"But why?" Bergljot pleaded.

"You remember the child that Riku and I had?" Kairi asked. At a nod from Bergljot, she continued. "Well, it was a girl. Spuria, I named her. She married one of Goofy's sons."

"Oh, my god… that means…"

"Yes. Gwandoya is not only the grandson of Goofy, but Riku as well," Sora confirmed. "Ansem never fully let go of Riku, so he has had an influence on all of Riku's children since. The nightmares and voices Gwandoya hears are from Ansem, though he does not mean to send them. While Gwandoya can sense Ansem's plans through dreams, Ansem sends the voices on purpose to confuse him. At the same time, Ansem sees all of your plans. Or rather, the ones Gwandoya knows about."

"I have to tell him," Bergljot decided.

"NO!" Kairi and Sora cried together.

"You must not tell him unless he is dying," Kairi commanded.

"The only way to rid him of the voices is for him to die. If he knew that, he would most likely commit suicide," Sora explained quietly.

"Very well," Bergljot sighed. "What was the other thing?"

"If you begin to lose this fight, there is one ally who is nearly indestructible," Kairi said.

"Who? Where is he?"

"His body was hidden a little over one thousand years ago. The people of Hollow Bastion know where he is. You will have to persuade him to join you, as he is the most powerful of all evil. There is an incantation hidden in Hollow Bastion to revive him. Try explaining to him that there is an evil more powerful than him and that he must help destroy it. Even at that, the chances that he will join you are slim. However, if you can get him before Ansem, you will become virtually unstoppable. His name is S-" Sora froze and stared into space. He began to reach for her. "Your body… Renatus is trying to send you. You must go NOW!"

"One last question!" Bergljot called as she and Sora made contact once more. The Farplane began to fade. "Where is Destiny Islands?"

"Let's just say… it's closer to home than you think," the couple called as Bergljot returned to her body. "Come back if you ever need more help. Good-bye… and good luck."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Bergljot!" Anselm cried as his wife sat up swiftly.

She had been unconscious for two hours. Her breathing stopped a couple of minutes before, so Renatus tried to send her. Bergljot had gasped for breath suddenly and sat bolt upright.

"Welcome back," came Gwandoya's voice from nearby.

"I am glad you are safe. Tell us. What happened?" Renatus begged.

"You will never guess what I learned and who I talked to," Bergljot smiled.

She thus began to recount everything to her friends, being careful not to tell anything about Spuria or the nightmares. She did explain the deaths of the heart-sharers, the secret child of Riku and Kairi (she decided that that alone would give away nothing), the worlds, the Final Sealing, Hollow Bastion, the Aeons, the destruction of the blades and doors, and that Destiny Islands were 'closer to home than you think.' She did, however, decide not to tell of the hidden ally.

There's no reason to bother with those details, she thought as she took one last look at the Farplane a short time later. Sora and Kairi waved to her as she exited the portal. After all… no man is as indestructible as they say.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"They're beginning to become quite a bother," the hooded man whispered angrily. "Two worlds have already slipped from my grasp in only one week. No matter."

The man lowered his hood and leaned over to take a closer look at his seeing pool. A pedestal that greatly resembled a birdbath stood before him. In the water, the man was able to see Bergljot, Anselm, Gwandoya and Renatus discussing matters outside of the Farplane. He had lost sight when they entered, but he suspected what had happened.

"Prepare my ship," he snapped at his hooded servant. The servant bowed and left the room. The man turned back to his work. "I must make haste if I am to retrieve the invincible one first. They will fall under my power soon enough."

The man laughed wickedly as he swept a hand over the pool, clearing the view and leaving only his reflection.

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Yippee! More reviews and more chapters! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Soul Vagabond for making a character I could use. So, any guesses as to the identity of the hooded spy? How about the invincible one? I'm trying to get reader interaction with this thing if nobody's noticed. I've decided to cut down a little on chapter size, but they will all stay five typed pages or more, so none of you will have to read anymore twenty page chapters (prologue and chapter 1 specifically).

Chapter 8 Sneak Peek: Leaving Ogden and (maybe) reaching the next world.