Expositus I

(or, Reason Lost is Instinct Gained)

… … … … …†

Ay, many islands lie in the waters of wide Agony.

- Percy Bysshe Shelly

Once you start asking questions, innocence is gone.

- Mary Astor

The sunset's beautiful!"

It was, obviously. It always was. The half hemisphere of the sun sat like a lidded, hazy eye on the infinite band of blue horizon were the sky met the sea's end. The sky a galaxy of color- resonant amethysts, dynamic rose and fuchsia, and that tangerine color that's the same as the one dollar pina collatas they sell at the tourist resorts. That the same color, the same sunset the day before that, and the day before that…

The sunset was always perfect, the temperature always warm, the breeze always fresh…Perfect…perfectly boring. Perfectly mundane. Perfectly infuriating, watching it day after day waiting of a change, for something more.

Destiny Islands was perfect. It was also unchanging. Everything was the same, day after day, year after year; the weather the same, except went it stormed, nothing to stop the uninterrupted cycle of school, summer vacation, school…only slightly altered went you graduated and went to work, and then it was work, work, work…until you died. Destiny Islands was a place you could pass from birth to death without a single instance you could recall that was in any way different or special from any other.

And something, deep inside, told me it couldn't last. And, at the risk of sounding too cliché, too good to be true.

So, when someone said such a ridiculously romantic and flamingly gay statement as "The sunset's beautiful!" You can bet money that if, if they managed to get a reaction from me, it would be the scorn and desertion of the acidic bile of my wrath. Something like…

Like…

Like…

Hell with it.

Oh God, I'm losing my touch.

Of course, there is one girl who can say this and it not be annoying…only one person who ever cheesy word comes out sounding…not cheesy at all, romantic but not…of my wrath-worthy. The one girl that is making me lose my sarcastic touch.

And you know what?

I'm not minding it at all.

Destiny Islands is perfect. The people, on the other hand…

First, there's Sora. Socialite extraordinaire and for whom all children with ADD should aspire to be. He's either insane or was dropped on his head as a kid…or both. He's also my best friend. We've know each other since kindergarten and I don't think there's any way we could be more different. I may be the Ice man, but sugar has nothing on this guy…

"Tell me, why are you taking the ferry again" he asked.

God, give me strength…

"because you blew a hole in my boat" I said for the thousandth time.

"did not" he said

"did too" I shot back. We're both teenagers and we still do this. Well, actually we usually move on (or back- depends on how you look at it) onto mono-syllabic grunts…

"uh-uh"

"uh-huh"

"uh-uh"

"huh"

"uh"

"huh times infinity" I said. Finally, a use for high school Algebra.

"uh times infinity to the infinity power." Sora replied proudly.

That one was new. "There's no infinity to the infinity power! Infinity's as high as you can go"

"You're just mad because you didn't think of it" he said smugly.

"Don't change the subject." I said. You know that saying, 'opposites attract'? I have not heard a more widespread lie since when Sora and I believed that there was toxic gas in the center of golf balls. We fight about everything… usually with swords and not words.

"Besides, what else could have burned a 3 inch hole in the bottom of my boat" I pointed out. Somewhere in the universe, a giant scoreboard lit up, saying "Riku: 1, Sora 0".

"Exploding fish"

Why, after all this time, did he still believe that story? I rolled my eyes and smacked him upside the back of the bush he called a head. "There's no such thing as exploding fish."

"Yes there is. Remember the time I caught one" he said, arms flying everywhere.

"That's because you baited your line with a cherry bomb with a waterproof fuse. I still can't believe that stupid fish fell for..." I covered my mouth with my hand. Stupid vocal fireworks. Always cropping up at the most inconvenient times. Now, I had no problems with puberty- it was a nice change, being taller than everyone else and actually having muscles…but when it did that, it didn't leave me feeling all warm and fuzzy with the world.

On the other hand, speaking of opposites attract…

Kairi grinned. "vocal fireworks again, Riku"

"Shaddup." I murmured darkly. Or at least I hoped…kinda hard to sound threatening when you sound like the 'family jewels' are being crushed by a too-tight jock strap. Luckily for them, there was nothing handy to throw.

Suddenly, Sora jerked like someone had shoved a tazer up his ass and looked at me guiltily. I knew that look. When we used to go to school together, he'd have that look approximately 5 minutes after they left the school and realized he didn't have his lunchbag. You could set your watch to it. He'd forgotten something. I could only hope to whatever deity was listening it wasn't my ferry pass…

He rummaged around, various bits of years-old trash falling from the pockets. I couldn't help but make a little bit of a face. I know I can be a little anal about things being neat and organized but come on, I'd seen that wad of gum in his pocket three years ago and it had been old even then. Not finding whatever he was searching for, he turned to Kairi and was about to ask for whatever it was when she simply handed it to him, a small smile on her face. Sometimes they just seemed to know what each other was thinking- It gave me a small twinge of jealousy. They didn't finish each other's sentences- yet.

"Tada!" Sora exclaimed, presenting it with a flourish. I blinked. Curiosity killed the sarcastic cat…kid. "What is it?"

"Uh…" Sora trailed off scratching the back of his head. "Kairi made it. Why don't you ask her?"

Kairi laughed. "It's my lucky charm. It's made out of thalassa shells…for a safe journey."

I hate to use these words, but my heart skipped a beat, stopped for a moment, and all that good stuff. Even in the land of the cliché-a-phobic, some things just gotta be described as a cliché.

I hadn't expected her to lean over and fasten it around my neck. Next thing I knew our faces were inches apart, and her fingers were on the back of my neck fastening the necklace around my neck. Her fingers brushed my skin and made me hair stand on end…in a good way.

It was just then that I noticed, for what seemed like the first time but had actually been many times, just how purple her eyes were. She smiled and cocked her head, making her gorgeous amethyst eyes sparkle. Before I met Kairi, I didn't think people could have purple eyes. I think I could have a separate love affair just with Kairi's eyes. But…I do have a reputation to retain, right? Ice man. Not that it made it any easier to stop with just keeping my hands on her shoulders…to steady myself. It was hard.

She always wore that necklace and I figured it was the last thing she had of whatever world she had come from. Kairi wasn't from Destiny Islands, which made her even weirder than Sora…if that's even possible. "No, no you keep it. I'll just loose it…" I tried to take it off… but the clasp got tangled in my hair. Stupid hair…I winced, yanking on it and only managing to pull of few hairs out.

"Why don't you just cut it short" Kairi asked.

"Because I look like a monkey with it short. And my ears stick out."

"Can't argue with you there, Riku." Sora said, laughing. I resisted the murdering urges.

"Sora, that wasn't very nice." Kairi reproached.

"I can't help it." Sora said. "He's just so vain, so it's so easy to..."

"You know what? Just keep it on." Kairi said, laughing. She had a nice laugh- soft and gentle, but still a laugh. I don't like to laugh a lot. My laugh's like me; sarcastic, and as hard to swallow as glass shards in hot sauce with a side of Peruvian death peppers. Doesn't matter how funny the joke is, when people hear that laugh they assume I'm laughing at them. So I don't laugh at other people's jokes and people don't laugh at mine. "Before you go bald. You can give it back to me tomorrow if you really don't want it."

"By the way, what where you two doing that blew a hole in your boat" Kairi asked.

Still fiddling with the necklace, I answered. "It was New Year's Eve and we where bringing fireworks over to the island. You remember that gargantuan roll of black cats; the thunder bomb, 8,000 count strip"

"Sora blew that up in your boat" Kairi asked with a horrified gasp.

"No, thank God, or else I would have no boat and we'd probably both be dead. He blew up one of the 350 count strips. We didn't think it would be that powerful, but it blew a hole in the boat and we ended up swimming to the island. I almost killed him that time…"

"Eh-he..." Sora said nervously. "you told me if I didn't drown you'd drown me." Realizing something, he turned, pouting, to Kairi. "Hey...That wasn't very nice either" he whined.

"Yeah, but you deserved it." Kairi said. "We didn't have any fireworks this New Year"

Sora gasped in mock horror. "I can't believe you would value a bunch of fireworks over my life, girlfriend" he said in a mock-gay voice. He let out a "hump" and turned around, his back to them. He heard Kairi and I snicker behind him.

What a clown. I thought.

"Sora, quit being such a baby." Kairi said playfully.

He turned around and in the same mock-tone addressed her. "Oh, I can't stay mad with you forever. Girlfriends" he said, holding out his arms for a hug.

Shaking with suppressed laughter, Kairi hugged Sora. And jealously rears its ugly head.

Plopping down between Kairi and I, he shaded his eyes with his hand and looked out over the water. "The ferry's here." He announced.

"Well, I've got to go." I said, standing up. "Thanks for waiting with me, guys."

"See ya" Sora said cheerfully, legs swinging over the edge of the pier. Kairi smiled shyly and waved goodbye. "Remember." She said. "Tommorow's the big day. Make sure you get plenty of rest, because we leave early."

"I came up with this plan in the first place, remember" I grinned cheerfully- or as cheerfully as I can get. You know, both sides of the mouth up, but without looking like you're high on ecstasy. "Don't worry about me. Worry about the lazy bum"

"hey, I'm not a lazy bum" Sora yelled to my retreating back.

…

Sunsets on Destiny Islands are (mercifully, in my opinion) short, because Destiny Islands doesn't have the pollution of the big cities in the air. It's getting there though. It's become such a popular tourist spot, what with being perfect and all that, that it's only a matter of time before it becomes like an amusement park; cheap, dirty, and filled with people you don't want to share air with.

But maybe I'm just bitter.

I've always preferred night. Everything looks different, new. Like you've stepped out from the ordinary world into a different one, a weirder reflection of it. And it's never the same; the stars are always moving in the sky. Stars have always been a fascination to me, ever since Kairi told me they're really other worlds. But we're also taught that they're burning balls of cosmic dust. Either way, they're fascinating. They're so far away that it takes million's of years for their light to reach us. When you look at the stars, you're really seeing that star as it was over a million years ago. You're looking back in time. And for that light to be that strong; it travels thousands of light-years and millions of years just to reach us. We can't even conceive the forces inside a star. And there are stars out there that have been around since the beginning of time and will still be there when it ends.

People are always comparing love to stuff like that. To grains of sand and stars in the sky…but never to the stars themselves. Grains of sand and stars in the sky are finite, but the light stars give off is endless. Loves supposed to break all chains and know no bounds, like a star's light.

God, look at me babble. I sound like Sora. But don't worry, I'm going somewhere with this. The point is that the stars are disappearing from the sky. Astrologists just say it's a rash of supernovae, and that's ok if they're just burning dust but…if Kairi's right…it's something more serious.

Kairi, Kairi, Kairi. Bet you're all sick of hearing about her, huh? Somehow my mind just keeps coming back to her, like some kind of demented metal boomerang.

Who's in charge here, anyway? What with your brain going off and doing something you tell it not to do, does that mean your brain has its own brain?

No wonder we're all crazy.

It was a warm evening, so the whole family- all 7 of us- ate outside on the patio furniture on the dock. We had soft-shell crab sandwiches hot enough to boil away the sea. After diner Mom and Dad went to the movies. I remember when Dad was combing his hair in the hallway mirror he was grinning so hugely I though that his molars might pop out from the strain and hit one of us.

Neither of them are really my Mom and Dad, but I was so young when my parents died they might as well have been. They're really my aunt and uncle; they raised me and my younger twin brothers after my mom and dad died in a car wreck, along with their two older twin daughters.

Both my parents were Native Destiny Islanders, the original inhabitants of Destiny Islands before people emigrated from the mainland- kind of like Indians. My whole family has that Native Destiny Islander dark brown skin, eyes, and hair- except for me. That makes for interesting family reunion pictures.

So after my parents and our two older sisters left (the 'cursed ones' as the twins call them, being off at some party with their boyfriends) But before they left, they hired a babysitter to watch us.

Yeah, you'd think that they'd trust me to take care of the twins by now, but this precaution stems back to when the twins and I decided one night to eat cat food and drink beer to see what they tasted like. They haven't left me alone with the twins since- especially when they told Mom that cat food tasted better than her cooking.

Not that I was complaining- the babysitter was Kairi. And I had some time to fix the giant hole Sora blew in my boat.

Now, with most small holes you can just hammer a piece of cork into the hole and seal off the edges with wax and pray your siblings don't find it and pull it out. But no, the Powers That Be would not let it be that easy for me. The hole was large; about six inches. That meant the boards that had been damaged had to be taken out and replaced with new ones. A combination of pitch and rope fibers then had to be pushed in between the boards to render it waterproof. I had already done that. The only thing left was to spread varnish over the new boards to protect them from the water.

So I sat on the beach and looked out over the sea, spreading varnish over the whole surface of the boat. A storm was brewing; fat, black clouds hung heavy with rain in the air, the nexus of the storm over Party Island. Lightning lit up the sky and I had a feeling that it would wake the twins up and scare them, so I probably should go inside right now.

Dear Diary,

Tomorrow's the big day! Tomorrow we leave

I tapped the eraser of my pencil against my chin as I lay on Riku's bed. The twins were tucked in, sound asleep. While Riku was outside working on his boat, I had the house to myself. I've always wondered why his parents don't trust him alone with the twins. Something about beer and cat food, I've heard.

I've written about this subject many times in my diary. I had come here to write about something different. Something I vaguely sensed might be important.

I've always been a big believer in destiny. Since I first woke up in the mayor's house and was told, that of all the worlds I could have gone too, I had arrived in a world called Destiny Islands.

It was like Destiny was giving me a slap to my sleepy, waterlogged young self. I didn't come here by chance- for purposes I don't know, I was sent here.

I crossed out the pervious lines and began again.

Dear Diary,

I'm in love with my two best friends.

I looked at my hand as if it had somehow gotten a mind of it's own. I had finally found the world for the feelings I had for my friends, feelings that had long ago stopped being purely platonic. Whatever word I had expected to use, love wasn't it. Love, I thought, was too stereotypical, too direct and too public to express what I felt. And yet, somehow, love was what I felt.

A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness.

Soulmates. I guess I believed in that too.

I shugged uncomfortably under a 12-year old Riku's gaze. I didn't want to show him this. He'd think it was stupid, even if Sora said he though it was cool and dragged me over to Riku to get me to show him.

I cut the deck of cards and held it to Riku. "Ok, pick a number."

"42."

"Um, Ri, a deck doesn't have 42 cards…"

He smirked. "Oh yeah, forgot. Well, then 14."

I picked the top 14 and dealt them out into their separate suits. I pointed to the hearts deck. It had a queen of hearts on top. "This means that you're going to marry you're soulmate."

"There's no such thing as a soulmate."

I looked at him, startled. Of course they're such things as soulmates!

He smiled, a real smile that he only saved for me. He jerked his thumb in Selphie's direction. "Look at Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka."

Those three had a kind of love triangle thing going on. She'd date one for a while, then the other, unable to decide. She apparently 'loved' them both the same.

"Which do you think is her soulmate?" he questioned. Even back then he was frustratingly logical. "How can you tell which is which? The world's full of too many people for everyone to have a soulmate. They'd never find the one that they're supposed to be with. They'd always be unhappy."

I sighed. Arguing with him was useless. He was too mule-headed.

"Who do you think your soulmate is?"

I looked up at him, surprised. He was looking at me with that intense look again.

Riku was…well, Riku. It was not fair that he had to look so infuriatingly hot every moment we were together. When his white hair was down and blowing in the wind, it almost looked like an angel's halo. But I've seen more than enough of his devilish side. His dry humor, sarcastic jokes, and antisocial tendencies were all in good fun, except when we were the brunt of his ire. Nice people called him strong-willed. Those he managed to tick off called him stubborn and opinionated. He had a reputation as an iceman.

Sometimes he even scared me. He had a temper that, while hard to irk, when roused was frightening in it's intensity and length. I remember several instances when he'd yelled at me and turned a cold shoulder to me for days, and Sora would come over and hold me when I cried. I might not cry now at his coldness, but it still hurts deeper than if it had been Selphie or even Sora. Sometimes I thought that if Sora and Riku had something substantial to fight over, they'd be able to cut each other's throats without batting an eye, so great had their competition gotten as how stubborn both were to be better.

But I was the only one he ever smiled for. With Riku I could talk about anything- friends, school, ect.- and even if he didn't know anything about it (like he'd ever admit to that) or just couldn't stand the topic, he still listen, and with none of his usual sarcasm. And there was something mysterious about him, something that intrigued me and yet at the same time set of warning sirens in my head.

But Sora was…different. While I could talk to Riku about anything, it was Sora that I shared my innermost secrets, my deepest, darkest fears. And he, in turn, shared his own with me. Sora could make me laugh in a way no one else could. He was just so…innocent, truthful, and honest. Even he was prone to occasional bouts of wisdom, despite his innocent attitude. He was the first person I met on Destiny Islands.

It was cold, wet, and dark. I was sitting on something I'd only seen in books; a beach.

There was a symbol burned on the skin over my heart. It resembled the handprint of a small child, with a spiral for a palm and lines for the splayed fingers. The heat was so intense the burn actually felt cold.

I closed my eyes, lingering on the edge between consciousness and unconsciousness. Somewhere far off I heard voices. Then I felt hands, supporting me and carrying me to safety. I felt something warm and fleecy wrap around me, in addition to a pair of arms.

'She's not waking up.' came the voice of the person who wasn't holding me.

I opened my eyes a fraction to try to see the person who had rescued me. The only thing I noticed about him was his hair- it was a masterpiece that defied every law of physics Newton ever believed in.

He considered something for a moment. 'Tell anyone about this and I'll kill you, Okay?"

'Sure, whatever you say.' Said the other one with a touch of amusement.

And then the boy, who later turned out to be Sora, began to sing.

Æfond kiss, and then we sever;Æ fareweel, and then forever.
Deep in heartwrung tears I'll pledge thee, warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee.
Who shall say that fortune grieves him, while the star of hope she leaves him:
Me, næ chearful twinkle lights me; dark despair around benights me.
I'll ne'er blame my partial fancy, Næthing could resist my Nancy.
But to see her was to love her; Love but her and love for ever.
Had we never lov'd sæ kindly, Had we never lov'd sæ blindly!
Never met, or never parted, We had ne'er been broken hearted.
Faretheewell thou first and fairest! Faretheewell thou best and dearest!
Thine be ilka joy and treasure, Peace, Enjoyment, Love and Pleasure!
Æ fond kiss, and then we sever! Æ fareweel, Alas, forever!
Deep in heartwrung tears I'll pledge thee, warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee!

There was a pause.

"I think that may have just done her in." the other boy said. 'where in the heck did you learn that?'

The boy holding me blushed fiercely. 'We learned it in choir…"

I opened my eyes fully. The boy with the mop on his head let out an exclamation of triumph. I noticed that he had very blue eyes.

Then I looked to the other boy. He had eyes somewhere between green-blue and turquoise- the color of the sea on a summer day, as well as unusual white hair.

'Are you okay?' he questioned. He was starring at me intensely and I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

'We made soup." The brown-headed boy said nervously. 'Or at least, we tried…" he handed me a bowl of brown liquid. Not haute cuisine, but at least it was hot. I had a spoonful and did my best not to gag. 'Thanks."

"You should really get that looked at." The white-haired boy said. At first I though he was talking about the burn, but realized he was pointing to my neck. There was a nasty, ragged cut across my throat. "It look's like someone tried to cut your throat."

My hand instantly flew to my neck. The white haired boy pulled out a first aid kit and began bandaging my burn and wound. I leaned against the brown-haired boy's chest, and he absentmindedly threw his arm over my shoulder. I felt oddly safe with him, despite our compromising position- after all, we were only five- what did we know about PDA? While the brown haired boy stared off into space, the white-haired one no-so-gently prodded me with iodine and questions.

And every single one I could only answer with 'I don't remember." I didn't remember anything, not even my own name.

'You don't remember your own name?" the blue-eyed boy questioned, disbelieving. I nodded and looked at my feet. "Well, we'll have to give you one. How 'bout Kairi?"

The white-haired boy rolled his eyes. "She's not a pet, Sora. If she has amnesia, it will probably last only a few days, a few weeks tops. Unless the memory loss is due to repressed memories due to trama, in which case it could last many years. I don't think she appreciates you just giving her a new name."

I sensed a fight coming about. "No, no, Kairi's fine. Kairi's a nice name."

"Ok then Kairi." the white-haired boy said. 'let's take you to the mayor's house." He lead, and the brown-haired boy and I talked, or rather he told me about the mayor's wife, who kept lots of candy around, and I listened. I wondered what kind of woman would give this kid any type of sugar.

I sighed and looked out the window. That's when I noticed the rain pelting against the windows, and the thunder lighting up the sky.

I heard the door slam as Riku walked inside. Shoving my dairy into my back pocket, I raced down the stairs.

Riku was standing in the kitchen, soaked and dripping on the floor. He'd not stopped working even in the rain. "Riku, did you or Sora tie up the raft?" I asked worriedly.

Riku stood still for a moment, then broke out in a string of curses you could go to hell just for listening to. "Call Sora. I'll get our boats ready."

I nodded. There where 3 islands in the Destiny Island chain; Town Island, the largest, where all the citizens, including Riku and Sora, lived, Party Island, and Mayor Island, the small island were the mayor's family lived. So I had to come over here by boat.

I ran downstairs and called Sora. Knowing him, he'd rush off the instant he'd seen the storm and try to secure the boat himself, even when he knew it took two people to do it.

Sora's mom answered. "He's upstairs for the moment. I'll call him down to dinner…that'll get him running." She said with a touch of humor.

I waited a moment while she called him down. When she picked up the phone again, there was panic in her voice.

"He's not upstairs, and the window's open! He can't have gone to Party Island- he'll be killed in this weather!"

I did my best to try and calm her down. Riku ran in again and wrote a short, hasty note, describing what we were doing. I hung up.

"Sora's gone to Party Island and his mom's having a coronary." I said. Riku shrugged. "When is she not, really? I'm leaving. Take care of the twins." He said, heading out the door.

I grabbed his arm. "Hold on! Do you really think you're going in that storm alone? It takes two to secure the raft!"

He hesitated. He knew I was right. He also knew that he didn't want to let me go.

"I can row a boat just as well as you can." I continued.

"The twins…" he trailed off.

"Are asleep. They can take care of themselves."

He paused. 'Fine.' And continued on his way, sulking. I smiled and followed after him. Sure he'd sulk and whine in his own quiet way, but he'd get over it.

We pulled out our boats and rowed into the storm.

The raft was gone.

Kairi and I were sitting across from each other, in the mouth of the Secret Place.

Kairi was watching the rain- it was all you could see out there, a torrential wall of water, raining cats and dogs in biblical proportions.

And I was watching her. She's shivering and cold, which makes me bitterly wish I'd remembered to bring a jacket so she would be warm. Even when half drowned, she still manages to look beautiful.

Not to mention the fact that her wet clothes cling to every curve of her body.

What? Don't look at me like that. I am a guy, after all.

"Do you think we can go now?" She asked "No." Still raining too hard.

Sighing, she got up and began walking to the back of the cave. Not wanting to be left behind, I followed.

I'd almost forgotten about this place. It was sort of our hangout, our secret clubhouse, except we allowed girls to come in. We'd squat down in the sand and bring our sloped foreheads together to think up trouble- like apes, but with less body hair.

What sort of trouble would we cook up, you ask?

My favorite was where you'd lick jolly ranchers and stick them to somebody's window. Once they dried, the only way to get rid of them was to replace the glass- or stand outside with the hose on, dousing you window till they dissolved. And even then, you'd have rectangular white spots still on the glass were you'd stuck the jolly ranchers.

That was fun for a few years, but after a while the adults caught on and stopped giving out jolly ranchers for Halloween. And you can't very well peppermint somebody's windows, now can you?

Another was getting another kid to eat something gross. Why watch Fear Factor when you can just go out and get your friends to do the same things, only cheaper? I once got Sora to eat a loogie his dog hocked up for a quarter. And of course, there was the beer-and-catfood episode with the twins.

But nothing beats fireworks. Loud, noisy, and potentially destructive. 50 black cats made a strip. 50 strips made a roll. 5 rolls made a stick of dynamite.

Kaboom!

We used to chuck 'em down the sewers to see if we could dent the concrete. Then Dad saw us doing it. But did he stop us?

No. He taught us how to build a mortar. And then we chucked that into the sewer. Figured we try to do it anyway, and we might as well do it in such a way that we wouldn't blow off a hand.

There's always a chance you could blow off a bit when you fool around with fireworks. I remember one time I blew off a fingernail fooling around with cherry bombs. Sora burned off both his eyelashes and his eyebrows making a flamethrower out of matches and deodorant spray.

I crouched down to look at the drawings. Their was a picture of a Chocobo I'd drawn on one of the rocks, and that picture that Sora had drawn of him and a papou fruit that proved once and for all he had no future as an artist.

And then there was the mysterious door. The one that was always locked.

I leaned against it, lounging. Then, under my weight, the door moved a fraction of and inch inward.

It was unlocked. I grabbed the handle and pushed. The humidity had made it stick, so I pushed into it with my shoulder. Suddenly, the door popped open.

"Kairi?"

"You've got to see this…"

... ... ...(finis)

Adalai- gah! I know this is horribly terribly late, but I hope it was worth the wait. I've just been really busy…Don't worry, the next chapter will have Octavia in it.

Also, in the prologue, a tatterdemalion is someone who is dressed in rags. More original than saying 'the hooded man' over and over again.

Also, the song Sora sings is the tenor solo to Ae Fond Kiss. I love that song. especially all the 'æ's

Zena- heh…what about us?

Stinky- yeah, we weren't in the prologue…

Dante- have you been cheating on us with another muse!

(All three muses tackle Adalai)

Zena- Review and decide whether Adalai dies or just gets scratched up badly…

Adalai- I swear I'm innocent! Ow! No claws!

Stinky- and thanks to those who already reviewed!

Lyphe

Viktor Martin

DeathDragon66