Since it took me so long to update last time I have decided on something:I should really update more often...Yes...I'm going to do it (like I should have done before...-.-) Andthere are so many things to be incredibly ecstatic over(surprisingly...)! This fic has reached 10000 words as of last chapter! That's just so great...I should do something to celebrate...but what? Well, I think I'll add another little taster at the end of this (okay, so it's not much, but at least it's something XD). Also...Riku and I have put aside our differences (although it was just Riku...remember, I'm the crazy-obsessed Riku fan-girl) and have decided to work together to free Sora from the horror that is Teletubbies!

Riku: -from under a pile of grenades- Yup...not that I'm happy about it though...

Meh: You know you are really...XD

Riku: Well, maybe a little...

Meh: SEE? I TOLD YOU!

Riku: And as a special little one-off I'm going to willingly do the disclaimer...Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts is not owned by the authoress of this fanfic. But in her imagination she has me here trying to revive Sora's mind from the horrific mental trauma called Teletubbies.

Meh: But you'll have to wait for the freeing of Sora until the end of the chapter :) So...until then, on with the fic!

Chapter 12

It doesn't make sense. If I don't have a heart then shouldn't I be...a heartless or something? What's wrong with me? Silence was once again the ruling mistress on the ship. Sleet was quietly panicking and Sora was thinking.

Sleet's not a heartless...right? Wouldn't she have tried to take my heart by now if she was one? But there is definately something weird about her...When the wave of heartless were coming what happened to her? Can I really trust her to help me save Kairi? Kairi...

But their thoughts were interrupted when a little red light began to go off in the middle of the dashboard.

"What's that?" Sleet asked, glad for the interrruption.

"It means that we're approaching another world." Are you there Kairi? Please, please...be there...

"Why didn't it go off before?"

"Because it only goes off on autopilot."

"Ah." Sleet looked out of the window above the dashboard and there it was. An almost desolate landsape with a few craters here and there was stretched out before them. The most distinguishing thing about it was the enormous canyon scratched through the middle of the world, like a hideous scar. Actually, the world looked rather like a face, the eyes almost seeming to roll, the mouth fanged and leering, thescar cutting through it all.

Is there really life here?

"I guess we'll land in the canyon to start with," Sora said. He didn't exactly seem like he loved this world either.

Slowly the gummi ship descended into the crater, swallowed by the darkness almost at once. The lights didn't seem to help very much either. It was almost like the darkness was absorbing the light. What an irony--that happened before when Sora had sealed Riku and the King into Kingdom Hearts.

Eventually they came to a shaky landing and slowly emerged from the gummi ship, although unwilling to do so. The darkness was so absolute, at least to Sora. It was strange, but now that she had emerged from the ship, Sleet could see in the darkness, making it seem to her like the murky darkness had cleared away. It wasn't light, but whatever it was it was strange that she could do it anyway.

Nothing yet, thought Sora. The keyblade had yet to react in the way that it always did. But maybe this world was beyond hope?With the non-existant population on the planet, it seemed likely that the heartless had already been and gone. But if that was true...this world shouldn't exist at all. So the keyhole had to be somewhere. Right?

There was a small scuttling sound that made Sora turn his head to see what it was. However, the absolute darkness prevented anything apart from the black reaching his eyes.

There it was again, louder this time. The gummi ship's light didn't seem to be helping either, but then it hadn't made a difference before. Why should it make a difference now, when it seemed to matter more?

"Sleet, can you see anything?" he asked her quietly. It seemed almost wrong to disturb the absolute silence of this world. Wrong...or maybe impossible.

Sleet didn't reply.

"Sleet!" Sora said, louder this time. Still nothing. He began to feel for her and found her arm after about a minute. The arm was rigid.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"No!" Sleet exclaimed. Her two eyes, glowing the yellow of a heartless' eye, were wide with fear.

Sora turned to try and see what she was seeing, and was surprised that he could see the hooded person, slowly walking towards them. It was strange, but this person seemed to be emitting enough light so that they were visible in the absolute darkness. The sinister smile that held no humour was also perfectly visible.

"We meet again," she said, smiling.

"Again?" Sora asked, though he meant to stay as quiet as possible.

The person seemed to at last notice Sora. "So you are the keyblade master. Such a shame I shall have to destroy you. But not myself. No, that would be much too simple. Soon you will die. But," her smile became wider ,"That is not the reason I am here. I have come to deliver something to my puppet."

"Your what?" Sora exclaimed. There wasn't a puppet here. Unless...

Sleet began to run. This person...she was evil. There was no other way of describing her. And she had to get away...If only those memories had always been hidden away, but it seemed that it was not to be. This person...was her creator. Her beginning and more likely than not her end too. This 'gift' was something that she didn't want. Whatever it was...it had to be bad.

"What's going on?" Sora asked, though he didn't expect an answer. His expectations were correct. The hooded woman closed a hand into a fist and put the other hand resting gently on top of it. The hands seemed to glow for a moment. Sora watched, hypnotysed by the sight.

She opened her hands. Something small and glowing flew out of them, flying directly at Sleet. Though she tried to outrun it, it continued to gain on her and then it struck her. She screamed. The scream echoed on the canyon walls again and again, making it seem even worse. And the glowing thing had been absorbed into Sleet's body.

Slowly she fell to her knees, a hand over her chest. But something was different now.

Thump...thump.

A heart...

--END OF CHAPTER 12--

Meh: Well, whaddya know? Another clifhanger...I suppose the fans aren't all that happy about that...especially after I took so long. But I've been busy...plus now Riku and I have to free Sora from the Teletubbies...

Riku: Damn straight!

Meh: Hand me a grenade...

Riku: -hands over grenade- What are you going to do with that?

Meh: -throws grenade at the tv- T-T I will miss the tv, but that can always be replaced. I somehow think that Sora's mind is just a little bit more valuable.

Riku: Something is wrong with this picture...

Meh: I just realised...SORA'S MIND IS NOT AS IMPORTANT AS TV! NUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!

Riku: -watches the burning remains of tv- I think Sora's okay now...

Meh: GOOD! -walks over to Sora and grabs him by the collar- Listen bud...you'd better buy a new tv...or there will be hell to pay...

Sora: ...

Riku: The following scene is much too violent to be posted on the lovely fanfiction site. So instead you will have to listen to me for another...two words XD

Sora: here's...the...munny...-hands over enough munny to buy new tv-

Meh: All better XD

I shall reply to the glorious reviews while I'm at it XD

darkanimegirl: Can't say...and not because I haven't decided either (surprisingly)! Sorry about that...:( Thankies though XD And as for updating soon...well...you'll have to be a little patient...-sweatdrop-

lanablaze92: NUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! ANYTHING BUT THAT! And yes, it was a little shorter than I would have liked...but I can't be bothered to go back and change it...

icewolf9: Yesh...it is scary...just the way I like it XD (but that might just be me...) And I'll keep going...as soon as I find some more time to update!

Well...that's all...except...I have been rather off these past few days so this chapter is not quite as up-to-scratch as I would have hoped. I think that's all XD You might have to wait a little for the next update though...Yes, I know...it's so very sad T-T

Things to come...

Sleet now has a heart...does this pose a threat to her and Sora? What does it mean? Who is the so-called 'enigmatic woman' (yes, bad, bad authoress...) really? And is it just me or have the ammount of questions gone down a little? Will you find out next time? Who knows ;)

REVIEW! That is all :) Until next time XD

Preview

"Kairi?"

No reply.

"Kairi! It's me, Sora! Don't you remember?"

No reply...