Chapter Two
Kairi sat down on the foot of the wooden stairwell near the back of the large parlor room. She had her knees pulled up to her chin as she had for the past hour. As she tried to listen to the conversation that was going on in the room, she found her thoughts kept drifting off and wandering on their own. More often than not, her feelings were wandering to Sora, and to the new man who had seemingly fell out of thin air.
Not knowing what to do, Kairi and Incanus had taken Steiner directly to the Mayor's house. Within thirty minutes they were shortly accompanied by a few other Island adults, those of which included Kairi's dad. Once the "meeting" was about to begin, Kairi was instructed to go home. However, she proved very adamant about staying.
"Fine," Kairi's dad had said, giving in, knowing how stubborn his daughter could be at times. "Just sit back in the back and don't say anything."
And that's exactly what she had done. Steiner had given an account to what happened to him. The story covered strange places and powerful magic and culminated with his battle with a Black Waltz on an Airship, which concluded with his fall from the sky. Kairi could tell that the adults were obviously not buying it.
Why should they? she thought, resting her chin on her knees. They don't know the truth. They don't know that there are other worlds out there. A few times when the Mayor was asking Steiner some particularly harsh questions she found herself biting her tongue. She wanted to stand up, tell all of the adults how close-minded and stupid they were, and that she believed every word Steiner said.
That, however was not an option. If she did that she would start to get those piercing looks from people again, like she did after her adventure with Sora and Riku. There would be whisperings when she would pass by a group of people. "There's the crazy girl," they would say.
It wouldn't surprise her if they locked Steiner up, proclaimed him crazy, and he would never get to see his "Princess" or "fine city of Alexandria" ever again. The adults had never heard of Alexandria, or any city that still had queens and princesses. They were giving Steiner that same look now that she had often got two years ago. Kairi felt pity for him.
In her heart, Kairi knew that somehow, this man came from another world. That had given her more hope than she has had in the past two years. If somehow she could find out how he got here, then maybe…
"We'll I think we cannot get any further tonight," the gruff voice of the mayor said, obviously still frustrated with the whole situation. "There's an extra room at the inn. You can stay there Steiner and we will have another meeting tomorrow morning. Just make sure you don't go anywhere and you keep that sword out of sight. We should confiscate that, but we're not going to. Do NOT cause any trouble," he said, looking Steiner square in the eyes, emphasizing his point.
"Yes sir," Steiner said, standing upright. "Your generosity is duly noted and appreciated. Do not fret, I will not do anything rash nor will I run away at first chance."
"Thanks," the Mayor said idly, still a bit disheveled over the whole mess. "You can go now," he started. "Slash can show you the way," he said, pointing a finger to a man in the corner.
"Thanks again," Steiner said, bowing a bit to show his appreciation. "I bid you good night and will take my leave in peace."
As soon as the two men had left the house a buzz on conversation began, with the majority of the comments coming from Kairi's father.
"Do you think that's wise?" he said, looking at the Mayor. "He's obviously crazy! And armed still! Do you not care about the citizens' well being? Lock him up!" he demanded of the mayor. "Now!"
"Dad," Kairi yelled jumping up from her seated position. Her emotion and frustration at the adults had finally taken charge. "How do you know?" she pleaded. "Give him a chance!"
"Kairi!" he scolded, turning his attention to his daughter. "I told you to keep quiet. This is none of your concern. Besides, I've never heard of Alexandria or crazy things called Airships. He's not right in the head," he continued. "And I think…"
"You want to know what I think?" Kairi interjected, flustered and too angry to care of the consequences. "I think just because we haven't heard of this place doesn't mean that it doesn't exist! We should give him a chance!" she implored. A strong silence followed her outburst. Kairi's dad then slowly turned to her.
"Go home Kairi," her dad said.
"But listen," she started, not done making her point.
"I've heard enough," he said sharply. "Go home. We'll talk later."
Kairi's face was flushed with anger and disappointment. She knew that her outburst would solve nothing, but that still didn't stop her. She had half a mind to say that little did they know that she has been to other worlds and seen many strange places and even flown in one of these 'crazy airships.'
But that would also get her nowhere. So she swallowed hard and looked down, trying to hold back the tears of dejection. Without a word, she turned on a heel and ran out of the room and out of the front door leading into the street.
I won't cry, I won't cry she told herself as she walked quickly down the sandy path to her home. I won't cry I won't…
Suddenly a flash of light from out at sea caught her attention. She stopped and looked eastwards as a strong ocean breeze caught her red hair and pulled it back. A bolt of lightning touched down somewhere out in the ocean. A storm is coming, she absently thought. By the look of the clouds and the electric feel of the air, it was going to be a huge tempest. Kairi momentarily forgot about Steiner and her dad as she took a tentative step towards the beach. She always thought that there was something mystical about storms: the way the lightning etched across the sky and the way the wind stopped right before the rain hit seemed almost supernatural.
A single raindrop splashed across her cheek. She touched it with her fingers. It felt cold.
Another icy drop fell on her shoulder.
Kairi started walking again, this time even quicker as she wanted to make it home before the rain hit.
As soon as she walked in her door she felt exhaustion overtake her. Her house was empty and dark as the storm was now on the doorstep of the island and night was coming very soon. The atmosphere of her house seemed a bit eerie to her, but the emotional torment that fatigued her now seemed to prevail. She made a line for the bed to lie down, falling asleep almost instantly.
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Later that night…
Incanus tossed in his bed.
He too had fallen asleep about the same time as Kairi had. The blonde-haired kid was now sleeping fitfully as he experienced dreams of darkness, shadows, and memories. In his mind, he was free falling in a never-ending pit. He couldn't see his surroundings, as the tunnel was pitch black. However, worse than that, he could feel the presence of something very close, hidden by the darkness. There was something beside him as he fell. It was large, cold, and very evil. Incanus could almost see the creature smiling at him, in a wicked and frightful way.
Suddenly thunder crashed and Incanus jumped upright in his bed, now completely awake. His sheets and clothes were drenched in sweat from his nightmare and he felt cold and clammy all over.
"Damn," he said softly, rising up in bed and pressing his fingers to his temples. "It was just a dream Incanus," he said to himself. His attempt at relaxing himself was not very convincing. Lightning flickered and he thought he saw something move at the foot of his bed. The shadows in his room were now playing tricks on his mind. He jumped and flicked on his lamp and the shadows crept back into the darkness.
"It was just a dream," he repeated, his pulse still beating rapidly.
Lightning flickered again outside and he glanced to his clock. It read 4:37 am. The storm was still raging even though there was no sound of rain outside. Obviously giving up on the idea of sleep anytime soon, Incanus put his shirt on and went to his window to peer out to the town.
There was something magical about this storm. Something captivated him as he stood staring out and watching the lightning flicker across the sky. His eyes focused as another stream of light came from the sky. This, however, was moving much too slow to be lighting. A meteor, he mused, in a thunderstorm. Somehow that intrigued him and he felt as if he should go outside. It almost seemed as if something was calling to him.
For no apparent reason, Incanus stepped out of his bedroom and out the front door. The sand beneath his feet stuck to his sandals as it was still wet by the night's pouring rain. Even though it had quit raining by now, the thunder and lightning told him that the storm was still very close. For some reason he turned left on the sandy path towards the beachhead.
An unusually cold gust of wind cut through his shirt and he wrapped his arms around himself to keep warm.
"What are you doing out here?" he asked himself, half expecting an answer. He had half a notion to turn back before it started raining again. A nice cold rain would really send a chill down his spine. He was about ready to stop and turn around when movement caught his eye. As he stood, focusing his eyes out into the distance, he came to a realization.
There was a figure at the end of the pier.
Incanus hurriedly walked out onto the beach. Lightning flickered and Incanus made out the features of the person. It was Kairi.
Another cold breeze came and lifted the young woman's hair behind her head. She stood staring out into the black ocean as another bolt of lightning came down and hit somewhere in the sea. She was standing almost on the very tip of the pier, scanning the horizon. To Incanus, it looked as if she was looking for something. She also seemed to be waiting.
"Kairi?" he said hesitantly as he stepped onto the dock.
"You shouldn't be here," she said in a low voice. "I think it's going to get dangerous soon."
"What are you talking about?" Incanus asked.
"I think the darkness is going to come again," she said. "This time I'm ready for it."
"You really are crazy," Incanus said, staring at the girl in front of him in disbelief.
Kairi sighed and dropped her gaze to the rippling waves beneath her. That was the first time anyone had ever said that directly to her face and really meant it. She wanted to both turn around and smack the boy behind her or to hang her head and cry. A few seconds later, a single tear streamed down her cheek.
"Go home," she said in a strained voice. "Go back to bed."
"Listen," he started. "I didn't mean to…"
"Maybe when you wake up tomorrow morning the world will be destroyed and rebuilt again," she said cutting him off. "And you just won't know it. But don't look for me," she said. "I'm not coming back. Not this time."
Incanus stared at the girl before her as he crossed his arms. Wow, he thought, she really has lost it.
"Fine," he said, turning around and taking a few step back home. Already he had felt better about the situation. He really did belong in his bed, before his mother woke up to find him gone. She would start to worry. Every step he took on the wooden pier put him a little bit more at ease.
Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks, as he looked downward to a strange creature that appeared in front of him. Due to its black color and weird shape, he almost missed it completely. That is, if it weren't for the two glowing yellow eyes.
It seemed almost harmless. There was no real sense of foreboding or danger from this creature. Incanus stared into the two yellow orbs of its eyes, obviously mesmerized by it. Incanus jumped in surprise, as another one appeared, seemingly spawning out of the wooden pier itself.
"Woah," he yelled, backing up a few paces. He stared in amazement as two more spawned up behind them. "Kairi!" he yelled.
"Heartless," she said, turning back to the ocean. "Very dangerous creatures of darkness. You've missed your chance to go back," she said almost morbidly.
"Dangerous?" Incanus asked. "How dangerous?"
Suddenly the closest creature lashed out and clawed the boy's ankle. He screamed in pain as he fell backwards trying to scramble out of the way.
"Too dangerous," Kairi said, still peering out into the night and pitch black sea. "Come on Sora," she muttered under her breath. "Please hurry."
"What are you talking about?" Incanus said frantically, as he watched more and more creatures appear and walk his way. "We're trapped!" he exclaimed as he had reached the very end of the pier.
Kairi let out a small sigh as she dropped her head. "Nothing," she replied. "I just hoped that someone would come to save us, that's all." She turned back to face the small army of heartless that was now pursuing them.
"Can't we kill them?" Incanus asked, not knowing if he wanted the answer to that question.
"No," she said softly. "We're unarmed."
"So we're going to die?" Incanus asked.
Now Kairi couldn't control the stream of tears that was building up in her eyes. Drops of sadness were now seeping out one by one, trickling down and falling between the cracks of the pier, mingling with the dark seawater below.
Somewhere close by, and pair of thick hands grasped the hilt of a sword. A pair of iron boots shuffled in the wet sand. The sound of metal armor clanging together could be heard.
"I will save you two!" a voice boomed out to the edge of the pier.
Kairi turned in time to see Captain Adelbert Steiner of the Pluto Knights of Alexandria emerge from the shadows with his sword held high. He ran fast in an attempt to charge the heartless.
He…tripped on his own two feet and sprawled out across the sand.
"Argh," he grumbled as he spat sand out of his mouth. "Let's try this again."
By the time he retrieved his sword and got on his feet the first of many heartless were upon him. He swung his sword and cleaved a dark creature in two, sending it back to the void where it belonged.
Kairi watched in awe as Steiner dispatched foe after foe. Any qualms that she had about him being from another world were quieted as she watched him fight. He seemed to be fluid and it appeared as if fighting was natural to the knight as he continued to dwindle the enemy numbers.
Suddenly, a few of the heartless that were taken by surprise by Steiner's attack were now refocused on Kairi and Incanus. Kairi watched in dread as the lanky creatures stepped towards the hapless pair.
"Kairi?" Incanus asked in a fear-drenched voice.
It was then that a thunderous roaring noise from behind them startled Kairi and a small scream escaped her lips. Kairi and Incanus quickly turned their view to the sky as three large lights shone down on them. The heartless hastily scampered away, some plunging into the sea beneath them to escape the bright lights.
The lights above them shifted and moved to the side and Incanus could make out that the lights were apart of something bigger directly above them. As it continued to move it descended a few feet and seemed to suspend in midair precisely in front of them. To Incanus, it looked almost like a small sea freighter, but it was floating magically in the air. His blood froze in his veins.
Kairi watched intently as an opening appeared on side of the ship, emitting a bright light. Suddenly a silhouette of a figure stepped into the edge. Sora, she thought desperately as her pulse quickened.
The voice from the airship spoke.
"You just gonna stand there and let them dark sonsabitches getcha or are you gonna jump aboard?"
"Cid!" Kairi exclaimed, jumping in excitement as she watched the scruffy-looking blonde pilot light up a cigarette.
"The one and the only!" he exclaimed with a little bow. "Now get your scrawny ass in here!" he said, beckoning with his hands.
"He's a friend," Kairi explained to Incanus. The young kid was staring with his jaw unhinged at the unworldly ship before him. "Steiner," Kairi looked to the knight who was analyzing the ship carefully.
"Yes madam?" he replied.
"Behind you!" she screamed seeing a huge shadowy figure emerge from the darkness behind the knight.
"It's a Darkside!" Cid yelled. "Ya better get your ass in here!" he said.
Kairi jumped into the cabin of the ship with Incanus directly behind her. She could hear the clanging metal of Steiner as he was running frantically away from the large ominous figure that was closing on the ship.
"He better run fast cuz I'm getting the hell outta here," Cid grumbled, slipping into the captain's chair. Kairi grabbed the side of the ship as she looked eagerly outside onto the pier. Steiner heaved himself at the end of the dock and came crashing down inside the ship.
"We're gone!" Cid yelled as he launched the ship forward. Kairi felt her stomach churn fitfully as the ship yawed. She glanced over to Incanus, who was making a retching noise in the corner of the ship.
"Thank you for your timely rescue," Steiner said, slowly getting on his feet as the doors closed behind him. "I believe you saved my life, as well as the lives of these two young teenagers. I am Captain Adelbert Stiener of the…"
"Ya better save it Ironsides," Cid said, pressing an array of buttons. "And you better sit yourself down, we're going to jump into another world in about thirty seconds.
"Another world?" Incanus said, wiping the corners of his mouth.
"Ya done pukin'?" Cid asked the teenager.
Incanus looked down and blushed a bit in embarrassment. "Yeah," he slowly replied. "I'm sorry about that."
"When we reach Midgar you can clean it up," Cid replied.
"Midgar?" Kairi asked, easing herself down in the copilot's chair beside Cid. "Why are we going to Midgar?"
"Cuz your boyfriend's there!" Cid replied rather bluntly. This time it was Kairi's time to blush.
"Sora," she whispered underneath her breath. Cid just laughed at her.
"Take a look at that!" Cid said, pointing out of the cockpit window. Kairi's eyes followed his finger until she saw a shooting star.
"A meteor," she said softly. "So this world is falling apart. Why did you come and pick me up? What is happening here?" Kairi asked.
"Now that," he started. "Is gonna take some explaining. But you better get strapped in, Cuz we're getting ready to make our jump." She did as she was told and strapped her belt across her chest. "You two numbskulls better do the same," he said, talking to the two guys in the back.
"Here we go!" Cid said enthusiastically. The ship then lurched upwards at an amazing rate. Just when Kairi thought she could take it no more she noticed a few glistening lights in the distance. She sat frozen, mesmerized by them. The closer they got the brighter the lights became until she realized that the cluster of lights were revealing the portal that Cid was opening up. That was their ticket to another world.
Somewhere in the back of the cabin Incanus puked again.
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Author's notes
1-Yeah, I've decided to go ahead with this one. Thanks for the support people. SG, you were right and I've made the changes to Steiner's first name. I don't know why the hell I thought it was Albert for…
2-SqaureEnix owns it all.
3-Just a couple of things to clarify if you missed it the first time: To fully understand this you should go check out the videos Deep Dive, Another Story, and the teaser for KH2. Most of that can be found at They play heavily into this, so much so that I've designed a main character (Incanus) off of them. In the videos, there is a blonde-haired kid who "plays a pivotal role" in KH2, according to the gurus over at SquareEnix.
4-Thanks again to Shad for beta-ing my stuff. I don't know what I'd do without you kid!