Back on the Celcius, things were quiet. No one was quite sure of what to do next. Emma crossed her arms.
"I say we sleep on it." She suggested. Rikku yawned.
"Good idea. I'm pooped." One by one, they trudged into the cabin to get ready for bed.
………………………
A loud roar from the engines awoke everyone. Surprised and slightly worried, they scrambled to reach the bridge. Once there, they found Buddy and Shinra, both still in their pajamas, desperately pushing buttons.
"What going on?" Paine demanded. Shinra hit some more buttons.
"We're not sure yet." He admitted. Rikku stared at him.
"What do you mean, you don't know? I thought you were supposed to be a boy genius!" She shouted. The Celcius was moving at an alarming rate through space, towards an unknown destination. Finally, the ship pulled to a stop. Buddy sighed in relief.
"Sorry for the scare everyone." He stated.
"What was that about?" Paine demanded, clearly grumpy at the prospect of waking up before she was ready to.
"Hang on." Buddy pushed some more buttons, opened his mouth to answer, but shut it again, a look of confusion crossing his face. Rikku bounced forward.
"What, what, what? What is it?" She asked hurriedly. It wasn't the first time that everyone else wondered how she could possibly have so much energy ALL the time. She leaned over Buddy's shoulder, eyes wide with curiosity. "A sphere?" She blurted in surprise, causing Buddy to jump back, clasping his hand over his ear and glaring at her.
"No, it's not a sphere." He answered sharply. "It's a message." He told everyone.
"From who? From who?" Rikku demanded in a whiny voice, becoming very irritating very fast. Buddy narrowed his eyes at her.
"Give me a minute and I'll check." He answered, his voice having a grumpy edge. He pushed some more buttons. "I can't tell, the message is really fuzzy, and jumbled." He stated slowly, scratching his head. Shinra swiveled his chair around to face everyone.
"It's encoded for another type of receiver. It's not one I've never seen before. I can decode it, but that'll take me a few hours." He told them. Paine glared at Rikku.
"Well, we're up now, we might as well go check it out. You can translate it while we're on our way." She said.
"I don't see why we shouldn't. We don't have much else to do." Baralai agreed. Rikku giggled.
"Aww come on, how much sleep were you two really getting?" She asked. Paine growled at her.
"You loose a million respect points, Rikku." She said simply.
"But, but…what? NO!" Rikku cried, whining. Paine put her hands on her hips.
"And if you don't quiet down, it'll be more." She threatened. Rikku's eyes went as wide as saucers and she bit her lip. Gippal started laughing at her.
"Rikku, you just lost a million respect points, I don't think it matters if you loose any more." He told her. Paine glared at him.
"If you give her any ideas…" She started to say darkly. Gippal grinned.
"Me? Giving Rikku ideas? Never!"
"Sorry to break up the…party… but we've arrived." Buddy said, looking at them. Kairi jumped forward and looked out at the planet below them.
"Arrived where?" She asked eagerly. Buddy paused.
"Uhh, I don't really know. This is just where the message originated from." He answered. Emma walked up beside Kairi.
'Oh, it looks so pretty down there! Let's go!" She suggested. Rikku grinned, nodding vigorously. Paine started walking towards the door. Sora looked down over the landscape for a moment and then followed Paine, along with Kairi, the pair in quiet conversation. Rikku grabbed Gippal by the hand and pulled him out after them. Baralai rolled his eyes at them and followed, Emma on his tail. They landed on a big farmer's field. Emma grinned.
"Ohhh, so this is where crop circles come from." She said, inspecting the design that the Celcius was pressing into the wheat field. There was a house not far from where they were.
"Let's go over there, maybe they can tell us where we are, and what that message was about." Kairi suggested. It seemed like a good idea, so they followed her to the small farm house. It was set in a circle of trees, a little ways back from a dirt road. Next to it was a small stable, where three horses were sleeping. There were no lights on in the house, despite it being night. The moon was just rising. Approaching the door, Baralai paused.
"Maybe no one's home?" He said quietly. "Or they might be asleep. Should we wake them?"
"It's not that late, the sun can't have set even two hours ago." Paine answered. Sora walked up the stone steps, onto the veranda, and knocked loudly. There was along pause, and then Gippal sighed loudly.
"No one's home." He decided. Emma crossed her arms.
"Maybe they're just asleep. Should we knock louder and try to wake them?" She asked. Kairi shook her head.
"No, we can go to another house. We don't want to wake these people up. I know none of us were very happy when we were woken up at such an awkward time today." She said, walking towards the road. There was another house and a barn a little farther down the road. This house didn't have any lights on either. Again, there was no answer. The next house was deserted too. Baralai sat down on the front steps, frowning. Sora crossed his arms, frowning as well.
"Okay, it's not that late, why is everyone asleep already?" He asked, frowning. There was a long silence, then Rikku gasped.
"Hey! Maybe they only come awake at night, and they're sleeping in!" She suggested. Paine rolled her eyes.
"Rikku, I've suddenly got an uncontrollable urge to hurt you." She said. Rikku yelped and grabbed Gippal, pushing him in between her and Paine. His eyes went wide and his expression was one of mock horror.
"Don't hurt me!" He said in an almost squeaky voice. Rikku snickered behind him. He turned around to face her and raised an eyebrow. "Laughing at me?" He asked. Rikku grinned up at him.
"Maybe." She answered slyly. "What are you gonna do about it?" She asked. Paine groaned, knowing that the pair of them were going to do something 'inappropriate'. Sora, however, grabbed everyone's attention by scrambling up the steps.
"Hey! Look at this!" He shouted, pulling a slip of paper out of the mail box. Everyone gathered around him to see what it was. "You are cordially invited to the King's Royal Gala this night. All citizens of the Kingdom are invited, in honour of the holiday. You and your family are invited to arrive at dusk. You are requested to bring an offering to honour to holiday, as usually expected. The palace will be most pleased to see you." He read. Rikku started jumping up and down.
"Oh! A party! A party!" She cried. "We should go!"
"But we weren't invited." Baralai answered.
"It says that everyone's invited on the invitation." Emma replied. There was a pause, where everyone looked at each other. Paine crossed her arms.
"We just have one problem. I don't think they'll be very happy to have us walk into their Royal Gala with our weapons, and I know I'm not leaving my sword behind." She stated. There was another long pause. The castle could be seen on the horizon, not that far away. Kairi crossed her arms.
"I'll go. My weapon can be disguised." She stated. Sora shook his head.
"No way. You can't go in there by yourself. What if something goes wrong?" He asked worriedly. She smiled slightly.
"Don't worry, nothing could go wrong. It's in the palace, there's bound to be an army of the king's guards around." She answered. He frowned.
"That's what I'm worried about. What if the king decides that you don't deserve to be alive anymore? There's no reason for any of us to risk going in there."
"Sure there is, we need to find out where we are, and what that message was about. If anything goes wrong, I'll let you guys know right away, I promise." She answered sincerely. Sora looked like he was at a loss. Paine shrugged.
"Don't worry, Kairi can take care of herself. And we'll be at the ready just in case, right?"
"And I'll go with her! I'll leave my weapons behind, I don't care." Rikku added.
"No way." Gippal replied flatly. Kairi shook her head.
"Gippal's right, you can't go without a weapon Rikku." She agreed. Sora frowned.
"I still don't think you should go by yourself." He said slowly. Kairi made a face at him.
"You worry too much. You've taken on much worse by yourself, I can deal with this." She answered. Sora nodded, still looking uncomfortable. Rikku giggled.
"Now we need to get you an outfit for the ball!" She announced, grabbing her by the arm and running back towards the Celcius, the others running after them.
…………………………………
Kairi walked into the Great Hall and froze, her breath temporarily gone. It had a huge vaulted ceiling, painted with intricate designs and images. The floor was smooth and marble, and brightly clothed people were everywhere. At the far end of the room was a stage, where a full orchestra was playing. On the right wall was a large velvet carpet and the thrones, though neither were occupied. The king and queen were easy to pick out, wearing their golden crowns. The left was covered in windows that rose to the ceiling, and smaller glass doors that led out onto balconies. Around the stage were the lords and ladies, brightly clothed and bejeweled. Around the outside of the room were the common people, their clothes just as bright, though less ornate, and having fewer jewels. In the center of the room, rich mingled with poor as couples danced. There were people serving drinks and food, and laughter was everywhere. Next to the thrones, on their side, were long tables. As people arrived, they brought carefully wrapped gifts to the table and left them there. Kairi wondered if those were the offerings that the invitation talked about. She was wearing a strapless dress that swept to the ground, in a silk material that matched her fan. She passed her eyes around the room and walked in, trying to find someone who looked like they might know anything about the garbled message. Shinra had finally managed to decode it, but he was sure he'd done it wrong because the words were all gibberish. Her eyes scanned the room again as she got closer to the stage. She caught sight of someone meandering through the crowds and her eyes went wide. What's Sora doing in here? We agreed that I was coming here alone! He knows he can't bring his Keyblade in here! She thought. She pushed her way through the crowd towards him, angry that he'd followed her in here after everyone had said she should go alone. Once she caught sight of him again, relief flooded through her. It wasn't Sora. Though there was an uncanny resemblance, his hair was much darker, his skin was paler and his features slightly sharper. He was talking to a girl standing next to the stage towards the back. He was dressed in the uniform of the king's guard, though he didn't seem nearly as rigid as the other knights. Kairi smiled, watching them talk. She could see his attraction to her easily. She clearly wasn't a noblewoman, and was one of the poorer common people, wearing next to no jewelry and a dress that looked like it was made of cotton. The crowd began to quiet, and the orchestra had stopped playing. In front of the orchestra were the king and queen, looking ready to address their subjects.
"You know that the reason we are here tonight is to celebrate our patrons of destiny." The king spoke in a loud, booming voice. Applause sounded from the crowd. Kairi's mind went into a spin. Patrons of destiny? He can't mean the Fates…can he?" She wondered, biting her lip. He continued to speak. "However, we would also like to celebrate a new invention, created by our technological philosopher here at the palace." He started to clap as an older man walked up on stage with an armful of simple looking machinery. As it turned out, he had invented a simple radio, which it where the garbled message had come from. The reason the Celcius' computers couldn't decode it was because it was so simple that the computers couldn't make heads or tails of it. Shinra's voice came over the comm..
"We all know that I could build something ten times better in about five minutes, right?" He asked, sounding unimpressed. He had apparently been listening in as the man explained. His voice was followed by Paine's in the background.
"Shut up! You'll blow her cover!" She ordered. Kairi rolled her eyes and continued to watch, until a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her outside onto a balcony. She let out a quick gasp and pulled away from her attacker, snapping her fan open and trying to look like a terrified noblewoman. The element of surprise was always a plus in her books. When she got a clear look at her assailant, her eyes went wide and she almost dropped the fan.
"Namine!" She asked in surprise. Namine put her fingers to her lips.
"Hush! You have to leave, right now!" She whispered hurriedly.
"What? Why?" Kairi asked, confused. Namine looked both scared and worried at the same time.
"Because if they find out an outsider…" She stopped. There was applause inside. "Oh, I have to go, stay here. I'll be right back, and I'll explain then." She said, looking reluctant to leave Kairi any longer. She sighed and hurried back into the hall. Kairi slipped inside and turned her attention back to the stage, and was surprised to find Namine standing on it. There was a big wicker basket sitting in front of her. The king and queen were standing to one side.
"Now, we shall have performances to honour the holiday. First, we have Namine, performing her gift in song and charming." He announced, applauding. Namine nodded to him with a slight smile. Kairi wasn't paying much attention to the performance, she was more worried about why Namine was so desperate to have her leave. She was completely absorbed in her thoughts, until she convinced herself not to worry about it until Namine could explain herself. She looked up and thought for a moment she was dreaming, once she heard the song.
"Hold me,
Whatever lies beyond this morning
Is a little later on
Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all
Nothing's like before"
Then, everything clicked. Namine was like her. They were connected. They were both part Heartless, and their songs had strange powers. However, it seemed that while Kairi's singing manipulated people's emotions, Namine's manipulated the raw physical elements. Fire and water danced around her, every once in a while a snowflake would burst into fireworks, and then the falling embers were transform into flower petals that floated down over her audience. The performance, it seemed, would be cut short. There was a loud bang, and all the lighting went out. The room was lit only by the moonlight through the windows. Kairi looked around, trying to get her eyes to adjust to the darkness as quickly as possible. There was a loud thud at the doors. No one moved. There was another loud thud, and then the doors burst open. In came the most hideous creatures Kairi had ever seen in her life. A young man beside her seemed to recognize them.
"…fate beasts…" He murmured in horror. Kairi slipped into a corner, intent on remaining unseen. There were three men, two of whom had the heads of pigs, and the third, apparently the leader, with the head of a wolf. Each had what looked like a vicious dog covered in sharp scales on chain leashes. The wolf headed man kicked his creature.
"Find the outsider, mutt! And you might just be fed tonight." He barked. There was a series of clicks, the mutts' collars snapped open. The three things slunk forward, sniffing and growling. A number of ladies fainted. One of them started snarling, and ran at the stage. The other two looked up and followed it, barking viciously. The first one tried to jump on the stage at Namine, who was frozen in terror. Kairi held her breath. Luckily, the beast smashed into the stage, unable to jump that high. It fell, temporarily disoriented, but got back up again, barking and snarling. Namine didn't move, her fear written all over her face. The leader walked up to the stage, leering at Namine. One of the other two pig men drew a sword.
"Well missy, you're the outsider, are you? We all know how much the Ladies hate outsiders, don't we?" He asked mockingly. Kairi started to quietly make her way towards the stage. She had to do something. The other joined in mocking Namine, too.
"Do you know what that means, to be an outsider? Do you know what the Ladies' Laws say about outsiders?" He asked. Namine nodded, terrified and looking like she was about to cry.
"You're dead girly." The leader told her darkly. He signaled for his cronies to get her. She still didn't move. They scrambled onto the stage and started to approach her. She looked up at them, eyes wide. Then, someone stepped out of the shadows and held a sword out at them, standing between them and Namine.
"If you want her, you'll have to go through me first." He stated. Namine gasped.
"Kael!" She muttered in surprise. Kairi's eyes went wide. It was the knight who looked so much like Sora. And it had been Namine he was talking to before. Kairi snapped her fan open. In the silence, it seemed as loud as the sound of a bomb going off.
"No one's going to go through anyone." She stated, stepping up on to the stage. "Leave Namine out of this. I'm the outsider." She told them. The leader blinked at her.
"You are?" He asked, surprised that she'd step up. "You're willing to say I'm wrong in accusing her, and give your life instead?" He asked. Kairi didn't answer. She'd take the blame, but she wasn't planning on giving her life up, though she was tempted to take his. He frowned. "I'm never wrong, girl, but if that's the way you want it…" He glanced at his cronies. "Kill them. All three of them." He stated. The two pig-men cackled.
"Gladly, sir." With that, one of them sliced at Kael, who blocked the attack with his own sword. Seeing that his partner was keeping him busy, the second pig-man attacked Kael from behind. Kairi stepped in, her coil blade shooting out of the end of the fan and blocking the attack. The electricity raced down the blade and into the handle. The pig-man yelped and dropped the sword. Kael, meanwhile, was still locked in his fight. Getting to her feet, Namine began to hum quietly. A moment later, and seemingly without warning, the pig-man's clothes burst into flame. He screamed and started to run, tripping and falling off the stage. He scrambled to his feet and ran out onto one of the balconies, before collapsing and going tumbling over the banister down to the ground below. Kairi jabbed the tip of her coil blade into the stage, using it to vault over the wolf-man's head and on her feet behind him. The two watched each other intensely, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Behind the wolf, on the back of the stage, Kael and Namine were holding a chain they'd unhooked from the wall. Namine signaled for her to move, and Kael started to count down on his fingers. Kairi watched them over the wolf's shoulder. Once Kael reached one, Kairi jumped backwards, caught her balance and raced for the door. Behind her, the chandelier, which had been held up by the chain, dropped onto the wolfman. Kael grabbed Namine's hand and the two of them were on Kairi's heels and she ran out of the Great Hall into the entrance hall. The entire entrance hall was full of towering pillars, which was a good thing, because as the three of them came stumbling into the entrance hall, the doors swung open for ten more fatebeasts. They slipped into the shadows behind the pillars and watched the creatures walk past them into the Great Hall. Kairi's jaw dropped once she got a good look at the creatures. Two of them looked like albino men, with no faces other than eyes. She'd recognize a creature like that anywhere. It was one of them who took over Traverse Town.
"Those are shapeshifters." She whispered, half awed, half angry.
"Those are the most elite of the fatebeats. Whoever you are, you must be a real threat to the Ladies." Kael answered.
"Maybe. But they might just be mad because we've killed one of those before." She said indifferently.
"You did?" Namine asked in surprise. Kairi nodded.
"I'll tell you later. We have to get out of here before they realize we're not in the Great Hall anymore." She said, peeking out from behind the pillar at the door. Kael shook his head.
"We could meet more fatebeasts outside if we go that way." He said, carefully stepping out from behind the pillar and walking down the closest hallway. It was covered in doors on either side. Namine and Kairi followed him. "I think these are the guest chambers." He stated. The doors slammed open, and they could hear yelled from the entrance hall.
"Uh oh." Kairi muttered, looking further down the hallway. There were more fatebeasts coming from that direction. She kicked open a door and pulled the other two inside. Namine locked the door, and Kael grabbed the wardrobe and began to push it in front of the door. Kairi opened the window and looked outside, making a face.
"There's a moat right outside this window." Kael told her. Kairi sighed.
"I see that." She looked around, and noticed the thick ivy climbing the walls all around the window. "This might work." She noted, tugging on the plant. Wasn't her best idea in the world, but it would work for now. She pulled herself onto the window sill and grabbed hold of the vines. It worked surprisingly well. She started climbing up the wall, Namine and Kael following close behind her. They reached a wide balcony and climbed onto it. It was just outside the palace library. They stepped between the stacks of books, and Kairi paused.
"Hey guys?" She whispered. Namine and Kael looked at her for a moment before realizing that she wasn't talking to them. They watched her curiously, as Rikku's voice could be heard over the comm..
"What's up?"
"Remember the shapeshifter in Traverse Town?"
"Sure, why?"
"There're two of them here and they brought friends. I get the picture that the Fates don't want me here." She answered.
"That's bad. We're on our way. Where do we meet you?" Rikku asked. Kairi paused.
"The Great Hall." She answered finally. "See you guys there."
"What?" Namine looked horrified. "We can't go back there!" She cried. Kairi shrugged.
"That's the last place any of them will expect us to be heading, so it's the ideal place to go." She answered. Kael and Namine both paused for a long while, caught off-guard by the undeniable logic. Kael crossed his arms.
"Hmm, I'd say the safest way back to the Great Hall would be…" His voice trailed off as he planned out their route in his head. He nodded. "Okay, follow me." He turned around and started to walk through the library. The three of them tiptoed through the bookcases, an eerie silence enveloping them. They reached a door and Kael pushed it open a crack. He glanced down the hallway on the other side of the door to make sure no one was coming, and then looked back at the girls. "We're almost directly above the Great Hall here. If we cross the hall and go to the windows on the other side, the balconies should be right below." He told them. Namine bit her lip.
"How do we get down to them?" She asked. Kael smiled.
"This entire castle is covered in ivy, and I think we've all discovered what great ladders ivy makes." He answered, peeking out into the hall again. The three walked silently across the hall, pushing the door open with what sounded like a deafening creak in the quiet. They were in some sort of study, and, just as Kael said, there were large windows surrounded by ivy, with the balconies below. Kairi was the first to pull herself through the window and climb down. She made a face as her dress got caught in the ivy. I want my normal clothes back. She thought, annoyed. She dropped down onto the balcony. The Great Hall was still in darkness. She slipped inside silently, followed closely by Kael and Namine. With a flicker, the lights turned back on. Five shapeshifters, a handful of wolf-headed men and women and countless of the dog-like creatures were everywhere.
"…oops."