Disclaimer: Don't own it, bitches. Dream on.
Whooooo wants PIZZA ROLLS! –Dr. Orpheus from The Venture Brothers
Okay, spamming aside…welcome back, new and returning readers! I am proud to say I am now beginning to write the second chapter of my crossover fic. I very much like the way the prologue came out, and I do understand that it was a little bit confusing with Maleficent and the boy. But press on with me, onegai, and you will find the answers to your questions on the yellow brick road!…yeah, shut up, Jav-chan.
Okay, the final vote looked a little liiiiiike…this:
Fai: 1 vote
Sakura: 0 votes
….and by 1 vote, Fai-kun gets the first chapter. Not that that was especially hard….
Also, it has come to my attention that there were some inaccuracies that were in the planning stages of my fic. This was supposed to take place in between the second and third game, but a friend of mine informed me that Traverse Town and Twilight Town no longer exist. So I've thought about it, and still am, and right now what I'm going to do is leave things the way they are and claim artistic license. If any of you are willing to put forth suggestions to resolve this, I'm listening.
Thanks for listening to my rambling. You may now purple your stomach.
Kingdom Hearts: Song of Tsubasa
By Yours Truly, Jav-chan da Silnt 1
Chapter First: Radiant Gardens (Fai)
How did we get here
What are we supposed to do
Where are we going
How do we get there
—taken from a billboard I saw on the way to my college pool (if anyone knows this, tell me who said it and I'll give credit)
Pain. Sheer excruciating pain.
He closed his eyes, trying to see sky blue through the haze, the pale face, the golden rays of sun.
And then it faded. Good. He walked forward.
Only to find he couldn't walk forward at all.
"What the...!"
Where was he...?
Do not be afraid.
Take hold of the light within you and face forward...
But he flailed and tried to scream and the tears that were running down his cheeks only told him more that they were gone, gone, disappeared and what else could he do about it?
A flash, like a slap to the face. A shining light...blue, warm, comforting. So he willed himself towards the light and the way it slipped through his fingers warmly, comfortingly, like an old blanket you slept with when you were a child. He willed himself deeper, hands outstretched, and the light flowed to them and the electric blue was nearly blinding, he looked away. And he heard the voice.
Take it. Take the weapon of warriors and noble heroes, take their strength...and walk forward.
Take this Keyblade...
And the way it formed silently on his tongue felt so right and the light in his hands, solid, perfect, like the la-la-la-ing of a sweet child's song convinced him he must be on the right path. He took a slice at the air and it felt as though he had been born into this weapon, like another appendage, so very perfect and a part of him.
He could take this. Yes he could.
Sleep.
And then there was only midnight blue.
"It's been a while, old friend."
"Too long, I say," answered a sweet, innocent, laughing voice, and she smiled at the King in front of her, adviser and friend. "Where've you been all this time?"
"...Here and there, just...around. But please, enough about me. How are Minnie and Daisy, and what about your—"
"...I'm sorry about His Majesty."
There it was, the salt in the wound, the thorn that skimmed her skin and left a line of crimson in its wake. She looked away. "It…it wasn't your fault."
"But if I had just—"
"From what you have told me," she answered forcefully, "it was his own decision. To sacrifice himself so that perhaps the darkness could be stopped. I have never been prouder of him, Mickey, and I never will be."
A wayward smile firmly ended the conversation. "But if you've come all this way to offer your condolences, I'm deeply moved."
"Actually...I need some help."
She nodded patiently.
"You see, there's someone I'm supposed to meet..."
Chi was having fun with her new friends. Chi assumed that was why they were yelling at the top of their lungs, because Chi had heard somewhere that people often yell when they're playing. And they were yelling, so….
"CHI! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU! GET OUT HERE THIS INSTANT, HER MAJESTY IS WORRIED ABOUT YOU!"
Chi giggled, apparently not understanding the difference between joyful yelling and angry yelling as a blue-haired, blue-eyed soldier fumed into view, hair swishing this way and that as she turned her head and occasionally let out funny words (read: expletives) and a stamp of the foot.
Chi giggled more. Chi's friend was funny and making her laugh. She was so nice!
"Umi, don't talk so loud!" In came another soldier, just as flustered as Umi but much more controlled about it, her half-braided red hair trailing behind her like some sort of puppy. "It's unbecoming of the Royal Guard to say such things!"
"THE HELL IT IS!"
"Umi!" Ah, and then there were three as a girl with blonde locks and kind green eyes swiveled her head towards the sound. Chi liked her. Chi thought that friend was nice. "What have we told you—oh, forget it, Hikaru, it's useless to reason with her when she's like this."
"But Fuu—"
"Grrr...I have no time for this! I'm supposed to be at Her Majesty's side, not chasing after some li..."
But then Chii stopped listening. Somewhere, something pulled and snapped, then a soft sigh, a moan.
Chii lost interest in her friends. She instead turned around and looked behind her, towards the alley that Chii's master had told her never ever to go into, with a smile and a gently stern voice. Chii hadn't asked why, because Chii trusted Master.
But now there was something she was supposed to do. Something...someone was waiting for her.
So she took that forbidden step into the dark alley and let it pull her in and down, down into the rabbit-hole of nobody's wonderland.
Chii would find her Mad Hatter.
They watched from the shadows and waited.
"...is that a..."
"Yup."
"So then did he..."
"Most likely."
"But then—"
"Just wait, Cloud," came the soft response. "We don't know. That's why we're waiting. Learn the valuable art of patience."
The only response was Cloud's insinuation that he should do a sexual act with himself, which only made Leon smile.
So they watched the blond man from the corner, the waif doubled over himself , slumped against a wall, gangly limbs strewn here and there like some carelessly discarded rag doll of a neglectful child. Not that either of them were much interested in the man.
So much as just what the man had.
And then the girl took a step into the clearing. That goddamned robot girl.
"Ch—"
"Shut up," hissed Leon, stamping on Cloud's foot and muffling the yelp. "We wait."
The obscene request was repeated, but Leon was in no mood for laughter.
"...Chii...?" The child knelt down by the blond, looking quizzically at him before reaching out a tentative hand and brushing a few stray strands of gold from his face, her fingers lingering on the supple-looking strands before tracing a way down that ivory cheek and it looked so damn peaceful and beautiful
Blue eyes snapped open, limbs flailing and a fierce snarl escaping his lips. Cloud went instantly for his Claymore as he rounded wildly around, then whirled, Keyblade drawn—
And found only a girl sitting there, and the man tensed, shock on his face.
"Chii!"
"Uuuh?" the creature inquired, cocking her head.
"...no...I'm sorry. You look very familiar."
"Chii?"
The man cocked his head. "...Can you...talk?"
"Chii."
He shook his head. "Never mind, then." Cerulean eyes glanced around, stopping the pair's hearts as they swept right over them, then away and they both sighed silently in relief as the man took in his surroundings.
"...Where am I? And...what's this thing?" he asked himself, brandishing the precious weapon with almost sacrilegious indignity and gracelessness. "Some...some sort of sword?"
"Mmmm?"
"...No, I don't suppose you'd know, would you...?" He only smiled, ruffling her hair.
And when he smiled, both Leon and Cloud knew. This was...
"Is he..."
"Yup..."
They bit their tongues as he turned his head towards them in their moment of revelation, taking a step—
And then a wordless shriek pierced the air, and both men rolled their eyes.
At the same time, neither of them had ever loved that blue-haired guard more in their lives then they did in that moment.
"Chii!" The girl's expression brightened, and she bounded off towards the sound, new friend completely forgotten.
"H-hey! Wait! I—where are you going!" The man pursued her, sound and Keyblade and curiousity forgotten as he instead turned his attentions to more important matters. Namely, not getting lost.
Cloud and Leon looked at one another.
"...So we've found him."
"Yeah." Leon bowed his head.
"Another Keyblade Master..."
There was nothing Pete liked so much as a certain victory, the scent of it like fresh-baked cookies cooling in the oven.
The air on this horizon stank of that very scent, and he smiled like a child with nubby little fingers wandering towards the abandoned plate when Mama's back was turned.
Pete watched the sunlight illuminate the castle, the realm of Hollow Bastion—no, wait, that wasn't right anymore, was it? It was...what was it again? Something disgusting, vomit-inducing, a name on the scourge of Maleficent's great—
Ah. Yes...Radiant Gardens.
He curled the fat lip. The realm that had been stolen by that uppity Keyblade brat, the traitorous warrior, and the snot-nosed simpering redheaded girl...the realm that he and Maleficent would hopefully be ruling once again, the grim name a scar on the hearts of others.
He turned around and viewed the vast shadows before him, the yellow-eyed minions which only Maleficent had managed to master, expendable soldiers in comparison of the coming harvestable resources.
"Just a little longer, my warriors," he said, letting a hand come close to one but being sure not to touch it. "A little longer..."
Fai was severely annoyed.
No one possibly could have noticed, his cheery smile and sparkling eyes indiscernible from most of his other emotions. Except, of course, "irreparably, undeniably pissed," in which the smile got just a little strained.
Speaking of which, his lips were starting to stretch to the point splitting his head in half.
Where were the others, where was he, what was he supposed to do?
Dammit dammit dammit.
He had no other choice, it seemed, except to follow the ivory-haired girl in front of him as she ran down the streets, around corners, barely within the wizard's sight and as much as he loved Chii he could've cheerfully strangled the girl for the cheerful laughter at her lips.
"Wait! Slow down! Slo—"
"CHIIII!" the little girl cried, in a way that suggested she had found something, Fai only knowing this from his own Chii and others he had visited.
"There you are, Chii!"
"Oh, darling, thank goodness you're—"
"YOU GODDAMN LITTLE RAT! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU I'LL—"
And then Fai rounded the corner to one of the most strange sights he'd ever seen; this world's Chii running smilingly around, not a care in the world, as a girl with long blue hair chased after her brandishing a rapier in a way that could only suggest pure, unadulterated murder. On the corner two other more distinguished-looking girls watched in light amusement.
It was strange. But not strange enough to take his voice away.
"...Pardon me, am I—"
"Chii!" was the only response, followed by the girl running behind him and hugging him, obviously using him as some sort of shield from the blue-haired harpy—erm, he meant, distinguished young woman. Yes, that was right.
"You, sir, have three seconds to hand over that—" she began.
"Um, could you stop swinging your sword? I rather like my head where it is, ignoring how often I use it."
"UMI! That's quite enough! Behave." A redhead with ruby eyes walked forward as her companion "hmphed" and crossed her arms. "You will forgive my friend's rudeness, it's not often we have visitors here. I'd like to officially welcome you to Radiant Gardens. I'm Hikaru, Head of Rayearth, the Royal Guard. This is Fuu—" she continued, gesturing to the blonde, "—and this delinquent is Umi." Her statement was punctuated with a gesture to the blue-haired girl and a glare that could have easily been converted into sharp little daggers for dart-throwing practice with Umi being the intended dartboard.
Fai's guarded smile came back up and he nodded agreeably. They seemed friendly enough, and for now these three stooges would have to do for company. "I'm Fai D. Flowright. But my friends just call me Fai. Hikaru-san, Umi-san, Fuu-san—thank you for your wonderful greeting," he said, giving an elegant bow to the three guards.
"Oh, my, so elegant, too!" the one named Fuu said, her voice trilling with approval.
Hikaru and Umi, however, did not share her sentiments, it seemed, and were staring at Fai's hand with something akin to wonder and suspicion. Fai cocked his head, eyebrow raised, when he realized they were staring at something. He followed their gaze to find it rested on the strange object in his hand.
"Oh...I forgot I was carrying this," he said, giving it an aimless swing. "Um...do you know what it..."
"What are you doing with a Keyblade?" came the sharp response from Hikaru, and when she spoke it no longer was soft and cheerful but sharp and decisively angry, each word like a knife and suddenly Fai was under the same scrutinizing glare Umi had been in just a minute before; speaking of which, she wasn't idle either, rapier drawn and eyes narrowed into slits.
"Is that what this is—"
"How is it that you've never heard of the Keyblade? Are you a spy from Maleficent!" Umi's voice rose as she spoke, trembling with rage and barely-contained self control. Fai started squirming, knowing it wasn't helping how it looked and not particularly caring, either.
Fuu looked calmer but still on guard. "Mr. Flowright, could we take you in for—"
The conversation ended as the tolling of a bell drew dread to all their faces and a worried whimper from Chii.
That didn't bode well for him, Fai decided, and the thought was punctuated with another loud bong, as though the bell truly did toll for him.
"Your Majesty!"
Ever the calm, cool, considerate one, soft-voiced, green-eyed Aerith was usually construed as anything BUT harried and panicked.
To see her as such, therefore, was not a good sign.
"Your Majesty! Where are you!" Her questions went unheeded through the halls of the castle and now Aerith was really worried because that usually meant something bad and if anything had happened to her Queen then they were as good as screwed—
She shrieked as a hand reached out and grabbed her; using the momentum to turn her around, she brought up her leg and attempted to give it a good roundhouse kick to the stomach.
And then discovered it was only...
"AAAH! Watch where you're kickin' there, princess!"
"Yuffie!"
"No, it's the Queen of Hearts," came the sarcastic, stressed reply—good, at least Yuffie wasn't out of her senses. "Her Majesty is safe. We sent her into the lab with Cid and Merlin."
"And the King...?"
"Vanished. Who knows where that ol' bat went to?"
Aerith pursed her lips contemplatively as she was dragged along by Yuffie, who was muttering curses at the top of her lungs.
Something was wrong.
How did the Heartless get into the city...?
"Mr. Flowright! Take Chii and get to a safe place!" Fuu's statement was punctuated with a good swing of her claymore.
"What about—"
"We'll be fine!" Hikaru's sword came up in battle stance, her grimace from before turning into a full-blown snarl Fai was glad wasn't turned on him. "GO!"
She hid under courage, that girl did...but being a hider himself, he heard the barely quaking fear underneath the façade. If this lionhearted girl was so very scared...
Any objection Fai had withered and died, blowing away like dandelion seeds. "Time to go, Chii," he murmured, taking the girl by the hand and pulling her away, hearing the reluctance and worry in her yelps but choosing to ignore it for her own good.
It was only when the two had taken a left here, two rights there, and a handful of other roads that Fai realized that he had no idea where he was going.
"Chii! Where to now?"
Fai cursed himself as the look the girl gave him clearly said she was just along for the party, don't look at me.
So even in his hurry, Fai took a few steps forward and looked around. Maybe luck would point out the right way, maybe they could use instinct to—
Even before Chii's warning cry, he felt something rake down towards his back.
Something flashed in the sun.
The two watched.
They watched, one clearly feminine and the other slender but masculine, clothed in black and observing from the roof.
"The other two aren't doing so well," the woman remarked candidly, studying the forms of what anyone else would recognize as Cloud and Leon.
"Shut up and watch this guy! He's...he's never used a Keyblade before?"
A swipe of a paw, a skillful dodge, a glint. The Keyblade tore through the delicate membrane of the the wing, causing the dragon Heartless to roar and rear while the chubby rider cried out and held on for dear life.
"I can't believe you're so damn fascinated with him."
"Maybe that guy was right...maybe he's what we need."
A cry from below. The dragon hit his mark, and Maleficent's great ugly general roared in triumph. The girl shrieked in horror at the red on his shirt.
"He seems to have reached his limit. Perhaps it would be more tactile to get Cloud and Squall to—"
"NO! Wait a sec, look!"
Even in her doubts, his companion knew the hair shaded in front of his face and over his eyes was not a good sign.
The disgusting oaf of a soldier roared and made some scathing remark she cared not for, her eyes riveted on the actions of the remark—seemingly meaningless waves with the Keyblade.
"Seems your champion has run out of aces, if you—"
"Watch!"
She had her doubts, it was clear this guy was gonna cave and faint and that would be one for Maleficent as well as
And then the world exploded in light.
From where they were, sweaty from fighting the Heartless, Umi, Hikaru, and Fuu looked up from their battles towards the great light, the mana surging towards them more powerful and potent then they had ever felt and wondered at the cause.
Such power...
The power of a Keyblade...?
From where they stood, retreating Heartless ignored, Cloud watched the light flash and recede, and it hurt his eyes but he wasn't even aware, so swift and shocking it was in the moment, and he was too caught up in his amazement.
Then he smirked and nodded. Yes. That would do. That would do nicely.
And then he followed Leon.
From her place on the sidewalk, Chii watched in amazement as the area went sky blue, a flash and then just sound, a power so swift and a screech and the big mean monster was gone. Chii was happy, very happy, and she thought she should smile except it didn't seem…right.
The big fat meanie riding the dragon yelled and disappeared into a great black portal.
And then all was still, and Chii was happy.
Chii's new friend stood there in the street, so Chii tried to go over and help Chii's new friend, because that is what Chii had learned.
The nice man looked wearily over at Chii and smiled, and Chii felt warm.
And then the man collapsed.
"Cloud! Leon! What's going on!"
The two watched.
The two simply studied the three guards of Rayearth, the girl who was not a girl and yet was, and the two men.
The man smirked. "You owe me for this, hun."
"Don't push your luck," she said, and her voice was the sawed-off barrel of a gun, eyes two flints of ice.
"Okay, okay...so we've found him. Great." He followed the woman. "...so now what?"
She faded into shadow, her voice echoing from the depths.
"We wait."
The man paused, looked back. Good. The blonde was safe; the brunette was helping the blue-haired girl carry the Keyblade master. He'd be safe. That was good.
A smile crept onto his lips.
"You'll do great," he whispered.
And then he was shadow.
"I am sorry," said the boy, and hazel gazed regretfully into furious crimson. "I truly am..."
And he found he can't look away, his mind fading, memories regressing. Sheer, excruciating PAIN.
He screamed and tried to catch onto a slender form.
Exhale, and he collapsed and saw sky blue behind his lids.
Then there was only oblivion.
Holy CHRIST, this is long. Like...10 pages.
Thanks for reading! Review!
Jav-chan