Disclaimer: I asked Testuya Nomura and he said no.
A/N: So here it is, guys. Finally, the last chapter to Intertwined Destinies. I can't believe it! My first fanfic ever, almost finished. I had so much fun writing the battling scenes... I'm just weird like that, mmkay? Poot. This chapter is rather long, I suppose you could say that. xD Anyway, I'm going to type up the Epilogue as soon as I can... it's going to be fairly short, I think, just like the Prologue. And I can't help but keep thinking about the sexy music that inspired this chapter. Chyeah-yuh. Oh, did you hear? There's an Intertwined Destinies Soundtrack, yo. That's right. It's titled 'Whatever Lies Beyond This Morning.' If you want it, tell me in your review and I'll send it through e-mail. There's twenty-five songs, and it even says which song corresponds to which part of the story. You probably don't want to hear it, but I'm just saying.
So... on with the final chapter of Intertwined Destinies.
xoxo Bianca.
Intertwined Destinies
Chapter Twenty-Six.
Falling... falling... into Darkness...
KSsHsk …
"Merlin...?"
KSsHsk …
"Yes, Trinity...?"
Et very miun verellä...
"We are dead... aren't we?"
Mors mortis...
"Yes, dear. We are dead."
Vie vaiva männessäs.
Trinity lay sprawled in the dark, pushing herself to a sitting position, reaching up and wiping her eyes. She was dead... yet she had tears to shed. She was still crying. Trinity sniffled and felt around in the lightless void for the wizard. Her quivering fingers finally came in contact with familiar cloth-like material. She had found Merlin—she quickly buried her head into the old wizard's chest and sobbed violently.
"It hurt so much—"
Trinity choked on her tears, feeling a snowy feeling overcome her.
"I saw my b-blood—" Her cries were wrenched and struggled, echoing throughout oblivion. "The spikes—so bright—through my heart—I couldn't breathe—so cold—I couldn't feel myself hit the ground—" Trinity was shaking uncontrollably.
Merlin had become used to comforting the blonde woman, but he had also become rusty at kind mannerisms after his ordeal with Maleficent. Nonetheless, he rounded an arm around Trinity and whispered soothing thoughts to her.
"Be calm, dear," Merlin murmured. "It is far from over."
Trinity instantly pulled away. "How can you say that?" she demanded, for once showing a fierce side despite her usually proper demeanor. "The Heartless girl killed Sora, didn't she?"
Merlin did not answer.
"Sh-she did... didn't she?" urged Trinity, her voice higher in volume, feeling bitter tears stream down her cheeks. She shook the tears off her eyes, bringing a fist to the cold surface they sat upon. "Answer me, Merlin! P-please—"
"Sora is dead."
Trinity cupped her hands over her mouth, unable to control her crying spell. She squeezed her eyes shut, her intense sobs turning silent, but still existent. She trembled, her teeth chattering in her skull, not having the capability to take in all of the mess of tragedy.
Everything is a tragedy now.
As Trinity set her hands to her lap, breathing deeply to contain herself, she felt a wrinkled hand slip something small and cylinder-shaped into her slender fingers. Her breaths ragged, Trinity lifted the object, hearing a sparse amount of liquid substances shift and splash within what seemed to be a vial.
"I had concocted that the day after Akuji died," Merlin grumbled softly, his voice barely reaching Trinity. The woman stayed silent, clenching the tube in her fist, unable to open her swollen eyes, waiting for more explanation. "It was for you. If you had caught the disease from Akuji, that would cure you. I had created a cure—a moment too soon, for if Akuji had still been alive you could have used that instead of the spell to turn him well again."
A few tears managed to slip past Trinity's closed eyes. "Th-thank you... Merlin."
She edged towards the wizard again, putting her arms around him in need of comfort, in need of warmth that wasn't there. She cried; in his arms, she continued to sob her heart out. Merlin shed a few tears as well.
And so, they sat in shadowed oblivion... waiting.
Waiting for Darkness to swallow their souls and make their death definite.
KSsHsk …
Rain pounded against the ground.
"Princess?"
Kairi's skin prickled and burned at the sound of Maleficent's voice. She shook her head to clear her eyes of the soaked geranium bangs that blocked her view. Her eyes narrowed sequentially as Maleficent's outline grew clearer, closer, striding towards her. The Keyblade in her hand felt unusually warm—unusually comforting...
"Princesses are not meant to fight," drawled Maleficent, stepping through the enigmatical—almost unhealthy—mixture of smog, smoke, mist, and fog. She laughed softly to herself, her eyes penetrating through the murk and casting a competitive gaze towards the slender, fragile-looking redhead. "You may damage your tiara."
Kairi looked right back at Maleficent, her chin tilting upwards, her eyes revealing no emotion she felt inside. Her expression was quite blank. "Does it look like I'm wearing a tiara?" she replied calmly.
Maleficent looked marginally amused, resuming her mockery. "You may break a nai—AGH!"
The sorceress staggered back after being whacked in the right cheek by the tip of a metal vermilion flower. She put a bony hand to her face, drawing her fingers back a bit to notice a fair amount of blood. Her eyes widened in shock—but the girl was only a beginner!
"I just lost the one I cared about most," Kairi swung the Keyblade in front of her, breathing heavily. She felt the Keyblade heat up with a golden aura as her fury began to build up inside of her. "Do you think I'd care about my damn nails?"
Maleficent sneered, raising her staff. "So be it, Princess!"
Her staff came crashing down, but the Keyblade surprisingly deflected the fatal blow.
"Shut up!" Kairi retorted, drawing back the Keyblade, letting the head of the staff slip and hit against the ground. "Stop calling me a Prin—"
Kairi was cut off when Maleficent lifted her staff once again. The redhead flinched slightly, stepping back, hearing the ground beneath her crunch and squish, hearing her pulse echo within her ears, feeling her heart throbbing in her chest—
Her heart.
Kairi...
All at once, Maleficent swung her staff brutally while Kairi gasped and ducked. She toppled back but caught herself before collapsing to the ground. She looked around in confusion. It couldn't be—how could it—why was she hearing—?
"Sora?"
Kairi!
In her distracted state, Kairi was hit with several vibrating forces emitting from Maleficent's weapon. She bit down on her lip, not letting herself cry out, trying not to show any signs of obvious pain. Just one hit. It was just one hit! If Sora was able to endure thousands of heavy blows, then certainly she could survive one dire hit.
You can do it.
Kairi's lily-frosted eyes narrowed up at Maleficent.
"Bring it," the princess whispered.
With a rather anguished roar, Maleficent charged towards her unexpectedly new opponent, leaving a trail of green fire tailing behind her. "I shan't let you interfere with my plans!" she thundered, nose flaring. "Darkness shall reign!"
At the last minute, Kairi swept herself to the side in one graceful movement, catching Maleficent by surprise and thwacking her across the back. The Keyblade warmed up again into a toasty temperature, as if praising her for the precise bash. Kairi swallowed hard, inhaling loudly as she dodged another physical attack, her wet hair whipping over her face by the wind from the violent swing.
Shaking her head to rid herself of her long tresses, Kairi sprinted towards the foul witch.
Thunder—
"Thunder!" Kairi cried out, automatically, feeling both her arms raise the Keyblade towards the rumbling dark sky—experiencing a rush of tingling sensations when uneven streaks of saffron-chrome suspended and plummeted from a void above... somehow missing the one who had summoned their wrath and deliberately electrocuting the enemy.
Maleficent shook with rage, shouting out from the impact of thunder and cursing at the girl for daring to challenge her mighty, superior powers. Her upper lip lifted in a snarl, a threatening snarl. Kairi scrutinized the vile expression on Maleficent's face, realization coming to her crystal eyes.
"You're practically heartless..." Kairi murmured, her voice almost kind, "... aren't you?"
Maleficent looked taken aback for a moment, but her vengeance immediately returned. "Fool," she spat, "I need no heart to overpower you."
Kairi stepped back. "You can't smile... you can't laugh—not in the way people with hearts can." She protectively lifted the Keyblade. "You can't love."
"Useless," Maleficent growled, "everything you have just said is useless. Smiling. Laughing. Loving." Her yellow orbs shook in a hateful manner, as if she were disgusted at herself for even uttering those words. "That is exactly what your beloved boyfriend had done—and where did it take him? Only so far. It lead him to his death."
Kairi stood frozen.
Salt had just been added to her fresh wound.
"I suppose you want to die as well," Maleficent's foul scowl intensified. "I suppose you want your soul to be seized by Darkness."
Don't listen to her, Kairi.
"No," Kairi replied in a hushed tone. "He wants me to stay alive."
Maleficent hooted, as if the words coming from Kairi's mouth were pure entertainment—like watching a sitcom. "He? How could you possibly know that? He is dead, Princess! He has lost connection with reality, with the human world. He is of no existence any longer! He is gone. He will never return."
Kairi stared.
"The boy lost," jeered Maleficent. "He lost his life, he lost his heart, he lost his soul, and he lost all traces of love. Death cannot interpret love, Princess. Death knows nothing but Fate—and Fate knows nothing of Life and Death situations—henceforth, his life was cut off and death took over."
Kairi said absolutely nothing, refusing to let her eyes brim with tears.
Please don't cry for me, Kairi...
"And you want to live," continued Maleficent. "Move on, I suppose? Grow up, get married, have children? Well. That will have to go along with forgetting about the boy."
"I'll never forget him," snapped Kairi, finding her voice, bringing it home.
"You will."
Kairi shook her head, refusing to believe the words Maleficent was saying. "How would you know? How can you tell? I can control my own future."
"No. Fate does. And Fate has shown me," Maleficent spat, bringing the base of her weapon pounding against the pebbles. "No one can defy Fate's choices."
"What about you?" Kairi questioned harshly. "What does Fate have in store for you?"
"Plenty of things," Maleficent replied simply.
"I'm not going to believe you," Kairi retorted, her left hand clenching into a fist. "Fate can't control everything."
"Believe what you want," Maleficent sniffed spiritlessly. She swung her staff, surprised when it did not meet contact with the girl. Kairi avoided the attack and pitched back. Her eyes quickly scanned the smoke and fog. Where's Riku? Maleficent growled in dissatisfaction, it should not take this long to dispose of such a frail girl!
Snarling, she cried out, "Alexandra! Come and finish the princess off."
Kairi turned her head to hear footsteps coming in their direction. Seeing her opponent distracted, Maleficent heaved a breath and struck the redhead's legs, causing her to lose balance and crash down on the ground with a terribly hard impact. Kairi gave out a small groan and pushed herself up into a sitting position, feeling her stinging backside. She felt the contour of her spine under her flesh, and shivered, her insubstantial muscles shifting under her whitened skin.
Alexandra emerged from the murk, her eyes sorrowful. She raised her two hands in front of her—fingers beginning to glow fiery azure. The blonde gulped.
"Don't," Kairi whispered, currently unable to stand.
Alexandra shook her head. "I... have to."
As she was about to lift her hands in a jerking motion to deliver the fatal attack—a dark, handsomely curved and jagged Keyblade blocked her view, positioned right in front of her shapely nose. Her mouth dropped open, recognizing the blade immediately. She mumbled, "The Souleater."
"The Way to Dawn," a deeper voice corrected, the haze subsiding a bit and shifting to the side to reveal Riku's well-built frame.
"Riku," Kairi blurted out. "What—?"
"Get up, Kairi," Riku commanded. "Fight. I'll take care of Alexandra."
Kairi opened her mouth to say something else, but then realized there was nothing left to say. She had to fight now. Talking was no use anymore. Her top and bottom molars grinded together in numbing pain as she shoved herself up. She trembled for a moment, trying to keep her balance. It seemed like she wouldn't be able to retain that balance—until Riku spoke.
"Do it for Sora." He smiled.
"Mmm hmm," Kairi returned that smile, although it seemed faint. She nodded determinedly. She swung the Keyblade in front of her, glittering orbs glaring at Maleficent, but still directing her next words towards Riku, saying it in an almost seemingly disdainful manner. "You know, Sora's completely hopeless without us!"
Very funny, Kairi.
Kairi paused in thought to blink for a moment. Then she shook her head and readied her posture, tilting her chin upwards as she tackled the sorceress with her icy gaze once more. Maleficent gave out a high-pitched roar and gave a violent stroke of her weapon, only to have it thwart against the flowered Keyblade. Being most frustrated by her incapability of succeeding with physical attacks, Maleficent released spews of Darkness from the head of her staff that reached out and grabbed Kairi's ankles.
Kairi gasped and, unfortunately, fell to the ground again. She thrashed her legs in an attempt to shake off the thick, dark shadows coiling at her feet, successfully managing to let loose her right foot. With her Keyblade, she slashed at the purple-black strands and cut herself free. Leaping up, Kairi lurched her weapon at Maleficent like a boomerang as she had seen Sora done. The Keyblade swiveled in midair, twirling gracefully and swiftly towards the enemy, lashing against the witch's body. The Keyblade seemed to whistle airily as it fluttered back to Kairi, slapping back into her skinny fingers.
"I do not want to kill you, Riku!" Alexandra cried out, but nonetheless directing a heated blaze of fire in the silver-haired male's direction. She flinched, almost relieved, when Riku blocked the attack with his weapon, sparks flying against the metal of his Keyblade when the fireball ricocheted off.
"Alexandra, I don't want to kill you, either, but..." Riku shook his head fiercely, deflecting another attack from the Heartless girl. "You need to stop this! We can't go on like this."
"I apologize—there is nothing I can do..." Alexandra pointed a quavering finger at Riku, almost like a gun, as it began to glow aquamarine. "I cannot do anything."
"You know you can," Riku shot back, ducking for a second or two as a brutal ribbon of oceanic tint swept past his head. "I know you can. Believe yourself! There must be something—"
"Just hate me already, Riku!" Alexandra screamed, backing away as her hands radiated green. "I have done too much to be forgiven. Why must you always insist on converting me to good? I do not deserve to be..."
Riku halted for a moment, lowering his weapon, his eyes watching as Alexandra struggled with her words.
Alexandra closed her eyes. "I do not deserve to be—loved."
Riku's eyes widened in the slightest bit when Alexandra's shoulders began trembling—through the rain it was completely unnoticeable, the raindrops masked it. But he could tell. With the pink tinges staining the whites of her eyes and her quivering body... Alexandra was crying.
But Heartless can't cry.
Can they?
"It's over," threatened Maleficent, though still doubled over from the blow by the Keyblade. She pushed herself upright, using her staff, a contorted smirk curving across her lips. Blood trickled down the side of her jaw. "Your heart may have an advantage, but you'll never amount to the fighter your beloved Sora had been. He had months of training and you—you have only held the Keyblade this twilight. You are weak. You cannot avoid my attacks forever, it shall have to end somehow."
"You're right. It's going to have to end somehow," Kairi retaliated, but her voice remained in one easy tone. She stepped forward. The rain intensified, droplets beating upon her head and pushing her hair over her eyes. Kairi looked down and wiped at her face with an arm, and spoke, keeping her head bowed. "But I'm not going to let it end like this."
Further angered by Kairi's confidence, Maleficent's throat thundered with a booming outcry, letting go of her staff and letting it float midair in front of her. Her yellow eyes flashed neon tinges, using a single index finger—tipped with a horribly long nail—to control her weapon as it danced freely on its own, suddenly turning horizontally and ready to spin in Kairi's direction.
"I have had enough of you, Princess," Maleficent bellowed. "So just DIE."
The dark staff sliced through the air, thrumming as it spun its way towards Kairi. It aimed right at her lowered head, a perfect way to instantly end everything. A perfect way to kill her off, to send her soul into everlasting Darkness... and that was exactly what Maleficent desired.
It would have been the perfect way to end everything.
If only it had reached Kairi's head.
The princess let out a light breath—almost equivalent to one you'd use to blow through a bubble wand—and bent down, fingertips brushing against the wet ground. Time seemed slower. She pushed hard once and arched her back, casting herself off into a delicately easy back flip—and within the one split second that she was positioned horizontally in midair, Maleficent's weapon breezed right above the tip of her nose... and missed her completely.
Kairi's grayscale shoes pounded against the miniature rocks, no sound coming from her as she straightened her posture and eyed Maleficent stubbornly.
"No!" shrieked Maleficent. "How—"
"I won't die that easily," Kairi interjected steamily, protectively raising her weapon. "Besides, do you know what really helps?"
Maleficent stood rigid, chin quivering as she fumed, "And what may that be?"
"Gymnastics."
Toshi's fists pounded against aged double-doors. He was only slightly damp from the rain now, for the whole while he had raced to Twilight Town he had time to dry.
"Naminé! Naminé!"
One of the doors pulled open and Toshi fell forward, catching himself as well as catching his breath. A pale hand touched his forearm in concern, but not in surprise. Toshi looked up and gulped in air, his dark blue eyes searing into the light blue of the blonde's.
"Hello, Toshi," Naminé greeted softly, solemnly. She let him go and proceeded her way up the stairs. Toshi stood there a moment, dumbfounded, wondering why Naminé wasn't shocked that he had returned. He then rushed to catch up with her, skipping steps as he bounded up the staircase to reach Naminé.
"Sora's in trouble—" Toshi was cut off when Naminé turned around at the top step, with him only three steps below her.
"No," Naminé said, looking at him directly in the eyes. "He's not."
"But he was figh—"
"He's dead."
Toshi balanced himself against the railing of the staircase, staring right at Naminé's calm facial expression. He then narrowed his eyes, shaking his head ruefully and clenching his hands into fists. "How can you say that? Sora's not supposed to die! He's... you know."
"I know." Naminé turned around and resumed walking, this time opening a door leading into the whitened room that consisted of a lengthy table, a large window, and differently drawn pictures taped to the wall. This was the room where she usually spent her time in, drawing. "He isn't supposed to die."
She sat herself on one end of the long table, and gestured for Toshi to sit opposite her. The bewildered Sora-look-alike dropped himself upon the cold white chair, rubbing his arms and gazing towards the window. Curtains covered majority of the glass, except for a small slit running down the middle, some orange Twilight Town sunlight leaking through.
"That doesn't make sense," Toshi mumbled, not sure if his voice had the capability of reaching Naminé, but it did, because of the quietness of the mansion. "If he's not supposed to die... then why is he...?"
"Do you believe that everything is over?" Naminé questioned. "Do you believe, that after Sora's death, everything will cease to be right again? Because even though Sora isn't here physically doesn't mean he's not here in spirit. It doesn't mean he's completely gone, Toshi."
"My head," Toshi mourned, reaching up and slapping his forehead, as if that would halt the oncoming migraine.
"He's still here," Naminé whispered. "In the hearts of his friends. Riku, Kairi..."
Toshi paused, grimacing. "Is he... in your heart, too?"
"My heart?" Naminé looked away, sadness overtaking her eyes. "I suppose you could say that. My heart... Kairi's heart..."
"Hold up." Toshi blinked in realization. "Kairi's heart... and your heart—the same heart? Your heart is Kairi's?"
Naminé said nothing. She smiled weakly, her gaze still focused on nothing in particular. Toshi took this moment to scrutinize her. He tilted his head to the side a bit, and squinted his eyes. Naminé's hair flashed rosy auburn, then instantly returned to its white-gold color. Toshi's eyes widened.
"Holy mother—" he choked, utterly spooked. "You do look just like her."
There was a still silence.
"You do know," Naminé began, "that everything that had happened in the past while, was never meant to happen... right?"
"Right. But if it wasn't supposed to take place, then I..."
"Yes, you're not supposed to be here." Naminé's smile lessened when she saw Toshi's dejected expression. "I know how you feel, believe me. I'm not supposed to be here, either. Sometimes I feel—like an extra. And I am. Sora and Kairi made me. I know that sounds weird, but I was one of the results of their previous adventure. And you... you're supposed to be a diseased blonde boy who lives in Traverse Town with your older sister Trinity. I'm supposed to be Kairi. You're supposed to be—"
"Akuji," Toshi finished for her. "Because there really isn't a Toshi..." He closed his eyes, lowering his head and straining his voice, an obviously hurt tone reflecting in his words. "Just... just a mirror image."
"Don't worry," Naminé assured him, and Toshi looked up. "Everything will be set right. It won't be too long now."
"What's going to happen to me?" Toshi asked miserably. "Am I going to disappear? Am I going to die, too? I'm not in anyone's heart, Naminé. I won't be alive spiritually, like Sora. I'm not Sora. I'm not anybody. I don't have any real friends... I... never... I was never really..." He stopped himself, slightly aghast as a tear slipped down his cheek.
He didn't bother to wipe the wet trail caused by the tear.
Crying felt...
Naminé noticed the single shed tear immediately. She sighed with another weak smile, and stood up, walking to the other end of the table where Toshi sat. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "You'll be just fine, Toshi. Nothing bad will happen to you, I promise."
Toshi's shoulder tingled with warmth. Naminé's hand hadn't been warm earlier, but now it was. Another tear escaped from one of his azure eyes. "I feel so sorry now." He chuckled disdainfully to himself, shaking his head and looking straight forward. Another tear fell. "I've been such a... jerk. To everyone." And another. "I've only caused trouble. And now everyone'll remember me as the annoyingly-flawed boy who looked just like their oh-so-awesome Keyblade Master."
One more tear.
"No, not everyone," Naminé kneeled down next to Toshi's chair and rested her cheek against his right thigh. She squeezed her eyes shut. "I'll remember you as the perfectly-flawed boy who tried his best to help people with his visions."
Toshi stared down at the top of Naminé's blonde head that gently pressed against his lap. Now that he thought about it, he and Naminé were more alike than he thought. Now that thought about her sympathy towards him, her relation to his tribulations, he didn't feel so isolated. And before he knew it, his lips moved in the slightest, forming the faintest smile.
He reached down and touched her smooth, sandy-champagne hair.
And now that he really thought about it, he wasn't exactly alone after all.
"Alexandra..." Riku whispered, reaching out. Alexandra shook her head and backed away. "Alexandra, please. This isn't easy for myself, either. Sora and I... we were like brothers—and him dying—it's just... watching him die wasn't right. You know he's not supposed to be dead right now, Alexandra. You know we were all brought together for a reason. To fix this. To make it right again. To take it all back. If we're not here because of destiny... then everything I've believed in is a lie."
Alexandra stared at Riku through the raindrops and tears in her eyes. Her hands stopped glowing.
"I've been through too many lies already," Riku continued, his posture rigid, looking at the blonde Heartless with full-on seriousness. "Too many. Please, just don't make this another one."
Alexandra looked away. For about five seconds, she was dead silent. Then she finally whispered, "Fine." She closed her eyes, biting her lip as she struggled to keep her hands from regaining its glow. Her head suddenly snapped up. "Get Maleficent away from Kairi."
Kairi gasped and ducked as Maleficent's hovering staff swung hysterically at her. She flinched when it whizzed past her, only to return aiming at her back. She twisted herself to the side to avoid being smashed into a mangled mess. Her eyes grew wide as it continued to follow her in an extremely rapid manner, striking here and blitzing there. It had not hit her—yet. She was on a roll—for the moment. Maleficent growled, her finger sending her staff whirling in every possible direction in an attempt to destroy the princess.
"Augh!" Kairi gave a strong leap as the staff tried slashing at her legs. When that failed and Kairi's feet landed to the ground, it tried swinging at her head. Kairi dropped down, falling back but not falling all the way. The flats of her shoes and the palms of her hands rested against the pebbles and kept her back parallel to the ground, breaking her fall. When she had no time to push herself upright, the staff swiped at her right arm—which Kairi lifted and used the Keyblade to clash against the opposing weapon, the impact creating a sharp shiing slicing through the moisture in the air.
The staff backed away a little and Kairi used that opportunity to lower her body and tumble to the left once, and soon enough letting herself push off the ground into an upright stance. She panted heavily, reaching up with her free hand and wiping her wet bangs to the side before gripping the Keyblade with both hands. Maleficent seemed far away now, but her weapon definitely wasn't. It began hurling at Kairi's body, leaving a trail of green fire—equivalent to Maleficent's—flying behind it, though soon dissipating.
Kairi lurched herself down for a moment as Maleficent's weapon swerved at her. When Kairi stood up, she did not notice it boomeranging towards her back.
Look out!
Kairi let out a cry, feeling a heavy and awfully painful impact against her upper backside, a loud slapping and snapping noise as the final confirmation that the redheaded princess had indeed gotten hit. She broke her straight posture and instantly plummeted to the ground in both utter pain and flat-out exhaustion. She griped and winced to herself, biting down on her tongue as she tried to contain all the aching agony pulsing throughout her body. She couldn't stay still and felt her knee brush against her stomach, feeling one of her hands ball into a fist and clench so hard that her fingernails made miniature crescents in her palm. An uncertain amount of tears squeezed past her shut eyes, and Kairi finally opened her mouth to cough out the blood from her bitten tongue. Now that her mouth was open she could not help but cry out again, only able to contain so much of the throbbing, bitter, stinging pain.
"Ugh!" Kairi rolled once to her stomach, for it hurt too much to lie on her stricken back. She felt as though her spine were split in two, that her shoulders had cracked and shattered, that her whole skeletal system had completely crumbled and had gotten fractured just by that one, single fatal blow. She should have jumped to the side—ducked—turned—anything, anything but letting herself get hit. Anything but not paying attention.
Maleficent cackled at her success, striding majestically towards the princess. Kairi didn't bother to look. She didn't bother to see Maleficent's glowering features, most likely harboring a proudly vile look in her demonic eyes, most likely ready to finish her off. Kairi kept her eyes shut, waiting... for the final blow that would end everything. She wanted so much to stand up, fight again, make everything right again, be with Sora again, take everything back and be safe at home with her friends again, but now... she was just... a beaten-down princess... a girl sprawled on the pebbled ground... who was failing. Kairi cried dry sobs—and she didn't want to cry anymore, either. She had always wanted to be known as someone strong, not someone who stood at the sidelines while watching her two best friends battle the day away with their wooden swords.
She wanted to be... strong...
You ARE strong, Kairi.
"But not as strong as you."
You're stronger than me.
"No, Sora..."
Yeah, huh. You always have been.
"I wish you could help me fix all this. I wish you were here."
I already am here. I love you, remember?
"I love you, too, but..." Kairi felt her eyes heat up all over again. Her heart was pounding. She had better not be delirious. No. She wasn't. Sora was speaking to her, through her heart... because he had assured her, that he was always with her.
Kairi, remember what you said before? I'm always with you, too.
And that he'd come back.
I'll come back to you, I promise!
And he would.
In her wildly drowning thoughts amidst a one-sided conversation, Kairi almost forgot about the pain. But she certainly did not forget about Maleficent, who was supposed to have reached her by now, but why...?
"Back off, Maleficent."
Riku? That was Riku's voice. Kairi groaned softly as she turned her body on the ground to face the direction of Maleficent. There was where Riku now stood, blocking Maleficent's way with his own weapon. She smiled slightly through her tears. No, it's not over yet.
It was far from over.
But if Riku was there, where was Alexandra?
Kairi felt someone nudge her shoulder. In irritation that someone had dared to touch her sore spot, Kairi reached over and smacked whatever had nudged her. Her hand came in contact with a cold leg. She paused, gulped, and cursed to herself. She had just slapped Alexandra's leg! Now she really was going to get it.
That was what she had thought, anyhow, until Alexandra bent down and helped Kairi into a sitting position. Kairi looked at Alexandra in sheer confusion, wondering what was happening, why Alexandra wasn't attacking anyone, why Alexandra had suddenly overcome Maleficent's reigning power on her.
"We can fix this," Alexandra hissed, her yellow and green eyes piercing into Kairi's. "But... we must hurry."
"Riku, Riku. Dear Riku," drawled Maleficent, stepping towards the young man. This was the same boy she had control over quite a while ago, until that wretched Keyblade Master had gotten in the way. She smirked gruesomely. "Are you sure you should be doing this?"
"Sure as hell," retorted Riku, looking up at the sorceress. "I'm not letting you kill any more of my friends. And you're not fully going to get away with Sora's death. You can't just kill a Keyblade wielder and shrug it off and be done with it, Maleficent. It doesn't happen that way. It just doesn't."
"Clever boy, you are," Maleficent commented, reaching down and touching Riku's chin with a single lengthy nail, chuckling when he pushed her hand away. "I've always thought of you as a son to me, Riku. Just as if you were my own child."
"Shut up," Riku shot back. "You're nowhere near as motherly as my mom. If you're not going to back down, I'm going to have to fight you."
"Oh, if you insist," said the witch, and she reached to the side, the staff returning to her hand in one swift movement.
Riku's eyes narrowed, and he quickly turned around to glance at Alexandra and Kairi. "Alexandra!" he called out. "Hurry!"
Maleficent's eyes wandered over Riku's silver-topped head and soon enough began to shake in anger, seeing her Heartless slave kneeling next to the enemy, the princess. "NO!" she cried out foully. "ALEXANDRA!" Maleficent fumed, readying herself for destruction, and pushed Riku to the side as she made her way towards the two females.
Riku wasn't going to let this pass. He chased after Maleficent and struck her in the hip, and as she keeled over to howl in pain, Riku continued to deliver ultimately strengthened batters and beatings against the witch's lanky body. He attacked like there was no tomorrow, like he wasn't going to let Maleficent get up—and he truly did not want to let her get up. He was buying Alexandra and Kairi more time—he needed to make more time for them...
"What do we need to do?" Kairi asked, hushed, her tone almost miserable.
"I cannot tell you in exact terms," Alexandra replied, a sad smile upon her face. "I am incapable. You must think about it yourself—how to make everything right again. How to restore everything again."
"But," Kairi looked down, an immediate head rush assaulting her. "I can't come up with anything, Alexandra! Don't you think I've thought about it countless times before? I have no idea what to do—I can fight and fight all I want, but it really won't solve anything, would it? Just fighting Maleficent won't reverse all our problems. It won't reverse Sora's death. We could be here forever, battling forever, for as long as we possibly could survive—but someone's going to have to die at one point."
"Precisely," Alexandra whispered.
"What?" Kairi asked, confusion flooding her eyes. "What do you mean, 'precisely'? That someone's going to have to die?"
Alexandra nodded.
"... Who?" Kairi almost choked on her voice.
"Sora."
"Sora's already dead," Kairi practically snapped, her own words hitting her like a frigid glacier. She did not want to say it, refer to it, or admit to it in any way, but it was true. It was the truth. Kairi could only communicate to Sora through her heart—
—her heart?
"You truly think Sora is dead?" questioned Alexandra, fire dancing in her eyes. "Have you learned nothing during this journey, Kairi? Do you know why you are here? Not just because of the mistakes, but because you needed to learn something. To prove something. You may say he is dead, but he is not. He is still the answer, Kairi. He is still here. If you believe that he is utterly gone, that he is no longer of even the slightest bit of existence, then you are wrong. Then you have learned nothing. When you do not learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it."
Doomed to repeat it.
Repeat what?
"He's still here, isn't he?" Kairi murmured, her soft voice breaking. "Because my heart..."
Alexandra had that sad smile on her face again. "I just knew this whole journey was not a waste for you." She whipped her head in the direction of Riku and Maleficent. The witch was in desperate anger to reach them, while Riku was doing a superb job keeping her back. But she knew her master wouldn't tolerate such distractions for too long. She bit her lip and turned back to Kairi. "We cannot talk much here, Kairi. You have to do it now."
"I'm sorry, I don't... I don't know what you mean."
Alexandra's green eye flashed brilliantly. "Take us halfway there—and I shall fix everything."
"Halfway there?"
"I told you, I am incapable of being specific in what you must do. Please, think. You should know what to do, Kairi. Is it not clear to you?" Alexandra shook her head. "How can you not know? What happened all those months ago, Kairi? Where was your heart?"
"In Sora's... it was with him all along," whispered Kairi, suddenly having a slight idea as to where this was going. Was everything repeating again, only in a different form? Was it just... her turn this time? Her own version of the adventure that had taken place nine months ago? Were the worlds you had to overcome was instead replaced with multiple, tangled tribulations? How was she supposed to end it, as Sora had done before?
"And now Maleficent has taken Sora's heart from him, but it did not fall into Darkness like Trinity's and Merlin's," Alexandra told her. "It went somewhere else. His heart found refuge somewhere else instead of Darkness. In Light."
"Light...?" Kairi soon realized what Alexandra meant. Her bruised hand found its way towards her chest. "My heart. Of course... my own heart went to his when I lost it. It wasn't taken by Darkness, because I found refuge in him."
Alexandra nodded. "It is happening all over again, only it is your turn to prove yourself. Are you willing to sacrifice...?"
Kairi returned that nod firmly. "Yes," she replied in all seriousness, using her weapon and the assistance of Alexandra to stand up. She swayed uncertainly for a moment, swallowing hard when the pain vibrated and rushed through her body, but she continued to stand in sure perseverance. Alexandra backed away a few steps, and clasped her hands in front of her as she waited. Because she was sure now, that Kairi knew exactly what to do.
Riku glanced at the redhead's direction, struggling as he deflected an attack from Maleficent. His aquatic teal eyes widened when he watched as Kairi turned her Keyblade towards her chest. He demanded, "What do you think you're doing, Kairi?"
Kairi turned at the sound of Riku's voice, grinning at her friend even though a smile was completely uncalled for. It was just like saying, 'Hey, it's all right, I'm going to stab myself, but I'll see you later.' Riku shook his head, mouthing a 'Don't you dare,' and Alexandra shook her head at Riku, mouthing, 'Just let her do it,' and Maleficent became much too fed up with the nonsense she couldn't handle, for she let out a frustrated scream and bashed Riku against the back with her staff, letting him collapse to the ground. Riku growled under his breath and swung his Keyblade at Maleficent's legs causing her to lose balance and topple over to the ground with a large thump.
Time seemed to stop.
"Soon, Sora..." Kairi breathed, grasping the handle of her Keyblade with her outstretched arms, the vibrant metal flowers pointing towards her heart, ready to pierce into her soft flesh. She held her breath, looking up at the dark sky, blinking the descending raindrops from her light eyes.
In a sharp jerking movement, it happened.
o m o i d a s e b a
A whimsical chiming sound vibrated and pierced into the air as the tip of Kairi's blade came in contact with her chest. The area she had struck herself was instantly bathed in a blinding light, radiating with shimmering stardust, gleams comparable to blood red rubies and pink diamonds shooting past her brightly-lit wound. Her eyes slowly closed as her head tilted limply to the side, her body slowly hovering an inch off the ground, her hands leaving the weapon and resting at her sides, her Keyblade floating away from her luminous body... away, away, until it reached Riku and laid in his hands for a moment before disappearing in a flash.
And the silver-haired male knew, that it was he who had to keep guard of this weapon until the time came for the princess to partake in battle once more.
Alexandra laced her fingers over her face, shielding herself from the eye-damaging light, while Riku watched in worry and awe as Kairi began to fade... fade. Maleficent reached out a clawing hand, not ready to admit defeat, immediately beginning to feel drowsy just by the sight of such an amount of light. The witch bared her teeth... No! I am not through with you!
"What kind of fool turns the Keyblade on their own self?" screeched Maleficent, her voice drowning out from everyone's ears as everything became blanketed in a blizzard-diamond white. All senses, sound, sight, touch, taste, hearing, smelling—all seemed to vanish in one instant when they felt as though they were being taken somewhere far, far... far away.
h a r u k a … h a r u k a
The spinning sensation was equivalent to nothing they had ever experienced—and everyone felt it. They felt the resonating rush, the thrilling twirls, like they were suddenly placed in an amusement park where carousels spun mercilessly and rapidly, where roller coasters ceased to stop its undying wrath on your consciousness and nausea, where haunted houses refused to let light in and insisted that you forever be tortured by their so-called "demons" and "ghosts," while you fall for the act and fall for misery as well. And that was what was happening. They were falling—falling—somewhere... and they didn't like the feeling at all.
The light shooting at them in all directions seemed too bright, too much to handle—too strong for them, except for one girl. Instead of blinding her, Light warmed her, embraced her, and whispered to her... that everything would be all right... and that she was safe. That she was taking everyone halfway there... somewhere, to a refuge. Somewhere—where fears and lies could melt away.
m i r a i … wa
Intense... brilliantly scintillating... like a thousand city lights... like a zillion glaring stars...
d o k o made m o kagayaiteta
Kairi felt as though her heart were intoxicated with an all-too-familiar feeling. It was as if she could not feel safer... and her heart told her, Light told her, that there was one special place where she could feel eternally safe. A place where she need not worry, where she needn't fear a thing, where she could always depend on him and not be concerned about betrayal.
"Kairi—"
Someone was calling out her name. The voice reminded her of the sky.
k i r e i na aozora no shita de
And Kairi knew...
b o k u r a wa
... she was halfway there.
sukoshi d a k e obiete ita …
… …
"Oof...!"
Kairi let out a strained sound from her throat as she felt herself thump against something warm and glossy. She held her breath... and opened her eyes to a kaleidoscopic array of hues, captured in abstract shapes curved in thick glass. She slowly brought herself up to her feet, surprised at how comfortable and relaxed she felt—shocked at how her pain and wounds from the battle had disappeared from existence. She had somehow changed from her blouse, capris, and sneakers to a simplistic white dress and bare feet. Her arms and legs were free of scratches and cuts, and she felt her face for blood... but there was none. Everything except the ground was pure white, radiating as white as the moon, the edge of a diamond, and the tip of a unicorn's horn.
She realized where she was.
The Stained Glass Realm.
Only, when it was normally dark on top of the stained glass, this time everything was bright and white excluding the floor. Kairi still held her breath as her gaze wandered over the yards of glass that depicted the picture of her and Sora extending paopu fruits to each other. She looked down and smiled when she saw that she was standing on her own face.
"Well done," came a soft, feminine voice from behind Kairi. The redhead whipped around, her eyes growing large when she faced Alexandra. The Heartless girl had lost her complex outfit and was now wearing the same white dress as Kairi. Everything seemed so pure...
"Alexandra," Kairi whispered, looking directly at the blonde, "where am I?"
"Your sanctuary," Alexandra replied calmly. "You have taken everyone halfway. For that, I am thankful. We can finally fix everything. But answers always come at a price. Not everything will end happily."
Kairi found nothing to say. A small, light hum of sadness came from her mouth, but that was it. She looked down.
"You battled wonderfully," Alexandra continued. "After all you have gone through, you have changed. You are different now."
Different?
"You are different, Kairi," said a heart-wrenching voice, a familiar male voice that made Kairi want to start sobbing all over again. She froze up in a second, gulping hard, unable to turn around and face the owner of the voice. Her breath was caught in her throat. It couldn't be... no. It wasn't. But she wouldn't know for sure unless she turned around to look.
So she did.
And tears sprung to her eyes.
There he was, dressed in all white, standing at the part of the picture where his own face lay. He was far away, but Kairi knew it was him by the smile he had on his face, and she knew it was him by the way his eyes lit up when he saw her... because her eyes did the same when she saw him. And when the redhead knew that this wasn't a dream, that this was real—she broke into a sprint and ran and ran with all her might towards—
"Sora!" Kairi cried out, finally reaching him, breathless. She stood about two feet in front of him, scrutinizing his flawless figure in bewilderment, her heart throbbing achingly, pounding frenziedly in her chest.
"You are different, Kairi," Sora repeated again, still grinning. "But I'm just glad you're here."
"I thought you were gone," Kairi answered softly, the smile disappearing from her lips. She was pure seriousness now. "You were with me all along, when I thought you'd left me."
Sora's own smile faded from his face. His eyelids lowered half-mast and he looked down, turning his head to the side in sadness. His eyes closed, but reopened when he murmured, "I'm sorry."
Kairi didn't say anything. Instead, something swelled up inside of her and she quickly ran forward, capturing his waist in her arms, almost pushing him over by the overwhelming force coming from her relief. She embraced him tightly, beginning to tremble. Sora stood there in surprise, his arms out and slightly unknowing as to what he should do. Kairi nestled her chin against the front of his shoulder, breathing softly in the opposite direction of his collarbone.
"This is real," she sighed out, her voice hushed and slightly muffled by Sora's shoulder. She blinked as she closed her eyes when she said those words. This was real. This was Sora. He was here.
Sora blinked once, looking down at the top of Kairi's scarlet head, his face solemn and affectionate. His arms closed in on her slender body, drawing her closer to him ever so slightly. He said nothing. Words were not needed, not necessary. All they needed was an embrace, and that was enough, and everything had already been said unspoken.
In you and I, there's a new land…
Periwinkle and sapphire orbs clashed, identically strong hearts reflecting in their irises. Periwinkle began to well with tears, and sapphire widened.
"What is it?" Sora asked quietly, when they finally let go of each other and stepped back.
"It's nothing," Kairi couldn't help but let herself sniff, bringing up a wrist and rubbing an eye. "But it's like you're back from the dead. Don't you understand, Sora? Seeing you die... and now... you're here. Do you have any idea how it feels?"
"Yeah," Sora replied, still unsmiling, reaching out and removing Kairi's wrist from her face, holding her hand in his fingers. "When I turned the Keyblade on myself to give you your heart back."
Kairi stared at Sora. So it really was her turn now.
She heard someone approach her from behind. Sora released his hold on her hand, and let her stand next to him shoulder-to-shoulder as they looked at Alexandra.
"Kairi," the blonde said, "we cannot be here for long. I am going to have to take us back."
"Take us back? Back where?" Kairi questioned, not sure if she liked where this was going.
"Remember, you have taken us halfway to our destination. I must complete the other half. I must reverse all this."
"You mean," Sora cut in, "you're going to wind back time?"
Kairi's eyes widened. So that while ago, in the Traverse Town Inn, time had gone back. She hadn't gone delusional or experienced déjà vu. Alexandra was the one who had brought back time. But if solving everything that had happened meant winding back time, then all this...
Alexandra nodded. "It will be best if we take everything back."
"But," Sora argued, "there's too much—too much has happened, and it's been too long—isn't it harmful to you to bring us back such a long time? Would you even survive?"
"Do not worry about me," Alexandra replied, almost sadly. "I was never meant to be, anyhow."
"We're going to forget, aren't we?" asked Kairi, her voice hurt. "We're going to forget everything that we've been through on this journey... won't we?"
Alexandra did not answer immediately. She looked at the deep, hurt tones in Sora and Kairi's eyes. And she knew, if Sora and Kairi were forced to forget everything they had been through together on this adventure, then they would continue to harbor locked feelings and unrevealed love. They would not remember any conversations, any laughs, or any romance that had happened... but it had to be done.
Too many things had happened that were not supposed to happen.
Angels in flight…
"You will forget," Alexandra finally said.
Kairi looked away. Sora looked at Kairi, and understood. It was only right to turn time back. It wasn't fair at all, but if things continued like this, then no good could possibly result in it. It wasn't right. It wasn't rational, logical. Lives were taken, lives that were not supposed to have been ended yet—Merlin, Trinity, himself. There were people who were not meant to be created—Alexandra, Toshi. Too many tribulations, too many complications... too many destinies intertwined.
So they had ended up here.
My sanctuary, my sanctuary yeah…
"Kairi," Sora placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "We may forget about everything that had happened, but that doesn't mean it never happened. It won't be deleted, just hidden. The adventure will still be in our hearts, our heart, only deep inside, deep in the shadows. Forgotten, but not lost. Bringing everything back won't change the way I feel about you."
Kairi turned and looked at Sora in silence. Her face was slightly vacant, slightly hurt.
"I'll still love you," Sora leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "And you can remember that, can't you?"
Kairi finally nodded and closed her eyes, her throat too tight to speak. She buried her head in Sora's chest and forced her voice to work in order to tell him, "I love you, too, you bum."
Sora smiled slightly.
"There's one thing," Alexandra began to add. "When I turn back time, you will not remember each other."
"What?" Kairi and Sora exclaimed simultaneously, their eyes widening.
"Your memory is unchained, Sora," Alexandra said sharply. "Naminé will have to reprogram your memory restoration pod and restart the process of refreshing your memory. Once I take time back you will physically be in your memory restoration chamber, Sora, but mentally you will be at the Grass Plains. Do not make a fuss, because even though you will momentarily forget each other, once Sora regains his memory of everything, you both will recall one another again. So do not fret."
"But I need my memories of Sora, Alexandra," Kairi spoke in a dejected tone.
"You forgot about him once before when Sora lost his memory, and you were able to withstand. Three months from now, it will all come back to you, I promise."
Kairi was silent. She had to wise up. She was only thinking of herself, and that wasn't right. Both Merlin and Trinity were dead. Sora was actually still quite dead, only this was her sanctuary, her heart, where he continued to live. There were much too much problems, and Darkness was getting stronger by the moment. Traverse Town could no longer be restored with Trinity's death and Toshi gone missing. And Sora's dangerously unchained memory...
"Fine," Kairi whispered at last, struggling to feign back tears that threatened to fall. This was not going to change how she felt about Sora, and vice versa. Their feelings would still be alive in their hearts. They would be alive in each other's hearts, always. Their confessions of love would not be erased, only shadowed. Their first kiss would not be inexistent, just frayed. And every smile and laugh and embrace... would be drifting around their hearts and soul, somewhere.
She loved him.
And he loved her.
And that was enough.
They were going to meet again.
She'd wait forever for that moment.
Sora and Kairi watched solemnly as Alexandra brought her hands together and began whispering an elaborate incantation. The couple turned to each other, beginning to feel vertiginously nauseous, with head rushing sensations overflowing their minds and waves of dizziness flushing across their bodies. Kairi could not take it all in and fell forward into Sora's arms, looking hazily up at his equally groggy-growing eyes. They both weakly forced a smile on to their faces, and Kairi leaned up to touch her lips against his.
Where fears and lies, melt away…
Their eyes closed and they were enveloped in a persistent emission of light, burning and radiating blinding white, phosphorescence swallowing them in some sort of churning vortex leading them elsewhere, anywhere but where they currently were. Their brains felt drained of all thought, emotion, feeling... as if numerous important things were being injected by an anesthetic, forcing them to forget, forcing them to rid memories from their heart and mind and soul. Everything seemed to be in a rewinding motion, spinning back, hurling them far away like a dove taking flight into the horizon, like a little girl accidentally letting go of her balloon and watching sadly as it drifted away, away into the pretty blue sky...
Cruising through time…
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"But I need my memories of Sora, Alexandra."
"This is real."
"You are different, Kairi."
"Soon, Sora..."
"Take us halfway there—and I shall fix everything."
"I'm not letting you kill any more of my friends."
"I'll remember you as the perfectly-flawed boy who tried his best to help people with his visions."
"I've been such a... jerk. To everyone."
"I won't die that easily."
"Just hate me already, Riku!"
"I'll never forget him."
"Fate can't control everything."
"He wants me to stay alive."
"Princesses are not meant to fight."
"Th-thank you... Merlin."
"It hurt so much—"
"This time, I'll fight."
"I'm always with you."
"Shut up! I'm keeping all my promises."
"Let me die."
"Face it. You were never of any worth. Give yourself up to the Darkness."
"Kill this woman. Right now."
"It's... I... I was helping her—"
"Resurrectio, suscitatio..."
"That isn't fair, three against one—"
"Maleficent, my true master."
"Promise me one thing, Sora. Promise... promise me you'll come home."
"This isn't a dream."
"I love you. I really do. I always have, Kairi. I always will."
"Tell me... how to fix all this! Tell me how to undo all these mistakes. Tell me... someone, tell me—give me a way—just one way... to set everything right."
"Sora! Sora! Just... open your eyes!"
"So thank you, Alexandra, Riku. For bringing Trinity's brother to me."
"You took Kairi's heart? You made her like this? You made her emotionless?"
"Wait—It only started out as an act—"
"Don't be so foolish. You, as well as Sora, should not bother. The girls you hold feelings for no longer have hearts."
"That stinkin' jaguar is your master? You take orders from a feline?"
"I told you before. You're safe with me."
"F-forbidden—"
"Thank you—so much. I'll see you after the battle."
"Sora—mirai wa, doko made mo kagayaiteta."
"Same 'ol Sora."
"... I'm going to get her heart back—whatever it takes... no matter what."
"I never knew there was something wrong with my memory..."
"Alexandra! I don't understand all this! I don't remember... any of that. Some of it rings a bell, like the name Marluxia... but... I don't know. That's just it—I don't know! I don't know what you're talking about."
"I am never safe, Riku. Never, ever think that I will be."
"Your destinies are intertwined."
"Some things, they have no answer. Or, their answer is hidden. Then there must be a reason why they're hidden—a good reason."
"If he stays out there too long with an unchained memory... Life, and Light, will begin to drain from his heart."
"I do not care. I will search every diner if I have to. I am tired of this. I have changed."
"Being naïve will not get you anywhere. The Light will not get you anywhere. Darkness will always be the superior element. Am I right, Riku?"
"Still alive, boy?"
"He's in battle... he's losing... he's so weak... I need to help him remember... because he's letting go... he's starting to give up—"
"Oh, but don't worry, for I'll make sure I'll kill off the other two wielders as well."
"You're going to die, right here, right now. And your beloved friends are all here to see it—to see your blood being shed."
"You hurt Kairi! I can't forgive you for that—you betrayed us! You're a traitor, Merlin! Now Kairi can't feel anything! She's nothing without a heart, and I'm nothing without her."
"You're wrong. The Darkness will give me substantial strength—strength that will overshadow yours and engulf every amount of Light within you."
"Naminé...!"
"Give me one good reason, why I shouldn't slash you to bits."
"Alexandra... I already told you... I don't care what happens to me if I feel this way. I can't help it. Things like this can't really be helped when you feel it, and I feel it so much. Even though you can't feel, I just know that we were meant for each other."
"Too bad. Because she isn't coming back."
"It's always a 'before it's too late' case with you, isn't it, Toshi? What are you trying to prove, anyway? You're the one who hinted the whole 'fess up' thing. To tell her how I feel. How I've always felt. Now you're telling me to forget the fact that I—"
"It's weird. How you think you know someone, and how you trust them, and then they betray you. Just a whole bunch of stupid betrayal."
"Did it ever dawn upon you, that Life might just be one huge game?"
"My journey was a lie. It was all... a lie."
"What are you talking about? Are you saying that I should forget my feelings for Kairi, and pretend like nothing happened between us? Toshi, I can't just do that. Because something did happen. It's not that simple."
"Sorry, but that's the way things go sometimes. Not everyone gets a Happily Ever After sort of ending... or however that thing goes..."
"Oh, sure! When Alexandra comes back, I'll waltz right up to her and ask casually, 'Hey, did you happen to poison my girlfriend?' Toshi, get real!"
"Kairi... say something..."
"It has become a game, do you not see? We have just added another obstacle—and we shall have a lot of losers. They will lose, Alexandra. We will win. I will win. Darkness shall win, and we can completely obliterate the Light that is left. The Light, within their hearts."
"Oh, how wonderfully exciting. Now she cannot feel. She cannot smile, nor laugh! Or cry. Or show any emotion, or any feeling. She will feel what you feel—nothing."
"You see... a certain heart is protecting her, acting as a barricade."
"The tea is eminently sweet, and the ingredients can only be found here, in this rain forest. My heart."
"Just... let's just hope she takes my advice. Because if she doesn't, she might not come back, and if she doesn't come back, you won't be able to tell her that you love her."
"So what I'm trying to say is that... the way I feel about you... Listen, Kairi, I lo—"
"I guess Toshi's right. I guess... I guess I never really had the chance to tell you..."
"And just as a friendly suggestion, Kairi—I wouldn't drink anything for a while if I were you, just so you know."
"What do you think about when you see the rain?"
"Alexandra, have you ever cried?"
"That's why you need your emotions. And that's why I'm going to get them back for you. Then maybe you'll understand how I feel about you."
"No. Not now. I want you to keep it—at least, for a little while longer. That is, you can return it to me when we're all safe. Technically, we're sort of safe now, but I mean... back-at-Destiny-Islands-safe. Once we're back home, once we're able to run along the ocean shore... only then, that's when you can give it back. But until then, keep it with you."
"Sora... we just... we left Trinity there... and all the other townspeople... by themselves. And Merlin... we don't even know what he's going to do to them. He nearly killed us with those flames... but we need to get Trinity and the others to safety..."
"Alexandra... I thought you wanted to be your own person! You don't need to listen to whoever's controlling you, whoever's telling you of their plans. It's not your plan. I thought you... I thought you wanted to be happy."
"No—do you not see, Riku? I am cold blooded... I cannot feel the sun! I cannot feel anything! I can only feel the cold! I... cannot..."
"Ninety-nine, ninety-eight, ninety-seven..."
"Do not fail me, Alexandra."
"No. I think I'm your girlfriend."
"Kairi, you're sounding parental again. Who do you think you are, my mother?"
"It doesn't seem fair, Sora. I don't want to seem helpless because I have to wait for you to come back to me. Waiting is fine, but sitting back and knowing that you're in some unknown place battling some unknown thing is really nerve wracking."
"I don't want to lose you again, Kairi. That's what I meant about you fighting."
"He thinks I'm weak! That I can't fight!"
"Then don't look when I fight."
"Seeing you in pain is the last thing I ever want to see."
"I suppose there's love in everybody... in you, in me, in Riku, in anyone."
"What matters is that we're together now."
"One, you be a good little boy and roll your pants up so I can see your knee. Or two, I become very hostile and rip those pants off of you and not give it back afterwards."
"Mew was only wondering who you were. She is harmless... most of the time... when she is not hungry... and when you do not aggravate her... or make faces at her... or harm her—"
"It's all because of me. It's my fault for leaving Destiny Islands... it's my own fault for ending up here. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have to risk your life trying to save my own all the time. It's already happened before, Sora. I can't keep letting you put your life in danger because of me."
"I do not whine like a girl, FYI. My whine is quite manly, thank you very much."
"Don't let go."
"Face it, Merlin. You've been found out."
"Sure, Sora's my weakness. I know he's responsible for some of the pain I have been going through. It's not his fault I think about him. It's my own. My fault. It's all my fault. It's all my fault and I'm sorry. I'm... sorry."
"How... do you know... about all these things..."
"When will you EVER learn, Kairi? WHEN? Are you becoming as foolish as Sora?"
"You should very well know that everyone would do a great deal better without you."
"What's up, Merlin? Feeling... unbearable pain?"
"The... Light..."
"My visions don't lie."
"You're right. He's here."
"I am not... going to cry... and... and you can't have my heart, either!"
"Kairi, Kairi, Kairi. I want your heart. I need your heart."
"Who is the one you cannot stop thinking about? The one that haunts your thoughts, the one you long for, the one who is closest to your heart?"
"We might die, but we have to save Kairi!"
"WE'RE GONNA DIE!"
"Keyblade or not, Oathkeeper or not, whether she's here or not... you and Kairi are going to meet real soon."
"What I would give to... to just..."
"Laaadies. Where'd jooo go?"
"Anyone here? Trinity? Kairi?"
"It's forbidden. I will never tell anyone. Especially not to someone like you, Riku."
"And then I'd wish for world peace."
"I didn't know time travel could be so..."
"BUT I ALREADY SAID THAT, LIKE, HALF AN HOUR AGO!"
"Life. It is very enigmatical. It is a labyrinth and a puzzle yet to be solved. Some people find the answer, some people die without even knowing it had been right in front of their noses. Kairi... this is your life. This is your labyrinth, your puzzle. It's up to you to solve it. It is up to you to find the answer."
"I keep thinking that there's a solution to all this mishap... and that if you believe all wrong will end, if you use your heart and soul and mind, if you love passionately, if you apologize, if you forgive, if you refrain from betrayal, if you play your cards justly... Then everything will be set right."
"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!"
"Da-ang. Dude looks like he's gonna have an ulcer."
"Hi, people of the world! I'm Riku and I think I'm so very strong and cool and awesome and sexy! Oh, greetings, random passerby! Will you do yourself the honor of complimenting my firm muscles? You know you want to!"
"Ninety... eighty-nine... eighty-eight... eighty-seven... eighty-six... eight-five..."
"I mean it, Kairi. We'll go Sora-hunting later."
"An hour ago... you weren't like this. You were... different, okay?"
"I really do not want to bite you again. You taste bad."
"Get out of Traverse Town! Now!"
"RIKU?"
"What are you saying? All I said was, 'You heartless fiend.'"
"I have characteristics of a system of philosophy emphasizing the intuitive in empirical and material."
"No, Toshi. I don't have a heart."
"But he knows you're here, Kairi. Why would he leave? He said he misses you so much as well."
"Because you, Toshi, are capable of extraordinary mental processes, such as extrasensory perception and mental telepathy."
"But... Sora is so much more important to me than a lucky charm. I wouldn't even be angry at him if he happened to walk in at any moment."
"I'm so stupid. I can't... Kairi... there's no chance I can go back to her now."
"He didn't tell me much about it, but Sora said he lost his... Key-thing-a-majig..."
"Hah! 'That would be Toshi'? I deserve a much better introduction than that. With spotlights. And my theme song. And streamers and balloons."
"You're right... Trinity. I guess we're both just too impatient to see each other. If we can't wait, then we might as well not see each other. But we do want to see each other, so we should have waited."
"He has your face."
"YOU MEAN SORA WAS HERE AND NOW HE'S NOT AND I POSSIBLY MISSED HIM JUST A FEW MINUTES AGO?"
"I REBEL AGAINST THE SHOES!"
"Sorry, Trinity, but I can't take this anymore. I've got to find her."
"She longs to be with you again. She misses you, Sora. She misses you so much."
"Does the name Kairi sound familiar to you?"
"Aw, come on, Trin. Tell me, I'm not good with guessing games."
"An artifice in order to enshroud and dissemble the substantiality of my existence and to be a hindrance of the indubitable fact that you would elude in order to reveal my presence in this domicile, which would cause total catastrophe and calamity upon the prepossessing Traverse Town."
"Excuse me, but I'd appreciate it if you would stop checking me out."
"You could say that I lov..."
"Sora... It's like Fate doesn't want us to meet..."
"Wait, did you say brownies?"
"Akuji."
"You idiot. You've gotten so used to following Kairi all this time, now you don't even know how to bring yourself somewhere else."
"I'm Kairi. And... I need your help."
"SORA, you're ba—"
"I mean, really. Why wouldn't an inn have people in it?"
"Stay awake, Sora. Stay. Awake."
"OH-MY-GOSH-TOSHI-ARE-YOU-DEAD?"
"Traverse Town?"
"My Keyblade! My Keyblade, it's GONE! GONE, GONE, GONE...!"
"It was the brownies' fault."
"Gee, that really struck a nerve. So, have you finished being such a lunatic yet?"
"Yes. Because, deep down, his heart would be the same."
"Merlin? The powerful wizard?"
"Because it was all my fault."
"If you stop glaring at me, Toshi, you'll see that we're out of that bizarre place and in some sort of garden."
"Riku, Riku, Riku, Riku, RIKU!"
"Brownies..."
"All powerful? No way, Mr. 'Mommy, Mommy, get me out of this dark pit,' and 'I'm too sexy and beautiful to die at such a young, tender age.'"
"Are you afraid of heights?"
"I... oh, no... my friends! Donald, Goofy... they—"
"YOU HORRIBLE, INCONSIDERATE, PATHETIC IDIOT! HOW COULD YOU?"
"TOSHI! WAKE UP! WAKE! UP!"
"That reminds me, you haven't met my good old buddies, have you? They're awesome. The Tooth Fairy, Santa Clause, and the Easter Bunny... oh, I really hope they can come, considering how tight their schedule is all the time..."
"So, the weather. Yeah. It's great."
"Then let's be off, guys!"
"I don't know, maybe we should look for a gigantic green sign that says 'Exit.'"
"So this is the sleeping true light, Sora? Right here?"
"How is it possible for you to be so dumb? Look, that just means the true light is hidden. And I think it's here. Or down there."
"Is this the light in the darkness?"
"We're definitely not in Destiny Islands anymore."
"You couldn't even spell 'intelligent' or even 'vocabulary' if the words were right in front of your face."
"Get. Your. Leg. Off. My. Butt."
"Kairi...?"
"SORA!"
"Kairi? What's wrong?"
"Where's the drawing?"
"You'll be alright, Kairi. We can talk later, okay? See ya."
"Sorry to break your heart, Selph, but he's far from a sweetie."
"Selphie! Normal people knock before going into someone else's bedroom. You should try it sometime. It's not that hard, really, and at times it could be fun—"
"Has it only been that long, Sora?"
"I dunno! But by the looks of things—we're going to have to prepare ourselves for the worst!"
"I'd starve without you, Donald."
"Sora has always been a simple-minded boy."
"That dream again..."
"Mmm, big words, Kairi. Big words. But see if I care."
"So, about that Sora guy..."
"My name is Toshi."
"Don't be like that, all right? Just don't. I'm having a good day, an almost perfect day, but it won't be perfect unless my friend Kairi is happy. Now, strike that Kairi-pose of yours and give me that well-known Kairi-giggle!"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
What's left of me, what's left of me n o w …
"Well! Would some good, old fashioned jokes cheer you up?"
Huh?
"Heeyy!" Selphie's high-pitched voice sliced into the humid Destiny Island air. "Can'tcha hear me?"
Everything was... spinning... twirling... Kairi's eyes zoomed in and out of focus... she couldn't breathe... her rib cage felt crushed... her head whirled with a million terrible sensations... what was happening? Why was she feeling this way? Why couldn't she remember... why was she here? Why am I here? This didn't feel right... this didn't feel right at all. Kairi looked at Selphie through a blurred vision, her eyes completely bleary and bleak... drenched in confusion, filled with anxiety... why did she feel like crying?
Why did she feel like there was something... missing?
Because there wasn't anything missing. Nothing. Everyone was here.
Everyone...
"His voice—" Kairi instantly let go of consciousness, or rather, it let go of her.
She let out a strained, struggled sound from her throat, her knees giving out beneath her, her slender body crashing upon the sand. Her head hit the base of the paopu tree, but blackness had already overtaken her beforehand.
"Kairi! Kairi! Like, oh my God. Tidus, Wakka!"
Kairi wasn't breathing.
"You loserfaces! Put down that stupid blitzball and help Kairi!"
xx
my f e a r s, my l i e s …
xx
"Riku."
A sterling-haired male with a well-built frame coughed out, planting both hands against the pebbled ground, struggling to push himself upwards. His bangs fell over his eyes and the sides of his face, acting like a shoulder-length curtain of silver string. His turqiouse orbs blinked repetitively. What just happened? Well, nothing, of course. He'd probably just fainted. Traveling with the King was no piece of cake.
"Riku," King Mickey said again, helping his fellow companion up. "Are you all right? You collapsed, just like that." He snapped a gloved finger at the end of his sentence.
Riku rubbed his forehead, squinting an eye. "Yeah, I'm... fine."
So why did he feel like something was amiss?
Something cold, sleek, and black was pushed into Riku's large hands. Riku looked down, eyeing a long overcoat with glinting gray zippers running along it. He smirked, unfolding it and holding it at arm's length to scrutinize it. Perfect.
"Put it on," urged the mouse king. "It's a gift."
"Thanks, Your Majesty." In a swift flicking movement, the overcoat was on him and he was pulling up the large zipper that ran across the middle. He pushed his silver bangs away from his eyes, and at the same time, Mickey handed him a black piece of silken cloth.
A blindfold.
"You'll need it," King Mickey piped.
Riku didn't hesitate. He simply reached up and wound the blindfold around his eyes. Darkness overtook his sight. He was smirking again, but he didn't know why. And so, that smirk soon disappeared, replaced with a doubting frown. Even in the Darkness of the black cloth, he couldn't be rid of the vivid image of a blonde and the vermilion Heartless sign.
Who is she?
Riku shook his head. Nobody, probably. He then heard the King beckoning him, so the young man followed the voice of His Royal Majesty.
xx
melt a w a y …
xx
"Akuji," a young woman with blonde locks whispered into the warm ear of her brother as she knelt at his bedside. She was holding his frail wrist in one hand, and in the other hand she held... something... cylinder-like... something shaped like a vial... Trinity lifted her clenched hand towards her face and uncurled her fingers, revealing a vial with a clear, crystalline substance shifting around inside the glass. Where had this come from?
Oh, it must be for Akuji.
What else would it be?
Without delay, hesitation, or further ado, Trinity uncapped the vial and gently pushed it towards her brother's pale lips. He half-consciously managed to take it in, swallowing hard, the soft skin on his neck rippling slightly. He made a puckered expression, like he had just swallowed pure lemon juice, or something citrus-like. Perhaps he had.
The blonde boy named Akuji suddenly opened his hazel eyes wide, irises flecked with gold and silver. "Hey, that stuff seriously sucks, Trin."
Oh, my! Tears began to border the edges of Trinity's eyelids. She sniffed in relief, reaching out for her brother. He looked so much better... already?
"No, yuck, seriously! Where's my toothbrush?" Akuji demanded softly, a joking tone coming to his voice.
Trinity squeezed her brother tight. "Oh, Aku! You're all right! You're all right!"
"Air, please. Oxygen. I beg of you."
Trinity drew back and laughed. "I am so, so glad... you're okay. You're healthy again. After all this time... ever since you were a little boy, Akuji! How long has it been? A decade? Ooh, a decade sounds too ancient. Let's say ten years. It's the same but it sounds less... oh, dear, Akuji, whatever is the matter? Are you... crying?"
Akuji immediately dove under his sheets. His muffled voice replied, "Nuu."
Trinity placed her hands on the bump in the comforters that so happened to have her younger brother beneath it. "Aku... what is wrong? I can hear you sniffling under there. Fess up."
"What?" Akuji's head suddenly poked up from behind the hem of his bed sheets. Those words... why did it seem—
"I said, fess up."
The fifteen-year-old blonde boy rubbed his eyes against his thick comforter. Where did these tears come from? Akuji shook his head. "It's nothing. It's just, I think I had a dream... a dream, about some blonde girl." He smiled weakly, looking down at the classic floral pattern gracing the material of the sheets. "She was real pretty... and nice. She made me feel... pretty good." He nodded to himself.
"A blonde girl, hmm?" Trinity laughed. "Was it, oh, your dear older sister?"
Akuji rubbed his eyes again and fell back towards his pillows, yawning. "Maybe it was you. Depends." He looked up at the cracked ceiling thoughtfully, trying to make out any possible shapes. "Do you like to draw?"
"No, not particularly," Trinity mused, not remembering the last time she had doodled anything.
"Then that dream... that blonde girl," Akuji sighed, beginning to drift off into slumber, the pace of his breathing beginning to calmly slow down, "probably wasn't you."
xx
a dream of y o u …
xx
"He ain't gonna give up?" Donald quacked unhappily and waddled over to the pond's edge. "SORA!"
"Wha...?" Sora blinked the freshwater out of his eyes, suddenly feeling gravity pulling down on him. A violent rush surged past his body, and he toppled over into the water, creating a large splash, arches of water sprays immediately flying into the air overhead. And there he stayed, in the water, no signs of consciousness. Donald let out a worried quack while Goofy let out an equally anxious "hyuck," before they both hurried to assist their dear Keyblade Master. Sora had always been a simple-minded boy. Perhaps catching fish was too complex for the young man, poor Sora.
Sora found himself sprawled on the grass about half an hour later, the smell of deliciously crisp fish arising into his nostrils. He weakly blinked his eyes open, feeling utterly crummy indeed. But a soft smile came to his lips nonetheless as he saw Donald push a cooked fish towards him, resting on a clean slab of wood he had found somewhere on some day.
"I'd starve without you, Donald."
Donald quacked disdainfully and proceeded to warble on about Sora's lack of "fishing" skills, and so on and so forth. Sora poked and prodded his meal, the small grin disappearing from his face. This doesn't feel right...
Sora leaned back, resting the fish on top of his rising and lowering stomach, crossing his arms behind his head casually. A sad look came upon his features as he gazed towards the sky. This felt familiar. The only, single way that would make it seem even more familiar would be if the sky instantly darkened.
But the sky was as blue as ever.
And it did not darken.
Maybe it was a dream.
A scattered dream ..
that's like a far-off memory.
A far-off memory ..
that's like a scattered dream.
I want to line the pieces up—
xx
yours and mine.
xx
"Promise... promise me you'll come home."
SPECIAL THANKS TO...
Patricia Nguyen, Yume-Yume, Iridaceae, thesrazrbladekisses, Shirozora, Diehard SxK Fan, sorakairi forever, KatarasHomegirl, KairiGurlPaupo, Daaku, Mysterious Prophetess, paopu, Aikokanei, Kanbashii, YOURxLIDDLExNINJA, Sorasgirl333, Moski Oko, crazycutie2, Eragon Shadeslayer, Fern Claw, Aiko Moonchild, Chibi Neko-Chan2, Shugotenshi Sakura, kingdom219, Chocolate Moooilk, Ravey13, Cherdafred, RaiLei, & Authoress-of-Doom123.
Thank you all so much. You're all lovely. This story is dedicated to all of you.
And yes, this IS the prequel to Kingdom Hearts 2.
Epilogue coming soon ;;
3 months later.
"I'm writing a letter… I don't know exactly why… but my heart is telling me to."
Thinking of you, wherever you are.
I think I hear the cries of a sequel.