Chapter 7
Haznortex led Kairi into an odd looking room, that housed 7 tube-shaped cubicles along it's walls, much like the princesses prison on Hollow Bastion so long ago. Kairi winced. Was she to reveal some keyhole, then? Maybe so, as Haznortex strapped her into the farthest one from the door, and fastened suction-cup monitors to her temples.
She gasped in pain as he inserted a thin IV attached to a bag that looked to be filled with dirty water.
"What is this?" she asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable with her arms strapped to her sides. Maybe she should have struggled a bit more.
"Heart Containment! And since you have no hope of escaping, I might as well tell you the brilliance of it."
He flicked a switch on a master board panel in the center of the room. A heart monitor buzzed to life, and she saw the green line jumping and diving.
"This clever do-dad is supposed to take the pure and unmarred power contained in the princesses hearts and transfer it, straight into a NotQuite, the jolt of which will completely rejoin the Heart and the mind once more! Of course, to do so, the princess must be complacent, so we fashioned this machine to regulate heart power."
He flicked another switch and Kairi heard an odd buzzing in her head. Images formed in her mind, none of them hers…a sandy beach, much to white to be the Destiny Islands…a flower in bloom…the Little Dipper Constellation…the peaceful pace at which they flashed left little room for deep contemplation, and she was soon in an odd daydream, eyelids heavy with sleep.
I'll always be with you if you always remember…
"Sora!" she blurted, and in a burst of speed, she tugged at her bonds, kicking and grunting. "Let me out! NOW!"
Haznortex didn't seem amused. He pressed a button on the IV bag, and the dirty-water mixture swirled downward, entering her bloodstream.
Instantly, she saw more pictures, of people dying, blackness, darkness, evil…shiny yellow eyes emerging from it all, pain, death…Sora lying motionless on the ground…
"NO!" she screamed, crying profusely.
"I'm glad to see you enjoyed your little trip. I just injected you with heartlatoxin. Memories and feelings gathered from the many Heartless Sora destroyed, in liquid form. You feel their anguish, their pain…their sorrow. For of course it had never crossed your mind that they could actually FEEL. Ignorance at it's best. Think of your beloved Sora once more, and you get another trip. The more I inject you, the worse it'll hurt, so mind you keep your thoughts focused on what I give you."
Kairi, gasping turned to Haznortex, pure hatred in her eyes.
"You can do whatever you want to me…but you will NEVER make me forget Sora!"
Haznortex chuckled. "tsk tsk tsk…feisty now, aren't you? I'm afraid there are downsides to this procedure as well. Over controlling of the heart and it's emotions can lead to permanent damage, as my analysts have discovered. Complete emotional shutdown. You see, if that happens to you, why, you'll never be able to love…to smile…to feel, anything anymore. Utterly useless to us, but at least we'd be sending a message for those meddlers to keep themselves out of our affairs, besides the added bonus of possibly robbing your heart of it's powers."
Kairi felt a bead of sweat drifting down her face. Where were Sora and Riku? Surely they discovered she was gone by now…
"pity...you're such a pretty thing too…I asked the master if after I was rejoined I could choose a princess for my trophy, and he wholeheartedly agreed…I would pick you…nice and young…and headstrong…"
Kairi grimaced, and without even thinking, lunged her head forward, meeting Haznortex's with unquestionable force. The pain could be dealt with, all that mattered was that she'd hurt HIM.
"You fowl, fresh little ingrate!" he growled, holding his head in his hands. But he soon recovered and dealt a fearsome slap to Kairi's left cheek.
As the finger marks burned pink, Kairi imagined Sora coming…saving her…and reducing Haznortex to a pile of pitiful dust…
