"Hey, could I...talk with you about something?"
It was a bit of a tough one, just to get that out there - but Riku did it.
After returning to Kairi's ship, Riku waited a while, stewed a bit...but then he got over it (over himself, more like) and went to find Terra.
"Of course," was Terra's response. Of course it was.
They navigated through the ship's interior together, till they reemerged out on the deck again. Being out in open space and air again was nice for Riku (still was). Riku moved to the front of the ship, leaning out over the railing in front of the bowsprit (the long pole sticking out from the foremost part of the ship). Terra joined him, on his right, leaning casually against the railing with a creak.
"Alright, so, sorry to assume..." Terra began. "but is this about what happened between you and Kairi earlier today?"
"Yeah," Riku admitted. "I just- screwed things up again. I really...freaked Kairi out again!"
"How?"
"I was just trying to- have a conversation, talk about life back on the islands - but I ended up talking about how- how I thought she looked nice when we were nine, and then it was the last time we met in Traverse Town and she'd asked me about her current outfit and I was a real piece of- but today I gave her the answer I should've given her back then! I told her that her new outfit was great, that she- GAH. Stupid, I know!" Riku groaned. "I didn't even- mean to go saying half of that crap to her, it just- just..." He fell silent, clenching his jaw and turning away. "H-hey, Terra...?" he started again.
"Yes, Riku?"
Riku struggled with himself some more - majorly. If this wasn't the biggest leap he'd taken in his life, what was?
"You ever- f-feel things for, you know, a girl?" Riku mumbled out.
"Ah...so that's what this is about?" said Terra quietly. Riku gave a pained nod, his cheek flushed. He heard Terra shift against the railing. That wood creaked a little. "Once or twice, I might have, yes," the man finally answered breezily.
"What'd you do about it?" Riku asked.
Terra laughed. "What did I do? Nothing. It went away; I got over it."
"It must have been easier than this, for you," Riku went on in a mutter. "Does- did the girl know you- liked her and all?"
"Oh, she had no idea," Terra said, amused. "Not at first. Not for a while. Until I messed it all up by telling her."
"What- happened?"
Terra sighed. "Well...nothing happened. Like I said: it went away, and I got over it. I never brought it up with her again, and she never cared to think about it, either. See, this girl, she...had a way of holding herself apart from others. Keeping others at arm's length. Heart of steel. She was so focused, so strong and fierce - often at the expense of other things that mattered. But, with time, she changed. Not a whole lot - but enough to matter. Enough...that I think she'd be shocked if she really looked back on herself. The girl of then, and the woman of now."
Riku felt the inkling of suspicion in his mind. "Hold on, are you talking about-"
"Doesn't matter - we're out here right now to talk about you," Terra said lightly.
"No, hold on, seriously, are you saying you had a crush on-"
"Yes - as much as you have a crush on Kairi," Terra said bluntly.
Riku winced, flushing again. "Okay, okay! Yeah, I do. I have, always, since the day she first showed up on the islands! This- I had all these dreams since I met you - and even before that - you know that much already. And then a year later, this mysterious girl comes down from the stars in the middle of this crazy meteor shower! And then you meet her, get to know her, and then she tells you she's not from 'this island.' From 'this world,' even. And she's c-cool, and she's quick witted, and- you know- her hair and the way she laughs and..."
"Well, I can understand how a young boy would be...enamored, with a person like that coming into their life. With how she did."
"Y-yeah...yeah. And- except- she's afraid of me now! She's afraid of that. What my- these feelings- mean. And we were actually sort of good, these last few days, you know? And then I went and brought those feelings and fears up again and now she's just- I screwed it all up again! But it's- it's sort of messed up, right? She was right, back then, that I- after Traverse Town, after I- she asked me how I could have these feelings for her, but still have done all the terrible things I did to her! Said all those things I said to her back then. She was RIGHT. So I- I shouldn't feel this way, not for her. Not now."
"I wouldn't exactly say that how you feel is wrong," Terra said thoughtfully. "It isn't wrong to feel. But how we act on our feelings, what we do about them, that's what really matters."
"Yeah? So what do I do about mine?"
"Well, if bringing up these feelings around her makes her uncomfortable, then you just need to respect her enough to not do that again - don't bring it up to her again. Just manage them, keep them to yourself."
"Yeah, I- I want to do that! I do! I don't want her to be afraid of me - it's...a shitty feeling, okay? I don't want her to feel like she has to avoid me or- I mean, not that she can't still do that, it's just-"
"I understand what you mean. And that's good. Your Heart's in the right place here."
Riku sighed. "Still, I mean...now we're back to square one, I guess?"
"Hmm. Maybe. Just give her space - let it settle. Let her calm down. And then, you could try to apologize to her for it. Explain to her what you've explained to me here now...if she's open to hearing it, anyway."
"Okay. Got it. Yeah. Give her space...try to apologize. If she's- even open to the apology..."
"Exactly."
Riku frowned, but he nodded again, all the same. "I guess..."
Light, quick, familiar footsteps and a brilliant light suddenly stole Riku's attention. He turned toward her, surprise running through him.
Guess she doesn't need all that much space...? he thought hopefully.
"Hey, Kairi-" he began carefully.
"I want you to show me your darkness," Kairi cut across him.
"What?" Riku said.
"If you really think you're a changed guy - that you can control it and all that - then I want proof," Kairi continued firmly. From that tone of voice of hers, he could easily imagine her glaring at him with her hands on her hips (it was that tone). "Show me you can do it. Show me...that you're not going to just flip one day and turn back into that total creep you were before!"
"Okay, ow - but-" Riku took a breath. In and out. "Okay," he said, nodding. "Yeah. You want proof I can do this? I'll show you."
Even as he said it, he felt the nervousness. The panic, almost. What if he screwed this up too? What if he failed so badly that- well...he couldn't exactly screw up any worse, could he? He'd hit rock bottom long ago. No - no - that was right. Nothing to fear, nothing to be worried about. Don't give the darkness anything to latch onto, either, as a consequence...
Just breathe, just do it. And do it for her. And don't do it because you want to prove it to her for yourself - prove it to her, for her. So that she can know she doesn't have to be afraid of you. That she doesn't have to worry about it. You freaked her out before, now's the chance to make it right. Simple as that. Give her this reassurance.
Riku breathed, and he slowly rose to his feet. "Alright, I'm going to just-"
"Wait. If we're doing this, we should probably just knock out two birds with one stone," Terra spoke. "Stay here - don't do anything - I'm going to go get Aqua."
Well, Riku's anxiety spiked again sharply at those words. Even more at Terra's fading, heavy footfalls as he left Riku alone with Kairi.
But - no! No: same deal. Prove it, do it, for no other reason than that you don't want people to act afraid of you anymore. To worry about you.
Just...don't feel. Don't care. Don't even think. Just know in your Heart that it's right and it's what you have to do, and do it. Just like...like you did with Erin. You didn't overthink it, didn't fear - you just did it for her, because it was what she needed from you in the moment. Casual, simple. Draw on it, use it, let it go. Easy. No letting it get out of control.
Riku stood there, closing his eyes, and breathing. Just sensing the depths of his own Heart, acutely and up close. The emotions within. Feeling and thought. The light and the dark...
Both his. Nothing to be afraid of. His darkness wasn't something to fear any more than his Light was. Sure, you had to be a lot more cautious with it, handle it with care, keep an eye on it, but ultimately...it couldn't do anything unless he let it. It was his, and he controlled it - it didn't control him. He kept it in his strong Heart's depths, until he needed to call on it with a strong hand.
"...I am not going to just stand back and let you shove your apprentice's hands into the fire to prove your insane, dangerous hypothesis!" Master Aqua's harsh tones pulled Riku out of his deep meditations.
"Aqua, again: it's not just some theory - it's proven. And two, it's not dangerous for him. He's already done it, and he's fine," Terra's calm voice replied to her as they came out onto the deck together.
"That does not mean we should let him keep messing around with it! Maybe he got lucky, but that luck will never hold!" Aqua said furiously.
"You said you'd stick around to make sure nothing goes wrong," Terra spoke evenly. "Was I wrong in thinking that meant you weren't going to try to prevent us from exploring this outright?"
"I was placating you at the time, Terra, for goodness sake! I didn't actually think you would be so callous with your own apprentice's wellbeing!" Aqua burst out. "Perhaps you do truly align more with Xehanort than I thought you did," she added darkly.
Silence came over the deck.
Riku couldn't have imagined what Kairi was thinking, standing here watching this sideshow. Though, he'd have bet on her agreeing with Aqua more than Terra...
"Riku," Terra spoke again, as if he hadn't even heard Aqua's last remark.
"Yeah?" Riku said instantly, attentive.
"Demonstrate for them whenever you're ready," Terra said simply. "Take your time, focus - and relax."
Riku just nodded, then closed his eyes again, placing a hand to his chest. Tune out Terra's presence - tune out Aqua's - and tune out Kairi's, too. Instead, he let his mind wander somewhere else: back to the last time he'd done this. Those memories, those moments with Erin...when he'd just done it without even thinking about it...
Riku didn't think about it, in the here and now, as he reached into his own Heart and called upon his darkness. As he pulled some of it up, and manifested it as a shroud of dark blue flames in the hand on his chest. He opened his eyes and held his hand out, palm up, those flames burning warmly. This comforting, inviting feeling that darkness always had. He heard a sharp intake of breath - heard Master Aqua take a step back, even. He didn't worry about it. He turned, holding the darkness even as he cast out his senses to find Kairi, and then he thrust out his hand and sent a blast of Dark Firaga into the empty reaches of space.
He breathed, called on more darkness, and sent out a triple Dark Firaga barrage with yell of exertion. He breathed again, letting his arm fall. He turned back to the others, then brought up his hand again and formed a dark sword.
"That thing again," Kairi spoke, leery. Tense.
"Yeah - Soul Eater," Riku muttered out.
"Really, Riku?" Kairi said in disbelief.
"What?" Riku flushed.
"You really named that thing Soul Eater?"
"Y-yeah - s-so?" Riku stammered. "What's the deal, Kairi?"
He heard her let out a little breath of air. It bordered on a laugh, surprisingly. "Nothing...I guess you were in your edgiest phase," she said innocently.
Riku turned away quickly, taking several deep breaths as his face burned hotter than ever. "Y-yeah, I was at my worst," he agreed.
"Alright," Terra spoke up casually. "Kairi, now, if I'm not mistaken, you've always had an innate ability to sense darkness, haven't you?"
"Yes. Even when I didn't know what it was...I still somehow just knew," Kairi replied. "I knew something terrible was happening on the island, and I knew I had to go to that door and stop...the darkness trying to take our world's Heart. And before that," she went on, in a strained tone. "I knew Riku was losing his Heart to the darkness too. I always sensed it in him; I felt it growing, more and more until...well, we all know what happened."
"We do," Terra stated factually. "And Aqua - we both know you're an expert at sensory magic. You can sense what's in his Heart as easily as breathing."
"Yes, I can," Aqua said tersely.
"Good," said Terra. "Then, Kairi, Aqua: feel Riku's Heart. Reach out to him. Tell me what you sense, both of you. The light and the dark. Tell me what's happening in there. Is it hurting him? Is it consuming him? is he losing himself to it, like he lost himself before? Does it feel any differently now than it has up until a minute ago?"
Riku stood there, waiting, focusing on himself alone. And then he felt them. Their presences brushing against his - passing over him. And then, he felt a twinge in his Heart. It was a...strange experience, having his very Heart probed at. After a minute or two, it subsided - faded. And he breathed again. He lowered Soul Eater (alright, yeah, even he cringed a little) to his side and let it vanish, releasing the darkness back into himself.
"Well?" Terra's voice came again. "His Heart's still the same, isn't it?"
"Darkness...really wasn't the problem, was it?" Kairi spoke slowly - clearly, directly at Riku. "It was just you. You, being a-"
"Arrogant, egotistical jerk? Yeah," Riku finished for her. "I told you already: Ansem, err, Xehanort played a part in it, and darkness played its part too - but it all came down to me. The darkness just...it fed on my worst thoughts and feelings, and it grew, and it- it was like a feedback loop that just spiraled and then it was...all I was. But I- look, it's still just me. It's all me. And if I can control myself, control my darkness...well, it's one and the same thing. Darkness is part of me, just like the light is. Like it's a part of everybody. Except you, of course, Kairi..." he added awkwardly.
"No," Aqua spoke, hard. "I can't believe that darkness is some- some intrinsic part of a person - of a person's Heart! You can't just control darkness by- by mastering emotions or improving as a person, it doesn't work like that! It's a separate, corrosive force that needs to be exorcised from one's Heart!"
"So is Light, then!" Kairi's voice rang out. Fierce, determined. And...on Riku's side again, for the first time in ages - instead of against him?
"Kairi..." Aqua started.
"Look, there are only seven of us Princesses in all these millions of worlds, right?" Kairi went on, still so fierce. That way Riku always- well, he wasn't finishing that thought (that was the whole problem of the day!). "Only seven of us out of trillions of people in all the worlds who've got Hearts of Pure Light. Hearts that the darkness can't ever find its way into - can't even touch! If Light is meant to be natural and intrinsic to us, then why isn't everybody like me? Like us Princesses? Because wherever this power comes from, whatever this is - whatever it means to be a Princess of Heart - that isn't natural! It's something else, something separate. Who knows what it is? I sure don't! But I do know that it's not any more a key part of existing than darkness is. Or, maybe they both are. Maybe pushing away and fearing and hating one element out of the two is the wrong way to go. Maybe if everybody stopped being so afraid of it, stopped rejecting it, maybe...I don't know! I just-"
Kairi stopped, in the midst of all her passion and fire.
She finished with only a very quiet, but equally as firm declaration: "I just know I believe Riku - about this one thing - okay?"
"Kairi...thank you-" Riku began.
"Shut up," she cut him off. But...he heard the smile in her voice. "Yeah, darkness wasn't the problem with you - the problem was you being a terrible person. So whether you use darkness or not doesn't matter! Well...I guess it matters if you can actually keep a lid on it or not. And I want to...trust you can do that now, too. So, I trust what I just felt from you," she concluded.
"I can't promise...that I won't slip, or mess up again," Riku started tentatively. "But I can promise that I'd...I'd be the first person to kick my own ass if I ever started going back down the road I went down before - all right?"
"Then we'll make a promise to keep," Kairi replied firmly.
"Yeah."
"Kairi, please, you cannot possibly believe that," Aqua spoke, disbelief in her own voice. "You're a Princess of Heart, you fight the darkness, you've seen-"
"I fight the darkness that runs wild. I've seen darkness that's just out of control, spreading everywhere," Kairi stated. "Maybe that is just how darkness is - maybe that's its nature - but that's just nature. A fire burns a forest, it spreads and wipes out the trees, and it catches up animals and people living in it too. Lightning strikes, a tsunami crashes over the beach - maybe a whole ship of people goes down. But that's just what happens. And it sucks, but I can't blame that. I can't blame what doesn't have conscious thought."
She paused for breath before continuing on. "I can blame Riku for letting his darkness get out of control, letting it run wild with his Heart and mind, sure, but...but I also saw him control it today. I saw it just- sitting there in his Heart. Like bubbling magma in a volcano. It's not doing anything, it's not going to erupt again. And he took some of it out and he used it, and the rest of it just kept bubbling away in there. Maybe he won't make dumb mistakes again because he's not afraid to handle it now. Because he understands it now. Like I think I do now, too."
"You two..." Aqua made a noise that Riku almost interpreted as a snort. Or even a scoff. "You're just children. You think you understand darkness? You think you know anything about it? I know! I have spent ten years trapped in it, ten years wandering, ten years closing off my Heart and fighting it off for even a moment to breathe! And it still found the cracks in my Heart, it seeped into me, it- you have no idea what it did to me! What that vile force is capable of!"
"You're not afraid of the dark - you're afraid of who's lurking inside it," Riku said quietly. "The Heartless monsters, yeah, or maybe Xehanort, or maybe even-"
"Enough," Aqua hissed. "You are a reckless, foolish boy who got lucky - but you won't get lucky again! Ten years screwing with this darkness, and we'll see how you are after it's over! I doubt you'd last a week!"
"Aqua!" Terra said harshly.
Sharp footsteps as Riku sensed a presence swiftly departing.
"Uh, is- Master Aqua going to be okay?" Riku said hesitantly.
"She'll be fine," Terra replied. "Just do what you do, and she'll see, in time."
"Yeah? Wish I had your confidence..." Riku said honestly.
"Riku," came Kairi's quiet voice. Surprisingly...soft. Riku almost could have thought it was Xion he was talking to.
"Yeah?" he said simply.
"I want you to show me more," Kairi stated. "If you lost yourself before because of yourself - your emotions - then we need to...stress-test you."
"Stress test me...what?" Riku laughed out of sheer bewilderment. "What are you talking about?"
"Fight me, right now - and use the darkness," Kairi stated firmly, as Riku "saw" the burst of magic and rippling power that was her Keyblade being summoned to hand. It was as radiant and concentrated as Kairi herself, as her princess Heart.
Riku stepped back, raising a hand to run it through his hair. "Kairi, I-"
"We've already fought before - and I won - remember?" Kairi cut him off. He could hear the grin in her voice. "Come on, where's the guy I know? Or, what, you can compete with Sora every day but not me?"
"N-no, it's nothing like that!" Riku said quickly, holding up his hands. "It's just- uh-" He let his arms fall. Let out a great woosh of air.
"It's just what?" she insisted hotly. "Come on, spill it, Riku!"
"I just don't want to screw anything up again!" Riku finally said, flushing hard. "If I do mess up here, or- or if I accidentally hurt you, or...because I'm sorry for all of the ways I've already done that. I don't want to do it any more. You're my- my best friend."
For a long minute, Kairi was silent. He couldn't have guessed what she was thinking. Then- "Don't worry about it," she said finally. "Have some of that Riku confidence again, why don't you?" she went on, teasing. Actually teasing him. Like old times. Like- there wasn't some insult in there this time, it was just pure... "I won't complain about this new Riku - but I still liked some things about the old one," she added, still in that playful tone.
"Yeah? What- what was that?" RIku stammered.
"That he didn't treat me differently from Sora," Kairi's reply came.
Riku gave a small gasp. He could feel his face heating up worse than before. But then, he gave her a grin, and he fell into his combat stance, Soul Eater at the ready. "Alright. Then I'm not going to go easy on you."
"No one's gone easy on me since this whole journey started - I don't expect anybody to start now," Kairi responded - and there was happiness in her voice. Pure happiness.
Terra suddenly cleared his throat, shifting on the deck. "All right, going easy on each other or not - be careful not to damage our main mode of transportation too much," he said lightly. "And - Riku - you'll want to step over a couple feet to your right; you're still too close to the edge for comfort."
Riku nodded, taking Terra's advice. "Got it."
"Right, you can't fly," Kairi laughed. "That's really just too bad..."
"Yeah, well...wouldn't be a smart idea now for me, would it?" Riku muttered back, laughing too.
"At least it wouldn't be a first."
"Alright, let's do this," Riku told her, his grin widening. "I always knew you were strong, Kairi - stronger than me. So show me again."
"Hehe...if you insist, then!"
Kairi wasted no time at all in going on the offensive.
She threw herself forward, swinging her keyblade for him from the side.
Riku sensed it, tracked it...then he rolled sideways, coming up around and batting at it with his own weapon. He spun and thrust for her - she easily leapt back out of range. Riku stood waiting, breathing - casting out with his magical senses again.
"What, no pressing the attack? I thought you weren't going to go easy on me," Kairi's voice rang out.
"Yeah, well, I have to fight a little differently these days," Riku said, shrugging and concentrating again. "Sorry to disappoint."
"Oh..." Kairi hesitated. "Well - show me some more darkness. Throw some Dark Firagas at me!"
"Heh...okay..." Riku drew on his darkness, channeling it through his body, and he thrust out a hand and hurled it all out as dark flames.
Kairi's Keyblade became this- streak of pure light, to Riku's mind's eye, making it hard to even tell where it ended or began - until it all snapped forward and the Keyblade was in front of him, spinning like a buzzsaw. Right, that move again. Riku crossed his arms and conjured a dark barrier to block the attack, that light casting off the weapon like fireworks spitting in his face. Kairi moved, she leapt up and she flew over his head. Riku pushed his barrier outward, sending her Keyblade flying away, and he turned to meet Kairi herself. He swung for her horizontally. She ducked under his swing, her hand flashed with light and energy (her weapon summoned back), and she stabbed her weapon forth.
Riku twisted and threw himself into a sideways handspring to avoid her strike.
Kairi pursued him without hesitation, and they exchanged rapid blows - blocks and binds of weapons.
The sparring match continued, and Riku found he really didn't care if he won or lost it to her.
Following the Holo-Map Aqua had obtained was easier than Kairi would have thought.
Aqua had done some kind of "location magic" to make their ship actually show up on the map itself, so from there it was simple to plot a course and watch.
Where they chose to go was to the heart of this world's biggest government system (and territory): the Terran Empire, and its capital world of Zethera.
If a Keyhole was going to be anywhere, it was probably going to be at the most important, bustling part of this entire region of space.
Probably...
In the meantime, over the course of the next couple days, Kairi spent her time focusing on her Keyblade transformation.
Trying to get it right.
But it just wouldn't come to her, for some reason.
It just left her frustrated.
One particularly frustrating evening, she hurled a fireball out into the void of this "Etherium" space.
"I'd be careful about where you go sending random fireballs," came a familiar voice. "With all this natural gas floating around, who knows what might happen? We wouldn't want to cause any unwanted explosions."
Kairi froze. She breathed, lowering her weapon and vanishing it before finally turning around on the deck - to face the man who'd emerged from the ship's interior.
"Sorry," she said tightly. "Master Terra."
Terra shook his head, smiling as he approached her. "You're still having trouble with your Formchanges?"
"Yes," Kairi admitted, trying not to glare. She was mad at herself, not him, after all...
Terra nodded, striding for the side of the ship and grasping the railing. "Would you like help maybe figuring out why that is?"
"You think there's a reason?" Kairi said, standing tensed still. But she willed herself to breathe. Willed herself to meet his gaze as he glanced over at her again.
"There's always a reason - whether it's a physical, technical issue, or an emotional or mental one. It could be anything."
Kairi slowly walked up to him, watching him. She stopped beside him, and turned to grasp the railing herself. To stare out into the swirls of blue and purple clouds. This place that was still just so pretty... I'm not afraid of him, I'm not afraid of him. "I must just be doing it wrong," she muttered. "Maybe I'm not concentrating well enough on what I want it to be?"
"Maybe," Terra said easily. He continued gazing out into space. He bowed his head, his long hair blowing with the winds. "Would you mind if I asked you...why you chose fans as your weapon of choice?"
Kairi frowned, turning her head aside (not because she couldn't stand to look at him). "Well...um...it's just - when I was nine..." she started, only to falter, falling silent again. She sighed to herself, shaking her head. She cautiously looked back at Terra; he wasn't looking at her - was still just looking out at the colorful void. A large blue comet with a burning trail came into view on the distant horizon, catching Kairi's eye. She smiled to herself. "There was this big festival, back on the islands - an annual thing, you know?"
Terra gave another nod, silent. He glanced at her, and she saw nothing but attention on his face. Just...he was listening to her.
She swallowed, glancing away from him again quickly. "Anyways, it was always a great time for everyone - Sora and me, and...Riku, too, we loved it - and...and that was the year I'd decided I wanted to participate in it. Plenty of other boys and girls did, but that was the year I got up the guts to do it too. So my dad got this family friend to make me my own set of robes for the ceremony and everything - but the fans were authentic. They were these great big folding fans, I looked ridiculous with them, probably..." She blushed, laughing at herself at the memory. "Though...everyone from- daddy- to Sora, told me I looked great. That I was going to do great with them. And I wanted to. I practiced for weeks, the dances, the- all of it. I memorized it, I knew my part. I had it down! And then..."
"And then what?" Terra prompted quietly.
"It was these girls from school - really mean, awful jerks - who decided they had to ruin everything for me!" Kairi went on passionately. "They found me the very night of the festival, and they just- they ruined my robes! They even hid the fans away - they told me-" She stopped. She fought past the lump in her throat, blinking rapidly. "They said a foreign girl didn't have the right to touch those fans. To hold them, to use them. Or- to even participate in the ceremonies. So I didn't. Daddy tried to get me to do it anyways; he said I'd put so much work into it, he said he was proud of me, and it didn't matter, that what those girls said wasn't true, but...I always knew it was. Sora said the same thing, more or less, in his own way: he told me I had every right to take part in the ceremony. And Riku..."
She shook her head, smacking her hands on the railing before furiously brushing at her tearful eyes. "Riku was the first one I ran into, after it happened. I ran right into him, and I was a crying, stupid mess, and I told him everything, and he- he was a good best friend, back then. I know he's never been the greatest at showing his feelings, being all 'girly' or whatever he'd call it, but...he was there for me that night. That moment. Right when I needed him. And that meant everything to me."
"I see," Terra spoke gently - no judgement, just sympathy. "Do you think that could be why you're having trouble with this, then?"
"What, because of Riku?" Kairi said, in a high voice.
"Because of the incident as a whole," Terra clarified. "Could the distress of it all be impeding you from properly achieving your Formchange, do you think?"
Kairi gave a small laugh, leaning out over the railing before pushing herself back again. "Do you think that's what it is? I wanted to make these fans because I want to resolve my issues with that night's events!" she exclaimed. "I want to-" She cut herself off, frowning.
"You want to prove those girls wrong, even now? You want to make it right in your Heart - even to yourself?" Terra said softly.
"I- I guess..." Kairi stammered, looking away again with a blush. For reasons that had nothing to do with her other issues with the appearance of the man beside her. "Pretty stupid, huh?" she added, nonchalant.
She heard Terra laugh. A nice, soft laugh. She turned to look at him again, at that sound. He had a great laugh... "No. It's not stupid at all," he replied. "I think we just found your problem, then."
"So what do we do about it?" Kairi asked.
Terra pushed off from the railing, straightening up tall, his arms falling to his sides as he turned to her. "Well, if you're open to it, I have an idea we might try-" He suddenly stopped, mid sentence. His mouth open, his eyes widening.
For a second there, Kairi was confused out of her mind. But then she realized he wasn't looking at her - but past her. She turned around quickly, and then she stared too!
"SORA, RIKU!" she yelled out, spinning back around to stare at the entryway to the ship's interior in total desperation.
Not even ten seconds after she'd called for them, they came bursting out of the ship onto the deck - along with Xion, Roxas, Ven, and Aqua bringing up the rear.
"What's going on?" Sora asked instantly.
"THAT!" Kairi declared, turning back to stretch an arm out, and point out from the front of the ship.
Out in the distance, on a direct course for the Pestilence, was another ship. A ship of sorts, anyways. It was a massive, fleshy, living...battleship. Of red and blue. With little feet on the bottom, with a tail on the back of it, and with a big monstrous face protruding out of the front of it! It had what looked like spines or teeth sticking out of it, it had spikes, it had this weird central dome area with arches, and above that central platform it had a gigantic black Heartless with armor and long sleeves on its arms, and golden rings from its backside and these two blue orbs on its shoulders...
It was just an absolute, horrific, disgusting mess of a thing floating out there.
Coming right for them.
But worst of all...was the sight of a giant sized Ansem/Xehanort Heartless atop the giant ship, positioned right in front of that huge, dark demon Heartless.
"Why is there a GIANT ANSEM CONNECTED TO A HUGE FLESHY BATTLESHIP BY WEIRD CABLES?" Sora exclaimed, in a high voice of horror.
"AND WHY DID HE TAKE OFF HIS SHIRT?!" Kairi screeched.
Everyone stared at her.
"WHAT? It's a valid question!" she cried. "JUST- LOOK- LOOK AT HIM! HE HAD NO REASON TO DO THAT AT ALL! NUH-UH!" She jabbed her finger out at the distant visage again - several times over for emphasis.
Terra cleared his throat loudly, a red flush to his face. He smacked his shoulder pauldron, and light erupted, materializing into his familiar armor - with cape. "I'd rather we not talk about this...considering he's still using my appearance and all..." his muffled voice came from beneath his helmet.
Kairi blushed hard, looking away swiftly. "Sorry..." she squeaked.
I guess we know what he's going to look like in another ten years, though - if he keeps hitting the gym...oh my gosh brain why? Stoooop! On the other hand...wasn't it progress, to go from being terrified of the man to-
Kairi physically smacked herself across the face, regardless! Now was totally not the time! Ansem-
"Ansem really wants us to take him seriously this time..." Kairi murmured aloud, staring at the Heartless battleship some more.
"What even is that?" Roxas gaped. "It almost looks like a-"
"A Heartless," Aqua finished, her mouth twisting. "It's a massive Heartless."
"H-hey, at least it's still not as big as the one back in Radiant Garden," Ven gulped. "Remember that one, Sora?"
"Yeah. This one looks more like we could actually take it in a straight fight!" Sora replied.
"But it's not just a giant Heartless warship," Riku said, his face scrunched up in concentration. "There's a lot of energy inside of it. Running all throughout its- body. There are points where it gathers, where it's sort of...pulsing? Charging? And around the center, there's a...a barrier, right? A powerful one. It's protecting something - a huge energy source. A...core, maybe?"
"Possibly," Terra mused. "As for those other energy sources, those are probably turrets of some kind - I can see some...protrusions from here, I think."
"I don't think it's just one Heartless, either, though. Besides Xehanort himself, I mean. Look at that huge black one behind him," said Sora. "It's like the kind of Heartless you were, before, uh, Master Terra. And that thing behind the barrier looks like it has a little face on it too, see? So that fleshy core thingy could be another Heartless too?"
"Okay, then: we're dealing with some sort of amalgamated monstrosity that only Xehanort could have come up with," Aqua said tersely, stepping forward. "We're all on the same page - now let's figure out a plan of attack."
"Well we've got our gliders," Ven spoke, indicating himself, Terra and Aqua. He glanced at Kairi and the younger wielders. "But you guys..."
"Sora, Xion and I can all fly, remember?" Kairi said quickly, grinning.
"Right!" Ven said, grinning back sheepishly. "Guess that leaves Riku and Roxas without any way to get over to Xehanort's ship on their own."
"We could take passengers," Terra said simply.
"No," Aqua spoke. "Riku and Roxas will remain on this ship; we can't leave our own vessel to be a sitting duck for Xehanort to blast away at, can we?" she went on. "Since Riku obviously can't fly the ship - Roxas, you'll have to take the wheel."
"Um, but I don't know how to fly a ship-" Roxas began.
"It's easy," Aqua cut him off. "Just turn the wheel and make sure the ship flies away from Xehanort's! Keep it out of his reach, avoid any long range attacks of his."
"But-" Roxas protested further.
"Hey, don't sweat it, man," Riku said quickly, striding over to Roxas. "I can at least guide you through it - I watched Kairi and the others at it before. There's nothing to it."
"Uh, okay," Roxas said, still looking a bit nervous.
"All right," Terra said loudly. "The main idea should be to keep on the move - circle around Xehanort's ship - and keep him from focusing too much on any one target. Go under, go over, go around. When you make a pass, you attack. Long range magic, or a close range sword slash if you think you can do it."
"That's a sound strategy, yes - but before that, we should probably focus on taking out those sources of energy first...that are probably turrets of some kind," Aqua added.
"Right," Terra nodded to her. "Get rid of distractions, free us up to maneuver around the ship as we please. That should be our first move."
"So, just try not to get hit - got it," Sora said, determined.
"Let's go take that thing down already!" Kairi said fiercely. "And him along with it - I'm over him!"
Terra and Aqua traded looks. They looked over the assembled wielders. They nodded as one, and Aqua joined him in changing into her armor. Ven followed suit, a moment later. The three of them hurled out their Keyblades and conjured their gliders, getting on board.
Kairi, Sora and Xion exchanged their own looks, then they rose up into the open air on nothing, hovering above the deck.
"Okay - let's go!" Aqua said strongly, and the three older Keyblade wielders blasted off out into space in a flash of burning plasma engines.
The three younger wielders soared after them - gaining on them quickly, and then even keeping pace with their gliders.
As the six of them approached Ansem's battleship, Kairi, Sora and Xion summoned their weapons together.
Time to get rid of you for good, Ansem!
AN: Muhahaha, cliffhanger lol! xD Evil cliffy. :D :D I'm not sorry lol. :P Next chapter will be a big balooza battle of epicness and whatnot! :D Just some good old fun action scenes. Finally get to write everyone together in a fight. xD Yaaaay!
