I'm still riding super high this week, 'cause my boys, the New England Patriots, are once again Super Bowl Champions! WOOOO!
Shout out to all my readers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine, Vermont, and Connecticut.
Where Do We Go From Here?
"What a sight. Look like you're the lazy bum this time, Kairi."
Following being throw into the unknown (again), Kairi must have blacked out entirely, as she couldn't remember a thing after meeting the blue-haired woman, Aqua, and the Light appearing in her hand. Finally, though, after an indeterminate amount of time, she did began to stir, consciousness and sensation returning to her. As she groaned slightly, she could feel a comfortable feeling of warmth and soft around her, so it seemed her situation had improved from infinite blackness, cold stone, and an army of Heartless. Slowly, her eyes began to flutter open, herself wincing from the bright light inhabiting wherever she was, and, slowly, through her blurry vision she saw... Sora!?
Maybe it had all be a horrible nightmare, or Sora had saved her at the last moment, or the Light had saved both her and Sora. That, somehow, she was whisked away from danger and was now resting at home in her warm bed or on Sora's ship, with the most wonderful person she had ever met watching over her.
Maybe everything was going to be okay.
"Sora...?" She ventured hopefully in a dry, croaking voice.
"Sora? You must be seeing things." Her vision began to adjust to the light and focus, revealing clearly who was in front of her. It was a man with spiky hair, but he was older, his hair was blond, and instead of rising upwards like a crown, his spikes were parted left, right, and backwards around his head. "The name's Cloud."
"Oh..." Kairi sank downwards, deflated and crestfallen. She did, however, take notice of where she had wound up. It was a small but rather well furnished bedroom, with hardwood floors, a large wardrobe to her left, an old but soft-looking sofa to her right (and something she couldn't quite identified sitting across it), and herself lying in a large, queen-sized bed, with comforters and blankets and pillows piled high around her. Just where am I? And this Cloud guy... Can I trust him?
For his part, Cloud had barely taken notice to her, instead opening up the only door in the room (which seemed to be at the end of hallway). "Hey, everyone. She's woken up." The blond man called down the hall to someone. A few moments later, Kairi could hear what must have been several people all coming down the room, all of them pouring in to the now cramped space.
Six people in total had entered the room to join her and Cloud, however, Kairi did vaguely recall the group, much to her relief.
"Wait... you guys, I remember you. Last year, from Traverse Town." She pointed to a man with short-cropped brown hair and a diagonal scar running across his nose, "Leon." To a young woman only a few years older than her, with black hair cut in a page style, "Yuffie." Another woman, around Leon's age, light brown hair bound in a long braid, "Aerith." A pair of older men; one with a windburned, crinkled face and blond hair, and the other with a wizened look and a long white beard, "Cid and Merlin." And then to a woman with long, raven-black hair, "...I'm sorry, I don't think we've ever met."
"I'm Tifa." The woman said, offering her hand, which Kairi shook. "And don't worry, I wasn't around much last year."
Kairi nodded before turning to Leon. "So, does that mean I'm on Traverse Town? How did I even get here?"
"Not Traverse Town. This is Hollow Bastion." He corrected. Upon seeing the alarmed look on Kairi's face, he explained further. "We retook it after Sora defeated Maleficent. Rather, we're still in the process of retaking and repairing it."
"And even more repairin' on out plates, what with that darn Organization messin' everything up and wreakin' havoc today." Cid complained in his heavy southern drawl.
"As for how you got here, well, we were gonna ask you that honestly." Leon said. "We were just surveying the damage done to the city after the Heartless attack, and all of sudden there was this shooting star that crashed town in the middle of town square. When we went to investigate... there you were."
"It actually took us a while to recognize you. You've grown up quite a bit." Aerith added, smiling gently at the younger girl.
"Well, I was thrown into that dark place, surrounded by Heartless. The the Light appeared in my hand, and it dragged my off further into the darkness, then... I woke up here. That's it." Kairi muttered. The redhead shook her head, hand pressed on her forehead. She still felt extremely groggy and out of it.
"Dark place? Light? What are you talking about?" Leon looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Shouldn't you be back on your home world, anyway? I know you probably miss Sora, but... speaking of, we have no idea where he, Donald, or Goofy went to. They just vanished mid-way through the battle."
At that moment, the horror of the situation hit Kairi again and the fog surrounding her mind cleared up. "Oh... that... I know what happened to Sora, everyone." She quickly explained how she initially got off-world, encounter the strange yellow dog and Axel, blindly stumbling through the corridor to Twilight Town. Her double kidnapping by two opposing parties (still a pathetic and painful memory for her) and subsequent short imprisonment.
"And then, I was taken out of my cell to some sort of meeting room. All of the Organization members were there, even the higher-ups I had never seen... And Sora was there, too." Kairi hung her head in shame, long red hair shielding whatever was still visible as well to hide the fact that tears were welling up in her eyes. "He was there because he was offered a deal... his freedom for mine." She swallowed, gripping the top layer of blanket. "He took it. He's their prisoner now."
"He didn't!" Leon blurted out in shock. Some of the others gasped or muttered curses, but Kairi didn't want to look up. Even if she wasn't crying like the little useless girl she was, she didn't want to face anyone at this moment.
Kairi nodded at Leon's exclamation. "All my fault... it's all my fault..."
"It's not, sweetie. Don't keep saying that." Aerith came to sit on the edge of the bed, as Kairi continued to mutter in a mantra of despair. The older woman put her hands onto Kairi's shoulders, gently massaging them. "This is what Sora does. This is the kind of person he is. Especially when it comes to you."
Kairi began to push her hair back, wiping away the tears on her comforter. Her face was beet red, mostly from embarrassment. She offered a small "Thank you" and was in return given a kind smile from Aerith, where Tifa handed her a tissue for her eyes.
Meanwhile, the remainder of the group were discussing the new information amongst themselves. "...And I suppose we can extrapolate what happened after this... prisoner exchange." Merlin said to the others, while stroking his beard as he was wont to do when deep in thought. "She was 'released' in a sense, clearly not to safety as Sora had intended. The poor girl ended up in that 'dark place' until this so-called 'Light' rescued her and brought her back here."
"Though it still doesn't explain where that Keyblade came from." Leon returned. The brunet seemed extremely on edge after learning about Sora's actions, pinching the bridge of his nose at various points, or sighing in frustration.
Kairi looked up to him after dabbing her eyes dry and wiping her nose. "K-Keyblade?" Leon replied by motion towards the sofa and the strange object sitting across it. It certainly was a Keyblade, now that Kairi gave it a good eye, though it was particularly bright, showy, and effeminate. The actual blade was a gradient of colour from light gold at the base, to deep, dark red at the tip, resembling that of a sunset. The curved hilt was divided into two different designs, one half looking like a breaking wave, while the other was simply a sand-coloured curve that eventually wound it's way past the guard and all the way to the end of the blade, like a vine. At the end of the sandy vine the Keyblade exploded outward in a bright bouquet of flowers, that formed the teeth of the weapon. Finally, a length of red silk extended from the pommel, ending with a token shaped like a yellow paopu fruit.
"Who's is that?" Kairi ventured, very confused at it's appearance.
"Yours." Leon stated plainly, startling the teenager who was now staring at him with a slacken jaw and wide eyes. She tried to sputter out a refusal, but Leon only walked around the room to the Keyblade and picked it up. He gave it a single, slow practice swing before it vanished in a flash of light. A moment later, an exact, identical burst of light appeared before Kairi, and the Keyblade was now clutched in her right hand.
Once more, the girl started, even more so than the first time, almost falling out of bed. "This...this... I can't do this!" Kairi exclaimed. "I can't be a Keyblade bearer! This... this isn't me... I'm no fighter, no warrior, no hero! I'm useless..."
The room went deathly silent as Kairi continued to stare in utter disbelief at what was in her hand. At what had happened. Eventually, Leon marched over to the side of her bed, grabbing on to her upper arms and looking in her directly in the eye.
"Kairi, I'm not going to sugarcoat this for you." He began. His voice was clear, direct, and earnest, all of which were reflected in her eyes. Kairi couldn't bring herself to look away or interrupt. "This is... an absolutely dire situation. Not as bad as when Sora started, but... Our enemy is powerful, our resources are low, and all of our heroes are gone. Sora is captured, no one has heard a word of your friend Riku in the past year, and the King is missing again. You're our last hope. You have to stand up and take Sora's place and fight the Organization."
Kairi knew what Leon was going to tell her, and it still hit her like a tidal wave. She sank down into the pillows propped up behind her, staring blankly back at the older man, all words failing her. How can I do that? She wanted to say, to rant. Everything was overwhelming her and she was losing control again, just like when she entered the dark place and screamed into the blackness. She wanted to scream at nothing to prevent her from screaming at herself. There's no way someone like me could ever match up with the Heartless. The Nobodies. Just thinking of the fearsome aura the Organization member cultivated for herself, trying to envision herself facing them down with Keyblade in hand and a steely look of a warrior. It was one of the most absurd things she had ever imagined. I'm not Sora, or Riku, or Aqua... I'm nothing.
Kairi wanted to say all those things, but, her mouth entirely dry and hanging open like a total idiot, all she could manage was a weak, "I can't..."
"You can." Yuffie spoke up from the back of the group. "Like Squall said," that earned her a glare from Leon, "Sora was faced with a similar situation last year. He didn't know how to fight, his friends were missing, thrown into all of this, the enemies were powerful and had tons of footholds and territory on him. But he fought. Despite all of that, he got up and left Traverse Town and he saved everyone! And you know, that if this situation were reversed, if you were the hero the first time around and Sora was the dude in distress and he had to step up to save you... he would do it in a heartbeat. No questions asked." The girl finished up by serving up Kairi a disparaging and disappointed glare, which was slightly hamstrung by her petite frame, but the point was clear none the less.
She's right. Completely right. Kairi thought, while pressing her hand to her forehead, deeply embarrassed. She had made a complete idiot out of herself with that display. Sora wouldn't care about how weak he was, he would only care about his friends being in trouble and trying to save them. Then why couldn't she? Why was her first response when confronted with something like this was to crumble into a weeping mess? Do I not care about Sora as much as I thought I did? Or I am just so consumed in self-loathing that I can never focus on anything else?
The redhead was now acutely aware that everyone in the room was staring at her expectantly.
"I... I'm terrified at what's going to happen." She lifted her arm, which was trembling like a leaf in the wind. Her voice was similarly weak and shaky "But... you're all right. I'm the only one who can do this. I have to get past this, and be like Sora." Kairi looked up at the assembled group and said in much stronger and firmer tone, "I have to fight."
"Well, I'm certainly glad to hear that." Came a high-pitched voice that didn't belong to anyone currently in the room. "And they're right, Sora face difficult odds, but rose to occasion. I'm certain you will, too."
The others parted away from the door frame, the direction where the voice was heard, to reveal a short, anthropomorphic mouse-man with comically large, round ears.
"Your Majesty?" Leon exclaimed in confusion. "Where did you come from? You vanished near the end of the Organization's invasion."
"Leon, please, it's just Mickey. I'm more comfortable with that." King Mickey said, walking into the room. "As for what happened to me, Sora and I ran into the Organization's leader, Xemnas. I chased after him through a corridor of darkness, following him from world to world, but I eventually lost the trail, so I worked my way back here to figure out what our next move should be." The mouse king had walked all the way to Kairi's left side. "It looked like I missed quite a bit in the past few hours."
"What did you overhear between us?" Cloud asked.
"Mostly everything, starting with Kairi explaining what happened to Sora." Mickey then looked suddenly despondent. "Donald and Goofy were with him. The Organization must have gotten rid of them before they took Sora, I do hope they're okay..." He shook his head and sighed, before turning to face Kairi. "Hello, Kairi, I'm Mickey Mouse of the Kingdom of Disney. I know you probably don't remember, but we have met before."
"We have...?" Kairi wracked her brain through her poor, broken memory. She was drawing nothing and, unlike Aqua, there was no ping of remembrance striking her heart. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I can't remember. But it is a pleasure to meet you acquaintance." She had always been taught to show proper amount of respect to people of power and importance. That well-learned habit had pushed through even considering the situation she was in. "I just wish the circumstances were better."
"As do I. And please, I don't like to be addressed like a King outside of my kingdom. Just, Mickey, please."
"Okay, Mickey." She nodded, before blurting out. "So... you'll be helping me fight the Organization right? You and Sora's companions? Donald and Goofy?" The redhead was once again extremely hopeful about this possibility. Sora's companions clearly had some skill and power to be able to stay with him every step of the way, and apparently Mickey was even stronger, if he felt like he could face off with the Superior of the Nobodies.
However, once again, her hopes were quickly dashed as a grim look spread across the mouse-man's face. "I'm afraid... that I can't." Kairi deflated once more. "I've never been good at playing the hero role, I always end up messing up. Especially ten years ago... Besides that, I do have to find Donald and Goofy, and they could be anywhere. And I've already confirmed my mission before coming here: I need to find an entryway into the Organization's stronghold. That's the only way we can end this entire struggle."
Kairi just nodded. "I understand... So, does that mean Leon and the others? Some of you are going to join me?" She looked about half as hopeful as she had to the King. And once again...
Leon winced, clearly knowing what he would say would hurt the girl. "Kairi... we can't. I'd like to, but the seven of us are more or less the only one's keeping Hollow Bastion together. The castle needs to be cleared out, as does over half the city. And that's not even getting to the wilderness. And... if that were just the case, I would certainly lend you two of us, but with the recent invasion and the damage it caused... we just spent ten years reclaiming our home, and I don't want to risk losing it."
"So... I'm all alone? I have to do this by myself?"
"No, we'll definitely figure something out." Tifa said, trying to raise Kairi's spirits after her hope had been crushed twice in less than a minute. "Sora wouldn't be anywhere without his friends, so there's no way we're throwing you into the deep end without some support."
"Speaking of Sora," came the King. "Kairi, did you hear why the Organization took Sora captive?" She nodded and recalled the speech the Superior made.
"Yes, their boss said that... Sora was needed to destroy Heartless, and that would free their hearts and they'd use it to make-"
"Kingdom Hearts." Mickey interrupted, earning another nod from the newly minted Keyblade bearer. "That's what I feared." He turned to Leon. "Is there a computed I can used somewhere?" When Leon responded in the affirmative, motioning to the open door, the King continued. "If everyone would follow me, there's some info I found in Ansem the Wise's old files. I never got the chance to share it with Sora today, so I think now is a good time to explain to everyone." The King then left down the hallway, everyone streaming out behind him, single file.
Kairi kicked off the thick layer of blankets, taking her first steps out of bed since waking up. Her legs felt like rubber, but she still managed, waving off Aerith who had offered her support to lean on. She did, however, lean in towards Merlin (who was next to last in the line) and asked, "Who is Ansem the Wise?"
"The last leader of this world before it fell, serving as Lord Regent." The wise elder explained. "The Heartless that was behind everything last year was the Heartless of his apprentice who had stolen his name." He paused and then added, "If I recall correctly, he was your great uncle." Which earned a silent acknowledgement from Kairi, who was starting to piece a bit of her past together.
The group all followed Mickey into a small office where a normal, everyday desktop computer sat on a table. The mouse king plugged a memory stick into the tower and began to fiddle around on the keyboard, before a window popped up, displaying several lines of text at a ridiculously small font. The King began to quickly scroll through the file.
"When Ansem the Wise and his apprentices were researching the Heartless, they came across an old tome which described the Realm of Darkness." The King began, still scrolling at a rapid pace, tiny text blurring together. "Specifically, it focused on a kind of stone only found in that Realm. I've encountered it before, too, so I can verify that the tome must have had some truth to it." Mickey finally stopped scrolling, stopping on not a page of text, but an image of a tall obelisk of stone. It was pitch black, with strange, alien "veins" or bright red and blue running throughout it. "It's called Blackheart Stone, and, when placed on a world, it makes it easier for the Heartless to materialize on that world, as well as drawing them to the world like a magnet."
"And let me guess, the Organization has been harvesting this stone, placing it on different worlds in order to flood them with Heartless?" Leon ventured.
"...And that way Sora would be fighting more Heartless, so they can finish forging Kingdom whatever earlier?" Yuffie finished for her friend.
"And now that Sora is being forced to work for them, it'll be even easier..." Kairi added.
"All correct." Mickey surmised. He closed the file and popped out the memory stick. "So, Kairi, while I'm looking for a way into their castle, you'll travel to the worlds that have Blackheart Stones and destroy them. Like the Heartless, they can only be destroyed by a Keyblade. Also, and this is important, they are inert in the Realm of Darkness, but after a time in this Realm, they become active, and they react badly when touched by anything other than a Keyblade. Regardless, destroying them will slow down the creation of their Kingdom Hearts, as well reducing the threats to the various worlds and their inhabitants. Also, hopefully, in doing this, you'll get enough training and experienced to be able to defeat the Nobodies once we finally do invade."
"Okay... I suppose I can do that." Kairi replied. "Seems easy enough. I mean, what kind of fight can a rock put up?"
"Well, that's the thing." Mickey said, hesitantly. "According to that old tome, the Stones and Heartless are deeply connected and, when threatened, the Stone can summon a powerful Guardian Heartless. But, I can't tell you if that's true or not. I never tried to destroy one." Kairi let out a tiny squeak of fear.
Aerith swooped in quickly in, once more putting her hands on Kairi's shoulders to calm her "We can worry about all that tomorrow. About getting you equipment, and a ship, and a support team. It's late, and you need some rest. Also, I take it you're hungry." It hadn't occurred to her since waking up, but the moment the woman verbalized, it Kairi felt absolutely famished. She nodded, resulting in a motherly pat from Aerith. "Alright then. Go back to bed, and I'll get you some dinner. Then, you should get a good night's sleep."
As Kairi shuffled back off to the bedroom, Leon declared to everyone. "That's probably a good idea for everyone. You're help has been greatly appreciated, but it's been a long day. Go home and get some sleep. We'll reconvene in the morning and try and sort this out."
That proved agreeable to the group, who all muttered their goodbyes and went their separate ways, save for Leon, Mickey, and Tifa – who was hanging back what the other two conversed.
"...You're not just looking for a way in to their fortress, aren't you?" Leon asked after being absolutely sure Kairi was back in her room.
"Good to see your still so sharp, Leon." Mickey offered with a smile. Leon remained as serious as always. "I am. I'm going to try to find someone who can answer everything that's going on. Ansem the Wise, the renegade Nobody Axel, Riku..."
"Ansem's still alive?" Leon questioned. "And you know where Sora and Kairi's friend is?"
"I was sworn to secrecy from both of them, but yes." He explained. "Ansem is no longer the kind and benevolent ruler I met all those years ago. He's bitter and vengeful. Going to any length to destroy Organization XIII..." Mickey sighed, shaking his head. Clearly what had happened to his friend was eating up at him. "He already... I think he already did something inhumane to one of the Organization's members. The only one with even a shred of goodness and innocence. But all that aside, he can still be of great assistance."
"And Sora and Kairi's friend? What of him?" Tifa made her presence known, which earned an annoyed glare from Leon, but he said and did nothing.
"He's doing whatever he can to help Sora. But his pride and his history with the darkness has caused him to go into isolation. I told him a dozen times to go fight alongside Sora directly or to go and find Kairi and tell her they were both safe, but... Something happened to him a few months back. It changed him, it hurt him mentally and... I think it's killing him." Mickey spent the entire explanation staring at Leon, but now his vision fell to the floor. "I'm very worried about him, but I don't know how to help him."
The scarred man fell to one knee, putting a hand on Mickey's head. "You'll think of something." Leon offered. "You or Sora or Kairi will find a way to help him. I have complete trust in the ability of those with Keyblades." This earned a small smile from the mouse king.
"Thank you, Leon."
"Don't mention it." He stood back up to full height. "Before you go though, could you see if you can contact the three fairies who made Sora's new gear? I have a feeling Kairi and whoever she gets as a team could use something like that."
"I'll contact Master Yen Sid as soon as I can. And I have something for you, too." Mickey fished out another memory stick, passing it to Leon. "That contains a new radar program for Gummi Ships. Install it, and they will be able to pick up on Blackheart Stones while travelling through space."
"Thank you. And good luck to you on your journey. We'll need it." Mickey nodded again, before leaving the room. The sound of a door opening and shutting let Leon and Tifa know he was on his way and gone. "What a mess..." Leon sighed after Mickey had left. "I still have no idea what we're gonna do in terms of a party for her."
Tifa came over and patted a hand onto one of his shoulders. "Don't worry, Leon. I have an idea."
"I know you want to go yourself, Tifa, but that isn't happening."
"Hey, I agree with you." She replied, defensively. "Much as I do want to go, it's too chancy here for me to leave." The black-haired woman paused. "No, I was thinking about those three we picked up two hours ago."
"Them?" Leon looked at her as if she was crazy.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures and all that," she retorted. "Besides, even if they were working for her, I don't think they are anywhere near that bad. They were just forced into it."
Leon grunted. "I don't like this at all... But we don't have a whole lot of options. Go send out feelers and I'll talk to Cid about working on something to keep them in line."
"Already halfway there, boss!" Came Cid in the distant.
"Wait, what?" Leon said.
Tifa turned to the doorframe. "Yuffie, do you wanna join me?"
"You bet, Tif!" Came the chipper reply of the girl, hidden behind the doorway.
"What?" Leon said again. "I told you all to go home."
Yuffie stepped out into plain sight. "And miss your juicy private conversation with the King? Forget about it."
Leon facepalmed, growling. "Did everyone overhear what just happened?"
"I certainly didn't hear the King saying Ansem the Wise was still alive." Came Cloud's deadpan voice.
"Wow, are the walls paper-thin in this place?" Yuffie wondered aloud. "Aerith got screwed when we picked houses." Leon just growled in frustration again.
Tifa waved off to the younger girl. "Come one, Yuffie. We've got some caged gulls to visit."
-O-SWLTW-O-
"Man, this blows. How long do you guys think we're gonna be stuck here?" Asked a young woman with a high, very fast and chipper voice.
"Who knows? Probably forever. They did catch us working for their enemy." Replied another woman, this one with a cold and flat voice.
"But we also fought against the Heartless. Look up you two, I'm certain we'll be out of here sooner than later." The third speaker, also a woman, had a soft and airy voice.
"I guess it's not so bad." Fast-talker chirped. "I mean, we're human again. That's a plus. It's been almost two years, I forgot how much better this was. Flying was neat, though."
"See? Things are looking up." Airy-voice continued. "The curse is broken, so once we get out of here, we'll finally be free to do what we want."
"Unless this place has the death penalty." Monotone woman brought up.
"Aah! Yunie~ Paine is scaring me. Make her stop!" Fast-talker wailed in fright.
"This isn't the time for hypotheticals like that." 'Yunie' – the woman with the airy voice – said quickly. "We have to keep positive right now."
"I'm not being positive or negative, Yuna. I'm being realistic." Said Paine, the woman with the flat voice. "We were caught working for public enemy number one, and right now, there's no official government body, and therefore, they can most likely do whatever they please in the name of stabilizing the world. The three of us are in a lot of trouble, so we should prepare for the worse."
"Stop being such a downer, Paine!" Fast-talker blurted out in exasperation.
"Only when you learn to channel all that energy and noise into something constructive, Rikku."
"Meanie." The fast-talker, Rikku, shot out even faster than her normal speed. Paine grunted noncommittally and Yuna sighed.
The three of them had gotten into quite a mess. All three of them were currently locked up in tiny, eight-by-eight, holding cells in an old police building in a part of Hollow Bastion that was still mostly in shambles and uninhabited by the small population of the city. Four hours ago, they had been fighting against wave after wave of Heartless in their tiny, fairy forms, before they were suddenly reverted to their human selves... without clothes. In the middle of a world where they were wanted fugitives. With no way to support themselves. No way to fight. And with no way off the world. It's no surprise then, when sneaking back into the city to steal some clothes, they were brought in for a petty theft and public indecency and then identified as the notorious Gullwings, the gang of thieves that also served as Maleficent's spy network. They were then thrown into this abandoned jail without a second thought and had been alone ever since, bickering amongst one another, worrying about their fate.
Rikku, a petite girl with richly tanned skin and blonde hair bound in an elaborate display of braids, all held back by an orange hairband, stood up from her bench and marched across her tiny cell and began shaking the bars madly. "Lemme out, lemme out, lemme out!" The girl shrieked. Despite their advanced age and the state of decay of the rest of the building, the bars held strong, barely budging. Frustration and anger burned through the blonde's bright green eyes.
"It's no use, Rikku." Came Paine. The woman was older than both her companions, with dark red eyes, ghostly pale skin, and silver-grey hair, worn short and slightly up. "The building is empty and old, but the cells haven't rotted down a bit." It was their rotten luck, of course. Especially considering that there sparse accommodations. No space, a hard wooden bench, and that's it. Not even a toilet or sink.
And, of course. "But I reeeeeally have to use the bathroom, Paine..." Rikku whined in a quiet voice.
"Just try and hold it Rikku. Try not to think about it." Yuna reassured her companion. Her skin was only lightly tanned, with brown hair cut in a sport bob. Most peculiar were her eyes; heterochromatic with one blue and the other the same shade of green as Rikku's. "Just...we'll be out soon. I know it." Despite the lack of facilities, they had been given clothing; ill-fitting grey sweatpants and sweaters.
"You've been saying that since we got here, Yunie."
"I know, but I know they will. They can't just leave us to rot here."
"Or they could at least give us a toilet."
"We could give them information on Maleficent. We could be useful to them."
"Or at least a bucket or something. This is inhumane."
"Things will get better, I know it."
"Shhh." Paine snapped, raising her voice only slightly. "Quiet. Everyone. Someone's coming."
Yuna and Rikku hushed up, now overhearing a door closing as well as muffled voices. All three Gullwings got up and pressed up against the bars of their cells as the door to the holding room opened up, revealing the very two who had arrested them. The tall, strong-looking woman with long hair, and the annoying short-haired girl. They both walked to the centre of the room, eyeing the three captives.
"Evening, ladies." Tifa said to the prisoners. "I was wondering how the three of you would feel participating in a little... work release program."
So, yeah, a bit more of an expository chapter this time around, but for all it's bad rap, I think exposition is important, and I prefer to get it out of the way so we can actually move towards plot, character, and dialogue.
And, yes, I deliberately wanted to mirror Sora waking up in Traverse Town from the first game with the start of this chapter.
Point #2: Second World Verse, Same As The First: Now, despite my dislike of KH2, the first part of the game is rather enjoyable (okay, gameplay and level design are lackluster, but the story was okay) and it all goes downhill during the second trip to Hollow Bastion. Not only is that where my first issue (The Deal) occurs, but afterwards, the game enters a brand new level of laziness by simply have Sora go over every world he's been to once again, sometime with no reason to. Worse, the worlds are all criminally short, and the majority of them have no connection to the main plot (why do the Organization only ever appear on three of those worlds? Why couldn't they have a larger presence?). The previous and former games handle this much better, with Kingdom Hearts 1 have much larger and longer worlds and Birth By Sleep and Dream Drop Distance splitting both segments of the world and plot between multiple characters, reducing backtracking, but it's just a pointless bother in 2. The Blackheart Stones are supposed to remedy this, giving Kairi a reason to backtrack over Sora's path. However, certain worlds I utterly detest their second go around in KH2, as their self-contained plots were finished the first time (why did we have to go back?) so they will not be appearing, but instead will be replaced by new worlds. At this point in time, I can only confirm that Port Royal will not be returning, which is also in part to the fact that that world is probably my least favourite world in the entire franchise.
Okay, there we go, chapter two is in the books. Please don't be afraid to favourite, follow, and (especially) leave a review. Speculate on Kairi's next step, on her potential party mates, and, of course, where exactly do we go from here.