OOOOO
She Will Light The Way
Chapter Thirteen
Big Trouble In Little San Fransokyo
Kairi and the Gullwings beamed down the surface of the world, appearing in a flash of light.
This was a big step for Kairi. There was no record of this world in Sora's journal, and none of the Gullwings recognized it, either. Sure, it was possible that Sora had visited it on his first journey, but Kairi felt like this was uncharted territory. No longer could use rely on Sora's goodwill and the bonds he had forged. But, by the same hand, Kairi could now truly begin her own story, write her own destiny, make her own mark.
She was, in turns, both nervous and excited about the mission.
The world the quartet arrived on was dominated by a truly massive city. Massive and modern. So modern, in fact, it bordered on ultra-modern. Far more than either Twilight Town or Kairi's home on the Islands. She would be inclined to be impressed – with the grand scale of the street and skycrapers, the city teeming with technology on every corner – if the entirety of the cityscape wasn't covered in a thick blanket of fog, rolling into the city from the water of the bay it was situated on. So thick the fog was that Kairi could feel it cut through her clothing and their enchantments, soaking through and chilling her to the bone. An opaque screen overwhelmed her vision, so that she could only see shadows beyond five-feet before her, and couldn't see even that much further beyond. Neon lights were filtered through the fog, dyeing the bank in bright, almost sickening colours.
It was also deathly silent and still, as Kairi and the girls investigated further. For such a large city, it was strange that there was no one around. Hell, the entire place looked abandoned. Cars just left in the middle of the street. Houses and businesses boarded up. Refuse and garbage piling up.
It's just like Twilight Town, but worse. Way worse.
And soon, they would find the reason for the city's emptiness.
The Heartless.
The shadowy little monsters came on, strong and hard, swarming the Key Bearer and her allies within five minutes of their arrival. As Kairi and the Gullwings played clean-up, she couldn't help but notice how eclectic the mix of Heartless were. Some were humanoid – styled after samurai and ninja and even oddly womanly-looking Heartless designed after geisha. Others were animals – tigers and crows and lion-dogs – and some were more robotic looking. But almost all of them had a bit of futuristic bent; covered in metallic plating and circuitry lines, armed with lasers and plasma blades. Kairi had noticed that the Heartless had a habit of taking forms that blended in with the world they were native to – or, more correctly, made a mockery of that world's lifeforms and culture – so she could helped but wonder just what exactly what this world was like.
When the last of the several dozen Heartless finally did fall, Kairi dismissed her Keyblade, and turned back to her companions. "Rikku, get the radar out. If the Heartless are going to be this aggressive, I don't want to waste time wandering in the fog. Better we get a straight heading and go right for the Stone." Kairi ordered, polite yet firm. The Gullwings had christened her Leader, after all, and now that she was finally out of her funk, it would be better if she leaned into the role.
"Already on it, Red!" Rikku retorted, with a casual, mocking salute.
Of course, it would be easier to play into the role if some of her teammates played along...
While Rikku fiddled with the radar, Paine sidled up next to Kairi, the silver-haired woman keeping up a wary stance, on guard from anymore attacks. "Kairi, there's something I've been meaning to ask you, regarding the Organization." Kairi looked up to her friend, curiously. "How many of their members have you seen, have you met?"
"Well, let's see." In her head, Kairi began to sift through the various Nobodies she had encountered, both as a prisoner, and as a fighter. "There's Xaldin, obviously. Who is dead, thankfully. Then, there's also Axel. But he's both a traitor to the Organization, and is also dead. I think." Kairi had watched Axel get his arm broken, have a hole torn through his chest, have his spine broken, and then hurled into an endless abyss. That would be fatal to any normal living being, but the Nobodies were clearly made of sterner stuff. "Beyond those two, there would be Saix, Xigbar, Luxord, Demyx, and then, their Superior, Xemnas."
"Wait, Demyx? Was he the one with the flat-top haircut and the sitar?" Yuna interjected from across the way, standing next to her cousin. Kairi confirmed the question, leading to Yuna nodding in comprehension. "He's gone, too. We saw Sora defeat him back on Hollow Bastion."
"So that would mean at least four of them have perished..." Paine muttered to herself, head lowered down, holding her chin between her thumb and forefinger. Kairi narrowed her eyes, trying to understand what Paine was getting at, verbalizing her confusion.
"What does this have to do with anything, Paine?"
"On Olympus, that Nobody we faced wasn't the real deal. It was one brought back to life by the Organization's Superior." Paine began to explain, recapping the recent events of their adventure. "An 'Absent Silhouette' was what the were called. That means, despite the name, there aren't currently thirteen humanoid Nobodies running around. But I would still like to know our enemy's exact strength."
A terrible thought popped into Kairi's head. "Wait... if Xemnas can just revive Nobodies over and over again, how are we going to win this? We could just be facing an endless army of them. Do you... would we have to fight Xaldin again?" A shiver ran down Kairi's spine, and it seemed the thought didn't just cause her to feel fear. She could see Yuna blanch slightly, Rikku nervously shifting on her feet, while Paine grunted and scowled.
"Possibly, yes." Paine put forth, bluntly. "But we don't know the exact limitation of this power. It could be he can only bring back each Nobody once, or the Superior has to spend a lot of energy to perform this. Or any number of other handicaps. The only things we do know is that there are anywhere between four to nine members of the Organization left – most likely less than, since the scarred-one said 'waning numbers', specifically – an opposite number of dead ones that can reappear as Silhouettes, and – thankfully – the Silhouette Nobodies are weaker than the real deal."
That was true. For all of Lexaeus's monstrous strength, he didn't take anywhere near the amount of punishment it took to bring Xaldin down. Nor did he wreak havoc on her and the Gullwings with the savage ease the lance-wielding Nobody did. And Kairi couldn't believe they had all gotten that much stronger in that short a time.
Plus... why would they send a real Nobody after us first and then make a Silhouette? Kairi thought. She hadn't really given much attention to the encounter in the Underworld since leaving said place, but now Paine had gotten her started. Shouldn't the reverse be true? Did we spook them by killing Xaldin? Are their numbers really that low, so they're sending out expendable pawns to play it safe...?
"I got it!"
Kairi snapped out of her train of thought with Rikku's declaration, who was waving the Blackstone radar above her head, whooping raucously.
Paine and Kairi approached Rikku and Yuna. "Well? Where are we going?" Pained asked.
"Alright, let's see here..." Rikku gazed down at the monitor, orienting herself to try and make sense of the reading. "So... we're gonna go straight down thatta way..." Rikku pointed in the direction of what was probably once a well-trafficked thoroughfare for the city. "For about four-hundred meters. Oh, and then the thing is three-hundred and thirty-three meters up. In the air." The blonde shot her index finger upwards for demonstrative effect.
The other three girls all started in confusion and shock.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Kairi asked, purely gobsmacked.
"Well, y'know, three-hundred and thirty-two-point-nine, but I was rounding..."
"No, I mean... how exactly are we going to reach this thing if it's that high up!?"
Paine was already moving in the direction of the target. "We'll figure that out when we get there. Let's at least go and scout out the area."
The four made their way further into the city. Once more, they seemed to be the only souls inhabiting the fog-shrouded metropolis. Just the four girls and the Heartless. It was eerie and unsettling. Deeply troubling for Kairi. Just like in Twilight Town, this meant the whole city had been overrun by the Heartless, the hordes of monsters ushered to this world by the Blackheart Stone. By the Organization.
It all keeps coming back to that. Kairi thought grimly, after she and the Gullwings dispatched yet another spawning of Heartless. Just how many innocents have been hurt because of the Organization? How many had been struck down and turned into Heartless? How many had their hearts freed, only to then be bound to Kingdom Hearts? Trapped and helpless, all for the purpose of regaining the hearts they had once so callously cast away. Kairi seethed as her stomach roiled, taking in the enormity and the horror of it all, anger rising in her throat. How she wanted nothing more than to make each and every one of the Nobodies suffer for what they had done.
"Okay, so it looks like whatever structure the Stone is sitting atop of, it's the middle of a big, circular clearing." Rikku explained to the others, eyes locked to the radar's screen, as they grew closer and closer. The fog had not abated at all. If anything, it had grown thicker the closer the quartet got to the Stone. Was the obelisk somehow responsible for it?
"Any other features you can tell us?" Paine queried back.
"Uh... the plaza is mostly clear, maybe some trees and other small fixtures. It's surrounded on all ends by buildings no taller than four stories... there are gaps between the buildings, eight of them, spaced out evenly, wide enough for a couple people to pass through, but nothing bigger like a car..."
Paine's eyes sharpened, trying to peer through the opaque veil of fog. "Doesn't seem like we'll be able to get a vantage point to get closer to it..."
"I could try firing spells at the Stone." Kairi offered. The Stones had to be, and could only be, destroyed by the Keyblade, but that should work, right? A spell from a Keyblade should be as good as a slash of it. "Or maybe use my Light from a range."
"We're also overlooking the Guardian." Yuna pointed out. That was correct, too. Seeing as how Kairi destroyed the Stone before it's Guardian could spawn, it had been sometime since the crew had fought one of them. "They don't act like regular Heartless. They seem to prioritize protecting the Stone and targeting those that go after it."
Kairi furrowed her brow in concentration. All of that was true, but what form would the Guardian take this time? Another flier like Camazotz? What else could properly guard something that high in the air...
The group continued to strategize as they continued their approach. More and more Heartless stood in between them and their destination, but they were more a nuisance than a challenge. A roadblock to overcome rather than a drastic threat to their lives. But, if there was ever a clear sign that they were headed in the right direction, it was the rash appearance of more and more Heartless.
Finally, after seemingly wandering the twisting, sloping, foggy city streets for what seemed like a small eternity, the quartet found themselves outside of a cluster of buildings – most likely office spaces, judging from their uniform construction and location the city – with the Blackheart Stone located somewhere in the middle. In the middle of that dense bank of fog.
"This is the spot, Rikku?" Kairi asked. While it had served them well enough on Atlantica, Kairi still wasn't wholly ready to put all her faith in Rikku's invention just yet. But, the blonde nodded in affirmation, eyes still locked on the screen of her device. "Alright... guess it would be a bad idea to just rush blindly into that. Any suggestions?"
Casting a steely gaze deep into the gloomy miasma, Kairi tried to pierce it and to see what lied beyond. The fog may have well been a steel wall for all the good it did the Key Bearer, as she was unable to discern really anything beyond the alleyway that served as a passage to the center of the pavilion. For all she knew, the Guardian Heartless was already active lying in wait, ready to pounce upon it's prey. Upon the first person foolish enough to stumble into it's well-hidden den.
"If only there was someway to dispel all of this. Any of this..."
"Kairi. Try using your Light. See if that works." Paine offered, catching Kairi by surprise. Both the suddenness of the request, as well as it's nature.
"Oh yeah! Red's Light should do the trick." Rikku joined in, punctuating her statement by snapping her fingers. "We've all heard the stories, the Light of Princess of Heart can do anything -"
"Not anything, Rikku, just many things." Yuna interrupted, gently correcting her cousin. Kairi grimaced. She didn't really see the distinction.
"Yeah! Anything!" Sometimes, when she had an idea on her brain or a snappy comment on her tongue, the diminutive blonde could turn into an unstoppable whirlwind. "A little light show and I bet the whole city will be cleared right up!"
Sheepishly, Kairi rubbed at her left arm and said, "I don't think it will work like that, guys." Immediately, she could feel the eyes of the Gullwings turn on her. Looking for further explanation. Maybe looking at her with eyes full of disappointment? Judgement? "It... whatever this power I have is, this Light, I don't think I can control it yet. It only seems to come out when it wants to, or whenever I experience a surge of emotion." Once more, Kairi grimaced, finding it difficult to describe. Her inability to do so made her feel like an idiot. Consciously, she really had only used this Light four times that she could remember. The fight against Camazotz, the fight against Xaldin, the fight against Lexaues, and...
Memories from a year ago poured back to the girl. The moment she had awoken from a long, long slumber, because of (another one of) Sora's sacrifices. Then, the event in question: Kairi pulling Sora's heart back from the darkness and restoring himself to life, after being turned into a Heartless.
For a moment, the city and her mission faded away, as Kairi basked in that happy memory. Having Sora in her arms. Being in his arms. Feeling like that was the one time she had actually provided aid to the boy, instead of just being a burden upon him and his quest.
She couldn't help by smile, doing her best to keep her private emotions just that. Private.
That was my Light and my heart. If I could do that back then... well, maybe there's hope for me, still.
"It's okay, Kairi." Came Yuna, speaking up after a period of silence. "It's completely understandable you don't have a grasp on that, yet. The Light of the Seven Princesses is usually something only spoken of in myth. Dealing with it in reality... this is uncharted waters for anyone, not just you." Kairi nodded, clearing her throat, and doing her best to mask the sappy smile that formed when she had thought of Sora. Admittedly, Yuna's words did make Kairi feel a bit better. That she wasn't a complete failure of a Princess. "But we'll help you learn how to use that power, one day, I'm certain of that."
"Until then, we should tackle things nice and slow." Paine stated, before turning to Rikku, who was still idling with her radar. Music and electronic sound effects were originating from the machine. Had she installed some sort of video or game on that thing? Why? How?
"Rikku, get out one of your grapple wires. We'll tie a portion off around each of our waists so we don't get separated, and slowly move towards the center. We'll make this an exploratory mission, though, and we may have to stay a day or two, see if the fog clears up." While Kairi had been elected Team Leader, she was more than comfortable delegating and letting others take charge, Paine especially. All three of the Gullwings had plenty of adventuring experience, but Paine moved and acted and spoke with such self-assured confidence and ease, Kairi couldn't help but be both respectful and envious of the older woman.
Quickly, the Al-Bhed tinkerer got to work with one of her wire, chaining the four adventurers together, Kairi at the head of the chain, Rikku pulling up the rear, with about ten-feet of cable separating each girl. They took a few minutes to put their steps in sync, to make sure there would be no issues, with Kairi leading the way. For once, they were engaged in an activity she had actual experience with, having done this activity multiple times in her adolescence, at summer camps, with both the boys and her girl friends. Admittedly, whenever she had tried this with Sora or Riku, something had gone completely haywire, mostly due to Sora being overly excited and rushing to the point no one else could keep up.
Four bodies moved as one, one step after the other, as Kairi led her team deeper into the fog, through the alleyway that led to the central plaza. "Keep your eyes peeled for anything, girls." Kairi had already drawn out Destiny's Embrace, ready for anything. She was already on edge slightly, seeing as how they hadn't been attacked since arriving just outside the Stone's range. "And call it out if you see anything suspicious. Rikku? Anything on the radar?" They had just cleared the precipice of the buildings, crossing into the plaza proper. It was still impossible to see beyond five- or six-feet.
"Just the same old same old. I'm still working on this thing, so don't expect it to be able to detect Heartless or anything."
Everything within the fog bank was eerily quiet, but Kairi could not shake this sense of dread hanging heavy over her heart. And it wasn't like the fear that took hold of her heart in Olympus. No, this was external, something she could just sense around her. Somewhere, beyond the impenetrable veil of fog, was an enemy. A threat. A monster. Something that sought only to destroy Kairi and her companions.
The sound of thunder cracked the air. The very earth shook beneath Kairi's feet.
"Did anyone else feel that?" Rikku asked, in a shaking tenor.
"The dead felt that." Paine grunted, drawing both her sword and shield. "Stay on you guard! It could come at us from anywhere."
But the Guardian was already on top of the four heroines.
Somehow, despite barely being able to make out anything in the thick, soupy miasma that clouded the city, Kairi could perfectly make out the shape and form of the Heartless within the fog bank, the malevolence of it's being radiating outward and projecting it's own shadow against the fog. It had elements of a crab or a spider; a large, bulky lower body with six spindly legs of an arthropod covered in jagged, pointy chitin. It's upper body was more humanoid, still thick and bulky in it's mass, and also covered in the same chitinous armour as it's legs, but the smooth, flowing lines also invoked the shape of samurai armour. The head of the Heartless was crowned by two oxen-like horns, with it's blank, empty yellow eyes piercing through the haze, as if they had directly locked-on to Kairi.
And, above all else, this Heartless was large. Huge. Gargantuan. Colossal. Titanic! Towering hundreds and hundreds of feet high. Five hundred? Six hundred? Something in that range. Something Kairi couldn't really ballpark or comprehend. What else could properly guard a Stone that high in the air, indeed...
The Heartless raised up something in it's hand: a sword sized-up to fit it's massive build, the size of a football field! In comparison to it's size, Kairi and the Gullwings were just pests ready to be swatted. The Ushi-Oni Heartless swung downward...
"RUN!" Kairi cried out, partly in panic, partly in awareness of the situation. As of now, they could not fight that thing. Her companions offered no form of resistance or protest, scrambling back to the way they came, minding the length of wire that shackled them together.
Ushi-Oni brought it's skyscraper of a blade down, slowly plunging it's point into the earth, missing the girls by a wide margin, but it hardly mattered. From the point of a contact, a massive shockwave rippled outwards, kicking up a storm of dust and dirt, grass and concrete and other debris. The rolling wave quickly overtook the quartet, sweeping them away and tossing them to the ground.
"Cut the wire. Cut the wire." Paine insisted, a bit of a hurried edge entering her voice. Rikku with her knives and Kairi with her Keyblade set to work to sever the tether, as the Guardian Heartless continued it's approach with slow, lumbering steps. Each one sent an ominous thudding crash to ring through the fog-choked air.
With the bindings gone, Kairi stood up, but found herself utterly lost in the fog. Disoriented. She had no idea where the passage they had used to enter the square was. She had no idea where anything was, save the titanic figure of Heartless, blackly blaring out against the grey haze.
This was a bad idea. Coming in here, totally blind. Way to go, Kairi, you've done it again... Even rid of her depressive funk, it seemed she defaulted to blaming and criticizing herself when things went wrong. The redhead gnashed her teeth together. It wasn't constructive. It wasn't helpful. Her faults aside, she needed to push past and get everyone out of this mess.
Calm down and think... The Heartless was slow, obviously. And there were exits from this square in any direction. So all they needed to do was pick one path and they would eventually find refuge.
But even that would be a problem. Even if it was slow, the sheer force and range of it's attacks meant getting to a safe distance would be difficult. Not to mention being blinded by the fog.
Ushi-Oni began to raise it's sword into the air again.
Numerous lesser Heartless began to spawn into the area, beckoned by the presence of their superior cousin.
Was there no way for them to be quick enough to avoid this...?
Like a shimmering light standing in relief to the darkness, the answer appeared before Kairi.
"Yuna! You can cast Haste, right?" Kairi turned to the ex-Summoner, hopefully, then thankfully, as Yuna nodded in reply. "Great! Cast it on all of us and we'll make a retreat, faster than that thing can hope to keep up." Yuna shifted, nervously. "What?"
"It's a good idea, Kairi, but Haste is very complicated. I don't know if I'll have the power required to get it on all four of us."
"Can you manage three?" Paine inquired, earning another nod from the brunette. "Good. Get it on the rest of us, and I'll carry you."
"Are you sure? Even then, this is awfu-"
Kairi broke in, out of desperation and necessity. "Yuna! We don't have time to come up with another plan. Haste us, now!" She really was starting to sound like a leader...
In quick turn, Yuna fired three golden magical bullets at her allies, the spellfire scoring a glyph beneath the feet of Kairi, Rikku, and Paine – that of a golden clock face, it's hands spinning wildly out of control. A rush of energy surged through Kairi's body, her entire being buzzing and jittering, as if she had ingested her own body weight in pure sugar. Golden auras flared to life around the three woman, cutting away at the fog, beacons of a bright light in a sea of lifeless grey. It only improved visibility by an iota, but they would take any tiny amount of help they could get right about now.
Quickly – very quickly, impossibly quickly – Paine slung Yuna over her shoulders in a fireman's carry, before she and her companions zoomed away from the Heartless and the Stone, golden lights cutting bright swathes through the chilling fog bank.
-O-SWLTW-O-
Kairi, Rikku, and Paine kept running long after Yuna's Haste spell wore off, trying to put as much possible distance between them and Ushi-Oni as possible. They ended up finding refuge in a vacant warehouse located on the city's waterfront.
The warehouse, and the entire waterfront, were as abandoned as every other part of the city.
They spent the better part of an hour trying to draw up a counter to the situation, trying to come up with a solution to the big problem they faced. Rikku strongly put forth bringing in the Gummi Ship from orbit to bombard the titanic Heartless, but was repeatedly shot down by Paine and Yuna; that if one errant blow struck the ship, it could irreparably damage it, stranding the four of them on this world. Yuna's idea was to just have her and the other Gullwings distract the Ushi-Oni, while Kairi made a beeline for the Stone, but Kairi had her own issues with that plan. Namely, she didn't like the idea of using her friends as bait, the Heartless would most likely prioritize her above all others, and there was still no plan for how Kairi would actually manage to reach the Stone high in the air.
It was a frustrating, fruitless hour that left the four girls exhausted – physically, emotionally, and mentally – as well as with an air of defeat about them. This was the first real obstacle they had faced regarding the Stones, and the irritation was showing.
"This is getting us nowhere." Paine finally said with a huff, idly kicking at some industrial junk that was strewn about on the floor of the warehouse. Paine was the only one still up and about, Kairi and Yuna having made a makeshift bench out of some lumber, while Rikku crouched up on top of an oil drum. "We might be better off calling it for the night, finding a place to rest. Hell, maybe the fog will clear up tomorrow."
That was the other issue to tackle, besides the sheer size of the Guardian. However they chose to confront this, they would be fighting in severely reduced visibility, and the fog seemed to do little to hinder the Heartless.
"If we can even find a place to take us in this ghost town." Rikku muttered, winding a single braid round and round her index finger. "I haven't seen a metropolis this empty since Zanarkand... and the less said about that comparison, the better."
"There has to be someone out there! The place can't be completely abandoned." Came Kairi, earnest and passionate as she was. Obviously, things had taken a turn for the worst here, but she couldn't imagine the inhabitants of this city being washed away in a tide of Heartless. Or, rather, she didn't want to imagine that reality.
Paine nodded. "Let's tour around town a bit longer, then. If we can't find anyone or anything by sundown, we'll warp back to the ship and go from there."
"Agreed."
As the heroic quartet began to pack up and depart, a commotion rang out through the space beyond the warehouse. Not just banging or rummaging or the scrabbling of Heartless, it was something more. Yelling. Voices. Signs of life. Kairi looked to each of her companions, as they all looked to her and to each other, to confirm they were all hearing the same thing.
In an instant, the four broke out of their safe haven and back into the misty streets of the city, in the direction of the noise. The sound seemed to bounce off of and be dampened and warped by the heavy cloak that draped over the waterfront, but Kairi and the others were still able to zero in on the source without much trouble. As they got closer, they could tell it was more than just talking and yelling, but also the all too familiar sounds of combat. Someone or something out there was fighting. Kairi imagined it was the citizenry of the city finally fighting back against the monsters that had put a stranglehold upon their home. She would be more than happy to help them take it back...
Kairi and the Gullwings turned a corner, crossing over into an area populated by endless rows of shipping crates and found the source of the noise.
Kairi knew her imagination could sometimes get away from her, that sometimes her expectations could betray reality, but when she though of the people of this city – it's brave defenders, it's heroes! – doing battle with the Heartless... this is most certainly not what she had in mind...
Six... beings (it was hard to tell if all of them were human) all dressed in an array of brightly coloured and properly coordinated armoured costumes, and they were currently entangled with a squadron of this world's native Heartless. And they were losing. Badly.
"Baymax! Rocket punch! Rocket punch!" Cried out a diminutive boy clad in purple plated armour that covered most of his upper body, leaving his legs mostly bare. Bulky gauntlets covered his hands, while his face was entirely covered in a helmet, the same colour as his armour, a clear blastshield revealing he was scrawny youth, maybe a few years younger than Kairi.
The purple boy was standing behind, and apparently ordering, a large and bulky being completely covered in armour. The vast majority of the armour was bright red, save for some purple banding at the midsection, while it's helmet revealed a blank, white, nonhuman face. Before the red, nonhumanoid being was one of the large lion-dog Heartless, crouched low to the ground, ready to pounce on the two.
At the boy's orders, the being blinked in confusion, before rearing one of it's car engine-sized fists up. Slowly. Too slowly. The lion-dog Heartless struck, charging forward and bowling the big red guy over.
"Oh. Nooo..."
Strangely enough, with the Heartless mounted atop it's prey, it paused for a moment to study the being, before seemingly losing interest, not even bothering to strip the red guy of it's heart, changing target to the purple boy.
Elsewhere, a pair of girls were also struggling with the Heartless, dealing with a murder of crow Heartless and a troop of the ones clad in ninja garb. One of the girls was rail thin and quiet tall – taller than even Paine – made all the more taller by her chunky platform boots. Long honey blonde hair cascaded out of the back of her helmet, while she was dressed in lightly armoured in a suit coloured in an array of purples, pinks, and violets. The other girl was virtually the opposite of her companion in terms of body composition, short and squat at the hips and thighs. She was adorned in a tight bodysuit, like that of a speed skater, with yellow armoured plating worn over her upper torso, arms, and shins.
Like their two companions, the girls were having issues dealing the Heartless, but at least they looked to be armed. To an extent. The tall pink girl had a... purse slung over her shoulder. Or maybe it was some sort of computer? Kairi was having trouble discerning the truth, as the girl rapidly typed on a digital interface set into the purse, dispensing a series of colourful orbs. The crows swarmed in on her, causing the girl to panic and lash out, hurling her orbs everywhere, ungainly and blindly, each of them failing to miss the mark, detonating in empty air and ground, and leaving behind patches of ice and some sort of gelatinous substance.
The shorter, dark-haired woman had two small discuses mounted to each of her wrists, while larger wheels were set in and attached at her ankles, seemingly granting her velocity and mobility. That was the theory at least, as the yellow-armoued girl zipped around, trying to keep up with the shinobi Heartless, but she proved to be woefully outmatched in agility and in numbers. One of the Heartless sideswiped at her, before kicking her away, sending the yellow girl skidding along the asphalt, colliding with the pink girl, tripping both of them up.
"Get away. Get away from me! I don't know where you've been, so I would prefer if you kept your grimy claws off of my person!
Further along, closer to the edge of the water, a muscular, well-built black man was dealing with more of the Heartless. Well, less "dealing" and more "backing away, clearly distraught by their presence". This one wore his hair in a neat fringe of short dreadlock, armed in heavily-reinforced, bulky turquoise armour, with particular attention placed on his gauntlets, judging by the design and purpose. Shimmering blades of energy erupted from the edge of the gauntlets, triangular shaped and jagged, but the man was waving them feebly and ineffectively in the air, trying to dissuade the Heartless from approaching.
"Fear not, Wasabi! The Darklings are no match for the ferocious might of Fred-zilla!" Bounding into view came the strangest being yet. Initially monstrous in appearance, it was clearly a man wearing a monster suit, like something found on a cheesy B-movie or one of those tokusatsu shows Sora loved so much. Bipedal in form, and covered in light blue scales, three bulbous, unblinking reptillian eyes dominated the torso of the thing, with a circular mouth set in where a person's belly would be, while flame-like crests rose among it's back and arms.
The man-in-the-monster-suit stood between one of the Samurai Heartless and his panicking friend, before charging, letting loose a valiant battle cry. With one swing of it's kanabo, the Samurai sent the man flying into the distance with a shriek of, "I was wrooooooong!"
To say the least, Kairi was at a loss for words, given both the form of these would-be heroes, and their performance.
"I-I-I... am I this bad?" She finally managed to say. Kairi knew it was wrong to be so judgemental of others, especially given her skill and experience, but that was just the first phrase that popped into her head and out her mouth.
"You were never that bad." Paine returned, surveying the scene with a cringing grimace.
Steeling herself, Kairi tried to push away the critical thoughts. Besides it being wrong to cast such shade on others, she had to admire these people. It took a lot of courage to step up and try to defend your home from the invading horde of monsters tearing it apart, regardless of your abilities. Not to mention, every hero had to start somewhere. Usagi Tsukino didn't just get her powers and go right on to defeat Queen Metaria. She had to work at it, to grow as a hero and as a person. In a way, Kairi could see a little of herself in the six heroes of this world.
"Well, I think we've all gawked enough." Kairi declared, arming herself with Destiny's Embrace. "Let's give them a hand girls!"
Immediately, Kairi broke into a sprint, charging at the lion-dog baring down on the purple boy. She threw her Keyblade ahead of her, the flowery weapon turning end over end, before embedding it's sharp teeth into the hindquarters of the Heartless. That did more than enough to catch it's attention, as it reared back, thrashing wildly in a bid to find it's assailant. Before it could get a beat on her, Kairi dropped down to the concrete ground, baseball sliding her way beneath the belly of the Heartless and out to the other side, now imposing her body between it and the purple boy. Quickly, Kairi got back to her feet, recalling her Keyblade while she was at it. The Heartless turned to face the critical threat to it's existence, snapping and snarling mutely, but Kairi did not panic or wither. Instead, she unleashed a powerful stream chilling water right in the face of the lion-dog, the deluge knocking it backwards, creating a bit of separation between it, Kairi, and the boy. Before it could recover, Kairi unleashed another burst of magic – a chilling, freezing pulse of blue energy – the struck along the forequarters and head of the demon, catching it's soaked form. In an instant, the remnants of the Water spell crystallized into an frosty sheen that sealed the head and neck of the Heartless within a chunk of ice. With intent to finish the job, Kairi charged forward again, smashing into the half-frozen monster with a double-handed swing, shattering the ice, demolishing most of it's body, and causing the remains of the Heartless to burst apart and vanish.
Kairi took a moment to admire her handiwork, before turning her attention to the rest of the battle. As expected, the Gullwings were making quick work of the other Heartless, as well. Yuna and Rikku had gone to assist the two girls, with Yuna sniping down the crow Heartless, while Rikku had herself a speed duel with the ninja. Paine, meanwhile, was single-handedly taking care of the Samurai that had vexed green man and monster man.
In less than a minute, it was all over.
Rikku and Paine meandered about the edge of the are, while Yuna went about making sure everyone was okay, hale and healthy. Kairi took a similar approach, dismissing her Keyblade and helping the purple boy up to a standing base. At the same time, the one in red slowly clambered to it's feet, it's limbs moving stiffly and... almost robotically. When upright, the thing shuffled over to where Kairi and the boy were standing.
"Hiro. Are you okay?" It said, it's voice tinny, clipped, and very stilted. Now that she was up close, Kairi could get a better look at it's proportions and the little piece of it's face revealed through it's helmet. It wasn't human, so just what was it?
"No, Baymax, I'm fine." The youth insisted, dusting himself off. He then turned, looking up to Kairi (which was strange, Kairi rarely found herself standing this much taller than others), and said, "Well, thanks to you guys, we're okay. Uh, tha-"
"Scanning." An electric thrum radiated from the being known as Baymax, it's beady black eyes locked on the boy, Hiro. "You have a. Minor contusion. Located on your. Left bicep. Remedy: I suggest a. Cold ice pack. To reduce pain and. Swelling." Hiro grabbed at his upper arm in annoyance, but then winced in pain, proving Baymax correct.
Kairi looked bewildered at the two and their exchange. There was more to this than she was seeing, certainly, but what?
Just then, the four other armoured individuals came striding forth, to rejoin with their companions. Like Hiro, they all seemed unscathed, but they wore expressions of defeat and frustration.
"Well, that went well..." The short girl in yellow groused, sourly, rotating one shoulder while clasping it with her free hand.
"I agree!" Came an energetic, nasally, but very chipper voice from behind the monster-suit. Clearly he had missed the sarcasm in the previous statement. "Yeah, sure, there's room for some improvement, but considering this is the third official mission of Big Hero 6, I'll give this a very generous B-plus!"
The short girl scowled and bark backed. "And stop calling us that!"
"While I admire Freddy's optimism, you must admit... that wasn't our best effort." The tall girl stepped in between her two friends, clasping her hands, and smiling diplomatically. "But, we have our new friends to thank for their help."
The muscular man in green nodded in agreement, looking between Kairi and the Gullwings. "Yeah, you guys really saved out butts back there. Don't know where you came from or what you're doing here, but thanks a tonne."
"Oh, right." In all the commotion, Kairi had forgotten the most important part. She had met knew friends, so it was important to begin their relationship on the right foot. With a smile, an extended hand, and an introduction.
"Allow me to introduce ourselves," in turn, Kairi pointed to each of her companions. "Over there is Yuna, Rikku, and Paine. And I'm Kairi." Drawing her hand outward, offering it to the young boy, smiling fondly at him. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Uh, yeah..." The kid removed his element, revealing a mussy mop of black hair. "Good to meet you, too." The boy returned Kairi's gesture. "I'm Hiro. Hiro Hamada."
-O-SWLTW-O-
The group of ten ended up retreating to the safe confines of the warehouse Kairi and her entourage emerged from. Along the way, Hiro finished returning Kairi's kindness, and introducing his friends as well.
"So, these are GoGo Tomago," Hiro pointed to the short, standoffish girl, black hair clipped short with a single purple streaking running through it. "Honey Lemon." Next, the tall girl, who turned out to be GoGo's opposite, sunny and chipper. Then, Hiro turned to the black man. "Wasabi."
"Anyone else getting hungry?" Rikku commented under her breath, causing both Kairi and Paine to elbow the blonde in the ribs.
Hiro continued, not noticing the little spat.
"And this is -"
"And I'm Fred!" The man in the monster suit bounded forward, crowding up against Kairi and Hiro. The central eye of the suit popped open, like a porthole, revealing the face of a gawky youth with a bulbous nose. "And together we are..." Fred began to trill and roll his tongue, miming a drum roll, as he scampered about, gather up all of his friends together, grouping them up around the warehouse grounds. With all the preparation done, Fred threw his arms into the air, boisterously declaring...
"BIG HERO 6!"
Fred struck an exaggerated, dramatic pose, but his enthusiasm was not shared by his teammates. Hiro, Honey, and Wasabi stood about, sheepishly, not really sure what to do with all this. Baymax stood about, perfectly still, save for his odd eyes, which blinked. GoGo, however, huffed and frowned, her body language broadcasting scorn and disdain to the world.
Once more, just like when the six were struggling with the Heartless, Kairi and the Gullwings didn't exactly know how to react to... such a display. Kairi, at the very least, offered a shaky, but genial smile, still trying to extend the hand of friendship. After all, she was certain this was what Sora would do.
Then again, he was always so much better at making friends than me. People always just sort of gravitated to me, and I went along with it. He would go out and seek new people to make friends with...
"So... you guys are superheroes, then?" She finally managed to say. Personally, Kairi wouldn't call herself a fan of superheroes, per se, save for her any story involving magical girls, but she could imagine Sora would be in heaven being here, meeting these people. Once more, nostalgic childhood memories flooded her mind, remembering how many times Sora and Riku would rush to the comic shop after school to spend their allowance munny on whatever new and exciting book they could get their hands on. Hell, she was pretty sure that (up until being torn away from home) Sora would still get up early on Sunday morning to watch Exceed Force and Arma Kaiser, the same two live action superhero shows he had been watching since he was a little kid.
Fred had held his pose the entire time, while the others awkwardly shuffled about.
"Yes we are!" Came Fred.
"No. We are not." Countered GoGo, arms folded across her chest in a defiant pose.
Kairi turned about to her party, trying to find support, and/or determine what they were making of all this. Paine was inscrutable. Yuna seemed to be putting on a happy face like Kairi. Rikku's eyes were excitedly darting back and forth between the six. Why was she getting so worked up?
Suddenly, Baymax stiffly waddled forth, taking a prominent position at the head of the group. "I am not a. Super. Hero." He(?) It(?) responded (Kairi still wasn't sure what to make of Baymax, or what nomenclature to use). Slowly, Baymax waved on of his bulky arms in a very tight, rigid semi-circle. "Hello. I am Baymax. Your person healthcare companion."
With that, it all clicked for Kairi.
"Oh, he's a... robot?" Kairi said, slowly, feeling a bit silly for taking this long to catch on. In hindsight, it all made perfect sense.
Hiro, however, didn't make any fuss of any sort over Kairi's reaction or her slowness on the uptake. "Yeah, sorry, probably should have started with that. Guess even in San Fransokyo it's not normal for someone to be walking around with their own robot." Hiro chuckled, causing Kairi to laugh along, as well. In the interim since the fight and their meeting, the members of Big Hero 6 had removed some of their armour – mostly just their headgear – in lieu of the lack of combat.
Moving over to wear Baymax stood, Hiro looked at the big red robot with a critical eye. "Now, let's take a look at you, big guy. See if you got banged up in the fight..."
Meanwhile, Rikku was still buzzing in the background. Paine cast her an annoying glare, but did nothing more.
With a bit of effort – considering how much smaller Hiro was compared to Baymax – the young teen manage to remove the large breastplate covering the robot. With the armour removed, it revealed Baymax's body was bulbous and white, made of some sort of semi-opaque plastic covering, and very rotund in shape, forming a "belly" that extended beyond the remainder of Baymax's body.
Kairi watched on with rapt attention. She wasn't anywhere close to being tech savvy, but still, the display was highly fascinating. She had never heard of a robot with a body made of a soft tissue like plastic. Shouldn't it be all metallic with hard lines and angles? Not to mention, in the armour, Baymax looked strong. Big. Barrel-chested. For the lack of a better word, heroic. But with the plating off, and his little tummy spilling out, he almost looked like his real form was just a big, cuddly plushy.
"EEEEEE! That's it! That tear's it! I can't take it anymore!" All eyes in the room fell on Rikku, who was hopping up and down on her feet, trembling with joy and anticipation, as her high voice sliced through the air. "All this tech in this room, but the big guy just puts it over the top! I gotta get my eyes and hands on that stuff!"
A tiny, orange-coloured blur began to dart around the room, taking everyone by surprise, as Rikku glommed on to each heroic youth in turn.
Rikku sped up to GoGo, grabbing her by the ankle, taking the standoffish girl off her feet, and inspect the wheel mounted to her ankles.
Or, rather, the wheels hovering about her ankles.
"Electro-mag suspension! Brilliant! No resistance, maximum velocity!" Rikku's hands went to work, paddling up and down on the curvature of one of the wheels, causing it to spin and rotate with insane speed.
GoGo growled threateningly. "Hey, hands off, you -" Before she could finish the verbal barb, Rikku had gone off to her next victim, practically climbing on top of Wasabi.
"Blades made of laser-induced plasma!" Rikku activated one of the gauntlets, causing said blade to blaze to life. Wasabi looked panicked at the deadly weapon emerging, even as Rikku continued to play with it. "And do I see some a magnetic confinement system? To increase precision?"
"Well, yes, that is true, but you really shouldn't play with – HEY!"
Once more, Rikku darted away, rushing up to Honey Lemon, who, unlike her friends, seem to anticipate the ineraction, a big beamish smile on the tall girl's face.
"And what do we have here?" Honey's smile just about vanished when Rikku ignored her, and went right for the purse still hanging from her shoulder. Only just now, Kairi noticed an oddly familiar pattern set into the side of the device. It looked like the periodic table of elements...
The Al-Bhed girl quickly hammered down on a series of buttons, causing a series of colourful orbs to spit out of the end of the purse. "Instant chemical reaction and combination? All from one portable device? Revolutionary!"
"Well, thank you, but..." Honey stammered nervously, as Rikku sauntered away, haphazardly juggling a handful of the chemical balls. "Please be careful!"
"Should we really be letting her run wild like this?" Kairi whispered to Yuna, as Rikku carelessly tossed the balls away, unleashing a series of gaseous explosions on the far end of the warehouse.
"Working with. Chemical agents and. Reactions. Without. Proper. Safety gear. Is hazardous to one's health." Baymax intoned, as Hiro continued to inspect the robot, wholly engrossed in his work.
"She's just... very passionate about technology and science." Yuna put forth, clearly searching for the proper words to it all. "She's excitable, but not reckless. It should be alright."
""Should be...'" Paine repeated, in a less optimistic tone.
"And this!" Rikku was now standing in front of Fred, right up in the face, er... eye of his suit. There seemed to be little and less tech involved in the monster suit, so Kairi could only wonder what Rikku's reaction would be. "...A big, doofy mascot suit! I love it!" Rikku flew into a fullsome and energetic embrace, one which Fred happily returned.
"A ha! I see, you too are someone of wealth and taste!"
"Of course Fred would get along with this little maniac..." GoGo groused, her lips fused into a hard line, barely moving as she spoke.
"I apologize for her behaviour." Paine said, walking up besides the smaller woman. Now that Paine and GoGo were next to each, and now that Kairi had seen Rikku next to Honey Lemon, she couldn't marvel over the fact how similar yet different the two pairs were. GoGo and Honey were as if someone had shrunk down Paine and stretched out Rikku. "We try to control her, we really do, but it's a losing effort."
"Oh, hush up!" Rikku countered, her tone still light and jovial. "It's about time we get to a world where we can have some fun!"
"Sometimes, you have a bit too much 'fun', Rikku..."
The blonde ignored Paine's barbs and finished her loop of the warehouse, making her way back to Kairi, Hiro, and Baymax. "And here is the finale of all this wonder!" Rikku shoved the Key Bearer and the tech genius aside, taking in the entirety of Baymax. The vinyl robot only blinked, as the manic blonde looked up with worshipful gaze.
Then, Rikku shoved her head up against Baymax's body, pressing it into the plastic sheath as far as the covering would allow.
"PVC covering, forming the outer shell." Rikku's muffled voice came, before she pulled her head back. If she was buzzing before, now she was vibrating, her pitch growing higher and higher, words pouring out faster and faster. "A metallic endo-skeleton formed of some kind of lightweight composite." Rikku waved a hand in front of Baymax's black eyes. "Optic sensor. And all backed up with some kind of killer A.I. program!" Once more, Rikku flew into an embrace, clutching tightly onto Baymax's soft body, the robot returning the gesture after a brief moment of inactivity. "This is soft vinyl robotics, isn't?"
"Soft vinyl what?" Kairi parroted, a little steamed to have been tackled aside, as she picked herself and Hiro up.
"Soft vinyl robotics! It's cutting edge! The future of healthcare technology. Smart enough to diagnose any ailments in it's patient, strong enough to assist in any issue, but soft enough as to not injure anyone. It's incredible!"
"Correct. I have been designed to. Aid in the. Recovery and well being of. Human patients regarding their. Physical. Mental and. Emotional. Health."
"Wow, you really know your stuff." Hiro sounded sincerely impressed with both Rikku's knowledge and passion. Rikku wriggled about in Baymax's arms, smiling proudly.
"Well, you know, I'm not formally trained or anything, no fancy degrees or whatnot, but I have my fields of expertise. Computer science. Mechanical engineering. A bit of chemistry." Still holding on to Baymax, Rikku leaned backwards, arching her back so that she was facing Hiro, looking upside down. "You're gonna be a pal, right, kid, and tell me all about how your built him, right? Right?"
Hiro blanched, looking away from Rikku and her piercing, intense stare. "Well, actually... it was my... Baymax was built by... my brother..."
"Well, can you introduce me?" Despite the clear discomfort Hiro was presenting, the blonde did not let up, tearing away from Baymax and approaching Hiro with intent, encroaching on the boy's personal space. "Scratch that, before you do that, can you tell me all about him? Is he like you? Is he not like you? What's his type? Is he single?"
At this point, Hiro was visibly sweating, his breathing ragged and shallow. "Tadashi is uh... Tadashi is..."
"Rikku, that's enough." Kairi called out, trying to keep her voice even. Something about this didn't seem right. Hiro's behaviour and reaction was setting off all sorts of red flags in her mind. She put a hand on the blonde's shoulder, trying to get her to back off. Reality seemed to return to the girl, as she was now looking on at the clearly distressed boy.
After another pause, and in a very small voice, Hiro finally managed to say, "Tadashi is dead..."
Everyone could feel the air let out of the room, even GoGo and the others, who most likely knew of this fact. Hiro shrank away, as Honey came by to put a comforting arm on the boy's shoulder.
"Oh, I'm so sorry kid... I didn't know..." Rikku murmured out, sounding legitimately remorseful for her prying.
"I guess we have some explaining to do. As to why we're like this." Came GoGo, speaking for her group. Her eyes also fell on Kairi and the others. "As do you guys, too."
And so, the two groups went forth with the arduous task of explaining one another's tales. Kairi went first, taking point for her and the Gullwings, and divulged everything to Hiro and the others. The Keyblade. The Heartless. The Organization. The Blackheart Stones. All of it. Even the part about being kidnapped and Sora exchanging himself for her freedom, something Kairi had avoided informing Sora's friends and allies about. It actually felt good to get off her chest, and everyone was supportive of Kairi and the ordeals she had endured. Though, she was a little surprised the collective superheroes took the concept of other worlds so well, not to mention anytime the clearly science-minded group brushed up against magic or anything supernatural, they would cite something called " Clarke's Third Law" and move on. All and all, Kairi thought it went pretty well.
After Kairi finished her spiel, Hiro took to telling his side of the story. Well, he tried, but the young teen kept tripping over his words, or getting worked up emotionally, standing aside to let his friends step up and speak for him. It turned out, Hiro could legitimately be called a genius, having graduated high school at thirteen. However, he then sort of languished about, not doing anything with his life. So, his older brother Tadashi took it on himself to push Hiro along, introducing him to GoGo and the others and directing him to enroll in the school they attended, the San Fransokyo Insititue of Technology. In order to do so, Hiro participated in a sort of student showcase the school was holding, in order to obtain a scholarship.
That night, however, was when things took a turn for the worse.
"...After the showcase ended, there was a fire in the main building. Tadashi being Tadashi, well... he ran in to try and help anyone trapped inside." Hiro continued, speaking in a very small, strained voice, clearly still reeling from having to relive this night. Kairi definitely could sympathize. "One moment, he was in the blaze. Then, an explosion. And he was gone..." Hiro seemed on the verge of tears, clearly struggling to hold it together.
Putting her hand on the top of his head, GoGo gave Hiro a look, silently telling him he could take it easy. "And things kind of went from there." The dark-haired girl explained. "Hiro found out about the guy who started the fire, and, after it was clear he wouldn't stop, no matter what, we did what anyone would do: we all slapped on some carbon fiber armour to help him. And to make sure he didn't hurt himself in the process."
"And thus, the origin story of Big Hero 6 is complete!" Fred broke in, speaking in melodramatic tones. "Heroes destined to protect the city of San Fransokyo from the coming darkness."
"Nope." Said GoGo in a flat voice. "Nope. And nope. We're only do this to make sure Hiro doesn't do anything stupid, and to get to the bottom of Tadashi's death. Once that's over, we're over."
"Whoa, hold up, back up." Kairi said. "You guys know who killed Tadashi?"
Hiro nodded grimly "Yeah. I saw him. After the explosion. Standing in a blaze that no human could. The man in the black cloak."
Now that sent alarm bells ringing in Kairi's head. Immediately, the redheaded Key Bearer shared a silent look with her allies, all of them wearing the same face she was. Clearly, the Organization had been to this world, and they had done more than just plant the Blackheart Stone.
"But, that was two months ago." Wasabi spoke. "The trail's gone cold since then. Not to mention, we've had to deal with all those... things, swarming all over town."
"The Darklings!" Came Fred, in a put-upon "spooky" tone.
"'Heartless'." Paine corrected, also in a flat tone. "They're called 'Heartless'."
"Ooh, that's really good!"
"That's actually something I'd like to know." Yuna said, addressing the natives of San Fransokyo. "When exactly did the Heartless show up?"
Everyone chewed on the question for a moment, trying to recall the necessary information, but Honey was the first to speak up. "Now that you mention it, it was only a week – maybe a few days – after the fire at SFIT. At first, they weren't that much of a issue, more of a curiosity. We actually tried catching one for research, thinking it was just some new kind of lifeform. Then, they started multiplying in numbers, and appearing everywhere. And then, the rash of disappearances..."
"It's been bad out there." GoGo added, eyes narrowed and brows furrowed. "Basically, nothing anyone does has kept those things at bay, and everyone has been shut in their homes for a while now." A low growl escaped the short woman's lips. "Even with our tech, we can't seem to do much to stop them."
"It's just like back on Twilight Town," Paine stated, before adding for clarification. "Another world we visited. The Blackheart Stone created a flood of Heartless that overran the town, or at least portions of it." Kairi remembered the stories Hayner, Pence, and Olette had told them, about how whole portions of the idyllic cityscape were basically abandoned. The Stone also hadn't been active for that long in Twilight Town either, so of course things in San Fransokyo had now progressed to an even more dire point.
Holding out a finger, in order to maintain the floor, as it were, Paine continued. "That brings me to a question, though." She looked the six superheroes in the eyes and stated, flatly and too casually, as if it were an everyday phrase, "Do you know of a structure three-hundred and thirty-three meters tall?"
Once more, the six put on their thinking caps, but, to everyone's surprise, Fred was the first to offer an answer.
"Well, duh! That's San Fransokyo Radio Tower!"
GoGo blinked, eyes wide-open in shock. "Wow, Fred, I can't believe you know something that's A: useful and B: doesn't involve comic books." GoGo tone was sincerely genuine, or about as genuine and sincere the sardonic woman could manage.
Fred's response was to twiddle with the long nails of his suit's hands. "Well, actually, I only know that because I watched Gigaman vs Gozelmera: Protect The Tower of Peace fourteen time." Gogo sighed heavily and held her hands up, as if to say "And there it is". "But that's a movie, not a comic, so totally different thing!"
Kairi walked forward, her mind now wholly made up with this new information, directly addressing both Hiro and Baymax. "Well, that settles it. Hiro, everyone, we're going to go back to this Tower, destroy the Stone, and get rid of the Heartless plaguing this city. And then... we'll help you in finding the person who did this. The one in the black cloak." While Hiro seemed ecstatic at the offer of help, Paine only offered the team leader a shrewd look.
"You sure that's a good idea? All we really need to do is get rid of the Stone."
"We can't just let the Organization go around and act with impunity, Paine!" Was Kairi's retort, spinning on her heel to address her friend. "They've caused enough issues on other worlds, and now they're actively taking lives of innocent people? No. There's no way I'll stand for that." Even beyond Tadashi, the question was how many lives had been claimed by the Heartless ushered into this world via the Stone? All the Organization did was spread suffering and misery, and it was high time they paid for their sins.
"Passionate. Earnest. Resolute. The words of a heroine. Although... these sentiments are spoken from someone so naive as to be inconsequential."
Heavy footfalls echoed through the empty warehouse, as no everyone's attention had shifted from the conversation at hand, to trying to find the source of the speaker. The newcomer. The intruder.
"But clearly, the Moirai has abandoned her and affiliated themselves with the true victor. Why else would all you miscreants be gathered together, in one place, so that we may have this fated encounter?"
The voice was sardonic and cultured, clearly amused with the situation. Whoever the speaker was, they were also in love with the sound of their own voice, and their choice of vocabulary. A shiver ran down Kairi's spine, as she was certain just who this intruder was.
Destiny's Embrace came to life, appearing in her grasp.
"Now, heroes of all shapes, sizes, and disposition, come together, and meet your match with the inexorable march of time. The wheel of fate is turning, and the game is afoot!"
Out from the shadows, came an Organization member, dressed in their trademark black cloak. His blonde hair was neatly shorn, accentuated by an impeccably manicured goatee. Various trinkets and rings pierced his ears. Black gloved hands fiddled and shuffled with a deck of cards.
Kairi's eyes narrowed when they fell on him, her worst fears coming to realization. This was no Silhouette, this was the real deal. A proper, fully-fledged Nobody. Anxiety and rage bubbled inside her, as Kairi growled out a single word. A single name.
"Luxord..."
Who are you really, Luxord? Plays games. Likes big words. Worse time powers than Young Xehanort. Has been in three games and has done nothing of consequence. That's who Luxord is!
Jokes aside, this chapter was a pain to get through. Don't really know why, but yeah, I struggled at points to do this thing. But it's done, thank goodness...
So, four years ago, when I first wrote the outline for this story, I had included two Disney worlds that were not in Kingdom Hearts II to be a part of Kairi's adventure. And, of course, both of the worlds I selected ended up being in KH III. Welp. What's a guy to do? Press forward and stay the course. Any guesses on what our second "new" world will be?
But, I ended up choosing Big Hero for a couple of reasons. One very lighthearted one being Rikku freaking out and fangirling all over the tech on display, another one of those jokes I've had in my head forever and ever and only now get it out.
The other being Hiro's arc regarding the loss of his brother. Now the Organization have taken away loved ones from both Kairi and Hiro. And you can all probably guess how they're going to react, now face-to-face with Luxord. Things are going to get pretty intense next time around.
As always, everyone is welcomed to leave feedback at their leisure; seeing comments and reviews from my readers always brightens my day, so never be shy or afraid to speak your mind.
Until next time, let the light guide your path forward.