Time for summary of the story so we don't have to go through a recap chapter sometime in the future (screw you nickelodeon -_-). This story and the one before it follow all the Kingdom Hearts games except for DDD (because I don't care for that game- actually no, it just came out after I started on Dual Destinies) with the exception of Lea getting a Keyblade. It's also set after a possible KH3 where Xehanort has lost and was unable to restart the Keyblade War. Just getting that out of the way in case anyone is wondering how this could possibly be after KH3 (yes, I have gotten those reviews).
Luna after recovering her memories and discovering the truth about the destruction of her world in Dual Destinies, is now stuck in the Realm of Darkness. On top of that, we have a mysterious puzzle box that needs solving and a group of Keyblade wielders who want Sora dead for some reason. That's the basic gist of it, so without further ado let's continue the story.
Chapter 13
A Single Word
"Wait a second… you! Don't I know you from somewhere?" Gantu accused pointing his fat stubby finger at Aqua. She simply reached out and summoned her Keyblade in an attempt to jog his memory. If they thought they were going to capture Stitch, they had another thing coming.
"Hey, you're one of the Keyblade wielders who ruined my chances at getting the Million Dreams Award!" Pete yelled angrily.
"Uh, are you still upset about that…Captain Justice?" Aqua said remembering the alter ego's name he used to refer to himself as.
Gantu turned to Pete. "Captain Justice?" he repeated with a questioning glance.
"Heeeey, weren't you busy catchin' an alien or somethin'?" Pete slammed wanting to move away from the embarrassing subject.
"That's it, after I taken care of this runt and have secured the little Trog, you and I are going to have a drink and dare say by the time I'm finished with you you'll have told me all about this embarrassing secret of yours. They say Balrog's Hard Nine is a truth serum of the liar. I've personally never had some so I'm interested to see the results with someone as incompetent as you." Gantu snickered as he took something out of his pocket.
"Heh, guess I'm gonna have to miss out then 'cause there's no way you're gonna be able to beat a Keyblade wielder like her." Pete said confidently.
"I'd listen to him if I were you." Aqua said hesitantly. She was surprised that Pete was so sure of an outcome not in their favor.
"Now I remember you. You were the one who got in the way of me capturing the fugitive and his little experiment. You got me demoted and now you are going to get in my way again!" Gantu realized before shaking his head and laughing. "Oh, Lady Luck is too kind to me! Well, thanks to Yzma I have a little trick up my sleeve this time."
"Yzma?" Aqua was about to enquire further into the name when liquid travelled through the air and landed on her face. A stinging sensation similar to multiple bee stings on contact caused her to scream out loud. Quickly she attempted to swipe the moisture away from her face. Her eyes opened and she looked at Gantu in shock, or rather she looked up at Gantu for the scenery around her had changed considerably and so had he and Pete. The two stood like giants towering over the tiny Aqua who only measured the size of Pete's shoes. Had she become smaller or had the world just grown around her? When she phrased the question it automatically made more sense for the former to be the correct answer.
"Fee-fi-fo-fum, you're so tiny I could crush you with my thumb." Gantu roared stomping his foot hard on the ground. The earth shook and Aqua fell forward unable to keep her balance.
"Didn't think you would have a plan in advance. This'll be interesting." Pete said.
"Stay out of this. She's mine." Gantu said before pulling out his blaster from its holster.
"Like an old spaghetti western. How cliché." Aqua said having seen a few of them along with Terra back in the early days of her training. They had grown to be her favorite type of genre aside from romance films much to the surprise of Terra and her former master. "The bigger they are the harder they fall."
Aqua knew that she couldn't let this disadvantage scare her. She had to make the most out of the situation no matter how limited her resources. No, that wasn't necessarily true. What she had first thought to be a disadvantage could easily turn out to be a pretty big advantage for her depending on whether she realized it. Her training sessions with Master, Terra and Ventus had taught her as much.
-Flashback-
Ventus collapsed to the ground for the fifth time. Aqua heard him grunt in frustration as watched as he tried to stand back up.
"Come on Ven, is that the best you can do?" his opponent, Terra asked, also watching as Ven struggled and failed to get back up.
"I… can't do it. I'm sorry but, it's too much." Ven submitted. Aqua could see tears forming and welling up in his eyelids. That was when she decided to intervene.
"Terra, stop! You're taking this too far!" she yelled standing up on the steps she had been sitting on.
"Aqua, how else is he going to get better if he doesn't face his fears? He's scared of something, and I want to help him to figure out what that is. It's what Master would do." Terra said. It had been two months since Ven had been sent to the Land of Departure by Master Xehanort and he had shown considerable growth in the short amount of time that he had been here. No longer was he the unresponsive shell he was until up to a month ago, but being with Aqua and Terra had helped him to come out of that shell. In just that month he had managed to gain a best friend in Terra and Aqua could even see them as brothers with the way they always were protective of one another and pushing the other to their fullest.
This time though, it had gone too far. Ven clearly wasn't able to handle the stress induced by Terra's training and it was clear that he hadn't gotten over what demons haunted his heart. She could understand Terra's enthusiasm to crack the mask that Ven used to shield away his nightmares but she felt it was too soon.
"Terra, I know you look up to Master but doing this isn't a way to please him." Aqua accused. She immediately regretted said accusation.
"You think I'm doing this out of some benefit that I'll be seen as some golden light to the Master? I'm doing it because I'm Ven's friend and that's all the reason I'll ever need to do it." Terra said.
"Please, stop fighting. I hate it when you do that." Ven cut in before Aqua could reply. It was true that Terra and Aqua had different ideas on how to help Ven and that in turn had led to an increase in arguments between the two but it was hard to say they were ever angry at each other. The fact was that sometimes Terra was slightly disappointed in his ability to please his father-like figure and especially once Aqua had arrived as a new pupil. Sometimes it even felt like a competition, but the two believed it to be a healthy one. They wanted to push each other towards their goals.
Likewise though, Aqua had her own desires. She perhaps saw a special link between Terra and the Master that she, no matter how hard she tried, couldn't get in between. Terra felt for both the Master and Ven in a way that Aqua never could. For Ven at best she found herself in a motherly role, a relationship a lot different than the one between two close brothers. For that, she was jealous but it wasn't like she was going to let trivial things like that ruin her friendship with her best friend. Terra and Aqua had practically grown up together and even if they didn't agree over some things, they still respected each other's opinions and worked amazingly well together.
"Don't worry Ven, we weren't fighting," Aqua assured him and nodded at Terra before reaching to help Ven up. "Is it too hard for you Ven? Maybe you should rest up and try again later."
Ven however shook his head unsurely. "I don't think that's it. I'm trying my hardest, I really am but… I don't think that I could ever catch up to you guys. You two are always pushing forward and trying your hardest, and you get somewhere with that. I can see you two making Masters in no time at all. But me… I feel like I'm at a disadvantage whenever I try. You two have so much experience and I feel like I'm just being dragged behind and slowing you down… I think that's what's holding me back." he said sadly.
Terra and Aqua exchanged looks with each other before laughing. Ven hated it when they did that. Aqua knew it made him seem like he was a child being looked down upon. Even so, his concerns were such that there was no way they couldn't laugh, not to spite him, but to encourage him that his worries were misplaced.
It was the unexpected arrival of Master Eraqus however, that truly quelled Ven's fears. "Do not worry Ventus, for you have something that neither Terra nor Aqua have."
"What's that master?" Terra asked in his usual studious tone whenever near the master.
"Innocence. It may sound ridiculous at first but it is rather important. While an experienced person such as you Terra may see the world in one way, a greenhorn such as Ventus may see the world in another. In one of the worlds I've visited during my life as a Keyblade wielder, they believed that new-born hearts were born into this world innocent and filled with pure light. It is only when that heart comes into contact with outside interference from other hearts that the darkness begins to manifest. Now I cannot claim to believe in such a tale but there is some merit in dissecting it and comparing it to the world around us." Master Eraqus said placing his hand on Ven's shoulder.
"So you're saying that what Ven considers a disadvantage may actually be an advantage? That if we were living that tale, he would be the one less tainted by darkness because he's seen less of the world?" Aqua said.
"Yes, and as with all myths, fairy tales and fables, there are always lessons to be learned. What will become self-evident in time Ventus is that power is born within the heart. You only need look inside you to know that you are not alone, and that all the strength you'll ever need will come from those who have formed a bond with that heart." Eraqus answered.
-End Flashback-
Aqua raced forward dodging green blasts as soon as Gantu started firing them off. As each one imploded on the ground they created several rippling sparks which veered off in different directions making it harder for Aqua to get to her opponent. As blast from her right signalled her to stop and redirect the attack by putting up her barrier. The blast hit Gantu square in the face causing him to double back.
"Urgh, just stay still why don't you." Gantu snarled.
"And let you catch me? That doesn't sound very feasible to me." replied Aqua. Gantu attempted to swat furiously at her but she evaded the long arm easily by using doubleflight to jump onto his arm.
"Gah- Pete, help me get this human off me!" Gantu asked swatting helplessly and failing to shake off the glued on Aqua.
"I thought I remember you telling me to 'stay out of this' or somethin' to that effect." Pete said with a shrug as if to say it wasn't his problem.
"Well, permission granted to help now!" roared Gantu furiously. Pete shook his head and sighed before moving in to grab Aqua. She would personally have preferred if he had just walked away but two certainly wasn't anything to fret over either. She had handled more than enough gigantic opponents when she had been in the Realm of Darkness. This was child's play in comparison. She jumped onto Gantu's shoulder and aimed her Keyblade at Pete casting a Fission Firaga. The attack connected with Pete's head causing him to yelp in pain and squirm about with thrashing arms.
"Hey, watch it- OW!" Gantu was interrupted as he was punched in the face by a blinded Pete. Aqua took this proximity as her chance to jump onto Pete arms throwing a Triple Blizzaga at Gantu. Icy crystals smacked Gantu in different areas of his body, sending him off his feet and onto the ground.
Sora had managed to convince Riku to change his mind in the past and vice versa. Not this time it seemed, as neither one seemed to budge from their attitudes regarding Astra travelling with them. It was humorous that Astra was simply tapping her feet away rhythmically why Sora and Riku were whispering aggressively at each other like they were trying to see who could get the last word in.
"She's with Moira's Crescent. We can't trust her!"
"If she wanted to lure me into a trap she would have done so by now."
"She's only using you to find Luna. Once she's found her, who knows what she's going to do. She's too unpredictable to keep around," Riku said giving her a glance before looking back at Sora. "Hers is the kind that is only interested in her own personal interests. When the time comes I doubt she'll hesitate to stab you in the back if she sees the opportunity. We have a guess to Luna's location—that's enough. We don't need the extra drama being carried around in the group."
"Drama that will only be created if we keep distrusting each other, as you're doing right now," Sora pointed out before adding, "and when the time comes I will take personal responsibility for her actions. What's the harm with at least trying to reason with her?"
"This is a bad idea…" Riku disapproved with a frown.
"I'm not going to abandon Luna's friend," Sora said. It was all he needed or had to say on the matter. Turning away from Riku, he walked over to Astra and gave her a confirmed nod. "We'll let you come along as long as you promise to do every single thing we tell you. Sound good?"
"On a scout's honor sir." Astra promised holding up three fingers.
Not caring much for her sarcastic humor, Sora felt it best that they return to the beach to meet with Kairi, Rikku and Paine. Knowing that they must have been worried sick about him, that worry made him remember how he had come to be here in the first place. Indeed, it was very strange how wanting to play a game of volleyball had turned into something much more.
Riku seeming to have similar thoughts, voiced this concern out loud and the three of them, now accompanied by the mysterious Astra headed back through the trees towards the sandy and clear landscape that reminded him so much of his islands.
As the emerged onto the beach they came across their first encounter of Heartless. It certainly explained the unusual silence that had preceded them arriving on the sandy shore. Sora immediately sprang to action, taking out a group of Shadows nearby while Riku and Astra took on the more menacing Large Bodies that only seemed vulnerable from the back. During this time both Sora and Riku were observing Astra and her movements. She seemed like a ninja, quick paced and ready to bounce back and forth between one Heartless and another. Her fighting style was surprisingly fluid, even more so than it had been during her fight with Sora. Even Riku was momentarily stunned as Astra used her free hand, thrusting it downwards to send a chunk of ice onto a Large Bodies' head before doing the same to another.
"You just gonna stand there or am I going to have to take these things out by myself?" Astra's question brought Riku back into the realm of reality and he was soon throwing his own free hand Dark Aura projectiles at the Heartless.
Sora could spot Kairi fighting away at her own group of Heartless some ways off and rushed towards her meanwhile cutting through the Heartless in his path. Sora used Sonic Blade to push through the last remaining Heartless before arriving at Kairi's side.
"You okay here?" Sora asked as Kairi ducked low enough for Sora to jump over her and take out an airborne Aerial Knocker Heartless before it could swoop down and attack.
Kairi nodded and looked in Astra and Riku's direction briefly before Judgement Raiding repeatedly to take out the remaining Heartless surrounding them. "Want to introduce me to your new friend?"
"Astra. She's the friend of Luna's that I was talking about," Sora was about to say more when he caught sight of Stitch growling at an approaching Heartless while Lilo was cowering behind him. He sprinted towards them only to feel the familiar sensation of his body locking up. "No, not now!"
"You're pushing yourself too hard Sora. Let me handle this," Kairi said. Sora was about to protest when Kairi gave him a dangerous glare and repeated more imperatively, "Let me handle this."
The determined strength behind Kairi's eyes was all Sora needed to oblige by her command. She was right. If he wanted to save Luna he would need to save up all his strength, especially if it was the Dark Realm they were heading to. Kairi recognized that to get through to his stubbornness, she had to be forceful. Sora wasn't surprised. It was Kairi—she knew him well enough to know that only she could change his mind like that.
Sora sat down as if he had just been defeated and watched as Kairi confronted the unusual Heartless. Turning around Sora could see that it was another Chimera. The humanely turquoise eyes would be enough to drive a person crazy if they weren't so used to fighting Heartless. It was easy enough for them to just not look at the eyes and see the creature as a Heartless instead of a human in a Heartless' body. It was easy… except for the fact that he had to lie to himself to believe that. He didn't want to look away from the unfortunate truth, that these Chimera had been the result of cruel experiments on humans with lives of their own so easily taken away from them.
Kairi threw out another Judgement Raid from the side of the Chimera. The lightning fast flash of light connected with the closest thing to what would be a hip and knocked it away from Lilo and Stitch. Figuring the least he could do was get the both of them out of harm's way, Sora forced himself up off the ground and called for them to come over to him. The Chimera had heard him though and teleported quickly in between to prevent them from crossing the beach. Its movements reminded Sora very much of the Dragoon Nobodies he had fought on previous adventures. If it had a higher capability of thinking then it would prove to be a dangerous foe for Kairi to handle alone.
"Kairi, redirect!" Sora advised loudly enough for her to hear. She nodded promptly and charged her Keyblade before unleashing a wave of light at the Chimera. The creature saw it coming and easily teleported out of the way leaving the wave to carry on. Sora jumped forward quickly to catch it in time before casting Reflect at angle that would redirect the wave back at the Heartless. The light hit the back of the Chimera causing it to arch backwards in a painful shape to where Kairi could use another Judgement Raid at the same time. The two opposing forces were equal enough in power to cut clean through the Chimera's body severing it into two before both halves vanished.
"We sure do make a good team, huh?" Kairi commended watching as the heart swirled higher and higher up into the sky.
"As if there was any doubt," Sora grinned before a sad smile took over. "You know, this isn't getting any easier. We helped Quasi and maybe we can help a few more but… I'm not sure we can help all of them. I hate playing this game of pick and choose. It's like…" Sora's eyes widened and his clicked his fingers upon realizing it. "Like we're still in the middle of Abraxas' game. His goal was that he wanted to break me, make me suffer. I know that we can't save them all and that's what Abraxas was counting on, or still is I guess… that feeling of knowing that you're powerless to save everyone."
"I don't think either of you are powerless. You both seem pretty powerful to me." Lilo said unexpectedly.
"You think so?" Kairi asked blushing slightly.
"Like superheroes out of a comic book! I wish I had the kind of power that you did. Then Mertle wouldn't dare try-"
"Lilo, having the power to do something doesn't mean you can exploit that power. Besides, you already have a power that Mertle doesn't have," Kairi said before pointing at Lilo's chest. "You have a kind and accepting heart. The fact that you were able to befriend Stitch so easily is something that Mertle could never do. The first step to getting people to accept you is accepting yourself. As long as that happens, the only opinion of yourself you'll ever need is your own."
Now it was Lilo's turn to say, "You think so?"
"I know so," Sora said. He looked at Stitch before continuing, "Buuuut if you are still looking to get equal, I know the perfect thing you can do it. How about you look after Stitch for now?"
"I can? Really?" Lilo's eyes grew as big as her smile at this.
"Really. Whether you've noticed it or not by now, you two have something in common. You both want friends and I think that wish brought us here to you. Also, you can even introduce him to a certain someone, if you catch my drift." whispered Sora in a furtive manner. His wink sealed the deal. Lilo beamed and nodded before hugging him and Kairi.
"Lilo, so that's where you've been. Urgh, do you know how worried I've been? You just up and vanished from your room and you didn't even tell me. I thought that maybe it had done something to you." Nani said arriving on the scene in deep huffs of relief. Her emphasis on it to refer to Stitch made Sora cringe.
"Hey, Stitch isn't an it. He's my best friend now!" Lilo defended.
"That does beg the question though. Why did you leave your room?" Kairi asked. Sora could see Riku, Astra and Yuna approaching them after having finished their own wave of Heartless.
"Stitch said that he wanted to help you find those thingy pieces so we left to find you but we ran into those things on the way." Lilo explained.
"Stitch said that, huh?" Sora looked at the strangely calm and sullen alien who walked over to him and Kairi slowly.
"Sora… Kairi… Riku… friends… Stitch, help friends because… friends help Stitch." he said slowly and clearly. It really was incredible how someone like Stitch could latch onto a single word and use it to become motivated. The word was not simply just a word to the man-made experiment, but a philosophy, one that he could over-analyse and apply to his own life. He was learning to sympathize and become calmer and that was enough for Sora to know that he had been influenced and had developed so much over one day just from that single word.
Sora knew the power that certain words or phrases possessed having used them before but somewhere along the line he felt he had lost that message. Now it was time for Sora to make that same word count for him.
Friends. They help each other. Wherever you are Luna… I'll definitely find you.
Two figures running out of the trees disrupted his thoughts. The first person was unmistakably Pete which meant that whoever the second person was couldn't be good news either.
"Looks like we have more unwelcomed guests." Sora said before summoning his Keyblade along with Kairi again. Riku and Astra, who had kept their Keyblades out, went into their battle stances as they joined up with the group.
Pete's jaw dropped at the sight of several key shaped weapons ready to attack at any moment. "Oh, talk 'bout a heap load of bad luck. Now there's four more of you key-wielding brats? I don't know 'bout you but I am so outta here!" he yelled before opening up a corridor of darkness behind him. He backed into it leaving the stupefied and disoriented Gantu alone.
"Looks like he's learning. You might want to follow his example." Sora suggested.
Gantu's eyes fell on Stitch. He was trying to look for some opportunity, any opportunity, to snatch the creature and get out, but no matter how hard he tried, Stitch was too well protected.
He snarled and was about to pull out his blaster when he was crushed under the weight of a re-sized Aqua.
"Get of me! Do you understand who I am? I am Gantu and I will-"
"Oh be quiet," Aqua said casting silence on the loud-mouthed alien. She rolled off him, stood up and checked to make sure she was her normal height. "Seems like whatever he used on me wore off. Thank goodness."
"Aqua! I was wondering what Pete meant by there being more of us. When did you get here?" asked Riku.
"About an hour ago. I received your message and brought this along from Cid's but I'm not exactly sure how to install it." Aqua said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a purple Gummi Block.
"That'll do. I've never done it myself but I think me and Riku can hook it up. It seemed simple enough when I was watching Chip and Dale do it." Sora replied.
Gantu stood back up and shouted at them, or at least tried to but no words were able to come out of his mouth. He shook his fist at them menacingly (or humorously when considering he was still trying to talk) and clicked his fingers before he disappeared in a white light.
"What a bunch of losers." Lilo stated crossing her arms.
Aqua laughed at this before noticing Stitch for the first time since she had joined up with them. "Remember me?" she asked bending down. It hadn't felt like over ten years, with her being in the Realm of Darkness which ran on a much shorter time span, but to Stitch it must have been that long.
"Ak-oo, wa. Aqua!" Stitch said. Aqua nodded and pulled out her wayfinder before showing it to him.
Sora watched as the two reunited with each other after so long, a cheesy smile playing on his face. Kairi must have noticed because she immediately pushed in his cheek closest to her with her index finger.
"What was that about?" Sora enquired looking quite flustered.
"You're doing it again." Kairi told him.
Sora gave an exaggerated exhale before looking divulging his thoughts. "Well, I'm just thinking. Maybe if a creation like Stitch can learn to change and become his own person, maybe a Chimera can do the same. What do you think?"
"I think anything is possible, so let's hope you're right about that," Kairi said. "I think we should hurry back to the Gummi Ship and install the new engine while these two catch up and rekindle their friendship."
"Agreed. I guess we're heading off." Sora announced nodding at Yuna, Rikku and Paine before dismissing them with the Keyblade.
"Will you be back soon?" Lilo asked.
"Of course, huh?" The appearance of a keyhole in the sky cut Sora off from saying more. Having done this process many times now, he aimed his Keyblade at the lock without much thought and watched as the beam of light pierced the lock.
"Another one bites the dust… so where are we heading next then?" Kairi asked.
"The most dangerous place yet. We're going to find a pathway in to the Realm of Darkness." Sora said. The answer shocked Kairi and even Aqua, who had taken to chuckling at the playful Stitch's tendency to show off, had frozen instantly at the mention of the name. That in turn made him uneasy, but he couldn't afford to doubt Astra's guess now. No matter how terrifying the idea seemed that Luna was all alone there, it was as good a shot as any.
