III: The Keyhole

A/n: 5.19.09: Whoa, I never gave this chapter an author's note! Okay, so let me say thank you to all my reviewers. Even if you're reviewing after I finished the story, I still LOVE reading and responding to reviews. They make me smile. :] Ah, and if the name change confuses you, well... it's not a mistake. Her name is Stefa and she's calling herself Keira. It'll all make sense later.

Disclaimer - No KH owning up in here.


Cloud wasn't quite sure how, but he had somehow managed to lose Keira during her roof-jumping excursion. After wandering through half of the town, he decided to check out the Bailey. Sure enough, he found Keira at the foot of the wrecked castle -- one of the few areas left that was not restored -- swinging her keyblade and attacking the walls and pillars.

As Cloud watched a few feet away, Keira ran forward and slipped on the water trickling on the ground. "Ouch," she murmured as she rubbed her ankle.

"I hope you're not planning on running into a battle with that sort of grace," taunted Cloud, smirking, from where he was leaning against the cliff wall with his arms crossed. He sort of had to agree with the old woman from the Marketplace: with her running around and attacking walls, Keira was kind of like a punk.

"Hmpf," huffed Keira without turning around. She knew that voice. Her hair was still somewhat wet -- her bangs plastered to her forehead while the rest of hair stuck to her neck. "If I bug you that much, then you don't need to follow me around, you know," came Keira's childish remark. "I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself."

Cloud nodded seriously. "Yeah. I could tell by the way you fell on your face," he replied before joining her.

"Knock it off," she whined as she lay her head on the wet ground, utterly defeated. "How long has this castle been in ruins anyway?" Keira asked for no reason; it was simply for the sake of knowing.

Cloud shrugged. "Hmm. What... at least two years."

"It's pretty," she mused. Cloud looked over the ruins, unable to truly see the beauty of the destroyed castle gates. Somehow, Keira could look at something broken and see it as beautiful; he didn't particularly understand that. "What a shame."

"Don't even think about it," said Cloud abruptly, and seriously as her eyes traveled to the actual castle in the distance. Keira's eyebrows knitted together.

"What?"

Cloud shook his head. "You're not going into that castle. There's only one safe part of the castle, and that's the lab."

"That was the farthest thing from my mind," she responded in a very unconvincing voice.

"Right."

Keira scowled. "Do you have to reign on my parade?" She flipped over on her stomach in order to look up at Cloud. Maybe he had been wrong about the whole she's-not-naïve thing after all.

"It seems like you have the tendency to get really bad ideas."

At this, she frowned and revealed her true colors. "Come on! It'll be fun!"

"That's definitely not the word to describe it." Cloud replied, exasperated.

"Cloud!" A voice called from the 'window' of the Bailey. They looked up to see Yuffie and Aerith waving.

Keira blinked. "Who're they?" she whispered as Yuffie, with her hand clasped onto Aerith's wrist, jumped down to join them. Both women landed with grace despite Aerith not being prepared for the jump.

"Aerith, the brunette, is the only reason why you're able to jump around on roofs and beat up crumbling walls," answered Cloud as Yuffie and Aerith approached them.

Yuffie grinned at Keira. "Ah, so she's finally awake."

"I'm glad to see you're alright," remarked Aerith with a soft smile.

"Yuffie, Aerith, this is Keira. The loud, short one is Yuffie." Cloud introduced the three girls.

Keira smiled lightly, and she bowed her head. "Nice to meet you both. And thank you, Aerith."

"Same here." Yuffie said before she crushed Keira in a suffocatingly-tight embrace.

"It was no problem, Keira."

Keira began to choke, "Yuffie... Can't. Breathe."

Yuffied giggled. "Oops. Sorry." She replied, rubbing the back of her head as she released Keira.

"What are you two doing around here anyway?" asked Aerith with the slight tilt of her head. It was apparent, even in her light tone, that she disapproved of having Keira running around already.

Cloud shook his head. "I followed Keira up here after a roof jumping escapade. Now she wants to go see the whole castle." He jerked his head toward the large building looming in the distance.

"I think that's a good idea," announced Yuffie with a nod. She would, though Cloud, find that to be a good idea.

"What?" Cloud and Aerith both remarked sharply.

"Yes!" said Keira under her breath.

Yuffie smiled innocently. "Well, it would be a good idea to make sure there aren't any Heartless in the castle, right? Make sure the keyhole's okay?" It was more of an excuse than a valid point.

"I guess that Aerith and I will wait down here. Be careful," he added with a meaningful stare directed at Yuffie. "Especially you, Keira. I highly doubt you know how to use that keyblade yet."

"Don't worry, I'll watch her. After all, I'm the great ninja, Yuffie!" replied the ninja as she grabbed Keira's wrist and started off.

"Oh, and Yuffie?" called Aerith.

Said ninja whirled around, "Yes?"

A faint smile appeared on Aerith's lips. "Don't let Leon catch you. If he finds out, he'll kill you. Especially if anything bad happens." Yuffie grinned widely and gave the two-fingered salute before she ran off with the younger girl to the castle. If there was any way to encourage Yuffie, it was to inform her that what she was doing would get her in a lot of trouble. "You think they'll be okay?"

"Well..." Cloud started, "At least they both have weapons."

Aerith didn't much like that response.

XxxxxX

Leon sprinted through the lab and down the corridors. He found that he was still relieved every time he ran through them and found neither Heartless nor Nobodies wrecking havoc. Finally, he snaked to the left and exited the castle. Passing the Postern, he headed back for Merlin's house when two figures caused him to skid to a stop a few feet away. "Cloud? Aerith?" asked Leon as his eyebrows knitting together.

At once, they turned around. Aerith's facial expression had a faint look of worry plastered to it while Cloud's was as expressionless a usual. "Leon," called Aerith.

He jumped the last few feet separating them and landed in front of them. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked, slightly suspiciously. "I was just about to go back to the house to tell everyone some--" He paused, realizing something was amiss. It was quiet. Too quiet.

"Where's Yuffie...?" asked Leon, becoming more suspicious by the minute. "And the other girl?"

Aerith and Cloud exchanged glances.

XxxxxX

"Jeez! This place sure is a mess," remarked Yuffie. "Though I have to admit that it has a bit of charm since Heartless aren't running around anymore."

"This place is so huge," said Keira with awe. "I never thought I'd actually be able to step into a real castle in my whole life."

Yuffie grinned, "I used to live here, before the Heartless came and forced us out of our world." She remarked with a nod. "I have trouble remembering, though."

"That's so cool," replied Keira, still in awe as she trailed her fingers against one of the green walls. She pricked her index finger on something sharp. "Looks like this place underwent some serious fighting."

"You bet," came Yuffie's response as she crossed her arms behind her head. "Sora was about thirteen, I think, when he, Donald, and Goofy fought here." She stated as they headed down a hallway and into the Lift Stop.

Keira blinked. "Who's Sora? And Donald? And... Goofy?" After taking a lift up to another level, and more walking through a confusing amount of corridors, they stopped in a very open room. Inside there were six glass cases on each side of the wall with large torches near each case.

"Sora is another Keyblade wielder. The Keyblade Master, they call him. He's a brave kid. About a year older than you now, if I'm guessing your age right. Goofy is King Mickey's Captain and Donald is the King's Magician... Cloud told you about the King, right?" The ninja asked, glancing in Keira's direction as she the girl nodded. She was approaching one of the cases, one hand reaching out in wonder. "Don't touch those. They'll cut you for sure." She warned; Keira quickly pulled away her hand.

"What was in these?" Keira asked, turning around to face Yuffie.

A faint smile appeared on her lips. "You mean who. Six of the Princesses of Heart: Aurora, Belle, Alice, Cinderella, Snow White, and Jasmine," she answered. "Maleficent was trying to use their hearts to open the door to Kingdom Hearts, but she needed the seventh for it to work."

"You only named six. And there are only six cases. Who's the seventh?" Keira asked. Yuffie tugged her forward, up a mini staircase, and atop a raised floor. At the top of the platform, they turned around and Yuffie pointed to a glass case over a long, but thin, ledge. The only way to get up to it was to jump onto the ledge.

"The seventh's name is Kairi." At this, Yuffie smiled evilly, "Sora's quite taken with Kairi. We're all wondering when they're both going to realize they love each other." Keira giggled a little and smiled,

"That's so cute," she remarked. The situation was, admittedly, quite familiar to her. She knew a boy that her best friend was convinced loved her, but she wasn't totally sure herself. Not that it mattered much now. For all she knew, both her best friend and other friend/crush were likely gone.

"Isn't it?" Yuffie turned to face Keira. "You seem to be thinking about something. Or should I say, someone?" She successfully made the girl's face turn red. "So, Keira, who--?" But she was interrupted by a large crash behind them. The ninja whirled around and stared in horror at the scene unfurling.

Keira followed suit. "What is that...?" She asked, slowly, as she stared at the life-sized keyhole.

"This world's keyhole... Shit!" The ninja cursed and pulled out her Shuriken as Shadows began to pop out of the floor.

"Heartless?!" cried Keira, knowing that she was not yet ready to fight another Heartless. Just as fast her keyblade appeared in a flash of light, comforting her a little.

"That Keyblade's not just for decoration, I hope?" Yuffie asked in a serious tone as she crouched.

Keira's eyes widened. "I've used it a few times," she squeaked before jumping into a battle stance with a tight grasp on the key.

XxxxxX

"They're not just inside the castle, but they're examining the keyhole too?" demanded Leon in a steely voice. That was a recipe for disaster, and he knew that he was not the only one who thought that. "Why would you let them do that?"

"Examining the keyhole ahead of time is a good idea, in case Heartless appear, Leon," Cloud replied in an indifferent voice. "If Keira was able to get here in the first place, then I think that it's something we should be prepared for."

"Besides, Yuffie's with her," pointed out Aerith although it was with a lack of confidence.

"That's what I'm worried about. And what if the keyblade were to lure out Heartless?" asked Leon. The two fell quiet, knowing that there was no good response to his question. "We better go check on them, just in case," sighed Leon, raking a hand through his hair. With that, he led the way back into the castle.

XxxxxX

Yuffie and Keira were panting and pressed against the wall. The Heartless were easy enough to take out being lowly Shadows, but it was the quantity that had them doubling over for breath. "See if you can seal the keyhole with your Keyblade," Yuffie muttered in between huffs of breath. "I don't know that it'll doing anything... but it's worth a try."

"How?" Keira asked, trying to even out her breathing.

The ninja made a face. "I don't know exactly, but with your keyblade, you can see exactly where the keyhole is... your keyblade should help you do the rest." Yuffie replied, taking out several Heartless at once with her Shuriken. Chewing on her lip, Keira did as she was told and rushed forward, knocking out Heartless in her way. She jumped into the middle of the platform and faced the area where the Shadows were leaking out. Instantly, a keyhole shape flashed before her eyes and her keyblade was tugged forward. Suddenly, Keira knew what she was doing, but before she got the chance to seal the keyhole, about ten Shadows jumped on her. More joined her, burying her.

"Keira? Keira?!" Yuffie cursed again, and she rushed forward to take out more Heartless as two slashed at her arms. She glared daggers at them, but the glare did not, as she had hoped, kill them. Blood streamed down from her arm, and a strangled cry escaped from the pile of Heartless. The ninja drew in a deep breath before letting it out. "Hang on!" A Large Body appeared out of nowhere before her with its arms crossed around its chest. "...Oh, shit." Yuffie muttered as the large body rushed forward with much force and knocked her over.

In the meantime, Keira flailed her wielding-arm around, desperately trying to hit anything she could.

XxxxxX

The first thing Leon, Aerith, and Cloud noticed as they neared the keyhole was an increase in Heartless. No, the presence of Heartless, period. "This is bad." Leon muttered as he slashed them out with his sword.

"You're telling me," agreed Cloud as he wiped out several Knights. They rushed forward with Aerith tailing behind and entered the room. If they thought the Heartless problem was bad before, then it was nothing compared to now. It looked like the walls would collapse from the number of Heartless in the room.

"Yuffie!" Leon exclaimed as he ran forward to where the fallen ninja lay. Her arm was covered in some blood, and there was also blood streaming from her mouth. He picked her up gently and tilted her upwards.

Her dark brown eyes fluttered opened. "...Sorry...S-Squall..." She muttered, weakly.

Leon smirked weakly, "That's Leon." Even Yuffie managed to muster a weak smile.

"Where's Keira?" Cloud asked urgently.

"I-I asked her to g-go seal the keyhole... I th-think the heartless got h-her..." She replied quietly. The way she phrased it, it sounded like the Heartless had stolen Keira's heart. Cloud nodded before rushing up the stairs and onto the raised level. A mass of Shadows were in the center, and Cloud knew where Keira was instantly. With a swipe of his large sword, the Heartless vanished. He slashed a few more times until the Heartless were no longer a large pile.

In the center of the platform lay the limp form of Keira. Her dirty blond and black streaked hair covered her face, and a good amount of blood covered her skin. The red tank and jeans were somewhat ripped. Cloud rushed forward and gently scooped her up bridal style. Keira's hair fell away from her face to reveal her mouth was bleeding and her face was covered with various scratches.

She smiled somewhat. "Hey, Cloud, I told you I could take care of myself. Well, at least when you're around." At this, the normally curt, emotionless Cloud felt softened.

"You're careless," was all he said in response to hide what he was truly feeling. Aerith, standing at the top of the stairs, could tell even from a distance.

A/N: Awww. Alright, so I realize this is my second chapter to be submitted in one day. I'm afraid that since term's ending in a few weeks that I won't be able to update that much, so I'm trying to get out as much as I can. You'll appreciate it in the long run. 'Till next chapter!