Disclaimer: All characters and names are copyright of Square-Enix and/or Disney Corporation. This is a non-profit endeavor for entertainment purposes only.
A/N: Well, this came out sooner than even I expected it would. And its even longer than the pervious chapters. Im rather proud of myself. Anyway, hope you enjoy it.
Pete blew out a long sigh as he gazed out over the ocean from the deck of the Flying Dutchman. For the last few days he had had nothing more to look at than a world of endless blue. A part of him felt that he should be able to appreciate life on board a ship, given his former occupation as a steamboat captain. But the tiny Willie was a far cry from this massive warship. And at least back then, he had always been able to dock his boat and go home at the end of the day. Being out to sea, truly out to sea, was a whole different story.
And then there was the matter of his shipmates. If had thought that Barbossa's zombie-skeleton pirates were weird, they were nothing compared to the walking fish-men who crewed the Dutchman.
Pete's ears perked up as they caught the rhythmic clumping sound that always heralded the approach of the Dutchman's captain. The King of Weird, Pete liked to think of him as.
"Enjoying the view, Mister Pete?" Davy Jones asked as he came to stand beside him at the railing.
"Sure." Pete drawled. "If staring out at nothing all day every day is your idea of enjoyment."
The tentacles that made up the bottom of Jones' face wiggled slightly in what Pete took to be amusement. "Worry not, Mister Pete. We have reached our destination."
"Waddya mean?" Pete asked, turning to look at Jones in slack-jawed confusion. "There's not even a hint of land to be seen for miles."
Jones' tentacles wiggled again, and his lipless mouth curled into a small smirk at some private joke. "Look again."
Pete turned slowly back and nearly fell over backwards in surprise.
Impossibly, the Dutchman was steadily approaching land. Pete saw a white sand beach that seemed to stretch to infinity, maybe even beyond that.
Jones smirked again at Pete's befuddled look, and then turned to call over his shoulder. "Case the sails! Drop anchor!"
The command was repeated back throughout the decks as the crew hurried to carry out the Captain's orders. The sails were furled and tied away, and the anchor was dropped, catching on the ocean floor and slowly bringing the ship to a halt.
Jones turned and limped away from the railing. "Mister Turner! Prepare the Captains Gig. We're going ashore."
Pete saw the crewman in question move hurriedly to where one of the long boats was tied up. Pete had noticed this man a few times on the voyage before. He stood out, as he seemed to be the one member of the crew who still retained most of his humanity. While his clothes always seemed to be water-logged, his skin was deathly white tinged with just a hint of green, and he had a row of barnacles growing along his jaw along with a small starfish attached to one cheek, his features were still more or less identifiable as a man. Especially his eyes. There was a great deal of sorrow and regret there, even someone with the emotional range of a sea slug like Pete could see that much.
"Coming, Mister Pete?" Jones called back.
Pete blinked and shook his head, pushing away from the railing. "Yeah, yeah. Im comin'."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------Turner rowed the long boat the rest of the distance to the beach, and Jones and Pete climbed out. Like the World That Never Was, with its strange, otherworldly-properties, Jones was able to set foot on the shores of the Locker without waiting for the ten year term on his curse to run its course.
Pete gazed over the desolate landscape and let out another great, heaving sigh. From endless water to endless sand. He wasn't sure which option he disliked more.
Jones heard the sigh, and glanced at his companion with the same look he had given him earlier. It seemed that Pete's exasperation with this entire process greatly amused the Captain. This didnt do much to elevate Petes mood.
"Are we gonna be walkin' long? I don't do too well with long distances." Pete asked.
Jones snorted and began walking up the beach. "Not far, Mister Pete."
Indeed, they had only been walking for a short time when Pete spied a small, dark figure squatting in the sand less than a mile away. As they drew closer, Pete was able to make out more details. The person was wearing a tattered red coat, and had long, stringy, unwashed black hair. He was drawing something in the sand with a broken stick, and Pete caught occasional flashes of something metal near his left hand glinting in the sun.
Most absurd, and perhaps disturbing, of all was that he seemed to be wearing a hollowed out crocodile head as a hat.
As they drew near, Pete and Jones could hear the figure muttering to himself. "Cogs and gears, cogs and gears, click-clack, tick-tock. Cant hear it anymore, cant hear it any more. Only silence now. Always silence. At last." Then the figure gave off a high-pitched, maniacal giggle that sent shivers down Pete's spine.
Jones stopped next to the figure, staring down impassively. The man ignored them for a moment, and then slowly turned his head to look at them when he seemed to notice their shadows looming over him. Staring out at them from between the open jaws of the crocodile head was a face Pete almost recognized. A long, hooked nose, frazzled looking moustache, and the most demented pair of beady little black eyes Pete could ever remember seeing.
Jones finally spoke. "James Hook. Youve been granted a reprieve."
Pete's eyes dropped down to the mans left hand. The glint of metal he saw earlier was indeed a hook that sat in place of the hand. Pete's eyes returned to the face. Yes, he could see it now.
This pathetic figure, mumbling and scribbling nonsense in the sand, was Captain Hook.
And he was completely out of his mind.
Hook stared up at Jones, a muscle in his cheek twitching. "Buttons?"
Jones sneered, and his crab claw hand suddenly snatched Hook around the throat, dragging up to eye level. "Pull your mind together, you babbling fool!" Jones hissed in his face, tentacles waving menacingly. "Maleficent has need of you, and she should be sorely disappointed to find you in such a state."
Hook stared bug-eyed at Jones for a while, before finally mustering up the courage to speak half-coherently. "No ship. Cant help, no ship. Lost. Lost to the deep."
Jones released his grip on Hook and half-turned, pointing back towards the ocean. "You mean that ship?"
Pete turned to look where Jones was pointing, and this time he really did fall over. Another ship had suddenly appeared at anchor next to the Dutchman, a grinning skull-and-crossbones splayed across the main sail.
Hook stared at the ship for a long time, crawling onto his knees, one hand reaching out towards it. "Real?"
"Real as you or I." Jones answered, heading back towards the shore. "Come now, Hook. The Jolly Roger awaits her Captain."
Hook got shakily to his feet, following slowly after the departing Jones.
Pete sat there in the sand for a few more moments. "I cant wait to be done with all this weird stuff." He huffed, and then scrambled up when he realized he was getting left behind. "Hey, wait for me!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------Save the King lived up to its name for the second time that day as Goofy leapt forward to interpose himself between Mickey and the Horned King's axe. The contact between blade and shield caused a loud clang that echoed around the cavernous chamber, and the force of the blow sent Goofy flying off to the side with a yelp. But the Horned King's attack was thwarted and Mickey's life was, for the moment, spared.
The flurry of activity seemed to shake Mickey of his temporary paralysis. "Goofy!" He called out, hurrying to the side of his friend, Donald, Minnie, and Max following close behind, all keeping one wary eye on the Horned King.
"Awww, Im all right, Your Majesty." Goofy said, getting slowly to his feet, looking a little cross-eyes. "He sure does pack a wallop though."
Mickey turned and pointed his Keyblade at the Horned King. "You wont get away with this! For putting my people in danger, and trying to hurt my friends, I wont forgive you!"
"It is fortunate, then, that I do not require your forgiveness." The Horned King began to advance again. "Do not needlessly prolong your suffering. You do not want to see what I will do to your kingdom when I am finished with you."
"No, were finished with you!" Mickey charged forward, leaping into the air and bringing his Keyblade down to strike at the Horned King. His opponent swept his axe upwards to block, and Mickey dropped to floor and rolled, swinging for the larger man's knees.
The axe shaft dropped down, slapping the Keyblade off to one side. Mickey used the momentum to roll with the parry, twisting onto his back and pointing the Keyblade at the Horned King. A bright ball of light formed at the tip and shot off, streaking towards the aggressor.
The Horned King brought his axe around to block the Pearl. When the ball made contact with the axe head, it split into many small points of light, which curled around the Horned Kings weapon and turned into thin blades, stabbing through his armor and into his arms and chest.
Letting out a great bellow, the Horned King staggered backwards. Though the attack did seem to pain him, it also seemed to only make him angrier. He charged again, axe swinging. Mickey bounded and leapt about, using his much smaller frame to his advantage, always moving out of the way of each attack moments before it landed and countering with strikes from the Kingdom Key D whenever he could.
Though the large axe must have weighed an enormous amount, the Horned King swung it around as easily as Mickey did his Keyblade. The Hall of the Cornerstone was filled with the echoing rings of the two weapons bouncing off each other.
Suddenly, the Horned King leapt backwards, landing several feet away from Mickey. He raised his axe high in the air, and then slammed the butt into the ground.
"Fulminating Darkness!" He cried.
From the point where the axe rested on the ground, a large, circular shadow began to spread across the floor. Strangely, the shadow seemed to have depth, as Mickey and the others could see indistinct shapes swirling around inside it. A heavy feeling of dread seemed to permeate the room as it spread further and further.
"Since you will not submit to a quick death, you have instead doomed yourselves to an eternity of endless torment." The Horned King informed them as the growing shadow continued to eat up floor space, causing the defenders of Disney Castle to back away into the corner.
"Mickey?" Minnies voice wavered with uncertainty. "Can you do anything?"
"Gosh, Minnie, I dont know." Mickey answered as he continued to back away from the darkness. "I dont think any of my tricks are gonna work this time."
"Waaaak! Your Majesty! Look!" Donald yelled frantically as he pointed his staff at something.
Mickey and the others turned to see what Donald had spotted.
It was the door to the Timeless River. The shadow had not reached it yet.
"Good work Donald! Everybody! Through the door! Quickly!" The five of them sprinted for the door, racing to stay ahead of the creeping blackness.
"What? No!" The Horned King belatedly realized what was happening. He lifted his axe off the ground, the darkness vanishing the instant he did so. He charged in the direction of the door, long legs carrying him in great leaping bounds as he tried desperately to reach the door before they did.
He was only a few seconds off. Mickey waved his Keyblade at the door, and it sprang open. Without breaking stride, they dove through it, the door slamming shut behind them.
"Lock it!" Minnie shouted, her voice sounding muted in the past-worlds strange environment.
Mickey turned and pointed the Keyblade at the door. A thin beam of light shot from the tip and into the keyhole, where it locked with a small click.
Everyone watched with baited breath as the door shook violently as the Horned King tried to force his way through from the other side. It seemed that, for one terrifying moment, not even the magically locked door would be able to stand against the Horned King's fury. But then the door fell silent. It seemed the enemy had given up.
Mickey looked around at the others. Donald and Goofy had reverted to the clothes they had been wearing during their first trip through this World with Sora. Minnie had changes as well. Instead of her royal gown, she was now wearing a simple, flower print sundress, and her tiara was replaced with a bow. Max no longer had had on his armor, it having changed into a hooded sweatshirt with jeans and a pair of sneakers.
Looking down at himself, Mickey saw he was wearing a pair of shorts with large buttons on the front. Even with the lack of color, he knew the shorts were red and their accompanying buttons yellow.
"Been a long time since I wore these." He muttered to himself.
King Mickey! Queen Minnie! Look!" Max exclaimed.
They turned to see what it was he had noticed. They found themselves standing on the hill where the Cornerstone of Light was first found.
But it was gone.
"So that's how the enemy got in." Mickey said, dismissing his Keyblade. "The only question is how? And where did they take it?"
"I think we need to find out." Minnie answered. "And I believe our search would go faster if we split up."
"Good idea Minnie. Mickey agreed. Youll come with me. Max, Donald, and Goofy can form the other party. Well head into town. You guys start at the Wharf."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The three bowed, and then hurried to carry out their assignment.
Mickey sighed as he and Minnie started heading in the opposite direction. "Once again, our peace is shattered. I sure hope Sora and the others are OK, wherever they are."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------Sora clamped a hand over his mouth, fighting not to lose the contents of his stomach as he and Riku stepped from the Corridor of Darkness.
"Sorry." Riku said, clapping Sora on the shoulder and suppressing a smile. "I shoulda warned you. Traveling through darkness isnt easy. Youll get used to it, though."
Sora swallowed and looked up at Riku with a glare. "Yeah, thanks pal." Taking a deep breath, he straightened up and looked around, a frown slowly crossing his face. "Riku, this isn't Disney Castle."
I...you're right. I dont...I dont understand." Riku stammered, looking around as well. They had emerged on a street in the middle of a dingy city. Buildings towered over their heads, creating the feeling that they were being closed in on all sides. Trash blew through the alley ways in the light afternoon breeze. It was also eerily quiet. Like the entire city was deserted.
"You mean we went through all that for nothing?" Sora turned an accusatory look on Riku. "I though you knew how to use those things."
"I do! I mean I did...I mean this has never happened before!" Riku tried vainly to defend himself.
Sora shook his head. "Forget it. Look! That building over there has lights on! Lets go see if someone in there can help us out." He took off at a jog towards a low, flat-roofed building nestled in between two larger ones. There was a brightly-lit, neon sign on top of the roof, but neither boy paid it any attention as they slowly pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The interior of the building was dimly lit and smelled like it hadn't been properly cleaned in a while. An old jukebox sat in one corner near a dust-covered drum set. In the center of the room was a pool table with all of its balls spread around the green felt top haphazardly. On one of the walls was a strange collection of what looked like tribal masks, each one mounted to the wall with what, upon closer inspection, turned out to be a large and varying collection of swords.
Against the wall farthest from the door was a large, oak desk. Someone was sitting behind it in a high-backed chair. Though Sora and Riku could only see a pair of black boots and brown pants, as the occupant had his legs kicked up on the desk, blocking the rest of him from view.
"Hello?" Sora tentatively called.
"We're closed." A tired sounding voice answered. "Unless ya gotta use the bathroom. Its in the back. Make it quick."
Sora and Riku looked at each other. "Actually, sir, were a little lost." Riku said.
"What do I look like, a tour guide? Beat it, kids. I dont think your moms would like you running around the city talking to strangers."
Riku bristled at the strangers dismissive tone. "Listen here you; I'll have you know..."
The legs abruptly came off the desk, and the chair the man was sitting in thumped forward onto its front legs. The occupant was wearing a red, short-sleeved shirt with a black vest over it. Unkempt, snow-white hair hung over his ears, bangs stopping just above his eyes.
Eyes of the iciest blue, who's piercing gaze stopped Riku in his tracks. The silver-haired teenager gulped. Without ever having met this man, Riku could tell he was extremely dangerous.
"You'll have me know what, kid?"
Riku floundered about for an answer. He was saved the trouble when the front door of the building burst open.
Riku and Sora turned to see Heartless flooding in, a mixture of Soldiers and Armored Knights.
Ultima and Way to Dawn appeared in their owners hands, all thoughts of the rude man forgotten as the Keybearers turned to face the coming onslaught. Sora, being the closest, started the battle first. Ultima flew back and forth, cutting through the meager defenses of the Soldiers. An Armored Knight blocked one of his attacks, and one of its brothers attempted to run Sora through with its blade. Sora leapt up and kicked the Heartless in its head, knocking it into the one that had his Keyblade locked up. Both creatures were sent sprawling, knocking over another group of Soldiers that had just squeezed through the door.
Riku reached the fray and barreled straight into a group of Armored Knights. Way to Dawn danced around, piercing and slashing any Heartless that got in its way. Jumping up, he landed on the shoulders of an Armored Knight, and used it as a platform to spring into the air. Drawing his arm back, he hurled the Keyblade down into the Heartless horde. It spun through the air, cleaving through the enemies that didn't have enough sense to get out of its way. The Way to Dawn curved through the air and found its way back to Riku's hand, who slashed downwards as he came back to the ground, splitting another Heartless in half.
"Hey! Take it outside!" The surly man behind the desk shouted. He was roundly ignored by all as the two teenagers continued to slay the Heartless invaders, who were determined, if nothing else.
Then, portals of darkness opened on the floor in front of the desk. Several Lunar Bandits emerged, their twin scimitars waving through the air as they searched for a target.
"OK. Thats it." The man growled. Lifting a leg, he pressed the sole of his boot against the edge of the desk. With a small grunt, he kicked his leg out. The desk, which must've weighed several hundred pounds, slid across the floor as if it were made of ice. It caught the Lunar Bandits as it traveled, hurtling towards where Sora and Riku were battling. The Keybearers heard it scraping across the floor, and turned just in time to see it coming and leap out of the way.
The desk barreled through a large part of the group of Heartless before slamming to a stop against the wall. Any Heartless caught within its path were crushed into nothingness.
Sora and Riku looked at the man as he stood from his chair. His hands went around to the small of his back, and when they came around again, each was clutching a large handgun, one white, the other black.
The Keybearers scrambled to either side as the man brought both guns up and took aim at the remaining Heartless. Opening fire, the guns sprayed hot lead into the horde, tearing apart their bodies until naught was left but a smoky haze hanging in the air. The guns didn't fall silent until the Heartless stopped coming.
When that finally occurred, Sora and Riku turned to stare, slack-jawed, at the white-haired man. Until the barrels of his guns twitched over to them. The teenagers hurriedly dismissed their Keyblades and put their hands into the air.
"Now then." The man drawled. "What is going on here?"
"Uh, well, you see, sir..." Sora began.
"Dante." The man cut him off. "Dont 'sir' me. Makes me feel old."
"Oh. OK. Well, you see Dante, my name's Sora, and this is Riku." He did his best to indicate his friend standing next to him while keeping his arms in the air. "And, like we said, we're a little lost."
"Yeah, Im getting that." Dante replied. "What were those things?" He gestured towards the door with his white gun.
"Heartless." Riku answered. "They...kinda have a tendency to follow us around."
Dante's eye twitched. "And you brought them right to my doorstep."
Sora ducked his head, looking sheepish. "Yeah. Sorry about that."
Dante considered the two of them for a few more moments, and then he finally lowered his weapons, returning them to the holsters at the small of his back. "Well, I guess its no big deal. Its not like I havent had weirder visitors in the past."
The boys lowered their arms with a collective sigh. "Thanks, Dante." Sora said. "We really wouldn't have troubled you if we could help it."
"Right. So where is it that you were trying to get to that you've gotten lost anyway?"
"Well..." Riku hedged, glancing at Sora. How exactly to explain what it was they were trying to do?
Suddenly, there came the sounds of shattering glass. From behind Dante, a hooded creature seemed to appear from nowhere. The monster carried a large scythe, which it swung through the air. Sora opened his mouth to warn Dante, but it was too late. The curved blade plunged into Dante's back and emerged from his chest with a small spray of blood.
Sora and Riku stared in horror, while Dante, to their eternal surprise, merely looked annoyed.
"I really, really hate when this happens." He muttered, and then lashed backwards with his leg. His kick connected solidly with the creature behind him, snapping the scythe blade off its shaft and sending the thing flying backwards into the wall, where it exploded in a cloud of sand.
Another of the creatures appeared off to the side. Before it could react, Dante grabbed the scythe blade still embedded in his body, yanked it out and hurled it like a Frisbee. The whirling blade decapitated the surprised creature, and it to vanished in a cloud of sand.
The boys looked back at Dante as he made a show of brushing his hands off. The wound on his chest had already completely healed!
"Freakin' demons." The white-haired man muttered. "Will you two stop staring? Makin' me uncomfortable."
"But you should be dead!" Riku exclaimed.
"Should I?" Dante looked down at himself. "I feel just fine."
Sora and Riku stared at each other, and then shrugged it off. Weirder things had happened.
The sound of shattering glass announced the arrival of another demon. The three turned to see it prowling near the door, red eyes watching them carefully. Suddenly, a pool of darkness appeared at its feet, and a Shadow emerged from it. Rather than attacking the Keybearers, as they expected it to do, it turned and leapt at the demon, latching onto its chest. The shadow then seemed to melt and soak into the demon. As the two beings merged, the demon began to change.
Its light brown cloak turned black, and it grew to almost double its original size. Its stick-like limbs bulged with added muscle, while large bone spikes erupted from its shoulders.
Finally, its scythe sprouted another blade at its opposite end, creating a deadly, double-bladed weapon.
This new creature, the Heartless Pride, let out a roar, challenging its foes to combat.
"Well now, things are starting to get interesting." Dante said, turning and walking to a corner of the room, where a large guitar case was propped against the wall. Dante gave the case a kick and it popped open. Reaching in, he pulled out, not an instrument, but a large sword with a broad, flat, double-edged blade. At the bottom of the blade were two protruding hand guards, and the hilt was decorated with the image of a screaming, demonic skull.
Sora gaped. The sword was huge! It was easily as big as the one Cloud had used, and Dante was handling his just as easily.
Resting the sword against his shoulder, Dante crossed the room again, ignoring the Heartless Pride for a moment. He strode up to the jukebox and perused the selection for a moment, nodding as he found what he wanted and pressing the selection.
"Looks like this party's getting crazy." He glanced over his shoulder at Sora and Riku, grinning. "Let's rock."
Dante hit the play button. There was a moment while the jukebox put the record in place, and then the room was filled with the harsh tones of fast-paced death metal. Dante tapped his foot for a few seconds until he got the rhythm down, and when the song his what he considered to be the perfect note, he spun on his heel and lunged at the Heartless Pride. His sword, Rebellion, whistled as it swung through the air, aiming to bisect the monster at the shoulders. The Heartless Pride swung its scythe around and blocked the strike with one blade, then tried to catch Dante on the backswing with the other blade.
Dante danced out of the way as his sword dropped down to knock the scythe off to one side. He then swung Rebellion around his head and brought it down diagonally from the left. The Heartless Pride spun its body out of the swords path and swung its scythe around horizontally, the curved blade at one end flashing for Dantes neck.
Dante bent backwards at the waist, and the blade traveled harmlessly over him. He then kicked out as he straightened up again, foot connecting with the creatures chest. Though unlike its weaker cousin from a few minutes earlier, it didn't fly across the room. It merely stumbled back a few steps.
Dante glanced over his shoulder. "This is an open-invitation dance, ya know."
Riku glanced and Sora and shrugged, smirking. "You heard the man." He summoned Way to Dawn and dashed across the floor, Sora smiling and calling Ultima as he followed.
The Heartless Pride recovered from its stumble and looked up in time to see two Keyblades bearing down on it. Hissing, it spun its double-bladed weapon in a defensive move, parrying off both blades. Sora and Riku jumped to either side of the monster, stabbing and slashing. The Heartless Pride swung its weapon back and forth, blocking and parrying the attacks, moving and twisting across the floor. The Keybearers followed it, the three combatants moving in a deadly dance that each was an expert at.
Dante stood back, watching the boys battle. He nodded slowly to himself. They were really quite good, now that he could actually watch them fight, rather than worrying over their earlier intrusion. Despite their age, Dante was reasonably sure they could hold their own against some of the worst he had gone up against in the past.
As he watched, the brown-haired boy called Sora jumped over a low swing from the enemy. Reaching out, he placed a hand on the Heartless Pride's shoulder and used the leverage to vault over its head. He twisted his body on the way over and swung his legs under him, planting both shoes into the creature's back. The Heartless Pride stumbled forward, and Riku slashed downwards with his Keyblade. The creature raised its scythe to block, and the shaft was split in two by Riku's strike. Thrown off balance by the sudden redistribution in the weight of its weapon, the Heartless Pride flailed its arms for a moment, trying to regain a defensive posture.
Too late. Riku's Keyblade struck again, piercing the creatures throat. It made a strangled gurgling sound, and then Ultima cut cleanly through its midsection. The bottom half fell away, dissolving into sand. The top half, still pinned by Way to Dawn, remained for a few seconds, and then dissolved as well, a small, pink heart floating up towards the ceiling and vanishing.
The sound of applause drew their attention back to Dante, who was leaning against the hilt of his sword, the point resting on the ground, clapping at their performance.
"Not bad, kiddos. Not bad at all. Now then, seeing as we have a little bit of time, hows about you tell me whats actually going on around here?"
Sora and Riku looked at each other for a second.
"Pull up your chair, Dante." Sora said. "This could take a little bit."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------She had been aware of the darkness for some time. Come to think of it, it was all she could seem to remember. Had she been born in the darkness? Had she lived all her life in the darkness? How long ago had she been born anyway? All these details, seemingly important, had fled her memory. Perhaps she had been here for eternity.
The darkness seemed to change. While before, it had merely been swirling around her, carrying her along, it was now shifting. It began pressing down on her. It was just a slight pressure at first, but it slowly became more insistent, and was starting to get a little painful. Her breath began to leave her, a small part of her brain noting that she did indeed breathe in the first place.
Then there was searing pain, along what she now knew to be the front of her body. A great line of pain, starting near her abdomen and running almost up to her neck. If it wasn't so dark, she'd have sworn the line was glowing red.
Then, there was a tiny point of light, no bigger than a dime really, but it stopped the darkness from pressing down on her and lessened her pain, though she was still very much aware of it.
"You have to wake up." The small point of light was speaking to her. "You have to wake up, Kairi."
Yes. Kairi was her name. Details were starting to emerge from the hole in her memory. But she was still confused.
"Wake up? Am I...asleep?"
"Worse. "The light answered. Kairi could now tell the voice was a girl's. "Youre hovering on the precipice of life and death. You're injured, gravely, and you need to wake up before its too late."
"If I'm injured, then what can I do? "Kairi replied. "One of the others..."
"There are no others, Kairi. You're on your own. You have to do this. You have the power inside of you, you always have. You need to use it or we'll both be lost, you need to wake up, you need to"
"Heal!" The darkness was suddenly replaced by a blinding light, and Kairi jolted awake, panting and in a cold sweat. She glanced around frantically for a moment, trying to get her bearings. It was hard to see where she was, but it was due to the environment's low lighting, rather than the crushing darkness she had been in before.
In a rush, the rest of her memories returned to her. She recalled what it was that had landed her in this predicament in the first place. The Horseman...
Gut wrenching in sudden fear, she looked down at herself. She was still wearing the tattered remains of the white and pink, short-sleeved shirt she had on, which had been split completely up the middle and was now mostly useless as a garment, as the ragged edges covered basically nothing. Her modesty was forgotten for the moment in light of what else she saw.
The healing spell had indeed saved her life, but the wound caused by the Horseman's jagged blade hadn't been able to close seamlessly. A thin, white scar snaked its way from near her bellybutton up between her breasts, stopping near the hollow of her throat.
She let out a long, shuddering breath, fighting down the tears that welled up in her eyes. Really, considering the state she had been in before the light spoke to her, things could have been much worse.
"Thank you, Namine." She whispered. There was no answer; the Nobody had retreated back to whatever corner of her heart she lived in.
Kairi turned her thoughts towards what her present predicament was, and what she could do about it. Standing, she pulled what remained of her shirt around her as best she could and took her first real look at her surroundings. The room she was in seemed to be made entirely of bluish-black stone, the floor, ceiling, and walls were all indistinguishable from each other. The only source of light were a few flicking torches.
It was the torchlight glinting dully of metal that caught her attention. A set of iron bars, running floor to ceiling, made her realize she was not in a room, but a cell.
Walking up to the bars, she reached out with one hand and gripped one of the bars, giving it a small shake. It held firm, not that she expected any different. Dejected, her hand fell away. Was this what her entire life was going to be reduced to? Constantly shuttled from one prison to another? To sit aside, helpless, until Sora, or Riku, or Namine, or someone else came to her rescue? To be forever locked away without a key?
She nearly lost her balance at the sudden weight that appeared in her right hand. Looking down, her eyes widened at the golden Keyblade clutched there, its sweeping hand guards shaped to look like waves and multi-colored, wildflower-like teeth.
Of course...after all this time she had nearly forgotten. She did have a key!
Turning back to the bars, she hesitantly raised the Keyblade and pointed the tip at them, not sure exactly how this all worked
The tip of the Keyblade glowed brightly for a moment, there was a soft click, and the bars swung open.
Kairi had to fight down a squeal of triumph, not wanting to call any attention down on her. Left hand still clutching her shirt together, right holding tightly to the Keyblade, she hurried from her cell and down the corridor beyond it. All around her she saw the same rock, and a light mist swirled across the ground at her ankles. Occasionally, small, floating balls of light would materialize in the air, float around for a few moments, and vanish. But she encountered no other signs of life as she wound her way down through the strange caverns.
That is, until the pools of darkness opened in the path in front of her, and a group of Shadows emerged to stand in her way.
Kairi skidded to a stop, holding the Keyblade across her chest in what she hoped was a defensive stance. She had fought these things before, but at the time she had Riku watching her back, and Sora not far away.
Now, it was just her and the Heartless. She swallowed nervously as they began to advance on her, Keyblade beginning to vibrate as the hand holding it shook.
The lead Shadow leapt at her, claws extended for her face. Kairi's breath caught.
Time stopped.
Abruptly, the cavern and the Heartless were gone, darkness took over again. Looking down at her feet, Kari let out a gasp. She was standing on a great, stained-glass platform. Etched into its surface was a picture of Sora. He seemed to be reclining against something, eyes closed, the Kingdom Key held in his hand. Four smaller circles surrounded him. Kairi saw her own face in one of them, Riku, Donald, and Goofy in the others.
"Where...am I?" She whispered to herself.
"Dont be afraid. "A voice whispered back. It wasn't Namine. Kairi couldn't even really tell if the voice was male or female.
Three silvery objects appeared floating in the air before her. Sword, staff, and shield. Sora, Donald, Goofy.
"What is thy desire? "The voice asked of her.
Kairi considered each object in turn. The sword was dangerously sharp, with a leaf shaped blade that swept down to meet with the hilt, devoid of hand guards. Clearly an aggressive weapon made for an offensive life style. Kairi knew that it symbolized strength. She did want to become stronger, to be able to fight with Sora and Riku when Darkness threatened their lives. But the kind of strength the sword symbolized was the unchecked, violent kind that lusted for battle, that would always look for confrontation. Kairi knew that kind of fire didnt exist within her heart.
Kairi smiled slightly at the staff. It was topped with three blue circles arranged in a style that reminded her of King Mickey. This was wisdom, she knew. She had plenty of that, at least compared to Sora and Riku! Kairi giggled to herself at the small private joke. For a moment, she considered taking up the staff, thinking it perhaps suited her best. But she hesitated before touching it. All joking aside, she was a smart girl. She already had that as a weapon to use against the Heartless. This left...
She turned to face the shield. It too was decorated with the Mickey-like emblem. This was courage. Kairi smiled again, reaching out without hesitation. It wasnt that she lacked courage. Rather, it was her newfound determination to take an active part in the battles to come, the courage to stand up to the Darkness, the desire to protect rather than be protected, that made the shield the best fit for her.
As soon as her fingers touched the polished surface, her Keyblade returned to her hand.
"Name it." The voice whispered to her.
Kairi considered the weapon for a moment. The wave and flower motif reminding her strongly of her home on Destiny Islands, the home that had so rudely been taken from her time and again.
"Stolen Paradise."
As soon as the name left her lips, the scene changed again. She was back in the cavern with the Heartless in front of her. The one that had pounced at her, frozen in mid-air, regained its momentum, flying right at her face.
Kairi smirked. This was gonna be fun.
She shifted to one side, letting the Heartless fly harmlessly past her. As it went by, Stolen Paradise came up and sliced cleanly through it. The Shadow exploded into smoke before it hit the ground, its crystal heart floating up to the cavern roof, vanishing.
The rest of the Shadows charged her. Kairi moved to meet them with a confidence she hadn't felt before. She weaved and dodged around their slashing claws, Keyblade twitching back and forth. They each fell, one after the other, each victory filling Kairi with an exuberant joy. This is what it felt like to be in control of your own destiny!
She looked around, finding herself alone. "What? No more?" She was surprised to find herself disappointed. It felt so good to be able to take the fight to the enemy for a change.
Kairi tapped Stolen Paradise against her shoulder. "Well, time to find my way out of here I guess."
Kairi turned and resumed her journey down the dark cavern corridor, no longer afraid of what she might find waiting beyond.