Things are about to change your views of Disney, Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy forever…
Chapter 3-The Council, the Keys and the Sorceress
Minnie summoned up the familiar Golden Gate and Kairi stepped through without hesitation. Minnie was about to follow when she thought: "HOW WILL WE BREATH!?""
On the other side, Kairi stepped out into an old English styled dining room with a long oaken table centered in it. Minnie quickly followed her out the portal.
"Err…I don't think this is Atlantica…" said Kairi, as Minnie looked around.
"No, I think you missed that by a few leagues!" came a sweet voice as a beautiful red haired girl in a pink ball gown entered, accompanied by a dashing black haired prince, "you must be Kairi," she said, "Sora told me so much about you -and who's this?"
"Oh, hi Ariel, this is Queen Minnie," said Kairi, "Sora never told me you were human now?"
Ariel laughed. Eric held her side and said, "No, Sora left before that…you both missed our wedding!"
"Sorry-" Kairi started but Ariel cut in
"No, it's okay. You're here now, aren't you?" Ariel looked around, "where's Sora?"
Minnie tugged on the edge of Ariel's dress to get her attention and explained, "that's why we came- the heartless are back and Sora and everybody else with a Keyblade has been kidnapped and we don't know why. Kairi's the last Keyblade wielder left and we were hoping we could speak to you father"
Ariel looked at them with worry in her eyes, "all of them! Gone? If the keyblades are stronger than Daddy's trident, then that can't be good… we'll go see him now!"
Kairi shook her head, "no, you've got to stay here and watch the portal. Make sure nobody finds it!"
Ariel turned to Eric and placed her hand on his face, "will you stay?"
"But-"
'I have to do this, Sora saved me, Daddy and all of Atlantica…I've got to help him somehow…"
Eric hugged her, "be careful"
* * *
They made there way to the beach; Kairi, Ariel and Minnie. When they reached the waves, Ariel turned around and let a golden glow engulf all three of them. She was back to her former mermaid form- green tail, purple shells and a taste for action…
Kairi, on the other hand, obtained a pink fish tail complete with dorsal fin and a bikini held together by laces.
Minnie was transformed into a mermaid as well, but her tail was mysteriously gold and she wore a simple pink top.
The three were ready.
They dived into the depths and Ariel gave a sigh, "it's been so long!" but then saw Kairi and added, "I'm sure daddy will help. We all owe you that much.'
Kairi nodded but couldn't help doing a corkscrew- this was so fun! "If only Sora was here…"
"Hey!" cried Ariel with a twinkle in her eyes, "I'll race you two to the palace?"
"How do we get there?" asked Minnie
"Simple," explained Ariel, "just follow the trident markers on the walls!"
Kairi nodded, "you're on!"
The high-speed chase was invigorating- Kairi and Minnie stood no chance against Ariel who'd neglected to tell them she was the Aquabatics champion undefeated. They zigzagged through the coral and kelp and swam up through the ocean's torrents. Finally, Kairi and Minnie reached the courtyard before the palace where Ariel was already. But she wasn't waiting…
When the arrived, Ariel was already pummeling a huge octopus-like creature with all the spells she had. "What is this?!" she yelled as she dodged one of its black tentacles, "Sora got rid of all the heartless! This isn't like the others!"
Kairi summoned her Keyblade and swam in to help with Minnie at her side. Minnie swam up to perform faith, but the heartless' tentacles knocked her away effortlessly. Kairi and Ariel tried to use spells, but the creature just deflected them with it's tentacles. Finally, Kairi had another brilliant plan.
"Ariel! Race ya to the other side of the heartless!"
Ariel nodded and together they ducked and weaved among the tentacles until the heartless had woven itself into an ornate knot.
Minnie swam up again and let an orb of light engulf the creature and Kairi gave the final swipe, but there was no click…
The creature vibrated and seemed to melt as it flattened out on shape till it looked like a –
"Manta!" cried Ariel, pointing at the newly formed creature.
And once again, they pumbled this with all they had, but it was like there an invisible barrier around it: nothing got through. Suddenly, the heartless leapt up violently, lashing its tail out and hitting them with thundaga.
"This is pointless," cried Minnie
"It's just reflecting all our attacks!" said Ariel as she reflected the thunder
The thunder bounced of Ariel's spell and hit the creature, thought it ha no effect. Suddenly, all three girls knew what to do.
"Ariel!" called Kairi but Ariel was one step further
"Got it!" called the mermaid as she cast Reflega on herself.
"Minnie! You ready?"
"Let's go!"
Minnie and Kairi attacked Ariel with Blizzagas while Ariel kept her shield up. The ice reflected on the heartless, impaling it with it's spiked icicles.
"Look!" cried Ariel and the attacks ceased. The manta stood upright, frozen stiff.
"Kairi! Do it!" called out Minnie and with a swipe of her Keyblade, Kairi, attacked the monster with aloud click and it dissolved into sparkling bubbles.
"Oh yeah!" said Ariel, twirling with excitement, "bring on the next one!"
Minnie and Kairi looked at each other and each grabbed one of the adrenalin pumped mermaid's arms and pulled her into the palace.
* * *
"Daddy!" squealed Ariel as she pulled out of Kairi's grip and swam up to her father.
"Ariel! How've you been?"
"Everything's fine…well, in this world…' she said, looking over at Kairi, "Sora and the other keyblade warriors have all been kidnapped, except for Kairi"
"We were hoping you could help us," added Minnie.
"Ah, Queen Minnie!" exclaimed Triton, "How's king Mickey?"
"But we just said they were all kidnapped!" exclaimed Minnie hopelessly
The king looked confused, "but the king is not one of the three Keyblade wielders!" he said, "Only three heroes hold that power. He is a messenger, he knows that!"
Ariel edged closer to her father, "daddy?" she sounded afraid, "How do you know this?"
Triton looked around and waved the guards away. "Alright, I guess I have some explaining to do. There's something that I have never told anyone," he said with a sigh, "not even your mother, Ariel. I ask that you don't interrupt me- this will explain everything…"
* * *
"Sora! SORA!" Riku's voice echoed in Sora's head. He woke with a start-
"Kairi!!" he screamed and then realized he couldn't move, 'what are these?!" he screamed, gesturing to the thick black coils writhing on the cold stone walls, binding them to it.
Beside Riku, Sora could hear Mickey say, "It seems these are a new kind of heartless…or rather an old kind"
"So who would want to capture all three Keyblades?" asked Riku, his head throbbing from all this thinking, "AAAAARGG! THIS DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE! - AND WHY CAN'T I SUMMON MY GODDAMN KEYBLADE!?"
Mickey shook his head, ' that's because it's already with you…whoever planned this planned it well…we can't summon our keyblades to break these bonds because they're already with us…trapped well, at least they don't have all three key blades…"
Sora stopped struggling, "what do you mean all three? Where are Donald and Goofy and what do you know about all of this!?"
Mickey sighed, " Donald and Goofy are probably in the dungeons…don't you recognize this place. Sora's eyes widened as the realization dawned on him and he looked around. A large mural of a fading moon was behind them. Mickey continued, 'and as for the rest, I've got some explaining to do…"
* * *
"It was a long time ago, when people began to question whether other worlds existed. That is when the goddess Cosmos called upon five wise representatives of the worlds to create the contract of the Cosmos. Together we gathered in a place beyond time and space to discuss what would happen. There we drew up this contract and signed it in blood, swearing to secrecy, unless it was to any of the warriors of the Keyblades"
Triton pulled out a piece of aged paper from within the trident stand and unrolled it. Slowly, he read out the names
"King Mickey of the Disney Lineage, King Triton of the Seven Seas, Ansem the Wise and Ultimecia"
"Wait," interrupted Ariel, ignoring her father's stern look, "that's only four! And why does that last one have no title to their name?"
Triton smiled, "I should have known you'd notice, Ariel. Yes, there was a Fifth. The god of heavens, Zeus, was meant to attend but he backed out due to the birth of his son, Hercules. And as for Ultimecia… she said she was sorceress and that she didn't take sides. She refused to choose light over dark, and yet didn't embrace the dark. She had unlimited power…"
Kairi shook her head, "but why would Cosmos choose someone like that?"
Triton seemed grave, "we don't know. All we knew about her is that Cosmos chose her to bind her by the contract as well as…if light should ever fall, there will be someone under the contract who won't be affected by the darkness. Now listen carefully, all of you- so there were four in the council: me, Mickey, Ansem and Ultimecia. Together we all discussed the secrecy of the worlds, the seven princesses and the Keyblade warriors. Back then; the three warriors were Aqua, Terra and Ventus. We all discussed what would happen if the keys ever fell to darkness, something that almost happened with Riku. We all decided to keep watch over different aspects and in return received one condition each: I was to watch over the Seven Princesses, Mickey over The Keyblades and Ansem over the hearts of the worlds. Ultimecia was to survey, but now she must watch over the heart of all worlds now that Ansem has faded. So, now the three of us are left and we all rely on you girls…"
Kairi was stunned: how could so much be kept a secret?
Ariel still wasn't happy, "but daddy! What were the conditions you all chose?"
Triton frowned and refused to look at his daughter, "Mickey wished that his home would be kept safe, so Cosmos gave him the Cornerstone of light. Ansem only wished his wife never came to any harm of any of this. Ultimecia wished for a GF…none of us knew what that was, but Cosmos granted it. And I… Ariel I'm sorry. I wished that none of my family were to become a princess or warrior. Ultimecia said that she could already see in the future that my seventh daughter would be the sixth princess. Athena was pregnant with you at that time, so I begged Cosmos to give the title to someone else. She said that was beyond her power, but that if there was ever any danger to the princesses, another girl- Alice- would be in your place…"
Ariel stopped, "is that why Ursula tried to take me?"
Triton nodded, "Ariel, you're truly one of the seven princesses. Alice never was one. I…I just wanted to protect you. That's why all these years…"
"You've been trying to protect me!" breathed Ariel, still stunned.
Triton turned to Kairi, "and when Ansem heard of my wish, he decided the experiments he was doing for Cosmos were too dangerous, so he sent you to another world, and Mickey claimed a mimic keyblade till the time you claimed yours."
* * *
Mickey's eyes never left the floor, "so there you have it… I couldn't even do my job right…"
"That's not-" Riku started but Sora cut in as usual
"But then who's the third…" Sora asked but a sudden fear welled up inside him, "Kairi!!! We gotta warn her!" as he struggled against the bond, but they tightened, almost crushing his ribs.
"Don't, Sora!" said Riku, " Mickey and I already tried everything…it's all up to Kairi now…"
Sora didn't even breathe, "Kairi…" he murmured, "be safe, princess."
* * *
Minnie was shaking, "all this time…you all kept this from the people you loved just to protect them? And now the council's down to three with Mickey missing…that makes two…"
"Two!" exclaimed Kairi, "Minnie that's it! Ultimecia's a sorceress, we have to ask her!"
Triton shook his head, "no, she dangerous. None of us ever kept contact with her"
"Well…" said Kairi, "where is she?"
"That's just it. She lives in a place where time compresses…you can get there from the Radiant Garden, but nobody knows how…"
'Right, got it! Thanks!" sang Ariel as they swam out
"Oh, and girls?" called triton, "what you all heard…nobody else must know…tell Sora and Riku, but that's as far as it goes."
* * *
Back on land, the girls were human again and they returned to the dining hall where Eric was pacing.
"Ariel!" he called, wrapping his arms around her, "how was it?"
"Oh, nothing interesting!" joked Ariel, "right Girls?" she added, turning to Kairi and Minnie, but they'd already left, leaving the lovers alone…
Back in the hall of the cornerstone, Kairi was eager to get going, but Minnie silent. Softly, she touched the glowing orb in the centre of the room, "all this time…you never shared your pain…" she whispered, and for the first time in years, she cried a tear.
"It's alright" soothed Kairi, "we'll find them all…I promise"
And with that, Minnie opened the Gate one last time…
The last location was familiar: they landed in Merlin's room. But nobody was there.
"Uh, hello?" called Kairi, but then Aerith and Leon walked in.
"Kairi! Minnie!" called Aerith, "it's great to see you!"
"What's the reason?" asked Leon and Kairi smiled, he knew all too well that something was wrong.
"All the keyblade warriors are missing-except Kairi" explained Minnie.
"Where are the other's?" asked Kairi.
"Yes, I was about to ask Leon the same thing" said Aerith, turning to Leon, "where are they?"
Leon shook his head, "they're off looking for Cloud and Sephiroth. Yuffie, Tifa and cid are in the air ship. Apparently they're looking for white material or something…"
"White materia…" whispered Aerith, "I gotta go-"
Do you want me to escort you?" asked Leon but Aerith gave him one of her withering looks, "do you doubt my skills? Besides, I'm just going to uh…Pray," she said happily, "sorry I can't help you girls- Good Luck!"
She ran out, her hair shining strangely. The two girls turned to Leon, "so d-" began Kairi, but something fell on her head, "ow!"
It was a trio of three little fairies: a clumsy blonde with a scarf for wings, a gothic bat winged one and a cute brunette wearing half a skirt and a hairclip made of angel wings.
"Oh, right. This are-" began Leon, but the Blonde cut him off,
"Please, leave the intros to the professionals! We are …"
The brunettes jumped into a kneeling position holding a pair of guns, "Yuna!"
"Rikku!" cried the blonde, with a pair of thief blades.
"Paine" said the Goth, wielding a sword
"And we are YuRiPa! The GULLWINGS!"
"So," asked Yuna, "have you seen him?"
"Who?" asked Kairi, confused.
"Tall, blonde and hyper active," said Rikku, "really cute too!' but Yuna hit her over the head.
Kairi's mind spun to Tidus on the island but she shook her head. It couldn't be him. "Nope, sorry!"
"Okay girls!" said Yuna
"Spread out!" said Paine and the three disappeared in a sparkle.
"How peculiar…" said Minnie, but Kairi smiled
"I think they're kinda cute, " she said "I hope they find him…"
"So?" asked Leon, who'd they'd forgotten about.
"Oh, right! We want-"
Suddenly, a black portal opened, closing the gold one.
"Zey are here to see me, SEED…" said a voice beyond it
"ULTIMECIA!" screamed Leon, gabbing his gunblade and running to the portal, but he couldn't go through.
"Your time will come, SEED, " said the voice with a malicious laugh, "but first, find your comrades. I vill deal viz you all togezzer…now enter, guests"
Leon tried to stop them, but the girls walked in courageously (well, either they were courageous or just stubborn…)
There was a loud high-pitched siren sound that brought Kairi to her knees. She could hear Minnie call out her name "Kairi!"
Be safe, princess…
Sora!
A sudden icy chill brought Kairi back. She was on the floor of a large stone room with no ceiling. An iridescent sky loomed ominously and Minnie was at her side looking up at the figure sitting on the stone throne elevated in the middle of the room.
Ultimecia sat leaning on the support of her arm. She wore only a red robe with a feathered collar and her body was heavily tattooed. Her long silver hair fell over a pair of sleek horns to her clawed feet. Behind her, a pair if black angel wings extended…
"So… you have come to speak to me about vat ze old merman told you…zen you should know zat I do not take sides. I am merely a spectator, and Ansem's fall means nothing to me…zat responsibility lies viz Cosmos."
Yes…but we were hoping you could tell us who doing this…or where to go" said Minnie, nervous by the atmosphere.
"ah, yes, queen Minnie. Pleasure to meet you… I can only give a name: Aelia. She has her own reasons vith vitch I kannot interfere. And as for ze place… zit is in ze ruins of a forgotten sanctuary…Tvilight town."
Ultimecia tuned to Kairi, "my dear, do you not feel any urge to attack me? Kill me?"
"Err…" Kairi wasn't sure if this was a trick question or something, "No?"
Ultimecia laughed, "no need to be so frightened…I was just trying to possess your body! The contract obviously protects ze little qveen, but zit zeems zat you are protected by somezing far stronger…"
Mine and Kairi exchanged puzzled looks, but Ultimecia laughed again, sending a chill down Kairi's spine, " I shall open time and space wiz one of your golden gates ver you vant to go…but should you use it, I vill lead back to ze castle, not here"
"Thanks!" said Kairi
"En one more zing!" said Ultimecia, " take zis… your veapon…. zit is too bright! Zis is ze time Kompression Key charm…Use it"
Kairi clipped the black feather charm onto her Keyblade and it glowed black. The colours dissolved away, revealing her new Keyblade, with a pair of black angel wings protruding from it.
"Thanks…" she whispered again, mesmerized. But the room was already disappearing as they stepped through the golden gate…
End Chapter
Calling all FF Fans!! Who spotted THREE Final Fantasy stories taking Place? I'm just trying to tie all the stories together so it isn't like the characters are just there doing nothing. I had to bring in Ultimecia…did you think the idea was good? Please review! Remember: no flames…Axel and I don't get along!
NEXT TIME: Aelia-words unheard…try and guess this one!
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