Chapter 10: Identity

Memo: Wow, this is like...the first of two or three chapters that are named "Identity." :D I love that word though...

Sora's pOv

Slowly, led by King Mickey, the seven of you depart his ship into the Gummi Garage. It's been a while since you've been here, but nothing seems to have changed. You'd like to know why you were dragged out of bed on a nice, sleeping-in morning if nothing is wrong...

"Why are we here, Your Majesty?" Kairi asks as you follow the King into the main chamber of the castle. Once you fought hundreds of Heartless trying to protect the Queen. Things have definitely changed since then...

"Yeah, what's going on?" Riku adds while the King opens the door. "What happened?"

Riku doesn't get his answer--all you hear is someone, presumably a girl, shriek at the top of her lungs. At first, you thing something horrible just happened, but then another voice joins her, and suddenly two girls throw themselves at Rei. You realize then that their piercing screams are out of joy.

Rei, startled, pushes the two girls off of her, then joins them, hugging them both at the same time. One of the girls, the one with reddish hair, pushes Rei back and points at her engagement ring. The two scream louder.

"What is goin' on!?" Tidus shouts over the madness, pushing Wakka out of his way.

"Rei! I can't believe it's you!" the girl with red hair shouts.

"Tashie!!" Rei cries, hugging her. Ah, so this is Rei's sister.

The other girl has black hair and strange looking eyes. She grins and claps her hands excitedly.

"This is so amazing!" she exclaims, jumping into Rei's arms after "Tashie" pulls away.

"Manders! I've missed you so much!" Rei shouts, laughing.

"Everyone, this is Natasha," King Mickey says, gesturing to the red head, who smiles. "She is Rei's older sister."

"And I'm Amanda!" says the black-haired girl.

"She's my best friend!" Rei adds, grinning. Suddenly her giant smile fades, and she turns to face King Mickey. "But I don't get it, Your Majesty. Why'd you bring us all here to see them?"

"I told you all before: there are some things we need to talk about!" the King replies. "Come with me, everyone!"

Nervously, you all follow His Majesty into a room in the back of the grand hall. It's a small room, but one entire wall is made up of windows, so it's bright. There are plenty of couches and chairs to sit on. Everyone snags a place to sit immediately, chattering. You notice Riku is silent.

"Rei, if you could stand up for me, please?" the King says after a moment. Rei frowns a little but stands and steps forward away from the sofa. King Mickey slowly walks around her, looking her up and down. Finally he asks her to look him in the eye. She does so, obviously confused.

"Yup! You're sure the right one all right!" he exclaims, walking away. Rei gives him a funny look.

"What on earth are you talking about?" she asks, scrunching her nose in confusion.

"The right one," you mouth, thinking back to the last time you talked with the King...

Riku's pOv

"Rei," the King begins, still in a kind, calm, nearly cheerful tone, "you have powers, don't you?"

Rei nods a little, turning the slightest shade of pink.

"Riku told me that he had died in Hollow Bastion, and when he came back to life, that's where he was." King Mickey glances at you, and you nod also. "He said that while he was dead, he could only hear your voice. Everything else was blank, dark space."

Rei doesn't move or say anything in response.

"So, in other words, just talking to Riku, even without being nearby, made him come back to life."

Rei nods a little again.

"The same thing happened with your sister and friend, didn't it? Riku brought you to Hollow Bastion to try it, didn't he?"

"Yeah," she says. "Why does this matter?"

"Well, you probably won't be surprised to hear this, but no one else in our worlds has your power," King Mickey finally states, smiling. Rei blushes again.

"How do you know?" she asks him nervously.

The King hesitates before continuing.

"Well... Gosh, I just don't know how to say it! So I'll just say it: you're an angel."

The whole room is dead silent, then suddenly, Rei starts to laugh.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty," she says, giggling hysterically, "but that's probably the funniest thing I've ever heard. Me? An angel? I think you have the wrong girl."

"But it's true, Rei," the King insists matter-of-factly, unamused. "You're an angel!"

She chuckles darkly.

"It's not quite as funny the second time," she says, crossing her arms. "Look, if you're done, I need to get going. In case you didn't know, I'm kind of busy right now."

"Rei, please listen! Haven't you ever had moments when something really strange has happened because of you? Haven't you ever done supernatural things without realizing it?"

"Yes," you answer for her, and she turns to you, shocked at your sudden input. "She has," you insist, not taking your eyes off of her. She looks confused.

"Rei," the King says, ignoring the tension between you and her, "you have a strange gift. You don't belong to this world. Haven't you ever wondered why you ended up on Destiny Islands in the first place?"

Rei is completely silent, stunned.

"There are a lot of different types of angels, Rei, but you are an Angel of Life. That's why you have silver eyes and a beautiful voice. There are also Angels of Music, Light, Darkness, and Death," King Mickey explains. "Angels of Music have amber eyes and have non-vocal musical talents, Angels of Light have white eyes and blonde hair, Angels of Darkness have black eyes and dark skin, and Angels of Death have red eyes and black blood."

While explaining this, Rei slowly sits down on the floor, still in shock, and King Mickey walks over to a large computer that projects an image onto what you thought was a window, but is really a giant screen.

"Angels of Life and Light are really similar, but the big difference besides the eyes is this: Angels of Life have beautiful voices, while Angels of Light are normal. Angels of Light can possess any living object at will. Angels of Life, however, can possess either living or nonliving objects, sometimes even without meaning to."

"Your Majesty," Rei croaks, staring at the floor. "Once before, back in Maine, I found a stray grey kitten. It disappeared, but it stayed with me a long time. I...I talked to it. I felt like...like it understood me. Was that an angel?"

"Probably," King Mickey replies, still typing away.

"And once, another time, I was talking to this girl, and afterward, she said her stuffed bear could talk. Riku said I disappeared. And another time, at night, Riku said he saw me as an angel..."

At this point, she's more talking to herself than to anyone else.

"But, Your Majesty," Natasha says suddenly, "why are you telling her this? Why does it matter?"

"Because we need her help."

your pOv

You can feel your stomach churning in an effort to keep from bursting into tears. WHY?! Why is it always you?! Everything was finally okay again, and now Mickey wants you to save the world or something?

"Rei, the real reason Natasha and Amanda are here is because of these people," King Mickey suddenly declares, and a picture of Roxas pops up on screen. You hear everyone gasp. "Well, not just him. He's the least of our worries, as is she." Namine's picture comes up next. Then the next picture makes you gasp.

"Do you know who this is?" the King asks you when he hears your response.

"Yes, I had a dream about him once," you reply. "That was the same night Riku said I turned into an angel."

"This is Riku's Nobody."

The room becomes sickly silent again. You manage to steal a glance at Riku; he looks both shocked and disgusted.

"And this is Natasha's Nobody..."

A short young woman with long black hair and blue eyes pops up on the screen next. She doesn't look kind, like your sister.

"And this is Amanda's."

You can't help but grin when Amanda's super-short, white-haired, hazel-eyed, smiley Nobody comes on screen.

"Don't judge the grin," King Mickey warns you.

"So what's going on?" Sora asks.

"These Nobodies are starting a sort of Organization again. Only they're not after hearts; they're after existance through the original."

"Meaning...?"

"They will kill you to become whole."

Your insides try to push up your throat at that response.

"...What do I have to do?" you ask quietly.

"Don't laugh; you have to sing."

You pause, unsure of whether or not to take the King seriously. But he seems serious enough.

"Of course, it's not that simple. You have to sing, and you can sing whatever you want, but it can't have profanity or anything like that. The songs must have messages of hope in them. Also, you can't just sing anywhere. Tomorrow--"

"What?!" you cry, jumping to your feet again, wobbling from light-headedness. "Tomorrow?! But I--"

"Tomorrow we'll take you to a sacred ground where we've captured the Nobodies," King Mickey continues, and you hopelessly sink back down onto the floor. "There you will sent up before a creature of God that will judge you and your determination. It shouldn't be any problem for you, except you can't open your eyes, or you'll die on the spot."

You're surprised your body hasn't disappated into a thousand pieces and isn't melting through the floor. I mean, this short hour has been unbelievable enough that you wouldn't be the least bit surprised if that even happened...

"Rei, don't worry!" the King tells you.

*Easy for you to say,* you want to respond, but instead, you close your eyes, pursing your lips as you will yourself not to cry.

"You can do this. You just have to sing, and not open your eyes, and put your whole soul into it. That's it."

*And if I fail, I lose everything.*