I'm majorlly sorry about the long wait for the update of this story! A early present for all who liked this story! Oh, how ironic, Zack's pokemon is a rock type and its name is Rocky. Don't why Hermione has a Vulpix, why Aerith has a Eevee, or why their names are Sakura and Eve. Merry Christmas! Characters belong to J.K.Rowling and SquareSoft. Storyline, plot belong to me!
Chapter 2 The Plot Thickens
Hogwarts Castle
The castle's towers stretched up toward the sky as though it was reaching for the clouds. The entire castle seemed to glow. The light brown stone of the castle and black titling on the cone shaped towers glimmered in the brilliant sunlight. The many colored flags that decorated the castle façade, jutting out from the peaks of the towers, flapped in the light morning breeze. The day was just about perfect as usual.
As usual, the court witch walked down the long hallway toward the throne room, her footfalls falling evenly on the red carpet that stretched all the way to the end of the hall. To her left, the wall was lined with windows that almost reached the high, arched ceiling. Pouring in from the windows was the bright light of the early morning. This was the court witch's cue to greet the king.
The court witch was in fact tall young woman. Atop her head was a black hat, similar in shape to that of a stereotypical witch. The point was teased into a crude curlicue, and all along the rim of the hat was a thick gray line. Long wavy dark brown hair was pulled up into a long ponytail surged by a red ribbon. A pair of deep chocolate brown eyes shining with cheerfulness. She wore a long sleeveless black-gray shirt, with two dark gray buttons in the middle of her chest, held securely to her body by a blue-gray belt that went her waist, and the pair of black pants she was wearing. Over the sleeveless shirt was a black cloak, which actually looked like a long sleeved robe. It was a long back robe with a small red hood, leading to the back of her black booted feet.
She tipped her hat and nodded as she passed by some servants as they scurried down the hall toward the next place that required cleaning. The girl chuckled to herself as she heard them walked further and further down the hall. Then suddenly she stopped short, planting both her booted feet before turning on her heel to the right, where she stood facing a set of giant brown double doors. On either door was a symbol consisting of a lion, standing on its hind legs and its front paws ready to attack, the king's emblem. The door stretched up in its great white lined archway until it reached the ceiling. There was no way for a small woman to open them.
The court witch smiled to herself, lifting one loosely clenched fist towards her mouth as she cleared her throat. She then knocked on the base of the doors five times, rhythmically, as though to a song that no one else could hear but her. A slight clicking sound was made from the other side of the door as the girl dropped her hand to her side, and a small section of the giant door popped open for the court witch to step through.
The throne room was huge, able to fit possibly hundreds of guests at a time. But for now, it was empty. The tiled linoleum floor glimmered with their fresh polish, clean and spanking new. The only thing laid out on top of the floor was another long red carpet that stretched all the way from the double doors to the throne. Above the throne was red tapestry, outlined in yellow, that once again bore symbol of the lion. Intricate cravings in the wall directly behind the throne. On either side of the throne were statues, one of the court witch and the other of the captain of the guard, the king's two best friends in the world.
The court witch walked triumphantly down the length of the carpet, as though she was a soldier returning from war and visiting her great king. She was barely even halfway to the throne when she bowed toward it as she walked, in greeting to his royal highness.
"Good morning, Your Majesty," she called out in her clear feminine voice.
She continued her march down the long red carpet. She was going to have to reach the throne if she was going properly greet the king. As she approached the throne, the girl smiled to herself and bowed slightly once again. "It's nice to see you this morn – What!"
As the court witch raised her head to look up at where the king should have been sitting, she realized with great shock and horror that he wasn't there. The court witch froze. What would she tell the others? The queen, the servants, all the king's friends? Just then, the king's faithful dog popped out from behind the throne, holding delicately between his teeth. The court witch looked at the dog, shocked.
"What are you holding there, Sirius?" the girl asked out as she bent over to take whatever it was from him.
It was a small light green envelope that bore the king's symbol, the lion. The court witch carefully opened the envelope and pulled out the letter within. She slowly unfolded the letter and began to read, her eyes going hurriedly over each line, taking in the meaning behind the writing. The girl blinked once or twice, slowly lowering the letter so that it fell out of her line of vision.
Suddenly, all control over her lost, the girl spun around and ran out of the throne room, screaming and waving her arms as though the world was about to an end. She knew exactly where to go. She had to tell the captain of the guard!
As it happened, the captain of the guard was resting on the lawn of his own little castle. Of course, it wasn't a real castle; it was a model of the entire Hogwarts Castle, which had been shaped out of the large bush that had been growing in the garden. From that castle grew many different flowers, positioned in such a way that they would create a multi-colored spiral with the castle placed in the center of it. The entire circle was separate from the other bush sculptures in the garden, all placed around a large circle. That castle was in the center of the entire garden.
It was on the lawn that the captain of the guard was taking his nap. He was still dressed head to toe in his armor, as for his hamlet, which sat on top of his head as a hat since it wasn't able to cover all of his flaming red hair. He lay on the flowers with one leg perched over one knee and his arms folded casually behind his head. His mouth would open wide as he slept and snored peacefully in the garden.
Right at that moment, the court witch rushed in, running in a crooked line toward the captain, still waving her arms like (though she had finally stopped screaming). She hopped on the flowerbed and screeched to a halt next to the captain, waving her arms frantically to maintain her balance.
"Wake up, Ron, wake up!" she screamed, jumping around frantically. "This is serious!"
Ron merely moaned in his sleep and then let out a long slow breath. A carefree smile appeared on his face as he slept. The girl began to grow furious. With a loud scream, she pointed one finger toward the sky, her eyes fixated on Ron, releasing a jolt of lighting into Ron's body. The zap of electricity finally awoke Ron, so much so that he just about jumped into the air with a cry of surprise and pain.
He dropped back down onto the flowerbed with a loud thud and clangs of metal, his eyes finally opened and looking around. Ron rubbed his eyes sleepily with one large, armored hand as he gazed around him, somewhat disoriented. His vision was still somewhat blurred, but it didn't take long for him to recognize the angry face of one of his best friends in the world. He smiled at her sleepily.
"Hey there, Hermione," he greeted with a wave. "G'morning."
"We've got a problem, Ron!" Hermione told him urgently, waving her arms around in the air. Suddenly she stopped, and looked cautiously to the left and then to the right. She then cupped one hand around her mouth and said in a lower voice, "But don't tell anyone…"
Ron's eyes went wide. "Queen Ginny?"
Hermione put her hands on her hips, raising her nose almost snobbishly in the air. "Not even the queen."
Ron's expression changed slightly as he shifted his gaze. "Luna?"
The court witch shook her head furiously from side to side. "NO! It's top secret!"
The captain bowed slightly, his gaze having completely shifted away from Hermione's face. "G'morning, ladies," he said politely.
Hermione froze. "Wh-What?"
She slowly turned around, afraid to see her fears come true. And as she did so, her heart stopped beating for just a moment. For there, standing under one of the many bush archways of the garden, were Queen Ginny and Luna. Hermione swallowed hard as they stared at her and Ron expectantly, Luna putting her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes slightly. She cleared her throat and raised one eyebrow, her gaze fixed exactly on Hermione's face.
Ron turned to look at Hermione, somewhat bewildered, as a nervous laugh escaped from Hermione's throat.
From one of the towers, the sphere watched the court witch walked the queen back into the castle, but it saw the court witch carried a young girl with dark red hair on her back. A worried look on her face as she walked with an older woman with long wavy brown hair in a braid. It disappeared to another world.
Kalm Village
The sun shone brightly down on the village of Kalm, the streets were busy with people as usual, through the crowds the sphere flew unnoticed by the people. It flew as though it was looking for something or someone. The creature inside looked around, until the sphere reached a young couple.
A man with spiky black hair that reached his waist and deep brown eyes was talking to a woman with long wavy light brown hair in a braid and bright emerald green eyes; in her hands was a woven brown empty flower basket. A large sword was strapped to the man's back.
"So, you're back late again, Zack?" the woman said.
"Yeah, Aerith, make yourself some dinner and wait for me," Zack told her.
Aerith nodded and waved as she watched Zack walk away. When she saw nothing of him in sight, she turned and walked down the street. The sphere followed slowly behind her, after turning a corner, Aerith looked around to the left, then to the right. Then she pulled something out of a pocket of the pair of pants she wore under her dress.
It was small doll, with spiky blonde hair, wearing some kind of uniform. Aerith gently ran her hand across the face; a small smile appeared across her face. She held close the doll to her chest, tears streaming down her face.
"Cloud…" she whispered, looking at the sky. "I miss you. I wanted you to know I'm your light. But your heart is surrounded by darkness. Darkness caused by Sephiroth, because you believe you couldn't protect me. It's not your fault."
She put the doll in her pocket, and started walking again. Twice she looked behind her to see if anyone was following, but saw no one. Aerith shrugged her shoulders, and continued walking toward her favorite place in the village. She ran a hand through her light brown wavy hair.
Aerith opened the door to an empty worth down church, well worth down wasn't really the best word for it. Most of the church was still perfect condition, such as the benches and the stained glass windows. There was a hole in the roof of the church, letting the sun from the outside shine in and on a small flowerbed where a alter would be. Yellow and white flowers stood in the garden.
The flowerbed looked brand new, the flowers stood neatly, the colors from the stained glass windows colored the floor, the benches lined up perfectly, only a few in the front were crocked.
Aerith smiled, walking up to the garden. She wasn't sure why, but she always thought of her first meet with Cloud whenever she came to her church to tend her garden. At times she thought she saw Cloud standing into the garden, his arms wide open for her.
She kneeled on her knees and dug a small hole in the flowerbed, pulling out a bright green stone on a chain. Smiling, Aerith wrapped it around her neck, and then she started to pick flowers and put them in her basket.
The sphere watched the flower girl talking to the court witch and the dark red hair girl on some another world. The creature inside closed its eyes, and vanished back to the islands.
Destiny Islands
Another perfect day in paradise.
Kairi hopped up onto the docks from her boat as she put her hands on her hips and breathed in the summer sea breeze. She stretched for a moment and then spun around slightly, staring up at the sky through the leaves of the trees. Kairi then heard a voice.
"Hey, Kairi!"
She turned to look at the speaker and saw Selphie standing on the edge of dock. She smiled at her warmly.
"Hey, Selphie."
She smiled back at her and came a bit closer, looking both ways before she began to speak, as though she had some big secret to share with her. She leaned forward slightly as she opened her mouth.
"Have you heard about the legendary power of the paopu fruit?"
Something inside Kairi jumped.
"They say if you share it with someone you reallycare about," she continued matter of factly, "it binds you together forever and ever, through eternity!" Selphie sighed dreamily, her eyes glazing over as she seemed to forget about Kairi's presence. "It's so romantic, I gotta try it sometime."
Kairi smiled faintly, putting one hand on her shoulder. "Well, you tell me how that works out, alright?" she told her with a laugh, turning on her heel to go.
There was something mischievous in Selphie's smile as she replied. "Why, are you thinkin' about tryin' it?"
She began to quicken her step when the words came out of Selphie's mouth. She chose not to answer. If ever she asked her why, she'd just say that she hadn't heard her. That was fair enough, right?
"If Sora doesn't share a paopu fruit with you soon, Riku might beat him to it," Selphie called after her.
Kairi's heart skipped a beat. She did her best to ignore Selphie's comment as she hurried up to the first level platform around the big trees.
They had agreed to meet up near the boat ruins today. That meant the other side of the island. She knew a shortcut, rather than having to go through that door all the way on the other end. There was little cave that she could take to get there fast. Kairi pulled herself into the cave and hurried through, slightly bent over so as not to hit her head on anything. She popped out on the other side of the island, elevated so that she was level with the tops of the "small" forest of palm trees that grew in the shade. Directly next to Kairi stood was a small barren tree that had a large yellow star stuck on the trunk. Kairi grinned at the tree, placing one hand absentmindedly on its surface
Just next to the small forest was where they started to build their raft. And that's where it still was. Kairi hopped onto the top of one of the palm trees and shimmed down its trunk to reach the ground. She then ran straight for Sora, who stood expectantly on the raft, looking for Kairi and Riku. Kairi grinned and waved.
"Sora! Over here!"
He turned at the sound of his name and gave Kairi a huge smile. "Look!" he exclaimed, gesturing toward the raft.
The raft was just about finished. All the logs had been tied securely together to make the bottom of the raft. The mast jutted out from the center of the raft and stretched up toward the sky, the cloth that Kairi had gotten the day before stretched out to make the sail. Kairi smiled proudly as she gazed at it.
Sora's smile grew. "The raft's almost done! All we have to do is load it with food!"
"Sounds good!" Kairi said with a grin. "Riku must've gotten here early and worked on it, huh?"
At that, Sora's smiled faded slightly. "Hey… have you seen Riku?"
"Oh, come to think of it, no," Kairi murmured slightly, taking a cue from Sora to look around. She grinned. "Don't worry, I'll find him."
She then took off for the other end of the island, jumping up onto a rock and then clambering onto the stone plateau. This side of the island had more rocks than the other. But it was the perfect racecourse. Directly on Kairi's right hand side was a large wooden tower. It had a long ladder leading up to the top, where there was a rope tied to one of the planks that tied to another, smaller wooden tower on the other end of the island. Attached to that rope was a wooden slider that they could grab onto to glide across.
There was a rickety old bridge right in front of the tower, leading in the other direction over a small section of water toward the doorway that led to the other side of the island. Some of the planks of the bridge had rotten through and fallen off, making large gaps in it. Kairi looked across the water and squinted. There, standing near the edge, looking out into the horizon, was Riku. Kairi smiled. Riku'd been doing that an awful lot lately. She began to make her way across the rickety bridge.
She raced across the bridge, hopping over the gaps. She remembered one set of planks was just about ready to break off. But when Kairi finally remembered which one it was, it was already too late. The platform broke off as she shifted her weight onto it, taking her down into the water below. Kairi tumbled into the salty water as the planks broke on the stones. She lifted herself out slowly, shaking the water out of her dark red hair. With a defeated sigh, Kairi trudged through the water and pulled herself up onto the stone platform where Riku stood.
She looked up at Riku and grinned. "What're you doing all the way over here?"
Riku gave a start, as though he'd been in a deep trance, and then turned to look at Kairi. "I was just thinking that our raft still needs a name," he told her. He put one hand thoughtfully under his chin for a moment. "Let's see…How about Highwind?"
Kairi grinned. For some reason that name sounded rather familiar. She wasn't able to place it, but she was sure that she's heard it somewhere else. "Naw, not Highwind."
"What would you call it?" Riku wanted to know, folding his arms over his chest.
"Me? Well… hmm…" Kairi tapped the side of her head thoughtfully. Then her face stretched out into a grin as she looked back at Riku. "Oathkeeper!" Kairi shouted excitedly.
A challenging gleam appeared in Riku's green eyes. "Hey, 'bout how…"
"The usual?" Kairi finished, the same competitive gleam in her own blue eyes.
"Lets do it!"
Just then Sora appeared stepped onto the gravel platform with a smile. He put his hands behind his back and gave them a knowing look. "You guys at it again? All right, I'll be the judge." Sora turned slightly with a giggle and pointed in the direction from which he came. "The same rules apply: Take any route you want. First one to tag the tree with the star and make it back here wins."
Kairi turned to Riku as they took their places. "If I win, I'm captain…" she told him cheerily. "And if you win…"
"I get to share the paopu with you," Riku said solemnly, without even looking at Kairi.
"Huh!"
Riku smiled mischievously at Kairi. "Deal? The winner gets to choose who share the paopu with."
Kairi's eyes widened, panicked. She looked away, her mind racing. Share a paopu with Sora? That meant… So then Riku wanted to… But what if Kairi lost…? "W-Wait a minute…"
Sora, having taken his position as referee, turned to the boy and the girl. "Okay, on my count."
Riku leaned into the position that professional racers got into at the start of a race. But Kairi's mind was still in a whirl. What was she going to do? It was too late to back out now!
"Three!"
The countdown had already begun!
"Two!"
She had no choice.
"One!"
She had to win!
"Go!"
Sora dropped his hand as though it was a flag.
The boy and the girl sprung forward at the signal. They were evenly matched-for now. Kairi glanced at Riku as they turned the corner onto the bridge. She considered nudging him slightly out of the way… She shook her head slowly, pushing the thought out of her mind. Kairi turned her attention to the old wooden planks. She frowned slightly. It was too bad that she'd already broken off the rotten blanks. Kairi could have used that to lose Riku.
Riku and Kairi hopped over each gasp in the bridge, both of them still perfectly matched. Kairi clenched her teeth, determined to win. She looked forward and stared up at the tower. It would probably be the fastest to use the slider. Kairi extended one hand and grabbed onto one of the rungs of the ladder before Riku could and swung herself onto the ladder, climbing as quickly as possible. Riku slowed for a moment, glancing up at Kairi. It slowed him down, but most certainly wouldn't make him stop.
Kairi hurried up the ladder. It was definitely a very long ladder to have to climb, but Kairi couldn't stop. She scrambled up to the top, pulling her up onto the platform. She grabbed onto the wooden slider with both hands and pushed off the tower with her feet. She tucked her legs in as she slid down the rope so she could go faster. Below her she could see Riku running toward the incline, his arms pumping at his sides. Kairi made a face and began to swing her legs in an attempt to speed up.
As she began to approach the second wooden tower, Kairi swung forward and released the slider, sending her flying through the air. She rolled as she hit the ground, and then scrambled back up to her feet as Riku was just about to pass her. Kairi groaned. No fair. They ran up the slope, jumping from one stone to the next. Both of them extended one hand to touch the star on the tree. Their hands touched it at the exact same moment, and both the boy and the girl looked at each other. Kairi grinned before taking off, jumping down into palm tree forest. As she landed in the sand, Kairi rolled back up on her feet and ran as fast as she could to where Sora was waiting for the boy and the girl to arrive.
She jumped back up to the stone platform, nearly slipping on a patch of moss near the edge, and then leapt into the water with a big splash. She struggled through the water as quickly as she could. Kairi could see Sora. She was practically there already! She could hear Sora cheer excitedly. Kairi smiled, reaching forward to grab onto the edge of the platform. She pulled herself up so she was standing right next to Sora, her smile growing as she realized that she had won. Sora screamed excitedly, pulling Kairi in a hug and then began to jump up and down.
"Congrats, Kairi!"
Kairi grinned, her face slightly pink. She then turned to Riku, who had just arrived. "Now the score's one to one!" she laughed, almost mockingly.
Riku gave Kairi an almost malicious look. "Man, lighten up. It's just a name, after all."
Kairi looked at Riku, shocked for a moment. She narrowed her eyes, screwing her face up in frown. How could he have done that to her….?
Sora looked at the boy and the girl in turn, and then giving them his best smile in an attempt to lift their spirits. "Anyways! Today, we collect provisions for our trip!" Sora turned to Kairi, putting his arms behind his head. "Let's see. Kairi, you're looking for one seagull eggs, three mushrooms, two coconuts, three fish, and…." Sora reached into his pocket and pulled a clear bottle. He pushed it into Kairi's hands, closing her fingers around it. "And fill this up with drinking. But not from the ocean!"
Kairi put the bottle away, glancing at Riku one last time. "Alright, I got it."
"Bring everything to the boat ruins," Sora said as he began to walk away. "I'll be over there, okay? If you need help, just ask."
The coconuts were probably the easiest to get. All Kairi had to do was whack the trunks of the coconut trees a few times until a ripe one fell to the ground. And since the trees were so close to the raft's building site, Kairi merely dropped them down near the base of the mast.
As for the mushrooms, Kairi knew that there were a few growing on this side of the island. She managed to scrape up two mushrooms; one had been growing in a small cave near the boat ruins, but Kairi had had to move a boulder in order to get inside. The other grew among the plants near the base of the large wooden tower. Those were also quickly returned to the raft. Kairi set them down nicely near the coconuts.
Kairi had to get into the water in order to get the three fish. For some reason, she couldn't find any in the cove, so she had to return to the other side of the island to find them. And since Kairi didn't have any fishing gear on him, she'd had to catch them with her bare hands (no easy task). Selphie had a lot of fun watching Kairi swim around, trying to grab hold of the fish. In the end, she gave him a small net and a bag for her to keep them in.
The drinking water was also very easy to obtain, since on that side of the island, near the base of the big hollow tree, was a small waterfall and pond of fresh water. All she had to do was open the bottle and fill it up. The bottle of water was placed carefully into the bag with the fish.
It was possible that Kairi had the hardest time getting hold of a seagull egg. She didn't even know where to begin to look for a seagull egg, as she had no idea where the seagulls nested. She probably climbed to the top of every tree on the island in order to find it. And when she did find the egg, she was surprised to see how big it was. Unfortunately, there was only one. Kairi sighed and placed the egg into the bag with the water and fish.
She returned to the boat ruins. Sora was leaning against the mast of the raft, fiddling with a knife and his wooden sword that Kairi could see in his hands.
Kairi smiled. "Sora!"
He didn't look up. He merely smiled. Kairi tilted her head curiously to one side and came closer. "Whatcha doin'?"
"Just sharpening my sword," he said. Turning to Kairi, he asked, "You made something the other day, right?"
"This?" she answered, raising a long piece of thread with a series of white and yellow shells hooked into it from her pocket. "I made a necklace of thalassa shells. In the old days, sailors always wore thalassa shells. They were supposed to ensure a safe voyage."
Kairi grinned. "Don't worry, Sora," she said confidently. "With or without them, we'll be just fine."
Sora smiled slightly. "You know I don't believe in fairy tales, Kairi?"
She merely shrugged in response. Then, remembering, she held the bag out for Sora. "Here's the stuff we need."
Sora smiled as he took the bag from her with both hands. "Hey, that was quick! Thanks, Kairi. Let's see, what's still missing?" He inspected the bag and looked over what Kairi had placed at the base of the mast. "One more mushroom!"
Kairi groaned. "Another mushroom?"
Sora giggled to himself. "You have this habit of forgetting just the one more item on the list," he told Kairi. "I know you can find it, Captain!" He saluted Kairi playfully. Kairi looked confused.
"Don't you remember, Kairi? You won the race and named the raft! And since you named the raft, doesn't that make you captain?"
"Oh yeah," Kairi murmured. That had been her condition. If Kairi won the race, then she'd be captain, and they'd name the raft Oathkeeper.
"Then from now on," Sora said with a laugh, "I'll say 'Aye, aye, Captain Kairi!'"
Kairi laughed. "Okay, Sora. I'll go find that last mushroom, so you stay right here."
Sora smiled. "Aye, aye, Captain Kairi!"
Easier said than done. Kairi didn't even know where to begin to search for another mushroom. She turned to Selphie for help, but all she could talk about was the paopu fruit, and who she should share it with. Kairi shrugged and left. She jumped down from the dock and looked around for someone else to ask. Her eye caught on the figure of Tidus, still practicing with that red staff. Only this time, he was practicing where Riku and Kairi had had their little spat the day before. Kairi made his way up to the top of the plateau as quickly as she could. "Hey, Tidus!"
Tidus turned around and looked over at Kairi, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He smiled and waved, and then continued with his practice.
"Hey, Kairi," he said with a grin. "I think you've gotten stronger, but odds are you're still no match for Riku." Kairi twitched at the words. "We took him on three-to-one last time, and he whipped us all. Well, I guess Sora can always count on him."
Kairi's face fell. "Hey, listen, Tidus, you wouldn't happen to know where to find some mushrooms, would you?"
"Say, are you and Riku really pals?" Tidus went on, as though he hadn't heard Kairi's question. "It's kinda hard to tell sometimes." Then Tidus lowered his weapon and looked over at Kairi. "Anyway… Let's go a round, Kairi!"
Kairi sighed. Tidus had completely ignored her question. There was just no helping how air-headed Tidus could be. "One-on-one?" Kairi prompted. "Sure! I did promise you, right?"
Tidus grinned and nodded. Kairi walked over to where she had left her sword the day before and took it into her hands. "And I always keep my promises. Bring it on, Tidus!"
"Hey, no problem. I can take you down myself!"
Kairi and Tidus got into their positions atop the plateau. Tidus grinned as he ran forward and swung his staff with all his might. Kairi blocked the blow with her sword and then moved around so she stood behind him. She struck Tidus in the back, sending him forward, almost causing him to hit one of the trees face first. Tidus spun around and swung his staff again, but Kairi jumped out of the way. He then did a somersault kick in the air, which Kairi just barely managed to dodge. Tidus grinned as he followed up with a swing of his staff, striking Kairi in the side. Kairi slid to the side, clutching the bruise on her side and wincing.
As Tidus made another charge, Kairi pulled the same move she had with Riku before; jumping over her head and turning mid-air to strike Tidus in the back. Tidus stumbled forward and rolled over the edge of the platform. Kairi put her sword down and peered over the edge of the plateau.
"Y-You okay?" she called down.
Tidus shook the water out of his hair and looked up. He waved at Kairi with a smile and then hit himself lightly on the head. "Aw, man… What's up?"
Kairi smiled slightly, and then wordlessly took off. She still had a job to do. She was still looking for that last stupid mushroom. Kairi raced across the bridge and hopped onto the roof of the small wooden shack. She glanced around. Mushrooms grew in dark places… Kairi jumped from the roof to the fresh water pond, where Wakka was standing with his volleyball tucked under one arm. Wakka looked at Kairi as she landed and smiled.
"Hey, Kairi! You seen Tidus?"
"Yeah, he's back there." Kairi pointed at the plateau then looked at Wakka curiously. "Why?"
Wakka smiled mysteriously at his reaction, turning toward the tree and pointing at a crack in the rock at the base of the large hollow tree. The rock surrounding it was overgrown with moss and other kinds of leafy vegetation. It was dark and musty looking. As Kairi followed Wakka's gaze, her eyes widened.
"Me and Tidus," Wakka said, "we're gonna do a little explorin' today. You know, to the secret place at the base of that tree. There's gotta be somethin' there, ya?"
Kairi's eyes still wide, she nodded in agreement. "You're right," he said slowly as a smile crept onto Kairi's face. She turned to Wakka and patted him on the arm. "Thanks, Wakka!"
And with that, she hopped up toward the cave. Wakka looked confused at first, but then shrugged it off and turned back around to face where Tidus was. Kairi bent over as he passed through the crack in the rock and then carefully rose to her full height when she reached the other side. She followed the tunnel wall with one hand as she walked, staring up at the gnarled roots that could be seen inside. The tunnel led to one very special place.
Sora, Riku and Kairi had never told the other three kids about their secret place. They had claimed the place as their own several years before. Right below the large tree was a fairly large hollow cavern. The walls were all rocks piled on top of each other, held together by the long, twisted roots of the tree above. Kairi and Sora had been scratching drawings onto the rocks for the past few years. They had drawn castles and imaginary underwater places, with mermaids and fish. They had pictures of strange creatures and girls that wore beautiful necklace and transformed. There were drawings of strange smiling faces, hearts, diamonds, spades and clovers. There was even a picture of a ghost-like shadow creature looming over a small group of people
.They were never able to explain why they had drawn the pictures that they had drawn. There was nothing to connect them together, but they were all over the cavern. Every rock had a drawing of some kind etched into its surface It made the place all the more special, the way they saw it. But the most mysterious and wondrous thing that could be found there was the strange door.
Or at least, it looked like a door. But there was no handle or keyhole to be found on it anywhere. All they knew was that, even though it seemed to be made of wood, it never rotted or decayed. The gold embroidery on the door's surface never faded. It always looked brand new, even though it had been there for as long as Riku and Sora could remember
.Kairi smiled as she spotted a small mushroom nestled between the roots of the tree near the mysterious door. She walked over and pulled the mushroom out, inspecting it, and then tucked it into her belt with a grin. As Kairi was about to rise to her feet, she spotted another one of the drawings. It was a particularly special drawing, to her anyway. It was an etching of her and Sora. Kairi had drawn Sora, and Sora had drawn Kairi. They weren't the best artists in the world, so the drawings weren't very good, but Kairi still loved it best of all.
She put one hand affectionately on the image of Sora's face, remembering the day that the two of them had scratched the images onto the rock about a year and a half before. Kairi smiled faintly, taking a sharp rock into her hands. He then seated herself on the ground and began to etch something new into the rock, just below the image of Sora's face. The rock whitened with every scratch she made, and small, dust-like pieces of the rock rained slowly down to the ground from the stone's surface.
Kairi pulled away, gazing at her new etch, content. She smiled at the image. For there, near the sketch of Sora, was something that looked like a shooting star. But if one looked close enough, they would realize that it was actually an arm, leading from the image of Kairi's face, holding a star close to Sora's mouth. Kairi touched the star, smiling.
As she stared at the image, Kairi heard a noise from behind her. She turned around and rose to her feet. "Wh-Who's there?" Kairi stammered.
Standing in the shadows beneath one of the tree's roots was a strange person in a long brown overcoat. The hood was so deep that the face of whoever it was got lost in the shadow. A deep voice boomed from within the darkness of the figure's hood.
"I've come to see the door to this world."
"Huh?" For some odd reason, the figure felt so very familiar to Kairi, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
"This world has been connected," it continued.
"Wh-What are you talking about?"
"Tied to the darkness…" It was as though the cloaked person couldn't hear Kairi's questions.
"Soon to be completely eclipsed."
Kairi narrowed her eyes, clenching her fists. "Well, whoever you are," Kairi told him, finding her voice, "stop freakin' me out like this." Her eyes widened in a sudden realization. "Huh? Wh-Where did you come from?"
The figure never moved an inch. "You do not yet know what lies beyond the door."
Kairi glanced at the door to her side. Her heart began to race. "So,you're from anotherworld!"
"There is so very much to learn. You understand so little."
"Oh, yeah," Kairi said, her voice growing as she challenged him. She narrowed her eyes at the hooded figure. "Well, you'll see. I'm gonna out there and learn what's out there!"
"A meaningless effort," came a voice. "One who knows nothing can understand nothing."
She thought to say something biting, but nothing came out of Kairi's mouth. She merely glared at the hooded figure for a while, waiting for him to say something. After moment of silence, Kairi slowly turned her head to look at the door, her eyes burning holes into its surface. She had seen a hundred times before, and this time was no different. She scrutinized it for a brief moment and then turned quickly to look at the figure.
But she was all alone.
Kairi returned to Sora and handed him the last mushroom.
"Thanks, Kairi! I found something today, too. Here, it's yours."
Sora pulled out a Hi-Potion and handed it to Kairi. Kairi laughed as she took it from him. "Is this all you ever have for me, Sora?"
He screwed her face up in an attempt to look mean. "Hey, no complaining, Captain!" Then, as though he just couldn't hold it back anymore, Sora smiled. "Tired? Wanna call it a day?"
"Yeah, we should get home soon," Kairi said, slowly glancing over her shoulder as though expecting something to be there. She then looked up into the sky, noticing that it had suddenly gotten darker.
"Okay!" Sora said with a giggle. "Tomorrow's the big day! We should rest up!"
Both Kairi and Sora walked together toward their boats, but as Sora was about to jump into his boat, Kairi walked toward the end of the dock and sat down, dangling her feet over the edge. Sora tilted his head slightly to one side, confused, then walked over and sat next to her.
They sat in silence for a while, looking out toward the horizon at the sunset. The water glimmered in the orange light as the sun was just beginning to sink and set the sky aflame.
Sora leaned back, propping himself up with his arms as he stared out into the sunset. He smiled slightly as he watched the water gleam in the failing light.
"You know, Riku has changed."
He looked over at Kairi curiously. Her face was solemn, her hands folded in her lap, her eyes lowered slightly. The seriousness in her voice had surprised him.
"What do you mean?"
She shut her eyes slowly, taking a deep breath, and then slowly looking up into the sunset. "Well… hmm…"
Sora kept his gaze on her face. "You okay?"
Kairi looked over at Sora, a faint, cheerful smile on her face. "Sora, let's take the raft and go – just the two of us!"
Fortunately for Sora, the orange tint of the sunset covered up his red face. "Huh?"
She looked away quickly, returning her attention to the horizon. She giggled, rocking slightly back and forth. "Just kidding."
Sora looked away slowly, also gazing into the fiery sunset. "What's gotten into you?" Sora asked her, his voice shaken with nervous laughter. "You're the one that's changed, Kairi."
Her face was solemn again, her eyes having once again lowered so that she was staring into her lap, at the hands that clutched her knees tightly. "Maybe." She leaned forward, putting her weight on her hands, her eyes lifting toward the sunset again. "You know, I was a little afraid at first, but… Now I'm ready! No matter whereI go, or what I see, I know I can always come back here."
She looked at Sora with a smile. "Right?"
He looked back at her, slightly taken aback, and nodded. "Yeah, of course!"
"That's good," she said quietly, looking into the sunset again. She rubbed the palms of her hands on her knees. She took a deep breath. "Sora, don't ever change."
"Huh?" He watched with wide, alarmed eyes as Kairi rose to her feet. What… did that mean?
"I just can't wait," Kairi said, even quieter than before, putting her arms behind her back. "Once we set sail… it'll be great."
Sora leaned back, looking back out into the sunset. Once they set sail…
They didn't know the creature in its sphere was behind them, and behind it were two people. They watched the eight year old girl with the three boys watching the sunset, but the silver haired boy looked nervous with the others. The raven haired boy whispered something in the girl's ear, but she grabbed his hand and ran off. The two other boys followed, the silver haired boy smiling as he ran. One of the figures turned to the other figure.
"She knows nothing anymore," it said in a feminine voice. "She doesn't the friendship you had, the moments you shared, or the promise…………….."
"But yet her hidden memories live in these," the other said, holding up a white feather with a marking on it. "So, what now?"
"Nothing, right now….." the first figure said, as they disappeared with the sphere.
Dear Hermione,
Sorry to rush off without sayin' goodbye, but there's big trouble brewin'.
Not sure why, but the stars have been blinkin' out, one by one.
And that means disaster can't be far behind.
I hate to leave you all but I've gotta go check into it.
There's someone with a "key" the key to our survival.
So I need you, Hermione, to find her, and stick with you. Got it?
We need that key or we're doomed! So go to Traverse Town and find Leon.
He'll point you in the right direction.
P.S.
Would you apologize to Ginny for me? Thanks, Mione
Hogwarts Castle
"Oh, dear! What could this mean?"
Ron, Hermione, Luna, and Queen Ginny were all gathered in the castle library. The king's dog Sirius was asleep in his bed on the floor near the desk, from where the queen had been reading the letter aloud to the others. Hermione bowed her head slightly in dismay, putting her hand solemnly together. Ron stretched the back of his head, somewhat confused by what just happened. The queen put the letter down on the desk, smoothing it over the surface, and rose to her feet.
"It means we'll just have to trust the king," she told Luna faithfully, walking around the desk to stand next to her.
Ron placed one finger thoughtfully on his lips. "Geez, I sure hope he's okay."
Hermione looked up at Queen Ginny, putting a fist over her heart. "Your Highness." Ginny turned to look at the court witch. "Don't worry," she told her proudly. "I'll find the king andthis 'key'."
The queen smiled at Hermione. "Thank you," she said sweetly. Then, after she looked toward Ron, she turned to Hermione again, "Thank you very much, Hermione."
The court witch lowered her fist and turned to Luna. "Luna, can you take care of-"
"Of course." The lady-in-waiting smiled and nodded. "You be careful, Hermione Granger."
"Oh," Queen Ginny said quietly, the word escaping from her lips in a loud gasp. Her eyes drifted back toward the table. "And to chronicle your travels, he will accompany you." The queen gestured toward the desk.
Hermione blinked, confused. She couldn't see anyone. All she saw was the desk and everything that the king had left on its surface. That is, until something began to jump into the air from the table top.
"Over here!" came a small voice.
The voice belonged to a small cricket that stood near the edge of the desk. He stood upright on his hind legs; his feet slipped into a pair of shiny black and white shoes. He wore a small black tuxedo over his white blouse and red vest. On the top of his head was a traditional top hat, light blue in color, which he tipped to greet Hermione.
"Cricket's the name," he said with a bow. "Jiminy Cricket at your service."
"Also, you'll need to take your Vulpix," Ron told Hermione.
The court witch nodded, putting her fingers in her mouth, she whistled for something. Coming into the room was a small fox with six tails, it had light red fur on its body; expect the curls on its head, its six tails, and paws were dark red. It ran to Hermione, rubbing its head against her leg.
The queen turned back to Hermione. "We hope for your safe return. Please help the king."
Hermione straightened and put her right hand over her heart in salute. The queen and Luna folded their hands in front of them, nodding approvingly at the court witch. Ron, who now stood next to Luna, saluted Hermione as a soldier heading off to war. Hermione glared at Ron, instantly breaking her posture as she turned to the door, waving at him.
"See you later," she almost shouted, walking to the door with Sakura. Ron quickly followed her.
"Gee, Jiminy, your world disappeared, too?"
Hermione, Ron, and Sakura trudged down a long spiral staircase that led to where the Highwind ships were held. They weren't used often, only in emergencies, and there were only two ships. Hermione and Ron knew for sure the king had taken one on his investigation, which meant Hermione was left with the other to follow him.
They were pretty much a secret to everyone. Only a small group of people about these Highwind ships. Because of this, they were stored far below the castle, which was why Ron, Hermione, and Sakura, with Jiminy perched atop Ron's head, were walking down a very long spiral staircase. It was dark, and the only sources of light came from symbols etched into the wall that cast a dim light over the steps.
"It was terrible," Jiminy replied. "We were scattered. And as far as I can see, I'm the only one who made it to this castle."
Ron glanced in front of him. "Hermione?" he called, reminding his friend.
"Oh, right," Hermione said, remembering. "I understand. While I'm in other worlds, I can't let on where I'm from."
Ron chuckled softly. "You've gotta protect the world border."
Hermione shook her head sadly from side to side. " 'Order'," she corrected him.
"Right. World order." Ron let out a quiet laugh.
The girl sighed, exasperated, as they left the spiral staircase behind them and walked down a short tunnel to where a door awaited their arrival. They had just about reached the Gummi ship hangar.
"I guess you'll need new duds when you get there, huh?" Ron asked Hermione as they reached the large crown shaped door.
There was no reply from the girl.
The Highwind ship hangar looked like the inside of a clock while being fixed. There was a pair of giant mechanical white gloves that moved about the hangar attached to sliders that were in the rafters, picking items up and moving them across the room. There were giant gears all over the room, including one exceptionally large one right next to the control center. There were strangely shaped gizmos all over the room, some of which had functions unknown to most everyone. The Highwind ship was placed in the middle of the clockwork chaos, basking in its own glory.
Hermione stepped up to a yellow pipe, designed after the kinds used to communicate on sea ships. The pipe was meant to allow communication between the launch crew up in the control center and the pilots. Hermione cupped one hand around her mouth as she spoke into it.
"Hello up there?" she said. "Hermione Granger to launch crew! Anytime you're ready!"
As Hermione's voice echoed in the control center, one of the launch crewmembers eagerly gave a salute. The other engineer dashed behind the first, running to the other side of the control center, and pulling onto one of the levers, lowering it. The engineer planted both feet on the ground and spun around, trying to make sure all was in order in the hangar. It would've been a disaster if he had jumped the wrong lever.
Inside the hangar, pipes began to blow out steam and the gears began to spin even faster than before. The giant white gloves moved across the hangar to where Ron, Hermione, and Sakura stood waiting. They lowered one by one and closed their giant fingers gently around first Sakura, then Hermione, and carried them quickly over to the Highwind ship, where they were dropped into cockpit.
It was about then that Sirius ran through the entrance to the hangar and leapt gracefully from the balcony. When he landed, he slid across the flooring, straight into the ground entrance of the Highwind ship. Sirius was tucked inside the ship with a slight yelp of surprise.
Hermione got ready at steering wheel as the doorway in front of her began to open slowly. The Highwind ship's engine started up, and the entire ship began to shake, mildly at first, but slowly getting stronger and more violent. The runway on the other side of the door had red and blue lights lined all along the walls until they were engulfed by the darkness.
Queen Ginny and Luna had come down to see her off. They stepped out toward the railing, joining Ron, and looked up to where the Highwind ship had been elevated so that it was level with the now open runway. Hermione looked down and winked, giving a thumbs up signal to Ron and Luna.
The rocket engines began to spew fire as the Highwind ship was just about ready to blast off. The ship shook violently with the force of the engine. Hermione grinned, and pointed one finger enthusiastically toward the runway.
"Blast off!" she screamed excitedly.
Suddenly a red arrow that pointed down appeared in the way of the runway. An alarm began to go off. And then, as quick as lightning, the flooring beneath the ship vanished. Hermione began to scream as the ship fell and tumbled through darkness, the engines trying desperately to start up again. The ship popped out from the dark tunnel just as the rocket boosters finally kicked in. Hermione took hold of the controls. It wasn't long before the ship had vanished out of sight.
Kalm Village
Aerith was eating at the house she and Zack shared, on her right was a brown furred creature which resembled a fox, a white fur collar around its neck. Floating around on her left was a rock with big eyes and a mouth, on either side of it were two arms with hands in fists. As she ate, her and her companions thought they thought heard a noise.
"Is it jus me or did you two hear that, also?" she asked her Eevee, which she named Eve, and Zack's Geodude, whose name was Rocky.
Eve and Rocky nodded, Aerith sighed in relief, she wasn't the only one. Eve and Rocky were the ones of many creatures which that lived on the world Aerith and Zack lived in. Eve just chosen Aerith when she came for some reason, Rocky had been with Zack since he came to the world. Even though they got back together, Aerith and Zack weren't dating, since Zack was always busy with something, and Aerith sold flowers like she used to on another world. Eve and Aerith became fast friends.
What Aerith didn't know the sphere appeared in the world again, watching her eat with her companions? It stared at the necklace and stone around her neck, and saw her with the girls from the two other worlds, together, fighting black creatures, locking worlds, and collecting the red haired girl's lost memory. It disappeared once again, and went to the islands.
A/N: So enters the witch and the flower girl! The little thing about the feather is a bit of a rip-off from Tsubasa, I'll explain it in later chapters! Soon, the Heroines and their pokemon will meet! Please, R&R! 3