Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.
WARNING! WARNING! One Kanji character appears in this chapter. If your computer doesn't know how to read Japanese, specifically Kanji, you should do one of two things:
For Internet Explorer Go to "View," and then "Encoding" Select "Japanese (Auto-Select)" For Netscape or Firefox Go to "View," and then "Character Encoding" Select "Auto-Detect," and then "Japanese"
I found this out just recently, and so I don't know what you can do if you're using anything other than these two browsers. You can probably find a way to read Japanese on Google.
Since I have your attention now, I might as well say that, because of a review I got, I corrected some of the spelling mistakes I made in the first chapter. If some of you were a little confused by it, you may want to go reread the chapter to possibly make sense of some things. That's all! You can read the story now!
Kidnapped
Riku walked down the silent, deserted beach, not exactly knowing what to do. Sora had been taken, and the only way to get him back was to give Way To Dawn to Twine, the one that had taken him. Although it would be very easy for Riku to yield to Twine's request and retrieve Sora, things really weren't that simple. Handing Way To Dawn over to Twine was handing it over to a person of the dark. Riku didn't know what Twine had planned for Way To Dawn, but he knew it was something he had to prevent. To do this would mean refusing to hand over Way To Dawn. If he refused to hand over Way To Dawn, then Twine would do…something to Sora. Riku didn't want to think about what Twine would do to his friend if he didn't comply with his task.
"What do I do?" Riku sighed, placing his hand onto the Seaside Shack. He'd never felt so powerless about anything before. Looking up, Riku saw a mass of black lying in the sand. At first he didn't know what it was, but he soon remembered. It was the other Sora. Seeing this Sora made Riku realize that he had to focus on one problem at a time to get out of this situation. He went over to Sora and kneeled down next to him.
"Sora," Riku called, placing a hand on the replication's shoulder. "Wake up." He gave Sora a little shake and he started stirring. In a few seconds blue eyes met with sea green. Anger flashed in Sora's eyes and he twisted around, his hands outstretched for Riku's neck. Riku was ready for this though. He caught hold of Sora's wrists and pushed him down to the sand, pinning his arms to his side.
"Let go of me," Sora cried, writhing in Riku's grasp.
"Look, I just want to talk," Riku grunted, increasing the strength of his hold. Sora didn't stop trying to get away, but Riku new that Sora would eventually tire himself out. Riku had had a few instances like this with the real Sora, none as intense as this one, but they were all relatively the same. With their constant sparing matches, Riku and Sora had often had small tussles like this. Riku had almost always gotten away from Sora, but rarely had Sora ever been able to get away from Riku.
The truth was, Riku was stronger than Sora. Sora's heart may have been the strongest of the pair's, but physically, Riku was strongest. Sora was younger than he was, and naturally this forced a significant difference on the strength they each possessed. Riku was positive that the replication in his grip not only looked like Sora, but was also just as strong as Sora. If this was the case, the replication wasn't getting away.
Sora seemed to realized this now, as his struggling started to diminish and he calmed down a bit.
"What do you want?" he growled, a defiant look in his eye.
"Twine's gone," Riku told him. "He left."
"Yeah, so?"
"He left you here. Why?"
"That's none of your business," Sora mumbled, averting his gave from Riku's. Riku could tell he'd hit a sensitive button.
"Is he still on you side?" Riku probed further.
"I said it's none of your business," Sora shouted, his eyes snapping back up to Riku. Riku could tell that Sora was trying to keep something from him.
"Twine kidnapped Sora, and you're still here," Riku said. "I think it's verymuch my business." Riku stared down at Sora for a few more seconds before Sora finally responded.
"I'm a replication," he said, bitterly. He didn't elaborate.
"That doesn't tell me anything. I already know that"
"Replication spells only last for three days," Sora sighed, as if Riku was the stupidest person he'd ever known. "If three days pass and the replication hasn't been dismissed, the spell deactivates itself."
"Are you saying you're going to die in three days?" Riku asked, astonished at the thought of how cruel that would be.
"No I don't die," Sora retorted. "I just go back to Twine and wait for him to cast another replication spell." He said the last part with an undertone.
"You don't like Twine very much, do you?" Riku asked, studying Sora's face for any signs of a lie. Sora narrowed his eyes at Riku.
"What are you getting at?" he asked. "And what does it matter to you whether or not I like him?" Riku sighed.
"Look, I'm just going to cut to the chase," Riku said sternly. "Sora's been taken to another world, and Twine wants me to come chasing after him. I can do this. It's Saturday, and my parents will be too drunk tonight to notice if I'm gone for a day." Kairi's parents were out of town this weekend, so there wouldn't be a problem with getting her off the world either. "Sora's parents will notice though. They're very strict about him being home, but Sora's not here. He won't be here, but you will."
"You're not saying…"
"Yes I amsaying," Riku practically shouted. "Take Sora's place while I go get him back. I know it sounds strange, but I don't know what else I can do." Riku knew the replication Sora was going to say no. Why wouldn't he? He was a replication that Twine had made, so naturally he was going to refuse to help Riku do anything against Twine.
"You want me to take Sora's place while you go save him?' Sora asked, a slight smirk on his face. Riku gave a weak nod. He knew which answer was about to come. "Sure, I can do that." Riku's eyes widened and he let out the breath he'd been holding.
"What did you say?" he asked, disbelieve lining his voice.
"You say that like you want me to change my mind. I said I'd do it."
"Why?" Riku couldn't believe that the replication was actually going to help him. "You're not tricking me are you?"
Sora's expression softened as he said, "No, I'm not tricking you. What you said before about me not liking Twine was absolutely true. I hate him. He's always kidnapping people and holding them for ransom. It's not right."
"If you hate him so much, why do you keep helping him?"
"If I hadn't helped Twine all of those times, he wouldn't have ever cast a replication spell again. I wouldn't have been able to come out."
"So you're helping me to get back at Twine?"
"Yes." Sora's voice took on a more interested tone now. "You know, it's been a while since I've done something like this. You're a very rare case Riku."
"You've done this before?" Riku hadn't considered the fact that the replication had helped other people.
"Well, few people figure out that I'm a replication when Twine replaces their friends and loved ones with me. When they find out about me, usually they go after the one that Twine took to try and save them, without giving Twine what he wants, like you did. Most of the time they fail…"
"Like I did," Riku said, his voice sad and remorseful. He still wouldn't forgive himself for letting Sora slip away so easily.
"I wasn't going to say that. Besides, it happens to everyone who figures out about me. They try to save their loved one, they fail, and then they ask for my help. You shouldn't beat yourself up for letting it happen." A few moments of silence passed.
"So you'll help me?" Riku asked.
"I will."
"You promise it's not a trick?"
"I swear it isn't." Riku took a deep breath, and then he let Sora's arms go and stepped to the side so that Sora could stand.
"Are you sure you can do this?" Riku asked. He couldn't have Sora's parents figuring out that their son was, in fact, not their son.
"I've got his memories," Sora said, tapping a finger to the side of his head. "I do know how to do this."
"Okay," Riku said, a little less enthusiastically than he'd intended to.
"You really should lighten up a little," Sora told him. "You can't save him if you go around moping like that." Riku watched as Sora turned around and held his hand out. A dark portal appeared in front of him and he stepped towards it.
"You can make corridors?" Riku asked, obviously surprised.
"Twine made me, and since he can do it, I can too." He started to step into the portal when he suddenly blurted out, "Oh." He turned back around to face Riku. "You said he took Sora to another world. Did he give you a deadline to get to him?"
"Yes."
"Whatever you do, don't miss that deadline, not even by a second. He's given you a second chance, but it's the last one he'll give you."
"Okay," Riku replied. "Thanks. Then he added, "For everything." Sora gave a small smile.
"It's what I do," he said. He gave Riku a shooing gesture. "You should go now. You're only wasting time standing her talking to me."
"Right." Riku turned towards the docks. "Good luck," he said, before breaking out in a run.
"Keep your luck," Sora's voice called out to Riku. "You need it more than I do, way more."
"Where am I?" Sora thought. His eyes were closed, and he was lying against something hard. It definitely wasn't his bed. "I must've fallen out," Sora decided. He made to move his hands to the ground to push himself up, but he couldn't. Something was holding his arms back behind him and he couldn't bring them apart. "Rope," he thought, and then, with horror, his eyes snapped open. After he got the chance to clear his head, Sora realized that what had happened before had not been a dream. He had been kidnapped, and had been held hostage.
The last thing he remembered was Riku, but after him there was nothing. He knew he must've fallen through a dark portal since that would account for the darkness he'd experienced, but it had been strange. One second he'd been falling and the next he'd been waking up. He hadn't felt himself hit the ground.
"I must've passed out," Sora thought. With some difficulty, he managed to sit up so that he could look around and see where he was. His eyes widened as he took in his surroundings. He hadn't thought he'd ever come back to this place again. With the neon lights surrounding him, the granite square, and the bright building towering above him, Sora knew exactly where he was. "This can't be happening," Sora thought frantically. No matter how much Sora tried to convince himself that this was all just a bad dream, deep inside he knew it was real. "I have to get away."
The small tug he gave at his wrists wasn't at all full hearty. It was really just a test to see if his bonds had loosened any. They were just as tight, though, as they had been when Twine first applied them. Sora gave a groan of frustration as he lowered himself back down onto the ground. He hated the powerlessness he had over the situation.
He didn't know anything. He didn't know if Riku was all right, he didn't know why he'd been brought to this of all places, and he didn't know what was going to happen to him.
"Am I just supposed to wait for someone to…" Sora's thoughts were suddenly cut short as a dark portal appeared a few meters in front of him. In a couple of seconds, his captor stepped through, just as Sora knew he would.
"Hm, so you made it through," Twine commented offhandedly. "Riku would probably be angry if I'd accidentally lost you inside a corridor." Sora wanted, so much, to just summon his Key Blade and teach this person a lesson, but he couldn't. Even if his hands hadn't been tied behind his back he still wouldn't have been able to do it. Through some kind of magic, Twine had taken the Key Blade away from Sora.
Now Twine stepped around Sora, walking to a place outside Sora's range of vision. "You're very lucky you're not dead right now, you know," he continued. Sora heard a small fluffing noise, like a sheet, and a cruel sounding chuckle. "I swear you friend almost started crying trying to vouch for you." Sora heard the sound of Twine walking back towards him.
Before Sora knew it, he felt Twine's arms sliding underneath him. He gave a small yelp as Twine lifted him up into his grasp. Twine climbed the few steps of a staircase that was more of a foyer. At the head of the stairs, Sora could see a creamy white blanket that had been laid out on the ground.
Twine set him down on top of it. When Twine stepped back, Sora remained in the sitting position and didn't lie down like he knew Twine wanted. Instead, he said something inaudible through his gag.
"You really shouldn't bother," Twine said, shaking his head as if Sora was an idiot. "I can't understand anything you're saying." Sora persisted though, repeating what he'd said until Twine finally seemed to give in. He reached down and tugged the cloth from Sora's mouth. "What is it?" he asked, obviously annoyed.
Sora gave a cough, as his mouth had grown awfully dry, before saying, "Who are you? And what do you want with Riku?" A smirk came to Twine's face.
"You don't know, do you?" he asked, his tone sounding as if he'd forgotten this fact. He tossed the cloth in his hand to the ground. They call me Twine. As for my reasons for wanting Riku, you don't need to know them."
"But I…" Sora didn't get for at all with his sentence before briskly being interrupted by Twine.
"Sleep," Twine ordered. "Riku will be here in a while to retrieve you."
"What?" Sora asked. All of a sudden, Sora didn't know why, but all of a sudden he felt tired. He let out a sleepy moan and leaned back against the blanket closing his eyes. He rolled to one side. This tiredness didn't feel natural at all. He didn't even think he'd ever been this tired before in all of his life. "Of all the worlds it could've been," Sora thought, succumbing to the weight of sleep, "It had to be The World That Never…" That was as far as Sora's thoughts went before he fell asleep.
"Kairi, you're getting better," Kairi's piano teacher commented.
"Oh, thank you Ms. Tanaka," Kairi said, grinning as she collected her piano books. "I worked really hard this week. I practiced every day." Her teacher smiled.
"Well, keep doing that and you'll be an expert in no time." Once the pair had shared their good byes, Kairi left the room of the recreation center she took piano classes in.
"Okay," she thought. "Now that that's over, I just need to go find Riku and Sora." This wouldn't be a hard thing to do at all. Though the town was too large to search, Kairi knew that there was a limited number of places Riku and Sora could've been. Most likely, they were at an arcade.
Finally Kairi reached the outside of the building and sighed. Now she actually felt like her piano lessons were over.
"I think I'll try the arcade over on Crestwood," she thought. She looked around to try and figure out how to get to Crestwood from there, as she had forgotten how, when she spotted Riku, who was sitting on a park bench that lined the path. "Huh?" she said out loud. She hadn't expected Riku to be here. He was supposed to be with Sora. "It's not like I can possibly make a mistake with this one," Kairi thought, walking over to her friend. Riku was the only sixteen year old on the island with silver hair. Once she was within earshot, Kairi called out to him, "Riku."
Her friend looked up at her, but instead of receiving the smile she expected, Riku's eyes became clouded and distant.
"Hey, what's the matter?" Kairi asked once she'd gotten next to Riku. "You look sad."
"I just need to talk to you," Riku sighed, looking down at his feet. He definitely wasn't happy.
"Oh. Okay." Kairi looked to her left and then to her right. "Where's Sora?" Riku looked from his shoes to meet eyes with Kairi.
"He's what I need to talk to you about." He motioned for her to sit down next to him and she did. Kairi was starting to think that she wasn't going to like what Riku had to tell her. Riku's expression held fear and worry, two things that were usually absent from his eyes. She knew something terrible must have happened to make him act this way.
A good long while passed and still Riku hadn't said anything.
"Riku," Kairi said softly, placing a hand on Riku's arm. "What's happened?" Riku gave a sigh and looked up at Kairi from having looked back down.
"Do you promise you won't start to panic?" Riku asked. There was a firmness behind his voice as if this was something he really needed her to do.
"I'll try not to," Kairi answered, trying to sound reassuring.
"Okay," Riku said, readying himself. "Sora's been kidnapped."
"Kidnapped?" Kairi asked, her eyes widening in disbelief. "What do you mean?"
"I meanhe's been kidnapped. He's been taken," Riku said, trying to get the situation over to Kairi. "I saw it happen with my own eyes."
"Riku we've got to call the police if what you're saying is true. We've got to tell his parents, we've got to…"
"Shh," Riku hissed. Kari was starting to get too loud. "We can't call the police Kairi. Not for this."
"Riku, we've tot to do something." Kairi was surprised that Riku was so apposed to her suggestion.
"Kairi," Riku said with a gentle voice. "The one that took him is from the dark." Realization lit up in Kairi's eyes. "Telling anyone else about this would mean telling them about the other worlds." The silence after Riku said this was immense. It lasted for a very long time. When Kairi started trembling, Riku started to worry. "Kairi?" he asked, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Are you all right?" This was what Riku hadn't wanted to happen. Slowly, Kairi turned her head to face Riku.
"How did this happen, Riku?" she asked quietly. Riku thought. To answer this question, he would have to think back, back to when Sora was still asleep regaining his memories.
"Kairi," Riku began. "This all started when I met a man named Twine."
It was dark on this world. The rocky granite material that almost everything was made of only added to this darkness. Eerie blue florescent lights buzzed high above, and a brightly lit building stood at the center of the square. Even with the many surrounding lights, the world still appeared dark.
As I stood at the head of the square, which was also the end of an alleyway, I waited, and listened. I didn't see any of the above things mentioned. I was blindfolded. The only reason I knew what everything looked like was because I'd previously been to this world to study it. I'd made sure I knew where every nook and cranny was. I'd also trained, honing my senses and my reflexes so that I could fight without my sight. All of that work had been for this moment right here.
I crossed my arms and slumped against the wall, heaving a sigh in the process. I really didn't want to be here. The World That Never Was wasn't exactly a place I would come to in my spare time. The only reason I'd come here was because of Sora.
As it turned out, things weren't as simple as just waiting for Naminé to rejuvenate Sora's memories. Apparently, Sora wasn't whole, wasn't complete. Sora had once lost his heart. Through some circumstances that no one will tell me about, he managed to get it back. When a person loses their heart, a being called a nobody is created, and Sora wasn't an exception to this fact. He went on with his life, unaware that he was actually co-existing with his nobody. This was why Sora was so special.
When he lost his heart, in a sense he should have died. Sora had lived though, and so had his nobody, Roxas. Roxas held a piece of Sora, a piece that was vital in waking my friend from the sleep Naminé had placed over him.
This was why I was on The World That Never Was. I was to retrieve Roxas and bring him back to Naminé and DIZ, the one that oversaw Sora's progress in regaining his memories. Sora was gaining his memories back very slowly, slower than Naminé had intended him to. DIZ had guessed that Sora was going so slowly because of the fact that he didn't have Roxas. Since this was the case, DIZ had sent me to go get Roxas and bring him to Sora.
"In theory," DIZ had said. "Sora could never wake up if he doesn't have Roxas."
After hearing this, I'd known that I wouldn't have any other choice but to go find Roxas.
I'd once seen Roxas. It had been on one of my trips to examine The World That Never Was. The moment I'd seen him I'd gasped so loudly that I'd almost given away my hiding spot. Roxas looked just like Sora. His hair was a different color and his voice was notably different, but in the face, he was Sora. This would be a problem.
I was supposed to get Roxas from The World That Never Was to Twilight Town, but from observing Roxas for a while I could tell that he wasn't the kind of person that would come with me willingly. Most likely I would have to use force. In fact, I was sure I would have to use force. I would have to fight him. I would have to hurt him. This would be hard for me. How was I supposed to hurt someone who was like a twin to my best friend?
Just because you look like Sora, don't think I won't hurt you.
Thathad been bold of me. It had been a kind of bluff in a way. I probably would have been able to hurt the replication if I'd needed to, but it wouldn't have been as easy as I made it seem. I had a similar kind of problem with Roxas. Roxas looked so much like Sora that if I hurt him, it would feel like I was hurting Sora. I couldn't afford a distraction like that.
It was this conflict that led me to the solution of wearing a blindfold. If I couldn't see anything, I would be able to do anything I wanted to Roxas. He would be just like any other shadow in the darkness. It wouldn't matter that he looked like Sora.
"This had better go well," I thought. "If I don't get this right, Sora might not wake up." Now I knew that it was time for me to go. I knew that the moment I set foot into the square, hoards of heartless would swarm me, but I still had to go. I'd stalled long enough, and Naminé, DIZ, and Sora were waiting.
I took two steps, waiting for the right time to draw my Soul Eater weapon. Nothing happened. I waited some more, and still nothing happened.
"What?" I thought. "Why aren't there any heartless?" I looked around, or rather, I turned my head around to see if I could hear anything. There wasn't a sound. I let a few seconds pass, and that's when I heard the small pattering noise of footsteps. "Who's the…" I started, but was caught of guard as someone's hand came up to the blindfold around my eyes. Before I could do anything, the cloth, along with a few of my hairs, was pulled away. It was just my luck that I had to be staring in the direction of the most brightly lit thing on the world.
I gave a small hiss and brought a hand up to my eyes, shielding them from the light cast by the towering building in front of me. It'd been a few hours since I'd first put the blindfold on, so this much light coming at me all at once strung quite a bit.
"Hello, Riku," came a voice from in front of me. I moved my hands down a little, and even though spots were dancing around in my vision, I was able to make out the form of a tall man with dark hair. He was wearing an organization coat.
"Who are you?" I asked, my eyes starting to get used to the light. "And how do you know my name?"
"Sneaking around, listening to conversations," the man said, his voice cool and calm. "You were the subject of many conversations in the organization quite a few months ago. Something about annihilating two of their members." I'd just met this person, and already I knew that he liked to confuse people.
"You still haven't told me who you are," I said, my voice showing how annoyed I was at the moment.
For some reason, the man gave a small smirk before saying, "They call me Twine."
"And why are you here?" My patience was wearing thin.
"I want you to show me your weapon," Twine replied. "I want to see if I've come for the right person." After this he put his hand out, and a large, strange looking sword assimilated in his grasp. It had a wooden hilt and a very curved blade, and in between the hilt and blade was a large orb with swirling shadows inside it. The Kanji 束 hung from a chain at the end of the hilt. "Come on. Draw your weapon out. I don't have all day."
Normally, I wouldn't have listened to some stranger's orders, but after Twine finished talking he started charging at me, so I really didn't have any other choice but to draw my weapon. I held my hand out, expecting Soul Eater to appear, but it didn't. Instead, Way To Dawn, as Naminé called it, came to my hand.
"Great," I thought. "Not again." Lately when I'd tried to summon Soul Eater, this strange, new Key Blade would appear. Naminé had said that it was a sign that I was moving away from the darkness, and that the darkness in my heart was seeping away. I knew this was a good thing, but it was still annoying not knowing when this Key Blade was all of a sudden going to pop up.
I held Way To Dawn up in front of me, blocking the harsh downward thrust Twine sent my way. I pushed him away and stepped back a few steps, putting some distance between him and myself. There was a confident smirk on Twine's face, and I didn't know why.
"You are the one I've been looking for," he said, lowering his weapon to the side. He stuck his empty hand out, "Hand it over."
"What? This?" I asked, lifting up Way To Dawn. The look on his face told me that the answer was yes. "No. Did Organization XIII send you? Tell them I'm not interested in anything they have to offer." At this, Twine gave a small laugh.
"I am a nobody, but that doesn't mean I'm apart of Organization XIII," he said. "Not everyone wearing an Organization coat is apart of the Organization. You should know that." He pointed down at the black coat I was wearing. "Besides, I don't take orders from some Organization leader. I only work for myself. Now, are you going to give me Way To Dawn, or am I going to have to force it away?"
"I'm not giving you anything," I growled, putting on a defensive stance.
"Have it your way then." He once again lifted his sword, and this time when he charged towards me he was faster. He swung his sword and I narrowly missed being hit by it. I then tried to swing Way To Dawn at him, but he blocked it. I separated our blades and finally managed to get in a series of combos. This sent him flying.
"You're going to wish you'd just handed it to me in the first place," Twine growled, his voice spitting venom. He shot up to his feet, but no sooner had that registered in my mind than I felt the wind being knocked out of me. Twine's blow knocked me back a good two meters, and as I hit the ground I realized that Way To Dawn was no longer in my grasp. It had been knocked out of my hand, and was now on the ground at Twine's feet. I hoisted myself up on my elbows, coughing, watching as Twine reached down and grabbed Way To Dawn off of the ground.
"Finally," he said, staring down at Way To Dawn with an admiring gaze. "I've been waiting for this for a while." At this point he noted the death glare I was giving him. "I did warn you. You should've listened to me."
I didn't have a very good idea of what was going on. I barely knew who Twine was, and I had no idea why he wanted Way To Dawn, but I did know one thing. Twine had interrupted my mission. I was supposed to be finding Roxas, but instead I was toying around with this guy. I needed to end this now.
I jumped up from the ground, thrust my hand out, and called out to Way To Dawn. It disappeared from Twine's grasp and reappeared in mine, and then, in one fluid move, I rushed over to Twine and swatted his sword out of his hand, sending it sailing to the other side of the plaza.
"Now go away, and leave me alone," I growled, straightening up and glowering at the back of his head.
"So, you're not going to give it to me?" Twine asked, stepping away from me.
"What do you think?" He was really getting on my last nerve.
"Fine then," Twine retorted, finally turning to face me. "But when we meet again, you're going to regret not giving it to me." He opened a portal behind him and started backing towards it. "I will have Way To Dawn, no matter how much I have to persuade you." Then, he disappeared into the shadows.
I was alone now. I looked around. The world really was dark, and drab too. I sighed. I wouldn't be able to complete my mission, not today. My blindfold was gone, and I was tired.
"Next time," I thought. "Next time I'll get it right."
"After that he left, and I didn't see him again for almost a year," Riku said. "So I guess I just decided that he'd forgotten about me." He sighed. "But now he's come back. He's come here."
"Is he the one that took Sora?" Kairi asked.
"Yes," Riku replied. He sounded angry. "He wants me to bring Way To Dawn to The World That Never Was in exchange for Sora. We need to get there as soon as we can." Riku stopped now to look down at his watch. It was 10:15. He needed to wrap this up. "Okay, listen Kairi. Twine wants Way To Dawn and his exact words were, 'by this time tomorrow,' so we have about a day to get it to him."
"Riku," Kairi said, her voice surprised. "You're actually planning on giving it to him?"
"Well, right now I am," Riku admitted, standing. "But that's only if we can't come up with something else. If we can't, I won't have any other choice but to hand it over."
"Riku?" Kairi asked, standing along with Riku. Her tone was hushed. "What happens…if you don't hand it over?"
For a few seconds Riku didn't answer her. He hadn't wanted Kairi to ask this question, at least not now. He'd already scared her enough with telling her that Sora had been kidnapped, and he really didn't want to tell her that Sora might be killed because of this. That would frighten her even more.
Finally, Riku answered with, "Something bad Kairi. Something very bad." Kairi wasn't satisfied with Riku's answer, but she let it pass. She understood if Riku didn't want to tell her what would happen to Sora. She had a feeling she knew what would happen anyway.
"So, what are we going to do now?" she asked.
"Well, we should probably go to our houses and get some food, and maybe something to do. A trip to The World That Never Was is going to take a while."
"Um, Riku? How are we going to be making this trip?" Riku gave a small grin.
"Don't worry," he said. "I've got it all taken care of."
"Come on. Fit," Riku grunted as he stuffed a small metal lunchbox into the backpack he was preparing. He'd packed everything he could think of that might help with the journey he was about to make. He'd packed the lunchbox, which included some fruit and leftover meat, a water bottle, a couple of blankets in case they were needed, one book, and a first aid kit. He really hoped he wouldn't have to use the latter once he got to The World That Never Was, but he knew he had to bring it in case Twine had done anything to Sora. If Twine had laid even a scratch on Sora, Riku didn't know what he'd do, but he did know that it would involve Twine and inflicting pain.
Riku gave the lunchbox one final shove and it finally slid inside. He zipped up the backpack and moved it aside to stand, and then he walked over to the desk where his computer was. He opened the topmost drawer, reached inside and pulled out a small, metal, rectangular object with a red button at its center.
"I never thought I would have to use this," Riku said out loud. He slipped the thing into his pocket and walked back over to the backpack to sling the straps over his shoulders. At last he was ready to go.
He left the house with no confrontations with his mother, which was good since he wouldn't have any explanation for the assortment of objects he was carrying. He headed towards the bench he and Kairi had been at earlier, since this was the place they had agreed to meet, and sure enough Kairi was sitting there waiting for him. She didn't see him walking towards her, as she seemed to be looking for something in the small tote bag she had slung around her shoulder.
"So, are you ready to go?" Riku asked, startling her.
"Yeah," she answered, obviously a little embarrassed from just having been surprised. "I think I forgot to pack my little mirror though." Riku couldn't help but smile at this.
"I don't think you're going to need that for this," he said.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Kairi stood. "So how are we going to get off this world?"
"We're going to use this." Riku pulled the rectangular object out of his pocket.
"What is it?"
"It's something King Mickey gave to me a long time ago," Riku explained. "He said that if I ever needed to get somewhere, I only needed to push this button and a Gummi Ship would show up."
"A GummiShip?" Kairi exclaimed. "How are we going to call a Gummi Ship here?"
"We aren't going to call it here," Riku reassured her. "I do know what I'm doing, you know."
"Where are we going to call it then? Isn't a Gummi Ship too big for any place around here?"
"It's too big for any place on thisisland," Riku said. "But not all of the islands."
At first Kairi seemed not to understand, but then she gave a little, "Oh."
"Are we ready to go?" Riku asked, making sure they really were ready to leave before departing.
"Yeah, we are."
"Then let's go." Together, he and Kairi walked down the path, headed for one of the only islands they knew of that could hold a Gummi Ship.
"It's been five minutes since you pushed it Riku. Are you sure it works?" Kairi asked.
"Yes I'm sure it works," Riku replied. "It was the king that gave it to me, and I think he would've mentioned it if it was going to stop working." As Riku and Kairi stood near the door that led to the Cove, they were starting to have second thoughts about their plan. It had been quite a while since Riku had pushed the button of the small device in his hand, and still there was no sign of a Gummi Ship coming over the horizon.
"Riku, what if this doesn't work?" Kairi asked. There was a sense of amounting desperation in her voice, and Riku understood the feeling quite well. He'd been thinking the same thing.
"I…I don't know," Riku said. "If this doesn't work I guess we could contact Disney Castle…" He then started shaking his head. "No. The message wouldn't get there in time. By the time they could help us it would be too late." He looked to the horizon. "This has to work. There's no other way."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than he spotted something. At first he thought it might be the Gummi Ship, but then he saw that it was something round. It was obviously not any ship of any kind. It was rippling, and surging. It was a wormhole. In a few seconds the Gummi Ship came flying through.
"Kairi," Riku shouted. "Kairi it's here." He didn't need to tell her though. She'd already seen it. Considering the situation, Riku and Kairi were smiling very much. They couldn't resist it though. The fact that the Gummi Ship was here shed new hope on their worry. They knew that Sora was in danger, and that his life was on the line, but they also knew that they would find a way to save him. They didn't know how they would do it, but they both knew that somehow, they would rescue Sora.
To Be Continued…
Sorry this took so long to come out. With this chapter, I had this thing where I had to write down everything before I typed it. Luckily, I don't feel that way about the next chapter, so it'll come sooner than this one did. This is The Mangosity saying, time stops for no man, but we can always hope that one day we'll find a mystical amulet that proves that theory wrong.