Chapter Sixteen
Ancient Secrets

I've become so numb,
I can't feel you there.
I've become so tired,
So much more aware.

I'm becoming this,
All I want to doIs be more like me,
And less like you.

Numb
Linkin' Park

Looking down at the crowd below him, Sam frowned as he tried to pick Nick out of the crowd. It had taken his friend some time to be convinced that he too was now chosen to save the Universe, the ability to summon claws made out of ice definitely went a long way to help, but there was still the issue of convincing him they were about to head to other planets in a space ship made out of something that sounded like it should be in a sweet store.
Yeah, even to Sam it sounded ridiculous.

"We're still missing something." Turning, Sam found Sora looking at the ship with the same expression that Sam had turned on the crowd. His look of puzzlement broke as he snapped his fingers. "Of course, the Engine Gummi."

Sam's eyebrows came together with an almost audible click. "You mean I've been out here getting sunburnt for nothing?" He demanded. Looking over at Sam, Sora grinned.

"Sunburn? You're not getting sunburnt." He said lazily, before walking into the ship. Looking down at his arms, Sam frowned as he noticed he indeed was not getting sunburnt, probably a first for him. Even while travelling in the humid lands of Dictioy he'd needed to slather on sun block every few hours. Jumping as he heard an ear-shattering 'clang', he hid a smile as he heard the whimper from Brother. In the end it had taken Yuna's asking him, with the promise of spreading the word of the Gullwings across the Universe to get him to agree to lend the Celsius. It seemed Rikku and Buddy had had words with Brother as well.

A second clang and a howl of misery from Brother precluded the arrival of Zelda. Like Sam, she searched the crowd for a face. When she was unable to find the person, she turned to Sam. "Would you know where Nick is?" She frowned when he shook his head. "Apparently we're missing a part. I know where it is, but we need someone to get it for us. Tidus has volunteered, and so has Kairi, but Nick would probably do well to go as well."

Giving a sigh, Sam raised his fingers to his mouth, letting out two short whistles. Waiting a second, and hearing no reply, he repeated the two shrill sounds, grinning when he heard the same two notes repeated back at him from behind the ship. "He's coming."

"Yes, I guessed." Zelda said wryly, rubbing her long, pointed ears. His attention drawn to Zelda's small oddity, Sam cocked his head to the side.

"Why're your ears like that?" He asked curiously, slapping down another cube of the Gummi stuff. "I mean, everyone around here has rounded ears like me, just not you or Link. Why is that? Evolution?"

Zelda blinked. "A common legend among my people explains that Hylians, what Link and I are, are chosen by the Gods. Our ears enable us to hear messages from the Goddess, and also are a symbol of our magical powers."

Sam frowned. "Magic?"

Zelda grinned, showing all her teeth. "Magic."

"Uh..."

"What's up?"

Looking down at Nick, Sam quirked his mouth. "Zelda has a mission for you, if you want."

Nick squinted, the sun glinting off of the ship into his eyes. "Depends." He drawled. "Where's it to?"


"You have a portal to the afterlife here?" Nick asked, almost bouncing on his heels in excitement. "I mean, that's unheard of in my world! We have ghosts, well, ghost Pokémon, but ghosts aren't really that normal. Where is this place?"

Tidus had a slightly glazed look over his eyes, while Kairi was almost as interested as Nick. At Nick's question, Tidus halted and pointed up the path. "There."

'There' was a glowing portal with strange glyphs circling the ring that surrounded the shining barrier. Looking up at it, his mouth open, Nick let out a soft 'Ooh', before realising Kairi and Tidus were getting ahead of him. Trotting to catch up with them, he stopped again when they were just at the foot of the portal. Kairi stopped as well, looking up at it while Tidus simply kept walking, melding with the white light of the portal and passing through to the other side. Exchanging looks, Kairi and Nick followed him through, feeling a strange buzzing through their bodies until they emerged on the other side.

What they encountered as a stone's throw from the enclosed tunnel of Guadosalem. While they were on a hovering platform, what was beneath them could only be deemed a paradise. Sweeping waterfalls roared, creating an echo in the seemingly endless place. On small islands framed by the waterfalls and the rivers that supplied them were meadows filled with soft flowers which seemed to compel people to lie down and sleep. Suppressing a yawn just by look at them, Nick shook his head and jogged up some stairs onto the platform, hoping to wake himself up.

Tidus looked around, a small frown on his brow. "Now where would that Gummi piece be?"

"Zelda said I was capable of opening the path to it." Kairi said slowly, standing next to Tidus. "What can I do no-one else can?"

"Use your weapon thing?" Nick suggested. "I mean, from what Zelda explain to me, they haven't been around for ages, so maybe they can unlock them." He stopped, and then quirked his mouth. "What exactly ARE your weapon things?"

"These." Holding her hands out, Kairi screwed up her face for a second, looking pained. In response, a shimmer of light developed around Kairi's hands, turning into the delicate form of the Papal Gloves. With a satisfied noise, Kairi lifted her hands up to inspect the gloves. "Now what?"

Nick shrugged. "I got you this far. Command something to happen? Pray to the gods? Dress in drag and do the hula?" His eyes sparkled at the last one. "I know I wouldn't mind that."

Kairi made a face at him. "Command something to happen, huh?" She murmured. Pulling her gloved hands closer to her, she thrust them out suddenly, expelling a bolt of energy. As it sailed off into the distance, eventually fizzling out, Kairi frowned down. "I don't think so."

Extending his own hand, a trail of mist wrapped its way down to his knuckles. Pooling over them, a thin blade of ice appeared, growing steadily longer until five blades spread out past Nick's clenched fist. In the soft fog of the Farplane, the Bagh Nakh almost disappeared amongst the clouds of white. Raising his other arm, this one similarly cloaked in his Crest Weapon, Nick pointed the tips in the same direction as Kairi. Ten sharp spears of ice shot in the same direction, speeding through the air to eventually collide together in a shower of ice and hail. Frowning, Nick shrugged.
Kairi however was focused on the Gloves. When the Bagh Nakh appeared, the Gloves began to glow with a faint ice blue which was quickly drowned out by the signature pink that was representative of the gloves. Blue eyes wide, Kairi yelped when the Gloves tugged her forward, fingers outstretched. Clenching her hands in the Gloves, Kairi was left hanging underneath them in midair as they sped over the Farplane.

"Help me!" She wailed as she was carried away. Looking at the girl with dumbstruck looks on their face, Tidus was the first to react. Dashing after her, he launched himself after Kairi, missing the girl by mere inches.

With a sigh, Nick moved into action. His fingers grabbed two Pokéballs from his belt, flinging them out. "Insecticide, grab her! Antivirus, grab him!"

In the explosion of red energy, a large butterfly-like creature emerged. The Butterfree, an odd one with inverted colours, swooped after Kairi, an aura of energy surrounding it as it unleashed its psychic powers to keep her aloft.

Tidus on the other hand, landed with a hard thump on the tough surface of a strange Pokémon seemingly made of hard lines. When it gave out a strange, electronic noise, Tidus blinked in surprise. Antivirus the Porygon, plainly not worried about normal laws of physics simply floated upwards, landing next to Nick with Tidus sitting awkwardly on its head.
Insecticide, on the other hand, looked quite bored as it floated after Kairi. Slowly, the platform faded from sight, lost among the mists of the Farplane. Travelling over the endless meadows and fields of flowers, the two, forming an extremely odd pair continued on. Slowly the flowers turned into odd configurations of metal, guarded by several large monsters which howled a challenge to the Butterfree. Ignoring their calls, Insecticide flew on, his wings stirring up the clouds. As one floating monster came up, intent on mischief, it was driven back by a riveting beam of energy shot from the tip of Insecticide's antennae. Screeching in pain, it dropped, the beam having seared a hole in its wing.

The Gloves pulsed with a soft light, intent on their destination. Finally, on top of a giant pinnacle of metal, they gently set Kairi down. Her Butterfree escort landed lightly on his tiptoes, before glowing a pale blue fringed in white. Instantly Nick, Tidus and Antivirus appeared, the young Porygon having grown attached to Tidus's head. Nick, deciding fair was fair since Tidus had been on Antivirus' head had let it continue.

"Here?" Nick's voice echoed in this abandoned part of the world.

Kairi nodded. "I feel something here. Something... I don't know, it feels like I'm home."

Under her hands, the ground began to glow as something was drawn up from the depths of the world. Stumbling as they tried to keep their balance, Kairi was the only one that remained standing as the entire platform they were on shimmered with a white light, forming into the appearance of a Keyhole.

"I think we found it." Tidus said wryly, getting to his feet. He balanced precariously on the edge of the Keyhole, but didn't fall in. Squinting over at Kairi, who appeared to be floating, he grinned. "That looks like fun."

Kairi sighed, her brown hair falling in front of her eyes. "I'm almost out of fun for the day." She said wearily. "How do I get down from here?"

"Insecticide?" Nick suggested.

Looking over at the butterfly Pokémon, Kairi made a pleading face. In answer, the psychic glow returned to the Butterfree, levitating her away from the centre of the Keyhole. Once she was safe on solid ground again, she sighed, collapsing to her knees.

"What's this thing do?"

Looking up at Nick, Kairi shook her head. "We can't do anything about it, I think. It's a Keyhole; it's where the Heart of the world is. If the Heart is taken, then this place," She waved around to emphasise her point, "Becomes lost to the Heartless."

A look of dawning comprehension covered Nick's face. "Oh, that's what happened to my world..." He paused, and then said delicately, "And the people who live on that world."

"I'm not sure." Kairi said softly. "I think they become Heartless, or find a way to escape the planet." She got to her feet shakily. "So, where is this Gummi Piece?"

Tidus looked into the dark depths of the Keyhole, chewing on his lip gently. When he frowned suddenly, Kairi and Nick followed his line of sight, spying something shimmering deep under them. Stretching out her gloved hand, Kairi held it palm up, gently lifting as she did. In answer, the shimmer grew larger until they could see it clearly. Floating on a small puff of air which sparkled slightly in Nick's vision, the golden Gummi Piece looked like a priceless treasure in their barren location.

"I think that's it." Tidus said. Dashing forward once more, he sailed over the Keyhole, jerking Antivirus from his head as he did. Snatching the Gummi Piece from midair, he landed. Looking down at his hand, he grinned and waved the Gummi Piece at the two young teenagers.

"I coulda done that too." Nick grumbled. Beside him, Insecticide crooned, a sound which Nick was almost certain was the Pokémon's laugh.