Chapter 21
Riku turned, shielding his friends from the destructive blast. However, his face froze as he saw Geni standing there with her hand on the wall to support her. Their eyes locked and for a moment time seemed to stand still. Riku saw her eyes, sparkling like the blue ocean back home. He also saw that she was dressed for battle, and finally knew that she had never planned to stay safe as she had promised. She was Sora's sister, after all; she just couldn't stand by while others battled for her.
Geni also stared deeply into Riku's flaming orange eyes, even though they weren't his own. She saw his dismay at her appearance, being overprotective of her as usual. She tried to speak, to assuage his doubts, but at that moment a tornado of light engulfed the platform they were standing on, giant swirls of light racing into the empty sky. While the light was so blinding that even shutting their eyelids didn't alleviate it, the noise was limitless, slicing through their eardrums until even their own heartbeat was drowned out.
Hearts rained down, causing the Heartless and Nobodies from every corner of the universe to suddenly appear in The World That Never Was. It was an internal organ buffet, and they were the uninvited guests. Xemnas had also disappeared in the confusion of the explosion, but his absence wasn't for long.
The strength of the light had blown everyone onto the ground and not one of them was quick to their feet. Geni was dazed as well; even though she had tried to hide herself behind the wall after seeing Riku, she was still knocked down and tumbled down a few steps. Sora was one of the first to rise to his feet, but as soon as he could see straight he immediately saw Riku lying motionless on the ground in front of him. "Riku!" he shouted. He ran over and kneeled next to his best friend, but his worry was unnecessary as Riku began to moan. Riku used his hands to push himself up onto his knees, earning gasps from everyone.
"What?" he asked in alarm.
"Riku! You…you look…" Kairi was unable to find the right words to say.
"I believe you look…normal," Sora said with a surprised voice. Riku lifted a hand to his face, feeling the black cloth he had placed over his eyes so long ago. Carefully, he untied the knot from the back of his head, the fabric sliding off of his face. He blinked, his aquamarine eyes unused to the light after their long sojourn in the darkness. He was not as tall as he was before, but his hair had returned to its silver sheen, and it had grown to slightly past his shoulders.
"Ansem did say that 'anything could happen…,'" King Mickey supplied. Standing up, the six of them faced the empty spot where Ansem the Wise last stood, the space gravely empty.
Geni had also finally gotten to her feet, using the wall as a brace. Even though she knew it, but would not admit it, her strength, her energy, her magic were almost completely depleted. She wouldn't last much longer here, but her stubborn side wouldn't accept that fact. As she was about to take the several steps up to the platform and join her friends, she felt a chilling presence behind her. Before she could completely withdraw her staff, a hand was placed over her mouth and the staff knocked out of her hands. She was pulled ruthlessly backwards into a portal of darkness without another sound.
Ping…ping…CLANK. "What was that?" Sora wondered as he looked around for the origin of the strange noises. Riku berated himself, shaking his head, as he turned and ran back towards the stairs. All that he ended up seeing was the disappearance of a dark portal…and Geni's sealed staff rolling about on the platform below. Sora had followed him, wondering why his friend looked so angry. "Riku –?" he began to ask, until he followed his gaze which rested upon the black staff. "No…" Sora whispered as he slowly walked down the steps. Reaching the bottom, he carefully picked up his sister's staff, holding it to his chest. He already knew what good care she took of it; if there was any fighting to be done, he already knew that she would not go anywhere without it or handle so carelessly like this.
"I saw her…just before the light blinded us…" Riku said, almost apologetically. Sora looked at him as he slowly walked back up the stairway. "I…was about to say something, but it was too late. And now Xemnas has Geni." Riku's fists' were clenched, his eyes smoldering with a fiery hatred.
"Riku?" Sora said, sounding surprisingly calm. "How did you know it was my sister?"
Riku's eyes widened; he felt like beating his head upon the wall for his carelessness. "I…um…she…"
"Riku met Geni months ago, Sora," King Mickey supplied. Riku looked at the little mouse pleadingly. Revealing secrets this deep not an easy thing for him to do. King Mickey shrugged, continuing. "It's time that Sora knew, Riku. It's time to tell him."
"Tell me what?" Sora said, his grip tightening on the staff, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the strange runes it was covered with.
"Your sister, I mean Geni, and I met about a year ago. Not physically; we haven't properly met yet. But somehow, at least according to Geni, our dreams intersected each others. So we met, talked, got to know each other…we even traded information on the Organization and also friends and family in the realm of light while we did. It was an easy way for us to know what the Organization was up to, and they didn't have a clue they even had a mole among them."
"So…you knew I had a sister long before I did?" Sora said, puzzlement spread across his face. "That would have meant that you met her while I was asleep, right? But that also means…that she already knew who you were, and that you were okay even though she never told me…" Sora looked…not hurt or betrayed, but confused to say the least.
"I asked her not to say anything, until I had the chance to tell you myself. Are, are you angry with me?" Riku asked, his eyes avoiding Sora's.
"Of course not," Sora said quickly. He walked up to Riku and looked up towards him, finally realizing the major height difference Riku now had on him. "Thank you for looking after her. She didn't tell me much about her time within the Organization, but since now I know that she could talk to you during then, I know it must have been easier for both of you. Thanks Riku." Sora gave him one of his trademark grins, lifting the large burden from atop Riku's shoulders. "But you know, you didn't have to do so much all on your on. You have friends like us to help you!" Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Have you forgotten?" Sora looked at Riku in confusion. "I'll tell you why. It's because I'm not a complete sap like you!" Riku said, sounding very amused.
"Say that again!" Sora said, trying to make himself look taller. Just then, a shrill noise was heard high above them.
"Uh-oh!" Donald cried, pointing at the moon. The moon had turned dark and sinister, its center empty, black, and lifeless. It had a vortex spinning around it, sucking in all of the hearts that had escaped from it due to Ansem the Wise's machine.
"We have to hurry," Riku said as he threw his black coat off of him, revealing a pair of his familiar baggy blue pants and a white and yellow vest over a zippered vest of black. "Your sister is in danger, Sora. We have to hurry to the top of the castle, before Xemnas…" and here he paused.
"Before Xemnas does what?" Sora interrupted.
Riku hesitated for a moment, his solemn gaze making him nervous. "Sora…there are actually several ways of opening the doorway to Kingdom Hearts. One way is to collect vast amounts of hearts until the realm bursts with them, which is what the Organization was doing until Ansem the Wise stopped that. Another way is like before, with Xehanort's Heartless: forcing the door open through a sheer amount of either darkness or light. Yet another way is to…give Kingdom Hearts one of the purest hearts in existence as a kind of…sacrifice."
"WHAT?!" Sora shouted.
"What I mean," Riku quickly said, "is that a person must willingly give up their own heart to Kingdom Hearts in order to open its door; however, the heart must be a pure one, like yours and Kairi's."
"Well, then what are we worrying about? Geni wouldn't…" and there Sora stopped. Of course she would…if anyone she cared about were in danger. And they were still in the depths of the castle yet, surrounded by Heartless and Nobodies. "We have to hurry," Sora said. "We have to defeat Xemnas before he can force her to…to…" Kairi placed a hand on Sora's arm, calmness radiating off of her.
"Don't worry Sora. Not one of us will ever let that happen," she said firmly. King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy all supplemented their agreements. "So let's go save your sister!"
High above them at the peak of the castle, Xemnas stood looking at his prisoner like she was some kind of shiny trophy. "Well, my dear, it seems as if I have to now implement Plan B, whereas Plan A failed. And you, little girl, are the guest of honor."
Geni was bound to a post in the middle of a large flat dais. The chains pinning her arms back were made of darkness so she couldn't break or escape from them due to her current lack of strength. "You're all talk," she said bitterly as she struggled to loosen herself. "Your doorway to Kingdom Hearts is finished and you know it."
"Ah, but yours isn't," he said as he stepped closer to her. "For you see, Kingdom Hearts is always changing, always trading allegiances to the light or to the dark. That allegiance is owed to whoever opens the doorway. My Kingdom Hearts would have been full of darkness, hearts ripe for the picking. But now that that fool Ansem the Wise has spoiled all of my efforts, I must turn to another source for opening that door. And that is where you come in. Your heart is pure and full of light, so it will be a perfect specimen for opening the doorway. The realm will see light, but darkness will enter and conquer." Geni's eyes widened, realizing his plan. Her body went numb; how could Xemnas know about that when no one outside of one special world should? "I see; so you already know of my plan then. That makes it much easier for me. I believe you know the Song of Release?" he inquired, already obvious of her answer.
Geni bit her lip, her eyes focusing on anything but the last member of Organization XIII in front of her. Xemnas, however, was in a hurry – those blasted Keybearers' would be arriving any minute. He violently grabbed her chin with his hand, forcing her to look at him directly in the eyes.
"You will sing, or your friends and brother will die at the hands of my Heartless and Nobodies," he hissed. Geni bit back a cynical retort, knowing it would take thousands upon thousands of Heartless and Nobodies to hinder her brother and her friends, but her eyes betrayed her, shimmering with unshed tears. "So you will?" he said, still forcing her to look into his eyes.
Quietly, she looked away from him. Like a lamb being led to the slaughter, she unwillingly nodded her assent. "Good choice." Xemnas released her from his hold, snapping his fingers. The chains and post around her vanished, leaving her free to move.
"Might I have one last request?" Geni asked boldly.
Xemnas smirked. "Considering anything you would ask for would be meaningless compared to the wealth I am about to obtain, certainly."
Staring towards the moon and her fate, she asked, "Please spare my brother and my friends. You will have what you want, so there is no need to hurt them any further."
He waved his hand once more, and several stairs appeared leading to a small platform that faced the failed Kingdom Hearts. "You have my word," Xemnas said solemnly. "Now go, and fulfill your task of bringing hearts to the heartless."
Several floors below them, the six would-be rescuers fought the Heartless and Nobodies ruthlessly. Racing through the halls, they eventually found themselves in a lofty room full of open staircases climbing to the summit of the castle. They had just reached the top when Kairi yelled for her two friends. "Sora! Riku!" They quickly turned, and gazed in disdain as hundreds of Heartless were following them up the narrow stairs. They were coming in through the tall windows, tumbling through them like a flood.
"There's going to be no end to this!" Riku cried out. We'll never reach Geni in time at this rate! he thought with a sense of dread.
"Together we can stop them," Sora indicated. Riku nodded, and everyone brought out their weapons, mostly Keyblades. As they were about to run into the midst of the swarms, Maleficent and Pete appeared in smoky clouds of green and blue respectively.
"Be gone from here! Leave these creatures to us!" she demanded.
Pete turned to her with a look of horror, as if he hadn't figured out her plan by now. "But there is no way we can take them all!" Pete spluttered.
"I'll be sending them after Xemnas and that meddlesome sister of Sora's," Maleficent said mischievously. "If both of them are destroyed, all the better for us. Kingdom Hearts will be mine and mine alone! Or, perhaps you would rather fight them all by yourself?"
The other ignored six were quite enjoying this bit of banter, seeing Maleficent and her henchman having a falling-out. Shaking her head at Pete after yet another of his "almost-ran-away-but-won't-because-I'm-better-than-King-Mickey" speeches, Maleficent turned her head towards them. "Sora, your majesty, do not forget that when I have destroyed them all, this castle will be mine!"
"Bring them on!" Pete said, putting up his dukes. The two of them ran towards the mob of Heartless.
"Well, what's done is done. We have to hurry," King Mickey said to the group as he turned towards the doorway.
"But…" Sora interjected.
"They are doing what their hearts command them to, just like Ansem the Wise's did. In that we cannot interfere." And with that, the six of turned to leave. However, a song suddenly erupted from above them, on the roof of the castle. Whoever was singing it sounded like they had the voice of an angel, or some other ethereal being. They could not hear any audible words, but the sound was so pure, so innocent…but quite heartbreaking as well. Sora thought he recognized the melody; he knew he had heard it somewhere before, but where?
"No!" Riku shouted as he began running. "We're going to be too late!"
"What?!" Sora yelled as he began to run with him. "What do you mean?" Riku did not answer him, but the grim determination upon his face was all that Sora needed to know. Kairi, King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy had seen Riku take off as soon as he heard the singing, and were following behind him and Sora as fast as their legs could carry them.
Just above them Geni was rubbing her raw wrists, all thanks to the chains of darkness. Xemnas did nothing to hinder or help her, but only stared after her as she slowly ascended the stairs to the platform. Her heart was as heavy as her feet; of course she knew the Song of Release. Not many people did, of course, but she knew at least three people below her in the castle who would recognize it right away. The Song of Release had been used before to gain a mermaid's voice; the evil sea witch Ursula had made Ariel sing it when she had traded her voice for human legs, therefore allowing her to see her beloved Prince Eric. However, the song itself had only been native to one world, and that was not Atlantica.
The Song of Release in itself has no comprehensible audibly spoken, or sung, words. The words are actually feelings, and those feelings are conveyed through the heart to the mouth. The feelings behind the song determine what is released: for example, Ariel wanted to exchange her voice for legs.
This time, the song would be used to not give up her voice, but her heart. The principle was the same, but this time Geni would not be getting anything in return. As she climbed up the last step and walked to the center of the small platform, Geni could only think of the people whom she had so desperately tried to protect below her.
Everyone, please forgive me. Sora…I'm sorry you won't be able to keep your promise with me, but you must keep the others safe and take them home anyway. King Mickey…please don't let Queen Minnie be too sad; both of you were the best foster parents anyone could have asked for. Donald and Goofy…thank you for everything you've done for me; I know I'll never be able to repay you all. And Riku… here her mental goodbye stopped, because even in her mind she couldn't tell Riku everything she had ever wanted to. One tear trailed down her cheek, a glistening example of the dam that was about to burst, but she couldn't help but smile as well. Poor Xemnas; at least he'll fail once again, although I won't be able to see his face when he realizes it.
Taking one last deep breath – probably her last – Geni opened her mouth wide and looked towards the decaying moon. It seemed a touch nostalgic; her first and last view of this world would be of its moon. "Ah-ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-aaahhh…"
The group heard the singing becoming louder and louder as they neared the apex of the castle. One last obstacle blocked them: a large embellished door that was so heavy it felt like it took them forever to open it. Finding it was easier to push on only half of the door, Sora was shoving all of his weight through his shoulder. At the same time, he felt as if Geni's staff was pushing along with him; it was on the side that was leaning against the door. He had put it through two of his belt loops, sort of like her own hip device. Sweat ran down his face as he pushed, every fiber of his being willing the door to open. Come on Geni, don't give up! Sora couldn't imagine arriving too late, it was just an impossibility.
The others were also pushing and heaving as hard as they possibly could: King Mickey, for his only foster daughter; Goofy and Donald, for their source of endless practical jokes; for Kairi, her best friend's sister; and for Riku…the person he had never told how much he really cared for her.
Yes, Riku had feelings for Sora's sister. From the time they had first met in their dreams, from seeing her for the first time in real life when she was sick in Hollow Bastion, in the garden at the Disney Castle when she had returned home, rescuing her from Maleficent during the earthquake, and even leaving her favorite flower for her when she had been worried after the damage the earthquakes had caused. Geni, please…don't die. I told you to stay at home…where you would be safe and well protected, and now look. You had better be alright! Riku thought to himself as he gave one final and powerful shove to the door. Finally, the door budged open just enough to allow all of them through. They ran up the stairs and out onto the platform, only to realize it was too late.
Geni was standing upon a slightly raised platform, her hands raised in song towards the mutilated moon in the sky. The light from the moon had surrounded her outline with a soft glow, giving her the appearance of someone not of this world. And if at that moment she was not about to give up her life for her best friends, it would have been a glorious sight to behold.
"Ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-Aaahhhh!" And with that final dreamlike note hanging in the air, a huge beam of white light shot out from the damaged moon…piercing Geni through her chest, through her heart.