Chapter 3

The pit

Riku was having fun with beating at his friend's esteem. But hey, were they really going to just stand there all day? He was going ahead whether they wanted him too or not. He was just about to enter the crystal cave when he heard Kairi scream. He groaned. She had probably seen a bug or something girly like that. "KAIRI!" Sora's scream echoed from outside the cave, followed by a loud thud. Something was defiantly going on. Even Sora didn't spaz out for no good reason.

He whirled around and came to face one of the strangest sights he had ever encountered. Small sliver clad figures were holding a lifeless Kairi and another huge figure was lifting Sora's limp body off the ground. The smaller ones didn't look so intimidating, but the larger one looked slightly… demented. It carried a large hammer that strangely resembled a hockey stick and its limbs looked like half steamrollers. Its head, if you could call it a head, hung limply as its body wretched with spasms. Riku brandished his weapon and leapt forward, or rather, or at least he was about to, when out of the corner of his eye he saw an identical hammer come swinging at his head. He tried to dodge it but to no avail. He felt the flat side slam into the side of his face and knock him into a wall. He fell limply to the ground and his vision began to blur. He willed his body to get up, but his arms and legs didn't seem to feel like cooperating. He felt the large banana shaped fingers grab a hold of his body as he was hoisted into the air. After that he felt, heard, and remembered no more.

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Sora desperately attempted to open his eyes. He heard faint grunts of frustration coming from somewhere nearby, then a sickening sound that sounded like some one was killing something. He finally managed to pry his eyes open only to find that it was pitch black. Sora sat up and rubbed his head. "Are you up? If so, get over here and help me kill these heartless!" Riku's unmistakable voice rang through Sora's head. "Riku? Where are you?" Sora asked blindly stretching his hands out in front of him. "Over here! Now stand up and fight!"

"I can't! I'm blind!"

"You're not blind, give your eyes a minute."

After about 30 seconds of stumbling and arm waving, Sora began to see various blurry shapes. Eventually, he was able to discern what looked to be a grayish figure fending off black shapeless beings. Sora stood up and blindly summoned his blade. "Riku… what's going on?"

"Like I would know! Some freaks knocked us out and I woke up here."

"Here? Oh! Where's Kairi?" He asked widening his eyes.

"She's over there, help me fight already!"

"Fine, fine!" Sora slammed his Keyblade into a heartless and watched its released heart drift away into the heavens. "You know? This had better not be Sensei's demented way of training me." He said thrusting his blade into yet another heartless.

"If it is, I'll kill him. No one knocks me out and lives to brag about it!" Riku said, his energy and anger restored. Sora backed up blocking a heartless's attack. "What are we going to do? We can't keep this up forever. And, I ask again, where's Kairi?"

"I have no clue what we're going to do! Apparently we're in some 50 feet deep pit filled to the top with heartless. And, I answer again, she's over there unconscious." Riku said pointing to another part of the 'pit'. Sora fought his way over to that place and felt around for Kairi's figure. He found her shoulder and managed to hoist her into a sitting position. "What are you doing? Help me!" Riku yelled.

"No! Its your fault for being caught, you fight!"

"My fault? How is it my fault? You were caught first idiot!"

"I thought you were keeping watch!"

"I was!"

"Oh really?"

"Yes really! So good job getting your self caught like that!"

"Me get caught?" Sora snapped at Riku "They snuck up on me!"

"Oh yeah, and I had totally noticed the one standing behind me and let him hit me." Riku said with sarcasm dripping from every syllable. Sora glared, fending off a heartless with one hand and propping Kairi up with another. Riku fought his way over and began to defend the two of them while Sora tried to wake Kairi up. Her eyes fluttered open and Sora breathed a sigh of relief. Riku looked over his shoulder. "At least your heart wasn't eaten." He intoned, fending off yet another shadow. "Can you stand?"

Sora pulled her to her feet and Kairi nodded shakily. "Good!" Riku called. "Now, do you know anything that might help us fight? Like in case of assination attempts and whatnot?" He yelled over the roar of the sounds of battle.

"Um, my personal defense trainer taught me martial arts and stuff…" She said uncertainly. Sora nodded. "Good, use that!" He said, removing the supporting hand and concentrating of fighting heartless. "But I can't see!" Kairi cried out.

"Just use it!" Riku yelled, frustrated.

"Ok…" Kairi said slowly. She crouched on the ground and swung her leg up as hard and high as she could. Riku let out a strangled cry as the blinded Kairi's leg swung up and nailed him. He collapsed in a heap and barely managed to block an offending heartless's attack. Kairi gasped. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Are you hurt?" She said anxiously.

Riku swore under his breath. "If I can't have children, I'm suing your royal butt," He managed to cough out. Sora stifled a laugh, but fought his way over to his friend and aided him in attacking the heartless. Kairi continued to apologize profusely.

"Hey! Is someone down there?" A voice from overhead cut through the darkness.

"That depends. Who's asking?" Sora called up. Riku moaned at his friend's incompetence.

"Sora? How'd you manage to get yourself down there?"

"Leon-sensei? Is that you? And to answer your question, I don't really remember!"

"Who's down there with you? Are you alright?"

"Let's just say this: Compared to what we're going through right now, your training is like picking daisies! And Riku's down here, too. He may be unable to reproduce, but other than that, we're fine. Oh, and Ka-" Sora was cut off as Riku elbowed him in the ribs.

"Sora? You ok?"

"Just get down here and help already!" Riku yelled. The older man leapt into the pit, brandishing his gunblade in one swift motion. Immediately, half of the remaining heartless were cleared. "Fine." Sora growled. "Show off, won't you?"

Leon chuckled, and after a few seconds the lasting heartless were cleared away. Leon casually swung his blade behind his shoulder, and glanced over the trio. That's when he realized there was a trio, and who the third member was. He seized Sora's collar and dragged him out from underneath Riku who was currently using him for support, causing Riku to plummet painfully to the ground.

"What the hell is Princess Kairi doing here?" He asked Sora, who laughed nervously. "Hehe… funny story." Sora said putting his hand behind his head. Riku stood up shakily, "And a long one. For now, I vouch we get out of here." He said looking up. "By the way, how do we get out of here?" Riku asked, turning towards Leon who had not yet released Sora's collar. Leon groaned and dropped his apprentice onto the floor. Riku pointed an accusing finger at Leon. "If you don't know how to get out of here, I swear I'll…" Riku trailed off as he noticed Leon had climbed halfway up the pit wall already. Sora prodded Riku in the ribs. "Hey… why didn't you think to climb out?" Riku swung around and grabbed Sora's neck and hooked it under his arm. "You think I didn't? T he wall was too damn slippery to climb up!" Riku said shoving the boy to the ground. Sora sighed. Apparently today was national "Lets all hurt Sora." Day. Riku had proceeded to climb up the wall, which was apparently… not as slippery as he had claimed. "He's kind of mean… isn't he?" Kairi said, holding her hand out to Sora. "Who, Riku? Nah, he's not that bad. You should see him when he's angry."

Kairi giggled and looked up to see Leon pulling Riku out of the pit. "Well, there's no avoiding it. Lets go." Sora said taking her hand and pulling himself off the ground. He dropped her hand, turned to the wall, and pushed his fingers into the dirt and began to climb. He looked down at Kairi. "Come on!" He yelled to the girl who was still on the ground. "I can't… I don't know how!" Sora sweatdropped. "How can some one not know how to climb?" He mumbled to himself, sliding back down the wall. He crouched down with his back to Kairi. "Come on." He said softly. "I'll carry you up."

Kairi blushed. "What? No! You don't have to! I mean I'll-"

"Just come on." Sora said turning his head to her. Kairi climbed onto his back and Sora stood up and began to grip at the slippery side of the wall. He struggled to get his feet up but managed to climb. After a while of silence, which was accented by grunts of frustration on Sora's part, Kairi tightened her grip on Sora's shoulders. "You know? Despite the fact that we were knocked unconscious and dragged into a pit and forced to fight for our lives, I'm… actually having fun." She said. Sora couldn't help but smile at her words. "Why's that?"

"Well… It's exiting. I've never had this sort of thrill before." She said looking up at the two boys watching anxiously for them to reach the top. "Yeah, the thrill wears off after the third day of fighting." He moaned as his hand got scraped on a thorn. Kairi giggled and squeezed his shoulders. "Thanks for taking me with you." She whispered. He laughed shortly. "You're welcome." Another moment of silence followed. When he neared the top of the pit, a hand reached out and grabbed his. The hand pulled him up a good few feet and then Kairi was hoisted from his back. Sora looked up to see Riku pulling Kairi out of he pit and Leon's hand firmly grasping his wrist. After Kairi was safely out of the pit Leon hoisted his trainee out. He held the boy by his shoulders and shook him, "What the hell were you thinking?" He yelled. Sora didn't look his teacher in the eye, instead he averted his eyes to the ground. "Answer me!" Leon shouted.

"It was my idea Leon! He had nothing to do with this." Riku yelled in Sora's defense.

"He went along didn't he?" Leon asked, sharply releasing Sora's shoulders.

"Well…" Riku said putting his hand behind his back sheepishly. "And the princess? I suppose she just leapt out of her window?" Leon said skeptically. Riku laughed. "Well not exactly…" He said. Kairi stepped forward. "Leon… sir! Please! You don't understand! Sora and Riku saved me! I was sitting in my room when…"

"Oh boy." Riku said under his breath.

"When these… white… things attacked me! If Sora and Riku hadn't been there to come and try to help then I would've been in that pit all alone! But those things overpowered us and… well I don't remember the rest."

Riku stood there mouth open. Leon sighed turned to walk away. "Lets go, you three. Kairi, your father will want some say in this."

Kairi groaned. "Do we have to bring this up to him? I'm alive aren't I?"

"He needs to know about this."

"Yes, but what he doesn't know wont hurt me!" Kairi exclaimed running after him trying to persuade him that seeing her father was a terrible idea. Riku walked up to Sora and whistled once. "I see why you like her." Sora didn't look up from the ground. "We are sooo dead." He muttered kicking a rock back into the pit.

"Yeah… we are aren't we?" Riku said walking after them. "Well there's no delaying it. Lets go die." Riku said and walked on.