Here's Part II. Enjoy
The wind fiercely cut into the silence and the surrounding walls, the sound reverberating off the various ice buildings and igloos as Kairi, Katara, and Sokka reached the city's shattered outer wall. Heartless and Spirits were well prepared to storm the city in mere minutes and thousands of reinforcements were on the horizon. Kairi and Katara glanced at each other in understanding and moving back, they both began waterbending the snow beneath, turning it into ice as the pillars rose to block the hole in the wall. Cementing the ice into place, Katara then waterbended a set of ice and snow stairs and the three climbed on top of the wall, Kairi sighing in relief.
"Usually, there are sentry patrolling the walls, but the Solstice festival called them all away," Sokka explained, "Being isolated in the South Pole, only other Waterbenders and the Fire Nation would be able to reach us, but with Zuko as Fire Lord, they wouldn't dare attack us."
"Especially at night," Katara added.
"Why at night?" Kairi asked.
"Waterbenders draw their power from the moon and the ocean. The water tribe is surrounded by the ocean and at night, the moon's natural pushing and pulling of the tides helps us waterbend to become even stronger than during the day." Katara looked up at the moon, Sokka following her gaze.
"I knew the moon…" Sokka gazed at the moon.
"What?" Kairi looked confused.
"His girlfriend turned into the Moon Spirit."
"That's rough, buddy," Kairi reassured Sokka by patting his back.
"Why does everybody say that?" Sokka complained.
"Reinforcements have arrived!" Suki declared as she ran up to the sentry post with Paku and an army of fifty Waterbenders before looking up at Sokka's depressed face. She glanced up at Katara.
"Yue?"
"Yue."
Suki sighed, but made her way up the stairwell. Paku and the fifty waterbenders filed up the makeshift stairway behind her and lined themselves on the wall, overlooking the barren wasteland ahead.
Paku scanned the horizon before his eyes settled on the legion of Heartless and Dark Spirits. He placed his forefinger and thumb to his chin, rubbing the defined wrinkles in his frown, before moaning in consideration.
He moved to his men, "Unless you're as foolish as a fish swimming towards a hoard of lion seals, I suggest you gather your families and flee immediately."
"This isn't a battle we can win," Paku shook his head.
The men looked at each other, considering Paku's words before a few turned to leave. Katara moved in front of their path.
"No. We cannot leave! At least not yet…" Katara looked down before returning her glare at the men, "You've seen what the Fire Nation has done at the Siege of the North. They brought an armada of ships, with thousands of men prepared to hurt anybody who stood in their way. But our tribe still won, even in the face of such adversity."
"But we had Aang then," Sokka pointed out, "and the only reason we even won was because he fused with that fishy spirit and gave their navy a powerful waterbending slice."
"But we have Kairi, right?" Katara eyed pleaded with the Keybearer.
"I'm still out of juice," Kairi shrugged before hacking into her arm, "and I'm haven't fully recovered either."
"We don't even have half the number of men in that battle nor do we have the Avatar," Paku walked up to Katara, "I admire your spirit, Katara, and you have gone a long way with your dedication to our tribe, but you must learn to be patient and think about the safety of the tribe before our pride."
"But…our tribe has only begun to rebuild itself. I can't lose it again after all of these years!"
Kairi placed a shoulder on Katara's shoulder, "If your heart is telling you to fight, then fight. But sometimes, it's good to listen to reason as well, especially if it's to protect the people you love. I wasn't able to do anything the day I lost my home, but I lived to fight another day."
"But…"
"I know how you feel. You're thinking about the invasion, aren't you?" Katara's eye widened, frustration and hurt seeping into her before her pupils retracted.
"We retreated then. We had to leave people behind; Suki, Dad, everybody that came to support us. But we still managed to free them and win the war in the end. Maybe this time, we might be lucky enough to not need to lose anybody at all. Besides," Sokka looked out towards the legion, "those guys don't look like they're taking prisoners today."
Katara sighed, her hair falling around her face as if shielding her expression from the world. She waited a moment before pushing her hair away from her face, looking up, "I understand. We should get everybody onto the ships.
"We managed to get the evacuees near the city entrance," Paku informed, "we'll need about forty-five minutes to get the civilians on board and onto the water with enough supplies to last the trip to Kyoshi Island."
"From the looks of it, we'll only have thirty minutes before that giant legion of Dark Spirits reaches the outer wall," Sokka returned a stolen pair of binoculars to one of the waterbenders, who swiped it from his hand in frustration.
"Assuming they don't pick up the pace," Suki added, "not to mention, those flying Spirits can easily make it here in fifteen if they decided to lead the pack."
"Regardless, we are still going to need to last long enough for everybody to board the ships. Once they are safe, we can fall back. I will take the waterbenders with me to serve as an escort for the civilians," Paku ordered his men to follow him, and filing one by one down the steps, they were gone.
"In that case, we should head towards the docks and find a good defensive position," Kairi turned towards the city, "let's go."
"Going so soon?" a voice rang in her ears, a painfully familiar voice.
[Mystic Moon]
Sora awoke in a dark, murky room. His eyes adjusted slowly, noticing the room faint green, pulsing glow. His pupils contracted as he stared into the spearing, green, crystallized stalagmites and stalactites covering the floor and ceiling. Beyond the damp, claustrophobic rock walls, a natural corridor led into darkness.
Sora groaned, stretching his limbs. He was already being propped up, so he simply rolled onto his feet and got up. He scanned the cave, hearing only the dripping of water.
"What am I doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious by now, squirt?" Braig stepped out of the darkness, grinning.
"Where am I? What did you do to me?" Sora charged forward, but smacked his face into an invisible, circular wall, which received an amused laugh from Braig.
"You're trapped, whether you like it or not," Braig walked over to him. Sora recovered quickly eventually summoned his Keyblade, and pointed it vengefully at Braig.
"Don't you know Keyblades can open anything?" Sora taunted as light gathered at the tip of the key and shot out, only to be reflected back at him. Sora was sent flying into the back of his circular, dome-like prison. The transparent walls squeaked as his fell to the floor, and Sora realized for the first time that his mostly spherical prison wasn't even touching the floor
"You can't unlock something that wasn't locked in the first place. I used to think Keybearers were smarter than this," Braig briefly slipped into reminiscence before casually recomposing, "There's no way in or out unless the Reflectga spell is broken by the old coot. Those are the rules."
"What are you up to? Are you trying to make me your thirteenth vessel again?" Sora's tone dripped with venom.
"Jumping to conclusion already, aren't we," Braig walked around Sora's prison, "No, no. We have found a much more interesting candidate for the position. Apparently, the new guy is someone Xehanort's overlooked until now, but all I know is that he's powerful and necessary. You'll meet him soon enough."
"Then why am I here?" Sora crossed his arms.
"Isn't it obvious? Xehanort's wisened up and realized just how much of a threat you are, so he had me snipe you. He wants to keep you here until he's done forging the X-blade…at least, that's what I would have done," Braig turned his back to the Keybearer and sighed before facing him again.
"No, you're here for a different reason. As you can imagine, we've already gathered up six of the seven Princesses of Heart. And that's where you come in," Braig leaned against one of the glowing green stalagmites.
Sora's eyes widened, "You mean-"
"Bingo, kid. Sorry I couldn't stick around longer, but the boss is expecting me. You'll be seeing me again sooner than you think," and with that, Braig disappeared into the Portal of Darkness.
"Saix," Kairi bitterly turned as the Luna Diviner appeared from a portal of darkness. Katara, Sokka, and Suki looked on in amazement, but tensed as they felt the discharge of fear from Kairi.
"My name is Isa. Saix was merely my Nobody," he spoke calmly.
"Why are you here?" Kairi snarled. Katara, Sokka, and the rest easily understood that the cloaked man was an enemy and prepared themselves. Isa remained expressionless.
"Now, now, little lady. There isn't any reason to get too hasty now," another portal opened next to Isa, where Braig's mocking grin met Kairi's intense glare, "We're just here to talk."
"Well, I have nothing to say," Kairi summoned her Keyblade and pointed it at the two intruders, only for a third hand to catch it. A portal of darkness opened in-between Isa and Braig, where a white-gloved hand proceeded to discharge a burst of Darkness, sending Kairi flying. Scrapping across the ice, Kairi was able to barely hang onto the ice wall with her Keyblade before pulling herself up, only to wish that she had been knocked out and this was a dream.
The man who stood in-between Isa and Braig was none other than Xehanort. Not Young Xehanort, not Ansem, not Xemnas, but the old, wrinkly, hunched over Xehanort with wide, calculating, amber eyes.
[Xehanort's theme]
"Hmph," Xehanort dusted off his glove, "I can hardly believe they call you a Princess of Heart. You seem...fiercer than the others…as if darkness is capable of existing in your heart."
"Maybe I'm just a little stronger than the other six," Kairi retorted, shaking in her boots.
"You display bravado, but can you act on it?" Xehanort challenged, "That matters not right now. More importantly, I am here to make a negotiation."
"A negotiation?" Kairi's voice edged curiously, although her body remained tense.
"I have something you want and you possess something I need," Xehanort opened the portal to show Sora, floating in a permanent Reflectga forcefield. Sora's voice was mute, but he banged on the walls of his spherical prison in distress.
"Sora!" Kairi called out, but he couldn't hear her. The portal began to erode as Sora's desperate image faded.
"Now," Xehanort grinned, "will you hear out the terms of our agreement?"
"NO!" Sora banged against the portal wall.
"How…why…" he gave up, sinking to the bottom of his spherical prison.
"How could I let this happen?" Sora stared at the green crystal hopelessly, "I know I was sniped, but…Kairi…"
Sora sighed, defeated. His rattled his mind for any answers, any solutions. He tried his pockets; not even a potion remained. Braig must have frisked him before he had awoken.
"If only there was some way of getting out of here…" Sora summoned his Keyblade and stared at it.
[Always on my Mind]
"There is one way…" Sora heard a familiar voice radiate from within his head.
"No…I can't...what would happen to me...to Kairi?"
"At least by doing…that…I'll most likely end up in Twilight Town again. If Nam—if Kairi were to fall into his hands, our situation will become hopeless. You need to survive first, and then think. Got it memorized?"
Sora considered this, looking at his Keyblade. He thought of his friends, Donald and Goofy, Riku and the King, and the many people he met during his journeys. He thought of Kairi, how much she meant to him and how much he had fought to protect her. She was becoming stronger every day after Master Yen Sid took her in.
Kairi looked down. Her blood, her veins, her heart were all constricting. Her body shook with unimaginable fury, but she forced herself to look up.
"Fine. Tell me."
"Kairi," Katara cried out, but Kairi simply raised a hand to quiet the waterbender.
"Surrender yourself to me, Princess of Light, and I shall allow the young Keybearer to leave unharmed. If you refuse, I will make him my thirteenth vessel."
Xehanort turned to the others, "and I will send my Heartless and Dark spirit army to destroy your tribe."
Kairi stood frozen. Sora…as Xehanort's puppet…she couldn't imagine a worse fate. Kairi was familiar with the story of Terra, the young Keybearer that Xehanort corrupted and inhabited as a vessel; she couldn't allow Sora to suffer the same cruel, twisted destiny. Kairi was reminded of when Sora sacrificed himself to become a Heartless, all so she could be freed from his heart; she almost lost him once. She resolved that she wouldn't allow Sora to suffer anymore because of her, and she couldn't let Xehanort gain an advantage.
But…
"Fine," Kairi submitted, "but before I turn myself in, I want to see Sora freed on the other side."
"So be it," Xehanort turned, "Isa, open the portal and free the boy."
Isa obeyed and disappeared into a portal of darkness.
"Kairi, there has to be another way!" Katara argued.
"No, Katara. I'm sorry, but I cannot put your tribe in danger just because of me. I cannot put Sora in danger anymore because of me. I'm tired of people risking their lives to save me; I need to take responsibility and help my friends when they need me most too."
"But is this how you want to save him?" Katara pleaded, "Is sacrificing yourself really saving him or are you just repeating the same cycle?"
"Shut up!" Kairi snapped, "I don't want to do this either, but this is the only opportunity I have. Don't you dare say you understand my position."
"A long time ago, someone close to me was in your exact position. I wasn't strong enough to fight back then, to save her, and she died trying to save me, but you are more than capable of saving Sora."
"No. You really don't understand then," Kairi looked down, "by the time I reach him, he would already be a completely different person, unrecognizable from his usual self. It's a fate worse than death…" Kairi pounded her leg, grounding her emotions using the pain as a crutch.
"I have to do this," Kairi shook her head, turning back to Xehanort.
"Hmm…curious," Xehanort folded his hands, "a Princess of Heart truly different from the rest. I am impressed."
Kairi bit her tongue, but allowed her mind to run free with all kinds of curses she wished she could deliver upon him.
"Now," Xehanort opened the portal to reveal Isa on the other side.
"I'll entrust the rest to you, Roxas, Kairi…"
"See ya later, everybody."
[End music]
Kairi stepped back, her Keyblade falling from her grasp and disappearing, and trembled in new-found fury at what she saw. Inside the portal, the Reflectga forcefield was most certainly occupied. The forcefield was untouched from both the outside and inside.
In the middle of the cage, however, only a small, Shadow Heartless remained.
The evil cliffhanger!
Part III will be up soon, and if you're reading this in the far future, then you're even luckier.