Recovering Memories

I've been thinking…What is it that attracts us so much, as reading? I mean, think about it. Has it ever occurred to you how amazing reading can actually be? I don't anything. Only Kailee, Xylen, Shadow Crossers, Eliza, Kailee's family, and Realm Chasers.

She knew by the looks of it that she was too late. She could've avoided it all, if it hadn't been for her stubbornness to ignore her surroundings. Now, everything was falling apart. She was the one that had to be the one to notice things first. To raise any suspicions of any activity going on. If only she hadn't ignored stranger talking to her that day.

Kailee had just gotten out of school, walking with a spring in her step. She just had been asked out by a cute boy she had had her eye on for a while, gotten an A+ on her Chemistry test, and performed with her dance class in front of her school. Which got a substantial amount of applause, by the way. Larissa and Damon were still dating but she couldn't wait to rub it into their faces. She came up to her house and left her backpack by the porch. Checking to see if she had any onlookers, she dashed off into the forest that was conveniently placed by her house.

Kailee traveled down the worn, old forest path, leading to a cliff. A cave stood by to the side of the cliff, where Kailee, Larissa and Damon had spent most of their childhood playing games and drawing pictures on the walls. A babbling brook rested in between the cave, starting and ending in dark hallways that led off on both sides. Kailee smiled as she ran her fingers on the cave walls. She chuckled to herself when she remembered that one time when Damon had tried to carve out a picture of himself by the brook only to end up falling on his butt. An unfinished picture rested at the end of cave. It was of the three of them each with a different weapon in hand. Larissa had a shield and Damon had two knives in both of his songs. Kailee hadn't been able to draw a weapon because Kailee's parents had requested the three of them for dinner.

Kailee picked up an abandoned rock by the brook and began to scratch a picture on the cave wall. She decided that since it wasn't brought up often, to sketch out a sword. Once she finished, she looked back and admired her work. Just as she had gotten up, a voice had cut through the noise of the brook.

"This world is drowning," the voice spoke.

"What do you mean?" Kailee adjusted her eyes to the direction where the lone figure stood.

"So many lives have been lost. It's only a matter of time before yours is too," the voice said.

"How can you be so sure of that?" Kailee challenged.

"You're too foolish to know what kind of creatures you'll be facing," the voice sighed. "It's somewhat of a miracle on how it picked you."

"Whoever you are, you better stop trying to scare me!" Kailee knew that she couldn't pick a fight here. What if this voice in a black robe could possibly be able to hurt her? And the fact that she's in the middle of the forest doesn't help her case at all.

"As you wish," the voice faded back into the dark hallway of the babbling brook.

What did he mean by being the one that was chosen? Probably just Damon or Larissa trying to psych me out.

After that, she really was foolish enough to not notice the danger everyone was in. And now, the two people who she came to care about, where falling to their deaths.

Sora had never imagined his death like this. He had always thought of himself having a family. Maybe two, three kids. And then, peacefully dying in bed. Not as tortuous as this. But he had to admit, it wouldn't be so bad as being torn apart by the monster that hovered above him, quickly becoming smaller. He heard Kailee's cry as he tumbled down. He turned his head towards her. She had tears streaming down her face and her hands were clawing at the earth. He tried to be positive by sending a small smile her way, a tear escaping his eye. He then closed his eyes waiting for the impact.

Riku was thinking the same thing. Only, he had a more valiant retrospect on how he would've died. He did plan on having a family with at least one or more kids. But, he had imagined his death saving one of his loved ones by sacrificing himself. This wasn't as courageous as he thought it would've been. He looked over to see the sun set and paint the sky in wonderful colors. At least he would die with this last beautiful scene forever implanted in his mind. Riku closed his eyes and waited.

Kailee didn't get to see them die. A force, the color of tulips, grabbed both Sora and Riku. It wrapped them up in its wings and soared over to where Kailee was. The mysterious force then shot up into the sky and tangled itself with the beast. They were clashing together, fighting for power. The force managed to cut off six of the beast's heads, while at the same time ripping two holes through its wings. The beast cried out and began to plummet through the sky. Kailee shielded her eyes before the beast fell into the valley, piercing itself. A burst of black sprouted up from where the beast had fallen, marking its death.

Kailee slowly opened her eyes to see the skeleton of the beast, charring away. Along by the skeleton were piles of hearts, humans at that. Kailee almost gagged at the sight. The force slowly came down and rested in front of Kailee. It looked similar to the beast, only with a slighter positive air to it. She marveled at how sea green its eyes were accompanied with a light purple snout. Sharp white teeth revealed themselves as the thing tried to smile. Thankfully, it had only on head, and a majestic one at that. Its wings were veined but looked to be softer and sturdier than the beast's. The thing's body was lean, yet powerful as its arms and legged bunched up with hard-earned muscle. It was obviously a Shadow Crosser, considering the ability to defeat one of its own and it had the gold heart with the sky-blue circle symbol embedded on its neck. It gazed curiously at Kailee, wondering to see if she was trustworthy, even though it had just saved her friends.

Very noble of you to stand up against the Warnless.

At first, Kailee thought she was just hearing things again, but the purple creature was still looking intently at her. So, she decided to respond, to see if it was actually it talking to her.

Are you talking to me?

Of course. You are the wielder of the Black Wave, aren't you?

Yes, but how do you know that?

It has been mentioned many times in the prophecies of us Shadow Crossers.

What kind of Shadow Crosser are you?

Pardon my indiscretion. I am a Charmer. A very rare Shadow Crosser indeed. Its practically destiny on how our paths crossed.

But why did you save my friends?

Because without them, then the connection will not be made.

What is this connection everyone keeps talking about? Am I supposed to do something with them?

No, to tell you the truth, I am not so sure myself. After all, I am not the highest ranking of Shadow Crossers. Therefore, I am not capable of obtaining that type of information, regrettably.

Well, I guess I'll have to find out. Anyways, would you mind telling me how to heal a wound created by one of you?

It is quite simple really. You need to perform a blood sharing bond with a Shadow Crosser, and a powerful one at that.

Can we bond with you?

I am truly sorry. I am not of higher rank. Most of the higher rank either belongs to the Realm Chasers or the pure ones are hidden well deep in the worlds.

Can you take us to one?

I think I might know of a place where you could find one. But you must promise me to fulfill your fate as a keyblade wielder and seal every keyhole out there.

But wouldn't that also make you guys disappear too?

Actually, we would still remain, only not quite as Shadow Crossers. You see, we were all once normal living creatures. We were just either too pure or too dark and turned into Shadow Crossers because we all broke the sacred rule of divulging too much into the inner depths of our worlds. All of our souls have been trapped between the cores of the worlds. So naturally, if you seal all of the keyholes, we would be restored to our original states and granted a full life.

Kailee took time to process this information. She couldn't believe that something as pure as this specific Chaser would be doomed to be a Shadow Crosser. Even though it would still be a pure spirit, its soul would be trapped forever in the core of their world. She looked to see that Riku and Sora had been regaining their consciousness since their almost-death had caused them to faint. As soon as Riku and Sora were sitting upright, Kailee took them in her arms.

At first, they said nothing. Both too stunned to process what was going on, or how they even got here. They both spotted the Chaser over Kailee's shoulders. It gave them a small nod, briefly enchanting them with its impossibly sea green eyes. Sora was the first to wrap his arms around Kailee's waist. Riku followed suit after. Kailee had already begun crying and was shaking as she held them tightly.

"I thought I was going to lose you two," she sobbed.

"Us too," Riku responded.

"But you didn't," Sora replied. "We would've missed you too much."

Kailee broke apart from the hug and looked them each in the eyes. "I would miss you both. I'm just glad you're alive," Sora's and Riku's eyes darted back and forth from the Chaser to Kailee. "Oh! This is a Chaser. One of the good Shadow Crossers. She saved both of you and destroyed the Warnless, the beast that tried to kill us."

It is a pleasure to meet another pair of keybladers.

"Did you guys hear that?" Sora asked, his head moving around.

"It was the Chaser. It can't really talk so it communicates with us by speaking through our minds," Kailee cleared up.

"Oh, well then it's a pleasure to meet one of the good Shadow Crossers," Sora bowed.

"And thank you for saving our lives," Riku bowed, too.

Of course, no need to thank me for. I save any life in danger, whether big or small. It seemed necessary to save you both considering you are friends to the Black Wave.

"In any case, thank you still. We owe you, greatly," Riku said. The Chaser nodded, acknowledging the thanks.

"What happened to the Kingdom?" Sora gasped.

"Let's go and find out!" Kailee replied. Riku, Sora, Kailee, and the Chaser traveled through the forest, finding their way back to the kingdom.

"Wait!" Kailee cried out, barely stopping Sora and Riku from falling through the bridge.

"Would you mind taking us across?" Sora asked the Chaser.

Not at all. Only one at a time, though.

Just as they had all crossed, a wonderful sight greeted them. It seemed as though the townsfolk were rejoicing about something. Most of them were repairing what the Warnless destroyed and hanging up decorations covered in golden suns with purple flags. A lot of the ashes had been cleared away and new paint was going up everywhere. Most of the crowd's attention was to four figures standing in the middle of the market square. As Riku, Sora, Kailee, and the Chaser weaved their way in between the crowd, their jaws dropped. Well, at least everyone except the Chaser who remained stock still, observing for any suspicious activity.

Statues of Donald, Goofy, Rapunzel and Flynn had been sculpted out of pure marble. A sign was hung up above the statues, commemorating them for actually saving the kingdom. Sitting in chairs just behind them, were the real things. As soon as they spotted Riku, Sora, and Kailee, they ran up to them spilling the news. A few hugs had been exchanged, mostly by Rapunzel, Donald, and Goofy because Flynn admitted that he was too much of a man to hug. Donald told them that they had encountered a great number of Heartless and Nobodies as they entered the kingdom. He had warded them off with magic and Goofy with his shield. Rapunzel joined in with her frying pan, stunning Heartless and Nobodies just enough to have them expelled by Donald. Flynn was lucky enough to find a capable sword lying around. Goofy commented that many of the townspeople had hidden inside their homes, too afraid of the Heartless and Nobodies. Most of them were willing to die in the flames rather than have their hearts taken away.

Donald had used a tricky water spell on the whole kingdom at once and was able to extinguish even the most brutal of flames. The kingdom cried out in joy once they had found out who their saviors were. Although many of their houses had been destroyed, they were known to have capable construction workers who could get the job done fast. The kingdom had managed to make the statues one hour after they had been saved.

Kailee, Riku and Sora were stupefied. They all were thinking that they should at least get some of the credit as well. They were the ones that warded off the Warnless. Yet, none of the townspeople actually saw them specifically. They were huddled up in their homes, anyways.

"So now what?" Sora put his hands behind his head.

"Find the keyhole?" Kailee said.

Riku and Sora nodded. They told the Chaser to stay put with Donald, Goofy, Rapunzel, and Flynn while them three go and find the keyhole. They scoured throughout the whole kingdom, including the palace. Many people thought they were crazy when they asked them if there was anything shaped like a keyhole located in the city. After almost two hours of searching, they hung their heads in defeat. They walked sulkily back towards the town's center when something shining caught Kailee's eye.

"Hey, look," Kailee, pointed her index finger at a corner in a locksmith's store. As they got a closer look, their keyblades appeared in their hands. They jumped back and connected their three keyblades. A blast of cold wind enveloped them as a burst of bright light escaped their keyblades. It connected with the small keyhole and they heard as though something locked. Their keyblades disappeared and so they headed towards the square.

"The keyhole has been sealed," Riku informed Donald and Goofy. "We have to go."

"You're leaving so soon?" Rapunzel said sadly.

"Yes. We have to go and live our dreams now," Kailee said, hoping Rapunzel would buy it.

"Are you sure you can't just stay a while longer?" Rapunzel pressured.

"I'm sorry, but we have to follow our dreams. You followed yours already. Being able to see the kingdom and maybe the lanterns tonight," Sora explained. "So, now, we have to chase our own. It's the only thing left to do."

"Well, since you're leaving, you're always welcome to come back," Flynn said, standing beside Rapunzel. "It was fun hanging out with you weirdos."

"Don't worry. We probably will," Kailee said. "And we're not weirdos. We're athletically inclined to fight evil beings, that's all."

"In any case, I really would want you to come back and visit," Rapunzel put in. "Hope to see you again."

After about a million hugs promises of returning, since Sora hated goodbyes, they headed on back to the gummi ship.

"What are we going to do with the Chaser?" Sora asked Kailee.

"We're bringing it along of course. It's our only way through the Shadow Crossers and the only way to get these things healed correctly before they fester," Kailee pointed to her cut. It wasn't exactly bleeding just burning fiercely. "And the Chaser told me earlier that the only way to heal them is to make a blood blond between a powerful Shadow Crosser."

Where exactly are we supposed to find the higher class Shadow Crossers?

Have you ever heard of a bayou?

I know, I know. It was too rushed. Very little detail. Too long. I get it. I'm just nervous. I have a dance concert tomorrow and tomorrow is the new Vampire Diaries episode! Plus, I have to finish my Geometry CST tomorrow. And I won't be able to come home until 9:30. So, I'm pretty booked. In any case, please review!