Hanging Chains

Haha! How's it going bros? (If you watch PewdiePie then you'll know what I'm talking about ;) ) I hope it's been a bright and sunny day with blue skies and…. Never mind. I'm not all that good at being happy all the time. My mom thinks I have anger issues and because my dad passed down to me some of his worse traits. So in the end, you'll always see me serious, bored, scowling, or just plain mad. That's why I want to put in as much effort as to make Kailee nicer and less desperate and not so aggressive. Also, to try and incorporate everyone else in the story. Also, I'm putting you guys up for a challenge. I want to include one more character in the story. And it could be YOU. So, just fill this character sheet "form" at the bottom and PM me after. YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS. It's just an option.

Disclaimer: I don't own. Square Enix and Disney do. I only own the unknown (as in characters that aren't originally involved in Kingdom Hearts).

Kailee, Sora, Donald, and Goofy listened intently to Tiana's story. Just as Kailee had left to go back to the party, Tiana had been too upset to go back. She had been busy considering the fact that the two men that had inhabited the horse costume at the party, who were bankers, had broken to her the news that she wouldn't be able to pay for her restaurant. They had also initially insulted her emotionally because she wasn't of a good "background". Ever since she had been a little girl, she had dreamed of opening up a restaurant with her father. Regrettably, he had passed away a few years later. Ever since, Tiana had taken up every job offer in town, to try and raise enough money to pay for a restaurant.

Now that her hopes had been dashed, she had nothing left to cling on to. Tiana then dragged her feet out to the balcony, to let out her sorrows there. She admitted to the gang that she secretly carried a picture of her future restaurant from her father in her pocket and had pulled it out on that night in the balcony. She was embarrassed when she told them that she wished on the Evening Star to help her out, when she came across a frog.

Tiana had thought that it was all a joke, so she decided to play along with the frog and asked if it wanted a kiss. She reeled back in surprise and shock when it actually responded to her. Her back had crashed in one of Charlotte's tall cabinets, knocking down a multitude of stuffed animals. The frog had repeatedly told her to calm down but she was throwing the stuffed animals at it, just so it wouldn't appear real. After a short while, the frog had revealed itself to be Prince Naveen of Maldonia. Tiana contemplated for a second and had wondered then about who was dancing with Charlotte on the dance floor.

Naveen told her that like the story, the Frog Prince, he would need to receive a kiss from a princess, who he thought was Tiana. He even lied about being fabulously wealthy and promising whatever she wanted if she actually kissed him. She, regrettably, agreed and kissed him. Tiana had then found herself wrapped in a pile of silk and soon enough, she was a frog.

"And that's what happened," Tiana sighed. "Now, I don't know where to turn to."

"That sounds awful," Kailee responded.

"Well, that's what happens when you don't confess your true identity earlier," Tiana tied the last strings of her miniature boat by the stream.

"Is there any way we can help?" Sora asked.

"Not unless Donald can perform voodoo spells," Tiana joked. "Speaking of which, I might as well wake up the lazy one named Naveen."

Tiana looked around her, to see if she had anything at her disposal. A small, hazel walnut was placed conveniently underneath a tree. She hobbled over and used both of her hands to pick it up; it was seemingly heavy for her. She got a neat grip on her right hand and chucked the walnut up into the tree hollow. A small yelp confirmed her success.

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty!" Tiana hollered. "Gators are gone."

A dreary and sluggish frog jumped out of the tree hollow and grimaced at the now rising sun. He rubbed his eyes and stared at the giant figures that were Sora, Kailee, Donald and Goofy. "And who might you be?"

"They're just a couple of friends who happened to be able to understand us enough and are able to help us," Tiana explained.

"And who is this beauty?" Naveen motioned over to Kailee. "My name is Prince Naveen."

"Hi, Naveen. I'm Kailee. Pleased to make your acquaintance," Kailee curtsied.

"You wouldn't happen to know any voodoo spells, now would you?"

"Sorry, Naveen. I'm not that into dark magic."

"Oh. Well, I guess we'll have to keep up our quest then," Naveen said, disappointed. He plopped down on the small boat and plucked a small branch attached to a cobweb that looked like a guitar.

"You guys don't want us to help you along?" Sora said.

"No thank you. I think we can manage. Besides, shouldn't you be waking up your friend in there? He seems quite the sleeper," Tiana said, beginning to row out.

Kailee got up from the rock she had been sitting on and walked into the other shelter. Riku's condition hadn't gotten any better. His face was an ashen gray with a hint of lavender at the edges. Kailee tried to wake him up but all she got was an unsatisfactory groan coming from Riku. She even tried to look into his eyes but they were glazed over with a slight film of pus yellow.

We'll never be able to cure ourselves if we don't find that Shadow Crosser. So far, I just hope that we don't have to lose Riku. Forever.

Kailee grabbed at Riku's shoulders and gave a strong shove. His body floated out neatly and landed beside Donald, who brought out his staff to inspect Riku. He closed his eyes and gave a small nod of disapproval.

"He's almost gone," Donald fretted.

"What do you mean?" Sora said, scared.

"His heart's barely keeping up. It'll be a miracle if he could make it by tomorrow," Donald lamented.

"Then let's get going! Look, we've been trying to find these Shadow Crossers forever! We should be able to find them by now," Kailee approached Tiana. "Do you know of any places in the bayou where strange things happen before Mardi Gras?"

"Well, there actually has been," Tiana pointed a green finger out into a dark part of the swampy forest. " Over there. But I heard it's a quite dangerous part not to be messed with. Are you sure you want to go there?"

"Yes. It's our only way out of this mess," Kailee replied. "Come on, Sora. Let's go on over there."

"What about us?" Goofy asked. "We want to come, too."

"Well, I'm really sorry, Donald and Goofy," Kailee answered, head down. " I just can't risk any more people to get infected. You're our only hope to stay alive and help us to keep ourselves sane. Besides, I'm sure Tiana could use the help with handling Naveen."

"Well, just be safe. Both of you," Donald warned.

"Don't worry. We won't get into any trouble at all," Sora promised.

And with that, Sora and Kailee set off into the darker places of the swampy forest.

It wasn't bad at first. The opening to the forest had been pretty smooth; just like the rest of the bayou had been for them. Then it started getting tougher. A few times they had come across a few alligator swamps and nearly got seen by them, too. The branches had begun to tangle themselves more often and the canopy had completely covered the sun. Only a few rays were able to penetrate the thick foliage. Even the moss underfoot became slippery and the pair found themselves slipping almost always. Sora had even almost slipped into a quicksand pit. Luckily, Kailee had been poking around with a stick, just in case if the ground was too slick, and had stopped Sora before he sank underneath the muddy trap.

The silence that hung between them was, at times, uncomfortable. Sora tried to keep a conversation but Kailee always cut them short with a short replies. He had been kind enough to say thanks for saving his butt a few times, but she just simply nodded and looked ahead. He didn't know what was exactly going on among them. Ever since that almost kiss, things had been very stiff between the pair. Sora had also been immensely confused by Kailee's mixed signals to him. He wasn't entirely sure what his feelings towards her were, exactly.

Most of the time, he felt them to be just friends. But other times, it was something more. When Kailee had had that nightmare and he had tried to comfort her, it had felt…right. He was certain that his emotions toward Kairi were nothing compared to the new ones he was now experiencing. Even with the many princesses he had encountered. He didn't even bat an eyelash for them. Mostly because they seemed too set on trying to save the world and looked to him like he was just a keyblade wielder, nothing more than that. Now, he got a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach and on his cheeks whenever his eyes made contact with Kailee's.

Kailee, too, was puzzled. She had always seen the couples at her school professing their love for each other and smiling like idiots. She thought love was something you looked forward to in the future, not so fast. When she had met Xylen, she thought that maybe it could be the start of something because she had been certain that he was the one. Of course, it was all a lie. And she pretty much blamed her hormones on that part as well. With Sora, it was more of a secret understanding. They both agreed to each other's plans and accepted each other's weaknesses. This made her feel stirrings in her heart. Again, she blamed hormones. But back when he had decided to help her cope with her nightmare, she was certain it wasn't hormones anymore. But, then again, she was 15. What could she know about love at such a young age?

Just as they had reached the end of the forest, a moving outline in the corner of Kailee's eye, caught her attention.

"Did you see that?" Kailee asked Sora, who was now sticking his foot out of a clump of moss.

"Is it a Shadow Crosser?" Sora called up his keyblade.

"I think so," Kailee said, calling up her own keyblade. She gave a whistle of content as she realized that her keyblade had transformed before her eyes. It was now made of solid gold, with crystal spikes running down the bottom and a half-sun on the end of the keyblade. The keychain was now holding a small frying pan, swinging in the humid breeze.

"Looks like the Kingdom of Corona really helped out," Sora showed a timid smile.

"Yeah. Come one let's go check it out," Kailee began to take silent steps toward the mysterious noise on her far right. Sora followed suit.

Avoiding any quicksand or traitorous branches, they reached their destination. A small curtain of hanging leaves blocked their path. Each with a separate hand, Sora and Kailee opened it up. A most welcoming sight greeted them. A small meadow had been placed right behind the curtain where it contained a circle of fresh, green grass, a blue sky, and a shining sun. In the center, was a figure grazing on the grass. It seemed like a phantom at first. But once they really focused their eyes on it, it turned out to be a deer. The deer was a fluorescent light blue, coating it's entire body as it grazed. As it was walking, a stream of blue wisps trailed behind it and clung to its body when it stopped. Just as Sora and Kailee had opened the curtain, the deer had perked its ears up and stared at them with white on blue eyes. The good Shadow Crosser symbol was barely noticeable because it had been placed right behind the deer's left ear.

Kailee and Sora were frozen in awe, too shocked to move. The deer just cocked its head to the side and began to approach them. Just as they were about to react, the Shadow Crosser spoke.

I see you have found me, most fortunate keyblade wielders. I shall introduce myself. The deer bowed its head. I am a Silver Star. A most rare Shadow Crosser. I only appear for such important events such as Mardi Gras. What brings you two here? Shouldn't you both be searching for the keyhole.

"Hello Silver Star. Pleased to make your acquaintance," Sora bowed.

"It really is a pleasure to meet you," Kailee reverted, curtsying. " But we really need your help."

I see. What is it that you want? And, before you ask, I do not grant wishes. Just because I am named Silver Star, does not mean I can grant wishes.

"We don't really want wishes. It's more urgent and life threatening," Kailee explained. "You see, Silver Star, we got severely injured by a Warnless and we now must find a rare Shadow Crosser, such as yourself, to heal us before we die or become puppets of darkness."

And how would this contribute me?

"Once you heal us, we'll seal all keyholes in all worlds and you would be able to return to your normal state as whatever you were before," Sora said.

How shall I know that you are telling the truth and are not just trying to use me?

"I promise you that I am telling the truth. And when I make a promise, I never forget it. No matter what," Sora reassured Silver Star.

Hmm. You do seem to be telling the truth, since your heartbeat hasn't changed at all. Then, I shall heal you. But I will warn you that it includes a bit of a price.

"What's that?" Kailee wondered.

I must collect a portion of your soul.

Xylen watched as the two young keyblade wielders reached the hidden meadow. He wondered how they had actually survived the wounds for that long. But then again, Riku gladly didn't. Xylen was sure that by now Riku would be at the mercy of the darkness once more and raging damage and distress on his once old friends. And it all was thanks to Eliza. Xylen himself couldn't believe how difficult it was to extract Kailee's soul from her body and then have Master Xehanort's heart be placed into her body. Now she was working for them 24/7. Xylen just didn't know what to do with their souls, exactly.

It was only yesterday when he had gone to visit them again. They were in their own silent conversations, possibly drowning in their own memories. Master Xehanort had given Xylen clear instructions to keep the souls in the dungeons of the new world they inhabited. But all they did was just float there with no purpose. He just wished he didn't end up like them one day. Xylen sighed and stepped back into a portal as he summoned a few Warnless to descend upon the bayou.

He decided to go check on how Mickey was doing, considering that the last torture session hadn't worked. He was now carrying out even worse tortures than the ones that Master Xehanort had assigned to him. He had decided to burn Mickey's flesh all the way down to his bone and then wait until the skin re-healed itself just so he could start all over again. It wouldn't be long before he became their puppet.

As Xylen reached Mickey's torture chamber, he noticed footmarks on the now unhinged door. He quickly rushed inside just to be greeted by a punch in the face that sent him flying backwards. Just as he hit wall, a flame had caught his robe and was now burning it up. Xylen was quick to brush it off and clutch at his aching jaw. A figure, also dressed in a black robe, but with a zipper coming down the front, was now standing before him, Mickey's body slung over his shoulder.

"Who do you think you are?" Xylen declared, already summoning Shadow Crossers, Heartless, and Nobodies.

"Name's Lea. Got it memorized?"

Sorry to leave you guys hanging like this but it's all I got. I appreciate any ideas you throw at me as long as they make sense. Also the character thing up there is a contest if you want in. I need a good full filled out application and a 5 paragraph excerpt of how you would include the character in my story. It HAS to make sense. And I will judge every little detail. If it's not good enough, then I have to move on to the next person. So, PM me your application if you want your character to be in. Again, it's NOT mandatory. Thanks for reading!

Character Name:

Personality Traits:

Physical Appearance:

Hobbies:

What kind of powers she/he will have:

Background:

Weapon:

Favorites:

(Anything else you might want to add in case if I missed something here)

~5 paragraphs go here~

Warning: Can't be a character that I mentioned in the story AT ALL. So don't try using Larissa or Damon. I MEAN IT!