15
Heroine
I'll admit I was a little afraid at first. But as my eyes roved over the figure of the man I hated so much, anger welled up inside of me, pushing all the fear away.
"You know, I'm a little upset that you came out of the realm of darkness with your heart intact," Chancellor Tsukada's Heartless said, still spinning my keyblade around as though he owned it. "But then again, I can hardly say I'm surprised. You always were one for ruining my plans, even when they were harmless."
I glared at him. "I don't think they ever were. You only wanted me to marry Setzer so that you'd have a stupid king who would follow your orders. All you ever wanted was more power."
"Hmm, interesting assumption," the Heartless said. "But that wasn't entirely my idea, really. Your dear daddy set that one up. Of course, if he'd lived to see the fool that prince has become, he probably would have changed his mind."
"How long?" I seethed. "How long has my uncle been dead?"
"Since the darkness in his heart and the jealousy of his brother overcame him," the Heartless said, his voice flat and monotone as though he found the subject mildly disinteresting. "Before you came here, obviously."
I swallowed hard. So I hadn't known my uncle after all.
"So," Chancellor Tsukada's Heartless said, gripping my keyblade by the handle, "let's make this quick, shall we? No crying, no begging."
I looked him straight in the eye. "Yeah sure. It should be easy to destroy a skinny girl with no weapon," I sneered.
He snorted. "You know, you've tried to attack my honor before, but you're forgetting something. I'm a Heartless. I have no sense of honor. I see only victory and defeat."
"Well then," I said calmly, quietly, "get ready for the ride of your life." I tensed my muscles, readying myself for anything he might throw at me. I was definitely not going down without a fight.
He laughed loudly, his head back and his chest heaving. "Feisty and stubborn to the very end. You're an interesting specimen, aren't you, Kairi?"
"That's what they tell me," I said as he continued to chortle. As he stood there, laughing like an idiot, an idea occurred to me.
"Now then," he said, slowly regaining sobriety, "Let's see how you like it when I turn your own weapon against you." He stood back on his heel and raised the keyblade high above his head. His eyes gleamed fiercely, and I knew I had only seconds to act.
I clenched the fingers of my right hand into a fist. With all my might, I willed that the keyblade might materialize there; it was a wish that pulled from my heart and made my limbs tingle with anticipation. It was a wish that made the keyblade vanish from my opponent's hand in a flash of light.
"What?" he exclaimed, looking disbelievingly at his empty fingers.
With a clang and a bright white flash, I was holding my keyblade again. The keyblade of which I was the true wielder, and no one else.
"Hah!" I said triumphantly, wriggling my fingers against the warm steel handle. I lifted it above my head and leaned back on one foot, pointing the blade directly at my Heartless foe.
The man looked completely taken aback if not furious. He narrowed his eyes at me, and then slowly drew a long and lethal-looking staff from his belt. "Very good," he seethed. "But it takes more than just a fancy toy to make a little girl into a warrior."
"Good thing I'm more than that," I said steadily.
Suddenly we were interrupted by a roar and a shout; I couldn't help but look to the side to see what was going on. I caught a glimpse of the great monster, with Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Riku in the air, slashing at its head, before I realized that I was in danger. I turned just in time to see Chancellor Tsukada's Heartless bearing down on me. I quickly raised my keyblade in self defense. The shaft collided with his weapon, and I was nearly thrown off my feet by the force he was exerting.
He was so heavy! The weight against my keyblade forced me down, enough that one of my knees hit the ground. I was gritting my teeth and pushing against him as hard as I could. But my strength just wouldn't be enough. I was already weak.
Suddenly, a warmth spread from the handle of the keyblade into my hand, and then it ran through my arm and into the rest of my body. It was like I had been injected with liquid courage and strength. Again, I gritted my teeth together, and this time shoved upward with all the might in my slender, but sturdy body.
The Heartless was knocked into the air, but quickly recovered himself before he hit the ground. His eyes, which had been merely filled with hatred before, were now filled with fear as well. He turned on his heel and began to circle me with neck bent and profile low and dangerous.
I held the keyblade firmly in one hand; its power seemed to leak into me, making me not only strong, but fearless.
This time the Heartless came at me so fast he was almost a blur. Like lightning he struck, aiming for my middle. But with a mighty swing of the keyblade, I deflected his blow; we collided with a loud bang. It didn't take long for him to recover himself. With another rapid sweep, he aimed to knock my legs out from beneath me, but I managed to leap into the air, just in time, and with teeth gritted and eyes fierce, I brought the keyblade down on his shoulder as hard as I could.
He didn't crumple. Rather, he sprung out of my way, gasping and clutching at his wounded appendage. It was not the way of the keyblade to draw blood or create large wounds, but rather to draw strength from its opponent, pulverizing not only their muscles but their will to fight and their overall stamina.
He was strong, though. In a split second any damage to his shoulder was forgotten, and he was striking at me like a venomous snake.
I jabbed at him, but he danced easily out of the way; he swung, and I ducked. Each time our weapons collided, the lethal clash of extraordinary, powerful metals rang in our ears, but he would quickly escape out from under me and my keyblade would strike the ground with a crash. Though he appeared to be stronger than me, our head-to-head had already proved that such was not the case. And he was no fool.
Suddenly, his entire body began to glow with an eerie, black and purple light. He was lifted several feet into the air, and his eyes glowed with anticipation. I stood rooted to the spot, a new kind of fear prickling its way up my spine. But my keyblade continued to warm me, pouring courage into my heart, though I knew that I was about to face true evil in all its power.
With a strangled cry, Chancellor Tsukada's Heartless was flying toward me with inhuman speed, his staff extended and his eyes fierce. His approach was so swift and deadly that I had absolutely no time to get out of the way; he struck me, hard, and I fell to the ground in a crumpled, gasping heap.
"Sonic blade," he said, lowering himself to the ground. "Inescapable."
My entire body hurt; it was as though I'd been hit by a truck. In normal circumstances, I know I wouldn't have been able to rise again, to pull myself to my feet and battle on. But the keyblade not only kept my heart warm and brave and full of light, but also seemed to be pulling me to my feet on its own accord. I stumbled forward, and my legs were suddenly strong enough to support me, to keep me fighting this Heartless who so desperately wanted to destroy me.
The Heartless rose again in his cloud of darkness, his eyes boring into mine as though I were his hapless prey. But this time I was determined that I would be ready; I tensed myself to spring.
"Yah!" he snarled, and this was all the warning I needed; I leapt into the air as high as I could, and felt a rush of wind beneath me as the Heartless went flying past. He slid to the very edge of the tower roof, where he whirled around and came flying back at me.
This time I was not quite quick enough. I felt the staff catch my right foot as I desperately sprang out of the way of this unstoppable force; it seared in pain.
But I had no time to catch my breath. With another shriek, the Heartless was flying at me again, like a bullet which could change directions on a whim. Again, I leapt into the air as high as I could, and he went sailing beneath me.
Again and again he charged, and I jumped. It seemed as though our deadly dance would never end. He knew I would get tired eventually, and he would be able to knock me down and keep me there.
I knew that I had to stop him somehow. There had to be a way!
Once, as he wheeled around, I noticed that the pulsating darkness that surrounded him seemed to dim when he did so. In that moment, I could see his figure clearly, and I knew that this was his only moment of vulnerably.
I knew I had less than two seconds to act. I dove and rolled toward the edge of the tower, ignoring the fact that if I went too far, I'd go sailing to my death, and also if I wasn't fast enough, he would catch me and I might not be able to get to my feet in time. I sprang up just as he struck at me with another blood-curdling shriek, my heels caressing the edge of the roof, my muscles tensed and ready.
I sprang with all my might, and sailed high into the air. Directly beneath me, he slowed an infinitesimal amount, and I could see his body, shrouded in black.
I pointed my keyblade downward, and it seemed all too eager to comply, almost dragging me along with it. With all the strength in my body, I plunged, lifted, and struck.
There was a deafening clang, and the Heartless was sent sprawling. The dark power that had surrounded him was gone, and there was only a man in a black robe, crumpled on the ground, weak and vulnerable.
I lunged at him, and my keyblade made greedy contact with the side of his body. It sent him rolling toward the edge of the tower, gasping for breath. Though obviously stunned and disoriented, he managed to spring to his feet and thrust his staff defensively upward just as I took another swing at him. Our weapons collided.
Surprisingly, he managed to throw me off of him. I stumbled backward, and looked up in time to see him rising vertically into the air, the power of darkness emanating from him. His eyes flashed with strength that was part of something much more terrifying than I could comprehend. Suddenly, he lunged and thrust his staff into the ground.
With an earth shattering crack, tendrils of darkness swept across the roof until it was completely covered in their writhing, clammy texture. I gasped as something crept up my legs, binding them together. I wriggled and squirmed, trying desperately to free myself. The panic that came over me made it hard to think and hard to breathe.
Suddenly, the tendrils of darkness began to glow, and a pain such as I had never known swept throughout my entire body. I screamed and writhed, but the pain was everywhere, overrunning my senses and bringing tears to my eyes. My heart gave a vital throb, but there was some kind of evil force inside my body, working against it, sucking the power right out of me…
And then I could feel heat radiating from my keyblade… it wasn't just warm on my fingers; it was hot. And then I knew what to do.
Somehow I found the strength to wrench my arm back. My shoulder screamed in agony, but my keyblade glowed with triumph, and I thrust it into the ground with all the power I could summon from my body.
Bright light blazed from the fissure in the roof; it swept up the tendrils of darkness, causing them to writhe horribly and wither away as though the light itself were burning them. And then with a snap and a crack, the Heartless, who was floating in the air above us, was thrown to the ground, weak and vulnerable once more.
I sank to the ground, gasping with relief. The light faded, but the pain was gone, and we were alone again—just the Heartless and I, no dark powers involved. However, we were so weak that we could only crouch there, panting.
Finally, I found the strength to pull myself to my feet, grab my keyblade by the handle, and wrench it from the ground. Chancellor Tsukada's Heartless was cowering not far away, unable to defend himself. I knew that this was the time to act.
Suddenly, a wild cry rent the air. I looked up in time to see the giant Heartless on the south tower, wobbling drunkenly on the edge, lashing its tail as though it were confused. I could see Sora and Riku slashing at its head while Donald and Goofy attacked its scaly claws. I wondered which of them had shouted, and why they'd done so.
Out of my peripheral vision, I saw Chancellor Tsukada's Heartless stagger to his feet. He glared at me and raised his staff.
I heard Riku yell, and glanced, for a brief moment, in his direction. The giant Heartless seemed to have regained itself as well. It gave a mighty roar and seemed to catch its balance. Its tail stopped lashing.
Just as it lunged at Sora and Riku, Chancellor Tsukada's Heartless lunged at me. I brought up my keyblade and blocked him just in time.
Again, he slid out from beneath me. This time he swept around me and tried to catch me in the back, but I was too quick for him. Our weapons collided again. Then he ducked, I slashed, he jumped and jabbed, I blocked.
Finally, I caught him in the stomach, sending him sprawling. As he struggled to regain himself, I heard an agonized cry. I permitted myself another look at the giant Heartless.
It seemed to have slumped to the ground flapping its ragged wings helplessly. Its head whipped back and forth, and it seemed utterly and completely confounded. Almost as though its brain had been unplugged from its body…
Chancellor Tsukada's Heartless staggered to his feet again. I scolded myself internally for not finishing him off when he was down and out… but somehow the idea of doing so was almost repulsive to me. I wasn't sure why. Maybe because, while he had no sense of honor, mine was overdeveloped.
From the corner of my eye, I saw the giant Heartless regain its composure. It shook its head, as though it were clearing it, and gave a mighty roar. Sora and Riku lunged at it.
I turned my attention back to the other Heartless, but was startled to see that he was no longer looking at me. Rather, he was anxiously watching the giant Heartless, a look of fearful concentration on his face. As though he were willing it to keep fighting, as though it could not do so on its own…
They were connected.
This new revelation sent my mind reeling. Chancellor Tsukada's Heartless was somehow controlling the giant one! And when he was knocked down, and his mind was sent spinning, his control on the giant Heartless weakened!
I lunged at the Chancellor Tsukada's Heartless, but he ducked and danced out of the way of my follow-up jab. Our weapons collided again and again. As we fought, I could see a fierce determination light up his eyes. He wasn't going to make things easy.
He caught me by surprise when his staff made contact with my shins. The force of the blow knocked my feet out from under me. I fell to the ground in a heap.
I looked up and caught sight of what easily could have been the last thing ever I saw: Chancellor Tsukada's Heartless, his staff raised high above his head and pointed directly at my heart. He leered down at me, a trickle of blood running down his face. His mouth was tight, his chest heaved, and the only thing that I could think of in that moment was that I was staring into the face of absolute evil.
He lunged so fast that I was ill-prepared. But a sudden, powerful yank on my arm dragged me out of harm's way; the staff plunged into the ground where my heart had been a split-second before.
I didn't need the keyblade to tell me what to do next. I pulled it high above my head, and in one mighty movement, slashed into the body of darkness before me.
He stumbled back, gasping and clutching at his chest. His eyes rolled in his head, but he stood his ground, unwilling to fade away, unwilling to admit defeat.
Suddenly I heard a panicked roar. The giant Heartless was reeling, confused and angry. It seemed to decide that there was no reason to be fighting after all, with no one to tell it to do so. It reared, spread its raggedy wings, and took to the sky. I saw Riku leap up and grab onto its tail. He reached out to Sora, who sprung just high enough to catch his hand. Donald and Goofy jumped as high as they could, but fell to the ground in a tangled heap.
The giant Heartless flew in a tight circle, banked to the right, and came flapping toward the north tower. It screeched, and even from this far away, I could see its giant yellow eyes rolling.
Riku and Sora started climbing up its tail. I could see their hands sliding across the Heartless's smooth scales as they struggled to reach its head.
Suddenly, the drunken beast seemed to catch sight of Chancellor Tsukada's Heatless. It screeched and propelled itself high into the air, and then launched itself upon us.
I had no time to move. I could only cover my head and duck as the two-ton spawn of the darkness crashed down on the top of the north tower and on top of us.
I heard Sora yell as a giant set of talons nearly crushed me. I rolled out of the way just in time, dragging my keyblade with me. I could smell the monster's sweat and feel the heat that came from its massive body.
"Kairi!" Sora yelled as the Heartless roared and lifted its massive head. "Kairi!" I could see his face now. His ocean eyes were filled with terror as they took in the precariousness of my current situation, but it didn't matter. They filled me with warmth and light, as always, and courage surged through me.
Suddenly, the beast wrapped me up in its talons. I gasped; its grip was so strong that it took my breath away. I could see Chancellor Tsukada's Heartless standing on the edge of the tower. He was glaring at me fiercely, his teeth bared and his eyes cruel. And I knew that this was his doing.
"Let me go!" I shouted, pounding at the crushing claw. "Let me go!"
In response, the giant Heartless flapped its wings, and with a powerful gust of wind, I was dragged into the air along with Sora and Riku. My stomach lurched as the tower vanished beneath me, along with Chancellor Tsukada's Heartless, whose eyes never left my face.
I pounded on the monster's toes, then slashed at them with my keyblade. It screeched, and finally, its grip loosened. I managed to worm out of its grasp, trying all the while not to look down.
"Kairi!" Sora cried. I looked up to see him climbing down the Heartless's leg, his hand extended. "Grab on! Hurry!"
I climbed higher, though it was hard to find a place for my fingers to latch onto on the monster's smooth scales. Finally I was close enough; I reached out, and the tips of my fingers caught Sora's.
He pulled me swiftly out of harm's way and into his arms. Then he shouted, "Hold on," above the roar of the wind. He began to pull me onto the Heartless's back, where Riku was waiting to latch onto us in case we started to slip.
Once we were safe, Sora caressed my face, as though he didn't have a care in the world. "We saw you fighting," he said, still hanging onto me. "Riku was going crazy! But I knew you'd be alright! I knew that you could—"
"Sora," Riku shouted above the wind. "This isn't over yet." His eyes were cold and fierce, his voice reproachful.
As if to agree with this statement, the Heartless gave a deafening roar.
"C'mon!" Riku growled, and lunged at the back of the monster's head. He slashed at it repeatedly with his keyblade, sending shreds of darkness flying. "Bring it, you stupid—"
The creature shrieked indignantly, then soared upward, nearly sending us all tumbling to our deaths. Sora grabbed onto its wing joint and caught my hand before I fell. The world rolled upside down and right side up again as the beast preformed a barrel roll.
When the world stopped spinning, Sora released me and went flying at the monster's head. Riku joined him. Together, their keyblades joined in the most glorious symphony of metallic clashes, sapping the creature's strength as Riku and Sora lunged and dove to avoid its snapping teeth.
Their speed and agility was incredible. I could only hold on for dear life, too weakened to be of much help. I couldn't help but marvel at the flashes of light erupting above me, the magic that seemed to pour from Sora's keyblade like a mighty river, and the way Riku danced out of harm's way, only to strike again with a ferocity unique to one who knows the fighting styles of both darkness and light. Their teeth were bared, their eyes were bright, and they were beautiful.
But the Heartless was extremely powerful. It was almost as though its scales were made of steel, and its stamina poured incessantly from the darkness inside of it. Sora took a heavy blow from tip of its wing, and was sent sprawling. I caught onto his arm before he slid off the creature's back.
"Nothing fazes this thing!" he shouted, catching a foothold on the Heartless's wing joint.
I held his hand, and my eyes roved over the beast that Riku was still fearlessly slashing at.
Suddenly, the monster plunged toward the ground, bowing its back, and I lost hold on its scales, Sora's hand, and anything solid.
And then I was freefalling.