Kyrie (c) Me

Kingdom Hearts characters/some of the story (c) Square Enix

Kingdom Hearts

Bonded Soul

Chapter 14

"Belle! Where are you?"

Without even thinking, Kyrie ran in the direction of the ballroom, in the direction of Belle's voice.

"Let me be there in time…!" Kyrie thought as she summoned both keyblades, kicking the doors open just as Belle opened doors that led outside. Kyrie saw a black, orb-like creature covered in chains as it chased her, and ran in. Getting between it and Belle, she delivered a blow to its face, sending it reeling backwards. Grabbing Belle's arm, she pulled the girl outside.

"Belle!"

"I'm alright!" Belle called back as Kyrie pulled the doors shut. The second she did that, however, darkness covered the doors and she pulled Belle back, afraid that something terrible would happen if either of them touched the darkness-covered doors. She looked at Belle and quickly whipped out her notebook.

Belle, are you alright?

She nodded.

"Yes, I am. Thank you for protecting me." she answered. Kyrie gave her a small smile before looking at the doors again. She could hear what was going on inside, and was worried for Sora's safety. As well as Donald's, Goofy's, and even the Beast. Deciding to take action, she grabbed the door handles and gasped when the darkness stung her, pulling her hands back.

"Ow! That hurt…" she thought as she looked at her hands, surprised to see small burns. But she wouldn't give up. Grabbing the door handles again, they began to sting her, but she wouldn't let go.

"I have to…help Sora! I have to!" she thought as she pulled and tugged on the doors, but they wouldn't budge. Seeing the girl in obvious pain, Belle tried to stop her.

"Wait, you're hurting yourself! Stop!" she cried as she grabbed her shoulder. But the second she did that, their bodies began to glow with a bright light. And a voice called out to them.

"Princess of Heart, Princess of Light, you both are connected by unbreakable bonds. Use your powers together and open these doors of darkness!" Kyrie recognized the voice, it was the same disembodied voice that always gave her advice and help. The two girls looked at each other and nodded as Belle placed both hands on Kyrie's right arm, closing their eyes as she did so. Immediately the stinging stopped, and when she opened her eyes, the doors handles were back to normal. Turning to Belle, she gave her a stern look. Belle nodded.

"Very well, I'll stay here. But please be careful, and don't get hurt." she spoke cautiously. Kyrie nodded and opened the doors, running inside. She wasn't surprised that the doors slammed shut behind her, but was surprised when she spotted the chained heartless that chased Belle beginning to transform. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and the Beast had it surrounded, but after hearing the doors slam did they look at her.

"Kyrie!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy cried in unison. Kyrie nodded, but kept her eyes glued to that of the heartless. It disappeared in a orb of darkness, only to reappear completely transformed. It looked similar to an ifrit, with manacles on its hands, a heart-shaped whole in its chest, and its black and red body. The heartless roared at the ceiling before jumping, grabbing the ceiling candelabra and pulling it to the floor. The gang barely managed to avoid it as the heartless swung it around, catching Kyrie's foot and dragging her with it.

"Aah!" her thoughts screamed as the candelabra spun, spinning her with it while the heartless held on to the chain at the center. She closed her eyes tightly, trying not to let herself get sick.

"Ugh…g-gonna…throw up!" she thought as her body felt the weight and pull of the spins. As soon at it was done spinning, her found herself flying and landing on something firm, but also surprisingly soft. Opening her eyes, she gasped. She had landed right on top. Of. The. Heartless!

"Oh shi- yeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" she thought as it roared and began rampaging, with her clinging to its back as it did so. Sora caught sight of her as the heartless rampaged, throwing Donald out of its way as Goofy caught him.

"Kyrie, what are you doing?" he called in alarm. She glared at him as the heartless went after Beast.

"Oh yes Sora, I just thought I go for a little piggyback ride and use this heartless as my- what do you think I'm doing you idiot! Help me!" her thoughts screamed as the heartless bucked and jumped, trying to get the clinging girl off of its back. Beast caught sight of the girl and roared.

"I'm coming!" he roared. She nodded as she held on, not knowing what would happen if she were to let go. And she didn't want to find out anyways.

But the heartless dodged the Beast as he tried to swipe Kyrie from its back, and strangely…Kyrie found herself having fun as she rode it, the heartless bucking and trying to throw her off its back.

"This is just like one of those rodeo-things that I watched on TV with Xigbar back in the World that Never Was! Whee!" she thought as she sat up, using one hand to keep a firm grip on its mane and the other held in the air, like she had saw the people on TV do. Sora and the others stopped as they watched her ride the heartless, smiling as she did so. Donald sighed, shaking his head.

"Looks like she's having fun." he sighed, scowling. Noticing Sora's envious look, Donald glared at him. "And don't do it, Sora." Sora pouted.

"Aw man…it looks like fun…" he sighed. He quickly went serious and called out to her. "Kyrie, this isn't the time to mess around! Use your keyblades!" he called. Kyrie looked at him and nodded, letting go of the mane and summoning both keyblades.

"Alright, here goes!" she thought as she drove both of them into its back, making it scream and buck violently, throwing her off its back and into the air. She flew and landed on the ceiling candelabra, getting stuck in one of the branches as her stomach rested on the branch, her legs and feet dangling beneath her. She watched as Sora and Beast rushed in and delivered the final blow, making the heartless disappear and the ballroom return to normal.

"We did it!" Sora and the gang cheered, jumping happily as they pumped their fists into the air. Kyrie watched this from above as she tried to get free of the branch she was stuck on, but it was no use. She was stuck.

"So you think." she looked over and spotted Xaldin, with his hood up, as he stared at them. He began to vanish as they ran to him, and he looked at her once more. She glared right back, and he looked at Sora.

"Farewell." and he was gone. Once he was gone, Beast turned to them, and she couldn't hear what was being said next. She sighed, allowing herself to dangle as she watched them mumble to each other.

"Uh, hello! Sora, Donald, Goofy Beast… Axel, anyone, someone please get me down!" she thought as she tried to get herself unstuck again, but she paused. If she were to fall from such a height…she shuddered.

"Never mind. I'll just stay up here."

"You're alright!" looking down, she spotted Belle as she ran to them, relief on her face. Beast ran to her, and she couldn't hear what was being said next. She watched as Belle wagged her finger at him, before crossing her arms. After a few minutes of talking, the keyblade glowed and another keyhole appeared, making Kyrie's heart flutter and something blossom inside her. Once it was unlocked, Belle looked around.

"Didn't Kyrie come here? I saw her open the doors and run in…" Belle asked. Sora paled, and he looked around. The others began looking too, as they searched the ballroom. But not one of them looked up, making her irritated as she hung there.

"Kyrie!" he called.

"Kyrie!" Donald called as well.

"Kyrie, where are ya!" Goofy hollered. Kyrie managed to slip off one of her shoes, and with a swift kick, sent it flying at Sora's head. It hit its mark with a resounding thud as Sora cried out and rubbed his head.

"Ow! What the-" looking down, he spotted her shoe and looked up, to see her dangling from the ceiling candelabra, glaring at him with her arms crossed over her chest..

"Uh…just found her."

-Later-

After getting Kyrie out of the candelabra, the gang decided to spend a night at the castle since it was so late, and they had been in action all day. From fighting Shan-Yu to helping Beast regain his senses and fighting the heartless, Dark Thorn.

Kyrie stayed in the East Wing, at the furthest room away from Belle's. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were staying in the West wing, since there were rooms that the Beast didn't destroy available for them. After giving the housekeepers specific instructions for how to come in, Kyrie immediately jumped into bed and snuggled against the soft pillows, sighing in contentment.

"Ah…finally. A real bed." she thought as she buried her face against the pillows. It was 11:30 at night, and all of the others were most likely asleep now. But Kyrie was too excited to sleep, and she didn't know why.

"Maybe it's because something important is going on tomorrow. But…what?" she thought as she stared at the canopy above her bed. After a few minutes, she stood up and walked over to the wardrobe, surprised that this one didn't talk back to her, and opened it. Inside were a few dresses and nightgowns, and after browsing, she chose a light lilac one and changed into it.

Once she was done, it was 11:50, and she found herself getting more excited. But also more frustrated, because she didn't know why she was so excited.

"Why? What is so important that it's making me feel jumpy and full of energy?" she thought as she pulled her star plush out of her backpack and stared at it. Suddenly a sound of a corridor opening made her jump as she sat up and stared at an opened corridor with wide eyes.

Just as she was about to summon her keyblades, Axel stepped out of the corridor, arms behind his back and a smile on his face. She sighed in relief, it wasn't Xaldin or any of the other members. Axel's smile turned into a grin as he spotted her laying on the bed.

"Surprise!" he grinned. She glared at him before grabbing a pillow and tossing it at his head. It made contact and fell to the floor as he used one hand and scratched his head, seemingly unaffected by being hit with the fluffy object.

"Hey, what was that for?" he asked, confused. She pulled out her notebook and wrote in it before showing it.

Axel, you scared me half to death! I thought you were Xaldin!

The pyro raised his eyebrow before realization crossed his features.

"Oh yeah, lance-man's here too. But that's not important. It's about twelve o' clock now so… Happy 18th birthday!" and with that, his other hand shot out and inside it was a box poorly wrapped with a red bow. She stared at it in confusion before raising her eyebrow at him. His smile faded before he realized, she didn't remember anything! So of course she wouldn't know when her birthday was! She grabbed her notebook and wrote more before showing it to him.

Axel, what are you talking about? What's a birthday?

He sighed and shook his head, at times she acted like a curious child.

"A birthday is the day when someone was born. People celebrate their birthdays every year with presents, parties, cake, and other ways." he explained. She nodded before writing more.

So how do you know that today is my birthday?

He scratched his head in embarrassment as he reached in and pulled another present out of his cloak. He placed both boxes on her lap as he sat down next to her, allowing his legs to dangle off the bed.

"That guy who served DiZ told me. He gave me the present and said it was from your grandfather. So I- …well…I decided to get you one too." he explained. She felt her heart throb painfully at this, so DiZ really did know her grandfather…

"So, what're you waiting for? Go on, open them!" he urged. She nodded as she picked up the poorly wrapped one and opened it, surprised at what was inside. Inside was a little bracelet with a charm in the shape and color of a sea-salt ice-cream bar. She picked it up and gazed at it admirably, it was beautiful.

"Wow…he bought this for me?" she thought as she gazed at it. A hand immediately took the bracelet out of her hands and she looked up to see Axel staring at her.

"Hold out your wrist, I'll put it on for you." he spoke, though it kinda sounded like an order. She nodded as she held out her left wrist, letting Axel clip the bracelet around her wrist, and it fit perfectly. The little charm dangled and she smiled, wrapping her arms around him as she hugged him. He smiled as he wrapped his arm around her as well, before she pulled away and wrote in her notebook.

Thank you, Axel. This is wonderful, I love it so much.

"Heh. You're welcome. Got it memorized?" he chuckled. She stared at the second present, pulling a white card and staring at it before opening it.

Happy 18th birthday, Kyrie.

It has been a long 11 years since you last celebrated your birthday, and even longer since I last gave you a card. You may not remember your birthdays, but you were 7 when you last celebrated your birthday. You always loved celebrating your birthday.

But I digress. I want to give you a present to mark you entry into adulthood, but to you it may mean nothing. Nevertheless, I wanted you to be happy on this special day, and this present will hopefully be enough. I love you, my beloved granddaughter, and we'll see each other again soon. I promise.

Love,

Your Grandfather

Kyrie felt tears come to her eyes at the card and tried blinking them away so that they would disappear.

"Oh grandfather…" she thought as she tried to not cry. Axel's eyes stared at her as she tried to not cry, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, trying his best to comfort her. Finally regaining her composure, she carefully opened the box and looked inside. Inside was a five point star charm.

It had silver frames with white stained glass for the inside of the points of the star, a silver heart in the center that resembled her necklace, and a small chain at the end of the top point that had another, smaller star at the end of the chain. The points were held together by sewed on silver thread, and the charm looked like it was glowing. She stared at it in awe before seeing another card at the bottom of the box. Placing the star on her lap, she picked up the card and read it.

This star charm is called a Wayfinder, it resembles a star-shaped fruit found only on the Destiny Islands, and it represents the bond between friends. It will lead you home should you ever find yourself lost, and you will find your way back to your friends and loved ones.

It is traditionally made from seashells, but I improvised and made this instead. Another person made it this way long before I, so I used the same materials they did. You were always fascinated with the legends of this star-shaped fruit, and your mother made your doll as an imitation of it. I hope you love it.

Kyrie read the card and picked up the star, before showing it to Axel. He nodded, looking at the charm.

"It's nice. You like it?" he asked. She nodded and smiled before pulling out her notebook.

It's lovely. Thank you for the bracelet and delivering grandfather's present, I love them so much. Thank you.

Axel smiled as she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. He returned the hug, and, for the first time he… felt weird. He felt like…holding her close and never wanting to let her go.

What exactly… was he feeling?

Aaaannnnd...here's that action-packed, fluff-filled chapter I promised! ...I get it. Not really as action-packed as some of you hoped, but I tried. Oh, and Kyrie's new wayfinder looks like Aqua's, Ven's, and Terra's, except white and has the heart from the KH logo in the center.

Anyways, please read and review! ...Because I'm going to watch "Who framed Rodger Rabbit"!