Kyrie (c) Me

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

Kingdom Hearts

Bonded Soul

Chapter 23

After a few hours of flying, the group arrived at the next world, relaxed and rejuvenated. This world was far different from the others they had ventured to, how or why, they couldn't place it.

But from where they landed, Kyrie could clearly see the ocean as well as the docks where a couple of ships were anchored in. They could see a large town that was close to the port, and just outside of the town, a large mansion.

"This world…it feels both good and bad. I wonder why…" she thought as she looked around. Behind her, she could see a large number of jail cells, a large bell, canons, and a few barrels that rested against the stone walls. Sora walked over and crossed his arms, surveying his surroundings.

"Wow!" Donald spoke, looking around at his surroundings in awe as he and Goofy joined Sora. The boy agreed with him as they looked around.

"This place is…" he trailed off, not exactly sure what word to use.

"Kinda different." Goofy added. Sora agreed with him as they walked over to the stone wall that overlooked everything. Suddenly, they could hear screaming and shouting from below. The boys immediately leaned over the wall, looking down as they watched the denizens run from men who carried weapons. Kyrie wrinkled her nose, those men were bad news, of that she was certain.

"Something's up." Sora spoke as he watched, his eyes narrowing as he tried to make sense of the situation.

"Organization XIII?" Goofy asked, confused a bit. Kyrie shook her head, these men weren't members of Organization XIII. She knew better than that, these men were humans.

"But whoever these men are…they better be ready. I don't tolerate harassing and harming innocent people." she thought as she clenched her fists from where they rested against the ledge.

"Or the Heartless!" Donald added. Sora shrugged his shoulders before he turned and started for the stairs.

"Only one way to find out!" he cried as he ran down them, with Donald and Goofy right behind him. Kyrie smiled as she shook her head, one of these days he was going to get in way over his head.

"But I guess that's why I'm here, to make sure it doesn't happen." she thought as she ran after them. When they got to the bottom of the stairs, she spotted a familiar large cat towering over a band of men, just about all of them carrying swords, axes, and other weapons.

"Hey!" Sora shouted as he stopped a short distance away, summoning his keyblade as he did so. Pete pointed at them, and within seconds Kyrie was next to Sora, both keyblades drawn as she got into position.

"See there? I knew it! Those are the punks I was tellin' ya about." He exclaimed as he pointed at them. Kyrie felt her eyebrow twitch as a scowl appeared on her face.

"I'm a punk, am I? Why I'll-"

"Who're you calling punks? It's Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Kyrie to you! And don't you forget it!" Sora shouted, offended that he was called a punk. But one man, who had a very large and strange hat, walked forward and smirked at the group. Kyrie narrowed her eyes, this man must be their leader.

"That we won't. And we'll engrave it on your tombstone, to be sure." The man spoke, making Sora, Donald, and Goofy stiffen. Kyrie snorted angrily, how dare he threaten her friends.

"Whoa! I like your style. But you better leave the girl for me. Maleficent wants her." Pete complimented, but the man ignored him. Kyrie simply glared at the man, her anger enveloping her. She was sure her eyes were changing color now, but she couldn't tell.

"Over my dead body." she thought with finality as the man turned to his minions.

"Men… half of you stay here and indulge these cullies. The rest… bring me that medallion!" he ordered. The men nodded.

"Aye!" they shouted in unison as half of them ran off, to look for the medallion. The rest came after them, their weapons raised. Kyrie could sense that something was different about these men, something that didn't quite seem right. She was proven correct when she tried slicing her keyblade through one of them, but the blow did zero damage.

"What are these people?" she thought as she jumped back, avoiding the man's axe as he brought it down.

"It's no use! We can't beat them!" she heard Sora shout. But suddenly, the were basked in moonlight, and the appearance of the men changed. She stiffened, taking a few steps back at the sight of them. They looked like skeletons, except she could clearly see their eyes and could see some parts of their flesh as it clung to their bodies. She covered her nose, they smell! It was like a decaying corpse, horrible and foul.

"You best be sayin' your prayers!" One of them said as he swung his axe, almost getting Donald's head. Pete gasped from behind them, and started waving his arms.

"Hey, watch out! They can see ya! Stay away from their magic!" he shouted. One of them looked at him.

"What for?" he asked. Pete rolled his eyes.

"Weren't you listenin' to me before?" Pete asked. Sora smirked at the group, before looking at Pete.

"Hey, Pete, thanks for the tip!" he called, causing him to gulp and cover his mouth. Kyrie smirked, before she ran in and used her keyblade to uppercut the man closest to her. The man went flying, and his comrade rushed in, itching to behead her.

"Why you stinkin' wench!" he shouted, but after a quick slice from Kyrie, he was down for the count. After about ten minutes of fighting, the men were gone, with only Pete remaining. Within seconds, he was running away as he shook his fist at them, shouting something or another. Kyrie quickly ignored this as she stared at her keyblades.

"These men weren't heartless…" she thought somberly. Sora looked in the direction of the town before looking at his companions.

"If Pete's here that must mean we have work to do." He sighed. Donald and Goofy agreed, but Kyrie just kept staring in the direction of the town.

"Yep. And that pirate captain looked pretty mean, too." Goofy added, worried at the thought.

"Man, I'd hate to see him turned into a Heartless." Sora agreed, staring off into space for a moment. Kyrie simply sighed and started for the town, now was not the time to talk about pirates being turned into heartless.

"Hey, Kyrie, wait up!" he called as he and the others ran to catch up to her. But once she started hearing a woman shouting and screaming in protest, she broke out into a mad dash.

"Elizabeth!" she heard a man's voice cry out, and looked ahead to see a man as he ran after something, only to be stopped by a group of heartless. He backed up a little, holding his arms up in defense as they inched closer.

"What are they?" she heard him ask.

"It's Heartless! Watch out!" Donald cried and within seconds, she and the boys were in front of him, weapons drawn. Sora looked back at the man as he stared at the group in confusion.

"We'll deal with them! Go! Take cover!" he ordered. The man nodded quickly and ran behind a barricade of barrels and boxes, while the group took on the heartless. Kyrie kept close to the barricade while Sora and the others rushed forward, making sure that no heartless got past her to get to the man. Once they were done, they turned to the man as he came out from behind the barricade.

"Well done! My own fencing skills are not to be ashamed of… but I've never faced foes such as that before." He complimented, making Sora grin as he held his arms behind his head.

"You really think we're that good?" he asked, making Kyrie roll her eyes. Donald and Goofy looked around before looking at the man again.

"Did you find your friend?" Goofy asked. But the man shook his head, his shoulders slumping as he did so. Kyrie felt bad for the man.

"I was too late. But I must rescue her! Would you help me?" He asked. The group nodded as Sora began the introductions.

"Of course! I'm Sora. This is Donald, Goofy, and Kyrie." He explained as he introduced them. The man nodded as he pointed to himself.

"And I'm William Turner, but call me Will." He explained. Sora nodded as he turned.

"Okay, Will. Let's go!" he exclaimed. But Kyrie was way ahead of him, running towards the docks. She could hear his groan behind her, and smiled a little despite herself.

"Aw, Kyrie! Why do you always run off?" she rolled her eyes at this as she ran, grinning widely as she did so.

"Maybe because I have a very good indication on where they're taking Will's friend?" she thought sarcastically. When they got to the docks, she groaned as they watched the ship that Elizabeth was on sail away. Kyrie groaned silently.

"Aw great. Now we either hijack a ship to go after her, or we just give up. Decisions decisions…" she thought. Will groaned loudly, making her turn to look at him as he slumped, looking dejected.

"We're too late." he groaned. She heard a sound like footsteps and turned her attention to the ship closest to them, where a dreadlocked man was walking, having heard their conversation.

"Then she's long gone. The Black Pearl is nigh uncatchable. Best find yourself another girl, mate." She heard the man talk, making Sora and the others look up on him as he approached the gangplank.

"You… What are you doing aboard the Interceptor? She's off limits to civilians." Will spoke sternly, making the man wave his hands in a strange pattern.

"If I should see one I'll shall inform you immediately." the man joked. Kyrie tried to hold back her silent giggles at that, this man was amusing to say the least. The man became serious as he looked at the group.

"Ah, fortunate that I'm going to commandeer her, then. She'll make a fine pirate ship." He explained. Sora brightened at this as he got closer to the ship.

"A pirate!" he exclaimed in excitement. Kyrie smiled as Donald and Goofy sighed, Sora was never the one to grasp the concept of a serious situation.

"Captain Jack Sparrow, if you please." The man, Jack, said as he introduced himself. Will was silent as he placed his hands against his chin, staring at Jack for a few moments. He lowered his hand, looking like he had something on his mind.

"Take me with you. Help me hunt down the Black Pearl and save Miss Swan. I got you out of that jail cell, Sparrow. Do this and your debt's repaid." He explained. The pirate captain shook his head, looking like he was in no mood to rescue damsels in distress.

"You'll have to win fair lady's heart alone, mate. I see no profit in it for me." He answered. Everyone sighed in defeat, but Kyrie wasn't the type to give up easily. She immediately began walking up the gangplank, walking right past the pirate captain as she did so. He turned, eyeing her as she walked over to the wheel and placed her hands on it, as if she were going to steer it.

"Now what do ye think you're doing, lass?" Jack asked as he raised an eyebrow at the girl. She stared silently back, holding the handles of the wheel tightly in case the man walked over and tried to throw her overboard. He stared silently back, before sighing and shrugging his shoulders.

"Seems your lady-friend wants to commandeer the ship herself, so you're all free to come aboard. No use in arguing." he explained as he turned to Sora, Will, Donald, and Goofy. The group smiled as they walked on the gangplank.

"Thanks, Sparrow." Will said gratefully. But Jack simply stared at him, annoyed.

"Captain Sparrow." He emphasized, clearly annoyed at the lack of title. Kyrie simply giggled silently as she moved away from the wheel and walked over to Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Sora turned to the man as he once again began the introductions.

"I'm Sora. This is Donald, Goofy, and Kyrie." Sora explained as he pointed to each person. They waved at the captain before Will spoke up.

"I'm Will Turner." Jack stared at the man, a mixture of expressions on his face, before he spoke.

"That would be short for William, I imagine. No doubt for your father, eh?" he commented out of the blue. Will gave him a confused look before nodding uncertainly.

"Yes." He answered. Kyrie quickly turned her attention to the ocean as they talked, staring uncertainly at the water as she did so. She was still afraid of the deep, dark waters, but she had to keep her head. They were on a ship, the only danger would be if the ship sunk.

"Argh, stop thinking bad thoughts! We'll be fine, there's absolutely nothing to worry about…" she thought as she slammed her palms against her temples, trying to block out all negative thoughts. Turning her attention back to the others, she realized that Jack, Sora, Donald, and Goofy were off the ship and on the docks while Will was standing near the wheel. Exchanging a few words, Jack walked off, and the others boarded the ship again. Kyrie immediately walked over, pulling out her notebook as she did so.

Hey, where's Jack going?

"Oh, he said there was some stuff he needed to get. We're supposed to stay and guard the ship." Sora explained. She nodded before Goofy placed a hand on her shoulder, looking at her worriedly.

"You okay? You sure are shakin'…" he asked. She suddenly realized the slight tremors that shook her body, and tried to calm herself. Donald placed his hand on hers as he too, stared at her in concern.

"You still scared of the water?" he asked. She was about to shake her head, but Sora's look stopped her. He looked a little guilty, and she felt bad.

I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me so much, I can take care of myself. Besides, if not for me, we wouldn't be on this adventure to save a damsel in distress.

The three looked at her uncertainly before Sora nodded.

"Oh, okay…ah! Here comes Jack!" Sora exclaimed as he pointed. They turned and spotted the captain as he approached, a few potions and whatnot in hand.

"Alright mates, time to sail off."

Whoo! Jack's here! In all of KHII, this world had to be one of my most favorite worlds to visit. ...And it's not because of the awesome dreadlocked captain! ...Okay, maybe it is. But still, Port Royal was definitely a plus for KHII.

Anyways...read and review. Because if you don't, a band of cursed pirates will come after you!