Kyrie (c) Me

Kingdom Hearts (c) Square Enix

Kingdom Hearts

Bonded Soul

Chapter 64

Kyrie awoke with a start as she sat up, panting heavily as sweat fell from her brow. Looking around, she sighed in relief and slumped back into her chair, relieved that it was all a dream. Her heart was hammering wildly in her chest, despite the fact that she knew it was a dream. Or, a nightmare to be more specific.

"But…it seemed so real…" she thought as her fingers brushed her cheek, finding tracks made by her tears. Looking over, she saw Donald as he manned the controls, with Sora and Goofy asleep in their chairs from the long voyage. After a minute, he quacked.

"We're here!" he called, waking up the boys as they yawned and stretched. Kyrie was quick to wipe her face as they got up and approached, looking at the screen. Sora smiled.

"Hollow Bastion, here we come!"

-Hollow Bastion, Market street-

The group was quiet as they walked into town, before spotting a line of soldier heartless as they ran by and disappeared. Sora stopped. "Wait a sec…I thought everything was supposed to be under control here!" he gasped. A `ping` sound caught their attention as Donald turned, pointing.

"Hey, look!" he cried. They turned and saw the defense mechanism, but…something was wrong with it. Kyrie narrowed her eyes.

"Something's wrong with the mechanism…but…what?" she thought as she stared.

"Must be Organization XIII again. We better go see Leon." Sora scowled. Donald and Goofy nodded as the boys ran off, but Kyrie stayed where she was. She knew that something wasn't right, but had a feeling that it had nothing to do with Organization XIII. For the moment, anyways. With a huff, she followed after the boys as they ran through town, waving to Donald's nephews and uncle as they passed. The family of ducks waved as well, with Uncle Scrooge calling to them.

"When ye've done seeing Leon, come back and try my ice cream! I'm sure I've got it this time, lads and lass!" he exclaimed in his Scottish accent. The four nodded in agreement and continued into the Borough. Once they got to the steps that led to Merlin's house, a strange yellow object flew past them, startling Donald as it did so.

"Wack!" he cried as he jumped back to avoid it. Once it was gone, heartless began to appear, but not the normal variety that Kyrie knew. She raised her eyebrows at the bunch while the boys gasped, summoning their weapons. Decided to ask later, the girl summoned her keyblades, running in and taking out the first one that came at her.

"These heartless… where did they come from? The guys seem to recognize them, but how? I've never seen them before…" she thought as she fought, taking down each one that came her way. But a large purple one came at her, swinging its arms and catching her in the side, sending her flying.

"Kyrie!" she heard Sora cry as she flew. She closed her eyes and braced herself, preparing for the painful landing. But instead, she felt an arm reach out and grab the back of her jacket, holding her in the air as it did so. Looking back, she was surprised to see Axel as he held on, his other hand holding onto a gutter from one of the houses.

"You okay?" he asked. She nodded and he sighed, pulling her up so that she could wrap her arms around his neck while he transferred from the back of her neck to her waist. Once that was done, he pulled the both of them onto the roof. The two were quiet for a few moments, Kyrie blushing madly while Axel scratched the back of his head, neither knowing what to do at the moment.

"Should I say something to him?"

"Should I ask her now?"

"But what can I say to him? Should I-" but their thoughts were cut off as the sounds of fighting continued, the girl getting to her feet and summoning her keyblades once more. She looked back at Axel reluctantly and he nodded, understanding.

"It's okay, go. They need your help." he told her. She smiled and walked back, hugging him tightly as she buried her face into his neck. The pyro was speechless for a moment, before returning her embrace. After a few moments she released him and walked a few steps back. He stared at her, her eyes seemed full of melancholy as they stared into his emerald irises. With that, she was off, making him frown a little as she watched her disappear.

"Kyrie…"

-Back with Sora-

When she finally got to them, the trio were looking at each other in confusion. When they spotted her, they sighed in relief.

"Kyrie, you're okay! That's good." Sora sighed in relief. The girl smiled warmly at them but stopped when the door cracked open, Yuffie peering at them as she did so. When she realized that it was only them, she smiled and stepped out, waving in greeting.

"Come on in!" she greeted warmly, making the group stare at her blankly. She cocked her head to the side, confused by their expressions before Sora spoke up.

"Wait just a second…what happened to this place?" he asked. The girl was quiet before Goofy spoke as well. "Didn't that heartless look like the ones from Tron's world?" he added. Kyrie blinked as she stared at them.

"Tron? Where have I heard that name before…" after a few moments, she remembered. "Oh yeah. They mentioned him last time when we were in Grandfather's study. Who is he, I wonder?" she thought as Yuffie nodded.

"C'mon, just get inside!" she exclaimed as she reached out, grabbing Kyrie's arm and pulling the girl inside, the boys following after the two. Inside, Yuffie dragged the girl over to the computer, where Cid and Merlin were. Cid was typing furiously on the keyboards as he focused on the screen in front of him, with no help from either Yuffie or Merlin. "Hurry up, Cid!"

"Give me a second!" he shouted back as he typed. Merlin shook his head. "Confound it! Hurry!"

"Why, you…!"

"What's going on?" Sora asked as he looked at the group. The three turned to him as Yuffie released her hold on Kyrie's arm, making the girl sigh in relief as she joined the three boys. Cid smirked. "Talk about yer good timin'!"

"The MCP is wreaking havoc inside the computer." Yuffie explained. Donald sighed. "Not again!"

"According to Leon, anyway…" Cid spoke as he began to explain the situation. But while he did so, Kyrie looked back and forth between the group, completely confused. She had no idea what they were talking about, and had no idea who Tron and the MCP were.

"But if something is wreaking havoc inside a computer, wouldn't it have to be IN the computer? This stuff is so confusing…"

"That's a computer program for ya." Cid commented with a shake of his head. Sora uncrossed his arms and looked at him, the worry on his face clear as day. "How's Tron doing?"

"We can't reach him. We figure he must have been forced onto the game grid." Yuffie answered. Cid nodded. "And it don't sound like a particularly fun game, either." Donald sighed sadly as Sora nodded.

"We'll go check on Tron." he offered. The group nodded in agreement. "Thanks, kid. We're puttin' together an MCP Eradication program. I got a hunch it's almost finished, too." Cid explained. Merlin turned to him, a scowl on his face.

"Well, I hope your hunch is right, for once!" he scolded. Before Cid could retort, Yuffie cut in. "Listen, we're gonna need Tron's help when that Eradicator's completed…"

"Don't sweat it! We'll make sure to tell Tron!" Sora said as he placed his hand over his chest. The group smiled while Kyrie turned, heading for the door.

"I guess we're heading over to Grandfather's study. Maybe while we're there, I can find more clues about myself. And at least get to meet this Tron guy." she thought as she waited at the door. After a few moments, the boys joined her and nodded, and with that they walked out.

-A little while later-

The group panted heavily as they ran into the Postern, somewhat exhausted after dealing with groups of heartless of different varieties coming after them. "Ugh…so many heartless! Who in the world does this MCP think he is? Grr…when I get my hands on him…" Kyrie thought as she and the boys stopped, taking a break from the run. But movement from the corner of their eyes caught them by surprise as three tiny, familiar fairies flew to them.

"Liars!" the brunette exclaimed, pointing at them. Sora blinked at them in confusion.

"Wha-?"

"Leon doesn't have any treasure!" the redhead added, placing her hands on her hips. "And we fought for you guys." the third added as she brushed her hair back. Kyrie face palmed as Goofy turned to Donald.

"Donald…?"

"Well, I had to tell them something!" Donald explained. The brunette shook her head. "I don't see how we're gonna work this out."

"So what should we do?" Sora asked them. The three turned to each other immediately, forming a small huddle as they conversed amongst themselves. After a few moments, the brunette turned to them. "We're just gonna take YOUR treasure."

"But we don't have anything!" he exclaimed.

"You sure?" the goth one asked as her red-headed companion flew over, checking the group over. "Hmm…let's take a look!" after a few minutes, she seemed to have found something valuable on Goofy, and flew back to her companions. After a few more whispers, they turned to them.

"Okay, we've decided! The Gullwings are taking all of your items!" the brunette exclaimed. Sora groaned. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

"Oh, foofie." she pouted, placing her hands on her hips.

"This stinks."

"So not cool…"

"Aw, I feel bad for them. Maybe…" Kyrie thought as she looked at her backpack, remembering the treasure she still had from the time she went to Agrabah. Sora leaned forward as he tried to apologize for Donald's lie. "Look, sorry we tricked you, but…"

"Forget about it. Leon told us the whole story. He said your journey's been pretty rough." the goth one explained. The brunette nodded. "So it wouldn't really be right if we took your things." she added.

"We'll root for you!" the redhead exclaimed. Kyrie smiled before holding her hand up, making them pause as they looked at her. "Yes?" the girl quickly dug through her backpack and pulled out three gems, making the three treasure fanatics gasp as she held the gems out to them.

"Really? For us?" the brunette asked. The white-haired girl grinned and nodded, making them cry excitedly as they took the gems from her hand.

"Wowie! This is so big!" the redhead cried as she looked at the ruby in her arms. The goth agreed. "Awesome."

"This is great! Thank you so much!" the brunette exclaimed as the three looked at the girl. Kyrie smiled and shook her head, but the three turned to each other and whispered amongst themselves. After a moment, they looked back at her.

"In return for your kindness, we'll do everything we can to help you on your journey! My name's Yuna." the brunette proclaimed.

"I'm Rikku!" the redhead added.

"And I'm Paine." the goth mumbled. Yuna smiled as she waved to them, sensing that it was time to depart. "Bye! Good luck on your journey!" and with that, they disappeared. After a few moments, Kyrie noticed Donald's eyes as they found the pocket where she kept the gems.

"You had treasure this whole time?" he demanded, pouting. She smiled and pulled out another gem, placing it on the duck's palm. He seemed pleased with this and pocketed the gem, making Sora and Goofy laugh.

"C'mon, guys. Leon's waiting for us!"

GAH! What the hell is wrong with FF? I tried updating this all day, but it shut down on us again. Sorry, but this is royally ticking me off.

Anyways, make sure you have lots of tissues next chapter. It's gonna get pretty depressing between Kyrie and Axel. Or maybe not. It made my beta sad, so I think it'll make you guys sad.

Anyways, see ya! And don't forget to review!