Chapter 28 – Journey

"Gawrsh, Master Yen Sid," Goofy said, pausing to wipe the sweat from his brow. "We've been walkin' for a long time. Are we any closer to this place you were talkin' about?"

"We are drawing near to it, yes," was Master Yen Sid's reply. At this news Donald and Goofy sighed in relief.

Their group was on the very edge of Master Yen Sid's home world, which was hidden away in a book in his tower. The water lapping at their feet was shallow, and a little ways away was a small island with a pavilion on it. Similar islands stretched out into the horizon as far as the eye could see, and when Kairi stole a glance at the sky, pegasi glided by on their magnificent wings.

In any other situation, she would have liked very much to explore such a beautiful world. But that wasn't why they were here. For the first time in ages, she and the rest of the Princesses of Heart were all together, and that little detail couldn't have escaped Xehanort's notice.

Might as well paint giant targets on our foreheads, she thought grimly. Holding her Keyblade more tightly in her hand, she moved closer to Aqua.

"Everything okay?" Aqua asked.

She chewed her lip. "Yeah, it's just that—"

"Hey, everything's gonna be fine," Ven said. "We're here and we'll protect you."

"Remember that signal I put into your necklace," Aqua added.

Kairi attempted a smile. "Yeah. There's just so much at stake. It's hard not to be nervous."

While it was true that she and the other Princesses of Heart were powerful when they were all together, they hadn't really tested the full limits of their abilities. In theory this should work, but in practice, who knew.

Merlin searched around in his robes for his wand as they continued on. "Kairi, my dear, have some faith in yourself. There is a reason Xehanort is after the seven of you."

At long last they reached the place Master Yen Sid had spoken of earlier. While the scenery continued on, Kairi could definitely tell that something was different about this area. When she poked the air in front of her with her Keyblade, she hit an invisible wall, and her Keyblade bounced back a bit. Clear block-like structures appeared for a moment, then vanished into the ether once more.

For a moment she wondered what the worlds had looked like when they'd all been one. There probably hadn't been any unnatural barriers like this, but then she had to remind herself that this barrier was the very reason another Keyblade War hadn't broken out yet.

Letting her Keyblade disappear, she grabbed Belle and Jasmine's offered hands.

"All together now, everyone," Aurora said.

"Think about your loved ones," Cinderella added. "The light in our hearts always shines brightest when we do."

Alice nodded, and Kairi closed her eyes and called forth images of her family and friends. They each held a special place in her heart, but of course there was someone who mattered the most of all.

The memories with him hadn't been very happy ones lately, but at least their goodbye hug had been nice. She let her mind wander to that, and to all the things she wished they might share someday. Things she'd pushed out of her mind because there'd been too much else to think about.

There. The light in her heart was growing, and she could feel it amplified by the light of the hearts around her. Taking a deep breath, she directed that light towards the world's barrier. Now that she had something to focus on, she opened her eyes and continued. Sure enough, she sensed the barrier getting stronger, the light growing and growing as it wrapped the entire world in its warm embrace.

"That's it, that's it!" Merlin cried. "By George, they've got it!"

When Kairi stole a glance at him and Master Yen Sid, there was a twinkle in Merlin's eyes and something akin to triumph in Master Yen Sid's.

"What is it, Master?" Aqua asked.

"Ah, forgive me, Aqua," Master Yen Sid replied. "The balance of light and darkness that Xehanort pretends to value is, in fact, being restored to this world by the Seven Princesses as we speak. The worlds do not need him any more than they need a parasite, and it is most satisfying to see proof of that with my very eyes."

"Yen Sid speaks the truth," Merlin said. "The worlds are unbalanced because of all the dratted Heartless and Nobodies, but we're here to fix that."

He's right. Maybe this way we can restore the—

"Kairi," Belle gently chided.

"Sorry!" Kairi turned her attention back to the barrier. They were close now, close to making it as strong as they could. Just a little more—

"My my, what have we here?" came a voice from behind them. Kairi let go of Belle and Jasmine's hands and whirled around. Donald and Goofy were already by her side, weapons out and at the ready.

Because of course things had been going too well. Xehanort always knew exactly when to interfere. His younger self was here, along with an armored figure that must be No Heart. According to Aqua and Ven, No Heart was Xehanort in his prime. They'd warned the others about him after Eraqus had also warned them.

Kairi didn't feel so good about their odds now, but Merlin was already on top of things. He made a portal into the past of the world, and Master Yen Sid created a powerful magic barrier around everyone to buy them time. The other princesses followed Merlin through the portal, but Kairi refused to budge.

"Take them and go!" she cried, summoning her Keyblade. They couldn't complete their work here until the Xehanorts had been driven away, and she fully intended to help with that.

What happened next was a blur. All she knew was that there was a loud clap of thunder, and then she was whisked away to some unknown realm. There was no ground beneath her feet nor sky above. It was all just empty, a colorless world with no sense of time or space.

"We haven't had access to Sora at all lately," came Young Xehanort's voice. Kairi spotted him a little ways away, hunched over something she couldn't quite make out.

Great. Of all the people to get stuck with—

"It was you, wasn't it?" he continued. "You were the one who put that barrier of light around his heart." He put the finishing touches on what he was working on, and Kairi could hear the steady tick-tock of a clock as he turned to her and raised his eyebrow. "I suppose I should have expected as much. You're maintaining it even now, aren't you? That must be exhausting. Tell me, if I defeat you, will that bring the barrier down? We really would like to be able to access his heart again."

Kairi summoned her Keyblade. "No. I won't let you." Not again. She wouldn't let Xehanort hurt him again.

Young Xehanort's eyes flashed. "His heart belongs to the darkness. It belongs to me."

"No. He gave his heart to me." She brought her Keyblade into a defensive stance and glared. "It's in my care, and that means that if you want to get to him, you're going to have to go through me."

To her surprise, he relaxed and smiled. "So the princess protects her knight. What a change of roles. Too bad you're both still destined to fail."

"You mean the prophecy? You don't know anything!"

She thought of what Riku had said and clung to the hope behind his words, what could be if they discovered the rest of the prophecy and found out how it might help them.

Young Xehanort made a long, slow circle around her. "Light will expire and darkness prevail. Just as I know my role is to be a vessel of darkness, your role is to be on the side of light and fall along with the rest of your allies."

Kairi gritted her teeth. "Do you really believe that? Do you really think that you have no choice?"

"My path has already been set for me."

Kairi let her Keyblade disappear. "But what if it hasn't been? What if you can choose?" She took a deep breath. She knew the past couldn't be changed, and yet… as much as she hated Xehanort, this was a Xehanort who hadn't done all those terrible things yet. Maybe it was possible to—

"The future has already been written, and yet you insist on interfering. You're upsetting the balance I've worked so hard to restore, and I can't let you do that." He raised his eyebrow. "You do realize how pointless all this is, right? Once I have the χ-blade, all the barriers around the worlds are going to come crashing down."

Kairi didn't say anything. Even if what he said was true, Master Eraqus still had his mission. That wasn't pointless. There was her mission, too; her secret mission that she hadn't told anyone about yet. And even her mission with the others wasn't pointless, if it distracted Xehanort from what the Guardians really had planned.

That's right. We're the bait in a game of cat and mouse. Might as well have a little fun.

She touched her necklace, and it flashed briefly. Searching for a way out of this place, her eyes landed on the only clue she had. The clock Young Xehanort had created. She didn't like her odds fighting against him alone, but maybe, if she could do something about that clock—

"Oh, you aren't going anywhere," he said, summoning his Keyblade. She sent a light barrier crashing towards him, and he dodged out of the way.

"Why do you want the χ-blade so badly?" she barely managed, rolling out of the way of his diving attack.

"I need it to open the door."

"And why do you want to open the door?"

"Don't you know? Whoever opens the door will—"

"Kairi!" Aqua and Ven cried. Oh good, they were finally here. Kairi grinned. The necklace signal that Aqua had set up had worked.

"You guys take him on, I'll go after the clock!" she said.

"Got it!"

Young Xehanort did what he could to protect the clock, but Aqua and Ven made every attempt for him difficult. Kairi was able to attack it with little interference. Cracks appeared in its glowing surface, and with one last blow, it shattered. The strange realm melted away, and the last thing she heard was Young Xehanort's parting words.

"Foolish girl, doomed to fail and lose the one you're fighting so hard to protect. You above all others are to be pitied."

His words sent a chill down her spine, but then Donald and Goofy were there and they were hugging her and everyone was safe, the Xehanorts had been driven away and they could finish the job.

They did, and as the last piece of the barrier was strengthened, a bright light shone, bathing the whole world in its protective glow.

This world was safe, for now. It had been a good test run – few people, mainly just creatures of all different kinds. But now it was time to go to worlds with more people. They were ones that needed the most protection, after all.

Not before resting, however. As Kairi tossed and turned that night in some unfamiliar palace as the rest of her companions snoozed nearby, Young Xehanort's words from before echoed in her mind.

Lose the one I'm fighting so hard to protect? He meant Sora, didn't he?

She pulled the covers up around her. No. She wouldn't let that happen. Young Xehanort had only said that because he didn't know the full prophecy. The full prophecy, the real prophecy, had to be filled with hope. It just had to be.

She imagined Sora holding her like he had in the Secret Place, and she was finally able to drift off to sleep.

"Kairi… Kairi…"

Ugh. Kairi knew that voice all too well. She blinked her eyes open and brushed a strand of sticky, sweaty hair out of her face. It was warm here, and with a start she realized she was back in the volcano fortress where Sora had been imprisoned, standing in a dimly lit room by a black throne. Something about that throne made her stomach queasy, and she wasn't sure why.

"Leave me alone, Xehanort," she spat. It wasn't enough that he had tried to talk to her in real life, no. Not even her dreams were off limits to him. Nothing good would come of this, of that she was certain. She summoned her Keyblade just in case.

Xehanort was unperturbed. "Take that barrier around Sora's heart down and I will."

She just glared at him. As if she would ever stop protecting Sora. "Not an option."

He smiled that creepy unsettling smile of his and sat on the throne, sprawling out like he didn't have a care in the world. "He has abandoned you again and again. Why are you still so loyal to him?"

"That's not true. He only ever leaves me because he has to. Because our friends need him."

Xehanort strummed his fingers across the armrest of the throne. "You keep telling yourself that, and yet… He's heartless, don't you think? He knows what you're afraid of, and yet he keeps subjecting you to it."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Get out of my dream and leave me alone." She summoned the light within her. If it could drive Vanitas back, it would surely work on Xehanort, too.

"Your birth parents died when you were just a baby," Xehanort said, and she paused. "You were torn from the grandmother you loved and sent to a strange new world. Then Sora and Riku left you alone for an entire year. And as soon as they got the chance, they left you behind again."

"So what? They had important things to do. And the reason I was separated from my grandma was because of you, or did you forget already?"

He had a conveniently short memory when his lies and manipulation called for it.

"It doesn't matter who was the cause of it," he said. "You're afraid of being abandoned, and yet Sora has abandoned you over and over and over again."

What was this all about? Was Xehanort really trying to get her to doubt Sora? Did he think that would get her to stop protecting him? For all his posturing and pontificating, he really didn't understand the heart at all.

"No! He's always with me, just like he promised." She didn't know how exactly, but it didn't matter. Time and again he'd been with her in spirit if not in reality.

Xehanort just gave her an unreadable look. "If you won't believe me, then why don't you hear it from him?"

Kairi watched as if in a stupor as he morphed into Sora right before her eyes. But not just any version of Sora. A bruised, broken Sora, tears streaking his face and arms chained to the throne and body betraying the physical abuse he'd suffered, the hurt that healing magic could quickly and easily mask.

She knew when exactly this had taken place, and she didn't want to see any more. Didn't need to. If Sora had wanted her to know, he would have shared it with her himself.

She squeezed her eyes shut. "Stop it, he doesn't want me to see him like this—"

But Xehanort didn't care for her wishes or Sora's.

"Kairi, I'm sorry," Sora said, voice completely broken and body wracked with sobs. Her eyes flew open. She couldn't help herself. She looked into his eyes, and the guilt and agony in them hurt, knowing why they were there.

"Enough," she said, her voice low and shaky and her lip trembling. So he was thinking about me, even when he was—

That was her Sora, compassionate and selfless to the end. She fought to swallow the lump in her throat. If anything this just made her more determined to protect him.

Xehanort transformed back into himself, his eyes gleaming. "He said that after I told him I was going to remake him in my image, in the image of the man who hurt you. After I showed him exactly how I hurt you, of course."

Kairi felt sick. Her head swam and her stomach roiled. More memories flashed through her mind, memories she'd almost forgotten, things she'd moved past and buried getting dug up again and thrown in her face.

All just to make Sora suffer. Her pain and torment being twisted into a knife to plunge into his heart like it didn't even belong to her, like it was just another tool in Xehanort's arsenal.

Because that was the easiest way to make Sora suffer. When his friends hurt, he hurt. He hurt far more than he probably would for himself. And that hurt was amplified by the depth of his love, and he loved her enough to die for her.

It was a wonder what Xehanort had done hadn't killed him. Sora had told her what had happened, but hearing Xehanort admit it so casually and give her the details Sora had carefully omitted was like pouring salt on an open wound.

"How dare you," she said, her whole body shaking and her blood boiling. "You cruel, selfish, manipulative—"

"So yes," Xehanort cut in, interrupting her, "he does know about how you feel about being alone and abandoned and yet—"

"Shut up!"

Light exploded from deep within her and blasted Xehanort away. Her eyes flew open, her breath coming in loud gasps. She was back in the palace on Master Yen Sid's world, and everyone else was still sleeping soundly around her, the moonlight reflecting off their peaceful faces.

She pulled her blanket tighter and shut her eyes again. But images of Sora's tear-streaked face and battered body, of that awful look in his eyes as he'd choked out an apology, were burned into her brain. She had to open her eyes again to banish them.

More manipulation. Xehanort was doing everything he could to get to him, including going through her. His heart wasn't the only one that needed a light barrier. She drew on the light in hers to make one to surround her own. There. No more creepy Xehanort visits in her dreams, hopefully. She wouldn't let his threats stop her. She would protect Sora, no matter what.

She didn't fall asleep again after that, her mind replaying every moment from the dream instead like some kind of sick movie. As soon as Aqua stirred nearby, she pounced at the chance for a distraction.

"Aqua, can we train?" she asked, plopping on the bed next to her.

Aqua rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Gimme a minute."

True to her promise, Aqua got ready quickly. After that they went into a nearby glade outside. The rising sun shone down on them, reflecting off the rustling grass as the breeze rushed through it.

"Anything you want to learn in particular today?" Aqua asked, going through her usual warmup stretches.

"Can you teach me teleportation magic?"

Kairi knew she needed to move faster. Right now, she was at a speed disadvantage compared to everyone else, and that could be the difference between life and death.

"Sure, but the version I know uses darkness," Aqua said. "It's called Ghost Drive, but you won't be able to use it, for obvious reasons." She tapped her temple. "Hmmm, maybe I could help you develop a version that uses the light instead?"

"That'd be great!" Anything, really, to get her mind off of her worries. To help her prepare.

"It might be a good idea to grab Ven," Aqua said. "He's more experienced with light-based magic than I am and could lend us a hand."

They woke Ven up after that. And true to her word, together she and Ven helped Kairi develop her very own style of teleportation magic. Kairi put her all into practicing it so it would be ready the next time a fight broke out.

Because the harder she focused on fighting, the easier it was to put Sora's suffering and Xehanort's ominous words out of her mind.

She wouldn't lose Sora. She'd keep him safe. It was why she'd trained so hard. He'd promised her they would be together, and they would.

That was what she told herself, anyway.

The following days settled into a pattern - go to new world, meet locals, explain situation, strengthen world barrier, fight if necessary, then repeat the whole process on the next world.

Much to Donald and Goofy's shock, Master Yen Sid gave their group permission to tell people about Xehanort. The safety of all the worlds depended on knowing about the true threat, after all.

And much to Kairi's disappointment, they hadn't been to any worlds that Sora had already been to yet. She needed to meet Sora's friends to carry out her secret mission, but she hadn't run across anyone who knew him yet.

They were staying the night at King Richard's castle after strengthening the barrier around his world, Sherwood Forest, when Kairi found herself unable to sleep again. Not even after the grand feast King Richard had thrown in their honor, or spending hours talking to Robin Hood and Maid Marian, was her mind able to rest.

Sighing, she pulled out the stationary Sora had given her and a pen and began to write.

Dear Sora,

I hope you're doing well. Nothing much in the way of news to report here since I last wrote you. We're still on Robin Hood's world, just a quick night of resting before we move on to the next place. Aqua thinks I've mastered teleportation, so we've moved on to the -ga spells.

My body's exhausted, but I can't sleep again. My mind is racing, and what Young Xehanort said to me is still bothering me. When I see you again, we're going to talk about it, okay?

She paused. She'd told him about Young Xehanort's words during their fight in a previous letter, but not about her dream. The whole thing was a huge violation of his privacy, for one, and dream or not, she couldn't bring herself to describe his suffering. She didn't want him to read about it either. He'd been through enough as it was already.

Thinking of you does help me sleep. I wish you were here for real though. Even with all the people guarding me, I don't feel safe the same way I do as when you're holding me.

Anyway, I hope you get to meet Robin Hood and Maid Marian someday. They're wonderful people with so many stories to tell. They met when they were kids and grew up together. When they were older they fell in love and finally got married.

I don't think I've ever seen anyone so happy. They couldn't stop looking at each other, and Robin didn't let go of Marian's hand the whole night.

It was fun, hearing them talk about all their adventures and how they fell in love. They were both pining after each other but they didn't know how the other person felt until Marian thought Robin was going to die.

Remind you of anyone else we know?

Oh, I remember you wanted me to draw what everyone looks like on this world. You said you've transformed before, right? When you've been to other worlds. I'd like to see your monster form someday, it sounds like a mix of a dragon and a kappa and a cat and that is one funny combination.

Well, here you go. It's been ages since I've drawn anything, so it's nice to practice again. As you can see, I'm an orange tabby cat, Aqua is a fox with blue-gray fur, Merlin's an owl and Master Yen Sid's a wolf. The Princesses of Heart are other animals - Jasmine's a tiger, Belle's a horse, Alice is a white rabbit, Aurora's a dog with golden fur, Cinderella's a bluebird, and Snow White's a deer.

And best of all, Ven's a mouse. We all had a good laugh over that, but he was pretty disgruntled until Cinderella cheered him up.

Well, that's about all I can think of for now. I'll write again when we go to the next world.

Yours truly,

Kairi

Kairi folded the letter and tucked it inside the envelope before putting it in her bag. She could send it in the morning.

As she blew out the candle and climbed under the covers, Sora's presence felt a little more real than usual, almost as if his arms really were wrapped around her. But of course his heart wasn't directly connected to hers right now. They'd agreed not to do that or risk Xehanort finding out about their plan.

Well, she'd learned long ago that something about the two of them was special. The very rules of reality seemed to bend to their will, reversing Heartless transformations and healing hearts and providing comfort across the stars.

It wasn't so much of a stretch, then, to think he might really be here in some sense, and that thought led to soothing dreams as she fell asleep.

"Kairi? Are you coming?" Aqua asked, calling to her across the long cobblestone bridge.

"Yes, hold on," Kairi said. There was still one last thing she had to do. She headed back towards the beautiful city of Corona, surrounded as it was by the sea.

Corona was, in many ways, very different from Destiny Islands. There were a lot more people, for one. The houses had thatched roofs, and the streets were lined with cobblestones and decorated with colorful banners. It was a sharp contrast to Destiny Island's hilly dirt paths and shingled roofs and small town feel.

But the salty sea breeze, the ships sailing to and fro, the atmosphere of adventure and possibility – that was all the same. Kairi supposed all settlements by the sea shared that in common. Perhaps that was why she felt so at home here.

That and the warm hospitality of their hosts, whom she approached now. Their quizzical expressions at her return matched each other almost exactly, much to Kairi's amusement.

"Rapunzel, Eugene, I have a favor to ask," she said.

"Ask away," Eugene said, gesturing to the city behind them. "After all your help protecting our world, we owe you one."

Well, that was true enough. "You're friends with Sora, right?" she said.

Rapunzel gave her a knowing look, the sea breeze rustling through her short brown hair. "Yes. Is this about him?"

Kairi nodded. "Lately, he's been feeling down because… some terrible things happened, and I wanted to do something to cheer him up. Can you help me with that?"

"Sure. What did you have in mind?" Eugene asked.

"Well, he can connect people's hearts together."

They exchanged glances. "We noticed," Rapunzel said, a smile on her face.

"Sora's never met a stranger, has he?" Eugene said.

Kairi's hand went to her necklace. "He really hasn't. And when he connects people's hearts together, the people he's connected to feel what he's feeling, and he can even let them see his thoughts and memories. It's like hearing his voice inside your head, or seeing a bunch of images from his point of view, all at once."

"Does that go both ways?" Rapunzel asked.

Kairi nodded again. "You can send feelings and memories his way, too. I did it once, to heal his heart."

They exchanged glances again. "We think we know what you're asking, and we'd be happy to help," Eugene said.

Kairi smiled. "Thank you. You'll know when the time comes."

As she followed after Aqua and looked back one last time to wave at Rapunzel and Eugene, they called out a reminder to come back and see the lanterns someday.

Maybe, if…

No, not if. When. Sora had promised, after all.

A/N: Kairi's adventures could have easily become a story in their own right, so I had to be careful to keep the focus on the main story in this chapter. Still, it was fun to have a cameo for one of my favorite Disney movies growing up, Robin Hood. Robin and Marian were also the Disney couple who made me fall in love with the childhood sweethearts trope, so is it any surprise I came to love Sora and Kairi so much?

As always, thank you for reading!