Chapter 3 – Help

Sora had gotten better at fighting as a Heartless. He hacked at enemies with his claws. His kicks sent them flying. He could jump high for something his size, allowing him to spring on their foes unawares. And his ability to sink into the ground served as an excellent dodging substitute. But as Kairi knew would happen eventually, he was dogpiled by a group of Soldier Heartless one day. Donald and Goofy continued to fight as Kairi dragged him away to safety. His injuries were bad, black smoke oozing out of spots all over his body.

Really, he had no business fighting. Not against their current adversaries. But every time they tried to get him to stay back, he raced in to help. And Kairi didn't want to just drop him off in Traverse Town and leave him alone. The thought of being separated was something she couldn't stomach.

"Hold still," she instructed. Donald had been working with her on her healing magic, and now was as good a time as any to practice it. She touched the side of Sora's head where the biggest gash was. He jerked back and held his claw up to it. She scowled and pried his hand away. "That's what you get for rushing in like that! Really, Sora, when will you learn?"

He hung his head at her scolding. She sighed and tried to be gentler. "I know it's pointless to tell you not to fight, but I wish you'd be more careful. If anything else were to happen to you, I don't know if I could…" She trailed off and focused on healing instead. A green glow emanated from underneath her palm as her magic did its work. There. The spot was healed. Time to move onto the next—

She hesitated. Was it her imagination, or was he leaning into her touch? She let her fingers linger there, and he closed his eyes. A faint blush crept up her cheeks, but instead of jerking her hand away, she kept it there, using her thumb to caress his face. It felt strange, touching his cold, shadowy skin, but not unpleasant.

He opened his eyes, and the unexplainable thing from before happened again. It was like she could see him as he really was. His mouth was slightly parted, his chest rapidly rising and falling, probably from his injuries. Her lucky charm was still on a chain around his neck, along with his usual crown necklace. She cupped his cheek, and the look he gave her in return set butterflies loose in her stomach.

"Sora…"

The moment was ruined by a stray Heartless. Kairi zapped it with a Thunder spell and turned her attention back to him. Yellow eyes blinked back up at her, and her heart sank. But she couldn't let him see. As sad as she was, she could only imagine how he felt. He was like one of those princes in her grandmother's stories, cursed by some terrible spell to be trapped in a hideous form until he found his true love.

She plastered a smile on her face and healed the rest of his wounds, this time with no direct physical contact. She wasn't sure she could handle another disappointment. She didn't want to put him through it, either. Until she figured out a way to save him, she couldn't indulge her foolish fantasies.

The truth was, she wanted to be the one who would break the spell. She wanted to be the one to save him. But so far, she hadn't been able to do anything. Some princess she was. Sora needed someone who could really help him, and it was time she gave up her pride and asked for assistance. They still hadn't found Ansem, so what would it hurt to make one more detour?

"Donald, Goofy?" she called. "I… if it's possible, can we go see Merlin?"

oOo

"Oh dear." Merlin adjusted his spectacles and peered down at Sora. "He really has become a Heartless. I never would have thought he of all people would become one." Sora blinked and rested his head in his claws. He'd been sluggish the whole journey here, and Kairi was growing more and more worried about him.

"Please, Merlin. Is there anything you can do to help?" she begged. She was at her wit's end. They'd already wasted enough time as it was, and they were still no closer to finding Ansem or Riku, let alone saving Sora.

"I'm sorry, my dear. Heartless transformations are a tricky business."

"I hear a 'but' in your voice," Donald said, wise to his old master's ways.

Sure enough, Merlin's eyes twinkled. "I'm afraid I can't do anything to help, but that doesn't mean you can't."

"But how?" Kairi cried. "Everyone keeps telling me that I have to be the one to save him, but I don't know how! I don't know any white magic except what Donald's taught me, and the attacks Goofy's shown me won't help, and Sora's doing what he can to help us fight but I know it's killing him on the inside that he's stuck like this and all I can do is watch him suffer day after day as we try to track down Ansem, and Riku's still missing and home's gone and I— and I—"

She collapsed into a pile on the ground. Sora was by her side in an instant. He climbed into her lap and reached up to brush the tears from her cheeks, being careful not to hurt her with his shadowy claws. It was like she could hear him telling her not to cry, that he was here and everything would be okay. This had the opposite intended effect, making her cry even harder. She gathered him in her arms and held him close.

After she had no more tears left, Goofy handed her his hankie so she could blow her nose, and Merlin cleared his throat. "Now my dear, I think you do know how to help him. But I can't tell you, or it'll spoil the magic. This sort of thing is very delicate, you see." He got a faraway look in his eyes as he continued on. "Why, when Wart and Jenny first met, she didn't even know he was the King of England! But it was better that way, because it meant she got to know him as Wart and not as Arthur."

"Uh, I don't mean to pry, Merlin, but who are Wart and Jenny?" Goofy asked.

Merlin grew very quiet. "Oh, they're old friends of mine. Quite old. Very old. But no matter. The point is, Kairi can help Sora, but no one can tell her how to do it. It's something she must figure out for herself."

Sora, still nestled in her lap, looked up at her. She knew what he was thinking, knew the trusting and hopeful look he'd be giving her right now if he could. She sighed and patted his head. If only she had his confidence.

oOo

Kairi took the wand Merlin had given her out of her pocket again and studied it. Its pearly surface gleamed as she turned it this way and that. She pointed it at the fireplace, determined to practice as often as she could. Sparks flew from the end of it and started a crackling fire. She smiled and tucked it back into her pocket, rubbing her hands by the fire's warm glow.

Since they were in Traverse Town already anyway, they'd decided to pay Cid a visit. Donald asked him if he had any more Navi-Gummis he could spare as the rest of them looked around.

"Well, now that Ansem's left Hollow Bastion, I was planning on saving this one for myself and Leon and the others," Cid said, indicating the gummi in his hand. "Haven't seen the place in nearly ten years, and it's about time we went home. You haven't picked up any more of these, have you?"

They shook their heads. None of the places they'd been had Navi-Gummis.

"Well," he said, adjusting the straw in his mouth, "good thing I've been savin' somethin' special. Go to the secret waterway underneath the town. There's a big old mural there. Find the gummi piece inside and I'll put it on your ship for you."

They did as he instructed. The mural was beautiful, starting out as a picture of the moon and stars before transforming into an image of the sun. Kairi couldn't help but stare at it. The place reminded her of the Secret Place back home, and she told Sora as much. He bobbed his head up and down in agreement.

If only we could see it again.

Cid installed the new Navi-Gummi as promised. Donald took Sora to get more supplies, and Goofy asked her if she'd like to go for a walk. They strolled through the First District's streets, wandering into back alleys and exploring nooks and crannies together.

Presently, Goofy spoke up. "Now Kairi, Donald and I have been talkin' about what to do about Sora."

Kairi stopped. She didn't like where this was going. "What about him?" she asked.

"Donald checked the ship, and it looks like the new Navi-Gummi Cid put on is gonna take us somewhere we haven't been before. We might even find Ansem."

Kairi gulped. She wanted to fight, wanted to stop the man who had destroyed so many lives and worlds, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't scared. Her fighting skills had improved, but she still didn't feel anywhere near Sora's level. Even with Donald and Goofy at her side, she wasn't sure she could defeat Ansem. Not for the first time she wished Sora still had the Keyblade.

"That's good news, right? We can finally put an end to this," she said at last.

"Yeah, but there's somethin' else. Sora wants to help, I know he does, but we think it'd be better if he stayed here."

So that's what this was really about. "Goofy—"

"We didn't think you'd be too happy about it. Sorry, Kairi, but I don't know what else we can do. If Donald and I thought we could beat Ansem alone, we'd let you stay here with him. But we need your help to defeat him and find our king."

She sighed. "I don't want to leave Sora behind, but we don't have much of a choice, do we? It's one thing to fight regular Heartless with him there, but if we tried to take on Ansem—" A flood of bad possibilities rushed through her mind. She closed her eyes and tried to shut them out.

"And one more thing," Goofy added. "We gotta keep it a secret from him. He needs to think he's comin' with us. Otherwise he'll just sneak on board the ship and insist on fightin'."

Kairi knew Goofy was right, but the thought of tricking Sora like that didn't sit right with her. He would feel so hurt and betrayed if they lied to him and then left him behind.

"I don't know, Goofy. It seems cruel. Can't I just tell him? I think he'll understand." Sora was stubborn, but he wasn't stupid. His pride might be wounded, but she was sure he'd do as she asked. He was always willing to comply with her requests back home, after all, even if his lazy tendencies meant his cooperation was delayed.

"No, I don't think he will. He doesn't think of his own safety when you're around."

Kairi was silent. Goofy's words were true, as recent events had proven, but it still felt wrong to lie to her friend. "Okay," she finally said. She didn't agree, but it was clear Goofy wouldn't see eye to eye with her on this.

Goofy narrowed his eyes. "You're plannin' on tellin' him anyway, aren'tcha?"

"Y-yes." Her face flushed. How could he tell?

He sighed and shook his head. "I can't stop you, but think about what's best for him before you do. We don't want him gettin' hurt any worse than he already has."

And there it was. The guilt trip. Kairi sighed, because Goofy had won and they both knew it. She never wanted Sora to get hurt because of her ever again. She would do anything to keep him safe, and if that meant she had to lie to his face, then so be it.

I'm sorry, Sora. I hope you'll forgive me.

oOo

As always, thank you for reading! A big thanks to my reviewers as well.

I had a couple of guest reviews on the last chapter that I didn't get to respond to yet, so to Chirithy564, thank you for the review! I'm glad you like the story so far.

And to lady, gracias por la… revisión? Crítica? Review? Lo siento, no sé qué palabra en español usar, jajaja. I studied a little bit of Spanish in junior high school, but it's been a long time. I had to use Google Translate to help me. Thank you for commenting though, I really appreciate it!