Kairi Hearts
By Chronic Guardian
Written for Twelve Shots of Summer: DECK
Week 4: Lovers & Chariot
04 – Through Troubled Waters
The S.S. Ulysses, private expeditionary vessel under Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke, held in orbit over the new world like a suspended insect staring down a marble of swirling bluish-green and white. "Mostly water," Commander Rourke appraised with one hand clasped behind his back and the other holding a report from the ship's sensors. "Heavy vegetation, some settlements, and class A quarantine order. Boys and girls, this is where we lost the McCochran. Must have drifted systems from the restoration swarms two years back... Note it in the ship's log and let's get a move on."
Kairi, the red-headed derelict Keyblade Wielder, frowned at the assessment and crossed her arms. "So, no sign of Relics?" While she was still pretty new at adventuring in general, she'd gathered that Relics
"No idea. Wasn't looking for Relics when the McCochran went down," Rourke sighed. "Got a pretty handsome stash of Heartless, though. Something down there must be keeping 'em in check, or I reckon it'd be overrun by now. Whatever it is, my crew and I are in the business of retrieving artifacts, not becoming part of the exhibit.
"If you're interested," he went on with a dry smile, "Well, that's a different story. We can drop you off with the best provisions and equipment the Ulysses can offer, straight from the officer's storeroom. I'll even ask the whole crew to wish you luck. But that's the most I can do for you, young lady."
"And if I can clear out the Heartless?" she pressed him. Maybe she was still low on field experience, but between Heartless hunting and unearthing Relics, at least one of those was in the Keyblade Wielder job description. Besides, if Rourke and his crew were only able to find the Relic because of her, then maybe they would let her use it.
Commander Rourke exchanged a look with his first mate, a blonde woman who Kairi hadn't really become acquainted with, and raised his eyebrows. "I suppose we'll be heading back this way in about a month. You have a home address we can send the residuals to?"
"Something like that..." As long as they weren't too overt about it, she could always enlist Mr. Hanekoma as a go-between seeing as he already knew about interplanetary meddling.
In the meantime, she would at least be doing more than sitting around the Ulysses. The sooner she could take control of her circumstances again, the sooner she could reunite with Naminé and get back to looking for Sora.
-K-
Kairi was used to water; clear, blue, island ocean water with that salty sea breeze coming off it. Before that, it had been the waters of Radiant Garden: ordered and splendid as they coursed through canals and sprung from fountains. Water was soothing, nostalgic, a soft reassurance of home.
This water seemed to have missed the point entirely.
Perched on a tree root above the murky, algae ridden mess below, Kairi wrinkled her nose and debated the wisdom of jumping in. She could try to jump for the next tree over, and maybe slip straight into the water anyway. Experimentally rocking back and forth on her current branch, she tested her traction, then nodded and rose to ready a jump.
"There!" a small, warbly voice called behind her. "She won't get away this time!"
Kairi barely had time to spin around when tiny, furry projectiles hit along her shoulder and sent her spiraling into the muck.
For a moment, it was all she could do to just get her head above the water again and grab hold of something solid. Her fingers wrapped around what she hoped was one of the raised tree roots and she hauled herself up, making sure to wipe her hair away from her face before she gasped for breath.
"Take that, Medusa!" the small voice cried above her. "You'll leave the swamp if you know what's good fer ya!"
"M-Medusa?" Kairi spluttered and slipped down into the water again as she lost her grip on the tree root, now slick with slimy swamp water. Determined to answer her accusers, she forced her way to the surface and clambered up onto a log wedged along the side of the waterway. Hacking up stray bits of water and vegetation, she again cleared her lungs, then glared back at her original position where the voice had been coming from.
...And then blinked when she found it empty. "H-hey!" she shouted indignantly. "Don't go accusing me and then running off! I'm not done with you yet!"
"Who's running?" Another voice chimed in. Kairi searched the trees, but couldn't find him either. "We may be small, but we aren't cowards!"
Glancing down, Kairi realized her mistake as a black wolf pup barreled into her stomach. These weren't people attacking her. These were talking animals.
"Oof!" she stumbled backwards as the blow knocked the wind out of her. Losing her balance, she shrieked as the world rushed past her and she fell into a shallow patch of water.
"Wait!" A third stranger called as she swept the muck from her face. "Oh, wait! Zat's not Medusa! Oh, Bernard, do somesing!"
"H-hold on… B-Bianca's right!" Kairi's vision cleared just enough that she could see a mouse with a red flat cap and sweater.
Obviously, she must have hit her head pretty hard on that last slip.
"Oh, dag flabbit!" The first person, a mouse with a floppy straw hat and overalls, came into view flailing his arms over his head, signalling the black wolf-pup to stop. "Hold yer hushpuppies a moment, boy! I think they might be on ta somethin'!"
"What?" the wolf pup balked. "C'mon, Luke! She's—" He took a moment to sniff her down, then shrank back sheepishly, sitting with head bowed. "Well… uh, she looked kinda Medusa-ish."
"My humblest apologies, little lady," Luke, the floppy mouse, scurried to her side with a brown jug tucked under one arm to join the red sweater mouse. "I, er… Me and my partners here have been huntin' down a particularly nasty red-headed womanfolk by the name of Madame Medusa on account of all the Heartless she's been bringin' to the bayou."
"And ze girl she kidnapped!" One more mouse, the one who had first called for a re-evaluation of the situation, climbed up on Kairi's shoulder. While the others were shades of gray and brown, this last one was white and dressed in lavenders. "Zat's why ze Rescue Aid Society sent Mr. Bernard and me!"
"A-anyway," Luke went on, "Mighty sorry about the jumpin'..."
"Oh..." Kairi, still processing that she'd just been knocked flat by a gang of literal rodents and a puppy, brushed herself off and worked her way to her feet. "So… Madam Medusa is controlling the Heartless?" That was something, at least. If Kairi helped get rid of her, that would clear the way for the Ulysses to search for any Relics on this world.
"Hey, why don't you join us?" the wolf pup suggested before she could table the idea herself. "You're still human, so you'll be able to handle whatever machines and equipment Medusa has around her hideout."
Kairi nodded, first dazedly, then again more decisively. "Sure! I can—wait, what do you mean still human?"
"Well, Zack here got hi'self cursed by the Shadowman out in the city," Luke sighed. "Used to be a human, then tried to strike a deal to become a hero or somesuch. Been cursed ever since."
"The deal was to take on my Heart's true form," Zack grumbled and twitched his ears. "How was I supposed to know my 'true form' was a puppy?"
"A-anyway," Kairi blushed, unsure of what to do with the information but eager to get things back on track, "you were saying about a… Shadowman?"
"L-l-let's just focus on one c-crisis at a time," Bernard groaned. "Until we've saved our girl from Medusa, leave the Sh-sh-shadowman out of it..."
-K-
They made their way through the swamp—or 'bayou' as Luke called it—as Bernard and the white mouse, Bianca, explained their mission to stop Madam Medusa. Apparently, she had kidnapped a young girl who had then sent out a distress signal.
"Not sure what she did it for," Bernard muttered, "B-but we're not about to just s-sit around and wait for someone to do something."
"Yes!" Bianca nodded enthusiastically. "No job is too big or small for ze Rescue Aid Society!"
Kairi smiled ruefully. She would have liked to argue the point, but considering how they had handled her, maybe they had a point.
"Okay," she said, "so… what's the plan?"
"The plan is that we take out Madam Medusa," Zack put in confidently, padding beside her with his head held high. "We find out who is controlling the darkness and force them to stop messing up the world."
Luke chuckled, "What, like you did with the Shadowman?"
"Hey! He didn't introduce himself as 'the Shadowman', you know..." the wolf pup answered defensively. "More like Doctor Fuh-silly-something. Anyway, it's like Bernard said: we'll deal with him after Medusa."
"Zack here's the type ta leap before he looks," Luke explained. "He's got a will, but we're the one's figurin' on the way."
It reminded her of Sora. Sora who never gave up, no matter how impossible the odds. And yet, it never worked when she tried it herself… Was she just not meant to take charge like that? Was she just in over her head?
Kairi looked around at her companions. They didn't know what this was all about either, but they weren't just sitting by. They were flying by the seats of their pants, but they were also working together, covering eachother's weaknesses.
They were moving through troubled waters together.
"Say… Zack?" she said tentatively, "After we take down Medusa, do you want to keep… heroing?"
"Huh!" Bernard huffed a skeptical laugh. "Try getting him to stop."
Zack, for his part, looked at her and gave a smile with his tongue hanging out. Kairi smiled back.
She'd always wanted a puppy.
Chapter Closed
Zack Fair has joined party
A/N:
So from the start of this Kairi Hearts campaign, I've wanted to bring Zack back in some capacity. At first, it was just going to be a world cameo, as per most characters, but then I thought "What if Zack were Kairi's third party member?"
Don't get the wrong idea, though. Despite the "Lovers" prompt, there are no love triangles here, just good champions of light trying to get their worlds back to normal. If you're going to apply "Lovers" to anyone in that strict sense, you'll have to just squint supper hard and remember Rescuers Down Under confirmed Bianca and Bernard as romantically involved. The walk-on cast here was too stuffed already for Naveen and Tiana, but maybe we can get to them after Medusa falls.
On that note, we're about to get into the weeds of our rogues gallery also searching for the Relics and here's a hint: Mad Madam Mim is only second in command. Bonus points if you can guess the others before their reveals!
Thanks for reading!
-CG
6-25-2023