TRIGGER WARNINGS: violence, sexual assault, battle violence
Chapter Five
There's a split second where all Kairi hears is her own cries, and then there's a cacophony of voices. She's surrounded by people, all girls dressed in fancy gowns with their hair done up, with kind faces. They tut and worry over her, speaking soothing words that Kairi can barely understand. All she can think about is the mission. These are the kidnapped girls. The mission. The girls.
"Th-The Duke," Kairi stammers out, her eyes half-closed. "D-Duke."
"Yes, the Duke," one woman says, her voice sweet and soft. Calming. "You'll be going with him."
"N-No…" Kairi's body is wracked with a bout of pain, and she groans. "Name. Wh-What's his—h-his name…?"
"Why ever for?" another woman's voice says. She's smoothing Kairi's messy curls back while a third woman helps Kairi sit up with one hand on her shoulder and the other around her wrist.
"My n-name is K-Kairi," Kairi chokes out. "I-I'm a K-Keybearer."
The girls gasp in unison, and the first woman—who Kairi can now see is around her own age, and has long wavy brown hair—looks at her in shock.
"You're a Keybearer?!"
Kairi nods and, while panting for breath to try and manage the pain in her body, she looks at the other women gathered around her. They're all around Kairi's age, maybe a little older or younger, and they're all gorgeous. Gorgeous, but with sadness in their eyes and hollows under their rouged cheeks.
"What in the world are you doing here?" the first woman goes on. "How did you get here?"
"We're t-trying to save you." Kairi takes a deep breath, steadying her voice. "I was sent in here to find out the Duke's name, and then I was supposed to leave. But things didn't go as planned."
The women exchange glances, and then a fourth woman—a raven-haired girl who looks to be no older than twenty–stares at her in awe.
"Does that mean the Keyblade Masters are here?"
"Yes," Kairi says, sounding desperate. "Yes, they're outside. And we need the Duke's name. Please. Do you know it?"
"I do," the second woman who had spoken says. "I think the Duke is Duke Gautier."
"Where does he live? Where is his chateau?"
"Outside the city, about a day's ride." This is the first woman who says it. "I've only been taken there once and I recall it taking a full day."
"Thank you," Kairi says, breathing a small sigh of relief.
"I'm sorry, but we need to hurry and get you ready," the third woman says. "We'll be punished if we're late."
Kairi allows them to help her up. She takes note of the sparseness of the room, the threadbare mattresses on the floor, and the open latrine in the corner. No windows, once again, and only lanterns for light.
The women sit her down in a solid wooden chair and a flurry of activity takes place. Kairi tries to blink her dizziness away as she's tended to. Her dress is removed. Her wounds are cleaned and bandages are wrapped fully around her torso, from her chest to beneath her abdomen. Her hair is taken down, where her hair is then combed out until it falls in waves down her back, the curls having been destroyed. Her face is wiped with water from a wooden basin, and fresh rouge and lip color is applied. She's then gently pulled to her feet and helped into a pale blue dress like theirs—fancy and beaded with long sleeves, three layers of skirts, and a contoured bodice. She's given new slippers, and it's now that the black-haired woman speaks to her.
"We knew someone would come to help us," she says quickly. "This sacrifice you're making means everything to us, Keybearer Kairi."
Kairi has no energy and her body feels like it's on fire with pain, so physically, all she's able to do is give her a small smile and squeeze her hand.
"It's what we do," she says in a soft, tired voice. "We just want to rescue you and get all of you back to your families."
She's embraced multiple times with gentle hugs, everyone being careful not to press too firmly on her bandages. Kairi hugs them back, feeling her resolve building back up with each embrace. Even though their names are not known to her yet, she feels that by looking in their eyes and seeing how sad and hollow they are, she's doing the right thing. Kairi has a family. She has all of her friends, and she lives in a castle, traveling the multiverse and stamping out the darkness. They deserve happiness, too. They deserve to go home.
All she has to do is hang in there and endure.
"You need new jewelry!" the blonde girl says, reaching for Kairi's teardrop necklace.
"No!" Kairi cries, unable to stop the wild terror from ripping through her. She clutches the necklace tight in her hand. "I'm sorry, it…I never take this off. I'm sorry."
"Oh…all right. I'm sure the Duke won't notice. Here are some new earrings." She helps Kairi take out her gold earrings and replaces them with ones set with sapphires. "You're ready now."
"Do you know when the Keyblade Masters will come?" A girl—a fifth one—says. She has a high-pitched, squeaky voice and a mousy disposition. "Will it be soon?"
"Yes," Kairi says, and she means it. "You won't be here much longer. I promise."
The door opens and a new guard is there. He has a spear in one hand. Kairi fights the urge to smirk.
Why else would they need the spear, unless she was dangerous?
"It's time," the man snaps.
He stomps over and grabs Kairi. She fights back a hiss of pain when his fingers press into her bruises. Kairi throws one last encouraging look at the hollow women who are left behind in the room, and then she's led down the hall again. There are more twists and turns, and then they come to a door. It opens and leads outside to a small courtyard fenced in by wood and an iron gate. It's dark save for two small lanterns that cast flickering shadows across the cobblestone. There's an opulent white-and-gold wooden carriage tied to four horses, which paw anxiously at the ground with their hooves. The carriage has four lanterns on top, one at each corner. Several guards, The Matron, and the Duke wait beside it.
Kairi feels a small amount of dismay. This is a completely different exit than the way Lea had taken her in. Sora and the others won't know where she is.
A lightbulb blinks on in her head.
They're outside. Magic. She can summon her Keyblade!
Kairi throws one hand out to the side and sends all of her magic to her heart, calling upon Destiny's Embrace. Her head pounds and her body throbs in agony, and nothing comes. She tries again and again, before giving up. Maybe minor spells are attainable.
She attempts Fire. Blizzard. Thunder. Even Aero and Cure.
Nothing. Not even a spark at her fingertips.
And then her hands are pulled together in front of her, where they're tied securely with thick rope. Her fear returns full-force as she realizes that yet again, something is going to happen that she won't be able to stop. She'll be so far away and unless they could get the information somehow, her friends won't know that she's left the premises.
She's going to the chateau.
"I've brought Belle, Mistress," the guard says, and he puts his hand on Kairi's wounded back. She feels it like a hot brand through the silk of her dress and fabric of her bandages.
Stifling a cry of pain, Kairi stumbles forward, her hair falling into her eyes. She glances up through the strands and sees that she's directly in front of the Duke. He's looking her over appreciatively, his bright green eyes still disquieting, even in the dim lighting. His hands are behind his back, but he brings one around to brush his fingers over her face. He trails them from her temple to her cheek, along her jaw, and stops beneath her chin. He tilts her face up.
"As divine as a star," he says. "And all mine for the next fortnight."
"Is there anything else you require, Duke?" The Matron asks. She spares Kairi one disdainful glance, and that's all she gets from her.
"No, this will be all."
The Duke steps away and snaps his fingers. Two guards spring into action. One opens the carriage door. The other holds out a hand to help the Duke up the carriage steps and inside. Kairi is pulled forward none-too-gently, and helped into the dark carriage as well. The Duke sits on one cushioned bench, so Kairi takes the other side, sinking into the plush velvet beneath her. The carriage door is shut. It jostles as what sounds like two or three men climb up outside the carriage and sit on the perch. There's a loud holler, a snap of the reins, and then the carriage is on the move, swaying and bumping gently as it goes.
Kairi glances around the coach box, doing her best to ignore the strangely-smug expression on Duke Gautier's face. The box is rather large, enough that there's at least two feet between her legs and his. There's a window on each side, but the shutters are drawn shut on both. Above them, there's a single lantern that hangs down, a simple candle lit inside.
They ride in silence for a long time. At least an hour. The carriage rocks and clicks and the horse's hooves clip and clop. Kairi can tell when they've left the city. Hooves on stone sound much different than hooves on the dirt road. The further they get from the city, Kairi knows the less chance that her friends will find her.
She can only hope for a miracle.
"The trip is a good thirty kilometers," Duke Gautier says after another half-hour, voice ringing in the silence. "We'll be traveling through the night and, with breaks, should arrive tomorrow night."
"It's funny that you think I care," escapes Kairi's snarky mouth before she can stop it. She braces herself to be struck but instead, all she receives is an amused laugh.
"I know who you are," he replies.
Kairi's blood chills. Her gaze snaps to his, hard as flint. "Is that so?"
"Oh, yes. I must say, I'm surprised that a Keybearer was captured and brought to me."
Kairi takes mental notes. The Duke knows who she is, but doesn't know her real name. But he either doesn't know that Lea brought them in, or he doesn't know who Lea is.
"How do you know I'm a Keybearer?" she asks, lifting her chin and trying to appear unbothered.
"You were sighted in the forest, battling those dark beings. You and the other Keybearers." He studies her for a moment. "The Keyblade Masters were among them."
Okay, so he knows about Sora and Riku. She can use that.
"That's right," she says with a sniff. "The Keyblade Masters. And I don't think they'll be too happy when they find out you've taken me outside the city."
He laughs once again. "Oh, really? And what will they do to me, do you think?"
Kairi opens her mouth, fully prepared to tell him about the morbid promise Sora made her, but the words won't come. She's afraid if she says them, they'll come true. She doesn't want Sora to become a killer.
If he isn't already.
"They'll bring you to justice," she says instead, "and you'll be taken to be judged by the King of Disney Castle."
He waves his hand and like smoke, a small Shadow Heartless melts out of a puddle of darkness and wriggles on the floor between them. Kairi's eyes pop open. So the Duke is the one causing the Heartless to appear on this world.
Another wave of his hand, and the Shadow Heartless melts away.
"I have all the protection I need, my Belle," he says, still looking smug. "There'll be no justice tonight, or any other night."
"You think small Heartless like those will be able to stop two Masters?" she says with a mirthless laugh of her own. "Please."
"You're quite confident that's all I can summon…aren't you?"
Kairi narrows her eyes, rubbing her wrists together in discomfort beneath the ropes that restrain them. "Still. They'll take on anything you send their way, and they'll win."
"We'll see."
"No. You'll see."
Kairi knows he will, and she knows he's going to rue his decisions the second he sees the Keyblade pointed at him. Riku. Lea. Aqua. Namine. Sora. They'll take his Heartless out, and he won't stand a chance against them all.
She just has to survive until then.
The carriage shudders to a sudden halt.
Duke Gautier's face falls into an expression of annoyance. He reaches up and raps on the wall of the carriage.
"What's going on?" he shouts. "Why have we stopped?"
One of the coachmen yells back. "A wheel has cracked against a rock in the road, sir. We've got to fix it."
"Damn it all."
The Duke rips open the carriage door and hops out to join the men. Kairi can hear him berating them as though it was their fault the rock was in the road. Kairi lets out a sigh, wondering if perhaps her friends are already on the way. Maybe this little setback will be a benefit to her.
Beside her, she hears a quiet noise. The shuttered window on the closed side of the coach box rattles. Kairi watches in surprise as one of the shutters cracks open and she sees the darkness of the night, one of the carriage lanterns casting light upon the grass.
There, hovering like a giant hummingbird, is a Moogle!
"Hello, Princess," he says. "Found you!"
Kairi's eyes nearly fall out of her head with excitement. She glances toward the open door, seeing nothing and still hearing the Duke growling at his men. She leans toward the window.
"Hello," she whispers slowly, making sure her vowels and consonants are crisp and understandable. "Can you get Sora for me? Please? As quickly as you can."
The Moogle blinks, does a twirl, and nods.
"Okie dokie," he chirps, and then, after sealing the shutter with magic, he flits off like a buzzing bee.
It's like a weight has been ripped away from her bruised shoulders. Why hadn't she thought of that? Why hadn't she thought that her friends might think to use a Moogle to hunt her down? They're wandering around every world in the multiverse, like cute, friendly, loyal ants. Their noses are insane.
Her friends are going to come. They're going to rescue her.
Duke Gautier re-enters the carriage. Kairi arranges her face back into the stony expression she'd been wearing before. By the time he's seated, it's like nothing's happened at all. There's a few moments, and then the carriage resumes its trek.
"I was told," the Duke says, "that you're quite the handful."
"Yes, well, I'm a Keybearer," she says, her tone mockingly sweet. "You didn't think I'd just lie down and take it, did you?"
"I was counting on the exact opposite. And when we get to my chateau, I have many things in mind for you. Many, many different ways for me to test your resolve and snuff out your light."
"And what exactly do you plan to do to me?" she asks, pretending she doesn't actually care for the answer. That she's not scared, in spite of the fact that she's utterly and completely terrified.
His smirk deepens and his eyes flash in the lantern light.
"Break you."
Kairi's throat feels dry, and it still aches from the burly man's earlier hold on it. Her back is on fire and feels like it's been torn open, flayed to the bones. Her ribs are bruised and each breath stabs into her. Her nose hurts, having been punched so many times, and she has a horrific headache. She's still a bit dizzy.
And her chest. Her breasts. They hurt in more ways than just physical. She can still feel the man's hands on them, his nails cutting and eyes gleaming with hunger and the desire to cause pain. It's like he's branded into them, into a place that no one else has seen, and she might never be rid of his filth. The thought of it makes her stomach roil and twist into a nauseous knot.
Kairi doesn't know if she can withstand more torment. Will she be able to keep fighting? She'll try, but…
The Moogle has to hurry.
"You can certainly try," she says with feigned nonchalance, pretending to adjust her skirts. "But I've been told I'm quite unbreakable."
"All people are breakable," Duke Gautier purrs. "And it's the journey that I enjoy most."
"You're despicable."
"So I've been told."
Kairi scowls and averts her gaze. "You won't get what you desire from me. I won't be giving it over, and you won't be able to take it."
"I'll have whatever I want from you before the fortnight is up, Belle."
"A body is a body," Kairi says. "And I'll survive its scars."
"Ah, but that's where you're wrong." He leans forward, and she's assailed by a wave of scent that she doesn't find pleasant. It's some sort of perfume, but it seems to mask something sour. Something unclean. "The body is only the foundation of the tower. Next is the spirit. The soul. Then comes strength. The will to live. The mind. And finally…the heart."
Kairi leans forward as well, maintaining eye contact and putting as much of her resoluteness in her gaze as she can.
"I've already lost my heart before, Duke Gautier. It was brought back to me by the very person you'll regret crossing."
His smile seems to grow more sinister by the second.
"Then I suppose I should get started. Shouldn't I?"
Duke Gautier's hands shoot out and grab Kairi by the head. He drags her forward and slams his lips against hers. She screams behind her closed mouth, horror washing over her in droves. She makes an attempt to push him, but the combination of her restraints and pain makes it feel like pushing against a boulder. He shoves his revolting, slimy tongue into her mouth and takes from her, lifting from his seat so he can pin her back against the wall of the coach box.
There are earthquakes going on in Kairi's mind, shattering the bravado she'd managed to build up. This is her second-ever kiss. There are so many parts of her that have been taken from her tonight. Stolen by thieves in the night who enjoy seeing her devastation. Monsters who know what it means to take them from her. A mission that was supposed to go smoothly, and that was supposed to be an attempt to learn a simple name has changed her in ways that she has yet to discover.
And now, as he tosses her to the side and straddles her, one knee on the seat and the other foot on the floor, trapping her skirts, she realizes that there will be no interruption this time. No chance of a guard knocking on the door. No heroes.
This is happening—for real this time.
Kairi tries to fight. Tries to ignore her pain and battered, wounded body, writhing and twisting and struggling beneath him. She tries desperately to push him off of her, to scream into his mouth in the hopes that the coachmen will hear, and that one of them will take pity on her.
Duke Gautier's mouth stays attached to hers, repugnant and sloppy, while his hands start to shuck her skirts up. Little by little, the fabric bunches at her thighs. He uses his outstretched leg to kick her foot out, spreading her legs. Soon, her underwear is exposed, and she can feel him rutting against her like an eager animal. Like a disgusting pig.
Will she ever feel safe again? Will she ever be able to look at herself in the mirror and see something beautiful and clean? She already feels ruined. She already feels like garbage. Like nothing. There'll be nothing left of her by the end of this night. If she ends up at the chateau, there'll be nothing left to live for by the end of the fortnight. She'll be as good as dead.
As much as she hates feeling so weak, Kairi is crying again. Weeping with tears that encase her emotions. Fear. Loss. Grief. Emptiness. Worthlessness. She can feel this man—this demon stealing her worth, diminishing her value with every moment that passes by. What else can she do, but cry? She's supposed to be a Keybearer. A fighter. A tough, strong girl.
But that's just it.
She's just a girl. A girl beneath a much bigger man.
And so she cries.
He rips his mouth away from hers and pins her down by the throat, a horrifically gleeful, evil look on his face as he tears her underwear away. She tries desperately to close her legs, to reach down and cover her exposed body, but it's like he enjoys the struggle. He enjoys using the rope to yank her hands away.
Duke Gautier looks at her, his greedy gaze devouring the last place she had that was private and unwitnessed by anyone other than herself. She keeps struggling, even though she's lost the battle, because she fears that if she stops fighting, it will mean she wanted it. And she doesn't want this. She doesn't want this at all.
Suddenly, Kairi doesn't care if Sora's a killer already or not. He's not going to make it in time.
It's too late.
"You're a fool," she sobs. Tears blurring her vision, she grits her teeth. "Sora will come for you. If you do this, he'll come and he'll make sure you die."
"Oh, darling Belle," he says, squeezing her throat tighter. "It doesn't do to dream."
His hand cups her bare flesh and the terror that assails her is indescribable. Kairi tries to scream, her sobs turning to all-out wails. Tries again to twist her hips, to dislodge his touch from her. She thinks she might be pleading, but there's a loud noise in her head that sounds like screaming and panic and nightmares.
Like a gift from the gods in Olympus, the horses whinny and stop. The carriage stops as well, rocking quite violently as the horses audibly struggle with something.
The Duke snarls in annoyance. He takes one more look at Kairi before punching her twice in the face, leaving her stunned and mildly incapacitated. He scrambles to the window and inches one shutter open. Another curse escapes his lips, and he waves his hand. Kairi can hear the strange sounds that take place when Heartless appear, showing that the hand wave the Duke made was him summoning them.
Is this it? Are they here?
That's when she hears it.
A voice. Like the eye of a storm. An angel.
Namine.
She's casting a spell. A Thundaga so powerful that it lights the carriage up even through the shutters. It doesn't hurt them, but it causes the hairs on Kairi's body to stand on end and her teeth to chatter.
"Free the horses!" Kairi hears Aqua call. "Now!"
Kairi hears the horses whinnying again, the sounds fading as they go dashing off in some direction. There's consternation, a frenzied discordant mixture of sounds, and the sounds of battle commence. The Duke shuts the shutters.
"A horde should do it," he hisses, his voice like poison. Then, he gives her the most hateful look Kairi's ever received. "If I'm going to be taken, I think I'd like some time to taste my treat."
A fire spell is cast, and it slams against the window on the other side of the carriage. It burns the shutters away on one side. Kairi looks out and sees flashes of light and fire, gusts of wind from Aeroga spells. She sees Avalanche Heartless diving down, attacking someone or something. A glance of Lea's red hair passes by before he lets out a maniacal, cackling laugh and then his Limit Break explodes, sending blasts of fire out in every direction. Kairi feels the heat of it through the now-open window.
The distraction proves a mistake.
Duke Gautier takes the opportunity to launch himself at her and slap her over and over. She opens her mouth to scream, but he wraps his hand around her throat again and squeezes hard enough to stop air flow, just like the guard had done to her earlier. Her body starts to struggle and legs to kick, but he repeats his earlier movements, tearing her skirt up to her hips and trying to shove his hand between her legs. This time, she's able to keep them closed, but she isn't able to keep him from getting his fingers between them. All the while, the sounds of vicious battle go on around the carriage.
Slam.
Slam.
Slam.
Kairi's head falls back, her tied hands wrapped around the Duke's wrist in front of her neck. She sees two diagonal gashes in the wood, and in the third one, she sees the ink-black spike that adorns the end of Oblivion, as well as the thin end of the blade portion. The Duke freezes, his hand thrust between her legs and fingertips grazing her core. He looks at the openings and his other hand loosens.
When someone's fingers thrust into one of the holes and tear at the wood, Kairi starts to laugh. She laughs and she laughs, and it draws the Duke's confused attention.
"You're fucked," she says past the loosened circle of his grip, shaking her head and caring little for the fact that this is the first time she's ever said a curse word. "You are so fucked."
The wood is torn like paper, with savagery and fury. Chunks of it are ripped away, blood from the person's fingers smearing the inside of the coach box as it's destroyed and splinters become embedded in their flesh. The Duke still hasn't moved, his eyes wide with terror and his hands still on Kairi's body. He and Kairi both watch as the carriage is torn open with someone's bare hands, the wooden pieces tossed aside.
Sora.
She sees him there, so tall that she can see his entire head in the window from where he stands on the ground. His hair is a disaster from battle, and there's blood on his face from some sort of scratch. Behind him, Kairi can see more Heartless and Aqua soaring by with a rebel yell. His blue eyes settle first upon the Duke before dropping down to Kairi, where they then travel down between their bodies. His searing hot gaze lands on Kairi's rucked-up skirt, bare legs, and the Duke's hand between her thighs.
The look in his eyes turns feral.
Sora tears at the door two more times and then he's in the carriage, grabbing the Duke by the throat and slamming him against the wall so hard that the carriage rocks. He lets out a snarl of rage as he tosses his Keyblade aside and begins beating the Duke about the head.
Kairi's frozen for a second, shocked by Sora's vehemence and violence, and then she springs to action. She rolls onto the floor on her hands and knees, her skirts falling, and moves to the hole. Kairi uses the ragged edges to slice through the ropes that bind her hands together and then she crawls out of the hole Sora created. She falls onto the grass, the edges of the hole tearing the fabric further with a loud ripping noise. She scrambles to her feet, tearing as much of the skirt as she can, exposing her calves so she can run.
Heartless are everywhere, and they keep pouring out of the darkness that's spread across the ground. It's chaos. Shadows and smoke and darkness and flames and thunder. Aqua is in the air, her Keyblade a vicious harbinger. Riku's leaping about, bringing his Keyblade down again and again, slashing at every Heartless that manifests. Namine comes dashing around the back of the carriage, her arms raised as she screams another Thundaga. Several bolts of lightning crash down into six different Heartless, blowing them to smithereens.
"Kairi!" Namine cries. She comes to Kairi's side. "Are you okay?"
Kairi doesn't get to answer.
The Duke goes soaring out of the hole Sora made, followed by Sora as he climbs out after him. Duke Gautier hits the ground and Sora's on him faster than Namine's lightning. He doesn't just beat him.
He destroys him.
His fists are flying. There's blood everywhere. On Sora's hands and arms. On the Duke's face and neck. Both of their clothes are drenched, though it's less visible on Sora's since he's wearing dark clothing. He's slamming the Duke's head against the ground again and again and again.
Kairi grabs Namine's arm and pulls her out of the way of a Soldier Heartless that tries to spin-kick her. She tries again to summon Destiny's Embrace and this time, the magic flows. The gold and pink Keyblade appears in her grasp, heavy and comforting. She pivots on her foot immediately and sends it flying. It spins in a razor-sharp semicircle, killing not only the Soldier that tried to attack Namine, but several Soldiers, Shadows, and Avalanches, too. She raises her hand and catches it by the hilt as it comes back around.
Namine and Kairi exchange glances before taking off in separate directions.
Kairi launches herself into the fray, swinging her Keyblade with deadly accuracy. She's been through Hell tonight, and the Heartless suffer the brunt of it. Her hair whips around her as she spins and jumps and turns and pivots. She feels the blade cutting into flesh and meat, destroying whatever it comes in contact with.
Soon enough, the numbers dwindle. Behind her, Kairi hears Riku yelling something. She looks behind her and sees him and Lea fighting with Sora, struggling to pull him off of Gautier. Sora looks unhinged—like there's no sanity left in him.
Aqua lands from a glide beside Kairi. "I took out the last of the Heartless and tied up the coachmen. They're by the tree over there, knocked out. What's going on over there?"
"Come on!" is all Kairi replies with, dashing back across the grass and dirt road.
Aqua follows at a rapid pace. They reach the men right as Namine does, and watch the consternation ensue.
"Let me go!" Sora's snarling as he struggles and kicks. "Let me fucking go!"
"No, Sora!" Riku says, grunting with effort as he holds tight to Sora's arms.
Lea is standing beside them, facing Sora with his hand on his chest.
"You've got to calm down, man," he's saying, shaking his head. "Come on! Just calm down!"
"Let me fucking go!" Sora sounds like a demon. His eyes are practically unseeing, laser-focused on the barely-conscious Duke.
"Sora, stop!" Namine screams with her hands tangled in her disheveled hair. She, along with Aqua, is back in her battle clothes. The jewelry and dresses are gone. "You're gonna kill him!"
Kairi moves toward them, standing on Sora's other side. She places her hand on his cheek, pulling his face around to look at her. His eyes are unfocused.
"Sora, please," she says as gently as she can, holding his gaze. "You have to stop."
He stares at her, teeth clenched and chest heaving.
"I need you to calm down," she continues. "I need you here."
"I am here," he hisses, and his voice sounds pained, "and I want him dead."
A chill ripples down Kairi's spine.
"I know you do," she whispers, "but you have to stop. Okay?"
He closes his eyes and takes several deep breaths before he nods. Finally, still catching his breath, he goes limp. Riku holds onto him for a second longer before letting him go. Sora stays where he is, but he keeps his eyes on the Duke. The look Kairi sees on Sora's bloodied face spells danger. He's holding back a beast.
"Are all the Heartless taken care of?" Riku asks, hands on his hips.
"Yes," Aqua says. "And the coachmen are over by that tree."
"Good. We need to take them with us, too. Phoebus is going to put them in a holding cell until we're ready to leave. There's still a little bit to do."
"We need to get the girls out," Lea says. Then, he points at the Duke. "Who the Hell is this?"
"Duke Gautier," Kairi says in a tremulous voice. She doesn't want to look at him. She can still feel his disgusting fingers between her legs. "He's the leader. He's also the source of the Heartless outbreak. We just hit two birds with one stone."
"Thank Merlin," Riku says, dragging his hands over his face. "Thank fuck for that."
"That means we can take the brothel down," Aqua says. "Should we ask Esmerelda, or Phoebus?"
Riku puts his hands on his hips, his mouth twisting to the side in thought as he contemplates. His long silver hair has fallen out of his ponytail, leaving it loose about his shoulders.
"Both," he says. "Esmerelda and some of her brethren can help with the kidnapped girls. Phoebus and his soldiers can come in second and sweep through those guards and that buyer woman."
"She's called The Matron," Kairi says.
"We need to take out that magic barrier first," Aqua says. "The one that was there when we walked in."
"I can handle that," Namine says.
They all turn to look at Kairi at the same time. Kairi feels their eyes scouring her body, taking in the sight of her bruises and the blood on her skin. She averts her eyes, feeling ashamed and like she's to blame for everything.
"What happened in there?" Namine asks.
Kairi closes her eyes. She doesn't want to break down in front of them. She doesn't want to break down at all. She wants to put the pain away and pretend none of it ever happened.
So she does.
"I don't want to talk about it. Can we just go?" Kairi looks at them all, her traveling gaze stopping on Sora. He's looking at her like she'll disappear if he looks away. "Please?"
"Yes," he says immediately. "Let's get back. Sooner we get this dealt with, sooner we can get off this world."
"Hold up." Lea raises his hand and then points a finger at the destroyed carriage. "Sora, did you rip that wall open with your bare hands? Or am I imagining seeing that?"
Sora holds up his bloody hands and wriggles his fingers. The smirk he gives him is wicked. "I'll be needing someone to help me get these splinters out."
"Holy–" Lea's jaw drops and he lets out an incredulous laugh. "No kidding. Remind me never to get on your bad side."
"You are completely mental, Sora," Riku says, shaking his head as though disappointed. "You've lost it."
"Let's go," Aqua says. "We're only a couple hours outside the city. We need to get these guys back there. Phoebus can keep them there and then when we're ready to leave, they're coming onto the gummi ship with us."
"I've got one teleport sphere left. It'll take us back to the city," Riku says, withdrawing a glowing blue orb from his pocket, tossing it into the air and catching it. "I need to thank Yuna. These little fuckers come in handy."
God, I just wanna keep posting. We'll see. Tomorrow I might just dump 'em all and take a break to write the rest.