- Chapter 13 -
Tension Rising
Author's Note:
Okay, I'm not sure if this was entirely clear last chapter, but the reason Sora was moved to tears by Sï'Lea's story was because of Ven's heart reacting.
And yes, I know the chapter's name is the same as the Nobody battle theme from Kingdom Hearts II.
Daybreak Town
Daybreak Town was a relatively peaceful world, bearing a resemblance to both Radiant Garden and Traverse Town. The buildings resembled those from Traverse Town, albeit with white siding and blue roofs, and in the dead center of the town sat a small fountain. And it was in the center of the town that Zephyr and Tiger emerged from a dark corridor.
"Good to be home, eh, boy?" Zephyr said. Tiger mewed in response. The two made their way through the streets, passing several people, as well as moogles and Chirithy. Before long, they found themselves in front of a large house with the image of a stylized blue star with a smaller teal star in the center on the door. He slid the door open and entered, with Tiger close behind.
"Zephyr!" a young female voice called almost as soon as he did. He turned to the living room to see a little girl, around twelve years old, with long hair the same shade of black as his own and blue eyes, wearing a simple blue T-shirt and matching shorts and socks, spring up from the couch in the living room and dash towards him. Zephyr smiled at the sight of his younger sister, Leanne.
As Leanne dashed over to him, her foot caught on something in the floor, and both Zephyr and Tiger flinched briefly as she fell and face-planted with a loud thump. Zephyr dashed over and gently helped her up, Leanne rubbing her chin, more embarrassed than hurt.
"Owww..." she squeaked out.
"You really gotta be more careful," Zephyr said, giving Leanne a look-over to make sure she wasn't hurt. The little girl just smiled up at him and hugged him.
"So how was your mission?" she asked.
Zephyr smiled. "I found that West girl and brought her to Sora," he said. "I can't talk too much about it right now. I need to go report to Dad."
Leanne nodded and scampered back to the couch, while Zephyr made his way up the stairs to the meeting room on the far end of the hall.
While the house was indeed Zephyr's home, it also served as a primary meeting place for members of the Order of Light around the town, since Zephyr's father, James, was one of their high-ranking members, and Zephyr's direct superior. And it was James who Zephyr was met with when he entered the room.
James was a tall, muscular, early middle-aged man who resembled an older version of Zephyr, sharing the same eye and hair color, though his hair was slightly streaked with grey. He was dressed in a blue version of Organization XIII's coat, which had green lines down the arms and sides similar to those on Zephyr's coat.
"Welcome home, son," he said. "Did you succeed?" Zephyr nodded.
"Yes," he said. "West has been saved from Maleficent and left with Sora's crew. Her fate has been changed."
James nodded in approval. One advantage of the Book of Prophecies was that the Order was able to read it to see certain outcomes of events, and intervene to change them. If Zephyr had not intervened, West, according to the book, would have been captured by Pete and Mortimer and subjected to brutal interrogation, and possible death, at the hands of Maleficent.
"I did come across some new information, however," Zephyr continued. "Maleficent has found out about the Book of Prophecies, and is trying to find it for herself."
A look of worry briefly crossed James' face, but he shook it off. "The book is well hidden and protected," he said. "That witch will never get her hands on it. Not while the Order stands."
Zephyr nodded, feeling somewhat uneasy. "I certainly hope you're right, Dad."
Radiant Garden, The Castle
The entire group looked at Sora, all of them shocked by the realization that Ventus' heart had been inside Sora's body this whole time.
"So, this is what Papa was talking about," Hikari said thoughtfully. The others turned to her.
"Wait, did you know about this, Hikari?" Kairi asked. Hikari shook her head.
"Not exactly," she said. "The night Sora first came to Wutai, Papa told me about something he sensed in him..."
Flashback
Wutai, Hikari's Home
Hikari sat in the seiza position (1) before Hiro and Akiko, having been called there shortly after Sora, the Keyblade wielder who had arrived in their world just that morning, had gone to bed for the night.
"I've called you here to discuss the subject of Sora," Hiro said.
"What about him?" Hikari asked.
"Ever since he arrived, I've sensed something... strange about him."
Both Hikari and Akiko looked at him, their attention caught. Hiro had always had good instincts, able to sense trouble coming from a mile away.
"Hiro, you don't think he's a danger, do you?" Akiko asked. Hiro shook his head.
"No," he said. "There's something odd about his heart."
Hikari raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, Papa?"
"It seems to have twice the normal amount of light and darkness of an average heart. It's almost as if he has two hearts in his body."
Akiko gasped. "How is that even possible?"
Hiro shrugged. "I'm not sure myself, but some of the Keyblade lore I've read have told stories of Keyblade wielders that were able to merge their hearts with others."
"You think Sora might have been a victim of this?" Hikari asked. Hiro placed a hand on his chin in thought.
"It's hard to say for sure. It's quite possible he doesn't even know about it."
"So, what should we do, Hiro?" Akiko asked her husband.
"For now, let's just let things run their course. He's no threat to us, and from what he's said, he needs help to defeat Xehanort. If the χ-blade is forged, it will be the end of everything."
Hikari nodded, and stood up to leave.
"And Hikari?" Hiro said suddenly. Hikari turned to look at him. "I've told you this in complete confidence. For now, don't tell Sora anything of what we discussed until we have something solid to go on about his heart."
Hikari hesitated, then nodded. "Yes, Papa."
Flashback Over
Radiant Garden, Castle
"So, that's how it happened," Hikari finished, before turning to Sora. "I'm sorry, Sora. I didn't want to keep this from you, but I couldn't go against my father's orders."
Sora waved a hand, dismissing it. "I understand," he said, and placed a hand on his chest. "And I remember now. When I was four years old, I welcomed this bright light into my heart."
"That must have been Ven's heart," Sï'Lea said. Yuffie groaned and rubbed her temples.
"Okay, I don't know about the rest of you, but this is making my head hurt." she said.
"Well, part of the problem is solved," said Mickey. "We know where Ven's heart is, but we still don't know where his body is hidden."
"Only Aqua knew, and she's stranded in the Realm of Darkness," Donald said.
"But we have no clue how to get into the dark realm," Goofy said. "Well, except for the corridors of darkness."
"I could open one," Lea said. "But Master Yen Sid sealed that power away so I'd avoid attracting any unwanted attention from Xehanort."
"Well, don't look at me!" West exclaimed. "I just got out of that place, and I don't wanna go back!"
"I'm not giving up," Sora said, a look of determination on his face. "There's always a way. If we have to search every last world we can find from top to bottom, I'm gonna bring Aqua home."
Sï'Lea looked at Sora admirably. "You'll make a great Keyblade Master someday, Sora." Sora just smiled bashfully.
"So, what do we do now?" Nixe asked. Riku tilted his head in thought.
"I say we check out some of the other worlds for now," he said finally. "Both Maleficent and Xehanort are out there causing trouble, and they might be gathering allies."
Sora nodded, remembering the allies he had made on several different worlds.
Kyra cut in at that moment. "And are you so sure that you're not one of their allies, Snowy-locks?"
Riku glared at her. "I told you, I don't work for Maleficent anymore. I made a mistake. Doesn't everybody?"
"Not ones that result in the Heartless running wild." Kyra said flatly.
Sora took a step forward. "Kyra, you don't understand-"
"What's not to understand?" Kyra demanded, pointing an accusing finger at Riku. "I've heard all about what happened between you guys two years ago from Leon. You sold yourself to Maleficent and dragged West into it. You spread the Heartless through all sorts of different worlds and brought the Princesses of Heart to that witch on a silver platter. You betrayed your best friend and treated him like he was nothing. And finally, out of nothing but a bruised ego, you let that Ansem guy use your body like a new suit of clothes!"
"It was a mistake!" Riku yelled. "And I was only working for Maleficent in the first place because she said she could help me save Kairi!"
"What, and you believed her?!" Kyra shouted, before saying with blatant sarcasm, "Oh yeah, a witch that dresses all in black and has a big pair of horns. Totally trustworthy and not at all evil, right?" She turned to Sora and Kairi. "And how in the name of all things decent can you two possibly forgive him and accept him back after everything he's done?"
Sora looked at her calmly. "He's my best friend," he said simply. "And I made a promise."
Aerith looked at him. "A promise?" she asked.
Sora turned to Sï'Lea and Mickey. "I remember it now," he said. "Riku and I met Aqua when we were little. She didn't give us her name at the time, but I knew I'd seen her before when I saw Sï'Lea's photo. She made me promise to watch over Riku and keep him safe if something ever happened to him, or if he ever went down a dark path."
Riku nodded. "I remember it, too," he said, looking at Sora. "So that's why you fought so hard and never gave up on me."
Kairi looked at the fuming Kyra. "If you don't mind me asking, why exactly do you hate Maleficent so much?" she asked. "I get the feeling that it's something personal."
Kyra visibly softened and ran a hand through her hair. "I guess you guys have the right to know," she said. "My older brother, Luke, worked for Maleficent before Riku did."
"Your brother?" West asked. Kyra nodded.
"He was only eleven when our world was lost and Maleficent found him. She duped him into working for her, promising to help him find me, our little brother, and our parents. He was pretty much a dog on a leash to her." Kyra stopped and took a shuddering breath. She didn't go on for several minutes, and the others didn't push her to continue.
Eventually, Kyra composed herself and continued, her voice shaking slightly. "I found him a few years later, and he had changed completely. He was cruel, ruthless, a slave to darkness. He hurt innocent people without a second thought. When I tried to reason with him, he declared me a traitor to our family and said he wanted nothing more to do with me."
Her voice cracked at the end, and then she exploded, tears pouring down her face. "Maleficent took the sweet, caring brother I knew and turned him into a monster! That's why I hate her! She plays with people's hearts and messes with the Heartless, but if she has a heart of her own, it's because she ripped it out of someone else's chest and ate it!"
With that, Kyra completely lost it, and collapsed to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably as the others looked at her with sympathy. Rusty let out a whimper and nuzzled Kyra's arm. After a moment, Sora walked over to her and gently touched her shoulder, trying to comfort her.
"I'm sorry about your brother," he said. "But Riku learned from his mistakes and came back to the light before it was too late. He's done everything he could to make up for it."
West knelt down before her old friend. "And Riku didn't drag me along," she said to Kyra. "I chose to go."
After a moment or two, Kyra composed herself and stood. "Okay, I'll give you a chance, Riku," she said, wiping the tears from her face.
Riku nodded. "That's all I ask," he said, but was quickly taken aback when Kyra got in his face.
"But you only get one," she said, before extending her right arm. Almost on cue, a small switchblade slid out of her sleeve and into her hand. The others recoiled.
"Kyra, what are you-" West said in shock, but Kyra ignored her, holding the knife up menacingly while giving Riku an icy glare.
"You slip up one time, or give me one reason to think you might double-cross us, and I won't hesitate to use this blade on you. Am. I. Clear?"
"You're clear," Riku said simply, obviously unafraid. Kyra nodded, folding the blade back up and returning it to its position in her sleeve.
After a few tense moments of silence, Cid clapped his hands.
"Okay, now that that's over with, let me just tune up your ship, and you can be on your way."
Unbeknownst to the group, up in the rafters, having seen the whole thing, perched a familiar black raven...
Author's Note:
(1): Seiza, literally "formal sitting," a traditional sitting position in Japan. Kneeling on the floor with the feet tucked under so the top of the feet are against the floor and the heels are in a "V" shape with the person's rear resting on top. Remember, Hikari's home world is Japanese-based.
So, the "Tension Rising" in the title refers to Kyra and Riku's little confrontation. Also, MysteryGirl7Freak, I realize that Kyra breaking down like that may have been OOC, but she is talking about how Maleficent corrupted her brother. Also, since you didn't specify what kind of knives Kyra keeps hidden on her, I decided to go with switchblades.
Kyra's story about her brother was borrowed from PrismRain13, with my modifications. All credit for the original goes to her. Wow, this is becoming a habit, isn't it? But hey, at least I'm giving credit where it's due.
And I'm sure any Disney fan can guess who and what that raven is...
Please R&R. Until next time!