Author's Note: So here I am back once again with the continuation of Paved With Gold. Or rather a companion piece! I would say reading up to and including Chapter X of Paved With Gold is probably all you need to know for this story, although I guess it goes without saying it's great to read past that too. First of all, just want to give a big apology for taking so long with this. I am finally free from the shackles of university work and feel like I'm finally in the mood to write again, which is great. Hopefully I can deliver some fast content to you, not just of this, but over the next couple of months will see the conclusion of Through Smoke and Flames and soon up, Kairi's companion piece. As for when you'll see a sequel to the Paved With Gold storyline, as long as I can get these two done in a decent amount of time (and these are shorter than the main stories), it hopefully will not be too long, but I really enjoy working on Riku and, especially Kairi's, characters so this is the perfect opportunity to do so.
I feel there's more to say but I'll wait until the chapter is over. For now, please enjoy Side Story: Riku a.k.a...
Paved With Gold: Dusk To Dawn
Chapter I
An Eye For Detail
The sweet aroma of perfume that lingers in The Ink and Paint Club is but one of several main features that drew its regular patrons to its establishment. The manager must surely have long since determined that an atmosphere that indulges in ensnaring the senses is truly a great marketable exploit. This along with the food – of which the house special consists of lean and meaty ribs with a sweet glaze, thick, creamy and hot potato soup and soft and tender-looking boiled fish and scallops— drink, and music make for a pleasurable experience for one to come to after a long day's work in our busy city.
There's one other thing that helps bring in a crowd too. I hear she never asks for a raise either, despite people turning up specifically to see her. The room slightly darkens, the lanterns brighten, and all eyes are on the front of the stage, their attention focused on the red-headed vixen emerging from the curtains. Cheers and claps ensue. This is the last act of the evening. It's crucial that she be so as to keep those who wait for her watching the show.
Almost immediately, you're hit with the sweetest of sultry tones that would give the sweetness in the room a run for its munny. Her eyes glide across the room as she sings and saunters around the room, flaunting her slender legs and vivacious curves in the process. This time, she is singing a fabulous rendition of Cry Me A River, originally sung by our dearly departed E.F. – Ms. Rabbit's movements are graceful, and yet sensual, capturing the hearts of her fans all too easily, as it does the song itself.
After leaving the Ink and Paint Club following this breathtaking (quite literally at times) performance, it's hard to feel as though the future isn't bright for Jessica Rabbit. Should the stars align perfectly, we could very well see her going far. Her music, in particular, strikes a nostalgic tone that one ever so rarely hears these days. But for now at least, it seems as though is perfectly content with her gig at The Ink and Paint Club, not that you see this old reporter complaining either way.
Sesel E. King, Review From The Middleton Reporter
"Only thing these papers are good for these days," Jessica Rabbit muttered, holding the paper over her head as rain poured down on her. This had certainly proven unexpected. The weather report on the news was usually pretty accurate. If she had known this was going to be her reward, she would have brought an umbrella. She supposed she could call Roger to bring one for her but… no—the poor thing already had enough on his plate to deal with as it was.
For a moment, she considered going back into the club and waiting out the rain, but the idea of not knowing when it would stop made her hesitate. She didn't want to go home in the dark. Instead, she began hurrying down the alleyway that the backstage door of the club was connected to. The paper over her head was terrible at providing protection and she found that she constantly had to move it around, but it was still better than nothing.
In the cold, damp wetness, her thoughts drifted to her warm home and the massive amount of relief she would feel as soon as she entered it. It was a sudden screech from behind her that interrupted those cozy thoughts.
She spun around and scanned the area quickly. Nothing but drops of rain. She sighed and blew out a huff of air, the bangs covering her right eye moving as she did so.
"And now you're hearing things… Granny, looks like I'm coming to join you soon." Jessica turned back to the main road only to find instead strange creatures approaching her. The top halves of their bodies were shaped like that of a regular human torso, albeit gray like cement in nature. Their eyes were an icy blue and their hair suspended and gently floating, as though they were underwater. Their bottom halves were that of snakes, allowing them to glide in an intimidating way to Jessica.
Jessica backed away, turned and ran back down the alley, dropping the newspaper as she did so. Harsh breathing ensued and persisted even as she made it back to the backstage door. She tugged at the door's handle and tried to bring it down, only to find resistance in this.
"Oh, now he remembers to lock the door!" Jessica snapped. She began pounding at the door, yelling at the top of her lungs, "HEY, OPEN THE DOOR!"
Could she even be heard through all this rain? It felt like the perfect sequence of events all lined up, as though the world had decided to consign her to being one of the forgotten—those who were swept away by the rivers of time, never to be remembered. Perhaps she should have seen it coming when her pianist had called in sick, or perhaps even earlier in the morning when she realized her funny tasting coffee was due to the milk going off.
She turned around, staring in the eyes of death. She wondered if she could somehow slip past them. There were only three of them. Perhaps she could feint in one direction and hope for dear life they took the bait. It was just about the only card she had to play and she really had nothing to lose—well, except for everything.
"Roger… give me strength," Jessica said, her mind settled on trying to make a break for it. If she could reach the main road she could call for help, that alone would be enough. There was no possible way they would follow her—or would they? Could she truly say that for certain? After all, they didn't exactly look normal.
Before she could make a break for it, another figure landed in front of her, this one human. Droplets of water splashed up from where the young man had touched ground, finally settling farther than where their concentrated form had been initially. From the back, Jessica could see that he was rather lean and tall with short silver hair. He wore a sleeveless dark gray jacket with yellow lines along the shoulders and around the hem and a black shirt underneath with sleeves that went to just above his elbows. His right arm spread from the rest of his body, a weapon suddenly materialized in his grip.
He turned the side of his face to meet Jessica, revealing sharp turquoise eyes. "Stay back."
Jessica didn't need to be told twice. She tried to make herself as small as possible as the boy aimed the weapon at the creatures, as though he were egging them on to strike first. He maintained composure as one of the snakes moved in, slowly at first, before throwing itself at him. He quickly stepped to the side and caught the snake by the side of his weapon. He brought it down to the ground, plunging his weapon into the snake's body soon after.
The second snake came in next, hissing and spitting something out of its mouth. A purple globule like substance. The young man leaned to the side, the glob missing him by a few inches. He flung his weapon forward like a boomerang, striking the snake and stunning it. When the weapon returned to him, he leapt forward and brought his weapon down in a vicious attack that finished off the snake.
"Behind y-!" Jessica yelled, seeing the last snake attempt to sneak up on the boy, but he was apparently prepared for that too. He drew his blade back up and thrust it behind him, over his shoulder, catching the snake between its eyes. As the creature faded away, Jessica couldn't help but be left impressed. "Maybe they were the ones who needed help."
The weapon in the boy's hand disappeared and he turned his full attention to Jessica. For a moment, she was rendered speechless. She had been expecting two pools of turquoise to be looking back at her but instead where his right eye should have been was an eye patch.
"You alright?" he asked her.
Jessica quickly recovered and looked down at her body. "Well I wouldn't quite say that. I'm practically soaking wet."
The boy furrowed his brow before taking off his jacket and handing it to her. When she looked at him puzzled, he replied. "Here, cover yourself. Better than nothing."
"But what about you?" Jessica asked.
The boy shook his head. "I'm alright. It's just water."
Jessica looked between the boy and the jacket before gracefully accepting it and letting it drape over her head. "And who do I hold the pleasure of calling my tall, dark and handsome hero?"
"I'm no hero. The name's Riku," the boy answered, his voice devoid of emotion.
"Well, Riku, thank you, but I don't believe you. Not all heroes wear capes," Jessica said, looking him up and down. "Some wear jackets too. Care to walk me to the bus stop?"
"Sure," Riku agreed. It would have been oh so easy to ask the obvious question, but Jessica refrained, thinking it would be uncomfortable and all too sudden a question for a stranger to ask. Instead, she asked another question she had on her mind as they walked toward the main street.
"Just what were those things anyway?" She had to raise her voice a bit over the rain, but Riku managed to pick up what she was saying.
"They're called Wraith. I've been fighting them for a while now, trying to understand them. They come in all shapes and sizes, but they don't usually seem to pop out unless fog is in the area or people like me are nearby."
"People like you?" Jessica repeated.
Riku didn't expand on this. "But if they're here, it looks like I'm on the right track."
The two emerged out onto the main street and continued down the road. For Jessica, she felt safe once again being on a road with pedestrians and traffic. It was beginning to get dark too. No doubt the last of the office workers were making their way back home.
Soon enough they reached the bus shelter. Jessica breathed a sigh of relief and lowered the jacket, giving it back to Riku. "How shall I ever repay you, honestly?"
"Don't worry about it. I was just in the right place at the right time," the silver-haired youth dismissed.
"Hmm, not sure I can do that. I owe you one. Two, actually. Let's see… would you like a tour of my house or… I'm doing another performance tomorrow night at the club. How about you drop by? I'll just let the fine gentleman at the door know to watch out for the silver-haired guy with the eyepatch and bring him to one of the VIP tables."
"You're working at the club?" Riku visibly peaked up upon hearing this.
"I don't work. I perform," Jessica corrected. "So? I take it you're interested?"
"Actually, I think I'll take you up on that offer," Riku replied. His answer showed no eagerness, but Jessica had the strange feeling then that it was more a realization of opportunity. To be quite honest, the boy had the word 'mysterious' written all over him. A mystery that she found herself enamored with. She wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to him yet. Just how deep did this rabbit hole go?
"Wonderful. My act starts at seven." There was then a long pause, filled in only by the pitter patter of droplets hitting the roof of the shelter over them. "Things have been weird for a while now. It all started with that giant earthquake three months ago, then that weird heart-shaped thing that keeps appearing in the sky and now those monsters? Even I'm starting to believe the doomsayers."
"Doomsayers?" Riku asked.
Jessica arched a brow at this. He definitely wasn't from around here if he hadn't seen them. They had practically earned a spot on the news, disrupting transportation, eliciting backlash from the 'saner' portion of the public who just wanted to go about their lives as normal and didn't buy into any of it—or maybe they did. Maybe their normal lives were just the vehicle they needed to escape from the fear of the unknown. She couldn't blame them.
"The end of the world," Jessica said, as the bus pulled into the stop.
"And you believe that?" Riku asked, looking over at her.
"I know if it's true there's not much I can do about it, so in the meantime all I can do is just keep singing. Earn a living for myself. But thanks again, hero." Jessica reached out to give him a hug but paused when Riku visibly flinched and stepped back. He looked down to the ground, unable to meet her eyes. Jessica could only flash him a sympathetic smile and stepped onto the bus.
Riku could feel her eyes on him even as the doors closed and the bus took off down the drenched road. He gritted his teeth, looked down at his pale hands and remained on the spot— for how long, he wasn't even sure.
The following night, the smoky and darkened Ink and Paint club, its only source of light being the lanterns illuminating the stage tangled once more with the sweet, dulcet tones of Jessica's voice. This place held a special memory for her. It was here where she had met her husband, Roger, and at a time where she had had serious thoughts of quitting due to what she could only describe at the time as being insecure. Enter Roger Rabbit, who she found incredibly charming and funny. The smitten rabbit had convinced her to keep going and had even promised her that he would listen to her sing every day. It was then that she knew she had met the one and the rest was history.
A few tables away from where she was performing, one of her regular patrons leaned in with keen interest. His beefy arms held up his love-struck face while his elbows touched the table. Like many of the others, he was probably not aware that Jessica had a husband. She had considered writing lyrics into her songs talking about her relationship although her manager had ultimately decided against it. Something about it being bad business. As much as Jessica was well aware that her husband was constantly jealous of the other men in the room ogling her and in fact needed to be reminded from time to time that he was the only one for her, she wasn't going to turn munny down either.
For a few seconds, Jessica's sultry gaze wandered over to the table where the muscular tanned man and its other occupant sat. When she winked in his direction, the muscular man visibly swooned.
When her performance came to an end, there was a massive round of applause from the crowd. Jessica blew them all a kiss, waved and walked off backstage. A large sigh of happiness left the tanned man, and he leaned his cheek to the side as he drew patterns with his finger on the table cloth.
"Gee, isn't she just the best? And did you see she even winked at me at one point! I think she likes me, and how could she not, I mean just look at me!" he exclaimed with a grin, alternating between moving each eyebrow up and down.
It was now the silver-haired youth at the table's turn to sigh. He knew full well that although Jessica had been looking their way, it certainly had not been directed at the person next to him.
"I've been wondering by the way, what's with the eye patch. Are you cosplaying as a pirate?" the man asked. Riku did not reply. This seemed to annoy the tanned man, who gave a huff and muttered, "Well someone's a chattybox."
The tanned man made to stand up when Riku reached out across the table and grabbed the man's wrist with an almost eager alacrity. It was as though he had been waiting, anticipating the move. This was his time to act.
"Don't move," Riku said. "Sit down. Wait until everyone else is gone. I need to ask you something."
"Hey, mi amigo, what's the problem? I'm a busy man, yes? I have no time-"
"Perhaps I'm not being clear enough. I'm not asking you. Sit back down," Riku continued, calmly.
"Or else what?" Riku could see the look on the tanned man's face becoming increasingly more annoyed. The man was probably thinking that his entire evening was about to be spoiled, and he would be right.
"You don't want to know the answer to that," Riku said, before repeating the words slowly, "Now don't make me say it again. Sit. Down."
Upon seeing Riku's icy glare, the man gulped and slowly sat back down. While he went about folding his arms and looking like a grumpy child who had just been told off by their parents, Riku looked off into the distance, watching as the other tables were cleared of their inhabitants. He had to thank Neuge when he next saw her for teaching him the benefits of a good terrifying and uncomfortable stare.
Soon enough, the club was almost completely empty save for one or two tables. Riku judged that to be enough and finally looked over at the man next to him.
"You're Senior, right?"
"Huh? Oh, did my father get involved with the wrong crowd again? Look, you've got the wrong guy, it's an easy mistake to make, but I'm Señor Senior, Junior. My father is Señor Senior, Senior."
"Okay, first of all… what? Actually, scratch that, I don't care. Do you know a man by the name of Janus? Short ashen hair, wears tinted frames, red overcoat though he may not have had that on him at the time… ring any bells?" Riku asked.
"Hmm. Well I can't say that I haven't seen someone who looks like that but you know, my memory's a little hazy. Perhaps I'll need some convincing?" Junior rubbed his chin from side to side as he looked sideways at Riku with a mischievous glint in his eyes. It seemed that he still didn't understand the situation he was in.
Riku summoned his Keyblade and raised it to Junior's neck. "Is this convincing enough for you. Do you think I'm playing games?"
Junior's smile turned into one of panic, his eyes darting back and forth wildly between the weapon now pointed at him and its owner.
"Okay okay! I swear I don't know much! I mean I've seen him around the island once or twice talking with father but th-that's it, really!"
"The island?" Riku asked.
"I mean it's a few hours ride from here but yes, it's my father's favorite home of ours. I personally prefer our home in the tropics since I can get in plenty of sun and I keep telling him that it's much-"
"I need to speak with your father. You'll take me to him," Riku cut him off, walking past Junior.
"A- yes, sir," Junior replied, his energy seemingly starved by Riku's dismissal.
Watching from behind the stage's drapes as the two of them wandered off to the front of the club, Jessica couldn't help but show a look of concern as she watched her silver-haired savior leave. If there was anything she was good at, it was reading men, but this one? She felt she could only begin to ponder. There was one thing she could tell with certainty though. Something was eating away at him. Something horrible.
"Hope I see you again. Take care of yourself… Riku."
When Senior Junior had mentioned that the island was only a few hours away, Riku hadn't expected that this was completely conditional on being on a flying death trap for those few hours. It wasn't anything like a Gummi Ship either. There was very little space to actually maneuver in. He was trapped in a tiny box where the muffled whirling of the spinning blades above him could be heard. By contrast, the Gummi Ship was far quieter, the faint sounds of the humming engine being the somewhat only noticeable noise.
Riku let out an inaudible groan, eaten up by the sounds of the moving vehicle. He twisted sideways, looking behind him to the shields which divided the cockpit from the cabin. "Are we almost there yet?"
Junior, who was wearing shades, threw him a sideways grin. "Almost. You're not good with heights, Mr. Eyepatch?"
"It's Riku, and yes but this is… why is the ceiling so low?" Riku asked, his eyes wandering upwards.
"What, you've never been in a helicopter before?" Junior asked.
"Is that not normal?" Riku asked. He genuinely didn't know the customs of this particular world.
"Normal for me. I do it all the time," Junior replied jubilantly. Riku rolled his eyes. This guy really did love talking about just how wealthy and privileged he was. Instead of focusing on Junior, Riku turned his attention to the window and looked out. There wasn't really much to see, or much that could be seen for that matter. He saw two hues of blue, divided by a clear line. One of those was the sea, and it reminded him of being back on the islands. Oh, how he missed those peaceful days. But they were gone and no matter how much he wished for it, things would never be the same.
Riku wasn't sure how much time had passed when Junior had announced that they had arrived. As Riku looked out the window again, he was met with bright lights beaming across the sky. The spotlights placed around the mansion made the place feel more like a high security prison than an actual place of luxury. Riku didn't think he could hope to understand how someone could live so secluded on a remote island like this by themselves, that is until he remembered that this was not a normal family he was getting involved with.
"We are making our final descent to the Island Senior located off the Bay of Biscay. Can all passengers please remain seated until the plane comes to a full stop, thaaaaaank you!" A playful Junior exclaimed.
At this point I'll gladly jump out and take the risk, Riku thought, his hands hiding his face to conceal the pain he felt.
When the plane eventually landed and came to a complete halt on the island's runway, Riku was all too glad to get out from the cage he had been trapped in for, after reluctantly running it by Junior, nearly six hours. As soon as he stepped out, Riku stretched his limbs and he breathed a sigh of relief. After a while, he looked back at Junior with the same no-nonsense look in his eyes that he had possessed a few hours prior.
"You first," Riku urged on.
"Okay, okay! Sheesh, it wouldn't hurt to be a bit less grumpy though. We're basically buds now, eh?" Junior said as he took the lead and led them through the compound.
"That is… not how that works," Riku muttered. Riku kept his eye on his surroundings as Junior guided him into the building proper and through a long, straight corridor that seemed to connect to the other side of the building. His eyes looked about, taking in the security cameras on the walls. Well, he was now absolutely convinced this was more prison or some weird laboratory than an actual home.
Riku soon stopped in his tracks, not because they were at their destination, but because they had come face to face with a dead end.
"What are you playing at?" Riku enquired, finally looking at Junior properly for what felt like the first time since they had landed on the island. The tanned Adonis, however, didn't respond, and kept his back turned to him.
"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Riku strode up to him and was about to place a hand on the man's shoulder when he finally turned around.
"Hey, Riki, was it?" Junior asked with so overenthusiastic a smile that it almost hinged on creepy.
"Riku."
"Looks like you really are all brawn and no brains, huh?"
Before Riku could question what he even meant by this, Riku suddenly found himself falling. Darkness surrounded him, and it might as well for he had no time to process what was going on. All of sudden, he hit something soft and rolled off several over things before finally coming to a full stop. He barely had time to recover as his nostrils were immediately hit with a horrible stench. He scrunched up his nose and tried to stand up, although the unevenness and softness of the ground made it hard to regain equal footing. Riku looked up to where a small square of light was present, as was his backstabber.
"Father sends his regards, by the way!" Junior yelled all the way from above. His voice echoed against the metallic walls of the garbage dump.
"You're going to regret doing that," a nasally Riku yelled back as he struggled to keep his nose pinched.
"What's that? Can't quite here you down there, amigo! Don't worry though, you should be having some company in, oh, right about now."
Suddenly, another voice permeated the air, mechanical, yet female. Loud, yet awfully calm and in command for what she was saying. "Incineration initiated. Proceeding with Stage one. Now deploying Incineration Drones."
"Oh you've got to be kidding me," Riku whispered, accidentally letting go off his nose only to be assailed by the horrifically foul smell once again. The room came to life with bright yellow flashing lights and shutters that opened up, revealing flying robots with what looked like flamethrowers equipped with gas canisters attached to their arms. Riku didn't need to wait long to see what they could do. Fire soon spread across the room from four different directions. Riku tried to back away only to fall backwards on one of the trash bags. The smell made it hard to concentrate, although not impossible. As one of the drones neared him, Riku dived out of the way of its line of fire. He quickly summoned his Keyblade and aimed, casting Thundaga to send the drone spinning and eventually crashing.
Suddenly he let out a gasp as he felt a horrible pain in his shoulder. He hadn't been looking behind him. Quickly he rolled to the side, falling down more bags of rubbish. He looked down at his right shoulder quickly to see a small piece of clothing missing with singes marking his exposed skin. He had been lucky enough that he had reacted quickly in time. Immediately he lowered his head as one of the drones flew above him, torching more of the garbage. As another drone headed towards him, Riku settled on the four mini spinning rotor blades that kept the robots hanging in the air.
Riku slowly stood up and waited a second before leaping for the wall. He kicked off its metallic surface and rebounded in the direction of the drone. Bringing his Keyblade forward, he latched onto one of the spinning rotors. Using the full weight of his body, he swung his arm with as much force as he could, sending the drone flying and crashing into another drone.
"One more." Riku looked around quickly, spotting the last drone appearing from around the heap of rubbish that had previously obscured it. His hands found the knot of one of the trash bags and he brought it with him as he stood back up. After a quick swing with his wrist, he flung the bag at the drone. The bag arched through the air and stuck the robot, knocking it off course. Riku jumped into the air and held his Keyblade out with both hands, shooting a barrage of dark streaking projectiles that shot forward in a straight trajectory. The streaks hit the drone each with a satisfying smack, blasting it into multiple pieces.
Riku would have loved to breathe a sigh of relief, if it were not for the remaining flames left in the drones' wake. He needed to locate a way out of here, and fast. As he scanned the room for an exit, his eyes eventually returned to the wall once more. The shutters that had contained each of the drones had not yet closed. Riku looked up to where he had fallen from. The room itself was shaped like an Erlenmeyer flask, with the neck or chute of the room a narrow tube compared to its body.
Riku moved quickly. He could afford little time to think. He climbed up bag after bag as quickly as he could. Once he was at the top, he leapt forward and grabbed the ledge of the compartment. Hoisting himself up, Riku summoned his Keyblade, aimed at an angle slightly above his shoulders and cast Blizzaga at the wall creating a floor of ice. He hopped onto it quickly and aimed his Keyblade at an eleven o'clock trajectory, creating a floor of ice on the opposite side of the wall. Slowly and carefully, he did this, jumping from one ice platform to the other. As he reached the chute tunnel, the platforms began to get smaller until he finally made it to the top. He pressed his palms against the outlined square that must have been the trapdoor mechanism he came from and gave it a push, surprised at how easily it opened. Well it certainly saved him the trouble of having to blast it open anyway.
After climbing out, he let out a much-needed gasp. Panting as he tried to take in clean air. It was no good however. He could still smell the foulness, and he wasn't sure if it was because it had rubbed off on him or if it was just his mind playing tricks on him. All he knew was that after this, he was going to need about a hundred showers to feel even close to clean again.
"Alright… so let's try this again," Riku said after stumbling upwards. He started his walk down to the end of the corridor and was about to turn down the next hallway when he spotted a security camera mounted on the wall to his right a few feet ahead. It moved from left to right and back again in an almost lazy drawl, taking in what was in its peripheral vision. Even if Riku slipped past it undetected, he doubted it would be the last one he would find. Girding himself for what was to come, Riku waited until the camera was moving back away from him before proceeding.
A.N. 2 – Just to note a few things, the Cry Me A River song is a cover of Ella Fitzgerald's Cry Me A River, hence E.F. Of course, in this universe that is Entirely Fictional (hehe, okay I'll stop), it could be almost anyone with those initials. And the reviewer's name at the beginning is an anagram of another famous critic and that is all I will say.
When it comes down to this story, I do want to say that I'm not trying to portray Riku as completely edgy the entire time. We've been down that road before and I'm not really interested in re-iterating past plotlines. For example, there a moments in this chapter where we see Riku dropping his guard a bit like being in the helicopter. This is definitely a Riku who leans more to his KH3 self but there is just a part of him that can't let go. That said, from the Hurt/Comfort genre on this story, it's not all fun and rainbows either. And, it's also a Keyblade War so there's that to consider.
Anyway, the next chapter will be coming soon-ish, so look forward to that. Oh, and I never got to say it but Happy Kingdom Hearts 20th! My first game in the series was Kingdom Hearts II, which is, yes, a weird way to start the series but I loved it all the same. But if you were to ask what my first encounter with the series was, it was actually Chain of Memories. I remember going to my local woolworths and seeing the GBA SP bundle alongside the cover, seeing Donald Duck and Goofy and getting really excited. I wouldn't be playing this brilliant series though until about two years later. You'll be seeing a lot of content from me going into the second half of the year so look forward to it! These stories are ultimately, at their very heart, a celebration of my favorite series and characters that I've grown to love over the past two decades. I very much look forward to KH4, but until then, I'll be writing as much as I can so I hope you join me for the ride.
