AN: Holy CRAP I realized we hadn't seen Kairi in like 15 chapters I'm pretty suuuure...Did not realize! :D Let's get back to our main character shall we?! xDDD
End of AN!
Kairi emerged from another Dive to a new Sleeping World (her fifth, now)...
And opened her eyes to a strange and...familiar place?
She stood in the middle of a dark alleyway, with tall, dark buildings lining it - pipes and machines, metal railings interspersed.
Rain fell down on her from above, as thunder boomed, and lightning flashed.
She stared around her, raising a hand to her chest.
What was this world...? What were these feelings? Why did she know it? Why...
She shook her head and ran forward down the alley. She took a turn, then another - and then another - and burst out into a wide open space. Some city square, with the faces of skyscrapers around her now, glowing with neon signs. A towering skyscraper stood out from the rest, in front of her, framed against the sky. It had a huge, flickering TV screen on it. Images and colors flashed across it, but she couldn't really make any of it out...
Kairi blinked against the rain, wiping at her eyes uselessly to try and clear them.
She shivered and hugged herself.
She looked around her, gazing up past the central skyscraper...and a soft gasp escaped her.
There was a massive, sprawling, white castle in the distance - floating high in the sky?
Her Heart thudded in her chest; a pain shot through her head.
She raised a hand to her head, letting out a groan.
She breathed deep, screwing up her eyes...until it faded.
And then she knew.
She opened her eyes and dropped her arm to her side, gazing up at the castle in the sky.
"...Namine," she mouthed, her voice completely drowned away by the rainstorm.
She'd heard enough to suspect just where she was - what this place was...
But if she was really here, then...was she even in the Realm of Sleep anymore? Had she somehow...fallen out of it? However that worked?
But she hadn't found Ephemer again yet, she hadn't-!
Suddenly, the storm froze.
The thunder ceased, the lightning never came again - and the rain...it was frozen in the air, all around her.
Kairi stared in pure confusion.
She guessed it was a dream realm, so anything could happen, but this was just weird...
The raindrops all began to migrate away from her, to the edges of the concrete square - where they then coalesced and grew to become huge walls of rushing water...boxing her in!
Kairi looked up, and saw the raindrops overhead were forming a ceiling of water as well (flying was out, then).
What was going on?
She summoned her Keyblade, her gaze wandering from one side of the square to the other. She cast out her free hand, calling Fin, Cherry, and of course Beatrice to her side together.
Moments passed, in stillness and silence. Then, dark swirls of energy rose up from the ground, all around her - surrounding her.
Large, intimidating new Nightmares appeared in the square - towering...dinosaurs! Over a half dozen T-Rexes, and four armored, bulky Triceratops ones with long, deadly, curved forward-facing horns!
Kairi stared around at them all, faltering. Freezing.
How could she possibly take on all of these things at once?
"On your left, babygirl!" a voice echoed out.
"Huh?!" Kairi whirled, trying to find the source of the voice-
A skyscraper exploded on her left in a burst of light, huge chunks of debris flying out across the square. Kairi cast an instant barrier dome to shield herself; her Spirits all vanished in puffs of smoke, squeaking in surprise!
A glowing figure darted out of the broken building like a comet, knocking house-sized pieces aside. The pieces of the building drifted away into the air and hovered, revealing themselves to be solid inside, with white lines. The figure stopped right in the middle of the square, the light and blurriness catching up to them. The cage of water shattered, falling down in one great waterfall, flooding the ground and spreading outward...draining off a sharply cut ledge of a cliff into a...blue void, behind where the skyscraper on her left had once been?
Luxu straightened up tall, arching his back and cracking his neck. He worked an arm, then conjured that black Keyblade to his hand. He gave it a twirl, resting it on his shoulder. He turned his head to look at her with a sidelong grin. "Hey!"
"What are you-" Kairi started, letting her barrier fall and stepping forward.
Monstrous roars echoed around her. The Nightmares threw off the debris, stomping out into the open square again. The T-Rexes raised their heads and let loose streams of purple flames.
"Hold that thought for me, would you?" Luxu said swiftly, turning on a heel - and vanishing in a flicker of air.
A bubble of inverted colors rippled out from where he'd last been, expanding out to cover the entire square. Kairi covered her arms as it rushed over her - but nothing happened to her?
The monsters, though, were all frozen where they stood.
Luxu's image suddenly materialized in front of them - all of them, simultaneously - his blades singing and slashing, and stabbing, leaving trails of white energy behind. The copies all vanished, and the real Luxu reappeared in the center of the square. He looked around himself, exaggerated, then raised a hand and snapped his fingers.
A vortex of purple and white energy burst to life overhead, growing as large as a truck in seconds. A great pulling force erupted in the square, tugging at Kairi with incredible force - but she stayed where she was?
Luxu turned to her, and raised a hand to point down at her feet; Kairi glanced down, seeing a swirling purple magic circle beneath her...Gravity?
The air snapped, and the monsters were moving again. They were sucked up into the vortex immediately, swirling around in the air, slamming into each other, and were eviscerated by the white tendrils of energy ringing it. The vortex shrank down to the size of a marble, and then it exploded violently - destroying the Nightmares completely.
Luxu gave his weapon another twirl as he strode toward Kairi, the vortex fading away in moments. The force and power dying down.
Kairi looked down at her feet, finding herself free again. She returned her gaze to the man, holding an arm up in front of herself. "Okay, I held my thought - now tell me why you're here," she spoke out.
Luxu's Keyblade disappeared as he stopped in front of her. He set a hand on his hip, giving the other a little gesture - indicating Kairi herself. "Saving your life - and bringing you home."
"What? No!" Kairi exclaimed, automatic.
Luxu eyed her, his face scrunching up in pure bafflement. "Eh...No?"
"No!" Kairi said firmly. "I'm not leaving without Ephemer!"
"WHAT?" The look of shock and confusion on the man's face was priceless (a part of her really enjoyed it). "Look - Kairi - Ephemer's dead. He died a long time ago. So whatever you saw in here was probably just a stand-in by a world's-"
"No, he was REAL!" Kairi interrupted fiercely, glaring up at him. "He saved my life in Traverse Town, he told me about Dream Eaters, and about his life before - his wife, Astrid, right? And his daughters! He told me he lost his Keyblade in a fight. He said his spirit, his Heart, was hanging around here so he could look after the Dandelions. When the Data World fell, their Hearts went to sleep, and their Chirithies took them inside themselves and became Spirits to protect them here in this place. Ephemer was waiting a long time, hoping for Keyblade wielders strong and skilled enough to come here and find them all - and help them get back to normal, so they can go back to the real world again."
Luxu was silent, his expression shifting several times in rapid succession. He stared down at her with parted lips. Then, he nodded, and grinned. "Alright. There's no way you could possibly know any of that. So...I believe you. Ephemer's still around, taking care of the Dandelions. Trying to find a way to save them all, even now. Besides, it's not one of the craziest things I've ever heard before."
"Great - now leave me alone so I can get back to looking for him."
"I thought you said he saved your life and gave you the world's biggest exposition dump?"
"We got separated when I did my first Dive - between Sleeping Worlds," Kairi said, frowning. "I don't know if it was him, or me, but...it doesn't matter, either way! I'm NOT LEAVING WITHOUT HIM! I'm going to bring him back to Skuld and Amaya! So get onboard, or get lost! I didn't need to be rescued, thanks!"
Luxu gazed at her in silence again, for a minute. Then he nodded, his face turning serious. "No, you didn't - but the worlds do. The real worlds, out there."
"What?"
"Some dark shit has started making some moves - big ones," Luxu went on quietly. "A True Darkness - and the Nightmares, from this place...they've started leaking out into the waking world, started going after people there. Causing trouble." He gazed at her, his face...soft. Kind. He gave a small smile. "The worlds could really use their Princess of Heart back...and a damn capable heroine."
Kairi stared up into his face. She bit her lip, looking away.
"Your friends need you, too, you know. Everyone's heading out to try to fight this threat - put a stop to it all. Including Sora, and your sister. And your friend Riku's gone missing - the consensus seems to be that it was voluntary, but we can't rule anything out."
Kairi glanced up sharply. "Riku's gone?"
"Apparently," Luxu said. "Terra thinks he stole your big old pirate ship, by the way."
"He WHAT?! HE STOLE MY SHIP?!" Kairi exploded, her voice going high.
Luxu winced, giving his head a little shake. Then he grinned, pointing at her with both hands. "Haha! Didn't you steal it in the first place?"
"Law of acquisition!" Kairi retorted. "I won it in a duel with an evil pirate who wasn't doing anything GOOD WITH IT anyways! So really, I LIBERATED IT! In the name of justice!"
"Man, the things kids tell themselves...But, seriously, a lot's happened while you've been away, and there are a lot of worlds and people that need you right now. So come on."
Kairi glared, stepping away. "I told you: I'm not leaving without Ephemer. I won't just leave him here - or any of those other kids!"
"I wasn't saying to just leave him here - any of them," Luxu said patiently, showing his palms to her now. "I'll send you home, and I'll stay back here and look for Ephemer and the rest of the Dandelions. Whatever his big plan is to rescue them all, and see them back to the Realm of Light - no offense - but I doubt you have the unique powers needed to pull it off. On the other hand, you know: I probably do. If it involves the Power of Waking...well, I'm also the only one capable of popping in and out of this realm whenever I feel like it. So I'll handle stuff here, and you get back to your friends and family. Do what you're meant to do - what it's in your nature to do."
Kairi gazed at him again. She brought her hand up to brush at her hair, turning away. "My nature is to help people...and to not just leave something half-finished when I make a promise."
"Then I'll carry the promise for you."
"Right. You."
"They're more my responsibility than yours, you know. I should have been the one to save them all, back then, and I should be the one to put it right NOW. Save them all, and see Ephemer back to his best friends. But you have a job to do out there...Kairi."
Kairi stared off into the distance, silent. Conflict raging in her Heart.
"You know...I don't think I've ever even told Namine this - but telling you is about as good...or maybe better," Luxu spoke, in a hesitant, quiet tone. "I used to wonder, if that whole endless determination and fire of hers was...hers...or yours. And I see it now, in you. She definitely got it from you. People like her, and like you...you never give up on a damn thing. You're always hoping, always pushing, fighting on, sticking to your guns. You've got...probably some of the strongest damn Hearts I've ever witnessed in my entire life - and that is saying a lot, considering how long I've lived for. The places I've been, people I've seen. But you...you keep pulling impossible rabbits out of your hat. You DO the impossible. You make - flat out miracles. Things even I can't even begin to understand how you do what you do. But you keep doing them anyways. And maybe it's your Heart, or being a Princess of Heart - but either way...I'm envious."
Kairi looked over at him, surprise coursing through her.
"The fact that, even though you've been lost in this place for a week, fighting off Nightmares, searching for a lost spirit, and you still want to just stay here and keep on with it...to choose to trap yourself, to choose to keep fighting through hordes of monsters - all for a promise, or because it's just right, because you know it in your Heart...I've never been like that before in my life," the man continued on, shaking his head. "Oh, when Namine got through to me, when I made the choice to toss everything aside for her, I think I tasted it - but only for a moment. It was a sample, a temporary high. But that's not how my Heart is all the time - not like yours is. And I wish...I wish it could be. I wish...I could be like you, all the time. Because you...you and her...you're two of the most amazing, strong, and constantly perplexing-slash-frustrating people I have ever known in over a millennia.
"Now, me? I don't do hope. I don't do brave to the point of insanity. I don't do infinite strength, and dedication, and compassion, and determination. I'm the guy who gave up on hope. Gave up on everything. But you...like I said: you don't give up on a damn thing. You never have. And I admire that, more than I've ever admired anything."
"But you still want me to just leave...?" Kairi said softly. "You want me to give up..."
Luxu shook his head again. He drew in a breath, ran a hand through his hair. "It's not giving up. It's...leaving it to others. It's...trusting. And taking all that strength and hope and putting it elsewhere...where it's needed more right now. I guess that's the question, isn't it? Can you trust me...to do this?"
Kairi let her chin fall to her chest. She sighed. "I want to..." she admitted. "Namine trusts you, and I trust her powers...but you just-"
"I made a terrible first impression on you, I know," Luxu interrupted, in a rough voice. "Do you think that for all this time, all the centuries of my life, that I haven't regretted being the universe's biggest bystander? Letting tragedies and death and darkness pass me by, not lifting a finger to stop any of it? Even in the lowest, darkest depths of my apathy and resignation...I never stopped feeling them. Every time. They piled on, the weight got heavier, year after year. I'd have had to really be a Nobody to not have felt any of it. But, even then, I would have grown a Heart back in due time...and it would have all come back to me. I'm the guy who- who's probably lived with the most- the biggest pile of regrets and remorse than anyone in history has ever! I wasn't just- just snickering behind people's back, I wasn't...I'm SORRY, kid! For EVERYTHING! And for a million things that you have no idea about! But most of all...I'm sorry for you."
Kairi startled, looking into his face - a face of twisted emotion, of...his eyes were glistening. "You're sorry for me...? Why?"
The man took in a deep breath, then let it go. He met her gaze, squarely, intently. "I'm sorry...because I saved Skuld and not you, nine years ago. I chose to break my cover, to save one girl and not another. I picked the one I knew. The one I'd made a promise to protect, and look after."
"W-what...?"
"I knew what Xehanort did, that day, in Radiant Garden," Luxu spoke, his voice cracking. "You think I wasn't watching him, more closely than even he knew? He had amnesia, and I had more power and autonomy than he'd ever know. I watched him set the Heartless on your house that day, and I saw you run from that house, all the way to the gates of the castle. And I saw him take you - saw him put you in that pod-"
"S-stop...why- why would you tell me this...?" Kairi said, in a high, small voice. A distant voice... "WHY?"
"Because I want to prove that I'm done lying - done hiding. Even if it ruins the hell out of any chance that you do have of trusting me. And because you deserved to know."
"That- that doesn't...even make...sense..." Kairi breathed, in and out, fast and shallow - her world darkening on its edges, as images and sounds flashed through her mind-
"I know...it's a bit of a paradox, isn't it? You know, I hate complicated shit, but- I guess I'm pretty complicated, myself..."
Kairi stared past him, through him, unblinking - her body trembling. Her weapon at her side... Then it slipped from her grasp, her head pulsed with pain, and she fell over sideways, as her world went completely dark...
"...hey - come on..."
Kairi opened her eyes in an instant, the world rushing back to her. She groaned and sat up, clutching her head. She looked around, then her gaze found him.
She bolted up straighter, throwing herself back. She startled as her hand smacked into metal. She looked down to see her Keyblade - laying on the ground beside her, separated from her.
She grabbed for the handle immediately, looking back at the man.
Luxu just sat there - on the ground, his knees drawn in, his arms around them. "Welcome back, kiddo."
"What happened?" she said instantly.
Luxu shrugged his shoulders. "You fainted - or some equivalent, considering you're actually just a Heart at the moment, and not in your actual body."
"What?"
Luxu's face flickered. "What do you remember last - before arriving in this realm?"
Kairi frowned. She glanced down. "I was asleep - dreaming. It was important. It was...something to do with being a Princess of Heart. About- NOT being one anymore, I guess. I met...these two other girls - other Princesses, or- past Princesses, I think - and then- I lost a fight, and there was this huge monster, made of light, and...then I woke up in Traverse Town. Here."
"Yeah, that huge monster of yours almost gave your island home one hell of a bad night."
"WHAT?! What happened - is everyone okay?! What about-"
"Everyone's fine over there - though, the whole World Order thing's been shot to hell," Luxu replied. "Hard to keep things hidden when people see a second sun appear in the night sky, and a group of magic wizards pushing it out through a big old, dark tear in the fabric of reality. I had to go and help your father explain the finer details of the whole multiverse thing - magic and Keyblades and whatnot - to the people of your island." He paused. Then- "Your house is gone, by the way. Sorry."
"What happened to the house?! Is dad okay? Is Xion-"
"They're all fine! It's just the house," Luxu cut across her again firmly. "Your little slumber party princess test went all wonky, apparently, and that's what kicked things off. You blew your house up - scorched it to ash. Completely nuked out of existence."
Kairi stared at him for a long time. Then she fell back onto the ground again, putting a hand to her forehead with a groan. "Oh god, dad's probably so upset with me! I ruined EVERYTHING, I- and Xion-!"
"He didn't seem to care about the house all that much - mostly you," Luxu said quietly. "Everyone's been trying to find you, you know. Get you back. While your Heart's been here, your empty body's been kept safe by Yen Sid."
Kairi closed her eyes, screwing up her face. She raised her hand, then smacked it back down again on her forehead - as a fist. "How long has it been since I...went missing here? Time is weird here."
"A little over a week now."
"A week?!" It didn't seem like that long to her. But at the same time, it felt like so much longer...?
"Yep." Another silence. A pause. "I've got some good news to share with you, too, though, if you're up for hearing it. Just happened the other day...or whatever - time's weird here, yeah."
Kairi opened her eyes, sitting up again. She looked down at her weapon, and let it vanish. She breathed in and out, and looked the man in the eyes. "Okay, what's the good news?"
He told her all about it, in detail. Details she hung onto - both in joy and relief, and in worry and panic.
Riku's friend had been saved, and sent back to her home world (and given a Keyblade, to boot). Xion and Kana, Namine and Roxas, all had successfully been moved into Even's new human Replica bodies. And even Aqua, Ven and Terra's Master, Eraqus, had been restored to life again, after spending so long in Terra's Heart - in secret.
Good to neutral news - or even bad news - was the news that Xehanort and his time traveling, younger self had both been...caught, neutralized, stripped of power and weapons, and were now being monitored and locked away. The older one, in some Keyblade Master magic prison beneath Land of Departure's castle, and the younger one...off on some distant world, under direct care of the woman, Amaya.
Kairi supposed other good news was the return of three Keyblade wielders in training - friends of Xehanort's and this Master Eraqus - who had been lost a long time ago...the ones Luxu had briefly mentioned back in Traverse Town, months ago now, when he'd told his whole story. How he'd once trained with Xehanort and Eraqus, in that world of Scala Ad Caelum...
Hermod, Urd, and Vor. Kids, not much older than Kairi or any of her friends.
Good, innocent people, who hadn't even had a chance...and who hadn't had a clue what Xehanort would go on to become. Luxu had said they were still "dealing with the shock of it all", which was probably a huge understatement.
Then, there was also the return of one more person across time: apparently, Xehanort's...birth mother. A woman named Moreth.
The way Luxu told it, the woman was a lot like Amaya, in that she'd had nothing to do with - and no idea about - what her kid would go on to do and be...because she hadn't had the chance to be there for him at all. She was a kind, caring, and soft-spoken person - a normal person, unlike her son.
Again, Kairi couldn't help but draw the parallels between Xehanort and herself. Thinking of her own birth mother, her own ABANDONMENT, and then, her own adoption into a life and a little family on Destiny Islands...
Except even Xehanort's birth mother had apparently always wanted to see him again - unlike Kairi's, unlike...Rynn. Xehanort's mother had given him away to another to protect him from Ancient Darknesses, and the hope of some heroic prophecy - not because she hadn't- hadn't given a shit!
Kairi was actually jealous of Xehanort now! And wasn't that just really pathetic?
The younger one, not the older one, at least. Apparently he was given some leniency here because he'd actually saved Skuld, stood up to his older self to do it, but...
Kairi still remembered the jackass from her first visit to Traverse Town, who had fought her as a "test".
Well, maybe that was why it was only some leniency. Hopefully.
But beyond that, she guessed he really hadn't...actually done anything terrible yet.
It would be like if Riku was plucked out of time from before the islands fell, and was just told everything he'd done...would do. Would he do them again? Or would he not?
Young Xehanort had seemed fully onboard with doing everything again - until recently. Until now, where...Luxu said he was starting to doubt, to change course. Not that he had a choice, being powerless and monitored and all, but...
Kairi supposed it wouldn't even be fair to hate or judge somebody for what their future self had done - when they literally, physically...chronologically hadn't done any of it yet. And maybe now...actually wouldn't...
If someone had come back in time and told her she'd done something awful, she thought she'd be pretty upset and defensive about it, seeing as from her perspective it hadn't even happened yet.
Yes, it did mean the younger Xehanort was capable of it all - but the choice to go through with it was still his. And if he made another choice, chose another path...
She wasn't going to try to stand in the way of that, was she? She'd made that mistake with Riku, before, she reflected intensely. He'd been trying so hard to prove himself to her, to all of them, and she hadn't made it easy... She'd just been so mad, so upset - so hurt. Too much to see the truth of his Heart. To see...
She couldn't make that mistake again, if this- time traveler Xehanort was really going to...to be different from his older self. To be better. To never have to go on to do those things in the first place...
And...she couldn't make that mistake with someone else, either...could she?
"...So, yeah, that's everything that's been going on lately," Luxu concluded. "You're all caught up."
Kairi looked at him, closely. Silently.
"What?" the man said, tilting his head at her and frowning.
"I want to trust you. I want to believe you, and I want to give you a chance," Kairi said. "A real chance. To really...prove it."
Luxu looked at her, attentive. Patient. Silent.
"I can't go back just yet," Kairi went on. "I trust Sora, and my sister, and Terra, and Ven, and everyone else out there to save the worlds - to help people, to save them and protect them. None of us ever did anything we did alone. We didn't get half as far as we did...without each other. Working together. Having each other's backs. So I'm staying here, and I'm going to find Ephemer, and I'm going to help him find and put his Dandelions back to normal - and then we're all leaving this place together!" She breathed in, gazing into the man's dark eyes. "But it's not just them: it's everyone in these worlds - the people I've met here, and helped already. If you really want to prove yourself...then help me to help them. Help me save the people of these worlds. Sleeping or not, dreams or not, 'real' or not - help me do that! Because to me, they're as real as anyone else, as you or me. And I can't just ignore them, and let people suffer. I can't let evil just...go unchecked."
The man gazed back at her for a minute. Then, he nodded. "Alright." He got to his feet, stepped forward, and extended a hand down to her - palm up. "Let me help you get up, first - call it a good faith gesture."
Kairi hesitated. On one hand, she hated being treated like some weak little girl, or worse - some dainty princess - but on the other hand...
Don't snub him on this - same mistake, remember?
Kairi reached up her hand to grasp his, and she let him pull her to her feet again. She looked at him, still, emotions warring in her Heart. Then she looked away. She sucked in a breath. "Thank you - for telling me what you did," she said, hurried and quiet.
"I just told you a lot of stuff. Which part are we talking about here?"
"The part where you told me the truth - even if it could have been extremely counter-productive and risky," Kairi said, breathless now, gazing intensely at a broken building. "You didn't have to...ever. I never would have found out on my own - but you did it anyways. You- you did the right thing. So...thank you...Luxu."
"The right thing, huh... You know, one of the things that even kept me going was telling myself that that was all I ever wanted to do..."
Kairi breathed. She turned and looked the man in the eyes. "Then let's go and do it - together."
"Where do you want to start?"
A light shined from above, and a Sleeping Keyhole appeared in the stormy sky.
Kairi gazed up at it with a smile, stepping forward and raising her Keyblade.
Luxu nodded, eyeing her sidelong. Then, the Keyhole. "Yeah...that looks like a good place to start," he murmured to himself.