Mercurial > moonlitnights
comparison old/stories/prismhearts-15.txt @ 2:fc00894c1d4a moonlitnights
[svn r3] moved all the bad stuff to 'old'
| author | rlm |
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| date | Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:53:12 -0500 |
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| 1 Prism Hearts | |
| 2 Chapter 15 Primal Eyes | |
| 3 by Amazoness Duo | |
| 4 amazonessduo@hotmail.com | |
| 5 | |
| 6 'And if I don't make it, Know that I've loved you all along...' | |
| 7 | |
| 8 Dear diary,I know it's been a while since I've written, but we've | |
| 9 been so busy with the island festival and the weird stuff going on. | |
| 10 But we can't let that stuff keep us down. I'm sure Kairi, Sora, Riku, | |
| 11 and Tidus will all show up just fine like Kairi did the last time. We | |
| 12 just have to keep waiting. | |
| 13 | |
| 14 On the good side of things, the festival went really well! Booyaka! | |
| 15 Yuna's dancing lessons paid off. It was great to dance with Quisty | |
| 16 like that all night long. She looked sooooo pretty! She was wearing | |
| 17 this beautiful pink dress and with her cute glasses perched on her | |
| 18 nose and the moonlight and... I feel faint just thinking about it. It | |
| 19 was the perfect remedy for all the freaky stuff happening. I could | |
| 20 tell Quisty was still preoccupied for a bit, but by the end of the | |
| 21 night I got her mind off of it. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying | |
| 22 themselves. Irvine kept trying to get me to dance with him all night, | |
| 23 but I didn't want to let go of Quisty for an instant. I didn't want | |
| 24 someone else snatching her for a dance while I was off. I guess Lulu | |
| 25 finally did ask Wakka because I saw them dancing a little later on. | |
| 26 Seifer was on the dock, staring off at the stars, so I guess he | |
| 27 didn't feel like dancing. Poor Seifer. It's fun! Maybe he could use | |
| 28 some lessons from Yuna, too. Speaking of Yuna, even she was dancing | |
| 29 later on. She was with that catgirl I almost accidentally drowned | |
| 30 when she first showed up. I'm sorry, Rikku! I thought you were a | |
| 31 fiend. My mistake! But she's made Yuna smile a whole lot, so I'm | |
| 32 really glad she came. Even if she's a kitty, I think Yuna likes her. | |
| 33 Maybe I should give her a paopu fruit for a present. They could eat | |
| 34 it together at the sunset or something. I bet that would make Yuna | |
| 35 happy! I know it made me happy to do that with Quisty. Now we'll be | |
| 36 able to be together forever. Poor Kairi. I hope she can eventually | |
| 37 share it with the one she loves. If she can ever decide. Well, | |
| 38 there's no rule against sharing it with two people. At least, I don't | |
| 39 think so. Maybe I'll ask Quisty later. She knows all sorts of things. | |
| 40 | |
| 41 Yuna's on the beach now. I guess she decided to come out and watch | |
| 42 the ocean, too. It's a kind of blue gray instead of the pretty blue | |
| 43 green it usually is. And the storm clouds make it all look a little | |
| 44 menacing. I'm almost a little afraid of it. The ocean's always been | |
| 45 our friend, but now it seems so cold and distant. But Yuna doesn't | |
| 46 seem to mind. She walked right into the water. I had my feet in | |
| 47 earlier, but it was too cold to keep them there. I wonder if she's | |
| 48 tired or something. I called to her a few times, but she doesn't seem | |
| 49 to hear me. Maybe she just doesn't feel like talking right now. | |
| 50 Ohhhh... She must be practicing her dancing. She's twirling around in | |
| 51 the water now. I couldn't do that in cold water like that. But she | |
| 52 doesn't seem to mind. It's almost like the water's responding to her, | |
| 53 swishing around her. Actually, it looks like the water's getting | |
| 54 darker near her. Not right around her. But kinda further off. It's | |
| 55 like a shadow is moving across the water. Or in the | |
| 56 water...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| 57 Breaking off her diary entry, Selphie stood up on the dock. Her | |
| 58 heart pounded in her stomach. It wasn't a shadow on the water. It was | |
| 59 under the water. And it was heading towards the Destiny Islands. | |
| 60 “Yuna!! Get out of the water!” But Yuna didn't hear her. She kept | |
| 61 dancing, the water now whirling about her as if by magic. Green eyes | |
| 62 went from the girl in the water to the approaching shape. The shape | |
| 63 broke off. Selphie breathed a momentary sigh of relief. Her respite | |
| 64 was shortlived. The shape was heading towards the main island where | |
| 65 the village was, where the elders were. Her parents... Her heart | |
| 66 dropped into her stomach, covered in ice. | |
| 67 | |
| 68 Selphie didn't have the strength to do anything but stare for a long | |
| 69 moment as she saw the huge tidal wave ripping towards the island she | |
| 70 was on. Blurs of blackish gray things tore out of the water, flying | |
| 71 in an erratic path towards the different islands. They missiles | |
| 72 looked like the scales of some ancient and hideous beast. Several | |
| 73 slammed into the beach around her, sending up plumes of sand. Another | |
| 74 zipped past overhead, and for a moment Selphie thought it was going | |
| 75 to hit her. It missed by a head or two and crashed into the dock | |
| 76 behind her. Wood splintered and cracked and she was thrown to the | |
| 77 wooden planks beneath her.Dizzy and still in shock from the | |
| 78 suddenness of her world plunging into madness, Selphie wiped at the | |
| 79 water that dripped down her forehead. Wincing at the pain that shot | |
| 80 through her head, she pulled her hand away, momentarily puzzled by | |
| 81 the blood on her fingers. She had hit the planks harder than she | |
| 82 thought. A chittering behind her quickly drew her attention from the | |
| 83 blood dribbling down her face. Turning about, the brunette almost | |
| 84 fell again. She couldn't focus and the sudden motion made her feel | |
| 85 sick. What she saw made her freeze where she stood, bare feet pressed | |
| 86 against water soaked wood. The missile/scale thing she saw earlier | |
| 87 had been some sort of beast. It crawled out of the wrecked portion of | |
| 88 the pier where it had landed, chittering crazily as it watched her. | |
| 89 It had a strange not quite heart symbol on it, black with a red X | |
| 90 through it. Like the Heartless that had already destroyed their | |
| 91 island once before. But this wasn't a tiny shadow creature. It was an | |
| 92 angry monster. Selphie was only dimly aware of the nunchuks at her | |
| 93 side. She was too weak to fight it. She was going to die. The Destiny | |
| 94 Islands were being torn asunder. In those seconds before it could | |
| 95 strike, her mind clung to the things that were important to her. Her | |
| 96 friends, the islands, her parents, Quistis. For one brief moment, she | |
| 97 wasn't there. She was back on the beach the night before, dancing | |
| 98 with the girl she loved. 'Quisty, we'll be together forever, won't | |
| 99 we?' 'I never want to grow up,' she had told Sora. And it was true. | |
| 100 She wanted to stay here, playing, loving, forever. Now the dream was | |
| 101 cruelly falling apart. The creature rushed forward, claw raised to | |
| 102 cut her in half. Before Selphie could precede the Destiny Islands to | |
| 103 the Graveyard of Dreams, the tidal wave finally crashed into her. The | |
| 104 world spun end over end and darkness claimed her. Somewhere in the | |
| 105 darkness, she could hear Yuna singing. | |
| 106 | |
| 107 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| 108 | |
| 109 The beach was totalled. Trees were ripped up from the ground and | |
| 110 lay scattered across the island. The houses and huts they had built | |
| 111 were shattered like an angry child's playthings. The pier was broken | |
| 112 and lay like so much debris thrown about the beach. The tranquil | |
| 113 serenity of the Destiny Islands had been replaced with a malevolent | |
| 114 chaos, a hateful, destructive force. It was as if a jealous angel | |
| 115 banished to hell had come back to make paradise bleed. This was the | |
| 116 scene Rikku found herself looking at, staring out across the | |
| 117 devestated island. And in the midst of it all, Yuna danced. The waves | |
| 118 broke before hitting her, passing harmlessly around the blue and | |
| 119 green eyed brunette. Despite the horror that lay around her, Yuna | |
| 120 didn't seem to notice at all, dancing early in the waves. Shadows | |
| 121 pulsed and coalesced around her. “Yuna!” she called, but she got no | |
| 122 answer. The girl continued dancing, singing softly. Had she cracked? | |
| 123 Was she welcoming the madness that had already claimed Tidus and some | |
| 124 of her other friends? The only sound outside of the crashing of the | |
| 125 waves was the sound of Rikku's paws crunching against the sand as she | |
| 126 ran to Yuna. She had been taking a catnap and had awakened to | |
| 127 something crashing into the island. In the confusion, she had tried | |
| 128 to find Yuna. She had to make sure she was okay. Now she'd found the | |
| 129 other girl, and her heart thundered, forcing her to go faster than | |
| 130 she ever had as a human. Reaching Yuna, the thief nearly pounced on | |
| 131 her. “Yuna!!” But Yuna continued to ignore her, dancing and singing | |
| 132 as the waves and ground shook around them. | |
| 133 | |
| 134 The shockwave almost threw Rikku back into the crashing waves. Her | |
| 135 ears perked at the sound. Something big had just happened. Her spiral | |
| 136 green eyes searched for the source of something that huge. Missiles? | |
| 137 Some type of giant cannon? There. Her eyes stopped on the onrushing | |
| 138 tidal wave. It was coming from the main island where the village was | |
| 139 located. It was gone. Where there had been an island, there was now | |
| 140 nothing more than jagged rocks and a swelling wave. And the barest | |
| 141 hint of an ugly, giant creature that disappeared beneath the water | |
| 142 just as quickly as she had seen it. Gone. It was completely gone. And | |
| 143 with the way the water surged, it was heading straight towards them. | |
| 144 | |
| 145 “Yuna!!” But the girl continued to ignore Rikku. The former Radical | |
| 146 Dreamer clutched Yuna's dress, yanking her forward. If they didn't | |
| 147 get moving, the huge wave heading towards the beach would slam into | |
| 148 them. And after that, the creature would be there. Rikku didn't know | |
| 149 if they could escape the beast a second time, but she had to try. | |
| 150 First things first. They had to get away from that wave. Rikku | |
| 151 slapped Yuna as hard as she could. Guilt blossomed in her gut as she | |
| 152 did, but she had to get through to her somehow. Dragging Yuna away | |
| 153 wouldn't get them far enough from the wave. Yuna slumped in her grasp | |
| 154 after the slap. She would have fallen into the water if Rikku hadn't | |
| 155 been holding onto her. | |
| 156 | |
| 157 Slowly, green and blue eyes blinked, looking up at the catgirl. | |
| 158 “Rikku?” the quiet girl asked dreamily. Her vision slowly focussed on | |
| 159 Rikku. She looked scared and tense. Yuna smiled her, trying to calm | |
| 160 her. She reached forward, stroking the thief's furry cheek. “Don't be | |
| 161 afraid, Rikku. It's almost over.”Rikku stared in shock for a second, | |
| 162 but shook it off. If she froze, they were both dead. She bodily | |
| 163 dragged Yuna towards the shore. “We need to move, Yunie. Something | |
| 164 very bad is coming this way. We need to run. Fast.” Turning from the | |
| 165 other girl, ignoring the wet fur that stuck to her legs, Rikku began | |
| 166 to run towards the beach. Yuna's sudden halt nearly yanked her back. | |
| 167 The thief whirled around, her heart pounding like an alarm. They were | |
| 168 running out of time. They needed to get away. The fact that there was | |
| 169 no place to run to didn't matter so much as moving. Now. “Rikku, it's | |
| 170 okay. No one will ever hurt anymore. No one will ever leave us again. | |
| 171 We'll all be together. Forever.” Yuna smiled brighter this time, | |
| 172 opening her arms to show what she meant. “Your sister won't leave you | |
| 173 again. We won't have to mourn our parents. We'll never have to leave | |
| 174 each other.” The human girl wrapped her arms around Rikku. “I don't | |
| 175 want you to leave, Rikku. We can always be together now. Always.” | |
| 176 Leaning forward, she kissed the stunned Rikku softly, holding onto | |
| 177 her. 'Move. If you don't move, you'll die. She'll die. It will be | |
| 178 over. Move. Move now!!' Rikku's mind screamed at her. The direness of | |
| 179 the situation helped push off the hipnotic spell that Yuna's lips | |
| 180 cast on her. Clutching Yuna hard enough that her claws dug into her | |
| 181 shoulders, spiral green eyes stared deep into Yuna's blue and green | |
| 182 eyes. “Yuna, I promised I'd protect you no matter what. And I'm going | |
| 183 to do that. We have to run. I'm not going to leave you. Just please, | |
| 184 run. Run!!” Rikku pleaded, fear and frustration mixing inside of her. | |
| 185 Slowly, achingly slowly, Yuna nodded. She seemed a little surprised, | |
| 186 almost afraid of the mix of emotions inside of Rikku. She meekly | |
| 187 followed along as Rikku ran, her heart thundering as she knew they | |
| 188 probably wouldn't make it. | |
| 189 | |
| 190 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| 191 | |
| 192 “Selphie! You're alive!” Quistis pulled the half-conscious brunette | |
| 193 tightly against herself. She knew she should let her rest, but she | |
| 194 was too relieved to see that her green eyed girl was alive. Her | |
| 195 glasses slipped down her nose as she clung to Selphie. How close had | |
| 196 she been to losing her? The girl had nearly been buried under planks | |
| 197 from the destroyed pier and had almost drowned from being pinned | |
| 198 under while the tidal wave had swept over her. “Oh, Selphie...” | |
| 199 | |
| 200 Using all of her strength to push herself back to consciousness, | |
| 201 Selphie hung limply in Quistis's arms. Burying her head weakly | |
| 202 against the blonde's shoulder, Selphie closed her eyes. She was | |
| 203 alive. With Quistis. Maybe... Maybe things would be okay. No. No | |
| 204 maybes. She had to believe it. There could be no other option other | |
| 205 than things being okay. “Quisty,” she whispered. Blinking tear | |
| 206 streaked eyes, Quistis held Selphie close. Her eyes narrowed as she | |
| 207 tried to focus on the blurry figure moving towards them. It looked | |
| 208 like the figure was moving on top of the water, walking as if on | |
| 209 land. Pushing her glasses up, she saw that she was right. A boy in a | |
| 210 black raincoat was walking on the water, right up to the beach. | |
| 211 Standing up with Selphie, she gripped her whip, keeping a weary eye | |
| 212 on him. After all that had happened, she wasn't about to trust | |
| 213 anything. “Who are you?” she called out. Selphie steadied herself | |
| 214 against the blonde, turning to see who Quistis was talking to.The | |
| 215 hooded boy didn't deign her question worth an answer. Instead, he | |
| 216 turned to look out to see. “She'll be here soon. It's almost done. I | |
| 217 wonder what she'll choose.” Turning to the two girls, he addressed | |
| 218 them. “Sin is coming. You can't stop it. Get away from the | |
| 219 beach.”Shaking her head as much as her weak body would allow, Selphie | |
| 220 refused. “Those scale creatures are on the island.”The boy nodded. | |
| 221 “But you can fight them. And you can try to live until she gets here. | |
| 222 She's the only one who can stop this.” He turned to face the oncoming | |
| 223 waves. “Hurry.”Without another word, Quistis and Selphie tried to get | |
| 224 as far from the beach as they could.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| 225 | |
| 226 Running. Running and running. Selphie's bare feet hurt from all the | |
| 227 running. She nearly slipped on a slippery rock as they ran near a | |
| 228 small waterfall. But even after all the running, she knew that they | |
| 229 were on a relatively small island. There was only so much room to | |
| 230 run. Only so much room to hide before it found them, caught up with | |
| 231 them. They couldn't run forever. What would they do when it finally | |
| 232 did catch them? How could they stop this nightmare? She just wanted | |
| 233 to wake up, safe and sound in Quistis's arms, the blonde asleep with | |
| 234 a book slumped on her chest. “My diary!” Selphie's green eyes | |
| 235 widened. It had been on the pier. Now it was probably lost forever. | |
| 236 Her shoulders slumped. She had the sinking feeling that she could | |
| 237 very easily lose everything. “If...” Quistis cut herself off, biting | |
| 238 her lip before continuing. “When we get out of this, I'll get you a | |
| 239 new diary. And we'll make plenty of happy memories for you to write | |
| 240 in it,” she promised. Selphie new that Quistis was trying to make her | |
| 241 feel better, that she was just as scared as she was, but that made it | |
| 242 even sweeter. She smiled faintly, gazing at the blonde girl. “Thanks, | |
| 243 Quisty. I'll make sure...” Before Selphie could continue, one of the | |
| 244 Heartless Sinscales crashed down in front of them. It chittered its | |
| 245 bloodthirsty cry, looking between the two girls. As it got ready to | |
| 246 pounce forward, Quistis took a step forward, her whip lashing out at | |
| 247 it. The creature shrieked as the whip hit it again and again. It was | |
| 248 soon joined by Selphie's nunchuks, cracking against the creature. | |
| 249 Lunging forward, it's claws tried to tear into Selphie. The brunette | |
| 250 hopped back, just missing getting slashed by the razor sharp claws. | |
| 251 The beast got ready to lunge again, but Quistis's whip wrapped around | |
| 252 it's leg, yanking it back. Selphie took the opportunity to hit it as | |
| 253 hard as she could. Finally, the Heartless fell at their feet. | |
| 254 | |
| 255 Turning to Quistis, Selphie opened her mouth, but Quistis's eyes | |
| 256 widened. Selphie could swear she saw the reflection of the beast in | |
| 257 Quistis's eyes, but she couldn't move. It was too fast. But so was | |
| 258 Quistis. The blonde shoved herself in front of Selphie at the same | |
| 259 time as the creature came swiping forward. It's claw crashed into | |
| 260 Quistis's side, sending her rolling into the water. Selphie was dimly | |
| 261 aware that she had screamed. Her green eyes followed Quistis's | |
| 262 crumpled form slumped on the ground. In her panic, Selphie couldn't | |
| 263 even tell if the other girl was breathing. The beast. She had to | |
| 264 protect Quistis. She couldn't let it hurt the girl she loved. But | |
| 265 wasn't she already too late for that? Quashing the thought, panic and | |
| 266 fear and loathing and sadness welled in her heart, flooding it. The | |
| 267 brunette ran to the crumpled girl ready to fight off the creature as | |
| 268 best she could. The Heartless chittered madly, turning to the two of | |
| 269 them again. It almost seemed to be laughing. It wanted their hearts. | |
| 270 It would feast upon them, devour them whole. How delicious. It | |
| 271 advanced on the stupid girl standing her ground and the injured girl | |
| 272 who wouldn't even fight back. “Selphie...” Quistis said weakly. It | |
| 273 took an extreme effort to focus through the pain. It enveloped her | |
| 274 side like a hot iron, burning deeply into her mind. She clutched her | |
| 275 side tightly, feeling the blood pool and drip around her fingertips. | |
| 276 'Get up!' her mind screamed at her. She had to draw the creature away | |
| 277 so Selphie could run. “Run, Selphie. Go... Get out of here.” | |
| 278 | |
| 279 “No! I'm not leaving you, Quisty.” Tears streamed down Selphie's | |
| 280 cheeks, but she never took her eyes away from the Heartless that had | |
| 281 tried to kill her girlfriend. “We ate a paopu fruit together. We'll | |
| 282 stay together forever. We promised. I'm not leaving you. Ever.” | |
| 283 Selphie jumped forward, her nunchuk cracking against the amorpheous | |
| 284 face of the creature. It chittered in pain or anger and got ready to | |
| 285 pounce upon the girl and tear her apart. The girl continued to hit it | |
| 286 in a rage. The girl was already hurt and her anger was blinding her. | |
| 287 In just a moment, it would be able to...But Selphie wasn't the only | |
| 288 one blinded by the situation. Selphie watched as the Heartless fell | |
| 289 in two halves. So focussed had it been on its prey that it hadn't | |
| 290 seen the trenchcoated boy behind it. “Seifer!” Selphie cried out, | |
| 291 shocked to see the blond boy. She quickly turned her attention back | |
| 292 to Quistis, running to the other girl. Her heart pounded in a frenzy | |
| 293 as she saw the blood dripping down her side. The cut seemed to be | |
| 294 pretty deep in the girl's side. She needed some healing magic quick. | |
| 295 “We need to get you to Yuna. She can help.” If they hurried. But she | |
| 296 couldn't bring herself to say that part. Quistis couldn't die. She | |
| 297 wouldn't let her. Selphie swallowed the burning pain in her throat. | |
| 298 If Seifer was alive, Yuna could be alive, too. She'd been right on | |
| 299 the beach. Maybe she was somewhere on the island. If they could find | |
| 300 her, they could save Quistis. “You don't really expect your loyal | |
| 301 fans to desert you, do you, Miss Trepe?” Seifer asked, grinning. Even | |
| 302 if the situation were dire, he still liked teasing Quistis. He saw it | |
| 303 as bad form to give that up, even in the heat of battle. You had to | |
| 304 stay true to the bitter end, after all. | |
| 305 | |
| 306 Quistis laughed softly as Selphie helped her up. She tried to stand | |
| 307 on her own, not wanting to worry Selphie too much, but she found that | |
| 308 she couldn't stand on her own. That bothered her greatly. She tried | |
| 309 not to let it show. “I never knew you were a loyal fan, Seifer.” | |
| 310 | |
| 311 “Surely you jest, Miss Trepe. Who isn't?” Winking, Seifer walked | |
| 312 over to the two girls. He could see how bad the injury was, but the | |
| 313 look Quistis gave him let him know not to say anything about it. | |
| 314 Giving a nearly imperceptible nod, her turned to look around the | |
| 315 clearing. Quistis was a strong girl. Probably the strongest he knew, | |
| 316 despite all the worries and self-doubts she carried. Selphie was a | |
| 317 lucky girl. And he'd be damned if he'd let Quistis die now. “The main | |
| 318 island is gone. Whatever hit it seems to be headed here. But for some | |
| 319 reason, it hasn't destroyed this island yet. It's like those fiends | |
| 320 are searching for something.” He let that sink in for a minute. He | |
| 321 knew what it meant. Their parents were all dead. Their homes were | |
| 322 destroyed. And the only reason they were alive was because of | |
| 323 something hidden on the island they were on. Quistis went numb at | |
| 324 Seifer's words. Destroyed? It was all gone. Even if they could stop | |
| 325 all this, how much could they salvage? Would their islands survive | |
| 326 the strain? They had already lost so much. “Mom... Dad...?” Selphie | |
| 327 felt her knees go weak. Only the knowledge that she couldn't drop | |
| 328 Quistis kept her standing up straight. It felt like yet another blade | |
| 329 had punctured her heart. Quistis was hurt, maybe dying her family was | |
| 330 dead her home was being crushed. Everything she held dear was a tiny | |
| 331 piece of sand, falling through her fingers no matter how hard she | |
| 332 tried to hold on. She swallowed painfully, fighting back tears. She | |
| 333 swallowed again and again, trying to keep the tears at bay. | |
| 334 | |
| 335 “We need to regroup. We have a better chance together than alone. | |
| 336 Quistis, you always were a good leader. You can help them figure out | |
| 337 what to do. Remember, we don't have much time. When they find what | |
| 338 they're looking for, they'll destory this island, too.” Seifer turned | |
| 339 his back to them, hefting up his blade. “'Them'? Seifer, you're | |
| 340 coming, too, right?” Quistis asked. She already knew the answer, but | |
| 341 she prayed that she was wrong. Hadn't enough people been hurt | |
| 342 already? Hadn't they already lost enough? Why did there need to be | |
| 343 anymore sacrifices? She watched him hopefully, clinging to the tiny | |
| 344 shred of hope that he'd merely said it wrong. His stature never | |
| 345 wavered. He looked just as cocky and sure of himself as ever, despite | |
| 346 the fact that they may never see him again.“I never was the group | |
| 347 type. You know that, Quistis. I just manage to cause problems. | |
| 348 Besides, there are three of those creatures lurking in the bushes | |
| 349 behind us. I figured I'd try to hone my skills on them. If I'm ever | |
| 350 going to be a Sorceress's Knight, I have to be the best.” Shooting a | |
| 351 look over his shoulder the blond boy grinned. Turning back, he pulled | |
| 352 up the blade and got ready.“.... Thank you, Seifer,” Quistis said at | |
| 353 last, watching the boy wave them off nonchalantly. He was buying them | |
| 354 time. She doubted even he could fight three of those things. But she | |
| 355 and Selphie were both injured. He was sacrificing himself for them. | |
| 356 She didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay and fight, but there was | |
| 357 nothing they could do. “Anytime, Quistis. Now get going. You need to | |
| 358 get that scratch patched up. You keep her safe, Selphie,” Seifer | |
| 359 said, not turning to face them, still watching the movement in the | |
| 360 shadows.Selphie nodded. “I will. Be careful Seifer. Come back as soon | |
| 361 as you can.” Could he really take on all three of them? Did he have a | |
| 362 plan? He had to. Right? Now wasn't the time to think about it. | |
| 363 Quistis was bleeding badly. They had to find Yuna. Her white magic | |
| 364 could fix Quistis. Selphie held onto the blonde girl and hurried as | |
| 365 quickly as she could. The bushes rustled behind her. Seifer's blade | |
| 366 slashed through the air behind them. Quistis winced in pain. Selphie | |
| 367 pushed herself to go faster, praying she wouldn't be too late. | |
| 368 | |
| 369 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| 370 | |
| 371 Rikku shivered, her fur still wet, as she and Yuna crawled into a | |
| 372 hidden cave. There were drawings on the walls, making the cave look | |
| 373 like a hiding place for children. At the end of the cave was a | |
| 374 strange door. Rikku tried the knob, but it was locked. Why would | |
| 375 there be a door in a cave? Where did it lead to?Yuna recognized the | |
| 376 drawings. They were of Sora, Kairi, and Riku. This must be the | |
| 377 'Special Place' that Sora and Riku had spoken of. How strange that | |
| 378 she'd end up in the place that was so important to her three lost | |
| 379 friends. But it had felt like she had been called there. When Rikku | |
| 380 had asked where they could go to get away, she had immediately | |
| 381 answered here. Now that she was closer, it felt like the strange door | |
| 382 at the end of the cave was calling directly to her, reverberating off | |
| 383 the walls. 'Open the door and let everything end...' she could almost | |
| 384 hear. “Yunie!” Rikku called for the third time. Her other three calls | |
| 385 had illicited no response. Yuna seemed to be deep in thought. The | |
| 386 normally quiet, shy girl seemed even more introspective. But now was | |
| 387 definitely not the time. “Yuna!” Walking over, Rikku placed her hands | |
| 388 on Yuna's shoulders, finally getting her attention. What was wrong | |
| 389 with the brunette? It was like Yuna wasn't seeing the same horrible | |
| 390 things that she was. They had barely escaped the tidal wave and that | |
| 391 thing... Sin had risen out of the water just moments later. At least | |
| 392 they had a momentary respite from the chaos outside. | |
| 393 | |
| 394 Turning to face the catgirl, Yuna giggled softly, her hand going to | |
| 395 her mouth. The thief was a bedraggled mess. Her fur clung to her and | |
| 396 her ears kept twitching to try and get dry. “You're so cute, Rikku.” | |
| 397 She said softly, wrapping her arms around the catgirl's shoulders. | |
| 398 She gazed deeply into those spiral green eyes, feeling as if she were | |
| 399 falling into them. “I don't know if I'd have the strength to go | |
| 400 through all of this without you, Rikku. I'd be too scared. But with | |
| 401 you by my side, it's all right. I'm not afraid to die if I'm with | |
| 402 you.” Leaning forward to kiss Rikku, she was perplexed when Rikku | |
| 403 moved her head to the side. She kissed the wet, furry cheek anyway. | |
| 404 “Yunie, what are you talking about? What's going on?” Rikku was | |
| 405 starting to get seriously worried about the girl holding onto her. | |
| 406 Yuna had an almost manic gleam in her blue and green eyes. “We aren't | |
| 407 going to die. I'll protect you, Yunie. Always. I swear.” She looked | |
| 408 back into those slightly frightening eyes, trying to make Yuna see | |
| 409 the truth in her words.“Rikku...” Yuna stroked the thief's cheek, | |
| 410 resting against her. Rikku's heart was thundering against her. The | |
| 411 poor kitty. “There's nothing to be scared of. I know that now. There | |
| 412 will never be anything to be afraid of again. I finally understand. I | |
| 413 wasn't afraid of death. I was afraid of life. Of being left behind. | |
| 414 Of watching those I loved die. Of being left alone. Of being hurt and | |
| 415 broken. Of watching people suffer. I always wanted to give people | |
| 416 hope, but what good can hope do if you can't stave off death? As long | |
| 417 as there is life, there will be suffering and torment. Our only peace | |
| 418 is in death. My father died. But I'm the one who suffered. The living | |
| 419 suffer. Not the dead.” Reality came crashing down around Rikku's | |
| 420 head. The world around her was falling apart. The girl she loved was | |
| 421 verging on suicidal. And she had no idea how to save any of it. Her | |
| 422 strength drained as powerlessness bled her dry. “I would have been | |
| 423 too afraid to do this on my own. Without you, I would have been too | |
| 424 afraid of death. But if I can be with you, I'll have no fear.” Yuna | |
| 425 took Rikku's paw, kissing it softly. “I love you. We'll always be | |
| 426 together. Life won't be able to keep us apart.”“No...” Rikku argued | |
| 427 softly, shaking her head. “No!” She held Yuna's shoulders as tightly | |
| 428 as she could, scratching deep into the brunette, but Yuna didn't even | |
| 429 seem to notice. Tiny splotches of red grew under Rikku's claws. | |
| 430 “Yunie, we can still get out of here. There has to be a way. I'll | |
| 431 save you. Somehow.” Yuna smiled again, her lips brushing against | |
| 432 Rikku's. “You don't understand. Sin is coming. All I have to do is | |
| 433 open the doorway. Then Sin will destroy all life. All suffering. All | |
| 434 pain. We'll all be together.” Tears spilt down her cheeks as she | |
| 435 gazed at Rikku. “It's finally over.”~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| 436 | |
| 437 “Fire!” Flames licked at one of Sin's many Heartless creatures as a | |
| 438 girl in black raised her hand. A blitzball slammed into it, knocking | |
| 439 it over. “Thunder!” the girl cried out again. Lightening struck the | |
| 440 beast. It jerked spasmodically until it finally stopped, fading back | |
| 441 into harmless shadows. “They just keep coming, Lu,” the boy said, | |
| 442 breathing hard. Her looked around worriedly, waiting for more of the | |
| 443 strange beasts to jump out at them.“Then we must keep fighting them,” | |
| 444 Lulu responded calmly. Turning towards the path leading up to them, | |
| 445 her braids swishing behind her, she spotted Selphie supporting a very | |
| 446 pale Quistis. Blood soaked the side of the blonde's dress. Whatever | |
| 447 hope she had held onto dwindled rapidly. How could they possibly | |
| 448 survive this? How many were already dead?“Lulu! Wakka!” Selphie | |
| 449 called excitedly. There were people still out there. That relief | |
| 450 spread through her quickly. Good. Now if they could only find a place | |
| 451 to get to that they could protect. And of course, get Quistis healed | |
| 452 as swiftly as possible. Her eyes scanned about for Yuna, but she | |
| 453 couldn't find the other girl. “Where's Yuna? Where's everyone | |
| 454 else?”“Just me an' Lu as far as I know. Haven't seen anybody else | |
| 455 till you showed up. Good thing ya did. We couldn't hold out much | |
| 456 longer on our... Owww!” He looked over at Lulu. The black haired girl | |
| 457 scowled at him. She'd pinched him very sharply. What was that all | |
| 458 about? Didn't they have enough to deal with without her doing things | |
| 459 like that? Her eyes were moving around oddly. He raised an eyebrow. | |
| 460 Lulu sighed deliberately and leaned closer. “They're injured, Wakka. | |
| 461 Quistis is probably dying. We're going to have to protect them. So | |
| 462 don't say stupid things like that.”Wakka nodded, understanding. That | |
| 463 meant that they'd have to keep an eye on the two injured girls. Which | |
| 464 meant... They were worse off than they were before. His hopes | |
| 465 thoroughly shattered, he felt his shoulders slump. It didn't seem | |
| 466 like any of them were getting out of this. “No Yuna?” Selphie asked | |
| 467 again, her green eyes wide in disbelief. She had come all this way to | |
| 468 find a healer to save Quistis. But Yuna wasn't here. Lulu was a mage, | |
| 469 but she only knew black magic, nothing that could save Quistis. They | |
| 470 had travelled all that way for nothing? Quistis had become very quiet | |
| 471 just a few minutes ago. The blonde was breathing irregularly, slumped | |
| 472 heavily against Selphie's side. She needed help. And there was | |
| 473 nothing Selphie could do. Tears threatened to wash away whatever | |
| 474 grasp she still held on her sanity. She was going to lose Quistis... | |
| 475 “So you children are still fighting?” a voice asked from the trail | |
| 476 above them. They all turned to the voice. It was impossible for | |
| 477 anyone to have gotten ahead of them, though. Someone would need to | |
| 478 fly to be able to get to the path above them without going right | |
| 479 through them. Elder Seymour smiled as he approached them. “Elder | |
| 480 Seymour!” Wakka said excitedly.“Elder Seymour, we're very glad to see | |
| 481 you,” Lulu confessed. The elder simply smiled, looking about at them | |
| 482 all. He walked to Selphie, watching her green eyes light up at his | |
| 483 presence. There was hope again.“Seymour! You're alive!” If Seymour | |
| 484 was alive, then Quistis was saved. Seymour was a powerful mage, the | |
| 485 most powerful on the Destiny Islands. He could heal Quistis. Selphie | |
| 486 dragged the semi-conscious girl over to the elder, the thought that | |
| 487 the girl she loved wouldn't die after all soothing her body and soul. | |
| 488 “Quisty is hurt. You have to heal her.” She laid the blonde out on | |
| 489 the ground, being very careful not to hurt her anymore than she had | |
| 490 been. Reaching out, she gently stroked the other girl's cheek. | |
| 491 | |
| 492 Quistis smiled weakly, looking up at Selphie with unfocussed eyes. | |
| 493 It took all of her strength to keep from passing out. But she knew | |
| 494 that if she did, she'd never wake up. | |
| 495 | |
| 496 “Hmm...” Seymour surveyed the injured girl, kneeling down and | |
| 497 checking her wounds. Quistis hissed in pain as he touched the wound. | |
| 498 He got up, looking down at the girl. “It's a very serious wound. | |
| 499 She's lost a lot of blood.” Selphie nodded, holding onto Quistis's | |
| 500 hand. “So you can heal her, right, Elder Seymour?”The man nodded. | |
| 501 “Yes, I could. But I'm not going to.” He paused for a moment, letting | |
| 502 that sink in. Selphie looked up slowly, looking lost and confused. He | |
| 503 smiled down at her. “Why?” Selphie asked quietly, obviously in shock | |
| 504 over his answer.“Because very shortly, you'll all be dead anyway. | |
| 505 Healing her would only prolong it. Sin will destroy this island. And | |
| 506 after that, Sin will destory all life. Healing her would be cruel. It | |
| 507 would only keep her alive in order that she may die,” Seymour | |
| 508 explained. “No...” Selphie shook her head. “It... No, it isn't like | |
| 509 that. We can still try. We can stop it. We have to. You have to save | |
| 510 Quisty! Please!” Tears burst down her cheeks, spilling down her chin. | |
| 511 “You have to!” Clutching the blonde's hand, Selphie held it tightly | |
| 512 to her heart. “I'm afraid I have to do no such thing. But I will help | |
| 513 you. I am the last surviving elder of the Destiny Islands, so you are | |
| 514 all my children. I will send you along with her on her journey. Then | |
| 515 you won't have to part for even the short time it takes for you to | |
| 516 join her after she dies.” He smiled at the girls, raising his hand as | |
| 517 he summoned his magic. Wakka and Lulu got in front of Selphie, both | |
| 518 ready to fight him. He simply laughed. “You sweet, innocent children. | |
| 519 Soon you will never know the pain of life. Goodbye.” Summoning all of | |
| 520 the magic at his disposal, he got ready to hurry along the four of | |
| 521 them to death's sweet embrace. | |
| 522 | |
| 523 A gunshot fired out. Pain erupted in Seymour's side. He stumbled | |
| 524 forward. Yes, life was pain. All life. Which is why it had to be... | |
| 525 Another shot. And another. The world swayed around him as he turned | |
| 526 to face his attackers. Four men and one woman in black suits were all | |
| 527 holding guns, pointing at him. Several other people were with them as | |
| 528 well. He could see one of the island children with them, Kairi, the | |
| 529 girl who had washed up on the Destiny Islands shore years ago. But | |
| 530 this couldn't be happening. This.. This was not how it was supposed | |
| 531 to work out. He tried to summon his magic, but it was weak in the | |
| 532 pain-wracked state he found himself. Kairi ran up to him, shoving the | |
| 533 Keyblade into his chest. She turned it swiftly, unlocking his heart. | |
| 534 He stumbled back, clutching his heart. Inside, he could feel the | |
| 535 darkness moving about. The darkness he had allowed Sephiroth to place | |
| 536 inside of him. Because it would give him power. The power to realize | |
| 537 his dream. To bring an end to life. He grinned as he realized that | |
| 538 would happen soon enough.“Something's wrong...” Kairi took several | |
| 539 steps back. “If he's the one who called Sin here, then he has to be | |
| 540 the Keyhole. But this isn't like any other Keyhole I've unlocked. | |
| 541 There's supposed to be light.” The princess had the feeling that | |
| 542 something had gone terribly wrong. “That's because I'm not the | |
| 543 Keyhole, Kairi.” Seymour laughed softly, his body changing, | |
| 544 transformed by the darkness that had grown in his heart. “But | |
| 545 Sephiroth did give me the power to find out who was. And it turns out | |
| 546 we had the same goals all along. It all ends here. We will bring this | |
| 547 world to an end. We will destroy the vicious cycle of life and death. | |
| 548 We will give peace to all.” By now he looked only vaguely human, | |
| 549 floating in the air like some strange ancient being. “Princess! Get | |
| 550 back!” The Turks immediately surrounded the Princess, protecting her | |
| 551 from the being that had once been Seymour. They began firing at him | |
| 552 as he summoned his magic. Elena led Kairi back to the others before | |
| 553 returning to face Seymour. Cloud looked at Squall. The two nodded at | |
| 554 each other before running after the Turks, swords brandished. Aerith | |
| 555 and Rinoa herded Selphie, Quistis, Lulu, and Wakka away from the | |
| 556 battle. | |
| 557 | |
| 558 Kairi turned to her friends, feeling bittersweet about their | |
| 559 reunion. Because of her, they were hurting, dying. Because she had | |
| 560 left the door open for the Heartless to come upon this world. Her | |
| 561 beautiful Destiny Islands were crumbling. She had to unlock the | |
| 562 Keyhole before it was too late. | |
| 563 | |
| 564 “Please! You have to help Quisty!” Selphie pleaded, tears streaming | |
| 565 down her cheeks. “She's dying...” | |
| 566 | |
| 567 'Dear God, what have I done?' Kairi watched in horror as Selphie | |
| 568 held tightly onto a limp Quistis. He inability to entirely give up | |
| 569 her past life had caused so much pain. Riku was dead. Sora was lost. | |
| 570 The Destiny Islands were being torn apart. Her friends were | |
| 571 suffering. All because of her. Her fingers tightened around the | |
| 572 Keyblade. This had to end. “It will be okay,” Aerith said soothingly | |
| 573 to Selphie. Smiling, the flower girl brushed some of Selphie's tears | |
| 574 away before placing her hands over Quistis. White blue light flashed | |
| 575 around the blonde girl, spreading through her. Quistis blinked | |
| 576 weakly, gazing up. | |
| 577 | |
| 578 Selphie broke down, holding onto Quistis as tightly as she could. | |
| 579 “Quisty!!” She cried against the blonde girl, her trembling fingers | |
| 580 clenching onto the torn fabric of Quistis's dress. | |
| 581 | |
| 582 Quistis held her as well as she could. Her entire body felt so weak. | |
| 583 But the pain was gone. She was alive. Somehow. She closed her eyes, | |
| 584 feeling Selphie's arms around her. “That isn't like you, Kairi,” a | |
| 585 voice said behind her. Kairi turned to see Riku leaning against a | |
| 586 tree, his arms crossed. His head was lowered and his eyes were | |
| 587 closed. “You can't keep blaming yourself. You have to follow your | |
| 588 heart. Wherever that leads you. Sometimes that doesn't turn out the | |
| 589 way you want it to. But what matters is that you try. That you follow | |
| 590 it through to the end.” He looked up, opening his eyes. “Yes, bad | |
| 591 things happened. Yes, people are getting hurt. But you're trying to | |
| 592 stop that. There's no blame there, Kairi. Yes, this starts with you. | |
| 593 But you aren't at fault for that.” | |
| 594 | |
| 595 Kairi nodded slightly, feeling a little better. “Yeah... You're | |
| 596 right. Thanks, Riku.” She smiled up at him, blinking her tear filled | |
| 597 eyes. She knew he was far away. But he was still right there with | |
| 598 her. “Just like I couldn't blame you for anything that happened when | |
| 599 you were working with the Heartless. Because you were just following | |
| 600 your heart. Trying to save me.”Riku smiled, walking up to Kairi. He | |
| 601 brushed her cheek with the back of his gloved hand. “Just follow your | |
| 602 heart, Kairi. Always follow your heart.” Closing her eyes, Kairi | |
| 603 could almost feel his gloved fingers on his cheek. Slowly, the | |
| 604 feeling faded away. Opening her eyes took a long time. She knew he | |
| 605 wouldn't be there when she looked again. Sure enough, he was gone. | |
| 606 But that was all right. She placed her hand on her cheek where his | |
| 607 hand had rested. He was right. She couldn't keep blaming herself. She | |
| 608 had to go and stop it. | |
| 609 | |
| 610 “If you're looking for the Keyhole, I know where she is,” a voice | |
| 611 said near the trees.Kairi spotted the cloaked, blindfolded boy | |
| 612 seemingly watching her. Nodding, she gripped her Keyblade and | |
| 613 followed him. Fighting against Seymour wouldn't stop Sin from | |
| 614 destroying everything. And she couldn't help those fighting him as it | |
| 615 is. But she could stop Sin before it was too late. A hand grabbed | |
| 616 Kairi's shoulder before she could fade away from the group and follow | |
| 617 the boy. “I'm going with you. You might need help. If anything | |
| 618 happens, I can handle it.” Yuffie winked at her. | |
| 619 | |
| 620 “I'm going, too, then,” Relm added, stepping up behind | |
| 621 Yuffie.Smiling, Kairi nodded. “Thanks, you two. I appreciate it.” | |
| 622 Looking back at the boy, she began to follow him. There wasn't much | |
| 623 time left. | |
| 624 | |
| 625 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| 626 | |
| 627 The cloaked boy led the way to Riku and Sora's secret place. Even | |
| 628 amidst the chaos, it had escaped unscathed. Memories flooded back to | |
| 629 Kairi as she looked around the cave. She smiled faintly at the | |
| 630 pictures Sora and Riku had drawn on the walls, some of them of her. | |
| 631 There. Near the strange doorway at the end of the cave that shouldn't | |
| 632 be there. Yuna stood there along with Rikku. | |
| 633 | |
| 634 “Rikku!” Surprise took Yuffie off guard as she saw her younger | |
| 635 sister at the back of the cave. So she was alive after all. Yuffie | |
| 636 had thought she'd run off when Rikku had been changed into a kitten. | |
| 637 And then when they'd found out she was the kitten on Opassa beach, | |
| 638 they'd been scattered to different worlds. “You're okay!” Yuffie | |
| 639 hadn't realized just how worried she'd been about her sister's fate | |
| 640 until now. She ran to the catgirl, trying to make sure she was okay. | |
| 641 She'd always been there to protect the younger girl before. Now she | |
| 642 was worried about what might have happened while she'd been away. | |
| 643 “Yuffie!” Rikku clutched onto the ninja girl, her heart lifting. Her | |
| 644 big sister was here. Everything would be fine now. They'd fix | |
| 645 whatever was going on. Yuna would be just fine and they'd be able to | |
| 646 go see all the many worlds out there together. Relm stayed back at | |
| 647 the sisterly reunion. It was nice to see Yuffie as obviously happy as | |
| 648 she was right now. The ninja usually hid behind her sarcasm and | |
| 649 bravado. Seeing this was beautiful to the artist.Kairi looked at Yuna | |
| 650 and then back at the hooded boy. The boy nodded. Kairi shook her | |
| 651 head, her heart slipping. “No. I can't.” Up till now, she hadn't | |
| 652 known any of the Keyholes. Kuja and Kefka had tried to hurt her. | |
| 653 Ultimecia had tried to trap her in a dreamworld. This was her friend. | |
| 654 How could she unlock the Keyhole in her heart if it meant she would | |
| 655 die? Yuna was one of the sweetest girls she knew, always trying to | |
| 656 help the other islanders. Could such a quiet, helpful girl really be | |
| 657 the Keyhole? The reason that Sin was here? Taking a step forward, | |
| 658 Kairi's mind spun as it tried to find an answer. She had to unlock | |
| 659 the Keyhole. But she couldn't hurt Yuna. “Yuna, you have to stop | |
| 660 this. You can't destory the Destiny Islands.”Shaking her head, Yuna | |
| 661 watched Kairi approach. “I have to. I can't stop now. Kairi, don't | |
| 662 you miss them? Riku and Sora? You've gone through so much pain and | |
| 663 hardship. Don't you understand? I can end that. Right now. I can save | |
| 664 everyone.” Her eyes lit up beautifully. “I can stop all of the | |
| 665 suffering. Once and for all. We can all be together with the ones we | |
| 666 love.” | |
| 667 | |
| 668 “Even if we're far apart, we're always together. They're still with | |
| 669 me even now.” Kairi shook her head. “I know everyone suffers. But I | |
| 670 think there's more than that. It isn't all pain. It isn't all | |
| 671 suffering. There are beautiful moments, too. No matter how bad things | |
| 672 are, there are still shining lights here and there if you know where | |
| 673 to find them.” 'Like my mother. Even if I was lonely in my other | |
| 674 life, I still had my mother.' | |
| 675 | |
| 676 Swallowing, Yuna fought back the tears that glistened in her eyes. | |
| 677 “I know that. But everything you hold dear is eventually taken from | |
| 678 you. Everyone you love will one day die. Everything that matters will | |
| 679 wither.” “But that's life. Life is pain. But life is love. Life is | |
| 680 fleeting. But it's darness and light. Together. And if it hurts, | |
| 681 we'll appreciate the things we love even more when we can be with | |
| 682 them again when it's over,” Kairi pleaded. 'Don't make me face you, | |
| 683 Yuna. I don't want to hurt anyone else. Please.'Yuna shook her head, | |
| 684 closing her eyes tightly. “You of all people should understand, | |
| 685 Kairi. You understood about giving up your life so that you could be | |
| 686 free. You escaped. I'm just trying to give everyone that | |
| 687 freedom.”“But that's the problem! I couldn't completely give up on my | |
| 688 life, no matter how much I tried. That's why the Heartless are here. | |
| 689 That's why I'm still stuck between worlds. Some people aren't ready | |
| 690 to give up their lives yet. Some people have more they want to do | |
| 691 before they move on,” Kairi explained, almost to Yuna. Rikku stood | |
| 692 with Yuffie, watching the two of them. The hooded boy was behind her | |
| 693 while Relm waited near the entrance to the cave. “What about the | |
| 694 people who weren't asked if they were ready?! What about the people | |
| 695 who had so much more to do but never got to? What about those of us | |
| 696 forced to live who never wanted to face that pain and suffering in | |
| 697 everyone's heart?” Shaking, Yuna's tears fell down to her feet. Pain | |
| 698 and loss and confusion cut at her heart like a rabid beast. “Yunie, | |
| 699 please. We can work this out. I'll be with you. No matter what. I'll | |
| 700 be there with you. We can handle whatever pain there is. I promise.” | |
| 701 Rikku pulled away from Yuffie, stepping towards Yuna. “I love you. | |
| 702 I'll always be with you.” Yuffie watched, her surprise growing. Her | |
| 703 little sister had fallen in love while she was gone? With this girl | |
| 704 who was trying to end everything? Now what was she supposed to | |
| 705 do?“I'm sorry, Rikku. I have to. I was the one who called Sin all | |
| 706 along. I just didn't understand. But Sin came to end all of this pain | |
| 707 and suffering. I have to save everyone. I don't want anyone to ever | |
| 708 hurt again. If we keep living, I might lose you. One of us might die. | |
| 709 Any number of things could happen. But it won't get the chance. I | |
| 710 love you, too. I won't let anything take you away from me. I won't | |
| 711 let this world hurt either of us. Any of us. Ever again.” The cave | |
| 712 shook as Sin crashed along the island, its inhuman howl reaching them | |
| 713 even in the depths of the cave. “Life will end. We'll finally be | |
| 714 free.” She smiled as she reached the door behind her, pulling it | |
| 715 open. Darkness spilled out from beyond the doorway. “With the doorway | |
| 716 open, Sin can read all the worlds. It can break the chains of life.” | |
| 717 The caves shook harder, sending most of them sprawling. Sin was | |
| 718 coming.“No!!” Kairi cried out. They were running out of time. Sin now | |
| 719 had what it wanted. A way out. A way to get to everything. A way to | |
| 720 kill all existence. Kairi lunged forward right as Yuna turned. The | |
| 721 Keyblade plunged deep into her chest. For the time being, Kairi had | |
| 722 to force her doubts away. But that was made nearly impossible by the | |
| 723 way Yuna looked back at her, serene. The blue and green eyed girl was | |
| 724 happy, unafraid of what was to come. 'You of all people should | |
| 725 understand, Kairi,' her voice whispered in the princess's head. Kairi | |
| 726 hesitated. There wasn't time. “I'm so sorry...” she got out before | |
| 727 turning the Keyblade. The shaking stopped immediately. Light flooded | |
| 728 the cave as the Keyhole was unlocked.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| 729 | |
| 730 She was everywhere and she was nowhere. Who was she? Kairi. Or was | |
| 731 it Hikari? A princess. Or was she an island girl? Or maybe a lonely | |
| 732 student living with her mother? She was all of these things. And she | |
| 733 was none of these things. There was brilliant light. And there was | |
| 734 endless darkness. They swirled and mixed and carressed in an endless | |
| 735 dance. | |
| 736 | |
| 737 “You have unlocked the light in the heart of Suffering,” the | |
| 738 everpresent voice said. It sounded so very familiar. She couldn't | |
| 739 quite place it or where it was coming from. | |
| 740 “Life is filled with so much pain. The one's you love are taken from | |
| 741 you so very quickly. In death, there is freedom. There is an end to | |
| 742 pain. I only wanted to end everyone's suffering. I wanted to save | |
| 743 everyone. I wanted that pain that always lives in your heart to | |
| 744 finally disappear forever. I wanted to be with my father again. | |
| 745 And... I fell in love with Rikku. But I was so scared that I would | |
| 746 lose her just like I lost my father. But now, I guess I'll finally | |
| 747 escape the pain of life. Now I'm finally free. I'll wait for Rikku as | |
| 748 long as it takes. I'll finally see my father again. Thank you, Kairi. | |
| 749 I hope you find what you're looking for.”Kairi would have closed her | |
| 750 eyes if she had eyes to close in this world of light and darkness. | |
| 751 She would have swallowed back the pain in her heart if she could only | |
| 752 swallow. But the emotions, the pain and the sorrow, were acutely | |
| 753 real. “I hope so, too. I'm sorry, Yuna. I'm so sorry.” | |
| 754 As Yuna's heart departed to join the Lifestream, the Farplane, Kairi | |
| 755 was left behind by the light, like an unwanted child. It disappeared, | |
| 756 leaving her feeling cold and out of place in the small, dark cave. | |
| 757 “Where's Yunie?” Rikku asked, horrified to see only Kairi return | |
| 758 from the light. “What happened to Yunie?” She glanced at the other | |
| 759 faces, finally stopping on her sister's. Yuffie couldn't meet her | |
| 760 gaze. Cold realization crept through her, nearly stopping her heart. | |
| 761 “So... Yunie... Yunie is...” She couldn't get herself to say it. | |
| 762 Tears splashed down her cheeks, her body going cold. Yuna was gone. | |
| 763 She had failed to protect her. All her promises had been for naught. | |
| 764 “Why!? Why did she have to die? I met her, I promised I'd keep her | |
| 765 safe always, and she had to die for that?” Her body shook, her vision | |
| 766 blurring as tears fell faster than she could blink them away. Her | |
| 767 eyes locked on Kairi. “You killed her! She wanted to save everyone | |
| 768 and you killed her! She only wanted to make everyone happy!” | |
| 769 | |
| 770 Kairi looked away from Rikku, ashamed. Yuffie said nothing. What | |
| 771 could she possibly say to help her sister? The girl she loved was | |
| 772 dead now. And there was nothing she could do. Rikku's heart | |
| 773 shattered. She didn't even have a body to hold. It was as if Yuna had | |
| 774 never been. She would never get to see that smile again. She would | |
| 775 never be able to hear her giggle, to feel her lips. It was all gone, | |
| 776 as quickly as the wind. And that girl, the girl who had helped her as | |
| 777 a kitten, she was the cause of it. If it weren't for her, she'd be | |
| 778 with Yuna now. By a cruel twist of fate, Rikku had shown up first on | |
| 779 the island and had fallen in love with the beautiful brunette. But | |
| 780 almost as if she were a harbinger of fate, the girl she had travelled | |
| 781 with, the Keyblade Mistress had followed her. Kairi had shown up and | |
| 782 taked away Rikku's most precious treasure. She had taken away | |
| 783 everything. Firey rage and ice cold sorrow tore at her mangled heart, | |
| 784 shredding it into bloody pieces. 'I'll protect you, Yunie. I'll | |
| 785 always be with you,' she had promised. And she had failed. All | |
| 786 because of her. | |
| 787 | |
| 788 Rikku ran forward, moving with tremendous speed. Her fist raised | |
| 789 into the air, the razor sharp blades on her glove glinting in the dim | |
| 790 light. Kairi stared in shock, her lavender eyes wide as she realized | |
| 791 she was going to die. Yuffie could only watch, too stunned by the | |
| 792 suddenness of it all to leap to anyone's aid. Kairi would die. Rikku | |
| 793 may have failed to save Yuna, but she would take revenge for her | |
| 794 death. | |
| 795 | |
| 796 And with a flash of steel, it was done. Kairi shook, her heart | |
| 797 pounding in her chest. Her vision still burned with images of bared | |
| 798 fangs, a glint of blades, and hatefilled eyes. She had broken Rikku, | |
| 799 stolen the one thing most important to her. And in return, she was to | |
| 800 forfeit her life. But that hadn't happened. At least, she didn't | |
| 801 think so. So what had happened. She looked around, finally spotting | |
| 802 Rikku on the floor in front of her. Blood lay in a pool around her. | |
| 803 The catgirl was dead. The cloaked boy had jumped in the way, stabbing | |
| 804 Rikku before she could reach Kairi. And now she was dead. Kairi's | |
| 805 knees gave out and she stumbled back, away from the body. “Rikku!!” | |
| 806 Yuffie screamed, running to Rikku's side. But it was too late. | |
| 807 Turning the catgirl over, Rikku looked blankly up at the roof with | |
| 808 dim green eyes. The light in them was gone. She didn't move an inch. | |
| 809 “Rikku...” It hardly seemed fair. How could her little sister die | |
| 810 like that? How could she have let this happen? How could her sister | |
| 811 die in her quest for Kingdom Hearts? But she was. The girl she had | |
| 812 practically raised since they were both little. The girl who had | |
| 813 always looked up to her. And now she was gone. Yuffie cradled her | |
| 814 body, crying against the blood soaked fur. Darkness and light | |
| 815 continued their dance, as another casualty lay senselessly on the | |
| 816 floor. In a way, Kairi had been responsible for both deaths. And yet, | |
| 817 was there another way? You didn't get second chances. You couldn't go | |
| 818 back and redo things until you did them right. Things merely fell as | |
| 819 they may in front of you. And because of her, both girls were now | |
| 820 dead. Yuffie held onto Rikku, torn and crying. Relm could only try to | |
| 821 offer what support she could. A hand rested on her shoulder. She | |
| 822 turned to see Sora looking at her sympathetically. | |
| 823 | |
| 824 “It'll be okay, Kairi. Somehow,” he said, squeezing her shoulder. He | |
| 825 faded as she got to her feet. | |
| 826 “You're running out of time. You have to hurry,” the cloaked boy | |
| 827 said, pointing towards the doorway leading into darkness. | |
| 828 | |
| 829 Kairi nodded. She had come this far. She couldn't give up now. She | |
| 830 owed it to the people who had died, to those who still wanted to | |
| 831 live. Taking one last look at Yuffie and Relm, she started for the | |
| 832 door. She had hurt enough people. She didn't want anyone else to get | |
| 833 hurt because of her. This was her fight. She would finish it on her | |
| 834 own. | |
| 835 |