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     1.2 +++ b/stories/prismhearts-04.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
     1.3 @@ -0,0 +1,908 @@
     1.4 +Prism Hearts
     1.5 +Chapter 4
     1.6 +PlanitB Remix
     1.7 +by Amazoness Duo
     1.8 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
     1.9 +
    1.10 +
    1.11 +Where had all the Heartless gone? That was the first thing that
    1.12 +entered Yuffie’s mind when she first regained consciousness. The dark
    1.13 +shadows were nowhere to be seen. She at first thought that they had
    1.14 +been swallowed by light. All around her was an endless flow of white.
    1.15 +Nothing like the black shadows that had been trying to bust down the
    1.16 +door to reach her. Not that there was a door anymore either, though.
    1.17 +The endless expanse of white stretched out all around her. It took a
    1.18 +moment for her to realize it was snow. “Snow?” The ninja blinked. It
    1.19 +didn’t snow in Traverse Town. At least not that she knew of. And
    1.20 +definitely not enough to blanket it like this. Which meant... “Where
    1.21 +the hell am I?” 
    1.22 +
    1.23 +The ninja/thief took a moment to run things over in her head. On the
    1.24 +upside of things, at least she wasn’t about to get her heart devoured
    1.25 +by Heartless. On the downside, she was lost out in some snowy
    1.26 +wilderness in an outfit that certainly wasn’t made for it. Shivering,
    1.27 +she for once wished she’d worn something a tad more conservative. The
    1.28 +only warmth she received was from her scarf, but that was more for
    1.29 +show than anything else. She would need to find a town and fast or
    1.30 +she’d freeze to death. What a way for the great Yuffie to die, cold
    1.31 +and alone in some arctic wasteland. She shuddered, holding herself to
    1.32 +try to retain some body heat. 
    1.33 +
    1.34 +How had she ended up there in the first place? Shouldn’t the
    1.35 +Heartless have broken in and grabbed her? Not that she wasn’t
    1.36 +grateful, but she would like to know what threw her to some far off
    1.37 +world. The girl. It had to be her. She was the Keyblade Mistress. So
    1.38 +she had links to other worlds. She must have sent them here to
    1.39 +escape. It was nice, but Yuffie would definitely have to ask her to
    1.40 +choose a warmer place the next time they needed to run. But whatever
    1.41 +the case, it seemed that Kairi was much more powerful than Sora had
    1.42 +been as the Keyblade Master. He could lock worlds, but Kairi seemed
    1.43 +to be able to traverse between them without the need of a Gummi Ship.
    1.44 +Pretty impressive. Maybe it had been a good idea to let her tag along
    1.45 +after all. Speaking of which...
    1.46 +
    1.47 +“Kairi?” Yuffie turned around, looking for the younger girl. But no
    1.48 +one was near her. She thought that Kairi might have walked off, but
    1.49 +there were no footprints, either. “Kairi?!” She looked around,
    1.50 +searching for any sign of the princess. She had to be around
    1.51 +somewhere, right? But she wouldn’t last long alone in that cold.
    1.52 +Yuffie had to find her quickly. But where? “C’mon, think,” she
    1.53 +berated herself. “She’s gotta be around here somewhere. She can’t be
    1.54 +far off.” Finally, taking a wild guess, the ninja stumbled off into
    1.55 +the falling snow. 
    1.56 +
    1.57 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
    1.58 +
    1.59 +She had been walking for what felt like hours. Her body felt like a
    1.60 +solid chunk of ice. It hurt to move, to breathe, to think. Her body
    1.61 +felt numb. Walking was becoming extremely difficult. She nearly lost
    1.62 +her balance a number of times, but thankfully regained it. She knew
    1.63 +that if she fell in the snow, she would never get up again. “Kairi!”
    1.64 +she yelled, but her cries barely made it to her own ears. ‘I never
    1.65 +should have gotten her involved. She’s just a little girl. She’s
    1.66 +going to get killed because of me. You should have gone back for Leon
    1.67 +and Aerith instead of thinking you could do it all on your own with
    1.68 +one girl and the Keyblade,’ she thought darkly. She blinked. ‘That
    1.69 +doesn’t sound like me. This cold must be getting to me. I’ll find her
    1.70 +and I’ll drag her off to some town. We’ll get nice and toasty there
    1.71 +and then I can get back to becoming the richest, most famous ninja
    1.72 +ever.’ She laughed weakly, trying to hold onto some glimmer of hope.
    1.73 +‘Just please, please let me find her before it’s too late.’
    1.74 +
    1.75 +The snow seemed to roll on for an eternity before her, disappearing
    1.76 +into the distance. Her weakening legs kept pushing her forward,
    1.77 +though she was stumbling more and more often as the cold sapped her
    1.78 +strength. She tried to keep thinking, but even that was becoming a
    1.79 +chore. She just wanted to collapse, to lie down for a minute. But
    1.80 +that would be a death sentence. 
    1.81 +
    1.82 +She had stopped wiping the snow away from her clothes. She just
    1.83 +didn’t have the strength anymore. It was almost too much to just keep
    1.84 +going. She wobbled, nearly dropping. ‘Just a bit further,’ she kept
    1.85 +telling herself. ‘And she’ll be right there, right next to the
    1.86 +entrance of some big town.’ Her vision blurred, her eyes having
    1.87 +trouble focusing. But she couldn’t give up yet. There was still too
    1.88 +much she had to do, too much to find, too much to have. There was too
    1.89 +much to experience in life. And it would all be gone if she failed.
    1.90 +If she didn’t find the girl, the Heartless would sweep across all the
    1.91 +remaining worlds. And you couldn’t very well steal from anyone if
    1.92 +there wasn’t anyone to steal from. 
    1.93 +
    1.94 +“You’re probably eating this up, Leon,” Yuffie said, her voice
    1.95 +carried off by the wind. “Couldn’t do it on your own, Yuffie, you’d
    1.96 +say. It was hopeless. But I’m not done yet. You just watch me. I’m
    1.97 +gonna find that girl and I’m gonna drag her to some stupid town. And
    1.98 +they’ll have a nice big fire and lots of food and big fur coats...”
    1.99 +She trailed off, her thoughts becoming less and less coherent.
   1.100 +“Actually, Leon’d probably just say ‘...’ or something. But that’s
   1.101 +what he’d mean. The big depressing guy.” She moved a foot forward,
   1.102 +struggling to move another step forward. “I really wish he and Aerith
   1.103 +were here right now.” Another step. “But then they’d probably get mad
   1.104 +at me for stealing anything. And then I’d... Tell them I was only...
   1.105 +borrowing it..” Her foot refused to move, sending her collapsing face
   1.106 +first into the snow. Her aching muscles didn’t feel like cooperating
   1.107 +as she lay there, her whole body to exhausted. She would be blanketed
   1.108 +by the snow and no one would ever find her. 
   1.109 +
   1.110 +“Meow!” 
   1.111 +
   1.112 +Yuffie lay there, her whole body feeling ice cold. She hoped this
   1.113 +dying thing was quick. She was too weary to last all that long.
   1.114 +‘There better be a lot of shiny things in the Lifestream,’ she
   1.115 +thought angrily. ‘If I’m gonna die, I might as well have something to
   1.116 +occupy my time after I’m dead.’
   1.117 +
   1.118 +“Meow!!” 
   1.119 +
   1.120 +It was closer now, right in front of her. The ninja struggled to
   1.121 +open her eyes. She stared hazily at the kitten that had been with
   1.122 +Kairi. It was nuzzling her nose, trying to keep her conscious. “Go
   1.123 +away,” she said weakly, her eyes narrowing. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”
   1.124 +
   1.125 +The kitten licked her cheek, pawing at her. “Meow!” it cried
   1.126 +anxiously. Yuffie refused to move. After a moments pause, it swiped
   1.127 +at her, sinking it’s claws into the ninja girl. It looked at her
   1.128 +apologetically as she swore. Droplets of blood dripped down her cheek
   1.129 +into the snow.
   1.130 +
   1.131 +“You stupid little...” Yuffie glared at the kitten. But the sharp
   1.132 +pain was something. It gave her a focus besides the overwhelming
   1.133 +numbness. The kitten hopped off, heading over a hill. Yuffie weakly
   1.134 +got back to her knees. It was trying to get her to follow it. “This
   1.135 +better just be a little further!” She was cold and tired and
   1.136 +exhausted. But the kitten was beckoning her. She stumbled up the
   1.137 +slope, almost sliding back down. It took everything she had to make
   1.138 +it to the top. Gazing down, she saw the kitten. It was sitting beside
   1.139 +Kairi, the princess half covered in snow. It looked at her with
   1.140 +desperate green eyes, pleading for help. “You found her... I take it
   1.141 +back. I’ll help. Just give me a minute...” Taking a step forward,
   1.142 +Yuffie’s legs finally gave up. Stumbling down the hill, end over end,
   1.143 +she came to a rest next to Kairi. Her vision spun around her, her
   1.144 +thoughts breaking apart. The last thing she could see was the kitten
   1.145 +before the darkness devoured the white world around her. 
   1.146 +
   1.147 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
   1.148 +
   1.149 +
   1.150 +Yuffie slowly came to some time later, her entire body aching.
   1.151 +Everything in her mind felt blurry, far off. She was having trouble
   1.152 +thinking clearly. She moaned weakly, rolling onto her side. It was
   1.153 +with some surprise that she found a heavy blanket over herself. She
   1.154 +blinked weary eyes, trying to force them into submission. Everything
   1.155 +was still a blur, but it wasn’t a cold, white blur anymore. So she
   1.156 +wasn’t lost out in the snow anymore. That was a good thing. She
   1.157 +hoped. 
   1.158 +
   1.159 +“So you’re finally awake, huh?” a voice said from somewhere in front
   1.160 +of Yuffie.
   1.161 +
   1.162 +Struggling to find the speaker, Yuffie finally managed to spot a
   1.163 +furry creature watching her from the other side of the room. The
   1.164 +furry creature looked a little shorter than herself, but that didn’t
   1.165 +make it any less ferocious, she decided. ‘It’s gonna eat us. It took
   1.166 +us here out of the cold so it could have a nice warm snack,’ she
   1.167 +thought in her delirious state of mind. The dizzy ninja forced
   1.168 +herself to her feet. Upon standing, she found it to have been a bad
   1.169 +idea all the way around. The world spun around her like a top spun by
   1.170 +a careless child. The ground seemed to lurch underneath her. Her
   1.171 +still weak muscles gave out and she fell forward. The furry monster
   1.172 +caught her, sinking under the ninja’s weight, holding onto her. 
   1.173 +
   1.174 +“You need to rest! I don’t know how long you were out there, but you
   1.175 +were both half frozen when we found you,” the voice stated, laying
   1.176 +Yuffie back down gently and pulling the blanket back up around her. 
   1.177 +
   1.178 +Yuffie moaned again, her head swimming. “Both of us? Kairi’s here?”
   1.179 +Yuffie tried to spot the princess, but her head ached with the
   1.180 +effort. 
   1.181 +
   1.182 +The creature nodded. “If Kairi is the other girl who was collapsed
   1.183 +in the snow, then yeah. Oh, and a kitten. It was curled up on you,
   1.184 +trying to keep you warm. It was hard to drag you all back here.” The
   1.185 +monster reached back, grabbing around the fur that shrouded its.
   1.186 +Yuffie wondered what horrible visage the monster was hiding beneath
   1.187 +it. Slowly pulling the fur back, it fell to the monsters back.
   1.188 +Shaking its head, the ‘monster’ smiled cutely. It was a girl a little
   1.189 +younger than Yuffie, probably fifteen or so. The fur was just a big
   1.190 +coat that she was wearing which the ninja had mistaken for something
   1.191 +else in her deluded state. Her hair was held up in a red and gold
   1.192 +embroidered bandana, blonde wisps poking out here and there. 
   1.193 +
   1.194 +“You’re not a monster?” Yuffie asked dumbly.
   1.195 +
   1.196 +The girl giggled, shaking her head. “Not since last I checked. Which
   1.197 +could have been a while. No, I’m just a simple artist. My name’s Relm
   1.198 +Arrowny. And this is Interceptor.” She motioned towards what Yuffie
   1.199 +had thought was some monster skin rug. It got up, nuzzling Relm’s
   1.200 +side. “I couldn’t have gotten you all here without him.” 
   1.201 +
   1.202 +Yuffie slowly sat up, waving the girl off when she tried to come
   1.203 +over and make her lie down again. “Yuffie Kisaragi. I’m the greatest
   1.204 +female ninja ever,” she stated decisively. 
   1.205 +
   1.206 +“A ninja?” The blonde girl clapped her hands together delightedly.
   1.207 +“That’s great! My father was a ninja. He left Interceptor to protect
   1.208 +me when he died. I was just a little girl at the time, so
   1.209 +Interceptor’s been with me while I grew up. But I’ve always loved
   1.210 +ninjas because of that. I was hoping I’d meet one someday.” She
   1.211 +looked over at the dog, still smiling brightly. “Isn’t that great,
   1.212 +Interceptor?” 
   1.213 +
   1.214 +The dog barked it’s agreement, fixing Yuffie with a steely gaze, as
   1.215 +if to beware her of hurting his charge. Yuffie gazed back, dismissing
   1.216 +the dog’s warning. She smiled herself, glad that the girl recognized
   1.217 +someone of her obvious talents. “Well, it takes a lot of talent and a
   1.218 +lot of will. Only a small handful can truly make it as a ninja. Your
   1.219 +father must have been quite a man.” Yuffie stretched back, letting
   1.220 +her muscles relax. She was slowly warming up. Her mind felt like it
   1.221 +was starting to thaw, to let herself think clearly again. “Though I’m
   1.222 +used to it running in the family. My dad was a ninja. And so was my
   1.223 +mom. But you’re an artist?”
   1.224 +
   1.225 +Relm shrugged, petting Interceptor absentmindedly. “I guess it’s not
   1.226 +really my thing. Besides, I love art too much to give up on it. I
   1.227 +probably wouldn’t make a very good ninja anyway.” Her eyes lit up
   1.228 +again, watching Yuffie intently. “But I’ve always hoped one day a
   1.229 +dashing ninja would show up in my life.”
   1.230 +
   1.231 +Yuffie laughed nervously. “That’s great. I’m glad to help.” She was
   1.232 +a little unnerved by the way the other girl was looking at her. The
   1.233 +blanket slowly slipped down her shoulder, letting the warmth of the
   1.234 +fire melt into the skin. She blinked as she slowly looked down. That
   1.235 +felt a little different than the way one’s clothes would heat up when
   1.236 +next to a fire. Sure enough, something was missing from the picture
   1.237 +she saw. She yanked the blanket closed tightly, her cheeks darkening.
   1.238 +“Where are my clothes?” she demanded.
   1.239 +
   1.240 +“Drying. You were out in the snow for who knows how long. It was
   1.241 +soaked through. I can’t have you catching pneumonia after rescuing
   1.242 +you, you know,” Relm explained. “Don’t worry, Interceptor didn’t
   1.243 +look. I had him start on supper.”
   1.244 +
   1.245 +Yuffie blinked. How the hell did a dog make dinner? She would ask,
   1.246 +but something else caught her eye. She had been attracted by the
   1.247 +light of the fire only to find that there was no fire. In the center
   1.248 +of the room was a painting of a fire up on an easel. It flickered and
   1.249 +glowed just like the real thing. Even stranger, it was giving off the
   1.250 +same heat of a real fire, warming the small room. Yuffie only stared
   1.251 +for a long moment before her eyes finally ached from gazing into the
   1.252 +flame.
   1.253 +
   1.254 +“If you stare into the flame for too long, it stares back into you.
   1.255 +Be careful,” Relm warned. 
   1.256 +
   1.257 +“How did you...?” Yuffie began, shaking her head.
   1.258 +
   1.259 +The artist grinned, walking over and shifting the painting to warm
   1.260 +the two rescued girls more. “Do you like it? I painted it. I told you
   1.261 +that my talent seems to lie more with art. I try to bring things to
   1.262 +life in my paintings.”
   1.263 +
   1.264 +“That’s an understatement.” Yuffie watched the girl, still holding
   1.265 +the blanket close. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.” The
   1.266 +girl blushed under her praise. She looked around, trying to spot
   1.267 +Kairi. “Kairi?”
   1.268 +
   1.269 +“I’m here. I’ve just been thinking,” Kairi’s voice came from behind
   1.270 +Yuffie. 
   1.271 +
   1.272 +The ninja turned, spotting Kairi lying on the floor, curled up in a
   1.273 +blanket. She was holding onto the kitten. The kitten still seemed to
   1.274 +be asleep. It had been exhausted, lasting a little longer than the
   1.275 +two girls. Yuffie sighed in relief. “You’re all right.”
   1.276 +
   1.277 +Kairi didn’t answer. She certainly didn’t feel all right. Her mind
   1.278 +was still on that room she kept returning to and the voice behind the
   1.279 +door. She was set adrift in a sea of confusion, everything seeming to
   1.280 +conflict with everything else. She just wanted to make it go away. 
   1.281 +
   1.282 +The kitten’s ears perked up at Yuffie’s voice. The kitten blinked
   1.283 +it’s green eyes open, watching the ninja. It stood up to hurry to the
   1.284 +ninja. Looking up, it saw the distant look in Kairi’s eyes. The
   1.285 +kitten meowed, nuzzling the downtrodden girl, but it didn’t seem to
   1.286 +help. Curling up against Kairi, the kitten tried it’s best to help,
   1.287 +licking her cheek.
   1.288 +
   1.289 +Kairi smiled softly, scratching under the kitten’s chin. “Thanks,
   1.290 +Jessie. I needed that.” 
   1.291 +
   1.292 +“I’m going to go try and get some potions from the shop. You could
   1.293 +probably both use it. So just try to rest up while I’m gone.” Relm
   1.294 +pulled the hood back over her head. “Don’t wear yourselves out. I’ll
   1.295 +be right back.” She waved at the two before disappearing out the door.
   1.296 +
   1.297 +“Weird girl,” Yuffie thought out loud.
   1.298 +
   1.299 +“Oh, don’t say that,” Kairi admonished the ninja. “She saved us
   1.300 +both. If it weren’t for her, we’d both be frozen solid by now.”
   1.301 +
   1.302 +“I never said it was a bad thing that she’s weird.” Yuffie shrugged,
   1.303 +placing her hands behind her head as she stared up at the roof. 
   1.304 +
   1.305 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
   1.306 +
   1.307 +“Isn’t this great, Interceptor? It’s just like when mom met dad!”
   1.308 +Relm giggled, hopping giddily down to the snowy street from the
   1.309 +partially raised curb. “He was injured when mom found him and she
   1.310 +nursed him back to health, falling in love with the mysterious ninja
   1.311 +while he healed. It must be Fate! I came across an injured ninja and
   1.312 +now I’m nursing her back to health.” 
   1.313 +
   1.314 +The dog followed along faithfully, not quite sure what he thought
   1.315 +about the situation. But nevertheless, he thought it best not to rain
   1.316 +on his charge’s parade. He simply barked agreement.
   1.317 +
   1.318 +Relm hurried across the snowy street. “And she’s so cute, too! And
   1.319 +did you hear what she said? The greatest female ninja ever. How
   1.320 +cool!” She sighed dreamily, titling her head to the side. “Do you
   1.321 +believe in love at first sight, Interceptor?”
   1.322 +
   1.323 +The dog barked noncommittally, following the perky artist. What
   1.324 +would his old master think about all this? Monsters and thieves the
   1.325 +dog could protect Relm from. But love? This was uncharted territory
   1.326 +for the faithful guardian. 
   1.327 +
   1.328 + “Now I just need to nurse her back to health and we’ll fall in love
   1.329 +and live happily ever after. Just like mom and dad. But without the
   1.330 +whole mutually dying part.” Relm looked over when Interceptor barked.
   1.331 +“What about her friend? Well, she’ll have to find her own ninja. This
   1.332 +one’s mine.” She crossed her arms, turning the corner to the shop.
   1.333 +And froze dead in her tracks. Down the street, something was heading
   1.334 +into town. Three somethings, to be exact. The lurched forward like
   1.335 +huge, lumbering beasts. A person sat atop each one. Two were imperial
   1.336 +soldiers and the other was a green haired woman in a red dress.
   1.337 +“Imperial soldiers!” Bolting back around the corner, Relm and
   1.338 +Interceptor raced back to the house as the first gunshots were fired
   1.339 +by the town’s guards. Visions of a town in flames returned unbidden
   1.340 +to the young artist. ‘Relm, run!!’ her grandfather had commanded her
   1.341 +before turning to meet the Imperial onslaught. Crystal tears fell as
   1.342 +she ran. She couldn’t let that happen again. 
   1.343 +
   1.344 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
   1.345 +
   1.346 +Yuffie sighed, pulling her small green top back on. It seemed like
   1.347 +it had dried quite some time ago. Sitting on a small stool that Relm
   1.348 +used for painting, she pulled her stockings back on. “I still can’t
   1.349 +believe she can draw that well. My drawings look like stick figures.”
   1.350 +
   1.351 +Kairi giggled, her back to Yuffie as she pulled on her own clothes.
   1.352 +“You’re a ninja, right? So why do you care if you can’t draw?”
   1.353 +Pulling on her white blouse over her black one, she turned to Yuffie.
   1.354 +“And it doesn’t matter if you can’t draw. It’s what you draw. And
   1.355 +what it means to you. I think even stick figures can be beautiful if
   1.356 +your hearts behind it.” Her eyes were distant, her mind elsewhere.
   1.357 +She remembered the secret place on their island, just a small cave
   1.358 +hidden away on it. But inside, she, Riku, and Sora had drawn so many
   1.359 +pictures. One she hadn’t seen until Sora had disappeared was one of
   1.360 +her sharing a Paopu fruit with him. It hadn’t been the best drawing,
   1.361 +but it was gorgeous to her because of what it meant.
   1.362 +
   1.363 +The ninja shook her head, unconvinced. “Stick figures aren’t my idea
   1.364 +of ‘beautiful’. Those,” she said, indicating the stacks of paintings
   1.365 +in the corner, “are beautiful.”
   1.366 +
   1.367 +“Just try drawing again sometime, Yuffie. If it’s something
   1.368 +important to you, then it will be gorgeous no matter how badly you
   1.369 +draw,” Kairi prompted, smiling. It would be nice to see what was
   1.370 +important to the ninja.
   1.371 +
   1.372 +Yuffie tilted her head to the side thoughtfully, imagining what
   1.373 +she’d draw. She could see it in her mind, a stick figure of herself
   1.374 +surrounded by treasure and materia. She shook her head, dismissing
   1.375 +the thought. “I think I’ll leave the drawing up to Relm and stick
   1.376 +with what I’m good at.”
   1.377 +
   1.378 + “And what would that be?” Kairi asked curiously, buckling her belt.
   1.379 +
   1.380 +“Too much,” Yuffie said, grinning. The two laughed, relaxed for the
   1.381 +first time since they had seen the Heartless show up back in Traverse
   1.382 +Town. But that all fell away to the distant sounds of gunshots. And
   1.383 +something louder, more explosive. Yuffie glanced to the door. “What
   1.384 +was that?”
   1.385 +
   1.386 +Kairi picked up the kitten, walking towards the door. She nearly
   1.387 +fell backwards when the door whipped open in front of her.
   1.388 +
   1.389 +“Imperial soldiers! They’re riding Magitek Armor! We need to get out
   1.390 +of here!” Relm said, panting. Her face was pale, frightened. Memories
   1.391 +of another Imperial raid were still branded on her soul. The thought
   1.392 +of another one almost paralyzed her.
   1.393 +
   1.394 +Yuffie picked up her overly large shuriken, standing up. “Imperial
   1.395 +soldiers?”
   1.396 +
   1.397 +Kairi bit her lip. She was the Keyblade Mistress. She probably
   1.398 +wasn’t supposed to interfere, but she couldn’t help but think that
   1.399 +there had to be something she could do to help on this world. She
   1.400 +couldn’t just ignore it. What good was stopping the Heartless if
   1.401 +people were getting hurt by other people anyway? She looked up at the
   1.402 +ninja and the painter. “Maybe we can stop them. Sora helped a lot of
   1.403 +people with the Keyblade. Maybe I can, too. I can’t fight like him,
   1.404 +but there has to be some way we can help. You saved us, Relm. We
   1.405 +can’t let them tear apart your city.”
   1.406 +
   1.407 +Relm shook her head swiftly. “No time. We’ve gotta run. They’ll burn
   1.408 +this place to the ground. There’s nothing we can do about it.” The
   1.409 +artist was nearly shaking. Her knees felt weak. ‘Relm!’ she heard her
   1.410 +grandfather call out in her mind, seeing him amidst the flames. She
   1.411 +was having trouble distinguishing between the past and the present.
   1.412 +All she knew was the fear of being a little girl and having her only
   1.413 +family taken away, her town gutted by flame. She barely felt Yuffie’s
   1.414 +hands on her shoulders, the ninja’s eyes gazing into her own. But
   1.415 +they gave her something in the present to anchor on to. She slowly
   1.416 +pulled herself back to the here and now.
   1.417 +
   1.418 +“Relm, we need your help. If you don’t think we can stop them, then
   1.419 +let’s just get the hell out of here. We can’t do anything if we’re
   1.420 +all dead. We’ll figure something out when we’re far away from here,”
   1.421 +Yuffie promised, squeezing the younger girl’s shoulders. Relm nodded
   1.422 +slowly. “Good. Then let’s get out of here as fast as we can.”
   1.423 +
   1.424 +“But Yuffie..!” Kairi complained, holding her Keyblade. It didn’t
   1.425 +seem fair that this girl had found them and yet they could do nothing
   1.426 +for her in return. “We have to try, don’t we?”
   1.427 +
   1.428 +“Sometimes you’ve got to live and come back with a little more
   1.429 +firepower, princess,” Yuffie explained. “Come on.” She opened the
   1.430 +door, dashing out into the lightly falling snow, dragging Relm behind
   1.431 +her. 
   1.432 +
   1.433 +Kairi followed, still holding the kitten. She didn’t feel good about
   1.434 +this choice, but if she didn’t have Yuffie’s help then she didn’t
   1.435 +know what good she could do on her own. 
   1.436 +
   1.437 +“This way!” Relm tugged on Yuffie’s hand, pulling her towards a back
   1.438 +alley. The snow crunched underneath their feet as they ran towards
   1.439 +it. Relm didn’t want to leave Narche behind. It had been a good
   1.440 +refuge. And it had been a beautiful place to paint, the snow making
   1.441 +for wonderful paintings. But she had seen what the Imperial Army
   1.442 +could do. Staying was suicide. They neared the alley, hand in hand.
   1.443 +“There are mines all around here. We’ll disappear into one of them
   1.444 +and find another way out away from town,” Relm explained. But before
   1.445 +they could reach the alley, something bright streaked in front of
   1.446 +Relm, slamming into the ground in front of them. The shock wave sent
   1.447 +her flying back. She hit into the snow hard, Yuffie landing on her
   1.448 +feet next to her. “Magic...” she said warily.
   1.449 +
   1.450 +Yuffie turned to face the looming metal monsters heading towards
   1.451 +them. “I guess we’ll have to fight them after all. We’ll get to do
   1.452 +you good deed, Kairi,” Yuffie cast a quick glance to Kairi before
   1.453 +pulling up her shuriken. She didn’t like the look of the strange
   1.454 +machines or their riders, but there was nowhere for them to run. And
   1.455 +with her party consisted of a girl with a key who couldn’t fight and
   1.456 +a painter. Things weren’t particularly looking up. 
   1.457 +
   1.458 +The three metal giants finally came to a stop in front of the three
   1.459 +girls and their pets, dwarfing them. One of the men on other side of
   1.460 +the green haired woman spoke up. “By Imperial decree, give us the Key
   1.461 +bearer. She will return with us.”
   1.462 +
   1.463 +“Or we’ll wipe out the town. She’s coming with us either way, so...”
   1.464 +the other man said, shrugging. 
   1.465 +
   1.466 +The first man leant over, whispering to his friend. But with the
   1.467 +distance between them, he had to whisper loud enough for the girls to
   1.468 +hear him. “That sounds pretty spooky, Biggs. I’d sure agree to those
   1.469 +highly reasonable demands if someone told me that.”
   1.470 +
   1.471 +“Oh, definitely. I’d probably thank them for the offer in the first
   1.472 +place. I mean, that or losing the whole town.” Biggs pretended to
   1.473 +weigh the issue in his hands. “No contest, you know, Wedge.”
   1.474 +
   1.475 +“Don’t I know it! And with this powerful lady with us, too. She
   1.476 +wiped out 30 Magitek soldiers in under three minutes. Just think what
   1.477 +that kind of firepower could do to a town. I sure am glad she has a
   1.478 +Slave Crown on her head, keeping all conscious thought from her so
   1.479 +that she’s on our side,” Wedge said, nodding.
   1.480 +
   1.481 +“Excuse me? Are you two possibly done?!” Yuffie shouted, exasperated.
   1.482 +
   1.483 +Biggs shrugged. “Hey, it was all for your benefit. Just trying to
   1.484 +give you a grasp on the situation. I’m sorry for being helpful.” He
   1.485 +crossed his arms.
   1.486 +
   1.487 +“Yeah, if you wanted us to just take the girl, you could’ve said as
   1.488 +much. It just means more work I’ve got to do.” Wedge sighed. “Well,
   1.489 +more work she has to do, at any rate.” He looked over at the green
   1.490 +haired woman. “Okay, go ahead and kill them,” he said casually.
   1.491 +
   1.492 +“What?!” Yuffie stepped back, pulling up her large shuriken.
   1.493 +
   1.494 +The green haired woman grabbed the controls, her Magitek Armor
   1.495 +moving forward, charging up for its attack. Under the mind control of
   1.496 +her Slave Crown, she could do nothing but follow orders. Even if it
   1.497 +meant killing innocents. Energy lit up the front of her armor, it
   1.498 +gathering to wipe out the ninja that dare confront her. 
   1.499 +
   1.500 +“Wait! I’ll give myself up! Just don’t hurt them!” Kairi cried out,
   1.501 +waving her arms in the air. She couldn’t let them get hurt. It was
   1.502 +her fault that these people were even here. If they hurt anyone, she
   1.503 +wouldn’t be able to forgive herself. She had to give herself up. Even
   1.504 +if it meant the end of her quest. ‘I’m sorry, Riku, Sora. But I can’t
   1.505 +let anyone get hurt because of me.’ She stepped forward. But the
   1.506 +woman took no notice, still intent on Yuffie. “No!!” Kairi screamed
   1.507 +as the magical blast shot out towards the ninja. Kairi felt it zip
   1.508 +past, its energy enough to send her sprawling to the floor. 
   1.509 +
   1.510 +Yuffie’s eyes widened as the bolt shot towards her, far too large to
   1.511 +dodge. She could only stare at the bluish white magic as it headed
   1.512 +towards her. Was this the end? After all she had been through, to get
   1.513 +killed by some magical mechanical beast? She refused to believe that.
   1.514 +She couldn’t die now.
   1.515 +
   1.516 +Relm tried to get to Yuffie, to push her out of the way, but she
   1.517 +couldn’t reach her in time. She had hurt her ankle in the fall and
   1.518 +pain jolted through her when she tried to get to her feet. She could
   1.519 +only watch in horror. She had saved the ninja girl only to watch her
   1.520 +die at the hands of the Imperial Army. Must they take everything from
   1.521 +her? Her heart stopped in her chest. 
   1.522 +
   1.523 +The magic pulled up right before hitting Yuffie, plowing into
   1.524 +something else. The three girls looked to see a woman dressed in
   1.525 +yellow, a cape billowing behind her, a sword upraised. The magic
   1.526 +swirled around the blade before disappearing. 
   1.527 +
   1.528 +The ninja nearly collapsed in relief, her heart pounding heavily in
   1.529 +her chest. That one had been just a little too close. She watched the
   1.530 +older woman hurry past her, her sword held in front of her. “Need any
   1.531 +help?” she asked, watching the huge machines awaiting the woman. It
   1.532 +didn’t look like a very fair fight.
   1.533 +
   1.534 +“Get Relm out of here. And the girl with the Key. You can’t let
   1.535 +Kefka get his hands on it. If he does, he’ll destroy everything,” the
   1.536 +blonde woman stated without looking back.
   1.537 +
   1.538 +“Celes!” Relm called out. “Don’t!” She saw Strago standing before
   1.539 +her again, urging her to run before heading off to face his own death
   1.540 +at the hands of the Imperial soldiers. Celes had been lost herself, a
   1.541 +former Magitek Knight who had been imprisoned. A thief had helped her
   1.542 +escape and she had been wandering ever since. She had found the young
   1.543 +and lost Relm and taken her to the mining city of Narche. They had
   1.544 +thought themselves safe from the Empire there, but apparently that
   1.545 +peace wasn’t to last. And now Relm was faced with the same situation
   1.546 +she had years ago when her grandfather had died. “Come with us,
   1.547 +Celes!”
   1.548 +
   1.549 +The blonde woman shook her head, raising her sword again. “I can’t,
   1.550 +Relm. I have to stop them. Run. Somewhere far away. Somewhere where
   1.551 +there is no Empire. Where you can be free. Paint a picture of that
   1.552 +beautiful place for me, Relm. I’ll look over your shoulder while you
   1.553 +paint it, I promise.”
   1.554 +
   1.555 +“But..!!” Relm began. Interceptor bit at her coat, dragging her
   1.556 +back. “Celes!” she called out again, she could barely get herself to
   1.557 +move. Tears brimmed at her eyes. She couldn’t leave behind someone
   1.558 +again. “I’ll help you!” she pleaded, trying to reach Celes.
   1.559 +Interceptor pulled harder, dragging her back in the snow. Yuffie
   1.560 +finally grabbed a hold of her, yanking her along. “Celes!!”
   1.561 +
   1.562 +Kairi followed, but her heart was low in her chest. ‘You always run
   1.563 +away, Kairi,’ she could practically hear the voice taunting. And it
   1.564 +was true. How often did she run away, unable to fight her own
   1.565 +battles? How often did she run away from her problems? And now she
   1.566 +was again. Because a woman was willing to sacrifice herself to cover
   1.567 +their retreat. And so she ran, escaping her problems once more. She
   1.568 +felt so weak. How could Sora and Riku count on her to find them if
   1.569 +she was always running away?
   1.570 +
   1.571 +Celes watched the three mechanical beasts before her. She was
   1.572 +horribly outgunned. But such was life. Sometimes it wasn’t about
   1.573 +winning or losing a battle. It was about a battle worth fighting. And
   1.574 +to protect Relm and her world, this battle was certainly worth
   1.575 +fighting. Even if the outcome was predetermined. She would gladly
   1.576 +give her life for it. Snow fell around her. “It’s so beautiful.” She
   1.577 +whispered. Light started pouring forth from the Magitek Armors before
   1.578 +her. Running forward, she lifted her blade. 
   1.579 +
   1.580 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
   1.581 +
   1.582 +Yuffie had to drag a struggling Relm down the snowy street, trying
   1.583 +desperately to keep a hold on her. If Relm ran off, she would end up
   1.584 +right in the middle of a battle they couldn’t possibly win. They
   1.585 +needed to get as far away as they could. Thankfully, Interceptor
   1.586 +seemed to be leading the way. She and Kairi followed the dog, running
   1.587 +as quickly as they could in the snow. 
   1.588 +
   1.589 +“Yuffie,” Kairi said, pulling to a stop. Yuffie looked at her
   1.590 +quizzically, stopping herself. Relm struggled, but Yuffie kept her
   1.591 +restrained. “We have to go back. We can’t let her fight them alone.
   1.592 +They’ll destroy the city.”
   1.593 +
   1.594 +“There’s nothing we can do, Kairi. I don’t have a death wish. If we
   1.595 +go get back there, the city’s still going to get destroyed. The only
   1.596 +difference is that we’ll be lying there dead, too. You said it
   1.597 +yourself, you can’t fight. What could we possibly hope to do against
   1.598 +those monsters?” Yuffie argued, still holding onto the distraught
   1.599 +painter. 
   1.600 +
   1.601 +Kairi looked back towards where they had come from, hearing the
   1.602 +sounds of magic and machines. Her shoulders slumped, her head slowly
   1.603 +nodding. “You’re right.” ‘You always run, Kairi,’ repeated in her
   1.604 +mind over and over again. And she was doing it all over again. Maybe
   1.605 +the voice had been right after all.
   1.606 +
   1.607 +“If it helps any, I certainly don’t intend to let you go anywhere.
   1.608 +And I would have burned the town even if you’d surrendered yourself,”
   1.609 +a voice said behind them. The three girls turned to see a man in a
   1.610 +strange, elaborate outfit. He had red markings on his face. He smiled
   1.611 +slowly. “It looks like I’ve finally found the Keyblade Mistress.
   1.612 +You’ll be coming with me.”
   1.613 +
   1.614 +“The hell she is!” Yuffie let go of Relm, flinging a shuriken at the
   1.615 +man. It whipped through the air before hitting into a protective
   1.616 +barrier in front of him. It bounced off, falling harmlessly to the
   1.617 +floor. 
   1.618 +
   1.619 +“You’ve got what you wanted! Call off the attack!” Relm demanded,
   1.620 +hope still lingering that it wasn’t too late to save Celes. 
   1.621 +
   1.622 +The man laughed maniacally, shaking his head. “Decimate the town.
   1.623 +Kill all the townsfolk,” he ordered. “Especially the Magitek Knight.”
   1.624 +
   1.625 +“You bastard!” Relm cried out, tears and rage mixing inside of her
   1.626 +as she saw the troops hurrying off to fulfil his order. The man
   1.627 +simply laughed as the tears dripped down her cheeks. 
   1.628 +
   1.629 +Interceptor could only watch Relm’s anguish for so long. Growling
   1.630 +angrily, he leapt at the man, intent on ripping his throat out.
   1.631 +Anyone who could cause such grief for his young mistress deserved a
   1.632 +harsh death. But it was not to be so. With a wave of his hand, a
   1.633 +block of ice appeared, slamming into Interceptor. The dog whimpered,
   1.634 +slumping in the snow.
   1.635 +
   1.636 +“Interceptor!” 
   1.637 +
   1.638 +Yuffie lunged forward, gripping her large shuriken. She couldn’t let
   1.639 +him take Kairi. Kairi was their only chance to save everyone from the
   1.640 +Heartless. And it was Yuffie’s job to make sure that Kairi made it
   1.641 +through all this. She swept her shuriken at the man’s head, but it
   1.642 +merely rebounded off of his barrier, knocking her hand back. 
   1.643 +
   1.644 +Slowly raising his hand, the man grinned. “Leave them all alone!
   1.645 +I’ll go with you!” Kairi yelled. But he ignored her. Concentrating,
   1.646 +he called down lightning, striking all three girls. After a bright
   1.647 +flash of light, they all lay barely breathing in the snow. “Take them
   1.648 +back to the palace,” he told one of his troops. “I have plans for the
   1.649 +Keyblade Mistress.”
   1.650 +
   1.651 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
   1.652 +
   1.653 +Kairi slowly came to, her world filled with pain. She moaned, her
   1.654 +head buzzing shrilly. She tried to glance around, to see where she
   1.655 +was, but some hair fell in front of her eyes. She reached forward to
   1.656 +push it away, but something tugged at her hand, jingling as it did.
   1.657 +Looking down quickly, she could see her that her wrists were chained
   1.658 +to the wall. Even that exertion sent new pain spiraling throughout
   1.659 +her body. Her head slumped forward, feeling defeated. How could she
   1.660 +ever hope to find Sora and Riku now? All she had managed to do was
   1.661 +get a town destroyed and get herself kidnapped by someone wanting the
   1.662 +Keyblade. She sniffled, trying to blink back tears. What good had she
   1.663 +done? Sora had helped so many people when he had been searching for
   1.664 +her. All she managed to do was hurt everyone she came across. Now
   1.665 +she’d never see Riku or Sora again. That thought brought a chilling
   1.666 +emptiness inside of her. She needed them. She didn’t know what to do
   1.667 +without them. Those two boys meant everything to her. They were why
   1.668 +she had ventured out in the first place. But she had failed them.
   1.669 +Tears dripped down her chin, falling to her bare legs below. She
   1.670 +couldn’t even wipe her tears away, her hands not reaching far enough
   1.671 +because of the chains. 
   1.672 +
   1.673 +“Don’t cry, Kairi,” someone said in the cell. “And don’t give up. It
   1.674 +doesn’t suit you. Where’s that strong, unbreakable will of yours? You
   1.675 +can’t lose it now.”
   1.676 +
   1.677 +That voice... Kairi looked up, her hair falling away from her eyes.
   1.678 +Her tear stained eyes met Riku’s aquamarine orbs. “Riku! Is.. Is that
   1.679 +you?”
   1.680 +
   1.681 +Riku knelt in front of her, smiling faintly. With his gloved hands,
   1.682 +he began to wipe her tears away. “Kairi, as long as you don’t give
   1.683 +up, it won’t ever be over. You can conquer anything. Your heart is
   1.684 +stronger than mine and Sora’s.”
   1.685 +
   1.686 +Resting her cheek against his gloved hand, Kairi gazed at Riku. She
   1.687 +was afraid he would disappear if she looked away. His touch helped
   1.688 +reassure her, her battered soul clinging to it. “But I can’t do it
   1.689 +alone. I need the two of you, Riku. I’m not strong enough on my own.
   1.690 +You and Sora... You complete me. I’m lost without you.”
   1.691 +
   1.692 +Riku smiled, stroking her cheek gently. “You’ll always have us with
   1.693 +you, Kairi. Remember that. No matter how far apart we are, our hearts
   1.694 +will always be together.”
   1.695 +
   1.696 +“But I need you, Riku.” She whispered, tears brimming at her eyes
   1.697 +again. “I miss you both so much. And I’m so scared. I don’t know
   1.698 +what’s real anymore. I don’t understand. I just want to be with you
   1.699 +and Sora on the Destiny Islands again.”
   1.700 +
   1.701 +“Kairi,” Riku said softly, looking into her eyes. “I want that, too.
   1.702 +But you’re the only one who can make it a reality.”
   1.703 +
   1.704 +Kairi nodded, sniffling. “I’ll do whatever I can, Riku. I’ll find
   1.705 +both of you, wherever you are. We’ll all be together again. Forever.
   1.706 +Because..” She blinked back more tears, watching him. He slowly began
   1.707 +to fade away, the wind blowing away what sparkles of his beautiful
   1.708 +eyes remained. “Because.. I love you..” she whispered, closing her
   1.709 +eyes tightly as a fresh wave of tears hit her. She cried quietly,
   1.710 +chained to the wall in some dungeon. But even feeling lost and
   1.711 +desolate, there was some light in the darkness. She knew that she had
   1.712 +to find her friends. That she wouldn’t allow herself to stop until
   1.713 +they were back together. Even if it took an eternity across countless
   1.714 +worlds. Yes, she was captured. But that seemed insignificant. It
   1.715 +couldn’t stop her from being with Riku and Sora again. Riku was gone
   1.716 +again. But he was out there, somewhere. And as long as she had that
   1.717 +hope, she could keep going. No matter what happened, there was always
   1.718 +hope. 
   1.719 +
   1.720 +“Kairi, we’ll get out of this,” Yuffie spoke up. She had only been
   1.721 +awake a short time, but she could see that Kairi had been crying
   1.722 +pretty heavily. Thought she didn’t know how they would, she couldn’t
   1.723 +just let the princess cry so helplessly. From the look of things,
   1.724 +Relm was completely out of it. Her eyes were open, but she didn’t
   1.725 +seem to see anything, as if she were someplace else. Yuffie didn’t
   1.726 +know whether that was a good or bad thing. 
   1.727 +
   1.728 +“I know,” Kairi replied. She slowly looked up, her eyes sparkling
   1.729 +with unshed tears. She was smiling softly. “Because we have to.
   1.730 +Because they’re waiting for me.”
   1.731 +
   1.732 +“I’m afraid they’ll have to wait for quite some time. I don’t plan
   1.733 +on giving you up until I’ve squeezed every ounce of usefulness out of
   1.734 +you.” The door slid open, the man from before returning. Yuffie
   1.735 +glared at him hatefully, but it only amused him. He bowed. “Allow me
   1.736 +to introduce myself. I am Kefka.” Standing up, he walked over to
   1.737 +Kairi. He cupped her chin, forcing her head one way and then the
   1.738 +other as if inspecting her. “Not quite what I expected. But I don’t
   1.739 +think Sephiroth was wrong about you. Of course, I was supposed to
   1.740 +bring you to him. But I have other ideas.” 
   1.741 +
   1.742 +Kairi yanked her head away, hitting it against the hard wall behind
   1.743 +her. A small flare of pain ignited in her head, forcing her eyes
   1.744 +closed. “What do you want from me?” she asked angrily. 
   1.745 +
   1.746 +“You’re the Keyblade Mistress. Only you can wield that Keyblade. So
   1.747 +you’re integral to keeping the multiverse together. Or,” he smiled,
   1.748 +“tearing it apart. I prefer the latter.”
   1.749 +
   1.750 +“Why would I help you? I’d never let the Heartless destroy all of
   1.751 +the beautiful worlds out there.” Kairi stared up at him, wishing she
   1.752 +could sound more intimidating than she felt. 
   1.753 +
   1.754 +“You won’t have a choice. I’ll use you and the Keyblade to find a
   1.755 +way to tear everything apart. To create and everlasting monument to
   1.756 +oblivion. A shrine that everyone and no one will be a part of,” Kefka
   1.757 +explained. He clapped his hands, the green haired woman entering. She
   1.758 +held a small crown in her hands, the same as the one on her own head.
   1.759 +“This is Terra. She’s the most powerful magic user I’ve ever found.
   1.760 +She didn’t feel like helping me either, even though her magic is most
   1.761 +beneficial. So I’ve given her a Slave Crown. And all of her magical
   1.762 +potential is at my disposal. I’ll simply do the same with you. I
   1.763 +don’t care about Sephiroth’s plan. He’ll become a part of the
   1.764 +nothingness I will create. And you will help me to achieve that. My
   1.765 +willing servant, the Keyblade Mistress.” 
   1.766 +
   1.767 +Kairi shook her head, struggling with the chains. Her heart raced
   1.768 +inside of her. She’d seen what Terra was capable of under the
   1.769 +influence of the Slave Crown. That would put her in a world without
   1.770 +hope, a puppet to be used by this madman. She couldn’t let that
   1.771 +happen. But she was powerless to stop it. 
   1.772 +
   1.773 +Kefka grinned, turning to look at Relm. “I’m sure you can appreciate
   1.774 +that. You’re an artist. Think of it as the greatest work of art.
   1.775 +Absolutely nothing. There’s always something. And it only manages to
   1.776 +clutter things up. There’s too much out there. So I will wipe the
   1.777 +board clean. And that will be my masterpiece. I’m sure you’ll
   1.778 +appreciate it. Celes is probably waiting for it right now. Terra did
   1.779 +an excellent job of killing your friend. So don’t worry. You’ll see
   1.780 +her again soon.”
   1.781 +
   1.782 +That finally broke through to Relm. She struggled viciously against
   1.783 +her bonds, trying to get to her feet. Her eyes were stained red from
   1.784 +all of her crying. “You monster! How could you do that to her! I’ll
   1.785 +never forgive you!” Before it had only been a guess. Now it was fact.
   1.786 +Celes was dead. The woman who had taken care of her was dead now. And
   1.787 +she had been completely helpless to stop it. She was always helpless
   1.788 +to do anything, the people around her always dying. She couldn’t
   1.789 +stand it anymore. She was tired of always being the survivor, always
   1.790 +left alone.
   1.791 +
   1.792 +Kefka laughed, turning his attention back to Kairi. “You’ll make an
   1.793 +excellent puppet. You should be thanking me. You no longer have to
   1.794 +suffer as the Keyblade Mistress. I’ll make your decisions for you. It
   1.795 +will be so much easier. I’m sure Terra loves it.”
   1.796 +
   1.797 +Terra walked forward, raising the Slave Crown. Kairi struggled
   1.798 +pointlessly. She felt hopeless, trapped. There was no escape. Soon
   1.799 +she would be the cause of even more suffering and anguish throughout
   1.800 +countless worlds. 
   1.801 +
   1.802 +‘See? There is always suffering. There is always darkness. It is a
   1.803 +matter of life. Even in your fantasies you can’t escape it. Just
   1.804 +close your eyes and realize this isn’t real. None of it is. And
   1.805 +you’ll be safe. He can’t do anything to you if you’re back in your
   1.806 +room,’ the voice whispered in Kairi’s thoughts.
   1.807 +
   1.808 +‘No! I won’t run away again. I’ve already ran too much. I won’t let
   1.809 +it happen again. I’m not running away this time,’ Kairi thought
   1.810 +determinedly, shifting in her chains. A cold pit in her stomach
   1.811 +formed as she wondered what it would be like to wear that thing.
   1.812 +Would she know what was going on? Or would everything just fade away?
   1.813 +
   1.814 +‘Don’t be so ignorant, Kairi. What good are your fantasies if you’re
   1.815 +enslaved in them? He’ll only use you to fulfil some insane scheme of
   1.816 +his. Come back to me, here. You’ll be safe,’ the voice tempted.
   1.817 +
   1.818 +‘I’m not going! I can’t run anymore. I’m going to save Riku and
   1.819 +Sora. I’ll protect them. Somehow. I won’t let it end now,’ she
   1.820 +thought back frantically, the crown touching her hair. Her heart
   1.821 +skipped a beat as she kept struggling, the gesture seeming ever more
   1.822 +futile. She leant back as far as she could, trying to keep the crown
   1.823 +away.
   1.824 +
   1.825 +The voice sighed, as if it was dealing with a young and stubborn
   1.826 +child. ‘Fine. Then imagine that your chains are unlocked, that they
   1.827 +aren’t holding you. Believe that they’re open.’
   1.828 +
   1.829 +Kairi closed her eyes, thinking frantically. She imagined the chains
   1.830 +looser, imagined the locks opening on them. ‘They’re open, they’re
   1.831 +open, they’re..” 
   1.832 +She felt them slide open, clattering to the floor. It caught her by
   1.833 +surprise. She hadn’t expected it to work. The crown was pushing back
   1.834 +her hair, about to fall in place. Kairi pushed as hard against the
   1.835 +wall with her feet as she could, moving away from Terra and the
   1.836 +crown. The crown fell to the floor instead of falling into place on
   1.837 +her head. ‘Thank you!’ she called out joyously to the voice in her
   1.838 +head.
   1.839 +
   1.840 +‘If you’re that thankful, come back home and open the door,’ the
   1.841 +voice pleaded. It sounded sad, desperate, lonely. ‘I need you, Kairi.’
   1.842 +
   1.843 +‘I.. I can’t..’ She was taken aback by the hopelessness in the
   1.844 +voice. It was so deep. She hadn’t quite understood. Just who was it
   1.845 +behind that door? And why did it want her to open the door so badly?
   1.846 +But she couldn’t think about that now. The woman had already turned,
   1.847 +and Kefka didn’t look pleased. She got to her feet, but he backed her
   1.848 +into a corner.
   1.849 +
   1.850 +“I don’t know how you did that, but that just means we’ll have to do
   1.851 +this the hard way. I will get that Keyblade. And you will use it for
   1.852 +me.” The woman handed him the Slave Crown. Reaching out, he grabbed a
   1.853 +hold of Kairi’s blouse, yanking her forward. She fell, her feet
   1.854 +pulled out from under her, but he held her tightly with one hand,
   1.855 +pulling up the crown with the other. “We’ll wipe away this universe,
   1.856 +you and I. Whether you want to or not.”
   1.857 +
   1.858 +Kairi kicked at him, but it didn’t do any good. He was too strong,
   1.859 +too powerful for her. And her friends were still locked up. She had
   1.860 +gotten out of her bonds, but that didn’t help her situation at all.
   1.861 +She tried to pull away, but it was no good. She ached, hanging from
   1.862 +his arm, her body straining to get away. He barely seemed to notice.
   1.863 +‘Please help me..’ she called again. But this time the voice was
   1.864 +silent. There was nothing she could do. 
   1.865 +
   1.866 +“Remember, Kairi, within every heart is a light that will never fade
   1.867 +away. Even in the darkest heart. You need to unlock that light,” she
   1.868 +could remember someone saying. It had been the cloaked figure she had
   1.869 +met after she first entered the door. He had been trying to convince
   1.870 +her to use the Keyblade.
   1.871 +
   1.872 +“Within every heart..” Kairi whispered, “there is light.” The Slave
   1.873 +Crown inches above her head, the young princess shoved the Keyblade
   1.874 +into Kefka’s chest. She felt it push into him, not into his body but
   1.875 +into his heart. Kefka froze, his eyes wide, stunned. She felt the key
   1.876 +fit in, as if slipping into a lock. Kefka’s eyes burned in rage as he
   1.877 +struggled to bring the crown onto her head. Kairi quickly turned the
   1.878 +key, hearing it unlock something inside of him. Light began to bathe
   1.879 +the Keyblade, spilling out of Kefka, illuminating the dark room. She
   1.880 +was swallowed by the light.
   1.881 +
   1.882 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
   1.883 +
   1.884 +She could feel herself floating. She didn’t know which way was up
   1.885 +and which was down. She simply floated along in a sea of light. She
   1.886 +could see it wash over the darkness, dispersing it. Fear was far away
   1.887 +from her. She simply felt the warmth of the light. It surrounded her,
   1.888 +soothing her lonely soul. 
   1.889 +
   1.890 +“You have unlocked the light in the heart of Madness,” she heard
   1.891 +someone say, the voice resonating around her, within her. 
   1.892 +
   1.893 +“I was the first Magitek Knight. The experiment. I became the
   1.894 +strongest. But I lost my mind in the process. Was it a fair trade? It
   1.895 +drove me insane. My world became madness. My only goal was to
   1.896 +eliminate everything, to create a monument to oblivion. It was the
   1.897 +only way to quell the madness. To take revenge for my lost sanity. It
   1.898 +was the only refuge I could find. And I wrapped myself up in it,
   1.899 +ready to face the world, to bring it to a crumbling nothingness. But
   1.900 +now.. I see things clearly. The world is not colored by the madness
   1.901 +anymore. I am free.”
   1.902 +
   1.903 +Sights bombarded her as she heard Kefka speak. The first Magitek
   1.904 +Knight experiment that left him warped and twisted. His descent into
   1.905 +madness. His search for blissful oblivion. She watched it all through
   1.906 +his eyes, feeling the tinge of madness that had once spread across
   1.907 +his heart. And then the light accepted her again, embracing her. 
   1.908 +
   1.909 +And she was swept along in the light, lost in the stream.
   1.910 +
   1.911 +