1.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
     1.2 +++ b/old/stories/prismhearts-06.txt	Fri Feb 19 20:53:12 2010 -0500
     1.3 @@ -0,0 +1,775 @@
     1.4 +
     1.5 +Prism Hearts
     1.6 +Chapter 6
     1.7 +The Wanderer of Time
     1.8 +by Amazoness Duo
     1.9 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
    1.10 +
    1.11 +
    1.12 +Kairi sat on the small bed in the room she had found herself in,
    1.13 +listening halfheartedly to the waves crashing outside the open
    1.14 +window. The large cloth drapes that hung in front of them to block
    1.15 +out the tropical sun swung lazily about in the breeze. It was
    1.16 +tranquil here, almost like the Destiny Islands. Her thoughts, on the
    1.17 +other hand, were anything but calm.
    1.18 +
    1.19 +So she could find Riku. If she could find the Door to the Light, she
    1.20 +could unlock it and save him. She and Sora were both looking for it,
    1.21 +so they might stumble upon each other along the way. But to unlock
    1.22 +the door, she had to seal off the Keyholes in the hearts of those who
    1.23 +were after her. It was a daunting task. Could she even do it? She had
    1.24 +barely sealed the Keyhole in Kefka’s heart before being controlled by
    1.25 +the Slave Crown. She shivered at the thought of having to do that
    1.26 +again. And again. Until all the Keyholes were sealed.
    1.27 +
    1.28 +But what choice did she have? Giving up would mean never seeing Riku
    1.29 +again. How could she give up on him? He would never have given up on
    1.30 +her. He tried till the very end to save her. Now it was her turn to
    1.31 +save him. She had to do her best to find him. No matter what the
    1.32 +challenges. Now if only she could find out where to go next.
    1.33 +
    1.34 +Kairi sighed, drawing her legs up underneath herself. It wasn’t just
    1.35 +one world she had to navigate, but many. All linked together by the
    1.36 +darkness. When Sora had sealed away the Heartless, the worlds had
    1.37 +been separated. It was the darkness that eroded the barriers between
    1.38 +the worlds. It seemed ironic that her chance to find her friends had
    1.39 +been granted by the return of the darkness. That the only way to
    1.40 +travel from world to world was to travel across the expanses of
    1.41 +shadow that each world gave off. Yet here she was, fighting against
    1.42 +the darkness yet using it to move about to do so. 
    1.43 +
    1.44 +She paused in her thoughts for a moment. Was she really fighting
    1.45 +against the darkness? Yuffie was. She knew that. But what about
    1.46 +herself? All she wanted was to find Riku and Sora again. The rest was
    1.47 +all secondary to her.  She would save Riku even if she had to open
    1.48 +the Door to the Darkness. 
    1.49 +
    1.50 +Petting the kitten absentmindedly, she sighed. Some Keyblade
    1.51 +Mistress she made. But it was true. Her priority was to find her
    1.52 +friends, the boys who meant so much to her. That’s why she had
    1.53 +started this journey, after all, not to seal off the Heartless. She
    1.54 +could figure out what to do after she could throw herself into the
    1.55 +arms of the boys she loved. She winced at the thought. She couldn’t
    1.56 +even decide between them. Both of them were too important to her. 
    1.57 +
    1.58 +Frowning, Kairi scratched at the kitten’s chin. It looked back at
    1.59 +her with its strange green eyes. “At least you don’t care if I can’t
    1.60 +decide. What do you think I should do, Jessie?”
    1.61 +
    1.62 +The kitten looked back at the princess and meowed, it’s tail
    1.63 +swishing lightly back and forth. 
    1.64 +
    1.65 +Kairi giggled and nodded. “Good idea. There’s nothing I can do yet.
    1.66 +So I’ll just keep looking for them for now. Everything else can wait.”
    1.67 +
    1.68 +The kitten stared at the girl for a moment. Meowing, it shook its
    1.69 +head. This was really getting frustrating. It meowed again,
    1.70 +insistently, but the princess’s thoughts were on other things at the
    1.71 +moment. She couldn’t understand anyway. Maybe Yuffie would, somehow.
    1.72 +There had to be some way to get across to these people. ‘Jessie’ lay
    1.73 +there for a moment, trying to think. Nothing was getting done this
    1.74 +way. It had to do something. Otherwise... The kitten shuddered. It
    1.75 +meowed louder, but that just got Kairi to pet further. Sighing
    1.76 +inwardly, the kitten stood up. Desperate times called for desperate
    1.77 +measures. 
    1.78 +
    1.79 +“Owww!!” Kairi pulled back, holding her hand. Pain shot through one
    1.80 +of her fingers and for a moment she couldn’t tell what had happened.
    1.81 +It was just a sharp and immediate pain. The first thought that came
    1.82 +to mind was that she had pricked herself, that she would fall asleep
    1.83 +until her prince could come and awaken her with a kiss. She wouldn’t
    1.84 +be at all surprised with how strange things had been lately. But what
    1.85 +could she have pricked herself on?  Looking down at her hand, she saw
    1.86 +bright crimson welling up. It slowly began to clarify in her mind,
    1.87 +the mists lifting. She’d been bitten. “Jessie?” she said
    1.88 +questioningly, looking down at the odd kitten. It leapt off the bed,
    1.89 +scurrying out the door. What had gotten into her? With a mix of
    1.90 +anxiety and concern, Kairi chased after the kitten. “Jessie, wait!
    1.91 +You’ll get lost!” She had no idea what was out here or even where she
    1.92 +was. She didn’t want to lose her only constant companion. Even if it
    1.93 +had bitten her. Had something frightened Jessie? Or maybe... Maybe
    1.94 +she’d been trying to get her attention. But for what?
    1.95 +
    1.96 +Running through the small house, Kairi nearly ran into a woman in a
    1.97 +bandana. The woman caught her by the shoulders as she began to
    1.98 +stumble backwards. “Oh, you startled me. Are you all right? You must
    1.99 +have gotten the rest you needed. You’ve been sleeping for days.”
   1.100 +
   1.101 +Kairi finally regained her balance. Recovering from her shock, a
   1.102 +hand over her heart, she nodded. “Yeah, I’m much better now. I just
   1.103 +woke up a little while ago.” ‘I think,’ she added to herself. ‘It’s
   1.104 +hard to tell where I am and when I’m awake anymore.’
   1.105 +
   1.106 +“Good. When you and your friends washed up on shore, we were all
   1.107 +worried. Your friends woke up shortly, but you wouldn’t rise. You
   1.108 +needed someplace to stay, so I was glad to offer my son’s room.
   1.109 +You’ve been sleeping there ever since. I’ve been keeping an eye on
   1.110 +you. I didn’t know if you’d ever wake up. I’m glad that you did.”
   1.111 +Marge smiled softly, in her motherly way. 
   1.112 +
   1.113 +The look warmed Kairi’s heart, something about it very familiar.
   1.114 +‘Mom,’ she thought, her heart starting to ache as dim memories
   1.115 +taunted her, flitting away as she tried to grasp them. ‘I miss you,
   1.116 +mom.’ Forcing herself back to the present before her memories, or
   1.117 +lack thereof, could drag her back down into despair, she smiled at
   1.118 +the woman. “Thank you for taking care of me, ma’am.” Her thanks were
   1.119 +heartfelt. It was so nice to know that someone had cared enough to
   1.120 +take care of her while she had been unconscious. “I’ll have to thank
   1.121 +your son, too, before I leave for letting me use his room.”
   1.122 +
   1.123 +Marge’s smile didn’t fade, but it did gain a sad quality to it. “My
   1.124 +son, Serge, died at sea ten years ago. That’s why I wanted to do all
   1.125 +I could for you. I couldn’t let another sweet young soul be taken by
   1.126 +the sea.”
   1.127 +
   1.128 +“I’m... I’m so sorry...” Kairi stammered, at a loss for words. After
   1.129 +this woman had helped her, had given her a place to stay, she felt
   1.130 +terrible at the helplessness that consumed her. She couldn’t repay
   1.131 +this woman in the least, had only been able to bring up an old wound.
   1.132 +Hadn’t Sora been able to help people as he travelled from world to
   1.133 +world? So far she seemed to cause trouble wherever she went. Like she
   1.134 +was some kind of cosmic jinx, a harbinger of horrible things to come.
   1.135 +Her arrival signified something terrible to come. At least it felt
   1.136 +like that.
   1.137 +
   1.138 +The mother shook her head, dismissing Kairi’s apology. “It’s
   1.139 +nothing, dear. You didn’t know. And I’m sure he’d be happy to know
   1.140 +his room was getting some use. Perhaps his spirit is what pulled you
   1.141 +to shore.” She smiled at the thought. “Now run along before your
   1.142 +kitten gets into trouble. You wouldn’t want her picking a fight with
   1.143 +Poshul.”
   1.144 +
   1.145 +“Yeah, you’re right,” Kairi said, snapping out of her bout of self-
   1.146 +pity. Giggling slightly, she nodded. “Can’t let her get too far
   1.147 +away.” She hurried to the door, turning to wave over her shoulder at
   1.148 +the doorway. “Thanks for everything, ma’am!” The woman smiled and
   1.149 +waved back as she dashed out the door. 
   1.150 +
   1.151 +‘Mom was like that. Someone you could talk to. Someone who always
   1.152 +had a comforting thing to say. And her hands felt so nice when she’d
   1.153 +rub my back when I was crying, or when she’d wipe the tears from my
   1.154 +eyes. I fell asleep crying on her lap so often.’ Kairi shook her head
   1.155 +at the unbidden thoughts. They felt like her own, but they couldn’t
   1.156 +be real. She didn’t know her mother. She couldn’t remember anything
   1.157 +before showing up on the Destiny Islands. 
   1.158 +
   1.159 +‘Just keep telling yourself that,’ she heard deep in her thoughts.
   1.160 +Her fists clenched as she walked through the small fishing village.
   1.161 +She couldn’t tell if it was good or not that she was getting these
   1.162 +thoughts of her mother. She certainly didn’t like the picture they
   1.163 +were painting of her. Some depressed, lonely, dependent girl. She
   1.164 +wasn’t like that at all. But at the same time, she had to admit that
   1.165 +she missed her mother terribly. At least Sora and Riku had parents on
   1.166 +the island. She had been an orphan, raised by the people living
   1.167 +there. But that wasn’t the same. The thought that she actually had a
   1.168 +mother, had known her, was both exciting and terrifying. 
   1.169 +
   1.170 +‘What was your home like?’ Sora had asked.
   1.171 +
   1.172 +‘I don’t remember. I can’t remember anything before I got here,’ she
   1.173 +had answered.
   1.174 +
   1.175 +‘I want to go see it with you someday,’ he said.
   1.176 +
   1.177 +She had smiled at him. ‘I’d like that.’ 
   1.178 +
   1.179 +But now... She had wanted to find out who she was. She had wanted to
   1.180 +find out where her home was. But the closer she got to figuring that
   1.181 +out, the more she wondered if maybe she didn’t want the answers after
   1.182 +all. Maybe she had forgotten on purpose. She had been happy on the
   1.183 +Destiny Islands. Hadn't that been enough? But now, to regain that
   1.184 +happiness, to save her friends, she may have to open a Pandora’s Box
   1.185 +that could destroy that happiness forever. She didn’t know what she
   1.186 +was supposed to do.
   1.187 +
   1.188 +“Meow!” 
   1.189 +
   1.190 +Kairi blinked her eyes open quickly, spotting the insistent kitten.
   1.191 +It meowed at her again before scurrying off. “Wait! Jessie!” The
   1.192 +princess took off after the kitten. Whatever it was thinking, it sure
   1.193 +was insistent. At least the chase took her mind off of things.
   1.194 +Running out of the village, Kairi focussed on the kitten bounding
   1.195 +along in front of her.
   1.196 +
   1.197 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
   1.198 +
   1.199 +“So how did you end up with that bossy little housewife?” Yuffie
   1.200 +asked, kicking some sand in front of herself. Relm was currently
   1.201 +hanging onto her, arms encircling the ninja’s waist. Yuffie had tried
   1.202 +valiantly to get Relm back, but it never lasted for more than a few
   1.203 +seconds. She’d finally gotten tired of fighting the artist off and
   1.204 +was currently just tolerating it. This didn’t mean she’d given up, of
   1.205 +course. Just that she didn’t feel like fighting at the moment. Yeah,
   1.206 +that was it.
   1.207 +
   1.208 +“Shut yer mouth.” Kid didn’t look amused. She was currently
   1.209 +searching the area for tiny lizards to make a necklace for the above
   1.210 +stated bossy housewife. It was more work than it should have been.
   1.211 +She was starting to think that it would be easier to just steal a
   1.212 +necklace. Or maybe Yuffie’s chatter was just scaring the Komodo
   1.213 +Dragons off. In either case, she needed to get another scale or two
   1.214 +to finish off that necklace or she’d be sleeping on the couch. Again.
   1.215 +Luckily, Leena's grandma had such bad eyesight that she actually
   1.216 +thought Kid was a boy. Not that Kid was happy with the idea, but
   1.217 +Leena said it was easier that way. And who was she to argue? 
   1.218 +
   1.219 +Sighing, Kid shrugged. “It just kinda happened. I came back to my
   1.220 +homeworld ‘cause we’ve got a relic here called the Frozen Flame. I
   1.221 +came to El Nido looking for it. I figured if I could get my hands on
   1.222 +it, the Heartless wouldn’t be a problem anymore. Anyway, so I started
   1.223 +off lookin’ in Arni and I met up with Leena she wound up insistin’
   1.224 +that she go along. To keep me outta trouble. I argued, but that girl
   1.225 +has a way of getting her way. We looked all over for the blasted
   1.226 +thing, a few other people joining us along the way. Along with this
   1.227 +crazy harlequin. We finally tracked it down to the Sea of Eden where
   1.228 +it was locked away by Fate. We tried to bust in, but it wouldn’t
   1.229 +work. We were tryin’ to find another plan when we found out the
   1.230 +harlequin had gone missin’. Turned out she was working with the
   1.231 +Dragon Gods. She wound up summoning the six of them and they totaled
   1.232 +the place. We barely got outta there before it went up. Seems she was
   1.233 +usin’ us to distract Fate long enough for the Dragon Gods to get
   1.234 +together.” Kid sighed, lookin around in a hole for the smaller
   1.235 +dragons. “So no Frozen Flame after all. Otherwise we coulda stopped
   1.236 +the Heartless by now.”
   1.237 +
   1.238 +Yuffie laughed, shaking her head. “Don’t worry about the Heartless.
   1.239 +World saving should be left to the professionals. I’ll handle them. I
   1.240 +even have the Keyblade Mistress on my party, so we’re set.”
   1.241 +
   1.242 +“I know you’ll be able to stop them, Yuffie,” Relm added perkily,
   1.243 +her head snugly against Yuffie’s shoulder. “And I’ll follow wherever
   1.244 +you go.”
   1.245 +
   1.246 +Kid grinned, raising an eyebrow. “You were sayin’ something about my
   1.247 +choice in girlfriends?”
   1.248 +
   1.249 +“Oh, shut up.” Yuffie’s eyes narrowed. She was tempted to extricate
   1.250 +herself from the artist and wipe the smirk off of Kid’s face, but it
   1.251 +was much more trouble than it was worth.
   1.252 +
   1.253 +“Anyway, Leena and I kinda happened along the way. Can’t say when,
   1.254 +exactly. Except that we did spend a hell of a night at the Termina
   1.255 +inn.” The thief shook her head, dispersing pleasant memories. “It
   1.256 +just seemed before I knew it, she had me hooked. So now I’m stuck in
   1.257 +a tiny fishing village because she’s happiest there. I didn’t see
   1.258 +that comin’. Me in some little village on some island somewhere. But
   1.259 +it’s starting to be home. And it’s nice to finally have one.”
   1.260 +
   1.261 +Yuffie nodded thoughtfully. “I guess that makes sense. Yeah, I
   1.262 +didn’t imagine that either. I guess I never thought of you as
   1.263 +settling down. It’s gonna be hard to break the news to the rest of
   1.264 +the Radical Dreamers.” And it was strange for her to see the other
   1.265 +thief there, living such an ordinary life. But Kid seemed happier
   1.266 +than she’d ever seen her. Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. She shook
   1.267 +her head. Not too bad for Kid, maybe. But she wasn’t about to settle
   1.268 +down anytime soon. Nope, still too much to do. Nothing was going to
   1.269 +hold her down.
   1.270 +
   1.271 + “So how did you wind up with this cute little artist, Yuffie? I
   1.272 +thought you weren’t lookin’ for anybody,” Kid teased. 
   1.273 +
   1.274 +“I’m not with her...”
   1.275 +
   1.276 +“I nursed her back to health and it was just Fate. We were meant to
   1.277 +be.”
   1.278 +
   1.279 +Yuffie and Relm both spoke at the same time, their sentences
   1.280 +tumbling together.
   1.281 +
   1.282 +Kid laughed, her hands on her hips. “Well, I’m sure glad I’m not the
   1.283 +only one ditching the Radical Dreamers for my girlfriend. It makes it
   1.284 +a hell of a lot easier that way.”
   1.285 +
   1.286 +“She’s not my girlfriend. She’s.. Oww!” Yuffie’s eyes went from
   1.287 +narrowed to widened in a split second. She looked down to an
   1.288 +innocently smiling Relm. Her stomach felt as if it had been pinched
   1.289 +rather harshly. 
   1.290 +
   1.291 +“Oh, Kid, you’re embarrassing Yuffie!” Relm chided, still smiling.
   1.292 +If Yuffie wasn’t going to go along willingly, then she’d just have to
   1.293 +take matters into her own hands. Literally, if necessary. It was
   1.294 +Fate. It had to be. And she wasn’t going to let her ninja get away
   1.295 +just because she had a case of cold feet.
   1.296 +
   1.297 +“Alright, I’ll lay off for a bit, then.” Kid winked at the fuming
   1.298 +ninja. Something finally caught her eye, drawing away her attention
   1.299 +from the ‘lovebirds’. “Ah! There the little devil is.”
   1.300 +
   1.301 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
   1.302 +
   1.303 +Kairi ran along the beach, staying away from the water. She had
   1.304 +enough water to last her a good long while. She had lost track of the
   1.305 +kitten, so she was relying on the little footprints in the sand. They
   1.306 +were leading further along the beach. She had to be around somewhere.
   1.307 +“There you are!” Kairi pulled to a stop near the tiny kitten,
   1.308 +catching her breath. “You shouldn’t have run away like that. You
   1.309 +don’t know if it’s safe here. You might have...” She trailed off,
   1.310 +that thought half finished. Kneeling in the sand, she looked down at
   1.311 +the kitten. It was hard at work pawing away some sand. Scrawled in
   1.312 +the sand, she could read ‘I’m Rik...’ from what the kitten had
   1.313 +already written. “Riku?” she asked, her heart caught in her chest.
   1.314 +
   1.315 +The kitten’s ears perked up. It’s efforts to dig forgotten, it
   1.316 +turned around quickly, nodding excitedly. 
   1.317 +
   1.318 +“You’re Riku?” The ground underneath her seemed to drop away,
   1.319 +leaving her tumbling. “You’ve been here all this time? I... Riku!”
   1.320 +She lunged forward, holding onto the kitten as tightly as she could.
   1.321 +The surprised kittens claws pressed into her exposed flesh, but she
   1.322 +was too ecstatic to care about such trivial things. “I’ve been
   1.323 +looking for so long. I was scared I wouldn’t find you. But I wouldn’t
   1.324 +give up. I couldn’t. Not after all you did to save my heart.” A laugh
   1.325 +behind her made her whirl about, kitten still in her arms.
   1.326 +
   1.327 +“Izn’t zat adorable? You two make such a cute couple!” Sitting on a
   1.328 +rocky outcropping, a harlequin grinned at the scene before her. “But
   1.329 +it is improper for me to watch without an introduction from moi,
   1.330 +izn’t it? I am Harle.” Hopping down, she walked over to the princess,
   1.331 +bowing low. “And you, mon petit, are Kairi. It iz a pleasure to meet
   1.332 +you. You are prettier than ze oceans themselves.” Taking Kairi’s
   1.333 +hand, she kissed it, her hand lingering for a moment before pulling
   1.334 +away. 
   1.335 +
   1.336 +“Who are you?” Kairi asked at last, completely confused by the
   1.337 +newcomer. But the voice did sound familiar... It finally clicked.
   1.338 +“You’re from my dream! Or was that a dream? You were there when I was
   1.339 +lying on the beach. And in bed. Both.” She shook her head. This was
   1.340 +getting even more confusing.
   1.341 +
   1.342 +The harlequin laughed, nodding. “Exactement. I was watching over
   1.343 +you, yes. Someone has to. You aren’t doing such a good job of it
   1.344 +yourself. So I have appointed myself to keep an eye on Mademoiselle
   1.345 +Kairi.”
   1.346 +
   1.347 +Kairi frowned, holding the kitten closer. The kitten watched the
   1.348 +harlequin cautiously. “Does everyone always have to talk in riddles?
   1.349 +I never get any straight answers.”
   1.350 +
   1.351 +“It iz much, much more fun speaking in riddles.” Harle laughed,
   1.352 +walking around the Keyblade Mistress. “Things are not as one
   1.353 +dimensional as you think. It is not about realitie and dreams. It iz
   1.354 +about your Fate. What iz real, what iz not, this does not matter.”
   1.355 +
   1.356 +“Yes it does! If it’s not real, then why should I bother?!” Kairi
   1.357 +nearly screamed in frustration. If all of this was just some dream,
   1.358 +then why try at all? What good would it do if she would just wake up
   1.359 +sooner or later to find herself in that horrid room?
   1.360 +
   1.361 +The harlequin’s smile disappeared. She watched Kairi carefully for a
   1.362 +long moment. “Why do you live? Why do you die? Will you change ze
   1.363 +world? Or will you change yourself? These questions are more
   1.364 +important than ‘what is real or not’, no? What is realitie anyway but
   1.365 +what people tell you iz real. What you see, feel, hear, zat iz real.
   1.366 +You see, feel, and hear all zis. So it iz real. You see, feel, and
   1.367 +hear there. So zat iz real. It does not matter which iz more real. It
   1.368 +only matters how much you are willing to give, how much you are
   1.369 +willing to believe. What will you fight for, Kairi? Ziz realitie?
   1.370 +Your friends? Ze Light? Or Ze Darkness? Which will you have faith in?
   1.371 +Which will you side with in ze end?”
   1.372 +
   1.373 +Kairi couldn’t answer. Her world felt like it was spinning. The
   1.374 +harlequin’s words tumbled through her head in a rush. She felt
   1.375 +compelled to make a decision, but she knew she had none yet. But it
   1.376 +was true. This was no less real than her ‘room’. And vice versa.
   1.377 +Which made it even more difficult to determine which was real. And,
   1.378 +like Harle had said, did it really matter? She couldn’t answer that.
   1.379 +Not yet. “I just want to get my friends back,” she answered after a
   1.380 +long pause.
   1.381 +
   1.382 +“You are not ready yet to decide? It can wait for now. You should
   1.383 +think out your decision anyway, to make sure it’s what iz truly in
   1.384 +your heart. If you do not follow you’re heart, you are nothing more
   1.385 +than a lie.” Harle shrugged. Leaning forward, she scratched under the
   1.386 +kitten’s chin. “But if you want to return your friend to normal, you
   1.387 +only need ze Dragon’s Tear. It can bring back zeir normal form.”
   1.388 +
   1.389 +Pushing off her concerns for the moment, Kairi stepped forward. “It
   1.390 +can? Where is it?! I need it for Riku.” She had been happy just to
   1.391 +know he was close again. That he had been so close to her this whole
   1.392 +time, giving her strength. If he could actually be right next to her
   1.393 +again... She had to find it. She had to return Riku back to his old
   1.394 +self. And she would hug him so tightly and never ever let him go
   1.395 +again. 
   1.396 +
   1.397 +“Ze thief has it. She stole it while we were in Viper Manor. It has
   1.398 +no value to her, though. She was merely searching for the Frozen
   1.399 +Flame. Perhaps she will let you use it, no?” The harlequin suggested.
   1.400 +“Though she can be quite nasty, so I wouldn’t trust her with it for
   1.401 +long.”
   1.402 +
   1.403 +“The thief?” Kairi asked, blinking. The only thief she knew of was
   1.404 +Yuffie. And she hadn’t seen Yuffie since she had awoken. Some noise
   1.405 +from behind caught her attention. She turned around just in time to
   1.406 +see three girls make their way onto the beach. 
   1.407 +
   1.408 +“Kairi!” Yuffie called out, a note of relief in her voice. She had
   1.409 +started to worry that the Keyblade Mistress would never wake up.
   1.410 +Without her, there wasn’t much hope of stopping the Heartless. Of
   1.411 +course, she’d never let her worries show. She was the greatest ninja
   1.412 +ever, after all. It was bad form to let anyone know she was worried
   1.413 +about things.
   1.414 +
   1.415 +“What the bloody hell is she doin’ here?” Kid, on the other hand,
   1.416 +didn’t like the scene before her at all. There was the princess, but
   1.417 +she was with Harle, a servant of the Dragon Gods. And the last she
   1.418 +had seen of Harle had been when the harlequin had destroyed their
   1.419 +only chance to retrieve the Frozen Flame. She unsheathed her knife.
   1.420 +“Get away from her, Kairi! She’s a bloody demon.”
   1.421 +
   1.422 +“So speaks ze dirty dog. I should have known I couldn’t expect a
   1.423 +warm reception from you. And I am not a demon.” Her eyes narrowed as
   1.424 +she strolled towards the thief, her hands on her hips.
   1.425 +
   1.426 +“Slave girl to the Dragon Gods, demon, I don’t see much of a
   1.427 +difference,” Kid shot back, still clutching her dagger. “You ain’t
   1.428 +getting rid of the Keyblade Mistress. You may have stopped us from
   1.429 +getting the Frozen Flame, but I ain’t about to let ya kill our last
   1.430 +hope.”
   1.431 +
   1.432 +Harle broke out into spiels of laughter. “You have got it all wrong.
   1.433 +I have come to give Mademoiselle Kairi my blessing. The blessing of
   1.434 +all the Dragon Gods. They have a vested interest in her journey,
   1.435 +after all.” Stepping back to Kairi, she leaned forward, kissing the
   1.436 +princess on both cheeks before letting her go. She giggled at the
   1.437 +startled look on Kairi’s face and the faint blush on her cheeks. “And
   1.438 +so cute, too! I will enjoy this job much more than my last.” Winking
   1.439 +at Kairi, she turned back to Kid. “And how dare you call me zis slave
   1.440 +girl! Bahamut is no one’s slave girl!”
   1.441 +
   1.442 +“Bahamut?” Yuffie asked, blinking. “What does the king of all
   1.443 +dragons have to do with this?”
   1.444 +
   1.445 +Another giggle before the harlequin curtsied greeted Yuffie’s
   1.446 +statement. “Because Bahamut is standing right before you. I am
   1.447 +Bahamut, ze Dragon God. It iz a pleazure to make your acquaintance.
   1.448 +At least one of you has some respect.” She gave Kid another dirty
   1.449 +look. “Zis iz merely my human form. I thought it would be easier to
   1.450 +travel around El Nido zis way. I am slightly more noticeable as a
   1.451 +dragon.”
   1.452 +
   1.453 +Kid blinked in surprise. She suddenly had the thought that attacking
   1.454 +Harle would be a very affective form of suicide. She had thought the
   1.455 +jester was merely working for the Dragon Gods, not that she was the
   1.456 +head of them. “But.. why would you do all of this yourself? Why not
   1.457 +send someone else?”
   1.458 +
   1.459 +Harle shook her head, dismissing the thought. “If you want something
   1.460 +done, as they say, you must do it yourself. Besides, I could not let
   1.461 +you get a hold of the Frozen Flame. It is a splinter of Lavos, the
   1.462 +world devourer. It would only bring about more darkness, even if you
   1.463 +did use it to stop the Heartless. Ze universe has a delicate balance
   1.464 +that you humans are always so set on ruining.” She sighed, rolling
   1.465 +her eyes. “If it is not ze balance of man and nature, it iz zat
   1.466 +between light and dark. Will you never learn?” 
   1.467 +
   1.468 +“I didn’t come here to get you preachin’ to me. You stopped us from
   1.469 +getting the Frozen Flame, isn’t that enough?” Kid was starting to get
   1.470 +irritated by all of this. As if it wasn’t bad that the harlequin had
   1.471 +ruined her chances to get a sacred relic, now she was back to taunt
   1.472 +her about things. 
   1.473 +
   1.474 +“On ze contrary, I am here to help.” Harle grinned at the look of
   1.475 +surprise on Kid’s face. “Sometimes you humans aren’t completely
   1.476 +worthless after all. And I have to admit I have a weakness for main
   1.477 +characters. They are just too sexzy.” She sighed, looking back to an
   1.478 +embarrassed Kairi. “And since that means Kairi, I will offer my
   1.479 +services to her.”
   1.480 +
   1.481 +“Not that you’d take no for an answer, I’m guessing,” Yuffie said,
   1.482 +sighing. This was getting more and more complicated all the time. Why
   1.483 +wasn’t she happy about the Dragon God joining their party? Because
   1.484 +somehow she doubted that whatever they were after was the same thing.
   1.485 +
   1.486 +“Of course not! You catch on quickly. I’m getting to like you
   1.487 +already. Much better than ze other thief.” Harle smiled.
   1.488 +
   1.489 +Relm squeezed her arms around Yuffie’s waist tighter, possessively.
   1.490 +“Yuffie’s already spoken for her.”
   1.491 +
   1.492 +Yuffie sweatdropped and was about to argue but stopped herself. Did
   1.493 +she really wanna be available around Harle? She decided to drop it
   1.494 +this time. Sighing in defeat, she could feel the younger artist still
   1.495 +pressed tightly against her side.
   1.496 +
   1.497 +Laughing, Harle shook her head. “Don’t worry, she iz not my concern.
   1.498 +I’d much rather follow Mademoiselle Kairi. Perhaps I can change her
   1.499 +mind about finding those silly boys.”
   1.500 +
   1.501 +Looking up, Kairi turned to Kid. Harle’s words had reminded her of
   1.502 +something important. She hurried over, holding the kitten tightly to
   1.503 +her heart. “Kid, I need the Dragon’s Tear. It’s the only way I can
   1.504 +change Riku back to normal.” 
   1.505 +
   1.506 +“Rikku?” Yuffie asked curiously. “Change Rikku back? Back from what?”
   1.507 +
   1.508 +“The cat,” Kairi explained, holding the kitten up. It meowed, moving
   1.509 +slightly in her grasp. “It’s Riku. I just found out.”
   1.510 +
   1.511 +Yuffie stepped forward, looking at the kitten cautiously. She poked
   1.512 +and prodded it for a bit, taking a good look. 
   1.513 +
   1.514 +“Aww... Give the poor kitten a break, Yuffie. She doesn’t need you
   1.515 +poking at her,” Relm protested. “I know Interceptor wouldn’t have
   1.516 +liked it. They’re just like people.”
   1.517 +
   1.518 +“This one is a person,” Yuffie said at last, not quite hearing Relm.
   1.519 +She gazed into the kitten’s eyes for a long moment, those green
   1.520 +swirls instantly recognizable. Suddenly it made a whole lot more
   1.521 +sense why the kitten hadn’t left her alone. 
   1.522 +
   1.523 +Kairi nodded her agreement. “So we need the Dragon’s Tear to get rid
   1.524 +of this curse. Or whatever it is. I just want Riku back to normal.”
   1.525 +The thought that her quest could end there was so relieving. Well,
   1.526 +she would still have to find Sora, but with Riku helping her, she
   1.527 +knew they could find him sooner or later. And then everything would
   1.528 +be just fine again. She didn’t care about the Heartless. She just
   1.529 +wanted to be with her friends again. 
   1.530 +
   1.531 +“I don’t see why I ‘ave to give ya the Dragon’s Tear. I mean, it
   1.532 +doesn’t do anythin’ and I did steal it fair. Might even get a fair
   1.533 +price off of it on the mainland and buy a place for me an’ Leena,”
   1.534 +Kid was saying, not wanting to relinquish her precious treasure. 
   1.535 +
   1.536 +“Oh, just give it to them, Kid. I don’t want to move into some place
   1.537 +you buy with dirty money anyway. I want you to get a real job,” a
   1.538 +redhead said, almost appearing out of nowhere. She walked over, her
   1.539 +hands on her hips, standing next to the thief. “I don’t care about
   1.540 +that anyway. I just want to know if you got the scales for my
   1.541 +necklace.”
   1.542 +
   1.543 +Kid nodded quickly, holding up a bag. “Yep, got ‘em all here. An’
   1.544 +they’ll make a gorgeous necklace, Leena. You’ll look absolutely
   1.545 +darlin’ in them.” She smiled brightly, hoping she could still salvage
   1.546 +this situation. ‘Crap! She did say she’d meet me on the beach, didn’t
   1.547 +she? If I hadn’t been so sidetracked here by the damn clown...’
   1.548 +
   1.549 +“Oh, Kid!” Leena hugged the thief tightly, her legs lifting into the
   1.550 +air as she did, nearly sending herself and Kid sprawling to the sand.
   1.551 +“I knew you’d get them for me.” Her feet finally landed back on the
   1.552 +sand, her arms around Kid’s shoulders. She kissed Kid softly on the
   1.553 +lips before stepping back, her hands still on Kid’s shoulders. She
   1.554 +smiled, pleased with her girlfriend. “Now give them the Dragon’s
   1.555 +Tear,” she reminded the blonde.
   1.556 +
   1.557 +Kid sighed inwardly and rifled through her satchel. There went all
   1.558 +the money she had been counting on the relic raking in. But if she
   1.559 +wanted Leena to stay in the good mood she was in, she might as well
   1.560 +hand it over. It wasn’t like she could say no to the bossy young
   1.561 +housewife-to-be anyway.On top of that, Yuffie was giving her a rather
   1.562 +intent stare. Apparently the ninja wanted her to hand it over as
   1.563 +well. “’Ere it is. Knock yourselves out.”
   1.564 +
   1.565 +Yuffie and Kairi both grabbed for it at the same time. Yuffie
   1.566 +finally took the thing after Kairi hesitated, setting it in the sand.
   1.567 +“Okay, now how does this thing work anyway?”
   1.568 +
   1.569 +Kairi was busy petting the kitten, holding it close. “Poor Riku.
   1.570 +Don’t worry. We’ll have you back to normal in just a moment. I
   1.571 +promise.” She kissed the kitten’s forehead. Riku had done so much for
   1.572 +her. Now she could finally repay him. She’d lost her heart and he had
   1.573 +tried his hardest to save it. Now she could help him regain his body.
   1.574 +
   1.575 +“Just let the kitten gaze into ze Dragon’s Tear. I would say to take
   1.576 +it to Fort Dragonia, but zat is largely ceremonial. Gazing into it
   1.577 +should be enough. Ze Dragon’s Tear will help wash away your friend’s
   1.578 +new body, returning it to itz original form.  
   1.579 +
   1.580 +“We can have it back when yer done, right?” Kid asked curiously.
   1.581 +Leena sighed next to her, crossing her arms. “Not that it’s important
   1.582 +or anythin’.”
   1.583 +
   1.584 +“I don’t care what you do with it after Riku’s back.” Kairi finally
   1.585 +set the kitten down on the sand, stepping back. She wished there was
   1.586 +more she could do, but for now all she could do was watch. This was
   1.587 +like when Sora had been turned into a Heartless. She had helped him
   1.588 +find himself. She could only pray she could do the same for Riku. He
   1.589 +was a cute kitten, granted, but she wanted him back to his old self. 
   1.590 +
   1.591 +“Whatever. Like Rikku hasn’t been stuck like this long enough. Not
   1.592 +that I can’t imagine who’s fault that could be,” Yuffie said
   1.593 +sarcastically. Kneeling, her hands on her knees, she stared at the
   1.594 +kitten with an eyebrow raised. The kitten looked back up at her
   1.595 +sheepishly. 
   1.596 +
   1.597 +The kitten turned on the sand, looking at the glowing blue crystal
   1.598 +before it. It had an inner light like a sun underneath the ocean, a
   1.599 +brilliant blue that seemed to sparkle. The kitten took another step
   1.600 +forward, staring into the Dragon’s Tear. The world almost seemed to
   1.601 +blur, as if it had been looking at it for too long. The kitten
   1.602 +blinked, but the world still felt distorted. The Dragon’s Tear was
   1.603 +glowing brighter now. Then it happened. It started staring right back
   1.604 +at the kitten. The kitten yelped in surprise, but it was too late. It
   1.605 +was already caught in the relic’s gaze. The world rippled as if a
   1.606 +rain drop had fallen upon a puddle, distorting and pulsing out away
   1.607 +from the kitten. And then it was over.
   1.608 +
   1.609 +The catgirl lay there in the sand, slowly regaining consciousness.
   1.610 +She was naked except for the sandy blonde fur that covered her body.
   1.611 +She slowly got to her knees, her paws pushing against the sand. Her
   1.612 +head was still swimming from the reality altering abilities of the
   1.613 +Dragon’s Tear. “Owww...” she winced, rubbing at her temples. Being
   1.614 +reborn was an experience she never wanted to go through again. For a
   1.615 +third time? She didn’t want to think about it.
   1.616 +
   1.617 +“What the hell did it do to Riku?!?” Kairi asked, very nearly ready
   1.618 +to faint. She had been expecting to see him returned to his cute,
   1.619 +silver haired self. What she saw was a cross between a human and a
   1.620 +cat. And a girl at that. If this was her Riku, something had gone
   1.621 +pretty freakishly wrong with the Dragon’s Tear.
   1.622 +
   1.623 +“Yeah, why is she still part cat? I thought you said that thing was
   1.624 +supposed to fix her,” Yuffie said angrily. Kneeling down, she helped
   1.625 +the catgirl back to her feet. 
   1.626 +
   1.627 +“I will answer both of your questions as best as I am able.” Harle
   1.628 +bowed low before continuing. “You see, Mademoiselle Kairi, zis iz
   1.629 +indeed Rikku. But not your Rikku. She is a member of ze Radical
   1.630 +Dreamers. Am I right?” She looked up, raising an eyebrow
   1.631 +questioningly at Yuffie and Kid.
   1.632 +
   1.633 +“Yeah, it’s Rikku, all right. I’d recognize those eyes anywhere. She
   1.634 +disappeared a while back when we showed up in Traverse Town. We
   1.635 +didn’t know what happened to her,” Yuffie explained, holding the
   1.636 +dazed catgirl even as Relm held sole possession of her other arm. 
   1.637 +
   1.638 +“Yuffie!” Rikku shouted happily, coming back to her sense. She
   1.639 +grasped onto Yuffie from her other side, effectively squishing the
   1.640 +poor ninja between over-enthusiastic catgirl and love-starved artist.
   1.641 +“I was waiting for you to figure out it was me! What took you so
   1.642 +long?! I kept trying to get your attention, but you wouldn’t listen
   1.643 +to me!” the catgirl whined.
   1.644 +
   1.645 +“I had other things on my mind. How was I supposed to know that the
   1.646 +goofy little cat was you?” Yuffie asked defensively. “Besides, we
   1.647 +found out it was you. That’s what matters. And you’re back to normal.
   1.648 +Kinda.”
   1.649 +
   1.650 +“Yuffie! You didn’t tell me you already had a girlfriend...” Relm
   1.651 +was devastated. Yuffie was supposed to be her ninja, the girl she had
   1.652 +nursed back to health, who she would marry and spend the rest of her
   1.653 +life with. And now she found this other girl that Yuffie had known
   1.654 +longer who had absolutely no problem holding onto the ninja just as
   1.655 +unabashedly as she was. How could Yuffie do that to her? She'd looked
   1.656 +through all of Yuffie’s things when she had stripped her unconscious
   1.657 +form and placed some heavy blankets on her back at the cabin in
   1.658 +Narshe. She hadn’t seen anything indicating another woman in her
   1.659 +life. It was supposed to be Fate!
   1.660 +
   1.661 +“She’s not my girlfriend!” Yuffie said quickly. She would have
   1.662 +shaken her hands to emphasize the point, but her hands were currently
   1.663 +pinned to her sides by the two girls on either side of her. She
   1.664 +sighed inwardly. That was really beginning to sound like her catch
   1.665 +phrase. Fate had decided to play some cosmic prank on her. She could
   1.666 +just hear the Goddess of Fate laughing at this turn of events. “This
   1.667 +is Rikku. She’s my little sister.”
   1.668 +
   1.669 +“Yeah, and big sisters are supposed to look out for their little
   1.670 +sisters and not let them get changed into cats!” Rikku stuck her
   1.671 +scratchy tongue out at the older thief, her tail moving about in
   1.672 +frustration. 
   1.673 +
   1.674 +“Ohhhh...” Relm sighed in relief. “I’m sorry I doubted you, honey.”
   1.675 +Holding onto Yuffie’s arm tighter, the blonde artist leaned into
   1.676 +Yuffie’s side.
   1.677 +
   1.678 +“Don’t call me that!”
   1.679 +
   1.680 +Meanwhile, Kairi was still watching Harle intently. “So that wasn’t
   1.681 +my Riku, after all?” The harlequin nodded. She sighed, closing her
   1.682 +eyes. So close and yet so far. Another false lead. Once again, Riku
   1.683 +had been snatched out of her grasp. When she found him, she’d chain
   1.684 +him up and throw away the key so he’d never get taken away again. She
   1.685 +nodded resolutely. She had to get him back. Soon. ‘I’ll always be
   1.686 +thinking of you, wherever you are,’ she thought, hoping it would
   1.687 +reach him.
   1.688 +
   1.689 +“The reazon she did not turn back completely was because zis iz only
   1.690 +ze Tear of Hate. Ze Dragon’s Tear exists in two worlds. In one world,
   1.691 +it iz ze Tear of Hate. In ze other world, it iz ze Tear of Love. When
   1.692 +they are brought together, ze Dragon’s Tear is complete. Since it was
   1.693 +only ze Tear of Hate, it couldn’t completely restore her,” Harle
   1.694 +explained. She tried with all of her might not to smile. She found
   1.695 +this whole situation amusing. 
   1.696 +
   1.697 +“You mean I’m stuck like this?!” Rikku asked, mortified. She mewled
   1.698 +sadly and quickly stopped herself. She wasn’t a cat. She wasn’t. No
   1.699 +matter how much she looked like one. She sniffled, pawing at her
   1.700 +eyes. 
   1.701 +
   1.702 +“For ze time being. Unless you want to go look for ze Tear of Love.
   1.703 +But we don’t have ze time for that. We have to reach ze Door of Light
   1.704 +while we still have time.”
   1.705 +
   1.706 +Yuffie sighed, hugging Rikku with her free arm. “We’ll get you back
   1.707 +to normal when this is all over. I promise.” The catgirl looked up at
   1.708 +her, her swirling green eyes misty with tears. “Besides, this isn’t
   1.709 +so bad, is it? I mean, you make a cute catgirl, at least, right?”
   1.710 +
   1.711 +Rikku smiled slowly, looking up at the older ninja. “You really
   1.712 +think so, Yuffie?” Her tail was swishing through the air much more
   1.713 +happily now. 
   1.714 +
   1.715 +Where was Interceptor when she needed him? Her pet dog could keep
   1.716 +the catgirl a little away from her love. Relm just held tighter onto
   1.717 +her ninja girl. The last thing she needed at the moment was someone
   1.718 +else distracting Yuffie from their destiny together. 
   1.719 +
   1.720 +“How did you end up like that anyway, Rikku?” Yuffie asked, still
   1.721 +shocked that the kitten they’d been dragging around had been her
   1.722 +sister the whole time. Rikku mumbled something into her blouse.
   1.723 +“What? I couldn’t hear you.”
   1.724 +
   1.725 +Rikku bit her lip and pulled her face back from Yuffie’s blouse. She
   1.726 +didn’t want to say it again. She was too embarrassed. “... I wound up
   1.727 +stealing some things from some mage’s hotel room. But they got back
   1.728 +before I could get out of there. She was really mad and she cast a
   1.729 +spell on me. The next thing I knew, I was on the floor with
   1.730 +everything around me. She grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and
   1.731 +tossed me into the alley out back.”
   1.732 +
   1.733 +Kid nodded thoughtfully. “So that’s where ya went. We went lookin’
   1.734 +all over for ya. Yuffie was startin’ to think ya got swallowed up by
   1.735 +the Heartless or somethin’.” 
   1.736 +
   1.737 +Rikku’s eyes sparkled. “You were worried about me? Oh, Yuffie! I
   1.738 +knew you’d come looking for me!” She nearly pounced on the brunette.
   1.739 +At such close range, it almost sent all three girls sprawling. 
   1.740 +
   1.741 +Kid laughed. “Don’t listen to Yuffie’s lessons on stealin’ things
   1.742 +anymore. You’ve seen what trouble that can get ya into. It obviously
   1.743 +wasn’t good enough to get away from that mage.”
   1.744 +
   1.745 +“Will you stay out of this? My lessons are just fine, thanks. I’ll
   1.746 +teach my little sister the way I want to. You teach your kids, all
   1.747 +twenty of them, the way you want to,” Yuffie shot at the blonde.
   1.748 +
   1.749 +“I ain’t havin’ twenty kids.” Kid crossed her arms.
   1.750 +
   1.751 +“Yeah, I was thinking more around six,” Leena said thoughtfully. 
   1.752 +
   1.753 +“Six?!” Kid’s eyes widened. Leena had a wistful look on her face.
   1.754 +“I’m gonna be runnin’ a bloody orphanage just like Lucca.” She placed
   1.755 +her hands behind her head, looking up at the cobalt blue sky. Well,
   1.756 +that wouldn’t be so bad. She was sure Lucca would be happy about it.
   1.757 +
   1.758 +“So.. I have to keep looking for him. Wherever he is.” Kairi nodded,
   1.759 +trying to work up her resolve. This time she had failed. But she’d
   1.760 +keep trying. Just like he did. And eventually, she would find him.
   1.761 +And it would be the real him. And she would hold onto him until the
   1.762 +sun fell from the heavens.
   1.763 +
   1.764 +“Just remember. Ze closer you get to ze light, ze greater your
   1.765 +shadow becomes. You are going to ze source of all light. Be very
   1.766 +careful, Mademoiselle Kairi, or you will be blinded. And your shadow
   1.767 +will be too much for you to handle,” Harle warned. She turned from
   1.768 +the group, looking out toward the ocean. 
   1.769 +
   1.770 +Kairi took a step towards the harlequin. There was so much more she
   1.771 +wanted to know. And this girl, this Dragon God, seemed to have the
   1.772 +answers. Or some of them, at least. So intent was she on Harle, on
   1.773 +her still unformed questions, that it wasn’t until the water was past
   1.774 +her ankles that she took notice. Looking out to sea, she could see
   1.775 +the rough, turbulent waters. The dark, angry waves that were rushing
   1.776 +faster and faster towards them, reaching out like giant claws. She
   1.777 +thought she screamed, but it could have been merely the crash of the
   1.778 +waves. And then the sea snatched them away.