Prism Hearts

 Chapter 4

 PlanitB Remix

 by Amazoness Duo

 amazonessduo@hotmail.com

 

 

 Where had all the Heartless gone? That was the first thing that

 entered Yuffie’s mind when she first regained consciousness. The dark

 shadows were nowhere to be seen. She at first thought that they had

 been swallowed by light. All around her was an endless flow of white.

 Nothing like the black shadows that had been trying to bust down the

 door to reach her. Not that there was a door anymore either, though.

 The endless expanse of white stretched out all around her. It took a

 moment for her to realize it was snow. “Snow?” The ninja blinked. It

 didn’t snow in Traverse Town. At least not that she knew of. And

 definitely not enough to blanket it like this. Which meant... “Where

 the hell am I?” 

 

 The ninja/thief took a moment to run things over in her head. On the

 upside of things, at least she wasn’t about to get her heart devoured

 by Heartless. On the downside, she was lost out in some snowy

 wilderness in an outfit that certainly wasn’t made for it. Shivering,

 she for once wished she’d worn something a tad more conservative. The

 only warmth she received was from her scarf, but that was more for

 show than anything else. She would need to find a town and fast or

 she’d freeze to death. What a way for the great Yuffie to die, cold

 and alone in some arctic wasteland. She shuddered, holding herself to

 try to retain some body heat. 

 

 How had she ended up there in the first place? Shouldn’t the

 Heartless have broken in and grabbed her? Not that she wasn’t

 grateful, but she would like to know what threw her to some far off

 world. The girl. It had to be her. She was the Keyblade Mistress. So

 she had links to other worlds. She must have sent them here to

 escape. It was nice, but Yuffie would definitely have to ask her to

 choose a warmer place the next time they needed to run. But whatever

 the case, it seemed that Kairi was much more powerful than Sora had

 been as the Keyblade Master. He could lock worlds, but Kairi seemed

 to be able to traverse between them without the need of a Gummi Ship.

 Pretty impressive. Maybe it had been a good idea to let her tag along

 after all. Speaking of which...

 

 “Kairi?” Yuffie turned around, looking for the younger girl. But no

 one was near her. She thought that Kairi might have walked off, but

 there were no footprints, either. “Kairi?!” She looked around,

 searching for any sign of the princess. She had to be around

 somewhere, right? But she wouldn’t last long alone in that cold.

 Yuffie had to find her quickly. But where? “C’mon, think,” she

 berated herself. “She’s gotta be around here somewhere. She can’t be

 far off.” Finally, taking a wild guess, the ninja stumbled off into

 the falling snow. 

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

 She had been walking for what felt like hours. Her body felt like a

 solid chunk of ice. It hurt to move, to breathe, to think. Her body

 felt numb. Walking was becoming extremely difficult. She nearly lost

 her balance a number of times, but thankfully regained it. She knew

 that if she fell in the snow, she would never get up again. “Kairi!”

 she yelled, but her cries barely made it to her own ears. ‘I never

 should have gotten her involved. She’s just a little girl. She’s

 going to get killed because of me. You should have gone back for Leon

 and Aerith instead of thinking you could do it all on your own with

 one girl and the Keyblade,’ she thought darkly. She blinked. ‘That

 doesn’t sound like me. This cold must be getting to me. I’ll find her

 and I’ll drag her off to some town. We’ll get nice and toasty there

 and then I can get back to becoming the richest, most famous ninja

 ever.’ She laughed weakly, trying to hold onto some glimmer of hope.

 ‘Just please, please let me find her before it’s too late.’

 

 The snow seemed to roll on for an eternity before her, disappearing

 into the distance. Her weakening legs kept pushing her forward,

 though she was stumbling more and more often as the cold sapped her

 strength. She tried to keep thinking, but even that was becoming a

 chore. She just wanted to collapse, to lie down for a minute. But

 that would be a death sentence. 

 

 She had stopped wiping the snow away from her clothes. She just

 didn’t have the strength anymore. It was almost too much to just keep

 going. She wobbled, nearly dropping. ‘Just a bit further,’ she kept

 telling herself. ‘And she’ll be right there, right next to the

 entrance of some big town.’ Her vision blurred, her eyes having

 trouble focusing. But she couldn’t give up yet. There was still too

 much she had to do, too much to find, too much to have. There was too

 much to experience in life. And it would all be gone if she failed.

 If she didn’t find the girl, the Heartless would sweep across all the

 remaining worlds. And you couldn’t very well steal from anyone if

 there wasn’t anyone to steal from. 

 

 “You’re probably eating this up, Leon,” Yuffie said, her voice

 carried off by the wind. “Couldn’t do it on your own, Yuffie, you’d

 say. It was hopeless. But I’m not done yet. You just watch me. I’m

 gonna find that girl and I’m gonna drag her to some stupid town. And

 they’ll have a nice big fire and lots of food and big fur coats...”

 She trailed off, her thoughts becoming less and less coherent.

 “Actually, Leon’d probably just say ‘...’ or something. But that’s

 what he’d mean. The big depressing guy.” She moved a foot forward,

 struggling to move another step forward. “I really wish he and Aerith

 were here right now.” Another step. “But then they’d probably get mad

 at me for stealing anything. And then I’d... Tell them I was only...

 borrowing it..” Her foot refused to move, sending her collapsing face

 first into the snow. Her aching muscles didn’t feel like cooperating

 as she lay there, her whole body to exhausted. She would be blanketed

 by the snow and no one would ever find her. 

 

 “Meow!” 

 

 Yuffie lay there, her whole body feeling ice cold. She hoped this

 dying thing was quick. She was too weary to last all that long.

 ‘There better be a lot of shiny things in the Lifestream,’ she

 thought angrily. ‘If I’m gonna die, I might as well have something to

 occupy my time after I’m dead.’

 

 “Meow!!” 

 

 It was closer now, right in front of her. The ninja struggled to

 open her eyes. She stared hazily at the kitten that had been with

 Kairi. It was nuzzling her nose, trying to keep her conscious. “Go

 away,” she said weakly, her eyes narrowing. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”

 

 The kitten licked her cheek, pawing at her. “Meow!” it cried

 anxiously. Yuffie refused to move. After a moments pause, it swiped

 at her, sinking it’s claws into the ninja girl. It looked at her

 apologetically as she swore. Droplets of blood dripped down her cheek

 into the snow.

 

 “You stupid little...” Yuffie glared at the kitten. But the sharp

 pain was something. It gave her a focus besides the overwhelming

 numbness. The kitten hopped off, heading over a hill. Yuffie weakly

 got back to her knees. It was trying to get her to follow it. “This

 better just be a little further!” She was cold and tired and

 exhausted. But the kitten was beckoning her. She stumbled up the

 slope, almost sliding back down. It took everything she had to make

 it to the top. Gazing down, she saw the kitten. It was sitting beside

 Kairi, the princess half covered in snow. It looked at her with

 desperate green eyes, pleading for help. “You found her... I take it

 back. I’ll help. Just give me a minute...” Taking a step forward,

 Yuffie’s legs finally gave up. Stumbling down the hill, end over end,

 she came to a rest next to Kairi. Her vision spun around her, her

 thoughts breaking apart. The last thing she could see was the kitten

 before the darkness devoured the white world around her. 

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

 

 Yuffie slowly came to some time later, her entire body aching.

 Everything in her mind felt blurry, far off. She was having trouble

 thinking clearly. She moaned weakly, rolling onto her side. It was

 with some surprise that she found a heavy blanket over herself. She

 blinked weary eyes, trying to force them into submission. Everything

 was still a blur, but it wasn’t a cold, white blur anymore. So she

 wasn’t lost out in the snow anymore. That was a good thing. She

 hoped. 

 

 “So you’re finally awake, huh?” a voice said from somewhere in front

 of Yuffie.

 

 Struggling to find the speaker, Yuffie finally managed to spot a

 furry creature watching her from the other side of the room. The

 furry creature looked a little shorter than herself, but that didn’t

 make it any less ferocious, she decided. ‘It’s gonna eat us. It took

 us here out of the cold so it could have a nice warm snack,’ she

 thought in her delirious state of mind. The dizzy ninja forced

 herself to her feet. Upon standing, she found it to have been a bad

 idea all the way around. The world spun around her like a top spun by

 a careless child. The ground seemed to lurch underneath her. Her

 still weak muscles gave out and she fell forward. The furry monster

 caught her, sinking under the ninja’s weight, holding onto her. 

 

 “You need to rest! I don’t know how long you were out there, but you

 were both half frozen when we found you,” the voice stated, laying

 Yuffie back down gently and pulling the blanket back up around her. 

 

 Yuffie moaned again, her head swimming. “Both of us? Kairi’s here?”

 Yuffie tried to spot the princess, but her head ached with the

 effort. 

 

 The creature nodded. “If Kairi is the other girl who was collapsed

 in the snow, then yeah. Oh, and a kitten. It was curled up on you,

 trying to keep you warm. It was hard to drag you all back here.” The

 monster reached back, grabbing around the fur that shrouded its.

 Yuffie wondered what horrible visage the monster was hiding beneath

 it. Slowly pulling the fur back, it fell to the monsters back.

 Shaking its head, the ‘monster’ smiled cutely. It was a girl a little

 younger than Yuffie, probably fifteen or so. The fur was just a big

 coat that she was wearing which the ninja had mistaken for something

 else in her deluded state. Her hair was held up in a red and gold

 embroidered bandana, blonde wisps poking out here and there. 

 

 “You’re not a monster?” Yuffie asked dumbly.

 

 The girl giggled, shaking her head. “Not since last I checked. Which

 could have been a while. No, I’m just a simple artist. My name’s Relm

 Arrowny. And this is Interceptor.” She motioned towards what Yuffie

 had thought was some monster skin rug. It got up, nuzzling Relm’s

 side. “I couldn’t have gotten you all here without him.” 

 

 Yuffie slowly sat up, waving the girl off when she tried to come

 over and make her lie down again. “Yuffie Kisaragi. I’m the greatest

 female ninja ever,” she stated decisively. 

 

 “A ninja?” The blonde girl clapped her hands together delightedly.

 “That’s great! My father was a ninja. He left Interceptor to protect

 me when he died. I was just a little girl at the time, so

 Interceptor’s been with me while I grew up. But I’ve always loved

 ninjas because of that. I was hoping I’d meet one someday.” She

 looked over at the dog, still smiling brightly. “Isn’t that great,

 Interceptor?” 

 

 The dog barked it’s agreement, fixing Yuffie with a steely gaze, as

 if to beware her of hurting his charge. Yuffie gazed back, dismissing

 the dog’s warning. She smiled herself, glad that the girl recognized

 someone of her obvious talents. “Well, it takes a lot of talent and a

 lot of will. Only a small handful can truly make it as a ninja. Your

 father must have been quite a man.” Yuffie stretched back, letting

 her muscles relax. She was slowly warming up. Her mind felt like it

 was starting to thaw, to let herself think clearly again. “Though I’m

 used to it running in the family. My dad was a ninja. And so was my

 mom. But you’re an artist?”

 

 Relm shrugged, petting Interceptor absentmindedly. “I guess it’s not

 really my thing. Besides, I love art too much to give up on it. I

 probably wouldn’t make a very good ninja anyway.” Her eyes lit up

 again, watching Yuffie intently. “But I’ve always hoped one day a

 dashing ninja would show up in my life.”

 

 Yuffie laughed nervously. “That’s great. I’m glad to help.” She was

 a little unnerved by the way the other girl was looking at her. The

 blanket slowly slipped down her shoulder, letting the warmth of the

 fire melt into the skin. She blinked as she slowly looked down. That

 felt a little different than the way one’s clothes would heat up when

 next to a fire. Sure enough, something was missing from the picture

 she saw. She yanked the blanket closed tightly, her cheeks darkening.

 “Where are my clothes?” she demanded.

 

 “Drying. You were out in the snow for who knows how long. It was

 soaked through. I can’t have you catching pneumonia after rescuing

 you, you know,” Relm explained. “Don’t worry, Interceptor didn’t

 look. I had him start on supper.”

 

 Yuffie blinked. How the hell did a dog make dinner? She would ask,

 but something else caught her eye. She had been attracted by the

 light of the fire only to find that there was no fire. In the center

 of the room was a painting of a fire up on an easel. It flickered and

 glowed just like the real thing. Even stranger, it was giving off the

 same heat of a real fire, warming the small room. Yuffie only stared

 for a long moment before her eyes finally ached from gazing into the

 flame.

 

 “If you stare into the flame for too long, it stares back into you.

 Be careful,” Relm warned. 

 

 “How did you...?” Yuffie began, shaking her head.

 

 The artist grinned, walking over and shifting the painting to warm

 the two rescued girls more. “Do you like it? I painted it. I told you

 that my talent seems to lie more with art. I try to bring things to

 life in my paintings.”

 

 “That’s an understatement.” Yuffie watched the girl, still holding

 the blanket close. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.” The

 girl blushed under her praise. She looked around, trying to spot

 Kairi. “Kairi?”

 

 “I’m here. I’ve just been thinking,” Kairi’s voice came from behind

 Yuffie. 

 

 The ninja turned, spotting Kairi lying on the floor, curled up in a

 blanket. She was holding onto the kitten. The kitten still seemed to

 be asleep. It had been exhausted, lasting a little longer than the

 two girls. Yuffie sighed in relief. “You’re all right.”

 

 Kairi didn’t answer. She certainly didn’t feel all right. Her mind

 was still on that room she kept returning to and the voice behind the

 door. She was set adrift in a sea of confusion, everything seeming to

 conflict with everything else. She just wanted to make it go away. 

 

 The kitten’s ears perked up at Yuffie’s voice. The kitten blinked

 it’s green eyes open, watching the ninja. It stood up to hurry to the

 ninja. Looking up, it saw the distant look in Kairi’s eyes. The

 kitten meowed, nuzzling the downtrodden girl, but it didn’t seem to

 help. Curling up against Kairi, the kitten tried it’s best to help,

 licking her cheek.

 

 Kairi smiled softly, scratching under the kitten’s chin. “Thanks,

 Jessie. I needed that.” 

 

 “I’m going to go try and get some potions from the shop. You could

 probably both use it. So just try to rest up while I’m gone.” Relm

 pulled the hood back over her head. “Don’t wear yourselves out. I’ll

 be right back.” She waved at the two before disappearing out the door.

 

 “Weird girl,” Yuffie thought out loud.

 

 “Oh, don’t say that,” Kairi admonished the ninja. “She saved us

 both. If it weren’t for her, we’d both be frozen solid by now.”

 

 “I never said it was a bad thing that she’s weird.” Yuffie shrugged,

 placing her hands behind her head as she stared up at the roof. 

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

 “Isn’t this great, Interceptor? It’s just like when mom met dad!”

 Relm giggled, hopping giddily down to the snowy street from the

 partially raised curb. “He was injured when mom found him and she

 nursed him back to health, falling in love with the mysterious ninja

 while he healed. It must be Fate! I came across an injured ninja and

 now I’m nursing her back to health.” 

 

 The dog followed along faithfully, not quite sure what he thought

 about the situation. But nevertheless, he thought it best not to rain

 on his charge’s parade. He simply barked agreement.

 

 Relm hurried across the snowy street. “And she’s so cute, too! And

 did you hear what she said? The greatest female ninja ever. How

 cool!” She sighed dreamily, titling her head to the side. “Do you

 believe in love at first sight, Interceptor?”

 

 The dog barked noncommittally, following the perky artist. What

 would his old master think about all this? Monsters and thieves the

 dog could protect Relm from. But love? This was uncharted territory

 for the faithful guardian. 

 

  “Now I just need to nurse her back to health and we’ll fall in love

 and live happily ever after. Just like mom and dad. But without the

 whole mutually dying part.” Relm looked over when Interceptor barked.

 “What about her friend? Well, she’ll have to find her own ninja. This

 one’s mine.” She crossed her arms, turning the corner to the shop.

 And froze dead in her tracks. Down the street, something was heading

 into town. Three somethings, to be exact. The lurched forward like

 huge, lumbering beasts. A person sat atop each one. Two were imperial

 soldiers and the other was a green haired woman in a red dress.

 “Imperial soldiers!” Bolting back around the corner, Relm and

 Interceptor raced back to the house as the first gunshots were fired

 by the town’s guards. Visions of a town in flames returned unbidden

 to the young artist. ‘Relm, run!!’ her grandfather had commanded her

 before turning to meet the Imperial onslaught. Crystal tears fell as

 she ran. She couldn’t let that happen again. 

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

 Yuffie sighed, pulling her small green top back on. It seemed like

 it had dried quite some time ago. Sitting on a small stool that Relm

 used for painting, she pulled her stockings back on. “I still can’t

 believe she can draw that well. My drawings look like stick figures.”

 

 Kairi giggled, her back to Yuffie as she pulled on her own clothes.

 “You’re a ninja, right? So why do you care if you can’t draw?”

 Pulling on her white blouse over her black one, she turned to Yuffie.

 “And it doesn’t matter if you can’t draw. It’s what you draw. And

 what it means to you. I think even stick figures can be beautiful if

 your hearts behind it.” Her eyes were distant, her mind elsewhere.

 She remembered the secret place on their island, just a small cave

 hidden away on it. But inside, she, Riku, and Sora had drawn so many

 pictures. One she hadn’t seen until Sora had disappeared was one of

 her sharing a Paopu fruit with him. It hadn’t been the best drawing,

 but it was gorgeous to her because of what it meant.

 

 The ninja shook her head, unconvinced. “Stick figures aren’t my idea

 of ‘beautiful’. Those,” she said, indicating the stacks of paintings

 in the corner, “are beautiful.”

 

 “Just try drawing again sometime, Yuffie. If it’s something

 important to you, then it will be gorgeous no matter how badly you

 draw,” Kairi prompted, smiling. It would be nice to see what was

 important to the ninja.

 

 Yuffie tilted her head to the side thoughtfully, imagining what

 she’d draw. She could see it in her mind, a stick figure of herself

 surrounded by treasure and materia. She shook her head, dismissing

 the thought. “I think I’ll leave the drawing up to Relm and stick

 with what I’m good at.”

 

  “And what would that be?” Kairi asked curiously, buckling her belt.

 

 “Too much,” Yuffie said, grinning. The two laughed, relaxed for the

 first time since they had seen the Heartless show up back in Traverse

 Town. But that all fell away to the distant sounds of gunshots. And

 something louder, more explosive. Yuffie glanced to the door. “What

 was that?”

 

 Kairi picked up the kitten, walking towards the door. She nearly

 fell backwards when the door whipped open in front of her.

 

 “Imperial soldiers! They’re riding Magitek Armor! We need to get out

 of here!” Relm said, panting. Her face was pale, frightened. Memories

 of another Imperial raid were still branded on her soul. The thought

 of another one almost paralyzed her.

 

 Yuffie picked up her overly large shuriken, standing up. “Imperial

 soldiers?”

 

 Kairi bit her lip. She was the Keyblade Mistress. She probably

 wasn’t supposed to interfere, but she couldn’t help but think that

 there had to be something she could do to help on this world. She

 couldn’t just ignore it. What good was stopping the Heartless if

 people were getting hurt by other people anyway? She looked up at the

 ninja and the painter. “Maybe we can stop them. Sora helped a lot of

 people with the Keyblade. Maybe I can, too. I can’t fight like him,

 but there has to be some way we can help. You saved us, Relm. We

 can’t let them tear apart your city.”

 

 Relm shook her head swiftly. “No time. We’ve gotta run. They’ll burn

 this place to the ground. There’s nothing we can do about it.” The

 artist was nearly shaking. Her knees felt weak. ‘Relm!’ she heard her

 grandfather call out in her mind, seeing him amidst the flames. She

 was having trouble distinguishing between the past and the present.

 All she knew was the fear of being a little girl and having her only

 family taken away, her town gutted by flame. She barely felt Yuffie’s

 hands on her shoulders, the ninja’s eyes gazing into her own. But

 they gave her something in the present to anchor on to. She slowly

 pulled herself back to the here and now.

 

 “Relm, we need your help. If you don’t think we can stop them, then

 let’s just get the hell out of here. We can’t do anything if we’re

 all dead. We’ll figure something out when we’re far away from here,”

 Yuffie promised, squeezing the younger girl’s shoulders. Relm nodded

 slowly. “Good. Then let’s get out of here as fast as we can.”

 

 “But Yuffie..!” Kairi complained, holding her Keyblade. It didn’t

 seem fair that this girl had found them and yet they could do nothing

 for her in return. “We have to try, don’t we?”

 

 “Sometimes you’ve got to live and come back with a little more

 firepower, princess,” Yuffie explained. “Come on.” She opened the

 door, dashing out into the lightly falling snow, dragging Relm behind

 her. 

 

 Kairi followed, still holding the kitten. She didn’t feel good about

 this choice, but if she didn’t have Yuffie’s help then she didn’t

 know what good she could do on her own. 

 

 “This way!” Relm tugged on Yuffie’s hand, pulling her towards a back

 alley. The snow crunched underneath their feet as they ran towards

 it. Relm didn’t want to leave Narche behind. It had been a good

 refuge. And it had been a beautiful place to paint, the snow making

 for wonderful paintings. But she had seen what the Imperial Army

 could do. Staying was suicide. They neared the alley, hand in hand.

 “There are mines all around here. We’ll disappear into one of them

 and find another way out away from town,” Relm explained. But before

 they could reach the alley, something bright streaked in front of

 Relm, slamming into the ground in front of them. The shock wave sent

 her flying back. She hit into the snow hard, Yuffie landing on her

 feet next to her. “Magic...” she said warily.

 

 Yuffie turned to face the looming metal monsters heading towards

 them. “I guess we’ll have to fight them after all. We’ll get to do

 you good deed, Kairi,” Yuffie cast a quick glance to Kairi before

 pulling up her shuriken. She didn’t like the look of the strange

 machines or their riders, but there was nowhere for them to run. And

 with her party consisted of a girl with a key who couldn’t fight and

 a painter. Things weren’t particularly looking up. 

 

 The three metal giants finally came to a stop in front of the three

 girls and their pets, dwarfing them. One of the men on other side of

 the green haired woman spoke up. “By Imperial decree, give us the Key

 bearer. She will return with us.”

 

 “Or we’ll wipe out the town. She’s coming with us either way, so...”

 the other man said, shrugging. 

 

 The first man leant over, whispering to his friend. But with the

 distance between them, he had to whisper loud enough for the girls to

 hear him. “That sounds pretty spooky, Biggs. I’d sure agree to those

 highly reasonable demands if someone told me that.”

 

 “Oh, definitely. I’d probably thank them for the offer in the first

 place. I mean, that or losing the whole town.” Biggs pretended to

 weigh the issue in his hands. “No contest, you know, Wedge.”

 

 “Don’t I know it! And with this powerful lady with us, too. She

 wiped out 30 Magitek soldiers in under three minutes. Just think what

 that kind of firepower could do to a town. I sure am glad she has a

 Slave Crown on her head, keeping all conscious thought from her so

 that she’s on our side,” Wedge said, nodding.

 

 “Excuse me? Are you two possibly done?!” Yuffie shouted, exasperated.

 

 Biggs shrugged. “Hey, it was all for your benefit. Just trying to

 give you a grasp on the situation. I’m sorry for being helpful.” He

 crossed his arms.

 

 “Yeah, if you wanted us to just take the girl, you could’ve said as

 much. It just means more work I’ve got to do.” Wedge sighed. “Well,

 more work she has to do, at any rate.” He looked over at the green

 haired woman. “Okay, go ahead and kill them,” he said casually.

 

 “What?!” Yuffie stepped back, pulling up her large shuriken.

 

 The green haired woman grabbed the controls, her Magitek Armor

 moving forward, charging up for its attack. Under the mind control of

 her Slave Crown, she could do nothing but follow orders. Even if it

 meant killing innocents. Energy lit up the front of her armor, it

 gathering to wipe out the ninja that dare confront her. 

 

 “Wait! I’ll give myself up! Just don’t hurt them!” Kairi cried out,

 waving her arms in the air. She couldn’t let them get hurt. It was

 her fault that these people were even here. If they hurt anyone, she

 wouldn’t be able to forgive herself. She had to give herself up. Even

 if it meant the end of her quest. ‘I’m sorry, Riku, Sora. But I can’t

 let anyone get hurt because of me.’ She stepped forward. But the

 woman took no notice, still intent on Yuffie. “No!!” Kairi screamed

 as the magical blast shot out towards the ninja. Kairi felt it zip

 past, its energy enough to send her sprawling to the floor. 

 

 Yuffie’s eyes widened as the bolt shot towards her, far too large to

 dodge. She could only stare at the bluish white magic as it headed

 towards her. Was this the end? After all she had been through, to get

 killed by some magical mechanical beast? She refused to believe that.

 She couldn’t die now.

 

 Relm tried to get to Yuffie, to push her out of the way, but she

 couldn’t reach her in time. She had hurt her ankle in the fall and

 pain jolted through her when she tried to get to her feet. She could

 only watch in horror. She had saved the ninja girl only to watch her

 die at the hands of the Imperial Army. Must they take everything from

 her? Her heart stopped in her chest. 

 

 The magic pulled up right before hitting Yuffie, plowing into

 something else. The three girls looked to see a woman dressed in

 yellow, a cape billowing behind her, a sword upraised. The magic

 swirled around the blade before disappearing. 

 

 The ninja nearly collapsed in relief, her heart pounding heavily in

 her chest. That one had been just a little too close. She watched the

 older woman hurry past her, her sword held in front of her. “Need any

 help?” she asked, watching the huge machines awaiting the woman. It

 didn’t look like a very fair fight.

 

 “Get Relm out of here. And the girl with the Key. You can’t let

 Kefka get his hands on it. If he does, he’ll destroy everything,” the

 blonde woman stated without looking back.

 

 “Celes!” Relm called out. “Don’t!” She saw Strago standing before

 her again, urging her to run before heading off to face his own death

 at the hands of the Imperial soldiers. Celes had been lost herself, a

 former Magitek Knight who had been imprisoned. A thief had helped her

 escape and she had been wandering ever since. She had found the young

 and lost Relm and taken her to the mining city of Narche. They had

 thought themselves safe from the Empire there, but apparently that

 peace wasn’t to last. And now Relm was faced with the same situation

 she had years ago when her grandfather had died. “Come with us,

 Celes!”

 

 The blonde woman shook her head, raising her sword again. “I can’t,

 Relm. I have to stop them. Run. Somewhere far away. Somewhere where

 there is no Empire. Where you can be free. Paint a picture of that

 beautiful place for me, Relm. I’ll look over your shoulder while you

 paint it, I promise.”

 

 “But..!!” Relm began. Interceptor bit at her coat, dragging her

 back. “Celes!” she called out again, she could barely get herself to

 move. Tears brimmed at her eyes. She couldn’t leave behind someone

 again. “I’ll help you!” she pleaded, trying to reach Celes.

 Interceptor pulled harder, dragging her back in the snow. Yuffie

 finally grabbed a hold of her, yanking her along. “Celes!!”

 

 Kairi followed, but her heart was low in her chest. ‘You always run

 away, Kairi,’ she could practically hear the voice taunting. And it

 was true. How often did she run away, unable to fight her own

 battles? How often did she run away from her problems? And now she

 was again. Because a woman was willing to sacrifice herself to cover

 their retreat. And so she ran, escaping her problems once more. She

 felt so weak. How could Sora and Riku count on her to find them if

 she was always running away?

 

 Celes watched the three mechanical beasts before her. She was

 horribly outgunned. But such was life. Sometimes it wasn’t about

 winning or losing a battle. It was about a battle worth fighting. And

 to protect Relm and her world, this battle was certainly worth

 fighting. Even if the outcome was predetermined. She would gladly

 give her life for it. Snow fell around her. “It’s so beautiful.” She

 whispered. Light started pouring forth from the Magitek Armors before

 her. Running forward, she lifted her blade. 

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

 Yuffie had to drag a struggling Relm down the snowy street, trying

 desperately to keep a hold on her. If Relm ran off, she would end up

 right in the middle of a battle they couldn’t possibly win. They

 needed to get as far away as they could. Thankfully, Interceptor

 seemed to be leading the way. She and Kairi followed the dog, running

 as quickly as they could in the snow. 

 

 “Yuffie,” Kairi said, pulling to a stop. Yuffie looked at her

 quizzically, stopping herself. Relm struggled, but Yuffie kept her

 restrained. “We have to go back. We can’t let her fight them alone.

 They’ll destroy the city.”

 

 “There’s nothing we can do, Kairi. I don’t have a death wish. If we

 go get back there, the city’s still going to get destroyed. The only

 difference is that we’ll be lying there dead, too. You said it

 yourself, you can’t fight. What could we possibly hope to do against

 those monsters?” Yuffie argued, still holding onto the distraught

 painter. 

 

 Kairi looked back towards where they had come from, hearing the

 sounds of magic and machines. Her shoulders slumped, her head slowly

 nodding. “You’re right.” ‘You always run, Kairi,’ repeated in her

 mind over and over again. And she was doing it all over again. Maybe

 the voice had been right after all.

 

 “If it helps any, I certainly don’t intend to let you go anywhere.

 And I would have burned the town even if you’d surrendered yourself,”

 a voice said behind them. The three girls turned to see a man in a

 strange, elaborate outfit. He had red markings on his face. He smiled

 slowly. “It looks like I’ve finally found the Keyblade Mistress.

 You’ll be coming with me.”

 

 “The hell she is!” Yuffie let go of Relm, flinging a shuriken at the

 man. It whipped through the air before hitting into a protective

 barrier in front of him. It bounced off, falling harmlessly to the

 floor. 

 

 “You’ve got what you wanted! Call off the attack!” Relm demanded,

 hope still lingering that it wasn’t too late to save Celes. 

 

 The man laughed maniacally, shaking his head. “Decimate the town.

 Kill all the townsfolk,” he ordered. “Especially the Magitek Knight.”

 

 “You bastard!” Relm cried out, tears and rage mixing inside of her

 as she saw the troops hurrying off to fulfil his order. The man

 simply laughed as the tears dripped down her cheeks. 

 

 Interceptor could only watch Relm’s anguish for so long. Growling

 angrily, he leapt at the man, intent on ripping his throat out.

 Anyone who could cause such grief for his young mistress deserved a

 harsh death. But it was not to be so. With a wave of his hand, a

 block of ice appeared, slamming into Interceptor. The dog whimpered,

 slumping in the snow.

 

 “Interceptor!” 

 

 Yuffie lunged forward, gripping her large shuriken. She couldn’t let

 him take Kairi. Kairi was their only chance to save everyone from the

 Heartless. And it was Yuffie’s job to make sure that Kairi made it

 through all this. She swept her shuriken at the man’s head, but it

 merely rebounded off of his barrier, knocking her hand back. 

 

 Slowly raising his hand, the man grinned. “Leave them all alone!

 I’ll go with you!” Kairi yelled. But he ignored her. Concentrating,

 he called down lightning, striking all three girls. After a bright

 flash of light, they all lay barely breathing in the snow. “Take them

 back to the palace,” he told one of his troops. “I have plans for the

 Keyblade Mistress.”

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

 Kairi slowly came to, her world filled with pain. She moaned, her

 head buzzing shrilly. She tried to glance around, to see where she

 was, but some hair fell in front of her eyes. She reached forward to

 push it away, but something tugged at her hand, jingling as it did.

 Looking down quickly, she could see her that her wrists were chained

 to the wall. Even that exertion sent new pain spiraling throughout

 her body. Her head slumped forward, feeling defeated. How could she

 ever hope to find Sora and Riku now? All she had managed to do was

 get a town destroyed and get herself kidnapped by someone wanting the

 Keyblade. She sniffled, trying to blink back tears. What good had she

 done? Sora had helped so many people when he had been searching for

 her. All she managed to do was hurt everyone she came across. Now

 she’d never see Riku or Sora again. That thought brought a chilling

 emptiness inside of her. She needed them. She didn’t know what to do

 without them. Those two boys meant everything to her. They were why

 she had ventured out in the first place. But she had failed them.

 Tears dripped down her chin, falling to her bare legs below. She

 couldn’t even wipe her tears away, her hands not reaching far enough

 because of the chains. 

 

 “Don’t cry, Kairi,” someone said in the cell. “And don’t give up. It

 doesn’t suit you. Where’s that strong, unbreakable will of yours? You

 can’t lose it now.”

 

 That voice... Kairi looked up, her hair falling away from her eyes.

 Her tear stained eyes met Riku’s aquamarine orbs. “Riku! Is.. Is that

 you?”

 

 Riku knelt in front of her, smiling faintly. With his gloved hands,

 he began to wipe her tears away. “Kairi, as long as you don’t give

 up, it won’t ever be over. You can conquer anything. Your heart is

 stronger than mine and Sora’s.”

 

 Resting her cheek against his gloved hand, Kairi gazed at Riku. She

 was afraid he would disappear if she looked away. His touch helped

 reassure her, her battered soul clinging to it. “But I can’t do it

 alone. I need the two of you, Riku. I’m not strong enough on my own.

 You and Sora... You complete me. I’m lost without you.”

 

 Riku smiled, stroking her cheek gently. “You’ll always have us with

 you, Kairi. Remember that. No matter how far apart we are, our hearts

 will always be together.”

 

 “But I need you, Riku.” She whispered, tears brimming at her eyes

 again. “I miss you both so much. And I’m so scared. I don’t know

 what’s real anymore. I don’t understand. I just want to be with you

 and Sora on the Destiny Islands again.”

 

 “Kairi,” Riku said softly, looking into her eyes. “I want that, too.

 But you’re the only one who can make it a reality.”

 

 Kairi nodded, sniffling. “I’ll do whatever I can, Riku. I’ll find

 both of you, wherever you are. We’ll all be together again. Forever.

 Because..” She blinked back more tears, watching him. He slowly began

 to fade away, the wind blowing away what sparkles of his beautiful

 eyes remained. “Because.. I love you..” she whispered, closing her

 eyes tightly as a fresh wave of tears hit her. She cried quietly,

 chained to the wall in some dungeon. But even feeling lost and

 desolate, there was some light in the darkness. She knew that she had

 to find her friends. That she wouldn’t allow herself to stop until

 they were back together. Even if it took an eternity across countless

 worlds. Yes, she was captured. But that seemed insignificant. It

 couldn’t stop her from being with Riku and Sora again. Riku was gone

 again. But he was out there, somewhere. And as long as she had that

 hope, she could keep going. No matter what happened, there was always

 hope. 

 

 “Kairi, we’ll get out of this,” Yuffie spoke up. She had only been

 awake a short time, but she could see that Kairi had been crying

 pretty heavily. Thought she didn’t know how they would, she couldn’t

 just let the princess cry so helplessly. From the look of things,

 Relm was completely out of it. Her eyes were open, but she didn’t

 seem to see anything, as if she were someplace else. Yuffie didn’t

 know whether that was a good or bad thing. 

 

 “I know,” Kairi replied. She slowly looked up, her eyes sparkling

 with unshed tears. She was smiling softly. “Because we have to.

 Because they’re waiting for me.”

 

 “I’m afraid they’ll have to wait for quite some time. I don’t plan

 on giving you up until I’ve squeezed every ounce of usefulness out of

 you.” The door slid open, the man from before returning. Yuffie

 glared at him hatefully, but it only amused him. He bowed. “Allow me

 to introduce myself. I am Kefka.” Standing up, he walked over to

 Kairi. He cupped her chin, forcing her head one way and then the

 other as if inspecting her. “Not quite what I expected. But I don’t

 think Sephiroth was wrong about you. Of course, I was supposed to

 bring you to him. But I have other ideas.” 

 

 Kairi yanked her head away, hitting it against the hard wall behind

 her. A small flare of pain ignited in her head, forcing her eyes

 closed. “What do you want from me?” she asked angrily. 

 

 “You’re the Keyblade Mistress. Only you can wield that Keyblade. So

 you’re integral to keeping the multiverse together. Or,” he smiled,

 “tearing it apart. I prefer the latter.”

 

 “Why would I help you? I’d never let the Heartless destroy all of

 the beautiful worlds out there.” Kairi stared up at him, wishing she

 could sound more intimidating than she felt. 

 

 “You won’t have a choice. I’ll use you and the Keyblade to find a

 way to tear everything apart. To create and everlasting monument to

 oblivion. A shrine that everyone and no one will be a part of,” Kefka

 explained. He clapped his hands, the green haired woman entering. She

 held a small crown in her hands, the same as the one on her own head.

 “This is Terra. She’s the most powerful magic user I’ve ever found.

 She didn’t feel like helping me either, even though her magic is most

 beneficial. So I’ve given her a Slave Crown. And all of her magical

 potential is at my disposal. I’ll simply do the same with you. I

 don’t care about Sephiroth’s plan. He’ll become a part of the

 nothingness I will create. And you will help me to achieve that. My

 willing servant, the Keyblade Mistress.” 

 

 Kairi shook her head, struggling with the chains. Her heart raced

 inside of her. She’d seen what Terra was capable of under the

 influence of the Slave Crown. That would put her in a world without

 hope, a puppet to be used by this madman. She couldn’t let that

 happen. But she was powerless to stop it. 

 

 Kefka grinned, turning to look at Relm. “I’m sure you can appreciate

 that. You’re an artist. Think of it as the greatest work of art.

 Absolutely nothing. There’s always something. And it only manages to

 clutter things up. There’s too much out there. So I will wipe the

 board clean. And that will be my masterpiece. I’m sure you’ll

 appreciate it. Celes is probably waiting for it right now. Terra did

 an excellent job of killing your friend. So don’t worry. You’ll see

 her again soon.”

 

 That finally broke through to Relm. She struggled viciously against

 her bonds, trying to get to her feet. Her eyes were stained red from

 all of her crying. “You monster! How could you do that to her! I’ll

 never forgive you!” Before it had only been a guess. Now it was fact.

 Celes was dead. The woman who had taken care of her was dead now. And

 she had been completely helpless to stop it. She was always helpless

 to do anything, the people around her always dying. She couldn’t

 stand it anymore. She was tired of always being the survivor, always

 left alone.

 

 Kefka laughed, turning his attention back to Kairi. “You’ll make an

 excellent puppet. You should be thanking me. You no longer have to

 suffer as the Keyblade Mistress. I’ll make your decisions for you. It

 will be so much easier. I’m sure Terra loves it.”

 

 Terra walked forward, raising the Slave Crown. Kairi struggled

 pointlessly. She felt hopeless, trapped. There was no escape. Soon

 she would be the cause of even more suffering and anguish throughout

 countless worlds. 

 

 ‘See? There is always suffering. There is always darkness. It is a

 matter of life. Even in your fantasies you can’t escape it. Just

 close your eyes and realize this isn’t real. None of it is. And

 you’ll be safe. He can’t do anything to you if you’re back in your

 room,’ the voice whispered in Kairi’s thoughts.

 

 ‘No! I won’t run away again. I’ve already ran too much. I won’t let

 it happen again. I’m not running away this time,’ Kairi thought

 determinedly, shifting in her chains. A cold pit in her stomach

 formed as she wondered what it would be like to wear that thing.

 Would she know what was going on? Or would everything just fade away?

 

 ‘Don’t be so ignorant, Kairi. What good are your fantasies if you’re

 enslaved in them? He’ll only use you to fulfil some insane scheme of

 his. Come back to me, here. You’ll be safe,’ the voice tempted.

 

 ‘I’m not going! I can’t run anymore. I’m going to save Riku and

 Sora. I’ll protect them. Somehow. I won’t let it end now,’ she

 thought back frantically, the crown touching her hair. Her heart

 skipped a beat as she kept struggling, the gesture seeming ever more

 futile. She leant back as far as she could, trying to keep the crown

 away.

 

 The voice sighed, as if it was dealing with a young and stubborn

 child. ‘Fine. Then imagine that your chains are unlocked, that they

 aren’t holding you. Believe that they’re open.’

 

 Kairi closed her eyes, thinking frantically. She imagined the chains

 looser, imagined the locks opening on them. ‘They’re open, they’re

 open, they’re..” 

 She felt them slide open, clattering to the floor. It caught her by

 surprise. She hadn’t expected it to work. The crown was pushing back

 her hair, about to fall in place. Kairi pushed as hard against the

 wall with her feet as she could, moving away from Terra and the

 crown. The crown fell to the floor instead of falling into place on

 her head. ‘Thank you!’ she called out joyously to the voice in her

 head.

 

 ‘If you’re that thankful, come back home and open the door,’ the

 voice pleaded. It sounded sad, desperate, lonely. ‘I need you, Kairi.’

 

 ‘I.. I can’t..’ She was taken aback by the hopelessness in the

 voice. It was so deep. She hadn’t quite understood. Just who was it

 behind that door? And why did it want her to open the door so badly?

 But she couldn’t think about that now. The woman had already turned,

 and Kefka didn’t look pleased. She got to her feet, but he backed her

 into a corner.

 

 “I don’t know how you did that, but that just means we’ll have to do

 this the hard way. I will get that Keyblade. And you will use it for

 me.” The woman handed him the Slave Crown. Reaching out, he grabbed a

 hold of Kairi’s blouse, yanking her forward. She fell, her feet

 pulled out from under her, but he held her tightly with one hand,

 pulling up the crown with the other. “We’ll wipe away this universe,

 you and I. Whether you want to or not.”

 

 Kairi kicked at him, but it didn’t do any good. He was too strong,

 too powerful for her. And her friends were still locked up. She had

 gotten out of her bonds, but that didn’t help her situation at all.

 She tried to pull away, but it was no good. She ached, hanging from

 his arm, her body straining to get away. He barely seemed to notice.

 ‘Please help me..’ she called again. But this time the voice was

 silent. There was nothing she could do. 

 

 “Remember, Kairi, within every heart is a light that will never fade

 away. Even in the darkest heart. You need to unlock that light,” she

 could remember someone saying. It had been the cloaked figure she had

 met after she first entered the door. He had been trying to convince

 her to use the Keyblade.

 

 “Within every heart..” Kairi whispered, “there is light.” The Slave

 Crown inches above her head, the young princess shoved the Keyblade

 into Kefka’s chest. She felt it push into him, not into his body but

 into his heart. Kefka froze, his eyes wide, stunned. She felt the key

 fit in, as if slipping into a lock. Kefka’s eyes burned in rage as he

 struggled to bring the crown onto her head. Kairi quickly turned the

 key, hearing it unlock something inside of him. Light began to bathe

 the Keyblade, spilling out of Kefka, illuminating the dark room. She

 was swallowed by the light.

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

 She could feel herself floating. She didn’t know which way was up

 and which was down. She simply floated along in a sea of light. She

 could see it wash over the darkness, dispersing it. Fear was far away

 from her. She simply felt the warmth of the light. It surrounded her,

 soothing her lonely soul. 

 

 “You have unlocked the light in the heart of Madness,” she heard

 someone say, the voice resonating around her, within her. 

 

 “I was the first Magitek Knight. The experiment. I became the

 strongest. But I lost my mind in the process. Was it a fair trade? It

 drove me insane. My world became madness. My only goal was to

 eliminate everything, to create a monument to oblivion. It was the

 only way to quell the madness. To take revenge for my lost sanity. It

 was the only refuge I could find. And I wrapped myself up in it,

 ready to face the world, to bring it to a crumbling nothingness. But

 now.. I see things clearly. The world is not colored by the madness

 anymore. I am free.”

 

 Sights bombarded her as she heard Kefka speak. The first Magitek

 Knight experiment that left him warped and twisted. His descent into

 madness. His search for blissful oblivion. She watched it all through

 his eyes, feeling the tinge of madness that had once spread across

 his heart. And then the light accepted her again, embracing her. 

 

 And she was swept along in the light, lost in the stream.