Prism Hearts

 Chapter 6

 The Wanderer of Time

 by Amazoness Duo

 amazonessduo@hotmail.com

 

 

 Kairi sat on the small bed in the room she had found herself in,

 listening halfheartedly to the waves crashing outside the open

 window. The large cloth drapes that hung in front of them to block

 out the tropical sun swung lazily about in the breeze. It was

 tranquil here, almost like the Destiny Islands. Her thoughts, on the

 other hand, were anything but calm.

 

 So she could find Riku. If she could find the Door to the Light, she

 could unlock it and save him. She and Sora were both looking for it,

 so they might stumble upon each other along the way. But to unlock

 the door, she had to seal off the Keyholes in the hearts of those who

 were after her. It was a daunting task. Could she even do it? She had

 barely sealed the Keyhole in Kefka’s heart before being controlled by

 the Slave Crown. She shivered at the thought of having to do that

 again. And again. Until all the Keyholes were sealed.

 

 But what choice did she have? Giving up would mean never seeing Riku

 again. How could she give up on him? He would never have given up on

 her. He tried till the very end to save her. Now it was her turn to

 save him. She had to do her best to find him. No matter what the

 challenges. Now if only she could find out where to go next.

 

 Kairi sighed, drawing her legs up underneath herself. It wasn’t just

 one world she had to navigate, but many. All linked together by the

 darkness. When Sora had sealed away the Heartless, the worlds had

 been separated. It was the darkness that eroded the barriers between

 the worlds. It seemed ironic that her chance to find her friends had

 been granted by the return of the darkness. That the only way to

 travel from world to world was to travel across the expanses of

 shadow that each world gave off. Yet here she was, fighting against

 the darkness yet using it to move about to do so. 

 

 She paused in her thoughts for a moment. Was she really fighting

 against the darkness? Yuffie was. She knew that. But what about

 herself? All she wanted was to find Riku and Sora again. The rest was

 all secondary to her.  She would save Riku even if she had to open

 the Door to the Darkness. 

 

 Petting the kitten absentmindedly, she sighed. Some Keyblade

 Mistress she made. But it was true. Her priority was to find her

 friends, the boys who meant so much to her. That’s why she had

 started this journey, after all, not to seal off the Heartless. She

 could figure out what to do after she could throw herself into the

 arms of the boys she loved. She winced at the thought. She couldn’t

 even decide between them. Both of them were too important to her. 

 

 Frowning, Kairi scratched at the kitten’s chin. It looked back at

 her with its strange green eyes. “At least you don’t care if I can’t

 decide. What do you think I should do, Jessie?”

 

 The kitten looked back at the princess and meowed, it’s tail

 swishing lightly back and forth. 

 

 Kairi giggled and nodded. “Good idea. There’s nothing I can do yet.

 So I’ll just keep looking for them for now. Everything else can wait.”

 

 The kitten stared at the girl for a moment. Meowing, it shook its

 head. This was really getting frustrating. It meowed again,

 insistently, but the princess’s thoughts were on other things at the

 moment. She couldn’t understand anyway. Maybe Yuffie would, somehow.

 There had to be some way to get across to these people. ‘Jessie’ lay

 there for a moment, trying to think. Nothing was getting done this

 way. It had to do something. Otherwise... The kitten shuddered. It

 meowed louder, but that just got Kairi to pet further. Sighing

 inwardly, the kitten stood up. Desperate times called for desperate

 measures. 

 

 “Owww!!” Kairi pulled back, holding her hand. Pain shot through one

 of her fingers and for a moment she couldn’t tell what had happened.

 It was just a sharp and immediate pain. The first thought that came

 to mind was that she had pricked herself, that she would fall asleep

 until her prince could come and awaken her with a kiss. She wouldn’t

 be at all surprised with how strange things had been lately. But what

 could she have pricked herself on?  Looking down at her hand, she saw

 bright crimson welling up. It slowly began to clarify in her mind,

 the mists lifting. She’d been bitten. “Jessie?” she said

 questioningly, looking down at the odd kitten. It leapt off the bed,

 scurrying out the door. What had gotten into her? With a mix of

 anxiety and concern, Kairi chased after the kitten. “Jessie, wait!

 You’ll get lost!” She had no idea what was out here or even where she

 was. She didn’t want to lose her only constant companion. Even if it

 had bitten her. Had something frightened Jessie? Or maybe... Maybe

 she’d been trying to get her attention. But for what?

 

 Running through the small house, Kairi nearly ran into a woman in a

 bandana. The woman caught her by the shoulders as she began to

 stumble backwards. “Oh, you startled me. Are you all right? You must

 have gotten the rest you needed. You’ve been sleeping for days.”

 

 Kairi finally regained her balance. Recovering from her shock, a

 hand over her heart, she nodded. “Yeah, I’m much better now. I just

 woke up a little while ago.” ‘I think,’ she added to herself. ‘It’s

 hard to tell where I am and when I’m awake anymore.’

 

 “Good. When you and your friends washed up on shore, we were all

 worried. Your friends woke up shortly, but you wouldn’t rise. You

 needed someplace to stay, so I was glad to offer my son’s room.

 You’ve been sleeping there ever since. I’ve been keeping an eye on

 you. I didn’t know if you’d ever wake up. I’m glad that you did.”

 Marge smiled softly, in her motherly way. 

 

 The look warmed Kairi’s heart, something about it very familiar.

 ‘Mom,’ she thought, her heart starting to ache as dim memories

 taunted her, flitting away as she tried to grasp them. ‘I miss you,

 mom.’ Forcing herself back to the present before her memories, or

 lack thereof, could drag her back down into despair, she smiled at

 the woman. “Thank you for taking care of me, ma’am.” Her thanks were

 heartfelt. It was so nice to know that someone had cared enough to

 take care of her while she had been unconscious. “I’ll have to thank

 your son, too, before I leave for letting me use his room.”

 

 Marge’s smile didn’t fade, but it did gain a sad quality to it. “My

 son, Serge, died at sea ten years ago. That’s why I wanted to do all

 I could for you. I couldn’t let another sweet young soul be taken by

 the sea.”

 

 “I’m... I’m so sorry...” Kairi stammered, at a loss for words. After

 this woman had helped her, had given her a place to stay, she felt

 terrible at the helplessness that consumed her. She couldn’t repay

 this woman in the least, had only been able to bring up an old wound.

 Hadn’t Sora been able to help people as he travelled from world to

 world? So far she seemed to cause trouble wherever she went. Like she

 was some kind of cosmic jinx, a harbinger of horrible things to come.

 Her arrival signified something terrible to come. At least it felt

 like that.

 

 The mother shook her head, dismissing Kairi’s apology. “It’s

 nothing, dear. You didn’t know. And I’m sure he’d be happy to know

 his room was getting some use. Perhaps his spirit is what pulled you

 to shore.” She smiled at the thought. “Now run along before your

 kitten gets into trouble. You wouldn’t want her picking a fight with

 Poshul.”

 

 “Yeah, you’re right,” Kairi said, snapping out of her bout of self-

 pity. Giggling slightly, she nodded. “Can’t let her get too far

 away.” She hurried to the door, turning to wave over her shoulder at

 the doorway. “Thanks for everything, ma’am!” The woman smiled and

 waved back as she dashed out the door. 

 

 ‘Mom was like that. Someone you could talk to. Someone who always

 had a comforting thing to say. And her hands felt so nice when she’d

 rub my back when I was crying, or when she’d wipe the tears from my

 eyes. I fell asleep crying on her lap so often.’ Kairi shook her head

 at the unbidden thoughts. They felt like her own, but they couldn’t

 be real. She didn’t know her mother. She couldn’t remember anything

 before showing up on the Destiny Islands. 

 

 ‘Just keep telling yourself that,’ she heard deep in her thoughts.

 Her fists clenched as she walked through the small fishing village.

 She couldn’t tell if it was good or not that she was getting these

 thoughts of her mother. She certainly didn’t like the picture they

 were painting of her. Some depressed, lonely, dependent girl. She

 wasn’t like that at all. But at the same time, she had to admit that

 she missed her mother terribly. At least Sora and Riku had parents on

 the island. She had been an orphan, raised by the people living

 there. But that wasn’t the same. The thought that she actually had a

 mother, had known her, was both exciting and terrifying. 

 

 ‘What was your home like?’ Sora had asked.

 

 ‘I don’t remember. I can’t remember anything before I got here,’ she

 had answered.

 

 ‘I want to go see it with you someday,’ he said.

 

 She had smiled at him. ‘I’d like that.’ 

 

 But now... She had wanted to find out who she was. She had wanted to

 find out where her home was. But the closer she got to figuring that

 out, the more she wondered if maybe she didn’t want the answers after

 all. Maybe she had forgotten on purpose. She had been happy on the

 Destiny Islands. Hadn't that been enough? But now, to regain that

 happiness, to save her friends, she may have to open a Pandora’s Box

 that could destroy that happiness forever. She didn’t know what she

 was supposed to do.

 

 “Meow!” 

 

 Kairi blinked her eyes open quickly, spotting the insistent kitten.

 It meowed at her again before scurrying off. “Wait! Jessie!” The

 princess took off after the kitten. Whatever it was thinking, it sure

 was insistent. At least the chase took her mind off of things.

 Running out of the village, Kairi focussed on the kitten bounding

 along in front of her.

 

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

 

 “So how did you end up with that bossy little housewife?” Yuffie

 asked, kicking some sand in front of herself. Relm was currently

 hanging onto her, arms encircling the ninja’s waist. Yuffie had tried

 valiantly to get Relm back, but it never lasted for more than a few

 seconds. She’d finally gotten tired of fighting the artist off and

 was currently just tolerating it. This didn’t mean she’d given up, of

 course. Just that she didn’t feel like fighting at the moment. Yeah,

 that was it.

 

 “Shut yer mouth.” Kid didn’t look amused. She was currently

 searching the area for tiny lizards to make a necklace for the above

 stated bossy housewife. It was more work than it should have been.

 She was starting to think that it would be easier to just steal a

 necklace. Or maybe Yuffie’s chatter was just scaring the Komodo

 Dragons off. In either case, she needed to get another scale or two

 to finish off that necklace or she’d be sleeping on the couch. Again.

 Luckily, Leena's grandma had such bad eyesight that she actually

 thought Kid was a boy. Not that Kid was happy with the idea, but

 Leena said it was easier that way. And who was she to argue? 

 

 Sighing, Kid shrugged. “It just kinda happened. I came back to my

 homeworld ‘cause we’ve got a relic here called the Frozen Flame. I

 came to El Nido looking for it. I figured if I could get my hands on

 it, the Heartless wouldn’t be a problem anymore. Anyway, so I started

 off lookin’ in Arni and I met up with Leena she wound up insistin’

 that she go along. To keep me outta trouble. I argued, but that girl

 has a way of getting her way. We looked all over for the blasted

 thing, a few other people joining us along the way. Along with this

 crazy harlequin. We finally tracked it down to the Sea of Eden where

 it was locked away by Fate. We tried to bust in, but it wouldn’t

 work. We were tryin’ to find another plan when we found out the

 harlequin had gone missin’. Turned out she was working with the

 Dragon Gods. She wound up summoning the six of them and they totaled

 the place. We barely got outta there before it went up. Seems she was

 usin’ us to distract Fate long enough for the Dragon Gods to get

 together.” Kid sighed, lookin around in a hole for the smaller

 dragons. “So no Frozen Flame after all. Otherwise we coulda stopped

 the Heartless by now.”

 

 Yuffie laughed, shaking her head. “Don’t worry about the Heartless.

 World saving should be left to the professionals. I’ll handle them. I

 even have the Keyblade Mistress on my party, so we’re set.”

 

 “I know you’ll be able to stop them, Yuffie,” Relm added perkily,

 her head snugly against Yuffie’s shoulder. “And I’ll follow wherever

 you go.”

 

 Kid grinned, raising an eyebrow. “You were sayin’ something about my

 choice in girlfriends?”

 

 “Oh, shut up.” Yuffie’s eyes narrowed. She was tempted to extricate

 herself from the artist and wipe the smirk off of Kid’s face, but it

 was much more trouble than it was worth.

 

 “Anyway, Leena and I kinda happened along the way. Can’t say when,

 exactly. Except that we did spend a hell of a night at the Termina

 inn.” The thief shook her head, dispersing pleasant memories. “It

 just seemed before I knew it, she had me hooked. So now I’m stuck in

 a tiny fishing village because she’s happiest there. I didn’t see

 that comin’. Me in some little village on some island somewhere. But

 it’s starting to be home. And it’s nice to finally have one.”

 

 Yuffie nodded thoughtfully. “I guess that makes sense. Yeah, I

 didn’t imagine that either. I guess I never thought of you as

 settling down. It’s gonna be hard to break the news to the rest of

 the Radical Dreamers.” And it was strange for her to see the other

 thief there, living such an ordinary life. But Kid seemed happier

 than she’d ever seen her. Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. She shook

 her head. Not too bad for Kid, maybe. But she wasn’t about to settle

 down anytime soon. Nope, still too much to do. Nothing was going to

 hold her down.

 

  “So how did you wind up with this cute little artist, Yuffie? I

 thought you weren’t lookin’ for anybody,” Kid teased. 

 

 “I’m not with her...”

 

 “I nursed her back to health and it was just Fate. We were meant to

 be.”

 

 Yuffie and Relm both spoke at the same time, their sentences

 tumbling together.

 

 Kid laughed, her hands on her hips. “Well, I’m sure glad I’m not the

 only one ditching the Radical Dreamers for my girlfriend. It makes it

 a hell of a lot easier that way.”

 

 “She’s not my girlfriend. She’s.. Oww!” Yuffie’s eyes went from

 narrowed to widened in a split second. She looked down to an

 innocently smiling Relm. Her stomach felt as if it had been pinched

 rather harshly. 

 

 “Oh, Kid, you’re embarrassing Yuffie!” Relm chided, still smiling.

 If Yuffie wasn’t going to go along willingly, then she’d just have to

 take matters into her own hands. Literally, if necessary. It was

 Fate. It had to be. And she wasn’t going to let her ninja get away

 just because she had a case of cold feet.

 

 “Alright, I’ll lay off for a bit, then.” Kid winked at the fuming

 ninja. Something finally caught her eye, drawing away her attention

 from the ‘lovebirds’. “Ah! There the little devil is.”

 

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

 

 Kairi ran along the beach, staying away from the water. She had

 enough water to last her a good long while. She had lost track of the

 kitten, so she was relying on the little footprints in the sand. They

 were leading further along the beach. She had to be around somewhere.

 “There you are!” Kairi pulled to a stop near the tiny kitten,

 catching her breath. “You shouldn’t have run away like that. You

 don’t know if it’s safe here. You might have...” She trailed off,

 that thought half finished. Kneeling in the sand, she looked down at

 the kitten. It was hard at work pawing away some sand. Scrawled in

 the sand, she could read ‘I’m Rik...’ from what the kitten had

 already written. “Riku?” she asked, her heart caught in her chest.

 

 The kitten’s ears perked up. It’s efforts to dig forgotten, it

 turned around quickly, nodding excitedly. 

 

 “You’re Riku?” The ground underneath her seemed to drop away,

 leaving her tumbling. “You’ve been here all this time? I... Riku!”

 She lunged forward, holding onto the kitten as tightly as she could.

 The surprised kittens claws pressed into her exposed flesh, but she

 was too ecstatic to care about such trivial things. “I’ve been

 looking for so long. I was scared I wouldn’t find you. But I wouldn’t

 give up. I couldn’t. Not after all you did to save my heart.” A laugh

 behind her made her whirl about, kitten still in her arms.

 

 “Izn’t zat adorable? You two make such a cute couple!” Sitting on a

 rocky outcropping, a harlequin grinned at the scene before her. “But

 it is improper for me to watch without an introduction from moi,

 izn’t it? I am Harle.” Hopping down, she walked over to the princess,

 bowing low. “And you, mon petit, are Kairi. It iz a pleasure to meet

 you. You are prettier than ze oceans themselves.” Taking Kairi’s

 hand, she kissed it, her hand lingering for a moment before pulling

 away. 

 

 “Who are you?” Kairi asked at last, completely confused by the

 newcomer. But the voice did sound familiar... It finally clicked.

 “You’re from my dream! Or was that a dream? You were there when I was

 lying on the beach. And in bed. Both.” She shook her head. This was

 getting even more confusing.

 

 The harlequin laughed, nodding. “Exactement. I was watching over

 you, yes. Someone has to. You aren’t doing such a good job of it

 yourself. So I have appointed myself to keep an eye on Mademoiselle

 Kairi.”

 

 Kairi frowned, holding the kitten closer. The kitten watched the

 harlequin cautiously. “Does everyone always have to talk in riddles?

 I never get any straight answers.”

 

 “It iz much, much more fun speaking in riddles.” Harle laughed,

 walking around the Keyblade Mistress. “Things are not as one

 dimensional as you think. It is not about realitie and dreams. It iz

 about your Fate. What iz real, what iz not, this does not matter.”

 

 “Yes it does! If it’s not real, then why should I bother?!” Kairi

 nearly screamed in frustration. If all of this was just some dream,

 then why try at all? What good would it do if she would just wake up

 sooner or later to find herself in that horrid room?

 

 The harlequin’s smile disappeared. She watched Kairi carefully for a

 long moment. “Why do you live? Why do you die? Will you change ze

 world? Or will you change yourself? These questions are more

 important than ‘what is real or not’, no? What is realitie anyway but

 what people tell you iz real. What you see, feel, hear, zat iz real.

 You see, feel, and hear all zis. So it iz real. You see, feel, and

 hear there. So zat iz real. It does not matter which iz more real. It

 only matters how much you are willing to give, how much you are

 willing to believe. What will you fight for, Kairi? Ziz realitie?

 Your friends? Ze Light? Or Ze Darkness? Which will you have faith in?

 Which will you side with in ze end?”

 

 Kairi couldn’t answer. Her world felt like it was spinning. The

 harlequin’s words tumbled through her head in a rush. She felt

 compelled to make a decision, but she knew she had none yet. But it

 was true. This was no less real than her ‘room’. And vice versa.

 Which made it even more difficult to determine which was real. And,

 like Harle had said, did it really matter? She couldn’t answer that.

 Not yet. “I just want to get my friends back,” she answered after a

 long pause.

 

 “You are not ready yet to decide? It can wait for now. You should

 think out your decision anyway, to make sure it’s what iz truly in

 your heart. If you do not follow you’re heart, you are nothing more

 than a lie.” Harle shrugged. Leaning forward, she scratched under the

 kitten’s chin. “But if you want to return your friend to normal, you

 only need ze Dragon’s Tear. It can bring back zeir normal form.”

 

 Pushing off her concerns for the moment, Kairi stepped forward. “It

 can? Where is it?! I need it for Riku.” She had been happy just to

 know he was close again. That he had been so close to her this whole

 time, giving her strength. If he could actually be right next to her

 again... She had to find it. She had to return Riku back to his old

 self. And she would hug him so tightly and never ever let him go

 again. 

 

 “Ze thief has it. She stole it while we were in Viper Manor. It has

 no value to her, though. She was merely searching for the Frozen

 Flame. Perhaps she will let you use it, no?” The harlequin suggested.

 “Though she can be quite nasty, so I wouldn’t trust her with it for

 long.”

 

 “The thief?” Kairi asked, blinking. The only thief she knew of was

 Yuffie. And she hadn’t seen Yuffie since she had awoken. Some noise

 from behind caught her attention. She turned around just in time to

 see three girls make their way onto the beach. 

 

 “Kairi!” Yuffie called out, a note of relief in her voice. She had

 started to worry that the Keyblade Mistress would never wake up.

 Without her, there wasn’t much hope of stopping the Heartless. Of

 course, she’d never let her worries show. She was the greatest ninja

 ever, after all. It was bad form to let anyone know she was worried

 about things.

 

 “What the bloody hell is she doin’ here?” Kid, on the other hand,

 didn’t like the scene before her at all. There was the princess, but

 she was with Harle, a servant of the Dragon Gods. And the last she

 had seen of Harle had been when the harlequin had destroyed their

 only chance to retrieve the Frozen Flame. She unsheathed her knife.

 “Get away from her, Kairi! She’s a bloody demon.”

 

 “So speaks ze dirty dog. I should have known I couldn’t expect a

 warm reception from you. And I am not a demon.” Her eyes narrowed as

 she strolled towards the thief, her hands on her hips.

 

 “Slave girl to the Dragon Gods, demon, I don’t see much of a

 difference,” Kid shot back, still clutching her dagger. “You ain’t

 getting rid of the Keyblade Mistress. You may have stopped us from

 getting the Frozen Flame, but I ain’t about to let ya kill our last

 hope.”

 

 Harle broke out into spiels of laughter. “You have got it all wrong.

 I have come to give Mademoiselle Kairi my blessing. The blessing of

 all the Dragon Gods. They have a vested interest in her journey,

 after all.” Stepping back to Kairi, she leaned forward, kissing the

 princess on both cheeks before letting her go. She giggled at the

 startled look on Kairi’s face and the faint blush on her cheeks. “And

 so cute, too! I will enjoy this job much more than my last.” Winking

 at Kairi, she turned back to Kid. “And how dare you call me zis slave

 girl! Bahamut is no one’s slave girl!”

 

 “Bahamut?” Yuffie asked, blinking. “What does the king of all

 dragons have to do with this?”

 

 Another giggle before the harlequin curtsied greeted Yuffie’s

 statement. “Because Bahamut is standing right before you. I am

 Bahamut, ze Dragon God. It iz a pleazure to make your acquaintance.

 At least one of you has some respect.” She gave Kid another dirty

 look. “Zis iz merely my human form. I thought it would be easier to

 travel around El Nido zis way. I am slightly more noticeable as a

 dragon.”

 

 Kid blinked in surprise. She suddenly had the thought that attacking

 Harle would be a very affective form of suicide. She had thought the

 jester was merely working for the Dragon Gods, not that she was the

 head of them. “But.. why would you do all of this yourself? Why not

 send someone else?”

 

 Harle shook her head, dismissing the thought. “If you want something

 done, as they say, you must do it yourself. Besides, I could not let

 you get a hold of the Frozen Flame. It is a splinter of Lavos, the

 world devourer. It would only bring about more darkness, even if you

 did use it to stop the Heartless. Ze universe has a delicate balance

 that you humans are always so set on ruining.” She sighed, rolling

 her eyes. “If it is not ze balance of man and nature, it iz zat

 between light and dark. Will you never learn?” 

 

 “I didn’t come here to get you preachin’ to me. You stopped us from

 getting the Frozen Flame, isn’t that enough?” Kid was starting to get

 irritated by all of this. As if it wasn’t bad that the harlequin had

 ruined her chances to get a sacred relic, now she was back to taunt

 her about things. 

 

 “On ze contrary, I am here to help.” Harle grinned at the look of

 surprise on Kid’s face. “Sometimes you humans aren’t completely

 worthless after all. And I have to admit I have a weakness for main

 characters. They are just too sexzy.” She sighed, looking back to an

 embarrassed Kairi. “And since that means Kairi, I will offer my

 services to her.”

 

 “Not that you’d take no for an answer, I’m guessing,” Yuffie said,

 sighing. This was getting more and more complicated all the time. Why

 wasn’t she happy about the Dragon God joining their party? Because

 somehow she doubted that whatever they were after was the same thing.

 

 “Of course not! You catch on quickly. I’m getting to like you

 already. Much better than ze other thief.” Harle smiled.

 

 Relm squeezed her arms around Yuffie’s waist tighter, possessively.

 “Yuffie’s already spoken for her.”

 

 Yuffie sweatdropped and was about to argue but stopped herself. Did

 she really wanna be available around Harle? She decided to drop it

 this time. Sighing in defeat, she could feel the younger artist still

 pressed tightly against her side.

 

 Laughing, Harle shook her head. “Don’t worry, she iz not my concern.

 I’d much rather follow Mademoiselle Kairi. Perhaps I can change her

 mind about finding those silly boys.”

 

 Looking up, Kairi turned to Kid. Harle’s words had reminded her of

 something important. She hurried over, holding the kitten tightly to

 her heart. “Kid, I need the Dragon’s Tear. It’s the only way I can

 change Riku back to normal.” 

 

 “Rikku?” Yuffie asked curiously. “Change Rikku back? Back from what?”

 

 “The cat,” Kairi explained, holding the kitten up. It meowed, moving

 slightly in her grasp. “It’s Riku. I just found out.”

 

 Yuffie stepped forward, looking at the kitten cautiously. She poked

 and prodded it for a bit, taking a good look. 

 

 “Aww... Give the poor kitten a break, Yuffie. She doesn’t need you

 poking at her,” Relm protested. “I know Interceptor wouldn’t have

 liked it. They’re just like people.”

 

 “This one is a person,” Yuffie said at last, not quite hearing Relm.

 She gazed into the kitten’s eyes for a long moment, those green

 swirls instantly recognizable. Suddenly it made a whole lot more

 sense why the kitten hadn’t left her alone. 

 

 Kairi nodded her agreement. “So we need the Dragon’s Tear to get rid

 of this curse. Or whatever it is. I just want Riku back to normal.”

 The thought that her quest could end there was so relieving. Well,

 she would still have to find Sora, but with Riku helping her, she

 knew they could find him sooner or later. And then everything would

 be just fine again. She didn’t care about the Heartless. She just

 wanted to be with her friends again. 

 

 “I don’t see why I ‘ave to give ya the Dragon’s Tear. I mean, it

 doesn’t do anythin’ and I did steal it fair. Might even get a fair

 price off of it on the mainland and buy a place for me an’ Leena,”

 Kid was saying, not wanting to relinquish her precious treasure. 

 

 “Oh, just give it to them, Kid. I don’t want to move into some place

 you buy with dirty money anyway. I want you to get a real job,” a

 redhead said, almost appearing out of nowhere. She walked over, her

 hands on her hips, standing next to the thief. “I don’t care about

 that anyway. I just want to know if you got the scales for my

 necklace.”

 

 Kid nodded quickly, holding up a bag. “Yep, got ‘em all here. An’

 they’ll make a gorgeous necklace, Leena. You’ll look absolutely

 darlin’ in them.” She smiled brightly, hoping she could still salvage

 this situation. ‘Crap! She did say she’d meet me on the beach, didn’t

 she? If I hadn’t been so sidetracked here by the damn clown...’

 

 “Oh, Kid!” Leena hugged the thief tightly, her legs lifting into the

 air as she did, nearly sending herself and Kid sprawling to the sand.

 “I knew you’d get them for me.” Her feet finally landed back on the

 sand, her arms around Kid’s shoulders. She kissed Kid softly on the

 lips before stepping back, her hands still on Kid’s shoulders. She

 smiled, pleased with her girlfriend. “Now give them the Dragon’s

 Tear,” she reminded the blonde.

 

 Kid sighed inwardly and rifled through her satchel. There went all

 the money she had been counting on the relic raking in. But if she

 wanted Leena to stay in the good mood she was in, she might as well

 hand it over. It wasn’t like she could say no to the bossy young

 housewife-to-be anyway.On top of that, Yuffie was giving her a rather

 intent stare. Apparently the ninja wanted her to hand it over as

 well. “’Ere it is. Knock yourselves out.”

 

 Yuffie and Kairi both grabbed for it at the same time. Yuffie

 finally took the thing after Kairi hesitated, setting it in the sand.

 “Okay, now how does this thing work anyway?”

 

 Kairi was busy petting the kitten, holding it close. “Poor Riku.

 Don’t worry. We’ll have you back to normal in just a moment. I

 promise.” She kissed the kitten’s forehead. Riku had done so much for

 her. Now she could finally repay him. She’d lost her heart and he had

 tried his hardest to save it. Now she could help him regain his body.

 

 “Just let the kitten gaze into ze Dragon’s Tear. I would say to take

 it to Fort Dragonia, but zat is largely ceremonial. Gazing into it

 should be enough. Ze Dragon’s Tear will help wash away your friend’s

 new body, returning it to itz original form.  

 

 “We can have it back when yer done, right?” Kid asked curiously.

 Leena sighed next to her, crossing her arms. “Not that it’s important

 or anythin’.”

 

 “I don’t care what you do with it after Riku’s back.” Kairi finally

 set the kitten down on the sand, stepping back. She wished there was

 more she could do, but for now all she could do was watch. This was

 like when Sora had been turned into a Heartless. She had helped him

 find himself. She could only pray she could do the same for Riku. He

 was a cute kitten, granted, but she wanted him back to his old self. 

 

 “Whatever. Like Rikku hasn’t been stuck like this long enough. Not

 that I can’t imagine who’s fault that could be,” Yuffie said

 sarcastically. Kneeling, her hands on her knees, she stared at the

 kitten with an eyebrow raised. The kitten looked back up at her

 sheepishly. 

 

 The kitten turned on the sand, looking at the glowing blue crystal

 before it. It had an inner light like a sun underneath the ocean, a

 brilliant blue that seemed to sparkle. The kitten took another step

 forward, staring into the Dragon’s Tear. The world almost seemed to

 blur, as if it had been looking at it for too long. The kitten

 blinked, but the world still felt distorted. The Dragon’s Tear was

 glowing brighter now. Then it happened. It started staring right back

 at the kitten. The kitten yelped in surprise, but it was too late. It

 was already caught in the relic’s gaze. The world rippled as if a

 rain drop had fallen upon a puddle, distorting and pulsing out away

 from the kitten. And then it was over.

 

 The catgirl lay there in the sand, slowly regaining consciousness.

 She was naked except for the sandy blonde fur that covered her body.

 She slowly got to her knees, her paws pushing against the sand. Her

 head was still swimming from the reality altering abilities of the

 Dragon’s Tear. “Owww...” she winced, rubbing at her temples. Being

 reborn was an experience she never wanted to go through again. For a

 third time? She didn’t want to think about it.

 

 “What the hell did it do to Riku?!?” Kairi asked, very nearly ready

 to faint. She had been expecting to see him returned to his cute,

 silver haired self. What she saw was a cross between a human and a

 cat. And a girl at that. If this was her Riku, something had gone

 pretty freakishly wrong with the Dragon’s Tear.

 

 “Yeah, why is she still part cat? I thought you said that thing was

 supposed to fix her,” Yuffie said angrily. Kneeling down, she helped

 the catgirl back to her feet. 

 

 “I will answer both of your questions as best as I am able.” Harle

 bowed low before continuing. “You see, Mademoiselle Kairi, zis iz

 indeed Rikku. But not your Rikku. She is a member of ze Radical

 Dreamers. Am I right?” She looked up, raising an eyebrow

 questioningly at Yuffie and Kid.

 

 “Yeah, it’s Rikku, all right. I’d recognize those eyes anywhere. She

 disappeared a while back when we showed up in Traverse Town. We

 didn’t know what happened to her,” Yuffie explained, holding the

 dazed catgirl even as Relm held sole possession of her other arm. 

 

 “Yuffie!” Rikku shouted happily, coming back to her sense. She

 grasped onto Yuffie from her other side, effectively squishing the

 poor ninja between over-enthusiastic catgirl and love-starved artist.

 “I was waiting for you to figure out it was me! What took you so

 long?! I kept trying to get your attention, but you wouldn’t listen

 to me!” the catgirl whined.

 

 “I had other things on my mind. How was I supposed to know that the

 goofy little cat was you?” Yuffie asked defensively. “Besides, we

 found out it was you. That’s what matters. And you’re back to normal.

 Kinda.”

 

 “Yuffie! You didn’t tell me you already had a girlfriend...” Relm

 was devastated. Yuffie was supposed to be her ninja, the girl she had

 nursed back to health, who she would marry and spend the rest of her

 life with. And now she found this other girl that Yuffie had known

 longer who had absolutely no problem holding onto the ninja just as

 unabashedly as she was. How could Yuffie do that to her? She'd looked

 through all of Yuffie’s things when she had stripped her unconscious

 form and placed some heavy blankets on her back at the cabin in

 Narshe. She hadn’t seen anything indicating another woman in her

 life. It was supposed to be Fate!

 

 “She’s not my girlfriend!” Yuffie said quickly. She would have

 shaken her hands to emphasize the point, but her hands were currently

 pinned to her sides by the two girls on either side of her. She

 sighed inwardly. That was really beginning to sound like her catch

 phrase. Fate had decided to play some cosmic prank on her. She could

 just hear the Goddess of Fate laughing at this turn of events. “This

 is Rikku. She’s my little sister.”

 

 “Yeah, and big sisters are supposed to look out for their little

 sisters and not let them get changed into cats!” Rikku stuck her

 scratchy tongue out at the older thief, her tail moving about in

 frustration. 

 

 “Ohhhh...” Relm sighed in relief. “I’m sorry I doubted you, honey.”

 Holding onto Yuffie’s arm tighter, the blonde artist leaned into

 Yuffie’s side.

 

 “Don’t call me that!”

 

 Meanwhile, Kairi was still watching Harle intently. “So that wasn’t

 my Riku, after all?” The harlequin nodded. She sighed, closing her

 eyes. So close and yet so far. Another false lead. Once again, Riku

 had been snatched out of her grasp. When she found him, she’d chain

 him up and throw away the key so he’d never get taken away again. She

 nodded resolutely. She had to get him back. Soon. ‘I’ll always be

 thinking of you, wherever you are,’ she thought, hoping it would

 reach him.

 

 “The reazon she did not turn back completely was because zis iz only

 ze Tear of Hate. Ze Dragon’s Tear exists in two worlds. In one world,

 it iz ze Tear of Hate. In ze other world, it iz ze Tear of Love. When

 they are brought together, ze Dragon’s Tear is complete. Since it was

 only ze Tear of Hate, it couldn’t completely restore her,” Harle

 explained. She tried with all of her might not to smile. She found

 this whole situation amusing. 

 

 “You mean I’m stuck like this?!” Rikku asked, mortified. She mewled

 sadly and quickly stopped herself. She wasn’t a cat. She wasn’t. No

 matter how much she looked like one. She sniffled, pawing at her

 eyes. 

 

 “For ze time being. Unless you want to go look for ze Tear of Love.

 But we don’t have ze time for that. We have to reach ze Door of Light

 while we still have time.”

 

 Yuffie sighed, hugging Rikku with her free arm. “We’ll get you back

 to normal when this is all over. I promise.” The catgirl looked up at

 her, her swirling green eyes misty with tears. “Besides, this isn’t

 so bad, is it? I mean, you make a cute catgirl, at least, right?”

 

 Rikku smiled slowly, looking up at the older ninja. “You really

 think so, Yuffie?” Her tail was swishing through the air much more

 happily now. 

 

 Where was Interceptor when she needed him? Her pet dog could keep

 the catgirl a little away from her love. Relm just held tighter onto

 her ninja girl. The last thing she needed at the moment was someone

 else distracting Yuffie from their destiny together. 

 

 “How did you end up like that anyway, Rikku?” Yuffie asked, still

 shocked that the kitten they’d been dragging around had been her

 sister the whole time. Rikku mumbled something into her blouse.

 “What? I couldn’t hear you.”

 

 Rikku bit her lip and pulled her face back from Yuffie’s blouse. She

 didn’t want to say it again. She was too embarrassed. “... I wound up

 stealing some things from some mage’s hotel room. But they got back

 before I could get out of there. She was really mad and she cast a

 spell on me. The next thing I knew, I was on the floor with

 everything around me. She grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and

 tossed me into the alley out back.”

 

 Kid nodded thoughtfully. “So that’s where ya went. We went lookin’

 all over for ya. Yuffie was startin’ to think ya got swallowed up by

 the Heartless or somethin’.” 

 

 Rikku’s eyes sparkled. “You were worried about me? Oh, Yuffie! I

 knew you’d come looking for me!” She nearly pounced on the brunette.

 At such close range, it almost sent all three girls sprawling. 

 

 Kid laughed. “Don’t listen to Yuffie’s lessons on stealin’ things

 anymore. You’ve seen what trouble that can get ya into. It obviously

 wasn’t good enough to get away from that mage.”

 

 “Will you stay out of this? My lessons are just fine, thanks. I’ll

 teach my little sister the way I want to. You teach your kids, all

 twenty of them, the way you want to,” Yuffie shot at the blonde.

 

 “I ain’t havin’ twenty kids.” Kid crossed her arms.

 

 “Yeah, I was thinking more around six,” Leena said thoughtfully. 

 

 “Six?!” Kid’s eyes widened. Leena had a wistful look on her face.

 “I’m gonna be runnin’ a bloody orphanage just like Lucca.” She placed

 her hands behind her head, looking up at the cobalt blue sky. Well,

 that wouldn’t be so bad. She was sure Lucca would be happy about it.

 

 “So.. I have to keep looking for him. Wherever he is.” Kairi nodded,

 trying to work up her resolve. This time she had failed. But she’d

 keep trying. Just like he did. And eventually, she would find him.

 And it would be the real him. And she would hold onto him until the

 sun fell from the heavens.

 

 “Just remember. Ze closer you get to ze light, ze greater your

 shadow becomes. You are going to ze source of all light. Be very

 careful, Mademoiselle Kairi, or you will be blinded. And your shadow

 will be too much for you to handle,” Harle warned. She turned from

 the group, looking out toward the ocean. 

 

 Kairi took a step towards the harlequin. There was so much more she

 wanted to know. And this girl, this Dragon God, seemed to have the

 answers. Or some of them, at least. So intent was she on Harle, on

 her still unformed questions, that it wasn’t until the water was past

 her ankles that she took notice. Looking out to sea, she could see

 the rough, turbulent waters. The dark, angry waves that were rushing

 faster and faster towards them, reaching out like giant claws. She

 thought she screamed, but it could have been merely the crash of the

 waves. And then the sea snatched them away.