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date Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:53:12 -0500
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1 Prism Hearts
2 Chapter 4
3 PlanitB Remix
4 by Amazoness Duo
5 amazonessduo@hotmail.com
8 Where had all the Heartless gone? That was the first thing that
9 entered Yuffie’s mind when she first regained consciousness. The dark
10 shadows were nowhere to be seen. She at first thought that they had
11 been swallowed by light. All around her was an endless flow of white.
12 Nothing like the black shadows that had been trying to bust down the
13 door to reach her. Not that there was a door anymore either, though.
14 The endless expanse of white stretched out all around her. It took a
15 moment for her to realize it was snow. “Snow?” The ninja blinked. It
16 didn’t snow in Traverse Town. At least not that she knew of. And
17 definitely not enough to blanket it like this. Which meant... “Where
18 the hell am I?”
20 The ninja/thief took a moment to run things over in her head. On the
21 upside of things, at least she wasn’t about to get her heart devoured
22 by Heartless. On the downside, she was lost out in some snowy
23 wilderness in an outfit that certainly wasn’t made for it. Shivering,
24 she for once wished she’d worn something a tad more conservative. The
25 only warmth she received was from her scarf, but that was more for
26 show than anything else. She would need to find a town and fast or
27 she’d freeze to death. What a way for the great Yuffie to die, cold
28 and alone in some arctic wasteland. She shuddered, holding herself to
29 try to retain some body heat.
31 How had she ended up there in the first place? Shouldn’t the
32 Heartless have broken in and grabbed her? Not that she wasn’t
33 grateful, but she would like to know what threw her to some far off
34 world. The girl. It had to be her. She was the Keyblade Mistress. So
35 she had links to other worlds. She must have sent them here to
36 escape. It was nice, but Yuffie would definitely have to ask her to
37 choose a warmer place the next time they needed to run. But whatever
38 the case, it seemed that Kairi was much more powerful than Sora had
39 been as the Keyblade Master. He could lock worlds, but Kairi seemed
40 to be able to traverse between them without the need of a Gummi Ship.
41 Pretty impressive. Maybe it had been a good idea to let her tag along
42 after all. Speaking of which...
44 “Kairi?” Yuffie turned around, looking for the younger girl. But no
45 one was near her. She thought that Kairi might have walked off, but
46 there were no footprints, either. “Kairi?!” She looked around,
47 searching for any sign of the princess. She had to be around
48 somewhere, right? But she wouldn’t last long alone in that cold.
49 Yuffie had to find her quickly. But where? “C’mon, think,” she
50 berated herself. “She’s gotta be around here somewhere. She can’t be
51 far off.” Finally, taking a wild guess, the ninja stumbled off into
52 the falling snow.
54 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
56 She had been walking for what felt like hours. Her body felt like a
57 solid chunk of ice. It hurt to move, to breathe, to think. Her body
58 felt numb. Walking was becoming extremely difficult. She nearly lost
59 her balance a number of times, but thankfully regained it. She knew
60 that if she fell in the snow, she would never get up again. “Kairi!”
61 she yelled, but her cries barely made it to her own ears. ‘I never
62 should have gotten her involved. She’s just a little girl. She’s
63 going to get killed because of me. You should have gone back for Leon
64 and Aerith instead of thinking you could do it all on your own with
65 one girl and the Keyblade,’ she thought darkly. She blinked. ‘That
66 doesn’t sound like me. This cold must be getting to me. I’ll find her
67 and I’ll drag her off to some town. We’ll get nice and toasty there
68 and then I can get back to becoming the richest, most famous ninja
69 ever.’ She laughed weakly, trying to hold onto some glimmer of hope.
70 ‘Just please, please let me find her before it’s too late.’
72 The snow seemed to roll on for an eternity before her, disappearing
73 into the distance. Her weakening legs kept pushing her forward,
74 though she was stumbling more and more often as the cold sapped her
75 strength. She tried to keep thinking, but even that was becoming a
76 chore. She just wanted to collapse, to lie down for a minute. But
77 that would be a death sentence.
79 She had stopped wiping the snow away from her clothes. She just
80 didn’t have the strength anymore. It was almost too much to just keep
81 going. She wobbled, nearly dropping. ‘Just a bit further,’ she kept
82 telling herself. ‘And she’ll be right there, right next to the
83 entrance of some big town.’ Her vision blurred, her eyes having
84 trouble focusing. But she couldn’t give up yet. There was still too
85 much she had to do, too much to find, too much to have. There was too
86 much to experience in life. And it would all be gone if she failed.
87 If she didn’t find the girl, the Heartless would sweep across all the
88 remaining worlds. And you couldn’t very well steal from anyone if
89 there wasn’t anyone to steal from.
91 “You’re probably eating this up, Leon,” Yuffie said, her voice
92 carried off by the wind. “Couldn’t do it on your own, Yuffie, you’d
93 say. It was hopeless. But I’m not done yet. You just watch me. I’m
94 gonna find that girl and I’m gonna drag her to some stupid town. And
95 they’ll have a nice big fire and lots of food and big fur coats...”
96 She trailed off, her thoughts becoming less and less coherent.
97 “Actually, Leon’d probably just say ‘...’ or something. But that’s
98 what he’d mean. The big depressing guy.” She moved a foot forward,
99 struggling to move another step forward. “I really wish he and Aerith
100 were here right now.” Another step. “But then they’d probably get mad
101 at me for stealing anything. And then I’d... Tell them I was only...
102 borrowing it..” Her foot refused to move, sending her collapsing face
103 first into the snow. Her aching muscles didn’t feel like cooperating
104 as she lay there, her whole body to exhausted. She would be blanketed
105 by the snow and no one would ever find her.
107 “Meow!”
109 Yuffie lay there, her whole body feeling ice cold. She hoped this
110 dying thing was quick. She was too weary to last all that long.
111 ‘There better be a lot of shiny things in the Lifestream,’ she
112 thought angrily. ‘If I’m gonna die, I might as well have something to
113 occupy my time after I’m dead.’
115 “Meow!!”
117 It was closer now, right in front of her. The ninja struggled to
118 open her eyes. She stared hazily at the kitten that had been with
119 Kairi. It was nuzzling her nose, trying to keep her conscious. “Go
120 away,” she said weakly, her eyes narrowing. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”
122 The kitten licked her cheek, pawing at her. “Meow!” it cried
123 anxiously. Yuffie refused to move. After a moments pause, it swiped
124 at her, sinking it’s claws into the ninja girl. It looked at her
125 apologetically as she swore. Droplets of blood dripped down her cheek
126 into the snow.
128 “You stupid little...” Yuffie glared at the kitten. But the sharp
129 pain was something. It gave her a focus besides the overwhelming
130 numbness. The kitten hopped off, heading over a hill. Yuffie weakly
131 got back to her knees. It was trying to get her to follow it. “This
132 better just be a little further!” She was cold and tired and
133 exhausted. But the kitten was beckoning her. She stumbled up the
134 slope, almost sliding back down. It took everything she had to make
135 it to the top. Gazing down, she saw the kitten. It was sitting beside
136 Kairi, the princess half covered in snow. It looked at her with
137 desperate green eyes, pleading for help. “You found her... I take it
138 back. I’ll help. Just give me a minute...” Taking a step forward,
139 Yuffie’s legs finally gave up. Stumbling down the hill, end over end,
140 she came to a rest next to Kairi. Her vision spun around her, her
141 thoughts breaking apart. The last thing she could see was the kitten
142 before the darkness devoured the white world around her.
144 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
147 Yuffie slowly came to some time later, her entire body aching.
148 Everything in her mind felt blurry, far off. She was having trouble
149 thinking clearly. She moaned weakly, rolling onto her side. It was
150 with some surprise that she found a heavy blanket over herself. She
151 blinked weary eyes, trying to force them into submission. Everything
152 was still a blur, but it wasn’t a cold, white blur anymore. So she
153 wasn’t lost out in the snow anymore. That was a good thing. She
154 hoped.
156 “So you’re finally awake, huh?” a voice said from somewhere in front
157 of Yuffie.
159 Struggling to find the speaker, Yuffie finally managed to spot a
160 furry creature watching her from the other side of the room. The
161 furry creature looked a little shorter than herself, but that didn’t
162 make it any less ferocious, she decided. ‘It’s gonna eat us. It took
163 us here out of the cold so it could have a nice warm snack,’ she
164 thought in her delirious state of mind. The dizzy ninja forced
165 herself to her feet. Upon standing, she found it to have been a bad
166 idea all the way around. The world spun around her like a top spun by
167 a careless child. The ground seemed to lurch underneath her. Her
168 still weak muscles gave out and she fell forward. The furry monster
169 caught her, sinking under the ninja’s weight, holding onto her.
171 “You need to rest! I don’t know how long you were out there, but you
172 were both half frozen when we found you,” the voice stated, laying
173 Yuffie back down gently and pulling the blanket back up around her.
175 Yuffie moaned again, her head swimming. “Both of us? Kairi’s here?”
176 Yuffie tried to spot the princess, but her head ached with the
177 effort.
179 The creature nodded. “If Kairi is the other girl who was collapsed
180 in the snow, then yeah. Oh, and a kitten. It was curled up on you,
181 trying to keep you warm. It was hard to drag you all back here.” The
182 monster reached back, grabbing around the fur that shrouded its.
183 Yuffie wondered what horrible visage the monster was hiding beneath
184 it. Slowly pulling the fur back, it fell to the monsters back.
185 Shaking its head, the ‘monster’ smiled cutely. It was a girl a little
186 younger than Yuffie, probably fifteen or so. The fur was just a big
187 coat that she was wearing which the ninja had mistaken for something
188 else in her deluded state. Her hair was held up in a red and gold
189 embroidered bandana, blonde wisps poking out here and there.
191 “You’re not a monster?” Yuffie asked dumbly.
193 The girl giggled, shaking her head. “Not since last I checked. Which
194 could have been a while. No, I’m just a simple artist. My name’s Relm
195 Arrowny. And this is Interceptor.” She motioned towards what Yuffie
196 had thought was some monster skin rug. It got up, nuzzling Relm’s
197 side. “I couldn’t have gotten you all here without him.”
199 Yuffie slowly sat up, waving the girl off when she tried to come
200 over and make her lie down again. “Yuffie Kisaragi. I’m the greatest
201 female ninja ever,” she stated decisively.
203 “A ninja?” The blonde girl clapped her hands together delightedly.
204 “That’s great! My father was a ninja. He left Interceptor to protect
205 me when he died. I was just a little girl at the time, so
206 Interceptor’s been with me while I grew up. But I’ve always loved
207 ninjas because of that. I was hoping I’d meet one someday.” She
208 looked over at the dog, still smiling brightly. “Isn’t that great,
209 Interceptor?”
211 The dog barked it’s agreement, fixing Yuffie with a steely gaze, as
212 if to beware her of hurting his charge. Yuffie gazed back, dismissing
213 the dog’s warning. She smiled herself, glad that the girl recognized
214 someone of her obvious talents. “Well, it takes a lot of talent and a
215 lot of will. Only a small handful can truly make it as a ninja. Your
216 father must have been quite a man.” Yuffie stretched back, letting
217 her muscles relax. She was slowly warming up. Her mind felt like it
218 was starting to thaw, to let herself think clearly again. “Though I’m
219 used to it running in the family. My dad was a ninja. And so was my
220 mom. But you’re an artist?”
222 Relm shrugged, petting Interceptor absentmindedly. “I guess it’s not
223 really my thing. Besides, I love art too much to give up on it. I
224 probably wouldn’t make a very good ninja anyway.” Her eyes lit up
225 again, watching Yuffie intently. “But I’ve always hoped one day a
226 dashing ninja would show up in my life.”
228 Yuffie laughed nervously. “That’s great. I’m glad to help.” She was
229 a little unnerved by the way the other girl was looking at her. The
230 blanket slowly slipped down her shoulder, letting the warmth of the
231 fire melt into the skin. She blinked as she slowly looked down. That
232 felt a little different than the way one’s clothes would heat up when
233 next to a fire. Sure enough, something was missing from the picture
234 she saw. She yanked the blanket closed tightly, her cheeks darkening.
235 “Where are my clothes?” she demanded.
237 “Drying. You were out in the snow for who knows how long. It was
238 soaked through. I can’t have you catching pneumonia after rescuing
239 you, you know,” Relm explained. “Don’t worry, Interceptor didn’t
240 look. I had him start on supper.”
242 Yuffie blinked. How the hell did a dog make dinner? She would ask,
243 but something else caught her eye. She had been attracted by the
244 light of the fire only to find that there was no fire. In the center
245 of the room was a painting of a fire up on an easel. It flickered and
246 glowed just like the real thing. Even stranger, it was giving off the
247 same heat of a real fire, warming the small room. Yuffie only stared
248 for a long moment before her eyes finally ached from gazing into the
249 flame.
251 “If you stare into the flame for too long, it stares back into you.
252 Be careful,” Relm warned.
254 “How did you...?” Yuffie began, shaking her head.
256 The artist grinned, walking over and shifting the painting to warm
257 the two rescued girls more. “Do you like it? I painted it. I told you
258 that my talent seems to lie more with art. I try to bring things to
259 life in my paintings.”
261 “That’s an understatement.” Yuffie watched the girl, still holding
262 the blanket close. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.” The
263 girl blushed under her praise. She looked around, trying to spot
264 Kairi. “Kairi?”
266 “I’m here. I’ve just been thinking,” Kairi’s voice came from behind
267 Yuffie.
269 The ninja turned, spotting Kairi lying on the floor, curled up in a
270 blanket. She was holding onto the kitten. The kitten still seemed to
271 be asleep. It had been exhausted, lasting a little longer than the
272 two girls. Yuffie sighed in relief. “You’re all right.”
274 Kairi didn’t answer. She certainly didn’t feel all right. Her mind
275 was still on that room she kept returning to and the voice behind the
276 door. She was set adrift in a sea of confusion, everything seeming to
277 conflict with everything else. She just wanted to make it go away.
279 The kitten’s ears perked up at Yuffie’s voice. The kitten blinked
280 it’s green eyes open, watching the ninja. It stood up to hurry to the
281 ninja. Looking up, it saw the distant look in Kairi’s eyes. The
282 kitten meowed, nuzzling the downtrodden girl, but it didn’t seem to
283 help. Curling up against Kairi, the kitten tried it’s best to help,
284 licking her cheek.
286 Kairi smiled softly, scratching under the kitten’s chin. “Thanks,
287 Jessie. I needed that.”
289 “I’m going to go try and get some potions from the shop. You could
290 probably both use it. So just try to rest up while I’m gone.” Relm
291 pulled the hood back over her head. “Don’t wear yourselves out. I’ll
292 be right back.” She waved at the two before disappearing out the door.
294 “Weird girl,” Yuffie thought out loud.
296 “Oh, don’t say that,” Kairi admonished the ninja. “She saved us
297 both. If it weren’t for her, we’d both be frozen solid by now.”
299 “I never said it was a bad thing that she’s weird.” Yuffie shrugged,
300 placing her hands behind her head as she stared up at the roof.
302 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
304 “Isn’t this great, Interceptor? It’s just like when mom met dad!”
305 Relm giggled, hopping giddily down to the snowy street from the
306 partially raised curb. “He was injured when mom found him and she
307 nursed him back to health, falling in love with the mysterious ninja
308 while he healed. It must be Fate! I came across an injured ninja and
309 now I’m nursing her back to health.”
311 The dog followed along faithfully, not quite sure what he thought
312 about the situation. But nevertheless, he thought it best not to rain
313 on his charge’s parade. He simply barked agreement.
315 Relm hurried across the snowy street. “And she’s so cute, too! And
316 did you hear what she said? The greatest female ninja ever. How
317 cool!” She sighed dreamily, titling her head to the side. “Do you
318 believe in love at first sight, Interceptor?”
320 The dog barked noncommittally, following the perky artist. What
321 would his old master think about all this? Monsters and thieves the
322 dog could protect Relm from. But love? This was uncharted territory
323 for the faithful guardian.
325 “Now I just need to nurse her back to health and we’ll fall in love
326 and live happily ever after. Just like mom and dad. But without the
327 whole mutually dying part.” Relm looked over when Interceptor barked.
328 “What about her friend? Well, she’ll have to find her own ninja. This
329 one’s mine.” She crossed her arms, turning the corner to the shop.
330 And froze dead in her tracks. Down the street, something was heading
331 into town. Three somethings, to be exact. The lurched forward like
332 huge, lumbering beasts. A person sat atop each one. Two were imperial
333 soldiers and the other was a green haired woman in a red dress.
334 “Imperial soldiers!” Bolting back around the corner, Relm and
335 Interceptor raced back to the house as the first gunshots were fired
336 by the town’s guards. Visions of a town in flames returned unbidden
337 to the young artist. ‘Relm, run!!’ her grandfather had commanded her
338 before turning to meet the Imperial onslaught. Crystal tears fell as
339 she ran. She couldn’t let that happen again.
341 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
343 Yuffie sighed, pulling her small green top back on. It seemed like
344 it had dried quite some time ago. Sitting on a small stool that Relm
345 used for painting, she pulled her stockings back on. “I still can’t
346 believe she can draw that well. My drawings look like stick figures.”
348 Kairi giggled, her back to Yuffie as she pulled on her own clothes.
349 “You’re a ninja, right? So why do you care if you can’t draw?”
350 Pulling on her white blouse over her black one, she turned to Yuffie.
351 “And it doesn’t matter if you can’t draw. It’s what you draw. And
352 what it means to you. I think even stick figures can be beautiful if
353 your hearts behind it.” Her eyes were distant, her mind elsewhere.
354 She remembered the secret place on their island, just a small cave
355 hidden away on it. But inside, she, Riku, and Sora had drawn so many
356 pictures. One she hadn’t seen until Sora had disappeared was one of
357 her sharing a Paopu fruit with him. It hadn’t been the best drawing,
358 but it was gorgeous to her because of what it meant.
360 The ninja shook her head, unconvinced. “Stick figures aren’t my idea
361 of ‘beautiful’. Those,” she said, indicating the stacks of paintings
362 in the corner, “are beautiful.”
364 “Just try drawing again sometime, Yuffie. If it’s something
365 important to you, then it will be gorgeous no matter how badly you
366 draw,” Kairi prompted, smiling. It would be nice to see what was
367 important to the ninja.
369 Yuffie tilted her head to the side thoughtfully, imagining what
370 she’d draw. She could see it in her mind, a stick figure of herself
371 surrounded by treasure and materia. She shook her head, dismissing
372 the thought. “I think I’ll leave the drawing up to Relm and stick
373 with what I’m good at.”
375 “And what would that be?” Kairi asked curiously, buckling her belt.
377 “Too much,” Yuffie said, grinning. The two laughed, relaxed for the
378 first time since they had seen the Heartless show up back in Traverse
379 Town. But that all fell away to the distant sounds of gunshots. And
380 something louder, more explosive. Yuffie glanced to the door. “What
381 was that?”
383 Kairi picked up the kitten, walking towards the door. She nearly
384 fell backwards when the door whipped open in front of her.
386 “Imperial soldiers! They’re riding Magitek Armor! We need to get out
387 of here!” Relm said, panting. Her face was pale, frightened. Memories
388 of another Imperial raid were still branded on her soul. The thought
389 of another one almost paralyzed her.
391 Yuffie picked up her overly large shuriken, standing up. “Imperial
392 soldiers?”
394 Kairi bit her lip. She was the Keyblade Mistress. She probably
395 wasn’t supposed to interfere, but she couldn’t help but think that
396 there had to be something she could do to help on this world. She
397 couldn’t just ignore it. What good was stopping the Heartless if
398 people were getting hurt by other people anyway? She looked up at the
399 ninja and the painter. “Maybe we can stop them. Sora helped a lot of
400 people with the Keyblade. Maybe I can, too. I can’t fight like him,
401 but there has to be some way we can help. You saved us, Relm. We
402 can’t let them tear apart your city.”
404 Relm shook her head swiftly. “No time. We’ve gotta run. They’ll burn
405 this place to the ground. There’s nothing we can do about it.” The
406 artist was nearly shaking. Her knees felt weak. ‘Relm!’ she heard her
407 grandfather call out in her mind, seeing him amidst the flames. She
408 was having trouble distinguishing between the past and the present.
409 All she knew was the fear of being a little girl and having her only
410 family taken away, her town gutted by flame. She barely felt Yuffie’s
411 hands on her shoulders, the ninja’s eyes gazing into her own. But
412 they gave her something in the present to anchor on to. She slowly
413 pulled herself back to the here and now.
415 “Relm, we need your help. If you don’t think we can stop them, then
416 let’s just get the hell out of here. We can’t do anything if we’re
417 all dead. We’ll figure something out when we’re far away from here,”
418 Yuffie promised, squeezing the younger girl’s shoulders. Relm nodded
419 slowly. “Good. Then let’s get out of here as fast as we can.”
421 “But Yuffie..!” Kairi complained, holding her Keyblade. It didn’t
422 seem fair that this girl had found them and yet they could do nothing
423 for her in return. “We have to try, don’t we?”
425 “Sometimes you’ve got to live and come back with a little more
426 firepower, princess,” Yuffie explained. “Come on.” She opened the
427 door, dashing out into the lightly falling snow, dragging Relm behind
428 her.
430 Kairi followed, still holding the kitten. She didn’t feel good about
431 this choice, but if she didn’t have Yuffie’s help then she didn’t
432 know what good she could do on her own.
434 “This way!” Relm tugged on Yuffie’s hand, pulling her towards a back
435 alley. The snow crunched underneath their feet as they ran towards
436 it. Relm didn’t want to leave Narche behind. It had been a good
437 refuge. And it had been a beautiful place to paint, the snow making
438 for wonderful paintings. But she had seen what the Imperial Army
439 could do. Staying was suicide. They neared the alley, hand in hand.
440 “There are mines all around here. We’ll disappear into one of them
441 and find another way out away from town,” Relm explained. But before
442 they could reach the alley, something bright streaked in front of
443 Relm, slamming into the ground in front of them. The shock wave sent
444 her flying back. She hit into the snow hard, Yuffie landing on her
445 feet next to her. “Magic...” she said warily.
447 Yuffie turned to face the looming metal monsters heading towards
448 them. “I guess we’ll have to fight them after all. We’ll get to do
449 you good deed, Kairi,” Yuffie cast a quick glance to Kairi before
450 pulling up her shuriken. She didn’t like the look of the strange
451 machines or their riders, but there was nowhere for them to run. And
452 with her party consisted of a girl with a key who couldn’t fight and
453 a painter. Things weren’t particularly looking up.
455 The three metal giants finally came to a stop in front of the three
456 girls and their pets, dwarfing them. One of the men on other side of
457 the green haired woman spoke up. “By Imperial decree, give us the Key
458 bearer. She will return with us.”
460 “Or we’ll wipe out the town. She’s coming with us either way, so...”
461 the other man said, shrugging.
463 The first man leant over, whispering to his friend. But with the
464 distance between them, he had to whisper loud enough for the girls to
465 hear him. “That sounds pretty spooky, Biggs. I’d sure agree to those
466 highly reasonable demands if someone told me that.”
468 “Oh, definitely. I’d probably thank them for the offer in the first
469 place. I mean, that or losing the whole town.” Biggs pretended to
470 weigh the issue in his hands. “No contest, you know, Wedge.”
472 “Don’t I know it! And with this powerful lady with us, too. She
473 wiped out 30 Magitek soldiers in under three minutes. Just think what
474 that kind of firepower could do to a town. I sure am glad she has a
475 Slave Crown on her head, keeping all conscious thought from her so
476 that she’s on our side,” Wedge said, nodding.
478 “Excuse me? Are you two possibly done?!” Yuffie shouted, exasperated.
480 Biggs shrugged. “Hey, it was all for your benefit. Just trying to
481 give you a grasp on the situation. I’m sorry for being helpful.” He
482 crossed his arms.
484 “Yeah, if you wanted us to just take the girl, you could’ve said as
485 much. It just means more work I’ve got to do.” Wedge sighed. “Well,
486 more work she has to do, at any rate.” He looked over at the green
487 haired woman. “Okay, go ahead and kill them,” he said casually.
489 “What?!” Yuffie stepped back, pulling up her large shuriken.
491 The green haired woman grabbed the controls, her Magitek Armor
492 moving forward, charging up for its attack. Under the mind control of
493 her Slave Crown, she could do nothing but follow orders. Even if it
494 meant killing innocents. Energy lit up the front of her armor, it
495 gathering to wipe out the ninja that dare confront her.
497 “Wait! I’ll give myself up! Just don’t hurt them!” Kairi cried out,
498 waving her arms in the air. She couldn’t let them get hurt. It was
499 her fault that these people were even here. If they hurt anyone, she
500 wouldn’t be able to forgive herself. She had to give herself up. Even
501 if it meant the end of her quest. ‘I’m sorry, Riku, Sora. But I can’t
502 let anyone get hurt because of me.’ She stepped forward. But the
503 woman took no notice, still intent on Yuffie. “No!!” Kairi screamed
504 as the magical blast shot out towards the ninja. Kairi felt it zip
505 past, its energy enough to send her sprawling to the floor.
507 Yuffie’s eyes widened as the bolt shot towards her, far too large to
508 dodge. She could only stare at the bluish white magic as it headed
509 towards her. Was this the end? After all she had been through, to get
510 killed by some magical mechanical beast? She refused to believe that.
511 She couldn’t die now.
513 Relm tried to get to Yuffie, to push her out of the way, but she
514 couldn’t reach her in time. She had hurt her ankle in the fall and
515 pain jolted through her when she tried to get to her feet. She could
516 only watch in horror. She had saved the ninja girl only to watch her
517 die at the hands of the Imperial Army. Must they take everything from
518 her? Her heart stopped in her chest.
520 The magic pulled up right before hitting Yuffie, plowing into
521 something else. The three girls looked to see a woman dressed in
522 yellow, a cape billowing behind her, a sword upraised. The magic
523 swirled around the blade before disappearing.
525 The ninja nearly collapsed in relief, her heart pounding heavily in
526 her chest. That one had been just a little too close. She watched the
527 older woman hurry past her, her sword held in front of her. “Need any
528 help?” she asked, watching the huge machines awaiting the woman. It
529 didn’t look like a very fair fight.
531 “Get Relm out of here. And the girl with the Key. You can’t let
532 Kefka get his hands on it. If he does, he’ll destroy everything,” the
533 blonde woman stated without looking back.
535 “Celes!” Relm called out. “Don’t!” She saw Strago standing before
536 her again, urging her to run before heading off to face his own death
537 at the hands of the Imperial soldiers. Celes had been lost herself, a
538 former Magitek Knight who had been imprisoned. A thief had helped her
539 escape and she had been wandering ever since. She had found the young
540 and lost Relm and taken her to the mining city of Narche. They had
541 thought themselves safe from the Empire there, but apparently that
542 peace wasn’t to last. And now Relm was faced with the same situation
543 she had years ago when her grandfather had died. “Come with us,
544 Celes!”
546 The blonde woman shook her head, raising her sword again. “I can’t,
547 Relm. I have to stop them. Run. Somewhere far away. Somewhere where
548 there is no Empire. Where you can be free. Paint a picture of that
549 beautiful place for me, Relm. I’ll look over your shoulder while you
550 paint it, I promise.”
552 “But..!!” Relm began. Interceptor bit at her coat, dragging her
553 back. “Celes!” she called out again, she could barely get herself to
554 move. Tears brimmed at her eyes. She couldn’t leave behind someone
555 again. “I’ll help you!” she pleaded, trying to reach Celes.
556 Interceptor pulled harder, dragging her back in the snow. Yuffie
557 finally grabbed a hold of her, yanking her along. “Celes!!”
559 Kairi followed, but her heart was low in her chest. ‘You always run
560 away, Kairi,’ she could practically hear the voice taunting. And it
561 was true. How often did she run away, unable to fight her own
562 battles? How often did she run away from her problems? And now she
563 was again. Because a woman was willing to sacrifice herself to cover
564 their retreat. And so she ran, escaping her problems once more. She
565 felt so weak. How could Sora and Riku count on her to find them if
566 she was always running away?
568 Celes watched the three mechanical beasts before her. She was
569 horribly outgunned. But such was life. Sometimes it wasn’t about
570 winning or losing a battle. It was about a battle worth fighting. And
571 to protect Relm and her world, this battle was certainly worth
572 fighting. Even if the outcome was predetermined. She would gladly
573 give her life for it. Snow fell around her. “It’s so beautiful.” She
574 whispered. Light started pouring forth from the Magitek Armors before
575 her. Running forward, she lifted her blade.
577 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
579 Yuffie had to drag a struggling Relm down the snowy street, trying
580 desperately to keep a hold on her. If Relm ran off, she would end up
581 right in the middle of a battle they couldn’t possibly win. They
582 needed to get as far away as they could. Thankfully, Interceptor
583 seemed to be leading the way. She and Kairi followed the dog, running
584 as quickly as they could in the snow.
586 “Yuffie,” Kairi said, pulling to a stop. Yuffie looked at her
587 quizzically, stopping herself. Relm struggled, but Yuffie kept her
588 restrained. “We have to go back. We can’t let her fight them alone.
589 They’ll destroy the city.”
591 “There’s nothing we can do, Kairi. I don’t have a death wish. If we
592 go get back there, the city’s still going to get destroyed. The only
593 difference is that we’ll be lying there dead, too. You said it
594 yourself, you can’t fight. What could we possibly hope to do against
595 those monsters?” Yuffie argued, still holding onto the distraught
596 painter.
598 Kairi looked back towards where they had come from, hearing the
599 sounds of magic and machines. Her shoulders slumped, her head slowly
600 nodding. “You’re right.” ‘You always run, Kairi,’ repeated in her
601 mind over and over again. And she was doing it all over again. Maybe
602 the voice had been right after all.
604 “If it helps any, I certainly don’t intend to let you go anywhere.
605 And I would have burned the town even if you’d surrendered yourself,”
606 a voice said behind them. The three girls turned to see a man in a
607 strange, elaborate outfit. He had red markings on his face. He smiled
608 slowly. “It looks like I’ve finally found the Keyblade Mistress.
609 You’ll be coming with me.”
611 “The hell she is!” Yuffie let go of Relm, flinging a shuriken at the
612 man. It whipped through the air before hitting into a protective
613 barrier in front of him. It bounced off, falling harmlessly to the
614 floor.
616 “You’ve got what you wanted! Call off the attack!” Relm demanded,
617 hope still lingering that it wasn’t too late to save Celes.
619 The man laughed maniacally, shaking his head. “Decimate the town.
620 Kill all the townsfolk,” he ordered. “Especially the Magitek Knight.”
622 “You bastard!” Relm cried out, tears and rage mixing inside of her
623 as she saw the troops hurrying off to fulfil his order. The man
624 simply laughed as the tears dripped down her cheeks.
626 Interceptor could only watch Relm’s anguish for so long. Growling
627 angrily, he leapt at the man, intent on ripping his throat out.
628 Anyone who could cause such grief for his young mistress deserved a
629 harsh death. But it was not to be so. With a wave of his hand, a
630 block of ice appeared, slamming into Interceptor. The dog whimpered,
631 slumping in the snow.
633 “Interceptor!”
635 Yuffie lunged forward, gripping her large shuriken. She couldn’t let
636 him take Kairi. Kairi was their only chance to save everyone from the
637 Heartless. And it was Yuffie’s job to make sure that Kairi made it
638 through all this. She swept her shuriken at the man’s head, but it
639 merely rebounded off of his barrier, knocking her hand back.
641 Slowly raising his hand, the man grinned. “Leave them all alone!
642 I’ll go with you!” Kairi yelled. But he ignored her. Concentrating,
643 he called down lightning, striking all three girls. After a bright
644 flash of light, they all lay barely breathing in the snow. “Take them
645 back to the palace,” he told one of his troops. “I have plans for the
646 Keyblade Mistress.”
648 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
650 Kairi slowly came to, her world filled with pain. She moaned, her
651 head buzzing shrilly. She tried to glance around, to see where she
652 was, but some hair fell in front of her eyes. She reached forward to
653 push it away, but something tugged at her hand, jingling as it did.
654 Looking down quickly, she could see her that her wrists were chained
655 to the wall. Even that exertion sent new pain spiraling throughout
656 her body. Her head slumped forward, feeling defeated. How could she
657 ever hope to find Sora and Riku now? All she had managed to do was
658 get a town destroyed and get herself kidnapped by someone wanting the
659 Keyblade. She sniffled, trying to blink back tears. What good had she
660 done? Sora had helped so many people when he had been searching for
661 her. All she managed to do was hurt everyone she came across. Now
662 she’d never see Riku or Sora again. That thought brought a chilling
663 emptiness inside of her. She needed them. She didn’t know what to do
664 without them. Those two boys meant everything to her. They were why
665 she had ventured out in the first place. But she had failed them.
666 Tears dripped down her chin, falling to her bare legs below. She
667 couldn’t even wipe her tears away, her hands not reaching far enough
668 because of the chains.
670 “Don’t cry, Kairi,” someone said in the cell. “And don’t give up. It
671 doesn’t suit you. Where’s that strong, unbreakable will of yours? You
672 can’t lose it now.”
674 That voice... Kairi looked up, her hair falling away from her eyes.
675 Her tear stained eyes met Riku’s aquamarine orbs. “Riku! Is.. Is that
676 you?”
678 Riku knelt in front of her, smiling faintly. With his gloved hands,
679 he began to wipe her tears away. “Kairi, as long as you don’t give
680 up, it won’t ever be over. You can conquer anything. Your heart is
681 stronger than mine and Sora’s.”
683 Resting her cheek against his gloved hand, Kairi gazed at Riku. She
684 was afraid he would disappear if she looked away. His touch helped
685 reassure her, her battered soul clinging to it. “But I can’t do it
686 alone. I need the two of you, Riku. I’m not strong enough on my own.
687 You and Sora... You complete me. I’m lost without you.”
689 Riku smiled, stroking her cheek gently. “You’ll always have us with
690 you, Kairi. Remember that. No matter how far apart we are, our hearts
691 will always be together.”
693 “But I need you, Riku.” She whispered, tears brimming at her eyes
694 again. “I miss you both so much. And I’m so scared. I don’t know
695 what’s real anymore. I don’t understand. I just want to be with you
696 and Sora on the Destiny Islands again.”
698 “Kairi,” Riku said softly, looking into her eyes. “I want that, too.
699 But you’re the only one who can make it a reality.”
701 Kairi nodded, sniffling. “I’ll do whatever I can, Riku. I’ll find
702 both of you, wherever you are. We’ll all be together again. Forever.
703 Because..” She blinked back more tears, watching him. He slowly began
704 to fade away, the wind blowing away what sparkles of his beautiful
705 eyes remained. “Because.. I love you..” she whispered, closing her
706 eyes tightly as a fresh wave of tears hit her. She cried quietly,
707 chained to the wall in some dungeon. But even feeling lost and
708 desolate, there was some light in the darkness. She knew that she had
709 to find her friends. That she wouldn’t allow herself to stop until
710 they were back together. Even if it took an eternity across countless
711 worlds. Yes, she was captured. But that seemed insignificant. It
712 couldn’t stop her from being with Riku and Sora again. Riku was gone
713 again. But he was out there, somewhere. And as long as she had that
714 hope, she could keep going. No matter what happened, there was always
715 hope.
717 “Kairi, we’ll get out of this,” Yuffie spoke up. She had only been
718 awake a short time, but she could see that Kairi had been crying
719 pretty heavily. Thought she didn’t know how they would, she couldn’t
720 just let the princess cry so helplessly. From the look of things,
721 Relm was completely out of it. Her eyes were open, but she didn’t
722 seem to see anything, as if she were someplace else. Yuffie didn’t
723 know whether that was a good or bad thing.
725 “I know,” Kairi replied. She slowly looked up, her eyes sparkling
726 with unshed tears. She was smiling softly. “Because we have to.
727 Because they’re waiting for me.”
729 “I’m afraid they’ll have to wait for quite some time. I don’t plan
730 on giving you up until I’ve squeezed every ounce of usefulness out of
731 you.” The door slid open, the man from before returning. Yuffie
732 glared at him hatefully, but it only amused him. He bowed. “Allow me
733 to introduce myself. I am Kefka.” Standing up, he walked over to
734 Kairi. He cupped her chin, forcing her head one way and then the
735 other as if inspecting her. “Not quite what I expected. But I don’t
736 think Sephiroth was wrong about you. Of course, I was supposed to
737 bring you to him. But I have other ideas.”
739 Kairi yanked her head away, hitting it against the hard wall behind
740 her. A small flare of pain ignited in her head, forcing her eyes
741 closed. “What do you want from me?” she asked angrily.
743 “You’re the Keyblade Mistress. Only you can wield that Keyblade. So
744 you’re integral to keeping the multiverse together. Or,” he smiled,
745 “tearing it apart. I prefer the latter.”
747 “Why would I help you? I’d never let the Heartless destroy all of
748 the beautiful worlds out there.” Kairi stared up at him, wishing she
749 could sound more intimidating than she felt.
751 “You won’t have a choice. I’ll use you and the Keyblade to find a
752 way to tear everything apart. To create and everlasting monument to
753 oblivion. A shrine that everyone and no one will be a part of,” Kefka
754 explained. He clapped his hands, the green haired woman entering. She
755 held a small crown in her hands, the same as the one on her own head.
756 “This is Terra. She’s the most powerful magic user I’ve ever found.
757 She didn’t feel like helping me either, even though her magic is most
758 beneficial. So I’ve given her a Slave Crown. And all of her magical
759 potential is at my disposal. I’ll simply do the same with you. I
760 don’t care about Sephiroth’s plan. He’ll become a part of the
761 nothingness I will create. And you will help me to achieve that. My
762 willing servant, the Keyblade Mistress.”
764 Kairi shook her head, struggling with the chains. Her heart raced
765 inside of her. She’d seen what Terra was capable of under the
766 influence of the Slave Crown. That would put her in a world without
767 hope, a puppet to be used by this madman. She couldn’t let that
768 happen. But she was powerless to stop it.
770 Kefka grinned, turning to look at Relm. “I’m sure you can appreciate
771 that. You’re an artist. Think of it as the greatest work of art.
772 Absolutely nothing. There’s always something. And it only manages to
773 clutter things up. There’s too much out there. So I will wipe the
774 board clean. And that will be my masterpiece. I’m sure you’ll
775 appreciate it. Celes is probably waiting for it right now. Terra did
776 an excellent job of killing your friend. So don’t worry. You’ll see
777 her again soon.”
779 That finally broke through to Relm. She struggled viciously against
780 her bonds, trying to get to her feet. Her eyes were stained red from
781 all of her crying. “You monster! How could you do that to her! I’ll
782 never forgive you!” Before it had only been a guess. Now it was fact.
783 Celes was dead. The woman who had taken care of her was dead now. And
784 she had been completely helpless to stop it. She was always helpless
785 to do anything, the people around her always dying. She couldn’t
786 stand it anymore. She was tired of always being the survivor, always
787 left alone.
789 Kefka laughed, turning his attention back to Kairi. “You’ll make an
790 excellent puppet. You should be thanking me. You no longer have to
791 suffer as the Keyblade Mistress. I’ll make your decisions for you. It
792 will be so much easier. I’m sure Terra loves it.”
794 Terra walked forward, raising the Slave Crown. Kairi struggled
795 pointlessly. She felt hopeless, trapped. There was no escape. Soon
796 she would be the cause of even more suffering and anguish throughout
797 countless worlds.
799 ‘See? There is always suffering. There is always darkness. It is a
800 matter of life. Even in your fantasies you can’t escape it. Just
801 close your eyes and realize this isn’t real. None of it is. And
802 you’ll be safe. He can’t do anything to you if you’re back in your
803 room,’ the voice whispered in Kairi’s thoughts.
805 ‘No! I won’t run away again. I’ve already ran too much. I won’t let
806 it happen again. I’m not running away this time,’ Kairi thought
807 determinedly, shifting in her chains. A cold pit in her stomach
808 formed as she wondered what it would be like to wear that thing.
809 Would she know what was going on? Or would everything just fade away?
811 ‘Don’t be so ignorant, Kairi. What good are your fantasies if you’re
812 enslaved in them? He’ll only use you to fulfil some insane scheme of
813 his. Come back to me, here. You’ll be safe,’ the voice tempted.
815 ‘I’m not going! I can’t run anymore. I’m going to save Riku and
816 Sora. I’ll protect them. Somehow. I won’t let it end now,’ she
817 thought back frantically, the crown touching her hair. Her heart
818 skipped a beat as she kept struggling, the gesture seeming ever more
819 futile. She leant back as far as she could, trying to keep the crown
820 away.
822 The voice sighed, as if it was dealing with a young and stubborn
823 child. ‘Fine. Then imagine that your chains are unlocked, that they
824 aren’t holding you. Believe that they’re open.’
826 Kairi closed her eyes, thinking frantically. She imagined the chains
827 looser, imagined the locks opening on them. ‘They’re open, they’re
828 open, they’re..”
829 She felt them slide open, clattering to the floor. It caught her by
830 surprise. She hadn’t expected it to work. The crown was pushing back
831 her hair, about to fall in place. Kairi pushed as hard against the
832 wall with her feet as she could, moving away from Terra and the
833 crown. The crown fell to the floor instead of falling into place on
834 her head. ‘Thank you!’ she called out joyously to the voice in her
835 head.
837 ‘If you’re that thankful, come back home and open the door,’ the
838 voice pleaded. It sounded sad, desperate, lonely. ‘I need you, Kairi.’
840 ‘I.. I can’t..’ She was taken aback by the hopelessness in the
841 voice. It was so deep. She hadn’t quite understood. Just who was it
842 behind that door? And why did it want her to open the door so badly?
843 But she couldn’t think about that now. The woman had already turned,
844 and Kefka didn’t look pleased. She got to her feet, but he backed her
845 into a corner.
847 “I don’t know how you did that, but that just means we’ll have to do
848 this the hard way. I will get that Keyblade. And you will use it for
849 me.” The woman handed him the Slave Crown. Reaching out, he grabbed a
850 hold of Kairi’s blouse, yanking her forward. She fell, her feet
851 pulled out from under her, but he held her tightly with one hand,
852 pulling up the crown with the other. “We’ll wipe away this universe,
853 you and I. Whether you want to or not.”
855 Kairi kicked at him, but it didn’t do any good. He was too strong,
856 too powerful for her. And her friends were still locked up. She had
857 gotten out of her bonds, but that didn’t help her situation at all.
858 She tried to pull away, but it was no good. She ached, hanging from
859 his arm, her body straining to get away. He barely seemed to notice.
860 ‘Please help me..’ she called again. But this time the voice was
861 silent. There was nothing she could do.
863 “Remember, Kairi, within every heart is a light that will never fade
864 away. Even in the darkest heart. You need to unlock that light,” she
865 could remember someone saying. It had been the cloaked figure she had
866 met after she first entered the door. He had been trying to convince
867 her to use the Keyblade.
869 “Within every heart..” Kairi whispered, “there is light.” The Slave
870 Crown inches above her head, the young princess shoved the Keyblade
871 into Kefka’s chest. She felt it push into him, not into his body but
872 into his heart. Kefka froze, his eyes wide, stunned. She felt the key
873 fit in, as if slipping into a lock. Kefka’s eyes burned in rage as he
874 struggled to bring the crown onto her head. Kairi quickly turned the
875 key, hearing it unlock something inside of him. Light began to bathe
876 the Keyblade, spilling out of Kefka, illuminating the dark room. She
877 was swallowed by the light.
879 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
881 She could feel herself floating. She didn’t know which way was up
882 and which was down. She simply floated along in a sea of light. She
883 could see it wash over the darkness, dispersing it. Fear was far away
884 from her. She simply felt the warmth of the light. It surrounded her,
885 soothing her lonely soul.
887 “You have unlocked the light in the heart of Madness,” she heard
888 someone say, the voice resonating around her, within her.
890 “I was the first Magitek Knight. The experiment. I became the
891 strongest. But I lost my mind in the process. Was it a fair trade? It
892 drove me insane. My world became madness. My only goal was to
893 eliminate everything, to create a monument to oblivion. It was the
894 only way to quell the madness. To take revenge for my lost sanity. It
895 was the only refuge I could find. And I wrapped myself up in it,
896 ready to face the world, to bring it to a crumbling nothingness. But
897 now.. I see things clearly. The world is not colored by the madness
898 anymore. I am free.”
900 Sights bombarded her as she heard Kefka speak. The first Magitek
901 Knight experiment that left him warped and twisted. His descent into
902 madness. His search for blissful oblivion. She watched it all through
903 his eyes, feeling the tinge of madness that had once spread across
904 his heart. And then the light accepted her again, embracing her.
906 And she was swept along in the light, lost in the stream.