Kingdom Of Memories (PG-13 for language)

what's up

ummmmm... how far r u on the next chapter. yeah, sorry im really impatient

 

I respect that. Especially the ad part. Heh that was a joke BTW. Yeah. hope you keep it up. I like to broaden my horizons.

 

i just finished reading all of the chapters you have put out so far and i must say: AWSOMNESS!!!!! xP its really kewl and i would really like it if you continue, pleeeeeeease?!

 

Very.. very well written.
I'm enjoying it so far.
I have been reading it for the past 2 hours.. or more..
I'm another one of those slow readers I guess.
I have one question:
Why is Christie so mean to Sora?
I dont get it.

Great work. Keep it up!​

 

Kairi2011: Mean to Sora? I'm not sure what you mean. She's trying to protect him, the only way she knows how.

Kairi1995: First paragraph of Halloween Town is finished, i'm haivng some real trouble with it.

Everyone else: Thank you for your comments, it's much appreciated. I'll update as soon as i can, but bear with me. Would you prefer a chapter thats good but takes longer to complete, or would you prefer a chapter that stinks but is written up in an hour. (Like my first draft was)

 

I mean in Chapter 11..

That's what I mean.. When she rolled her eyes and pushed him off. It just seemed to me like she was being a little rude.. but if you say she wasnt.. i guess not.. it just seemed that way to me.

 

Kairi 2011: She rolled her eyes at Infinity, that text should have been underlined, which means Infinity's AI was speaking. She shoved Sora off because he was on top of her, shaking her shoulders to wake her up. Sora may be light, but 100+ pounds of Keyblader still hurt, especially after a concussion.

Everyone: Since KH-Vids.net suffered from downtime recently, now that it's back for now, i come bearing the link to it's home :

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3340413/1/Kingdom_Of_Memories

Go there for the latest updates, but you'll still have to bear with me. I'm sorry im taking so long, Halloween Town was never my favorite world, but it's an important plot point for KoM.

 

Sweet,Thanks.

 

kay.
gotcha.

 

I read up to Chapter 15 on fanfiction.net and loved them.
=D

New chapter please?
I've been waiting for awhile for an update.
Let me know when you have a new chapter up..okay?
=]

 

Those fillers are staying there, consider it, Home Field Benefits. (laughs) I might have the new update out tonight, in fact, i probably will. I'm almost done with it. Expect a bit of a shocker at the end, i really like how it goes. :sweat: If i say anything else, i'll spoil it! Bear with me a little longer, it'll be out by the end of the day!

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EDIT: I'm back! Told you it'd be here by the end of the day!

Disclaimer: Christie, teh Infinity, The Crest Lock System, and the Koukeninn no Ariake belong to me, the rest is Disney/Squares.

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The first time I'd ever seen Halloween town, I'd really disliked it. I'd never liked the movie, and the world itself was much to dark. But now that we're here, it's not so bad. Of course, these costumes I'm sure we could do without.

"What are we supposed to be?" I shrugged at the elder boy, stopping him from spinning around.

"Looks to be like you're a soldier, a dead one at that." Grey, cold skin, check. Torn, bloody military uniform, check. Definitely a dead soldier. He sighed, shoulders sagging.

"Cheer up Ri, at least we'll blend in." He looked at me funny, and i shrugged, wings moving my tank top with the gesture. I just hope they won't get tangled on anything.

"Think you can fly on those?" I shook my head, and grabbed his hand, suppressing a shiver at how cold it really was, closing my eyes for a split second.

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"Please Silver, wake up! I need you!" Balled fists kept trying to pump his heart, but nothing worked. The redhead leaned over the brunette, pulling her into him, allowing her to cry out her pain.

"He can't be, he can't be dead!"
-----

I shook my head, taking a deep breath as Riku looked at me concerned.

"Chris? You ok?" I swallowed thickly, but nodded, puling him along.

"Yeah, just a headache. Let's get after Oogie before he kills himself" Riku nodded, and we entered the town proper. I rubbed my neck, sighing as Sora walked into view. We always seem to run into each other, and i can't help but wonder why. His blue eyes widened in thinly veiled surprise as he ran over to us, showing fangs as he smiled. I shook my head as he dragged us into the town proper, only to stop suddenly as an explosion rang throughout the small town. We all jumped as heartless appeared int eh courtyard, drawing out weapons. When they didn't attack, Sora cocked his head in surprise, looking away from our calamity as a voice rang out around the small town

"And now, allow me to introduce the master of terror, the king of nightmares, Jack Skellington."

I smiled as Jack made his appearance, coming out of the fountain like it was an elevator. I suppose it was, it certainly was a shortcut from the bridge to here at any rate. Jack walked over to the mayor, both residents of Halloween Town unaware of our presence. I could barely hear them from where we stood, and judging from the looks on the boys faces, they could hear them as well.

"Bravo Jack! Bravo! These ghosts will be a big hit at this years Halloween!"

"Thank you, thank you! But their movements still need work, it's not scary enough yet. I want to strike bone chilling terror, perhaps Dr. Finkelstein can assist me. I'll go see him" Jack walked away towards the lab where the explosion had taken place as the mayor remained in the square for a moment longer.

"Then i';ll go tend to the decorations." With that said, the rotund man walked off out of our sight. Riku and Sora shared a look, and i sighed, returning my daggers to their sheathes, walking off in the direction of the lab. Riku and Sora matched my footsteps before opening the lab door, trudging up the stairs as i slowed slightly. Back on Earth, Finkelstien had been trying to make the Heartless a Heart, but it had failed. Judging from all that had happened, there was a good chance that it would also happen here. But giving the heartless a heart would mean that more nobodies would be created, making things harder when this ends next year. I sighed, stopping next to the open door as we could hear the Doctor and Jack from here.

"I don't understand. Maybe the guidance system was damaged in the explosion?"

"Nonsense Jack. My devices are always perfect!" Jack snapped his bony fingers, making Sora jump slightly as i hid a giggle behind by hands.

"Oh, I've got it! Why of course! The Heartless need a heart! Doctor, do you think we can add a heart to that device?"

"Certainly. A heart's not all that complicated. Lets get to work." I growled under my breath, clenching a fist.

Who does this guy think he is?! A heart isn't at all complicated my rear! Riku's hand on my arm made me snap out of my thoughts, as Jack had spoken up, reading from a book set on a pedestal in the lab.

"TO make a heart, fist take a container with a lock." Dr. Finkelstein rolled his way over to the container that jack had been speaking about, trying to pry the lock open, but unable to.

"We need the key to this thing first!"

Sora summoned the keyblade to his hand, Crab Claw glowing in the darkness. Riku looked at him in surprise.

"You're really gonna unlock it for them?

"Why not? If they succeed, we won't have to fight the Heartless, right? Besides, i want to see the Heartless dance too. Don't you?" Riku shrugged.

"Not really, seems wrong." Sora rolled his eyes, walking into the lab with us behind him. I crossed my arms as Sora worked his magic on the locked container, wings twitching in agitation. Jack spoke up, eyes - or lack of- widening in surprise.

"My, that was amazing! Uh, and you are?"

"I'm Sora, this is Riku and Christie."

"Well done Sora! I'd like you all to be a part of this years Halloween" Sora nodded, but snapped back to the matter at hand, pointing to the Ghoul lying on the examination table.

"Whats this Heartless doing here?"

"Oh, the Heartless came to down just recently. What's frustrating is, i can't get them to dance with me! So the Doctor and i are trying to improve the guidance system. He's quite the genius. Okay Doctor, let's continue. The ingredients for a heart:

Pulse" A still twitching frog was added to the container

"Emotions" The doctor spoke up.

"Terror" A large spider.

"Fear" The Doctor ran his hand down a sheet of glass, making our ears ring.

"Hope and Despair" Twin snakes, each eating each others tail.

"Mix them all together, and we have a heart!" The doctor rolled over to a switch i hadn't noticed, allowing energy to flow from some kind of circuit breaker into the heart, and from the heart into the Heartless in some kind of Frankenstienish nightmare. The heartless had pulled itself up somehow, only to flop back down as the energy stopped flowing, the Heart coughing up a poof of smoke.

"It failed!" I sighed in relief, somehow glad that it had failed, even though the first time i saw this I'd been disappointed to see that the experiment had failed. The doctor rolled back over to the book, looking through the ancient text.

"maybe we're missing some ingredients. Let's try adding Memory." We all jumped back as the doctor opened his head, revealing his brain. It's not as creepy as it sounds really, looking back on it now, but at the time, we were all pretty shocked at eh way he prodded at it. He prodded at it for a little while, but unable to find what he was looking for.

"Sally! SAllY!!" Good-for-nothing girl, i don't know why i even bothered creating her! Sally's got the Memory we need, go try and track her down" Jack nodded at Dr. Finkelstein, before turning to us.

"No problem at all. Sora, Riku, Christie,. would you three like to come along?" Sora nodded, then yelped as Riku clocked him upside the head in a "friendly gesture" Jack led the way out of the lab, but i stopped just before leaving, looking at the doctor out of the corner of my eyes.

"No matter what you put in that thing, it'll never work. A manufactured heart can never be the real thing, it's only doomed to fail. And anyone who tries to create one, is just a fool." I left the doctor picking his jaw up from the floor, catching up to the boys just as the Mayor ran into view, screaming.

"Jack! Jack! We have a MAJOR crisis!!!! The Heartless are completely out of control! We can't stop them!" Jack tilted his head

"Hmm. Maybe out experiment triggered something. Everything will be fine mayor, you have nothing to worry about. " I shook my head.

"Nothing to worry about, huh? I don't think so." Jack shrugged, leading the way to the graveyard. I gotta say, that guy is better at magic then the game let on, his Gravity spells almost flattened us, and he was aiming at a Heartless halfway across the square! Said heartless left a stain of black goop across the tiles, and i had to close Sora's jaw.

"Teeth go inside your mouth, not on the ground." He shook himself out of his stupor, and we raced ahead to keep up with Jack and Riku's longer strides. Oh, how i hate being short! Once we'd caught up, the graveyards gate creaked open and we walked through. Jack stopped in front of a grave depicting a dog like creature, and patted his leg. Sora yelped, falling backwards as Zero, the dog that had been buried, flew out of the grave.

"Zero! Have you seen Sally anywhere?" Zero nodded as much as a handkerchief-like dog could, flying behind a taller gravestone. Sally gasped at the surprise, standing up. Just like before, she certainly did look like a patchwork doll. It wasn't at all creepy though, rather more so of a odd beauty. She walked forward, hands behind her back.

"Is something wrong, Jack?"

"No, every thing's going great. We're going to have the best Halloween ever. All we need now is you memory."

"Memory? You mean, this?" Sally brought her hands forward, a small bunch of white flowers in her hand. Ironic. Forget-me-nots for Memory. Naminé. I shook the thought out of my head as Jack gently took them from Sally's hand, holding them up as he studied them. Sally reached out, worry flooding her features.

"Jack, i have a bad feeling about this. Why don't you try something else, there's still time." Jack shook his head, a big grin crossing his face.

"Nothing could beat what I've got planned! Once we give the Heartless a heart, they'll dance just as i envision it. Trust me Sally, you'll love it!" Sally shook her head, looking me in the eyes. This girl, she's wiser than she looks.

"Jack, why not have these kids star in the festival instead? They all look rather frightful, and funny to. They'd be better than the Heartless." Unfortunately, Jack was out of earshot already, beckoning us to the gate. The boys were at his heals in an instant, and Sally sighed.

"He never listens to me." I shrugged, walking off.

"Boys are like that. You gotta make them listen sometimes." Sally looked up, and ran up the stairs after us. I heard the giggles emerging from behind us, but paid them no mind. It had to happen anyway. We met no trouble on the way back to the lab, and i stayed in the entry hall. About 5 minutes passed before the boys emerged, shaking their heads. The spring in Jack's step was dimmed a bit now, but he left the hall quickly enough. Sora was a step behind him, SO Riku walked up and explained what was going on.

"It failed again. Dr. Freakenstein said to talk to the Mayor about "Surprise"." I sighed, and we both ran forward to catch up with Jack and Sora. Strangely enough, we didn't run into any Heartless in the Graveyard this time either, just like before. It all struck me as odd, but I'll take what little peace we can get. The coffin at the back of the area served as a transporter, sending us through to an area full of Gravestones. The mayor gestured Sora over, but i couldn't hear them from the distance i was away form them. I yelped in surprise as the giant pumpkin exploded near Riku's head. He blinked in surprise, shaking pieces of pumpkin out of his hair. Sora' hysterical laughter made the silver haired boy flick a particularly large piece in the Keybladers direction, squashing the pumpkins flesh in his face. I laughed as the piece slid off Sora's face leaving a pale orange trail on his face. Riku smiled, and this time it reached his eyes. Even Jack was cracking up in laughter behind us as i walked into the pumpkin, grabbing the Jack-in-the-box, shaking off the goopy remains. Jack took it form my hands, leading us back to the lab. This time, i entered behind the boys, sticking close to the entrance, and by some odd turn of events, by Riku. Dr. Finkelstein inserted the Jack-in-the-box into the heart, and sealed it up tight.

"There we go, this time it's sure to work." He turned his wheel chair to face the table, rolling over to it, Heart in hand. At that moment, Barrel dived out from beneath a shelf, tripping the Doctor and sending the heart flying. DR. Finkelstein looked up, shaking a gloved fist as the Heart bounced into Lock's arms, and they ran off. I growled, taking off after them as Sally tended to the doctor. Jack, Riku and Sora were fast behind me, all panting as we lost sight of the little kids. Riku groaned.

"Damn! We lost them!" Jack shook his head, patting his leg, Zero appearing at his masters Summon.

"Zero, after them! Quick!" Zero nodded, taking off with us at his heels, er, tail. They led us out of the town, past the bridge that had the shortcut into town, and to the cliff overlooking the Mansion. Jack snapped his fingers, and i looked up at the top of the mansion, catching sight of the kids bathtub climbing it's way up the platforms.

"I knew Oogie Boogie was behind this!" Jack led the way into the mansion, casting various Fire spells to light the Lantern Platforms to get us up to the higher levels. Once in the kid's Playroom, they turned to face us. Underneath their masks, i could feel they were all glaring at us, and they scattered. I drew my daggers from my sheathes, diving after Shock. The boys each took a different target, Jack blocking the door. It took a while, but we finally got them all sitting down. Shock up first, witches hat slightly crooked on her head.

"We were just following orders! Oogie Boogie told us to steal the heart. It's all Barrels fault! It was his idea to tell Oogie Boogie about the Heart!" Lock piped up, adding his two cents

"Yeah, that's right!"

"But you guys said--"

"You should be ashamed!" I sighed, kneeling to be at the kids level.

"Look, it doesn't matter who's idea it was to tell Oogie Boogie about the Heart, what matter know is stopping him before he kills us all. Is there a way to reach him?" Shock stood up, pointing at a lever halfway across the room.

"Oogie's down in the Torture Chamber in the basement, that lever unlocks the door." Sora nodded, puling on it. There was a distinctive click as the gears turned, and we walked out of the room. I stopped at a tug on my shoe, kneeling back down to Shock's level as she put a small, hexagon shaped crystal in my hand, he pale blue color shimmering int eh dim light.

"Oogie threw that away, but i found it. Thanks, for not hurting us." I nodded, straightening out her hat. Once out on the platforms, i examined the crystal in torchlight. It shimmered even brighter out here, and i could make out faded symbols. An image of a shield appeared in my mind, and i smiled, tucking it into a small pocket in my shorts, walking town the platforms to the basement level. We reached the door that Shock had talked about, and jack pushed it open. The "torture Chamber" was nothing more than a glorified roulette wheel, with some shackles on the wall that Oogie was standing in front of. Thankfully, they were all empty. Jack called out.

"Oogie Boogie! Give me back the heart!"

"You want it? Well then, come on over and get it!" In one giant gulp, he swallowed it, much to out disgust. I could hear Sora making a gagging noise behind me, and i swallowed.

"Now, lets see if i can get their attention. Oh, Heartless!" Two gargoyle Heartless appeared at his call, but nothing more. They left a second later as well.

"This is it? Nobody disrespect me, NOBODY!!" Oogie stomped on a button i hadn't noticed, sending us down onto the spinning roulette wheel. I shook my head, grabbing my daggers from my sheathes and ducking around the traps, which included a Buzzsaw, various toy soldiers shooting at us. It was after a rather close call with a guillotine like blade and Riku's neck that i finally had enough, calling on the image of the shield I'd seen from the crystal earlier.

"Protect!" A shield sprang in front of all of us, giving us more time and letting Sora deal the final blow, ripping once of Oogie's seams. All the bugs that acted as his stuffing fall out. I shook my head, squashing the last one and grabbing a paper that had fallen out. Another report for Aerith to translate. No Holy Circlet this time. Jack sighed, head sagging.

"I guess that Heart was a Failure." Sora shrugged as Jack led the way out of the house, back into town. Unfortunately, we never made it that far. A tremor in the ground made us all struggle to keep our footing and we all turned to see Oogie's remains fuse with his house. Looks like he opened himself to Darkness after all. Sora's jaw dropped again.

"Whoa! How did he get so big?!" Jack pointed up at the globes of darkness that were coating the house.

"Look! It's brimming with the power of Darkness! Oogie Boogie is drawing power from those dark globes! So we just have to destroy those things, right Sora?" Sora nodded, running off the edge of the cliff, keyblade in hand. We followed after him, each heading for a different Area of the house. About ten minutes later, i ran around to the front of the house, surprised to see it was still standing. Sora and Jack ran up from the other end, equal looks of surprise on their faces. A yelp from the boy that Sora and i both knew well made us both look u, eyes widening at the sight of Riku hanging off the edge of one of the wooden walkways, Search Ghost moving ever closer to knocking him off and into a long fall. A quick thunder spell from Sora gave me time to get up to RIku's level and pull him back up, destroying the last dark globe. With the last dark globe destroyed, House-Oogie collapsed in on itself in a cloud of dust and wind, forcing us the cover our heads to avoid the glass shrapnel. A quick protect from Sora stopped that threat though, so we all stood, waving away the lingering dust. My wings twitched as i shook my head, sighing in annoyance. Of course the keyhole just HAD to be under the house we destroyed.

They never make this easy do they?

I blinked in surprise, but shrugged to myself as Sora sealed the Keyhole, bouncing the beam off of he full moon above us in order to seal the large keyhole. With that final errand taken care of, we returned to Dr. Finkelstiens lab. Jack stepped forward, taking Sally's hands into his one.

"Sally, why didn't i listen to you?"

"Don't feel bad Jack. We'll come up with another plan for Halloween, and we'll do it together." Jac nodded, looking at us.

"I guess i have no choice. For now, the Heartless Halloween festival is cancelled. Next Halloween will be the scariest ever!" I smiled, covering a laugh with my hands as we exited the lab. I stopped mid-step as Dr. Finkelstein turned his wheelchair.

"Christina, you were right after all. I was a fool, and i'm sorry." I nodded, still walking out of the lap.

"Apology accepted!" Riku chuckled as the lab door shut in the doctors face, throwing his arm around my shoulder. Sora smiled, speeding his pace slightly before we came to the town gate, where our paths would split once again. I caught Sora in a one armed hug, drawing him into Riku's noogie trap, his mask nearly falling off with the endearing movemet, the younger boy struggling out of my hold as he redid his spikes. I chuckled, stopping as Riku drew me close, nose buried in my hair. I opened my mouth to ask him what was wrong, but the words wouldn't form. He sighed, holding me at arms length. I could hear Sora's footsteps trail away as he gave us some room, but paid little attention.

"I want you to go with Sora." I gasped in surprse, eyes widening. He cut me off before i could speak, and i bit my lip.

"Maleficents going to give us crap about this, and she dosen't trsut you. I don't want to get you hurt."

"But she'll hurt you to Ri, i don't wanna lose you agin!" He shook his head, letting me slip out from his grasp.

"I can handle it, i'm her favorite after all." I but my lip as i looked at the ground, fists clenching. I could hear him sigh, and i looked up, eyes slightly watery as he caught my chin with his fingers, making our eyes meet.

"I realize this may be taking advantage of you, but....." My eyes widened in surprise as our lips met, and i leaned into him, returning the kiss. Everyhing i'd wanted to tell him, and everything he's wanted to tell me, was said in that moment. Neither of us wanted to seperate, but we needed to breath. With a smile that reached his eyes, he squeezed my hand tightly.

"I'll see you soon." I nodded, slipping a small crystal into his hand.

"The Protect spell that Shock gave me, you're going to need it." He nodded, tucking it into his pocket as he walked off into the portal. I licked my lower lip, words tumbling out before I could stop them, not that I'd wanted to.

"Riku."

"Hm?"

"I love you"

He smiled, halfway through the portal.

"I love you to Christie, remember that." I waited until teh portal had closed and i lost sight of him before I rejoined Sora on the Infinity. I can only hope, that when I see Riku again, nothing will have gone wrong.

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Enjoy!

 

YAY! Another chapter!
=]

*reads with excitement*

LOVED IT!

The ending was so cute!

Keep it up.

Next chapter please?
*clasps hands together and sticks out lower lip.*
=]

 

(smiles) No need to pout, they'll be a few more chapters in this story. And KoM is only the first in the Saga of the Night. Chain of Memories and KH2 are a key part of it all.

 

Sorry for the Double Post, but i come bringing a new chapter! (is 5 days later a double post?)

Disclaimer: Christie, The Infinity, The Crest Lock System, and the Koukennin No Ariake belong to me, the rest is Square/Disneys.

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Back on board Infinity with the boys, i let myself relax for a minute. Things had really been messed up with my meddling, but now, they seemed to be fixing themselves. As much as i dislike leaving things up to fate, i don't have a choice here and now. I took my place in the captains seat, smiling to myself as Infinity's voice rang throughout the ship, Sora still jumping as he took his place in the co-pilots seat, hands twitching on the gun turret controls.

"Welcome back Captain, that seat was starting to get cold. Sora didn't want to take your place i do believe."

I smiled at the boy in the seat next to be, before taking the headset that layed across the flight console. I bit my lip, gathering my courage.

"Infinity, open a channel to Traverse Town please."

"Understood Captain." Sora leaned back in his seat as we entered the space lanes, looking at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Leon was really worried about you, even though Yuffie and I kept telling him you were ok." I shrugged, adjusting my hold on the steering wheel.

"Nii-sans like that, he's always been overprotective." Infinity spoke up at that moment.

"Channel open Captain, as requested. I have to warn you though, your brother has the other headset, and he isn't happy right now." I gulped, nodding my thanks.

"Traverse Town calling Infinity, what is your status?"

"We're on the way back Traverse Town, keep the porch light on if you please." I could hear the relieved shouts and whoops from Yuffie, and Vincents near silent chuckle. I could also make out the the relief in Nii-sans voice as he quickly responded.

"Understood Infinity, we'll be on the front porch waiting for you. Get your butts back here as soon as you can, understood Nee-chan?" I laughed, turning on the video feed and raising a hand to salute.

"You got it, we'll be there as soon as we---Nii-san?!" The signal on both channels had gone blank, static filling my ears as i threw off the headset with Goofy's yell coming from the ship cabin.

"Somethings coming up the port side! We're gonna get rammed!"

"Goofy's right Captain! Brace for impact!" Infinity barely managed to get the order out before we were rammed by Hooks ship, sending some crates flying, the sound of breaking wood filling my ears. I hoped it was Hook's ship making that splintering sound, but i knew it wasn't.

"Damn pirates! I just lost all shields! I'm sorry Captain, i won't be able to stop them from boarding us." I shook my head, quickly undoing my seat belts as Sora leaped over the back of his seat, helping Donald get his wings untangled from the seat belt of the chair next to him. Goofy had already stood from his seat, and he stood near the windows, shield in hand. It didn't do much good though, the Pirate Heartless and Mr. Smee came in through the hatch, and who says pirates never use the front door? I grabbed my daggers from their sheathes, only to stop halfway through the motion as a sword was placed at my neck. Smee spoke up, not stuttering at all.

"I'm sorry Missy, but i can't let you do that. Grab the animals!" I turned to Sora, if he could get out of here....

"SORA! RUN!" He hesitated for a split second, but had to backpedal as Donald's Thundara spell forced him to leave the ship, ducking and weaving though the close confines of Infinity, but he made it. I ducked out from beneath the sword that had stopped my movements, grabbing my daggers from their sheaths and beginning to hack through the heartless. Unfortunately, despite all our efforts, we were still outnumbered. During the fight, my daggers had been thrown from my hands with me being unable to get at them, and as such, i was unable to fight. Without a third person backing them up, Donald and Goofy were quickly overtaken, all of us getting thrown over the heartless' shoulders and carted into the brig of Hook's ship, dumped into a heap on top of each other. Donald was quick to jump off of Goofy and I, fluffing his feathers as the Heartless slammed to door in his face.

"COME BACK HERE!!" Goofy's hand on his shoulder made the duck stop his tantrum, and i leaned against a barrel, foot tapping on the wood as Donald paced in front of the door. A hatch opened suddenly in the ceiling, and Sora crashed on to the wooden floor, fists clenched. He pushed himself off of the ground, blue eyes livid as he looked back up at the closing hatch.

"Riku's got Kairi, I'm gonna guess." I sighed, letting a small thunder spell flicker in between my thumb and forefinger.

"How is that possible Christie?! Kairi's safe back at Traverse Town!" I shook my head, hopping off the barrel and moving to the door.

"The "Kairi" that Riku gave us was a Heartless in disguise, there's no way he would have traded Kairi for me, not now. Maybe if he was still himself, but not now." Goofy looked at me, arms crossing.

"Still himself?"

"Riku's being possessed. I don't know if he managed to throw whoever's doing it off or what, but when he kissed me, i know that it was Riku. There's still a chance we can get him back." I turned to face Sora, making our eyes meet.

"We're going to get them both back, i promise." Sora nodded, determination coming back to his features as he stood on his tiptoes to look out the door window, taking in the two pirate guards standing watch just outside the door. It was then that Peter Pan made his appearance.

"Ahem! How ya doing there? Looking for a way out?" Peter jumped out from the barrel I'd been sitting on, and Goofy turned to face him.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the answer to your prayers." I held back my laughs as Donald tapped his foot against the wooden floor. Peters face fell.

"Okay then, fine. Have it your way."
"But your stuck in here to, aren't you?"
"No, I'm waiting for someone. She told me to wait here."
"Who?" Sora's question was answered as a ball of golden light flew into the room we were in, making a small tinkling sound, much like a small bell. Considering her name, it's not that odd. Tinkerbell flew in front of Peter's face, letting the ball of light she must have used as a shield to cloak herself fade away. Peter sighed, face screwing up.
"Tinkerbell, what took you so long? Great job, so you found Wendy? Hold on, there was another girl there too? Are you nuts, there's no way I'm gonna leave Wendy there!" Tinkerbell stomped on the air, tiny fists clenched. Donald laughed.
"Aha! She must be pretty jealous!" I winced as Tinkerbell stiffened, turning on her heels and flying over, soundly kicking Donald in the beak, leaving his eyes shaking in his sockets as Tink flew back under Peters hat to sulk. Peter sighed, grabbing his hat and shaking it out, making Tink fly out in a huff.
"Come on Tink, please open up the door." Tink nodded in what looked like reluctance, flying off. Sora cleared his throat, making Peter open his mouth.
"I'm Peter Pan." Sora extended his hand, put Peter pulled his back before they shook.
"Okay, we're in this together, but only till we find Wendy." Sora nodded, summoning the keyblade as the door swung open, a firmly grinning Tink floating where one of the Heartless Guards had stood. Peter smiled as she flew back out into the ship, and led us out of the brig. Without my daggers, i hung back with Donald and helped him with the spells. But i gotta tell you, it's odd fighting without them. It was an easy climb up to the second level, and we met no resistance once there. Goofy looked at Peter out of the corner of his eye, stopping.
"So, uh, how come you can fly?"
"Anyone can fly. You wanna try?" At our nods, Peter whistled shrilly, calling a still angry Tink. He sighed.
"Aw, haven't you cooled off yet, Tink?" The little pixie crossed her arms, turning her wing to Peter, fluttering them. I suppose Peter took that as signal to grab her by the wings, flying over our head. Golden dust fell like snow, sticking to our clothes before fading away.
"Just a little bit of Pixie Dust. There, now you can fly!" Donald was the first to try, jumping up and flapping his arms. It got him nowhere though, as he fell before he got a foot off the ground. He tapped his feathery fingers against the wooden floor as Tink laughed in his face, the bell like sound calming. A creak of wood from above made us all look up, and i had to strain my ears to make out Riku's voice. Sora's widened eyes told me he was hearing the same thing.
"What?! So Wendy's not one of the chosen ones?"

"There are seven, supposedly, and Maleficent says that Wendy's not one of them. Hoist anchor as soon as possible, leave all the dead weight behind, including her, and the prisoners."

"After the trouble of capturing her? And why those seven? What is Maleficent planning anyway?"

"Who knows. As long as it means getting Kairi's heart back and keeping Christie and Sora safe, i couldn't care less."

"You're wasting your time! he Heartless have devoured that girls heart. I'll stake me other hand it's lost forever. As for the others, they'll be gone soon enough."

"I will find it, no matter what. Sora and Christie will be safe." The voices faded out as a door slammed, making us look away from the ceiling. Sora looked at me.

"So, Riku's just trying to keep us all safe?" I nodded, pushing my way through to the kitchen, or as seafarers call it, the galley.. I leaned against the wall, sitting down and pulling my legs to my chest as the boys followed me in. Peter floated above the fireplace, blinking in surprise as Tink flew up to the netting.

"Wat is it Tink?" I looked up just a Wendy came into view.

"Peter? Peter Pan?"

"Wendy!

"Please hurry! The pirates are coming!"

"What?! I'll be right up there, just hold on!" Sora walked into Wendy's line of sight, blue eyes full of questions.

"Wendy?"

"Yes?"

"Is there another girl up there with you?" Wendy looked away from us, looking towards where Kairi was.

"Why, yes. But she seems to be asleep, she hasn't budged an inch since she was brought here." She ran to the door, away from the netting we'd been looking up through as Sora stretched his hand barely managing to touch Kairi's fingers.

"Kairi? Kairi!" I smiled as the young girls fingers twitched, and Sora's face lit up, a hopeful noise escaping his throat. It disappeared though, as pirated came into teh room above us and dragged the girls off. Wendy screamed, and Peter's face fell.

"Wendy! Sora, we gotta get up there!" Sora nodded, jumping down from the shelf and running back out into the hold. It was a quick trip into the captains cabin, thankfully. Unfortunately, Riku was already half gone. Kairi's limp form was in his arms, and he was backing into a dark portal. Sora outstretched his arm, trying to stop his friend, as i clenched my fists.

"Riku, wait!" Sora jumped back as Anti-Sora came into view, shadowy kingdom key in claw. I gulped, hanging back. This was not going to be easy. Spells flew through the air, along with potions and blood. Sora ended up with a new scar on his cheek, that wound caused by Anti-Sora's claw during a mad rush to grab at the Shadow Key. He wiped off the remaining blood, returning the Crab Claw to his belt, walking back over to where i had been standing, revealing a hatch. We returned to a chamber deeper in the hold, and much to Peter's surprise, an unconscious Wendy.

"Wendy!" Tink flew up to his face, tinkling in his ears. He swatted her away.

"Come on Tink, not now! Sora, Christie, this is as far as I can go, I've got to get Wendy out of here."

With the sleeping girl in his arms, Peter flew out the open hatch, and to my knowledge, out of the ship. Tink had flown off in a huff before i could stop her, and i bit my lip. Sora and Donald ran off, climbing back up into Hooks cabin, Goofy waving me over. I hesitated, but the look in Sora's eyes made me swallow that hesitation and take his hand at the top of the ladder. We took a moment to re-equip ourselves, before we exited to the decks.

And came face to face with at least half a dozen Pirates, with Captain Hook at the front of thier ranks. He laughed.

"Quite a codfish, that Riku, running off with that girl without even saying goodbye." Sora snarled, CrabClaw appearing in his ahnd in a flash of bright blue light.

"Run off where?! Tell me, where did he go?"

"To the ruins of Hollow Bastion, where Maleficent resides. But yoou won't be going there." He raised a lantern, TinkerBell captive inside it, tiny fists pounding on the glass.

"Unless you intend to leave your little pixie friend behind."

Sora sighed, allowing Crabclaw to fall away from his grasp.

"Hand over the Keybalde, and i'll spare your lives. Be glad i'm merciful, unlike these Heartless. So, which will it be? The Keyblade, or the plank?"

Sora winced, niether option was appealing to the poor boy. I looked over to the ships edge when a ticking sound rang throughout our ears, smiling internally as i saw the crocodile. Hook panicked, dropping the lantern containg Tink into Smee's ahnds, before running up the ladder and to the ledge in front of his cabin.

"It's him! The crocodile that took me hand! Oh, Smee, he's back for me other hadn! I can't stay here! Go Away! Oh, i can't stand the sight of him! Smee, you take care of them!"

With a slam of wood, Hook disappeared into his cabin. Funny, he's a grown man, afraid of a creature who can't do anything to him so long as he stays on the ship. I shook my head, clenching my fists as Sora was poked out onto the plank, foot half off the wooden board. If he fell, the crocodile would get a snack after all. He smiled, closing his eyes.

And jumped off the plank.

Donald and Goofy's gasps as he flew back into sight, golden sparkles trailing at his feet made me laugh, i laughed even harder as Peter appeared, swooping in and rescueing Tink from Smee's clutches, guiding Sora to a peaceful landing.

"Thanks Peter."

"Don't mention it, you didn't think i'd leave you and Tink behind did you?" Sora smiled as Smee ran off, turing to the Heartless, CrabClaw reappearing in his grasp.

"You're ALL going down!" The Heartless were defeated rather quickly, a few Fira spells from Doland and a gunpowder barrel impacting with an Air Pirate sped things along as well. We climbed up the ladders to the ledge on Hook's cabin, and Peter knocked on the door, snickering as Hook's fear filled voice came from within.

"Is that you, Smee? Did you finish them?" Peter pinched the bridge of his nose, voice now sounding exactly like Hooks first mate.

"Aye captain, they walked the plank, every last one of them." The door swung open, Hook coming out at a full run. He peered over the edge of the Balcony, Peter slowly sneaking behind him, dagger in hand. With one swift movemet, Hook had his, ahem, "nether regions" poked, and he jumped a foot in the air. He turned, hands on his rump.

"P-Peter Pa-- Blast you!" Peter laughed.

"Ready to make a splash you codfish? Now it's your turn to walk the plank!"

Hook drew his sword, and we scattered. Sora and Peter took to the air to annoy Hook, while Donald, Goofy and I stayed on the deck, hitting him with spells and droping cannonballs where he would be standing. Unfortuntanly, as he got weaker, he also got desperate. He bagan throwing present shaped bombs in the air at Sora and Peter. Thankfully, they were both able to dodge tehm rather wll, but the aftershock of one bomb threw me back first into the central mast. Hook took that moment to grab me by my shirt collar, hoisting me up. Sora made a move to help, but Hook put his sword to my throat

"One move boy and her head goes to the Crocodile!" Sora snarled, baring his teeth. Behind Hook's head, i noticed a flash of bright red and black, before a spinning weapon was thrown. I spat in Hooks face, making him drop me. As Axel's chakram hit the mast, i grabbed my daggers from two of the outlying blades, spinning them in my fingers. Hook swallowed in surprise as i grinned.

"Game over."

And with one quick movement, i forced him into Peter's reach, the boy leader throwing him overboard into teh waiting Crocdiles sight. With that finished, i scrambled up the ladder, just in time to see Axel disappear into a Dark Portal, smiling at me. I sighed, finishing my climb as the boys arrived on the ledge.

"Uh, Kairi couldn't wake up, so maybe she's really lost her-" Donald quickly shushed him. Peter walked forward, placing a hand on Sora's shoulder.

"Sora."

I still can't believe it. I really flew! Wait till i tell Kairi! I wonder if she'll believe me. Probably not." Peter smiled.

"You can bring her to NeverLand sometime, and you can show herself. Maybe you can even teach her!" Sora smiled softly, looking up at the stars.

"If you believe, you can do anything, right? I'll find Kairi, i know i will. Theres so much i want to tell her, about the Pirates, Flying, and everyign else that's happened. Huh?" Tink had flown in front of Sora's face, flying straight to Peter.

"Whats that Tink? What about the Clock Tower? SOmethings there?" Sora's eyes widened, and met mine.

"The Keyhole!"

----

It was a quick trip to the Clocktower once Donald, Goofy and I learned the basics of flying. I was still practicing as Peter and Wendy were talking with Sora, so when i noticed one of the clock faces behind an hour or two, i called Sora over. He noticed what i was getting at almost immeadiatly, and we pushed the clock hand down with some considerable effort. Sora flew back, keyblade working it's magic on the Keyhole set between the two and three hour marks. The glow from Big Ben lit up the night sky like a lighthouse, but no-one came up to check on the disturbance. Considering the late hour, i wasn't surprised. Sora flew back up, landing on the ledge, a gummi piece in hand. He shook his head, gesturing to Peter and Wendy.

"Peter, are you really going back to NeverLand?"

"Afraid so. But we can see eachother anytime you want, so long as you alwys remember NeverLand." Wendy smiled as Peter kissed her hand. Tink however, didn't like it, flying over to Sora and hiding in his spikes in a huff. He winced as her tiny fingers got stuck in his spiked, but made no movement to remove her. Peter sighed as he gathered Wendy up into his arms for the flight back to her home.

"Oh boy. She's getting all mad again. Do me a favor you two. Look after her for me, will ya?" Tink popped out of Sora's hair just as Peter flew off. This time, i don't think he's coming back. The look on Tinks face as she crawled into Sora's short's pocket told me she thought the same thing. Sora ran to the end of the ledge, but Peter was already out of range. The boy sighed, and i put my hand on his shoulder.

"We have to go. We found the last Navi-Gummi piece, Cid'll install it when we get back to Traverse Town." Donald crossed his arms.

"And how do we do that? Our ship's wrecked?" I smiled, flying up to the top of the clocktower. I dug deep into my pocket, where a small radio had been this entire time. It was connected to Infinity's com-channels, more accurately, Traverse Town. I clicked the “talk†button.

"Infinity to Traverse Town, come in please"

"Nee-Chan! Are you guys alright?"

"We’re fine Nii-san, but the engines are scrapped. We could use a pickup."

"Understood, we know where you are, and we’ll be there as soon as we can. Hang tight. Traverse Town out"

I sighed, returning the radio to my pocket. From my position on top of the Clock Tower, i had one of the best views of the starry sky. I let the chilly night wind blow through my hair, before wiping away my tears. I took one last look at the stars, before drifting back down to where the boys were. We’re almost done with this whole mess, and hopefully, we’ll end this happily.

----

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I come bringing updates! Brainstorms come at odd times, and you can't stop them!

Disclaimer: Christie, The Infinity, The Crest Lock System, and The Koukennin no Ariake are mine, the rest is Disney/Squares.

-----

The flight back to Traverse Town with Cid was surprisingly quiet, Infinity being towed behind us. No Heartless halted our progress through the Space Lanes, so Sora saw it fit to take a nap. I gotta say, he's cute when he sleeps. I dozed off about halfway through the trip, only waking up when we docked back in the relative safety of Traverse Town. Sora woke up, stumbling his way off the ship and into the First District. Yuffie was quick to follow him too make sure he didn't get into trouble, while Donald and Goofy headed into the Items Shop. I stood up, rubbing my eyes, walking out of the transport, yawning as I stumbled down the ramp. With sleep still chasing competent thoughts around my brain, I could barely notice the state Infinity was in. But from Cid's cursing, I knew that more than the engines were scrapped. At least half of the port side wing gummies had been knocked off into the space lanes, and with the crash, the Auto-Regen program in the computers had been knocked offline. I sighed, running a hand through my hair, surprised as the tips of my fingers came back covered in blood. I winced, walking into the Second District Hotel, padding into the Blue Room, and into it's bathroom.

One of the benefits of staying at the hotel free of charge was the hot water. I shrugged off my clothes, leaving them in a heap on the sink. I would need to borrow some from Yuffie, the ones I'd been using had been soaked in a disgusting mixture of sweat, heartless blood, and bug innards. Strange what you don't realize in combat. I gave the water a moment to heat up as I gathered the courtesy towels, hopping into the shower the second steam started to rise up from the tile floor. I don't know how long it had been before the bathroom door opened, letting the steam, and heat, out. I shivered.

"Nee-chan?" Oh-crud. I winced, sticking my head out of the shower door, some hair falling from behind my ear and dripping soapy water onto the floor. Leons storm cloud grey eyes met my own, and he raised a pair of khaki shorts, a black tank top, and clean undergarments. I smiled as he placed them on the counter, taking my dirty clothes with him.
"Come see me at the Gizmo Shop when you're done. We need to talk." I nodded, ducking back into the shower stall to finish up. The hot water had petered out by the time I was finished, and I shivered as it quickly turned ice cold. I turned it off, almost slipping on the puddles I left in my wake. I smiled as I noticed the note that Yuffie must have left in her shorts for me.
"Sorry, smallest clothes I got. You need to grow up ya midget!"

It didn't matter, they fit fine. My hair was still damp as I clambered up the ladder to the Gizmo shop roof, walking to the edge and plunking down, sneaker laces clicking against the stone building. Near silent footsteps behind me made me look up to meet grey eyes as Leon say beside me, putting his arm around my shoulders and leaning his head on my own.
"Sorry, for worrying you." He made an odd noise, but held me tighter.
"It's alright. I should have realized you can take care of yourself. Cid's thinking of hiding the access key to Infinity, she's pretty banged up." I laughed.
"I'm Infinity's captain, Cid'll have hell locking me out of it." He let go, looking at me funny.
"Don't you mean she's your ship?" I shook my head, standing up and dusting off my borrowed shorts.
"The ship chooses it's captain, much like a Keyblade chooses it's master." Leon pulled himself up off the ground after me, and we both headed down the ladder.

Despite the fact that it had been nine years since we'd had a peaceful moment as siblings, I was happy with this. Unfortunately, the peace can never last. I walked back into the hanger as Nii-san went to find Aerith, only to clamp my hands over my ears as Cid came out of nowhere, yelling in my ears.
"Ya idiot! How the hell could ya let Chrissy go off on her own like---oh." The old pilot turned crimson in the face as he noticed me standing there instead of whoever he'd been planning to yell at.
"Sorry midget, thought you were Leon." I uncovered my ringing ears, walking over to a small cabinet that housed ship keys. A box crashed to the ground behind me, and I winced. Cid really was a clumsy idiot. I turned, keys in hand.
"Is ship B-8 in harbor?"

The pilot nodded as I tucked the keys in my pocket, giving him a hand with the box before walking off to Dock B-8. A simple Highwind model, but it would do. I climbed up into the small ship, three seater. It would definitely do. Aerith tumbled through the doors at that moment, catching herself on the railing as Leon shut the door into the plaza behind her. She growled slightly, but came down to to my location, taking in the keys jingling in my hand, and the three seats. The captains seat was at the front, with all the switches and buttons within easy access, while the two passenger seats at the back had securely installed seat belts. It wasn't Infinity by any means, but it would work for what I was planning. Aerith took a seat, buckling up as the launch procedure took place. According to the StarMap, Olympus Coliseum was an hour way. Perfect. We could grab Cloud, and be back by dinner. I could hear Aerith fidget in her seat for the entire trip, she must not have known what my plan was. The trip was quiet, a little to quiet for my tastes. No Heartless that could have been a threat crossed out path during the entire trip, and I was worrying by the time we docked. Aerith walked off the ship quickly, heading for the registration desk and looking around at the lack of people.
Tall people that is. Phil made his appearance then and there
"Hey, sweetie! If you're here for the games, you'll need a partner" Aerith shrieked in surprise as the satyr came into view, and I jumped at her shriek, having been examing the trophies that Sora, Donald and Goofy had won. Phil laughed as Aerith recomposed herself, having understood the reason she had screamed.

"Sorry, that happens a lot. You two here for the games?" I shook my head.
"We're looking for someone, he's about six foot, has blond hair that's really spiky, and blue eyes. He carries around a big sword, and goes by the name of Cloud Strife." Phil nodded, walking over to a clipboard set at his height on the wall.
"Yeah, he's here. He's in the second tier, so if you wanna see him, you'll have to fight. Hope you two cuties brought weapons, fists don't hurt the creatures you'll be fighting." One of my daggers cutting the rope that held the clipboard answered his question, as Phil had to jump quickly to catch the falling item.
"Fine. Good luck, you're starting now." Aerith nodded her thanks, readjusting her materia bangles as various Heartless appeared in the Arena, us walking forward to meet them in combat. I grabbed my daggers from thier sheaths, Dolphin's Fin spinning with blue light.
"Come and get it!"

-----
Six rounds later, we sat just outside the Arena's edge, Aerith sipping at a water bottle as Phil prattled on about how good we fought.
"Man, if only Herc could see you two, he'd be so impressed!"

My eyes narrowed, but I said nothing as Aerith cocked her head.

"Herc?"

"Yeah, he's my champion. The only one I trained that actually made it past training! Heh, he's a real Hero. To bad he's off visiting his father right now, he's a real sweet kid, woulda loved to meet you both. Well girls, time to go. You're next fight is against Cloud, and he's never late."

Phil took the water bottle from Aerith, walking up to the stands as Aerith and I reentered the Arena. Cloud arrived right on time, and Aerith's staff clattered to the ground as Cloud looked up, Mako blue eyes widening at the sight of his beloved Flower girl. The Buster Sword fell from his grasp as Aerith took one shaky step forward, before they both ran towards each other, Cloud clutching at Aerith's dress like it was the last thing on the world, Aerith burying her fingers into Clouds shirt. I smiled, bouncing on the balls of my feet. Even Phil seemed happy, as he was jumping up and down, pumping his fists in the air. Unfortunately, every happy thing has to end, and this is no different. Hades appeared in a flash of smoke, making Cloud push Aerith behind him. I groaned, grabbing Aerith's staff from the ground, starting to run over to them, but Clouds near invisible shake of his head made me stay put, clenching my jaw. I could easily make out Hade's voice from here
.
"Cloud, Cloud, Cloud. Your contract says to take out anyone with ties to the key bearer, not to HUG them!" Hades flames went red, and Cloud snarled.
"That contract went null and void when you tried to kill me! Sorry, I don't work for you anymore." Cloud took Aerith's hand, leading her out of the Arena as Hades fumed

"Fine. Enjoy your life with that Flower Girl, whatever's left of it." I cast a quick Blizzard spell before turning and running after them, Hades' sounds of surprise making Cloud's mouth twitch upwards. I handed Aerith her staff back, running into the ship. I rolled my eyes as Cloud and Aerith shared another kiss, calling out to them.

"As much as I'm glad to see you two going at it like rabbits again, we need to get back to Traverse Town, theres still some things I need to do!" I laughed as Cloud playfully glared at me, before escorting Aerith onto the ship. I took my place at the captains seat, silently guiding the ship out of the Olympus Coliseum docks as they buckled in. Once we were in the space lanes, I chanced a look back, smiling sadly as a saw them holding hands from their chairs, turning to hide my tears.

No time to cry, we'll have him back soon.
----
About 5 minutes into the trip, Aerith nodded off. Cloud stood, unbuckling his seat belt and walking into the cockpit.
"You've grown up well. Squall must be proud."
"Leon. I think he is, he's not one to tell people that kinda of thing outright." He chuckled, mussing with my hair before moving to take his seat, Aerith's hand grasping at his the moment he sat down. A quiet beep made me look down at the radar, eyes widening at the size of the object coming up behind us at an alarming speed. I turned to face Cloud.

"Hang on tight you two, this is gonna get rough!" I pulled on the brakes, slowing the ship down long enough to let the target pass us by. Aerith jolted awake with the slow down, and the sound of the gun turrets coming active made her sit up straight. As the gun's targeter came online, I chanced a look at the target, growling as it became visible as a Hunter.

"Darn it. Hold on back there, we're gonna have to run from this thing!" With a quick flip of the switch, I returned the targeter to it's compartment above the captains seat, pulling on the speed as the Hunter came back for another pass. Buttons were pressed, routing power from the guns to the shields, and I could vaguely hear Cloud calming Aerith down in the back.

With it's last pass, the Hunter had fired on us, sending visible jolts through the shields. I growled, flying the ship under it like a hyper puppy diving through it's owners legs out the front door. Traverse Town came into sight just as the shields fell, and the engines coughed up their last drop of high speed fuel, returning to normal. Aerith whimpered as the Hunter came back around, stopping in front of us. I glared at the creature, one hand coming off the steering wheel to finger at the necklace I'd been given the day before this whole mess started. It's only been a week and a half, we're not finished yet! Shots fired from behind the Hunter made all of us look up as it was chased off, and I smiled as Infinity came into view, Cid's grizzled face filling the visual radio screen.

"Do I have to save your bums every dang time?! Get back in there before this piece of trash comes back!" Aerith laughed, and I quickly guided the ship back into safe harbors, Cid coming in a second later as the hanger doors closed behind him, shutting the Hunter out. I sagged back in the seat as Cloud helped Aerith out. That was too close, had Cid not shown up, we'd have been toast. Yuffie's joyful shrieks made me exit the ship, nodding my thanks to Cid as he tossed me Infinity's keys.

"She's all ready to go, but talk to your idiot brother first, he's got something to give ya. He's in the waterway." I nodded, leaving Yuffie hanging off of Clouds back. They'd be fine. I took the back alley entrance from the second district, cutting through the Shadows and Soldiers that appeared in my way, jumping into the ankle deep water and shoving the gate open. It gave a loud creak in protest, but opened anyway. I shut it behind me to make sure the Heartless didn't follow, and none of the ones in this world liked the water enough to follow someone into the Waterway.

Just like Cid said, Leon was sitting on the steps that led to Merlin's place, head leaning on his laced fingers, a small pouch in his lap. My splashing onto the main platform made him look up, standing to walk to the center of the platform. He walked past me, placing the pouch in my hand and closing my fingers around it, before leaving the waterway all together. He looked over his shoulder for a moment.

"Those are from Vincent and I, a late birthday present. Get Sora, I'll see you off."

I nodded as he sloshed through the water, opening the pouch and letting it's contents tumble out into my hand. Two chains of two small crystal hearts, one garnet red, the other made of blue topaz. Now I knew what Nii-san had meant by Vincent and him. I took Dolphin's Fin off of my daggers, slipping them into the pouch and tying it to a belt loop on the shorts that Yuffie had lent me. I attached the new keychains to my daggers, unsheathing them and taking in the new changes. The hilts were made of silver, the symbol for Light etched onto the handle to allow for extra grip. The blades shimmered like opals in the dim light as the keychains made gentle sounds. I smiled, returning them to my sheathes as I left the waterway, the comfort of knowing that I would have a piece of Nii-san and Vincent where ever I went, along with Riku's shell necklace was more than enough to give me strength.

I walked up the stairs into the hotel, knocking on the door to Sora's room. When I got no answer, I knocked again. This time, there was a response, as the spiky haired keyblade master answered the door, spikes mussed and flattened from sleep. His jacket was nowhere to be seen, neither were his shoes. I sighed. Waking him up was never good.

"Infinity's fixed up, we're good to go. Just need you." Sora nodded, leaving the door open as re put on his shoes and Jacket, running a hand through his spikes.
"I had a dream, about Kairi. She was little, like when she arrived on the islands, and she was talking to an old woman. The woman was telling her a legend or something." I nodded.

"The woman was her Grandmother most likely, Kairi's Mom died when she was just a baby, and her Dad had a lot of work to do around he castle. Kairi always asked for the legend of how the worlds started, if I remember correctly."

Sora stood, and we left the room. As Sora shook Donald and Goofy awake in the next one, I dug into my memory of that legend, as Kairi's Grandma had told us both once.
----
An old woman sat in a chair, two young girls sitting on the ground in front of her.

"Well girls, which story would you like to hear today?" The girl with the red hair, Kairi, giggled.

"The legend of the Worlds, like yesterday Gramma Rose!" Gramma Rose laughed, nodding as the second girl smiled.

"Alright Kairi, I'll tell you both that story once more." Kairi clapped, stopping as Gramma Rose sat up straight in her chair.

"Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of the light. Everyone loved the light. Then, people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves. And darkness was born in thier hearts. The darkness spread, swallowing the light in many peoples hearts. But small fragments of light survived, in the hearts of children. With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. It's the world we live in now. But the true light sleeps, deep within the darkness. That's why teh worlds are scattered, divided from each other. But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open. And true light will return. So, listen well children. Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you. Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with it's power and push the darkness away. Do you understand, Kairi, Christie?"

Both girls nodded, and Kairi jumped up at a mans voice, running into a pair of outstretched arms.

"Telling my niece and daughter that old fairy tale again Mother?" Gramma Rose laughed, a joyous sound.

"Your daughter asked for it, Ansem the Wise."
-----
I sighed. It was certain now, DiZ was Kairi's father. He was different back then, much kinder. He'd spend hours with his daughter, reading together until it was either time for a meal, or she'd fallen asleep. I sighed as we left the Hotel, Donald grumbling about the late hour. Goofy chuckled good naturedly.

"Well Donald, if we go now, the Heartless won't see us coming! See, we're safer like this!"

Donald glared at his friend, and Sora laughed. I shrugged.

"Goofy's right Donald, the Heartless shouldn't expect us to go in at four in the morning."

We entered the first district, walking down into teh plaza. Yuffie was standing at the entrance to the World doors, and she ran in front of us, dragging me through the doors and aking me aside, placing a small white thing into my hand.

"A roll of bandages, I've got a bad feeling."

I nodded my thanks, tucking the roll into my pocket as Sora, Donald and Goofy boarded the ship. I hugged Nii-san tightly one more time, taking in his scent. I didn't want to let go, but I had to, so I made it quick and ran up the hatch into Infinity, closing it as Sora took his place in the Co-Pilots seat. Infinity's AI came online as I started the manual flight control

"Sorry I wasn't of much use earlier Captain."

"It's alright, we never thought a situation like that could happen. Just keep us alive now, and I'll be happy."

"Understood! Cooridinates set, shield, engines, and guns running at 100 Percent! Iniating launch sequence."

The Visual Radio came on at that moment, Leon's face appearing.

"Nee-chan, be careful. I know I can't stop you, but I've got a bad feeling."

"Don't worry Nii-san, I'll come back."

Leon nodded, adam's apple bobbing in his throat as he swallowed.
"I love you Nee-chan."

"Love you to. I'll come back, I promise."

Leon nodded, then disappeared from my screen as we left Traverse Town's hanger, heading directly into the hornets nest that was Hollow Bastion.

---

I don't know if I'll be able to keep that promise Leon, I'm sorry.

----

And we're done for now! Only 4 chapters left, and then KoM comes to a close. (sighs) Anyways, I hope you like!

 

4 more chapters?! NOOOO!!
It can't end that quickly! =[
I love this story. No fair.
Hmph.

Anywho.. Next chapter comes soon I hope.
Good job!
=]

 

Yes, only 4, er, now only 3 chapters left. (sighs) There will be at least two sequels though, no worries.

Disclaimer: I own Christie (me), The Infinity, The Crest Lock system, and The Koukennin no Ariake. Everything else is Square/Disneys.

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Upon arrival in Hollow Bastion's airspace, it became obvious that docking where Infinity had taken off from was going to be impossible. We'd have to take the long route this time. I sighed, pulling the ship into a low orbit just over the Rising Falls, inputing the codes for a transport beacon. Once the process was complete, We all stood, heading down into the world itself. Once down there, Goofy pointed at the castle.

"Garwsh look at that!"

A strange look crossed Sora's face, a cross between recognition and questioning.

"I know this place..."

"Hmm, that's strange."

Sora closed his eyes, one hand over his heart.

"I wonder why... I can feel this warmth inside, right here."

Donald rolled his eyes.

"Aw, you're just hungry."

"Hey! I'm serious!"

Sora opened his mouth to protest further, when Beast's roar rang throughout the area, shaking us to our cores. Sora looked further up the platfroms, and I followed his gaze, catching sight of silver hair.

"Riku! Sora, let's go!"

We took off across the platforms, stopping on the one directly below where Riku and Beast were, listening to them exchange words.

"No vessel, no help from the Heartless. So tell me, how'd you get here?"

"I simply believed. Nothing more to it. When our world fell into darkness, Belle was taken from me. I vowed I would find her again, no matter what the cost. I believed I would find her. So, here I am. She must be here. I will have her back!"

Beast roared in anger, and Riku took a half step back. He snarled at Beast, Soul Eater appearing in his hand

"Take her, if you can."

In a flash to fast to follow, Riku attacked Beast, making the large creature fall to his knees in pain, blood splattering onto the tile floor from the wound on his chest. By this time, Sora had had more than enough, and we rushed onto the platform. Sora faced Riku down, while I stood in front of Beast.

"Stop!"

Riku shook his head.

"So, you finally made it. About time. I've been waiting for you, Sora. You've always pushed me, as I've always pushed you. We've always been rivals, haven't we?"

"Riku.."

"But it ends here.. There can't be two Keyblade masters."

"What are you talking about?"

Riku extended his hand.

"Let the Keyblade choose... It's true master."

I growled, Donald and Goofy making noises of surprise as the Keyblade began to shake in Sora's hand. The young boy struggled to keep the weapon in his hand, but it was to avail. In a flash of silver light, the Keyblade left Sora's hand, appearing across the platform in Riku's hand. He looked over the blade's hilt with an appraising eye.

"Maleficent was right. You don't have what it takes to save Kairi. It's up to me. Only the Keyblade master can open the secret door, and change the world."

Sora fell to the ground, hands clenching into fists.

"But that's impossible. How did this happen? I'm the one who fought my way here with the Keyblade!" Riku scoffed.

"You were just the delivery boy. Sorry, your parts over now. Here, go play here with this."

Riku threw a wooden sword at Sora's feet, the play weapon creating a clacking noise upon the tile. Donald walked after RIku, stopping as he realized that Goofy wasn't following him.

"Goofy, let's go. We have to remember our mission."

"Oh! Well, I know the king told us to follow the key and all, But...."

Sora shook his head, and Goofy walked after Donald. A few steps away, Donald turned back to look at Sora.

"Sora, sorry."

I glared at the duck, and he turned away, following Goofy. I sighed, walking over to Sora and kneeling beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He kept his eyes closed, but by the silent trembles in his shoulders, I knew he was hiding his tears. I could hear Beast struggle his way up from the ground, and he walked past us. Sora shot up when he did, placing a hand on the Beast's cloaked shoulder.

"Hey, don't move. You're hurt."

I stood as Beast spoke up, the poor man already out of breath.

"Why... Why did you come here? I came to fight for Belle. And though I am on my own, I will fight. I won't leave without her."

Sora nodded, walking over to the toy sword and picking it up. His hand clenched tightly around the hilt.

"Me to. I'm not gonna give up now. I came here to find someone very important to me. I won't leave until i know she's alright."

I smiled, casting a Cura spell on the Beast's wound as we took the lift up. Thankfully, the doors were still open from the second time Riku and I had come here, so there would be no galivanting around in the dungeons trying to get the doors open. We headed into the entrance hall, stopping as Beast did.

"Be on your gaurd. Their close, I can feel it. Are you ready for them?"

Sora didn't answer, just walked further in. I ran after him, stopping in midstep as I remembered what would happen. I turned, trying to grab onto Beast. Didn't work.

"Belle?"

The woman in the yellow dress that had appeared behing us in the doorway turned into a small shadow, and Beast roared, making me fall back as he ran after it, the front door slamming behind him. Sora turned to see what the scuffle was about, but turned to face the fountain again as Riku appeared, Donald and Goofy watching from the upper walkway. I stood up, walking to be one step behind Sora.

"Quit while you can."

Sora shook his head.

"No, not without Kairi."

"The Darkness will destroy you both."

"You're wrong Riku. The darkness may destroy our bodies, but it can't touch our hearts. Our hearts will stay with our friends. They'll never die!"

Riku shook his head, a dark flash appearing around his body as his clothes changed from his Island Garb into the Dark Suit that was so often called the "Kilt".

"Really. Well, we'll just see about that!"

With one quick movement, he fired a Dark Firaga at Sora, aiming for the younger boy's heart. Noises of shock from Donald and Goofy caught my ear, along with Sora bracing himself for the blow. Goofy began to run down the stairs, but it was obvious to all of us that he wouldn't make it in time. There was no time to think it through, and although my stomach was in knots and doing the can-can, I jumped in front of Sora, left hand outstretched in front of me to stop it. But things, don't always go as planned. Instead of my hand stopping the blow, it seemed to absorb the fire, chilling my arm all the way up the shoulder. Then the pain kicked in. I dropped to one knee, hand that had absorbed the fire fisting of it's on accord, blood leaking out from between my fingers. I looked up at Riku, eyes narrowing.

"It dosen't matter what you do Riku, Sora's not going anywhere!"

"You'd betray me to defend him?"

I stood, shaking my head as Donald and Goofy reached the foot of the stairs.

"No, I can't betray you. But I won't betray Sora either. After everything that's happened, I can't abandon a preciuos friend, and Sora's one of them!"

Goofy ran over to us, shield in paw as he stood in front of us.

"Christie's right! Sora's a trusted friend for us, and you won't hurt him!"

He turned to Donald as I grabbed the bandages from my pocket, quickly tying them around my injured palm. Yuffie must have known somethng like this would happen.

"See ya later Donald, could you tell the King I'm really sorry?"

"Hold on Goofy! We'll tell him together!"

He ran over, webbed feet flapping on the tile floor. He stopped in front of Sora.

"Well, you know. All for one and one for all!"

Goofy turned, giving Sora a thumbs up.

"I guess you're stuck with us Sora."

Sora swallowed thickly, one hand rubbing at his eyes.

"Thanks a lot, Christie, Donald, Goofy."

Riku scoffed, Kingdom Key appearing in his hand.

"How will you fight without a weapon?"

Sora stepped forward.

"I know now that I don't need the Keyblade. I've got a better weapon. My heart."

"Your heart? What good will that little thing do for you?"

"Although my heart may be weak, it's not alone. It's grown with each new experience, and it's found a home with all the friends I've made. I've become a part of thier heart, just as they've become a part of mine. And if they think of me now and then, if they don't forget me, then our hearts will be one. I don't need a weapon. My friends are my power!"

We all dropped into offensive crouches, Sora's toy sword in his hand. At least, until the Keyblade had enough. In a flash of silver light, it returned to Sora's hand, transforming from the Kingdom Key back into the Fairy Harp that Tinkerbell had given him.

Riku snarled, Soul Eater appearing in his hand as he ran forward. We scattered across the room, Goofy sticking close to the combat weak Donald as Sora glided around the area, getting in some actual hits from the air. Riku's movements were quick and precise, and I found myself running for higher ground as he went crazy with the sword swings. I sat with my back against a ledge wall as I caught my breath, listening to the fight below. Cura and Aero spells flew like party favors, both repairing and limiting the amount of damage we took from Riku's blows. After a particularly nasty yelp from Sora, I jumped back into the fray, catching Soul Eater mid-swing inbetween my daggers. Sora quickly dealt the final blow as Riku tried to free his blade, and the elder boy ran off, Dark suit changing back to his Island cloths. Sora made a move to run after him, but I caught his shoulder, shaking my head. We all turned as the front doors creaked open, and I winced as they fall off their hinges, Beast walking through.

"So, your hearts won this battle."

Sora nodded, and I ran up the stairs to the Emblem Door, placing my hand where Vincent had not so long ago, forsaking the need to run after all the emblem pieces. We quickly ran through the halls, fighting our way through the Heartless. Beast is a lot like Vincent really, don't get in his way when he's pissed. We arrived at the room before the Castle Chapel in good shape, and Sora and I worked to push open the heavy doors. Once inside, Maleficent came to greet us.

"I'm afraid you're too late. Any moment now, the final Keyhole will be unsealed. This world will be plunged into darkness. It is unstoppable."

Sora crouched down, Keyblade appearing in hand.

"We'll stop it! After coming this far, theres no way we're gonna let that happen!"

Maleficent's staff tip started glowing.

"You poor, simple fools. You think you can defeat me? Me, the mistress of all evil!"

The platform she'd been standing on rose up from the ground, and for the second time that day, we scattered across the room. The fight was much more difficult than Riku, as Maleficent had magical abilities. Her meteors were a nightmare to avoid now, and I often found myself hitting the tile floor to avoid one that passed a meer inch over my head. Sora and Donald kep casting Gravity on her platform to bring her down into combat range. Beast went wild on her, claws catching both cloak and skin as he channelled his rage into defeating the evil witch. The final blow was dealt ten minutes after the fight began, and her platform crashed to ground, sending shrapnel into the walls. I shoved Sora to the ground as a rather large piece flew over his head, almost taking said head off as it impacted with the wall.

Meleficent used the last of her strength to open a Dark Portal in the wall behind her, walking through it. Beast roared, running through it with us on his heels. We came through to see Riku already standing there. I took a step back, hands moving back to my sheathes as i took one good look at Riku. If he hadn't been possesed earlier, he certainly was now. Everything on him now reeked of darkness, this was not the boy that had kissed me back in Halloween Town only two days ago. Sora cried out to his friend, stopping my thoughts.

"Riku!"

"Is that?"

Riku spoke up, and from the look on the others faces, I knew I was hearing Xehanorts voice in the undercurrent of Riku's voice.

"Yes. A Keyblade. But unlike yours, this Keyblade holds the power to unlock peoples hearts. Allow me to demonstrate. Behold!"

With a quick movement that niether Maleficent or I could trace, he stabbed her through the heart, releasing the Darkness in her heart in the form of black and green flames. He backed out into a dark portal as the witch transformed into a dragon that nearly filled the room. Sora gulped in fear.

"Oh man."

We scattered to avoid her fire, ducking into seperate alcoves formed by what felt like tree roots. Every so often, we had to return to those alcoves to recover our breath and to stave woulds from bleeding or burning. After about five of these trips, Sora and I ended up in the same alcove, both out of breath and ragged around the edges. I swallowed thickly, before noticing something across the room.

A gaping wound in Maleficent's scales.

I nudged Sora to make him notice, and he nodded. We took off, me distracting the witch turned dragon, while Sora dealt the killing blow. We all hit the ground to avoid her death throws, standing up as she burned away in front of our eyes. I knew she would be back, no witch dies that way. Riku stepped back into view, rubbing his boot in the puddle of black blood that had been left behind.

"How ironic. She was just another puppet after all."

"What?"

"The Heartless were using Maleficent from the beginning. She failed to notice the darkness in her heart eating away at her. A fitting end for such a fool."

That's it. I've had it!

"But aren't you the same?! Xehanort!"

Riku started, turning back to face us as his eyes turned orange. I could feel the others looking between me and "Riku" in surprise. It dosen't matter now, to much has gone to hell for it to matter anymore.

"How did you know?"

I scoffed, eyes livid.

"You think I'd forget what you did to our world! We took you in with the goodness of our hearts, and you destroyed our world!"

He smirked, an odd look on Riku's face.

"A fitting end for such fools."

I snarled as he backed out into a portal, turning on my heel and running out into the Castle Chapel as the door leading to the Grand Hall opened up. Sora was barely able to keep pace with me as I tore off through the hallway, overriding the crest lock blocking the way. Benefits of bieng a Leonhart is that we controlled the security measures in the castle, crest lock's included. Beast stayed behind to gaurd the door, as Sora, Donald, Goofy and I ran forward, up the stairs. We reached the top of the platform, Sora running onto it as he noticed Kairi's still form. Donald and I turned as we noticed Goofy get blown back. Sora took Kairi into his arms, shaking her.

"Kairi! Kairi! Open your eyes!"

"It's no use. That girl has lost her heart. She cannot wake up."

I looked up, taking a step back as Xehanort, in his true form, stepped forward from the Keyhole. There was no possesed Riku here anymore, Xehanort had recovered his body from the void. Sora gently set Kairi down, glaring at Xehanort.

"What are you talking about? What have you done with RIku?!"

Xehanort ignored him.

"The keyhole cannot be completed, so long as the last Princess of Heart still sleeps."

"The Princess? Kairi's a Princess?!"

"Yes. And without her power, the Keyhole will remain incomplete. It is time she awakened. You hold her heart within you, so you must release it. This was crafted for just that purpose."

The Dark Keyblade appeared in his hand, and he tossed it to Sora.

"Place this to your chest, and unlock your heart. Go on. Release her."

Xehanort faded away, leaving the Dark Keyblade. The barriers faded away, letting Goofy enter the platform. He and Donald walked up to the Keyhole. Sora paced around, Dark Keyblade in hand. Goofy tilted his head as he looked over the Keyhole.

"What did he mean, Kairi's inside Sora?"

I bit my tongue, shaking my head.
"Kairi's heart is inside Sora, and she won't wake up until it's free."

Sora looked at me, nodding to himself. He tossed Fairy Harp into my hands, smiling at us.

"You guys can handle the rest."

Donalds eyes opened wide as Sora stabbed himself in the heart, letting the Dark Keyblade fall from his grasp as he leaned back. Six balls of light flew from the Keyblade, flying out of our line of sight into the sleeping princesses bodies, returning to thier owners. A seventh ball of light flew out of Sora, landing in Kairi. Her eyes cracked open, and she leaned up to get a look around. She and Donald both screamed Sora's name, running toward his falling body. Neither arivved in time. In my hands, Fairy Harp faded away, with it's master gone. Kairi placed her hand over her heart, a look of sadness on her face

"Sora, are you really.... No. He can't be! I won't let him go!"

I nodded. We both looked up as Xehanort made a second appearence, now in his garb that he had worn during the game. I skidded in front of Kairi, shielding her from view. My daggers found a place in my hands as Donald and Goofy stepped in front of me.

"So, you have awakened at last, Princess. The Keyhole is now complete. You have served your purpose. But now it's over."

He bagan walking over to us, malice gleaming in his orange eyes. I tensed, ready to quickly make a move.

"Don't make another move!"

"Donald, you think we can stop him with just us three?"

"I don't know! But Sora would have wanted us to try!"

Goofy nodded, stepping closer to us as Xehanort kept walking close. Suddenly, he stopped, twitching.

"No, impossible!"

I sighed in relief as Riku made an appearence, despite the fact that he wasn't physically there. He streteched his arms out, barring Xehanort's passage.

"No. You won't use me for this."

Kairi peeked out over my shoulder, gasping at the condition he was in

"Riku!"

"You've gotta run, all of you! The Heartless are coming!"

Kairi hesitated, but I pushed her on, shoving Donald and Goofy after her. Kairi stopped herself when she realized I wasn't following them.

"Chrissy!"

I looked at her over my shoulder, making our eyes meet.

"I'll hold him back as long as I can. Donald, Goofy, get Kairi out of here! Sora will be with you guys as soon as he can. Now go!"

Xehanort glared as Kairi escaped, Riku's spirit having long since disappeared. As the shadows dispersed into various rooms of the castle, I growled, dodging various dark fire projectiles, somehow knowing I wouldn't be able to absorb these. After I dodged the fifth one, I returned my daggers to my sheathes, carefully moving to have my back against the Keyhole. Xehanort smirked, and I shuddered at the sight.

"It would appear that you have run out of options, Christina."

I shook my head, allowing myself to fall into the darkness through the keyhole.

"A true fighter always has an escape plan."

I flipped as I landed, closing my eyes as I dusted myself off. When i opend them, I bit my lip. The Dark Realm is certainly bigger than the game showed. Ah well. I set off walking to the west, where a light was glowing brightly. That's where I would find Riku, I know it.
-----
RIght. We're done for now. (sighs) The important note that I have to mention is: I'm back in school. I've been homeschooled since i was little, and i'm back in it now. Some things happened, and I have a year and half to catch up on. Becuase of that, updates are going to be a tad bit slower. I'll finish this story, no worries.

 

YAYS!!
Sequels!
I love sequels.
Ah man.
Now you got me all excited for the next one!!
=]

Ahhh mannn.
That stinks.
But, I guess it's worth the wait.
Ohh.. I'm excitedd.
XD

Good job!
Much love- Kairi2011<3