Nah, it's not that bad. xD I've gotten some compliments on it and figured I'd post it here. Chapter One: Recap "Sora! Riku!" Kairi called out to her friends as they landed in the ocean. She waved to them, and they turned around to see her. Sora looked back towards Riku and started swimming to the girl who stood on the shores; Riku followed. When the water got shallow, Sora started to run. All he could think was "We're finally home". Kairi was thinking the same thing. After everything they'd been through in the past two years ---- Riku turning to the dark side, Kairi losing her heart, finally finding each other, defeating Xemnas ---- It was all worth it. The two boys that she had spent so much time with were finally here. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy ran right by her and jumped on top of Sora. As Sora gave a warm hello to Donald and Goofy, Mickey met up with Riku and shared an embrace. As Donald and Goofy got off of Sora, Kairi smiled at him. Again, she thought "They're finally home". Sora smiled back and removed Kairi's thalassa shell lucky charm from his pocket, and held it out for her to see. With a quick flash of light, it was now Sora’s other -- Roxas -- squating before the auburn haired teenager. Kairi automatically knew what do; She summoned her own other -- Naminé. As Roxas and Naminé shared glances, they turned back to their original selves. Sora wiped his face and said “We’re back.” Kairi held our her hand and said “You’re home.” With charm in hand, Sora took the hand of the girl he had admired all these years. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Riku sat on the star shaped fruit tree staring out into the sunset. He felt the calm, moist breeze blowing his hair. He heard Sora’s footsteps coming out towards him. Sora took a place next to Riku, and put his hands behind his head to admire the beautiful sunset with his friend. The sunset was always his favorite part about the islands, and he would frequently sit out with Kairi and watch it. “Nothing’s changed, huh?” came from the deep, mature Riku. “Nope. Nothing will”. said Sora. “What a small world,” said Riku, remembering the days where he would wish to escape his prison. “But apart of something much greater.” said Sora, finishing off Riku’s sentence. He then looked up to Riku and said “Hey, Riku. What do you think it was? The door to light?” Riku only laughed and came down from the tree. “This.” He said, while pointing towards Sora’s heart. “This?” asked Sora, putting his gloved hand over his heart. “Yeah. It’s always closer than you think” said Riku, smiling. Sora smiled back. “Sora! Riku!” came a distant voice, which the two boys recognized as Kairi’s. Kairi came in front of them, and started panting. “Hey, what’s up?” asked Sora, leaning in towards her. Kairi held out a bottle with head that had two large ears. “The king’s seal?” asked Sora, as he took the bottle and opened it up. Inside was a letter from the King; Sora read it as if he was in a rush, and Riku only leaned towards him to see what it said. Kairi was much shorter than Sora, and even on her tip toes she could barely see over Sora’s shoulder., but she still could make out the words. “I hope everything is well. I’ve finally returned to Disney castle for some time with my people, and they are all enthused, especially Minnie. I think Daisy has taken a liking to Donald being around as well. Anyway, that’s not the point of this letter. I need you three to find the keyhole to Destiny Islands, and lock it. I don’t mean to frighten you, or imply that Heartless are coming, but there have been some odd things going on here. It’s just to be safe." Again, I send my best wishes. Sincerely, King Mickey. Chapter Two: The Camp Out “Keyhole? Sora, you’ve had the key blade this long and you haven’t closed it yet?” asked Kairi, not knowing exactly how it would work. “Well, I --” started Sora, but Riku cut in. “-- we’ve been meaning to get around to it.” “Yeah. We wanted to show you what it’s like to see a keyhole being locked.” said Sora, winking at Riku to get him to go along with this to hide his apparent laziness. “Oh. Well, can I at least help find it?” asked Kairi, anxious to see this. “Yeah, of course.” said Sora. “I was thinking we could all camp out here on the islands, and then the next morning find the keyhole.” When Sora and Riku arrived at the world after defeating Xemnas, Sora thought about what he liked best about the islands; one of his favorite past times being when he and his friends camped out on the beach. The three friends agreed on the idea, and being very anxious, agreed to do it tonight. They all left to get their things ready, as the sun was just setting. Kairi ran out to Selphie to tell her what she was doing that night. “Sleeping at the island with Riku and Sora?” said Selphie “That sounds great!” Selphie was the only girl around Kairi’s age, and was the only one who Kairi had told of her liking to Sora. “I know. I’m getting my stuff ready now.” responded Kairi. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- They all met up the island in a half hour, and it was almost dark. Riku started to build up a fire, and sent Sora and Kairi to go find some firewood. “The air feels a little moist -- you don’t think it’ll rain?” asked Kairi as she walked along the beach with Sora. “Nah.” said Sora, not wanting to damper her spirit. “That good.” said Kairi. They came across a large fallen tree branch, and started to break limbs off. Kairi spotted a large, dry branch coming off and started to pull at it. It wouldn’t budge. Sora saw her efforts, and went over to help her out. He started to yank at it and finally got it loose. “Thanks,” said Kairi, giving him a smile of gratitude. “Anytime,” answered Sora. Once the two had a considerable amount, they headed back towards Riku. He was squatting near a small flame, wildly blowing at it. “Finally,” he said, taking the logs from Kairi’s hands and putting some in the fire. After about an hour or so, Sora had fallen into a light sleep, and Riku was snoring loudly. At first, Sora hadn’t noticed it, as it started out as a light drizzle, but now it seemed to be pouring. He heard a low rumbling in the distance, but chose to ignore it. He checked, and it seemed that the fire was out. This reminded him greatly of the day that him and his friends were whisked away from the islands, but cleared that thought from his head. He would have been more concerned about waking up Riku and getting to a dry place, but he realized that Kairi was no longer sleeping on the shore of the beach. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Three: Thunder Sora started to worry. “Where is she? The King said we should seal the keyhole… Does that mean that he thought Heartless may come?” Now he really started to freak out. “What if Heartless got her?” As if almost on cue with his worried thought, he heard thunder crash. He started to look for a possible indication of where she had went, and noticed her footsteps leading into the base of a large tree. He headed in and realized where he was -- In the secret place, and there Kairi was, facing the wall observing a drawing.. “… Kairi?” said Sora. Kairi let out a small yelp and then turned to him. “Oh, it’s only you, Sora. You startled me.” “Sorry.” he said turning to see what she was doing. Kairi awkwardly moved over to the side, trying to obstruct his view of the image, but he would never forget that spot. It was where he had drawn himself giving a Paopu fruit to Kairi. He gave a small laugh and said to her “I remember doing this…” “Oh, so it was you. I thought it might just be Riku or Tidus mocking us.” said Kairi, trying to hide the joy she held inside from knowing it was him. “Yeah, on the night before the storm.” Sora said, but was cut off in the middle of the sentence. CRASH! Sounded the thunder as it knocked down a branch. Suddenly, Sora felt a warm figure clutching onto him. “… Kairi? He asked, his voice squeaking as he said it. “I-… I don’t like thunder storms very much.” said Kairi, shaking as a lower crash of thunder hit the island. Sora chuckled and said “I don’t blame you,” and then scanned the drawing himself as it brought back old memories. Kairi turned toward the wall where darkness had entered their island and saw a door with a keyhole on it. “Is this the keyhole?” she said to herself, then shaking Sora to get his attention. “Sora! Sora, look! It’s the keyhole!” “Wha…? You found it…?” said Sora, obviously tired. “I think so.” answered Kairi. Sora rubbed his eyes and saw it too. “Wow Kairi! You’ve saved us ages of looking!” He then stuck his key blade out before him and a beam erupted out of it. Then, Kairi heard a soft click! Kairi was dazzled. “So THIS is a keyhole.” “Sora, that was incredible!” Sora, being very modest answered “Not really… Anyone could do it…” Blushing a little from the compliment. ‘Well, we better get back. Riku probably woke himself up from his snoring and is wondering where we are.” “Okay…” said Kairi, not wanting to leave the drawing that meant so much to her. With a final glance at the cave drawing, Kairi ducked and headed out of the narrow tunnel. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Four: Sparring Sora was laying on the beach, half asleep, listening to the sounds of the waves. He knew it was well past noon, but he continued to rest. THUMP! Sora jumped up to see what had hit him. When he opened his eyes, he saw Riku standing about 10 feet away smiling. “Well, look who it is! Sleeping Beauty has finally awoken from her slumber.” said Riku giving Sora a grin. “Oh, shut it.” he said playfully. “What’d you throw at me? It really hurt.” “Your old wooden sword. I thought we could go a few rounds before we look for the keyhole.” said Riku, lending Sora a hand to help him up. “Sure.” said Sora, grabbing the sword that had just been flung at him. “Oh, and about the keyhole… Me and Kairi found it last night, in the secret place.” “Really? Well that’s good. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to searching the entire island for it.” said Riku, letting out a sigh of relief. “Hah! We’ve been home for 3 days and you’ve already turned into a lazy bum.” said Sora, mocking Riku. “Hey, I’m not the one who slept until noon.” said Riku, unable to think of a better come back. The two boys raced down the beach to where they used to spar, just like when they were younger, without a care in the world. After about an hour of Sora and Riku practicing their swordsman skills, they were exhausted. Back in the old days, Riku had been much stronger --- He could defeat Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka all at the same time! Now, it seemed the two boys were evenly matched and they had a relentless fight, each time swiftly parrying the other’s blows. Sora and Riku decided to cool off in the water and after they were all relaxed proceeded to have a splash fight as if they were seven again. “I’ve missed these days a lot,” thought Sora, as Riku swept as huge amount of water at him. “No heartless to worry about, no one’s fate resting on my shoulders…” When the two boys were sufficiently water logged, they headed over to the shore and cracked open a coconut from some fresh milk. As they drank, Kairi came over with a curious look on her face. “What happened? Did Sora fall off the Paopu tree again?” asked Kairi, surveying the two drenched boys with a smile. “Will you two never forget that? It was ages ago!” laughed Sora. “Hey,” said Riku, picking up his sword “You wanna have another go?” “Sure,” answered Sora, picking up his sword. As kids, Sora and Riku often fought for Kairi’s attention and now it was no different. Sora and Riku had another fight consisting mostly of the “clack” of their swords meeting; Kairi stared in awe. “Mind if I try?” said Kairi, quietly. Sora and Riku both stared; Kairi had always wanted to fight in their journeys, but Sora and Riku never expected her to spar with them. Riku shrugged and handed Kairi his wooden sword hilt first as he headed off to go home, as it was nearing sundown. Kairi grasped it, facing Sora. Kairi made the first strike, and Sora parried it easily. Throughout the battle, Sora examined her fighting style. “Her hits aren’t very hard, but she moves rather quickly. It’s almost like a dance.” Sora knew he could easily finish her, but he was eager to see more of her fighting style. Kairi was struggling a bit as Sora had much more training then her and she keenly searched for an opening to bring him down. Sora was watching her footwork and she saw her chance. With a hard blow she knocked Sora’s sword from his hands. He fell into the sand from the surprise of her strong blow to the bottom of his sword. Kairi dramatically held her sword at his neck signaling her victory. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Five: Sunset Sora looked up at Kairi and smiled as Kairi laughed. Sora sat up and Kairi lent him a hand to help him up. Sora stood up and brushed the dirt off of him. “Wow Kairi! That was really good! Where’d you learn to fight like that?” said Sora enthusiastically. “I have my ways.” said Kairi, walking off. Sora followed, curious to see where she had learned her technique. After some questioning Kairi said to him “Let’s just say I didn’t just sit there while the two of you fought.” She winked and sat down on the docks just as the two of them had on their last day on the islands together before the storm. After listening to the waves and watching the sunset, memories of the raft and how they dreamed of leaving the island flooded through Kairi’s mind. “… Sora…?” said Kairi, feeling bad that she disturbed the boy’s peaceful moment. “Mhmm?” mumbled Sora. “Let’s build another raft. Let’s see what’s really out there.” said Kairi, pausing to see if he had any input. “We can all go! We’ll finally fulfill our childhood dreams.” said Kairi, getting excited. Sora opened his eyes and smiled. “I’d like that.” he said as he put his arm around Kairi. In a soft voice, barely audible, Kairi whispered. “Sora… Don’t ever change.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter Six: Haven't Had A Dream Sora woke up bright and early that morning and met Riku out on the island. He told Riku about Kairi and his conversation last night -- About building another raft. Riku smiled and said “Well, you know how much I wanted to get out last time. I don’t think I have it in me to say no.” After the three of them all came to a final agreement, they spent the next few weeks preparing. Fishing, building, collecting -- Everything they did before they were whisked away. They finished at sundown sometime in the next month. It was all set; they’d leave the next day. Knowing that they needed rest, they called it an early nighter and went back home. --- Sora looked out his window. It was well past 1AM, but he was too anxious. He couldn’t sleep. So he just sat there, leaning against the wall and feeling the breeze blow his hair from his face. “This is it. We’re finally going out. All three of us together.” “Make that four,” said a voice that sounded very familiar. Sora looked around the room -- There was no one there. Suddenly, a fuzzy figure came out of him. Sora blinked his eyes and saw a dim boy with blonde hair sitting on his bed. “Roxas…” he said softly. “What? Don’t tell me you forgot about me!” said Roxas being very cheerful. “Not at all! I thought about trying to talk to you, but I didn’t think you’d enjoy our trip on the raft.” said Sora. “Not enjoy it? Sora, I think you’re forgetting. I’m your nobody, your other half -- your other side. I share your memories, feelings, thoughts… Dreams, even.” said Roxas in a serious tone, but then switching back to his playful side “I think I’d enjoy it.” Sora laughed. “Alright. All four of us together.” said Sora as he closed his eyes and went to sleep. --- Twack, Twack, Twack. Sora’s eyes fluttered as he was awoken by the noise. He looked out his window only to see Riku, looking worried. “Sora! Heartless… On the island! King… Sent Gummi Ship. I’ll get the ship… Go find Kairi! Hurry! I‘ll meet you outside of town in 20 minutes!” said Riku, panting. It was obvious that he had ran to Sora’s house to wake him up. Normally Sora would have questioned him more, but he knew that this wasn’t the time to think. He hopped out of bed, put on his shoes and gloves and raced out of the house. --- Sora sprinted towards Kairi’s house; it was only a couple meters away now. He found the window leading to Kairi’s room only to find her sitting at her desk looking bored. He rapped his fist on the glass to get her attention. She slid the window open noticing Sora’s concerned face. “Sora…? What’s wrong?” asked Kairi. “The heartless are here. I would explain more but I don’t know the details. The King sent us a Ship and Riku’s getting it now.” said Sora quickly. Kairi climbed out the window and ran after Sora. So many things were going through her head, but nothing she could say now. Now they needed to get to the ship as quickly as possible. --- The ship was at last in sight. It was a foot off the ground and Riku was standing in the entrance. Just as Sora and Kairi were about to board the ship a battalion of Heartless appeared. “Kairi!” Riku yelled as he gave her his hand and pulled her into the ship. Sora was fighting off the Heartless, but was losing ground. He hit a few small Shadows that jumped at him but was thrown into a wall by a few Large Bodies. He momentarily got his breath knocked out but quickly recovered. After about 10 minutes he realized the apparent verdict. “It’s no good!” He thought, “There are too many!” He jumped to his feet and ran in front of the ship. Just as a Heartless pounced at him he felt a tight grip on his forearm. Riku was hanging out of the ship pulling Sora up as the ship rose. The ship was now at least 10 feet off the ground and Sora was dangling from the tight grip that Riku held him by. Sora gathered the strength to pull himself up and gave Riku a look a of gratitude. Chapter 7: Strong Hearts & Sprained Ankles “We’ll be at Disney Castle in a few hours.” said Riku, then glancing at Sora who was beaten up badly in the battle. “Are you okay?” asked Kairi as she looked over Sora’s bruised body. “I’m fine… Just a couple of scratches…” replied Sora, not wanting to worry his allies. Kairi looked unconvinced. “Are you sure?” “Yeah, see!” said Sora as he sprang to his feet to show he was well. Little did he know his ankle had been hurt in the fight and he would of fell to the floor if he hadn’t grabbed the chair to support himself. His eyes narrowed and said “I guess I could use a little attention.” He limped toward a cabinet in the ship that held medical supplies. He was taping up his ankle and cleaning a few cuts as Kairi watched him. “Will your ankle be okay?” she asked, concerned for Sora’s well being. “It’ll be fine tomorrow morning. I probably just sprained it or something.” said Sora bluntly. “That’s good…” said Kairi, her voice trailing off. “Why did the Heartless come to the island?” she asked, having no knowledge of the situation. She had been pulled out of her bed by a worried Sora in the middle of the night with nearly no explanation and was naturally curious. “I’m not sure. They were probably after the Keyblade, or… Our Hearts.” said Sora, trying to guess based on his knowledge of the heartless’ motives. “Why would they want our Hearts?” inquired Kairi, wanting to learn more about these creatures. “The Heartless prey those with strong hearts. I guess the temptation of the Keyblade master’s heart and the heart of a Princess was too much for them. That’s not what I’m worried about. Last time, Organization XIII set the Heartless loose… But if we defeated the Organization, then who’s controlling them? Who’s to stop them from taking over every world?” said Sora, thinking out loud. “So… The Heartless could consume… Everything?” asked Kairi, trying to sound less worried than she really was. “Yeah… But that’s what I have the keyblade for, right?” giving a heroic smile. “Right.” said Kairi, smiling. The smile quickly faded when she realized this might be another journey that would inevitably split the three long time friends apart. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Eight: Find Out Everything We Know Is Just a Lie Sora felt someone softly shaking his arm and saying his name softly. He opened his eyes to see a tired looking Kairi who gave him a smile. “We’re nearly at the castle. Riku said to get ready.” said Kairi bringing him a piece of charred toast. Sora examined the toast “What’s this?” he asked. “Breakfast.” said Kairi winking as she walked away. Sora dug his teeth into what had once been soft white bread and pulled on his shoes. He winced as he swallowed the toast making a mental note to never let Kairi make him breakfast. Sora took the last bite of the toast and walked out of the room he had been sleeping in. He saw Riku and Kairi standing by the door and they all walked out the ship. When they did they saw a large white castle in front of them. Kairi was amazed by the beauty of it and they headed to the entrance. When they walked in they half expected the King to be there waiting for them, but he was not. They walked down the long carpeted hallway and checked the rooms for a sign of the King. “Where could he be?” asked Kairi as she peered her head into another room. “I don’t --- AGH!” yelled Sora as he felt someone grab him in a tight embrace. He opened his eyes and saw Goofy cuddling up to him. “A-Hyuck, You made it!” said Goofy as he let go of Sora. “Goofy! Long time no see!” said Sora exchanging a greeting with his comrade. “Any idea where King Mickey might be?” “Well, he’s not exactly here right now. Come with me and we’ll explain this!” said Goofy, grabbing Sora’s hand and pulling him along the long hallway to the Library. Riku and Kairi ran after them. --- “So the King’s gone?” said Riku grimly. “Yup. He said he needed to sort something out… In the past,” said Donald. “The past? Why would he need to change the past?” said Sora, confused. “We don’t really know. He didn’t give us much of an explanation because he didn’t want us to get worried. All I know that someone is fiddling with the past; particularly the Keyblade War.” said Jiminy. “Keyblade War!?” said Sora. No one had ever told him of a Keyblade War. “Yes. Supposedly, three brave knights fought a vicious war against millions of Keyblade Bearers that were controlling heartless. No one really know much about that except that the three warriors were never seen again.” “So they… Died?” asked Kairi. “We don’t know, but King Mickey has been noticing some changes that can be traced back to that time.” said Jiminy, pausing. “He said to send the three of you -- As in the three key blade bearers -- out into hiding… Somewhere the Heartless can’t find you. We’d thought you would be safe on the islands, but, alas… We were wrong.” said Jiminy, removing his hat from his small head. “But we’ll all be together… Right?” asked Kairi, that being her only concern. She wanted to be with Sora and Riku if they went on another quest, not just staying at the islands and being captured. Jiminy laughed. “Of course you will. Besides -- For your own safety, Kairi, King Mickey has ordered that Sora and Riku teach you to fight.” Kairi was both excited and nervous about this particular issue. She had always wanted fight alongside the two, but she wasn’t sure if she would be very good. And she certainly didn’t want there to be a reason for her to be forced to fight the heartless. “We all agree that Twilight Town will be a safe fortress for you three. You’ll leave for your destination whenever you are ready.” --- Sora, Riku and Kairi boarded the ship and sat down in the cockpit. Sora felt Roxas contacting him. “Twilight Town, huh?” Sora noticed he didn’t really sound excited by the news. “What’s wrong, Roxas? This is your home!” said Sora trying to cheer his other half up. “It wasn’t… Just a simulation made by DiZ. All my memories -- Everything that happened to me there -- It was all a lie,” said Roxas sadly. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Nine: The Wiles Of The Heart After thinking about what Roxas had said Sora felt a great sadness sweep over him. He couldn’t imagine how he would feel in Roxas’s position. If his whole life had been a lie -- The islands, his friends… Kairi. He shook the thought out of his head and plotted the course for Twilight Town. It was a long trip to the town that remained between dusk and dawn, and he needed a place to think about what had just happened. He got up and headed to the cargo bay. He sat down and leaned against a few metal cases and recalled the recent events. Everything had been going great -- the raft was being built and his friendship with Riku and Kairi had been growing stronger each day. Another thought came into his head. What of Kairi? He and Riku were to train her, but would he really be such a great teacher? He tried to go back to the lessons of Merlin in the way of magic and Leon in melee fighting. He scanned his memories, and found a large gap between his first journey and him waking up in Twilight Town. How did he get there? And why couldn’t he remember what happened after he and his companions found Pluto? When Sora found no possible answer, he headed into his quarters and closed his eyes. He felt sleep overcome him. Sora’s dream blurred into a scene of a young girl with blonde hair crying on the islands. “I’m the one who needs to apologize,” she said, sniffling, “I’m not supposed to be in this picture. I’m nowhere in your heart. “Think, Sora.. Think of the person who is most special to you.” she said, firmly. Into his mind, images of Kairi rushed in. The drawing in the secret cave, sitting on the docks watching the sunset, and her giving him her charm. “The girl you care about… It’s not me. It’s her.” said the blonde girl. He suddenly realized that she looked a lot like Kairi. Suddenly, he saw another blonded woman -- this one in an Organization cloak, tossed the younger Kairi look-alike to the ground. He saw his younger self rush in front of her in protection. “I promised Namine… I’d keep her safe!” he yelled. Promise? Namine? What was he talking about? With a flash of light, he saw himself standing in Twilight Town in front of a man in an Organization XII cloak. “Your heart is a slave to your memory. “Or rather… The memory’s wiles are cruel. In its perversion, it binds our hearts firmly.” said a tall man in the Organization XIII cloak. “Recall that this place… Was made from another side of you memory. Yes… The other side of your heart knows this place.” continued the man. “You’re wrong! I don’t know this place!” he heard himself say. “If you remain bound by the chains of memory… And refuse to believe your heart, then you may as well throw your heart away. “If you continue to seek out the girl Naminé, the shackles will tighten… You’ll lose your heart and become Marluxia’s pawn!” said the man, his green eyes narrowing. “I’m nobody’s pawn! I’m gonna take you down and save Riku and Naminé!” Sora yelled to his enemy. Sora awoke with a start. “What was that!?” he said, rubbing his forehead. “When… Did that happen…?” He looked at his hand and analyzed the dream. “That girl… She talked of Kairi. What was her name?” he thought to himself. He heard a familiar voice come into his head and it uttered one word. Naminé. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 10: Naminé Naminé. He knew that name. He bounded down the halls of the ship in pursuit of Kairi. Somehow, he felt she would know something of this “Naminé.” girl. He found her sitting in her own quarters brushing her hair. She gave him a smile and motioned for him to sit. Sora grabbed a chair and sat down. He turned to Kairi and told her of his dream. “I don’t know who that girl was… I feel like I should know her. I think her name was Naminé.” “What?” said Kairi, sounding confused. “Naminé. Does that name mean anything to you?” said Sora, trying to sound calm. Kairi thought for a moment and sighed. “Sora… You know how you have Roxas inside you? Well… My nobody… Her name is Naminé.” Sora was amazed he didn’t know that during his dream. He thought of the world that never was and how the blonde haired girl -- Naminé -- had entered Kairi just as Roxas had he. He felt like he should know Naminé. He scanned his memory for a time when he had met her before their brief meeting at the World That Never Was, but he found nothing. He knew he knew her, but she was no where in his memory. Maybe that’s what she meant in his dream when she said that she was no where in his heart. “Sora, in your dream… Where were you, exactly?” asked Kairi, worried by his dream. “Well, in one part of it I was at Twilight Town… But at other times I was in a white castle.” he said, sighing, “That’s another problem. I don’t remember that castle at all.” Kairi gave him a serious look and knew what she had to do. She called upon her other self and then, in a flash of light, Naminé sat before Sora. Sora gasped. “… Naminé?” “Yes, Sora. I suppose I have some explaining to do.” Naminé told Sora all of what had happened in Castle Oblivion. Sora listened, and though it was a long story, he listened intently. When she had finished he only sat their, open mouthed. “… And that’s why I can’t remember? And why I woke up in Twilight Town?” asked Sora. “Yes. I know this is a big thing to put on you all at once, but it was about time you knew.” she said, almost sadly. Sora thought of when he woke up in Twilight Town and remembered Jiminy opening his journal and finding two words: Thank Naminé. “Thank you, Naminé.” said Sora softly. “… What?” Naminé hadn’t been expecting him to take it this well. “Thank you. For everything.” said Sora, smiling. Naminé returned the smile and changed back into Kairi. Kairi asked if what Naminé said explained the dream. Sora nodded and walked out. He tried to contact Roxas to discuss the past events, but noticed that Roxas was putting up a barrier around his mind. Sora tried again. Still no luck. He was worried about Roxas, but he went to the cockpit to see if they had almost arrived in Twilight Town. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 11: Everything He Left Behind Sora saw Twilight Town coming up through the front window, but it didn’t quite look like Twilight Town. The once golden clock tower that stuck out of the world seemed to be in ruins. He thought he saw small buildings burning, but he couldn’t be sure at this height. As they descended, it got worse. The whole town had either been burnt or destroyed. They didn’t see anyone in the streets, and the Clock Tower was chipped and worn. Sora felt himself break out in a run. He exited the Gummi Ship and ran out into the ruined town. He fell to the ground and tears formed in his eyes. He didn’t understand it --- Unless… Unless Roxas’ feelings were affecting his own. Sora continued to sit on the ground and cry. He felt Kairi try to comfort him but ignored her efforts. He tried to imagine how Roxas felt -- How he would have felt if Destiny Islands had been destroyed, but he couldn’t imagine something this horrific. He tried to contact Roxas to help him but Roxas continued to block him out. After what felt like hours, Sora returned to the Gummi Ship. He had a splitting headache from Roxas’ emotional breakdown. “I’m going to find out who did this.” said Sora, gruffly. “Riku, watch the ship.” Normally Riku would have argued with this but he knew that Roxas had loved this world and that Roxas’ emotions would be effecting Sora’s. Sora stormed out or the Gummi Ship, Keybalde in hand and Kairi, obviously worried about him, followed. She didn’t understand-- She knew Sora had visited this world once or twice, but she didn’t know he was this attached to it. Sora was walking fast but Kairi managed to catch up. “Hey…” she said to Sora. “Hey.” he said, not slowing down. “Are you okay?” she asked. “Yeah… It’s just… Roxas. Before he went back into me, he lived here. Or, rather, in a simulation of this town. You remember Hayner, Pence, and Olette, right? Well, they were some of his best friends. I guess his feelings have been affecting mine.” “That’s terrible!” Kairi tried to think of some way to cheer up Roxas, but could only think of one thing. “We’ll find them!” “What?” said Sora, confused. “We’ll find Hayner, Pence and Olette. That way Roxas will be happy again.” said Kairi, not thinking of the dangers that may lay ahead. Sora smiled, but had to refuse. “Kairi… Whoever did this might still be out there! And if someone ruined this entire town, what makes you think we can take them?” asked Sora, not expecting an answer. “We can do it. You’re the keyblade master, Sora.” said Kairi, knowing she need not remind him. “Hah. But what about you…?” Sora trailed off at the end because he didn’t want to upset Kairi in saying she was weak. “Hey!” she said, shoving him playfully. “Who fought off some of those Heartless back at the World That Never Was?” “Alright, alright, we’ll look,” said Sora maintaining his cheerful disposition. It seemed that no matter what the situation, Kairi could make it seem a lot less discouraging than it really was. Sora and Kairi walked towards the previously Abandoned Mansion and saw that it was possibly the only remaining structure in the town. Sora threw his arm out in front Kairi. “Do you… Hear that?” he asked, lowering his voice. “Are those people’s voice?” asked Kairi, stepping around his arm. They drew their Keyblades and Sora pushed the heavy door. As they looked inside, he heard Kairi gasp
O.o Cliff hanger-age!!! WEEE!!! *Clears throat, and glances to his right and left, embarrassed* Umm, yeah. Anyway. Wow, uh, you REALLY need to change the name of this thread... I thought it was awesome! Very, very few mistakes, and I liked the direction this is taking. You can't help but think "Oh god, Kairi you idiot... Where the hell'd ya' go?" Keep it up! Oh, yeah, check out my story if ya' haven't already, and read/critique it for me. The link's in my sig area.
Uh, oh. Kairi didn't get kidnapped again, did she? Man, she always lets er guard down. *shakes head as no-no* lol! actually, pretty nic story. And about Selphie-- She's pretty much the only girl besides Kairi.
Added more. ;D Up to Chapter 11 now. Around Chp. 14 it starts to get more descriptive because I started listening to the Approaching Curve. (If you haven't heard that go listen to it. >>)
