Valiant Hearts II
Chapter I
The Voice I Can Hear
It was a dark room of immeasurable scale in which an entity with a black robe stood. Nothing was there. At least, nothing the eyes of any creature living under the lights could have seen. There was an unknown sensation about it, something that would give you a terrible feeling.
A low sound made its way to the hall as a being, familiar to the other, entered it, walking slowly to the one who was already standing in the middle of it. They faced each other, not saying a word or making a single noise. Just standing there in silence.Then, the one that had been in the hall all along made the first move.
“Speak, Demyx. How are the preparations going?”
He had a cold and emotionless voice, a sound that would make one feel ill. It was clearly a male voice, the kind one really didn't want to meet in a dark alley.
The man continued to stand there, waiting for the other to answer. He didn't have to wait too long.
“It's still going according to our plan. There is nothing to worry about. However, Marluxia seems to guess we're aware of his betrayal.”
The second man's voice was all but cold and emotionless. It had a trace of fear and subservience to it, but it was also clearly a male one. It was softer and most likely younger than the first.
There was a short pause. It was as if the first man was torn between simply accepting the fact and giving praise to the man for his actions.
Whatever his choice could have been, they were interrupted by yet another entity in black robes. Unlike the man who had entered moments ago, he came running in the hall, calling out alarming news.
“We have been found out. A spy, most likely from that cursed Hollow Bastion, has been sighted as she left this world.”
And so, for the first time, the first man moved. He pointed at the one that last came in, and spoke again. A commanding voice shook the hall, a voice which one would not dare to object with.
“Tell Xigbar to initiate Plan Herax II. Do it now! And send me Marluxia. We will use this opportunity to get rid of all obstacles once and for all. I will not tolerate any further failures!”
Quietly obeying, the two that had been commanded to search for the spy just stood there for a moment, then vanished into the darkness. The first of the three did not. He was still standing in the Hall, trying to suppress his rage and erase his doubts.
How could they have been so lax about their security?
“How did that damned spy get in anyway? What could she have seen? Nothing of importance, right? Nothing I should worry about. It will not influence our plan in the slightest.”
He was sure. Made himself believe that nothing went wrong. It was just a little unimportant flaw in their security. Nothing mentionable. Nothing at all.
But he could not have been more wrong.
---Valiant Hearts---
The Castle of Hollow Bastion, one of the worlds that Kairi would never forget. It was here she found out that it was Ansem of the Heartless that had abducted her childhood friends, Sora and Riku. It was here that Sora and Riku sacrificed themselves to protect Kingdom Hearts. Again she was all alone, the Chosen One of the Keyblade, again on a journey to find them.
“Sora...Riku...I swear by my life that I will find you.”
The battles were hard, and she hadn't been able to save all the worlds that had been consumed by the Heartless and the Darkness. Not even the sealing of Kingdom Hearts had restored some worlds that had been completely absorbed by the Darkness.
However, currently being in Hollow Bastion, and hoping that some of its inhabitants heard some news, Kairi spent her days mostly in dispirited boredom. No question, the Heartless weren't beaten at all. They were still out there. Somewhere. And along with them, Sora and Riku, unable to escape from the Darkness. But there was no sense in just blindly traveling worlds and looking for them. There were just too many worlds out there, and not even half of them had ever even heard of the Heartless.
“Don't make such a face, Kairi.”
A young girl, probably not much older than Kairi herself, with black hair, wearing a pair of short trousers of a faint green color, a black vest and knee-length boots, was trying to cheer her up.
“You know I don't like sitting around and doing nothing, Yuffie.”
“That's why I'm saying you shouldn't make such a face. I have some hot news for you! I'll tell you as soon as everyone's gathered. We're only missing Tifa. She is probably off somewhere searching for Cloud again, to make him actually do his job for a change.”
Kairi's blue eyes went wide. Yuffie had been on some information-collecting missions, and it seemed like she finally managed to dig up some interesting material. Kairi stood up, anticipating hearing the news that the self-proclaimed ninja had found. However, Yuffie was holding back, much to the annoyance of the Keyblade-wielding girl. She had no choice but to wait until everyone was gathered at Merlin's house, which the group, composed of the few close friends Kairi had, used often as meeting point.
Almost an hour later, all of the people necessary had been found. Yuffie, much to her liking, was the center of attention. She stood up and started reporting.
“You all know that keyhole portal way down in the canyon and how it was blocked? Well, Cid has finally managed to unlock the block and after a short discussion with Squ—”
A cough came from a man with a leather jacket, armed with a gunblade and dressed almost entirely in black. He gave an icy look to the spy for a moment, then let the girl continue with her report.
“And after a short discussion with Leon, I got permission to enter the portal. You absolutely won't believe what I found there. It was a downright gigantic complex of buildings, with a very impressive skyscraper as its center. It was all white and—”
This time, a brown-haired woman dressed in pink and with a red ribbon in her hair addressed the girl. “Yuffie, you know I really like to hear you describing other worlds, but we all know it's probably a very fascinating place. What we want to hear is what you found there that's so important.”
The reporting girl sighed and continued, leaving out all the additional information and getting straight to the point. Yuffie didn't like this sort of report, but there was no point in defying Aerith. She always won an argument with her kind yet determined nature.
“It seems it's not related to the Heartless at all and—”
The next disruption came from Kairi. Discouraged that this may not contain any clue about her friends, the Keybladress was about to leave the gathering, but was held back by Aerith. The older woman placed her hands on the shoulders of the red-haired girl. “Don't be rude. Just because it is not related to the Heartless doesn't mean there is no point in listening to it.”
Kairi nodded and got her hopes a bit up. She would listen to Yuffie's report, no matter how meaningless the outcome might be. What harm could it do, anyway?
“As I was saying, it seems it's not related to the Heartless but to a new species, something I haven't seen ever before. We all know the Heartless don't think or feel emotions, nor are they really smart or anything of that sort. These beasts are different. They're white, more silver-like, and seem intelligent, maybe even able to follow strategic rules! I somehow managed to get away without a scratch over the roof of a nearby building. There was only a small number of them and none of them was able to fly. Quite a few of those things were holding weapons. From the roof, I had a better view.”
Yuffie made a short break, not looking so cheerful anymore. The following was certainly nothing pleasant.
“Someone is building an army of those things there. I saw hundreds, thousands. Although most of them seemed to be of the weakest kind, it was a really fearsome view. I've only seen that many Heartless once, and that was when Hollow Bastion was taken over.”
She took a moment to look around at the other's reactions to what she had said. An army of never before seen creatures in a nearby world with an unblocked keyhole portal had quite an impact on the people present. While Cid and Leon started talking about how to best to seal the keyhole for now, Tifa was mumbling something about Cloud, and Aerith just seemed to quietly think about it. Kairi, though, seemed abruptly interested in those enemies. Yuffie fake-coughed a bit to bring everyone's attention back to her. “I’m not done yet. The real breaking news is still to be revealed.”
All eyes were glued on her. With a smirk on her face, the black-haired girl continued once again.
“I was thinking about finding out who is building and collecting those creatures. It was a real hassle to get in, you know. I had to evade a lot of traps, and that one time, I even—”
A simultaneous “Yuffie!” wound through the room from her audience. Again disrupted, the smirk vanished, and with a sulking face, the ninja continued.
“However, I made it in, and found myself on the third balcony of a REALLY big hall, completely wrapped in pitch black darkness. First I thought there wasn't anything of interest there, but I had somehow a hunch that there WAS something, so I waited a bit. And for real, after just a moment, there was someone coming...I hid myself between two pillars on the edge of the balcony and waited.
“First off, nothing happened. My eyes had adjusted to the darkness by that time and I could see that there were TWO people in black robes. The one must have stood in the hall the entire time I was there! One of them started to speak, calling the other Demyx and asking how the preparations for 'the plan' were going. The other said it was all going according to plan. Then both of them just stood there, saying nothing. I was thinking of getting closer, but since they just continued to stand there, I left the balcony the same way I came in, and got back here in one piece.”
Ending her report, Yuffie looked directly to Leon and said, “That's all.” She took her seat.
For a few seconds, the garage was as quiet as the night. They just looked at each other until Leon stood up and looked at the girl that just had delivered the report.
“Good work. There is no question that those people are planning something dangerous. We need more information to take countermeasures, and—" He was interrupted by Kairi, with whom Aerith seemed to be having problems holding back. Kairi was kind of furious. The only thing she could think of at that very moment was getting to this new world and finding out if there were any clues regarding Sora and Riku.
“I'll go! I'll be okay, even with those new enemies! I've always managed to get back in one piece, haven't I?”
Leon sighed and sat down. If the Chosen One of the Keyblade really wanted to go, he couldn't really order her to sit around and do nothing. He didn't have that kind of authority. However, a glance at Aerith's expression told him that there wasn't much of a choice. He sighed again. It was a bad habit to sigh at any given opportunity. He went over to lay a hand on Kairi's shoulder. He couldn't possibly let her go alone.
“Didn't you hear Yuffie? A whole legion of those new monsters is sitting there probably waiting for you to show up! We can't afford to let the Chosen of the Keyblade go all alone. I just can't believe that you know what you're doing in your current mental state.”
After a glare from Aerith and seeing the wild determination in Kairi's eyes, he let out another sigh and eventually gave up.
“I think it's okay if we all go together to that place. However, I won't allow you to go wild and just run away from the group no matter what we find there or what we see. After all, you're still just a sixteen-year-old girl and—”
Tifa, a black-haired woman who specialized in martial arts and was dressed in black shorts and a black top, stood up, walked over to Leon and slapped him so hard that he was covering his cheek with a hand, looking quite surprised. The sound of a loud slap rang through the whole garage.
Tifa was evidently quite angry. All eyes went to her and Leon as the woman started to address the man with a big scar across his face with quite a disrespectful tone.
“This very same sixteen-year-old girl has saved yours, ours, and the world's asses quite excellently, don't you think? It's a hundred years too early for you, or any of us, to belittle her!”
With that, the really mad woman walked out of the room, leaving the remaining people in an awkward silence.
The first to speak was Aerith. She went over to Leon and knelt down as she treated his pain with a vita spell.
“I don't agree with the manner in which she said it, but I do agree with what Tifa said, Leon. It's really a bit rude for you to address her that way. After all, we'd still be playing hide and seek with the Heartless in Traverse Town if it weren't for her.”
Standing up, turning at the other people, Aerith continued. “I also think Leon has a point when he says that it is too dangerous to let Kairi go alone. We should all go. I just don't want to sit around, doing nothing but waiting when I could fight. We all could. I'm sure that is also what Tifa is thinking.”
At the very same moment Aerith had finished speaking, Tifa came back into the room, pointing her fist at Leon to give off a final warning.
“It's exactly like Aerith says. I don't want to see Kairi hurt anymore. And Leon, if you value your health, you better not address Kairi in such a poor manner again. She is like a daughter for me, and I don't think you have any right to say things like that to her.”
Tifa wasn't in a good mood and ran off again, this time mumbling something about finding Cloud to join the group for this mission.
The man with the gunblade just nodded and sighed, making a mental note to never again speak ill of Kairi when Tifa was present. He preferred his bones to be in one piece. This wasn't really his day.
Tifa was just about to leave the residential quarters when she stopped. She hadn't been on very good terms with Aerith lately, and her sudden leave wouldn't make it any better. They had one argument after another, and most of them just because Tifa didn't agree with Aerith's education method regarding Kairi.
However, it couldn't continue that way. She had really got to love Aerith over the past year and couldn't accept that it would end like this. Aerith loved spicy food, although they had it only on rare occasions because Kairi absolutely loathed it.
“I guess Kairi has to live with it for today. I don't want to sleep on the couch anymore and it has been over a week since we...“ Tifa didn't finish that sentence and slightly blushed instead for a moment before she ran off. Cloud would not skip this trip because he was a good fighter, even when he was a horrible human.
Taking Aerith's words as the conclusion of this meeting, everyone slowly left. Cid remained until the end, since he used this house as his laboratory anyway. He had to prepare...things for the upcoming trip to the world with the new enemy, and he didn't like when someone was playing peeping tom when he was working. Just a moment before Leon left, Cid addressed him, making the man stop for a moment.
“This could get pretty dangerous. It's been quite a while since I've had a lance in my hands, you know?”
Leon just nodded, not knowing what calamity they’d gotten themselves into.
The days went by at a lightning speed; the date for the raid on 'The World That Never Was' was coming closer with each hour. Everybody was restless and busy with preparations, especially Kairi, who hadn't stopped training for nearly the entire time. If Aerith hadn't been looking after her, she would have probably even skipped sleep.
Aerith had always cared the most about the Chosen One of the Keyblade. Her and Tifa. It was a bit embarrassing for Kairi, but those two were like parents for the young girl. It was a bit of an open secret that they found themselves in some sort of romantic relationship after adapting to the role of parents for her.
“You will break if you don't take a break, Kairi. I know you're eager to look for your friends, but it won't do you any good if you collapse from being overworked.”
“I...know. But I just can't get myself go to sleep when I know that I might be about to find some important clue about how to rescue Sora and Riku.”
Her eyes were shadowed from a lack of sleep, and she really didn't look all that good. There was no question that the few last nights had been restless ones.
Aerith took her adoptive daughter by the hand, dragging the red-haired girl along with her. Kairi really didn't have the power to resist anymore since she had been training day and night with only little to no time for rest.
“You need a break from this. Even if you were chosen by the Keyblade, you can’t train nonstop day and night. You'll be exhausted to no end by the time we enter that place.”
Kairi had to kind of agree with this. Now that she had finished practicing, her own boundaries were becoming apparent. Sudden exhaustion seized her mind, making her feel dizzy.
The brown-haired woman had dragged her along to where she, Tifa and Kairi were living. Initially, the young girl had no place to go since her family had moved to the Destiny Islands, and living all alone in the castle was out of the question for a sixteen-year-old girl. Kairi had wanted, deep in her heart, to go back to her real family, but she would only bring danger upon them if she returned there.
Instead of living alone, Aerith said she would take her in. After a few months of just those two living there, Tifa had had a huge argument with Cloud and the black-haired woman left the apartment that she had shared with him. The blond man had continued his journey to find his archnemesis, Sephiroth, so he could settle things with him once and for all.
Tifa, though, had asked Aerith to let her move into the same house. Living with Cid or Leon was out of the question for her, and Yuffie was way too energetic for Tifa's tastes. The calmer woman didn't really have any objections, though, and just like that, matters were settled, and she moved in to live with Kairi and Aerith.
Tifa wasn't at home and Kairi sat down on a chair, now feeling extremely worn out. She stretched out her legs and arms and let the Keyblade return to the shape of a key ring pendant.
“I wonder if we'll find anything useful,” sighed the girl as she closed her eyes. Really hating to be like that -complaining and unconfident- but unable to do anything about it, another small sigh escaped her lips.
Aerith, however, went upstairs and left Kairi alone. It didn't take more than just a few minutes before the redhead dozed off, lying halfway on the table, quietly sleeping.
That was, until Tifa came in. She was in a mood that could only be described as something like Wild Animal Rage. She slammed the door hard enough to startle Kairi, who summoned her Keyblade Oathkeeper and faced the black-haired woman for a moment, ready to attack in case she was an enemy—until she recognized that it was only Tifa, who had almost broken the door.
“Wow, Kairi. You're looking terrible. Did Cid test some new robot on you?” asked Tifa, looking a bit worried.
If Kairi was here, Aerith must be too. Which would mean...the woman sighed.
“Tifa Lockheart!” The pink-dressed woman came down the stairs, pointed a finger at the now not-so-raging-anymore woman, and followed with the sermon that she had heard at least a million times before—not to slam the door.
“Okay, okay, Aerith, I get it. I get it already, damn it! I didn't know Kairi was here!" answered Tifa as she looked at Kairi with eyes that asked for nothing but help.
The two women were a really good pairing until it came to matters that affected Kairi. While Aerith was a bit overprotective, Tifa encouraged Kairi to work on her skills with the Keyblade, which lead to Kairi being a bit of a tomboy.
The girl stood up and gave both of them a 'Stop it, both of you, now!' glare. This worked every time, although neither of them liked when Kairi did it. A bit annoyed, and really tired, Kairi went upstairs to her room, leaving both Aerith and Tifa alone.
Left alone with her thoughts, Kairi fell on her bed and stared at the ceiling.
Tomorrow was the date for the trip. Everyone had prepared themselves as much as possible.
They wouldn't take any casualties.
Not anymore.
“I'll protect them. I'm not the Chosen of the Keyblade for nothing.” And with that in mind, Kairi fell asleep again, too tired to even take off her clothes and change into something more comfortable.
Her dreams were always a mess, but this time they were downright unnatural. Instead of the usual darkness and Sora and Riku, there was nothing but white light around her. No voices of her friends, no Heartless that engulfed them, nothing at all. It was just plain white and bright.
“This is the weirdest dream I've ever had,” Kairi decided as she looked around.
Slowly, her eyes adjusted to the bright light, and she found herself in a room that was completely white. A big table, walls without anything on them, and a few chairs that were also white was all that surrounded her and filled the room.
“Whose room is this?” asked Kairi out loud. It was not like there was anyone there to answer the question, but she had the feeling that it was better than just wondering.
Deep in her subconscious, a voice was saying “My own,” but that couldn't possibly be true. She had never seen this room before.
Kairi moved abruptly around 180° degrees as she sensed someone. Some...thing...was there. It was unable to say what it was at all, or if it was even dangerous, but it did clearly emit a message.
Kairi could...feel that something was trying to grab her hand, to drag her away. Instantly, a voice drove into her head, and she could hear the agony in it.
“Help me...please!”
Drenched in sweat, Kairi woke up, breathing heavily and looking around. It was very late at night and pitch black in her room. “That was a bit too realistic for a dream...”
Her room wasn't really all that stuffy—a wardrobe, although most of her clothes looked just the same, a computer on a table, and a bit of decoration. Nothing much, but she felt at home here. Quietly opening the door, Kairi snuck to the stairs, looking down. The lights were off, so Tifa and Aerith must have already gone to bed.
Well, that was to be expected. The young girl decided to just sleep a bit more, feeling still exhausted.
“A bit more can't hurt...it's not like I would get away lightly if they caught me, going to practice in the middle of the night...”
Back in her room, she changed into something more comfortable—a white shirt from Tifa, long enough to cover her to almost the knees, and went to bed.
--Valiant Hearts---
In an entirely different place, evil plans were put into action.
“Did we hide everything thoroughly enough?” A man with blond hair and a friendly expression asked another that had an eyepatch and gray hair. Both were wearing black robes. They must have been related to the unknown silver monsters.
The one with the eyepatch just nodded and started to smirk. “We'll use this to expose all of the traitors inside the Organization. Marluxia and his pawns will face their end defending this deserted place, believing we are still in the dark about their plans.” His voice was like poison, sharp and evil. There was no doubt that they had caught knowledge of what Hollow Bastion was planning.
The blond shrugged and looked at the ground. It wasn't his style to let others do his work, but in this case, it was an order directly from him. There was no choice but to obey if he didn't want to be one of the ones left behind to die in this worthless place.
“Let's go. I actually don't want to be here when the horde from Hollow Bastion invades this place. I really doubt Marluxia will stand a chance. It'll be like five versus...how many are there? Well, it doesn't really matter. Even if Marluxia wins through some miracle, there's—”
The blond moved around, thinking he had heard something. He then put up his hood and vanished into the darkness. After a short while and without comment, the other followed him.
End of Chapter I
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