Valiant Hearts II
Chapter XXI
Days of Nightmare – A Hope for Darkness
By the time morning came, the girls had long woken up and had spread out to look for useful things—things they would need to survive. In this unknown place, in a world of death and loneliness, they had little choice but to take what they could. Not much time passed until it was so hot that every step seemed like torture.
Kairi was alone on her way through the ruins. There were signs that this place had been deserted for years now. Sand had slowly found its way into remote places; walls were eroding under the harsh circumstances.
The biggest ruin seemed like it had once been a castle or something similar in the past. It looked odd, as if it had been built by gigantic forces ages ago. There were devices and half-broken sculptures that were clearly not man-made. A great deal of the structure had collapsed, and while it was hard to say for sure, it must've been a grand castle in the past.
Kairi had sent Naminé and Olette to find something to eat. It didn't matter if they came back with nothing but desert creatures. There was no sign of any civilization in this unknown world, so they had to find food. Water was no problem as long as either Kairi or Naminé were there since Kairi and Naminé could use magic to create ice they could melt. They kept a healthy supply of fresh water in some buckets they had found.
While walking through a big hall, Kairi examined the walls and the ground. Both were covered in marks made by claws, some bigger, some very small. She reached the end of the hall and saw there was a staircase at the end.
This place...it hadn't just collapsed. It showed signs of battle, of destruction far beyond anything Kairi could imagine. In some places there were scratch marks in the ground and walls, as if something with gigantic steel claws had scraped at it in a fury. No Heartless could have done that.
After jumping over the gap in the stairs, Kairi found the way to the upper levels blocked by sand and debris from the collapsed walls. Kairi gave up on a way to get past the blockade and returned to the ruin in which they had made their base. She had spent most of the morning working on a solution for the cold of the nights. They had amassed as many blankets as they could find, and even though they would have to keep close to each other like before, the cold wouldn't be as bad.
Naminé and Olette were already waiting with bright, smiling faces. Kairi thought they had found a supply of food, but they had actually found a solution to a different problem. Looking behind them, Kairi saw an old metallic thing that seemed to be an antique heater. Cid would have loved one of those.
“We found this in a ruin not too far from here. There were lots of tools, mostly broken, and some machines. Must've been a garage or something in the past. We can use this to heat this room. I already made a hole in the wall. I...kinda feel bad for using my Keyblade for such things.” Olette averted her eyes and looked at the ground.
“Don't worry. I've done a lot worse with Oathkeeper than using it as a hammer to break a hole into a wall. That was a really good idea and really lucky. We're still short on fuel for the fire, though. What about food?” Kairi looked at Naminé now.
“Nothing. We looked everywhere, but there isn't anything. I'm sorry, Kairi.”
Naminé had been close to freezing to death the night before when Kairi and Olette had saved her life by warming her. She didn't know anything about what had happened. Kairi and Olette told her she had passed out on their way to the ruins.
“If we get attacked while in a weakened state, we won't even have the strength to fight back. We need to find something soon.” Kairi knew how dangerous starving could be, how it could drive one insane. She had experienced it once before and she didn't want the other two to go through the same.
“Did you find out anything about where we are, Kairi?” Olette changed the subject to lift the mood at least a little bit. She tried to sit down, miscalculated how long her legs were, and hit her head on the wall. “Dammit...it takes time to get used to this body.”
It was still weird. She had often wished to be an adult, to be all grown up, but now that she was...it wasn't what she had hoped it would be. Naminé had become a really elegant woman, if not for the terrible circumstances and wildly thrown-together clothes. Kairi was...she was good looking. A serious-looking type. There were no mirrors here, but from what Olette could see, she really hadn't become a beauty herself.
“The structure of the castle is odd. I found some familiar-looking shapes, things like half-broken gargoyles and fountains. Most of what remains is built in a style I haven't seen before. Also, there are marks of battle all over the place. The path to the upper levels inside is blocked, so we will have to look for another way in.”
As she sat down next to Olette, Kairi glanced at Naminé, asking her with a mere look to come to her. The sun was at its peak, but this room was on the shadowy side of the building, so it was not too hot inside.
Pulling off her cloak, Kairi enjoyed the cold of the wall after the heat outside. Just where were they? And what had happened here? The Heartless? Unlikely. The Heartless were powerful, but only in destroying a world completely. Sucking it into darkness. Not laying siege to it, leaving ruins like this.
Naminé was leaning on Kairi's shoulder when Olette got up and knocked some dust and sand off her clothes. “I forgot to tell you, we found a couple of places that had lots of wooden furniture. There was even something like a stall made of wood. I know this doesn't solve our food problem, but at least we won't be cold anymore.”
Olette only said it to distract herself. She hadn't felt cold the last night and she wasn't able to think straight. Not with Kairi this close.
Kairi didn't look at Olette and averted her eyes before giving a nod. She was worried. They could create ice and melt it for water anytime, but no magic in this world could create food.
“A lot has happened since we met, huh?” Olette started up a conversation. It felt so cliché and typical to talk like this. It seemed like right out of an adventure novel. But it was nowhere near as interesting as a book. Reality was much harsher than any story.
“We fought the Organization. We almost died. We had a big fight. We got stronger. But it was all for nothing if we die here,” Kairi replied. She looked at Naminé at her side; she had fallen asleep. It was such a peaceful and beautiful face. After staring at it for a while, Kairi started to space out.
“Your forehead is going to get wider, Kairi.” Olette said, bringing Kairi back to reality. “You're always thinking about everything alone—where we are, why we're here, who's behind this...”
The brunette suddenly stood and looked down at the redhead. “But that's what I admire about you. You don't give up. But even I can feel that this situation is pretty hopeless. Even I feel that there is no way back this time. But that's fine. It's fine, as long as I'm here with you.”
Olette sat down on the opposite side of the room. “I wish I could be like that. When I was all alone with Naminé, I tried to be strong and think about stuff like you, but I really was no good in the end.” She sighed.
“What was it like, being with Naminé? Now that I think about it...I think Naminé mentioned that you two slept very close to each other,” Kairi said. This meaningless chit-chat was welcome to distract her from thinking too much and running in circles, a bad habit of hers.
“What—what was it like? Do you think she is different around me?” Olette was slightly confused. Kairi should know Naminé just as well as she did.
“No, I meant...well. What was it like for you? To be honest, I sometimes think it wouldn't been odd for you to come to like her. You never thought about her that way?” Kairi, now that she was together with Naminé, could see how she was a pretty charming girl.
“No, never. I see her more...like a sister. Or something close to that. It would be odd for me to be romantically interested in her. Not to mention that I always knew she liked you. Even back then.” Olette looked at the ceiling. Was it odd that she had never been interested in Naminé? She was interested in her, but only as a friend. She was the one and only person she could really discuss anything with.
“A sister, huh...” Kairi looked at the sleeping girl and imagined the rough, brutish Olette and the frail, elegant Naminé as sisters. The sheer image made her smile.
---Valiant Hearts---
The evening came quickly. Kairi had been silent the whole day, and Olette spent most of the day in another room, away from Kairi and Naminé.
“I don't know if the castle is safe, so you two come with me. It's possible we'll find some clue about this place there.” Kairi was back in leader mode and giving instructions.
They hurried over to the castle, and since Kairi knew the interior was mostly destroyed, they used ice magic to create platforms on the outside to enter through a giant hole in the upper section.
The interior was beyond anything Kairi had ever seen. It was so bad that both Olette and Naminé immediately threw up and broke down on their knees. Kairi's mind was frozen. What...what was this place?
The ground was stained red with blood, and human bones were everywhere. Dozens of people must've died here, brutally murdered, torn apart. Splashes of old dried blood was on the walls, and the ground was dyed in the dark crimson red of a terrible slaughter. As they looked to the end of the hall, the stairway up to the second floor seemed intact. Taking one step ahead, Kairi jumped back. Something... someone...was crying.
Kairi looked behind her and saw Naminé kneeling on the ground, crying. Olette was kneeling next to her, patting her head. Olette was as pale as ash and probably about to faint, but she still cared for Naminé in her situation.
“I...can hear them. The screams of the people that died here. They're in my head...screaming for help, screaming for mercy, begging for their lives. But they were not saved. Nobody came to save them. So...so...so many died here...so many...” Naminé shook her head, looking at the ground in sheer terror.
“Olette, look after her for a while, please. I'm going...up.” Kairi took a big gulp of air as they were near the hole in the wall. The further she went inside, the thicker the air got. It was abnormal. These people must've been dead for years and yet it was like they had died just yesterday.
Kairi felt her stomach acting up. She had seen, caused and suffered brutal violence herself, but this was...not just violence. This had been a merciless slaughter.
The stairs were free of the stains. But something was different. She had to force herself to go up. Each step became harder, like something truly terrible, far exceeding this hall was waiting up there. Kairi mustered all her willpower and advanced forward. The last step.
But there was nothing. This was the uppermost level that was still intact. There were only a few bloodstains on the ground and walls here and there. Very few must've made it up here. The air was also different from below. Not thick and hard to breathe, but stale and cold. Yes, it was cold, even though this room should have been heated beyond belief from the sun. The air was cold and so was the ground, as if this room refused the warmth of the sun.
There was nothing. Nothing at all. Kairi walked around a few minutes, trying to calm her mind before going back downstairs. Then...
It had to be a coincidence. If...if it really was what Kairi was thinking it was then it was clear where they were. Walking slowly towards it, Kairi felt pressure building up. She could still run away. Report there was nothing here. That it was just empty. That...that....
But she couldn't. Standing in front of it, her mind froze.
---Valiant Hearts---
Over fifteen minutes had passed since Kairi went up. There were no noises from fighting or anything. No screams or yelling. Just eerie silence.
Naminé had finally gotten a hold on herself as she tried her best to shut the voices out. Breathing heavily, Olette carried Naminé piggyback up the stairs. Even though Naminé tried her best, the voices still tormented her. She was unable to walk or even stand.
Olette thought the stairs would never end. She looked down at them and realized she had only crossed four steps, and yet it seemed like she had been walking for a whole day. Her legs were tired and her mind told her to go back. Up ahead was something terrible. But even so, Kairi was up there, and she had to check if everything was all right.
After what seemed to be an eternity, Olette reached the uppermost level. It wasn't as bad as below. So why wasn't Kairi coming down?
It took her only seconds to locate Kairi. She was sitting on the ground, staring at something that was plunged in the hard stone ground.
“Kairi? Is everything okay?” Olette yelled, but Kairi didn't even respond. Then there was some movement.
Kairi slowly let her arms sink down, then dropped something onto the floor. Olette hurried over and let Naminé down, who instantly went to check on Kairi. Picking up what Kairi had dropped, she now saw that it was what appeared to be a book.
It was in scrawly handwriting. Olette started to read.
Final Entry
Only I am left of the once glorious Hollow Bastion, the last bastion against the Heartless. I can hear them. They are outside. Soon they will come for me. I can hear their claws scratching on the doors. I can hear their screams. I think the doors are breaking. They're coming.......they're coming.......
Olette felt terrible. What was this?! Who wrote this? She closed the book and tried to make out the title. The only eligible letters were “...e…fall...ollow…...”
Her body trembled. Her hands were shaking. Opening the book, she read the first entry.
Day I, Defeat
Today,...darkest...Hollow Bastion has come.…...only ones alive are Tifa and myself, Leon...Hollow Bastion.....lost our Keybladers......Kairi, Naminé and Olette. ….they…..dead….world will soon die...era of darkness.
Olette fell to her knees. Her mind had stopped working. What she just read was completely incomprehensible for her. That...couldn't be right. She was alive. Kairi was alive. They hadn't died. But...but...but! With a shaking hand, she turned the page. Several entries were unreadable. Then she finally came upon one that had been spared by time and sand.
Day VI
Only ten people alive...I'm one of them, I think. Tifa died today. …..she died the day Aerith….. didn't speak.......just her body, her soul had long left.…. We ran out of food today.
Olette's eyes were wide and blank. It was like a nightmare. The thirst, heat, hunger, loneliness—nothing mattered anymore.
Turning the page again, Olette's mind forced her to continue. Many pages later, another readable entry showed up. It was completely preserved. It was writing in red ink.
Day X
Their faces haunt me at night. I cannot forgive myself. I cannot hope for forgiveness. I...can only assume how Aerith died. That beast...the beast that is still showing on the horizon at night. She must have given her life to summon it. I do not know why... but Aerith chose death and vengeance over life. I do not know what happened to the others, but I shall write down what happened to Tifa, Yuffie and Cid.
Olette was staring at the letters in cold sweat. Yuffie. Yuffie. Yuffie. It was the only thing she could make out. Afraid to read on, Olette wanted to look away, run away, never touch this book again. But then...she had to know. She could never live on if she ran away now.
Yuffie lost her life trying to buy me and Tifa time. A man from the Organization wielding a great sword killed her. She was dead in an instant. He cut right through her, as if she were just made of paper. I...I am still shivering when I think back. I shouldn't have let her go. Cid...Cid took over where Yuffie left off. He saved Tifa's and my life by sacrificing himself. He blew up himself along with that man. He was a true hero to the end, always living by his ideals. And Tifa...she was alive when we escaped to the uppermost level of the castle. Her body was, at least. I think her soul had left her after she must've seen how the love of her life died. I cannot bear to look at the cold, dead body that was once Tifa. I...feel guilty for being still alive. So...guilty...
Olette crashed onto the cold, hard floor. That couldn't be true. It just couldn't be true. Everyone...everyone...
Olette got up and slowly walked to the outer wall like a zombie.
Yuffie. Was dead. Dead. It was like a gigantic weight had been dropped on Olette. Like a switch had been flicked off and her entire world had become wrapped in darkness. Yuffie. The girl that had embraced her when she was hurt and lonely after being rejected. The girl that was always teasing her but who was really kind deep down. The girl who cared for her. All that was gone. Forever gone.
Hitting the wall with her fists, Olette tried to overcome the immense grief she was feeling. Why did she have to die? Why did everyone have to die? Why were they brought here? Why couldn't she go back and be with her again?
After hitting the wall until she could no longer contain herself, Olette screamed out and summoned her Keyblades as an outlet for her anger and sadness. Completely unable to control herself now, Olette started to scream and hack away at the stone wall. The impact was great enough to send stone shards flying all over the place, cutting her arms and legs, her cheek, her stomach, her waist. She didn't care. She didn't care at all. Everyone was...everyone was...
Dead. Nobody was left. Nobody. No...body...
Olette's powerful attacks became slower. Dead...they were all...dead. This was...real. They were all...dead...died...fighting...so long ago...
Finally, she stopped. She had stopped because someone was there. Who was it? She couldn't remember. Everyone was dead...so who...who was here...?
Looking down, Olette felt a sharp pain in her heart. She was staring into Naminé's face, overrun by tears.
They had heard everything. Everything. Kairi was holding Naminé's hand, staring into nothingness. It was like Kairi wasn't really there. Seeing Kairi like that...Naminé like that, Olette finally calmed down. The rage left, and sadness came. An immeasurable sadness, great enough to wash away everything. Finally, tears started to fall, and Olette fell onto her knees, crying loudly and without holding back.
“They're...they're all dead! Dead! Nobody...nobody is left! Nobody...” Olette screamed out in pain. It was like her heart was trying to break, trying to give in to the pain that was too great to bear.
Naminé knelt down and took Olette's left hand. As she held Kairi's right hand, she waited for the brunette to calm down. Naminé was still crying, and she felt like it would never stop again. Leaning against the wall, Olette followed her and leaned against Naminé.
“Even...if everyone is gone...you still...have us.” Naminé was sitting between Kairi and Olette. One was still apathetic and in shock while the other had let her feelings take over and had gone on a rampage. Naminé only cried. She was still crying and she knew the tears wouldn't stop anytime soon.
No one was left. They were all alone. Aerith. Tifa. Yuffie. Leon. Cid. The first people that she had considered friends. Considered family. And now, none of them were left. They would never come back.
She had read books like this. Books where the hero dies, where the heroine dies, where many people die. But reality was so different from all of that. She couldn't just go and close the book, forget about it. She would never be able to forget about them.
Neither of the three could. They had all loved those people, and now they were gone forever.
---Valiant Hearts---
Olette had cried herself to sleep. Night had come. Naminé had finally stopped crying. But her heart was still hurt. Kairi had woken up and had cried a bit. She was still confused, not herself. No matter what happened, she had always thought that she would be fine as long as she were the only one who got hurt. But now...now...
The temperature in the room hadn't changed. It was like the room itself had died on that day, refusing any change.
The three wanted to leave this place. They couldn't bear to stay here. Not here, where the last of their friends had perished, where everything they had fought for had ended.
But Kairi refused to leave before doing something simple. She pulled out Leon's gunblade and rammed it into the ground near the entrance. Using a sharp stone to carve letters in the ground, she wrote:
Here rest the souls of the last brave men from Hollow Bastion. Here rests Leon, friend and leader.
Compared to the pain they were feeling, the hall beneath them was nothing now. The stench, the blood, the bones. None of that mattered anymore. The outside cold was biting at their skin, forcing them back, forcing them to deal with reality.
It took them thrice as long as before to cross the distance between the castle and the ruin they were using as a hideout. There was no fire to welcome them back. No food. But they wouldn't have been able to eat anything anyway. Instead they drank some water and went to rest.
Feeling tired like never before, they tried to fall asleep, but none of them could. They saw the faces of their loved ones, heard their voices and they knew they would never hear or see them again. They were gone forever.
From time to time, one of them cried silently to herself, and the other two moved in a bit closer to signal that they were still there. None of them knew how much time passed before they fell asleep. A sleep with dreams, dreams that were cruel and yet much sought after. Dreams of the people they cared so much about. But it hurt. It hurt to see them, to be with them, because they knew that it was just a dream. A memory.
The morning came sooner than anyone wanted. Each of them felt like leaving the others, like wanting to be alone, wanting to give up and just escape this harsh reality. But they didn't.
Kairi knew that she would be betraying everything she had ever fought for if she gave up now. But it hurt so much to have lost the people that she held so dear. She remembered this feeling from some time ago. When she saw what happened to the Destiny Islands after Ansem had opened the door to darkness, immeasurable guilt and sadness had overcome her.
This time, there was no going back. It had already been a miracle that the Destiny Islands had been restored by killing Ansem and sealing Kingdom Hearts. And there was no way to change the past. Kairi felt despair slowly tighten its grasp on her heart.
Naminé soon realized that she would never see the others again. Never see Aerith smile or Tifa get angry. Never see Yuffie, Leon, Cid or Merlin again. She didn't know how to deal with her feelings. She had experienced sadness before, but this...it wasn't just sadness. At times, she just spaced out into thin air, remembering the faces of the people she had come to love. She had come to see them as her family and friends. She had long cried enough to not have any more tears to shed. After a while, she just sat down next to Kairi, just trying to calm her bleeding heart.
Olette was different from the others. Not despair, but rage consumed her. She had left the building despite the burning sun and occasionally the other two could hear the sounds of something collapsing. Olette was venting her anger out on what was left of this world. Unable to control herself whenever she thought that this was all that was left, she just let her rage control her. She was covered in bruises and smaller injuries after hours of running berserk. But it was not enough. It would never be enough. She would never be able to forgive herself, the Organization and the Heartless for this. No matter how much she destroyed, her anger would never truly go away.
The heat became too much to handle, even for her, so Olette took cover in a half-collapsed ruin. She really cursed herself for being unable to use any magic. Some water would've been great now. Her stomach was growling. How long had it been since she had last eaten? She already failed to remember. But what did it matter? Even if they died here from hunger, there was nothing left to fight for.
Just why had things come to be like this? Everything had been well before they had gone through the gateway and had been transported to this bleak future. For what reason? Was there even one? Was there really something called fate? If so, fate was cruel.
She had lost almost everyone she loved, the people she slowly came to accept as her new family. Yuffie, who had taken her in when she was hurt and who fell in love with her. Everything that was important to her. She had lost everything once before, when she found out Twilight Town was not real. But this was so much worse.
---Valiant Hearts---
“Are we going to die here too?” Naminé asked, looking at the ground. Not even she could keep an optimistic attitude in this situation, and the question was an honest one.
Kairi knew that giving her false hope was just cruel, so she answered truthfully. “There is nothing here. No animals, not even plants. There is nothing to eat. At most, we'll last a month.”
They were leaning back to back, each just staring at the wall. Both were kind of apathetic. They hadn't moved for a while, and beside this one question, silence ruled over the room.
“Kairi...do you love me?” Naminé asked a delicate question like that just straight out. It was just how she was.
“I do.” The answer was as plain as it could be. Kairi loved Naminé, but it was hard for her to say it. She felt better by just saying those two words. Only a little bit less sad.
Kairi could feel two long, slim arms moving over her shoulders. Naminé was hugging her, pressing her chest to Kairi's back. Her face was still sad, but different from a minute ago. Kairi was the person who made her the happiest, and she wanted to be with her more than ever. Having lost nearly everyone else, Kairi was even more important to her now.
As she tightly hugged the girl in front of her, Naminé whispered something to her.
“Love me.”
Kairi knew instantly what she meant, and she was a little surprised that she wasn't against it. Deep down, she longed for her embrace right now.
Naminé gently kissed Kairi's neck, her hands moving under Kairi's shirt. It wasn't very romantic, but the warm feeling that surged up inside her was very comforting. Naminé wasn't smiling despite being this close to the girl she loved more than anything else. Continuing to kiss her neck, to caress it, Kairi turned her head slightly and touched Naminé's cheek with her left hand.
Their eyes met and they could see each other's sadness in them. Despite their best efforts to smile and look happy, they knew what the other one was feeling deep down. Angst. Despair. Sadness. Loneliness.
Naminé's hands were moving further up, circling around the redhead's breasts, touching them just briefly, as if testing new, unknown waters. Kairi didn't refuse her touch and moved in closer, turning around and laying both arms around the blond girl's neck. They didn't say anything, just stared at each other briefly before they kissed each other.
A tender and gentle kiss that tasted just a little bit salty. Just a tiny bit of surprise when Naminé pushed Kairi's lips open with her tongue and forced her way in to kiss her more deeply. She responded accordingly.
Kairi laid her arms around Naminé's waist, pulling her closer. Close enough for them to feel each other's breath, to see their chests rise and fall. A few strands of golden hair fell in the face of the gentle girl, and Kairi moved them away, kissing her forehead.
Naminé pulled up Kairi's shirt, then took it off. Kairi paid little attention that she was exposed like this. Naminé bent down and laid short but passionate kisses over Kairi's body. Down from her collarbone to her breasts.
Kairi put a stop to her advances for a second. Taking her hand, Kairi pulled her lover over to the mattress so they could lie down on it. She was okay with Naminé leading her, and she longed for this closeness, this warmth now.
Naminé got rid of her robe by throwing it carelessly on the ground. She grabbed one of the blankets they kept around to cover them before lying down with Kairi.
They could feel their warm bodies touching each other and this sensation had them blushing a little bit. Naminé started licking Kairi's neck. Her big breasts were pushing against Kairi's waist, arousing her, her breathing going faster.
“I love you, Kairi,” Naminé whispered while moving up, slightly kneeling over Kairi. She looked down at her. Strands of hair fell into Kairi's face, tickling her.
“I love you too,” Kairi replied, before pulling the girl into a deep kiss that took them away from this harsh reality.
---Valiant Hearts---
Olette was tired when she finally came back to their hideout. The heat was really getting to her and she wanted to lie down a bit to rest. Letting out a sigh, she took a short break on a stone in the lowest level near the entrance.
As she stared at the slowly-moving shadows on the ceiling, she tried hard to figure out why she had to suffer like this. Where had she gone wrong? When had she made the wrong decision for things to end like this?
Yuffie. The cute energetic girl who always teased her and the others but who was very different deep down. Olette knew her better than anyone else, even though the time they spent together had been so short. In the beginning, Olette had been reluctant to trust her. She had just been rejected by Kairi and was hurt, and that was when Yuffie had showed her true colors.
Olette found comfort where she least expected it. And now, that was all gone. A matter of the distant past. For her, it had only been a few days since she had last seen the black-haired girl, but for Yuffie...how long had it taken for her to realize and accept that Olette wasn't coming back?
“I wonder...if she ever forgave me...” Olette whispered to herself, finally noticing that tears were running down her cheeks. Her memories were still intact. That time on the beach, the evenings on the roof. The time they spent together. Her first time sleeping with someone.
Olette tried to imagine what it would be like if she and Yuffie had switched places. If Yuffie had gone away and hadn't come back for years. Would Olette have given up hope? Given up and accepted that Yuffie was dead?
Olette just couldn't bear it anymore. Thinking about how much Yuffie must've suffered made Olette hit the rock she was sitting on with her bare hand hard enough to cause her knuckles to bleed. The pain felt relieving.
She sat, spaced out, until the pain stopped, and stared out of the ruins they were hiding into the wide, deadly desert. Old memories she didn't want to recall came up. The first time she'd met Kairi and the time when she was forced to fight for her life. Her last time looking back at the town she grew up in. Her meeting with the people of Hollow Bastion. Living with Kairi and their first mission. Her confusion about her own feelings and finally...acceptance, followed by rejection.
No matter what she did, it all went wrong. If she had not given up on Kairi back then, would she be happier now? If she had never fallen in love with Kairi, would she be happier now? Both ways meant never loving Yuffie and not feeling this immeasurable pain of losing her.
But things that were done were done. There was no changing the past. And the future looked bleak.
Olette got up and slowly walked upstairs, too tired to make any sudden movements. By the time she reached the right floor, Olette was more sneaking than walking. It was awfully quiet. Had the other two fallen asleep?
When Olette looked inside the room to see if they were sleeping, she saw something unexpected. Naminé was making her move on Kairi. The redhead was already without her shirt and Olette had, just for a second, a very nice view of her body.
Telling herself that peeking was wrong, Olette left and went downstairs. What were they thinking? And at a time like this?
More confused than angry, Olette sat down on the stone block she had been resting on before. Even if it had been for just a second, she was still seeing that image before her eyes. And worst of all, she felt those suppressed feelings coming back.
Unable to resist, she went back up, trying to be as quiet as possible. It was so wrong, but at this point she didn't care. Not even a miracle could save them now, so why bother with little things like modesty?
By the time Olette went back up, they were already down on the mattress. Olette couldn't see much from around the corner, but she could hear their heavy breathing, Kairi's cute moan. It was really, really wrong to eavesdrop on her closest friends having sex.
Naminé had vanished under the blanket. Olette was getting excited and aroused. They really were going to do it. Hadn't they thought about her? About the possibility of her returning around now?
Olette bit her lip as Kairi let out another one of her cute moans, totally unfitting for her usual personality. It was also odd that Naminé was the leading one in bed. Olette didn't really expect that, her being so innocent most of the time.
The brunette continued to watch and listen, biting her fingernails before she knew it. A slim arm threw out Kairi's skirt and Naminé's robe—they must be completely naked below the thin blanket. Olette couldn't resist and took a longer peek. She could see Naminé's back, the outlines of her ass and legs through the blanket.
Kairi's moans were getting louder and came more often, joined by ones from Naminé. Olette couldn't control herself anymore and one of her hands found its way below her black top. It wasn't a very refined act, but...
---Valiant Hearts---
Both of them were still breathing heavily. Kairi was holding Naminé in her arms; the blond girl had her eyes closed but was wide awake. It was an odd sensation. Just moments ago, this frail and innocent-seeming girl had slept with her. Kairi was still not thinking straight, but for the first time since they were stranded in this deserted world, she felt a bit of happiness.
Kairi moved to get up and get dressed. She didn't want to stay naked forever, especially not with Naminé close like this. She would just get excited again. But Naminé was holding her back, murmuring something. “Just a little bit more.”
Kairi couldn't help but smile. Naminé was so peaceful-looking. And it was true...like this, it was hard to think of the situation they were in. Of their inevitable fate. Of anything but the innocent and angelic face of the girl in her arms.
It was there that Kairi found her turning point. She had finally been able to step over her boundaries, to answer Naminé with everything she had, without stopping her short of her goal. She would not give this up.
If they had come here somehow, there should be a way to go back. And if there was none, she would find one. She had not fought Ansem, Maleficent, all those Heartless and even the Organization for nothing. She had found Naminé and Olette, and survived that hellish island. Had returned home to where everyone was. She would not give this up!
Knowing that Naminé would never let her go and get dressed if she didn't force her will, Kairi kissed Naminé's cheek and jumped up too quickly for the blond girl to grab her. Quickly collecting her clothes, Kairi dressed and sighed. It had been her first time. And she was happy that it was with Naminé.
Kairi materialized her Keyblade, Oathkeeper, and looked at it as if to question it. A Keyhole portal had brought them here, so there should be some way to get them back.
“Naminé, can you get dressed? When Olette gets back, I have something to tell you two. I have an idea.” Kairi was back to her old self. She would change the future. Change this reality. Her fight was not over. She had still time.
Naminé had a surprised look in her eyes, but she grabbed her clothes and put them on. This was the Kairi she loved and adored. She was a bit disappointed that Kairi had refused to cuddle but it was all right if she was back to normal now. Naminé tried to ignore the biting thoughts of the room that told them about the horrible truth of this place. She believed in Kairi.
Olette had heard everything. She had been taking cover behind a wall, trying to calm down. She felt a bit dirty, but it cleared her head from unnecessary thoughts.
Finally a bit calmer, Olette went back downstairs, as quietly as possible, summoned her Keyblades, and smashed a large rock to make some noise. She couldn't let them know, ever, about what she had don just now.
Moving upstairs, Olette was welcomed by Kairi, who had a serious expression. Olette took a deep breath. She could do this. Although her head was full of images of Kairi and Naminé having sex and the noises Kairi produced while at it, she tried to focus.
---Valiant Hearts---
“I don't know what exactly happened, but one thing is certain. A Keyhole can only work if there is an opening in both directions. If the Keyhole we used transported us to the future, the same should transport us back in the past,” Kairi explained. “I think it is better to try and perish trying than to slowly wait for us to die from starvation. Do you two agree?” She shot the other two a questioning look.
Naminé was intrigued by this and quickly nodded her head. Olette felt that what Kairi said had some merit and nodded her head as well.
“Since the Keyhole to the world we were going to was in the middle of a district that, as far as I can tell, is completely gone, we will have to practically look all over the place.” Kairi knew how hopeless this was and so she avoided any comparisons or estimations of how long this would take.
“Keyblades react to Keyholes if they're nearby. It's hard to explain, and you two are not that used to this yet, but if a Keyhole is nearby, your Keyblade will feel like...it's ringing. I know that sounds weird, but that's the best explanation I can come up with. It's going to be evening soon. We will start today.” As usual, Kairi was in command. “Until then, we rest. I feel sort of tired.” She avoided looking at Naminé as she said this.
“Obviously you'd feel tired after that,” Olette whispered to herself, and turned around to go sit on the mattress. Remembering what she saw not too long ago, she got a little bit excited.
Kairi and Naminé sat next to each other against the wall, Naminé taking a short nap, Kairi just closing her eyes in an attempt to try to make some fatigue go away.
Olette lay down, taking a deep breath. The mattress still carried Kairi's and Naminé's smell. Oddly she found both to be arousing, not just Kairi's. Not thinking anything of it, Olette tried to imagine what sleeping with Kairi would be like. Blushing heavily, she was happy that the other two had their eyes closed. She thought she would be jealous of Naminé, but...she just couldn't be. Naminé probably didn't want to steal Kairi away. It was just that she really loved her.
The sun was almost down when it had cooled down enough to make it bearable to be outside. Kairi woke Naminé up, who demanded a wake-up kiss that Kairi gave her in form of a kiss on the cheek, and proceeded to look to see if Olette needed to be woken up.
“I'm good to go. A bit tired from earlier, but okay.” Olette was the least sensible in regards to their Keyblades, but she had two, so it evened out.
Kairi roughly designated the limits of the area they would search. Still, it was over a square mile to search and they had more or less to walk over it step by step, concentrating on their Keyblades. It was a tiring job. After nearly four hours of searching, there was absolutely nothing. They had to return to their base since it was getting very cold and even though they had cloaks, they didn't help much.
Sitting next to the small fire they managed in their room, they still kept close to each other. But both Kairi and Olette were kind of uncomfortable with this. Kairi, because she getting a little bit excited by Naminé, and Olette, who felt the same just being that close to Kairi. Naminé didn't seem to mind either of them and happily clung to Kairi, leaning on her and smiling.
But their mood was changed in an instant when they heard something in the far distance. It was like an enormous thunderclap, something that could split the land apart. Whatever it was, they were unable to figure it out, even after they went to the roof and tried to look in the distance. It was too dark and probably too far away.
“I have a bad feeling about this...” Kairi was sure that there was something fishy going on. She remembered something else now. Leon had written that the Heartless had stormed this world. Hollow Bastion's heart was located deep inside the castle, beyond the room Leon had died in. Why...why was this world still here? Why hadn't the Heartless taken it? And why was there no moon? The missing stars were the missing worlds the Heartless had taken...
Why had she not thought of these things before? If there was no moon, something must've destroyed it. And as for why this world was still here...she couldn't explain that.
They had no choice but to go back to their room, so they decided to sleep until morning. Kairi had an excellent internal clock, so she would wake the others up when it was time. Naminé had already lain down on a corner of the mattress and she would for sure complain if Kairi didn't sleep next to her.
Olette didn't think much about it and lay down as well on the other corner, with her back towards Naminé. Even if Kairi slept next to her like this, it wouldn't change anything.
Kairi stepped over Naminé and lay down. She could feel Olette's back on hers, quite aware of her presence. She tried hard to not think about anything unnecessary like Olette finding out what happened earlier. Closing her eyes, Kairi fell asleep pretty fast and Olette followed minutes later as well.
The morning came with a little surprise. While Naminé had moved in closer and was sleeping in Kairi's arms, Olette had turned around while sleeping and was hugging Kairi. In fact, both of her arms wrapped tightly around Kairi's waist. Kairi felt like a pillow for the two.
Kairi was a bit short on patience, and woke both of them up quite roughly by just getting up. Both of them looked confused and spacey as they tried to grasp their surroundings.
“Time to continue our search. The sun will be up soon. Get up.” Kairi was quite merciless when it came to these things.
Naminé took a few minutes to properly wake up while Olette made her way to one of the buckets they used to store water. She could still smell Kairi. She was a bit spaced out, having dreamt about the day before. Dreamt about what she'd seen. Kairi and Naminé sleeping with each other.
The morning search yet again met with no results. Kairi was starting to think the plan over. She had been too surprised to remember exactly where she'd first arrived. How was it possible that the other two were so far away from her location anyway?
“What...is that?” Olette looked at the horizon in terror, eyes wide open. Far away to the south, the entire sky was black. Not just the black of night, but a darkness so deep that it consumed even the land below. It was like a gigantic storm was coming their way, one so powerful that the world itself was bowing its head to it.
Running to where Kairi was, Olette immediately informed her of what she saw. But by the time she reached Kairi, the storm had stopped moving. It was now just a stationary cloud covering the south. It reached as far to the east and west as they could make out. Naminé had noticed it too and joined up with Kairi and Olette.
“That's not natural.” Kairi's voice was calm and cold. Whatever that was, it was not good. “We're canceling the search for now. It's still far off, but who knows how far it will come over the day.”
Kairi and the others went back to their hideout. The three of them took shifts, with one of them monitoring the cloud at all times.
Kairi was the first to take a shift. She would switch with Naminé in three hours. But for now, Olette and Naminé were supposed to rest. One thing kept happening after another.
Olette hadn't spent time with Naminé alone since the night they'd first arrived here. She didn't really know what to say to her and decided to rest as Kairi had instructed.
“I slept with Kairi yesterday,” Naminé said straight out. She was sitting on the mattress, her back to Olette. “I know she doesn't want you to know, but I feel bad keeping it a secret from you. You like her too, don't you? I thought it was unfair to not tell you.” Naminé truly felt that way. She liked Olette and didn't want to lie to her. Not about anything, even if it meant going against Kairi's will.
“I think there are some things one is better left not knowing,” Olette complained, angry with herself. She knew that they had had sex, and the fact that Naminé was being honest with her hurt her—because she'd known about it all along, and yet lied to Naminé by pretending she didn't.
“I am going to sleep. Try to sleep too, Naminé,” Olette said coldly, and closed her eyes. She soon fell asleep without hearing another word from Naminé.
She dreamed about Yuffie. She dreamed about their trip to the beach and how they had parted. Olette regretted not doing more with her. If she could go back, she would spend more time with her, act more freely.
Naminé was feeling a little depressed about how things had gone. Just when had they started to move apart? When had everything gone wrong? And most importantly...how could she fix it?
Olette and she had been so close back then, when Kairi had almost died and when Olette cared for Naminé when she was sick. And now, even though they still were friends, her being with Kairi split them apart. And that wasn't something she could fix.
She wanted the old Olette back.
---Valiant Hearts---
“Wake up!” Kairi came running into the room in a hurry, quite upset. Both of them were a little confused about what was happening, but Kairi's alarmed expression had quite an effect.
“What's happening? Why the face?” Olette got up and finally noticed that Kairi was showing signs of battle. Oathkeeper was in her hands and bruises were forming on her arms.
“I figured out how to get out of here. I went to check on the top floor of the castle and found a portal. It's weird, it's doesn't look like a real portal, at least not a proper one. By the time I got out to tell you, Heartless were attacking. They were only scouts, but the main force will be here soon. That black cloud—it's a mass of Heartless!” Kairi was obviously quite stressed out about this. No matter how many lives they had, if that whole cloud was Heartless...
“We need to hurry and get to the portal before they get us,” Kairi said in a calmer voice as she looked at the other two. From here on, it was a race against time.
A race they had already lost. Just a few miles southward, Heartless were consuming the very fabric of the world, leaving nothing behind. More scouts were already in their area. Kairi skipped the last stair, jumped down and cut apart a few Heartless before Olette and Naminé followed, both wielding their Keyblades.
Kairi took the lead, followed by Naminé. Olette acted as the rear guard. It was a bright day, yet it was as cold as the night. They were not used to fighting in these bodies, but their lack of practice and technique was evened out by the increase in power.
They felt their senses being numbed by an immense pressure. It was already too late. The cloud had reached them, and Heartless were coming down like a never-ending torrent of rain.
Kairi pushed her way through, using brute force rather than tactics. Tactics were useless in a fight against this many enemies. Olette had both her hands full protecting herself and Naminé from behind. And even with their combined effort, they were slowly getting surrounded by a kind of Heartless Kairi had never seen before. The smallest ones were called lurkers, but these were like a bigger, deformed version of those.
“Buy me ten seconds, please, you two!” Naminé shouted while Olette took apart a whole group of Heartless with a series of powerful horizontal slashes. That they could do.
Kairi jumped back and shot a series of fireballs towards a few flying Heartless aiming for Naminé. No matter what, ten seconds was enough for a recitation spell. Kairi was feeling oddly excited and scared at the kind of powerful magic Naminé could unleash with her powers increased like this.
“Praise to Lira, praise to Volt, I summon from thee the power of annihilation to destroy those that stand before me! Gungir!” In Naminé's hand a spear made of pure lighting formed. How she was even holding that was beyond Kairi's understanding, but that her life was as good as forfeit if she got hit by that thing was very clear to her.
Naminé waited for a second for Kairi to jump aside and threw the spear with unexpected power towards their front. It quickly expanded, becoming virtually a beam of energy cutting through the masses of Heartless. Before she knew what happened, Naminé had been grabbed by Olette, who was covered in cuts and bruises. She was carried away just like that, under Olette's arm, next her waist.
The spear of lightning cut a path through the Heartless, and Kairi and Olette, who was more or less occupied by carrying Naminé, pressed through with speed and brute force.
They soon reached the lowest level of the castle. A big hole gaped in the wall, one that hadn't been there before. Naminé really was crazy, unleashing a spell like that without second thought.
They were almost there. The Heartless seemed to have trouble attacking the castle, as if an invisible force was keeping them away. They would get back home. They would see everyone again.
“That is as far as you go.”
A woman's voice called them back. The Heartless were running away, as if something they feared were coming. And Kairi could feel it. This was beyond mere terror.
A hooded figure slowly walked towards them, emerging from the ocean of Heartless. In her hand...she carried a Keyblade. And not just any old Keyblade—it was a black and perverted version of Kairi's Oathkeeper.
The woman was different from the other Organization members. Not only did she not attack right away or ambush them, she calmly walked towards them, one arm slowly moving to her hood, pulling on it, revealing her head and face. The three girls stared at her in terror.
That was Kairi's face. Her eyes. She looked just like her, except that her hair was different. It was black as the night.
“I wondered where that nostalgic feeling was coming from. You...” Pointing her black Keyblade at Kairi, the woman looked at her in confusion. “You should have died a long time ago. I don't believe in ghosts. So who are you?”
Kairi thought fast, disregarding the fact that this woman looked just like her. She had to find a way to get them out of here. Olette was still carrying Naminé, so an assault was out of the question. Useless, too, since she knew nothing of her strength. Not to mention that the Heartless would not idly stand by and watch.
For now she had to buy time. The longer she had to think, the better a plan she could come up with. “I am Kairi. Who are you, that you look like me?”
“That is not what I wanted to know. I know who you three are—Kairi, Naminé, and Olette. I know everything about you. I know how you are looking for a way out of this situation. There is none. If you attack me, the Heartless will overwhelm you. If you run, I will kill you.”
Kairi gritted her teeth. Just who in the world was this woman? “Then what do you mean, who am I?”
“I do not know how you died, but Lord Xemnas said that you were no longer part of this world. And there is nothing he does not know. So who are you? How did you get here?” The woman was apparently very confident that they had no way out, otherwise she would not keep on talking like this.
“I don't know how we got here, but we're about to leave,” Kairi said, trying to distract her.
The woman lifted her Keyblade again and her expression changed to anger. “You will not.”
“Ruler of the eternal cold, Celsius!” Naminé rammed her Keyblade into the ground, surprising everyone except Olette.
“What? Celsius? But how?!” The woman jumped back. The ground below them, the Heartless, everything was quickly turning to ice. Before, a teenage Naminé without much training had frozen a few hundred square meters of the ocean. This spell was considerably stronger.
Kairi wasted no time. She leaped onto a large stone block, waited a split second for Olette to catch up, and made her way to the upper level entrance. Down below, the ground was freezing.
Naminé knew that they had at most a few minutes until the ice froze the entire castle. It was dangerous to summon Celsius' power, but she had felt confident that she would be able to control her with her increased power. She was wrong. Again, Celsius was going out of control.
“I didn't think you'd do that!” Kairi said while running. They were almost numb from the smell and the thick air of the bloodstained hall.
“I told her to cast something big as long as you two were talking. I knew you'd be surprised, but that woman was—” Olette stopped talking and running.
At the end of the hall, near the stairs, a gateway of darkness opened and the woman stepped through, now wielding two Keyblades. Her second one was snow white, but shaped like nothing Olette or Naminé had ever seen before. Kairi knew, though.
“Just who are you?!” Kairi yelled. They were quite in a pinch. There was no other way up there besides the stairs.
No answer. The woman rushed towards them and Olette dropped Naminé in a hurry while Kairi blocked the first horizontal slash with her own Oathkeeper. The woman was powerful. Kairi could feel the impact on her blade all the way to her wrists.
Three more horizontal slashes followed, and the woman finished by spinning around. The attack would have taken Kairi's head off if Olette hadn't rushed in and put both her Keyblades against the unknown woman's to block the attack. Olette had a slight upper hand in brute force, but she could tell the woman's technique was far superior.
The black-haired woman jumped back, turned slightly, and threw the black Keyblade at Olette, who avoided the attack by jumping to the side, rolling over, and getting up near a wall.
It was too late. The woman was already on her. Olette tried to block the attack, but suffered a deep cut on her left shoulder before Kairi attacked the woman with all her might, forcing her to evade.
Naminé saw that the ice was already at the entrance of the room. She had to do something. What she had in mind would be a gamble on Kairi's and Olette's abilities and trust, but she had to do it.
They were three versus one and they were still losing. Olette got back up, but was unable to use her left arm. Now the situation was even worse than before. Suddenly, the woman noticed that Naminé was casting something and rushed towards her with the intent to kill.
A loud sound of metal crashing into metal rang through the hall when the dark Oathkeeper hit the white one. But Kairi had her hands full blocking one blade. The woman didn't hesitate and aimed for Naminé's neck with her other Keyblade, but she failed. Olette jumped in, holding her other Keyblade firm and steady and blocking the white Keyblade's attack. Still, they were getting overpowered. Kairi was forced on her knees by pure brute strength, and so was Olette.
“Jump!” Naminé shouted, and even though it seemed suicidal, Kairi and Olette obeyed and jumped to the side. In the blink of an eye, the woman's Keyblades roared through the air, and a lance of fire emerged from Naminé's hand.
Crying out in pain, Naminé suffered a deep wound on her waist and another on her right shoulder. But her spell had been a full hit too. The woman was yelling in pain, rolling over the freezing floor, her body scorched by a flame that refused to go out.
Olette dematerialized her other Keyblade, grabbed Naminé in the same manner as before, and ran as fast as she could up the stairs. Kairi was just a step behind them. They reached the upper level and without regards for anything, Kairi led the way to their goal, the portal.
Directing her Keyblade at it, she expected the portal to open for them. But nothing happened.
It couldn't be! Not after all of this! Kairi tried again, yet nothing happened. Refusing to give up, Kairi tried to forcefully activate the gateway even though it was extremely dangerous to do so. And yet, there was no reaction.
“We opened the gateway to here with all three of us. Let's try that!” Kairi turned around, slightly panicked. Directing Oathkeeper at the gateway, Olette let Naminé down, who was still in pain but managed to summon Monochrome. With Monochrome and Circle of Life joined, there was finally a change. The portal slowly opened.
“You will...not leave.” The woman, still burning, her face distorted by blisters and her robe mostly burned away, was slowly walking towards them, wielding both Keyblades. Her eyes glared with fury.
The gateway opened moments before the woman reached them. The ice finally caught up to her and the legs of the woman froze to the ground, the fire finally dying out.
“Lord...Xemnas...” the woman spat out before the power of Celsius froze her solid.
They had no choice. Without delay, they jumped into the gateway, leaving a world of terror and destruction behind.
They could not feel anything. They could feel everything. Sadness, anger, joy, hope, rage, jealousy, happiness, peace, excitement. Everything. Nothing. Who were they? They were themselves. Who were they? They were nobody. Where were they? Everywhere. Apart, together.
Darkness. Their mind empty. Light. Their bodies vanishing. Nothingness engulfing them. Death. Pain. Rebirth. Pain. Death. Pain. Rebirth. Pain. A never-ending circle.
Blood. Everywhere. Darkness eating the blood. Light eating the darkness. Blood eating the darkness. Chaos. Chaos. They are Chaos. Everything is Chaos. Nothing is Chaos.
Their bones breaking. Their flesh melting. Their mind destroyed. Their hearts empty. Their soul eaten.
Their life ending. Their life beginning. Dreaming and waking. Chaos all around. Time flying past. Time standing still. Dimensions wavering. Dimensions shifting. Dimensions falling apart.
They. Moving. Standing still. Their being everywhere. Seeing. Everything, Nothing. Light. Darkness. Nothingness.
Nothingness.
Pain.
Pain.
Pain.
Nothing remained but pain. And then, everything ended.
End of Chapter XXI
Deviant Hearts Archive | Back to main index