Valiant Hearts II
Chapter VI
The confrontation I fear
Part III
End of an Beginning
“So you all failed,” he said with an cold yet utterly crushing voice.
They hadn't had much of a choice. The girl escaped, and now that they were asked, they didn't even have proof that Axel was dead. To top that off, Xigbar had been beaten pretty badly and wouldn't be able to run any missions anytime soon.
“Xemnas, there wasn't anything we could do beyond what we did. We didn't expect the fools from Hollow Bastion to come to that World at the exact same time. Also, another Keyblader girl showed up out of nowhere. She was with the girl from Hollow Bastion.”
Saix hadn't been left off lightly. Xemnas had punished him pretty bad and his face showed traces of that all over.
“So we have three Keybladers now? Xemnas, isn't that, somewhat, overkill?” Demyx interrupted and waved his arms around.
“Isn't that dangerous? One of them is easy to handle, but three might turn out a bit too much for-” He was disrupted by a energy ball that send him flying across the hall they were in.
“Fool. We can easily destroy them. They will serve us well. All there is to do, is to lead them on the right path. This will benefit our plan greatly,”
Xemnas replied to Demyx's outburst.
The atmosphere in the hall was virtually freezing when Xemnas turned around to watch the fruit of his hard work. Soon, it would be completed. Now, with two more girls that wielded Keyblades, it was just an easy task of waiting.
Initially, he had thought of killing the Keyblader from Hollow Bastion, but that had proven unwise at multiple occasions. Not only did they prove amazingly stubborn and durable, but also stronger than he had taken into account in his plan. It was much easier to leave those fools alone while they did the work of collecting hearts for him. He could dispose of them easily enough when the plan had been a success.
“You three shall remain here for the time being. Call Luxord and tell him to bring turmoil to another world. We need to have those girls collect more and more hearts for us. Soon, yes, soon, our plan will succeed.”
Without a word, the three left. Xigbar returned quickly to his room, burning with rage over his shame. Demyx, having no orders as of now, also returned to his room.
On the contrary, Saix went to tell Luxord of his new orders. Why Xemnas picked the old gambler was a mystery to him. Xaldin would be much more suited to that kind of duty.
The superior must have had some plan on his mind. It was very dangerous to let those fools from Hollow Bastion just do as they pleased.
Even if they now were far away from being able to beat him, he had taken some damage against those two brats. Xigbar was close to being defeated, and from what Demyx told him about the woman in pink, she was a very powerful magic user. What was Xemnas thinking?
“Luxord.”
Saix had found the gambler on the balcony and waited to continue until he has his full attention.
“Xemnas orders you to continue your work. He didn't order where, just go to a world nearby to Hollow bastion and sow turmoil and strife. Do as you please, but refrain from any unnecessary mistakes like the last time.”
Without waiting for his answer, Saix turned around and slowly walked away.
Luxord, one of the older members of Organization XIII, was also one of the more incalculable members. He was tall, blond, had several earrings and a distinctive light beard. His personality was as twisted as it could be but one way or another, he finished most missions to the satisfaction of Xemnas.
“I need to speak to Xemnas later. We need to stop those fools from Hollow Bastion. They're likely to interfere with our plan.”
Saix, still talking to himself, walked away in direction of the demolished city grounds the battle with the Hollow Bastion group had left. They wouldn't rebuild it. There were other important things.
---Valiant Hearts---
Tifa was worried about Kairi and Aerith. For a surveillance mission, this took already way too long. Cid refused to open the portal alone and had given her some overly complicated technical reason he won't even try.
“I hope it's just some harmless reason like they got lost and need to find the place. I don't want either of them to get hurt,” Tifa said to calm herself, wandering around.
They were overdue for more than three hours. It was impossible for Tifa to be calm anymore. To distract her mind, she had started patrolling the area quite a while ago. Of course, there wasn't anything unusual.
But Tifa was absolutely restless now. Another hour had passed and there was still not the slightest sign of Aerith, Kairi and Yuffie. She couldn't just sit around and wait anymore. With an iron-like determination, Tifa almost knocked down the door to Merlin's house in search for Cid. But he wasn't there; nobody was.
“Where the heck did Cid go?” Tifa swore and marched off.
She couldn't find Cid anywhere, not even in the usual places not near the mar that was often the testing area for his new tools and explosives.
But Cid wasn't there either. Tifa was quite angry, and completely devoid of a medium for her anger, she angrily punched the ground. Half of the cliff shuddered under the impact and the black haired woman felt a bit better. Losing her cool wouldn't help, but the recent events were a bit much for her not to worry.
Just as Tifa turned around to walk back to the living quarter, she heard something. The sound that was similar to what occurred when a portal opened. For a moment, she had been thinking that Kairi and Aerith were back, but this was quite some distance from the portal place. It wasn't them. That left only two other choices.
First, it was someone from the town, maybe Leon who was looking for her. She had left her post after all. But they would have called out to her. Well, Leon maybe not.
Second, and that was more likely, it was someone that was trying to enter this world unnoticed. And that wouldn't be unless the one had a very good reason not to be seen.
With a sudden movement, Tifa turned around and rushed in the direction the sound had come from. Whoever, and whatever, it was, right now was the worst time to get noticed.
There didn't seem to be a need to launch a full all-out attack. There really was someone there. But what, who, she found there... Tifa would never have guessed.
---Valiant Hearts---
“So, you're saying this... Portal thing here connects this world with another?”
Olette was standing in front of the keyhole gateway and gazed at it, still carrying Kairi. It was still open, and Aerith had given her a short explanation what it was. She didn't understand all of it, but the basic was, this was a portal that lead to another world.
“Yes, it comes pretty much down to that. Are you okay with carrying Kairi?” Aerith asked her, quite busy herself, carrying Yuffie whom was still unconscious.
Olette sighed and looked back. The town was still frozen and even Aerith didn't have any explanation why. Her only guess had been that someone set the town to a frozen state because of the intruders, that is, the Organization XIII and Kairi, Yuffie and herself.
There wasn't much of a choice now. There had been too much weird stuff happening lately to just return to a everyday life. At least not now.
The unconscious girl that was resting on her back, the woman in pink that was now telling her to walk through some sort of portal she had never seen before, and yet another girl, that was also unconscious and carried by Aerith, all that was just too much to comprehend here and now.
Her mind demanded a explanation of what was going on, and she would only get that when she would go with those people. So, not much of a choice on that matter.
“I hope you're right and this really leads to another world and isn't just... whatever it is and leaves me in the darkness,” Olette sighed and stepped towards the portal. Standing right in front of it, she could feel a slight chilly atmosphere streaming from it. That didn't make this any better.
“It is completely harmless. It could be a bit cold compared to the heat here,” Aerith said and stepped behind Olette.
The brunette wasn't sure this was a good idea but took the final step forward anyway. It didn't feel any different than doing a regular step, but she was now standing on a narrow path of light, completely surrounded by darkness and the stars.
“So.. this is one of the paths that connect worlds? Are you using those often?” she asked while doing another set of steps.
Aerith was close behind her, and just as she had stepped through the portal, it closed itself, leaving no trace of it in the frozen Twilight Town.
“Kairi uses them when she travels from world to world. You see, Kairi has been doing this for quite a while, and is looking for her friends. But that is a story you should really hear from her,” Aerith explained and kept a short distance to the girl.
Although this gateway had been secure when they first arrived in this world, there was no saying that there were no Heartless lurking in the darkness this time.
“Say... who were these guys? You called them Organization something,” Olette asked the woman walking behind her.
“Organization XIII. The Nobodies. Nobodies. We don't know much yet, but they seem to be after something special. And I think the chosen of
the Keyblade plays a significant role in their scheme.”
A short pause occurred. Olette didn't understand why Aerith called them “Nobodies,” but decided not to ask now.
“But they're not the only ones after the Keyblade. There are the Heartless, creatures of the endless darkness. We don't know how and why someone is chosen by the Keyblade, and I fear the heartless will now also try to capture your Keyblade. I'm not sure why you wield one at all, since the legend said never anything about more than one chosen.”
This made even less sense. The heartless? How could something like that even exist?
“But I wonder why the Heartless didn't find you. They lust after the Keyblade, yet fear it. It must have something to do with this strange world you were living in.”
The way seemed practically endless for Aerith, and all those mysteries didn't make it better.
“Why was the Organization in that world? What were they after? It didn't look like they wanted you or us. We were merely to the wrong time on the wrong place.”
Olette was lost. This was too much info at once. It had been the longest day ever for her, and she wasn't particularly happy about that. The glass tower... the silver and black... but those black things, were that the Heartless Aerith was speaking about? And then... those men with the black coats.
“I need report this to Leon and Cid as soon as I can. And...”
Aerith looked at the girl in front of her. She was about the same age as Kairi. She knew how hard it was for Kairi to grew accustomed to be a chosen of the Keyblade. Now, Olette had appeared and even wielded two Keyblades. Aerith didn't want to drag yet another girl in their battle against the Heartless, but there wasn't much of a choice. Wielding a Keyblade came with great danger for one self and the world one was living. But she couldn't bring herself to explain this to Olette.
“How long is this path? I have the feeling we've been walking for hours.”
Olette sighed and looked behind her. If she didn't count Aerith, there was nothing but darkness there. The portal to her world must have been closed or something.
“We're almost there. Since Kairi is still unconscious, I need you to open the portal to our world,” Aerith said.
“But I don't see anything here. Are you sure?” Olette wondered.
“Yes, I am sure. We're almost there. Look on the ground. You should see a little keyhole somewhere ahead. That is the sign that there is a world with a gateway there.”
Aerith was worried if Olette could manage opening a portal on her own yet.
“What would happen if we miss it?”
That was one of these questions one shouldn't ask.
“We would, somewhere on this path, find another keyhole I think. But we could walk days or forever and not find one. Most of those paths end in nothingness and darkness. But don't worry, a Keyblade master can feel where a keyhole is located.”
“I don't feel anything,” Olette responded.
“Only Kairi can really explain how it works, I fear. I only asked her once how she notices those things, and the best way she could explain it was intuition. For now, we can only hope that you really will notice it. But I trust you.”
That didn't particularly put Olette at ease. What if she really missed it?
With all her remaining concentration looking down on the ground and even slowing down a bit, Olette looked for something that looked like a keyhole.
“It should be around here somewhere. The gateway compass from Cid signalizes that a keyhole is pretty close. Now it's up to you. Only you can see the keyhole” Aerith said to Olette.
And there it was. Olette saw something really tiny on the ground. It looked like just another star that was glimmering in the darkness and shining through the path of light.
“I found it. What do I now?” she called out to Aerith.
“Summon your Keyblade and, from here on I can only tell you how Kairi described it once to me. Concentrate on it and try to open it.”
That was much easier said than done. Let alone summoning her Keyblade, Olette had not the glimpse of a idea how she would do that, but opening this... portal keyhole thing was over the top. How was she supposed to do that?
First, she had to lay down Kairi. It was impossible to do anything while carrying her piggyback. Aerith did the same with Yuffie, probably assuming that this could take a while.
“I guess summoning the weapons works the same way like dismissing,” Olette said to herself and closed her eyes.
Olette took both pendants that she had affixed on her trousers when they had left the mansion in her hands and took a deep breath.
She could remember well what the weapons looked like. The golden one, her own, and the one she had borrowed from Kairi, the silver-like one.
Picturing those in her mind, she simply thought of how the pendants would change shape. But that wasn't enough apparently.
Both pendants didn't move an inch. They looked exactly the same as before. But it was probably too much to ask to have it work on the first try.
“Isn't there some trick to this? It doesn't seem to work for me,” Olette complained.
Aerith didn't have any answer on that but walked right next to her. Laying her a hand on the hands of the girl, Aerith explained with a somewhat reassuring voice.
“Close your eyes, picture your Keyblade, try it with one at a time only and ask the Keyblade to take its true form for you. I think that is how Kairi does it,” Aerith said and stepped back.
Olette closed her eyes again and did how Aerith had instructed.
This time...
---Valiant Hearts---
“So, I found her virtually falling out of a portal like the ones the Organization uses near the mar. Someone want to explain to me who she is? She tells me the whole time that she knows Kairi and is looking for her.”
Tifa was one inch short of snapping. Not only were Aerith and Kairi more than six hours late, no, on top of that she had found this girl near the mar. To make that worse, she had come out of a portal of darkness, and even then, she had been wielding a Keyblade.
The only thing that Tifa had gotten out of her was that her name was Naminè and she was looking for Kairi. Apparently she knew her and as proof of that showed Tifa the Keyblade.
Of course she had recognized that Keyblade. It was Monochrome, one of Kairi's Keyblades
Unable to make a decision as to believe her or not, she brought the girl to Merlin's house, and on the way bumped into Leon and Cid, who were just coming back from a experiment. Leon looked quite demolished, but Tifa didn't care at all.
Cid had downright drowned her in questions when he noticed Naminè, but Tifa was completely unable to give any answers.
Right now, they were all in Merlin's house, Naminè sitting in a chair on the other end of the room, the Keyblade Monochrome on her lap, and looking a bit confused.
Tifa had gotten really angry when she didn't want to explain from where she knew Kairi and why she knew all their names.
“So, you're telling me just to believe her and let her walk around like it's nothing? You've got to be kidding me Leon! First, she wields a Keyblade. On top of that, this was once Kairi's Keyblade, Monochrome. It is weird enough that she is able to wield it. Second, Kairi and Aerith are six hours, Leon, six hours!, overdue and now she appears all of a sudden? And to make all this worse, she claims to know Kairi, knows from somewhere all ours names
and even refuses to tell me where she is from and from where she knows Kairi. You can't seriously tell me that-” Tifa got cut off by Leon.
“Calm down Tifa, calm down. I know it's hard for you right now to think clearly but we can't have you wreak havoc now. We're all worried about
Kairi, Aerith and Yuffie, but you're jumping to conclusions,” Leon said with a completely calm voice.
Tifa was about to beat Leon to a pulp. How could he say that to her despite what had happened the last few days?
Naminè in the meanwhile had stood up and was now standing right next to Tifa. She certainly didn't look like a spy of the Organization or something like that. That she was able to wield a Keyblade fortified that fact.
“Kairi is in this world. I can feel her,” she said to Tifa, whose eyes got wide and mouth stood open.
“If that's just a cheap lie to get out of here then, girl, you better be prepared for the worst,” Tifa snapped at her and ran off.
Leon and Cid, both looked at Naminè with great eyes. Who in the world was that girl?
---Valiant Hearts---
“See, you can do it. Wasn't so hard, was it?”
Aerith gave Olette a smile and looked at the open gateway.
She had managed to successfully materialize her own Keyblade and open the gateway. It wasn't that hard when she concentrated on just one Keyblade. Opening the portal worked itself out without much trouble.
“This... world looks kind of gloomy,” Olette said as she looked around.
“Not at all. We have a very nice town not far from here. This is just the portal that is used to travel to your world.”
“Say... what is that dust cloud that's rushing at us?” asked Olette slightly scared.
“Oh my god, that's Tifa. Fast, stand behind me,” Aerith told the girl and took a deep breath.
“Tifa!! We're back! Don't worry, we're okay!”
Aerith shouted and as if her words were some sort of break, the dust cloud got slower until Olette could see that it was a black dressed woman that had been running towards them with an amazing speed.
“Aerith, god I was so worried.” Tifa didn't lose any time and embraced Aerith.
Tifa, worried sick, didn't even notice that Aerith had been carrying Yuffie nor that Olette was standing right behind Aerith. Tifa practically forced
Aerith in a close embrace and even closer kiss, but Aerith couldn't and probably didn't want to put up any resistance.
Unable to hold Yuffie like that, Aerith dropped her and she fell on the rock hard ground. She was still unconscious and unable to moan out.
“Are you injured? Of course you are injured! Did the Organization attack you? I swear, I'm going to tear them apart the next time... Where is Kairi? Is Kairi okay?” Tifa blurted out and looked around.
“She is okay, but I need to heal her. Can you... uhm... let me go? I'm really happy to be back, but we're all really tired.” Aerith tried to put Tifa a bit at ease.
Tifa had noticed the other girl that was carrying Kairi. If not for Aerith, she would have tried to get some answers out of that girl. But that was not the only problem. That girl was wielding a Keyblade Tifa had never seen before. And she knew all of Kairi's.
“That girl is wielding a Keyblade? Aerith, what in the world happened over there? I really love you and trust you blind, but you really need to explain this,” complained Tifa to her girlfriend.
Olette stood there with an open mouth. Sure, the concept of homosexual people was not new to her, but to see one with her own eyes was certainly different.
“Her name is Olette... let me get some rest and I will explain everything to you. There is a lot to explain. But I need to treat Kairi first, and Yuffie could also need some proper rest. Olette is surely also complete worn out,” Aerith told her lover and freed herself from her embrace.
After she picked up Yuffie, Tifa had closely examined Olette and Kairi in the meanwhile, the little group walked towards the town.
Tifa had completely forgotten about Naminè for the moment.
“Your name is Olette?” she started a conversation with the brunette.
“Hm. And you're Tifa? That is if what Aerith shouted just now is your name?”
“Yeah, I'm Tifa. Let's hear your story. How come you wield a Keyblade, and you suddenly show up with Aerith and Kairi here?”
Aerith gave her lover a cold glare.
“Don't bombard her with questions Tifa. I also have questions for her, but that has to wait until she gets some rest. She and Kairi apparently fought alone against one of the members of the Organization. And it didn't seem like it was a weak member. I'm really grateful to her. So give your curiosity a break, will you?”
Although it had a serious tone, she gave Tifa a smile and was happy to see her.
The little group was halfway up to the living quarter when Tifa offered to also carry Kairi. It was no big deal for her, but Olette didn't mind carrying Kairi at all.
It took them, exhausted as they were, almost half a hour to reach the living quarter where Leon and Cid were waiting outside of Merlin's house.
Leon tried to stop Aerith, but Tifa gave him a killing glare.
“They need some rest. We'll explain everything after that,” she fired at Leon and ignored his objection.
Their house was not too far from where Merlin's house was, and for the time being, they would also take Yuffie and Olette there.
Depleted and exhausted, Aerith sat down on the couch and while Tifa was busy placing Yuffie on another couch, Olette looked around.
It was a nice place, but she still had some trouble to imagine that those two woman were not only a couple but also lived apparently here together.
“Olette dear, lay Kairi down next to me. I'll treat her wounds first.”
Olette followed Aerith's plea and laid the redhead on the couch, her head resting on Aerith's lap.
Taking a deep breath, focusing her mind, Aerith started to treat the wounds of her adoptive daughter.
“Great saint of the holy kingdom, let their ordeal come to an end and gift them with your blessing. Grant me your power and might and let me pass
them down to cure what I hold dear.”
Aerith finished her recitation and a really bright, dazzling light emitted from her hands and covered slowly Kairi's whole body.
“That's the strongest healing magic we know of. Aerith calls it Erzengel. Thats an very old word in the ancient language of the world we come originally from and means Arch Angel,” explained Tifa.
“I never heard of people using magic like that,” said Olette and continued to observe Aerith.
The light slowly ceased and where previously there had been wounds from the intense battle, there was nothing left. That was a truly amazing skill.
“How did she do that?” Olette asked Tifa.
“Magic. It's a natural thing. Kairi is capable of some magic herself but not even close to what Aerith is capable of. I don't use magic much although I'm quite skilled. Not as much as Aerith, though.”
Tifa walked over to Aerith and picked Kairi up. Aerith was obviously even more exhausted than before. Such amazing magic must put quite some stress on one's body.
“I'll get her in her room. Her body is now fine, but her mind needs some rest too.” Tifa said to Olette and went upstairs.
“I fear you won't be able to rest right now Olette. Leon won't just sit idly by and leave you alone. We need to at least explain to him who you are.”
Olette didn't really want to go through any more explaining. Her head was quite hurting from all this and she only wanted some sleep.
In that very moment knocked someone on the door.
---Valiant Hearts---
“This world is perfect for a little game. It reminds me somewhat of the world my original came from.”
A man, completely covered in a black coat, was standing on the pier of a big haven.
With just the wink of his hand, a massive Heartless rose from the ground. This world was the perfect playground for him. It was only a matter of time until the Keyblade's chosen would arrive here. They would fetch many, many hearts for him. But it would be too boring if he just flooded the world with Heartless.
“I think it is time to make use of the code.”
The man turned around, lifted both arms and spoke one simple word.
“Parley.”
---Valiant Hearts---
“I'm getting a headache.”
Tifa was standing in the midst of her own living room and didn't understand the world anymore.
For the longest of all times, they searched for the chosen of the Keyblade and found Kairi. Now, after a single trip to another world, there were suddenly three of them.
“Wait, wait wait wait a moment! Your name is Naminè, right?” Tifa got a short nod from the blond girl.
“And you're Olette. You're from Twilight Town, and Naminè doesn't know where she's from.”
Two girls gave her another nod.
Tifa scuffled her hair, seemingly quite annoyed.
“Aerith, I'm going to check on Kairi, I'll let you handle this.”
The living room, that was definitely not designed to fit that many, was filled with people.
Leon and Cid, bringing along Naminè, had been curious who the unknown girl was that had been carrying Kairi. Now, they found out that it was yet another chosen of the Keyblade.
“Tis' feels like a bad joke from Destiny, don'tcha think?” grumbled Cid and looked desperately for a chair or something to sit down.
“Calm down, all of you. No one here had a easy day and if you absolutely insist on doing this now, we will do this in a calm manner.”
Aerith didn't like this much. She wasn't in the best of the moods and quite exhausted on top of that.
“The facts first,” Leon started.
He went over to where Naminè was sitting and looked at her.
“Tell us how you got that Keyblade and where you came from. We don't know anything but that your name is Naminè.”
The blond girl gave Leon a curious look.
“I don't know. I just woke one day up in that weird town and started looking around. I don't even know what I was looking for. Then Axel found me.
He brought me somewhere. I don't remember where.” She started to tell her story.
Leon sighed and looked over to Aerith, who only gave him a slightly annoyed look.
“Who is this Axel?” Leon asked.
“Axel is a kind guy that saved me from the Organization. We escaped together but the Organization hunted him because he ignored the orders of someone. That is what he told me.”
The room was dead silent. Axel, a member of the Organization had helped her?
“Where is this Axel now?” Leon asked again.
“I... don't know. I was in that mansion when Axel suddenly came rushed in and told me we have to escape. It was really loud out there. He opened a portal and brought me to another place with another portal. He promised we would meet again.”
The atmosphere got really weird after she finished her talk.
“You don't know? Why did he help you? What is your relation to-” Leon was cut off.
“Make a point Leon. She obviously told you what she knows,” said an annoyed Aerith.
“But we need-”
“What do you gain when you force her? She is able to wield a Keyblade, and the Organization hunted this Axel down because he betrayed them. So she is obviously not a enemy.”
“Aerith this is not-”
“Leon!”
Leon took a step back. It was really rare that Aerith got loud, but that was a sure sign that she was serious about this. He had no choice but to back off for now. When thinking about it, Aerith really did have a point. The Organization wouldn't hunt one of their members for naught.
“Your name is Aerith, right?”
Naminè was standing right next to her.
“Yes dear. Don't mind him. This is how he shows that he is concerned about us.”
“Oh, that's okay. The people at the Organization were much much worse.”
“Are you tired?”
Leon felt completely alienated. But he was already somewhat used to this.
“Not very. Can I see Kairi? I want her to thank for the visit the other day.”
Aerith was puzzled. The visit the other day? When did Kairi...
“Now I know who you are!”
Everyone in the room was looking at Olette.
She had been pondering about something the whole time. She had seem that girl before. Olette was absolutely sure that she had seen her somewhere before. But where?
“On that glass tower! You're the girl that was right next to Kairi. Now that I think about it, that Keyblade ornament was also the same!”
Leon sighed. This was getting more complicated by the second. He couldn't even follow everything anymore. Who in the world were those two girls?
One seemed to be from the world Kairi and Aerith just had visited, while the other one didn't know where she was from. On top of that, the Organization had been shown up in both stories.
“Kairi, you need to rest. You shouldn't even be up!” Tifa was getting loud. Everyone in the living room could hear her talk upstairs.
Just moments later, Kairi appeared on the top stair and slowly walked down.
“I'm fine. Aerith healed me anyway. Beside, I can't sleep with that ruckus down here anyway.”
Naminè wanted to immediately go over to Kairi, but it seemed like Kairi didn't recognize her at all. It wasn't that weird, as Kairi had never really seen her. But there was one thing that Kairi would surely remember.
Naminè looked at her palm, and for a second recalled their meeting in Castle Oblivion. Kairi would know immediately who she was. Naminè could hardly wait, it was the first time she felt so excited, but she had to wait for the right moment.
Kairi immediately recognized Olette, but had no idea who the blond girl was. There was something familiar about her, as if she knew her long ago, but she couldn't say where she belonged to.
“Leon. This girl here is Olette. She is from the world we were just visiting. I think the town is the core part of that world. It is called Twilight Town,”
Kairi started her report.
Olette didn't understand what Kairi was saying. Core part?
“That world's name is most likely also Twilight Town. Let's keep it at that. We fought a member of the Organization. He was using a big sword and berserker techniques. From what I heard about the other day, no one of us fought him before. Olette showed up in the middle of the fight and fought the Organization XIII member with me. I got knocked out and don't know what happened after, but since Olette isn't seriously injured I think he left shortly after that. She is able to wield two Keyblades and even maintain both of them. You all know that I tried using the same technique a while back but wasn't able to do it. She is able to.”
Kairi finished her report and sat down right beside Aerith.
“That explains one of them. Do you know anything about her?” Leon pointed at Naminè.
Kairi hadn't heard that her name was Naminè yet, so she just shook her head. She didn't recognize that face, nor did she know why that girl was wielding Monochrome, which was originally her Keyblade.
Naminè knelt down in front of Kairi and, with a slight smile, imitated the scene from when Kairi meet her at the top level of castle oblivion.
“Do you remember?”
Tifa, still standing on the lowest stair, did a short gasp. What in the world was that girl doing? Aerith didn't seem to mind and had to grin slightly.
Kairi had been a bit distanced to people of her age ever since Sora and Riku had been imprisoned in Kingdom Hearts.
“Na... Naminè?!” Kairi gasped and completed the imitation by laying her hand on Naminè's cheek.
Naminè now smiled, truly happy, and was looking at Kairi. She had wished for this to happen, had wished to look in her eyes and have her look back.
Kairi, getting a hold of herself, looked at Leon. It wasn't a secret from his cold glare that he didn't trust the girl.
“She is... I don't know exactly what she is, but definitely not a enemy. She was imprisoned on top of some castle I found when we raided the Organization headquarters the other day. I couldn't see her back then, but I remember the feeling of this hand. I don't know why she is able to wield a Keyblade that was originally mine, but Olette can also wield Hero's Crest, which belonged to me. If you don't trust her, you don't trust me Leon.”
With that, she laid her own hand on Naminè's and had to smile. She was a bit going overboard when she said that last part but truly felt like Naminè was definitely someone close to her.
“That's enough for today. Naminè, Olette, you can stay here for the night. Kairi dear, you really need to take some rest. I can see you're tired just from looking at you. Be a nice girl and take some sleep.”
Aerith looked over to Tifa who was still standing near the stairs.
“Tifa, can you do me the favor and carry Yuffie over to her apartment? And Leon, Cid, I think this is enough for today.”
Aerith stood up and walked over to where Yuffie was laying on the other couch. She had to heal her at least with a Curega spell before Tifa carried Yuffie to her own apartment.
“People of the light, give me your blessing! Hear my call to protect what is dear to me,” she recited and a white light streamed all over the body of the ninja.
Leon had no choice but to leave now. Tifa would most likely snap if he strained her patience anymore than this.
Cid didn't care as much as Leon did, and had already left.
Kairi was tired to no end and was half asleep sitting on the couch. This had been too much of a long day. The fight with the Organization member
was bad enough. But now, all of a sudden, Naminè appeared out of nowhere in Hollow Bastion. She wanted to ask a lot of questions but was too tired for now.
Olette didn't feel so good either. A real battle for one's life put some strains on one. The fact that she could have been killed that time didn't fully get to her. She was right now in another world, only barely knew two of those people and didn't understand a single thing they were talking about.
For now, she only wanted to get some sleep. She was infinitely tired.
Naminè on the other hand didn't feel very tired. She hadn't had to fight at all. On the keyhole path had been another portal. Ones of the kind that Axel used. She didn't know what to look out for beside that one, so she took the direct approach and walked through it. After that, she immediately meet Tifa and was brought to the town. But now that she had met Kairi again, and even more, was allowed to sleep in the same house than she, it didn't matter much to her that they were all tired. There was still a tomorrow.
“You two can sleep in the room right next to Kairi's. We don't use that room the most time but it is somewhat of a guest room I think. I hope you both don't have any issues with each other. We only have that one room free,” Tifa talked to Olette and Naminè.
“I don't even know her, how should I have issues with her?” Olette replied and looked at Naminè.
That girl didn't even listen to Tifa. She was sitting right next to Kairi and gazing at her, while Kairi was almost sleeping.
“Naminè was it, hm?” Olette sat down next to the blond.
“Hmm, yes. And you're Olette?” Naminè replied without letting lose of her view.
“Yeah. What are you looking at?” Olette was a bit puzzled.
It was somewhat obvious what Naminè was looking at, but Olette still couldn't help but to ask.
“Don't you think she has a pretty face?” asked Naminè, a bit surprised.
“What? I mean... yeah, she is somewhat pretty but... what are you saying? You're gazing at her this whole time because she is pretty?”
Olette was a bit confused. It seemed that it was normal here for one girl to stare at another just like that.
“It's maybe a bit dusty but your room is ready. Just up the stairs and the first room left. The bathroom is the first room on the right side. Can you carry Kairi to her room? I need to carry that useless ninja over there to her apartment,” Tifa sighed and without waiting for an answer walked over to where Yuffie was laying.
Kairi had already fallen asleep. Aerith had vanished somewhere upstairs. She looked rather pale when Olette last saw her. Tifa had also left, carrying Yuffie to her apartment. The three were all alone.
Naminè had stopped gazing at Kairi and was already on her way upstairs. The only one left in the living room was Olette. And, of course, the sleeping Kairi.
“Just what is so cute about her face?” Olette wondered and knelt right next to Kairi.
The redhead had fallen asleep almost right after she had concluded her report. Leaning back, looking quite peaceful while sleeping, Kairi had her mouth slightly open and just seemed to wait for a prince to wake her up.
Without really knowing why she was doing it, Olette laid her hand on Kairi's cheek, sweeping a few hairs that had fallen in her face behind her ear.
The sun was setting over the town and bathed the room in a dark red, making the atmosphere even weirder than before. Before she knew it, Olette had laid both hands on Kairi's shoulders and had moved her own face so close to Kairi's that she could feel her breath.
Olette felt a sudden rise of tension, like she did something that was not allowed and didn't want to get caught. It was... weird to just watch Kairi laying there while she was sleeping. Was it that what Naminè had been doing? Watching her like that? But...
She really was pretty. Olette didn't want to admit it, but this was the first time ever that she did think that someone else's face was really pretty.
“You really are making my head feel weird, Kairi...” she muttered.
It wasn't all that bad to feel like that. But that it was a girl that gave her that feeling was really unexpected. There wasn't any bias against people that liked the same gender in Twilight Town, but Olette just couldn't think of it as right. She couldn't see Hayner and Pence, or any other guy, as someone to be interested in, in that way. Olette didn't want to tell anyone about that. It made her really embarrassed to talk about things like that.
“Olette? What are you doing?” Naminè was calling from upstairs.
With a huge shock, realizing what she had been doing, Olette virtually jumped from the couch and tried to gather her thoughts. She didn't feel anything particular about Kairi, so what had just happened?
“I must be really tired...” Olette sighed and shook her head.
“Olette, you okay?”
Naminè had come down, standing rather close to Olette and gazing at her face. The brunette couldn't help but blush in that moment, with Naminè being so close to her. But nothing happened. Naminè didn't do anything beside letting out a small “hmm” and looked back at Kairi.
“Her face really is pretty. You think so too, don't you?” Naminè asked and turned around.
“Uh... yes, but... well, I don't really...” Olette stammered.
What kind of response should she give to that after doing something so obviously weird? She couldn't really say that she didn't care. That would just make her look embarrassed. She had to change the topic somehow. But what should they talk about? There happened so many things today but nothing particular came to mind.
“So you have a Keyblade too?” Olette asked.
“Yes. Kairi left me one after she found me at Oblivion Castle. I think it's called Monochrome. But I'm a total klutz with using it. And you?”
“I had my own but got another from Kairi. You see, the world I come from has a sport named struggle and-” Olette stopped when she realized that her own world had been still frozen when she left. Not only that, but it had been frozen in the middle of the struggle tournament.
Were the other people okay? Was the world okay? What if the guys in black had come back? Or the fire had taken over the town? Or the time had resumed and everyone noticed she was gone? How would she explain this to Hayner and Pence? “I just got into a life or death battle with some kind of Organization member and after that got to another world with some weird people that keep telling me I'm some chosen of the Keyblade?” The heck, nobody would believe that, not even Hayner.
“Olette? Are you okay? You look really pale” Naminè called her back into reality.
“Huh, what, oh... yes I just... remembered my own world. They will probably look for me and when they don't find me, they'll be worried,” Olette sighed and asked herself when they could go home.
“Don't worry. I'm sure Kairi will think of something.” Naminè gave her a small smile and looked outside the window.
“I sure hope so. I miss my friends.”
Naminè didn't know how to respond to that. She never had any friends beside Axel, and her only choice was to believe she would meet him again, to trust his words. Olette on the contrary seemed to have had friends, a family and a world she belonged to. While Naminè couldn't think of a reason she would want to leave Kairi's side, there were likely plenty for Olette.
From upstairs, they could hear the shower being used. The water gurgling could be heard in the living room. Both girls stood there, one looking outside the window, the other gazing in thin air, both lost in thoughts. None of them said anything until the water stopped and Kairi gave out loud yawn. Both Olette and Naminè immediately looked at Kairi and couldn't help but smile upon that.
“I'm going to bed. You two should too. I know Leon, and tomorrow is going to be a long, long day... especially for you two. Good night.”
Kairi went, without any further comment, upstairs and just seconds after, a loud shriek they could identify as Aerith's voice echoed through the house.
“I saw that one coming,” Olette said and put her palm on her forehead.
Naminè just giggled and slowly walked towards the stairs and went upstairs. For a moment, Olette was all alone in the living room. It seemed indefinitely bigger than before, when all those people had been there. She didn't even know all their names. Just Kairi, Naminè, Tifa and Aerith.
It was somewhat unbelievable what had happened in just one day. She was just hoping that there weren't any nasty surprises the next morning.
Olette had slowly come to terms that she truly had been fighting to survive. Had been fighting that man to live on. It was a really fearsome thought, but seeing how Kairi put up with it so easily, she didn't want to lose to her. It was childish and stupid, but Olette had been stubborn since forever and just didn't want to show that she was really frightened by the thought of fighting for one's life.
Upstairs rang a loud sound, as if something crashed or a locker had been knocked over. What was that Naminè girl doing? The shower didn't stop, so Aerith might not have heard it. Kairi was probably already asleep.
Olette gave another sigh and went upstairs, just to find Naminè covered in a huge amount of bed sheets, all over the place. That view was just too funny to hold in, and Olette just had to laugh on it. Naminè was sitting on the ground, with sheets all over her, making her look like one of those girls out of a horror movie.
The room was pretty much completely empty but a cabinet, a bunk bed and a mirror on the wall. Right over the bed was a window one could see the sky when laying down and the walls were painted with a pale brown tone.
“What are you doing, really?” Olette said with a really huge grin and went to free the struggling Naminè from the sheets.
“I thought I could put these on the beds. They're really really dusty but I tripped when I took them out of the cabinet.” Naminè defended the little pride she had in that situation.
It took several minutes but together, they put successfully a sheet on each bed and the rest of them back in the locker. Both of them were
sweating a lot since that room hadn't been used in ages and the air was very thin in there.
“I could use a shower too...” Olette moaned and picked on her clothes. They were downright soaked with dirt from that battle.
“Can I take the lower bed?” Naminè asked and looked expectantly over to the brunette.
“I don't mind. At home I'm sleeping in a bunk bed too, but there is no lower bed. I'll gag you if you snore, I warn you.” Olette pointed her finger towards Naminè and laughed at her surprised face.
“Don't worry. I doubt you'll snore and even so, I'm not going to gag you, really”
“You scared me there for a moment. But you really seem like a nice girl Olette,” Naminè said with a bright smile.
One second Olette had been looking on the ground from embarrassment, the next second a immense dust cloud filled the room. Naminè had jumped on one of the beds and stirred up all the dust. Olette immediately started coughing and had to run. The dust was so thick, they could hardly breath in there. Naminè came just seconds after her running out of the room.
“What are you two doing? Are you okay?” Aerith stood behind them, wrapped in several towels.
Naminè gazed a moment at her and noticed that Olette had turned around with bright red cheeks. Aerith really was beautiful but completely different from how Kairi was.
Aerith's hair was wrapped in a towel and turned up like a turban while the only thing that covered her bare skin was a long, white towel. There wasn't any particular reason for Olette to be embarrassed about that view, but she wasn't used to a woman walking around like that.
“It is just a bit dusty. But is it really okay that we take that room?” Naminè asked and looked curiously at Aerith.
“But sure. I think it is more than just coincidence that we all meet today. I will not call it fortunate but I'm happy to have you two here,” Aerith said and looked in the room.
It was dusty all over, and the air still very sweltering. That was no condition to have someone sleep in there. Aerith really didn't like using magic for such trivial matters, but she was too tired and it was already evening, so there it couldn't be helped.
“Grace of the gentle wind, come upon my will,” she recited quietly.
A huge gust of air streamed into the room, pushing the window open with force and dispersing the dust out of it. The room was still far from clean, but people would be able to sleep in there without any problem.
“This does the trick,” Aerith smiled at the two girls and was about to walk off to her own bedroom.
“Can you teach me that magic?” Naminè blurted out.
“You are interested in magic? Your name is Naminè, am I right?”
“Hm, yes. I'm no good with the Keyblade, and Axel taught me fire magic, so I was thinking if you don't have anything else to do-” Naminè was cut off.
Aerith laid a hand on her head and smiled on her. Tifa had no great interest in magic, and Kairi lacked the ability and talent for the greater spells. Maybe that girl was more gifted.
“Sure. But tomorrow will be a long day, so take a good rest today, okay?”
Olette had slowly walked away, back into their room, and it really was bearable now. The fresh air of the night sky - the sun had sunk in the meanwhile - was clearing her mind. What a day this had been. But it didn't feel so bad after all.
“Olette, Aerith said the shower is free. You said you wanted to shower, right?” Naminè said while standing behind her.
She hadn't had much of a troublesome day so it was okay to shower later. Olette on the other hand was still wearing her dirty clothes from before and didn't have any spare clothes. But Aerith had already thought of something and had given Naminè some spare clothes from Kairi for the two.
“Aerith really is kind, don't you think?” Naminè said while sitting on her bed, wiggling with her legs forth and back.
“She really is. That Tifa doesn't look as kind to me, but she has this... Dependant aura, I think. Like you can completely trust her.” Olette responded. “I'm going to take a shower now. I'll take the shorts and the shirt from the clothes. You okay with the dress?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Don't stir up another dust cloud,” Olette said with a evil grin.
“I won't. I'll go and ask Kairi for some pencils and paper. I really like to draw and today a lot happened,” Naminè replied.
Olette left the room, followed by Naminè. It was weird. Olette didn't knew anything about this world, didn't knew the people there, didn't knew who and what they were fighting, and not even anything about Kairi. But yet, she really felt a little bit like at home there.
Naminè knew. She knew their names, what they were fighting, a few details about their everyday lives, their relationships and even about this world. She had seen so much in her dreams that connected her with Kairi but to see this all by herself was truly something else. To be able to touch Kairi, to feel her hand on her cheek, to be so close to her.
Naminè could hear the shower being turned on, and knocked on the door that led to Kairi's room. It had a sign that said “Kairi's Room” on it. But the girl didn't answer. There was no response at all. Naminè knocked again and there was again no response.
Slowly, Naminè opened the door. The room was just like she had remembered. This room, she had seen it so many times in her dreams. It had a certain smell she didn't know from the dreams, a special sensation that only one could feel if really there.
Kairi was laying on her bed, the legs and arms stretched out, still dressed and quietly breathing. In the same manner as before, her mouth was slightly open and her head turned towards the room side of the bed.
Naminè walked past the desk and knelt right beside the bed. One of her arms was hanging from it, and the blond just wanted to hold her hand for a moment. All the time, she had thought about how it would feel to do that. How it would feel to hold the hand of the girl she thought so much about.
Taking her hand, Naminè felt weird. It was as if memories were flowing into her, no, it was more like they were being recalled. Things she never saw in Kairi's dreams, things that happened long ago were appearing before her. It stopped after a few seconds, but it gave Naminè a really weird feeling.
As if a part of her she had lost and forgotten about was being restored.
Kairi moved in her sleep and Naminè was forced to let her hand go, but in exchange sat on the edge of the bed and again gazed at Kairi's face She never really had any contact with people but Axel. It was perfectly normal for her to be like this, being drawn to Kairi, the girl she had longed for in her dreams, the girl she thought about when she was alone. It didn't occur in the slightest to her that it was weird for normal people to do things like this.
With a slight smile, Naminè bent over Kairi, her hair almost tickling the face of the redhead. She just couldn't stop thinking about her. It hadn't been that way when Kairi had come for her. It was different from back then. Although she didn't know how, it that was of little issue for her. It was a weird feeling and Naminè didn't even attempt to try and explain this for herself. She just took it as it was and didn't think a moment about if this was right or wrong.
“You really make a cute face when you're sleeping, Kairi. I really... like...it... like... that...”
With each word, the girl bent lower and lower. Her hair was tickling Kairi's face, her neck, her lips. Not even a hand length was separating the two anymore. About to fall over, Naminè placed both hands right next to the shoulders of the girl that was sleeping so peacefully. Closing her own eyes, she got even closer, could feel the breath of the redhead on her lips, could feel her chest moving under with each breath. It was just a little distance between her and Kairi's lips, so very little that Naminè could feel a special tension rising in her head.
“Naminè, where are you? I'm done showering!” Olette called through the house.
Called back like that into reality, Naminè realized where she was; deep bent over Kairi, having almost kissed her. She hadn't intended to do that. It was a nice sensation Naminè had felt when she was so close to Kairi.
Without completing her objective, and with slightly red cheeks, Naminè left the room and got back to her room.
“Where were you? Did you find what you looked for?” Olette asked, drying her hair with a towel.
She already wore the clothes that Aerith had given her. It didn't fit so well but for now it was better than her dirty clothes. The shirt was a bit too tight on the chest but the shorts were fitting quite well.
“I couldn't find them. Kairi is already sleeping so I had to look alone. I'll go and take a shower now.”
Olette looked a bit puzzled about the different behavior to before, but maybe it was just her imagination. She didn't know anything about Naminè, so there wasn't really anything she could say.
Now that she'd had a shower, and Naminè was taking one, there was nothing to do. Aerith had vanished into her own bedroom, and Tifa seemed to be still outside. Olette didn't even remember what it was that Tifa was doing.
The room was just empty and after taking a shower, she didn't feel like immediately sleeping. It must been already past ten and it was dark out.
How did all this happen? She was right here, in another world, had met both of the girls she had seen on the ornaments on the glass tower, had fought for her life, met some really weird people and had learned far more than she had ever wanted to know. But now, there were even more questions. What was she doing here? Was this all a coincidence? Why was she able to summon one of those weapons? Her pendant, her beloved keepsake had been one of these weapons all along. Was this... fate?
“Fate or not, I want to go back to Twilight Town. I miss Hayner and Pence... when I'll be able to go back to a normal life.”
A normal life. Training for the next struggle tournament. Working at the accessory shop. Playing with Hayner and Pence. Boring days that just wouldn't end. All that seemed so far away that she couldn't reach it.
Olette held her keepsake, the Keyblade pendant, in her hand and looked at it. It didn't seem any different from before. Did this really transform into a weapon? She could hardly believe it. And what were all those stories about the chosen of the Keyblade, the Heartless or whatever they were called, the Nobodies and what not.
“I wonder if Kairi is forced to do this. Aerith and Tifa really seem like nice people, but... why would anyone fight those things voluntarily? I don't understand it...”
It wasn't a pleasant feeling to fight that Organization member. It was not even exciting. Olette had been really scared in the end, having realized that this wasn't just about winning or losing a game. If one lost, one lost his life. That was too high a price.
“Why did they come to my world?... My world... that sounds like I've been to a dozen others. I'm already talking like it's normal to know that there are many worlds. But... I'm a little bit curious how other worlds look.”
Olette hadn't noticed that the noise from the shower had stopped. How long had she talked to herself? Turning around, she laid on her back and looked through the window. There were so many stars. Was every star out there really a world? Was her own world one of the stars she could see right now? Olette had never dreamed of this. Never dreamed to go to another world.
If it had been under other circumstances, maybe... just maybe, she could have really enjoyed this.
Naminè had entered the room. Her hair was still wet and steaming from the hot water. Naminè had already changed into the dress from Kairi; she didn't want to sleep in her usual clothes.
“I wonder where Tifa is,” Naminè said.
“I don't know. But I'm really tired and my head hurts. I'm going to sleep,” Olette replied.
“I think thats a good idea. I'm going to turn off the lights.”
“Please do.”
Just seconds later, the room was wrapped in darkness. Only a bit of light from the stars was shining through the window. Olette looked a last time at the night sky and was thinking of her own world. Naminè held on the Monochrome pendant and put it under her pillow.
“Good night Olette.”
“You too, good night Naminè.”
End of Chapter VI
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