awesome i'll check it out when i can Ansem
okayy well sorry for the late chapter but i wrote the entire thing today in about an hour lol. i'll be honest i almost cried at the end when i was typing it lmao. it sweet ^^ not really any action, but remember there are at least 2 chapters left in the story until i start the Prequel ^^ enjoy everyone!!
Chapter 24: Reunion
Vladimir’s body hung motionless in the tangle of vines. Aurora raised her hands, and the vines quickly vanished into her fingertips. The body fell with a *thud* on the cold marble floor.
Jess put her hand to her forehead and fell to her knees. Riku ran over and held her close to him.
“Are you okay?” he softly asked.
“Just a little woozy…” Jess said weakly.
Riku helped Jess off the floor and placed a hand on her back to prevent her from falling. Through her dizziness, Jess glanced over at Vladimir’s body on the floor.
“He’s dead?”
“After that attack you gave him, Jess? I’d be surprised if he was alive,” Riku laughed.
“Good…” Jess smiled.
She looked over to Kairi, who seemed a little weak as well. She was standing, though, with complete control, with Sora holding her hands. The other princesses seemed fine as well. Jess realized that using her powers drained her strength a great deal. Either that or the hit on her head was still harming her.
A small ball of light appeared from the center of the room, and King Mickey walked through along with Donald and Goofy.
“Hey you two!” Sora yelled to Donald and Goofy. “Where did you guys go?”
“You idiots left us behind in Hacketsville!” Donald yelled.
“We were kidnapped! Where were you when that happened?” Sora argued back.
“We were with your friends from Traverse Town! All of a sudden you guys went missing! We looked everywhere, so when we couldn’t find you, we went back to Disney Castle to see if we could track you,” Goofy said.
“And you did,” Kairi said.
“Yes, but not right away,” Mickey said. “It was as if the four of you disappeared off the face of the universe. It took us until now to find you guys.
“How did you find us?” Sora said.
“The Princesses’ powers,” Mickey answered. “It was as if they were a tracking system. With that much power used at once, it showed up on our system right away.”
Riku looked down at Jess, who was still struggling to stand.
“Jess?”
“Mm?”
“Rest,” whispered Riku.
“Mm ’kay,” Jess said.
~*~
Mickey provided another portal that led back to Hacketsville, where Leon and the others were already constructing and rebuilding the village and castle.
As the others helped rebuild part of the Castle gate, Jess soundly slept in the calm, green meadow near the sandy shores and ocean. The seagulls above woke hear suddenly. She stared up at the sun, and slowly sat up and looked out to the ocean. Confused, she turned around and saw the remaining structure of her castle standing. How did she get home?
The last thing she remembered was…Riku’s face. He was telling her to rest.
Somehow she got home. Riku and the others must have been here also. How would she alone get home if she was out cold?
She stood up, feeling completely better than before. No headache, no dizziness, nothing. She felt as good as new and completely regained of strength.
Jess saw in the distance Riku helping Sora and Leon to lift part of the black metal gate to be set up. She whistled as loud as she could, and she saw Riku look up in her direction. Jess waved over to him, and as soon as he was finished putting up the part of the gate, he ran to her direction.
He stopped a few feet before her, and the two of them stood in the calm wind and grass plains for a silent moment.
“You look better,” Riku said.
“I feel better,” Jess smiled.
Riku raised and spread out his arms and smiled. Jess’s smile grew and she ran forward and jumped into his arms. They hugged, then Riku lifted Jess, still with her arms around his neck, and swung her lightly off the ground.
Riku put Jess down on the soft grass and took her hand. They both ran back to the castle to where Sora and Kairi were standing.
“We’re just about finished with the gate,” Kairi said.
Jess glanced up at the gate. Its tall, black metal poles stood high above the ground. The gate doors were closed, and the handles were made of a side of a heart, so when they were closed, it made a full heart.
“What’s left?” Jess asked.
“The centerpiece at the top,” Sora said. He held up the centerpiece, which was a mosaic with a heart in the center. The heart was surrounded by a bright beam of light.
“Do you want to put it up, Jess?” Sora asked.
Jess smiled and nodded. She went to the tall ladder by the wall and got up to the last step. Sora stood on the bottom of the ladder and carefully passed the centerpiece to Jess. After that, he passed up a drill for Jess to use. She placed the centerpiece at the top, and then one by one she drilled each screw into the metal that supported the centerpiece. When she was finished, she carefully went down and Riku took her around the waist to help her get off the ladder. Jess looked up at the completed gate, and then looked past the gate to the dilapidated castle behind it.
Although she knew it was home, it had a mysterious hint to it. Perhaps it was because of her mother’s death. But she still wasn’t receiving the same feeling of home that she felt when she first arrived here.
Was it because of her mother’s death? Now knowing that even though she is with her in spirit, she isn’t with her in person? Yes, but there was something more to it.
“Let’s get to work on the castle,” Riku whispered in her ear.
And the sick feeling of nausea hit her. Jess realized that Riku would have to return home soon. To Destiny Islands with Sora and Kairi. And she would be left here to recreate the society she now had to run.
She couldn’t make Riku stay here. The friends he had back home, his family, his life. She couldn’t take that away from him.
Jess knew at that moment that the time was coming. Before she knew it, their time was up.
She knew she had to say good-bye very soon.
“Jess? Jess? Hey there! Hello!”
Jess blinked out of her sudden trance of sadness and looked up at Riku, who had his hands on her shoulders.
“You alright?” he asked worried.
“Uh…yeah. Sorry,” Jess said.
“You’re lying to me,” Riku smirked.
Jess sighed. “You have to go home soon.”
Riku’s smirk faded. His eyes left hers and went down to the pebbles they stood on.
“You’ll have to leave me soon,” she said with tears filling her eyes.
Riku still didn’t meet her eyes. “I don’t have to go.”
“Yes you do, Riku! Before you met me, you had a life back in your home world! You have to go back, Riku! I can’t take you away from your life!”
Jess hugged close to Riku’s chest and quietly sobbed. Riku moved his hand to the back of her head and slowly rubbed her soft hair.
“That isn’t true,” Riku finally said.
Jess looked up with red, wet eyes.
“Before I met you, I didn’t have much of a life. I wanted to get off my island. I always believed there were other worlds out there, and I wanted to see them all. After my mishaps with Maleficent and Ansem, I met you. That’s when I realized that after everything that has happened to me, it all led up to you,” Riku said.
He wiped away Jess’s tears and smiled. “You are my life, Jess. I could never imagine living the rest of it without you. I am never going to leave you.”
“But what about—’’
Riku put his finger on her lips. “This is what I want. I am sure of it. No regrets. I wanted to leave my home world and live amongst others. And that’s just what I’m doing. It’s not like we’ll never leave Hacketsville, though, right? We can get a gummi ship built and visit the Destiny Islands and other worlds too! I want to travel with you; I want to be with you,” Riku said.
Jess smiled and jumped into Riku’s arms. “I’m never going to leave you. I promise,” he whispered in her ear.