Fanfiction ► The Realm of Shadows

[giuocob]

Alright, now that midterms have passed and I've got two weeks vacation from school, I've found the time to begin another fanfic. Unfortunately, I probably won't be able to update as often as I have in the past, but I'll post new chapters up whenever I have them written.

This isn't nearly all of the first chapter, but it's all I could write before dinner, so I'll post it now and finish it later.




CHAPTER I
‘A tunnel?’ thought Sora uneasily. ‘Where did this come from?’

Sora stood on a floor of hard stone, a ceiling of the same cold material looming twenty feet above his head. An ocean of impermeable darkness stretched in every direction, yet he could somehow clearly discern everything around him. Although he could not seem to remember how long he had been in this foreboding cavern, he felt he had been wandering aimlessly there for a very, very long time.

Now Sora’s path was impeded by a wall. It rose up in front of him and greeted the ceiling, stretching to his left and right as far as his eyes could see. But a small tunnel was cut into the edifice, just large enough for him to walk through without hitting his head on its roof. This passage was even blacker than the rest of the cavern, but he walked quickly into it without a moment’s hesitation. He felt a strange pull in his chest, almost as though a palpable force was dragging him deeper into the depths of the tunnel.

As he walked, he encountered clouds of black mist that hissed and swirled around his head like angry birds, as if they were alive. But none of these ominous creatures attempted to come anywhere near him, and Sora felt that they held no threat toward him.

After several monotonous minutes, Sora saw another figure sitting on the cold floor – a female figure. The floating shadows seemed to make a special effort of avoiding her. Her back was turned to Sora, but he recognized her red hair at a glimpse. “Kairi!” he called happily. “What are you doing here?”

Sora saw Kairi’s body suddenly stiffen. Confused, he addressed her again. “Are you alright, Kairi? You look tense!”

Without turning around, Kairi wordlessly jumped to her feet and ran further down the dark tunnel, her feet barely making a sound. Sora gave a cry of shock and dashed after her, but he could not match her incredible speed. “Kairi, Kairi!” he cried. For some reason he could not fathom, hot tears welled up in his blue eyes and dripped down his face, flying through the dark air behind him as he sprinted after his friend. “Why are you running from me? Come back, Kairi! Come back!”

“Sora!” shouted a new voice sharply. It came from nowhere and filled the dark space all around him. “Are you alright? Wake up!”

 

[roxas-sorax]

YES! AHAHAHAHAHA! YOU MADE ANOTHER ONE! YES! lol im really excited...so is this gonna be a sequel to your other one or a whole new thing?

 

[giuocob]

YES! AHAHAHAHAHA! YOU MADE ANOTHER ONE! YES! lol im really excited...so is this gonna be a sequel to your other one or a whole new thing?

It'll be completely different, as if the first one had never happened.





CHAPTER II
Sora’s eyes flew wide open, and he sat up sharply in his bed with a soft cry. His face was streaked with half dried tears. ‘Why did she run from me like that?’ he thought wildly, his mind a hazy blur. ‘That couldn’t have been her! It just couldn’t!”

Sora suddenly noticed Riku was kneeling next to him, his features resonant with concern. He was fully clothed, as he always was when he slept. “You okay, Sora?” he asked.

“Uh…yeah,” said Sora awkwardly, only half listening to him. His head was still swimming in drowsiness and confusion, and he was inwardly struggling to think clearly.

“Had that dream again, right?” said Riku kindly.

Sora’s mental turmoil was abruptly shattered. ‘It was another dream,’ he thought with both relief and sorrow. He swallowed forcefully and nodded his head.

Riku sighed heavily. “Sora, I know you miss her,” he said. His voice was sympathetic, but it contained a hint of irritation. “I miss her, too. But she’s been gone for three months now, and you’ve had this dream about her four times. You’ve got to pull yourself together.”

“I know,” said Sora in a shaky voice. He understood the truth in his friend’s words, and wanted to punch himself for letting himself dwell on thoughts about Kairi. “I’ve been trying to get over it, I really have! I just keep having these dreams about her. I wish I could stop having them, but I can’t.”

Riku sighed again. “I hope you can get rid of them soon. You’ve got to get back to your full fighting self again.” A wide grin suddenly spread across his face. “I need someone to beat up on!”

Sora smiled wryly, and climbed out of bed. “What time is it?” he asked, still slightly groggy.

Riku opened the wooden door at the other end of the room. Bright sunlight streamed into the room, hurting Sora’s tired eyes. “It’s daylight already?” he said, surprised. “I feel like I just went to sleep! Well, time to get moving, Sora.”

Sora climbed out of bed, also fully dressed, and walked the familiar route across to the door. But his mind wasn’t on where he was going; he was again thinking about the absurd dream. He was so oblivious to his surroundings that he nearly walked straight into Riku, who had to jumped out of the way to avoid being knocked over. “Careful there, Sora! Where are you going?”

“I don’t know,” mumbled Sora. “I’ll just wander around a bit, I guess.”

“Well, okay,” said Riku, warily observing his almost drunken gait. “Just try not to kill anything.”

“I’ll be careful,” said Sora with a small chuckle. He ducked his head under the low arch of the door and walked into the beautiful courtyard of Disney Castle.

This had been his home for nearly three months, ever since the Heartless had returned to Destiny Islands. And in that period of time, what he had once thought of as merely a beautiful castle became a real home. The elegant, arching walls and pristine balconies encircling the courtyard became as familiar to him as the logs that comprised the clubhouse back on his island. The impeccably trimmed hedge structures in the garden were as wonderful as the lush tropical trees he had known throughout his life. And his friends, Donald and Goofy, were now as close to him as Riku.

Sora strolled aimlessly through the garden, admiring the hedges. The muddled questions surrounding his odd dreams were forgotten for the moment. It had been several weeks since he had last taken the time to enjoy this natural beauty.

Suddenly, he realized that his random walking had taken him to a very familiar corner of the courtyard. This small square of land was empty, except for a bench that Sora himself had set up months ago. When he had first arrived at Disney Castle, he had spent nearly all his time sitting on that bench with his head in his hands, but he rarely came more than once a day anymore.

In the midst of a dense patch of flowers, a stone rose out of the earth – a gravestone. It was not very large, or ornately carved or decorated; rather, it was nothing more than a large rock. Sora hadn’t thought that she would want a large, fancy funeral ceremony or tombstone. He slowly walked across the lush grass and read the same message he had read hundreds of times:

KAIRI
Her heart has left her body, but it has not been destroyed.



Oh, and as a side note, all the odd hanging ends will be tied up via flashbacks in later chapters.

 

[True Serenity]

I really like this! The story kept me interested and your writing style is perfect. It has good grammar and spelling, and it just flows. I can't wait for your next chapter.

 

[roxas-sorax]

whoa... i can tell this will be another good story : )

 

[giuocob]

Yeah, I didn't for it to take this much time. I've been really busy with waking six hours earlier every morning, and schoolwork, and the school musical, and...oh well, I've got a pretty long chapter now.




CHAPTER III
Sora stood on the soil that held the body of Kairi, staring wistfully at her gravestone. He read the inscription a second time and sighed. He did not cry. It had been a long time since he had shed tears. During the first weeks of his stay at Disney Castle, he had spent hours on end sitting on the bench, crying his eyes out like a baby. But Riku had eventually convinced him that he wasn’t helping Kairi or himself by moping by her grave, and he needed to spend his time strengthening his heart so he could fight again. The only time he cried anymore was in his obscure dreams.

But that didn’t mean he didn’t miss her. It wasn’t the normal type of longing, where one feels in aching hole in his chest. In fact, in Sora’s heart, he felt that Kairi was with him right that moment. But he never stopped thinking about her, and if there was anything he could possibly do to bring her back, he would do it. His mind flew unbidden to his last memory of her: the night she died.

It was six months after Xemnas had been defeated, and Sora, Riku, and Kairi were as happy as any three friends could be. Unfortunately, to their misery, all of their parents had disappeared. They later discovered that the adults had left Destiny Islands to live somewhere else, overcome with grief for their lost children.

But in spite of this loss, they were happy. They decided to live in each other’s company on their own island; their clubhouse became a home. Riku, who was seventeen, took it upon himself to provide for the three of them and became a fisherman. Although he didn’t make much, it was more than enough to support his friends, as they found much of there food growing on trees right outside their house.

One ordinary night, they were all in bed. Sora lay awake, thinking about Kairi’s upcoming sixteenth birthday. He knew he needed to do something special and new for her, but he just couldn’t come up with the right thing. His drowsy mind eventually overtook him, and he fell asleep, dreams of a giant surprise party dancing in his head.

Suddenly, he was awakened by a sharp stabbing in his chest. He sat up like a shot, his eyes darting around the room confusedly, but the pain subsided as quickly as it had come, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But he detected a forbidding presence in the room that filled the air with an uncomfortable chill. Suddenly, he realized that Kairi’s normal sleep breathing had ceased.

He climbed out of his bed, weary yet alert, and walked across the room to Kairi. “You okay?” he whispered. She did not reply, but her normally relaxed body was as tense as a bowstring. Alarmed, Sora grabbed her outstretched hand, and recoiled. It was cold; as cold as ice.

Sora shuddered and turned his back on the peaceful gravestone. Unhappy memories like that filled him with newfound emotion and sometimes even brought him close to tears. He swallowed forcefully and walked back into the beautiful hedge garden.

All of a sudden, the air darkened all around him. Several black figures with pale yellow eyes materialized out of thin air and crowded around Sora menacingly. “Heartless!” he cried aloud. He instinctively stretched out his hand, groping for his keyblade, but it wouldn’t come to him. Then he remembered: he hadn’t had his keyblade since Kairi had died.

Sora immediately panicked. “Riku! Donald! Goofy! Somebody, there’s Heartless in the courtyard!” He collected himself as best he could, and pulled a long, sturdy stick out of a nearby hedge. He grasped it as he was used to holding his keyblade, and charged into the Heartless blocking his path, swinging his weapon madly. He knocked his enemies into the air as he carved a path through them; they merely landed, shook themselves off, and continued to pursue him.

Sora threw the makeshift sword aside and ran blindly down the gravel covered path, not even sure where he was going. He could hear the abominable critters crawling and sliding along the ground, practically on his heels. He felt the familiar burning excitement of battle rising inside him. He dearly wanted to whip around, summon his keyblade, and smash the infernal Heartless into oblivion, but he couldn’t.

“Sora!” A shrill, ducklike voice rang out from the balcony above him. He looked up, and there stood Donald, his staff outstretched. There was a crackle of thunder, and the Heartless, who were nearly on top of Sora, dissipated into clouds of black smoke.

“Donald!” shouted Sora, happy and relieved. “I thought I was a goner! Thanks!”

Goofy now appeared over the elegant white railing beside Donald. “Gawrsh, what happened, Sora?”

“I don’t know,” said Sora. “I was just walking down this path, and a group of Heartless just came out of nowhere.”

“Gaw!” quacked Donald furiously. “Where are all these Heartless coming from? This is the fifth time they’ve showed up here!”

Goofy put his finger to his head, wearing an intent expression. “The Heartless don’t just go places all by themselves,” he said slowly. “I reckon somebody must be sending them after us.”

“But who could that be?” asked Sora quizzically. “We’ve defeated Xehanort already. Wait…you think Maleficent might be out to get us?”

“Gawrsh, I don’t think so,” said Goofy. “She’s got her castle now, remember? What else could she want from us?”

“Aw, this is useless,” muttered Donald disgustedly. “Just be careful, Sora, and keep working on getting that keyblade back. I don’t like having to watch out for you all the time.”

That statement hurt Sora deeply, as though Donald had cursed him. ‘He’s right,’ he thought miserably. ‘I haven’t done anything to help Donald and Goofy at all. I’m just a burden to them until I can get my keyblade back.’ He sighed heavily and looked up at the balcony. “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful,” he called, as cheerfully as he could. Then he turned on his heels and walked back toward his room.

 

[roxas-sorax]

good chapter as always : )

 

[snowdog]

Said I'd read. ^-^

Definitely one of the best-written and most literate fanfics on the entire site. Your style is great, there's a nice amount of description and the characters are captured very well. Good job!

Keep up your great work, I'll be watching.

<3 <3

 

[giuocob]

Alright, I've got the next one. It's a biggie too!



CHAPTER IV
Between the obscure dream and the mysterious attack of the Heartless, that had been the most eventful day Sora had witnessed since his arrival at Disney Castle. And after that brief rush of excitement, he turned back to his old, mundane routine.

Over the next month, he spent much of his time dueling Riku. They each had crafted wooden practice swords, and Riku insisted that Sora practice fighting constantly, so he would know how to wield his keyblade when it finally returned to him. Sora knew that these sessions would eventually help him immensely, but he didn’t enjoy them. Riku was by far his superior, and these duels left Sora exhausted with painful bruises all over his body.

In addition, Riku liked to tutor him in the midst of the fighting, and he was a stubborn, unforgiving mentor. One time, he even went so far as to tell Sora to change his stance completely and brandish the sword over his shoulder. Sora obediently did so, and was quickly pummeled to the ground by Riku as he tried to cope with the severely limited scope of his weapon. ‘How does Riku manage to fight like that?’ he thought wryly as he dusted himself off.

But far worse than those practices were the lectures that Riku liked to give Sora as they walked together along the balconies or through the courtyard. “You know, the reason that you’ve lost your keyblade is because you won’t stop dwelling on things that happened in the past,” he would say gently. “You’ve got to let go of the things you’ve lost.”

Sora’s face grew red with fury; Riku was prodding him where it hurt the most. “Are you saying I need to completely forget about Kairi?” he asked angrily.

Riku hurriedly took a step backward. “I didn’t say that!” he said hastily. But Sora knew it was what he meant. However, he was racked with remorse about confronting Riku like that. He knew that Riku was his dearest and closest friend, and he only wanted the best for his younger companion. But Sora simply could not bring himself to stop thinking about Kairi. Memories were all he had left of her, and even though they were weakening his heart and keeping his keyblade away, he would hold on to them as long as he could.

However, Sora and Riku, together with Donald, Goofy, and Mickey, often talked about other topics while they ate or ambled about the castle. Sora immensely enjoyed these conversations. They chatted amiably about many things, not least of all books. Everybody who lived at the castle made good use of the giant library that Minnie owned, and Sora soon became well versed in fiction, poetry, science, and a wealth of other topics.

One morning, after a delicious breakfast of eggs and toast, Sora was walking alone in the hedge garden, pondering the mystery novel he was currently reading. It had been over a month since the Heartless had attacked, and Sora had neither encountered Heartless nor dreamt about Kairi for over month.

Suddenly, a metallic click rang through the air. Sora stiffened, staring around himself warily for any sign of danger or the source of the noise. He thought he could discern a whirring noise emanating from the hangar, as though a ship were taking off. ‘Mickey must be leaving!’ he realized with a cold chill. ‘Why didn’t he tell anybody else? This must be something really urgent!’

He broke into a run across the grass, leaping over small hedges, dashing toward the hangar. Sora knew he could do nothing to help Mickey, but he still burned with an innate, insatiable curiosity. If somebody was leaving, he was going to know about it.

He reached the door, wildly flung it open, and was knocked to the ground by an extremely loud crash from within that shook the very floor under his feet. A wave of burning heat rushed from the open doorway and threw Sora to the ground again as he was getting up. “What was that?” he shouted aloud as he climbed to his feet again and rushed to the door.

The Gummi Ship was parked in its normal spot, untouched. But further down the hangar lay another ship in pieces. It was surrounded by a pile of debris, and smoke rose in a looming cloud from the interior.

Sora could not help but wonder where this ship came from or why it was at the castle, but he began to run down the stairs to help the unfortunate pilot, whoever he might be. Suddenly, he stopped, overcome by a chilly shroud of foreboding. A piece of twisted pipe had been flung onto the stairs from the wreckage, and he picked it up quickly, brandishing it before him. “Who’s there?” he yelled, trying to sound menacing, but filled with anxiety.

A lone figure crawled out of the ship, coughing forcefully. He stood up, dusted himself off, and squinted up at Sora. “Can you help me out here?” he called.

Sora felt a surge of relief, but he realized the man was in dire need of help. “I’ll get my friends and some water!” he shouted.

“No, never mind that, just help me get my equipment out of here!” said the man irritably. He rushed to the back of the burning vessel and ripped a door off its hinges in his haste. Flames immediately burst from the opening and scorched him. “Oh no, it’s too late!” he cried in misery.

Sora could not fathom what was inside the ship that was more important than the ship itself. However, he still knew he could help out. He pointed the pipe at the flames, concentrated his mind, and shouted, “Blizzaga!” A scintillating sphere of ice shot from the makeshift weapon like a rocket and crashed into the roaring fire. Within seconds, the flames were completely quenched. Sora’s magic hadn’t disappeared with his keyblade.

The man stared at the smoldering remains of his ship for a long while, then turned back to Sora. “That was incredible!” he said, his face gleaming with awe. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Sora.” Now, Sora finally got a good look at the man he had just saved. He looked to be about thirty years old, with long grey hair, and a visage that reflected years of study and gathering knowledge. He wore a long white coat, tainted black with ash.

“I’m Ajedel. Nice to meet you, and thanks for saving me,” he said gratefully. Then urgency abruptly spread over his face. “But my equipment! It must be completely destroyed!” He dove into the wreckage. Sora heard the sounds of a frantic search, accompanied by occasional cries of delight and exclamations of “well, what do you know!”

Ajedel eventually emerged from the broken doorway, carrying a bulging sack. “It’s a miracle!” he cried happily. “Everything is undamaged. I thought I was going to have to start my work all over again!”

He now began to rummage through the sack, mumbling delightedly to himself. Sora simply stood on the stairway awkwardly. He wasn’t sure whether he should try to talk to Ajedel, who seemed a bit erotic, or find somebody and tell them that a strange man had landed in the hangar. The question was answered for him, however, when Mickey, Riku, Donald, and Goofy ran through the door. “What happened?” said Mickey in alarm. “We heard a crash, and – oh my, what happened to that ship?”

“It’s his,” explained Sora, pointing to Ajedel. “I heard the crash and ran in here. His ship was on fire, and I put it out, but he hasn’t said anything to me since.”

Mickey looked at Ajedel and started. “Ajedel?” he cried, astounded. “Is that you?”

Ajedel finally looked up from his sack. “King Mickey!” he yelled in delight. “You have no idea how long I’ve been looking for you!”

“You two know each other?” said Riku, looking distastefully at Ajedel. He didn’t seem to like him at all.

“Of course!” exclaimed Mickey. “He was a good friend of Ansem the Wise, and did a lot of research with him before Xehanort overthrew him. But Ajedel, what did you come here for?”

“I’ve been traveling around to all sorts of worlds, looking for those who knew Ansem,” said Ajedel with a slight tinge of apprehension. “I remembered you, and set out to find your castle. But when I spotted it and prepared to land, I was attacked and forced to land in a rather unruly manner. Tell me, do you know what happened to Ansem? I fear the worst.”

“Oh,” said Mickey awkwardly. “Um…”

“He’s dead,” said Riku flatly. Donald glared at him angrily, tapping his foot.

Ajedel sighed. “It’s just as I thought. I suppose I’m going to have to continue my research without him.” He hoisted his heavy sack and walked up the stairs to where Mickey was standing. “My ship certainly isn’t in flying order, and I don’t have anywhere to go anyway. Do you mind if I stay here awhile while I fix the ship?”

“Definitely!” said Mickey. “You can stay here as long as you need to. I can find you place to sleep right now, if you like.”

“Wonderful!” exclaimed Ajedel, shedding his solemn mood as though it were a garment. He bounded down the stairs, grabbed his mysterious black bag, and ran up again. “I’m ready!” He and Mickey left the room, followed by Donald and Goofy.

Sora watched them go, then turned to Riku. “Why were you so rude to him?” he asked angrily. “He never did anything to you.”

“You saw him as well as I did,” said Riku, without even facing Sora. “He’s crazy. He’s just a mad scientist.”

“How do you know?” challenged Sora. “Sure, maybe he’s a bit erotic, but he worked with Ansem the Wise. I’m sure he knows something important that could be helpful to us. You can’t judge him like that right now!”

Riku sighed. “I’ll talk to you later,” he said. Then he turned on his heels and walked quickly out of the hangar.

“Maybe he’ll be able to tell us why the Heartless have been coming here!” Sora called after him. “Or maybe why Kairi…” He abruptly stopped himself, realizing he was tugging on his own heartstrings. Deep down inside, that was the single thing he needed to know the most: why did Kairi die? But thinking aout her death always brought an emotional maelstrom over him, and he couldn’t figure it out himself.

But maybe Ajedel could.

 

[snowdog]

Oooh, Riku seems nasty XD

You should be pretty damn proud of that, for the simple fact that it's awesome. Your vocabulary is astounding, it makes most fanfics here look completely illiterate!

The storyline is original, the emotions are believable, and everything is perfect.

Keep writing, soon this fic will get the attention it deserves!

<3 <3

 

[roxas-sorax]

whoa...that was a good chapter... ; )

 

[True Serenity]

Awesome chapters! They just keep getting better and better! And seriously...you're an amazing writer!

I'll be waiting for the next chapter! ^_^

 

[KH_Fan_4_eva]

Omg! Your fanfic is like REALLY good! I love it!

 

[giuocob]

Thanks for the comments, guys.



CHAPTER V
When Sora left the hangar, he immediately began hunting around the castle for Ajedel. He certainly wasn’t going to interrogate him about Kairi’s fate right after they met, but he still wanted he still wanted to have a friendly chat and learn more about his research. However, although he scrutinized the passages of the castle tirelessly for the entire remainder of the day, he did so in vain. Ajedel was nowhere to be found.

‘That’s odd’, thought Sora. ‘Where could Mickey have taken him?’

He awoke the next morning far ahead of his normal schedule, and resumed his search, but still in vain. Eventually, he came upon Mickey, pacing the halls with an urgent air. Something seemed to be troubling his mind.

“Excuse me, Mickey,” he called, “do you know where Ajedel is? I haven’t seen him since yesterday.”

Mickey started. “What? Ajedel? Oh, he’s in his room right now.”

“I would like to talk to him,” Sora persisted. “Can you tell me where his room is?”

Mickey’s expression suddenly took on an air of mystery. “Ajedel is a hidden place,” he murmured. His voice had darkened considerably. “He is researching something very dangerous. The knowledge he is accumulating could wreak terrible destruction on the world if it fell into the wrong hands. He has asked me not to tell anybody about his work.”

“Alright, that’s fine,” said Sora, taken aback at this ominous revelation. He walked away quickly in deep thought. ‘What could Ajedel be researching that’s so dangerous? Could it have anything to do with Kairi?’

That evening, he related what he had heard to Riku. “He’s doing something dangerous, then?” said Riku. “I’d suggest you stay far away from him.”

Sora could not believe how rude Riku was being. “But Mickey trusts him completely!” he protested. “They’ve known each other for a long time. Just because he seems a little bit eccentric doesn’t mean he’s dangerous! You’ve got to lighten up on him, Riku.”

Riku sighed heavily. “Alright,” he conceded. “I’ll try talking to him sometime. Assuming he ever comes out of his room.”

Sora went to bed in triumphant satisfaction, but Riku’s last statement had troubled him deeply. ‘What if he never does come out? Then I’ll never have a chance to talk with him! I just want to find out what happened to Kairi…’ He dwelled on these worries well into the night, before eventually falling into a deep slumber.

He found himself standing on a stone floor, ending only in dark mist in every direction. Strange blobs of black smoke flew through the air around him, some floating aimlessly, some circling ferociously around his head. He felt he had been here before, though he could not remember when.

He began to walk through the stifling darkness. He wasn’t sure where he was going, but some strange force seemed to be pulling him in a straight line. As he went, there were more and more of the shapeless, smoky creatures clogging the air, until he could barely see through them. Sometimes, he even needed to swing his arm at those directly in his path. They hissed, quickly flew out of his way, and continued to hover menacingly.

Eventually, he discerned an eerie red light off in the distance. He could barely see it because of the ever increasing density of the creatures, but it slowly became clearer and brighter.

Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet dropped off sharply. He stumbled and regained his composure just in time to avoid falling over. He looked down, and sucked in his breath sharply, realizing how lucky he had been.

Sora was standing on the edge of a very large hole cut in the stone floor. The dark creatures would not, or could not, fly over or through the vast opening. And down through it, far below the ground he was standing on, there was an ocean of lava. The hot red liquid bubbled merrily like water in a witch’s pot, sending a burning heat through the hole that scorched Sora’s face, causing him to step backward quickly.

But the force that had been calling him now pulled strongly from the left. He spun around and saw a young girl with beautiful red hair standing among the smoky darkness, her back turned to him. “Kairi!” he called. “What are you doing here? What is this place?”

Kairi whipped around, keeping her head bowed to the ground so Sora could not see her face. “Shh!” she said in a hushed voice. “Do you want to wake up Riku?”

“Wake up Riku? What do you mean?” asked Sora confusedly. But then it dawned on him. ‘I’m just in the middle of a dream,’ he realized remorsefully. ‘This isn’t real. Kairi’s dead.’

“Good, you quieted down,” said Kairi, still not raising her head. “I have to ask you to do something very important.”

“But you’re just a dream,” said Sora.

“No!” snapped Kairi harshly, making Sora jump. “I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “I didn’t mean to say it like that. But this is more than just a dream.”

“What do you mean?” asked Sora inquisitively. “If you’re not a dream, then what are you?”

Kairi thought for a moment, her face still hidden from Sora’s view. Eventually, she said, “I’m a spirit back from the dead.”

Sora gasped audibly. “You mean…you’re real?” he asked in a trembling voice. “You’re not dead?”

“Yes, Sora, I’m real,” said Kairi blankly, her voice devoid of any emotion. “And you can bring me back to life.”

For the first time in four months, Sora felt pure, unadulterated joy. Tears of happiness sprang to his eyes. “You’re still alive!” he cried. He ran toward Kairi as fast as his legs could carry him, ready to wrap her in his arms for the first time in a very, very long time.

“Don’t touch me!” shouted Kairi, backing away. Sora screeched to a halt in wide-eyed horror. Kairi had spoken in a deep, masculine tone, much deeper than even Riku’s voice. “What’s wrong with you, Kairi?” he yelled in shock.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Sora,” she said hurriedly in her normal voice. “I just didn’t want you to…”

But a cold realization had fallen on Sora. “I’ve heard that voice before,” he said softly. He began to scroll through the long list of people he knew. “It was a long time ago…somebody that I had to fight…”

“Stop!” snarled Kairi in an almost doglike manner. She suddenly dashed forward and struck Sora squarely in the chest. He cried out in pain as he stumbled backward and tipped off the edge of the deep basin. He felt the heat from the lava searing his body as he fell toward what he knew was certain death. “Kairi…why?” was the last thing he said before his vision faded into blackness.

 

[snowdog]

Poor Sora, that last part's gonna mess with his mind...

And Riku is so mean, yet... I love it XD

Nice work, keep this up!

 

[True Serenity]

Nice chapter!

I feel really bad for Sora, though. And I really wanna know what's going on with Kairi! But that's what makes me really like this story!

Can't wait for the next chapter!

 

[roxas-sorax]

good as always...keep it up

 

[Gullwing Yunie]

This is good as!
Poor Sora! I wonder what happens next...
Anyway, keep up the good work:toungesmile:

 

[snowdog]

*cough*

Just bumping this up onto the front page.

Can't wait for the next chappy. :3

 

[Silver Angel]

Awesome story!! Cant wait to read more!!