The air stiffened in the dark, abandoned lot. Suddenly a breeze picked up. In the middle of the lot, a yellow circle of light appeared. Air swirled around the circle until a small tornado formed. It stopped as suddenly as it had started. In it’s place stood a girl in her late teens. She had long crimson hair and bright blue eyes, though they seemed darkened. She wore a white sleeveless vest and long denim shorts that ended barely above her ankles. She took one step out of her arrival zone and immediately dark shapes began to form around her. She quickly looked from one shape to the next. The shapes began to form into bodies. They were short and stocky, and the only other color on them came from their eyes, which were a bright yellow. They had perfectly cylindrical heads with jagged antennae. They rose out of the ground and began to wobble back and forth. The girl’s eyes narrowed.
“Shadows...” she muttered. Suddenly a light erupted from her hand. It shone for a second and was replaced by a gigantic key. It had the shape of a flowery heart near the base while the blades twirled up the neck to end in twin hearts. The keychain at the end was that of a flower. It was a Keyblade. The Oathkeeper. The Shadows cocked their heads in interest. The girl stood motionless for a moment before launching her attack. She swiftly sliced one Shadow in half and had already started on the next before it had even hit the ground. A group of three launched into the air. The girl glowed yellow and suddenly rocketed at the Shadows. She dealt them a swift chain of blows and the rest retreated into the ground. The girl landed swiftly on the ground and stood slowly. Suddenly the sound of clapping rang out in the lot. The girl’s head snapped towards the direction of the sound. A tall young man with silvery blue hair and a long black trenchcoat stood leaning against one of the support beams.
“Very impressive, Kairi,” the man said. Kairi blinked at the man.
“Riku?” she whispered. Riku chuckled. He stood upright and stretched his hand out. A bat wing-like sword appeared in his hand.
“Riku, what are you doing?” Kairi demanded. Riku suddenly grinned insanely. He launched himself at Kairi and she had barely enough time to react. She brought her Keyblade into a defensive position just as Riku slammed his sword into hers. Sparks and flashes of energy burst from their blades. Kairi backflipped and raised her Keyblade.
“You’re not Riku...I can see it in your eyes...” she said. The Riku clone laughed insanely. Kairi charged the clone but was knocked back by a protective barrier. The Riku clone leaped into the air and brought his blade down. It slammed into the ground mere inches from Kairi’s face. The clone pressed it’s face right up to Kairi’s, still slightly giggling. Kairi growled and kicked away from the clone. Once up, she exhaled slowly and suddenly glowed blue. She reared back and hurled her Keyblade at the clone. It dodged the first attack but was caught off guard by her sudden second throw. It was knocked off balance and Kairi lunged at it as she retrieved her Keyblade. The blade sliced cleanly through the clone’s midsection and it dematerialized in front of her face. Her Keyblade disappeared and she strode off into the rainy streets of Midgar.
* * * * *
As Kairi traveled the rain-soaked streets of the gigantic city, she watched as several people hurried underneath shabby tents and broken down buildings. She glanced upwards, towards the richly adorned homes and buildings of the upper level of the double-decker city. She noticed a sign as she passed, reading “Sector 7: Slums”.
Slums doesn’t do it justice...it’s more like a warzone, Kairi thought. She suddenly stopped in front of a church. “This must be the place Squall told me about,” she said aloud. Kairi stepped inside and looked around. The church was shabby, like most of the buildings in the area, though it was surprisingly well-kept. There was a shattered window in the roof, and rain fell through the hole into a small puddle on the floor. There were rows of pews leading to a small circular staircase near the back. Several of the pews were broken. At the top of the staircase were two people. One was wearing a purple turtleneck with a metal plate over one shoulder and baggy black pants. The other was dressed in a short red coat and pink dress. The man in purple had blonde spiky hair and the woman in red had long, brown hair tied in a braid.
“Cloud Strife?” Kairi called. Cloud’s head jerked in her direction. The woman also looked at Kairi curiously.
“You look familiar,” the woman said. Kairi nodded.
“It’s me, Kairi,” she said. The woman suddenly smiled broadly.
“Kairi! Look at you! So grown up!”
“I’m seventeen now, Aeris.”
Cloud looked from Aeris to Kairi and back. “Aeris...do you know her?”
“I’m a friend of Sora’s. Do you remember him?” Kairi asked before Aeris could answer. Cloud’s eyes narrowed.
“The punk that beat me three times at the Coliseum? Yeah, I remember him.”
Kairi took a couple steps forward. “Do you know where he is?”
Cloud flipped his hair out of his face. “No clue.”
“Kairi, how did you get here?” Aeris asked.
“You know how Beast willed himself to Hollow Bastion? I did the same thing.”
Aeris nodded. Cloud strode toward Kairi. “So if you are a friend of that punk Sora...do you have a weapon like his?” Kairi nodded and stretched out her hand. Her keyblade appeared in it. Cloud narrowed his eyes again and turned away.
“So could you beat me as well?” he asked. Kairi thought for a moment.
“Yes.”
Cloud looked at her and suddenly his eyes shifted behind her. They grew wide for a moment and he suddenly jumped back, reaching for his sword. Kairi spun around.
Five Shadows, two Darkballs, and an Invisible appeared.
Darkballs were large, round, black floating monsters that were formed out of pure darkness. The Invisible was an intimidating sight. It was a very large, almost humanoid creature with a gigantic blue sword and jagged black wings.
“The barrier has fallen!” Kairi cried. Suddenly the creatures vanished into thin air, leaving no trace of their existence.
Behind them stood a figure draped in a black raincoat clutching the Oblivion Keyblade. Kairi’s eyes grew wide.
“Sora?”
“Sora!? That punk!?” exclaimed Cloud from behind Kairi. Sora suddenly grinned malevolently and leapt from rafter to rafter out the church.
“Sora!” Kairi cried.
“It will do no use. That wasn’t the real Sora,” said a voice behind Kairi. She turned and gasped.
Sora was standing right behind her.
* * * * *
He was dressed in a pitch black shirt adorned with several chains and zippers. His pants were extremely baggy and were also riddled with chains and zippers. On his neck was a leather band.
“Sora?” Kairi asked timidly. Sora smiled, but it wasn’t his usual warm smile. It seemed, somehow, cold and ruined with age.
“It is good to see you again, Kairi. I have missed you very much,” Sora replied. Kairi seemed on the verge of tears when she rushed forward and tightly embraced Sora. He was taken aback by the sudden gesture and it took a few moments before he awkwardly patted Kairi on the back. She withdrew and wiped a tear from her eye. Sora stretched out his hand and the Oathkeeper appeared in it.
“What - ?” Kairi began. Sora looked the Keyblade over and gave it back to Kairi.
“Very good,” he said. “I had a feeling you’d be the next Keyblade Master.”
“What do you mean?” Kairi asked. “You knew I’d be the next Keyblade Master? How?”
“Well, I had no way to know for sure...but...I just had a feeling.”
Kairi stared at Sora for a moment. He was smiling, but she didn’t feel any better looking at him. It was almost as if he had had all his life and youthful energy sucked out of him. It made Kairi uncomfortable.
Sora nodded and turned to leave. “I must find and defeat the Others - “ he began.
“Others?” Kairi asked.
“Replicas of every person that was present when Kingdom Hearts was unleashed. I believe you already defeated Riku’s?”
Kairi swallowed and nodded. Sora nodded back. “Good,” he said.
“What I am supposed to do, then?” Kairi asked. Sora looked darkly at her.
“You must seal the Keyholes of the Fantasy worlds...and shut the door to Kingdom Hearts once more.” Kairi exhaled slowly. She nodded.
“I’m sure Cloud and Squall would be more than happy to assist you,” Sora continued. “In each Fantasy world, you will encounter people that know me. Tell them I sent you and they will point you in the right direction.”
“How will I find them?” Kairi asked.
“Don’t worry...they’ll find you,” Sora said. And with that, he strode out without so much as a wave goodbye. Kairi watched him go with slowly tearing eyes. She slumped into a nearby pew and almost began sobbing until she heard a groan behind her. She turned and saw Cloud and Aeris standing, rubbing various parts of their bodies.
“That was wild...” Cloud mumbled. Kairi stared.
“Last thing I remember is Kairi yelling something and then I saw nothing but blackness...” Aeris said.
Kairi relayed her and Sora’s conversation to them. When she finished, Cloud looked at her for a long time until he finally said, “I’m going with you.”
Kairi looked at him. “You are?” she asked. Cloud nodded.
“If the kid wants me to go , then I’ll go. I gotta respect anybody who can beat me three times.”
Kairi nodded. “Then let’s go,” she said. Cloud and Kairi left Midgar and traveled for a week across the world to Rocket Town. When they arrived, they found Cid tinkering on his gummi ship.
“Hey Cid,” Cloud said. Cid poked his head out from underneath the gummi ship.
“Well, well, if it ain’t Cloud...And who is this fine young thing, Cloud?” Cid asked.
“It’s me, Kairi,” she said. Cid grinned broadly.
“Well then, Kairi! I hardly recognized you! You look about twenty years old!”
“Close. Seventeen,” Kairi replied, grinning.
“Cid, we need this ship,” Cloud said. Cid’s smile disappeared.
“The Heartless?”
Kairi nodded. “They’re back.”
Cid turned to the ship. “She’s got everything you’ll need. The best armor, the best weapons, and the best engine. Where’re you heading?”
“To see Squ...er...Leon,” Kairi said. Cid dipped his head and allowed Kairi and Cloud. Kairi waved at Cid from the window of the cockpit and the gummi ship blasted off.