Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Kingdom Hearts: Soul Crossed ❯ The Coming Storm ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

The sun was setting as Riku worked on his technique. The blade of his Keyblade gleamed as he held it up, just before moving into another fight routine. After returning to the islands and receiving the note from King Mickey in the bottle, Riku had taken to spending many afternoons trying to improve himself. The message Kairi had brought them mentioned an approaching evil and the King had promised to come and bring them to Disney Castle. That had been weeks ago and there was still no sign of their friends.

The blade sliced through thin air and Riku finally slowed the blade, the Way to Dawn vanishing until Riku had need of it again. He ran an arm along his forehead, wiping the sweat off. He was drenched in it. He must have been practicing longer than he thought. He glanced up as the light changed. Clouds were forming in the distance, dark and grey, and they were covering up the sun. “A storm...” he said, and somehow he felt that evil would follow. He was still tuned to the darkness, even now.

“Riku!” Sora’s cheery voice caught his attention as his friend ran across the wooden bridge to the island. He slowed up as he neared and his blue eyes asked the question in his head long before the words reached his lips. “Any sign of them?”

“None.” Riku sat on the trunk of the tree. “Wherever they are, I think they’re in trouble.”

Sora’s face fell. Riku could relate. Sora’s bond of friendship with Donald and Goofy had grown as strong as his own bond with the King. As strong as the one the three friends shared. Sora quickly covered it up, confidence showing on his face and he brought his hands behind his head, leaning back a little. “They’ll be alright. They’re too strong to lose to the darkness.” He then leapt up to join him, sitting beside him.

Riku nodded, though his face was grim. “Of course. They have their light.” His greenish-blue eyes darkened. “I thought I was stronger than it though, remember? In the end, it consumed me.” He clenched a fist, anger filling him again, but this time directed at himself.

“C’mon Riku. I thought you had let that go.”

“Sorry Sora. I’m not like you. I can’t just forget and go on like nothing’s wrong. My past is a part of me.”

“That’s not what I mean!” Sora said, his arm sweeping out to emphasize his statement.

“No one’s asking you to forget Riku.” A female voice joined the conversation. Both boys looked up to see Kairi walking onto the island from the bridge. “To forget the past would be foolish, as your past makes up what you are now.” The redhead walked to the tree and joined the boys on the log. “However, you can still forgive yourself. You were there when it mattered most, and you fought to protect worlds, not destroy them.”

“Kairi’s right,” Sora said, grinning ear to ear. “You aren’t controlled by darkness anymore Riku. You found your own light.”

Riku gave an exasperated laugh. “Alright, alright,” he said, grinning himself, “I’ll never win if you two gang up on me.”

Kairi smiled, her blue eyes alight with renewed fervor. “You better believe it. I haven’t been working with my own Keyblade for nothing, you know. Next time you two go to save the worlds, I’m coming too.”

Riku stood up. “You’ll need to work harder Kairi.” He turned, a teasing smile growing across his face. “After all, you can’t even beat Selphie yet.”

He began to run, hearing Kairi cry out in anger as she gave chase. The smile on Riku’s face was genuine. It was great to be back with his friends. Whatever darkness did come, as long as he was with them, they could handle it. Together.


- - - - - - - - -


The storm rolled in, lightning, thunder and high winds mixing with the rain. Kairi stared out the window, troubled. Riku’s comment had cut her, even though he hadn’t meant it to hurt. She knew her skill with the Keyblade was nowhere near Sora and Riku’s. She’d enjoyed watching her friends play at fighting when they grew up. Wakka, Tidus, Sora, Riku. Even Selphie had joined in, fighting with her jump rope like a pair of nunchuks. Kairi had enjoyed the games, but she’d never thought she’d want to join in.

She sighed, slipping off the bed. What was frustrating to her was that she felt she NEEDED to be better. She couldn’t help but feel that it was important in the coming battle that she improve, and fast.

She saw herself in the full-length mirror and she approached it. She brushed a lock of her reddish-brown hair out of her face and sighed. “Pull yourself together Kairi. Worrying won’t do you any good in a fight.” She just didn’t want Sora or Riku to fret about her in a fight. She wanted, no, she needed, to prove that she wasn’t a liability. For a moment, she closed her eyes, thinking of the Nobody that was part of her. “Namine, what would you do?” No answer came, and she felt foolish for asking. Namine and Roxas had returned to where they belonged and, ever since they’d joined at the top of the castle of the World That Never Was, she’d never felt more from her except a small feeling now and then when she was near Sora.

She started to head downstairs when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She stopped, turning back to the window. She looked around outside, trying to find what she’d seen. She was about to give it up as a figment of her imagination when lightning flashed and she saw several figures on the beach. She inhaled sharply. The forms were definitely not human. Heartless, or maybe Nobodies. Either way, it meant trouble in their home once again. There were too many for her to take on herself. She needed to warn the others.

Kairi rushed to her door, throwing it open and froze. There were several crashes downstairs and Kairi crept along the hall until she reached the head of the stairs. Craning her head over the railing, and feeling a deep fear in her gut, she tried to see what was going on.

There were several shadowy beings in the living room. Heartless. Kairi thought, a chill of fear running through her. She willed her Keyblade into existence, holding it as though she were clutching a lifeline. This is what you’ve been practicing for Kairi. You can do this. She glanced at her Keyblade, at the colors along the shaft and the flower key at the end of the blade. Help me succeed, she thought at the blade. She then looked around for the adults that were here, but there was no sign of them. That worried her a lot. She stepped onto the first step, wanting to get the drop on these intruders.

“Where is she?” A female voice cut the silence like a knife through butter. Kairi stepped back into the alcove. A woman dressed in blue and silver armor walked into view. Her hair looked like it was on fire and she stormed around, sending Heartless scurrying out of her way. “The girl is supposed to be here. We have to find her and fast, before she joins the others. We need all three before they can fight back.” Kairi nearly cried out in surprise. They were here...for her? No, not just her. Three. Sora and Riku! It had to be. She crept quietly back to her room, her Keyblade vanishing again until she needed it, and shut the door, barring it as best she could.

She pulled herself up to her window and tried not to think about how high she was. She simply acted, letting gravity do its work, quickly dropping to the beach below. Wind whipped at her immediately and she nearly fell. She made her way down to water’s edge, using the lightning as her guide. Sora’s house was closer and so she made her way slowly. Even in the heavy rain, she could make out the forms of the shadow creatures further up the beach. She crept along, hoping they’d ignore her. She tried to stay quiet but she was very nervous. Her footsteps sounded loud with every step, making her worry that each sound was going to alert the creatures to her presence, even over the roar of the ocean, the pounding of the rain and the howling of the wind. Fear was making her a bit unreasonable.

She was within sight of Sora’s house when something wrapped along her arm. Kairi squealed and pulled out of its grasp, falling roughly on her ass. She nearly fainted in shock at what she saw. The figure coming up out of the water looked like a giant pink octopus with a strange symbol she didn’t recognize. The darkness didn’t let her make too much out, but the red glowing eyes were very disturbing. It sent out another tentacle but this time Kairi was ready. She leapt back, her Keyblade appearing in her hand. Fight your fear Kairi. It’s you or it. She slashed at the creature, slicing off the tentacle. The creature screeched in pain and lunged for her. She spun out of its grasp, swinging the blade as she came behind it. The creature cried out and dissolved in front of her. Unfortunately, its cry alerted the others.

Kairi put her Keyblade away, dashing for Sora’s house. She heard the creatures behind her, calling after her in an inhuman way as they gave chase. C’mon...Just a little further... It was not to be, however. One of the creatures leapt over her, landing in her path. Kairi stopped in her tracks. More closed in, surrounding her. Up close, they were strange looking creatures, with tendrils coming out the tops of their heads. They had long shadowy claws and almost looked humanoid, even if all they seemed to be made of was a cloud-like substance. And each of them had those same red eyes and symbol on their chest. Kairi swung out her arm, the Keyblade reappearing in a flash of light. “If you want a fight, you’re gonna get one.” She hoped she sounded more convincing than she felt.

One of the shadows leapt at her. Kairi dodged left, swinging her Keyblade at it as it passed. It missed by inches, and another slashed at her. Pain laced along her arm and she jumped back, crying out in pain. Another approached quickly, thinking she might be vulnerable, and learned the hard way not to underestimate her. One down. She spun, trying to keep an eye on those around her and keep them from doing serious harm to her. She dodged an attack, rolled away from another and destroyed a second one. This was taking more effort than she could afford to spare right now and she was still not used to full combat on her own. She needed to end this quickly, or she’d be done for.

Two more were destroyed as she moved smoothly between their attacks. Confidence filled her as she stared at the remaining creations. She could do this. Riku and Sora had taught her well. She dodged, spun and ducked, slashing again and missing. Unfortunately that miss cost Kairi her balance. One swung at her and her attempt to dodge left her wide open. Something hard slammed into her back and soon she had a mouth full of sand. She coughed, pushing herself to her knees, ready to get back in the fight. She looked up and time seemed to slow to a crawl as one of these new horrors leapt at her. Its body came at her as she tried to bring up her blade to defend against its extended claws. She was going to be too slow and it was too late to dodge away.

Suddenly, the creature exploded in a cloud of darkness as a large blue and white ball rebounded off it and sailed back to where it had come from. Wakka leapt, catching the ball as two figures leapt to either side of her. Tidus slashed at one with his sword as Selphie pulled Kairi to her feet, a pair of real nunchuks in her other hand. “Need a hand?”

Kairi smiled a little, though it irked her inside that she’d needed help again. “What are you three doing here?” she asked as Wakka ran up.

“Riku brought us out to help. Said there were too many for him to handle alone. Never thought I’d hear him admit to that,” Tidus said with a smirk, watching the creatures move just out of range. “We went to check on you but no one was home and the place was ransacked.”

“We were headin’ to check on Sora since we figured you might have come here when we heard ya scream. Good thing we got here when we did, ya?” Wakka spun the blitzball in his hand, a serious look on his face.

“Yeah…” Kairi grimaced a little at the thought, irritation flooding her. She clamped down on those emotions like a vice. There was no time for that now. “Where’s Riku?” Kairi looked around for the silver-haired boy.

“He asked us to help you out after he heard a ruckus in Sora’s place. Then he ran inside. He wanted you to follow him in while we handled things out here.” Selphie said. Her face turned grim as several more of the creatures appeared out of the shadows.

“Are you sure you guys can handle this?” Kairi asked. She was worried about Riku and Sora, but she didn’t want to abandon her friends either if they needed her help.

Tidus flashed her a thumbs up. “Don’t worry, Kairi. We can handle it. You go help Riku. We’ll clear you a path.”

Kairi looked at the three, and a genuine smile lit up her face in the darkness. “Thank you so much, all of you.” Selphie smiled back, giving her friend a quick hug and then Kairi was running. Tidus and Selphie took out one to either side of her, while she destroyed the one directly in front. Another leapt at her, but Wakka threw his blitzball at it and it disintegrated. After that, Kairi was on her own, but she only needed to destroy one more before she was through Sora’s door.

She spotted Riku immediately, dealing with a large group of these shadows. Instinct took over for Kairi as she leapt in to help him. Her world had shrunken to the fight itself. Her perception was movement and it only distinguished between friend and foe. It was a strange feeling for Kairi, but a necessary one. All she knew was that she needed to help Riku so they could find Sora quickly. She had a nagging feeling that if they didn’t hurry; something awful would happen to him.

Soon enough, the room was cleared. Kairi was panting from exertion, leaning on a table with one hand, the Keyblade dangling from the other. Riku himself was breathing hard, his eyes cold and hard as he looked around. “No sign of Sora.”

“Upstairs...maybe?” Kairi looked at him, worried about him. He looked really upset.

“Possibly. I see your hard work has paid off. You fought well.” A smile slowly crept onto his face. “This time, we rescue him.”

Kairi gave a wry grin. “Been waiting for that moment, huh?”

“You know me. I need to rub his face in it from time to time.” He looked down at his blade, then at Kairi. “I don’t think these are Heartless. The way they move and fight, and those eyes. These are something new.” Shuffling sounds came from upstairs before Kairi could respond and Riku’s face became hard. He motioned upstairs and Kairi nodded. “Time to pay back the piper.”


- - - - - - -


Riku took the point as they headed up the stairs. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Kairi’s skill. It was showing a marked improvement. But if anything was going to attack them when they got upstairs, he wanted it to be him. He didn’t want anything to happen to her. He had sought after her when she had disappeared. He had joined with the darkness to get her back. In the end, all he could do was hold back the darkness to let her escape with Sora. He had finally accepted that. It hadn’t been until he met the King that he’d realized his true path. The path that walked both darkness and light. In a way, he complimented Sora well with this, and now with Kairi, the three of them were a strong team.

Anger coursed through him as he neared the top of the stairs. *Why can’t they leave my home alone? Why must they destroy it again, after I just got back?* His blade trembled with his rage, vibrating almost violently because of it. He had to squash his emotions down, letting his anger smolder as he neared Sora’s room. There was a sound of a fight inside and Riku tried the door. It wouldn’t open. Riku simply backed up a step and kicked. The door splintered and swung open.

The room was crawling with Shadows and Soldiers. Sora was fighting them off, but there were too many for him to handle alone. Heartless too? This just gets better and better. Riku charged into the room, The Way to Dawn cleaving through the darklings with ease. He sensed Kairi join in as well and the three friends began dispatching them as soon as they popped up. Riku allowed the feel of battle to envelop him, enjoying the carnage. A part of him was glad this had happened. He had hated the wait. He wanted something, anything to happen. Waiting had just made him restless. When the last Soldier was destroyed, he fought to quell the rage and anticipation of battle. It was always harder for him since he accepted that part of himself. He needed to calm himself and focus.

“Riku! Kairi! You guys are okay.” Sora’s cheery voice cut through the dark part of himself. It was one of the best cures for his battle mode.

Riku smiled. “You were worried? Unlike you, I can handle these things myself.”
“Yeah, but you needed me to save you in the end.” Sora was all smiles though. Riku shook his head. Trust Sora to be cheerful in the direst of situations.

“Tidus and the gang are mopping up outside.” He turned to Kairi, making sure she was okay. She nodded at him from the doorway as she leaned against the frame, a smile breaking out on her face too. He shook his head. “You two are incredible...” He began to laugh. Something just seemed very funny about all of this. Sora and Kairi joined in.

Sora’s laugh cut off suddenly and Riku looked up in time to see a grey-haired man in red and silver armor turn Sora around and stab him in the right eye with a small silver blade. “SORA!” Kairi cried as she and Riku tried to get to him. The man raised a hand off Sora and directed it at the two. A gust of wind rose up and threw them back against the wall. Riku got up faster than Kairi, ignoring the pain in his back. He needed to get to Sora. He might be dying.

Sora was fidgeting a little but he wasn’t bleeding. Instead, the blade that had entered his eye had created a small black void that drowned out the vibrant blue and the blade was pulsing steadily. “It’s working. It’s working!” the man said.

Riku stepped toward him. “Let him go or you’ll regret it.”

“No! Not when I’m so close!” He turned, emerald eyes dancing with delight. “You should worry more about yourself...or your girl.” Riku’s eyes went wide as Kairi’s scream pierced his soul.

He spun, seeing a woman in the same armor design, only red instead of blue. Her own silver blade was piercing Kairi’s left eye, the same black void there. Kairi was making strange strangling noises as her body twitched once, fear evident on her face. Riku spun back and forth, trying to decide whom to run to first. Finally, he turned toward Kairi. Ice blades shot up from the floor to the ceiling as he closed in on the woman, cutting him off from getting to her or back to Sora. He swung The Way to Dawn, scraping the blade along the ice, but it did not dent the obstacles. He focused inward, calling forth some magic and let loose a fire spell to try and melt the blades, but it had no effect on it. “Arrrghh!!” he cried out, slamming his fist into the ice. “Kairi! Sora!”

Riku stood in the center of the ring of ice, feeling helpless to stop this. “Oh Maris, I can feel it coming. Soon we’ll be complete my love,” the grey-haired man said, his whole body trembling.

“Oh no you don’t!” a voice cried out from nowhere and suddenly the room was filled with a blinding burst of white light. Riku had to shield his eyes from the light and a shattering sound reverberated in his ears. The light subsided and Riku tried to blink the spots out of his eyes. When his vision did clear, he was shocked at what he saw. Standing between Sora and the man in the red armor was a boy with honey-blonde hair. He wore a white vest that was open down the center and black clothing underneath, shirt and pants. He held a Keyblade in each hand.
Riku recognized Sora’s Nobody almost immediately. What is Roxas doing here? Riku wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth right now. He turned, looking at the one called Maris. She was looking at Kairi, who was now lying on the floor, unconscious like Sora was. Riku wasn’t going to give the shocked woman a chance to try whatever she’d been doing again as he leapt forward, slicing at her. Maris dodged back, her blade slashing at him. Riku met the attack with a parry of his own, landing next to Kairi.

Maris spared the grey-haired man a quick glance. “Restin! It stopped working. What happened?”

“I don’t know.” Restin called back, a larger black blade appearing in his free hand. “Maybe we need more time with them.”

“You aren’t gonna get it,” Roxas cried, his blades clashing with Restin’s.

Riku spared a glance at Roxas, but as he turned back he was surprised as a humongous fist came from the hall and caught him in the face. The force of the blow knocked Riku into the center of the room. He tasted blood and checked his lip, seeing it had been split. He looked up as an enormous man stepped into the room, dressed in the same style armor, but this one had yellow instead. His whole body looked to be made of muscle. “We have company,” he said, his voice rumbling. “We need to leave. Now.”

Riku watched as he moved to grab Kairi. He dashed toward Kairi, but Maris got in the way. “Tomas!” she yelled. “Take the girl and go!”

Riku fought hard with Maris, trying to get past her and save Kairi. The big man lifted her limp body up over his shoulder and his body shimmered, then vanished. Maris knocked Riku back on his ass and she hurried over toward Roxas, who was busy trying to protect Sora. Footsteps were running towards them as Riku got back to his feet. More reinforcements might be coming. “Roxas! Grab Sora!”

Roxas turned, but at that moment Restin hit him with a burst of wind. It flung Roxas onto Sora’s bed. The two intruders grabbed Sora’s unconscious form as Mickey, Donald and Goofy ran into the room. “Restin, stop!” Mickey yelled.

“You’re too late, Your Majesty!” The title was spoken as an insult. Mickey tried to stop them, but before he could get there, Maris and Restin teleported out with Sora, Restin’s laugh echoing in Riku’s ears as they got away.