ig:
Day ??
Kairi's Heart
Time - ???
Kairi continues to sob, feebly begging for her memories - for you - to go away. Your heart feels like it might tear apart, just seeing her like this. For a moment, your resolve falters a little, but... you have to push forward.
"Kairi..." You approach her slowly, and sit down a few feet from her. "Why? Why don't you want to remember? Please..." You ask. "Please help me understand."
"I... I can't... I don't want to... It hurts..." She curls in on herself, wretched choking sounds intermittently escaping from her.
The two of you sit there, for a time. You're not sure how much - time has felt... nebulous, since you came here. But in time, you start to talk.
"It hurts for me, too. Every time we see you like this, it hurts. Riku and I... we worry about you so,
so much-"
"You..." She shakes her head. "I don't believe that... You're just-" She flinches back, as though in pain. "S-see what you're doing? You're... making it come back... how could you ever understand, anyway?" There's no accusation... only sorrow.
You frown. "Maybe I don't understand. I can't understand... not without knowing." You say, and pause... where have you heard that before? "And you... I know whatever's causing this... it's terrible. But..."
You're not sure what to say... it feels... hopeless. Like there's nothing left for you to do but... sink...
You remember something, from long ago. Kairi looks up at you, face stained with tears and drivel, as you realize what you want to say.
"Uncle Gatta... he always told me that ignoring something that's hurting is like... like ignoring a leak in your boat. Sure, you might be able to just... bail the water out every so often and keep going... but that doesn't fix it. Sooner or later, the leak is going to get too big to keep up with, and the whole ship is going to... sink." You frown. "I'm scared, Kairi. It feels like... like all you're doing is ignoring the problem, bailing the hurt away. And I..."
You remember threads of color in the space between, the strums of a harp, and warmth on your shoulder. You remember two star-shaped fruits. You remember a drawing on the wall.
"I don't want you to sink."
She looks at you. There is fear and sorrow in her very being, but something new. A strange curiosity - a yearning for something she can't quite reach. "What if... What if I can't..."
"Then I'll be here, too. You... you don't have to hurt alone." You resolve yourself. You promised, after all. You won't leave her side. Not ever.
Time passes, and you watch her make her decision.
"You ready?"
She nods, and you stand up, closing the distance as gently as you can, and sit down near her. You give her your hand... and she accepts-
The world returns to that scene - the child named Kairi and the man named Ansem.
He leads her away from the colors, into a basement, near the great building. He leads her down dark halls. It is here that she - the child made of pastel begins to have doubts. You can
feel the first twinges of worry.
But she says nothing, and the dark halls give way to a bright room with strange capsules with hearts floating inside them. Then Ansem opens a secret door, and guides you...
her to a strange blue room, and through another door. This one leads down, and it is
here, in the spiraling darkness, that she finally lets her fears be known.
"Are you sure Grandma knows we're here? This place is... dark... and scary. You work here?"
"I do... it's very important work."
She -
you note the distinct lack of an answer to the first question. But it's too late. Before she knows what's happening, there are other grown-ups. People she doesn't know, talking to Ansem, politely ushering her forward.
Kairi - the Kairi at your side - is trembling with anticipation as her past self is taken to a room with a strange chair. You watch them sit the girl down... and then they start adjusting the chair, trapping her there.
"Ansem... Do I... Do I have to be..."
"It's for your own safety." His tone does not sound sincere.
Kairi trembles in fear, almost knowing what comes next, and tries to shuffle behind you as
something approaches the girl. It presses against her chest... and
enters.
A pain rushes through your chest, through your entire being, as the world becomes chaos. The world brightens, and a great light appears, pressed against at all sides by darkness.
"M...my lord, we... uh... we can't see the structure."
You want to scream. Maybe... maybe you are. You can't tell for the pain. This is worse than anything you've ever felt before - no wound, no sorrow has ever
hurt this much.
"The light is so bright, that against the ambient darkness of the world, the true form of the light cannot be discerned.
Kairi
is screaming, struggling. She wants nothing more than to get
away.
"Well, w...what do we... do about it?"
The girl is screaming as well. It is... different, from Kairi's scream - the scream of someone who wasn't even close to ready.
"..."
The same voice, from two different eras, mesh together and form a terror in your heart that may very well stay with you forever.
"Hey, boss. What's the matter, cat got yer tongue? What's the plan?"
You think you understand why Kairi doesn't want to remember this.
"... Turn it off. There is nothing to be learned from this."
The pastel world returns... some semblance of normal as the light is put back in the girl. The screams have died off, only to be replaced with pained whimpers. One of the men approach, and free her from her bindings.
"We will have to find a way to purge the darkness in the operation room."
She does not have the strength to stand. "I... I wanna go home..." She murmurs, her world a blur.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry, kiddo." The man picks her up, and takes her to a bright hallway. The girl regains some of her senses, as the man prowls with purpose.
"This... this isn't the way back up... is it? This isn't the way... home..."
The man stops, and opens a door into a darkness deeper than you've seen in this world. He sets her inside.
"You got me on that first one, kid. But I gotta correct you on one little thing. You see,
this is your home, now. Be a good girl."
He shuts the door, leaving you, Kairi, and the girl in darkness.
Kairi is in shock. You can still feel the pain of... whatever they were doing to her. She is in tears... and you think you might be, too.
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Music:
KH - Kairi's Theme
KHBBS - Xehanort's Theme
Characters:
KHVD Main Party Sheet
KHVD Main Party Growth Chart
Link Shards
Gummi Ship
KHVD Minor Party Members Sheet
Shop Sheet
Jiminy's Journal
Ansem Reports
Sora's Vision History
oog: The nightmare begins.