Re:Shattered Hearts Chapter 2

     I stayed with Kairi and Keiori for a few days, practicing my new Dark powers during the day on the beach.  It was there that I learned of a few new abilities I possessed, including the ability to create Dark Corridors to any location I pleased.  I managed to make one connecting the beach to Kairi's house.  I found the power to be quite interesting.

     The day finally came for me to leave.  Kairi, Keiori, and I walked to the beach and I opened a corridor to a random location.  "John, are you sure you want to leave now?  You can stay as long as you want," Kairi said.

     "I just feel it's time for me to search for answers," I said.  I looked out to the sea.  I knew as soon as I left that I'd miss the island.  It was so beautiful and Kairi and Keiori had been so hospitable.  "If I find Riku and your other friend, I'll bring them back with me.  I'll be back someday, I promise."  I smiled and they smiled back.

     "Be seeing you around," Keiori said, hugging me one last time.  Kairi joined in and the two released me.

     "Bye," I said.  I stepped through the Corridor of Darkness and left the island behind.

     The Corridor was longer than I had hoped, but I assumed it was due to the long distance I was traveling.  I got an uneasy feeling as I walked through the Darkness, like something was about to jump out at me.  I tried to shake the feeling off, but it was no use.  The presence would not go away.  I tried to ignore it for as long as I could.

     Eventually, I made it to the other side of the Corridor, where I found myself on a snowy pathway over an apparently endless void.  I didn't dare look down for longer than I had to.  I never liked heights, especially indefinite ones.  It was almost more than I could handle.  I walked down the path a ways and found myself in front of a large, brown castle.  There were thirteen floors from what I could tell by counting the windows and the whole place had such a chaotic design, as if whoever designed it couldn't decide where to put the rooms.  It was an interesting sight to see, I admit.

     I walked forward to the castle doors, but stopped as a man in a black coat, similar to the one the man I saw under the streetlight was wearing, appeared in front of me.  He pulled his hood back to reveal long, black dreadlocks and oddly-styled sideburns.  "Greetings, Nobody," the man said.  "I've come on behalf of The Organization to recruit you into our ranks."

     "Nobody?  Why did you call me Nobody?" I asked, confused by his statement and apparently harsh assumption of me.

     "You have lost your heart, no?  When a person of a strong heart and will separates from their heart, the empty body becomes what we call a Nobody.  Our ranks are comprised of the most powerful, and you, my friend, fit our criteria," he elaborated.

     I stared at him, not knowing how to make my next move.  "And who exactly are you?" I asked apprehensively.  Something in my gut told me not to trust him, no matter how benevolent he seemed.  

     "My name is Xaldin.  I am the third and a founding member of our Organization," he said.  "At our height, we held fifteen members, but due to a certain...insurrection...quite a few have perished.  Five, to be exact, met their end a week ago when two of our newer recruits tried to overthrow our Superior."  The tone in his voice told me that he did not care at all for the deaths of his fellow members.  "Will you consider joining us?"

     "What is the purpose of this...Organization?" I asked, not wanting to get into something—especially something this dangerous—without knowing exactly what I was signing up for.

     "We have a simple goal," he said smoothly.  "We seek to reclaim our hearts by creating the heart of all worlds, Kingdom Hearts.  Once Kingdom Hearts is complete, we can enter and locate our hearts inside.  Your heart will be there as well, young man."

     I thought it out for a while, seriously considering it.  "I'm afraid I have to decline your offer," I said.  "I have my own agenda for the moment.  I want to find my heart by myself, if that's fine with you."

     Xaldin bowed his head.  "If that is what you want, then I must eliminate you," he said, a whirlwind appearing around him.  When the tornado dissipated, he was holding two lances in his hands with four more being suspended by mini tornadoes.  "If you are not with us, then you will be a liability, and we cannot have that."

     I barely had time to draw my swords when Xaldin was upon me, his lance threatening to impale my neck.  I swung and blocked him, sliding back from the force.  I spun around and he flew past me.  I slashed at him and he managed to dodge.  I tried to get my bearings, but he was far too quick for me.  Xaldin created a large dragon out of his lances and shot a blast of wind towards me.  It nearly knocked me off the narrow path.  I regained my balance and, unconsciously, tapped into a power I previously hadn't known before.  I closed my eyes for a brief second, muttered "slow," and when I opened my eyes, Xaldin was moving as if he were in slow motion.  I took advantage of the short time I had to counter him.  When time returned to normal, Xaldin collapsed in a bloody heap.  He breathed heavily, gripping the snow.  "Impressive, boy," he said.  "Are you sure you do not wish to reconsider my offer?"

     I spat blood on the ground.  "I'm pretty sure, Xaldin," I said.  "I'm not the type to swear my unquestioning loyalty to someone I barely even know anything about.  Let alone your 'Organization.'"

     Xaldin stood up and created a dark corridor behind himself.  "If you will not join us, then at least take this coat," he said as he tossed a cloak exactly like his toward me.  I caught it, surprised by the light weight.  "It molds to the build of the wearer.  The invitation to join us still stands, but our Superior will not have patience forever.  Wait too long, and he will certainly come to annihilate you!"

     I put my arms through the coat and zipped it up, the garment immediately molding to my body.  I could feel the clothes beneath me magically disappear, being replaced by a tank top, black pants, and black boots.  "When he comes, I will be ready," I said arrogantly.  

     "So you think," Xaldin said, laughing as he staggered backwards into the Corridor.  The portal disappeared behind him and I was alone once again.

     I decided, with nowhere better to go, that I would go inside the castle.  I pushed open the doors and was surprised to find the inside of the castle to be a stark contrast to the outside.  Outside, it appeared to be a chaotic mess.  But the inside held a long, white hall with a few statues decorating it.  The room gave off such a sterile feel, the place felt dead.  

     I made my way to the end of the hallway and approached a door.  I tried to pry it open, but it was no use.  It wouldn't budge an inch.  "There's no way you can open that door by yourself," a voice said from behind me.  I turned around to see that the voice belonged to a young girl, appearing to be the same age as Kairi and Keiori.  Her long, blonde hair was slung over one shoulder and she wore a simple white dress that came to mid-thigh.  Her eyes were the same shade of blue as Kairi's and I felt such a familiarity with this girl.  "Here in Castle Oblivion, you need cards to open that kind of door.  It leads to a room created by the memories of the person entering it."

     "I'm sorry for intruding on your home," I said.  "I didn't know anyone lived here."

     The girl smiled.  "Don't worry about it," she said.  "I wouldn't exactly call this place my home.  More of my prison, I would say.  I'm about to leave with a man named DiZ.  We're going to help my friend wake up."

     "Your friend is asleep?" I asked.  "Is he going to be ok?"

     "He'll be fine," she said.  "He went to sleep of his own choosing, and honestly it was my fault he is in this mess in the first place."  The mysterious girl hung her head in shame.  I saw a tear escape her cheek.  "I...made a mess of everything.  I altered his memories, tried to replace the girl he loves...I don't even know why I'm saying all of this.  You probably have more important things to worry about."  She began to cry more, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

     I walked over to the girl and, without really thinking, embraced her.  "It's going to be ok," I said.  "My name is John.  What's yours?"

     "Namine," she said.  "I'm a Nobody, a memory witch.  I have the power to alter, rearrange, and even create new memories."

     "So, you're a Nobody like me and Xaldin?" I asked.  "Just...how many of us are there?"

     She pulled away from me, her tears having ceased.  "There are only a handful of Nobodies like us, ones who have a human form.  But there are thousands whose will wasn't strong enough for them to retain their appearance.  They've turned into monsters, barely sane, and under the control of the Organization."

     "Is this Organization...a group I should trust or a group that I should avoid?" I asked.

     "I have no real answer for that," she said.  "I certainly wouldn't trust them, but at the same time, their goal is to regain their true, complete forms.  They want their hearts back, and they will use any means necessary to do so."

     "Xaldin asked me to join them while we were outside," I said.  "I said no and he attacked me.  How are you still alive if they remove all threats?"

     "I was their prisoner, so I was always of use to them," she said.  "If it hadn't been for Sora and Riku, I would still be their prisoner."

     "You know Riku?" I asked.  "I promised my friend, Kairi, that I would bring him home if I found him.  Do you know where he is?"

     Namine shook her head, which came as a disappointment to me.  "No, he disappeared right after he left the castle.  I don't know where he went, what he's doing, or if he's even still alive."

     "Oh, ok," I said.  "I'll just keep looking."  I decided that it was time for me to leave, so I turned toward the door and started walking.  "It was great to meet you, Namine.  Say, just for the sake of curiosity, whose Nobody are you?"

     I turned to look at her.  "Kairi's," she said.  I remembered Kairi saying something about her heart being lost or inside her friend, or something.  "I was created when Sora, my friend who is asleep, released her heart."

     "So, Sora is his name?  Why can't Kairi remember?" I asked.

     "That's also my fault.  I have to take apart and re-chain all of his memories manually.  People who were connected to him will forget everything, but their bond is too great for me to break completely," she explained.

     "I see, well it was a pleasure meeting you, Namine," I said, turning once more.  "See you again someday?"

     "Of course," she said as I opened the doors and left.


     I had no choice but to retrace my steps from along the path I took.  It eventually led me to a crossroads, where I decided I would spend the night.  I gathered some wood from the nearby trees and set up to make a campfire.  After unsuccessfully trying to ignite a fire, I was just about to give up, but a fire appeared out of nowhere and nearly gave me a heart attack.  "Whoa who's there!?" I stammered, trying to calm myself down.  I drew my energy swords and prepared to fight back.

     "Hey hey, chill out," a voice said from the darkness.  "You just looked like you needed a bit of help."  A tall, red-haired man with green eyes and teardrop tattoos under his eyes stepped into the light of the fire.  "The name's Axel, got it memorized?"

     "I'm John," I said, wary of this guy.  The grin on his face didn't help me trust him any more, but I tried to let it go.  If he wanted to kill me, he could have done so without alerting me to his presence.  "What brings you out here?"

     "On my way back to HQ," he said.  "I'm the only survivor of this little incident at Castle Oblivion.  I assume you know where that is since you're coming from that direction."

     I backed up.  "So you're with the Organization?  Are you here to kill me too?" I asked, eyes narrowing.

     "Relax," he said.  "I'm not gonna kill you."

     "Ok, I believe you," I said, lowering my guard for a brief moment.  "So, Axel, it must have been hard watching your friends be killed like that."

     "Not really," he said.  "No heart, remember?  I can't feel anything."

     "Oh yeah," I said.  I still wondered, I apparently was still able to feel emotions.  "Why does it seem like I can still feel, though?"

     "Just memories," Axel said dismissively.  "Say, you wanna come with me?  We can travel together for a while.  Keep each other safer that way."

     I thought about it for a moment and I concluded that Axel would be a valuable asset to me if I ran into trouble.  He'd obviously been a Nobody longer than I had, and had more combat experience due to being a member of the Organization and surviving Sora and Riku.  "You do have a point, Axel."

      "We can at least travel most of the way.  Hey, you can join the Organization too if you want," he said.  "We could use another member after that last massacre."

     "Sorry, but Xaldin already tried to recruit me," I said.  "I told him I wasn't interested.  I'd rather find my own way."

     Axel shook his head.  "Suit yourself, but you won't live too long.  I can guarantee that," he said dismissively.  "They will hunt you, and they will kill you.  You're just a neophyte, the senior members have been Nobodies for ten years almost.  They've had time to develop their abilities, learn to fight, and become forces of nature."

     "I'd rather take my chances, if that's ok with you," I said.

     "Fine by me," he said.  "Now, let's get some shut-eye before..."  Axel was cut off by a rumbling on the ground.  "What was that?"

     I could smell the Darkness coming from whatever was hiding in the ground.  It
was...familiar.  It took a minute, but I recognized it as the creature that attacked me.  "I think it's an old friend," I said.  "The thing that turned me into a Nobody.  It's all mine, Axel.  If I need help, I'll let you know."  I drew my energy swords and waited.

     The sound kept getting closer, and it was closing in with extreme speed.  Suddenly, the tremors died down.  I readied myself for the coming fight.  Two claws erupted from the dirt, covered in dried blood.  The rest of the beast soon followed.  Its monstrous body was a blueish color with red and orange thorns going down its back.  It was extremely muscular and had teeth as sharp as razors.  This was definitely the creature that took my heart.  "Back for more?" I asked it rhetorically, knowing it couldn't answer me anyway.  I drew my two energy swords and charged at the beast.  I slashed at its ankles, managing to sever the chains binding them together.  It clawed at me and knocked me back nearly twenty feet.  I picked myself back up and dashed toward it, aiming to kill.

     I tossed a sword at it and cut off one of its horns, causing it to wail in pain and giving me the perfect opportunity to strike back.  I coated my body in Darkness and, at an inhuman speed, flew through the Heartless and came out the other side of its body.  I was covered in purplish black blood.  I turned around to see the Dark Thorn evaporate into smoke.  "That was...impressive," Axel said, running up to me.  

     "Thanks Axel," I said, wiping the blood from my face on my coat.  "You don't even know how good that felt."

     "I can imagine," he said, laughing a little.  "Glad you got your little revenge."

     Revenge was an understatement.  I'd never wanted something dead more in my entire life.  And now that I had killed it, I could breathe easy knowing it wouldn't do the same thing to someone else that it did to me.  I spat on the ground where its body had disintegrated and walked back to the campfire.  I laid on the ground, facing away from the fire, and tried to rest for once.  "Night Axel," I said.  

     "Goodnight," he said, apparently taking a place on the ground near me.  I drifted off into a deep sleep, the best one I would have in a long time.