Seek the Stars

II

“You know me quite well,” Kairi snapped. “So who are you?”

The blonde’s lips twisted. “Rufus Shinra. Please, have a seat.”

Kairi looked to the blindfolded man beside her and then to the bald man with sunglasses standing behind Rufus. They wore the same Nobody jacket, so she assumed they were affiliated. That gave her little comfort but she moved forward anyway and sat in one of the plus armchairs in front of that oakwood desk.

When Kairi had made herself comfortable, Rufus sat down and nodded at Tseng the gunman. “Kairi,” Rufus began, “first let me apologize for your abduction. It was decided that taking you was the only way to get Sora and Riku to come here.”

“Isn’t that usually the case?”

Rufus smirked. “There’s a problem we’ve been having, something we have, until now, been able to deal with on our own. My forces are spread thin, so you can understand the urgency.”

“And you couldn’t ask other worlds to help out?”

“Unfortunately, no. No outside world knows about Sunrise Town. Only those that have been here before or have a connection to it can find it.”

Kairi sat back in her chair. “So how’re Sora and Riku supposed to find this place?”

Rufus casually pointed at her. It was a motion that was as simply and thoughtless as breathing – which wasn’t doing Kairi’s breathing a whole lot of good. “Oh.”

“’Oh’.” Rufus said with a smile. “We’ll keep you safe, so don’t worry overmuch about that. Tseng, call Kadaj for me.”

Kairi twisted in her chair to watch the blindfolded man disappear out of the office for a while. What was she was getting into? She could demand to go home, but then she might become a captive for real. She’d had her fair share of dungeons and imprisonment (never mind if the second time around her jailor had been incredibly hot) and was, quite frankly, tired of being the damsel in distress. Her eyes widened a little when Tseng returned with a silver-haired boy in tow. The boy looked almost like Riku, but his hair was shorter, straight and more of a gunmetal silver than Riku’s white-silver. It was those green eyes that made her shudder though, for there was something in them that made the boy seem insane. Predatory.

“Kadaj, this is Princess Kairi.” Rufus said slowly. Kairi wondered why the President didn’t tack on ‘Do Not Eat’ at the end of the sentence.

Kadaj smiled and whatever malignancy Kairi felt was gone almost immediately. “Princess. We have two princesses now?”

“No. We only have one. Kairi is someone else’s princess.”

“Oh.”

Kairi tried to smile. Now Rufus was sounding like he was talking to a kid. Was there some rule she didn’t know yet?

Rufus gestured. “Please take Kairi to Mother. Then find your brothers and Tifa. I need you to do something for me.”

Kadaj grinned and saluted. “Come on, princess! I’ll give you the short tour.”

“Oh, goody.” Kairi breathed. She looked at Rufus and decided he’d be no help at all now. Finally she moved out of her chair and followed Kadaj out of the office of the President.

By the time they reached where they wanted to be, Kairi’s legs were sore. Kadaj simply waved and left her standing before a door that said ‘DEFENSE CORE OPS ROOM’. Kairi heaved a sigh and knocked on the door. When it opened, Kairi found herself staring into bright green-blue eyes set into a pale face. The woman leaned back a bit.

“You’re Kairi?”

“Want me to be someone else?”

The woman snickered. “Now I see where she gets her backbone from. Come in, come in. My name is Jenova, but my given title is ‘Mother’.”

“Why?” Kairi asked, following Jenova into the room. “And who’s ‘she’?”

“Long, long story.” Jenova completely ignored Kairi’s second question and turned away. Kairi shook her head and gazed about the room. A number of other doors were set into various walls, all labeled depending on weapon type. There were monitors showing different angles of the city and Kairi could spot Axel in one of the frames. She groped for a chair and grinned as Axel was gesturing wildly at a brunette boy with darkly tanned skin, laughing.

Then Kairi saw someone she thought had been gone forever.

“Naminé.”


Pipirrup.

Eyes snap open staring into the blankness beyond. The safe spot is no longer safe. Panic takes over, but no, can’t panic. Get up, focus. Where are They coming from?

Pipi. Pirrup.

Behind. Left. Move forward and right, run. The rest did the body good, lots of energy to run from these things. Run fast and far and look for another Safe Spot. Hours pass with no sound but harsh breathing and Their calls. Velvet underfoot gives way to hard rocky terrain, and then back to velvet. More running, no rest now. Exhausted. But keep moving, because They are coming.
Something strikes the shoulder. There’s no pain for a moment and then a scream of agony echoes in the dark. They are excited, calling to begin the hunt.

Pi!

Weak!

Pi, pirrup!

Weak! Prey weak!

Giving a roar of pain, determination keeps the forward motion going. The arm is on fire, burning and smoldering with pain with each step. There is no Safe Place for miles maybe. Or maybe no Safe Place at all.

Fear makes running easier and the chase is on in full. Calls behind, hunting calls, victory calls and all that is done in reply is running. Run fast, run far, run run run. Just move and it will be fine.

Pipipirrup! Pirrup! Pi!

Too close now. Something strikes the injured shoulder, sharp teeth through vulnerable flesh. A scream and a struggle. Suddenly the velvet dips and the thing lets go. Another cry and down the hill, head over heels in a tumble roll. Stop. Warm here. Warm and bright. Light. Outside the light They stalk, waiting.

This light, what is it?

Get up and look.

A heart? Slowly circling, it is a heart, a bright fiery heart. There are pictures in the fire, warming chilly fingers and toes. This is a Safe Place, different from a Safe Spot. More light here, light that won’t go away. But it’s a heart, so it belongs to someone. Who? Memories play in the heart, revealing a thin young man with wild red hair and tribal tattoos on his face. The young man is laughing with figures in shadow, eyes alight with this inner fire. Reach out, take a little bit of light.

“Axel.” The voice is rusty, disgusting to ears used to silence. “Axel.”

Rest here. The light will keep Them at bay.