• Author: N-finiteFangirl
    Fandom: Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy VII crossover
    Title: The Gunner Knight
    Rating: PG-13 for spooky settings, and a little language
    Summary: Set during Sora's first time in Hollow Bastion in KH1, when he had to rely upon Beast for defense from the Heartless: Sora gets seperated from the Beast in the dark corridors beneath the castle, and ends up finding something--or, to be more exact, someone--but the question is: Will his discovery be for good or for ill?
    Notes: This is the first time in a loooong time that I've made any attempts at a horror/suspence scene. Please, leave me any comments on how to make improvements if I screw up on this aspect.



    Sora paused to catch his breath, bending over and putting one sword-wielding hand on his knee to steady himself. His other hand held one of the blue-green torches above his head; he had plucked it off the wall once he realized that he had to make his way back to Beast...by himself...through dark tunnels overflowing with countless Heartless just waiting for his one last light to snuff out before--

    Stop it! Sora silently scolded himself. Getting scared isn't going to help me at all! Besides...all you have to do is meet back up with Beast, and we can get into the main levels. Then, we'll find Donald and Goofy, and I can talk to Riku to see if he's under a spell by Maleficent. If he is, then I'll just break it, and he'll be back to normal. And then, we can go get Kairi, defeat Maleficent, seal up the Keyhole here, and go find the King. He kept reminding himself of that positive plan as he continued down the corridors, occasionally calling out for Beast in hopes that he would get some kind of reply.

    There were no other torches on the walls now. The one he held was the only light to pierce the thick darkness surrounding the lad. The air seemed a little colder, too. And--it must be his imagination...but it seemed like he was going down instead of up. That seemed ridiculous, of course. He and Beast had entered the lowest level by using one of the large, teleporting bubbles to travel through the waters at the base of the castle. Surely there couldn't be more levels below the one he had entered...could there?

    Wait...was there light up ahead?

    Sora picked up the pace, hoping that it might be the one corridor where he would find Beast--or even better, an opening to the higher levels. He rounded the corner, and saw that the pale, greenish light was coming from an open doorway just twenty feet ahead. As he neared the opening, he realized that he hadn't been attacked since he was first seperated from Beast, which seemed like hours ago. Odd...they've had plenty of time to attack me, Sora mused as he walked, keeping an eye out for any potential movement. I wonder why I haven't seen any Heartless in a while?

    As soon as he entered the doorway, he froze in shock, both torch and sword falling from his hands to clatter on the ground. There were torches lining the walls here...and each one lit a nich where a stone slab rested. Cobwebs were everywhere, and there were bones and broken items littering some walls and corners. Rats were everywhere, picking off the very last scraps of decaying flesh off the exposed bones.

    Blue eyes grew as wide as saucers as Sora clamps his hands over his mouth. His stomach felt like it was going to expel all its contents, and his entire body shook with ice-cold fear. Oh, god...dead bodies--REAL dead bodies! That's why the Heartless don't bother coming down here, He thought, quivering like a leaf. There...there must be vampires and zombies and mummies and, and, and--And they aren't anything like the folks at Halloween Town! They're...they're the real deal--blood drinkers and flesh eaters and...and...and... The lad began to hyperventalate as the icy fingers of fear squeezed his insides. "I...I can't go in," He quietly declared to himself, bowing his head and shutting his eyes. "I...I just can't...I can't..."

    "It's okay, Sora... I'm here..."

    The lad lifted his head up, opening his eyes to see a...a readhead girl? She seemed so real, but she looked a little fuzzy around the edges...

    "Yes, I'm really here with you, Sora--though you can't exactly touch me," The girl told him in a comforting tone.

    "...Kairi?" Sora whispered. "How...?"

    "My body is asleep because my spirit isn't exactly in it right now," Kairi explained. "I'm not quite sure how that happened, but at least I'm here with you. You don't have to go through this alone, Sora. I'm here to guide you through this crypt."

    "Do...do I have to go through this?" Sora asked in a shakey voice.

    "We don't know if there's a way out by wanderning around the corridors. But, if the lights here are lit, then somebody's been through here, recently. But they didn't come through the tunnels that you came through. So, what does that tell you?"

    Sora blinked. "...There might be a way out of here to the above floors?"

    "Exactly! That means that, somewhere in this crypt, there could be another doorway into a lit hallway--or maybe even a set of stairs that could lead up to the ground floor." She smiled brightly.

    Sora neared the girl. "Are you...really here with me?"

    "My spirit is, yes. I may not always be strong enough to be seen, or even heard sometimes, but I am here with you, Sora. I've always been by your side," Kairi explained as she walked towards the brunette. "And I always will be with you, here--" She pointed towards the center of his chest. "--in your heart. Even when my spirit is reunited with my body, part of me will always be in your heart, Sora, guiding you through the tough and dark times. In that sense...you've never been truly alone, and you never will be. We always care those we care for most in our hearts," she added, holding her hands over her heart, "Even if they may not be acting the way they used to be."

    "...Riku... You're talking about Riku."

    Kairi nodded.

    "What's wrong with him? Why...why did he act that way with me?" Sora's eyes began to grow misty. "I-I don't understand..."

    "I think Maleficent has been telling him lies, preying on the small bit of jealously and darkness that had been lurking within him. That's how she got him to join her side, thinking that he would help me by using the darkness."

    "He's jealous? Why would he be jealous of me? He's always been the better swordfighter! And the better runner! He's even better in school!"

    "Yes, but you're the one who seems to be everyone's friends. He's jealous of how easily you make friends--and how close we have been lately," Kairi added in a soft, sad tone. "I'm afraid it's my fault on that last part."

    "What do you mean?"

    "I spent more time with you than I did with Riku, and he must've been upset about that. If I had realized that sooner, I would've apologized for leaving him out so much..."

    "No, it's not your fault!" Sora grabbed her shoulders--and was relieved to know that he really could touch her; she really was here with him. "Riku was just stupid for keeping quiet and not telling us what was bugging him! He's...he's just stubborn and stupid like that! And...and..."

    "Maleficent took advantage of that."

    "...Yeah...but we're gonna get him back! We're gonna tell him the truth! And...even if he won't listen, we're gonna prove that we still care about him!"

    "We?"

    "Yeah! I mean, he can see you, too, right?"

    "...maybe...I don't know. For some reason, you're the only one who can hear me, and you're the only one who can see me when I'm strong enough to be seen and heard. But...I guess we can try." She smiled as she held his hands in her's.

    "Yeah..." Sora blushed a little from their contact, but didn't move to break it. Then, he remembered their surroundings. "So...you'll still be here, even though I can't see you?" He inquired, looking around worriedly.

    "Of course, silly... I don't often have the strength to appear before you, but we can still talk while we travel through this place. That okay?"

    "Yeah...I'm just glad that I'm not alone anymore."

    Kairi giggled. "Silly bum! I told you before, I've always been with you. I'm just not always able to appear like this, that's all. It drains me, and I need to rest on the spirit plane to regain my strength."

    "There's a plane for spirits?"

    "It seems that way. It overlaps the mortal plane of existance, but it's one that any spirits or spiritual beings use when they appear in the universe. Don't worry, though--I'll protect you from the bad spirits around here," she quickly reassured her friend. "Very few here are able to fight against my light. So, I'll keep the bad spirits from hurting you, and I'll warn you if there's any danger on the mortal plane, okay?"

    "Okay," Sora nodded. "Thanks, Kairi. I'm...I'm just that I still have one friend here with me."

    "I'm glad to be with you, too, Sora..." She hugged him warmly, and as Sora returned the hug, she disappeared in a flash of light that blinded the teen for a moment or two. "Don't worry, I'm still here," Her voice drifted to his ears. "I just need to rest and reserve my strength for when we see Riku again."

    "Oh...okay," Sora sighed in relief. "This...this is a bit awkward, though."

    "A bit, yes... Don't forget your sword, Sora; you might still need to block some enemies before we find our friends again."

    "OH! Right!" Sora immediately grabbed the wooden sword, and picked up the torch as an afterthought. "Might as well keep this; Tidus did say that undead don't like fire, and that they burn easily."

    "Most undead, yes. Let's just hope that none of them rise up if we just leave things alone."

    "Yeah..." Sora couldn't help but shiver at the thought of rotting bodies rising up and coming after them. But he swallowed the lump in his throat and began to walk forward. He had Kairi with him, and she said that she would protect him. He always trusted Kairi's word...and he always will.