IHTP Ch10

IHTP Ch10

Chapter 10: Ann’s Wish, Kristy’s Teacher, Chris’ Hope

Ann and Riku had just gotten back from Agrabah, greeted by Hades and Maleficent.
“That smarmy vizier could’ve had ‘em—if someone had stuck around to give him a hand.” Hades commented.
“Hey, we did our part, so shut up.” Ann glared at the blue god.
“We brought the princess, didn’t we?” Riku said, adding to her argument.
“Jafar was beyond help, consumed by his own hatred. One should beware of letting it burn too fiercely.” Maleficent said in reply to the previous statements, mostly to Hades. Ann looked at her, wondering what it meant.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Lighten up. I’m as cool as they come, okay?” Hades then turned to Riku, “By the way, kid, have we got something special for you.”
“Huh?”
“We had a deal, yes? You helped us, and we grant you your wish….” Maleficent turned her head towards the table in the room where a projection of a red-haired girl appeared.
“Kairi…?” Ann wondered. Is that why Riku was on the dark side?
“Kairi!” Riku couldn’t help but want to reach out and help her, but he knew it was only an image.
“Go to her. Your vessel is waiting.” Maleficent urged, and Captain Hook appeared.
“Just remember, this is no pleasure cruise. It won’t be a pleasant voyage.” Captain Hook said immediately.
“Why are you doing all this for me? What’s the catch?” Riku asked, suspicious.
“Catch? What’s the catch? Silly boy. You’re like a son to me. I only want you to be happy.” Maleficent reached out to touch Riku’s cheek in a caring manner, but he shoved her hand away.
“I seriously doubt that.” He said. Ann silently cheered him on for not trusting the witch. She would’ve said the same.
“Believe what you wish. But lest we forget, I kept my end of the bargain.” Maleficent said, and Riku followed Captain Hook to board his ship in Neverland. Ann took a step to follow, but Maleficent put a hand on her shoulder. “You aren’t going with him, girl.”
“Huh?”
“I have a different mission for you.” Maleficent said. “And since you, too, have completed your job with Riku, I will grant your wish. Do you still want power beyond your wildest dreams?”
“Yes…. But there’s something else.” Ann said, surprising Maleficent.
“What might that be?”
“I don’t know yet.” Ann said, her voice tinted with sadness and disappointment.
“Whatever it may be, I will try to help, if that is what you wish. In return,” The witch said, “I want you to go to Beast’s Castle and retrieve Belle.” An image appeared on the table of the girl named ‘Belle’.
“Why her?”
“She is needed to open the door.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“All will be explained in time. For now, complete the mission and don’t ask questions until the time is right.”
“Then you will help me?”
“I will, and now I will grant your wish of power as you may need it for this task.”
“Are you saying I’ll be weak without Riku?” Ann demanded as a dark purple-hued glow formed in Maleficent’s hand.
“Not at all.” That was the only thing Maleficent said before the dark glow enveloped Ann.
---
Kristy and Alex decided to leave Chris alone on Aerith’s advice. They headed to Kristy’s house, the Magician’s Study.
“Nya, Alex, shoot fire at the door. I want to see you do that spell again!”
“What?! Are you trying to burn your neighborhood down or something?” Alex looked at her as if she were crazy.
“No. Just do it! That’s how you open it, nya. It’s like a key, see?” She motioned to the door in front of them, a wooden one with a giant fire symbol on the front.
“…Fine.” Alex said, hesitating. He didn’t want to be responsible for any damage done to Traverse Town. It would mean he had to pay for it. “Burn!” He didn’t use the exact word, but the fire shot from his Keyblade anyway. It hit the symbol on the door and the door swung open.
“See? There’s nothing to it. No harm done, nya!” Kristy grinned at him toothily, showing her cat fangs once again, which sent a shiver down Alex’s spine for some reason. “And you’re getting better at spell casting!” She paused, then thought for a moment. “Here, you can have these, since you’re mastering your skills so quickly, nya.” One of her hands glowed white and the other green as she took Alex’s hand, the glow of her hands made its way to his on contact, and he felt a tingle and burning feeling run through his body. “It’s ‘Blizzard’ and ‘Cure’. Use it well, nya.”
Alex was amazed. She had just given him magic.
They went inside, it was a structure in the middle of a lake-like area. “Whoa…. You’ve got one hell of a place here.”
“Thanks, nya!” She proceeded, skipping from stepping stone to stepping stone easily with cat speed and balance, having done it so many times before. Alex, on the other hand, was having a bit more difficult time. Then they reached the front door, Kristy went around to the back, a confused Alex following her. They saw a large crack in the wall. Kristy crawled through, but Alex couldn’t even fit.
“Wait at the front door, Alex, nya!” Kristy called from inside. Still confused, Alex obeyed. Moments later, there was a click and the door opened. “Sorry about that, nya. I don’t have the key to the house.” She laughed.
“Whatever.” He went inside and looked around, and Kristy for the first time noticed there were chairs around and books on the shelf.
“Teacher is home, nya!” Kristy cheered, “Teacher, I’m home! Fairy Godmother, where are you? You two can come out now!”
An old man in blue clothing appeared from the spiral staircase in the center of the room. “Ah, Kristy, you’re back.”
“So are you, nya!”
“Ah, yes. I came back just as Sora and the King’s friends came by. Leon and the others told me what happened.”
“Oh my,” There was a puff of smoke nearby and an elderly woman in a blue dress appeared where a small pumpkin once sat. “Kristy dear, welcome home.”
“Hi Fairy Godmother! Nya, Teacher, Fairy Godmother, this is Alex! He’s the other Keybearer. He needs to learn a little magic, or hone his skills or something, nya.” Kristy said, then turned to Alex and motioned to the old man, “Alex, this is my Teacher, Merlin; and the Fairy Godmother.”
“Thank you for finally including me. You lost me a little while back!” Alex complained.
“Well, if it’s magic you need to learn, I have just the thing. I was just teaching Sora’s group a while ago.” Merlin said, motioning for the two to follow him upstairs. “And Kristy, you need to refresh your training.”
“Yes sir, nya!”
They entered a wide and mostly empty room. “This is the training room, nya! You can burn the walls and they won’t burn, nya!” The blonde Koneko explained to Alex.
“Whatever. Let’s get started.” Alex said, then gave a pause, “Um… How do we do that?”
---
Chris was sitting on the ground against a wall in the Secret Waterway. “Ann….” He whispered, the sound echoing against the walls. “I lost her! I promised myself I wouldn’t lose her again! Damn….” He cursed. This wasn’t his usual self, but he didn’t care if anyone heard. He longed to see Ann. He still felt her heart, just barely. He feared something was truly wrong. “I shouldn’t have left her here!” He squeezed his eyes shut, his hands curling in a ball. “No, why should I blame myself? Leon and Aerith said they would protect Ann. What a lie. I promised her we’d go home together… and now she’s gone.” He said to himself, his fists tightening, “But… she’s still alive. I just have to find her. I’ll find her!” He told himself, getting up with a newfound ray of hope.
He was about to exit the Secret Waterway when he saw something beside the water. Crouching down, he picked it up, examining it. “A… Gummi?”
---
Chris went over to Cid’s Workshop, presenting the Gummi to Cid.
“That’s a Navigation Gummi, or Navi-G piece for short. Sora’s gang found one of those things earlier. If you want, I could install it.” Cid offered.
“I don’t know, maybe you should talk to Kristy about this….” Chris said.
“It’s not even her ship. I lent it to her. I’m sure she won’t mind. Besides, a Navi-G piece is much easier and better than that midget cat she has.”
“Mary Belle? I suppose….”
“Leave it to me! Go do your thing and come back later.”
“Okay. By the way, do you know where Kristy and Alex are?”
“Last I heard they were headed to Kristy’s place. Her house is in Third District. Look for the door with a big fire on it.”
“…Okay….”
---
The group rejoined each other at the Magician’s Study, and after finishing their training, the group said goodbye to Merlin and Fairy Godmother. They boarded their ship again, lifting off.
“By the way, Cid installed a Navi-G piece.”
“I could tell, nya. Where’d you get it?”
“I found it.”
“Oh, okay. So, where to next, nya?” Kristy was looking down at the screen before her. There were three dots that indicated the nearby worlds and many others indicating the worlds that were further away.
“I don’t care. Let’s go that way.” Alex mumbled, pointing to the left.
“Sensors indicate that the world over there is called—”
Mary Belle was quieted by an annoyed yell from Alex, “I don’t care what the hell it’s called! Let’s just get a move on! So shut up you stupid cat!”
Everyone was silent, staring at Alex. “…What?”
“It seems Alex does not like me.”
“Oh, Belle. Don’t worry about him, nya. He’s just like that. I’m sure everyone will get along soon enough, nya.”
“Yeah, just ignore what he says, Belle. You were only trying to help.” Chris scratched Mary Belle’s head, causing her to purr.
“Thank you. You are all so kind.”
“Um… you’re welcome,” Chris said, unsure of why she was saying thanks.
“Well then! Onto the next world, nya!”
---
Hehheh, sorry I forgot to update last week! Hope you all had a nice holiday! This is the first IHTP update of the year!

Gods, everyone’s perspective is in this one! Jeez! Once again, Chris’ promise trait became fun to write about, even if it’s short. And the appearance of Kristy’s teacher! Yay!

…I don’t like this chapter that much. A bit short and kind of pointless, now that I think about it.

Hmm… what word could they be going to next? And an unexpected character makes his first appearance and interaction with our heroes!

Here’s a preview for next time on Inverted Hearts: Twilight Promise! (This is also to make up for forgetting to update.)

“My, my. Don’t you look like a Heartless?” He commented, “A very nice costume for Halloween, it’s very scary.”

Who’s talking to whom? Cookies for correct guesses

Read and review!