Teiku 5 (MrsGrizzley)

((Okay, still uncertain about some of this, but here goes.))

Right, he was trying that trick on a girl who had grown up playing beach games with her friends? Had he never played badminton?

She caught the Pearl with the end of her keyblade and bounced it straight up and then hit it with a separate overhand stroke like with a racket, launching the Pearl straight at Mickey.

The keyblade told her what to do, however much she didn't understand what she was doing. There was a ring around the station. She had to slash at it, somehow. Use the energy in the Station itself against Mickey when he was stunned from the impact of the Pearl.

On a whim, she slashed through the air and sent a crescent of light speeding towards the stained glass floor, specifically the circular edge around them.

This time, Mickey was ready for it. Swinging hard, he deflected the Pearl.

But, with the Darkness unleashed, Mickey could already tell he was in a bad way. Swinging is Keyblade wildly, the dark tendrils consumed Mickey, dragging him into Darkness...


The Station of Unity blinked to life beneath Kairi. Mickey himself was far above the Station. Smiling wide, he let fly a Pearl at her from well above. Tis time, though, his Keyblade soon followed, spinning trough the air like a buzzsaw, headed straight for Kairi.

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Mickey himself, in the real world, was stunned. Using the Keyblade's power to unleash the pain of losing one's friends in the form of Darkness...

...Kairi was quite a bit craftier than she appeared.

"She may even give Riku a run for his money, someday..."

Kairi took aim and hit the Pearl, sending it flying back towards Mickey, the force of her blow spinning her completely around in time for her to bend backwards and let the Keyblade pass harmlessly above her.

With luck the Pearl would knock Mickey down to where she could actually hit him with something other than his own attacks. Waiting for him to launch a Pearl at her was rapidly getting old.

She straightened and found herself grinning. This was actually kind of . . . fun. Is this why Riku and Sora were always challenging each other? Maybe, someday, she could actually get good at this.

If she got through these tests, that is.

THAT he didn't see coming. The Pearl slammed into his stomach, forcing all the air out of his lungs. He was surprised he landed on his feet, as he stood there, doubled over, coughing, trying to get his breath back. Kingdom Key D had been lost to him when he was hit, and te item spun off into the darkness.

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Mickey was quite surprised at Kairi's skill. To incapacitate him was beyond belief.

"Hmmmm... I wonder what she's got in store next?"


(Sorry for length.)

((It's okay, sometimes it's more difficult than others. I'm going to make a couple assumptions with this based on previous discussions, so . . . here goes.))

Kairi watched the Pearl knock into Mickey and he fell down to where she could reach him, the landing caused a set of stairs to appear going up from around the platform. She took advantage of his momentary inability to react to strike him with her Keyblade, hopefully with enough strength to push him forward onto the stairs.

She followed behind him, striking him forward before taking the next step herself, always ready in case he managed to recover long enough to react on his own.

Kairi didn't know for certain where the steps led, but she was going to take Mickey with her when she followed them.

It took a few rebounds, but Mickey managed to get free of the vicious cycle. Bounding away from Kairi, he dove off the side of the stairs.

"You should feel good; that last blow broke my arm. I can't keep fighting! I've arranged for another challenge at the final Station. ...Good luck. You're gonna need it!"

And, with that, the King's voice went silent. ...Kairi was alone on the stained glass stairs.

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Mickey smiled as his Black Cloak materialized around him.

"Well, Kairi... You may not have Darkness... But a Nobody... ...See, THAT I can work with!"

Kairi approached the final Station with a shiver of apprehension. The final test, she just knew it.

She took the last step and looked down at the stained glass picture. It was an image of her, but there were two of her, standing back to back. The one on the right smiled and held her hands out towards Sora and Riku, who both smiled back at her. The one on the left stood with an expression of cruelty on her icy face with one foot on Riku's broken keyblade. She looked down at a Keyblade that was buried in her chest and Kairi shuddered as she recognized Sora's Kingdom Key. Her eyes followed the image over to the slump-shouldered form of Sora, walking away from her.

The two images, so different from each other, made Kairi tremble with fear. She didn't want to think of what the one on the left meant, if Riku's keyblade was broken beneath her foot. She looked back at the one on the right to reassure herself. That was what she wanted, the three of them all on the same side, all of them happy.

She stepped forward on the platform, walking towards the center of it, between the two sides of herself. "Alright, what's next?"

...The undisturbed calm would spook anyone. And, of course, e sudden remanifestation of King Mickey's voice would have been enough to shock anyone.


"Well, you finally did it. It's the last bit of your Awakening. Now, I'm gonna do something I didn't do for Sora; I'm actually gonna tell you what this Station means!"

The light which shone high above, still distant, began to brighten.

"Each side of the Station is one of two possible futures. The one on the right is a future in which you keep your power in check. The one on the left... ...Is the result of the Light run rampant. Of course... There are other examples of the Light left unchecked. Surely you remember the Darkside Heartless. ...I'd like to to meet the Lightside Subject."

The light shone brighter, before a powerful beam hit the station...

...There, before her, stood a massive entity. Easily just as big as a Darkside, though there were key differences. This being was pearly white, with piercing blue eyes. Its "hair" was much longer, and its body had a distinctly feminine shape. It, too, had a heart-shaped hole in its stomach, but it was filled with a bright pink crystalline substance.

Smoothly reaching to the floor, it brushed he glass of the Station with its fingertips, causing a wellspring of light to begin forming.

"Without the Darkness, one can be blinded by the light... But don't be afraid... And don't forget..."

From the wellspring, tiny beings resembling Shadows appeared. Like the Lightside, they were photo-negatives of their counterparts in Darkness, and had a more feminine edge (Though, with beings like these, you can hardly tell either way.) Moving much like heir shadowborn cousins, three leapt at Kairi, sharp claws ready to tear her apart.

Kairi had her Keyblade moving quickly. She doubted that the crescent of light would help her much against creatures born of it, so she kept her moves simple. She sliced at them and moved back to keep from getting hit by their claws, until she had reached the edge of the station and there was no place to retreat to. She had to face the giant creature.

Her hand tightened around the handle of the Windwave.

There was something she'd heard about . . . Riku didn't talk about it much, but Sora had a tendency to keep talking once he got started. When Riku had given in to the Darkness . . . he had been able to control the Heartless.

She was born completely of Light. So were these creatures. Her heart was strong. She was NOT going to let the primal nature of the power control her. But she wasn't going to fail, either.

She drew the Light into her, though she wasn't sure how she was doing it. Finally she looked at the creatures and held out her hand, her whole body glowing with the power. "Stop," she commanded.

They fell still in front of her, moving restlessly in confusion.

She made a dismissive motion. "Go. Begone." The little creatures faded back into glows in the glass platform and then vanished.

She walked up to the huge Lightside. "This is between you and me. I will not be your slave. I will be no one's slave, no one's puppet. I am not going to be afraid, not of you, not of me, not of the Light that is Kingdom Hearts." She took up her stance, prepared to fight if she had to. "Now, are you going to bow to me and let me pass . . . or am I going to have to knock you on your face?"

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