Surprise Arrival [Shinn/ permission]

[Iris|Kairi]

Kairi gasped and flinched once she saw the swollen, painful eyes directed into hers. A shiver ran down her spine and she thought she felt her stomach tie in knots. Her story was so sad, but what could she do to help? A feeling of utter helplessness and some level of fear. Not really fear of the woman, but for her.

"...No, I can't imagine any of that..." Kairi said sadly, wondering how she'd managed to regain emotions, if even only one. If only it could've been happiness... "Was it that necklace that gave you the emotion? If you got one back, isn't there a way to get the others back, too?"

[Heroic Bilby]

"If there is then I do not care," the woman said with a shake of her head, red eyes closed once more. "Sorrow is not my name, Kairi. I do not remember what it once was. Sorrow is simply what I have become, ever since I found this horrible stone. I am tired of it. I don't want a heart anymore, because any more sadness at all would be too much for me to bear."

The woman ripped the necklace off of herself, holding the amethyst tightly in her right hand. It began to give off a purple glow.

"I just want to be empty again, but it will not separate from me. My hand will not let it go."

[Iris|Kairi]

Kairi's face was troubled and rather sad, but she was bound and determined to help this person. this nobody that no longer wanted a heart or emotions. She could at least do her best to fix this and end the torture. It was impossible for the princess to watch her suffer anymore.

"Maybe I can try and take it from you..."

Reaching out, Kairi grasped at the stone in Sorrow's hand, attempting to pull it away. Maybe it would be that simple?

[Heroic Bilby]

Of course, Kairi probably knew that it wouldn't be so simple. At the touch of the amethyst rock she would feel a massive surge of power flow through her entire body, circulating forcefully like being electrocuted. Instead of pain or harm, however, the result was emotion. Memories of every sad event or thought Kairi had even experienced herself or even just heard about second-hand flashed to mind. A familiar sensation of burning in her nose signaled that tears would probably soon start forming in her eyes. In the visible world many small purple flames were beginning spiral and flow around her, though they seemed to have no physical presence that could be felt.

Amidst this shock to her heart though, Sorrow's grip on the rock did not cease to allow the princess of heart to take her curse away. If she wanted it Kairi would likely have to pull harder... if it were possible for her in this state.

[Iris|Kairi]

"Ah!" she cried in surprise as the shock caused her to flinch a few times. A moment passed as the force shoved itself through her being. That itself was unpleasant.

Post nose burn, the tears inevitably followed, mixed with some unstoppable sobs. It hurt. Inside, it hurt, so many sad things being brought up live in living color in the forefront of her thoughts. It was like reliving every moment she'd ever wanted to forget. It was as if her own heart was twisted and weeping. Surely it was one sorry sight to behold, but Kairi didn't let go. She wanted to, but the princess couldn't. Kairi had stayed to help this poor being, and she so she would.

Blindly gripping the cursed gem even tighter, she continued to tug, figuring it wouldn't be easy. It never crossed her mind she could be stuck with it once she did get it.

[Heroic Bilby]

"I knew you were the one who could help me, child," came a sad voice from the old woman once again. "Even as you feel it overtaking your heart you still try to free me. But know that I will only be cursing you in this exchange, and I will surely lose myself by returning to what I was before. If I should not remember my won wish and try to take the stone back... do not hesitate to destroy me."

After those words Kairi succeeded in wrenching the rock from the withered old woman. Once she did the flames around her vanished and the massive pounding of sorrow in her heart lost some of its edge. Sorrow herself seemed to be surrounded by purple lights as she faded away, like a member of Organization XIII as they were destroyed, but in its wake left a simple Dusk standing on the edge of the fountain. It apparently retained enough memory from Sorrow's mind to flee the scene immediately and quickly stepped and floated away, disappearing into another district.

Kairi was left alone now. Alone... and sad.

[Iris|Kairi]

Now what? Kairi was left sitting on the edge of the fountain, sobbing her poor heart out and clutching the cursed stone. It struck her. She was stuck with it. Sorrow, though now gone, was effectively living on through her whole body. But as Sorrow had, with time she could quiet these body-shaking cries into silent tears, right? Then she could at least function.

Somewhere in there she was glad she helped Sorrow, but the overwhelming emotion that flowed unfiltered from the stone into her heart prevented any of her other emotions from shining through.

...And the saddest thing of all..SHE WAS STILL TRAPPED HERE. Trapped here and now cursed with a crying disease! Helpless as she never wanted to admit to being.

[Heroic Bilby]

The longer she held the stone the easier to bear the sadness became for Kairi. It wasn't going anywhere, but as she had thought at least functioning might become possible. That probably seemed a way off though.

And then she thought of the 'saddest thing of all'. Her remaining situation. The very realization of that combined with her new condition caused a particularly strong jolt of weeping through the young girl's body, so much that she clasped both hands to her face in pure reflex as the tears came anew.

And then she was... herself again.

The sound of the rock hitting the ground was like a signal. When she covered her eyes she let go of the amethyst, for some reason not bound to it as the Nobody had been. The redhead felt her forced emotions drain away as quickly as they had been forced upon her. The girl's real sadness had being trapped in Traverse Town remained but being herself again meant she could handle it in her own strong way.

But now this mysterious rock was sitting on the stone floor of the Third District, out in the open, and Kairi herself still needed a way off of the world. What would the girl do next?

[Iris|Kairi]

Kairi blinked a few times, unable to recall a time when she had felt so relieved at once. Gem against stone was a sweet sound to her ears, though it startled her so badly she nearly toppled backward into the water. Wiping her eyes with her raised hands, she gained her normal composure to deal with this situation in her own strong way. Blue eyes settling on the hateful item on the ground, she felt the urge to rid the universe of it. She may be painfully aware of just how alone she was in Traverse Town, but that didn't mean someone couldn't come along somehow and get stuck with it.

Well, she had nothing better to do.

Standing up, she summoned her Keyblade and let it hover threateningly over the purple rock. It was unclear why she hesitated, but she seemed to have some thoughts to get through before she raised it over her head and brought it down upon what she hoped was a very fragile item. Break the curse! She even had a rather irritated look on her face for good measure. "Rah!"