The original guardians of light
By Bryan Jones
Dedicated to my close friends: Shekinah (Shriek), Christian, Levi (Levantus), and Dictator (don't worry I won't use your real name, I know the kind of people who read these).
Also, Aaron (Arregor) R.I.P.
*this is a fan-fiction to semi-explain part of kingdom hearts. I do not own kingdom hearts square-enix or any of that if I did I would not be writing a book so now on with the story.
"Help GET THEM OFF ME! UGGGHHH!" a voiced called in the distance screaming for help. Where was his partner he so desperately needed? And how did he end up in this mess in the first place. In a quest to find someone to aid in fighting the darkness, nothingness, and negativity two warriors had found themselves separated and fighting for their lives….again. The action and turmoil will continue, but first get a sense of who these people are please. The first is a warrior chosen by the sword of great power, a weapon of destruction and chaos. A power that at first felt like a curse that now saves his life and others. His name Levantus, or Levi for short and when he grew to the age of 18 a light awoken him and down from the realm of light came the sword, the weapon he was meant to wield for the rest of his life. His village rejoiced in having a protector, someone to keep them all safe, but this merriment was short lived. His newfound power brought forth those who were jealous and wished to be rid of him, to have the power for themselves and from them their hearts were swallowed by darkness, their empty bodies came to life, and their impure thoughts manifested into beings that ravaged the village Levantus fought and fought, but it was a vain effort. He was not skilled enough to defeat the majority and he ran and ran until he was sure the darkness could not find him. Since that night he has been searching for others to help rid the world of darkness. Someone. Anyone.
At the moment we joined in, Levantus was the one screaming for help as he was being over powered by a pack of dark-beings, but we need more background first. After 2 years of searching for someone to aid him in fighting the darkness, he heard tell of a man living in the woods chosen by the legendary shield that has the power to repel all darkness and the kindness to aid friends in times of need. Levantus headed into the words sword in hand and keeping his guard up in case the darkness might attack.
"Hello? Anyone here? I'm looking for the one chosen by the shield". Levantus spoke, but no one answered him. He continued searching and searching, but nothing no one. He sat down giving up feeling there was no hope for him. And just as he had dropped his sword it attacked him, a common shadow darkness that was easy one-on-one, but deadly in a pack. Levantus reached for his sword, but it was futile the shadow had already rammed into his chest the force knocking him away from his weapon. The shadow disappeared into the ground as they normally did after an attack.
"Coward!" Levantus mocked, but before he could even snicker at his remark he soon saw he was surrounded by a large circle of shadows and still far from his sword. He had no choice, he jumped for it avoiding the shadows and grabbing his sword. Holding it up prepared to fight he saw a dusk rise up from the shadows and it showed him his sword. Levantus was taken aback by this he felt the weapon he was holding squirming and looked to see it was a shape-shifting dusk! He had been fooled and was now been wrapped by the dusk and trapped by the shadows. As the dusk, that seemed to be the leader, posed for a strike Levantus closed his eyes and braced himself. Then, nothing happened. He slowly opened his eyes and marveled at what he saw. The dusk was gone and in its place was a glimmering red shield. He swiftly looked up and saw the silhouette of his savior.
"Need a hand?" he asked, chuckled, then leaped from the tree and grabbed the shield, and no sooner than he had done that he chucked the shield, striking three shadows at once. Levantus was in pure amazement this man was swifter than the wind that passed through the very trees they were surrounded by. Levantus was actually so amazed he didn't even notice the dusk had released its grasp on him.
"Shadows. You get a lot of those in the forest. Speaking of that what brings you to my land. I mean I'm not complaining it's just visitors are a rare phenomenon in these woods" the stranger explained.
"Who are you and why do you possess that shield?" Levantus asked and was almost immediately answered.
"The shield just came to me one night, the night before my entire village died. And as for my name it is the name of a belief long lost in this time. Christian. And if you possess that sword then this map might not be useless after all."
"What map." Levantus asked curiously.
"Come to my place the sun's going down and we don't need more of those monsters attacking us. And in case you're wondering my house is a tree house as in you better be ready for some climbing." After hours of climbing and swinging from tree to tree they finally arrived at Christian's tree house. There was a functioning fireplace lined with bricks so the house, and the tree, didn't burn down. The place looked survivable and comfortable, an ideal living spot. Levantus was impressed that anyone could make a tree feel like an actual home, but he felt like he was forgetting something. Then he remembered.
"So, ummm… you mentioned a map? What actually do I do to prove its worth?" he asked gently as he could.
"Oh, ya. I almost forgot take a look." He pulled out the map and laid it out for Levantus to see. It was an intriguing map, old tattered and full of marks and symbols. Levantus was awe-struck and curious all at once.
"What exactly is special about this map" he asked.
"Well. See this symbol of a shield right here?" Christian asked as he pointed to a shield drawn on the map. Levantus nodded.
"Well that's me. When I ran from the darkness I was somewhat drawn here and found this map while I was looking for stones for my fireplace. It's like everything on this map was predestined. Like for example this sword I'm willing to bet your village was right here where this sword is drawn." He said matter-o-factly. Levantus took a closer look and was shocked to see that was exactly where his village used to be. Levantus was puzzled by something else on the map though.
"What is this then?" he asked pointing to a blue symbol of what looked like three intertwining circles.
"That I haven't figured out yet, but since both our villages were destroyed by darkness and we're fighting the darkness, I'm willing to bet this is another person with the same priorities." It seemed like a reasonable theory for the time being.
"So what's our course of action then?" Levantus asked. Christian looked up from the map and smirked.
"We follow the map and fight TO THE DEATH!" he shouted. The next morning they set out. They followed the map to a desolate valley walking cautiously and scanning the surrounding's when they were attacked, and that's where you came in. Now let's go from there shall we.
As I walk through the valley
Out of nowhere they were attacked by creatures born from pure negative emotions. Swift and stretchy they are numerous and hard to beat. Levantus thrusted his sword taking out one, only to be attack from behind by another one and soon covered by many at once. Unable to move our use his sword he screamed for help, but Christian was nowhere near.
"Levi! Levi! Oh, crud, looks like I'm on my own. Bring it!" Two of the creatures leaped at Christian as he ducked behind his shield and launched them into the air. Then ten more appeared.
"So, you like to play dirty then get ready for the spin cycle. Hi-yah!" he turned and began spinning and taking out all the creatures that came forth with ease. Once he was sure they were gone he ran to find and save Levantus.
"Help!"
"Levi! I'm coming!" Christian found Levi and began chucking his shield at the creatures until they appeared to be gone.
"You all right?" Christian asked
"I'm fine", Levantus replied as he retrieved his sword, "Let's go before more show up. Get me a bottle out of my pack." Christian pulled a bottle full of a green liquid out of the pack and handed it to Levantus. He drank it and immediately looked and felt replenished and healthy.
"Potions. Never travel without 'em." He joked, and then they continued traveling hoping they wouldn't be attacked for a while. They traveled for hours until they noticed the sun descending on the horizon and decided to set up camp.
"Levi uh… Levantus, you took a beating today I'll keep first watch" Christian said generously.
"Thanks man. In the morning let's wake up early and practice our weaponry skills *yawn* I think it would be beneficial for both of us."
"Hey that spinning thing I did today was pretty amazing, if I do say so myself. Right?", but Levantus had already fallen to sleep. Christian practiced attacking with his shield and throwing it and getting it to come back. All while making sure the fire kept going. Then he stopped he felt a strange presence he looked but saw no one. Weird he thought. Then he heard someone speak.
"So you help forge the weapon that causes all that destruction. Ha. How unbelievable" it said
. "Who said that? Who's there?!" Christian demanded, and out from the shadows came a figure in a black robe.
"As we speak, we are being watched by the man who you are seeking which means there's no time for questions. You're coming with me." Christian didn't like the feeling he was getting from this man. He summoned forth all his might and threw his shield at the man. The man put forth his hand.
"Stopga!" he shouted and the shield stopped. Christian was taken aback at what had just happened. How did he do that? Who was he? All these questions rushed through Christian's head then the man spoke again.
"Now it's my turn." And from his outstretched hand a darkness covered with sparks appeared and disappeared, and in its place was what looked like a demonic sword. Long yet thick and covered with designs and a chain hanging off of it. What was it? Before Christian realized what happened the man leaped a good five feet in the air and slammed the weapon into the ground where Christian had stood before he had jumped out of the way. Christian ran toward his shield, but the man must have had some sort of special powers because he appeared right there in a woosh of wind, and immediately hit and lifted Christian into the air with the sword. Christian felt weightless, but what he did feel was immense pain and just as he thought he would go up forever, the man put the hand he held the sword with down and held out his other hand and exclaimed,
"FORCE!" just as he said that Christian was surrounded by a black purple sphere and slammed into the ground faster than he thought possible, knocking out all the air in his lungs. He had crashed on something unusually hard but smooth. Just as he could breathe again, the man walked up and stared right him.
"Now time for my favorite spell Fire!" as he said that Christian pulled up the object he had landed on, which just happened to be his shield, causing the fire to be sent back to the mysterious man.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!" the man screamed in pain as his entire body was engulfed in flames. The sword disappeared and the man ran away from Christian until Christian was sure he was gone. Just as he stood back up, he noticed the man had dropped three odd looking gems and what looked like the chain at the end of the mysterious sword. He picked them up and brought them back to camp. When he arrived he saw the tent destroyed and Levi on the floor looking fatally wounded. He just then remembered he was supposed to be keeping watch over the camp while his friend slept. He felt so ashamed and didn't know what to do to help his friend. They used their last potion and had nowhere to restock or munny to buy supplies with. Just then, one of the gems started glowing, the bright green one to be exact, and a word came into Christian's mind.
"Heal" he whispered, and then a flower appeared above Levantus's head and dropped glowing pollen over him, causing all his wounds to disappear.
"Whoa," Christian said looking at the gems, "What are these?" there was a blue one, yellow one, and the green one he had just used. Levantus slowly started waking up, shaking his head as he did.
"Where were you…*cough**cough*" Levantus struggled to say.
"I was out getting wood and then, this guy, but then he, and..." Christian struggled to form a complete sentence feeling that his friend being hurt was his fault. After Levantus had rested and had gotten a coherent explanation out of his friend he asked him a question.
"Can I see that chain you told me about?" Levantus asked
"Sure" Christian replied as he handed him the chain. Since the man had, what Christian called, a sword Levantus wanted to try it on his, he examined the chain closely. It was shaped like a little store, a design he found odd. He attached it to the end of his sword and it immediately flashed with a white shining light. He looked away for fear of turning blind, and when he looked back his sword was noticeably different. The blade, which was originally purely silver, was now silver with a green tinge near the edge of the blade. Also, the neck and handle was a pure emerald green with a symbol that looked like a bottle on it. What had happened to his sword? What was this chain? And where did the mysterious man obtain it? They both looked up seeing the rising sun and decided to head out and continue their search for anyone to help and figure out what the symbol on the map meant.
The mysterious mage
While walking through vast valleys and whatever the map made them encounter the heroes continued their journey rather smoothly encountering no more creatures of the darkness. Soon, around noon, they approached a rather large and bleak castle rattled with shattered windows, cobwebs, and a tilted broken entrance door. They walked up the steps approaching the castle as cautiously as possible, staying alert for anything out of the ordinary. Levantus was the first of the two to break the silence.
"Are you sure you're reading that map right?" he asked Christian
"Pretty sure… Yup that map says this is the place. But I don't..." before Christian could finish what he was saying.
"THUNDER!" they heard a voice scream out then suddenly they found themselves being bombarded by streams of lighting that came for scenic nowhere. Christian swiftly ducked under his shield for cover, as Levantus ran for cover under a flight of stairs. They both didn't speak a word, but finally the voice spoke again.
"I don't know why you're here, but leave before something bad happens to one of you," the voice commanded. Then, suddenly the entire castle shook, and a chunk of the ceiling fell dead center on the floor.
"We followed a map here!" Christian replied to the voice, "We're looking for someone to help aid in our fight against the darkness." Silence. Then a man jumped down, and landed gracefully on the ground, Christian and Levantus both looked to see who it was. The ceiling was gone, but all they could make out was a staff with what looked like three blue intertwining circles, like the symbol on the map.
"The symbol from the map!" Christian and Levantus said simultaneously, both shocked and trying to make out who this man was.
"You mean the Dream Rod?" the man asked, "Who are you two?" before they were granted enough time to answer the castle shook violently once again, causing more fragments of the castle to fall. Then all three of them looked at the center of the floor where the man was standing. He then jumped from that spot as far as he could, and out from his place came forth a creature greater than Levantus and Christian had ever fought before. It possessed an enormous sharp beak, like that of a griffin. Also, it had wings that when it rose and stretched them, it covered the sun encasing where the heroes stood in complete darkness. The oddest trait about it though was its color, it was a radiant white not like the other creatures they had fought. The creature let out a great and terrifying shriek that shook the castle. The man, whose name was still unknown, raised his staff.
"Defense!" he shouted. There was a great *woosh* and Christian, Levantus, and the man were encased in what looked like slowly moving air.
"Well? What are you waiting for? Attack it!" the man said before he shouted out, "THUNDER!" and more lighting appeared, like earlier. Levantus snapped out of his trance, nodded at Christian, and then they both plunged into battle. Christian boldly jumped toward the beast, landing on its tail and making his way toward the head. Meanwhile, Levantus ran toward the creature to attack it from beneath. The giant wyvern (which is the name given to it later on in the kingdom hearts series) clawed at Levantus, knocking him back but surprisingly not hurting as bad as he would have expected.
"It must be this barrier of wind", Levantus thought, "It's weakening the force of the blast." And with that thought out of his mind he went back to fight the creature, when an idea came to his mind.
"Christian when I say 'Now' I want you to strike the head." He called to his ally.
"Got it! But it's getting hard to hold on, WOAH!" Christian replied, holding on to the beast.
"Good. Oh, and 'man with the staff!" Levantus called out.
"Fire! The name is, Oh shit! Blizzard! Bryan!" the man called back
"Okay, Bryan. Do you know any spells to attack multiple times at once?" Levantus asked
"I've been practicing one that might do just that. Ughh! You'll pay for that! Thunder!" Bryan replied while trying not to be attacked by the beast. Levantus, seeing that the beast was distracted ran to one of its legs a swung the mightiest blow he could muster up. Then screamed,
"Christian! Bryan! Now" he shouted the monster took its attention off of Bryan and immediately Bryan attacked.
"Balloonga!" suddenly a giant sphere of light appeared, ramming into the monsters face and torso. Then popping into several smaller balloons that homed in on the monsters beak. The creature swung its head back screeching in agony, and just as it did, Christian leaped as high as he could and threw his shield directly at the monster's head causing it to fall straight to the ground. Strangely though the shield actually returned back to his hand, such as a boomerang would, Christian felt he was becoming more skilled with his weapon. The monster collapsed and vanished in a large cloud of black smoke, Christian and Bryan's attention was turned to Levantus who had been hit by the monster's tail causing him to crash to a wall. So, they did not notice that a person was where the monster had once resided.
"Man you're beat up pretty bad, quick Bryan get him a potion out of his pack," Christian said.
"It's no use I used the last one remember," Levantus stated through grunts of pain. Just as he said that Bryan presented him with a potion bottle that was completely full. Levantus was astounded at how this could be. He had used the last one.
"The chain on your sword," Bryan started saying, "It gives you the ability to fill your potions by fighting." Levantus thought this was the perfect upgrade for his weapon, since he couldn't use magic.
"Neeeeee….. Neeee." They heard a noise from behind them and saw where the monster was, now laid a young girl. She was slim and had cloud white hair, but the oddest thing about this girl was that she had cat ears instead of human ears. Bryan approached the "girl" as cautiously as he could, hoping she was not dangerous. In fact, he actually felt a fondness for this creature.
"Hello my name is Bryan these are my friends. Who are you?" he asked slowly. She tilted her head slightly looking somewhat confused. Bryan wondered if she could even understand English or knew what friends were; after all she did appear from a giant darkness. Then Bryan saw something in her hand that surprised him, it was a staff with a peculiar gem on the top of it. Bryan reached out to touch it, and the mysterious girl tightened her grip and quickly back flipped away from Bryan. She pointed her staff at him in an aggressive and wild manner. Bryan held at his staff and noticed Levantus and Christian too were prepared to defend their new friend.
"We don't want to fight you. We want to destroy the darkness. We promise we won't hurt you," Bryan explained calmly to the girl. The girl let out a shriek-like noise, lowered her staff, and walked up to Bryan and purred up against him like a cat would to its owner. Bryan looked back at Levantus and Christian.
"Do you have room in your quest for one more?" he asked.
"I don't know the map said," before Levantus could finish speaking the map that Christian was overlooking again began to glow. They all gathered around to see what was happening. Now on the map, engraved in gold writing, it read "Now that you have found the rest, continue on and pass the test".
"What does that mean?" asked Christian.
"Well, see this new symbol on the map?" Bryan asked pointing to a symbol on the map shaped like a shooting star. Everyone nodded and Bryan continued, "we must have to go there and pass whatever this 'test' is", they all nodded in agreement, except Christian.
"But look at how far that is from here. It'll take us days to get there!" Christian complained.
"Then we better start moving," replied Levantus. Bryan and the girl both nodded in agreement. Bryan looked over at the girl again and thought of a name to give her.
"How about… I call you Shriek? Huh? Do you like that name, Shriek?" he asked. She nodded and wiggled in excitement for being given a name. He clothes began to shake and before any of them knew what was happening a tail popped out from the back of it.
"What are you?" Bryan asked curiously. She just smiled and they all headed off to the spot on the map.
Dreams come true
The first area they had to venture through was a hideous dark swamp. Legend states that once a village stood there, but the entire population gave into the darkness when light first came. So, now it was a world-wide feared swamp. The four warriors stayed cautious braving through the swamp. Suddenly, Shriek started sniffing around at the air.
"What it is?" Bryan asked curiously. Shriek just gave a growl and looked ready to fight.
"What's her problem?" Christian asked catching up with the rest, "She probably just smells a squirrel or something."
"You don't find many squirrels in areas as dark as this," they all heard a voice say. The owner of the voice stepped out of shadows and confronted the heroes, "or did I hit you too hard to remember where squirrels live?"
"You!?" Christian practically shouted. It was the hooded\ robed man that had fought Christian a few nights ago, "I thought I burnt you?"
"Anyone care to explain who this man is?" asked Bryan.
"This jerk is the one who thinks he can mess with the one chosen by the shield and get away with it. I guess I didn't beat you hard enough the first time huh?" Christian taunted
"*Scoff* As if, if you hadn't landed on your precious shield you'd be history," the man replied, "but never mind that I'm here to stop you from going any further. Hmmm…"
"What's wrong no plan tough guy?" Levantus taunted.
"No, it's just there are only three chosen ones. Who is that fourth one?" he asked
"None of your business, all you need to know is she's gonna help us destroy you! Right shriek?" Bryan shouted ready for the battle he knew was coming.
"EEEEEEEEE!" Shriek cried out then got into her stance ready to fight, the others still not aware of what her staff actually did.
"So be it," the man started summoning his demonic sword, it possessed a wing at the top of it, the blade was a dark red and black mix, and the handle was a peculiar circle, "she will suffer the same fate as you then!" Levantus was the first to plunge into battle against the man; he leaped forward and swung at the man's waist. The man jumped back and twirled toward Levantus knocking him out of the way and started running without missing a beat. Christian had a score to settle and friends to protect he started spinning toward the man, with his shield in hand.
"Thunder!" Bryan cast a lighting spell that just barely missed Christian causing him to fall.
"Who's side are you on, man?!" Christian shouted angrily. The man leaped and aimed at Christian. Christian held up his shield, to protect himself and then heard a sizzling noise and saw the man go flying backwards. He looked up and saw his shield was coursing with electricity.
"You're welcome," Bryan told his friend. Christian smiled his smug "I'm gonna kick some ass" smile and ran toward the man, swinging his shield before the man could recover completely. The hit was so powerful that the man went flying into a nearby tree.
"Maybe it's time for some back up," the man said standing up and snapping his fingers. He was then shrouded by darkness and out of it came forth unversed and creatures the heroes had never seen before. The looked like animal, but had a strange symbol on them and where dark and evil looking.
"Meet your worst nightmares!' the man said standing back as the monsters quickly overpowered Levantus and Christian and started heading for Bryan and Shriek.
"Stand back!" Bryan said jumping in front of shriek, "Don't worry I won't let them hurt you." Bryan smiled and then raised his staff.
"Force!" he shouted smashing a small group of unversed and "nightmares", but then more jumped right at him.
"Blizzard!" he declared, freezing then breaking more the foul creatures. Another group attacked and more just kept relentlessly coming at him.
"Grrr… Thunder! Fire! Blizzard! Thunder!" Bryan kept casting spells, his friends we're still trapped and he didn't have much energy left to completely stop the beasts.
"Haha! You can't win. Just except the fact you're a failure and always will be," the man said sending in more unversed and nightmares.
"No… No…" Bryan dropped his staff and fell to the ground and began to be overpowered by the unversed's negative influence and the dark thoughts from the nightmares as they devoured him; "maybe you're right."
"So you're all that stands in my way?" he mocked looking at shriek. Shriek was growling, feeling hatred and rage towards this man her hurt her new, and only, friends. She rose up her staff as it started glowing.
"Siiiiiiiiii!" she screamed at a high pitch, her gem glowed and there was a flash. Once the flash had subsided there in front of her stood a ferocious lion, it swung its mighty claws knocking all the unversed and nightmares off of Bryan. Shriek pointed at the man, the lion nodded and made his way forward, killing enemies as he made his way forward.
"HUH?! How is that possible? Who are you? No matter one lion cannot defeat all my negative emotions and lost hopes. Take this!" The man pointed at the lion and the darkness around him grew and more nightmares and unversed started attacking and overpowering the lion. The lion growled and slashed, but there was too many for him to handle. Shriek looked and saw Bryan was still on the ground, so were Levantus and Christian. She sighed thinking "men". She raised her staff and touched the end to her head.
"Kiiiiiii! Eleeeee!" she screeched, then there was a flash of pure white light and then there was Shriek on top of what looked like an elephant. Next to it was a huge cat; both looked like the nightmare, except they we're brighter happier colors. Shriek gave out a battle screech and the elephant and cat charged into battle, freeing the lion. They took out the rest of the creatures with ease then turned toward where the man was; only to see he had ran away during all the fighting. Shriek was furious, but now she had one and only goal: hunt down and kill that man, whoever he was. Shriek quickly raised her staff and her animal friends disappeared. She decided to set up camp; she made a ring of stones to start a fire and carried her friends near it but not to close. She pitched the tent that was in Levantus' pack and the spare one. She decided it would be two to a tent. She smiled realizing that her friends weren't getting up anytime soon. They were breathing, and that was good but, they just lay on the ground. She sighed again and dragged Christian and Levantus into the first tent and Bryan into the other one. She went out and saw it was getting dark she stretched herself out. Just then she saw something sparkle near the tree where the man had stood, she went over and found three gems and two chains. One with a spiraling black and purple design and the other with a pair of white wings. She thought they were pretty and shiny, so she put them in Levantus' pack for safety. Then decided it was getting late, she went inside the tent where she had laid Bryan and snuggled up against him like a cat. She didn't know why, but she liked and felt safe next to him. The other two, if he hadn't been there, she would of made chew toys out of. She looked one last time at him, seeing that he wasn't waking up; she snuggled closer and drifted off into sleep.
The Darkness within
The sun was rising on the horizon and the four heroes were still sleeping. Christian was stirring in his sleep; in his head he was having an unusual dream. Christian was in a place that was nothing but darkness. Suddenly a platform rose up underneath him, and standing across from him was the man in the black coat. Christian didn't care if this was a dream or not, he was mad.
"Can't you just leave me alone!?" he yelled at the man, "What do you want from me?" The man just stood there and then he removed his hood. The man was actually a slightly older teenager. He had a black ribbon covering his eyes, and then he spoke.
"I wanted to stop the x-blade from being forged," he paused and then continued, "Actually I wanted all of them to not be created. Sora and I could have just enjoyed our time on the island and none of this danger or chaos would have happened." He held out his hand and the demonic sword appeared again, "So, I gave into the darkness to travel back and stop the weapons from being made, all I have to do is stop one of you." He raised his sword ready to strike and ran toward Christian.
"I don't care who you are or what you're talking about, but…" Christian summoned his shield and ran toward the man too, "I'm stopping you right now!" The man swung his sword; Christian blocked it and then immediately countered with a strike of his own. The man jumped back after taking the hit and grunted. He ran back slashing at Christian, Christian threw his shield. The man jumped over the shield and slashed Christian to the ground.
"No more playing around. I'm going to finish you now!"
Christian smirked and held his hand out. The man went to strike, but was struck to the ground by the returning shield. Suddenly, the platform shook and Christian and the man heard a voice.
"Christian, Christian wake up man!" Christian knew that voice, it was Levantus!
"No I need to finish this!" the man scorned. Then there was a flash of light, Christian opened his eyes and saw Levantus standing over him. Both hands on Christian shaking him. Once Christian came to Levantus spoke.
"Christian, man you were screaming and punching in your sleep what's up?" Levantus asked. Christian explained all about his dream and the man, fighting him.
"Strange… so you said he took off his hood right? What did he look like?" Christian opened his mouth to answer, but stopped. He couldn't recall what the man looked like, he tried but it was a blur. He cursed that he couldn't remember. Then Shriek poked her head in the tent smiling and motioned for them to come out. Christian and Levantus walked out and saw that there was a morning fire, cooked fish, and log benches for them to sit at.
"Wow. Bryan must have gotten up early to prepare all of this huh?" said Levantus. Shriek growled and thumped Levantus on the head with her staff causing him to hit the ground with a hard thud. Then Shriek suddenly remembered she motioned for the others to follow her. They walked in and saw Bryan still unconscious, but emitting a strange white light or aura. Little did they know what was happening inside their friend's head. Bryan looked around; he seemed to be in a barren wasteland.
"Nice vacation spot, is it not?" he heard a voice say. He summoned forth his staff and scanned the area, but saw no one. Strange and when he turned to continue walking forward, there stood a man in a black robe. The mysterious man they had fought!
"What do you want?" Bryan asked preparing for a fight.
"O, nothing. Please be at ease I'm not the one who attacked you, in fact I need all three of you alive," the man said, removing his hood. He was an elderly man, Bryan was sure that the man was telling the truth since he looked too aged to hurt anyone. Bryan lowered his staff to a resting position.
"Then who exactly are you?" he asked calmly.
"Granted the staff of untold wisdom and still you have much to learn," the man stated, " Who I am is of no concern to you all you need to know is your so-called 'friends' are keeping secrets from you to kill you. Also, they plan to steal your staff for themselves."
"You're lying!" Bryan exclaimed raising his staff once more.
"Child please calm down. I'm warning you, you must steal their weapons before they take yours. Tell me, how much you really know about these people can you really trust them?" the man explained. Bryan thought they had just meant a few days ago and ever since he met them he has been attacked repeatedly. Was this man right? Meanwhile, the other three were trying to wake the sleeping Bryan.
"Come on! Don't fade away on us!" Levantus shouted, then Christian had an idea. The gems.
"Levi wait a minute! It worked on you maybe it will work on Bryan," Christian pulled out the gems and Shriek pulled on his sleeve. He turned and saw that she had three gems similar to his and two chains, like the one he had given Levantus.
"Sweet, he dropped more of them!" Levantus exclaimed excitedly. The three put the gems near the entrance of the tent and examined them. There was the blue, green and yellow one Christian originally had plus now there was Shriek's which were purple, white, and red.
"Wait a second…," Christian said out loud. The other two looked at him waiting for him to speak, then he continued, "I just think it's strange he just 'conveniently' keeps dropping these, don't you?" he asked.
"Maybe he's just clumsy," Levantus remarked, "besides remember what it did to my sword, now I have twelve full potion bottles! Hey maybe we could try them on our weapons!"
"Maybe…" Christian examined the two chains. He seemed draw to the black and purple swirl, picking it up he attached it to his shield. Then everything went black, his friends watched in horror as he started twitching and choking struggling to breath. They took him outside the tent to get him some air and breathing room.
"Christian man, what's wrong? What's happening?" Levantus asked worried.
"Eeeeeee!" Shriek cried out, but it was too late. Christian's gasping mouth turned into a malicious smile. He stood up slowly and stretched out his arm. Soon, his entire body and his shield were shrouded in complete darkness His shield lost its square-ish shape and grew three spikes at the top and a pointed bottom and Christian was emanating an aura of pure darkness. He looked directly at his former friends and leaped toward them swinging his shield and hitting Levantus, leaving a wound on his torso. Shriek backed away as slowly as possible, Christian was going to attack, but he sensed immense power close by coming from the tent. He ran in and saw the staff, he wanted it and he was going to take it. (Back in Bryan's head). Bryan contemplated what the man had been telling him, but still didn't fully believe it.
"Still don't believe me I see," the man said in a knowing tone, "fine see for yourself." The man snapped his fingers and there was a flash. Bryan awoke and saw Christian trying to steal his staff from his hands. Bryan tightened his grip and swung the staff knocking Christian back. Bryan didn't notice that Christian was shrouded in darkness, but he did notice the chain on the floor and the magic gems. He grabbed all of them and equipped the chain to his staff. It glowed and changed its form. The blue emblem at the top was replaced by a snow-white bird and the handle felt much lighter. Bryan exited the tent and saw Levantus on the floor, Shriek cowering, and Christian standing there ready for round two.
"So, I see you three fought over who gets my staff, am I right?!" he shouted furious for trusting people. When he was done battling he was going to return to his castle. Christian smiled maliciously at Bryan and prepared to attack. Bryan's staff was overflowing his mind with wisdom, he knew that the chain would allow him to cast spells in half the time and that the gems made his spells more powerful. Christian was the first to attack, throwing his shield toward Bryan. Bryan stood his ground, closed his eyes, and then casts two spells.
"Swapga! Firaga!" he exclaimed, just then Christian was where Bryan was and Bryan where Christian was. Also, a ball of fire flew out of his staff catching the shield on fire. Before Christian knew what had happened, he was struck by his own shield and scorched by the flames on it.
"GRRRRRAAAAHHHHHH!" Christian yelled and as he continued to yell, shadows and dusks rose from the ground in the hundreds. Bryan smirked and continued his onslaught of spells.
"Thundaga! Blizzara! Graviaga! Thundaga!" he shouted each and every one and he himself became a blur. A shadow jumped toward him, he simply turned around and cast stop magic on it, then struck it with his staff destroying it. Shriek watched from behind a tree and knew there was no way this was going to end well. Their weapons were too powerful for them to handle, Christian's darkness grew greater, as did Bryan's light aura. Shriek thought then had an idea. She held up her staff until it started glowing a bright blue.
"GEEEEE!" she screamed, and right in front of her appeared a blue cloud of smoke that quickly changed into a blue genie. The genie of the lamp to be specific.
"What how did I get here?" he asked looking around, then saw Shriek, "Well I'll be it's you again I thought the darkness got you, but you're more than meets the eye am I right?" Shriek blushed, but then remembered why see called him in the first place she pointed to the two people fighting.
"Oh, that is a big problem, but I don't think I should use my infinite cosmic powers to stop two boys having a quarrel." Shriek looked at him angrily and pointed and stomped her foot. "Oh come on do I have to?" this time she growled.
"Fine, fine geesh, women." he stated annoyed. He floated out in the middle of the fight, almost getting hit by shadows and spells.
"Wow! I guess this is more than just a disagreement on where to eat. Well, here goes nothing." Genie cracked his knuckles and snapped his fingers. Time stood still and he began absorbing the nearby energy into a ball in his palm. He flicked Christian and Bryan causing them to fall, but felt nothing since time was still halted. He wound up his arm and threw the ball of light/dark energy into the air.
"HIT THE DECK!" he screamed hiding behind a tree, just then the ball exploded in the sky causing a shower of colors to rain down upon them. He floated over to where shriek was, they exchanged a quick high five.
"Don't be a stranger now, catnip," she growled at him, "yikes! Too-da-loo," he said as he waved goodbye and disappeared in a cloud of blue smoke. All this calling for help was getting on Shriek's nerves and these boys and their violence was making her want to scream. She walked out and saw that Levantus had gotten up and all three of them were arguing
"I wasn't trying to steal your 'precious little staff'!" Christian yelled.
"Sure you weren't you were just polishing right?" Bryan mocked.
"Well, for someone with the staff of wisdom how did you not notice the darkness all around him?" Levantus demanded.
"All I see in him is darkness, what was supposed to be the difference!"
"Shut up!" Christian yelled
"You shut up, you lackey of darkness"
"Grrr… you stupid sorcerer!" Shriek was growing tired of all this yelling and arguing. She grinded her teeth took a deep breath and yelled her first words.
"SHUT UP!" she screamed. They all immediately stopped and looked at her, scared they had crossed the line. She pointed down and they all sat down listening. She pulled out the map and laid it in front of them pointing to all three of the symbols. Then putting her hands together, to show they needed to work as one. She put her hand out, Christian looked at the others and put his hand on top of Shriek's. Levantus was next to do the same, but Bryan just sat there with his arms folded. The other three stared at him, waiting.
"Fine…" he said displeased, putting his hand with the others. Shriek smiled and made a gleeful sound as they broke apart their hand pile. They packed up their stuff and decided to move on and out of the eerie swamp before they lost any more time.
Bonds rekindled
The tension between the heroes was strong and the entire journey they didn't speak a single word to each other. They rarely exchanged glances and if they did they were glances of hate. Finally, they arrived at a vast and empty valley, according to the map they needed just to past through this obstacle and they would reach their destination and try to pass this so called "test". They entered the valley too angry to keep their guard up, when suddenly the valley shook and they heard a terrible roar. Shriek yelled and began running further into the valley as fast as she could.
"Shriek no! Don't be a hero!" Bryan shouted at her.
"Uhhh… Bryan" Christian interrupted.
"What is i…oh…" Bryan started but didn't finish, for when he turned around he saw a monstrous darkness, it possessed ten claws on each hand, fearsome fangs, glowed an ominous black color, and resembled a wolf, except twenty times bigger. They now realized why Shriek ran away, but as they were realizing this they were thrown against one of the valley walls. They realized it was time to fight, Bryan summoned wind shields to protect them as Levantus and Christian rushed towards the beast. Shriek watched from around a corner, feeling bad that she had followed her instinct to run rather than to fight. She wasn't a coward, at least she didn't think she was. As she turned around she was struck with immense fear as she was standing face to toe with a beast. It bore the dusk's symbol but was the same size as the darkness her friends were fighting. Before she could even scream it picked her up and tossed her toward the other beast. Christian had just jumped and was about to strike the beast's torso, when he saw Shriek flying towards him he quickly lifted his shield in front of his body to absorb the impact. They crashed into one another and flew to the ground. Christian thought clearly and rationally and grabbed Shriek and dodge rolled away from the beast.
"Shriek what…how did you… flying?" he stuttered to say. She quickly pointed to where she was and he saw the giant dusk that had thrown her.
"Oh crud… Hey guys! Giant dusk six 'o clock!" he yelled toward Levantus and Bryan. They both looked and saw the giant nobody heading their way as they fought back the darkness. All four of them thought of what they could possibly do.
"Idea! Quick find a way to get them in the center of the valley at the same time!" Bryan ordered.
"I'll get right on it boss, so want two of the biggest things we've ever fought in the same place at the same time?" Christian asked as Bryan nodded, "Sure thing piece of cake, and I'll get it done in thirty minutes or less or your insane plan is free!".
"Just do it!" Bryan ordered.
"Any ideas Shriek?" Shriek nodded and held up her staff as it did its famous glow.
"Deeee! TEEEEE!" she screeched, and down from the sky came a huge flying elephant with enormous ears. Christian gawked in amazement and then jumped on its back.
"Onward to battle!" he commanded, the elephant blew its horn and flew toward the giant darkness. It began blowing water as Christian threw his shield repeatedly causing the darkness to be pushed farther in the valley. Next, Shriek tapped her staff to her head, and summoned forth a dream eater that resembled a T-rex and pointed toward Levantus. It nodded and ran over throwing Levantus onto its back. Levantus was in pure amazement, then they made their way around the dusk rapidly charging it, pushing it toward the center. Bryan was focusing all his energy into his staff, and making all the stones float around it. He just needed a little more time before he conjured the strongest spell he knew how to perform
"Take that you overgrown shadow" Christian shouted throwing his shield at the beast, while his elephant companion dosed it with water. The shadow tried to cover itself from the onslaught of attacks, but it was a futile effort and it continued moving backwards. While on the other side Levantus was continually jumping off his dinosaur striking the dusk.
"Take this! And That! Power!" Levantus exclaimed as he unleashed a flurry of attacks and a mighty finishing blow that released energy from his sword toward the dusk. The blow was so mighty that the nobody fell over and collapsed. Then the darkness tripped over it and too fell on the ground.
"EVERYONE GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Bryan shouted to his friends. Shriek covered her face with her hood, Christian commanded the elephant to fly to the top of the valley, and Levantus and his dinosaur ran away as far as they could.
"METEOR!" Bryan shouted raising his staff, the gems flew up and began spinning at high speeds opening a portal that a huge flaming meteor came through, crashing directly into the darkness and giant dusk. There was a great silence as the four heroes stood there and the creatures summoned disappeared.
" WOO-HOO! We did it! We're unstoppable," Christian shouted as loud as he could. His voice echoed off the valley walls and soon Levantus and Shriek too we're screaming in excitement, but Bryan's voice wasn't heard. They looked around and Shriek was the first to notice his body lifeless on the floor. She gasped and ran on all fours over to see if he was okay. Christian and Levantus struggled to catch up but eventually did, they all stayed motionless watching down on Bryan's lifeless body.
"He used all his energy to stop them *sniff*," Christian sobbed.
"Beeee!" Shriek yelled while trying to shake him awake, but he just lay there.
"It's okay Shriek," Christian said trying to comfort her, "lets finish this quest. Let Bryan's death not be in vain!" Shriek, Christian, and Levantus all sobbed and turned away preparing to leave their friend, but just then.
"*Yawn* Hey what'd I miss?" They all looked to see Bryan standing up perfectly fine, looked just a little bit exhausted, "So, what did we win?"
"GrrrrrrrrRRRAAAAAHHHH!" Shriek yelled hitting Bryan over the head with her staff.
"*Thwack* Ouch! What'd I do besides save your lives?" he asked annoyed
"Dude, we thought you were dead!" Christian explained annoyed.
"Oh 'cuz of the meteor spell. Ya that takes a lot out of a mage, but not enough to kill one, geesh."
"GRRRRRR!" Shriek lifted her staff again and Bryan started running like hell to the other side of the valley. Christian and Levantus just laughed and followed the growling and screams for mercy.
The cave of departure
"I said I was sorry you thought I was dead! Let it go already!" Bryan screamed still running.
"GRRRRAAAHHH!" it sure was a good way to past time, because they had just exited the valley in no time flat. Levantus and Christian finding Bryan running for his life quite humorous, but tiresome.
"Should we stop her?" asked Levantus.
"Fine, fine," Christian agreed, " okay Shriek enough is enougOUCH!" Shriek hit Christian over the head and continued her assault toward Bryan.
"I didn't want to do this but," Bryan stopped running and raised his staff in one hand and the white stone in the other, "Stopga!" he called out, Shriek swung her staff and it stopped right before it made contact with Bryan's skull, but she was still growling at him with eyes filled with fury. She was mad that he had let her believe he was dead, while all Bryan thought was 'women'. Bryan knew the spell wouldn't last long so he wasted no time in running into a nearby cave. Christian looked down at the map.
"Hey, Bryan might be onto something, according to the map that cave is where the weird symbol is, it kinda looks like a shooting star." Christian said as him and Levantus stood outside the cave scanning the area. Nothing seemed out of place so they both tried to take a step forward when all of a sudden.
"Kneel before your dictator and ruler!" and suddenly a man landed on them both simultaneously, crashing both of their bodies into the ground with tremendous force. They looked up and saw a mighty man with a handle bar mustache and pockets full of valuable stuff.
"Who are…" Christian started, but didn't get to finish.
"Kneel!" the man said smiting him to the ground with his bare hand.
"Okay we're kneeling, still kneeling, now who are you and can we just squeeze in to that cave behind you?" Levantus asked calmly. The man closed his eyes and began laughing hard, so hard in fact he didn't hear the yelling or see Shriek running in his direction. Shriek crashed into the man but, only he fell to the ground. Shriek on the other hand kept on her trail into the cave after Bryan. The man stood back up rubbing his head to make the stars go way and tweaking his mustache back up.
"Well, if one of you can get by me I'm sure the rest of you can," he outstretched his hand and Levantus went to shake it and was then rapidly flipped onto the ground, "the name's Dictator and always be on your guard around me!" Christian cautiously followed the man in while Levantus tried to regain his composure.
"GRAAAHHHH!" they heard Shriek yell angrily.
"Your pet?" Dictator asked while leading Christian through the cave.
"More like a friend actually," Christian replied. They finally reached the back of the cave where Shriek was sniffing/looking around for Bryan with no luck. Where could he have gone? Christian scanned the room but, didn't see any where he could be.
"Uhhh… one of our friends ran in here before you landed on us so is there anywhere he could have… Dictator?" Christian looked but, he was gone again.
"Kneel!" Christian was prepared this time he raised his shield and blocked both the kick and punch from this crazed man. Dictator smiled at him and reached in his pockets.
"For defeating the Dictator, a seemingly impossible task, I present you with these. Ultima Chains!" he held out four chains each with the same emblem on them, just holding them Christian felt more powerful. Levantus finally caught up with them, panting against the wall he didn't see the Dictator run right towards him.
"KNEEL!" he screamed striking Levantus straight to the ground, "ya he's going to need that chain," he said re-tweaking his handlebar mustache. Christian threw one of the chains to Shriek who caught and immediately started wagging her tail, forgetting about her anger and rage. She clipped the chain to her staff, it flashed brighter than it had ever shined before. When she looked back at it she was purely amazed her staff handle was firmer and had angelic wings coming off of it with crisscrossing lines all the way up to the gem. The gem had also changed it was now a dark blue centered sphere surrounded by a bright green swirling crystal. Christian too was amazed and wasted no time in attaching his own chain to his shield. Just like Shriek's staff it flashed and then transformed. It was now more of a heart shape, the outside part resembling wings and the center a white heart with yellow crisscrossing over it. Once Levantus came to, he grabbed a chain from Christian and put it on his sword. Levantus' sword was now twice its normal length, the handle curved and then pointed straight up and was a vivid yellow. The blade a glowing white silver and sharper than before. They were all amazed at their new weapons, but one thing still bothered Christian.
"Thanks and all but, were is our friend?" Christian asked.
"Ha you haven't you noticed yet? He used that," Dictator said pointing to a rock on the ground, "teleportation rock. Good thing there's always an extra or he'd have the only one ha-ha!" Christian examined the rock before asking Dictator a question.
"How does it work, exactly?" he asked.
"Only I know how it works but, that staff of wisdom your friend had must of told him how to use it. Just hold it and say 'Alakazam' and you'll be transported to a place where you're most useful." Dictator explained. Christian held the rock in his hand and Levantus and Shriek gathered around him. He nodded at Dictator and the three of them put their hands on the rock.
"Alakazam!" Christian shouted and they were transported away, leaving just the Dictator in the cave.
"Nice group. Surprised they didn't ask where I got the chains from," he clenched his teeth and smiled, "good luck you guys you'll need it."
The future graveyard
They were flung through space at the speed of light and eventually, and literally, crashed on a planet. They weren't sure if they could call it a planet, it was completely flat, no plants, no water, nothing at all. Then they heard something frightening that made them all turn around and freeze.
"*cough* *cough* *HACK*" they saw Bryan on the ground coughing up blood and looking fatally wounded. All three of them ran over Christian lifted up his head while Shriek and Levantus kneeled beside him. Teardrops formed in Sheik's eyes but, didn't fall she needed to be strong. Levantus just shook his head while Christian shook Bryan.
"Bryan! No, don't die on us! We need you! Bryan!" Christian yelled at his dyeing friend. Then he opened his eyes slightly and spoke in a hoarse voice.
"I thought I could handle *cough* him on my own but *hack* he was too strong… I was too weak *cough cough* I'm sorry I failed you guys." Then he closed his eyes and stopped breathing.
"He should've known when he was out matched. The stupid fool he wasn't fit for the staff of wisdom!' they all turned to see who had said this insult toward their friend and were shocked to see it was the hooded man. He removed his hood to reveal an aged teenager with a black ribbon covering his eyes and silver white hair. Christian, Levantus, and Shriek all summoned there weapons at the same moment as Christian stepped forward.
"Who are you!? Why did you kill our friend!? And what is that sword you have!?" he asked all at once. The boy smirked, then responded.
"My name is Riku, the one originally chosen by the keyblade before I gave into the darkness. In case you haven't guessed the name of my sword is the keyblade," he said holding forth the sword, " or more specifically the way to the dawn. As for your friend he helps forge this weapon and causes many others to be made which cause a lot of trouble in my time which I don't want happening," he finished explaining. Shriek pushed back her tears and stepped forward to where Christian was.
"Die!" she said pointing her staff at the man.
"You're going to pay for what you did," added Levantus.
"If that's what you chose… then so be it," the man posed ready to fight. Shriek was the first to do something, she flipped back to where Bryan was and lifted her staff.
"TIIIII!" she screamed out, the green swirl stretched all the way down her staff and out flew a tiny green fairy. It flew over to Bryan's body and started sprinkling what looked like dust on it and the wounds slowly healed. Levantus and Christian nodded at each other.
"We need to protect Shriek and her fairy until they heal Bryan. Let's go!" Levantus shouted as they ran towards the man. The man swung at Christian, but his poor stance allowed Christian to slide behind him and begin throwing his shield. Christian felt a new power course through his shield, every time he threw it, it magically came back to his hand allowing him to repeatedly throw it. The last time he grasped it with both hands and threw with all his might, but the man jumped over it and launched a dark fireball before Christian's shield returned to him, knocking him to the ground. As the man turned around he was struck repeatedly by the blur that was Levantus. Levantus landed every blow without fail as hard as he could and then finished it with a final blast of energy. The man flew backwards landing on one knee, he grunted and tore his blind fold off. He changed into a slightly older man with longer hair and a darkness protruding from his back he flew over to Levantus in a flash.
"Submit!" he bellowed, and the darkness hit Levantus far away. He looked over and saw Shriek helping Bryan up and the fairy disappearing. Bryan looked at his two fallen friends and equipped the chain Shriek had handed to him. His staff now had a shining pearl at the tip and the entire staff was much lighter, with crisscrossing lines across the handle. He raised it with one hand and held Shriek's hand with the other.
"Curaga!" he called out, flowers appeared over Levantus and Christian and they hopped up feeling revived and ready for more. Riku looked around feeling fear not knowing if he could defeat all three or four at once. Then Christian, Levantus, and Bryan all called out the same word at once.
"TRINITY!" they said in unison, "BREAK!" and they all attacked the man at once with multiple blows from each one.
"DRIVE!" they released numerous magic orbs directly at him causing him severe pain.
"ULTIMA!" and they put their weapons in midair pulling him in for a powerful blow. They all landed and raised their weapons, causing a circle of pure light to form dealing greater damage than any of the previous attacks. As Riku was trapped in the ring of light, suddenly Shriek jumped and plunged her staff through the man and through the darkness on his back. It was still, all four of them held their position.
"I failed you. Sora I'm sorry," he said as he disappeared into a hole of darkness that seemed to drag him in. The heroes stood there trying to catch their breath and comprehend what they had just done. Then suddenly the weapons flew into the air, flashed, and dropped as a weapon they had never seen before. It was two of what Riku called keyblades crossed with a giant sword coming out of the middle. The four picked it up, two from each side, and they lifted it. The keyblade then shot a beam of light into the sky, they looked up and saw what looked like a giant heart glowing with the brightest light they had ever seen. Shriek gasped clenching her chest.
"Shriek! Shriek what's wrong? Speak to me please. What's wrong?" Bryan asked panicking. It was no use though, she just kept squirming then finally she stopped, her chest started glowing as her body disappeared. She was soon just a heart and floated off toward the giant heart in the sky. Bryan looked up as a tear formed in his eye and soon hit the ground; he wanted to go with her.
"It was an honor fighting with you gentlemen".
"What are you talking about?" asked Christian.
"We forged this 'keyblade'. We passed this test and now it's time to finish things," he explained. Just then they all started glowing and their bodies began to disappear.
"Let whoever is chosen by this weapon gain power based on what they chose," Bryan continued, "Wisdom, wonder and ruin."
"Kindness to aid friends and repel all," Christian added.
"Unknown power and destruction," finished Levantus, and they all floated off into Kingdom hearts. As for the rest, you know, others saw this great light in the sky and found and forged more of these keyblades and the planet became the home to all defeated keyblades. As for the elderly man Bryan saw in his dream, Xeahnort completed his mission…