To Antex: Thank you for letting your precious child play in my playground with my own little devils. I'll treat him with as much care as I do my own. And thank you for caring about this installment as a whole and myself more than anyone.
Memoir I:
The Beginning
Wind's in the East
Mist coming in
Like something is brewing about to begin
Can't put my finger
On what lies in store
But I feel what's to happen all happened before
Everything hurts.
My lungs burn each time I take a breath and my muscles hurt from running. But I can't stop. If I do that thing will catch me and shred me to pieces. The brightness of the town blinded me for a second when I turn the corner but I can't afford to stop. Not with the screeching still chasing after me.
Turning another corner, I slip on my own feet but manage to grab onto the wall to balance myself before quickly running inside the narrow alleyway. It takes me a few seconds to get in there but I manage to squeeze in and turn my head towards the exit. My breathing heavy, it's hard to keep quiet but I need to hear where it is. After a few seconds of silence, worry creeps into me.
Silence is never a good thing.
Then I hear it again, knives—sharp and deadly as could be—scraping loudly against the asphalt streets. The screech that the metal makes against the floor was nerve-racking. Dragging itself painfully slow making that hellish noise that's driving me crazy. That thing—it's mocking me. Playing with me; it's prey. It's as if it gets a thrill out of the hunt.
A vicious creature; it's only purpose is to devour that which has come in contact with the darkness from that abyss to absorb its powers and evolve.
"You and those so called rescuers are all targets now. The same fate from before will repeat, and this time...I'll finish what you started."
The loudness of the crash right beside me makes me scream my lungs out. The claws that were silent seconds ago reach in through the narrow gap towards me and graze my arm enough to make it bleed but not enough to actually grab onto me. Moving back while holding my arm, I watch as the dark hand furiously claws against the brick wall trying to draw me—the mouse trapped in the corner—out.
Fear, right now, is a huge understatement. At this rate, I'll be scared to death before it even catches me. How in the worlds did he even create something so horrifyingly inhuman?
Days Before
"So?" My voice raises a bit when I throw my arm towards the building's general direction. "What do you think?"
Beside me, Haruka only cringes while tilting his head to the side. He stares at it for a moment before heaving a sigh. "It's taking too long. Don't you think?"
"Well..." Standing there, we both contemplate the current situation that we find ourselves in. Before us was the house of one of the residents in Ostown, half painted in bright colors while the rest remained in the nasty hue of grays and whites.
There really is no arguing with the kid. After all, helping restore Wasteland is a heavy duty job. Especially since we're also helping out with restoring Radiant Garden. Thankfully, the guys from the Restoration Committee let me borrow Haru to help me out with what Os had tasked me to do.
Since the bunny was busy trying to restore order first on the other places connected to OsTown, he asked me to continue the painting restoration here. And I thought it wouldn't be that hard until he told me I couldn't use that nifty little magic brush of his.
At the thought, I snap my fingers and a huge grin comes to me. I turn to face Haruka who's already facing me, perplexed at my look. "What?" he voiced a little nervous.
"I know what we can use to speed it up."
Without wasting a second, I drag Haruka across town towards Os' home. It's technically mine so the fact that we're sneaking in is completely irrelevent but, hey, we're having some fun here.
"Are you going to tell me what we're doing here?"
"We're just going to borrow some tools." That's what I give him as an answer all the while we tiptoe our way through the wood halls of the house. He keeps blabbering about how this is stupid and whatnot all the way to Os' workshop. Unlike mine, his has more stuff and is bigger and also has stored most of his personal gadgets. Including the one jammed inside a glass case for safekeeping.
Haruka and I stand before the one thing that had caused a havoc years ago in this town. As always, he was the one to ask the obvious. "What's this?"
"Something that will help us," I tell him and slowly take the lid off the case and carefully pull out the paintbrush.
"A paintbrush?"
"Obviously."
"We have a ton back in town. What's so special about this one?" He's incredulous and I don't blame him. I'd be too if I didn't know what this beauty could do. But he didn't, and boy was he missing out.
"Come, young one—" I say while twirling the brush between my fingers— "and I shall teach you."
Minutes later, we're back in OsTown; Haruka with a tiresome look and I with a look of excitement. "Are you going to tell me or not?"
Well, isn't he the impatient one?
"Patience is a virtue," I remind him while sticking the brush in one of the buckets of paint. It slightly glows inside it but it doesn't seem Haruka saw it.
"That I don't have," he retorted back with a heavy sigh.
"All right." Getting up straight, I hold the brush up high to show him my best. "Ready for this?"
"Amaze me."
Oh, I will.
Without any further ado, I gracefully spin it in my hand before giving it a stroke towards the house. Just like magic, the paint jumps from the brush and splotches towards the house. Where the paint falls, the whole thing starts to gain color and not just the one that I had dipped the thing in. It's painting it in all kinds of vibrant hues matching those that we had already painted beforehand.
When I turn towards him, all I see on Haruka's face is a twinge of wonder before his expression grows even more in amazement, eyes glowing brightly. Giving it another slight flick, I finish painting the other half of the house that would have taken us hours to paint normally. Yeah, this is much better.
Smirking and passing the paintbrush to him, I say, "Care to try?"
Hours pass by and we enjoy them with ease while painting the rest of the neighborhood and taking turns using the paintbrush. Haruka and I are having a blast like nobody's business and I'm loving every second of it. It isn't until he goes over his time that I start to get peeved.
"You've gone twenty minutes overboard, Haru. Hand it over."
"Give me another five!" he calls while trying to keep the brush away from my reach.
"I've given you four of those already!"
Finally, I manage to catch it in my grasp but he isn't about to let go of it either. We struggle pulling the brush from one another, back and forth. But, of course, me being the stronger one between the two, I end up pulling it away from him. "Ha!" I exclaim triumphantly putting the paintbrush out of his reach. He quickly tries jumping to get it but my hand finds his face to push him back. "Too slow, bud."
"What's the meaning of this?"
The voice makes both of us turn and I'm sure we both cringe at seeing Oswald standing there with his arms crossed, his foot tapping on the floor and giving us that mean glare that I hadn't seen in a while.
And although I missed it, it was better not to be on the receiving side of it. Without remorse, I give Haruka a push back and toss the brush his way at the same time. He struggles to catch it but once he does he's the one in the receiving end and that makes him stutter in search for a good excuse.
Before he can even speak, though, a squeaky chuckle gets all of our attention. "Gosh, reminds me of how I picked that brush once." Our eyes turn towards the one behind Oswald and see His Majesty, King Mickey, chuckling still. "But maybe giving it back is your best bet." Haruka and I laugh with him for a bit before I pat Os' head and Haruka gives him the brush.
"Geez," he grumps on, swatting my hand away from his head. "What will I ever do with you two?"
"Love us, of course!" I exclaim happily and grab onto Haru by his neck, bringing him close to hug him and place my chin atop his head. His laughter reaches my ears above his complaints and so does Os' and Mickey's. Standing back up, I turn towards his mousedom. "So, what brings you to this side of the woods, Your Majesty?"
"It's about your check-ups."
A frown comes to my lips at the grim reminder. He's referring to the examinations that Oswald began to do on Haruka and I ever since our last journey ended. The day of my return I told him everything that had happened; it was a story that took most of the night and into the next morning to tell but it was told in the end. And from it, he knew that Haruka and I were alike and what was happening to us.
Ever since I vanquished Hotaru I have remained without a darkness, and according to Rinto—the Snake that is my eye abilities—making another is extremely hard. Darkness manifests from dark emotions. Something that I haven't had ever since I met Sora. Since the fateful meeting with that boy and his friends, my life has changed for the better and I don't ever want to go back to the dark place I was before. Even if that meant that I would leave the worlds sooner than I'm supposed to.
But that's a decision I haven't voiced as of yet. And because I haven't, Oswald and Yen Sid became adamant about finding a way to restore the parts of the balance that Haruka and I are missing. Until that's possible, they monitor our status every day to make sure nothing becomes worse too fast. These past couple of weeks it's been mostly Oswald doing them, sometimes even having a consult with Yen Sid.
But they've never involved Mickey before which meant something is up. And that can't possibly be any good.
"What about them?" Haruka asks, voicing my question.
"You're going to the Mysterious Tower for your check up," Oswald replies with a tap of the brush on my elbow.
"How come?" Their stares take me by surprise but I quickly retort. "You're already checking up on us. So is Merlin when Haruka is with him at Radiant Garden. Haruka's hasn't progressed since he doesn't use his powers as much. Mine hasn't progressed either since I can control it now. So what gives?"
"It'll be better to ask those questions when we get there."
Haruka furrows his brow at hearing Mickey say this. "We're leaving? Now?"
"It's somewhat of a trip from Wasteland. If you leave now, you'll get there by the morning."
My eyes never leave the rabbit's as he says this and for a good reason. He's a lousy liar. If anybody knew about lying it's me which meant that he's hiding something and it's blatant.
This isn't about Haruka. If anything the kid is as healthy as a horse. So that only left me as their prime concern.
And it makes sense, too. Last time he checked me, there was this look on Os' face that I couldn't quite place. If anybody would need an extra look-up, it had to be me.
Then...why take Haruka?
"You two will be okay."
"Huh?" We had been walking towards the Gummi Ship in which Mickey had come in. Haruka was way ahead of us with the King; I stayed behind with Oswald. But it had been his sudden outburst that had taken my attention. "What's wrong, bunny?"
He glares at me, his cheeks puffed, but he lets out everything with a sigh. His ears droop to his sides in obvious concern, belying the sentence that follows. "Don't go worrying yourself. It's just routine."
"Haven't had this happen before. So it's not just routine." My eyes turn towards him and he just averts his gaze. Yeah, he's trying to hide something from me. But beating it out of him won't do. He's too stubborn and that's where I learned it from. "But you're right." This time his eyes come to me and I only grin at him. "No use in worrying. We'll find a way to make this better. So no sweat." Taking a step forward and starting to walk away, I turn with a smile. "Don't worry, Papa. I'll be as fit as a fiddle when we're back."
He hesitates for a second but then a smile comes to him too. "Yeah. I know you will."
I want to tell him the truth but that would be counterproductive. So...I lied to him. At least, now I know what's a lie and what's true. I don't want him to worry...but I don't know if there's a way to cure us.
To cure me.
Mickey watched the siblings closely as they looked outside through the Gummi Ship's window. They joke and horse around but he can see that they're as close can be.
"Your Majesty?" Donald spoke above the roar of the ship. "Something wrong?"
"No, nothing."
"Ahyuk, Ayano and Haruka seem okay. Master Yen Sid must be worried if he asked for them, though," Goofy commented touching some of the controls.
"Don't touch that!" Donald squawked slapping the other's hand.
"Yeah. We all are," Mickey assured them and looked over at the two again. Ayano was telling something to Haruka as he paid attention to the outside, watching stars and meteorites passing by.
When Mickey saw them, he saw himself and Oswald. Both torn apart and reunited. And yet he couldn't keep at bay the worry in him. And it was because he actually knew why Yen Sid had called for them.
"King Mickey! Look!" Haruka's call brought him out of the train of thought that he was in. Both siblings had their faces plastered against the glass pane.
"Looks like we're here," Ayano added leaning back on her chair and letting the mouse take a look. Sure enough, there on the distance, they could see the isle of the Mysterious Tower.
"You brought us here for a normal check-up?"
Haruka's voice couldn't have been higher, or in more disbelief, had he tried. Of course, he's upset. They basically brought him out here for a routine that could have been done at Wasteland. "We're in the middle of reconstructing two worlds. We really don't have time to come visit around for tea."
"Calm your horses, bud." My hand on his shoulder calms his mounting anger and instead he glares at me. "They won't go anywhere." This doesn't convince him much. "We might." That does because his shoulders instantly relax under my hold. This gives me enough leeway to nod my head towards Mickey and Yen Sid who overheard me over Haru's exclaim.
"Now, Haruka, please follow the good fairies. They will be in charge of you." The old man motions his hands towards one of the doors in his study that leads to the fairies' room.
"C'mon, Haru. Be a good boy," Donald calls out walking ahead of him.
"Yep, let's go!" Goofy replies and grabs Haruka by the shoulders to take him away. Haru briefly glances over his shoulder to me and I only give him a reassuring smile and wave before he disappears behind the door.
Turning back to Mickey and Yen Sid, I look at the door that they're motioning to. No words needed, I follow behind them and close the door as I'm the last to enter.
"Now," the old man says and brings a couple of chairs over with his magic for me and the little king. "If you will."
I take a sit and like they had said, they put me through a normal checkup. Like it had been the past couple of weeks, the process is lengthy. They check my powers and how much mastery I've still got with them. Nothing much has changed just because I can control them now. I still have my arsenal of masks that allow me to fake emotions and I can still mimic and hide myself from others. Not only that but I'm still able to climb shadows and I have Ares, my multi-use staff, with me. It's a hefty weapon and I already discovered all its mechanisms so it's good to have.
"And what about your snake?" Yen Sid asks after that part is over.
An eyebrow raised, I shake off the snarky comment that wants to come out of me; I don't question him. Instead I raise my left palm and call her name, "Rinto."
The warmth that rests upon my chest—along with a tattoo of a snake—begins to move across my body and crawls towards my palm. It tickles but I stay put until the black ink pools inside it. A drop jumps up and trickles down before it becomes the little snake's form—a girl with long black wavy hair and bright red eyes.
"Yes, Master?"
"What's the status check on my body?"
She stares at nothing for a brief second before answering me. "Your bodily functions are as normal as can be expected. No injuries or internal bleedings since the harsh battles ended. Only rebounds from time to time from usage of power."
That last part makes me cringe.
"You've used them?" Mickey questions. Oops.
My hand comes up behind my neck as Rinto disappears and scratches it while a nervous chuckle escapes me. "Force of habit."
"One you should wean out of," Yen Sid reminds me.
"Habits die hard. Especially one I've used my whole life. Give me credit here; I've only used it a handful of times." But by now, I have an inkling about what's going on. "Now, will you tell me what is so important that you needed to separate Haruka and I?"
The old man stays quiet until his eyes come up to meet mine. His hand reaches out towards me. "Your arms." Unconsciously, my right hand grabs my left wrist. But instead of resisting, I heave a sigh before reaching to take my jacket off. When I do all that I have on is my tank top that leaves my arms and part of my upper back bare to the eye.
Grabbing the tie in my pocket, I put my hair up in a ponytail to give them a good look at the markings that spread across the top of my body. First they check how far my weakening body is being affected by any darkness and my own rebounds. Since I became able to control my powers, the dark markings on my body haven't spread except for a few centimeters here and there. But the marks already traveled a considerable distance since they're now already all over my back and up to my shoulders and both my wrists. The only consistent thing was my snake tattoo just above my heart.
"Gosh, it's even further than it was two weeks ago," Mickey comments, grabbing my wrists and turning my arms over a bit. The marks weren't random either. It's like they're making some sort of pattern all over my body.
"Oswald never said anything about these."
"I hid them from him." There was no use in lying to them. It's just that I didn't want to worry Os more than he already was. "I didn't—"
"Your concern is obvious, child. But he should know."
"He'll just worry over something he can't change." Hurrying to put my jacket back on, I go on with the explanation. "They appeared the night after I returned. While I slept, I dreamt of the fight I had against Hotaru and how she stopped our union. When I woke up it was with a burning pain throughout my body and the marks as you see them now."
Yen Sid nods understanding but the quizzical expression comes back to him again. "The darkness seems to be eating you far faster than we initially expected."
"Could it be from years of using her powers?" Mickey suggests clearly worried on my behalf.
"Most probably," Yen Sid tells us. "But now that Hotaru is no longer an option, we must search elsewhere for a cure to your ailment. You should consider birthing a new darkness in you to bring forth balance."
"I've given that a thought but I'm bound to say no." The looks they give me are expected, so I just continue with my explanation. "Rinto's explained to me what it entails. I would need a very strong, negative emotion to birth the darkness necessary to balance against the light I've got now. Those dark emotions...I don't think myself strong enough to birth them and not be lost to their pull."
"We are aware of that," Yen Sid adds. "Which is why we've decided to approach it differently." My eyes turn up to them and that's when they see it fit to answer me. "This approach will concern Haru—"
"Leave him out of this."
My answer is crisp, short, and to the point. The burning sensation on my eyes is unmistakable.
"W-Wait!" Mickey's quick interference makes me turn towards him. The moment my eyes land on him and he flinches, I'm assured of what I feel. My eyes activated on their own. The rage—it's great fuel to my powers but also a big foe to me. "We don't mean to put him in harm's way. I assure you of that."
"I don't care."
"He's the only key we have that could guide us to a cure. More specifically, the emotions that his mere mention ignite in you."
Yen Sid's mention of the steadily raising anger in me makes me take a deep breath.
"Count to ten," Rinto reminds me, "then let it out."
Following her advice about how to deactivate my powers, I close my eyes and take another deep breath, counting to ten then letting it go. At opening my eyes, the burning sensation is gone.
"I'll...hear you out. Not because I agree, though."
Mickey thanks me for my consideration but I assure him it's not that. Yen Sid nods alongside him, understanding my position before he starts explaining. "From what I was informed, there seems to be a strong connection between you and the young girl that was Ansem the Wise's daughter; not a clear one, however. Is this correct?"
"Yeah, so?" If I sound impatient, it's because I am. Talking about something I already know is not something I wanted to hear now. I know that the Ayano known as Ansem's daughter and I had some sort of connection.
Otherwise, I wouldn't have had seen pieces of her memories during our last journey.
And I wouldn't have known that Ayano was Haruka's foster older sister.
Yen Sid nods quickly, I suppose to keep my temper from running rampant from impatience. "That connection is what we aim to pursue. If in them lies an inkling that could help, it would be safe to assume they are locked away inside of you since you have seen them before."
"Those were random coincidences, though," I tell them.
"Nothing's left to chance." This time it's Mickey that answers me. His expression shows his determination and he seems to know the answer. "Oswald told me what you said; those latent memories had been awakened through connections from Haruka."
He wasn't wrong. I did tell Oswald about the memories that I saw that weren't mine. And that it had been Hibiki, Echo, and that strange boy's phantom who guided me to them. Still couldn't figure why they did it or how they knew where Haruka's memories were but...I had my guesses. They were only that, though, assumptions. And people say some bad things about assuming.
"I suppose that's how I got ahold of the memories but it still doesn't explain what's that got to do with getting a darkness for me."
"Dormant memories hold a darkness of their own. Memories of a forgotten person even more so." Yen Sid's explanation is making less sense by the second but I try to follow. "It may prove difficult to find and obtain access to them, however, because of how long they have remained in slumber. That's where Haruka comes into play."
It begins to click in then. "He's the only one directly connected to her..."
"And his memories of her would be able to guide you towards others and possibly to one strong enough to gain a darkness from."
"A dark emotion," I mumble under my breath, understanding now what he meant. If I can get my hands on a darkness that's not mine, then it wouldn't affect me mentally as much as my own would. And it could very well save my life. "And how are you planning on doing that?"
Yen Sid walks over to one of the pieces of furniture in the room covered in white sheets and rips one off a large full body mirror. "This will help."
"A mirror?"
"A portal!" Mickey calls pointing at the engravings atop the frame. "But...I thought those had been destroyed."
"This one was salvaged from the many that were." Yen Sid turns from Mickey to me and touches the pane of glass that glows a bright blue at his touch. "This magic mirror, as Mickey said, is a portal. One that if given a specific source can find others like it, no matter where or when they exist."
"A portal? I'm guessing it can guide me through the dormant memories then. But first we'd need a starter one, like you said," I say out loud while touching the pane of glass like he did but see nothing happen. "A memory of Haruka and Ansem's daughter would start it up and lead me towards others."
"That's the plan," Mickey concluded.
"I still refuse." This dashes their hopes faster than I thought but I have my reason.
"But it concerns your life—"
"Which matters much less to me than Haruka's." When they don't say anything, I continue. "He's started showing some signs of deterioration."
"In the early stages, child," Yen Sid says trying to change my mind. "You're reaching the last."
My mouth is half open and my voice halfway through my throat when Mickey quickly intervenes. "You two—you and Haruka look very happy together. He would be devastated if you were to disappear, Ayano. We all would be. You're our friend, too."
This shuts me up instantly. He's right. I've seen Haruka cry before because of me. Because he's scared of losing me. And frankly, despite how much I might want to deny it, I don't want to vanish.
"Could this search...also help Haruka?"
"It could very well aid both of you, yes. If the right memory is found it could save more than one."
Yen Sid's reassurance is minimal but it suffices. "Fine. I'll do it but—" they stop in their nodding when I add that. "Only if Haruka allows me to. I won't go rummaging through his memories if he doesn't want me to."
"If he's like us, he won't say no," Mickey assures me.
"We'll begin, then, once you have talked." Yen Sid turns to his disciple and nods at him before coming back to me. "And once Mickey's returned."
"You're going off?"
"Yep," Mickey answers with a smile. "Some friends to go back for. I'll be back by the time you're done discussing it."
I take that for what it is. Yen Sid tells me that the fairies should be done with Haruka by now when we get out of the mirror room. Just as he said, the fairies are out, as well as Donald and Goofy. Seems wherever Mickey went, he went alone.
Leaving that be for now, I head to the room where they had led Haruka to and stand just outside the door. Knocking a couple of times, I wait for his answer before coming in. He's buttoning his vest by then and looks up at me as I enter.
"How are you?" he asks right away. Always the impatient one.
"Same old, same old," I reply with a shrug of my shoulders. "And you?"
"The scarring's starting on the nape of my neck." He cringes a bit and rubs said spot unconsciously. "But it's been a while since it moved. The fairies said that it was good."
"That's great." My tone belies my honest relief for him and he instantly notices this.
"Something up?"
I open my mouth but decide it's better to tell him this while sitting down so we do just that and sit on the bed that they had used to examine him. "Yen Sid and Mickey...seemed to have found a way of searching for darkness we could use."
"Really?"
His enthusiasm kills me because of what I'm about to ask. "But—how do I say this? —it concerns the memories of Ayano...your sister."
"…what about her?"
"The memories that I found had been asleep. And memories like those, they possess a darkness of their own that keeps them there. If I can find these memories, then maybe I could find an emotion dark enough to replace both our dark halves."
"But...?"
He's reading right along the lines. He's known me for so little yet knows me so well. "We need a memory to start from. One that's connected to her and that will lead me towards others that lie sleeping."
"You need...one of my memories?"
"From your past," I clarify. "Before we met. Before you forgot."
"I'll do it."
That...was quick. Much too quick. "A-Are you sure? I mean, the thing could be dangerous and like hell am I going to allow—"
"But it's to help you, right? If it's to help you, Aya-nee, then I'll do it."
Those words bring a smile to my face without me noticing. Bringing out my arm, I bring him close to hug him. "Thank you, Haru."
"I just want to know how we can make sure that you're okay inside those memories?"
A grin comes to my lips before my hand reaches up to the necklace around his neck, my fingers touching the light blue pearls on his necklace and brushing over the tear-shaped ruby on his other. "So long as you see this shine, you can be sure that I'm out there, somewhere, and that I won't stop until we're together again."
He looks down briefly before lifting his head up and nodding. Haruka then throws himself against me once more. "I'll be waiting then." I assure him of my return before we hear voices outside that grow louder. He pulls away and jumps out of the bed before turning to me.
"L-Let's tell Master Yen Sid and the King," Haruka says and opens the door just enough. He dashes out of the door leaving it slightly ajar. That kid really never ceases to amaze me; he's much stronger than I give him credit for. I've got to start getting used to that.
Getting up myself, I go towards the same door and open it to walk out without paying much attention. That costs me because I instantly bump into someone in my way.
"Whoa, there."
At hearing that voice, my eyes snap upward to meet a pair of aquamarine eyes that stare into my hazel ones. Not only that but behind said person I find another pair, these a much bluer color.
"Ayano!" Sora calls out with a grin brighter than the sun.
"You okay, Aya?" Riku asks, blinking at seeing my wide eyes.
Ah, great.
"Sora. Riku," Haruka exclaims coming closer with a wide smile on his face. He comes from around me to say hello to the two. "What are you doing here?"
"Got a message from King Mickey." Sora thumbs behind him at the little majesty that walked after them into the room. "But...we don't really know why, either?"
"I'm surprised to see you both here as well," Riku adds. "Is everything all right?"
"Perfect." My forefinger and thumb come together, the rest sprung outward to sign out what I said. Feeling somewhat odd about meeting them here when I have other issues to take care of, I turn my back on them to look at Yen Sid and Mickey as he joins the old man behind his desk. "The kid has spoken. We're going through with this."
Yen Sid acknowledges this with a languid nod. "Let us brief Sora and Riku as to the reason for their arrival, first. The two of you would do well to listen as well."
One of my brows raises, incredulous. "But your business is with them. Why should Haru and I stay to listen?"
"It is likely that where you are headed could very likely align to their destination as well," he explains, somberly. "Although difficult to predict, it would be wise of you to go in prepared."
My finger comes to tap at my chin for a few seconds before I shrug my shoulders. Although I wanted this to be over with fast, even if I didn't end up where they would go, it wouldn't hurt to be prepared like he said. Tapping Haruka's shoulder, I lead him up to the moon- and star-shaped windows that stand behind the old man's sit. I take a sit on the ridge of the moon and lay back, my body curving into it. Haruka finds a good sit on an edge of the star.
"All right, old man," I tell him as I reach for my hood and pull it over my eyes while placing my hands over my chest to rest. "I'm all ears."
I hear a few chuckles and it makes me smirk. Regrettably, Yen Sid doesn't seem to catch my joke but continues either way. He starts straight to the point: the man known as Master Xehanort. As I listen in, I start to put facts together. Some I had already heard from Oswald. After I returned, he made it a point to keep no more secrets from me and I reciprocated in kind. There would be no secrets in my family. The few things Yen Sid tells Sora and Riku, I knew. And because Haruka is no exception to that rule, I told him everything I had in my little head as well.
The few weeks we've had together were quite productive. Because of my fear that I might disappear without any given notice, I took the time I needed to tell Haruka, Ortensia, and Oswald of what happened to me during the past two years.
My journey out of home. Meeting Maleficent and working with Riku under her. My first encounter with Hotaru, the dark side of myself that I had destroyed not long ago. My first encounters with Sora, Donald, and Goofy and how meeting them was the best thing that could've happened to me. I told them about Hibiki and Echo. My time in the Organization; things about Axel and about Roxas. The destruction of the organization from within and my own downfall as I worked with Ansem the Wise who I knew as DiZ back then. And finally my helping Sora through his last journey until my current point in time.
It took a few hours, probably a whole day that I didn't noticed pass, but I told everything. None of them rejected my words. They took them in and trusted me fully. And now that I can tell the truth, it's what I'm for. Always.
So this are no news for Haruka and I. What struck me as new was that he's putting the two boys through the Mark of Mastery Exam. He wanted them to forget everything they knew and start from scratch.
I scoff when everybody else reacted to that. Even Riku's self-doubt isn't any surprise. Neither is Sora's enthusiasm. The few things that I listen to are about those 'individuals' that Mickey told the two about in some letter. I had no knowledge of that. It did make me wonder about who they spoke off. But I shove that aside as he begins to explain about the Sleeping Worlds—worlds cut off from outside channels still locked in darkness—and about the dark and light beings that dwell in them: Dream Eaters. The Nightmares that eat happy dreams and Spirits that consume Nightmares. For this, I actually sit up and glance over their shoulders to see the small creatures, images he had summoned as example.
Before I can comment on it, he changes the subject, this time to an event he calls the Keyblade War. It sounded much like a fairytale from a storybook. But because I knew better, it gave it a tinge of reality. He talks about Kingdom Hearts and the counterpart that protected it, the X-blade, and goes from there. The world had been taken over by those who wanted to take the light for themselves which brought upon the world the first shadows. They made 'Keyblades' in the X-blade's shape and waged the infamous war over Kingdom Hearts. The rest of the story, I knew of from Oswald's old bedtime stories.
What I don't know is how the X-blade had split into twenty pieces: seven of light and thirteen of darkness. Odd, numbers. I chuckle to myself at the stupid joke but sober up when I hear how Kingdom Hearts disappeared and what the outcomes of such decisions brought upon those who were left in the world after it was brought back together by the light in children's heart.
But story time is quickly over and with it my time to rest. From the corner of my eye, I see Yen Sid as he stands and turns to face me. "Now that this has been dealt with, it is time to send you on your way."
Nodding, I get up as Haruka gets to my side. Sora and Riku eye us, perplexed, and of course spiky head can't keep his thoughts to himself. "Sending her off? Where are you going, Aya?"
Don't say it.
For once I listen to myself. I wink at them and smile. "Well, that's for me to know and for you to find out."
"Ayano." I turn to look at Riku who frowns slightly. Without even saying the rest, I know exactly what he's saying: don't put us in the dark like that. But I have to. This isn't a problem they can help with. It's something only Haruka and I have; what's worse is that, right now, I'm the only one who can do anything about it.
"Don't worry," I assure the two of them. "It's nothing bad. Relatively speaking."
Riku's frown deepens and Sora's brow starts to furrow but it disappears before he gives me a small smile. It's full of concern but also of trust, and it makes me feel slightly guilty. "Whatever it is, I'm sure you've got it. So, we'll see you when we're done, too."
That makes me smile, sincerely this time. I raise my fist up to him. "As Masters, I'm hoping."
This time he grins and bumps his fist against mine. "You bet."
We grin like idiots before Mickey ushers them out to prepare for their exams. Just the same, Yen Sid tells us that our preparation room is with the fairies in the mirror room.
Haruka and I enter the room but before they even start doing anything, Haruka goes off to look through the messenger bag he brought with him. As I look around the room, I can tell the fairies have been busy accommodating things for us. Across from the mirror is a bed, not big but large enough for someone like Haruka. I'm caught staring at it when he comes back.
He catches me off guard when I turn around to meet him because instead of his eyes all I see is a box in front of his face. I blink a few times before he brings it down to face me if you can call what he's doing "looking." Haruka keeps averting his emerald gaze, his cheeks dusted a bit pink from what I assume is embarrassment. Before I can open my mouth and ask anything, he shoves the box into my arms and makes me hold onto it.
"Open it."
Having no idea why to argue seeing as I am curious, I set it down on the bed and open the small box. Inside is a black and gold hair ribbon and attached to it a star of gold with crystal spheres at the center.
"What...is this?" I ask, dumbfounded, as I hold the small hairpiece in my hand. It's so small it fits perfectly in my palm.
"I made it..." A frown comes to me out of confusion and I turn to the boy in front of me as he wrings the hem of his blue vest and averts his eyes. Finally, he gazes at me from underneath his lashes. "I wanted to give it to you on your birthday. Oswald told me; it's only a few months away, right? But since you're leaving, I thought to give it now."
A smile comes to me. "Thank you," I say sincerely. "That's really sweet of you, Haruka."
"D-Do you like it?" he asks in a mumble.
The question confounds me and I bend down to pull him in for a hug. "I love it, bucko." Kneeling in front of him, I pass him the ribbon and busy myself with putting my wavy blonde hair up in a ponytail. It's always grown fast and when I put it up, the end of the ponytail reaches to my shoulder blades with my bangs coming across my forehead. I turn about still down on one knee and touch my hair. "Would you do me the honors?"
"Yeah!" he perks up and comes up behind me. I feel his hands rummaging through the base of my ponytail as the snaps the ribbon on. "It's something that took me awhile to make. It's imbued with magic properties, too, so it'll help in this journey." Impressive. He claims he's done and I rise, reaching my hand to it.
"Looks good?" I ask with a wink.
Haruka nods with a grand smile on his face. His happiness falls quickly when he sees the fairies behind me. "Are you sure you'll be fine?" he whispers.
"Believe in me, Haru, and that's all I'll need to make it through." I pat the bed and for him to sit and he listens while I take a sit beside him. With that talk done with, I turn to face the fairies as they approach us. "What do you need from us?"
Flora is first to talk. "Nothing much, child. We need Haruka to relax and focus on a memory of the young girl Master Yen Sid talked about; Ansem the Wise's daughter."
Fauna continues from there. "We'll take over from there, dear. Don't worry."
Merryweather is the last to speak. "And we'll send Ayano, here, right on her way."
That sounds easy enough. But it seems Haruka doesn't think it so. He tightens the hold he has on the hem of my shirt. The three fairies look at me, concerned for him. Pursing my lips, I nod with a lifted finger.
"I've got this."
Scooting over to leave some space, I bring Haruka down until his head is laying on my lap. I slowly start to stroke his hair as we stare at each other's eyes—his bright emeralds blinking up at my hazel tainted in gold. With a smile, I peacefully coax him. "Close your eyes and listen."
When he does, I continue.
"Once upon a time, there was a little boy. He was a very sad little boy, and he was sad because he was all alone." My fingers smoothly go through his hair and massage his head. "One day, he runs away from home and a girl comes to find him. She kindly asks of him to return with her but he refuses, angry and sad. At hearing this she takes a pendant of a red pearl and charms it with special magic. She chants, 'You don't need to be alone, anymore.'"
Underneath me, I feel Haruka's hand reach up to his chest where, under his blue vest, that same pendant rests. I go on. "She tells him, 'No matter what, I will never let you be alone. No matter how far apart we are or if I get lost and can't find my way back home, I'll find a way to you. Always.'"
A small sobbing starts from where Haruka is. "...I wanted to believe her."
"And you did."
Otherwise, I don't think I would have found you.
Turning up to face them, I nod slightly towards the fairies' direction. Flora nods in reply and comes to stand in front of me. Her wand aloft, she wriggles it a bit until the tip glows a bright red and with a few magic words murmured, she touches Haruka's temple before slowly pulling out a silver string. I confuse it for a hair until I see it shift from silver to clear to white and back again.
"Good," she whispers before trotting over to the mirror. "This silver lining is but one of many of those memories, my girl. Wherever it may lead you, you will find other remnants similar. Show them to the mirror. It will continue to guide you along until, hopefully, you find what you're looking for." The 'silver lining' hovers in midair as it detaches from her wand before one end touches the surface of the mirror and the whole thing disappears. The surface then glows the same color of silver.
Fauna raises a dainty hand. "Master Yen Sid also asked for our magic's assistance in your quest. We added it alongside his and it will surely aid you in your quest."
Flora steps back and briskly nods. "Hurry, child. Before it closes on us."
Haruka languidly sits up from his position and eyes the portal at the same time I do. His arms wrap around me, taking me by surprise. "Come back home, okay?"
I can only smile as I lay my cheek against his head. "I promise." He releases me and I go to stand in front of the mirror. I touch it a couple of times seeing the silver ripple like water.
This is it.
With one long breath, I turn to them with a smirk. "See you soon."
And then I jump. I feel nothing at first; utter emptiness. Then, out of nowhere, this huge pressure pushes against my body, squeezing it tightly. My lungs hurt as I try to hold my breath for as long as I can but I soon lose this battle. I'm forced to take a breath but instead of air there's nothing. Panic starts to come over me but it quickly disappears when I feel air enter my lungs an instant before I crash, face first, on the ground.
Looking up, I'm met with nothing but a gloomy atmosphere. Gloomy but somewhat melancholic. I get up and try looking around for clues as to where I am. There's dark buildings, monochrome almost. It's not until I turn a corner into town that I realize where I am.
It's OsTown.
But...there's no one here.
The streets are empty. Not even the Gremlins or the Animatronics are here. Not a sound is heard, either. It's really unsettling. I let that pass me as best as I can and continue forward until I arrive at the Dark Castle's borders.
I don't know what I find stranger: that up until now I heard nothing but silence or that now I hear something I can't quite place. Like a humming
Out of pure instinct, I fall back slowly against a fallen pillar and conceal myself with a mask. And like it's been happening as of late, Rinto moves from her position. She squirms her way around up to my left shoulder.
"It's ill advised to use your powers now, Master." Unlike before when she used to speak so monotonously, I hear the clear concern she holds about my wellbeing. "I urge you, do not abuse them as you have done in the past. It will only harm you further."
I know, Rin, but—
I don't get time to finish that thought. Instead, the humming explodes into a high pitch behind me. Turning back, I have to cover my eyes a bit as a bright pillar of fluorescent blue light shoots up from down the way—from Os' house. But even that I've got no time to question because as soon as that pillar shoots up, it disappears, leaving behind only particles that float around before disappearing too. My jaw falls open but closes when I hear screams coming from the castle's direction.
This time the sound is a lot easier to identify. It's the citizens of Wasteland and all of them are running away from the castle, away from something. They run amok, scared out of their minds, but I soon see what it is they're running from. Heartless explode from every orifice of the castle entrance before they rush after the citizens. It's like a sea of darkness like I've never seen them before. These don't seem to be acting on their own; their more coordinated, more fluid. Almost as if they were working as one collective mind.
Wait. Heartless? Attacking Wasteland? That can't be possible. Wasteland is supposed to be protected by Oswald's barrier right now. He's strong as all high hell. With his kind of power, he should be able to sustain—
"It seems she's absorbed too much powers from you, Oswald. She will soon become a beacon to the Heartless like she did when we found her."
No. It's not getting attacked. It did get attacked, though. My eyes turn towards the sky where only very few particles of light still remain from the pillar that had shot into the sky. It got swarmed after I ran away with Oswald's star-shard.
All at once, it clicks together and my breath hitches. This place...it's not Wasteland. At least not the one I know presently. Could it be...that that mirror sent me back when Wasteland got ambushed by Heartless after I shot away? It makes since, though. Yen Sid did say before that the mirror would find any remnant similar to the memory it was given, regardless of where or when.
My mind in jumbles, it takes me a little bit longer that it should have for me to start heading deeper into the castle, against the current of people but still hidden. Shadows and Neoshadows are attacking everything and everywhere in a relentless frenzy. It's almost like they're looking for something. Stopping in my tracks at hearing a noise, I have only a couple of seconds to sidestep before the double doors burst open and Os comes out dragging Ortensia along. In the other hand, he holds one of his toys and electrocutes the Heartless as they pursue after them, knocking a hoard that come from the dining hall back. He pushes the doors closed and jams it but the little bastards are relentless.
Os doesn't waste time and turns to Ortensia, holding her by her shoulders. "Listen to me, Ortensia. You must find Ayano and leave Wasteland at once."
Her hands hold his. "No, I won't leave you."
"You have to!" Os flinches, as do I, when the Heartless thrash against the closed door, getting dnagerously close to breaking it apart. "We have to protect her." From where I am, all I can see is her looking at him with a frown. She sighs before nodding. "Good. Now go!" He shoves her along and she takes the lead to run. Oswald turns to the door with his gadget at the ready. The door then breaks easily as if made of glass.
I'm left speechless and immobile. They've always tried to protect me. That's all they've ever done. Before my renewed guilt can choke me, dread wins over when a couple of Heartless stop in their attack to glance my way. They stare, transfixed, before they change course and head towards me.
That's impossible. My masks—
"Don't work on them," Rinto reminds me with an urging tone. Panic mounts even higher when more start turning my way. "Master, run!"
I don't think it twice and sprint away. Most of the hoard that had broken through follows behind me and it's frightening me more. Despite that, I flee, jumping from shadow to shadow trying to space myself away from them. I don't know how but I get out of OsTown and reach Mickeyjunk Mountain. My stop at the foot of the mountain is brief as I catch my breath while I stare at the far off summit. Dark clouds hover over it, making it look much more threatening than it actually is. But at the moment, with so many Heartless after me, it seemed appropriate. Rain begins to fall but I ignore it. The Heartless start to attack and force me to take Ares out to fend them off as I climb the mountain, having no other way to go.
It's tiring and they come at me like there's no tomorrow. No matter how many Shadows or Neoshadows I defeat, more come at me. It's endless. Finally, I reach the mountain's summit but I don't know what good it'll do me here. I'm still being attacked. The only difference now is I'm cornered up here.
Tapping one end of Ares on the floor, I summon the war hammer on its side and ready it to strike. Before I can, though, a deafening shriek, like chirping birds, blasts in my ears a split second before thunder clamors down on one side of the mountain. Stumbling back, my eyes widen at seeing a piece of it fall alongside with any Heartless that had been standing there. Although I'm soaked to the bone, I hadn't notice that much darker clouds that hung over me; much less that it'd turned into a huge thunderstorm. The Heartless don't stop, though, and continue with their attack. I'm frozen in place not knowing what would come at me: the dark creatures or nature. The latter comes first as a couple of bolts hit at the mountain, the second striking dangerously close to where I stood.
The mountain begins crumbling beneath my feet. When I turn back to see where I could grab onto, a great fear comes over me. The height—I hadn't noticed how high I was. Petrified, I can't even move to grab onto any falling debris. Instead I fall and crash against the huge lake that sat around the mountain. My body runs colds as it breaks the surface of the water. The impact so forceful that it opens my lungs and I inhale nothing but water. I try hard—so damn hard—to struggle and swim to the surface but as I'm sinking something catches my limbs. Glancing behind me, all I see are black tendrils from the Shadows and Neoshadows that fell with me as they pull me down. The more I struggle, the more they tug. Soon I can't hold my breath anymore and swallow up more water.
I'm drowning.
My vision begins to blur with that thought. As I look up, all I see is the thunder that lights up the darken sky. During one of the flashes, a figure hovers over me seconds before I lose consciousness.
A dark figure touches the surface of the water, standing on it yet not sinking. Its body lean and ghastly was enveloped in dark clothes—a dress that flowed at the ends, dark mist flowing behind it in great volumes. The topside of its face, up to the bridge of its nose, is covered in a dark helmet and the same dark mist falls down their back in waves. Its arms, just like its other extremities, end in wisps of black mist. The figure—much too young and feminine—looks down into the lake as Ayano sinks deeper, Heartless dragging her further down.
She cocks her head before she opens her left palm. A dark light phases through her open hand before a dark Keyblade appears: simplistic in design, it only contains anything on the hilt. It was covered in white vines, some with thorns, a corner with the full bloom of a white lily. They extended down to wrap around the blade as it ended in three sharp spikes.
Slightly lifting her arm, the young woman brandishes it straight down where Ayano lies. A ray of black light shoots from the tip and strikes just below Ayano and makes a gold keyhole appear. It clicks before darkness spews from it swallowing Ayano whole.
"Thank you for letting me in."
The young man stares up at the other who'd spoken—his gray eyes twinkling in the moonlight, showing off specks of dark brown in them. He lifts his gaze from the ground letting waves of dark red hair fall away from his face.
The man who'd spoken to him—if one could call him such—sat languidly against a broken stone throne. The whole room they were currently in, in fact, was made of nothing but stone. He'd let this stranger in. And although he questioned himself now, there was no backing out.
"Don't," he answers, hating the gratitude he didn't feel the tiniest bit sincere. "It's a mutual agreement that got me to let you in. Nothing else."
"Yes, yes," the stranger calls cheerfully. "And I'm a man of my word if anything." The stranger moved from his place letting his long red hair, that he held in a long braid, fall from over his shoulder. The man strays his eyes from the floor to glance at the stranger for a brief second but immediately regrets it. Those bright crimson eyes were unnerving. "Here you go." With a flick of his wrists, a pair of golden bracelets appear in his hands. From where he stands so close to the throne, the man can see some odd engravings all along the bracelets. Tied together, the stranger twirled them both in one finger. "Now, your job is simple and as long as you follow everything step-by-step then you'll be rewarded for your hard work, my boy!"
The stranger stands from his sit and walks up to the young man. Despite him being a tad inch taller than the stranger in front of him, something about him was still immensely threatening. The stranger smiles and dangles the bracelets before his face, taunting him. "And if you're a really good boy then I might even tell you where that man is."
The task was easy, he had to admit that. Way too easy. "How can I know to trust you?"
The stranger laughs at this while holding the two bracelets in one hand. "Clearly you're not stupid. Good for you, boy. Good for you. Such a smart question deserves an answer." He sobers up and clears his throat but the smug smirk never leaves his face. "You can't." The young man scowls at this but the stranger isn't deterred from continuing. "As you yourself might have already guessed, this isn't a mutual agreement out of trust. It's a mutual agreement out of merit. You use me and I use you; quite a nice relationship so long as we both play nice; don't you think? Each their own means to an end."
Crude. Cynic. But he wasn't wrong.
The young man sighs before reaching out for the bracelets. Before he can grab them, though, the stranger pulls away before staring back at him with those eerie crimson eyes. "And remember my one condition, boy: I want her alive." He tosses the bracelets to him before smirking. "Wouldn't want those pesky powers of yours killing her by accident, now, would we?"
The young man's scowl deepens at the cruel reminder and his gloved hands tighten into a fist, the slight teal of his nails gleaming in the gaslight.
The stranger stares, his smile not disappearing as he taps his chin, pensively. "Now that we're on the clear on what we're each to do—" The stranger waves a hand out to the side summoning a dark portal. The man recognized it from before when he'd first heard the stranger's voice in his empty home. "Off you go."
The young man gazed at the dark portal. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to it before stepping through and disappearing, the portal vanishing behind him.
The stranger chuckles at the boy that'd left. Such a smart man, but so easily swayed. The stranger came back to the decrepit stone throne and leaned against one of the armrests. He plays with the end of his hair but stops when a ripple comes through the atmosphere. Seconds later, a dark portal opens and from it, the dark feminine figure crept out with the dark mist following after her. She glides to him and cups a hand against his ear; he remains unmoving as the creature whispers to him.
He listens calmly until something it said made him smirk widely, his cheeks splitting from end to end. This time he lets out a cackle and he bends forward, holding his stomach. The creature glides back to give him space as he sinks in his euphoria. When he's done and he looks up, his eyes shine brighter than ever as a red ribbon follows his gaze.
"Finally...all the pieces are coming together."
The stranger stands as the creature steps aside. He walks up to the wall and brushes his fingers against it. A dark energy seeps from his fingertips and it begins to crack the wall with the feather-light touch he gives it.
"Let the games begin."
A/N:
Almost two years. That's how long it took me to put everything together for this story. And I have everything: the outline, the characters, etc. Literally, EVERYTHING. So I'm finishing this one way or another.
Sad thing though is that Curse of Ursus will be sharing a spot with my other new story, Silent Lamb. And although the other will take priority simply because it takes me longer to write those chapters, I won't leave this story to dry. For sure, I won't leave you guys for longer than a month if anything.
But yeah, this is the beginning of a fourth story in my Kingdom Hearts fanfics. Yay! :D Not only that but as also said at the very beginning this is the very first collab I'm doing with someone else's OC. Thank you, again, Antex! Hope this lives up to your expectations!
The rest of you got a brief introduction to him here but there's still no name to call him by. No worries c: Next chapter will bring many other new things to the table. As for the story, all of the you will be witness to what happens. Not even Antex knows!
For now, I'll leave you this.
So welcome to the first chapter of a new story; the fourth installment of what I've endearingly dubbed The Masked Liar Saga. Figured if Square Enix and Disney go to call KH a spiffy little name then so do I.
Thank you all for reading! Hoped you enjoyed the first chapter and staye