Screams echoed through the streets of Reath as the Shadows known as Heartless ran through the streets terrorizing everyone they saw. Not a single street in Reath was dark as everything possible done to destroy the Heartless threat, but nothing was going to stop the onslaught. Kyle's hands shook with fear as he witnessed the mayhem. Someone pounded on the door to his room, and before he could answer his friend Darren threw the door open.
"Kyle, get your things they've called a complete evacuation." Darren said standing stiffly in the doorway. Kyle envied Darren, his bravery. Darren was Syrus's best student and Prodigy to the rank of Knight to the wielders. It wouldn't be long until they came to collect him… but here he was telling him this? "Did you hear me?"
"I heard you." Kyle said numbly, as he feebly struggled with himself to get moving.
"Then come on, let's get going!" Kyle shook his head.
"If we all scramble to the Evacuation site none of us will make it. After they take the city they will pursue them all the way there." Darren's shoulders dropped lightly as he cocked his head inquisitively. He had never heard Kyle talk like this before, he had never given up. "What's the point of running?"
"Shut up Kyle." Kyle felt himself snap a little as bits of anger rose to the surface. "I never want to hear you say something like that again do you hear me?" Kyle faced Darren signs of irritation lining his face.
"What would you have me do?"
"Come with me, fight beside me! I would want no other beside me." Kyle's anger stopped dead as his heart nearly did. "Like you said, they won't last a minute if someone doesn't stop them! Come with me and we'll rid them from this city and buy them some time!" Kyle feeling regretful for his doubt smiled in shame. "What do you say?"
"I say we've sat here and talked long enough." Darren smiled, that was more the Kyle he knew. Brave to the end, even if he needed a push every now and then. Kyle and Darren both raced out of the Apprentice Quarters and out of the Barracks into the city streets. Screams came towards them from down the street, and as they turned to face the screams there was a woman who had fallen to the ground, her daughter standing beside her trying to help her mother up. Kyle and Darren both ran as fast as they could to the screaming child.
Kyle's Heart chilled as he could feel the Heartless closing in on them. His senses were right: just before they got to the child Shadows started slowly closing in on the child as if to mock Darren and Kyle for their slowness. Feeling for the power he had become accustomed to, mentally he reached out to it and willed it into action. Kyle felt his Keyblade's weight suddenly in his hand as he raced faster to the child's side. The closest Shadow closed in on the child and reached out with clawed hands. A surge of fear welled up inside Kyle, fearing he would be too late to save the girl.
"No… never again." Kyle whispered to himself the willed the power to force himself to go faster, and as he did so he could feel pavement crunching beneath every step. Within a second Kyle crossed the distance and slashed at the Heartless, watching it vaporize before his eyes.
"Darren, grab the girl!" Kyle yelled furiously. Darren picked the girl up off the ground, and before he could do anything Kyle had jumped into a larger group of Heartless, attacking them with wild Abandon.
'That's the Kyle I know.' Darren said to himself, as he raced to keep up with Kyle. Everything was vivid to Kyle, slow and deliberate, as he carved a path through the Shadows. His first and only thought was to survive, because if he could not save himself he could not save anyone. He saw as the Shadows began to retreat from his presence, being called away by their master.
"Darren, take the girl to the convoy and meet me in the center of town. We'll hold them off there." Kyle's tone was not meant to be demanding, merely urgent. Although Darren couldn't help but hear the authority in his voice. Darren took off down the street, dodging the occasional Heartless that would jump out and surprise him. Kyle turned the opposite direction, seeing more Heartless chasing down citizens. Griping his Keyblade tightly he forced himself to exert all his power to race from street-side to street-side, jumping from staircases and off walls as he ran, laying waste to every Heartless he could see.
A block down he started seeing the crowd of Heartless thinning. But bleeding from windows and alleyways another breed of Heartless had joined in the fray. A mockery of what is meant to defend, the Heartless Soldiers were mixing with the Shadows making it harder for Kyle to discern movements. Soldiers moved erratically and could either become defensive or offensive in a moments notice. Shifting stances Kyle jumped into the air, landing amidst the throng of enemies.
Although powerful he was finding it difficult to keep up. His practices with 'Mirages' were good practice, but as he now knew they weren't much compared to the real thing. A sharp pain intruded his thoughts as claws ripped through his shirt and into his shoulder. Kyle spun in place and saw the Heartless retreating, readying for another attack.
With a roar of anger Kyle brought his Keyblade down upon the Heartless, followed by a resounding shockwave from his blow. 'I need to keep my head on straight, or else.'
Darren ran as fast as he could, counting streets. It was a habit of his, he'd either count steps or streets, depending on his mood. He finally rounded the corner to 3rd street and saw a group of more Keyblade Wielders, possibly Knights, guarding a group of Civilians.
"Is this the Convoy?" Darren asked hurriedly.
"The one and only." One of the Wielders said smiling.
"Take the girl and make sure she gets out of here!" Darren said handing the weeping girl to the other Wielder.
"And where are you going? Syrus has declared a complete evacuation of this planet and the surrounding systems!"
"I have a date with Destiny, watch over her and take care!" Darren spun around and started back down the road he had come. People passed him as he raced on, all of them seemingly uninjured. Darren was sure this was Kyle's doing. Although he became increasingly worried as the further he went there was more destruction. He finally got to the center of town and looked around him. All around him were ruins, even if it was more spacious here then anywhere else in the town.
"Kyle!" There was no answer. "Kyle, where are you!" As if in response he felt the ground shake a bit, and within moments the building directly in front of him collapsed, Kyle barely managing to jump from a window before the collapse reached him.
Kyle was torn up and scuffed, even a little bloodied, but he seemed to be fairing well all things considered. Kyle halfheartedly jogged to Darren.
"And what may I ask were you doing?" Darren asked smiling. Kyle shook his head.
"Me? I was doing my part. Maybe even a bit of yours." Kyle said smiling a bit. Darren looked hurt, but obviously wasn't from his smile.
"A bit of mine? Might I add I have seniority! My part should never be as big, you know that." Kyle laughed a bit.
"Whatever you say. Be ready, here they come." Kyle's eyes hardened and became focused. Darren materialized his Keyblade and faced the opposite direction as Kyle.
"So, I bet I can get more then you." Kyle's focused look broke for a moment, as a smile crept across his face.
"We'll see about that."
Chris wiped the sweat off his brow, never before had he been forced to evacuate. He had done business many times before in Reath, but never did the Heartless even dare to set foot on the surface. A young, pretty and yet familiar face poked from the entrance to his ship.
"We're almost done loading. We can take off soon." the girl, Sandra, said. Chris noted that she was smiling, albeit a bit of an odd one.
"Good. Once we're done loading we'll hover just out of sight for a while." Sandra nodded her acknowledgement and went back into the ship. "By the way Sandra, you're smiling again."
"Am I? I didn't notice." Sandra called out from the inside of the ship.
"Just make sure you're not if we run into someone. They might think you're a bit loony, considering the situation." Chris cracked his knuckles. A chill went down his spine as he could feel something wasn't right… there was something happening he couldn't see. "You still there Sandra?" She poked her head out again.
"Yes?"
"Forget that last part, we can load from another port, something isn't right. We're going to try to go help." Sandra nodded again and ran inside the ship towards the cockpit, Chris right behind her. Chris closed the door behind himself, and seated himself in the Pilot's chair like he had so many times.
"Engines activated, thrusters functioning properly, weapons online." Sandra said flipping switches and monitoring screens.
"Let's get this baby off the ground." Sandra grabbed the controls for the weapons while Chris pulled back on his controls, trying to get the ship to lift. Slowly but surely, the ship shuddered and rose off the ground. The radio crackled to life. Chris put on his headset.
"Unidentified Ship, you are ordered to evacuate and meet at the designated planet. Do you read me?" A voice asked over the radio.
"I copy control, but I'm inclined to say no. I'm staying." Chris said sternly.
"As you are an independent trader we cannot force you. But as you already know if something should happen to you or your vessel you cannot expect there to be a rescue."
"I copy that control. Just point me in the direction that needs my help."
Kyle could feel his arms burning with the sustained exertion, which was only multiplied by the pain in his shoulder from his previous wound. Grinding his teeth he fought on as the Heartless kept coming relentlessly.
"What are you at?" Kyle heard Darren yell back to him.
"Nearly two hundred!" Kyle yelled back, grimacing as he continued his work.
"I have over three!" Slashing his blade in a line in front of him, Kyle managed to safely face Darren.
"I call bull!" Darren laughed.
"You're right! Minus a hundred to my score, I'm now at one fifty!" Kyle managed a short laugh. He did not realize this, but when Darren was not under attack he would watch Kyle in awe. His raw strength and terribly destructive power sent shivers of both fear and admiration down Darren's spine. Never before had he seen someone so talented with the Keyblade.
The fight continued it's vicious cycle: They fight and destroy Heartless, and then more would come to replace them. Before either one knew what had happened, even though they believed they had carefully maneuvered, they found themselves standing back to back, completely surrounded. Time seemed to slow as they realized the folly they had committed. Kyle's heart beat strongly yet seemingly slowly, as if to savor it's last moments.
"Get down!" someone yelled. Darren and Kyle both looked up in unison to see a ship flying overhead. Darren grabbed Kyle by the shoulder and ran with him behind a wall for cover.
Then the unmistakable sound of gunfire rang through the air. Peeking over the wall they saw the ship firing on the scrambling Heartless. Kyle grabbed Darren by the collar and brought him close.
"We can do no more here! They've overwhelmed the city, let's meet with the others and regroup!" Without warning both boys jumped over the wall and ran through the gunfire, and though it didn't stop they ran through it.
Chris saw the boys jump over the wall and run through the gunfire. He smiled to himself, he had to admire their guts.
"Sandra, let's keep it up. Those two risked their necks for everyone to evacuate, now it's our turn." Chris let the ship go closer to the ground, settling just above the rooftops of the houses. "Good luck kids."
Running as fast as their weary bodies would allow they made their way down the streets, cutting through alleys and lawns to make better time. Kyle's legs buckled beneath him and he fell hard to the pavement. Darren turned for a moment and faced Kyle.
"Go on! I'll catch up." Kyle called to him. Barely able to stand himself, Darren ran back and grabbed Kyle by the arm and belt and lifted him off the ground. "I said go!"
"Not without you idiot!" Darren said grinding his teeth. Half-dragging Kyle they made it to the border where the evacuation was. "Come on Kyle, just a little further!" Focusing what little strength remained in his body he managed to speed himself up, lessening the load for Darren. They passed the border and were immediately met by Knights of Reath.
"Are there any others coming?" one of the Knights asked. Darren shook his head.
"We're it." One of the Knights took Kyle while the other grabbed onto Darren and led them further until they reached the evacuation building.
Fire was blazing all around now, yet the Heartless kept coming.
"Gun 'A' is empty. Gun 'B' down to 25%. Cannon is down to it's last few rounds." Sandra said. Chris grimaced at the ensuing chaos and wondered how the Heartless even still had one left to occupy the city? "Gun 'B' empty. I advise we retreat and reload."
"Agreed. Let's hope those kids got out of here." Chris pulled up on the controls, and the ship lifted away from harm, and leaving behind devastation.
Darren and Kyle hobbled alongside the Knights helping them. The building was empty besides them. There wasn't even a ship left for them to retreat with. One of the Knights groaned and stamped his foot angrily.
"Where are the ships?" Kyle asked. Neither of the Knights answered, merely looked at each other.
"The rail-train. If we get to the rail-train beneath us we may be able to get far enough away to get a rescue evac." The other Knight nodded, and together they led Darren and Kyle to the stairs leading down. It took a short while to get down, but once they were there the rail-train seemed to not be functioning. Running to the front car of the train, the Knight carrying Kyle let him go and started doing something to the controls.
"Five minutes till this thing get's moving." the Knight said. Crashing could be heard coming from the floor above them, and they all instinctually knew they didn't have five minutes. The Knight helping Darren looked over to the Knight inside the train.
"Get these boys safely out of here." And as he said it he let go of Darren and raced back for the stairs, and disappeared. The train was almost ready to go, but it still had two minutes left on it, and the sounds of battle subsided. The Knight rammed his fist into the door opposite him, knowing full well his friend was gone. Looking up he locked eyes with both Darren and Kyle.
"You must stay in the train. Stay till it leaves." the Knight said grabbing both boys and dragging them into the train. Once they were inside he walked to just outside the doorway, turned around and threw something to them. "It's a transmitter, activate it once you're safely out of here. You boys did well today." The Knight shut the door tightly, and turned to fight the growing mob that spilled down the stairway.
"Let me fight! Let me out!" Darren yelled, trying to pry the door open. Kyle managed to stand and also tried to pry the door open, but to no avail.
"Rail-train online. Emergency Transportation activated." the train's com said.
"Let us help!" The Knight turned to them.
"Don't let us down! Find out who did this, and make them pay!" The Rail-train started up suddenly, and wasted no time. The Knight became a distant sight, lost in the tunnel. Both boys slid to a sitting position as despair crept into their Hearts. And though they wanted to cry, they were going to be strong now. They had a new duty to perform.
Hours went by, until finally they could feel the train slowing. After a time they felt it slow to a stop, and the doors opened. Kyle and Darren managed to stand up, having rested for a time, and made their way outside. They saw they were alone, no ships, not other people. Carefully Darren activated the transmitter halfheartedly. They could hear a noise from over the edge of the cliff.
Darren and Kyle looked over the edge of the cliff and felt the evil crawling up towards them. Millions of Heartless were racing across the field with a purpose. Darren looked in Kyle's direction with a blank expression. Kyle returned the look and took a deep breath in.
"It's never over." Kyle said exhausted.
"Never." Darren agreed. "Don't lose hope, our path is set and our fates are intertwined. We chose this destiny."
"I know." Kyle said grimly, knowing that this path was foolhardy and meant their demise. "Let's see it to the end." Darren smiled wryly. With a flick of their wrists they called forth their Keyblades.
"You ready for this?" Darren asked him.
"No, but let's do it anyway." Without another word Darren and Kyle leapt off the edge, right into the heart of the horde of enemies. Kyle felt a surge of adrenaline as the first of the enemies surrounded him. The Heartless charged him without relenting, he cut them down and cut them down but they wouldn't stop, and endless waltz. In the corner of his eye he saw Darren rending through entire lines of them without mercy.
Kyle could feel himself wearing down as yet another Shadow fell by his blade and ten more rose up to meet him in combat. Even amidst this carnage Kyle heard a ghostly scream escape Darren. An explosion sent Kyle to his back, blowing him back a good ten feet. The Heartless now gave Darren a wide berth, fear flooded Kyle as he saw the new form of Darren. Darren had become a beast, a creature of darkness wielding a Keyblade in one hand and claws in the other. He was a lopsided monster, his head had contorted into a wolf's, his left hand now bore claws that were meant to rend and tear through even the thickest of armor, he had a tail made of bone, both feet were hoofed like a minotaur, his chest was relatively unchanged except the new symbol he bore on it.
Darren was now one of the enemy, a Heartless. His eyes were cold and empty, all traces of his friend erased. Kyle tensed, preparing an all-out, no-mercy death match against his former friend. Darren's Heartless roared and lunged at Kyle. Kyle managed to parry the worthless Keyblade and dodged the menacing claws. With a sad glance, Kyle thrust his Keyblade into Darren's Heartless's chest. For a glimmer of a moment before he faded into darkness he thought he felt some measure of Darren, it was small but he knew it had been there. Almost as if Darren had just thanked him.
With his former friend slain by his hand, the adrenaline that had coursed in his veins like an unbidden power, now coupled with the anger of a dying race, it burned through his veins feeling like a fire that would consume him. Time itself seemed to be going at a crawl compared to him, his strength and speed had increased a hundred fold. He let go, his pain too great to care for his own wellbeing, he madly struck at the Heartless that continued to cover the landscape like an eclipse. His fury became so great that the world itself began to tremble beneath every blow. It was like trying to stop the ocean with a pebble, they broke on him like waves on land.
Though his whole body seared with pain from the exertion of his actions he would not stop. The battlefield that was once a fertile land lush with life and a place of serenity, would never again bare life and the land itself could almost be heard weeping for an end to this chaos.
The horde was nowhere near it's end before Kyle gave in to his exhaustion and pain and dropped to his knees, staring grudgingly at the Heartless who seemed to glare back, as if mocking him. Gathering what little strength he had left he stood up, waveringly, and lifted his blade to eye level and scanned the crowd with it.
"Come to me! Come to meet your doom! I shall deliver you from the darkness that enslaves you!" Kyle yelled. For a moment they stirred, as if considering what he had said. Then once again they charged at him with the ferocity of a large pack of jackals trying to take down a lion. He responded in kind, the small fire that still burned within him bade him to continue. The longer he fought the more his hope dwindled, but something else began to kindle inside of him, a rage that threatened to overtake him.
It was his curse, till they destroyed him he would fight as relentlessly as they would. Numbers meant nothing to him, he was a Keyblade wielder. His Teachers had taught him to ignore numbers and to attack the whole as if it was one individual. Even in his weakening state his power was a sight to behold. As the sun began to set further into dusk and the shadows on the horizon grew in length, it seemed as if the planet itself was giving birth to the shadows, an unending horde marched ever onward to their weakening foe.
A rather large Heartless spewed forth from his own shadow, taking on a mock shape of a human. A Neo Shadow as he called them. They were much more powerful than all the other Heartless. To kill them one had to use the power of light itself. A power he did not have. It lunged for him and he barely managed to avoid it's massive hands but only to throw himself in the path of the rest of the shadow army. He felt their clawed hands rending at him, clawing down to his very soul, threatening to tear him in two.
They threw themselves at him until his whole view went dark. He realized that he should feel scared or angry, but he found himself slipping into a numbing bliss. His worries seemed to slip away, all his painful memories were being lost to the endless oblivion. He knew what was happening, they were dividing him, making another Heartless to add to their legion. He welcomed it, began to embrace it. In his mind he saw a glimmer of light, a small speck of what he used to be. In the light resided his memories, his awareness, his existence. He was desperate, he wanted to let go, to sink perfectly into the darkness and become one with it.
'Hey, I'm not letting you give up that easily!' a voice yelled, bringing him to a somewhat awareness. Coming out of the light appeared a woman, there was something about her that made him feel safer then he ever had. The woman extended her hand as if to help him up. Kyle reached and grasped her hand, and like a shock of electricity energy passed between them. Memories flooded back, as did their pain. 'I will not let you be divided so easily!'
The light continued to pour in until it was blinding. Kyle shielded his eyes from the light, and when the light faded he looked around him. All the Heartless had stopped and all seemed to stare at him with confused eyes. He looked around him, they had all stopped and were staring at him.
'Don't move, we're going to get you out of there!' a voice yelled over the radio on his shoulder. He stood completely still and seconds later a small ship descended and hovered just above the ground. The hatch on the back opened and a man poked his head out.
"Don't just stand there get in!" Without thinking twice Kyle ran and jumped into the back. After he was in the hatch closed at the same time the ship took off into the sky again. Kyle made his way to the front of the ship where two people were sitting in front managing the controls.
"Strap yourself in kid, or you're going to regret it here in a minute." said the pilot. Kyle seated himself just behind the pilot and made sure he was properly secured. "Jumping in orbit? Chris, you know the risks." the female in the middle said in a monotone voice.
"Sandra, not now!" Chris, the pilot, yelled. The ship rocked as it prepared the Jump Stasis Field around the ship. "Jumping now!" A force pushed Kyle back in his seat as the ship entered jump. After a few moments a light came on.
'The planet is now exactly 42 light years away. No enemy ships have made pursuit. Suggested that we drop out of Jump to preserve power.' the ship's intercom said.
"Do it." Chris said. As Chris made his command the force pushing Kyle back stopped. "You okay kid? We thought we were going to lose you."
"I can handle myself." Kyle said coldly.
"We saw. It was a brave thing you did in the city." Sandra said never looking at Kyle. Kyle made no reply. He and Darren had known they odds when they fought the Heartless. What else could they have done? They were distracting them so the other Wielders could get away.
"What happened to your friend anyway? One minute he was on our radar the next he was gone."
"He turned into a Heatless. I had no choice but to defeat him." His reply was cold but sad.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Do you have any idea where the rest of them went?" Kyle thought about it for a moment. He had been told about this before... if something like this occurred they'd leave the star system and mobilize together for a frontal attack on the Heartless's planet of Origin. Although with how few that had escaped, he doubted very greatly they'd be back in his lifetime. If nothing else they'd set up a perimeter so that the Heartless couldn't leave the system. Either way he was alone behind enemy lines.
"They left the system."
"What?" Chris looked a little perturbed by the answer he had received. "They are coming back right?"
"I wouldn't hold your breath on that one." Kyle replied looking out the window towards the stars, trying hard to keep composed. Chris leaned back in his seat and sighed deeply.
"Then I guess we'll have to leave too." Chris said, almost chocking on every word he said. He didn't like the idea of leaving this system, any system, to the Heartless. He had seen what becomes of those places. Floating, desolate, debris that sits in space without purpose.
"No." Kyle said abruptly. "I will not abandon this system even if I were to be the last person in it! If the Heartless want it they will have to destroy me and whatever planet I'm on just to stop me! And... there's something I have to do." Sandra looked back at him with a blank expression. He recognized that lifeless stare she gave him, she was a Nobody. Only half a person. Yet somehow she didn't give that same empty feeling the others do. She was also around his age, maybe a year or two between them at most.
"Don't be so hasty as to just throw your life away to the first just cause you spot." Sandra said.
"And what would a Nobody know of matters of the Heart?" Kyle asked provokingly.
"I used to know. I threw it all away about three years ago to the first thing that took me away from my 'dull and boring' life."
"And why should I trust you? Most Nobodies are hell-bent on becoming whole no matter the means is."
"I didn't say you should, but you should because I have a purpose for existing."
"And what might that be?" Kyle asked.
"To find my real Heart, and because I refuse to follow the Darkness." This caught Kyle off guard. That would be the slowest way of becoming whole again. There had to be a million quicker ways, but she chose this path? Sandra smiled, it looked warm and heartfelt, although there was no glow behind it. "I remember what it's like to be happy, unlike most who are intent on remembering anger."
"I'm sorry." Kyle apologized bowing his head so he could hide the shame in his face. He had been told of Nobodies like her, even though they were rare indeed. They are the ones that helped many Heartless and Nobodies become one again.
"Hey kid, save your apologies for those who care for them. But in either case it seems we are at an impasse here. We should leave and get you back to the others, but it seems to me that you don't want to leave. Is that how it is kid?"
"Yes." Kyle was straight faced again, once again determined not to leave. "I won't leave."
"Hey kid just ask nicely enough and I might be inclined to let us stay." As Chris said this, Kyle knew he didn't want to leave either.
"Please…"
"Sure thing kid. What's your name anyway, I don't feel like calling you kid all the time."
"Kyle."
"Well, Kyle, where to?"
"Crystal Gardens."