The Three Wayfinders
Chapter 2: The Dark Tempest
"No... I can still detect the darkness within you... You cannot destroy it, but it will destroy you and everything you cherish most..."
"You're right... I can't destroy it, but you did teach me one thing... I can channel it... towards the light."
"Humph, Master Terra... do you have the strength to accomplish such a feat?"
"I've already told you... my friends are my strength..."
"And if they were to be smothered by the black abyss. What will you do then, boy?"
"I will do everything in my power to bring them back, I promise you that! Now get out of my nightmares!"
"Hehehehe, you'd best stay true to your words... because you will be put to the test."
"What are you talking about old man!?"
"The darkness is looming, Terra... I'd advise you better wake up!"
Terra had suddenly awoken from his excruciating nightmare only to find that the storm had finally arrived, and it was unleashing its fury on their Castle.
Play the Night of Fate Theme on a second tab.
Ven had fallen out of his bed from being awakened by the loud thunder. He was all tangled up in the covers when he noticed something weird crawl under his bedroom door. It then reformed and it was a shadowy creature with yellow eyes. Ven had remembered Eraqus telling him of such a monster with this description. What were those things called again?
The creature then lurched at Ven with its sharp claws ready to tear him apart, but in a flash, Ven swept off his bed cover, summoned his Wayward Wind keyblade, and destroyed the Shadow.
"No Heartless is going to get me in my bedroom!" Ven smirked.
Then the blond peered out of his window to see the storm raging outside. Then suddenly, the whole Castle began to shake violently like there was a massive earthquake. And as soon as it started, it ended.
"I've got to check on the others!" Ven declared as he ran out of his bedroom.
"Ahhh! Someone help!" Kairi shouted.
The little girl was surrounded by Neo-shadows in the Throne Room. She was defenseless, and when she thought she'd lost all hope. Two weakly-formed fireballs destroyed one Neo-shadow and then the rest of the monsters turned towards Riku and Sora, wielding toy wooden swords.
"Leave her alone!" Sora demanded.
"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?!" Riku challenged.
The Neo-shadows left Kairi alone and charged at the two boys instead. They were way too powerful for the small children, but at the last second Masters Aqua and Eraqus had obliterated the creatures in an instant.
"Are you kids alright?" Aqua asked worriedly.
"We're fine. But those monsters are all over the Castle!" Sora exclaimed.
"Then it is worse than I feared. If the Heartless have made it to this world then surely they are in others. Eraqus deduced. "...But how is this possible?!"
"We'll figure that out later, we need to find Terra and Ven now!" Aqua stated.
"We're right here!" Terra shouted as he and Ven came running toward them with their keyblades in hand.
"What do we do now?" Kairi asked the group.
"Terra, Aqua, Ven... We are going to defend this Castle! This is our home and we will not let it fall to darkness!" Eraqus declared.
"We'll head outside to take care of the source!" Terra stated. "Eraqus, can you protect the kids?"
"With my life." Eraqus promised. "If all three of you use your keyblades on this tempest then it should disappear."
"Then let's go before this gets any worse!" Ven advised.
Aqua, Terra, and Ven quickly made their way out of the Throne Room and down the stairs to the outside where the powerful storm was still unleashing its wrath on the land. As soon as the three friends made it to the bottom of the stairs and to the first courtyard, plenty of Heartless began to surround them, drawn to their keyblades. Although they made quick work of any dark creature that tried to do them harm, but there was just so many of them. Not to mention that immense profusions of Heartless began to pour out of dark portals on the mountainsides around them. Then suddenly, the storm clouds in the sky began to form a giant black hole, and it began to draw in any poor victims it could swallow.
Ven, Terra, and Aqua were unfortunately ensnared in the engulfing winds of the vacuum, and they were lifted up into the air and they were going to be sucked into the black hole in the sky!
But at the last second, golden chains wrapped around all three of the keyblade wielders, which prevented them from being swallowed by the darkness. Eraqus, with nearly all of his might, used his keyblade to save his former students by pulling them back to the ground. Terra, Aqua, and Ven were grateful for the rescue, but they could see the kids cowering in fear and holding onto Eraqus as the Heartless began to close in all around them.
Its seemed that Eraqus would be able to pull his keyblade apprentices turned master to safety, but then a massive Darkside Heartless spawned between them and it used its powerful claws to slash the golden chains connecting them which tragically meant that Terra, Aqua, and Ventus were at the mercy of the black hole. The three friends were engulfed by the darkness and then the black hole disappeared, but the storm still raged on.
"NO!" Eraqus shouted.
"MASTER!" The kids called out for.
"Children, whatever you do, stay behind me!" Master Eraqus ordered then he faced the Darkside. "You will pay! I will banish you all to the darkness whence you came!"
Play the Master of the Armor Theme on a second tab.
Eraqus then reached under his long white coat and summoned his own armor for the first time in a long while; he wasn't going to hold anything back for these foul monsters!
"Let the darkness die!" Eraqus proclaimed.
The Darkside then summoned more Shadow Heartless from his hands as he powered up a ball of energy in the heart-shaped hole in its chest. But before he could even fire it, Armored Master Eraqus destroyed the beast in one blow with his keyblade. The Darkside was totally obliterated and the children could only stare in awe at the man's power.
"Go get'em Master Eraqus!" Sora, Riku, and Kairi cheered.
But the victory was short-lived as more Heartless began to crawl over the edges and began to surround them all even more. Eraqus then summoned many orbs of light and ordered them to seek out the Heartless and destroy them. The orbs obeyed their creator and they made their way to destroy as many Heartless as they could find. Also, Eraqus himself was using Master Keeper and he was sweeping away hordes of Shadows with each blow.
Even though Eraqus, had rediscovered his old powers, his old age was failing him, he wasn't as young as he used to be. He felt fatigued, and after destroying maybe hundreds of Heartless to protect his home, he dropped to one knee...
"...There's too many..." Eraqus panted.
Then suddenly a Neo-Shadow was lunging at him from behind and he was too weak to respond until he saw that Riku and Sora had surprisingly summoned keyblades of their own and destroyed the Heartless.
"How can they summon keyblades of their own already...? They're so young..." Eraqus stared at the kids in disbelief.
"Let us help you, Master. Heal!" Kairi sweetly stated as she performed her newly learned cure spell, getting Eraqus back to full health.
Eraqus then got back on his own two feet and thanked his little saviors, but then they realized that another wave of dark creatures was coming towards them.
"Children, get back to the Throne Room!" Eraqus ordered.
Master Eraqus sliced a path through the Heartless back to the front door as Sora, Riku, and Kairi followed closely behind them. They finally made it back inside, and they found themselves going up the stairs to the Throne Room. As always, there were three thrones and Eraqus could only think of one solution to keep them safe.
"Sora, Riku, Kairi, take a seat, now." Eraqus told the children which they complied.
The apprentices each took a throne to sit in then Eraqus raised Master Keeper into the air and summoned a great brilliant light which shined throughout the room...
The Throne Room had transformed into the Chamber of Waking once more, its purpose: to keep them all safe from the darkness until Ventus, Aqua, and Terra could save the worlds from it. Then Eraqus dismissed his armor and faced the three kids, each sitting in a throne.
"Children... I am very proud of you for being so brave, but you must trust me, and trust your Masters..." Eraqus stated.
"What's going to happen now, Master Eraqus?" Riku asked.
"We must wait, Riku... but I'm going to make it easy on you three and put you all under a sleep spell, is that okay for you?" Eraqus answered.
"Why do you want us to go to sleep?" Sora inquired.
"I am only concerned to ease your young minds during all this of chaos." Eraqus explained. "You would awaken when I deem this Castle safe from the Heartless once again."
"If you'll think it'll keep us safe." Kairi agreed.
"But we can fight, you saw us!" Riku protested.
"I don't want to put you children in danger! I made your Masters a promise!" Eraqus replied. "It will be like... taking a long nap."
Riku and Sora quelled their protests and finally agreed to Master Eraqus's proposal which he thanked them in return. Eraqus then stepped forward to each of the children and preformed a sleep spell on all of them.
"Sleep..." He conjured.
Kairi, Riku, and Sora then let the spell run its course and all of their eyes drowsily closed shut as they were sent into magically-induced slumber. Eraqus then faced his back towards the sleeping children and got in his mediation position with his keyblade placed across his lap, ready to guard the kids with his life against the Heartless until Ventus, Aqua, and Terra can solve this great dilemma.
"Terra... Aqua... Ventus... we have faith in you..."
A/N- The Heartless Threat has finally been realized. Where have Terra, Aqua, and Ven been sent to, and will they be able to return and save Master Eraqus and their apprentices? They are waiting for them... The adventure begins for our heroes in the next chapter! Please keep up the Reviews and Comments:)
