Chapter 2
Enjoy!
The warmth of the light streams in through the window, making Sam's eyes twitch. The sun beckons him to wake up and as his mind begins to come around, he can already feel the ache of his body warning him to move slowly. Every inch of his being hurts as if he had laid on a bed of rocks. Jagged rocks that is.
He pinches his eyes tight as the morning begs for him to get up. But even as he slowly flutters his eyes open, he feels that something is off. That there's a strange air about the room that has him more cautious than ever. It reminds him of the other day when encountering Heartless for the first time. That foreboding sense that worms around him and crawls over his skin.
A chill passes through him and makes his body quiver slightly as he sits up. Sam stands up on wobbly legs, pushing himself off the bed with a rough motion. As he does, the book that had been on his lap hits the floor with a loud thud. The sound only shocks him wide awake – eyes the size of dinner plates as he glances about the room.
Until he remembers he was reading last night when he fell asleep. Sam draws his hand up again and rubs at his eyes with a yawn to follow soon after. The second the slightly higher pitch sound leaves him, he drops his hands. Blinking several times, he tries to right it off as just waking up or it was a yawn. After all, sound is different when you hear it yourself.
Even though he's not convinced. He could have sworn the yawn sounded...feminine. Nonetheless, Sam leans over to pick up the book. Or that's what he intended. He freezes the second his fingers graze the cover.
Long, red strands fall about his face like raging fire. He stares at it, trying desperately to find where it came from. "What the..." Slowly, Sam straights back up – the book forgotten. He grasps at the hair in his hands and tugs at it, realizing with a sharp pain that it's his own. Instantly, his blood runs cold and his heart beats loud in his ears. He's surprised he's even breathing right now.
Sam looks down at himself and lets go of the hair immediately. He's not exactly himself anymore. Gone is the lean, twenty-two year old man and in his place is a slender young woman. Like any woman in her twenties, Sam has two amble mounds beneath his shirt – which seems a little baggier than normal, even with the addition.
She stares down at herself. Everything is different and as she can't look away, she can still feel the tingles on her skin. Tingles of what can only be some form of magic. She shakes her head, which sends those fiery strands flaring out about her shoulders in the process.
"Th...This has to be-"
The sentence dies as she hears her own voice and how much it differentiates for her original. Beyond scared, she draws up a hand and pushes back the left sleeve of her jacket. The right hand hovers over her slim arm and she takes a deep breath. She closes her eyes, clenching them as tight together as physically possible. Holding the air, she pinches at her bare arm as hard as she can muster.
"Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow..."
Sam drops back down onto the bed, slouched over as she gazes at her own hands. The thought hits her as her pants, now quite loose, bunch up around her legs. Tentatively, she spreads them ever so slightly and slips one hand inside. Followed soon after by that same hand slinging back out.
Bringing her hands up to her face, she holds them their while flopping onto the bed. To which she quickly pulls them away as they press against glasses. They're so thin and light that she hadn't even felt them there. Her hair fans out around her as she groans. "This can't be happening. Why now?"
The blaring sound of an alarm ricochets throughout the room and has her bolting back up. She immediately rolls to the side and slams her hand down on the clock. That's when it hits her. She has a shift at the library. The library has books. And those books might have a clue to whatever has happened to her. She jumps off the bed and rushes to her dresser, flinging the drawers open in search of something to wear. Groaning once more, she moves quickly about the room towards the closet.
Several frustrating moments later, she huffs and runs a hand up through her bangs. Finding clothes had never been more frustrating than just now; from underwear to just a pair of socks. Unfortunately, the change has left her without any clothes that will properly fit or even ones that come close.
Therefore she grabs at a gray, zip-up vest and slips it on over the long-sleeved white shirt – trying to hide the fact that it's the only layer covering her chest. She sighs softly and double checks the belt tightly wound about the waist of her dark blue pants. They're rolled up at the bottoms and even still they threaten to slide down and cover her feet. In fact, she couldn't fit into her old shoes either and had to dig out a pair of sandals that had gotten too small.
She flips the hair away from her face and bolts out the door. The sooner she can get there the better. In fact, the back alleys she deems safer so that she doesn't get any questionable stairs. After all, most people in Twilight Town know each other or know of each other.
As she practically jogs through the winding way, she lets her mind shoot off possibilities. She tries to think of anything that could have triggered this... this. The Heartless never touched her and she's sure that wouldn't be a side effect from being attacked of any kind. A the thought of Heartless vanishes, she's left with the memory of Terra. She softly shakes her head. There's no way she can believe he did this. There's no rhyme or reason for it. The only other thing would be...
The shooting star.
It's as if a thousand light bulbs explode inside of her head. That's the only thing it could be. But at the same time she tells herself that, that is absolutely ridiculous. Then again, she hadn't thought she'd see a man fly off into the sky and disappear either.
She turns a corner and snaps out of her thoughts only to realize she had taken more than one wrong turn on the way to the library. She walks forward a little more than glances to the other two exits. If glasses didn't adorn her face she'd probably smack herself for being so wrapped up in her thoughts. Never in her time of living here has she gotten lost like this. Nor has she found herself in the Sandlot for no reason.
In fact, she tries to avoid the Struggle matches altogether. Which is exactly why she doesn't recognize the trio that marches toward her. The tallest and burliest of the group is a tanned teenager with short, black hair and sideburns. Despite his youth, he's considerably taller than most and very muscular. Over these muscles he dons an orange tank top, dark baggy sweatpants and sneakers. The tank top sports two thunderbolts near the arms and there's a number eight on his pants.
Besides him is a girl, seeming much smaller than she actually she while standing beside him. She wears a blue sleeveless jacket and beige pants; pockets donning the right thigh and lower left leg. Her slip-on shoes, however, are the same color as her hair. Her hair is a pale steel blue that is cropped about her jaw with long bangs crossing over her left eye. The one eye that can be seen is a dark reddish brown.
Although, without doubt, Sam knows that the third addition is the leader. He dons a knit cap with white markings on it. He's not as muscular as the other male, but he's toned quite a bit. He wears a blue vest under a floor-length, white jacket. The jacket, however, lacks sleeves and has red crosses on it. Additionally he has baggy, aubergine colored pants that tuck into his black combat boots. He glares at Sam with teal eyes on either side of a scar running diagonally over his face.
"Hey you!" his sharp voice makes Sam stop in her steps. She watches as they draw ever closer while they talk amongst themselves. "Fuu, Rai," He glances from girl to boy, "Do you know her?"
"I don't know her, Seifer. She must be new, ya know?" Rai responds.
The girl's eyes narrow, although not in a necessarily angry manner. "Unknown."
Sam glances between them as Seifer crosses his arms over his chest. "So who are you? And what are you doing in my city?"
"Huh... That's funny. I don't remember voting for you to be mayor."
Seifer's eye twitches and he goes to take a step forward when a strange sound pierces the air. "Enemies!" declares Fuu.
Sam's eyes widen as the same Heartless from that day appear all around them. This time there's so many more than before; totaling up to at least a dozen or more. But the see of black, blue and piercing yellow all seem to blend together as Sam's eyes widen. Seifer and Rai on the other hand are far less stunned. Despite the obvious uncertainty on their features, the two young men step in front of the Sam and Fuu. Although the latter does fall into a defensive stance.
"Stop! You can't fight them!" she yells at the trio, trying to stop them before they do something stupid.
Just as the words leave her lips all she can feel is the tingle spreading throughout her body. Not even a second later it gathers in her right hand. She glances down just in time to see her fingers curl and a flash of light surround her arm. As it dies down she finds herself beyond shocked.
It looks just like Terra's. Not exactly, but it's definitelya Keyblade. Better yet, she knows it's all her own. The blade is slender unlike Terra's. The guard is rounded, yet still boxy and black. The grip is a stark red, matching her hair. The shaft starts out black near the hilt and fades to white as it nears the teeth. The square, yet still like arrowheads, teeth slowly transition from the pale ivory of the shaft to a deep gold at the tips. The plain silver chain dangles next to Sam's leg and upon closure inspection she can see the token attached to the end. It's a plain, dark colored little tome. The affection name for it reaches out for her; Spellbook.
'I want to be like that. I want a life full of adventure just like this. I want to be a Keyblade wielder.'
The wish she made not even twenty-four hours resounds in her head like an echo in a cave. It makes her realizes exactly what she has to do. She can't stand idly by with these creatures surrounding her, especially with bystanders near her as well. She knows she has to fight.
Sam shoves past all three of them and runs straight towards two Soldiers wobbling back and forth. "Agh!" she grunts as she slams the backside of her Keyblade against the side of the one on the left, which forces it to slam into the one beside it.
The three friends behind her hesitate but after a hushed word from Seifer, they're bolting past Sam and through the opening she made. They don't stop once they get out of the surrounding Heartless, but instead keep going till they're out of the Sandlot entirely.
Sam, on the other hand, doesn't worry about them at all. She spins around on her heel and almost falls down. She can't stay balanced while wearing shoes that are larger than her feet. To stay upright she throws her whole body into the swing. Spellbook hurls into a Shadow. Vanishing in a puff of smoke, Sam turns her attention to the next one.
Adrenaline surges through her veins and fear alone is no longer there. Her wish has been filled after all. She has what she wants – even if it's a little contorted from what she had thought would happen. Her muscles burn from use as she plants both feet on the ground, glancing at all the ones are left.
It looked fun, but this is serious. Especially with them lunging towards her. She drops to her knees and rolls. Sam jumps back up to her feet and takes a deep breath. Running forward, she slashes forward. The attack clears out the ones in front of her – but doesn't quite destroy them.
Hopping backwards, she blocks and parries. Another Shadow vanishes with a puff of smoke. A Soldier spins towards her and she can't turn around fast enough to see him. Just as he gets close, the end of a Keyblade slams into him like a mallet – destroying him.
The owner of the Keyblade stands up, rolling her shoulders as she falls into a stance with her back to Sam's. Neither say a word and Sam can barely spare a glance to her new ally, who launches straight into the battle. The girl surges through enemies quicker than Sam can think of at the moment. It particularly reminds her of Terra.
But Sam doesn't let her thoughts muddle her actions. She sets them aside for later and sidesteps before slashing at a Soldier. The clang of metal against Heartless along with the soft grunts and cries of the young women are all that can be heard. In a few moments, even that is replaced by a heavy silence.
Sam flicks her hair away from her face with her free hand, huffing at the workout. She's not greeted a moment of peace as the newcomer strides straight for her. "You've got to be more careful. Getting surrounded can mean game over."
A short laugh flickers over Sam's lips, "I can handle it. Besides, you showed up to help. Everything worked out."
"Ah, got'cha. Well Ms. Optimist, my name is Luma." The girl comes to a stop in front of Sam and extends a hand clad in a brown, fingerless glove.
Finally able to get a good look at the girl, Sam takes it all in. After all the only other Keyblade wielder she knows is Terra. Her dark blue-green hair falls freely to her shoulders while her bangs sweep to the right, away from the small braid framing the left side of her face. She's a slender girl and shorter than Sam as well. She dons a sleeveless, violet jacket with a collar that flares outward. Three silver buttons keep it together just under her chest before it flares out down to her knees.
Most of her sun-kissed skin shows between her jacket and baggy, brown shorts. Unlike Terra, her shoes are even plainer in appearance. They look like normal brown like her shorts with a curl of violet accenting the heel. But the smile on her face is what Sam ends up on last.
Cautiously, she extends her left hand. "Sam."
"So Sam..." She begins as she takes a step back, glancing around before she finally points to Sam's Keyblade. "Who's your Master?"
"Master?"
"Yeah, which Master do you train under?"
"I... don't have one. Self-trained."
"No Master? Hm... Well that's weird. But not unheard of I guess." Luma gives an encouraging smile. "Why don't you come back with me. I'll introduce you to mine."
Sam glances down to her Keyblade, watching as it vanishes from her grip. She knows deep in her heart that if she can get to a "Master" that she'll surely get more answers than from those dusty old books. Besides, the Master has to learn from something and they might have an even more extensive library.
"Sure. But, uh, do you plan to carry me there?"
Luma laughs, "Of course not! We fly back on our gliders."
"Okay, and just so you know mine has extra large wings."
The sarcasm doesn't faze Luma at all, she simply rolls with the punches. "Guess I should have figured that. Whelp, lucky you I came here with a Gummi Ship instead. Let's get going before any people show up."
Luma turns around and begins to walk away towards the alleys Sam had come from. Sam hurries after her, "Why are you worried about people?"
"Only a few know about us and what we do. It's... easier that way."
On the way, Luma chatted constantly. Apparently not having a Master meant Sam doesn't know about at least half of the things she should. Everything from the lanes between to worlds to Heartless. In all honesty, the Gummi Ship alone left Sam's head spinning. She certainly hadn't expected such a strange looking vehicle. To which she was surprised they made it safely to a world Luma called the Land of Departure.
She mentioned that it's where the Masters usually stay. At least, there's always one there to monitor the state of the worlds and train young pupils.
Sam descends from the Gummi Ship and lands in a large Courtyard. It's breathtaking in every way. From the floating castle to the large chains that connect each tower and even to the serene atmosphere that settles at the base of the white clouds in the sky. Sam can't think about it too long when her gaze is forced to the stairs leading to the castle.
"Luma!"
She looks onto a woman as she practically flies down the stairs – even missing two or three steps every so often. The woman is tall and slender with lightly sun-kissed skin. Her blue hair parts to the left and stays short about the base of her neck. Matching her hair and eyes, her outfit revolves around the various shades of blue: From the navy blue, high-collared halter top to the pieces of armor on her white bell sleeves and resting at the blue cloths draped over each hip.
Over the blue cloths rest white ones of matching design. She also dons two pinks straps over her chest and a black corset beneath it. Additionally, she wears thigh-high black stockings and silver, pointed and armored boots with sharp hooks on the outer sides.
She's barely at the painted stone of the courtyard when she begins scolding Luma. "I've told you it's not appropriate to leave without telling me. I shouldn't have to find out by being informed that the Gummi is missing."
Luma scratches at her cheek and bows her head. "Sorry Master Aqua."
The blue-haired woman pats Luma's shoulder and shakes her head. As she does she finally takes notice of Sam, "Ah, who is this?"
Aqua takes a step away from Sam and closer to Luma, almost protectively. Before Sam can say a word, Luma is already knee deep in an explanation. "Oh, um, this is Sam! I ran into her when I went to... out and helped take care of some Heartless. She has a Keyblade but doesn't have a Master."
A little surprised to say the least, especially since most -if not all - Keyblade wielders have to have the power bestowed upon them, Aqua doesn't hesitate either way. "You don't mind if I ask to see your Keyblade do you?"
Sam only hesitates for a moment, but it's only because she's not sure how to force it. Not after the instinctual feeling the first time it happened. However, the second she lets the thought of needing it cross her mind the power responds immediately. She holds her hand up as it flashes into her grasp. Proven that she is indeed a wielder, Aqua nods for her to dismiss it.
"I'd be more than happy to train you, Sam."
At those words, Luma glances up at her Master and then over at Sam. But the latter isn't quite in the conversation. Not with her thoughts immediately conjuring up that memory of Terra. Thankfully, Aqua is quick to keep the words flowing.
She waves a hand, "Of course, you don't have to decide right now. Besides, there are other Masters you can learn from." Aqua extend that same hand towards Sam, "I'm Master Aqua."
Sam shakes her hand, "It's nice to meet you."
Aqua draws her hand back and takes a step away from both pupils. "In fact, Master Terra should be returning soon from a mission. If you'd like, spar with him and he might take you on as his student."
Visibly perking up, Sam can't help but let a small smile twitch the corners of her lips.
"And while you wait, why don't I teach you a few spells and then Luma can practice with you." She snaps her fingers. "I'll have to speak with Yen Sid to arrange some proper clothes." Aqua summons her Keyblade, a slender blade of sharp angles and arrows. "Shall we begin?"
Knowing she doesn't have much of a choice and figuring it would be safe to learn some sort of... magic... Sam summons her Keyblade back as well. A moment later she's left practicing with Luma, who tries to keep her up to speed on all of the technical bits. Although, Luma doesn't seem to have quite a grasp on it either.
By the time they're retreating to sitting on the stairs. Rather, Luma does while she instructs Sam from the side. By that time Sam at least has the basics down and is sending off little Blizzard spells to collide with Fire spells.
A small fireball smacks into the previous chunk of Blizzard and sends a spray of magic around the mini explosion. Luma cheers her on, "That was great Sam! You're a natural!"
"Luma's right, you really are good with your magic."
Sam doesn't even have to turn around. Shivers make her skin crawl with anticipation and expectation. She knows that voice – the deep sultry roll of his words. She knows she just has to turn around and he'll be right there. Just like when he dropped down to save her the first time.
