Chapter 3: Following the Trail
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.
The interior of the cave was wider than the opening cracks that they had slipped through with the slight fear that they may get stuck, but the cracks were wet enough for them to slip through. Sora felt himself in awe at the sight that he observed with the many towers of stalagmites hanging from the ceiling glowing green emerald color as their torches lit the way and he began to see in the distance that it went deeper than he imagined. Just from the introduction that he had already had he knew that it was not going to be the average cave that he use to climb through as a kid when everything was so new to him and the world was rich with endless possibilities that seemed secure. Now he was older and wiser and the mystique of each new possibility had its own grim outcome and the security had faltered in the light of the realism that revealed what was in the darkness. It was terrible to have to learn that at such a young age, but Sora was able to mature enough for that, even if he wasn't as mature as he felt he should be. Around him were men who were all mature to the horrors of the world and the darkness that it all held and he seemed like a child to them all, but that fact was an unknown strength to him that he had not realized. There was power in his heart and he could not figure out why he looked at every black shadow with that same old feeling that he had when he was a kid after everything that he had been through.
"Well it is big enough, but look at the location," cracked Sora as he looked at the cave, only gaining the semblance of a smile from Cloud and leon, but he could always count on at least a soft chuckle from Riku. "Do you really think we will find something out what is happening to us by going into here, Cloud?"
"This place seems to have a bit of history with the both of you so it could be that your memories are in here," replied Cloud as he silently strode over to one of the doors and tried to push it open. The white stone door would not budge at the push of Cloud's hand so he used his sword to cut it down the middle slit, causing the door to open at the release of the locking system. Nothing was going to keep Cloud Strife out of going somewhere, not even a door. "Maybe this way will have something of your past."
"It's worth a shot," said Sora as he walked on and saw that down the hallway was another door, a door that lead to somewhere familiar, something about the marking on the door that seemed to be from somewhere. The memory he was looking for was one that seemed as vague as a dream and as empty as hope, but he could recognize where he was, or at least see where this place was. "This place, I think I know it, I think this is Castle Oblivion or at least it's similar to the castle only a few things are strikingly different."
"You mean besides the fact that we're in a cave," said Riku slyly with a smirk that Sora ignored as he looked at the door that he was quite certain, was the door to the Halloween Town of Castle Oblivion. "But from what I understand Castle Oblivion itself was not meant to exist, it was just some entity made up by the memories of the different worlds you and I visited. Even the castle itself was a memory of Disney Castle that was then built upon."
"Well that is very well true," said a voice from the distance, a voice that crept up from the dark memories and fears of Sora that had often plagued him and Riku, most especially Riku since he had been possessed by that voice. "But then again Disney Castle itself is built upon a memory, as one could say of any architectural construction that is modeled after a pre-existing one, whether it exists or not depends upon how one may view the evidence."
"Xemnas," snarled Sora as he drew his keyblade and found that the person he was looking at bore a resemblance, but was more whole than the being they fought in the World That Never Was. "Or are you Xenahort? Either way I want to know how you got here!"
"It's simple really, I was called here because I have another part to play in this story, though it seems it will only be a supporting role," replied Xehanort calmly as he sat down at a desk that was there. "In reality I was only trying to match with my own brother who was trying to complete his own conquest of darkness so that he is not killed by the one we fear or killed by you two. He and I are both beings of Twilight or started out as Twilight, but that put us into conflict with beings of Light like you two and beings of darkness like the one we are trying to escape. In the end we both tried hard, I as a scientist tried to learn all I could about the darkness while my brother tried his best to gain power which led him to many places. I seemed to have taken the quicker method for my power and was overall consumed by it, but then again I was the scientist of both of us and I could not comprehend why someone whom we barely knew would want to do the illogical thing of coming to kill us. I turned to the one thing that made sense to me, I turned to science and tried to find some reason as to why things would become the way they are, but through my experiments I did not entertain the possibility that I would be consumed by my own research, nor did I believe that my teacher would make the mistake of using an object of darkness to open my heart.
"That one incident increased my own darkness and in the end I could feel my heart slipping slowly into the darkness before I even realized what was happening. Without a means to do anything I sought out the one thing I thought could purge my being of it, Kingdom Hearts, but my heartless side got the better of me and turned my once twilight thoughts into dark thoughts. It all snowballed from there until I am as I appear before you now, a ghost of past twilight being hoping to provide the one assistance I was meant to give you. I am neither living, nor am I dead, nor can I prove that I even exist right now since I could just be another form of a memory, but I do know the difference from feeling and not feeling. I feel emotion and so I am real."
"How would you help us if we are supposed to kill your brother and yourself," asked Riku as he walked up to study the ghost of Xehanort and found that his hand did not go through him like he expected him to. "Could it be that you are back to life because the memories of your nobody met with the memories of your heart, just like Sora."
"I have also entertained that possibility and have disproven nothing so far," replied Xehanort as he started to walk to a wheel and then turned it with an exertion of strength. "This door is much like Castle Oblivion because this cave itself use to be a castle that is now brought down into the earth and is the original castle that your Disney Castle and my Castle Oblivion is a memory of. This door leads to all other doors except for the three doors of balance."
"Three doors of balance," asked Sora as he tried to think about it, but he couldn't figure it out.
"The one door you know of is Kingdom Hearts, which contrary to what I believed was the door to light," replied Xehanort between pulls on the wheel. "The other door is Kingdom Mind, which is the door of darkness because all dark thoughts are spawned from our mind and then there is Kingdom Soul, the door of twilight in which both sides emerge into a balance. One of you is meant to hold the key to Kingdom Hearts, the key to Kingdom Soul, and the one we run from holds the key to Kingdom Mind. Do not try to destroy each other though, it will cause chaos for either light or darkness to be destroyed and the fights between you might escalate if twilight is gone from being able to keep you both in check."
"So that means that Sora is the being of light doesn't it and I'm the one in twilight," said Riku as he looked at Sora and then down at the floor in embarrassment for what he did while under the control of darkness.
"Do not assume that your past has anything to do with your alignment of the future," said Cloud as he took a step forward and then turned towards Xehanort. "Sometimes the best light is one that knows what it's like when everything is dark and so it shines brightest because it knows how powerful the darkness is. The only thing I want to know is whether I am the light and he is the darkness."
"Nothing is definite, you are not tied by their wheel or their duty and so you are open to be as free as you want," replied Xehanort, now finished with his work as the door that was once shut opened before them revealing a portal that was a shade of grey. "Your actions guide you to do anything that you want to do so obey your heart and it should lead you to a good place. Now the only way either of you are going to find your answers will be by following my brother to where he is and along the way you may find other things, new friends, new allies, and new enemies. That door is waiting for you to go through it and it would be rude for you not too, especially after it has waited for so long to open for you two."
"Do we go where we know not where or do we stay here and try to find our own safe way," asked Sora, his choice of wording sounding to advanced for him that the others looked at him and for a second, as Sora walked over to the door and turned around, they saw an older, wiser warrior standing before them before the image faded back into the memory that it rose from. "I know this step is probably the boldest one we've ever taken, but I think now we've determined that the stakes are too high for us not to try this."
"Okay then, oh fearless captain, lead us on," replied Riku as he walked up next to his friend and the two walked towards the door ready to face whatever was on the other side.
Zeven sat there in the secluded area of the bamboo grove as he observed everything that was around him that was happening from the bugs moving around on the water pond to the birds flying over his head with a sense of freedom that he wished he had. Nothing was free for him, all of his time was just in an effort to put of something that was determined by his birth and so he could not say that he was free of everything. He was held captive by his fear, a captivity that made him envious of the bugs and birds that he observed, and even more envious of the clouds, for they could move around without the interference of others. The bamboo was very firm solid object that he found was even more restrained than him because it was eternally tied to the ground and dependent upon the water in the ground to survive. A sigh came out of his mouth as he thought about the own chains that everything had, like the soldiers that were cautiously walking towards him with a spear held out.
"You there, one who dresses in a black cloak, identify yourself," ordered one of the soldiers as he brought out a scroll that was no doubt a warrant for his arrest on the suspicion that he was a member of Organization XIII.
"What if I don't feel like subjecting myself to your impolite questions," asked Zeven as he pulled his hood down to reveal his face and his very menacing eyes that gave them a wide stair that had the intent to kill in it. "If you wish to get in my way then you are my enemy and if you are sent by your emperor than he is my enemy as well, so what do you want to do?"
"For such impudence I will cut you down," declared the soldier as he pulled his sword out, a typical straight sword that was completely even in width for the whole blade, and he made a zigzag thrust that was meant to get past Zeven's defenses but Zeven broke the sword with just a swipe of his keyblade.
"Cut me down will you, well where is your sword," taunted Zeven as he brought his sword up to block both of the thrusts made by the spears of two other soldiers before sending out burst of ice that froze both of the soldiers in place. The other soldiers weren't hopping to get to Zeven anymore; in fact they were hoping to get away from the stranger who was chasing them in his own majestic stride. "Oh come now, surely you are all tied by duty to do as that warrant commands you and come to arrest me, possibly bring my head before your emperor, come on you aren't going to get your job done going that way."
"If it's a fight you want then it's a fight you're going to get," said a voice as two red chisagrems flew right past his head, sending wave of heat bursting into his ear. He turned to see a man dressed in a cloak similar to his own but they had red flames on them that matched his red spikey hair that was spiked back. "I think I can entertain you for the time being if you want to stay."
"Well then, I see that someone brought back the Organization of my little brother," replied Zeven as he brought his keyblade up in a defensive position with his right elbow bent so that his hand was parallel to his face and his left hand was on the top of the handle. "Well then, let me see how powerful this Organization is, even if I have to take on the little nympho that's hiding in the trees. Bamboo is a very terrible source of disguise because you can't hide your entire body in it, especially when there is so much of you, Larxene."
"What did you just say," shouted the "Savage Nymph" as she charged out of the trees to throw a hail of hand knives at Zeven, each one in quick succession, but all were blocked by the fast movements of her opponent.
"I know your little Organization, hell I'm the brother of the one who commanded it," said Zeven with a sadistic laugh that she could only recognize when remembering when she was taken into the darkness. "If you couldn't defeat my brother then how do you even expect to defeat someone of my stature, especially when it was I who was the fighter and he who was the scientist? If you think I am just another pawn in the game like you then you have obviously been listening to him too much."
Zeven took a step forward and noticed how the two Organization members took a step back in caution at him so he tried it for another step just to make sure that he had intimidation on his side. When he found he had this he decided to play with them by making a feint to move and them moving back reflexively, something that he enjoyed so much that he did again and again until he was practically skipping at them. The sickening pleasure that he got out of it was something that worried them both and they begin to have second thoughts about fighting him. Regaining his composure, Zeven snapped his neck before pointing the tip of his keyblade into the sky and then he brought it down as a slash to the ground that caused a massive crack in the ground that made the red haired man and the blond lose their footing before he charged the red haired. Even with the loss of balance, his target was able to parry the attack with one of his chisagrems and then he proceeded to use both of them to slash at Zeven. Zeven moved back and forth, side to side, a lot like a dancer, but he was obviously toying with his opponent.
"Tell me something," asked Zeven as he continued to dodge his attacks and then did a flip kick that knocked the red haired back. "What is your name, you're not one of the originals and I didn't catch your name."
"The name is Axel," replied the red haired before he attacked again, which was again blocked by Zeven's keyblade, except this time Zeven held his hand back while another keyblade, one that was pure black and had bat wings on the top of the guard right where the blade began.
"Well then, Axel, you're existence was hopefully a nice one because you won't get another," declared Zeven as he brought the second keyblade up and knocked away the second chisagrem before kicking the ground out from under Axel. He brought his keyblades up as if to make an attacked but instead he brought his new attack to the person who had just jumped into the fight. "Well Sora this seems to be a premature fight, but I guess I could see how strong you've gotten since we last met."
