Yaah! I'm sorry, I got delayed! But I've done it!
Please enjoy! It's a tad long, and it's a tad dark, but…
Enjoy, and thank you so much for reading!
Up in the knight's quarters, no further away from the observatory tower than the King's throne room, night painted the corridors with shadows, yet did not strike intimidation within anyone who laid their eyes upon the quiet scene. Objects and corners were obscured within the darkness, developing obstacles mental and realistic upon the scene.
Goofy trudged through the darkened areas, sleep blurring his eyesight slightly, but abruptly clearing as he shook his head firmly to rid his drowsiness. The mage was still slung over his shoulder, snoring loudly, giving the knight more than a little comfort. Goofy was not the type who enjoyed long silences, especially in the darkness.
He looked upwards the ceiling, wondering if the Keyblade Master was alright in his current location. It was quite chilly up there, and for all he knew, the boy could have caught a cold by now.
The knight closed his eyes, stopping in mid-step.
But Sora's health was not exactly what had spurred Goofy's concern over the past few days.
He remembered when the Gummi Ship sped out of the End of Worlds, kicking into Warp-G mode for a wild attempt to head back to Disney Castle, the nearest world to their current position. The knight wasn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box, and not even one who was afraid to admit it, but…
He knew when something was wrong with his friends. He'd remembered how concerned both he and Donald were, back then…
Sora was completely silent throughout the entire trip, staring absent-mindedly out the window, at each and every world, as if searching for something.
Resignation had overtaken the boy's bright blue eyes, dulling them, the cheerful confidence reduced to none but a flicker, in which Donald and Goofy feared would be extinguished as soon as they tried to mention something about the whole ordeal, whether their intentions were kindly or not.
This spurred the idea of locating Sora's home world as soon as Donald began to recall what the Keyblade Master had been through, what he had done, and how he'd probably felt once he'd finally achieved the goal of the quest they had pursued for so long… yet his own goals were left unfulfilled.
The worlds were saved. They had their home back, sure. But Sora…
As soon as the young Keyblade Master had fallen into a deep sleep, he'd zapped a slumbering Goofy with a thunderbolt, and the two had begun searching for the world's coordinates.
The knight continued to walk, as Donald stirred slightly in his sleep. Despite his constant stubbornness, and a quarrel usually brewing between himself and Sora, the mage would, from time to time, consider what almost no one else had assumed. He would continuously doubt against claims by his close friends, but in the end… he couldn't help but give up his own opinions to help others. He was a curious guy, from the moment Goofy had first met the duck.
Curious… and stubborn.
He smiled to himself as Donald mumbled curses to his three tormenting nephews in his sleep. ("I swear I'll use Thundaga… if you three don't… shut up…")
You…
The knight was suddenly jerked into a state of sudden alertness, as he caught sight of one of the shadows shifting slightly from its regular position. He did regard the possibility that sleep was beginning to make him hallucinate, but he kept a wary eye out for any possible danger.
He continued to focus upon the area as his stride slowed cautiously. It wasn't a huge movement, nor did it make any noise. It just seemed… sudden. As if it were a creature, stalking prey, though only just failing to conceal its presence.
He bit his lip. "Gawrsh…"
It kind of… well, it seemed like…
A Heartless?
Abruptly, the knight shook his head, eyes shut, his drooping ears shifting slightly upon his shoulders.
No.
No way.
'Ya Goof…you're overreactin'…it's okay… Sora and the King sealed 'em off...'
Goofy mumbled these words to himself as he walked, his stride quickening slightly. His gaze still remained upon the suspicious shadow, just to confirm whether his eyes deceived him or not.
As he passed by, and still no movement was present, he relaxed greatly as he reached his, Donald's and Sora's quarters. Looking around, the slightest suspicion taking over his features, he was reassured by the stillness, and walked inside, closing the door behind him.
It was only then when the shadow shifted position once again, slithering from its shelter of darkness, and across the moonlit corridor, seeping into a second retreat, its presence entirely unknown.
And it was only to this creature, that this fact was for the better.
Darkness.
The shadow glided through the eerie, swirling darkness, the bright, yet emotionless yellow orbs protruding from its bodiless, fragile form. Though it strode in a way many thought was determined, the yellow eyes, despite their piercing brightness, displayed nothing at all.
It sought comfort within the obscure shadows, as two bright lights passed by. One green, one blue, both extremely strong, though one slightly inactive due to slumber. Of course, the shadow could have struck then and there, catching both hearts unaware, and erase them completely. It managed only one whisper, to threaten, to try and strike fear – before it realised…
As soon as it had moved forth to destroy them, at least to erase them, one heart had sensed its presence, causing it to retreat back into the shadows. Such was the curse of being continuously pursued by its own kind. Scowling and shrieking with frustration, once out of earshot of both lights, it paced the shadows, gliding through them as its sickened mind raced.
It had been pursuing these hearts for some time, now. It had been searching for all three of them. Ever since its humiliating defeat. Ever since that time in Traverse Town. It had tried to attempt victory upon them, multiple times, trying again and again to defeat all three of them.
All attempts had ended in failure. And what infuriated the creature even more was that they were able to defeat him in the first place, when they had barely even met!
The creature's glide slowed to a stop. Together…
Together, they were next to invincible. They had all stepped upwards from the last time it had encountered them. Their bond had strengthened. It knew. It had seen it in their hearts. The boy… the Keyblade Master had a certain light in his heart, when it had found him upon the sapphire roof. It was love, though mild. A child's crush upon another. But alongside that was another type of light. Friendship. And it was strong.
It was present within the other two hearts, as well. Both the mage and the knight. A strong bond between them. Was that the key to their invincibility? Was that why it could barely succeed in defeating them?
It pondered slightly.
Without that light. Without that bond, or at least with that bond concealed by the darkness…they would be rendered completely useless.
The creature stared through the depths, forming a plan.
It had to separate them. Put them through suffering. Shatter their hearts.
The yellow orbs fixed upon the sleeping heart from afar. The blue heart.
A mangled grin appeared upon its features. Darkness suddenly consumed it, as it took the form of something somewhat humanoid, growing slightly larger. It extended a hand to the side, a purple slab of armour suddenly donning it, followed by a steel gauntlet. Its grin was suddenly concealed by a helmet, the yellow orbs peering from the darkened shadows.
It soared through the darkness, in search of something that meant relevance to the blue heart.
It would start with the mage.
A loud cry jerked Sora from his dazed pace down the darkened halls, and he spun around, fully alert. His bright blue eyes scanned through the darkness, placed far too deep into certainty to doubt he was hearing things. Suddenly, the shadows seemed to lengthen, to darken, seemingly ignoring the fact that dawn was hurriedly approaching, as if seeking to stop their existence.
The Keyblade Master stared down the halls, taking a step forward, his frame starting to shake. Again, the shadows began to emphasize slightly. Realising this, he took a second step, then a quickening third. His pace sped up, morphing into a stride, before a second scream provoked him into a full run.
Suddenly breathless with fear, he charged towards the direction of the scream. It was high-pitched and raspy, and at a first hearing, sounded exactly like Donald. But after he neared the source and heard a second cry, it seemed a deal more youthful, for some reason. Not as firm, or even as stubborn as the duck's. (What both amused and scared Sora was that he could tell the difference.)
Sickening realisation descended upon him and he sprinted.
The nephews. It had to be one of the nephews!
hr
As soon as Donald had jerked awake due to the sound of screaming, he'd abruptly summoned "Save The Queen" into his grip, flown straight out of his bed, and had let loose a long string of duck-sounding curses. He sped, throwing the door open, and charging down the stairs, crazed thoughts scattered to every inch of his mind. Through all this, he was only dimly aware of Goofy rushing after him, "Save the King" summoned to his side. It was clear that he, too had heard the scream.
And Donald didn't need to be told twice that it was Louie.
The mage swung himself at the stairway's turning point, gripping upon the rail and throwing himself a decent eight steps, stumbling slightly as he collided footfirst into the ground and continuing to run downwards, all the while, still cursing. He still heard Goofy panting, his breathing trailing further and further behind him. But the knight did not dare ask for the mage to slow down. Times like these, he'd be lucky if Donald even ignored him, rather than him receiving three minutes of ranting.
The duck kept focusing ahead, still muttering curses under his breath.
Darn kid…What had he gotten himself into this time! Donald hadn't heard him scream that loud since he first saw a friggin' Heartless slithering past their shop in Traverse Town for the very first time...
A thought struck him, and his rushing slowed to a complete stop, as he examined it several times over, reluctantly, and ignorantly regarding the possibilities. He heard Goofy quickly skidding to a halt behind him, though paid little attention to this action.
The knight knelt beside him, confused.
"Donald? You okay?"
Silence.
The mage slowly shook his head, though abrupt fear immediately began to rivet throughout him. Again, he burst into a run, anger absent, now.
It couldn't be possible. No. No way.
The duck shut his eyes, tight.
Not here…not now…
His pace quickened, as the end of the stairwell came into view. No doubt was it the entrance to the Royal Gardens. Donald's eyes flashed open and he threw the door open, Goofy hurriedly and fearfully hurtling questions his friend's actions, asking what was wrong, or what he could do to help.
But all ceased to a halt as the knight caught sight of a shadow sweeping across the grass.
Donald's gaze was fixed upon the shadow, rage mixing in abruptly with his fear.
Not ever!
Skidding round the corner (and nearly slipping on the marble floor) Sora realised his position within the castle. As he dashed forth and made his way to the uncertain goal, the marble floor became a gravel-adorned path, leading out to the Royal Central gardens, where several performance events took place daily. It was usually where Goofy tended to doze off while off duty. (Though the naps usually pressed on until about an hour into his duty-time.)
Dawn slightly managed to colour the garden flowers from the navy-blue hue of night, giving Sora more than enough reassurance of where his feet were taking him. Again, his eyes were firmly focused upon the area, trying to catch sight of the scream's source. Upon this, he suddenly grew aware of an orange flash of light, and a sudden searing heat that was suddenly situated right at his left side.
He let out a yell, before a large hand roughly grabbed his shoulder and yanked him downwards, out of the mysterious threat's path, right into one of the flower-adorned bushes of the garden, a second arm gripping him tightly around his torso, as if to still the Keyblade Master.
He suddenly heard Goofy's voice yell from right beside his ear.
"Louie! Quit blastin' it with Fira Gems! It ain't gonna work!"
Realising now that it was none other than the captain of the Knights that had yanked him from the path of the Fira Gem, Sora quickly withdrew from Goofy, breathless with fear.
"What's going on!"
It was the abrupt fright that surfaced in the knight's expression which only fuelled the boy's anxiety. Quickly, he leapt from the bushes, catching sight of a sudden flash of darkness sweeping across the grass.
He looked up to take in the scene. Louie was dashing away from the shadow, his slingshot in hand, as well as a bag full of element gems. Fira, Blizzara, Thundara, and even Gravira were present within this miscellaneous collection, but none of the spells seemed to be effective against the mysterious creature.
Abruptly summoning his Keyblade, Ultima Weapon to his side, Sora suddenly realised the shadow's current position. It was surrounding the bushes, in which Goofy was situated, and he abruptly leapt from them, managing to clear the shadow that surrounded them, landing in an awkward stumble, staring over at the mysterious enemy.
The next action gave Sora every right to worry.
As soon as Goofy had finished his leap, a dark aura surrounded the shadow, and the bushes abruptly wilted, as the obscure foe sucked the light and life from the once lush-green leaves. An ugly grey now adorned the plants, before they crumbled to the ground. Nothing remained within them. No remnants of life at all, whatsoever.
Bile began to well up within Goofy's insides and he abruptly swallowed it down, shaking his head. His heart was thudding within his chest, fear growing visible within his eyes, as he brought up "Save the King" to a defensive position.
Hearing Donald yelling at his nephew to clear off and set off a warning, Sora heard the mage rushing over to his side, and spun to face him, then the knight once again.
Both were looking uneasy. And who could blame them? This foe contained a strength they had never witnessed before, yet it reminded all three of them of a common enemy they had to face almost a week ago,
And even though the possibilities were inarguable, none of them wanted to face it.
The shadow slowly froze it its position, as two yellow orbs grew visible in its centre. Emotionless, yet a hidden sense of satisfaction brewing within them.
They were here. All three of them.
They slowly levitated, watching the trio. Then, a flash resonated within the skies above.
Upon searching the stars for the source of light, Donald let out a panicked cry as several heavy, metallic objects plummeted from them, hammering the ground only metres away from the three. They levitated briefly, as the shadow suddenly dissolved, though its presence still remained.
Then, two of the steel objects planted themselves firmly upon the ground. It took moments for Sora's mind to register them as feet. A torso hammered upon them, two gauntlets attaching themselves to the upper sides. Finally, a helmet crashed down upon the torso, revealing the two yellow orbs once again, though they were soon concealed by the shaft that descended upon them.
Goofy stood up straight, bringing up "Save the King" into a more defensive position. Donald and Sora brought their weapons up in attack position, though the knight payed to attention to their actions. He swallowed again as he caught sight of one small, yet highly significant symbol upon the creatures chest.
Heartless.
The knight breathed in deeply, closed his eyes and hoped for the best, hoped for anything that could help them or explain this to them in any way.
Then, he brought up the shield in an attack position, joining his friends in readying for offence, as they prepared to face off, once again, against the Guard Armour.
Oh, my… I'm real sorry it took awhile, and if things seem a bit confusing in this chapter, I'll try to clear everything up in the next. (sighs) I'm sorry, but I've got schoolwork on my hands, and I'd like to do my best until the term ends…
Thank you so much for reading. I'll write again when I have the time.
See you soon!
NettikGirl