D: Thanks for the review and the advice! I'll definitely have to look them up some time when I get the chance!
elise3: Thanks! To be honest I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that while playing the Kingdom Hearts games so far I haven't relied on magic as my main attack so it mostly goes without saying that I only know the basic fire, lightning, ice, and healing spells.
lady-saintiasailor: Thanks for the review! Glad you liked the chapter!
HikariCruz: Glad you found the last chapter interesting! Hopefully the others continue to pique your interest!
Chapter 2
A dull throbbing pain brought Ephemera to awareness, causing a light groan to emit from the teen.
I'm… alive?
His mind felt foggy as he forced his heavy eyes open, his sight blinded momentarily by the bright light that poured through an open window. A pale hand lifted an inch to try and block the light, but was swiftly stopped by a stab of pain. Blue eyes focused after a moment, locating the simple bedroom that he was currently in. The small bed and wooden desk were the only objects in the room, other than a chair by the bed.
But the question is, where exactly am I?
Blearily he glanced down at himself, seeing bandages wrapped across his chest, causing the silver-haired teen to try and recall what he last remembered.
Ava and I… we were fighting… a hooded man…? The dull thought came out as more of a question, causing the teen to attempt to sit up. He finally figured out that if he moved slowly, then the pain wouldn't be as sharp. Shaking his head slightly, blue eyes moved wearily towards the door near the corner of the room. No one else seemed to be present and it didn't seem like anyone would be for quite some time.
"Here we go then…" The mutter came out weaker than he had expected, causing the silver-haired teen to attempt to clear his throat. Slowly moving his legs towards the edge of the bed, wincing when more stabs of pain hit him, Ephemera took a deep breath before planting his feet firmly on the ground and standing up. The first thing that hit him was the intense pain, spreading from his shoulder down to his waist, causing his vision to swim. Feeling his legs threatening to collapse under his weight, he leaned against the wall, trying to stabilize his breathing, which had become ragged once more.
This might be harder than I thought… Shaking his head clear of the thought, Ephemera gritted his teeth before taking another step, leaning against the wall for support. Ava's depending on me, even they are…
Pictures of his other 'friends', if the silver-haired teen could call them that due to them being more Ava's friends that his, flashed through his mind. If he failed to stop the Keyblade War…
Everything will be gone…
He paused to catch his breath once he got towards the end of the wall, glancing over at his objective. Despite knowing that he was supposedly in the past, he didn't quite know who exactly had found him in this state, or what they might be trying to accomplish by putting him in their debt.
Not something that I'm going to stick around for…
Taking another few deep breaths, he started off towards the wooden door once more, stopping every so often when the pain and dizziness became too much to bare, instead waiting until it calmed down before continuing. He paused once more upon reaching the oak door, leaning against it before reaching for the door handle. The metal was cold against his skin, jolting him slightly more awake than he had previously been, helping to clear his mind. Blue-eyes narrowed as he put his ear up against the frame, listening to see if there were any footsteps or voices. When he couldn't detect any, he twisted the knob and pulled the door open, finding that the effort tired him out more than it should have.
"Must be due to the wound… whatever it is…" Muttering under his breath, he glanced both ways, and upon not seeing anyone, moved into the small hallway. Silver hair moved as he tilted his head, trying to determine which way to go. Each path had the same amount of light coming from it, and didn't seem to give anything away from what lay at the other end after it, putting him a difficult situation.
If this was the Foreteller's tower then I might be able to figure out which way is the right one, but here… His thoughts trailed off as he focused back on the problem at hand. Choosing to go right, he began to slowly make his way towards the opposite end, praying silently that no one would come while he did so. He figured that if he just waited around trying to make a decision, then there was a more likely chance of someone showing up and discovering that he was awake. His mind wandered once more as he walked, his body aching and demanding rest despite just waking up, as he continued to push onwards.
If I'm in the past… then when exactly did Ava send me to? He knew a basic knowledge about how the Foretellers became Masters but other than that, he didn't know exactly when nor what happened before. Their own Master had after all disappeared a few years back, leaving the Foretellers to lead their own Unions, and wait for him to return. Hopefully I don't run into Ava's Master while I'm here… that would just complicate things…
He looked at his surroundings once he reached the end of the hallway, pausing to catch his breath once more, puzzled at the endless hallways that seemed to exist beyond this one.
How many rooms and halls does this place have? There has to be some way to get out of here…
The sound of something breaking back from the direction that he had come from, and hurried steps towards his new direction, caused the teen's eyes to widen in surprise. He hadn't expected someone to find out quite so early, that or had he really been moving slow…?
I have to move-!
Glancing towards the window near him, he rushed towards it, ignoring the pain as best as he could, as he heard a gasp come from a slight distance from behind him in surprise.
"Wait!" Ephemera glanced back momentarily to see the blue-haired woman from before, her face a mask of worry as she rushed towards him.
No turning back now… Throwing his weight against the glass window, he burst through it, feeling weightless for a moment. The woman stopped at the window, leaning out with a horrified expression on her face as she watched him fall. He tried to maneuver his body to land in a roll once he hit the ground, but for some reason, it just didn't seem to react the way that it normally did. Maybe the gravity's different?
The thought crossed his mind briefly as he felt himself hit the ground, his body automatically rolling in a tumble against the sudden impact. His breath left him as he lay there for a moment, trying to discern which way was which as his vision continued to spin.
Not my best idea… A pained gasp left him as he slowly sat up, feeling as if something had torn open. Well no surprise there, you did just jump out of a window after all…
"Hey wait!" Ephemera's gaze snapped up as he realized a different voice was calling for him now. A man completely clad in different earthly tones was currently rushing towards him. Letting out a curse, he tried to lunge away from the man only to fall back towards the ground a moment later when his strength left him.
Used… too much… energy… The fractured thought passed his mind as his vision became foggy and black began to close in on his thoughts. His could feel his eyes closing once more against his own will, with a firm hand being wrapped around his waist, keeping him from injuring himself further.
"Geez kid, we're not going to harm you." The muttered sentence, along with a sigh could be heard at the fragments of his consciousness. "I got him Aqua!"
"Be careful Terra! I'll be down in a moment!" The voice that had once been far away now seemed much closer, leading the silver-haired teen to wonder if she too had jumped out of the window. The absence of any loud noises also led him to believe that she had landed a much safer way than he had… "It looks like he tore his stiches again…"
"Can you fix them here?"
"Well… I'll have to get my supplies and-." The woman cut off as Ephemera's eyes snapped open, most likely due to the pain that he was in. His head pounded as he glanced at the two people, or more like tried to glance at the man who was still holding him.
"L-let… me go…" He pushed weakly against the hand around him, merely causing the grip to tighten in surprise. His head swam as his breathing came out in gasps.
Something's wrong… even if I had been injured… it should have healed quicker than this… The silver-haired teen didn't know how long he had been unconscious but the fact that it seemed like these people were surprised that he was even up caused him to believe that it was at least a few days.
"Why would we do that?" The question from the man caused his tired mind to panic, causing him to push harder against the man. A picture of Ava flashed through his mind, it was clear that she was talking to him, but he couldn't make out her words, merely the figure coming towards them in the background.
"I-I need... I need… to…" He couldn't quite finish his sentence as he tried to catch his breath, to try and think calmly.
"Terra, let him go."
"What?!" The startled reaction out of the man caused the grip on him to loosen a bit, causing him to breath a bit better.
"I can't heal him if you're holding him like that! Besides…" The woman trailed off, glancing down at him with an emotion in her eyes that the teen was unable to place. The weight holding him up suddenly vanished causing Ephemera to fall to his knees on the ground. On further observation, the ground beneath his feet was a lush green grass surrounding them.
"You're safe now." He glanced up at the woman in surprise, finding her bending down towards him, her knees also nearly touching the ground, as she smiled at him. "What was it that you needed?"
"To… to…" He tried to put his muddled thoughts in order, causing him to raise a hand to his pounding head.
What was I supposed to do again…? The thought surprised him, causing the teen to sit back against the ground, his gaze going up towards the sky and away from the two figures.
"You're injured. We're merely trying to help you." The woman extended a hand towards him slowly, as if worried that he would lash out at her. He returned his blank gaze to her hand a moment before looking back away, trying to reclaim the lost thought.
What was it… that she said to me?
"Should I carry him back? It doesn't look like he's going to respond…"
"I wonder what it was that he needed to do…?" The soft voice coming from the woman caused him to glance back at her pitying expression.
"Stop the War…" The words slipped out of his mouth as a fragment of what the pink-clad girl had said to him came back to him.
"Huh?" Both figures responded at the same time, looking at each other in confusion before back towards him.
"Kid, what war?" Ephemera stared at the man blankly, before back over at the girl. Whatever Unions they were from, if Unions even existed in the past, it didn't seem like they had any inkling of what was going to happen.
"The Keyblade War." At his statement, both looked worriedly at him, exchanging glances before slowly coming towards him. The woman stood up, her face a mask of confusion at his explanation, if what he had said could be called that. It briefly crossed his mind that he probably shouldn't have said as much as he had but the thought disappeared a moment later, most likely a byproduct of his exhaustion.
Can't take it back now… Ephemera instinctively rubbed his eyes, trying to clear them as they became fuzzy once more. A scowl made its way from the teen as he realized that the attempt was futile, causing him to glance over at the two figures who were making their way towards him. For a moment their figures changed to people that he knew from back in Daybreak Town, before switching back.
"Just… don't do anything stupid till I wake up, ok?" The words made their way out of his mouth before he realized it, causing the teen to realize that he was dropping off into sleep once more.
No one's here… not one person that I know…
"Why am I the only one who has a nickname?" The question caused the silver-haired teen to glance over at the blonde-haired boy to his left. A single black streak was the only irregularity on the other teen, hanging right in the middle of the long streaks of blonde that framed his face. A puzzled look was on his friend's face, causing Ephemera to shrug, not really understanding the basis for the strange question.
"Does it really matter? No one else's name is long enough."
"Yours certainly is." Blue-eyes flashed over towards him as the boy stated that with a slight pout. Ephemera rolled his eyes at the point his friend had given, all hope now lost that this wouldn't turn into an argument eventually.
"I guess no one's ever bothered to give me a nickname then…" He trailed off, causing the blonde to let out a laugh at his statement, as if he found it funny.
"'No one ever bothered to give you one'?" The blonde repeated, his hair waving as he continued to laugh. "Didn't you ever think of making one up for yourself?"
"Don't tease him Yoa." Ephemera's gaze turned towards his right, where a girl with long brown hair was sitting beside him, a chastising look in her green eyes. A single strap of blonde hair, which was strapped to the top of her head, as if like a bandana caused an irregularity that was similar to the blonde's. The fact that both of them had a similar inconsistency in their hair left loads of questions in the silver-haired teen's mind, ones that he had yet to find the answers to.
All it takes is one lead though…
"I'm not teasing him, Yumi." Yoake, or as most of his friends called him 'Yoa', leaned over towards the girl as if to look at her better, invading Ephemera's personal space in the process.
"Then what are you doing, hmm?" She copied the movement, causing Ephemera to stand up with a sigh, moving away as he realized that the two would continue like this whether or not he was actually still sitting there. Walking towards the edge of the roof that lead back down to the town square, Ephemera stopped upon seeing a shape standing in the shadow of the next story roofing above theirs.
"Leaving so soon?" The sly voice that came from the figure caused Ephemera to hide the smirk that appeared on his face with a shrug.
"Not sure yet." He glanced back towards the two friends currently in a heated debate behind him, flashing the pink-cloaked figure a smile before turning around. "Hey guys! Ava's here!"
The shout caused the two to stop what they were talking about, both giving wide-surprised eyes over towards Ephemera before seeing the figure behind him. Wide smiles broke out on their faces as the two stood up, coming towards the cloaked figure.
"Ava! Sorry didn't see you there!" Yoa nervously ruffled his hair as he stopped in a circle with the other three. Ephemera scoffed a bit at the boy's behavior towards Ava. They were more friends than he was and yet he still seemed nervous around her.
"That's because you were too busy staring at Yumi." The blonde's face heated up as his eyes flashed towards Ephemera.
"Was not! We were discussing nicknames!"
"You know that better than anyone Ephemera." Yumi stated, her face also containing a light blush at the silver teen's words. Ephemera merely shrugged, glancing away from the two to hide his amused smirk.
"Who's to say that I do?" Yoa looked ready to argue against the point but was stopped when Ava held up her hands.
"There's no point to arguing about it." She turned towards Ephemera, a small smile on her own face as she let down her hood, long red hair spilling out from underneath the garment. "Don't get back at them for him teasing you, ok? It's childish."
Ephemera rolled his eyes as she tried to chastise him, the same thing that Yumi had been doing a moment ago.
"Yes Master Ava." She lunged towards him at his sarcasm, causing the teen to leap away, his Keyblade being summoned with a flash of light, a playful smirk on his face. He glanced over to see the aghast look on Yoa's face, causing him to laugh at the other teen's expression.
"Ephemera! She's your Union leader!" Yumi's face was serious as she nodded at Yoa's statement, her green eyes glinting as she looked at the two of them facing off, with the red-haired girl having summoned her keyblade a moment after Ephemera did.
"That's right! You need to be more respectful!" He merely shrugged once more, quickly dodging the attack the other girl aimed at him.
"Says who? Maybe I am being respectful."
"Not!" The angry huff from his opponent caused him to chuckle as he lightly pushed his keyblade against hers, the star charm dangling in between the two. It was clear from the way that her eyes lit up that Ava was enjoying the little show that they were putting on for the other two.
Now if she was battling me at her full strength… His thoughts trailed off as he dodged around another attack. The teen couldn't say with confidence that he could win against the newly named Foreteller in a battle. He backed up towards the edge of the building, shooting his friends a smirk, watching in amusement as they seemed stumped about what to do.
"Let's end this!" Ava stood opposite of him, a smirk on her own face. He realized what position he was in, backed up against the edge of the building and with nowhere to go but down. He let out a light chuckle at her playful antics, realizing what she had up her sleeve.
"Fine by me." He got into a defensive position as she charged towards him, her Keyblade slashing towards him. He did a backflip at the last second, and off the building towards the ground below. He heard a gasp come from above him, before his feet hit the light post below, stopping his ascent to the ground. He flashed a smile up towards Ava, her purple eyes gazing in mirth at him as he bowed.
"How'd we do Ava?" The teen opened her mouth to reply before they both heard a thud from the rooftop. Puzzlement made its way onto Ephemera's face as he leaped back up towards the edge of the roof.
Now what could that have been…? His thought was answered a moment later, causing the teen to wince as he looked at the scene before him. Yumi had apparently passed out upon seeing him jump off the side of the building, with Yoa stopping her from hitting the rooftop altogether.
"Whoops…"
"Looks like we went a little too far…" Ava trailed off, as she stared at the unconscious girl, walking over to where Yoa was laying her on the rooftop, anger in his eyes.
"You think!"
"Does she at least know that I'm still alive?" The question popped out of the silver-haired teen's mouth before he could stop it, causing an annoyed glare to be sent his way. "Yeah I know, not the best question to ask right now."
"Hold on a moment." Both of the guys froze as Ava leaned down, placing her hands over Yumi's chest, her eyes closed. After a moment, they all left out breaths as Ava gave them smiles.
"She's fine. She'll just most likely be out for the rest of the day though…" Ephemera was the first one to move, going back to the quickest direction that would lead him back to his house.
"Whelp that was fun. See you all tomorrow?"
"Hey wait!" The teen glanced over his shoulder to see the distraught blonde, who was currently looking back and forth between the unconscious girl and Ephemera.
"Yes?"
"What am I supposed to do with her?" Ephemera merely shrugged, continuing to walk towards the edge of the roof that he had just come back up from.
"Take her to her room." Sky-blue eyes widened at Ephemera's suggestion, causing the boy to stand up.
"You can't be serious?!" Ephemera could hear footsteps coming towards him but he didn't turn around, prompting the footsteps to get quicker.
"Why not?"
"'Why not?'" Yoa quoted, grabbing Ephemera by his jacket sleeve. "It's the girls' dormitory! What if I get caught?"
"Then just explain what happened." Yoa's face hardened at that, a mixture of emotions in his gaze.
"You know I can't do that." Two sets of blue eyes stared at each other, before the blonde broke the gaze, letting go of Ephemera's sleeve. "I'm not even supposed to be here with you all…"
Ephemera stared at his friend for a moment, before glancing back to where Ava and Yumi were.
"The Foretellers aren't always right." He stated, prompting the blonde to open his mouth to reply before he shut it once more, his gaze looking uncertain. The silver-haired teen patted his friend's shoulder, before moving towards the edge of the building once more, teetering on the edge. "Make your own decisions for once."
Happy New Year everyone! That's what I would like to say but I forgot to post it on the actual New Year's Day like I originally planned. Oops. Either way, I still hope you enjoyed this chapter! My original plan was to have the OC that you play as in Unchained X (now Union X) be more of a stand-in character and not as much influencing the plot, but now I guess my OCs Yoake and Yumi kind of took that plan out of action. If it isn't obvious, they are meant to replace the male and female avatar that you have the option of creating when you first start the game. I know some people don't like the thought of OCs in fanfictions as much but I hope you grow to love them! Please let me know what you thought in a review!
-AnimeWolfGirl16
