Act IV
introduction
Sora walked inside and glanced around. He continued forward, and then examined one of the pillars. It pulsated obediently when he reached up and touched one of the veins – he could feel its body, it was on the outside of the pillar and yet seemed to sink inside around the center. He shuddered and drew away. "Creepy," Sora said to himself.
"Ah, but what did ya expect?" laughed a tomboyish voice.
At the far end of the hallway, a circle of Darkness burst on the floor. It swirled around in a circle, in a clockwise manner. A second later and a woman had – quite literally – climbed out of the Darkness. A pair of hands grasped the edge of the vortex and then heaved up the body of a boyish-looking woman. She leaned back down and drew out a massive halberd effortlessly, and then the portal closed. Sora frowned, tense, and held the Kingdom Key before him.
The woman stood a good head taller than Sora, putting her at almost five feet and ten inches. She had a strong, almost thick, figure built up of visible, lean muscle. She had a short neck and square shoulders, with long legs and arms. Her skin was dark, a deep chocolate color; the Heartless emblem showed upon her breast, almost directly over her heart. She was dressed in a crimson turtle-neck tank-top, that stopped right below her rib-cage. A black tie was loosely tied around her neck, draped over her shoulder to dangle down the right side of her torso rather than the center. Her jeans were deep maroon, with a baggy right leg bound at the knee with white bandages, and the other leg cut off at the thigh. It revealed the bottom of a pair of striped boxers. She wore black and white boots that stopped mid-calf, and a wristband around her right wrist and left upper arm. A black tattoo of various symbols was visible on her right shoulder.
She had a square face with a short, slender nose and a wide mouth. Her eyes were bright orange, and her hair was wild, short and a bright red. A beaded string pierced her right ear and a second string was tied about her left knee.
The halberd she carried was enormous, almost as long as she was tall. The blade curved out as it reached the end so the tip was longer than the hilt. Several holes were pierced against the flat side of it: One in the shape of a Keyhole, a circle, and a long sliver all next to each other. A second piece of the blade sprouted above the main blade and hovered above it. The handle was long and firm, bound in white bandages, and there was no guard.
The woman smirked at Sora. He knew immediately it was not the same woman that had appeared in his bedroom. "Who are you?" Sora asked.
She tossed back her head and grinned. "So nice of you to ask," she said. "I am a Heartless. Funny, right?" she said and effortlessly heaved the halberd up onto her shoulder, where it rested. "'Cause we're all supposed to be evil and out for hearts ..." she drawled on, but that grin never faded. Her eyes pierced Sora's when she said the next line, "and it's all true."
Sora dropped into a fighting stance with his knees bent and the Keyblade before him. "Then it's true. Do you know anything about the woman who came to my room?" he asked seriously.
Her eyebrows raised. "And what if I do?" she asked.
"I wanna know! Why are you here?" Sora demanded. "And why did you send her to come after me?"
Another laugh. "I didn't send anybody kid," she said, "do you honestly think the main baddie here is going to make an entrance appearance?" she thought about this and then smirked, "Well, I guess after you trip through Castle Oblivion, you sort of thought I would be. Didn't you?"
Sora glared at her. Her grin spread.
Castle Oblivion was the first place where he confronted the Organization. Led by Marluxia, they drew him into a trap through thirteen floors, and as he continued through he steadily forgot about Hollow Bastion and Kairi. That was where he had met Naminé, a witch who was changing his memories to make him believe she was being held hostage. Marluxia planned to manipulate Sora into taking over the Organization that would make him over-all leader, but Sora, Donald and Goofy killed him in the end. As a result of the memory-damage, Naminé placed Sora in a slumber that would make him forget all about Castle Oblivion ... and her.
However, during his trek through the Castle that Never Was, Sora's memories of Castle Oblivion had begun to gradually return.
"But I won't disappoint you," she continued. "Y'see, I am almost as good as the leader of the place. I like a hands-on experience when it comes to confronting my enemies. My name is Ira!" she announced. "And don't you forget it!"
Sora tensed, glaring at Ira. "I'd introduce myself, but I get the sneaking suspicion you already know," he said.
"Hikari Sora," Ira said, "current wielder of the Keyblade."
"But I'm not the only one!" Sora said quickly. "King Mickey, Riku, Roxas – even Kairi-chan had a Keyblade!"
Ira's grin turned almost devilish. "You are the true Keyblader. Is there ever a time when the copy is as good as the original? Origin, my friend, is a very special thing." she said.
Sora watched her carefully, but inside, he was puzzled.
Ira then began to take steps closer to him: She walked with a swing in her hips and shoulders, as though she was listening to a very good song, and took long strides close to him. Oddly, there were tremors in the floor every time she took a step. Sora wasn't sure if that was good or bad. 'An earthquake?' was his first thought.
"Y'know what? I'm tired of the kiddy-talk," Ira said loudly. "C'mon Keyblade Master! Let's see if you really are worthy of that thing!" she said, and then bolted for him.
-xxx-
Ira's speed was surprisingly slow. Sora watched her footsteps with ease, unlike most of his opponents who were light and agile. He kept his fighters' stance, ready to parry her attack. The tremors became worse as she stomped against the floor, and then leapt clearly into the air. She raised the massive halberd with one hand and then lashed out with it. Sora could see the attack clearly and held the Keyblade horizontally in front of him.
CLINK! went the awful sounding of metal as the halberd was thrust into the Keyblade.
Sora could feel tremors all the way up to his elbows. The pure strength behind the attack not only disabled Sora's parry, but it sent him completely across the hallway. He flew to the left in motion of the attack and crashed noisily into the wall. Sora slid down to the floor, with a deep crack in the wall where he had landed. His head was pounding and his wrists were in pain.
'That strength! That's amazing,' Sora couldn't help but think as he wiped his lip. Already, his lower lip began to swell and a good amount of thick, copper-tasting blood was pouring out from his jaw. He wiped the blood away and smeared it across his chin.
Ira stood up and heaved the halberd onto her shoulder. She turned around: Sora could see the excitement of the fight in her eyes. They appeared almost golden. She smirked and then braced herself. Sora realized a second before it happened – she was coming in for another attack.
Just as Ira set off running, shaking the entire hallway with her, Sora jumped up and bolted off to the left and further down the hall. Ira skidded to a stop, pushing her shoulder into the fractured wall, and then dashed off after him. Sora weaved between the pillars as he ran, forcing Ira to skid and stumble along behind him. Her speed was nothing to be proud of, but that strength! Sora wouldn't be surprised if his palms began to bruise.
"You just gonna run from the fight!?" shouted Ira, trailing along behind him.
Sora frowned, but continued to run. As he raced, he tried to form a plan in his head. 'I just got to surprise her and hit her as hard as possible!' he thought.
With the stairway rapidly approaching, Sora waited until he was almost three feet away from the stairs before he suddenly stopped and spun around. He was almost surprised to see that, somewhere along the line, Ira had caught up with him. When he turned around, they were almost face-to-face, but Sora thrust out the Keyblade and dug it as far into her gut as he possibly could.
Ira stopped instantly. She gasped out loud, and her eyes seemed to fade back to their previous orange color. She staggered backwards, clutching onto her stomach. A burnt-circle exactly the shape of the tip of the Keyblade was now on her stomach, burning bits of her pants and her shirt in the process. Despite the pain she must have felt, Ira grinned as she stepped backwards. The halberd's tip was gently rested on the ground.
"Way to go," she said feebly. Ira fell over backwards and landed on her butt on the floor. She let go of the halberd and stared up at Sora.
"You're gonna just lower your defenses and give up?" Sora asked her, distrusting.
"Yup," Ira closed on eye and leaned backwards, using her arms as support. "But don't pride yourself. That was a pretty good hit, but I'm far from dead. I'm not your ordinary Heartless – I don't die with one touch. But, you've earned yourself a bit of an explanation."
The first thing Sora said was, "Why are you here?"
"That's ... sort of complicated," Ira said as she sat there, so plainly, as though they were friends having an ordinary conversation. "You'll learn if you make it through the levels." and then she stood up and pointed at the stairs behind Sora. "That is the only way on to the next level. There's no secrets, no short-cuts, nothing. You just walk. This Clocktower's got thirteen levels that you gotta get through if you wanna face my boss. You gotta get through 'em all, and then you'll see the Clocktower for what it is."
"... what it is?" Sora repeated doubtfully.
Ira nodded. "That fight we had just now – expect more. See, the people I work with are all like me. A lot of them like to pick fights and cause pain, truly malevolent if you ask me. But, what are you gonna do? Expect visits from them a lot, even me." she said and then stood up, taking the halberd with her.
Sora turned around and looked at the stairs. "That's it? I just fight and run." he said, more to himself than to Ira.
The taller red-head, at that moment, slapped him hard on the back that made him cough. "Yup! Try not to die on me, because I sorta liked that fight. You're pretty tough kid. I usually don't like speedy characters, but you put up a challenge." she said and then turned and walked towards the center of the hallway.
"Matte, one more thing -," Sora began.
Ira turned around and grinned. "Later," and she disappeared through another black portal. Sinking through it effortlessly – and just like that, she and the Darkness were both gone.
Sora lingered in the spot where he stood. "Damn," he said, although it was rare that Sora ever swore, "well, I guess that's the only warning I'm gonna get in this place, isn't it?" he asked himself and then faced the stairs again.
Buh ... buh ... buh ...
The hairs rose on the back of Sora's neck. He adjusted the straps of his backpack and then glanced around. He could almost hear something, like the low rhythm of a drum. But he was completely alone. Sora frowned and then shrugged it off, but the beating grew faster when Sora neared the stairs.
Buh! Buh! Buh!
"What is that?" Sora asked himself and then faced the wall. He couldn't determine where it came from – it seemed to come from all around. His own heart racing, Sora neared one of the walls and pressed his hands against the surface. The wall was extremely cold, and it felt even worse when he put his ear to it. But, he could hear the noise clearly:
Buh-bump ... buh-bump ... buh-bump ...
Sora felt as though he had just swallowed a whole ice cube. "Ano ... is that ... a heart beat?" he asked himself, shocked and horrified at the same time.
-xxx-
The stairway was long. Really, really long.
It was completely awkward for Sora to walk across. After the first three steps, it began to stretch outwards completely straight. Smooth and white, with the red carpet stopping after the third step. The walls flickered black and white, like the reflection of rippling water across the walls and ceiling. There were no pillars, but Sora could hear the beating more clearly in the hallway than he could before. After ten feet, the smooth surface ascended into spiral stairs that stopped, again, at ten feet and then lowered again in the same, spiraling manner and continued onwards into a straight hallway. Eventually, the hallway came to an end with another ornate archway.
Sora stepped out into a very small room – no bigger than nine feet by nine feet. Above the archway he had just entered through was the same numbers: 0:00. In front of him, there was a wispy veil of purple smoke before another set of stairs. The Gothic numbers mirrored those in behind him. To his left was a set of white doors with brass handles, pointed at the centers in an arc. Above that were the numbers '1:00'. Pillars were set in the corners of each room, replicas of the ones from the entrance. They pulsated when Sora entered the room. The beat died down almost immediately after he passed through the archway.
The only light came from a Gothic, black chandelier hanging from the dead-center of the ceiling. Crimson candles were lit and danced with life. It made the room seem rather dark, only half-lit.
Sora's first thought was to head forward into the purple smoke dancing before him. However, as soon as he got close, the purple veil shocked him in protest. Literally – a white-blue bolt of very small lightning shot out and zapped Sora on the nose. He gasped and stepped backwards, bringing his hands up to his face. The tip of his nose had turned bright red and tears jumped into his eyes.
"I ... guess that means that I won't be going through there just yet," Sora said slowly and looked to the door south-west of him.
Swallowing, Sora walked over to the door and placed his hand on one of the handles. It was cold, almost frozen. Sora tugged on the door only to find out that it was heavy. With all of his strength, he wrenched it open and it swung wide. Mimicking his movements, the opposite door swung open as well. A warm light washed over the entire area ...
-xxx-
Sora opened his eyes, and immediately noticed that he had stepped out into a completely different room.
In fact, there was no ceiling! But wide, open blue sky above him. A few wispy clouds hung over the edge of his vision at the horizon. The ground was made up of hard, black cobblestone with three-feet tall walls lining the entire area. A set of stairs went to lower ground almost in front of him. Light caramel-colored roofs pointed upwards all over the place, especially those nearest to him. At lower ground, a group of dark cobblestone shops had been set up around the north, west and southern sides of the floor. Another set of stairs raised to higher ground, this of smooth, white pavement, led down to a neighborhood.
The shops had great, wooden signs placed over their open windows. Some had signs of weapons, other had half-full bottles, some had pieces of armor. A few people walked back and forth, and a trio of white-feathered ducks sat in three different shops. At the top of the second set of stairs was a great, open freezer with ice spilled out onto the ground. Across from him, an odd-looking creature danced back and forth in its spot.
It was small with short, cream-colored fur and no visible fingers or toes. The eyes were closed and its nose was big and round, with a great round ball dancing on top of its round head. Tiny purple wings flitted at its back. This was a Moogle, and the Moogle's image flickered back and forth revealing that it was just a hologram.
In the distance, across the rooftops of neighborhood areas, great machinery loomed. Beyond those, the ground became hard and rocky and great glaciers loomed over them. Ruins dotted the horizon in the form of a broken tower. The edge of his vision seemed to move, but as Sora focused, he couldn't tell what it was.
"I'm ... in the Radiant Garden!" Sora told himself in surprise.
-xxx-
Many stories away, a group of people were gathered in the Darkness. Before them was a Gothic-looking cauldron, with draconic creatures sitting at the brim. They were made of stone, and their eyes blazed red. With wings stretched and mouths open, a mist poured from their jaws to create an image of Sora, who had just stepped through the door far below them.
"Well, that was mildly interesting," came a sultry, sly voice after a long pause had settled over the room.
"Booo-ring," joined a quick, male voice.
"Nothing's ever exciting enough for you, Avaritia," said another male voice in a tone that sounded more like an order than a statement.
"Shut up, Invidia," said Avaritia sharply.
"Smart response," Invidia replied coolly.
A quiet sucking sound came from behind them – a third man was busy licking a strawberry lollipop. "Aw, be quiet, the both of you," he said in a hushed, timid voice.
"Brave, Gula," Avaritia approached him and made a gesture for the candy, "and what are you going to do if I don't want to be quiet?"
Gula snatched back the candy with a sharp glare. "Don't touch my candy," he hissed dangerously.
"Now this is more exciting!" came a high-pitched giggle from the other side of the room. A young girl was perched on a tiger.
"I'm not here for your entertainment, brat," Avaritia spat.
"Avaritia, cool it," said the first woman.
Avaritia appeared to be thinking of what to say next, but then smirked and put one arm around the woman. "When you're around, Luxuria, I don't think I can," he said.
She pushed him away with a disgusted look on her face.
"Ew!" piped the girl.
Invidia looked at her. "Hush, Acedia," he said.
Immediately, Acedia put both hands over her mouth and nodded.
A swirl of Darkness opened on the floor. A moment later, a halberd flew out of the void and struck the wall directly behind Avaritia. Ira herself climbed out and straightened up on the floor. "Yo," she greeted them as the Darkness closed itself behind her.
Avaritia shuddered and stepped away from Luxuria. "That came awfully close," he said.
"Was that a threat?" Ira asked. She grinned; she looked ready for a fight.
"I guess it was," Avaritia said and held one hand out – folded to the bottom of his palm was a sharp, small dagger.
"Better do it quick 'cause we got company," Ira challenged.
She was right, a moment later and another burst of Darkness occupied the only seat in the room. "Ira, Avaritia, stop it. We do not fight amongst ourselves," said a calm, collected voice as a woman's form filled the chair. She leaned back.
Ira and Avaritia straightened up and walked away from each other obediently.
The new woman's eyes was upon the cauldron. "The Mirror has reflected Sora's introduction at the first Tyme. I wonder what will happen to him?" she asked herself softly. Avaritia scoffed and appeared to start to speak, but the woman said sharply, "Shut up and watch. This might save your life later," and then she disappeared again.
"You'd think she'd like to stick around longer," Gula said, busy eating the candy. Invidia looked at him; Gula shrugged and said, "What?" innocently.
Alright for foreshadowing!
Next chapter will be showing some very familiar faces
