Chapter 7:Hope Dissolves In Darkness
Yen opened his eyes to see the early hours of a dull sunrise above him. His ribs and one of his legs ached. As he got up into a sitting position he noticed he was lying on the ground. Rocks and boulders were everywhere and each of them had that same, glowing blue pattern like the ones on the beach. There was no tent surrounding him, just a large boulder which kept him from seeing- or perhaps even being seen.
"You okay?", came a familiar voice. Yen turned his head around to see Saito standing next to him,a bandage covering his arm.
"Wha-what happened?", Yen asked. A clear look of sorrow was on Saito's face
"Try to remember', he replied.
Yen put his hand over his forehead and closed his eyes as he attempted to recall the battle.
"We..lost", Yen mumbled.
"Retreated...but yeah, I guess it's the same as defeat", Saito replied. Yen heard the sound of metal clanking outside and immediately knew it was a group of guards.
"Where's Master Oraka?", Yen asked, getting on to his feet.
"He's with the leaders, planning a way to get back to the city", Saito replied. Yen got up and looked to the skies as a heavy mist surrounded the area they were in. Yen realized they were at the mountains outside the city.
"Where's Anna?", Yen asked, but Saito remained silent and proceeded through the rocky terrain. Two guards passed-by looking at Yen.
"Saito? Where is she?", Yen asked again. Saito took a quick turn and climbed up a large boulder slowly proceeding to the top of a small hill. Yen followed, starting to fear what could have happened.
Yen reached the top of the hill and saw, far from where they stood a huge, transparent blue dome covered a large city. Smoke emanated from various places. A large piece of the castle had fallen off and was visibly crashed into the ground. However, none of that caught Yen's attention as much as the realization that the battle was still going on!
In various parts of the city tiny explosions could be seen, especially across the castle. Above, in the sky, a dull-reddish Kingdom Hearts floated. In the past it would have lit up the sky, but not now. A dark mist surrounded the entire city.
"We..couldn't find her Yen", Saito spoke with regret. Yen's heart almost stopped as the words came out of Saito's mouth. Could she have been..?
"We have to go back", Yen said as he began to go down hill. Saito ran after him.
"Yen stop!", he said.
"Stop!? Anna could be..she could..", Yen couldn't say the word. "I'm going there and looking for her!".
"You won't get far alone Yen", Saito warned.
"Well someone has to go! There's still people there!", Yen said.
"Calm yourself Yen!", came Master Oraka's voice from behind. He was standing there wearing his armour.
"You just left them behind!", Yen yelled. He felt outraged, but in truth, he just wanted to find Anna. To make sure she was safe and alive. His mind tortured him by creating awful scenarios and he could only bare it for so long.
"Would you rather we stayed there and died?", Oraka asked Yen."The ones that stayed behind chose to do so. We had to leave and wait for reinforcements".
"Reinforcements?".
"Yes. We can't attack with the number of guards we have now. So just CALM DOWN! We will go back, we will win and we WILL find Anna", Oraka firmly assured Yen. Yen tightened his fist and looked down. He hated the fact that Oraka was right.
Meanwhile chaos ensued across the city. The small number of guards continued fighting Galanort's men under the early hours of sunrise. Much of the city was covered with rubble , fire and -in some places- even ice. Dead soldiers were scattered across the entire city as people ran and looked for places to hide.
Some of Galanort's men barged into a house carrying a large, horrific machine and aimed it at the small family staring back with horror over there faces.
"No! Please..we-agh", he tried to beg, but it was too late. A large dark beam pierced through his chest and soon he lay on the floor, motionless. His nearby family members screamed in terror as the men pointed the machine at the rest of them. This happened in several places across the city as people ran in terror. Galanort's men placed large machines at several corners of the city right .
These machines emitted dark rays that only strengthened the dark mist floating around the entire city. Guards occasionally made scattered attempts to destroy the Harvesters and the Shield generators, but proved to be no match for the large number of Galanort's soldiers that guarded them.
The King fell to the floor close to the edge of the altar, smoke coming off his blackened and dented armour. His sword lay on the floor several feet away from him.
"What kind of a King fights for hours only to lose again and again?", Galanort mocked in that unmistakable,deep, ghastly voice of his.
The King panted as he lay on his back, weak and exhausted. Galanort walked up to his sword and picked it up. He turned his head towards Kingdom Hearts and pointed the King's sword at it.
"When the Land of Light is under threat, the Guardian shall arrive to protect..", Galanort muttered as a bright, blue beam shot out of the tip of the sword and straight at the center of Kingdom Hearts. The sword slowly left Galanort's hand and floated in mid-air. The King tried to bring himself back on to his feet, desperate to stop Galanort.
"...and soon...all power shall belong to me!". Galanort quickly turned and, with the Dark Blade pointed at the King, shot a thick, black beam through his chest.