Middle of the night update sneak attack, pew pew pew!
I'm sooo sorry for taking a few extra weeks with this, everyone. I wrote about thirteen pages in the first two weeks and then… realized they were completely wrong and threw them out. So I had to start over. I'm sorry! I wrote as fast as I could!
Thank you all SO much for all the incredible reviews I've been getting, wow. I can't believe how many people are reading and taking the time to review! It's so awesome, seriously, thank you. Even just a few words makes my day. You all rock!
Before we get started, new fanart! This was drawn by the amazing and wonderful JamieTheMonster! You know the drill, remove spaces and replace dotcom with the real thing:
instagram (dotcom) /p/BvCW3vPliN0/ ?utm_source = ig_web_button_share_sheet
Thank you so much, Jamie! Aila and Riku look so adorable together!
And nowwww back to the story!
"He leans in, resting his weathered hand on the bed. "Treat all the bad things like dreams, Kenzie. That way, no matter how scary or dark they get, you just have to survive until you wake up."
― Victoria Schwab,The Unbound
Chapter 9: Shadow
Aila was thoroughly disoriented by the time something other than miscellaneous light and color began to take shape, she and Riku floating down hand in hand toward whatever solid ground seemed to finally be taking shape beneath them. She stumbled a little when they touched down, Riku's hand tightening slightly around hers as he helped steady her.
"Why do you seem so coordinated?" Aila mumbled to him, putting her free hand to her eyes as she tried to get her vision to stop spinning. "That was really… ngh…"
"Guess I've gotten used to it," Riku replied softly.
Aila sighed and pulled her hand out of Riku's, turning away from him and blinking rapidly as she tried to get her bearings back. She didn't want him looking at her face in case it was showing an embarrassing level of disorientation.
"Where are we now?" she heard Riku breathe, apparently looking around.
The details of the white-grey walls and floor were beginning to register with Aila, and she frowned. "Wait… this looks like… The Castle That Never Was…" She glanced at Riku, clarifying. "The Organization's base."
"Right," Riku replied slowly. "But… why are we here?" He frowned, mumbling almost to himself, "I unlocked all seven Keyholes… so I should be back in the world I came from."
Aila frowned down at her clothes. "I still look like a lollipop. So maybe this world is sleeping too?"
Riku crossed his arms. "Maybe… but even if there are more than seven Sleeping Worlds, shouldn't our test be over? Why would we keep going?"
"Maybe… if someone else wants you to keep going…" Aila suggested, a worried knot growing in her stomach. "This is the Organization's world… it might make sense for Xehanort to pull us here."
Riku sighed. "Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too."
A high pitched coo was Aila's only warning before she once again had a fuzzy bat in her face, the Dream Eater snuggling just as aggressively as ever into her. "Pah! Hey!"
She pushed the bat away and it rushed over to Riku, nuzzling him as well. Riku chuckled, the bunny and panda cheering before the teens now as well. "Ah, there you guys are. Glad you're okay," Riku said sincerely. He glanced Aila's way. "This must be a Sleeping World if there are still Dream Eaters around."
Aila nodded. "I'm definitely getting a 'Xehanort interfering' vibe."
"Me too," Riku sighed. He looked down the hall. "Guess we have no choice but to keep moving… I've got a feeling Sora's close. If we can find him, maybe we can figure a way out of here."
"Sounds like a plan," Aila agreed.
They ventured down the most immediate hallway before them, and it quickly became clear that things were… off. Aila had never been great at directions, but she had lived (aka been held prisoner) in this place for a little while, so she at least expected to have a vague sense of where they were after a few minutes of wandering. But with every hallway they turned down, every new room they went into, she just felt more and more lost.
"Ahhh," she groaned, slamming her staff into a multicolored horse-like creature as a way of venting her frustrations (the Nightmares here were slightly less cute than Fantasia's, but still not as ugly as she would have liked). "Why don't I recognize any of these rooms?! Is my memory that bad?!"
Riku finished off the last Nightmare in the area and frowned. "No, something definitely seems… off. Not that I spent as much time here as you, but…"
Aila sighed, dismissing her staff and rolling out her left shoulder, which had gotten a little run into by one of the rambunctious horses. "Maybe they rebuilt it all different after we beat Xemnas…"
Riku looked around the room thoughtfully. "Maybe…"
Aila laced her hands behind her back as their group started to continue forward down another hall. The bat was doing little happy circles around her head, Aila watching it with confused amusement. "You know, you look like a Woobat… I'm gonna call you that." The bat looked at her and beamed even wider before doing a few happy loop de loops. Aila giggled. "Glad you're on board."
"A Woobat?" Riku questioned, an eyebrow quirked.
Aila grinned at him. "It's a Pokemon! Oh man, now that would be a cool world to visit…" Something nudged her leg and Aila looked down to see the bunny trying to get her attention. It looked up at her with a hopeful expression. "You want a name too?" The bunny squealed excitedly. "Hmmm… Okay, you look like a Buneary! So now you are Buneary. We'll keep the Pokemon theme going." The bunny hopped in a few happy circles, chattering away to Woobat in some Dream Eater animal language Aila couldn't understand. She glanced at the panda, who seemed to be staring at her rather expectantly. "And you look like… ummm… Oh! Teddiursa! He's a really cute teddy bear that grows up into a powerful bear-bear! How's that?" The panda grinned. Aila glanced at Riku. "What have you been calling these guys all this time, anyway?"
Riku thought for a second and then pointed to each one. "Bat. Rabbit. Panda."
Aila laughed. "That's so lame!"
Riku smirked. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I'll work on my naming abilities for the future."
"Good, you better."
They both laughed before lapsing into silence. Now that there wasn't a constant musical soundtrack as they walked, Aila once again found herself starting to feel anxious. She tried to focus on the sounds of their footsteps, or on the happy noises Woobat and Buneary were making as they ventured a little ahead with Teddi, but it wasn't enough. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, trying to think of something to talk about that wouldn't just be her rambling like a crazy person to try and avoid silence. They turned a corner and Aila caught a glimpse of the city outside. A memory of the very first time she'd met Riku flashed through her head. That's right, they had met here, hadn't they…
"Can I ask you a question?"
Riku glanced her way. "Of course."
"Why'd you agree to help me, when I was trapped here? I could've just been another member of the Organization trying to get to Sora. We hadn't met before; I knew I could trust you because of what I knew from my world… but what made you trust me?"
Riku smiled slightly. "Honestly… you smelled different."
"…What."
Riku laughed. "Okay that sounded really weird. Let me explain. Ever since I gave into the Darkness, and especially since I started covering my eyes last year to keep Ansem at bay, my other senses… got better, I guess, but in ways I didn't expect. Darkness has a very specific smell - the Organization's members reeked of it. But you… didn't."
Aila leveled Riku with a deadpan look. "So you helped me because I didn't smell bad?"
Riku smiled again. "Kinda. But also… I don't know, I just felt like you needed my help. You seemed… genuine. And if you weren't an Organization member, I couldn't just leave you with them." His smile vanished and he looked away. "To be honest, I did mention you to DiZ, to see if he'd heard anything about a girl in the Organization, just to be sure… When I described you, he looked like he'd seen a ghost. But then he acted like he didn't know you at all. I didn't know your name yet, so maybe he thought I was just describing someone similar, and he was trying to convince himself of that. I felt like he knew more than he was telling me, but trusted that if he did know you, he would have warned me if my instincts about you had been wrong. So, I helped you."
Aila thought about that for a minute before responding. "Ansem… or, um, DiZ, I mean… Was he angry that I was here?"
"Not… angry. Once I knew your name and saw you use your powers and relayed that all to him, he couldn't deny who you were anymore. He seemed… upset. Sad, maybe. And I guess maybe a little angry at himself. But not angry at you." Riku glanced at Aila again, his expression a little guarded now. "You knew each other a long time ago… Do you… remember anything else, from back then?"
"No," Aila sighed, shaking her head. "I just have one memory of him playing a piano for me and Danny… it's practically nothing. And also that one scary one of everything burning down and him sending us away… But still… I kinda miss him. Is that super weird?"
"It's not weird," Riku replied softly. He paused. "Do you… want to remember anything else from that time?"
Aila looked up at the ceiling. "…I don't know. What if that only makes me miss him more?" She unlaced her hands from behind her back and looked down, fiddling with her gloves. "I guess I kinda wanna know where I came from, though. I thought I was from my world, and that I was pulled off of it and into all this by accident. But I guess it was kinda the other way around. So I'm curious… a little…" She smiled nervously at Riku. "I thought maybe he'd have some more notes about us in his office… I tore that place apart. Either he's really bad at taking notes, or they were destroyed or something I guess. So lame." Buneary trilled to get Aila's attention and Aila held her arms open to allow it to hop into them. She hugged it and smiled. "Maybe Tron will find something! All the files are so corrupted, but he's making a little headway I think… I'm sure a lot of them aren't recoverable, but maybe something… Even just a name would be cool, you know?"
"A name of a world…?"
"Or a person. I mean, there was probably some kind of documentation about the rest of my family, right?"
Riku focused on the path before them. "Right. You want to know who your parents are…"
Aila chewed on her lip for a second. "Mmhmm… Don't tell Danny or Alex though, okay? They'll think that I want to like, replace our parents who adopted us… Which I don't! No way! I love them so much, and I miss them all the time. I just… I just like to know things. There's no harm in knowing, right?" Aila nodded, not waiting for Riku to reply as she tried to convince herself. "Yeah, that's okay. It's just nice to know things like that. We were found all alone on our world so it was always assumed we were abandoned, that someone just didn't want us. Maybe it would feel better to know if…" She trailed off, not sure how to finish that thought. She glanced at Riku. "I'm sorry, I'm rambling a lot. I've been doing that too much since Celina stopped talking. Sorry…"
"Don't apologize," Riku replied. He smiled lightly. "It's nice to get to know you a little better. We haven't really had a chance yet."
Aila grinned. "Well that's because someone kept being all 'silent protector' and would run off any time we bumped into you last year. Didn't even wait around for a thank you when you helped us out! What've you got to say for yourself, hm, hmmmm?"
Riku clicked his tongue. "Throwing me under the bus? Hn, I knew saving you from falling off that cliff in the Land of Dragons was gonna come back to bite me…"
"Hey!"
Aila laughed, Riku chuckling lightly as well. This was nice. Aila was once again struck by how easy Riku was to talk to, which was really surprising. She wasn't sure why she had expected him to be… maybe standoffish? Or super serious? Or maybe just too cool for her. But, she supposed, he was Sora's best friend in the whole universe, so him actually being kinda fun and easygoing underneath his more serious exterior shouldn't have been a surprise at all.
They finally made it to an outdoor corridor and Aila took a curious glance up toward the sky. Her face scrunched up with unsettled wary - there was no moon, no stars, just a layer of reddish clouds over a pitch black sky. "Yikes…"
"You can say that again," Riku breathed, looking increasingly suspicious. He closed his eyes and, after a moment of thought, he started forward again with new determination. "Come on - I think Sora's close."
Aila nodded, hurrying to keep up. "I hope so… I'm starting to get worried…"
"Me too."
They fought their way through a few more groups of Nightmares, including some very large and vicious sabertooth tigers and colorful lions that were frustratingly challenging to finish off. And also dinosaurs. Freaking. Dinosaurs. By the time they managed to climb their way to the top of the castle (using some terrifying flowmotion techniques that Aila still had no clue how she'd survived), Aila was pretty over this whole dream world situation. Sora had better be close so they could all finally get the heck out of here! She was trying not to do any complaining out loud, but her face must have given her frustration away, because Riku kept assuring her that Sora was definitely close.
The platform they'd made their way to seemed to be one of the highest points of the castle, though again, it wasn't very familiar. Riku led them toward a short staircase that led down to a large circular area surrounded by thick pillars, Aila momentarily distracted by the architecture. It was pretty.
"Is that…" Riku breathed, getting Aila's attention. She followed his gaze and gasped.
"Sora?"
It definitely was Sora; he was a little younger than he should be, but that tracked with what Riku had said about how they'd begun their test. He was floating about a foot off the ground at the far end of the platform, encased in some kind of clear bubble. Aila's heart leapt into her throat - Sora was very still. His eyes were closed. And Darkness was twisting around the bubble holding him.
"Sora!" Riku shouted, immediately rushing toward his friend, Aila hot on his heels. They stopped before Sora and Aila realized that the bubble actually wasn't entirely clear after all. Various images were flickering in and out of view along the bubble's surface: Riku and Kairi walking away together, Pluto running away, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy running away… Aila's eyes widened as she even spotted herself, in her usual outfit, running away… Was this… something Sora was seeing? Was he watching everyone leave him…? Now that she was closer it seemed clear that Sora was asleep, which was somewhat of a relief. Maybe this bubble was projecting what he was dreaming about?
Riku seemed at a loss for a few seconds before reaching out and grabbing Sora's wrist, attempting to pull his friend out of the bubble. But Sora wouldn't budge. Riku pulled a few more times, seeming wary about hurting Sora, but at the same time very aware that he needed to get him out of… whatever this was. "Sora! Don't! You've gotta wake up! Sora!"
Aila bounced nervously from foot to foot, watching the images flickering in and out of focus on the bubble. The projection of her had stopped running, but now it looked like she was crying. She didn't like seeing herself like that… Sora didn't think she was weak and crying all the time, right…?
Skirting around the bubble so she was face to face with Sora, Aila reaching into the bubble as well to grab his other arm. A chill went down her spine as her skin made contact with the bubble, a heavy unease settling in her heart. Her fingers tightened around Sora's wrist. "Come on Sora, snap out of it! Whatever you're seeing… it's not real, okay? Wake up!"
The Darkness swirling around the bubble suddenly picked up speed, the dark tendrils stinging Aila as they brushed against her and forcing her to release Sora and back away. Riku didn't seem as affected, his grip only tightening on Sora as he watched the Darkness suspiciously. The tendrils began to pull away from the bubble, pooling a few feet away on the platform and leaving the bubble and Sora behind. A form began to take shape into a being wearing what seemed to be an Organization coat, but with pinkish-purple designs decorating its sleeves and lower half. The top of the coat was zipped up as high as it would go, so that the only thing visible beneath the being's hood were a pair of perfectly round, glowing red eyes. This wasn't an Organization member - it didn't even really seem human…
Riku finally released Sora and turned to face this new creature. "Are you what's trapping him in that nightmare?!" Riku asked, summoning his Keyblade and falling into a fighting stance. "Cause if you are… I'm what nightmares fear!"
Aila blinked. Whoa. Riku was so cool…
"Try to get him out of there," Riku whispered, glancing quickly over his shoulder at Aila.
Aila startled back to attention. "Uh, r-right!"
Riku's Dream Eaters fell into line beside him and the Organization creature lunged, Darkness swirling around its legs and keeping it afloat just above the floor. A weapon materialized in its hand as it slashed at the group, all of them managing to dodge the hit. Buneary struck with its ears before scurrying to the other side of the platform, regrouping with Riku and the others. It seemed like they were trying to draw this thing away from Aila and Sora. It worked, the Nightmare lunging after them all, and Aila tore her eyes away from the battle to focus on Sora again.
With renewed determination, she reached into the bubble and grabbed one of Sora's wrists with both hands, pulling as hard as she could. "Come… on! Sora, it would be super helpful if you woke up riiiiight… now!" But Sora didn't stir, and the bubble was holding him so firmly in place that Aila was barely able to budge him with even her strongest pull. She relented after a few seconds, letting out a frustrated breath. Okay, brute force wasn't gonna do anything. New strategy.
She thought hard, studying Sora's face. He looked pretty peaceful, but if he really was having a nightmare right now… well, she knew how bad those could be. Maybe she could startle him out of it? But not with anything scary or bad, she didn't want to add to his nightmare… She gasped dramatically, shaking Sora's arm a few times. "Oh my gosh, Sora! Hercules and Meg are engaged! She's finally not in denial, we have to go celebrate!"
Nothing.
"Uhhh oh! Nala had her baby and they want you to be the lion godfather! Gasp, such an honor!"
Still no reaction.
"Um um um… Kairi has a paopu fruit for you?!"
Not even a muscle twitch.
Aila relaxed her grip again, frowning deeply. "Jeez, you're really asleep…"
A red glow beneath Aila's feet was the only warning she got that she was suddenly in danger, her hands releasing Sora's arm and Light bursting from her fingers to form a hasty shield on almost pure instinct. Four streams of red energy shot out of the floor around her, arcing down toward her head in an attempt to skewer her. She managed to intercept by angling her Light shield over her head, but the impact from the attack was more than a little jarring.
With a yell, she willed her shield to push against the red streams and, thankfully, the energy dispersed. She sighed in relief, her shield fading, only for her to immediately summon her staff and raise it just in time to catch the weapon that was slicing down toward her. The resounding clang hurt her ears, her arms shaking ever so slightly as she pushed back with her staff against what seemed to be a sword made of pure Darkness. The Organization coat wearing Nightmare stared down at her, its lifeless, beady red eyes boring into her from beneath its hood.
"I'm… a little… busy!" Aila managed to get out through clenched teeth. The Nightmare's eyes darted to Sora over Aila's shoulder before landing back on her, its hands tightening around its sword as it pushed even harder, trying to get Aila to fall. Aila tightened her own grip and dug her heels into the floor. "I'm sorry, do you not want me to wake him?! Well tough! THUNDER!"
A lightning bolt cracked above the Nightmare's head, the creature forced to leap back just in time to avoid being hit by Aila's spell. The Nightmare slid to a stop, its Organization boots scuffing the white floor as is planted its heels, seeming prepared to leap toward Aila again. But then Teddiursa was barreling into it, forcing the Nightmare to retreat even more.
Aila straightened up and did a little victory hop. "Yay! Go Teddi!"
Riku skidded in front of her with his weapon poised, Buneary on his shoulder. He glanced quickly back at her. "Sorry - got away from me for a second. You good?"
Aila flashed a thumbs up. "Super!"
"Any change?"
"No, nothing's working…"
"Keep trying."
He dashed off to go help Teddi and Aila turned back toward the still sleeping Sora. She glanced nervously back toward the battle, deciding not to dismiss her staff just yet. "That thing really wants to keep you trapped in a nightmare," she sighed, biting her lip as she looked up at Sora. Her eyes darted to the images fading in and out around the bubble again - they still showed everyone either walking or running away, including a couple of people that Aila didn't recognize.
A hint of a memory lit in Aila's heart of seeing Sora, Kairi, and Riku walking away from her… at her old school? With Brina? When the heck would that have happened? Maybe she'd had her own dream about that at some point… Dream or no, even just barely remembering that image hurt, like needles pricking her heart. She looked up at Sora's face again. "It's not real," she whispered earnestly, her heart aching with the thought that Sora might be feeling that same hurt in his dream. "We would never leave you, Sora. You've gotta know those people running from you, they're not really us. Stop chasing them. We're right here. Please… you have to wake up now, okay?"
For a single moment, Aila thought she saw the images around the bubble waver, like they were videos that were buffering for a second. But then they were moving again, just the same as before. Aila sighed, her brow furrowed in frustration. She glanced toward the battle again - it looked like Riku had the Nightmare on the run now. Was that why the images had flickered? Or had Sora… heard her…?
A high pitched coo to her left startled her, Woobat suddenly by her side. "Oh, hey… You don't happen to have any ideas, do you?"
The bat looked at her and let out a light trill, its expression very sad. It turned back toward Sora and leaned its head against the bubble, closing its eyes. It stayed like that for a moment before sharply pulling away with a pained sound, as if it had been shocked.
"Are you okay?!" Aila gasped. Woobat shook out its fur and pouted, but otherwise seemed fine. Curious, Aila returned her attention to the bubble. She'd so far been reaching all the way through it to touch Sora directly - would something different happen if she tried focusing on the bubble itself? Gingerly, she reached out a hand, resting her fingertips ever so gently on the bubble's surface. At first it just felt like air. But then…
Confusion. Anger. Frustration. Despair. Emotion after emotion struck Aila like electricity, shocking through her fingertips and into her heart. Her eyes widened and her muscles all jolted, like her body wanted to pull away, but she forced her hand to stay. Somehow, she just knew… this was what Sora was feeling! And on top of it all, exhaustion… he was fighting right now! He was fighting someone, but he was fading fast, every breath agony as he fought the urge to fall.
Aila felt tears prick behind her lashes. "Sora!" she called, her voice breaking on his name. "Sora, I'm here! Don't give up! Please!" She dismissed her staff and placed her other hand on the bubble, looking desperately at Sora's deceptively calm, sleeping face. "What do you need?! I'll give you strength! Take it! I know you can win!" She had no idea who he could be fighting, but her bones seemed to vibrate as weapons clashed somewhere beyond her reach.
She tried to imagine the feeling of going into a Drive Form, of the way her heart would connect to Sora's to lend him her power. She shut her eyes, her teeth clenched as she focused as hard as she could. For just a moment, she thought she could see him, flashes of him, facing… someone. Xemnas? Was that what form his nightmare was taking? Sora was on one knee, breathing hard. Aila tearily called his name again, trying with everything she had to give him some kind of power. His shoulders straightened. He glanced upward, his brow furrowed in confusion. Aila thought she saw him mouth a question, but it was too blurry for her to really see, and she couldn't hear anything… Sora's grip tightened on his Keyblade, and he stood.
"Yes!" Aila gasped, a spark of determination breaking through all the negative emotions she could feel. "Come on, come on…!"
Suddenly the image of Sora was cut off, replaced by the white haired stranger from before. His yellow eyes were narrowed, his brow furrowed in what seemed to be mild annoyance. "Keep your light to yourself."
Aila screamed as she was thrown backwards by some massive shock, her body tumbling across the white floor a little ways before coming to a painful stop. She groaned, pushing herself onto her knees and shaking stars from her eyes. A worried trill made her aware that Woobat had followed her, presumably to make sure she was okay. She reached out and put a hand on its fluffy body, grateful to have someone within reach to ground her a little.
"Aila!"
Aila looked up just as Riku knelt down at her side, though she had to blink really hard to keep from seeing two of him.
"What happened?" he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Aila shook her head one more time, trying to keep her vision straight. "Sora's fighting someone! I… I saw him; not this him but another him, for just a second! But then I got… blasted away…" She put a hand to her head. "I feel… really confused…" She looked around, noticing Teddi and Buneary at her side as well. "Where's the coat monster thing?"
"Gone," Riku breathed, looking back at Sora with great concern. He stood and walked toward Sora's sleeping form, stopping a few feet away from him. "Sora… don't chase the dreams. They'll lead you nowhere, just to an abyss you'll never be able to wake up from."
Aila watched him, feeling at a loss. Even with the Nightmare defeated… Sora was still sleeping? Why? What else did they need to do to help him wake up?
In a flash, Sora and the bubble holding him vanished, both Riku and Aila gasping in alarm. Aila tried to stand but was sent off balance as her vision seemed to go haywire again, everything around her blurring and wavering in a completely dizzying display.
"What?" Riku gasped, looking around, and Aila realized with a start that it wasn't her vision that was going haywire - it was the place itself. Their surroundings solidified, but now they seemed to be down in the city outside the castle, in front of the big neon skyscraper. "What's going on in Sora's world?" Riku breathed as their surroundings switched again, back to the platform they'd originally been on, though a very wavy version of it. Aila was starting to feel nauseous just looking at all the wavy pillars. Riku turned, his brow knitted with deep concern. "Why won't he open his eyes?! Is he still in the nightmare?!"
"That is right."
Aila gasped at the new voice, the Dream Eaters around her letting out quiet, nervous noises as they all searched for the source.
Riku gasped as well, turning so his back was to Aila. "Ansem!"
Ansem? Aila's eyes widened as recognition of the voice registered in her mind. Not Ansem the Wise - no, this was Xehanort's Heartless, or, as he preferred to be called, Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. The fake Ansem.
"Sora can no longer wake up," fake Ansem said, though he still wasn't showing himself. "No matter how many nightmares you consume, you cannot wake someone who has fallen into the chasm of dreams."
"What?" Riku snapped, having fallen into a battle stance in preparation for a sneak attack, his eyes darting around the platform in search of any sign of movement.
"Dreams hold our memories. Sleep holds our dreams. And darkness - it holds our sleep. Sora's heart belongs to the Darkness now."
Aila felt her mouth go dry. "What?!"
"Sora would never give in to the Darkness!" Riku snapped.
"But you feel it, don't you? This world, the nightmare, the abyss. Why haven't you returned to the reality whence you came?"
Aila glanced around at the still very unstable platform, worry growing in her heart. What exactly was this guy trying to say…? That this… was all a nightmare, too?
"No," Riku gasped quietly, seeming to come to a similar conclusion as he too took another look around. "This is a…"
"Dream of a dream. A twofold nightmare. This whole journey, you have been inside Sora's dreams."
"What?!" Aila gasped, sitting back on her heels and putting a hand to her head. She had thought she'd followed Riku into all the Sleeping Worlds, but… had she just followed him into Sora's dream instead?! But how could Riku have even done that?! She zeroed in on the Dream Eater symbol on the back of his jacket again, realization hitting her like a truck. Not just anyone wore that symbol in here - only Dream Eaters. Somehow, Riku had become a Dream Eater too… And so the reason the castle's layout was so weird, it was because this wasn't a Sleeping World at all - it was just Sora's dream version of the world! He didn't know it well enough for it to be accurate…!
"And now Darkness within Darkness awaits you."
Riku's panicked yell shook Aila from her dumbstruck state, Darkness pooling at the boy's feet. "What?!" he gasped as the purple-tinted shadows began to suck him down into the floor. He tried pulling at his legs, but the Darkness was already up to his knees. "No! I-I can't get loose!"
"Riku!" Aila called, scrambling to her feet. She very nearly fell right back down, their surroundings still wavering back and forth between the platform and the street and causing a very dizzying effect. The Dream Eaters seemed to be having trouble too, all three of them stumbling as they tried to make their way to Riku.
Locking her eyes on Riku, Aila took a breath and ran forward, trying to block out her surroundings and just trust her feet to keep pushing off the unsteady. Riku was being pulled down at an alarming rate, the Darkness now up to his shoulders. Aila lunged as his head was pulled underneath the shadows, just barely missing his hand as his fingers disappeared into the pool of Darkness. She landed hard on the ground right as the shadows dispersed, taking Riku with them and leaving no trace behind.
Aila slammed a clenched fist on the ground. "Damn it!" Pushing herself to her knees, she pressed both palms against the cool white floor, glaring at the spot Riku had just been. She came in here to protect him, and the second he was in trouble she let him slip away. Her fingers tensed against the marble. Why hadn't she gotten up faster?! She should have as soon as she heard fake Ansem's voice!
"Yikes, that was embarrassing."
Aila startled, her head whipping to the right as she searched for whoever had just spoken. Her surroundings had settled back into the platform at the top of the castle, no longer wavering… but now there was someone new here.
A boy was sitting very casually on the white wall that encircled the platform, one leg dangling over the edge, the other bent, his arm resting on his knee. A tight black bodysuit seemed almost fused to his skin, with blood red accents that looked vaguely like veins along his chest and hands. Deep red belts wrapped around the boy's waist, holding some dark blue fabric in place that looked a bit like a cape, but only around his hips and upper legs. It kind of reminded Aila of the outfit Riku had worn in the first game when the fake Ansem had taken over his body… Did the fake Ansem have something to do with this guy, then? That thought immediately made Aila wary. A shiny black helmet covered the boy's entire face, so she couldn't make out any actual features he might have had - how could he even see through such tinted glass…?
It was hard to tell since she couldn't see his eyes, but Aila was pretty sure this boy was looking right at her, apparently having been casually watching her for… uh, how long had he been there? He cocked his head, and then spoke again. "You're in over your head, aren't you?" His voice sounded… kinda familiar, but also kinda not. If she had to guess, this boy was maybe a couple years older than herself, and a lot of sarcasm oozed from his every word. "You should leave the hero junk to people who are actually qualified - you look like a kid playing pretend."
Aila narrowed her eyes. "Who are you?"
The boy breathed out a short laugh. "What, you don't like a little mystery?"
"No."
The boy hopped off the wall, the soles of his dark red boots landing easily on the white floor. "Vanitas. And you're Aila. Or am I talking to Celina…?" Aila was taken aback. This boy knew her name? And he knew about Celina, too? He chuckled again. "No, I can tell from your deer in a headlights expression - I'm not talking to any wise old Spirit. Just a stupid little girl. Right?"
Woobat, Buneary, and Teddi all hurried to Aila's side, facing the stranger - Vanitas, apparently - with a protective determination. Aila herself stood up, glaring hard at the boy and trying to keep her nervousness under wraps. "Where's Riku?"
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about him," Vanitas replied with what sounded like an easy smile. "Let's talk about you."
Aila fought the urge to take a step back - something about this guy… she really didn't want to be too close to him. She clenched her fists. "No. Where's. Riku."
Vanitas let out an annoyed sigh. "Why should you care about some guy you hardly know? Worry about yourself. I came all the way in here to talk about you, not about him."
"Well I don't wanna talk about me!" Aila shot back, getting frustrated. Who even was this guy?! Riku might be in a lot of trouble right now, not to mention Sora was definitely in trouble! She didn't have time to have a chat with some new guy!
Vanitas shrugged. "Have it your way." He held out his right hand, a weapon appearing there in a flash of Darkness. Aila's jaw dropped - it was a Keyblade. Its length was made of a sharp, silver metal held together with heavy steal chains and a single golden gear inlaid in the very middle. Both the blade and handle ends were made up of broken pieces of black and red gears, and the Keychain dangling from the handle seemed to be made of various golden gear parts. Unsettlingly, two blue eyes with catlike pupils were also inlaid in the Keyblade, one near the handle and one near the blade, unblinking and glassy.
Vanitas took a step forward. "You wanna skip the talking part? Fine by me."
This time Aila couldn't help but take a step back, her heart giving a fearful thud. She didn't know what this guy wanted… but he oozed danger, and the way he carried himself just screamed that he knew how to handle himself in a fight. And he was a Keyblader?! How?! Why hadn't she ever heard of him before?!
Her Dream Eater companions sprung into action, all three of them charging the boy - they must have sensed how dangerous he was as well. Seeming entirely unfazed, Vanitas lifted his free hand. A pulse like a heartbeat erupted from him, a circle of Darkness rocketing outward from his body and hitting the Dream Eaters with surprising force. All three of the animals went flying, tumbling across the platform in various directions at alarming speeds.
Aila gasped. "No!" she shouted, whipping her head one way and then another to watch where her new friends stopped. Were they okay?! None of them were getting up! She turned back toward Vanitas only to feel her breath catch in her throat as she realized the tip of his Keyblade was just centimeters from her nose.
"Having second thoughts?" Vanitas taunted. Aila could only see her own terrified face reflected in the visor of his helmet. He cocked his head curiously. "You're not what I expected… You don't seem special at all."
Aila summoned her staff and leapt back, putting maybe a couple of meters of space between herself and Vanitas. Not a lot, but at least enough that she could fall into a defensive stance, ready to parry an attack. Should she run…? Run where? Back into this incorrect castle? What if everything started going all wavy again? And what if a way to get to Riku and Sora reopened here, but she ran off before she could use it? She had to stay in case a way opened to them!
Vanitas lowered his Keyblade with a scoff. "I guess you're not the special one… In more ways than one, right?" He laughed like he'd just made a joke, but Aila didn't get it. "Poor thing… If it's not one person's shadow you're living in, it's another, right? But take it from me - living in shadows doesn't have to be a bad thing."
"What are you even-"
"Ah ah ah," Vanitas said, wagging a finger at her. "I thought you didn't want to talk?"
"You're the one who won't shut up!"
Vanitas laughed again. "Aw man, you're fun. The way the old man talks about her I thought you'd be too bright to even look at, but nah - you've got plenty of darkness blotting that out." Aila felt her glare deepen. Vanitas continued, "What, did I offend you or something? You don't like darkness?"
In the blink of an eye Vanitas had closed the gap between them again, his fingers wrapping around the collar of her jacket before she could even process that he'd moved.
He leaned in too close, the glass of his helmet just millimeters from Aila's face as he whispered, "Are you afraid of the dark…?"
And then Aila was on the ground, having been thrown down so quickly that she only felt the impact after she'd already hit. The wind was knocked out of her, her lungs temporarily paralyzed as she tried to remember how to breathe. She tried to sit up, but a pressure on her chest stopped her - Vanitas had the tip of his Keyblade resting on her, the pressure just enough to keep her from rising.
"You didn't think you were full of light, did you? You're not a Princess of Heart. Not even close." He put the tiniest bit more pressure on his Keyblade. Aila, still trying to regain the breath she'd lost, wrapped her fingers around the blade in a weak attempt at some sort of defense as he continued, "Spirits are all about balance, right? So if Celina is a Spirit of Light, it would make sense for her to pick a heart that balances that Light out, right? Maybe one that's actually filled with Darkness…"
"Sh-shut up!" Aila choked out, gripping the Keyblade with both hands now and trying to push it away. But Vanitas wouldn't budge. She glared up at him. "What do you want?!"
"I want you out of the way," Vanitas replied calmly. "You're a distraction. They deny it, but I can tell - you'll be a problem. They can't separate you from her in their minds, not completely. Our plans would go much smoother with you out of the picture." He sighed dramatically. "It is a shame, though, now that I'm here… You have so much potential. I guess I shouldn't be surprised; the brighter the light, the deeper the shadows, after all. And the shadows in you run so deeply…" He crouched down at her side, still holding his Keyblade firmly in place as he reached toward her face with his free hand. "Maybe I can understand what he saw in someone like you…"
"Vanitas."
A dark portal appeared and the white haired young man from Fantasia stepped out of it, looking unamused.
Vanitas stood, withdrawing his Keyblade rather reluctantly. "Hn… Done already…? That was quick." Aila sat up and scurried back a little ways, scrambling to her feet and summoning her fallen staff back to her. Her eyes darted between the two enemies, her breathing hard and fast. They both glanced her way, but neither made a move to attack.
The white haired man returned his attention to Vanitas. "What are you doing here?"
Vanitas shrugged. "Just having a conversation."
"Really…"
"What, you don't believe me? The rest of you were all busy - someone had to entertain the tag-along…"
The white haired stranger narrowed his eyes. "I'll take things from here. Go wait until you're needed."
Vanitas's stance shifted ever so slightly, his shoulders a little stiffer than they had just been. "…You sure give a lot of orders…"
"Because I am in charge."
Vanitas scoffed. "Not yet you're not. You've got about half a century of growing up to do before you're anything close to my boss."
The stranger took a step toward Vanitas, his chin held with an air of pride. "Regardless of when I came from, I am Xehanort. Do you understand? You will show me the same respect you show to my future self, Vanitas. Or are we going to have a problem?"
Aila felt like her mind's processing power had just come crashing to a halt, her eyes now locked onto the white haired man. What… the… WHAT?! This was… Xehanort?! He said his future self, so… so was this him from the past? How? And why? And WHAT?!
Vanitas clicked his tongue in annoyance, but dismissed his Keyblade anyway. "Nope, no problems… If you wanna handle everything yourself, then be my guest… boss." He glanced briefly Aila's way before adding, "Just don't lose sight of our goal. She's dead. Get over it."
Young Xehanort crossed his arms, his gaze steely. "I know that. Do you even understand why we're doing this? Perhaps that helmet of yours is too thick…"
"'Course I know why… Let me know when you've finally figured it out, because I'm not convinced you understand anything yet."
"Just go."
"Whatever you say, sir…" Vanitas turned to Aila with a little salute. "Another time, shadow girl…" He created a portal of Darkness, and then he was gone.
Young Xehanort sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "What a nuisance…"
Aila raised her staff and took a wary step back. "Are you… are you really… Xehanort?"
Young Xehanort looked at her, his brow furrowed in slight confusion. "Why would you continue to play dumb? Surely Celina has told you by now." His eyes widened a little. "Unless… She is somehow… unable to…?"
Aila felt her shoulders shake slightly with fear, but she quickly tightened them to try and hide the movement. If Xehanort realized that she wasn't able to feel Celina anymore, he would know she was basically wandering around grasping at straws when it came to her powers right now, and that would probably be really bad. "Sh-she did! I just… I just didn't believe her! How could you be Xehanort? You must just be… pretending to be him! He's super old, and… and you being here would mean… It would mean…!"
"That I traveled forward in time," Young Xehanort finished for her, facing her fully now. "I'm sure you know the story - my future self became separated into a Nobody, Xemnas, and a Heartless, who your friends knew as Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. Ansem cast away his bodily form, and traveled back in time to set me on my appointed path. Reduced to just a heart, he showed me the truth, and brought me to this time, to be one of the Thirteen Seekers of Darkness needed to awaken Kingdom Hearts once again. After all, who better to fill those spots than other versions of myself…?"
Aila just blinked at him, trying to process this information. "So… you… really are from the past…?"
"Yes. I will eventually return to that time, with no memory of any of this. But my heart will still remember, and it will guide me along the path I am destined to take."
Aila shook her head. "Whatever! I don't have time for this! Where are Sora and Riku?!"
Young Xehanort frowned. "Riku is being dealt with. And as for Sora… he belongs to us now."
Aila's eyes widened. "What…? W-what does that mean?!"
"We have been watching you all very closely since you defeated the old Organization XIII. We knew that, eventually, Sora and Riku would need to be tested, so that they might master the Power of Waking - something they'll no doubt need as they try to rescue the other Keybladers who fell before them. Such a test presented us with the perfect opportunity. You see, we were still one Seeker of Darkness short. At first, I thought Riku would be the one we needed - his heart is always teetering right on the edge, after all. But when the test began and we attempted to separate the two, he sensed something was wrong, and dove into Sora's dream on instinct. From that point on, he became a Dream Eater, determined to protect Sora from Nightmares. That was when I realized - he has developed some amount of immunity to the Darkness, and as a result is somehow able to keep it locked up tight inside of him. He was simply not malleable enough for our needs, not anymore. But Sora… Sora, it turns out, is a perfect fit. His heart, so open and accepting, steers him too blindly down dangerous paths, and so he walked right into our clutches. And now he wanders, lost in a nightmare. Forever. With not a single spark of hope left in his heart."
"Liar! I saw him stand up!" Aila shouted. "He was fighting back! He almost lost, but then… but then I know he kept fighting, I saw it! I felt his hope, I know he won!"
"He won a meaningless fight," Xehanort replied calmly. "The fact of the matter is, he was already in too deep - there was no waking up from such a deep abyss. He may have 'won' one single, tiny victory, but doing so took every last bit of strength he had - and now, he is ready. He will become the final Seeker of Darkness. Once my future self transfers a piece of himself into Sora's heart, there will be no going back. He is ours."
Aila felt like her entire world froze. No… Sora… They were going to put part of Xehanort's heart in him…?
If they did that, then the Sora she knew would be…
No.
With a scream, she charged the young man before her, swinging her staff as hard as she could. Young Xehanort held up his right hand and summoned a weapon to himself, parrying her easily. Aila only barely registered that he too had summoned a Keyblade - teal and black with extremely sharp looking points and angles and an analogue golden clock face inlaid in the blade, an hourglass Keychain dangling from the dark handle. She tried to hit him a few more times, but he intercepted every strike with maddening ease. She was NOT going to let this guy take Sora! She couldn't!
"I'll bring Sora back!" she cried fiercely, her staff colliding with Young Xehanort's Keyblade again and again. Her heart thudded with determination, and her surroundings began to waver. She stumbled but managed not to lose her footing entirely, despite the way the floor was flickering beneath her feet. She pointed her staff at Xehanort and felt her eyes flash with her anger. "He's not yours to use for some twisted plan! I don't care who you are! I'll fight you and your stupid older self, and I'll bring him back to us!" Her heart thudded again, and her surroundings flickered to show the street with the skyscraper before changing back to the platform. She felt a pull in her chest, similar to how it felt right before she was pulled into a Drive Form, when her heart would search for Sora's to combine with. Everything flickered again, the street even more clear this time. Something in her told her that that was where she needed to be - that she would find Sora there. With a gasp of realization, she put her free hand over her heart, trying to focus on the feeling of being pulled. Sora's heart was pulling her out of here - to wherever he was! It just had to be!
Young Xehanort narrowed his eyes. "You are wasting your time - there's nothing left to save."
Aila glared hard at him. "You're wrong," she breathed before pressing her hand into her chest even harder and surrendering herself to the force trying to guide her heart, just like she would when going into Master Form. She saw Young Xehanort begin to rush her, but before he could take more than two steps he vanished along with the entire platform, this time, it seemed, for good.
Aila gasped as her new surroundings settled, the neon skyscraper towering before her against a pitch black sky. The tug on her heart subsided and she straightened up, looking frantically in all directions. "Sora?! Sora, where are you?!"
"Aila?"
Aila turned, relief flooding through her at the sight of a very much unharmed Riku, who was standing a little closer to the skyscraper. "Riku! You're okay! How'd you get here?!"
Riku blinked, and then put a hand over his heart. "I followed Sora, and wound up here."
Aila nodded vigorously. "Me too! But I don't see him… Riku, he's in big trouble, we have to find him!"
Riku closed the distance between them and placed his hands on her shoulders. "We will. He's here somewhere, I know it." He glanced around. "I think… maybe we're finally out of the dream."
Aila blinked, examining herself and Riku. They were still in their dream outfits. "But… you still look younger, and our clothes…"
Riku removed his hands from her shoulders and frowned up at the skyscraper. "I know, but… still. I think this is the real deal." He met her gaze. "Normally I think we would have woken up back at Master Yen Sid's tower, where our bodies are. But we followed our hearts to Sora, because he needs us right now. So, our bodies are still back where we left them, but our hearts are here."
Aila examined her hands warily. "So… what, you think we're like… astral projecting or something?" Her body looked solid enough…
"Yeah, something like that…"
Aila considered that for another second before balling her fists and nodding. "Whatever, I don't care how we're here, we have to find Sora!"
"Right," Riku agreed. He faced the street that led past the skyscraper and nodded once before starting down it, Aila right behind him. "Sora's gotta be here… somewhere."
KHKHKHKH
(FYI: I wanted to name the panda Pancham, but Aila left her world/our world in 2011 and Pancham didn't exist yet. Womp womp. So, Teddiursa it is.)
I hope this chapter was okay… I was kind of scrambling to get this done since it was taking so long and my days just kept being so busy. I will try so hard not to let usual updates take a whole month, I promise. I really am trying my hardest to keep this updating for you all!
Some more big stuff got set up in this chapter! I feel like I'm just using Dream Drop to set up literally all of my plots and themes I have planned haha… But Dream Drop is nearly done, so we'll get past all the setup very soon! I'm trying to keep it interesting, I hope I'm succeeding! Please leave a review to let me know if you're liking it~
Well, it's like 2:30 am for me sooo I'm gonna sleep now. Thank you so much for reading! I'll do my very best to see you all in two weeks. Until then, have a wonderful day!
~Fade
