Xemnas led Sam and Adria to the front entrance of the castle where they saw two guards and another scientist conversing.
Sam guessed that the scientist was also an apprentice, because he wore the exact same outfit as Xemnas. The man had platinum blond hair that was probably just a bit longer than Xemnas', and his face was framed by two long bangs. She estimated his age to be around 23. As they got closer, she noticed that the man had bright green eyes.
The two guards wore the same uniform: a grey tunic with white cuffs and a red heart on the chest. There were blue hearts on the cuffs of both of their gloves. The first guard carried an axe sword and was slightly taller than his two companions. He had strong features, with a square chin, straight nose, and sharp cheekbones. He also had blue eyes and auburn colored hair that was slicked back into rather odd, messy spikes. The other guard had a lance with silver edges, a blue head, and a handle that alternated from violet to silver. He had broad sideburns, thick eyebrows, and violet eyes. His hair was black and worn in long dreadlocks, which were tied back into a low ponytail save for one. If she had to guess, she would say that the two men were about 24. Sam wondered if they were also apprentices or just guards.
The one with the axe sword was the first to notice them and approached the group.
"Who are your two companions?" he asked looking at the two women with some suspicion.
"This is Samantha and Adria, and they apparently have very important information in regards to our current experiment, Aeleus," Xemnas replied.
"You told them?" Aeleus asked, slightly annoyed that his friend told two strangers information that was probably best kept private.
"What was I supposed to do, lie? Besides one of them is also a scientist, so I figured that if they were interested, then with the Master's permission they could help."
"Hmmm." Aeleus studied the two Nobodies carefully, like he was analyzing the result of an experiment. "I've never seen the two of you before."
"We're not from around here. In fact we live quite far away," Sam answered, but she didn't plan on explaining that they are from another world anytime soon.
"Really?" and with that his features relaxed and he looked sort of intrigued.
"Yeah…" Sam replied, slightly confused by his reaction. She thought he would become a little sterner and maybe even more apprehensive. She had to wonder if the inhabitants of this castle were somehow aware of other worlds. But even if they were, she would still expect the opposite reaction. Or maybe that was just her. After all, she did grow up in the middle of a very nasty war…
"Xemnas! Have you seen Ienzo?" a voice shouted, interrupting her train of thought.
"No, I haven't, Even. Aren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on him?" Xemnas responded.
"I was, but he seems to have gotten better at sneaking off. I blame Braig for that," the blond, Even apparently, replied.
The other guard was staring at the two women with some suspicion.
"Who are…"
"I'm Samantha, and my friend here is Adria. Xemnas told us about the project you were working on, and we have some experience in that field…well Adria does, I just know the basics and considering how little information there is on the subject there isn't that much we do know anyways. Aaaaand now I'm ranting and going off on a tangent. Anyhow, we have very important information in regards to the subject that we have to warn your ruler about. And no, we are not from around here. In fact we live far away, which is why you don't recognize us," Sam said, cutting off the man and effectively answering all of his questions.
The two men just stared at her.
"You told them?" the guard said flatly. It wasn't even a question. Xemnas didn't bother responding.
"My friend here is Dilan," Even said, gesturing to the guard next to him. "You already know my name thanks to Xemnas, and I assume Aeleus already introduced himself. So you and your friend have information on hearts?"
"Yep!"
"Even…" Dilan started to protest.
"Look they have knowledge in a field we know little about, what's the harm in asking them for help?" the blond asked.
Seeing that he was alone in this issue, Dilan sighed and stepped aside, allowing Sam and Adria access to the castle. Xemnas was the first to enter, leading the way to their Master's chambers, with the two Nobodies following close behind.
"At least they will be safer inside," the lancer mumbled to his two companions, still not happy with the whole situation. He was still thinking of the chaos that had happened recently. A lot of hostile creatures started appearing in the town attacking the inhabitants without bias. It wasn't safe roaming out on the street any more. Unfortunately for him, Sam overheard him.
Adria was fighting to suppress her chuckles as Sam backed out the door way and turned to face the poor guard. She cocked out her hip and rested a hand on it, raising an eyebrow at the same time. She was clearly not amused by the comment.
"Would you care to repeat that?"
The man knew that he somehow got himself into trouble, and his companions were more interested in seeing how this scene would unfold rather than helping him out.
"Uh…I just said that the…um…two of you would be safer inside," Dilan said nervous of the lady in front of him.
Adria had to feel sorry for the man. Sam could be quite intimidating without even trying. It sort of made her wonder what kind of life the woman led.
"Might I ask why?" the brunette asked, still in the same stance as before.
"Well…you see…" he started, trying to find the right words that wouldn't land him in trouble with the woman, "there are monsters lurking the streets lately, and well it isn't that safe to be out in the open. I was…just…eh…looking out for the two of you!"
"So you think we can't protect ourselves," she said flatly.
"Uh…no, I'm just concerned that…you may get overwhelmed and hurt…"
At that exact point a lone Unversed conveniently appeared just a few feet from the group.
Before anyone had a chance to react, a sphere of shimmering, purple, telekinetic energy obliterated the thing leaving nothing more than a small, smoldering crater behind.
Adria laughed at their reactions. Xemnas, Even, Dilan, and Aeleus were staring at the spot with their mouths hanging open. Sam was still in the same pose as before, staring at Dilan with her right arm stretched out in the direction of where the Unversed was. She took it out without even looking!
The men kept shifting their gaze between Sam and the crater, trying to figure out what just happened.
Dilan kept opening and closing his mouth, as though he was about to say something but couldn't find the right words. Eventually he just gave up trying and hung his head in defeat.
"Come on Sam, leave the poor man alone, he just met you," Adria said in Dilan's defense as she began to drag her friend away by the arm, ignoring the glare she was receiving. "And to answer any questions that you guys may have, my friend here is a very powerful telekinetic warrior. Because of that, where some people would be touched by another's concern for their wellbeing, she is much more likely going to see it as an insult. It's just how she thinks. Also that creature was called an Unversed, and they come in all different shapes and sizes."
"If she was here five minutes ago, then she would have taken care of that creature instead of that kid," Aeleus said, Dilan nodding in agreement.
Because Adria was still holding onto the brunette's elbow, she suddenly found herself wrenched backwards and nearly lost her balance.
"Come again?" Sam asked, this time with curiosity.
"Er, there was a giant, um what did you call it…ah yes, Unversed floating around five minutes prior to your arrival. It took off in that direction," he said, pointing in the direction the two of them came from.
Unfortunately for Adria, her friend was strong and as a result, she lost her grip when Sam took off, and promptly found herself on the ground.
"Sam!"
"I'll be ok! See you in a few minutes!"
"SAMANTHA!"
Said person ignored her and disappeared from their sight.
Groaning with frustration, Adria got up and promptly turned to the four very confused men.
"I'm really sorry about my friend. She has a habit of running of towards danger. I kind of think it was because she grew up during what was apparently a very nasty war. As a result, I believe that she thinks that anyone who wasn't present during that time is incapable of protecting themselves properly from danger. Or she just can't help but protect others." She chuckled nervously after that, kind of afraid that Sam made a bad first impression.
"Do you still want to talk to…" Xemnas started to say, after being silent during the entire conflict.
"Yes, I do. The information I have is VERY important, and I need to tell him immediately," Adria said with a sigh.
Xemnas simply nodded, leading the woman to his leader's chambers.
-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-
Sam was rushing towards town when she saw something out of the corner of her eye.
She turned around and saw Terra being led by another guard (Braig maybe? She didn't know how many apprentices the man had). The man's uniform was identical to the ones Aeleus and Dilan wore, except it was baggier, and he also wore a red scarf that was frayed slightly at the ends. He seemed to have a pair of twin arrow guns strapped to his waist. She couldn't make out much of the man other than the fact that he had black, shoulder-length hair that was slicked back, and she estimated the man's age to be 26.
Losing interest in the Unversed the guards mentioned (they saw it like 5 min ago, and since there was a keyblade warrior present…) Sam instead decided to follow the two of them.
The man led Terra to another part of the castle through a set of doors. Sam followed them through the doors, but remained at the top of the stairs that were just behind it out of sight. She couldn't explain it, but she felt like she had to remain hidden, that very bad something would happen if she made her presence known.
She looked around the corner at the two men. Terra was looking around worriedly as he approached the edge of a large, semi-circular platform. The other man appeared to be slightly confused as to what was going on.
"Hey, kid, you ok?" the man asked as he approached Terra, who was leaning against the railing and looking over the edge.
Terra didn't respond, most likely lost in thought. Instead he turned around, looked up, and…
"Master Xehanort! Master Eraqus!!" There above them, bound to a rather large, vertical support beam with a chain were the two missing keyblade masters. Sam couldn't really tell from the distance, but they appeared to be unharmed.
"So you finally arrived. I was beginning to get bored," a smug voice said off to the right. Terra's gaze snapped towards the foot of the stairs. It was there he found the culprit leaning against the wall.
He was wearing a black and red organic-looking bodysuit. He also had a silver helmet that was covered with dark glass hiding their face from view. It took Sam a couple of seconds before she realized that she recognized the outfit and realized who it was.
It was Vanitas.
'Wait, when did he get here, and how did he arrive without me noticing?'
As Sam was looking at the two masters from her hiding place at the top of the stairs, she suddenly remembered what she was capable of doing with her telekinetic abilities.
"What are you doing?" Terra demanded, his keyblade Ends of the Earth summoned as Vanitas approached. The guard had his twin arrow guns drawn, ready in case of a fight.
"Wouldn't you like to know," he retorted, his voice filled with contempt.
"I would answer him, it the polite thing to do," a familiar voice interrupted.
Vanitas turned around to see the two formerly restrained masters walking towards the three of them.
"Whu…buh…HOW!?!?!?!?" the dark keyblade warrior stuttered out.
A sharp whistle attracted his attention. At the top of the stairs stood Sam, the chain hanging idly in her hands. A smug look was plastered on her face.
"Looking for this?" she innocently asked, twirling the chain in her hands.
Vanitas continued to stare at her (in disbelief? She had no idea since he always wore that helmet).
"So Vanitas," Master Xehanort continued and said person's gaze shifted back to him, "would you care to explain what is going on and who it is you serve?"
"GHAAA!"
The three keyblade solders and the guard turned to find Sam painfully tumble down the stairs. At the top of them stood a cloaked figure. The man's face was covered by a hood. His cloak was black with red trimming. His right arm was slightly outstretched, and it was covered with a black glove and sleeve. Darkness seemed to be rising from his hand, indicating that he had used it to attack the poor Nobody.
"Who the HELL are you?" the guard demanded from the person, both of his guns pointed at the man.
The person simply ignored the guard. The darkness rising from his hand formed into a nasty looking sword. With a leap from the top of the stairs, the man charged straight to the downed Nobody with the obvious intent to kill.
Fortunately, Sam was able to teleport out of the way and was suddenly several feet away from her former location. The tip of the man's sword was embedded a couple of inches into the concrete, with cracks in the ground emanating from the breach.
With ease, the man yanked the sword out of the ground and continued his assault. Sam was just barely able to summon Veritas to block the attack.
Xehanort and Eraqus quickly rushed to the woman's aid. Terra and the guard made an attempt to assist, but Vanitas cut them off, and forced the two of them to fight him.
As Sam continued fighting the man, she couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu. The man's fighting style was eerily familiar.
"Identify yourself!" Sam demanded with all the authority of the general she once was. While she was originally a Guild Lord, her ability to command and the ideals she supported resulted in her becoming the Commander of the United Army of the Five Races of Tyria. Many people were loyal to her, and because of the number of battles she won, few questioned her judgment. Absolutely no one challenged her authority…
…except for one.
The man chuckled in response as the two of them jumped backwards, unlocking their swords. The two masters had him surrounded from behind, blocking any chance of escape.
"You mean to say that after all of these years you don't recognize me? I'm hurt Samantha, I thought you would remember," the man said in a deep voice that Sam recognized almost immediately.
'Is it…no, it can't be him. I saw him DIE!'
A hand reached up to pull back the hood covering him. When it fell back to reveal the person beneath it, Sam felt all color drain from her face.
Shoulder length grayish whitish hair framed a wrinkled face with sharp features, with a small lock of hair over the left eye. The man was a head taller than the Nobody, and even though he was in his 80's, he was still a formidable fighter. The only thing that had changed were his eyes, which used to be grey. Now they were an ugly yellow.
…he fell into darkness.
"…Radiel…" her voice barely a whisper yet it sounded so loud.
The man merely smirked at the woman in front of him, forgetting about everything else surrounding the two of them. As far as he was concerned, she was the only other person there, and he wanted her dead. With that in mind, he charged at her with the intent to kill, showing no mercy.
A/N: Sam's mini rant when introducing herself to Even and Dilan was inspired by Doctor Who. I was talking about the show with a friend while writing it. Also the italic font in that paragraph represents Sam mumbling to herself.
The artwork for Radiel's sword can be found on DA: http:/magesterludi. deviantart com/ art / Radiel-s-Heartless-Sword-215181327? q=gallery%3Amagesterludi%2F29820848&qo=0