Hi...I'm SO sorry for not updating this sooner. Life's been crazy hectic, and I haven't had much time to sit and write for a long time. I'd wanted to put more in this chapter, but already, it was getting really long, so I decided against it. Please enjoy, and sorry for the choppiness of the battle sequences...still working on those.

Awaken: From the Black of Night

I strike the Heartless full force with the Keyblade, the creature dissipating on contact. "Alright," Master Rin says, dismissing the rest with an area spell. "Take a breath, child."

I shoot a smile up at him, dismissing Primary Focus, and let my lungs take in some much needed oxygen. The master smiles back at me, shaking his head. "Did I do something wrong?" I ask curiously.

"No, Jai, you're improving wonderfully." That makes me happy. Exterminating heartless is easy enough, but the harder enemies really pack a punch. It's nice to hear that I'm making progress. "You put all your heart into whatever you do…" He grows quiet for a moment, like it's a bad thing. When he raises his head, there's a forced smile. He walks to my side and puts his arm around me. "It's a wonderful trait, my dear."

His reaction is a bit unsettling, and I want to ask him about him, but we're interrupted as Master Aureole runs out to us.

"Rin," she says, her eyes urgent. "A message…from Master Yen Sid."

His body grows stiff; Yen Sid rarely contacts the two masters, usually just to check on my progress, but something far more important has happened to produce such a reaction. "That concludes you're training for today, Jaileya. You are dismissed." He rushes off to the castle, Master Aureole in pursuit, leaving me behind to wonder.

One of the things I loved about living in my home at Oerba was that you were always aware of everything that was going on in the family; there's was no place anyone could really have a private conversation. Living in the castle now, I've had to learn how to eavesdrop, and unfortunately…I still don't have the art down. Having leaned up against the door too hard, I fell into the room as the adults were talking. Two sets of disapproving eyes glare at me. I lower my head and apologize…stupid door.

Master Rin sighs; "I suppose you should know…I'm going to be gone for a while, Jaileya. I want you to behave for Aureole while I'm gone."

"Where are you going?"

"Master Yen Sid has informed me that a world is in desperate help…that a strong dark force has been wreaking havoc on the citizens. He fears it will fade if we don't act now."

"I want to help too."

He smiles and looks me in the eyes. "I value you're bravery, but this is a job for Masters."

"Why are you going alone?"

Aureole takes hold of my shoulders. "Others have been deployed as well, but the Land of Departure is the closest to the world. Rin will go to maintain control until the others arrive."

I slip free of her grasp and give him a parting hug. "Be safe, alright," I order.

He nods, heads out of the castle, I listen as a gateway to the Lands Between opens and closes outside.

I feel the overwhelming light fill me as Ultima's Holyja spell devastates the Darkside and fills me with new energy. I leap up at the dazed Heartless and strike his hands, the only part of his body I can reach, as my Eidolon blinds him with light. My attacks are quick, and for good measure, I throw in Fire Strike. The creature howls and lifts its clawed hand to swipe at me. "Aerora," I scream, moving in just enough time to avoid any major damage from his attack. His hand plunges into the ground, forming a pools of darkness underfoot. "Blizzara"; the pool freezes into black ice, freezing his hand in place.

"Ultima, NOW." I jump up, grasp her hand, and am propelled into the air on a jet stream of wind created from her wings. I scream as I bring Primary Focus down on the Darkside's head, splitting the creature in half. The air shakes as it screams, its body dissolving into the darkness from which it came. I look up at Ultima; "thank you," I whisper. She vanishes, leaving me alone in the forecourt with Master Aureole.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to the amount of power you can summon, child." I smile, remembering the first time I'd summoned Ultima during a battle; both of them were dumb struck. Since then, while a majority of my training is solely for me, they will summon a creature every once in a while that requires Ultima's aid.

I walk over to her and take a sip of a potion, the tangy taste of it spreading throughout my body and giving me life. It's been a few days now since Master Rin left, but spending some time with Master Aureole has proven to be very beneficial.

"Shall we go inside and get something for dinner?" she asks. I go to answer, but a streak of starlight grabs my eye as it disappears down near the mountain path.

"You go on ahead…I'm going to go practice a bit more."

She looks at me kind of concerned, but brushes it off. "Alright," she says as she walks up the stairs. "Just don't wear yourself out."

I race to the practice grounds on the path, searching as I go for the source of the light. Arriving at the location, I notice a faint glow coming over the edge of the cliff. Without reservation, I leap over the fence and fall towards the ground. Originally, I'd wanted to mimic Farron's "anti-gravity" device, jumping from stairs and catching myself in a zero gravity spell. Then I went and made the mistake of testing myself too early by jumping off the balcony in the entrance hall…thankfully, Master Rin was there to cast a stronger spell, so I didn't die. With help from both masters, I'd found a technique similar to his device.

The anti-gravity field engulfs my body and I'm able to land without any injury. In the fading light, I see her standing there, her body glimmering like fog, her eyes like embers. I kneel out of respect as she approaches.

"Reckless as ever, aren't we, child?"

I smile up at her; her smile is warm like the sun's light and fills you with incredible warmth. "To what do I owe the visit?"

She steps away, her eyes hinting at a challenge. "I can see you've been training, Jaileya. However, there is one aspect that you refuse to train." An unnatural darkness seeps into the space surrounding us; from over my shoulder, it feels like something is watching me. "I brought you a challenger, someone that will test you in those abilities you refrain from exercising. I must warn you though…he is not to be underestimated…a creature of dark illusion, many have fallen at his hand."

"I won't let you down," I say, summoning Primary Focus.

Her face clouds over. "We shall see." Her attention turns to something beyond me. "Don't break her…I'm quite fond of her."

She vanishes and almost instantly, I feel the vibrations of something large charging me from behind. A creature cloaked in shadows with haunting red eyes mauls me over and my body screams. It leaps over me, disappearing back into the safety of the darkness. I watch the shadows, following the dots of red as they dart about. I close my eyes, feeling the vibrations of the earth beneath me. I wait until its right behind me, then… "Thunder!" White electricity spreads across the arena, and the beast snarls as it disappears back into the shadows. 'Enough of this,' I think to myself. "Light!" A spark of light radiates from me, dissipating the darkness and revealing my enemy.

The massive beast stares at me with red eyes, which switch to gold. Its black body is streaked with purple and blue, its forelegs bound with shackles. I feel the color drain from my face as it jumps back and swipes me with its tail. The blunt throws me against the cliff, pushing the air from my lungs. It pulls around, lifts its claws to go in for the kill…

"Ultima!" My eidolith lifts into the air, creates the gate, and Ultima is at my side in moments. I gasp as Curaja races through my body. "Let's do this." Without hesitation, she's casting Holy, draining power from him, as I dart around, casting various spells. However, nothing we do seems to deter him. 'Time to kick it up a level…' "Ultima…" she takes my hand and I ride a stream of air. Warmth spread through me; I feel two pairs of wings sprout from my back; my outfit changes to a white dress, bluish-green leggings and sleeves, with golden armor thrown into the mix. Two Ultima weapons appear in my hands, one Keyblade and one sword. The creature shifts nervously…

I attack relentlessly. He attacks with illusions and fire, I strike back with light and lighting fast attacks. I feel his life force draining. He snarls at me, swiping with his claws, as I ascend. On the wings of angels, I soar into the stratosphere, letting the moonlight soak into my wings. 'Let's end this.' Blood pounding in my ears, I plummet to the ground, a beam of pure light follow me in my descent. I slam into the ground, a massive explosion of light, like a bomb, hitting the creature. I raise like a phoenix from the destruction, the creature staggering, trying to regain composure.

"That's enough," Mystic says from behind me. "Leave us, brother." The creature snarls at me, but bows in reverence, before disappearing into the night. "I'm quite impressed; your abilities never cease to amaze."

"Thank you," I mutter, exhausted. I try to dismiss Ultima, but she stops me.

"You may still need those wings." I look up at her curiously; she smiles and points to the sky. In the dark sky, a stream of light I know to be a Keyblade glider flies past.

'Master Rin is back!' I soar towards the castle, my strength giving out on the mountain path. Ultima looks at me with sad, tired eyes. I thank her, drink a potion, and run towards the entrance.

"Master Rin!" He turns and I notice he's holding something in his arms. Master Aureole runs down the stairs and takes his burden from him. In the dim light, I make out the silhouette of a face, arms, and legs; it's a boy. "Master?"

"Not now, Jaileya. Please go inside."

I can't eat; all I hear is them upstairs, rushing back and forth. I poke at my food; this is driving me insane. I can't take it anymore. I grab a tray, two plates, load them with food, and head upstairs. As I near the room that they have him in, I put the tray down and make my way towards the door, sitting down where I'm invisible, but still in earshot.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Aureole asks.

"I don't know," Rin answers. "Usually, children are able to jump back relatively well if something like this occurs. However, he may be old enough that the darkness took him. I've already summoned Master Yen Sid; he'll know for certain."

"The poor dear…"

"The only thing we can do is pray that he'll wake up." I hear movement on the other side, and slide away from the door.

"What are we going to tell Jaileya? You know she's going to ask about this."

There's a moment of silence before I hear him sigh. "We can't let her see him…I know she means well, but she might end up only causing trouble, maybe even pushing him further away." Another pause. "It's for the best…at least until we know what's going on."

I hear footsteps heading to the door, so I soundlessly grab the tray, stand, and walk a bit further down the hall. I turn around and start walking towards the room just as he opens the door.

"Jaileya?!"

"I brought you guys some dinner," I say raising the tray just a bit. Best to humor them, I think to myself. I look past him, trying to peek into the room. "Can I go see him?"

He bars the way with his body, taking the tray from my hands. "He's resting right now. Best not wake him, right?"

"Right," I say with disappointment. I hate that they're lying to me, but at least I know why. I want him to get better too, and if that means I have to stay away, then so be it.

"Why don't you head to bed? Aureole told me how well you fought today; you must be exhausted." He gives me a side hug and looks into my eyes. "See you tomorrow. Good night."

"Good night, Master. Good night, Master Aureole," I say into the room.

Sleep refused to come, no matter how hard I tried. My heart ached, like someone had stabbed and twisted it with a dagger, leaving me to bleed out.

I couldn't get him out of my head, that boy. I wanted to obey the Masters, but what if I couldn't? The feelings inside were killing me. Maybe only a couple minutes, I told myself. A couple minutes wouldn't hurt anything, would it?

I wrapped a blanket around my shoulders and made my way to his room, silent as death itself. I ease to door open to find Master Aureole asleep in a cot. I whisper a sleep spell and watch her slip into deep REM sleep. Quietly, I make my way to his bedside and sit on the floor, looking at his sleeping face. He has hair the color of night, a tendril falling to the right side of his face. He looks to be a few years younger than me.

I have no idea what happened to him, why he was asleep, but from what I could gather, it was because of the darkness. Remembering back to the darkest corners of my past, I don't blame him for wanting to hide. Stuff like that was scary, and retreating into the familiar setting of yourself seemed like a better option than facing the demons. Still, I wanted him to wake up, to know it was alright to come out.

I find that I start to hum a song, something my mother used to sing to me. Its eerie melody floats through the room, beautiful and haunting, reminding me of time's I'd long since forgotten.

I sit there for what seems like hours before sleep finally finds me. I pick myself up, look back at him one last time, and leave the room.

Fun links (remove all spaces and put in actual dot):

To see the creature Jai fight with Ultima in gestalt (aka red eyes): www .kh wiki dot com / Unnamed _ Heartless (further down, there's also a video of Aqua fighting him in BBS FINAL MIX)

To get an idea as to what Jai's final attack looked like: www. youtube dot com / watch?v =H9yQp 6rRcXU

The lullaby she hums at the end: www. youtube dot com / watch?v=19b BGxf5k6k

Thanks for reading. Please review and thanks for your patience.