Recap: Reina learns the responsibilities of being a Heartseeker Guardian through Queen Minnie, which are much more than what she expected. Then along with Sora, she finds that the Gummi Ship has been remodeled, complete with her own room and a new training room. After a struggle with the new Heartless generator, the four finally land at Olympus Colesium.
"Fi…finally. We're here!" Reina panted as the four finally reached the top of the golden staircase that led them to Olympus Coliseum and away from the foreboding cave the Gummi Ship was parked in. But before she could even lay eyes on the infamous arena Sora told her about, she knew something was wrong.
Sounds of frantic screaming erupted from the arena as people of all ages poured from the golden gates of the Coliseum to gates that lead to the town, and it was easy to see what they were escaping from. A large lizard-like monster towered over the arena, its several snake like necks attached to heads adorned with sharp fangs. Darting between the heads was a young man on Pegasus, who the trio recognized instantly.
"It's Hercules!" Goofy cried.
Without another word, the four darted past the rushing crowd into the building. Dust flew everywhere as one of the heads fell onto the arena, adding to the mess of stone debris everywhere. One of the hydra's heads made a deafening screech as it spotted the four take out their weapons and charge to help Hercules.
"Wait, wait, wait!"
A short, distraught satyr blocked their way as Hercules took care of the head that was aiming for them.
"What's going on, Phil?" Sora asked, worriedly eyeing the hydra.
"Mega trouble! I mean huge! We need your help!" Phil jumped. "Hades sent this to the arena just now! The Olympus Stone was missing and now Herc's friend Meg is missing!"
"Missing?" Donald repeated. "Where did she go?"
"She disappeared into some black smoke with this crazy robed guy!"He told them as the four gasped in unison. "I told her not to get wrapped up in this Hades business…"
"Organization XIII…" Reina whispered. *But why would they do that?*
"They're here too?" Donald stomped.
"Right now Herc's planning to get her right after he finishes this thing off." Phil said, glancing back anxiously. "I don't think he can take this thing and go to the Underworld without a break. You guys need to go get Meg, or else he'll break down from everything that's been going on!"
"Do you know where they could've went?" Sora asked.
"I'm pretty sure she's in Hades' lair down deep into the Underworld, over there." Phil pointed to where they just came from. Reina suppressed a groan.
"Dontcha worry, we'll be back in no time!" Goofy assured.
"Don't spend too much time down there. The Underworld does funny things to ya." Phil said, shuddering. "Just find Meg and get back, stat!"
"Right!" Sora nodded, just as another head fell. "Let's go!"
"There's a lock…"
The four stood at the torch lit entrance to the Underworld, which wasn't at all inviting. Blue flames made the jagged stones adorning the doorway look like fangs protecting the door, though Reina had no clue on who would want to visit anyways.
"I can probably open it." Sora said, summoning the Keyblade. He pointed the weapon at the keyhole and a single beam of light hit the center. An unlocking sound rang through the air as the doors slid open. A cold wind hit them, surrounding them with a lingering frost that sent shivers up their spines. Darkness greeted them and they all stared into its void hesitantly.
"Let's go." Sora said gravely, walking toward the entrance.
The rustling of cloth was the predominant sound in the god of the Underworld's lair as the blue skinned deity paced back and forth, waiting for the perfect news. Pete stood as frightened company on orders from Maleficent, his large eyes constantly scanning the lair. A blond haired young man was leaning against the wall, tossing a golden medallion into the air embossed with a bolt of lightning.
A weakened Hercules was all he needed to get that fat cat to turn him into a Heartless…then no one would stop him from ruling this world. Just one thorn on the road and the whole world was his! The plan worked out perfectly too; Blondie was able to steal the Olympus Stone and grab bait and then Fatso would turn him into a Heartless when he showed up (He would probably be half dead without the Olympus Stone anyways). Fatso would be getting another Heartless in return and Blondie…well, Hades didn't actually know what he wanted, but as long as he got his way, he didn't care.
But where were those two numskulls of his?
"Why haven't they come back yet!" Hades vented, his normally azure flames turning slightly orange.
"Calm down, hot stuff." The man said coolly, not looking in his direction. "They'll be here any minute."
"Don't tell me to calm down!" Hades burst, now turning red. "I am the god of the Underworld! I can turn you into a flaming dishrag right now, if I wanted to!"
The man faced him with an expression of mock hurt. "You're so mean! Especially when this dishrag is the only reason your plan can work. Face it, you couldn't have done it without me."
Hades reverted back to his normal blue flames, but not before throwing the young man a look of contempt. To ease the tension in the room the two small demons appeared, looking slightly worried.
"Well, what is it? Is Wonderboy here to save his sweet little Nutmeg yet?" Hades asked with a haughty smirk. His lips fell when the two continued to tremble.
"Well, your Highest Evilness uh…em…" The thinner of the two started, but then elbowed the shorter for him to continue.
The shorter glared at the taller and said, "The door to the Underworld has been opened, at least but…it isn't who you expected."
"Who is-" Hades started but then stepped back, wide eyed. "Don't tell me it's that key brat with his stupid pets!"
"There's a girl with him too." The thinner added, though it didn't help Hades' temper at all. The Nobody, however, smirked.
"Well whaddya know? I guess your 'fail proof plan' wasn't so perfect after all." The young man taunted, facing him. Hades swung around, turning bright red.
"I did what I had to do." He continued, relishing the way Hades glared at him. He didn't like the hot head all; he thought he was a little meaner than necessary. "Now you're on your own. Good luck!" He added sarcastically, before disappearing into a portal of darkness.
Hades threw a fireball where the Organization member vanished, and then let out a scream. Pete and the two demons cowered behind a fanged statue together, wide eyed at Hades' rage.
"No, no, keep your calm…" the god repeated, massaging his temples. "All I need to do is get rid of that brat and his posse and the plan will be back up and running as smooth as Styx."
"Hey…" Pete announced in a quiet voice. Hades rounded on him and he gulped. "Why don't you choose someone already dead and save yourself the trouble?"
Hades' expression changed and Pete let out a sigh of relief seeing blue on his head again. "Dead? Dead is good! And I know just the warrior…"
"This place is way too dark!" Donald grumbled, his voice echoing across the dimly lit cave they were in. Their only source of light were several orbs of light floating around the cave, though seeing the cave didn't help their situation by much either. The cave often split up into different puddle laden paths that either brought them to a dead end or to a full circle. The more time they spent there, the worse it was. The cave radiated an eerie feeling and made them feel as if a magical weight had been placed on them, making the even the simple task of walking look slightly more difficult.
"Maybe we can light up Reina like a flashlight." Sora teased, referring to how she reacted when she touched the Cornerstone.
"Hey!" Reina swatted Sora as the trio chuckled. But his amusement stopped abruptly when he started coughing out of nowhere.
"Are you okay?" Reina asked.
"Yeah, it was just a little cough." Sora waved off.
"Are you sure?" Donald pressed, looking a little anxious. His training as a healer enabled him to recognize signs of sickness, and Sora's cough sounded like one of the first signs.
"Yeah, it's no big deal." Sora smiled as they trudged on to another fork.
"Not another one." Goofy said, frowning at the cave.
"Which way?" Sora asked the other three, who all pointed randomly to different directions.
"Donald, there's a wall there!" Sora told him with a smirk.
"Well, you can't blame me!" the duck stomped angrily. "I can't see!"
"Really? Is this the crowd you replace us with?" A bodiless voice echoed throughout the room, making the four spin around in confusion. A dark portal appeared between the fork in the path, and out stepped the same blond haired man Reina saw when they first reached Olympus Coliseum.
Reina's body tensed and her eyes widened, quickly glancing at the other three.
"Not another one of you." Sora crossed his arms and rolled his eyes at the Nobody.
The blond pouted. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
"You guys are crazy." Donald laughed, crossing his eyes.
"Downright cuckoo." Goofy added, making circles around his head with his head with his fingers.
"Hey!" He frowned, turning to Reina. "Why don't you tell them anything?"
Reina gazed at him with a mixture of fear and uncertainty. Who was he? He seemed so familiar…but she couldn't pinpoint any details about him. For all she knew, he could be trying to trick her. She looked at his pleading face once again and started to doubt he would wish her any harm…
"He's just trying to psych us out." Sora growled, taking out the Keyblade. "You guys never give up, do you?"
"I'm not." He said, this time his lips pulled into a sincere frown, looking at Reina earnestly. "You seriously don't remember?"
Reina felt like someone placed something in her throat when she asked, "Remember what?"
"Me!" He exclaimed loudly. When Reina continued to stare at him wordlessly, he sighed and crouched into a battle stance. A light smile lifted his face when he told her, "Maybe some sparring will remind you."
With a simple wave of his hand, three other clones made up of the puddles on the ground formed, imitating him. A blue sitar formed in his hand and he started playing it, making the clones dance like Dusk Nobodies. "Dance water, dance!" he yelled, and musical notes appeared from the same puddles, lunging at the trio. Reina was left to deal with the Organization member, but even as she took out the Heartseeker, he mind was somewhere else.
*Who is he?* She looked at him again, the smile still on his face as he swung his sitar toward her, making jets of water fly in that direction. She barely noticed in time and couldn't prepare for them when they turned into shards of ice, causing one of them to graze her. A warm sensation radiated on her left arm but she didn't pay attention to it, facing the man with a glare.
"Did I hurt you?" he asked, looking honestly concerned. This threw Reina off and she looked at him peculiarly as he went on, saying, "C'mon, I thought you were better than that."
"Who are you?" Reina asked, grasping the Heartseeker tightly in her right hand; the pain on her left arm grew substantially.
The man waved a finger at her, grinning. "Nu-uh, not so easily! I'm not going to tell you anything. You have to remember!" He waved his hand again, and more musical notes rose from the ground, occupying the trio. The Nobody turned to the sitar and played a few notes. A wave of water flew at her and out of reflex, Reina flipped backwards with her left hand. Mid-flip, she collapsed and the pain in her left arm blazed.
"Ugh…" Reina clutched the injury. She heard footsteps and looked up to see the man smiling, stretching his hand out to her. When she blinked it was as if someone forced her eyes shut and made her watch a flurry of colors and flashes of scenes…
*A silver haired man was stretching out his hand to me.
I heard myself saying, 'It's you!'
Then…
A girl with short black hair was pointing at my heart.
'Don't forget us!'
I was with Roxas on top of a building.
'Someday, we'll go wherever we want, whenever we want!'
Axel ruffled my hair with a smile.
'Got it memorized, kid?'
Then…
I was looking up at the blonde, as he smiled brightly at me. He outstretched his hand to me.
'Hey, that was pretty good!'
'Thanks, Demyx…'*
"Demyx…?" Reina repeated, opening her eyes. She looked up to see Demyx's face lifted up into an expression of complete happiness.
"Hey, you do remem—" He was cut off midsentence when Donald threw a fire spell at him, causing him to cry out in pain. Goofy and Sora went on either side of Reina, and Donald stepped in front of her, forming a protective barrier. Sora did a double take at Reina's injury and then glared fiercely at Demyx, his eyes alight.
"Well that's just plain rude." Demyx said in the same childish tone, but this time his eyes were completely emotionless. As he stepped back he raised both hands and the sitar hovered in front of him, spinning quickly. A torrent of water formed behind him, circling together into a tornado. Sora gritted his teeth.
"Wait!" Reina stood and pushed past Donald and Goofy. Demyx lowered his hands and looked at her expectantly while the trio shared expressions of surprise. "Don't hurt them!"
The storm faded. He crossed his arms and he asked, "And exactly why shouldn't I? They're the ones—"
"Please?" Reina cut off, appealing to him with her eyes. Sora moved past her and glowered at the Organization member. "You don't need to ask him for anything! We can take him!"
Demyx paired the trio's uniform glare with his expressionless gaze, but sighed when Reina continued to regard him with the same look. He shook his head.
"Fine." He then grinned. "You still owe me a sea salt ice cream, don't forget that! See you later, Reina!"
He waved at her, and then disappeared into a haze of darkness. Reina looked down, a thousand thoughts attacking her brain at once. Another member of the Organization…another one she didn't remember. How many things didn't she remember? How much time did she spend with the Organization anyways? And why, why in the world couldn't she remember any of it!
She snapped out of it when the trio faced her, examining her wound.
"Are ya okay, Reina?" Goofy asked, looking at her arm. She looked down and to see a bright red gash, streaming blood.
"I'm…alright. I'm fine." She said, though she grimaced at the streaking crimson lines. She looked away immediately. The more she looked at it, the more it hurt.
"You shouldn't have told him to stop." Sora grumbled. "We could've got him back!"
"I can't believe he actually listened." Goofy said thoughtfully. "It sounds like he cares for you, Reina."
"Does it?" Reina asked, trying to keep her voice steady. "Um, that would be…weird, wouldn't it?"
"Yeah, unless he knew you or somethin'." Goofy went on.
Sora said, "He's just trying to trick us, that's all. They're from Organization XIII! They'll probably do anything to confuse us."
Reina thought immediately of the memory she saw of Demyx and disagreed silently. Goofy nodded, while Donald examined the gash. He waved his wand and green charms fell over the wound, closing it.
"There. That'll stop the bleeding. We'll still have to put the ointment when we get back to the Gummi Ship though." Donald told her.
"Why? I'm fine, I don't need that stuff!" Reina frowned.
"Are you the healer or me?" Donald put his hands on his hips. "You need it for it to heal completely!"
Reina's shoulders drooped. "But it hurts!"
"I can put it on for you." Sora laughed, causing Donald and Goofy to join in when they remembered the horrendous make up job he did instead of treating her wounds.
"Shut up! I still need to get you back for that!" She said, though a smile played on her lips.
"And for making you sit at that water game back at Hollow Bastion too!" Sora added with a satisfied smile as he continued down the cave with Donald and Goofy.
"Hey, I forgot about that!" Reina said. She tried to seem mad when she said, "Thanks for reminding me."
Sora put his hands behind his head as he smiled contentedly. "No problem!"
"Let's cut to the chase."
Hades faced one of his "warriors"—the soul of a tough, unsmiling man who couldn't rest completely due to a regret he was unable to atone for during his lifetime. The man regarded Hades with disgust, but he didn't let it show as his eyes patiently followed the pacing deity.
"Here's the deal I'm going to offer you. I let you out of the slammer for one little job." Hades grinned. "I need you to find and take down these three stooges," Hades snapped his fingers and small images of Sora, Donald, and Goofy appeared in his palm. The man glanced at them and Hades crushed the images in his fist. "You'll be as free as a bird, no strings attached."
"The Lord of the Underworld wants me to kill a boy, a duck, and a dog?" the man sneered and Hades growled at him.
"Don't question me!"
The man shook his head. "This is my story. And you're not part of it."
"Did you forget who you're talking to?" Hades yelled. "I am the Lord of the Dead!"
The man smirked. "No wonder no one wants to die."
Hades turned bright red and threw a ball of fire at him, but the man skillfully blocked it with his katana. He then quickly swung at Hades, who fell back, dazed. Pete tried to advance at him, but drew back in fear when the man simply looked at him. The warrior shook his head and ran off.
"Do something or else you'll have one less life to worry about!" Hades screamed in rage.
"R-right!" Pete trembled. He conjured Heartless. "Go get him you nitwits!"
A loud thud echoed throughout the cave.
"Donald…" Goofy started laughing. "Did you fall down?"
Sora and Reina saw the duck face down on the floor in the dim lighting, beak full of puddle water. Sounds of raucous laughter filled the cave as Donald jolted up, face blazing red.
"I tripped!" He yelled, jumping up and down in frustration. "This place is too dark!"
Then as if to help Donald, a bigger, brighter orb of light with an opalescent trail floated serenely into one of the entrances and vanished into the darkness. A few more of the same type of lights followed it, and the four looked up to see that they were coming from a huge hole in the cave above them. As spell binding as they looked, there was something repulsive about them. Reina shivered as she continued to see the lights migrate down one of the cave entrances, making sure she was far out of their way.
"I think we should go that way." Goofy said, pointing to where the lights were headed.
"What? Why?" Reina asked, alarmed. "Who knows where they're going to!"
"They're our only source of light right now." Sora said, though he wasn't too pleased about following the lights either. "Going into the dark would probably be worse."
Reina groaned as she followed them into the entrance, continuing to avoid touching any of them. The four walked in silence for a few minutes, staring at the caravan of lights until they heard sharp breathing echoing from further down the cave.
"What was that?" Sora asked, wiping his forehead of a little sweat. All this walking was making him unusually tired.
"Sounds like a person's hurt." Goofy replied.
They rushed to find a man slumped against the wall of the cave, looking exhausted. He attempted to get up but collapsed again, breathing heavily.
"Let's help him." Sora said immediately, and Donald went first, extracting a potion. As the healer tended to him, Reina curiously followed where the lights were going. They floated silently over a beaten wooden bridge to a raised stone platform. The lights congregated towards the staircase in the middle of the stage and sunk into its depths. The platform itself was raised over a pool of glowing green water that resembled acid, daring anyone to follow the lights.
When the man was healed, he stood up, towering over the four. He wore a traditional get up, from a blood red robe and wooden sandals all the way to the large katana he was carrying. He kept one hand in a sling and had a large scar over one side of his face, resulting in one eye to be shut. He glanced at the group from his good eye and said, "My name is Auron. It seems that we were fated to meet."
"I'm Sora." The brunette smiled forcedly, though it lacked his usual outgoing charm.
"Donald!" the royal wizard waved.
"Goofy. Nice to meet ya!" said knight said with smile.
"And I'm Reina." Said girl looked back at the platform, and couldn't help asking, "Do you know what that is?"
"The entrance to the Farplane." Auron replied, also facing the platform.
"The…sorry, what?"
"The Farplane." Auron repeated, looking at Reina. "A gathering place for the spirits of the dead. At least, for those who have accepted death."
The four stared at him, getting goose bumps. "Those desperate enough to enter it will be reunited with their memory of the dead."
Donald started inching away from him towards the other end of the cave fearfully.
"So…those are souls?" Reina pressed, pointing to the drifting orbs of light. Donald froze when one of the lights passed by him. He turned around screaming, running the other way. Goofy pulled him by his collar, making him flail in one place.
"Yes." Auron said, glancing at Donald. Reina opened her mouth to ask another question, but stopped when Sora coughed heavily.
"Geez that sounded bad." Reina said with concern. "Do you want to rest?"
Sora shook his head, steadying himself. "No, let's just get Meg and get outta here as soon as possible."
"Uh, excuse me, Auron sir but can ya tell us how to get to Hades' lair?" Goofy asked.
Auron thought for a moment and said, "Follow me, I'll show you where it is."
"Thanks!" Reina said with relief, thinking about the twisted and confusing paths they'll avoid.
He waved his free hand. "I'm just repaying your debt."
A moment of silence followed, and questions filled Reina's mind. Every time she looked at Auron, she became intimidated and then suppressed the question. This happened so often that he finally asked, "What is it?"
Not needing to be told twice, Reina immediately asked, "What exactly happens at the Farplane? How can you be reunited with our memories…of the dead?"
"I don't know myself. All I've heard was that when you are there and you think of someone who has passed away, you see them. They're not the dead themselves, just images of them."
Reina's throat went dry. If the Farplane could show her the dead then maybe…she was adopted, after all. She quickly erased that thought from her mind.
*What's the point anyways?* She thought, staring at the staircase where the lights descended. *Right. No point at all...* She glanced back at the lights.
"Can anyone visit the Farplane?"
"Yes." Auron replied, not looking at her.
"Have you visited to the Farplane?" Reina went on.
Auron chuckled dryly. "No, not yet."
Reina raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you here?"
Auron looked at her, his eyebrow also raised and Reina instantly became embarrassed, realizing that it was a personal question.
"Sorry." She muttered.
Reina heard Sora cough behind her and she turned to him, worried.
"Are you sure you don't want to rest?" Donald asked anxiously, handing him a potion. He had never seen Sora become ill so rapidly, and getting so sick right before confronting Hades was not the best combination of occurrences.
"You should get out of this place as soon as possible." Auron told them, still looking ahead. "The longer you stay here, the worse it is for you."
"I wonder why the Underworld's magic isn't affecting us as much as Sora…" Goofy thought aloud.
"Maybe Sora's just delicate." Reina said haughtily.
Sora almost choked on the potion. "Really? Delicate? That's the best you can do?"
"Well…" Reina was taken aback when she didn't get the expected response. "Shut up, this place is messing with my head! I'll think of a better insult to get you back later."
"Whatever." Sora grinned, draining the potion. Even though the potion refreshed him, he knew the effect would wear off very soon. Sora also wondered…why weren't the others weakened like he was? He answered the question as soon as he asked himself, though he was scared to admit it to himself.
There was something wrong with him.
Really, really wrong.
*Sixty eight percent.*
DiZ narrowed his eyes at the screen.
*Seventy eight completion to sixty eight.
How…?*
!Author's Note!
FINALLY DONE. This was harder and took way longer than it should have because I…sorta…rewrote the whole thing while I was in the middle of writing it because I hated the beginning. Dx I'm feeling uninspired to write lately too, but I pulled through for this one! (I better have, this thing was getting on my nerves)x Writing is haaaaaard. I may have rushed through it…
The Demyx part was much longer than it should have been…because of that I'm going to put the last bit in the next chapter Dx It's important though, especially since it has a certain someone she was supposed to forget. *wink wink* xD There's still a lot to remember~
The Farplane! Definitely something important, though it probably won't play a big role until their second visit to Olympus Coliseum. (But my favorite part because it's from Final Fantasy X and I looooove that game so much :D)
Last but not least, there's Sora's health problems…what do you think they lead up to? (I know you know, Akizakura202! xD)
Any ideas on Reina's flashback? Thoughts on the Farplane? Comments, questions? Make sure to let me know!
~narcotic-lullaby
