And, here it is. I'm glad all of you liked the last fight scene.
The Unknowing Herald: Darkness does seem to be the most rational out of the three gods here. Funny how that worked out.
SorasApprenticeNumberOne: Yeah, that probably would have happened.
TerraKH: Glad you liked the fight!
TheEightLight: Sorry for the wait, but this story's focus isn't Griffin, so I'm telling you now that he won't be getting as much screen time as the others.
RADIANT GARDEN...
Raphael stumbled out into the lifts where he had fallen and looked around. He didn't want to appear in front of Astelik in case he ruined the fight against Jack, and thought that he should make his own way up from the lifts.
Unfortunately, he was surrounded by Keyblade Masters running towards Astelik's chambers. There was a moment of silence and shock, then all of them pointed their Keyblades at Raphael.
"Great job." Riku muttered, "And before you waste more of your Darkness trying to make a portal, there are barriers set up so don't bother. People can get in, but not out."
Damn. They must have gone into automatic lockdown. Nothing Corruption could do to stop that, unless it had figured out how to manipulate the machinery on the 2nd floor. A Master broke the silence. "You! You dare return here after a year and try to assassinate the Grandmasters themselves!?"
"Wait, a year?" Riku asked, "It must have been four months maximum you were away."
Time passed differently depending on how close or far away one was from the Realm of Darkness. Light was related to time, somehow. Raphael really hated physics when he had learnt it and he hadn't picked up any love for the subject afterwards.
"Hmm, that makes sense, I guess. Peter did mention that what passed for a thousand years in Narnia was just several months in his time."Riku said. When he caught onto Raphael's curiosity, he said, "Oh, just these kids that had a portal to another world in their wardrobe."
Raphael really wanted to ask more, but it really wasn't the right time. "I don't suppose you'd go into your speech about how Kingdom Hearts is actually good. I'm sure the Masters would be inspired and rise up in revolution"
Really? This was definitely not the time. If Riku was trying to get him back for the Terra joke, would it be too much to ask that he wait until they weren't surrounded by thirty or so Keyblade Masters? His suspicions were confirmed when Riku asked, "Do you want to start praying to Tewah, maybe get a couple of Tewah paintings to hang up?"
If Raphael had been having any doubts as to Riku's mental age, they were blown away as he made the deep conviction that Riku was, indeed, a snarky teenager. After swearing at Riku for a few seconds, Raphael looked up at the Master directly in front of him.
"Nothing to say for yourself, blasphemer?" The Master asked. Raphael realized with a jolt that they had been friends before he had been exiled. "Casper," Raphael whispered. "Why-"
"You think I will show pity on blasphemers because I was fool enough to take you for a friend before?" Casper spat, and he swung his Keyblade at Raphael. He reacted on reflex, or maybe it was Riku controlling him. He sidestepped Caspar's Keyblade slashed out with Heaven's Clarity. Casper stumbled back slightly, but was unfazed, as Raphael hadn't infused any Darkness or Light into his Keyblade.
Raphael drew Light into his feet for the first time in ages, and crudely jumped up over the crowd towards the doors. [Black Garden, Kingdom Hearts BBS]
It was an unpleasant feeling, like trying to force things through a blocked pipe. His legs ached as this foreign substance forced its way through his limbs. He had never learnt to take in Light the way he had taken in Darkness in the Keyblade Graveyard. Though he used to be accustomed to its presence, feeling it course through him was a different matter. As a result, his jump was weaker than he had anticipated and he almost landed on top of some Masters.
"Nice." Riku muttered as they raised their Keyblades to fire magic. "You do know that more and more Masters will just come through that doorway, don't you?"
Right. Raphael hadn't thought of that. Gritting his teeth, he drew on his own small supply of Darkness and ran up the walls to where he had last seen Jack. It had been refilled when he had been in the Lanes Between, but it was by no means limitless. This time, he didn't go straight up to the Grandmaster chambers, instead, choosing the first door that he found. Luckily, it was both uninhabited and had a window, which he dived out of, forgetting to open it in the process. Raphael cursed as broken glass cut him, and he used Darkness to sustain him as he flew.
"Fly?" Riku asked, "I think you mean fall" It was true. Raphael was not going as fast as he would have liked. Remembering what Marek had taught him, he braced himself for impact. He stirred the storm of Darkness inside him and forced it through his arms before letting it ricochet into his legs. The timing was a bit off, but he still achieved the desired effect. The Darkness prevented him from sustaining any injury from the fall and propelled him further along as he jumped several metres into the air.
Looking behind him, he didn't see any pursuit coming his way. He slowed down to a normal run and sped down into the lifts. He saw several apprentices get blown back as the air in front of him was pushed away, but he didn't take much notice as he dropped down the lifts. He saw the lifts moving along the wall, and hung onto one as he hurtled past. His arm would have gotten ripped off if he hadn't diverted more of his dwindling supply of Darkness into his arm. He saw two frightened apprentices on the lift staring at him as he manipulated the lift to go back down. [end Black Garden]
This series of lifts went straight down to the 1st floor, and Raphael jumped across the lifts as he saw the 16th floor, where he had last seen Jason, Mist and Rayne, approached. He slowed to a light jog and stopped using the Darkness. Now he understood why Marek had put so much emphasis on control and efficiency of Darkness.
"Right. Darkness burns out faster, but is more powerful." Riku said, "Light isn't as strong but it's easier to use it and it lasts. That's why previous users of Darkness never matched up to heroes of Light: they relied on the power without any technique or skill. Many heroes of Light couldn't match up at first, but when they met the best, their raw power couldn't match up for the skill."
Raphael nodded, and ran through the huge library. Unsurprisingly, the area where they had been was deserted. Where did he go now? He started walking towards the portals. It was dangerous surrounded by Keyblade Masters, and his supply of Darkness was nearly out. This was why he didn't want to come here in the first place.
He pulled his hood up and started walking so as not to draw attention. Making sure there was no one around, Raphael took the stairs down, which was unpopulated and only used when the lifts broke or malfunctioned. He emerged onto the 10th floor where one of the Portal Rooms were, and was wondering which world to run away to when he heard the booming sound of metal being struck repeatedly.
He ran over thinking it was one of the Remnants but he saw Max, swinging at the wall like it had killed one of his friends. He grunted with each strike, and the wall looked in real danger of caving in. These weren't the training rooms where even the Highmasters could run rampant. Raphael quickly stepped in and caught Max's Keyblade with his own Heaven's Clarity. Max looked up at Raphael in shock, then adopted the same resentful and gloomy face he had shown in the library.
"For such an infamous fugitive, you're really bad at sneaking around."
"So you've told me." Raphael said, "Any reason you're vandalizing the walls? I'm not sure you could pay for the damage you've already done, let alone a broken wall."
"Not like it matters." Max muttered, as he brushed past Raphael. Raphael ran after him, but didn't know what to expect when he saw Max head into the Portal Room. Raphael grabbed Max's shoulder, but his hand was shaken off, as Max started pressing some buttons, configuring the Portal to his destination.
"Where are you going?" Raphael asked him, as he flipped a few levers and stood back to let the Portal charge up.
"None of you business." Max said, still not looking at him. His head faced away from Raphael, but he could tell Max was on the brink of tears.
"You shouldn't do what you don't think is right." Raphael said. "That's not how life's supposed to be lived."
"So, what? You've lived your life doing what you want?" Max asked coldly, "Well, lucky you." The Portal opened and Max started to step through. Raphael grabbed his shoulder again, but Max whirled around and fired of a Holy spell at Raphael. It was weak, but enough to knock the breath out of him and make him stumble back to the other end of the room. By the time he had gotten up again, the Portal had disappeared.
Raphael felt like smashing the wall open himself. Couldn't he help anyone? Instead, he reprogrammed the Portal for Twilight Town. Not only was it close to the Realm of Darkness, making it easier to soak in Darkness, many Keyblade Wielders went to and fro from the world, so it wouldn't be suspicious. Twilight Town had evolved from a random world in the Realm Between to the main outpost of Light against the Darkness. Not only were Keyblade Wielders stationed there often, but other fighters from other worlds also helped to strengthen this bastion against the Darkness.
Raphael went in, and was glad to see that the alarm hadn't been raised here. Not stopping to look around, he drew in plenty of Darkness before making a Portal of Darkness to the Dark Meridian.
DARK MERIDIAN...
Raphael stepped out and was greeted by the rest of them. They all stood up and crowded around Raphael, making him feel extremely awkward.
"Where have you been?" Mist asked, "We've been waiting for hours." Rayne and Jack were right behind her.
"Sorry I had to leave you like that," Jack said, "but I got to the bottom of the lifts and you weren't there, so I'd figured you ran off."
"Right, different time zones." Riku said. Since the Dark Meridian was so close to the Realm of Darkness, time here would pass much slower than time in Radiant Garden. What must have been half an hour there must have been hours over here.
"Yeah, I've actually got a lot to tell you guys." Raphael said. He sat down on the beach, and told the rest what Vanitas had said. When he was done, he looked up and watched the reactions of the others.
"I wouldn't trust a sane Vanitas, let alone an insane one." Mist said.
"I would trust him." Raphael interjected. "He's unstable, which means he probably isn't plotting anything."
"Still," Jack said, "He's done some pretty awful things over the years."
"I think we should take that risk." Rayne said. "We don't have any leads as it is, and we need to do something."
"It'll be pretty dangerous." Jack said, "Are you sure-"
"Of course." Rayne said in an exasperated voice. "What am I, twelve? I'm just as capable as both you and mom, you know."
Mist started to speak but stopped. There was something in her that made her see the twelve year old daughter she had taken care of inside the suit of armour. She remembered Rayne running recklessly up the Mysterious Tower and almost falling off. She remembered Rayne clinging onto Jack and giggling in his ear. At the same time, she remembered Rayne fending off innumerable Heartless and prove herself a capable Keyblade Wielder before she was a teenager.
As she was thinking this, Jason spoke up. "I agree with Rayne, Jack. Your judgement gets clouded when it comes to your family."
Jack started to speak as well, but this time Raphael cut him off. "Sorry, Jack. You're outnumbered four to two here."
"Who's the fourth?" Jack asked, looking from Rayne to Jason to Raphael. For an answer, Raphael tapped his head and said, "Riku agrees with us as well."
Jack sighed in resignation as Raphael let Riku take over and open the three Portals.
"I don't think we should go to all three worlds at once." Jason said, "If we do, then one person has to be by himself. I would rather that didn't happen, especially with the disturbing news we have concerning Marek."
They thought this over once, then nodded. "So who goes where?" Raphael asked after Riku had sealed one of the Portals shut. "I don't really mind who I go with."
Jason thought, then said "I'll go with you, Raphael. You three," he turned to Jack, Mist and Rayne, "go to another."
"Any particular reason?" Jack asked. He wasn't annoyed at the arrangement. On the contrary, Raphael thought he was in a better mood than he had been since he awoke in the Keyblade Graveyard.
"We need Riku to show us the way to the third world." Jason said, "And I credit myself with being the least reckless among all of us."
"Can't deny that." Jack laughed, and he led the way into the other portal with Mist and Rayne following him. The Portal closed and Raphael looked at Jason. "Was that really the reason why you split us up like this?"
Jason hesitated, then shook his head. "Jack is still thinking about Pierce too much. Some time with his family would do him good."
"Aren't you his family as well?" Raphael asked. He put his hands in his pockets as he waited for Jason's answer.
Jason thought it out a bit, then said "I am his family, but I was never the father he needed. We only truly met each other when he was nineteen and had just fought against Marek. By then it was too late for him to need a father figure, and it didn't help that I had just killed Yen Sid after being possessed by Marek"
Raphael didn't want to be insensitive or nosy, but he was curious "So how does he view you, then?"
Jason thought for a bit, and said "I suppose like a fellow Keyblade Wielder. Like a guide, or a mentor, or maybe a friend. But never like a father." Jason grew wistful as he said the words, and Raphael felt bad for bringing up a sore topic. "The same goes for Marek. I was an even worse father to him than I was to Jack. Half the time both his and Jack's bravado is covering up their own fears."
"And the other half of the time?" Raphael asked.
"The other half is just the Rikkison poking through." Jason chuckled. "I had hoped that I had done a better job with Rayne and Pierce. That they would see me as family, not just as the Watcher of the Worlds, or the most senior Master among their parents."
"Did they?" Raphael asked quietly. Jason nodded slowly "I think they did. At any rate, none of my grandchildren addressed me by my first name. I suppose that is a success in itself."
Raphael smiled, and got up. "We should be going." The two of them walked through the Portal, shutting it as they got onto the other side.
So, that's the end of the Radiant Garden bit. It's also the last we'll see if Raphael and the rest for a couple of chapters, because the next bit will be focused on the rest of the group. Hope you're looking forward to that.
Until next time!