Chapter 4: Doors Can Have More Than One Key

"Riku!" the girl cried as she set eyes on her friend. A pirate yanked her up from the ground and gave a threatening growl to keep her quiet. She took the hint but couldn't help scowling back.

Silver emerged from the mossy undergrowth and beckoned with his mechanical hand at the group of pirates behind him. "Search 'em all. One's gotta have that map."

Riku's Keyblade had evaporated at Eiko's surprising appearance and he allowed himself to be examined. Jim started back but Silver cautioned him.

"I wouldn' try anything that could get yerself killed, cabin boy."

The pirate patted Jim down and crowed in triumph when he found something in his pocket, but the cry quickly turned to shock as it was revealed to be only scrap metal. Larxene's face clouded over, her bright green eyes growing so malevolent that the other pirates backed away from her even farther.

"Kill them all," she ground out. "Now."

Silver was still half-stunned by the realization that their only way to find the treasure was destroyed. "But Miss, maybe we can fix—"

"Do what I say!" she shouted, turning and striding back the way she had come.

Eiko had been thinking hard about what she could do and now was the only opportunity to speak. "What if there is another way to find it?"

Larxene spun back around. If anything, her eyes were colder than before. "Is there one?"

"At least if you follow my suggestion you stand a better chance of finding the treasure."

She swept over to where two pirates were restraining Riku and put a knife to his throat. "Tell me or your companion dies."

Eiko didn't even flinch. "Do you really think I'm that stupid? Not only do I think Riku could take care of himself, but if you did manage to kill him then you would lose any incentive for me to cooperate."

Larxene's brow lifted slightly and the knife disappeared with a sizzle of electricity. "Hmph. At least one of these losers isn't a complete idiot." She refocused on Eiko. "Alright, fine. How do we find it?"

Eiko pointed to the ground. "It's hard to see because of all the growth but this entire place is full of deep grooves. They're made into a pattern that converges at a single point less than ten miles from here. Of course once we get there we still need a key to open it."

She indicated the Keyblade wielder and Larxene gave a sharp nod. "Silver, leave half your men here with the captain, her pet, the pile of junk and that boy. The other two come with us."

Riku shot a worried glance back at his companions, but only Dr. Doppler seemed alarmed. B.E.N. was intrigued by the nose ring on the pirate holding him, Captain Amelia simply gazed dispassionately ahead, and Jim's glare was fixed on Silver.

Once the party was divided up, they were led to the ship the pirates used to reach the surface of the planet. The engine had been patched back into usefulness and Riku regretted not having destroyed it entirely when he had the chance.

"Head that way until we come to a straight cliff," Eiko told the pirate beside the rudder.

The ship rose above the trees veering to the left as Larxene stood with arms folded near the front. Riku leaned forward to talk with his friend in low tones while their captors were distracted.

"How did you get here?"

"Atomos transported me just above the planet but I lost control of the Gummi ship and crashed."

"Why didn't you try to leave?"

"I can't summon any of my eidolons for some reason," she said with more than a hint of distress. "I've been trying, but they won't come. I think there's something about this place that keeps them from hearing me because I can still use magic just fine."

Riku looked around at the aliens and whispered, "How did you find out about the treasure or even where it is?"

"B.E.N."

"Seriously?"

The girl gave a long-suffering expression that was more humorous than sincere. "It took forever but he has enough memory left that if I asked the right questions he could give me clues. Chances are I would have found it by myself if that witch hadn't spotted me."

Their longboat banked as they reached the edge of the giant mushroom forest and came to the precipice just beyond it. The cliff was unnaturally straight with no traces of erosion chipping away at the earth. Eiko leaned over the side and seemed to be comparing some of the lines below to a mental map. After a moment she pointed.

"That way, but go slowly. We're not far."

It didn't take long to find the spot. The pirates lowered the ship so that it hovered a foot above the ground and then lashed it securely to a thick root that bulged upward, sporting a sickly growth of gray and green fungus. The root followed one of the deeper grooves until it diverted into a small circle. Eiko traced it to the very center where a round impression had been made.

The Nobody stared at her with an air of impatient disgust. "Is this your climax?"

"B.E.N. told me the door could only be opened with the gold sphere, but there's more than one way to pick a lock. Riku, care to do the honors?"

He jerked his head at the rope keeping his hands tightly bound. "A bit difficult in this position."

Larxene permitted one pirate to untie him, but the alien kept firm hold of one arm as he did so. The Keyblade was instantly there and a shaft of brilliant light touched the center of the circle.

With a shudder the landscape responded, waves of energy traveling along the surface through veins that crisscrossed the world. It all gathered at the point directly in front of them and within moments a triangular doorway materialized. Through it they could see a parched desert dotted with spindly scrub.

Silver inspected the spherical hologram that had appeared at the same time.

"This mus' be th' nav'gation." He selected a different world with his finger and the area beyond the triangle changed to a swampy place filled with creatures that could best be compared to flame-colored crocodiles, each with a sinewy neck and fins along their sides draped with slime. "But where's th' treasure?"

Larxene shoved him aside. "Sometimes the most complicated answer is right under your nose." She selected the very world they were on and the scene changed to that of an underground cavern lit by some unseen source. The Nobody held up her hand warningly. "No one enter until I say."

She walked through the electric field and looked down. An instant later lightning shot from her fingers, frying something near her feet. Larxene crooked one finger at her companions and they followed, dragging Eiko and Riku along.

"She always told me Flint had an irritating habit of being far too possessive of things he had no claim on," the woman said to herself. Then to Silver, "We can take as long as we like now that his farewell gift is disarmed. I'll watch those two while the rest of you look."

"Yes'm." The pirate gave a quick bow before ambling off with his cronies into the hills of gold and jewels making up Captain Flint's treasure trove.

The Nobody and her prisoners approached the gargantuan mass of wealth. The glitter would have turned most people into gibbering hoarders but these three (though impressed by the sheer amount at their feet) were not interested in it for various reasons.

Larxene looked at them shrewdly. "I'm surprised neither of you has given me any trouble, to be honest. I was looking forward to kicking the snot out of someone but you've given me no motivation."

But Eiko's mind was still on the mechanism. "Riku, who do you think could have built this place? It's a teleporter that doesn't use magic at all and you can go anywhere on that map out there."

Before he could make his own comment Larxene interposed herself in their conversation. "You mean you don't know? Hmph! The Krell built it in an attempt to leave and explore the worlds beyond the Border. They knew other places existed because they could see more stars—they simply couldn't reach them."

"Did they succeed? Were they able to see the worlds where we come from?"

"They all died." The offhanded answer spoken with such callousness sent chills chasing each other down Eiko's spine. "They left in a single migration using ships that were not made from Gummi."

Riku couldn't help scoffing a little. "And how do you know about this?"

"Simple. Flint was the only member of their race who remained behind. He always had a penchant for blood and vice. So did my grandmother, one of his most trusted lieutenants. She weaseled the truth out of him then used the teleporter to escape in a Gummi ship before he could kill her."

Larxene's voice betrayed no emotion for the story other than cool disdain.

One of the aliens returned holding something with two of his six hands. Riku couldn't help noticing with some amusement that there were gold necklaces draped over the creature's head and every pocket bulged with jewels.

But the thing he had brought to Larxene was a…spider web? It looked delicate, each strand thinner than wire and sparkling with a myriad of colors as it shifted in the light. Although one would expect it to snap under the slightest amount of pressure, the Nobody took it roughly by the edge of its black, hexagonal frame. A musical thrumming sang in response, the center vibrating so that the symbol there was difficult to see clearly.

"Is it an instrument?" the Summoner wondered, listening to the scattered notes just beginning to fade. The pirate had already dashed back to his looting so that the three of them were alone once more.

Larxene glanced up with something of a leer. "If it was, I wouldn't have risked my life coming after it. But I'll definitely show you what it does."

Before either of them could catch the full meaning of her words she had raised the object and ran one finger from the front to the back like a harp as she stared fixedly at Riku with those piercing green eyes.

A lightheaded feeling stole over him and he stumbled back in sudden weakness. An instant later he recovered to find Eiko supporting him with concern etched across her features. Shaking his head a little to clear his thoughts he looked up.

His enemy stood there, eyes closed and still smirking. She flexed her gloved hands, then her eyes shot open fixing Riku in a haughty glare. "You could have been so powerful. Could have had anything you wanted—but you gave it all up for the sake of your friends. Too sappy for words."

Her body had the tautness of a cat about to pounce. She called her weapon to hand and what appeared there was so shocking that both Riku and Eiko stared in mute stupefaction.

She held Way to the Dawn.

A black figure streaked forward, slamming shoulder-first into Riku's chest and sending him flying with a sideswipe of the Keyblade. He landed in a ready crouch with an agility that was more instinctual than anything.

A copy. That thing in her hands must have copied his Keyblade. She was good—he knew just by watching her stance—but she wasn't good enough to beat him.

"Two can play at this game," he muttered, one hand out to summon his blade. But his fingers closed on a set of knives.

"Oh, really?" came her serpentine voice from behind.

%*%

Eiko lay half-stunned on the platform near the teleporter. The frontal attack on Riku had also included a blow straight to her temple from the Keyblade's hilt. Shaking hands touched the spot and waves of dizziness clouded every sense, but she forced herself to look around for her friend.

They had fought until they were climbing a hill of riches almost thirty feet from their starting point, yet it was obvious who was having the worst part of the battle. Riku would flail with the unfamiliar weapons and instantly retreat to avoid the longer reach of his own blade in enemy hands. She knew he couldn't keep that up for long.

Even through the hammering headache she realized there was only one way to help him…and it lay just at the edge of the platform where Larxene had dropped it.

Forcing herself to her feet, Eiko wobbled toward the object whose name and properties she did not know. She nearly fell as she reached it, but managed to keep enough balance to kneel down. Her eyes found Riku backed into a corner against a giant silver statue.

"Take mine," she said as a single finger raced along the web, creating a sobbing set of musical notes for him. The lightheaded sensation that followed was all she needed to succumb to the pain pulsing behind her eyes.

%*%

Riku had decided very early on in the fight that knives were useless for anything but opening letters. Even lightning had no effect on the Nobody. His one clumsy attempt at that was deflected with careless grace and Larxene had given a high-pitched, mocking laugh.

"I know my own attacks and how to counter them. Why don't you try something different? You're making this way too easy for me."

The only advantage he seemed to have was that her footing was impeded by the coins and jewels that shifted the moment they bore any weight, but even with that Riku knew she was toying with him.

Without warning his back was up against something huge and solid. She had been edging him toward a silver statue the whole time to cut off his retreat. Throwing the knives aside he dropped down and pressed his hands against the field of metal. With little effort Larxene backflipped into the air and disappeared through a portal of darkness as flashes of electricity raced in every direction.

For a moment she was gone, and in that moment Riku felt a second wave of dizziness cloak him. It passed but he looked up to see the Nobody descending on him swinging her stolen blade.

The surprise on both their faces was almost laughable when he blocked her attack with another Keyblade.

Desert Star held the blow long enough for him to recover and he thrust her back in one movement. A pool of vaporous shadow swallowed her and a second later the Nobody came flying at Riku from the left. Even as he turned to defend himself she swept past and into another portal that carried her straight at him from another angle.

The hourglass shape of his current Keyblade gave him an idea. Thankfully he had been teaching Eiko when she discovered the secret of her weapon.

He tapped the glass and red sand began sliding into the other portion. The world seemed to slow and the woman appeared to be strolling by leisurely when in real-time she was flashing toward a third portal so fast that he would hardly have been able to follow her.

Her new entrance formed at a snail's pace to his left and he sidestepped, waiting until she was halfway out before bringing the blade down on her spine at the base of her neck. Then the sand ran out and time resumed its normal speed.

He had the pleasure of seeing her fly into the side of what had once been a deluxe ship and crumple into a heap beneath its figurehead of a rearing mare. But she refused to lie there while her opponent stood.

They gazed at one another with different levels of ire, but it occurred to Riku that he hadn't felt any tug of the Darkness since long before their battle—and almost on the heels of that thought came the understanding of the item Larxene had used. A plan shaped itself in an instant.

"Having trouble?" he taunted.

She growled. It was obvious he'd injured her badly because she didn't stand up straight and one thin hand gripped the shaft of the Keyblade tightly as if in an attempt to control her pain.

"You may be able to steal my weapon but you can never be as strong as me. Without a heart that Keyblade can't give you its full power."

Her snarl made her look almost animalistic and Riku could tell she was desperate. "You really think so, do you? Think that just because we're using the same type of weapon now that you can defeat me?"

"You'll need more than a Keyblade, that's for sure."

It was the final push that made that proud falcon of a woman fall into his trap. With a cry of pure hatred she called to the Darkness using the channel Riku always accessed it with. But as the unbridled surge of energy came pouring into her, Larxene at once realized something that her enemy had been counting on: it was entirely beyond her control.

As a Nobody her authority over the Darkness was restricted to only what a heartless being could use—but to attempt it this way was to open the floodgate. She had no way to stop it or seize hold of it now.

This realization hit her hard and she screamed as every molecule swelled with black vapor. She could not contain what she had and yet more kept streaming in. Whatever humanity she had left was eaten away by the overwhelming flood of Darkness.

Watching her writhe in agony Riku felt pity for her. A spell came to mind—one Eiko had shown him only once—and he pointed the Keyblade and used Holy.

Streaking sapphire light like miniature shooting stars gathered to encase her in an orb that flashed with all the colors in the spectrum. Once the light faded the Savage Nymph was no more.