Hi again, everyone!
Lots of excitement in this chapter! Not gonna spoil it for you though!
Enjoy!
Chapter 25 – A Desperate Situation
"Megan will soon become loyal to us" said Xemnas from his throne.
"She still holds hope of a rescue from her protectors" said Saïx.
"I have planted a seed of doubt in her mind. She will never trust the one called DiZ again…" said Xemnas.
"I see…" said Saïx, grinning evilly.
"You plan to turn her on her protectors" said Xigbar, understanding.
"Precisely" said Xemnas.
It had been three months. Three months since I had been brought here, and I was more confused than ever. Who could I trust? I didn't know anymore.
I didn't want to believe what Xemnas had told me, but it made sense. Why would DiZ keep me in the dark about my powers? And why had he supressed my darkness? What other reason could there be? I didn't know how I had come to have these powers, but I did know how to use them now.
DiZ believed Nobodies didn't have a right to exist. I believed otherwise. Not all Nobodies were bad. Since being amongst the members of the Organization, I had seen a good side to some of them. Some I would never come to trust, but did that mean they should all be treated the same?
Xemnas said they're only trying to survive. Completing Kingdom Hearts would help them become complete people. Everyone here seemed so devoted to that goal. And I really believed that was a good thing. Something still bothered me though.
I could tell Xemnas was hiding something from me, but I didn't know what. I believed that they were really trying to get hearts of their own, but I had a feeling that wasn't his only agenda. Xemnas always had secrets. He was Xehanort's Nobody, and that man always had many plans…
Getting up from the bed, I headed for the common area. On arrival, I was surprised to see Vexen standing by Saïx. I walked toward them.
"Vexen?" I said as I came up to them. "I don't think I've ever seen you topside…".
"Yes, well, on occasion I am required to go out on missions" he replied proudly. I looked at Saïx.
"Megan, your mission today will be with Vexen" he said.
"Okay…" I replied, and looked back at Vexen. "Shall we head out…?".
It was a little awkward interacting with him. I had only ever seen him in his dimly lit lab, and the conversations had been short. He had a bit of an eccentric personality.
"Certainly. Let us depart" he replied.
He turned and opened a portal, holding him arm out to indicate that I go through first. I looked at him curiously as I walked by, but his face was unreadable. He looked bored, but at the same time like he was off in his thoughts concocting his next experiment. It made me a bit nervous. I walked through the portal.
Arriving on the other side, we came out in a dark area with blue flames all around. Behind us was a golden pathway leading up, and in front of us a large door with blue swirls.
"Where are we?" I asked Vexen as he came up beside me.
"Welcome to the Underworld, Megan" he replied.
I gulped. Figures. The mission HAD to be in a dark place. It fit well with Vexen's usual hangout.
"Okay… what are we doing here?" I said.
"There is a large Heartless within that we are tasked to eliminate" he replied simply.
"Won't Hades be a little agitated if we just start waltzing around his underworld?" I asked. Vexen looked at me.
"That is where the art of being covert comes in" he stated. "We do not draw attention to ourselves, and move about without attracting attention. Come".
He walked toward the large door. I followed hesitantly. He pushed it open, revealing yet another chamber shrouded in darkness. There was nothing but faint blue flames lighting the area from high up on the cave walls, and a mist covering the ground. I don't like this…, I thought. Vexen walked in. I followed slowly behind.
Heartless appeared in the middle of the cavern. A bunch of Creeper Plants. I summoned my Keyblade, happy to have a distraction in this place, and ran at them. They fired off a bunch of seeds straight at me.
"Wah!" I shrieked, narrowly avoiding them. I almost lost my balance.
Once the barrage of seeds was over, I managed to get in and take out a few of them out. Not all though. I turned around to see the rest of the group a short distance to my left. Before I had a chance to move toward them, vines grew at my feet, and pinned them there.
"Agh! What the heck?!" I said, looking down at my feet.
I tried loosening the vines with my hands, but they wouldn't budge. I struggled, trying to pull my feet out, but they wouldn't move. A barrage of seeds came flying in my direction. I ducked just in time, only a few of them grazing me.
I had to think fast; I was a sitting duck here as long as my legs were stuck. Magic. I had to use magic to get the vines off. But I had never cast a fire spell so close to myself. Here goes…
I pointed my Keyblade at the vines between my feet, and yelled "Fire!". The flames spread across my feet, causing slight heat, but nothing I couldn't handle. All the vines were reduced to ashes, allowing me to move again. Just in time, too.
Another barrage of seeds came flying at me a moment later. I jumped out of the way, and aimed my Keyblade at the remaining plants. "Fire!" I yelled. The spell enveloped the remaining group; they're captive hearts being released. I took a breather.
"An interesting approach" said Vexen, coming up behind me. "Fire sets the vines ablaze, cascading the effect. You are well-versed in magic, I see". Right. This was his first time seeing me fight.
"Yeah, Axel taught me" I said. "It's quite the useful tool in a pinch".
We continued on through the passageways. We went through a few more caves before coming to a large cavernous area. There was a slim walkway in the centre; the ceiling went further than the eye could see. Below was some kind of green lava.
A few more plants appeared on some of the platforms between the thin passageways as we crossed. I took them out without issue this time, casting fire from a distance.
"That'd be the one I told you about" said Pete. He was standing on a ledge with Hades high up in a cavern where a couple of people in black coats were crossing thin passageways.
"Hmm… she does have a different sort of… smell, doesn't she…" pondered Hades beside him.
"Yup, I told ya so" said Pete. "Even Maleficent saw 'er true power".
"Do not treat me the same as that imbecile witch! I am lord of the Underworld!" said Hades angrily, his hair becoming red.
Pete immediately cowered, holding his hands in front of his face.
"Sorry! Sorry! Didn't mean to offend!" he said behind his defence.
Hades cooled down to blue again. He looked down at the figure fighting Heartless below, and scratched his chin.
"An interesting development… Let's see what you can really do" he said, a sly grin crossing his face.
Vexen and I came to the final platform after crossing the many thin walkways. We entered the alcove in front of us. The room opened up into a large circular area. The ceiling was about fifty feet high, and the cave walls came inward to meet it in a dome formation. There were some landings up high on the wall.
As we walked across the area toward the opening on the other side, we heard what sounded like echoes. Nothing we could make out. We didn't know if they were voices, or Heartless. Just as they stopped, a massive amount of Heartless appeared around me. Vexen had been walking a little further behind, and was on the opposite side of the wall of Heartless. I could barely see him over the sheer amount of them.
Gritting my teeth, I summoned my Keyblade.
"Where did all of you come from?!" I said in frustration.
I knew it was a bad idea going into the Underworld. Around me there were now Creeper Plants, Crescendos, Tornado Steps, a mix of flying Heartless, and even Large Bodies. It was like when Sora had been surrounded in the Heartless War, but in a cave. There were too many to count!
"Haaaah!" I yelled as I ran at the first one, my Keyblade poised to attack.
I took one out, and then another, and then another. There seemed to be no end to them! I turned around and took a few more out on the other side. They just kept coming!
Just as I took out a Crescendo, vines grabbed one of my legs. I quickly shot a fire spell at it, getting free. I had stood in one place for too long though. One of the Tornado Step's spun right into me, sending me across the cavern, and back to the middle of the gathering around me.
"Ngh!" I grimaced as I landed hard on my back. A golden glow revitalized me, as I got back up.
I ran at more Heartless, taking out a few, but there were hordes of them. More Tornado Steps attacked me from behind with their spinning attacks, sending me flying into the middle once again. I landed in a crouched position this time, and leaped back at the group. Taking out some flying Heartless, the Large Bodies came forward. One of them used its torso as a battering ram to bounce me far back.
"Agh!" I said as I landed on my back again, sliding few feet from the force of the impact.
I had grazes on my forearms, and had one of my eyes squeezed shut. Opening it, I looked at the onslaught of Heartless around me. They were advancing. I was completely out of strength, and the grazes on my arms weren't disappearing. Where was the golden glow that gave me strength? It wasn't coming.
"Alright…" I muttered to myself weakly as I got up, breathing heavily. "You wanna see what I've got?".
There was no choice. It was time to call on the darkness. I dismissed my Keyblade, and then thrust my arms out to the sides.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" I yelled.
A purple and green glow enveloped my body, and beams of light and darkness began flying in all directions, emanating from my body. They took out every Heartless in sight, bouncing off the cave walls and coming back for more. The surrounding hordes were quickly diminished in number. They became less and less, until only a few remained. And those were taken out by the beams coming in for a final hit, before disappearing. All the Heartless had been defeated, their captive hearts released.
The glow around my body disappeared, and my hands fell back to my sides. I immediately fell to my knees, my legs having no strength to support me, before falling over completely on my side to lay on the cave floor. I saw a look of complete astonishment on Vexen's face as he stood at the other side of the cavern, just as I lost consciousness.
"Megan has a new ability" said Vexen from his throne.
"What kind of ability?" said Xemnas slowly.
"I've never seen anything like it. She used the power of light and darkness simultaneously" Vexen mused.
Xemnas smiled evilly.
"Her true powers are beginning to awaken…" he said. "Where is she now?".
"Resting in her room. She passed out after unleashing the attack. It must've been too much for her body to handle" Vexen replied.
"The darkness will not hesitate to take you over at the first sign of weakness" said Riku.
"Give in to it Megan. Give in!" said Ansem.
I woke up with a start, sitting bolt upright in bed, and breathing heavily.
"Woah, Megan!" said Roxas. "Relax, it's okay. You're back at the castle".
I looked over at him. He was standing by the door side of the bed; Axel was beside him. I calmed my breathing, and looked around the room. Axel and Roxas were the only ones there.
"Something wrong?" asked Roxas, sounding worried. I looked at him.
"No, it's nothing" I said. "How did I get here?".
"You were unconscious when Vexen brought you back from the mission" Axel said. "He brought you here".
It was all coming back now. I had used the attack that had come out when Maleficent brought out my darkness. Everything went dark after that.
"How long was I out?" I asked them.
"A few hours" said Axel.
"That long?!" I exclaimed. They looked at me seriously.
"Vexen wouldn't speak to anyone after he got back" began Axel seriously. "After he dropped you off here, he quickly disappeared without a word". He paused. "What happened out there?".
I looked down at the bed.
"I was surrounded by hordes of Heartless, too many to count. I wasn't getting anywhere with my Keyblade; they were relentless, knocking me down again and again. I had no choice but to use the power of darkness to take them out" I said. "I used a really powerful ability. Something that I learned when Maleficent brought out the darkness within me at her castle".
I looked up at them. Axel's expression was solemn, and Roxas looked worried. I tried to lighten the mood.
"Hey, you guys! Don't look so depressed! I'm fine!" I said. "Just needed a catnap!".
I moved my feet over to the side of the bed, and went to get up, but Axel stopped me, putting his hands on my shoulders.
"You need to rest" he said to me.
I went to protest, but the serious look on his face squashed any argument that came to my mind.
"Alright, fine…" I said finally, defeated.
He backed away from me, standing up straight. His face changed to a cheerful expression.
"Don't worry, the ice cream'll still be there tomorrow!" he said, trying to cheer me up.
I smiled weakly at him.
"We'll see you later, Megan!" said Roxas, happy now.
I waved as they walked out the door, closing it behind them, and then let myself fall horizontally across the bed. Things were getting complicated.
The plot thickens...
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