Curse of Ursus

by xeveningx

Ayano finds herself away again; this time to restore the darkness missing in both her and Haruka. This takes her far and wide where memories build a bridge to a solution. But that bridge is burning and fast. The far past clashes with the present and it threatens to vanish her. This is a game of trust where a liar should excel but she's rusty. Now it's anybody's game.

20. Memoir XX: Don't Think Twice

Memoir XX:

Don't Think Twice

---

Funny how it's become the most difficult to think now that everything has come to a halt. Then again, what we learned and what we've been left with as a result—it's plenty in and of itself to take in.

Xehanort's intentions were clearer than crystal. He intends to start a war, one were his thirteen darknesses are pitted against the seven lights that, if we fail in gathering wielders to stand in their stead, will perish under the ambush. Mickey said something about those wielders, as did Xehanort and how two were already lost to his machinations. It's worrisome to say the least, but only a few things matter to me in this very instant.

First, there was Sora. His odd slumbering state is something I'm having trouble wrapping my head around, but Yen Sid and the three fairies were examining him to figure out the cause.

Then, there was Akio, much to her chagrin. His, however, is much simpler to understand and yet so much harder to snap him out of. His catatonia was self-inflicted and I can't honestly blame him for it either.

He just found out that his mother—one who I'm more than certain he thought was dead—isn't only alive but under control as a Night Terror by the very man that fooled him into chasing me down to turn me into one as well. He's utterly emotionless in his expression and despite that, the anguish translates almost crystal clear through those dazed eyes of his.

Haruka has been trying to snap him out of his stupor ever since we came back to the Mysterious Tower with some help from Aurelius. They've been at it for a few minutes at least, but nothing the two of them have done so far seems to register. It's clear that he can hear us but it's also quite obvious he doesn't want to hear any of it by the way his eyes flit to us briefly before returning to the floor. It's disturbing to some degree seeing him so reserved, but it's understandable. Enclosed as the four of us are in the small room where the mirror is, Akio sits numbly at the edge of the bed I laid Haruka on back when this whole mess started. Haruka shuffles nervously in front of him with Aury hovering by the two of them while I'm off to the side, arms crossed in front of me as I leaned against the closed door. A scowl is certainly plastered on my face, no doubt about it. It isn't like I'm trying to hide it either. It's painful to watch Haruka try so hard for somebody who clearly doesn't want to be helped.

Let him wallow in his grief for all I care.

"You don't actually mean that, Master."

It's aggravating to know deep down that she's right. It's hard to quiet that voice that echoes in my head. It's a yearning that exists in me now—one I can't deny flourished from spending time with Sora and the others, one that urges me to care and gnaws at me from the inside now. But for as loud as it is, I can't deny the part of me that doesn't want to show him any pity. He's hurt, yes, but so am I. It may sound petty to compare what he did to me to what Teobaldo has done to his mother—even I'm livid about the fact that Night Terrors could be breathing, living people and that Teobaldo's done something as atrocious as that—but I can't help it.

He hurt me.

And I care when I shouldn't.

"Aya-nee." Haruka's call reels me back to the present for a moment as he looks up with big blue eyes staring back with concern. "What should we do? He isn't responding."

Leave him. He doesn't deserve your pity.

But I bite my tongue before the words escape me. I want to say them. I want him to hurt just as badly as I'm hurting, but I think that's already been done. Even when I know this though, I still want him to hurt more. That sudden thought suddenly turns more sour than sweet when I notice the red tint in my eyes.

"Master, your eyes."

"Aya-nee?"

"I'm fine." A sudden pain strikes me then, one that isn't from my eyes. Knowing well what it is as it crawls down my arms and hands but not wanting to worry him, I use the sudden surge of my powers to my advantage and hide my pained expression with an assuring smile. "I...need some fresh air."

Even if he has something to say about it, I don't wait to listen. I bolt out of the room at a mild sprint and head straight out of the tower altogether.

I'm tempted to leave. I'm tempted to just grab the train and not look back. But my heart anchors me down telling me—yelling at me—that I can't leave.

No matter how much I yearn to run away.

Not knowing what else to do, I crouch down burying my face against my knees and wishing gir nothing more than to disappear.

---

I never knew the night sky could be so beautiful.

I don't think I've seen stars as pretty as these either. It's almost like I've never seen stars at all from how their beauty pales compared with others I've seen before. They had always been here, I think, and maybe I just never bothered to gaze skyward. I've always been so busy looking behind me or ahead of me to ever bother looking up. But now when everything seems to have come to a halt, there's nowhere else for me to look.

Only an endless, starlit dark sky.

And looking out at this night sky that surrounded the small floating island was better than confronting all the people that were inside of it. Along with the horrible things I was made to see in those terrifying flashbacks. Folding my legs, I tuck them closer to my body to wrap my arms around them and hold them close to me. A deep breath told me just how unstable I was when at its end I almost broke down into tears, my eyes burning as they ran rampant without proper control.

"...master."

"Be quiet...please."

I don't mean to snap at her. I didn't mean to be so cold to everybody the moment we arrived back at the tower from the World that Never Was either. But I couldn't control myself. Neither my powers nor my emotions. I held it together for the trip back here but the instant we landed and I saw that Sora wasn't waking up, a cold grip held my heart and squeezed. Memories of what I saw—of how it felt—surged through me and broke any semblance of calm I had worn. I managed to excuse myself somehow as I stormed out of the room Haruka was in before they could see and escaped...here.

It's hard to explain why watching something as endless as the sky has always helped put my heart at ease. The sunset at Twilight Town, the moonlit sky at the World that Never Was and now this vast galaxy.

It's not that sunset...but it's something.

"You're looking as dreadful as the others."

It takes me a long time to react but once I take in the sound of that deep jestful voice, Axel is already taking a seat beside me letting his legs dangle over the cliff to stare out into the vastness of the galaxy that spreads all around us. It's odd to see him here, at first. He hasn't talked to me since he saved us from Teobaldo. Then I went and left him behind along with the others to think by myself. Wanting to do just that, I ignore him, giving him only a sidelong glance before returning to face skyward. I don't reply to his words. He doesn't call me again either. We remain seated for what feels like an eternity, as if he's giving me time to adjust to his presence—so warm—before he speaks up again.

"I hoped I'd find you before you skipped on us."

"Skipped?" My voice rose barely above a whisper to signal my confusion. What does he mean by that?

"You tend to do that when you're overwhelmed." He nods with a half grin on his face. "At least that's what I caught onto anyway. It might not show but you drift away from people when you're like this. You did the same thing when you were with us, remember? The times we would find you atop the belltower by yourself."

My brow furrowed. "Did I really do that so often?"

"Not often," he corrected, "But certainly enough times to be a pattern. It's how I figured that one time when I didn't find you at the tower that I would find you somewhere isolated. Like an island or something."

Island...

A memory came to mind when he mentions that. I remember him finding me...on the shores of Destiny Islands. We both had been looking for someone. Once again, her name comes to mind and with it the burning of my eyes returns. Just when I thought I had finally quelled my emotions too. With a click of my tongue, I push back those memories and the emotions they bring in an attempt to calm it. It does very little. My eyes still burn and though a little less, my vision is still tainted in crimson.

"So what I'm really asking is...what are you running away from this time?"

My eyes narrow and the dark galaxy turns an even darker red.

"Everything, I guess."

"How philosophical."

"I'm serious." Looking down at my hands, I focus on the dark tendrils that are now marked on both of them now. After what that Night Terror—the Songstress—did, the darkness' consumption of me has sped up. It's been traveling faster, every hour or so moving and covering more and more of my body. I can feel it inside me now as well. Like it's slowly suffocating me and tearing my heart apart.

Maybe that last one is just everything else that's happened.

"I don't want to be in there. I don't want to see Sora like that. I don't want to see Riku's and Haruka's concern over what's happening to me. I didn't want to face you either. And I don't want to see…" My words trail off at the thought of Akio.

He was still as dumbfounded as when I dragged him out of the Round Room, a gesture I still can't fully understand either. But I did. And as easily as I had done it, I struggled so badly with doing it. I wanted to leave him there. I wanted to leave him in pain and forget about him. But I couldn't.

I can't leave him be and that just hurts me even more.

"It's hard to forgive someone you've cared for after finding out they deceived you, isn't it?"

His words are too accurate to be a coincidence. Finally, I dare to stare back at him and for the first time actually see his face. Curiously enough, he doesn't appear perturbed by my glare. What's more, now that I look at him, he hasn't changed much even though he's a fully formed being now. All that's changed are those tears that had been beneath his eyes. They're gone now. The thought of not seeing those perpetual tears there makes me smile, forgetting for a brief moment my own turmoil.

"Did Riku tell you?"

"Riku told me."

"Hmm." I don't mind that he did as much as I thought I would. I'm actually somewhat relieved, though I can't quite figure out why. Especially because it's Axel who knows. Out of everybody, I think he can understand how hurt I am the most. A deep sigh leaves me as that thought dwells in me more. "I'm a hypocrite, aren't I?"

"A little," he joked. I scoff without meaning to, somehow finding the cruel irony funny. "But if it hurts as much as it looks like it does, then I think you learned your lesson back then."

"The hard way," I add.

"We all learn one way or another," he admits as he leans back against his hands.

Hugging my legs closer to me, I bury my face against my knees for a brief moment before speaking up in a low whisper.

"I get why you were so mad at me now," I tell him. At the thought of what Akio did, my eyes start stinging again but for a whole other reason that I don't want to think about. "And I get why you haven't forgiven me."

"Who says I haven't?" My heart skips a beat at his words and makes the tears pour from my eyes as I look up to see him smile. He reaches out with one hand and ruffles my hair affectionately but doesn't retrieve it as he says, "I forgave you long before I disappeared, Ayano. Sure I was mad and hurt, but seeing you fight with Sora while knowing that Roxas was still there despite him being gone made me realize that what you both did, you did because it was what your hearts believed to be right. And I can't resent you for following your hearts."

My tears fall harder at his words as my chest heaves with every nasty sob. I grab onto his hand with both of my own and hold it above my head so that he doesn't see them.

"I don't want to feel like this." My voice cracks when I speak but in this silence my voice travels clearly. "I don't want this anger to hang over me. I don't want to be sad either. But what he did…"

"He's here now, isn't he? Just like you're here now in front of me." The comparison takes me a little aback but something seems to click in my head. "You knew that being forgiven would be difficult but you took the first step all the same. You returned to face us. And it was because you came back that I realized why you did what you did. It allowed me to change my mind about you and for that to happen, I had to realize that you made the effort to change too. He's made the effort by the look of things. Now tell me, are you willing to try and change your mind too?"

As my thoughts swirled with his words, my grasp weakened on his hand and let it slip from atop my head. The words slowly sank, their meaning alongside them, and as they did, the burning in my eyes subsided. I could finally see the true beauty of the stars around us without that angry red in the way. A small smile came to my lips as I turned to him.

"Thank you, Axel."

"Sure thing. But it's Lea now." He tapped at his temple, his telltale sign for his silly phrase. "Got it memorized?"

A chuckle escaped me but instead of agreeing, I shake my head before throwing myself at him to hug him tightly.

"I like Axel better."

---

"Get up."

Mercurial eyes did what I didn't think they would and lifted their gaze towards me when I spoke up. Beside Akio, Haruka gave me an odd look as if asking what the hell I intended to do. Honestly, I have that same question but after my talk with Axel, something in me urged me to speak with Akio. To get him up to his feet again.

Somehow.

When he doesn't seem to snap out of his stupor and simply returns to his sulking, I heave a heavy sigh through my nose. If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it my way. Gesturing towards the door at Haruka, he quickly gets the gist and leaves with a nod, closing the door after himself. It's not until I hear the click of the door that I approach the bed and take a seat beside him. He remains unmoving through all this, simply staring at his hands as they rest on his lap. As I sit there by his side, I take a moment to brace myself for what I'm about to do and what it'll do to him.

"Master, this isn't the most prudent way."

No, I agree, but it's how I know I'll get him to understand.

"You should be happy."

It takes a moment for my words to sink in and for his brow to furrow angrily. His scowl is more than proof that he heard me and finally understood what I said. He still sees a need to repeat my words with spite though.

"I should be what?"

"Akio," I take a moment to get his full attention before slowly enunciating the words, "She's alive." His expression shifts, briefly boiling over into anger before dangling between it and confusion. I've got him to pay attention. That's a start. With pursed lips, I continued, "I know it's not the best of circumstances, but she is."

"You can't know that." The faint gleamer that I saw appear in his eyes fades away for a moment as he tries to kill the hopes that my words are rousing. "She's a Night Terror. If we liberate her like we did with Cordelia, she could very well disappear too. She isn't alive."

"She is." He's more infuriated with my insisting but I have to get this through to him. And though he might not believe me, I know the truth. "I know she's alive...because I felt it."

"You what?"

This time when my lips pursed into a thin line it's because I'm unsure of how to explain this. Thankfully, Rinto, who also sensed what I had while I was unconscious during the time the Songstress tried turning me into one of them, helped to recreate what I felt into words.

"When she tried to change me into a Night Terror and I was in that bubble, she forced memories out of me that had been deep in my subconscious. But aside from them, others flooded into my head too. They were just pieces but what I saw gave a good enough picture for me to deduce what happened."

"You mean…" Suddenly, his hand shot out to grab tightly onto my arm. His grasp was desperate, almost like he feared to lose something that he barely had a hold of if he didn't. It startles me but I wait patiently for his response. "You mean you know what happened to them? You know what became of my family?"

My lips fall open but I pause as a feeling surges through me. It doesn't want me to say anything in fear that I'd further the pain.

"But you have to, Master. He deserves to know."

And it's the only way for him to realize what I have.

With a deep breath and her words of encouragement, I go on.

"The man who took your parents was Xehanort. At least, a version of him. He took them to some laboratory and did...things that I can't begin to describe without feeling sick to my stomach." His grip tightens on me, painfully so. When I lay my hand over his, he relents the strength. It's only them that I notice the dark tendrils that were lickimg at his skin had started to crawl closer to his hand and towards me. My touch makes him flinch but after a second the darkness that lingers on him retreats. "Your parents were separated upon their arrival. I don't know what happened to your father. But despite what she suffered, your mother survived up to the moment that Teobaldo found her and abducted her."

"He...took her?" His eyes narrowed in confusion. "Why?"

"I don't exactly know the answer. Her assumption from what I could gather of her memories and mine, though, are practically the same. Something to do with your Life Absorption powers." As I think further about it, I recall what it felt when the Songstress begin transforming me. That cold sensation… "I think he modified those powers to make her the Night Terror she is with the powers she has now. But to do that—to be able to use her powers now as a nightmare like he wanted to do with me—he needed to keep her alive."

Akio shakes his head as if barely being able to understand all this information. When he turns back to me after averting his eyes, he stares straight into my soul. Longingly, desperately.

But finally, finally alight with hope.

"You think...we can save her?"

"I know we can. And I'm going to help you do it."

At hearing that, his expression changes once more into utter disbelief. I expected nothing less.

"Why…?" he asks, "I lied to you. I betrayed you. I thought you wouldn't want anything to do with me."

"I won't lie to you, what you did hurt me. A lot. Enough that I thought that it maddened me and drove me to think that I should leave you behind." Carefully, I pry his hand off of me and instead hold it in mine as we sit facing each other now. My eyes linger on our joint hands for a moment as Axel's words replay in my mind making a tender smile come to my lips. "But a good friend reminded me that people who attempt to change for the better deserve a second chance."

Just like the one I was given.

"I'm willing to give you that, Akio, because for as much as you hurt me, a part of me still wishes to believe in you. And I want to listen to that part of me. No matter how scary it is to do so."

His reply takes me by surprise when, out of the blue, he wraps my hands in his and brings them up to his lips. A chaste kiss brushes against my knuckles before he presses his hands and mine against his forehead with eyes closed shut. It takes me a bit to notice that he did this to cover the small tears that began forming in his eyes.

"Thank you," he whispers, warmth air tickling my wrists. "For giving me hope and for forgiving me, Ayano...thank you."

Taking back my hands, I barely catch a glimpse of his bewildered expression before I embrace him, my head resting against the side of his. His hands that lay beside him flinch momentarily, taken aback by my sudden action, before he reaches forward to reciprocate the gesture and buries his face against my shoulders.

"Please…" I beg him, "Don't make me regret this, Akio."

There isn't any hesitation as his hold on me tightens. When he speaks, the warmth of his breath brushes against my skin again. "I won't." There's a pause in his breath before I feel the warmth again as he intakes air to speak. "Ayano, I—"

"Aya-nee, there's something—whoa." When I peak over Akio's shoulder, I spot Haruka standing at the threshold of the door. I somehow missed him opening the door, I guess. His fair-skinned cheeks are molten, something he tries desperately to hide by pulling his hood tight over his face. "I think I should've knocked."

"Definitely." Despite my letting go easily, Akio does so almost reluctantly making it a bit harder for me to rise from my seat to meet Haruka halfway across the room. "What is it?"

"It's Sora," he says. Instantly, everything fades from my mind as he comes into focus. Akio comes to my side without a word, intently listening to what Haruka has to say. "Riku says that they've found out what's wrong."

We find the concern that laced his words with such good news odd. It isn't until we step out of the room to where everybody is gathered that I begin to have some idea why. Riku holds his Keyblade in one hand aloft and pointed at one of those dream portals that I remember Joshua talking about. This one looked kind of different though. Kind of duller. And darkened.

"What's the matter?"

The moment I speak up, they all turn to me. Their scrutiny is a little unnerving but thankfully Riku dispels it quick enough when he glances at the portal before turning to me.

"I'm diving back into Sora's dream to get him back."

"Ah." My voice is flat and nonchalant when I say, "And I suppose the absurdly brilliant idea was yours?" He nods without missing a heartbeat. It amazes me how my sarcasm can just fly over his head sometimes. Giving up on that for a moment, I sigh and place a hand on my waist. "So? How come you're still here then? Here I thought you'd jump at the chance of helping our bag full of sunshine."

"That's the thing," Mickey pointed out as he walked forward to make his presence known. "The portal isn't opening."

My brow furrows at that. "What do you mean it's not opening?"

Yen Sid is the one to respond to me. "Neither Riku's or Mickey's Keyblades can make way into Sora's dream. It appears that an unknown power is impeding their entrance."

This is starting to sound a tad bit familiar.

It's Haruka who pretty much confirms that for me.

"Look at it, Aya-nee." With a blink of his eyes, those lovely blue eyes of his turn bright crimson before he averts them away from me to gaze at the portal. Almost immediately, a grimace spreads across his face.

I follow his lead and call upon Rinto. The change occurs in an instant as a fervency takes over my eyes. Though not to the point where my world turns crimson around me, it is still enough for me to see what they were talking about. To my chagrin, it's exactly what I thought I would. Surrounding Sora's dream portal at a distance are chains of a dark color that pulse red like a heartbeat as they slowly circle it.

They're just like the chains created by the Abysmal that locked away Traverse Town's keyhole.

"It's those Abysmal Chains again."

"Teobaldo is interfering on Xehanort's behalf," Akio supplied. I can practically see the puzzle pieces he's seeing lock into place the more information that he garners from us. "He must've known you would try to wake Sora like this."

"Can you dispel them?" Riku asked.

I don't answer him. Instead, I try to do what he asked. Focusing like I did back in Traverse Town, however, doesn't do the trick. Even trying a few times and really concentrating doesn't seem to do me any good. The chains are as firmly set as they were to begin with.

"I-I can't."

Silence comes over us all at the unexpected outcome. Frankly, it wasn't so surprising that it didn't work. This was something I barely learned how to do and had only done once successfully. If these aren't just Abysmal remnants like the ones from Traverse Town had been, then it might take more than just me imagining them exploding like before. When I voice this to everybody else, they seem to be at a loss as to what should be done. No one's faced darkness like that before up front. And no one knows much about our powers to help.

That's what I thought, anyway.

"I think you might need to plunge in."

Akio's words make me blink a couple of times before I fully turn to the side to face him. "What do you mean, plunge in?"

He holds that pensive stance that he always tends to take, chin caught between a couple of fingers before facing me. "These aren't like the chains we found at Traverse Town. If Teobaldo's in on this, then these aren't made from leftover darkness. These might actually have a core to them."

"Let me guess," Axel says from the sidelines. "The chains will disappear once that core is destroyed."

"It's the most logical answer," he agreed.

My eyebrow raises skeptically at Axel with a half smirk. He simply shrugs his shoulders but the smug grin on his lips is a telltale of his boastfulness. "Figured."

"Well then," Akio and I lock gazes as I address him, "How do we destroy the core?"

"Not a clue." Instead of leaving me out to dry, he taps his temple. "But you have a little voice in there that might."

Ha, he's calling you the crazy voice in my head.

"And you crazy."

The amusement that had bloomed across my face fell at her comeback. Instead of childishly bickering back and forth though, I asked her if there was such a way to reach the core of these chains.

"As a matter of fact, yes."

It takes her a good minute to explain it to me and by the curious looks everybody is giving me, my bewilderment is showing right through onto my expression. It's not until Riku brings me back to earth by asking what the matter is that I gather my bearings to explain this to them again.

"I need to dive in to find the core."

"Dive?" Mickey repeated. His expression reflected the same emotion everybody else had: concern. "Into that darkness? That's madness!"

"Rinto says it's the only way. And I believe her." They all appeared even less convinced with that. I, however, wasn't deterred from what was rapidly becoming a formidable decision of mine. "If what I want is to destroy those chains, then I have to find that core wherever it may be. And since only I can see it, then—"

"I'm going with you."

Blue-green eyes of mine grow wide at Haruka's sudden brave claim. His face is screwed up with determination the moment I look down at him ready to refuse him. The look is enough to stop me from speaking one word.

"You're not the only one who can see it," he begins, taking a resolute step forward. "If this is about us—about our powers—then I also have a right to fight this with you."

I want to refuse him—I do—but the moment his hand reaches up to mind and grasps it strongly, all resolve that I had of pushing him away melts away. That look in those beautiful eyes is telling me, gently and patiently as he has all this time without my noticing or wanting to accept it, is that I'm not alone.

I've never been.

That acceptance finally makes itself at home in my heart as I hold onto his hand. "Well, I know I'll be in good hands then."

"I would like to accompany you as well."

Now this was a surprise. Akio stepped up from goodness knows where with a look just as determined as Haruka's. Before I can open my mouth, he averts his gaze as if ashamed but not once losing that tenacity. "I know you're still on the fence about my alliances. Even when you've forgiven me, I know it's not that easy to forget. So let me show you. I'll have your back, Ayano, and I won't let anything happen to you or those you care about."

My heart swells at his declaration. I've known for a long time now that I can't trust words. His promise is the first time that I've wanted to believe in them though. But old habits die hard. Akio is sensible enough to know that—he always has been. With a tender smile, I nod his way.

It's then that Aurelius flies over from where he sat at Yen Sid's desk to hover before me. He nuzzles against me tenderly and a chuckle escapes me at his affection. Taking him in my hands, I hold him closer to my cheek. "You'll be there for me too, won't you, friend?" Aury snaps back at me before showing off a huge, toothy grin as response.

With them by my side, I have the strength to face the chained portal.

Rin?

"Touch it and will it to take you all into it."

I hope it all is as simple as this.

"Let us hope so."

Telling Haruka what she told me, we both lay one of our hands on the portal while I leave it to me to bring Akio with us by grabbing onto his hand.

Just before I do as Rinto told us to I glance over my shoulder at sensing someone's gaze on me. Riku's turquoise eyes are locked with mine when I do as he dutifully awaits behind us with his Keyblade at the ready. He seems tense. I don't blame him. His friend is locked in perpetual slumber by a bunch of villains wanting to steal his body, and he's the only one that can bring him back. Aside from the unease though, I can sense something else. The glint in his eye, the way he's holding his blade, the way he's ready to face whatever may come for his friend.

His determined to see this through.

I've always wanted to be like that.

"You already are."

My lips upturn into a cheeky smile that reaches my blue-green eyes. "What's with the long face? I know if there's anybody who can wake up our sleepy sheepy Sora, it's you, Riku."

Some of the anxiousness that was on his face lessened as a small, reassuring smile comes to him. Out of the blue, he takes the few steps to us and does something I didn't expect. Riku, completely out of the blue, playfully taps the space between my shoulder blades with the hilt of his Keyblade. Not one second do his eyes leave my gaze.

"And you've always been there to help me do so." His smile becomes gentle as he nods at me, "Let's bring him back together."

"Together." It's quiet when I repeat the word under my breath but I'm sure he heard me.

At last, I will my powers to life. My eyes burn with an intensity that I'm almost unable to withstand as both Haruka and I bear our gazes at the portal. The chains waver under our intense gazes for a moment before floating away from the portal, opening up enough for it to clear and us to enter.

---

The moment my eyes open I see a town that I've never seen before right in front of my eyes. Though they burn, there's no crimson residue in my vision. Wherever we are, it doesn't seem to be affected by my powers.

"Where are we?" Haruka's voice hitches a bit in awe as he looks about with us.

"Some town...I suppose." That Akio, who's been on this 'world traveling' shenanigans far longer than us, doesn't know about this place has me disconcerted.

I don't say anything though as I take in the sight. We were left in the middle of a rising staircase that, once we climbed to the top of, left us in an open plaza. Rows upon rows of houses littered the surrounding circular space. They towered over us, most likely being buildings consisting of multiple stories, and were painted in hues of yellows, browns and purples. In the distance, I can spot what looks to be a clocktower made up of two twin towers upholding said clock with gears jutting out and acting as a support to withstand the weight of time as it swings its pendulum. An intricate fountain sits amidst the plaza calmly spewing water. The faint light of daybreak hits the sprinkling water in a way that makes it glitter like small jewels.

For some reason I feel my chest tighten and a pain strikes my heart that I can't explain. The sight of this place brings forth heartache unlike any I've felt before. I shudder at the unfamiliar sensation courses through me. By the look of things, I'm not the only one. Aurelius trembles around my neck, his wings furling and unfurling as if unable to decide whether to leave my side or not. This place doesn't sit well with him either.

"This is..."

The other two leave me behind in their awe as I tilt my head as if to hear her better, stunned by the sudden disbelief that coats her voice. "Rin?"

"This is their original world."

"Who's?"

"The one who brought me into existence—my first master."

"Welcome, brethren, to Daybreak Town!"

Akio, Aurelius and I respond by reflex and brandish our weapons—I Ares, him his gauntlets, and Aury his Ryu Dragon form—taking a stance in front of Haruka who wields his own pistols at the ready. However, despite hearing Teobaldo's voice clear as day, he is nowhere to be seen. The cackle that fills the air though, tells us that he's here.

Watching us. Mocking us.

Rage boils slowly in me at his audacity.

"Be calm, master."

My grip around Ares tightened in an attempt to heed her words and lessen my anger as Teobaldo continues as nothing more than a disembodied voice.

"I knew you'd be able to figure out my little trick, Ayano." My eyes narrow at the sound of my name coming from him. It curdles my blood at how it sounds—like he's toying with me. "You've never been as dumb as you look. Akio…" Beside me, Akio lowers his stance. Akin to a feline, he's readying to pounce at the first sign of danger. "I see that you've grovelled your way into her good graces. Pathetic that one of your kind would stoop as low as to bow to someone weaker than you. And Haruka!" Behind me, I sense Haru tense up as he clicks off the safety of his pistols. "It is an utmost pleasure to finally meet you. Allow me to properly introduce myself, little one."

It is then that Teobaldo finally appears.

He breaks out of a mirage as he appears slowly floating down onto the top of the fountain, the water somehow stopping its flow as he steps onto it. Eyes crimson as mine stare back at us with a cheeky grin spread across his face as he takes a precarious sit on the fountain top with one leg crossed over the other. As he does, something catches my eye. Since I'm not one to keep things in anymore, the question pops out of me before I can think it through.

"You look different." It wasn't so much a question as it was a statement of fact. Though he still had his hallmark red hair tied back into a plait, his features were different compared to before. "Older."

"Surprised?" Teobaldo chuckles deep in his throat, "It's how I really look…or how my original body used to, anyway. Strong willed hearts tend to do that, mess with the body that it's relocated to."

Recolated? Mess with the body?

All at once, a myriad of pieces fall into place. Yen Sid's explanation of how Xehanort has taken many a form which is what's allowed him to live for so long. The fact that he knows that vessels can sustain hearts. That Ansem Seeker of Darkness knew taking over Riku would give him a physical body. That Xemnas knew that Nobodies with their newly born selves would be susceptible to transfered hearts.

That he and Xehanort were allies at all.

Finally, his involvement made sense.

"You taught Xehanort how to transfer hearts."

Teobaldo lets out a low chuckle at my accusation.

"Now that's insulting," he reprimands me with a childish pout. "I never taught anybody anything. That man just took some guidance from my Granting Eyes. It does impress me that he managed to replicate it to such uncanny degree though. Quite the visionary, that man. I'll give him that. But enough idle chatter. It's not why you're here, after all."

He lifts a closed fist in front of him before opening his palm to reveal what looked to be a dark crystal with jagged edges jutting out every which way. Small rings of dark red surround it, opening and closing around it as they circled it. A pulsing beat. The shade of it resembled the color of the chains that surrounded Sora's dream portal and beat the same way as they had.

"The core!?"

"That's right, little Haruka!" Teobaldo's patronizing tone stings even me as he releases it, leaving it to float in midair. "This is the Abysmal Chains' core. It's what you came here for, right? But I'm not here to make things easier for you."

With a snap of his fingers, five dark cyan portals open as those familiar Night Terrors step out of them—Mystique Ice, Twisted Marksman, Garnet Fist, Sheep of Dreams and the Songstress. She and Sheep of Dreams lurk closest to him as the other three take the vanguard readying themselves to fight against us. Teobaldo's cackle resounds throughout the empty town at our predicament.

"Make this fun for me, Rescuers. I want to have a good laugh before I rip those powers straight out of your hearts!"

---

Haruka couldn't keep his heart from beating a mile a minute as the sudden battle broke out. He couldn't even think or breathe let alone reload his pistols before any given attack appeared and came too close for comfort. Another bullet rushing past, another blaze of icy fire, another destructive pounding of fists against the ground. They were unrelenting...and quickly shredding through their defenses and stamina.

Ayano was strong and agile but the magic that was focused on her way was hurting her more than she let on and he knew it. Though he didn't know Akio for long, Haruka knew that he was strong too and packed quite a punch. But even he knew that the darkness that he controlled wasn't something he should be using so carelessly and for so long. And though it was keeping up and taking lots off their back, Aurelius couldn't deal with all the Night Terrors by himself. Especially not with Sheep of Dreams summoning Nightmares to keep him from helping them.

He wasn't any better. Ayano may praise his skills all she wanted but Haruka knew deep down that he wasn't as capable as them. He didn't regret accompanying her, but now that he saw how much of a burden he was, it pained him to admit that it would've been better had he not come at all.

Suddenly, before he could let his own thoughts swallow him, Garnet Fist rushed forward with its fists aloft before pounding both Akio and Ayano a good distance away. Haruka cried out for them but couldn't keep his eyes on them for long before a flurry of blue fire stretched out surrounding him before hardening into a barrage of ice, effectively imprisoning him on the wrong side of the fight.

"Haru—Haruka!" Ayano's cry reached his ears but it kept getting interrupted every time one of the three went to attack her or Akio.

Thankfully, Aurelius wasn't as barred from his side and encircled him with his tail as he growled at the two remaining Night Terrors. Haruka cocked his pistol at them but Sheep of Dreams dispelled the threat. With a simple sweep of its hair that turned into a solid hand in the blink of an eye, it swatted Aurelius away from his side.

Haruka kept a shaky hand on his pistol, holding it aloft and aiming at the three enemies before him. But even as the battle raged behind him, he couldn't help the unease that engulfed him when none of them charged at him.

Both Sheep of Dreams and the Songstress remained immobile by Teobaldo's side all the while he gazed down at Haruka from his seat atop the fountain. A half smirk curled on the edge of his lips at the sight of him there, shaking like the little helpless lamb he was. Wordlessly, Teobaldo leapt from his seat on the fountain to stand before him. Haruka took a tentative step back but, at noticing his own hesitance, shook the fear out of his head and stood his ground with pistols held aloft and aimed at Teobaldo as he landed. Teobaldo blinked in surprise before his smirk widened.

"I say, your bravery amazes me, little Haruka. I never thought you would convince the overprotective Ayano to let you come, much less actually go through with it. I like sharp kids like you. As a reward, I'll tell you a little secret..."

Haruka doesn't respond. He simply held his pistols at the ready, finger on the trigger. Unfazed by the threat, Teobaldo lifted his hand to bring the crystallized core back into his hand. His crimson eyes give it a gander before turning to Haruka while keeping the core between them at all times.

"You see, this little core of darkness here was made out of someone's darkness. But not just anybody's. A part of it comes from what was left of Ayano's darkness!"

All of a sudden, Haruka felt his heart stop. That thing—it came from his sister. It was part of her missing darkness. The image of her marred skin—arms and face now cut by the darkness that was swallowing her whole—came to life in his mind. But unlike before when dread and sorrow surged through him at the thought of it, a new feeling coursed through him at knowing this.

This could save her.

"You came here to open a way to Sora's heart, right? That entails destroying the core. But being the smart boy you are, you can probably guess what will happen if you destroy it." The sudden realization and dread that washed over Haruka was more than visible in his expression and it made Teobaldo's eyes narrow. "Can't you…?"

If they destroyed it, Sora would be saved—

But at the cost of Aya-nee's life.

"So I'm dying to know...who matters more to you: Sora...or Ayano?"

Haruka didn't hesitate.

He stretched out his arm, hand wide open to take the crystal in his hand. Just as he was about to close his hand around it though, a dark mist exploded from within it spreading its darkness. The explosion, catching him off guard, sent him flying across the plaza and skidding to a stop not far from the ice wall.

An oppressiveness clung onto his chest as he struggled to breathe. His vision began blurring as darkness swallowed his sight. Thankfully, his ears could still hear Ayano's voice when she cried out to him. He could still feel the way she cradled him in her arms and the warmth from being held against her. What mattered most to him though was that he could hear her heartbeat thrumming against the side of his head near his ear. Not even his labored breathing could silence that sound.

Instinctively, he reached out his hand to get a hold of the space just above her heart. He grasped something pointier instead and it stabbed his palm painfully, but he refused to let go. The warmth that came from it was soothing. Just as much as Ayano's.

With a feeble smile, lips trembling and eyes barely capable of distinguishing color anymore, only a few words left him as he struggled to remain conscious.

"...I got it…"

You'll be alright.

---

My eyes have never burned with as much intensity as they were now. I swore that they would've floored the whole town to ashes from the scorching heat that I felt coming from them. Everything was dyed a dark crimson. Everything except Haruka's eyes as they slowly lost the red color and returned to their familiar blue.

"How easy it is to sway a desperate heart."

At his words, my blazing glare settled on Teobaldo and the new Night Terror that had sprung from the dark crystal and now stood beside him. This one held a faint humanoid shape. Extremely faint though. It was too engrossed in black mist that covered it all over to make any distinct shape out of it. It vaguely resembled a young person, but from how constantly it kept changing shapes it was hard to make out. Beneath that dark cloak of mist though I could clearly see one thing; sharp clawed hands gripping tightly onto something I couldn't make out.

While one hand held taut to that object, the other reached out from beneath its cloak when Teobaldo extended his own with his palm out towards it. From its hand, a small gleaming marble the same color of Haruka's eyes shone through and fell lifelessly onto Teobaldo's open hand. Glittering rings encircled it as if protecting it but quickly disappeared when Teobaldo closed his hand around it. His body responded to the gesture, glowing faintly that same color before quickly fading out to nothing. The smirk he sent my way made me glower back at him.

"As easy as taking candy from a child."

"Teobaldo, I swear I'll—"

"Master, don't!"

"Ayano, you can't!"

It wasn't hard for Akio to stop me considering that I still held onto Haruka's weak figure. But none of it calmed the roaring flames that ignited inside me at what he'd done.

He hurt Haruka. He took his powers. All because of me.

"Now," Teobaldo said, his eyes falling on me as they blinked a bright crimson still. "For the main course."

Before I could even move, Akio and Aurelius charged forward just as the Night Terrors rushed our way. Clad in his darkness, Akio punched and kicked trying to keep them at bay. Aurelius did what he could changing between forms to help. But beyond my rage, I can see the kind of losing battle we are fighting. It's too many of them against the three of us.

At this rate, I wouldn't even be able to save Haruka with how quickly the darkness that Teobaldo embedded in him began to consume him now. Helplessness overtook me and my eyes stung suddenly. It wasn't from my powers either. I could tell the difference between them and tears. The worst was that I couldn't help all these feelings.

Every single person that I care about… All of them are in danger because of me. And I can't do a single thing about it.

I can't...I'm not strong enough.

Yes you are!

All at once, everything around me stopped. No, it didn't stop. It wasn't like when Stopzza was cast. Time was still moving, it was just moving very, very slowly. I don't know what did this, but it was frankly the least of my worries.

What has all of my attention now is the childlike voice that rings in my head. The same one that convinced me to go after Akio before.

You...

There isn't much time, so please, listen. What Teobaldo did—he forcefully took what doesn't belong to him through the Abysmal darkness. His powers are what kept Haru-nii from being completely engulfed by darkness. You need to get them back!

"How?" I don't care about the validity of her plan. Or that she's some voice in my head that I don't recognize in the least. It's all I have now.

His ties with it are weak. Not just to Haru-nii's but to the others as well. The power that was given to him—someone who's so full of hatred, envy and jealousy doesn't deserve their gifts. And with the Combining Eyes, they can be stripped from him and bestowed to others.

"My only power are the Deceiving Eyes. I can't do what you ask of me with them!" At this point, I'm desperate enough to shout into the void, hoping she could hear and sense my desperation as I brought Haruka's still body closer to me.

I know. That's why I'm going to let you borrow them—so that you can see the world through my eyes.

The instant time resumes and the cacophony of battle returns all I can sense is my eyes burning. But this isn't painful. This—it's a warmth that clads my eyes so suddenly that I'm forced to close them to accustom myself to it. When I open them, everything looks so much brighter without that tint of crimson hindering my sight.

Daybreak Town shines as its colors faintly glow in my eyes. Akio and Haruka are no different. The Night Terrors and Teobaldo though—a darkness surrounds them that dims that bright light that I see reflected in Akio's and Haruka's hearts. It's completely occluded in shadows, but the Night Terrors...in each and every single one of them, deep within that same darkness, I can see a faint light struggling to survive within.

Like stars desperately trying to exist after being robbed of their light. And the brightest is the one that I see harbored in Teobaldo—a multicolored array of stars glimmering within him, tainted and chained down to his heart.

Starlight.

Their powers.

Everything happens in a split second. Akio can't stop me when I grab his attention and shove Haruka onto his arms. With him in his arms, he can't hope to stop me. The brief glance I give him as I rush past him gives me enough certitude that he won't attempt to either. A thunderous call for Aurelius brings him to my side as a dash of light as he morphs into a Ryu Dragon to catch me on his back when I jump and go full speed onward.

Teobaldo's smugness doesn't disappear. The Night Terrors that had been attacking us charge at us as we do the same. But I'm not afraid. I don't buckle under their pressure and instead bask in the power that I've been lent.

The clarity from a second ago dissipates along with the warmth as it suddenly becomes a vibrant crackle and everything changes to a bright violet the moment I see Garnet Fist surging through first. The Night Terror balks in response—the crystals in its fists coming apart like flakes of snow under the sun and its body starting to do the same. Aurelius, seeing the opening I've made, fires instantly but the nightmares escapes through a portal, falling apart as it goes and letting us fly through. This time, Teobaldo scowls and shouts his orders for me to be stopped. But it's not something they can do.

Not when I have her powers.

Mystique Ice melts under my gaze, its fires dimming to ashes. Twisted Masrkman's bullets fly off course, it's own body begining to fall apart like Garnet Fist's did. Self-preservation saved them as they hauled out of there like their fellow nightmare had. The Songstress, Sheep of Dreams and that misty one are the only ones that remain by his side. Willingly or otherwise, I can't tell, but it's not my concern. Taken aback as he is, I take my chance to do what I must.

I jump off of Aury as he rushes past to keep them busy. Rushing at him with Ares extended, Teobaldo curses loudly as he tries to block my advances with magic. It isn't hard to strike them away over and over, pushing him back further against the fountain with every block. It's when I have him with his back against the edge of it that I strike and shove him onto his back. Water splashes around us the moment his back breaks the surface. He struggles to rise to his feet but before he can get far, I press Ares horizontally across him forcing him to stop it with both his hands.

With him pinned down, the burning from my eyes changes from that crackling back to the warmth. Everything clears in an instant. Teobaldo's eyes widen for the briefest of moments before he sneers, finally appearing to comprehend what it is I'm doing.

"...you have them!?"

I don't reply. All my attention is on those lights I see.

On those starlights caged inside of him.

Instinct guides me one last time as I release one of my hands from pushing Ares down and reach down to the lights as they gather on his left eye. Though figments of power, I can feel them wriggling in my hand as they gather under it.

They're warm. They're beating. They're alive.

"It's time you return what you've stolen!"

To who they belong! To those who deserve them!

My words finish with me yanking them out with all the strength I have in me. A blinding light explodes from within him the moment I do and it sends me flying back. Blinking away, the warmth in my eyes fades in time to watch as the sphere of white light that pushed me away breaks into different colored pillars of light that radiate outwards.

Six different pillars shoot outward into different directions. Two of them—pillars of vibrant green and magenta—exit the space we're in to goodness knows where. One of them, a dark blue colored pillar, strikes Akio right in his chest, leaving him breathless from the onslaught. Another two, the familiar blue and a brilliant gold, come to a halt above Haruka and gently impart themselves onto him. The last one—a soft, rose-colored pillar—I barely see rush past me to hit the mist Night Terror behind me.

Without warning, it lets out a shrill shriek skyward from what seemingly is it's dark head. The pitch of it shoots pain through my head that I try to stop by covering my ears in vain. It screams for what seems forever and when it stops it leaves the whole town quaking. One that isn't stopping. Above us the sky cracks not long before pieces, much like broken glass, begin to fall and vanish into nothing but grains of golden sand that float skywards.

"Ayano!"

Spinning on my feet, Akio is facing back at Aurelius as he opens a portal back to the Mysterious Tower. I rush to him to take Haruka off of his grasp but it's harder than I anticipated with how much he's writhing in pain. From all the screaming that the Night Terror had been doing, I hadn't noticed that Haruka was screaming just as loudly out from the pain. We rush towards the portal but just as Akio reaches out to haul us through, I stop in my tracks when Haruka lets out yet another painful scream and writhes too violently for me to hold onto him any longer. Akio sprints to me and catches Haruka when I think I'm losing my grip on him.

A gasp escapes me the moment I glance down and spot the darkness that he'd been tainted with pulsating and spreading further.

"How?" I breathe before shouting out at her for answers. "You said that returning his powers would stop it!"

I-I don't know! This Abysmal darkness—it's going berserk!

Berserk?

Glancing over my shoulder is enough to bring into sight the Night Terror writhing in just as much pain as it holds onto its head. As it goes crazy, the mist it's made out of shoots out in sharps tendrils and pierces through the earth. The darkness that goes through devours all life that it touches, turning it a bright cyan before it dies off into a rotten black color that distorts before breaking it apart.

Suddenly, it clicks.

That thing is what infected the Nightmares in every world. That thing is capable of infecting anything its darkness touches.

And it's infected Haruka.

"Master, if we destroy it not only will we destroy the core of those chains binding Sora—"

We'll also cure Haruka of its infection.

But he can't remain here. Neither of them can. Not with the powers that were just given to them. The risk of them being taken away again is too big to take. I can fight them with my powers and hers. But I can't risk them.

Not again.

And as I face the portal that Aurelius opened, I can only think of one thing to do to avoid that. The ruckus that the Night Terror is causing is something I'm thankful for now. It isn't just keeping Teobaldo busy but also giving me time. Helping Akio, we bring Haruka closer to the portal. I could see the mirror room on the other side. Aurelius must've connected to it, but the image was starting to break up. Fractured with static. It wouldn't last long.

In a hushed tone, I tell Akio to come closer and carefully start placing Haruka in his arms. Haruka's arm suddenly shoots out to stop me, his grasp weak on my arm. Despite his heavy panting, his gaze locked doggedly on mine as the small glint in his eyes is barely visible through the darkness that's consuming him.

"Aya...nee…"

Unwavering in my decision despite the concern in his feeble words, I reach down to untie the scarlet scarf that rests on my hips. Deftly, my hands lift it up so that it falls around the back of his neck before I gently wrap it a couple of times around it. He stares in confusion for a split second before his eyes go wide with what I can only describe as realization mixed with horror. I don't deter him from his thoughts; he's a smart boy. I'm sure he's figured out what I mean to do. I can't help wanting to reassure him though, and bend down to give him a quick hug.

"...I'm always with you, Haruka, even when I'm not… Don't forget that."

My eyes sting now, tears welling up at the thought of what I'm about to do to him. Just when I'm about to wipe them away though, the feeling of someone staring comes to me. It's not until I lift my eyes to meet Akio's mercurial gaze that I can see the look he gives me. It's just as understanding as Haruka's but tinted with sorrow. Reaching my arm out to him, I bring him closer and press my forehead against his.

I don't trust my voice anymore but I know he somehow understands what I mean to say as we lock eyes—'take care of him for me.' Akio nods solemnly all the while whispering under his breath that 'he would.' With all the pain in my heart, I release them both, handing Haruka over to Akio who holds onto him firmly as the latter frailly struggles to stay. But he won't.

Neither of them will. The moment that thought comes to me, I decide to send them off with a smile despite the tears that still threaten to fall down my cheeks. They go through the portal faster than I would've hoped—I wanted to etch them into my memory—but relief surges through me once it closes completely.

With Aurelius by my side, we face the enemies still left in this gradually fragmenting space. I find those enemies of ours separated. The Night Terror was still going off, holding onto its head and shrieking every now and then. It was a sound that had grown numbing to me. Not far from the fountain stood Teobaldo panting while holding onto his left eye with the Songstress and Sheep of Dream by his side. His face is marred with rage and it reaches his eyes as he glares menacingly my way. But just when I see it, Teobaldo calms himself before he gestures at Sheep of Dreams. The Night Terror, understanding his unspoken orders, lifted its hand-shaped hair to open a dark cyan portal out of the shattering space.

"You think you've won because you took their powers away from me?" He lets out a howling laughter that resonates throughout the space shattering it further. "Dream on. I've collected them before, I can do it again." When the shrieking Night Terror screams out again, he smirks knowingly before stepping into the portal. "And with how Deadly Mist is now, she'll surely do you in without a problem." As he and the remaining Night Terrors vanished, his voice rumbles through the decaying town.

"There are more ways to take your powers than ripping them from you, after all."

Alone with it at last.

With one last potent scream, the memory of this town finally shatters into nothing but golden dust and leaves us in a very familiar place. The Ring of the Fallen is more sinister than I remember now that the gold dust travels skyward with shreds of darkness mingling with it. The large platform quakes beneath me as I shift in place to take my stand with Ares fully extended and Aurelius beside me. The oppressive nature of that Night Terror intensifies as the shaking subsides and leaves it twitching with black crackling energy swirling about its body.

"Master, be careful. That Night Terror..."

"I know."

This thing is unstable. It's clear to see even for me that the powers that returned to it when I sntached them out of Teobaldo affected it in a major way. With a tap, the mallet of my hammer comes out of Ares. As it writhes in pain, it appears to transform. The mist that surrounded its body receded and takes a more solid shape against its body.

In no time, it's turned into a very humanoid body. It has the shape of a young woman that could very well be my age as her skin takes on an obsidian shine to it, aside from her arms and legs that gleam in alabaster. The shadows that remain cling to her and form what looks like a sleeveless dress with its black skirts turning into mist at her thighs. What looks like a dark cloak ties at its neck and the hood that comes over its head hides the dark features of its face. The only visible thing are its glowing red eyes that leave traces of light as it sways from side to side.

My grip around Ares tightens as the Night Terror takes a tentative step forward. Unease settles in me at how quiet it's become. Another step. This time, I take one back myself. When it notices I've moved, it tilts its head curiously before its gaze falls onto Ares.

"...you fight...me?..."

It's voice sounds distorted and echoes faintly as if coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I don't answer but it doesn't seem to care. Its left hand stiffly opens from its fist before a streak of light and darkness shoots through to summon its own weapon. The moment my eyes land on it, I freeze. This is something I've seen one too many times not to recognize anymore.

"...a Keyblade?"

Out of nowhere, it springs forward enveloped in its own cloak as it travels at speeds that I can't follow with my eyes. In the blink of an eye, Deadly Mist stands before me with its Keyblade brandished outward and strikes without warning. I'm barely able to block the hit but it does me no good. By the time I'm gathering my bearings, it's already dashing towards me, cloaked in that dark mist that speeds it up.

An onslaught ensues that I can barely keep up with. Anytime I try counterattacking, it simply vanishes before coming back to attack.

"Master, to your left—"

Too late. The blade sinks deeply into my thigh before I can think about avoiding it. Limb now useless dead weight for the most part, there's not much I can do about her relentless assault except block now. Each strike against Ares rings through my head and makes my bones quake to their core. I keep my stand regardless uselessly attempting to block them.

Hold on. Hold on. Hold—

Crack.

There isn't time for me to be shocked anymore.

Deadly Mist's Keyblade strikes true and right through Ares, breaking it in twine and sending me off. My whole body aches from the hit and a hacking cough takes over from the bile I feel rising from my throat. A roar thunders through the air and I barely catch sight of Aurelius diving towards it as it threatens to strike once more. It manages to catch its arm in his jaws, but with a hit of her hilt and a swift slash, Aurelius whimpers and is sent flying across the platform. He glows gold as his form shrinks back into the small ball, a large crack showing in his body that faintly pulses angrily from the hit. To my horror, it only has to pulse a few times before the cracks spreads and Aurelius crumbles to dust.

"Aurelius!"

My anguish is rendered mute before it even leaves my throat the moment Deadly Mist strikes me again. This time it hits me dead center. I'm hacking coughs as bile threatens to rise out of my throat instead. Dark thoughts rise with it as it stands mere feet away from me.

There's nothing else I can use to defend myself. And it knows it. It prowls towards me, weak as I am, Keyblade held tautly in hand. Not willing to die without a fight, I try sitting up to at least guard myself but even that isn't possible with how I am now. I can barely remain with my upper body held up. I have no strength in me left to stand.

"Master!"

Resentment and rage roar in me urging me to fight, but my body can't answer it. That Keyblade and its darkness—it's done a number with the hits it dealt. Somehow, I managed to sit up and leaned back, the tension of my body's position being the only thing keeping me held straight. Unable to keep it from my mind, my sole focus becomes the blade that it holds in its hand as a myriad of thoughts bombards my mind.

I always thought Keyblade wielders were extraordinary people. And because of that, I thought that Rescuers as apprentices of Keyblade masters were too. They were those whose hearts were unwavering in their beliefs and unfaltering in their selflessness. Astute, righteous, dauntless.

All the things I'm not.

I can't help but grin wryly at the irony. For once in my life I'm sure that fate must've made a mistake.

I'm not special.

I'm no hero.

"...I'm no rescuer."

"You're wrong."

My eyes widened at the voice I heard echo through my head do the same everywhere around me. This voice—it's mine. But it isn't me. It's the other me.

"Ayano…"

"Riku was able to accept and be someone beyond the darkness that bound him because of you. You saw Roxas for more than just the empty husk everybody thought him to be and aided him when no one else dared to. You've helped Sora in his endless quest to save entire worlds. You taught Haruka to not be afraid of the powers he has. You saved Akio from having to live a life of loneliness and resentment."

While I'm listening to her speak, it stands before me. Without hesitation it brings its Keyblade aloft, high as its alabaster limb can bring it and stops briefly. Curiously enough, though, it doesn't induce me with fear like it did before. Now a different emotion courses through me, swelling my chest as Ayano's words sink in.

"You may think yourself unworthy but it's only because you don't know what you're worth to those around you. Despite being born with powers you couldn't control, powers that influenced you to do wrong, you helped so many people with them. Every single person you have met, you have saved. To them, you are their savoir!"

Warmth that I can't begin to comprehend goes through me the moment Deadly Mist strikes—

And her Keyblade shatters into a million brilliant pieces of gold.

In an instant, that same warmth flows through me to concentrate on my left hand until what I've never believed possible happens. A ray of vibrant white light shines through my hand and my instinct leads me to hold onto it. When I do, the light bursts out into pieces of starlight as it materializes in my hand.

For a brief moment, I can sense Ayano around me with a smile on her face that reaches her beautiful blue-green eyes.

"You are pure of heart, courageous of spirit, and determined of mind...and your Keyblade couldn't be happier with a wielder like you."

"...mine?" I utter in disbelief.

"It is yours, Master." Her voice sounds jovial to me. I can almost see her crying tears of joy. "Ursa Major belongs to you now."

Ursa Major.

The blade in my hands is just the right size for me. Its hilt is simple—jagged topaz climbing on one side to form a knucklebow hilt, forming what looks like a large bear's claw cupping the dark leather grip under my hand. The length of the blade is gold with three bright zircon gems embedded along it and dark obsidian metal swirling around the blade to jut out into its teeth. These are the most prominent and elaborate out of the whole. Four sharp blades of zircon encased in that same obsidian metal protrude from the end of the blade. Their shapes are unequal, resembling pieces of raw uncut gems more than anything. From the gold pommel, a small keychain dangles held by twisted ribbons of light blue and white. The keychain itself is a bright six-pointed star of a gemstone that glistens in different colors when the light hits it.

The blade feels strange in my hand, but at the same time it's light. And so, so warm.

I don't get it. How is this even possible?

"It was meant to be mine before the night I died. But once it came to be without a master, that Night Terror was free to take and corrupt it." I think I can hear a smile in her voice as she continues, "But now that you were bequeathed with the ability to wield it by a Master, you just needed to believe in your own heart being strong enough to do so."

"Master, with this—"

Rinto's words are cut short when Deadly Mist lets out a blood curdling shriek that rings through my head. Swordless now, it procures a set of blades on either hand made of the same dark material her body is made of. They gleam darkly in her hands the moment she brandishes them. Without a warning, she charges.

Reinvigorated in both body and mind, I dash forward to clash against it. Ursa Major clashes against both her blades as they form an 'X' to stop my attack. My grip tightens around the grip and pushes forward. For a moment, Deadly Mist doesn't budge until the dark blades of hers begin to crack. Pushing further—just a little more!—they break off completely. Thankfully, the slash carries through and hits her arm. It backs off with a single jump and I follow it with my eyes, Keyblade at the ready. The wound shines a blinding gold as light pours from within her dark cocoon.

It's then that I remember the other Night Terror—Iron Shredder. Riku cut her with his Keyblade and was able to release Cordelia from her confines. And if this one was shining the same way Iron Shredder had then…

My hold on Ursa Major tightens as my mind is made on what I have to do. Deadly Mist creates another set of blades but before it rushes forward, I burst through and attack it instead. It's blades break with each one of my strikes and breaks through its seemingly impenetrable skin. Little by little, I widdle down its armor until it refuses to stand anymore. Now on its knees, it holds onto its cracked skin in a desperate attempt to hold itself together. But with so many cracks, there is no way it could do it.

Pity flows through me at its clear desperation and with it no longer being a threat, I approach it cautiously. Deadly Mist hisses at me and bares its teeth as I come closer but doesn't attack. All it has now are empty threats.

"Master…"

"I know," I whisper to her.

It's too weak to fight back anymore.

Ursa Major falls silently beside me when I place it down. I leave it just inches away from me as I kneel down before Deadly Mist, its hands more preoccupied with keeping itself together than keeping me away. It holds tightly to its chest more than anywhere else though, wanting to hold its heart close to itself. My blue-green gaze falls to her peeling hands before carefully reaching out to cover them with my own.

"It's alright," I whisper when it hisses at me. "It'll be alright, I promise."

Tenderly as I can, I pry it's hands away from its chest. There is a dark hole where her hands had been and inside it, held taut by dark veins, is the small crystal core that Teobaldo had held out in the beginning. It's the core of this dimension, the core of Haruka's infection, and the heart of this Night Terror.

I reach inside and gently take it out of its cage. It doesn't move. It can't anymore. It simply watches me as I hold its very existence in the palms of my hands. Tears fell down its cheeks when it saw me take Ursa Major in one hand. Without my noticing, a crack opens where it's mouth should be before it gurgles out the saddest words.

"Destroy me...please…"

A taut line comes over my lips at its words. I respond to its request by gently piercing through her heart with only the right amount of strength. It shatters unceremoniously like a brittle ball of snow before it turns to gold dust and floats away in the nonexistent wind. Without it, the peeling of her skin halts and bursts into the same golden dust.

It's blinding, far too much to handle. It soon dims down though and in its place is a very familiar place.

"The Ring of the Fallen?"

My voice raises questioningly. It looks like the same platform we've fallen onto more times than I care to recall. But at the same time, it doesn't. Instead of the dark floor where I would usually stand, stain glass begins to show through as the golden sand that flowed skyward took the darkness away. The sand clears out and leaves behind the stained-glass with an image all too familiar to me.

It's me with my eyes closed as I stand with my hands cradled to my chest. I'm holding Ursa Major in my joint hands with its blade facing downward. Most of the glass is colored in hues of gold with blue and green accents. All except the background behind me that shows a familiar scene. An aurora borealis. I have only seen such thing in my life once and it was back in Wasteland. I've never forgotten the sight of it since. I think that's why I always longed for the horizon wherever I went. It was to see sights as beautiful as that one. Five people are depicted in the circles behind my image: Riku and Axel to my left, Haruka and Akio to my right, and Sora above my head. Appropriate is all I can think at seeing their faces next to mine. Surrounding it all in many circles are masks like the ones I create with Rinto to copy the hearts of others.

Each unique in their own way.

"You have a beautiful heart."

The sudden sound of a voice speaking doesn't startle me in the least. Slowly, I spin on my heels to face the source and find someone standing at the center of the platform. There, a young girl with honey-colored eyes gazes at me with an aloofness that doesn't quite reach them. Waves of grayish white hair are held up in a ponytail behind her as fringes adorn her face and long tresses delineate it. It doesn't take me long to recognize her.

"You're Emelia."

White lashes move when she blinks as she scrutinizes me meticulously. Before I can even ask what that look meant, Emelia's stoicism breaks long enough to show a smile that reaches her honey eyes. A tender and melancholic smile.

"I am." She brandishes her arms outward towards the platform. It's only when she does this that I notice that her arms—no, her whole body is made up of golden sand. It's mixing with the solidness that was left behind after I released her from her Night Terror form. Something tells me it's helping her stay here longer. Long enough to speak to me. "And this Station of Awakening that now holds a reflection of your heart is prove that you have replaced me as my successor."

"Successor…" My eyes narrow at that sudden subject. "You mean as a Rescuer?"

Emelia nods solemnly. "The title bestowed to me by the Master of Masters—Audacia, the Courageous—belongs to you now and I am now only as my friends knew me. I'm just Emma."

Emma.

"Cordelia," I say, suddenly remembering the woman from Traverse Town. "She called me that after we released her too. I think...she mistook me for you."

That melancholy from before suddenly turns to sadness in her eyes as her gaze falls sullenly. "Delia and the others were my friends. Ones that I lost a long time ago when I lost myself." Curiosity doesn't allow me to leave with unanswered questions. When I ask her what she meant, Emma smiled bitterly before she takes the few tentative steps to the edge of the platform. I follow behind her and stare out into the seemingly endless void ahead with her.

It isn't until she points out that I finally see what she sees. Ahead of us is another platform held by a tall pillar that I can't see the beginning off. Surrounding it are five other platforms, mine included. But something is off about those. What looks to be dark energy encapsulates the other four in darkness with only small bits of golden sand seeping through. The only one that bathes in a light similar to what mine is emanating is the middle one that seems to stand somewhat higher than the ones around it.

"The powers and Keyblades that belonged to my friends have yet to awaken their successors. You are the only one so far that has awakened and accepted your role. Those covered in darkness are either unaware or unable to take their rightful place." Emma turns to face me then, a small smile on her face as she looks to the platform to our right. "You have already found Adcredo, Leopardus' Rescuer, but he has yet to make his choice."

I can think of only one other that I know. Haruka. At the thought of him, the others and home come to mind. Turning hopefully to her, I ask, "Emma, how I can get home from here?"

Gloom takes over as she averts her gaze again to stare at the floor.

"It is difficult to say." Her honey-colored eyes gloss over the rest of the stations. "Traveling through worlds is one thing, but traveling through dimensions is a whole other concept. Once you awaken from this, there is no telling where you will end." Suddenly, her eyes widen as if realizing something. "But I think there is someone who can guide you no matter where you may end up at."

Plucking away at the sand that forms her, she rolls it into her hands before it begins to take form. I hold my breath, my heart thunderously beating in my chest at the prospect of what she is doing. The small solid ball in her hands sits immobile until she brings it up to place a caring kiss on it.

"Wake up, old friend. You have someone new to guide through the darkness."

Answering her call, golden wings unfurl as the ball finally takes its form. Tears spring out of me as Aurelius shakes a bit groggily from its sleep. Its tail falls as it takes feebly into the air, its old shape replaced with a small tuft of golden fluff. Once he's fully awake, it takes a long glance at Emma before it turns to face me. He's startled at recognizing me and shoots out to my chest, snuggling close to me. I hold him tightly against me in return, my tears of joy overflowing at seeing him back.

"We were lucky that I didn't harm his heart in my other form," she explains. I whisper 'thank yous' to her under my breath as I look up and Aurelius takes his rightful place on my shoulder with his tail wrapped safely around my neck. "I don't know exactly how Master created him, so I couldn't recreate him with all his powers. He can no longer transport you through worlds, but he can at least guide you through them using memories like before."

"It's enough," I assured her. "Wherever it is we end up at, we'll get back to the others."

She nods before taking a step back to show me the middle platform that stands higher than the rest. "The start of your road back home is on that station." With a flick of her fingers, steps of different colored stained-glass form and spiral upward leading towards the station.

The moment she does that though my breath hitches at what is happening to her body. Emma glances down to see what I do, her body flickering in and out of sight.

"It seems that recreating Aurelius and making that staircase took all the strength that was left in the body Teobaldo preserved."

"You're going to disappear too? Like Cordelia?"

"I will." Honey eyes lifted and locked with mine for a moment. "Before I do, would you mind hearing the last words of a vanishing heart?"

I don't hesitate to agree.

"Treasure your friends." Her eyes seem watery as her body begins to disappear, the golden dust taking off in the breeze that doesn't exist. "Protect them like you have so far and don't make the same mistakes I did. Whatever happens, no matter how dire the situation becomes, don't lose hope. In such trying times, it's all you will have. And it will be enough."

Out of nowhere, Emma takes a couple of steps to reach me and wraps her arms around me. I stiffen, unable to believe what she's done, but her hold only lasts a moment before her body turns to golden specks of light and purple specks of darkness. Instead of floating away like the rest of her had, these sink into me without me realizing at first. I only know because of the strange feeling I get.

The moment it settles in me though, a warmth like none I've felt before grows in me.

It starts in my chest, over my heart, and nestles itself there before spreading throughout my body. As if saying 'I'm home' and giving me the same embrace she had. A slightly hotter burning sensation comes over my arms and face though. When I look down at them, I stare in utter disbelief as the dark swirls that had been plaguing my body disappear leaving only scars behind.

Suddenly, it becomes a little easier to breathe. The first idea that comes to mind is one I hold onto, not wanting to let it flourish lest this be all a cruel joke. But that same idea makes me ask Rinto, my voice audibly shaking at the thought.

"R-Rin?"

Her voice sounds just as baffled as I am but no less overjoyed.

"You're whole again."

...

I'm not dying anymore.

Aurelious gives out a tiny roar in triumph sensing the same thing and nuzzles against my cheek. Relief washes over me and renews my determination to continue forward. Now that I'm whole, there's only one thing left to do.

"It's time to head back home."

We make our way up the stained-glass staircase and eventually find ourselves atop the middle station. This one is mostly of a blue color and is parted five different ways where different colors arise thereof. Five different insignias lay surrounding a familiar symbol. It was the one that used to be in Aury's tail before. I look around at each one as I make my way towards the middle.

A unicorn.

A snake.

A fox.

A leopard.

A bear.

"What are these?"

"The ones the Rescuers served," Rinto replied. "These are the Unions that Master Emelia and her friends were a part of: Unicornis, Anguis, Vulpeus, Leopardus, and Ursus."

I lift Ursa Major in my hands and inspect it over again. "Let me guess, Emma was with Ursus."

"Correct."

"Mmh." When I suddenly feel Aurelius unperch from my shoulder, he flies over to the center faster than I can walk. The moment he gets there he starts flying around something. It's not until I get closer that I see the small floating memory shimmering gold as Aurelius circles it. Once I'm close enough, he returns to me and I pat his head as I say, "You can't take us out like before, huh?"

Aurelius shakes his body in a firm 'no'. Nodding, I approach the memory and watch it float in place for a few seconds before an idea comes to mind and I lift Ursa Major with a curious raised brow.

I've seen these things do amazing things for over a year now. Vanquish Heartless, defeat Nobodies, bring down Nightmares. Safe hearts, clear darkness, and open pathways through worlds.

I wonder...

Mimicking what I saw so many wielders do before me, I raise Ursa Major and aim it towards the memory. As if understanding what I mean to do, small spheres of light gather around the end of the blade before shooting out to strike the memory. It bursts out like a firework, blooming into a golden flower before transforming into a portal.

"Nifty trick," I say amused and with a pleased smile.

"It's only the beginning, Master. You shall learn many, many ways to wield your blade in the future."

"No doubt about that." Jesfully, I play around with it, hauling it over my shoulders like I would've with Ares. The blade is just long enough for me to hinge my arms over the edge and hang them there. Without any hesitation I walk into the portal and sink into the memory that it came from.

This time when I opened my eyes, I'm in nobody's body. I stand instead in the background of some elaborate laboratory completely invisible to the two silhouettes that stood before me. One of them I recognize as Ansem the Wise, the other I can only gamble a guess by his appearance. The memory of Ayano's old man only confirms my suspicions.

"Are you certain that this will work, Xehanort?"

"In theory, yes, Master." His voice was deep as he gazed downward at the keyboard before him. His fingers clicked away as vitals rose on the computer screen that I could barely see past them. "It has been a few hours but her vitals remain stable. The transfer, by all intents and purposes, seems to have been a success. You will have your daughter returned to you. And this will be the breakthrough we need to continue our research."

Ansem the Wise heaved a sigh defeatedly. "I care not for it any longer. And neither should you, foolish apprentice. What we have done to this child, even if it was to secure Ayano's return, will only serve to cement our paths towards shame and darkness."

Xehanort didn't respond to that. He didn't have to. It seemed they both knew his words to be true. They soon left the laboratory and finally gave way for me to see what they were looking at this whole time.

A tiny body—a child's body—was suspended amidst glowing blue liquid with a breathing mask over her mouth and tubes and drips inserted for monitoring. The image of it curdles my blood at recognizing it.

"...it's me…"

I finally came to understand fully what I had somehow known since the beginning of all of this. I knew that my heart wasn't really mine. It was Ayano's. And because I saw Ayano's body through Haruka's memories, I knew that my body wasn't really mine either. It wasn't until now that I know whose.

They took a heart and body from two distinct people, fused them together...and created me.

"Master…"

"I'm alright." A shuddering breath escaped me as that sunk in slower than I would've liked it to. But once it does, I reach out to touch the test tube where the child that would become 'me' floated in. "I just—I just wish there was a way to repay them for everything they lost. For everything that was taken from them."

"There is," Rinto responds, "Fight and defeat the darkness that took them from their rightful path of light."

"You're right…"

"...who…?"

The hoarse voice that resounded in the metallic room echoed throughout it and sent chills that made me jump in my skin. Turning about, I can't see where it came from. There isn't a source visible. If it's because I can't see it or because it's beyond the scope of this memory, I can't tell.

But I hear it. Despite being hoarse and weakened, I can hear her. It's a young woman. Suddenly a hand juts out from the darkness. I jumped back startled, my heart beating out of my chest when it slams against a rod of iron—a jail's bar.

Despite me being in a memory there's something eerie about this woman. Her question—if I didn't know better I'd say that she had actually asked me directly.

But that's stupid. This isn't happening right now. This already happened.

Right?

It's a question that lingers in me and only grows when she speaks again, her fingers curling around the bar tightly before reaching out to me.

"...please...help…"

Before I can do or say anything, the floor beneath me shatters along with the rest of the memory. I'm still shocked to the point that when my body drops into the middle of a body of water, I inhale without meaning to. Swimming to the surface, I break through only to see nothing but a dark world around me. I make my way towards the shore and pull myself out onto the sand before turning on my back to stare upward at what should've been the night sky. But instead of stars, all I see is darkness.

The only light that seems to exist here comes from the moon setting over the horizon far out in the middle of the ocean I fell into.

I haven't been sitting there for longer than a minute when the familiar sound of portals opening takes my attention. Turning while getting up on my knees, I look up in time to see the many Shadows that appear. Pureblood Heartless like these manifested from pure darkness. And that is definitely what I see around me.

Finally getting on my feet, I summon Ursa Major to me as Aurelius shifts into his Ryu Dragon form. The moon shines its light behind me and casts a shadow over the embankment and the Heartless overrunning it now. My grip tightens on my Keyblade and I take a deep breath.

"Let's go, Aury."

---

A/N:

So. Here it is. The last chapter of Curse of Ursus (technically).

*dies from exhaustion*

This took more than I thought it would've. I seriously thought I could get this finished by New Year's but a day before that, I realized I was barely a third of the way through this chapter and I still needed to write the epilogue. So I told myself 'don't be stupid, take your time.' So I did...by going to sleep around 3-4am for a few nights in a row writing this xD Editing wasn't so bad though which was good. Welp, at least I finished it before I went back to school. (TwT)

But anyway, I'm sure you want to rush ahead to the epilogue. I'll give all my thanks there so let's head to it!