Hero

"…Strelitzia, wait," Chirithy said from out of nowhere, as he planted his paws onto the ground and held tight to Strelitzia's hand to keep her from going any further.

As a Keyblade wielder–and a pretty strong one at that, she supposed, if Master Ava choosing her to be a Union Leader meant anything–Strelitzia could have broken free of Chirithy's grip if she really wanted to… but now without hurting him, she felt.

So she took a deep breath and allowed him to stop her for a moment, when that was the last thing she wanted to do. "Chirithy, what's wrong? I have to tell them about the Keyblade War and the Dandelions before it's too la-"

"I set you up."

"…What?" Suddenly, Strelitzia felt as though the earth had risen up and swallowed her whole. Daybreak Town was warm and full of light–so, many bad things… aside from this upcoming Keyblade War, that Strelitzia could hardly believe was even happening–didn't happen here.

But even so… A few people had still been murdered, and Strelitzia knew what death was. And if Chirithy was saying he set her up, there was only one thing she could imagine him meaning… and it wasn't pleasant.

"I- I unfortunately agreed with Master Gula, that you wouldn't be a fitting leader for the Dandelions, and would lead them into following the Master of Masters' path for destruction. And I thought it would be better if you–if we–disappeared from this world. But I can't do that to you, Strelitzia! Run! If you go into that warehouse, Master Gula will kill you and you'll never find your love!"

"But I-" Tears stung at Strelitzia's eyes, as she clenched her hands into fists. She could barely understand a word she was hearing–as she'd gone into shock long ago, and all she could hear was a whooshing in her ears–but she still knew that she'd been right… Chirithy had betrayed her.

But unlike her worst imaginings she'd just had of the scenario, he had told her in time and wasn't completelyirredeemable. Maybe there was still a chance she could save him from the darkness she was now seeing had literally engulfed him, as he was bathed in purple.

"Chirithy, come with me!" But Strelitzia didn't get her wish–when would she ever again?–for at that exact moment, another Nightmare Chirithy appeared! A monster of one, and her Chirithy was absorbed within it so that she didn't know where the other one ended and hers began.

Had he done this because he still had some of his dark intentions, and had only been able to fight them for a moment to save her? Or had he ended himself out of shame for everything? Strelitzia didn't know… and she didn't have time to figure it out.

So she helplessly reached out towards her Chirithy and called out his name just one more time, before she sealed her heart away and went into hiding.

If there was anything the Keyblade wielders had known about Master Gula, it was that he was the edgiest of the Foretellers and, perhaps, the one that had turned away from his original cause the most. So Strelitzia was no fool: she knew that Master Gula was still looking for her and would kill her, if he found her.

So Strelitzia went back to something she'd been doing for a long time, but in a much wiser way this time: she watched things from her favorite rooftop. But from within a secret passage between the attic and the roof–that only she and one other person knew about–where she could watch the going ons at Fountain Square as much as she wanted to, but still stay safe.

There was food here, so Strelitzia didn't starve… and she also was smart enough to know who it was from: The Master of Masters, that Gula was now fighting against. And if the Master had left food here, he must have known she would be here and had planned for that event… which must have meant she was somehow important to the future, and needed to live.

Which was part of the reason she was going against her beliefs from before, and doing nothing to try and stop the Keyblade War or warn anyone about it. Strelitzia was in survival mode now, and would wait it out here as long as she possibly could.

…But the day she saw Aced attack them, after they so gallantly stopped a fight between two Keyblade wielders, Strelitzia knew she could wait no more and had to make certain that they were alright.

So she somewhat regretfully–dang. Who had she become?–left her new home, and jumped down from her perch to follow that Skuld girl and her hero's Chirithy back to their home.

Skuld noticed her right away, though, which… honestly? Strelitzia would have been disappointed with Master's Ava's–no, the Master of Master's–choices if she hadn't.

"Who are you and why are you following us?!" Skuld demanded with fury in her eyes, the moment she spun around with Starlight in her hand and cut Strelitzia's cheek.

Strelitzia hardly noticed.

"This is going to sound… stalker-y, but I honestly don't care. It's the truth, and we don't have time to dawdle. I kept running into your friend by chance, and then started noticing how they seemed to be in the center of things and became intrigued by them–like they were intrigued by your friend Ephemer, I believe?–and started watching them some…

"But anyway, the real point is that Master Gula wants me dead. Why? Because he's against the Master of Masters and I'm one of the Master's appointed Union Leaders. I've been in hiding ever since, but when I- when I saw them get hurt, I had to step in and make sure they were okay. That's why I'm here."

Skuld looked incredulous, like she was about to say that that was the stupidest thing she ever heard and she didn't trust her around her dear companion at all, with some of things she had just admitted. But the Chirithy jumped in before Skuld could act.

"That… actually makes some sense, Skuld. I can see why Master Gula would want to challenge the Master, unfortunately. Some of my Master's directions… they never added up. It was like he was putting the Foretellers against each other in order for them to fail. I don't know… But we can't waste time talking about this outside right now. It's too dangerous. Let's get inside."

And not having to be told twice, Strelitzia grabbed the other arm of her dear, and helped Skuld carry them to their home and then their room.

Strelitzia's hero did not wake for a long time, and it quickly became night as they waited for them to. Everyone was too anxious to eat anything, but they did each go and get a drink out of the fridge when dehydration started to set in and then partook in some awkward conversation.

"What's an example of the Master of Masters pitting the Foretellers against each other, Chirithy?" Skuld was asking now, as she seemed to finally make the important decision of turning against the Master of Masters herself.

Which, if Strelitzia was being honest with herself, was a fair position to take with everything they were now learning. This war never should have happened… and if those in charge had wanted to stop it, they could have. Which must have meant they didn't want to… so the Master of Masters wasn't really worth trusting then, was he?

But at the same time… Strelitzia knew he was the reason she was even alive right now, because of his careful planning. So should she have been looking that gift horse in the mouth? And what would happen if she did?

"Well… Master Aced has always wanted to be leader, but the Master of Masters made Master Ira leader and not him. He then told Master Aced that if Master Ira fell from the path, it should be his job to take Master Ira's path… What do you think that led to? Master Aced having issues with everything Master Ira did–and looking for any excuse to dethrone him, so to speak–and those two becoming enemies… and the other Foretellers becoming enemies as they somewhat took sides there… and that's only part of it."

Strelitzia was about to say that Master Gula wasn't much better, though, if he was planning on killing her to thwart the Master's plans… Not just because it would have been murder–and Strelitzia nearly threw up in imagining herself dead on the ground by his hands–but because eventually someone would have found out she'd been replaced, and it would have led to the same in-fighting between the new Union Leaders. But before she could speak, they woke up.

"Ephemer," they whispered out of nowhere, as they looked to their ceiling almost in reverence–as if they were being gifted with seeing the light within Kingdom Hearts for the first time. "Skuld, do you know where he is-"

But the Keyblade wielder who, perhaps, deserved to be a Dandelion and Union Leader more than anyone else, cut themselves off when they rolled over and saw Strelitzia there. "Who are you?" they asked warily.

And Strelitzia, suddenly feeling much more like herself than she had in a long time, went to their side and pushed a plant closer to them so that they might heal faster. And with tears in her eyes, she said: "This- this is the moment I've always been waiting for. And to think… that if my Chirithy hadn't had a change of heart, all of this would have just been things I wanted to tell you but never got the chance to.

"But I- my name is Strelitzia. And I've been admiring you for so long: for the strength you still held when you were unintentionally stood up by Ephemer… for so courageously facing off against Master Ira when you thought he killed Ephemer… for what you did in Fountain Square just today. And I believe, just like you do, that even the Dandelions are no good, if iso many of our friends still perish in the Keyblade War."

And something within Strelitzia's new friend–was it too presumptuous to call them a friend already? She sure hoped not!–seemed to come alive when she'd said the last bit. "You are like me, then… In maybe being willing to learn how to use the power of darkness–or at least pretend to–to save a friend… And maybe actually falling into that darkness, at the thought of losing our friends… But if we're really tied to darkness… can we truly do anything to help?"

And Strelitzia thought that they could. She'd been examining the cards lately, and many of the ones that had been able to be Guilted (that was the same as utilizing the powers of darkness) had people with golden eyes on them, as if that feature was somehow associated with the darkness: eyes like Skuld's, and Skuld was just fine.

And Strelitzia remembered the selfless thing that Chirithy had done for her, even while consumed by the darkness, before he'd joined this person's Chirithy, she guessed now.

Maybe… maybe the darkness wasn't as bad as they had all feared, and that was the key all around.

"This Keyblade War is about to start because everyone's afraid of Daybreak Town falling to darkness. But if we're going to kill people to try and avoid that, is it any better? And won't that lead to darkness and an end, anyway? Maybe if we make people see that–that, perhaps, a little darkness won't hurt and it'll allow them to stay alive, unlike the alternative–the fighting will stop. It's worth a shot, isn't it?"

And smiling at her, as their Chirithy and friend Skuld watched them with mouths agape and concerned looks behind them, they gave Strelitzia their hand and started to sit up.

"Let's do it, then."

And in that moment, Strelitzia knew that they had found a way to stop the Keyblade War… and they did do so.

But little did she know, that for that they would then be put in a simulation that would manually force the War to happen… and for them to relive it over and over again, until eventually a certain someone with sky blue eyes found them and got them out of the Black Box.