"About several hundred years ago, a plague swept through the St. Milo's region. The illness, known as the Starscourge, rapidly spread after a group of SOLDIERs were attacked by a Dark Thorn. The Heartless infected them during the attack, but no symptoms were shown until the group returned to their various posts. When it did, black legions appeared on their skin and chest, with their veins turning black and the white of their eyes turning dark grey. After a week of intense pain and agony, they turned into Heartless, attacking others and turning them. When the Sanctum couldn't control the amount of Heartless pouring out of the abbey, they ordered SOLDIER from other regions and they forced the Heartless back into the abbey. They sealed it, but they left behind those who were still human in the building. The Primarch then forced the abbey underground, ordering the surviving SOLDIERs to keep curious minds away, lest the seal on the place breaks and unleashes the darkness inside."
-article on the "Starscourge: A History"
Chapter Twenty-One: Secrets of St. Milo's Abbey
"So, I just use the nethicite like this?" Princess Leonora asked, inspecting the glowing, white stone.
As they sat in an airship lounge, bound for the Zanarkand Ruins with the other Princesses and guardians, the pair tried to relax as the final battle was swiftly approaching. She held it to her heart and Azure said, "Um, not so close. It takes away people's powers. And I'm sure that giving it to Chao or whatever he turned into will be best."
"So, I shouldn't try to use it now?" the princess asked.
Azure shook his head, not able to see how the princess didn't get the dire situation they were in. The world was ending and she still had a cheerful disposition. Maybe her uncle was right. She was Azure's job to protect and to love, no matter what happened.
Noticing that he was staring at her, the princess said, "H-Hey, um…Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?"
Blushing and turning his head to look out the window, Azure said, "Oh. N-No. Um…sorry."
Unknown world, castle gates…
The figure from the World of Endless Seas stumbled out of a portal of light and collapsed. The shadows surrounding him tried to protect him but hissed as a horned figure appeared. Said figure stared at his near lifeless body and said, "Oh! You…"
With a wave of her green gem staff, the dark fairy Maleficent said, "And who…or what are you?"
The figure looked at her, his eyes turning a shade of fire red and she grinned maliciously, revealing her sharp canines. The man whispered something, and black chains attempted to latch onto her. Maleficent slammed her staff onto the cobblestone, unleashing a wave of green flames. The chains turned into powder and she said, "Oh, you think yourself strong in this state…Caiden? Oh no, my dear. I will not allow for you to get in the way of finding the Heart to Rule All."
"Y-You can't…I won't let…" the man started.
"Well, you've no power in this state to defy. But…I will not take any chances. You will not become whole, Dark One," the dark fairy told him.
Maleficent ignored him, her robe becoming giant, black wings and a black body suit. With little effort, she became airborne and used her power to carry the Dark One to the top of the castle of Hollow Bastion.
Menphina 22nd, Tuesday…
"I'm telling you. We're fine!" Amalia shouted for Aqua.
Terra didn't want to take any chances, as the innkeeper in Port Eden wasn't too happy with them even after he tried to pay for the roof damage. He had taken them to the local clinic, where Aqua and Kairi were given a checkup by the nurses. Due to his status as a SOLDIER, the checkup was free and the girls were cleared of any injuries.
Kairi, giving him a smile as they were leaving, said, "Thank you, Mister Aiolfi."
"Just 'Terra' is fine. Anyway, can you tell me what happened before…all that?" Terra said.
Kairi explained about joining Aqua as an unwilling maid. Aqua wasn't having it and left her hometown to the Tower of Mysidia. Terra remembered how dangerous the place was and was going to ask why when Aqua told him, "I had to find out what happened to my brother."
"Oh…So, wait. Your brother really did…?" Terra asked.
Turning a corner and heading for the road leading to the outskirts of town, Aqua said, "Wow, news travels fast, doesn't it 'Mister SOLDIER'?"
"You don't have to be sarcastic. We heard that the heir to the Ballarini clan had died, but no one knew how," Gaius said for Terra.
Finding a chocobo handler and hiring three chocobos, Terra helped Kairi onto hers and was about to for Aqua when she jumped onto one herself. She glowered and said, "I'm fine."
Terra sighed, not getting what drew her ire. Getting onto his, he said, "I'll take you to Cornelia. There's an inn there so you can stay there…since I'm sure that innkeeper would try to make you 'indentured servants'. But first, we'll head for St. Milo's Abbey."
"Why there? We've no business there," Amalia asked, sitting on Aqua's lap.
"We need to check in, since the abbot heard about something destroying a building in Port Eden," Gaius answered.
The chocobos were about to take off when something rocked in the skies, zooming past the port and towards the south, near the abbey. A loud crash and a blinding flash followed and scared the chocobos. Kairi's bolted off, towards the impact site and Aqua yelled, "Kairi!"
The young adults followed, chasing after the rogue chocobo.
"Hey! Why are you sleeping here? C'mon! Get up!"
Sora groaned, opening his eyes as he laid on the ground, injured. He saw Donald and Goofy, both dazed and their crashed Gummi Ship. Donald, dizzy, muttered, "I'm sure Chip and Dale got some kind of death wish on us…"
"We didn't do anything! We were trying to land when the controls went all haywire!" the little chipmunks, Chip and Dale, shouted as they ran from the crashed ship.
Goofy stumbled trying to get to his feet and saw the damage. He scratched his head and asked, "So, how did we crash?"
"Like I said, the controls went haywire! We were supposed to land near Cornelia, out of sight from the locals, but…" Chip said, pulling out a mini machine, the word "tablet" popping into Sora's mind.
Dale gasped as a pop was heard, followed by smoke. The two chipmunks rushed for the ship and Donald approached Sora. With a wave of his hand and green light, the mage chanted, "Cura!"
A wave of healing light overcame Sora and he was fully healed, no cuts or bruises left on his body. Zeru, happy, took to the air to survey the area. The ship had crashed into what looked like a forest clearing near some ruins and the area looked like it was in the middle of summer. But the ruins looked trapped in winter as snow and dark clouds covered the hilly region. Smoke rose up from the clearing, all of it coming from the ship and Zeru went back to Sora's side, satisfied.
"Well, there's some ruins to the south and it's covered in snow and ice…kinda weird for a place like this. Everything here's in summer, but…" Zeru told him.
Jiminy, who took refuge in Sora's hair, popped up onto the boy's shoulder and said, "This is just odd…"
"What is, Jiminy?" Goofy asked.
"I've been recording our journey so far and I've been checking and proofreading every entry. But…" Jiminy said, holding the tiny book he constantly wrote in.
"But what?" Sora asked.
Jiminy flipped a few pages and waved his hand outward. Images of several people appeared and he said, "I've never written about any of them. It's like someone else wrote these pages. 'Father Lyon DeSouza', 'Lord Soren Manualli', 'Sir Fredrik Sigismund' and a child named 'Caiden'…The only one Sora met was Father Lyon. All the others, none of us met. And if we did, none of us remember it."
"Maybe the books' pages gettin' all kerscuffled?" Goofy asked.
Jiminy kept flipping through and said, "These are really the only ones I've never written. What's going on? A Recorder has to make sure that their books are accurate or else…"
"Or else what?" Zeru asked, not liking where the conversation was going.
"We can lose memories or people around us can…or we'll remember things that never happened," Jiminy said.
Donald, hearing it, shouted, "Then why would you join us if that book's tied to our memories?!"
"Because I was charged by His Majesty. I have to write everything down for future generations! We can't have our history erased like last time with the Keyblade War!" Jiminy told him.
"Well, you can sever your ties to them. Leave and their foolish mission."
Zeru looked up at Sora and said, "Sora, that wasn't me."
"Yeah…What was that?" Sora asked, looking around.
The group didn't see the shadows looming towards them, lurking menacingly towards them. A voice spoke to Sora, warning him to turn around. He did, but it was too late as the darkness took the group, leaving behind Chip and Dale.
St. Milo's Abbey, SOLDIER commander's office…
"What do you mean, you can't do anything?" Isa yelled.
He was granted an audience with the SOLDIER commander, Auron Solis. The dressed like a Wutai ronin SOLDIER stared as Isa explained about his friends suddenly getting lost while exploring the ruins. He didn't tell him that they were trying to steal something from the abbey. No, that would've been bad, Isa thought. So, he skirted around the reason why until he eventually lied and said that they were there to study.
"Hmm…Doesn't look like you'd be one to study those ancient ruins. Quite young, I'm afraid," Auron said.
Isa glowered, saying, "Well, that's just stereotyping. My friends and I, though young, are interested in ancient cultures."
"So, you know of the culture that used to live in this region?" Auron asked.
Auron's Animus, a brown wolf dog, stared and Isa's wolverine Animus, Logan, muttered, "Isa, say something. He's staring at me as if he's gonna eat me."
"The Miqo'te tribe, right?" Isa asked.
Auron nodded and Isa was relieved as he had made a lucky guess. The man then said, "Yes, but they were driven to near extinction by the Fynnish Kingdom, before the Sanctum could interfere. Led in hatred by one we shall not name."
Isa heard something about a knight who went insane after losing his mistress, a princess of Fynn. But…
"Your messing around in those ruins may have brought about its wrath. So, you will wait until we get proper forces to infiltrate the area," Auron told him.
"And how long will that take?" Isa asked.
"About two weeks," the commander replied.
"What? No!" Isa shouted.
Auron wasn't fazed, and two SOLDIERs burst into the room, hearing his outburst. The commander then said, "And we need to know why you know about those ruins. So, you'll be spending time here at the abbey."
"The usual accommodations, sir?" a SOLDIER 3rd Class asked.
Auron nodded and Isa found himself and his Animus being dragged away, into the dungeons.
"Whoa! Slow down! Slow down! Slow…Aah!" Kairi screamed as her chocobo wildly ran pass an abbey and towards some hills.
The animal, as if possessed, ignored the terrified girl. Terra and Aqua followed, trying to catch up as well to stop the wild chocobo. They didn't see the lands darken with every step and the skies getting filled with black clouds. By the time they did, it was too late. The darkness surrounded them swallowing the three, the Animi and their chocobos.
Moments later, Aqua found herself alone, stuck in a ruined chamber that looked like a private chapel. Where the altar was supposed to be was a large glowing stone in the shape of a gravestone. She approached, with Amalia screaming, "What are you doing?"
"Huh?" the blue haired Mysidian said, seeing that her cat Anima was with her.
It brought her comfort as she was sure she was completely alone. Well, Amalia was her…so she kind of was. Catching herself, Aqua saw that she was only a few feet away from the stone slab. She could see creature depicted in its image, a horrid amalgamation of man and beast. The slab had chains around it, all connecting to a sword stabbed in the center.
Something was telling her to run far, far away. But something else was telling her…
"So, you see it?"
The azure-haired noble swiftly turned to see two red eyes in the darkness. The owner stepped forward and she saw that it was Father Lyon. But there was something very off about him. His eyes were dark and a burning red instead of the light purple. His dark hair was matted and messy and his robes were tattered.
Amalia hissed and Aqua said, "Y-Yes…but who are you? You look like Father Lyon, but…Who…?"
Father Lyon looked at the seal and then back at Aqua. He took another step and Aqua reflexively moved back. He seemed offended, asking, "You think I'm an enemy?"
"Well yeah! You're supposed to be back in Mysidia Tower and now you're here! And you look different!" Amalia shouted.
Aqua shushed her while the fallen priest said, "Yes…I was there…and now I'm here. And this place…I'll be glad to leave."
"Um…where are we?" Aqua asked him.
Father Lyon kept staring at the seal, muttering, "Old St. Milo's Abbey."
"Okay, and do you know where exactly?" Aqua asked.
"In the mountains near the new one. I…I just want to leave this place," Father Lyon told her, looking pained.
Keeping her eyes on him and seeing a door in her peripherals, Aqua said, "Okay. I'll help. Just get us out of here safely."
With Kairi…
"Wake up, Princess…You're just going to lay there?"
"N-No. Just let me rest…" Kairi mumbled.
"I would, if this place wasn't so dangerous. Please, wake up."
Kairi felt something shake her and she jolted, waking up and gasping as she saw Father Lyon. He looked almost exactly like he did when they met in the tower. But, there were dark, vein-like markings on the sides of his face and the irises of his eyes had a slight gold tint in them. The air around him had changed as well, but it wasn't malevolent.
Naminé, waking up, saw him and immediately flew behind Kairi's head. Father Lyon saw and said, "Oh. I was just trying to make sure that you were alright. You passed out after entering this place."
Kairi looked around, seeing that they were in the middle of a ruined hallway. The red rug underneath was tattered and the stone floor around it was covered in dirt. There were no windows, only torches that had an odd blue flame burning on them. At the end of the hall, at Kairi's left, was a set of stairs descending into the darkness while at her right was another that ascended.
"How did you get here? I thought we'd lost you in the tower," Kairi asked.
Father Lyon put a hand to his chin and said, "I…don't really know. But, I'm here now and I sense danger all around this place. And…"
He looked visibly uncomfortable and Kairi said, "Yeah. I want to leave this place too. But not without finding Lady Aqua and that SOLDIER, Terra."
"Do you mind if I come along then? Based on what I saw in the tower, you need training," Father Lyon said.
Naminé voiced Kairi's offense, saying, "She's…she's a healer and she's not used to battle."
"I know. But even a healer can learn how to defend themselves. Take the legendary Queen Rosa Joanna Farrell," Father Lyon told the Anima while helping Kairi up.
"Who?" Kairi asked, not familiar.
The priest sighed and muttered, "There's still so much for you to learn, Princess…"
With Sora…
"Where are we?" Donald shouted.
Sora, Donald and Goofy wandered around for what felt like hours and he figured that they were stuck in a loop. They ran down a long corridor that was just a stone hallway with tattered red carpet and torches with blue and purple flames. Darkness was in front of them and behind them and it looked to be no way out.
Grumbling, Donald said, "What is going on here? We're getting nowhere at this pace!"
Jiminy, sitting on Sora's left shoulder as Zeru was on the right, said, "I dunno. But the journal's still going crazy."
"What do you mean?" Zeru asked for Sora.
Jiminy pulled out a tiny lamp and looked over the journal's pages. He then said, "Now we have more pages about people we've never met. A 'Yūgure' and a 'Chao von Heim'. Seriously, did anyone meet anyone like that?"
"Nope. Nuh uh. If I did, I would've said something!" were the reactions.
Jiminy sighed, saying, "If we don't figure out the cause, we risk losin' our memories."
Sora, hoping to find the end and really wanting to leave, went forward and said, "Let's keep going. I'm sure we'll find a way…"
"RUN!"
Someone in black was running towards them and Sora could do nothing as she tackled him to the ground. The girl, raven-haired and dressed in black Lolita, was flustered and pushed herself off Sora. She looked around and Sora noticed that she had a black hawk for an Anima.
"We gotta run!" she said in an odd accent.
"For what? Who are you?" Donald asked, getting very defensive.
"There's no time to explain! Just run!" the girl said.
A roar cut through the air and the group turned to see a torrent of darkness coming behind them like a flood. The girl took off and Sora and the others followed, screaming as they went. As he held onto Sora's shoulder tightly, Jiminy asked, "What is going on? Why is the darkness after us?"
With Lea…
"Aw man…every turn is a dead end…" Lea muttered.
He had gotten separated from Xion days ago and his rations were running low. He only packed for a two days' separation, not for nearly a week. So, he only ate small amounts, hoping that it would last. His water satchel was nearly empty and he hoped that he would find Xion and a way into the abbey before he ran out of water.
"Aw…this sucks…" his fox Animus, Reno, whined.
Lea slumped to the stone floor, tired and not knowing where to go. He would constantly find himself at a crossroad, heading different directions each time. The first day, he went, left, left, right, left and wound up in a room filled with Wight Knights and Hook Bats. The second day, he went right, right, left, right and stumbled into a ward filled with poisonous water and Shadows.
The third, he tried going right, left, left, right, left and went into an old kitchen with a few treasures like munny satchels. That day, he tried left, right, right, left, left and hit a brick wall.
"This is not worth 60,000 munny…" Lea groaned.
Reno muttered, "I knew that it was a trap. Seriously, who trusts a lady with horns?"
"That was a headdress," Lea retorted.
"You know that no one has horns sticking out of their head like that…unless they're an Au Ra and those are in the World of High Mountains and World of Endless Forests…" Reno said.
Lea grumbled, as he knew his Animus was right. But 60,000 munny was too good to pass. They could keep Xion safe, as well as themselves, and could be several steps ahead of Vanitas and the other Twelve. And after what they saw that day, they had to. They just had to.
"Do you need some help?"
"And now I'm hearing voices. Just a few steps away from going insane," Lea shouted in frustration.
"Seriously, do you need it?"
Reno got to his feet and sniffed the air. There wasn't anything malicious in the atmosphere, but the voice brought an odd feeling. Rolling his eyes, Lea asked, "And how can a voice in my head help?"
"I can help you find one who can lead you out of there. You're going to need it as staying here will make you lost to the darkness…forever. And I'm sure you don't want that as you want to protect your friends."
"How could I say no to that? Alright. Take me to 'em," Lea said.
Glowing footsteps appeared and went back the way Lea came. Without a second thought, Lea followed with Reno at his side. Backtracking, Lea noticed that the area seemed to grow brighter with every step. But he figured that it was his eyes playing tricks on him. Within moments, he found himself back at the first crossroad, but there was a SOLDIER in blue standing there.
The SOLDIER jumped at the sight of him and quickly readied his weapon.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Not an enemy! Not an enemy!" Lea yelled.
"And I should trust you because?" the SOLDIER asked.
Reno saw the wolf Animus and he wasn't aggressive like his host. With a small tail wag, the fox Animus said, "Well, Lea's got me and you got your Animus. So, neither of you are Heartless."
"Yes, Heartless and Unsent have no Animi. You do remember that, don't you Terra?" the wolf Animus said to the SOLDIER.
Terra, apparently his name, lowered his guard and looked at Lea carefully. He gave a suspect look and said, "What's with all the black? You look like a Reaper or something."
"Hey, I'm wearing red too!" Lea said, pointing at his shirt.
"Not that much. You really do look like a Reaper from 'The Worlds End with You' or someone that stepped out of 'Fiery Topics'," Reno snickered.
Lea glared and the SOLDIER was confused. His wolf Animus shook his head and said, "I'm Gaius. The SOLDIER is Terra. And based on the conversation, you're Lea and Reno. Odd names."
"Well, 'Terra's' a girl's name where we're from," Reno said.
Terra sighed, saying, "It's actually spelled T-E-R-A-H, but since being in SOLDIER…"
"They changed the spelling since his name's a nomadic one. Make it easier on the faithful," Gaius explained.
Remembering what the voice said, Lea changed the subject by saying, "Um, do you know how to get out of here?"
Terra nodded and Lea's spirit's lifted. The SOLDIER explained the nature of the ruins. They were designed to keep curious eyes out and something else inside. So, the place was filled to the brim with illusions, but the darkness made them far worse. Those that do manage to get inside are found by SOLDIER, whimpering and scarred for life with PTSD. They would quarantine and interview the ones they could rescue, with many saying a dark creature appeared and attacked. If the survivors didn't turn, they were let go. If they did, they were "taken care of".
Lea knew what he meant and hoped that he wouldn't be in the category of the latter. He wanted very much to keep his heart.
"Okay, follow me since this place likes to trip people up at the crossroads," Terra said.
"Uh, okay," Lea said.
Following him carefully, the redhead found that the SOLDIER went right, left, right, left and then, oddly, backwards. Lea followed his movements and the illusions disappeared, revealing a large Great Hall with fallen pillars, old statues of praying nuns and tattered red carpet leading to a stairwell.
"What? That was it? We were at this for four days!" Reno yelled, relieved and frustrated.
"Yeah, that's the trick. The last turn isn't a turn to the right or left at all. It's to 'go back the way you came'. So, walk backwards," Terra told him.
Lea would've glared if he wasn't so relieved. All he had to do next was to find Xion and get the heck out of there.
"YAH!"
That was Xion's voice and it was coming from the stairwell. Lea rushed for it and Terra grabbed him before he could go any farther. The redhead was confused, saying, "What are you doing? My friend's down there!"
"Yeah, but more illusions are there. And rushing headlong into it gonna spell disaster. Trust me," Terra told him.
"But I'm not leaving her to die!" Lea shouted.
"And I wasn't gonna do that. I'll help. Just follow me and try not to get separated," Terra said, releasing his arm.
With Kairi…
Holding the Cacciatore in her hands, Kairi tried using the glowing device as a light as well as trying to find a way out. She tried thinking of a door, but her thoughts were all muddled. She didn't get why as she wasn't sleepy or had a headache. Naminé, still hiding behind her, whispered, "Maybe it's because of that guy."
Kairi looked to Father Lyon and he had summoned blue fire to his hands for a light. He didn't seem to pay attention to Kairi's dilemma. Instead, he looked around as they walked in the dark halls and seemed to be tense.
"Are you alright?" Kairi asked him.
"Yes, but these halls…Something's not right," Father Lyon told her.
"Yes, it's dark and scary and you just happen to appear," Naminé said.
Kairi reprimanded her and the Anima whimpered, saying, "But, you were thinking it…"
The fairy Anima landed on Kairi's shoulder, shifted into a small mouse and trembled. Father Lyon wasn't fazed and muttered, "Amazing…You really are a Princess."
"Huh? A 'Princess'? What's that?" Kairi asked.
The Sanctum priest was confused by her confusion and he explained, saying, "Princesses or 'Princesses of Heart' are girls who have not a single smote of darkness in their hearts. Their Animae shifting forms is one of the signs of their power. That and you all have a penchant for musical talents, like the muses from antiquity. Singing or playing music causes various effects to happen. The Princess I met…She was powerful. So powerful, in fact, that we had to keep her away from groups that would use her powers for evil."
"Singing? That's so cheesy…" Kairi told him.
"Well, that's just one way to use your power…Hmm…What about humming?" Father Lyon suggested.
"No way," Naminé piped up.
The man shrugged and continued forward. As he did, Kairi looked at the compass, remembering the instructions, but didn't get why her mind was foggy. Maybe the man had a point, she thought.
A small hum of a song she remembered from Snow's gramophone collection started bringing sparks out of the Cacciatore. Father Lyon seemed to have seen it, rushing back to Kairi's side and looking a bit amazed. He grinned, telling her, "Try again."
"Uh…Okay, um I guess…'I used to think I was so smart. But I couldn't hide the hole in my heart'…" Kairi sung.
Sparks of light bubbled up like a tiny fountain and the halls started to distort. Father Lyon looked around, telling her, "It's working. Keep singing."
"Um…It's just a song from one of my friends…" Kairi said.
"Any song will do," Father Lyon told her.
Kairi continued, singing, "'Sad as it seems, none of my dreams really came true. I used to walk the cul-de-sac, all by myself with nothing to do.'"
The light turned into a fountain, flowing onto the ground and spreading. Bouncing a bit, as the song was catchy, Father Lyon told Kairi, "Seriously, it's working. See the walls distorting? We'll get to the truth of this place."
Bouncing around, Kairi sung, "'I've looked for you all of my life! 'Round every corner! Wishing on stars like a giant fool. But now…I see the stars right in your eyes. Those days are over!'"
The darkened hallway faded, turning into a corridor with two massive wooden doors at each end. Like before, the red rug was tattered. But the suffocating scent of darkness was in the air. Father Lyon covered his mouth and saw that a chipper Kairi wasn't affected. She kept singing and light came from her very being.
"'I took a look, and I got hooked! I found the Light in you! I thought my dreams were overdue. My prayers were answered out of the blue. Now that I know, I know it's true. All that I needed…was you," she sung, looking rather happy.
Father Lyon gasped as her image slowly became the Princess he had guarded so long ago…Her red hair became long and blonde and her purple and white traveling gear became completely white. He stared, snapping out of it when a bloodcurdling roar filled the air.
"What was that?" Naminé asked.
Kairi jumped at the sound, the old Princess's image fading and returning her to normal. The doors burst open and Aqua and another stepped out from behind it. Father Lyon's face became serious and he asked, "Who are you?"
Aqua looked at the man next to Kairi and then to Father Lyon. She did a double take as they were practically the same person. But, something was off about the one next to her. He looked more worn out than the one next to Kairi. And both radiated darkness, but the one near her…
She stepped back, joining Kairi and the other Father Lyon. The "real" one summoned End of Pain and Aqua knew it was him. She called out to her weapon, Rainfell, and it appeared in her hands. Father Lyon and she stood protectively in front of girl and the imposter asked, "So, you'd go with him instead of me? Figures. You were always like that when it came to darkness…"
"Who…Who are you? What are you?" Aqua asked.
"You're just asking him that now?" Amalia muttered.
Father Lyon, the real one, stood protectively in front of the two and said, "You can't be…Sigismund?"
The shadows surrounding the fake gave way, morphing the dopple into a man in black armor and a long, red cape. His red eyes shown through the darkness and he said, "And how did you figure it out, priest?"
The knight leapt forward and Father Lyon quickly pushed Aqua and Kairi out of the way with what seemed to be telekinesis. The two went crashing through the doors and the sound of Keyblades clashing was heard, along with punches and kicks. Kairi held onto Aqua's arm and the azure-haired mage told her, "We'll find a way out. Let's go."
"But where? And…Whoa!" Kairi said, hugging Aqua as a blast of wind came from the door the doppelganger stepped through.
Aqua summoned a Reflectga barrier and saw the darkness whipping about outside. Kairi was shivering and Naminé said, "Please make it go away! Make it go away!"
"I-I can't…It's too much! I'm already using a lot of power to keep this barrier up," Aqua told the Anima.
Kairi clutched the Cacciatore in her hands and began muttering a prayer. Sparks of light shot out and a path of light appeared on the floor. The darkness hissed at it, shying away from the light and allowing safe passage for the girls. The pathway extended farther back, where Father Lyon and his assailant were fighting.
The ruins quaked and Aqua said, "C'mon. Let's hurry out of here."
"What about the others?" Kairi asked.
"I'm sure that path of light will get them out of here too. And Father Lyon. I'm sure he can handle himself," Aqua said, escorting her out.
With Sora, Xion, Donald and Goofy…
"This way!" Xion yelled.
Sora, Donald and Goofy followed her and figured out her name after they were quickly introduced to one another. Xion, a Keybearer as well, helped them fight off Heartless that appeared in the old abbey and even unlocked doors that blocked their path. They didn't stop to rest as the darkness continued to hunt them. If it wasn't Heartless, it was a black and red substance that reminded Sora of "Malice" from the Fables of Delta series.
That same darkness blocked their path in a room that looked to be an old infirmary. Beds and broken furniture were scattered and were stuck in a pool of darkness. The waves lapped up onto some of the beds, soaking them and Xion warned, "Let's not step in any puddles or fall into the pool. The darkness here can corrupt you. Maybe even mutate you."
"Uh, let's not get mutated any time soon, Sora," Zeru warned.
Sora nodded and Xion was the first to go ahead. She found a path of beds and furniture that led to a door on the opposite side. She carefully stepped across and jumped when she gotten to the end, as the darkness had dragged a chest-of-drawers underneath it.
Her Anima, who stuck with Sora, said, "Okay, she's across. Now, go!"
Donald was next, running and leaping when he reached the end. He landed safely and quacked in terror as the darkness rose up to grab him. Xion, summoning her Keyblade Sign of Innocence, shot a beam at the encroaching substance. It screeched when it was hit and returned to the pool.
Goofy was up next and Chiharu followed Goofy as he stumbled across. Just as he nearly slipped, Chiharu grabbed him and, with great effort, carried him across. Goofy thanked the Anima and Sora was last to go.
He was about to run when he heard a loud crash, followed by sounds of punching and a roar. Sora jumped to the right as the door behind him crumbled and he saw Father Lyon kick an armored assailant into the pool. The knight crashed into it and drowned, but Father Lyon had a panicked expression on his face.
Sora could barely get his surprise out in time as Father Lyon grabbed him, ran across the rapidly sinking pathway and leapt onto the other side with Xion and the others. Zeru tried to say something when Father Lyon told the group, "No time! Keep moving!"
The darkness screeched and rose from the pool, forming into a kind of draconian creature. The sight of it made Sora dizzy for a moment and it felt as if he had seen it before. It breathed in deeply and belched purple flames from its maw. Before they could hit, Father Lyon raised his right hand, as his left arm was still carrying Sora like a ragdoll. A barrier appeared, bouncing the flames back and the priest said, "Hurry!"
They kept running, finding a stairwell that led to a hallway. There, Xion found a friend as she yelled, "Lea!"
The redhead with a fox Animus turned to see them, along with a brunet in blue with a lupine one. Sora suddenly fell and saw that Father Lyon had disappeared. He looked around and asked, "Uh, where did Father Lyon go?"
Donald and Goofy looked around as well, not seeing the purple garbed priest. Xion didn't care, as she ran up to Lea and hugged him. He was flustered, saying, "H-Hey, it's okay. We're okay."
"No, you're not! Keep running!"
Sora recognized the voice as Father Lyon's and rumbling was felt everywhere. Cracks appeared on the floor and parts of it gave way, revealing pools of dark miasma. The man in blue, a SOLDIER, said, "This way! Hurry!"
The group kept running as the floor and walls started to collapse into the darkness. Sora didn't want to turn around, but he did and he could see red eyes lurking in the darkness behind them. He screamed and nearly tripped over his own feet when Zeru grabbed him by the collar and struggled to keep him balanced.
Reaching wooden double doors, the SOLDIER headed for them and found them locked. He cursed and summoned a Keyblade. It was bronze in color and he pointed at the doors, only for the walls to collapse on them seconds before he could open the doors. The floors gave way as well and the group was buried underneath rubble and darkness.
Outside…
Aqua and Kairi emerged from the underground abbey from a secret path leading to the current abbey leader's residence. They climbed up a ladder and moved a stone, which was a tombstone for those that died in the old abbey. An explosion off in the distance and the area began rocking and reeling. SOLDIERs on the other side started running towards the residence, armed with swords and their Artes.
Aqua tried to get Kairi to hide, but the little redhead became dizzy. She held her head as she could hear various voices and they brought with them a massive headache. Everything became fuzzy and she found herself tumbling, hitting the ground and blacking out.
And there's chapter twenty-one. Hopefully everything's getting fleshed out and starting to make sense.
But what happened to Sora and the others? Will they make it out of the ruins? Or are they buried forever?
-miano53
