A/N: I know! I know! I've been slow with updates! Blame Animal Crossing! I have a problem!
Chapter 41: Nattmara
As was expected, the journey to Sorenson's tower proved to be a long one, and was only made more difficult with the presence of snow on the ground. The tower was located on top of a mountain, making it easy for everyone to keep track of their location. Kairi also had the compass on her watch to keep them on the right path when they first began in the woods where they lacked a noticeable trail. While travelling in the woods was nothing more than just a hike over bumpy terrain, the Heartless that spawned every now and then didn't make it any easier. Luckily, Kairi, Naminé, and Xion made mince meat out of them whenever they gave the group any trouble with Elsa lending a helping hand with her ice magic. Elsa was right, as long as they stuck together, everything would be fine.
Exiting the woods, there was a river that seemed to extend all the way through the forest and connected all the way toward the mountain. With the snow making it more difficult for the girls to travel in, Elsa suggested taking a break. Not to mention, leaving footprints in the snow wasn't a good idea. As the river roared past them, Elsa couldn't keep her eyes off it. Almost as if her powers were reacting for her, she could feel her hands growing cold. I wonder, Elsa thought in her head. She stepped on the river, causing ice large ice crystals to form below her feet and spread all across the body of water.
Kairi gasped as she watched the river freeze up before her eyes. She knew water was capable of freezing, but had never witnessed it, especially in such a dramatic way. Once the river was now just a long and clear sheet of ice, Elsa whirled her hands around, a flurry swirling around everyone's feet until ice skate blades formed underneath their boots, also made of ice. The idea was that they'd ice skate the rest of the way toward Sorenson's tower. Not only was it faster to skate, but they also didn't leave footprints. Skating proved to be a very fun and effective way for them to travel. Well, it was effect for almost everyone. Naminé and Xion both skated like naturals while Kairi...well...did a lot more slipping and sliding than anyone else. It was a curse of living on a tropical island where it never snowed.
"You know, freezing a river and skating up it was not the first idea I thought, but it's pretty clever!" Xion laughed as she twirled around.
"Y-Yeah...good for...YOU!" Kairi yipped as she nearly fell backwards.
"Uh...you okay back there?" Kristoff asked as he stopped in his tracks.
"Of course!" Kairi laughed sheepishly as her body wobbled in place.
Naminé sighed and shook her head. "Kairi, you look about as balanced as a newborn deer."
"No! I'm….FINE!" Within a flash of a second, Kairi slipped back and landed hard on her butt. "I swear, by the time I get back to the island, my butt is gonna be blue from all the bruising it's gotten."
"Come on, Kairi." Xion said as she skated closer to the fallen redhead. "Don't tell us you don't know how to ice skate."
"I've lived on an island my whole life, what do you think the answer to that question is?"
"The answer is a clear cut no." Kristoff filled them in as he walked over and picked up Kairi, tossing her over his shoulder.
"Hey! Kristoff! What's this about?" Kairi asked as she squirmed in his grasp.
"We've got a long way to go, you can't ice skate, and there's no time for lessons, so you get a free ride this time." Kristoff mumbled as he skated ahead to catch up with Anna and Elsa, who couldn't help but laugh at the situation.
Kairi groaned as she rested her chin on her hand. "This is embarrassing…"
Anna couldn't help but laugh at Kairi's expense. She knew Kristoff wasn't the most patient guy, but he also had the best intentions of trying to help her out. Naminé and Xion took full advantage of ice skating and turned it into an event, racing each other and twirling about. Naminé even tried a jump, albeit failing and nearly falling over. Lucky for her, Kristoff caught her and helped her regain her balance. With everyone seeming in good spirits for the first time in days, it only made it more obvious to Anna when she saw that Elsa was skating up ahead, making sure to keep the upcoming parts of the river frozen with her feet, but was also deep in thought with how quiet she was.
"What is it, Elsa?" Anna asked, taking notice of the change in her sister's demeanor
"Well, it's just something that crossed my mind as I was thinking about this Nightmare." Elsa explained before looking back at Kristoff, who was generous enough to at least give Kairi a piggyback ride instead of keeping her draping over his shoulder. "Kairi, if you helped read out the spell, how come nothing came out of it from your side?"
Kairi sighed, tapping her hand against Kristoff's shoulder while she thought it through. "Honestly, I'm just as confused too. Then again, my nightmares aren't usually anything physical, like Anna's wolf."
"What nightmares do you usually have?" Elsa asked.
"Usually...it's just...about the darkness…" Kairi said in a low tone. "I'm all alone in this place of nothingness. I feel cold, and pain…and suddenly, I feel myself drowning in nothing but darkness." She kept her face low, staring down at her hands. "I used to have this dream all the time when I was little, when I first arrived on the island. But, ever since I met Sora and Riku, I never had that nightmare anymore." She ran her hand along her arm, taking a deep breath. "Until...recently."
"Kairi…" Xion murmured. "I remember when you had the nightmare back in Twilight Town. Wasn't that the only time?" She asked, Kairi shook her head in response.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Naminé asked with concern in her voice.
"I didn't want to worry you, and I thought it wouldn't be a big deal."
"So, you had your nightmares when you were little too." Anna said in a soft tone.
Elsa stopped in her tracks and reached out, resting her hand on her sister's shoulder. "You've consistently had this nightmare for this long?"
"Y-Yeah. If I remember correctly, the first time I had the nightmare was the night that you...you know." Anna said as she pointed to her head, referring to an incident where Elsa accidentally struck her in the head with her ice powers.
"Right…"
"Elsa, do you ever have nightmares like the ones Anna and I have?" Kairi asked.
"Well, actually, I haven't had any nightmares since I was around eight years old. The last time I had one, I woke up and my entire room was suddenly a winter landscape." Elsa explained, shaking her head. "I felt so bad. Everything got wet and they had to bring in new furniture and carpets for me."
"Then, how did you get rid of the nightmares?" Naminé asked while tilting her head.
"Our parents taught me a few tricks. One in particular, our mother told me to imagine bunching up all of the nightmares and throwing them out the window. I used to pretend that when I balled them up, I would throw them and pretend to feed them to the constellations in the sky. Ever since then, I never once had another nightmare again."
Kairi chuckled as she looked up to the sky. "I remember my Grandma used to tell me stuff like that too. If I ever got scared, or had a nightmare, she'd always remind me that the light in my heart will always protect me. All I have to do is believe in it."
"Your light?" Elsa asked as she rested a hand against her own heart.
"Yeah. My grandma said it could be anything really. It could be a memory, something you treasure, or someone precious to you. She said as long as I believed in my light, it would always be there to guide me out of the darkness." Kairi let out a giggle as she brushed some hair behind her hear. "Ever since I first met thim, Sora's always been the light that's kept me safe."
Anna sighed as she walked beside Kristoff. "That's so sweet." She said, only to put on a smirk immediately after. "So, you two sound awfully close. Is he your boyfriend?"
"Uh...not...officially. At least...not yet." Kairi stammered while blushing.
"He will be once we're done rescuing him." Xion teased as she poked Kairi in the side. "These two are gonna be inseparable."
Kairi shook her head. "Oh come on, Sora's not like that. He'll wanna see his other friends just as much."
"I don't know, Kairi." Naminé chuckled. "I feel strong with you, Kairi." She recited in a dramatic masculine tone. "Guys don't just spill their guts like that, especially if they're like Riku."
"You know, she has a point." Kristoff noted. "You could ask my family for validation. They're love experts. Besides, speaking from experience, you'd be surprised what kind of effect a woman can have on a man. One minute, the most important thing is your ice business and then the next thing you know, you meet her, and then losing her becomes your biggest fear." He stole an affectionate glance from Anna, who giggled while resting her head on his shoulder.
"Everyone! Look, I see the mountain!" Elsa called back from ahead.
The base of the Miner's Mountain was anything but welcoming. There were signs everywhere waring travelers of the Huldrefolk and that danger was beyond this point. Passing by the mine and the warning signs, Elsa led everyone up the trail toward the top of the mountain where the tower awaited them. Although, the trail turned more into a climb as various rocks and cliffs stood in the way of their destination. They could've taken the hard way up, but Elsa had a much better idea. Using her ice magic, she created a staircase that saved the inexperienced travelers from struggling up and possibly falling.
The sun was starting to go down by the time they reached the top. It was quite a breathtaking sight with the dusk sky glowing of shades of pink and purple, but now wasn't the time to bask in the environment. Kairi and the girls followed Kristoff over to the tower that height-wise was nothing compared to Yen Sid's tower. After knocking a few times and not receiving an answer, Kristoff was about to use his pickaxe to take down the door. However, Xion saved him from doing any severe damage and just simply opened the door, letting the entire group in.
Was it illegal? Technically, yes, but this was no time to stand around and consider Arendelle laws about breaking and entering. Upon entering, everyone was greeted with an empty tower, but was cluttered with various pieces of furniture. Desks with paper scraps, glassware with colorful liquids, and tall bookshelves, loaded with books of various sizes and genres. There was a kitchenette with the stove on and something was cooking, but nobody seemed to notice.
"He's not here." Kristoff groaned.
"Now what?" Xion asked as she folded her arms.
Kairi thought for a moment, tapping her foot. "Well, the spell that Anna and I read out came from a book, so maybe there's a book here that'll tell us how to break the curse."
"There's so many of them." Naminé pointed out.
"Let's split up then." Kristoff suggested. "Xion, Naminé, don't three of us take upstairs. Anna, you, Kairi, and your sister can check the downstairs."
Elsa nodded affirmatively. "Good idea."
Kristoff, Xion, and Naminé took the second floor while Anna, Elsa, and Kairi all stayed on the bottom floor, scanning the bookshelves for anything that could lead to a clue regarding the Nightmare. It was easier said than done, as neither of them knew where to look. It's not like the books were disorganized, there were just a lot and nobody knew what kind of book to read when searching about Nightmares, especially since a lot of them were focused on different fields of science. In fact, judging by the amount of science books, the girls came to the conclusion that this guy was really into science, and the ceiling that was painted like a galaxy only helped that case.
"This mystic really likes the night sky." Anna noted as she gazed up at the ceiling.
"I noticed. The ceiling has many constellations. It even has my favorite, Ulf the Wolf." Elsa pointed out the stars that were in a shape that resembled a wolf.
"For a mystic, this guy sure has a lot of books on science." Kairi thought out loud. "Then again, Merlin's library is the same and he's a wizard." Her hand brushed along another shelf that contained titles of classic stories that she was familiar with. There was one she was unfamiliar with, but took it out and flipped through the pages. It appeared to be a journal of Sorenson's judging by the first-person writing.
Oh my gosh, this guy's been to other worlds, Kairi thought in her mind as she read through it. This one says he visited a peculiar world where it was inhabited by anthropomorphic animals. One in particular, a fox who could do no wrong when it came to shooting with a bow and arrow, was a wanted criminal in the town of Nottingham. There was even a sketch of the fellow beneath his description. Huh, he doesn't look like a criminal. Kairi's watch suddenly started to vibrate as the sketch started to glow. She could only stand and gaze at the watch suddenly scanning what appeared to be the sketch in the book before a bow and arrow icon appeared next to the lamp and thunderbolt icons on the watch.
"Wow…" Kairi murmured. "Wasn't expecting that."
"Fascinating, isn't it?" A low, raspy voice echoed from the top of the tower.
From the doorway of the tower stood a figure in the shadows. Kristoff, Xion, and Naminé hurried down to get closer to Anna, Elsa, and Kairi. He began slowly making his way, having a gruff look on his face and gripping an axe. The warm lighting in the tower could barely make out his figure as he got closer. Noticing the axe in his hand, each of the girls began silently praying that they'd make it out of here alive and that they wouldn't be killed by some crazy looking old man with an axe.
"H-Hello? Sorry, to intrude, but I'm Princess Anna and this is my sister, Elsa, Queen of Arendelle. W-We mean no harm, and we've come here looking for the great mystic Sorenson." The frightened princess attempted to reason with the old man.
"Sorenson?" He arched an eyebrow before looking at the axe. "Oh, you'll have to excuse me. I suppose my demeanor wasn't the most appropriate for greeting newcomers." He chuckled before clearing his throat and twisting his beard. "I am Sorenson, but I'm no mystic."
Elsa furrowed her eyebrows and lowered her arms. "But the villagers say you are a mystic, that you're an expert in myths and lore."
"Oh, but I am." Sorenson nodded as he walked over to the steaming pot, tasting his soup before adding a pinch of salt. "I am a scientist. Mythology and science are familiar friends-both seek for the why behind things. Both look to provide an explanation for the natural phenomena of the world around us. And all myth contain a kernel of hard truth."
"A scientist...that makes sense, actually." Kairi said before smiling widely. "You've never met a wizard named Merlin before, have you?"
Sorenson nearly dropped his spoon before clapping his hands together. "Ah, Merlin! The great and powerful wizard! Quite the experienced traveler, I must say, through time and space!" He explained while thrusting his arms up. Let me be the first to tell you ladies...and mountain man, that this world is a tiny piece of a much bigger universe! There is much to be discovered beyond this world we live in! Mark my words, I will find a way out through the power of science!"
"We wish you the best of luck, Sorenson, but in the meantime, we need your help. Arendelle has been cursed." Anna said in a low tone while resting her hand on his shoulder.
"We're working to undo the curse and thought you might know a way to do so." Naminé added in.
"Hmmm...sounds like we've got quite the story to tell. Gather 'round, everyone!" Sorenson took a seat at a table followed by everyone else. "Start from the beginning, not one detail left out!"
With everyone gathered around the table, each person, one by one, shared their experience with the curse. Anna and Kairi shared theirs with heavy hearts. Each of them confessed they had read the spell, they shared their reasons for becoming fascinated with the spell to begin with, and they warned the unaware Sorenson that the Nightmare had chased them all throughout the castle, but not before rampaging through the village and affecting the villagers that had fallen asleep prior to its creation.
"I see…" Sorenson murmured. He stood from the table and walked over to a shelf, climbing onto a stool to reach the top shelf. "I believe...we can find the answer in one of these books." He began pulling out and tossing books behind him until he found one with a slim leather cover that had block letters stamped across the cover. "Here it is! See for yourself."
"Nattmara…" Elsa read aloud. "I know that word."
"What does it mean?" Kristoff asked, studying the cover.
Sorenson waved Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff back over to the table, where he began to go through the book. "Nattmara often show up in the sagas of old, and those stories are often told to children as warning tales."
Kairi sighed, folding her hands together. "It's like the sailor's stories that get passed down on the island, to warn children about the dangers of sailing too far out."
"Another name for Nattmara is 'Nightmare', because that's what it is-the embodiment of our deepest ear." Sorenson continued, pointing to a photo of a child sleeping in bed. "Nightmares can take on a physical shape and exist outside of your mind. The act of burying fear is what manifests the Nattmara, and eventually, the fear is too big to keep inside. They can take the shape of anything, and this particular one seems to have taken the form of a wolf. Nattmara tend to roam the world, leaching energy from all living things. Their very presence can cause tres to twist away from them. They feed on fear, and so they see to create fear."
"I thought the Heartless were bad…" Xion mumbled.
Sorenson flipped to a page that contained an illustration of swirling dark matter. "Surely, you're familiar with the Heartless?" He asked, everyone nodding. "Much like the Heartless, the Nattmara are creatures of the dark and can turn itself into dark matter to slip through cracks-cracks in doors, and cracks within the heart. There is no escaping them, unless you're brave enough that there is no weakness for the Nattmara to enter through." He sighed, his mind trailing off into deep thought. "If a Nattmara runs loose for too long, then a kingdom and everyone in it can fall into an eternal nightmare sleep. As it grows more powerful, more will become afraid, and it will gorge itself on fear, until its size is uncontrollable." He tapped his fingers on the pages. "Or so the age-old myth goes."
While Sorenson had gone on about the Nattmara, Kairi found herself feeling light-headed. Maybe she was dehydrated? Or maybe she was feeling overheated? It was rather warm inside of the tower due to the weather outside. Kairi stood up and walked over to the window that was cracked, getting a bit of fresh air. As she started to lose track of what Sorenson was going on about, Kairi couldn't help but hear a faint whisper coming from the door. She was surprised that nobody else could hear it. Then again, everyone else was wrapped up in the talk of Arendelle's myths and legends. There was something about this whisper that was really...enticing, and almost hypnotizing.
Not saying a word to her friends, Kairi began to follow the voice out of the tower. Part of her didn't want to, and yet, she almost felt like she had no control over her mind and body. It was almost as if a fishing line was attached to her and slowly reeled her in. Even outside of the tower, the whispering was even more powerful. The voice was calling her name too. Who did this voice belong to? It was unfamiliar, and yet there was a familiar warmth in her heart as she began to follow it away from the tower. All while this was happening, the rest of the group remained in the tower, trying to figure out the mystery of the Nattmara, and not noticing at first that Kairi had snuck away.
"You sound like you don't belive in this myth at all." Xion noted, a puzzle expression on her face.
"That's because I don't believe it." Sorenson snorted as he leaned back, folding his arms.
"But didn't you just say you believed in magic?" Anna asked.
"Young princess, I only believe what my eyes have seen. I have yet to witness such a thing." He said while twirling his beard. "Merlin, that crazy old wizard opened my eyes to such magic. However, until I see this Nattmara for myself, it's nothing but a myth to me."
Elsa's face scrunched up as if he just insulted her and her friends. "We just told you what's been happening in Arendelle. Isn't that enough proof that the myth is real?"
"Not at all." Sorenson said as he shook his head. "What do they teach in schools these days? The Nattmara is a creature of myth, and like all myths, it's an explanation to a greater mystery. In this instance: where do nightmares come from?"
"Chirithy said they come from the deepest darkest depths of our hearts." Naminé answered, standing up from her seat. "That's why Anna is the only one who can get rid of the Nattmara, because it came from her heart."
Sorenson sighed, rubbing his forehead with his hand. "That's not the point I'm trying to get across. Let's look at this from a different way. You've seen the signs for the mines that warn to be wary of Huldrefolk, right?" He asked, the group nodded in response. "The mines were abandoned nearly twenty years ago, because of strange and mysterious things that kept going wrong. Cave-ins started to occur with increased frequency, and miners that had worked their entire lives in these tunnels began to get lost. Now, what was the explanation?"
Anna thought for a moment, before speaking up to answer. "The Huldrefolk, mysterious elf-like people that live under rocks throughout Arendelle. They're not bad, but they're known to be mischievous and have a reputation for being thieves. Sometimes they're known as collectors or borrowers of lost things. The Huldrefolk is a bedtime story that parents tell their young ones."
"Exactly. The miners believed that the Huldrefolk were angry that they were impeding on their territory, that they were the ones causing the cave-ins to scare humans away! But the mystery behind it was that the mine was overworked. The Huldrefolk were used as a warning to keep miners from damaging the mine any further. Nothing mythical about it, just good old-fashioned greed." Sorenson heaved a sigh as he finished debating his side of the theory.
Elsa bit down her lip as her eyes darted between Anna and Sorenson. She started to remember why they came here in the first place and rested her arms on the table. "Sorenson, say the Nattmara was real and not a myth. Say it was a real creature that only my sister could defeat to save Arendelle. As a man who has experience with magic, would you know of a spell my sister could use?"
"I know no magic. I've said it once before, and I'll say it again. I am a man of science. My experience is nothing more than an encounter with a great wizard. My worldly travels were thanks to a hand-built ship." Sorenson showed what appeared to be an airship outside the window. "Quite nifty. You might invest in one yourselves should you decide to see other worlds."
Xion rolled her eyes. "You don't say."
"Enough of the philosophy lessons." Kristoff groaned in frustration. "Look, do you know of any way, mythical or not, that we can defeat a Nattmara? And we're in a hurry. Arendelle is cursed, the people are having nightmares, and the animals are sick."
"Well, that's easy enough." Sorenson answered as he pulled out another book titled Mythica Explainia. "You can only defeat a myth with a thing of myth. But it's not like the Revolute exists. None of it truly does."
"Revolute…" Anna murmured.
"You mean like the sword from the Saga of Aren?" Kristoff asked.
"Now, we're getting somewhere." Xion sighed of relief before taking a look around noticing somebody missing from the room. "Hey, where'd Kairi go? Did you guys see her duck out?"
Kristoff smirked while leaning against the wall. "She probably got sick of listening to Philosophy 101 and escaped for her own good."
Naminé started for the door with Xion behind her. "We'd better go check on her. It's late and she might get lost in the woods."
"We'll wait for you here." Elsa said affirmatively.
Kairi had been following the voice for not too long before Xion and Naminé noticed she was missing, but was still a decent distance away. As she made it into the woods, the whisper had stopped. Kairi began to wonder if she had wasted her time. Maybe it was just her imagination? Maybe she was just tired? Maybe she was just overwhelmed and scatterbrained? Kairi heaved a sigh before turning to return back to the tower. She may have been done with playing games and being made a fool, but whatever was playing with her psyche, it definitely wasn't finished with her.
Kairi!
It was Sora's voice! Kairi heard it! She swore she did! It was clear too. Kairi couldn't mistaken that voice for anyone else's. Even when she went a full year without memories of him, the instant she heard it, she knew it was him. Kairi stopped in her tracks and looked back, anxiously scanning the area for any sign of Sora. He had to be here, right? Yet, there was no sign of him. There wasn't any sign of any other human figure in the area. Kairi was alone in the woods. She wanted to just ignore it, but something in her heart made her not want to just bury it. She had been searching for Sora for a long time now.
Kairi! Where are you? Kairi!
"Sora?"
Kairi!
Kairi gasped at the sound of leaves crunching in the distance. She looked in the direction of the sound and could vaguely see a figure walking away from her. It had to be Sora! She heard his voice, and there was a person where his voice was coming from. Had she finally found him for good this time? Kairi began jogging in the direction of the figure, the cold weather filling her lungs and making it harder to keep up her breathing that was already plagued by her rush of overwhelming emotions. She wouldn't know how to feel until she was with Sora again. Kairi tried to keep up, brushing branches and brushes out of her way. If Sora really was here, nothing was going to stop her from seeing him.
Upon pushing through some trees and finding herself in a more open area, Kairi came to stop and had a good look at the figure in front of her. There he was, completely the same from head to toe. His brown spiky hair still defied gravity, his lean and slender body that now stood a couple inches taller than her, and his face, one that retained a boyish charm even at the age of sixteen. Kairi gasped, gripping a tree branch as he began to turn around. This had to be a trick, right? This was the question any average person would ask themselves, but not Kairi. She believed what her eyes saw, and her eyes couldn't lie. They were gazing upon the boy she had travelled so far to find, the boy who gave up everything for her, the boy she loved so dearly.
"Sora!" Kairi cried out his name before sprinting forward and throwing her arms around his body. She held onto him tighter than she even did when the two of them reunited before their showdown against Xehanort. All she cared about was being close to him, inhaling his natural scent, and feeling the warmth of his body against hers. It was all she ever wanted...or was it? "Sora?" Kairi muttered his name softly as she released her embrace and looked up. She cupped his face in her hands to get a look at him. There was definitely something off about him. His eyes were not their normal ocean blue and he didn't have his unforgettable smile that could reach anybody's heart.
"Kairi…" Sora looked up after whispering her name. His black eyes widened, his jaw dropped, and his eyebrows furrowed, as if he looked like he was going to cry. "Kairi…" He choked up.
Kairi shook her head, trying to shake off the pain she felt from seeing Sora in this state. "Sora," She said softly as she ran her hand through his hair. "It's okay. It's me. I'm here." Her eyes filled with tears, hoping she could reach him. "The Nightmare got you, but I'll make it all better, and then we'll go home...I promise." She whispered as she gazed into his lifeless eyes.
Sora, staring into Kairi's eyes, started hyperventilating before lurching his head up and letting out an unsettling scream. As he finished it up, his hands gripped Kairi's arms, keeping a tight grip on them. Kairi grunted, feeling his nails digging into her, but she didn't give up. She knew Sora was having a nightmare, and he needed her, much like how she's needed him in the past. Kairi looked at his face, watching as he shook his head, moaning and groaning as if Xehanort's thirteen Keyblades were all stabbing him in the back at once all while being forced to watch her die before his eyes once again.
"Sora…" Kairi grunted, fighting through her pain. Dark matter started to surround her the harder she tried to fight. "Please...you're hurting me…" She pleaded, hoping she could reach out to him.
Chirithy popped out to get a look at the situation, only for him to gasp the sight. "Kairi! Snap out of it! That's not Sora!"
"What…?"
"It's not the real Sora! It's another Nightmare!" He said in a distressed tone. "It's your Nightmare! It took the form of Sora!"
Kairi shook her head in denial. "No, it can't be!"
"You have to fight it, Kairi!" Chirithy encouraged her. "If you don't, you'll be consumed by the Nightmare!"
Kairi grunted softly as she could feel her body growing more numb, the longer Sora held his grip on her. She didn't want to believe that this wasn't the real Sora. She began silently praying that Sora would just snap out of it and take her into his arms like he had done many times before. When the reality settled in that this Sora was indeed what Chirithy had described, a Nightmare, Kairi gazed into his eyes, her jaw dropping as her body shook. She struggled to move her arm so she could summon Destiny Embrace. The only way he could be real, is if he snapped out of this and realized he was hurting me...Kairi thought in her head.
With a tight grip on her Keyblade, Kairi yanked herself out of Sora's grip and swung her Keyblade at him, knocking him back strongly and causing his body to collide with a tree. Upon his body's impact against the tree, Kairi let out an involuntary gasp, as if she were concerned about whether she hurt the boy or not. After he collapsed onto the ground, she carefully tiptoed forward, reaching out to see if he was still alive. Before Kairi could touch him, Sora jerked his head up, his eyes glowing yellow now. He let out a hiss that was comparable to a feline as his body suddenly changed to nothing but black, with what appeared to be blue veins circulating throughout his body.
If Kairi didn't believe this Sora was a Nightmare before, she did now. She stepped back as quick as she could, but couldn't get out if his way fast enough. He dissolved into the ground before respawning right behind her and striking her with his own Keyblade. Kairi cried out in pain as she collapsed forward. She instinctively whirled onto her back and blocked his next attack, then using the force in her arms and legs to toss him back behind her. This Nightmare was much more aggressive than the wolf. Sora got up from the ground before charging toward Kairi, ready to unleash whatever rage was built up within him. All she could do was block him, as he was way too fast and his attacks were as strong if not stronger than hers.
As Kairi used her barrier to block Sora's attacks she crouched down and slid underneath, knocking him off his feet before casting a number of Pearl spells at him. They did damage, but not even close to enough. Sora hopped back up and countered, hitting Kairi hard across the front and knocking her back against a boulder. She had trouble catching her breath as the impact against the boulder knocked the wind out of her. Kairi couldn't decide which she hated more, the fact that her worst nightmare happened to take the form of Sora, or the fact that she couldn't even fight this thing off without it beating her half to death.
Not having many options left at the moment, Kairi had no choice but to cast a Stop spell and escape. If she didn't get out of there, it was going to kill her. At least with the Nightmare being frozen in place now, Kairi could get out of view. Maybe if she was lucky, she could get far enough away that he wouldn't even know where she was. It was comforting once Kairi sprinted out of the woods back to the open area where the tower was located. Not only was she out of the woods, but she took a look back and saw that the Nightmare Sora hadn't followed her. Even if he wasn't following her, it didn't make her feel any better about the situation.
"He was a nightmare…" Kairi said before collapsing onto her knees. "How could I…?"
"Kairi!"
Hearing the call of her name, but not expecting it, Kairi jerked her head and saw Naminé and Xion both running toward her. A part of her was relieved to see them, but a part of her also wished that they just stayed at the tower and didn't notice her leave. She had already seen the damage that Anna's Nightmare had caused and she didn't want to get her friends involved with hers if she didn't have to.
"You okay?" Xion asked as she knelt down by Kairi. "We noticed you wandered off."
"Yeah, what happened?" Naminé asked with concern in her voice.
Kairi shook her head. "Just...another Nightmare…"
Xion and Naminé looked at each other, both having the same idea. They knew Kairi had been struggling this whole journey, and whatever this next struggle was, they also knew that she needed them with her, whether she said it or not. Naminé rubbed her hand on Kairi's back as the redhead held her head low, trying to catch her breath from the intense encounter she had with the Nightmare and also trying to hold back tears.
I thought I had finally accepted your sacrifice for me, and that you'd do it again. But for some reason, I continued to feel pain. Maybe, there was more to my pain than just missing you. Maybe, I was homesick. Or maybe, I was starting to...forget...
"It was him...I swear it was him…" Kairi softly said.
Chirithy hopped off Kairi's shoulder to look sincerely into her eyes. "Kairi, that was the darkness manipulating your mind. You have to be careful. If you didn't fight back, the darkness could've swallowed you entirely."
"Chirithy's right." Naminé nodded in agreement. "Your heart may be pure light, but that only makes you a bigger target of the darkness."
"Okay, I get it." Kairi said in a somewhat harsh tone as she stood up. "I'm not stupid." She murmured as she began walking in the other direction, keeping her head low.
"We never said that, Kairi…" Chirithy noted.
"Yeah, we're just worried about you." Xion explained, causing Kairi to stop in her tracks. "You're our friend and we don't want anything to happen to you."
Kairi sighed, not wanting to brush off what Xion had said. She appreciated the support and how her friends felt toward her, but she also began to question it.
"We're just worried about you," Xion said that day. It was here that I started to realize that all my friends had done was worry about me. When would this stop? I didn't need or want people to worry about me. I wanted and needed them to trust me.
"Sorry...let's just go catch up with the others. Where are Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff?" Kairi apologized.
"They're still at the tower. Sorenson was still talking to them about Anna's Nightmare." Xion answered as she tilted her head in the direction they came from. "Let's go back. Right now, we have to stick together."
Kairi nodded, leading Xion and Naminé back to the tower. She had never been so eager to be back indoors again, away from her Nightmare. Unbeknownst to her though, the worst was yet to come. The Nightmare Sora watched Kairi from a distance before shifting into dark matter that crawled through the ground with a number of Neoshadow Heartless travelling along with it. It travelled slowly, giving the girls enough time to return back to Sorenson's tower and without any more trouble, despite looking somewhat beat up.
"Kairi? You okay?" Elsa asked. "We were wondering where you ran off to."
"Sorry...I just...needed some air. What did I miss?" Kairi apologized while tugging on some of hre hair.
"We think we might have figured out how we can defeat the Nattmara." Anna explained with a mixture of enthusiasm and anxiousness in her voice. "Remember the Saga of Aren? Well, Aren had a sword called the Revolute. He was said to have defeated a mythical beast with his sword. If what Chirithy said is true, and I have to be the one to slay the Nattmara, then I need to find that sword."
"Sounds simple enough!" Naminé reacted with relief.
"Yeah, except for we have no idea where this sword is." Kristoff said with his arms folded.
"We'll figure it out." Anna said confidently. "We have to...I have to. This might be our only chance to free Arendelle from this curse." She continued to flip through the book. "There has to be something in here that hints us to where the sword is located."
Sorenson couldn't help but burst into laugher. "I'm sorry, but it's unlikely that Aren himself ever existed-or his mighty sword of myth. It's likely that there was a strong warrior from way back when, but he probably never met the sun or faced a great dragon, or carved out the Arenfjord." His laughed faded as a serious expression painted across his face. "It's just a legend-like the Huldrefolk, or the mountain trolls."
"The trolls exist, they raised me." Kristoff said in a defensive tone.
"Guys!" Kairi intervened. "Instead of debating over this, let's just figure out where the sword is. We're wasting time."
"Kairi's right." Elsa nodded in agreement, taking advantage of her position in power. "Anna, what have you found?"
"This…" Anna shifted the book to Elsa.
As it turned out, during Kairi's disappearance, Anna had done some research in regard to the Nattmara. She had learned new information about the creature such as trolls being afraid of it, which would explain why they had gone missing when Kristoff tried to visit recently. It also explained everyone was perfectly safe during the pilgrimage to Sorenson's tower during the day. Did that mean it hated all light sources? Kairi thought about that possibility as she remembered how the Nightmare Sora reacted her Pearl spells that were a pure light source and usually worked really well against the Heartless. However, there was nothing on how a Nattmara could be created from a spell. Maybe reading the spell didn't have an effect after all? It was all confusing.
Anna continued to flip through the pages until she came upon an entry regarding the legendary Huldrefolk. The information on the mythical people was the same that she and Elsa had heard already. They lived in the shadows, were known to play pranks, and had a way of stealing or borrowing items that are lost. The stealing of lost items garnered Kairi's interest and had her wondering if maybe they found her seashell piece. Now with the idea of having to find the hidden sword, Revolute, Anna and her sister couldn't help but take that statement to heart.
"That which is lost…" Elsa repeated. "If we can find the Huldrefolk, they might know the location of the Revolute."
Sorenson sighed and shook his head. "Your majesty, with all due respect, you're absolutely crazy for taking such a quest."
"Yep. Sad, but true." Elsa said with a shrug. "It's...kind of hereditary."
"I'd expect nothing less from Arendelle's queen." He said with an admirable grin. "All I can hope is that you prove me wrong."
"We'll have no trouble with that." Xion smirked as she put her hands on her hips.
"You know," Sorenson said to Anna and Elsa. "Your mother came here once, seeking answers. In fact, she was the one who painted my ceiling."
"Answers? Answers for what?" Anna asked.
The sudden loud creaking of the door was enough to break up all conversation. With all sets of eyes on the door, dark matter start seeping through the door's cracks. Not only through the door's, but also through various cracks on the wall. It dripped down almost like black mud was slowly trying to fill the tower. Anna huddled close to Elsa and Kristoff while Kairi stood in a defensive stance in front of Xion and Naminé. Most of the group was confused, but Kairi recognized the dark matter and her heart sank. It was the same dark matter that the Nightmare Sora was made up of, which only meant one thing.
"What's happening?" Anna cried out in despair.
"It's like what the book said about the Nattmara!" Sorenson answered as he crept back. "It can take the form of dark matter and travel through cracks."
"And look!" Naminé pointed out the Neoshadow Heartless that rose up from the ground. "The Heartless are in on this too!"
"We can take 'em!" Kairi said as she drew her Keyblade. "The rest of you get to safety!"
Sorenson took off running upstairs with Kairi, Naminé, and Xion charging at the Neoshadows. Elsa also began shooting ice spells, freezing a good amount of Heartless. The goal was to try and not cause collateral damage to Sorenson's tower, but at this point, it was going to be close to impossible. The Neoshadows crawled under book shelves, tables, and even onto the walls before taking a chance to attack one of the girls. Xion and Naminé were perfectly capable of helping Elsa take them out on their own, but Kairi, who wasn't surprised by this, had bigger fish to fry.
The Nightmare Sora respawned in the tower and began to charge ata Kairi once again. This time, Kairi was more prepared. She blocked his attacks and knocked him back before casting a Thunder spell. Sora stuck his Keyblade in the air and absorbed her spell before shooting it right back at her. In the flash of a second, Naminé dashed to Kairi's side and cast Reflera to sent the magic elsewhere in the tower. She yelped as Sora nearly snuck up behind her and swung his Keyblade, only for Kairi to get between the two of them and block his attacks.
"Kairi? What's…" Anna gasped as she saw the Nightmare Sora gazing harshly into her eyes. "Is that…?"
"No!" Kairi struggled as she shoved him back. "That's not Sora!" She rolled out of the way before kicking him in the gut, knocking him against a bookshelf that had books collapsing right on top of him from the shelves. "That's a Nightmare…" She looked back at Anna with sadness in her eyes. "It's my Nightmare."
Anna backed away with Kristoff wrapping his arms around her instinctively, trying to stay out of the way of the Heartless. Kairi decided to finally be a little more aggressive and lunged at the Nightmare Sora, swinging her Keyblade at him, hoping she could land at least a few hits on him. He was really good at blocking her attacks before disappearing into the floor again and shooting from right below her, knocking her down onto the ground. Naminé knelt down and cast Cure on her to get her back on her feet while Xion attempted a Sonic Blade on Sora, only for him to dodge roll out of the way and counter, striking Xion down as well.
With the Neoshadows taken care of, Elsa saw that both Kairi and Xion were down with Naminé healing them. She locked eyes with Sora before hurrying between him and the girls and shooting ice at his feet. The lack of traction caused him to slip, giving Elsa a chance start freezing his entire body, beginning with his feet and working her way up until he was completely frozen. She looked toward Naminé, who knew exactly what Elsa was thining. With Kairi and Xion both healing just fine, Naminé hopped up and cast Aerora at the frozen Nightmare. It sent him out the door and far down a path of ice that Elsa created. Now completely immobile, Sora had no way to attack anyone, especially with Elsa sealing the door shut with her ice.
"Is he gone?" Anna asked.
"For now…" Kairi caught her breath. "If this was anything like the last time I saw him, he'll be back. It'll be just like the Nattmara that was chasing us at the palace. A Nightmare isn't so easily defeated." She held up Destiny's Embrace and held a strong gaze on it. "Just like Anna will have to be the one to vanquish her Nightmare, I must do the same for mine."
"We should at least try and make way toward the mines. We can at least get a good start before your Nightmare catches up with us, Kairi." Elsa suggested. "I don't know how long my ice magic will last."
Kairi nodded, not saying much. "Yeah…" She brushed some hair behind her ear and bit down on her lip. "Never thought I'd ever run from Sora, that's for sure."
"Well, that's not the real Sora, so you're still in the clear." Xion said encouragingly. "At least the Nightmare version has got to be a lazy bum like the real one if he takes this long to catch up." She laughed, hoping to lighten the mood. It didn't work. "Sorry…"
Before anybody could finally take a deep breath and relax for a moment, there was another disturbing sound that echoed throughout the tower. It was a banging sound this time. Something was smacking against the door and was strong enough that the ice was starting to crack.
"Uh...that doesn't sound good…" Kristoff murmured softly.
After a few more attempts at breaking through the ice, a wave of dark matter broke through, shattering pieces of ice all over the place. Everyone shielded themselves from being cut from the sharp edges of the shards before watching the matter shapeshift into the Nightmare creature that had been following them since its creation. It was the wolf, still as large and threatening as it was at the palace, with it being so tall that its head scraped along the hand painted ceiling. The claws dug into the ground, flicking pieces of wood as it drew its feet back to step forward. If the Nightmare Sora gave them trouble, the wolf was about to make things worse.
"Nattmara!" Anna cried out.
Acting upon her first instinct, Elsa ran in front and created a wall of ice between her and the Nattmara. Even if it wouldn't last forever, she figured it would at least give them a moment to think. The Nattmara had learned its lesson from the last time and burst right through the ice wall, making a flurry of Elsa's wall. With the wall not working, Elsa decided her next best option was to just try and attack it dead on with her ice magic. While she was working on that, Sorenson had searched around his tower for a solution and saw numerous vials and beakers of chemical compounds, ones that he would never try to mix. That was when it hit him.
"Everyone, shield your eyes!" Sorenson yelled. He threw the vials at the wolf, a bright white light flashing as a result of the various chemicals mixing together. The light, although it didn't harm the Nattmara, at least seemed to irritate it enough to give Sorenson time to lead everyone else out of harm's way. "This way! Upstairs!" He directed them.
On the second floor, there was a window that was large enough for each person to climb out of and stand safely on a deck that overlooked the mountain. While helping everyone through the window, Sorenson noticed a large tablecloth draped over. His eyes darted between the table cloth and a wire that stretched all the way down the base of the mountain where the mines were located, getting an idea. Sorenson asked Kristoff to help him tear off pieces of the cloth and hand them out.
Thanks to Sorenson's plan, everything seemed to be okay, but in reality, everything was about to get worse. Anna hopped back inside and looked down from the second floor to see Elsa trying to hold the Nattmara back with her ice. In theory, it should've worked, but in reality, the Nattmara was growing larger the more Elsa used her magic. The impact of the creature's body hitting the walls caused the tower to shake, nearly knocking most of the group off their feet. Anna's eyes widened as the now much larger Nattmara swiped at Elsa, who continued to thwart off the creature, unaware of the growth spurt it was experiencing.
"Elsa!" Anna cried out from above. "Elsa, stop! Your magic! It's making it stronger!" Unfortunately, between the tearing of the cloth and the snarling of the Nattmara, Elsa couldn't hear her sister.
"She can't hear her, Kairi!" Naminé pointed out.
Kairi studied Elsa's intense expression as she stayed focused on the Nattmara. She brought her Keyblade out. She didn't want to do this, but didn't have much of a choice considering how much noise was being created. Kairi aimed Destiny's Embrace at Elsa's hand and shot a small spark, just enough to get her attention, but not really harm her.
"Ow!" Elsa yelped as she held her hand. She looked back and scowled upon seeing Kairi's Keyblade aimed at her. "Kairi? What are you doing?"
"It was for your own good! Your magic was making the Nattmara stronger! The only way out of here is to escape!"
"Come on, Sorenson has a plan!" Xion urged the girls over to the wire.
Frustrated with the situation, Elsa finally fled from the Nattmara and hurried up the stairs. The NIghtmare attempted to lunge at her, causing horrific damage to the wooden steps. The impact caused the second floor to shake even more aggressively, causing Elsa to nearly lose her footing. Kairi and Anna both helped her up and out the window, where Sorenson was using pieces of table cloth to make harnesses. Using the wire that stretched from the tower and down to the mountain's base, each person would use their cloth harness to zip line down to safety.
"Okay, you're all strapped in. Go ahead and climb up." Sorenson directed everyone.
Anna was the first one to climb onto the railing. "W-Wait a second! You can't be serious!"
"Okay, on my count!" Kairi said as she hopped onto the railing and rested her hands behind the obviously nervous Anna's back. "Ready? Three...two...one...jump!"
After a bit of a push from Kairi, Anna began zipping down, screaming from the adrenaline. Elsa went next, then Kairi, followed by Xion and Naminé, with Kristoff and Sorenson picking up the rear. It was a much quicker alternative to just climbing down the mountain or running down an ice staircase. Despite trying to escape from the Nattmara, Kairi got full enjoyment from zip lining, being reminded of a rollercoaster. While she was enjoying the thrill, Naminé was trying not to freak out from heights, while Xion's table cloth was unfortunately worn, resulting in her harness snapping and sending her plummeting down.
"XION!" Naminé shouted as she reached out for her falling friend. Having no time to think, she drew her Keyblade and cast Aerora down below Xion. The wind tornado that the spell created was strong enough to propel Xion back up. While her tablecloth was torn, her only way of safety was to grip Naminé's Keyblade and ride it out. "I've got you, Xion! Just don't let go!"
"Thanks, Nami!" Xion called up from below, still trying to catch her breath from the adrenaline-inducing fall.
Upon getting closer to the base of the mountain, Anna noticed that there was a large tree that the wire was attached to. Surely, if she collided with the tree as the speed she was going, she'd break a few ribs. If she collided with the tree, that means everyone behind her would collide right into her, causing more injuries. There had to be a safer alternative for their landing. Anna took a quick second to remember when she and Kristoff journeyed up the North Mountain and had to jump all the way down. The snow was deep enough that cushioned their fall like a pillow. If they were going to use snow, they had to be quick.
"Snow!" Anna yelled back at her sister. "Elsa! We need snow!"
Elsa, noticing the tree that they were approaching, shot her arm out, creating a large hill of snow below them. Once she felt like there was enough, she called out for everyone to cut their harnesses. Kairi, Xion, and Naminé were confused, but decided to trust her once they saw the tree. Xion only had to let go of the Keyblade while Naminé and Kairi both had to cut their harnesses from the wire. Anna and Elsa also cut their wires, as well as Kristoff and Sorenson once they saw all of the girls doing it. Much to everyone's relief, Anna's plan of using snow as a cushion worked and each person landed safely.
"Everyone okay?" Elsa asked as she stood up.
Kairi nodded, holding her head. "Yeah, just a little brain freeze." She and Naminé helped Xion up and the snow off each other. "You okay, Xion?"
"Yeah…" Xion heaved a sigh. "At least I don't have to go to the bathroom anymore…"
Kristoff helped Anna up before looking back toward the mountain, worry painted across his face. "That thing is following us…"
"And now with mine, there's two of them." Kairi noted.
Xion folded her arms and shook her head. "We can only hope the two of them don't decide to team up on us."
"Chirithy, any input on this?" Kairi asked.
"Well…" Chirithy began to say as he climbed onto her shoulder. "The good news is that these Nightmares come from two different hearts. Because of this, they are unaware of each other's existence. In other words, they won't associate with each other."
Naminé brushed her bangs and sighed of relief. "Well, that's good."
"But, that bad news is Nightmares will attack whatever source of life they see, so they'll both attack you." Chirithy added in.
"Great," Xion said sarcastically. "They might as well just gang up on us."
"Splitting up from the others might help since your Nightmare will automatically go after you, Kairi, and Anna's will go after her." Chirithy suggested.
Kairi thought for a moment. "The only thing is Elsa wants us to stick together. Anna has no way to defend herself other than Elsa's magic and we saw what happened when she tried to attack it." She took a deep breath, feeling a headache pounding against her skull from everything. "We can't just leave them."
"Look!" Anna pointed toward the mountain where the dark matter was continuing to rush down the mountain and in their direction. "It's coming for us!" She looked behind and noticed the opening to the mines, all accompanied by warning signs, waring travelers of the Huldrefolk. "The mines! Let's go hide in here!"
"The mines? They're not safe!" Sorenson argued. "There's cave-ins and toxic air-" He was cut off by the Nattmara's howl.
"Sorenson, this may be our only chance to safety right now." Elsa said firmly, directing everyone to the mines. "Everyone quick! "
Each person ducked into the mines, ignoring all the warning signs, and being able to bust down all the wooden planks that blocked the entrance thanks to Kristoff using his pickaxe and the girls using their Keyblades. If their previous encounters with both Nightmares taught anyone anything, it was that they had made it out of the freezer and into the frying pan. It was only a matter of time until either the Nattmara or Nightmare Sora would confront them again.
Whenever that time was, neither Anna or Kairi were prepared for it.
A/N: Welp, just found out that I'm gonna be out of work for a few more weeks, so hopefully I can get more chapters out quicker! Thanks for the support guys, and please stay safe and healthy out there!
