Welcome back! I'll start things off with some mysterious characters y'all may or may not recognize! :3
"For the love of all things breathing, Jet, stop pacing like a feral cat in a cage!"
The boy halted and turned to glare at the teenage girl who'd snapped at him. "Shut up! Who knows what Master will say? I don't care what excuses Fang can make to Baron to wiggle his way out of this. It's darned Master I'm worried about!"
Another woman, sporting long mahogany hair and black clothing, let out a scoff. "Keep making my eyes turn circles and the only thing you'll need to worry about is my blade."
Jet opened his mouth to say some more, but the teenage girl, whose wine red mask had been tossed aside just like his own dark one, beat him to it. "If Fang was able to convince Master to let us keep an eight year old all those years ago, surely he can get away with this."
"Exactly," the woman snorted. "Fang's smarter than he looks."
"Or he's just in everyone's good graces."
"Either way, it's a win for us."
At that moment, Fang and the scythe-wielding teenage boy came out of the room. The woman looked up, "Do I even need to ask how it went?"
The scythe-wielder rolled his piercing red eyes and sat down on the opposite side of the tattered sofa she was on. "No."
"Would you look at that?" Jet huffed, "We were just talking about you two."
"I don't think I want to know." Fang replied, then looked at the dark-haired woman. "How was your mission, Moonlight?"
"It went smoothly, thanks to me." Moonlight spun her katana between her fingers. "My partner nearly messed it up. And I know yours got screwed by the kiddo over here." She inclined her head towards the boy on her left.
The boy gave her a subtle glare. "Not apologizing."
"No one expects you to."
Fang snorted, "Enough of that. Fleet, you got off easy on that one."
The teenage girl piped up, "You have too many soft spots considering you have that much wit. First you picked Fleet up and convinced freaking Master to let him stay, now you're trying to avoid a fight with the Keyblade wielders."
"You want to avoid it too."
"Maybe, but it's inevitable."
He leaned forward so they were roughly positioned in a circle. "Inevitable for him, but not for us."
They lifted their heads. "Fang," Moonlight hissed. "You aren't suggesting-"
"I am." He whispered. "But I trust you guys will spread this information to the others discreetly."
"If this gets found out," the dark-haired woman warned. "we could all get killed. Following through with this is considered treachery."
"Are you in or not?"
"...I am."
"Moonlight and I can spread the word," said the teenage girl. "And I'm assuming this plan is from both you and Baron?"
"It is." He rubbed his pale blond hair. "C'mon, let's go. I need to look into my next mission."
Meanwhile...
The Land of Departure wasn't Scala Ad Caelum, but Sora found himself reminded of the first other world he'd ever visited.
Most of the town was well-kept and neat. He glimpsed bouquets of flowers and all types of decor and ornaments. The people talked in the streets, filling it with voices, passing by market stands or shops.
What stuck out the most? The large castle, placed between the grassy mountains.
It was huge, colored white and gold, and gleamed in the sunlight. Sora, Riku and Kairi walked behind Skuld and Candace, staring at it in awe.
"I haven't seen this place in a very long time." Candace chuckled, "Nice to see it hasn't changed much."
"You lived here?" Sora gawked.
"Sure did!"
"Then why the heck would you come to our world?" Riku asked, "This place is, well, a whole lot more special than our place."
"Let's just say I'm a curious person!" She giggled.
Skuld shook her head, then looked at the castle. "The people we're looking for are in there. We're all on good terms, so we should have no trouble being let in."
"And then we'll find my Master?" Kairi said hopefully.
"Yep. It's either Master Xehanort or Master Aqua. Since only Aqua's here, we can determine it pretty easily."
"Process of elimination," Candace clapped. "Ever so useful."
"The Land of Departure really is beautiful." Kairi admired, "If I had the choice to live here, I would."
"You'd like Ven's job, then." Skuld chortled.
"Who?" inquired Sora.
"Ventus. He's a member of the Dandelions, remember? You just don't see him back at Scala Ad Caelum because he's stationed here. His job is to help keep an eye on this world, and then give a report every week. That's why Elrena was here."
"That...makes a lot of sense." Riku scratched his head.
"And effective. Ven gets to stay with the people who are like family to him, the Land of Departure has one more Keyblade wielder to help it stay safe from Heartless."
"How long are we going to stay here?" Sora asked.
"As long as we need to," Skuld replied. "We need to alert the Masters of the Heartless controllers, and continue your training. So we're going to be here for quite a while, probably until this whole thing is over."
He thought back to his own home, and thought with a pang of guilt that he hadn't yet made a video call with his mother. She'd done regular calls, though they were brief, with the both of them being busy and all. "Do you think we can make a video call to our parents?" he requested.
Skuld nodded almost immediately, to his relief, with the delay only being to process his question. "Of course. I would like to make sure you guys are in a room that doesn't... give too much away. You can probably make the call in the library."
Riku and Kairi brightened at that, and they all gave one another happy glances. Now, they were crossing a large bridge that led to the entrance of the huge white and golden castle.
Looking over the edge, Sora saw that ground was a long way down, in the form of a lightly flowing river. The water was turquoise and bubbled over the small stones, creating a relaxing, familiar sound. It was actually pleasing to his eyes, but the height gave him a bit of vertigo, so he tore his gaze away before he lost his balance.
Riku piped up, "There were Heartless in this place, right? Is that a bad thing?"
Candace was the first to reply, "When I lived here, I never saw any of them! So I would say yes."
Skuld sighed. "She's right. Very little Heartless appear in the Land of Departure, if any. So it's concerning how there's a ton of them popping up everywhere all of a sudden. It's most likely due to those Heartless controllers."
Sora glimpsed darkness and beady eyes, and he summoned his Keyblade, whipping around. "Speaking of, we have company!"
Without hesitation, the others summoned their Keyblades as well in a flurry of light and colors. Skuld was the first to attack: she lunged forward and struck three Neoshadows at once, eliminating them instantly. Candace shot a well-aimed Blizzara spell and took down a Soldier.
There were other Heartless, too. Sora recognized a couple Air Soldiers, Shadows, Powerwilds, and a Black Fungus. The last one was going to be a problem.
He attacked one of the Powerwilds, but it doubled back, gleefully bouncing on its feet when it dodged. It tried to land a sliding kick, but Sora jumped away and took to slash at it and reduce it to nothing in a matter of seconds.
Riku went for the Air Soldiers. When one of them made a diving spiral for him, he blocked it and retaliated with a Fire spell. It was stunned and he defeated it quickly. He attacked the rest with a similar method, but went with Thunder instead.
Kairi attacked the group of five Shadows. They were persistent, but relatively easy to eliminate and seemed to be nothing more than nuisances.
Sora defeated his last Powerwild and looked up. "That all of them?"
"Yeah." Skuld wiped her forehead, "Is anyone hurt?"
"No," they chorused.
She exhaled, "Good."
"I'd say you all did a great job!"
Startled, the group whipped around and saw four people, all of whom were holding Keyblades. The one who had spoken had messy blond hair and was beaming at them. Behind him were two men- one young, one old, and both with slight, welcoming smiles. The last was a youthful woman with light blue hair and whose smile was a bit wider.
Skuld's mouth split into a grin, unsummoning her Keyblade. "Ven! It's been a while."
"Good to see you too!" He did the same. "What brings you to the Land of Departure? Elrena was just here yesterday. Is this because of the Heartless?"
"Partly."
The blue-haired woman spoke up, "I noticed you brought visitors." She peered at Candace, "Are you...Elena?"
Not recognizing the name, Sora made a confused face without realizing it. Candace shook her head, "That's my mother. I'm Candace. A pleasure to see ya again!"
She brightened, "Candace? The last time I saw you, you were heading to the world with Radiant Gardens!"
"I wouldn't expect your memory to be any worse!"
"Do you two...know each other?" Riku asked tentatively, looking as if he expected his Master to start rattling off a lengthy, detailed life story.
"Sure do!" Candace chirped instead, "Aqua here would usually pass into my part of town, and my mother, Elena, talked with her quite a bit. And since they knew each other, of course I do too!"
"You're Master Aqua?" Sora chimed in.
"I am. But you don't need the formalities." She nodded respectfully, "And you all are?"
"I'm Sora. This is Riku and Kairi."
Riku pushed his head lightly, teasing him, "We can introduce ourselves, you know."
"Riku is my apprentice!" said Candace proudly. "And we came here to find Kairi's Master, which I am certain is you!"
Aqua opened her mouth, her brow furrowed, as if she were trying to comprehend the words that had just spilled out of her friend's mouth. Skuld pinched the bridge of her nose. The Dandelion had been planning on proposing the question in a less...casual manner, but oh well, beggars can't be choosers.
"I'm sorry...what did you just say?"
But now it was going to be significantly more awkward.
About an hour later, inside the castle, everything had been sorted out and official introductions made.
The oldest man was Master Eraqus, and while he was a little intimidating, he had treated them all with respect, so that helped Sora become a little less socially anxious.
They already had introduced Aqua, Kairi's Master, and Ventus, a Dandelion. The last apprentice of Master Eraqus was Terra, who was also a Master and had taken the test very recently.
Skuld had seemed a little embarrassed at how Candace had started off the presentation of the current situation they were in, but had explained the whole problem with the Heartless controllers and being sent here, to the Land of Departure, where they were hoping to train under the Masters here.
Eraqus had accepted almost immediately, and seemed to be thinking grimly about the controllers. "How many do you know are part of this organization?" He asked.
"More than six." Skuld rubbed her temples. She described the ones they had seen: the scythe-wielder, a young man with an eyepatch, an elflike woman who had been partnered with the last two, and three masked teenagers- two male, one female. "Do you recognize any of these descriptions?"
"Silver hair and red eyes," Terra mused. "...I might have seen that one, a week or two ago."
"You did?" All attention went to him.
"Yeah...I was waiting in the market while Ven and Aqua were getting our food supplies." His dark blue eyes closed. "I felt some sort of cold- not necessarily darkness, but eerily similar. I turned around a saw a kid who looked maybe Ven's age? He matches your description."
"What was he doing?" Eraqus inquired.
"Not really anything. He was just looking around, like he didn't care about the things around him. Then he met up with someone- a large man who looked like he'd been in a lot of fights during his life. They talked for a bit and then left."
"Did you catch any names?" Ventus asked.
Terra shook his head, his eyes opening again as he stopped the memory. "No, I didn't. The man just called the red-eyed one 'kiddo'. He didn't seem to like that, though."
"So, what, they were shopping?" Candace snorted, "Stealing? Scheming under the guise of shopping?"
"Er- I don't...know..." Terra seemed to be a bit thrown off by her suggestions.
"Well, whatever the case, they've been here, which probably means they're familiar with the land." She went from slightly derisive to strangely chipper. Her mood swings were quite confusing to Sora.
"...You have weird friends, Aqua," muttered Ventus.
The blue-haired Master gave him a light elbow jab. A gentle, albeit abrupt one. He made a bit of a pouting face and huffed. "Just sayin'."
Eraqus sighed and stood up. "I'll need to think this over, maybe send out a messenger to other Masters, just to be safe. Could you three help our guests to where they'll be staying?" He addressed his apprentices.
They nodded, "Of course."
Their new rooms, Sora thought, were a tad reminiscent of the ones back in Scala Ad Caelum's beautiful clock tower.
The area was slightly smaller, but comfortably furnished. There was a bed with white and blue blankets, a nice red armchair in the corner, a wooden wardrobe beside it, a few empty shelves and tidy counters, and a large window with sapphire-colored curtains, positioned near the bedside.
There was still sunlight streaming through the closed glass, and due to the filtering of the curtains, a shining array of blue colors danced on the carpet. And when he summoned his Dream Eater, it also went to bounce on the new bed.
Just like back at the clock tower's rooms.
Sora laughed a little and picked the Meow Wow up, lying down on the soft blankets. Cookie rolled off of him, before proceeding to use its head to drape his arm around it. Absentmindedly he stroked his Dream Eater.
He remembered the Accessories he was wearing. Interesting, he mused, how he could barely even tell they were still there. He used the arm that had been petting Cookie to feel the Gaia Bangle and Atlas Armlet. They were cool to the touch, but pulling away made any sensation of their presences disappear.
The door was still open, but Sora decided he was too lazy to get up and close it. It was only late afternoon, but for some reason, he was already tired. Warping did that to you, he assumed.
Taking out his phone, he sent a message to Riku and Kairi.
Hotel4Hearts: Do you guys like your rooms?
SilverLining: Yeah
SilverLining: Except for the fact that Dawn nearly broke the shelves.
PaopuGirl: How do you nearly break a shelf?! XD
SilverLining: Not funny. For such a small creature, Dawn is REALLY strong.
Hotel4Hearts: But...she DIDN'T break the shelf, right?
SilverLining: No. But now she's pouting inside the cupboard.
PaopuGirl: I would let Pixie in my room, but she'd probably break more than a shelf XDXDXD.
SilverLining: I'd place my bets on the ceiling.
Hotel4Hearts: WOW
Hotel4Hearts: Cookie's well-behaved, all it wants to do is jump on my bed or sleep.
PaopuGirl: Like a cat?
Hotel4Hearts: Sure, like a cat.
SilverLining: Hey, about those Heartless controllers...do you think they'll appear here again?
Sora hesitated to type a response. The chat had no more messages for a good few seconds, before he scrounged up enough courage to say:
Hotel4Hearts: Terra's seen them before, and we had to fight Heartless on our way here. I definitely think they're gonna come back.
Even though that's where the conversation ended, Sora knew his friends well enough to feel their anxiety behind the screen.
The next morning, they had breakfast, and then briefly went through some training drills with the Masters. Then, as they took a break in the library, Ventus looked over at Aqua and asked, "Hey, when's our next supply run?"
She paused. "Hm. Now that I think about it, we are starting to run low. I'll go into the market today."
Kairi sat up from her place on the couch, "We can help! You guys have been so nice ever since we got here- we can also go on the supply run with you."
Aqua blinked, then smiled, "That's very nice of you. If you want to help, then you can come. We'll be leaving in a little bit."
Sora got to his feet, and Riku put away the book he was reading. They were going to help too.
Fast forwarding ten minutes, the group- comprised of Aqua, Terra, Ventus, Sora, Kairi, Riku, and Candace (who had tagged along as they were leaving)- had entered the bustling market. Sora had passed it when heading to the castle, but being in the heart of the area made his head spin.
There were a lot of people, a lot of different smells, colors, and a ton of shouting.
"Kairi and I will head to the fruit stands." Aqua said, her voice reaching their ears despite the sound of the market. "Terra and Ven will be getting the fresh produce. Candace, Sora and Riku are going to be getting dry ingredients. Meet back at the market entrance when you're done."
A chorus of agreements rose up, and the group dispersed. Sora looked up at Candace, whose glittering blue eyes were skimming the list of ingredients she'd been given. "What are we getting first?"
"Flour. Don't worry, I know my way around this place." She chuckled. "Just stay close and don't get lost."
"Okay."
Of course, things never go the way you want them to. And the following events are going to change a lot.
Because what's a story without some twists?
Review Responses!
verdance: (Chapter 9) Welcome back lol! Don't worry, everyone has a life- take your time in reviewing XD. And I am so flattered. Any more compliments and my ego might burst. I feel like most of my writing style and stories are associated with mystery and names from Google Translate XDXDXD. And don't forget the lore! I love making stories and intricate backgrounds to the point where it might not even make sense anymore loool.
Some people hate Kairi for being portrayed as weak or like a damsel in distress, but I honestly just love her and feel bad for her. I don't blame Kairi- I blame Square Enix XD. But even then I don't hate anybody lol. YES, THE MYSTERY MWAHAHAHA *blasts mysterious music*
(Chapter 10) Get your sleep! I can't have my readers deprived of rest! XD Yeah, I feel like Kairi would be the fast one. No particular reason. Thank you for the spell comment! At this point I'm just trying to extend my word count haha. And Candace loves giving nicknames to people who have more authority than her. Like a rebel.
I liked Evdomos too, which is why I chose it. Google Translate can be helpful :p. And these villains are going to be huge, so expect more from them! :3 Intrigue and conflict is my specialty~ (At least that's what I like to think haha). The Keyblade wielders are a bit like royalty in terms of power and respect... They keep the people safe, and in return, they are held in high regard.
Thanks again! Hope you liked this chapter too!
I'm a bit mad at myself. Two weeks and only 3,000 words to show for it in a half-decent chapter. :p Oh well.
Next chapter I am so frikkin excited to write like ohmygOsHyES-
Ahem. Stay tuned for it!
somibel, OUT!