Wolfie: Sorry for the long wait, everyone! School's been hectic for me and both Legacy and I also work, so writing time has been hard to find. But we're here (didn't miss our deadline) and...well, Legacy?
Legacy: Wolfie, all I'm going to say this time around is that the readers - yeah, they're not ready for what's about to go down. That's all I'm going to say.
Wolfie: ...fair. In any case, thanks to ShadowWolf223 (Thank you!) and Antex-The Legendary Zoroark (Thank you again, as always! Hope you continue to enjoy!) for reviewing, all 9 followers, 8 favorites and 939 readers! Now, before we start the chapter, a couple things. 1. If you've ever seen Treasure Planet, we basically combined the I'm Still Here sequence with another scene, which is why it turned out as it did. 2. Did you really think we'd leave things as simple as using ONE Disney property here? And finally, 3. Legacy and I decided to cast 'voice actors' for all the characters in this story! If you go to the encyclopedia, you'll notice they all have voice actors listed now! Even canon characters who do not have a voice will also have VAs, which you'll learn at the end of this story of who they are. That's everything, I think.
Now buckle up, folks. This is where we hit full throttle.
Chapter 9: The Silent Mary
Location: Land of Departure - Forecourt
The Master, Aqua, his employer had informed him about was out in the open. The child was standing in front of her, holding some flowers out to her and babbling, something he could not hear from the distance. The redheaded apprentice was grinning as she sparred against the brunette apprentice, the one who lacked a Keyblade, while the Master watched over them all.
It all felt too easy...but experience told him that taking the easier shots always paid off in the end.
With a silent breath, his finger curled over the trigger of his crossbow. His right eye narrowed, as he aimed...and...pulled.
The arrow sailed straight and true, heading right to the Master's heart. It would be a blow that would kill her instantly, she wouldn't even feel a moment of pain.
The arrow struck and-!
The Master suddenly dissolved into particles of light and the hunter smirked as he watched the Master, for she must've used a mirage spell, clever, throw up a large barrier.
"Alexina! Maia! Get Silva back inside! Now!" The Master ordered. The redhead apprentice grabbed the child, who was now screaming, and pulled the brunette inside by her wrist. The Master turned to face him then, glaring at him through her barrier.
That's not going to work. The hunter smirked to himself as he pulled two new arrows out of his quiver and aimed. The arrows easily sailed through the air, striking the barrier. Cracks began to form in it...it would only take three more arrows, if he had to guess.
With a confident smirk, making sure the Master could see it, he removed the necessary three arrows, pulled back and released them without a second of hesitation.
The barrier shattered on impact, but the hunter's moment of triumph was short lived. The next thing he knew, the Master had faded into blue light before she was suddenly in front of him, her Keyblade, Stormfall, aimed for his head.
The hunter reacted instantly, raising his bow to deflect the blow and twisting his body as he fell from his perch, allowing him to safely land on his feet, no worse for wear.
"How clever of you...it seems I've underestimated you." The hunter mused as he straightened out and twisted the handle of his crossbow. The bow's arms collapse, making his weapon resemble a sheathed sword and that's exactly what it was. He drew the hidden blade from its scabbard and swung it at Aqua, only to collide with her Keyblade.
"Who are you?!" The master demanded. "Why are you here?!" She eyed him carefully, trying to see through his cylindrical helmet's tinted visor. It was dark, but she could see a pair of dark eyes looking back at her.
The hunter grinned. Aqua couldn't see it, but she could hear the eerie excitement in his voice as he said, "Isn't it obvious why I'm here?" Without waiting for a response, he pressed against her, taking full advantage of his larger body. The hunter was taller and well-built, allowing him to overpower her.
Aqua pushed off and casted Aeroga, launching herself high into the air. In midair, she twisted her body and pointed Stormfall directly at him, however the Keyblade quickly disappeared and was replaced with another - one called Brightcrest. Unlike the simple design of Stormfall, which consisted of a handle, a guard, a rod-like blade, and a hollow set of crown-shaped teeth, Brightcrest had a curved blade with wild wispy waves in its design. The hunter was both intrigued by the woman's ability to change weapons so quickly and confused by her reason for doing so. He would have to dwell on it later, though.
With cool sapphire eyes locked onto the hunter, Aqua chilled the air at Brightcrest's tip, creating a glowing blue sphere. "Blizzaga!"
Ice shot toward the hunter, intent on freezing him. If that was her game, then…
The hunter rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding one of the frozen spikes that jutted out from the ground as the icy shard exploded on impact. He seamlessly sheathed his sword and converted his weapon back into its crossbow form. An arrow slid onto the track, pushing the string back before flying off as soon as it reached the latch. It missed only by the barest inch, cutting the blue-haired master's arm and making her fall backward.
That wound seemed to throw off the master the slightest bit, giving the hunter the time he needed to launch himself forward, kicking up dirt, in an attempt to keep her from casting another spell. He drew the sword again, aiming for her head. Once again, Aqua seemed to have casted a mirage spell as his blade passed right through a fading copy of the woman. He found himself kneeling on the edge of a cliff.
The man laughed. "Your magic tricks sure seem to come in hand, don't they, Princess?" He stood still, knowing that behind him lay a Keyblade's tip. Though it was a dull weapon, he had no doubt that taking a blow from it would be unpleasant. "But, I've got a few tricks of my own."
Aqua's eyes widened as three small rods in the ground extended upward and released a triangular array of yellow walls around her. "What the-?!"
He stood up slowly and turned to face her. "Is that all the Grand Master of the Land of Departure has? An empty title if you ask me."
Aqua glared at him through the yellow filter. The hunter looked back at her, admiring his work, but that's when it came like a blur. He was quick enough to raise his sword in time to guard against the xiphos that swung for his head. A set of pale green eyes glared back at him behind the crossing blades. It was one of the apprentices from before, the taller one. There was a yellow aura outlining her form, but it soon faded.
"Alexina! I thought I told you to stay in the castle with Maia and Silva!"
"I couldn't just run, Master! Not to worry, because Maia is still with Silva."
The hunter responded, "So the other brat is playing babysitter, eh? Good. I like my encounters with women to be more...intimate, after all."
That comment didn't sit well with Aqua or Alexina, the latter of which was especially triggered. She yelled as she pushed against the hunter's sword, proving herself to be more physically powerful than her master.
"Oh? Looks like this one does her push ups." The man could feel the ball of his foot running out of space as Alexina forced him backwards. "Hmph."
"Let my master go," Alexina demanded.
"Seeing as you asked so nicely…" The hunter suddenly pushed off from Alexina, falling over the edge of the cliff.
The women gasped with shock as the assailant disappeared. Not long after, he reemerged, a pair of fiery jets blasting out from the soles of his boots. He practically stood on air with his crossbow aimed straight at Alexina.
"I've got to say, you almost had me for a second there, but fun and games are over."
He fired an arrow, but Alexina curled behind her shield, which was able to mostly cover her with its 3 foot diameter. The arrow bounced off the bronze metal as the young woman knocked away one of the three rods that generated her master's cage. The barriers fell allowing Aqua to reenter the battle, but when she and Alexina fixed their attention on the hunter, he was gone.
"Where did he go?" Alexina asked.
Aqua stepped forward, holding the wound on her arm. "Alexina, you came quickly. Maia casted a Haste spell on you, didn't she."
"She did."
"But how did you leave the barrier? I never dropped it."
"It wasn't easy, but I was able to make a hole."
"What?!" Aqua slammed her fist against a pauldron on her sleeve, donning a suit of blue armor. "Come with me and hold onto me." Aqua took hold of Alexina's wrist and dragged her over the edge of the cliff as the master replaced Brightcrest for Stormfall and transformed it into its glider form. The older woman released Alexina, who quickly took hold of her master's shoulders when she felt her feet leave the dirt and grass. The glider's blasters fired, pushing them down to the castle where they found the hunter running up the ivory steps that led to the front door.
Aqua's grip tightened on her glider's handles. She focused on her breathing to try and keep herself calm. The barrier around the castle fell allowing Aqua and Alexina to fly straight toward the front steps. The glider then dissolved and Aqua landed directly in front of the hunter. She pivoted and swung Stormfall in a wide arc. The stranger leapt backward over Alexina, who came at him from behind. He remained airborne, well out of their reach. Or, at least, that's what he thought.
Once again, Aqua's weapon changed, disappearing in a flash only for another to take its place in her grasp. This new Keyblade was the Master's Defender. It was similar to Stormfall in that it had a rod-like blade, but its distinct square motif caught the hunter's attention, particularly the handle.
"Those weapons of yours seem very impractical but that rectangular handle is just downright inconvenient."
Aqua ignored his jab. Without looking at Alexina, she told her apprentice, "Go with Maia and Silva and don't leave their side again."
Her voice was cool. There was no urgency or need in it. No anger or turmoil. It was flat, so Alexina did not argue. She knew better. Instead, she retreated through the front door, never turning her back to the hunter. Whether it was out of a tactical instinct or some sort of chivalry, the hovering man never once dared to strike the younger woman. Instead, he waited patiently until she disappeared into the castle.
"Hunter, as Grand Master of this sacred land, I cannot allow you to do as you please here."
She then fell to one knee and drove the Master's Defender into a glowing keyhole on the floor, creating a spell circle around herself. The diagram glowed with a bright white light as it spread outward, completely surrounding the castle. The hunter flew backward to avoid touching the light, playing it safe.
The golden chains that anchored the castle to the neighboring mountains broke from the shackles around those same rock formations. Then, like a nest of snakes, the chains began to move and slither through the air, all aimed at the hunter. He weaved around them with incredible speed, but cool sapphire eyes tracked his every movement, sending the chains wherever he was. Aqua applied too much pressure to give him even the slightest opportunity to fire an arrow at her. This continued until one of the chains landed a solid blow on his shoulder, causing him to spin uncontrollably for a few moments. He was able to stabilize himself shortly after and narrowly dodge more incoming fetters.
The hunter slipped behind one of the mountains and Aqua sent a chain after him, missing completely. She kept her eyes trained on either side of the mountain anticipating where he would come from. Suddenly, the man flew straight upward, but not to make a shot. He went up and never came back down, disappearing into the sky.
Aqua stayed where she knelt for a long time, waiting to see when he would return but he never did. Though she knew he could be anywhere, she returned the chains to their original locations and retreated into the castle where her daughter and the two apprentices waited.
"Mommy!" the child cried with snot on her nose. Silva wheezed and sniffled as she climbed out of Maia's arms and rushed to her grasp at her mother's robes.
Aqua gave her child a tender smile as she took hold of her. "Everything's alright, Silva. Mommy's here." The blue-haired woman rocked her daughter and gently rubbed the back of her head to comfort her. As Silva's crying settled, Aqua turned to Alexina and said, "Lock the door."
"Yes, Master."
"Master Aqua, what will we do now?" Maia asked.
With a heavy sigh, Aqua said, "We need to hide."
Location: Midnight City - Rose Castle
Midnight City was every bit damp and gloomy as it was when Organization XIII was living there. While there was now a bustling city living in the perpetually rainy world, most of these inhabitants were former Nobodies, much in the way that Roxas and Naminé were. In a way, this could truly be called the "Nobody Home World." Kairi could barely tell the difference between Nobodies and humans now. While there were Dusks and other weaker Nobodies finding their way to this world, many of the residents living in the city and Rose Castle were Nobodies that were under the Organization's control a decade before. Many of them had regrown their hearts like Lauriam's Reapers and lived out normal lives, or rather, mostly normal.
Kairi found herself going into the city almost every day since she'd arrived to fight off a new Heartless threat. Being so close to the Realm of Darkness left Midnight City vulnerable to invaders from the other side of the Dark Margin.
On this particular day, Kairi had gone straight down to the city with Roxas, Xion, and Eric, not even stopping by the castle's kitchen for something small to eat. They were in a hurry and Eric needed to fill them in on the way. Kairi found that Eric was not much for conversation when Shandanee and Ravi were not around, though.
The small group reached a light-based projected bridge from the entrance to Rose Castle down to the cliffside. While running down the bridge, Xion was the one to break the silence. "So Eric, you said you were going to tell us what we're dealing with on the way?"
Eric nodded, but it went unnoticed by Roxas and Kairi, the two at the back of the group. Without turning to face any of them, he said, "There's a Heartless stirring up trouble in the city."
Roxas replied, "When isn't there?"
There was a brief moment of silence in which Kairi, Roxas, and Xion expected Eric to respond, but it never came. Xion continued the conversation by asking, "So is that all you know about the threat?"
Eric shook his head. Again, it was difficult to tell, but he followed up by responding, "No. The Heartless is possessing is Heartless."
Kairi and Roxas shared an incredulous look with one another before the redhead asked for clarification, "Come again?"
"Possessing...it's possessing things," Eric responded. It sounded as though he was struggling to get the words out.
"So a Possessor Heartless, huh?" Roxas asked.
"Hibiki didn't tell me what type of Heartless. There are many different types that do the same thing."
"Whatever it is, we're going to wipe it off the face of this world!" Xion cheered. She'd begun running faster, keeping pace with Eric, who was only getting further and further away from Roxas and Kairi.
Seeing that the head of their group was moving faster, Roxas turned to Kairi and said, "You better keep up." He then proceeded to quicken his own pace.
Location: The Etherium - RLS Legacy
The flight through the Etherium was rather quiet for Lia, Marta, Ryo, and Tifa. During this voyage, they had seen many new worlds and even these whale-like creatures that swam through space like water. While Lia, Marta, and Tifa's positions required minimal effort, Ryo found himself doing a large bulk of the ship's maintenance alongside Jim under Mr. Silver's direction. Really, it felt like they were slaves, but Ryo was the least vocal of the two in regards to protesting against the work. Over time, Jim also learned to hold his tongue, resigning to the idea that there was no point in fighting Mr. Silver's orders anymore. Still, that didn't mean he wouldn't complain to Ryo every once in a while.
"You know, sometimes it feels like we run this ship all by ourselves," Jim lamented.
The two boys stood on the deck, working together to mop the entire surface as they often did while most of the crew slept. Mr. Arrow and Lia stood at the helm of the ship while Marta sat perched at the top of the crow's nest taking periodic naps while Onus, the day lookout, slept. All was still as the RLS Legacy drifted through the endless Ocean Between, so the boys kept rather quiet.
"I-I wouldn't go that far...but it does seem like w-we do more than some of the other crew members," Ryo admitted.
"I can't wait to finally get to Treasure Planet. Then maybe I'll be the captain of my own ship and I won't have to lift a single thing."
"What about your mom's inn?"
"Yeah, I'll fix that up too, but I mean, we're talking about the 'Treasure of 1,000 Worlds!' What are you going to do with your share?"
Ryo stopped mopping for a moment as realization struck him like a Thundaga bolt. He was on a treasure expedition and he never once gave the notion of keeping some of it himself some thought. "I...I'm not sure, actually," he said as he resumed his work.
Jim wrinkled an eyebrow. "Really? There isn't anything that comes to mind immediately?"
Ryo smiled slightly, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Not really."
"I know what I'd do with my share!" The loud voice came from above, where Marta hung upside down from the mast.
"M-Ms. Marta!"
The sleepy girl released herself from the mast and landed on her feet between the boys. The problem was that the floor was wet, causing her to slip and fall right on top of Ryo. The boy practically fainted when he realized that he lay underneath one of his female comrades, much to Marta and Jim's amusement. The brunette hugged Ryo and said, "Aw, my hero! You saved me."
Ryo's face turned red as he responded very weakly, "Uh~huh…"
The young woman giggled as she picked both herself and Ryo up onto their feet.
As Jim finished laughing, he asked, "So what are you going to buy with the treasure, Marta?"
"That's easy. I'm going to buy a farm and be a sheep farmer!"
A sweat dropped from both Ryo's forehead, but Jim was left rather perplexed.
"What are sheep?" he asked.
"I guess you don't have them where you're from," Ryo explained. "They're these-"
"They're the most wonderful, adORable, FLUFFY-" Marta's head immediately dipped down, her face obscured by a curtain of brown and blonde as she began snoring.
"I'll never understand how she doesn't fall over," Jim said.
Ryo laughed and said, "That makes two of us." He walked Marta to the mast and set her down against it before returning to his work with Jim.
As Ryo wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, he took a moment to look out at the infinite cosmos around them. They seemed to be in an empty part of the Ocean Between since there were no worlds in sight, only constellations and distant nebulas. His eyes swept across horizontally until they settled on something straight ahead in the distance. Ryo thought nothing of it at first, but as the object got closer, he patted Jim on the shoulder.
"H-hey, what is that?"
Jim squinted his eyes, hunching forward slightly. It took a few moments to identify it initially, but once he did, Jim was certain. "A ship!"
"A-A ship?!"
"Yeah! We've got to go tell the captain!" Jim turned on his heel and dropped the mop as he ran towards the captain's quarters. "Captain Amelia! Captain Amelia!"
The feline woman emerged from her quarters, rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes. "Mr. Hawkins, what is all this racket about?"
"It looks like we're on course with another ship, Captain."
"Mr. Arrow!" she called as she walked past Jim down to the main deck.
Soon, both Mr. Arrow and Lia came from their respective sleeping quarters. Ryo watched as the green-haired woman walked by in his direction. "M-Ms. Lia…?" Lia simply tilted her head towards the bow of the ship, indicating that they should follow the Captain. Some of the other crew members awoke and went along as well, curious to see what all the commotion was about.
When Captain Amelia reached the front of the ship, she opened her telescope to get a better look at the approaching vessel. At first it was difficult to see, but when she realized what she was looking at, it was hard to believe it. The objecting heading their direction could barely even be called a ship. It was more like a skeleton of one with holes in the sails and large pieces of wood missing from the hull. Most gastly of all was the crew, who mirrored the incompleteness of their ship. Some were missing limbs, some sections of their torso, and some even the entire top half of their bodies, but they all somehow continued to move about the ship like normal people. There were crewmen pulling the sails and washing the broken planks of the deck floor, and there was even a captain steering the ship.
Captain Amelia could only let out a gasp of disbelief. "My word…"
"What is it, Captain?" Mr. Arrow asked, his hands held behind his back as he stood tall and poised as always.
"Mr. Arrow, you would think I've lost my marbles if I told you, but it seems we are being approached by a ghost ship."
The rock man smiled as he said, "I mean no disrespect Captain, but there's no such thing as a-" At that moment, the feline woman held her telescope up to his eye for him to see for himself, resulting in a bewildered expression as he finished, "...ghost ship…" Mr. Arrow faced his captain, who simply nodded to confirm that he was not going crazy. He straightened himself out, returning to the confident and dutiful man he was known to be. "What will we do, Captain?"
"Let's try to steer clear of that. Hopefully it'll stay on its course."
"Ay, Captain. Alright, men! To your posts! We're headed starboard around that ship!"
The crew did as they were told by the first mate and Captain Amelia returned to the helm of the ship to direct her helmsman. All was well for a few moments but much to her discontent, the phantom vessel mirrored the Legacy's movements. The feline captain bit her lip in slight frustration, but remained composed nonetheless, deciding to go the other direction. "To port!" she called to her crew.
Just like before, the mysterious ship responded by moving in the same direction. It was just as she had hoped against. That strange ship had business with hers. Whatever it was, Captain Amelia did not think it wise to confront them with intent of finding out, so she ordered her crew to push the ship's thrusters to 60% of their capacity. As the Legacy moved more quickly, so did the phantom vessel in its pursuit of Captain Amelia and her crew. In response, the Legacy increased its speed and so did its pursuer, matching it speed for speed. That is until the Legacy flew at 100% of its speed and the other ship only got closer and closer by the second, closing the distance between them without much effort. Soon, the thrusters' jet tails grazed against the cracked wood of the pursuer's bow.
Dr. Doppler, a dog-like scientist, looked back at the ghost ship, his eyes barely level with the edge of one of the Legacy's walls. "Uhhhh, Captain?"
"What is it, Doctor?" She sounded annoyed.
"Is it normal for ships to do that?"
As strange as the ghost ship was already, it only became more bizarre as its spine curled upward and the ship's hollow hull began to open up like a ribcage. Captain Amelia was left wide-eyed at the sight and left with no other options but to yell, "Give her all she's got!"
Mr. Arrow called up to her from the main deck, "Apologies, Captain, but that's all she's got!"
"Blast! And the cannon?"
"Afraid that we can't get a good aim with her right behind us, Captain!"
Lia, who stood with Tifa and Dr. Doppler noticed that the more the ghost ship's helmsman turned one of the two wheels at the helm, the more it opened up. Realizing how they made it possible for the ship to bend unnaturally, the green-haired young woman explained it to Captain Amelia.
"If only we could stop it," the captain thought aloud.
"I can," Lia said confidently.
"How?" Before Lia could answer, Captain Amelia turned her head up at the ship's damp interior, shook her head, and said, "Never mind. Whatever it is, just get it done."
Lia nodded and sprang off over the railing, landing directly in front of Marta only to find her asleep. "Oh no…"
"W-what is it, Ms. Lia?"
"She's asleep," Lia pointed out.
Jim looked at her with slight confusion, thinking that this wasn't that big of an obstacle. "So wake her up."
"I can't. I was told never to wake her up while she was asleep."
Jim practically ripped his hair out, "W-what?! What do you mean?! So what if she gets a little cranky? We're about to die!" He reached for Marta's shoulders to shake her awake but his hands were quickly swatted away by Lia. When Jim looked into her eyes, he began to shiver because of how cold her glare was. "S-sorry," he said as he backed away from Marta.
"M-Ms Lia, what'll we do?"
Lia balled her fingers into a fist and struck the gray circle on her right shoulder pauldron. It emitted a bright light that blinded Ryo and Jim and even irritated some of the other nearby crew members. When the light faded, Lia was covered in a set of shinobi armor plates over a black gi. The plates were primarily gray with violet accents and the helmet that concealed her face carried the same color scheme, save for the black visor.
All Jim could say was, "Woah…"
"I'm going over there to disable the helm alone."
Before Jim could ask how, Lia ran to the edge of the Legacy and jumped out, leaving him in complete shock. She then emerged on something Jim identified as being similar to a solar surfer without a sail. Instead, her feet were planted on a long, slim, metal board with pale violet wings and blue flames spewing from the rear end.
Behind her glass visor, Lia's deep sapphire eyes closed as she took a sharp breath and thought to herself, You can do this. Ventus and the Master...they're right about you. When her eyes opened, they held steely resolve as she leaned forward on her vehicle, jetting towards the phantom vessel.
Back on the Legacy, Ryo had to keep Jim from practically throwing himself overboard to get a better look at Lia. The brunet turned back to his fellow cabin boy and, with wide eyes, asked, "Did you see that?! She just-! With the armor-! And that weird solar surfer-! That's so-! Ahhhhh!" He was practically fangirling over Lia's display, but when the realization that Ryo did not seem as surprised settled, he contained his enthusiasm. "But I'm sure you've seen her do that before."
Ryo shook his head, "Not her, but some of our other...spacers, I have." He remembered hearing that word while onboard the Legacy to describe world travelers so he felt it appropriate to use it in that moment.
"Man! I have got to join up with you guys when this is all over so that I can get my hands on one of those. Where did she even get it from? It's like it came out of nowhere. Like magic!"
That's when Ryo began to sweat. "Yeah, I suppose so."
"So how come you don't go with her?"
"I, uh...I don't have a...solar surfer yet. Or armor like hers. I'd die."
"Yeah…" Jim agreed. It wasn't good for morale, but he knew he was just as much of a goner should the Legacy lose its protective field. "I just wish there were a way for us to go over there and help."
A metal peg hit the wooden floor, causing both boys to turn. Standing behind them was the cyborg they'd been working under throughout the voyage, Mr. Silver.
"What're you lads doin' loafin' around? Eh?"
"Not much we can do about that," Jim said as he pointed up at the sharp wooden boards that jutted out from the ghost ship like a set of jagged teeth.
"Jimbo, you told me that you wanted to be an adventurer, so that's exactly what you're going to be. Come with me. You two, Rybo." The cyborg turned heel and walked towards a set of stairs that led to one of the lower decks.
As Ryo and Jim followed, the black-haired boy asked, "W-where are we going?"
"To save our skins."
The three of them disappeared downstairs while Marta stayed behind, sleeping peacefully through all the commotion.
Location: Midnight City - Dark City - Memory's Skyscraper
When Kairi caught up to the others, they were standing in front of Memory's Skyscraper. Unknown to any of them, images of Sora flashed on the screen, though the transmission changed back and forth between that and other images. Kairi stopped behind Roxas and Xion and bent over, holding her knees as she tried to catch her breath.
Between breaths, Kairi asked, "D-did we...already defeat...the Heartless?"
Roxas turned around and smiled softly seeing her in such an exhausted condition. He placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "Hate to break it to you, but no, not yet. We haven't found it yet."
"No one else is outside, though," Xion pointed out. "It must be closeby."
"Split up." They looked at Eric, who had spoken so quickly that it took them all a moment to realize what he had said.
"Do you think that's the best idea?" Kairi asked.
Xion supported Eric's suggestion by saying, "That would help us cover more ground. Kairi, you want to go with Eric?"
Kairi tried to hide her discomfort with the pairings. While she harbored no ill will towards Eric, she was not very familiar with him and therefore did not feel comfortable with the idea of splitting off from Roxas and Xion to go with him. She gave Roxas a look that cried, "Help me!"
The blonde understood so he suggested a different break-up of the group. "Xion, I know you and I work well together, but how about I go with Eric instead? Kairi's traveling with us so it only helps our synergy as a group if we get more opportunities to fight alongside one another. Besides, it gives me and Eric some good-old brother bonding time."
Eric tilted his head. "Brother?"
"Of course! We both used to be Nobodies. You can say that in a way that makes us related."
Eric nodded, then turned around and began walking to one side of Memory's Skyscraper. Roxas turned to Xion and said, "Let's keep our Keyblades out. The second a Keyblade leaves your hand or mine, that'll let us know that the other's found the Heartless."
"Hey, good plan!" Kairi said.
"I know! And he came up with it all on his own," Xion taunted.
Roxas was unamused. "You know what? I hope my Keyblade goes missing first." He then swiveled on his heel and began following Eric, specifically keeping an eye on the pink sash tied around his waist as the Reaper's black robe blended in with the background.
With Roxas gone, the young women looked at one another and started laughing at his expense. They then turned around and began walking to the other side of Memory's Skyscraper. As both groups diverged from one another, the screens flashing at the top of the skyscraper began to show a new image: one with yellow eyes and chains crossed between them.
Location: The Etherium - RLS Legacy
When Lia arrived at the phantom ship, she was welcomed by the sight of three dozen people, or the remnants of them. The crew men looked up at her, at least those who still had their faces, as she hovered over them on her board. Her eyes locked onto the individual standing at the helm, who looked back at her with a smirk. His lips were pale and colorless, as was his grayish skin with black crack-like marks spread throughout it.
"Have you come to parlay?"
Lia's eyes furrowed behind her visor. "What business do you have with us?"
He retained that damned overconfident smirk. "It is my business to rid the Ocean of pirates, señorita. The Silent Mary is the most feared pirate-hunting vessel known to ever exist."
"Pirates? But we're not-"
He interrupted, "It is true. You are not a pirate. I know. I have seen your kind before. You banished me to this space when I could not return to my world."
"My kind?"
"I take it you are not a high ranking official in your order. Tell me, what business do you have with pirates?"
Lia silently processed his words, wondering to herself if the people they'd been traveling with were pirates: Jim, Delbert, Captain Amelia, Mr. Arrow, Mr. Silver, the rest of the crew...After all, they were headed somewhere called Treasure Planet. She shook her head in disbelief at how blind she was, but even so, she knew that she needed to get to the fabled world for her own mission.
"Perhaps you people aren't as noble as you make yourselves out to be, eh?"
While Lia could accept that Jim and the others could be pirates, she would not tolerate any disrespect towards her family and let someone call into question their values and beliefs. She leaned forward, causing her Keyblade glider to speed ahead. As she neared the arrogant man, the glider disappeared and a katana-like Keyblade, Kiku no Kizuna, appeared in her hand. She flung it directly at the specter, but he was able to deflect it with his naval military sword. The wayward Keyblade reappeared in Lia's hand as she continued flying forward at the disrespectful phantom, clashing blades with him. With so much force behind Lia's swing, he staggered back slightly, letting go of the wheel.
Another ghost called out with concern, "Capitan Salazar!"
Salazar dug his sword into one of the withering planks to retain his balance. His cold eyes locked onto the armored girl as he snarled angrily. "Hombres! Matala!"
Lia didn't need to speak Spanish to know what that meant when the horde of phantoms drew their old rusty weapons and charged at her. Two came up the stairs next to her and the one by Captain Salazar lunged forward with his own sword. Lia parried it with Kiku no Kizuna and used the momentum to spiral horizontally. The edge of the katana-like Keyblade clanged against the decaying swords, parrying them simultaneously. She spun on her heel one more time before hurling the weapon down the steps, sawing through the ghosts that climbed up them. As the legendary weapon sliced through the enemies, they faded into a cloud of darkness and pink crystal hearts floating away from the shrouds.
Heartless, Lia thought. She could not dwell too long on that thought as Salazar stepped forward once again. The armored woman called her weapon back into her hand just in time to lock blades as the captain's crew continued to draw near her. Lia held Kiku no Kizuna with both hands, pressing back against the ghostly captain, but she could not push him off to escape. Their blades screeched against each other as the woman tried to change her wrist position to gain the advantage, but Salazar knew what he was doing, countering each and every miniscule move she made.
Had it not been for Ryo dropping in from a longboat, Captain Salazar's crew would have skewered Lia. A golden field of energy expanded from the longboat as Mr. Silver threw his legs over the edge, touching down onto the aged deck.
"Jimbo, keep 'er close to me and Rybo. We can't survive without it."
"Yes sir!" Jim called back as he guided the longboat above Ryo and Mr. Silver's heads.
With Salazar looking the other way, Lia was able to quickly snap her wrists to push the phantom's sword down. She then swung across him, missing by millimeters as Kiku no Kizuna skimmed through his flowing black hair. Just as Lia was about to follow up with a downward swing, the attack was intercepted by a crewman's sword, which allowed the captain to stagger out from underneath it. Lia pushed down on the blade, disarming her opponent, before whirling around and slicing through him. She then quickly fell into her fighting stance, facing Captain Salazar.
"You may not be very high up in your order, but you are a skilled combatant, señorita. It seems I underestimated you, but I will no longer make that mistake."
The captain rose his sword high into the air and suddenly orbs of darkness appeared, some high above the wooden floor, some low. From them spawned several Heartless of various species: Soldier, Air Soldier, Battleship, and Anchor Raider. The weakest of the bunch, the four Soldier Heartless, charged forward. Lia dispatched two of them easily, but as soon as Kiku no Kizuna went through the third, an anchor crashed down onto the planks under her feet, barely missing her as she leapt back. The other Anchor Raider threw its chained weapon directly at Lia middair. She took the full brunt of its edge as the heavy ballast clanged against her armor. It pushed her over the edge of the ship. As the woman felt herself float away from the anchor, she transformed her Keyblade into its glider form. Lia hoped to gain distance to escape the Anchor Raider's reach but four Air Bandits circled her like buzzards, keeping her from moving in any direction.
Down on the main deck, Ryo and Mr. Silver were being pressed by the Battleship Heartless, so much so that the ghostly crewmen were able to restrain them, forcing Jim to bring down the longboat to keep them from being impaled. The brown-haired boy too was held captive. Salazar laughed as he staggered forward with his sword like a cane.
"It seems that this is over." He turned his head slightly to his first mate. "Vaya terminarla," he said referring to the RLS Legacy.
"Graviga!" A dark multi-colored sphere of pressurized energy consumed the Battleship, pulling it down to the floor against its will. Having been caught by surprise, the crewmen holding Ryo, Jim, and Mr. Silver were unable to react to a second armored woman as she dropped down and swiftly cut through them with her Keyblade, Dream Deception. Ryo stumbled forward, using his Starlight Keyblade to balance himself. A metal glove pressed against his chest to support him as well. As the black-haired boy turned to find an orange visor looking back at him, the woman asked, "Hey, are you okay?"
"Ms. Marta? You're awake."
"Of course I am. Who could sleep with all this commotion going on?"
Despite being mid-battle, Ryo couldn't help but chuckle. He returned to his feet, standing upright and taking his fighting stance alongside his ally.
"Jimbo, to the longboat!" Mr. Silver shouted.
"Right!" Jim sprinted forward for the boat, sliding under a sword swipe before rolling into the craft. He sat himself between the thrusters and just as he was about to take flight, his eyes met with the sight of a sabre falling down on him. There was a dense clang from Mr. Silver's mechanical arm catching the blade inches from the boy's face.
Ryo charged forward, burning through the ghostly crewmember with a downward slash just like he would have done to Jim.
Mr. Silver cheered, "Good going, lads!"
By this point, Lia had used Marta's entrance to quickly whip her Keyblade Glider, striking each of the Air Soldiers around her so that she could strategically retreat down to the main deck alongside her allies.
"M-Ms. Lia, you're okay!"
Lia nodded. "So are you. Thank you for the save, Marta."
"Mhm! So what's the plan?"
Lia looked off to the side and smiled, but none of them could see. "Brace yourselves." Suddenly a ball of scorching plasma struck the ship's side, rocking all onboard. The Legacy had turned around and opened fire on the Silent Mary. Though Salazar and his crew staggered, some falling to the floor, the Battleship regained flight after the effects of Marta's spell wore off. The Anchor Raiders and the Air Soldiers were also completely unaffected. The lesser of the Heartless flew across the empty space and began attacking the Legacy's crew. As one of the Air Soldiers attempted to claw Delbert's face, it was sent flying off deck by one of Tifa's powerful kicks.
"Show them no fear, men!" Captain Amelia ordered as she fired bullet-sized plasma bolts at the dark creatures from her rifle.
The Silent Mary continued to shake with each blast that connected with it, though it never seemed to take any damage from the attacks. To make matters worse, Salazar began to retaliate with his Heartless. The Battleship Heartless, launched mortar blasts that came crashing down onto the Legacy. Grewgne, the crewmember manning the cannon, focused his aim on the incoming fire from the Battleship, but could do nothing about the anchors whirling around over the Anchor Raider's heads as the monsters prepared to launch them forward.
"Marta! The anchors!"
"On it! Zero Graviga!" A small orb of gravity-influencing magic formed around one of the anchors, lifting its wielder up. Lia was quick in her angular movement, positioning herself on the monster's left before kicking it hard enough to send it floating above its comrade. Marta then quickly increased the gravity on the anchor, dropping it directly on the other Heartless. One of the Anchor Raiders was crushed while the other laid on the floor, having been dragged down by its own weapon. Before the creature could lift itself back up, Lia's Keyblade struck through its chest causing it to fade away.
"They keep getting cooler and cooler," Jim said to himself in awe.
Mr. Silver, on the other hand, did not seem as impressed. In fact he seemed a bit worried. "That's great and all, lassies, but what'll we do about that one?" He pointed over to the Battleship that continued pressuring the Legacy. While Salazar was busy steering the helm in an attempt to get behind the Legacy, the Heartless provided all the firepower he needed to widdle it down. It also didn't help that Mr. Silver could do nothing to fight back against the phantom crew, having to work in conjunction with Ryo to slay them.
Lia took a deep breath and answered, "Mr. Silver, get on the longboat. You too Ryo. Marta, go take care of that Heartless."
"What will you do?" Marta asked.
The green-haired woman's hand went to unbutton a fold on the side of her thigh, lifting it to reveal two scrolls tucked neatly inside the pocket.
Marta asked, "Lia, are you sure? Those are your last scrolls."
"This is the only way. I need everyone off this ship."
"Ay," Mr. Silver said as Jim lowered the longboat so Ryo and the cyborg could climb aboard. The Silent Mary's crew tried to prevent this but Lia and Marta provided cover, intercepting any that would get too close, the former having flashed her armor back on.
"Marta, go now. I'll take care of things here."
Marta nodded, pushed a phantom off herself, and transformed Dream Deception into its paraglider form, a semicircle with a swirled cloud-like aesthetic. She then leapt over the edge of the Silent Mary toward the Battleship. At that moment, Lia launched herself into the air with her incredible leg strength, arching her back at the peak of her jump as the scroll in her hand began to glow brightly with a cool cyan color. The green-haired woman twisted in the air and tossed the scroll down to the deck's floor with all her might. "Ninjutsu Arts: Hyoton!" As the scroll connected with the Silent Mary, the entire vessel was blasted with a sub zero wave that froze it from one end to the other. Even Salazar and his crew were frozen over.
The sight of the ruined ship encased in a layer of frost was quite the haunting one in Ryo's opinion. All he could say was, "W-woah…"
This made Mr. Silver turn around, giving him the same sense of awe. "Well if that ain't the seventh wonder."
Lia landed on her hands and knees, out of breath from exerting so much magical energy through that last attack. She panted heavily, fogging up her visor with her warm breath. Lia knew that she needed to make her way back to the Legacy, but found it hard to stand up. It was even harder to do so when a rusty blade banged against her armor, knocking her to the floor. "Ngh!"
The green-haired woman looked over at the phantom standing over her and she could hear the layer of ice on him crack as he lifted his sword. He thrusted his sword down, striking her helmet again. Though it protected Lia's head, a piece of it cracked. "No!" she gasped. She could feel the cold touch of darkness seep into her helmet.
"Ms. Lia! We have to go back."
"Oh no!" Mr. Silver responded. "What are we supposed to do? Those things can survive bein' frozen over!"
"W-we can't just leave her. She'll die…Jim, please..."
Ryo didn't have to ask him twice. The misfit quickly turned the longboat around straight back to the Silent Mary. Luckily for them, so was Marta, who had already destroyed the Battleship. The sleepy girl held her paraglider like a bow and created a light-based arrow. She fired it directly at the phantom that stood over Lia, vanquishing it with a burning light. Marta then held onto her glider like normal before spinning it rapidly, launching a flurry of arrows at the Silent Mary. Some hit their targets, others didn't, but it provided enough cover for the longboat to reach it. As Marta landed, she picked Lia up in her arms. The ninja's legs had turned to jelly as she squirmed left and right, screaming from the freezing burn that leaked into her helmet. With Ryo's help from inside the longboat, Marta was able to get Lia within its protective field.
"Get her back to the Legacy. I'll keep them off your tail."
"Ay!" They all said.
A pair of phantoms charged forward with their swords raised, but the longboat shot forward off the deck, leaving them wide open for Marta to slice through them. She then ran to the edge and as she jumped, Dream Deception transformed into its glider form. Marta held it like a bow and shot multiple arrows as she drifted away from the Silent Mary.
Back on the longboat, Ryo had laid Lia across the floor and kneeled over her to inspect her for any wounds. All she could see was a small stream of darkness slithering out from the crack in her helmet.
"Is she hurt?" Jim asked.
"I-I don't know."
"You best take off her armor, lad."
Ryo looked down and gulped. Would it be disrespectful to remove Lia's armor? Did it matter in that moment? Ryo proposed that it didn't, considering that she might be hurt. He placed his shaky hands on her helmet and slowly removed it, revealing that the left side of her face was eclipsed with a dark shroud.
"Oh no…"
Mr. Silver pointed out, "That don't look too good."
"I don't...I don't know what to-" Ryo cut himself off with a gasp as he noticed something shimmering from inside Lia's pocket.
"What's that?" Jim asked.
"I have no idea."
Mr. Silver, not being one to respect another's personal space, slipped a finger into the pocket and pulled it aside. The three of them went wide-eyed at the sight of a grey cat-like creature poking his head out of a box.
Jim asked, "Do either of you guys know what that is?"
"No clue," Ryo responded. If it's glowing with light… His eyes drifted up to Lia's face, where the gas-like cloud of darkness had diminished significantly. That's when Ryo thought to himself, It's fighting the darkness!
He'd have to continue his thoughts later since they had reached the Legacy's hangar. Mr. Silver's levitating pet, Morph, greeted them, floating around the vessel happily.
"Easy now, Jimbo. Just pull the levers upward. Rybo, grab hold of that rope and make sure it's secure."
"Yes sir!"
As Mr. Silver and Ryo tied the longboat up to prevent it from falling, the former plopped down next to Jim, rocking the longboat. He was visibly exhausted from their encounter with the Silent Mary and was surprised to see that Ryo wasn't.
"You've got quite the energy, lad. I could barely keep up."
Ryo laughed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck. "They keep us in top shape." His gaze fell to the girl lying unconscious inside the longboat. The glowing in her pocket was nowhere to be seen. Whatever that creature was, it seemed to have done its job because there wasn't a single trace of darkness coming off of Lia. Still, Ryo figured that it would be best to take her up to Dr. Delbert.
"You go on ahead, lad," Mr. Silver said between breaths as Ryo carried Lia out of the longboat. The boy nodded and promptly exited the doorway, leaving the cyborg and the other boy to talk as they rested.
On their way up the stairs, Lia began to stir in his arms. Sapphire gems slowly opened to find the younger apprentice carrying her princess style.
"Ryo?" Her voice was groggy.
Knowing that she was awake causing Ryo to tense up and his face began to burn when he realized how he was holding her. "M-Ms. Lia! A-are you okay?" Despite not having heard an answer, he had already knelt down to gently place her on her feet.
Lia nodded as she held the left side of her face. "Mhm...what happened?"
"Y-you took a hard hit on the other ship, b-but we managed to get you out of there."
"Thanks. I take it we're back on the Legacy?"
"Yeah."
"Where are the others?"
"Jim and Mr. Silver are s-still in the hangar. The fight r-really took it out of them. Marta's gave us cover. S-she should be on the main d-deck by now."
Lia nodded with her eyes closed, still feeling rather lightheaded. She staggered, catching herself against the wall. Ryo moved to support her, but she waved him off. "I-I'm fine." Suddenly, the entire ship rocked, forcing Lia's eyes open with shock. That time she practically fell into Ryo's arms, the boy barely holding his balance from the tremor himself. "Don't tell me they're already back on the attack!"
The woman regained her own balance and charged forward, running up the stairs that led to the main deck. There was a strange orange glow coming from above. When she saw what it was...she froze.
Location: The Etherium - RLS Legacy
Lia could only stare in horror, frozen, when she reached the main deck of the Legacy.
The next thing she heard was Delbert yelling about a supernova, but she couldn't hear much else. Everything felt muffled and far away as she caught sight of the star before them becoming fire.
Fire, racing towards her, ready to engulf her at any moment. Fire, licking at her skin, her eyes locked and unable to look away from the damage it wrought. Fire, promising harm to all she loved as they raced to save her and it's all my fault, it's all my fault, it's all my fault it's-
A hand grasped her wrist, pulling her away from where she was standing. Someone was talking to her, but she could just barely make out the words they were saying.
"...go to…lifeline...hold on...stay with…"
"What's...?"
"Don't...focus on..."
"...the sails…!"
"Make sure...secure…!"
The hand holding her wrist slid down to hold her hand, like it was attempting to ground her. But she couldn't tell who's it was, where she was, or anything else.
But she saw the fire, saw it all too easily, as it came closer, grew bigger, what have I done? Why did I do that? I should've waited, this is all my fault, I should've waited...should've trusted them to save me...should've-
Suddenly, she felt someone shaking her at the same moment she felt her hidden power stirring under her skin. She had to put the fire out, had to stop it, had to fix her mistake, or they would all die and
"Ms...what's...Lia! Please...got to...it!"
"...she doing? Why…"
"...don't know! S-she's...Oh no…!"
Lia's lips part and she whispered, "Sui..."
Water left her fingertips, she could see the Ninjutsu forming the proper seal, but she couldn't feel herself moving. As the torrent raged inside of her, Lia's eyes widened as she yelled, "Suiton!" A wild wave of water left her hands, flooding the main deck. Bodies were pushed aside by the water, bound to the ship only by their lifelines. There was yelling, but it was mute to her. Lia felt so detached from it all. It was like it was her, but it wasn't at the same time. All she was aware of was the water she created to combat the fire.
It didn't work, nothing was working, the fire wouldn't leave, why wouldn't it leave? Help! Mommy! Daddy! I'm scared! I'm scared! Help me!
She was trapped, unable to move, unable to flee, frozen from fear and hands holding her and a tie around her waist.
"Hold...or she'll…!"
She didn't know what was happening, couldn't place it at all, she was trapped. Help, help, Help HELP!
Suddenly, pain laced through her entire body and she gasped as everything came into sharp focus. A stiffening chill ran up her spine, sending shockwaves through her body.
A dark brown haired woman with deep crimson eyes was staring at her worriedly while holding her shoulders tightly (I know this woman…) and a black haired boy looked down with stiffened posture and a horrified look on his face.
That's when she felt an intense warmth coming from Lia's hip. She placed her shaking hand over it and felt a star-shaped box. T-that's right...Ventus...gave this to me. She had no idea what exactly it was but it seemed to slowly bring her to ease. That's when she realized that everything had been engulfed by darkness. Her eyes went wide. Is this because of me…?
She could feel someone holding her, but she could not see them. Suddenly, her back pressed against the wall as the Legacy shot forward out of the darkness. The young woman was left without words, still processing what had just happened.
"Lia…" She turned to the person holding her. It was Tifa. "Are you with us?"
The green-haired woman blinked at her and slowly nodded. Gradually, Lia's sense of sound returned and she could hear a lot of men celebrating and cheering. She became aware of the fact that she was laying on the floor, her back against a wall as if to brace her.
Then all her senses and processing came back. It was only then that she realized she held her breath.
Lia gasped before she began to breathe heavily, staring at Tifa with wide eyes.
"Tifa…" She looked over at Ryo. "I'm glad you're both safe."
"That's our line," Tifa responded with a soft smile.
Lia forced a weak smile, finding it difficult just to stay awake. She leaned her head on Tifa's shoulder. "What about Marta?"
They both stayed quiet. Her eyes shot open, but before she could say anything, Scroop announced Mr. Arrow was lost to a black hole.
"N-no…" Lia tried to stand, falling onto her hands and knees when she couldn't. "H-he's gone?!"
Captain Amelia, who looked sullen herself, turned to face her.
"H-he can't be!" Lia turned to Ryo and Tifa. "And Marta? You never answered me!"
Again, they were both quiet, but Ryo's eyes spoke to Lia. They were bloodshot. His hands were balled up in a fist and they were trembling.
"No...her too…?"
Lia's eyes closed and the world went sideways for her. She blacked out.
Wolfie: ...
:)
That's the end of that! Leave a review to let us know what you thought! We'll be back by Halloween at the latest. BYe! May your heart be your guiding key! *wave*