Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter! I was hoping to have this section done in about three chapters but then my brain decided to go full complication mode on me, so here we are. Anyway, hope you like it! also, an apology about the notes in the recent chapters- I had it formatted right and then ffn decided to ruin it and I didnt catch it, so I'll go back and fix them. Eventually...


The next morning, Ava arrived at the house where Terra and Aqua were staying early to have a brief discussion with them. She hastened them out the door once they got their coats on and pressed them towards a spot in the open where they could see anyone coming from a distance. It was on a small hill in the corner that overlooked the town- if you could really call it that. The buildings looked much shabbier in the daylight, and most of the color was drowned out.

Aqua hadn't slept well the night prior, despite Terra's warmth. Why had they thought something was going on? This was just a small place living on an old mountain face for Maker knows why, struggling to survive despite the cold. They would have to have to bulk up on supplies over the summer, because the trail was difficult even with chocobos. Her mind was at war. Yes, they hadnt seen any obvious signs besides maybe their obsession over Andraste and Kingdom Hearts, but then there was that knocking in the house as well as the fact that Arashi said she wasn't allowed in there.

"I had a vision." Ava spoke softly. "I believe it was from the Maker. In it, I saw a circle glowing a bright red and Kingdom Hearts looking over us. There were screams and a tangible darkness along with piles of bodies. Stepping out of the circle was someone who wore robes just like our hosts did."

Aqua shuddered. Her own nightmares were slowly starting to fade, like someone stopping her ears to hear an unpleasant call. It gave her some relief at night, but the visions she had seen previously would forever be etched into her memory, along with the terrible dragon and it's echoing roar calling the darkspawn to battle. There was no time to waste. They couldn't let Kingdom Hearts rise to it's peak- or at least they couldn't let it stay there for long. Other blights had lasted long with unknown death tolls. They could prevent that here and now. They just needed to get the urn to save Arl Tidus.

"So you think that confirms that something is going on here?" Aqua asked in the same hushed tone.

"Of course. My visions don't steer me astray. We need to find out the meaning of it before it's too late. But I've never seen a summoning circle quite like that before."

"Describe it. Maybe I've read about it."

Ava described the circle in painstaking detail, drawing it out in the snow at the same time to give Aqua a better idea about what it could be. As soon as the Warden got a good look at it, Ava rubbed it out so as to avoid any suspicion if someone came up after them. She took another quick glance around to see if anyone else had followed them, but the hill was just as empty as it had been when they arrived.

The circle looked so familiar.

"That was a ritual circle, I'm sure of it; although what kind of ritual is still a mystery. Do you think maybe they're trying to hasten the Archdemon's arrival so they can see Kingdom Hearts?" Aqua questioned.

"If that's the case, then we're likely dealing with a cult here. The cult of Kingdom Hearts." Terra added in.

"Maybe. If it's true, we'll need to warn the others to be on their guard. Perhaps while they're out trading they can take a look around the town for anything suspicious." Ava deliberated.

With their conversation finished, they found the rest of their gang and walked to Arashi's house. Inside the house was silent and unmoving, save for the fire roaring on the hearth and Arashi sketching something on a piece of paper. Before opening the door, Aqua knew she needed to tell the others about their plan.

"Skuld, when you find the merchant, keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. There might be something going on and we need to be ready."

"You mean more than price gouging?"

"You know what I mean."

"Relax. I was only teasing you. You Wardens are so serious. We'll keep our eyes and ears alert. Now go get that tour over with."

Aqua nodded and knocked on the door, letting out a breath. She looked up for some kind of sign that what they were doing was right when she noticed an actual sign on the next building over. To the untrained eye, it simply looked like another house, but on further inspection, she could tell that the two structures were connected. The little hanging wood sign outside the door simply read "merchant" and their host from the night before was stepping out the door.

Of course, it made sense that they had all of those supplies in the basement and why Arashi wasn't allowed to go in the back room. Aqua could feel her cheeks heating up in embarrassment. She believed in Ava's vision, but her eyes were telling her a much different story. If anything was truly going on here, it would be somewhere around the First. At least it would make things easier for their party. Hopefully nothing was missing from the chocobo's packs.

They waited a few more minutes until the door behind them opened and Arashi stood before them. She glanced into the back room and welcomed them in, her guardian having stepped back inside and closed the door to their shop. There was still one more thing that was bothering Aqua about this whole situation, and the host would the person to answer it- if it didn't sound so accusatory. It was then Aqua decided that Arashi might be more help to them than originally realized.

"Good morning Arashi. How did you sleep?" Aqua asked the girl.

"Just fine. Had a dream about Kingdom Hearts, but it scared me a little. Do you guys want to come in? It'll be a few more minutes, we're getting the shop set up for the morning."

The group entered the room, standing close to the fire. The morning had been cold, crisp and it had been the first time they had seen the sun in nearly a week. Occasionally the wind would blow the snow horizontally, the chill going down to their bones. Inside the crackling fire was a welcome change. The door closed behind them and the rest of the house was silent.

"Your guardian is the merchant for the town, right?" Aqua began.

"That's right." Arashi nodded.

"Do you guys usually see merchants trying to get here in winter? We hadn't seen any tracks while we were climbing up here."

Arashi looked back towards the back room and then over to Aqua. There was a crashing sound and a low shout heard before going painfully silent. Without saying a word Arashi stopped them from moving. They waited with baited breath to see if the trapdoor would open, but nothing happened. The girl let out a small sigh and returned her gaze to the group.

"The merchants that were mentioned last night weren't merchants. I don't know who or what they are, except the one that survived was wearing robes from the Chantry. I don't know what's going on, but they've been locked in our basement ever since."

"Then we need to help him. Let us past, Arashi." Aqua walked toward her.

"No! You can't!"

"Why not? What else are you hiding here?" Skuld asked.

"If I let you go in there, then they're not going to let me go on the pilgrimage to see kingdom hearts!"

Aqua drew back at the statement, causing the others to stop behind her. She knelt down to be on eye level with the girl who still held her arms out wide, tears in her eyes. Aqua felt a hand on her shoulder before realizing that Aerith was gently pressing her back. The mage cast her eyes over to Ava who was biting her bottom lip in order to keep herself from saying anything.

"You know, there's more than one way to find what you need." Aerith spoke softly. "You don't have to be afraid anymore. Not of this town, not of missing out on kingdom hearts."

"I never said I was afraid." Arashi responded harshly. "My guardian may not like my art and maybe they're not the nicest person, but we both love Kingdom Hearts and the Prophetess Andraste. They have to know how much this means to me."

"Arashi, it's dangerous for you to go to see Kingdom Hearts. That's where the Archdemon is going to be, and only the Wardens and trained warriors should be there." Aqua attempted to explain.

Tears were falling down the girl's face now, her teeth clenched in rage. Aqua looked back at her companions; Terra and Zack both shook their heads at the same time. Perhaps she was a lost cause, but there was still more going on here and they had to get to the bottom of it. If Ava's dream was anything to go by, then they might not have enough time.

"What are you waiting for, Aqua?" Terra spoke.

Perhaps what she was really waiting for was the last piece to click. This really was a cult, and Arashi was brain washed and dried. She didn't understand the truth of what was going on or who that Chantry brother was. Aqua herself wasn't sure what someone from the Chantry was doing all the way up here, but perhaps it had something to do with saving the souls of the folk up here, not knowing what condition they were in.

"Please Arashi. We need to help him." Aqua spoke softly.

The little girl glowered at the group, refusing to let her arms down. There was pure spite in her eyes now, and Aqua shuddered at how much she had changed from the girl who clung to her the whole evening just yesterday. There was no doubt about it, Arashi was fully indoctrinated into this cult of Kingdom Hearts. There must have been other children here in the same situation. Even if it hurt them, Aqua knew they were going to have to deal with this before getting the ashes and returning to Redcliffe castle. It would be close, but they still had some time.

The girl bit her lip. "I should scream right now. If I screamed, then my guardian would come running."

"Please Arashi. A very important man is sick, and if he doesn't get those ashes, he's going to leave behind a very sad wife and son."

"What does that have to do with saving the Chantry brother? They've lost the truth."

"And I suppose you have it?" Zell punched the air.

Aqua shot him a glare that shut him up and calmed his motion. Whether they had the truth about the Maker, Andraste or Kingdom Hearts didn't actually matter. What mattered was that there was a little girl in front of them who had been brainwashed and she was the only one who was standing in their way from saving someone who was trapped in some dingy basement. But a plan was moving forward in Aqua's mind.

"Okay. We'll leave now for the Urn if you promise not to say that we heard anything."

"Aqua, are you sure?" Zack piped up.

"Yes. It's important to her. We should respect that boundary."

The girl let up on her position ever so slightly, but not enough to put everyone at ease. Aqua didn't want her getting involved with what was coming next, and if they waited to confront their host about it in the shop, the odds of her getting caught in the crossfire would be minimal. Or at least, that was the hope. Aqua didn't have a contingency plan for if Arashi helped man the shop, too. She could only hope that their host didn't employ their daughter.

"If you're lying I'll never ever forgive you!" Arashi finally let her guard down.

"We'll be in front of the merchant's shop." Aqua began moving away. "Be careful, Arashi."

With one last look, Aqua herded everyone outside into the chilly air. Many of her companions looked at her with unease, denoting that perhaps she had done the wrong thing. Maybe she had, maybe she hadn't. Either way, Arashi was safe for now and their suspicion from last night was now validated. Something bigger than just a town was under their feet and she intended to find out what it was while still getting to the urn of sacred ashes. When they got to the front of the shop, aqua quickly and quietly explained the plan. She was finished long before they knocked on the door and it was even longer until the merchant finally opened their door.

"I'm glad you came. Sorry for the wait, won't you come in?"

"No, but thank you. We're heading up to the fortress for the tour, as I'm assuming that's where the shrine is. But these guys will be here to do business with you." Aqua replied.

With a wave, Aqua, Terra, Aerith, Zack and Ava left the group leaving the rest behind. Skuld gave a little smirk as she turned to the shopkeeper. While Aqua might have been diplomatic in wanting to keep up appearances, Skuld had no use for such things. She had been brought up in the wilds after all, and had had no use for all of these human ideologies. They only needed to buy enough time for their companions to check the place out. Luckily that dwarven king had given them enough treasure that selling would take some time.

After selling their wares for a much lower price than what they could have gotten from Biggs and Wedge, Skuld knew it was time to act. This merchant wasn't going to get away from her that easily, and if everything went the way she assumed it would, they'd be able to reclaim the things they just sold and take them down to the dwarf and the elf to sell again. After all, no one really wanted a cultist around.

"So, your home and shop are connected, right?" Skuld leaned forward onto the counter.

"Yes, by the cellar. What of it? The merchant raised an eyebrow.

"And the girl, she's still at home?"

The merchant nodded, their face draining of any color. There was a sparkle in Skuld's eye that was part mischief, part magic and all trouble. She watched as the merchant began to stumble backwards, tripping over their stool. With a turn, they raced over to the trap door where Stitch was waiting. He gave a wave and a large grin as the shadow of Kimahri and Skuld's bear form loomed over him. Meanwhile Zell hurried over to the other side of the building to assure that the merchant wasn't going to use the girl as a bartering tool.

Instead of giving up, the merchant pushed themselves to the window and called out for assistance of any kind. In only a minute, villagers of all kinds came swooping in the front door, some carrying staves, others pitchforks and hoes. The entryway of the shop was much too cramped for them to fight like this, so with a giant roar, Skuld barreled out the door, taking off bits of the side with her massive form. Kimahri simply looked at Stitch, who shrugged and grabbed out his crossbows, chasing after her.

She could feel both sharp pricks and icy blasts at her from the mages and farmers who had surrounded her. In her rush to get out and defeat as many of the cultists as possible, she had let herself get surrounded by the folk. They were very likely already drawing blood and those who were late to the first call were grabbing proper weapons now, not just farming tools.

One swipe of her giant paw pushed several men out of her way. She then transformed into a swarm of bugs to get out of the way, flying high in the sky. From the air, she transformed into a wolf and dove in, sinking her teeth into the nearest cultist. From behind her, one of the mages was summoning a fireball, which flew past her and singed part of her tail as she was leaping out of the way and causing friendly fire. She turned her blood-stained maw and struck at the mage.

Meanwhile, Kimahri had grabbed the merchant who originally made the call before they managed to climb out the window. The merchant struggled against his hold until the sharp point of Asala pressed gently into the flesh of their necks. Since Kimahri's hands were full, he could not stop it when the merchant moved quickly and grabbed some powder from their pocket. After a quick puff of air, it hit Kimahri's face, causing him to sputter, his eyes watering. Quickly the Qun dropped his prey and tried to clear out his eyes. The contents of the powder were a mystery, but whatever it was, it burned. In the warrior's moment of blindness, the merchant grabbed the lance and slipped down into the cellar.

Just a few moments later, the burning sensation went away as if it had never happened, and a green light faded below his feet as an esuna spell had been cast from outside the door. The Qun looked as Skuld and Stitch joined him. Without a word, the two seemed to understand at least enough to know that the merchant was missing. At least there wasn't far they could run and the best bet was back in the house.

So, to be quick, they leapt down into the basement that connected the two buildings being led by Skuld and her fire spell. Had she not looked down precisely when she had, she would have tripped over one of two bodies lying on the ground of the dim basement. They didn't have time to figure out who they were or whether they were still alive. Although all of the reinforcements had been killed, there were still likely cultists in or around the shrine. Besides that, Kimahri had a lance to retrieve.

As expected, the trapdoor was locked on the other side, but after a couple of shoves it transformed into toothpicks from Kimahri's brute strength. He let out an angry growl as he burst into the house, swearing vengeance on anyone either bold or stupid enough to steal his lance a second time.

Unfortunately for them, the door had been flung open and there was no sign of either Zell or the girl. The few furnishings had been turned over and torn in show of a scuffle, but the merchant must have had some reinforcements helping him. It also didn't help that Zell liked to remain unarmed; even an untrained lancer would have the advantage in that moment. Just as they were about to follow the tracks, there was a hoarse yell from the basement. The three looked at one another before Stitch's curiosity got the better of him and he scampered off to see what was going on.

Not a moment later, Stitch hauled up a man in black and blue robes with long brown hair and pale skin. He was bruised up quite a bit, but was oddly somehow smiling.

"We don't have time for this, mutt." Skuld sighed. "It's very likely the merchant went to the shrine, and if Aqua sees them and the girl she's going to risk it all to try and save her. And then who do you think is going to have to bail them out? I swear it's like an endless circle with that one."

Although Skuld clucked like a mother hen, there was some level of affection and warmth in her voice that would be utterly denied if ever brought back up. Neither Stitch nor Kimahri were the kind to do so anyway, so it was only when the man groaned again that their attention was drawn away. He still had a hoarse voice, but it looked like he was more conscious now. Stitch let him go and he shakily stood up, bracing himself on a nearby overturned chair.

"Don't go to the shrine." The man spoke with some trouble.

"What was that?" Skuld looked back at him.

"I...said don't go...it's their headquarters."

"We have business to attend there." Skuld rolled her eyes before throwing the man a potion.

In a fumbling shamble, he dropped the potion, but thankfully the vial didn't break upon it's landing on the floor. Stitch skittered over to pick it up for him, and the man gratefully took it in one gulp. If he were honest he likely would have dropped the vial even in the best of conditions. Who were these strangers who would heal him without a second thought? Now that he was better, Skuld turned and began to head out the door again.

"Thanks for the potion, but you really don't want to go there. Their leader is planning something and if you can't fight then they'll get you too."

"I believe we can take care of our own. You had best get out of here while you still can. Grab some provisions from their homes if you must."

"And miss out on an investigation like this? I can't. I'm so close to seeing the Urn of Sacred Ashes for myself." The man took a tentative step. "My name is Brother Loire, but you can call me Brother Laguna...or maybe just Laguna. It's so odd meeting someone new after all that time."

The man winced a little as he walked, but he moved his way along towards the castle, the three companions to the Grey Wardens right behind them. When they reached the front of the castle, they found the rest of their group minus Aqua and Arashi nursing a cursing Zell back to health. The apparent lack of one party member was confusing, but it hadn't grown distressing yet.

"Aqua?" Stitch asked as he climbed down off of Kimahri's shoulder and looked around.

Aerith shook her head. "When that merchant came by with Zell, arashi and kimahri's lance, the first ran in. The merchant followed after, but Aqua offered a deal for them. She went in as a hostage in place of Zell and arashi."

Terra clenched his keyblade tighter. "What's worse is the castle is sealed up tight. These people have been updating it to keep unwanted guests out."

"You mad because you couldn't save her?" Skuld teased.

"No, I'm mad because they didn't believe me when I said I was the senior Warden and should have gone instead." Terra huffed. "Whose the brother here?"

"My name is Laguna Loire(1). I've been studying the Urn of Sacred Ashes and got trapped in the snow. The people here saved me from freezing, but I've been trapped underground ever since."

"Save Kadan now. Get Asala."

"Woah, hold on there big guy. We've already done the initial walk around. There's no bursting in manually." Zack stated.

"And now that they know we're here, they've got an archer and a mage up on the top to discourage is further." Ava added. They had had a close call already.

"Just let me at that sodding merchant. I'll show 'em who's boss and what the cost is for holding me hostage." Zell growled, standing up.

"You wanna jump into that?" Terra pointed to the castle.

Zell's hands clenched into fists again as he began to punch the air, as if he were trying to beat away the question that had just been asked. He may have been impulsive, but he wasn't stupid. The group fell silent for a moment, knowing full well there were eyes still trained on them. Laguna looked over at the castle and then back to terra.

"Say, you're a Grey Warden, aren't you?"

"Yeah. One of the last two here in Ferelden."

"Did you go around to the back of the castle?" Laguna looked curiously.

"Of course. There wasn't anything there."

"We should check again. I just got a gut feeling that there's something there. This place isn't even on most maps and you Wardens are a secretive bunch. Maybe they were here at one point." Laguna shrugged.

The thought hadn't really occured to Terra that the very ground he stood on could be home to Warden history. If the Urn was here, then it'd be important Chantry land, but if there were to be something found about the Wardens, then maybe they might be able to garner some more troops to go through the joining. Maybe he might know more of what he had signed up for. At any rate, it was worth a shot.

Careful to avoid the view of the sentinels, the large group made their way to the back of the castle to try and find their way in. It was just as they had left it with the indomitable bricks and piles of fresh fallen snow. When Laguna was pleased with their travels, he stopped the group and knelt down, brushing snow off the stone. It was then that something sparked inside Terra. In his vision, it was no longer Laguna but Eraqus gently wiping the snow off. His master had done the same thing at one of the abandoned fortresses they had stayed at in their journies.

"You're checking to see if this was once a Warden base, aren't you?" Terra leaned in.

"Is that what those marks are for? I knew they were tied to the Wardens somehow, but I didn't know what they meant."

Terra leaned in and helped Laguna scrape off snow. Sure enough, there was a very small part on the stone with distinctive scratching. If you weren't looking for it, you never would have noticed it was there, let alone known it was important. From his pocket, Terra pulled out the necklace he got at his joining that held a small amount of the tea mingled with darkspawn blood. The scratches glowed a bright yellow and there was a soft plop as the snow next to them fell down a trap door.

"Well I'll be. Is that…?" Laguna breathed.

"A protective ward put on with blood magic, yeah. Wardens accept anyone into our ranks, even blood mages. It's not important now though. Come on."

He led them down a wide stairwell and into a dark corridor. The air was stale and dust was kicked up with every step. Skuld and Aerith both summoned fireballs with their hands and transferred the light onto some torches sitting on the wall. With the area illuminated in this way, they could see an open room with a dirt floor and old piles of what looked like straw lining the walls. Upon closer inspection, there were also both feathers and hairs strewn around the place haphazardly. Whatever had been here was large.

At the corner of the room, there was a staircase going up into the castle. It of course was blocked by what looked to be an ancient door with a rusty lock on it. The wood was so old on it that he likely would be able to ram it open himself with just one hit.

"Get back, everybody." Terra warned them.

After they had taken the precautions to move, he pulled out his shield and placed it above his head to protect himself from the breaking of the wood. Terra ran up the stairs at full speed and burst through the doors as if they hadn't been there at all. The others soon joined him and they found themselves in an old empty room swallowed by the dark.

"You do realize your key could have unlocked the door, right?" Skuld asked pointedly.

"I don't know the unlocking spell that Aqua does and I'm trying not to use too much lyrium right now. Besides, we're through, aren't we?"

"One can only hope no one else heard your entry." Ava replied, holding her torch to the darkness. "Looks like we managed to get into the main hall. My guess is they're up higher as a way to wear out anyone who wants to follow them."

"Then I guess we have some stairs to climb. Any chance one of you can get a tracking spell or something to narrow it down?" Zell asked.

"Even if we do, there's going to be trouble. From what I heard in the basement, they have some sort of meeting in the castle at this time of day, so most of the group should be here and on high alert." Laguna sighed. "It's such a pain."

"Can you protect yourself?" Ava asked.

"I'll be fine. I've had a few scrapes back in the day."

Ava shrugged and continued on her way. They were met with a few cultists, all of whom were dispatched quickly and easily. From off their carcasses came a longsword and a crossbow with an entire sheath of bolts for Kimahri and Brother Laguna. He proved to be quite proficient with them, showing a marksmanship in his precise aim.

The group remained silent for most of their travels through the old, worn down castle. One wing of it was completely snowed through as much of the roof had collapsed in itself. There were no tracks left on it, allowing them to skip through that area entirely. The village hadn't looked to be able to support many people, and yet handfuls of them were spilling out at every few rooms. There wasn't time for this. Aqua was still in there, somewhere.

At long last, they came to a large pair of wooden doors. Upon opening them, the group found a fully stocked library. It was cold, but there was incredible detail in the woodwork and ample space to read and study. There was also a large fireplace against one of the walls and a giant looming statue of….someone. but that wasn't what caught Terra's attention. Instead, his gaze was fixed immediately upon a particular grey Warden who stood with Arashi behind her and Asala held to her throat.

The darkness inside him was building back up again. He tried to keep himself calm, but it was getting harder by the minute. She had been through enough, these wannabe worshipers had no right to lay a hand on her or even be that close to her. With his keyblade already in hand he did the only thing he knew he could do. He fought.


Whew! That was fun to write! hopefully next time we'll actually get to see the end of all these cultists. Thanks for reading!

1 for those of you who might not know, Laguna Loire is from Final Fantasy 8 and is the father of Squall/ Leon. He's a fun character who was a soldier turned journalist.