Chapter 23

A Bolt of Inspiration

As Madoka dodged yet another volley of laser fire, she had one question on her mind.

Just what are these things?

She had first thought that they were Heartless, but they felt different. For one thing, these creatures were clothed in white rather than being wreathed in darkness, and they bore a different emblem, some sort of cross mixed with an inverted heart.

Most looked like they were wearing some sort of white jumpsuit, though their form was only vaguely humanoid. The limbs and fingers were elongated, and they moved with an elastic sort of gait that was just unsettling to look at. Others seemed to squirm through the air, as if moving through some sort of thick fluid.

There were two other different kinds of these creatures too. One type hung in the air perpendicular angle to the ground and carried some sort of crossbow like device in their hands. There was a final flash, and another one appeared, a creature clad in robes. It drew twin katanas from its sheaths and took a stance like a samurai.

"It's those white things again!" Pence said. The three of them backed away, hiding behind the staircase.

"Are these Heartless?" Kyoko asked while she conjured a spear.

"I don't think so." Madoka answered. They really did feel different from the Heartless. She summoned Crystal Clarity regardless.

"Be ready to fight!" Mami said, musket at the ready.

The samurai pointed its katana, and the others followed it's orders moving towards the attack. They didn't truly walk, they floated, slithered, elongated, or so many other disturbing forms of movement.

As one of the white creatures approached Madoka, she swung with her Keyblade. The monster twisted out of the way of the strike and then swung a tentacle like arm at her. Madoka backed away, but it had coiled it's body around her legs, tripping her.

She quickly rolled to the side as another one of the creatures floated over her. It was floating with its feet in the air, as if it were some sort of circus acrobat. It slashed wildly with its arms. At the same time, one of the crossbow-wielding ones opened fire, a red bolt aimed not at where she was, but where she was most likely to roll away from the hit. Madoka was forced to parry all of the silvery creature's swings as the two ganged up on her.

"Madoka!" Sayaka charged at the silvery creature with her cutlass and slashed at it, but it barely avoided getting cut in half.

These creatures were frustratingly hard to hit, slithering out of the way of her swings and then striking back all in the same motion with swipes and headbutts, forcing Madoka to keep backing away, while also constantly keeping a look out for attempts to trip her.

When she could spare a glance, she saw that the others weren't faring much better. Sayaka, who had leaped in to save her, was now in the same position she was earlier. Kyoko was having a better time engaged with the samurai-looking one, as her spear's length kept the creature at bay, but it was only a matter of time before another creature was able to circle around and flank her. Mami attempted to shoot at a the crossbow wielding creatures, but they simply teleported out of the way. Nagisa stood behind Mami, giving her cover fire, but her shots were far too slow to hit anything.

I have to do something! Madoka thought. She called upon her aura, letting it energize her. She leaped into the air, swinging around one of the pillars at the station's entrance, and came crashing back in the middle of a group of the strange creatures. An explosion of pink energy burst outwards, knocking several of them back.

They weren't down however. After recovering, they grouped up, looking between each other rapidly. Then they leaped aside as the Samurai came rushing towards Madoka.

She leaped away, bouncing off of a wall and came spinning back towards it like a drill. The Samurai was ready however, catching her attack between it's two swords, and then flipping. Madoka was sent crashing to the ground, rolling into the balcony guard. She regained her senses just in time to see the Samurai leap towards her. She rolled aside as its blades came slashing down, cutting cleanly into the concrete.

Madoka managed to roll to her feet, just in time to block a slash from the creatures katana. When it tried to strike with the second, she backed away, carefully keeping Crystal Clarity between her and the creature.

It struck a second time, and Madoka blocked the sequence of moves, backpedaling all the while. It broke off the assault, and then paused. The two of them circled around each other, the creature ever so often making an attack, from a different angle each time. She couldn't tell considering the mask it was wearing, but it seemed to be… thinking? Analyzing her?

This creature, it was very different from the Heartless with the magma blades. If she had to make a comparison, she'd take a page out of Kyoko's book and compare it to the difference between fighting a CPU and a player in a video game.

The Heartless, for all its strength, felt robotic compared this this creature, which felt like she was fighting an actual person.

Its movements, though unnerving and creepy, had a certain character to them, like that of a person. Its strikes didn't appear to be immediately going for the killing blow now, but were instead testing her guard, feeling out its opponent before committing to an attack plan.

Which it then carried out. It sliced with its swords in a flurry of attacks that Madoka had trouble keeping up with, even with her aura augmenting her speed and reactions.

When an opening presented itself, Madoka leaped away. She saw that the others weren't faring so well either. Nagisa was tripped by one of the jumpsuited creatures, a blast from her trumpet going wild. One of the crossbow wielders aimed it's weapon at the downed girl, only for Mami to leap towards it. She kicked it in the head, causing the red bolt to miss and the creature to careen back. Midair she spun, and produced a musket.

However, as she fired, the creature warped away, and Mami's shot missed. She hit the ground and grabbed Nagisa, pulling her out of the way of a shot from the other crossbow wielder.

When Madoka moved to try and help them, one of the creatures rammed her, sending her sprawling to the ground, where it attempted to wrap its body around her like a snake. As she was busy struggling with that creature, she saw the Samurai engage with Sayaka.

She too, was struggling to keep up with the creature, it easily parried her blows, and countered, landing strikes against her. On her arm, on her leg. Sayaka collapsed to the ground.

Kyoko tried to jump to her aid, but the Samurai simply dodged out of the way and then kicked her in the head, sending her sprawling to the ground. When she tried to rise, the creature thrust with it's blade, directly through Kyoko's thigh. She screamed in pain and collapsed, attempting to crawl away.

With both of them downed, it stalked towards them, raising it's swords, intending to finish them off.

Madoka struggled, but the creature still had her legs entangled. It was going to kill them! It was going to kill them and there wasn't anything she could do. She hurled her Keyblade at the monster, but it easily batted it aside. As she returned it to her hand, the Samurai drew closer. She needed to do something. Anything. She needed some way to… strike.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl. There was a brief flash, and she saw an image of Ramuh flash briefly before her eyes, the Esper suffused with lightning. A jolt of energy ran through Madoka. As her Keyblade returned to her grip. She felt raw energy crackling in her hands. It ran down the length of her Keyblade as she raised it into the air. As she did so, a word came to her mind. "Thunder!"

A brilliant bolt of yellow lightning came crashing down from above, striking the Samurai just as it was raising its swords for the coup de grace. There was a blinding flash, and the Samurai collapsed to the ground, swords dropping from it's hands as electricity crackled across its body.

The jumpsuited creatures immediately abandoned their attacks and rushed to the Samurai's aid, including the one grappling with Madoka. They helped it to its feet and backed away.

That energetic feeling was still bouncing around inside Madoka, almost demanding some sort of release. She gave it one when she looked at the crossbow wielders still fighting Nagisa and Mami. She pointed Crystal Clarity at one of them and shouted "Thunder!" Again. This time, electricity erupted from the tip of the Keyblade, lancing out towards one of them, blasting it out of the sky.

At this, the other creatures looked among each other. There appeared to be some sort of consensus between them. They then were all engulfed within white spheres which then vanished, leaving only the Samurai behind briefly. It looked at Madoka and a strange feeling came over her.

Are you the one she seeks?

"Wha-?" Before she could even register what had happened, the Samurai vanished.

With the threat gone, Madoka dismissed Crystal Clarity and rushed over to the fallen Sayaka and Kyoko.

"Holy shit! Since when could you do that?!" Sayaka asked, stunned.

"Yeah, would have been nice to know if you could go all inFamous on their asses." Kyoko added with a grunt.

"Since just now, apparently." Madoka said, still not sure herself how she had done that. Or what exactly 'that' was. Perhaps it was Ramuh helping her again?

She turned to see Nagisa and Mami approaching. Mami looked both upset and relieved when her gaze met Madoka's though the expression changed to a smile so fast that Madoka wasn't sure if she hadn't just imagined it.

"Is everyone okay?" Mami asked.

"Sayaka's hurt! So are Kyoko and Madoka!" Nagisa said.

"I'll heal on my own." Sayaka said. "Why don't you try one of those Potions?"

"Yeah, sure." Madoka said. Reaching into her pocket, she withdrew one of the vials and drank it. It was mildly sweet tasting but watery, like a soft drink. As she drank it, near instantly, her bruises began to vanish. She saw Kyoko doing the same, her cuts healing.

"Ahh... that feels good." Kyoko relaxed.

"Okay, that's all fine and dandy, but seriously how did you do that?" Sayaka said, as her own wounds glowed and healed.

Madoka looked down at Crystal Clarity. It looked normal now (insofar as a key-shaped weapon where the striking head was a flower could be considered 'normal'), but moments ago it had been crackling with lightning. "I… I'm not sure. That samurai thing was about to finish you guys off, and I was tied up. I was desperately trying to do something. Then… it felt like something… surged through me. I'm not sure how I it happened though."

Mami frowned and looked away briefly. Nagisa spoke up with a suggestion "Well, didn't Ramuh say that the Keyblade could be used as a conduit for magic?"

"Magic?" This sent Madoka thinking. She had used… magic? Thinking back, she supposed all of the things she had done were 'magic' but she had always thought of magic in the sense of casting a spell. Here, however, she had done basically that. Thunder. The very thought of the word sent a jolt through her body, almost literally like a sudden shock.

"That was amazing!" Came a voice from behind her.

Madoka turned to see Hayner and the others emerging from their hiding spot.

"What were those things?" Mami asked.

"Don't know really. Those white things and those cloaked dudes showed up a few times when Sora and Mickey were around, but we never got the full story."

"Shame. One more thing to ask the wizard about, I guess." Nagisa said.

"Yeah, we should get going now." Mami said.

Before they entered the train station, Madoka turned back, looking over Twilight Town. Though she hadn't been here long, she had to admit she liked this place. It was peaceful and laid back in a way that felt in stark contrast to how hectic things could be back in Mitakihara.

As she thought this, she felt a tingling sensation in her hand, and a strange feeling in her chest. There was a burst of light and flower petals, and Crystal Clarity appeared in her hands, completely unbidden.

As she watched, the Keyblade was engulfed in light, and when that light faded, it's appearance had changed! The weapon now flowed like some sort of ornate sculpture, with four blue strands spiraling around each other towards a head where they held four crystals. The hilt of the blade looked like it was made of wood inlaid with gold, and at the end of the chain was a bat like the ones used in the struggle tournament.

"What the heck?!" Sayaka asked.

"Woah! Did you just get an upgrade? Again? Seriously?"

Madoka focused on the blade, and as she did, a name rang through her mind. Eternal Struggle.

Xigbar hadn't even intended to start anything serious in Twilight Town. His only intention was to visit the manor to inspect some other things, only to run into Madoka Kaname by chance. And how productive an excursion it had been!

Tailing her had been child's play with his skills. She was so interesting. A Princess of Heart who was also a Keyblade Wielder? Two at once. He had his suspicions before, but now he knew there was more to this tale than the 'Norts were letting on.

He wondered what he should do about this. She was very clearly a novice, only just discovering the basics of her abilities. Likely no more than a few days into her adventure. But he knew from long experience that it wouldn't stay that way. She had already gathered a group of companions around herself. When facing adversity with friends, a Key Bearer tended to develop with a speed that still managed to shock him to this day. A capability that was as impressive as it was irritating.

As he mused, he heard the sound of the lesser Nobodies arriving. Though it might not be noticeable to some, Xigbar could tell by the subtleties in their movements that some of them were injured.

His thoughts returned to Madoka. Key Bearers had almost limitless potential. He had seen them become legendary champions, superheroes, kings, unstoppable conquerors, religious paragons, enlightened scholars, tyrants, genius inventors, revolutionaries, destroyers and so many other types of great figures. Especially as it seemed that this Madoka and her gaggle of friends were headed towards the old master Yen Sid. He could nip this in the bud right now. The Nobodies had regrouped and they could attack again, and if he joined in, victory would be assured.

But… she also intrigued him. Throw a Pure Heart into the mix, and there was no telling what unique things she could accomplish. Those kinds of Hearts were perhaps the strangest of all. He first thought about just killing her. However, the shard of light would take time to manifest in another Heart, and that could throw off the main plan. He couldn't put that in jeopardy after coming this far.

Capturing her for himself? That may have been an option if Plan A had worked, but he was always pressed for time. Even if it had succeeded he wouldn't have been able to keep her for long. Things were moving fast, and he there wasn't much time where he could act unobserved. If he was going to capture her, he would have to involve Xemnas and "Ansem." And that would mean handing her over to Xehanort.

However, he didn't want to just hand her over to the old man just yet. A Princess with a Keyblade was an impressive, once-in-a-blue-moon circumstance, but it still didn't warrant the kind of response Xehanort had given. Giving her over to the old man wasn't desirable when he didn't know all the details of what Xehanort was planning. And having known Xehanort for so many years, he knew the old coot was planning something. That, or he had finally gone senile.

Regardless, at this stage, observation was key. Best to allow things to play out. Letting Madoka get more powerful was a price he was willing to pay for more information.

My liege. What are your orders?

Ah yes, the Nobodies. Sad, but he couldn't allow the other members of Organization XIII to know what he'd been doing. At least it'd be easy to write these mooks off as losses. The Organization's enemies were active after all.

Xigbar drew his arrowguns and opened fire with incredible speed. Wounded as they were, the Nobodies were unable to react and quickly perished, their bodies fading away.

The purchase of the tickets went without a hitch, and now the blue train was waiting for them, ready to depart. Madoka looked around the place one last time, at the beautiful train station, and at the people they had met. Hayner, Pence and Olette were sticking around to see them off. They hadn't known each other for long, but they had really grown on her.

"We're gonna miss you!" Pence said.

"Same!" Sayaka replied. "Sadly we have to get going."

"I know! Be sure to come back and visit, if you have the time!" Olette said.

"Kick the bad guys butts for us!" Hayner said, pounding his fist.

"Sure thing!" Kyoko said with a grin.

The girls boarded the train, and as they sat down it began to move. The looked out the window to briefly see the trio waving them goodbye before the train exited the station.

The girls reclined in their seats, nobody had anything to say as the train traveled along the tracks. Eventually, Madoka summoned Crystal Clarity… no… Eternal Struggle to her hands and held it up. There was so much she didn't know. How her powers worked, why she had been chosen by the Keyblade. How she was going to go about saving her World.

The train would ferry them to the wizard Yen Sid. He was a retired Keyblade Master. If anyone could shed light on everything that was going on, it was someone like him. But she couldn't shake that feeling of apprehension. Who was that man? And what were those white creatures? They definitely weren't Heartless, they gave off a completely different vibe. She had a feeling that there was even more going on than she could imagine. She wanted to save her World, and get back the friends and family she had lost. But she recalled everything that she had been through, and considered all the things she had done in such a short span of time. Would they really be able to go back to their normal lives if they succeeded?

She then saw a flash from outside. When she looked out the window, she saw that she was no longer in Twilight Town. Now the train was traveling along a glowing set of tracks through space. A brilliant display of stars and auroras danced before them as the train ferried them to their destination.

And thanks to The Name Of Love for beta-reading and idea sounding!