And welcome back! We continue on from the cliffhanger from last time. So i hope you all enjoy.
Oh! And a new (for you all) OC one of the Protectors own, will be making and appearance this time. Enjoy!
Tenebrae groaned as he woke up. He blinked and was surprised to see himself in Daybreak Town. He had woken up near the fountain.
Tenebrae looked in the water. He looked exactly as he had before the War. He took a step back in shock.
'No! No way!' Tenebrae grabbed his head. 'This isn't real. This place is a Graveyard. How am I here!?'
"Tenni?" The voice shocked him. He turned and saw Laci smiling at him. She walked up to him. "There you are! I Know they can be a lot, but you don't need to run from the Light Protectors."
'She knows the Light Protectors?' Tenebrae shook his head in thought. 'She knew Keval, and he IS their leader. It should have been obvious.'
"I'm just not used to the group," he said, looking off to the side. "Keval and I still aren't on the best terms. But I'm doing my best."
Laci giggled as she patted his cheeks. "You're both making an effort, and I'm glad you are. Keval is one of few who are my friends. And I want the two of you to get along."
Tenebrae felt a wave of happiness when she held him. It was soothing and warm. But it felt wrong. 'This can't be real. This is weird.'
"I know Laci," Tenebrae said, with a smile. "But years of animosity can't be changed in a few days. But thank you for being patient with me."
Laci giggled and grabbed his hands. "You are special to me as well. And Lucky says I've gotten brighter with you around. Now come on."
Tenebrae let her take him away. He chose not to fight back. He was happy just being with her. But things were still weird. There was a lingering feeling.
The two of them made it to a spot Tenebrae didn't recognize. He did recognize the people. He noticed Keval, Cetus and Rylan. Off to the side, he saw Mojie, Ray and Solas. There were a few others he didn't quite recognize, two women and a young man. There was one he saw with Keval that shocked him.
"Shaylex!?" Tenebrae basically shouted.
The blonde young woman looked at him confused. "No Tenebrae, it's Ashley. You know Laci's Union mate and friend."
He clutched his head. A sharp pain went through his head. It went away as fast as it came, and he shook it off.
"Right. My mistake. I must have been spending too many nights in the Library. I'm a bit tired."
Keval came up and put his arm around Tenebrae. "Even with Laci, you still spend so much time in the Library. Come on dude, you have friends now."
'Friends?' Tenebrae's head hurt again. He clutched it as the pain got worse. A buzzing noise got louder as the pain increased. 'I have friends?'
"Tenni?" Laci grabbed his face and ad him look at her. She smiled at him and the pain subsided. "We are all friends."
Tenebrae felt tears run down his face, which shocked Keval and Laci. He grabbed Laci's hands and pulled them away. Her hands were so warm, and he regretted letting them go.
"This isn't right," he said.
"Tenni"? Laci asked, confused.
"You okay?" Keval asked him.
"This isn't real!" Tenebrae shouted before turning to run.
He didn't look back as he heard his name called. The pain returned and it was worse than before. But he chose to keep running.
The scene changed as he ran. The peaceful scene started to change into a warzone. The buildings around him began to crumble. The colors of Daybreak Town started to become dusty and brown. He stopped and was in the Keyblade graveyard. All the lifeless Keys taunted him.
"Why didn't you stay?" he heard his own voice, but darker. "It was all we could have wanted. Look at all that Light."
Tenebrae turned and saw… himself? Or at least his current self. The silver hair and red eyes mocked him. Tenebrae couldn't help but growl.
"Because it isn't real," Tenebrae said. "If I never left, we wouldn't have learned what we have."
"At what cost?" The Seeker version rebuked. "We could have learned and had what we lost. But no wonder we fell to the Darkness," The Seeker version pointed at him, "You are weak, and the Darkness took advantage. Light will never be our ally."
"That's not true!" Tenebrae shouted. "I just need more time! I'm close, I know I am."
"So, you choose to run?" The Seeker version walked up to him. "We will never get what we desire. Because YOU are too much of a coward."
Tenebrae felt a Keyblade strike his chest. He looked down and saw Kingdom Key D in his chest. There was little pain, but he looked up to find the Seeker version. It was gone.
Tenebrae fell forward. There was no pain, but a feeling. When he should have hit ground, he just kept falling. He closed his eyes as he fell and felt a shift. -
Tenebrae sat up quickly and coughed. He looked around and saw the aesthetics of Halloween Town. He noticed the fur on his arms and felt his ears and tail. He reached the back of his head and felt wet head. Luckily, there wasn't much blood, but he was sitting in a river of sorts.
He got up and took in his surroundings. It was a vast open area; the only landmarks were a small stone wall that was around a broken gate. The river he was in ran from two caves.
'Okay, so I came here with Shaylex,' he thought, 'We came to this World for her mission. We were hunting the Heartless and made it to the most recent area. But something struck me and caused me to fall. And I know who to hurt.'
Tenebrae walked into the open area. He felt the presence of a barrier, like in Traverse Town. 'This is just like before. Someone came here and sealed it. But the only Wielder who came here, before Shaylex and I, was Sora. But how did he know how to do it?'
"Who are you?" a feminine voice called.
Tenebrae flinched and turned to the voice. It belonged to a young woman, no older than him. She had green hair with black bangs. The yellow eyes worried him as the woman stared at him. She had similar features to his, having a black tail and green ears, but less fur. And there were two black horns atop her head. Overall, she had a humanoid look to her.
Tenebrae could sense Darkness coming from this one. If she was a Heartless, then she was sentient like Hashley. She could just be a denizen of the World, but something was off about her.
"Simply a traveler," he said. "I was passing through and didn't know the location. I must have gotten lost."
"You're lost too?" the woman asked. "No, you got blasted by the troublemakers. They always do that. But maybe you're lost for another reason, like me?"
"Like you?" Tenebrae wasn't sure what she meant.
Instead of a verbal answer, pillars of ice shot towards him. He dodged to the side to avoid the icicles. He barely had time to react, before a ball of ice came flying at him.
"Screw this!" Tenebrae channeled his element and sent a purple fireball at the ice.
The two elements collided and exploded. Tenebrae turned his attention to the young woman. She was staring at the aftermath with a weird look of glee. She noticed him staring and looked panicked.
"I am Coshette," she said, after a she calmed down. "And I don't think I want to fight you now. Go through there and you'll make it back to the gate up there."
The woman, Coshette, pointed to the cave where the river flowed downstream into it. Tenebrae wasn't sure about the change of demeanor, but he took his chance. He walked to where she was pointing, keeping his eye on the individual.
Tenebrae jumped into the river. Before he walked through the cave, he looked over to Coshette.
"If we are being cordial," he said, "then my name is Tenebrae. I hope we never meet again."
Tenebrae entered the cave and followed the river. He felt the change in the elevation as he proceeded. It took a while, but he eventually saw an end.
Tenebrae was standing in a waterway, directly under a bridge. It was the same bridge where he was forced off. There were a few ledges close by. He used those to make it to the level above him.
He prepared for a fight but sensed no heartless. He proceeded to the wall he and Shaylex had come over before. He saw the hill unfurl and make a path. He jumped onto it and made it to the next area.
'Now where to go?' Tenebrae thought. 'I need to find Shaylex so we can finish up. But I've never been to this World.'
Tenebrae walked to the coffin looking decoration and examined it. He wasn't sure what to make of it. It was well designed and sculpted.
When he went to reach for it, the door swung open. Tenebrae had no time to react, as an orange object impacted his face and blew up. The force of the blast knocked him back on his ass. But he had enough sense to see three small individuals run past him. They were dressed as a devil, a witch, and a skeleton.
"You!" he growled at the trio.
"Oh no!" they said in unison. They ran to another coffin and jumped through.
Before Tenebrae could get up to give chase, someone landed on top of him. He hadn't realized the door behind him opened again. And now there was someone sitting on his back.
"OW! Sorry, still getting used to those," the voice was familiar.
Tenebrae turned his head and saw Shaylex. The Nobody was rubbing her head, trying to get her bearings. Whatever just happened must have messed with her senses.
"I don't remember agreeing to be your landing pad," he scoffed.
Shaylex down at him and gasped. She jumped off him and had a look of relief. "Tenebrae! You're alive!"
Tenebrae got to his feet and stretched. "It'll take more than a fall like that to do me in. Besides, I saw three little brats who need to be punished."
"Oh good, you saw them," Shaylex said. "After I lost you, those three did everything they could to get me away. They weren't violent, just obnoxious."
"Then let's go get some answers," Tenebrae said, heading for the decoration the trio went to.
"Right!" Shaylex was right behind him.
The pair made it to the coffin and Tenebrae opened the door. He didn't hear Shaylex's warning as both were pulled through by an invisible force. Tenebrae fell forward as the two landed, him on the ground first and Shaylex on top of him. He groaned as the Nobody got off him.
"I was going to warn you," she said, "Those things are tricky. I guess you need to be part of the World to know the trick."
"Noted," he said as he stood up and looked at the scene. "And no sign of the troublemakers."
"Honestly, I say good riddance," Shaylex said, stretching. "They only got in the way and we need to keep fighting Heartless. I haven't been here, so we should be able to find some."
On cue, some Heartless appeared. More than the last time swarmed around. There were a small army of Shadows, some Gargoyles, a few Search Ghosts, and some Wight Knights. The Two Wielders summoned their Keyblades and prepared to face the swarm. The presence of the Keyblade caused the swarm to attack.
Tenebrae coated Kingdom Key D in flames as he rushed in. He felt Shaylex's mana spike as well, Wind magic being channeled through Love's Promise. The pair used their respective elements. Tenebrae slashed through the Heartless on the ground, his flames burning others close by. He saw Shaylex's wind knock down the ones in the air. They combined both magic and efforts when the Heartless numbered thinned. A flaming whirlwind took out the remaining Heartless.
"And that is my quota," Shaylex said, stretching. "And no sign of the troublemakers."
"Better off for them," Tenebrae said. "Last thing I need is another annoyance."
Shaylex giggled. "Well, I say we head back. But how?"
Tenebrae walked to another coffin. It wasn't the one they entered from, so he thought it was safe. He leaned against it and crossed his arms. He tried to think, but felt the doors open behind him. Tenebrae stumbled back but didn't hit ground.
Tenebrae felt the gravity shift as he was thrown forward. He was ejected from a closed space. Tenebrae landed face first on the ground.
He sat up quickly, clutching his face. "OW! Seriously what the fuck!? This place is beyond messed up!"
Tenebrae looked around. He recognized the lamp posts from the alley he and Shaylex had been to. He saw the gate the two had first come through. Turning around, Tenebrae noticed the coffin.
'That must be what I came out of,' he thought as he backed away. 'Must be a way to cause fear and terror. But why is it so annoying?'
Tenebrae noticed the coffin shake. He jumped back a bit more, not wanting anymore surprises. Luckily, Shaylex popped out the coffin, landing nimbly on her feet. She looked around before noticing Tenebrae.
"Oh, I guess that was a shortcut," she giggled. "When you fell through, I had wanted to warn you. But your face was too hilarious."
Tenebrae growled and looked away. "Well we finished up, right? Let's get out of here."
"Fine, fine," Shaylex said, walking by him. "Let's head back to where we came from."
Tenebrae nodded and followed. They walked through the gate and into the town square. Nothing seemed different, but Tenebrae saw a glimpse of Jack as the two Wielders headed back to the entrance of the town. Tenebrae thought he felt a special Darkness but ignored it as he walked ahead. The Seeker failed to notice a black tentacle claw that appeared and disappeared underground.
Shaylex opened a portal when the pair made it back to their starting point. She stepped through first. Tenebrae was right behind her. Tenebrae felt the magic dissipate as he and Shaylex reverted to their original forms.
Back in the World That Never Was, Shaylex stretched as the two exited the portal. Tenebrae was out a second later. He spared a glance to the giant white castle. He made a noise of disgust and turned to leave.
"Hey, Tenebrae," Shaylex called out. "I know you have your own plans, but we should do another mission tomorrow. What do you say?"
"Couldn't hurt." He looked back, bored. "I didn't have any plans. See you tomorrow then." He walked deeper into the black city, waving behind him to his Partner. -
And there we go, some action, some drama, and the Power of Friendship!!! Okay maybe not that last part.
However, I would like to say thank you to another Protector in out group for letting me use Coshette. They go by Afterlifeprincess on TikTok, and have amazing OCs you all need to check out. I wonder if you guys noticed or not, but I'll keep it secret until you do.
Until then, I'll catch you all in the next chapter!
