Part Five

"My goodness, what happened to her?" Queen Minny asked, hearing the news and coming down with most of the rest of the court.

"I don't know, I just found her like this," Riku stated.

"Well be luck you found her when you did," the medic stated, healing up the hole in her back and having to clean up the towel that wiped up the blood after. "She wouldn't have lasted very long, especially in that rain." She looked up to the queen. "Which reminds me. We haven't had a downpour like that in a while, have we, your Highness?"

The Queen shook her head. "No we haven't. I'll have to ask Mickey when he gets back."

"Gets back? Where did he go?" Riku asked.

"He went to go search for the Keybarer Sora. Why, didn't you hear?"

Riku shook his head. "No, guess I didn't get the news."

"Well, she won't be up for a bit. That magic is strong, but it has a sleeping effect to it," the medic stated. "We might as well let her have her rest."

"I'll stay here," Riku said, "if that's alright."

"Of course," the Queen said. "She might as well have a friendly face to wake up to."

"Thanks."

The medic and all those who had come to see left within an instant, leaving Riku there with the unconscious Jeria. She had been left on her side, one of her hands by her head and another falling off the bed. Almost unknowingly he took the one off the bed and put it back next to the other, just holding it there. He smiled sympathetically, and that was when he realized he did this. He felt embarrassed, taking his hand away and looking forward, crossing his arms.

But he couldn't stop looking over. Somehow, in her pale, expressionless face, he knew something went on. He wondered what she dreamed, if it was a dream, as he shut his eyes, sighing as he waited until she would wake up...

She ran. She ran as fast as she could. To where, she didn't know, but as long it was away from there. But where? What was she running from? It was dark, cold, her hair wet and falling over her face. She could see her breath, feeling herself running into puddles. Her feet, she could tell, were bare, sewn with blisters and cuts, feeling like every step she took was on a bed of razor rocks. There was no light, but she could see, as she held out her hand in front of her, that it illuminated, white with a ghostly glow. She heard whispers in her head, getting louder and louder. She couldn't go back, though, because she was running from where she came, so she couldn't pull back.

She finally, when the whispers became shouts, screams in her head, stopped, covering her ears. Tears formed in her eyes because she could take no more, falling to her knees with her eyes shut. As the screams stopped, turning into a buzzing silence, she opened her eyes, looking down. It was her, now, who screamed, but could not be heard, as she saw what was underneath her. Hands, faces, thousands and thousands of hands and faces, reaching out to grab her. They pulled her down, a pool of dark material forming up over her head, pulling her under...

As she fell, the voices continued to speak, but she could finally understand them.

--She be her?--

--What she be?---

--Darkness...--

--Daughter of darkness--

--Savior of the Light--

--Makes no sense of she--

--How can she be darkness, yet be light?--

--Maybe both...?--

--Life of death, light of dark--

--Danger?--

--She be daughter of dark--

--Danger of light--

--Savior of the one with Light--

--Danger to dark--

--Let she decide...--

--What is real or not...--

That was when she felt herself hit the ground, her feet light on the dark ground. She reached out her hand, images forming and fading in the blink of the eye. One of an ocean. Another of a snowfield. Another of a sword, gleaming in the darkness. Another was a shadow, forming into someone. These images meant nothing to her now, but she had yet to realize the meant everything.

Finally there were no more images, and a figure began to form in front of her. It took form of a boy, wearing a black outfit with a ragged cape tied to his waste, his back to her. The hair, the short, silver hair seemed so familiar, but she couldn't quite remember. As he turned to her with a smirk on his face, his eyes, from what they were blue, turned a violent orange, someone else forming. Her eyes began wide, shocked, as she stumbled back. She remembered this, she remembered this day, what she had been running from, but only was lead back to the same place.

"Father..." she mouthed, her voice to weak to speak it. He kept the same smirk as he reached out his hand, summoning the darkness and wrapping it around her neck, slowly tightening...

In the real world, Riku stood, surprised as Jeria's body suddenly rose, her face twisted as if in pain. She chocked, suddenly being thrown back into the wall. She lay there, limp, her hands twitching and her face still in pain, as she was suddenly lifted again, thrown across to the other wall. Riku thought about going over, trying to see what was wrong. But instead this persisted, and there was absolutely nothing he could do...

Jeria was thrown across the darkness once more, finally being caught in the hands in her father's Guardian. This was the past, she remembered from five years ago, he sent her to Kingdom Hearts, to rot away because of the power she possessed. But she realized this was all a dream, and she could control her dream. She did not fear her father like she had, for she did not know how to fight back then. But she was older, more experienced, and would get rid of her father, this time, with a whim of her hand.

As her father approached, he smirked, as he had done before. "I am sorry, my dear daughter, but for the good of the cause, I must send you away. I am terribly sorry."

"Why are you doing this?" she asked like before. She new as he summoned the attack to send her she'd have to time to attack, so she might as well go along with it for now.

"Because, my dear, you have become too powerful for even your own father, and you must be sent away."

"Father..." As Ansem summoned the attack, she smirked, forming her own in her hand. "Unfortunately for you, I am."

She formed a powerful sphere in her hand, a black essence with green aura. She escaped her grip from the Guardian and shot it into her father's stomach, continuing to smirk. His eyes widened as if to act hurt, but soon straightened, beginning to laugh. Jeria's smirk faded as he did, the image of her father disappearing along with the darkness. It made way to the medic room, and the blue eyes of the boy came back, a different outfit, taller, but still the same...

She pulled her shaking hand away, her power fading fast, as she saw Riku slump to the floor, a hole that was meant for her father now in him. She was on her knees, just sitting there in shock, as she brought her hand up to her mouth.

He had tried to help her out of the dream state, right when she decided to attack. Ansem knew this would happen. That's why he planned it. The Heartless had struck her before she left Midgar, and thus send Ansem's mind into her for one use to get back at her, and to kill the Keybarer.

Knowing this, she screamed, crying as she put the hands on the side of his face, trying to get him to open his eyes. With it, the medic door opened, revealing the worst people she had wanted to see at this moment.

Aerith gasped as Cloud walked over to Jeria in a rage, Jeria trying to back away as he finally grabbed his buster sword from behind his back, preparing to strike down...