Kingdom Hearts FanFiction
Vagabond Hearts
Chapter Four
Insert usual copyright information and "Don't so me, Square-Enix or Disney," comments here. And go outside once in awhile. Seriously, son, your mother and I are worried about you. Don't make us stage an intervention.
"Where were you, Hex?"
Hex stepped from the darkness beyond the door to the Shrine of Elemental Hearts, back into the dim and eerie glow of the cavern passage. He showed Aurelie his new EssenceHand as he answered her question.
"In the Shrine of Elemental Hearts, receiving my orders," he said.
Aurelie and Locke looked at the EssenceHand as Hex explained what had happened in the Shrine. The right Hand was an awesome looking gauntlet, banded at the knuckles of each finger. The shield that merged with the gauntlet at the wrist and forearm reached as high as Hex's shoulder, and wrapped around his arm to protect the entire thing. It was decorated with tribal wing markings matching those on Hex's shirt, and an additional tribal marking resembling a key was etched between them. The left Hand resembled the right without the shield, save a single yellow gem marked with a strange blue logo on the top of the hand. The logo was three circles etched together to resemble a head with large ears.
"Isn't that the mark of King Mickey, Locke?" Aurelie asked as she looked at the logo.
"Yeah, I think so," Locke replied.
"King Mickey? The voice in the Shrine mentioned him. Who is he?" Hex asked.
"The king of some world called the Magic Kingdom," Aurelie answered.
"He's on a mission to find the Keyblade Master and the door to Kingdom Hearts," Locke continued. "So he can end the threat of the Heartless all single-handed style."
"No," Hex shook his head. "Not alone, not single-handedly. He has help." Hex looked up at the two of them. "He apparently has a lot of help. Including us."
"Us?" Locke asked. "No, we've got our own problems..."
"And the voice assured me that your mission, your destiny - it is a part of mine," Hex answered. "Your quest will still be fulfilled. But we also have important roles to play in the battle against the Heartless."
Locke looked at Hex uncertainly for a moment, and then turned to Aurelie. "What do you think, Aurelie? What do your visions say?" Hex noted the statement that Aurelie had visions, but said nothing.
"Nothing, Locke," Aurelie answered. "But they must have brought us here for a reason. I think this must be it."
"So no Phoenix Stone..." Locke stepped back and leaned against a wall, sullen and silent. He remained there, and Hex wasn't sure if he was listening any longer.
"So this is the EssenceHand, then?" Aurelie asked Hex.
"Yes. The Kingdom Hand, to be exact," Hex answered. "I think it can take different forms depending on the jewel I place on my left hand."
"Did the voice tell you that?"
"No, I just sort of...know it, I guess," Hex looked around as he answered. "Look, where are we?" he asked suddenly.
"In the caverns beneath the Mana Tree." Aurelie answered immediately. "In the Mana Kingdom itself."
"The Mana Kingdom..." Hex shook his head. "Man, I was still dealing with the possibility of a world outside my city walls being nothing but an illusion. Now, I've got to deal with the existence of other worlds entirely?" Hex shook his head again and trailed off in thought.
"Don't worry about it," Locke shrugged. "We took it as a hell of a shock, ourselves. If you think it's hard to grasp the idea of other worlds, wait 'till you see how we travel between them. That's a real kick."
"And what about you, Locke?" Hex stepped over to the young man. "What's this Phoenix Stone, and why do you need it?"
"It's a stone containing a limitless power to heal, a treasure of legend I heard about in our travels," Locke answered vaguely. After a moment of silence, he looked Hex dead in the eye. "And I need it for a friend." Hex heard the tone of Locke's voice, not a threatening tone, but a resolute one, and understood that he would not get the whole story right away.
"And you, Aurelie?" Hex turned to the viera next. "Your visions brought you here after the Stone?"
"No, my visions aren't that specific," Aurelie responded. "We were brought here after something that would take us to our goal."
"Well, then," Hex smiled, and turned back to Locke. "Locke, the voice in the Shrine said I would need your help. I don't know why, exactly, but I welcome it. However, I won't force you, either of you, to help me. I'll let you two decide that."
Hex's tone became much more serious, matching Locke's previous tone. He looked Locke in the eye as he spoke, as Locke had to him. "Just remember this: I promise you, here and now, that if you help me, I will help you. I will do whatever I can to help you find the Stone, and help your friend."
The three companions stood in silence for a moment. Hex did not take his eyes from Locke's. Finally, Locke stepped off the wall and smiled at each of his companions. "Alright, I'm in. We're in," he looked at Aurelie, and she nodded in agreement. "So, where do we start?" Locke asked.
"Actually, I don't know," Hex frowned. "We need to find the Elemental Hearts."
"And we don't know where they are," Aurelie sighed. "Great..."
"Well, we need information, then," Locke said. "And where better to go then where we were headed, anyway? Hex, Aurelie, we're headed to Traverse Town!" Locke tried to apply an emphasis on this last part, but Hex had turned away and didn't respond. "Hex, did you here me?"
"Traverse Town, right," Hex said. "But we need to deal with them, first."
Aurelie and Locke followed Hex's gaze down the passage, and Aurelie gasped when they saw the Heartless they thought Hex had buried coming toward them. The Guard Armor could not fit in the passage, but they could see its massive detached feet in the chamber they had come from.
Aurelie and Locke were at Hex's side in a flash. "We're with you, Hex," Locke said.
"Alright, let's show 'em what we got!" Hex yelled. He and Locke leapt at the dozen Shadows and Soldiers, weapons readied. Aurelie remained at a distance, readying a spell.
Locke reached the Heartless first, and his twin daggers flashed with magical flame as he cut through the mass. Three Shadows and a single Soldier fell, and when the others turned to take on Locke, Hex dashed behind them. He waved his hand, and a trio of energy bolts appeared, just like in his nightmare the night before. Hex noted dully how distant the night before seemed as the energy bolts streaked towards their targets. The bolts found their marks, and two more Shadows and another Soldier fell.
A well-timed Thunder spell cast by Aurelie took out the last of the Shadows, leaving only four Soldiers. One of the Soldiers broke from the melee, dashing toward Aurelie. She stumbled back and attempted to draw her rapier, but she slipped on the uneven ground. The Soldier was upon her in a heartbeat, and its clawed hand streaked down at her chest. She brought her arm up in defense, and yelled out in fear.
"Aero!" Hex yelled, pointing his hand at Aurelie. A sourceless wind rushed around Aurelie, defending her from the Soldier's attack. Locke was there next to her, then. He stuck the Heartless with both his daggers, and it faded into shadow.
Locke helped Aurelie up and the two rejoined Hex, who was using a well-placed Aero spell to hold the last three Soldiers at bay. "What are you doing?" Locke asked. "You could waste them easy, I think."
"I think I could, too," Hex replied. "But I want to use them to trip up the Armor out there. I'll only get one shot at it, though, and then I'm out. Aurelie, enjoy that shield while it you can. Aerora!"
The sudden force of wind surrounding Hex knocked back the three Soldiers. They stumbled out of the passage, and Hex pushed after them. As they fumbled around the feet of the Guard Armor, the Armor itself stumbled backwards. Aurelie and Locke followed Hex out of the passage, and quickly acted with an impressive joint attack.
Aurelie cast a Fire spell on one of the Soldiers at the mouth of the passage. As the shadow and flame faded, Locke rushed past it. He ran his daggers through the flame at the last minute, and the flame burning along his blades burned much brighter. Using the additional strength, he easily defeated the last two Soldiers.
Now, all that was left was the Guard Armor itself. The three adventurers stood together as the Armor prepared for battle. "Either of you know a really good trick?" Hex asked with a nervous chuckle.
"Man, we know more than one," Locke answered. "Ready, Aurelie?"
"Ready, Locke," Aurelie said confidently. "Hex, when we give the signal, attack the Armor from here with your bolts."
"Right," Hex nodded once.
"Now!" Locke yelled. Hex blasted the Armor's head with three bolts, followed quickly by another three. He went for another wave, but the Hand did not produce one.
"Looks like this thing has it limits, kids!" Hex yelled.
"No problem! Thunder!" Aurelie yelled. The Armor reeled back as lightning flashed all around it. Locke was dashing right into the storm, and Hex felt certain that he must get hit. But when he reached the feet of the Armor, he jumped right into the storm. Hex ran after him, and Aurelie was behind Hex, but something happened that Hex did not expect.
"Phoenix Rise!" Locke yelled. As the magical storm faded, Locke flashed upward into the air at the Armor's head. Fire flared off his daggers and arms, looking like flaming wings. When he struck the Armor, fire burst everywhere, and Hex was certain Locke must have been consumed. But as Aurelie summoned another Thunder spell, Locke fell harmlessly to the ground. "Let's see what trick you've got up your Hand, Hex!" Locke yelled as he hit his feet and leapt away from the Armor.
Hex smiled and stepped forward. He focused his mind on the EssenceHand, and a thought seemed to form in his mind. As the Thunder spell faded, Hex looked up at the Armor. It was wounded, but not defeated, and it was rapidly bearing down on him. Aurelie let out a yell of warning, but Hex held up his hand. When he did, it began to glow. After a moment, the glow reached a deep blue color. At the last possible moment, Hex punched upwards toward the Guard Armor. "Quicksilver Strike!"
A web of magical energy burst from Hex's EssenceHand. It spun in the air, forming a blade of energy, which sliced the Guard Armor completely in two. The energy continued through the air, slicing through the pile of rubble Hex had created in the center of the chamber, and then disappearing in the darkness.
The pieces of the Armor crashed to the ground, and no one moved or spoke until long after the echoes of the crash had faded. Finally, Aurelie broke the silence.
"Friggin' wow..." she said.
"Well," Locke said nonchalantly. "Guess we better warn Mog the Heartless are here, and then get to our ship."
Hex turned to them, but neither spoke nor moved for another moment. When he spoke, it was with a slanted smile and the same tone Locke had used. "Yeah, let's go."
The three climbed through the rubble using the hole Hex's Quicksilver Strike had created, and Locke and Aurelie led Hex back to the entrance.
Insert usual copyright information and "Don't so me, Square-Enix or Disney," comments here. And go outside once in awhile. Seriously, son, your mother and I are worried about you. Don't make us stage an intervention.
"Where were you, Hex?"
Hex stepped from the darkness beyond the door to the Shrine of Elemental Hearts, back into the dim and eerie glow of the cavern passage. He showed Aurelie his new EssenceHand as he answered her question.
"In the Shrine of Elemental Hearts, receiving my orders," he said.
Aurelie and Locke looked at the EssenceHand as Hex explained what had happened in the Shrine. The right Hand was an awesome looking gauntlet, banded at the knuckles of each finger. The shield that merged with the gauntlet at the wrist and forearm reached as high as Hex's shoulder, and wrapped around his arm to protect the entire thing. It was decorated with tribal wing markings matching those on Hex's shirt, and an additional tribal marking resembling a key was etched between them. The left Hand resembled the right without the shield, save a single yellow gem marked with a strange blue logo on the top of the hand. The logo was three circles etched together to resemble a head with large ears.
"Isn't that the mark of King Mickey, Locke?" Aurelie asked as she looked at the logo.
"Yeah, I think so," Locke replied.
"King Mickey? The voice in the Shrine mentioned him. Who is he?" Hex asked.
"The king of some world called the Magic Kingdom," Aurelie answered.
"He's on a mission to find the Keyblade Master and the door to Kingdom Hearts," Locke continued. "So he can end the threat of the Heartless all single-handed style."
"No," Hex shook his head. "Not alone, not single-handedly. He has help." Hex looked up at the two of them. "He apparently has a lot of help. Including us."
"Us?" Locke asked. "No, we've got our own problems..."
"And the voice assured me that your mission, your destiny - it is a part of mine," Hex answered. "Your quest will still be fulfilled. But we also have important roles to play in the battle against the Heartless."
Locke looked at Hex uncertainly for a moment, and then turned to Aurelie. "What do you think, Aurelie? What do your visions say?" Hex noted the statement that Aurelie had visions, but said nothing.
"Nothing, Locke," Aurelie answered. "But they must have brought us here for a reason. I think this must be it."
"So no Phoenix Stone..." Locke stepped back and leaned against a wall, sullen and silent. He remained there, and Hex wasn't sure if he was listening any longer.
"So this is the EssenceHand, then?" Aurelie asked Hex.
"Yes. The Kingdom Hand, to be exact," Hex answered. "I think it can take different forms depending on the jewel I place on my left hand."
"Did the voice tell you that?"
"No, I just sort of...know it, I guess," Hex looked around as he answered. "Look, where are we?" he asked suddenly.
"In the caverns beneath the Mana Tree." Aurelie answered immediately. "In the Mana Kingdom itself."
"The Mana Kingdom..." Hex shook his head. "Man, I was still dealing with the possibility of a world outside my city walls being nothing but an illusion. Now, I've got to deal with the existence of other worlds entirely?" Hex shook his head again and trailed off in thought.
"Don't worry about it," Locke shrugged. "We took it as a hell of a shock, ourselves. If you think it's hard to grasp the idea of other worlds, wait 'till you see how we travel between them. That's a real kick."
"And what about you, Locke?" Hex stepped over to the young man. "What's this Phoenix Stone, and why do you need it?"
"It's a stone containing a limitless power to heal, a treasure of legend I heard about in our travels," Locke answered vaguely. After a moment of silence, he looked Hex dead in the eye. "And I need it for a friend." Hex heard the tone of Locke's voice, not a threatening tone, but a resolute one, and understood that he would not get the whole story right away.
"And you, Aurelie?" Hex turned to the viera next. "Your visions brought you here after the Stone?"
"No, my visions aren't that specific," Aurelie responded. "We were brought here after something that would take us to our goal."
"Well, then," Hex smiled, and turned back to Locke. "Locke, the voice in the Shrine said I would need your help. I don't know why, exactly, but I welcome it. However, I won't force you, either of you, to help me. I'll let you two decide that."
Hex's tone became much more serious, matching Locke's previous tone. He looked Locke in the eye as he spoke, as Locke had to him. "Just remember this: I promise you, here and now, that if you help me, I will help you. I will do whatever I can to help you find the Stone, and help your friend."
The three companions stood in silence for a moment. Hex did not take his eyes from Locke's. Finally, Locke stepped off the wall and smiled at each of his companions. "Alright, I'm in. We're in," he looked at Aurelie, and she nodded in agreement. "So, where do we start?" Locke asked.
"Actually, I don't know," Hex frowned. "We need to find the Elemental Hearts."
"And we don't know where they are," Aurelie sighed. "Great..."
"Well, we need information, then," Locke said. "And where better to go then where we were headed, anyway? Hex, Aurelie, we're headed to Traverse Town!" Locke tried to apply an emphasis on this last part, but Hex had turned away and didn't respond. "Hex, did you here me?"
"Traverse Town, right," Hex said. "But we need to deal with them, first."
Aurelie and Locke followed Hex's gaze down the passage, and Aurelie gasped when they saw the Heartless they thought Hex had buried coming toward them. The Guard Armor could not fit in the passage, but they could see its massive detached feet in the chamber they had come from.
Aurelie and Locke were at Hex's side in a flash. "We're with you, Hex," Locke said.
"Alright, let's show 'em what we got!" Hex yelled. He and Locke leapt at the dozen Shadows and Soldiers, weapons readied. Aurelie remained at a distance, readying a spell.
Locke reached the Heartless first, and his twin daggers flashed with magical flame as he cut through the mass. Three Shadows and a single Soldier fell, and when the others turned to take on Locke, Hex dashed behind them. He waved his hand, and a trio of energy bolts appeared, just like in his nightmare the night before. Hex noted dully how distant the night before seemed as the energy bolts streaked towards their targets. The bolts found their marks, and two more Shadows and another Soldier fell.
A well-timed Thunder spell cast by Aurelie took out the last of the Shadows, leaving only four Soldiers. One of the Soldiers broke from the melee, dashing toward Aurelie. She stumbled back and attempted to draw her rapier, but she slipped on the uneven ground. The Soldier was upon her in a heartbeat, and its clawed hand streaked down at her chest. She brought her arm up in defense, and yelled out in fear.
"Aero!" Hex yelled, pointing his hand at Aurelie. A sourceless wind rushed around Aurelie, defending her from the Soldier's attack. Locke was there next to her, then. He stuck the Heartless with both his daggers, and it faded into shadow.
Locke helped Aurelie up and the two rejoined Hex, who was using a well-placed Aero spell to hold the last three Soldiers at bay. "What are you doing?" Locke asked. "You could waste them easy, I think."
"I think I could, too," Hex replied. "But I want to use them to trip up the Armor out there. I'll only get one shot at it, though, and then I'm out. Aurelie, enjoy that shield while it you can. Aerora!"
The sudden force of wind surrounding Hex knocked back the three Soldiers. They stumbled out of the passage, and Hex pushed after them. As they fumbled around the feet of the Guard Armor, the Armor itself stumbled backwards. Aurelie and Locke followed Hex out of the passage, and quickly acted with an impressive joint attack.
Aurelie cast a Fire spell on one of the Soldiers at the mouth of the passage. As the shadow and flame faded, Locke rushed past it. He ran his daggers through the flame at the last minute, and the flame burning along his blades burned much brighter. Using the additional strength, he easily defeated the last two Soldiers.
Now, all that was left was the Guard Armor itself. The three adventurers stood together as the Armor prepared for battle. "Either of you know a really good trick?" Hex asked with a nervous chuckle.
"Man, we know more than one," Locke answered. "Ready, Aurelie?"
"Ready, Locke," Aurelie said confidently. "Hex, when we give the signal, attack the Armor from here with your bolts."
"Right," Hex nodded once.
"Now!" Locke yelled. Hex blasted the Armor's head with three bolts, followed quickly by another three. He went for another wave, but the Hand did not produce one.
"Looks like this thing has it limits, kids!" Hex yelled.
"No problem! Thunder!" Aurelie yelled. The Armor reeled back as lightning flashed all around it. Locke was dashing right into the storm, and Hex felt certain that he must get hit. But when he reached the feet of the Armor, he jumped right into the storm. Hex ran after him, and Aurelie was behind Hex, but something happened that Hex did not expect.
"Phoenix Rise!" Locke yelled. As the magical storm faded, Locke flashed upward into the air at the Armor's head. Fire flared off his daggers and arms, looking like flaming wings. When he struck the Armor, fire burst everywhere, and Hex was certain Locke must have been consumed. But as Aurelie summoned another Thunder spell, Locke fell harmlessly to the ground. "Let's see what trick you've got up your Hand, Hex!" Locke yelled as he hit his feet and leapt away from the Armor.
Hex smiled and stepped forward. He focused his mind on the EssenceHand, and a thought seemed to form in his mind. As the Thunder spell faded, Hex looked up at the Armor. It was wounded, but not defeated, and it was rapidly bearing down on him. Aurelie let out a yell of warning, but Hex held up his hand. When he did, it began to glow. After a moment, the glow reached a deep blue color. At the last possible moment, Hex punched upwards toward the Guard Armor. "Quicksilver Strike!"
A web of magical energy burst from Hex's EssenceHand. It spun in the air, forming a blade of energy, which sliced the Guard Armor completely in two. The energy continued through the air, slicing through the pile of rubble Hex had created in the center of the chamber, and then disappearing in the darkness.
The pieces of the Armor crashed to the ground, and no one moved or spoke until long after the echoes of the crash had faded. Finally, Aurelie broke the silence.
"Friggin' wow..." she said.
"Well," Locke said nonchalantly. "Guess we better warn Mog the Heartless are here, and then get to our ship."
Hex turned to them, but neither spoke nor moved for another moment. When he spoke, it was with a slanted smile and the same tone Locke had used. "Yeah, let's go."
The three climbed through the rubble using the hole Hex's Quicksilver Strike had created, and Locke and Aurelie led Hex back to the entrance.