Kingdom Hearts: The Darkheart Crystal
Chapter 2 In which our Hero, Kydran, becomes aware of the threat to all worlds.
That night had been a fitful one. Kydran was completely inable to fall asleep for any length of time; when he did, he was haunted by terrible dreams, or memories, and it was getting bad enough that he couldn't tell the difference between the two.
Pandora was the one to give him the wake-up call. She had knocked on the door, loudly, but it was unnecessary. He was already awake. He threw his feet over the side of his bed, careful not to knock them against the wall, and sat up, yawning. His stomach growled. He hadn't realized how hungry he was; he couldn't remember the last time he ate. He knew he hadn't eaten the night before.
Kydran got up and put on his new clothes, eyeing the silver pendant around his neck again, trying to dredge up some sort of familiarity, but could not do so. He stepped out into the hall, nearly running into one of the maids. She apologized, and Kydran apologized in return, and the both of them continued about their business.
The boy jogged down the stairs, toward the kitchen. He aimed to ask Reifa if he could get some food. He found her at the front desk, speaking with a pair of ragged-looking travelers. She handed them the key to their room, and turned to Kydran. She gave him a broad smile, and laughed heartily.
"It's about time you got up, boy! This inn doesn't run on sleepyheads!" she laughed.
"I had a long night."
"We all did, Kydran, we all did. Now, I can tell something about you- you're hungry. I know it. Cook already has breakfast on its way. Then I need you to follow Pandora to the laundries- she'll show you the ropes," Reifa instructed the young man, and Kydran nodded in return.
"Oh, and Kydran," she said as he went on his way.
"Yes, ma'am?" he said, turning to look at her.
"The Heartless are mindless, frightening creatures. There is no mercy in them. Leon has requested that you be able to go with him when you wish to go. I will allow this, but I want you to know, it is never a kind experience."
Kydran simply stood for a moment, quiet. Then he returned with a lopsided smile and nodded. "I figured as much. But, thank you for your permission and for your warning, Reifa." And then he walked into the dining room.
The inn was not very busy at that hour. It was too early for the guests to get up, but just late enough for the staff to have finished breakfast. They appeared to be eating some sort of thick, sweet spiced stew and plenty of bread. The smell of it was making Kydran's hunger pangs even worse. He hustled into the kitchen, where Cook was already putting on the breakfast for the guests.
"Good morning, Cook!" piped Kydran, pleased to see the jolly (if not just plain loud) chef of the Inn of Good Fortune.
"Mornin', young Kydran. Ah belive you slept well, yeah?" asked the chef.
"I slept alright," replied Kydran, which was a bald-faced lie.
"You don' look it. Here, have some breffust," spoke Cook, thrusting a tray at Kydran. Upon the tray was a bowl of the sweet-smelling breakfast stew and a few pieces of toast. Kydran took a glass down, filled it with water, and took himself and his tray to the dining room. Finding a seat, the boy sat down and proceeded to devour his meal heartily.
The stew, Kydran deduced, was a sort of sweet meat stew. There was beef, and some chicken, along with some corn and carrots, all mixed together in a sweet, cinnamon-spiced dish. The toast itself was a treat; multi-grained and very delicious. Kydran looked across the rooms, to the windows, and was surprised to find it was still dusk outside. The same with the evening before; the sky was not pitch-dark, nor was it now. But he had a distinct feeling that there was no sun around Traverse City.
He was surprised, again, by Pandora's presence. The boy had busied himself in eating his stew, and looked up to find the girl looking at him with a funny grin on her face.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing. Is the stew good?"
"Yeah."
"I figured. Your face was buried in it," she giggled. She was just smiling at him, shaking her head, watching him. Kydran felt a little unnerved by her deep blue eyes. He felt unused to being watched.
"Is there something I can help you with?" he asked.
"I'm waiting for you to finish your breafkast, slowpoke. We need to hit the laundries today. Auntie Reifa told me to show you the ropes."
Kydran's face flushed a hue of pink, and he nodded and inhaled the remained of the stew, toast and water. He chastised himself for being so nervous and wary, then stood and took his dishes to the kitchen. Upon return, Pandora was waiting for him. Since he could see more of her, he noted she was dressed in a far more mundane set of clothes than the previous night, now wearing a smaller version of what the maids wore. She guided him out the door and the two walked through the night air.
"Pandora, does the sun ever rise here?" Kydran posed to her, noticing that it was a little warmer than he remembered it.
"Traverse City doesn't have a sun. It really is strange, especially because the temperature changes, but the only light we get from the sky is from other worlds, she answered, turning down another street. Kydran jogged to keep up.
"You mean the stars?"
"They're other worlds. Every time one blinks out, that means the Heartless have consumed a world, and it's destroyed. It's really sad. Traverse City never used to be this big, but the stars are blinking out faster than they ever did, at least that's what Leon told me."
"You spoke to Leon?"
Pandora turned another corner, and ahead, Kydran could see a large building, from the top of which spouted huge chimneys which sprayed gouts of steam. He yawned, listening to the girl.
"More like Leon spoke to me. It wasn't a long conversation, and I'm not sure what the point of it was. He asked me a couple of questions about you," she said, dodging a moogle.
"Like what?"
"I dunno. Who you are, where you're from."
"What did you tell him?"
Pandora giggled. "Everything I know. Which is... nothing!"
The two finally arrived at the Laundries, as was evident to Kydran by the sign hanging over the door which read "Traverse City Laundries". Pandora and Kydran entered, and were met with a blast of muggy heat that Kydran regretted he would be working in.
The Laundries was a huge building, despite the cramped appearance outside. Several vats of boiling water stood in a row along one side of the wall, and the loud hum of a massive fan came from another room. A single rack looped up and down and around from place to place in the Laundries, carrying on it wet sheets and clothing and dried ones as well.
"We'll be handling sheets today. It's not a very difficult job," said Pandora, leading him to one of the vats, beside which was a ladder and above which was a sign that read, "Good Fortune Laundry". She directed him up the ladder, and he looked down into the boiling water, shaking his head. She handed him a huge, rake-like stick, and instructed him.
"Look, here's one for you to clean!" she called, pointing to a large, dirty sheet that was rolling down the rack toward him. "Grab it with the stick and shove it under the water. Swish it around for a little while. After about five minutes. take the sheet out and hang it, with the stick. I'll be working in that vat-" she pointed to a nearby vat, "-so don't worry too much."
Kydran noticed that all the vats were marked. Some belonged to other inns, some belonged to laundry companies. The young man shook his head, and proceeded to work.
It was a long day for him. Kydran was sweaty and uncomfortable, even his his fine new clothing, and the hard work and steam was making him very hungry and thirsty by the time lunch rolled around. His lunch consisted of a nice, big sandwich put together by Cook, as well was a small bag of chips from a nearby snack shop.
By the end of the day, Kydran felt as though he had washed a million different sheets, though he had cleaned more than sheets. The maids' clothing, guest clothing, a couple mattresses, and other odds and ends had made their way through Kydran's vat. When Reifa had come to tell Kydran and Pandora that they were relieved of their duties, Kydran tenderly made his way down from the ladder. His back was sore, his arms were tired, and his legs were sick of standing. Pandora didn't seem to be having any problems at all, which astounded the young man.
Reifa told them that they were off for the rest of the evening. Kydran was intstructed to go out on the town, to check things out and explore. Pandora said she would have gone with him, but Camille always needed help with the tailor shop, and Pandora was eager to amass a little extra munny.
So Kydran walked through the streets, which weren't too busy, and eyed the shops here and there. He wasn't hungry, and it would be a couple hours before Cook put dinner on. He had plenty of time. He stepped into a couple shops, looking at the goods and having fun pretending he had the munny enough to buy the finest products in the stores.
He weaved through streets and allies, for some reason unafraid of being attacked. It just didn't seem like that sort of town. He followed one street to its very end, coming to the gate of the Second District. He peered through, not particularly interested in going in, and took note that the Second District was mostly all housing, while the First District was almost all businesses. He turned away from the gate, and jumped in surprise, running into Leon.
The warrior was out of the tuxedo and into his normal attire- black pants, white t-shirt, a short-sleeved over-jacket with red wings sewn onto the sleeves and numerous belts around his waist, a couple on his arms and a few on his legs. Kydran figured the belts provided some sort of protection, but he looked threatening nontheless.
Kydran also notice the large weapon that Leon carried in his right hand. The blade rested on his shoulder, and Kydran was surprised to find that hilt of the weapon was not a simple handle, but instead a modified (and large) gun handle. Leon's weapon was some sort of hybrid between a gun and a sword- it appeared very difficult to use, but also very intimidating.
"Aren't you supposed to be at the inn?" Leon asked quietly.
Kydran shook his head in response. "Reifa let me off for a couple hours. She wanted me to look at the city."
"I see. Do you think you have time to come with me to the Third District?"
Kydran thought for a moment. He would have liked to see more of the city, but the thought of intruding upon his work time for Reifa to see the Heartless seemed ungrateful to him. He looked up at Leon, and nodded. "Sure."
"Let's go, then," said the warrior, and he turned and began walking in the opposite direction of the gate.
The young man found that Leon wasn't at all a conversationalist. He was silent almost the entire way there, except when telling Kydran to keep up.
The two arrived finally at a huge, boarded-up gate. Above the gate hung a tattered banner that Kydran could barely read, and upon was written "Third District". Kydran looked to Leon, wondering how the two were going to get in. Each District was separated by huge walls, and climbing them seemed mind-boggling to the boy. But Leon knew ways to get in; it was his job. He reached over to Kydran, picked him up with one hand by the back of the collar, and hurled him onto a rooftop. Kydran shouted in fear and surprise, and landed on his face on the top of the roof.
Leon landed neatly beside him. Kydran picked himself up, amazed at the strength of the warrior, who was now leading him along the rooftops. They came upon a ladder that was braced between the rooftop and the top of the wall. Leon climbed, and Kydran followed suit.
Leon stood on the thick wall and helped Kydran up. The boy found a way to balance, and looked down into the Third District.
What he saw chilled him.
The District was ransacked and decrepit. The cobblestone ground was broken and cratered. Windows belonging to old shops were shattered, doors were busted in, the buildings were falling apart. But it wasn't the signs of the Third District's ruin that frightened him- it was the little beings that crawled along the ground, sinking into darkness and reappearing, as if stalking something they couldn't see but knew was there.
"Those are Shadows. They're the smallest and one of the least powerful of the Heartless, but they're still dangerous," spoke Leon.
Kydran couldn't say anything. They looked humanoid, but were only about the size of large dogs. Wiry, zigzagging antennae extended from their head. Their bodies were solid black, and two glowing yellow eyes shined out from their faces, giving them a haunting look. They had no mouths or noses or ears, and their little arms extended into sharp claws.
Kydran watched them, disturbed by their appearance. They acted like crickets, moving sporadically and with a tenacious gait. Something stirred within Kydran's mind, something very unpleasant. For an instant, he wanted nothing more than to leap off the wall and destroy every single one of the little monsters.
"These creatures are devoid of their hearts. They are created from the Darkness in people's hearts- and there's Darkness in every heart. When the heart isn't strong enough to resist the Darkness, the Darkness consumed it and turns into a Heartless. The Heartless are the Darkness's weapons," Leon said softly, and Kydran shook his head, not wanting to believe such things were real.
"But I can sense no Darkness in your heart. Nor can I find it in the girl's heart, either," he continued, and the boy looked to him. Kydran assumed he was referring to Pandora.
"No Darkness? You can sense the Darkness in people's hearts?"
"It's an acquired ability. Sensing a lack of Darkness is very easy, however; it's just impossible to find."
The young man was now thinking, hard. No Darkness whatsoever. What could that mean? He didn't even know what Darkness was, but if it could spawn the monsters creeping about the Third District, he was sure he didn't want any of it.
"So why did you bring me here?"
"To see how you would react. To see how the Heartless would react. But I don't think they see you yet."
"Oh," replied the boy, and he folded his arms across his chest. "Well, thanks a lot, I guess."
"We're not done yet."
Leon grabbed Kydran by the scruff of the collar and lifted him off his feet. Then he tossed Kydran onto one of the decrepit buildings' rooftops. Kydran hit the roof, hard, and then began to roll off of it. He fell through a hole in the roof, however, and dropped onto the ground. Sputtering and coughing, he picked himself up, disoriented.
The warrior hopped down from his place and landed deftly on the same roof. He readied his weapon, prepared to defend Kydran's life, unsure of how the Heartless would react.
The boy looked around. The room was completely dark, though he could make out broken chairs and tables and glass and tattered rags and trash everywhere. He peered further into the darkness, and found that the door to the building was boarded up. He had no idea how to get out.
But he would have to find a way. After a few moments, little yellow pairs of eyes peeked out of the shadows, followed by even more eyes. Kydran could make out six pairs. And out of the shadows crept the little Heartless Shadows, hopping about, beginning to dance around him as if they had found some sort of treasure in their prey.
They encircled him. Kydran's heart began to pound. Why had Leon thrown him down here, to be eaten by those... creatures? How was he going to survive? What was going to happen to him? He couldn't come up with the answer before they attacked him.
One of the Shadows leapt at Kydran, claw raised. Kydran slipped under it, rolling out of harm's way, only to be assaulted by two other Heartless. Leon dropped through the hole in the roof, brandishing his weapon, and as he landed he sliced one of the creatures in two. The monster burst into a cloud of Darkness, and vanished.
Leon grabbed Kydran (which the boy was getting a little sick of) and threw him back out through the roof-hole, swatted away a couple more of the Heartless, and followed Kydran through the roof. he found Kydran laying on his back, his breath coming in deep heaves.
"You alright, kid?" Leon said, thrusting the gun-sword through the roof and squatting down to check Kydran for wounds. Finding none, and getting no response from the young man, he shook his head and stood back up. He looked out on the Third District. More of the Heartless were migrating toward the building upon which they stood- and it wasn't just Shadows anymore.
Large, orb-like monsters also followed, with gaping fanged mouths and the same glowing yellow Heartless eyes. Two small arms protruded from their sides. They flew through the air, accompanied also by what looked like little armored humanoids with Heartless faces and the same vicious claws.
Leon shook his head in disbelief. "It's as if they sense the same thing I do. What draws them most is a lack of Darkness in somebody's heart. I guess it's... tastier to them. Get up, we need to run, now. I can't fend them all off on my own."
Kydran shook off the disorientation and stood. He turned to the wall separating the Third and First Districts, and sighed. "You're going to throw me again, aren't you?" asked the boy.
"Yeah, I am. Get over it," Leon replied, and he tossed Kydran over the wall. He heard a muffled crash on the other side, and scaled the wall as quickly as he could. Skilled as he was, the Heartless were still dangerous.
Leon reached the top of the wall, turned, and looked down. He had never seen so many Heartless gathered in one place. It was like watching masses of black ants gather in one spot- where Kydran had been. He shook his head once more, wondering how it would sound to the other fighters, and dropped off the roof and onto a shopkeeper's canvas sunshade. Bouncing off the shade, he landed, placed his weapon in his belt, and looked around for Kydran. He was nowhere to be seen.
Kydran reached the inn, huffing with exhaustion. He had no desire to go back to the Third District, nor had he any intention of being thrown by Leon again for any reason. His heart was still pounding from the fear of being surrounded, and he recalled those last few moments with painful clarity. What was that all about? Did Leon really expect such dangerous creatures not to attack?
Calming himself, he pushed open the door to the inn to find it thick with movement. Some guests were leaving, maids were weaving in and out of doors and from between people, Reifa was very busy at the front desk. Maybe if he did some work, he could forget about what had just happened. He didn't feel hungry or thirsty, either, which was odd.
So Kydran spent most of that evening (it was always evening there, but the air had cooled) washing dishes and making beds for the guests and cleaning up the dining room tables. He thought it odd that Pandora was nowhere to be seen, but he remembered that she was working for Camille.
He realized then what an awful amount of courage it must take for the Five to continue to combat the Heartless. Even after their own worlds had been destroyed by those monsters.
After the dinner rush, Reifa came to Kydran and asked him about his trip to the Third District. Kydran responded with an "I don't want to talk about it", and Reifa didn't press the issue.
"Well, you don't have to tell me, but I have an open ear. Now do me a favor and go fetch Pandora from Camille's shop. It's time we got her to work for us again," Reifa instructed, and Kydran nodded in response.
He exited the building and stepped into the cool night air, keeping a watchful eye out for Leon. The last thing he really wanted to do was talk to him. He continued to think about what he had seen. Heartless must not gather in such a large quantity, he postulated, because Leon was surprised by the number of them. The young man also assumed that, while they were easily provoked, they didn't attack so quickly unless they found something they wanted.
Kydran had almost hoped that his 'adventure' in the Third District had had something to do with the fact that he looked familiar to Leon. And why was that, anyway? Upon second thoughts, however, Kydran realized that he may have, indeed, come across Leon before. But he wasn't able to remember it, just like he wasn't able to remember anything about his past except being cold and hungry and afraid.
Camille's tailor shop came into view, but Kydran was surprised to find that the lights were not on. He upped the tempo of his gait, and reached the front door at a jog. He wrapped his fingers around the door- handle and turned. The door was locked. He looked in through the window, and could make out fallen clothes racks. Alarmed, he ran to the end of the block, found the alleyway, and ran as fast as he could to the back door of the shop.
He pulled it open, finding that the handle had been broken, and rushed in. He found that the place had been pillaged. Kydran called out Camille and Pandora's names, but got no response. He darted through the shop, looking for a sign of their whereabouts. The young man found none, so he turned and left the shop, wracking his brain for their possible whereabouts, but came up with nothing.
He ran back out of the alleyway. He peered through the darkness, looking for the both of them, and again, nothing. He left the alley, went back out into the streets, and found anarchy everywhere. The people of the city were stampeding, as if trying to escape from something, and found the source of all the commotion.
Small black figures with glowing yellow eyes were attacking the people, along with a multitude of other strange Heartless Kydran hadn't seen in the Third District. Some huge, fat, armored Heartless, other Heartless with wings and ragged clothing, and even Heartless that were dressed in robed and huge wizard-hats that were firing bolts of fire and thunder and lightning at the citizens of Traverse City.
Kydran stood, frozen, in his place, watching in horror as men and women were brought down and their hearts bursting out of their chests, disappearing into the air, and their bodies replaced with Shadows or the small, armored Heartless. He fought to regain control of himself, just in time to avoid being tackled by one of the Shadows, and he ran out amidst the confusion.
He weaved in and out of panicking people, dodging slashes from the Heartless and looking for any familiar faces. He found one. Leon was skillfully cutting a small group of Shadows appart, while trying to defend some of the people from the monsters' vicious attacks. Unsure of whaty to do, he ran toward the warrior, crying out for help.
Leon dispatched another Shadow and brought Kydran to his side, shouting above the screams of terror, "I don't know what's going on, but you need to find someplace safe to be! Get back to the inn, Aerith and Dyne are there defending it!"
"Where's Pandora?!" Kydran asked, loudly, and Leon shook his head. "I don't kn-," Leon yelled, interrupted by a blast of fire, which he narrowly avoided. "I don't know, we'll try to find her. Go! Now!"
Kydran didn't want to move, but the force of Leon's words compelled him otherwise. He ran toward the inn, his heart pounding. Pandora was lost amidst the chaos. She could have already been dead. Now he had to run away? Back to the inn?
He kept trying to convince himself to go back to the inn, but could not. All the Heartless were originating from the Third District, they must have all come from there. Despite his convictions, the inn was in sight, and he realized he would need a weapon to defend himself with. He could find something, and then go out and look for the girl.
He rushed into the inn, where a brown-haired woman in a long pink dress, Aerith, was firing blast after blast of ice and thunder at the intruding monsters. Dyne, the crimson-haired young man, was also fighting tenaciously, wielding a pair of disk-like weapons, one in each hand. The guests and retreated up the stairs, while Reifa stood in the foyer with a large mace, fending off numerous attackers.
"Reifa! I can't find Pandora!" called Kydran as he entered, diving to avoid a blast of cold magic from Aerith. "It's pure chaos out there!"
"Run away, Kydran! Get up the stairs!" Reifa shouted, still fighting for her life. She didn't seem to hear what Kydran had said.
The young man decided not to pursue it, but refused to run up the stairs. He had to find a weapon. So he ran full-tilt into the dining room, then into the kitchen to find himself a knife or any other armament. Locating a large chef's knife, he ran out the back door the of the inn, to be assaulted by one of the helmeted, armored Heartless. As the thing dove for him, he drove a foot into its chest, knocking it back. He realized he would quickly be surrounded, and retreated from the alleyway back into the fray.
He made a mad dash for the Third District, hoping maybe the Heartless had taken Pandora there. He thrust and slashed with his knife to get through a few of the Shadows that were in his way and attacking him, but made haste toward the broken-down District.
Already having decided upon the quickest route into the district (while he fought off Heartless and searched for Pandora's face in the crowd), he reached the huge wall separating the Districts, and looked up. Flying Heartless were sailing over the wall, and he realized scaling it was not the best idea. But his problem was solved for him when Cloud, dressed in combat clothing and bearing a massive sword that was at least as big as the fighter himself, approached the door.
"Move. She's in there, I saw them take her and her friend," spoke Cloud in a normal speaking tone, which Kydran was barely able to hear over the panic of the crowd.
Cloud braced himself, then lunged forward with the gargantuan sword he wielded and busted through the old boards and thick wooden door of the Third District. The fighter then led the way through the door, and the both of them hadn't expected it to be so easy. There were not many of the Heartless in the way, and Kydran figured that most of them were already in the city.
In the great courtyard of the Third District, before the giant bell tower, stood Pandora and Camille. Pandora embraced Camille tightly, in fear, and then saw Cloud and Kydran approaching. The girl cheered at the prospect of being rescued. But as they approached, Kydran realized that the Heartless were not as mindless as he had originally assumed.
Heartless began to materialize all about them, some rising from the ground and some bursting out of clouds of Darkness. Cloud readied himself while Kydran rushed to Pandora and Camille's side.
"We have to get you out of here! It's not safe!" Kydran told the both of them, and it didn't take two commands to get them moving. The three made a beeline for the First District, while Cloud attacked the Heartless with a strength Kydran had no idea could exist.
But the Heartless were pouring in through their exit way. They were quickly trapped in the Third District, and while Cloud was doing all he could to keep the monsters at bay, Kydran and Pandora and Camille were surrounded. The Shadows encircled them. Cloud backed up and found his way to the side of the other three.
The ground began to tremble and shake. Kydran nearly lost his footing, but stabilized as the quaking began to get worse. A fierce wind ripped through the Third District. Pandora's spine chilled.
The world they were standing in was about to be destroyed.
The Heartless did not attack them yet, but bounced sporadically and watched them all with their merciless yellow eyes. Pandora looked about, trying to find an exit, and gasped in shock and fear. She pointed toward the sky and cried, "Look!"
In the air, high above them, a massive black emptiness was forming. Kydran looked at it, amazed. It resembled a rip. As if the fabric of the skies was ripped in the middle. Pandora's heart pounded. This was not what it looked like when a world was destroyed. This rift was not like the huge sphere of Darkness that formed when a world's heart had been swallowed.
Out of the abyssal tear in the sky flowed a countless number of black dots, which, as they fell, turned out to be even more Heartless than Kydran could comprehend. But it wasn't just black dots that fell from the sky. Out of the rip came two bright, shining discs, one of which appeared black and crimson, whereas the other was a sparkling silver. The two discs descended far faster than the Heartless were, as if they were spit out at them.
The discs came closer and closer until Kydran realized where they were going to land. He leapt back, grabbing Pandora out of the way of the silver disc.
The two discs hit the ground before both Kydran and Pandora, narrowly missing Camille. Kydran was amazed when he realized what they were.
Weapons. The two discs appeared to be weapons. They were swords of some sort, the tips of which were buried in the cobblestone floor of the courtyard. One of the blades was made of an ebony steel, and the hilt of it was a bright red. The handle was wrapped in black leather, and out of the flat, cylindrical pommel came a chain. At the end of this chain hung a small silver pendant. The pendant was identical to the one Kydran wore around his neck.
The other blade was very intricate, and also seemed to be made of black steel, but the blade seemed intricately encased, at parts, in an ivory coating, and silver strings roped from spine to spine. Kydran reached out to the red-handled weapon bearing his pendant. He yanked it out of the ground, and examined the blade. The weapon, as a whole, was very key- shaped, for at the end of the blade protruded something like the teeth of a key, hooking and curving viciously, and Kydran could see the outline of a heart cut into the teeth of the blade.
Kydran could hear something whispering to him, and strained to hear. Keyblade, the voice whispered, and shook his head in disbelief. Pandora seemed just as drawn to the other weapon, and pulled it out of the ground. Hers was far more intricate, and in the teeth of her keyblade (he could only assume that's what it was), a small orb hovered, emitting a dim prismatic light. They both seemed dazed by the two keyblades, but their focus was broken when Camille screamed, "Look up there! What is that?!"
Out of the rip came a huge, black form, easily the size of a two- story house. It was hurtling in their direction, as the keyblades had, and something stirred within Kydran's memories. Another voice, harsher and colder than the one before, whispered at him.
Nemesis, the voice hissed angrily, and Kydran knew that he would have to stand and fight it.
Chapter 2 In which our Hero, Kydran, becomes aware of the threat to all worlds.
That night had been a fitful one. Kydran was completely inable to fall asleep for any length of time; when he did, he was haunted by terrible dreams, or memories, and it was getting bad enough that he couldn't tell the difference between the two.
Pandora was the one to give him the wake-up call. She had knocked on the door, loudly, but it was unnecessary. He was already awake. He threw his feet over the side of his bed, careful not to knock them against the wall, and sat up, yawning. His stomach growled. He hadn't realized how hungry he was; he couldn't remember the last time he ate. He knew he hadn't eaten the night before.
Kydran got up and put on his new clothes, eyeing the silver pendant around his neck again, trying to dredge up some sort of familiarity, but could not do so. He stepped out into the hall, nearly running into one of the maids. She apologized, and Kydran apologized in return, and the both of them continued about their business.
The boy jogged down the stairs, toward the kitchen. He aimed to ask Reifa if he could get some food. He found her at the front desk, speaking with a pair of ragged-looking travelers. She handed them the key to their room, and turned to Kydran. She gave him a broad smile, and laughed heartily.
"It's about time you got up, boy! This inn doesn't run on sleepyheads!" she laughed.
"I had a long night."
"We all did, Kydran, we all did. Now, I can tell something about you- you're hungry. I know it. Cook already has breakfast on its way. Then I need you to follow Pandora to the laundries- she'll show you the ropes," Reifa instructed the young man, and Kydran nodded in return.
"Oh, and Kydran," she said as he went on his way.
"Yes, ma'am?" he said, turning to look at her.
"The Heartless are mindless, frightening creatures. There is no mercy in them. Leon has requested that you be able to go with him when you wish to go. I will allow this, but I want you to know, it is never a kind experience."
Kydran simply stood for a moment, quiet. Then he returned with a lopsided smile and nodded. "I figured as much. But, thank you for your permission and for your warning, Reifa." And then he walked into the dining room.
The inn was not very busy at that hour. It was too early for the guests to get up, but just late enough for the staff to have finished breakfast. They appeared to be eating some sort of thick, sweet spiced stew and plenty of bread. The smell of it was making Kydran's hunger pangs even worse. He hustled into the kitchen, where Cook was already putting on the breakfast for the guests.
"Good morning, Cook!" piped Kydran, pleased to see the jolly (if not just plain loud) chef of the Inn of Good Fortune.
"Mornin', young Kydran. Ah belive you slept well, yeah?" asked the chef.
"I slept alright," replied Kydran, which was a bald-faced lie.
"You don' look it. Here, have some breffust," spoke Cook, thrusting a tray at Kydran. Upon the tray was a bowl of the sweet-smelling breakfast stew and a few pieces of toast. Kydran took a glass down, filled it with water, and took himself and his tray to the dining room. Finding a seat, the boy sat down and proceeded to devour his meal heartily.
The stew, Kydran deduced, was a sort of sweet meat stew. There was beef, and some chicken, along with some corn and carrots, all mixed together in a sweet, cinnamon-spiced dish. The toast itself was a treat; multi-grained and very delicious. Kydran looked across the rooms, to the windows, and was surprised to find it was still dusk outside. The same with the evening before; the sky was not pitch-dark, nor was it now. But he had a distinct feeling that there was no sun around Traverse City.
He was surprised, again, by Pandora's presence. The boy had busied himself in eating his stew, and looked up to find the girl looking at him with a funny grin on her face.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing. Is the stew good?"
"Yeah."
"I figured. Your face was buried in it," she giggled. She was just smiling at him, shaking her head, watching him. Kydran felt a little unnerved by her deep blue eyes. He felt unused to being watched.
"Is there something I can help you with?" he asked.
"I'm waiting for you to finish your breafkast, slowpoke. We need to hit the laundries today. Auntie Reifa told me to show you the ropes."
Kydran's face flushed a hue of pink, and he nodded and inhaled the remained of the stew, toast and water. He chastised himself for being so nervous and wary, then stood and took his dishes to the kitchen. Upon return, Pandora was waiting for him. Since he could see more of her, he noted she was dressed in a far more mundane set of clothes than the previous night, now wearing a smaller version of what the maids wore. She guided him out the door and the two walked through the night air.
"Pandora, does the sun ever rise here?" Kydran posed to her, noticing that it was a little warmer than he remembered it.
"Traverse City doesn't have a sun. It really is strange, especially because the temperature changes, but the only light we get from the sky is from other worlds, she answered, turning down another street. Kydran jogged to keep up.
"You mean the stars?"
"They're other worlds. Every time one blinks out, that means the Heartless have consumed a world, and it's destroyed. It's really sad. Traverse City never used to be this big, but the stars are blinking out faster than they ever did, at least that's what Leon told me."
"You spoke to Leon?"
Pandora turned another corner, and ahead, Kydran could see a large building, from the top of which spouted huge chimneys which sprayed gouts of steam. He yawned, listening to the girl.
"More like Leon spoke to me. It wasn't a long conversation, and I'm not sure what the point of it was. He asked me a couple of questions about you," she said, dodging a moogle.
"Like what?"
"I dunno. Who you are, where you're from."
"What did you tell him?"
Pandora giggled. "Everything I know. Which is... nothing!"
The two finally arrived at the Laundries, as was evident to Kydran by the sign hanging over the door which read "Traverse City Laundries". Pandora and Kydran entered, and were met with a blast of muggy heat that Kydran regretted he would be working in.
The Laundries was a huge building, despite the cramped appearance outside. Several vats of boiling water stood in a row along one side of the wall, and the loud hum of a massive fan came from another room. A single rack looped up and down and around from place to place in the Laundries, carrying on it wet sheets and clothing and dried ones as well.
"We'll be handling sheets today. It's not a very difficult job," said Pandora, leading him to one of the vats, beside which was a ladder and above which was a sign that read, "Good Fortune Laundry". She directed him up the ladder, and he looked down into the boiling water, shaking his head. She handed him a huge, rake-like stick, and instructed him.
"Look, here's one for you to clean!" she called, pointing to a large, dirty sheet that was rolling down the rack toward him. "Grab it with the stick and shove it under the water. Swish it around for a little while. After about five minutes. take the sheet out and hang it, with the stick. I'll be working in that vat-" she pointed to a nearby vat, "-so don't worry too much."
Kydran noticed that all the vats were marked. Some belonged to other inns, some belonged to laundry companies. The young man shook his head, and proceeded to work.
It was a long day for him. Kydran was sweaty and uncomfortable, even his his fine new clothing, and the hard work and steam was making him very hungry and thirsty by the time lunch rolled around. His lunch consisted of a nice, big sandwich put together by Cook, as well was a small bag of chips from a nearby snack shop.
By the end of the day, Kydran felt as though he had washed a million different sheets, though he had cleaned more than sheets. The maids' clothing, guest clothing, a couple mattresses, and other odds and ends had made their way through Kydran's vat. When Reifa had come to tell Kydran and Pandora that they were relieved of their duties, Kydran tenderly made his way down from the ladder. His back was sore, his arms were tired, and his legs were sick of standing. Pandora didn't seem to be having any problems at all, which astounded the young man.
Reifa told them that they were off for the rest of the evening. Kydran was intstructed to go out on the town, to check things out and explore. Pandora said she would have gone with him, but Camille always needed help with the tailor shop, and Pandora was eager to amass a little extra munny.
So Kydran walked through the streets, which weren't too busy, and eyed the shops here and there. He wasn't hungry, and it would be a couple hours before Cook put dinner on. He had plenty of time. He stepped into a couple shops, looking at the goods and having fun pretending he had the munny enough to buy the finest products in the stores.
He weaved through streets and allies, for some reason unafraid of being attacked. It just didn't seem like that sort of town. He followed one street to its very end, coming to the gate of the Second District. He peered through, not particularly interested in going in, and took note that the Second District was mostly all housing, while the First District was almost all businesses. He turned away from the gate, and jumped in surprise, running into Leon.
The warrior was out of the tuxedo and into his normal attire- black pants, white t-shirt, a short-sleeved over-jacket with red wings sewn onto the sleeves and numerous belts around his waist, a couple on his arms and a few on his legs. Kydran figured the belts provided some sort of protection, but he looked threatening nontheless.
Kydran also notice the large weapon that Leon carried in his right hand. The blade rested on his shoulder, and Kydran was surprised to find that hilt of the weapon was not a simple handle, but instead a modified (and large) gun handle. Leon's weapon was some sort of hybrid between a gun and a sword- it appeared very difficult to use, but also very intimidating.
"Aren't you supposed to be at the inn?" Leon asked quietly.
Kydran shook his head in response. "Reifa let me off for a couple hours. She wanted me to look at the city."
"I see. Do you think you have time to come with me to the Third District?"
Kydran thought for a moment. He would have liked to see more of the city, but the thought of intruding upon his work time for Reifa to see the Heartless seemed ungrateful to him. He looked up at Leon, and nodded. "Sure."
"Let's go, then," said the warrior, and he turned and began walking in the opposite direction of the gate.
The young man found that Leon wasn't at all a conversationalist. He was silent almost the entire way there, except when telling Kydran to keep up.
The two arrived finally at a huge, boarded-up gate. Above the gate hung a tattered banner that Kydran could barely read, and upon was written "Third District". Kydran looked to Leon, wondering how the two were going to get in. Each District was separated by huge walls, and climbing them seemed mind-boggling to the boy. But Leon knew ways to get in; it was his job. He reached over to Kydran, picked him up with one hand by the back of the collar, and hurled him onto a rooftop. Kydran shouted in fear and surprise, and landed on his face on the top of the roof.
Leon landed neatly beside him. Kydran picked himself up, amazed at the strength of the warrior, who was now leading him along the rooftops. They came upon a ladder that was braced between the rooftop and the top of the wall. Leon climbed, and Kydran followed suit.
Leon stood on the thick wall and helped Kydran up. The boy found a way to balance, and looked down into the Third District.
What he saw chilled him.
The District was ransacked and decrepit. The cobblestone ground was broken and cratered. Windows belonging to old shops were shattered, doors were busted in, the buildings were falling apart. But it wasn't the signs of the Third District's ruin that frightened him- it was the little beings that crawled along the ground, sinking into darkness and reappearing, as if stalking something they couldn't see but knew was there.
"Those are Shadows. They're the smallest and one of the least powerful of the Heartless, but they're still dangerous," spoke Leon.
Kydran couldn't say anything. They looked humanoid, but were only about the size of large dogs. Wiry, zigzagging antennae extended from their head. Their bodies were solid black, and two glowing yellow eyes shined out from their faces, giving them a haunting look. They had no mouths or noses or ears, and their little arms extended into sharp claws.
Kydran watched them, disturbed by their appearance. They acted like crickets, moving sporadically and with a tenacious gait. Something stirred within Kydran's mind, something very unpleasant. For an instant, he wanted nothing more than to leap off the wall and destroy every single one of the little monsters.
"These creatures are devoid of their hearts. They are created from the Darkness in people's hearts- and there's Darkness in every heart. When the heart isn't strong enough to resist the Darkness, the Darkness consumed it and turns into a Heartless. The Heartless are the Darkness's weapons," Leon said softly, and Kydran shook his head, not wanting to believe such things were real.
"But I can sense no Darkness in your heart. Nor can I find it in the girl's heart, either," he continued, and the boy looked to him. Kydran assumed he was referring to Pandora.
"No Darkness? You can sense the Darkness in people's hearts?"
"It's an acquired ability. Sensing a lack of Darkness is very easy, however; it's just impossible to find."
The young man was now thinking, hard. No Darkness whatsoever. What could that mean? He didn't even know what Darkness was, but if it could spawn the monsters creeping about the Third District, he was sure he didn't want any of it.
"So why did you bring me here?"
"To see how you would react. To see how the Heartless would react. But I don't think they see you yet."
"Oh," replied the boy, and he folded his arms across his chest. "Well, thanks a lot, I guess."
"We're not done yet."
Leon grabbed Kydran by the scruff of the collar and lifted him off his feet. Then he tossed Kydran onto one of the decrepit buildings' rooftops. Kydran hit the roof, hard, and then began to roll off of it. He fell through a hole in the roof, however, and dropped onto the ground. Sputtering and coughing, he picked himself up, disoriented.
The warrior hopped down from his place and landed deftly on the same roof. He readied his weapon, prepared to defend Kydran's life, unsure of how the Heartless would react.
The boy looked around. The room was completely dark, though he could make out broken chairs and tables and glass and tattered rags and trash everywhere. He peered further into the darkness, and found that the door to the building was boarded up. He had no idea how to get out.
But he would have to find a way. After a few moments, little yellow pairs of eyes peeked out of the shadows, followed by even more eyes. Kydran could make out six pairs. And out of the shadows crept the little Heartless Shadows, hopping about, beginning to dance around him as if they had found some sort of treasure in their prey.
They encircled him. Kydran's heart began to pound. Why had Leon thrown him down here, to be eaten by those... creatures? How was he going to survive? What was going to happen to him? He couldn't come up with the answer before they attacked him.
One of the Shadows leapt at Kydran, claw raised. Kydran slipped under it, rolling out of harm's way, only to be assaulted by two other Heartless. Leon dropped through the hole in the roof, brandishing his weapon, and as he landed he sliced one of the creatures in two. The monster burst into a cloud of Darkness, and vanished.
Leon grabbed Kydran (which the boy was getting a little sick of) and threw him back out through the roof-hole, swatted away a couple more of the Heartless, and followed Kydran through the roof. he found Kydran laying on his back, his breath coming in deep heaves.
"You alright, kid?" Leon said, thrusting the gun-sword through the roof and squatting down to check Kydran for wounds. Finding none, and getting no response from the young man, he shook his head and stood back up. He looked out on the Third District. More of the Heartless were migrating toward the building upon which they stood- and it wasn't just Shadows anymore.
Large, orb-like monsters also followed, with gaping fanged mouths and the same glowing yellow Heartless eyes. Two small arms protruded from their sides. They flew through the air, accompanied also by what looked like little armored humanoids with Heartless faces and the same vicious claws.
Leon shook his head in disbelief. "It's as if they sense the same thing I do. What draws them most is a lack of Darkness in somebody's heart. I guess it's... tastier to them. Get up, we need to run, now. I can't fend them all off on my own."
Kydran shook off the disorientation and stood. He turned to the wall separating the Third and First Districts, and sighed. "You're going to throw me again, aren't you?" asked the boy.
"Yeah, I am. Get over it," Leon replied, and he tossed Kydran over the wall. He heard a muffled crash on the other side, and scaled the wall as quickly as he could. Skilled as he was, the Heartless were still dangerous.
Leon reached the top of the wall, turned, and looked down. He had never seen so many Heartless gathered in one place. It was like watching masses of black ants gather in one spot- where Kydran had been. He shook his head once more, wondering how it would sound to the other fighters, and dropped off the roof and onto a shopkeeper's canvas sunshade. Bouncing off the shade, he landed, placed his weapon in his belt, and looked around for Kydran. He was nowhere to be seen.
Kydran reached the inn, huffing with exhaustion. He had no desire to go back to the Third District, nor had he any intention of being thrown by Leon again for any reason. His heart was still pounding from the fear of being surrounded, and he recalled those last few moments with painful clarity. What was that all about? Did Leon really expect such dangerous creatures not to attack?
Calming himself, he pushed open the door to the inn to find it thick with movement. Some guests were leaving, maids were weaving in and out of doors and from between people, Reifa was very busy at the front desk. Maybe if he did some work, he could forget about what had just happened. He didn't feel hungry or thirsty, either, which was odd.
So Kydran spent most of that evening (it was always evening there, but the air had cooled) washing dishes and making beds for the guests and cleaning up the dining room tables. He thought it odd that Pandora was nowhere to be seen, but he remembered that she was working for Camille.
He realized then what an awful amount of courage it must take for the Five to continue to combat the Heartless. Even after their own worlds had been destroyed by those monsters.
After the dinner rush, Reifa came to Kydran and asked him about his trip to the Third District. Kydran responded with an "I don't want to talk about it", and Reifa didn't press the issue.
"Well, you don't have to tell me, but I have an open ear. Now do me a favor and go fetch Pandora from Camille's shop. It's time we got her to work for us again," Reifa instructed, and Kydran nodded in response.
He exited the building and stepped into the cool night air, keeping a watchful eye out for Leon. The last thing he really wanted to do was talk to him. He continued to think about what he had seen. Heartless must not gather in such a large quantity, he postulated, because Leon was surprised by the number of them. The young man also assumed that, while they were easily provoked, they didn't attack so quickly unless they found something they wanted.
Kydran had almost hoped that his 'adventure' in the Third District had had something to do with the fact that he looked familiar to Leon. And why was that, anyway? Upon second thoughts, however, Kydran realized that he may have, indeed, come across Leon before. But he wasn't able to remember it, just like he wasn't able to remember anything about his past except being cold and hungry and afraid.
Camille's tailor shop came into view, but Kydran was surprised to find that the lights were not on. He upped the tempo of his gait, and reached the front door at a jog. He wrapped his fingers around the door- handle and turned. The door was locked. He looked in through the window, and could make out fallen clothes racks. Alarmed, he ran to the end of the block, found the alleyway, and ran as fast as he could to the back door of the shop.
He pulled it open, finding that the handle had been broken, and rushed in. He found that the place had been pillaged. Kydran called out Camille and Pandora's names, but got no response. He darted through the shop, looking for a sign of their whereabouts. The young man found none, so he turned and left the shop, wracking his brain for their possible whereabouts, but came up with nothing.
He ran back out of the alleyway. He peered through the darkness, looking for the both of them, and again, nothing. He left the alley, went back out into the streets, and found anarchy everywhere. The people of the city were stampeding, as if trying to escape from something, and found the source of all the commotion.
Small black figures with glowing yellow eyes were attacking the people, along with a multitude of other strange Heartless Kydran hadn't seen in the Third District. Some huge, fat, armored Heartless, other Heartless with wings and ragged clothing, and even Heartless that were dressed in robed and huge wizard-hats that were firing bolts of fire and thunder and lightning at the citizens of Traverse City.
Kydran stood, frozen, in his place, watching in horror as men and women were brought down and their hearts bursting out of their chests, disappearing into the air, and their bodies replaced with Shadows or the small, armored Heartless. He fought to regain control of himself, just in time to avoid being tackled by one of the Shadows, and he ran out amidst the confusion.
He weaved in and out of panicking people, dodging slashes from the Heartless and looking for any familiar faces. He found one. Leon was skillfully cutting a small group of Shadows appart, while trying to defend some of the people from the monsters' vicious attacks. Unsure of whaty to do, he ran toward the warrior, crying out for help.
Leon dispatched another Shadow and brought Kydran to his side, shouting above the screams of terror, "I don't know what's going on, but you need to find someplace safe to be! Get back to the inn, Aerith and Dyne are there defending it!"
"Where's Pandora?!" Kydran asked, loudly, and Leon shook his head. "I don't kn-," Leon yelled, interrupted by a blast of fire, which he narrowly avoided. "I don't know, we'll try to find her. Go! Now!"
Kydran didn't want to move, but the force of Leon's words compelled him otherwise. He ran toward the inn, his heart pounding. Pandora was lost amidst the chaos. She could have already been dead. Now he had to run away? Back to the inn?
He kept trying to convince himself to go back to the inn, but could not. All the Heartless were originating from the Third District, they must have all come from there. Despite his convictions, the inn was in sight, and he realized he would need a weapon to defend himself with. He could find something, and then go out and look for the girl.
He rushed into the inn, where a brown-haired woman in a long pink dress, Aerith, was firing blast after blast of ice and thunder at the intruding monsters. Dyne, the crimson-haired young man, was also fighting tenaciously, wielding a pair of disk-like weapons, one in each hand. The guests and retreated up the stairs, while Reifa stood in the foyer with a large mace, fending off numerous attackers.
"Reifa! I can't find Pandora!" called Kydran as he entered, diving to avoid a blast of cold magic from Aerith. "It's pure chaos out there!"
"Run away, Kydran! Get up the stairs!" Reifa shouted, still fighting for her life. She didn't seem to hear what Kydran had said.
The young man decided not to pursue it, but refused to run up the stairs. He had to find a weapon. So he ran full-tilt into the dining room, then into the kitchen to find himself a knife or any other armament. Locating a large chef's knife, he ran out the back door the of the inn, to be assaulted by one of the helmeted, armored Heartless. As the thing dove for him, he drove a foot into its chest, knocking it back. He realized he would quickly be surrounded, and retreated from the alleyway back into the fray.
He made a mad dash for the Third District, hoping maybe the Heartless had taken Pandora there. He thrust and slashed with his knife to get through a few of the Shadows that were in his way and attacking him, but made haste toward the broken-down District.
Already having decided upon the quickest route into the district (while he fought off Heartless and searched for Pandora's face in the crowd), he reached the huge wall separating the Districts, and looked up. Flying Heartless were sailing over the wall, and he realized scaling it was not the best idea. But his problem was solved for him when Cloud, dressed in combat clothing and bearing a massive sword that was at least as big as the fighter himself, approached the door.
"Move. She's in there, I saw them take her and her friend," spoke Cloud in a normal speaking tone, which Kydran was barely able to hear over the panic of the crowd.
Cloud braced himself, then lunged forward with the gargantuan sword he wielded and busted through the old boards and thick wooden door of the Third District. The fighter then led the way through the door, and the both of them hadn't expected it to be so easy. There were not many of the Heartless in the way, and Kydran figured that most of them were already in the city.
In the great courtyard of the Third District, before the giant bell tower, stood Pandora and Camille. Pandora embraced Camille tightly, in fear, and then saw Cloud and Kydran approaching. The girl cheered at the prospect of being rescued. But as they approached, Kydran realized that the Heartless were not as mindless as he had originally assumed.
Heartless began to materialize all about them, some rising from the ground and some bursting out of clouds of Darkness. Cloud readied himself while Kydran rushed to Pandora and Camille's side.
"We have to get you out of here! It's not safe!" Kydran told the both of them, and it didn't take two commands to get them moving. The three made a beeline for the First District, while Cloud attacked the Heartless with a strength Kydran had no idea could exist.
But the Heartless were pouring in through their exit way. They were quickly trapped in the Third District, and while Cloud was doing all he could to keep the monsters at bay, Kydran and Pandora and Camille were surrounded. The Shadows encircled them. Cloud backed up and found his way to the side of the other three.
The ground began to tremble and shake. Kydran nearly lost his footing, but stabilized as the quaking began to get worse. A fierce wind ripped through the Third District. Pandora's spine chilled.
The world they were standing in was about to be destroyed.
The Heartless did not attack them yet, but bounced sporadically and watched them all with their merciless yellow eyes. Pandora looked about, trying to find an exit, and gasped in shock and fear. She pointed toward the sky and cried, "Look!"
In the air, high above them, a massive black emptiness was forming. Kydran looked at it, amazed. It resembled a rip. As if the fabric of the skies was ripped in the middle. Pandora's heart pounded. This was not what it looked like when a world was destroyed. This rift was not like the huge sphere of Darkness that formed when a world's heart had been swallowed.
Out of the abyssal tear in the sky flowed a countless number of black dots, which, as they fell, turned out to be even more Heartless than Kydran could comprehend. But it wasn't just black dots that fell from the sky. Out of the rip came two bright, shining discs, one of which appeared black and crimson, whereas the other was a sparkling silver. The two discs descended far faster than the Heartless were, as if they were spit out at them.
The discs came closer and closer until Kydran realized where they were going to land. He leapt back, grabbing Pandora out of the way of the silver disc.
The two discs hit the ground before both Kydran and Pandora, narrowly missing Camille. Kydran was amazed when he realized what they were.
Weapons. The two discs appeared to be weapons. They were swords of some sort, the tips of which were buried in the cobblestone floor of the courtyard. One of the blades was made of an ebony steel, and the hilt of it was a bright red. The handle was wrapped in black leather, and out of the flat, cylindrical pommel came a chain. At the end of this chain hung a small silver pendant. The pendant was identical to the one Kydran wore around his neck.
The other blade was very intricate, and also seemed to be made of black steel, but the blade seemed intricately encased, at parts, in an ivory coating, and silver strings roped from spine to spine. Kydran reached out to the red-handled weapon bearing his pendant. He yanked it out of the ground, and examined the blade. The weapon, as a whole, was very key- shaped, for at the end of the blade protruded something like the teeth of a key, hooking and curving viciously, and Kydran could see the outline of a heart cut into the teeth of the blade.
Kydran could hear something whispering to him, and strained to hear. Keyblade, the voice whispered, and shook his head in disbelief. Pandora seemed just as drawn to the other weapon, and pulled it out of the ground. Hers was far more intricate, and in the teeth of her keyblade (he could only assume that's what it was), a small orb hovered, emitting a dim prismatic light. They both seemed dazed by the two keyblades, but their focus was broken when Camille screamed, "Look up there! What is that?!"
Out of the rip came a huge, black form, easily the size of a two- story house. It was hurtling in their direction, as the keyblades had, and something stirred within Kydran's memories. Another voice, harsher and colder than the one before, whispered at him.
Nemesis, the voice hissed angrily, and Kydran knew that he would have to stand and fight it.