By: Naela
Summary: A being tied to Sora is awakening and now more than ever the Keyblade Master is needed. Only, no one seems to know where he is. How are Riku and Kairi tied into all of this and who are the Non-Existent Ones?
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters. They're all property of Squaresoft and Disney.
Chapter Fourteen: Faint Echoes
Enigma found himself in that familiar shopping district he'd ventured into earlier that morning. Many of the shopkeepers recognized him easily and kept a wary eye on him as he browsed through their selections. Knowing that he was being watched, Enigma did the only thing he knew to do when being judged prematurely: he ignored them.
Kairi and Rinoa were having a blast being able to buy whatever they wanted without having a limit on what they could spend. Both of the girls chatted away happily as they selected various garments that Enigma knew they would never be wearing on the trip. Such activities as clothes shopping were lost on both Enigma and Riku, and the two boys hovered in the background, standing as far away from each other as possible.
Staring at the silver haired boy out of the corner of his eye, Enigma watched as Riku stood in front of a stand that had an assortment of weapons on display. At the moment he was holding up a curved dagger with a simple black handle.
"I trust Riku even less."
Enigma hadn't noticed it before, but Leonhart's words had made him more alert around Riku, and now he was starting to sense it. There was a dark cloud hovering over the boy, darkening the light aura around him and threatening to consume his soul. It'd been there before, but not to such a large extent. Enigma had paid it no mind when he had noticed it the first time. Every person had darkness in his or her heart, some moreso than others. He'd been aware of Riku's history and simply dismissed it. Since their separation, however, the darkness had started growing at an alarming rate.
"Enigma, what do you think of this?" Kairi asked, holding up a blue jacket for him to see.
"It's fine," he replied, giving her his full attention.
Kairi smirked. "You don't like it, huh?"
"I never said that."
Kairi shrugged and threw the garment back on the stand. "I guess Rinoa and I've been torturing you with our shopping haven't we?"
"Torture?" Enigma repeated. He saw her raise an eyebrow and relented. "It has been rather boring."
"How about we do what you want then?" she asked. "I'm sure there's something you want to buy."
"Provisions, food for the journey, and some medical supplies would be nice," he said, smiling slightly.
"Oooh right… forgot about those things," Kairi said with a large grin.
Rinoa came to join them, her hands weighted down with shopping bags. "So, where to next?" she asked.
"A potion shop maybe?" Kairi suggested.
The girl in blue nodded. Shifting the bags into one hand, she gestured down the hall. "I think there's one over there. I'm not sure. I haven't been to one in a while."
"Let's go then!" Kairi turned to Enigma with a mischievous look on her face. "Race ya!"
She ran off, weaving her way through the busy patrons and bumping into a few of them when she wasn't careful. Enigma stared after her with a smirk on his face. Beside him, Rinoa chuckled softly, catching his attention. He turned to her, having enough grace to look confused.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing," she answered and caught Enigma's sceptical expression. "Well okay, the two of you are just cute."
Cute. Enigma grimaced. There was a word he didn't like hearing, especially when it was being used to describe him. Rinoa saw his expression and gave him a playful look. She then glanced about the crowd, her eyes roving about the crowd. Her gaze settled on Riku, who was still at the weapons stand, holding another stylized dagger.
"Riku!" she shouted.
Riku was so startled that he nearly dropped the dagger. Turning back, Riku saw Rinoa waving her arm. The boy nodded briefly when she beckoned to him. Handing the dagger back to the vendor, he went to join them. Enigma's gaze settled on the bag he was holding before Enigma stepped away as Riku came to a stop a few feet from them.
"Where's Kairi?" he asked, his grip on the bag tightening.
"She ran off," Rinoa replied, throwing Enigma a smirk. "We'd better join her before she gets impatient."
"You let her run off on her own?" Riku's voice became concerned. Shoving past the two, he walked briskly through the crowd.
"Oh, come on, Riku, girls hate it when you get overprotective!" Rinoa shouted as she followed the boy.
Enigma made his way through the masses of shoppers, keeping a careful eye on the girl in blue. Crowds were the reason why he hated shopping--crowds and annoying vendors. He shoved past a trio of girls who were blocking his path and ignored their protests. Suddenly he stopped, taking in a sharp breath, his eyes widening as he felt an icy hand twist his heart. The trio of girls he'd past shoved back at him in return, forcing him to take a few steps forward to regain his balance. He was too caught up in the disturbing feeling in his chest to glare at them.
Turning on his heel, he walked hurriedly in the direction he'd just come. He had no idea where he was headed, but there was something in the back of his mind that was pushing him forward, telling him which direction to the turn. Someone shouted after him, no doubt Rinoa. He ignored her cries and continued walking, shoving past shoppers and nearly walking into a stand.
He came to a halt at the end of the hall, right in front of a door. There was nothing remarkable about it. It was just one of the many doors in a corridor meant to be used as a residential area. The shards of ice in Enigma's heart twisted, however, sending shivers down his spine. He steadied his hand and tried the knob only to discover that the door was locked.
Staring at the knob, Enigma frowned. There was something behind that door, and he needed to get to it. Summoning the Oathkeeper, he swiped at the door. The knob clattered to the ground in two pieces . Someone behind him gasped, and he turned to see that he'd gathered a crowd of spectators. He glared at them, and that sent the onlookers scattering.
He barged into the room and felt a gust of wind sweep out of the open door. Enigma took a step back as he caught sight of the glowing portal hovering near the ceiling, energy spewing from its centre. He was standing in a bedroom, and on the floor, trembling before a pair of Unknown, was a woman. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Enigma, only to widen in horror as she saw his outfit. She let out a small scream and crawled back, bumping into the two behind her.
Enigma stared quizzically at the two hooded warriors, and the Kingdom Key appeared in his free hand. The two advanced, lifting their hands as they began glowing with energy. Enigma dove forward as arcs of blue lightning lanced across the spot he'd been moments before. He rolled on the floor, coming to a halt in front of the two Unknown and brought his foot forward, hooked it beneath the ankles of the first Unknown. Enigma brought that one crashing to the ground. Holding up the Oathkeeper, he muttered the words of a Blizzaga spell and watched as the Unknown on the floor was encased in ice. He scrambled to his feet and was thrown forward as blue lightning caught him in the back.
His teeth came down on his bottom lip, interrupting the scream that was threatening to make itself heard. Pain. He'd felt worse before, but his body didn't care for that fact. He twisted around and flung the Kingdom Key up. It trembled as it caught the blue energy and quickly grew scalding hot. Even his gloves couldn't protect him from the burning touch. Enigma flung the keyblade aside and ran to the other side of the room. The second Unknown followed his movements, bringing its hands up for a second round of attacks .
Enigma didn't give him that chance. The boy ran forward, kicking the Unknown in the chest and sending it flying into the wall. The Unknown slid to a sitting position, its head hung forward in unconsciousness. With the two Unknown down, Enigma allowed himself to visibly relax and winced as the skin on his back stretched. His head snapped to the right when he heard a slight whimpering, but saw that it was only the woman, who was staring at him wide-eyed.
"Are you injured?" he asked.
The woman swallowed and shook her head. "N-no…" she stammered.
He sighed and limped over towards the Kingdom Key that lay idle on the ground. He reached forward, tentatively placing a hand on the hilt. His grip around it tightened after a few seconds without being burnt, and he dismissed both keyblades before staring warily at the fallen Unknown.
"What happened?" he demanded.
"I… I was just in my room and getting ready to go out when that," she said and pointed up at the portal. "Opened up and they dropped in and tried to attack me."
Enigma took in her story, mulling over her words, and stared up at the ceiling. He held a hand towards the portal and concentrated. The vortex began closing. He stared at the two Unknown and began envisioning portals opening beneath them and swallowing them. Small rifts opened beneath the two hooded beings. The two Unknown tumbled into the dark world behind the rifts, and the portals closed. Enigma let out a sigh and stared down at the woman.
"Will you be all right?"
She nodded numbly, and Enigma turned, slowly making his way out of the room. His back was in unbelievable pain, and it'd take at least a day before it would heal up. He briefly considered casting a Curaga spell on himself, but healing spells often did very little for him. They closed open wounds, but no Cure spell could banish pain, and Enigma had no open wounds. He was just in pain.
"Enigma?"
He saw Rinoa hurrying through the crowds and making her way towards him. She stopped in front of him, her face full of concern. "Oh! Enigma! What in the world happened!?" she exclaimed.
"Nothing," he lied and straightened. The mask he wore easily concealed his pain. He was glad at how easy it'd become to slip on an emotionless façade.
Rinoa's expression became grim as she placed a tentative hand on his shoulder, and that mask he wore shattered as he winced. She shook her head. "You can't just say, 'nothing' when obviously it's not nothing," she said. "I know what you're trying to do, but if something happened here, in Hollow Bastion, then I or at least Squall needs to know. This is our home, and we need to make sure nothing like whatever happened to you happens to someone else."
Enigma grimaced and shrugged her hand off his shoulder. "I don't want to talk about it right now," he told her and headed in the direction of the potion shop. Rinoa stared after him, frowning slightly, but finally she followed him, promising herself that she'd tell Squall of the strange incident.
Enigma arrived at the potion shop, which was really a renovated bedroom with shelves filled with items. He found Kairi carrying an armload of potions and Riku standing behind her, holding another load. She noticed his arrival immediately and smiled before returning to browsing through the shelves and taking anything she thought would come in handy. Riku still stared at him with a slight frown. Enigma made an effort not to limp as he approached them and ignored Riku when the boy's frown deepened.
"Done yet?" he asked once he was beside Kairi.
"Nearly," Kairi replied and handed him her items. "All we need now are a few elixirs, and then we can go."
She turned to face him, and her eyes widened in horror as she took in his dishevelled state. Seeing Kairi's reaction, Enigma wondered if he looked as bad as he felt.
"What happened!?" she exclaimed and stepped closer to him.
"He won't say," Rinoa said, stepping into the store in time to hear Kairi's question.
Rinoa gave Kairi a sympathetic look, knowing how irritating it was to have a love interest who tried to keep his pain to himself. Kairi's eyes examined Enigma from head to toe, and even though Enigma was a master at hiding what he felt, she could easily tell that he was in pain. She held her hands forward as if clutching an invisible ball, and a green light formed between them.
"Don't waste your magic," Enigma said quickly before she could utter the words that would cast the Cure spell. "Cure won't work."
"But…" Kairi began and stopped. The light faded, and she dropped her hands to her sides in defeat.
"What happened to you?" Riku spoke up, stepping forward.
Enigma looked at him in slight surprise. There was genuine concern in his voice. He studied the silver haired boy's face and saw his worried expression. Riku raised an eyebrow at his stare, and Enigma averted his gaze, focusing instead on Kairi, who had her hands clenched.
"I was attacked," he replied blandly. "I took care of them, but I was clumsy, and I'm paying the price for it."
Kairi studied his face and frowned. Enigma could feel her eyes scanning his entire body, taking in his stance and coming to a conclusion about his state.
"You're hiding something," she declared.
"It's not important," Enigma snapped. He saw the hurt expression on her face and regretted his harsh words. "I… don't want to talk about it right now."
She nodded, giving him a sympathetic look, and took hold of his arm. "Then let's get you fixed up… I'm sure there's something we can do."
"I think I can handle that," Rinoa said. "Go to the library, and I'll meet you guys there in a moment." Nodding at the trio, Rinoa turned and headed out of the store.
There was a silence as the three exchanged meaningful looks, but finally Riku voiced the question that was on all of their minds. "Does anybody know where the library is?"
Considering how lost Enigma had ended up before, he'd assumed finding their way to the library would have taken longer. It was because of Kairi that they wandered around for an hour. Unlike Enigma, she had no qualms about asking for directions.
Rinoa was already there, standing on the upper level near a table, and speaking softly with Aerith when they entered. The two women turned at their entrance and greeted them with warm smiles. Aerith's eyes lingered on Riku before she turned her attention to Enigma and studied him. She was amused at the hard stare he returned.
"Please, sit down," she said, gesturing towards a nearby chair. Enigma seemed hesitant to comply, but sat down, leaning forward so his back didn't touch the chair.
"Where's Squall?" Kairi asked after she had scanned the library and noticed his absence.
"Busy with a few things," Rinoa replied. "He'll be here in a moment. In the meantime… why don't we go about healing your injuries?" She stared at Enigma, who frowned at her.
"I said before that Cure spells won't work," Enigma said tersely.
"There are more healing spells out there than just basic Cure spells," Aerith replied. "For example… Full Cure."
There was a doubtful expression on his face as he stared at Aerith, his eyes focusing on her swollen belly. "I don't think that someone in your condition should be casting any sort of magic, especially such a high level white magic spell."
Kairi frowned at his words, not fully understanding how magic worked. She only knew the most basic spells and those she had learned from her brief time spent with Aerith. She'd been waiting with Aerith and the others as Sora and his companions had gone off to defeat Ansem. Squall, never the type to just sit around and wait, had them hunting Heartless, and she'd been taught a few elemental spells to give aid in the hunts. They were crash courses taught only a few hours before they'd head out.
Aerith noticed her frown and placed a hand on her stomach. "It's because magic uses a part of your life force," she explained. "That's the reason why you feel tired or exhausted after you perform a spell. Higher-level spells take more energy. Performing magic in my…'condition' is a risk to the baby."
"Oh…" Kairi said, blushing furiously. It made sense when she put it that way, though Kairi wondered why she had never considered that before.
"Then why did you bring up Full Cure when no one can cast it?" Riku asked.
"I'll be doing the casting," Rinoa said with a smile on her face. "Aerith explained the entire process to me before you guys came."
Riku stared at her as if she'd just sprouted an extra head. He blinked and then looked at her sceptically. "You can't just cast a high level spell like that after only learning about it in a few minutes!"
Rinoa smirked and approached Enigma, walking around him until she was behind his chair. The hooded boy gave her a wary look, and she winked at him. "Don't worry, I've done last minute learning like this plenty of times before," she reassured him.
She held her hands above Enigma's back and closed her eyes, her brow scrunched as she focused on the power that flowed in her. It was a whirling vortex of energy and reacted with a brilliant flare when she summoned it. She took that power, shaping it into healing magic, and felt her hands warming. She knew from experience that they were glowing. The energy began building, waiting for the words that would release it .
Opening her eyes, Rinoa saw the stunned faces that were staring at her. "Full Cure!" she exclaimed. The magic burst forward and surrounded Enigma in a bubble of light, shimmering as it faded away.
Enigma straightened, blinking as he gingerly reached a hand towards his back, touched it and felt no stinging hot pain. He stared at Rinoa and gave her a nod of appreciation. She smirked at him and leaned forward, resting on the back of the chair. "That really takes a lot out of you," she said.
"How in the world were you able to do that?" Riku asked. "No one should be able to perform spells like that in just a day."
"Like you pointed out before, I'm not normal," Rinoa replied.
"She's a sorceress," Enigma muttered. "A breed of women who are adept at performing spells that others normally can't."
Riku stared at Rinoa, slightly surprised. The only other sorceress he knew was Maleficent, and he just couldn't equate Rinoa with such a vile woman. Maleficent had explained magic to him and how it worked and what she was, but from the account she'd given on sorcery, he'd assumed that all sorceresses were just like her, only Rinoa was nothing like Maleficent. He stared at Rinoa again and suddenly smiled. She was startled by his reaction, but smiled back.
"Just don't announce that fact to the entire world," came Squall's voice, floating into the upper levels. Rinoa brightened as she heard his voice, and she rushed over to the railing.
"Took you long enough, slowpoke," she said, sticking her tongue out at him.
Squall rolled his eyes as he climbed the stairs and joined her by the railing, casting a stern look at all of them. "I'm serious about keeping this confidential," he told them.
"We won't tell anyone," Kairi reassured.
Squall didn't seem to believe her but apparently decided not to dwell on the topic. His eyes landed on Enigma, who was staring blankly at the floor. The boy felt his eyes on him and looked up. "There was a report from an area in the commercial district about a hooded boy with dual keyblades fighting with two other hooded men. Strange coincidence, isn't it?"
"Yes, that was me," Enigma said. "They were… attacking a woman, and I was there."
"Is that the reason why you ran off like that?" Rinoa asked.
Enigma nodded and got out of his chair. He moved towards a shelf, distancing himself from the others. "I felt their presence and instinct told me to investigate." He frowned at the memory of finding a woman at the mercy of the two hooded beings.
"I get this feeling that you know more about what's going on than I do," Squall said, bringing a hand to his forehead. "Care to explain?"
"The hooded men who attacked the woman are called Unknown, but aside from that, I don't know any more than you do," Enigma retorted.
"Never mind…" Squall said, sighing heavily. He folded his hands across his chest. "I came here to discuss other matters anyway. Like Sephiroth."
"You never did tell us who he was," Kairi pointed out.
Squall nodded. "Yes, Sephiroth's past is complicated." He paused and turned to Aerith, who had seated herself on the table. She smiled at him, putting on a brave front.
"They deserve to know," she said softly.
"You should tell them," Squall said. His tone was gentle, which had the trio staring at him in confusion.
She considered his words and cast a forlorn look towards the others. The memories surfaced, and she braced herself as she thought of the recent atrocity Sephiroth had committed. She should have hated him, but it was because of her that he was now like this--a monster.
"Sephiroth lived here, in Hollow Bastion, years ago," she said as she recounted a past she would have preferred to keep buried. "He was a childhood friend to all of us, though he and Cloud knew each other the longest. They were best friends, brothers even, and neighbours. Their parents were close, so naturally they grew up together. Sephiroth protected Cloud against the bullies and taught him everything he knew, and Cloud looked up to him."
She paused to place her hands on her stomach. She couldn't think of the baby without being reminded of the love she had for Cloud. Aerith wondered briefly if her child would grow up having a friend who was as loving as Sephiroth had been to Cloud before Sephiroth had become so twisted. "We were all skilled in magic because of the way we were brought up, but Sephiroth was different. He had power far greater than even Rinoa's. It was in his blood. Around the time he was realizing his potential, Cloud and I met, and Cloud introduced me to his friends. Sephiroth, Cloud and I, we became a trio of close friends, and as we grew up, things became different. Cloud and Sephiroth had developed a rivalry, and I was in the middle."
Kairi shifted uncomfortably as Aerith's story started becoming all too familiar to her. She cast furtive glances towards Riku and Enigma. They were both wearing unreadable masks.
"It wasn't long before the boys began developing feelings for me. Cloud was shy and never really made it too clear how he felt." There was a slight smile on her face as remembered Cloud's shy disposition. "Sephiroth, on the other hand, wasn't, and we… began seeing each other for a while. I wasn't as happy with him as I was with Cloud, and I admitted it, and that was when he snapped. He disappeared for a while, and every time he returned he was even more twisted than before. He spoke to me once and admitted that he'd been meeting with Maleficent. He disappeared again, and one day he came back, leading an army of Heartless. We tried fighting back, but the Heartless overwhelmed us, and we ended up fleeing. Many didn't make it, and many of us were separated."
Aerith folded her hands in her lap and looked at Rinoa, who smiled brightly at her. There was only the slightest sliver of sadness in the sorceress' expression. Squall's was the direct opposite of Rinoa's . He was frowning as Aerith's recount brought back unwanted memories. He didn't bother to look any less stern as he addressed the trio.
"Do you have questions?"
Enigma was leaning against a shelf, and he pushed himself away from it and straightened. "How did Sephiroth die?"
"Cloud and Sephiroth met about five years ago and fought," Squall replied. "It's obvious who won and who died."
Enigma nodded slowly, satisfied with the answer. He turned away from Squall and stared at his other two companions. Kairi had a troubled expression on her face while Riku was shifting his gaze between Aerith and Kairi and giving them both unreadable looks.
"Any more?" Squall asked.
The silence that followed was answer enough for Squall. He nodded curtly and squeezed Rinoa's hand before moving away. "If that's all, then I need to leave. I have other matters to attend to," he announced and left the library through the upper level exit. Everyone's gaze followed him until he'd closed the door.
"Why is it that Squall's always so busy?" Kairi asked, directing her question to Rinoa.
Rinoa stared at the door Squall had just exited through with an amused look. "Squall's the leader of Hollow Bastion," she replied. "He took up the responsibility of taking care of this place once he returned, and the people just accepted him."
"He won't admit it, but he really does care for all of us, and having a leader who actually cares for his people is a refreshing change," Aerith said, her mood turning into a brighter one. "We had an election a while ago, and he was selected."
Rinoa chuckled softly, remembering Squall's look of shock on the day the results were compiled. Shaking her head, she smiled. "I guess you guys should rest before going." Her eyes landed on Enigma, and by the look on his face, the boy knew what she was implying.
"I'd rather not delay this," Enigma said, giving her a sour look.
Rinoa raised an eyebrow and waited for the other two to protest. Both of them remained silent, Kairi merely shrugging when Rinoa threw her a questioning look and Riku seeming disinterested. Rinoa pushed away from the railing. "Then I guess I'll show you guys the 'door'."
Enigma shook his head, stopping the girl in blue in mid-stride. "That won't be necessary. I don't normally use doors. Portals are more convenient." There was a momentary flash of light, and Enigma's right hand was gripping a keyblade. There was a crackle of energy on his keyblade that leapt forward, ripping through space and forming a multicoloured crack.
Enigma glanced in Kairi and Riku's direction, and they both understood immediately. Riku stepped forward and gave Aerith and Rinoa warm smiles. He walked through the crack, disappearing behind it. Kairi was more hesitant. She stopped before its maw and looked over towards Aerith and Rinoa. The girls shared a short laugh, and Kairi stepped forward. Enigma moved towards the crack and stopped, giving the girls a curt nod, and disappeared into the next world. Once he was gone, the portal squeezed shut, leaving behind no trace of its existence.
"Now that we're alone, care to explain what you're hiding from us?"
Riku's question stopped Enigma in his tracks. "Pardon?"
The silver haired boy folded his arms across his chest. "I know that you weren't telling us the whole truth back there."
Riku was giving him an accusing look, but it wasn't one Enigma had expected from him. The boy seemed almost friendly, as if teasing him. Kairi seemed to notice Riku's change in mood as well and suddenly wore a playful smirk.
"Come on, you know you can't hide anything from us," she taunted.
Enigma was first torn between lying to them despite knowing that they would probably call him on it and simply ignoring them. Ignoring them would have resulted in more pestering, and since they were entering Hades' domain, he would rather they travelled as stealthily as possible. So he chose the only option that he hadn't been considering. He would tell them the truth.
"The people that attacked, they were Unknown."
Riku shrugged, not fully understanding Enigma's words. "Yeah? So? They attacked us before."
"That was different," Enigma said, frowning. "Unknown simply don't enter into different worlds and attack people. They attacked you because you were a trespasser. That's their duty."
"Why would they just attack a random person?" Kairi asked.
"Unknown only become wild like this when…" Enigma paused as he tried to recall a similar case. "When there's a misbalance."
He knew from their puzzled expressions that neither of the two understood what he meant. "The universe can be defined as both light and dark. Normally there's a balance between these two. When there's a balance, the Unknown are neither light nor dark. They have no inherited sense of good or bad and only know what is programmed into them."
"So the two Unknown back in Hollow Bastion couldn't have just attacked because they wanted to?" Riku asked.
Enigma shook his head. "Unknown are simply… shells that go about performing what they are intended to do: creating balance and ensuring that no one uses the World in Between. If one force, either light or dark rises, then they usually oppose it. Considering how darkness is amassing, they should be on a different side."
"Couldn't there have been something wrong with the girl?" Kairi asked.
"No, I would have sensed it," Enigma replied. "Not only that, but they also attacked me. Unknown never attack their own kind."
Noticing the look Kairi was giving Riku, Enigma knew what was going on in her mind. "Riku's different." Enigma grew silent and continued walking forward, no longer in the mood for explanations.
Kairi appeared puzzled at his words, but accepted them without any further questioning. She followed him as he descended the stairs, wrapping her arms around her and shuddering at the gloomy atmosphere of the place. "Brr…" she said, shivering. "This place is just too creepy."
Beside her, Riku smirked. "What would you expect in a place like this? Puppy dogs and rainbows?"
"No! I just didn't think it'd be this scary," Kairi said, laughing nervously. Her laughter died on her lips as she caught sight of the glowing river of the dead. She gasped and stopped, causing Riku to bump into her and nearly knock her off-balance. Riku grabbed her arm before she could tumble forward and steadied her.
"I know…" Riku murmured, wincing as he remembered his submergence in the river. "This is what's waiting for me when I die."
Okay, this took long enough to update, *sighs*. I can foresee this as becoming a bad habit, it doesn't mean I'm abandoning the fic, dear faithful readers, but I've just realized this year, what with school having started and all and it's my final year, I have a lot taking up my schedule. Not only do I need a ton of extra-curricular activities to look good on my resume, I also need to put in more than four hours a day to do homework and that basically leaves with three hours of free time for the weekdays excluding any special volunteering events I take part in. I don't know about you guys, but I would like using the only free time I have left after slaving on four hours of homework to just sit around and let my brain fart. Of course, seeing if that takes up an hour of my freetime, I'm left with only two hours, I could also have the weekend, but they're usually always booked with social activities... and so you see my problem in finding time for writing this fic. At the most I can usually write up half a page a day and I tend to at least like have over 5000 words for each update and that's about ten pages on Word, so yeah... there's my excuse, though I suppose I shouldn't be making up any excuses seeing how I as the author should just keep my mouth shut and just make time. ^_^
Well asides from my little rant, I guess you could say this chapter was slow as well and filled with too much exposition. You get Sephiroth's past, how magic works and how the Unknown work all in one chapter, hooray! Does that clear up anything at all? I have no idea, that's up for you readers to decide. Heh. On a side note, I also notice how much time it takes writing up responses to reviews and I've come to hard decision. While I love responding to reader reviews, I can't just do this individually anymore if you guys want faster updates. By not responding to each review I get I cut at least a day from my work and that gives you a fic a day earlier, doesn't that sound great?? Of course, those who do write reviews and post interesting speculations or questions will get them answered, though my responses will be very brief. I'm so sorry! If you guys really want me to continue responding to each of you individually then tell me and I'll keep it up, but know that by doing this, the fic will end up being a day later.
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Everyone who reviewed!!
Meiko, Ari Powwel, sore-wa-himitsu-desu, Koorino Megumi, Shinji Ikari, Shinjitsu and Victorious Light
Shinjitsu: Thanks for pointing out the little discrepency with Riku's keyblade and the Oblivion, but I'm very well aware of the fact that there's a difference and you'll see that this little factor will crop up sometime in the future. As for Kairi's staff, well I thought about the weapon she would use and I really couldn't see Kairi wielding a sword. A scythe would give her too much of a death image when I wanted her to seem like "light" and "life". Nunchucks would have worked, except I have little experience with how they work; I also considered bow and arrows,but they're more of a long range weapon (well unless you're extremely skilled like Legolas) and the battles in this fic and in the game itself have always been close range and I thought it'd be pretty boring to just have Kairi stand off to the side and shoot off arrows while Riku and Enigma did most of the dirty work. So my decision came down to the staff because 1) Tidus uses a shinai which is somewhat like a staff and so it wouldn't be hard for him to teach Kairi how to use one... 2) Kairi with a staff completes the magic user/wizard motiff I wanted her to have and 3) There is no number three, I just like listing things in three. ^_~. As for the Final Fantasy characters, well, there could be more, you can never be certain.
Shinji: You'll receive an email soon on my response... or possibly we could discuss this through an alternative method.
So that's all for now folks, next chapter we'll be taking a look at just exactly how Sephiroth is released and more enigmatic (hee) hinting at who this Big Bad is. Don't you just love that?