---Part two of Chapter Two, additional author, Link ((Marisa))---
Aeon shivered outside on the tree branch outside his window. Not because of wind or cold but because of what he was dreaming. Well more based on memories than actual dreaming. dream All around him the sky was black with darkness. Beasts roamed wildly, slaughtering all in their path. In the center of one mass of creatures was a familiar looking male. Tidus. Frantically hacking and slashing it was clear the boy was tiring fast. Aeon moved to help but some strange force held him fast. As he had been forced to do in past nightmares, Aeon was only allowed to watch the horror. As the battered youth fought his way towards Aeon a voice rang out. Cruel, harsh and full of malice. It took Aeon a few moments to realize the voice was his own. The words were impossible to make out. As Tidus drew closer he fixed Aeon with a mocking stare, mixed with either sorrow or pity, and promptly drove his sword through Aeon's heart. end of dream With a loud, fearful yell of "Tidus!" Aeon fell from the branch, landing somewhat painfully on the ground below. Only two things registered through the shock. It was morning, and he was in agony.
Long since conditioned from his time in the End of Days and Spira, Tidus jerked awake in mid-snore at the sound of his name.
Disorientated, the blonde blinked up at his ceiling in confusion. Since when did he sleep under a roof? Well... outside of temples. And this wasn't a... the events of the past twenty-four hours caught up to his sleep-addled brain, and he sunk into the comfy mattress beneath him.
Oh, that's right. He was in a hotel in Traverse Town.
Hey, wait... who would be shouting his name here? With a grunt, he rolled out of his bed-- though he forgot to put out his arms to brace himself, and promptly landed on his nose-- and stood up. His lips quirked at the sight of Yasha tangled in her sheets.
The open window behind him, however, caused him to shiver. As he moved to close it he looked down and spotted his current favorite nemesis getting up from what looked like a painful landing. Tidus smirked, and called down "I thought you had wings, Aeon. Shouldn't you know how to land by now?"
There was a muffled mumbling noise as Yasha languidly blinked awake, being greeted by the sight of white sheets covering her eyes. Attempting to move proved utterly fruitless, as the thin fabric had her completely bound. Her ears perked up at the sound of Tidus awake in the room, yelling out the window from the sound..
The draconic girl squirmed harder in the protective cocoon of bed sheets, and managed two things at once: rolling right off the bed, and haphazardly clawing the poor sheets to shreds. Stumbling to her scaled feet and seemingly oblivious to several large fragments of white cloth hanging off of her, she ambled over to Tidus.
"Good Morning!" Glomp.
Still latched onto the spiky blond teen in a death-hug, she glanced out the window to see Aeon sprawled out on the cement below. She leaned her head out.
"GOOD MORNING!"
Aeon groaned as he picked himself up from the floor, stiffening again in momentary fear as he heard Tidus' voice. Kicking himself mentally he gingerly folded his wings to his body, wincing in pain as he did so. "Oh drop dead Tidus." he muttered walking around the building so that he was out of sight from Tidus and Yasha. As soon as he was out of view he leant against the wall, visibly shaking. He could swear that he still felt where the blade had sunk through his ribs. And if Tidus ever found out what Aeon really knew, then he might not need a vivid dream to know what the feeling was like.... Carefully Aeon checked over his wings, wincing as he touched the bruised areas. Hopefully nobody would want any free flights from him . . . carrying Tidus before had been hard enough work. His wings now dealt with; Aeon decided to go see who else was up.
Skailer re-entered the hotel, emotions dry and eyes empty. Just his luck for him to stay up all night.
-And you thought you could fool them?-
-Shut up.-
-You can't fool them for long.-
-I'm not going to listen to you anymore. Shut up.-
Skailer sat down and wrapped his arms around his knees and set his head in-between them. His tail thumped lightly on the floor, though to him it was a pounding thanks to his heightened senses. His nose picked up many scents...pain, slight anger...feathers? Bah. Skailer stared down the hall and watched Aeon walk out. He smirked. "Heh. Juohg - ah, couldn't sleep? I know I couldn't."
Aeon shook his head. "Actually I was sleeping fine until the blasted nightmare started." With a grimace on his face Aeon looked down again. Thank god that Tidus hadn't asked why Aeon was yelling out his name in his sleep. Of all the stupid things to do that might make Tidus more suspicious of his origins that was one of the top three. Just under admitting everything out loud and mentioning anything related to Zanarkand or Jecht. Hoping to change the subject before Skailer might ask what his nightmare was Aeon looked up again. "So, what kept you up all night then?"
Skailer shook his head. "Bah. I was just thinking about home an' stuff. Kinda sad thing to think about when...nah." He cut himself off and stood swiftly.
"Where's.....-him-?" He asked. "The Keyblade master? I have a need to talk with him once he awakens."
The Keyblade Master was currently lying on his bed; cover's pulled over him, two spikes of chestnut brown hair poking out from beneath them. He was slowly awakening, but he seemed determined to ignore this and go back to sleep.
No, I do not have to get up. No, the Heartless are not back, and even if they are, I definitely don't have to get up so I can go try and stop them. Nope, everything is perfectly fine, meaning I definitely don't have to get up so I can go to random worlds with people I barely know. Nope. Everything is fine. I'm so tired I could cry, so I'm going to go back to sleep. Yeeeeeeesss....sleep..'
These thoughts having run through his head, Sora fell back into blissful near unconscious-ness.
"Onii-san?" Aura whispered, standing on tip-toe beside Sora's bed and poking him experimentally in the cheek. "Wake, onii-san?" she whispered again. With a tilt of her head she stepped back to view the sleeping boy.
Holding up her stuffed bear, now once again stuck to it like glue, a wide grin spread across her face. Pattering to the other side of the room, she held her bear firmly over her head, before... launching herself back across the room and taking a flying leap onto his bed with the cry, "ONII-SAAAAAAN!"
Landing with a belly flop on top of the sleeping boy, she proceeded to jump up and down repeatedly, alternately whacking Sora with her bear. "Onii-san, Onii-san, ONII-SAN!"
Now, Sora would have been happy to just ignore everything around him and go back to sleep. But Aura jumping on his stomach, whacking him with her bear and yelling was getting rather painfully hard to ignore.
"GAAH!" Sora cried, bolting upright, attempting to shield his head from the bear of doom. "I'm up! I'm up!" He lowered his arms and glared at Aura. However, the problem with extremely cute things, such as young children, as that no matter how hard you try, it's pretty hard to stay mad at them. Unless they happen to really be your siblings, but Sora had never had any siblings so he couldn't relate to this.
So Aura's cute-ness, along with the fact that Sora was really too tired to be mad, softened his expression. "Alright I'm up." He said with a yawn. "....and I need coffee. Yes, coffee would be good.." He added, mostly to himself.
The Keyblade Master ran a hand through his hair, yawned again, threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood, stretching. "Sooo...I guess everyone else should be up..." Because if they're not, I'm going back to sleep.' Sora mentally added. He looked down at Aura and gave a tired smile. "C'mon, let's go get breakfast."
Sora rather liked this hotel because of the breakfast bar thing they had in the mornings. It wasn't the best, but it certainly beat anything the Keyblade Master attempted to cook, so he was all for it. And they had coffee. Coffee was good.
If anyone had bothered to ask Lutra, she wouldn't have understood what the problem was with getting up in the morning. She for example, had been awake since sunrise working to earn her stay at the hotel. She was just sitting down to her own breakfast when Sora came in with Aura attached to his pant leg. It was about time...Lutra was beginning to wonder when, if ever the keyblade master was going to get up. "Good morning," she said before taking a drink from her steaming cup of tea. She frowned and added a bit of milk to it...much better.
Sora gave another yawn, mumbling "Morning.." to the red mage as he shuffled past where she was sitting, heading towards the great invention known as the coffee machine.
After fixing himself a cup of the holy liquid Sora tromped back across the room, flopped into a chair at a random table, and sipped. Coffee was without a doubt, a substance created by God. Or something like that.
It would be rather unfortunate if people started asking Sora questions at the moment, considering he wasn't really coherent enough to give very good answers.
Skailer stared at Sora from his place on the floor and stood. Eyeing the keyblade master suspiciously, he strode over to the coffee machine and fixed himself a cup. He sniffed it.
-Geez, it smells awful....- He thought as he began to take a sip. As soon as the liquid hit his tongue he choked, somehow setting his cup of caffeinated milk onto the counter again without spilling any. He cried out, "Augh! How can you guys DRINK this stuff? It tastes like CHALK!" A look came upon Skailer's face that expressed ultimate disgust.
"I...need some...fresh air...." He added as he raced out the door of the hotel and gasped for breath, supporting himself on a nearby lamppost.
-...hate that stuff....-
Sora blinked slightly as he watched Skailer race out the door. His brain, now influenced with the great thing known as coffee, was working slightly now, so a coherent thought came to mind.
"..How does he know how chalk tastes like?" The Keyblade Master pondered aloud, frowning as he took another sip of coffee.
Aeon snapped out of his thoughts just long enough to catch the tailend of Sora and Skailer's brief conversation.
"Coffee tastes like chalk?"
Aeon blinked. On second thoughts he might skip this strange coffee stuff and just have water.
Sitting on the other end of Sora's table he wriggled his wings again, the bruising now starting to show under the feathers.
"So errr . . . "
Small talk definitely was something he needed to learn.
" . . . how long til this Cid can have your vessel up and running again Sora?"
Sora blinked for a moment, considering the question.
"....I have -no- idea." He said, blinking. "I guess after we get everything sorted out here with everyone we'll go down there and see if the ship's ready...…....though I have no idea -how- we're going to fit everyone." He frowned.
"Is anyone else up?" He inquired, sipping his coffee again.
Lutra pointedly sipped her tea. She had no idea what chalk tasted like, or even what coffee tasted like. Coffee was mainly a Hume invention so she always thought twice about trying it. Not that that had any sort of bearing on the more important matters at hand. She was curious about this 'ship' they were talking about, as well as Cid. There was a Hume named Cid in her world, and he was very well known. She wondered if it was possible that this was the same Cid... Sora's question brought her out of her wanderings, though it wasn't directed at anyone in particular she felt she might as well reply. "If they are not, it would be a good idea to get them up," she said. "I don't like wasting time with important things." Never mind that she hadn't been invited to go along, at this point Lutra felt it was her duty to go with them. Someone had to be the adult and chaperon after all.
Skailer re-entered the hotel with a strange look on his face and closed the door behind him. "What's this talk about a ship?" He asked. Skailer knew a thing or two about gummi ships, but he wasn't a know-all like Cid. He just knew a few things, like how it works, and so forth.
His eyes almost immediately fell to Lutra. -She looks so much like you, Alark,- He thought to himself, ignoring whatever response he might get...slightly.
"Good, you haven't left yet."
Mozenrath expected they would not have left this early, but it took some browsing on the street before he could be absolutely sure where it was that they had settled for the night. He'd risen that morning feeling energized, but somewhat uncertain, as he always seemed to feel at the dawn of something new in his life. He caught sight of the Keyblade Master immediately upon entering and approached him, aware also of those around him, some he recognized from the night before but one or two faces he'd missed.
Xerxes flitted behind him, mostly out of mistrust for new people. The creature swam up to his shoulder the moment he stopped, tail curling close around the back of his neck in an almost protective manner, and he had to stop and assure him with a stroke.
"I bid you good morning, Keyblade Master, to you and your company," Mozenrath said pleasantly enough, bowing cordially as he stopped before him.
"company," the flying lamprey echoed.
Sora nodded up at Mozerath from his seat, still contentedly sipping his coffee. "Morning Mozerath." He said, smiling slightly. Coffee having woken him up, the Keyblade Master felt he was in a rather good mood.
"Err, if you want to sit down and have some coffee or something go ahead, we're waiting on some people and if anyone has any questions or something I'd prefer to wait to answer them til' everyone's here." Sora stated, taking another sip of his coffee.
Yawning, Arados closed the door to her room, ignoring the small pile of glass that was left on the floor. Though she couldn't remember exactly what she'd been dreaming about, all she knew was that it was one heck of a strange dream and she'd suddenly woken up and knocked it over... but she'd never liked that lamp anyway...
'Wait a minute...' Arados thought, pausing. A few rooms away she was sure she could hear voices. Very familiar voices. Entering the said room, Arados stared at everybody assembled there for a few blank moments. '... alright, so it WASN'T a dream.'
"Good morning." she said with something of a sigh.
Mozenrath took a seat as invited and waved Xerxes off to go and find himself something to eat. The more people that came in, the happier Mozenrath was at choosing to come here to meet as opposed to inviting the Keyblade Master's party to sup in his home. He shook his head at the invitation for coffee, having already fed himself, and took a better look around the room.
The tail'd Halfheart was there, no surprise. Mozenrath said nothing, because while he found the boy's attempts to insult him amusing and ill-informed, he was not in the mood to argue with people he considered significantly beneath his notice.
The cat-woman was there, too. Of course, he'd seen bits and pieces of her around Traverse Town before. He had also been aware that she possessed some level of magic. The night before had been the first chance he had been given to witness it first hand. This was the first chance he'd gotten a chance to try and converse, however, and seeing as how they were there for the same reason, he saw nothing stopping him.
"Where did you study?" he inquired.
The astounding lack of fish on the breakfast menu was something Lutra had to lean to cope with. At least the tea was still good, if a little more bitter than she was used to. She barely glanced up from her cup when the mage from the previous night's battle entered. Mozenrath if her memory was right. She watched him approach from beneath the brim of her chapeau, watching also the eel like creature that followed him. Lutra tried not to picture the creature skewered and lightly grilled with a slice of lemon. She focused her attention on the mage rather than the flying eel, he was asking her about where she studied. At first she wasn't sure what he meant, then realizing as a fellow mage he must be talking about magic. It still was not something she was commonly asked, so it took her a moment to answer. "Ah," she put down her cup. "I went to the Aurastery in Windurst. Really it was the only place to formally study magic where I come from, but that didn't mean it wasn't an excellent school."
He raised an eyebrow at that. Aurastery? Windurst? "How very interesting," he murmured. He didn't add immediately that he'd visited there once, shortly after leaving his former world. He had not been inclined to stay long, as the natives were not terribly kind to strangers. "I did not want to think that the End of Days had reached that place. But, since you are here, and have been here a while, I suppose it is true."
"I have not been here for very long...but I would have arrived sooner if I had the means." Lutra wasn't sure how Mozenrath knew about her world, but she supposed after what she's seen anything was possible. She decided it wasn't worth asking in case a headache resulted from the answer. Lutra took another sip of her tea. "I suppose you studied on your own world," she said. Lutra would ask him details, but she would have no use for them. Spending her life completely unaware of other worlds, she saw no reason to ask something that would probably just confuse her.
She wouldn't have gotten a chance at a proper answer anyways-- Tidus had decided to come down from his room, and he did it in true Tidus fashion.
Loudly.
Always having to be the center of attention-- which went back even further than his brief stint as 'Blitzball Star Tidus of Zanarkand'-- Tidus had waited until the door had been fully closed behind Mozenrath for a few minutes before cheerfully kicking it open and striding in. The sound of the door crashing against the wall ensured that most, if not all, eyes were on him.
He smiled cheerfully and waved, "Morning all!"
"As a matter of fact, I --"
CRACKBAM!
Reflexes taking the better of him, Mozenrath's gloved hand clenched into a fist and he rounded, bits of blue black flame rising on his closed fingers as though he were prepared to fire a blast. He nearly turned over the table in his motion as he rounded toward the noise, directly behind him. Already the words for a proper incantation were present and rolling on his lips --
And then he saw it was a companion of the Keyblade Master, and he scowled, all the while not relaxing his stance. He didn't nod to the greeting they were unanimously given.
"That's an easy way to get your fool self killed, boy," he said minimally. He pointed at a chair. "Sit." /And shut up,/ he thought.
Tidus shrugged, cheerfully sprawling himself out beside the annoyed mage, "So's jumping off of an airship. I'm still here, aren't I? So what's the..."
The young man paused mid-sentence in confusion. He'd been looking around the room, taking stock of the people in their kinda large group, and one of the most important people appeared to be missing.
Well, important to him at least. Less important than Yuna, but up there.
"Hey, where's Yasha? She left the room before I did."
Tidus' question was ironically followed by a loud crunching noise as a nearby table that had been placed under an open window collapsed in on itself. One large, red, scaled foot stuck out of the remains of what had been a breakfast table covered with a floral patterned table- cloth. Said foot twitched, and Yasha pulled herself up out of the wooden shambles.
Most luckily for the Key Bearer, who would not have been pleased to receive Yasha's 'friendly affections' so early in the day, the dragon girl spotted her blond friend first. Energetically bounding over to his side, she plopped down on the dining room's floor, looking as if it was the most normal thing ever to sit on the floor. Then again, wings would make most chairs an exceptional nuisance.
"Good Morning!", Yasha happily crowed for the third time that day, and started picking at her teeth with her talons. Removing the source of the irritation, which happened to be an inky black antenna, she popped it right back into her mouth, chewing on it noisily.
"Crunchy!"
Sora stared at Yasha for a moment, not even blinking. ".....O....kay then..." He said slowly, turning to face everyone. "Uh..now that everyone's here..." He stopped for a moment.
Okay, what am I supposed to do now?' The Keybearer thought. He grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Well. I guess if anyone has any questions or anything, now would be a good time to ask...."
...Lutra had spilled her tea in all the commotion. With a resigned growl she reached up to rub the bridge of her nose. The Keyblade master was asking them all something and Lutra snapped up first.
"Where are we going and when can we bloody leave?"
Sora blinked at Lutra. "...I really don't know. We're just heading to the closest world being attacked I guess. And I dunno, we'll leave as soon as everyone's ready.."
Luckily the wide brimmed chapeau hid the twitch in Lutra's eyes rather well. "Well we're all here," she said. "How much more ready do we have to be?" Some leader this boy was turning out to be. Absolutely no spine to take charge, it was a lucky thing Lutra was going with him. She would be amazed if anything was accomplished before her
arrival.Sora smiled slightly. "Well that's true. I guess if everyone's ready we can go..." He ran a hand through his hair, looking slightly nervous. "..I don't know how to say this, so if this comes out sounding stupid someone can whack me over the head, alright?" He said, face turning grim.
"Look. I really have no idea where we're going, I have no idea what's going to happen, I barely have any idea about what we're facing. All I know is I've beaten these things before, and I have to again." Sora bit his lip, considering his next words. "I can't make you all come with me. Who am I to just ask you all to pretty much drop wherever your lives might be going and come on some crazy adventure that could very well fail and end with us all dead or worse?" He looked up at the ceiling, watching the fan spiral above him.
"I don't really have any right to just ask you all to come along, to fight, to risk your lives for this." He continued after a moment, shifting his attention from the fan back to everyone. "But I don't really think I can do this all by myself. This is already has a pretty good chance of us all ending up dead, but going off by myself would be pretty much guaranteeing failure." He sighed.. "So anyway.....I guess what I'm really trying to say is only come unless you're -really- sure you want to do this, if you want to back out now you can. "
The Keyblade Master smiled again. "Well?"
There seemed to be a silence that fell over the room for a few moments. Lutra cleared her throat to break it. "That was very touching Sora, but you really ought to work on your motivational skills," she said evenly before standing up, arms folded over her chest. If it was supposed to have a dramatic effect it was lost on being one of the shortest people in the room. "I can only speak for myself, but I came here with no detailed plans other than find a way to restore my world. Right now, following the one who stopped the End of Days seems the best way to do it." Lutra swept off her hat and pulled it close over her chest where her heart would be and made an elegant bow. "Until my world is restored, you have all my skills to rely on."
Aeon nodded in agreement. "She is right. The longer we wait the more people will suffer. I say we bring their suffering to an end." Maybe then I can atone for the actions of him before me Aeon thought, thinking of Sin and all the evil he could remember Sin committing. "As long as there is life in me I shall aid you in slaughtering these Heartless. Not like I have anything better to do or anywhere else to go. Besides, I still owe you one."
With all the comradeship and sentimentality, Mozenrath felt most surely that he was going to hurl. He brushed some imaginary dust from his robe. "My goals come from a completely different standpoint. I intend to grow and advance as much as I possibly can in the way of power and knowledge. However, the Heartless are responsible for some of my own troubles, so I wouldn't mind seeing to their elimination as well." He smirked. "I believe, then, that we can help each other."
Aura stared up at Sora. Her already large eyes grew even larger. "Me stay." She tugged pointedly on the brunette's jacket, "Me stay with onii."
Here, Aura nodded decidedly. The little girl could not imagine leaving Sora and trusted him completely. As if thinking the same thing, she smiled up at him. "Onii-chan can do it. But not alone. Aura will help Sora."
Mozenrath raised an eyebrow at the tot standing near the Keyblade Master. For the sake of avoiding being stared at, he did not snort in utter amusement when she said she would go along and help. "I wasn't aware that a mission that threatened possible death was suitable for infants," he commented, rising to his feet, then. "Unless she has the power to spontaneously combust and take a few heartless with her -- and more than once -- then I do not honestly see how she can aid the mission." He crossed his arms over his chest self-importantly.
Arados said nothing during or after Sora's speech, but her expression told clearly she was staying. 'What's left but to fight the Heartless...' she thought, then the subject of Aura was brought up. Tilting her head as she studied the little child, she answered, "You weren't here when we first found Aura... but the child had apparently been waiting in the Hotel alone. No one seems to be looking for a lost child, either. So I don't believe we have much of a choice."
Sora nodded. "Yeah...it's not like we can just leave her here all by herself..." That and Aura seemed to be permanently attached to the Keyblade Master, but he didn't feel like voicing this. "She can come... I don't know what she can do, but you never know..."
"She's only about four and it doesn't look like she can fight...." He paused to look down at the chill and smiled. "..but that just means I'll have to make sure she doesn't get hurt now won't I? I wouldn't be a very good onii-san' if I let that happen."
He looked up again. "So that's that, Aura's coming. Anyone else?"
Lutra had nodded in silent agreement when Mozenrath spoke. When Sora had his say, her eyes snapped up and she opened her mouth to protest. Lutra never was and probably never would be a mother, however this reeked of 'bad idea' and the Mithra woman was not going to let it stand. "You cannot be serious," she said. "This child would only get in your way Sora. She would be a liability for our entire group! She is a /child/, and a poorly developed one if she's four years old and talks like she's one. "And in case I'm not being clear enough: you just said there is a good chance one or all of us would die on this mission Sora. You cannot take a little girl into that kind of situation! If you were any kind of 'brother' you would leave her here where she would be safe!" Lutra's voice had raised in tone until she was almost screaming. It was so.... It was such a terrible idea it was all Lutra could do to keep her wits.
Aura's eyes widened considerably, with desperate fear of being parted from the group and Lutra's yelling. "Stay with Sora, stay with Sora!" she whimpered, attaching herself even more firmly to the keyblade master.
She shivered and shook her head furiously, haunted by the memory of a wooded alcove and sleeping, sleeping and never waking up. Morganna and the cat-like character Maha taking her away from Tsukasa... "I won't go! No! NO!" Aura shrieked, slowly panicking.
Something blurred in her vision. Like trying to find shapes in clouds, Lutra now reminded her of Maha. A fleeting thought of using the Data Drain passed through her mind. 'Data drain?' Aura froze in surprise. Oddly enough, she had no idea what that was. But to use it...
The little girl became oddly silent after her outburst and huddled towards Sora, her purple eyes now watching Lutra eerily.
Mozenrath nodded gravely at Lutra's points, finding he liked her the more he hung around her. Very sensible. Selfless but not stupid.
And then the screaming began.
He raised an eyebrow, and he reached up half dazedly when Xerxes shot to his arm in fright. He stroked the trembling creature lazily, all the while scowling, now.
"And we certainly don't need the constant tantrums keeping things behind schedule, either," he commented. "As the lady has said, it would be a danger to everyone, most of all the child." He paused, reminded again of what the Keybearer had said before, and he shook his head. "And don't go taking responsibility of her," he said to him. "/You/ are the one with the Keyblade. You /have/ to be focused on the mission. Dead weight will only distract you and just raise our chances of getting killed and losing a world."
"What do you suggest, then?" Arados interjected, apparently unfazed by the argument so far, but watching Aura very carefully. Her gaze turned searchingly to Mozenrath and Lutra. "Where will we leave her behind? And with who?"
Arados's wings fluttered in agitation. "To place her somewhere, find someone willing to take care of her, would only waste more time.
We've wasted much already." She paused and approached Aura, placing a hand on the little girl's head. "I say we take Aura with us. At least, for the benefit of setting out now and not hours later. One of us can guard the child or take turns."
She tilted her head towards Lutra. "There is no truly safe place. Any world can be destroyed by the Heartless. We can leave her here, thinking her safer, only to have the Heartless come and an even worse fate befall her. If one of us must watch her, I will." She shook her head. "But we must go."
Lutra was unimpressed by Aura's 'tantrum'. That's all it was in the mage's eyes: a fit thrown by a child who thought she might not get her way. Mozenrath had some sense at least...but then what Arados said had some merit as well. At least someone other than the supposed savior of the worlds was volunteering to babysit. Lutra hoped to herself the task of guarding Aura never fell on her shoulders...she was not good with children it seemed. "Very well," she said to the winged girl. "If you are volunteering to watch her in Sora's place then I will withhold my objection. However," she said quickly "I still think bringing a little girl is a foolish idea." One that they could easily regret, she added silently. Time would tell. But for now it seemed 'they had no choice'.
Sora sighed, running a hand through his hair, which was becoming a bit of a stressful habit. Mozenrath -did- have a point, he -was- the Keyblade Master, he really didn't need much more responsibility. Could he watch over Aura and still remain entirely focused on what he had to do? Probably not. She defiantly wouldn't be safe around him, she didn't seem to be able to fight and if everyone was too busy to protect her she could very well be killed. Anyone who was watching over her would be a bit distracted and they could very well end up becoming an easy target if Aura became a handful. Yes, bringing Aura was a bit foolish.
Yet, on the other hand, there didn't seem to be much of a choice. He doubted anyone in Traverse Town would be willing to take Aura in, and the child seemed rather determined to remain attached to his jacket arm. Besides, if they -did- leave her here, what was to stop the Heartless from coming there and killing her, as Arados had pointed out. Yes, it wasn't safe, but there wasn't a really choice in the matter.
This is guaranteed to lead to trouble..' Sora thought darkly. But then again, I seem to attract trouble like a magnet, so it's not like it would be much different. I just hope nothing happens to her. Even if someone else is watching her, she seems pretty much attached to me, and wouldn't be coming if she weren't. So....if she gets killed....no, I'm not going to let that happen, Keyblade Master or not.'
"Alright." He said after a moment. "Aura's coming. We'll take turns watching her, like Arados said. I know it's a bit foolish, but once again I don't think we have much of a choice. So...ah.....if there aren't any more objections...and if no one else is coming..." He trailed off, looking around the room, waiting to see if anyone else was going to say anything.
"I wanna come, I wanna come!!", Yasha shouted happily and loudly enough to deafen anyone in the room with sensitive hearing, not to mention just plain in the room. "Sora goes, Yasha goes, and Tidus goes!", she crowed joyfully, latching onto the arm of the afore mentioned blond. Only after doing so did it occur to her that maybe her 'best friend' wouldn't want to go wandering around the known and unknown universe. Although she couldn't begin to guess why not, from what she knew of him.
"Tidus gonna go too?"
Tidus briefly winced at the lack of feeling in his arm, before giving his friend an incredulous stare.
"Of course I'm going to go! What else am I going to do with my time if I'm not there to bug-- er... help-- Sora?"
Sora blinked, frankly a bit amazed. Wow...they're all coming? I expected at least someone to drop out...then again; none of them seem like the type to just drop out. Maybe it was kind of stupid to ask, it was like I already doubted them. Stupid me.'
"Thanks guys." Sora said with a small smile. "Now, if there aren't any more questions or anything.....ah, to hell with it." He said with a shake of his head, finally standing up and tossing his empty coffee cup in the trash. "Enough standing around, let's get going!"
---
Link opened his eyes, gazing around. What had just happened? One minute, he was in Hyrule... and then Zelda had played the ocarina, and then... falling.
"Hey!" The familiar voice of Navi cried, "Link, wake up! Hey!" Groaning, Link sat up and rubbed his temples. He'd never gotten used to this horrible time traveling... and he had thought it was over, now that Ganondorf was defeated.
But if it was over, then where had Zelda sent him?
Shakily, Link got to his feet.
"You're okay!" Navi cried, "That's great, because I thought you were never gonna wake up! You had me so worried, I didn't know what I would..."
Her voice faded out into a low buzzing as Link tuned her out. What was this place? He gazed around. This was like nothing he had ever seen before... it looked like a town of some sort, and though it was night, everything was lit up like stars. Signs, buildings, even little lights atop giant metal trees. He stared in wonder. Was it like magic?
There was a bell tower high up on the far edge of the... village. And at the other end, a giant staircase was before him, leading up to a giant door labeled in letters he didn't recognize.
Doors are always good; at least they lead somewhere. He started up the stairway, heading for it -- when there was a sudden flash of something black. Before he realized what had happened, he was surrounded by what looked like over a hundred small, black creatures.
Navi shot toward the closest one, hovering close by. "I don't recognize it, but the center of its energy is here -- try aiming for the chest!!"
Link nodded, and reached for his sword.
His hand swiped through air.
In a quick wave of panic, Link reached for his shield.
Nothing.
Longshot. Fairy bow. Megaton hammer. Anything!!
Nothing.
"Link!!" Navi shrieked as the monsters began closing in on the Hylian. "What's wrong?! Hurry up!"
Link backed away, whirling to see another wave of monsters approaching. He gazed at Navi, frantically trying to wave her away.
"What do you mean?! I can't just leave you...!"
Link shook his head, and that was when the monsters pounced on him. He cried out in pain, trying desperately to throw them off.
"LINK!!" Navi cried, "I-I'll go get help, okay?" She fluttered away from the stairs and to the right, hovering near doors and windows. "Hey! Listen!!" She called, "Somebody! My friend needs help! Somebody, help us!! Hey!!"
Her gaze fell on one of the buildings closest to the stairwell. Its door was opening, and a group of people was filing out! With a bit of hope, she swooped down and fluttered down to eye-level with them. "Hey! Listen!" She cried, "M-my friend, Link -- he was attacked by these monsters... and he's right down there! Please, help him!!" With that, she fluttered away, toward the army of Heartless pouncing on Link.
Sora didn't even pause to think. Someone was being attacked and that someone needed help. The Keybearer immediately tore after the small floating ball of light, deciding to question how the thing was talking and what it was later.
He didn't have to follow the light long, as it seemed her friend was in the center part of the second distract. Weaponless and surrounded by over a hundred Neo Heartless.
Sora vaulted over the wall, landing a few yards away from Link. He began slashing his way through the Neo Heartless, trying to make his way to him.
Link took no notice of Sora as he threw the Heartless from atop himself. Once one was gone, more took its place -- there was no end. Biting, clawing at him... at his chest. What were they after?
Link cleared the heartless off himself for a split second--enough to cover his chest with his arms. That didn't stop them, but it was enough to protect him. He looked over and finally noticed a boy not much younger than himself, fighting through the heartless almost effortlessly. In a short moment, he had forgotten about the monsters, and lowered his defenses. In that moment, he was knocked unconscious.
"LIIINK!!" Navi shrieked, diving into the pile of Heartless as Link collapsed. She fluttered near him, refusing to lose track of him. "Kid! Hey!!" No time for formalities. "He's over here! Don't lose him, please!" She fluttered close to his chest, shining a bright green to attract Sora's attention. She clutched the fabric of the tunic on his chest.
Lutra had been quick to follow Sora when she heard the little glowing ball of light's plea for help. Stopping at the railing where Sora leapt over, Lutra's eyes scanned the mass of Heartless, trying to spot the one they were here to save. She saw the flash of green clothing but it was quickly covered in another mass of black bodies. Lutra lifted her hands, ready to cast a healing spell...if only she could get a clear view! The talking light-ball flew out over the mass, stopping where Lutra last saw the green body. It screamed something, Link? Was that a name? Whatever it was, the now-screaming light served as a spotlight on Link's body. "Help is coming," she whispered and started casting one of her stronger Cure spells.
Link's eyes opened again, and he tried to stand up. The weight of the Neo Heartless on top of him kept him down, however, and he no longer had enough leverage to throw them off. To top that off, his left hand was throbbing, and he couldn't figure out why.
"Link! Come on, stay with me!" As was her luck, the spot she had chosen on his chest seemed to be close to where the Heartless were trying to...do whatever they were trying to do. "Get back, you jerks!" Navi spat, as the heartless tried to rip her off. "You can't have him!" She focused all her energy on glowing a bright white, hoping she could still be seen through all the monsters.
Sora slashed through wave after wave of heartless, but he couldn't figure out where the person was that he was supposed to be rescuing. The light he'd been following seemed to have vanished amid the almost solid wall of black antenna, claws, and glowing eyes.
And of course, the light thingy looks just like one of the Heartless' eyes, just my luck.' Sora thought darkly. Of course, at that moment something white caught his eye. He looked to his right and spotted the now pure white Navi.
Well that helps.' He thought. Too bad most of the Heartless were clustered around Link and Navi. Then again, for Sora that was a bit of an advantage. He held the Keyblade perfectly horizontal, putting all of his weight into it as he built up power.
"Sonic Blade!"
He became a gold and crimson blur, moving almost too fast to see and leaving a path of nothing in his wake. He dashed back and forth several times until he reached the final strike, sapphire and white energy mixing with what power already radiating from the Keyblade.
"Blast!"
The last lunge really was a bit like a sonic blast, the energy blowing up some loose stones in his passing. The Keybearer skidded to a stop in front of Link and Navi. After taking a moment to catch his breath he knelt down next to the currently unconscious Link.
Maybe I should cast Curaga? But didn't Lutra just heal him? He didn't loose his heart did he? I hope he didn't...' Sora thought as he checked over the damage.
"Nn.." Link groaned, opening his eyes and sitting up. His hand and chest were throbbing. A peach and brown blur above him was slowly focusing into the shape of a young boy -- not much younger than himself.
"Hey! You're awake!" Navi cried, nuzzling up to his neck. "That's great!"
Link stood up and wobbled, still only half-conscious.
"Hurry!" Navi cried, "They're gaining on us again!"
Sora grabbed Link's arm and pulled it over his shoulder so he could support the now half-conscious elf.
Of course, now Sora only had one arm to use the Keyblade with, which along with Link's added weight was going to make fighting rather tough. Sora looked up as the Heartless remaining from his attack were gathering together and were coming at both he and Link.
"...crap."
Tidus had just sat back to watch Sora fighting, sure that his friend could take on this small challenge.
Except that... now he couldn't. In having to help the other guy, Sora had limited his ability, and he was hemmed in. With nary another thought, the blonde sinspawn launched himself over the wall and into the mess of Heartless.
His Heart warmed his palm as he swung the Brotherhood about himself in a wide arc, attempting to get himself some room to battle. A smug smirk crossed his face, "C'mon, you think you can beat me?"
Skailer, on the other hand, was perched on the railing, watching the battle with a mixture of awe and disgust. Awe that these people would risk themselves so foolishly for someone they didn't know, and disgust that they would try so damned hard to fight for said stranger.
He hadn't planned on getting involved-- honestly, he hadn't-- but when one of the shadows came up out of the ground behind him, he suddenly found himself shoved off the wall and into the melee with a startled shout.
His knife skittered across the ground, and out of his reach.
Aeon would have no doubt hit Sora or the boy in the middle of the Heartless pile had he attacked before, but now the heartless were scattered and more spread-out... Grinning coldly Aeon took to the air. "Don't you vermin ever learn?" Forming a fireball in each hand he spun in mid-air, using the momentum to launch them both down towards the incoming heartless. In his haste to attack the black shadowy creatures, he failed to notice Skailer being ambushed.
Yasha had been right on Tidus' tail--so to speak at least--into the battle, and almost charged right into the blonde's blade. Taking a quick stumble into the ground, rolling, and jumping back up again all at a dash, the dragon girl didn't hesitate to get right into the thick of the inky black mess. Talons were outstretched and tearing at anything that gave off the stench of Heartless.
Arados followed after the others, using her glaive to slash into the crowd of Neo Heartless before casting Gravira once she had gotten somewhere in the middle of them. Eyeing the fountain and struck with a sudden idea, Arados launched herself into the air and glided over to it, slashing at it to spray a stream of water at the Heartless. When the water began to hit the ground and Heartless, she cast Blizzara to freeze some or used the wind from her wings to whack the pellets of ice at them.
Scanning the mass of Heartless monsters to try and scout out the others, she wondered for a moment exactly who these two new people might be. 'Someone the Heartless either fear or want, anyway....' She mused, continuing her attack, 'For them to use either this large or group or for them to fend it off by themselves.'
Link groaned, barely conscious enough to keep walking. The boy was supporting him, though, and Navi wouldn't let him fall into any sort of deep sleep, what with her constant shouting.
"Hey!! Hey!! Stay awake, okay?! Don't fall asleep, Link! Don't die!" Link wondered if he looked that battered if Navi mentioned dying. Navi turned, facing Sora. "Please, can you hurry? I think he needs help!!"
Sora grit his teeth, jumping back to dodge another Heartless' strike then slashing it down. I -am- hurrying! There's just a lot of Heartless here and it's not exactly easy to fight through them while carrying someone.' Then a thought hit him. Crap, this guy could die before I get through! Gee, I could have just healed him the first place and he might have been able to walk on his own!'
The Keybearer grunted, mentally berating himself for his stupidity. He held up the Keyblade and shouted "Curaga!" There was a sound like bells chiming and a gentle green glow covered Link for a moment before vanishing along with much of his wounds.
There. If he's not healed yet I'll just do it again. I'll just have to stretch my magic a bit...no big deal.' He thought before dodging again.
Link jerked into full awareness as he was healed, remembering his surroundings and walking forward with Sora. The edge of those monsters was just ahead, and in moments he away like a coward? Link didn't want to, but without something to fight with, what other choice did he have?
Navi squealed in delight as Link regained consciousness, and shouted encouragement to both Sora and Link. "Come on! You can do it! It's just ahead!" She turned yellow with glee.
With everyone distracted by the fighting, no one noticed Skailer getting his arse royally kicked as he attempted to make for his weapon.
Though everyone noticed when Skailer's forehead produced a new one for him.
The monkey-boy collapsed to the ground eyes wide open and blank, the kunai buried into his skull almost to the thickest part of it. Even the Heartless paused in their battle to take in the scene.
A calm voice came from the shadows, "Hmm, I didn't think I'd put that much power behind the throw," and a young man stepped out. His hair was silvery-gray, the pair of glasses on his nose glinting in the morning light and hiding his eyes.
He smiled pleasantly as he jumped from where he had been, to over top of Skailer's downed body. He was prepared to plunge his hand into the boy's chest and retrieve the Heart, when he was forced to duck a large, blue sword.
Tidus reversed his swing with a bit of effort, in an attempt to get rid of this new bastard.
The youth leapt backwards, boot coming down to smack the flat of Tidus' blade and send the blitzer off balance. He reached up to adjust his glasses, "I should introduce myself. I am Yakushi Kabuto, Second Commander under Orochimaru to the Emperor Kaitei. Pleasure to meet you."
"Skailer!!" Sora cried, eyes widening in shock as he watched the monkey-boy collapse. He twisted around, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of the boy where he had fallen and figure out if he was alright. It wasn't that hard to see, seeing all of the Heartless had stopped for a moment, giving the Keybearer a fairly clear view. What he saw nearly made his heart stop.
Skailer was laying there, dead, kunai knife buried into his skull.
"...No..." Sora whispered, sapphire eyes widening. No, no, no. We're only ten minutes into this and someone's died already!' His thoughts reeled. He'd just met Skailer the night before! He'd just gotten Skailer not to run away from him! He'd only just gotten the monkey- boy to trust him slightly! And it seems I managed to get him killed right after I met him!' The accusing thought flashed through his mind. ...If he hadn't followed...this wouldn't have happened. Maybe if I had stuck around to protect him more...but I couldn't have done that, because I had to come help this guy..."
The Keybearer's thoughts flew back to Link. He bit his lip. Now wasn't the time to be brooding over this! He'd worry about it later. At the moment he needed to worry about making sure no one else got killed.
At that moment Kabuto made his entrance. "I should introduce myself. I am Yakushi Kabuto, Second Commander under Orochimaru to the Emperor Kaitei. Pleasure to meet you."
'...Emperor Kaitei? Who is that!?' Sora wondered. Once again, he pushed the thought to the back of his mind. Link seemed to be weaponless at the moment, he'd have to get Link to someplace safe first, and then concentrate on this new enemy.
Sora, noting that they were near one of the alleyways, pushed Link into the first one. "Wind!!" Sora called out, casting Aeroga on the elf before turning and running back towards the battle. "Stay here!" He called to Link.
Lutra was still technically above the fighting, standing on the walkway while the heartless were crowded in the square below. She remained outside the main ring of the battle, casting Fire spells into the mass until suddenly everything stopped. Lutra's sharp ears picked up the sickening sound of a body dropping and Sora screaming Skailer's name.
"Damn," Lutra hissed. She should have been watching her allies closer, she might have stopped.... Running down the walkway, getting closer to Skailer's body Lutra saw the weapon sticking out of his head. There was no way she could have saved someone from /that/. Tidus had already found the culprit and was attacking, without much success. If she couldn't help Skailer, she could at least help defeat his killer. Lifting up her hands, she held them open in front of her. Looking through the curved palms at Kabuto she whispered the words to a Thunder spell. Purple sparks formed between her fingers, then larger, stronger cracks of energy formed on where she saw Kabuto
standing.Link coughed and stared, bewildered, at the wind swirling around him. "Hey! Listen!" Navi cried, fluttering toward Link's nose -- and promptly getting swept up in the Aeora spell. "Aaiiee!"
Link watched Navi swirl around for a moment before finally catching the faerie in his palm. He opened his hands just enough to let her talk, making sure his friend didn't get caught in the wind again.
"You've got to help him, Link!" Exclaimed Navi. With a nod, Link charged forward toward the Heartless.
"No, no, no!!" Navi shrieked, grabbing a lock of Link's hair and pulling him back. He stopped in his tracks and stared at her, dumbfounded.
"Not like that!" Navi explained. "We need to find you a weapon. I'll search around, okay? You get to safety for the moment!" Navi fluttered off into the crowd, and Link stared after her. Finally, he glanced around, wondering how, exactly, he was to "get to safety". Looking up, he found a balcony looming above him. The railing would be easy to climb on to, if he could only reach it. He was never too good at jumping heights.
Climbing, however, was a different story. He noted the window of a closed shop, or house, or something -- there was a flowerbed on the sill, a few feet off the ground. From there, he could reach the edge of the balcony. Quickly, he stepped onto it and took a moment to balance himself, Finally, he jumped. His hand grasped one of the pillars that held up the rail. He started to pull himself up, when something latched onto his ankle.
Looking down, Link saw one of the Heartless had grabbed onto his boot. The Aeora spell had died down! With a grunt, he tried to kick the monster off, but to no avail. He slammed his leg against the window he had climbed, and he heard the glass shatter and felt the Heartless lose its grip. Before any more could come, Link pulled himself onto the balcony. He was safe... for now. With a sigh of relief, Link leaned against the wall, and slowly slid down into a sitting position.
Meanwhile, Navi fluttered over the battle, trying to find something that could be of use. She gasped and stopped short as she caught sight of Skailer. Fresh blood was still pouring from the wound in his head. For a brief moment, Skailer disappeared, and she could see Link in his place. "If I hadn't been there to get help... that could have been..."
Scolding herself to think like that, she kept searching. She had to make sure Link didn't end up like that! And in order to do that, she had to--
What was that? Did she see a knife? It was for a brief second -- the crowd of heartless was blocking her view. Deciding to risk getting closer, she dove into the mess of Heartless, and caught view of the blade once again.
"Finally!" She grasped the handle, but couldn't lift it. With a grunt, she tried to drag it around. She looked up just in time to see a Heartless foot coming down on her. With a squeak, Navi forgot the knife and let go. To avoid being faerie-jam, Navi soared high above the battle.
"How can I get that thing to Link?" She pondered, trying to find someone close by that could grab the weapon. Link's rescuer -- She didn't know his name was Sora -- was too far away. With another sweeping glance, she saw Lutra in mid-spell. Maybe after she was finished, the faerie could ask her...
Navi gazed in amazement at the sparks flying from Lutra's fingers. Not wanting to get caught in the spell, Navi stayed a short distance behind Lutra, waiting until the spell was finished.
Being a faerie, Navi was well aware how much concentration magic required.
Sora was vaguely aware of Link clambering to safety and Navi yelling something about a weapon. However, at the moment Sora's mind was focused on disposing of Skailer's murderer.
He charged forward, gathering energy around him as he went. He pulled his arm back so the Keyblade was over his right shoulder, fist clenching on the handle for a moment. "Strike!" He called out, throwing the weapon.
The Keyblade traveled in a sort of arc, a spinning whirlwind of crimson and gold, aiming for Kabuto.
Still recovering from the rather painful experience of behind hit with a Thunder spell-- not that he knew what it was-- Kabuto's reaction to danger was a little off balance.
He dodged, yes, but the Keyblade still clipped his side and sent him spinning. Crashing into the ground, the silver-haired ninja grunted, rolling backwards and getting back onto his feet. One hand went to his side, pain pulsating out from where the weapon had hit. Removing his hand, he was surprised to notice that his hand was damp, and a glance at the injury revealed a widening patch of darkness.
Eyes widening behind his glasses, the young man cursed in his head. That was a blunt instrument! How had it managed to injure him so?
He found himself reacting on instinct, leaping out of the line of danger as once again, Tidus' sword ripped through the air where his stomach had been. Bouncing back a few times, he grit his teeth. It didn't look like he'd get the time to initiate one of his self- healing techniques until he could get away. And Orochimaru-sama wanted the boy's Heart for the Emperor.
He didn't exactly know why either man wanted it, but he was proud to have been given the task. Out of everyone in the Imperial Forces, he was the one selected-- a member of the Imperial-allied forces of Orochimaru. Someone who wasn't even a full-fledged citizen of the Empire.
Kabuto had to get the Heart before he could leave. Which meant he had to get back to the boy-- so he used his vaunted ninja speed to leap back to the dead monkey's side. As he was jumping, he preformed the seals for the technique he was required to use, and promptly plunged his hand into the boy's chest, in search of the much wanted Heart.
The Keyblade, having at least grazed its target, flew back to Sora's hand. During it's return trip Sora watched as Kabuto leapt to Skailer's side and, after making several odd symbols with his hands, plunged one into the dead boys chest.
Sora's eyes widened. So it was Skailer's heart that this attacker was after! Obviously Kabuto didn't know that Skailer's half of a heart was in his Behälter. The Keybearer didn't plan on giving Kabuto the chance to figure it out.
With a cry, he flung the Keyblade once more. Whoever this new enemy was, he had taken Skailer's life. Sora wasn't going to let him take Skailer's heart too.
As Sora attacked, Navi took this time to flutter next to Lutra. After taking a quick glance backward to make sure Link was okay, she spoke. "Hey, um, can you help me? My friend can help you guys fight, but... he needs a weapon." She paused, glancing worriedly at Link once more, then back at Lutra. "He's the one that the brown-haired boy saved. Link. The only weapon I can find is that knife next to... next to that poor man with the knife... through his head." Navi suddenly had second thoughts about sending Link into battle, but pushed them aside. Link would be okay. "I'd pick it up myself, but I can't lift it. He's on the balcony behind us. Is there any way you can get it to him?"
"What?" Pleased to see the spell had worked well, Lutra was preparing to cast another one when the bright talking light fluttered before her eyes. This close, Lutra could see it was a very small winged creature, but the details were hard to see through the light. Lutra squinted her eyes and listened to Navi's request. It seemed like a lot to ask, just so this Link could help them fight...but Lutra's life as an adventurer had taught her to answer pleas for help. "All right, all right. I'll do it," she murmured. Taking a few moments to spot the knife and the balcony overhead. "And by the way, the brown haired boy's name is Sora." She noticed a momentary clearing of Heartless as Kabuto suddenly landed by Skailer's body and...Lutra shuddered and clutched her own chest self consciously for a moment. Steeling herself, the Mithra gripped the railing and vaulted herself over, letting a stray Heartless cushion her landing. One hand reaching over her head to make sure her chapeau didn't come off, Lutra darted forward towards the knife. Sticking low to the ground so as not to make herself a target for Sora's flying Keyblade, Lutra grabbed the knife in her free hand. She was so close to Skailer and Kabuto now, she was tempted to just use the knife against him... No, she wasn't strong enough, but she could do something else.
"Holy light, hear my plea...Dia!" A holy spell, Dia wasn't the strongest spell in Lutra's arsenal by far, but it was certainly one of the quickest to cast. Pulling back once it was cast, Lutra returned to the railing...kicking off Heartless as she went.
"Hey, tell your friend Link to get down here. I've got his weapon," she said trying to keep from gulping air too loudly. Navi had asked that she bring the knife to Link, yes...but really: all the way across the square, dodging heartless and weapons, then up a building to a balcony? Lutra was getting too old for stunts like that.
"Right!" Navi soared off across the square to where Link was resting.
"Hey! Listen!" She called to the Hylian, "Link! We got you a weapon, come on, follow me! The cat lady in the weird hat has it!" Link got to his feet and bit his lip. His leg was hurting from slamming against the window, but he ignored it. Navi led him along the balcony, leading him a little closer to the First District doorway as he crossed in front of the stairs. Finally, he met up with Lutra, leaning against the railing and catching his breath. Finally, he looked up at her questioningly.
"This is Link." Navi introduced. "Link, this is... um..."
All the way across the square, Link was only a blonde and green blur to Lutra. The closer they got, the better Lutra could see him. Up close, Lutra decided he was actually a sort of funny looking Hume. Or maybe he was just a very young Elvaan, with those pointed ears? No, there weren't any Elvaan anymore...he must just be funny looking. "Link, this is... um..." "Lutra," she said and handed Link the knife, handle first. Polite conversation would have to wait for another time.
"Thank you." Navi sighed.
Link smiled gratefully and took the knife, stepping back from Lutra and holding it up above his head proudly.
"Oh, for goddess' sake, Link!" Navi cried, "We don't have time for that!!"
Link turned slightly pink and stepped further back, giving the weapon a test swing and getting used to the weight and feel of it. Not exactly the Master or Biggoron sword, but it would do nicely. With one last thankful glance, Link leaped over the railing into the mess of battle below.
Aeon had been carefully fireballing the Heartless from his position in the air, finding it more difficult as more people joined the fray.
Finally noticing Skailer and Kabuto's chest exploration the phoenix sinspawn screeched in anger. How in hell did he miss that happening?
Collecting a ball of fire in his hand he hurled it at Kabuto, his rage adding extra force to the throw.
"Get away from him you murderer!"
Link had already figured out that Kabuto was the enemy in this situation, but to be of any use, he'd need to get over there.
However, between himself and Kabuto, there was still an army of Heartless that was attacking his new acquaintances. Link wasn't experienced enough with this new weapon to go directly for Kabuto, but maybe he could at least stop the minor annoyances.
With a loud cry, Link charged forward, slashing the closest heartless with his new weapon. Navi floated near their chests, shining brightly to give Link a clear target. He kept charging forward, but the Heartless seemed unlimited. This was going to be difficult, but not impossible.
Link cleared a small opening for himself and quickly held his sword out to the side, gathering his strength in his left arm. As the Heartless closed in on him, he unleashed the spin attack, which took care of those closest to him. Hopefully, this would help the others stay focused.
He could feel... something... eating away at his chakra reserves, as he jumped out of the way of the flying Keyblade. He didn't know what it was exactly-- except that it would make for an excellent technique to use against unsuspecting nins, case in point himself-- but he knew that if it persisted for much longer, he would be unable to make any sort of escape-- with or without the Heart of his target.
And it was starting to look like he'd be going without it. Though he'd had only scant moments to try and grasp the metaphysical Heart, Kabuto was well versed in exactly where it was settled in the body. No matter the physical form, the Heart was always, always, always in the same place-- the center of the chest.
The monkey didn't have one there, and that confused him. Where else would the Heart be? If you didn't have one, you were a Heartless, but the corpse obviously hadn't been...
His thoughts were scattered as he was rather abruptly hit by a massive ball of flames. The force of the attack sent him flying back to crash into the far wall, before slumping to the ground. The flames licked at his skin, hungrily devouring his clothing.
With a grunt, he rolled away from the wall, intending to put out the flames-- and unintentionally getting out of the way of Tidus' latest wild swing. The watery blade of the Brotherhood slammed home into the ground, lodging itself there for a moment before the blonde haired blitzer managed to yank it free.
Kabuto cursed as he finally got the flames out, dodging another few attacks from his opponents' blades and their unknown jutsu. He had been mis-informed, obviously; he had not known that they had such powerful ninjutsu on their side, and that meant that he would have to rethink the approach.
Without hesitation, he bit the tips of his index and middle fingers. He reached up and gripped the opposite shoulder with his bleeding fingers, "You're strong, I'll give you that," he grinned viciously at the group that still fought the Heartless, "and I am injured. So I'll be off-- for now. I will get the boy's Heart. Ja" and he rammed his fingers into his skin, through the material of his shirt. The blood activated a very specific seal placed there by the Emperor himself.
Kabuto vanished, 'warping' through the remnants of the End of Days and back to Orochimaru's base to report his failure, leaving the group to deal with the Heartless.
How was he to know that he'd left a very distinct trail through the darkness? How was he to know that the half Heartless dragoniod Yasha would be able to sense it?
Tidus snarled turning his attention back to the Heartless now that the murderer was gone. His frustration at not being able to kill the bastard was taken out on the hapless Heartless.
Aeon had watched eagerly from the air as the fireball impacted on Kabuto, chuckling at the man's attempts to put out the flames while dodging blades. What happened next however didn't amuse him. The murderous bastard bit his fingers and then suddenly vanished. Practically dropping back down to the ground Aeon swore. "Where did he go?"
Sora held his hand up high as the Keyblade returned to his hand. All the energy powering it had faded because his attack had missed. And now he wouldn't have another chance to attack Skailer's murderer, as the mysterious youth had vanished as quickly as he had come. The Keybearer wouldn't get a chance to avenge the boy.
Sora's fist clenched around the Keyblade tightly, eyes squeezing shut. He'd barely known Skailer. He'd only known him for a night. Why did he feel so sad? Maybe it was because Sora felt the boy's death was his fault? Sora wasn't really sure himself.
But he was sure of one thing. If he ever found Skailer's murderer, he was going to...what -was- he going to do? With the appearance of Kabuto, it seemed so many more problems had been brought with him. And somehow this felt like just the beginning.
Sora didn't get much more time to think about this, however, as at that moment a Heartless made itself known by jumping at him. Sora narrowly dodged to the side, sliding into his fighting stance, trying to focus on the battle at hand.
He charged at the remaining heartless, charging through one after the other. His face was a sort of poker face, revealing no emotion, save for his eyes, which shown with rage. Inside his mind was reeling, a turmoil of sadness, regret, and slowly building anger. The emotions were swirling within, numbing the ever constant emptiness that he had come to grow used to.
Kabuto was gone, and with him the group's chance for vengeance. The heartless were dwindling in number, but still a force to be dealt with. Lutra remained on the walkway above the fighting, picking off Heartless with her magic. It looked like she was choosing them at random, but really she was carefully minding where her allies where and where their attacks were aimed. Lutra's spells found the heartless that the others missed, not letting a drop of mana be wasted on needless attacks. If it bothered her that Skailer's killer had gotten away Lutra did not show it. This scene of death was not unfamiliar to Lutra, she had seen it happen in battles for years. She had gotten a good look at Kabuto when she fetched the knife for Link, as well as a trace of his scent. The next time, and Lutra was certain there would be a next time, they met he would not escape so easily. "Sora!" she called over the din of battle to reach the Keybearer's ears. "Let's hurry up here. The sooner we clean up the sooner we can hunt down that man!"
Hearing Lutra's call, Sora nodded in reply, though the mithra probably couldn't see it. They really needed to finish this up, and he had just the attack for it...but he wasn't quite sure if it would work. Ah well, only one way to find out...
He just needed permission first, that was all. I'm sure if anyone would be willing, Tidus and Yasha would.' "Tidus, Yasha!" Sora called. "I think I have an attack that can wipe these guys out, but I need power from two friends for it to work! You think you guys would be willing to volunteer!?"
Leaping into the air, the blonde put all his falling momentum behind the swing of his blade, embedding it into the ground after splitting a couple Heartless in half. It was as he was pulling the blade free that he heard Sora's call, and began battling his way back towards the Keyblade Master.
Tidus grinned with all his teeth, "So long as it kicks Heartless ass, I'll do it! How 'bout you, Yasha?"
"OKAY! Let's go let's go let's go!" Yasha crowed from one clearing in the battlefield at the same moment she had decided to kick a Heartless in the stomach with her foot, the talons sticking out on the other side of the dark creature. With a wail of pain it disintegrated, the dragonic girl wasting no time to get both feet back on the ground and then off again with a powerful leap.
Gleefully bounding through the inky black sea alit with dozens of balefully glowing yellow eyes to where Sora's delicious crown of spiky brown hair could be seen, Yasha's eyes wandered over to the prone form of Skailer, wondering why he was laying down like that. Surely taking a nap with all those Heartless around couldn't be a good idea! Everyone had been screaming at that strange Heartless-man, shouting even more bizarre words that the dragon girl knew not the meaning of. Things like 'murderer'. What could that mean? Yasha decided to ask Tidus afterwards, spotting the blond converging on Sora's position just as she herself arrived in front of the Keyblade wielder.
Yasha offered a large, fanged grin to the two, flapping her wings excitedly(and knocking over a Heartless or three in the process). "Com'on com'on, let's go Yummy Hair!"
Sora nodded as Tidus and Yasha moved closer, crouching low.
"Courage!" He called out, rearing back, Keyblade held high. Both Yasha and Tidus glowed red for a moment. The glow then drained from both of them, along with much of their energy. Both streams of crimson converged at the Keyblade, and then vanished into the weapon. Once again, the gold and crimson glow sparked around the Key, the gold solidifying and the entire area becoming bathed in red. Sora flipped upwards then plunged the Keyblade into the ground, swinging around as red and white light gathered around him. His feet came down on a great, light-filled crest and the energy exploded everywhere, enveloping the Heartless and momentarily blinding everyone.
It eventually dissipated, gold sparkles lifting in the air and the red fading away, not a single Heartless remaining. Sora pulled the Keyblade from the ground, dismissing it with a flash of light.
He didn't really need to think about what to do next, it was obvious. Skailer had been killed, and they needed to bring justice to the one responsible. The question was simply how to find him. Who knew how many worlds were out there? Kabuto could easily be on any of them. But Yasha may have been able to sense him...
"Yasha? You know that man who disappeared? Since you can sense darkness and all, can you sense where he went?" Sora asked.
Yasha blinked dizzily for a moment, still attempting to recover from the energy drainage. Shaking her head, sending long strands of black hair flying, she focused her limited attention span on what Sora seemed to be addressing to her. She promptly blinked again.
"Man? What man? You mean that Heartless-man? That wasn't a man, just - looked- like one." The dragonic girl commented sagely. Or at least as intelligent as she got. This was Yasha, after all.
Sora frowned. 'Not human?' He than shook his head. That wasn't important now. What mattered was hunting down the man. "Yes, the Heartless-man! Can you sense where he is!?" He demanded.
Yasha was slightly puzzled at Sora's harsh tone, but decided to ignore it. Maybe he'd cheer up a little when she told him! She bobbed her head energetically, hopping a little."Suresure! Heartless-man left his stink all over the place! Inky black mess." To emphasize her point, she pointed up in a westerly direction in the forever-starry night sky. "He's thataway!"
Never once did it occur to the half-Heartless that she happened to be pointing at half a dozen or so tiny specks in the sky at once.
Sora nodded, saying nothing. Yasha had gotten them to the world where Aeon was just fine; he trusted she would be able to point them in the right direction. She would show him where Skailer's murderer went.
He wasn't standing too far from Skailer's body, only a few yards away. So after a moment of silence, he began to walk towards the fallen boy.
The quiet after the chaos of battle was almost unbearable, he swore his footsteps sounded a lot louder then they should have. His breathing was a bit heavier then usual after fighting, and he could feel his sweat had dampened his clothes. He was shaking slightly, though he wasn't sure why. Thoughts were rushing trough his head, a swirling mess of emotion, accusations, and memories.
He finally reached Skailer's body and got a good look at his face. Shocked, empty eyes stared back at him, a small pool of blood now coating a portion of his hair and the
ground.Sora slumped to his knees, shaking slightly. He'd seen much over the past few years, done many things, but there wasn't anything that could have prepared him for this sight. A sight he'd likely be carrying to the grave.
'I'm sorry!' He wanted to say, though of course he knew the boy couldn't hear him. I didn't mean to get you killed! It's all my fault and I'm sorry!' But of course he didn't speak this. There wasn't a point to it.
'...it's all my fault, and there's nothing I can do to fix it. But...if I can't fix it...' He thought, eyes drifting to Skailer's Heart Behälter, the sapphire jewel hanging from a chain around his neck. ...then I'll find the guy who did it, and make him pay...' Sora grabbed hold of the chain and slowly pulled it over Skailer's head, then dangled the jewel in front of his eyes. And the guy who ordered it, this emperor...he must be the one behind this. I have to stop him, and I will. I have to.'
The gem felt warm, Skailer's half of a heart still inside of it. If Skailer can't be with us on this, then I'll make it so at least his heart can be with us.'
Sora slowly stood, then pulled the chain over his head, the warm gem hanging directly over his chest, where his heart should have been. If Skailer can't carry his heart...than I will for him.'
The Keybearer turned, and began to walk towards the double doors to the First Distract. "Come on guys." He said quietly, voice cracking despite his determined tone. "We're going to hunt down that man. And when we find him, he'll pay. And that emperor' of his? We're going to stop him."
And so ends Chapter Two. As of last night, Chapter Three has been begun. Have fun waiting for it!