2 – Consequences of Solving a Mystery

Several Heartless were quickly flying and dashing across buildings while chasing the cat, the rabbit, and the two foxes.

Kitsuko was flying above the town, her dark blue wings glowing like the moon, convinced that they had already escaped the Heartless. Akane flew above her pursuers, her midnight black wings almost making her unseeable to all above. She was also convinced the heartless couldn't catch her as she swooped high over the ground.

Kitsuko called out to Akane, "The first district is over there!". Suddenly she looked behind her, and a group of three Wyvern heartless were catching up to them. "Okay," Akane yelled back, noticing the Wyverns as Kitsuko did. "Let's fly faster so they can't catch up to us," Akane suggested. "Yeah," said Kitsuko, although she couldn't fly as fast as Akane.

They reached the first district, Kitsuko landed on the ground, and pointed to the Accessory Shop. "Let's hide in here!"

"Okay," Akane said, as she started to run to the shop, Aiko still on her head.

The Accessory Shop was empty except for the regular shopkeeper, who looked quite bored.

Kitsuko gazed at the fire, thinking. "Hey, I heard of a guy around here who builds Gummi Ships. We should try to find him." Kieon was still clinging to her shoulder. Aiko hopped off Akane's head, and took a nap on the floor…Akane poked Aiko curiously to see what she was doing. Akane had forgotten everything, so she wouldn't know what Aiko was doing.

Kitsuko asked, "What is your name anyway? I'm Kitsuko, a half-demon. About the ship...well, I dunno lets ask around to see if anyone knows anything about it."

"My name is Akane.. Its nice to meet you Kitsuko.." Akane replied simply, as she continued to poke Aiko.

Kitsuko looked at Akane curiously and said, "...Is there something wrong? You seem kinda...distant."

Kieon walked toward Aiko and looked at her analytically. She told him, "You must be quite strong if you taught her magic. Where exactly did you come from?"

Aiko opened one eye lazily. "I am from hollow bastion.. But since the 'Kingdom Hearts' incident occurred, I ended up here. I had to teach Akane magic because of her situation and the consequences that have occurred and may occur because of it…"

Kieon's eyes narrowed slightly. "Hm. Her 'situation'? 'Consequences'? You seem to be hiding much more than I originally thought. And if you are from Hollow Bastion, you may very well have encountered the one who made Kitsuko who she is. Care to explain?"

"I don't know anything about Kitsuko, sorry. Akane's said 'situation' is that she is mutated with a heartless, and that is a very unwonted occurrence…Which means there was magic in her. Good magic at that. And I don't believe

the two can exist in one human, the good and evil can't mix, which could add to even more memory loss. She could completely lose herself in the heartless mutation, or the magic could go bad and she could be lost in that. Or at least that is what I've predicted, according to the circumstances."

Kitsuko hasn't noticed that Aiko and Kieon were talking, because they were whispering.

Kieon spoke again to Aiko. "That may lead to a disaster; It doesn't sound like she's doing well. Kitsuko seems 'stable' at the time - that is, I don't think that she will 'mutate' any time soon. What have you planned to do about Akane? "

Aiko replied, "I haven't planned anything. I haven't found out how to get rid of either of them. But I am trying to find it out. It's close to impossible to find out what exactly IS there, and how to get rid of it will be even harder."

Kieon sighed. "It may be difficult to do something, even if we figure out exactly what we need to do. Perhaps we should seek the advice of Squall. He always seems to know what to do. You do know who he is, right? Akane may have lost her memories but I assume you are fine?"

Aiko, "I found Akane after this happened, so I wasn't affected by it. I don't know anyone by the name of Squall, I've only been here a little before I found Akane, so I didn't get to meet anyone."

Kieon sneaked a pathetic look at Kitsuko. "Unfortunately, Kitsuko hates him so I will have to sneak off to talk to him later...If I have the time. Right now, I think we all need to pay a visit to Hollow Bastion. I have a feeling that there is something there."

In the meantime, Kitsuko had been questioning the shopkeeper, and now came to speak to Akane. "Yes, there is a guy named Cid, who specializes in Gummi Ships. He hasn't been seen in a while, though...I don't think we can find him. We'll need another way."

"That sounds like a good plan," Aiko replied.

"Okay, but where do you think we will find him?" Akane asked, looking away from Aiko.

Kitsuko gazed out the window. "I don't know...I'm afraid he's in another world. There seems to be no one that can help us here..." Her face slightly darkened as she thought more and more about how few options they were beginning to have left...And she looked down at her necklace, and muttered. "There is always one other way."

"There is?" Akane asked. She didn't know of any ways to get from one world to another. She wondered what possible actions they could take, and where Cid could have gone. "What other world could he have gone to?" Akane asked.

Kieon looked up at Kitsuko, and Kitsuko looked down at Kieon. Kitsuko explained, "There is a world called Hollow Bastion that I haven't been to in a while. Something tells me, that's where we need to go. And that might also be where other people are..." Kieon stared motionless at Kitsuko, unsure of whether it would be safe for her to use her necklace. Although it was unsafe, it appeared to be their only choice.

"Oh," Akane said, pausing for a moment. "But I thought you wanted to go to Twilight Town.. "Akane continued thinking about how exactly they could get to Hollow Bastion…and why they needed to. "What made you decide Hollow Bastion was somewhere we needed to be instead of Twilight Town?" Akane asked unsurely.

Kitsuko fidgeted a bit, then said, "To tell you the truth, I'm not sure. But first of all, Hollow Bastion is closer, so it'd be easier to get to without a gummi ship. Also, if Cid is there, we could get ourselves a ship and be able to travel to Twilight Town afterwards more easily, or to any other world we may need to go to." In the back of her mind, however, she thought it would be easier to get to Twilight Town without a gummi ship. But since this thought had no logic, she didn't say anything.

"Okay, that sounds like a good idea then..But what is there that we could use instead of a gummi ship?" Akane asked. Even Aiko wasn't sure about it, she hopped up in shock at the last statement.

Kitsuko strained a smile to seem more reassuring, however, she was nervous at her own thoughts. She knew that they needed to get to another world, but at what cost? The only way she could think of was to use her necklace...which held the spirit of the twilight chimera, the beast bonded to Kitsuko as her guardian. The beast which fed only on fresh human blood.

"Well, I think I know a way, but...It's not safe." Kitsuko said sternly.

"What are the consequences of its use?" Aiko asked, before Akane could utter a word. Akane couldn't even imagine what could be used instead of a gummi ship to travel from world to world.

Kitsuko tried to explain, as her necklace ominously reflected the light of the fireplace. "This necklace holds the spirit of my guardian, the Twilight Chimera. It can help me in just about any way, but not without its costs. It needs to devour human blood every time its powers are used. So, we could safely ride it to any world, but everyone in this town would need to be sacrificed."

"But there is no way we could do something like that!" Aiko argued.

"Yeah.." Akane said, surprisingly agreeing with Aiko. She couldn't imagine doing somthing..so..malicious as to kill someone for travel.

But wait.. There was a voice that said it was good, and all the people weren't innocent.. something that she didn't agree with at all. The voice came from her now appearing wings, her eyes widened as she thought, 'No! Go away!' but the voice still persisted. Akane screamed, as everything went blank. The heartless had started to break that ever-delicate balance.

Kitsuko was at first alarmed by Akane's change in behavior. However, she then sensed the darkness...darkness which reminded her of her demon side...of the darkness in her heart. She grasped the necklace in her hand and it began to glow. Then she muttered, in a darker voice, "Those pitiful humans have no reason to live. It wouldn't matter if they all died...They deserve it."

Kieon's fur stood up as a shiver ran down her spine. She took a few steps back. With Akane passed out on the floor and Kitsuko acting strange, Aiko did what any rabbit in her place could. PANIC! She franticly tried to wake Akane, and when that didn't work, she spoke to Kieon, "What happened to Kitsuko?" she asked, as it was all she could think of to ask.

Kieon didn't know what to say, for once. "I'm sorry, she gets like this sometimes...I'm afraid there is little in our power that we can do. Please, just make sure Akane is safe.."

Kitsuko's mind went blank for a moment, and suddenly, the first thing that came to her mind was the scent of a human nearby. She rapidly turns around and faces the shopkeeper, which was by now ducking behind the counter and whimpering.

Aiko didn't know what to do, she got close to Akane to attempt to keep her safe, but wasn't sure what she could to help her. She didn't want Akane's family to be destroyed, for when she starts remembering, because she was fairly sure. If that happened, Akane would have much less of a chance of even wanting her memory back, because everything and everyone who could prove it would be gone.

Kieon sensed Aiko's worrying. Desperately, she called out to Kitsuko. "Kitsuko, please go easy! Akane is not safe! Don't kill, please! There must be another way!" Kitsuko turns away from the shopkeeper. She did not want to defy her partner or hurt her new friends, but the necklace was still glowing, as if the spirit was urging to come out...

Aiko looked away from Akane, and to Kitsuko. "Kieon is right! If you do this, more horrible things could happen than you believe at this moment! You may not even know about how many loose ends there could be between you and these innocent people!" Aiko said, turning, again, to Akane. She worried that something far worse could happen.

Kitsuko grasped her own head, trying to control herself. She thought to herself, "I've gotta control myself...or these people will get hurt...but is that a bad thing? Of course it is...but not really..." Her mind was filled with confused thoughts as she trembled, trying to hold back her power.

Kieon looked out the window. "We've got to get someone to help us - fast! She can't hold back for long!"

"Okay! But who should I go find!" Aiko asked frantically, as she made her way to the door.

Kieon leaped to Akane's side, to try to protect her just in case something would happen. "I don't know, find anyone! Maybe there IS someone around here!"

Kitsuko dropped to her knees, still trembling. Her unstable energy emitted a small shockwave that broke all the glass in the shop.

"Okay, I'll hurry!" Aiko said, as she frantically ran out of the door. "Is there anyone who can help! This is very serious!" She yelled as she ran around, searching for anyone who could help "This involves the heartless it it--" She yelled again, only to be cut off by a guy, who carried a sword..

"What is it?.." he asked.

"Its Kitsuko!" Aiko said. "Something's wrong, and if her necklace isn't stopped everyone in this town will die!" Aiko tried to say a bit more discreetly so no one would panic. "She is in the Accessory shop!" Aiko said, and the guy went to the accessory shop. Aiko followed him unsurely. She didn't know who he was.

Kitsuko was standing near the counter, holding up the shopkeeper by the neck. He was being choked nearly to death...And on Kitsuko's face was a smirk. Her eyes were cold, and her necklace was glowing with a dark purple aura.

Kieon was still next to Akane, nearly whimpering in fear. She hated to see Kitsuko like this, but there was nothing she could do..

Aiko and the guy rushed into the room, and almost automatically tried to get Kitsuko away from the shopkeeper. "What can we do to stop Kitsuko?" Aiko asked as she tried to help the guy get Kitsuko away from the shopkeeper.

Kitsuko noticed the guy. She tossed the half-dead shopkeeper at his feet. Still in a demonic voice, she muttered, "Everyone will perish...Their blood will be devoured...Their hearts will be lost..."

Kieon looked at the guy with hope, but she was still not sure if he would be good enough to stop Kitsuko. Slowly, the spirit of the necklace was taking hold of Kitsuko's heart.

"It's not worth it Kitsuko!" Aiko said as she tried to help with the situation. Squall attacked Kitsuko, to see if it would work.

"Hey! Don't attack her, that won't help!" Aiko yelled, hoping she would be proven wrong and it would work..Such false optimism!

Kitsuko jumped back, caught off guard by someone who was trying to actually fight back. The necklace still had control of her. As soon as the first drop of human blood would be spilled, the beast would probably emerge...If Kitsuko wouldn't be stopped first.

Kieon was watching carefully. She knew that Squall was strong enough to stop her, but because Kitsuko despises him, she would not give in easily. Kieon tried to think of a way to make her understand...

Aiko jumped back, away from the two, for fear of getting caught in the crossfire. She didn't know either of them very well, so she didn't know what exactly to expect.

Squall attacked Kitsuko's necklace, in an attempt to help Kitsuko to gain control by making it weaker. Apparently, this was working; his attacks on the necklace were making it weak enough for it to lose its hold on Kitsuko.

Kitsuko flinched and the necklace's control slightly weakened. With her back to the wall, Kitsuko began to feel nervous. She engulfed herself in fox-fire and tried to dash past squall toward the door to the outside. By being in a more open space, she had the advantage, and she could cast spells more freely...However, the necklace's power was very slowly diminishing.

Squall let her go past him and quickly followed her, quickly attacking the necklace, giving her little time to attack back between attacks.

Kitsuko got hit by the attacks and winced. She jumped on top of the roof and cast a blue Thundaga attack.

Kieon was still inside with Akane, where it was safer, and was watching them by looking out the broken window.

Squall attempted to dodge the thunder, but was still hit, in his right arm. He continued attacking, this time using his left arm. As he jumped onto the slanted roof, with less than good balance against Kitsuko, he still continued to attack Kitsuko's necklace.

Kitsuko began to sweat as she was nearly freed from the necklace's grasp. She used her wind power (similar to Aero, but not defensive) to try to make Squall fall off the roof. She was too scared to attack him directly, so she only used spells.

Kieon began to feel more relieved. "I think he can do it -- Kitsuko will be fine-ish."

"That's great!" Aiko said, a bit relieved as she began to watch the battle too.

Outside, Squall was having a bit of a hard time against the wind. He leaned forward but still slid a bit, until he finally had to jump and attack Kitsuko's necklace as hard as he could. He wasn't sure if he would have enough balance afterward to stay on the building, but he knew if he didn't, the necklace would gain control over Kitsuko, and the chimera would kill everyone in this world, including him…

Kitsuko yelled in pain as she was attacked, and the necklace stopped glowing! She jumped off of the building and dropped to her knees, back to her normal self. However, she became very tired from being under the control of the chimera...so she fell unconscious.

Kieon ran outside and examined her. "She will be alright. Her energy was only drained. And the chimera is dormant once again.." She turned to Squall. "Thank you.. We need you around more often..." Then she turned to Aiko. "You did a great job finding this guy for us. Thank you, friend. Make sure Akane is alright.."

Squall muttered, "You're welcome, I guess," and walked through the doors of the Second District without another word.

end of chapter two – consequences of solving a mystery