Okay, confession time.
Two days after I posted the last chapter, it suddenly hit me while I was eating breakfast that I forgot to replace the "Grey line"s with ACTUAL grey lines. *Covers face in embarrassment*
I've gone back and fixed that, and made sure to do that with this one, too.
I type all my chapters into Word documents, since Word has the spelling and grammar check. To tell myself where to put the grey lines, I type "Grey line" at the break. I was so excited to get the last chapter out, I forgot to replace the words with the thing. LOL
Oh, well. It's fixed now, and hopefully it won't happen again.
As promised, the next chapter!
Nightly sighed, keeping pace with the Gummi Ships to her right. She threw the occupants of the three ships a sidelong glance. She was thankful Yen Sid was able to magic something into her helmet for the time being until someone could properly install a communications device; but since being put in…
She was having a hard time trying to turn it off.
"So, tell me again what Nobodies are," Aqua implored.
"Who," Sora corrected, "When someone is turned into a Heartless, their leftover body becomes its own person. Or, at least, that's what it's supposed to be."
"What do you mean?" Aqua asked.
"Sora and Roxas were the only pair of Nobody and Original to exist at the same time," Riku explained.
"Well, besides me and Naminé," Kairi cut in, "but that's another story."
"And Roxas isn't Ventus?" Aqua questioned.
"No," Sora answered immediately. "Roxas is his own person. Not me, or Ventus, or anyone."
"I'll say," Lea agreed. "I knew Ventus, and Axel knew Roxas. Those two are as different as night and day."
"Who's Axel?" Aqua asked.
"My Nobody," Axel replied simply.
Nightly heard Aqua give a groan. "So, if you're a separate person from Axel, why do you have his memories?"
"Because that's normal when a Nobody returns to the person they once were," Lea explained. "When I became a Heartless, I stayed that way until someone freed my heart. When Axel destroyed himself to help Sora, my two halves reformed to make me again. Axel's memories came with his half."
"Okay, so why didn't that apply to Sora and Roxas?"
"Because Sora existed at the same time as Roxas. They were too separate. Sora never gained Roxas's memories," Riku explained.
Sora added, "Actually, I did, but Roxas had to give them to me directly. That happened in the Dream Realm while I was in the second sleep."
"Uh…Dream Realm?" Aqua asked. Nightly turned her eyes to Sora, finding interest in the term as well.
"We'll—er—explain later," Riku brushed off, knowing Sora was still a little uncomfortable with the whole ordeal of almost becoming a vessel.
Aqua sighed again. "Okay. We can discuss this later, it's all…making my head hurt."
A small collective chuckle passed through the communication link as everyone had to agree with the Master. However, she wasn't quite done with her questions. "So, Nightly?" Aqua asked.
"Hm?" Nightly returned.
"How were you able to look like me back there?"
"Oh, um…" Nightly began, gathering her thoughts to explain. "Okay, so, those of us in Daybreak Town are able to change the way we look. We can change anything from the color of our skin to our eyes and hair, pretty much anything."
"So, you don't know what you were born looking like?" Kairi inquired.
"Oh, we do," Nightly clarified, "but those of us who wish to change that—can. I didn't change much, just my hairstyle. For me, it just feels wrong to be something I wasn't made to be, you know?"
"But how does that apply to you looking like me for a while?" Aqua pressed.
Nightly answered, "Well, we get the power to change like that from something of the Foretellers called the Book of Prophecies. It's a book with mysterious power to see the future. Certain powers are given to us, thusly, like the ability to look like certain people from the…outside of Daybreak Town…" Nightly trailed off for a moment, feeling a tug in her heart and shaking a dizziness out of her head.
"So, this Book of Prophecies gives you the power to look like me?" Aqua clarified. "Is there anyone else you can look like?"
"Um…" Nightly mused, feeling the dizziness fade away. "I can look like Kairi, and the Naminé girl she mentioned. I also have the coat those people were wearing in Castle Oblivion. The…black coat?"
"You have an Organization coat?!" Sora asked incredulously.
Chirithy cut in. "Yes, but…that coat was worn by the Master of Masters and his sixth apprentice, Master Luxu. It wasn't such a symbol of evil before, what happened?"
"Before what, Chirithy?" Nightly asked innocently.
Chirithy froze in his place by Aqua's side, knowing he slipped up. He tried to feign as best he could, knowing he couldn't do anything while being so far away from Nightly. "Before we left Daybreak Town. Apparently, that coat means something different outside of our world."
"Yeah, I guess so," Nightly agreed.
Chirithy breathed a small sigh of relief, and Aqua gave him a small smile. Keeping such a secret from a close friend must be exhausting, she thought to herself, rubbing her Wayfinder between her fingers as she looked to Ventus asleep in the seat she stood next to. Soon, she told herself, very, very soon.
"Guys, we're reaching the Tower," Riku said to the comms.
"Ah, finally," Sora replied, stretching his arms up before once again taking control of his ship.
The three Gummi Ships and their satellite entered the atmosphere of the Mysterious Tower and lowered onto the ground. Nightly, having landed first, erupted in a short glow upon landing; and reappeared in her regular outfit. She shielded her eyes as she watched the Gummi Ships land softly, dirt and dust swirling around her as her scarf whips back in the wind.
The ships land, the three engines winding down at different intervals until they are nothing more than a lull before powering down altogether. Nightly uncovered her eyes in time to see the hatches hiss down and her friends exit their respective ships.
"Hey, kiddo," Chirithy greeted, bouncing into her arms. She hugged her friend close, looking up to see Aqua carrying Ven on her back coming out of the ship Chirithy did.
The two smiled at each other, Aqua giving Nightly a nod of thanks. Nightly returned it, and began walking with Aqua to the tower, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy following close behind.
Riku watch them go, Sora looking back at his friend and asking, "Are you okay?"
Riku snapped out of his trance and glanced at the brunette before returning his gaze to the boy on Master Aqua's back.
"Yeah," he replied. "I'm just…thinking."
"What about?" Sora inquired.
Riku nodded in the direction of Ventus. "I feel like…I think I've met him before, I just can't seem to remember where."
Sora looked at Ventus, and fought the urge to clutch his chest as he felt his heart give another leap. "Maybe you're thinking of Roxas. Ventus looks just like him."
"Yeah, that's what I thought, too," Riku agreed, his mind once again grasping for where he had seen him before. "But that's just not it."
The two boys were pulled out of there thoughts when Kairi put a hand on each of their shoulders. "You guys okay?"
The two exchanged a glance before looking to Kairi. "Yeah. Yeah, we're fine," Sora said.
Kairi gave them a smile. "Okay, then. Let's go tell Master Yen Sid the good news."
Lea chuckled from behind the trio. "Well, you can't do that standing here." He nudged the three forward. "Let's get going."
Master Yen Sid looked up from his desk as he saw young Nightly push the door open for Master Aqua, Chirithy hopping out of Aqua's way, only to fall over himself before popping back up. He smiled at the sight of a still-sleeping Ventus on Master Aqua's back. He motioned for Aqua to set Ventus behind his desk.
Nightly helped Aqua take Ventus off her back as Mickey, Donald, and Goofy chatted about something in hushed voices. Yen Sid, however, could not help but hear the Captain of the Guard saying something along the lines of, "And then Ansem started acting like he was fightin' somethin' fierce." While that line of conversation seemed intriguing, it would have to wait. If Master Yen Sid knew his apprentice and his comrades, then the fact they were not talking about this with the others meant it needed to be spoken about behind closed doors.
Master Yen Sid turned his attention away from the three and smiled warmly as the remaining four members of the party came into the room. Nightly and Aqua joined them, Chirithy held in Nightly's arms, where the Spirit seemed to have fallen asleep for the time being.
"It is good to see you have all have returned safely from Castle Oblivion," he said, regarding them warmly. "I know I don't need to ask to know you faced adversaries while you visited, maybe even faced events that you cannot explain." He paused when he saw Nightly give a glance to Sora, who seemed lost in thought at the moment.
"However, while you may want answers, I believe it is best for you all to get some rest. Gather your thoughts, and we shall all speak about today's events after you've all rested," he concluded, noting their tired faces relax with the idea of sleep.
Sora stretched his arms up over his head. "Not gonna lie, that sounds like a great idea."
Riku scoffed, "Says the guy that slept for a year straight."
Sora lazily pointed a finger at Riku. "That's not exactly my fault."
Kairi giggled softly, then yawned herself. "Well, year or not, I'm beat." She moved to leave the room. "I'll see you guys in the morning," she said, disappearing around the corner.
"I'm gonna hit the sack, too," Lea agreed, heading to his own room. "G'night, everyone."
"Goodnight," the remaining four echoed, before they all filed out of the room one by one. Nightly was the last out, and she turned to give the master a small wave before turning down the hall.
He nodded in return, before turning his attention to his apprentice and his comrades. "Mickey," he said, once the door had closed, "please—tell me what troubles you."
Mickey approached the desk, Donald and Goofy coming up behind him. He looked to his old master with concern before he said, "Master Yen Sid, we may have just found where Terra is."
"Hey, Nightly," Aqua said, stopping the young girl before she went into her room. Nightly looked over her shoulder before facing Aqua completely with a curious expression.
"Is everything alright?" Aqua inquired. "You've seemed a little tense since we got back."
Nightly nodded, pushing down the memory of Sora shouting 'Terra'. "I'm fine. Just…a lot of weird stuff happened at Castle Oblivion. I guess I'm still trying to make sense of it all."
Aqua offered her a small smile. "I understand. I didn't think it would be able to affect anyone as long as I was around. And targeting you so much…I just don't know what happened."
Nightly's gaze trailed to the floor, lost in thought. Something tickled her memory. A name stood out to her. It wasn't her name, it was someone else's. She swore she had never heard it before, but for some reason, her heart jumped when it was said. What was it again…? I think…it started with a—
"Nightly," Aqua said softly.
"Hm?" Nightly snapped out of her stupor, her head jerking up to meet Aqua's eye again.
Aqua looked at Nightly for a moment. She must just be tired; and worried about her friends, too.
"Get some sleep. Once we're all up, we can go to the Realm of Darkness and find your friends," Aqua smiled.
Nightly tensed the slightest bit, but not enough for Aqua to notice. She nodded with her body, looking up at Aqua with a lopsided, sleepy smile. "Goodnight, Aqua."
"Goodnight, Nightly," Aqua returned with a chuckle, going back to her own room. Nightly watched her go before entering her own room.
Nightly closed the door, crossing the room to the bed, where she carefully sat and held Chirithy for a moment before stroking his head to wake him.
He yawned, "Yeah, kiddo? What is it?"
"I need to talk to you about something," Nightly said, setting the Spirit down in front of her.
Chirithy rubbed his eyes, the small blue orbs looking up at Nightly, waiting for her to continue.
Nightly hesitated a moment, weaving the end of her scarf between her fingers before answering, "I'm going back to the Realm of Darkness alone."
Silence fell between the two, and they stared at each other for a moment before Chirithy blatantly said, "No."
Nightly sighed, "Chirithy—"
"You're not going in there alone," Chirithy interrupted. "You do remember the state we were in last time we were in there, right? What if that happens to you again?"
"I can't ask Aqua to go back to the Realm of Darkness, not with her friend in the state he's in. And something's going on with Sora, he's got enough to worry about. His friends are worried about him. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are acting strange. Everyone's got something on their minds; but all I can think about is Ephemer and Skuld still stuck in the Realm of Darkness. I can't ask them to go to the Realm of Darkness with me with unclear minds, it'll just make things harder for them."
Chirithy stayed silent for a moment. "Chirithy?" Nightly asked.
Chirithy groaned slightly. "Of course, I agree with you. I don't have to tell you the Realm of Darkness is a dangerous place when you can't think straight."
Nightly smiled patiently. "But," Chirithy continued, "you can't leave right now. You've had a long day, and I can't send you somewhere so dangerous when you haven't had any sleep. I can put you into a deep sleep for a few hours, and when you wake up, it'll feel like you've had a full night of sleep, and you'll be able to leave a few hours before anyone else has woken up."
"That's perfect," Nightly said, pulling Chirithy into a hug. "Thank you so much, Chirithy."
"I am going to tell Master Yen Sid once you fall asleep so at least someone will know where you are in the morning," Chirithy added with a pout in his voice.
Nightly chuckled, "Fair enough."
Chirithy sighed. "Okay, let's get you to sleep."
Nightly nodded, letting go of Chirithy. She pulled her glasses off her nose and set them on the table beside her bed. She lay down and closed her eyes.
She felt Chirithy's paw on her forehead, and felt consciousness suddenly fall away from her as she heard him mutter, "Sleep."
Yen Sid's brow furrowed in concentration. This is quite intriguing, indeed, he thought to himself. He opened his eyes and looked to Donald and Goofy. "And you're certain it was Sora who said this, and not Aqua?"
"Well, that's the thing, Master," Goofy began, "see, uh…"
"It wasn't even Aqua fighting with us!" Donald finished.
Goofy continued, "Turns out Nightly can transform into certain people the same way she can wear Gummi parts to fly."
Yen Sid's brow furrowed once more. "And how, may I ask, is that even possible?"
"She explained it on the way back," Mickey elaborated. "It seems her and those who lived in Daybreak Town were able to use certain abilities from the Book of Prophecies to look like people from the future—or at least, her future."
Yen Sid stroked his beard. "Perhaps her friends will be able to tell us more. I doubt she can at the moment, with her memories in the state they are."
Mickey nodded solemnly in agreement. "It would be nice if we could convince them to tell her the truth, too."
This time, the rest of the room's occupants nodded as well. "Honestly," Goofy piped up, "I'm havin' a hard time believin' someone was able to survive the Keyblade War." Donald nodded next to him with a quack.
A knock on the door interrupted their thoughts. "Enter," Yen Sid called gruffly.
The door opened, and Chirithy stuck his head inside. "I apologize, Master. Am I interrupting anything?"
"No, please come in," Yen Sid replied, ushering in the small Spirit.
Chirithy hopped into the room, heaving the door shut behind him. He hopped back around to face the retired Master and said, "Master Yen Sid, Nightly will be leaving in a few hours to go to the Realm of Darkness alone."
The announcement was like a shockwave to Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, who all made their respective sounds of surprise at the news. Yen Sid, however, sat as stoic as ever, waiting for the Dream Eater to continue.
"She wishes to go there alone because she doesn't want to put anyone in danger," Chirithy explained. "She knows everyone has a lot on their minds right now, and that sending them into the Realm of Darkness with her would only put them at risk with their heavy thoughts."
Yen Sid stayed silent for a moment, before letting a small smile grace his features. "I assume you will take necessary precautionary measures before she enters?"
"Yes, Master," Chirithy replied immediately. "I am already preparing a spell that will keep away most of the darkness."
"Most?" Yen Sid inquired.
Chirithy elaborated, "If I keep away all of the darkness, she won't be able to find her friends. They will most likely be surrounded by the same darkness she was when Master Aqua found her. She already knows where to go, a dream told her that. But helping her get there is something I must help her with, and that spell is the best way for me to do so."
"Why can'cha go with her?" Goofy questioned.
"I can make the spell, but can't apply it to myself, only to my wielder. If I go there, I'll just end up like I was last time," the tiny Dream Eater shuddered at the thought as Mickey gave him a look of sympathy.
"Very well," Yen Sid said to Chirithy. "But, should she not come back within a couple of days, I will not be able to stop the others from going after her."
"I understand, Master," Chirithy said with a nod. "She'll be back before long." Chirithy pulled the door open and hopped around, about to leave.
"One moment, Chirithy," Mickey called. The Spirit stopped, poking his head back into the doorway.
Mickey continued, "You were there when Sora called out that name. What do you make of the situation?"
Chirithy paused for a moment, replaying the moment in his mind. "If I had to say, it seemed like it wasn't just a sporadic moment. It seemed like Sora was being affected by something, like a memory resurfacing. I could feel him going through a bout of something like déjà vu, only it wasn't…it wasn't his. He was confused, but he kept staring at Xemnas and Nightly—as Aqua. Something about the two of them fighting triggered the misplaced déjà vu, and he shouted out the name."
A moment of silence fell around the small group. "So, you mean…it might not have been Sora saying that?"
Chirithy hesitated. "I'm not fully aware of the situation, but essentially…yes, that's what I believe. It seems Sora has some memories that aren't his, but to whom they belong, I have no idea."
Another moment of silence passed through the group, before Yen Sid said, "Thank you, Chirithy. Give Nightly my regards when she leaves in the morning."
Chirithy gave a slight bow. "Yes, Master, I will. Thank you." The Spirit hopped out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him.
Yen Sid waited a moment before speaking again. "Mickey."
"Hm?" Mickey asked, looking up at Master Yen Sid.
"It seems we must keep a closer eye on Sora over the next couple of days," Master Yen Sid suggested.
"I think so, too," Mickey agreed.
The dark sediment crunched under Nightly's shoes as she landed. She straightened and took in a deep breath. A dark path stretched out before her, and she steeled herself for the trek ahead.
She took a look down at the bangle Chirithy had given her, the slight glow giving her comfort in the surrounding darkness. She took a step forward, and immediately a Shadow appeared to her right. She paused, hesitating for a moment. The bangle's magic took effect, and the Shadow cowered away from her, disappearing into the ground and scurrying away.
She breathed a sigh of relief, heading deeper into the Realm of Darkness with renewed confidence.
There we go! As promised, here's the next chapter before I begin my classes. To make it even better, this turned out to be the longest chapter I've written thus far. Hopefully there'll be some longer ones in the future!
Okay, couple things to talk about. First off: you guys are amazing! Thank you to all of you wonderful people who have followed/favorited my work in the past year and a half! And thank you to everyone who has reviewed my story! You guys encourage me to keep doing my absolute best for this story and give it my all to tell this the way I want it to be told.
That being said, I have taken on a New Year's resolution to stick to my original plan and have monthly updates. Not one every three-to-six months, once a month. My schedule this semester is more easy-going, so I want to dedicate more of my time to writing this story. I mean, I just proved to myself that I can write better chapters if I just sit down more to focus on them, so, there we go!
…huh, feeling a little emotional today, I guess. I just moved in today, and halfway through finishing this chapter, I discovered something rather annoying that has turned into rather the mystery that may not get solved. Oh, well. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
So, now I'm listening to Markiplier, and I'm feeling happier, so that's good.
Okay: chapter, check; actual grey lines, check; stupidly long outro, check LOL.
I'll see you guys next time, where we'll join Nightly in her quest through the Realm of Darkness; and we'll be with the rest of the gang as they try to figure out just what happened with Sora in Castle Oblivion.
P.S. for anyone who is wondering why Riku can't remember meeting Ventus: he was still in a dream. In fact, he was in a heart that had been put into a second sleep, so he was basically within the deepest sleep you could get, and the people he met were practically a dream. You know those deep dreams where you just can't remember what they were about when you wake up? Yeah, that's basically what Riku's going through right now. Really frustrating times for the big guy.
Anyway, enough rambling. I'll see you guys in the next one!