Hello, again!
I meant to get this chapter out sooner, but…Kingdom Hearts 3 happened. I have nothing else to say, other than this chapter ended up being the longest chapter I've written…ever. Over 6,000 words! I'm hoping every chapter after this will be around the same length, but depending on what I want to say, and how I want to say it will determine if that will actually happen. We'll have to just wait and see!
So…many of you may have questions when this chapter is finished. As much as you won't want to hear…I cannot answer those questions lest I spoil my own story. Even though those questions will remain unanswered, I won't mind if you ask them—although they may all be met with, "All in good time, my friends."
Okay, enough teasing. The next chapter!
A lone Shadow cowered further into the darkness of a dead tree. It looked again at the object of its concealment.
A single girl walked around the area surrounding the cottage. The Shadow had followed its instincts to her, and could feel the lights of two hearts residing within her. Quite a catch for a Heartless, especially one of its stature.
But something was keeping at bay: the bangle clasped on her wrist. The Shadow hissed to itself as she came a little closer, its violent impulses completely overridden by the urge to run. Whatever was put on that thing was not allowing the Shadow to attack the vulnerable girl; and instead, it was forced to hide. Such a shameful act made the Shadow bristle in the darkness.
The girl wandered over to the entrance of the cottage. The Shadow felt the fearful sense leave its being. Finally, she was far away enough.
The Shadow slinked out of its hiding spot, cutting through the clearing while giving the girl a wide berth to avoid whatever spell was keeping the Shadow away. The Shadow disappeared into the darkness just as it heard the girl mutter something to herself.
"Where is she?"
"Where is she?" Master Aqua demanded.
"The Realm of Darkness," Chirithy replied simply, keeping his gaze steady on Aqua's eyes.
A silence fell across everyone in the room. "We have to go after her," Kairi spoke up first.
"I—that's not a good idea," Chirithy quickly replied.
"So what?" Sora retorted. "She might need help! Who knows what'll happen if she's alone?"
"Until I deem it necessary, you are all forbidden from following her," Yen Sid commanded.
Silence fell across the group once again as the words of the elder master sunk in. The friends exchanged glances with one another, incredulous expressions passing between them.
"Besides," Chirithy added softly, "if everything goes well, she won't be alone for very long."
Lea sighed uneasily, "So, what are we supposed to do, then?"
Mickey answered, "We need to discuss the events of yesterday's events." He looked to Sora. "Sora, you said a name yesterday when you saw Nightly—as Aqua—fighting Xemnas. What was that name?"
Sora glanced uncomfortably at the floor before bringing his gaze back up to Mickey and answering, "Terra."
Aqua couldn't help the shout of surprise that escaped her. In all the talk about Nobodies and similarities and future powers yesterday, this piece of information had not even been brought up. "T…Terra?"
"Um…yes?" Sora asked. "You know a Terra?"
"Terra is Ven's and my friend," Aqua explained. "Xehanort lied to him and manipulated him to do terrible things, and he ended up taking control of Terra's heart. I thought I was able to help Terra take back control, but seeing as no one has heard from him since then, I doubt it ended up working…" Aqua trailed off, her eyes falling to the floor.
Mickey nodded in sympathy, knowing the struggle his friend had gone through—was still going through. "Sora," he asked, "could 'ya please tell us what happened right before 'ya called out his name?"
Chirithy watched Sora think for a moment before the brunette replied, "I'm…well…when I saw Aqua and Xemnas fighting, I had this weird feeling in my heart. Something about the way her Keyblade clashed with his blades, something in Aqua's expression, I don't know. It…for some reason, it made me see Xemnas…differently."
"Differently…how?" Kairi pushed.
"I don't know, he just…suddenly wasn't Xemnas anymore. And when he wasn't, Terra's name just…came out."
"But why?" Aqua pressed. "I've only met you once, and I never even summoned my Keyblade in front of you." Her thoughts went to Terra, and what she felt within Riku when she visited the island.
"Riku, you met Terra on Destiny Island." She reasoned. "Did Sora?"
Everyone's attention focused on Riku, who hadn't said a word throughout the entire conversation. The silvette in question had his gaze trained on the sleeping boy on the other side of the study.
Riku's brows knit together in thought, and his eyes squinted in concentration. He hadn't heard Aqua's question. He was thinking too hard.
He took in every detail he could about Ventus: his hair, his face, the way he was dressed. He focused on all the combined features until his mind suddenly presented him with an image of the blonde standing on the shore of Destiny Island, facing him with bright, sad blue eyes, his face peacefully expressionless. A voice echoed through Riku's mind.
"What is it you want more than anything else?"
Riku's sudden realization made him jolt back into reality. His eyes went immediately to Sora, and the brunette looked back at his friend with concern.
"Sora," Riku began, still trying to overcome his revelation, "I know where I've seen Ventus before."
"Okay…" Sora replied slowly, letting Riku continue.
"Your heart."
The floorboards creaked underneath Nightly's feet as she ascended. She ran her hand across the worn wooden railing, feeling her way up the stairs of the dimly lit cottage.
She reached the top, and immediately felt goosebumps run up her arms. She preemptively summoned her Keyblade, approaching the sole door atop the stairs. She pushed it open, and felt her blood run cold.
Seven beds furnished the otherwise empty room, three on either side, and one at the end of the small aisle—just as she remembered when she last visited the Dwarves. The only foreign object within the room was that of a girl standing at the foot of the seventh bed. A couple inches taller than Nightly, she stood with her back turned to the brunette, her dark hair trailing down her back and an even darker, ominous mist whisping about her figure.
The mist floated and twisted as if in a breeze, though the girl's skirt, jacket, and hair did not move along with it. There she stood, head slightly bowed, and Nightly felt her throat tighten and tears spring to her eyes.
S…Skuld?" she asked timidly.
The girl in question didn't move at first. Slowly, her head rose, and she stared at the wall above the bed. "Hmm," Skuld mused, an evil undertone in her speech, "I recognize that voice. It sounds like the voice of a friend I once knew."
Nightly swallowed hard and tried to hide the shaking in her voice. "Skuld, I'm right here. It's me, it's Nightly."
"Nightly," Skuld said slowly. A chuckle curled around the room, akin to the smoky tendrils now worming their way around the room. Nightly took a step back as her feet almost made contact with the dark mist, her bangle's power unable to protect her from darkness this strong.
Skuld began to turn, her head tilted back to show Nightly a toothy grin. Her normal light brown eyes almost glowed amber in the dark, and it only made Nightly all the more nervous.
She shook her head, trying to shake away the fear. She had to save her friend. She had to.
"Skuld," Nightly said, stronger than she felt. "I don't want to fight you."
Skuld's face faltered, and she almost seemed to recognize Nightly for a moment before the darkness closed in on her once again. This temporary change in expression caught Nightly off-guard, and she barely had time to register Skuld lunging at her with Keyblade drawn before she put up her own.
Their blades clashed, and Skuld leaned in inches from Nightly's face before she said, "Funny. Because I do want to fight you." Skuld pushed away from Nightly, flipping backwards and the darkness catching her, slowing her motion before stopping her completely, holding her aloft a few inches off the ground.
The force of the motion sent Nightly to the ground. She looked up at her levitating friend, slowly rising as she began preparing her next move. She threw her hand to the side, activating her next medal's special attack as quickly as she could.
She felt the heat of a purple blade of light appearing in her left hand. She jumped towards Skuld, unleashing the thirteen-move attack.
Something was wrong. Nightly landed, the attack having been completed, but Skuld hadn't even flinched. Nightly caught her breath, looking up at her friend's HP bar. She hadn't even touched Skuld.
'The darkness has made her invincible', Nightly thought, dread creeping into her gut. 'No, wait…'
She thought back to when she was trapped in the darkness. The only thing that dispelled it was Aqua's light spell. 'But I don't know that kind of magic!' Nightly thought hopelessly.
Skuld took advantage of Nightly's hesitation. She barely moved, but the darkness moved for her. The tendrils wrapped around Nightly, the fingers chilling her to her core. She gasped, feeling herself being thrown over Skuld's shoulder. She felt her back connect with glass, the tendrils letting go of her as she was thrown out the window.
Nightly was faced with the terrifying image of getting further away from the window of the cottage before landing painfully on her back. She pulled in a strained breath, trying to reorient herself as she turned over and tried to stand. She was barely on her elbows when she saw Skuld floating down to meet her.
She forced herself up, feeling a primal anger flare up within her. Not at Skuld, but the thing making her act like this. 'She must be hurting really deep down', Nightly figured, summoning her Keyblade again.
Now out of the shadows of he room, Nightly could see the darkness more clearly. She could easily see it coming for another pass at her, and dodged out of the way. Her turn.
She pointed her Keyblade at Skuld, about to fire a simple spell she picked up from watching the others fight. But instead of the magical cloud of ice she wanted to cast, she felt the anger within her grow, and a bright white light flared at the tip of her Keyblade. It rocketed towards Skuld, hitting her directly in the shoulder.
Skuld screeched, clutching her shoulder as she shot a look at her offender. As she did, Nightly could see the darkness peel away from her face. Her eyes lost their amber sheen, and her face took on a look of surprise as Skuld registered what was happening in front of her.
"Nightly?" she asked, a waver in her voice. She felt the dark presence around her, and looked down, giving a cry of shock at what she saw. "Nighlty!" she shouted, throwing her hand out toward her friend before the darkness covered her face again, her eyes falling blank and the amber glow overtaking her irises.
Nightly felt the anger flare up, taking over her entire being. The head of her Keyblade erupted in the light once again. She aimed it at Skuld, feeling hot tears spill down her face as she shouted, "Let. Go. Of my. FRIEND!"
Skuld was engulfed by the light, the darkness around her disintegrating into nothingness.
Riku ran down the beach of Sora's heart. After he remembered where Ventus was, Sora had suggested Riku dive within his heart again to talk to Ven, and tell him Aqua was here.
Riku looked up the Paopu Tree, seeing the three figures from before sitting next to each other on the tree. He jumped up, grabbing the planks and hoisting himself up, not bothering to take the stairs.
"Ventus!" he shouted as his feet hit the sand of the smaller island. He stopped a few feet away, catching his breath. "Aqua's here."
Riku didn't get a response for a moment. Finally, the blonde teenager in question answered, "I know." Ventus hopped down from his position between the other two, coming around the tree to face Riku. The other two, Roxas and the girl Riku didn't recognize turned on the tree to watch the two converse.
"You…you know?" Riku asked.
Ven smiled patiently. "Who do you think recognized Terra?"
Riku paused, then smiled to himself. Of course, it was him. Then he stopped. "Wait…recognized?"
Ven's smile faltered, his gaze falling to the sand. "I was watching Aqua as she fought that Xemnas guy. The way they locked weapons, it was just like Aqua and Terra at their Mark of Mastery exam. Once I thought that, everything about Xemnas, it just…added up to Terra. He…he looks just like him, but I don't know how, or why." He sighed, hugging himself lightly. "It doesn't make any sense."
Riku approached the blonde, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll figure it out, and help Terra, too." He added, "I kinda…owe him a lot, too."
Ven looked up at Riku, a smile lighting up his face once again.
"So," Riku asked, "ready to get back to your own body?"
Ven's face looked surprised for a moment, then fell again. "I'd love to, but…Sora's heart is locked to the three of us. The only reason you can come in and out freely is because you mastered the ability to wake sleeping hearts, which was Sora's at the time. Sora's heart is unlocked to you, but not to us."
Riku reeled back at the news. "So, how can you get out?"
Ven's eyes rose in thought. "As far as I know, there's only one way to do that, and it did happen, once. The last time that happened, Sora unlocked his own heart with that one Keyblade. I was released, but ended up with him." Ven pointed his head in Roxas's direction.
Riku looked from Roxas, to Ven, and back again. "That explains so much," he thought aloud.
Roxas crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at Riku, the most non-Sora action he could have taken at the moment.
Riku shrugged slightly, amending his previous statement, "Though apparently not enough."
Roxas chuckled. "You know all those negative emotions Sora never seems to feel?" He pointed a finger to himself. "Those all ended up with me."
Riku barked out a laugh. "Okay, definitely explains a lot." His laughter was echoed by the other three as the situation was temporarily forgotten about.
Riku sighed, his gaze returning to Ventus. "Well, since you can't come back yet, would you like me to pass along a message for right now?"
Ven thought for a second. Before he could say anything, Roxas piped up, "Yeah, tell Sora not to fall asleep for a year again."
Riku chuckled. "Will do." He addressed Ven again. "Ven?"
Ven kept his gaze down for a moment before looking back up to Riku. "Yeah. Could you tell Aqua somethin' for me?"
Nightly blinked the light out of her eyes, trying to adjust to the darker lighting of the Realm of Darkness once again.
Once she had, she saw Skuld collapsed on the ground where she had been struck. "Skuld!" Nightly called, running to her friend and kneeling down beside her. She turned Skuld over, feeling her breath on her hand. Nightly sighed in relief. She didn't know that type of power was within her, and she was worried she had gone a little overboard.
'Must be the darkness', she thought, recalling she herself had been momentarily unconscious after being freed from the same type of darkness.
She pulled Skuld's arm over her shoulder, pulling her up and holding her as tightly as she could with her other arm. She took a couple shaky steps forward before catching her balance properly and trudging forward with Skuld at her side.
She kept her eyes trained on the ground as she walked. Soon, the rocky, grassy terrain began to gradually form into cobblestone. When she passed the last grassy patch, she felt a warmth and saw a light coming from behind her.
Nightly turned in time to see the Dwarf Woodlands slowly being engulfed in orbs of light. They crescendoed, rising into the abyss, and soon Nightly couldn't see a single leaf on any of the trees. In a small, final burst of light, the Dwarf Woodlands disappeared completely, a dark, winding, sandy path in its place.
'Back to the Realm of Light', she thought, a small smile forming on her face. She turned back to the path ahead and continued on, heading for the fountain in the middle of Castle Town.
Riku's eyes blinked open, and he stared up at the ceiling of the Mysterious Tower before he sat up slowly, shaking the sleep out of his head.
"Did you talk to him?" Sora asked, kneeling next to Riku as he got his bearings.
"Yeah," he replied, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"What did he say?" Aqua asked, her excitement getting the best of her.
"Well, first off," Riku said, "Ven said it was him who called out to Terra. He…sensed Terra somehow…within Xemnas."
"But…how?" Aqua egged on. Riku stayed silent, he didn't have an answer to that.
There was something he had to say, though. "Ventus did want me to tell you something, Aqua," Riku said.
"Yeah?" Aqua asked, curious.
"Um…" Riku scratched the back of his head. "He said, 'You could've at least brought a blanket.'"
Nightly plopped down next to Skuld, leaning back against the fountain with a sigh. She could just see the Castle of Dreams over the tops of the houses. She huffed a tired sigh, looking up at the oddly beautiful sky above her. The strange stars glinted above her, and she glanced at Skuld, who still had not woken up yet.
She thought back to the dream she'd had. Skuld had been in the cottage, just like she'd seen. So, that had to mean Ephemer was in the Castle of Dreams.
'And once Skuld and I help Ephemer, this world will go back to the Realm of Light, too,' she thought, wondering why the Dwarf Woodlands hadn't returned until Skuld was no longer surrounded by darkness. For that matter, why didn't it return until her and Skuld had left the world completely?
'I'll ask Yen Sid when we get back to the Realm of Light,' she decided, smiling to herself. She couldn't wait to introduce Ephemer and Skuld to her new friends. Maybe they'd see what she was seeing: for whatever reason, she was seeing a couple of the Foretellers when she looked at her new friends.
Back when she and the others had tried to leave the Realm of Darkness before, she had seen Master Ira once when she had looked at Riku. Before they had gone to Castle Oblivion, she had seen Master Invi instead of Master Aqua. She wondered if she'd see the other Foretellers at some point, hoping Ephemer and Skuld would see it when she did, too.
Skuld's sudden gasp made her jump. She looked at her friend before exclaiming, "Geez, are you okay? You almost gave me a heart attack!"
Skuld didn't look at Nightly at first, trying to orient herself. She finally registered her voice and her wild eyes landed on Nightly.
"Wha—Nightly?" she asked.
"Hi," Nightly replied, giving her a small wave.
Skuld looked around again, pushing herself up shakily. "Where…where are we?"
Nightly gave her a sympathetic look, standing up with her. "Castle of Dreams," she said simply.
"What?" Skuld asked. "I was in Dwarf Woodlands, how did I get here?"
Nightly hesitated. "Do you…remember what happened a couple minutes ago?"
Skuld paused, her eyes lost in thought. It hit her, and she immediately faced Nightly. "Oh, my goodness, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Nightly replied with a chuckle. "Besides, it wasn't exactly your fault," she added, rubbing her shoulder, still sore from being thrown out the window.
Skuld smiled sheepishly before asking, "Why…was I like that, anyway?"
"Uhh…well, I was in the same boat a little while ago," Nightly admitted, wringing her fingers.
Skuld raised an eyebrow. "Meaning…?" she egged on.
"We're in the Realm of Darkness, and we were both corrupted by the darkness when the world we were in fell to it," Nightly explained in a single breath.
A moment passed, and Skuld's face phased through different expressions of shock, concern, and fear as she slowly took in her surroundings. The frozen water of the fountain, the pieces of the town's houses forever suspended in time, the never-ending night sky. "What…? How did…?"
"I'm not entirely sure, either," Nightly offered. "The only reason I'm fine now is because a Keyblade Master named Aqua helped me out. We didn't run into you or Ephemer on the way out, and then I had a dream you two were stuck here, so here I am."
Skuld gave Nightly a strange look. After knowing Nightly for so long, it was strange to hear her talk so much. Usually she just said a sentence, then nodded whenever others spoke to her.
'Maybe it's because she has so much to explain,' Skuld figured. Still… "Are you okay?" Skuld questioned, a suspicious expression on her face.
"Umm…yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Nightly asked, shaking her head a little.
Skuld crooked a finger to her chin. "You're talking."
Nightly glanced to the side, looking back at Skuld. "And…?"
"You never talk," Skuld answered immediately. "What happened? Usually, you just point and gesture and nod. The only times I've heard you talk was when we were talking about the Dandelions and when you stood up to Master Aced."
Nightly paused before she shrugged. "I guess I'm just feeling more open than usual," she answered.
Skuld kept her gaze trained on Nightly before she, too, shrugged, lightly shaking her head. "Alrighty, then." She offered Nightly a smile. "Honestly, it's nice hearing you speak more."
"Without us arguing," Nightly added sheepishly.
A strained silence fell between the two girls. A moment passed before Skuld finally began, "Nightly, I—"
"Don't," Nightly interrupted. "I…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up. I'm just glad you're safe." She hesitated a moment. "We…should get to Ephemer. I saw him in Castle of Dreams, but I don't know exactly where he is here."
Skuld smiled patiently, "Well, we should probably split up and look around. We can probably find him quicker like that."
"Actually, we shouldn't do that," Nightly objected. She showed Skuld the bangle Chirithy had enchanted. "Chirithy gave me this bangle, and it's been keeping the majority of the darkness in this place away from me. It only allows the darkness like you and I were caught within to come near me, so I'd be able to find you."
"Huh," Skuld mused, taking a closer look at the bangle. "So, it'd just be safer if we stuck together, huh?" she asked, looking back up at Nightly, who nodded back.
Skuld gave a light, playful scoff. "Did you stop talking because I said something about it?"
Nightly looked surprised for a moment before she grinned, shaking her head.
Skuld groaned, giving a small smile. "Alright, let's go," she said with a laugh.
Aqua looked up to the night sky outside of Yen Sid's Tower. Her fist clutched her Wayfinder to her chest as she stared listlessly up at the stars.
A crunch of grass behind her made her turn. A brunette teenager backed up a bit, wanting to come closer, but knowing she needing space.
Aqua smiled softly at Sora, patting the ground next to her. Sora returned the smile, sitting down beside Aqua and looking up at the stars above them. The two sat in silence, simply enjoying the company of the other.
"You know," Sora spoke up, "I owe Ventus a lot."
"Hm?" Aqua inquired, turning to look at the young boy beside her.
"Because of him, I'm able to wield the Keyblade. Without him, the journeys I've been on would never have happened, and I wouldn't trade them for the world."
Aqua regarded Sora for a moment before a smile graced her features. 'He's still so much like Ventus,' she thought to herself.
"And I owe you for keeping my friend safe all these years," Aqua replied.
"Ehh, don't mention it," Sora shrugged. "I don't like keeping score between friends."
Aqua couldn't help but chuckle. "Alright, if you insist."
Sora gave Aqua one of his signature grins, and Aqua's heart melted a little at the similarity.
"The only thing is," Sora began again, "is figuring out how to get his heart back to his body."
"Hmm," Aqua mused, looking up to the sky in thought. "That will be a tough one. I'm not sure how we'll be able to do it, but I'm sure there is a way."
The two sat in silence as they thought. Neither of them noticed the three small blinks in the sky as three sets of Gummi Armor descended to the Mysterious Tower.
"We've checked everywhere in town, Nightly," Skuld said.
Nightly nodded in agreement, crooking a finger to her chin, a fist on her hip. Skuld watched as she closed her eyes in thought, her eyebrows furrowing in concentration.
'This world isn't very big, even in the Realm of Darkness,' Nightly figured. 'And it's pretty straight forward, too.'
Her eyes opened suddenly as she hit a realization. 'Which means the only place we haven't checked…' Her gaze panned to the Castle of Dreams, 'is…'
"Nightly?" Skuld asked, seeing her friend's expression. She followed her gaze, coming to the same revelation. "…Oh…"
"Mm-hm," Nightly replied, nodding curtly.
Skuld sighed. "Okay, then. Let's go get him," she said confidently, hopping down form the piece of debris they were currently standing on. Nightly gazed at the Castle a moment more before following suit.
The two girls stepped up the last stair, approaching the door to the Castle. Skuld grabbed the handle and tugged on the door. Nothing.
"Huh?" Skuld pulled harder. Again, nothing. She grasped it with both hands and tugged as hard as she could. Not even a budge.
"Nightly, help me," she said. Nightly nodded, holding Skuld tightly around the waist. Nightly pulled Skuld while Skuld held tightly to the door, tugging with all her might.
Her fingers couldn't hold it anymore. They suddenly let go, her grip strength gone, and she and Nightly pitched backward, barely managing to keep from tumbling down the stairs.
"What?" Skuld asked herself, giving the door a death glare.
Nightly sat up, rubbing the back of her head. She peered up at the door, and almost facepalmed at not realizing it sooner. "Oh."
"Hm?" Skuld looked up at Nightly as she hopped back up again and summoned her Starlight.
Nightly aimed Starlight at the door, and the tip lit up before shooting a stream of light at the door. She smiled at the sound of a heavy lock turning over, before the light disappeared. She sent Starlight away, going up to the door once again. She took the handle and opened the door with hardly any effort.
She turned to Skuld with a smile, gesturing in a 'ladies first' motion.
Skuld smirked up at Nightly. "Ha-ha," she said in an aloof tone. She pushed herself up off the ground before walking briskly into the Castle, Nightly walking in right behind her.
The door shut behind them, and the entrance hall of the Castle was barely visible. Skuld's eyes adjusted first, and she gave a cry of surprise.
"Ephemer!" she cried, bolting forward.
"Skuld, wait!" Nightly called after her, trying to grab her arm. She missed, and a split second later, she saw the figure Skuld was running to.
It was definitely Ephemer, alright. His silver hair could be seen easily within the blackness. But just like Skuld, he was surrounded by wisps of darkness barely visible within the rest of the dark. His head was bowed, but Nightly knew it wouldn't stay that way forever.
'No!' she screamed within her head. She bolted forward just as Ephemer began to move. She knew what he was about to do before he even pulled his hand back.
In a flash of jarring brightness, Ephemer's Starlight was in his hand. Skuld suddenly stopped, just a foot away from her best friend as she watched the Keyblade begin to come down on her.
She felt a hand on her arm, and she was jerked back as Nightly threw herself in front of Skuld. Ephemer's Keyblade struck down on Nightly's back, sending the two girls pitching back towards the exit.
They hit the ground hard, Skuld smacking her head on the floor. She shook the stars from her vision, sitting back up to stare at Ephemer. It took her a moment to notice Nightly's unconscious form on her lap.
"Nightly," Skuld said, shaking the unconscious girl. She didn't respond. Skuld shook her, feeling desperation creep into her heart as she saw Ephemer stepping closer. She looked into his blank, dead, turquoise eyes, their usual beautiful luster tainted by the darkness surrounding him.
She looked back down at Nightly, pulling her off her lap and placing her head gently down on the ground. Skuld summoned her Starlight, running a few paces in front of Nightly, squaring up against Ephemer.
"Ephemer," she said, fear beginning to coat her voice, "I know you're still in there. Ephemer, please…answer me!"
Ephemer didn't say a word. He continued to step forward, the darkness seeming to control his movements. Skuld felt her fear grow within her. Seeing Ephemer like this just…shook her to her core.
She scowled through the tears threatening to spill over. She took a weak swing towards him, and he blocked it easily, shoving her back. She tripped over her heel, landing painfully on her side.
She cried out in pain, her grip slipping on her Keyblade as it clattered to the ground. She gave a desperate look to Ephemer, her eyes silently pleading with him. For a split second, she could've sworn she saw a phase of recognition pass through his eyes. His steps faltered, just for a moment, before the blank look set into his eyes once again, and he began his slow trek once again.
Skuld heard a groan behind her. She looked, seeing Nightly struggling to pick herself back up. She collapsed back down, but turned her head up to see Ephemer advancing toward her, and Skuld giving her a look she never thought she'd see on her.
"Your…connection," Nightly strained, trying once again to push herself off the floor.
"W-what?" Skuld stammered.
"Your connection," Nightly said again. "You two have a special connection. Use it."
Skuld stared at Nightly for a moment in confusion, then understood. She turned back to Ephemer, pushing herself back up again. She looked down at her Keyblade, clenching it before sending it away. She steeled her gaze, walking briskly toward Ephemer.
She stopped directly in front of him, gazing at his eyes again. 'I know you're still in there,' she thought. She felt a tear fall down her face before she threw her arms around Ephemer's neck.
Nightly had managed to push herself up onto her knees, and she looked up at Skuld embracing Ephemer. 'Not exactly what I had in mind, but…'
Her thoughts were cut off when a light flashed from between the two of them. The light grew, and Nightly threw her arms up to shield her face from the light. It crescendoed, finally dying down as quickly as it had flared up. She peeked over her arms, seeing Skuld still holding Ephemer tightly. Only this time, he was returning the embrace.
They stood like that for a moment, before Nightly broke the silence. "You dorks," she said unapologetically.
The two suddenly broke away, Ephemer's eyes landing on Nightly. "Nightly?" he asked, unsure of what had just happened.
Nightly grinned back, trying to get on her feet. The attempt failed, and Skuld and Ephemer came to her side to try and help her up.
"Sorry about that, Nightly," Ephemer said, remembering what had happened while he was trapped.
"It's fine," Nightly brushed off. "You're not the only one who's dealt me some damage today."
"Huh?" Ephemer looked to Skuld for an answer. She looked away, not wanting to look at him. That was all the answer he needed. "We…we were both like this?"
"Don't worry, I was, too," Nightly assured him. "A new friend of mine helped me out, then we left and I came back because I saw you two in a dream and came looking for you."
"You…left?" Ephemer questioned. "Where are we?"
Nightly hesitated, and Skuld answered for her. "We're in the Realm of Darkness."
"What? How did we get here?"
"It was because of our fight," Nightly explained. "When I ran away, and you two came after me, you both picked the wrong world. The three of us were each in a different world, but all three fell to darkness around the same time. We were affected by the darkness when it fell…probably because we they aren't our worlds…or something." She stopped for a moment before adding. "Yen Sid probably knows more."
"Uh…Yen Sid?" Skuld asked.
Nightly sighed, finally feeling strong enough to stand. She stood up slowly, her legs shaking slightly. Ephemer and Skuld regarded her closely, ready to support her should she fall.
She straightened, her legs feeling steadier. She addressed her two best friends. "It's a long story, probably best if you just met everyone."
Ephemer and Skuld exchanged a glance, knowing smiles passing between them. "Alright," Ephemer replied. "Lead the way, Nightly."
Sora heard it first. The familiar sound of Gummi engines faintly reached his ears. He looked up to the sky, seeing the familiar shape of blue Gummi Armor, flanked by two other sets of Gummi Armor, one red, one black.
"She's back!" he shouted in excitement.
Aqua snapped out of her daze, looking up into the sky, beginning to hear the engines of the Gummi Armor just as she saw what Sora had. She breathed a sigh of relief, standing up and watching Nightly and her friends descend to the Mysterious Tower. She heard footsteps leaving her, and looked to see Sora running toward the Tower, more than likely going to get the others so they could meet Nightly's friends.
She turned back, waiting for them to reach the ground. She took a couple steps back as they got closer, hearing Sora coming back over. Glancing over her shoulder, she watched as Chirithy, Lea, Kairi, Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy followed close behind Sora.
A couple moments later, and Nightly and the other two had reach the ground of the Mysterious Tower. The blue Gummi Armor immediately lit up, dying away to reveal Nightly's grinning façade.
"Hey, kiddo!" Chirithy greeted, hopping into her arms. Nightly hugged Chirithy tightly as the other two Gummi Armors touched down. The red Armor erupted in a shower of sparks and revealed a boy with curly silver hair and turquoise eyes. A red and black patterned scarf was tied loosely at his neck, resting on his chest over a button-up white shirt and short black jacket. He wore black gloves, loose, dark brown cargo pants and black boots, a tan satchel tied around his waist and resting on his hip.
The black Gummi Armor followed suit, and revealed a girl with long black hair and brown eyes. She sported a short-sleeved, black jacket, and silver zipped-up shirt, and black fingerless gloves. Her black miniskirt rustled in the breeze, two studded belts resting on her waist; and she wore black, knee-high socks that fit into black boots.
Nightly smiled at her new friends. "Okay, everyone, this is Ephemer," she gestured to the boy behind her, who nodded curtly, scanning their faces with something along the lines of concern and confusion.
"And this is Skuld," she gestured to the girl, who shared a similar expression to Ephemer, but seemed to be hiding it a bit better than he.
"Ephemer, Skuld," Nightly continued, completely oblivious to her friends' expressions. She went along the line, saying each persons' name as she went. "This is Aqua, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and—"
"Lea," Lea interrupted. He put a finger to his temple. "Got it memorized?"
The expression made Nightly giggled, and Ephemer and Skuld seemed to relax a little at the antics.
"C'mon," Nightly started up again. "Let's introduce you to Master Yen Sid." She began walking quickly toward the tower, the group following close behind, and Ephemer and Skuld lagging behind. No one saw as Skuld pulled a medal from her inventory, showing it to Ephemer as the two looked up and down from the medal to Aqua, and back again.
Skuld put her medal back in the inventory, and this time Ephemer pulled two medals from the inventory. The two of them looked at one medal, then to Sora, then the other, then to Riku. Ephemer put them back into his inventory and leaned next to Skuld's ear.
"We may have a problem," he said quietly.
And…done!
This chapter ended up a bit longer than I meant it to be. Not that I'm complaining, I like writing these longer chapters, because I know it gives you guys more content.
Okay, real talk. I played Kingdom Hearts 3, and watched the update on Union Cross. I can officially say this story will not be going in the same direction as either game.
One of the original premises of this story was to stick as close to cannon as possible, combining my own theories and ideas for how the game would end up going. That being said, I knew that would stop being a reality when Kingdom Hearts 3 came out. However, a couple things in the game that I had already intended on writing actually ended up happening in the game. When those things happen, I will let you know. I just wanted to go ahead and get it on record that I thought of a couple things BEFORE I played Kingdom Hearts 3.
Needless to say, I'm still reeling. No spoilers for those of you who haven't played yet, but I will say…there were tears. If you guys want to toss theories back and forth with me or just talk about the game, feel free to PM me from my profile page.
So, a couple things I want to say about the next chapter. If you are not very familiar with Union X [cross], I suggest you educate yourself between now and the time it takes for the next chapter to come out. More specifically, you need to know everything about the new Union leaders you can. If you do not know about them, the next chapter will include one of the biggest spoilers in Kingdom Hearts history (not clickbait).
Well, that being said, I'll see you guys in the next one!