Shadow World

Professor Peter Port's Guide to Exotic Grimm

Monsters, demons, prowlers of the night. Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names. Our planet teems with creatures that would nothing more than to tear you to pieces. As someone who has spent a life time hunting such creatures I have sought to write down all my experiences and list down the many Grimm I have come across in such times so that future generations will benefit from my knowledge and experience.

Page 252: The Demogorgon

Of all the strange and deadly Grimm that roam our land, none more mysterious and possibly more deadly than the Demogorgon. Able to appear and disappear at will, this Grimm has been the forefront of many myths and legends, being dismissed by many but do not be so quick to judge my friends.

The Demogorgon is real.

Responsible for the abduction of many innocent lives, the Demogorgon possesses the ability to create portals to travel almost anywhere they want. It has also been noted that they reside in a shadow world, a world that seemingly exists in tandem with our own but nothing in there can be seen, heard, or felt by us in the physical world. It is likely these portals are tears in the very fabric of reality but no one has managed to actually trap such a monster. Outside of these abilities, the Demogorgon is fairly predictable, acting like a typical but also nocturnal predator and thus will not appear in places where light is strong.

This is likely why it prefers to stalk its prey in the less technologically advanced areas, such as Mistral and Vacuo. It is seemingly attracted to blood, much like Grimm in the waters. It can be lured by even small quantities of blood, even when separated by dimensions. However it is not exclusively drawn by blood, as shown during the few recorded encounters.

It is unknown whether the creature was attracted by other stimuli, though one distinct possibility is sound. Since sound from the human dimension was faintly audible to human ears in the so-called Shadow World, it is possible the Demogorgon could be attracted by sound. In any event, like many predators and Grimm, the Demogorgon simply takes any opportunity to hunt and acquire prey, and generally preferred solitary or isolated victims.

The Demogorgon was able to travel between dimensions at will, creating temporary portals or wounds in the fabric of reality. How or why the Demogorgon possessed this ability is unclear, though it possible that this ability was acquired by centuries of evolution amongst the Grimm, leading to only a handful gaining this ability. Many scientists theorize that interdimensional travel would require a massive amount of energy, more than humans are currently capable of creating; by this logic, the Demogorgon must wield a great deal of energy while dimension-traveling. Nearby lights and electricity would constantly flicker on and off while the Demogorgon did so, which suggests that creating these portals did indeed involve huge volumes of energy.

The Demogorgon has been hostile every time it has been encountered, immediately pursuing anything which caught its attention. It generally uses instinct and brute strength, rather than intelligence, to get through obstacles. The Demogorgon, as stated before, generally hunts in areas of great darkness but there have been few recorded possibly sightings in Vale, specifically near Beacon. Headmaster Ozpin has suggested the Vale Council look into creating a form of defense against this creature.

Having worked with someone who can create portals, General Ironwood was allowed to scan the property of these portals to work on a way to find countermeasures to this Grimm's ability to appear almost anywhere. The main method of defense is a special motion sensor designed to activate when a Demogorgon appears either on camera or appears inside someone's home at night, triggering the alarm which then activates a light shield which can not only contain the creature but also blind it. Since the Demogorgon has weak eye sight against light, this has proven to be a prudent counter measure. Unfortunately all attempts to find and contain this Grimm for study following the first few tests has failed which is a shame as the knowledge gained from it and how it produces so much energy could be a breakthrough.

Despite this setback, measures have been taken to properly defend against this monster should it appear in someone's home in the night. It is not much at the moment but there are breakthroughs in science every day and one day we might finally find a way to trap this monster and even see the world it hides in.

Xxx

It was early in the morning when Aqua woke up.

She had returned back around midnight and fell asleep almost immediately but still felt tired for some reason when she awoke. She was reluctant to get up but opted to distract herself by continuing her illusion training until it was time for breakfast. It couldn't be helped as the schedule of a Keyblade Wielder in training was early to bed, early to rise so her inner clock woke her up around the usual time. So she sat on her bed, focusing on her illusion training, conjuring small images like a flower in her hand and focused on keeping that image as long as possible.

As she did, she briefly considered other areas of training that she could try as long as she was here.

Like telekinesis for one.

She remembered watching Xehanort conjure entire mountains and cliffs out of the ground just by raising his hand the day she confronted him in the Graveyard with Terra and Ven. As much as she hated that man, or was close enough to hating him as her training taught that hatred beckoned the darkness, she had to admit one of the reason Xehanort was such a powerful enemy was because his experience as a Keyblade Master, affording him skills that the three of them hadn't yet reached at all. If she was going to hopefully one day return to the Realm of Light and save her friends, Aqua had to admit that she should keep up with her training as long as she was here. So after an hour of practicing her illusion Aqua then tried to use telekinesis.

It started with an apple from a fruit bowl that had been left for her along with any other guests currently sleeping at the inn. It was similar to her illusion training but a required a bit more effort as she reached out with her magic, trying to connect with the apple as if she was using her own hands instead of her magic. She closed her eyes, focusing her mind only on the apple as best as she could. Though her eyes were closed, she could feel the apple slowly being lifted into the air.

It hovered a few inches off the table and Aqua found herself working to keep it there as long as she could. It was not as easy as conjuring illusions because at least she had some experience with her Vanish spell.

This was not like using a simple spell.

She had an unlimited source of magic but it was stressful on her mind to continue focusing like this. It felt like she was learning to cast spells all over again. The apple fell onto the table and she opened her eyes, groaning as she rubbed her head with both hands, nursing a small headache. She had seen this done by people on that other world so she considered returning there but wondered what the point would be.

She couldn't just keep on going between worlds whenever she felt like it. She needed to find a way back to her time and world.

Maybe she should consider returning to Drasil.

Just before she could think of saying the spirit's name, something reached out from behind her. She spun around, watching as a hand grabbed her and pulled her into a swirling portal of black and purple energies…

Xxx

"I've found you."

The God of Darkness could only give the impression he was smiling from the look on Aqua's face when his newest child found her. It was relatively easy to follow once he understood how and where she had been going, especially since the item of power she used to travel between worlds was made by his brother.

His new Grimm child opened a portal once it had her scent and followed her across worlds.

How exciting.

It was unique to this one child but exiting nonetheless.

"Let us see you survive this, Aqua."

Xxx

Aqua slowly opened her eyes as she picked herself back up from the ground.

She felt very dizzy and rubbed her sore head. "What happened?"

She remembered seeing a strange hand and being pulled into some kind of portal. Was she in another world? She looked around saw the same inn she was in back in Daybreak Town but everything looked darker and grim.

"Where am I?" Aqua wondered out loud and noticed her voice had echoed around the room even though it shouldn't be possible.

She looked around before slowly approaching the door but to her shock when she reached the knob, her hand passed through it. Aqua stared at her hand in shock before she touched the door and her hand passed through it. She walked forward and phased through the door, coming out into the hallway.

"What in the worlds…?" She looked down at herself and looked around. "I passed through the door…Like a ghost."

As someone who had gone to other worlds, seen gods, demons, and even children who can fly, Aqua had no trouble believing ghosts were real. In fact, she had read up on ghost stories in the library in the Land of Departure.

She just had a hard time believing she was a ghost now.

"I'm not dead." She placed a hand over her chest where her heart was. "I know that much. But I am in someplace…outside of space and time…But in the same space." She touched the door again. "I can't interact with anything."

The dark hand that grabbed her…

It had pulled into this place.

"It's like I'm in some sort of…Shadow World." Aqua muttered as she looked around. "I can't touch anything, everything looks so dark and somber and…"

She walked down the stairs to see the keepers were finally up and a few guests were already having breakfast. She tried to call out to them but they didn't seem to hear her and one even passed through her.

"No one can see, hear or even touch me." She whispered sadly to herself.

Strangely, this felt more torturous than being lost in the Realm of Darkness.

At least there, the forces of darkness would try to make her heart wither away.

Here?

To be left alone in a world you can only see but never touch?

It felt like absolute torture.

"But why am I here?" She wondered as she walked out of the inn, seeing the rest of Daybreak Town looking as dark and gloomy as inside. "Why have I been brought here?"

She felt a familiar darkness before she had blacked out.

It wasn't the darkness from the Unversed or the Heartless she had encountered recently.

It felt more like…

"Grrrrrrrrrrrr…."

Aqua spun around and watched as a creature called out of the floor and gasped when she could fully see it. "A Grimm!"

It had two heads that resembled a baboon's head, reptilian legs, tentacles for arms, and red glowing eyes on each head. The creature was black and white with dark smoke rising from it. The creature's two heads looked at Aqua and both let out terrifying inhuman roars.

Aqua immediately summoned her Keyblade.

(Kingdom Hearts OST Extreme Encounters)

Just as she did so, both heads of the Grimm roared and Aqua suddenly found herself picked up off the ground and sent flying. She flew back and phased through a house before coming to a stop with a loud grunt. She got up just as the Grimm phased through the house she flew through and lashed a tentacle/arm out at her. Aqua raised her Keyblade, reinforcing it with a barrier as she tried to block but the force of whip still threw her back.

Aqua grunted as she hit the ground again, but got up and pointed her Keyblade at the Grimm. "Freeze!"

A Blizzard spell froze half the Grimm and she leapt forward, swinging her Keyblade down and slicing it in two. However instead of dying, the remaining half of the Grimm regenerated what it had just lost, including another head. As this happened, the broken pieces of the Grimm started moving as well while the ice around them melted, coming together and just like that, another Grimm was born. Both lashed out with their arms, grabbing Aqua and lifting her up before proceeding to squeeze the life out of her.

She cried out as she tried to break free, feeling the tentacles wrapping tightly around her body, squashing her bones and soon enough making it hard to breathe.

"Terra, Ven." She uttered between breaths. "Please…"

Just as it looked the two Grimm were about to finish her, there was a flash of light and two objects spun through the air, cutting off the two heads on one Grimm and the tentacles of another. Aqua landed on her feet and watched as two objects spun around and she immediately recognized them.

'Terra and Ven's Keyblades.'

Earthshaker which belonged to Terra.

And Wayward Wind which belonged to Ventus.

Both Keyblade spun around her before flying off and vanishing into the clouds. Aqua realized that the distress she had felt must have summoned Terra and Ven's Keyblades in her moment of need. She then looked at the Grimm whose heads had been cut off and watched as the body dissolved into a black mist.

'That's it! I have cut off both the heads!' Aqua realized as she faced the last Grimm. 'They can regenerate if any part of their body is cut off except their heads.'

The last Grimm roared its two heads, lashing out with its strange telekinetic powers that lifted Aqua up into the air.

'It can somehow travel to other worlds, in and out of space and time, regenerate its body and can use telekinesis!' Aqua grunted. 'This is stronger than any Grimm I have come across!'

The Grimm roared and Aqua felt a powerful tug before she pulled down and slammed into the ground. She grunted as she rolled back and jumped to see feet just as the Grimm roared and charged at her. She slashed at the tentacles that lashed out at her, forcing her to step back. She grunted, feeling that the Grimm was actually gaining the advantage and she needed to step up before it killed her.

She immediately teleported as it lashed out at her again, reappearing behind it and pointed her Keyblade at it. "Fire!"

A fireball shot at the Grimm as spun, its tentacle arms whipping through the Firaga spell and launched itself at Aqua who summoned a barrier that protected her. The Grimm slammed face first into the barrier and was left in a daze. Aqua then activated her Bladecharge, which took the form of a bright light surrounding and extending from her Keyblade. She then spun it above her head and cut both heads of the Grimm off.

(Kingdom Hearts OST Extreme Encounters)

Aqua lowered her Keyblade as the Grimm's headless body fell over and dissolved into a black mist. She sighed, dismissing her Keyblade and took a moment to compose herself.

That was rough.

'That Grimm, it was stronger than any I have seen before and it somehow followed me from that world.' She thought to herself. 'Not to mention it pulled me into this shadow world somehow.'

This was not good.

If Grimm from the other world were going to invade Daybreak Town, especially if this was the past as she coming to suspect, she might end up causing damage and altering history to the point things would become a lot worse.

'I need to go back and see why these Grimm are following me.' She thought to herself. 'The only question is how do I get out of here.'

That's right.

She's still in this Shadow World and had no clue on how to get out.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrr…."

Her eyes widened and she looked to see, much to her horror, three more of the same type of Grimm she had just fought.

Xxx

"How could you interfere like that?!"

Ava stood her ground as Aced expressed his…disappointment in her interference during his fight with Aqua.

"You stepped in just as I was close to defeating her." Aced continued to berate her.

"That was the problem, Aced. You were supposed to test her, not defeat her. That's been the whole point." Ava finally talked back. "You always do this. You always make things worse than they already are."

"And you are taking this too lightly." Aced argued.

"Hey, hey, hey." Both Foretellers fell silent as the Master himself stepped in between them. "No need for you two to blow each other's heads off. Aced, I did say to only test the young lady, not beat her to paste."

Aced grunted but said nothing.

"Ava did what she thought was right, which is usually a matter of opinion but if you did trash her, then she and Ira would have their turns, now would they?" The Master walked past the two of them towards his desk. "I wanted all of you to have a chance."

"Master, I meant no disrespect but I thought given the fact she has been coming and going as she pleased, I would have to take her seriously." Aced defended.

"That was more than taking her seriously, Aced." Ava scolded. "Aqua has no dark intentions towards us or this world."

"And you know this, how?" Aced glared back at Ava.

"I talked to her." Ava answered like it was obvious.

"And just like that, you believe her?"

"Sounds like it worked to me." The Master shrugged, sitting down on his chair.

Xxx

(Kingdom Hearts OST Extreme Encounters)

Meanwhile, Aqua was trying to defend herself from the newly arrived Grimm as they roared and thrashed their tentacles around to try and smack her down. One of them lunged at Aqua, successfully picking her up with its tentacles and was about to lower her to the two ravenous heads but Aqua was engulfed in flames, burning the tentacles and blinding both of the heads. The Grimm howled in displeasure and it threw Aqua away, stepping back as it tried to regain its eye sight. Aqua managed to land on her feet but had to jump again as the other two tried to swat her with their tentacles as well.

She grunted, knowing she was outnumbered and just one of them had been difficult.

Xxx

"So what does our visitor want, Ava?" The Master casually asked.

"…She's lost and trying to find her way home." Ava answered honestly with empathy in her voice.

"Oh?"

"She has the impression that it's difficult to go back where she came from, probably impossible but she's refusing to give up."

Xxx

'I have to find a way to stun these three long enough to go on the offensive.' Aqua grunted.

She summoned a barrier and lunged at them. Just as their tendrils made contact with her barrier, exploded in a blast of light, blinding the three Grimm.

"Thunder!"

Three bolts of lightning slammed into the Grimm, hurting and stunning them even further and Aqua immediately attacked the nearest one, summoning her Bladecharge as she hacked and slashed it to pieces. The other two recovered and both lashed out with their telekinesis, sending her flying up into the air and straight towards the Clock Tower.

(Kingdom Hearts OST Extreme Encounters Ends)

Xxx

Aqua cried out as she phased through a wall and crashed into a middle of a room.

"Hm?" The Master perked up, looking in Aqua's direction as she got up.

Just as she did, the two remaining Grimm phased through the wall, growling at her.

"She came here, believing she could find a way home." Ava continued, not noticing the Master being distracted.

"And you are just supposed to believe that?" Aced questioned.

"It's the truth, Aced." Ava looked at her fellow Foreteller. "It's impossible to fake those feelings, especially to a Keyblade Wielder. We feel the hearts around us."

Aqua looked in Ava's direction. "Ava! Ava, can you hear me?"

The Master stood up, looking in Aqua's direction. "Hmm."

The two Grimm growled as they advanced on Aqua as she prepared to fight them again.

"Aced." The Master suddenly said, silencing both Foretellers. "Get your Keyblade out."

"Master?" Both Foretellers looked confused by the request.

"Hurry."

Aced immediately summoned his Keyblade as instructed.

"Now open a spatial tear, riiiiiiiiiight there!" The Master pointed right behind Aqua, not that anyone could see her.

"Mas-"

"Do it!"

Aced immediately swung his Keyblade, creating a spatial tear…

And in the Shadow World, a bright light appeared and shined behind Aqua, transforming into what looked like a portal. The two Grimm were caught by surprise and left in a trance by the portal as Aqua looked over her shoulder and realized that this was likely her way out of this crazy world. She immediately turned around and ran at it. One of the Grimm shoved the other aside and dashed after Aqua.

Back in the real world, the Master along with Ava and Aced watched as out of the portal came Aqua, flying out and landed on the floor.

"Aqua?!" Ava gasped.

"What in the-" Aced readied himself for battle.

Whatever he was about to do was cut off as Aqua stood up and shouted. "CLOSE THE PORTAL NOW!"

However it was too late.

One of the creatures on the other side of the portal hopped through, surprising everyone else. It lunged at Aced as he was the nearest human but the Foreteller slashed it to pieces easily.

Only he didn't go for the heads.

Aced and Ava gasped as the Grimm not only began regenerating but also began spawning another in its place.

Aqua dashed in with her Bladecharge and cut the heads off. "You have to cut both their heads off to kill them!"

The last Grimm emerged from the portal but Ava dashed in, slashing both its heads off before it could figure out where it was.

"Wellllllllllllll, that was a thing." The Master mused. "So, we have an unexpected visitor who brought us some new friends."

Aced growled at Aqua but Ava stood between them.

"So, what brings you to these parts?" The Master asked amusedly.

Aqua could only stare at the man who wore a very familiar coat.

Xxx

"She shouldn't be allowed to run free. She brought those monsters here!"

Aced could hardly believe that Aqua had been allowed to leave after a brief discussion with Aqua who told her about those Grimm monsters she had been fighting.

"That was not her fault. She hadn't even been aware she was here until we brought her back." Ava pointed out.

"And what happens when she brings more here?" Aced argued.

"Relax. It's all taken care of." The Master said as he walked back into the room. "She has offered to leave and make sure those creatures don't come back."

"Master?" Aced looked at the Master.

"She has an idea where the come from and she's going to pursue it. In the meantime, Ava, you and Ira might want to consider getting your chance to test her before she leaves."