Chapter Four:
"Sora! Riku!", cried a girl with reddish hair and blue eyes as she ran across a bridge towards a pair boys who was sitting on a tree.
One of the boys with spiky brown hair jumped in shock as he sat up from a laying position on the titled tree. The other boy, a silver-haired one, merely sat there, looking at the beautiful orange horizon. The girl approached them with a white envelope in her hand, breathing heavily.
"What is it, Kairi?", asked the spiky-haired boy as he hopped off the tree to run towards her.
"It's this, Sora…", she answered as she handed him the envelope.
The silver-haired boy looked over towards them quietly. Sora gasped when he saw a pretty green seal with the shape of a mouse's head on it.
"It's the King's seal!", he shouted as he grabbed the letter.
The silver-haired boy instantly got off the tree and came to them, looking over Sora's shoulder. Sora opened the letter slowly.
Lenne turned right and left the alley. She saw a shop right next to her and entered it. There, she saw a middle-aged man with brown hair that was in a ponytail. He looked at her cheerfully.
"My, my…what do we have here? Hello, there, madam! This is the accessory shop! Would you like to buy anything?", he said happily.
She smiled and said, "Um…what is this place?".
"Oh, this is Traverse Town. A town where people who've lost their homes come to for refuge", he answered.
"Traverse Town…", she repeated thoughtfully.
"You seem lost, madam. Is there anything I could do?", he asked.
"I'm looking for a boy named Sora. He wields a Keyblade. Have you seen him around?", she asked.
"Sora? Hm…I've seen a boy who wields a Keyblade. He was here about a year or so ago", he answered, and she sighed.
"Thank you, sir", she said as she walked out.
She left the shop and went up the stairs to the left of it. In the corner behind the shop, she saw a pretty white horse in the area behind the mailbox. It had wings attached to its back, and it shocked her completely. She approached it slowly, not wanting it to kick or harm her in any way. It saw her and only looked at her with blue eyes. She patted its blue mane softly, trying to gain its trust.
"What are you doing here all by yourself?", she asked it, and it neighed softly.
She patted its side, and it neighed in discomfort, moving away from her slightly. She removed her hand and noticed a small mark on its side. She looked back at it with pity. It moved its wings around as it stretched. She used this opportunity to mount it, and it let her get on its back.
The horse bucked back a little and began to move away. She looked down and noticed a small group of shadow-like creatures approaching them. She gasped and lifted her had up, summoning her power. She used a fire spell to get rid of three of them. Some more appeared from the ground, she summoned up her power for another spell. Instead of casting a blizzard spell (like she planned), she created a portal. Her necklace shinned temporarily, but once the portal appeared, the necklace returned back to normal.
"Hurry! Into the portal!", she cried as she steered the horse towards the portal.
They hopped into it as the shadow heartless ran after them. Luckily for them, the portal faded behind them.
Larxene and Zexion wandered in the darkness quietly. It seemed that their pathway was getting covered in darkness, but they kept going. Neither talked to each other because they thought that if they were quiet they would hear something that would direct they to safety.
Larxene couldn't focus. Her mind kept darting back and forth from finding Lexaeus to the peaceful of Marluxia. Marluxia…she couldn't shake the thought of him out of her mind. She wondered why he even was on her mind. Was this feeling hidden deep within her while they first planned to take over the Organization? She didn't know.
Zexion noticed that she was lagging behind. He noticed she had her arms wrapped around her as if she were cold. He noted that she almost looked like a lost and weak little girl. He shook his head and walk even faster. Her eyes were glued to her feet, and she realized she was slowing down herself. She didn't care.
Zexion disappeared from her sight soon enough and that still didn't make her speed up. She noticed a dark figure in front of her. It was tall and very muscular by that look of it. She only stared at it.
"Zexion!", she cried as the figure approached her.
It seemed so familiar. She observed it as it changed into a person in black cloak. Zexion appeared from behind it, and he gasped at it. He looked at the blonde with raised eyebrows.
"What is this?", he asked.
"It is me…:Lexaeus…", the cloaked person said.
"I don't believe you. Show me", she said, and the cloaked person removed his hood.
"Lexaeus?", Zexion said, and the cloaked man with short red hair and dark blue eyes nodded.
Larxene smiled and crossed her arms. Zexion only stared at the bigger man blankly. Lexaeus merely looked at the two of them and remained silent. Larxene created a portal and from there, they could see the castle. Zexion was the first to enter, then there was Lexaeus.
"Wait…", Larxene heard a voice behind her just as she was about to step in.
She turned around and saw the woman from before. She had a worried look on her face. Larxene noticed she was shaking.
"Why are you shaking? It's not even cold", she asked the woman.
"Please…my name is Irvina, and I grant you my strength…", the woman said as she walked towards the blonde.
"What?", Larxene said, shocked.
Irvina didn't answer as she pasted Larxene and faded away. Larxene glowed a golden color, and she was lifted slightly into the air. Power rushed through her like water in a breaking dam. The aura around her faded, and she landed back on her feet, feeling like a new person. She looked at her hands and felt around to see if anything was different. She smiled inwardly and stepped into the portal.
Marluxia returned to his room when he saw Zexion and Lexaeus in his room. They merely stood their ground and looked at him as he rounded the corner. The portal was still opened, and Marluxia looked at it questionably.
"Where is Larxene?", he asked.
"She's coming, I believe", Zexion said as he walked past Marluxia.
"Wait…once she comes, we need to talk about the plan to take over the Organization", Marluxia said as he grabbed Zexion's arm tightly.
Larxene appeared from the portal with a smile on her face. The men of the room looked at her with a confused look, wondering what took her so long to arrive from the portal. She gave them all quick glances, then she looked at Marluxia.
"Marluxia…I've got some news to tell you", she said. "I met a woman by the name of Irvina. Do you know her?".
Marluxia looked at strangely, and then it hit him. The memories came flashing back. He saw a woman cradling a child with mahogany hair in her arms. His dark blue eyes widen at the sight of the woman. She was smiling at him cheerfully. Her smile alone lit up the room. An image of himself appeared before him, and it ran towards her. He watched as the man with some brown overalls and white long sleeved shirt hugged the blonde woman and laughed happily. He suddenly shook the memories away and saw his comrades, looking at him with concern. He glared at Larxene.
"And if I do know her?", he asked.
Lenne rode atop of the horse as she observed her surroundings. They were in a very dark place. There was a green pound of water in the middle of the walkway they were on. Before them they saw a stairway that lead up to a door that glowed brightly. The horse walked of its own accord towards that door, and Lenne let him. She had to squint her eyes as they got closer and closer to the door. The door opened before them, and they went in it.
Lenne opened her eyes and saw a huge building. It had two giant statues of men with connecting swords. They both had on helmets and carried shields. She saw four big candles up their foot (two on each man's side),and they burned brightly. The horse kept walking as if it were trying to lead her somewhere. She looked behind her and saw huge posters with a picture of a small half man and half goat on one of them. Under the picture, there were words that said "Phil Cup". The poster next to that one had a picture of the very horse she was riding, and the writing under that said "Pegasus Cup". She patted the horse's head.
"Your name is Pegasus, isn't it?", she asked, and the horse neighed.
She also saw on the far left a poster with a man with flaming hair, and under it, it said "Hades Cup". She turned back around and faced forward. Once they got to the door of the coliseum, she hopped Pegasus's back and entered the coliseum with the horse following behind. Inside, they saw stone walls and two large candles on either side of them. In front of them, Lenne saw the half man, half goat from the picture. He looked at them with a stern look.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?", he asked.
"My name's Lenne, and I'm looking for a boy named Sora", she answered.
"Sora? You're looking for that pipsqueak?", he asked, and she nodded. "He hasn't been here in a while".
"Phil, I just set the ring up for the next match. Have you seen-", asked a man who entered the room from the door in front of them.
He stopped as he saw Lenne. She noticed he looked very young. He had orange hair with blue eyes, and he was very muscular. Pegasus neighed happily and went over to the man's side.
"Um…excuse, sir, but-", she began, but he cut her off.
"Please, call me Hercules", the man said. "What were you doing with Pegasus?".
"I found him by the mail box in Traverse Town. Is he yours?", she asked.
"Yes, I got him as a gift when I was a baby", he answered.
"Enough of the small talk. Lenne, what do you want with Sora?", the half man, half goat named Phil asked.
"I just need to speak with him", she lied.
"Oh, what do you need to tell him? He visits us often, and if you tell me what you need to tell him, I could tell him for you when he visits us", Hercules said eagerly.
"I-uh…it's kind of private…", she lied
"Oh…", he said. "Nice meeting you. I have to find Meg. Bye".
With that, the man ran off, leaving the three of them alone. Lenne patted the horse one good and gave it a light kiss on its forehead.
"Farewell and thank you", she said as she left the coliseum.
Once Lenne stepped back on the sands, she created a portal with the help of the necklace on her neck. After that was done, she stepped in it and vanished from the coliseum world. She then appeared in another unfamiliar world. This one was an island. It had beautiful green palm trees and white sands. There were wooden clubhouses, and the island basically looked like a playground. She landed on the shores of the island and began searching for inhabitants.
"Hey! Who are you?", asked a child-like voice behind her.
She turned around and saw a small-framed boy with brown spiky hair and light blue eyes on top of a wooden bridge staring at her. He had a long red stick in his hands, and he wore pants that on one leg it was shorter than the other and yellow and white jacket, showing off his small chest.
"My name is Lenne. Do you know a boy named Sora?", she asked.
"Sora? Of course, I know him! He's here on the island!", the boy said cheerfully. "Why?".
"I need to speak with him", she lied.
"Oh, okay", the boy said as he hopped down from the bridge. "Follow me".
The boy ran off towards the small pond of water and waterfall. He past it and enter the dark tunnel, and Lenne followed the boy. He lead her all the way through the tunnel until they reached a space with there were markings and drawings everywhere. They were two huge rocks, and the boy went past them and pointed behind one of them.
"Here he is!", the boy cried.
"Tidus, what are you talking about?", a voice said behind the rock.
"This girl named Lenne says she wants to talk to you", Tidus said.
"Lenne? I don't know anyone named Lenne", the voice of a boy said as he stood up.
Lenne could see spiky brown hair from behind the rock. Tidus moved out of the way, and she watched as a boy with the same small frame as Tidus appeared from behind the rock. He had pretty blue eyes and a very young face. Tidus looked at the two of them intently, wondering what was going to happen.
"Tidus, do you mind if I have a word with Sora alone?", Lenne asked the boy who nodded and left.
"Um…do I know you from somewhere?", Sora asked.
"No, but I do have a message from Marluxia…", Lenne said as she got into a defensive position. "He wants you dead!".
"What? Dead? But I don't even know anyone named Marluxia!", he said, looking shocked.
"He says you're dangerous to the Organization and should be destroyed. He said you are no longer needed!", she shouted.
"I don't want to fight you!", Sora said as he summoned the Keyblade into his hands. "Wait…the Organization! You know them?".
"I heard Marluxia speak of them", she answered.
"Is he part of it?", he asked.
"I think so…", she answered.
"But that's impossible…I beat all of them…", Sora whispered, letting his guard down.
Lenne lifted up her hand and sent a flare spell at the boy, and it hit him fully, sending him into the stone wall. The boy yelled in pain, but she didn't care as she sent blizzard spell towards the boy. Sora got up slowly only to get hit by a blizzard spell that knocked him backs into the wall. He was getting weak fast, and the spells were very harsh. They were even more powerful than his firaga, blizzaga, and thunderga spells. He got up with a lot effort and got back in a defensive position. He lunged for her, and she sent a fire spell towards him. He dodges it by jumping into the air. He fell and attacked her as he landed, knocking her into the wall with the Keyblade.
She felt the wind get knocked out of her as she hit the wall. She groggily got back up and sent a gravity spell at him. He felt the gravity pushed him into the ground, but he refused to let that happened. He rolled out of the way and got back on his feet.
"I don't want to fight you! Why can't you understand that?", Sora yelled as he charged at her again.
She cast a water spell at him, causing him to fly back again. While he was off-guard, she made matters worse and sent a Thunderga spell at him. Because of the water, that caused the power of the Thunderga spell to triple, making him scream as he was electrocuted. He fell to the ground with a loud thud, and the smoke rose from him. He looked dead to her, but she wanted to check before she left. She stood by his side and kicked him in his side harshly, causing him to flip over. As she leaned over to observe him, his eyes snapped open, and he used the Keyblade to slice her across her stomach. It left a huge and deep gash on her stomach, and tons of blood fell quickly. She grew weak and fell to her knees as he got up on his.
"I told you I didn't want to fight you", he said calmly.
Her vision grew blurry, but she still had enough power to make a portal for her escape. She couldn't die like this. She couldn't die here. She crawled towards the portal, and he let her. She entered the portal and ended up on the bottom floor of Castle Oblivion. She didn't have any more energy and passed out.
"Lenne? Are you okay? Please say you're okay?", a voice said.
Lenne saw a white light before her, and she reached out to it. She saw images of her world. A world of peace and happiness. It was a peaceful city where there were towns, roads, and people. The sun was shinning brightly. Suddenly, the vision grew dark, and she saw a ceiling of a room.
"She's okay…", another voice said beside.
She first noticed she was lying in a bed. She looked to her side and saw a girl with long braided black hair and violet eyes. She stared back at her with concern and slight happiness. In the corner of her eye, she saw a girl with black hair and brown streaks in it. The girl hugged her as she scream in pure happiness. Lenne struggled. The girl was causing her pain to become greater.
"Rinoa, get off me!", she shouted.
"Are you trying to kill her?", asked the ebony-haired girl.
"No, Lulu", Rinoa said as she got up and walked away.
"I'm glad you're okay, Lenne", the girl named Lulu said with monotone. "We thought you were dead. Silvia found you at the bottom of the stairs at the castle entrance."
"Where am I?", Lenne asked.
"You're in Lulu's room", answered a blonde girl beside her.
"Quistis?", Lenne said.
"Yup…", she said with a sigh.
"What happened to Marluxia?", Lenne asked.
"You're talking about cutie-pie?", asked Rinoa who stood beside Quistis.
"I finally saw him. I saw him through my window. I was too scared to talk to him though. He's kind of scary looking", said another blonde girl who entered the room.
"Aya?", Lenne said with a hint of confusion in her tone.
"Surprised to see me?", Aya asked.
"Lulu, have you seen Larxene? The woman with the blonde hair?", asked a girl with white hair as she entered the room too.
"Nope. I haven't, Silvia", Lulu answered.
Lenne notice another white-haired girl (her hair was in a ponytail) in the corner who was thinking to herself. She had golden eyes that were glued to floor. They suddenly lifted up to look back into the brown eyes of Lenne's.
"I told you, Lulu. Just casting cure on her won't completely heal her wounds. It's too deep", the girl named Teletha said.
"Hm…", was all Lulu said as she sat in a chair.
"So where have you been, Lenne?", asked a girl with pink hair as she got a seat and sat beside her bed. "And how did you get that awful wound?".
"It's a long story…", Lenne answered.
"We have time…", Rinoa said.
"What do you have to hide?", asked Aya.
"I need to tell Marluxia something. He needs to know that the Organization has been destroyed. I have to tell him now", Lenne said as she tried to get up, but the pain was too great so she just laid back down.
"Hey, I'll tell him. What does he look like?", Teletha said.
"He has brown hair and blue eyes. He's-", Lenne began before Rinoa cut her off.
"He's the cutie-pie. I already told you that!", Rinoa said. "You might want to watch out for the blonde woman. She's dangerous".
"Okay…", Teletha said as she left Lulu's room.
"Now that that's over, you can tell us your 'long' story", Quistis said, and Lenne sighed.
"Okay. As we speak, Lenne is getting rid of that pest, Sora. He's the least to our problems now", Marluxia began to explain to his comrades.
"Who's Lenne?", Zexion asked.
"A girl who we found in this castle. There are nine more of them inside this castle. They are friends of hers", Larxene answered.
"What's so special about this girl?", he asked.
"She's a sorceress. Her powers are remarkable. I can sense that", Marluxia answered.
"A sorceress you say? And you plan to use her to take over the Organization as we planned before?", Zexion asked as if he were reading Marluxia's thoughts.
"Yes…", Marluxia answered with a slight smirk.
There was a knock on the door, and Lexaeus answered it, opening the door. There stood a girl white hair and golden eyes. She looked scared and stood there, shaking. She looked at the four of them, frightened out of her mind.
"May I help you?", Larxene asked with a laugh.
"Lenne has arrived back in the castle-", she began, but Zexion cut her off.
"So…that was that smell I sensed…", Zexion said.
"And?", Larxene asked.
"She's hurt pretty badly, but she'll live. She wanted to tell you that the Organization has been destroyed", the girl said.
"What is your name, girl?", Marluxia asked slightly shocked by the news.
"Teletha…", she answered.
"Do you have any powers? Anything that makes you significant?", he asked harshly.
"I'm…uh…very smart, sir", she answered.
"Is that so?", Zexion asked, interested.
"Yes…", she answered.
"What floor is she on?", asked Marluxia.
"The fifth floor, sir", Teletha said, bowing slightly.
"Hm…", was all he said as he walked past her out of the room.
She followed him, confusedly, staring at his backside. He kept walking down the hall until he suddenly stopped, making her run right into his back. She wasn't paying attention at all until she heard him growl. She stood upright, and he lifted made a portal appear in front of them. He grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her in with him into the dark portal.
Marluxia and Teletha appeared in Lulu's room. The girls were gone and only Lulu and Lenne were left in the room, but they were sound asleep. It was very late, and the other girls had retired to their rooms. Marluxia threw Teletha towards Lenne, making a loud ruckus. Lenne woke up groggily. She only saw Teletha land on her feet and Lulu sleeping in the corner on a chair.
"Teletha, did you tell him?", she asked.
"Yes, she did. Did you eliminate the Keyblade master?", asked the deep, soothing voice of Marluxia as he appeared in her view.
She gasped, and Teletha grew silent and stood by Lulu's side. Marluxia approached Lenne quietly. Lenne was in too much shock to answer. Her mouth hung open, but words were unable to pass her lips. He smirked at the scared look on her face.
"Why are you so surprised to see me?", he asked.
"I…um…didn't kill him…", she answered his question from before.
"What?", he said, getting angry.
"I couldn't…he was too quick…", she lied.
"Well, then…", he began, getting calm. "We'll just have to settle this then".
"What are you going to do to-", began Teletha, but he cut her off.
"That is none of your concern", he said calmly as he grabbed Lenne's arm in a tight grip.
Before she could even struggle, the two of them disappeared in the darkness, leaving a stunned and worried Teletha behind.
"Are my gosh! Sora, are you alright?", asked a voice.
Sora woke up in the cold dirt. His vision was blurry, but he could see one of his friends, a girl, in front of him, trying to help him up. When his vision focused, he saw Tidus in the corner of his eyes also helping him get up.
"Selphie, I got it. You just tell Kairi or Riku to go get a potion for him", Tidus said.
"You're sure?", asked the brunette girl by the name of Selphie.
"Of course", Tidus said with a groan as he lifted Sora over his shoulders.
"Ah…what happened?", Sora asked Tidus as Selphie ran out.
"I don't know. I just heard a lot of noises from the tunnel, so I decided to come back and check on you. I found you barely standing, then you passed out", Tidus explained.
"Came back to check on me?", Sora asked himself, and then it hit him. "That girl! Lenne! Where did she go?".
"Lenne? I haven't seen her. What happened to you?", Tidus asked as he began, walking Sora out of the tunnel.
"She attacked me…that's what I mostly remember…", answered Sora.
"She attacked you? Whoa…she seemed so kind…I wouldn't have lead her to you if I thought she was dangerous", Tidus said.
"Yeah…I know", Sora said as they got back on the island.
"Sora! I got Kairi!", Selphie said as she ran up to them with a red-haired girl.
"Sora, what happened to you?", asked Kairi as Tidus leaned Sora against the wall.
Sora fell down to the ground, and Kairi went to his side. She reached into her pocket and took out of pretty green container containing a clear liquid. She handed it to Sora.
"Here…drink this…", she whispered to him.
"Where's Riku?", Sora asked before he drank the potion.
"He's at home", Kairi answered.
"We'll leave you two alone", Selphie said as she grabbed Tidus's arm and ran off.
As Sora drank the potion, he felt his strength return to him the more he drank. Once he finished, he felt better and got up form the ground. Kairi got up with him and still had the worried look on her face.
"Sora…what happened?", she asked again.
Marluxia and Lenne appeared in his room where Larxene, Zexion, and Lexaeus awaited them calmly. He threw the girl towards the bed and looked at his follow members. They looked at the girl, then back at him.
"Did she kill him?", asked Larxene.
"No", Marluxia answered.
"What?", she responded angrily.
"So what do you plan to do with her now? The Organization is destroyed now, and we have all the power", asked Zexion.
"She has one final chance to kill the boy. If not…she'll regret it", Marluxia answered as he glared at Lenne who looked frightened.
"I don't know whether to be happy that the Organization is destroyed or angry that this foolish girl didn't eliminate Sora", Larxene said.
"It wasn't my fault!", Lenne suddenly cried out. "He was too quick. My powers need something drastic to summon them, and I would've been dead by the time that happened had I stayed there!".
"Excuses…excuses…", Larxene scoffed. "Marluxia, why are you even letting this girl live?".
He said nothing as he created another portal and approached Lenne. He grabbed her arm and threw her into the portal, making her vanish from the room. He looked back at Larxene.
"It is time. We shall turn her worthless friends into Nobodies…", Marluxia said with an evil smirk.