The next few worlds were exercises in frustration. The other group had picked up enough of a headstart after Maple's Well that, by the time the Chasers arrived at the next world, Lily had already been there, locked the door, and gone again. Izenu recieved much practice in unlocking the worlds, but every time they stopped to do so they lost more time. Finally, Ais called a halt to it. "We're never going to catch them this way."
Izenu looked out the gummi ship's windows to the world below. "So we're just going to let this world be locked away?"
"The computer says that they call their home 'Destiny Islands.' Why would they wish to leave a place like that, anyway?" At his brother's skeptical look, Ais sighed. "The barrier is due to go up any moment, Izenu. I have no desire to be down there when it does, even if it's only for a short time. We need to stop the source, not fix things as they happen."
"I suppose you're right," Izenu said.
They eventually landed in the forest outside the walls of Twilight Town, near the other gummi ship and close to a mansion. Izenu's Keyblade appeared almost as soon as his feet hit the earth, and Ais glanced at him questioningly. The teen shook his head. "They haven't locked it yet." The key lifted in his hand, pointed at the mansion. "Let's look in there first."
The gate was already open when they approached. The older two entered the courtyard slowly, looking behind the white arches for ambushes. Izenu simply ignored them, marching directly up the center and pushing the front door open. Ais growled in the back of his throat as he chased after him. "Izenu, wait."
"There's nobody here," Izenu said over his shoulder. He ran his fingers over the edge of the nearest display table, which held a model of a castle. Upstairs and to their right, a thump sounded, and Izenu corrected himself, "The owners aren't here."
"Well, yes and no. Everyone else is in town, of course, enjoying the festival." Rufus's voice halted them on the landing, halfway to the second-floor balcony. The blond was leaning on the frame of the doorway to a room to the left of the entrance, smiling up at them from across the foyer. "But, technically speaking, I am the owner of this house, and I am very much present and welcome here. You, however, are trespassing."
Knosis raised his claymore and looked up at Ais and Izenu, who already stood on the next flight of steps. "You two go on. I'll take care of him." When Ais didn't move at first, Knosis snapped, "That wasn't a suggestion, Chaser!"
"Yes sir, Commander, sir," Ais said, turning and taking the stairs up to the second floor where his brother waited. Gunshots rang out, and Ais pushed Izenu through the door ahead of him, then slammed it behind them, shutting out the sound of wood and other materials breaking.
They found themselves in a library, the floor of which vanished after a few feet, leaving them a ledge to stand on. Izenu let the end of his Keyblade hang over the edge, trailing it along there as he walked over to the staircase. It made a solid thunk sound as it connected. He nodded, but prodded each stair with the tip of his weapon before setting foot on it. Torn between amusement at his brother and concern for Knosis, Ais followed him into what appeared to be the basement.
An open door and voices to their left directed their path, though Ais grabbed Izenu's shoulder and forcefully placed him in the back before they proceeded. Probably a useless precaution, but it still made Ais feel better. Fortunately, the corridor they followed had no offshoots, leading them directly to their quarry.
Lulu announced her presence with a fireball that smashed harmlessly against Ais's claymore, quickly followed by a barrage of ice. Ais moved forward and swung his blade, which she blocked with her staff. Lulu retreated under his attack, back to where the hallway ended in a small chamber. It was lit by the glow of Lily's Keyblade, already starting to lock the door. The darkness retreated further, Ais noticed as he fought, when Izenu's key joined Lily's. He was trying to unlock it at the same time Lily locked it.
There was a sudden blaze of light. Lulu jumped back from him, half turning and shading her eyes to see what was going on. Ais turned as well, forced to squint even with the tinting on his visor.
The door to the heart of the world was glowing white, brighter than the sun outside. Both Keyblades were glowing just as brightly, though the light ended at the hilts. Streams of light connected the keys to the door and twined around the teens.
Just as abruptly as it had started, the light vanished, leaving them blinking in the dim until their eyes adjusted. Izenu was running his hand over the wall, visor up to show his puzzled look. "Where'd the door go?" he asked.
"Better yet, what happened to your keys?" Lulu countered.
Lily had a dumbfounded expression on her face as she examined her Keyblade. Where the glow had been, the weapons had inverted colors; Izenu now had a golden shaft with a silver hilt, while Lily's was silver with a golden hilt. Izenu stared down at his key, then gave Lily an accusing look. "This is all your fault," he told her.
She gave him a large, artificial smile...then took off running towards the exit. Izenu was right on her heels, shouting insults and for her to face him already. Behind him, Lulu heaved a sigh. "If he doesn't kill her, I think I might just lock her in her room for the rest of her life," the mage said dryly.
Ais snorted. "I'd say the same about him, but it wouldn't do any good anymore," he replied as they began jogging after the two teens.
He heard the sound of metal being crushed, and was just in time to yank Lulu out of the doorway before the overhead pipes crashed down, blocking the door. Looking up, he saw Izenu's Keyblade reappear in his hand to block Lily's next swing before she ducked out of the room. The door didn't even swing all the way shut before Izenu slammed it back open, chasing after her. Lulu scooped up the hem of her dress and began climbing the stairs. "Where's your third companion?" she asked him.
"With yours, I imagine," he said. "Do you think they'll stop them?" She shrugged.
A glance over the railing of the balcony answered his question. The foyer was ruined, furniture smashed. The two men in question stood in the middle of it, weapons lowered, staring at the front doors, which were barely beginning to close.
"Some help you are," Lulu called out as she hurried down the steps.
Knosis looked over at Ais as the younger man approached them. "Did they switch Keyblades for some reason?"
"We aren't sure what they did," Ais said.
"Then why are we standing around here?" Rufus asked. "Let's go after them, because if one kills the other it'll be much harder to find out."
Rufus's white suit was easy to track through the forest, as was the Keyblade wielders' path of destruction. He led them to an opening in the large wall, then stopped in dismay. "There's supposed to be a gate here," he said, indicating the irregular hole.
Peering through it, Knosis pointed at a twisted pile of metal. "That gate?"
"She'll probably head for the Sandlot," Lulu said. "It has more open space for fighting."
"Except today is a holiday, which means the place will be packed." Rufus took lead once more, feet hurrying to the archway as he spoke. "Nearly the entire town will be there."
They arrived just as the crowd was beginning to realize that the fight was not part of the day's entertainment. Several large men were moving towards the teens, obviously intending to break them up. Lily must have spotted them, because she suddenly flung her hands out, palms outward, one at Izenu and the other at the men. "Stop!" she shouted, momentarily silencing the crowd. When both parties did so, she took a deep breath and addressed Izenu. "This fight, this war between Keyblades, is between you and me." Looking at the men, then at the four who had just arrived, she said, "That means that we can't have anyone else interfering. So, everyone needs to back off."
Izenu was nodding. "A one-on-one struggle. That sounds perfectly acceptable."
"I don't like it," Knosis told Ais quietly.
"I think my brother knows what he is doing," the younger man replied. "Hopefully, this will end this mad dance."
A square was quickly cleared around the two, then they resumed fighting, Keyblades clashing in a shower of sparks. Rufus, apparently not very concerned in the outcome, became involved in a discussion with a blond man of about the same age. Ais was impressed; some of the curses the other man casually sprinkled between his words were ones that even he hadn't heard before.
"Cid's got some mouth on him, right?" the man next to him asked, grinning. Unlike most of the other townsfolk here with their short hairstyles, this one kept his black hair long and in a ponytail, out of his brown eyes. Grinning, he added, "Guy smokes like crazy, too, but he's a pretty good pilot."
Turning back to the battle, Ais said, "I fail to see how this concerns me."
"Yeah, you're probably more worried about your little friend out there, aren't ya? Think he's got the advantage, though, unless the girl's sneakier than she looks."
Cid suddenly stopped mid-sentence and demanded, "What the hell?" He turned to the man next to Ais. "You smell smoke, Braig, or am I just going crazy?"
Though he was doing his best to ignore them, Ais took a deep breath. I don't smell-
The thunder of hooves combined with the crackle of fire as a group of horsemen rode into the Sandlot, swords and torches swinging wildly.
Cid's language became far more colorful.
"Rufus, you're obviously the native." Knosis swung his claymore, sweeping one rider off his horse. "Who are they?"
"They haven't attacked in years." Rufus's face was strained, but his aim as sharp as it ever was. "Why are they attacking today?"
"Who, dammit?" Cid demanded.
"Bandits from the woods." He gave the Chasers an unreadable look. "Did you think that wall was just for decoration?" Pulling his gun from its holster, Rufus added, "You might want to consider defending yourselves, because I don't think they will care whether you're from here or not."
Ais grit his teeth, then gave his brother one last glance before allowing the battle to sweep over him.
