Kingdom Hearts II The Untold Chronicles

Chapter Three – The Darkness

"You don't have to worry now." Shuku said. "Sora, Tidus, and I will take good care of you now. You don't have to take Riku's crap anymore." Ashley didn't respond as she sat in a chair at the kitchen table. Tidus poked at Ashley to be funny. Tidus burned himself on her shoulder.

"Yeowch!" Tidus put his finger in his mouth. Shuku smiled.

"I'm sorry. Ashley doesn't have people skills." Shuku said.

"They've gotten worse since Kairi apparently tricked her." Sora said crossing his arms. It was only five minutes ago that Ashley had open fire on Kairi in the town square.

"Why would Kairi trick anyone?" Tidus asked. Sora shook his head.

"Couldn't tell you."

"She toyed with Ashley and that is bad enough for me." Shuku said. "Kairi is no friend of mine, or Ashley's." Shuku put her hand on Ashley's flesh and wasn't burned like Tidus. "Let's get you something to wear."

Ashley wore a baby blue halter top with a black mini skirt. The outfit was simple and plain, but it was the best Shuku could do with Sora's mother's closet. Shuku even tied a baby blue scarf in Ashley's hair into a bow and gave her one ear ring to wear in her left ear. It was a large loop. Ashley looked like a pirate's scallywag. Sora and Tidus giggled at Shuku's fashion sense. Ashley sat down in her chair and laced up her knee high combat boots. Sora didn't know his mom had any.

"You look nice." Tidus complemented. Ashley glared like Tidus killed Bambi's father. Tidus coughed.

"You shouldn't bother." Shuku said, putting on a pair of zip up boots. They were knee high as well. "Ashley is really hurt."

"Well, we should go look for our moms." Sora said. Tidus nodded.

"What?" Shuku asked.

"Yeah, they've been missing since this morning." Tidus informed.

"I see." Shuku said. "Come on, Ashley, let's go." Ashley stood up following Shuku out of Sora's home.

Tidus, Sora, Shuku, and Ashley looked everywhere for the adults on the island. There were none to be found.

"This is impossible! People were here! I know I saw people shut their curtains for the fight in the square." Sora said. The group wandered into the town square to think.

"Where could have everyone gone?" Tidus questioned.

The sky turned pitch black with out warning. Sora put his hand over his eyes to stare about.

"That's weird. We have another two hours before complete sundown." Sora said.

"Sora!" Shuku cried out. A black shadow had moved under Shuku and began to swallow her. This scene was too familiar to Sora. Heartless. Sora reached for Shuku.

"Shuku, take my hand!" Sora instructed. Tidus also held out his hand to Shuku.

"We've got you!" Tidus smiled. During the commotion, Ashley was already being swallowed up by a Heartless portal. She stared on helplessly. Shuku saw Ashley from the corner of her eye going under like the Titanic.

"No! We've just got to see each other! We finally remembered each other!" Shuku shouted. "Sora, save her!"

"I can't!" Sora said looking down. Sora had become stuck in a shadow portal. Shuku cursed as Tidus held onto her hand.

"Don't worry, I've got you!" Tidus reassured.

"Ashley," Shuku said, getting her attention "don't let the darkness take you… I mean it! I foresaw darkness in your life!" Ashley gave a solemn nod as she faded away. "Damn it!" Shuku moaned as things went black…

"Hahahahah…" A voice laughed as Shuku fell into the void.

"Oh my head…" Shuku said. She sat up and the aroma of flowers filled her nose. Shuku was in a field. "W-Where am I?" She said. Shuku was going to get up, but her hand fell into something wet. "The hell…?" She looked at her hand. Shuku's hand had blood on it. Was it hers? Shuku panicked. "I'm dying?"

The blood wasn't hers. Shuku looked down and saw Tidus' mangled body. A Heartless must've gotten to him on the fall to a different world. Shuku had never seen blood that didn't belong to her. "Tidus, get up!" Shuku shook his shoulder. Tidus didn't respond. He was dead.

Shuku tried to blink away her tears, but they kept coming. Large spheres of salty water rolled down her cheeks. Shuku was feeling Sora's feelings. She knew if she told Sora what had happened that he'd cry as well. Shuku didn't want Sora to be sad and she wanted Tidus to live. She felt Tidus was a good person. And he didn't deserve something like this because Riku—or anyone—sold out Destiny Island, again.

She wrapped her arms around Tidus' head, cradling his body in her lap. Shuku rocked back and forth slowly. "Live…" She said to his corpse. Shuku gritted her teeth as the unthinkable happened. Shuku screamed in pain as gorgeous white wings exploded from her back, ripping the flesh from the scars. The wings were three times the size of the original ones she had before they were 'clipped'. They dripped with fresh blood. They curled around Tidus' body as Shuku prayed to any deity that could hear her, to bring her friend back to life. There was a surge of white light and it faded.

The final tear fell from Shuku's face. It landed on Tidus' cheek as her wings folded tighter. The blood from Tidus' body started to move. It traveled in a backwards motion, going back into Tidus' body. Shuku had tampered with nature and it felt great. Tidus opened his blue eyes and saw the angel that brought him back to life.

"I'm… Alive…?" Tidus asked.

"Yes, you are." Shuku said with a smile.

"You brought me back? No, wait. You're an angel?" Tidus was confused but grateful. She shook her head.

"I don't really know what I am. But you have me mistaken with Biblical creatures." Shuku said. Tidus sat up with a hand on his stomach.

"Where is Sora?"

"I think we got separated."

"That's alright. Sora has prepared us if the Heartless were to come back. Sora told us to head to the west." Tidus pointed. He looked for the sunlight. "We have to set up camp."

"Why?" Shuku asked.

"We have to monitor the sun and it's movements to determine our compass. By then, it'll be sundown and it'll be safer to camp out than to move at night. Once we familiarize ourselves with the area, we can move at night." Tidus said.

"We don't have anything to camp with." Shuku said. "Besides we have to move. We need to find a body of water so we don't become dehydrated."

"You're right. Let's just pick a direction."

"No, that's alright. I have an idea." Shuku smiled.

Shuku flapped her massive wings, carrying Tidus by his under-elbows.

"So what's the plan?" Tidus yelled to her over the wind.

"It's a gamble but… Most rivers flow north to south. I can sense bodies of water with my powers. If I find a river, we can see which way it flows and predict west!" Shuku sounded like a rocket scientist to Tidus. He was pleased. Tidus was really starting to like Shuku. She saved his life and would do so a second time with her smarts.

"Is he alive?" A familiar voice hung over Sora's head.

"Wha…" Sora was out of it.

"Sora, wake up." A gentle female voice said to him. Sora cracked his eyes letting the bright light in. Yuffie, Aerith, and Tifa loomed over Sora's head. Sora sat up and checked himself for missing items. Yuffie pouted.

"You'd think you'd give me a little more credit than that!" She squeaked. The legendary, Cloud, stood in the corner of the room with his arms crossed.

"I wouldn't" Cloud murmured from his black turtle neck. Tifa and Aerith laughed.

"Discrimination! Discrimination!" Yuffie cried. Sora rubbed his head.

"What am I doing here?" Sora paused. "Where is here?" Cloud walked over to Sora.

"I was going to ask the same question… And you're at Hollow Bastion" Cloud said.

"How did you guys find me?" Sora asked.

"A black void spit you out in front of me. It looked like the working of the Heartless. The heartless aren't active, are they?" Yuffie said at a hundred mile per hour.

"I'm afraid so." Sora said.

"How many times do you have to kick their ass before they get the message?" Tifa slammed her fist into the palm of her hand. Everyone jumped in their shoes.

"First off, something weird was going on at the Destiny Isle, the island where I come from." Sora began the story. "Two girls, one white and one black, crash landed on the island. They had no idea where they came from. They both had scars on their back and we asked them what they were about. They didn't know. I suppose that was suspicious, but we harbored them anyways. In a week in a half's time, we were all swallowed up by Heartless voids and separated."

"Do you suppose it's the work of Riku again?" Aerith asked.

"Probably. He was being a jerk to the black girl he took in. Broke her heart into pieces—practically drove her insane."

"He broke her heart?" Cloud inquired again.

"Yes. I suppose he did. The girl went on a rampage and soon after that, everyone went missing and then my party of people was swallowed up!" Sora was getting excited and talking too fast. Cloud held up his hand to digest the information.

"How soon?"

"Like, five, ten minutes after it happened." Sora said honestly. Cloud frowned.

"Sounds like Riku broke her heart on purpose. That girl posed as a medium for darkness. Her negative energy about Riku destroying her heart would be perfect for Heartless to wrap their hands around." Cloud said.

"Riku knew what he was doing that day." Sora sighed.

"Condolences." Cloud said. "But the Heartless haven't been active around here."

"This is so weird." Sora said. "I have to find my friends. They are all headed west now. Even if they have to hop worlds, they'll end up at Twilight Town."

"Good plan, Sora." Cloud was nice for a moment. "We'll meet you there, but right now—I'm supposed to be getting a 'hair cut'" Cloud glared at Aerith. She smiled.

"Don't worry; I'll still leave it spiky. Spiky Haired Boy." Aerith laughed.

Ashley opened her eyes. It was night and she was in a jungle like atmosphere. She was on her back, so she sat up. Ashley looked around her surroundings. Ashley looked away, embarrassed. Riku was sitting under a tree, looking smooth. Ashley didn't want to be where ever she was and especially not with Riku. Ashley stood up and tried to storm off.

"We have to head west." Riku said. Ashley kept walking. "There is a cliff that way." She didn't care. Anywhere but where Riku was. "Hey!" Riku called out, getting to his feet. "That isn't west."

"Shut up, Riku!" Ashley thought. She didn't want to be bother by him. Riku grabbed Ashley's arm tightly."

"She tricked me, too…" Riku said firmly. Ashley whipped her arm away. "Look, just trust me." He offered. Ashley frowned but conformed. "Great." Riku said with no emotion. "Now, let's head to the west." Riku turned around and began walking. Ashley waited and then followed after getting a few feet between them.

They walked for hours. Ashley started to lag behind. She was fatigued and couldn't focus. Ashley heard a twig snap behind her. She shook her head and got ready to fight. Riku was unaware of what was going on behind him as he pushed through the jungle brush.

It was a Neo Heartless. It was an all black, muscled up creature with zigzag antennae. The Heartless' yellow almond eyes stared at her. Ashley flared up her hands, engulfing them with flames. It took a cheap shot at her, sweeping her. Ashley fell onto her back.

"Ah!" She shouted. Riku looked quickly.

"Ashley!" Riku rushed over to her. Ashley pushed Riku back and planned to fight alone. Ashley began beating the crap out of the Heartless. Ashley gave a swift uppercut but left her torso open. The Heartless gutted Ashley through. Its claws ran horizontal with her body. Blood went flying, splattering on leaves. Riku stepped in grabbing the Heartless by the neck. He squeezed snapping its neck in two. It dissipated.

Ashley held her stomach.

"You okay?" Riku asked with gentle eyes. Ashley held up her hand. She pretended to be alright and began walking again. Riku shrugged.

They walked for another hour. Ashley stopped in her tracks. She coughed into her clean hand. There was blood.

"Ri… Ri…" She couldn't finish. Ashley collapsed…

Ashley opened her eyes to find Riku sitting next to her. He didn't notice that she woke up. Ashley looked around. Riku had built a fire and made a roof with large leaves, sticks, and vines. They were next to a stream. Ashley's wounds were gone and her shirt was mended. Ashley noticed that she was wrapped up in Riku's overcoat.

She watched his stern face as he look at the moon. Riku was wondering if other worlds looked at the same moon. Ashley moved a bit.

"Oh, you're awake." Riku looked down. Ashley stared at Riku's arm muscles.

"Yeah…"

"You're talking to me now?" Riku smiled a bit. It faded.

"What happened?"

"After you passed out from shock, I carried you. I found a stream at least two hours later. I drained a bit of my own energy to cast a healing spell. I made a little fort and wrapped you up to keep you warm. I waited—and here we are." Riku explained.

"I was so cold to you." Ashley reminded.

"You had every right to be, and I'm sorry. Kairi told me that you had kissed Sora in the square."

"Is that why you grabbed me?"

"Yes and I yelled at you. I was afraid that Sora would steal you from me like he did Kairi. When Kairi told me, I feared it was too late." Riku sighed.

"That doesn't explain why you and Kairi were making out. Feelings are feelings and you still had feelings for her."

"I don't know…"

"You should know!" Ashley's eyes watered. "I know!" She hesitated. "I know that—that I like you. You're kind to me and being attractive is a bonus. You've really hurt me…" Riku pinned Ashley down by her shoulders. His hands moved down her arms.

"I'm sorry, please know that. You have been kind to me, Ashley. That was something I didn't get in the town because of my past..." Riku closed in, his aqua eyes piercing Ashley's soul. His lips pressed against hers. Ashley turned her head. Riku let go of her, feeling self-conscious. "I'm sorry! That was out of line." Ashley sat up and touched her lips. "It was silly of me to think that you'd like it."

"It is because I'm black?" Riku felt alienated.

"No-NO! Of course not! It was just—!" Ashley kissed Riku in return. It was a long, sensual kiss. She pulled away.

"Mmm, don't worry about it." Ashley snuggled close to Riku. "The sun is starting to rise, wanna watch it?"

"Yes, I'd like that. I'd like that a lot." Riku put his arm around her. Ashley rested her head on Riku's shoulder.

Shuku was watching the moon. She and Tidus set up camp as well.

"I wonder if Ashley is alright." Shuku said aloud. Tidus sat down wiping his mouth. Shuku and Tidus camped out in front a lake.

"She's probably worried about you, too." Tidus said. Shuku flexed her wings. "We've covered a lot of ground, thanks to you." Tidus thanked.

"I try my best, all season round." Shuku grinned.

"Do you want to tell me about your past? When you remembered, there was some turbulence." Tidus looked at the sky, the stars gleaming.

"I remember most of it, but there are still fragments suppressed. That's probably because I don't want to remember them. Ashley and I are peas in a pod, ever since I could remember she was next to me. We played together and trained together. We were only six when we were abducted and revived our wings. Our keeper was nice, though. I-I can't remember him very well. His face is distant and his name won't come. I know that Ashley and I called him, Master, sometimes." Shuku told.

"Didn't you miss your parents?" Tidus felt sorry for Shuku having to live with out her parents.

"It was for the best… Master even convinced us of that. Trust me, we weren't brainwashed into thinking that, either! He explained that our parents didn't have the money to bring us up. Our powers were out of their control and the village that Ashley and I came from, looked down on Mages. They shunned our parents and made bartering difficult. They had to pay twice as much for something they couldn't help."

"If you could, would you have your powers taken away?" Tidus asked an ethical question. Shuku smiled.

"Yes, we both would have—but that was at a time that we were naïve. Master taught us that we have a gift. A gift that we can use to help people."

"What exactly is your gift?" Tidus inquired. Shuku put one of her wings around Tidus. Her wing was soft and would make a good pillow.

"We have many talents. I am intertwined with the element water mainly. Secondly, I am strong in ice. A physic ability that took long to acquire would be foresight—an ability to see into the future."

"Can you use it on me?" Tidus asked, curious. Shuku shook her head.

"It's difficult. My foresight works at random and I can't use it on myself."

"What about Ashley? What can she do?" Tidus smirked.

"Ashley is a well trained Fire Mage and because of that, if she becomes really stressed or fatigued, she'll forget to keep her powers under control and will literally ignite!"

"So much for being 'well' trained…" Tidus rolled his eyes. Shuku gave a slight punch.

"Ashley trained everyday with Master… She was his favorite…" Shuku looked away with spite.

"Ooh! Jealous?" Tidus leaned toward her, teasing.

"A little. But I was first to achieve my –ra form. Ashley hasn't got Fira yet. I know because I put her fire out in the town square. I haven't been able to do that before. That means I'm a level up than her. So I'm not as jealous." Shuku boasted.

"You're stronger than her?"

"Yeah!"

"Does she have any other powers?"

"She minors in Lighting/Thunder abilities. She never uses it; yet, Ashley is in the –ra for Thunder. She has Thundara. Ashley has the power to bring memories to life and peer into the past."

"Well if that's the case, why not have her look into your past and unlock the memories?" Tidus suggested.

"As if we haven't already tried that. I remember in the horrid years, she tried to bring back my memories of Master. She was driven insane and almost killed herself with a fork." Shuku coughed.

"A fork?"

"It was all she had at the time."

"Was it plastic?"

"Yep." It was quiet between them.

"Wow." Tidus rubbed his chin, starting to laugh.

"It's not funny. It's not funny at all. I don't want my memories to be so chaotic. It hurts to even think into last week. It kind of strains me to tell you about my memories." Shuku rubbed her head.

"Sorry, I didn't know."

"It's alright. You can't fix it if you don't try!"

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Tidus smiled.

"My memories of Ashley came back really vivid; however, there are still pieces missing."

"Don't strain yourself. We'll talk more about it in the morning." Tidus said heading under a fort similar to Riku's.

"Yes, the morning…" Shuku sounded distant.

She was afraid to go to sleep since fractions of her memories had been restored when seeing Ashley. She had more things to have nightmares about…