Chapter 5

Tension Rising

Caelus woke up the next morning, completely sore. As he sat up he let out a short yelp. He knew he would be sore but not like this. His body wouldn't stop hurting. He wondered if the girls had any pain pills or something. As he wondered that, he heard a knock at his door.

"Um, come in." Caelus said.

The door opened and revealed Raina.

"Hey bud, are you doing okay? I thought I heard a yelp." she asked.

"Yeah sorry. I'm just sore from yesterday. Do you have any pain pills or something?"

"No but I do have something better." Raina said, extending her hand a little away from her shoulder. "Potion Stim!"

From a small box on her belt a glowing green thing shot up into the air and she caught it. She then tossed it to Caelus, who caught it in his palms. The spiky haired boy looked over the green thing. It looked like a vial with a button on the end of it. He shook it to see that the green stuff was more liquid-like than gel-like.

"That right there is a Potion Stim. Made with natural healing herbs. I guarantee it'll patch you right up. Just press the button and inject it." Raina explained.

Caelus looked at her and then the vial again. He clicked the button as a needle popped out the other side. He then stuck it in his chest. At first he felt a small prick but it quickly subsided as a cold numbing feeling overcame the area. He let go of the vial as it fell into his lap, bursting into light particles as it did.

"Don't worry too much about that. The glass is a special glass found on a planet my mother found. Eco friendly to say the least. Anyhow, how do you feel?" Raina asked.

Caelus moved his arm in a circular motion, feeling no pain at all. "Better! Better than better actually! Thank you!"

"I'm glad. Here, take my Stim Canister. I'll just get a replacement. Now, get ready. You got training today." Raina said, leaving the Stim Canister on the desk before leaving.

Caelus got out of bed and got ready as usual, attaching the Stim Canister to his belt. Before he walked outside he checked in on Maria. Besides the no emotions, she was fine. Caelus was still bothered by the whole situation but he set those feelings aside and headed towards the training grounds.

When he got outside, we walked to the training grounds. There he saw Raina and Ember, who was holding a staff of some sort. It seemed like the sisters were arguing about something but quickly stopped when the spiky haired boy approached.

"Hey there Caelus. Get ready, because you'll be training with Ember today." Raina said.

"Really? What kind of training?" Caelus asked.

"You'll be training on how to use magic."

"Wait really? Like fireballs and thunderbolts? That's awesome! Let's get started right away!"

Raina giggled. "Okay you two, I'm checking on Maria. Play nice while I'm gone."

Caelus excitedly jogged into the circle and summoned his Keyblade. "So what's first?! Fire? Lightning? Ice?"

"Shut up. I'm already tired of listening to your voice." Ember said.

'As cheerful as ever I see.' Caelus thought.

"Listen up because I'm only saying this once." Ember continued. "Cast a fireball. Like this."

She pointed the staff at Caelus and a ball of flames flew out of it at him. Luckily, Caelus quickly rolled out the way. She shot a few more out that Caelus managed to block.

"What the hell? How is this training?" Caelus asked.

"What? You can't cast magic? Gods, you are pathetic! How did you ever get chosen?" Maria angrily replied.

She then aimed her staff at Caelus again, this time shooting a ball of ice at him. The Keyblade wielder tried to dodge but unfortunately his foot got caught and was stuck to the ground by ice. He tried to pull his leg free but no luck. The blonde aimed her staff at the boy again as another fireball began forming at the tip. Just before it shot out, Raina came rushing towards her sister, grabbing her wrists.

"Ember, enough! What the hell has gotten into you?" Raina exclaimed.

"Get off of me! What's wrong with you, Raina?! Why do you accept this stranger with open arms? Do you not remember her? Do you not care? Tsk, this is a waste of time!" Ember said.

The blonde ripped her arm away from her older sister and ran away into the woods. Raina quickly took her wooden sword and smashed Caelus' leg free. She then quickly went to find Ember. It wasn't long until Raina found Ember, since she knew where to look. The blue haired swordswoman found the blonde mage sitting at the mouth of a river, dipping her hand into it.

"You came after me? Thought you'd be with the imposter Keyblade wielder?" Ember snarkily said.

"Ember, what the hell has gotten into you? This isn't like you at all?" Raina asked.

"Me? What the hell is up with you? Do you even care about our mother?"

"Our mother, what are you talking about?"

"...Mom died about 2 months ago and you haven't said a single thing about her. You act like… she never existed."

"Ember, that's not what-"

"Not what?! Not a big deal? Not a-"

"Ember! Enough!... Look, Em, I know how you're feeling. I'm feeling the same way. Am I sad that Mom's gone? Of course. I'm mortified. But taking it out on Caelus isn't gonna change anything."

"There you go about that Caelus guy again. Why are you so hung up on him."

"Because it's our job to be. Em, do you remember what Mom told us when we were young. She said when she was gone that we'd have to step up and train the next chosen one. You know this."

"Yes I know! But I… I can't accept it. I can't accept him. I-"

"Ember. Why are you filled with so much rage against that boy? It's not like he killed Mom."

"It's because he's standing here and Mom isn't!"

"Like it was his choice?! That boy didn't ask to become the chosen one. That boy watched his entire world get erased in the blink of an eye. Do you think he asked for that? That he asked to replace our mother and get thrown into a life that is foreign to him?"

Ember closed her eyes and looked away from Raina, obviously flustered.

"Em, listen to me. That anger you carry. It is a one way path to letting the Darkness take over your heart. You know this, Mom taught you this. But what I saw on the training ground, you were intending to harm Caelus, not train him. You are better than this."

Ember took a moment to really let what her sister said sink in. Then she turned back to her older sister, tears streaming down her face.

"Gods, I'm so sorry Raina." Ember said, hugging her older sister.

"It's okay. You're okay. Just… try to keep your emotions in check. And try to get along with Caelus." Raina said.

"... I don't know. I just can't right now."

"At least try."

"...Fine I guess. But not today. I need to be by myself for a while."

Ember pulled away and walked towards the house, Raina following close behind. When they arrived, Ember walked right past Caelus and straight into the house. Caelus tried to talk to her but to no avail.

"Sorry Caelus, Em isn't feeling that good today. So your magic training is postponed." Raina said.

"If all my magic training is gonna be like what happened earlier then I'd rather not learn it." Caelus said.

"Yeah I apologize on her behalf. She's just going through a lot with our Mom's death. And you unfortunately are the outlet for those feelings."

"Really? So she just isn't a bitch to anyone else?"

"Hey, watch it! She's still my sister… but yes, she doesn't usually act like this. Give it time, she'll come around."

"If you say so." Caelus said, looking back at the house.

"So let's try sword training again." Raina said, with a big smile.

'I'd rather do some more magic training.' Caelus thought.

The next morning, Caelus woke up. He was sore all over like the previous morning. He used a Stim on himself and luckily it made him feel better. Caelus hopped out of bed and got ready for the day. He walked out of his room and ate breakfast with the Mythos sisters and Maria. After they were done with their meal, Raina got up and opened the fridge.

"Oh goodness, looks like we are all out of food." Raina said.

Maria leaned over and looked into the fridge. "Looks full to me."

Raina then slammed the door. "All spoiled. Anyway, Caelus, why don't you go out and buy some more?"

"Me? I don't know my way around the town. Besides, I don't have any money on me." Caelus replied.

"Ooh, good point. Ember, why don't you go with him?"

"Why can't you?" Ember asked.

"Me? I have to take care of poor old Maria. Plus you know your way around the town better than me." Raina said.

Caelus and Ember could clearly see what Raina was trying to get at. Didn't take a genius to get what she was trying to do. Ember looked as if she wanted to say something but she kept quiet, only getting up and walking out the door. Caelus quickly got up and looked at Raina, who in turn nodded in her direction. The spiky haired boy took the hint and followed Ember outside.

He saw that she was headed towards the town and quickly caught up with her. Within minutes they entered the town, which filled Caelus with a sense of nostalgia. He saw the streets filled with small vendors similar to the streets on his island. They were selling produce as well as different items and knickknacks. The boy stopped at one of the stalls. It had a display of different small pouches. The sign on the stall read: Infini-pouches.

"Infini-pouches?" Caelus asked.

"Ah, interested in my wares?" the vendor asked.

"Depends, how do I know if they are real?"

"It's real." Ember said, walking up behind the keyblade wielder.

"Ahh! If it isn't Ember! How have you been?" the vendor asked.

"I'm well, Ochido. How about you? How's Nya?" Ember asked.

"Simply marvelous, I'll tell her you stopped by. Anyway, your friend here is interested in my wares, yes?" the vendor, Ochido, asked.

"I mean, I don't know. How does it work exactly?"

"Very simple, you put your items in the pouch. It goes to space, you hold hand to it, get item back. Good, yes?

"I'm sorry?"

"The pouch has a pocket dimension made of magic that the item goes to. You picture the item you wish to grab from the pouch and it'll give it to you. It also includes a list of what you have inside of it too. Look under the opening flap." Ember explained.

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Ember. Now, will you purchase such a fine product?" Ochido asked.

"Sounds useful, how much?" Caelus asked.

"5000 Credits." Ochido said.

"5000 Credits? What the hell are Credits? Like dollars?"

"I'll pay for it. Here, Ochido." Ember said, handing the vendor a card.

"A Credits Shard, gotcha. Very nice of you to pay for your friend. I assume you want one as well?"

"Already have one Ochido, can't fool me that easily… and he isn't my friend. Coworker really."

'Ouch.' Caelus thought.

Caelus took the pouch and attached it to the back of his belt. Hikari took her card back and placed it into her pocket. She then pulled out a similar one and handed it to Caelus.

"This one's for you. Put it somewhere safe. I'm not gonna give you another one." Hikari said.

"Thanks, I guess. How does this work? Do most worlds accept it?" Caelus asked.

"Like your world's debit card. While most worlds have their own currency, Credits are a general form of currency certain vendors accept. Or at least try to adjust for. Any currency you get will get absorbed into the card."

"Okay, I kind of get it. Thanks."

"Great, now if you excuse me, I got errands to run. Alone. So why don't you, I don't know, go explore the market place."

Ember turned around and began walking off. "Hey! You're just gonna leave me?!" Caelus shouted as Ember got lost in the crowds.

"Guess she's gone. Looks like I'll be wandering this town alone. Hope I don't get robbed." the boy said to himself.

Caelus then spent some time pursuing the different vendors and shops. Nothing really piqued his interests however. That was until he came up to a very small shop. All of the wares were spread across a ragged carpet. It was a mix of technology, weapons, food, just a variety of objects. Standing on the rug was a merchant. A woman wearing a black skin tight suit along with some cloth colored gray as well as a ragged hood of the same color. She wore a helmet with a dark mask with the only thing being visible were her glowing eyes. Caelus also noticed she had 3 fingers along with 3 toes.

"Dammit, where the hell did that bosht'et droid go?" she said to herself in a eastern European accent.

"Uh, hi. Sorry to bother you but is everything okay?" Caelus asked.

"I'm closed, pal. Come back later."

"Oh okay. Well if you need help finding something, I'd be glad to help."

The woman looked at Caelus. Through her helmet, she eyed him up and down. "I guess you could help. I'm missing a robot. Small, dark gray and red, bipedal. Beeps when he speaks. Find him and I'll give you a discount. 25% off anything here."

"Okay sounds easy. I'll try to find him as soon as possible."

Caelus walked off in search of the little droid. He tried to search for the robot with what little details he got but he was struggling. He wished he had a picture to at least help with the search. He searched alleys and stores, asking different merchants and shop owners but no luck. As he was about to return to the helmet lady to give her the bad news, he heard a loud beep. More of a trill.

Noting that the noise originated from an alley, Caelus ran as fast as he could to check it out. There he found the small droid being attacked by 3 Rabid Dog Heartless. Caelus quickly summoned his Keyblade.

"Hey, get away from him you big bullies!" he shouted.

The 3 Heartless turned their attention to the boy. One ran at him only to be slashed away with a horizontal slash, vanquishing it immediately which let out a glowing heart. The 2nd one ran at Caelus and bit him on the arm. The Keyblade wielder shook and threw off the dog monster into a nearby wall. He then stabbed it in the stomach, destroying it too. It also released a heart. The last Heartless was ready to pounce when the droid jumped up on top of it, shocking it with its leg. The Heartless then threw off the robot, leaving itself wide open. Caelus took this opportunity to strike. He ran forward and leapt up in the air, bringing his sword down on top of it, vanquishing it. Again, a heart was released.

Caelus made his Keyblade dematerialize and ran to the little robot's aid. When he got close, he saw the robot was a little scratched up but mostly fine.

"You alright?" Caelus asked.

The little robot beeped and booped. What was strange was that Caelus could understand him.

"Th-that's good." Caelus replied, still questioning how he could understand. "So, you got a name?"

The droid let out a few beeps.

"Well hey there BD-13. My name is Caelus. It's nice to meet you." the boy said, shaking the droid's arm. "Come on, let's get you back to that vendor lady."

Caelus stood back up and turned around ready to lead BD-13 back home. That was until Caelus felt something grab onto his leg. He looked down to see BD grabbing on to his leg.

"Oh, you want to ride on me? Okay, that's fine. Hop on." the boy said, lifting BD-13 up to perch himself on his back.

Caelus began walking towards the vendor's stand again. On the way, he started talking to BD. He praised the droid's bravery against the Heartless and just asked questions about him. Apparently the vendor built him from parts she purchased and flew across the galaxy with her since no one would buy him.

It wasn't long until they made it back to the woman. As soon as she saw the pair, she proudly put her hands on her hips. "And you didn't run off with him? I knew I trusted the right person." she said.

"Hey, I'm a man of my word." Caelus said.

Caelus knelt down to let BD-13 run to the lady but BD-13 stayed on his back. "Come on BD-13. You gotta go back to her now."

BD-13 reluctantly agreed and sadly climbed down, letting out a depressing boop.

"Seems he got quite attached to you." the vendor said.

"Yeah, we got to have a nice chat on the way here." Caelus said.

"I see. Well thank you for returning him. Now, I'll keep up my end of the bargain. Anything you see will be 25% off! Go on, peruse my wares." the lady said.

Caelus began inspecting all the items to potentially buy. However, at every item he was looking at, BD-13 would stand in the way, trying to compete for his attention. Caelus then smiled and held up BD-13.

"I think I'll buy BD-13… if he's available to purchase." Caelus said.

"He is. With the discount, the total comes to 7,500 Credits."

"I have a Credits Shard. Will that do?"

"Of course. I'll take that." the woman said, taking the card. She inserted it in a palm sized machine and handed it back. "All good. Enjoy your purchase and do take care of him."

"Will do. Let's go BD." Caelus said, kneeling down and allowing the little droid to perch itself in his back. "It was nice meeting you… um…"

"Kori. Kori'Raemis vas Wanderlust."

"It's nice to meet you, Kori. I'll be seeing you later." Caelus said, walking away.

Feeling he had a long day, Caelus decided to look for Ember. Even though he didn't even know where to begin looking he still tried. BD-13 then let out a series of beeps.

"We're looking for my frie-... my acquai-... someone I know." Caelus replied.

BD beeped in response.

"No, she's not like that. Well, kind of she is. I don't know, she's going through a lot right now."

BD-13 then trilled.

"Me too, pal. Me too."

Caelus spent a good hour looking for Hikari. Assuming she went home, he started heading that way. Along the way, he heard arguing. He couldn't tell what the people were saying, but it was evident it was majorly heated. He then heard a statement loud and clear.

"Leave me alone! Get off of me!" a girl's voice shouted.

Caelus immediately recognized it as Ember. "That's Ember! She must be in trouble! Come on, BD!" he shouted.

He ran to the origin of the fighting. There he found Ember surrounded by 4 rough looking guys. One of them was holding onto her arm.

"Come on, just for the night! You know you want to." the guy holding her said.

Ember made fire manifest in her hand. "Fire!" she shouted, shooting the ball of flames at his face.

The guy let go of her to grab his face. Almost immediately he punched her in the nose, knocking her to the ground. Caelus then ran forward to her aid.

"Hey buddy, if you want to hit someone, how about you hit me? I'll warn you though, I'm gonna hit back." he said.

The guy looked at Caelus, face synged from the fire. "Who the hell are you? Her bodyguard, piss off!" he said.

"I can handle myself, Caelus." Ember said, pinching her nose shut.

"Clearly. Just stand aside, I got this." Caelus said.

The guys chuckled. "The little bunny thinks he's a wolf!" one of them teased.

They started arming themselves with blades and bats. Caelus stood his ground and summoned his Keyblade to his hand. He got ready to fight but a few of the guys began glancing at each other, making remarks like "Is that real?" and "He's the new chosen one?". The main guy stood ready to fight though, armed with a police baton.

"What are you guys scared of? It's obviously fake." he said.

He charged at Caelus and swung his baton hard. Caelus dodged by ducking. He stabbed his Keyblade into the thug's stomach, slashed left and right and finished with an overhead slash, causing the thug to get thrown back into his group. He slowly got back up.

"Caelus, use your magic. Quick." Ember said.

"Magic? You never taught me how!" Caelus asked.

"Picture the spell you want to use, gather mana through a focal point and expel it! The Keyblade can be your point!"

"G-Gotcha, I'll try!"

"You little runt! I'll kill you!" the thug said, sprinting at Caelus.

Caelus held his Keyblade firmly, as the thug charged him. He began to picture a block of ice and tried to gather mana into his Keyblade. He was nervous since the thug was getting close. BD-13 then jumped down and ran to the thug, climbing up his body, then shocking him with his leg, stunning the thug. This gave Caelus time to gather more energy. He saw the Keyblade start to emit frost from the tip. He then pointed the tip at the thug.

"BD, move!" he shouted.

BD jumped down as the thug stumbled to recover. "Take this! Freeze!" Caelus shouted.

A shard of ice shot out of the Keyblade and collided with the thug. The thug shot back and slammed into his gang, knocking them all down. The group got back up and started to flee. The main thug got back up and looked at Caelus, who tightened his grip on the Keyblade. The thug scoffed then left as well. Caelus then dematerialized his Keyblade and walked over to Hikari, who was sitting on the ground, pinching her nose. BD-13 then walked over and shot a Potion Stim into Caelus' hand.

"A Potion Stim? Thanks pal. You're full of surprises." he said.

He injected the serum into Ember. Ember then stood back up, unplugging her nose with it appearing to be healed.

"You okay?" Caelus asked.

"Y-Yeah, thanks." Ember replied.

"Cool, let's head home. Raina's probably worried."

"R-Right."

The two awkwardly began to head home. They were silent for a majority of the trip until Ember spoke up.

"Why did you help me?"

"You didn't want me to?" Caelus asked.

"Be serious."

"Because you were in trouble. Simple as that."

"But I've been such a bitch to you. Why help me?"

"Again, you needed help. Doesn't matter how you treated me, I wanted to help."

Ember fell silent for a moment. "I'm sorry, Caelus. This whole time I've been taking out my anger on you when it was unwarranted. You never deserved to be treated in such a way. I hope you can forgive me for how I acted."

"Sure. All is forgiven."

"That's… quick."

"Eh, I try not to hold grudges."

"Heh, Mom was the same way… Hey listen, can we… start over? Pretend all this never happened."

"Of course."

Caelus then turned around, extending his hand. "Nice to meet you! I'm Caelus Lumen! Let's be friends!"

Ember took his hand and shook it. "I'm Ember Mythos. I'd be glad to be your friend."

"Oh, and this is BD-13. We just became friends today. Say hi, BD."

BD popped his head over Caelus' shoulder and beeped, introducing himself.

"Nice to meet you too, BD-13. Let's be friends." Ember said, taking BD's leg and shaking it.

The new trio of friends began walking home again.

"Hey so, do I have to forget about learning magic too?" Caelus asked.

"... Please don't try to piss me off." Ember replied.

Thanks for reading this new chapter. I know it took a while to get out but life has been very crazy for me. Very busy with work but enough about all that. Once again, thank you for reading this new chapter and be sure to be on the lookout for another!

-C