The sensation of running out of time echoed in Riku's fluttering heart, as he helped his companion descend the steps with a careful but steady pace; a very deep part of him happy about the fact that he hadn't found out what was causing him such uneasiness just yet.
Unfortunately for him, as soon as they reached the inn's lounge he had the answer.
Dust and ash danced all over the hot and suffocated room, hiding everything from their visual range, except for a bright and disturbing orange glow that painted the wooden walls. The previous pleasant rustic air lost in the thick smoke, as several silhouettes bustled and stampeded across the room in order to retrieve precious belongings, find lost relatives or exit the building.
Still, both world travelers were not ready to give up their search for the brown-haired lad yet.
"Jim!" Riku called out, just to be echoed by Rapunzel, their voices drown by the sudden outburst of a deafening fire alarm.
"We have to get outta here!" Riku shortened the distance between his lips and Rapunzel's ear.
"But what about Jim and Sarah?" She covered her nose and mouth with the sleeve of her dress, almost coughing her words, making Riku stop to quickly value their options. There was nothing he could do from there.
"I can put the fire out from outside. We're gonna have to crawl our way to the ex- " Riku stated determinately, only to be interrupted by a second explosion behind his back, dispelling the remaining crowd and spreading them apart over the floor. The clamorous alarm stopped.
"Rapunzel!" Riku yelled, struggling to fully open his eyes in the poisonous air, using his elbows to get back on his feet.
"Riku!" A strained voice replied.
"Wher-" His voice was cut out by a thick blade that was violently inserted in the wooden floor, missing his body by inches.
Rolling once on the floor before staggering to his feet, he summoned his Keyblade in a split second only to block a second attack just in time. The owner of the blade, a bulky silhouette, made its presence known behind the almost corporeal barrier of black smoke as it slashed savagely aiming at the boy's thorax.
The Keyblade master blocked and dodged several slashes, not fully unleashing his attacking abilities in order to avoid unnecessary agitation, using most of his movements to protect himself. That battle wouldn't last long. Not when the air was less breathable with each passing second and he couldn't even make out the face of his opponent. In order to survive, he'd have to find Rapunzel and exit the place as soon as possible. His breathing was already starting to get heavy as his lungs longed for the oxygen that he knew could only be found low in the ground.
But if he wanted to live, staying low in the ground was no viable option.
"Can't you see this is insane?! We'll both die here!" Riku grunted, his throat burning, screaming in protest with every word he spoke. The Keyblade flashed in short deadly arcs, desperation slowly starting to take over him as the silent attacker got in his way every time he attempted to escape from the fight.
Whoever he was, the man was there to kill him.
"WHERE'S THE GIRL?" The bulky silhouette demanded hoarsely, heaviness audible in his voice, as he charged at him with the blade upheld. Riku dodged the strike, taking advantage of the moment to inflict damage and leave a cut in one of his legs. The man let out an outraged shriek, retaliating with faster and far more aggressive slashes that were successfully dodged or blocked by the silverette. Potions were not an option as they all had gone to an unconscious Rapunzel and considering the circumstances, it would be best to save his magic to heal himself and not to attack.
Still, Riku knew his body wouldn't last much longer.
"What do you want with her?!" Riku ignored the scorching demand of his respiratory system for fresh air, his veins popping slightly, while his clothes started to blacken, as if he'd fallen into a cart with coal.
Anger flared at the raspy laughter that came in response. The man took out a blaster.
"It's over!" A voice enunciated, followed by ray of light casted over the attacker. The corpulent opponent hit the ground instantly. He was not going to wake up anytime soon.
"Sora!" Riku sprinted towards his best friend, only to make out a shadow beside him examining the unconscious man from afar.
"Stupid bonzabeast head. I bet he's the one to blame for this mess"
"Jim!" Riku stopped once that he was next to them, coughing violently as his Keyblade dispelled in his hand, his knees not strong enough to keep him to his feet anymore. Luckily for him, Jim caught him before he met the ground.
"Riku! Quick, drink this!" Taking rapidly a crystal bottle with a green liquid from one of his pockets, Sora made the silverette drink its content.
Relief took over the Keyblade master's body, taking with it the flames he felt in his throat and returning his body part of its strength.
"We have to find Rapunzel" Riku breathed.
"What?! Isn't she with you?" Jim exclaimed "I still can't find my mother".
#
Rapunzel crawled as fast as she could, holding her hair close so that it wouldn't get stuck with unseen furniture. The sound of clashing blades caught her by surprise and Riku was nowhere to be seen. Was that him fighting? If so, she had to do something.
"Help!"
A distant but urgent cry called out. Looking around, Rapunzel saw that no one seemed to be there to attend to it, except for her.
"H-help! P-p-please!"
The deep despair and affliction clearly audible in the shrill plea, made Rapunzel forget about everything else. It was the kind of terrifying sound that could give you nightmares for a lifetime.
It called out again. It was familiar.
The heat increased along with the smoke as Rapunzel, determined as ever, made her way towards another room, following the voice, though it didn't call out again. A doorframe could be seen.
There was no turning back now.
"Wake up! Lady? Lady, please!" A different voice could be heard at the distance, as Rapunzel made out two figures in the ground amidst the black clouds.
The entire kitchen was ablaze. The dark smoke was thicker, while red massive flames danced wildly, devouring everything in their way, throwing currents of scorching air that reeked of burning chemicals, making it nearly impossible to breathe.
"Hey!" The green-eyed girl shouted, getting the attention of one of the figures.
"Don't come any closer! It's dangerous!" The slender figure pleaded, before letting out a yelp as part of the ceiling crumbled apart, falling dangerously close to the two silhouettes.
Rapunzel threw away the wise advice.
She crawled until she was in front of them. The voice that warned from coming closer belonged to a girl with auburn hair that lightly touched her shoulders. Her watery cerulean eyes contrasted with her flushed skin, while her soft features were toughened by concern. The other figure was…
"Sarah! No, no, no!" Rapunzel examined her up close, gaping holes in her dress revealed raw red flesh, the skin having long since been seared off by the extreme heat. She was motionless.
Rapunzel covered her mouth, eyes red.
"She's still breathing and I can help her, but we can't stay here" The redhead stated firmly, placing her hand on Rapunzel's shoulder.
Biting back tears, the blonde nodded.
Each girl yanked one of Sarah's arms and pulled her unconscious body with all their might as they crawled their way out of the scathed room that was once called "the kitchen"; the loud cracks of the wood being consumed reminding them sinisterly of the little time they had to escape from a terrible fate.
The cracks became inconveniently more and more frequent, making both of their hearts hammer in fear, especially those that came from above their heads. The exit was nowhere to be seen and the fact that the fire had considerably spread, along with Sarah's weight, was making them take much longer.
They carefully glanced upward occasionally in order to avoid the areas where the structure looked weaker, ignoring the increasing pain in her knees and elbows. So far, it had spared them a burn or two.
But it wasn't enough.
Without warning, a piece of ceiling gave in, aiming to both of the girls. However, the redhead placed herself sideways in front of their small group, managing to stop Rapunzel just in time.
The burned wood landed violently before the blue-eyed girl, sending splinters, dust and hot ash flying. An agony shriek escaped from her dehydrated lips.
Before Rapunzel could reach out to her, the injured girl summoned a long weapon that vaguely resembled Riku's and pointed it to the threatening flames in front of her.
"Blizzard!"
With that word, a frozen current flowed out of the flower-decorated blade and extinguished the consuming fire before her. Rapunzel's limbs desperately begging to be bathed in the icy cold. A second later, the weapon was gone.
Rapunzel pushed aside her surprise.
"Are you okay?" The blonde squeaked as she reached out to her, only to find the exposed red flesh in the redhead's left arm and shoulder, blood dripping over the ash-covered floor.
The redhead stared at it, clenching her empty fists and fiercely biting her lower lip, her face revealing the searing, torturing pain she was in.
There was no way she would be able to crawl now, leave out drag someone else's body. She looked like she would pass out any second now.
Rapunzel knew what she had to do.
Wrapping her hair around the girl's injury and Sarah's body, she took a hurried breath.
"What are you doing?" The auburn-haired girl hissed and winced out of pain, but didn't take her arm back. Probably because moving it would only cause her more pain. Rapunzel continued as if she had said nothing at all.
"Flower, gleam and glow. Let your power shine… " Eyes closed, she whispered, the hints of a haunting melody barely discernable in her muttering. Golden light illuminated the top of her head and cascaded down her hair.
"…Make the clock reverse. Bring back what once was mine…" The redhead witnessed the surreal occurrence; eyes squinted, as light-headedness took over her. She must be hallucinating. But it was a peaceful and pleasant hallucination.
"…Heal what has been hurt… Change the fate's design… Save what has been lost…" The cerulean-eyed girl weakly followed the luminous golden trail, as the light slowly took over her arm, spreading a numb sensation with it, and soon it reached Sarah's injuries. She closed her eyelids, ready to drift away as if she was listening to a lullaby.
But that didn't happen.
"…Bring back what once was mine… What once was… mine."
With the last word the golden light slowly disappeared, leaving a revitalized sensation in the girl's body, as if she had just woken up from a nap. The searing pain had completely dissipated and it felt as if oxygen had found its way into her lungs, even though that was not possible. Dizziness gone, she eagerly removed the golden hair from her arm. Her eyes popped open.
The burn was gone. It was as if it had never been there in the first place.
A series of coughs snapped her back to reality.
"Sarah!" Rapunzel helped the woman, followed by a very confused redhead, to a sitting position. The holes in her dress now revealed healthy skin.
"Where's Jim?" The woman whimpered as she scanned the burned surroundings, worry visibly starting to take over her.
"I don't know, but we'll find him" Rapunzel tilted her head and offered her a reassuring smile, ignoring the matter-of-fact voice in the back of her mind that reminded her that she truly did not know where the boy was.
"Yeah, he'll be alright" The auburn-haired girl grinned knowingly.
"Kairi? Is that you? Kairi!"
"Sora! Over here!" The redhead yelled with her renewed strength to answer the voice that came from behind the pile of burned wood.
"You brought Kairi with you?! I told you to take care of her!"
"Get out of my way"
"Jim?" Sarah mumbled, her eyes suddenly filled with hope.
"Step back!"
The three ladies moved themselves backwards, Sarah making sure the other two were right behind her.
The wood shattered with a loud blast.
"Aero!" Kairi shouted, her weapon in her hand once again, sending splinters away from their faces as she did so.
Three silhouettes stood among the ashes and the smoke, though they seemed perfectly unaffected by it.
"Mom?!" One silhouette printed towards them, straight to Sarah.
"Jim!" The woman threw her arms around him, tears filling her eyes. "I thought I would lose you".
"Not a chance" The boy replied smugly, although Rapunzel thought she heard a feeble sniff.
She turned her head only to find herself filled with relief at the sight of Riku. He ran and kneeled beside her.
"Take this" He offered her a metallic inhaler, only to be tossed to Kairi afterwards. It replenished her lungs with oxygen. The initials J.H. were engraved on its side.
"Let's get out of here"