So I saw Maleficent and wow, it was bad. It wasn't just different from the original; the writing, acting, and pacing were bad on their own. And she was never actually evil throughout the whole movie, just another misunderstood good guy. What was so hard about doing "Sleeping Beauty from Maleficent's point of view"? That could have been cool!
I mean she never even turned into a dragon!
…Although I have to admit I did like Diaval. I'm glad I introduced him in here. The fairy moors were pretty looking too, so they might come up in future Enchanted Dominion visits.
Anyway, sorry about the wait on this and the last few chapters. I know I said when summer came they'd probably come out faster, and I have no excuse. I just haven't felt like writing lately.
Chapter 27: Conducting the Battle
Xion was the last one out of the tower. She was once again lost in thought, going over what they had just learned from Master Yen Sid. It didn't surprise her that there was a whole world beneath the island—the mountains poking through the clouds had to come from somewhere—but the map Yen Sid had shown them looked pretty…busy. There were glades, deep forests, a snowy region, and that tall mountain—that was a lot to search through, especially for one person. Needle, meet haystack. Still, there was no other lead, so this Symphony of Sorcery place was waiting for them. All they had to do was look for the rainbow… But what did that mean?
"Where do we even start?" Sora was looking over the edge of the island when Xion shut the tower's doors behind her. Kairi was next to him, her hand in his in case he got a bit too close to open air, while Donald and Goofy lingered closer to the center of the island and were investigating the trees and bushes. "I don't see any rainbows anywhere."
Kairi moved closer to the edge and tightened her grip on Sora's hand before looking over, staring down into the clouds far below them. Her brow creased and her mouth formed into a frown as she watched the clouds slowly roll by. She leaned further out, trying to see more underneath the island, but moved a bit too much outward. Xion felt her stomach flip upside-down as for a brief moment Kairi was almost completely suspended over the abyss except for her pink sneakers. With her feet planted firmly on the ground in shock, Xion watched as Kairi toppled forward, one leg flinging up into the air as the redhead let out a startled shout.
But while Xion was frozen in horror, Sora was not. One hand wrapped tighter around Kairi's and his other reached out to grab her by her flailing arm. He tugged her back before gravity overcame the both of them, the two toppling over onto the grass. Kairi, wide-eyed, stared at Sora as he released his hold on her.
"That was close," she whispered in a shaking voice.
"N-No kidding," Sora said with a gulp.
Xion snapped out of her shock and sprinted over to the two of them as they climbed up to their feet, with Donald and Goofy hurrying to the group as well.
"Are you okay?!" Xion asked, skidding to a stop next to the two of them.
Kairi laughed awkwardly as she ran a hand down her hair to get rid of the grass caught in it. "I just figured, you know, maybe I'd spice my life up a little bit." After finishing with her hair, Kairi shrugged. "I'm good, just a little freaked out."
Xion let out a silent sigh of relief as she watched Kairi fix her shoes, which had been knocked loose in the chaos; at least it hadn't fallen off the edge. Sora adjusted his jacket and ruffled the section of his hair that had flattened when he hit the ground to spike it back up. Xion was glad Kairi was handling it so well when it could have ended very badly for her very quickly, but there were others who didn't quite agree.
"This is too dangerous." Donald crossed his arms and tapped his foot against the grass. "We need to find another way. And I still don't see a rainbow."
Kairi shook her head. "No, that was my fault. I just need to learn not to get so close to the edge, that's all."
"I don't know…" Sora said slowly. Kairi shot him a not very friendly look, and he responded by locking eye contact with her. He was taking Donald's side in this, then. Xion had to admit, she agreed; she saw what the duck was talking about.
"I really don't think leaning over the edge of the island is the smartest way to go about this," she said. While Kairi chose Xion as the new victim of her glare, Sora gave the black-haired girl a thankful smile from over Kairi's shoulder so the redhead couldn't see.
"I'm not dumb," Kairi said, averting her gaze and looking down at the ground. She brushed some more grass off her skirt.
"I didn't mean that!" Xion said to Kairi, holding her hands up defensively, "I'm just saying that there's probably a better way to go about looking for this. Just like Donald said." Donald puffed his chest out proudly at that last comment.
Kairi sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You're right. I'm just getting defensive, sorry."
"So how do we go about this, then?" Sora asked.
How indeed? Xion crossed her arms and closed her eyes, leaning her head back. They had to think about this carefully to avoid an incident like the one that had almost happened just then. Hm… Would Aero work? She could make a big cushion of wind magic to push them back up if they fell off. Although that would be hard to sustain the entire time they were searching, so while a good idea it was just impractical. Maybe… No, that wouldn't work either.
Xion heard footsteps and slid one eye open to see Goofy walking away, going back to searching through the trees. But what good would that do? Rainbows were found in the sky. Unless…
"Oh!"
"Is somethin' wrong, Xion?" Goofy called as he kneeled down and parted away some shrubbery.
Xion shook her head. "No, Goofy. In fact, you might have just the right idea." Grinning, Xion turned around to face Kairi, Sora, and Donald. "I think we're going about this the wrong way."
"What do you mean?" Donald asked.
"I mean, rainbows are in the sky, right?" Xion received slow nods for an answer. The others were unsure where she was going with this, and she couldn't blame them. "Well, we haven't seen any sign of them, so maybe we're not looking for an actual rainbow."
Kairi frowned. "I think I see what you're getting at, but…"
"I don't," Sora said.
Xion suppressed a chuckle. "What if we're looking for something rainbow-colored, or with a rainbow symbol on it? Not an actual rainbow, but something resembling one."
Donald's arms were still crossed. He sighed and shook his head. "What do you mean, then? And why couldn't Master Yen Sid just tell us?"
"I don't know—to both." Maybe Yen Sid just liked being enigmatic?
"Hey, fellers!" Goofy's cheerful voice called the group's attention over to him. His feet were planted against the trunk of a tree as his hands grasped something caught in the branches. "I think I musta found somethin'!" Giving another tug to whatever he had found, Goofy let out a surprised shout and fell backwards, landing on his back on the earth. Following him came a wooden bookstand and then a thick book, locked tight by a latch…and with a rainbow and clouds depicted on the front cover.
What a coincidence; they talk about searching for something and Goofy finds it.
"Way to go, Goofy!" Sora said with a laugh, running over to their friend.
Goofy sat up and rubbed his bruised head. "Gawrsh… I was just doin' what I do best. Now let's see here…" He picked up the book and investigated it, tilting his head and turning the book every which way. "Hm… I think it's a spellbook!"
"Let me see that." Donald snatched the book from Goofy's hand. Xion, meanwhile, moved over to the wooden bookstand that had fallen out next to it. It looked like something that a musician might use to hold their music sheets. Curious, she set it up while listening to Donald mutter under his breath behind her.
"What is this?" Donald asked, more to himself than to the others. He tugged on the golden latch locking the book shut, but it didn't move an inch. Grumbling, Donald opted instead to try and pry the book open without caring for the latch. That didn't get him any further, though. "Why couldn't Yen Sid just tell us?" he muttered. As his fingers strained to part the pages and swing the book open, Donald finally broke. Letting out an angry cry, he held the book high above his head and turned toward the edge of the island, ready to throw it off into the abyss in his anger.
"Donald!" Xion shouted to stop him. She thought she heard the others call out as well, but she was too focused on calming the duck down before he did something they'd all regret.
"Wait!" Kairi quickly took the book from Donald's hand. "I think I have an idea." She held the book up to her face, dusted it off a little, and then turned to Sora. "Summon your Keyblade."
"Huh?"
Kairi tapped her finger against the latch keeping the book locked tight. "Keyblades can open anything, right? We'll unlock this and see what's inside."
Realization dawned on Sora's face, and with a grin he held his hand out in front of him. Sparks danced at his fingertips and a bright light briefly illuminated the area as the Kingdom Key manifested in his grip. Kairi moved over to the stand that Xion had set up and set the book down on it before backing up to give Sora room.
Sora raised his Keyblade up and tapped the front cover of the book twice, like he would a locked chest. The golden latch vanished, dissolving into sparkling light and fading away. A moment later the book flipped open of its own accord, the pages moving as if blown by a strong wind before stopping on a page halfway through the book. As one the group leaned in to see what was written. But there were no ancient magics or secret spells written on the pages; there weren't even any words. Horizontal lines across the pages were dotted with symbols—music notes.
Sora scratched his head in confusion. "It's not a spellbook, it's a songbook."
Xion quirked an eyebrow at the song laid out in front of them. She didn't know the first thing about reading music, and she doubted the others did either. Were they wrong? Maybe Yen Sid hadn't been talking about this when he had said to look for the rainbow. So, back to square one—wait.
"Or maybe not." The ink written on the pages began to glow, shifting from black to a myriad of colors. And as if that wasn't enough, the musical score proceeded to lift off of the page. Notes, clefs, and other music symbols that Xion couldn't understand rose into the air, swirling around the book. Maybe it did contain magic after all.
Donald stuck a curious finger out to the display in front of them, and almost immediately jumped back as if he had been burned. The air rippled and the notes began to swirl faster, expanding outwards. A sweet, barely audible tune began to rise up from them as they spun, in time with a light that was beginning to grow out from the center of the book.
The light expanded until it overtook them, the music rising in volume until it was all Xion could hear. When her vision began to return to her, the notes had returned onto the pages of the book but were still glowing like a rainbow. And behind the bookstand was an actual rainbow, arcing down from the island and vanishing into the orange clouds far below. The music continued to play.
"Donald, what did you just do?" Xion asked with a wavering voice.
Kairi shook her head and chuckled. "I think he just got us our way down."
"Did I?" Donald frowned and took a careful step toward the book, poking the rainbow slightly. To his astonishment, his hand didn't phase through like it should have; the rainbow wasn't a trick of the light, it was something solid. When his fingers made contact a pink light surged over his hand and outlined his figure. "Wak!" Donald shouted, jumping back from the rainbow. The light lingered around his body for an few moments before fading. "What was that?!"
"Hmm…" Goofy leaned in and pressed a hand against the rainbow. The pink light flared up and surrounded his body just as it had Donald, and Goofy laughed. "It tickles!" Running his hand along the rainbow, Goofy moved closer to the edge of the island. Mere inches from open air, he lifted up a leg and placed a foot on the rainbow. The pink light grew brighter where his shoe made contact.
"Goofy, what are you doing?" Donald asked, marching up to him.
Goofy laughed again. "Gawrsh, guys, don'tcha see? This is our way down!" Gripping the edges of the rainbow, Goofy carefully climbed fully onto it, his feet planted firmly on the streaking colors and the pink light surging around his body.
"Get down from there, you big palooka," Donald warned, grabbing Goofy by the pants. "You look ridiculo— Wak!"
The instant Donald came in contact with Goofy, the light enveloped him as well. At that moment Goofy pushed off, grinding down the rainbow like a kid at a skate park, and Donald trailed behind him.
"YAAAA-HOO-HOO-HOOEY!" Goofy's holler echoed up to Yen Sid's tower as the two of them disappeared below the clouds, leaving Sora, Kairi, and Xion standing dumbfounded on the floating island. But even their shock didn't last long.
Sora's face broke into a big, goofy grin. "It's like Deep Jungle!"
"Like what?" Kairi asked, but Sora moved right past her and hopped onto the rainbow himself. "Sora, wait!"
"See you guys at the bottom!"
"Sora!"
But he was already gone, vanishing into the clouds just as Donald and Goofy had. Kairi groaned while Xion shook her head. Just like Deep Jungle, huh? Yeah, Sora had had a lot of fun surfing down the trees with Tarzan, she knew that. It made some sense he'd want to do that again… But still, they had no idea where that rainbow led. What if it dropped them in the middle of a freezing lake or something?
"I can't believe him." Kairi crossed her arms with a huff. "Well, now what?"
Xion shook her head. "I don't see any other way down, do you?"
Kairi bit her lip and glanced at the rainbow for only a moment before looking down at the ground. "Well, no, but…"
Xion grabbed Kairi's hand. "Then come on. You're definitely no coward, Kairi, I know that."
"No, but there's a difference between not being a coward and being afraid of something like this.
"There is! And I won't lie, I don't exactly like it either; I just don't have any better ideas." Xion shrugged and moved over to the rainbow. "Anyway, I'm gonna go ahead. I'll see you when I see you—either meeting you at the bottom or when we get back."
Following Sora, Xion jumped up on top of the rainbow as it flowed out of the magical songbook. A jolt ran through her body as the pink aura washed over her, and suddenly Xion felt like she could do anything—she wanted a wall to leap off, or something. She was just bursting with energy! Xion found herself laughing as she leaned forward, the pink light dancing at her feet. And then she was off, the wind blowing through her hair as she arced down into the clouds.
Two sets of memories bubbled up in Xion's mind as she experienced this surprising thrill: first, Sora's recollections of Deep Jungle, as he himself had compared it to; and second, her own experiences riding a skateboard down the streets of Twilight Town. It was a thrill that she had dearly missed, and she didn't try to suppress the laughter bubbling up inside her…or the laughter coming from behind her. Xion spared a glance over her shoulder and grinned wildly; Kairi had followed after all, and she seemed to be enjoying the ride as well.
The clouds shifted from deep orange to a vibrant white as they drew closer to the ground. For a brief moment they broke through the puffy barrier and hung in the blue sky with nothing below them but the landscape far below. It was largely forest, as she had noted on the map that Yen Sid had shown them, but even then there was variety: one forest had positively gigantic trees, while another was covered in snow. But there was more to it than just that; directly under the rainbow was a field covered in pink and yellow flowers, and that black mountain rose high into the sky, casting its shadow over everything else.
As the rainbow continued on, more clouds appeared to cover up the earth beneath them. Grey mountains poked through the fluff, breaking up what was otherwise solid white. It was here that the rainbow came to an end, which worried Xion at first, but then she saw Sora, Donald, and Goofy standing atop the clouds; like the rainbow, they appeared to be solid. The only problem was that her friends weren't alone; they had dropped right into the middle of a Heartless-Nobody battle.
Creepers and Dusks snaked their way through the sky as they fought off fireballs, lightning strikes, and blasts of ice from Red Nocturnes, Blue Rhapsodies, and Yellow Operas. Much to Xion's annoyance, several Emerald Serenades circled high above and flung wind magic down on the Nobodies and her friends; those were always a pain in the rear to deal with.
Two Become One was in Xion's hands before she even finished riding the rainbow down and she leaped up high, aiming to slash a Creeper in two. But much to Xion's surprised, as her feet left the rainbow she felt that tingle of energy once again and vault much, much higher into the air than she had planned—so high, in fact, that she easily reached the level of the Emerald Serenades. Shocked at the unexpected height, Xion just barely had time to react and bring her Keyblade down on one of the agitating Heartless before gravity caught her and she began falling. Her weapon's teeth dug into the Emerald Serenade and pulled it down with her, the pink aura expanding to envelop it as well.
As Xion and the Emerald Serenade came crashing down, the aura around them exploded and sent a shockwave of pink light out in all directions. Nobodies and Heartless alike were tossed away, and Sora, Donald, and Goofy shielded their eyes from the explosion of light. Xion slumped as the light faded and the energy rush that had been with her since she first set foot on the rainbow faded away.
"What…was that?" she asked.
"Absolutely no idea," Sora replied as he knocked away a Red Nocturne with his own Keyblade. "Pretty much the same thing happened to us."
Goofy tossed his shield at a pair of Creepers. "You shoulda seen Sora when he came flyin' down! He jumped off of that mountainside and spun into these Nobodies like a drill!"
A stream of fire flew through the air above Xion and collided with a Yellow Opera, burning the Heartless to a crisp. Kairi rode the rainbow all the way to the end rather than jump off of it, and as her feet landed on the cloud the pink aura around her faded away. Lightning cracked around her arms and she followed the Fire spell with a bolt of Thunder, which struck at several of the Dusks that were attempting to pierce the Heartless from behind.
Donald accompanied Kairi's Thunder spell with a Thundaga of his own, finishing off most of the remaining enemies. But even as everyone turned their attention to the stragglers, a powerful wind blew through the area and threatened to knock them off of their feet; or worse, to blow away the cloud they stood on. With the wind blowing her hair in front of her eyes, Xion glanced upwards at the source—the Emerald Serenades.
"We have to get rid of them first!" Sora called over the roaring wind.
Donald sent a bolt of ice at one of the Heartless in question, but his aim was off and the spell flew off into the distance. "But they're never in the same place long enough!"
Xion planted her feet as firmly as she could and held her Keyblade behind her. "Then we'll just have to anticipate where they'll be, that's all!" She tossed the Keyblade out, sending a Strike Raid up into an empty section of the sky. It flew right past the Emerald Serenade she had locked her sights on, but Xion had anticipated that. They weren't the only ones with wind magic. Combining her affinity for the Keyblade with Aero magic, Xion caused the Strike Raid to boomerang back to her, and it returned at just the right angle to meet the Emerald Serenade on its path. The blade cut through the Heartless's hidden face, cutting right between its golden eyes. As it faded into darkness and a glowing pink heart rose up, the wind died down and Xion turned to the remaining Emerald Serenade.
The others were taking care of it, however. Goofy and Sora both tossed their weapons high into the sky, while Kairi cast Water and Donald merged it with a Blizzard spell. Sora's Keyblade went sailing right by the Heartless, missing it by quite a distance, and Goofy's shield looked to be doing the same. But Kairi and Donald's spells collided with one another, forming a pillar of ice which the shield rebounded off of and slammed into the back of the Emerald Serenade.
As Goofy and Sora retrieved their weapons, Xion spun on her heel and dug her Keyblade's teeth into a Creeper in its sword form that was about to attack from behind. Kairi, meanwhile, spun around an attacking Dusk and caught it by surprise before releasing a Fira spell into its back.
Chunks of ice rained down on them from a pair of Blue Rhapsodies. As the Dusk before Kairi faded away, she turned her attention up to the Heartless and sent a stream of water flying their way; unfortunately, Water and Blizzard spells are of the same element. The attack did nothing but increase the Heartless' stamina.
"Don't worry, I got it!" Sora jumped high into the air and swung his Keyblade at the pair, destroying one and knocking the other off-balance. Before it could return the favor, Sora leaned back and sent bursts of light out of his Keyblade in a ring shape. Ragnarok flew across the battlefield and pierced the bodies of the Heartless and Nobodies that still remained.
As Sora landed on the cloud it began to shift again. Xion dug her feet into the bouncy surface as much as she could, bracing herself for the worst. But the cloud didn't dissolve or anything like that; rather, an opening appeared in front of them. The rainbow that they had all ridden down from Yen Sid's tower expanded, its angle widening as it lengthened and stretched down through the hole all the way down to the surface. Music lifted up around them once again, emanating from the rainbow.
"I guess that's our way down," Kairi said, walking over to the hole and glancing down. She backed up quickly; though they were much closer to solid ground than before, they were still uncomfortably high.
"Guess so." Xion moved over to the rainbow as well, and as she touched it she once again felt that energy rush flowing through her body as the pink aura reappeared. Xion grinned. "Race you guys there!" And without waiting for a reply, she hopped atop it and began grinding down into the woods.
The rainbow didn't just arch down normally as Xion rode it, though. It turned this way and that, giving her a closer, scenic view of the Symphony of Sorcery below. It looped around the lone black mountain that she had noted before, and flew right above the tree line as it followed the slopes at the mountain's base. The ride finally came to an end right outside of a small village tucked away under the mountain's shadow, nestled in the woods. The buildings were largely made of wood, though a stone church with a bell tower stood in the village's center. The others landed on the twig- and leaf-covered ground soon after her, and the rainbow faded away, taking the pink aura and uplifting music with it.
But the woods weren't silent.
"Do you hear that?" Sora asked. Xion did, and everyone else seemed to as well. Music was coming from the direction of the little village, but it was unlike the cheerful melody that had accompanied the rainbow. This song was frantic and energetic, honestly almost like something Xion would expect to listen to back at school in Twilight Town. And it was accompanied by screams.
"Come on!" Donald shouted, waving towards the town. "It might be more Heartless and Nobodies!" Sora had no hesitation, running past Donald and through the gates of the town with Donald and Goofy right behind him, and Xion and Kairi behind them. As they ran down the streets and closer to the music and screams, the wood buildings grew more and more ruined, until finally they emerged in a section of town that had been all but demolished save for the stone church and its bell tower standing high above the rubble. And in the middle of the chaos, standing tall above the fleeing citizens, was…something.
It was dressed like a music conductor, wearing red and white with a bizarre black sigil on its chest that Xion vaguely recognized, but she couldn't tell from where. Its red eyes glowed faintly and it waved its hands around in time to the music, conducting three floating instruments—a drum, a trumpet, and a violin—with a lightning bolt-shaped baton. Whatever it was, it was the source of both the music and the destruction.
Xion came to a stop and stared at the odd creature. "That's not a Heartless or a Nobody. What is that thing?"
Xion's question called the creature's attention over to them. It turned its head and its eyes glowed brightly for a moment before it turned its whole body to face them, still waving its arms to conduct the music. Kairi gulped. "I think we're about to find out."
The animated instruments responded to their conductor's command. The violin moved first, its bow running along the strings rapidly and sending out a musical stand like the one that had come from the songbook to make the rainbow. But this one didn't generate another rainbow; instead, it flew toward the group, magical notes searing into their skin.
Xion rolled out of the way of rings shot out of the trumpets and held up her hand to cast Pearl at the conductor, but her attack was intercepted by the drum as it rolled along the ground—and right towards her. The collision sent Xion flying and more blasts from the trumpet knocked her back further.
"Fira!"
"Watera!"
Donald and Kairi's combined spells struck at the violin, but despite expectations the strings didn't burn or become too wet to use. Then again, that should probably have been expected; if it could fly and shoot magical music, it probably wasn't going to be taken out by a rainy day. Still, those instruments had to be taken care of. With their attacks they couldn't even get close to the creature conducting them.
Xion jumped back as the drum attempted to roll into her again and then sent an Aero blast at the trumpet, hoping that she could keep it from blowing air through if the wind was going strong enough in the opposite direction. But it was only a bandage fix, not a permanent solution. As the drum came back for a third roll, Xion brought her Keyblade down on it and struck a gash in the instrument's side.
Meanwhile, Goofy deflected the musical assault from the violin while behind him Sora charged his Keyblade up with a yellow aura. Goofy jumped to the right the moment Sora's Keyblade flashed brightly and tossed his shield at the trumpet, knocking it off-balance just as it fired another round of blasts; this time they flew up into the sky instead of hitting anyone.
Sora jumped up into the air with his glowing Keyblade and unleashed Ars Arcanum on the recovering trumpet, but rather than finish the combo attack on the instrument he knocked it to the earth and leaped at the conductor to finish his attack on. Unfortunately for Sora, the instruments were as protective as ever; an assault of musical stands from the violin knocked Sora aside and interrupted Ars Arcanum.
Kairi jumped back from the rolling drum and struck the violin with a Thunder spell. "We need to get rid of these things quickly!"
"Easier said than done," Xion called back while swinging at the violin. "They're too fast and keep us from reaching the big guy." Wait… Speed. Xion couldn't help but smile as she struck the violin again. If they had to be fast to avoid a struggle with the instruments, then fast they would be. Well, not them, exactly.
Xion sent the violin flying with an Aero spell to give her a free moment. She brought a hand to her chest and called out into the Realm Between, searching for a presence that lingered there in the middle of light and dark.
Mistress XIV.
Black and white thorns swirled in the air as reality itself rippled and the Samurai manifested from nothingness. It nodded its scarred helmet in recognition of Xion, ever loyal to Roxas's heart. Xion didn't even need to speak; the silver-blue Nobody already located its target and had contemplated the battle within moments of its summoning. Silently the Samurai drew its twin swords and charged into the fray. It pierced its sword through the drum, halting its roll long enough for Donald and Kairi to send their spells flying. While the trumpet and violin both sent attacks at the samurai, Sora and Xion attacked the instruments and caused the blasts to collide with each other in the air.
"You called the Samurai?" Goofy asked as he tossed his shield at the instruments once more.
"Yeah." Xion jumped out of the way of the trumpet's latest blast and then brought her Keyblade down on top of it. "We can't get close to that thing because of its instruments, but the Samurai won't have that problem."
Samurai were impossibly fast Nobodies when they needed to be. Their special Dual Stance allowed them to strike at lightning-quick speeds, to appear to teleport to the naked eye. This last of those elite creatures stood silently in the middle of the battlefield, watching as the strange creature conducted the battle. The drum began rolling toward it, but an instant before it hit the Samurai made its move, dashing forward and vanishing. An instant later it appeared behind the creature, which now had a scar across the front of its chest. Without it conducting, the music came to an abrupt halt and the instruments fell lifelessly to the earth.
"Hurry!" Donald shouted, raising his staff to the sky. A bolt of lightning came crashing down and struck the violin, finally lighting it aflame. The Samurai turned around and slashed at the drum with its twin swords, while Kairi and Sora finished off the trumpet. But even with the instruments gone, the creature still stood.
Having recovered from the Samurai's surprise attack, the conductor stomped its feet as music notes rose up from its body like a bizarre aura. It leaped high into the sky and then came crashing down on Donald and Goofy, sending shockwaves out around it. Before anyone could respond with an attack it jumped into the air again, this time aiming for Xion and Sora.
"Look out!" Xion shouted, shoving Sora aside and jumping away. Though they avoided most of the attack, the shockwave sent the two of them flying into a destroyed building. "Ow…" Xion shoved wood out of the way and shook dust out of her hair as she climbed up to her feet, Sora beside her. A green glow surrounded the two of them and Xion looked up to see Kairi casting Cure while the conductor's attention was occupied by the Samurai.
"Looks like it's getting serious," Sora said through grunts of pain as he stood up as well. The Samurai leaped away as the creature swung its clawed hands and then sliced across it once again with Dual Stance. The conductor's baton glowed and began to expand until it was as long as its owner was tall, and the creature threw it at the Samurai, sending the baton spinning around the area. The Samurai jumped out of the way once more and the baton moved toward Donald and Goofy, the former blocking it with a Reflect spell. As the baton returned to the conductor's hand it once again jumped high into the sky, bringing its weight down on the Reflect dome surrounding Donald and Goofy. The protective shell shattered and sent out a shockwave that canceled the monster's own out.
"We need to end this," Xion said, gripping her Keyblade tighter.
Sora nodded. "Right; we came here for Riku, didn't we?"
Together, Xion and Sora slashed at the air and sent shockwaves out toward the conductor. When they made contact and launched the conductor's body up into the air Sora ran under it and jumped up to slam his Keyblade into the conductor's back, knocking it further into the air. Xion moved her Keyblade to a reverse grip and leaped toward the conductor, slashing it three times in rapid succession. She landed on the ground and crossed her Keyblade together with Sora's as the conductor fell to the earth.
"LIGHT!" they shouted together. A golden light erupted out of the ground and beams of light fell from the sky. The largest of the beams enveloped the conductor and it collapsed under the light. Dark flames consumed its body and shadowy wisps raised into the sky.
The Samurai watched the creature vanish and then, without any sign except for a slight nod in Xion's direction, vanished once again. As Donald and Kairi began casting Cure spells, Xion moved over to the spot the creature had died and watched the last traces of the dark flames disappear.
Sora joined her. "What was that thing?"
"I have absolutely no idea," Xion admitted, shaking her head. "But that symbol on its chest…" She knew she had seen it somewhere before, but where?
"It definitely it wasn't like the Heartless' or Nobodies'," Sora said. "It looked kind of like a heart, didn't it?"
Xion frowned. It did, but that wasn't why it was familiar. She knew she had seen it up close somewhere before, it had been staring at her inches from her face, she just couldn't place where she had—
"You have something very special inside you, kid. Hand it over." He held her wrists together with just one hand, moving the other one down and unzipping Xion's coat. After that he held his hand to her side and ran it up and down along her body.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Xion screeched. She was breathing heavily, screaming and thrashing to get away from him.
"Don't bother." He slammed his helmet against her forehead, which in turn knocked the back of her head against the wall again. Xion was certain she was bleeding. "No one can hear you. I made sure of that."
"Vanitas," she breathed, eyes wide. That's where she knew the symbol from—it was on Vanitas's mask, and she had gotten a perfect view of it when he had gotten too close for comfort in that alleyway. Immediately Xion pushed that incident to the back of her mind; it was one part of Twilight Town she didn't want to remember.
But just the name was enough for realization to dawn on Sora's face as well. "That was the symbol on his mask? So how is he connected to this thing?"
Xion shook her head. "I have absolutely no idea."
They didn't have time to linger on it. Footsteps, hundreds of them, were approaching. Xion and Sora both drew their weapons, but it wasn't a swarm of monsters they saw—it was a crowd of villagers. They looked at Xion and all her friends in awe and maybe a little fear, and Xion couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at the attention. She supposed they had just saved their town, hadn't they?
One among the crowd began clapping and stepped forward, showing himself with a dramatic flurry of a bow. He was a man with long blond hair, wearing red clothing and a yellow cape, topped off with a red hat with a feather in it.
"Bravo. Bravo, heroes," the main said as he came up from his bow. "You have done all of us here in our humble little town a tremendous favor."
Donald crossed his arms. "And who are you?"
"Oh! How rude of me. Allow me to introduce myself; I am Edward Chris von Muir, and you may be just the heroes we need."
Well, that caught Sora's attention. "Are you guys in trouble? Are there more of those things?"
Edward frowned and shook his head. "I couldn't say. That horrible creature suddenly attacked us without warning; we do not know where it came from or if there are any others like it. There have been sightings of a stranger in a black coat recently, and some of my fellow townsfolk believe that perhaps it was after him."
Kairi and Sora exchanged glances, and they didn't need to voice what they were thinking for Xion, Donald, and Goofy to know. Could that have been Riku?
Xion shook her head. "We'd love to help you, but if we don't know where that thing came from then we can't do very much."
"But if it's after the hooded man, then maybe you can tell us where he is?" Kairi added.
"I am afraid we don't know where he has gone off to, either," Edward admitted with a sigh. "However, hunting any other creatures aren't necessary. You see, we have ways to defend ourselves—we ask only that you gather the ingredients for that protection."
"Ingredients?" Donald asked.
Edward smiled. "You aren't from this world, are you? Oh, don't look surprised. All of us know about Master Yen Sid and his flying tower; this little hamlet is his home town. But I digress. Here in the Symphony of Sorcery, magic is music and music is magic—the two are forever intertwined. And we have been able to create a special ability with our music. No doubt you have already experienced it; it's what allowed you to ride the rainbow down here."
"That pink aura?" Xion asked. "And the burst of energy?"
Edward nodded. "The very same. We call it Flowmotion. Unfortunately, Flowmotion isn't something you can simply cast—it must be powered by a focus. And I'm afraid in the attack our focuses were all destroyed."
Goofy scratched the side of his head. "So you want us to find somethin' to make a new spell focus, Edward?"
"No, even better. Two already exist, somewhere out in the world. We call them Sound Ideas." Edward smiled and gestured out into the world beyond the town's walls. "One can be found in the Snowgleam Wood and another in the Fields. If you gather the two Sound Ideas, we can once again power our Flowmotion and from there our town can defend itself."
Sora turned to their group. "What do you think guys? Should we help them?"
"But what about looking for Riku?" Donald asked.
"Well, we were going to search this place anyway," Xion pointed out. "Why not help them out while we're doing it?" Well, Donald couldn't argue with that. Sora took his nodding as the signal to turn back to Edward, this time with a toothy grin on his face as he held his hands behind his head.
"Alright, Edward. We'd be glad to find those Sound Ideas for you!"