Chapter 62: Hunter of the Dark
As the door slammed shut behind them, Xion, Sora, Donald, and Goofy tumbled through an eternal blackness. At least, Xion hoped her friends were with her. Xion had thought, had assumed, that the corridors of darkness would prepare her for the Realm of Darkness, but she couldn't have been further from the truth. She could see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing. She wasn't even sure if she was actually tumbling or if it was all in her imagination. The darkness all around her wasn't even black, not really; it was absence. The absence of all light, an endless .
And then…slam! Xion crashed hard into the ground, so hard that her entire body shook from the impact. Slowly pushing herself up to her knees, Xion—her head spiraling and her stomach churning—stared down at the empty gray earth beneath her. Having been cut off from light for however long that had been, she half expected to be blinded by the sudden onslaught of vision. But it wasn't so; even now, through her blurry eyes adjusting to being able to see once more, even as she stared down at the dusty, untouched surface of the earth between her wavering arms, Xion could tell that the world was dim.
It was dim, and it was gray. Everything was so, so gray. Rocks of varying shades, but always, always gray, jutted out from the earth. Blue-gray cracks on their surface seemed to glow. The ground was in turn littered with grey cracks, a shade almost but not quite white. Around the empty field, dead, silver trees, bereft of leaves, twisted and writhed up toward the empty black sky. There was no individual light source to be found in the entire area, simply a dim glow that permeated everything, coming from everywhere and yet nowhere.
But it wasn't just the coloring that made things so dreary, so bleak. It was deathly cold, for one thing. For another, the air itself was heavy, the darkness in this place bearing down on Xion like something physical while also leaving a heavy weight on her heart. It was not hard to move or breathe, but Xion could very clearly feel the darkness exert pressure on her heart with every second that ticked by.
The darkness was so entwined with this world that it even manifested itself as an ankle-high fog coating the ground. As Xion climbed up to her feet on her shaking legs, she coughed in response to some of the fog entering her mouth. Her cough was muffled, as if the sound had come from the other side of a wall.
This was the Realm of Darkness, and it was absolutely terrifying. Could they even be sure that Aqua was alive? Xion found it hard to believe—impossible to believe—that anyone could survive here for more than a few hours, let alone over a decade. They had to find out, but hopefully it would not be the hard way.
"Guys?" Xion's quivering, weak, muffled voice called out into the shadows. The fog just along the ground obscured her view, but she thought she could make out figures on the ground around her. "Sora, is that you? Donald? Goofy?" Please, don't be Heartless.
"…I'm here." Xion breathed out a sigh of relief as Sora climbed up to his feet. He stumbled and clutched at his head, evidently getting a bit of a rush as everything settled for him. Just nearby, Donald and Goofy helped each other up and looked around nervously.
"Did we make it?" Donald asked. "It feels so…awful here."
"Cold, too," Goofy added with a visible shiver. "I guess we must've, 'cause I can't think of anywhere else that would feel like this. Looks like Mama Odie was right about that door."
Sora rubbed his arm. "But then…where's Facilier? He should have come through with us, shouldn't he?"
Goofy gulped. "Do ya think the Heartless got him?"
But Xion shook her head. "I haven't seen any Heartless since I woke up, and I don't think they'd have left us alone while we were out. He's gotta be around here somewhere…" Xion turned out and peered into the darkness, squinting and straining her eyes to see through the utter blackness beyond the clearing they stood in. For an instant she thought she saw something behind the dead trees, twin points of red, but they vanished after she blinked. Must be my imagination…
"Over here! I found him!" With distance added to the Realm of Darkness's unnatural sound-muffling, Xion almost didn't hear Donald call over to the others. But he leaped up and down on the other side of the clearing to call their attention and pointed down at a prone figure just visible in the ground-level fog.
"Way to go, Donald!" Sora called back over to him. Motioning over his shoulder to Goofy and Xion, the three of them then ran over to join their companion. But though it was Facilier, it…wasn't what Xion had expected.
Whimpering under his breath, the once proud Shadowman was now huddled on the ground with his arms clutched tight to his body and his knees pulled up to his chest. His wide eyes stared off into the distance, staring at nothing, unfocused. While in this fetal position his entire body shook as if he were crying, and although his face was stained with tears nothing was currently flowing down his cheeks.
Goofy removed his hat and lowered it to his chest while Sora, Donald, and Xion looked away. Facilier was a broken shell of his former self, absolutely horrified, shell-shocked. Left a mess of a man. Xion almost—almost—thought that becoming a Heartless would have been a mercy for him. Nobody deserved this fate, not even someone as awful as him. She couldn't be sure she would even wish this on Xehanort.
"What do we do with him…?" Donald asked in a low voice, almost a whisper.
Sora shook his head. "We can't just leave him here, but…"
"Do we carry him?" Xion wasn't sure that was viable even as she voiced the question. "We need to be able to defend ourselves, though; this is the Heartless's home world, after all."
"I guess…" Sora didn't look at all comfortable about that, though. And Xion couldn't blame him. There didn't seem to be a good answer to what to do with Facilier at all, and with the state he was in they certainly couldn't ask for his opinion. What would Lea do in this situation? He'd probably make the tough choice and leave Facilier there. Could they do that…?
Xion turned away from Facilier, unwilling to watch him any longer. It was way to upsetting to see. "We haven't really even begun our journey through this place, and already the darkness is throwing these decisions at us."
"Is this what Aqua had to deal with all these years?" Goofy wondered aloud.
"Right…Aqua." Sora turned his head to the sky "We need to find her. I guess…leaving Facilier here really is the only option, isn't it?"
"Sora…"
"It's like pulling a bandage off, right? You just gotta hurry up and get it over with…" Sora turned away and started walking, but stopped after only a few steps. He took in a deep, shaking breath as his shoulders heaved and he rubbed a hand over his face. "This whole thing just stinks!"
Xion turned to Sora, reaching an arm out for his shoulder to comfort him, but stopped. There, in the distant shadows beyond the trees, she saw it again. Something was moving, and this time she knew she wasn't just imagining it. Twin streaks of red blurred behind a tree and came to a stop, but the instant Xion made eye contact with them they dashed off in another direction.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy all noticed the flash of light as Xion called her Keyblade into her hand. She spread her legs out to steady herself, preparing for an attack from any direction as she sought out the twin red points. It wasn't a coincidence that they moved last time, because when she spotted them standing still once more they darted off yet again. This wasn't just some part of the area, there was a creature of some sort behind those red circles. Eyes, then?
Her friends had noticed it as well in the meantime. The four of them all stood in a circle, their weapons raised as they turned their heads to carefully watch every move the red eyed creature made. It leaped and swerved all over the outer rim of the circular clearing, never staying in the same place for more than a second. Heavy pounding came out from the darkness with each leap, loud despite the muffling. Whatever this thing was, it was very large.
And then, just like that, it vanished. The twin red eyes disappeared in a snap. It couldn't be that easy. Sweat already forming from fear of the unknown, Xion tightened her grip on her Keyblade and searched around for it one last time.
A red flash illuminated the darkness behind Xion for a brief moment, and she spun around to see the eyes larger than they had ever been before, glaring right at her. The darkness bulged, contorted, as a black mass with the twin red eyes at its front emerged from the unknown.
The living shadow shot forward at an alarming speed, running over all four of them and knocking them onto the ground before it vanished back into the darkness on the other side of the field. But as it did so, a sobbing scream echoed all around them, the sound of terror lacking the muting that all other sounds in this realm so far had. A burst of darkness where Facilier had once lay faded into nothingness. Xion grew pale; he had been right in that monster's path…
But they had no time to mourn him, for the monster was charging at them again from another direction. Panting and climbing to her feet, Xion had just enough time to register that this thing, whatever it was, barreled toward them on four legs before she had to leap out of the way. The monster did not swerve after her, however, and continued on its charge with Donald right in its path. Only now did Xion notice the orange light atop Donald's wand. Firaga flew out at the last moment…and the monster leaped.
It soared right over the fireball that had been sent its way, and the four of them turned their heads up to examine it from below, trying to get some kind of sign as to just what this thing even was. Was it a Heartless, or some other denizen of the dark? She could see nothing, no identifying markers. It was only a pure black.
When the monster landed back into the shadows it immediately turned around to face them. They could tell because, once more, its eyes flashed a bright red. But it did not charge at them right away, instead once more beginning its process of jumping around the arena, keeping them on their toes. In the center of the field, the group reconvened once again with their backs against each other and their weapons facing the darkness.
"What is it? A Heartless?" Sora asked.
"No idea," Xion replied with a shake of her head.
Goofy gulped. "Gee, it even got Facilier…"
Jumping up, Donald pointed forward. "Guys, here it comes!"
Red eyes flashed once more in the darkness, and the monster charged. As before it ran at them in a straight line, its four legs crashing loudly onto the ground with each step yet its size not making it any slower. Just before impact Donald raised his weapon up and cast a Reflega spell, causing the dark mass to collide head-on with the barrier. Not that it did them much good, however. The Reflega lasted only a split second before it shattered, and the four of them were run over by the stampeding monster as it finished its charge and returned to the darkness.
As Donald's Cure spell washed over them and Xion climbed up to her feet, Sora spoke up. "Did you guys notice that? How it moves, I mean?"
Xion nodded, though her eyes were on the moving red eyes instead of on Sora. "Yeah. It always runs in a straight line, never turns. Three times can't be a coincidence."
Donald tapped his finger against the side of his wand. "Okay. Everyone, spread out!" While they were already starting to do so as he spoke, no sooner had the words passed Donald's beak that the red-eyed hunter charged at them yet again. It barreled straight for Sora and he jumped aside, rolling along the ground to make the last bit of distance needed to clear the monster's path.
Unfortunately for them, the monster had caught on that they had caught on.
It stopped on a dime, not at the edge of the field but in the center of it. Letting out an echoing roar that shook the area, it slashed at Sora with its massive forelegs. Red streaks followed the motions of its claws as they soared through the air, each one nearly half as tall as Sora himself. With speed once again belying its size, it caught the boy in a painful juggle, slicing and cutting its way through him. As Sora was knocked high into the air, Xion broke into a sprint. Just before he came crashing down she took a running leap and reached her arms out, the momentum propelling both of them to slam into one of the nearby rocks.
Behind the monster, Goofy approached it with his shield ready. An Aero from Donald propelled him upwards, and from the air he prepared to launch the shield down at the monster. Unfortunately, the thing seemed to know he was coming. As Goofy moved his arm back to throw, the monster's massive, hooked tail slammed hard into him. With red streaks following the appendage just like the ones that had followed its claws, the monster whipped its tail back and forth, knocking Goofy to the ground and pummeling him with it. It finished this onslaught by extending both its tail and claws and spinning around like a whirlwind, hitting not only Goofy but Donald as well before it jumped once more into the darkness.
For Xion and Sora, the former was the first to recover. She pushed herself up to her knees and fished for a hi-potion to give Sora while Donald and Goofy tended to their own wounds. As she uncorked the bottle and held it to his lips, her attention was more on the darkness than on her friend. Every time she caught sight of the thing's eyes it shot off in another direction. Biting her lip, she spared a moment's glance down at Sora as he finished the hi-potion off and climbed to his feet. He scanned the darkness before holding a hand out to Xion.
"Any ideas?" she asked while Sora helped her up.
"It's fast. Maybe we can try to stop it somehow…" He turned to Donald and Goofy, who were running their way. "Donald, got a spell that can do that?"
"I may, but I have no idea if it will—LOOK OUT!"
The monster was right behind them! The four leaped aside just in time, dodging its charge once more. It continued on into the darkness, but came right back out a moment later with its claws and tail surrounded by red. This time, though, they were ready for that. Goofy raised his shield while Sora and Xion held their Keyblades up before them, each one working together to block the attack. Of course that hardly stopped it, but they did it get it to leap back and raise its tail up. It was about to whip them with it!
"Stopga!" Green and red polygons spun around Donald, followed by a red sphere enveloping the monster for a split second. The tail was frozen mid swing, its red streak faded away. Behind the group, Donald gulped. "I didn't expect it to work. Hurry!"
"Let's go!" Xion shouted. She and Sora moved first, running alongside each other and leaping high into the air. Tightening her grip on her Keyblade, Xion brought it down on the monster's head and landed on the opposite side of its head from Sora. They spared a glance at each other for only a moment before running at it again from this new angle. Above them, Goofy's shield sailed through the air and slammed hard into its pitch black skin.
Of course Stop, even Stopga, only lasts for a short time. In the middle of their attack the monster roared, forcing Sora and Xion to defend themselves from another claw swipe. It leaped to the side, landing to the left of the group and crouching low with its tail raised. Slamming its tail on the ground once, it then took off toward Sora.
With the monster focused on Sora, Xion took the initiative and tossed a Strike Raid at its side…but nothing happened. Oh, the Keyblade went flying, and it made the impact, it's not like it just fell to the ground or anything. But the monster continued on its way as if Xion hadn't just sent a whirling sword flying into it. Without an attack to distract it from its prey, once more the monster trampled over Sora and fled into the darkness beyond the dead trees.
As Donald healed Sora, Xion ran over to him. "I'm so sorry! I don't know what happened—"
Sora shook his head. "It's fine, Xion. I saw you try." He turned to look at the red eyes staring right back at them. "Are we even hurting it at all? I noticed it didn't seem to get hurt from our earlier attacks while it was stopped, either."
"It didn't…?" She had been too busy wondering just what this thing was to notice that.
Goofy, his shield held protectively in front of his face, gulped and looked over to them. "What do we do then?"
"This is the Realm of Darkness, so it must be a creature that thrives off darkness. Don't you think?" Xion looked down at her Keyblade. "So, if we try casting some light on the situation…"
Sora nodded. "Right, I got you. So you and me just have to—"
"Here it comes!" Goofy hollered.
Of course, the pounding of the earth gave it away before he did so. The red-eyed monster let out a roar and barreled for them once again, this time with its focus on Goofy. Xion, Sora, and Donald broke away from him, running off in three separate directions. With Donald chain healing Goofy as the monster began its whirlwind attack on him, Xion cast a Pearl spell at the creature's side as a test. While it had little effect, what it did do was—only for a moment—cause the black that enveloped the thing to vanish, revealing purple underneath. It came right back soon after, but that sealed it. This thing didn't have black skin, it was using the darkness was a shield!
"Sora!"
"I saw! You ready?"
Standing side by side, the two of them charged their Keyblades with light. Though the illumination was more than evident, coating the blades in a soft gold, it was not as brilliant as usual and did nothing to pierce the overwhelming darkness in the area. Nonetheless, Xion and Sora stood their ground, spreading their legs and digging their heels in to steady themselves. When the monster next came charging at them, they held the Keyblades above their heads and swung them down in time with each other, sending a blast of light out that struck the creature right in the dead center between its eyes.
The Realm of Darkness trembled. The creature's entire body shook and it let out a deafening roar, far, far louder than any it had done so far. It shook its head left and right, roaring once more…and then the shadows fell away. Now revealed, the monster leaped backwards and shook its head in a threatening gesture.
The red glow had faded from its eyes, revealing the telltale gold of a Heartless. So it was something so simple after all, albeit a powerful one. Its skin was a deep, dark purple, which grew lighter along its limbs until it reached the violet claws. Twisted red growths, almost spikes but not quite, extended from its back and the sides of its head, and the end of its hook-like tail was colored the same. Perhaps most bizarrely, massive chains wrapped around its front legs like shackles, though the loose ends resembled grappling hooks.
Xion and Sora continued to stand together, staring the Heartless down with their weapons drawn. The Heartless crouched low, growling under its breath as it did so. Its tail twitched and its claws flexed. It leaped to the side, shaking the earth when it landed. Then it leaped again, and again, and again. Though no longer protected by the darkness, it wouldn't stay still.
"Look out!"
The Heartless charged at the moment the voice—neither Donald nor Goofy's—called out to them. Xion and Sora jumped aside to avoid it once again, but would they be so lucky. This time, the Heartless had brought a new trick. Fire moved alongside it as it ran, and the flames consumed the two Keybearers and they cried out in pain. When the fire died down, Xion and Sora lay on the ground, breathing heavily as the faint green glow of a Curaga washed over them. But it wasn't Donald who cast it.
Bolts of light rained down from above. They swerved through the air from every direction, and each and every one of them homed in on the Heartless. Xion, Sora, Donald, and Goofy watched in awe as the bolts repeatedly rammed into the Heartless, causing it to flinch back and roar in pain. But where was this bloom of light coming from?
They got their answer soon enough. A figure dashed out of the shadows and struck out at the Heartless, slashing it across the head. It toppled back, though quickly recovered and began to leap to and fro once more. Not that it did any good; despite its impressive agility, the figure landed in the field just in front of them. Xion had just enough time to take in that it was a woman before she began to dance.
It was a simple dance, but a dance nonetheless. She stood on one foot, spinning in circles with a blue-white aura obscuring her form. With each turn she sent out more bolts of light, and each one followed the Heartless no matter where it went. As the spell continued she first lowered to the ground and then rose back up, staying on one leg the entire time and never ceasing her spinning. After stretching up to full height she ceased, sending one final orb of light out at the Heartless.
When the aura around her faded, the group was left in stunned silence despite the remaining threat of the Heartless. With the glow no longer obscuring her, they could clearly take in her appearance: hair as blue as water, with black shorts, detached white sleeves, and a dark blue, backless top strapped over by a pink X. But what attracted them most was her a weapon: a Keyblade! A simple Keyblade with a black blade and silver handguard, but a Keyblade nonetheless.
Sora had stared at her with his jaw hanging open long enough. Shaking his head, he climbed up to his feet and sputtered for a moment before finally spitting out the question. "Are you…Aqua?"
The woman gasped and looked back at them, watching each one of them turn. Brief familiarity flashed behind her blue eyes at the sight of Donald and Goofy, but she quickly turned back around and moved into a battle stance. "We'll talk later! Right now, we have to worry about the Dark Hide!"
The monster—the Dark Hide—let out a roar and once more began to leap erratically around them. When it crouched down and began to charge once more with fire at its sides, Aqua raised her Keyblade to the air and cast a spell that scattered golden-white circles across the earth. Then, just before impact, she dodged not by rolling or jumping, but by cartwheeling away. When the Dark Hide trampled over the circles they exploded like landmines, knocking it off its feet and sending it crashing to the earth on its side.
"Now!" Aqua cast a Blizzaga spell, which Xion took as her signal. She, Goofy, and Sora darted forward, attacking the Heartless's exposed underbelly from every angle while Donald rained spells down on it. Xion ducked under a swiping, struggling claw and brought her Keyblade upward, leaving a gash on the Dark Hide's purple flesh. Keeping her body in motion, she spun around and brought the next strike down at an angle, then another one going upwards like a V. As she prepared the follow-up, however, the Dark Hide recovered.
It leaped high into the air and came crashing down, almost knocking them off their feet from that alone. Spinning wildly, it held its claws and tail out as it once more transformed into a whirling bladestorm. But they didn't get hit, not this time; a light flashed between the group and the Heartless, then expanded out into a Protectga that blocked the onslaught.
Aqua, who had been cartwheeling to avoid fireballs that the Dark hide had shot out of its mouth while it was in the air, now sprinted toward the barrier she had set up. She took a running leap and landed on top of the sphere, then jumped off of it to gain more air. The Dark Hide jumped from side to side and launched fireballs at her each time it landed, but Aqua held her hand out in front of her and called up another Protect spell, rebounding the flames and sending them off into the dark abyss.
In midair, Aqua raised her Keyblade and summoned eight glowing white spheres. The Dark Hide let out a roar and leaped toward her, but Aqua teleported away and it continued to fly through the air before crashing into a stone on the other side of the clearing. As it recovered Aqua, still floating, bashed her Keyblade against one of the orbs and sent it flying. As it made contact with the Dark hide she teleported again, slashing at the next orb, and then the next. Again and again she repeated this process, not giving the Heartless a chance to breathe until all eight had exploded against its body.
With the Dark Hide dazed, Xion took the initiative. Goofy gave her a boost, cupping his hands together and helping her high up into the air. From above she sent her Keyblade down at the Heartless with Strike Raid and, using Aero to keep her aloft, stayed airborne until the weapon came back to her. Holding it out, she waited until a ring of golden lights surrounded the tip of her Keyblade and then flicked the weapon up, sending Ragnarok flying.
"Shotlocks, excellent!" Aqua cheered.
"'Shotlock'?" The word was completely foreign to her. As she landed on the ground she turned to ask Aqua what that was, only to see the Master channeling magic through her own Keyblade. Like Xion she leaped into the air and held her Keyblade out, and light flashed at the tip. Multicolored rays flew out of the weapon, but any similarities to Ragnarok ended there. There were far fewer of them, and each was a different color. The 'Shotlock' tracked the jumping Dark Hide just as her dancing attack earlier had done, and after they made contact Aqua sent out another round.
As Aqua continued to fire round after round of her spell, Sora charged at the Dark Hide with both his Keyblade coated in a golden aura. He began a flurry of attacks, swinging up, down, left and right at the Heartless. When it appeared ready to leap off again, Aqua jumped to the ground and cast a spell. "Bind!"
A golden ring flashed around the Dark Hide, and though it tried to jump it could not do so. It swung its claws out at Sora instead, but he blocked the attack and continued Ars Arcanum. When the Dark Hide spun around, trying to strike at Sora with its tail, he leaped into the air and flipped over the appendage. Grasping Oathkeeper in both hands, he slammed it down on the Dark Hide's neck to finish off Ars Arcanum.
A Thundaga from Donald caught the Heartless's attention next. It leaped high into the air, and Aqua quickly dashed across the arena, leaving mines behind her while it was still airborne. Rather than simply pouncing on Donald, the Dark Hide sent the chains around its forelegs flying. The grappling hooks dug into the earth and the chains pulled back, bringing the Dark Hide with it as it whirled around like a ball, using the spines on its back as a weapon. Though Aqua tried to reach him in time, even a Keyblade Master couldn't do everything. Dazed and hurt, she instead cast a Curaga over his prone form, then spun around and deflected the next attack with another brief barrier.
The Dark Hide jumped around several more times before it seemed to choose Xion as its next target. It shot several fireballs her way which she tried to avoid, but no matter how much she ran she never seemed to get anywhere. Gasping and turning back over her shoulder, Xion saw a black ball that the Heartless had launched at her along with the flames. It sat now on the ground and was sucking in everything around it like a Magnet spell. Heat assaulted her from the other direction, and Xion spun around just in time to see the flames explode in her face. She was knocked back by the force, only to be hit from behind as the black ball suddenly stopped sucking in and expanded outward instead, exploding and sending her flying across the clearing.
"Xion!" Sora shouted, running over to her side and grabbing a hi-potion from his pocket.
Aqua ran by the two of them with Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder spells flying out of her hand. She kept up the attack with a string of melee strikes, dodging its claw swipes and jumping over its tails swings all the while. After ending her latest combo, ramming the hilt of her Keyblade into the Dark Hide's jaw while doing so, Aqua crossed her arms in front of her and began to glow. White light pulsed out of her and a pink aura coated her body. She released her grip on her Keyblade but it didn't fall to the ground, instead floating in the air just under her hand while also coated in the pink aura.
Now floating in the air, Aqua moved as if dancing. She spun and moved her arms up and down, her Keyblade spinning through the air and following her every motion. She gracefully weaved through the air, flowing like a fish in water as she danced around the Dark Hide. Whenever it tried to attack her with its lightning-quick movements she would thrust her hand out, and the Keyblade would conjure a flat barrier to both defend her and knock the Heartless away. When it was too far for melee she would take her Keyblade back in her hand and fire an orb of light, followed up by releasing it and beginning her dance once more. When it jumped to try and flee from her, Aqua cast a Zero Graviga spell that prevented it from landing.
She fell to the ground and grabbed her Keyblade, though the glow did not fade yet. Thundaga shot down from the sky, striking the Dark Hide and breaking Zero Graviga. It fell down right on top of her, but before crushing her alive Aqua began to spin with her Keyblade held up. Ribbons of light flew out of the weapon, wrapping around her elegant form as she raised up off the ground. The finisher drilled into the Dark Hide from below, and ended with a sparkling explosion that once more crashed it onto the earth, right onto the mines she had planted earlier.
The Heartless's entire body shook and it breathed out a fine green mist. Aqua gasped and dashed over to the rest of the awestruck group as the Dark Hide vanished. But it didn't charge into the darkness this time; instead, it simply disappeared into thin air. Then, multicolored lights began to swirl around them. It was like standing in the eye of a storm, with wind kicking up around them as spinning, faded reds, greens, and yellows formed a circular wall.
"Move!" Aqua, still glowing pink, motioned for the others to follow her. "And don't stop moving!"
Xion had questions, of course, but there was no time to ask them. The four followed her, and just in time too. Right after they started moving the Dark Hide burst out of the rainbow swirl, spinning through the air like a drill and plowing over the area they had just stood moments ago. As it faded back beyond the storm it shot right out again at another angle, again and again following this pattern. As Aqua ordered they never stopped moving, always running, always in motion. Aqua nearly got run down by the Dark Hide more than once, but cartwheeled out of the way just in time.
When the storm faded the Dark Hide crashed to the earth right in front of them and roared. Aqua let go of her Keyblade and once again began to weave her spells in the air, while Xion and the rest moved to attack it from below. But it seemed as if it was even faster than it had been just minutes before, always slashing, always jumping and spinning. Even Aqua couldn't hit it in time, and more than once she got knocked back by its lashing tail or swiping legs. When one such attack sent her flying toward the rest of the group, she cast a Protectga spell to give them a moment's reprieve.
"I won't flee again, not this time," she hissed while running a glowing green hand over her bloody shoulder. "He's been hunting me for way too long."
Sora, panting, turned to her. "I'm all ears for a suggestion, but we can't even catch it."
"Have you tried Stop spells?"
Donald shook his head. "Once, but something tells me it won't work now."
Aqua nodded as she moved to heal her thigh next. "Bind won't do any good once it gets like this either." She grimaced and examined the pink glow. It was starting to fade, and that seemed to worry her. "I need just a few seconds. I need to change styles."
"Uh, styles?" Xion asked.
Aqua either didn't hear her or didn't care to answer. "I need you to distract it so that I can get a few hits in from behind and change to Ghost Drive. We need to do this before Spellweaver runs out. Can you handle that?"
The terms were completely over any of their heads, but Xion nodded. "We got your back."
Aqua smiled. "Okay. Go!" She shattered the barrier and sent bolts of lightning flying from her Keyblade, shocking the Heartless though doing nothing to stop it from moving. She cartwheeled past its next series of claw strikes and then ran behind it as it turned its attention to the others.
Xion parried the next swing and slashed her Keyblade across its leg, just above the chains. Beside her, Sora let loose Strike Raid after Strike Raid while Donald sent fireballs flying. Goofy dodged its rapid strikes and brought his shield up from below, jamming it into the creature's jaw and painfully forcing its mouth shut. And all along, they heard Aqua's battle cries accompanied by the cry of metal swinging through the air and bolts of lightning raining down from the sky.
That's when the Dark Hide did something unexpected. It roared and jumped back, and looked like it was beginning to charge once more though did not begin running. Instead, its body flickered and an image burst forth. Xion barely had time to register what she was seeing—a copy of the Dark hide colored a solid green—before the slashing beast ran over them with its claws. Before it had even finished, it was followed by a red image, then a blue one. Each one charged at them in a chain attack of deadly glowing red talons.
Now the Dark Hide began to leap around the arena again, but after one more Thundaga struck it from above there was a flash of light from off to the side. The next thing Xion knew, Aqua appeared, now glowing a blue-white color rather than pink. The Dark Hide shot fireballs at her but she dodged it, not by running or cartwheeling but by teleporting. Her entire body simply blurred and she appeared several feet away in her target direction.
The Dark Hide just would not stand still, but Aqua simply swung her Keyblade and vanished halfway through the swing. She reappeared right in front of it and unleashed a lightning-fast flurry that the Dark Hide could not defend from, then vanished again before it had a chance to counter, leaving only a floating afterimage where she once was. She reappeared at its side and repeated, going all out in midair combos before teleporting away and leaving an afterimage. Above, below, left, right. Aqua attacked the Dark Hide from every conceivable direction, and its speed made no difference when she could simply teleport right to it.
After her latest combo the Dark Hide crashed to the ground and Aqua landed beside it. She did not stay still, however, and jumped into the air with a spin. Her body glowed white and she flipped backwards before shooting down toward the Heartless Keyblade-first. The second she pierced it she teleported back up to the sky, though an ethereal purple spike stayed in her place. Once more she shot down, left a spike, and teleported away, repeating this process until a ring of the things jutted out of the Heartless's body. Still glowing brightly, Aqua pulled back and the spikes exploded, sending a massive shockwave out over the Realm of Darkness.
The Dark Hide's body flickered and, despite the trouble they had in defeating it, it faded away like just another Heartless. Silence settled on the Realm of Darkness once more as Aqua—no longer glowing—breathed in and out, then dismissed her Keyblade.
Xion stared at her, eyes wide. So this was what a Keyblade Master was capable of. "Incredible…" she breathed.
Aqua turned to face the four of them and smiled. Though a warm smile, there was a tired air about it. It looked like it felt almost foreign to her, and it didn't reach her eyes. Her eyes themselves, they looked…tired. So, so tired. "Thank you," she said, her voice cracking, though whether from lack of use or from raw emotion, Xion couldn't say. Maybe both. "The Dark Hide has been hunting me since I first arrived here…however long ago that was. But, oh… I guess you're stuck here now, too, huh?" She rubbed her arm and looked aside.
"U-Uh, no, actually…" Sora rubbed his head and smiled softly. "Aqua, right? We, uh… We came here to find you."
Aqua froze up. For something seemingly so simple, it seemed to shock her more than any of them had thought possible. "…W-What…?" Her hand shot up to her mouth and her eyes grew wet, though not to the extent that she was actively crying. Shutting her eyes and wiping her face, Aqua turned to Donald and Goofy. "I thought I recognized you, you're Mickey's friends…right? We met at Master Yen Sid's…"
Donald gave a smile and a nod while Goofy saluted. "Yes ma'am, Master Aqua, ma'am! We were sent by the King to bring you safe and sound back to the Realm of Light!"
"Is that right? Thank you. And, you two." She turned to Sora and Xion, who stood up straight. "You have Keyblades. Who's your Master? I had assumed that all of the other Keybearers were—" She gasped. "Is his name Terra or Ven?!"
Xion and Sora looked at each other, sharing a sorrowful, silent moment between them. Aqua sounded so, so hopeful about that. She had been in here for so long, she had no idea what had been going on outside. For all she knew, her friends were safe. But, slowly, Sora shook his head and held up Oathkeeper. "…Sorry, Master Aqua. Neither of them. We didn't really have a Master. The two of us, as well as our friend Riku, we're self-trained."
"Riku?" Another gasp from Aqua. She examined the keychain dangling from Oathkeeper and reached behind her, pulling out a star-shaped charm of her own made of blue stained glass. "A Wayfinder… From the island with star-shaped fruit. Are…Are you…Sora?"
"Huh?" Sora lowered his arm and dismissed his Keyblade, while Xion, Donald, and Goofy all watched him with curiosity and confusion. "You know me? Wait, are you…?"
The next thing any of them knew, Aqua had embraced Sora in a deep hug. She wasn't holding back anymore either, with tears streaming down her smiling face. "I can't believe it, it's really you. I don't know how long I've been gone, but it's clearly been too long."
"U-Uh…" Though Aqua continued to hug him tightly, Sora did not return the gesture. He looked increasingly uncomfortable, having this woman he only just met clinging onto him.
"Sora, do you know her?" Donald whispered.
"I—"
Aqua broke the hug and stepped back, though she kept her hands on his shoulders. "You've grown into a fine young man, Sora. And did you keep your promise?" She reached up with one hand and ruffled Sora's hair. Sora, and Xion as well, gasped at the simple gesture, their eyes growing wide, as wide as Aqua's had been when she had seemingly recognized him.
He and Riku ran along the beach, splashing in the shallow water and laughing in the sunset. As they came to a stop under the old bridge, their attention was drawn to a figure atop it. Noticing them as well, the mysterious woman jumped down onto the sand, shocking him while Riku stood as calmly as ever.
He tried to laugh his awkward fear away, but the woman simply laughed with them. She spoke to them both, asking them to make promises and for him to always protect Riku. He didn't even have a second thought agreeing. She was trustworthy. She was safe.
Smiling, she ruffled his hair.
Sora began to cry, and even Xion found herself misty-eyed from the brief and early memory as it lingered in the back of her head. Sora brought a hand to his cheek and pulled away, examining the tears that slid down his fingers. "It's really you," he whispered. He took Aqua's hands in his own. "It's really you! I can't believe it, I thought that was a dream! I had nearly forgotten that day, and I had no idea you were the one we were looking for. It was so, so long ago. Aqua, have you been fighting the Heartless all this time?"
"Heartless? So that's what those creatures are called." Aqua's brow creased and she frowned. She pulled away from Sora and looked at Donald, Goofy, and Xion. "And 'so long ago', huh? I lost track of time ages ago, but I suppose that makes sense, seeing you all grown up. How long was I gone?"
"That…" Xion trailed off. How do you go about telling someone they've been missing everything for twelve years? She supposed it was best to just get it over with and took a deep breath. "Aqua? It's been twe—"
The Realm of Darkness shook. Dozens, hundreds, of golden eyes appeared in the shadows that surrounded this clearing. The Dark Hide? No, smaller Heartless. Shadows, Neoshadows, and Darkballs. All Purebloods, but dangerous nonetheless. Especially here in the Realm of Darkness.
"Uh oh!" Xion called her Keyblade back out and she and her friends prepared for battle, but Aqua grabbed Sora by the wrist and shook her head.
"They'll never stop coming. These shadows—the Heartless—they thrive here, they're infinite. Fighting them will just wear you out." She held her Wayfinder up to the air and a blue light radiated out from it. The darkness consumed it very quickly, but it lasted long enough for the Heartless around them to recoil, if not flee. "Follow me. I know a safe place, and then you can tell me everything."