Ren starred at his ceiling, unable to fall asleep. All he could think about was the coming day, and the travels that lay ahead of him and his friends. Oh, and the paopu fruit. That too. If the legend was right, they were bound together by fate now. The thought brought a smile to Ren's face.
With a bit of effort, you could become a true trickster, able to destroy all inevitability and fate.
Damn, he really needed to stop thinking about that dream.
The sound of thunder jolted him out of his thoughts. He sat up and looked out his window to see lightning flash across the sky. It looked to be centered around the clubhouse island.
The raft. We left it out there.
He jumped out of bed and threw on his clothes, skidding down the stairs before bursting out the door. He wasn't worried about what his aunt would say; she couldn't care less about what could happen to him. But their raft was in trouble, and that was way worse than anything his aunt could or would do. He reached the docks and jumped into a boat, paddling as fast as he could to the other island.
He reached the docks and immediately noticed the two blonds waiting for him. "Come on man!" Ryuji held out his hand and pulled Ren up. "We gotta save the raft!"
"No time to waste," Ann agreed. "Let's go- what's that!?" She pointed upwards. There in the sky was a giant black orb. The surface of it flashed with lightning, while red clouds swirled inside. Ren felt an odd pull in his gut as he looked at it. Almost like it was calling to him….
"L-Let's go! Let's go right now!" Ryuji dragged them away. Ren shook himself out of his trance, noting the other boats lining the dock. Apparently they weren't the only ones with this idea.
The beach before them stained black in small circles, and out rose tiny shadowy creatures, with grabby hands, antennae, and glowing yellow eyes. Ann shrieked. "What are those things?" She scooped up a rope from her boat and whipped it at a creature. The makeshift weapon passed right through it. "We can't hit them!"
"We have to run," Ren said. "Now." The three jumped off the dock, sprinting around where the creatures were forming. Another one rose up in front of Ren, who instinctively ducked and rolled away from it, jumping back up and continuing forward.
"The circle!" Ryuji yelled. "Other people are there!" They ran for the circle of palm trees, where they had all spent many a time sparing with each other. Seven teens were gathered in the middle. Ren spotted Shiho, Yuki, Makoto, Haru, Goro, and Yusuke, and a red haired girl he had never seen before.
Shiho noticed their approach and ran to them. "You guys are here too! We all saw the storm and the weird darkness. What is this thing?"
"It's beautiful, in a way," Yusuke commented. "The break in the dark sky by an even darker intrusion, the red that withers within. If only I had my sketchbook! I must find a way to paint this!"
"That's what you're thinking about now? Weirdo!" The mysterious girl shot at him. "This is super serious!"
"I agree," Makoto said. She was clearly trying to remain calm, although Ren could hear the tremor in her voice. "Whatever this thing is, it isn't good. We need to- Haru? Are you alright?"
Haru was gazing up at the darkness, eyes not straying from it. The look on her face was one of pure terror.
"I - I've seen this before," She stammered. "I've seen this before, this isn't good, this isn't good oh no oh no oh nononono." The rest of them glanced at each other with fear and uncertainty. None of them had ever seen Haru act like this before.
"Haru?" Ann asked hesitantly. "Does - does this remind you of when you came to this world?"
"I wouldn't be surprised! This is great!" Ren whipped around to face the most recent speaker. Goro was looking up at the darkness, arms out wide, ecstasy plain on his face. "It's finally time! We will be free of these small, cursed islands, out into the worlds!" Goro laughed. It sounded completely unhinged. Ren took an unconscious step back.
"H - hey, what's wrong with you man?" Ryuji asked the boy detective. "What's going on?"
Goro flashed him a twisted grin. "Not that I'd expect you to understand, of course. Building a raft, ha! Although I suppose since you had no way of knowing what to do to leave, you chose the simplest option." He turned to Ren, who forced himself not to flinch at the other's distorted face, meeting his eyes head on. "I bet you knew better though, didn't you, Ren? You're like me, after all! Come, let's leave everyone behind and discover the universe together!"
"What are you even talking about?" Ann snapped at him. "Ren's not going anywhere with you!"
"Goro, why?" Yuki asked helplessly. "What do you mean, be free of these islands?"
"Did you do this? How could you!" Makoto's face was etched with a surprising amount of fury, as she held Haru, who was shaking on the ground.
Goro chuckled. "You can thank me later, once we're all away! I won't let anything stop me now! I'm not afraid of the darkness!" He held his hands above his head. As he did so, the ground they were all standing on was suddenly covered in black fog. It wrapped itself around Goro, then started spreading to the others. Makoto found herself ripped away from Haru with a scream. Yusuke and Yuki tried in vain to cut the mist away. The girl Ren didn't know fell to her knees with a sob, calling out for her mother.
"Ann!" Ren spun to see Shiho being dragged away. Ann cried out and reached for her friend.
"No! Shiho hang on!" The two blonds and Ren were furthest away from Goro, and the fog was up to their knees now. Ann, the furthest in of them, was up to her waist. Ren and Ryuji grabbed her arms as Shiho faded from view. "SHIHO!"
Ren clutched his friends tightly, shivering as the darkness crawled over him. It was like a starless night, or the shadows small children sometimes believed nightmares came out of. He tried to call out-
Everything was black.
No, that was wrong. It was more like a very deep blue.
This is truly an unjust game. Your chances of winning are almost none. But trickster, if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you.
That voice. He knew that voice.
Lavenza?
Listen to your heart, trickster. It is the mightiest weapon of all, and it can grant you the power to break through this crisis.
He took a deep breath. Something was tugging at him from inside. It felt dark, but not in the way that the darkness from the beach had. It was a comforting dark, like a cloudless nighttime during a full moon, or shade to provide relief from the sun.
It felt like home. It felt like him.
I am thou. Thou art I. I am Arsene, the pilligar of twilight, the manifestation of your rebellious heart. Call upon my name, release thy rage!
Ren screamed, power coursing through his body like a tidal wave. It was overwhelming him with its strength. He fought back, pushing until most of it gathered around his hand.
"Come to me!"
Everything was blue.
He was on the beach again, in the circle of trees. Everyone besides him, Ryuji, and Ann were gone. There was a weight in his right hand. He turned it over in his palm a few times. It felt right, like it was always meant to be there. Keyblade. Arsene.
"NO! SHIHO!" Ann yelled, sinking to her knees. "Where did she go? Where did everyone go!?"
Ryuji's hands trembled, and he balled them into fists. "I - I don't know! I don't know anything about what just happened, except that that bastard Goro started it. What do you think Ren?" Ryuji looked at him and paled. "Ren! What happened to you? Your eyes! And what are you holding?"
His eyes? What did Ryuji mean? And it was his keyblade in his hand, obviously. He looked down at it. The handle was bright red, with black wings curving around the sides of it. The shaft of the blade was black with a red outline, formed in a zigzag instead of a straight line. The end curved like the end of a scythe, red, black, and silver. There was a keychain at the end, with a black and white mask on it.
There was sound from behind him. Heartless. He dashed forward to meet the creatures. One tried to jump on top of him, so he slid underneath and swung upwards. The creature let out a small shrek and faded away. He spun around and slammed his keyblade into the next heartless. This one seemed a bit sturdier than the last, so he swung his blade like a golf club and knocked it into nothingness.
A third rushed him. He instinctively raised his keyblade, feeling power rush through him. Ehiya. Darkness, a different kind than that of which he was fighting, rushed towards the heartless and disintegrated it. Another. He waited until it was close, then lunged forward, impaling it through the center. He looked around to find none left. Good.
He looked up. Ryuji and Ann were still staring at him, worry and a hint of fear in their eyes. "Renren?" Ryuji asked, uncertainty clouding his voice. Just like before. Before.
Ren shook his head. What was he thinking? What was going on? What was happening to him?
"I - It's okay dude. We'll figure it out, don't worry," Ryuji said. Ren internally winced, he hadn't meant to say that out loud. "Let's get out of here, yeah?"
"Sounds good to me," Ann said shakily. "But not before we find Shiho!" Ren nodded in agreement, and the three set off back down the beach.
"That door!" Ryuji pointed towards the cave where all of their artwork was. Instead of just a regular opening, there was an intricate silver door at the entrance. "That definitely wasn't there before."
"We need to go there," Ren said with certainty. Ann frowned at him.
"W-what? No, we need to find Shiho and the others-"
"No. We need to go through it." Ren couldn't explain it, the need to go through the door. He just knew he had to. He had to. It was the only way. He ran towards the door and opened it. He could hear Ann and Ryuji's footsteps and protests behind him, but he had to keep going, he did-
They were in the cave. Wait, why were they in the cave? They needed to find Shiho! What was wrong with him? Ren turned to his friends, unable to hide the fear in his face. "I - I'm sorry, I don't know why this is happening, I didn't want to-"
"Ren, Look out!" He felt them tackle him down just as the dark mist seeped out of the wooden door, surrounding them once again.
Ryuji groaned and opened his eyes. He took a look around him and jumped up in shock. Darkness swirled around them, below and above the small remains of the clubhouse island. Every structure that was still there was in shambles, and he couldn't see beyond the mist.
"Ren!" He pulled his friend to his feet. Ren groaned and opened his eyes, thankfully not golden anymore. That had been terrifying, emerging from the darkness to see Ren with golden eyes and a strange weapon, destroying those shadow creatures and looking at Ryuji like a total stranger. Just like five years ago….Something was definitely wrong. Still, they couldn't focus on that now, not when all their lives were in danger.
Escape first, help Ren after.
Ann scrambled to her feet. "What happened now?" She looked around. "Oh god, what did happen? Why is this happening to us?" Her voice shook, reaching the point of panic.
Ryuji opened his mouth to respond, when a….thing emerged from the darkness. It was taller than any building he'd ever seen, with glowing yellow eyes. The thing focused on them, and they all ran just in time to avoid getting crushed by its fist.
Ren recovered first, turning around and driving his weapon into its hand multiple times. The creature screamed and withdrew its arm, swinging around to swipe at him. Ren rolled under it and called back that weird magic from earlier on it. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to do anything more than annoy the creature. The next swipe of its hand, and Ren was sent flying across the sand, crashing into a pile of debris.
"No!" Ryuji ran to his side. Ren clutched his side, hissing in pain. "Hang on Ren!" The creature turned toward them once again. Ryuji froze up as the thing raised its foot over them, ready to smush them like bugs.
"Ryu-" Ren groaned. "You have to fight. You - you can do it-"
He had to fight? No, that was wrong, he couldn't there was nothing he could do! The creature lowered its foot, draping them in its shadow. They were going to die-
No. No! Ren was right, he had to fight! He wouldn't die here, he wouldn't let Ren or Ann die here!
Good. Then you can finally unlock your potential!
Everything around him froze. Ryuji convulsed as something akin to a powerful electric current shocked his entire body, withering in pain.
You have steadied your heart, so I will head your resolve. Are you ready to hoist the flag and show your true colors?
Yes.
Everything unfroze, except this time, there was something in his hand. A keyblade. His keyblade. Without any more hesitation, he swung his blade upward, knocking the foot aside just long enough to grab Ren and run.
Ann ran to them. "You're okay! And, Ryuji! You have a weapon now too! And your eyes, they were golden for a moment!"
"Seriously?" He glanced at the keyblade in his hand. The handle was shaped like a monkey skull, with eye sockets for the handles. The staff part was like a spine, with lightning racing up and down it. The teeth were shaped like a deformed cannon. The key chain on the handle ended with a small skull mask. He knew its name, Captain Kidd. "Yeah, I guess this is mine now."
Ren let go of Ryuji and braced himself, holding out his keyblade. "The heartless is coming back," He warned. Sure enough, the thing was limping towards them, looking angrier than ever. Ryuji readied his keyblade.
"Let's take this thing down!" The two rushed the heartless, Ren jumping up and swiping at its head while Ryuji lunged for its feet, knocking it with powerful blows. The creature moved its leg right into him and Ryuji braced himself as he started to go flying-
Ann watched helplessly as the toy boys ripped into the heartless thing. First Ren had gotten a weapon, and now Ryuji, and all she could do was stand around and watch as her home was destroyed and everyone else went missing.
She saw the heartless slam into Ryuji. No, No! I can't just watch anymore! There has to be something I can do to help!
You are not one to sit idly on the sidelines, it seems. You wish for the power to help your friends and save the one you love? To save dear Shiho?
Of course she did!
In that case, as the will of your rebellion, I'll gladly lend you my strength!
Her body felt like it was burning from the inside out. But that voice, she knew what it was saying was true. I hear you, Carmen.
Something glowed in her hand and took shape. A keyblade. It was pink, the handle shaped like a heart, red thorns racing up the the pink shaft, flames for the teeth, and a cat mask at the end of her key chain. Carmen, her keyblade.
She knew what to do. Agi! Fire sprung all around the body of the heartless, making it scream in pain. Ren took the moment to rush over to Ryuji's side, breaking his fall. She ran over to them and lifted her keyblade. "I'll fight too! We can take this thing down!"
Ryuji grinned at her. "Yeah! The three of us can do this!"
Ren gave a small smile. "Alright then. I'll take the legs. Ryuji, go for the arms. Ann, since your fire seems to work on it really well, use that as much as you can. Stay out of its range and keep firing."
"Got it!" They jumped into action. Ryuji stabbed his keyblade into the thing's arms over and over again. At one point, Ann was sure she saw lightning coming from him. Ren swiped at its legs, nimbly dodging around its stomps. Ann fired Agi after Agi spell until she was exhausted. Under the combined weight of the three keyblade users, the heartless collapsed for good.
The ball of darkness was much bigger and closer now. It sucked up more and more pieces of the remains of their islands. The heartless drifted up into the orb. Ann cried out in surprise as she felt herself lifting off the ground.
Ryuji planted his hands on a tree. "Grab on!" She and Ren did so, Ann's stomach turned as she felt herself lifting off the ground and towards the dark orb.
"Don't let go!" She yelled at Ryuji.
"I'm trying, dammit!" He winced as the bark he was holding started to peel away. "Effin'...dammit!" It broke away entirely, and the three yelled out as they were carried away.
Keyblades Gained: Arsene
Arcana Gained: Fool, Chariot, Lovers
This chapter was a bit on the short side, but I plan to make up for it with the next one. In the original KH game, Sora just sort of...gets his keyblade, no fanfare involved. Seeing as this is mixed with Persona, however, I decided there had to be some sort of inner awakening. You probably also noticed I'm no good at writing fighting scenes. I hope to improve on that.
Hope you enjoyed, and please review!