Chapter V; Heartless
X sat in the wasteland he had grown used to, almost to the point he could call it home. He was watching Vanitas train with the Unversed. Of course, the pitiful creatures stood no chance against their creator. Most weren't even fighting back. Vanitas killed them in seconds, the dark energy going right back into him.
"Why are you here anyway?" Vanitas asked turning to X after finishing off another group of Unversed. He stabbed his key into the ground and leaned on it.
"I'm waiting to hear what world Terra shows up in," X answered leaning back. "What about you? Shouldn't you be out spreading the Unversed?" He asked. Vanitas shrugged.
"They're everywhere already. I just have to wait for that loser to get strong enough." He replied. He pulled his key from the ground and turned away from X. He summoned more Unversed and attacked them without a second thought.
"Do you think he will get strong enough, the kid seemed like a pushover to me," X asked, watching Vanitas slash his way through the Unversed.
"He has to. We don't have a backup plan." Vanitas responded while still fighting. X nodded. Beside him, a Shadow appeared. X glanced down at it with mild interest. He stood up and stretched.
"Where is he?" X asked.
Enchanted Dominion. The Shadow replied. X nodded opening up a dark corridor with the snap of his fingers. He shot a glance at Vanitas before disappearing into the dark corridor.
X came out of the dark corridor near a lake. Terra was at the lakes shore looking out over the water. X smirked to himself before walking over to the should be Master. The blonde paused behind him, following his gaze out over the water.
"Have you never seen a lake before?" X asked. Terra jumped and turned to face X. X looked at him calmly with his hands in his pockets. Terra looked at him in shock.
"When did you get here?" He asked slowly.
"Just a minute or two ago," X answered calmly. He met Terra's gaze without flinching. Terra was suspicious of him, with good reason of course. It wasn't every day someone just appeared out of nowhere. And it probably didn't help X had just been in the Land of Departure and had no way of knowing where Terra would appear.
"How did you get here?" Terra asked. X frowned at the question. He knew it would come up eventually, but he hadn't expected it so soon. He needed Terra's trust, so lying was out of the options.
"If I show you, you can't freak out," X said looking at Terra. He shifted his weight so he looked to be leaning away from Terra and looked away. He was trying to appear nervous, which was something he hadn't been for a long time.
"I won't." Terra agreed with a calm voice. Apparently, X's acting had tricked him.
"And you can't tell anyone," X added. Terra looked surprised by this addition but didn't object. He nodded slowly, looking at X with curiosity. X took a deep breath before snapping. Beside him, a corridor of darkness opened. Terra jumped back surprised.
"What is that?" Terra asked.
"It's a dark corridor. That's how I world travel." X answered quietly, looking away from Terra. With a wave of his hand, he closed the corridor. He refused to look at Terra, afraid the expression on Terra's face would make him burst out laughing. His fear of the darkness was comical.
"You use darkness?" Terra asked slowly. X nodded.
"Yeah, that's why Master Xehanort took me in. To keep an eye on me. I have more darkness than light, so I was a danger to myself." He explained. There was a brief pause between the two. X glanced up at Terra. Terra was thinking, his hand resting on his chin.
"Alright," Terra decided, looking at X. "We'd better get moving." He said. X smiled and nodded. Terra was fooled.
They didn't get far from the lake when the first group of Unversed showed themselves. It was floods, the smallest of the Unversed. The dark purple creatures with bright red eyes moved around in a jittery manner. Terra quickly drew his keyblade.
"Are these the Unversed?" Terra asked. X drew his daggers.
"Well, they sure as hell aren't native to this world," X answered. Terra nodded before swinging his keyblade forward. X hung back and watched him, mostly only taking out stragglers. Though he knew Vanitas was used to the pain, he didn't want to give the masked boy more pain than necessary.
X was surprised to see Terra's fighting style was just as he'd expected. Heavy hits and brute force. He was even a bit slow. But all the same, he managed to fight off the Unversed. Mostly. One flood managed to escape, fleeing from the battlefield.
"No, you don't," Terra said before chasing after it. X gave a heavy sigh, putting away his daggers. He followed Terra at a much more relaxed pace.
The flood managed to make it to some type of bridge before Terra managed to kill it. X stopped behind Terra looking up at the castle. The castle seemed to make up most of the area up ahead. It was as if there was no town, only the castle. Countless towers rose up all over the castle. It was impressive, to say the least.
Not far ahead on the bridge was a woman wearing black and with what looked like horns. She held a wooden staff with a green gem on top of it. Terra glanced over his shoulder at X before approaching the woman. The woman turned to Terra just before he reached her. Her skin was a sickly pale green that X didn't think was normal.
"What's this? Why aren't you asleep, boy? That fool Flora cast a spell to put everyone in the castle into a deep deep slumber." The woman said looking at Terra in wonder.
"Who are you?" Terra asked. X sighed and rolled his eyes. Apparently, Terra wasn't the greatest with manners. Despite the lack of respect the woman chose to answer.
"Why, I am Maleficent, as all in this kingdom would know." She said. "Now you must reciprocate the introduction. Who are you?" She asked. Her eyes drifted over Terra curiously, like he was an interesting specimen. Her eyes briefly flickered over to X for the first time, as if she had just noticed him.
"I'm Terra, the other boy is X," Terra answered. Maleficent's eyes narrowed at X. "What do you know about the monsters that attacked us?" Terra asked. Maleficent seemed to consider this before answering.
"I give little thought to creatures so base. But I know it was only one they were attacking." Maleficent answered. Terra looked confused by her answer. He looked over to X, who shrugged in reply. The moment Terra turned back around, however, X glared at Maleficent.
"They're definitely base." Terra agreed, trying to hide his confusion. "Anyway, we're looking for someone. Ever heard of a man named Xehanort?" He asked, changing the topic.
"He would be old and bald. Kinda creepy looking." X supplied, realizing a name would be of little of help. Maleficent put her hand to her chin in thought.
"The name is not familiar to me. But I do remember an outsider leaving the castle." She said after deliberating. Terra looked surprised by this information.
"What was he doing?" Terra asked.
"I couldn't say," Maleficent answered. "If you're curious, go see the castle for yourself. The entrance is past the bridge." She offered. Terra nodded to her.
"Thanks." He said before beginning down the bridge. X prepared to follow him but stopped when Maleficent chose to spoke again.
"Perhaps he did speak of imprisoning the light." She said. Terra stopped and turned to listen to her. "'The light' could be many things. Could he have meant Princess Aurora?" She asked. Terra looked at X in question. X shrugged in reply.
"Aurora," Terra repeated before running to the castle. X gave a heavy sigh.
"Man, he's gullible," X said, half to himself, half to Maleficent. "Keep in mind he's already somebody else's pawn." X said with a glare. Maleficent merely laughed as she vanished in a pillar of flames.
X caught up with Terra in the entry hall of the castle. He was looking at X in interest like something new had been discovered about the young blonde. X looked at him in question.
"What's up?" X asked. Terra frowned.
"Do you know what she meant, that the Unversed were only attacking one of us?" He asked. X looked away and began walking into the castle.
"They weren't attacking me," X replied, shifting under Terra's gaze. Terra followed him into the castle. His keyblade was drawn and at the ready. X wasn't sure if it was to be used against Unversed or himself.
"They weren't?" Terra asked.
"I guess not," X replied simply.
"Why not?" Terra asked. His blue eyes narrowed at X in a questioning way. It was just now occurring to him how strange X was.
"I guess because I don't feel anything anymore. No negativity, no nothing." X explained. He stopped walking and turned to face Terra. Terra was very confused by what X had just said.
"How can you not feel?" Terra asked in shock. X smirked and looked away with a shake of his head.
"I don't have a heart." He answered. He took off the glove on his left hand and turned it to face Terra. Terra stepped back in shock at the sight of the purple and black emblem. "I'm a Heartless."
There was quite a bit of silence between the two. X kept his gaze down, not watching Terra as he tried to work out the situation. In his right hand, he summoned one of his daggers, in case Terra decided to attack. Terra meanwhile was reassessing X. The boy was significantly smaller than him. Maybe even smaller than Ven, but it was hard to tell without them being right next together. His body language wasn't threatening. It was like he was trying to disappear.
Terra gave a heavy sigh.
"I'm not sure what that means, but I don't think it's that big of a deal. After all, you haven't attacked anyone like the Unversed." Terra said. X looked up at him surprised. How trusting was this guy?
"Thanks. I'll try to keep it that way." X replied with a smirk. "Let's keep going, we have an entire castle to search." He said before continuing on, slipping his glove back on his hand.
After clearing the castle of Unversed, the pair found themselves in a chamber in a tall tower. Laying in the bed of that room was a blonde teenage girl fast asleep. If it weren't for her slow steady breathing X would have thought her dead. He still did think she might have been dead.
"This feels familiar." Terra said softly. X looked at him.
"Do I want to know why?" X asked concerned. Terra shot him a dirty look with a small grin.
"Her heart is filled with light; not the slightest touch of darkness. Just the heart I need." A familiar voice said. Terra and X turned to see Maleficent. X blinked in confusion.
"When did you get here?" X asked. X's question went ignored as Terra stepped forward.
"For what?" Terra asked. Maleficent gave an evil smile like the question was amusing and somehow linked to her evil plan.
"Imagine with me the most glorious of futures. Seven of the purest hearts, each overflowing with light. When brought together, they grant the power to rule all worlds." Maleficent explained. Her eyes narrowed at Terra.
"What do you mean?" Terra asked defensively. X tipped his head to the side looking at Maleficent with pity. Looks like she was made into a pawn too. And she was too proud to see it.
"Why that key you hold," Maleficent continued, ignoring Terra's question. "The keyblade, is it called?" She asked mockingly. Terra summoned his keyblade in response.
"Where did you learn that name?" Terra demanded. Once again Maleficent ignored him.
"That trinket is the only way to collect hearts." She said, looking down at Terra. Terra clenched his fist.
"No more games. Where is Master Xehanort?" Terra demanded, at least figuring out that Xehanort must have been the one to tell Maleficent these things. He just wasn't sure if it was of free will or not.
"Impudence will get you nowhere, child," Maleficent said annoyed. "If you wish to learn more you must retrieve Aurora's heart." She ordered. Terra looked appalled by the mere suggestion. X glanced over at the sleeping princess. If she was asleep it couldn't hurt. His purple eyes turned bright yellow for a second. As promised her heart was pure light.
"Why would I do that?" Terra asked. Maleficent scoffed, though her eyes now were on X.
"It's not a matter of why, but of will. In your heart, there is darkness waiting to be awakened." She said. Her hand moved over the jewel on her staff. Terra was covered in a green aura from her movement.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Terra said, fighting her arua.
"Perhaps not yet," Maleficent admitted. "But I have power over sleep. And I can awaken what's inside you. Then you will be free to be who you truly are." She said. Her hand moved over the jewel again. This time Terra leaned forward as if about to fall. He straightened up quickly. His eyes were glassed over like he had lost his sight. X leaned forward curiously, waving his hand in front of Terra's face.
"Impressive," X said leaning back. "Now that you've had your fun." He said turning to the sleeping princess. Maleficent watched him with interest. X calmly reached out and put his hand into the princesses chest. He pulled his hand back, now holding the princess's heart, which looked like an orb of light. He turned to Maleficent and held out the heart. Maleficent smirked before taking it from him. "Consider that a peace treaty, since my Master saw fit to tell you, I'm sure he wanted you to succeed." X said.
"And the boy?" Maleficent asked.
"Let's let him think he did it." X said with a smirk. The witch smirked in agreement. Terra's eyes returned to normal and he shook his head, putting a hand to his temple. X looked at him in false shock.
"To think all he spoke of was and will be true." Maleficent said in wonder. Terra turned to look at her in horror.
"What? How did I-" he began. He realized then, what Maleficent was holding. "What did I do? What did you do?" He demanded. Maleficent laughed.
"You speak as if I pulled some invisible strings. No, you couldn't be further from the truth, child. I simply whispered to the darkness already inside you." She said. She smirked down at him. Terra turned to X, who only continued to stare at him shocked.
"How could I do this?" Terra asked. X tried to supply an answer, opening his mouth as if meaning to speak. But he never found the right words. Mostly due to the fact he was trying to contain his laughter.
"Now, you wanted to know where Xehanort went. Well, that I cannot answer. He disappeared into the darkness. But now I know the keyblade is necessary to gather hearts." Maleficent said. She held her hand out to Terra. "Join me, collect six more hearts of pure light. Then we will rule all the worlds together." She offered. Terra glared at her.
"You seem to be mixed up. I'm a peacekeeper, not a tyrant." He said. He summoned his keyblade as the castle began to shake.
"For a peacekeeper, you're off to an exceptionally poor start. Remember this, the darkness in your heart can't be held back by force or strength." Maleficent warned. "Now, my work here is done. As is yours. Wasn't there someone you needed to chase?" She asked mockingly before vanishing in green flames.
"Wait!" Terra yelled rather pointlessly. X put out a hand to stop him. Terra sighed turning to X. Before he could speak the castle shook again.
"The Unversed are going to bring down the castle. We should go find them." X suggested. Terra nodded before leaving the room. X watched him leave before turning back to the princess. Whatever Unversed it was Terra could handle it on his own.
X looked at the princess in interest. That had been the first heart he had ever taken. It wasn't nearly as dramatic as he had been expecting. There wasn't even any evidence X had taken the heart. Though it did seem the princess might have stopped breathing.
Terra returned about a half hour later. He looked exhausted and didn't even bother to question why X hadn't followed him.
"It's my fault her light was stolen." Terra said, looking down at the princess. X stood beside him calmly.
"I mean, she did kinda posses you. It's no big deal right?" X asked, trying to be helpful.
"How can you say that? I stole her heart." Terra said in disgust. X blinked at him in surprise. He was being really hard on himself.
"It's not like no ones ever done it before." X said with a shrug. Terra shot him a glare that made X back away. He wasn't keen on getting beat with a keyblade today. Those things really did hurt.
"It's like you don't know right from wrong." Terra said in shock and disgust. X looked down at his feet. He nodded slowly, much to Terra's surprise.
"I don't." X admitted.
"What?" Terra asked in disbelief. X looked up at him and took a deep breath.
"I don't know right from wrong anymore. I don't want to do bad things, but half the time I don't know they're wrong. So teach me the difference." He said. Terra looked at him in shock. The shocked look slowly changed to a small smile.
"You really don't know?" Terra asked quietly. X nodded.
"I guess it's because I lost my heart." He said with a shrug. "I just, can't tell the difference." He continued. His went up to brush back his bangs.
"Alright, we'll fix that." Terra said with a firm voice. X looked at him and smiled.
"Thank you." X said. It wouldn't take long for Terra to be caught right in X's web of lies. It looked like he might already be in too deep.