Silver Linings

Chapter 5: They Were a Real Nuisance.

A/N: I figured I'd wait about a week to get started on this, to give people time to read the last chapter. I'm not worried about only getting one review, because at least two people followed my profile since then. Still, I'd prefer it if people reviewed after reading.

Here we have a quick cut to the Azure Timeline. Terumi's time in the Heart Timeline is up, and Kokonoe demonstrated that it's possible to drag him back without going over there. A good question would be, "What is Relius NOT watching with Phantom's scrying magic?" Meanwhile in Kagutsuchi, Terumi has to make up for lost time that he could have spent messing with people. He has his fingers in a lot of pies.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

In the halls of the Castle That Never Was...

"Terumi. Your time is up, according to my wall clock. I'll be bringing you back now." Relius' voice intruded into Terumi's disgusting consciousness.

"I thought you said ten days? Over here it's only been two." Terumi spoke aloud, since there wasn't anyone around.

"You know that time is fluid in the Boundary. I would have needed more preparation to make my estimate be worth any more than an educated guess. At any rate, events in Kagutsuchi are proceeding rapidly. The Izayoi's wielder has departed there; I had to deliver the orders myself. I don't have time to send Phantom or Ignis to fetch you, even if it turns out to be possible. Hold still..." Terumi was suddenly frozen in place. A magic circle spread out from his feet, and the air crackled as the spell took effect. The Black Coat fluttered to the ground as Terumi's essence was yanked back through the Time Break...

Back in one of the Organization's personal chambers, Xigbar put up his hood. He was no stranger to spying on people and events through his space-manipulating powers. This time, he'd actually been ordered to do it by the Superior himself! And man, did the Freeshooter strike pay dirt on this one...

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

In Relius Clover's hidden lab...

Hazama rose from the stasis pod, rubbing the back of his head. "Ouch. Would it kill you to put a pillow in that thing?"

"No, but there's no guarantee you'd survive when the pillow freezes and shatters in cryogenic stasis. Report."

"Ugh, alright. I have confirmation of at least three 'Realms' and numerous 'worlds' on the other side of the Time Break. They seem to have a split between Light and Darkness over there, with a Realm for each, and smaller worlds scattered all over the Realm of Light. The interesting part is that the Darkness makes an excellent substitute for seithr. I would have had to cut you for this if it didn't."

"How is their government organized?" Relius very pointedly did not respond to Hazama's token threat.

"As far as I can tell, it's every world to itself. Worlds over there are smaller and closer together than you'd think, but everyone I've met agrees that travel between them is a big no-no. I'll put the details in a report for you later. Right now, I've got a few loose ends to tie up in Kagutsuchi, so I'll be borrowing the Phantom for now." Hazama swung a leg over the rim of the pod and made to leave.

"Do as you will. Be sure that your scheming accomplishes our objective, however. We have no time to indulge your appetite for pointless chaos." Relius didn't watch Hazama go, instead turning back to his monitors.

"Of course! I always have my objectives in mind. The first thing will be to set up the cocoon and round up a few sacrifices..." Phantom briefly appeared in the room, then disappeared with Hazama in tow.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVV

In the 13th Hierarchical City, Kagutsuchi...

"I wonder, could today possibly get any better?" Hazama mused as he whipped Ragna the Bloodedge with Ouroboros again and again. "Still alive in there? Ooh, and even trying to get up!"

"Shut up! I promised...that I would fight...as a human being...until the end! Until the very end!" Ragna shakily rose to his feet, but he was no better off now than he was three seconds ago.

"Ouroboros!" The chain lashed out again, this time aiming for Ragna's guts instead of his limbs. Ragna barely got his giant sword into the path of the attack, but the force of it knocked him over. "You picked a fine time to grow a pair, didn't ya!? Die die DIE!" The attacks continued. They didn't cut very deep, but to Hazama, the best part was watching the despair in his foes' eyes as they bled out... Of course, there were other things to do today. "Okay, that's enough playing with my food for now. Gotta check on Kusanagi; she should have killed the Master Unit by now, unless Hakky's still holding her up."

"Dammit, Noel-Agh!" Ragna's renewed effort to get past Hazama was stopped by another chain.

"And here's the last blow. Thanks for the good time, Rags! Now, die!"

Here it came. Ragna watched the chain shooting right for his heart. He tried to block again, but he couldn't so much as move his arms. The adrenaline slowed the scene to a crawl in his eyes, watching death inch closer and closer. Then came a splash of blood on his face...but the blood wasn't his.

The Murakumo Unit that Kokonoe called Lambda, but Ragna could only really call Nu, had interposed her own back to defend Ragna from the last blow. Hazama seethed and launched another chain. "You goddamn puppets, always getting in my way! Fine then. You want it so bad, you can die together with him!" The second blow held nothing back. Lambda's armor broke off of her bodysuit, and her bloodied form slumped down into Ragna's arms.

"R...Ragna! It's been a long time..." Despite the fact that the Prime Field Device was damaged beyond repair and Hazama was right there, she gave Ragna a warm smile as she spoke in Nu's voice.

"Nu...why?"

"For a long time, Nu was all by herself...Out in the Boundary. Then, there was somewhere else...fighting her sister like Relius wanted her to. But the important part was that Nu wasn't lonely... I kept dreaming about...you..."

This was very unlike the last time Ragna had seen Nu. Like this, all he could say was, "I'm sorry, Nu..." He hadn't been able to prevent her from dying again... How many times did this make, now?

"It's okay, Ragna. Nu got to see you again. Nu will always be...by your side...Ragna..." This was when something really strange happened. Something impossible. Lambda began to glow with a golden light, and disappeared from the toes up. Then, the light left behind swirled into Ragna's left arm. Ragna would have expected her soul to go for his right arm, the Azure Grimoire, but he could feel the power she'd just given him, waiting to be used. The golden glow surrounded Ragna now, sealing up his wounds and allowing him to stand up.

In Ragna's head, Kokonoe's radio squawked. "How... That's impossible! Did you absorb Lambda's IDEA Engine?" So that's what this was. And...yes! With this, Ragna could win!

"Hey, guys?" Hazama asked. "It really hurts when you just forget about me like that. Your little soap opera was a real hoot, but I...whoa, what's this? Are you actually up for round two?"

Ragna's lips twisted into a vicious smirk. "I didn't forget about you. Let's go. Restriction 666 released." He raised his right hand in a fist, with the lens on the back facing out in front of his eye.

Hazama scoffed. "We went through this! You even tried again, just in case it was a fluke!"

"Dimensional interference field deployed!" A field of blue energy surrounded Ragna. The lid on his fist opened and shined with blue light.

"Are you stupid, or what?"

"Nu will always be by your side, Ragna."

"Now activating the IDEA Engine!" Ragna raised his left fist, crossing over his right. The lid that now adorned the back of that fist opened and shined with golden light.

"...Say what? What the hell is that?"

"It's time I showed you the TRUE power of the Azure! Blazblue, ACTIVATE!" Ragna thrust his arms out to the sides, both hands blazing with power. "Time to die, you degenerate son of a bitch!" Ragna drew Blood-Scythe, now glowing with the power to reap souls.

For the first time ever, Terumi felt fear. "What...what the hell is this? Why can't I shut it down? How are you doing that?"

Rather than answer the question, Ragna dashed forward. "Hell's Fang!" Unlike the last time he'd tried this, Terumi was blasted backwards, slamming into the empty Monolith with the force of a blockbuster bomb. Ragna didn't let up. "Gauntlet Hades!" His leaping kicks carried him over to Terumi and caught him before he could fall. Terumi found himself unable to muster any sort of resistance like he had before. The tables were turned completely, and in minutes the green-haired serpent was soundly beaten into a bloody pulp on the floor.

That was when he remembered his insurance. This was, after all, the whole point of the plan. "Hyurk... Ha ha ha! You done yet, Ragna?! Come on, I need more! You haven't killed me yet!" Terumi forced his patented smirk onto his face despite coughing up what felt like his whole lung.

"Whatever. That life-link you forced on Noel will make killing you a bitch. You're not worth my time right now. Just lie there and bleed for a while." Ragna turned around and dashed for the basement. He had friends to save.

"Heh, heh. Relius? Now would be an excellent time!" Hazama called out to thin air, and was rewarded by a massive purple limb reaching from nowhere, ripping his throat out with its claws. Terumi's essence rose from the wound. "Now, I guess we wait for Rags to win or lose. Either way, I win in the end!"

VVVVVVVVVVVVVV

In Beast's Castle...

Lambda stirred from a fitful sleep, plagued with nightmares. "Who...who was that? Ragna the Bloodedge...and me? Why was I there? And why am I glowing right now?!" Lambda jumped out of bed and did a quick diagnostic. Energy was flowing in from the Boundary, from another version of herself. "So it wasn't a dream, then... What's going on over there?" The diagnostic completed quickly, and the golden light faded for now. Diagnostic complete. System update recognized. IDEA Engine replica online and functioning at 95% of projected capacity. Integration with Lux Sanctus: Murakumo complete. Estimated increase in combat ability: 130%. Total improvement over baseline: 330%.

"Lambda, what are you doing up?" Riku wondered as he stretched out in the bed.

"...Did you see that glow?" Lambda asked, still running simulations to work out how best to use this boost.

"No. Blindfold, remember? If it's not Darkness, I can't see it."

"I guess you wouldn't have, then. I think another version of 'me' just died in the Azure Timeline. When they did, they left an upgrade behind for Ragna the Bloodedge...the relationship between him and myself is really complicated. I got a copy of this IDEA Engine, too, though I'm not really sure why or how. What I do know is that it doesn't run on magic, seithr, or Darkness, and it's boosting Murakumo's power by 130%. Overall, this is a good thing for us."

"Cool, a power boost. Still, that means you died in another world, and I slept through it."

"I was sleeping, too. My dream showed the other me dying to save Ragna the Bloodedge, but nothing before that. That was my first dream; it wasn't a good first impression. And I couldn't see whether or not it worked. Did Ragna die?"

"Who is Ragna the Bloodedge, anyway? This is the first time I'm hearing about him."

"I think he's the guy I mentioned when we fought Nu. As for who he is, that's up for debate. The closest thing for me is that he's the brother of my template. Every Prime Field Device since at least the 10th subject has been based on the same person, don't ask me why. It really jumbles up the emotions triggered by Ragna, though. Nu seems to angle more towards romantic feelings, though she took them to a downright creepy extreme. At any rate, Ragna's part of the Azure Timeline. We probably won't meet him, even if he does live beyond today. Right now, we've got to get out of this castle before someone comes by to dust this room."

"Right. Let's make the Corridor outside." The pair wandered out of the servants' quarters and back to the entrance hall, but there was another person in a Black Coat in that room. "Why is this place so popular, anyway?" Riku wondered aloud for the blond boy to hear.

"Huh? Who are you people? Are you those imposters Xion was tailing?"

"I guess we are. Who are you, then?" Riku replied.

"I'm Roxas, Number XIII. You really hurt Xion yesterday. Say you're sorry!"

"I'm sorry, Roxas," Lambda replied. "I was too harsh with her. I do have a soft spot for faceless minions, so I'll apologize for what I said if I ever meet her in person again."

"Faceless? What are you talking about?"

"What do you see when you look at her?" Riku asked from under his hood. "I saw a girl with black hair, but Lambda saw a blurry mess. Does everyone see something different, looking at her?"

"I see the black-haired girl, too. Are you sure she's not the one who's messed up?" Roxas pointed at Lambda, whose hood was also still up.

"Okay, now you're asking for it. That's my girlfriend you're insulting." Riku summoned Soul Eater.

"So you want to fight? Fine. I was sick of this boring mission, anyway!" Roxas held out his right hand, and summoned...the Kingdom Key. "Let's go!"

"You have it, too? It seems like everyone has that one. Xion couldn't beat me with that thing. Last chance to back out, Roxas." Riku entered his fighting stance.

"No way!" Roxas charged at Riku exactly the same way Xion had. The difference was that Roxas kept his grip on the Keyblade when Riku knocked it upward. He still couldn't get away from Riku's responding Dark Firaga blast, and fell on his back a few feet away.

"Huh. It seems like your Keyblade is the real deal. You still need to work on your skills, though. Go on back to your Organization; Xion is probably waiting for you. But I wouldn't trust that crowd any further than I could throw them, just so you know. Maybe later, Roxas." Riku formed a Dark Corridor, and Lambda followed him through it before Roxas could catch up.

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By Sora's pod in Twilight Town...

"No...!" Namine was looking at the chain of memories she was trying to repair, but there was no getting around this. Some of the most important memories were just...gone.

"What is the problem, Namine?" DiZ stalked up behind her. The man had an infamous intolerance for Nobodies like Namine. If it weren't for the fact that he still needed her, Namine had no doubt that DiZ would have eliminated her already. "Sora's progress has been much slower than you said to expect."

"I'm trying to put the memories back where they belong, but some of them are...missing. I can't finish if I don't have all the pieces."

"I'm sure he can do without a few memories."

"Perhaps, but these are the most important ones... They're the ones with her. Without them, he may never wake up. I think someone else caught the memories, and they're being kept from him."

"Sounds like the work of those Organization miscreants. Is there a way to fix this?"

"I don't know, but if his memories become her memories... She will never survive it."

DiZ glared at her sharply. This was new information. "She?"

"I'm pretty sure she is, yes. If Xion gets enough memories, they'll start pulling her back here, whether the Organization wants her to go or not. The problem is that with such a complete replica of Sora, they could do other things before she leaves. And they're still working on Kingdom Hearts with her Keyblade and Roxas'. Could we fight a whole army of replica Soras?"

"Blast! This is spiraling out of control! We can't do much from here. Must the whole plan rely on luck?" DiZ stormed out of the room, and didn't hear Namine's next words.

"Not entirely... After all, that's why you're here, right, Riku?"

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

With Riku...

Apart from a few seconds of dizziness, Riku had gotten through the Dark Corridor mostly okay. The world he found himself in... Definitely Hollow Bastion. This was definitely the interior of the castle there, the part of the world he was most familiar with. He hadn't really set a definite destination, so he was a little surprised he'd ended up in familiar territory.

"Well, Lambda, it looks like we're back in Hollow Bastion..."

No response.

"Lambda? Where are you? Lambda!" She wasn't in the hallway with him. She probably wasn't even on the same world right now. An even more terrifying thought: what if she wasn't in any world? How could Riku have been so stupid, using the Darkness so carelessly?!

"Hello! Mind if I pass by here?" A woman's voice called, one Riku didn't recognize. "I'm looking for someone. Tall, blond, spiky hair, a bit moody. Do you know anyone like that? My name's Tifa Lockhart, by the way."

"Well, I met one moody guy with blond spiky hair...probably today, but he was shorter than me. Would this person's name be Roxas?" Riku wondered. He didn't remove his hood. True, the lady who appeared behind him had a nice voice, a powerful aura of Light, and...quite possibly the biggest chest he'd ever seen, but Riku didn't hand out trust like Halloween Town candy the way Sora did.

"No, that's not him. I guess I'll keep looking..." Tifa sighed with an air of familiarity. She must have been at this search of hers for quite some time with no luck. Kind of like Riku had while looking for strength, though Tifa wasn't taking detours down the path of Darkness like he was. Well, he couldn't start searching for Lambda until tomorrow, or the Darkness would mess him up worse. Might as well follow...where did she go?

Tifa had already passed Riku and moved into a messy room that might have been an office at some point. Riku didn't remember ever seeing this here. Tifa began tearing up the room, lifting furniture with one hand and punching walls. Riku asked, "How would this person you're looking for be hiding behind the bookshelf?" Never mind how strong this woman had to be, to lift that thing with no effort.

Tifa paused for a second. "Oh. Oops. I guess I went a little too far. He's not here, either... Where could you be, Cloud...? Tifa wandered out the door, but when Riku went to follow, she was gone. Her footprints in the dust just stopped a few paces away, like Tifa had stopped existing at that point.

"Okay, never mind who, what is she?" Still, Riku felt like he should look around this room some more himself. Especially with that giant picture of Ansem on the wall. There could be some useful information in some of these documents. "Was this his room?"

Riku ran his fingers along the far wall, stopping when a square section pushed inward under his touch. The entire wall flashed white and disappeared, revealing a catwalk over a vast room with very different construction. "What in the worlds..."

It looked like Riku had plenty of things to look into while he waited for his chance to search for Lambda.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Meanwhile, with Lambda...

"Olympus Coliseum? Why are we here, Riku? ...Riku?" Proximity sensors determined that there was nobody else in the wide courtyard. Riku had been separated from her in the Darkness, and getting a fix on him from another world wasn't easy. Using her dark-sense in tandem with her longest-range scanners, Lambda confirmed that Riku was still...somewhere in the Realm of Light. Not anywhere nearby, or his aura would be clearer. Lambda needed more information before trying to jump between worlds herself. She knew the theory of how to build a Dark Corridor from watching Riku, DiZ, and the Organization do it, but if she tried it now, she'd just end up more lost.

"Ugh, a bunch of rookies. If Herc were here, at least we'd have one genuine hero to keep the Games from being a total waste of drachmas." The voice belonged to a very short old man coming through the gates from the Coliseum proper. On closer inspection, the man had goat horns and haunches, and didn't seem to be wearing anything other than the thick fur on his lower half. Lambda stood perfectly still, wondering if talking to this person would blow her cover or count as meddling in other worlds. He did seem to have general knowledge about this world...

Her decision was made for her when he looked up and spotted her. "Heya, sweet-cheeks, name's Philoctetes, but you can call me Phil. What brings you to the Coliseum? The games, the heroes, or...me?"

Lambda was hit with a wave of revulsion. The weirdo was hitting on her! He even slicked what was left of his hair back with his spit... "Yuck. No, I'm..."

Phil interrupted her by clapping his fist on his palm. Lambda could practically see the light bulb (or Ancient Greek equivalent) turn on above his head, though he'd definitely come to the wrong conclusion. "Oh, you must be the new trainee Hercules said he was sending! Gotta hand it to him, he knows how to pick 'em almost as well as I do!" Phil barged on, a conversational avalanche that no amount of Lambda's sputtering and halfway-formed denials could stop. "Let's see... Good posture, strong limbs... Got any weapons under that cloak? Well, in you get! Training starts now! We've got fifty laps and the barrel course to get through before tonight's Games!" Phil got behind Lambda and started shoving her legs with surprising strength for such a fat old guy. He herded her into the Coliseum.

"Fifty!?" Lambda debated just summoning Murakumo and forcing him off her long enough to explain, but given his earlier comments, that might just make things worse. She decided to wait until he was done assigning training courses to bring up the facts that she had never heard of any Hercules except in old Greek legends, and he certainly hadn't sent her here. Surely she could handle fifty laps. And if he had a problem with her floating the whole way, it served him right. Then she could get back to searching for Riku.

VVVVVVVVVVVVV

The next couple chapters will have Riku and Lambda split up, as you can see. Got any ideas for which world(s) Lambda should visit next? I've got a couple scenes in Hollow Bastion to get through before Riku goes anywhere, since now's the perfect time to cover a certain plothole left behind after KH2 and he can't leave until the next day.