Finally! I know, it's been what three months? What can I say my muse has ADD; badly, but he got a kick in the pants when I saw a really cool youtube video and saw the US release date for BBS. Now I just have to get a psp before then… any ways, if you want to watch the video type in Kingdom hearts shooting stars by TiEoMa. It rocks.
Disclaimer: … enough said.
Chapter Three: New Friends and Old Enemies
Mal ran. Streaking past the miles of burnt homes, destroyed schools and blackened dreams, he was invisible. The shadows gave him shelter in the night as none noticed one that should not have been there; that had no figure to cast it.
Something big was happing by the water; he could smell it. The putrid sent of dark magic and the pain of the subject on which it was cast perforated the air like bullets in a dog fight.
Every instinct in a sane person would be screaming and begging to go in the opposite direction, but Mal was long past sane, at least by normal standards. Seventeen years living with his mother and sister, six years alone in the realm of darkness, and four years following a girl who saw a great portion of the future and used it to further her own agenda had long since saw to that.
As he approached the beach of the mainland it became painfully obvious that the incident was not on the beach, rather it was occurring on the beach of the soppiest isle. Swimming was not the young man's favorite sport by far, partly because of several near death experiences while trying to learn how and partly because of the damage the act caused to his hair.
Unfortunately there was no other option. The keybearers needed his help and they needed it fast. One of their party- a mature woman with red hair- was being tended by the princess. The other two were not faring well. It was a valiant effort but this was not the boys' usual foes.
Mal could tell that in its natural form the creature would never have missed his mark with the bow, but somehow in the process of transforming into whatever it was now, its gift had become tainted. Just because it could no longer hit the kill shot directly, however, did not mean it was untalented.
The boys were constantly moving and the silver haired one-Riku- had taken many hits in defense of his friend. They were panting and tired. This was not the most desired of opponents to face right after the workout they had gotten previously.
The creature took aim and fired. Riku had fallen behind and it was going to take advantage. Mal was quicker. Before the arrow had time to find its new home, he had risen the sand that laid between Riku and his hunter and then sent a massive amount of heat coursing through it.
The arrow pierced the three inch thick slab of glass Mal had created and the creature howled in anger.
"Move! Let me handle this thing!"
Heartless had never spoken before, so suffice it to say the boys were more than a little surprised but something told them that it wasn't as it appears. But then again, when was anything as it appears in their world?
Mal breathed a sigh of relief as the keybearers took his advice. That made his job a bit easier. It was easier for him to do gratuitous violence against his enemies when he did not have to worry about his allies.
The creature turned its attention to Mal and fired. Mal ducked and kept running as it fired half a dozen more arrows. If things kept up at this pace he would never be able to fire a spell back for it was almost impossible to run and cast at the same time.
Unbidden, a thought crossed his mind. An unwelcome and terrifying thought, but he knew what he had to do.
Turning he squared his stance and let the spell go at the same time an arrow found a new sheath right between his lower left ribs. He gave a little gasp of pain as he watched the aftermath of his work. Massive pillars of fire lit up the sky in a display that would have made Sephiroth's Stigma attack look like child's sparklers.
Mal closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as he pulled the arrow from the wound. Blood flowed much quicker than he expected. He muttered a curse as he lamented on his inability to cast healing spells.
While Mal was examining his own wounds, the subject of the extent of the creatures never crossed his mind. Unfortunately, it is unwise to turn your attention away form your opponent in battle, for chances are they will not turn their attention from you.
The creature surged forward and clipped Mal across the face with its big twisted hand and sent him flying backwards head over feet into the water. Pain ripped through him as salt hit his wound. After taking a second to catch his bearings the surprise shifted into anger. If it was one thing Mal did not like it was humiliation.
"We have to help him!" Kairi cried.
"I think he can handle himself." Riku replied.
Gingerly taking a stand, Mal got to his feet. His hand gave a reflexive contraction and a key blade appeared. Its sleek gray, gold and white form fit perfectly in his hand, as if it had been specially formed. He stared at it in shock. A mixed feeling of awe and disgust assaulted him. This was not something he expected nor was it something he wanted.
On one hand he had been chosen to wield one of the greatest weapons in existence; fate had trusted him with its power and responsibility. On the other hand this meant he was a key bearer. It meant he was like him, something he never wanted to be in any way shape or form.
Mal had never been a warrior and had never claimed to be. His role was more of a mage but that did not stop him from feeling humiliated as the creature got another cheap shot in. getting up from the water a second time, he let a massive Flare attack lose on the creature.
A bright light encircled the creature and instead of releasing a heart-as most heartless or nobodies do- the light began to shrink in on itself until there was nothing but a dark haired boy lying unconscious in the sand.
He was not the only combatant have fought themselves into oblivion. As soon as he cast Flare, Mal hit the water face first. No one could tell if that was due to his wounds, over exertion during the fight, or a combination of the two.
Living on an island world caused the school system to add a CPR class to the list of mandatory classes students had to take. For this Riku was grateful, as he pulled his fellow keybearers out of the water. Seeing as how the boy had the complexion of a neoshadow, it was difficult to tell if he was turning blue. Despite that Riku was sure it the process was called for when it was noted that Mal wasn't breathing.
Once Riku was done reviving him, Sora brought over some of the few potions they had left over from their previous adventure. It would do no good to have him breathing again just to have him bleed out.
As the boys were doing that, Kairi and her mother rushed over to the other boy in an effort to help. When they turned him over they saw that no trace of his formally monstrous visage was left. Instead he was rather hansom. Dark hair and a delicate face were offset by a series of red tattoos that framed his face.
"Where am I?" He asked groggily as he woke. It took him a moment to open his eyes. He had a monster headache that made even the dull light of the stars seem ultra bright.
"Destiny Islands. What's the last thing you remember?" Izzy asked. It was not the first time she tried to get to the bottom of a weird situation.
James Stark hadn't always paid attention in class, but he was sure he had never heard of Destiny Islands. Maybe it was somewhere down in Florida? Or was those islands called The Keys? He couldn't really remember. Not that he was trying too hard, his headache made it impossible to do much thinking.
"The House of Night was attacked by some sort of creature. They weren't raven mockers, that's for sure. Next thing I know I'm in some white room with this guy in a lab coat standing over me and this woman laughing and then nothing."
Riku and Sora shared a look. Raven mockers and the House of Night were things they had never heard of but the guy in the lab coat did ring a bell.
"This guy, did he have long white hair and yellow eyes?" Sora asked.
"Yeah, how did you know? Have you met him before?" Stark still hadn't completely caught his bearings.
"Unfortunately." Riku muttered before turning to Sora, "It's Xehanort, It has to be."
Izzy raised a delicate eyebrow at the name. They could not be talking about the same Xehanort she had known as a young woman. Even then he was a creepy old man and must surely be dead by now. Despite her curiosity Izzy did not ask. The question would bring up too many in retaliation. Too many she was not ready or willing to answer.
"Look, I appreciate the concern but I have to get back. Does anyone know how to get to Tulsa?"
"You probably can't." A voice from behind the group sounded. Mal was being blunt and truthful; a deadly combination.
"What do you mean?" Stark's voice raised a bit at the shadow man's words. He had responsibilities and duties at home to take care of. He could not afford to lounge around some tropical island forever, no matter how appealing the notion may seem.
"Your home is probably gone. That's what those creatures-the heartless- do. They take the heart of the world until there is nothing and no one left. You could say that you're one of the lucky ones."
"Don't worry; we'll be able to get it back. We got our home back." Sora did not notice the miniscule change his words had brought to Riku's face. He may have begun to forgive himself for what he did, but that did not mean he needed to be reminded of it.
"Hate to interrupt this little pity fest, but I have to go. I just wanted to say thanks for the patch job." Mal said. He was getting behind schedule and he had a lot to do if all the pieces were to be in place on time.
Mal turned to leave. He knew that if he were to stay too long he would tip his hand too much.
"Wait." Kairi called "Can I ask you a question first?" Mal turned to look at her.
"Of course. Who am I to deny a princess? But it must be just one, so make it count." He was acting a bit more brazen then usual but it was not in an attempt to be rude. One could not be rude to royalty without committing treason, after all. Mal was the only one to notice the slight tensing of Izzy's shoulders when he called Kairi 'Princess.'
"How did you know?" She asked. He could tell it was one of many questions she had but she took his words to heart and chose only the most pressing to her mind.
"How did I know what?" Mal asked in an attempt to clarify her meaning. How did he know she was a princess? Or perhaps she meant how did he know about the heartless.
"That we needed help." He gave a little smile at her question; of all the things to ask.
"I have a friend who knows a lot more then she should. Go to Radiant Garden, you might just meet someone interesting." Although Kairi could not see the features of his face, she could tell by the nuances of his voice that he was smiling.
And with that he melted away into the darkness without so much as giving them an opportunity to say good-bye.
The moment he was away a new voice came running over to the motley crew.
"Phew. I thought I was goin'a be too late!" Exclaimed Mickey Mouse.
"I did not want this!" Mal snarled at Aero the second he entered her sanctuary.
If the action were possible she would have rolled her eyes at his antics. He could whine and cry over his destiny but that would not change it. Destiny was impossible to change; Aero had tried.
"I thought you wanted to be as far from the person your mother wanted you to be as you could. Think of this as a giant leap forward." She mused aloud. Her nonchalance only served to enrage him even more.
"Yes but not at the expense of becoming like him!" The thought sent chills of disgust twisting down his spine.
"Being like him may not be a bad thing," Aero sighed, continuing before Mal had a chance to protest, "I mean, it's better than being like your mother. You must face facts; you father was a keybearer and so are you. He's a very well respected keybearer and mage, and so won't you be."
"I want nothing to do with that-" he was practically spitting with every word, but in truth deep within his heart he was flattered to be chosen. The parallels, however, were simply too much.
"You know Mal, you have never met the man. The only opinion you have of him is the one your mother gave you. If you don't trust anything she says, then why trust that? I haven't met him but Master Eraqus always spoke very highly of him." Aero offered.
"Didn't your precious master Eraqus try and kill one-no wait, two- of your best friends including your precious Terra?" Mal retaliated, the venom more than evident in his voice.
"Well, nobody is perfect." She muttered happily; she was not going to show how much his comment hurt her.
"Whatever. While you sit here playing devil's advocate, I have someone's sister to save from the dark." He retorted before sauntering off into the darkness.
"Cranky little bastard, now isn't he?" She muttered to herself once he was gone.
If Izzy found it odd to have an oversized rodent sitting at her kitchen table having a cup of tea, she gave no indication of it. To all who observed her it seemed as if she were merely entertaining an old acquaintance.
She, the three children, the king, and Stark all sat around the kitchen table, some of them sitting on overturned buckets or stepping stools.
Things were scarily quite as she took the first sip of her tea.
"You should probably leave before your parents get back. Jenny would be difficult if she knew you were leaving again."
Riku felt kind of guilty for leaving his mother like that but it had to be done. Ever since his father had left her and their four boys when Riku was six, Jenova had become more than a little overbearing especially towards her youngest.
"You don't seem too surprised about all this." Kairi asked. She had never been one to question her mother, especially about things she thought she wouldn't get an answer for but there were simply too many questions not to ask.
Izzy stared into her tea cup for a moment debating with herself on how to answer. She did not want to lie to Kairi but she was not ready for the truth- or perhaps it was Izzy that was not ready to share. In either case the end result was the same.
"Destiny is never left to chance," she muttered and Kairi knew she would get no more.
"You guys should go, just please be careful. If your foe is who you say he is he will stop at nothing to destroy you. And I could not handle that pain again," She turned to Stark before continuing, "Come on, you did say that you can't be in the sun, didn't you? Sunrise is in fifteen minutes and I don't have a basement. Looks like you and I are going to have to borrow Skylar's."
"Dad's not home, he and mom are still at her nurses' convention and the doors are locked. I was supposed to be staying with Riku and his mom but something came up with his brothers…" Sora tried to explain, but Izzy just cracked a smile.
"I know Sora. Your dad is horribly predictable and always has been. I'm sure I can find a key that will work. "
The dark meridian was a lonely place. Aqua knew this. It was easy to look out to the sunless sea and forget any notion of time or self. How long had she been sitting here? How long since the old man was able to leave? She could not answer.
All she could do was sit and wait.
"Aqua?" A foreign voice asked from the shadows behind her. She turned to look at her visitor and saw that he was dressed in the same leather coat that the old man had been.
"Yes. Do I know you?" She asked attentively. So few people inhabited the realm of darkness and even fewer of them where what could be called friendly.
"No, but I know you- or more like I know of you. I happen to know a certain lavender haired teenager that won't stop talking about you. Or Ventus. Or Terra."
"You know Aero?" She exclaimed.
"Your sister is fine but things one of your friends isn't. Terra will not last too much longer against Xehanort, and you must help him." His voice had a sympatric quality that did not downplay the urgency of it.
"How?" She demanded. If something-anything- were to happen to her friends…
"Come with me. A new adventure waits." The stranger said, extending a long thin arm out to her. Despite knowing so little about the man, she knew in her heart of hearts that she had little choice.
