They landed on a hard floor. Wisps of energy emanated from the portal the had just fell through. Then landed on their backs. Kieran was the first to get up.
"Good to see your not badly hurt." Klaus said, standing over him and Karren. They got up. The room had no walls. It was a sort of tube with gates of white at different ends. A strange symbol passes them by in a constant river that covered the ground and the ceiling of the place.
"If you want me come and get me!" came the girls voice. Klaus ran forward, toward the source of the voice. Kieran and Karren followed behind. They leaped through a vale of darkness and landed.
"What was that?"
"What was what? I wish you'd try to relax."
"I was hired to protect you until you got to the castle. Anything could be your enemy."
"Maybe, but should you be so on-edge?"
"I'm just doing my job."
Kieran stumbled out of the bush. As he picked the twigs and leaves out of his shirt and hair, he walked onto a path.
"I don't want to travel like that again." Karren stepped to the side of him. Ruffled but otherwise OK.
"Now we find that girl." Klaus said, resting his keyblade on his shoulder. He walked up the road.
"Stand aside! And let us pass." the heads of Kieran and Karren turned to see Klaus in the middle of the road, stubbornly blocking it.
"And what if I don't?" Klaus asked.
"Stand aside or be thrown aside." It was a boy confronting Klaus. A in metal-plated boots and torn rags of trousers held up (or together) by a large belt resembling a corset. The rest of him wore a black and white striped shirt and black fingerless gloves. His dark gray hair went into a large, white pony-tail that reached the ground. It was a tail on the back of his head.
"I'm quivering!" Klaus said, unimpressed. "Who's that next to you." He pointed to the woman in a the colourful dress. She had very fair skin. The boy next to her pushed her into a bush and drew his sword. Karren ran between them.
"Hey! Can we stop this? This'll get us no-where." she pleaded. The boy raised his free hand. A small green limb rapidly grew from his palm. It shot around Karren, wrapping itself around her.
It plunged into the ground behind her. Leaves grew on the thickening plant that had spawned from his hand. The rate it grew was alarming.
"Hey! Leave her alone!" Kieran said from the side lines. He ran forwards, his keyblade held high and sank it into the flesh of the vine. The boy screamed. Falling to the floor in pain. Kieran removed the keyblade like he'd done something wrong and looked worryingly at him.
"So it hurts him if I do this?" Klaus hacked into the vine to free Karren. The boy writhed in pain. Screaming and wriggling. The cries pieced Karren like a knife.
"STOP IT!" she screamed. Klaus ceased hacking at the plant. The flesh of the plant dropped to the floor as its grip loosened. The boy relaxed.
"What is it with him?" Kieran said to Klaus. "How can he do that?"
Karren approached the panting shape on the ground. She knelt next to him as he open his eyes.
"Hello." she said. The boy started to get up.
"Its OK. We won't hurt you."
"Yeah. Its Tyrell here being a stubborn git." Klaus chose to ignore Kierna's comment, even if he wasn't using his real name.
"Who are you people? Why do you have keyblades?" the boy said, sitting up. Kieran came forward and crouched to his level.
"I'm Tyro. This is Tyra and that's Tyrell." Kieran said, gesturing to Karren and Klaus. Karren lloked at him with a what-are-you-doing look.
"Greetings. I am Draxx of Hisdaria." The boy said. He got off the floor.
"Hey, Draxx! Wasn't there some woman with you?" Klaus said.
"Yes Tyrell. That was the princess of this realm, Snow White. She has run away." Kieran looked to the bush she was pushed into. He was right.
"The bush she landed on told me." Draxx said. None of them knew what to make of this.
"That's nice." Karren said. She wasn't sure if he was lying or not.
"Uh huh." said Kieran, with a small nod. Tyrell just let out a small scoff. Draxx's head twitched in the direction of the trees beside the road. His eyes narrowed. His sword was sheathed.
"Excuse me? Draxx?" Draxx's head tuned to Karren's.
"Yeah. Have you seen a girl in black around anywhere? We really need to find her." She said.
"I have not." he answered. "But there is someone in the forests. It may be this girl you seek."
Kieran stepped forward.
"Great! Lead on." he said. Draxx stepped towards the tree to the side of the road. Pulling back the various tree limbs he stepped inside. The three key bearers followed.
This forest was teaming with life. You couldn't turn you head and not stop an animal diving for cover. They have learned and have passed on the fact that humans should not to be trusted. The trail was dense in trees. Barely any light found its way through the canopy of the trees. The darkness was unsettling to Klaus and Karren, if for different reasons. Karren was worried about something grabbing her ankle, dragging her away. Klaus had the same problem, just that he probably wouldn't be able chops its head off it it did if he can't see it.
"She is close." Draxx said, his heavy boots coping with the puddles of water left over from the last time it rained. Karren's borrowed trainers were filling up with every deep puddle she stepped in. Why did she chose the trainers? Kieran's shoes are more comfortable.
"How can you tell?" Kieran said from behind Draxx.
"The plants..."
"Tell you. OK then." he finished.
"He is seeded." said a voice from the oversized cloak.
"Are you sure, Xinirero?" Said another, her hoodie blocking her face.
"Would I ever lie to you, Daxta?" said Xinirero. Her hood turned in the gloom of the forest.
"You feel them?" Daxta said.
"Four souls coming this way. The key barers and the seeded boy."
"We've got them walking into a trap."
"There is a clearing ahead. She is waiting there." Draxx announced.
"Thanks for the help Draxx!" Kieran said cheerily and over took him.
"Thank you." Karren said and did likewise. As Tyrrel followed suit, he looked down at Draxx. He was taller than Draxx but he wasn't intimidated. They walked out into a small area, uncovered by trees. The sunlight nearly burned their eyes. Two figures stood in the centre. One in a hoodie, the other swamped in the cloak.
"I thought there would be only one here." Kieran said to Draxx.
"She must have just arrived. The plants would tell me if she was there." Draxx said, defensibly.
"You found me!" Daxta said. "But look who found you." They didn't know what she meant. Daxta drew her katana then stabbed the ground with it. Three Large Body Heartless fell from the air the materialised from, wobbling with the landing.
"She underestimates us." Klaus said, his keyblade appearing in his hand. "We took down a heartless as powerful as a Guard Armour, she still thinks were push-overs." So it was them who took out that heartless. They drew there weapons. Draxx's blades were curved with the centre of the blade removed. It left enough metal to make the weapon strong. It's supposed to be decorative. A Large Body slapped his stomach then flew straight at the four of them. It didn't get far as Tyrell had punctured it like a balloon. It disappeared. They charged. Xinirero walked forwards. Her target was Karren. That kind of light could be dangerous. Karren had spotted her, she swung her keyblade at her. Like a ghost, Xinirero passed through it. Pulling up her sleave, her hand stabbed Karren in the chest.
Kieran ran for the nearest heartless and swung his keyblade. It bounced of the Large body's gut. It moved in and hit him with its stomach. It was like being hit by a bouncy castle. Kieran picked him self up again. The heartless was readying itself for something. Kieran stepped back as it launched itself forward on to its front. Be fore it could get up, Kieran made three slashes on it before spinning round to deliver a stronger blow. It knocked the heartless away. It bounced towards the trees and burst in to darkness.
Draxx had leaped from a large leaf he had grown and slashed at the heartless' head. It recoiled in pain. Klaus slid around the heartless and stabbed at its hide. It was finished in seconds.
Xinirero still couldn't take the heart she desperately needed. It was too strong. The pain was unbearable. She retracted what ever she had of her arm. Karren fell to the floor, wide eyed and panting. Xinirero still had enough strength to throw Karren onto her back. Karren was brought out of her daze. She raised her keyblade. Xinirero backed off.
Daxta slashed at Draxx but he defended skilfully. He kicked to her side. She winced in pain. She returned the kick with a punch to his face with her free hand. It squashed his nose. His eyes filled with water. Daxta brought the hilt of the katana round to meet with his side then booted him to the ground.
Klaus had the Guardian Heartless in his grasp. A trail of vines around its neck, it waved its limbs around like an upturned beetle. Kieran raised his weapon up high and stabbed the Guardian in its muscular chest. It disappeared.
Daxta raised her arm. So did Draxx. The growth sprouted from his hand and wrapped around her hand in a matter of nano-seconds. Then around her waist, lifting her up.
"HEY! This is uncomfortable!" Daxta said as she tried to struggle.
"Lets see who is underneath this hood." Draxx said reaching for it. Daxta's had moved in to stop him but a green tendril grasped her arm and held it still. With two fingers, he lifted the hood over her face.
"I swear, you'll suffer for this." she said with all the verbal poison she could muster.
"I shouldn't think so." he said.
Kieran rushed over to Draxx just as he saw him being struck. Karren had managed to recover enough to repel Xinirero. She disappeared with her hand still reforming. Tyrell followed too. They all stood around the now captured Daxta and gazed at her face for the first time. Daxta couldn't have been older than sixteen. Her purple hair covered half her face too. Her eyes were a deep purple. She had a single black lock of hair that contrasted from the rest of her hair. She looked daggers at them all.
"So who are you then?" Kieran said eventually.
"I would only give you my name so you could fear it." she said. Kieran noted that she could do the evil queen of heartless well.
"Great! Tell us." he said.
"Daxta. Got it memorised?" she hated her self for saying that but she couldn't think of anything else to say. Axel irritated everyone with that one.
"And you tried to kill us because...."
"The organisation needs your hearts. Surrender them and we wont have to take them from you. Its easier on you and us that way." Draxx let out a splutter of a laugh.
"You are not in the organisation. Your not wearing one of their coats." he said.
"I am too!" she argued back. It wasn't terribly convincing. She started to panic. They might find out. She needed to get out of here now. Intimidation can wait.
"I think I'd better go." she said suddenly. A swirl of darkness came from beneath chopped through the vine and she and the plant wrapped around her fell in to the portal bellow her. Klaus instantly realised she intended to escape. He got low and plunged his hand in to try and grab her. Something grabbed his hand. It instantly pulled him in. Kieran was quick to react, putting the top-half of himself into the darkness. He was sucked in too. Draxx ran. he backked off and then ran as Karren's leg was caught by a black hand. It dragged her to the ground then through the portal.
Klaus slammed painfully against the wall of the hotel room, then fell over Kieran as he few into the back of his legs. Karren landed on top of the pile, knocking the breath out of them both. They got themselves up and ran over where they had just been.
"Do you think we just went to another world?" Kieran said.
"Its not like Traverse Town. I think it was. What I want to know is what was Daxta doing. She's been trying to hurt us and destroy this place for a few weeks." Karren said, collapsing on the bed.
"Who do we know it was her?" Klaus said and sat down in a chair.
"Who else could it be? I think we should ask the Moogles." Karren said.
"Oh yeah! Because they've been a real help!" mocked Klaus.
"Seems you have a knack for trouble and adventure that goes throughout your personality, Kieran. Kupo!" said the elder moogle. "Your certainly on your way to gaining on the other key barer. However, it seems you travelled in a different direction to Sora. Plus, the method you took was dangerous and reckless." This was more directed at the indifferent Klaus. He wasn't bothered. At least he did something.
"But, if what you say is true then you will have to travel along the corridors of darkness regularly to pursue the nobody destroying the town, Kupo."
"Was that a nobody?" Kieran said, crossing his arms. He was entering thought mode.
"Yes it was, Kupo." it came from the end moogle on the left of the elder moogle. He stood up from the pillow he sat on, pushing the specs on his tiny nose up.
"Let me explain. Kupo!" he said, waving his hand around a bit. In the next moment that passed, A heartless and a nobody appeared in front of them surrounded by a blue ring of symbols. They simply stood still. Not looking at anything.
"This-" the moogle in glasses began, gesturing to the heartless. "-is the shadow heartless. Its very common but still is not to be taken for a push-over. Kupo!" It was a squat creature with two yellow eyes like two beacons, searching for a new heart.
"When a person becomes a heartless, a nobody may be created." he pointed to the other creature. Its white skin contrasted against the black of the heartless. Kieran had heard they were supposed to be almost opposite to each other. No idea how. Its mouth was rimmed with a zip, the shape made a grin on its otherwise feature less face. While the heartless' eyes franticly danced around the room, the nobody continuously, and frictionlessly, walked on the spot. The stretching of its legs as it moved gave the impression it was made of rubber.
"This is the most common form of nobody: the Dusk. Kupo! The Dusk is one of the lowest ranks a nobody can stoop to but that doesn't make them any less dangerous because the nobodies can think and plan, unlike the animal there which relies on instinct and the orders its given, Kupo. However, Kupo!" The moogle clicks his fingers. The heartless changes into a man dressed in a black coat with a red hem. Its now tanned face gave a grin. Its gray hair bunched into a pony tail that fell down its back. The boots didn't touch the floor: it just floated there.
"Heartless and nobodies have human forms too, Kupo! This is Ansem, he was delt with by Sora quite recently, Kupo! You needn't bother with him, Kupo! Its the human nobodies we have troubles with, Kupo!" He clicked his fingers again. The dusk changed from the white rubber thing to a tall figure in a black haunting hood. It had an enormous zip down the front with a chain around its neck. It didn't want its face to be discovered. Just like Daxta.
"These human nobodies call them selves Organisation XIII because there are thirteen of them, Kupo! From whatever information we can get, we can tell you that these guys are incredibly powerful and rank above all the other nobodies, Kupo! Trust me when I say that it is a bad idea to get in their way, Kupo." Klaus scoffed at the advice.
"There is a slightly lower group you talked about, Kupo! From whatever information we could scrape together, this Daxta is a member of the exiled, Kupo. A group of banished human nobodies that wish to be in the organisation again after being thrown out for some reason, Kupo."
"So she's an outcast?" Karren asked.
"Apparently and there's supposed to be loads of them, Kupo. Like an army of rejects, the traitors and the ones the see as weak, loyal to them if they think they can get a piece whatever the organisation wants, Kupo!"
"So what does the organisation want?" Kieran inquired.
"None of us know, Kupo!" the elder moogle said. "That is what makes them so dangerous."