Ch. 3: History
The newer characters that were not in the game are all mine. Everyone else belongs to Disney and SquareSoft.
Ziddy floated through the air over the path, the others following close behind. They had been traveling like this for a solid day and a half. No one spoke to each other, especially Ziddy and Riku. Their hatred for each other had grown at least a full three and one half times since they had meet. And it wasn't getting any better.
Ziddy yawned and rubbed her eyes as she continued to fly. She sighed and tried to contain yet another yawn. She was so tired. The young woman had gone at least an entire week without a decent amount of sleep and it had finally caught up to her.
"You look tired Ziddy." Sora said.
"Ah," Ziddy yawned again, "the silence is finally broken by the valiant Sora. Thank you. I was about to go crazy. I'm fine." she lied, yawning again.
"You look really weak too. Maybe you should stop and sleep for a while." Sora suggested.
"Yeah. You stop and we'll keep going." Riku added in, hoping to lose Ziddy.
"As I said before, you're stuck with me. And I don't need," and again, Ziddy yawned, "any sleep."
"Miss Ziddy? When was the last time you slept?" Goofy asked with a concerned tone of voice.
"'Bout a week ago." Ziddy whispered, coming to her feet.
"A week? All right Ziddy, if you're going to lead us to the door, you at least have to be awake for it. We'll stop and let you sleep." Sora said, grabbing Ziddy's arm to stop her.
"We have to make it to the forest by nightfall." Ziddy said, shaking her head to keep her eyes open.
"Fine. We'll keep gong and you sleep." Riku repeated, annoyed as ever.
"That's not a bad idea Riku." Goofy said.
"What?"
Goofy picked up Ziddy and held her in his arms.
"Now Miss Ziddy, you just tell us what to do and you can sleep right here."
Ziddy smiled and laid her hand down on Goofy's chest.
"Just keep following the path. Don't stray from it. There will be a forest on the side of the path up ahead. You should reach the forest by nightfall. It you come to it earlier, stop. Don't go any further until dawn. I should be awake by then though. Most importantly, whatever you do, don't enter the forest." Ziddy warned. "Rest on the other side of the path. Do not enter the forest."
"Why not?" Donald questioned.
"Just don't do it." Ziddy answered. And with that, Ziddy closed her eyes and fell asleep.
"Finally." Riku sighed. "Okay, just put her down real slowly and run."
"Why do you hate her so much Riku?" Sora asked.
"Why shouldn't I? You heard what she said about Kairi's death. And that whole story about being in a room in Kingdom Hearts that sucks the life out of you. It's a load of bull shit. There's no such room. I know; I've been in Kingdom Hearts. All there is a bunch of steep mountains, Heartless, and a big, nasty-looking castle."
"The room could be in the castle."
"Why are you defending her!?"
"Because she's the only hope we've got left!"
Riku was stunned. "You've become attached to her, haven't you?"
"What?"
"You…"
"Riku, we don't have time for this. Ziddy is the only one here that knows the way to the door. And if I have the chance to find that door with her, I am damn well gonna take it." Sora stormed off.
Donald and Goofy followed their friend, but not before glaring at Riku angrily. Riku then followed Sora, seeing there was no other choice.
--
She ran. She ran faster than she had ever before. Then, suddenly, she came to a stop.
"Daddy!" she yelled in fear.
"Ziddy! What are you doing down here?"
"You promised dad! You promised that you would stop this. You said no more after what happened to..."
"Ziddy, go upstairs!"
"No dad. You promised. He doesn't control you dad!"
Ziddy's father paused and turned his back to her. "This is the path I have chosen."
Heartless began to rise from the ground.
"Run Ziddy. Run before they catch you."
"Why are you doing this!?" Ziddy cried.
"Run!!"
The Heartless targeted the young girl and started after her. After taking one last glance at her father, Ziddy ran up the stairs and down the corridors. She burst through the main doors and ran to the village. Her efforts to escape failed when the Heartless rose from the ground and encircled her.
"Nemon ecken Ziddy?" one Heartless uttered in its own language.
"No, I'm not afraid of you."
"Tevroo?"
"Because you have no power over me." Ziddy whispered.
An aura of gold light surrounded Ziddy and absorbed into every part of her body. Two white lights appeared in her hands. The white lights soon became two Keyblades. Ziddy twirled the Keyblades in her hands and looked around. The Heartless then attacked. Ziddy slashed through each and every one, leaving her alone in the abandoned village.
The young girl recoiled as the realization of what had just happened sank in. Fear took over her and she began to run again. This time, she didn't stop. She kept running. Her lungs began to sting as she took in the cold, damp air. Her legs ached and head pounded. She didn't know where she was running to, yet she kept going. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. She had lost everything she had held dear to her. Her cousin had left her. Her father had betrayed her. And she had been given a great power she did not desire. She kept running, hoping that it would make everything go away. Make everything disappear. Be erased from existence. But no matter how hard she ran, none of it could be reversed. Nothing disappeared. Especially the Heartless.
They kept rising from the ground and Ziddy kept dodging them within inches. But all hearts must return to darkness. A Heartless rose, and Ziddy fell to the ground. She lay there, motionless. Once again, the Heartless encircled her.
"Hotena shebeast loni."
And as the words passed from the Heartless' mouth, Ziddy drifted from her nightmare, returning to a dreamless slumber.
--
Ziddy slowly opened her eyes. She felt grass beneath her and the cool breeze above her. She lifted her head and sat up.
"Ga'morning Miss Ziddy." Donald announced.
Ziddy gazed at the sun. "It's morning already?"
"No." Riku answered, walking toward her from the path. "It's dusk, not dawn."
"You made good timing." Ziddy said, realizing that they had reached the forest.
"Ziddy." Sora smiled, running up to her. "How do you feel?"
"Less tired." she answered. "You didn't go into the forest right?"
"No." Donald answered.
"Why can't we go in ta the forest Miss Ziddy?" Goofy asked.
Ziddy stood up and faced the forest. "It's too dangerous."
"All forests are dangerous in their own ways. What makes this one so different?" Riku questioned, a hint of insult in his tone.
"This forest has a history you could not possibly know of or even comprehend." Ziddy said.
"What's it called?" Sora asked, joining Ziddy at her side.
Ziddy paused for a moment. "Adaman Forest."
"What's the history behind this Adaman Forest?" Riku asked, forgetting that he hated Ziddy for a moment and replaced his hatred with interest.
"This forest was named after…"
"Wait, let me guess. A man named Adaman because he was the only one to ever defeat the great evil that lies within this forest." Sora interrupted, laughing. Riku did the same.
Ziddy turned to him. "Adaman is an ancient creature that is responsible for the creation of the Heartless race."
The two boys fell silent.
Ziddy turned to the forest once again.
"Adaman was born thousands of years ago from the hatred in people's hearts. It resided here in this forest for protection and seclusion. It preyed on helpless animals and mortals that wandered into its realm. Until finally, man became aware of what lies in this forest and stayed clear of it. The animals soon all died out. And Adaman went into sleep. Adaman lay dominant for hundreds of years, until corruption and hatred once again awoke it from its sleep. Adaman could not leave the forest to find prey, so it bred itself. It created children to exit the forest and find prey for it."
"So, the Heartless are Adaman's spawn."
Ziddy nodded. "All was controlled for a time. But soon, Adaman lost control over its children. They spread, multiplied, yet never returned to Adaman. Now, Adaman lies quietly in its forest, awaiting the return of its children so it may feed."
"And if we enter Adaman Forest…" Riku started.
Sora and Riku stared at each other for a moment.
"Yeah, we've changed our minds. The forest is def… definitely not a place to 'accidentally' walk into." Sora finished.
"Say we did enter the forest," Riku posed, "how would we know Adaman when we find it? I mean, what's it look like?"
"What's your greatest fear Riku?" Ziddy asked, continuing to gaze at Adaman Forest.
Riku paused for a moment. "The darkness."
"Then that's what it would look like. The darkness."
"I don't understand." Sora said.
"As soon as you enter that forest, Adaman owns you. It preys upon her mind, finding out your deepest, darkest secrets. And when it finds your greatest fear, it uses it against you. Adaman becomes what you fear the most."
They all stood amazed.
"How do you know all this?" Sora asked, confused and stunned.
Ziddy didn't answer.
"Zid..."
"We should get some sleep. We have a long journey ahead of us. We'll start in the morning. From dawn on, we have a nine day journey to the door."
"One more question." Riku spoke softly and full of interest. "I thought that the Heartless were created in Hallow Bastion?"
Ziddy nodded. She turned and sat on the grass again. She brought her legs into her chest and placed her chin on her knees. "The Heartless were created for one purpose and one purpose alone: to feed Adaman. When they abandoned Adaman, they really didn't have any other purpose for living. So, the Heartless eventually started to die out. But, the few that survived longer, made it to Hallow Bastion. And that's where... Ansem comes in. He found them, studied them, and began to reconstruct them. He changed what they were made for. Thus, creating a new form of Heartless; the ones we know today."
"How is it that you know all this?" Sora asked, bewildered.
Riku, Sora, Donald, and Goofy had joined Ziddy on the grass. She looked around at each of them. She wanted to tell them how she knew all this. The truth. But why? She had never felt this way before. Or at least, she thought she had never.
'Tell them.' Ansem's voice rang in Ziddy's head. 'Tell them of your gift.'
'I'm not supposed to use my gifts to help them.' Ziddy thought.
'Tell them that's how you know all this. Gain their trust.'
'They'll start asking questions.' Ziddy thought again.
'Then lie. You're good at that my child.' Ansem's voice faded away.
Ziddy paused. "Because I was there."
"What?" Sora asked, thinking he had heard Ziddy wrong.
"I... was there. I watched it happen."
"But, you just said it happened hundreds of years ago. How could you have been there? You're..."
"I'm sixteen."
"Yeah... you couldn't have been there. Unless you're the walking dead or something." Riku finished.
"I'm not dead. I was there." Ziddy reiterated.
"Yeah... but... how?"
Ziddy lifted up her right pant leg to reveal several small symbols that seemed to have been burned into the skin of her ankle. She ran her finger over them and stopped on a symbol that looked like an hour glass. "That one." she said.
"Uh..." Riku replied.
"Are those burned into your skin?" Sora asked, confused and concerned.
"Yeah." Ziddy answered.
"What does it mean?" Goofy asked.
"Well, every time I get a new power, a symbol that represents it is somehow burned into my ankle. This one means that I have Rewind." Ziddy explained.
"What's Rewind?" Donald questioned.
"Rewind means that I can go into the past."
"Come again." Sora said.
"I can go into the past." Ziddy whispered, a small smile forming on her lips.
"Okay, that's it. You're definitely nuts." Riku announced. "I mean crazy. You can go into the past? That's worse than your story of the room in Kingdom Hearts. That story was bull but this is much worse."
"It's true." Ziddy said.
"Uh huh, yeah, sure."
"You wanna see?" Ziddy asked, getting up off the grass. "Come on, I'll show you I'm not lying."
"Fine." Riku agreed, also standing up.
Sora stood up with them. "I wanna see this."
Ziddy grabbed Sora's hand and held onto it. As for Riku, she placed his hand on her shoulder. "Hey Donald," she said, "Goofy's got your staff."
Donald let out a very distinctive scream of fury and flung himself onto Goofy. Sora and Riku started to crack up. Ziddy on the other hand kept silent and closed her eyes. The world around the three teenagers seemed to actually rewind. The scenery around them blurred and spun around for a brief moment. When all was returned to normal, Donald let out the same scream and once again pounced on Goofy. The world blurred and spun again. And again, Donald yelled and jumped onto Goofy. After the third time, Ziddy fell to the ground and sat up. She rubbed her eyes and moaned a bit.
"So... there." she whispered.
"How did you do that?" Sora said, his mouth dropped and his eyes wide.
"Eh..." Riku managed to squeak.
"I told you I could go into the past. But no, you didn't believe me." Ziddy panted. "Now, I'm all tired again."
"How did you do that!?" Sora asked again.
"I can..."
"You can go into the past." Riku whispered in amazement. He turned his head to the girl and gazed at her for a moment. "Do it again."
"No. I'm tired. That takes a lot out of me. Takes even more power when I bring people with me." she explained.
"You don't understand. You have to do this again." Riku persisted.
"Why do you wanna see Goofy and Donald wrestle again?"
"No, you need to go back farther."
"Uh?" Ziddy had been overtaken by confusion.
Sora quickly turned to them, realizing what Riku meant. He walked over to Ziddy and placed his hand on her shoulder. "You need to take us back to when I left Kairi."
"Wha?"
"Take us back to when I left Kairi. 'Cause then, I can take her with me and she won't go to Kingdom Hearts and she won't go into that room with you and she'll be alive." Sora explained, becoming excited.
"I... I... I can't do that." Ziddy stuttered.
"Why not!?" Riku protested. "Do you know that this could mean that our friend wouldn't be dead!?"
"She was my friend too...!"
"Then why won't you help!?" Riku yelled, furious.
"Because it won't work!"
"How do you know!?" Sora yelled.
"Because I've tried it before!"
"Oh, sure you have Ziddy. Afraid to, is that it!?" Riku asked.
Ziddy kicked Riku legs and straddled his waist when he hit the ground. She gripped her hands around the boy's throat and squeezed as tightly as she could. "I watched my mother die five times before I realized that I couldn't bring her back!" she screamed. "Don't talk to me about fear boy. I lived through a lot more shit than you could ever comprehend." Ziddy pushed down on Riku's throat one last time before she released him. She lifted her legs over him and stood up.
"Ziddy... we didn't know..." Sora tried to apologize.
"I'm sorry Ziddy." Riku whispered in a raspy voice.
Ziddy faced Adaman Forest and rubbed her eyes.
"Ziddy..." Sora started.
"We need to get some sleep."
And with that, Ziddy sat down on the grass again and wrapped her arms around her legs. Sora sat down where he was and helped Riku sit up. Donald and Goofy joined their side. Donald, Goofy, and Riku lay down and in a few minutes were asleep. Sora was tempted to go sit next to Ziddy and try to comfort her. He didn't though. She was one of those people that was difficult to understand. And what he was starting to feel for her was even harder for him to understand. He lay down on the grass and feel asleep.
--
"Donald... Goofy..."
"Uh?" Donald answered, half asleep.
"Donald. Donald, wake up. Listen." Goofy whispered, shaking the duck.
"Oh, what is it Goofy?" Donald complained, fully awake now.
"D'ya hear that?"
"Hear wh..."
"Donald... Goofy..."
Donald gasped. "That's the king." Donald said, astonished.
"Come on. It's comin' from over there." Goofy said, getting up and walking across the path towards Adaman Forest.
"Goofy, you heard Ziddy. We're not supposed to go in that forest. It's where that monster that made that Heartless lives." Donald said.
"But that's where the king is."
"But we're not..."
"Donald! Goofy!"
Donald and Goofy looked at each other real quick and bolted off into Adaman Forest.
Meanwhile...
'Wake up my child.' Ansem's voice rang inside Ziddy's head.
"I'm... I'm up."
"Shh... you'll wake the idiots up."
Ziddy sat up and shook her head. She slowly opened her eyes and astonishingly enough, they fell upon Ansem.
"Uhh... what are you doing here?" Ziddy whispered, panic in her tone.
"Don't worry. I'm not really here. I'm just... what you'd call... a mirage." Ansem whispered.
"Yeah... okay... sure..." Ziddy murmured. "What are you doing here?"
"Just making sure my little deal is carried out."
"Deal? What deal?" Ziddy asked, fearful of the answer.
"Those idiots from the king were really starting to get on my nerves."
Ziddy looked around and saw that Donald and Goofy were nowhere to be found.
"What did you do Ansem?"
"I've done nothing child. I just made sure they'd be taken care of." Ansem laughed.
"Where are they Ansem? What did you do with them?"
Ansem turned to Adaman Forest. "Beautiful thing, the forest, isn't it my child?"
Ziddy's eyes widened and her mouth dropped. "You sent them in there?"
"I didn't send them. They were called."
"You mean... You made a deal with Adaman. And now they're in there. You know what Adaman's gonna do to them?" Ziddy said, annoyed and scared.
Ansem did not answer. Instead, he disappeared, leaving Ziddy alone. She looked down at Sora and Riku; they were still sleep thankfully. Panicked, Ziddy abandoned all the rules Ansem had given her and ran into Adaman Forest.
"Donald! Goofy! Where are you guys!?" she yelled, running as fast as she could through the forest.
No answer came. She continued to run, dodging low branches and hurdling over rocks. Ziddy felt all the warmth of her body leave her. She knew that Adaman had spotted her. She was a target now. That did not matter though. She had something Adaman never faced before: the power to control her fear. That played as an advantage to her. She needed to find Donald and Goofy and get them out of there.
"Donald! Goofy! Where are you!?"
"Miss Ziddy!"
Ziddy whipped her head around and ran toward the sound of Goofy's voice. Suddenly, Heartless began to rise from the ground all around her. She kept running. Up ahead was a small clearing. And in the center of that clearing stood Donald and Goofy.
"Guys!!"
"Zid...!"
A burst of light came from the clearing. Ziddy turned her eyes away and stopped. Right before the light disappeared, Ziddy could hear the sounds of Donald and Goofy screaming and a terrible monster's screeching roar. The light disappeared and Ziddy looked back. Donald and Goofy lay on the ground motionless and silent.
"Oh shit." she whispered, beginning to sprint again.
Ziddy skidded to an abrupt stop in from of the two. Tears began to stream down her cheeks. She knelt down beside Donald. She took her pointer and middle finger and placed them on his neck.
"Oh no." she cried as she felt no pulse. She lifted her arms behind her head and rocked back and forth, breathing hard and bawling. Her rage began to build up inside her. She stood up and looked around.
"Adaman! Come and feed again! I'm waiting for you!"
The wind blew through the trees and the full moon shone bright on the clearing. The leaves of the trees rustled. Adaman did not reveal itself.
"Adaman!"
Heartless began to rise from the ground once again. They encircled the teenager. Ziddy began to hear a very familiar conversation in her head. It started out soft, but grew louder every second.
"Nemon ecken Ziddy?"
"No, I'm not afraid of you."
"Tevroo?"
"Because you have no power over me."
Ziddy stepped back in fear. She covered her ears, hoping to block out the voices. They kept sounding in her head. Now, the Heartless were repeating a phrase Ziddy knew and feared all too well: Hotena shebeast loni. Hotena shebeast loni. Hotena shebeast loni!
Ziddy shook her head and the voices disappeared as well did the Heartless. She looked down at Donald and Goofy in complete defeat.
"I'm sorry guys." she sighed, holding in the tears.
Sora and Riku stood on the edge of the forest.
"Why do you think she went in there?" Sora asked, scared of what might have happened to Ziddy.
"I don't know. Why the hell would Donald and Goofy follow her?" Riku answered.
"Look!"
Ziddy walked out of the forest, Donald and Goofy floating in the air behind her.
"Where the hell did you three go!?" Sora yelled.
"What happened to the whole Adaman monster thing!?"
Ziddy remained silent. She stopped on the other side of the path where Riku and Sora were, and Donald and Goofy were laid down on the grass.
"Donald? Goofy?" Sora whispered, becoming overwhelmed in confusion and terror.
"What's wrong with them?" Riku asked.
Ziddy paused. "They're dead." she said quickly. "Adaman got to them before I could."
Sora stumbled backwards and Riku swallowed air. The two boys went to Donald and Goofy's side and knelt down next to them.
"Goofy?" Riku whispered, shaking the knight.
"Donald? Wake up." Sora whimpered, doing the same to Donald.
Ziddy fell to her knees and began to cry. "I couldn't save them." she cried. "I couldn't save them."
That is how the three teenagers spent that night. Riku cried over Goofy's body. Sora kept trying to wake Donald up. And Ziddy kept repeating the fact that she could not save them. This would only be the beginning to Ansem's returning terror and the grief of three teenagers trying to save what was left of the worlds.
AN: Yet another very depressing chapter. Ah well, 'tis life. I hope you guys like A Darkened Light so far. PLEASE keep reading. Not to brag, but a lot of cool stuff happens in this fanfic. Hope you'll like it. Well, I guess you'll just have to keep reading for me to find out. See ya next chapter.