Chapter Four: Duty

Day dawned bright and clear over the brilliant world of Radiant Garden. But unlike other mornings, it did not banish the shadows that the night had brought. The Knights of Radiant Garden were fighting back fiercely, but the shadows kept coming. The Chasers raced down the streets, slaying as many as they could, attempting to save as many knights as possible. They fought their way through, and Terra turned to the other three.

"We'll have to split up!" he cried. "There are too many. We'll save more lives if we go separate ways." The others nodded, turning to go in separate directions.

Ven ran down one of the side streets, killing as many of the heartless shadows as he could. Manifestations of the darkness. That was all they were. He could take them easily. He came upon one of Radiant Garden's knights, fighting at least eight of the things. The knight was as blond as Ven. He raced in, Keyblade swinging, fending off the darkness long enough for the Knight to get a second wind.

"Thank you…" the knight gasped out. "Who are you?"

"I serve the Light." Ven said. "My name is Ven."

"Thank you, Ven. My name is Walian Strife." He seemed to remember something then, looking around frantically. "Dammit! Cloud!"

"What?" Ven asked, puzzled.

"My son, Cloud… My wife, Freya… Cloud's only a year old. I have to get back and help them…"

"Be careful." Ven said. "Those things could come back."

"Yes, thank you." Walian hurried off to see to his wife and son. Ven continued on, saving several more knights and more civilians. He met up with Xehanort in a courtyard. The silver-headed Chaser was fighting several of the shadows, though these had little helmets and some small pieces of armor. It was obvious that they were the same thing as the others, just a different type.

"I'm going to head for the castle!" Xehanort called. "Aqua's in the Bailey, and Terra's going to the Ravine Trail." Ven nodded, and Xehanort headed for the Castle. Ven turned, gracefully slicing through another wave of shadows, before seeing a figure out of the corner of his eye.

A woman stood, huddling under the shadow of an arch. She clutched a very young child, about a year old, in her arms. Another brown-headed boy of about four was hiding behind her. Ven raced over to them. "What are you doing? It's not safe here!"

"I was waiting for my husband…" she whispered.

Ven glanced down at the child in her arms. Wispy blond locks covered his head, as he smiled in a very babyish way at the Chaser of Light. "Then your husband is Walian Strife? He's on his way to find you. You cannot stay here. I'll take you to safety. My name is Ven." He reached down and took the other child by the hand, and beckoned her to follow him.

"I am Freya Strife. Thank you so much." she said gratefully. "This is my baby, Cloud, and General Loire's son Squall. I was watching him when the attack hit."

"Pleased to meet you. Let's hurry, before more shadows come."

He took them up to the castle's main gate. "Xehanort!" he called. The other Chaser looked around a corner. "Is the castle secure?"

"Yeah, for the most part. All that's really left are the ones in the town." He looked to Freya, following Ven closely, and asked, "Civilian?"

"Yeah. Will you see that she gets to safety? I'm going to go find her husband." Xehanort nodded, and Ven hurried back out into the fray. After several minutes of searching, he found Walian on the main street, looking sick with worry.

"Ven!" the man called when he spotted the Chaser.

Ven ran to him, saying quickly, "Freya and Cloud are at the castle. Come on!" He literally dragged the man back up the street, not stopping until he reached the gates. Xehanort saw him coming and grinned. He beckoned, and they followed him to the castle library, where Freya waited with Cloud, Squall, and another woman that Ven assumed was Squall's mother.

Walian embraced Freya gratefully. The relief that he saw in the man's eyes made Ven realize for the first time why they were Chasers. If there was no one around to protect these people… Beside him, Xehanort was smiling. Ven glanced at him. Their eyes met, and for a moment, they were no longer rivals. They were partners, happy for a job well done.

Freya beckoned to them, and they came over. Ven looked down at Cloud, who had gone to sleep in all the excitement. He brushed back a fallen lock of hair from the one-year-old's forehead, and inhaled sharply at the spike of power that coursed through his fingertips. This child was a newborn Strong Heart. Ven frowned slightly, unnoticeably. He would go through much hardship in his life for that. Chances were, he would never lay hands upon a Keyblade, but darkness would attempt to prey on him all his life. He saw Xehanort's curious glance, and mouthed, Later.

When all the shadows had been purged, the four Chasers met in the Bailey, happy to be finished. Terra took in the looks on both Ven and Xehanort's faces and asked warily, "Why do you both look so… content?"

"I think we finally discovered why we do this." Xehanort said. Terra raised an eyebrow, and both boys eagerly launched into the tale of what had occurred with the Strife family. When they were done, Terra looked proud.

"You understand now." he said. It was the closest he would get to simply cheering in triumph.

"That's not all, Terra." Ven said. "The son… Cloud… He's the Strong Heart."

"Are you certain?"

"Yeah, he had the aura of power like we do." Ven blinked. "Is that bad?"

"No." Terra looked around at the cozy town and the magnificent castle of Radiant Garden. "It's a hope for the future."

I suppose this serves as Cloud and Leon's missed appearance from BBS. 8D For the record, BBS is ten years before the first KH. This story was set at a guess of twenty years difference, so ages and timelines are slightly off.

Li