"All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, it grows, consumes it. Such is its nature. In the end, every Heart returns to the darkness whence it came! You see, darkness is the heart's true essence..."
Chapter Ten: Key of Salvation
"Why?! NO! NO!" Kimiko screamed, the dark-haired woman in red and black mercenary's attire seeing a horrendous sight.
The Sanctum ordered the abbey of St. Milo's destruction and the abbey in the hills was set ablaze…with her brother still inside. She wanted to save him, but every time she tried to get close to the hilly area, she would sense the Sanctum's lapdogs would get too close and she would retreat. That day, she tried to go, but her family found her and joined her to rescue Kosuke, or what the Sanctumites named him, Lyon.
"Kimiko! Kimi! Calm yourself! That thing in the abbey is no longer your brother!" the head of the clan, Lady Nitta, said.
She ordered her men to restrain the young woman and the old woman told her, "Kosuke died months ago! So, stop it! Stop!"
Kimiko couldn't believe what she was hearing. Kosuke was very much alive. Sister Laila said he was talking normally, was asking questions about what was going on outside, and even took some of the food she would bring him. The only thing that was off was his lack of his Animus. Sure, that usually meant that a person without one was dead, but…
The dark-haired woman released herself from her captors' grips and said to Lady Nitta, "You…Consider today my resignation from the clan."
"W-Wha...? Where will you go?" one asked.
"Anywhere but here as it's apparent that you never cared about me or my brother…" Kimiko said.
She started for the Kingdom of Fynn in the south and the others were about to go after her when Lady Nitta said, "No! Leave her be. She'll return when she sees how the world views us."
Kimiko ignored her, forsaking everything to get away.
Waterfall Cave, basement level 3…
After the rockfall that trapped little Lyon, a shadowy wolf appeared from a portal of darkness and headed to the pile of rocks. It sniffed the area, trying to locate the boy. Moving some of the rocks, it saw what looked like white pieces of clothes and wisps of darkness. The wolf tried to see if the child was still alive underneath all that. Usually, piles of rocks weigh a ton and it doubted that the boy survived.
That is until a small hand grabbed it by the scruff of its neck and the wisps turned into plumes of darkness. The wolf howled as it was turned into black mist. The mist became purplish chains and coalesced into a tall, shadowy horned figure.
Said figure looked around the cave and then at himself. He was completely obsidian and opaque, looking more like a Neoshadow than a human. He sighed, muttering, "Not again."
He tried to remember what happened, but couldn't after the events at Departure College. Sora, Riku, and Kairi…the darkness came, and then…
"Why can't I remember? Why…?" the figure said to himself.
A sudden thought came to him and he remembered that Sora was in the area. Along with three others that were looking for some kind of key. And that they were being hunted down by a child that looked like…
"Oh no. If that 'key' is what I think it is, then they're in grave danger," the figure said.
He then remembered that he lost the charm the headmaster of Departure gave him. Eraqus, was it? Master Eraqus gave it to him to blend in, but he lost it and now he couldn't approach Sora the way he was. Lest those two SOLDIERs.
SOLDIER? Wasn't he helping Sora and…Ven…?
Cursing, the figure punched the air, opening a dark portal. He then ran, jumped through it, and changed into lupine form. Arriving in the labyrinth, he immediately caught the others' scents. He had to find them or else that shadow kid would destroy them over something he couldn't wield, let alone touch it.
The labyrinth…
"How much farther?" Sora asked, getting tired.
Zack and he with their Animi had defeated the Martial Monkey and saw the flame behind it disappear. But it didn't lead them to a way out. Instead, it led farther into the labyrinth and Sora was sure that they were running out of time to save Terra. And if he was lost, then…another person he knew would be lost to darkness.
Shaking his head to get that depressing thought out of his mind, Sora saw that they had arrived at an intricate-looking stone door. Zack started pushing it, but had no luck in opening it. Mauricio and Zeru inspected it, only seeing a large keyhole and an odd number of carved figures around it. The figures glowed with soft, purple light and there was both an air of danger and unbridled power about it.
"Huh? Well, that's weird…" Zack said, seeing it.
"What's weird?" Sora asked, looking at the door.
He looked closer at the figures and saw that they all had the same face, but each was dressed in a different profession. There was a knight, a priest, a butler, a monk, a sailor, a hunter, etc. And each held a weapon that looked like Sora's new one, a Keyblade. They pointed the weapon at the door and Sora took that as a sign to try out the Keyblade, the Kingdom Key.
The brunet had heard that the weapon had the power to unlock anything, including human hearts. Which made it dangerous and forbidden to talk about in front of Sanctumites. And Zack was probably one now, despite being a half-breed.
"Hmm. They all got the same thing you do, Sora. Why not try it?" the SOLDIER said.
"Uh, what? I thought…" Sora said.
"That I'd be a Sanctumite? Nah. People like me are still looked down on at the abbey. And besides, if this thing can get us out of here, I'm all for it," Zack said.
A snarl and the two turned to see a shadowy wolf behind them. Sora immediately went into a battle position and Zack did the same, putting a hand on the hilt of his sword. But the raven-haired man relaxed, seeing that the shadowy, red-eyed wolf hadn't tried to attack. If anything, it was watching them and seemed to want to know what they were doing at the door.
It tilted its head and Mauricio said, "Huh. This Animus…he looks like Gaius, but…the scent is off. Maybe it's the shadows around him. But…"
"Uh, Gaius? Is that you?" Zack asked.
"Wait, Gaius is the name of Terra's Animus. So, does that mean…?" Zeru whispered to Sora.
"Terra fell to darkness and we're too late?" Sora added.
"Don't…open that…door."
That was little Lyon's voice. But it was distorted, sounding like a mix of the child's voice and something darker. Sora relaxed, to Zeru's chagrin, and asked, "L-Lyon?"
"Don't open that door. Please."
"Why not? We need to get out of here," Zack said.
"Just don't open it. I'll lead you out. But first, we need to find Cloud and Ven."
Zack looked confused and said, "Wait…only a few people call Ventus, 'Ven'."
The wolf took off and the two chased after him, not seeing any other recourse.
With Cloud and Ventus…
While resting, the two blondes saw another chain shatter off the statue, and a white flame appeared where an orange one was. So, two of the dark flames were gone, the flames on the statue's left and right. The final black flame burned brightly right in front of it and Ventus really wanted to find it before time was up. If anything, time was probably already up and Terra most likely was a Heartless now.
The boy sighed, feeling as if he failed and Cloud said, "Notice the moss on the walls?"
Ven looked up, seeing the "timer moss", as he dubbed it, and saw that the timer hadn't changed. The time was 10:50, but they had been stuck in that chamber due to fatigue for at least three hours. Did time stop? Time stopped! That could mean that they still had time to get Terra back to normal.
"Didn't change since we wound up in here. Guess that kid was bluffing," Cloud said, looking exhausted.
"Are…you…sure?"
The last chain shattered and the flame disappeared, turning an odd silver color. Rumbling came from the horned statue as it turned on its own, slowly opening the door to the "boss's chamber". Ventus shuddered, sensing powerful darkness, hatred, and despair. Cloud stood up and said, "If this is the only way to the key and to get out of here, then…"
"We go in…" Fenrir added.
"WAAAIIIT!"
The two turned around, seeing the doors behind them fly open. Zack, Sora, and their Animi had arrived, looking none the worse for wear. Behind them was a shadowy wolf with the same eyes as…
"Sora, get back!" Ventus said, summoning Wayward Wind.
Sora turned around and said, "Oh him? Ven, that's Lyon."
"What…?" Kaze said, confused.
Cloud was already battle ready and Zack said, "This thing helped us find you. Kinda looks like Gaius."
The older blonde looked at the shadow wolf and it didn't pay him any attention. Instead, its gaze was on the open "boss door". It bolted inside and the four heard "Follow me before he finds you."
That…didn't sound like Lyon at all. Ventus couldn't ponder why as the group went up several flights of stairs and arrived at what looked like the bottom of the cave. A lone platform led to the main waterfall and something was floating at the edge of it. The shadow wolf headed straight for it and the closer the group got to it, the more the item it was headed for was revealed.
It was a bronze Keyblade, trapped in a sphere of darkness. Its hilt was turquoise in color and a keychain hanging from it. Power radiated from it and the name Earthshaker popped into Ven's head. He shook his head, not getting where the thought came from.
Sora apparently had the same one as he muttered, "Earthshaker."
"IT'S MINE! GET AWAY!"
A column of darkness came from the ceiling and the four jumped out of the way. The wolf backflipped like Rinku from Fables of Delta and growled menacingly at the dark pillar. Stepping out of it as it disappeared was the shadow child and he had rage on his face. His eyes were glowing red and darkness billowed from his being.
Sharp teeth bared, he growled, "This is MINE! NOT YOURS! MINE!"
"We need that Keyblade to save a friend! And you're a Heartless! You can't even use it!" Ven yelled, not realizing why he did.
A roar and the boy fell onto all fours. The darkness enveloped him and Fenrir warned, "Get ready to defend yourselves! Protectga!"
Barriers of light surrounded the party and Zack followed it up with, "Need a barrier!"
Red spheres of light enveloped them as it was the Shell arte, something that cut elemental attacks in half. The shadow wolf howled and halos appeared, an indication of the auto-revive artes. How in the world did something like that learn one of the Light artes, Ven thought?
The darkness formed into a large, horned creature and revealed itself to be some kind of half-dragon, half-wolf beast. It roared violently, shaking the foundations of the cave. If they didn't defeat it quickly, the group risked a cave-in and they would never survive to save Terra.
It belched out black flames and the group got clear of the blast. Its attention was turned to Ventus, whose face paled and he screamed, "Why me?!"
The monster chased after him, swiping whenever it was close enough. Sora saw and yelled, "Ven!"
He then thought to do what Ventus had done earlier to the Heartless at the entrance. He thought of winds enveloping the Keyblade and yelled, "Strike Raid!"
The brunet tossed the weapon like a boomerang and it struck the beast on the back of its right hind leg. It stopped for a moment as Sora caught the returning weapon, surprised that it connected. Red eyes glowing with rage, it roared again, unleashing a dark beam from its maw. Sora didn't get out of the way in time and shut his eyes, thinking it was the end.
Someone jumped in front of him and deflected the blast, asking, "Are you alright?"
Sora looked and saw a shadowy figure that looked like Arkan, the one trapped in the mirror. The horned shadow towered over Sora and was in a defensive posture, attempting to protect Sora from the beast. Its counterpart glowered with its red eyes and roared, shaking the cave again and causing for stalagmite to fall.
The shadow looked back at Sora and asked again, "Are you alright?"
The voice was a distorted mix of little Lyon's, Arkan's and…
"Sora! Hey! Get your head back in the game!" Ventus yelled.
Zack leaped into the air, slamming his SOLDIER claymore into the beast's back. Cloud followed up with several salvos of Fire artes, sending the fireballs flying at the monster. It hissed and thrashed about, trying to get Zack off its back and defend itself from Cloud's attacks.
Ventus, using Aero artes again, yelled, "Aerora!"
A small whirlwind appeared from underneath the beast and flipped it over. Zack leaped off right as it fell onto its back and started rapidly slashing at it. Cloud did the same and the shadow said to Sora, "Use the Keyblade on the sphere there. It'll free the weapon."
"What about you?" Sora asked.
"It'll turn its attention to me once I'm in the fray. Just hurry, though. You still need to get to your friend alive," the shadow said.
It disappeared, only to reappear at the entrance. The beast turned around, locked eyes with the shadow, and charged. Sora took off, seeing Arkan, or what he thought was him, raise his arm and repel it with a barrier. Cloud, Zack, and Ventus saw the two shadows fighting and Sora yelled, "The other one's with us!"
"Huh? Two Heartless fighting each other?" Mauricio asked.
"Hurry up!"
Arkan's shadow wasn't too happy that Sora hadn't gotten to the sphere yet. Sora quickly explained his, more like Arkan's, plan and Zack said, "Got it! We'll help keep that thing busy. You and Ven can go and get the key."
The two SOLDIERs and their Animi rushed toward the fighting monsters and Sora and Ventus rushed to the dark sphere. When they arrived, they saw the bronze Keyblade trapped within and Ven said, "So, this is the key that'll help Terra? But how're we to get it out?"
"Um…" Sora said.
A loud roar and Zack yelled, "Oy! What are you two doing?!"
The beast swung at the SOLDIERs, hitting Zack and sending him flying towards the edge of the platform while Cloud jumped out of the way. Arkan's shadow summoned swords of ethereal energy and started sending them flying toward his bestial counterpart. The beast teleported around the area and the two youths heard, "YOU NO TAKE KEY!"
It appeared next to Ventus, hitting the blonde and sending him over the edge. Sora called out to him as Kaze dove down to get him. The beast smacked Sora backward, away from the Keyblade, and roared in his face.
Cloud jumped into the air, prepared to crash down onto the beast's head, but was repelled by a dark barrier. The older blonde landed on his feet, several feet away from the monster and he called out Sora's name as the beast belched a powerful beam of darkness. Sora's eyes widened, as the blast came so quickly, he had no way to defend himself or brace for the end.
"Sora! NO!"
Arkan's shadow appeared in front of him and received the brunt of the blast. He pushed Sora over the edge of the platform and the brunet couldn't scream as everything went so quickly. Zeru tried to keep Sora from falling, but both Animus and human fell into the waters below.
"No…" Cloud said, not believing what he was seeing.
The shadow beast had knocked both boys into the waters below, knocked Zack unconscious to the point Mauricio was fading in and out of existence, and then blasted nearly half of the second shadow's body clean off. The shadow Sora trusted was on the ground, inky black streaks of darkness coming from its missing left arm, shoulder, and leg. It breathed heavily and wheezed, terribly injured.
But Heartless, save for White Mushrooms, couldn't be healed with healing artes. And then the beast that was obsessively protecting that key…
Its attention went from the fading shadow to Cloud and the blonde cursed that he wasn't strong enough to save the others. Maybe Angeal was right and that he barely had what it takes to become SOLDIER 1st class. If he couldn't find the strength to protect the people he cherished, then…?
"Leave…Cloud…and everyone out of…this…"
Wait, that was…
Chains of light enveloped the cavern and several struck the beast in the forelegs, hind legs, and back. The chains pinned it to the ground and it snarled and growled furiously. Cloud saw the chains coming from the other shadow, but…Heartless wasn't known to use Light artes. So…?
The sphere encasing the key shattered and a light shot from it toward the fallen shadow. The beast tried to break free as if panicking. A beam of light struck it and the first shot it in the head. The second struck it in the heart. The third became a powerful blast that burned the creature into oblivion.
The blinding light caused Cloud to cover his eyes and when he opened them, he couldn't sense or smell any Heartless in the area. The two shadows were gone and Cloud quickly rushed to Zack, to whom he used a small red feather called a Phoenix Down on. The 2nd Class SOLDIER opened his eyes and Mauricio returned, looking exhausted.
"W-We won?" Zack asked.
"If surviving the fight is winning, then yeah. But those two…" Cloud said.
The pair looked down at the pool and didn't see anyone. The waters were crystal clear with no human or Heartless remains. Confused, as he was sure they were knocked into the water, Cloud continued to search, trying to think if the two escaped with a Teleport arte or something. Zack checked the other areas and the blonde quickly heard, "WHOA! Cloud, over here!"
He rushed to where his friend was and was taken aback at the sight.
"We gotta get him out of here…" he muttered.
"So? So? How do you like Zanarkand, princess?" Souma asked.
Luciana glowered at the brunet, his incessant asking questions getting to her. She was just there to enjoy the sights, get a few local eats and return to the Zanarkand Palace and meet with Yu Yevon. She had to as it was her duty as princess of the Radiant Garden to show diplomacy and learn of their allies. Besides, hopping out of a moving tour bus was out of the question.
And that kid from Baron, Souma Aria, was really starting to bug her. He was one of many foreign exchange students in the city and he was a representative of the Kingdom of Baron. If all Baronese acted like him, then she wouldn't want to go there, the red-haired girl thought.
"Um, it's fine," was the princess' reply.
"Just fine? JUST FINE?! This place is the greatest! Like all these people that know summoning magic and how they have all this really good food! And the blitzball is the best! If I could, I would live here and be a player with the Zanarkand Abes!" Souma said excitedly.
Another kid, a platinum blonde named Ryo Mitsurugi, sighed and told the brunet, "Lord Souma, haven't you noticed that the princess is a little annoyed right now?"
"What do you mean?" Souma asked.
He looked at her and saw that she was glaring at him. Souma's face paled and he muttered, "Scary…"
"Not as scary as the guy from Heim. He never leaves the palace, anyone noticed that?" another kid who looked like Souma, his twin Akira, asked.
"He has his reasons for not leaving the palace," Ryo immediately said, looking out the window.
Luciana wondered the same, but she was new there. So, she would have to tread carefully so as to not mess up diplomacy.
"TERRA!" Ventus yelled, waking up.
He was in the Darling household, in the guest room. Dressed in new pajamas and seeing Kaze at the end of the bed, Ventus was confused as to what happened. The last thing he remembered was fighting alongside Sora and the others.
"Sora! Cloud! Zack!" Ventus yelled, looking around.
He spotted Sora in another bed, fast asleep and badly injured. His arms and forehead were wrapped in bandages and Ventus winced, feeling pain in his abdomen and forehead. He checked and saw that he himself was practically wrapped up like a mummy. What happened in that cave?
"Oh! You're awake."
Anita opened the door, smiling. She carried a tray with a bowl of soup and a small plate of bread. Relief in her eyes, she asked, "I made some tomato soup. Are you hungry?"
Ventus was about to say no, but his stomach growled and Anita's smile widened. She placed the tray on his lap and he started to eat. She turned away, wiping a few tears and Ven asked, "Wh-What's wrong?"
"You…Merlin found you and Sora, badly injured outside of the waterfall cave in the south. And then Cloud and Zack came back with…I thought I'd lost you," Anita said, her voice breaking.
Ven looked down at his food, unsure of what to say. Anita actually cared for him? But why? He was a nomad and she wasn't. And he couldn't think of her as a parental figure as they were from two different worlds. So, why does she…?
"If I could, I would adopt you in a heartbeat. That's why I care. I wish for you to be…" Anita said, still not looking at Ventus and stifling her tears.
The blonde felt terrible. He would take her up on her offer as he would truly have a home and family. But if his family was still out there, then he would need to hold out so he could find them. As if realizing this, Anita said, "I still think of you as family. We may be from different worlds and circumstances, but family isn't always about blood relations. Your family could also be people who care about you very much."
Ven nodded and Anita continued to explain. Sora and Ventus were found outside of the cave after whatever was going on at Merlin's hut went out of control. Sirens went off in Traverse Town and the town guards went about, trying to find the source of the Heartless. They didn't find anything except for a destroyed capsule in Merlin's hut.
Then Cloud and Zack came out of the cave…with Terra. But the SOLDIER was so badly injured that they had to head straight for Mysidia in the east. Merlin explained what happened to the SOLDIERs to her, Roger, Mayor Gold, Aerith, and Tifa, and they were sworn not to tell anyone else in town the truth.
But Terra was supposed to be in that capsule he and Sora saw. So how was he found in the cave? Ven didn't see him. Nor did Sora.
"Oh…And Merlin wishes to see you and Sora when you're healed up. I told him to give you two a few days and he relented. But Archimedes is rather miffed at him. I was too and said some things I shouldn't have," Anita said.
Ven smirked, figuring out what she may have said. She really did care about him.
And there's chapter 10. So, the waterfall cave arc is finished and we'll be seeing what Riku and Kairi was doing during this time very soon.
Review?
-miano53