Chapter 11
The next day, Sora was walking through the streets with Riku, looking for supplies before going to check on the worlds. He'd told Riku, Donald, and Goofy about his dream, but nobody could find any possible meaning to it. Something occurred to Sora.
"Hey, Riku?"
"Yeah?"
"Back at…Traverse Town…you identified that thing that destroyed it. How did you know what that was? I'd never seen or heard of anything like it?"
Riku walked on in silence for a moment.
"…DiZ…No, Ansem the Wise…he had been studying the Guardian Forces…he let me see his research." Riku looked up at the sky.
"He had come to the hypothesis that the Guardian Forces were protectors of the worlds, but the darkness that has been running rampant since Xehanort's experiments began drained their power…made them flee for their own protection."
"So…how could someone associated with the Darkness call on one?"
"Ansem had come to the conclusion there was a very powerful world somewhere in our galaxy that the Guardian Forces would retreat to and await a time when they could safely emerge…until then, they'd remain dormant. However, Ansem believed that Xehanort and the Organization wanted to find this world and take the summoning gems held on it…then they could make the Guardian Forces do their bidding."
"So…there's more than one? But that means that they could destroy the whole system if they wanted to!" Sora said, alarmed by this revelation.
"No…that one was Eden…it's the second most powerful Guardian Force, and one of three that can destroy worlds…the other documented Guardian Force that could destroy a planet is ARK, the Guardian Force of Darkness."
"What's the strongest one?" Sora asked, worried that there could be something more powerful than "Eden" at Iramaul's disposal. To his surprise, Riku shrugged.
"We don't know…it's been dormant almost since the beginning of recorded history, as far as we know…The last time someone could call to it at will was the First Keyblade Master…since then, it's rumored to have appeared once, and only briefly…" Riku shook his head. "Ansem said that that one was so powerful that the Gem used to summon it shattered. There's no way Iramaul could have it under his control."
The two friends walked on in silence, picking up supplies they'd need.
Iramaul walked through the darkened halls of his castle. He was surprised when he saw Kuja step into his path.
"Kuja? Why are you here? I thought you disliked staying here…" Iramaul said. He noticed that Kuja's eyes had narrowed…he was angry.
"Iramaul. If our deal is going to hold up, I'm going to have to be assured that I can trust you. At the moment, I am less than confident of that."
"What? I'm afraid I don't follow…" Iramaul said. Kuja glared at him.
"I don't like being lied to, Iramaul, and I think that that's exactly what's been happening. We had a deal. I notice that you're starting to take liberties that we covered very carefully before I came here the first time…not to mention, you still haven't delivered on the more important part of your side of the bargain."
"I have more important things to do at the moment, Kuja. We'll discuss this later." Iramaul attempted to walk past, but Kuja got in the way.
"You said that if I helped you, you'd help me find where Gaia is. It still hasn't reappeared, even thought Kingdom Hearts was compromised twice. I think that this may be no accident."
"What?"
"I think that someone is deliberately hiding Gaia from me and Zidane and his friends…and I think that YOU'RE in on it!" Kuja growled.
"You wound me, Kuja. I've been more than fair so far…have I given you any reason to doubt my goodwill? I told you I'd deliver your planet back to you and your brother unharmed…once I find it. It was somehow moved in space…making it difficult to home in on. Rest assured, once our account is settled, you can go back to your brother and take him home…or find out where the rest of his friends went." Kuja looked suspicious, but eventually relented.
"You win, Iramaul. I'll play along…but you had better not be lying." He said, walking away.
Iramaul proceeded to the outskirts of the castle. There, a knight in black and silver armor stood.
"You're here…I was beginning to think this was a trap…" The man in armor said, his voice a low, deep growl.
"Just settling some business with one of my associates. Now…why have you come here?"
"My men and I have traveled a very long way. Our mission is almost completed, but we need the help of someone with a large amount of resources and knowledge of the system…we would like to work with your group for a brief time."
"What is this mission of yours? Who exactly are you?"
"We are Chasers; distributors of our King's Justice, and the pursuers of Rouge Keys. I come here with a warrant," The knight replied, pulling out a small scroll, "Demanding the arrest or execution of the Traitor Riku, and the Heretic that calls himself…Sora."