Chapter 11: A Master Found

Darkness engulfed him has he passed through the corridor. It was not a foreign feeling to the young Keyblade wielder as he recalled his past adventures to the realm of darkness. What worried him was the destination. Where was Lea taking him? And not just hm, but his students as well?

What felt like dragging minutes, or perhaps a fleeting instant, for time had no meaning through these passages, the darkness dissipated and his eyes were able to take in their surroundings. He could see the students milling about rather apprehensively with wands drawn, aimed at nothing in particular. He could also see Lea, casually looking around as if nothing in the world could ever affect him.

Then he let his eyes search around, trying a gain an answer as to where they ended up. He had a feeling he knew where, for he could feel nothing in this desolate place. He looked down and realized he was standing on damp sand. Then his ears picked up the sound waves, ever so slightly washing about. His head turned to see the corridor of darkness from whence he just came, but beyond was a vast ocean with many rocky outcroppings in the shallow waters. He could also make out arches of jagged stone stretched over the water. And low in the sky above the horizon was full moon cascading its pale light across the land. He knew this place.

Thinking of you wherever you are...

"Sora?"

"Hm?"

Sora turned to find that it was Lea that brought him out of his memories. "You ok?"

"Yea." Sora turned to give the shore one last look. He remembered how he and Riku had embraced the possibility that they may be trapped in this Realm forever right here.

"You've been here before, haven't you?"

"Mm-hm. Once with Riku. It was after we took down your old boss. Why did you bring us here?"

Before Lea could answer, the rest of the class had drawn closer to them, hoping to figure out where they were.

"So, uh, professors, where exactly are we?" It was Harry who had voiced the question.

Lea and Sora exchanged a quick glance before Sora answered, "the Realm of Darkness." Now he turned back to Lea. "Again, why did you bring us here?" The class could clearly see that Sora was more than displeased with their current situation.

"Because Sora," Lea started, "we found her."

Sora looked at his fellow Keyblade wielder with eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Who?"

"Master Aqua."

Sora remained silent for a few seconds as he looked to the ground searching his memory for that name.

You make sure to stay with him and keep him safe. That's your job Sora.

He looked back at Lea as it dawned on him.

"Master Yen Sid says she is one of the individuals that the King mentioned in his letter."

"And you think she's here."

"Me? Not exactly. But Master Yen Sid and the King seem to believe so. So they asked me to drag you along for a field trip."

By now, the class looked lost, some exchanging questioning glances, while others (mainly Hermione) feared they might have missed something in class for they could not recall the name 'Aqua' being said once.

"Excuse me," interrupted Ron, "but where are we again? And who's this Aqua?"

Sora could only smirk. He had gotten used to Ron's rather slow mind throughout the term. "The Realm of Darkness. Remember how I told you all about the worlds, and how the Heartless seek to destroy them?"

A few nods.

"Well, when a world from the Light falls to Darkness, it ends up here. No memory of itself, no escaping the endless abyss. It is also the home of all the Heartless. So keep your wands drawn."

"How does a place like this come to exist?" Hermione asked.

"Well-"

"That's enough Q and A," Lea interjected. "We've got company."

Sora and the rest of the class looked around, and found dark shadows forming on the path leading away from the shore.

"Guess it's time to see if was a good teacher or not." With that, Sora summoned his Keyblade and stepped forth into the fray.

"Just remember!" He shouted back to the students and Neoshadows began to take form. "You all know your Light. Don't lose sight of it!"

The skirmish was on. Sora began hacking away, casting the occasional blizzard and thunder. Their numbers and tight knit formations made the Heartless easy targets. Lea had summoned his Keyblade and began slashing down his fair share. Sora could tell that training with Merlin had paid off for the new Keyblade wielder.

He could also see the students casting various spells at new Heartless coming from the shore. Darkballs were finding it difficult to use their gnashing teeth against the shouts of "Reducto!" and "Stupefy!"

Sora decided to retreat back to the group and lend a hand where one was needed.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Sora proceeded to strike down the now petrified heartless.

"Well done, Neville."

"Thanks, I learned from-Sora look out!"

Wyverns were now flying in from above. Neville's shout of warning cost him his guard, as Neoshadows came up from the ground behind him. Sora was quick to jump to his student's side and fend off the ambush.

"Defense!" A shield appeared around Sora and Neville, stunning the oncoming foes for only a moment, before light sprayed in all directions inflicting damage to any Heartless in close proximity.

Meanwhile, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had seen Sora and Neville disappear beneath the horde of Heartless. They began casting spells left and right, desperately trying to save their friends, when suddenly they were thrown back by an immense wave of light. Harry was the first to look up to see Neville and Sora relatively unharmed. Neville came running over to help his friends up.

Sora felt that the Heartless were beginning to prove to strong for his class, something he had been fearing since stepping foot into the corridor. His eyes were scanning the grounds for Lea, but the chaos was abundant to make anybody out clearly. He could see spells being cast, but the students were slowly losing ground back to the water.

"Get back to the corridor! Go! Now!" He was shouting left and right to anyone who could hear him, all while still trying to locate the other Key bearer. He finally found him near the path leading away from the water, engaged with a few students against Large Bodies.

He could see the frustration on the students' faces as their spells simply bounced off the Heartless.

"Ya gotta get 'em from behind. Like this!" With that, Lea quickly jumped over one of the Bodies and repeatedly slashed into its back until it dissipated.

"Not all us are as sprightly as you, Fire Head," retorted Malfoy, who was one of the students trying to help Lea.

"Well, I guess not everyone can be as good as me."

Sora was ignoring the banter, quickly putting down the other Large Bodies before running up to Lea.

"Get the students back to the classroom."

"What about you?"

"Don't worry, I'll be ok. I'll find Aqua, and we'll get out of here."

"How? You don't expect me to keep that passage open, do you?"

"King Mickey said that there will always be a door to the Light. I found with Riku when we were stuck here. I'm sure I can find it again."

"I don't like this idea. We weren't supposed to split up."

"Send Donald and Goofy in before you close the corridor."

"Alright, but-"

"Sora!"

Interrupted by one of the students, Sora and Lea turned their gaze towards the path leading further into the darkness. Most of the Heartless that had initially attacked were now retreating. Sora knew something was coming.

"Lea, you have to go now!"

Lea turned back to Sora and gave a quick nod before shouting, "Alright, back to the corridor."

Sora could hear the students running back down to the shore, while his gaze remained on the path.

"Isn't he coming?" Harry asked, as he, Neville, Ron, and Hermione reached the corridor.

"Eh, he'll catch up later. Just wants to bask in some memories," Lea nonchalantly stated. "Now go."

The gave one last look to Sora, who finally saw what he was staring so intently at. Manifesting out of the darkness was something large, bigger than a dragon. It walked on two legs and carried its two arms around like massive tree trunks. It was completely black, with a heart-shaped hole cut through its chest. Its eyes were a large orb of a piercing yellow.

"I-Is that a Heartless?!" Hermione shrieked.

Lea still seamed not at all stunned by the appearance of the large Heartless. "Yea. Sora gets to have all the fun."

That earned him four wide-eyed stares. "Well, we better get going before another one shows up."

The young wizards were almost too stunned to move. Harry was the first to come out of his stupor, and proceeded to walk back to Sora. However, Lea was too quick for him.

"I don't think so."

"Let go of me!"

"Nope. Sora's got this. Can't afford one of his little pupils getting hurt."

With surprising speed, he threw Harry through the passage. "Anyone else wanna do it the hard way?"

The other three shook their heads and hurried back to the classroom. Lea then proceeded to take his turn before giving Sora one last look. While he may have kept it light-hearted in front of the students, his face was now etched with concern. He still did not agree with this plan, but decided to go with it. He saw Sora take a defensive stand with Keyblade in hand, ready to strike before walking back through the corridor and emerging into the classroom.

How about that? I got a relatively quick update in. Could use some reviews though. Like i've been saying, I'm winging this story. And I've realized a lot of the Heartless I use are from the very first game, but that's because they were the best. I'm tempted to bring in Angel Wings. Anyway, read, review, suggestions, all welcome.