Previously on t h e l i f e l e s s l e e c h:
"I feel like I'm trespassing..."
"That didn't stop you before. Why now?"
"I don't know. This place just gives me the creeps. I don't know why, but something tells me all of the sudden that we shouldn't be here."
xxx
"What's happening, Lucas?"
"Dude, Era, we step into another hallway, and this place has some unbelievable stuff in here. You have to check it out yourself to believe it!"
"You can't take a photo of it? I'm about to snap something amazing I found myself."
"Sure we can take a photo of it, but it looks even more surprising in person. Remember that we're checking out this ENTIRE place, so we're going to look at what you've seen so far in person too, and you're going to do the same to what we found, alright?"
"Natasha, you sound a little unusual. Is everything okay there?"
"Era, I don't know what in the world is going on with Natasha, but I think it has something to do with that huge scratch she got earlier. I'm worried."
xxx
"This place is so huge, who knows which room this Ansem guy is in? Well, we're still looking for a way down to this lower floor so that we can explore further. There's got to be something at the end of this room."
"What's Natasha doing?"
"She's behind me looking for-…Natasha?"
"What's the matter?!"
xxx
"Rexa hasn't thought much of this, now that I just realized. She used to think out loud, but it's as if she's not watching herself anymore."
"That's because…the deeper she got into her flash back, the more she was prone to actually feel what Era is feeling, as if she's been reincarnated or inside her body. Now she's reached that limit, and can't have a thought in this until she wakes up."
"That's deep. So when will she wake up?"
"Not too soon, but not too long either."
"The poor girl."
Natasha was lying on her back, feeling as if she's been asleep for a long time. The last thing she remembered was being attacked by this humongous Heartless, and she had lost consciousness afterwards. She struggled to sit up and attempted to look wherever she was now, and the rancid stench of blood had seemed to numb out her sense of smell. She felt worse than she had felt before, but hated to admit it. She never liked people to think that she was a weakling, like most girls. Especially not Era and Lucas. They were the closest friends she's ever had, and had never liked giving away hints that she was in any weak state. But she was alone right now, and had no idea where she was. It looked like she was locked in a dungeon looking place, a there wasn't any sign of Heartless being nearby, thankfully. The patches that covered her wounds somehow came off, and the scratches looked worse than they had originally looked. She moaned a little in pain as she tried to sit herself up, and once she was on her knees, she looked around a bit more. It was like a dungeon maze to be exact, and she wasn't exactly locked, she was lost. She didn't even know if she was in the house with her other two friends anymore. She cursed in disbelief of what just happened, but if she wanted to get out, she'd have to work to find solutions. In the corner of her eye, she noticed her cell phone about a foot away from her; luckily, it wasn't damaged. Maybe I can call one of them for help. She thought instantly. Picking up her phone, her hope then sunk when she realized the screen was broken, so she couldn't use the phone for anything.
"This is hopeless." Natasha muttered to herself.
"Maybe, but it's not over yet."
Natasha blinked, and she could have sworn she just heard someone else- either that or she's hearing things. If so, then the heartless had gotten her all banged up pretty badly.
"You're not hallucinating. And you're not in the mansion anymore."
Natasha dared herself to turn around to check behind her, as much as she doubted there was. But she was wrong. A cloaked man stood close to her, his face hidden in the hood over his head. He looked like a black ghost, but one thing Natasha questioned was how long was he inside watching her.
"Who are you?" She questioned immediately.
"My identity is of no importance. But your friend has spoken to me plenty of times."
"Era? I thought she was…talking to herself that one time." She knew exactly what the man was talking about. The time right before the train arrived at the station in Siren City, Era stood not too far from a crevice, and was shouting at her self- but she was yelling at him the whole time. "But…I didn't see you!"
"I told you before, my identity was of no importance, and neither is my image, unless I choose to speak with someone in person, then I show myself."
"If your image is important now, then why don't you show me your face?" Natasha said back. The man chuckled.
"You must have some sort of trouble remembering things."
She had enough. "Well you know what. I don't care who you are, just tell me where I'm at, how to get out and meet with Era and Lucas again."
"That's impractical."
"And why is that…?!" Natasha asked. She didn't even know her tone was rising a little bit. The man lowered his head a little bit, and in some unusual way, Natasha could tell he was smirking.
"Because you're in another world."
"Goddamit, Natasha. Where did you run off to?" Lucas mumbled to himself. He knew that he wouldn't get a reply, since he had a feeling that she was nowhere nearby. He was still lost in the maze of numerous halls, feeling as if he's gone in a number of circles. He'd even forgotten where he came inside in the first place, and wondered if it was a good idea to even start wandering in this so-called house. Era did warn them at first. The hall he now past was a little bit darker than the others, and the wall next to him looked like it got busted up by some kind of explosion, wires and bolts seem to dangle and stick far out of the hole. I wonder what cause this. He thought to himself. He actually stopped walking for a moment to listen for anything distant from him, encase Natasha's footsteps were echoing through the halls. But he heard nothing except for his steady breathing so far. After waiting a few more seconds, he gave up and started walking again, but the moment he took the first step, something behind him had rattled and then fell over. Quickly turning around, he saw that another chunk of the wall had fell onto the floor, and the cause of it was sliding right over it in Lucas's direction. As Lucas backed up a little, the thing got up to its original form instead of staying as a shadow on the floor, and took a moment to look Lucas in the eye. In fact, it looked just like the Heartless the trio had fought during their train ride.
"I thought you were gone for good." Lucas said to it as if it could talk. The thing said nothing, but instead quickly glanced to both of its sides before it lunged out towards the unprepared boy. Lucas barely had time to cry out before he was pinned against the nooks and crannies in the giant gap in the wall. He cringed as a solid but shadow-like hand grasped tightly around his neck and wire parts were digging into his back. He wasn't completely hopeless though. He kicked with all the strength he could find at the midsection of the Heartless, and it had let go and backed up a little bit, letting his guard down, but Lucas wasn't exactly ready for another blow yet. While he was attacked the first time, his cell phone had slipped out of his back pocket into the cluster of wires behind him, and it would be impossible to get it out unless he wanted to loose his hand.
As if the thing had read his mind, the creature had lashed out once more towards, Lucas. Luckily, he dodged, but the hand of the Heartless had been so full of force that it had punched right through some of the wires and bolts, only to smash his isolated cell phone. There was no use to try and call for help now, but he began to get some of his circulation back as his breathing was back to normal. He thought about running, but this place was a maze, and wherever he hid, the thing would probably find him later. He suddenly realized, What if this thing attacked Natasha too?
As soon as he got up to his feet, he backed away without stop, but the Heartless wouldn't follow him. They were about two yards apart before the Heartless had then vanished, which put Lucas in brief awe.
"What was that for?" He asked himself, rubbing his slightly bruised arm. Something told him there was no use looking around this place again, so he'd have to look elsewhere. To start off looking for the way out, Lucas turned around and began walking the way he backed up, without looking at his footing. After about three footsteps, it was if there was a hole in the floor too, as an alarmed Lucas stepped into the gap, and before he tried to regain his balance back on the floor, it was as if he was being sucked in, and it was easier said than done to try and pull out. Without any effort at all, the void in the floor had sucked him right in like a black hole.
"The phone number you have reached, is unavailable or is no longer in service. If you need hel-"
Lucas...this isn't funny. Answer your damn phone. Era thought impatiently. Not only was Natasha's phone unresponsive, but she suddenly lost hold of Lucas too. She began to think that she'd have to continue on her own and meet up with them when they were all finished looking around the place. Since there were even paths around the giant house as well, she was standing outside on one of the long stairways. It was around four o'clock in the morning now, not too far from sunrise, but her parents must not be able to sleep now that they know that she's gone. She wondered if Renée was still asleep in the hospital, and if this mission would be any easier if she was there the help them out. She just wanted to hear her voice again. It's been two days since her coma began, and it felt too long for Era to tolerate. But she was doing this for their town and Renée as well. Thinking about all of this suddenly gave Era a headache, but it wasn't enough to bring her down. Looking up, she saw that the stairway led to a balcony and a large window. There was no light shining through the curtains, so she figured that she hasn't explored the room yet. Hopefully, it was the one Ansem was in, and not another confusing hall. Especially the one she was in earlier with the never ending pathway and the walls of machinery, since she ended up at a dead end with even more mechanisms, so she had to walk all the way back and keep looking around the mansion. The weather was getting windy and chilly, so she wouldn't waste anymore time standing still on the stairway. She continued to walk up, eventually flashed by strong moonlight, until she reached the balcony. If she didn't find anything here, she'd check the back of the building next, since she felt it was the only place her, Lucas, or Natasha didn't check out yet. Right before she reached to open the window, her cell began to ring once more. It, once again, was her anxious mom waiting for her to answer. Era hoped she'd have nothing to lose when she pressed the TALK button. Pressing the button and slowly raising the cell to her ear, the light tone in her voice wasn't what she expected to come out.
"…Mom?"
"ERA! I want to know NOW, where the hell you are! Do you know how much patience I am losing?!"
Era groaned miserably. "Mother, you'd think I'm crazy if I told you."
"I keep getting calls asking me if you left the kids alone yesterday during childcare." She sounded as if she was seeing red now. "AND both Lucas and Natasha's parents are asking me if I think they ran away from town, seeing this is no coincidence. You all never snuck out before!"
"I don't see how you would know." Era replied without thinking.
"Are you insinuating something, Era? I swear, I'm about to hurt someone - you've never disappointed me so much in my life!"
"You think YOU'VE been disappointed?!" Era shouted back. "You have no idea how many times -of all of the countless tragedies that's happened in my life- they've all been your fault-"
Era was cut off by what sounded like a shrieking noise, but she couldn't entirely tell what it was; but it did leave shivers in her spine and gave her a very uncomfortable feeling.
"Era, I don't know what the fuck is going on right now. But, we're going to track you down right now."
And the line clicked. Era closed her eyes tightly as she turned her phone off, having a very hard time fighting the urge to throw it through the window instead of having to lift it. But apparently she was in enough trouble already, and she didn't want to get into anymore if she somehow destroyed Ansem's property. Things couldn't possibly get worse, but she's always been told that things get worse before they get better, and in this situation, she hoped things would just get better already. She had no idea how mom was going to track her down, but if she successfully found her (which she doubted), that'd be the end of her. She could be charged for trespassing, losing her best friends, defiance, she didn't want to think about it, so she got down to loosen the bolts that held the window in the wall, since there wasn't a smart easier way to get in, and then tugged the window a crack open. Moving the curtains aside, she didn't see much, and the room was dark and quiet, so it was safe to climb in.
When she got in, however, she saw a lot more. There was a table in the middle of the room that seemed to have been broken in half, with a few things on it that were tilted or slid right off. There were two chairs sitting across from each other on each side of the table, and a few pieces of paper with written notes on them were scattered on the floor. Was this place even Ansem's? She just figured they'd look in this house cause it was bigger and stuck out more like the rest, but now it seems that they gotten themselves into a mess. But it had to be his house, since she found the portrait of one of his apprentices earlier, and could possibly be in the house too. There was another door across the room from where she stood, so she figured she would look through there next, since there wasn't much of anything in the room she was in now. She took a few steps towards the door before something's, or someone's voice had made her halt.
"Going somewhere?"
Era quickly turned around, feeling as if she just got busted for something illegal; despite that she was trespassing. It was the same man that she had always encountered on her way around the city. The hooded figure stood not too far from her, but he had clicked the light on once she noticed that he was around.
"You again…" Was all she said when she saw him again.
"Your search around here isn't going so well, is it?" He replied. When Era didn't say anything, he did a low chuckle, as if she were stupid to look around here in the first place.
"If you count loosing your two best friends in the middle of it, then yes."
"I know where they are, though."
"You do?!"
"All I will tell you is that they're not anywhere near here." He replied. Era blinked in confusion.
"Wait, so you won't tell me where they are?" Era asked. "I want to know where they are! That's not fair!"
"Life isn't fair. It's a heavy burden. Having to lose deeply what is close to your heart. It happens to everyone, and it happened to me as well."
Era wanted to think of some retort to shout back, but she was speechless from his little riddle. After a moment of silence, the man began to approach her. The chain of his jacket clanked and dangled aimlessly as he got closer with each graceful step. Era didn't know if she should run or wait to see what happened. Since he was just in a black hooded coat, there was no telling what he would do.
"There is something I think you're ready to know." He said as he stopped walking when they were about a foot apart. "Unless you want to look for millenniums through this house, you won't be able to find who you're looking for here."
"Ansem's not here?!" Era said. A gloved finger was placed on her mouth to quiet her down.
"You poor girl…" He mumbled. "Apparently, you've got no one else to turn to. Don't you think you should just leave this place?"
"…I have to wait for Natasha and Lucas. Who knows where they are - besides you? And I don't want my mom to find me here."
"I don't mean the city." He replied. "I meant this world. Your friends aren't here. Perhaps you can look for them elsewhere besides this place."
"What do you mean 'leave the world'?" Era asked, looking down at her feet.
"Your friends are no place in the world right now. Your other friend is in a fatal coma, your lover has lost his heart, and your parents will take extreme measures on how to punish you for what you did if they find you."
"Huh?! Wait a minute - you mean Isa? How did he lose his heart?!"
"The Heartless found him as a threat them and you. As much as you might have loved him dearly, they could feel the darkness in his heart, and took it all away. You should be thanking them."
"How do you know all of this…?"
"I can see your past, and your future. Neither of them are pretty to look forward to. You're only left with no choice."
"What choice is that?" Era asked, not really wondering what the answer is.
"The reason the Heartless are following you. They're offering to return you to your friends, a better family, and your real love, but it is a big sacrifice." He started. He turned towards the window and pointed. "The crevice along the station you all left from. There is nothing but darkness there. A home to Heartless if nowhere else. All you need to do is give them what they came here for."
"What did they come here for besides me?"
"You'll find out soon enough." He replied. Era ignored what he said last and walked over the open window to stand on the balcony and look outwards. The closer station was far for just walking, and she'd hate to take the train AGAIN, but she had no other choice. She could hear the sound of boots clapping against the surface of the floor coming towards her from behind, and this time the man was even closer than before. She turned around slowly to glance at him, and to her shock, she was beginning to take his hood off. When he rose it halfway, long silver hairs began to fall out and sit on his shoulders, and sharp yellow eyes began to stick out from the shadow. When his hood was down, Era could see his features, and he almost could have sworn he was the man in the portrait, Xehanort, but something was off. A small smile curled from his lips as he stared deep in her eyes, and they nearly absorbed her; it was almost as if he was studying her. "So you are one of them."
"Excuse me..." Era started, still awestricken. "But...who are you?"
Then silver-haired man closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them again and to glance the other way towards the station and the other buildings. Then he glanced back at the confused blonde to answer her question.
"I...am Xemnas. I've come to find out who you really are." He started. "Now I know."
Era had no idea what he was talking about. She looked towards the direction where she would have to go to head back to the station and take a train ride back. Were the trains even running during these hours? "Umm...I think walking to the station and then taking the train back to the first one will take a while, don't you think?"
Xemnas looked as if there was no problem with that. He replied back to her question, but not before he grabbed her by the shoulders for some unknown purpose. Then Era knew. She felt a very unusual aura passing through her, around her veins, as she saw that there was some kind of shadow portal looking thing right underneath her. The shadow swirls began to revolve around her as Xemnas spoke once more. "Then take a detour."
That was all she could hear him say before the ribbons of darkness began to close in and consume her, and take her to another place.