The sound of sobbing fills my ears. The trouble is that I don't know if it is mine or Riku's that I'm hearing. Riku is across the room holding Namine's body in his arms. She's not moving.
I feel Roxas's arms wrap around my chest and pull me to my knees. "Are you okay?"
I can't answer him. My whole body is heaving with sobs. I can't control myself. It hurts too much, but it's no longer pain from Hubrin's attack.
"Now you see the true power that I hold. You were warned!"
Hubrin's voice drowns out all other sound in the room. All the pain I feel inside is replaced with uncontrollable anger.
As I jump to my feet, I let out a ferocious scream. Roxas tries to grab my arm, but I'm too fast for him. I run right past where Riku holds Namine's lifeless body without even glancing at them. I fly by a shocked looking Sora and Kairi. All I can see is Hubrin standing in front of me and his look of superiority. I will make him pay.
Hubrin holds his lance ready as I raise my Keyblade for attack.
But I'm stopped by the sudden appearance of a white light and what feels like a solid brick wall. I'm sure that this is the end. Hubrin did to me what he did to Namine. This is how I am going to die…
Until I fall to the floor, landing on my butt. Looking up I see Nyzol standing in front of me with his arms held wide open.
"You will harm no one else today, Hubrin."
"Nyzol, my old friend, how long it has been. I knew you were hiding somewhere around here. You always did make a habit of hiding behind those more powerful than you."
"I never hid behind the Creator. I did as I was told."
"Be that as it may, do you really believe that your magic will be able to offer much protection against me? You weren't able to protect others then."
"You know nothing of what happened those years ago."
I get to my feet and watch the interaction between Nyzol and Hubrin. Roxas moves next to me and puts his hand on my back. Sora walks over and stands next to Nyzol. His grip on his Keyblade tightens.
"Together we have enough power to defend ourselves against you, Hubrin."
"Brave words from such a small child."
I watch Hubrin's face as he stares at Sora. His eyes flick back to Nyzol. I can almost see the connections being formed in his mind. He's figured it out. A smile stretches across his lips.
"Nyzol, you are far sneakier than I gave you credit for." Nyzol's stance falters. He knows what's coming. "This whole time I've been watching these children and I've never seen it. All this time they were right in front of me. You hid your son here well."
"Shut up, Hubrin!" It's Sora who yells, not Nyzol like I expected.
"This changes things greatly. Now that the would-be saviors of the Creator's reign have been found, my plans must be altered." His customary pool of light opens beneath him and he begins to sink into it. "Until next time, Children of Hope." And he's gone.
We are left standing there to face the gravity of what just happened. None of us want to turn around to look at where Namine is lying. I, for one, can't face it. Knowing that she died while I was supposed to be protecting her is too much for me to handle.
It is Nyzol who breaks the silence. "We do not have much time. This fight is not over yet. We need…"
"You need to take Namine and Riku to Disney Castle. King Mickey will be able to take care of them." Sora's voice is low and harsh.
"I understand that you are grieving right now, but I think…"
"I don't care what you think, Nyzol! Take Riku and Namine! The rest of us will stay here and look around! We'll take your Gummi ship and meet you there when we're done!" Sora's voice echoes throughout the room. Nyzol, surprised by the harshness of Sora's words, doesn't move. "Go now!"
Without an argument Nyzol bends down and puts his hand gently on Riku's shoulder. Instantly, all three of them sink into a pool of light.
Sora turns to us. "Split up. Find anything you think might be useful and grab it. We leave here in ten minutes."
All four of us go to different corners of the room. There isn't much in my corner, the other's either I assume. The room looked pretty empty when we came in. But then I see it.
Barely visible in the wall is the outline of a carefully concealed door. I put my hand on it and push it as hard as I can. It swings open with a great slam. Apparently it is not made of the same marble as the rest of the wall, only made to look that way. Inside, I can see stacks of books surrounding a large marble desk.
"I found something." I hear the others running over as I step inside.
They all move into the room, which is hard because there isn't a lot of room between the books. They all look rather old and smell like leather.
"Take as many as you can carry and let's get out of here." Sora is trying really hard to hide the anger in his voice, but it isn't working very well.
Immediately we all start grabbing books. We don't even bother to read the covers. Soon my arms are loaded down with them to where I can barely see over the stack. So is everyone else's. Still we haven't even made a dent in the collection surrounding us.
"Come on. We're out of time."
The others start filing out of the room carrying more books than they can handle. I stand there for a second staring around me. What if I've missed something important? I look over at the desk and see one book open.
"Dexlin, hurry." Roxas's voice snaps me out of my trance.
Quickly, I run to the desk and pick up the book, adding it to my already too large pile. I run out the room to meet the others, trying to push guilty thoughts from my head.