Nessa's Story: Part 2
Theme song [When Did Your Heart Go Missing: Rooney]
"Ha ha!" I laughed. Heartless flew back from my shield and ran into each other trying to crawl back into the darkness of the crater. I heard Leon sigh a little bit behind me. He didn't fully trust the power of my shield and was sure that one day I would be overwhelmed by heartless.
"Look out!" Yuffie shouted, but already I had turned. A slightly larger and braver heartless was attempting to sneak up on me. I held up my shield and focused the light to brighten up in the center. It stood its ground but in moments there was nothing left of it except for the red heart floating slowly into the sky.
"You're just really, really lucky," Leon teased. I smiled up at him. His long gun blade was pointed towards the ground. He had gotten a bit older since we had arrived. His long brown hair fell to the black of his jacket and he was incredibly handsome.
"I get that from the shield!"
"Probably not. You are just a lucky person." He jumped down from the giant bolder he stood on. The ground crunched lightly under his feet. "Well we better start looking for that room."
"Yeah," I mumbled. "There's got to be some computer some where."
"You guys have fun!" Yuffie called from back at the top of the basin. I waved goodbye and we started to walk.
The heartless were all hiding on the other side of the basin. They stayed as far away from us as they possibly could. I had once voiced my opinion that maybe they were put here to protect Ansem's secret. Maybe he had a computer hidden down here that they were trying to protect. Leon had thought this plausible and so we started to work our way through the huge horde of heartless.
"Where do you think it is?" I asked. Leon was examining all the possible nooks and took his time before answered.
"I don't think it is down this low, but there could possibly be some hidden stairs leading to it," he answered, "The castle was a perfect place for him to hide it. When we all lived here, before everything started, that was his home and where he and his assistants did their research."
"Well then that's probably a very likely place to do it," I agreed, then mumbled quietly, "Suppose it wasn't your Ansem that didn't make the heartless. Maybe it was someone else."
"That's what we would like to think, but he was the one running the operation and okayed all the experiments. So even if he didn't conduct the wonderful one that is eating away at us, he is still involved," Leon said quickly. "Why do you say that?"
"I just have this feeling."
"Ah. Well I would love to believe it, but its really hard to see it in any other way than what it is. He was destroyed by his research."
"Yeah," I muttered. We walked on silent then. We made quick time examining opposite walls and checking for stairs.
"Hey do you see that?" Leon asked. I walked over to where he stood. He pointed up towards one of the cliff overhangs.
"What?" I asked, squinting to try and see better.
"There are a bunch of heartless gathered around up there!" He started to walk closer. I looked again to where his hand was pointing and I did now notice the mob of black shifting back and forth.
"Huh. What do you suppose it is?"
"I'm not sure, but we have to get up there."
"Oh sure!" I said sarcastically as he looked up the vast cliff wall hanging above us, "Lets just scale these cliffs and hike our way up there." It was a straight climb.
"There are stairs," Leon said.
"Where?"
"Over there, they wind up and blend into the cliff side so they are hard to see. I wonder who put those there," He hesitated.
I suddenly felt the urge to climb those stairs and find out whatever was up there. I started forward quickly. Leon grabbed my elbow to try and pull me back.
"Wait a sec Nessa," I looked at him. "We should call for reinforcements. They're gathering around it like it's a power source."
"Exactly. We should figure out what it is before it grows!" I pulled against his restraint.
"Wait," he was trying to stay calm but I could see my persistence was annoying him.
"We've got my shield of light and your gun blade. What's the worst that can happen?" I asked. "We get overwhelmed and have to retreat?"
"Fine." He released my arm. "We'll examine the situation before they notice us and if its nothing bad we'll move in and destroy it, but if it is too big for just us to handle we'll go back and get Yuffie and Cloud."
"Sounds good!" I started off again and walked quickly. Leon easily kept up and already had his sword out. Ever the precautionist. When I became so reckless, I had no idea. But I liked it. Less worries.
The stairs were steep, tiny and loose. It took us longer to climb them safely than to walk across the basin to get there. I was first with my shield at the ready to send light burning into their darkness. The stairs curled around the top of the stairs and once I was high enough I peeked over the edge and found myself looking under a hundred heartless legs. They were all moving, continuously moving. They circled and hovered and didn't notice even when I poked one in the leg.
"It looks like their sacrificing or worshipping something," I said sarcastically, though it looked like it could be true.
"Right," Leon mumbled. He peered over the edge beside me. For his sake I hung back for a bit before I walked into their unseeing masses. Leon tried to drag me back, telling me it was dangerous but I just shrugged. It couldn't be too terrible. He grit his teeth but let me go forward anyway, his eyes were full of worry and I smiled reassuringly. Then I stepped up behind the heartless.
With one sudden flash all of their black flesh was gone from in front of me and they stood behind a figure in red. The person there looked up unexpectedly, one hand was on the head of a small heartless, offering what looked like some sort of comfort. They looked up and I gasped.
"Ah Nessa!" They said happily! It was Rachel! Her hair was shorter and she looked fierce in her new clothes but she looked like happy normal Rachel. "It's wonderful to see you!" She raced forward and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. She knocked the wind out of my lungs but I didn't mind. I hugged her back.
"What are you doing here?" I asked as soon as she let go and we were facing each other.
"Well I needed some help and Diz thought maybe one of you was here so I came to check it out," She answered quickly, her words were slurring a bit she was talking so fast. Who was Diz? "And when I got here I couldn't help but feel all these heartless scared in the ravine and I just can't ignore them. They're so adorable." I looked at one.
The black antennas wobbled and their huge eye balls glowed eerily. They looked like demented children. I just nodded and let her keep speaking.
"So while I was searching for you I gave up for a bit and came out here to see them and offer them some comfort. They have no one to lead them and are lost. The more independent heartless were all killed off or they left. These guys were trying to follow Ansem's orders but the castle is kind of a mess so they are trying still. I was just about to leave and see if it was you causing all the ruckus up at the mouth with your light." She jumped forward and hugged me again. "It's so good to see you again!"
I couldn't think of anything to say. Had it been one month or two since I'd seen her and Meg. She let go with a gasp. Leon walked coldly up to us with his sword set forward, pointed straight at Rachel's heart. Her blade immediately appeared in her hand.
"Whoa guys calm down!" I said, stepping out from between them.
"She is friendly with the heartless!" Leon accused, he stepped a little bit closer.
"So what if I am?" She smiled evilly.
"What about last time?" Leon asked, looking at me this time.
"This is Rachel, not possessed Rachel," I introduced, "non-possessed Rachel this is Leon."
"Pleasure," she smiled. Leon slowly lowered his sword. She gave him a glance then looked back to me. "I need help Nessa. I'm trying to find information on this world that's been clouded for some time. Diz needs information and I have to get there. The barriers of darkness are no trouble at all but the light. I can't make it through. It pushes me back every time."
I thought about. Leon looked really apprehensive and glared at Rachel. When he caught me looking his expression lightened but I could see the disapproval in his eyes. Rachel had returned to patting the heartless on the head in turn. How did she get here? Why would she look for me and not Meg? What world was it?
Hollow Bastion was just past the halfway restoration point. Two more districts had been opened up for people to live in and they flocked in daily. Aerith and Yuffie worked hard to heal people and Leon and Cloud could keep the heartless at bay for a few days without me.
"Leon, can you guys manage without me for a few days," I asked. Rachel smiled happily.
"We could, but I don't approve," he answered bluntly. I lowered my eyes.
"That doesn't change the fact that Rachel has a means to travel and can get me back here quickly if needed."
"She can teleport through the realm of darkness." It wasn't a question. I met his brown eyes and half smiled.
"Don't worry. We've gone through there before and its perfectly fine. Well maybe not perfectly but its fine."
"We'll survive without you," Leon mumbled.
"But will you hate me when I return?" I stepped a little bit closer. He stiffened.
"We'll await your return." He turned around quickly and stalked down the stone steps.
"So," Rachel was now right beside me, "He's a looker."