Kairi, Aqua, Terra, Ventus, Roxas, and Lea continued on their way to the castle, although their march was always slowed down by the sudden appearance of zombies, and some larger than usual bats that attacked them without warning. Despite everything, they managed to reach the castle gates.
"I can't believe the amount of those things. I'd rather they were Heartless, or Nobodies at the very least. But this is too much! " Lea complained about the situation.
"And say it. Although they are easy to defeat, so many get tired." Kairi said.
"And they are persistent too," Terra said.
"At least we made it to the castle," Roxas mentioned
When they went to the door, they noticed a person who was observing the castle. He might have gone unnoticed if it weren't for the fact that he wore a kind of black robe with white crosses on the shoulders, as well as being bald.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Lea asked.
The man turned to them. "Oh, I'm sorry. Have I bothered you in any way?"
"You should know that this place is mostly closed to the public, and only the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee can enter, except in special cases," Said Lea
"Oh well," The man said putting his hand on the back of his neck. "I am here for a work matter."
"And what is that job?" Aqua asked.
"Well, have you encountered creatures that are neither Heartless nor Nobody?" The man asked and they all nodded. "Wow. Well, you see, I am here to investigate these things in the name of Mother Church."
"Don't tell me that self-righteous are interested in other worlds. I thought they didn't believe in that Kingdom Hearts tale," Said Lea
"And so it is, but this sudden appearance of these beings has made everyone nervous, and they have sent me to investigate what is happening. Although the truth, all this catches me very suddenly." Said the man. "By the way, what is your name?
"My name is Kairi," Kairi said.
"I am Lea. Have you memorized it?" Lea said, putting her finger on her head.
"I am Roxas."
"And I Ventus."
The man stared at both of them, noting how similar they were.
"I am Terra," Terra said.
"And I am Master Aqua," Aqua said.
"Okay, got it. Mine is Thaed. I know the name is weird, so no laughing, okay."
"Okay, whatever you say," Kairi said as Lea and Roxas tried not to laugh at the same time.
"Ok ... what brings you here?" The man asked.
"Don't you know?" Lea asked. "Monsters are entering the castle!"
"Monsters?" Thaed said, looking around her. "I don't see any."
"Trust me," Kairi said. "We have just been told that the Fallen are attacking the castle right now. And we have come as soon as possible."
"Ah, the Fallen, I understand. They had not been known for a long time. About sixteen years to be more exact." Thaed said and looked at the Sun. "Well, I better get to work again. It is not going to be that night falls without warning. And it is at those times of the day that these things are most active, right? Anyway, good luck." He said he and left.
"What a weird guy, huh?" Lea asked.
"Well, something is clear, it is not of this world," Kairi reasoned.
"That's true," Aqua said. "Although, it is odd that he behaved calmly, even after telling him what was wrong."
"Trust me, it's not the oddest thing you've ever seen in a person," Lea said.
"Wait!" Roxas said. "Do you hear that?"
Obviously, there was the noise of gun clashes inside the castle.
"Let's go in, quickly!" Aqua said, rushing inside along with the others.
Inside the castle, they soon encountered Dilan and Aeleus, who were containing a large number of zombies and some skeletons that were using their bones as mallets.
Quickly Aqua used one of his most powerful spells to clear the room of enemies, causing both guards to breathe in relief.
"Thanks," Dilan replied. "I didn't think we could hold out any longer."
"Seriously? Couldn't they use their powers from when they were in Organization XIII?" Lea asked.
"It's not that easy," Aeleus said. "There were too many of them. Fortunately, we managed to contain them in this place before they spread through the castle. Still, there may be some wandering around."
"Now that we are here, we will take care of everything," Aqua said.
"We should head to the computer room," Kairi said. "There we can get an idea of the situation thanks to Tron.
"Good thinking, Kairi!" Lea said.
They all nodded and followed Aeleus and Dilan into the main computer room, where they found the entire science team and Ansem the Wise.
"It was time for them to arrive," Even said something annoyed according to her voice.
"I'm sorry, but we would have gotten there faster if it weren't for the fact that the world is on top of such awful things," Lea said and sniffed her clothes. "And I think they smelled me, yuck!"
Kairi shook her head with a small laugh before addressing the scientists. "Is everything okay here?
"That's right, Kairi," Ansem replied.
"Tron doesn't go far enough activating the security systems to eradicate these beings," Ienzo said. "And if it weren't for Aeleus, Dilan, and your arrival, we'd most likely have those things running around the castle."
"You're welcome," Lea said.
"Any idea what's going on?" Aqua asked. "To our knowledge, these beings have never been so active."
"It seems so, but I think I have a theory," Even said. "As I believe, these monsters were just watching what happened. Rather watching. And I guess when you dispatched that specter earlier, that's when they started to get more violent."
Kairi thought for a moment. "Are you saying this is all my fault?"
"No one is saying that, Kairi," Ansem said. "It's just a guess, but it seems that when you came through with that attack, the monsters became more aggressive."
"Yeah, as if that Death was plan A, and these critters were plan B," Lea reasoned.
"It is very possible!" Even said. "We do not know exactly its nature, so this may be a clear hypothesis."
"But why now?" Ventus asked. "Didn't you all say that they disappeared long ago?"
"We all believed they were just a myth," Ienzo said. "They weren't as recent as the Heartless and the Nobodies after all."
"Well, what a myth they have become," Roxas said.
Suddenly the alarm began to sound.
"What happens?" Ansem asked.
"A great mass of life forms resembling these strange creatures have begun to appear in two areas of the castle," Tron reported.
There was a little silence while the alarm sounded until everyone processed the information at the same time. "WHAT?!"
"I have detected two groups of those creatures. In the corridors of the east wing, and the underground tunnels." Tron said.
Tron showed on the monitors what was happening in the east wing, and they saw how the place was filling with zombies.
"Have you not already taken care of them?" Lea asked.
"They weren't there before!" Dilan replied.
"And what about the tunnels?!" Kairi asked.
"Wait, what is this?" Ienzo said and using the computer he showed another camera, this time from the tunnels. "Who is that?"
The monitor now showed the tunnels, infested with zombies and bats, but there was also someone dressed in the same raincoat as the members of Organization XIII, and he was nimbly and swiftly crushing each of the monsters in his path.
"Apparently he managed to get into the castle using the blind spots of the system, but who is he? I don't have it in the database." Tron said.
"The question is not who is he, but who is she," Lea said, noticing the shape of the raincoat, seeing that she was a woman. "And I think I know who she is."
"Wait, you don't believe that she is who I think she is, do you?" Even asked Lea.
"I only know one ex-member of the Organization who was a woman, and seeing how she fights, it has to be her. What she doesn't explain to me is what she is doing here." Lea reasoned. "Larxene."
"I think I just got myself lost," Kairi said somewhat confused.
"It's normal, you didn't fight her in that battle," Lea said.
"But I remember her," Roxas said. "There was only one member of Organization XIII who moved like that."
"Was she here for revenge after what happened?" Ventus asked.
"A year after that, and now she goes and bumps into these beings as soon as she arrives? I doubt it," Terra said.
"I think I know why he's here," Tron said and another image showed that Larxene, or who she was supposed to be, was chasing another person, who could only see a purple robe with strange symbols, which apparently was summoning the zombies and bats. "I firmly believe that this person is creating those things in the castle."
"Thanks for the info!" Aqua said, but she stopped to stop Kairi who was following her. "This time you stay here."
"No way! You are going to need my help." Kairi replied.
"Is right," Roxas said. "I think the best thing will be to divide us. One to the east wing, the other to the subways."
"According to my data, that would be the most reasonable decision in this situation. While one group contains the mass of monsters, the other would have to find out the identity of who is summoning those beings." Tron said showing the static image of the mystery man.
Aqua sighed dejectedly. "Okay, I agree. If there is no choice."
"Perfect!" Lea said high-fiving his hands. "I and Roxas will take Kairi down to the underground, and you take care of the east wing along with Dilan and Aeleus."
"Shouldn't it be the other way around, Axel?" Ventus asked.
"Don't worry, Ventus. I don't think anything will happen if they take that route." Terra said.
"Alright, let's see who finishes first, okay?" Lea said before looking at Kairi. "And you don't separate, okay?"
Kairi nodded towards Lea, and together with Roxas, they headed for the tunnels, while Aqua, Terra, and Ventus followed Dilan and Aeleus to the east wing of the castle.
Upon reaching the tunnels of the castle, they soon saw that the place was quite full of zombies and bats, although this time they seemed to be supported by skeletons that moved at will.
"It will be a joke, right? Skeletons too? But where do they come from, from a horror movie?" Lea said complaining.
"Don't complain, okay?" Kairi asked to prepare the Keyblade for her.
Dispatching the first group of monsters was easy, although they were careful with the skeletons that seemed to be playing with them, either approaching them to hit them with their bony hands, or keeping their distance while they threw their own ribs at them, although it did not take long to find out how to deal with them.
Continuing through the tunnels, they soon reached a tunnel where they found the mysterious woman, dealing with various zombies and skeletons, with the silhouette of the suspicious man later on. The girl soon dispatched the group, but a skeleton tried to hit her on the head with her arm, but she ducked in time. The inertia of the movement caused the hood to drop before the girl delivered a quick kick that flattened him against the wall, melting into shadows. They could both see that the woman was blonde with two locks of hair acting as antennae and cyan eyes.
"I knew it," Lea said.
The man soon saw that there were more people and he ran away.
"Stop there! I'm not done with you! " The girl ordered the man, unaware that two skeletons jumped after her.
When she noticed her, two fireballs destroyed the skeletons, and on taking a closer look, she found Kairi, Lea, and Roxas. "Axel? Roxas? What the hell are you doing here?"
"Good to see you too, Larxene. And by the way, it's Lea. Have you memorized it?" Lea said to Larxene. "By the way, it's the same thing I was going to ask you."
"My reasons are none of your concern, Axel," Larxene said, pissing Lea, but she soon noticed Kairi. "Who is here. The Princess of the Heart. She hadn't seen you since the incident last year. Are you still using that weapon?"
"Just today I had trained a bit," Kairi said, summoning the Keyblade from him.
"I hope so. You're going to have to need it now that you're here." Larxene said. "By the way, how is your little boyfriend?"
"Boyfriend?!" Kairi asked blushing.
"Kairi, take it easy, that's her way to be," Lea said.
"Yes, you know. The boy who traveled half the universe to save you the first time." Larxene said.
"Ah, Sora," Kairi said, but then her face darkened.
"What is it now, girl?" Larxene asked seeing her reaction.
"You don't know?" Lea asked before continuing. "The boy disappeared. There is no trace of him. Well, there is one, but he's apparently on the other side of the universe or something."
"And that we have been looking for a whole year," Roxas said.
Larxene shrugged as he shook his head. "I don't know why, but I already imagined something like this would happen with that kid. Always getting into trouble."
"Hey, knock it off," Roxas said interrupting her. "By the way, do you have something to do with those things, by any chance?"
"The Fallen?" Larxene asked. "Well yes, I know a lot about them. You should know that these monsters aren't the only forms they can take. Each one can turn into something scarier than the last."
"Yes, we get the idea," Lea said.
"And also, there is a cult that idolizes both these beings and their dark lord," Larxene said.
"This Dracula?" Kairi said, having regained her composure. "Yes, Merlin mentioned it before. And I just had nothing to do with an encounter with his 'right hand'."
"Well, what luck you have had, young lady," Larxene said.
"And how do you know all that?" Roxas asked.
"I was investigating that cult, but unfortunately I was caught. And because of her, I ended up becoming a Nobody."
"Wait, did you research that cult before being a Nobody?" Lea said. "And why did you do something so dangerous?"
"I don't have to explain my whole life to you, okay Axel?!" Larxene exclaimed, offended.
"Okay, okay, calm down. And by the way, it's Lea." Lea said.
Kairi then remembered the man who ran away. "That man you were chasing, was he from the cult?"
"That he was from the cult? He is the leader of the cult." The blonde answered.
"The leader?" Kairi asked.
"Exactly. I have followed him here, although I don't know what he has been doing in this world. But he is not going to escape! " Larxene said.
"Well, because of this guy, there's a hell of a mess outside, literally. I think he deserves a kick in the butt from both of us since Kairi and I are from this world." Lea said.
"Not me, but I understand well," Said Roxas
"Do it if you want, but he's mine, understood?" Larxene said turning around and starting to run.
"Okay, okay, got it!" Lea said. "The boss is yours, okay."
"What is your name?" Kairi asked, stopping Larxene. "I know that all the members had an x in their name, but without it, you have another name. What's yours?"
She simply turned to them. "This is the first time someone has asked me that after that," She responded by watching them. "Elrena. My name is Elrena."
"Elrena? Nice name," Lea said.
"Yeah, whatever you say," Elrena said. "Let's go?"
Kairi, Roxas, and Lea nodded as they began to follow Elrena into the tunnels.
