Chapter XV; Returning Hearts
Castle Impia was a huge castle just as Castle Oblivion had been. Though it didn't share the same structure as Castle Oblivion and looked somewhat normal, with no parts of the castle sticking out sideways. It resembled the castle Yuki had seen in Hollow Bastion with towers coming off of the main part of the castle and the Heartless emblem on the front. The castle was well hidden in the landscape of the realm of darkness. It was black with faint glowing blue lines marking the front helping it blend into the surrounding area insuring no one would be able to find it. Not that anyone besides the Heartless came to this place. The inside of the castle was just as grand as the outside, with high vaulted ceilings and a complex lay out. The halls and rooms were a lighter grey color with a silvery sheen to them. There was a meeting room identical to the one at Castle Oblivion and the rooms the Heartless had were identical as well. All of this made it easy to settle down and adapt to the new castle.
Yuki sighed looking out the windows of the common room. The view had changed from the sky of stars to empty blackness broken only occasionally by blue. Heartless moved freely through the land. They blended into the landscape though and their movement made it seem as if the land itself was moving.
"Are you ready to depart?" A calm voice asked. Yuki looked over her shoulder and nodded at the woman with light purple hair and pink Heartless emblem outlined in black. "Then let's go." The woman said. She summoned a dark corridor and strode through it. Yuki followed after her.
The world they ended up in was dark. There were clouds coating the sky making it seem darker than it was. The town gave off an eerie feeling. The entire town square was made from dark brick. A fountain of some green liquid was in the center of the town. There were buildings that looked rather strange and lopsided. Tombstones could be seen not far away.
"This place is called Halloween Town according to our intelligence thus far. Besides that we don't know very much." The purple haired Heartless said. Yuki nodded then furrowed her eyebrows.
"Uh, Zakey?" Yuki asked. Zakey turned around and looked at Yuki with her pink eyes. Never before had Yuki seen pink look so threatening.
"What is it?" Zakey asked calmly.
"What's Halloween?" Yuki asked. She didn't look at the older Heartless guiding her. She thought it was a stupid question but curiosity once again had gotten the better of her. Zakey laughed a little only confirming Yuki's thought.
"I had forgotten how young you are. It's no wonder you don't know what Halloween is." Zakey said mostly to herself. Yuki glanced up at her cautiously. Zakey sighed walking farther into town. "Halloween is a holiday celebrated by Somebodies. It's said to be a night where the dead come to life once again."
"Really?" Yuki asked suddenly very interested by this topic. Zakey chuckled to herself.
"That's what they say, but from what I have seen it's really just a night where little kids dress up and get free candy from neighbors. And older children usually cause trouble that night as well." Zakey explained. Yuki's face fell a little. "But in this world it might be different."
Yuki nodded her head thinking. What a strange thing for Sombodies to do. But at the same time it sounded like fun. A night to be something completely different. That wasn't such an unappealing thought. Zakey glanced over her shoulder at Yuki watching her think.
"We had best get a move on. One of the townsfolk could come out at anytime." Zakey said snapping Yuki out of her thoughts. Yuki nodded and followed Zakey into the town.
Zakey led the way through the town. Her eyes scanning the area. Yuki followed her lead taking note of everything she saw. There was a path that led up to a gate. It looked to lead to another part of town. The buildings around this part didn't look inhabitable. But then again, maybe the residents were different than others Yuki had seen. Other than that there weren't many markers or interesting things in the town that gave away any information. Zakey made a motion with her hand that looked like a follow signal then went down the path to another part of town. This area looked something like a graveyard with a few tombstones around the edges.
"There definitely seems to be a fascination with death in this world." Zakey commented calmly. Yuki nodded in agreement. "It doesn't look like there's another way out of here." Zakey said doing a 360 sweep. Yuki walked to an open coffin at the other end of the area.
"Here, looks like a tunnel." Yuki said looking over her shoulder at Zakey. Zakey nodded at Yuki which she took as a go ahead to go through the tunnel.
On the other side of the tunnel there was another graveyard like area. This time there was a tomb that looked like a cat in one corner. Yuki did a quick sweep of the area for anything major. Nothing stood out besides the tombstones that were becoming normal.
"I don't think they have enough tombstones. What do you think?" Yuki asked Zakey jokingly. A ghost of a smile appeared on Zakey's face.
"Ah, but we are yet to see the whole town. Perhaps they have more hidden away somewhere." She replied with a smirk. Yuki couldn't help but to smile. They found the next exit, which was hidden in the cat like tomb quickly. After Zakey pried the door of the tomb open they went into the tunnel. This tunnel led them to a large open graveyard with a hill that curled at the top in the middle. The entire area was dotted with graves.
"This must be the main cemetery." Zakey said. Yuki nodded looking around.
"Trick or treat!" Three voices said in unison behind Yuki. Yuki and Zakey both turned to face the voices. They were met with bombs of some kind to the face and an evil cackle from the voices.
After recovering from the small explosive Yuki glared at their attackers. They were three children all wearing masks. One was a devil, another a witch, and the last a skeleton. They were rolling on the ground laughing obviously proud of themselves. Yuki looked to Zakey for directions.
"You kids. Messing with us was a bad idea." Zakey with a deathly calm voice. The kids stopped laughing and looked up at her. The witch one snorted.
"Yeah right!" She said.
"Like we care!" The devil boy agreed. Zakey laughed a cruel laugh that sent shivers down Yuki's spine.
"We'll see about that." Zakey said. She raised her right arm and flicked her wrist. Behind her a vortex opened calling forth a Heartless. Right behind Zakey a large Heartless resembling a dragon of some kind appeared. It was scaled in red that looked like blood. On it's chest was the Heartless emblem outlined in black with pink filling it in. Yuki knew it matched Zakey's own Heartless emblem. The Heartless had no front legs, only wings. It's tail swished behind it impatiently as it let out a roar to the sky. The kids began shaking in fear.
"Y-you can control the Heartless!" The little witch managed to squeak out. Her voice was shaking with fear as much as her body was.
"That's right. Now maybe if you be good little children I won't steal your hearts." Zakey said. Her pink eyes looked cold and merciless. Yuki didn't doubt for a second she would actually follow through with her threat.
"W-we'll do whatever you ask!" The skeleton boy said quickly. The other two nodded.
"Y-yeah, anything!" The devil boy agreed. Zakey smirked.
"Tell us everything about this world. Now." She ordered. The sternness in her voice made it clear this was an order that couldn't be avoided. Yuki found it funny the kids nearly fell over themselves to spill their guts.
After the children had said everything they could about Halloween Town plus a lot of stuff that made absolutely no sense. Zakey sent them off. They ran away promising to do whatever anybody in a white coat like the Heartless' ever told them to do. Yuki watched them run off amused. Behind her Zakey patted the Heartless and sent it away.
"Well I guess that was a quick way to get information." Yuki said. Zakey nodded looking around the area once more.
"It saves us time." She said. "We can return to the castle now." She snapped her fingers summoning a dark corridor.
"I have a question." Yuki said still looking off in the direction the children had run. Her amused look had faded and was replaced with a questioning expression.
"Yes?" Zakey asked glancing at Yuki.
"Aren't we supposed to avoid being seen?" Yuki asked turning to face the elder Heartless. Zakey shrugged.
"Yes, it usually is a goal not to draw attention to ourselves. But the Lady of the Shadows has lightened up on that little rule lately. She's probably planning for us to make our move soon." The purple haired Heartless explained. Yuki nodded though she didn't understand. Not that she ever really understood anything. "Let's go." Zakey said walking through the dark corridor. Yuki followed seconds after her.
*3*
At the clock tower Yuki was the last to arrive. She was surprised to be greeted not only by Roxas, X, and Y, but by Axel as well.
"Axel! I thought the entire Oblivion team was dead!" Yuki said dropping down in her place between Roxas and Y.
"All but me." Axel replied with a laugh. Yuki smiled and laughed a little herself.
"Of course it had to be him. Possibly the most annoying of them all." X said motioning with his left hand.
"I thought Larxene was the most annoying." Y said. Her eyes had narrowed slightly as she gave her brother a look that read 'really'. X shrugged.
"It's a tough choice between the two." He said. Axel laughed.
"Oh come on, I'm not that bad. Right Snowy?" Axel said looking to Yuki for support. Yuki laughed again.
"Yeah, you're not that bad." She agreed. X rolled his eyes unconvinced.
*3*
Day 71- Not All Gone,
Axel came back today! I don't know what he was up to for the past few days but he finally came back and was up at the clock tower with us. But Xion wasn't there so it wasn't everyone yet. I hope she comes by soon.
*3*
Yuki sighed leaning up against a table in Hysui's lab. This lab looked just like the one Hysui had used at Castle Oblivion. Even the files seemed to be messed up in the same way. There were all sorts of scientific equipment around the room. All stuff Yuki couldn't touch because she'd probably break it.
"So why am I always forced to work with you when you don't trust me half as far as you can throw me around this equipment?" Yuki asked Hysui as she watched her work.
"I have no idea. Lady Tayressa though is the one to assign it so I usually choose not to question it." Hysui replied as she moved about like a busy bee. Yuki watched her pour some chemicals into a beaker then walk away from it momentarily.
"Do you know Lady Tayressa well?" Yuki asked curiously. The chemicals had begun bubbling and changing colors.
"I would say so. We knew each other long before we lost our hearts." Hysui replied. Yuki nodded again. She was silent for a minute before speaking again.
"What exactly is a heart?" Yuki asked. Hysui froze in the middle of writing something down as if Yuki's question shocked her. She set down her pen and turned to face Yuki preparing for a long conversation. And probably a headache too.
"A heart is what makes someone who they are. Without a heart you are no one." Hysui explained calmly.
"So what happens when we steal a heart?" Yuki asked. "I mean where does it go?" She elaborated.
"We absorb the energy but the heart eventually fades. It becomes just another part of the darkness." Hysui explained again. Her tone was calm and deliberate trying to explain the best she could.
"So, how does it give people emotions?" Yuki asked. She tapped the table in front of her as she tried processing what Hysui was saying. It didn't make any sense. How did having a heart make someone a person?
"We don't know. The heart is still such a great mystery. We're still learning about it everyday." Hysui answered. Yuki nodded thinking.
A heart makes someone someone. Without it they were no one. There existence was pointless and stood for nothing. They were nothing. And Nobodies were the same. So what differentiated them from each other? Nobodies were the shells that remained when a heart was stolen. But what was a Heartless?
"What are Heartless?" Yuki asked suddenly. Hysui jumped looking at her confused.
"Has no one told you?" Hysui asked shocked.
"It doesn't match up. What you're saying and what I've been told." Yuki said. Her voice was laced with something. A fake emotion that was something like frustration Yuki decided. Hysui's eyes softened looking at Yuki.
"You will understand one day. When Kingdom Hearts rewards us with a heart." Hysui said slowly. "But we as Heartless are the remainders of a dark heart. Just the darkness left over." She explained then turned back to her experiments. Yuki took that as a way to end the conversation without directly ending it.
There weren't many options for Yuki. Though this was confusing the only thing Yuki could really do was wait and see. She wouldn't know what to do on her own. Without a heart she couldn't tell anything that was basics for a Somebody. Like right from wrong. Maybe she really would understand when she got a heart. Or maybe she needed to remember having a heart once to know. It was an unknown answer. Yuki sighed as she decided. She would just have to cooperate. When she got a heart then she could decide. Even if then was too late.
*3*
Day 72- Hearts,
Today I was working with Hysui again. I can't figure out why I keep getting stuck with her when I just get in the way. But she told me about hearts. I'm still confused on the subject. But the best I can do is wait and see. When Kingdom Hearts gives me a heart I'll know.
I swung by the clock tower afterwards. Xion wasn't there, but Roxas and Axel were. It's fun hanging out with them.