Before Kingdom Hearts: Shadows Chapter 5, a kingdom hearts fanfic

Hello everyone! So... Guess what happened again?

Yeah, these edits were made ways back and my disorganized ass is only now grabbing them up and realizing that something's gone wrong. So, make that two chapters in a week now that will need to be updated. in future. Don't worry, we'll fix it.

Anyway, not much to report right now! we'll just plug the Discord server and be on our way! Password is here: 5RRcGwh

Alright then, allow us to get underway!

Without further ado, we proudly present chapter 5 of Before Kindom Hearts: Shadows

A blinding light filled Ryo's vision, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut as he quickly sat up and covered his eyes with his right hand, rubbing them as his heart pounded in his chest.

"Just when I thought I was clear of them…" Ryo thought grumpily to himself before he looked out the window. Luckily, it looked like he wasn't going to wind up sleep-deprived this time, given how bright it was outside. On the other, it seemed he'd slept through the time he'd normally spend training in the morning, given how high in the sky the sun was. Frustratingly, he probably wouldn't be able to make up that time either, seeing as the traders were expected to arrive today.

Realizing that he probably needed to get ready for that, Ryo hauled himself out of bed and made his way over to the chest, cracking it open and picking out his clothes for the day. As he got dressed though, he wondered if he should be in any real rush, considering that the traders weren't in fact expected to arrive today. They'd been expected several days ago, and people were becoming very concerned with how late they were increasingly becoming. For Ryo, it was equal parts concerning and frustrating since the last few items he needed before he could begin travelling again were items he needed to purchase from the traders, and he had already made enough delays on his own without the world conspiring to delay him even further. Of course, that was ignoring the concern regarding what was causing the traders to be so late. It was summer, after all. The storms had been light this year and there weren't many other potential obstacles that would stand in between the traders and Woodfell.

Whatever the case, Ryo could only hope that the traders would arrive on time and in good health. There wasn't much else he could do. In the meantime, he'd do what he could to help the village prepare for the traders' arrival, and possibly find some time to train in the middle of that.

Ryo emerged from his room to find Veris and Veruk in the middle of breakfast, which was more oatmeal. He silently took a seat at the table and began eating.

"Surprised to have you sleeping in." Veruk commented in between spoonful's.

"It happens. I'm just annoyed I won't have time to train today." Ryo muttered tiredly as he continued attacking his food. Veris glanced at him as she finished scraping out her bowl.

"Did you sleep well? It sounded like you were having a nightmare when I got back from practice this morning." Veris inquired. Ryo shrugged.

"Yes, but it isn't a big deal. As long as it doesn't continue to keep me from training, it doesn't matter." Ryo replied before he picked up the pace and finished off his bowl of oatmeal.

"Any news on the traders?" Ryo asked Veruk, who frowned.

"Nothing so far. I mentioned how late they were to one of the builders from Stonehall and apparently he mentioned it to one of the town hunters. According to the builder, the hunter took their horse and went out riding down the path to see if they could find the caravan. That was three days ago and they haven't returned yet, so that doesn't paint an encouraging picture." Veruk answered. Ryo frowned as well. Three days on horseback and there'd been no sign of their return? Veruk was right; that wasn't encouraging in the slightest.

"Are people considering abandoning preparations?" Veris asked, to which Veruk could only shake his head and shrug.

"They haven't given up hope. At this point, I'm starting to believe it's possible that they won't be arriving at all." Veruk opined, to which Ryo was surprised and, if he was being honest, scared.

"What could wipe out an entire traders' caravan? They employ mercenary guards and are no slouches with weapons themselves." Ryo questioned, only to see Veruk's dark look and knew it was time to shut up. Veruk knew who could bring down that caravan and so could Ryo, and Veruk was not about to have such a subject discussed under his roof.

"I'm not sure, but hopefully it steers clear of us, whatever it is." Veruk replied before he got to his feet and took his empty bowl to the sink to wash it. Ryo followed him and added his bowl to the pile before he went back to his room to collect his sword, knife and munny for the day. As he stepped out of his room, he could see Veris already stepping out the door. As he went to pull on his boots to follow however, Veruk beckoned him over. Ryo nodded and approached without a word.

"Do you really think it's them?" Ryo asked in a whisper. Veruk frowned.

"I'd put my munny on it being them. Even if there'd been a bandit attack, we'd have at least had one trader running ahead to find help. Bandits want goods, not a fight. To get stalled like this…" Veruk muttered before he shook his head. Ryo frowned.

"If it really is them, then I need to get out of here." He decided before he turned and started heading back to his room, only for Veruk to stop him.

"Hold up. We don't know for sure what's going on. For all we know, they just got forced to take a long detour because the road was blocked somewhere. Give it a few days, but maybe get everything prepared that you can, just to err on the side of caution." Veruk suggested. Ryo didn't like it, but he decided to take Veruk's words to heart and went back to his room. Opening the chest, he retrieved every item he'd procured for traveling and began setting them into his pack; a map, compass, spare knife, whetstone, gloves and a canteen. He also took the some 15000 munny he had in the small wooden box and deposited it in his own munny pouch before he laid the pack on the ground, cloak atop it and traveling boots placed beside.

He still needed to acquire a bedroll and tinderbox, but he could make do without those if push came to shove. Still, he hoped he wouldn't have to and that him and Veruk were just being paranoid. However, Ryo just couldn't bring himself to think so. Something was wrong and Ryo's instincts were telling him that he needed to run.

As he left the house, he saw Veris assisting Garren and his father with making preparations for the traders' arrival and decided to offer his own assistance. As he approached, Garren waved before he quickly got back to work, helping Veris lifting a heavy wooden chest up to place it on a plain wooden box for display. Garren's father, named Jose, was a tall and lean man, though still fairly muscular. He had a meticulously trimmed head of hair and an equally maintained beard, both dirty blond in color. He had shrewd green eyes and a wide assortment of scars on his arms. Additionally, he wore a bracelet of wooden beads around his left wrist, each engraved with Woodfell's sigil.

"What took you so long?" Veris asked as she dusted her hands off.

"Just had a quick chat with your dad. Need any help here, or should I go check with someone else?" Ryo explained before asking. Jose shook his head.

"I think we're good over here. I'd suggest checking in with Victor. He was lagging behind when we were first expecting the traders." Jose suggested. Ryo nodded and left to do just that.

The rest of the day was a bit of a blur for Ryo. He bounced back and forth between different stalls, offering assistance where he could and occasionally pausing to talk with Veris, Garren or Barkos when he had a spare moment. Every now and again, he'd peer down the West pathway of the village to see any sign of the traders or the hunter who'd gone out in search of them. Predictably it was in vain, but he was hardly the only one doing so. Despite the outwardly upbeat atmosphere, Ryo and everyone else knew that it was a front and that everyone was becoming increasingly worried. However, no one wanted to break the illusion or otherwise compromise that atmosphere, so no one said anything. The traders would arrive in good time, after all. They hadn't missed a year before and this year would be no different.

Eventually however, the day went by and everyone began putting tarps over the displays they'd put up for the traders and heading in for the evening. Ryo and Veris said goodnight to Garren and Barkos and returned to the house, where Veruk was already working on dinner.

"I wonder if people are going to give up on the stalls and start putting up jobs again. It's starting to feel strange, not working when the traders aren't around." Veris commented as she started setting the table. Ryo frowned as he set his sword against his room's doorframe but kept his knife and munny pouch at hand. He was more and more considering sneaking out of Woodfell under cover of darkness, but he kept telling himself not to do that until he had something better to go on than gut feeling and conjecture, lest he be wrong and have vanished into the night for literally no reason. Well, he had a reason, but not the same reason.

"Well, hopefully we'll get some news tomorrow. That hunter from Stonehall will probably be home tomorrow whether he found something or not. He didn't exactly pack for a long expedition." Veruk replied as he continued tending to the simple stew he was working on, consisting of some local roots, wild greens and herbs and a rare treat of beef. Veruk had purchased it earlier in the week as an indulgence for when the traders had arrived, but seeing as they were running late, Veruk had decided it was better now than later.

There wasn't much discussion between the three of them in between the cooking and serving of the stew. Ryo and Veruk were both too on edge to try and hold a conversation and Veris couldn't think of anything to talk about. Well, that and she was conscious of Ryo and Veruk's odd behaviour. She didn't know how to bring it up however, so she stayed silent while trying to figure out how to broach the subject.

After Veruk finished ladling out the stew, the three of them ate in silence, though they did clean out all of the stew. Veruk had done an excellent job with it and the food went a long way to defuse the less-than-pleasant atmosphere, even though there was no conversation to go with it.

By the time they finished scraping up the bottom of their bowls (and the pot) the sun had long since set and they could all feel the weariness of the day beginning to set in. After taking care of his evening ablutions and bidding everyone goodnight, Ryo retreated to his room and shut the door. However, he didn't bother to change into night clothes or put away his belongings, instead leaving the knife, sword and munny pouch attached to his belt and leaving it on the top of the cloak while he walked over to his bed and sat down on it, staring out the window at the slowly rising moon. As tired as he felt, his nerves were to on edge for him to lie down and go to sleep. All he could do was sit there, constantly oscillating between the need to run and his resolve to stay still until he had good reason to make a break for it. It was maddening that he could keep to just one of the two, which led to temporary distraction found in his frustration with his own mind, but that was only a temporary respite before he fell back into his seesawing instincts. It was absolutely exhausting, to the point where Ryo lay down and began staring at the ceiling as his eyelids began to slowly lose strength and slide shut, even as his mind kept up its torturous circle, right up until he finally, mercifully, fell asleep.

A figure wrapped in a black cloak sprinted through an open-air hallway before leaping over a stone rail into a grass courtyard. Clutched tightly in their left hand was a black crystal, framed in a purple glow. Pursuing them was a group dressed in different colored cloaks, all clutching different weapons. The figure leapt over another railing onto a balcony, summoning a black and purple, single edged, two-handed broadsword with a knuckle guard, flourishing the blade before swinging it horizontally to launch an arc of purple energy from the blade. Several of the pursuers were forced to stop and defend themselves while others closed in. The figure engaged the pursuers in combat, weaving a deadly web of steel around themselves, but still gave ground before they were knocking down. Through it all though, they refused to loosen their grip on the crystal.

Suddenly, the crystal began to emit dark energy that wrapped around its holder, funneling into the blade. With a desperate cry, the figure let out a wild slash unleashing a surge of dark energy, causing the air to appear as if it was cracking. Suddenly, the energy turned and wrapped around the figure before bursting outwards, leaving only trace wisps of dark energy that rose from the ground like smoldering embers.

Ryo's eyes snapped open, sitting bolt upright as he frantically looked about his room. His breathing was labored, and his heart was thundering in his chest and ears, causing it to feel like his head was shaking with each beat. The moonlight shone through the window, indicating that it was close to midnight. Ryo rubbed his forehead in an effort to clear the sweat from his brow as he tried to calm down, but every nerve in his body was on edge. Recognizing that he wouldn't be able to sleep, Ryo got up and pulled his belt on before he stepped out of his room.

"I hadn't had nightmares like that in a little over a year and a half. Why now?" Ryo thought tiredly as he shuffled towards the table before he noticed that he wasn't alone. Sitting in a chair by the window was Veruk, who appeared to be asleep. However, Ryo could see his eyes cracked open a bit, glancing out the window before turning to Ryo.

"What are you doing up?" Ryo asked quietly, not wanting to wake Veris. Veruk motioned with his chin out the window.

"Couldn't sleep, so I decided to wait here in case the traders or the hunter arrived. Same story?" Veruk inquired. Ryo nodded.

"More or less. I had another nightmare, and my nerves are too shot for me to go back to bed, so I figured coming out here would help me calm down." Ryo replied as he took a seat at the table. The two sat in silence for a while before Ryo heard the sound of footsteps coming from Veris's room before her door slid open and she stepped out with a yawn before she noticed that everyone else was already up.

"How come you're up this late?" Ryo asked tiredly, keeping his voice down but no longer whispering. After all, there was no one left in the house to wake up.

"I could ask the same of you." She responded, equally quiet.

"It was just a nightmare. My nerves are on edge, so I figured getting out of my room for a bit would help." Ryo answered as he rubbed his eyes. Veris took a seat at the table.

"I've just been restless all night. I don't know how, considering today was composed of mostly heavy lifting, but I just couldn't fall asleep. Then I thought I heard someone moving around in the living room and I got curious." Veris explained as she went to take her own seat, only to pause when they heard a strange noise off in the distance. Veruk straightened up and peered out the window, frowning.

"Was that a…" He started saying before the noise rang out again, much easier to identify as the cry of a horse approaching.

"That's gotta be…" Ryo started to say before he hurried back to his room to pull his traveling boots on. Meanwhile, Veruk were pulling their own boots on before hurrying outside, with Veruk only pausing to light a lantern to carry on his way out. Ryo emerged from his room and quickly hurried after the two as they rushed to meet in approaching rider. As the rider passed through the village limits though, it quickly became clear that something was wrong. The rider slowed to a halt as they noticed the approaching trio and turned the horse to get a better look at them.

"I need to see the healer! Now!" The man yelled, to which Veruk was quick to point him in the right direction and hurried after him as the man urged his horse over to the location in question. As the horse passed him, Ryo could see a second man in the saddle, unconscious and covered in bandages. Ryo muttered several words under his breath that Veris couldn't understand but was reasonably confident were words not to be uttered in the presence of children.

Veruk helped the hunter get the man into Hector's house. The man had undoubtedly awoken when the hunter had started yelling for a healer as had much of the village, with the remainder having been awoken when the first chorus of voices and slamming doors began.

"Do we know what did this?" Veruk asked the Hunter once Hector had taken the injured man off their hands amidst a tirade about noise and how late it was. The hunter frowned as he returned to his horse, who looked exhausted.

"Nothing specific. It sounds like a cult of some kind; all dressed in blue and black armor and masks." The hunter muttered, to which Veruk and Ryo immediately paled. Ryo immediately turned around and began making his way back to the house, with Veruk following close behind after he grabbed Veris's shoulder to pull her along.

"When we get back to the house, grab a change of clothes, all your munny, your knife and cloak." Veruk ordered his daughter in a harsh whisper. Veris looked up at him with a confused and scared look.

"Dad, what's going on?" Veris asked, though Veruk didn't answer. His gaze was locked on the house and his jaw was set. Veris could see the fear in her father's eyes as he threw the door to their home open and hurried inside. She could see Ryo in his room, adjusting his cloak and pack before he began checking everything at his belt.

"Ryo, what are you…" She started to ask before her father put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll explain everything when we're safe. For now, you need to get ready to leave!" Her father hissed before he marched into his bedroom. Veris's eyes widened. Leave?! They were leaving?! Why were they leaving?! Did Ryo know what was going on?

Shaking her head, Veris hurried into her room and began collected her things like her father said. Whatever was going on, it had to be pretty serious if her father was choosing to abandon the town and dojo he'd spent years constructing. What worried her more was that whatever was going on, Ryo seemed to know as well. What did he know that she didn't?

Veris's thoughts were interrupted however, by a loud CRUNCH from her father's room! Veris rushed out of her room and met Ryo as he was hurrying towards her father's room, sword ready to be drawn. What they found though was not what they were expecting. Veruk had put his fist through the floor of his room and was now prying up the broken boards up from the ground.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Veris asked slowly, causing Veruk to start a bit before he noticed that he had an audience.

"Just finish packing, Veris. I'll be out in a moment." Veruk replied before he went back to prying up boards with his bare hands. Veris looked incredibly concerned, but she listened to her father and went back to her room to recheck that everything was packed before she returned to the main room to find her father standing there with his own pack and something else. It was a chain, about three meters in length with a metal spike attached to the end. On each edge of the spike was a single sharp 'tooth'. Veruk held it out to Veris gingerly.

"I was hoping to wait until you were ready to give this to you, but we don't have time." Veruk said in a low tone as Veris slowly lifted the chain from his grasp.

"What is this?" Veris murmured as she turned it over in her hand.

"It's a very special weapon; Very dangerous and difficult to master. It belonged to your mother." Veruk explained as Veris's eyes widened and she held the weapon tighter. Veruk opened his mouth before he suddenly froze, his eyes slowly tracking along the wall to the door. Ryo followed his gaze as his own eyes widened a bit before narrowing. He loosened his sword in its sheath as Veruk quietly pulled his knife from his belt and approached the door. And then the screaming started.

Suddenly, the door was thrown open and someone charged into the house! Veruk let out a bellow as he rushed forward, blocking the attacker's blade with his knife before he grabbed them by the front and heaved them over his shoulder, throwing them to the floor! Ryo rushed forward and plunged his sword down into the soldier's chest, causing black vapor to rise from around the blade. As the weapon was tugged free, a burst of dark blue and black energy erupted from the wound as the attacker convulsed before laying still, all color having drained from their body. Now having gotten a better look at the defeated foe, Ryo's blood chilled when he saw the mask. Sans the slash across the nose, the mask was the same one that was worn by the ones who ambushed the soldiers two years ago, these servants of 'the Dread King'. It bore no resemblance to a face, only a strange blue sigil. It didn't even appear to have functioning eye or nose holes.

Veruk inched forward and used his knife to flip the mask off of the soldier's face, and what was underneath was downright ghoulish. The eyes were pitch black, though faint embers of dark blue energy could be seen from them, fading more and more as time passed.

However, that was hardly the end of the catastrophe. A loud CRASH from outside reminded the trio of the chaos and screaming outside and they rushed out the door to see what could only be described as a living nightmare. Dozens of soldiers in identical dress to the one dead in the house were busy razing the village to the ground and attacking anyone and everyone within reach of their weapons. Veris looked like she was going to be sick. Ryo's expression was one of shock and horror, while Veruk just looked grim.

"What's going on?! Why are these people attacking us?!" Veris exclaimed in horror as Veruk put an arm up and started backing away while pushing Veris back as well. Ryo followed suit, slowly stepping back as he frantically looked from side to side. However, it didn't take long for them to be noticed by the soldiers, who began shouting and shrieking bloody murder as they charged towards the trio, weapons held aloft and gleaming in the firelight.

Veruk had rushed forward and was engaging the attacking soldiers in combat, using his bare fists and knife to strike them down. Their armor had several structural weaknesses that Veruk was showing great aptitude in exploiting. Ryo and Veris watched in amazement as Veruk systematically disassembled the attackers with nary a scratch on him by the end. In a matter of minutes, Veruk was now standing in the middle of a pile of dead soldiers, that unnerving dark blue and black energy leaking out of their bodies as their color drained away with it. After he caught his breath, he turned back to Veris and Ryo and marched over to them.

"You both need to run. Get as far away from Woodfell as you can and don't look back." Veruk instructed them. Ryo's eyes widened.

"What about you?! You can't expect us to leave you…" Ryo started before Veruk rounded on him.

"That is EXACTLY what I expect you to do! I expect the two of you to run as fast as you can and avoid the Dread King's forces at all costs!" Veruk thundered at them. Ryo shrank back in shock. Veris was looking at her father in terror.

"Papa, what are you…" She started before Veruk grabbed her hands.

"I will not lose my daughter to that… that monster! Not like…" Veruk started before he choked up and dropped Veris' hands. Ryo noticed a soldier had taken notice of them and was charging them with a spear. Raising his sword, he moved to engage them, only for Veruk to shove him backwards before he whirled around and slammed his fist into the nearest one's face, causing the mask to break with a loud CRACK! He then snatched the soldier's spear and used it to gore another of the soldiers, causing the rest to pause in shock! Veruk used his knife to finish off the soldier he'd punched before he pried the spear free and rolled it in his hands.

"I need you both to go! Now!" He shouted before leaping to attack the invaders once more! Ryo grabbed Veris' shoulder and tugged her towards the village exit. They both took another glance at their caretaker as he fought back against the invaders before making a reluctant beeline for the exit. Veris had drawn her knife and the two managed to make their way to the exit without drawing any attention from the soldiers. However, their luck didn't last as they found themselves one of which appeared to be the commanding officer. His armor was fancier, and his mask was more detailed. He made a sound underneath his mask that indicated he was drawing a deep breath through his nose.

"The smell of blood and fear… It's thick in the air… But there's also the faintest trace of magic…" The commander hissed through the mask. Ryo raised his sword, though one could see the blade quivering in his grasp. The commander made a sound like snickering as he and the two other soldiers started stalking forward. Ryo backed up a bit, fear in his eyes. He raised his blade as Veris mirrored him, slowly backing away. Suddenly, the soldier to Ryo's right that flanked the commander sprouted an arrow in his shoulder! They heard a loud bellow as they saw a large shape charge forward and plunge a woodcutter's axe into the soldier's chest! Ryo immediately recognized Garren as the one wielding the axe and could safely assume it was Barkos with the bow. He immediately seized on the distraction and darted forward, slashing the second soldier down before turning and moving to strike down the commander! Unfortunately, the commander apparently had that title for a reason and swiftly raised his own blade to block. Ryo bared his teeth in a snarl as he pushed back against the blade, but the commander was too strong and just shoved Ryo back before advancing and delivering a vicious downward chop! Ryo rolled to the side just before another arrow suddenly sprouted from the commander's shoulder! The commander stumbled back in surprise and pain, leaving himself open for Ryo to get in a strike on his left leg that caused the commander to drop to one knee. Garren immediately kicked the commander onto his back and brought the axe down as hard as he could, decapitating the man.

Ryo took a few steps back, taking a moment to catch his breath when he noticed a strange glow coming from within the dead commander's armor. Upon further inspection, it appeared to be some sort of stone of some kind, shaped like an egg and a bit larger than his fist. It probably fell out of wherever the commander had been keeping it during the brief battle. Ryo picked it up and turned to the group.

"We need to keep moving." He said. Veris was still looking at the dead body, her face white as a sheet.

"We can't just leave! They need…" Garren started before Ryo cut them off.

"The village is already lost! Veruk told me and Veris to run, so that's what we're going to do! Are you coming with us or not?" Ryo snapped. Garren looked like he had just been slapped in the face. Ryo felt ashamed for his outburst, but now wasn't the time for a debate. As much as he hated it, Veruk was likely laying down his life so they could all escape and he wasn't going to let that sacrifice go to waste.

However, before either Garren or Barkos could respond, the stone in Ryo's hand started to shimmer and glow brighter than before. Ryo covered his eyes as the glow grew more intense. A high-pitched whine began to fill the air as the hairs of the four friends began to stand on end. There was a blinding flash through the burning town, and they vanished into thin air.