BGM: Wave of Darkness I - Kingdom Hearts 0.2: A Fragmentary Passage

A man in a bandana closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, waiting for the end.

The end never came.

A resounding clang echoed through Lute Village as Aris blocked the blade of an armored zombie with the Master Sword. He pushed against the undead warrior's strength, knocking it down with a Spartan kick before stomping its head to mush. Another zombie approached. It fell to Raphtalia's blade.

"Sir, are you alright?" said Raphtalia.

"Get him and the other villagers to safety," Aris told her. "I'll see if I can't buy you time."

Raphtalia nodded and started getting the bandana-clad man to safety.

Aris, meanwhile, sprinted for the horde.

"One of the Heroes!" exclaimed a villager, who was defending himself with a pitchfork. "It's the swordsman Shield Hero! He'll save us!"

Aris cleaved through the head of a zombie, killing it. "Listen, everyone! I'll keep these monsters busy, so follow my friend and get out while you still have time!"

He ran through the village, saving lives. "Air Strike Shield!"

The green shield apparition blocked a zombie from hurting a merchant. Aris cut it down with his sword.

"Shield Prison!"

A hollow sphere of shields came into existence around a cowering mother and daughter, protecting them from a swarm of wasp monsters.

Aris channeled a small amount of Soul Energy into the Master Sword, willing its blade to glow green. "Keep your eyes on me, you undead wretches!" he exclaimed. "I'm the one you want!"

The zombies charged. Aris began mowing them down with the Master Sword.

Why do I do these things? he asked himself. Why is it that heroes risk their lives to help complete strangers?

Raphtalia beckoned the evacuating villagers toward her. "Everyone, come this way! I know a way to safety!"

The villagers didn't hesitate to follow her.

"There's too many of them," Aris muttered to himself. "I can't do this alone, but the villagers need protection while they evacuate."

His priorities shifted from killing the horde to minimizing damage to the village.

He saw a large wooden watchtower. He had an idea.

Aris sprinted for the tower at breakneck speed. He held out his prosthesis and used its "Grapple" function (as he'd come to call it) to carry himself to the top of the watchtower.

At the top of the watchtower sat a bell, presumably as an alarm for incoming monster hordes.

Aris reached up and rang the bell as fast and loud as he could. All attention was on him now.

The tower buckled. The zombies had begun to either climb it or try to tear it down. Aris couldn't tell.

He noticed a jar of lantern oil and a lit lantern, the latter of which barely had any oil left.

He decided to give it some oil.

Aris poured the lamp oil all over the floor of the watchtower, allowing some of it to hit the zombies climbing to the top. He took the lantern and slammed it into the floor, shattering it and causing a fire to break out across the watchtower.

He jumped.

"Parashield!"

Aris held his right arm above his head, his forearm horizontal across his scalp as though covering his hair from the rain. A new shield appeared on his arm, resembling a large hand glider. He used it to float to the ground without hurting himself.

He landed, however, right in the middle of a zombie horde.

Aris drew the Master Sword and cut them down with a warrior yell and a spinning slash.

The ground shook beneath his feet. Aris turned to see a hulking titan of a zombie towering over him.

The undead titan raised its axe and swung down at him. Aris dodged to the side and jumped up behind the zombie, slicing its back open. The zombie roared with agony.

A familiar voice called out his name. "Aris!"

"Raphtalia!"

Raphtalia leaped into action, driving her blade hilt-deep into the giant zombie's skull.

"Everyone's safe!" Raphtalia landed back on the ground.

"Good work," said Aris. "Can you fight?"

"Until the cows come home."

"Perfect. Let's get to work."

The Hylian and the Demi-Human battled side by side, downing swaths of zombies and other monsters.

"Their numbers aren't thinning!" Aris exclaimed as he cut down a zombie.

An earsplitting roar echoed through the air.

A gargantuan beast bearing a strange appearance soared over Lute Village with an even stranger pair of wings, dropping what looked like magic bombs on the swarms of the undead.

The monsters' numbers were significantly thinned.

Aris cheered, silently thanking whatever this creature was for helping out.

The creature, however, had other ideas.

It turned its massive head towards Aris and Raphtalia, letting off another earsplitting roar. Aris noticed a black heart-shaped emblem on its large lower jaw.

BGM: The Corrupted - Kingdom Hearts 2.5 ReMix

The beast swooped low, aiming directly for Aris and Raphtalia.

Aris picked up Raphtalia and dove to the side, barely evading the attack.

"What in the good name of Hylia!? It's attacking us!?" Aris readied the Master Sword.

His status display flashed.

NEW CREATURE DISCOVERED (HOSTILE, BOSS)

Storm Rider

Species: Heartless (Emblem)

Habitat: Unknown

DESC: None

"It's a Heartless...that would explain the hostility."

The Storm Rider roared as it spread its wings. Bolts of lightning rocked the decimated remains of Lute Village. The smell of ozone filled the air as Aris and Raphtalia dodged the lightning.

With a roar, the Storm Rider attempted another swooping attack. An idea suddenly popped into Aris's mind.

"Raphtalia, move!"

The Demi-Human did so, fending off a group of zombies as Aris stood firm in front of the Storm Rider. He ran towards the diving giant, meeting it in the middle. Just before it could crush him, however, Aris slid under the Storm Rider, barely grazing its underbelly. He raised the Master Sword into the body of the Heartless, leaving a massive cut.

The Storm Rider screamed in pain.

The cymbal-like appendages lining its body clashed together, summoning magical explosives as the Storm Rider carpet-bombed the remains of Lute Village.

On the ground, hordes of smaller Heartless appeared. Aris's display identified them as Shadows, Soldiers, Neoshadows, and Large Bodies. Raphtalia didn't hesitate to start combating them. Aris was too focused on fighting the Storm Rider to tell her otherwise.

Loretta Atreides didn't know what was going on.

Yesterday, this world had been completely fine. Life had been peaceful, even enjoyable.

Today was a different story.

She'd heard talk in the streets about "Waves of Calamity", but didn't believe them. She believed them now, though.

"Thank the Goddess for my Ancient Blasters." Loretta readied a device resembling a handgun, made from Sheikah technology. She fired a searing beam of blue energy at a monster, leaving a sizzling hole in its flesh. Her other blaster dished the same treatment to another monster.

Loretta ran through the forest, shooting down monsters along the way. Their numbers didn't thin; they only increased.

Soon, though, she was relatively safe. She found a crowd of people taking refuge in a nearby cave. A group of strange shadow monsters was approaching them. Loretta readied one of her blasters, shifting it into its Plasma Whip mode before bringing down the shadows and running into the cave. "What's happening here!?"

"A-A Wave!" one of the people exclaimed. "We...We had to evacuate our village! The swordsman Shield Hero and his friend are defeating the monsters there!"

Swordsman Shield Hero? Loretta was nonplussed.

"I don't know who either of those people are, but I'll see what I can do to help them!" Loretta rushed towards a distant village without another word.

"Brother!? What are you doing here!?"

Aris recognized the voice immediately.

"Loretta!" he cried. "You're here!?"

"I am, what's going on!?" Loretta readied one of her blasters and took out a Heartless.

"It's a Wave of Calamity!"

"Yeah, I know that!" said Loretta. "But what in Hylia's name is that thing!?" She pointed to the Storm Rider.

"I'll explain once it's safe!"

Loretta raised her blasters and fired a barrage of lasers at the flying Heartless. Aris readied his prosthesis and sent off a volley of Soul Energy beams.

The Storm Rider seemed to change its plans.

It landed nearby, roaring as it summoned two glowing walls of deadly magic. A ball of crackling lightning began to appear and grow between its horns.

"That can't be good!" Loretta rushed toward it.

"What are you doing!?"

"I have an idea, follow me!"

Aris complied, sprinting after his sister.

Loretta leaped over the Storm Rider's head, using her Plasma Whip to hook one of its horns. She pulled back with all her might. Its head barely budged, but it was enough to save Raphtalia from a head-on beam of deadly lightning.

Lighting built up within the horn Loretta had hooked. Her body suddenly seized up with an electric shock. Aris's eyes widened as he realized what needed to be done.

"The horns!"

He rushed for the Storm Rider's head, cleaving through the horn that was pumping electricity through Loretta's Plasma Whip and into her body. Loretta fell backward and barely staggered to her feet.

The Storm Rider flew back into the air.

"Fall back!" Aris said to his sister. "I'm going to end this!"

He leaped from the ground to a rooftop, jumping towards the flying Storm Rider. He used Grapple to pull himself onto the Storm Rider's back.

He reversed his grip on the Master Sword, holding it blade down. He raised the blade.

Aris plunged it into the Storm Rider's back. The Heartless roared.

He stabbed it again. Another roar pierced his ears.

Having slowed down, the Storm Rider's back proved safe to be stood upon. Aris wobbled upright and landed a strike to the Storm Rider's other horn. Using Grapple, he leaped off the Heartless's head and pulled himself towards the ground with the Master Sword held out, cutting through the Storm Rider's neck.

The giant's head separated from its body in a burst of darkness. The entire body disappeared in a flash, releasing a giant heart.

End BGM

In the sky, the blue vortexes combusted in a burst of light. The crimson heavens gave way to the beautiful bright blue of a summer afternoon.

Loretta hobbled over to her brother. Aris gasped at the sight of his wounded sister. "Are you okay!?"

"Y-Yes...I'm alright," Loretta strained. "My leg hurts. Good quick thinking, taking out that monster's horns."

"I noticed they were conjuring the lightning, so I acted accordingly."

"Just what was that thing?" Loretta wondered aloud. "It isn't like anything I've ever seen before."

A voice interjected into their conversation. "Aris!"

Raphtalia ran over. "I finished off the last of the Heartless," she said. "And I just let the villagers know it's safe to come back."

"Good," said Aris, "but..." He sighed. "...I just wish we were able to protect more of the village. The damage will take months - maybe even years - to repair."

"It's better than leaving nothing at all," said Raphtalia. "And...we survived, didn't we?"

"...We did."

Loretta cleared her throat.

Aris and Raphtalia turned their heads toward her. She had a smirk on her face.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend, brother?" she teased.

Raphtalia's eyes widened as she gasped, "B-Brother...?"

Aris laughed. "I almost forgot. Sister, this is Raphtalia, my...currently my only companion in this world." He turned to Raphtalia. "Raphtalia, this is Loretta. She's my sister."

"Older sister," Loretta corrected.

"Yes, by all of three minutes."

Raphtalia chuckled. "I don't think you ever told me you had a sister."

"To be fair, I didn't think we'd be seeing her," Aris pointed out. "But I'm glad we are. It's...been a while."

"Yeah," Loretta agreed. "It's...good to see you, little brother. And Raphtalia won't be your only companion anymore."

"You...You want to travel with us?"

"Of course!" said Loretta. "Why shouldn't I? We're family, after all. We should be looking out for each other."

"We'll all look out for each other," said Aris. "You, me, Raphtalia...we'll all keep each other safe. It's what friends do."

PARTY MEMBER RECRUITED

Loretta Nohansen Atreides

"Even strength must bow before wisdom and knowledge."

Age: 17

Sex: Female

Level: 19

Class: None chosen

HP: 110/110

MP: 50/50

EXP: 208/450

STATS:

ATK: 30

DEF: 15

SPD: 69

EQUIPMENT:

Weapon: Sheikah Blaster Pistols/Whips

Headgear: None

Armor: Sheikah Jumpsuit (+3 DEF)

Legwear: Sheikah Jumpsuit Leggings (Attached to Sheikah Jumpsuit)

Footwear: Sheikah Jet Boots (+2 DEF, +20 SPD)