After resting for another hour, we sent Ash and the others off with Alexis in tow, Aki and Yami covering the front and rear of the group. As much as I would have wanted to let them all rest more and let the information they had just been given sink in, they needed the head start if they were to have a better chance of eluding the Unversed.
Once they were out of sight, Riku and I headed back in the direction of where the Unversed had attacked. It didn't take long to find a trail of kicked up dirt and trampled flowers, as well as tiny footprints that were no doubt Alexis'. We followed the trail, the sun at the highest point in the sky by the time the trees started to thin out.
I knew we were close when I felt a cold touch on my chest and looked down, seeing that my necklace was turning darker and darker. I would have walked straight into the village if Riku hadn't pulled me back, just as an Unversed floated past us.
I exhaled when the creature was gone and turned to Riku. "Thanks for that."
The silver-haired teen nodded. "Let's try and stick to the shadows until we know what we're actually up against," he suggested.
I nodded in agreement and let Riku take the lead as we surveyed the village from the safety of the trees.
At first glance, one would think the tiny town was abandoned; blinds were closed, windows boarded up and the streets were deserted and silent, save the occasional Unversed that seemed to be patrolling. I thought I caught sight of eyes watching us from windows that weren't completely covered, but when I would look once more, I found nothing. Still, I knew that we were being watched; I just hoped that it was the townsfolk and not the enemy.
We had rounded nearly the entire village when we discovered a partially concealed hole covered by loose shrubbery.
"Think this is the tunnel Alexis escaped through?" Riku asked.
"Only one way to find out." Summoning my Keyblade for light, I crawled into the hole and started working my way down, a scuffle behind me indicating that Riku was not far behind. Although the tunnel was dark and cool - which I greatly welcomed after walking in the sun for so long- it was extremely cramped, meant for a child or small Pokémon, inot/i teenagers.
We crawled for what I guessed was several meters before I could see a faint light above where the tunnel ended, obscured by what I guessed was a floor board. Cautiously, I dismissed my Keyblade before pushing against the board and out of the way, then taking a quick peek above.
Unfortunately, the hole had been concealed further with a piece of furniture with short legs, so when I poked my head out, I hit it against the base, making a large thud sound and causing me to curse under my breath.
"Who's there?!" A woman's voice called from within the room. Footsteps were heard and two pairs of feet stood before the furniture, one of them clearly the woman's, but the other was that of a small Pokémon, which one I wasn't sure.
"We don't mean any harm," I replied. "We came to help after we found Alexis in the woods."
I heard the woman gasp as she kneeled. "Alexis is my daughter. Is she with you?"
"No, but she's safe," I stated. "Our friends took her to the next town so she could be with her father. Please believe us."
For several moments, there was nothing but silence as Alexis' mother thought over what to do. Eventually, though, she got to her feet. "Help me move the dresser, Riolu."
"Ri."
I ducked back into the hole as the dresser was moved out of the way, allowing light to pour into the tunnel. The obstacle finally removed, I climbed out, Riku popping out after me. We then both turned to the woman, surprised by her appearance.
Probably being no older than her late twenties, she was no doubt Alexis' mother, for she was the spitting image of the child, all grown up. She had the same long auburn hair, hazel eyes and faded freckles.
"My name is April," the woman stated as she picked up the small Riolu. "I apologize for the hostility. It's just that ever since that man came with those strange creatures, everyone has stayed vigil."
"That's completely reasonable," Riku replied. "Playing it safe when you don't know the enemy was good thinking."
I nodded in agreement. "My name is Hikari and this is my friend, Riku," I introduced. "Alexis asked us to find you and, if possible, get rid of your Unversed problem."
"Unversed? Is that what those things are called?" Alexis' mother asked.
"Yes. They're beings of dark, negative emotions who seek out those with a strong Light in their hearts," I explained. "We were called to investigate by a friend of our mentor's and happened to find your daughter along the way."
April smiled and raised her head, perhaps thanking some force for keeping her daughter safe. "I'm so relieved that she managed to get help. "However-" she looked back at us with a concerned look and finished "forgive my rudeness, but what can two youths like yourselves possibly do to help with this situation? Neither of you seem to have any Pokémon with you and don't appear to be Rangers."
"Though we may not look, Hikari and I have quite a bit of experience dealing with creatures like the Unversed," Riku stated. "However, if there's anything more you can tell us about the Unversed or the man in the black coat, we'd greatly appreciate it."
The older woman nodded. "I understand. Let's head into the kitchen; I'll make some tea and tell you what I know."
From what April had told us, the man in the black coat arrived in the village about three days before. Being such as small a town as it was, the locals quickly took notice of the stranger. Though he never took off his hood, the townsfolk knew something was definitely off. However, the moment they confronted the suspicious character, the Unversed were unleashed.
The attack had been well planned; a majority of the stronger villagers - Alexis' father among them- had left town just prior to Organization XIII's arrival to help in rebuilding a neighboring village that had suffered a fire, taking their Pokémon with them. Though the locals tried to fight back with the Pokémon they had, the Unversed were simply too strong and outnumbered them, leading to the capture of all the Pokémon. Everyone was forced to stay in their homes and communication to the outside world was cut off.
When I brought up the matter of Riolu and why they hadn't taken him as well, April explained that Alexis was raising it to be her partner. When the Unversed and man in black had come to collect all the Pokémon, Alexis had hid him in a panel in the wall along with Sandslash's Pokéball.
The entire time that Alexis' mom was telling this, I couldn't get a certain thought out of my head. If the Organization's goal was to invade this world, why were they staying in this one village? What was so special about this location that they had to keep everyone under lock and key? The only logical explanation I could come up with was anything but pleasant. When I shared my thoughts and concerns with Riku, he agreed with my suspicions.
It had to be a trap.
"Something still doesn't add up, though," I stated when Riku and I were alone. "If the Organization is trying to lure us in, why go to all the trouble of infiltrating a world that's been disconnected from The Lanes Between, only to invade some tiny village? If they really wanted to get our attention while still getting closer to their goal, they could have easily went after a bigger town or even a city like Lumiouse. This seems too small-scale for something the Organization would do."
Riku nodded in agreement. "I was starting to question that myself. Xehanort enjoys causing pain and misery to others, as does the rest of the Organization members that we know, so them attacking such a small town in a distant, unconnected world would only bring more work and little accomplished." He was silent for a moment before adding "It almost seems as though it was planned last minute. Maybe they only considered coming to this world because of your connection to it."
"But how could the Organization know that I have knowledge of this world?The only way they could have found out is if-" I cut my sentence off, a sudden, cold realization hitting me. "Genji told them."
"Why would your brother go through all the trouble of having the Organization attack a world that they can't benefit from?" Riku questioned.
"I don't know," I replied, shaking my head. "He never cared much for the franchise, but teased me for watching it whenever he could. Though I wasn't a big fan of it, Arashi practically iworships/i it, but we bonded over it. Attacking this world would be like attacking the bond I have with Arashi, but why would Genji want to do something like that?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, but maybe Xehanort put the idea in his head to keep us off track, buy time," Riku offered.
"Maybe." I still hadn't gotten over the fact that my brother was working with Organization XIII, and even though I had wanted to believe it couldn't be true, the facts had proven otherwise.
For a while, neither of us said a thing. There was too much that just didn't make sense and we were both trying to come up with an explanation. I didn't know how long I had been lost in my thoughts before I felt something tug my pant leg. When I looked down, I found Riolu looking up at me with amber eyes that silently expressed concern.
A small smile finding its way onto my face, I leaned down and picked up the little Pokémon, setting him on my lap as I gently ran my hand on his head. In return, the Fighting-type voiced his content and leaned against my stomach, his eyes closed.
"There's something about Riolu that seems different compared to the other Pokémon we've encountered." Riku voiced. "Something about his Light sets him apart."
I nodded. "Riolu are a very special type of Pokémon. They're able to sense emotions through one's aura - the invisible power that surrounds all living things and is unique to each individual. When Riolu evolve into Lucario, they're able to harness that aura to locate just about anything with an aura, as well as form them into attacks." Looking down at the Emanation Pokémon once more, I added "When Genji was younger, he played the video-game and Lucario was his favorite Pokémon." I sighed heavily. Thinking so much about Genji was making my heart feel hollow and cold; he may be working for Organization XIII, but he was still my brother.
Suddenly, Riolu's eyes shot open and he leaped off my lap, clearly on edge as he took up a fighting stance. Not a moment later, the earth began to tremble, forcing Riku and myself to our feet.
"I don't think the Unversed are gonna wait on us," the silverette stated.
April came running into the kitchen, a scared look on her face. "Those things are attacking the village."
"We're on it," I replied, summoning my Keyblade, Riku following suit. "You and Riolu go find somewhere to hide."
The older woman nodded as she scooped up the Fighting-type and rushed further into the cottage.
Once they were gone, Riku turned to me. "You ready for this?"
I couldn't help but smirk. "You really need to ask?" I walked to the door and, Keyblade at the ready, swung the door wide open, casting a flurry of Fira spells at the waiting Unversed. The result was a few of the dark creatures disappearing in puffs of smoke, while the familiar Jellyshades were thrown back, clearing the porch.
When we reached the center of the street, we were instantly surrounded by more Jellyshades as well as the wrestler Bruisers, soldier Scrappers, and common Floods.
"They never make it easy for us, do they?" I commented sarcastically.
"Where would all the fun in that be then?" Riku replied.
"True." I raised The Angel's Keyblade high into the sky, calling forth the power within before casting it. "Thundara!"
The sky darkened as lightning bolts crashed down, hitting dead center on several Unversed, either defeating them instantly or seriously injuring them.
The moment light returned to the sky, Riku and I shot in opposite directions, dispatching Unversed left and right. Although I had seen Riku fight before, it was interesting watching him, going between several enemies in an almost dance-like motion. Combining his extreme speed and silver-blue hair, he appeared at times as a streak of light. His experience and skills clearly deemed him worthy of the title of Master.
I had just sent several Jellyshades flying when I caught a glimpse of something black out of the corner of my eye. I turned just in time to see a figure clad in an Organization XIII coat duck behind a cottage.
"Stop!" I called out, giving chase. A few Floods popped out of the ground and tried to block my path, my I easily disposed of them with a Stopza and thrusts of my Keyblade. As I rounded the corner, I saw the figure running towards a hill, looking over his shoulder as though taunting me. Gripping my weapon tighter, I sprinted after him, determined to catch up.
When I finally got to the top, the figure was standing there silently, his hood still up. I took a fighting stance, ready for anything. "You got me where you want, so start talking! What do you want here?"
The man stayed silent, not appearing to even be bothered that I had my weapon at the ready.
This only angered me more, trying my patience. "Stop hiding under that hood and tell me what I wanna know!" I screamed, bolting forward, Keyblade in front of me. "Where's Sora and-"
The man suddenly pulled back his hood, forcing me to cut off my sentence and halt my assault, The Angel's Keyblade at his neck. I could only stare wide-eyed at the person in front of me, on the brink of tears and my chest aching.
"Genji."