A hunt in the dark
Kairi was cautiously peering out of the door of one of the rooms in the castle, into the darkened corridor beyond, looking to the left, then to the right. She strained her ears to their limit, trying to hear if something was lurking nearby. Behind her in the room were Roxas, Xion and Naminé, with Roxas and Xion keeping an eye on the nearby windows in case something decided to attack them from that direction. For nearly two minutes they waited in anxious silence, afraid to move on but equally afraid to stay put, knowing eventually they would be found if they did.
"Come on. We can't stay here. We need to keep moving." Kairi whispered finally. The four of them left the room and headed into the corridor, watching their surroundings all the while.
"Where do you think we are?"Roxas asked.
"Not sure. We fled so headlong that I didn't take note of our route. Now… I don't think I've been in this part of the castle before." Kairi replied.
"Who knew this castle had so many rooms in it? You really can't tell that from the outside." Roxas contemplated.
Kairi suppressed a dry laugh. "Yeah. That's… that's a thing here. Aqua has told me about it. Kind of annoying feature right now though."
"Okay, so we don't know where we are now. But do we at least know where we are supposed to go right now? We can't just wander forever. They'll hunt us down eventually." Xion asked.
"Could we not just open a portal, get ourselves out that way?" Naminé asked.
Kairi shook her head. "Aqua has set wards all over this castle. We open a portal here the Phantom will notice for sure. She'd be on us like a blood hound."
"And then…" She was unable to finish.
"Plus any portal we open will pass through spaces close to the darkness. The rest of us have protective gear, but you don't. And want to bet the darkness will be even worse with those Foretellers out of control?" Xion said to Naminé.
"Oh…" Naminé said, realizing Xion was right.
"Besides, I don't think I'd be okay with running away and abandoning the others. That's not right. Terra and Ven are still around here somewhere. And I didn't see what happened with Mickey and Yen Sid, but we need to make sure they're okay too." Roxas said.
"And Lea, Isa, Elrena, Lauriam... they don't know what has happened here. If we don't warn them they'll walk straight into a trap."
"Unless the Foretellers hit them already." Naminé pointed out.
"No. We can't start thinking like that. They're still out there. And we need to get word to them, and find our other friends." Xion said. "We need a plan."
"We ought to try to get outside the castle. There are more hiding spots there. We can regroup, catch our breath and figure out the next step from there. And Aqua didn't set any wards outside. If we need to that's where we can get out of this world. The others might be headed that way too for all we know." Kairi said.
She sighed, hanging her head. "Aqua… I still can't believe it. I can't believe she turned. She was doing so well. She's a strong, good person. This shouldn't have happened."
"Did… did I do this? When I withheld the stuff about Scala? I was just worried… about what knowledge like that might do to her. I… I never wanted this to happen."
"This isn't your doing. You saw what happened. The Darknesses messed with her head. Poked at her old hurts. If anyone is to blame, it's them." Roxas reassured.
"But I kept secrets from her. Things she had a right to know. I lost her trust. And when she was forced face to face with the truth... it was the last straw for her." Kairi countered.
"I could have done it better. I could have let her in on it slowly, so she could adjust." She scolded herself.
"Even if you had tried... you might have just ended up causing it that much sooner." Naminé said.
"You had no way to know they could turn this knowledge against her like that. You were trying to keep her safe from something you knew could hurt her. And seeing what happened… clearly you had good reason to." Xion agreed.
"All the same though… I think I'd like to know more about this. Because I'm not sure I get it. What were the Darknesses talking about? What is it that you and they know?" She added.
On instinct Kairi nearly told them she'd tell them later. This was hardly a good time with their enemies on the hunt. But before she could form the words the she remembered how hurt Aqua had sounded on realizing she had been keeping secrets of something terrible about her. She couldn't make the same mistake twice in a row. She couldn't lose anyone else's trust by letting them hit this knowledge unprepared.
"It has to do with something Lauriam and Elrena found out while they were visiting Mickey in Scala ad Caelum." She began to explain.
"They-AH!" She had time to say before stopping with a startled gasp. For in that instant the Phantom had phased in front of them, blocking their path.
Kairi, Roxas, and Xion had their weapons raised at once. The Phantom in turn examined them calmly, a vicious glimmer in her eye, seemingly pondering which one of them she would take down first.
Kairi felt a shiver pass through her. Could she do it? Could she fight Aqua after all they had been through together. Maybe she should try to get through to her, instead?
"What are you- no, stop!" She heard Xion say behind her. Then she was astonished to see Naminé walk past, to the front of their group. She stood before the Phantom with a stern expression on her face. The other three were too stunned to even react.
The Phantom cocked her head, looking puzzled. Then she took a step forward and raised her weapon to strike. Kairi was about to rush in between them to block the oncoming attack. But before the blow could fall, Naminé raised her hand… and astonishingly the Phantom faltered.
The Phantom stared forward, mesmerized, her arms falling to her sides.
Naminé was visibly struggling, small twitches on her face as she sought to maintain focus on something, drawing shuddering breaths as she kept her eyes on the Phantom.
"Get out of her line of sight. Hide." She ordered the others.
"But what are you d-"Kairi tried.
"Now!" Naminé snapped over her shoulder. And as her head turned Kairi could see a trickle of blood coming out from the corner of her eye, falling down her cheek.
The others obeyed quickly, hiding themselves behind the curtains, the only spot of cover in this corridor. Keeping her gaze on the Phantom, her hand still raised, Naminé took several cautious steps back. Then she too rushed into cover, ending up right next to Kairi, while Roxas and Xion had hid themselves behind another curtain.
Kairi was keeping as quiet as possible, scared to even breathe. The curtains were thick enough that she couldn't see the Phantom, but she was certain she was still out there, and close by. And she was painfully aware the curtains didn't hide them from view altogether. They were short enough that their shoes still partly showed. All the Phantom had to do was to look down, and they'd be discovered. And then they'd be in trouble. As to why Naminé seemed to think simply breaking the line of sight would work she did not know. But she needed to trust her right now. And oddly enough the Phantom wasn't attacking for the moment…
After agonizing moments she heard footsteps, receding as they walked away. It was significantly longer until the four of them dared to come out of hiding.
Roxas looked left, then right down the corridor to double check that the Phantom was truly gone. "That was… so close." He then whispered.
"What was that? What did you do?" Xion asked of Naminé.
"Replaced her short term memory of finding us with a memory of not seeing anyone here." Naminé said as she wiped away the blood from her cheek. Of course she kept seeing us, so I had to keep replacing the memory over and over continuously. That's why we had to get out of her field of vision. It was all… rather draining."
"And I had to do that in a hurry, so the false memories came out rather crude. Won't be too long before she realizes that she was fooled. So we can't stay here." She added.
"You heard her. Let's go." Kairi said, and the four of the hurried onwards.
"No offense but… your powers are kind of scary at times." Roxas commented.
"Thank you, I know." Naminé said dryly.
"Seriously, I didn't know that was something you could do." He continued.
She chuckled humorlessly. "Neither did I, to be perfectly honest."
"You didn't know that would work?" Xion gasped.
Naminé shook her head. "No. It was… a spur of the moment."
"But… if you weren't sure… you might have got yourself hurt. You could have let us just take our chances." Roxas said.
She shook her head again. "You don't want to hurt her. None of you. Even if you had no other choice you still wouldn't. Because her face still reminds you of a friend. She knows this. And she would exploit any such hesitation ruthlessly. Better this way."
"Nor should you want to hurt her given what I felt." She added.
She turned to Kairi, having her stop, Xion and Roxas halting as well. "Kairi… she's still in there. Aqua. The real her. I felt it when I touched the Phantom's mind. She's hurt, faint and fading, but she's still there, and still resisting. If we can reach her, strengthen her, she might be able to retake control."
"So… we could still bring her back?" Kairi realized. "But how? My light isn't enough anymore, or it would have worked already. So how can we tip the balance?"
"The light vials…" Xion muttered to herself. "The light vials Ira gave to Ventus. While you were having you exam I saw him give them to Aqua. So if we used them…" She then explained.
"Assuming we could get to them. And that the Phantom hasn't already gotten rid of them. But if she hasn't and we can… then maybe…" Roxas said.
"Do you think it could work?" He asked of Naminé.
Naminé crossed her arms. "It might. It's desperate, and I can't say for sure it would be enough, or that we can get close enough to try. But it might be her only chance."
Kairi nodded gravely. "It might be a long shot… but I don't think there is a better one to look forward to. And Aqua might not have the time for us to find one."
She bit her lip. "Look, I know the plan was for us to get out of here. But now that I know what to do… I have to go look for her. I have to try to help her."
"Kairi, we get it. We're with you." Naminé said.
Kairi shook her head. "You don't have to be. It might be safer for you to just get out of here and let me handle this."
"Not safer for you. We'll help you with this. Right, Roxas?" Xion said.
"Right. She's our friend too. So let's get going before it's too late." Roxas said.
Kairi nodded, giving them a grateful smile, and the four of them headed back the way they had come.
"Naminé, that thing you did earlier… if it comes down to it do you think you can do it again? Might come very handy." Xion asked.
Naminé thought for a moment. "With the Phantom, maybe, though she'll know I can do it now. She'll be watching out for it this time. With the Darknesses though… no. I dare not try it with them."
"Why not?" Kairi asked.
"Because ultimately my abilities are a bridge that links both ways. Not usually an issue with most people, but… these shadows, they are powerful and clearly extremely adept at influencing other minds. I nearly lost control just by interfacing with Vanitas by accident. And these ones I feel could be worse. If I fool around with them, I could end up taken over. And if they gain what I can do, we're lost." Naminé explained.
Kairi nodded. "Understood. Well, I don't think we want to fight the Foretellers. We just want to find Aqua, turn her back and get out of this place."
"Xion and I might want a rematch with Aced to be honest. But… you're right. Too much could go wrong. Unless it's to save our friends it's not worth the risk today." Roxas said.
"I'd much rather all of us made it out alive than put everything at risk for the sake of payback." Xion agreed.
"I hope Terra and Ven are ok. And Mickey and Yen Sid. Even more worried about them, because they both got hurt already, and we left them behind." She added.
"We can only hope." Kairi said, her tone revealing she was also concerned.
"Yeah…" Xion said.
"By the way… what you were trying to say earlier…?" Xion began to ask.
"Not now, Xion. We've enough work to do staying alive and helping Aqua when we find her. The rest has to wait. And we need to focus on it, not get distracted by storytelling. For now just accept it was something bad." Naminé cut in.
While she was fully prepared to reveal the truth, Kairi was still grateful to her former Nobody for postponing it for the time being….
Lauriam, Elrena, Lea and Isa were still travelling through the darkness, with Lauriam and Elrena in the lead, while Lea and Isa carried the box between them a short distance behind. While Isa was wearing his coat, the rest were still in their armors, Lea's being bright red in color, with a continuous stream of flame coming from the back of his helmet.
"Whew. This thing is surprisingly heavy…" Lea commented as they slugged along.
"You want to give us a turn carrying it?" Elrena asked over her shoulder.
"Nah. We'll manage." He said immediately.
Elrena gave a short laugh. "Oh, I get it. So you're okay carrying it around, so long as you get to gripe about it? That's fine, I can work with that. Might even have done that myself over the years. Just don't go saying I didn't offer to help."
"Shouldn't be much longer at least." Lauriam commented.
"Yeah. Speaking of which, does the return trip feel a lot longer to the rest of you? I mean, shouldn't we have gotten there by now?" Elrena wondered.
"You do know how darkness works. Warps both space and time. Shouldn't be surprising the trip feels different length different times." Isa said.
"Sure. But… I don't know, something feels different to me though…" She replied.
"And it's not just the length of the trip either. Maybe it's just me, but… the darkness here feels more potent than usual. More dense somehow." She added.
"Wait, you're feeling it too? I was just thinking the same thing. I thought it was just my imagination." Lauriam commented.
"Well, now that you mention it… it does feel weird to me too. Like wading through jam or something." Lea joined in.
"Isa?" He asked.
"I haven't sensed anything particularly different. But it could be because I'm wearing my coat. They're much more efficient at warding off darkness, right? Could be that it's enough to dampen whatever the rest of you are feeling." Isa said.
"Do you think it might have something to do with the box?" Lea wondered.
"No way to know for now. But if it is the box then we need to be extra careful. Who knows what we have been saddled with?" Elrena said.
"But something is clearly off. I don't like it. Makes my skin crawl." She added. "Let's just get out of here as soon as we can. We can figure out the source once we're back in the Realm of Light."
They walked for a time longer. Then Elrena stopped, a concerned frown on her face behind her helmet.
"Come on, what is going on with this place!? We definitely should have reached our exit point by now." She wondered as the others came to a stop as well.
"Yet I can't even see it. Can you?" She asked. The others shook their heads.
"It's like the darkness is leading us in circles on purpose..." She pondered.
"That's it. I'm opening our portal right now." She declared.
"Careful. If we try to open a portal before we've reached the proper exit point there's no telling where we will emerge." Lauriam cautioned.
"I know. But we ought to be pretty close to the right spot by now. And somehow I think we're not going to be getting anywhere by just walking straight ahead." She said.
She raised her hand and the darkness ahead of them began to warp into an oval shape, a small flicker of light appearing at the center of it. But their portal didn't open fully. She persisted for a while before relenting with a tired gasp.
"Damn! This darkness is really fighting me. I've never had this much trouble before." She exclaimed.
She turned to the others. "Lend me a hand would you? I suddenly have a feeling we really don't want to get stuck here."
Exchanging nods, Lea and Isa set the Box down. All four of them then raised their hands for a second attempt. Once again the portal began forming. And once again Elrena could feel the darkness pushing back, trying to keep the path closed. Even with all of them trying, they were having a hard time of it.
"You're not keeping us here. We will leave. Do you hear me? You will let us out!" She told the darkness.
Pouring even more magic into the effort, she let out a yell. Suddenly, to the sound of tearing fabric the darkness pulled away, disappearing from around them. Elrena was then startled to discover they were several meters in the air, but still too close to the ground to call up her usual trick for levitating in time. She fell face first to the ground, the others tumbling down with similar lack of grace. The box landed last, tumbling unceremoniously to the ground just behind them.
Grunting in annoyance Elrena picked herself off the ground to find… frost?
"Woah, what the-?" She gasped as she stood up. She looked around herself. They had emerged in a forest. It was dark, the air bitterly cold around them, everything coated in a layer of hoarfrost.
"Looks like we came out in the right place at least." She said, just able to make out the silhouette of the castle, a fair distance to their left. "But what on earth is going on? Pretty sure it was summer weather here when Lauriam and I left."
"Yeah, the weather took a really weird turn a short while back. Right after we had a really bizarre episode of all of us snapping awake at the exact same moment middle of the night." Lea said.
"And you were going to mention this to us when?" Lauriam asked.
"Meant to say something, but I guess we forgot with all the other things going on. We didn't have any answers about it though. Wasn't sure if it needed memorizing or not." Lea answered, spreading his arms and shrugging.
"But… hey! Look at the castle." He then said with alarm, pointing. "It's completely dark, no lights at all."
"And was THAT going on earlier, too!?" Elrena asked pointedly.
"Nope, that's definitely a new thing. This could be really bad." Lea said.
"Well, duh." Elrena mocked. "Come on, we need to check this out."
"Wait. What about the Box?" Isa asked.
"Who cares about the stupid Box!? This could be a straight up emergency!" She snapped.
"We should take a moment to secure it. Just to make sure it doesn't change hands yet again." Lauriam said.
He looked around. "There, near that big tree. Lea, could you give me some fire on the ground near it?"
"I could. But why?" Lea asked in puzzlement.
"I need the ground melted. Just do it." Lauriam explained.
After a pause Lea complied, unleashing a jet of flame that left a large scorched patch on the ground.
Lauriam nodded to Lea in thanks, then closed his eyes to concentrate. He began to motion with his hands. Roots erupted from the ground, snaking to the box and grabbing it, dragging it to the center of the scorched area. Churning and twisting the roots buried the Box underground, until none of it was visible. More roots knotted together, forming into a dense shell at the top.
His work complete, Lauriam walked to the tangle of roots. He summoned his keyblade and struck at them, only for his weapon to bounce off harmlessly.
"There. That ought to give pause to any would be thieves.
Isa nodded, then motioned with his hand in turn, the roots glowing briefly with blue light.
"A ward against magic in case anyone thinks to try that method." He explained.
"Right, that's a job well done. Now let's go. We need to hurry." Elrena said impatiently.
The four of them set off at once. As they were hurrying towards the castle Elrena noted Lea had his gummiphone in his hands.
"Ah-ah! No calls to anyone until we know what the situation is." Elrena warned.
"But Roxas and Xion…" Lea protested.
"Well figure out their status as soon as we can. But we need to investigate first. Right now a phone ringing in their pocket might be the very last thing they need." Lauriam told him.
With some reluctance Lea returned the phone to his pocket. Shortly they were at the base of the stairs leading up to the main doors. At this close they could see many of the windows had shattered, and everything was eerily quiet.
"Damn. Looks almost as bad as the castle we left behind already." Lea commented quietly.
"This day just keeps getting worse. And it started out so nice too." Elrena muttered, then rushed up the stairs, Lauriam close behind her.
Once past the doors the four slowed down, advancing cautiously to the center of the main hall, keeping their weapons at the ready. Once there Elrena knelt down, picking up a shard of glass.
"Yeah, there's definitely been a big fight here just recently. Magic residue from powerful spells. And there's a trace of… something else. Something bad." She said, examining the shard.
"We need to find the others. And pretty damn quick at that." She concluded.
"We should slit up. We can cover more ground that way." Lea suggested.
"That would leave us vulnerable if what did this is still here. We might be better off staying together." Lauriam countered.
Isa shook his head. "There were many more than four here. Strong wielders. If they were still driven off or… four or two won't make a difference. And it's easier to stay stealthy if there are fewer of us in a group."
Lauriam paused. "Alright. You two, take the left entrance. Elrena, you're with me. We go in, we find our friends, then get back out straightaway. Understood?"
"Turn off the sounds from your phones and send text messages only. Check often, so we know each other's situation. And only do it between four of us for now. Don't know if someone we don't want to could read our messages, but we need to be sure. Until we know what we're dealing with." Elrena whispered, already changing the settings on her phone.
"Alright. Good luck to you guys." Lea said.
Then the two pairs left in opposite directions, disappearing deeper into the castle.