Authors Note: Heh, I was looking over my last chapter and noticed several typos. Curses, no matter how hard I try they always seem to creep into my writing. I’ll see if I can avoid doing that with this chapter, but I can make no real guarantees. I just have a hard time seeing these things when I type them. I’ll try to fix chapter one and upload it again.
This chapter features the début of the new enemies. What are they? Well, you’ll just have to read to find out. Also, Riku enters the scene! Though don’t expect him to be reunited with his friends for a while. Why? That’s for me to know and you to find out.
Welcome to chapter two!
Dis: I don’t own any of this, except for the town of Canath and a rouge lamppost.
Chapter II: Call to Arms
The town of Canath was blanketed by a thick, warm fog—a byproduct of all those storms—which showed no sign of lifting. What buildings that could be seen were squat and square, built to withstand hard weather, but with a certain beauty as well. Everything was blue, white, or tarnished gold with elegant, deep-set engravings, changing the stone walls into the frozen images of wind-tossed seas. And everything glistened with moisture, making the whole place both old and new at the same time.
Sora felt like he was breathing clouds as he walked down the smoothly cobbled street; it was almost like he was underwater again, except with legs instead of a tail.
“See a store anywhere, guys?” Sora asked to the fog, hoping his friends were still walking next to him.
“What do you think?” A blurry figure replied gruffly in Donald’s voice. “Feels like soup out here.”
“Well, we’re bound to find something eventually,” Goofy commented from a patch to Sora’s left. “All we gotta do is keep going and--”
Goofy was cut off as he walked into what appeared to be a lamppost. Sora helped him up as he looked around in the surprisingly thing patch of fog. It was like something had just cut a chuck out of the grey, exposing some kind courtyard or miniature park. There were several benches and low-hung trees, as well as what seemed to be several dark lumps scattered on the ground…
“Sora! Look out!”
Instinctively, he ducked as a dark shape hurtled over his head. It landed and spun to face the threesome, easily balanced on two bent-back legs. Its body was painfully thin, with wraith-like arms that ended in short, sharp claws. Two long antennas ran from the pointed ends of its wedge-shaped head, far back from the slanted eyes that glowed green in the gloom.
Behind it, he lumps on the ground got smoothly to their feet, proving to be more of the same creatures. They spread out, surrounding the trio.
“Heartless?”
Sora looked sideways at Goofy.
“I don’t think so.”
The creatures leaped inward, claws coming down to rip them apart. Sora Dodge Rolled under, the Ultima Keyblade appearing in his hand. He quickly got to his feet and slashed at the creature’s unprotected backs. They didn’t dissolve though, only fell forward a bit from the impact, and Sora was forced to jump as three attacked him. He didn’t see the near dozen that materialized out of the mist, or that Donald and Goofy were cornered by a dozen more.
Sora went sprawling as something rammed into him midair and he hit a wall, his Keyblade falling from his hand. He tumbled to the ground and four of the things pinned his arms and legs, while a fifth jumped on his stomach. It raised its claws, aiming for his chest, but its green eyes met Sora’s and it hesitated.
“Thundaga!”
The creatures burst into nothing as lightening cascaded around Sora. He was on his feet in a flash, grabbing his Keyblade from the ground nearby. Donald and Goofy rushed to his side, panting from exertion.
More and more of the things appeared out of the mist, moving slowly and menacingly. Sora looked at companions questioningly. At their nods he crouched low, an aura of gold drifting around him.
“Give me strength…”
He reared back, a deep red bubble of light entering his Keyblade; all the MP his friends had left. The gold solidified and the whole are was bathed in red. Sora flipped and plunged his glowing weapon into the ground, swinging around as a red/white light gathered above him. His feet came down on a great, light-filled crest and the energy exploded everywhere, momentarily blinding Sora and his friends.
It eventually dissipated, gold sparkles lifting in the air and the red fading away. Amid the residual magic Sora thought he saw a dimly glowing shape, like two diamonds, one very large and one very small, joined at one point, but it quickly disappeared.
“Are all of you okay?!”
Sora turned to see Deadon running out of the rapidly fading mist. Sora opened his mouth to reassure him, but fell to his knees, weak from using the Trinity Limit. Deadon rushed to his side, while several other townspeople came to Goofy and Donald’s aid. They were half-led, half-carried t o a nearby inn.
The innkeeper was all too willing to give them a room, going on about how they had saved the town as he led them down the hall. Sora was deposited on a large, fluffy bed with a heavy, engraved frame. Deadon shooed the townspeople out and shut the door firmly behind them, leaving only himself and the innkeeper.
“That was amazing young man!” The innkeeper, Argil, exclaimed in an excited voice. “You’re the only one who’s ever been able to destroy those monsters!”
Sora forced himself into a sitting position. “I couldn’t have done it without his friends, but what do you mean ‘the only one’?”
Argil rubbed his substantial chin nervously. “They showed up about ten days ago. Started attacking people right away; and anyone they got never came back. We never even found any bodies, just more of the damn things. They’re a menace, those Soulless.”
Sora’s head snapped up.
“Soulless?”
Argil shuddered. “That’s what folk call ‘em; those without souls. I figure the people that’ve gone missing have lost their souls and become more of the monsters.”
“I’m sorry Sora,’ Deadon said as he and Argil started out the door, “It’s my fault you had to fight those things. You wouldn’t have gone if I hadn’t mentioned the temple. Argil told me that’s where the Soulless came from in the first place.”
Once the door was shut Sora sank back into the pillows, disturbed. Why Soulless? What was the difference between a Soul and a Heart? And how could these people tell?
But most importantly, what did this mean for the three of them?
“Sora,” Goofy asked from the bed on his right, “He said they came ten days ago, right?”
“Yeah,” Donald answered before Sora could open his mouth, “Just about the same time we…”
“Set out,” Sora finished for him when he trailed off, “When we first decided to come to this town.”
Donald and Goofy shot concerned glances at each other and Sora’s fist clenched.
“First thing tomorrow we’re going to the temple.”
******
Revived after a hearty breakfast and a stop at a Rest Point, the trio headed for the temple, a perfectly beautiful, crisp morning to accompany them. It was a welcome change from yesterday and there were no Soulless in sight. Sora and his friends could only hope that didn’t change.
However, Sora couldn’t shake off his sense of disquiet. He felt like he was tittering on the edge of something vast and important, where one little slip could cost him everything. He’d had this feeling enough times before to know to take it seriously. Donald and Goofy knew it too, but had different ways of dealing with it.
“This is just what we need,” Donald griped loudly, “As if the Heartless weren’t bad enough. Now we gotta deal with these things.”
“I’m sure we’ll be able to handle them,” Goofy commented, “As long as Sora has the Keyblade we should find a way.”
Sora kept his mouth shut, deciding it was best if he didn’t mention how the Soulless had been completely unaffected by the Ultima Keyblade, the most powerful one he had.
Well, not really, Sora thought to himself, the Kingdom Key is its true form, but how do I know if that won’t work either?
“Hey, there’s Deadon!”
At Goofy’s shout Sora looked up, seeing the aforementioned sailor waiting for them on the steps of a large, surprisingly circular building with absolutely no engravings, only a light grey wall and a solid-looking door. There were some inscriptions on the door, though, in a language Sora had never seen before. He stopped at the bottom of the steps, staring at them.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Deadon said as he walked a small ways down the steps. “I was a little worried, but after you destroyed that big group no other Soulless have come through the mirrors.”
“Mirrors?”
Deadon jerked his thumb behind him.
“See for yourself; this temple ain’t like the others.”
Goofy and Donald started to go inside, but Sora paused.
“Deadon, what does that inscription mean?”
“Oh, that?” Deadon rubbed the back of his head, “It’s in the old tongue and not easy to translate, but the best way would be ‘For now we see as through a glass darkly’.”
Sora lifted an eyebrow.
“Is that it?”
“Well, no,” Deadon answered sheepishly, “The rest was either lost or forgotten centuries ago. Anyway, I’ve got some things to take care of, so I’ll meet up with you guys later.”
“Yeah, later,” Sora said distractedly, already heading inside the temple.
The heavy door swung silently shut behind them, the near darkness closing in. There was enough light to see, though, strange, blue-flame candles flickering from numerous spots around the one room. The interior was like a cylinder, the ceiling hidden in the shadows. Their footsteps seemed to echo endlessly, the stillness holding them in a single moment of time.
And everywhere Sora looked there were mirrors; mirrors of all shapes, sizes, and design coated the wall, stood on and lean against pillars. No matter where Sora turned he saw countless reflections of himself going on into eternity.
He wasn’t sure why it disturbed him; it was just himself, a teenage boy in slightly scruffy clothing with a crown of brown spikes just starting to feel the inexorable toll of gravity. It was himself, but, for some reason, he didn’t want to see it.
“Sora! Look at this!”
Sora jerked out of his dark thoughts and went to his friends, who were standing in front of a wide, full-length mirror which had an arched top and ornate silver frame. Unlike the others, the reflection on this one was fogged, the black on black surface seeming to absorb light instead of bouncing it back.
Sora leaned close, his gaze riveted on the tarnished glass surface. Slowly, he raised one hand and touched the solid darkness with the tips of his fingers. The glass rippled like water, distorting the already hazy images. Then the reflections disappeared completely, while the surface continued to move ever-so-slightly and a ribbon of deep, deep blue began to swirl at the very center. Sora could feel the vastness on the other side of the mirror, a long, long tunnel with no end in sight.
Sora pulled back and suppressed a shudder, smiling shakily.
“That’s where they came from, all right. I don’t know how they did it, but this mirror is a door to another world.”
“Does this mean we’re gonna have to go through it?” Goofy asked, apparently not very happy with the prospect.
Sora could understand. A chill seemed to drift out of the mirror, a brittle cold that was uncomfortably familiar. He shook off the unwanted feeling and backed towards the exit.
“Look’s like it,” Sora answered, “but let’s wait until we can re-supply. I don’t want to go anywhere unprepared.”
“Then let’s get out of here,” Donald proclaimed as he stomped out the door, Goofy running to catch up. Sora hesitated, feeling a strange pull from the mirror. He managed to resist it and run outside.
The mirror rippled again.
“…I’m coming, Sora…”
******
“King Mickey! What’s wrong?! What’s happening?!”
“It doesn’t matter now, Riku! Just go, before it’s too late!”
Despite Mickey’s command, Riku still tried to reach the king, fighting against the darkness. He was losing ground, though, and the shadow was steadily consuming the light of Kingdom Hearts. Riku looked behind him at the wall of joined Heartless and began to give up hope.
They had been fighting for what felt like weeks now, the Heartless steadily destroying the light despite their best efforts to stop them. But that wasn’t how it’d been in the beginning when Riku had first been locked within Kingdom Hearts. It had been very calm at first; just the light and the dark, perfectly divided. Once the door had been closed the Heartless had become almost torpid, dissolved in pools of black just outside the light.
For the first couple of months the glowing eyes staring out at him from the darkness had bothered Riku, but once a year had gone by he’d gotten used to it. He gotten used to everything; the fact that he never got hungry, the gentle, distant sounds that could not be identified, and the soft ground with many layers of light and dark.
And King Mickey had been with him, keeping him company and helping him to hold onto his sanity. He also had his Keyblade and used it on the occasional rouge Heartless that attacked them. Yes, Riku had settled into a kind of pattern of life, or as much of a life as a person could have in this kind of place.
That is, until the nothingness had come:
“Your Majesty, I can’t feel anything beyond this point. It’s like something just took a piece out of the ground.”
“You really should call me Mickey, you know. Hmm, that is strange.”
“What do you think it means?”
“I don’t know but we’d better…”
“Your Majesty? What is it?”
“…I’m not sure, but we need to start running…now.”
“Why? I don’t see—ahh! The cold!”
“It’s coming! Run, Riku! RUN!”
So Riku had run.
It had only gotten worse from there. The void had spread, eating away at Kingdom Hearts, until only a small amount of darkness was left outside the light. And that’s when the Heartless had awoken from their lethargic state. They had risen up, a monstrous wave of joined shadows, and had begun to cover the light.
That had been about ten days ago and now only a tiny sliver of illumination remained at the top of the wall.
Riku was backed up against it, the void mere inches away. Mickey was several feet to his right, in the same position. Riku gritted his teeth, prepared to stand firm until the end. He had let people down before; he wouldn’t give up now, no matter how bad it looked. He wouldn’t face that shame again.
Then, taking him totally off guard, a fine, beautiful silver mist appeared out of nowhere, shining with its own light. The sheen swirled in front of them, holding the emptiness at bay.
Mickey broke free from the wall, running towards Riku. It was hard to tell in the haze, but it looked like the King’s Keyblade appeared in his hand, glowing strangely. He dashed to Riku’s side and thrust the weapon into his hands.
“Hurry, there isn’t much time,” Mickey said quickly, pointing upwards. “You need to get to the light. Don’t worry about me; we’ve got help, now.”
Riku held the blade lightly reluctant to take Mickey’s only protection.
“I can’t take this! And what do you mean, ‘we have help’?”
Mickey smiled. Riku had gotten used to that, too; Mickey always smiled, even when he knew you couldn’t see him in the dark. He reminded Riku of Sora and that hurt; he always felt a stab of guilt, even now.
“Don’t worry, Riku,” Mickey said, giving him a push upwards. “Just head towards the light. Sora’s going to need your help; they all will.”
A blast of icy cold wind hit them like a sledgehammer, scattering the silver mist.
“Go!!” Mickey yelled and turned to face the void.
Riku scramble to find a hold; as he started climbing he thought he saw something strange out of the corner of his eye, but he ignored it and concentrated on the ascent. Mickey had sacrificed his only chance so that Riku might be able to escape. He wouldn’t waste the hard-fought opportunity.
It was hard, the ossified Heartless cold as ice and slick with moisture from the mist. Regardless, Riku climbed as fast as he could, his free hand quickly becoming scratched and bruised. The closer he got to the light the more violent the arctic wind seemed to become and the cold was almost enough to burn.
Sweat was pouring down his face and freezing on his arms when Riku’s grip finally began to give. His numb, blue hand was inches from the top when he began to slide. His turquoise eyes narrowed.
No! I won’t fail this time!
Riku’s fingers slipped and he careened into the dark.
******
Mwahahahahahahahah! A cliffhanger! And you don’t get to know what happens to Riku until chapter five! Well, don’t worry, it will come up eventually; like I’ve said before, this will be finished, no matter how long it takes.
The next couple of chapters concern the ‘certain Anime characters’ I mentioned. One of the worlds, too. It’s getting more interesting, so stay tuned.
Until next time! ^_^