Video Game: Kingdom Hearts SOS: The Road To Light

They needed to get going to the beacon, and they needed to do it fast. Much as he wanted to catch up with Anan- holy crap how far he had fallen...since when had he gotten along with Ananta? Anyway, much as he wanted to catch up with Ananta and get to know this Xara person, getting out of the realm of darkness was a priority. Who knew how long the beacon of light would last? So, turning to face Xara, he held out his left hand. "Glen Senka, keyblader of Aatarsilu. Or ex-keyblader now, I guess. I'm the resident drunk and probably the most stupid of all of us that isn't Karina in a temper tantrum. Nice to meet you" he said, then whether or not she shook his hand because i'm not going to powerplay and control Maka's character since that's a big no-no and I don't want lord SOK to smite me where I stand, he turned and pointed towards the beacon.

"To the beacon, and hopefully some good food!" he exclaimed, starting to head towards the giant beam of light. He hadn't actually realised until he'd mentioned food just at that point, but he hadn't actually eaten anything since entering the realm of darkness. Was hunger also slowed, just as aging was? That would be really weird, and even if it was why the heck did that matter? Shrugging off the thought, he focused on the task at hand; escaping.

 

Ananta rolled her eyes at Glen and turned to Hikaru. "There's a lot of people here now." she pointed out, looking at everyone. "I agree on heading to it now, though."

Ananta turned to Karina and stared at her. Last time she spoke to her, Karina seemed adamant in never wanting to speak to Ananta. But right now, Ananta didn't care how hard she'd get hit. She walked over to Karia and stood in front of her. "Karina." she started before giving Karina a quick hug that was really just her pulling Karina towards Ananta a brief second. "I think you needed that."

Not wanting to wait around to get socked, Ananta quickly turned and stepped forward a bit back towards Hikaru. "Got any idea where it'll go?" she asked.

 

While Stratos wasn't entirely sure if what he said was true, Luna had seemed to find relief in his words, coming to peace with something she had been wrestling with. After she had muttered something under her breath, she then asked the boy a question. One that he had not been expecting. To find a loved one or to save the lives of others. He was fairly certain he knew why she was asking him, and there was no way he could give her the answer for her on her behalf. However, no matter how he tried, he couldn't think of what he would likely do. It was likely because the question didn't really pertain all that much to him, or rather, the two choices didn't feel all that different to him. While he had been busy thinking on the her question, Luna then spoke again, breaking his train of thought. Saying that she was ready to get going to the beacon, he nodded with a smile on his face saying, "yeah, let's go. We don't want to keep anyone else waiting there for too long." With that, he started to walk forward, ahead of the girl, before his expression became more somber. "Oh, and to answer your question from earlier, I'd obviously do both. The only people I want to find right now are also the ones I want to save." And besides, he had failed at doing either in the past, so it was only right that he was owed both now.

After walking around for a bit more time, the duo eventually arrived at the beacon. As Stratos looked at the area, his eyes lit up as joy filled his expression and he jogged towards the area. "Hey!" He shouted out, waving to the people there. Up until now he had nothing concrete to aid in his hope, but here, right before his eyes there they were. The people who he had been journeying with for his time since he had left home, they had been in this realm as well and were all still here. After getting towards the others, catching his breath from the brief run, he said, "good to see you're all still alive." While he had a smile on his face beforehand, his expression tensed up a bit as he looked up to see that the man in white had been there as well. While a bit standoffish towards him, he acknowledged, "I take it this whole thing was your doing? I don't really know who or what you are but, thanks regardless."

 

The story of Andrew ‘AJ’ Jacob Canvasback

Part 1​

"The Darkness"
​

Andrew ‘AJ’ Jacob looked around. All he could see was darkness in every direction. The darkness did not bother him too much. He had rather good eye sight when it came to walking and looking around in the dark. He had no memory on how he got here or why, although he did not really think about it. The darkness had an effect on him. He began to think back to a time when someone thought it would be a good idea to come up on him in the dark a dump something on him. He saw this act coming a mile away so it did not happen. It was one of the many things he was good at. He picked a random direction and stared walking. There was not much to see considering how dark it was. He lost track of how long he was walking for. He did not even know what he was looking for if anything. He continued to walk until he saw something or someone in the distance. He could not make out who there were. The only thing that he could make out was that they were human. It was more of a shadow than anything else. He tried to get a closer look but the person just keep getting farther and farther away. There was no sound or really much of anything. He tried to say something but nothing came out. There was nothing for him to do but to follow them. The whole time he followed the he tried to make out what they were wearing but they must have had on all black because he could not make out a single detail. He then almost tripped over something looking down there was an outline of a key. He could not see any more detail other than that. He bent down to pick it up but could not find it at all it was almost like it disappeared. He looked up to see several looking dog things in the distance. Something told him that getting close to them was not a good idea. He turned and ran in a random direction. He looked behind him once or twice to only see the dog outline behind him. He still could not make out any detail. Then a bright light appeared out of nowhere. A blinding bright light. He closed his eyes for a moment and...

 

Raisor continued to wait around the Cornerstone as more people began to fall in. He noticed that Stratos and Karina looked like hell, and thought he might say something. Then he thought about it again and decided not to. It was just easier for him to be quiet right now. He just didn't have the energy to make any sort of comment on anything. He just wanted to go where he needed to and do what needed to be done.

As the last of their group came up to the area, Dreamer began to talk along with two mice. What was up with all these mice anyways? There seemed to be no end to them. Either way, they talked about how their group meant something important, Dreamer said something about taking up some job from his brother, and there was a lot of quiet. Hikaru was the first to step up and walk toward the castle, along with a couple others. Raisor decided to follow suit and went along. As he got to the castle, he saw through the front door and didn't know if his reaction should just be neutral, astonished, unimpressed, or an option D if there was one.

The entire castle was exactly as Dreamer had said. There was only a hallway of doors upon doors upon doors. Raisor wasn't even sure he'd seen this many doors in one place, and he'd been to a fair number of places. He noticed numbers above the doors, but they all seemed blank to him. Made him wonder why Hikaru walked up to one like he knew it was his. Raisor continued to walk and passed by a door with the letters "XIX" above it. Then he did a double-take and turned back toward the door, seeing his name above it. Guess that explained why Hikaru stopped at his door. For some reason they could only see their name above a certain door. Not sure why his was XIX, but whatever. He wasn't going to ask questions at this point, and figured the best thing to do was just trudge on through. Walking up to the door, Raisor put his hand on it, ready to go through whatever trial was waiting for him.

 

Well, if anything happened there, it was that Dreamer had dispelled the little remaining suspicion that he might've been plotting against them. His words were awkward, as though he were a poet trying to figure out how to use common speech. Yet, there was something of a sincerity to them. He was trying, that was for sure. He spoke of what the SOS, as they called themselves, actually stood for. The Servants of Sanctuary. Well, they hadn't done much of a good job protecting many sanctuaries lately. In fact, it seemed like everywhere they went was doomed to oblivion or worse hours after they arrived. Everything had been working out terribly for them nonstop, as though fate were trying to spite them, but he was no stranger to fate rubbing dirt in his eyes. After all, what else had his life been but that?

Beuce shook his head. If he'd learned one thing from his life, it was that complaining about your circumstances accomplished nothing. No matter how bad things got, no matter how hopeless they seemed, no matter how hopeless they were, if all you did was sit around and complain, you had the right to complain least of anyone. You had to accept things as the way they were, even if it wasn't how you wanted them. Once you did that first step, then you could start on the road to make things better. If you couldn't change things yourself, then you had no right to ask anyone else to change something for you. He continued to listen to the white robed man. Once they entered that castle, they'd find a hall of doors, and one of them would lead them to...their homeworld..? Beuce was a bit skeptical as to whether such a thing was possible or not, but nonetheletss, he didn't care. He was going to try it.

"It doesn't take much to be bigger than us. After all, we're pretty small if you ask me." He said dryly as he walked through the massive doors. Sure enough, there was a hall of doors. It was a massive hallway, possibly indicating as to the castle's actual size. He wouldn't want to go through this entire thing at the best of times, let alone without his power. As he strode through the doors, looking at each one, they had a roman numeral, indicating to a number. a few other people seemed to pick a door and enter it. It seemed arbitrary which door they chose until he reached one toward the end of the hallway, but not quite there. it read BEUCE underneath a large XXVII, He assumed most people saw their name beneath the number which alluded to them, but no one else could see who's door was who's.

He reached out and placed his fingers around the handle of the door, and stopped. The once-wielder took a deep breath. If this really did take him to a memory of his homeworld, was he ready for it? He shook the doubt from his head. Even if not, what else could he do? This was to help him regain his keyblade. If he didn't do this, then they were going to be stuck in the realm of darkness forever. To be honest, he wasn't even sure what he was fighting for. He's made friends during his time here, but he'd never really had a real driving force behind his actions. Nevertheless, the only way for him to go now was forward.

Spoiler: RIven

He pulled the handle and his face was hit by an icy wind. He raised his hands to protect himself from the snow which now filled his vision. As he adjusted to the harsh and sudden change in climate, he gradually lowered his hands to find that he was no longer inside a castle in the realm of darkness. Overwhelmed by emotion, he dropped to his knees. Tears began to well in his eyes. Snowflakes fell onto the endless frozen field, with a small fortress grafted into the mountains being the only real landmark within the immediate vicinity. He reached his hands into the snow to make sure it was real. Sure enough, the frozen white substance began to melt against the warmth of his palms, when he realized that the environment wasn't the only thing that had changed. He was the way he was on his homeworld, Riven. His arm was as though it had never been lost in the first place.

He tightened his grip and loosened it once again, inspecting the limb he suspected he'd never have the chance to move again. He'd been getting used to only having one arm, but it was needless to say he was overjoyed to have it returned to him. Pushing himself back onto his feet, he was sure that it was really what he thought it was. This was Nevren. The northern most point on their broken world. More specifically, in their half of it. The part in which they resided had been called Umbrel, because of the shadow the lived in. They had to struggle every day of their lives just to survive, but it was because of this that the bonds between them were all that much stronger. You had to cherish every moment you had with someone, because you never knew if you would get another. Tears began to run out of his eyes before a hand appeared on his shoulder. He turned around to see a red haired woman, nearly as tall as he was. He skin was smooth and had a slight purpleish tint to it. Her hair was long and straight, tied into a ponytail. Her eyes were a deep violet, that reminded him of gemstones. He knew this girl well, and the soft expression in her smile lifted up his heart. He used to have a crush on her, though he wasn't exactly subtle about it. She never quite returned his affection, but she remained a good friend to him.

Behind her stood a man and a woman, both with concerned expressions. He recognized them as well. The fourth of them together had made an inseparable quartet. They were all in the same unit because of their effectiveness and teamwork with one another. It was one thing that made them stand out and rise through the ranks as quickly as they did. He knew this was a memory of his homeworld...but when exactly was it? Obviously before the destruction, but that was still quite a lot of time. Though, right now, he just put his hand on Alana's shoulder, making sure she was really there. She was warm to the touch, and looked at him a little oddly in reaction to it. So, it really was her. He'd actually come back to Riven.

"What...What's up?" He asked her, only prompting an even more confused expression from the woman. He didn't really expect much else, but he was at a loss for words until he could compose himself a bit better and ask about the current situation of the world. Umbrel had remained unchanging for a long time. They mostly focused on survival rather than progress. The only exception was the military, where he resided. Dominus had by far the better offensive force. If they tried to simply defend themselves, it would be a death sentence. Domnius spared nothing in its path. They viewed everything as theirs by birthright, and the Umbrians were merely thieves attempting to steal away what belonged to them. They had to keep on the offensive, or else they would get overrun by the Dominesian forces quickly. The only way to keep themselves in the fight was by taking it to them, and keep the fighting away from their homeland.

"What do you mean 'What's up'? You ran off, and we came out to find you crying in the snow fields. What's wrong, Beuce? I thought you'd be thrilled about this. You're always the one trying to make a bigger impact." That more or less answered his question as to the "when" aspect. The Twin Gods Nazamier and Raun were once one being. Between them, they were the observers of fate. They each belonged to Dominus and Umbrel, respectively. Though they didn't act directly on the race's behalf, they did impart prophecy unto the people of it. When one of them saw a prophecy, the other would see the same from the opposite perspective, and they had just delivered the biggest one in history. They'd named him specifically as the "king" of the race. Though not king as you'd initially expect. King, as in the chess piece. In other words, his life was directly tied to the survival and victory of the entire race as a whole. And it declared that he would have a battle in the times to come with Sorenia, The Dominesian king. Her names was renowned and feared throughout their people. She was one of the enemy's best soldiers, and she had well earned her reputation as the Butcher of High Throne. He'd never met her himself, well, at the point in time the memory was from he hadn't, at least.

"Haha, so i did. I guess it's just a little...Overwhelming, you know? Someone just told me that me screwing up dooms literally everything i know." He said, trying and failing to hide his obvious nervousness in speaking to her. He couldn't help but be nervous. She was dead. She'd been dead for a long time. It was almost like he was speaking to a ghost, one that didn't know it was dead yet. For all intents and purposes, he may as well have been. Yet, she was certainly solid. No transparency or even sheets over her head with holes for eyes. The Alana before him was real, or at least, as real as she could get. She made a displeased face at him.

"Beuce, don't be so pessimistic. You aren't one to look at they grey behind the silver. Come on, its not as though you'll be alone. You'll have us to help you, and you'll probably start special training sessions with the general herself to prepare you for the fight. You won't have to do anything by yourself. You'll win, I'm sure of it. No butcher will be able to stand a chance against us." Her sincere smile shattered his heart with regret. She really believed in him. She always had...

"Yeah...That's right..." He said, avoiding eye contact. She wouldn't have any of that and made him look directly at her. Her violet eyes complimented her skin. He was entranced by them for a moment, but he soon came to realize that she did this for a reason. Clearly she was expecting a less wishy-washy answer, and wouldn't accept anything less. "Right, sorry." He cleared his throat and shook himself into his normal demeanor. "I, Beucephilous Alexander, the chosen king and hero of Umbrel, will secure victory for us once and for all. I could even do it with one hand. I'm good with that sort of thing, you know?" He said with a semi-playful tone in his voice. She raised an eyebrow and smiled, as she normally did with his antics. "And once i have, We can go to Domnius as we like. I hear it's nice this time of year."

"It's always nice in Domnius. That's the point of Domnius."

"Still doesn't make it wrong." She let out a deep sigh and shook her head at him.

"Why do i talk to you?" She muttered.

"Could it have something to do with my dashing good looks? My witty personality? My leaderly presence on the battlefield?"

"Pity?" The man in dark clothes behind her chimed in, marking the first time either of the other two had spoken during the conversation.

"That's the one." She noted, and they all began to laugh. It was as though nothing had ever happened. Things were exactly the way they used to be. He knew it would only be transient but...for right now...He was home.

 

Kaida was a far less than excited that she was going to be tested right then. And of all things, she really wasn't excited to go to her homeworld either, she'd caught his comment about it and she understood at the very least what to expect as she walked down the hallway of doors. When she reached her's, it had taken her quite some time to get there, she'd passed pretty much everyone else's door first. She had no idea what the number inscribed on the door XXXVIII even stood for. Kaida just kind of took it like it was a serial number at that point to mark her down. She was used to that kind of thing. Kaida could remember her number 20295 for when she needed to be called for something in the Academy. She remembered the marking K-07 that was always spoken as she walked into the meeting room of the order. It was a number that meant nothing to her, but maybe something to a computer.

Kaida didn't really feel the need to hesitate, she figured getting it over with like ripping a bandaid off was probably her best reaction to this. She placed her hand on the handle and turned, just to make sure it really did let her in. Then she pushed the door open and stepped inside.

---

XXXVIII- The Tale Of Kaida
Part 1 of 5
"Home"​

The first thing she felt was the wind, then her vision blinded and she covered her eyes. When she reopened her eyes she was knelt down in front of a large piece of metal and looking upwards to the sky. She knew it was spring, the stars were aligned that way in the sky. The moon was low on the west horizon, making her believe it was early morning. Kaida felt slightly overwhelmed by actually being home. As she lowered her head, she could look down at her village and what was beyond it and that feeling was reinforced even more. She had not expected it, considering how many years she hated her homeworld and how grateful she was to not be back there, the nostalgic imagery triggered some small euphoria she hadn't expected at all.

Then she remembered where exactly she was in relation to her world. But not because she herself figured out the landmass, but because a voice broke through the sound in her mind.

"Lemon, if you blind yourself on that thing you're gonna be really sad when I leave you here."

Kaida turned excitedly around to see Seiza there, he looked much younger but more unkempt. He was working on the ship, specifically placing together the equivalent of a rocket. Kaida could not for the life of her remember how old she must have been right then. Kaida rubbed her eyes and said, "Sorry, I hit it by accident."
"I know, but at this point you should know better. Could you pass the generator piece over there?" Seiza asked, reaching out. Kaida nodded and moved to pick it up and brought it over and Seiza accepted it and said, "You're growing. You're gonna get taller than me if you keep growing at that rate."
"What? You're pretty tall, I doubt you'd be shorter than me. Unless I became a giant."

Seiza laughed and snapped the generator and stood up quickly and his movement was extremely fast as he stretched and quickly jogged across to grab something. Kaida reached out and said, "Wait, Master, that could..." Seiza stopped suddenly, concerned, and looked over and asked, "What's wrong?"

Kaida then remembered, at that point in time, she hadn't damaged his heart. He could be active, running wouldn't kill him. He could do all the things he loved. Kaida went silent, filled with regret and said, "Sorry, I..."
"Did something happen today, Kaida?"

Kaida looked at Seiza for a moment before shaking her head and lied, "Nothing happened. Everything is fine."
Seiza looked sceptical, and he started walking away and said, "You want a snack? I'm grabbing a couple oranges."
"Yes please." Kaida replied as she walked him walk off. She looked up towards the moon and took a deep breath and whispered, "So... what's the point of this? Why am I here?"

"For a test, right?" a teenage voice suddenly spoke by her. Kaida jumped and let out a bit of a yell before she looked over and saw Max Goof standing by a tree. He was leaning against it trying to look all cool, he waved his hand and said, "What's up?"
"Why are you here?"
"Ouch. Am I that bad to hang with?"
"No it's just..." Kaida looked back at the world, at where Seiza stood, at the scenery, then back at Max and said, "You stick out like a sore thumb. You also weren't exactly someone I expected to see here of all places."

"Where is this? It looks like it'd be a cool vacation spot." Max replied looking around, especially at the village and Kaida said, "We're at my home."
"You look really uncomfortable if this is your home."
"It's been years..." Kaida started. She didn't even need to continue, Max just nodded and understood. She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Seiza holding out an orange towards her, "Did you not get enough sleep?"
"I did." Kaida protested, Seiza chuckled and walked away and peeled his orange. Kaida looked back to look at Max, but Max was gone. Kaida was confused, but she figured he'd probably pop up again. She had no idea why he was even here, but she decided to turn and walk back closer to Seiza.

 

Raisor pushed the door open, and took a deep breath. He wasn't sure what was going to be on the other side of the door apart from his own world, and he wasn't sure he was ready to face it again. He knew that after this journey he'd need to go back and finish what he started, but after leaving, he was scared to go back as well. There was a part of him that felt like he had abandoned his duties on his world, and he wasn't sure he was ready to face the results. He knew that this world would only be an illusion, but just seeing it was going to be hard. Slowly, he took a step forward through the door and braced himself.

---

Spoiler

Raisor kept his eyes closed, partly from the blinding light of the sun, and partly from anxiety. Though at the moment, it was mostly from the sunlight. He wasn't sure if it was because he had been in the Realm of Darkness for so long or what, but that light was pretty hurtful on his eyes. He let out the breath he had been holding and slowly opened his eyes. The world was just bright at first, and then came into focus. Raisor was shocked at where he was, partly because it wasn't where he expected to show up, and partly because of just how real the world was.

There was a bight sun shining down on Raisor, through the bluest sky he'd seen in forever. There were clouds floating along, white and puffy like giant snowballs. Well, misshapen snowballs. Then there were the waves. He listened as the waves rocked up against the cliff walls he was standing on. The water splashed gently against the rocks, making hardly any noise, but enough noise to be peaceful. Flowers swayed in the wind, while tall evergreen trees were dotted around the area, providing shade from the sunlight.

Raisor had ended up in the town of Aerilon. He had visited this town just a little over a month before he set out on his journey to other worlds. He remembered that he and his friends traveled here looking for a companion. He looked around from his position and noticed he was just outside of the main road, with buildings lining the street, and wells lining the village. The village wasn't exactly large, but it was big enough to be impressive considering the turmoil that was happening around them. There were homes along the outside of the village, many of the overlooking the cliffs to the ocean, and along the street were some shops, a couple farms, and even a school house. Down the ways he could just barely make out the house where he and his friends had stayed. He wasn't sure if he was happy about where he ended up, or upset.

Raisor took a walk through the town and watched as people strolled along, going about their daily lives. Kids were chasing each other, while parents watched and did their chores. No one seemed to find it strange that Raisor had just appeared out of nowhere, like he had always been there since this morning. One of the kids that was running tripped and felt straight into Raisor.

"Sorry about that, mister." The kid smiled as he apologized, then ran the other direction.

Raisor couldn't even find words to speak; he almost wanted to cry. These kids could play without any worry while there were people fighting for their lives outside of the village. These kids were lucky since they didn't know what was going on, but for them to be able to play like this, Raisor just wanted to say "thank you". He didn't know to who or to what, but he just wanted to say it nonetheless.

Figuring what to do next, Raisor walked down the road and ended up on the west side of the village, where the school was located. He remembered coming to this school the first time, when his ally had rushed in, and gotten himself beaten to a pulp by the teacher there. Of course, that teacher wasn't one to mess with either. Raisor remembered how he and his friend fought her, and couldn't move afterwards. Some people in this world of his were so strong Raisor just couldn't believe it.

"Are you just going to stand there doing nothing?"

Raisor jumped at the voice and turned around. He was surprised beyond belief when he saw one of the people he least expected. His friend's Marie and Ray were standing behind him, Ray with his arms folded and Marie with a puzzled look on her face.

"Are you lost or something, Raisor?" Marie questioned.
"Not sure how you could get lose in this place. It only has one street after all." Ray replied.

Even as an illusion that guy still got on Raisor's nerves somehow.

"Well, maybe I was lost in thought, what do you think of that?" Raisor retorted back to Ray.
"You? Lost in thought? Sorry pal, but an idiot like you can't manage that."
"And just what does that mean, old man?"
"Oh nothing, you don't have to worry about it." Ray looked away, letting lose a tiny grin
"Do you guys always have to fight?" Marie looked slightly annoyed at the two of them, ready to let loose her famous anger.
"He started it," the both of them stated at once.

Raisor and Ray looked at each other and growled a little. While they didn't get along, the two were close, even with the short time they knew each other. Ray had saved Raisor and Marie's life a little ways back, and now he was helping Raisor with his problems, both personal and external. Raisor knew that they probably didn't get along because they were so much alike, except Ray had all the experience, and Raisor just wanted to do things his way. Some how or another though, they still managed to keep together.

"Now that I think about it, what are you guys doing here?" Raisor asked them.
"What do you mean? Did you hit your head or something?" Marie walked up to Raisor and started examining him.
"Kid, you must be lost somehow if you don't remember what we're doing here." Ray replied, with the same puzzled look as Marie.
"I mean, weren't you guys heading with Korin and Lance to Iredale, and I said I'd meet up with you after I finished my business?"

Ray put his hands to his side and shook his head.
"Well, we scoped the place out, and then figured it'd probably be best to come back here to wait for you. Though we're not sure how you ended up getting here so fast. We only arrived a couple days ago. "

Raisor was even more confused at this point. "Well, how in the world would you know I'd come back here? For all you know, I could have gone back to the Thieves' Guild."
"Don't know, it was just a feeling we all had. Like something told us you were coming here and that we had to wait for you. Can't say why though." Ray waved his hands in the air, like he had no excuse at all.
"Does it matter? We're back together again and you're safe and sound," Marie jumped on Raisor and gave him a bear hug. "I'm just glad you didn't come back all beaten up."
"Yeah well, I'm tougher than that." Raisor grabbed Marie's arms and shoved her back a little, unable to breathe from the hugging.
"Yeah, you're so tough that you turn your back in the middle of a fight and get knocked out in one hit." Ray grinned while pointing at Raisor.
"That was one time! Are you ever going to let that go!?" Raisor screamed at Ray.
"Nope, and any chance I get to bring it up to remind you, I will." Ray walked away, laughing.

Raisor was ready to go up and punch the guy, but he held himself back. That subject was a sore spot for him, just because he knew what he did was stupid. And while he knows Ray only jokes about it, it does get old pretty quickly.
Marie jumped around Raisor all happily and followed Ray. "Come on, the others are waiting for us at Korin's house!"
"Coming!" Raisor ran up to the others, enjoying the moment as it was, even if it was an illusion.

 

"Nice... to meet you too," she said, smiling a little. The attention was turned to more and more folks appearing out of no where and the girl fell silent again.

Xara's keyblade was long gone as more and more people showed up. Her eyes took in as much as she could, seeing so many new faces. All of these people were called to the SoS?

She went with the group, seeing the Dreamer... Hearing some familiar phrases, but everything else seemed rather confusing and foreign to her. Face demons?

The young girl took in a deep breath, glancing at the strangers that seemed to be for the same cause. However much time had past since her first world, everyone looked so worn and ragged. It made her wonder what all had happened to them, and how in the world they lost their keyblade. She heard the Dreamer guy mention that they would regain their keyblade again, and Xara wondered what would happen since she already had her keyblade...

Nonetheless, it seemed like they didn't have much time to question things. And with what the Dreamer said, it sounded like everyone had to do this if they were committed to help save the worlds from Darkness.

Xara took a deep breath and marched into the castle after the few others that had already gone, glancing at the Dreamer before she headed in.

Things will get clearer with time, she assured herself in her mind. This was better than wandering in the darkness for who knew how long.

She gasped as she saw the hallways with the many doors and numbers all on them. "Whoa..." She walked down the rows and rows of doors, not finding anything fancy for a while until she came to door XX. Under that, her name.

"... Kinda creepy," she muttered as she scratched her head. She then adjusted her goggles on her head and stood up straight. "Well... Now's the chance to prove you can be one of the team, even if you were outta the loop the whole time," she said under her breath. Without hesitating any longer, she opened the door and was greeted by a blinding light...

 

Ananta was unfazed by Karina's reaction since it was something she expected. She instead nodded at her in understanding. Ananta then turned away to listen to a Mysterious Man speak and then produce two mice who then spoke to them. Having no questions so far, she just listened and watched everyone start to walk forward towards a hall of many doors. They all then seemed to just....disappear. Ananta was wary of this, considering many of her allies were just suddenly gone, but she didn't really have any other choice, did she?

Pensively stepping forward, Ananta looked left and right, wondering where her own door was. She watched the names of her allies all pass by her until she finally got to a door marked XXXI. Not wanting to wait any longer, she grasped the handle of the door and swung it open. She dove headfirst, not even looking forward to see if there was any ground to step on. Suffice to say, Ananta was surprised when she found herself falling downwards. She started to kick her legs in a futile attempt to slow her descent.

Eyes still closed, Ananta opened them again to find herself standing by the Mother Crystal. She gazed upon the soft glow of the ginormous Crystal that dripped eternally. Smiling, she ran forward and gazed upon the pool of water. Gasping, she grasped at her face. She only looked 7 years old now, but her hair was already rather long. It reached down the middle of her back and draped around her as she knelt down. She wore a traditional robe of Sage's in training that many before her wore at this young age.

Not sure what was going on, she looked around and saw all the others who were also training to be apprentices for many other things. Their ages all varied, but she was the only one in training to be a Sage. She was the youngest trainee in the history of their world, but Ananta's grandmother had good reasons. Or so she was told. Regardless of the reason, Ananta had no reason to oppose her after all. Being so young, she had no right to oppose her. She'd be in grave danger if she did.

She quickly sipped from the water dripping from the Mother Crystal before she stood back up. Looking around, Ananta tilted her head, wondering where her Grandmother could even be. Hurrying forward, Ananta looked around to see if she saw her Grandmother perhaps resting under the Mother Crystal. Indeed, she was resting underneath the Crystal. Ananta giggled and stepped towards her, kneeling down and nudging her Grandmother. At this age, Ananta remembered being unable to speak. The reason was due to a mental block that prevented her from speaking after one particular event with her parents. Just the memory brought back pain to Ananta's heart and made her not able to continue thinking of it.

"Child, what is wrong? Shaking me so heavily and suddenly tears...." a kind voice said. Ananta opened her eyes and saw her Grandmother sitting up and placing a hand on her cheek, wiping a tear away.

"Did you think of something sad? Don't cry, strong Sage's don't cry if it can be helped." she smiled. Ananta hugged her tightly and let go, standing back up and assisting her Grandmother in standing.

Her Grandmother didn't have to wear any specific clothing. She chose to wear flowing clothes and her hair kept up, pinned back. "So, I am sure you're wondering perhaps why I wanted you here today at this specific time." she started, looking down at Ananta. Not expecting an answer, Grandmother continued. "For centuries, our world has been watched over by the Mother Crystal. But she was not the only protector in all those years. She had a special person protecting her. These people are called Keyblade Wielders. They are given the rite to wield the blade in her name in order to protect the world and the countless others. You might not understand why, but you are the next in line to become a Master some day and be the one to protect us."

Grandmother stepped forward and reached her hand out. An ornate keyblade appeared in the same shape as on the back of Ananta's robes. "Nobody knows why the Sage's that fall under this specific line have this symbol on their robes but the Masters of the trainees." she said, swinging the blade downward and turning around. She turned the keyblade and knelt down, holding the hilt towards Ananta. "Grasp the hilt and take a deep breathe for me, child." she said.

Scared, she stepped backwards and shook her head. This was all so sudden and Ananta didn't know what to think of it all. The only thing that came to mind was that she needed time to think. So, she ran away.

 

While it wasn't quite yet noon, the sun was definitely high enough in the sky for its rays to wash over the valley and make it warm. Warm, but not too warm. That's how it always was here; the summers were hot, but never scorching. The winters were cold, just cold enough for snow, but never frozen. It was spring, now, so currently, it was just warm. It might rain later, it might not, but it probably would. It nearly always rained on spring afternoons. The breeze was blowing too, making the fields sway to and fro, making leaves rustle on the distant trees.

Gwendolyn was currently sitting in the only tree in the field, dress wrinkled and boots muddy, with one of the many barn cats snuggled up on her lap as she overlooked the cows and horses wandering the field, dotted with the occasional chocobo. It was a good job her father didn't care about her clothes, because she'd ruined more dresses and jeans and t-shirts than she cared to count. As long as her good clothes stayed good, she could do as she pleased. Personally, she preferred to be clean, would love to have all the high-fashion clothes, but the High Fields were no place to be caring about how you looked. Who was she going to impress? The cows?

She was relatively certain that the cows didn't give a single fuck what she looked like.

After a bit, Gwendolyn put the cat to the side after much protesting from the animal, and climbed out of the tree. The cat meowed after her and tried to follow, jumping down to attempt to land on her shoulder.

"Quit whining, you little shit. I have been petting you, like, all day," she told it. "I swear to god you're the most dramatic cat ever. 'Mehhhh, I'm gonna get mud on my paws, mehhhh'. That's you. That's what you sound like."

The cat purred and rubbed its head against hers, and she couldn't help but melt a little, and reach up to scratch its ears.

"Fiiiine, I'll carry you as far as the barn. But after that you're on your own."

She did indeed carry the cat as far as the barn, up the hill and along the dirt path that led to her house. The cat meowed again when she dropped it off at the barn doors, but didn't follow her this time and instead slipped inside to join the other cats. She'd tried to count how many cats they had once, when she'd been younger, but she'd never been able to count them all. There were probably more, now. She'd asked her father how many there were as well, but he'd just shrugged and said, 'Too many'.

Up the steps to the house, across the porch, and inside through the screen door, the inside of her house was always in a vague state of disarray. The furniture was mismatched, but well loved, the TV was old but worked just fine, and various books and knick-knacks were on every spare surface. It was cluttered, but homey. Gwendolyn always said, one of these days they'd clean it up and update it a bit, but they never did.

"Dad? Daddyyyyyyyyyyy? Helloooooo?" Gwendolyn called, the screen door shutting behind her. She took her boots off and wandered further in, and a quick glance out the window told her that her father's older-than-dirt pickup truck was nowhere to be seen in the driveway. She shrugged, and went into the kitchen to put the kettle on.

 

After meeting up with everyone, the white cloaked man began to speak. Well, attempt to speak, at least. For having been able to speak in the most cryptic of ways prior to this, he seemed to have trouble speaking like a regular person might. Maybe he was just really awkward and his cryptic way of speech was just a cover to hide that fact. As Stratos continued to think on that idea, he then shook his head a bit as suddenly two mice had appeared out of nowhere. Talking mice. Right that was different. Well, no it wasn't. Mickey was a mouse, and he talked. And that wasn't the only animal he had seen before that walked around and talked. But they were all human sized, not actually animal sized. While he was trying to understand whether or not this whole situation was weird or not, the mice continued to speak, saying that they were part of some sort of Rescue Organization or something. Upon being questioned as to what exactly they were, it was then that the title that was bestowed to them was revealed in full. SOS. Three letters that had started this all. Servants of Sanctuary.

Stratos wasn't sure what the Sanctuary was. Whether it was a specific organization, a place, or just the concept of Sanctuary in general. Servants was also something odd to call them, but he was going to push the thought out of the way for now. Instead, the man in white continued to explain what they were to do, both to reclaim their strength and to continue what they were always meant to be. To go into the looming castle, sitting just behind the man in white. Within there, they would be able to face their memories, face the things that had haunted them, and come to terms with it. Stratos doubted the man's words, in calling them strong hearted people. He hadn't been strong in the heart, not ever, and he had never felt that he did his job in defending those who could not defend themselves. Not yet at least. Looking at the castle, beyond just the words of the man in white, there was something that he instinctively felt, that the answers he was searching for would be there. And so with everyone else, he walked to the inside of the castle, seeing what lied inside .

As the group entered the castle, there they were in a castle that seemed to be rather empty. Blank, filled with nothing but doors that stretched indefinitely, spiraling upwards as far as he could possibly see. Stepping forward Stratos looked around at the doors, seeing what appeared to be letters prefacing each of them. Going sequentially, one by as the doors went on, Stratos continued walking forward, not paying any mind to his allies who had been breaking off and going to see the door. Each one of his friends had seemed to be affixed on a particular door, leaving as they continued down. And so, being among only a few others, Stratos continued to climb the stairs until he came across a door that caught his attention. Labeled with a mark, a number higher than most others, the door stood out to him among the others. Where others had been blank, this one had his name on it. Being, obviously, called to it, Stratos split off from the remaining members he had been with, walking towards his door.

Standing still before his door, Stratos thought about what he would find behind it. The way to learn what he was really fighting for, the way to protect his friends, to protect all of the worlds he had been to, and what his strength truly was. He stood there, recounting the memories he had made since he came here. Not too long ago, when they had fought Aux, the colossal beast of a man. How he had brought the world of Disney Town to ruin. How he had effortlessly fought all of the former keyblade wielders, pummeling them one after another and sending them into the darkness beyond. The force of the man's fists connecting with him, the feeling of powerlessness he had felt before him as everything he had thought and fought for was crumbled by one being. Being struck with such might that he could do nothing in the face of it, and was sent hurtling into the darkness, left for dead and left with nothing to show for all of his efforts up to that point.

Going further back was the time they had fought in Central Haven. The endless tide of darkness that flooded into the world, that he and all of those who had keyblades were force to defend against. The sea of heartless that were unrelenting in their assault, that each and every one of them had been run ragged, brought near death, lost an arm in one case, and just barely managed to pull through. Yet even after slaying one thousand of them, they were not strong enough to save the world from the onslaught, and it had eventually managed to drive them away. Unable to save the world, barely able to save each other, and leaving everyone who had remained there to their fate. His memory went further back to the first world he had went to with the SoS. Camelot. A world where they had fought, defeated a witch, and managed to let the person there, Wart, claim a holy blade and kick start the rest of his life. However, even in that success, they had failed. His first experience with the female apprentice, Nequa. Her appearance, her theft of the sword, her kidnapping of the young member of the order, Mizu, and her overall display of strength against them. No matter what he had done, no matter how many successes they had achieved, each and every time it was met with a much larger failure.

Yet even before that, there was one instance that went beyond just those failures. One that took place before all of those. One before he had even left his home world. Once he had acquired the keyblade, it was a failure that had chased after him for the rest of his life, from that point on. It had pained him to think of it, of having to go and face those failures again. The three questions, while he had no recollection of when they were asked, he knew in his heart what they were. Each and everyone one of them, to face it almost gave pause to him. He had fallen prey to them before, even with his keyblade, and yet here he stood now. Powerless, and without any sort of safety net. Though nevertheless, he could not falter. He could not run away from his fears, his failures, and his future any longer. Just as he had placed his hopes in his friends to succeed and defeat their demons, he too believed that they were placing theirs on him. And so he would not back down from this any longer. He would face his weakness, and learn what his strength truly was. Placing a hand on the door, it seemed to glow from his touch, the number and word illuminating and letting loose a low hum. Putting more force into his palm, the door began to let loose a creaking noise, slowly inching open. As it did a light spilled forth from the small opening, growing larger and larger as the door opened itself further until finally, there was no more room left to push.

The boy could not see, beyond the blanketing white light, what had lied beyond it. None of his senses could prepare him for the task he was about to undertake. Though there was nothing he could truly perceive, in his heart he had already understood what he was stepping into. Clenching his fists together, keeping his hands by his side, the boy took one last deep breath as he steeled himself, confident in his resolve. He knew not how he would combat his inner demons, he knew not how he could change himself entirely, and he knew not whether or not he was truly ready for the task. But none of those seemed to matter. With nothing but blind faith and the will to fight for something bigger than himself and the will to fight against those bigger than him. He was going to find his path with his own resolve, and be stopped no more. Taking his steps forward, the boy had walked through the entry way, slowly consumed by the light pouring from the entrance. With every step he would become less visible to the outside viewer, until finally his form was no more. The door, slamming shut behind him, would allow no leave until the trial was complete.

XXXVII
The Story of Stratos
Act 1 - Rennshalt​

Stepping onto the grass of the world, he stood there, motionless. It was a sight before him that felt both strangely alien and yet, one filled with immediate nostalgia. What had likely only been months felt like years. The world he stood on felt so distant, so foreign. It was as if he had forgotten the world itself and only moved forward. Yet here he stood, everything rushing back to him. Every sight becoming more and more familiar. Every sound become more and more recognizable. This remarkable world that he stood upon was where he had lived all his life. This broken world that all of his memories were forged and founded in. The unnatural world that he gained his keyblade originally in and had fought his fate far before the days of SOS. This frightening world that he ran away from all that time ago. The Land of the Eternal Eclipse was what those from the outside had called it. But to him, it went by a different name, one that all the denizens knew of. This world had gone by the name of Rennshalt. And this world was his home.

The nickname it had earned was not one that was difficult to figure out. Like most worlds, Rennshalt was one that had a sun to gift it light. However, the sun never set, always perpetually looming in the exact same spot. Were one to look at it, though, they would not see a blazing ball of light and fire. Instead, an orb of darkness, not dissimilar to the one that had swallowed the whole of Disney Town, was there. The orb gave off the constant threat of devouring all that was under it, yet it did not, as light continually and sporadically bled through it. The two great elements seemed to be in a constant clash, the darkness swallowing the light around it, only for the light break through the veil and shed onto the people below. This had caused a rather odd lighting pattern to world, causing shadows to be cast randomly about the world. No rhyme or reason to their existence, simply blanketing the land below in darkness wherever it saw fit for not more than a few minutes.

To further add to this confusing dance of light and shadow, across the horizon one could see what appeared to be plumes of smoke rising from the ground. Columns of white and black mist ascending to the sky, converging onto the warring sun above. The truth of the matter, though, was that they were simply pools of light and darkness, drifting from the ground to the sky, only to be sent back down by the orb, in quite the same way rain might. From these plumes of primordial elements, hellish beings emerged from them, ones that were not content just being apart of a cycle and instead sought those opposite of them. Hunting them, chasing them, devouring them. Those born from the pools of dark were the pure blooded heartless, ones that Stratos had become quite familiar with. Yet from the light was born a creature less known to others; those called the soulbourne. Equal in simple mindedness, instinct and terror, the two constantly fought between each other, devouring the denizens of the world that got caught in the crossfire or were simply hunted by the creatures. Yet despite all their efforts, the balance was never disturbed. Things had always remained as they were. Despite the ruinous state of the world though, there was little Stratos could do to help it as it was. And instead, he knew his destination was one just a bit further in the distance. A small town, one that looked ramshackle and weathered. The town where Stratos grew up in.

 

Her feet hit the ground hard as she ran for a door. Ananta didn't even answer her Grandmother or try to say anything. She didn't even try to make a motion that she didn't accept it. Did she regret it? Not really. As it were, she didn't want to take this responsibility yet. Being that she was seven years old, Ananta felt like she had a lot more time ahead of her. Plenty of time to make a decision on this matter. So why did her Grandmother expect her to just agree to it? Did she perhaps think she could choose Ananta's future?

The reason was much simpler. Ananta was just scared of the keyblade and the suddenness of it all. As she ran through the hallways, she slipped past many people who only watched her run. They all knew who she was, but they still didn't stop her to see if she was okay or if she needed help. No, they just watched her. They watched and then went back to what they were doing. They were all afraid of the fact she was different. All because her hair was just a different color than the rest of the world's population.

Disdain and dismissal was all Ananta knew when it came to the general populace. She was ignored by most and only paid attention to by her family. It didn't hurt Ananta, she just thought it was a normal thing. She typically didn't think too hard on the intricacies of social hierarchy based on hair color. She made it through the day ignoring most things, thus, she was used to the way she was ignored.

But today, she felt more alone than she ever felt before. She finally got down to street level after running from the top of the building all the way down. Turning around, Ananta looked up at the Mother Crystal peering over the tall building. She bowed towards the Crystal, reaching for her own that was tucked underneath her clothes. Grasping it, Ananta tried to hold back tears. Sleeve wet with aforementioned tears, Ananta turned to go to her parents' house and try to find some type of solace in their company.

Walking along, Ananta looked up to see rain clouds starting to form. Luckily for her, it hadn't started to rain just yet. Still, she wanted to get home before it did rain. At least then, she'd be able to stay there until it stopped. Shaking her head, she reached back started to braid her hair as she walked. By the time she got to her parents', she had her hair braided back in two strands behind her. Though they were starting to unravel a little, so they weren't the best she had ever done.

Knocking on the door, she smiled and waited for it to open. At the door, her father looked down at her. He wore glasses and a suit with his dark emerald hair slicked back. The look on his face was of disdain and unhappiness. "Well, I certainly didn't expect it to be you, Ananta." his face softened slightly, but he was still upset that she just showed up out of nowhere. "Come inside, your mother's in the living room."

Ananta stepped inside, running to the living room. She hopped up onto her mother's lap and hugged her. Ananta's mother had a similar hair color to her father, but it was just so slightly a lighter shade. She wore a simple outfit, not caring to look as extravagant as others. Ananta's mother dropped the book she was reading and blinked in surprise. "Wh- Ananta?" she hugged her back and kissed her head. "Where's your Grandmother?"

Ananta looked up at her and had a sad look on her face That was all her mother needed before she fell silent and held Ananta. "Udbhata, you need to go to work. I'll take care of her until Anta can come back and explain what happened." she spoke, looking up at Udbhata. He nodded and closed his eyes. "Be safe, the rains are coming and I fear they won't be favorable today." he said, turning and heading to leave. He stopped and turned back to Ananta's mother. "Manini, with love, I depart."

"With love, I await you." Manini smiled at him, waving. Ananta just kept herself pressed against her mother, scared of seeing her Grandmother again.

 

XIX: Reflection​

Raisor walked down the dirt road in front of him, following Ray and Marie. They passed by a couple houses and stores, then by a school building. Raisor remembered the time they first came to it again and cringed in fear. He could never get the memory out of his head, and any time he thought of some semblance of this place, he always remembered what he saw that evening. Granted he partly enjoyed watching Ray get the living lights beat out of him, but at the same time it reminded him of Marie when she got angry. Thinking on it, he wondered if maybe Marie and Korin could have been related in some way. Probably not, since Korin was over 5000 years old while Marie wasn't even in her 20's yet.

The trio came up to a fence that stretched from one end of the cliff-side to the other, completely blocking off the end of the peninsula from the rest of the area. He wasn't sure why there was a fence all the way, but at least it made it easy to know who's house they were at. He looked at the familiar scenery and took it in. The grass was filled with flowers of different kinds, and there were patches of dirt where a garden was being grown, with flowers that were about five times the size of the wild ones. Then there was the house. It was pretty simple for the most part, just made of wood and the like, but it was inside that had the interesting things.

Ray opened the front door and walked in, while Marie and Raisor followed.

"Hey guys, we're back!" Marie yelled, to Raisor and Ray's dismay.

Marie had a habit of yelling at the most inopportune times, especially when inside a building, and her lung capacity was absurd. Raisor kept telling her to stop, but it seemed like it kept falling on deaf ears.

"Gee, wonder why that might be," Raisor commented under his breath, not even realizing his own joke till after he thought of it.

The two walked through the hallway and stopped at the end. The house was pretty simple, with a room to the left that seemed for guests and the kitchen to the right, along with a ladder that led to a room upstairs. The thing Raisor found interesting was that her kitchen wasn't like most houses in his world. It was a marble counter with a metal sink and a faucet that actually had running water. There was some plumbing in this world, but nothing like what Korin had. She had said that there were some things from the old world that you could't live without, and after traveling to different worlds, Raisor could kind of understand. She also had a piano sitting against the wall, along with some clothes hanging off some mannequins.

To the left in the guest room was a fireplace against the north wall with some pictures handing around the room. Along with the pictures was a fair amount of potted plants. These weren't like the ones outside though, these were almost like trees. Raisor figured Korin was big on plants, but she had lived for a long time, so I guess a hobby wasn't a bad thing. At least compared to a certain irritation that he looked like who just wandered the world for 5000 years chasing someone. In the middle of the room was a table with chairs put around it, though again, unlike the rest of the world, these chairs were designed a little different. Thinking on it, they kind of reminded him of the chairs at Basil's house back from Baker Street.

At the table were Korin and Lance, two more friends that Raisor had become acquainted with before he left his world. Korin was a pretty women, who looked like she was in her early 20's or so. She had short red hair and always seemed to wear a scarf. Lance was a member of the Thieves' Guild that his friends had recently visited, and who also had decided to join their fight against a common enemy. And next to Lance was a woman who Raisor felt like he'd seen before. She had medium-short hair that went down to her neck or so, and looked about in her 20's or so as well. She had on attire that wasn't common to Raisor's world, and he wondered who this person was. Before he could ask though, the "mother" of the group decided to give him a welcome home hug. Before Raisor could react, Korin ran out of her seat and hugged him enough that he could feel his bones popping.

"Oh I was so worried about you! We knew that we'd see you again, of course, but I had no idea what you were up to either way. I didn't know if you were fed enough, had medicine, or anything." Korin just continued on about her worries as she chocked the breath out of Raisor.
Raisor tapped her shoulder and tried to speak a couple words. "Can't.....breath...."
"Oh, sorry about that." Korin let Raisor loose, as he gasped a little for air.
"Well, there's our resident mother as work." Ray smiled, seeming to enjoy Raisor's pain.
"You be quiet, I was worried about him." Korin turned her head from Ray, "You only wish I cared for you like that."
"I remember at one point you did." Ray replied back.

Lance turned around swung his arm on the back of his chair. The guy was 34, but his stubble of hair on his face and shaggy head made him look like he might have been in his 50's. Though that might do that to you if you lived in a cave for almost two decades.
"Well, at least she wasn't running around asking if anyone had seen you like she did back at the guild." He chuckled a little, enjoying the sight.
Lance was a rough guy around the edges, but he had a soft spot for kids, and apparently he ended up viewing Raisor and Marie as kids that needed his help. He and Ray were kind of like the resident "dad's" of the group. Though Lance maybe fit the age a little more than the guy who was 5000 years old.

"Yeah, okay, um, question," Raisor lifted his hand and pointed to the woman still sitting down. "Who's the girl over there?"

The lady chuckled a little and stood up then walked over to Raisor.
"What, you mean you don't recognize me?" She stared him in the eyes and Raisor just stared back.
"You do seem vaguely familiar, but I don't know why." he put his hand to his hand, trying to place the face and voice.
The woman pulled her hair and held it in a bun above her head. "Does this make things a little easier?"

At that moment Raisor jumped back and almost screamed in surprise. The lady in front of him was Mulan, the soldier he met back in Land of Dragons. He hadn't spent a lot of time with there, since he fell unconscious soon after arriving, but he did remember meeting her and Mushu then their group tried to impress a captain to get her to join the army. Now that he thought about it, Raisor never did see her outside of her male disguise.
"Okay, now I'm even more confused. What are you doing here?" Raisor questioned.
"Does it matter? What matters is you have one more friend here that can help you with your problems."
"That doesn't really help much, but fine, given this place and what I'm seeing already, I'm not going to question it." He sight as he wondered what else this crazy illusion world was going to throw at him.

As the two talked, the other three just watched in silence. Raisor hadn't forgotten about the, but it was kind of weird having them just watch him talk to some random girl. He could even feel the eyes of Marie digging into him, asking "Who is this person and why don't I know her?"
Korin broke the silence and saved Raisor from having to explain much of anything. "Mulan here was wandering around asking for you apparently. Said she was a friend you met while you were gone and helped her with some trouble. Now she's here to give you a hand. She never did say where she came from, but that's alright, don't you think?"
Ray just grinned a little more. "Oh, so our little child is helping people on his own without needing to be told to?"
"Yes, he is. And this 'little child' is going to beat you to a pulp if you keep annoying him."
"Bring it on little buddy. We have a date anyways."
"Oh, so you guys are going to get started already?" Lance got up and walked around the chair he was sitting in, like he was ready to leave.
"Can't you even give him some time to rest up?" Marie pleaded to Ray.
"Nope, the sooner we do this, the better. This kid's been cursed for long enough, don't you think?"
"Hmm, I do think it would be a good idea for him to rest up, but it might also be good for you guys to get this done as soon as possible." Korin added

Raisor listened as everyone spoke and started to feel overwhelmed. He had no idea what was going on and was getting irritated.

"Hold up, what exactly are you talking about? Are you saying we're going to try and break the spell now?" Raisor inquired, feeling anxious to know what was happening.
"That's right. You see, while you were gone, I took a trip to one of my safe houses and grab a neat little gadget that should help with you breaking that little spell surrounding you."
Korin snickered, "Little, you say? If that thing were a weapon you could blast through most fortress walls with the size it is."
"Ah, whatever. Can't be helped that the power core can't be shrunk down. Or have you been working on technology for the past 5000 years that I haven't been aware of?" Ray turned his head to Korin.
"Well, you better make sure it doesn't hurt him, you got it?" She cracked her knuckles, placing the threat that was bound to come true later.
"Now this I gotta see." Lance walked past the group and headed outside. "You guys were telling me about this "technology" stuff, and I'm curious about what it does, so let's hurry."
"Coming, O impatient one." Ray followed Lance's lead, and walked out the door.
"Hey, Ray, you better make sure that thing is 100% safe, and then check it again!" Marie chased after the two, yelling again.
"I swear, boys and their toys," Korin shook her head in exasperation, and walked out as well.

At this point it was only Raisor and Mulan. He figured she was there through some power of the castle, but it was still interesting to see someone outside of his own world. Well, whatever the case was, he was glad to see an old friend.

"Shall we go Raisor? You've got a spell to break, and a trial to clear."
Raisor started to feel energy come into his body, excited for what was to come. "Yeah, let's go."

The two of them exited the house, preparing themselves for what was about to happen next.

 

XXXVII
The Story of Stratos
Act 2 - Himmel
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Walking towards it, it became apparent that the village had seen far better days. Houses made of wooden planks with some stone foundation, looking as though they were made from drift wood or things taken from older and ruined structures. The ground was one of dirt, spotted with yellow and brownish splotches of grass, contrasting the green he had seen on other worlds. There were trees that stood, though sparse and few in number. None of them were particularly large, towering, or imposing and if someone from a different world were to look at them they would think they were either dead or just clinging on to life. Yet here, they were in their most natural and normal of state. The bark, while some would expect to be a deep brown, was instead an ashy gray color, with flecks of black spotting it, the focal points in which any light that touched it would be photosynthesized through. Outside of a few here and there, the branches were all relatively thin and weak looking, yet despite the tree's supposedly dying looking state, it was still covered in leaves. Quite like the grass below it, the leaves on the tree all shared a similar brow and yellow coloration to them. The sight was one that gave Stratos a sense of familiarity to him, one that he hadn't seen in quite some time. Yet in the wake of this familiarity, while other worlds still had grass and trees and village and all manner of things similar to each other, this made him realize how odd what his home was like would look to someone not from there.

Continuing forward, the ramshackle buildings that made up the village were few in number. About ten of the wooden buildings were used for houses, areas where the small amount of people that resided in this village lived in. There were few other buildings in the main village area, though their function was still important. A building, contrasting the all of the other wooden ones, was made completely of stone with a much larger chimney than other buildings possessed, that billowed smoke at near all hours of the day. That had been the main metalworking and forging workshop that existed in the village, though also doubled as the smith's home. The strange feral creatures of light and dark, while generally not bothering those in larger communities, were not always daunted by such displays. As such, the manufacturing of weapons and keeping oneself defended against such attacks became increasingly important. The only other building of note in the main village area was one similar building made of stone, though, unlike the last one it possessed no chimneys. In fact, it did not have any sort of opening to it other than the doorway. The building in question was one that functioned more as a storehouse, one to keep anything valuable or anything worth trading with other communities nice and locked away.

Beyond the area that housed most of the buildings lied what appeared to be plotted land. A small collection of tilled ground that had rows of crops, whether they be some manner of fruit or vegetable, sprouting out from the earth underneath. Continuing alongside that, the buildings that were near the fields were few and far between. There were two ones, roughly as tall as one of the houses yet far wider, that held the animals and livestock that resided in the village. In the midway point between the residential area and the farm land was a cylindrical column of stones, one that was hollow and had a massive hole dug into it, one that extended all the way to some reservoir of water. This was, of course, the well used to provide water for the rest of the village. Beyond that, the only other building was beyond nearest to the farmland. It was one that stood taller and wider than any of the other buildings, made of sturdier wood than most of the houses seemed to be made of. Within was a large storage containment for most of the harvested crops and, separated from those, an area which stored all of the tools and equipment that were used to work the field. The village was surrounded by a wall of wooden planks that formed a figure eight like shape, though given the height of the planks it acted more as a fence than a traditional wall. On a few sides around the wall were planks arranged horizontally, as opposed to the vertical direction of the wall fence. Forming the gates of the wall, the planks seemed to barely be held up and each time the gate had opened it creaked just a bit more. As the gate did little to stop the heartless and soulbourne from crawling under or hopping over, or people for that matter, it was often in a state of disrepair with various holes formed throughout it acting more as a formality than anything else. This rickety looking village that seemed to look as though it had constantly been subject to storm after storm went by the name of Himmel. This was the village where Stratos was born, and the one he had stayed for most of his life.

Approaching the village, Stratos walked towards it, with a wary expression crossing his face. The fact that he was still in front of his home, standing before it after so much or what felt like so much time had passed, it felt surreal. Walking to the gate, he stood there, motionless. It looked just as he remembered it. Completely unchanged from the day he had left. It was a sight that he had never thought he'd see again, one that he resolved to never come back to see all those months ago. Yet here it was, in the middle of the castle. Perfectly how he had remembered it, perfectly as it had always been. Despite knowing that it was impossible, the village looked so real, as though the door had acted as a quick gateway to it. Yet still he knew that this was naught but a memory, a fragment of time that had already passed. However, due to village's ever weathered look, he was unsure of what point in his memory he was in. The answer had, of course, lied inside the village. And so, clenching his fists tight, the boy started to walk closer to the gate when something had happened. Something that had completely knocked out the momentum through the memory he had been trying to carry. Something that he wasn't aware of how off guard it would take him happened.

"Stratos?" An older man's voice pierced the ambient silence around him. Frozen in place, eyes seemingly wide with fright and surprise for a moment, the boy dared not to shift his gaze to where the sound had come from. Hearing the footsteps slowly cross across the ground, as the man was trying to make sure his eyes did not deceive him, it piped up again saying, "Stratos! Hey! What are you doing out there?" It was a voice mixed with both confusion and worry, as the man started to make his way to Stratos, pace clearly more hurried and turning into a brisk jog as it got closer to the boy. Stratos slowly but surely turned himself to face the man as he got close enough, the boy's expression turning into one as though he had just seen a ghost. Before him was a man who had not more than a few inches on Stratos, yet his face showed a much more matured and aged look to it. The man's expression was one that was filled with a great deal of concern, not at all lessening as he actually saw the expression across Stratos's face.

"L-Lith," was all he had managed to stammer out. As he did, a sharp pain went through the boy's head, causing him to wince in pain as a collection of memories passed through him. A series of images of things that had already come to pass. The filed of broken blades. Lith, motionless, unmoving on the ground. The wound through his sternum. The hole from which the blood seeped through. And the man looming above him, smile on his face. After these faint memories finished replaying to him, he attempted to shake himself back into reality, and looking at the man before him now. Lith was someone who Stratos had known for all of his life. Father to his long friend Meso, Lith was one of the main guards to the village of Himmel and one of the most experienced at that. Always carrying around his greataxe, generally geared in some manner of leather armor, the brown haired adult had made it his purpose to make sure that no one in the village would ever be in danger. As he looked a bit shocked by Stratos's taken aback response, the boy tried to double back saying, "uh, um, I mean, I was just uh-"

Despite frantically looking for words, Lith just put up his hand to cut him off. Letting out a sigh, shaking his head at the boy, the man said, "look. I know you want to try and help out now, but it's still dangerous out there." Stratos was stunned for a bit, trying to figure out what he may have been referring to. "Just because you have that weird magical mace, or sword? I'm still not sure, but regardless., just because you have it now doesn't mean the dangers out there are any lesser." Waiting for a bit his expression went softer as he said, "and besides, you're still a kid. And kids shouldn't have to fight out here. Leave that to the adults." At that, he puffed his chest out, pointing to himself with a much prouder smile on his face before motioning for the boy towards the village saying, "now come on, let's go back." With that, he turned around and started making his way back to the village, opening the gate behind him.

Stratos had followed, walking closely behind, finally getting over the shock of seeing someone from long ago. While he had been curious before, his brief interaction with Lith had answered a few questions that he had about the "when" he had been in his memory. It had definitely confirmed that he was in a memory or the past or something, as it was clear to him that this occurred before his journey with the other members of the SOS began. Furthermore, this couldn't have been that far back if what Lith was talking about was Stratos wielding the keyblade. This still had a rather large time frame that it could have been apart of, but if this was about facing his inner demons, then Stratos was starting to piece together what point in time this could have been in. The boy briefly tried to summon his keyblade to his side, as the memory of him would have been able to, yet nothing came to his hands. Looking at the empty palm, Stratos couldn't help but wonder about the keyblade picking him in the first place, yet set aside in his mind for the time being, and continued onward into Himmel.

Upon entering the town was as lively as it had ever been. A few adults standing their ground, keeping watch at their stations around other parts of the wall and making sure no monsters of any kind could make their way past their walls. The other adults and some of the older kids were out in the fields of the farmland, tending to the crops and keeping similar vigil to that of the guards, ensuring that there was no issue with monsters making their way in. The blacksmith's workshop had the familiar billowing of smoke coming from it, showing the man who lived there was likely at work as he always was. And while there were those who kept to the indoors, for the times when people were awake, they generally loitered or played around with others in the village center. All the faces there were familiar to him, being in such a small community everyone knew everyone. They noticed him, either waving to him or giving him a simple smile before going back to their daily business. The boy had been walking still, attempting to approach his house with a somber expression on his face, and as he approached it, a different voice rang out from behind him. One that didn't belong to anyone from Rennshalt, yet still familiar to him. "Well golly," the voice started, "for being back home you don't seem very happy."