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Kingdom Hearts: Dark Dawn	By : RotSeele Category: Kingdom Hearts > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 3168 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. I do not make any money from this story.

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
- 6
Five - Traverse Town

They entered the district, using the door as a shield just in case there was actually something waiting for them. The district was absolutely silent, save for the gurgling of the waterfall. Kaoru stepped out first, holding Guardian in a defensive position. Rinally was a step and a half behind him, clutching her staff. They stepped away from the door, letting it close behind them. Rinally gasped and jumped as the great doors suddenly locked behind them, and she held her staff up like it was a bludgeon. Kaoru eyed her, making sure he was out of swinging distance when she turned to him and glared.
“Not. A. Word.” Rin growled.
Kaoru held up his free hand in a gesture of surrender. “Wasn’t thinking anything at all. I swear.”
Rin glowered at him but her staff remained close to her chest in a defensive position. “Just so you know,” she said softly, “I’m not scared or anything.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’m not!”
Kaoru just looked at her for a minute, then moved forward with hesitant steps, Guardian held at the ready. “You don’t have to come with me.” he said.
“I know. But I am.” Rin lowered her staff, but her knuckles were still white. She glanced around them, her eyes flicking to every shadow as if expecting something to jump out at them at any second. “You have a plan, right?”
“Beyond getting the Heartless to show up and us killing it? No, not really.”
Rinally made a soft sound and followed Kaoru down into the courtyard. Kaoru froze, Guardian snapping to the ready as he fell into a stance that felt practiced but was completely alien. Rin did the same, standing with her feet spread shoulder-width apart so she was balanced and ready for any action.
“You heard that, right?” Rin asked softly, turning slowly to put her back to Kaoru’s.
“I’m kind of wishing I didn’t.” Kaoru responded just as quietly, turning his head left and right to try and find the source of the noise. It seemed too still in the courtyard; even the fountain seemed to have fallen silent in anticipation of what was going to happen. If anything happened. Kaoru took a few more steps forward.
His heart began to race.
Rinally let out a squeak as the ground beneath them started to rumble, and they watched with wide eyes as darkness began to seep out of the far side of the courtyard. It puddled together, slowly congealing, then two fiery red eyes rolled out of the goop and focused on the two teenagers. The goop began to bubble then, like water boiling when it was left on the fire for too long. Kaoru took a small step backwards out of surprise as a giant hand surged upward from the main body of the puddle. It hung suspended in the sky for a moment, then came crashing down. The force of the blow nearly knocked Kaoru and Rin off their feet. As it was, they both stumbled back a bit and were left unbalanced as the monster began to haul itself out of the puddle. The upper half of the Heartless was long and thin, spindly and over-exaggerated. The lower half was still immersed in the puddle of darkness. It only had a singular long arm that it used for balance, but smaller, almost vestigial, arms danced about its long torso, flexing and reaching for something the two teenagers couldn’t see.
Its head rolled forward on a thin neck until the darkness of its face was staring down at Kaoru and Rinally. Two butter-yellow eyes rolled to the center of the darkness, blinking several times as it focused on the two below it. The darkness beneath its luminescent eyes shivered, then slowly spread apart in a mockery of a mouth. It roared, nearly deafening Kaoru and Rin with the sound.
“Do you have any plan?” Rinally asked, staring up at the Heartless with wide eyes.
Kaoru adjusted his grip on Guardian and fell into a stance. “I’m working on it. What do you have that can back me up?”
“Um, spells. Yeah, spells. Healing. I can be your pocket healer!” Rinally said in that panicked/excited voice, her eyes never leaving the giant Heartless before them.
“Anything else?”
“Maybe a few offensive spells, but I didn’t really pay attention in witchcraft class, you know. I got what I got!”
Kaoru gripped his Keyblade tighter and tensed his body for movement. “Just stay back, all right?”
“No arguments here.”
Kaoru pushed forward with his right foot leading, running toward the Heartless as fast as he could. The monster’s hand lifted, undulating upward before it came rushing down with the intent to crush him. Kaoru spun away from the attack and swung Guardian upwards crosswise as hard as he could. The Keyblade connected with the darkness that made up the Heartless, tearing away motes as a regular blade would tear away flesh. The Heartless reared back with a howl and began to try and crush Kaoru with more vicious attacks, but the boy was able to avoid all of them with inches to spare.
A fireball rushed in over Kaoru’s head, crashing into the Heartless’s face. The monster reeled backwards with a shriek and pawed at its face. Kaoru glanced over his shoulder and saw Rinally holding her hands forward, her staff slightly smoking at its leading point. She drew her staff back and began reciting another incantation, this time thrusting her staff straight up. A bolt of lightning shot down from on high, striking the Heartless on its raised hand. It jerked, shaking its hand as the electricity coursed through its system. Rinally grinned at Kaoru, and he couldn’t help the smirk as he rushed toward the Heartless, Guardian drawing back for a swing.
The Heartless’s other hand sped toward him from the left. Kaoru leaped forward, tucking his head down as he forced his body into a somersaulting roll. He came back to his feet and swung Guardian toward the Heartless’s arm, the Keyblade slicing through the darkness and severing the hand from the rest of the arm. A smaller, much faster hand caught Kaoru unawares, crashing into him and sending him flying across the courtyard. Kaoru grunted as he hit the ground, rolling over and over until he fetched up against a wall. He slowly pushed himself to his feet, feeling his body protest the movement. He felt the hot run of blood on his skin and realized that he’d scraped his elbow raw and had a nasty bruise forming on the side of his face. He dodged right as the Heartless slammed its hand into the bricks near him, trying to grasp him to squeeze the life from him.
Cool soothing magic flowed through Kaoru, and for a second, he had an incredibly uncomfortable itchy moment as his skin patched itself together and the ache in his face faded. He was on his feet in an instant, rushing into battle again with Guardian held down and tight to his side, ready for the next attack.
The Heartless rolled its eyes toward him, tracking his every movement with those butter-yellow orbs. Guardian flashed left and right, cutting through darkness with slashes, cuts, thrust, parries, and blocks. Kaoru was aided by both offensive and defensive magic from Rin, her spells distracting the monster so that Kaoru could get in close and attack the Heartless’s body. The healing magic kept Kaoru going, even though the pain from his wounds wanted to make him curl up in a tight ball and cry. The stone was spattered with his blood, and it was an eerie feeling to know that, just a few seconds before, he’d made that blood puddle from a deep slice in his forearm but there was now no wound to prove it.
This is getting us nowhere, Kaoru thought, sliding to a stop beside Rinally after finishing a combination attack against the giant Heartless’s hands. Every time he cut one away now, two more replaced the lost limb. It was like the Heartless was evolving as he fought it, seeking the best advantage over him and Rin. They’d hurt it, that much he knew. Bits and pieces of dark motes floated on the air before disappearing from sight; they didn’t rejoin the main body, but there was no telling where they had gone. Still, for however much they’d hurt it, it had done more damage to Kaoru, and they still were no closer to defeating it.
“What do we do now?” Rinally asked, clutching her rod as she stared at the Heartless.
“I don’t know.” Kaoru sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. “I’ve never really fought Heartless before. I mean, there were just little Shadows, but nothing like this.”
“It has to have a weakness, right? I mean, your Keyblade’s hurt it.”
“Yeah, it’s hurt it, but...” Kaoru trailed off, grabbing Rinally’s hand suddenly and pulling her with him as he dodged the massive black hand that came sailing in toward them. The concussion wave still sent them flying, landing hard on the ground. Kaoru surged to his feet, but hesitated. Rinally slowly picked herself up, soft curses leaving her.
“That thing is going to kill us before we can kill it!” Rinally spat.
“No, it won’t.” Kaoru said, even as those butter-yellow orbs rolled toward them. “Just stay right here. Don’t move.”
“But-“
“Just do what I say!” Kaoru slashed a glare at Rin, who glowered back at him, before he took off running. The Heartless twisted to follow him, its many hands rushing toward him.
Kaoru dodged as many as he could as they slammed into the ground around him; he ducked and twisted, hacked at them with Guardian as he fought to clear himself a path. He changed direction by coming to a sliding stop and rolling backwards, now running straight for the Heartless’s main body. He swung his arm back and threw Guardian as hard as he could toward the Heartless’s chest. He felt the weapon slide from his fingers and watched it, almost in slow motion, as it spun away from him in circles toward its target. It struck the Heartless in the chest blade first, smashing a huge hole in the undulating darkness. Guardian reappeared in Kaoru’s hand, and he threw it again, this time aiming for those huge rolling butter-yellow eyes.
Guardian crashed into the Heartless’s face, right between its eyes, and snapped its head back. Its arms waved wildly, smashing into the ground without rhyme or reason. Kaoru barely dodged those that slammed down near him, and he faintly heard Rinally’s cry of surprise - or maybe it was pain - but he caught flashes of lightning spells in his peripheral and knew she was all right. Guardian was back in his hand again shortly after being thrown, and Kaoru ran toward the Heartless’s face. It was listing to one side, its eyes rolling wildly all around its face. He flipped Guardian around in his hand so it was in a reverse grip, different from how he usually held the blade. He swung his arm back just a second before he went into an almost vertical spin, slicing Guardian through the Heartless’s neck.
Kaoru gasped as all the breath was knocked out of him, meeting unexpected resistance at the Heartless’s neck. Black lightning snapped and sparked where Guardian pressed down on the Heartless’s black skin, sending tiny motes into the air as the two opposing forces fought each other. Kaoru twisted his body so he could grab Guardian’s hilt with both hands, pushing down hard, trying to sever the resistance.
“It’s them! They’ve got control of this one!”
Sora’s voice, from a lifetime ago. Flashes of memory - a black rod sticking out of the Heartless’s chest; Riku, struggling to pull it out; bright, white light that came from him and Sora and the Keyblade he’d held - shot through Kaoru’s mind in an instant. He grit his teeth and pushed harder, causing more black, purple-veined lightning to be released. The Heartless squealed and undulated around him, its hands flailing wildly as it sought to kill the young Keyblade wielder.
I won’t let you win! Kaoru shoved himself back and planted his feet even as the Heartless began to regain its senses. Kaoru flipped Guardian around to his normal hold and let the Keyblade rest comfortably in his right hand. He raised the left slightly, palm up, and cupping his hand as if he were holding something. I can’t let you win. I need to find my friends. I need to find Sora and Riku. I need...
Bright, white light surrounded him like a halo. The light originated in his left hand but radiated outward, almost covering his entire body. It was warm, soft light, and even though the Heartless recoiled from it, Kaoru found that it didn’t blind him at all. Instead, it was as if he could see with some sort of terrible clarity, and as he looked upon the Heartless where Guardian had cut away at its neck, he saw the same black rod he’d seen ten years ago, embedded in the chest of the Heartless that had tried to kill him.
“Kaoru!”
He clenched his fist, cutting off the light, but not completely. Instead, the light began to swirl around him, coalescing almost. It grew brighter as it coiled around his right arm, and in a burst of bright motes, extinguished itself. In its place was gold and silver armor, encasing the whole of Kaoru’s hand, forearm, and shoulder. The glove was silver metal, light enough that Kaoru could flex his fingers and have full mobility in his hand, but sturdy enough to withstand the test of battle holding his Keyblade. The gauntlet went up to his elbow and stopped after forming a small plate that protected the elbow joint. The silver metal encircled his forearm and was lined with gold. His pauldron was also made of silver metal lined with gold, and it fully encased his shoulder, giving him added protection without losing too much mobility. As Kaoru looked at it, he could almost see the light shifting in the armor, creating a rainbow-like reflective surface as the light rippled across it.
Rinally stopped only a few paces behind him, her eyes wide as she took in Kaoru’s new appearance. Kaoru turned slightly to glance at her, but he could only offer her a shrug before he turned his attention back to the Heartless.
He raised Guardian and gripped the hilt tight in his newly-gauntleted hand. I won’t let you win. Those butter-yellow eyes rolled toward him as if the Heartless had heard his thought. Perhaps it had. Kaoru shot forward as the Heartless pulled itself upright. He cut Guardian across the air between him and the Heartless, felt the blade connect with the Heartless’s neck and the black rod there, and there was a burst of black, purple-veined lightning. He met resistance from the rod but continued to push, continued to try and force Guardian through the rod.
Then Rinally’s hands were on his, her strength adding to the power already pushing at the blade. More lightning snapped; Kaoru felt a sharp line of pain streak across his face as lightning snapped too close to him. The Heartless thrashed even as the rod began to bend, its eyes rolling haphazardly all around its face. Its hands flailed, but there was no control over the movement. Kaoru strained his arms; even with the added power of his armor, it still didn’t seem enough!
SNAP
Rinally let out a yelp as she was suddenly thrown to the ground. Kaoru nearly lost his grip on Guardian as well. The Keyblade sheared right through the metal rod and its momentum carried Kaoru around in a spin. The Heartless’s head lolled on the broken rod, its eyes continuing to roll around its face. Its hands began to fall to the ground one by one, limp and unmoving. Kaoru planted his feet and somehow maintained his grip on Guardian, keeping the Keyblade close.
“We did it!” Rin cried, shoving herself to her feet. A big grin split her face as she looked at Kaoru. “We killed it!”
“I guess so.” Kaoru responded, taking a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart. He brought Guardian up, pointing the tip of the Keyblade at the Heartless’s face. “Not bad for our first time, I guess.”
“...I should hate you, but I don’t.”
Kaoru smiled wanly. “Thanks.” He turned his attention back to the Heartless. He raised Guardian.
A bead of light appeared at the the end of the blade, and then a prismatic beam shot forward, crashing into the Heartless’s face much like he remembered. Slowly, the Heartless’s body split apart into motes, and Kaoru and Rin watched as a huge prismatic heart appeared, floating in the air for a few minutes before soaring away out of sight. When it was gone, Kaoru dismissed Guardian and knelt by the sheared rod, reaching with his right hand to pick up one of the halves.
Rinally crouched beside him, looking curiously at the rod. “What is it?”
“I don’t know. I’ve seen it before. Ten years ago, a Heartless had it embedded in its chest. Sora and Riku talked about ‘them’ and how the rods gave ‘them’ control over the Heartless.” Kaoru turned the rod over in his hand. It was unremarkable black metal, though he could sense it seethed with the power of darkness. There was something wrong about the darkness that filled the rod, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Either way, it made him feel as if he were holding three-day old slime mold, the cold, icky, gooey kind that you tend to pull out of bathtub drains. He dropped the rod and reflexively scrubbed his armored hand on his pants. “But that’s all I know. All I can remember.”
Rin stared at the two halves of the rod as if they were snakes about to bite her. “Sounds like whatever’s, or whoever’s, behind this is pretty strong.”
“I guess.”
“Maybe it’s an offshoot of Organization XIII?”
It took Kaoru a minute to remember the story of the Organization, as told to him by Rinally, but he shrugged, unsure. “I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like something they would do, even if they were still around. These rods... they’re, I don’t know, more sophisticated than something the Organization is usually known for.”
Rin was silent for a while, and Kaoru kept staring at the two halves of the rod, trying to figure out what felt so wrong about it. No answer was jumping out at him, so he decided to put it aside for the time being. Right now, he needed to focus on first finding a way off Traverse Town, and then he could focus on trying to answer all the questions that were slowly but surely piling up in his mind.
“Well, what now?” Rinally asked, moving to stand beside him.
Kaoru looked at his right arm, which was still incased in the silver and gold armor. It was duller now, without the shifting light beneath the plating, and looked just like regular armor. He lifted his hand, studying the armor as he turned his hand over. “Now we need to get out of here.” he replied.
“How, exactly?”
“The Heartless got here somehow. We just need to find its entry point. Then, we should be able to get out of here.”
Rin raised an eyebrow at him but she didn’t argue. Like him, she was probably eager to get off this hub world and continue on trying to find her family and get her own answers. Kaoru slowly moved along the path the Heartless had taken, trying to see something that seemed amiss. Rinally moved along with him, perhaps a half-step behind and on the opposite side, searching for clues. They paced slowly all the way down the street until they reached the spot where the Heartless had originated from. Kaoru crouched by the spot that had first been overtaken by the darkness, and reached out with his right hand to touch the stones. He winced as a shock went up his arm and he drew his hand back. His fingertips, though still encased in the silver armor of his gauntlet, felt as though they had been held over a fire for a significant amount of time. Fearing that maybe he was actually wounded, Kaoru focused on his armor and willed it to leave his arm. The armor burst into gold and white motes that floated around him for a time before dissipating. Rin let out a low whistle at the sight, but said nothing, at least until she crouched beside him and took his right hand between hers.
“Looks like you and darkness don’t get along,” Rin said, studying his singed fingertips. She hovered her left palm over his fingertips and a warm green glow suffused the air between them. When she drew her hand back, Kaoru’s fingertips were completely healed, without a trace of injury. “Maybe you shouldn’t go touching things you don’t know about.”
Kaoru smiled his thanks and studied his fingers. “I think that’s our way off Traverse Town, though.”
“Huh?”
“I think we have to go through here. I just don’t know where it leads, or where we’ll end up.”
Rinally blew out a breath and looked at the space of stones that still seemed to be covered in inky blackness. “So the real question is, do we go or do we stay?”
Kaoru willed his armor back onto his arm and noticed that his armor once again seemed to crawl with prismatic light. He reached out again to touch the stones, and this time the darkness began to bubble and boil as if it was injured by his touch. It boiled up and out until it seemed like a deep dark pillar before it began to spread outward. Tendrils of dark smoke began to curl from the edges, drifting off into little motes before vanishing, and then the center of the now-oval shaped pillar began to swirl until it spread to the edges, revealing a mirror-like surface that revealed only darkness beyond it.
Kaoru held out his hand to Rinally. “I guess we go.”
She gave him an unsure-but-game smile and took his hand, holding tight to it. Together, they entered the portal and stepped onto the path that would take them, hopefully, somewhere new.
- 4
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- 6
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Kingdom Hearts: Dark Dawn