Burn didn't know how long he was out, he knew one thing was for sure; He lost Emileigh and the rest of the girls again. He started to open his eyes, until he heard a voice speak above him.
"Never thought I'd see you again Hiroa."
When Burn fully opened his eyes, he saw a boy standing over him, but he could see he was wearing black and red as he had a helmet over his head covering his face. Despite the ringing in Burn's ears, He immediately recognized the voice as he jumped away from him.
When he looked around, he saw the whole area almost looked like desert. But what really took his attention, as all the old, dead, and worn out keyblades sticking out of the ground.
"How are you even alive after what happened to you?" He looked in front of himself, and the boy stood five feet away from him.
"I should be the one asking you that." Burn glared.
"You were always a hot-head when we met." He said as he shook his head. "But I figured you would wind up here in the first place."
"What do you want...Vanitas?" Burn growled.
"Can't an old friend say hello?" He smirked under his helmet.
"We were never friends." Burn glared. "You think just because I trusted you we were all buddy-buddy back then?"
"But you should be thanking me." He smirked. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be with your 'beloved' sister."
"..." Burn stayed silent as he took out Chaos Ripper.
"Of course, all you ever think about is protection." Vanitas said. "Have you ever thought once about what would happen to you? To your destiny?"
"I don't care about my destiny." Burn growled. "I don't even care if I die fighting with my friends. I only care about one thing other than protection: Family."
"Family...only coming around when they need something.." Vanitas muttered as he started to walk away.
"You don't know the first thing about family." Burn glared. "After all, you don't even have one."
Vanitas stopped walking as he turned around and faced Burn.
"Look who's talking." He smirked. Burn growled as he ran full speed at him as he tried to attack him with his keyblade, but Vanitas summoned Void Gear just in time to block it as they pushed each other back.
"So...if it's a fight you want, you're wish just came true!" Vanitas yelled as he and Burn both ran at each other, gripping their keyblades tightly in their hands.
*End of Music*
~ ~ ~
Mayonaka was standing on one of the roofs of the buildings in The World That Never Was as the wind gently flowed through her hair. She has been there for minutes, maybe hours trying to find Kurayami. She held her purple dagger tightly in her left hand as she was looking around.
"*sigh*...This is going to be harder than I thought." She muttered. "Even when this place is between the Light and Dark, it's still not a place she should be in." She was about to jump off the roof, until a voice stopped her.
"Hey Mayonaka." She gripped her dagger tightly as she quickly turned around, but she relaxed seeing who it was.
"Kettei.." She stated.
"I see you're off looking for Kurayami again." He said.
"You always know what I do." She said as she spun her dagger in her hand. "After all, I am her 'friend'."
"And her...protector." He hesitantly added. "I was sent by her to look for you."
"Asako Akanime, guardian of the Destined Hearts." She rolled her eyes as Kettei nodded his head.
"I understand you've been through a lot, but you know the risks of this war, Mayonaka." He said.
"If Kurayami...'disappears', the same thing will happen to you."
"...I understand that." She growled as she looked at her dagger. "But that's a risk i'm willing to take. Life or death, I'm still going to do it."
"Mayonaka.." Kettei muttered worriely. Mayonaka looked down at the ground, and she saw Riku carrying Kurayami, unconscious, Bridal Style, as he continued walking.
"...Tell Asako I have everything under control." Mayonaka said. Kettei noticed who she was looking at and he nodded his head in understanding.
"Alright then. But be careful, May." Mayonaka tensed hearing that nickname.
"...Don't call me that..." She growled as she jumped off the roof. Kettei was about to go after her, but he didn't want to risk being seen by Kurayami if she came around. Kettei sighed and he disappeared in a blue light.
Mayonaka silently landed behind Riku as she put her dagger in her belt. She gave out a silent sigh as she walked towards him.
"Hey." Riku quickly turned around as she kept walking towards him. "I'm guessing you're Riku."
"How do you know my name?" He asked suspiciously.
"I was told about you." She said as she crossed her arms. "But if anything...I shouldn't be the one doing the
explaining."
"What do you mean?" He asked. Mayonaka's attention went to Kurayami, who was still unconscious in his arms.
"I see you found Kurayami before I did." She said, avoiding to answer his question.
"You know her?" He said.
"..." Mayonaka looked away. "You could say...I was destined to keep her safe." Riku managed to get a quick look at her face and he gasped.
"You look like-" "I know. I look like Kurayami." She interrupted him.
"...Who are you?" He began to glare at her. He didn't notice a Heartless appear behind him. Mayonaka noticed and she snickered.
"Me? I'm just..." She threw her dagger at the Heartless, completely killing it as Riku looked surprised. "Someone you don't want to tick off." Her dagger appeared back in her hand. More Heartless began to appear as Mayonaka stepped back and held her dagger in front of herself defensive.
"Get Kurayami to safety!" She said strictly. "I'll cover you!" She threw her dagger at another heartless. Riku hesitated, but he nodded his head as he ran off.
Mayonaka's dagger glowed as six shadows of them, shrouded in darkness, appeared beside it. She yelled as she threw the daggers and they killed off ten heartless. She caught her dagger back into her hand, but then she remembered something about the Heartless.
'That's right. They keyblade is the only effective weapon against them. Other weapons, even hand-to-hand combat, only tires them out...If only my keyblade came back to me..'
She kept throwing more daggers at the Heartless, but she got scratched in the back by one of them as she screamed in pain and fell to her hands and knees. She growled as she threw her dagger at the Heartless and started to throw more shadows of her dagger at them, but more kept appearing.
One of them tried to scratch her, but she kicked it into the air into the buildings as it disappeared. She winced in pain as she put her hand on her arm. When she looked, she saw she was scratched as it was bleeding. She growled as her hand clenched into a fist.
"THAT'S IT!!!" She took out a tiny Orb of Darkness as she crushed it into her dagger. The length of it increased as it now completely turned into a sword. She ran at a heartless and yelled as she sliced through groups of them as they stood there frozen. When she snapped her fingers, they all got destroyed, but more of them kept appearing as she fell to her knees.
"You've got to be kidding me!" She growled as one of them was about to attack her, but a Dark Aura blasted through it as she looked surprised.
"You okay?" She looked up, and saw Riku standing in front of her with his hand extended out to her.
"Why are you helping me?" She growled as she looked away.
"You really thought I was going to abandon you?" He smiled a little as Mayonaka snickered.
' He reminds me so much of him..' Mayonaka looked at Riku's hand for a moment, but she accepted it as he helped her stand. "Thank you."
"Sure thing." Riku nodded his head. "I put Kurayami in a safe place as you said. She should be fine."
Mayonaka nodded her head as they both stood back to back to each other, gripping their weapons tightly in their hands.
"Can you take this many?" Riku asked.
"Tsk...I have dealt a lot worse than this." She smirked. "And as they say, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel, right?"
Riku smirked a little hearing that sentence. He and Mayonaka both started to attack the Heartless together.
*End Of Music*
~ ~ ~
Burn blasted fire out of his keyblade at Vanitas as he dodged it, but Burn kicked him to the ground. Vanitas quickly got up, got behind him, and tried to attack his back, but Burn brought his keyblade behind his back, blocking it and Burn attacked him to the ground. Vanitas laid there for a moment, until he laughed as he stood up.
"I'll admit, you've gotten stronger than before." He smirked.
"That's because I don't rely on the darkness anymore." Burn glared. "Tell me; Where is my sister?" He pointed his keyblade threateningly at his chest.
"You really think I was the one who made that illusion at Twilight Town?" He laughed. "Wow, you're more pathetic than they say!"
"Illusion?! Pathetic?!" Burn glared. "You're the one who's pathetic to not show your face to me!"
"You really want to know who I look like?" He smirked as he started to take off his helmet. "If anything, I have more important things to deal with than this." Burn gasped as he saw a huge scar across his left cheek as it almost reached up to his left eye.
"I would love to keep fighting with you Burn, but I have better things to do." He snapped his fingers as darkness appeared under Burn.
"What are you-AH!!" He sunk into the darkness as it disappeared. Vanitas looked at the helmet in his hands for a moment. Until he held it to his side as he used his right hand, and took out a red velvet colored wayfinder in his hand. He clenched it in his hands as a tear fell from his eye on it.
"...Was it really right to leave her...?" He muttered as he disappeared in darkness.
*End of Music*
~ ~ ~
"Are you okay?"
Burned groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. He was laying on his stomach as he saw he was in an alleyway.
"W-Where...?" He began to ask.
"Are you okay?" The voice asked again. He looked beside him, and he saw a girl with short red hair in a black and pink dress as she wore black boots. She had a concerned look on her face.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine.." He answered as he got up to his knees and rubbed his head. The girl gestured her hand out to him. He looked at her hand for a moment, but he accepted as she helped him stand. "Thanks.."
"Sure thing." She smiled. "My name's Kairi. You're Burn, right?"
"...How do you know my name?" He asked suspiciously.
"Emileigh told us about you." She answered.
"You know Emileigh?!" He said surprised. Kairi nodded her head.
"But who's 'us'?" He asked.
"My friends, Sora and Riku." She answered. "We decided to help Emileigh find her friends after we found her at our Master's tower. But you're her brother, right?"
"Yeah." Burn said.
"Sorry for saying this, or if you're offended, but you and her don't really look alike.
"That's not surprising." Burn chuckled as he shook his head. "But i'm not offended at all. Me and my sister don't look alike, because we're suppose to look like our parents. I look like my dad, and she looks like my mom."
"I see." Kairi nodded her head in understanding. "But...where are your parents...?"
"..." Burn looked away. "...Somewhere.."
"O-Oh...okay." Burn looked in front of himself, and he saw a familiar sunset in front of him. He took a few steps forward, and gasped seeing he was in Twilight Town. It looked like nothing happened to it at all.
'...Was what happened earlier really an illusion? If it was, who made it? Vanitas claims he wasn't the one who made it...but it sounded like he wasn't lying either. If it wasn't him who made the illusion, then who...or what made it....'
"Burn?" Kairi took him out of his thoughts as he glanced at her.
"Sorry, I was just thinking." He excused.
"It's okay." Kairi smiled. "But i'm suppose to take you back to my Master's tower, but I don't know how to get back."
"...Master Yen Sid.." Burn whispered to himself. "I know who you're talking about, and I know how to get back. But...if it's not too much trouble, could I...take a look around here?"
"Sure, but would it be okay if I went with you?" Kairi asked. "I think we should get to know each other."
"Alright. Let's go." He said as he walked out of the alleyway as Kairi followed him.
~ ~ ~
Yami was walking inside the castle of Radiant Garden as she had her arms crossed. She woke up by the Crystal Fissure and she's been walking around since she walked inside, she walked around the bright, shining crystals as she had her arms crossed.
She was lost, but she was still hoping she could find someone to tell her where her friends are.
"Geez. Where did that darkness even come from? I've never seen a darkness that strong before." She said to herself as she kept walking. "Maybe it was from that Heartless we fought? Who knows? *sigh*...I just hope I can find my friends soon...and hopefully they're still alive.."
"Do you always talk to yourself?" Yami gasped as she heard a voice as she summoned her keyblade.
"Who's there?!" She demanded as she got into her stance.
"So, you have a keyblade too huh? Glad i'm not the only one here." Yami turned around, and she saw a certain long spiky red-head, leaning against one of the walls. He was wearing a red flannel jacket as the sleeves and hood were black, the sleeve were also covering his hand, but they were fingerless. He had red velvet colored jeans as their was one chain hanging from his left side. He had black and white sneakers on his feet. His eyes were electric green as he had a few chain necklaces around his neck.
"You're a keyblade wielder too?" She asked surprised as she lowered hers.
"Yep. But I'll admit, i'm not really experienced with it." He said as Yami put her keyblade away, and walked over to him.
"So that means you're in training?" Yami guessed.
"By Yen Sid." He answered.
"I see. Well, what's your name?" Yami asked.
"The name's Lea." He smirked. "Got it memorized?"
"Sure, I guess." She shrugged her shoulders.
"Good, you're a quick learner." He said cockily as Yami giggled.
"Well Lea, you remind me of someone I know." She smiled.
"Really?" He said amused.
"Mhm, but...I don't know where she is." She sighed.
"She's probably in a different world." He guessed. "But are you going to give me your name, or do I have to guess?" He smirked.
"O-Oh! Sorry! My name's Yami." She introduced herself.
"Yami huh? Nice to know your name." Lea smirked. "So, I heard you were hoping to find your friends, right?"
"Yeah, why?" Yami asked.
"I know a group who's around here. Know about the other worlds. There the Restoration Committee that...well, they're trying to restore this town."
"Really? I don't see anything wrong with this place."
"Well, everyone else does. They still see this as 'Hollow Bastion'." Lea snickered as he shook his head. "Stupid name, right?"
"That name feels...Dreadful." Yami said. "But I wouldn't say it's stupid."
"Your opinion, not mine." Lea shrugged. "Anyway, I'm pretty sure the Committee will be able to help you. I can take you over to them."
"Thank you." Yami smiled. "I really appreciate it."
"It's no big deal." Lea said. "The Committee is all the way back in town, so it's going to be a long walk."
"I don't mind." Yami said. "As long as the Committee can help me find my friends, i'm okay with it."
"Hopeful, I like it." Lea said. "Follow me, but be careful. A few Heartless come by here now and then."
"Alright. Thanks Lea." Lea began to walk down the path as Yami followed behind him.
~ ~ ~
"Wait what?! You actually did that to save Kairi?!" Emileigh said shocked as she and Sora were both at the Castle Postern as they were both walking down the path. While they were there, they decided to talk to each other and tell them about their adventures to pass the time.
"Yeah, but I'll admit one thing, I still don't know how her heart was in me in the first place." He said nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"But still, she must be really important if you sacrificed your own life to her." She smiled.
"Yeah.." He sad as he blushed a little.
"To be honest...I would do the same for my friends...including my brother."
"Really?" Sora asked surprised.
"Well...yeah." Emileigh smiled a little. "After all, I would still be alive anyway.."
"What do you mean?" Emileigh stopped as she looked away. Sora stopped as he noticed she wasn't walking with him.
"I-I...um.." She tried to find the right words to say. "L-Let's just say...I've had that experience before.." She clenched her fists.
"What are you talking about...?" He asked as Emileigh looked at her prosthetic arm.
"I've been through more than you could ever imagine." She said as she kept her attention to it.
"Have you ever wondered...why something useful can just easily be replaced?"
"..." Sora just kept listening.
"Sora...can you keep a secret?" She asked as she put her hand on her prosthetic. Sora nodded his head yes. Emileigh took a deep breath and sighed.
"...There's more to this arm than you think." She snapped her robotic arm off as she looked at her stump.
"What are you trying to show me...?" Sora asked a little concerned.
"...Look.." Is all Emileigh said. Sora hesitantly walked over to Emileigh and when he looked at her stump, he gasped seeing what was radiating from it.
Darkness.
"This arm isn't just a prosthetic, or a part." She said. "It's a shield. A shield to keep the darkness in me controlled, and sealed away. That's how bad it is.."
"H-How did this happen?" He asked.
"...This happened ever since I was born.." She answered. "Apparently, when I was born...my parents' darkness flowed into my heart. I don't know why it didn't effect my brother, but I have to deal with it one way or another." She snapped her Prosthetic back on into place as she adjusted the wrist.
"But aren't you worried it will take over you?" He asked worriely.
"You mean...IF it takes over me." She smirked cocking. "As long as I have this arm and my friends, I'll be okay."
"You've given this a lot of thought huh?" Sora said as he crossed his arms.
"Of course! Did you really think I would just let it take over me that easily?" She smirked. "I may not know where my parents are, but I know they want me to keep fighting. With or without them."
"You seem confident about this." Sora smiled.
"My prosthetic can also do more than that, but you'll find out what it is sooner or later." She said.
"But uh...quick question." Sora said. "Do...Burn, Yami, and Kurayami know about your darkness?"
...
...
...
"No.."