Kingdom Hearts: Kingdom Hearts: Light Chaser

The words coming from the Master's mouth should have been surprising.

They were not.

The lies, and the illusions casting her as the villain. The feeling of complete and utter betrayal... It was not new to her. She had experienced it before. Chrys knew very well what was happening. The Light Chaser himself had saved her on the very day she had last been so brutally betrayed.

She hated it. In the instant she had seen what the Master was capable of, she fell back on her old habits immediately and thought "Maybe I can reason with him."

How could she be so stupid?

When had talking worked so far? What had been solved by it? No. Talk was cheap. It was just a tool people like the Light Chaser used to manipulate others.
That's all it would ever be.

As Zeno's blade rushed down, Chrys sidestepped the blow flawlessly. She grabbed a hold of her former comrades shoulders and ducked underneath him, using his arm as leverage, Chrys was able to flip Zeno over her own shoulder and tossed him towards the the other man. He landed gracelessly at the Light Chasers feet. Chrys herself looked on from several feet away, her tear streaked face remaining otherwise blank, as the source of further waters dried up.

"Is that really the best you can do? Dance aimlessly to your puppet masters strings? It hardly takes mental gymnastics to find the holes that are in his story. He confronts me saying he's just now figured it out, yet somehow has conclusive evidence from who knows how long ago? He himself even presented it as something that just 'makes sense' and you lap it right up. I guess you were never really my friend after all."

On the inside, Chrys was considerably less calm about what was happening. For the second time in her life, her world was crumbling around her, and the people she trusted were out to destroy her.

But she could not give in.

Far too much was at stake for that.

"I suppose friendship is just a lie."​

 

Illiana had made eye contact with Torrin as he nodded his head toward her and she did the same in return. Illiana kept standing in front of Tinarah protectively as the Light Chaser spoke. Illiana swallowed her words as he kept speaking and speaking. She wanted to know where her brother was or why he chose Koa? Why dragged him into his chaos? Where was he at this moment? So many questions where running through her head. Thallasa took Eilonwy, Gurgi, Fflam, and Taran out of the area. Illiana looked to Taran and tried to give him a reassuring look and nodded her head to him. After they left, she drew her focus back on the Light Chaser. The next thing she knew, Boreas was ready to fight but before he could move, his keyblade had shattered thanks to the Light Chaser. "Deus meus1...." Illiana couldn't believe what she saw. How? Just who was this Light Chaser? The Light Chaser was getting ready to strike. "Torrin!! You better have a plan in that head of yours!!!" The Light Chaser kept counting down. Time was ticking. Illiana got ready to get Tinarah out of the area as fast as she could. Before she knew it, the sound of flames had busted through the ceiling as a dragon flew in. "Not what I was expecting but that works too." She then looked at Torrin as darkness had been pouring out of him. It had consumed the whole chamber while the Light Chaser had blocked some of the fire from the dragon.

The darkness had almost given her some comfort but at the same time also made her feel anxious. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in front of the castle they were staying in prior to leaving. She held her head before speaking. "I got a headache but I'm alive." Torrin then went on to explain about Take and his being a 'Prince' of Heart. Little Tacky.....Who would've thought? Illiana crossed her arms as she listened. She looked over to him as he was processing it. Best to give the kid some space. As Illiana started to walk away, the sound of Torrin's sheer excitement almost startled her. She looked back to see him hug the dragon. "Guy practically has stars in his eyes....a little unsettling...probably wouldn't make for good blackmail. Damn. Oh well." She shrugged her shoulders before starting to walk off.

Before she could walk off again, another voice called out to her and Chrono. "So new friends. What do they call you? And do you all have keyblades? And how many of you are princesses?" She sighed before putting her hand up. "Alright I'm stopping you right there. First off, why in the world would we be here if we didn't have keyblades? Secondly, like hell I'm some damn princess. And lastly, I'm not a friend. You can probably call him one but not me. Not into the whole buddy-buddy thing so if that's all then name's Illiana and I'm out of here." With that, she walked off.

She tried to find an area outside near the castle where nobody was around. She thought back to the ones whose lives had been claimed throughout this ordeal: Mika, Adalric, Dentro, and now Glyde. Four young souls who still had their lives ahead of them but were easily taken away. A slight wind had blew through, casting her eyes onto a small stone. An idea had immediately popped into her head. Illiana opened up her umbrella and reached into it. She pulled out a sealed gallon of water. She grabbed some clay from her umbrella and a bucket. She scooped up some dirt into the bucket and her plan had commenced. Illiana marked four places and began building gravestones to honor those that had fallen thus far.

After some time, she had finally finished making the stones. Each one had there names engraved on it. Mika, Adalric, and Glyde's stones were all next to each other. Dentro's was behind the three. She wiped the sweat off her forehead before sighing. "I'm not one to do something kind often but you guys deserve at least a gravestone. I'll be back to collect some flowers. You also deserve that at the least." She picked up her umbrella and left the stones. She wandered around in search for a field of flowers.



Translation Notes:
1: My god

 

"Well yes, I can't say I have heard of invisible fish before, there's the ghost carps back home they are kinda see-through, but you can still see them... I guess I shouldn't be surprised invisible fish are a thing given how many worlds are out there I shouldn't be so surprised that invisible fish are a thing." Boreas answered. He gave Master Skia a questioning look when she mentioned it wasn't simply a past-time to fish for invisible fish. "Playing catch with an invisible fish... eating an invisible fish... if I give you a hand with this, would it be possible to try some of these invisible fish?" Boreas asked he was genuinely intrigued by these invisible fish but he couldn't help but feel a little that the master was pulling his leg with all the talk of invisible fish, but he'd entertain the idea. He however took note of the fact Varos wasn't one to smile, if he had to deal with the master he would give the matters discussed the gravity they were due.

Boreas laughed at the joke about the fish. "The fish are invisible and as you pointed out I wouldn't exactly see it coming so it is still quite the possibility I get slapped in the face by one." He added "The only difference is that I would know it's a fish." Then however came the rather obvious question as to what he had been doing out here. He clearly hadn't been here for the fish, that much had been obvious. "Torrin ordered me to clear my head after we returned here so I went for a run, I didn't want to go back to the castle yet, so I figured I'd sit here by the stream, take some time alone, didn't really expect to have company, but I do appreciate it nonetheless." Boreas answered, a straight answer for the obvious question, nothing more nothing less. Sure he didn't tell he had to go clear his head from demanding to be sent to his death but he felt like that wasn't something that Master Skia and by extent the council needed to know. He didn't doubt that they didn't know more than they let on. "Is there any trick to catching invisible fish or is it just straight forward fishing?" Boreas asked, she had just a fishing rod with her so he guessed no but looks could be deceiving. "So how long have you been on the Council if you don't mind me asking? And do you enjoy your work here?" Boreas asked, they were questions purely out of curiosity and really the information wasn't useful at all except perhaps her thoughts on her work but even then he didn't expect too much from it.
​

 

"I...I'm sorry, Torrin. I didn't mean to offend." she said, gulping hard on her eggs. The subject was a sore spot and Qamar felt bad for teasing him. At least he acknowledged the apology and at least gave hope that she'd find her father some day. Clearly there were a lot of things going on back on Orphic Coast. Perhaps she could get more ideas of what was going on later when she sought out Boreas. She still needed to talk to him, after all. Qamar was sure that if she talked to him, she'd be able to perhaps get a better control over her darkness. Asking Torrin was out of the question, seeing as he had his own problems. The fact he just used the darkness in such a vast amount clearly drained him. Finishing her plate, Qamar sighed at the abandoned plate from Torrin. He never even touched it, so she had to give it away to somebody, after all. Cleaning her own dish, she grabbed the two plates and began to leave the kitchen, wondering if there was anyone nearby that would love a random plate of breakfast...at night.

Spoiler: Breakfast Dinner

Qamar made her way all the way to Kidemonas' room and balanced the second plate on her arm. "Please let him not be so goofy now." she whispered to herself. She entered the room, her eyes closed. "Master, I know it's nearly night, but I made you breakfast...since you did call it Orphic Toast." she spoke out, waiting for a reply.

"Oh. Hey. Erm...I'm sorry about earlier. I haven't had any sleep in a long time." Kidemonas spoke, scratching the back of his head. "Orphic...Toast? I actually said that?" He thought for a moment. "Oh I suppose I did. Thank you."

"Master Aster was there, so we're not going to let you live it down." she added on, walking forward. She opened her eyes and saw just how tired Kidemonas was. An exasperated look was on her face that turned into a sympathetic smile. "You can't just not sleep all the time, Master. Didn't we have an intervention already?" she asked, setting the plate down on his table. Looking around, she wondered if maybe she ought to clean up a little. "You eat and I'll clean up some of these books and papers, kay?" she offered, reaching down for a few books and beginning to stack them in her arms. The other plate was also set on the table, but Qamar was clearly disinterested.

"Well I've got dirt on her too." Kidemonas mused as he took a bite out of the toast she had given him. "I'm not even sure what my next project will be. I suppose data collecting for the..." He trailed off as he took another bite. "Mm. That feels better already."

"Data collecting for what?" she asked curiously, placing the books on the side of Kidemonas' room with his bookcases. She continued onto another stack, setting it down and stopped to stand up, putting her hands on her hips. "Besides the toast and the data collecting, I've been meaning to ask you. When will I be taught to summon my keyblade armor? You know I've always not been one to watch after myself, so it makes sense to help me get my armor, right?" she joked, reaching for some papers she knocked over. She glanced at the sheets, wondering what he had wrote.

"That's a surprise. You'll see tomorrow." Kidemonas answered just before he broke off into a loud yawn. "Keyblade armor? Oh. Right. That''s something that's made, not taught. Well I suppose it takes practice to activate it on instinct but that's besides the point. The truth is, we don't have the materials to make new armors. There's some old activators in storage but the armor they are supposed to summon are beyond repair."

"They're made?" she blinked, trying to figure out how to flip the papers around correctly. Too bad they were blueprints and she could honestly not figure them out. Except one...looked like a room, but since it was a surprise, she decided to let him have that one. "Then I think I found you another project to spend five more days on." she said, stacking the papers neatly. She turned back to him and had a small smile on her face. "I feel like I need to warn you about something." she walked over and sat down, crossing her legs. "That is, I'm going to ask Boreas if he could help me with my darkness. I'd ask Torrin, but he just used his up for like a week."

"Hm...I suppose I could research where to get what I need." Kidemonas nodded as he watched Qamar. "You're going to learn from one of them? Hm...well who better than someone who's spent their whole life in the Realm of Darkness? Just be careful. Darkness is volatile and Master Gero is not too fond of it. Earlier he even asked for some data on...erm...Well never mind. It's not my place to speak of. Just be careful."

"That brings up another point." she started, staring at the table a little anxiously. "Truth be told, Master, I, too come from the Realm of Darkness." she stated. "It only makes sense. Torrin and Boreas are also from Orphic Coast. If that is in the Realm of Darkness and I remember that name clearly, then I am also from that place." She gripped her hands and looked a little upset. "But that means Master Gero will possibly not like me now, right?"

"To be honest I don't think he even likes me. Or Selene." Kide shrugged. "Seems like he has a strong dislike of Boreas and an even stronger one towards Torrin. For obvious reasons given what Master Gero went through."

"Why wouldn't he like you? You're the science data guy, you're pretty important I think." Qamar tilted her head. "...Selene is understandable." she nodded. Qamar looked at Kidemonas. "Master, you're not mad I wish to train with . Boreas, are you? I don't want to offend you, but I do hope we can train again. Maybe after you finish your bacon." she nodded at his plate.

"I'm not sure. He's a tough man to read and he's definitely got a hell of an intimidating presence." He bit into the bacon as it was mentioned. "Mmph. Not mad. No. Just concerned."

"Concerned with what?" she asked, grabbing the toast from the spare plate and munching it idly. "Other than your normal concern for me."

"Even for those who use it regularly, darkness just has a more volatile quality to it. Skia dabbles in it I know but even she knows when enough is enough. It's only been in recent years where I've seen anyone with a strong dark presence. First you, then those two. Hm...though I suppose it interesting to see how the balance of light and dark differ even between those from Orphic Coast." He finished his meal and set it to the side.


Qamar considered what he said and thought how she could word things. "The difference between those from the Realm of Light who use darkness and those who come from the Realm of Darkness is that those from the Light are tempted by the darkness in their hearts. Those from the Darkness were born into it, thus they never had Light to inhibit their darkness." she spoke. "Of course, Master Gero is right in being so distrusting. He's only ever had bad experiences with children of the Darkness. That's what I believe."

"Well that's true for the most part. It's more complicated that. There's an old lesson Stamatis taught me that I can't seem to remember...oh well. Point is, everyone, even you, has both light and darkness in their hearts. The balance is different for everyone. On average those from the Realm of Darkness skew to having more of the dark in their heart and the opposite is true for those in this realm. Personally, I like looking at it in percentages. Like a Princess of Heart being 100% light."

"So by that logic a Prince of Dark is 100% dark?" she mused. "You taught me that lesson, too, you know. Back when I first became a student? You taught me this and reminded me a lot of Granny." she smiled.

"As far as I know there isn't even a term for someone with a pure dark heart. Probably because by that point they'd be a Heartless or Darkling." He shrugged. "But I am glad you have paid attention to your lessons, Qamar." Once more Kide yawned and stretched his arms out.

"I need another lesson, so teach me something....um...hm...like maybe some magic or just fight me." she said. "I'll go easy on you since you're tired."

"Your lesson for now will be the most difficult, most treacherous, and most daunting lesson you have ever received." He reached forward and patted the girl on the head. "Go to your room. Get some rest. And let me sleep. We've earned it."

Suddenly she felt really tired when he patted her on the head. "Hey wait, you made me sleepy," she yawned, covering her mouth. She stood up and looked at Kidemonas. "Okay this is gonna sound really weird, but keep safe and don't die before I see you again." she joked. "I'd hate to find out you died from no sleep."

"Hmph. That won't happen. Relax and get some sleep alright? Master's orders." Kidemonas waved at the girl dismissively. "Shoo. Shoo. To bed with you."

"You're mean, I'm telling Master Aster!" she called as she left the room, leaving the food behind. She made her way to her room, passing by Master Stamatis' room. She heard a violin played and stopped for a moment. Only Tinarah knew how to play the violin, so that was probably what she was hearing. Though it sounded like two instruments... Qamar shrugged, continuing on her way. She felt like she walked a lot farther than she did, but she eventually made it to her room. Stepping inside, she collapsed to her knees, hands supporting her on the floor. "Guess I'm more tired than I thought." she sighed. Qamar moved to her wardrobe and pulled out some clean clothes to sleep in. She then walked into the bathroom and proceeded to strip down. She examined herself and the new scars on her legs as a result of Dentro and his vines. She ran her hands over her stomach and sides, seeing the scars she always had from years of fighting.

Glancing at the bathtub, she dipped in and enjoyed the heat of the water. Qamar nearly fell asleep in the tub, though she quickly got out when she realized it. Eventually, she made her way back to her room in PJ shorts and a t-shirt, her wavy hair flowing behind her. On the floor, she left her old, tattered clothes. Thinking about it, she figured now was as good a time as any to figure up a new look. The one she had was held for nearly 6 years and she needed a change. Thinking about the fact she wore the same clothes for 6 years was disturbing, but Qamar shook the thought out of her head and sat on the ground. She closed her eyes and began to meditate, trying to clear her mind.​

 

Chrys barely contained hysterical laughter at the Light Chasers words. Somehow, she was relatively certain that, in spite of his words, she was fulfilling his expectations perfectly. It was perhaps ironic that the so called 'Light Chaser' was responsible for such anger and sadness. Were not such things considered of the darkness? She supposed it did not matter now. It did not matter if the darkness welled up within her, or the light she held died.

They were both lies.

Metaphors that had been repeated and abused by those seeking power. Claiming one must rule over the other or that they must be at balance. They had nothing to do with good and evil. Not if they both ripped away her home and family for no reason. They were both just tools, words even.

And words had no meaning.

Yet they still had their use. The Light Chaser had clearly found it. He had wormed his way into her heart, and the hearts of his other apprentices. Propped himself up as a wise and carrying individual. Even as he sought to tear them all down. Something she didn't doubt for a second had been what happened to Dentro. Would it be a good use of words to tell him that he had been more a father to her than the one she had before?

No. No it wouldn't.

He wouldn't care.

It was meaningless.

No, at this point the only useful use of words would be...

"Very Well."

That was it. He had won. It was a fact. Nothing could change it. So she turned and walked away from them. Away from that town between light and dark. Away from what had become her home. She summoned her keyblade and converted it into it's glider form. But as her glider hovered in front of her, she did not yet climb on. Instead she turned her head back, ever so slightly...

...And spoke in a voice not her own.

"I'm through talking."

As she left, her tools conveyed to the Light Chaser that he would come to regret this victory.​

 

Boreas took the fishing rod when the master offered it and confirmed there was no trick to it. "Sounds like a good way to even the odds on those invisible fish." Boreas said as he got closer to the water and cast out the line, listening to what the Master had to say. Six years ago had been a bad year for him too, perhaps not master of masters disappearing level bad but it hadn't just been them suffering a loss. "A lot can happen in but a couple of years, if but a moment is all it takes to change things for the worse." Boreas agreed, in those six years he had joined the military and risen to the rank of captain, lost his younger brother and comrades. "And having endured guard duty on numerous occasions, I can imagine how you feel about being cooped up in a Castle if you'd rather serve on the frontlines, but I understand it's orders from higher up forcing you to set aside your own feelings on the matter and just carry them out regardless for they know what's best." Boreas was distracted by a tug on the rod and Boreas started to reel in he definitely caught something and after a short fight with the fish Boreas pulled it from the water and the master had been right there seemed to be nothing there but the rod implied otherwise with a cautious hand Boreas felt where the fish should be and had his hand slapped by the fish indicating it was clearly there. He removed the hook from it's mouth and cast out the line again.

"But six years of guard duty and I'd imagine uneventful guard duty at that..." Boreas said, shaking his head, he did not like that idea at all, he knew there were people that loved guard duty as it definitely had it's advantages, but it wasn't for really for him. "I shudder just at the idea of it." He added but it did point out something to him, there clearly was something here worth defending. What that was he didn't know but he was curious, perhaps it might explain why the Council seemed to deem the threat of the Light Chaser adequately adressed by sending a handful of students and two masters to fight back. And with three casualties on their side and but one on their opponents side, the odds were only changing more in favour of the Light Chaser, he dearly hoped that they were working on something to turn the tables on the Light Chaser the way master Skia had turned the tables on the invisible fish.​

 

Boreas listened closely to what the master had to say giving her the time to find the words as he kept an eye on the rod. The decision to hold back initially made sense, without a leader they were without purpose but to hold back for 6 years it seemed a bit strange, but with someone like the Light Chaser out there a little understandable even if it caused this problem to grow worse from neglect. "When I first saw him he fought Gero, Stamatis, Atmos and Torrin simultaneously to a standstill..." Boreas said illustrating the point that he understood that the Light Chaser was indeed a force to be reckoned with. "He is a very skilled and cunning opponent, as he knew where we were and struck while we tried to regroup. And well if he can fight those four to a standstill I feel like the only option we have left is weight of numbers, call upon every single wielder and hope it is enough. If it's not then I guess it doesn't matter too much at least not for me and my people... It's gonna be a mess either way really even if we win with brute force..." Boreas said grimly. "But yes fishing is indeed a nice way to distract oneself of all that. I found going for a good run works for me too." He felt another tug on the rod and Boreas fought to get the fish on shore, this one put up more of a fight and it took Boreas a while to get it ashore, having to get closer to the stream to do so, but in the end Boreas won once again, quickly removing the hook and casting it out again. "Another good remedy is spending time with family or friends, a crisis has it's way of changing our perspective on who and what are important to us." Boreas said with a hint of sadness, missing his own family. "So this Judgement Bolt, is it a hard thing to le-" Boreas was interupted as something wet and slimy slapped across his face as one of the invisible fish had leaped at him, his cheek turning red from where the fish had hit him. "As I was trying to say before being interrupted by a fish, is Judgement Bolt something that is difficult to learn?" Boreas asked wiping the slime from his cheek.​

 

Illiana walked on and on until she saw the sun slowly go down. "The last hour of sun is surprisingly the most eye-catching time.....comforting almost...." Illiana kept staring at the sunset for a bit before continuing on. She kept walking in search of the field and came across a lake. The way the stars were reflecting off the water made Illiana almost speechless. She kept looking at the lake before walking on again. The light of the moon was bright enough to help her find exactly what she was looking for. A field of flowers. "Whoa...." The sight in front of her had been covered with white poppy flowers and pink lilies. She walked through the field and started to pick some of them up. "This should be good for the graves." After some time, she had gathered enough flowers and started to head back. She stopped before looking back. "One day...you'll see this field too...little brother..." She lowered her eyes before walking back.

After some time, she finally made it back to the graves. "This should suffice for you guys." She walked over to Dentro's grave last and place the flowers. Illiana crouched down and clapped her hands together before paying her respects. After some time, she got up and walked back to the castle. She went into the kitchen and cooked herself some dinner. Once she finished eating, she poured herself a glass of white wine before exiting the room. She wandered aimlessly in the castle until she reached a room that had piqued her interest. Illiana walked into the room and saw a grand piano sitting in the middle of the room. She walked up to it before gliding her fingers over the piano keys. "How long has it been since I last played?.....Hmm...." She sat down on the piano bench before pulling herself closer to the piano. She put her wine glass on top of the piano before laying her fingers on the keys. The moonlight had crept into the room, illuminating her and the piano. Illiana took a deep breath and began to play.

Beautiful notes had begun to spill from the piano, almost echoing out of the room. She closed her eyes and just let herself relax and continue playing. The entire time she was playing, nothing but memories of her life prior to her journey to the castle filled her every thought. Her time with her parents. Her time with Koa. Her time before the military. Her time during the military. However, most of her memories went back to her family. The times she would help her parents out in the bakery or times they would go outside for a picnic or times they would just sit at home and enjoy each other's company.

 

​

There had been noticable confusion on Chrono's face as he watched Enzo shake his keyblade out of his pants leg. The first question the came to mind wasn't 'why don't you just summon it like normal?' but instead 'how did you even fit it there?' He realized that it might be better if he didn't actually learn the answer to that and choose to leave those questions in his head. "No, I don't know, but I'll take your word for it." Chrono said, dismissing the current topic right as it was changed. "I don't think so... does this place even have a butler?...there should be a room for you. A vacant room." The need to clarify came as the possibility of him just going into someone else's room to crash arose and Chrono rather it not be his room.

 

The Master wanted to laugh at his misfortune with the fish but couldn't bring herself too, it probably was cause his reaction wasn't too funny, just treating it like an interuption, then again it had been a long day and while funny wasn't exactly his strong suit after a long day it wasn't any better. He felt a little disappointed that it was impossible to learn this Judgement Bolt. "That's a shame, maybe throwing enough of those at the Light Chaser might make for a rather convenient solution, I mean he can tank one but how about a dozen?" Boreas said handing back the fishing rod to the master. "It's been a long day I guess, I know that for me it has been, I think I have sufficiently cooled down, so if it's alright with you I'll go back to the Castle with you." Boreas said. "And don't mention it, it was nothing. I enjoyed the company and the distraction to be honest, guess I needed that so thank you." Boreas said as he grabbed the fishes and headed back to the Castle with the Master on the way back he spoke of what had happened during their mission leaving out a few details like Torrin's use of Darkness saving them. Boreas remained wary around the masters that were on the council, but at the very least, master Skia didn't exactly seem to dislike him outright.

Back at the castle Boreas brought the fish to the kitchen, he made himself some dinner and went to his room to grab a shower to wash away the remaining fish slime. He ought to have some rest, before he did though he attempted to summon his blade, closing his eyes and holding out his hand visualising his blade before him, but it didn't come to him. Boreas went to the kitchen and helped himself to a breadknife. He knew it wouldn't do much in case of an emergency but he always slept with at least a single weapon and now that his keyblade was temporarily out of commision, he would make due with what he had. He lay down in the same bed he had a couple nights ago drifting off to a light sleep, he'd find Torrin in the morning and apologise same with Qamar, but for now he would get his sleep.​

 

​

Aria had kept to herself for the rest of the evening. After showering off the grime from the last couple days, she was in her room changed into a tank top and a pair of shorts. She sat on the bed for a while, staring out the window while hugging a pillow. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks as she hugged the pillow close to her. She was missing home, missing Amerath, missing the farm, and her aunt and uncle. Seeing so much darkness, destruction, and death was weighing her down. She knew it was life, this was what she signed up for. But to now be the cause of said conflict and being limited to help because of it made her heart heavy. Not only that, but to know she had something dark lurking inside of her ready to bring her down made her uneasy.

Aria heard the sound of a piano waft through the air, and she quietly listened for a while. If she was back on Amerath and felt like this, she would have saddled up her Chocobo and rode off someplace quiet and serene, maybe play her wooden flute. But as far as she knew, there were no chocobos around here.

She finally rubbed the tears out of her eyes and set up a small place to work at the table. She busied herself making friendship bracelets with the beads she acquired from the world with the space pirates, trying to keep her mind occupied with something. She needed to stop feeling so selfish about herself. She knew she wasn't the only one suffering. She needed to be the strong one, especially with what was at stake.

After an hour or two working at her desk, Aria grew tired. She went and opened one of the windows to let in cool, fresh air and left the the bedroom door slightly ajar. Normally she would have the door close, but with the way the nightmare had been, she wanted to make sure someone could get to her quickly if something were to happen.

As night drew on and she was snoozing, a shadow hovered over the window. Slowly it was pushed back to being closed, the latch locked in place. The shadow then closed the curtains over the window, making it darker in the room. It zoomed across the room to the door, closing it softly and locking it with a click. There was a quiet, dark chuckle and the shadow vanished all together.

Spoiler: Nightmare Time

Aria was sound asleep, snuggled under her blankets. The blankets began to move off of her on their own until they were removed completely. She was wearing a blue tank top with a chibi looking rainbow on the front of it along with a pair of black shorts. Soon she was rolled to sleep on her back, and then her arms were laid out on either side of her. A tiny blue light briefly appeared on her forehead, and then fizzled away all together. Aria furrowed her eyebrows in her sleep as shivers ran up and down the girl’s spin, causing Aria to move her head to lay to the side. She unconsciously tried to roll back in a fetal position on her side so she could be more comfortable, but something was preventing her to do so.

A blue light appeared on her forehead again, causing Aria to shudder once more as a cool wave rushed over her, this time her teeth were chattering. The girl tried to open her eyes, but they felt weighed down somehow. She tried to move her arms, but they felt like they were made of led. She panicked in her sleep, trying to make herself stir somehow. Everything refused to cooperate though. It was as if she was paralyzed.

‘All to myself and no one to interrupt me… My, you seemed to not have such a good time since we last met… You seem so… disheartened.’

A long, shriveled finger touched her forehead again, sending an icy chill down her body. Aria shook involuntarily as the air around her seemed to cool down significantly. She focused on waking herself up by moving a finger somehow, or yelling out. Even those simple tasks proved difficult in her current predicament.

‘Tor-!‘ The thought was cut off being blinded by a brilliant blue light and feeling even more colder. Aria was determined to try to call out to someone through her heart again. ‘Grandpa Ge-!‘ A frosty wave went through Aria’s body, causing her to quake violently. Her chest ached terribly as it felt like an icy hand gripped her heart.

‘You insolent girl,’ the dark voice rang out in her head. ‘They won’t be able to help you, not now. Why don’t you just give in already, hm…? You’re going to get everyone killed after all with this… light of yours. Why not give in and let me take over for a while.’

Another frosty surge went through her being. Her bones and muscles began to ache from the cold that was going through her body. An inaudible groan escaped once more, only for it to be shushed by another touch of ice. Her skin was beginning to turn grey, and her lips blue.

‘Stop fighting so much,’ the creepy voice piped up again. ‘Take a break, relax… This won’t be so bad. No one wants you out there fighting anyways, but I can help… Only if you let me.’

‘Never!’ Aria’s thoughts echoed with conviction. Another ice spell touched her forehead, and her chattering teeth became less along with the rest of her shivering.

‘The choice is yours… but you won’t last long my dear… Sooner or later, you’ll have to make a choice… Or, let me make it for you…’

Aria’s skin became greyer and greyer as the seconds ticked on. She was starting to feel this strange warmth, but it was just her body trying to fight off the cold. The air was chilly around her, and her breathing was becoming quicker, more labored as her heart was slowing down. ‘Help…’ her mind called out. A single tear slipped from her closed eyes, trailing down her paled cheek and nearly froze on her skin.