Kingdom Hearts: Kingdom Hearts: Light Chaser

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"Hm. Yeah. Though my people have a different way of going about that sort of thing." Torrin spoke dismissively, not wishing to go into detail about that particular subject. "It's okay if you weren't in the mood to eat. I'm not going to hold that against you. Just try to eat more when you get the chance. Don't force it but just try. Alright?" Torrin rubbed the back of his neck. Speaking to Tinarah had become less awkward "Well if everyone's ready, we can start heading out. I assume Boreas and Take have handled whatever issues they had by now."

 

"Yeah... I'll try." It felt weird, having Torrin almost sound like he was looking out for her instead of just ignoring her like he had been. Quickly cleaning up the best she could, Torrin suggested it was time to head out, and Tinarah agreed. She didn't want to be intruding any longer and was getting the feeling that Edna wasn't wanting any more company. "I will go grab my violin, then I will be ready to go." She informed whoever was listening before wandering off towards her room where she and Chrono left her violin, picking it up taking a deep breath. She could keep doing this, she could keep fighting. She just had to take it one step at a time and focus on what was ahead of her, not letting her own thoughts drag her down. Once she felt her mind was sufficiently settled she finally stepped out to rejoin the group. "Alright. Ready"​

 

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"Alright. Good. Come on Chrono it's time for us to get out of here." Torrin headed outside to find that, as he figured, Boreas and Take had already settled their disagreement by now. Neither looked too worse for wear and as Torrin approached he could see that there was something off about Take. He wasn't too keen on prying in front of everyone and wondered if it was just due to the skirmish. "Good. You both got that out of your systems. If no one's in need of healing, we can finally leave this place and reunite with the others."

Torrin held up the communicator and clicked on it to get back into contact with Aria. "Hey. It's Torrin. We're heading out to meet you guys. Mind giving a general direction on where to find your group?" In response there was static. Torrin blinked and waited a moment. "Aria? You there?" Silence. "Is anyone there?" Yet more silence to come with the static. A look of concern crossed his face. "Dammit. No answer." Torrin called for his keyblade and immediately opened a portal, the same one that Thallasa had opened earlier, and narrowed his sights on the column of light.

"Wait!" Edna shouted as she ran over towards the group. The short woman glared at them. "No goodbye? Is this how you treat your host!?"

"O-oh. Yeah. Right. Um...sorry. Thank you Miss Mode for your hospitality. We've greatly appreciated all the assistance you've given us." Torrin spoke, scratching the back of his head as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I'm sorry we won't be able to repay the debt anytime soon."

"Oh darlings. Please. I know I'm a miracle worker."

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"Less chatting more walking!" Doli shouted at the group as he flew ahead.

Thallasa motioned for everyone to follow her. "The ill-tempered fairy has a point." She said as she went after Doli. "How quickly the scenery changes..." She commented as the group entered the marshes and the treeline abruptly stopped. Thallasa tried to find her way onto higher ground but the best she could do was trudge through the mud as the thick murky smell permeated the air. The master swatted a fly out of the air and looked around as they passed by several still standing dead trees. Thallasa scrunched her nose but made no complaint.

"Are you certain that the Cauldron is in this direction?" She asked curiously.

"Of course I am! If you don't believe me you can go off on your own and search yourself! See how far you get without me!"

"No need to be so rude."

"Then don't pester me with your questions!"

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The Light Chaser stepped back, barely inching out of the range of Chrysanthemum's first attack. From under the hood the man smiled faintly. "Hmph. That's much better. This is how it should be. When backed into a corner one has little option but to unleash everything they have." He ducked underneath one of her attacks and summoned a blade temporarily to deflect one of the blows now that her speed had increased. "This power...it is but a drop compared to that which is yet to come."

"Tell me, what would you do to reunite with your brother? How far would you go?" Once more he summoned that same blade and brought it down towards Chrys with blinding speed and followed up with an upward swing which discharged an arc of light that would have knocked the girl back if she decided to block it head on.

 

"N-no answer?" Tinarah's brow furrowed as Torrin spoke. She could only think of how she had lost her friends in the other realm, but this time instead of letting that drag her down, she looked to her brother, then to Take. They were here, they were alive. She could speak to Torrin and not be afraid of him. This wasn't the other realm. This wasn't where things had gotten so far that she was unable to do anything to help. She could help here she could protect them, and it might not be too late. She had already lost one friend in this realm, she wasn't about to lose another, not if she had anything to say about it. Steeling herself with this resolve, Tinarah prepared to head out after Torrin, but they were stopped by Edna.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality. We did our best to leave things how we found them..." Or at least she hoped, she didn't know if the guys would have tried to put back their bedrooms and cleaned them up. Nini then stepped up beside Tinarah and meowed her thanks as well. Smiling Tinarah scooped the cat up in her arms, still wearing the cape made up of the torn piece of her costume. "Tell Mister Incredible and the others goodbye for us please, and sorry that we couldn't say it in person, but we really need to go." Tinarah looked back to the portal, still worrying about her friends. She waited until at least one other person stepped through before following herself. ​

 

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Choma shut the book he had been combing through to look at his two visitors. "Thank you for your offer but I don't need something to take my mind off of things."

"So you'd rather sit in a stuffy room all day and worry about your kids?" Thyella folded her arms.

"The last news I have received was that the group had separated. So until the Council has more information I would rather be left alone."

"Most unwise." Varos spoke up, the large man eyeing Choma directly in the eye. Though both of them stood at the same height Varos was of a much heavier build.

"And what do you mean by that?"

The woman sighed. "Jeez old man. Thought you'd know what that meant. Why would you ever waste time sulking here instead of training when we have a looming threat like the Light Chaser ready to wipe us all out? It's a poor use of your time."

"And in the time you two have been training, have you noticed a perceivable difference in your power?"

"No but what does that have to do with anything?"

"You'd be tiring yourself out for no reason. Perhaps you two should be studying in your own library rather than going for a brute force approach about your problems. You might find something of value there. If I had accepted the position within the Council I was offered when I was younger than you, I would have already held a position of seniority over you. While I thank you for your concern, child, I do not require it. Now leave me to my worrying."

Thyella glared and stepped forward. "Why you condescending as–"

"No. Leave him. Clearly Master Choma knows what he is doing. We should be returning to our training anyway." As Varos spoke Thyella narrowed her eyes further at Choma before walking away without another word. Varos and Choma gave each other a slight nod before the man left Choma to his own devices.

 

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Torrin waited for the others to enter the portal before he made for his exit. "Just one more thing." Edna spoke up just before Torrin went through the portal. He raised an eyebrow and turned slightly.

"I'm pressed for time. I don't know what happened with the others."

"I know but tell me one thing before you go."

"What?"

"Those cloaks you wanted for your friends. The material you had me fabricate is highly unusual. Wherever did you come up with something like that?"

"I didn't. There's only a handful of people who know how to make them and I learned about it from...er...well you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me darling."

With some reluctance Torrin nodded. "A...fairy in purple told me how."

"Bah! If you will not tell me then so be it!"

"I'm serious! I'm sorry but I need to leave now. Our friends could be in danger. Thank you for your help Miss Mode." Without another word Torrin stepped through the portal causing it to close instantly.

"Curious...most curious..."

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Time passed and some of the group were beginning to grow weary from the journey. "I think we're lost." Eilonwy frowned upon seeing nothing but more marshes ahead of them.

"Are you sure you've been leading us the right way, Doli?" Fflam asked, taking a moment to catch his breath as he stepped up a hill to where Doli was hovering by.

"Of course I'm sure!" The fairy angrily responded.

"Well if you ask me–AH!!!" As Fflam stepped closer to the hill's edge the mud beneath him shifted and his foothold crumbled sending him tumbling down and taking Doli with him as he frantically tried to regain his balance. At the bottom of the hill Fflam laid still and groaned in pain.

Trying to push himself out from under Fflam the fairy cried out. "Watch where you're going! You big o–oh...we're here. This is Morva. This is where the Black Cauldron is hidden." In the distance was a large old tree with what looked to be a decrepit hut built into it. Along the path leading up to the ancient abode were several wooden spikes decorated with web-covered skulls.

Thallasa leapt down the hill to assist the bard to his feet. "That is...quite foreboding."

"Gurgi no like this place." The furry creature hid behind Eilonwy as he shivered.



Meanwhile . . .


Torrin arrived behind the others just before the portal closed behind him. Before them was an a wooden house with a roof made of straw. A small stream ran along the front of the house and several feet away was an empty pig pen. The air was peaceful and nothing seemed out of place. Yet as Torrin stepped forward he could sense the weight of darkness that gripped this world. He tapped on his communicator again but heard nothing but static. With a sigh he shut it back off and shook his head. "No good. At least it seems safe here for now. I don't imagine we'll be fighting Heartless around this area. We'll have to track the others the old fashioned way. But if the portal they used opened up here too then whoever's in that house probably has some information for us."

 

Stepping through the portal Tinarah found herself somewhere totally different from where they just came from. She stepped through slightly behind her brother, but then she noticed that it took a moment for everyone else to come through. It made Tinarah nervous for a moment as she waited, she was scared the the portal would close before they came through, but thankfully it was only a few moments later when Torrin stepped through after the rest. Good they were at least all together, though it seemed that Torrin was still struggling to get a hold of the others. He suggested talking to the people in the house near by and while Tinarah nodded her agreement, she made no effort to be the one talking. She knew that she wouldn't be very good at it. Looking to the othres she hoped that one of them would step up. At least Take started heading towards the house and Tinarah followed, better he talk than her, or at least that is what she believed. ​

 

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Torrin nodded at Boreas. "Yeah. From the looks of things I'm going to say we're just going to have to ignore the whole keeping the world order rule and use the gliders until we find the others." It seemed that everyone else agreed with his course of action and headed over towards the house. He looked at the others and, when no one stepped forward he knocked on the door. He stepped back and waited for a reply.

There was the sound of shuffling on the other side. "Taran is that you? Have you returned already? Thank goodness, boy, I had begun to...oh?" An elderly man had answered the door, his leg bandaged with a splint and a walking stick in his free hand. "More strangers? Are you with that other group? A group comprised of mostly women dressed strangely just as you are came by here yesterday."

"Yes. We're part of the same group." Torrin looked over towards the others. "Could you tell us which direction they went?"

"Well I believe that wouldn't help at all." Another voice spoke.

"Thanks but I'll be the judge of that, tiny flying man." Torrin blinked. He did a double take. Beside him was a floating fairy in red and underneath him stood a pig looking excited to see the elderly man. "Waitwheredidyoucomefromandwhoareyou?"

"Hen Wen! Thank you so much for returning her! But if she's here...where is Taran?"

"The boy and his friends journeyed on to find the Black Cauldron so they could destroy it." The chubby red fairy spoke.

"Wait wait wait. Can one of you explain what's going on? We're lost. We've only just arrived and it seems like you already know what happened to our friends. Can you fill us in?"

"Ah! I'm sorry! Apologies! I am the King Eidilleg, ruler of the fairies. I can do my best to tell you what has happened. Any friend of those courageous enough to stand up to the Horned King are friends of mine!"

"And I shall do what I can to fill in any spots that my new guest has. I am curious to hear what has become of my dear assistant as well." The old man spoke.

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"Why thank you both very much." Fflam spoke towards Thallasa and Qamar who had helped him regain his footing. Upon seeing the house up ahead the bard gulped loudly and reluctantly followed behind the others.

Thallasa looked over at Doli who motioned for them to go on towards the house. "Then this is it." She sniffed the air and squinted. "Most...unpleasant." She gave the door a quick knock and waited for a moment. There was no reply.

"I don't think anyone's home." Eilonwy spoke as she peered through a cracked window.

"Let's go in." Taran said.

"I agree. The only way forward is to go in." She opened the door which caused it to creak loudly. A frog leapt at her. Thallasa stepped to the side and narrowly avoided getting smacked in the face with the tiny creature. The woman blinked and tilted her head curiously. She looked back inside as she cracked the door wide open for everyone to enter. Inside the abode was a mess and covered in dust and cobwebs. Towards the back there seemed to be a small mountain of cauldrons piled up against a wall though none looked to be particularly magical.

"How will we ever find it in this mess?" Eilonwy frowned as she stepped forward with Gurgi still clutching her dress.


Meanwhile . . .

"Alright...that explains a lot. There's still a few blank parts but that's enough for us to get moving." Torrin folded his arms and racked his brain as he went through the events the others had gone through. An evil sorcerer known as the Horned King had sought out Hen Wen, a pig with the power to show visions of the future, in order to find an item known as the Black Cauldron to summon an undead army. The old man, Dallben, had sent out his young assistant Taran to hide Hen Wen away when Thallasa and company had arrived and startled Dallben causing him to injure his leg. Thallasa's group had went out to find Taran and, somehow, along the way they decided to find the Cauldron first to destroy it by the time they had stumbled across a pond that pulled them into the fairies' domain where they had been hiding from the wrath of the Horned King.

"So we just need to head to these...Marshes of Morva. They were off in that direction right?"

"That is correct, yes."

"Alright..."

"If you would like assistance I could provide you all with the power to fairy you there swiftly!" They fairy king waved his hands and blue sparks of light surrounded the group causing them to float a few inches off the ground.

Immediately uncomfortable with the thought of flying without something tangible beneath him, or the poor pun the king had made, Torrin exclaimed, "No thanks!" The magic was suspended and they all landed back softly on the earth beneath them. "We'll manage, thank you."

"Are you certain...? As you wish. Safe travels then, young heroes."