Kingdom Hearts: Kingdom Hearts: Light Chaser

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Torrin squinted as his eyes adjusted to his surroundings. He hadn't been sure if he had passed out or not but considering he had no recollection of how he got in such a cold place he knew that he must have passed out for a moment. He tried to sit up but as he moved his right arm he winced and turned his head to look down to see a long straight gash that had torn through his coat and left a long deep cut stretching from his upper chest and into his shoulder. His hands felt wet. Torrin sat up slowly ignoring the burning pain going through his body at glanced down at the blood he found himself sitting in. He touched his left hand to the wound but when he tried to call for his magic nothing came. "Damn!" He growled. The stone prison he found himself in was illuminated by a distant hole in the ceiling. His way out.

He tried to call for his keyblade, anxious to return to the others. That too failed him. His keyblade was just out of his reach and he had no idea how that could have happened. Just as he began forcing himself onto his feet, intent on punching a wall in frustration, his eyes caught sight of something. He was not alone in this dungeon. With him in this prison was a young man with blonde hair. There was a faint scent of darkness to the stranger but Torrin ignored it and turned towards the stranger. "Have you been here this whole time? How long was I out?"




Ardyn smiled. "I suppose he should be bleeding out by now in a dreary dungeon. I suppose he should have been more careful where he–" Boreas's glaive drove straight through Ardyn's chest and the force of the blow causing the glaive to go all the through and pin the man where he stood with the shaft still buried in his chest. Ardyn went silent. Then he spoke again. "Oooh...that stings. Emotionally, not physically of course. To think that you children would be so rude to a complete stranger. My! Where are your manners?" Ardyn looked Boreas in the eye as he gripped the glaive's shaft and began to pull it out from his body. A thick black liquid poured out onto the ground when he ripped the blade from his body and held the weapon out towards Boreas as if it were a mere trinket.

"You'll find it a great deal more difficult than that to place me in a permanent slumber." The hole in his chest, and even his clothes, began to heal leaving no trace of the injury he had sustained. "Ah. I trust you got that out of your system then?"

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Thallasa looked at the Black Cauldron and narrowed her eyes at it. "Perhaps my keyblade would be enough to destroy it."

"I wouldn't count on it, lady!" Doli flew over in front of the woman. "You heard those witches! They were right in what they said. The only way you're going to make the Black Cauldron useless is by having someone climb into it!"

"I will not allow anyone to be sacrificed. That is not an option."

"Well you can't move it somewhere else! Leaving it in tact is just askin' for trouble! No matter where it is!"

"Hm..." Thallasa's thoughts were interrupted when Aria spoke of her concern for the others. "What were you–never mind. Perhaps they are traveling to meet with us. The other group has two formidable keyblade wielders amongst them. Have faith that they will return. By nightfall if you still have not heard back from the others then we shall seek them out."

Taran smiled at Illiana, beaming with renewed confidence, and attempted to fix his hair after she had ruffled it. "R-really? You would do that for me?" He looked at Eilonwy and grinned. "You hear that Eilonwy? I'm going to get a new sword! And this time I'll practice every day to keep you safe!"

"That's nice...wait...what do you mean Taran? I don't get captured on a daily basis." Eilonwy frowned.

"Well you won't have to worry about that anymore with me protecting you!" The boy pointed at himself.

"Oh Taran..." The girl smiled slightly at Taran's eagerness.

Thallasa couldn't help but share in the two youths' happiness as she walked by them towards Illiana. "You snoozed? Why I didn't even notice. But that was a good thing you offered for the lad. I suppose once the Cauldron is destroyed he will insist on following us when we take Eilonwy to the Council...but I suppose they would not be too concerned with the world order when they see us with another Princess of Heart. So that just leaves–"

"My Cauldron!" The clouds overhead thickened and thunder echoed. Before the group a green mist began to rise and from the thick cloud of mist came a tall and thin robed skeletal man. Taran moved in front of Eilonwy immediately while Gurgi and Fflam ran to hide behind Aria and Qamar respectively. Doli vanished in an instant to hide from the sorcerer. "Foolish mortals! You have found what I could not." A leathery flapping sound could be heard above them. In the sky were three small dragons circling the group. The Horned King pointed a single bony finger to his pets. "I knew you would come for the Cauldron so I sent my pets to follow you. Now you will be forced to watch as I summon forth my undead army!"

Out from the mist stepped at forty or fifty of the Horned King's soldiers, each holding a spear or sword that was now pointed in the direction of the group. They were completely surrounded in seconds. Thallasa summoned her keyblade and prepared for battle. "I have seen your power. Perhaps you could defeat my men. Perhaps you could even kill my pets. But could you do so while protecting the pig boy? Or the scullery maid? That pathetic musician? Or even that disgusting rodent?" Thallasa growled as her blade lowered. She knew the sorcerer had a point. There was no way to keep everyone safe. The Horned King's men took a step closer, closing in the circle they had formed around the group. "What is it then? Surrender or death?"

 

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Minutes passed. Avra and Pagos seemed evenly matched despite their difference in size and age. Pagos's magic kept Avra at bay but her durability kept her going even when she took a hit. Meanwhile, Zeno and Koa were locked in close combat. Though Koa was apparently more skilled with a blade, Zeno was faster. As the two circled each other continued to clash in an intricate dance of swordsmanship, Zeno would often quip about how he was enjoying the challenge. Out of everyone, Zeno was the only who spoke so much during their exams.

More time passed. As their duels progressed everyone had begun to slow down. Finally, the Light Chaser spoke to Chrysanthemum. "Allowing their exams to go on longer than yours was done to evaluate them more closely. Each pair are closer in skill level than you and I are." He explained. "And there's the fact that I did not need to see much more of you for your exam. After five years, I was already completely certain of your worth. You are worthy of the title bestowed upon you. The others, however? I know they will pass but they need this. They need to see it for themselves." He nodded slightly to himself.

"Hm...while we're waiting I suppose I shall tell you of a small thing that caught my attention when I recruited you." He turned his head towards Chrysanthemum and from underneath the darkness in his hood a pair of blue eyes flashed. "Perhaps it was fate. Or perhaps I had already heard of your name before and that is why I chose you. But there was another with a name very similar to yours. A keyblade master who was important to me. Her name was Chryssa. A name like that holds nearly the same meaning as yours. I suppose I had hoped you would be as strong willed, as good, as her. While you are not the same, I have not been disappointed in who you have shown yourself to be. For that I am proud of you, Chrysanthemum."

 

No.... No. She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't let Torrin bleed out, not when they were finally making process. Then Boreas stabbed him. They couldn't save Torrin if the guy was dead. Tinarah's eyes went wide as she stepped back a couple steps looking at everything. Whether for better or worse, he was alive and... healing? How that was possible she didn't even want to know. "Take me to him...." Tinarah breathed. She couldn't let Torrin die. She had escaped dungeons before, she could do it again. She just needed to get close enough to save Torrin, then she could figure the rest out from there. Tinarah looked back and gave her brother an apologetic look. Even as Take approached, the man who stood before them, it was no ordinary man. Tinarah dismissed her keyblade, ready to surrender. "Just don't let him die alone." A plea, a fake plea, but a plea none the less to try and convince him to get her near enough Torrin to stop the blood. ​

 

The man Torrin spoke to stood up from his small sitting spot and dusted his hands on his pants. "Only a quick minute or two. I was just sitting here and.. plop! In you came!" He felt the spot where he heard Torrin punch, feeling the smooth surface. "And you ended up punching a wall. Afraid that's not the best method amigo. This place has some bad juju and it's messin' up everything." He stepped closer to Torrin before stepping onto a small puddle of blood. "Oh man... that's not good," he said, looking down. He took off one of his shoes and began to wipe the blood on the well. "I really liked these shoes." He put the shoe back on his foot before looking to Torrin. "Anywho, I'm Enzo." he said offering his hand, while the other remained in his pocket. "You a prisoner of war or man of unfortunate circumstance?"

Enzo slouched and kept his tone with Torrin very casual. He sensed a little something different from the man in front of him, but couldn't make it out. Nevertheless, he kept things light in what would otherwise be seen as a doomed situation.

 

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Torrin reluctantly took Enzo's hand and shook it. "I'm Torrin." He placed his hand on his shoulder and slowly moved over towards another wall to lean against it while his back began to slide down against it until he sat back down. He needed a breather and standing was quickly draining his strength. Torrin blinked several times to clear his vision as he ran Enzo's words through his mind so he could form a response. "Unfortunate circumstances." Torrin muttered. "What about you? What are you doing here? Do you have any ideas to get out of this place?" Torrin took a deep breath and leaned his head back to look up at the roofless opening above them. It only frustrated him more since he could not summon his keyblade.

Torrin looked back at Enzo and squinted at him for a moment "It doesn't look like you're from around these parts. Just how exactly did you end up here to begin with?" He asked, suspicion clear in his tone.


A sudden increase in his weight called Ardyn to fall to one of his knees and grunt. "Well isn't this just delightful..." The man turned his head towards Take and chuckled. "My my. Aren't you up past your bedtime?" An aura of darkness began to surround Ardyn as he slowly stood back to his feet and overcame the effects of the spell. The aura disappeared and Ardyn readjusted his coat. The man turned, towering over Takehiko and gently pushed Take's keyblade down with a single finger. "Now now. Children shouldn't play with swords."

"Oh!" Ardyn clutched his chest as he heard Boreas's words. "Your words wound me so! But alas, I have no intentions of doing you children any further harm. I merely sent a warning shot. Torrin was it? Yes. Torrin should be recovering back at the castle. In the other direction. In fact, I rather suspect that the other members of your party will be heading there as well! Perhaps if you head there now you just might be able to reach them before something truly terrible happens." The man touched the tip of Boreas's glaive and grinned. "Perhaps you might give the true enemy a taste of your blade."

And finally Ardyn looked at Tinarah. "And you, fair maiden?" Ardyn bowed his head. "I would be honored to transport you but I'm afraid your last friend got the last ticket. No more passengers I'm afraid. But how noble of you to offer yourself up for someone who isn't even your friend! How touching. That kind of sentiment will you get killed someday, child."

 

Enzo shook his hand firmly before putting it back into his pockets. "Man, you ask a lot of questions for a guy who got jailed. But fair is fair. I ended up imprisoned just as every other man does... By singing a song."

As Enzo described his story, the scene he would describe painted a picture of him strolling along the world of Prydain with a walking stick. He sung a little happy song as he walked along Prydain's country grounds. He used a walking stick to travel so that he could navigate under the muddy terrain. He sang a song in a fun little tune as he walked along carefree.

"Well the world is dark, and the birds are loud,
and the wolves they hunger blood.
And the earth is soft, so I use this stick,
Trying to avoid the mud"

The longer he walked, he heard some hardy and raspy laughter coming from the entryway of the castle nearby. The men laughing had deep, ruffian voices, but Enzo was just happy to hear people.

"Well it's good to hear a happy change
with some laughter in the mix,"

As Enzo began a light jog towards the voices, he felt a crunch under hit boots. Choosing not to stop to look what he stepped on, He continued walking as if it didn't happen.

"And though I just stepped on some bones,
I'll pretend that it was sticks."

The men were talking with each other having one tell the other the end to his story.
"And that's when I cut his head clean off!- HAHAHAHA!" The other man laughed along with him hardily as they enjoyed the killing. "And then I killed his wife!" The two laughed harder in time for Enzo to show up, not fully hearing their entire story. He just showed up in front of the two of them. Their eyes were closed from laughing so hard as Enzo began to laugh loudly along with them as if he had just heard it.
"HAHAHHA, oh man, that is just CLASSIC. HA HA, whooo!!!" He cleared a tear from his eye. "Oh, you're gonna have to tell me that one from the beginning, he he..." he began to clap his hands,applauding their humour. As he laughed a little more he opened his eyes to find that the scary rugged men had stopped laughing. Enzo's clapping and laughing began to slow down as well. "Ha Ha... ha ha... he... he...." Until he stopped altogether. He could feel the intense stare from the men in front of them. So he did what he always did to beak a tense situation.

"Weeeeeeell the laughter's stopped,
and I don't know why,
And I think that-"

The story cut off as Enzo finished telling his story in the prison. "And I guess they didn't think that was all that fun, so I got put in here. Didn't even let me keep my stick," he sighed. "As far as getting out of here goes, I'm at a loss. Only way I can think of getting out is up. Even me on your shoulders, I don't think I can climb my way out of here." He put his hand on Torrin's shoulder. "But it means a lot that you care that I get out friend," he smiled.

"Before I tell you where I'm from... where are you from?" he asked skeptically.

 

"Oh bite me." Tinarah muttered back as Ardyn looked over to her. She had enough of this it would get them nowhere and they needed to get to Torrin they needed to save him. "And I don't suppose a gentleman like yourself would mind actually pointing in this other direction. That is a wide range to cover and you would hate for such a young child to die." She was annoyed that was clear enough, but Tinarah was already also summoning her keyblade. They needed to get to Torrin, it could be a trap, but if there was any chance of saving someone she would take it. She didn't care if they were almost enemies at one point she wasn't dumb enough to think that they didn't need him to continue this journey and stop the future she had seen from coming to pass. Even if they were on a complete different time line, she still felt like they were walking a fine line of this switching. Tinarah was already on her glider ready to go, there was no use staying here longer than necessary. ​

 

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The Light Chaser nodded slightly in acknowledgment towards Chyrs and clasped his hands behind his back as he continued to observe his students. As time continued to pass it became apparent that no one was going to back down no matter how weary they were starting to become. Their determination kept up with each bruise and cut they sustained leaving the master with a sense of pride in his students' willingness to push themselves. "That is enough." The instant he spoke the words the four students stumbled and even Koa lost his balance and feel on his behind from having to suddenly stop during the backswing of his keyblade.

"Your exams are over. You may line up to receive my judgment." The man spoke softly unclasping his hands to rub his chin between two gloved fingers while the students lined up just a few feet in front of him still panting and sweating from their duels. The Light Chaser stepped over towards the blonde first and looked her over. "Avra, your faith in me has not been in vain. Your sisters will understand by the end of this journey why you have gone down this path."

Avra lowered her head. "I...I don't know what to say."

"I do. Congratulations Master Avra." The girl lifted her head to stare at her master, a slight smile forming on her face. The Light Chaser moved on to Zeno. "Ah...I remember when you were recruited to this mission not long after Chrysanthemum. You were so eager to fight for this cause that I initially believed you to be naive that things would work out so cleanly. Yet here you are still fighting. You too have earned the rank of Master."

"Am I to assume Koa and I did not pass, master?" Pagos spoke up.

"The exam was not to determine who held the most skill in battle. If that were the case there would almost always be just one person to pass the exam. There have been many occasions where both participants fail their exam. However, this is not the case. You have shown so much promise these past two years, Pagos." The man had moved to place his hand on the boy's shoulder. "You remind me of myself when I was your age. I too buried my nose in books whenever I could. Despite your age you have already shown incredible strength of character. Perhaps it might be premature given how young you are but I consider you a Master just the same as the others."

And finally there was Koa. "You once doubted me. You doubted my abilities. You doubted this mission. You still doubt being on the opposite side of your sister. But you know that we serve a greater purpose. Even if your sister does not understand, she will be alive because we have fought back the darkness. You have proven your worth to become a Master." He patted the boy on the shoulder and stepped away from the others.

"I suppose you are wondering what you will do now. For now, I suggest you get your rest. Everyone has earned it."