Young Writers Society

When you were little, you heard stories of other worlds.

They were considered nothing more than just stories, but you always felt that they were something more. You would spend hours upon hours dreaming of the worlds that lay outside the comfort of your own. You never knew what the worlds were really like, but you were fascinated by the idea that there was something more. As the years went by, however, the dream began to fade. There was no way to get to other worlds. You still believed they existed, but what was the point of wishing when you knew there was no way for that to be possible?


On a world much like your own, a king leaves his kingdom to fight against a distant foe. His loyal knight and wizard are given a single clue to his disappearance: a letter from him telling them to find the “keys”. The valiant knight and skilled sorcerer embark in their ship to travel across the vast number of worlds, knowing that they risk the balance of all of them if they reveal they are from another world.


The darkness arrives without warning. It engulfs your world, your friends, your life – everything you have ever known has been lost to it. You find yourself in an unfamiliar place in possession of a mysterious weapon – a blade in the shape of a key. You've finally found the other worlds that you've always dreamed of, but your dream is far from perfect. The worlds that haven't been destroyed by the darkness are under attack by its swarm. Your strange new weapon is the only thing that can help against these Heartless. Fall into darkness, and you will become one of the mindless horde.

And, at the center of it all, is a boy.

You've met him before, but it's been so long that you don't remember where or when. What you do know is that it's been many years since you last met, and that he should look older than he currently does.

If you want to solve the mystery of the darkness, you'll need to find allies – and maybe even friends – in the others like you, and those who can bring you from one world to another.



If you're interested in joining this storybook, please click on this link or on the blue box in the upper right hand corner of the page. It'll bring you to the DT (discussion thread) for this storybook, which is where we'll be doing all of our scheming for the storybook! This thread is reserved for just the story posts.

The project had been in the works for a long time. It had been Levi's idea, originally, back when he still came to play. Being nine had posed some serious challenges for the two to overcome, so they had settled for making a rough sketch of the project instead with the promise of someday completing it together.

Lira looked up from the diagram.

The raft stood on the beach before her, a creation of forgotten wood, rope and cloth taken from around the island. Age had made her stronger - she had easily hauled the pieces of the raft to the abandoned section of the beach, and had easily arranged the heavy logs. The charm that he had given her all of those years ago glinted in the sunlight as she stored the diagram away. Everything was ready. She had her bag on her with everything she could possible need - a few snacks (coconuts), a good book (a collection of fairy tales), and a cushion (her beloved homemade pillow, complete with pink, purple and blue stripes) to sit on.

As she started to push the raft out into the water, she glanced back at the shore. Part of her hoped that he would be standing there when she looked back - but, as expected, she was the only one on that part of the island.

The only remnant of Levi was her charm.

She turned her attention back to the raft.

Pulling herself up onto it, she watched as the beach became smaller and smaller.

She placed the cushion down beside the mast and brought out the book from the depths of her bag. Once she was comfortable, she opened it to the first page.

"You like reading and the sea," Levi had said, his signature, unforgettable grin on his face as he looked over at her. "So why not combine them?"

There was only so far you could go from the island before the currents pushed you back to the shore - it had been like that for as long as she remembered. There was no reason to fear ending up too far from the island, even though she childishly let herself believe that the raft might bring her to Levi if she went far enough.

She rested up against the wood and began to read.


She wasn't sure how long the boat had been sailing when she noticed the change in the wind.

Her childhood had been spent playing in boats; she knew the warning signs of a storm. Slipping the cushion and book back inside of her bag, she grabbed the oars she had stashed towards the back of the boat and began heading towards the shore. But the storm was faster than storms had ever been on the island, and looked nothing like the storms that had rolled in from the sea. It was black, swirling mass that cast the entire island in shadows.

For once, it was the sea that felt safer than the island.

She should have stayed out at sea.



The storm wasn't moving away from the island. It was just hovering there. But when she tried going away from the island - knowing that this was no normal storm - the currents grew in their intensity. She was being pushed towards the shore by waves stronger than they had ever been, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

The raft slammed up against the beach, and Lira stumbled forward onto the sand. When she finally pushed herself back up, she saw things that could only be described as monsters roaming the island. They were small, black creatures with strange yellow eyes, and they turned to look at her the moment her presence was known. Somehow knowing that it was useless to fight them, she still held out the oar as protection.

She knocked back the first one that came at her.

And the next.

And the next.

And the next.

It was a seemingly endless wave of attacks, and they didn't show any signs of stopping - and the monsters, whatever they were, just didn't want to stay down. But she was standing some kind of chance against them; she didn't know how, but her body was moving like it had done this before - like it had held a weapon out like a sword, even though she had never one fought against Tidus when he wanted someone to spar with.

And then she saw him, standing right up beside a tree.

His clothes were all wrong, and something about his eyes - though he was too far away to really figure out what - seemed off, too. But the haircut, the face and the rest of him was undeniably...

"Levi!"

He was surrounded by the monsters. Most of them lingered, but others were quickly encroaching on his space. A look that just didn't fit him - one of annoyance - flickered across his face as he set his lips into a frown, but he didn't bother to move as the monsters approached.

The oar was knocked out of her hand by one of the monsters.

It fell into the sea, lost among the dangerous waves slamming against the sands of the beach. But even as she was left defenseless, Lira knew she had to get over to Levi - he was in trouble.

One of the monsters lunged at her. She held out a hand - maybe to knock it away, maybe to reach for Levi, she wasn't sure. But then suddenly something appeared in her hand in a show of light. It looked like an enormous key, but it was in her hand like it was some kind of sword.

Following a gut feeling, she swung it at the monster.

And, miraculously, the monster disappeared after a few swings.

She turned to the others, and kept on swinging as she got closer and closer to Levi. The monsters stopped watching him and started watching her. She couldn't see the expression on his face - he had pulled up the hood to the jacket he was wearing - but something about his posture made him seem nothing like the boy she had once known.

That was when one of the monsters snuck up on her from behind. There wasn't enough time to turn around and attack it - she was going to get hit, and she was terrified at what would happen.

She started to turn to swing one last hopeless time, but then darkness shot out of the ground. It wrapped around her, making her feel like she was suffocating on something that was just as impossible as the monsters and the storm.

And then, nothing.





When she opened her eyes again, she found herself propped against a wall in an unfamiliar alleyway, the brick walls and boxes piled up in dark streets nothing like the main town of Destiny Islands. It was just a dream, she tried to tell herself, but the strange weapon in her hands said otherwise.

She glanced down at her wrist, and at the charm that hung from it on an old piece of rope.

She had seen Levi. She was sure of it. And even though she didn't know what had happened, and even though she was scared and confused, that thought brought her solace.

The raft had brought her to Levi.

Now she just had to find a way back to him, and back to her island.

She got to her feet, the key-thing disappearing in her hand as she left the odd alleyway for a town that continued to look unfamiliar the more she wandered around it. She glanced up at the night sky, and watched as a star twinkled one last time before falling to darkness.

Even the stars didn't look the same.

The sun was setting.

Rokza crouched down behind a large boulder as he glanced up at the castle, as its pristine towers and jutting balconies casted large shadows on the town below. He leaned back down and slumped against the rock, sighing.

For years, night time has become Maleficient's time, with an unofficial curfew set out for the citizens who lived in the town, whether they liked it or not. And, if they didn't, well, they had to answer to her army. With Maleficient, you had two choices: join her or get out of the way. Those who opposed those choices? Well, they were disposed of, sooner or later. It set the entire town in a morose and hopeless mood.

Rokza himself was one of those victims, when he was younger. And, not knowing any better, he was forced into her army. If anything, it taught him how they worked, and how to defend himself against their forces. He had managed to keep himself out of their field of view for far longer than he had expected to. In all aspects, he was a survivor within this place.

His hand absentmindedly reached to his wrist, where a charm hung tightly on his wrist. He glanced down at it. A smooth stone was attached to a worn string. He twisted the stone back and forth. The stone shone different colors as he moved it, transitioning all of the colors of the rainbow.

As night came and drowned the world in darkness, the charm made Rokza smile. It was the only hint of color left in his life, and reminded him of days more bearable. Days where he wasn't a survivor, but where he was actually living. When Levi was still in his life.

He let go of the charm. Levi was no longer here. Levi had left his world, his life, forever. There was no turning back on that. Still, he couldn't get himself to let go of the charm. He looked back to the castle. Maleficient's castle.

Rokza stealthed through bushes and large luxurious trees that covered the area around the castle. He had to get back into the castle walls. It was a place for him to steal food. He was sure the castle had more food available than anywhere else in town, especially after the castle had changed ownership.

He was nearing the gate. It was around this time, dusk, that the guards started making their rounds. An open gate was far easier to get through than a closed one. Even with the threat of getting caught, Rokza had to take that risk. He was able to take down a guard or two if he needed to.

He was within sight of the gate now. He settled in between two bushes, staring intently at the iron bars. Any moment now, it would open and the usual thrall of mindless soldiers, whose lives had been ruined and hope had been drained beyond repair.

Any moment now, Rokza would be able to slip in and steal some food. Maybe there had been a grand dinner the night before, and he could scavenge some things from that. Perhaps he could even grab enough for some of the less fortunate within town, survivors like himself.

Any moment now. Rokza inched around to the edge of his shrubbery, and peered inside the bars. Something boomed overhead. Rokza blended back into the bushes and looked to the night sky. Flashes of light streaked above, revealing coiling black clouds.

Something was off, and Rokza backed up, turning away from the castle and heading back to the town. He had no place to call home, but he needed to find some kind of shelter against the storm. Maybe some kind soul would let him in if he could convince them the guards were not coming out to check houses tonight.

He rounded the corner to see his all familiar boulder from earlier. That was the halfway point from the castle and the town. It was his boulder.

Suddenly, a black mass moved out from behind the boulder. Rokza stopped in his tracks, and stumbled back to where he was harder to see. He couldn't make much out of the person, but purple eyes shone for a split second under the starlight. It couldn't be... Of course he would know to come back to that boulder, to their boulder...

"Levi!" Rokza suddenly felt no restraint. He rushed out of his cover. A bright flash struck the ground in front of him, knocking him off his feet. For a split second, it was almost as if it was day again. He spit dirt from his mouth, and stood up again, disorientated. He glanced back at the boulder, but Levi was nowhere about anymore, but it seemed like small green lights were floating all around.

Rokza blinked again, and those green lights were moving, and moving closer.

They were eyes.

Rokza glanced around, hoping to find something to help him fend them off. There was nothing. He groaned, but he had to get in the town, to warn people, or find Levi. Now that he had seen him again, there was a chance. Something inside him berated him for feeling hope again. But, he would not become the same kind of people who stayed in Maleficient's army, with no hope left, and no chance. Not ever.

He ran, and dodged the first small monster. He noted it was black, with green eyes and long limbs. It grabbed at his leg, but was too late. He bashed himself into the next monster, which he didn't think it was expecting it, and it collapsed against the ground. Still, he was nowhere near the town, and more and more monsters were surrounding him. He would not lose hope. He saw Levi again, and he would. Not. Lose--

A monster launched at him, and he raised his arm to block it. A bright flash of light appeared and something heavy, but comfortable, appeared in his hand, and he gripped it naturally, slashing it like the sword he used to in the army. To his surprise, the monster burst apart by his... key? He was stalled by surprise for a moment, but the soldier in him didn't care. It worked, and a blade was a blade.

He slashed at the monster behind him, and ran, not caring to see if it was gone. He just had to get to the city--

A shadow three times the size of him appeared out of nowhere and smashed him. He fell like ragdoll to the ground, and his vision blurred. He looked up to large green eyes and a feminine cackle.

"This is my world now." A familiar alluring voice said, and darkness enveloped him.

Rory woke up at her desk. Again.

Her movement disturbed the computer mouse by her arm, causing the monitor to light up. She blinked in the sudden light, waiting for her eyes to focus before looking up at the screen. An unfinished blog post glared down at her. She powered down the computer. That was a problem for later. For now, she wanted to clear her head.

She grabbed her pin-covered backpack and slung it over her shoulder. There was one place in this restless city where she could get some peace. On the way to the door, Rory remembered breakfast.

The kitchen was painfully empty, there was no question that no one had really cooked in there in a long time. The only sign that anyone had been there at all was a scribbled note pinned to the fridge with Rory's Pan PRIDE magnet.

Happy birthday bookworm!

I'll be home at 6, if you need anything call my cell number. Save me some cake!

Rory smiled and put the note aside. Cake for breakfast was a bad idea, usually, but she was seventeen today, junk food meant nothing on a birthday, as was the general rule. She was grinning by the time she pried open the fridge to find a beautiful disaster of a devil's food cake iced messily with red and blue frosting in the shape of her favorite T.V. show's logo.

She giggled thinking about the time her dad must have spent with those duck-taped earbuds of his looking up YouTube videos on how to construct such a thing.

Whatever the bake time, the two slices she scarfed down as she tracked down her hairbrush and shoved it into her backpack were gone before she could finish humming 'happy-birthday-to-you'.

She packed away an extra piece in a Tupperware and stowed it in her backpack before she left the house, thinking she might share it with a friend later. She giggled a bit more at that thought. A friend. One of the things she actually missed about being little. She glanced at her wrist to find that she had actually put her old friendship bracelet on this morning. She fiddled with the charm, just to keep her hands busy as she made her way quickly to the library.

The weather didn't look like it was going to be as pleasant as her mood. Dark storm clouds swirled angerly above, their malice punctuated by the occasional flash of lightning and crack of thunder. She wondered if she should have grabbed an umbrella before she left. She glanced back and decided against a return trip. If she got a little damp, so be it, she could always ask her dad to pick her up after work if she had to.

Then, it suddenly wasn't just gloomy. In the dimmed light, her eyes were playing tricks on her. Seeing shadows the wrong way, like they were moving around on their own, coming closer to her.

She took off her glasses and rubbed them off with her t-shirt, thinking maybe the streetlights were messing with the false lenses, and tucked them into her front coat pocket.

When she looked back up, she almost screamed.

The first thing she was was a silhouette, outlined by the headlights of passing cars. As they passed by, the light moved to the front of the figure for just a second. Her hand went to the charm on her wrist. Levi?!

She opened her mouth to call out to him, maybe give him a friendly wave, when the smile melted from her face, turning to a look of horror. There was something, lots of somethings, everywhere. They were suddenly surrounding Levi, or maybe they were there the whole time?

She didn't care about the logistics for long, though, because she discovered they were around her too, or they were going to be. They, the creatures, dark things made of glowing eyes and sharp corners, were coming at her fast. She did the only thing she could. She ran.

She didn't know if she was screaming. She didn't even know if she was breathing. All she knew were the sidewalks were nearly empty, and that the dead end came out of nowhere.

Brick spelled her death, of that, and only that, she was sure. Her eyes were stinging with tears that couldn't flow fast enough, and her body was trembling from emotions too numerous to summarize in a word.

With her back to the wall, she faced them, raising her empty hands to protect her face.

Then, suddenly, her hands weren't empty.

Her fingers wrapped around something familiar, her arms supported its weight like that's what they were made to do, and she did the only natural thing. With a stroke she knew in her mind she had never practiced, but her body felt like it had done a million times, she cut through one of the creatures with the....key?

She didn't have the mind to wonder at that. Right now, she was cutting something of a path out of the alley, or, she was trying. She didn't notice the darkness growing at her feet as she gained a precious few steps, internally screaming with tears still streaming down her cheeks. In fact, she didn't notice it at all until she was shoved backward into it, and she vanished.

Halloween Town

Boxes propped open with sticks, and baited with shiny spoons littered the sparse moonlit cornfield wherever the dry stalks gave way to cracked, open ground. Nets were hung over the curling branches of gnarled, black trees, some set up with deliberate care, and some slung over carelessly for safe keeping. At the centre of it all was Baba the scarecrow, running around with armfuls of rope, and a heart full of vigour. If they’d had a heart.

Little patchwork voodoo dolls Baba had made scampered back and forth, climbed up the trees, and held up the corners of nets while Baba tied them, held bits of groaning rope down in place while Baba secured the pulley system. Some stayed in place on points Baba had passed over by mistake, their little, little bodies doing their best as makeshift sandbags.

Baba was working two jobs today. One was the great purpose for which they had been born: the eternal crusade against the crude and callous corvids. As in, scaring crows. The other was kitten-sitting for a witch that lived nearby.

Three remained in the basket, and three more crawled out to wander. But Baba was not worried. The kittens would stay close, to listen to the good life lessons, and very interesting stories Baba had to tell. And besides, they were paying very close attention. No, really.

“Now,” said Baba wisely, as they tested the weight on the bucket pulley system, “Kittens are made when a mama cat and a daddy cat love each other very much, and Mr McGregor yells at me to get out of the barn, but scarecrows, scarecrows is different.

I was made from yarn, some stuffing, three sacks, and a skeleton Mr McGregor found on the roof of the town hall. It was him who made me, and your witch Eartha that brought me to life. She used a simple animation spell, the sort people like to use on brooms… it’s not supposed to last long, or give a conscience, or anything.” Baba shrugged. “Anyway, that’s the story of how we’re related.”

The makeshift structure groaned and creaked some more, in applause. Baba nodded, satisfied, and moved on to dig some more holes. You could never go wrong with nets over holes.
Then they climbed, spider-like, back up a tree to check the knots again. But, you know, carefully. And still watching the kittens. Of course.
And as Baba went about their work, they continued to teach the witch’s kittens the important facts of life. The ones that weren’t asleep. (But by then, they were all asleep.)


“Now don’t you ever, never trust a crow. They don’t care for nothin', but stealing. They steal the crops from our fields.” said Baba, scandalised on behalf of the skeletal stalks of corn that populated the theoretically living field.
“They steal all what shines. They steal carrion flesh, leavin’ none for anyone else. And one a the mummies I know-” Baba swung upside down from the branch, holding on with their legs, and wiggled their fingers menacingly at the kittens, to set the appropriate tone. "-They stole the heart from her chest while she slept- just because she was dead! They got no scruples.”

One singular kitten blinked sleepily in Baba’s direction.

“You be ready now, my children. Crows hold grudges. They spread the word among the flock. They never forget a face. So you gotta be tough. You gotta be smart.”

There came a sound of fluttering feathers. Baba’s head snapped around like an owl’s. A crow. There was a crow in the next tree. All thought of strategy left Baba's head immediately. Baba hissed, and leapt at the bird from their perch, grabbing ferociously at the crow's foot.

Next thing Baba knew, they were stuck in a hole, in a net, with several other nets on top, as well as some poles, and a bucket on their head.

But they caught it. They caught the crow.

A whoop of triumph burst forth from the hole, followed by a series of violent thuds, as Baba fought to keep the shrieking, scratching bundle out of their face.

Eartha’s kittens, in contribution to Baba's plight, hissed and spat at the crow from the edge of the hole.

A pair of scissors, several pairs of hands, several hours, and many, many scratches later, Baba sat in Eartha’s kitchen, mending her socks as a thank you present. For the rescue, and because she had to sew one of Baba's eyes back on.

"If you'd lost one of those kittens, I'd have made a cushion out of you." croaked the witch.

Baba didn't say anything. The sewn features on their face didn't emote either. But the slight droop of their head revealed a sense of shame, and the witch must have recognised it, because she hastily tried to cheer Baba up.

"But you gave them a fantastic mistake to learn some valuable lessons from. They had very good hissing practice, too. And you'd make a terrible cushion."

Baba perked up immediately. "Would I really?" they said, touched.

Eartha grinned gummily. "The very worst."

___

After a scolded Baba had taken down the mess of nets and poles and boxes they'd left in the field, and returned all the remaining spoons, Baba laid down on the barn roof, to watch the big, yellow moon, the dull chill rustle through the dry brown grass.

Baba felt most at home, on rooftops.
It was a good place to wax nostalgic about when they were a new creation, but also to wonder about the old things that they were made from. Skeletons cropped up in all sorts of places in Halloween Town, and nobody gave them a second thought, so it was not at all strange that it was a mystery who Baba's bones used to belong to. Baba didn't mind.

It was fun to wonder who they had come from. If they were strong and hardy and covered in scars and shaggy fur, like Mr McGregor. If they swooped and cackled, and made glowing, fuzzy cooking like Eartha. If they were loud and boisterous like Levi. Baba missed Levi. Sometimes.
But of course, after each game of wondering, Baba would accept that they would never know who their bones used to be, and that the only tribute they could pay was to use and love them the best they could.

Baba thought, maybe they'd used them a bit too ambitiously, that night. Poor Mr McGregor. The crows had made off with some of his spoons, while Baba was stuck in the hole. That never would have happened if they'd just stood in the field. Or even just chased them in the fields, or stalked them in the trees, like usual. Baba was restless. That was all there was to it.
Baba soon ran out of new things to think on the matter, so they gazed into the shadows on the roof.

And that was when they saw it- two yellow lamp-like eyes peeping out of the darkness, followed by a little, shadowy, implike body.

A cute little nightmare with glowing yellow eyes… if only they were purple, they would have looked just like Levi.

"Hey there, little buddy," Baba called out softly. "Do you know Levi? Are you his family? He looks so much like you."

The little shadow stopped. Its ears twitched. Then it crept up to Baba, from all fours to two feet.

Baba sat in place, hand stretched out in greeting.

The little shadow pounced.

Baba took this to be an overly enthusiastic embrace, and hugged the creature back.
It wrestled, and rolled the both of them off the roof. Baba hit the ground with a hard thud.

They threw the shadow off of their chest, and hissed reflexively. The shadow made no noise in return. It only raised its hackles, in preparation for the next strike.

Baba stared back, betrayed.

A shout came from the garden shed. Then a snarl, and a deep bark. Mr McGregor.
Baba scampered away from the shadow as fast as they could, to help him.

They found him bursting out from the shed, surrounded by more nightmares, holding a shovel in one hand, and a rake in the other. He tossed the rake to Baba. “I tried the shotgun. Doesn’t work on the buggers.”

Baba joined his side, and brandished the rake at the oncoming wave.

“There’s more headed fer town. I’m goin’ to help.” said Mr McGregor.

“I’m comin' too.” insisted Baba.

They arrived late on the scene. The town was already full of little nightmares, scampering from under drains, behind bushes, through cracks in buildings- and Halloween Town was almost more cracks than building.

The vampires and ghouls grappled with them by the gates. Witches swooped high above, throwing spells and smoking bottles. All manner of monsters shrieked and fought with fearsome talents. The Mayor ran the shadows over in his motorcar, racing madly like a devil down the street, rescued bystanders squished into the room in the back.

Baba and Mr McGregor ran to join the defenders backing away from the breached gate. A shadow pounced at Baba. They smacked it down with the rake, savagely. Only when it hit the ground, did Baba let out a cry of regret. That might have been Levi’s family. And they hurt it.

Mr McGregor barked, at the invaders, and at Baba.

He was right. It didn’t matter what they were. They had to defend their town.

A nightmare snapped the rake. Baba ran down the street, and grabbed a pot from a doorway. They cracked it on a nightmare’s head, and it broke with a ghastly cry and a foul smell. The nightmare didn’t even shake its head. It went straight back to the chase.

Baba ran into Eartha’s kitchen, still feeling the shadow behind them, and grabbed whatever else they could to fight with. A broom. An arm. A rolling pin. The shadows broke through them all. Baba didn’t even turn to look. They just grabbed whatever they could, and made one, last, desperate swing.

And it worked. The shadow dissipated. Baba stared at it, and watched it go out. They stretched out their fingers to grab at what was left, but it was no good. They’d killed it.

And it looked just like him.


Baba ran back out to the street. They still had to help the others.

Outside, Jack Skellington had joined the fight. He weaved through the battlefield with slippery spiderish grace, stooping to pick up the villagers who were hurt or exhausted. He carried them high above the fray, with his stiltlike limbs.

Baba rejoined the fight with new purpose and fire, but it wasn’t enough to turn the tide.

Many little nightmares were hit, or knocked back, but none were hurt. They all got back up again. They were all ready for more. The only thing that seemed to hurt any of them was the thing Baba grabbed in the kitchen- an oversized iron key- and the witches’ magical attacks, but even then, they couldn’t stop enough of them. There were just too many.

“Baba- they’re followin’ you!” shouted Mr McGregor.

Baba frantically scanned the chaos, and realised for the first time that he was right. The shadows attacked anyone nearby, but the swarm was strangely concentrated on them.

“Then that means- then we can lead them away!” Baba shouted, frightened, but hopeful.

Baba and Mr McGregor ran, to the frozen lake just on the snowy outskirts of Halloween Town.

Mr McGregor grabbed Baba in his great werewolf jaws, and scampered across the ice on all fours, the ice cracking under his paws. The bulk of the nightmare horde followed in blind pursuit. Then he slammed his front paws hard onto the ice, and the sheet broke under them.

The ones that were left ran around the edge of the lake. Mr McGregor let go, and Baba charged into them. Baba cut down as many as they could, until they were struck by the sight of a strange shadow all alone, high up in the distance.
One in a strange dark coat and little buckled boots. And purple eyes. Glowing, purple eyes, just like Levi’s. Baba looked at him, and all the little games of years ago flashed by in a moment. He hadn’t changed at all. He hadn’t even grown.

Baba made a mistake. They looked too long. The remaining shadows took their chance, and piled on Baba at once. It was too late. They were no longer able to throw all of them off. So they waited, and let the last of the nightmares cover their body.

Baba staggered heavily to the lake, and threw themselves in with the shadows, just seconds before the surface froze over.

They were trapped under the ice. That was it.

Baba was lost in a world of watery blackness, but they did not feel the cold. They wanted to feel glad for the safety of Mr McGregor, and all their neighbours. But all Baba felt was betrayed.

They clung to the big iron key in their hands, and curled in a ball around it, as they sunk.

__

Traverse Town

When Baba opened their eyes, they were in a wooden crate in a red cobblestone alleyway, still hugging the key. Wait. Opened… Baba didn’t have eyes! Baba had buttons. What? And their wet clothes... felt wet. Cold felt cold.

Baba blinked down at their arms (blinked?) and saw that where there once was sackcloth, there now was skin. Real skin. And the familiar snaking stitches where they had ripped and mended themselves with lavender yarn- they were replaced with scars. Real scars.

Baba cried.

“Why is it leaking,” they wailed.

Rhea

Traverse Town

Bong…. Bong…. Bong

At the toll of the third bell, Rhea finally awoke from her slumber as she groggily opened her eyes to find the self-lighting candle on her bedside table already lit indicating the beginning of another day in Traverse Town. The morning had come, and along with it, a surge of panic hit Rhea's stomach that pulled her quickly from her bed. She forcefully pulled the blinds from her window to see that the self-lighting candles in the restaurant below her family's apartment were already lit as well for the morning rush. She cursed quietly to herself as she looked up at the unending night sky.

With her rush mode activated, Rhea turned to quickly throw on some jumbled clothes for the day. She continued to struggle to pull on her shirt as a fray caught on the old bracelet wrapped around her wrist. She ripped the string and kept getting dressed without another thought. As she passed the mirror on her way out of her bedroom, she stopped and saw the way her hair was sticking in all directions more than usual. Sighing, she quickly grabbed a scarf to pull the mess of hair into a high curly ponytail. Once she was satisfied, Rhea bolted from her room and dashed down the stairs, nearly running into her mother whose hands were full of two trays worth of assorted breakfast foods for the morning rush.

"Whoa whoa! Someone has a lot of pep in their step this morning." Her mother laughed, easily dodging her daughter's running with an elegant spin. People often said that Rhea looked a lot like her mother Tiana, but to Rhea, there was this encapsulating beauty that her mother had, which she often felt she lacked.

"Mama, you and Papa, let me sleep in again this morning, didn't you? You can't keep letting me do that." Rhea explained, grabbing her apron to put on and followed her mother around the dining area.

'I'd hardly call waking at this hour sleeping in." She joked, placing the food down at their respected tables in a dance-like fashion. "Besides, you looked so peaceful, and I thought it would be nice to let you sleep for a change like a normal kid your age."

"Normal is highly overrated." Rhea crossed her arms. "Plus, after the breakfast rush is over, Papa told me I could join him in helping out some people that are staying at the hotel in the second district today. He wants to help them move into the inn because more of those strange creatures that people keep talking about are showing up throughout the second and third districts. And, I even heard from Cid that it may not be safe anymore if it keeps growing at this rate."

"Naveen…" Rhea's mother hissed under her breath as she grabbed a new tray of food. "Hon you shouldn't be worrying or involving yourself in that nasty town gossip Cid and your Father keep spreading," Tiana explained trying to detour from the subject.

"It isn't gossip, mama. And you and I both know that."

"I told your father not to tell you or involve you in any of this. I didn't want to worry you…But you and I both know that you and your father have this weird connection in which you tell each other everything and not me." Rhea's mother rolled her eyes to which Rhea couldn't help but do her best to stifle a giggle. "I still don't see how getting up early puts a damper in these plans of yours anyways. Waking up an hour earlier doesn't make the morning rush go by any faster."

"That's what you think." Rhea smiled cheekily grabbing the tray from her mother's hand and walked away speedily towards the waiting customers. Tiana impatiently blew a loose curl away from her eye.

Time passed quickly for Rhea as she engrossed herself in her work. The tavern had finally slowed from its usual morning hustle and bustle. Wrapping up her last few tables, Rhea quickly cleaned the dirty dishes scattered across the array of tables and hung up her apron with a satisfied sigh.

"Okay, can I go now?" Rhea excitedly asked her mother, who was finishing up as well.

"I suppose, but you both better keep an eye out for each other, and don't do anything stupid." She emphasized placing a determined hand on her hip as Rhea excitedly started backing out of the restaurant.

"Me? Do something stupid? Nonsense! I am the most in tune person I know-ow-ow-"Suddenly Rhea was thrown backward onto her butt after being tripped by something that let out a high pitch screech. "Figaro?" Rhea asked, noticing the small black and white cat hiding terrified under one of the tables. Gently she reached her hands out to him, and he reluctantly sniffed them with an angered expression.

"I'm sorry buddy. I probably should've been watching where I was going." After a moment, the small cat jumped into her hands with a gentle purr. "Now where is-?" Before finishing her question, Rhea suddenly spotted who she was looking for scribbling away at a sketch pad at the bar a few feet away next to an ornate fishbowl.

"Geppetto!" She called out, grabbing the old man's attention. He turned and smiled softly at her.

"Rhea it's good to see you, dearie. I see you found Figaro. I assumed that little rascal was up to no good somewhere around here." He laughed to himself as Rhea placed Figaro on the counter next to Cleo's fishbowl where she elegantly swam around. "I asked Pinocchio to take Figaro with him on his errands today, but you know how my boy is. Constantly adventuring with his mind in the clouds."

"What're you working on?" Rhea asked eyeing the sketchpad he was so focused on earlier. On the yellowed paper, there appeared to be these strange ship designs entirely made of blocks.

"Oh, this?" He gestured to the paper. "It's kind of a long story I'll have to tell you about later dearie. Besides, you seemed like you were in a hurry to be somewhere, right?" Rhea's lights up remembering the second district.

"Oh yeah, you're right!" She continued heading for the door giving a quick wave goodbye. "I'll talk to you later, Geppetto! Bye, mama!"

As Rhea ran along the familiar cobbled streets of the town she called home, a strange sense of caution came over her suddenly stopping her in her tracks as she neared the entrance to the second district. She turned to notice a shadowed figure duck into a nearby alleyway. Without another thought, Rhea ignored the feeling of unease surrounding the character and turned towards the direction of the alley.

"Hello?" She called out timidly following the sounds of the mysterious figure. "Who's there?" Now reaching a dead end, Rhea cornered the shadowy figure. With a low chuckle, the mysterious person turned revealing…

"Levi?" Rhea's eyes widened in surprise. But before Rhea could really get a good look at the boy's face, he suddenly disappeared in a cloud of smoke leaving behind a small creature in his place. Its distorted figure and piercing yellow eyes made Rhea take a step back in fear. The beast then cocked its head in an unthreatening way making Rhea sigh in relief. "Hey, little guy. You guys aren't so bad as they say after all are you?" She smiled, reaching out a hand. But just as soon as she said this, four more of the strange creatures suddenly appeared surrounding her on all sides looking much more menacing.

"Maybe I spoke too soon..." She said as one jumps at her forcefully. Quickly she dodged the attack with a shocked look on her face. "Someone help!" She called out, but no one was around to hear her. Looking for a way out, she pushed past in the new opening left by one of the creatures. With furious convulsing movements, the creatures spurred to life running after her keeping a close pace behind her.

Rhea ran from the alleyway to the center of the second districts now deserted square. Breathing heavily, she looked around for the best route to escape, but it almost felt like the world was suddenly unrecognizable to her. She hit herself in the head to pull herself together to no avail. She hesitated too long, and now the creatures had her cornered once again.

Rhea turned in a slow circle seeing that the number of creatures had now multiplied. As if on cue, the horde of monsters jumped high into the air to come crashing down on Rhea with their full force.

"No!" Rhea lifted her hands above her head, preparing for the worst. But, instead of being trampled, Rhea gasped as a flash of bright light sent the creatures sprawling away from her in all directions. "What the?" She looked down to see her hands wrapped around the hilt of a beautiful yet strange looking weapon. A key of sorts.

Rhea now looked back up to find the creatures circling her now angrier than ever. She was still scared, but somehow, the newfound presence of the key gave her a strange feeling of courage. All she had to do was trust the blade, and it would help her do the rest.

The first set of dark creatures charged toward her and Rhea let out a battle cry striking them as they approached. Rhea was surprised to see that her foes didn't fall down dead, but instead disappeared in a rush of black smoke. A smirk crossed her lips as more creatures jumped at her. With each hit, her confidence grew, but her cockiness was quickly thwarted as the creatures spawned faster than she could keep up.

"Ow!" Rhea hissed as one of the creatures pounced grazing her arm. Blood seeped through her shirt, taking her attention away from the battle. She turned back just in time to see one of the monsters jump straight at her sending her into the nearby wall. Rhea's vision blurred as a flash of searing pain fell over the back of her skull.

Rhea tried to lift herself swaying unsteadily. She extended her arm to block the remaining creatures, but she couldn't focus as her view turned into doubles. She managed to get a few last good hits in when out of nowhere another flash of light joined in with her own a few paces away.

Someone was helping her?

Rhea deflected hits from all around until the action seemed to just…stop. Exhausted and dizzy, Rhea fell back against the nearby wall breathing in deeply and doing her best to shake the spottiness in her vision away. After a moment passed and her vision returned, Rhea looked up to see a tall figure looming over her with their hand held out to her.

"Who…who are you?" She asked, still feeling dizzy. She couldn't recognize the person, and she knew almost everyone in Traverse Town.

"A friend I guess…Looks like we've got a lot more in common then we might realize." Rhea's eyes followed the lines of the stranger's arm to the weapon held gently in their hand. Looking back towards her own hand, she realized that they are the same type of weapon despite their different designs. She looked back to the stranger's weapon to see just above that attached to their wrist is a familiar charm and bracelet.

"Levi?" She grabs the stranger's hand, as they lifted her coming face to face.

It's not Levi, but who-who is it?

Her knees buckled under her, and she fell again. "I'm sorry I thought you were someone I knew…Jeez, I must've hit my head harder than I thought. I'm-"

"I'm sorry but now's not really the time for introductions. You're hurt. Is there somewhere we can go? It's not safe here." They say pulling Rhea up once more and wrapping her arm around their shoulder. Rhea weakly points at the nearby archway leading to district one. "That-that way."

"Alright, let's go…"

Aura

It was snowing like usuall. The girl who was once known as Aura, was now a girl named Cassie. She had no memorie of her old life. she constantly thought about things that seemed very strange to her friends. “What’re you thinking of this time Cassie?” A boy with messy brown hair and fiery red eyes asked. This was one of Cassie‘s closest friends, Ignis. “The usual...” she replied with a shiver. “Just wondering why it has to be SO COLD ALL THE TIME!” She shouted.

there was a girl walking next to them. She had long black hair with a purple streak in it. Her eyes matched the purple in her hair. “Cassie... it’s always cold. I don’t know how it still bothers you.” She said, waving a hand at all the surrounding snow.

“Soooooo, where are we going again?” Ignis asked. Shadow looked over at Cassie too. “Yea, you said you had something to show us right?” She asked.

Cassie smiled. “Remeber when I told you guys I was working on something.” Cassie reminded them.

“Yea.... you said it was a really cool secret project right!?” Ignis asked, getting excited. “yea, i’ve Finally finished it.” Cassie told him.

She brought them to the end of the street, which was really just a smaller layer of snow. They stoped at an old building that had burnt down a while ago. “Ta Da!” Cassie presented. Ignis and her other friend Shadow stared at her.

“Uhh...” Shadow started. “Just wait! You haven’t seen the inside yet.” Cassie said. She brought them inside to reveal a whole new surrounding. The ground was surrounded by sand that Cassie had dug up from under the snow by the frozen lake A few feet away. There was a small area of the room that was submerged in water and each side of the room had heaters on their highest heat. The walls were painted a bright blue with water surrounding it. There were even a few trees that had strange Star shaped fruits on them.

“Welcome to my secret beach!” Cassie said, removing her coat.

“Your.... secret beach?” Ignis asked, looking around. “Cassie how do you even know what a warm beach looks like?” He asked. Cassie shrugged. “I dunno. I just sorta.. know.” She said, thinking about the image she had in her head for years.

“I uh.. don’t think all these heaters aren’t safe...” Shadow said. The tarp that hung over the windows started to flap in the wind [/img]from out side.

Cassie walked over to the heaters. “Their fine. Besides there’s nothing in here that could catch fire... except for the walls, but other than that it’s fine.” She reassured them.

The wind started blowing harder and the tarp flew into the room. The group all turned to see what happened.

Small snow flakes were being blown into the room too. “What’s going on out there? A blizzard?” Ignis asked.

Cassie ran out to see that the sky had grown darker than it usually was. she shivered in the cold more now that she wasn’t wearing a coat. small black creatures with yellow eyes appeared. Cassie recognized them immediately. Her mother had mentioned these things to her before. They were called the Heartless. Cassie had lost a very good freind to these things. “Stay back!” She shouted to her friends, hoping to keep them safe.

The darkness from the sky seemed to be growing. The began to swallow up each building and person from miles away. Cassie had only grabbed a few snow balls to hold the heartless back.

”Cassie!” Ignis shouted from behind her. she turned around to see that the secret beach she had told her friends to stay in, was being swallowed by the darkness. She ran over to save her friends, but it was too late. the building, along with her friends, was gone.

Cassie was now surrounded by the darkness. She looked around for a way to escape but there was no way out.

She was soon consumed by the darkness. A calming sound of waves from an ocean surrounded her and Cassie could feel that she was loosing herself. Even the memories of her snowy world were disapperaing. Trying to hold on to what she did have, Cassie saw something that she didn’t remeber from her world. There was a boy the name Levi came to mind. She could see his lips moving, but there was no sound. The only thing she could hear him say was the name Cassie. Then suddenly she felt a cold metalic thing in her hand. The darkness was soon overwhelmed with light. just before Cassie lost consiouness she had heard the words, ”keyblade”.

When she woke up, she was sitting in a dark alleyway. Deciding it was a dream, and feeling too tired from what had just happened. she didn’t move, instead she looked up to a clear sky. She had very rarely seen the stars, but she had a very bad feeling when she saw that one of those stars had blinked out into darkness.

The great wooden gates of the hastily assembled Daranai camp swung open as the Daranai host, primarily composed of samurai moved out in serried ranks. Their red painted heavy armor glinted in the morning sun as they moved to their stations towards the end of the side of the hill that the army was stationed on. The cavalry forces followed, and waited at the wings of the army.

Aron lightly tapped the horse's side and it pulled into a light canter, moving out from camp behind the last ranks of the army. He was followed by his mounted honor guard, as well as advisers and Daranai heads.

The soldiers parted as Aron approached, allowing him and his mounted followers to move to the front of the army. His blunderbuss brigades were stationed near the front, their weapons ready to fire as they kept a steady eye on the massive army below.

Aron gave a small grin as he looked down on the masses of shining silver soldiers at the base of the hill. The scenery was beautiful, green hills of grass stretching into the distance. Just on the horizon, Aron could see the tall spires of the capital. Only the Kaos federation camp marred the landscape, the grass cleared to make way for their armored tents. The soldiers of Kaos had traveled far from their cities of steel in the far north and were now occupying the capital. Their famous artillery mounted rifles and wheeled cannons had led Aron's half-brother, Zenith Kaos el Dragones, to victory after victory on the field before the capital against numerous contenders for the throne, hoping to seize the capital and therefore the right to rule.

The Kaos federation were a union of great cities with the city of Zenith as their capital, each under a branch of the wealthy Kaos family. They controlled the metal mines to the north. As a result of their wealth from metal trade and their innovations in crafting it, they were a center of technological advancement and fabulous amounts of money.

So, after the Emperor's death, they hired massive mercenary forces and together with the professional artillery crews sent from the Kaos cities, they not only held sway over the capital but also crushed and occupied numerous other rival factions.

But during this same period, Aron had not been idle. The Daranai clan held the rich lands of the Polypontus, a region of plentiful rivers and fertile lands to the south. Having long had to defend them from raiders, they had cultivated a strong heavy infantry with their large population made up of standing professional troops.

But Aron, even before the Emperor's death, sought to improve them and inculcated special firearm regiments with blunderbuss training. He also built up a light mounted assault corp. made up of firearm wielders and lancers to carry out quick, short strikes and guerilla warfare.

And rather than waste his men on conquering and occupying other nations an, he offered potential rival factions an enticing prospect; rather than bring war to their lands, they could put Aron's siblings and their mothers (if they were still living) under house arrest. He would still allow them to govern themselves with the assistance of his administrators, and he would not even conscript the populace for his purposes, only making use of their cavalry regiments.

Many quickly acquiesced. In many that did not, Aron also secretly funded local leaders to spread news of his offer through the populace, creating unrest, forcing even more to sign on.

Well-timed assassinations of dissenting siblings, former imperial concubines and nobles, and the inexplicable rise of local leaders to take up old noble offices as well as the odd bribe, helped to bring together these nations behind the Daranai banners even further. And raids that were supposedly sent by Kaos helped as well.

Needless to say, this was all orchestrated by Aron.

And in a further strategic move, Aron separated his combined cavalry regiments by experience rather than region and trained them together. By the time he had won his third military victory his Daranai forces and the forces he received from the factions that now followed him were working as one, and all loyal to him.

When he took this army to the regions closer capital, Aron had studied and honed his strategies perfectly. Used to destroying armies on the open field with their artillery in all-out attacks, when Aron's army approached, the largesse of the Kaos forces went out to meet them.

But Aron instead divided his army into several sections, encamping them at several points around the city, and struck from several different directions, forcing his enemy to divide his forces as well.

Taking advantage of the greater mobility of his forces due to his now massive cavalry contingent (forty thousand, equal to his infantry numbers), he began a protracted style of war. Kaos scouts never returned, various Kaos camps were raided as Aron massed his cavalry in one place then another, leading the Kaos forces to extend their stay outside the city far longer than anticipated.

Aron continuously hit supply lines coming from the city, and the flanks of the various sections of the enemy, drawing enemy forces into ambushes by his samurai. The Kaos forces for their part marshaled up their cavalry to defend their supply lines and keep his cavalry at bay, but these men were mainly mercenaries and became wearied and wittled down by being constantly called up to the various camps. They were also heavily outnumbered since Kaos had never really needed a large cavalry, used to their artillery doing most of the work. Eventually, the mounted mercenaries struck their banners and left.

But Aron's own forces were getting restless at the lack of conflict, so eventually, Aron decided to draw the enemy to one point for a final assault. He quickly gained the high ground and waited for the exhausted Kaos federation army to quick march it's way to meet them.

Aron knew that the Kaos Federation felt that the odds were in their favor with their larger numbers (one and a half times Aron's forces, even after the desertions) and artillery, but Aron had calculated with his army being better fed and with higher morale, as well as being composed of professional soldiers rather than the half-trained conscripts from conquered nations that formed the majority of the Kaos Federation armies, that the odds were actually even.

But that too was unacceptable to Aron.

With a few waves of his hand, the first stage of the attack was put into action. A unit of about five hundred cavalry moved to the front of the line. The members, mainly veterans past their prime and newer soldiers with bad records and no promise, were hand-picked by Aron to start off the assault.

As Aron eyed the men he was about to send to their deaths in sacrifice to his battle plan, he felt a twinge in his heart. He glanced at the friendship bracelet on his wrist, a normal string bracelet with a single white gemstone attached. Levi

Levi wouldn't like what he was doing. Aron knew it. All at once he went back to that day. He could feel the cold steel of the pistol barrel as he had pressed it to his face. The cold must of the cellar room where he had stowed himself away, the smell of melting wax from the single candle in the center. He had been about to do it, to end his life right there. But the Levi appeared. He gave Aron his only friend in the world, the only one then and now. Levi gave Aron a reason to live, a meaning, a vision.

And now he was about to send many to their deaths, tarnishing that vision of success for all of his people.

It'sover, Levi left me. Aron told himself, shaking himself out of his reverie. His men awaited his command. Levi was long-gone, just like his mother and anyone he had really loved. Only one vision mattered now, the vision of becoming emperor. And every sacrifice that would quicken the approach of that goal would be worthwhile.

And with that resolution, Aron signaled his trumpeter, who tooted three sharp bursts on his horn; the symbol to attack. The selected cavalry charged down the valley yelling war cries, stringing themselves out to avoid mass losses to artillery bombardment.

Aron watched as the federation armies, looking like ants from his great height, began moving their artillery to aim at the approaching forces. Another gesture of his hand, and more equally sized cavalry contingents charged from either side of the hill where the main army was camped. These detachments had been camped on the rear slopes of the hills to either side, specifically for this maneuver.

These small units of cavalry approaching from multiple directions forced the artillery batteries to shift their weapons and string them out further to allow them to attack the other forces. Aron as watched as cannon booms echoed through the hills, and inroads were made in his assault troops, Even from his high vantage point, Aron could hear the cries of the stranded wounded and the screeching whinnies of horses as they fell.

But as Aron watched the bright red blood of his troops stain the emerald green grass down below before they even reached the enemy, his eyes turned to the sun and he tapped his foot impatiently. After a few seconds watching the sunrise, when it reached a certain point, he turned his eyes eagerly to the hills behind the Kaos forces. A crooked grin spread across his face as he watched a few camels appear on the top of the hill.

More and more appeared in the next ten seconds and a shrill horn was heard across the hilly capital plains as a large force of white dressed camel and horse riding warriors charged down the hill and plunged into the Kaos lines. The army of the Desert Horde had arrived.

Aron knew that the front lines of the enemy forces were filled with trained mercenaries, in order to break enemy forces who advanced, but the rear was populated by mainly conscripts, who were used to being reserve forces, brought out after the mercenaries had broken the enemy lines. And they certainly weren't prepared to meet a well trained and orderly cavalry assault directly.

As Aron saw this as their weakness, he made a deal with his sister, Satara Ezel el Dragones, who reigned over the Western Desert that if she supported his claim to the throne and militarily assisted him, he would reward her with a ministry position.

Of course, Aron didn't intend to have her remain so powerful, he planned on finding her guilty of treason and put under house arrest as soon as his coronation was over, allowing him to put someone more gullible and less capable to govern that province. But it did its trick.

The enemy was watching him and his forces so he couldn't sneak a force of the size he wanted to behind their lines without them noticing. But the desert horde infiltrators were able to carry messages across enemy lines, allowing Aron to properly strategize.

It was a twenty-hour march between the desert and the capital plains, but Aron got them to quick march it in less than ten to avoid being seen by the enemy in time for them to prepare a defense.

And so at the appointed hour, the Desert horde was in the right place to charge down on the Kaos's poorly trained and ill-prepared reserve forces. And the best part was that their artillery had been engaged, and spread out by Aron's cavalry offensive. And though attempts were made to move this heavy artillery to where they could strike the horde, few were able to take shots, and even fewer hit before they slammed into the Kaos forces.

As Aron predicted, the conscripts soon broke, scattering, some fleeing towards the lines of mercenaries to reform, but the vast majority running from the battlefield.

Those were the smart ones. As the much-diminished force reformed its lines, the Horde forces continued to bear down on them and Aron saw the mercenaries and few remaining conscripts, less than twenty-five thousand in all, prepare to weather the assault.

At this point, Aron waved another hand to his trumpeter, and he gave one long blast, then three short ones. At the same time, two large masses of cavalry, his real mounted force, swung in from either side to slam into the sides of the Kaios army, and his samurai infantry descended the hill.

There was no escape.

Slowly but surely, Aron's allied forces chipped away at the remaining Kaios forces. No fleeing was allowed. Those who knelt to surrender were beheaded on the spot, as were Aron's orders They had had their chance to run or switch sides, now they would die. This massacre would show the world what Aron did to those who opposed him. Aron, waiting behind a few lines, paid no heed to the slaughter going on right in front of him, instead focused on the massively over-plumed helmet of his half-brother, in the midst of his Kaos forces. Once he was dead, Aron would have control of the capital and, coupled with the consent of the majority of the Empire's Nations (which, through alliance, coercion or conquest he had obtained0 he would be ordained Emperor, and given the authority to command the Sorcerors of the Sorcerors' Spire, which would allow him to enforce his rule through the Imperial boundaries with the greatest magical military the world had ever seen, loyal only to the Emperor.

So engrossed was he that he did not notice the growing storm around them. But when the clouds blocked out the sun, even he had to look up. The rains started to pour, lightning flashed, and black shadowy creatures began to appear all around him.

Suddenly, soldiers across the battlefield started yelling in fear as the battle devolved into chaos with soldiers either running or forming knots to fight the growing swarms.

Suddenly, Aron found himself and his honor guard cut off from the rest of the army by a swarm of darkness, his guards barely keeping them at bay in a circle around him.

"I suggest we retreat for now," urged one, "This...is something that we will need your strategies to destroy, my lord."

"No!" hissed Aron hotly. He had waited all his life for this. This threat gave him some fear of course, but he had faith that with the command of the sorcerers, he would eradicate it. "We're going after Zenith. After that, we can talk about another enemy."

Aron drew his blade, and charged out, his honor guard hugging tightly around him.

Aron went straight for the silhouette of his brother, ignoring the screams as. one by one, his guards were picked off. But they were of no consequence, or so he told himself. He had spent years building up to this fight, and would not falter before he completed his goal. His life's purpose, all the deaths, including hundreds that very day, were just to put him on the throne of the Dragon Empire. He glanced towards the capital in the distance, and could just about make out the Sorceror's Spire, glittering golden with a barrier, and covered in small explosions as massive swarms of black dots surrounded it.

Suddenly, a shadow flashed across his vision. Levi. It had been many years, but that silhouette was unmistakably him. Aron wheeled around his horse and kicked it into a gallop.

One of his few remaining guards called, "Wait!" but Aron ignored them, going as fast as he could, leaving them behind as he charged after Levi's shadow, cutting through any monster or human that came in his path. Suddenly, Aron's horse ground to a halt as a huge mass of the creatures gathered in its path. and rose up, throwing Aron to the ground.

Aron watched in horror as they swarmed it and pulled it to the ground as it seemed to shriek in pain and terror. Aron tried to cut them down and free his steed, but it was too late. Strangely, the horse's death brought up more emotion in him than anything else.

Aron raised his sword for another strike, but a creature leaped up and knocked his blade from his hands. And then Aron's irritable side took over. The creatures were keeping him from Levi, an unforgivable sin. His irritation rose to a fever pitch as a silver chain appeared around his neck. His hand went instinctively to the magnetically attached pendant which he snatched off.

With a burst of dark blue light, it transformed into a black katana-key looking thing with dark blue lightning patterns on the blade, and Aron smiled crookedly. He somehow could sense the power at his disposal, and knew how to use a katana well. And it was perfectly balanced too.

Blue electricity crackled in a three-foot radius around him, and all the massing shadow beats disintegrated. Letting his anger flow, Aron struck forward with his katana, electrifying a good deal more as he charged forward.

He soon felt like he was moving too slowly. While the electricity was mainly being channeled from his blade and arms, Aron decided to try and see what he could do if he channeled it from his calves and feet. Sure enough, he was soon being boosted forward, striking left and right, sending creatures flying.

He was moving towards the shadow he was sure was Levi at a speedy rate and the darkness of the battlefield and people and corpses became no more than a blur.

He had almost reached him when something struck him squarely in the back, knocking him to the ground. Darkness consumed as he stretched out his arm towards the shadow of Levi, moving further and further away, the chasm inside of Aron becoming ever deeper with every step.

Suddenly Aron found himself in a strange town, still surrounded by the creatures. Well, at least I can get my revenge. thought Aron with another crooked grin as he ignored his strange new whereabouts to destroy every creature in sight with his new-found electrical powers. Soon, he realized that there was someone nearby, also fighting the creatures with a weapon that seemed a variation of a key. Soon enough, the creatures were eliminated, and Aron was able to get a good look at them.

She was a short, tan-skinned girl with black curly hair and freckles. But the most startling thing about her was that she was lying on the ground, bleeding from a scratch on her arm and a graze on her head, her eyes closed as if unconscious.

Aron sighed.She's clearly nothing special. So why was she chosen for with these weird weapons like I was? As he watched, her eyes fluttered open, revealing that they were startlingly gold.

Aron quickly assessed his options. He knew nothing about the landscape around him, and needed to get back to the Empire. His only real hope was to help this girl and hope she could help him achieve his goals -- despite her proven failures.
'
Suppressing internal reluctance, and putting on a friendly facade, Aron offered her a hand. After a short conversation, he lifted her up. Then she called him Levi and he froze. Did she know him? He thought about asking this but then just decided to take her to where she directed, and have a full questioning there.

After hoisting her on his back (since apparently her less-than-competent fighting skills had left her too injured for that too) he realized he couldn't really move with his weapon.

On instinct again, the same instincts that drove him to take the pendant off the chain, he tapped it on the magnetic piece of his silver chain, and it shrunk to amulet form once again. What's going on? he wondered as he started to fully realize that his life was irrevocably changed,

A storm was approaching. The day seemed like it was going to be beautiful, the sky was blue and there wasn’t a cloud in sight, but Edin knew better. A storm could form from nothing, but she could always tell when. She could feel the subtle cool breeze from the small cracks in the walls; they brought a hint of moisture that gave it away.

Edin cautiously rolled out of her bed, careful to avoid the sink and stove shoved against the adjacent wall, and went about her morning.

She started off with the indoor chores: sweeping the rough floorboards, scrubbing off the stove and counter to the best of her ability, delicately washing her cracked dishes before placing them in a rosy pink cabinet above the sink.

Next up was dusting. Edin looked away and covered her mouth as she swatted at the spiderwebs forming in the corners of the house. Invisible plumes of dust formed around her, making her eyes water and turn red. It was always dusty, no matter what she did to prevent it.

After all that, her indoor chores were complete and she could continue outside. She watched the sky from her small window above the sink with a smile,the plants should get plenty of water! Edin thought happily as she combed and braided her dark brown hair before donning her garden hat.

She stepped out into the cool morning air and shut the door carefully behind her. It was beautiful outside. Running her hand on the fence protecting her land, Edin made her way to the backyard where her small garden lay. She quickly got to work once there; trimming the bushes and gathering what looked ripe in her rows of tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, kale, and parsnips. The assorted vegetables were put delicately in the small apron she wore around her waist. Baskets were only used to take them to market.

Happy with all that she had gathered, Edin happily trotted back inside her house to prepare. She took off the apron and set it on the small counter next to the sink. Washing was the hardest part. She didn’t want to bruise any of the weaker veggies so she often took extra care during that stage. One by one they were cleaned and placed in a basket to the right of her apron. A cloth was laid on top as soon as everything was done.

Edin hurried out the door with her basket in tow, trying her best to get there early. People would more often then not stop and have a quick chat with her. She could never refuse them so she always stayed.

This morning was strange though. The streets were eerily silent and not a person was in sight. Edin rubbed her charm bracelet, a habit she did when nervous. Levi had told her that it would protect her when he was gone; even though that was years ago it still managed to help.

“Hello?” She called out worriedly. Twilight town may be small but the people were always active. So where they all have gone?

An unfamiliar voice rang out and Edin abruptly stopped, “hello?” Dropping everything she ran towards the direction of the voice, her feet pounding on the ground. Someone is there and strange things are happening. They might be in trouble! Edin thought furiously.

Everything around her became a blur of shadows as her vision narrowed to the street in front of her. Edin only stopped to call out again before continuing. The streets wound around and around with no apparent ending, no sides and no beginning. Just the hazy road, a maze of buildings that were twisting and surrounding her. All covered in shadow.

She skidded to a stop. The mansion. It towered over her, it’s foreboding gates shut tight. One of the curtains moved and a boy peeked out, watching everything. His face was hidden, but he was there and Edin saw.

The tension in the air changed the moment she saw him. It plummeted even more. Edin whirled around to behold rows upon rows of small black creatures. Everything behind them was in shadows. Their yellow beady eyes watched her, waiting.

Even though Edin was shaking, she couldn’t let that boy get hurt. She couldn’t let them pass. She couldn’t!

Blinding white light erupted from her hand and the next thing she knew, Edin was holding a blade. Her Keyblade. The monsters stopped watching and sprung to life. They were upon her within seconds, clawing and growling at her. It was like the Keyblade had a life of it’s own, though and Edin only needed to hold it. It fended off a shocking number of the creatures and Edin kept up.

There were still too many. They were all around in a swarm and blocked Edin’s vision. Eventually, the mansion too disappeared from sight. The darkness, the shadows swallowed everything and Edin fell.


- - - - - - -


The next thing she knew, she was laying on a cold cobblestone ground facing the evening sky. The blade was nowhere in sight. She was in a new world. Everything was different, even the stars. The stars.... Were flickering out one by one.