Seryl doesn't come in for a while, I'm afraid. He was actually my favorite character from the fic.
Chapter Five: Half-Forgotten Memories
“We’re going to Midgar, right?” Kairi asked, as they walked down the dark narrow road once again.
“Yes,” he answered. “We have to find the other keyblade masters...quickly.”
"You sound worried," Kairi observed.
"No, not worried. Anxious." Yuyami folded his arms. "Those Heartless...they attacked Treno because of us."
"What...?" Kairi's eyes widened.
"The Heartless...they're looking for us..." Yuyami said. "Hunting us... I think that whoever's controlling them is on to us."
"So...its our fault..." Kairi looked down at the road, but otherwise said nothing. All of those people back there, taken by the darkness...because of us... We the Keyblade masters, she thought bitterly.
"Don't get too down though," Yuyami said. "There was no way we could have known."
Kairi glanced at him. "You don't sound too remorseful..."
Yuyami laughed humorlessly. "I've seen worse, and done worse. I'll tell you that..." They walked in silence for a while, before Kairi couldn't stand the quiet any longer.
“So…Yuyami...” Kairi looked at him.
“Yes?” he asked.
“You haven’t told me about yourself. Where are you from? What was your childhood like? How did you get the keyblade?”
Yuyami sighed. "I guess I do owe you that, huh?"
Kairi didn't answer, so Yuyami began. "Well…I was a happy kid, I guess. My mother and father, they loved me a lot.” Yuyami smiled as his eyes took on a distant look. “They used to take me everywhere with them. To operas, parades, even their personal attack classes. Those were the days when Heartless were just appearing in our world and everyone was warned to be prepared for the worst. I don’t think all of the personal attack classes in the world could have saved them form the Heartless.”
Kairi closed her eyes. “You mean…?”
“Yes," he breathed, his voice pained. “One night when I was ten, the Heartless attacked our city. Everyone ran to the gummi ships to leave but there was limited room. We were unprepared for the attack.”
Yuyami looked at Kairi with such a deep expression of pure agony, that she turned her head. She had also saw something else in his eyes too. Shame, guilt.
“The last gummi ship was leaving and they only had room for one more. My parents put me on the ship even though I tried to stay. Other people held me while I struggled to get to them.”
He sighed. “The last memory I have is them waving at me smiling. Smiling, while the heartless destroyed my home.”
Kairi shook her head sadly. "That's so terrible, Yuyami. I'm sorry I brought it up..."
Yuyami shook his head and said, “Don’t worry about it. It’s ancient history, now. Ever since that day, however, I’ve devoted my life to destroying the darkness that plagues us.”
Kairi shook her head and sighed. No one man can destroy the Heartless or the darkness in people’s hearts, she thought. Yuyami was on a fools mission to atone for what he couldn’t do in the past, and he could pay the ultimate price.
“Yuyami, just remember, light and darkness go hand in hand. Without light, there is no darkness, and vice versa. Your quest will never end. You’ll die of old age before you even begin to scratch the surface of darkness. It can’t be done. The darkness can’t be defeated…”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Kairi,” he said vehemently, surprising her. “I have to destroy the darkness, even if it means my life. If I don’t, then my parents’ sacrifice means nothing!”
Yuyami’s voice softened. “I know that my mission is forever, and I will walk that path path until either it crumbles, or I.”
Kairi stopped walking and clenched her fist. “No…”
Yuyami stopped as well and turned to her. “No? No what?”
"Don't you see, Yuyami? What you're doing is suicide. The darkness will swallow you whole."
Yuyami gave an empty smile. "A fitting end, I suppose..."
Kairi said nothing, only stared at him, trying to think of some way to deter him. Didn't he realize that he was only walking toward an inevitable death?
“Kairi, everyone who has their heart taken away is turned into a Heartless. That means that my parents became Heartless.” Yuyami smiled, and it was as cold and as empty as the road they were walking on. “As many Heartless as I’ve killed, I’m willing to bet that two of them were once my parents.”
Kairi winced. “That doesn’t mean you killed them.”
He shrugged and continued, “But there’s a possibility. I couldn’t save my parents when I was young and they were turned into Heartless. Now that I have all of this power, I could very well have destroyed my parents. Ironic isn’t it?”
"Look,” he ordered, holding out both of his hands. One was engulfed in fire while the other was crackling with electricity. In the middle was a combination of ice and dark magic. “I have all of this power. I have magic that I don’t even need to use because I am so strong. I can even use Ultima. Ultima for Heaven’s sake! Do you know what that means?!”
Kairi nodded. She faintly remembered reading ancient books about magic in Hollow Bastion. One said how the magic Ultima was sealed off by a council of Archmages because it was too powerful. Only a select few knew the spell, but she didn’t know that Yuyami was one of them.
Yuyami sighed and lowered his head, the magic disappearing. “This power means nothing. I didn’t have it when I really needed it, so what’s the point now.”
Kairi grabbed his arm and shook it. “You can use this power to help people, to make their lives easier! You don’t have to give in to the darkness, you’re stronger than that!” Yuyami gently took his arm away and began walking again.
“I’m afraid the I gave into the darkness a long time ago. Come on, our mission is at hand.”
Kairi turned away. “No, me being with you is just like helping you kill yourself and I won’t do it, I won’t!”
Yuyami reached out his hand. “Kairi…” he began.
Kairi began running in another direction. “Just leave me alone! Go find another Keyblade Master to help you!”
Yuyami began running toward her and stopped. “But Kairi, I need you…”
Chapter Six: A New Road to Follow
Kairi ran blindly down the darkened road, not caring where she was going. Only wanting only to get away from him. He isn’t as strong as he believes, she thought as she ran. He may be powerful, but his heart is weak. Soon the darkness will swallow it.
Finally, after cramps began to race up and down her side, she slowed to a walk and looked back. She saw only the darkness staring back at her and it was then that she realized how utterly alone she was. She was on her own.
~~~
She’s on her own, Yuyami thought miserably, looking at the road Kairi had run down. He debated with himself whether he should go get her or continue his path.
She’s all alone. She could be overwhelmed by the Heartless at any moment.
I should continue my mission. My mission is the only thing I have left.
What about Kairi?
He had no answer for that.
You’re just going to let the first friend you’ve ever had to leave and possibly get hurt?
Friends don’t leave you when you need them.
Looks like you’re about to do the same.
I....
You can’t just leave her all alone. She could get hurt, or worse.
So what? It was her choice to leave in the first place. I don’t need anyone…
Shrugging off all doubts and concerns, Yuyami began to walk down the road toward Midgar. He had a mission to accomplish, and he couldn’t worry about a girl with too many emotions to deal with. …even if she was his first friend…
~~~
I have to find Sora, Kairi thought to herself as she walked down the lonely road. Things are getting too complicated. I don't want to fight evil and darkness, I just want to find my friends. She came to a stop and sat down to rest. As she sat, she closed her eyes and tried to feel for Sora’s heart with her own, but to no avail.
“Sora, where are you...?" she asked silently. "What could keep our hearts apart...?”
...Kairi...
“Sora!?” She stood up, looking all around her. There was only the dark night, the pale white moon, and the endless grass and road.
...Kairi, help m...
“Sora!! Where are you!?” She looked around frantically, trying to pinpoint the voice.
She stood there waiting, as silence reigned over the night. Sora's voice was gone.
“Sora!!!!”
No one answered...but she had heard it. Sora was still there, somewhere. She summoned the Promise Keeper and looked at it. The moonlight caressed it, making the silver blade gleam.
“This will help me to find Sora. With this I’ll be able to save him and bring him back with me. Where he belongs.” She began walking down the road.
~~~
Yuyami had seen a truck driving down the road, a rare occurrence because of the Heartless, and hitched a ride. He was now sitting in the passenger seat, trying to drown out the elderly driver’s babble with his own thoughts.
“Yea, back in mah day, we din have no airships and cars. We had ta ride chocobos to wherever we had ta go. Can’t do dat no mo. Only a few chocobos is left after dem poachers and skinnahs got ahold a’ dem. They almost eggstink now.”
“Extinct,” Yuyami murmured instinctively.
“Eggstink, extinct, extant, they all da same boy. Don’t smart-mouth me. I remembah back when ah was yo age, I din give no lip ta nobody. But if anybody gave me lip, I’d whup they ass from here ta Atlantis!!”
Yuyami sighed and looked at him. “How long before we get to Midgar, old man?”
“In about a hour,” was the reply. “So anyway, like ah was sayin, I was fightin dis big ol’ dragon about da size a’ dis here mass a’ rocks ova here and…”
Yuyami looked back out of the window, ignoring his driver. When I get there, he thought, I’m going to have to hit hard and quickly. I have to rescue that Keyblade Master. It’s the only way to continue my mission.
~~~
Kairi slowly walking down the empty road with her head down. She still had her keyblade out and she was dragging it on the ground behind her. She lifted her head and saw what looked like a small town a few miles up. She ran the last couple of miles excited to find companionship and maybe a soft bed for the night. She read the sign at the town’s entrance, ‘Salom’. She dismissed her keyblade before walking in.
A hooded figure in a dark blue cloak walked past her mumbling. She looked at the figure for a few seconds before continuing her exploration of the town. Not a minute had passed before she saw more hooded figures huddled up talking. Every few seconds, one would glance at her. Weird, she thought.
Kairi’s blindfolded eyes finally found what she was looking for. A sign saying Seraph Inn marked the place where she would spend the night. She entered the building and stepped to the counter where another robed figure turned to attend her.
“Um, how much to stay for the night?" she asked of the hooded figure.
The figure said nothing, just looked at her. Maybe she didn't hear me, Kairi thought.
“Excuse me, do you know how much it costs to sleep here?” she asked again, a little louder.
The figure spoke with a voice as clear and as cold as ice, “You wield one of the keyblades.”
Kairi stepped back, surprised. “How do you...?”
“We are the ones that forged the keyblades. Only ones who wield the keyblades can enter here.”
“And why should I trust you. How do I know you’re not lying?” Kairi was slowly backing away, ready to summon the Promise Keeper at the first side of danger. “Give me some kind of proof.”
“Very well.” The figure raised its hand and in a flash of light the keyblade appeared on the counter. “Only the ones who forged the keyblade can summon it, but we can’t control it. Only its master can.”
Kairi summoned the Promise Keeper to her hand. “Okay so you all forged the keyblades, so what?”
“For now you need to get some rest, free of charge of course. The room is upstairs, third door to your left. Sleep well.”
Kairi went up to the room, cautious, but still grateful for a moment to rest her weary body. Without even taking off her clothes, she fell exhaustedly into bed. But soon she found she couldn’t fall asleep. Tossing and turning, she finally began to think about Sora and Riku and the memories they had on Destiny Islands. Content, she fell into a peaceful sleep.
~~~
“But I did the right thing right?” Yuyami looked at the old man, waiting for an answer. “I mean, she didn’t have to leave and it wouldn’t have been right to force her to stay. No matter how important my mission is, I wouldn’t force anyone to stay with me.”
The old man watched the road for a minute, softly rubbing his gums together. His eyes were distant and he stayed silent.
This must be his thinking face, Yuyami thought with a roll of his eyes. “Well, what do you think?”
“How old are ya, son?” The old man continued to look at the road.
“Uh.” Yuyami thought for a moment. He hadn’t really given thought to his age in a while. He mentally calculated it, “I’m nineteen, but what does that have to do with…anything?”
The old man chuckled. “The way you act, people prob’ly think you thirty-somethin’.”
Yuyami began to get annoyed. “Okay, good observation, but what do you think I should have done?”
“You should a’ asked her ta stay.”
Yuyami stared at him for a few seconds. Now that someone else had said it, especially this senile old coot, he realized how simple it was. He should have just asked her to stay.
“Damn...” Yuyami looked at the floor. "I guess I blew it..."
“Ha, ha, ha!!! Don’t worry, son. If ya really like dis heifer, she’ll come back ta ya in due time and ya’ll gon’ be together again.”
“Hey, she’s not a heifer!!! And I don’t like her!" Yuyami looked at him furiously. "At least not in the way you're saying!"
“Right, right don’t get ya panties in a bunch.”
Yuyami growled softly. His patience was starting to wear thin. Luckily, he had saw the Midgar city limits a few seconds ago. They were finally coming upon the city, one of the most technologically advanced places around.
The old man stopped the car. “OK, I stop right here, sonny. I don’t live in dat sterile, hellhole. I’d rather live here in da country-fresh air.”
“Alright, thanks for the ride.” Yuyami climbed out of the truck, eager to get away.
“Remember these words sonny, an remember em’ good.” The old man had a serious look on his weather-beaten face.
Yuyami stayed where he was and listened. I at least owe him this, Yuyami thought. To listen to his crazy rantings.
“Weapons, magic, and all these other powahs is all well an good. I bet you can prob’ly destroy about a million of dem Heartless critters and not break a sweat. But it takes a strong-ass heart to not let dat darkness take ovah you. If you got a puny heart, den you can kill as many as dem critters as you want, but nothin can stop da evil from destroyin ya heart. But if ya heart is strong, then nothin can stop you from destroyin the darkness." The old man tipped an imaginary hat. “You take care now.” He drove away, his tailights disappearing into the darkness.
Yuyami waved and began walking toward the Midgar gate. I guess he wasn’t as senile as I thought, Yuyami mused. I do need to strengthen my heart if I’m to face the ultimate dark force. Even Kairi saw it...
~~~
Kairi awoke and looked at the sky. It was morning but all she could see was darkness and the moon. It made her a little sad to know that the sun wouldn’t rise. She cleaned herself up and walked downstairs. Her hostess, the hooded figure, was already waiting for her.
“You should see our leader, another Keyblade Master. I’ll take you.” The figure stepped from behind the counter and walked out the door. “Please, follow me.”
Kairi stood there for a second, not really sure what to do. I guess I have no choice, she thought. “Okay, let’s go,” she said, shrugging to herself.
Kairi followed the hooded figure through the town, all the while being stared at by the other hooded figures. What's the deal with them staring at me, she wondered. Is it the keyblade...?
“So what do you call yourselves?” Kairi didn’t really know how to address any of these people (if they were people) and didn’t want to embarrass anyone, especially herself.
“We’ve been called many things. Archmages, Guardians, Angels, Demons, the list goes on.” The figure walked briskly and Kairi almost had to jog to keep up.
“Well what should I call you guys?” Kairi asked.
“You do not have to address us.” The figure stopped at what appeared to be a small palace. “It is us who serve you, not the other way around. Please enter here.”
Kairi nodded and walked through the mahogany doors of the palace. The doors closed behind her and the room was engulfed in darkness.
What do I do now, she wondered as she walked through the room. Her footsteps echoed loudly throughout the empty darkness. She could barely make out where she was going, but it looked like a big empty hall.
What was that? To her right? Kairi thought she had saw something move with a smooth speed. She looked around her and summoned her keyblade. She got into position and waited.
Suddenly, she was attacked from the left. A black keyblade slashed out of the darkness with frightening speed. Kairi brought the Promise Keeper up to block the attack and the two keyblades clashed together.
Whoever was wielding the keyblade was strong, but it was so dark that she couldn’t see her attacker.
This must be some kind of test, Kairi thought as the attacker swung the keyblade low. Kairi jumped into the air and swiped her keyblade at the person’s face. The attacker pulled back just in time and thrusted the keyblade right at Kairi’s stomach, but she was already in motion swinging her keyblade back toward her body to deflect the attack.
The sheer force of Kairi’s parry sent her attacker spinning, but instead of losing control, the mystery keyblade master turned it into a spinning roundhouse kick. Kairi saw it coming, even though the change was split second, and dropped to the floor to deliver a sweeping kick. She connected and her attacker fell to the floor, but then hopped back up like it never happened.
By now, both of them were breathing hard and waiting for each other’s move. The person raised the keyblade and swung it high with one hand. While Kairi brought the Promise Keeper up to deflect the attack, the keyblade master’s other hand crackled with electricity.
Oh no, Kairi thought with despair, magic. It was too late to do anything about the incoming thunder spell and she took it full-force to the stomach. Her hair raised and her tongue stood out as volts of electricity raced through her body. She was thrown back and slid on the floor until she crashed into a wall. She tried to get up when she saw her attacker walking toward her, but her vision swam before her before fading to black.
~~~
Yuyami walked to the gate where he saw two armed men standing guard. Shin-Ra was emblazoned on their chests and they held their guns ready. He walked up to them, unafraid.
“I’m coming in.”
They looked at each other and laughed.
"He wants to get in...?" the first one asked of the second, an eyebrow raised.
“Does he even know where he is, Wedge?” the second one asked, amused.
“I guess not, to be demanding dumb things without showing his city pass, Biggs.”
Yuyami sighed. He never did like the idea of a city pass. It was supposed to protect the people of Midgar, but all it did was confine them. It was given only to Midgar citizens and their relatives who would want to visit. Yuyami used to have one, but that was a long time ago.
“I don’t need a city pass.”
Biggs looked at Wedge and smirked.
“And why don’t you need one, mister hood man?”
Yuyami's fist shot out with astonishing speed, catching Biggs off guard. It connected with his jaw and sent him flying to the side where he lay still. Wedge cried out, and immediately raised his gun up, but Yuyami was already in motion. He hurled an electric bolt toward Wedge that knocked him back into the gate.
"Thanks for your cooperation," Yuyami smirked as he walked into the gates. He stopped however, when he heard a laugh. He looked back to see Wedge pushing the button an a small remote in his hand. Suddenly, the gate closed and sirens began to shriek. Yuyami watched as the whole city went into lockdown. People evacuated the streets and closed their doors.
Suddenly, soldiers came pouring from every nook and cranny. Soon, Yuyami found himself surrounded by the soldiers of Shin-Ra. Each of them wielded a machine gun in their hands and grenades at their waists. Yuyami smiled.
“This isn’t fair, you know!! Hundreds against one?!!”
One of the soldiers replied, “We know you’re a Keyblade Master, and we're not taking any chances after the last one..." he quieted, realizing he was maybe giving their enemy too much information.
Well, Yuyami thought as he brought his keyblades into position, at least I know that one of the keyblade masters is here.