Chapter 13
MORE depressing things! And a cameo by Lea! Woooo!
I love Lior. I worked really, really hard to make sure she wasn't a Sue. I want feedback. Is she? Please tell me yes/no.
She.......may be coming back, if i'm nice.
Braig finished shoving some clothes into his pack and stretched, sighing in relief. Turning to walk out his bedroom door, he caught sight of something red on his bedside table. It was a bandanna, lying there innocently next to his candle. He stared at it for a moment, lost in thought, then picked it up and put it on, tying it around his neck. Then he headed down to talk to Sinéad, leaving his pack on his bed.
As he got to the bottom of the stairs, Sinéad stopped him. Looking him over, she smiled softly.
"You're wearing it."
Braig touched the bandanna absently. "Yeah. Jas gave it to me, you know. On his birthday, when we went to the capital. He got one too, so we’d match, he said. This'd be the first time I've put it on, you know."
Sinéad smiled. "I know." She leaned against the railing. "You look good, Braig. Better than you have in years."
"Really? I hadn't noticed."
Sinéad just laughed. She pulled out a large box from behind her back, and held it out to him. "Here, Braig. It's a gift."
Braig frowned at her. "I always tell you not to buy anything for me."
Sinéad grinned. "Just open it."
He did so, and his eyes widened in shock. In the box lay a pair of Arrowguns, an extremely expensive, magic-imbued piece of equipment most hunters would give their right eye to own.
"Sinéad, what possessed you to-?"
"Oh, do be quiet, Braig. I can afford it. And I wanted to get you something before you left."
Before Braig could protest further, the little girl came running in from the kitchen. She was wearing new clothes, a pretty white dress, and she ran right up to Braig with a big smile on her face.
"Braig, Braig! Auntie Sinéad got me new clothes! How do I look?"
Braig smiled at her in amusement. "You look cute, kiddo."
Ignoring Sinéad's shock, he turned and headed back up the stairs. "I'm going to get my stuff. I'll be right back down."
After he disappeared, the little girl turned to Sinéad. "What's wrong?"
Sinéad laughed softly and ruffled her hair. "It's nothing. That's just…the first time Braig's smiled in years…thank you. You've done so much for us in the few weeks you've been here."
The girl blushed. "Really? Thank you…"
Braig came back down a little while later, and the girl turned to look at him joyfully.
"Braig, guess what! Auntie Sinéad just gave me a name! I'm Lior!"
Braig laughed at her enthusiasm. "That's a cute name, kiddo. It suits you."
She giggled. "Thank you."
Braig nodded, and hefted his pack onto his shoulder. "Well, let's go, Lior."
Sinéad sighed sadly. "Are you sure about this, Braig?"
He turned towards her. "I've said yes every time you ask. Even if I can't use a Keyblade, I want to help fight the Darkness. Those damn Keybearers are only thinking of themselves, and they can only see in black and white. I'm gonna be fighting for everyone they don't see, all the people they forget. I know you don't want me to go, but… "
She nodded. "If it's what your heart is telling you to do, go. I can't stop you. Just know my heart is always with you, Braig. My foolish brother."
"Thanks, Sinéad. I won't forget that."
She knelt and kissed Lior's forehead. "You, too. My heart is with you, too, Lior. You're like the daughter I never had. You're always welcome here."
"Thank you, Auntie Sinéad…"
The two girls hugged, and she stood. Giving Braig a quick kiss on the cheek, she waved. "You two get going now. The war might end without you if you don't get moving."
"Alright, alright." Braig laughed, and the two left. Sinéad waited until they were gone before she started crying.
*************
"Braig, watch out!"
Braig spun around and fired, the mass of darkness behind him swirling away.
"Thanks, Lior."
She giggled, but stopped as another mass came at her from the left. She squeaked in surprise and summoned a barrier of light. It disappeared when it slammed into the barrier.
Braig laughed. "Careful, there, kiddo. Don't get distracted."
Lior pouted. "Hey, you don't get distracted either, Braig."
"As if. You know me, Lior, always ready for ac-"
He yelped as a shadow leapt for him, swatting it away with the butt of a gun.
"Don't say it," he warned, as a mischievous smile crept over her face.
He looked around him. They were in an immense plain, with cliffs and canyons all around them. They weren't alone, either. Hundreds of Keybearers for either side, along with the many creatures of darkness, swarmed over the battlefield, clashing with each other in furious, metallic waves under the glow of the massive, swollen heart-shaped moon in the sky.
"Well, Lior, we better be extra careful, now. This here's a real battle."
"I know. For Kingdom Hearts. It's a little frightening, isn't it?"
Braig shot another shadow approaching. "Nah. I think it's exciting."
Lior smiled. "You're so brave, Braig."
He grinned back. "Oh, stop. You're flattering me."
With that, he turned and started deeper into the fray. Lior hung back, knowing she would be no use in battle, but making sure Braig was kept healed, and protecting him with her small barrier if needed.
Suddenly, a Keyblade swept out of nowhere, knocking Braig off his feet. Lior cried out, and tried to run to his side, but the same Keyblade blocked her. Both looked up, and the person they saw holding the Keyblade was the last they expected.
It was the man from over a year before, the young Keybearer who had created Lior. His eyes had turned yellow, however, marking him as a servant to darkness.
Lior paled, but Braig leapt to his feet. "You again, huh? This time, I ain't letting you off so easily."
The young Keybearer just laughed, and attacked him. The two men tussled, and Lior was caught up in the brawl. Seeing the man about to hit Braig with a bolt of darkness, she raised her shield in fright.
When the bolt of darkness collided with the shield of light, the result took all three by surprise. Both powers folded in on each other, leaving a heavy feeling hanging in the air. Braig, the first to realize what was about to happen, reached out to grab Lior's hand. But he was too late. The air exploded with a blinding flash, and all three were caught up in it, torn from each other.
*************
Braig woke up with a groan, and sat up slowly. Looking around him, slightly dazed, he realized quickly he wasn't at the battle any more. Instead, he was sitting on the outskirts of a beautiful city, surrounded with trees and fountains, in the center of which stood a majestic castle.
He realized a second later that Lior was missing. He stood up quickly, looking around him in panic, before doubling over in pain. The injuries he'd received in the battle with the Keybearer weren't healed, and they hadn't gotten any better in the flash of whatever-it-was.
After a minute, he managed to pull himself back together, and headed into the city. Oddly enough, the streets were all but empty, with a few children here and there running about with each other. Stopping at a street corner, he paused to listen to a small boy and his father.
"Tell me the story again, dad?"
The boy's father laughed. "Okay, Lea. If you insist. Hundreds of years ago, everyone lived connected, and everyone lived in the light. They were happy, and everything was peaceful, but then…people began to argue; everyone wanted to keep the light all to themselves, and darkness was born from their selfishness. That darkness spread, swallowing many people, and many worlds. Soon, almost all the worlds were gone. But- fragments of those worlds survived in the hearts of the children, and those children rebuilt the lost worlds. Those are the worlds we all live in now, but the brightest light is still deep within the darkness. That's why all the worlds are no longer connected. But, one day, the door to that deepest darkness will be opened, and that light will return to the worlds."
Braig didn't stick around to hear the rest of the story- he'd heard more than enough. So somehow, he'd been trapped in that darkness for hundreds of years. And now the worlds were no longer connected, and he couldn't get home, couldn't look for Lior or Sinéad.
Sighing, he glanced up at the castle again as he walked. He wondered what kind of ruler they had, and if he’d be welcomed, or even believed.
"Well," He sighed. "There's only one way to find out, isn't there?"