Fan Fiction ❯ Black Orchid ❯ Wood Key, Stone Hand ( Chapter 3 )

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"Oh, I see," said Cid, smiling good-naturedly again. "The guy who owned the shop before me was called Cid too. Don't know what ever happened to him."

He was standing behind the counter, once more leaning back against the wall, and was polishing some of the jewelry. Montblanc had moved to stand in front of the fire warming himself, while Sora and Orchid both sat on opposite sides of the couch, drinking soup; Orchid's sandwich had disappeared long ago while Sora had given a background to what had happened before.

"So these things, the Heartless, they're taking over worlds?" asked Orchid.

"Not just taking over," said Sora grimly. "Devouring is more accurate."

Orchid looked at him while he stared into his soup, lost in thought. He looked about eighteen or so, and seemed to have gone through a lot. Despite this, she could tell that he was normally a very open and happy person. The sadness etched on his features seemed unnatural, and it made her sad too. From his wild and spiky brown hair, to his black, red, and yellow clothes, he looked like he had been through hell. After hearing his tale, it seemed close enough.

"That all happened four years ago," he continued. "Why they're back now is anyone's guess. Damn. I just wish I could find someone who was here the last time."

There was a silence that was only broken by the crackling of the fire.

"That sword," started Orchid. She wasn't sure why she asked. "Um, the keyblade. Could I see it? Is it with you?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah," said Sora distractedly, reaching beside the couch where he had left it. He held it in front of himself and said bitterly, "This is it, though it doesn't seem to hurt the Heartless anymore. I might as well have my toy sword again."

Orchid couldn't explain it. She seemed drawn towards the keyblade. It seemed to be calling to her, crying for release. As if a light was growing inside it, only waiting for her touch to free it from its metal shell. She held out her hand longingly, but Sora took no notice, still absorbed in pondering the blade and all that had happened. He did, on the other hand, notice what happened next.

"Wha-!?" he exclaimed.

The keyblade tugged itself away from him, trying to escape his grip, then faded away, much as it had when Riku had taken it from him. Simultaneously as it did, something new appeared in Orchid's outstretched hand. It had the basic shape of the keyblade, but metal it was not. It was now made of twisting brown branches, living wood. There were six near hand-length thorns sticking out of the semicircle hand guards, three on each side, and three even larger thorns had replaced the crown blade, each with two pairs of smaller thorns, and opposite of them on the other side of the shaft was two twisted thorns curved inwards in a thin crescent. It was the Kingdom Key no longer. It spoke its new name into Orchid's stunned mind.

"Bramblebite," she whispered into the echoing silence.

Sora only stared. Was it a new version? Not in the way he knew. There was no pendant key chain, though there was a loop to attach one to. What was this?

"I take it this has never happened before?" said Cid, his eyebrows raised.

* * *

"To find the key bearer…"

The figure stood on the roof, high above the Second District, outlined by the moon, the silhouette of his trench coat blowing in the breeze. He clenched his fist, and there was the sound of grinding stone.

"That's what he told us to do before they took him," he said.

"Quit worrying. It'll all work out, just like last time," said a second, more feminine and perkier voice as a silhouette body appeared from the shadows with it, ribbons flapping behind it.

"And if it doesn't?"

"…"

Both figures turned then and disappeared into the shadows again.

* * *

Orchid woke just in time to see Sora's shoe disappear as the door closed. The lights were off, but the fire was still burning. In its flickering light, she saw that Montblanc was curled up on the couch, fast asleep, and she assumed Cid was behind the counter. Quietly as she could, she slipped out of the shop, not even realizing that she was holding Bramblebite until she was already outside closing the door behind her. She walked to her left and turned the corner just to see Sora make a turn and run out of sight. She followed quickly. Soon, she found herself staring at the large doors to Second District. One was still slightly ajar, and she went in. Beyond was a large sunken plaza with a hotel to the left, and shops and houses to the right. Down in the plaza, a fountain gurgled peacefully on the near wall, while the Gizmo Shop loomed above the far wall. Walking down the right until she came to the stairs, she wondered about the silence. There was no sound, not even of night creatures or people in the buildings. Almost as if she had entered a dream. Or a nightmare.

As she walked down the stairs, she felt a sudden chill. Something was wrong. When she got to the bottom, she walked towards the middle of the plaza. Shadows stirred and raced across the ground. This scared her. But not as much as when they got up off the ground and took form.

The skittering Heartless began to form around her, their bodies never stopping, but their glowing eyes always on her. Their ant-like antenna twitched as they scurried around. Then they attacked.

"Yaah!" yelled Orchid, swinging the keyblade at one. The thorns pierced its inky blackness, and it burst into dark particles, only to come back in an implosion and be sucked into the blade, a shimmering wave of energy pulsing down the shaft. The blade was truly alive.

She fought them off, but as she struck down one, more would take its place. Despite her efforts, Orchid found herself being swept away from the stairs, until she found herself backed against the wall opposite the fountain. She fought her way to a nearby bench, Bramblebite pulsing with each Heartless it absorbed, and jumped onto it to gain the advantage of the high ground. She was thankful for having spent her days fighting with the boys in Arcadia instead of playing with the girls, but even with several years of rough housing, she knew she couldn't hold out much longer against the Heartless; there were just too many. Suddenly, she felt herself grabbed roughly by the back of her sweatshirt and pulled up and over the wall onto the walkway above.

"Now what are you doing playing with the Heartless?" asked Cid. He was no longer a slacker, but a gallant knight, clad in shining armor with a blue cape, though his helmet was non present. He held in his free hand a giant, three foot long something that she could only assume was a sword of some type, though it seemed to be made of crystal, a soft rosy orange color, with lines and different parts going down the foot wide blade, which ended curiously in a circular shape. Chains jangled from where they started at the hilt to where they connected at another circular area where the hilt and blade met. The overall effect was of some otherworldly instrument of power.

"I was following Sora," said the stunned Orchid, still staring at the transformed Cid. He looked like a completely different person.

"Oh, that fool? He's over there," commented Cid, pointing a thumb behind him. Sora stood there, looking a little sheepish. "What I want to know is why he's out here. For someone who's all depressed that we aren't experienced in the Heartless area, he sure doesn't show much experience himself. Walking around at night, by himself, and unarmed too."

"I saw her…" Sora said vaguely.

"One of your friends?" asked Orchid.

"Besides," he continued, "I can still do magic," he said, casting firaga on a Heartless that had found them to prove his point. "Why are you out here, Cid? And don't say 'To save you two'."

"I can't stand just letting these buggers run around free," answered Cid. "Guess there's still a bit of Judgemaster left in me."

"What?" both Sora and Orchid asked.

"Never mind, we got company!"

They fought through the heartless, Sora using what magic he had, while Cid and Orchid both sliced any Heartless within reach. Eventually, they had fought their way down an alley and into the third district. As they cut across the square, more Heartless started forming; this time they were armored and marked with the crossed out heart.

"Soldiers!" shouted Sora. "These aren't as weak as the shadows!"

"You got that right!" shouted back Cid, as a soldier parried one of his blows. It leapt toward him before he could bring his sword around, only to explode and be sucked into Orchid's keyblade.

"Then we'll just have to fight harder!" yelled Orchid, smashing more of the Heartless. Sora paused to stare at the keyblade. It didn't just scatter the Heartless into nothing as it had with him. It absorbed them into itself. But for what purpose?

They found themselves backed against a door. When Orchid tried to open it, it refused to budge. She pushed harder as the other two fought back the Heartless.

"Why won't this open?" she screamed angrily.

"It's been like that for over a year!" shouted Cid, bashing away more Heartless. "Leave it alone and start fighting!"

"We can't win against them!" replied Orchid.

"You let it go into disrepair, again?" asked Sora. He turned back to them to show a smile. This is what he's really like, thought Orchid, stunned at the change.

"OPEN SEZAME!" he shouted, raising his hand skyward. A giant bolt of lightning flared down from the sky to ingrain itself in a nearby broken open pipe, jolting the cords within. Orchid pushed on the door once more, and it gave way. The three tumbled through, and Cid turned just in time to slam the door in the face of the approaching Heartless.

"Hah!" shouted Cid. "If I can't have my laws, then at least I can have freakin' thick doors! Hahaha!"

Sora smiled, then grinned widely, and then started laughing with him. Soon, all three were laughing heartily, the reason for laughing long forgotten.

"Stupid Heartless," laughed Sora. "They just don't get any smarter, huh?"

Suddenly Sora was swept off his feet by a large, dark hand. He skidded across the ground to come to a halt a few yards away. Before he could get up, a multitude of shadows piled onto him, completely obscuring him. In front of Cid and Orchid, a large body, huge, round, and very resilient, stood there with several of the regular soldiers. It scratched its head ponderously, as if trying to decide what to do next. The soldiers jangled erratically, while the shadows pulsed and skittered where Sora was.

Cid turned quickly to the Shadows and raised his enormous judge sword.

"JUDGMENT!" he shouted. Columns of pure holy magic slammed down from above to obliterate the Heartless on Sora. They instantly disintegrated, their bodies melting to nothing in the pure white magic. The light faded, leaving an unconscious and ragged Sora, but one without any Heartless on him. Cid turned back to the large body, his sword ready.

"And as for y--" he started, but was interrupted as a clock with roman numerals formed in front of him, its hands spinning slower and slower until they stopped. He stood frozen in place, taken out of time. If Sora was still awake, he could have told Orchid he had been Stopped. But he wasn't. So Orchid just had to guess she was on her own.

She struck out at the large body, but the keyblade merely bounced off it. The Heartless merely looked curiously at her, then jolted forwards and knocked her off her feet with its huge potbelly. Orchid lay there dazed, and was just about to get up when she saw the five soldiers all leaping at her.

"Aero!"

There was a small explosion of wind, knocking the Heartless soldiers away from her and into a mess on the ground.

"Blizzard!"

A swirl of cold air, and then the pile of Heartless lay there covered in a thick frost.

"Thunder!"

A bolt of lightning dropped down on the frozen soldiers, causing them to shatter and disintegrate into little dark particles. Orchid turned to see Montblanc standing a the top of the stairs in front of the Accessory Shop, waving a rod with a crescent moon on the end. He started walking down the stairs towards her, waving his rod as she got up.

"Cure," he said, more softly than the last spells. Sparkling light drifted gently down onto Orchid, and she instantly started feeling better. She turned to face the remaining Heartless, which was currently scratching its large girth and looking at them curiously.

"Quicken," said Montblanc, pointing at Cid.

"--ou, I'm gonna…where'd they go?" he said, then turned around to face them.

"So what should we do about this one?" asked Orchid.

"THIS!" came the voice. A figure slammed down on top of the large body, and it instantly burst into inky pieces. The man stood up and turned to them, his white trench coat still flapping from the wind of his descent. His fist clenched, and there was a sound of grinding stone.

"So this is the key bearer?" he said.