"But darkness did cover the world once, in legend. We know so little about the Keyblade War—only that it was just the beginning. Amidst that crisis a Precious Light was found. It is a curious tale—and one worth exploring. They say ruin brings about creation. So, what then, would another Keyblade War bring? When the darkness falls, will we be found worthy of the Precious Light the legend speaks of? I must have these answers. The χ-blade needs to be forged, and with it, the Door to the Keyblade War unlocked!"

-writings from "X", Departure College

Chapter Five: Mercenaries

"Milady, the Pure Light has left the World of Light."

"And where is it now?"

"Um…we're still looking on it."

"Fools! Then why would you come and bother me with such little information?"

"I'm sorry! Jafar told me that you'd be interested!"

Twelve years ago, unknown lab…

"Sir? He's not trying to respond…" a scientist in white said.

An older, bald man in black and white stared at the sphere screen in front of him, seeing the lone survivor of the experiments. The boy, only six years old with a wolf Animus, was surrounded by powerful Heartless, mostly NeoShadows, and the man spoke into a microphone. Sighing, he told him, "Use the power within, boy."

"N-No…I…I can't…" the child said.

"The NeoShadows will destroy you if you don't!" the man shouted.

The child, terrified as the Heartless closed in on him, screamed, "I can't!"

"You'd rather die than use your dark power? Feckless neophyte…" the bald man muttered.

"Master Xehanort, I do not think it is a good idea to force the darkness out of him," the scientist in white told him.

"But we must, Even. If not, then we will not have a catalyst to keep the world's balance in check. Do you remember the fountains of Pure Darkness?" Xehanort asked.

"I do, but what does this have to do with the boy?" Even asked.

A bloodcurdling scream and the two saw the boy swarmed by the Heartless. Just as the man was about to press a button on the console to dismiss them, red and black tendrils burst from the fallen child's back, impaling every NeoShadow. The Heartless squirmed as they tried to escape, but they were absorbed, and the tendrils retreated into the child.

Even, disturbed, looked to Xehanort and asked, "Satisfied? The boy's a monster because of you."

Xehanort, originally disturbed, smirked and said, "Not yet. What other secrets does this darkness of his hold? I must know!"

"And this will help with the expansion?" Even asked.

Xehanort refused to answer and went to typing on the massive keyboard before the sphere screen.

Present day, Menphina 6th, Traverse Town, near Hauyn Haven, north central Saronia…

A brunette, dressed in a pink dress and white fur coat and hat, walked through the snowy cobblestone streets of town, holding a basket of flowers she grew in a small cavern near her house. The flowers were for the local wizard, a man named Merlin, who wanted to use them for medicine. People in town had started falling ill from colds and those yellow flowers packed an immune-boosting punch, or so Merlin said.

As she walked, her Anima, a little cardinal, sat on her shoulder, asking, "Aerith, what's taking them so long? They should've come back by now with the cave moss."

"I dunno. But Zack and Cloud will be fine, Prim," Aerith told her.

"But!" Prim, or Primrose, chirped.

"No, buts. They'll be fine and we need to get this to Merlin," Aerith said.

As she walked in the First District, Aerith could sense something was off. Looking up, she could sense something powerful far, far away. Primrose poked Aerith with her beak, asking, "Um…That doesn't feel like darkness…What is it?"

"I dunno. But let's get this to Merlin…" Aerith said.

Arriving at the gates to the Third District, Aerith saw the local militia, keeping the peace with rifles and their dog Animi. After telling them her business there, they let her through, telling her to take care with all the Heartless causing trouble. Stepping through and entering an area that was virtually empty, save for a lone house, a courtyard with a statue of two dogs eating spaghetti, various ancient machina and a lone red door with a flame pattern on it, Aerith became defensive, summoning a staff in her right hand. She carefully trekked, hoping that Heartless or the occasional gang member wouldn't jump her. But, if she was careful, then there was nothing to worry about, right?

A spark from an exposed wire caused her to jump and Prim said, "Just a spark."

"Oh, whew…Um, let's keep going," Aerith said.

"Kinda jumpy today, aren't ya?"

Aerith jumped again, turning and seeing her old friend, Terra. The young man gave her a confused stare as he asked, "Why are you so jumpy? Nothing's here."

"Well, you never know. Heartless do come out here from time to time," Aerith said.

The dressed in Wutai-like fashions, a trait of Umi no Okami members, brunet asked, "Why are you worried about that? We've been taking care of the Heartless since coming here."

"I know, but they do appear every now and then. I just wanted to be vigilant," Aerith said.

She saw his Animus, a grey wolf named Gaius. He sat at Terra's side and said, "Then having Terra travel with you will help."

"Yep! Yep!" Primrose chirped.

Aerith sighed, saying, "Okay. Okay. You can 'escort' me."

"You make this sound like a mission…" Terra told her.

The pair and their Animi headed for the Fire Door, to Merlin's abode.

"Whoa! Is that…? Is that a…?" little Zack asked.

Young Cloud, Tifa, Zack and Aerith, after leaving their "captors" in Port Mysidia, fled northwest as they had heard of a town that accepted children like them. Children that were orphans and "half-breeds", children of nomads and mainlanders shunned by the Sanctum and its peoples. Zack had the idea to leave and start his own "mercenary guild", where they would travel the globe and help the people that they'd meet. Whether if it was Heartless slaying, finding lost treasures or missing people, he wanted to help them out…unlike the SOLDIERs of St. Milo's Abbey that tried to "recruit" them.

As the kids made their way through the fields, following a dirt path that had signs pointing to Traverse Town, they stumbled on something that was very odd. The creature looked like a Heartless, but Aerith noted that something was wrong, very wrong. She couldn't sense other Heartless nearby and the creature before them still had the light of a human.

The monster's skin was black as night, but marred with purple and silver vein-like markings. Its eyes were a solid yellow and teeth were sharp as daggers. Horns protruded from its head, like dragon horns. Claws were on its hands and feet and a tail swished back and forth. It was also quite tall, looking at least seven feet, compared to the tallest of the kids, Zack's four feet, two inches.

The beast roared, staggering aimlessly, and Zack whispered, "Okay, we're gonna have to find a way around that thing."

"But how?" Tifa asked.

"Um, we're kinda small to fight that thing…" Cloud noted.

"I can distract it," Zack said, sounding confident.

"But what if it eats you? What then? We can't start that 'puilt' without you," Cloud said, mispronouncing "guild".

Aerith looked to face the creature, but found that it disappeared. She yelped, stammering with, "Uh…g-guys…Wh-Where did the monster go?"

A snarl and the four and Animi looked up. The monster had jumped to the trees, its fangs bared, and yellow eyes turned a burning red. Zack held up a wooden two-handed weapon, a zweihander in Cloud and Tifa's old language, and said, "Uh…Don't come any closer!"

"Yeah! Don't try anything or um…" Cloud added, holding a small pocket knife.

Tifa, oddly, yelled, "Or the Holy Mother will put eggs in your stomach, and they'll hatch! I mean it!"

The beast dropped to the ground, landing on all fours, and gave a confused stare. Aerith looked at her and muttered, "Why would the Holy Mother do that?"

"I couldn't think of anything, okay!" Tifa yelled.

A small grunt and the four saw the beast tilted its head, almost wondering who they were. It seemed to have calmed down as its eyes were back to standard yellow and it looked relaxed. Zack lowered his weapon, asking, "Um, you understand us?"

Another head tilt and Cloud said, "I don't think so…But, let's just go, okay? We can't fight it if it attacks…And I don't want Fenrir to disappear."

"I don't want Aya disappearing either," Tifa added.

"Well, they'll only disappear if anything bad happens to us, so…" Zack said.

Aerith gasped, seeing the monster had vanished for a second time. She couldn't sense it either and that was scarier than it being in front of them. Zack and the others noticed, with the boy yelling, "Let's get outta here!"

"Run away!" Elias shouted as the Animus bolted.

"Ah, there you are Aeris!" the old man in blue robes, Merlin, said with a grin.

Terra rolled his eyes, telling him, "Her name's 'Aerith', with a 'th'. We've been over this 300 times already! Seriously, are you sure you don't have Alzheimer's, old man?"

"I'm quite sure, youngling," Merlin said, glowering at the young man.

Terra shrugged and Aerith went to find a spot to put the flowers. The only problem was that the house was a mess. Well, it would be as Merlin was a hermit. Only those who knew Fire Artes could open the door that led to his home, so he had only a few visitors at a time. The old man served as the town's "wizard", as he was a master of various Artes and had great medicinal knowledge. The mayor and others in leadership valued his expertise but, like many, wondered why he lived in isolation most of the year.

Due to his scatterbrained personality, his home was quite messy, with pots and pans in places that they shouldn't in the one-bedroom home. Books were scattered, with very little on the shelves. Plants were in the corners and were overgrown and the center of the room had a table with four chairs, but only one was empty as the others had books and papers with various theses on them. Merlin, noticing, said, "Oh…I should've cleaned before you came here."

Pulling out what looked like a conductor's baton, he yelled, "Alright! Everyone back in your place! Higitus figitus! Zumbabkazing!"

Small sparks of light went everywhere, and the man's belongings began moving on their own. The books were back on the bookshelves. Plates, silverware and cups went back into the kitchen. Papers went into file cabinets along the walls and after a few moments, everything was clean…minus the overgrown plants Aerith wanted to prune for their health.

"Anyway, you found the flowers for me? Thank you! I'll take it from here," Merlin said, taking the basket

"So, what's the deal with the flowers?" Terra asked.

Merlin's Animus, an owl named Archimedes, sighed and said, "You just had to ask, Terra. You just had to ask…"

"Plants have such a wonderful biology to them. So many possibilities for medicine and energy. And, if one was on the dark side, they can provide poisons, neurotoxins and Heartless enhancing…" Merlin droned on.

Archimedes yelled, "AHEM! Don't give them ideas, Merlin!"

Aerith and Terra were disturbed and she said, "Um, we'll not do any of that Archimedes…Um…"

"Anyway, is that all you need for the medicine?" Terra asked.

"Well, I'm waiting on the others to return with the cave moss. Glowing cave moss is hard to find in these parts. And I dare not ask locals to look for it as the Heartless in the waterfall cave have been unusually strong lately," Merlin said.

"Then why did you send them on that errand?!" Archimedes yelled.

The door to the hermit's home opened and two young men, carrying sacks of glowing…something entered. One was blonde and the other was a raven-haired youth, both dressed in clothes that would suggest bounty hunters. Their armor was colored black, but trimmed with bits of fur that looked like something from the regions in the west. The rest of their attire looked similar to SOLDIER uniforms, something that Zack, the raven-haired youth, had made up as he still oddly idolized the group. Wolf dog Animi followed the pair, with one's fur black as night and the other the color of hay.

"Hey, Merlin! Auron told us that you'll be needing this stuff. I dunno why, but…" Zack told the wizard.

Merlin, pleased, grabbed the two bags with ease, and the blonde, Cloud, muttered, "It was a pain getting them off the walls."

"So, that's why you two took so long?" Aerith asked.

"Wasn't that long," Zack told her.

"Zack insisted that we should scour every 'nook and cranny for treasure'. I didn't want to, but if I didn't go with, he'd probably still be in the cave…lost," Cloud explained.

"Hey! It's not my fault that people just happen to put their best stuff in random treasure boxes!" Zack argued.

"Oh, so getting someone's hand-me-downs is 'good treasure'?" Cloud said, not believing his friend.

Zack pouted, folding his arms and saying, "Can I have a little fun exploring…?"

Interrupting the spat, Merlin said, "Yes, this should be enough."

"Enough for what?" Terra asked.

"Medicine for the townsfolk. The cold this year's quite brutal and if not treated, people can die," Merlin said.

"So, sticky cave moss that seemed to stick to everything except the bag will help?" Cloud asked, looking miffed.

"Yes, along with these flowers," Merlin said.

Zack asked why and Archimedes yelled, "NO!"

Merlin's explanation was much longer than what he gave Aerith and Terra and the four thought it would never end. When Merlin's droning ended, he asked if anyone understood and Zack mistakenly said, "No."

The group's eyes widened as the old man re-explained himself.

"Ah, so you're the newbies."

A scarred brunet and his cohort, a little girl of the Wutai, stared at Zack, Aerith, Cloud and Tifa. The little girl ran up to Tifa and muttered, "I don't like you."

"Uh…okay," Tifa said.

The pair was oddly dressed, with the scarred one in black and white…mostly black and the Wutai girl in green and tan. The scarred boy had a lion cub for an Animus while the Wutai had a snow owl chick for hers. Their meeting in an old house in the 3rd District that looked like it was read to fall apart was nothing short of tense.

Cloud and the scarred one glared at each other, looking like they were about to fight. The Wutai girl hid behind him and said, "Um, don't try anything, newbs! Or Auron's gonna get ya!"

"Who's Auron?" Aerith asked.

The door opened and a man dressed in red samurai gear entered. His brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and he had a serious expression on his face. His brown eyes scanned the newcomers and another wolf dog Animus appeared. His fur was a rusty red and he asked, "Auron, these are the ones?"

"That's what Merlin told me. So, I see that you've met Squall and Yuffie. And you four are?" the man, Auron, said.

"I'm Zack. Seven-year-old Zackary Fair from Gongaga! And this here's Elias!" Zack said, chipper as usual.

Auron gave a confused expression, saying, "Gongaga's off the coast of Fynn, on the southern continent. How did you get…?"

"SOLDIER. They rounded up all the 'half-breeds', telling our parents that we'll have better lives with the Sanctum," Tifa answered.

"And you?" Auron asked.

"Tifa Lockhart from Nibelheim. And this is Aya. I'm six and a half years old," Tifa replied.

"I'm Aerith Gainsborough from Modeoheim and this is Primrose. I'm five going on six," Aerith said.

Cloud was the last to reply, muttering, "I'm Cloud. Cloud Strife from Nibelheim…I'm six years old and that's Fenrir next to me."

"So, Nibelheim and Modeoheim. Those are towns on the western continent of Nifl. How did SOLDIER find you?" Auron asked.

The Nifl trio shrugged and Zack asked, "Um, so you got a guild? Um, can we join?"

"No! NO WAY!" Squall and Yuffie yelled.

"Why not? We only have three people and we need all the help we can get…according to Merlin," Auron said.

"But we can take on Heartless no problem!" Yuffie shouted.

"But you're only four and your father would kill me if anything happened to you," Auron said.

Yuffie pouted and muttered, "Daddy's a butt…"

Fourth District, Guild Murasame…

Within the hustle and bustle of the Fourth District lied the brick building that was home to the Murasame Guild, ran by "half-breed" Auron Saika. The three story building had apartments for their main guild members, a small restaurant and bar, an office for the guildmaster and a place for guild members to take jobs. Most came to the building for the bar, a place called Seventh Heaven and they came to see Tifa.

Tifa, about 20 years old, was dressed in all black and stood behind the counter. She, preparing food for customers, could see Yuffie, age 16, out of the corner of her eye. The "ninja" was busy passing out drinks and food and occasionally yelling at customers for being rude. She would get on her for being impolite to customers, but most of the drunkards deserved it.

"Yo! Another round of 'Cosmo Canyon!" someone yelled.

Tifa rolled her eyes and said, "I think you've had enough, Mr. Golbeza…"

The older man scoffed, telling her, "You younglings can't tell me when I had enough…I know when I had enough!"

"And your smell is telling us all you had enough."

"BAH! OH! Auron…" Mr. Golbeza said.

Auron had exited his office on the second floor, hearing all the noise. He, coming down the stairs, glared and said, "You've had enough. Go home to your wife."

"Oh, tha-thank you Auron…She's still happy that you got that medicine for Lucia…" the man said as Auron escorted him out.

Once the noise died down a bit, Tifa thought that the night would go more smoothly. She shouldn't have thought that as Terra, Zack and Cloud entered. The ever excitable Zack rushed to the counter and said, "Hey, Tifa…We need a favor…"

"If it's about giving you and Terra free drinks, you can forget it. Your tab's already too high," Tifa said.

"Aw…Not even for Cloud's birthday?" Zack asked.

Cloud's eyes widened and he said, "No, don't bring me into your mess!"

"And besides, it's nowhere near his birthday," Tifa added.

"But what about Terra's? Surely you could give the man a free drink and his best buddies too," Zack asked.

Tifa glowered and Terra said, "Well, none of us knows my actual birthday…So…"

The brunette remembered that the young man had amnesia ever since meeting him twelve years ago. The memories from before never resurfaced and all he knew was that he was a lost member of a Lupo clan, the wolf Animi having tribe that constantly moved from place to place. Auron tried to establish contact, using his sources, but nothing came from it. The young man was then raised by Auron, despite the hardships that came with it.

"Please, Tif? Please?" Zack asked, whining like a puppy.

Cloud shook his head and Terra said, "Y'know he's not gonna stop whining."

Zack's eyes widened like a pup's and Tifa relented, saying, "Alright! Alright! Okay! Stop looking at me like that!"

Tifa took a few bottles, a cannister and three shot glasses. The mixture she created was red in color and she said, "This here's my newest creation, the 'Marilith'."

"Why after a monster from Nifl fairy tales?" Cloud asked.

"Eh, just came to me one day…" Tifa said.

Hours later…

After helping Merlin create the new medications and delivering them to the sick in town, Aerith started for the Fourth District, only to feel that odd sensation again. It was as if her heart had been shot by an arrow and a sense of worry came to her. Looking up, a star grew brighter and fizzled out.

"Not again…" she muttered.

Stars had been fading from the skies lately and the sensation that came with it wasn't pleasant. Aerith could also hear the cries of people that immediately became Heartless snarls from the fallen stars. Hoping that it wasn't an omen, Aerith prayed, hoping someone would hear her.

"Let's go back to the guild. I'm sure that Auron would have some info about that," Primrose said.

"About why the stars are disappearing? I don't know about that," Aerith said.

She returned to the guild hall in the Fourth District, only to see patrons gathered around the stage Yuffie had installed for something called "karaoke". Bad singing followed from it and Aerith recognized the voices. With a sigh, she muttered, "Tifa gave in and gave them drinks…Well, I'll be 'Team No Sleep'…"

"Yep. Zack's singing gonna keep everyone up…" Primrose muttered.

She headed to the counter and Tifa sighed in disappointment. Yuffie and Cloud were also there, watching a drunk Zack singing and Terra playing, oddly with a guitar, on stage. The song he sang was odd and the patrons that were still present slammed their ears shut as the two youths sung and played horribly off-key.

"Without you, I can't breathe! Without chu…I can't…BREA-EA-EATHE!" Zack sung/screamed.

Terra started "rocking out" on the guitar, looking like he was a musical idol…but wearing samurai-ish clothing…The two looked silly and Aerith had a mind to tell them not to drink again. But, she doubt that they would listen.

"I told them…I told them they can't hold their liquor…" Cloud muttered, taking another sip of his cup.

Aerith could smell the alcohol off him and she knew he was tipsy. Glaring at Tifa, the brunette in pink asked, "What did you do?"

"What? They asked and Zack gave me the puppy eyes. The puppy eyes!" Tifa told her.

"She gave them one of her newest creations, the 'Marilith,'" Yuffie answered.

"What's in it?" Aerith asked.

"Oh…Um, it's a little bit of this and that…It was only a little bit in the cups…about a quarter of an inch. I didn't think they would get drunk so quickly," Tifa said, telling Aerith the recipe.

Most of the ingredients were alcoholic and she wondered how the trio didn't pass out from alcoholic poisoning. Sighing, Aerith said, "I'll get the tonic..."

"And I'll make sure they eat…" Tifa said.

And there's the introduction to the rest of the cast. And apparently three of them are not good at holding alcohol…Anywho, review?

-miano53