Chapter Text
The large white door opened with a sickening creak. Without a moment’s hesitation Sora dashed into the room behind the door. The room was large, empty, and dark. The only light was shining down onto a platform with towering pillars. Sora looked around in search of the two Nobodies he had come here for, Zilteastrix and Namine. The brunette looked up and noticed the redheaded nobody who was, rather unnervingly, floating above him. A smirk was plastered on her face. “ZIlteastrix!” Sora yelled. “Where’s Namine!?”
Zilteastrix laughed darkly. “Oh, her? Well the little bird tried to fly away, so I put her in a more- Oh what should I call it- fitting cage .” The redheaded nobody snapped her fingers and, as if on cue, a cage appeared from the darkness. In the cage was Namine.
Sora gasped and summoned his Keyblade. “Let her go!” he yelled.
“Oh, I would if I could!” she said, using a voice that someone would use when talking to a small child. “But I just don’t think it would be safe! She’s better off staying with me after all!”
“She’s better off without you!” Sora countered. Zilteastrix frowned.
“I’m assuming you think she’d be better off with you?” she asked condescendingly. Sora didn’t need to answer the question. “Well, let's see how well you can do in battle then! If you can’t protect her from me, then what hope do have protecting her out there?” she yelled. The redhead once again snapped her fingers, but this time a harsh wind bellowed throughout the room. Sora shielded his eyes with his arms, closing his eyes as he did so. When he looked up again, he was greeted with an odd and frankly horrifying sight.
Zilteastrix was sitting, cross-legged and smug, in a palanquin that was being carried around by a bird-like creature. The creature looked like a cross between a hummingbird and a swan, its body and head belonged to a hummingbird while its neck belonged to a swan. Its beak looked like a plague doctor’s mask and Sora could just barely see a hint of a human-like face peeking out from underneath. The creature’s wings were sharp as razors and its tail feathers were combined into a singular sharp, stinger-like, point. Its feathers were pink and a white symbol on its underbelly.
Sora was knocked out of his astonishment by a curt laugh that came from the palanquin that the creature was holding in its feet. “What? Is the “Hero of Light” scared of a little Specter?” Zilteastrix mocked.
That thing is not “Little”! Sora thought. “I’m not scared!” he yelled.
“Oh yeah?” the nobody asked. “Then why don’t you prove it!” Zilteastrix gestured to Sora and the specter let out a sickening screech. The specter reared up its tail and attacked. Sora just barely dodged out of the way of the attack, but not fast enough to not be scratched by the tail. He wiped his cheek with his left hand and when he brought it back there were splotches of blood on his gloves.
How am I supposed to land a hit on that thing? “Why don’t come down and fight me yourself?!” Sora asked as he dodged another attack from the creature.
“Honey it’s not that simple!” Zilteastrix called from her palanquin. “Or clean for that matter.” she added.
“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Sora yelled.
“That’s for me to know and you to never find out!” she yelled.
Sora gritted his teeth and aimed his keyblade at the creature. “Firaga!” he shouted. The burst of flame hit the specter square in the chest. The specter let out a blood curdling screech.
“Insolent brat!” Zilteastrix yelled. The specter cried and she looked up at it. “Not you sweetie.” she reassured it. The red haired nobody pointed at Sora. “Kill him!” she bellowed. The creature began attacking relentlessly.
Sora gulped and dodged the attacks. One by one, just barely avoiding become a shish-kabob on the specters tail-thingy. He readied another firaga and hit the specter again, this time on the head. It screamed and floated upwards. Sora stood confused for a second until the specter slammed back down onto the ground, sending a shock wave large enough to cover the entirety of the room. Sora, who was caught off guard, was not able to jump up in time and was hit by the shock wave, which knocked him onto his butt. The specter continued to slam itself into the ground, sending a shock wave after shock wave. Eventually Sora managed to dodge the shock waves and landed a hit on the specter, smack dab in the center of its forehead. It cried out and shook violently, making Zilteastrix almost lose her balance. She reached up to the specter’s neck and rubbed it.
“You truly are a formidable foe. I must admit.” She commented, glaring down at the brunette. “But, let’s see if you can survive this!” Zilteastrix gestured her hand up to the sky. Suddenly the ground started to shake violently and a piercingly bright light began to fill the room The last thing Sora heard before the light fully engulfed the room was Zilteastrix. “Your hopes are doomed to the darkness.” she seethed. The brunette shielded his eyes from the brightness with his arms as a loud ringing sound, louder than the rumbling, echoed throughout the room.
When Sora removed his arm from his eyes he was shocked at the environment around him. It had changed dramatically. They were no longer in the white room, instead, Sora found himself in a room- if he could even call it that- with no visible ceiling or walls. Around him was the night sky- or at least he assumed was the night sky- and rings spinning around him. What was the most notable thing, however, was that Zilteastrix was now off of her specter, on the ground and absolutely pissed. Behind her was her specter, which had presumably changed forms. Now it was larger and more humanoid. It had two sets of wings, a long slender body, and a cat-o-nine tails in both hands. The thing that startled Sora the most was that the specters face was much more human than it had been before. The specter now had the face of a young man, whose lower half of his face was covered by a plague mask like it had been previously.
“What is this place?!” Sora asked. Zilteastrix just chuckled darkly, not answering. She stood planted in one spot as she raised her hands, causing a faint glow to surround her. Suddenly small flower buds began to fly around Sora. The brunette ran around, trying to get the buds to leave him alone, but they only followed him. Tracking missiles! He realized. They must be tracking my every move! Sora thought frantically. One of the buds began to glow ominously and Sora, sensing something bad was about to happen, dodge rolled out of the way just in time. The bud shot a missile at the spot where Sora was just standing. The boy looked up at the nobody, who was still standing in the same spot, and charged.
“What? Is? Your? Problem?!” he yelled, swinging his keyblade to enunciate each word. “Why’d you have to do that to Namine?! What are you gaining from this?!”
“What I’m gaining is power.” she answered curtly. The red haired nobody brought her arms forward, as if swiping at Sora, and the specter let out a gust of wind, knocking Sora onto his back.
Sora grunted as he got up. “What’s that supposed to mean!?”
“I’ll put it simply for you Sora .” she said. “I was using Namine so that I could use you as a mindless puppet . With you I could defeat the Superior and show him who really is the most powerful.”
“And what would you do after that?” Sora asked as he approached the nobody once again, dodging the missiles that were shooting at him. “What would you do after you beat this “ Superior ” ?''
Zilteastrix grit her teeth. “That is none of your concern.” she seethed, ordering for the specter to attack the boy. The specter began whipping its weapon around in hopes of hitting Sora. It managed to knick Sora on the cheek, the one that hadn’t already been scratched, but didn’t do much else.
“You don’t know, do you?” Sora asked. Zilteastrix didn’t answer. “I’m right aren’t I?”
“Silence!” she yelled. “I’ll scatter your heart!” The nobody summoned her whip and charged at the keyblade wielder. Sora blocked her attacks in quick succession and swung at her. The boy sliced upwards, hitting Zilteastrix right in the chest. The nobody dropped her whip, which dematerialized the second it hit the floor, and fell to her knees.
“No….” she trailed off as she watched her body begin to fade away. “No no no no NO!” Zilteastrix yelled. “I can’t-! Not yet! I still haven’t- I still haven’t found him!”
Sora watched in horror as the girl in front of him gradually evolved from shouting to begging. “Found who?” he asked with uncertainty. He knew he shouldn’t be feeling pity for someone who tried to murder him meere seconds ago, but he couldn’t help it.
Zilteastrix looked at him. “I-I don’t- I forgot him- please!” she yelled. The nobody reached out to Sora. She was rapidly disappearing with every minute that passed. “Please! Help me! Lauri-!” But she never got to finish, for she was gone before she had the chance to.
Sora stood there, eyes wide and stiff. He blinked a few times, making sure that he actually just saw that happen. His eyes widened when he remembered about the cage. “Namine!” he called. The boy rushed over to the cage and unlocked it. Sora picked her up and carried her to the door. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.” he told the blonde girl. Sora looked back to the spot where Zilteastrix disappeared. “We’re both okay.”