Chapter 9: Link to Hearts
A teen in armor riding a Skateboard-like Keyblade and with two preteens clutching his chest tightly as they rushed out of the portal as it slowly closed. They landed in the middle of the colorful town on cobblestone sidewalks near a fountain. The two preteens hopped off the Keyblade. Ventus pressed onto his shoulder and his armor and Keyblade dispersed in the bright light. Ventus was back in his casual clothes and his Keyblade had reformed back to it's normal sword shape. "This place hasn't changed at all." said Ventus with a big smirk on his face as he lifted his head towards the bright blue sky and his spiky blonde hair glistened in the bright sun.
"What is this place?" asked Rico.
"This place is called Radiant Gardens." smiled Ventus.
"Maybe, Skyler's here!" squealed Carly with excitement.
"Skyler's who's that?" asked Ventus. Something in his heart clicked with that name. He didn't know it at the time that Skyler was his and Sora's successor and that somehow a part of Sora had found it's way into the boy and caused him to pass out in Traverse Town.
"Skyler is a boy that was trying to save us from being kidnapped by these strange black creatures. All I remember is tears wailing down from his blue eyes and his loud scream." answered Rico.
Carly sat on one of the walls of Radiant Gardens. For some reason, she was drawn to Ven. Ven got a glance of the young Aqua-look-alike. He ignored Rico's tale and went over to sit next to the girl. She stared into his Aqua eyes. "You know, you look a lot like Skyler, except you're older and not as immature." commented the girl.
"That's funny, because you remind me of someone too." laughed Ventus as he thought back to two females. A woman in her mid-twenties with short Aqua-blue hair and aqua-colored eyes and wore armor identical to his and a fifteen-year-old girl with strawberry-blonde hair and a strapless pink dress that stood on an island watching the blue sky as two silver shooting stars shot by. Ventus was in a deep trance.
"Hey Ven, wake up." said Carly as she waved her tan-pink arm in front of the blonde.
"Huh, what happened?" asked Ventus as he stared at the girl with a questioning look.
"I dunno, you just fazed out on me. You said something about Aqua and Kairi. Who are they?" asked the brunette.
"They are just some people that are special to me. All I know is that I have to help Terra and Riku." said Ven as he stood up and yelled in angry voice.
"Who are they?" asked the girl.
"They're old friends of mine. Terra's here. I wonder if he's okay." said Ven as he ran away from the preteens. Carly ran after him. He was headed towards the giant castle that loomed over the small town.
"Wait Ven, we'll help you look for your friends, but we need you to find Skyler." yelled the girl as she chased after him. He ignored her words and ran straight through a clearing between two buildings. Carly stopped and watched the boy disappear from sight.
"At least, I still got you Rico. You won't ditch me like Ven just did." said the girl with a smirk on her face. No reply came from him. She turned around to the place where she and Ven had left Rico to his constant rambling. He wasn't there no more, like Ven he vanished.
Carly sighed, "Can't believe this." She looked around to see a red house nearby. "Maybe, someone who lives in that house will help me look for them." said the girl with a sense of hope in her voice. She walked over to the house.
The girl knocked on the door, but nobody answered, but she could tell that someone was home. She heard several clicking noises and people's voices. Carly kept knocking in an attempt to get someone's attention, but it didn't work. So, she chose to sneak in. Luckily for her there was an open window. She bent her hands through the window to open it up more. It was now fully open and the girl slicked her whole body through the small opening.
She heard a man's voice coming closer. The girl hid underneath a table behind the large cloth of Fleece fabric that reached down to the floor. While, Carly pulled up the fabric and crawled underneath the table, something was caught in the blanket's tug and glass splashed onto the marble floor. The man's voice grew louder and he ran into the kitchen.
Carly heard the man yell, "Who's here?!", but she dare not to speak to the man out of fear of being captured. She didn't know much about the house, but she knew whoever lived here wouldn't be pleased with finding trespassers. She saw the man turn and head out of the kitchen door. The girl pulled back the table cloth and crawled out from underneath the table. "That was a close call." gasped the girl.
Someone came walking into the kitchen. He looked like Ven in a lot of ways, he had blonde bangs and small spikes all over his head, bright aqua-blue eyes that stood out like a skyscraper in a small city, and a surprised expression on his face. Carly looked at the boy strangely, "Ven, how did you change so fast? Where'd you get the black coat? How'd you get in here?" asked the girl.
The teen stepped back. He shook his head at the girl and ran off. A few minutes later, the teen returned with the man. He whispered something in the man's ears and the man gave a surprised look at Carly. Carly tilted her head asking, "What's going on? Why's Ven acting so strange? Who are you?"
The man stepped forward. He introduced himself, but still had an annoyed look on his face. "The name's Lea. Got it memorized?! Why are you doing in my house and who are you? Don't tell me you're working with that Braig perso-!"
Carly interrupted, "Who's Braig?! Why do you have Ven here?"
The Ven-look-alike stepped forward starring at the girl confused, "My name's Roxas. I don't know who you are talking about, but some how I think I know you."
Carly scratched the back of her head. "Whatever, you say, Ven. Have you seen Rico?" asked the girl.
Lea stepped in with an irritated expression on his face. "Ven...Ventus, I think I remember that name somewhere, but I can't remember. Rest assured Roxas isn't Ven." replied the redhead as he stared inches away from the girl's face.
"What's your name by the way, kid?" asked Roxas.
"You're one to talk. The name's Carly. And, you can stop with this act. It's not fooling anybody." smirked the girl.
KNOCK...KNOCK...KNOCK came a noise from the door. Lea turned to leave Roxas and Carly alone. Carly stared at the teen for several moments. "Not you again! I thought I told you to beat it." yelled Lea.
Roxas ran to his friend's side. Carly followed after the teen. Lea closed the door slightly and held his backside against the slight opening. He had a scared look on his face. "Roxas, they're here. You two need to hide." whispered the redhead.
"Who's here?" asked Carly as she stared at the two males nod at each other. Roxas grabbed her hand and ran to one of the back rooms.
Carly struggled to get free from Roxas' grasp, when she was free. She broke free from the boy's hand and rushed in front of his face. "What's going?!" asked the girl with red in her face.
Roxas peeked outside the door. He saw no one nearby. Roxas answered the girl, "Those are Xehanort's grunts. He's hired a large group of people to snatch people from their homes and bring them to the dungeon to be preyed upon by Heartless."
"How do you know this?" asked Carly.
"Lea said that he watched someone close to him being literally dragged out of their homes by the grunts. He said that he never saw that person ever again." replied Roxas.
"Who was the guy?" asked Carly as her jaw dropped to the ground and her brown eyes shined with fear.
"The guy's name was Isa." answered Roxas.
"Oh..., we have to go protect Lea. What if something happens to him?" shouted the girl.
"Yeah, we should, but Lea's a big boy. He can handle himself. He wants us to remain safe, even if that means..." Roxas went blank. He bit his lips with anxiety. Tears poured out of his blue eyes. He banged his hand against one of the walls.
"Roxas, what's wrong?" asked Carly as she tried to comfort the teen. He flung her hand away from his shoulders. "We have to protect Xion and Lea! I won't lose them...not...again."
Meanwhile, back at the door
Lea stood at the door. He looked back toward the back rooms to make sure Carly, Xion, and Roxas were safe. "Give us the Keyblade Wielder or else you will pay." growled one of the grunts.
"You'll have to go through me to get into my house. I have no Keyblade Wielder here." retorted Lea.
"We don't believe you. Move out of the way or you'll be captured!" yelled the other grunt.
The two men were both dressed in a long black shirt, pants tucked into their black boots, and a red scarf tucked into the collars. One of them was pretty short and looked to be in his adolescence. The other was tall, slightly built, and had a light blonde, short hair and beard. He had ear piercings on both of his ears. "Get out of the way or you'll pay!" yelled the older man.
"Make me, grunt!" growled Lea as he tried to close the door in the grunts' faces.
The shorter one with a mullet put his hands into the doorway. He pulled the door open. "C'mon, Axel, no need to act like that." cried the younger boy.
"What?! Who are you talking about?" lied Lea in shock.
"I can see the expression on your face, Axel. There's no fooling an old comrade. Am I right, Dorul?" asked the younger grunt.
"Precisely, Medy, there's no fooling Lady Luck. I recognize that red hair anywhere, Axel." said the older grunt.
"Who are you?" asked Lea.
"Oh, we're Numbers IX and X, Demyx and Luxord's Somebodies. We're here to capture the Keyblade Hero's Nobody and Replica. If you are hiding them then you'll pay." said both grunts in unison.
Dorul shoved his cards in front of Lea's face. He jumped backwards as the two grunts shoved into the house. They searched the backrooms, but could find no trace of either Xion, Roxas, or Carly. "Man, this is boring, Dorul. Can we leave already?" asked Medy.
"All right, Medy, let's head back to the castle and tend to the captives we currently have." said Dorul as he turned and headed out of the door.
Medy followed after him. He stared at Lea with suspicion. "Soon, Organization XIII will resurrect itself. We'll have more hearts than ever before. So, go ahead, I know you're hiding them. I don't want to see you guys get toasted by those Heartless. Eeeh, that's things give me nightmares." smiled Medy as he winked an eyelash at Lea.
