Seek the Stars

VI

The lungs burn, the legs burn. Exhaustion takes the body in its sharp teeth and shakes it to pieces. Crying, maybe, because something must have broken. There had been a snap in the darkness and suddenly pain was everywhere. Just get up and run, ignoring the pain and the burn. The last Safe Place was far, far behind, too late to turn around and go back. Axel and Roxas and Demyx, Zexion and Marluxia and Saïx and Xigbar – they couldn’t help now.

So exhausted…

Velvet changes to sand under bruised and hurting feet. Wet stains follow the prints, like blood. There are noises behind, not the pipirrups from before, but larger, more deadly. Howls rise like wind, scenting prey, and the shifting sands make it harder to run. Sharp stones cut unprotected feet, opening and widening wounds. So incredibly tired.

Waves crash against a shore and immediately hope surges through the body in new energy. Water. Even if it would burn, the water was safe. Despite the burning and the slipping, the water grows closer and hope surges.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

The voice is oily, foul, and it freezes the body. Fear and rage forced the body to move, to crawl if it had to, toward the water.

“You’ve eluded me for far too long. Did you really think you could escape? Once I have you, I only need to collect the other two, and I’ll have all I need.”

No! Go away! Leave me alone!

“You can’t resist me. Not even the greatest SOLDIER could. Come to me. I won’t hurt you.”

No! Stay away from me! I don’t trust you. Get away!

Snarling comes from behind, but it is too late. Water crashes closed above the body and the swift current carries it away, far beyond the reach of the things prowling on the beach. Spindly fingers curl together as the ripples in the water slow and the surface once more becomes still. A high-pitched whine issues forth then, and a chorus of howls take up the call. The time for play is over. Now it is time to hunt.

“You can’t run forever Xemnas. Oh, no, you can’t.”


Reno’s back crashed against jagged stone, and if he hadn’t been prepared for it, the rocks most certainly would have torn his back to shreds. As it was, he was able to get his hands behind him quick enough to soften his blow and propel himself to the side, avoiding the massive body that leapt after him. Somewhere, he’d lost his electric rod, which left him with only his standard Turk-issue pistol. Only problem was Reno was such a bad shot, odds where he’d end up killing his partner than the Enigma attacking them.

Enigma were a cross between Heartless and Nobodies as far as they knew. They came in all shapes and sizes, ranging from black to white and the occasional purple flying enemy. They were always hungry and devoured everything of their victim and usually were very messy eaters. These particular ones were about the size of a gorilla, covered in what looked to be goose feathers with a lion’s head and a rat’s tail. Oh, and their claws were covered in some sort of corrosive poison.

Reno ducked a swipe and bolted, leaping up rocks like a mountain lion. As ungraceful as he was, he gained a little time for it took the Enigma a few minutes to figure out how to get after him. Reno slid down the other side, passing hidden explosives as he went. The Enigma came crashing down behind him and one by one the explosives detonated. Reno was many things, but ‘idiot’ wasn’t one of them right now, and he kept running until he spotted his partner ducking back down behind a large boulder. Reno dove behind that boulder just before the cloud of dust and debris washed over them, along with the guttural howl/snarl of the Enigma.

Elena loaded a bullet into her pistol’s chamber. “That didn’t work.”

“Pissed it off.” Reno replied, out of breath. “Are the lines still dead?”

“Yeah.” The blonde woman tossed him a cell phone, and Reno stared at the dead thing for a minute before dropping it in the rubble at his feet. “We’re going to die here,” Elena whispered.

“No we’re not.” Reno rubbed his face. “Can you open a portal?”

Elena shot him a glare. “We tried that already, remember?”

Unfortunately, Reno did remember, and he winced. “Then I’m all out of ideas.”

“And I’m almost out of ammo. I’ve got all rounds loaded and four extra.”

The two Turks stared at each other for a long while.

“We have to try and run.” Reno said finally. “Try and get to high ground.”

“And who dies?” Elena asked. Reno had no answer for her.

They’d been sent to this miserable backwater planet in the hopes of finding some way to defeat the Enigma scourge that was terrorizing neighbouring worlds. They hadn’t thought the beasts could have spread here as fast as they had. Opening a portal would bring more Enigma down on them and they had no more options after fighting or running. One of them might escape if luck was with them, otherwise they would become a fond memory in the hearts of their loved ones.

A shadow covered them and a long line of green drool puddled between them. Both Turks looked up at sharp teeth and bolted. The Enigma leapt after them, howling in glee of the chase. Over the rocky terrain the two humans ran, Elena taking every opportunity to empty a clip into the Enigma, but it did little to deter it. The pair needed cover, but between cover and them was a wide-open field. Reno skidded to a stop and grabbed Elena before she went over the side of the cliff and dragged her back, leading her down a slope. The Enigma scrabbled on the edge and unfortunately found purchase to clamber back up and continue after the two Order members.

Their lungs and legs were burning and they were tiring. A few more relentless minutes and they would be overtaken. Reno pulled Elena after him, hurrying without the energy he needed, moving down into the ravine. Too late did he realize his mistake, and when the redhead tried to turn around and go back up, it was too late. The Enigma and two of its friends were waiting at the top, crouched and ready to spring. Green drool dribbled down their jaws as they came closer. Elena lifted her gun, panting.

Click. Click.

The two Turks stared at each other in disbelief. The Enigma howled in victory of the hunt. Elena let out a scream of denial as the first Enigma jumped.

Perhaps it was instinct. Perhaps, somewhere, Reno just knew what was going to happen. It felt like a slow-motion dream as Reno fell backwards, pulling Elena down with him as that giant Buster Sword soared over their heads and into the face of the Enigma. The sheer momentum of the old sword shore the monster’s face in half and continued through the body. Reno stayed down and felt hot blood against him as the sword swung back, out of the Enigma carcass. A boot scuffed on stone and the Buster Sword sang again, crashing into another Enigma’s middle, cutting it in half. A spinning follow-through combined with an upward swing took off teeth of the last Enigma, and one foot crossed over the other as the massive weapon swung down in an arching spin, cutting down on the Enigma’s spine as the wielder dodged a strike.

Reno opened his eyes when all went quiet and he stared at the three dead Enigma, wincing at the viciousness with which they had been torn apart. Finally, his gaze rose to rest on their saviour and Reno thought his heart might stop.

“Cloud?”

The swordsman twitched and turned to face Reno and Elena. No, this wasn’t Cloud, Reno realized, swallowing. That hair was too dark a blonde, and those eyes too dark a blue. Besides that, they didn’t glow. The boy’s – for he certainly was that – body was clothed in old black leather, an outfit pieced together from several different outfits. Even his boots lacked laces, held on his feet by small buckled belts. Two knives were sheathed at his hips, and a waist-satchel was tied to his belt. A bracelet made of silver wrapped around his left wrist, and Reno knew the orbs glinting in that metal setting were Materia orbs. That broadsword swung up and over a small shoulder and slid easily into a sheath on the boy’s back.

Elena shuddered. “That’s Denzel.” She whispered.

Reno felt his face drain of colour. “What?”

“It’s not safe here,” the boy, Denzel?, said in a quiet voice. “More will come. This way.”

The swordsman led the two exhausted Order members out of the ravine, through a cliff pass the two had not seen before. He led them to a shack hidden in a thorn thicket and let them inside.

“Denzel?” Elena asked once more. “Are you really Denzel?”

The boy looked at her and shrugged. “I don’t remember. Maybe. The people here call me thinks like Woodwalker and Demon-Slayer. I like Denzel better though.”

Reno sat heavily in a chair and stared at the boy. He was the right age to be Denzel. When Marlene arrived in Sunrise Town, a huge effort had been put into finding Denzel, but there had been no trace of the boy. He had thought to have been lost, like a lot of people had been. Reno flicked a glance to Elena. There was one way to tell. She nodded and reached for Denzel, carefully brushing away his bangs. He slapped her hand away in an instant, but the two had seen it.

Geostigma.

“It came back, didn’t it?” Elena asked.

Denzel rubbed his arm. “Came back. Spread. It killed a lot of us because Midgar was gone and the pool was gone. I survived. It changed me. I had to learn.”

“And the sword?”

Denzel blinked and smiled. “Don’t you recognize it?”

Reno and Elena looked at each other, then to the sword. Finally, they shook their heads a negative. Denzel laughed.

“It’s Zack’s sword. He told me to take it. He said it was time for it to wake up.”

Reno and Elena exchanged glances. Elena looked back to Denzel. “Zack told you?”

Denzel chewed at his thumbnail. “I can hear all of those that are gone. I heard you, that’s how I found you.”

“All of those that are gone?” Reno asked. “Those that are forgotten?”

Denzel gave a short nod. “The voices are loud, so I block them out.” He tapped the headphones around his neck. “But I heard you calling for help, so I came.”

Reno looked at Elena. “You really think he’s our Denzel?”

Elena shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said finally, “but he’s our Denzel now.”

Denzel laughed. “Of course I’m your Denzel. There was never another me like there was another Aerith and Cloud. There was never another you. So when everything broke, you stayed you.”

“There are answers in that skull of yours that we’re gonna have to play games to get, isn’t there?”

“Maybe.”

Reno shook his head and rose. “We have to go back to Sunrise Town. We have to make a report.”

“What about him?” Elena asked.

Denzel looked at them questioningly before realization appeared in those dark blue eyes. “I’ll go too.”

“That settles it then,” Reno said. “We can leave in an hour.”