Chapter Text
Chapter 4: the lost lady and the magic tower
“talking”
‘thinking or writing’
*echo*
—
The grounds of the magical academy had a somber atmosphere. Knights and members of the Magic Ministry ran from all parts of the school, looking for clues of what might have happened last night. The biggest concentration of them was in a plot of land close by, specifically where Lady Katarina Claes' farm was located, or where it used to be located. The once humble farm looked like it was pulled straight from a nightmare; there were signals of claw marks all around the place combined with spots that looked burned. It only got worse as all the destruction pointed towards the forest. The trail of destruction led towards a devastated scene resembling a wildfire had taken place, ending in a cracked tree.
They could confirm it: the place was plagued with dark magic remains, or at least that was what the resident light mage Maria Cambell affirmed. Dark magic was supposed to be a myth to scare off noble children from losing control of their magic, or at least that was what Sienna Nelson had grown to believe until last night.
Katarina Claes was the resident saint of the academy. Thanks to her kindness and her resolve to treat everybody as her equal regardless of their status, she had earned the admiration of many young nobles of Sorcier, Sienna included, and the love of what she could only describe as the most powerful new generation of nobles, including two princes, the son and daughter of the prime minister, and the daughter of a marquis. With her father being a duke and having an excellent relationship with her adopted brother and heir to the position, with their influence alone, nobody dared to mess with her, and those stupid enough who did were quickly dealt with. For this reason, getting into Katarina's inner circle was also incredibly difficult, so Sienna had opted to admire her from afar, far enough from Lady Mary's jealous eye, at least. But last night, while she was working late on a personal project, she had noticed the young lady running towards the forest, chasing something. From what she knew, Katarina had a 'secret garden' in that part of the school; rumors said it was actually a farm, but she honestly couldn't tell if that was just to slander her name or if she actually did it—she was truly an eccentric lady after all. Sienna didn't really give it importance; she had a job to do, so she resumed her work, hoping to end it once and for all. But moments later, she heard something that sent a chill down her spine: the howl of a wolf. She couldn't imagine the size of the creature if it was able to produce a sound like that. She got up and went to the window to look if the creature was around, only to be met with a green glow and smoke coming from the forest.
She doesn't remember the next part well; maybe it was the rush to find someone to inform of the emergency. She managed to inform a teacher who gathered the best water magicians to fight the flames. From what she heard, it took them hours to put them out, not because they spread too much, but because there was something abnormal with them—a green fire that refused to disappear. Not getting a wink of sleep, Sienna was summoned to the area of the disaster to testify what she had seen.
A knight guided her towards a group of people. There was the academy director, a member of the Magic Ministry she could swear she had seen before, and Prince Geordo, who looked pale like he had seen death directly in the eyes.
"Miss Nelson, I assume you know why you are here," the director spoke, trying to break the tension created by everybody's worry.
"Yes, sir. As I said before, I reported the fire as soon as I saw it after hearing a howl from a creature. I stopped working and ran towards the closest teacher," she repeated her words; the looks of the Prince and the ministry member only became more worried, filled with dread.
Being the only one still keeping his composure, the director spoke again, "Did you see someone enter the forest before all this happened?"
Everything clicked for Sienna at that moment: the guards, the Magic Ministry, and the Prince's presence. With fear in her voice, she said the name. "Lady Katarina Claes. She was chasing something small; I couldn't tell what it was."
"Are you sure it was her and not just another lady? She was popular; maybe some other noble," Prince Geordo interjected in front of her. He was famous for keeping a cordial expression all the time; if it wasn't for Katarina and his friends, you wouldn't realize when he was truly happy or annoyed, but all she could see in his face now was despair—all evidence pointed towards a somber end for the young Lady. "It was noon when I saw her. Maybe she is just lost."
The Prince looked at her, realizing she just wanted to give him hope. He tried to say something, anything, but the ministry member put a hand on his shoulder. "We have to tell the others."
Sianna wanted to do something, but the director stopped her. "Leave them alone; they need time to process everything"
The following days weren't kind to her either. As Katarina's friends all came, trying to find something, a clue, something they could latch onto, she gave all she could, and they all left with the same empty look that the prince had. Unfortunately, there were people in the kingdom who saw this as an opportunity, such as Noelia Flores, a bully who thought herself superior to everybody else in the academy. The foolish girl had been obsessed with the position of the prince's fiancée that Katarina held, believing her family deserved to enter royalty out of a sense of entitlement.
"Now that disgrace of a noble was eaten by a beast, a true noble can step up and help Prince Geordo reach the crown," these were her words at the cafeteria. Sienna didn't even want to acknowledge such stupid words; in her joy, Flores managed to say those words out loud, making everybody around her go silent. Everybody there, regardless of their status, looked at her like a delusional lady who didn't know who she was messing with or like a witch who needed to be sent to the nearest pyre. "I remember I had something to talk to a teacher," "I have to write a letter to my father about the fire," that was the excuse her lackeys, members of poor noble families trying to earn the pity of anyone willing to lend them money, used when they realized the major screw-up Noelia had committed, especially when Mary Hunt made her presence known.
"Lady Flores, you seem to possess a positive attitude even with the recent misfortunes that have plagued your family. How much has your father lost already?" While in Katarina's group there were two Princes whom you truly had to take care of, Mary was the most dangerous of all of them. There wasn't a single scandal she wasn't aware of; rumors had it she alone could destroy a noble family if she put her mind to it with the amount of black mail material she gathered. "After all, the last trades with the kingdom of Multaq turned out to be a scam. I hope the damage is not too serious," with a false tone of worry, Mary had delivered a heavy blow to Noelia. While these kinds of events could happen to everybody, reputation was a big deal when it came to financial troubles. No respectable noble would want to make a deal with someone who was not only in debt but also tricked into it in some way. It only showed that they wouldn't be able to make the money back, dragging other families with them.
Sienna took the chance, being done with Noelia's attitude. "I believe I should tell my father to reconsider his potential business partners, then," she said loud enough so those who didn't know what to do with the info Mary gave them knew the next step to take. Soon whispers flooded the room, all slandering the Flores house who in their pursuit of the royalty had lost any sense of grace. Noelia was furious and was about to jump at Sienna since Mary was untouchable for her, but finally becoming aware of her environment, she saw many nobles getting ready as if she was a rabbit surrounded by wolves waiting for the opportunity to strike. "Thank you for your concern, Lady Hunt."
Humiliated, Noelia left the cafeteria with the nasty looks of everybody glued at her back. Afterward, Sienna saw how Mary sat in front of her and gave her an invitation. "I want you to have this, Lady Nelson. I would like to apologize personally for us bothering you these days." Sienna looked at Mary closely and could see her tired expression as she took it. Mary excused herself and also got out of the room. The academy, and especially Katarina's close friends, had lost their sun but still tried to do what was best for everybody, what Lady Katarina would have done. Sienna hoped whatever destiny had in store for Katarina, she would at least get back to them soon; they needed her..
—
The train finally made a stop. Vivi got out as quickly as he could, hoping to catch another train. To his disappointment and surprise, they weren't at a normal stop. Currently, they were on what seemed to be a couple of floating islands. In front of them, there was a dirt path leading to a cylindrical tower with a conical roof reaching into the sky. The exterior was adorned with intricate designs, arches, and magical symbols, giving it an ancient aura.
After getting out and noticing there weren't any more trains for Vivi to take home, Katarina looked at the tower. "Maybe we can go in there and see if they know a path back to Twilight Town for you," she suggested. Katarina then walked towards the entrance via a staircase with a wooden door. After a sigh, Vivi followed her. At first, they did the polite thing and knocked on the door. After an awkward silence and trying again a few times, they noticed the door was open. Seeing no other option, they entered the tower.
Inside, everything seemed normal with only a spiral staircase. Weirdly enough, there was some kind of light in the middle of the path. "Maybe there is someone at the top. Do you want to check it out?" Vivi didn't really want to explore that much; the tower gave him a weird feeling, and he was also worried that the train would leave him stuck there. "I think I'm going to keep an eye on the train just in case," Vivi said. He waited for a response from Katarina, but he didn't hear anything. When he looked to where she used to be, he found out she had disappeared completely. He was about to run away to ask for help, but then he remembered Seifer had been hurt the last time he ran away, so he armed himself with courage, took his struggle staff, and changed towards the weird light.
"Hey Vivi, you have to check this out!" Suddenly, Katarina's head popped out of the light, which scared Vivi, causing him to trip into the light and crash with Katarina. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
As both got up, Vivi was surprised by the sudden change of scenery. They were inside a massive room on top of another staircase, but this time, it seemed the staircase was floating in the air too. When they looked up, they could see another set of stairs floating, seemingly both connected by the magic portals. They kept moving forward until they found themselves in front of a green door with a star symbol. Upon entering, they found themselves in a circular room with a star theme. The only noteworthy thing about it were its doors. The one they came through had an arrow pointing down, and the one in front of them had one pointing up. When they opened it, they found another set of stairs. "This is going to be annoying," Katarina commented after realizing what was coming. After going through a moon-themed room, Vivi started to get tired. "Why do they use stairs when they can teleport? It's like they are adding things to make us take longer," it was weird to see the young mage annoyed but Katarina agreed with him. Finally, they found themselves in front of a door, this time with a bell symbol on it. Expecting another room like the previous ones, a voice surprised them.
"It's bad manners to enter without knocking on the door first." His voice sounded old and raspy. In front of them, there was an old man wearing a blue robe and a magician hat with stars and moons, along with a long beard. "Well, aren't you going to present yourself?" The old man looked at them with a serious expression while he sat at his desk. "Oh, we are sorry; we didn't mean to be rude. We are kind of lost here. My name is Katarina Claes." Vivi then took a step forward. "I am Vivi." Upon hearing them, the old man closed his book. "And I am the sorcerer Yen Sid. If guidance is what you are looking for, then I can provide it."
Katarina smiled and looked at Vivi. "You can go first; I think mine will take a while to explain." Vivi thought about it for a moment. "It's okay; I think you should ask first. Yours seems urgent." Coming to an agreement, Katarina took a deep breath and looked at Yen Sid.
"Well, I don't know where to start. I'm not from here, from this world, I mean." Trying to explain her situation, Yen Sid made a hand gesture to stop her. "I'm well aware of that fact, Katarina. If you are wondering about the location where you woke up and the gifts you received, they came from me." Katarina then took the purse she got from the box. "I think you noticed its magical properties. I hope it continues to be useful. Now, allow me a question as well: did you leave your world willingly?" Her expression changed to an uneasy one. She then summoned Pocchi, surprising Vivi and making Yen Sid curious. "This is my familiar; his name is Pocchi. The night before, he ran away, and I tried to catch him. Then, when I found him, a witch appeared out of nowhere. She started attacking me with these shadowy monsters until this appeared." She then summoned her weapon in front of Yen Sid. "I see; so the Keyblade choose you as its wielder." As Katarina watched her weapon, she could see where the name came from. "It chose me. Why? What even is this thing?" she asked.
"I will answer that question later. For now, continue your story," Katarina nodded. "After that, she summoned a stronger monster that I couldn't defeat. After that, everything is blurred." Finishing her explanation, Yen Sid began to touch his beard as he thought. Then, he raised his hand, and a projection of a shadow appeared. "Was this the creature that attacked you?" Indeed, it was, as Katarina felt a chill running down her back and looked at the creature, a sentiment shared by Vivi. "Yeah, that's the one. What are they?" she asked. "The Heartless are a physical manifestation of the darkness of the hearts. Their main objective is to consume the hearts of other beings and bring them into darkness," Yen Sid explained. "By heart, you mean a literal heart or something else?" Katarina asked. “A person is composed of three crucial elements: heart, body, soul. The heart is a mysterious force that drives us all, you could say it's the spark of life.” Nodding, Katarina passed to her next question. "What is the Keyblade?" Yen Sid looked puzzled. "That's a difficult question, young miss. The origins of the Keyblade go way back, even to someone as ancient as me. Besides theories, I can tell you that the Keyblade is a legendary weapon that is able to defeat the darkness." Katarina then looked at her Keyblade. "Why can I use such an ancient weapon?" she really couldn't tell if it was because she was reincarnated or something else. "The Keyblade chooses its wielder most of the time; sometimes, they just pick someone in need if they have the potential, or sometimes, it just passed on by their master." That didn't really answer her question fully.
"As for the witch you mentioned," with another gesture of his hand, a projection of Maleficent appeared. "Did she look like this?" Katarina gave a quick nod. "She appeared out of nowhere and started talking nonsense. I really didn't pay attention to what she said. She sounded really generic." Yeah, aside from her power and the threat she posed to her friends, Katarina didn't remember the name of the generic witch or whatever she had told her. She was too busy fighting for her life to care, to be honest. "It would be unwise to underestimate her. She is Maleficent, an evil fairy with powerful dark magic. If she is interested in your world, then they might be in terrible danger." The expression of Katarina turned into a more serious one. "How do I return home?”.
"Traveling between worlds is a difficult task when you don't have a clear destiny. Lucky for you, as the master of a Keyblade, you have access to all paths between the worlds if you are willing to master its powers," Yen Sid replied. "Well, do I need a teacher, or do you know of someone who could teach me how to do it?" Part of Katarina was disappointed; no matter what, it seemed she always had to study. "I'm afraid there isn't someone who will be able to teach you," Yen Sid quickly replied. "But why? Is there really nobody who could teach me?" Yen Sid gave her an apologetic look. "I'm afraid that there isn't any Keyblade wielder active that could teach you, and training under me would only hurt your condition," Katarina got weirded out by the last part. "What condition?" Yen Sid then gave her a serious look. "Your heart, or should I say hearts in plural. I had only read theories about people like you, but to see it happen naturally is something I never expected to see in all my years of existence: two hearts in the process of merging into one." Katarina turned pale at the revelation, while Vivi looked confused. "You know about reincarnation?" she could barely keep her composure; it was the secret she had kept since she was eight, fully exposed by this stranger. "I had only seen one or two previous cases documented over centuries, but now I get to see you in person. All that theory makes sense; your existence has a delicate balance between light and darkness. In your case, this manifests in an incredible affinity with darkness, as your familiar proves. But if you were forced to suppress that darkness in favor of the light, that might cause you to lose that balance, causing both your light and darkness to get out of control. Who knows what might happen in such a case," Yen Sid ended his explanation. "And unfortunately, for all my knowledge, I'm quite ignorant in the ways of coexisting with darkness, so you will need to learn on your own for the moment." Katarina tried to process it all while petting Pocchi to relax a little. "So I'm stuck here?" She said, not as a question, but really not knowing what her next move should be, all while processing the new info about reincarnation and how she was merging with the original Katarina apparently while thought about Pocchi returned to sleep in her shadow.
"I think that even if you can't get proper training at the moment, that doesn't mean you are out of options. Your condition is only temporary, thanks to the Keyblade. Since its power is what provoked the merge to begin with, once the process is finished, you should be able to properly master it" Yen Sid replied, but something clicked for her. "Wait, you say the merge just began, but why haven't I been able to talk with the original? I mean, I remembered years ago, but not once have I felt there was another... well, sometimes it felt weird, but..." Katarina tried to explain herself, but her whole existence was confusing for her. Yen Sid then simply asked her, "And what makes you think you aren't the original? There are so many things about your existence that remain a mystery, so I would advise you not to jump to your first conclusions." Katarina got another bomb; it was really difficult to deal with all the implications. Yen Sid was right; she couldn't jump to any conclusions yet. "For now, Katarina, I would like to ask something from you. As we speak, the Heartless keep attacking different worlds to devour their hearts. As a wielder of a Keyblade, you possess the power to open and close everything that has been sealed. In each world, there is a keyhole that leads to the very heart of the world. I ask you to use the Keyblade to seal it to prevent the Heartless from sinking the worlds into darkness as you find your way home." Katarina understood; it seemed like a big responsibility, too big for her especially with all that was happening to her right now, to be honest, but her conscience would not let her go away like that, not if she could help in some way. "I will do my best," Katarina responded a little unsure of herself. Yen Sid thanked her and then focused on Vivi. "I believe you also have a question for me?" Vivi looked a little lost after all the info that had been dropped, so he took a deep breath. "I first came here by accident and wanted to find a way home, but now," he looked at Katarina, "is it possible for me to follow Katarina in her travels?" he asked, surprising Katarina. "But Vivi, this is going to be dangerous; the Heartless are no joke, and who knows what else is out there," Katarina warned Vivi; she didn't want to drag someone into her mess. "You took the time to save my friends when I ran away. I want to learn to be brave like you," Yen Sid looked at him, and with a snap of his finger, a wooden staff appeared and floated into Vivi’s hands. "The decision is up to Katarina, but you have great potential in magic. That staff should be better to bring it out than the toy you are using now," Vivi took the staff and then looked at Katarina with determination. For a moment, he reminded her of her friend Sofia, and then she knew there wouldn't be a way to talk him out of it. "Alright, I guess you can come," Vivi then raised his fist; Katarina understood what he tried, and they did a fist bump. Then both looked at Yen Sid. "How do we leave, then?" Katarina asked. Yen Sid stood. "I'm going to send you to a world where you will be able to get transport for your travel," he handed Katarina a big quantity of munny. "From there, you will be free to choose your own route. Just try to follow your heart," he said to her as he began to prepare a spell. "Oh, and one last thing: if you ever meet a royal guard named Goofy and a royal mage named Donald in your travels, tell them to visit me when they have the chance." Finally casting the spell, Katarina and Vivi disappeared in a smoke screen. "May your hearts be the guiding key," was the last word they heard from him.
---
Katarina then felt something cold on her back. She realized she was on the floor. Opening her eyes, she saw the sky filled with stars, but something was weird; she could also see a city, as if she was seeing it from a really high perspective. She looked to the horizon, and again she saw the sky, only this time she saw a big ship navigating the space as if it was an ocean..