Shadow of a Doubt (Luxord)

((I'm going to play in a minor sense with the chronological events as displayed in Era's journal. This one should surface as entry number 6 once I put it on the roster. And congratulations to Luxord for the longest post I've ever made! *Cheers*))

Traverse Town was beginning to be like a second home to her. She'd been here so frequently on her journey that she could almost walk the city with her eyes closed... Or the front (and far less dangerous) half of it, anyway.

It wasn't as often that she would linger near the 'Heartless Hotspots', as the deeper districts were so referenced. In fact, she hardly ever came this far in. Not on her own free will, anyway. What little Era knew of the Third District she had picked up during only two distinct visits to this part: the first was during the face-off with her Heartless, and the second was that brief time she'd wound up here after fighting through the path between worlds.

Now, she was here again. And for the first time, completely of her own accord.

But what was a peculiarly optimistic individual like herself doing in the most dangerous section of town?

Well, she was looking for traces. Evidence. Something left behind that might just help her distinguish where he might be now. But the type of evidence she was looking for was not necessarily physical. Rather, it had everything to do with memories.

By coming here, she'd hoped to jog her memory of everything that had happened up until that creepy Heartless leader had taken her away. By recollecting these precious and delicate pieces of the past, perhaps she could get a glimpse of where he was at the present. Perhaps a small nugget of truth that might point her in the right direction...

Some place she might be able to find him.

As her feet carried her toward the center of the district, a barrage of memories flooded her mind like a Tsunami over a barricade, slamming her core with images of the past that were harmfully precise:



"Fight. That's all we can ever really do anyways, right?"

"Stay with me, I got your back. Keep close, you hear?"

She froze in place, petrified by the way the memories were clawing at her gut.

"Rook.. Rook! What's happening to me?!"

"Era? Come on... you gotta come back to me, we said we were gonna destroy Erax, right..?"

The sheer terror of that black bullet piercing his chest.

"Rook.. Rook, you've gotta fight through this! I'll fight for you, I promise. But only if you fight for me!"[/i]


Another ominous Heartless.

_{"Era... just go. Get outta here... I'll hold him off..."}

"Don't hurt him..."

"I'll do what you want, just don't hurt him..."

" 'Come back for me!' Oh come now, Era! You don't really expect to find him, do you? Pathetic!"

The cold mockery jerked her mind from her memories to the present. While lost in her reverie, the temperature in this district had become far more frigid -- a realization that was only now dawning on the girl.

She knew exactly who this demon was. And had half expected her to surface. It was a gamble she had to take in order to brave this sector. And it was a gamble she had yet to regret.

"Don't you understand? He's given up on you!" the Demon's voice was tugging on her Heartstrings... And who would know how better than her own personal hellhound?

Frost-colored blue eyes shifted from structure to structure as Era tried to trace the origin of her tormentor. "You lie!"

"Do I? Then why has it taken him so long to come back for you? Unless maybe... he's dead." The last part was poignant, as though to rub it in the Somebody's face.

"No, Erax. My Heart tells me he's alive." By now the girl was taking a calm pace toward the exit. If she could just get back to the First District, she wouldn't have to worry about him any longer.

"Pfft!" The Heartless' shrill laugh sent a wave of chills down Era's back. "You Humans are far too dependent on those deceitful Hearts of yours! Give it a rest. No one is buying your nonsense."

"In fact... Why don't you join me? You and I both know that giving into the Darkness would be so much easier on you. And just imagine what you and I could accomplish together!"

Era paused in her tracks again, interrupted by another harsh flashback. She had never had to fight her Heartless as hard as she had to fight Nightmare that fateful evening. She had never been so afraid until she saw her friend's life flash before her eyes... And she could do nothing to protect him. She couldn't do anything to protect him because she was the one with the weapon drawn to kill.

Her voice was as dead cold as her eyes had become. A frigid, rock-hard confidence had taken over the girl: a defense mechanism that masked the fear screaming at her to flee. "No, Erax. I would not side with you even if I had no other choice." Her hands reached for the cool steel handles that belonged to the barrier between the first and second districts.

The wily Heartless had Era in her grasp. There was no way she was going to give up and let the girl get away. And so, she came up with a wry plan to lure her back inside.

"Don't you want to know what happened to Rook?" Shadows along the corner of the wall began to stir, and a small black Dragon took its form.

The words locked her in place yet again. And, with a hesitant sigh, she turned on her heel, interest perked by her enemy's bait. But she wasn't dumb enough to blindly believe whatever the little devil had to say. She may have been innocent, but the cogs of her mind were still sharp.

And right now, they were going to figure out how to get the information she needed, and get out on top.

Once she'd set sight to all that was behind her, her sights locked onto the familiar silhouetee in the corner that hadn't been there before. Erax had just given herself away.

Era's hands opened as she forced energy into her palms. The sound of crackling ice broke into the atmosphere, and a web of frost began to form from her palms forward, out from which shadows began to take shape.

Once formed, the gravity took hold of the Soul Reapers, and they dropped into place in the iron grasp of her hands. Inky black wisps danced off the body of her weapons. Era was ready for this. "I do want to know. And you're going to tell me as much as you can!"

And with a spring in her delicate step, Era took a flying lunge at the hellion before her.

And, to her astonishment, she'd actually pierced the connection point between the Heartless' wing and upper body... But the beast had been known to make quicker evasions before.

"Foolish Human!" the beast seethed, phasing back into the shadows that had spawned her. "Don't you realize that it'll take more than shadows to effect me?"

There would only be one real reason why Erax would've taken a hit like this so willingly...

And as realization donned on the young female, she took a few wary steps back, frost-colored gaze darting from structure to structure in double-time in an attempt to unveil the Heartless' intentions.

She knew Erax had a tendency to strike from any direction, but from which direction would assault come charging this time?

Left was secure. Right looked clear. A mere glance behind - nothing. So then --

Her breath spiked as a pair of cold onyx claws bit into her shoulder. The impending attack had come from the front. The next time, she'd have to make sure she was quick enough to find it before it found her.

Tightening the grip on the Soul Reaper in her free hand, Era forced a chill through the inky black blade. The tip of it cracked with a thin layer of frost, and without hesitation, she used the reinforced weapon to break the black spikes holding her shoulder in place.

The female staggered back, re-analyzing her opponent. She had a tendency of plowing into things with cold feet, and living to regret that decision later. Yet somehow, whether through wit or stupidity, she had never learned from that fateful recurrence.

Now, she stood in the Third District in a second under-handed face-off with her Heartless. The only difference was that this time, she was alone. This time, the Light wasn't here to save her.

It seemed she hadn't thought visiting through this part of town a thorough thinking through before she moseyed right in. Now, standing pitted in an unlucky battle against her own personal demon, she was beginning to regret that whimsical nature of hers.