//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Hopeful Dusk // Story: Kingdom Hearts: Path of Two Suns // by Ze1a7in //------------------------------// Kingdom Hearts: Path of Two Suns Chapter 1 Hopeful Dusk ‘Ok, I know I used magic to reinforce the sledgehammer for that strike, but I don’t remember casting a transmutation spell!’ Was the first of many thoughts to rush through Sunset’s head as she inspected the simple, yet elegant weapon she now held in her right hand. The hand-grip was a solid gold in color, with a deep red hand-guard not dissimilar in design to a rapier’s. The body of the blade was comprised of two blade-like lengths of metal, with a gap between them. The top length was gold in color, while the bottom length was the same deep red, and both were sharp along the edge facing in the same direction as the hand-guard. What was, in Sunset’s opinion, the most striking part of the weapon was its head, which was in the shape of a two-toned sun reminiscent of her Cutie Mark, gold on one half and red on the other, with four rays coming out of it, two red & two gold. A small piece of gold metal extended from the base of the sun and connected to the red blade, most likely to provide support for the head. A red and gold keychain extended from the base of the handle, and hanging off the end was a miniature version of Sunset’s Cutie Mark. ‘What is this thing?! It looks like a cross between a sword and a giant key! And why did it just appear out of nowhere?! Did I summon it?’ Sunset was cut off from silently asking anymore questions when the weapon gave off a slight glow, followed by Sunset clutching her head with her free hand. As she did, she saw visions of a silhouette holding the exact same sword with one hand, and fighting an invisible foe. The movements they made were almost like a dance, if Sunset had to describe it. She also saw the silhouette’s free hand surrounded in an aura of what could only be magic, and they were casting spell after spell from their hand. Suddenly the glow died, and the silhouette gripped the sword with both hands, before pulling the weapon in two. Instead of the sword being destroyed, Sunset saw two new swords, one in each of the figure’s hands. The figure then proceeded to fight an invisible foe again, once more utilizing a fighting style akin to a dance. Just as suddenly as the visions began, they vanished, leaving Sunset lightly panting from the shock. ‘W-what were those visions? Did the Keyblade show me them? Wait… Keyblade? How do I know that term? It sounds fitting for the weapon though, and it’s not like I have any better options. But why did it show me those visions? Was it trying to teach me how to fight? Not sure, but it also showed the figure using magic, and that is at least something I know how to do.’ Sunset remembered the figure’s free hand being covered in a magical aura, and suddenly she knew exactly how to call that same aura. Sunset concentrated for a moment, searching inside of herself for the spark of magic she felt earlier, and after finding it, she focused on creating the aura around her left hand. Her effort was rewarded when, after a few moments, her hand became encased in a white light. ‘Ok, so the vision did more than just show me how to fight, it gave me the knowledge, and possibly skill, to do so!’ Sunset broke out into a smile, her earlier fear forgotten as she faced down the Shadows, which had been keeping a wary distance from her after the Keyblade appeared. “You want to fight? Then let’s fight!” Sunset shouted at the creatures with a newfound confidence, before adopting a defensive stance with her keyblade. She didn’t have to wait long for one of them to attack, as the one she hit with the sledgehammer earlier lunged towards her. Instead of panicking like before, this time Sunset rolled to the side before unleashing a beam of fire from her left hand at the Shadow, and with the Shadow being in mid-lunge, the beam struck true, incinerating the Shadow. Sunset didn’t have time to feel good about herself, as her roll had put her next to one of the other Shadows. Thinking fast, Sunset spun on her heel, slashing through the creature with the Keyblade and dispersing its darkness. ‘Huh. Guess these guys aren’t that strong. Still, I shouldn’t let my guard down!’ As soon as Sunset was finished thinking this, she realized that two more of the Heartless had jumped at her at the same time. Not having enough time to dodge, Sunset went with her instincts, calling upon a shield spell. The light around her hand grew brighter, before a dome shield of transparent golden energy appeared before her, causing the Heartless to smack into it and fall to the ground stunned, where they just stood in place with their head lolling from side to side, complete with little stars circling around their head. Sunset, not wanting to miss an opportunity, quickly willed her shield into two magic swords, which she used to cut the two Heartless multiple times until they dispersed. Immediately after dismissing the swords however, Sunset felt a bit of fatigue, and also saw that the light around her hand had vanished. She noticed the fatigue wasn’t enough to lessen her fighting skill, but more of the type she remembered occurring from magic exhaustion when she was a filly. ‘Guess I only have a limited amount of magic I can use before exhausting it. Going to have to keep that in mind. Guess now’s as good a time as any to try that two-sword thing from the vision!’ Sunset thought to herself, before placing her left hand on the grip like the silhouette had done. She then proceeded to pull her Keyblade apart, and was a little surprised at how both blades were just as big as the original, somehow. The one in her right hand was still gold, but now those parts that had been red were replaced by an alabaster white, including in her Cutie Mark on the keychain. Sunset could sense a protective aura coming from the blade, almost as if it wished to protect others. Looking closer, Sunset was able to tell that the white parts seemed to glow with a soft, soothing light. Looking over to the keyblade in her left hand, Sunset saw that this one was red, with the gold replaced by a deep black. Sunset could also sense an aura from this Keyblade, only instead of protective, this one felt destructive, as if it wished to inflict pain upon others. Slightly unnerved by this, she was even more unnerved when she noticed the black sections seemed to be sucking the light out of the air near them. ‘Ok, that worked. And given how I’ve been fighting with just one like I had months of training, I think it’s safe to assume those visions gave me the ability to fight with both of these just as well.’ Sunset then returned her attention to the six remaining enemies. ‘Well, guess I can end this quick.’ Any further musings were cut short when all six Shadows rushed her at the same time. Sunset just took a stance with both blades, and met them head on. Gilda could only watch in stunned silence as she saw Sunset fight the creatures with some weird key-shaped sword and magic. Actual magic! Gilda had heard the rumors about Sunset being from a world of magical pastel ponies, but she had just dismissed because it sounded lame. Now? She wasn’t so sure, and not just about the pony rumor. That was just background thoughts, to a single question that just kept asking itself over and over in her head. ‘Why did she save us? Why is she putting her life on the line to save us? To save ME?! Shimmer wouldn’t have stuck her neck out for anyone before the Fall Formal, but she was just acting all nice afterwards, wasn’t she? She never changed, Anon-a-Miss is proof of that!’ While these thoughts were going through Gilda’s head, she had just seen Sunset split her sword into two, and was proceeding to carve up the remaining six creatures in what could only be described as a dance of claws and blades. Eventually, Gilda’s mind turned to a single question that she hadn’t given any thought to before that night. ‘What if Shimmer isn’t Anon-a-miss?’ Gilda felt anger and hate well up inside her. Did she trust Shimmer? Not as far as she could throw her. Did she like Shimmer? Hell no! But if Shimmer wasn’t Anon-a-miss, then whoever was framing her was playing CHS for fools, and succeeding. If there was one thing Gilda hated more than Shimmer, it was being played for a fool. NO ONE played Gilda for a fool. That hate soon morphed into horror as she spotted a figure rise up behind Sunset, claws poised to strike. The words left Gilda’s mouth before she had even realized she was speaking. “Shimmer, behind you!” Sunset panted heavily after dispatching the last of the Shadows, the adrenalin wearing off and physical exhaustion mixing with magical exhaustion. Her muscles felt as if she had used them to compete in a triathlon, not used to the movements she had made while fighting. Sunset also felt that the knowledge and skill she had gained from the visions had left her, except for the magic. She had noticed that after splitting the first Keyblade into two keyblades, her strikes had seemed half as powerful. ‘Makes sense, in a way. I literally pulled it in half to summon them, so they would only be half as stro-’ “Shimmer, behind you!” Sunset didn’t even think about how it was Gilda’s voice shouting that as she spun around, swinging her left keyblade as she turned. In the brief moments before losing consciousness, Sunset registered two things. The first was the sight of her weapon slicing into the Neoshadow, and getting stuck halfway. The second was the Heartless’ claws slashing down her back. And then… darkness.