The Broken Chapter 3
#2 of The Broken
"PIERCE," Screamed Andrea as she rounded the corner only to see her beloved dragged into a portal of darkness. Her eyes went wide as they weren't alone. Hundreds of tiny black creatures with glowing yellow eyes and long black antennae poured free from the portal. The red head stood still for a few moments before the heartless all focused on her and began to run.
She turned quickly and began to run finding the nearest alcove and slipping inside she pressed her back hard against the wall as the shadows ran by in force. She did her best to hold her breath trying not to make a sound as the hissing of the creatures let her know they were still nearby. It wasn't long before one of the smaller ones spilt off from the main group to find her.
Andrea continued to hold her breath as the creature walked right by her continuing on down the alleyway. She knew this may very well be her only opportunity to escape and so turned out of the alcove directly into a group of large heartless. She yelped in surprise turning to run only to see the other end of the alley was blocked off by another group.
Fear welled up inside her as she started to lose hope before a man in a long black trench coat tore through the heartless in front of her with a pair of blades. Looking up he whipped his red and black braid out of his face showing a long scar over his right eye while speaking, "Best get a move on."
The man stood up standing taller than she with his two blades at the ready, one a straight edged tanto while the other was curved all the way back around his knuckles. He smirked slightly with a kind look behind his green eyes making the girl trust him almost instantly. There was just something heroic about him she thought and it reminded her of Pierce.
The man slipped his tanto away into one of the sheath's on his chest harness beneath the coat before offering a hand. Andrea took it and with that they were off running through the streets as fast as their feet would take them.
"Where are we going," Shouted Andrea as the man held on a little tighter.
"To Taylor. He's guarding the gateway. It's our only way outta here," Replied the man as he deftly wrapped his arm around Andrea and made an impossible leap from the ground to the rooftops. He held the woman with one arm as he leapt from roof to roof avoiding the heartless for now.
Andrea let out a scream as they were airborne and didn't seem to stop all along the rooftops until the man set her down and put a finger to her lips, "Hey now. We are trying to get away from them not call every one of them to us."
"H...how... What's happening? Who... What are you," Asked Andrea as she shook her head, her heart racing faster than she'd ever felt before.
The man grinned slightly and nodded, "I suppose explanations are in order. I'm Rukan... and my friend we are going to is Taylor. We are sort of lost in the worlds but we found a way to get away from most of the bad places by traveling through these gateways. You're lucky we got here in time. Those Heartless are no laughing matter. Taylor is guarding the gate while I searched for survivors."
"W... We can't go! My friends... my family," Said Andrea as she looked down with tears in her grey eyes.
Rukan put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head, "I'm sorry... You're the only one I found. We have to get out of here before they find the heart of this world. If we don't we'll be stuck in the darkness forever."
Andrea's eyes went wide at the revelation that she was the only one left and her tears flowed freely. Her world was lost and everyone she knew was gone. Kyten and Pierce along with everyone else she knew in Tanyo.
Rukan shook his head with a sigh and walking forward he embraced the girl and hefted her easily into his arms. He was off again letting her have her moments of remorse on the trip to the portal. Tanyo was small and so they were there in minutes. Landing near the bright beam of light Rukan looked about setting Andrea down.
"Taylor," Shouted Rukan inquisitively as not a hair of his friend could be seen. Gunfire could be heard in a nearby alley making him frown deeply as he ran forward into the alley leaving Andrea behind.
Sitting in the twilight of the day leaving her behind Andrea looked to the bright light with tears still streaming down her face. It was in the light she found something constant to hold onto in this time of sorrow. She looked into its brilliance and frowned as she spoke to herself, "Places away from here... Other worlds..."
Looking to the sky as it began to darken with heavy ominous clouds she nodded to herself. Any place is better than this place. Stepping forward into the light she found herself reeling through the tunnels between worlds. When she landed hard in a pile of snow she let out a cry of pain while her insides were still churning from the journey.
It took her a few moments before she stood herself up and looked around confused as to where she could be. It was then she saw that she was on a great mountain slope. Gasping loudly Andrea looked around pressing her back against the stone. Far below she saw a village with a strange well in the center of its cobblestone square. The architecture was foreign to her with blue roofs and prominent cross trusses on the houses. Not too far from the village was a large building that seemed abandoned.
"Hey down there! You need help," Came a feminine shout from above her making Andrea look up.
A white and black husky female was lowering a rope to the girl on the ledge. Andrea didn't know what to think of the situation. Obviously she was in danger but of course she had never seen a husky person before as well. She figured meeting something not of her species was a better choice than falling down the cliffs so she took the rope tightly in her hands and was lifted up to a safer place.
"How in the world did you get down there? You coulda been hurt," Said the blue eyed husky woman as she sat back against a rock. She was adorned in white chainmail with a blue cross on her chest while her voice had a distinct irish tinge to it. It was difficult for Andrea to understand at first but after some time she understood.
"I... I'm sorry I... I don't know how I got there," Replied the girl from Tanyo as she brushed her red hair out of her face.
Looking into her eyes the husky gasped shaking her head, "Oh you poor dear. Let's get you somewhere warm and safe. You can stop hiding Valdren."
A young looking red and white husky stepped out from behind a rock nearby and nodded slowly. His red eyes were haunting in a way Andrea couldn't put her fingers on. He was dressed in a uniform with a large shoulder pad bearing the letters W.R.O. while the rest looked like it was designed to keep him warm.
Over his shoulder was slung a rifle or sorts that Andrea had never seen before, though guns weren't common in Tanyo. He nodded to her as he spoke with a rather different accent than his mother, "I heard your calls for help but those eyes..."
"Valdren! She's just a girl. Come along my boy has much to learn still it seems," Said the husky woman as she nodded up the snowy path further up the mountain.
Their journey to the summit was quiet aside from their footsteps and Andrea was quite happy when they reached a decently sized home and a small village built around it. It was tiny compared to the one Andrea had seen before but still it was a welcomed sight.
Wandering into the largest of the buildings Andrea took a deep breath smiling as she wasn't shivering anymore. The Husky woman smiled and nodded as she guided them into a small room with a table. She left Valdren and Andrea alone for only a few moments before bringing in a tray with three mugs of what smelled like cider.
Andrea took the drink and sipped before smiling happily to the woman that had helped her. She watched as the one that had saved her took a seat across the table and spoke softly, "So who are you? You're not from around here judging by your look. Look like you came from the coast actually. Long way to wander that's for sure."
"I... I'm Andrea. I'm from Tanyo."
"I've never heard of Tanyo. You sure you remember the name right," Said Valdren quickly as he looked to her suspiciously.
"What I think my son is trying to say is... You must have had a hard journey. I'm Shino Tsukasa and my son is Valdren Tsukasa. Welcome to my home Andrea," Replied Shino with a smile and a nod.
The door to the home opened making everyone turn in their chairs as Shino stood herself up. A huge red fox man stepped into the room quiet as he saw the human in the chair. Looking into her eyes with his own grey orbs made him quirk a brow before taking Shino into his arms. He looked dirty as if he had been out in the wilderness for a long period of time and his voice was deep and mighty, "It's good to see you Shino and Valdren. I wasn't aware that we would have company."
Shino nodded slowly, "Nor did I. Valdren heard her on the mountain side. I'm afraid she doesn't know how she got there."
The man nodded slowly before leaning down, "I'm Ivellios. Valdren's father and Shino's husband. You are welcome to stay as long as you need to. I'm all too familiar with memory loss. What I found works best is to remember the last thing I could."
Andrea nodded slowly, "I don't have a memory problem. I was in Tanyo when we were attacked by these black things and a man in a black robe. Then this other man helped me to a pillar of light. I stepped in and I ended up here."
Ivellios quirked a brow a bit higher than before and nodded, "I see... We will talk about this later. For now let's keep a wrap on it. Don't want people thinkin you're crazy."
Andrea nodded slowly and took another sip from her cider. The four sat in the quiet for some time before Valdren spoke, "So Reeve thinks that Edge will be done soon. With all that mess with the Deep Ground behind us we have had a real chance to recover."
"That's good to hear. At least those people will have a home again," Replied Shino with a smile.
Ivellios shrugged and frowned a little, "City life ain't what it's all cracked up to be. I would have thought people would have learned the dangers of industry a long time ago."
Valdren tilted his head slightly before speaking again, "I don't mind Edge. It's had its hardships but in general it works. It's not like its Midgar or anything."
"Midgar took a long time to become what it did Valdren. Just give it time and Edge will be the same. Just trust me son it's not worth getting tangled up in the city life. It's a mess of people devouring each other's hopes and dreams to come out on top. It's ruthless," Replied Ivellios.
Andrea bit her lip as she had no idea what they were talking about. Ivellios caught this and nodded, "Andrea we can have that talk in the study if you want."
The red head nodded slowly as she stood up and spoke softly, "Thank you for your hospitality Shino."
Ivellios led the way out of the room and into the nearby study. The walls were covered in books, many looked like they hadn't been touched in years from the sheer amount of dust on them. Looking around she was amazed at the refinement of the place in comparison to the simple family.
"So you've come from another world have you. The others don't know of their existence but I've witnessed it first hand before. This man in black you spoke of, did you see his face," Asked Ivellios as he took a seat in a large armchair.
Andrea took a seat on the leather couch and shook her head slowly, "I'm afraid I didn't. He was dragging off my boyfriend into a black portal."
"I'm sorry for your loss... Was there anything notable about them at all," Asked the fox as he sat forward putting his big hands on his knees.
The girl looked down and closed her eyes as she replayed the scene in her head. She saw it then, the object held in the man in black's left hand. Looking up she spoke softly, "Yes. He had something. He was holding it in his left hand. It looked like it was made out of bone. It had a really long blade at the end and little teeth on one side."
Ivellios nodded slowly with a sigh, "Then it's as I thought. Our monster has become your monster. I'm sorry we didn't kill him when we had the chance but you have to understand... he was dear to many of us before he became what he is now."
"You know him?"
"Yes... He's my father in law."