Aqueous Transgression [Raen, Zack]

[Aerith]

Home Again
--------
[Timeline Note: July 15th]

Coming home had, so far, been what Lanying had expected. After visiting her house and being greeted with much adoration by her people, she had been summoned to the Emperor's throne room. Confident that Raen and Zack would be lavished with every comfort they could be offered, she had gone alone to her audience with the Emperor.

To her amazement, the Emperor spoke to her about a secret that only he and his predecessors had known for generations. While it was widely known that this world was devoid of dragons--despite its name--he told her this was, in fact, not true.

There was one remaining. In a way.

It was the ancient spirit of a dragon that had long stood guard over this world, but when the Heartless had invaded, this dragon had sealed itself away rather than risk its destruction. For, the Emperor had said, this world was closely connected to that dragon spirit and its brethren. They helped keep the world in balance, yin and yang. This ensured the world persisted naturally.

But now, the Emperor had felt stirrings of this great dragon spirit, and Lanying had explained this must have been when she had heard that voice. When she had showed the Emperor her Keyblade, he had known there was no question about it. She needed to find this dragon and release it from its self-imposed bonds so that she might attain greater power for her journey.

To do this, he had told her, she needed to seek the dwelling place hidden in the high mountains of the world. And so, after collecting Raen and Zack and explaining the situation to them, they headed for the mountains.

Snow, snow, so much snow. The Emperor couldn't tell her the exact location of this dwelling, the only words of wisdom offered being to trust in her own instincts and in her new Keyblade. No matter how serene she tried to be, it was still a little frustrating wandering around blindly in all this snow. She wondered if Raen and Zack could be of some help or if this was something she would have to do completely on her own.

"Do either of you see anything that looks like it might be the home of an ancient dragon spirit?"

[Nothingness]

Feels Like Home

After that amazingly strange business in the Keyblade Graveyard, Raen pretty much assumed that they were all agreed for a nice, normal stop. Not only that, but Lanying also seemed pretty down in the dumps (he may have sensed her emotions and recognized the homesickness), so he figured that stopping in Land of Dragons would be a good idea for everyone.

And what a good idea it turned out to be! Once they had gotten in to the city, Lanying dropped them off at her place, and Raen could only assume that this was as close to the royal-treatment as he and Zack would ever get. Free food, very nice people, nice place. Yeah, this was the high-life alright. And, unfortunately, just as he was getting to know a nice young lady, Lanying had returned and needed their help with something she had to do. Though, to Raen, it sounded like it was something else that she should do by herself, but if she needed their help then he couldn't deny her.

After a somewhat arduous trip up the mountains and on to its snow-covered peak, Raen felt a little better. For one thing, there wasn't a bombardment of various emotions to block out, and secondly, it was cold, and that was just to his liking. He was squatting in the snow, tracing lines in the snow with the tip of his sword, looking around. He hadn't the faintest idea of where to look for an ancient dragon spirit. "Well, seeing as how it's an animal spirit...well, sort of an animal. Divine being of sorts? Would that be more accurate? Anyway, I can't sense anything of animals, so I don't know." He stopped tracing and looked at the doodle he made. It looked like some Rorschach-blot, but not colored in. Wiping his hand across it, he stood up and said, "Maybe there's some sort of shrine dedicated to him?"

[Zack]

Zack was, suffice to say, a bit disappointed in himself for missing so much on their last visit. Lanying had received a keyblade her and Raen had fought some suit of armor thing. He wished he had been there to help, but he hadn't been. He really wanted to head back to the Coliseum and train, but they ended up headed for Lanying's homeworld. Ultimately that was more interesting to Zack, so he couldn't complain too much.

It was much different than what he was used to, and maybe a bit overwhelming. Raen and him were being treated like royalty, but Zack didn't really like it all that much. Raen seemed to be all for it, but he just opted to training while they waited for Lanying to come back from whatever she had been up to.

And she soon came back, explaining that she needed help with something. Zack being the hero-in-training that he was, couldn't possibly say no and soon they were off to the mountains. It was snowy and cold, but neither of those tended to bother Zack. Lanying asked both of them if they could see anything. "All I see is snow and mountain," he said as he looked around. "Don't we have anything more to go on?"

[Aerith]

This is certainly new
--------

Lanying kicked a bit of snow up and looked around again. Zack was right. Everywhere, there was just ice, snow, rocks, and more snow. There had to be some clue, something to point them in the right direction. But the Emperor had given her nothing. She had traveled through these mountains many times, but she had never seen anything resembling a shrine to a dragon deity.

Trust in my Keyblade, hmm? What in the world does that mean?

Almost without thinking, she summoned Maelstrom's Dragon to her hand and looked at it curiously. Ruby eyes glittered up at her, and that wide mouth gaped. How was this supposed to help her find the shrine?

Small One. You have come. That is pleasing to me.

Lanying put her free hand to her head, though she quickly looked back at her Keyblade with widened eyes. Water trickled from the mouth, much as it had in the Keyblade Graveyard. But this water moved of its own accord, twisting through the air, leaving a frozen trail in its wake.

With a gasp, she broke into a run, following this strange sight as it wound over rises and bends, leading her into parts of the mountains she had never seen before. Unaware of whether or not Zack and Raen were following her, she at least slid down a small slope and ended up in front of a large, ornate door made of stone. Ancient Chinese characters, some even she didn't recognize covered the door in an almost incantation-like way. Wards to guard against intrusion.

Release the seal, Small One, and enter.

The knowledge she needed suddenly filled her head, and she held the Keyblade out in front of her, pointed straight at the stone door. Light gathered at the end and shot toward the door, the sound of something unlocking echoing loudly throughout the area.

The door slid open with a very pronounced groan.

She just stood there for a long moment and then finally decided to look around for Raen and Zack.

[Zack]

Zack continued looking around, but to no prevail. It didn't look like whatever they were looking for was here at all. "You sure this Emperor guy couldn't have been mistaken?" he questioned, but he was soon distracted by seeing Lanying's keyblade for the first time. It was quite interesting looking and it was definitely not what he was expecting. Then again he had only seen a couple of keyblades before, so who knew how many shapes there were.

And then something came out of the dragon's mouth on the keyblade and Lanying chased after it. "H-hey! Wait up, Lanying!" he barely managed to say before chasing after her. It was a bit hard in the snow but he somehow managed to keep up with her. He managed to catch up just as she used her keyblade to unlock a big stone door.

"Well, I'm guessing this is the place," he stated plainly not sure what else to really say at this point.

[Nothingness]

You Act Like You've Never Seen a Hidden Passage

Raen barely had time to notice Lanying running off, followed by Zack, he'd been so busy looking around. Quickly taking the chase, he managed to catch up with Zack just before he had caught up with Lanying. Raen was pretty impressed with what Lanying did to find the hidden door. "I heard the Keyblades had the power to unlock anything, but that was impressive." Hearing Zack state the obvious prompted an even more obvious response from Raen. "Are we going in, or..?" It was Lanying's call for the rest of this trek.

[Aerith]

Trials? How many more times will I have to prove "my worth"?
--------

Knowing that Raen and Zack were with her, she nodded to Raen's half-question. Truth be told, she was a little wary of what they would find inside. After all, hearing strange voices was usually a sign of mental degradation. "Yes. We are going inside."

Taking a deep breath, Lanying entered the cavernous chamber--which turned out to be a long hallway leading into darkness--beyond the door. Something must have resonated with the Keyblade, because a bright, glowing aura appeared around it, effectively turning it into a torch.

Now, she could see many more characters carved into the walls, but they all seemed to vanish just as she passed. Then, intricate carvings of dragons and other long-forgotten gods joined the writing, also fated to melt away as Lanying went deeper into the passage.

Eventually, the hallway opened into a huge chamber, the dimensions of which Lanying could not even begin to guess. Large beacons of flame burst into life all around the room, causing the light around her Keyblade to disperse. At the far end of the room was an enormous dragon statue unlike any she had ever seen.

She suddenly knew.

This was the origin of the voice she had been hearing.

Welcome, Small One. I see you have brought companions. That is well. They must not, however, interfere.

"Interfere with what?"

The trials, Small One. To judge your worth to bear my power.

Lanying was not aware, but now that they were in such close proximity to the spirit, both Raen and Zack were able to hear its voice, as well.

[Nothingness]

Now I Have a Reason to Do Nothing

Well, wasn't that nice? After that walk through a very strange underground passage, lit by Keylight, they came upon a massive room. As the cathedral-like room was lit by what looked to be an endless number of candles, Raen could scarcely make out the statue of a large dragon at the end of the room. At first, he didn't understand where the voice was coming from, but it became apparent very quickly that it was the statue, or more rather, the spirit within it. So, neither he nor Zack were allowed to interfere? Fun. Being in the cheering section yet again. Smirking and patting Lanying on the shoulder, he said with a bit of wit, "You trashed that tin can well enough--what's a few more tests, right?"

[Zack]

Raen was right behind Zack and asking if they were going to head in. It seemed both of them were not really sure what to say at this point, it was all up to Lanying now. Soon she told them they were and he followed after her into the cavern. It was dark, but Lanying's keyblade took care of that problem and soon they reached a chamber that had a giant dragon statue.

"Wow, that's some statue," he said as he looked at it. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. Before he knew it though a voice was speaking and it took Zack by surprise. He looked over at the statue and as strange as it sounded it seemed to come from that. He was talking about testing Lanying and how he and Raen couldn't interfere. He was getting really tired of having to sit by, and for some reason Raen was letting it go easily.

Zack however wasn't going to. "Raen, how can you just be okay with this?" he asked quite clearly not okay with having to standby again. He looked back over at Lanying. "I know you can handle yourself just fine....but I want to help. I'm sick of not helping," The look in his eyes was a mix of determination, anger, and sadness. He was going to have a hard time not being able to do anything again.

[Aerith]

The First Trial
--------

Lanying turned to Zack with appreciative eyes. "Zack. Just one more time. Let me do this myself. I need to."

Separating herself from them, she moved closer to the center of the room and the statue. "What are these trials? I am ready."

To house my spirit, you must first purge yourself of three things. I am a spirit of balance, and the one who bears me must have all thoughts and emotions in balance. In you, I sense great imbalance.

At first, this incensed Lanying until she realized that was exactly what the dragon meant. Try as she might, even under the personal tutelage of the Emperor, she could not always maintain the serenity so prized by her people.

"What must I do?"

First, you must purge yourself of your deepest wound. Second, you must rid yourself of the object of your greatest anger. And at last, you must face and overcome your greatest fear.

Great trials, indeed. Lanying nodded at the dragon statue. "Very well. I understand."

Immediately after she said those words, a figure appeared in front of her. It took only a moment for recognition to set in.

Her father.

She said nothing. What could she say? The onslaught was coming. She knew it.

"Do you still believe you can become something greater than what you are? You are nothing but a mere woman! And now you think you can speak with the ancient spirits of dragons? You are the most delusional woman I have ever known."

Lanying just stood there. Silently taking everything her father, real or not, was dishing out.

"Give up. Do not even try to prove anything to anyone. You know you are worthless, so why try to show everyone otherwise? Did you deny me all those times I beat you and told you how much I hated that you had been born? I might have been drunk, but I meant every word, and you know it."

"Stop... It isn't true." Her protests were weak.

"See? Even now, you have no strength to defend yourself. You are weak-willed and worthless!"

"NO!" Her fingers were clenched into fists at her sides. She was shaking with rage. So many words came to her, but she suddenly stopped herself. Took a breath. Relaxed. Looked him straight in the eye for perhaps the first time in her entire life.

"You have no power over me anymore. Even if you were still alive, I would not derive my self-worth from you. I do not need to."

The figure--her father--froze completely and then dissipated in a mist that floated over to one of the torches to be consumed.

You did well, Small One. You have passed the first trial.

[Nothingness]

Good Start

Well, those Trials certainly sounded like a test for Enlightenment more than anything. Still, it did make sense that in order for her to wield a weapon of such power that she must master herself. Despite his confidence in her, he was just as worried and frustrated as Zack was that they couldn't help. Regardless, they'd be of no good to her in these trials anyway, it seemed. They were her own demons that she'd have to fight, and he and Zack would have to sit it out.

Watching from the sidelines, Raen finally realized just what Lanying had to live with when she was younger. What he wouldn't give to let that man have a taste of his icy blade. But he had to stop himself--no interfering. Unknown consequences were enough to keep him at bay...for now. Still, he couldn't help but clap and give her a cheer of "Alright! when she vanquished the vile specter. One down, two to go.

[Aerith]

The Second Trial
--------

Lanying exhaled a sigh of relief, bolstered by the sound of Raen's cheering. That had to have been the worse of it. She considered dismissing her Keyblade. If the first trial was any indication, the other two would mostly be mental and emotional exercises in self-control. But she decided not to. After all, it had been what had drawn her here.

Now for the second, she thought. Object of greatest anger?

Mist swirled in response, shaping another figure much shorter than her father. The moment that one-eyed face became recognizable, Lanying tensed, mentally coiled, and prepared to pounce. Zexion. She would tear that Nobody to shreds, she would. It did not matter that this was not the real one.

"You cannot keep pretending you can protect him."

Lanying's grip tightened on her Keyblade. It took everything she had to keep her fury in check. This was part of the test, she knew. But it was so hard to remain where she was.

"You failed to defeat me. What hope do you think you have against the Champion?"

He was right. No matter how much she tried to deny it, he was right. And that only made her angrier.

"You will lose him to the darkness. And you will be helpless to stop it. You lack the strength and the ability."

She was seething now, and all she wanted to do was smash that empty look off the Nobody's face. Her weight shifted forward for a moment until she rocked back on her heels and closed her eyes.

Serenity. Hold onto serenity.

Her eyes opened, and she relaxed her stance like a cat suddenly deciding it wasn't all that interested in stalking prey. Staring down the fake Zexion, she coolly said, "Worrying about you is useless. You did warn us about the Champion, for whatever reason. And you haven't done anything to directly hurt us. I began that fight."

The more she talked rationally, the more "Zexion" faded away, taking with him the majority of her anger, until finally, he was mist once more, consumed in the torch's fire. Taking a deep breath, Lanying shook off the lingering effects of that trial and looked to the dragon statue once more.

Well done, Small One. You have passed the second trial. You must now face the third.

Apparently, the spirit wished to waste no time at all, for the mist moved again, taking on quite a different form than that of Zexion's.

[Nothingness]

Seeing Double?

Snow in Summer

Raen couldn't help but think that Lanying had a lot more self-control than he did. If he saw Zexion standing there like that, he'd have knocked the jerk out cold. Heck, he had enough trouble as it was restraining himself. But what the mist became next, well, he just completely lost control. "Oh, no you don't!" Raen hadn't even realized that he had shouted that, nor that he was yelling as he charged at the new phantom.

He stopped as the phantom raised its hand; Raen knew that attack all too well. Hopping to the side, he aimed to fire off a Dark Blizzard shot, but the spear never even formed in his hand. Without warning, he felt a massive chill right on his chest, and the next thing he knew he was sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath. Lifting his head, he could see small, black flames around him, but they weren't giving off heat--quite the opposite in fact. And as the phantom slowly approached him, a smug grin on his face, Raen could only return the look with a scowl and a raspy remark, "Bastard."

The phantom, darkness flowing freely off of its body, stopped over Raen and knelt down. It smiled a cold, cruel smile as he pointed a finger at Raen, "No. Inter. Fering." Before pushing Raen's head back down with a single finger.

Turning to face Lanying, the shade spread its arms and said jovially. "Ya miss me? Been a little while since Beast's Castle, but I'm glad to see that you've healed up nicely. I prefer my prey fresh." He hissed out the last word. Looking at her with a hurt expression, he said almost shyly, "What? Don't you remember? I mean, we look alike, don't we?" The shade pointed to Raen's still form and then at himself. He laughed a humorless, icy laugh. "Ha ha ha. You're afraid of this? This happening? Please! It's already happened before, and it's happening now. Why not just give up now--it'll be easier." Drawing his sword, he ran a finger along the edge of it, glancing up at Lanying. "I'll try to not make it hurt too much. Just stay still, and it'll end quickly. What d'ya say?"

[Aerith]

Round Two
--------
[Aqueous Transgression from Chrono Trigger, remixed by Sole Signal]

Even though Raen--the real one--was immobile on the floor, his attempt to interfere had done one good thing for her. There was no question now that this other Raen was not real. Therefore, there would be no hesitation from her in beating him back into mist.

She had somewhat expected this, but to see it so plainly before her still made her heart pound and her breathing quicken. Her eyes kept going to the Raen on the floor to assure herself this was only an illusion. This was just a test. Nothing but a test. Raen was still here, though he could do nothing about his temporary double.

Lanying watched the phantom draw its sword. The look he gave her simultaneously made her want to shrink away and take his head off. Latching onto the latter feeling, she brandished Maelstrom's Dragon and fixed the phantom with a cool stare. She would not, under any circumstances, let him see that she was perturbed.

"I see you like the sound of your own voice." She began to pace around him, wary of anything that might announce an attack, especially any sudden drops in temperature. Her Keyblade was between them at all times.

"I am not afraid of you or what you represent, despite what you might think. I, too, remember Beast's Castle. You did not kill me then, and you will not do so now." Although, in the back of her mind, she was worried by that ability he had used to incapacitate the real Raen. She had never seen that before, not even in Beast's Castle. What else could this other Raen do that she had never seen? Ultimately, it would not matter. He might be stronger than he had been the last time they had fought, but so was she.

"No, I am not afraid of what you might do to me. I am more afraid of what I will have to do to you!"

She sprang forward, Keyblade poised to catch him square in the chest.

[Nothingness]

Points for Trying?

The shade shook its head while Lanying circled it like some lioness. "Gonna make me work, I guess." He simply stood his ground, though he couldn't help but refute some of her claims, his chilly laugh echoing throughout the room. "Not my voice--it's his. I'm just a manifestation, remember? A little figment of your imagination made real." As Lanying moved into the corner of his eye, claiming that she wasn't afraid of him, he shouted out in hysterics, "Puh-lease! What is this, some empowerment session? I'm here because you're horrified of me! And for the record, you know as well as I do that there was a lot of holding back before."

Sneering, he whipped his blade up and batted Lanying's Keyblade back, hopping backwards as their blades disengaged. Slowly walking backwards, his voice filled with malice, he whispered, "If that's all, then it's better for you to just lay down like that fool over there. At least he accepts it." With his piece finished, he began slashing the air and scraping the ground with his rapier, eight times, each sending out a blade of ice. He didn't bother using the finishing move--he'd rather be able to see her face when she accepted defeat.