Stuck in the Shallows / KH

V. Dawn of Fate

Manami had gotten lucky in the sense that, the day after her explosion on her aunt, the entire world of Radiant Garden was destroyed, so at least she didn't have to deal with the stress of another confrontation.

Okay, maybe she hadn't been that lucky, but you know. Beggars can't exactly be choosers.

The attacks began in the morning. She first realized something was wrong when she woke up, and the sky was still black. The clock on her wall read that it was nearly seven, but she knew it couldn't have meant seven at night. Almost as soon as she came to this conclusion, there was frenzied banging at her bedroom door.

"Manami! Manami, get up! Hurry, we don't have much time!"

She had never heard her aunt sound so afraid. Propelled by a burst of fear into action, Manami leapt to her feet and was out the door in record time.

"Aunt Izanami?" she called, her voice echoing through the sizable house. Thunder rumbled faintly overhead and raindrops streaked down the long, arch windows. "Aunt Izanami! What's-"

"Downstairs! Meet me in the basement."

She was already dressed, having fallen asleep in her clothing- shoes and all- from the day before, so she all but vaulted the steps and flew through their ornately decorated parlor, down another set of steps and into the basement.

When she arrived, Izanami was standing before their computer monitor, typing hurriedly and mumbling under her breath. Her hair was a frazzled mess of curls, something Manami hadn't witnessed... Well, ever, really.

Cautiously, she stepped forward.

"Er- Aunt Izanami? What's going on?"

She didn't answer directly. In her hand was a small chain, attached at the end by what appeared to be a purple flower.

"Manami... I'm going to need you to summon your keyblade for me."

Frowning, she did as she was told. Izanami attached the chain to the base of her blade, inflicting upon it immediate change.

It went from the classic, silver and gold blade it had always been to a much chunkier, more colorful version of itself. The blade itself had transformed into a thorny, purple flower, and its long stem, formerly a metallic silver, was now thicker and light purple.

Startled by this sudden change, she tossed it to the ground with a gasp.

"That's not... that's not my keyblade."

Another round of thunder crackled overhead, far more violent than its predecessors. The sound alone was enough to send a shiver down her spine. Something in the air wasn't right, not in the least.

"Ah, but it is, my dear." Izamani bent over and grabbed the blade into dainty but calloused hands. She slowly raised it and aimed it at the brick wall.

"Aeroga!"

Nothing appeared to come out, but there was a blast of wind so powerful that it sent even Manami stumbling backwards a step.

"Woah -- What was that?!"

Her aunt turned around, her expression solemn.

"I equipped you with the Lilac Helix keychain. You can now use powerful forms of magic along with dealing the normal, physical attacks you're used to. I have a list of spells you can use-" She rustled around in her coat pocket for a moment before pulling out a crumpled piece of paper and handing it to her.

"Here."

She took it, along with her keyblade doubtfully. Why had her aunt never told her that the keyblade was capable of magic? She felt quite as though everything she had grown up learning was meaningless in the face of this gaping hole in her capabilities.