Lucia (One-shot)

[Celia Darkson]

Celia had been lax in thinking that she could stand idly by and watch the next generation take on the hurdles that went their way, without a little bit of help. That very naivety kills. The last thing she wanted was to be witness to another battlefield and upon the many deceased, lost to battle, was her own daughter Silvia. A harsh reality set in for the mother at that point where she wanted to protect her child, protect her family. Sure, she took a backseat to it for a while and watched the darkness fester to something more than a nuisance, but not anymore. Her "Countermeasure" had been buried deep in the labs she used to run back in the day. Twenty years ago before the move to TWTNW and before she acquired the Mage's Tower, even before the birth of her daughter, there was always this lab beneath the castle of Radiant Garden. Shut down so that it could have the necessary power in reactivating a weapon to use against the darkness.

Standing in a familiar area which withstood the test of time, undisturbed by any who had tried to find the entrance to it, Celia reminisced about her time there very briefly. There was business to attend to. Her thoughts had been focused to this moment only so that there was no hesitation in pulling the trigger. This weapon in of itself was another abomination created by the mage, but it's function resembled more than just a mindless killing machine who only understood orders from its creator. Despite how it was created, this countermeasure was likely a representation of the light that budded deep in Celia's heart way back when. Now it stood as a reminder to her of how terrible of a being she was. The mage was an abomination herself and she was fine with that, there was no changing what she had done to others in her past, but what she could do is give the future a fighting chance. With Keyblade Wielders in short supply and the Heartless' hunger growing rampant, the woman decided that it was time to reveal her trump card.

No lights were turned on as she stood in front of the tube, her enhanced eyesight allowed her to see in the dark just fine. Suspended in a tube filled with liquid, was a woman who appeared to be in her early twenties. Curled up in a fetal position, with a tube resembling an umbilical chord lodged in her belly-button, the woman rested there blissfully unaware that now was her time to come alive. Celia placed a hand against the tube and gently felt upon the surface before she lowered that same hand down to a control panel. Her fingers danced upon a keypad and she unlocked the sequence of firewalls that prevented what was inside. When they all came down, it was a method of activating the Countermeasure.

The small screen read "Initiate" and all Celia had to do was press that button. The woman took in a deep inhale and slowly exhaled it before pressing down on the button. She'd release her weapon as a saving grace to the warriors that fought to protect the world. That same instance gave rise to the lights in the room and within that same vein, Celia had disappeared completely from the room.

---

An hour passed by and the tube that housed the being inside opened up after insuring vitals were in check. A cascade of viscous liquid crashed down onto the floor below and out fell the silver-haired woman created by an unknown master. After hitting the ground, she started to cough up the material that she once dwelt in, her eyes shooting open at the same time. Crawling to sit right up, she forced it all out and started to gasp for breath soon after, before it elevated to controlled breathing. The umbilical chord attached to her had shut down its function of feeding nutrients to her, so she instinctively reached for it and pulled it out, dropping it to the floor. Her eyes grew adjusted to the bright lights of the room, the blurred image now clearing up to show a nearly empty space. Naked and confused, the young woman stood to her feet and blinked her crystal-blue eyes several times.

"Designation: W-1, Lucia. You have been activated with your directive at hand. Do you commit to this?"

"I do."

"You are to assist in the eradication of a growing Heartless trend. Balance is your utmost concern at the moment. Should anything threaten the scales between light and darkness, seek out and destroy it. Between this and your mission, live the life you've been robbed of. It's been twenty odd years since your death at the hands of the Heartless, now ensure the same doesn't happen to others."

The woman gazed down at her hands and knew something felt foreign about it all. That wasn't her body. She was a lot taller, more developed than she remembered, with interesting accents on her skin. This new shell was artificial from what could she tell, hundred times more resilient from what her memories were telling her. Some of these memories weren't even her own. She nodded. "I understand, Master." She affirmed and turned her eyes towards the long hallway in front of her, near the far end of the wall.

"Excellent. I will unlock the locker to your clothing, weapons and other provisions you'll need to start off. Learn how to integrate into human society. That is all."

When her master's voice left the room, a light click sounded and a metallic door swung open. Inside was the aforementioned equipment for the weapon. After getting to the locker, she gazed into the mirror and saw herself, her new self.