The Fateful XIII: Rewind
Chapter 1
Where it All Began
Okay, well here it is. The prequel to The Fateful XIII that I just refused to shut up about since I thought it up.
To avoid any confusion though, I feel I should explain the time-line. In the beginning of Fateful XIII, Kysrel was 16 in a half. This takes place three in a half years prior to the events of the original, so Kysrel is currently 13 and six months away from losing his heart and falling into darkness.
The story will cover an entire year, and be two parts (though I'll keep it in the same story); the first half will be about Kysrel exclusively and his adventures with characters both familiar and new, and his journey to the level of strength you're all familiar with from him. The second half however, will be Kysrel in his bat-shit crazy mindset, and Xelskyr's and Xealx's crusade to stop his FIRST attempt at the complete annihilation of existence.
I don't wanna spill any of the many surprises, so you should probably just start reading before I say something stupid.
Kysrel breathed in happily. A new world, a whole new world to explore and experienced, it was exciting as always. This was what he loved most about being a keyblade bearer, the new things each day brought. All the troubles in the world disappeared when he moved on to a new world. A new world was something great. It was a clean slate, but it also meant new things. It meant new environments, new cultures, new people, and new friends.
He looked around at the new world he had discovered. It was a simple town, a few cars in the street, a few people in stores and on the sidewalks, it was so peaceful. The tropical climate and island setting only made it better.
He walked down the sidewalk of the town, passing by what looked like a park. He was wearing his traveling clothes, which consisted of a black sleeveless shirt, equally black baggy jeans, and a dark brown trench-coat which was dirty and ripped from constant travel. He had a sack over his shoulder which was full of potions and ethers which he just purchased from a supply shop.
He was whistling to himself when he heard yelling from behind the treeline along the park. He was curious, so he decided to investigate. When he pushed away the leaves, he saw a brunette kid, probably two years younger, on the ground, faced against two older boys who had obviously pushed him down.
"What are ya gonna do now, go cry to mommy!?" mocked one of the boys.
The brunette simply got up and put up his fists, reading himself to fight. Kysrel took it as his cue to step in.
"Hold on, hold on, what's going on here?" he asked, stepping in between the two parties.
"Who're you!?" demanded the same boy.
"My name's not important, what I want to know is what you think you're doing to this kid."
"We weren't doin' nothing!" defended the other boy.
"Really, because it looked like you were doing something."
The boy growled and charged him. He threw a punch which Kysrel, thanks to his plentiful training with both his keyblade and in the martial arts, was able to dodge with little effort.
"I wouldn't do that again," said Kysrel calmly.
Needless to say, he didn't listen. Kysrel dodged again, and this time threw his palm forward, impacting the boy's chest and throwing him back several feet. The attack spooked the other kid, and he instantly ran off. As soon as he was up, the first kid ran off as well.
Kysrel smirked and picked his sack back up, which he dropped when he attacked with his palm. Once his supplies were squared away, he turned back to the brunette.
"Hey, you okay kid?" he asked.
He nodded. "Thanks for helping me, my name's Roxas."
"Roxas huh? Well Roxas, I hate to fight and run, but I got other stuff to do, so maybe I'll see ya around, eh?" he said as he walked off.
"Uh...y-yeah, bye."
Kysrel shot him a wave over his shoulder before turning a corner out the park, and disappeared from sight. It was still a good day, and nothing was going ruin it. He continued waltzing down the sidewalk whistling to himself, enjoying the sun and warm air. He looked around and saw a clock on the outside of a building, it was around five o'clock. He didn't plan on leaving until tomorrow, so he needed to find a place to stay. He would probably stay out exploring for quite a while, but if he didn't grab a place now, it might get more difficult as the day wore on.
He wandered around town looking for a place he could actually afford. The first place he tried was asking for a ridiculous price; almost five thousand munny a night! That place was out.
The second was cheap, but it was pretty much a dump motel. Nothing but a bed and a really, really, stinky room, so no, not staying there either.
He spent almost another two hours searching, but everywhere was either too expensive or too low class. He pretty much gave up hope, and headed to one of the beach. He walked out onto a wooden dock that over looked the ocean that seemed to reach out forever. He sat on the edge and looked out at the sunset, there was another, smaller island out in the distance, and he marveled at the beauty.
This was by far one of the best worlds he'd ever visited, and was sure he would be making more trips back. He leaned back and supported himself with his hands, basking in the glow of the early twilight. It was almost completely silent until he heard the sound of footsteps against the wood of the dock.
He leaned back even further and behind him. He didn't see anyone, but was sure there was someone walking up the dock. He shrugged and went back to staring out at the sunset. Suddenly a voice came from his other side.
"Beautiful isn't it."
"Whoa!" he shouted, rolling backwards and onto his feet in an instant. It was instinct pounded into him after a year of fighting the heartless.
When he finally came to a halt and looked at the source of the voice, his eyes fell upon a girl with tanned skin and short black hair. They stared at each other for a minute, waiting for the other to say something; finally Kysrel got sick of the silence and spoke up.
"Uh, who are you?"
"I'm Andrea, who're you?"
He stepped a little closer but still remained standing.
"Kysrel, the name's Kysrel."
"Kysrel…well Kysrel, you're welcome to sit back down if you want."
He didn't say anything, but stepped forward again and took a seat next to her at the edge of the docks. He leaned forward and stared into the clear water for a while, just thinking.
"So, I've never seen you around here before, where are you from?" she asked suddenly.
Kysrel was caught off guard. He couldn't just up and tell her he was from a different world, he had to think of a viable excuse and quick.
"I'm uh…from…another island! Yeah, it's not too far from here, but you can't see it from the beaches."
'Please buy it, please buy it, please buy it!'
"Oh, okay. Is it any different from here?" she asked, seeming to have, in fact, bought it.
He shrugged. "Not really. I mean, I guess it's a little bigger, but overall it's not that big a change."
"I see; so did you move here, or are you just visiting?"
"Just visiting, I'll be leaving again tomorrow. In fact, I should be out looking for a place to stay right now," he groaned.
"You don't have anywhere to stay for the night?"
He shook his head. "Not at the moment I don't."
She scooted back and stood up. He looked up to see her extending her hand to him and he just looked at her in confusion.
"Well come on," she said.
"What?"
"If you want a place to say, come with me."
He grasped her hand as stood up, and was instantly being dragged away from the dock and back towards the town. He had to admit, she was fast, it took a bit of effort on his part to keep up with her. She took him straight through the downtown area and into a suburban area with significantly less activity.
She suddenly stopped in front of a medium sized dark green house. It was two floors and had one garage for a car, a completely average home.
"Where are we?"
"Duh, my house of course," she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
He got where she was going with this.
"Oh no, no, you don't have to. I'll just find somewhere else, you don't have to put me up," he said, waving his hands in front of him.
"Oh come on, don't be such a baby," she said, dragging him up her lawn with almost no effort, despite his struggling.
'What is she, an ox!?" he mentally shouted. By the time he'd broken from her vice-like grip, they were already through the front door.
"Mom!" she yelled.
"Yes dear?" said a woman who just appeared through another doorway that most likely led to a dining room or kitchen.
"This is Kysrel, he's from another island and doesn't have anywhere to stay for the night; do you think he could take the guest room? Just for tonight, please?" she begged.
Her mother smiled and nodded.
"Of course, we can't just leave you out in the streets all night now can we?"
She smiled back and hugged her.
"Thanks mom."
She turned back to Kysrel. "Well, come on."
He shrugged, he was already here, and they did say yes, so he didn't see any point in arguing any more. They climbed the stairs to the second floor, and the third door on the right led to a room with light green wallpaper, a single bed, and a wooden dresser. It wasn't elegant, but it was everything he needed.
"Just drop your stuff off here, then we can head back downstairs; dinner's probably just about ready and my dad will be home soon."
He nodded and set his sack of supplies on the bed along with his trench-coat, revealing his sleeveless shirt. Andrea caught site of his surprisingly muscular arms. He stretched his arms around in a circle to loosen them out, then turned and left the room, following Andrea.
They hopped down the stairs, a familiar aroma filling the air; one Kysrel was quite familiar with.
"Hey, is that pizza I smell?" he asked as they entered the dining room.
"Why yes it is," answered Andrea's mother, "I was a bit worn out from work, so I just decided to order something instead of cook."
Kysrel shrugged.
"Hey, I'm not complaining."
Just then, he heard the sound of their wooden front door swinging open. He remembered Andrea saying that her father would be back soon, so he assumed that was him. His thoughts were confirmed when he heard a strong voice exclaim: "I'm home!"
Andrea leaped happily out into the hallway and immediately enveloped her father in a hug, which he returned with equal happiness. Kysrel leaned against the threshold between the hallway and the dining room and got a look at the man. He was tall, about six feet, and had brown hair like himself, only it laid flat on his head instead of naturally flowing forward like his did.
He smiled at his new friends eccentric attitude as she clung onto her father. It sort of reminded him of...
"So who is this?" asked Andrea's father, looking directly at Kysrel with a questioning gaze.
Andrea didn't miss a beat in answering.
"Oh, this is Kysrel. He's from the next island over and he didn't have any place to stay, so I asked mom, and she said he could stay the night. It's only one night, and he won't be any trouble at all, right Kysrel."
The brunette nodded with a smile.
"Sure thing," he said cheerily, "no trouble at all sir, you have my word."
He still looked uncertain, but nodded never-the-less. With that, Andrea turned around, her ever present smile plastered on her face, and forcibly dragged Kysrel back into the dining room, much to his chagrin. As they took their seats at the table, Andrea sitting to Kysrel's right as he sat at the corner next to the head of the table where Andrea's father sat, her mother came out with all the boxes of pizza, still fresh and hot. She placed them at the center of the table, then took a seat across from Kysrel. They all reached in and took two slices each.
"Thank you again for letting me stay here, I honestly thought I'd have to sleep out on the beach," he said gratefully as he lifted one of the pizza slices.
Andrea just continued to smile.
"Don't worry about it at all. It's just one night so it's not that big a deal."
Kysrel smiled back.
"Still, I appreciate it a lot."
"So," spoke up her father, "what's your business on our island, if you're from the next one over? Is it for a job, or were you just here for a change of scenery?"
Kysrel scratched the back of his head nervously, trying to think of the right way to answer the question.
"Well, a little of both. I was here for work, but it turns out everything was fine and I didn't need to come here after all. It was still nice having a change of pace though."
It was true, Kysrel had been expecting at least a little activity, whether it be rogue heartless or nobodies. Most worlds, no matter how peaceful, had at least a few groups. This world though, he hadn't sensed even a little darkness from this place, it was like it was a completely clean slate. This place was either literally a paradise, or something was up; it was time to pry for information.
"So I was wondering, has anything...funny, been going on lately. Like, I don't know, anyone disappearing or reports of weired creatures outside town or something?" he asked.
Andrea's mother gave him a strange look.
"Why, has that been going on at your island?"
"Well, not really, no. I was just wondering if your island has been having any trouble," he said, praying they bought the horrible excuse. He was never a very good liar.
"Well no, we don't have anything like that going on. Of course, with three keybearers living in town, I don't see why we would," said Anderea's father.
Now he was interested. Kysrel was well aware that he was by no means the only keyblade master out there, but the odds of him finding a world where one lived, let alone three, were astronomical. No wonder this place was so peaceful, the heartless and the nobodies must be scared shit-less of this place.
"Keybearers, huh? Don't know much about them, what are they like?" he asked, playing dumb best he could.
"They're nice people," said Andrea's mother, "They've lived here all their lives, and we even went to school with them as kids. They keep the islands safe, so they're well respected. Two of them even married each other, of course everyone expected it, it was painfully obvious to everyone that Sora and Kairi liked each other. Of course I don't think anyone expected Riku and Selphie, that one was a shocker," she said, more talking to her husband than Kysrel by the middle of the sentence.
Kysrel wasn't listening much to her after that, he was back in deep thought. Anyone who knew anything had heard of Sora and Riku, when it came to keybearers, they were the best of the best. Kairi he'd heard of to, but she was known to a slightly less degree. He really wished he could stay here a bit longer; learning under even one of them would do wonders for his strengths. Unfortunately though, he had other matters that he just couldn't ignore, even for an opportunity as amazing as training under the legendary keyblade duo of Sora and Riku.
He was brought back out of his head when Andrea started waving her hand in front of his face, making sure he didn't fall asleep with his eyes open or anything.
"Huh? Did you say something?" he asked, coming out of his stupor.
"No, but you were staring off into space, and it looked weird," she said with an amused giggle.
Kysrel scratched the back of his neck embarrassed, and continued eating. The meal was quiet, but entertaining. They talked about local subjects, which Kysrel sometimes wasn't familiar with but pretended to understand anyway, and Andrea's father would send him suspicious glances any time he began talking to his daughter for any extended period of time.
He wasn't at all surprised with it. He'd learned a while ago that there were three universal constants, no matter what world you traveled to. School was always boring, anyone under twenty always slept in 'till noon on Saturday, and fathers always tried to keep their daughters away from boys. It was a natural fact of the universe, and hey, who was he to mess with the balance of the universe?
Once they finished eating, Andrea immediately began dragging Kysrel up the stairs again, making him wonder what in the worlds the girl ate to make her so freakishly strong. They entered her room, which was a complete cavalcade of clutter and stray articles of clothing; he couldn't fathom how she found anything in this pig-sty.
Her room itself was simple, a desk with a computer, average sized bed, a TV resting on top of a dresser, and a closet that was, frankly, filled with more junk than clothes. She flopped onto her bed and quickly grabbed her remote, flipping on the television. She invited Kysrel in, and he took a seat at the foot of her bed, sitting back, glad to finally be able to relax and get out of his gummi ship after two straight days.
They sat there for three hours watching mindless television and talking. It definitely wasn't the most exciting time he'd ever had, but it was a welcome change of pace, and when she wasn't manhandling him, Andrea was a genuinely interesting person to talk to.
He looked up at the clock, which read 10:05 PM. With a stretch and a yawn, he stood up and made his way for her door.
"It's getting late, so I'm gonna get some rest. Again, I'm really thankful for you letting me stay here, I owe you one."
She just continued to smile.
"Don't worry, I'll find some way for you to pay me back."
He snickered and shook his head as he left her room an entered his, slipping into bed and drifting off to sleep in minutes.
Okay, so I didn't exactly start out with a bang, but give me some time to set everything up first. Once things start falling into place, this'll be much better, I promise. Trust me, there's more to Kysrel than anyone knows. Who knows, maybe by the time this is all over, you might even feel sorry for the guy.
I know, not likely, but let's keep an open mind. For now though, we'll take it all one step at a time.
Review if you would, please.