AN: This is the first chapter of an experimental story idea of the biggest question anyone can ask; what if? As far as I have been able to tell, it was kind of a stupid idea, and it would have been even worse if I hadn't gone back to revise it all. That's right, if you're now interested in this fic, you might get the best of it because everything's a lot less confusing this time around. I still wonder if it were ever really a good idea to post this. . .
Anyway, the most I really did was take the same basic principles (and most of the plot) of Kingdom Hearts and rewrite it into a plausible, but impossible, sequel for Escaflowne. So, much is to be argued as to how creative I really was when I wrote this, but you know. Sometimes you just have to write something no matter what anyone else thinks! Below is a link to the first illustration of this fic. I think I'll have an illustration for each chapter. Sound's good, ne?
Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne, Kingdom Hearts, or anything Disney.
***
". . . The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes."
Chapter One: Eternal Darkness
One thing was very certain, today was a very odd day. What was so odd about it was that
nothing, nothing, seemed out of the ordinary, and yet it somehow felt very different
indeed. Merle felt it. She felt it from the moment she had awoken that morning before the
first light crept over the mountains to light the streets of Fanelia. It was something
dark, foreboding and yet, familiar...
Why was it familiar if it felt so awful? The war had ended but a year ago, and her animal instinct told her that something wasn't right about this day, and yet the danger was not that apparent to anyone else. Except for maybe Ruhm, who was wondering about Fanelia, looking for something. He had a worried expression on his face that only confirmed what Merle was feeling. It was very unsetteling, and yet there wasn't a dark cloud in the sky.
Nature was making a mockery of a situation that Merle felt was harmful. For some reason Van hadn't seemed very concerned at all. She suspected because he was so detatched to the world around him, except for Fanelia, that he couldn't possibly feel the danger or presence of something wicked. What was it?!
"Lord Van," she asked, as he directed some of the crew men still repairing parts of the palace. Van had been most kind in seeing that the homes of his citizens were completed first and the palace last, though they did a little of that at the same time.
"Yes, Merle?" He wiped some sweat from his brow.
"How come..." she began, "how come you don't feel it, Lord Van?"
"Merle, don't worry. Whatever it is that worries you, don't give it another thought. You might be thinking that something bad is going to happen because we're so close to being finished with the repairs. I was scarcely King when Zaibach attacked," he said with a sad sort of smile, though he looked determined and yet quite content for the moment. "Don't worry," he said again, "nothing bad will happen. I'll make sure of that."
With that, he turned back to continue his work. Merle frowned. She wanted to believe
him, but her own senses told her Van was being stupid. Even though he hadn't meant to
be stupid, he was still ignoring one of the biggest warning signs, aside from Merle, that
in the last few clear nights the Mystic Moon was growing dimmer and dimmer...
**
The week dragged on for Hitomi. School was a pain, and it occurred to her by Wednesday
that thinking required too much effort. It was time for midterms and that was the last
thing Hitomi really wanted to do. Other students were so confident in what they were
doing. Hitomi was confident that she could get hit by a truck better than getting a decent
grade on her midterm.
This year she was a sophomore. After the war had ended and she went back home, nothing had really changed from the way it was. A year from when she supposedly left had tucked itself away from sight. Amano had finally moved away in just the past week. He and Yukari still kept in touch and every chance Yukari had gotten she talked about her relationship with Hitomi. When she did, Hitomi thought about when she had first gone to Gaea (though no one knew she had even left because she came back the day she would have left) and she remembered some sorrowful of her feelings for Allen and Van. She had called herself fickle when she started to believe she was in love with Allen. Fickle heart . . . a weak heart. . . Remembering the past helped her sometimes to appreciate how far she had come since then.
That was in the past now. The future: midterms. Tonight would be better, she thought.
Yukari was coming over to help her study and for all she knew, she had at least a chance
at passing the midterms. But, something had warned her earlier, when she looked outside.
Some dark storm clouds were gathering all around. She didn't interpret this storm as
being any other danger, but something had whispered that it might not be a good idea to
have her best friend come over. She shrugged off an improbable hunch. So, the weather man
said it would be clear all week. Winter was coming soon, and she assumed that the weather
man was wrong, again. However, she was worried that the storm would bring lightning and
strong winds, and that was never good. The last storm they had like that had blown over
their front yard gate and jammed it into the garage door. Her father had to call for the
jaws of life just to get their minivan out.
Aside from that, tonight wouldn't be all bad. Her family was taking off for a film
after dinner. Her annoying brother would be going with them! That was on her mind as the
final bell signaled the end of the school day. By the time she had gotten out the weather
was terrible. The wind was harsh, cold, and it stung her skin when it hit her. It
wasn't surprising that track meet was canceled this day.
It was after dinner sooner than she had expected. Seven p.m. snuck up on everyone. The rest of the Kanzaki family left in haste to make it to the theater, leaving behind extra dishes, cups, and even silverware for Hitomi to put up before Yukari came over.
Putting the dirty dishes into the sink, she noticed how loudly the wind was howling, and how dark it was. It had gradually darkened outside, but she hadn't paid much attention to that until now. The kitchen window was taking a severe beating from the wind, but managed to hold together. It had done so in the past when the garage door got jammed, why would that stop now? She went back into the family room and began laying her homework out. She heard a loud crash in the kitchen and for a brief instant was overcome with fear. Walking in, she noticed that a small rock was in a pile of broken glass on the floor. She felt relieved when that was all it was. The wind was so strong that it very well could have picked up the small rock. The shatter had just surprised her at a time when she was focusing on a different matter. After cleaning up the broken glass and patching up the window with card board and tape, she went back to the family room.
Sitting on the floor, her mind began to wander. The storm was beginning to bother her more and more. Was her family all right? They probably should have stayed home, she thought. It's suicide out there.
"I'm being silly, it's only a storm," she said to herself. With that thought in place she began to feel better. No storm was going to ruin anything more than a kitchen window, or maybe the garage door again. Nothing more. . . Wait! her mind called in alarm. "I forgot about Yukari!"
Her first impulse was to call Yukari's home and make sure she hadn't left yet. If in the case the garage door were to be ruined again she would not like it if Yukari stepped into their front yard and was also crushed by the gate, or something else potentially heavier than that. She picked up the phone and heard no dial tone. The wind must have ripped the lines down! she thought.
"What if Yukari is already on her way?" she asked herself aloud.
Grabbing a jacket she hurriedly ran out the front door, down the steps, and into the street. The windy weather obscured her vision, but she could tell well enough that there weren't any cars or people on the streets. That's odd, she thought. There should at least be something out here. Not everyone on her street had room enough in their garage to put their car. She had noticed that walking to and from school. Her neighbors would have their garages open and they'd be too full of junk to put even a pencil in. And then some of her neighbors didn't have any garage at all.
"Has a state of emergency been declared?" she said. A state of emergency that required evacuation and not staying indoors was fairly weird, unless there was an out of control fire, which was a possibility. Wind like this could fan the smallest match into the largest fire, but all the moisture she smelled in the air was conflicting that possibility. She pushed that thought aside and looked around as hard as possible for anyone or anything still on the streets.
She saw a shadowed figure standing a block away. She ran towards it for a closer look. It was Yukari.
She just stood there. Her back was actually turned away from the direction of Hitomi's home. "Yukari!" she called. Yukari turned, a blank expression in her eyes. Is there something wrong with Yukari? she thought to herself. It's not normal for people to stand like that or even look like that in this type of weather. She ran towards her, and for some reason she felt as if the wind was trying to keep her away. She ran harder and the wind blew harder. The cold air stung her face and it hurt her eyes to keep them open. Yukari didn't seem to be effected by the wind at all. She just stood there. Yukari held out her hand to her.
Hitomi tried to grasp it, but something went terribly wrong. Even though it was already dark, a pool of something darker grabbed hold of Yukari, pulling her in. Yukari wasn't struggling at all against it. Is she on some sort of medicine? I knew she's had a cold for the past couple days, but. . . So, Hitomi struggled harder to reach Yukari, but that same darkness that loomed over in the sky, that held Yukari, had grabbed her and was forcing her back.
The next thing Hitomi was aware of was that she was on her back and Yukari was no longer in sight. "Yukari!!!" Hitomi screamed in vain. Yukari was gone. Hitomi got up and brushed some of the dirt from her clothing. She stood devastated. Is any of this for real? She couldn't just believe her best friend had vanished just like that. What's happening? Why would Yukari vanish like that? She then felt something heavy in her hand. At first it felt like a bag of groceries but in mere seconds the weight became that of three bags worth of dog food. It was very heavy and hard, and she could barely stand up with whatever it was in her hands.
Then the weight disappeared, but the key still remained in her hands. What's this? Well, it was a key, that much was clear, but what was it meant for? She ran many of these questions over and over again, they all seemed to lead back to Yukari for some reason. The wind hadn't died down, though Hitomi didn't seem to feel it anymore. She became distracted from her thoughts when her eye caught something. It was a moving shadow!
It took form and had an insect like appearance. It approached her slowly in a menacing manner. More shadows began to appear all around. The swarm of shadows became uncomfortably close to her. They came up silently, all reaching for her. She began to feel that these creatures would harm her. Before they could touch her she fled.
In a panic she ran back to her home. In front of the gate were more of those strange shadows, but this time they lunged for her. She managed to dodge and run back into the street. This is a nightmare! she thought. She ran where there were no shadows. Many came out after her from all directions. It was utter chaos!
"If this isn't a bad sign," she whispered, "I don't know what
is." At that moment her vision did not darken, but no sooner had she finished her
sentence something very odd began to happen. As if everything began to blur and yet it was
perfectly clear. The shadows vanished from view, the streets were empty of everything
until it was only a road. She walked to the edge of the road and looked down into a dark
abyss. Confusion took hold. She wanted to know what was going on, but at the same time,
she afraid of what the answer might be.
The pavement she was standing on was wound down to a small block of concrete. It looked
like a piece of paper with torn edges. It wasn't really supported by anything but the
furiously, howling wind. Hitomi remained in the middle of what was left of the road. Eyes
appeared all along the edges. Fear was taking hold. Then at last she decided that
panicking was the worst thing she could do now. More composed now, she readied herself for
what she thought was likely to happen.
". . This world has been connected . ." Hitomi heard a cold, dark, and calm
voice say. She looked for the source of this voice, but found none. It began again. "
. . Tied to the darkness . ."
"Who are you?" she asked, but received no answer.
" . . There is so much to learn, you understand so little . ." the same voice
told her.
"Answer me!" Hitomi grew angry. The last thing she wanted in this chaos was a
mind game. That same voice never did answer. It left, she figured when another voice came
in.
This voice had no real feel or sound to it, but she easily understood it.
" . . Do not be afraid."
"No problem, I'm past being afraid at this point," the now annoyed Hitomi
said. If anymore voices came she thought she would
" . . For you hold the mightiest weapon of all."
Something connected in her mind then. The key! This was a weapon? So, she did have a way
of fighting back against those shadows all along - and perhaps a way to save Yukari. The
voices disappeared all together, the road broke apart beneath her feet and she fell . . .
**
It was a bright and cheerful day. Donald for one was not in a bad mood, a rarity indeed!
It was his duty as the court wizard to check upon the King and discuss the issues of the
kingdom.
"Good morning Your Majesty," Donald said, not noticing the empty throne right
off. "How are you -" The duck with the speech impediment did not get to finish
his sentence. When he did notice the empty throne he nearly panicked. Where was the King?
Behind the throne was Pluto with a note in his mouth. Running over, fear in his eyes,
Donald Duck read the note. Screaming as a duck would scream, he raced out of the Throne
Room to find Goofy, Captain of the Knights.
(AN: Yes, we've crossed over into the Disney universe now. Scary, no?)
The last thing Donald wanted to do was raise fear among the people of the Disney Kingdom.
He decided it was best that the Queen and Lady of the Court did not discover exactly what
the King was up to, for if they showed fear then things could go terribly wrong in their
Kingdom, or so Donald had interpreted.
"Wake up, Goofy, we have a problem!" Donald urged the sleeping knight to wake
up. He remained asleep. "Wake up!" As the duck said this he summoned a lightning
bolt to strike the clueless knight awake.
"Oh . ." It took a moment for Goofy's mind to register that he was not
sleeping anymore. "G'mornin' Donald!"
Donald was tapping his foot in impatience. "Goofy."
"Yes?"
"I need you to listen very, very carefully."
"Oh, sure no problem," Goofy said giving his usual chuckle.
"All right, but what I tell you must be kept a secret. You can't tell
anyone!" Donald said sternly.
"Queen Minnie?" Goofy said.
"No, not even the Queen!"
"Daisy?"
"No, don't tell anyone!" Donald yelled.
"Ok." Goofy said. "G'mornin' ladies!" The kind knight waved
at Minnie and Daisy who were standing just behind Donald.
"What?" Donald turned to see two unhappy women. "Uh oh . ."
"You had something you would like to share with us?" Daisy inquired.
Donald felt very foolish then. He walked over, sulking, and handed the note to the Queen. She read it and motioned them to follow her to the library. She read aloud what was written. The five beings (Donald, Goofy, Minnie, Daisy, and Pluto) listened to what was written in the note.
The King had specified that he noticed the stars beginning to disappear and had left to find the source of the problem. The note also mentioned a history about a "Key" that the King said would be the Key to their salvation. Obviously, this was a lot larger than anyone could think. So, it was asked that Donald and Goofy go and find this "Key." Although, they didn't fully understand what they were looking for, Minnie ressured them that they would know it when they found it.
"First you must go to a world called Gaea. Find the one called Ruhm; he will tell you all about this Key, for it is a familiar legend to him, and the people of Gaea," Minnie said.
"Why just this Ruhm feller?" Goofy asked.
"Because he is the only one you can really trust when you arrive there," she answered. "I will give you this, it will be the power to travel from world to world." She handed them a pink stone.
"Uh, how will we know what world we are going to?" Donald asked, looking at the stone.
"Should you not know where exactly you are going, the light will take you to where you need to be, but before you go you two will need to change in a more worldly apparel."
By the power of magic, Donald's ordinary wizard's outfit was altered to something in between his and a sailor's. Goofy's scrubby uniform and armor was replaced by comfortable looking pants, a green turtle neck sweater and a black vest.
"I will send you to Gaea. Find a village called Arzas, that is where Ruhm lives. He's a friend of the King and knows most about the Key. I'm afraid after that you are on your own," she said to them.
"We can do this!" Donald said confidently.
"Is there more you can tell us about how to reach Arzas?" Goofy asked.
Minnie shook her head. "You will learn a great deal more on your own than if I were to simply tell you. Be warned. Dragons roam that land, and are nothing like the reluctant dragon here."
"You mean they don't play flutes? Oof!" Donald jabbed Goofy in the ribs.
"No," she said, "although they have a bad temper, they are valuable."
"How so?" Goofy asked.
"That stone in your hand, Donald, is like the heart of the Gaean dragons. It will help to generate the mystical light that will carry you from world to world. If you ever need to get to a safe haven, Gaea, the stone in your hand will take you back there. This stone will also translate any language you come by on your journey."
"What do you call it?" Donald asked.
"It's called a Drag-energist. Good luck now."
Minnie touched the energist and it began to glow. A pillar of light descended and they were gone.
**
Hitomi awoke with a start, but then slowly dragged herself from slipping back to
unconsciousness. She became aware of her surroundings one by one. She wasn't laying
down, rather sitting against a hard surface, which she deduced as a brick wall. She was
sitting on cold cobblestone ground which felt damp through her blue jeans. Part of her
jacket was caught on a crate next to her and there was a small brown stain on her orange
T-shirt, which came from the dripping roof. She sat up, her head throbbing a little bit,
but not too much to anchor her from moving. The last thing she was aware of was that
blasted key that was still in her hand.
"Oh . ." she moaned, "what a ride." She staggered into a standing
position and propped herself up on the key. Not knowing exactly where she was, she looked
up into the sky. It was gray. Getting a better look of where she landed, she saw from her
corner of the alleyway that the people in the streets were wearing tunics and beast-men
wandered around in between them. Did she fall to Gaea? She must have, she decided.
Gaea. The world of fantasy that was too real to be true and yet it was. It had only
been a year. One year since her departure and the sky was clouded over. She couldn't
tell where she ended up at first. She picked the key up and began walking. She would find someone who could tell
her where exactly she was. If she was on Gaea, she would find Van and then, she promised,
she would find Yukari. That was, if Yukari managed to escape.
**
When King Mickey ordered something to be done, it wasn't just an order, it was a
favor being asked by a friend. Donald and Goofy were happy to do it, but wished they had
gotten a little bit more warning before they left. It was overall a surprise to them. They
assumed that wherever they were, they must be on that plane called Gaea. The one thing
that was hardest to choke down was the notion that other worlds, stars were disappearing.
"Do you think its true?" Donald asked.
"What is?"
"About the stars disappearing."
"Oh." He thought about it for a moment. "Well, I don't know. We just
have to trust King Mickey on this one."
Donald nodded. They themselves hadn't seen the stars disappear, but then again
neither one had really looked up at the sky recently. It was hard to notice the stars from
their world. Because the light they gave off was always distorted through the atmosphere
that made them naturally blink and twinkle. They touched down only a few yards away from
where they saw a village.
"There's someone now," Donald whispered to Goofy. "Let's see if we can really communicate with him."
"If it doesn't work," Goofy whispered back, "I want my money back."
"Goofy, Queen Minnie gave this to us," Donald replied.
"Oh, uh, right!" Goofy said aloud.
Donald slapped his palm across his forehead. He wondered if the rest of their journey was going to be like this.
Goofy asked a near by beast-man, "is this Arzas?" The beast-man nodded.
"We need to speak with Ruhm!" Donald yelled.
"I'm sorry," the wolf-man said, "I can't understand you."
"Donald's askin' where Ruhm is."
"Oh, he's out hunting right now. He will return tomorrow."
"Tomorrow!?" Donald nearly fainted.
"But we need to find him now. We don't know how much time we got," Goofy
said.
"Very well, he's headed to the east, towards Fanelia. Beware of the
dragons."
The wolf-man pointed towards a forest off in the distance.
"That's the second warnin' we got about dragons. Do you think we'll be
safe?" Goofy asked as they started walking.
"Goofy, you have a shield and I have my mage's staff. Don't worry,
we'll be fine. We just have to find Ruhm as quickly as possible."
**
It had probably been hours since Hitomi had wandered from the small town. She was heading
east, as far as she knew. She was only told briefly that she was going east, and quite
likely toward the Kingdom of Fanelia. She didn't know for sure if that was exactly
right, but when she'd fallen to that little town, the bell in her head had been rung
quite a bit loudly and therefore her sense of direction wasn't what it should have
been. Up ahead she saw a forest. It looked familiar. Like the one she was riding through
with Van and Ruhm on the way to Fanelia. She felt like she was actually getting closer.
Then she recalled her experience with the dragons.
"This will not bode well," she said to herself. She couldn't help being afraid of dragons. After all she hadn't ever defended herself from a dragon at all before. It was Van who slew the first, and Folken who calmed her down in the face of danger the second time. Could she save herself? Well, she still had this really big, stupid looking key that she thought was a weapon. What was she supposed to do with it? Beat a dragon over the head with it if it tried to eat her? She worked out the scenario in her mind, a best case scenario in which it resembled a cartoon where she would hit the dragon, it would cry and run off. Yes, best case...but not possible, for she was more likely to enrage the dragon than make it cry.
She had stood in the middle of that field thinking it over and over and eventually decided that she was not getting anywhere by just standing there. For all she knew about dragons (which was still about zero) she could make it to Fanelia safely enough. She didn't have much choice either. Going home seemed out of the question right now. She wasn't sure if what happened to her on Earth really did happen. Was it a vision or a nightmare? She could not be sure.
Then she thought of her visions...Before she came to Gaea last year, she had a vision of Van. What the heck happened this time? Where was her inner feeling or sixth sense'? The power that always told her when trouble was coming? Something had dialed it down so she only got a bad feeling when the storm came. Even then it only felt bad because she knew storms were usually bad. Maybe it was stress from school that did it? That didn't make much sense to her. She was under stress from the war and she still had visions.
"I'll probably find what I'm looking for in Fanelia," she said. She didn't know why she thought that, but when she thought about it, it made her feel better. She was no longer afraid, and maybe that power of hers had returned to tell her that she was doing the right thing. Chances were she just really felt confident that she had a goal to reach, and when she reached it her troubles would be over.
**
In the forest, Donald and Goofy managed to find the pack of hunters. Though it wasn't
easy, they stumbled upon them without much effort. The forest was large, dark from all the
tree cover, and damp. They stumbled upon the hunters quite literally when Goofy stumbled
on a root and fell through a large shrubbery.
Donald spoke first. "Uh. . ."
Goofy took over from there; "Are one of you fellers Ruhm?"
"I am Ruhm. Who would like to know?" the large wolf-man asked.
"We would. We were sent to find you," Donald explained.
"By whom?" he asked.
"By our King. King Mickey. We are searching for . . ." Donald was interrupted.
"The Key to our salvation!" Goofy finished.
The Key has been found then? he thought to himself. No, they didn't have it, they were looking for it. He knew that much. If someone were to seek it, it would mean that the Key had already chosen its new master. Someone else had it. King Mickey had shared a tale with him a while ago about the Key and its power. He did say that if someone were to ever ask for the Key to our salvation' it meant that the Key was already in someone else's possession.
The two odd looking animals looked ill when they saw the pile of carcasses on the cart. How odd it was that they would show up about the time when it suddenly became cold.
It then began to snow. Ruhm looked into the gray sky. It had gotten cold already... There is something about this weather that is related to them. He would have to wait until they got back to Arzas to tell them anything. Out here it was not safe to sip a cup of tea. He began to explain something to them, however.
"We do our hunting about this time of year to ensure our village has food to outlast the winter. Today is a surprise though. It was comfortable yesterday, I wasn't predicting snow for at least a couple more weeks," he said.
"So, this weather is unexpected then?" Donald asked.
"Yes, in fact just a few minutes ago I would say it was about mid temperature, but now it had dropped... Something is coming," Ruhm said.
Donald and Goofy were on alert, still adjusting the now cold weather. What was coming? they wondered. Off in the distance they heard a hungry roar.
"Is that..?" Donald began.
"No, that is not the trouble I feel coming. That is a dragon. It has caught the scent of our fresh kill," Ruhm said. "The trouble I sensed with the early snow fall may be connected to the Key to our salvation.'"
The roar of the dragon was closer than they all thought. A hungry dragon appeared near by, and was closing in fast. The other hunters readied themselves to chase off the beast. It was huge! Donald and Goofy decided to help.
"Let's go, Goofy!"
"What?!"
The Wizard led the charge followed by a somewhat frightened Knight. Armed with only a
shield and a mage's staff they charged forth into what could very well have been
their final resting place.
**
Not far off in the forest, Hitomi heard the roar of a dragon. That was something that she
wasn't going to easily forget. She felt the fear grip her inside, she froze as she
began to feel herself knot up. A dragon was near, and it didn't sound happy. Then she
thought about it. She never actually came across a happy dragon before. In any case, the
dragon didn't sound like it would be in a mood to let an easy meal get by. She ran to
a nearby tree and hugged close to it, looking around and listening carefully for the
direction the dragon was in.
She was unable to find the exact direction from which the dragon was coming. When she began listening all around she could hear various sounds, obscuring a clear path from which danger would come. She then decided it best to attempt dowsing. When she found it, she would walk clear around it. Just like that! She concentrated as hard as she could, but only a faint picture came to mind, and in it was someone she recognized from a year ago. It was Ruhm! She'd only met the wolf-man twice, but it's not a face that she wouldn't forget. Especially since he was one of the nicer guys she had met on Gaea. He either didn't kidnap her or taunt her every chance there was. Although she didn't personally blame Merle or Nariya for her experience, he still got a higher mark in her book than they did. Sadly, it was also the area in which the dragon was that she saw him. As faint as the image was it was vivid enough to see Ruhm and a dragon.
The original plan was that she would not go anywhere near a dragon if she could help it. However, she felt that she didn't have much of a choice in the matter. So, with all the courage she could muster, she ran towards the area where the dragon was. Tripping over the same root Goofy had earlier she crashed into the camp area; falling backwards on her came Goofy, and thrown on top from the whip of the dragons tail, was Donald.
The hunters managed to fight off the minatory dragon at a price; they lost all of their meat, though none of them were wounded in the least the hunters were back to square one. With winter settling so quickly they didn't have much time to accumulate that number of deer and wild boar again.
Meanwhile, the pile of three strangers to the world of Gaea shook off the aches and pains from the bash the dragon had given them. Goofy and Donald were shaken to their senses by Hitomi, who was struggling to get free of their weight. A shiny piece of metal caught their eyes at that moment.
"The Key!" they shouted in unison.
"Eh?" Hitomi breathed.
Getting off poor Hitomi, they were kind enough to help her up. Ruhm watched with great
curiousity at these three. Mostly the third figure to join their party by accident. It was
her! She looked different. Then he saw what was so different about her. She was wearing
different clothing, her short hair was messed up, and her face was dirty.
"We found you!" Goofy was about to hug the poor confused girl, but Donald
intervened.
"I didn't know I was lost," she said.
"No, no!" Donald pointed to the Key in her hands.
Ruhm approached them. Yes, the Key has been found. Who would have guessed that the
Little Lady would have been the one to be claimed by it?
"It's nice to see you again, Hitomi," Ruhm addressed her.
"Oh, Ruhm, hi," She nervously stated.
Donald and Goofy were confused. How did he know this girl? Their question could be
answered later. Although they were to stay out and hunt for food all over again, Ruhm
insisted that they go back and freshen their supplies before trying again. He also
insisted that Hitomi rest up for the night and she would be escorted to Fanelia later.
"What should we do about our hunt?" one of the wolfmen asked Ruhm.
"Don't worry about it. With weather like this, I don't think it'll make much difference if we come back in another day," he replied, but not to their liking.
"Sir, we don't have enough food in the village to outlast the winter, we should hunt now, before the storm gets worse," he insisted.
Ruhm shook his head. "No. Circumstances are beyond our control right now. We must go along with them. Something has happened, and returning now will make little to no difference than if we did stay. Trust me. What we've felt this day and earlier is connected to this odd weather pattern." As well as these three.
"So, we return to Arzas and then what?"
"We get the Little Lady here and the King's friends cleaned up. There is something they must know." They loaded their cart and started back west towards Arzas.
**
That evening they sat around a camp fire, eating a small meal and ale. Well, Hitomi, Goofy, and Donald refused the ale and had some sort of juice instead. The juice was a melange of orange, mango, and grape. It was surprisingly sweet and tangy, and tasted a lot better than that wine she had at her first night in Asturia. At least she wouldn't get drunk from it.
"It was a year ago, wasn't it, when I first took you and the Prince, well King
Van, to Fanelia?" Ruhm said, remembering that night. Hitomi was not at all what he
expected someone from the cursed moon to be. She was as normal as any other human he had
met, though different too, but she had this feeling of trust with her that made one feel
calm and safe. Van had told him that when she left.
"Yes, it was," she answered.
"You seem kind of down; are you all right?" Ruhm asked.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me," she said.
"There is something that I want to tell you then. About the Key beside you," he
said.
She looked to her left. The key just laid there in the snow. The snow was cold, but it wasn't wet at all. Almost more like a white powder than real snow, for it never melted even when the camp fire flared and roared with as much heat as it could.
"That Key is the Key to our salvation," he began, glancing toward Goofy and Donald, "and a mighty weapon against the darkness. The Key, or rather, Keyblade has the power to unlock any door. . ." he trailed off, he looked serious at that moment. "Something has happened on the Mystic Moon, hasn't it?"
Hitomi nodded. "Well, something. I think. It wasn't entirely clear to
me."
"I see," he began. "The Heartless have been freed and are now devouring the
worlds one by one. They would have reached Gaea if the Mystic Moon weren't in their
way. They will pursue you wherever you go."
"Why would they do that?" she asked, feeling most uncomfortable.
"There's something about hearts that the Heartless feed upon. The darkness in people's hearts. They go after the one with the Keyblade because that individual has the strongest heart." He paused, thinking for a bit and continued. "Yes, I remember now. The Keyblade will choose its master, the one with the strongest heart."
"How do you know all this?" she asked, ignoring the last words he spoke.
"I was told," he said.
"By whom?" she asked.
"Their King," he gestured to the wizard and knight.
"The tale of the Heartless and the one called Ansem is older than Gaea. Older than Atlantis," he began.
"How is that so?" she asked.
"That, the King would not tell me. He knew that the one called Ansem had an entire report on the Heartless. It has been scattered throughout the ages and is not all together. I saw their King again, but briefly; he was searching for something relating to the disappearing stars." He took another drink. "It may be Ansem's report, but I cannot be sure. He was in such a hurry that I could not get him to stop and tell me exactly what he was up to."
"The King was here?!" Donald and Goofy said in unison.
"Yes, he was. I know you two are also looking for him. However, I do not know where he went."
Their expression of joy dropped like a rock trying to swim.
"Well, you've found the Key," Ruhm began. "Will you now try to find the King?"
"We have to! He needs our help!" Goofy said.
"Are you sure? Why didn't he bring you along?" Ruhm said.
"We need to know why he needs the Key," Donald said.
Ruhm stood up. "Tomorrow you will got to Fanelia. We will talk to Van about this matter."
The firelight began to fade, and for that single cold night they retreated into the huts to get some sleep. Hitomi watched the two men worry over their King, and Ruhm go inside without changing his expression. She thought she would have a sleepless night. There was a lot on her mind. New and old memories would keep her awake until the early hours of morning. There was a lot going on and much for her to consider. She went inside, curled up in the warm down blankets set for her, and tried to get some sleep. Where is Yukari? was a question that wandered in after reliving the details of the night before as if she really did believe they happened. She was skeptical of it, but nevertheless considered it until morning came at last and Ruhm shook her from her thoughts, not sleep.
**
She wasn't tired at all. Her mind was still restless and her body didn't drag on her at all. The morning's ride to Fanelia was overall very quiet. Donald and Goofy whispered to each other every now and then, but did not talk to her much. They only asked once if she was feeling well, when she grabbed a pouch full of piscus juice instead of that other kind she had at dinner. She had a rather sour expression on her face for at least ten minutes. Aside from that, the snow only fell lightly and then completely stopped just before she drank the disgusting juice.
No sooner had that expression left her face and the aftertaste faded did they arrive at the gates of Fanelia. Ruhm spoke to the guard quickly and quietly. The guard nodded and signaled to have the gate opened. They were allowed to go in a few feet before being asked to dismount the giant beast. They were then escorted to the castle gates. Most of the buildings had been restored. There were a few that were still under construction. Especially the castle, which only appeared to be half built. The men working looked exhausted and sweat was seen on every piece of exposed skin. However, by the expressions on their faces they did not look like they would be ready to quit working for the day for quite some while.
The gates opened and they were ushered in by a group of guards. They were taken to the newly finished study, where Van was. All but two guards left them and returned to their posts. Hitomi had to admit that she was intimidated by all this. Ruhm stood his ground.
Van had his nose to his desk and didn't bother to look up once the door was shut. The guards stood there like rocks. Hitomi didn't know whether she should say something now or wait until Van noticed them. It would be more polite to wait. She waited about three minutes. Nothing happened. Van was scribbling something onto a scroll. Goofy fell asleep standing up and Donald muttered something to himself. She gave a light cough. Nothing happened. So, she coughed harder. The guards started staring at her. Ruhm was getting annoyed as well. Instead of waiting politely for Van to finish his work, he walked forward, shocking the guards with his boldness, and slammed his palms onto the hand carved desk.
Van looked up. Ruhm's face was only inches away from his, and he didn't look particularly happy.
"Ruhm? What is it that you want?" he asked, standing up straight.
"We need to speak with you," he said.
"We?" Van asked.
Ruhm moved aside. Van's jaw nearly dropped, but he managed to keep is kingly composure. Standing near to the door was Hitomi! And two other guys, he noticed, but it was still her! He was so shocked to see her that he stood stiff and rigid like a piece of steel.
"Van?" she said. "Are you ok?"
He hesitated before opening his mouth. "Are you really you?"
She appeared a little confused by his words. "Since I last checked," she replied. "It's nice to see you again, Van."
She was still the same as before, except a little tired looking, though she didn't seem to act like it. She gave him a little smile that seemed to say, I'm glad to be back.'
"Young lady!" One of the guards said. "You will address the King by his proper title!"
Before she could react, Van spoke for her.
"That won't be necessary. She is an old friend. She may address me however she pleases," he said, giving her a warm smile. "You may go now." The guards said nothing. They turned about and walked out the door quietly. He laid the papers aside on his desk.
"Lord Van, these three, well two, and Hitomi have come for your help," Ruhm said.
"These two?! Hey! How come we don't have our names mentioned?" Donald shouted.
"Because he knows Hitomi. Not you," he explained, turning to Van. "May I introduce King Mickey's court! Donald Duck and Goofy."
"I've not heard of such a court, but you are welcome here," he said.
"May I also introduce King Van of Fanelia," he said.
"Your Majesty!" Goofy bowed.
Donald stood there. "Whatever..."
"You'll have to excuse Donald. He hasn't been in a very good mood since we arrived," Goofy explained.
"Why should I be?! We're wasting time! We've found the Key now let's go find our King!" he shouted.
"Calm down," Ruhm said.
"The key?" Van asked.
Ruhm lifted Hitomi's arm up so that Van could see the Keyblade. His eyes widened in shock, or surprise. She couldn't really tell. All that was sure was that Van knew what it was that she was holding.
"It's. . . here!" he exclaimed.
About that moment Merle ran in. "Lord Van!" She shouted. Everyone stopped what they were doing and watched the cat girl. Her jaw nearly dropped as she took in the people standing in the room. Namely one. Hitomi? How did she get here?
"What are-? How did-?" she stammered. "Are you really you?!" She nearly shouted.
Hitomi rolled her eyes. "Yes, it's me, Merle."
"What are you doing here?" she asked, "and who are they?"
"We were actually just about to get to that," Ruhm said. "Lord Van, winter is settling quickly this year."
"I know. It began snowing just yesterday, didn't it?" He walked to the front of his desk. "It is odd, but why is that important?"
"I told you something was wrong, Lord Van." Merle sulked. "Something's making it snow early. I knew it! It's connected to that feeling I had..."
Hitomi gazed at Merle, trying to interpret her meaning.
"I know this makes gathering food difficult, even for you Ruhm, but the snow stopped falling early this morning," he said.
"It has, but there's more than that," Ruhm began to explain.
"Oh yes, the Keyblade. I thought that was just a story my mother told me." He leaned against the hard wood. "It's been found."
"Wait.." Hitomi began, "Ruhm learned about this from their king, and you know this from your mother?" She was puzzled. "How did that work out? Did you know that Van knew the entire time?!" she exclaimed.
"Do you remember when I told you that this story was older than Atlantis?" She nodded. "As it turned out, Lady Varie even knew the tale. It was passed down since the time Atlantis existed. Although not widely popular among Draconians, she still thought it had some importance to it. That all occurred when their King had visited. It was quite a while ago, and he was a young ruler at that. Lord Van was only about five when he came." He paused, letting some questions come in.
"How come I don't remember him?" Van asked.
"Because, Lord Van, that day when he met your mother and I was the last day we ever saw of her. She went off into the woods where the dragons nest, and you were simply back at the castle." That was a painful memory for Van. He cringed upon hearing about that fateful day. "I'm sorry," he appologized noting Van's expression. "Hitomi," he started anew, "something happened on the Mystic Moon. Can you tell us what you saw?"
"Right now?" she asked.
"Yes. It would help us to better understand," he glanced at Merle and then Van, "what's happening now."
Hitomi shrugged. She didn't completely understand what had happened that night. The way it all occurred was so unnatural that she couldn't believe it. Nonetheless she proceeded to tell the events of that night. She recalled the details so well that it almost frightened her. Everything from the strange feeling at school when she felt winter settle in as quickly as it had on Gaea. She told about how her world seemed to be ripped apart from under her with particular detail. The part that hung on her the most was the disappearance of Yukari. That was strange. She thought to herself, if it had really happened, did Yukari manage to escape? When she was finished it was minutes before she got a reply. Her audience was very quiet. Even the loud one, Donald, didn't say anything.
"Merle was right..." Van murmured.
"This confirms that there is a greater power at work." Ruhm said.
Hitomi fell into a chair behind her. "How can we be sure that what I saw actually happened?" She asked.
"You have the Key," Ruhm pointed out.
"Great. . ." she sounded despaired. "Now what am I going to do?"
"You can come with us!" Goofy said again.
"Yeah!" Donald said.
"What?" Van became defensive.
"We need to go find our King. He told us to find the Key. When we find him he'll be able to tell us what we need to do," Donald explained.
"Everything will be clear when you find your King, huh?" Van said in disbelief.
"It makes sense, Lord Van," Merle said. "That their King would know what to do. He knew about all this before it happened... I'm worried."
"Merle, it'll be all right," Van reassured. "You're King really knows what he's doing?" he directed the conversation to Donald.
"That's what we think," Donald said. "He left without telling us. He left a note behind that told us what to do."
"There's more than that," Ruhm began. "It would benefit us more if you were to search out Ansem's report."
"Whose report?" Van asked.
"Ansem. He wrote a report on creatures called Heartless. Surely you knew about them?" he asked. Van shook his head. "Well, Lord Van, they're monsters that seek to devour the hearts of all worlds. If we had that we would know how to get rid of them. They got to the Mystic Moon and . . . it sounds like they dismantled it."
At hearing dismantled,' Hitomi really felt at a loss. Her world was gone. You couldn't rebuild planets! She felt overwhelmingly hurt. Her family, and everyone she knew was gone with her world. She'd never see it again. . . And it was that thought that stung more than anything she had ever felt in her entire life. She felt the tears inside well up inside. She didn't really want to cry, but after what happened that's all she felt she could do. Her world was gone and it couldn't come back. . . could it? She'd like to think that. It made her feel better and gave her the strength to hold back her tears.
"There are more worlds besides the Mystic Moon?" Merle questioned.
"Why not?" Ruhm said. "It's quite a possibility that if Gaea exists and the Mystic Moon exists other worlds may exist as well."
"Exactly!" Donald said. "We come from another world too!"
"Not Gaea or the Mystic Moon?" Merle asked.
"Nope," Donald said.
"What's your world called, then?" The cat-girl closed the door behind her.
"Disneyland!" Goofy chimed in.
"That's a stupid name!" she said indignantly.
"What kind of a name is Gaea' or The Mystic Moon?'" Donald retorted.
Merle didn't say anything. She just stuck her tongue out at Donald and turned her back to him with a hmph!'
That moment seemed a little weird to Hitomi. Though the subject of other worlds was something that was studied back home, she wasn't sure she really believed in it beyond Gaea.
"Dismantling an entire world? That seems a little.." Van began.
"Farfetched? I know. However, it did happen and Hitomi here is the only survivor." Ruhm rested his arm on top of the chair.
"I don't think so," she said. "Before it all went dark, Yukari looked as if. . . I think she escaped."
"How can you be sure?" Ruhm asked.
"Who's Yukari?" Van asked.
"She's my best friend," she replied solemnly. "I'm not sure, but I think she did escape. Not everyone could have been killed by those creatures. Could they?" she asked.
Ruhm didn't know how to answer her question. He guessed that it was possible that others might have escaped, but where they would go was another question begging to be answered.
"Well, if your friend did escape we might find her too," Donald said.
"Really?" Hitomi asked.
"Anything's possible," Goofy said.
"You know what, we'll help you find her!" Donald exclaimed.
"You will?" her despair leaving her.
"Of course!" Goofy shouted. "Let's go!"
"Go where?" she asked.
"To another world of course! Our King's not here so we gotta search somewhere else." Goofy replied.
"I can't just leave now! I just got here!" she cried.
"Well, we can't leave without you, and we do need to find the King and that report. . ." Goofy trailed off.
"What about your friend?" Donald asked. "If she's not here, she could be somewhere else."
That was a possibility she hadn't really considered, but there wasn't any proof Yukari hadn't come to Gaea. She could be wandering around in Asturia or Freid.
Van got off his desk. "What does she look like?"
"That's a silly question," Merle said. "She'll stick out just like Hitomi!"
Merle's comment helped to lighten the mood in the room. Van wasn't as defensive as he was before, and Hitomi didn't look so blue anymore. Ruhm and the remaining people looked a little confused by the remark for one reason or another.
"I'll help look for her," Van volunteered.
"So, maybe a brief description would help us find her," Ruhm also volunteered.
"She's about my height. Long red hair, well, longer than mine anyway. When I saw her last she was wearing kind of a long, beige jacket, similar pants, and a red shirt. Like Van's," she explained.
"How soon must you leave?" Ruhm asked Donald.
"As soon as possible," Donald said.
"Well, then maybe you can leave today," he suggested.
"Today?!" Van and Hitomi said in unison.
"We can't wait much longer," Donald said sorrowfully.
"I don't know if I should," she leaned back. "I think I should look around on Gaea for Yukari first."
"But we can't waste anymore time!" Donald exclaimed.
"Yeah, the clock's workin' against us! And we need the Key bearer!" Goofy gestured to Hitomi.
"Why don't you just take the Key?" she asked.
Ruhm wrenched the Keyblade away from her. He held it and swung it around like a sword. The Keyblade vanished from his hands and back into Hitomi's.
"Obviously you are the only one fit to hold the Keyblade, Hitomi," he said.
She wished she didn't hear that. It would be such a burden to carry this around all the time. With those awful monsters coming after her for just having it, she wished it hadn't chosen her.
"Please consider coming with us," Donald pleaded.
They waited for a reply from her. She turned her head away from them. Their faces plummeted. She didn't really want to leave with them. She hardly knew them. Outside the sky darkened with the room. She got up and walked out of the room, slowly and quietly closing the door behind her.
Everyone watched as she departed. Van didn't like seeing her like this. He followed, though not as quietly as he could have, swinging the door wide open. He paused in the hall. He watched as she just rounded the corner before he continued his pursuit.
She heard someone running after her. She just wanted to be alone right now. She turned her head briefly to see who was coming after her. It was Van. She began running. She ducked out of the nearest exit she could find. It led into a garden behind the castle. She was able to get away for a while at least. She needed time to be alone, to get away from the extra pressure she had felt while sitting in that room. She knew Van meant well, but after all that had happened, she just wanted some time to herself. She felt bad for leaving everyone like that. Even Donald and Goofy whom she had scarcely met. She had felt bad for not responding to them the way she did. She just needed a moment to herself to try and understand once and for all what had happened. She would then go back and apologize.
Sitting upon a nice round stone in the garden, she began to let her troubled mind wander. All the while she was thinking about the past events she began to cry. Alone she was able to let her tears flow freely without anyone giving pity to her. While she cried into her hands she hadn't noticed the bushes rustle. Something was there, but she wasn't aware of it.
Van was secretly watching Hitomi from behind a tree the entire time. He knew how she felt in some respects. His world wasn't destroyed, but his country was. He could understand the sorrow and frustration of losing something like that. His heart ached to see her like that. He decided he would let her be for the moment and let her have her time alone. Standing there, he felt as if he should go out there now and offer what comfort he could. Then he heard a rustle in the bushes. He looked for the source of the noise. A few yards from where Hitomi was sitting a black creature emerged. At first, Van couldn't distinguish what sort of creature it was. It slunk over to Hitomi ever slowly. It began to take shape right in front of him. He didn't recognize what it was, but he didn't like the way it was crawling over to her. It was creeping up upon her so quietly as to not be noticed by her. As it got closer and closer more of the same creatures began to crawl towards her. He grabbed onto the hilt of his sword; still keeping it sheathed, he ran over to her.
"Hitomi!" he shouted.
She looked up. Her eyes still red and puffy from crying suddenly widened when she saw the dark creatures all around her again. They had surrounded her on her rock by this time. Van came from behind slashing through the horde of shadows. He reached out to her. She reached for his hand hoping she could take it. As their hands clasped, Van pulled Hitomi to safety, and continued to cut his way through the shadows. They had multiplied like mad! It seemed that every time Van stabbed one through five more appeared.
"Hitomi! Lord Van!" Donald and Goofy shouted, running to their aid.
Goofy ran to Hitomi's other side, and protected her with his shield. Van defended her with his sword, still cutting down every creature that came up to them. Even though she was frightened of the shadows she didn't enjoy being sandwiched between Van and Goofy either. There were occasions when her two protectors became so close that they nearly cut off her breathing.
Even with all their tremendous effort to help her the only one to turn the tide in the fight was Donald. He held up his staff and brought down a great force of lightning upon the shadows. Most were destroyed, but the lingering few grew more hostile. About five tackled Goofy and three others dragged Van to the ground. They fought furiously against the tide, and that only made a marginal difference in their strength.
She had to do something to stop this! She did the only thing she really knew to do. She used the Keyblade as a golf club and hit the monstrous shadows off of Van and Goofy. Coming in contact with the creatures produced a curious effect. It seemed to weaken them when it touched them. The same shadows came back, but slower than before. Van and Goofy were able to destroy them effortlessly. She began to realize that this key was truly a weapon against the shadows. She could use it to forfend these dark creatures.
Moreover, Donald and Goofy had come to help her and Van. She had thought them to be selfish, but she felt that if they really were then they wouldn't have helped her. Least of all Van, who didn't have much to do with what they wanted, which was the Keyblade.
In mere seconds the shadows faded away. Donald came running up to them. His was a look of relief.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
Hitomi nodded. "Thank you, for helping us."
"No problem!" Donald crossed his arms proudly.
Goofy walked up from behind. "We didn't realize how sad you were, Hitomi," he started. "We can't leave without you, ya know. It's your choice and you can take all the time you need to think it over."
His words were kind and his thought made her feel a little better. It still hurt to think about what had happened, but that was in the past. Although it still hurt to think on it, she had to go on. She decided that she would go with them.
"Are you sure?" Goofy asked.
She nodded. "I am. I'll have to go to forfend these creatures from attacking anyone else."
"Are you sure, Hitomi?" a concerned Van asked.
She gave a slight nod. To Van, she still looked a little distressed. He could understand the kind of duty that went with the Keyblade, but he wasn't sure if Hitomi could handle it. She was a strong willed girl, moreso than any other he had met. She had an incredible sense of independence, but he wasn't sure if she really had the power to defend herself.
"Van, don't worry about me. I'll be fine, just like before," she said with confidence, though it wasn't convincing. Her expression had dropped again. "When do we leave?" she asked Goofy.
"Anytime you want to go," he said.
"But you can't go looking like that," Donald said. She listened. "You gotta be like us. No sad faces, ok?"
"You gotta be happy!" Goofy shouted with glee.
"Happy?" She didn't know how she could be happy. It would be hard to think of anything that would make her happy, except to perhaps see her best friend again. Bringing up sudden energy she plastered a cheesy grin on her face.
Stunned. That was what they were. Stunned. Everyone, including Van, had a blanking expression upon their faces. Then, suddenly, everyone started laughing.
"That's really funny!" Goofy said. As if it needed to be said.
"How are we going to get to other worlds?" she asked.
Donald pulled out the energist. "With this."
"We were told that they were here on Gaea. We don't know much about em, but we do know they come from dragons," Goofy said.
"It seems your kingdom is quite resourceful and well informed," Van said. "When are you going?"
"I think we should go now," She said. "Those same monsters have come here already. We need to find a way to stop them a soon as possible. I don't want to see what happened to my world happen to Gaea."
"But you don't have any provisions or supplies to aid you on your journey. Can you not wait at least a couple hours to get something together? I don't want you to go unprepared, Hitomi," Van had a funny way of saying or showing that he truly cared for her. He really wanted to go along to help protect her but he'd already promised to look for her friend on Gaea.
"I suppose there's no harm in bringing some food along," she followed Van back into the castle.
**
Coming out to the gardens again, with a bag of jerky, biscuits and water pouches, they were preparing their farewells. It wasn't certain if she would return to Gaea again for quite some time, and Van still wasn't ready to let her go just yet.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty! We'll take care of Hitomi and make sure nothin' bad happens to her too!" Goofy said, standing right behind her.
"I would hope so. I wish you all well on your journey, especially you, Hitomi," he finished with a smile.
"Thanks, Van. We'll try to be back as soon as we can," she reassured him.
"I don't want you to hurry, that report is vital to our survival," he reminded her.
"I know. I'll see you again, soon, Van."
"Are you ready?" Donald asked.
She nodded. Goofy tightened up their bag of provisions and slung it over his shoulder. They stood together in the center of the garden. Donald raised the energist above his head and Hitomi and Goofy waited, a bit on the nervous side for the light to come upon them. A beating inside the energist grew in sync with the hearts of the three in the room. The warm, familiar glow of the light descended and they were gone.
***
I appreciate all those who took their time to read and review. Really! It's a solid thing to do for an author. I've been spending most of my time revising all six uploaded chapters, so chapter seven will be late. I took the liberty of taking down the previous six chapters in order to upload them in the order that I finish revising them. Meaning Chapter Two: Wonderland is on its way.
I want to give a special thanks to LacanPanother, the annonymous reviewer, who helped me most by pointing out my errors and then lending me a hand to fix them. Thanks!
