Chapter One: Let the Games Begin
I'm wearing a blindfold, but I can see. Darkness has its own kind of light once you get used to it. You start to see with your ears, your nose, your skin, and finally, with your fear. Colors are so much more vivid when they're all trying to kill you.
The Tribute Train is passing. It must be going pretty fast. I can feel the wind whooshing across my face even though I'm in a tree about fifty yards away. I count one, two, three cars. Primrose Everdeen will be in number twelve. That's her district. DiZ rigged everything to make sure she'd get on the train. He told me this world has a lottery system where they send two children, tributes, one male and one female, from each of twelve districts to a capitol city to fight to the death like gladiators. It's disgusting and I'd like to stop it, but we're not allowed to interfere in the affairs of other worlds.
Except this one time, for this one, special girl.
Sensing my window of opportunity, I leap for the train. The jump is much too far for a human to make, but I'm not human. Not anymore. I land on the roof of car twelve with a force strong enough to leave a sizable dent. "What was that?" comes a shrill voice from inside. "Probably the wind," a man answers. Then, all I can hear is the tinkling of the zipper on my black, hooded cloak. I smile as the tunnel approaches, press myself flat, and sink into the shadows.
I'm suspended on the roof of the inside of the car now. It's pretty ornate. Seated at a table, there's a ghastly woman with a pink wig, a dirty blonde boy with blue eyes, and a girl with black, braided hair and grayish green eyes. The kids look about my age, sixteen, but it wouldn't be fair to call me a kid anymore. The girl must be Primrose. I scurry silently to a corner like a spider and blend into the wall. I can hear the hairs on the girl's neck prickle. I prep myself to extract her, but a fat guy stumbles into the room before I can pounce. "Miss breakfast?" he mumbles. Then, he pukes and collapses. My nose curls at the smell of cheap liquor and stomach bile. The ghastly woman excuses herself and the kids argue about who's going to clean the drunk up. The boy wins, and I'm about to grab the girl when my earpiece buzzes. It's DiZ.
"Riku, they will expect foul play if she vanishes en route. Get her alone, wait until the train reaches the Capitol, and make it look like a very clever suicide."
I nod and pop out of sight as the girl brushes past. The message strikes me as incredibly vague and oddly timed. I can't understand what difference waiting will make, and I can't tell if the "they" DiZ mentioned are Capitol forces or Organization XIII. I'm more worried about the Organization, because it's not of this world, nor any world for that matter. Ever since encountering its shadowy members in Castle Oblivion, I've come to fear the number thirteen. I watched them kill my lifelong friend, Sora. He was like a brother to me. When they drained the last bit of his soul, he couldn't even remember his own name. That they're involved in this world, with its twelve districts and one capitol, gives me the willies. It's bad enough there used to be an actual thirteenth district. I hear it doesn't really exist anymore. Just like the members of the Organization.
Why, out of all worlds, I wonder, would they look for a Princess of Hearts here? And why now? They're sending a message. No, I'm just scaring myself.
Princess of Hearts. It's somewhat of a misnomer. Every world has at least one, but she doesn't have to be a literal princess. The name stuck because the first ones we knew about were. A Princess of Hearts is simply a young girl with an especially pure heart, the light of which guards her world against the darkness broiling beyond, whether she knows about it or not. My childhood crush, Kairi, was one. When I opened a door to travel to another world, exposure to the darkness killed her. And our world died too. Sora brought her back to life for a time, but the Organization fixed that.
Organization XIII is composed of people who don't really exist anymore. They lost their own hearts to the darkness, so now they burn other hearts as fuel to keep themselves from fading away into nothingness. They call it "reversing entropy." Princesses of Hearts contain the most power. The Organization is trying to find a way to use them to regain a complete existence. Killing a Princess means killing the world she guards. I've lost track of how many worlds have been lost. With each one, Organization XIII gets stronger.
That's why we're getting this Princess first.
I snap back to the present. Outside the window, I can see the Capitol blazing in the morning sun. Nestled against picturesque purple mountains, it's the most beautiful city I've ever seen. Its alabaster towers seem to scrape the heavens. I can tell it's high-tech too. DiZ is hiding somewhere inside there with all his equipment. He warned me this world might be advanced enough to counter a Keyblade wielder such as myself. Too bad they'll have to catch me first.
I hear a door slam. The sound maps out the entire car for me. Primrose Everdeen is in her private quarters.
"Diz," I whisper into a mouth piece, "I've got visual on the Capitol and I'm getting the girl now. Dispatch Mr. Valentine to the rendezvous point and have a sturdy ship ready. I don't know what kind of air forces we'll encounter, should things get messy."
"Affirmative, but do try to keep things clean. Sending you a Valentine."
I smirk and slink down the hallway. The ghastly woman opens a door and her eyes bulge when she sees me. I snap her neck before she can scream. The train is slowing, pulling into the station. We're inside the city walls. I don't have much time. Now I'm at the door. Rather than opening it, I create a portal of shadow and walk through it. The girl stands frozen, her mouth agape. She's in a pretty blue dress. I take in my reflection in a mirror. White hair, deathly pale skin, and two faintly glowing, amber orbs under my blindfold, right where my eyes used to be. No wonder she's scared. I'm glad I didn't walk in when she was naked. Not that it matters much.
"Primrose Everdeen," I extend a hand, "I'm Riku. I'm here to rescue you."
"But..." She backs away. "...that's my sister. I'm Katniss. Katniss Everdeen."
"What?" I gawk. Something laughs, then my feed with DiZ goes dead and screeches in my ear. I rip it off. I'm trembling. I know the trap is sprung. There's an explosion! I grab Katniss as the train rolls like a log. Everything gets still. She coughs, but she's okay.
That's when the sirens start.