To make it up to all my adoring fans (hey, a girl can dream, right?) I'm posting chapter three as well! It's getting pretty intense, huh? Enjoy!
I don't own anything!
Chapter 3
Everyone stared at her in shock and horror. Even Watanuki, who gaped at her openly. Manta stole a quick glance at Maru, Moro, and Mokona, and was surprised to see that they simply stared at Yuko, with grim expressions but little else.
Yuko took in all of their expressions, and nodded. "That will happen, unless you all stop it."
"Tch! Always a catch, isn't there?" Horo Horo said, but although his voice was heavy with sarcasm, there was no humor in it. Manta looked back at him; despite his careless attitude, he was sitting straight, and his eyes were fixed directly on the Dimension Witch.
Yuko looked at Horo Horo, and then closed her eyes. "There is a weapon which, if created, will unleash this darkness. The task I must give you is to make sure that, no matter what, this weapon will not be created."
"…Weapon?" Manta asked.
"The X-blade."
Everyone was silent. Finally, Lyserg spoke up. "Keyblade?"
Yuko nodded. "Also pronounced Kye-blade, but they refer to the same thing. And yes, ridiculous as it may sound, it really does resemble a key."
"How do you know?" Ren asked suspiciously.
"I've read about it…and I saw it once, long ago…" Yuko's gaze became vague, looking at something only she could see. After a moment, she snapped out of it. "Anyway," she went on, 'you must stop it from being created, and you must also stop whoever it is who is attempting to create it. The fate of all existence is at stake."
"How is it that whenever the world's in trouble, we're always the ones who have to save it?" Horo Horo said, leaning his elbows on the table. Lyserg scowled at him until he sat back up.
"It is hitsuzen, or fate," Yuko explained. "You were all chosen for this mission long before you were born. Think of your prior experiences as a sort of training."
"You call beating Hao TRAINING? Man, this is gonna suck." Horo Horo said disgustedly.
Yuko sighed. "Look, I know this is all a bit sudden, but you must understand: if this mystery person creates the X-blade, every single world will fall into darkness, and every single person, animal, and plant will die."
"Why would anyone do that?" Manta asked, unable to resist.
"There are those who believe that in the midst of this darkness, a divine light will be born, and all that was destroyed will be recreated." Yuko answered. "I honestly don't know if all that is true, but I don't think finding out is worth the risk."
"So you brought us here to stop it." Ren said. Yuko nodded.
"Why don't you fix all this yourself, since you know so much?" Lyserg demanded.
Yuko sighed, and suddenly looked very tired. "Because, put simply, I'm not strong enough. I've tried; Please believe me when I say that. But whoever is planning this catastrophe is doing a very good job at thwarting me." She shook her head. "No, I can't do it. But you can. And I assure you, I will do everything I can to help you."
They all sat in silence for awhile. Watanuki's mind was reeling, but not just from what Yuko said. He'd never seen her so desperate, and it scared him. In all the time they'd known each other, Yuko was always the calm one; the one with all the answers, and the one who usually came to his rescue when bad things became worse. Now, here she was, practically begging for the help of a few kids….
Finally, Yoh stood up. He turned to Yuko, and said "Well, I can't speak for my friends, but I want to help."
Horo Horo heaved a long, loud sigh. "Never a dull moment in this group…" Ren and Lyserg simply nodded.
"But," Everyone looked up at Yoh, who was suddenly quite serious. "But," he began again, " I need you to do something first."
"What?" Yuko asked, curious.
"I need you to send Manta home."
