Chapter four, updated early because I'm leaving at 3:45 tomorrow morning for a school trip over the weekend. Thank you Iaf Aros, Hikari no Aijou, and The Cloaked Nocturne for reviewing last chapter!
Chapter Four: Disturbance
An ethereal head lifted as a shock rippled through the body it was attached to. What…was that? he wondered. The figure had been hovering in the void between times for both an eternity and no time at all, but never had he imagined that he'd feel what he'd just felt.
Scratch that; never had he imagined he'd feel that again. He supposed, though, that time had no relevance here, so perhaps 'again' was not the correct term.
He felt his heart stuttering at the reminder of what this was. A disturbance in the flow of time. This was what he'd felt when those two - Roxas and Zylen, were they called? - had breached into this empty space caught between times. But he knew very well that that wasn't the same as this. Roxas returned to the Temporal World, and Zylen is probably here. So then, who…?
The idea was troubling.
The figure sighed, looking down at his hand. It was mostly transparent, the only sign of any substance being the ghostly outline that shrouded it. This was what happened when one was trapped in a place where time did not flow; that person simply ceased to be; they became more an embodiment of 'nothing' than the Nobodies. When Roxas and Zylen had appeared, however, it had kept him from completely fading.
He wondered if Zylen, now, was facing the same thing he'd faced. He shook his head, trying to shake off the thoughts. Hard not to think of things in the terms of time, he thought dryly.
Slowly, he uncurled his body from its position, ghostly feet landing on an invisible floor and his hand tightly grasping his Keyblade. Well, whatever. It's not like it matters. He took a few faltering steps forward, half expecting his legs to give out from under him. When they didn't, he continued on a bit more confidently, his invisible eyes flicking around the empty space.
At this point and time, he had little claim; he couldn't even really remember his past. But he did know, somewhere deep inside him, that he had to protect this area, and stop whoever was creating this ripple in the flow of time. It was like the command was engraved into the core of his being, causing him to move without his own accord.
This was all he had; a few scattered memories and an insistent desire to destroy whoever was causing this disruption.
Wait…he had his name, too: Gillick. He was Gillick Nogard.
The time traveler returned to Time Castle after he'd retrieved the nameless Keyblade from between times. He looked at the glowing blue blade with detached amber eyes. "Interesting that this should end up there," he commented aloud. "And why exactly did Zylen have it?" Speaking of Zylen, why had he tried to travel back in time, and how? The boy knew his own circumstances, but he was unsure about the white - haired man's…
He looked around the dim halls of Time Castle, hoping to satisfy his curiosity somewhere amongst the crumbling rocks. He'd chosen to come back near the time he'd left for a very specific reason: he wanted to learn the story behind this place, and behind Zylen himself.
What did it matter if he had a mission he needed to accomplish? After all, he had time; he had all the time in the world.
Zylen had curled in on himself, as if the action would help him to retain everything he knew about himself. I am Zylen, the leader of the Time Racers. I am Zylen, leader of the Time Racers. I am Zylen…
He repeated the phrase over and over again in his mind, attempting to burn the words into his memory. He didn't want to forget them; after all, they were all he had left.
But who were the Time Racers? And how did he, Zylen, come to be the leader of them?
…He discovered that he couldn't remember.
He knew so little about himself anymore, and his thoughts were scattered, disorganized but somehow still vaguely connected. He closed his eyes, his semi - transparent body floating in the air as if it weighed nothing at all.
I am Zylen, leader of the Time Racers.
Maybe saying it enough times would give him his answers.
But what answers did he want again? He wasn't sure he could remember.
The fingers of Zylen's right hand clenched and unclenched, as if trying to grab onto something. He stared absently at the appendage. Why was it doing that? Was there something that was supposed to be there?
An image blazed through his mind, of a boy dressed all in black coming to find him. He taken something from him…what was it again?
Keyblade…Keyblade…it's a Keyblade.
Oh. Right. A Keyblade.
There was something else that happened…what was it? Zylen closed his eyes, trying to summon the memory.
As if some great chasm had been unlocked, the memory poured into the man's mind, and he gasped, amber eyes flashing wide. There was that boy again, standing in front of him and taunting him. There he was again, disappearing; something that had struck him as being impossible and wrong.
Zylen clung desperately to this memory, along with that of his name and 'status.' It felt like the information was overwhelming him; he longed to give up, to stop trying to fight and sink into the comfortable presence of nothingness. There was something inside him, however, that refused to let him.
So he continued to fight, and clung to what little he had left, despite not knowing why he did so. In the end, though, a part of him knew he had to try.
"No!" The time traveler lunged forward, his newly - obtained Keyblade slashing towards his metal - haired opponent. However, he quickly discovered himself to be cutting through mist. Frustrated, he sat back, looking despondently at the area where the strange human had once been. Why do they keep running away? he wondered, eyes narrowed as he dismissed his Keyblade. I simply wish to ask them a few questions; don't they understand that?
He turned his gaze up towards the stone roof, torchlight flickering eerily off his skin. He'd found very few others, and so far, asking them had yielded no results. He'd considered following them by traveling through time, but had decided that would be a waste; after all, he had no idea where they'd gone to.
He lowered his head, walking off down the empty halls. Fine. If no one wishes to explain, then I shall explore myself.
His footsteps echoed as he made his way through the dark corridors. It wasn't long before he found himself at the entryway to a large chamber. Peering in, he saw that most of the massive room was covered in shadow, only vaguely lit by torches along the walls. Curiosity pulsing through him, he stepped into the area, footsteps echoing around him. He remained by the walls at first, tracing his hand along the stone surface. Then, slowly, he edged further away from them, walking through the middle of the room.
When he reached the back corner, he felt his foot kick something. Curious, he bent down to touch it…and ended up hitting his head off of something metal further up. Rubbing his forehead, he silently chastised himself for his stupidity, then slowly ran his hands along the metal surface. What is this? he wondered. What was it built for?
The hooded boy cupped his chin in one hand, considering time travel once again to get his answers. However, he still had the problem of not knowing when this device was built; he could be searching for a great while before he ever found out. And though he had time on his side, and generally considered himself to be very patient, he was unwilling to spend an excessive amount of time trying to satisfy his curiosity.
For some reason, though, the story behind this place and its mysteries seemed to captivate him.
He heard the sound of movement behind him, and reacted reflexively, summoning his twin ethereal blades and spinning around to block the incoming attack.
His weapons collided with what looked like a broken sword, though it was hard to tell in the dim lighting. The owner of the sword jumped away, and the young hooded man squinted into the darkness. He glanced at his weapons, wondering briefly if he should switch to his Keyblade. Then he discarded the notion. Two is better than one for this fight, he decided firmly.
He heard the sound of movement approaching him again, and hurriedly brought up a barrier to block. The broken sword clanged off his defensive move, freeing him to attack. He launched into his drawn - out combo, striking out at his opponent with quick, efficient blows without giving the other time to retaliate. His attacker was finally sent skidding into the shadows as he was forced to pause for breath.
The time traveler, however, didn't intend to give his enemy much time to recover. He summoned pillars of fire around him, racing about the darkened area and allowing the fire to illuminate his path. However, no matter where he ran, he could find no sign of the one who'd attacked him. Slowly he came to a stop, and allowed the magic of his fire to die down.
Then he heard a sound behind him, and whipped around, intending to block whatever blow was coming his way. This time, however, he wasn't quick enough, and the jagged edge of the sword cut through his skin and the fabric of his coat.
He ignored the pain that pulsed through his chest at the contact, instead choosing to rewind time a few seconds and heal the damage. Though the wound was shallow, he was taking no chances. When the act was done, he sent his stunned opponent flying.
The hooded boy heard a trembling female voice ask him, "Wh…what are you?"
"Does it matter?" he questioned, one eyebrow raised.
"But…you use time like…"
He noticed that she stopped abruptly, and his interest peaked. "Like what?" he asked, taking a few steps forward. However, he heard the sound of movement, and quickly realized his source of information was escaping again.
He felt a flash of frustration, and was about to leave, when he heard the sound coming from behind him again. He summoned a barrier quickly, though he nearly wasn't quick enough. So, she intends to fight me? Most of the opponents he faced fled before very long, so her actions were surprising. Still, he didn't intend to let this chance go to waste.
The hooded boy created several copies of himself, and all lunged in the general direction the girl had attacked from. She hesitated at the sudden onslaught, then prepared to act.
Unfortunately for her, she hesitated a moment too long. The various forms of the hooded boy pummeled her, though the boy called them off before long; he didn't want her dead, just wanted her to submit. He walked towards the girl, allowing his ethereal blades to disappear. "Now, I have some questions for you."
The girl looked up at him, her expression mostly hidden by shadows. "Screw you," she hissed at him.
"Come, now; is that any way to treat someone who just spared your life?"
"It's the way to treat an intruder," she responded hotly.
"I simply ask that you answer a few questions," the hooded boy repeated, wondering why everyone in this castle was so stubborn. "I'm not asking for too much, am I?" he added as an afterthought, sarcasm dripping from the words.
She lifted the hand that still held her weapon, and he wondered if she was going to try and fight him again. "Long live the Time Racers!" she shouted, and suddenly turned the blade on herself and pierced her own body with it.
The time traveler could only watch, stunned, as the girl fell dead to the ground. Then he narrowed his amber eyes, puzzled. Why did she kill herself? he wondered. Is telling me really so bad an option?
In the back of his mind, he heard a voice reminding him that Master Xehanort still needed him to accomplish his task. He brushed the voice aside. Master Xehanort can wait, he thought, eyes glittering.
This story, he decided, was more important to understand than anything the old man wanted.
That's the end of chapter four. Reviews would be great, please?