TN: Yaaaaayyyy More prologue!
TUH: Still in there aren't we?
TN: But it's the end of prologue isn't it?
TUH: Finally! Next chapter we can crank the stakes up.
TN: I'd like mine rare, please.
TUH: I don't know how to respond.
TN: Puntastic, ain't I?
TUH: Just ... go to the chapter
Chapter VII
The Strider
Radiant Garden
October 15, 2010
Well, she was really good at giving motivational speeches.
That was what Naminé thought as she rested her golden head in one open palm, sitting before a lot of officials from around Radiant Garden. Leon sat at her side giving her advice on different political matters. Yes she cared about the different policies that needed to be set for the Garden and the worlds. But at the same time, she wasn't really enjoying it. It just wasn't her thing. She'd rather be out on the front lines, doing what she could to stop Maleficent in a more adventurous way. Or maybe deep down she just wanted to find Kairi and Sora. Either way, if she was to be queen, she wanted to be kicking butt while she did it.
"… so that the farms can be harvested only at a certain month or two in the year, your Grace," some old man said to her.
"Again, call me Naminé, none of this formal stuff," she said for the millionth time. "Second, I think it's a good idea as any, do you think so, Leon?" she asked while looking to her right. He nodded silently. She sighed heavily before passing the bill, and the next person came forward.
"Sorry, but I need to go for a bit. Leon, can you handle things, please?" she asked him with puppy dog eyes. He partially knew that she didn't care much for this, and gave into her whims. She rose from her seat and he took it without saying a word. She walked to a side door in the conference chamber and headed toward her bedroom in the castle. The first thing she had done was to order the residents of Destiny Islands to occupy its hundreds of bedrooms until more housing could be built in different districts. So, right now, it was quite the bustling place. She smiled warmly at boys and girls playing in the halls and parents going about work. The castle still needed its own work done on it, and they were hard at work to bring it back to its former glory.
She was missing Roxas right now. He was currently in Twilight Town, checking up on the progress there. She had been thinking it over, and she was ready to ask him if he wanted to go out and explore the worlds. Merlin had recently located one of the home worlds of one of Maleficent's allies. She fluttered up some stairs while thinking about which world it could be. He blue dress trailed behind her. She used her mind and it immediately transformed into her normal white dress, only a bit longer to cover more of her legs. She only wore her blue dress to handle official things.
Hopefully she would be using her armor soon. Her bedroom door opened on oiled hinges and she plopped on her bed, thinking about Maleficent, Roxas, the worlds and Kairi and Sora.
"I need to be out there. I need to be helping more directly. If only I could leave power with Leon, or Mickey, or both … or maybe …"
A light went off in her head.
HoL:RftA
Twilight Town
October 15, 2010
It still felt so incredible, but at the same time, it felt terrifying to be his own embodiment … his own person.
Or so thought Roxas as he was getting ready to call it quits for the day—and for that matter—the trip in its whole. He could now leave whenever he felt like and he decided tonight would be the night. The sun was setting in Twilight Town as was normal. The population had swelled a lot since half of the Destiny Island residents moved here and the other half went to Radiant Garden. Roxas had talked with Twilight Town's mayor to get the town prepared for any sort of attack that may happen. It may not occur for a while, but after how ill-prepared Destiny Island was, they couldn't risk not having defenses organized.
For his entire "life," Roxas had been dependent on something or someone. First, it was the Organization and his relationships with Axel and Xion … and after the incidents with Xion, he had become one with Sora. And for so long, he had lived within Sora. He had always dreamed of having his own heart and body, and now that he did have it … well, he didn't know how to handle it. He still felt this need to be with someone, to be serving some sort of purpose. That was another reason he agreed to go to Twilight Town for Mickey. But on the flip side, he was alone, and that feeling was terrible. Right now, he needed Naminé, which would make him happy.
That's why he was leaving tonight.
After he finished the last of his notes in his journal about the town, he snapped it shut and started to walk back to where his ship was landed. While traversing the streets he knew all too well, he watched as a group of little kids zoomed by him and went straight for an ice cream stand. Sea-salt ice cream was only 25 munny a pop.
"Count me in," he said aloud. He picked up the pace, almost running like the kids, but he resisted the urge. After they all got what they wanted, Roxas ordered an extra-large one for only ten more munny.
Lick, tasty.
Now he continued to walk back to his gummy ship when he stopped in his tracks a second time. He had a sudden thought.
"Hayner, Pence, Olette …" he whispered to himself. In his shock at the fact that he hadn't visited three of his best friends yet, he spun around and ran towards where the Usual Spot was. Yes, he ran like the kids, but not for ice cream. He ran for his friends. He found a random skateboard and jumped aboard, skating down the slopes, grinding on rails, and flipping off of it to land in front of the tapestry covering the Usual Spot … all while eating his ice cream.
"Hayner! Pence! Olette!" he yelled their names as he flipped open the entrance and ran in. There they were, just stopping their conversation to look up at whoever was running into their hangout. The smile on his face was too broad.
"Guys! It's been so long!" he exclaimed. But then his smile lessened for a moment. He looked at the three faces he knew so well, friends he had cherished so closely … and they stared back with confusion on their faces.
"G-guys …" he choked for a second.
"Who're you? In our class or somethin'?" Hayner asked.
"Well he knew our names, so that's something," Olette chipped in.
"And he has sea-salt ice cream, so he's cool by me," Pence added.
"Yeah, okay, but who is he?" Hayner asked again.
"You don't remember me?" Roxas said. The ice cream dripped onto his hand, rolling over his knuckles and onto the floor.
"Uh, no? Never met ya before," Hayner said.
And then that light went off in Roxas' head. He had forgotten that he'd lived in a virtual simulation of Twilight Town. This trio had never met him before now.
"No …" Roxas whispered. He dropped his ice cream and it landed with a splatter on the ground.
"Hey now! Who do you think you are trashin' up the place?" Hayner snapped at him.
"I'm your best friend … or, I was at least," Roxas replied solemnly. That feeling of loneliness hit home extra hard.
"Wha …? What to do you mean?" Hayner asked. Roxas breathed deeply and tried to fight back some tears.
"Do you know Sora?" he asked them, knowing very well that they did.
"Yeah, are you his friend?" Olette asked. "You look a lot like him."
"Well, yeah. I'm his twin," opened mouths greeted him in response. "My name's Roxas."
"Well okay, Sora never mentioned you before," Pence explained. Roxas sighed and took his usual spot on the futon. He began to explain things.
"And since it was only a virtual town, you all have never actually met me before. But we were best friends, trust me," Roxas said. They sat in stunned silence.
"Remember how Sora had my munny bag? But I had one, too …?" Olette said. They nodded.
"I still don't know if-"
"Stubborn as always, Hayner," Roxas said. "How about that fact that you have a scar on your right shoulder from when you fell down the Spooky Stairs when you were eight?" Roxas suddenly asked.
"How'd you know that?"
"Because you told me. Well, the virtual you."
"Well, what about-"
"Roxas cut him off by holding up his star pendant. Hayner immediately froze and the others gasped silently.
"Explain how I'm wearing your pendant?" Roxas queried. Hayner looked down at his chest and picked his own pendant up. They were identical.
"I gave you my pendant … the virtual me did?" Hayner asked.
"Yes. Me and you were like brothers. We did everything together," Roxas said sadly. One of those tears leaked from his eyes. Olette became startled by this.
"It wasn't Sora that was crying that day at the station!"
"It was me," Roxas finished for her.
Roxas wound up leaving Twilight Town the next morning.
HoL:RftA
Radiant Garden
October 17, 2010
"I missed you so much!" said one of the two lovebirds, running to the other one with joy, excitement, and open arms. One could even see the smallest of tears leak from the eye.
It was Roxas, of course.
He and Naminé embraced in a warm hug in her bedroom in the castle. He had basically ran there from the moment he landed. After so long of conversing with her when they were Nobodies, all those hours and hours, and days and days, and months and months of just conversation … he had really fallen in love.
When you were stuck in your Somebody, like he and Naminé were, you couldn't sleep. You just kind of sat around in their hearts, wandering around one could say. So, with all 24 hours of the day being spent wide awake, he and Naminé had fell in love and were very connected, more so than most couples for how long they had officially been together since they received their own bodies and hearts.
"Haha! I missed you, too!" Naminé said, lightly kissing him on the cheek. She felt peach fuzz brush her lips and slightly blushed at the thought. Her teen boyfriend was becoming a man, and she a woman.
"So, how were things here?" he asked. She sighed and sat in a chair near the window. The sun flowed inward with extreme brilliance. Roxas took the seat opposite her. She played with her hair absentmindedly.
"They were boring. I don't know how I feel about being queen," she said to him. Her voice was soft like the air outside.
"What'cha mean?" he asked.
"I want to be out there, Roxas," she said, pointing to the blue sky and the unseen worlds beyond. "I want to find Kairi and Sora. I want to stop Maleficent and not be stuck here. This whole political thing just isn't meant for me."
"Well, I want to be there, too. But what can we do? The people need a figurehead to rally under."
"Well, I had an idea about that," Naminé said. Roxas arched his dark golden eyebrows.
"What would that be?"
"I don't think only one person can take the strain of this war. I think we need more people. I can make a council of people to take care of the political side of the war," she explained to her boyfriend. He furrowed his eyebrows and kneaded his knuckles together.
"Why not?" he asked with a big smile. "I want Merideth to come with us, though."
"Yeah, I was just about to ask you to come with me and see her."
"Well what are we waiting for, let's get going!" Roxas said. He jumped up, felt Naminé's smooth fingers intertwine with his and they walked out of her room in search for Merideth's.
HoL:RftA
Merideth's bow unfolded and refolded in her hands as she checked her handiwork. Every now and then she ran some maintenance on it. That meant taking it apart, oiling and tuning all the metal pieces, and then reassembling it all back together. It was a process she was fluent at, like how she could shoot down a speeding bird. Fluent like her ability to nearly assassinate a target. Inside thoughts these were. There was a lot that people did not know about Merideth, and she liked that. But she needed to tell someone, and preferably her friends.
Opportunity knocked at the door.
"Come in," Merideth called as she took apart her bow and then reassembled it at light speed. It snapped open at the flick of a wrist. She kicked up three arrows lying at her feet, had them knocked and pointed at the door before it opened.
"Whoa, whoa! We surrender!" Roxas said with feigned fright. Merideth chuckled. He was a lot like Sora if he wanted to be.
"Accepted. What's up guys? I didn't know you were back already, Roxas," she said. She motioned for them to sit in the comfy chairs while she lounged in the open window. Her back rested against its open frame. She looked over to her right. Wind blew her golden hair, obscuring the 100 foot drop.
"Be careful, Merideth," Naminé cautioned.
"I'll be fine. So what brings her Majesty and loyal boyfriend here?" Merideth amusedly asked as she retrieved one of her extra-long daggers and began to sharpen it.
"Well, let's get to the point," Roxas began.
"We want you to come with us on an adventure," Naminé ended.
"But what about your duties here as queen?" Merideth asked.
"Well Meri (it sounded like Mary), Nam has an idea," Roxas replied. Naminé told her the idea of the council.
"Who would be on it?" Merideth asked.
"I was thinking Mickey, Leon, Merlin and the Mayor of Twilight Town and myself … that is when I'm here," she explained.
"Sure, I'll go with you. I would feel more like I had a purpose again," Merideth said absentmindedly, jumping from the window while sheathing both her newly sharpened daggers. Her sheaths rested on either side of her hips. The bow contracted and rested on her back along with her quiver.
"When do we leave?" she asked suddenly. She was ready to be back out there.
"Soon. But … we wanted to ask you something else," Naminé said.
"Okay," she replied simply.
"Merideth … what was life like before you met us?" Roxas asked. There was an immediate tenseness in the air as Merideth sat on her bed. She was taken aback by the question, not expecting it. She breathed in deeply and looked at them both. They were truly eager and caring in their question. She knew that they were curious and nothing else.
"Well … it's complicated. When I was very young, I was forcefully thrown from my world by my parents. My brother, as well. We went separate ways. I went to a world known by the name of Gransys," she explained.
"Where's that at?" Roxas asked. Merideth shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know where but I know it's out there. Anyway, it's a harsh world, especially for an orphan. When I was thirteen I had learned how to survive in the wild on my own, hunt and fend for my own safety. That was what I thought at least. One night I was attacked and went into a coma," she explained. She was very stoic about all of this. Not much emotion could be discerned in her voice or on her face.
"For how long?" Naminé interrogated.
"Five years," she said.
"Oh … I'm sorry to hear that something so bad happened," Naminé consoled. Merideth waved it off.
"I'm fine now, aren't I? Either way, that's when … it happened," Merideth said.
"What happened?" Roxas asked at the edge of seat.
"I lost my heart for those five years. Within the coma, my heart was stronger than my body, and so it couldn't be contained. It wandered, but wasn't lost. So my body faded and traveled into a rift and I became an embodiment like many. In that world, losing your heart didn't produce Heartless. I became an emotionless, obeying tool. I became what was named a Pawn," she explained. "I was a special sort of Nobody, like you two."
"A … Pawn?" Roxas asked.
"Yes. A being not quite human. I looked like I do now. But I had no emotions, no thoughts of my own. I lived to only serve what would be my master. Towards the end of my time being a Pawn … the time where I would have been seventeen years old, I became the main Pawn of a hero. We called him the Arisen.
"The Arisen was a hero destined to defeat the dragon of the world. This is not a normal dragon of lore, but a very powerful being. The Arisen is chosen by the dragon itself. The dragon consumes the Arisen's heart and creates a link between the two. There are two ways to break that link. Slay the dragon or slay the Arisen. My job as a Pawn was to protect the Arisen with my life without question or emotion.
"But that's the odd thing. Because of my circumstance being a coma and not a loss of my body … I could feel emotion very rarely. I remember it happening seldom times, and it was more frequent to when I was waking up. By the end of our journey … I had grown in multiple ways unlike any other Pawn. I felt more than obligation to the Arisen. I don't know if what I felt was romantic or not, but I felt close to him. It is something I can't explain.
"While we wait, I can tell you my tale in Gransys. The times I was the Pawn of the Arisen," she said to them. Roxas and Naminé both felt drawn in by her story. There was so much more to Merideth they had never known.
"I guess this is the reason you act so … blank most of the time?" Roxas asked. She nodded with a bounce of her golden hair.
"Yes. It is still hard for me to believe I can think on my own, feel on my own … be my own again. I guess you two are experiencing this as well, but in a more extreme sense?"
Roxas felt something tug at him for a second. She was going through what he was right now. It was something Naminé had not been very affected by like he had. He was his own pawn to the Organization for so long. He and Merideth were more alike than he had realized.
"Yes, let's hear your story," Naminé said. Roxas shook his head slightly and focused on Merideth.
"I remember thinking that the hydra was such a tough opponent. I was naïve back then," Merideth said with a small chuckle and brilliant smile.
HoL:RftA
Gransys
One year ago …
A voice shook in the entire Rift.
The Arisen requires the best Strider. Merideth, come forth.
Merideth the Pawn walked forward in the astral plane without hesitation. Her then standard longbow hung loosely on her back. Daggers were ready at her sides concealed by a long brown cloak. A white cotton shirt was covered by some light leather armor, much like the leather armor skirt covering her leggings. Combat boots and bracers adorned her appendages. Her golden hair circled her red eyes as she walked through the glowing light.
What felt like a raging inferno quickly cooled to ice as she fell from the air and onto the wooden floor in front of the Rift Stone that had transported her here, to this camp. She rose slightly and looked up to meet her new master. The Arisen stared back at her with intensity. She slowly rose her right hand and the Pawn's Mark flashed golden on her skin for a moment before fading. The seal was complete. Master and Pawn had been linked together.
'Til death do they part.
She knelt before the Arisen as did everyone else within the small pavilion. This was to be her job, her one great quest for the next length of time. She was to guide the Arisen safely to the dragon, slay the foul beast, and restore the Arisen's heart unto him. Speaking of, she desired to look upon he who she was serving.
He was quite the handsome young … well, young man. He was twenty by the looks of it. Merideth had been expecting someone older, mid-twenties to early thirties at least. And that was the first time she had felt emotion in so long a time. She felt sad and sorry for the man. But as soon as that feeling came, it was gone.
The Arisen had semi-long, choppy black hair and bright green eyes. He stood at about five feet eleven in a warrior's outfit. Leather armor and a beaten up, standard sword. He looked worried and scared under that leather cap. But his eyes burned with a determination that Merideth couldn't quite understand—something akin to having to prove the world he could do this … or maybe he was just wanting to prove that to himself.
And Merideth was going to help him.
"My life for you, Arisen," she said with a sense of satisfaction. Pawns may not feel emotions, but they did know how to emulate them to the public. Pawns also felt certain things like achievement, satisfaction, or failure. She looked hard at the Arisen. He mouthed thank you as Rook, another Pawn, led a speech for the Arisen.
The group dispersed. Night was coming quickly and tomorrow would mark her beginning of a journey she had waited for so long. It was then that a black, young woman walked toward them.
"Well met, Arisen and Pawns," she said with a thick accent. "I am Mercedes, captain of ze guild here. I have beds ready for you. You must need rest for ze following journey," she offered. The Arisen nodded his head. Merideth instantly took that as the cue for the Pawns to follow and sleep like their master. They arrived at the large tent and took a bed each. One for the Arisen, herself, and two mages. There was nothing to think about as Merideth closed her eyes and slept a dark sleep, unhindered by dreams or thoughts.
Until the hydra attacked in the middle of the night.
Fire flared outside the tent as Merideth roused from her sleep. There were the sounds of crashing metal, loud hissing of a beast, and the shouts of orders from Mercedes. Merideth rose from her bed and equipped her armor and weapons at lightning speed. She ran to the Arisen.
"Arisen! Wake now! We are in trouble!" she shouted, shaking him by the shoulder. His ruffled bedhead looked at her with dazed, sleepy eyes. The beast outside roared, and it sounded like there were many of it. The Arisen's eyes opened wide as he jumped from bed and began to change.
"With haste, Arisen!" Merideth implored. As soon as he was done struggling into his gear, she led him and the mages outside the tent. About twenty meters away a massive hydra roared with all nine of its heads.
"All men! Fall back, ve need it in ze open!" Mercedes shouted. The thing slithered out of the forest at the base of the mountains. Arrows began to fly at its scaly heads, piercing the hide. Merideth joined in. The mages in the area began to cast and chant spells, both targeting the hydra itself and the weapons of their allies. Merideth's bow began to shoot fiery arrows as men charged with fiery swords.
"Aim for ze heads!" Mercedes ordered. Merideth was running low on arrows. She strapped her bow on her back and unsheathed her daggers with a twirl. They lit red with fames due to Maxwell, one of the mages the Arisen had enlisted. She ran forward and called back over her shoulder.
"Come, Arisen!" she shouted. He ran after her, sword raised. She turned around and crouched with her back to the hydra. She opened her palms and the Arisen jumped into them. She vaulted him up and he latched onto the hydra's neck, climbing up to a more vulnerable spot. His sword began to hack at the creature, spilling a greenish-purple liquid onto the dirt below. Merideth jumped up and dug one of her daggers into the beast. She swung her body weight and spun around a slender neck, sinking another dagger in. In this manner, she continued to climb the beast to meet the Arisen. She finally made it to him.
"Arisen! Stab through the neck to me!" she shouted. He looked at her for a confused moment. The beast slithered very quickly to a wooden tower, trying to shake them loose. Men shouted and the dirt crunched underneath them. Fires sped along the side of the encampment. The hydra curled around the tower and broke it into an explosion of splinters. Arrows whizzed by them.
"Stab through the neck!" she shouted. He nodded and leaned back and then lunged forward, piercing the neck all the way through. The gleam of his pointed blade met her eyes. She swung around to his side.
"Hold on to me when I say," she told him.
"Okay," he said back. His voice cracked with worry. She stuck her daggers into the neck of the hydra. She vaulted off of them, did a backflip, kicked off another head of the hydra and soared right at the Arisen.
"Now!" she screamed. She felt his arms wrap around her waist. With the momentum she had gained in addition to his added weight, she grabbed his sword and instantly pin wheeled around the neck, completely severing the head and falling to the ground. It let out a massive roar and began to retreat.
"Chase it back, men!" Mercedes ordered. As the men fought the hydra back to where it came from, Merideth checked for injuries on the Arisen. He only has a small cut on his cheek the bled very slightly. Exhaustion leaked from his face, sweat from his brow.
"Maxwell, heal him," she asked. She rose up and walked to retrieve her daggers from the neck of the severed head. It roared at the group of them out of a muscle reflex and then died down.
"Well met indeed, Arisen," Mercedes said. She wiped sweat form her countenance. "I do think zat zis head would make a great present to ze Duke in Gran Soren, our capital." The Arisen nodded.
"Zat is good zen. Ve shall leave in ze morning. Get what rest you can," she advised. Merideth helped the Arisen to a tent that wasn't destroyed.
"We have a long journey ahead of us, Arisen," she said. He only looked at her with those bright green eyes. Did they say something other than determination, she wondered?
HoL:RftA
"Well … what happened next!?" Roxas asked with hyper anticipation.
"That's not important. It's almost time for Naminé to make her announcement," Merideth said. Naminé had left at the beginning of the hydra battle. Soon she would be making the council, if she hadn't already.
"Let's go," Roxas said. They rose and were about to leave when Naminé came in through the door, blocking their path.
"You two are still here?" she asked.
"Yeah, we were coming to watch the announcement," Merideth answered.
"It's done. We just finished. People loved the idea," Naminé explained.
"What!? How did we miss it?!" Roxas asked.
"We were efficient. People love the idea of a queen out on the front lines for her people. The council is made. We can leave whenever," she explained.
"Well let's get going!" Merideth exclaimed.
Later that evening after they had packed, the three of them boarded an old gummi ship. Cid had put in preordained coordinates for what Mickey said was a very important world to stop Maleficent. After checking up on everything and buckling in, the Gummi ship rose steadily into the air and shot off into the sky, leaving the world of Radiant Garden behind.
"WHAT!? TWO months until arrival!?" Roxas shouted after the ship had become stable. They unbuckled and stretched. There was a collective sigh of grief between the three of them.
"Well it looks like we can get some training done while we get there," Naminé said, looking to the upside.
"Where is there anyway?" Merideth asked.
"Looks like we're heading for a place called Middle-earth," Roxas answered.
Post Note:
TUH: I'd say you just unleashed the hounds.
TN: Umm ... how so?
TUH: They are made of wood.
TN: Ohhhhh, that they are.
TUH: Something something something ... rings. Something something something ... dark side.
TN: Now I don't know how to respond.
TUH: Question of the day!
TN: Is there truly more to Merideth than what there seems ... how can this relate to Roxas and Naminé?
TUH: See ya next time!
TN: Smarfle!
May the Love of Anuwëy guide you when all Hope is lost
TorNathan
The Unknowing Herald
