Chapter 5: The Ruler of Atlantis
Marluxia appeared elsewhere in the city, in a high place that overlooked the entirety of the ruins of this once-great civilization. He saw none of it…or rather he saw it not with his eyes, but with memories carried by the hurricane raging inside himself. There was a cry of helpless despair while his consciousness shriveled and was hidden away in the recesses of his being. Before another breath entered his lungs, Marluxia was no longer there.
His eyes opened to reveal two glowing orbs which surveyed the world critically. He said no word but sought landmarks instead. There was a trace of familiarity to him in the area, but he could hear the frightened shouts of people nearby.
Descending a set of stairs, he rounded a crumbled building and came in sight of the city dwellers. He caught snatches of their conversation as they whimpered about strange white enemies and tremors from deep in the earth.
He desired to be among those people and suddenly he was. Rose petals drifted down around him, and though he did not know how he had transported himself directly to the place he wanted to be, he accepted the phenomenon as though it were expected. Those around him cried out in fear and shrank back.
"Is it one of them?"
"He is not in white."
"But how did he appear?"
"Who is he, then?"
The cloaked man's face was almost gentle as he observed their fright and confusion. He felt as though he'd been away for quite some time, but surely his subjects still remembered him.
"I have returned to you," he called in a voice befitting one of royal blood. "Are you not glad to have your king back?"
They looked at one another in even more perplexity than before.
One of the elderly women stepped forward. "Forgive my failing memory, but if you think we know who you are then you are mistaken. Our king is still alive."
"So, I have been usurped," he said with some amusement. "Surely one among you remembers Sirikahn."
The woman jerked back in surprise. "No, it cannot be… My great-grandmother told me you vanished lifetimes before her birth."
"As you can see," he held his hands out, palms up, "vanishing is not the same as dying. How shall I prove myself? Shall I recite the Primordial Days or communicate with the giant protectors?"
Only true royalty knew the telling of the great epic or how to speak to the stone creatures who guarded Atlantis without waking them. He could give a dozen more examples of his station, but he could see the belief beginning to show in their eyes.
"But what about our king and princess?" a boy asked.
The man with pale rose hair looked down at the child and gave him a kind smile. "Go tell them King Sirikahn has come back to protect his people. I will not take their throne but I will not surrender it either, for it is already my own. If they agree to meet with me perhaps we can come to an understanding. I will wait here for their answer."
More people crowded around, asking questions and insisting it was impossible, though less and less convinced of that every moment as he spoke to them. Meanwhile the boy ran up stairways to reach the palace. Everyone could see the mark of royalty in this man's face and countenance. He appeared to have a just mind, especially after asking to see the king and princess instead of declaring their reign finished.
Soon it seemed as though the entire city had come to see this man who claimed to be their ruler of old. Everyone talked and laughed, all in mixtures of yearning and disbelief. As he defended his station to several people, it came to his notice that part of the crowd was quieting. Sirikahn turned that direction and softly motioned for the people to move aside.
A lane gradually opened allowing two people to make their way to the center of the crowd. By then the conversation all over the plaza and the surrounding area had come to a complete halt. The entire multitude seemed to be holding its breath, unsure how this conflict would unfold.
The former king observed the young woman with a calculating gaze. Her poise spoke of a child trying to act the part of ruler, but with so much freedom behind her composure that it was apparent to him the shackles of palace life had not quite clamped down yet. A coddled adolescent she was.
He only spared one glance for her companion. He wore a black cloak and kept his eyes covered by a bandage of some sort, though he walked as if he had no need of sight. He was short, which meant he probably was not her suitor since it was unseemly for the wife to be taller than the husband. He must be her guard, then.
"So this is my heir," he intoned with pleasure.
The woman looked at him warily and glanced back at the young man behind her. He gave a slight shake of the head as if to convey his uncertainty.
"…Marluxia?" she said hesitantly.
"Sirikahn, child. A king of this city and protector of its people, but also your ancestor. Tell me your name that I may know what your mother thought of you when you were born."
"You are—!" the girl began to shout but the one in black grabbed her elbow and she stopped. Looking back at him, she seemed to reconsider her words and faced Sirikahn to say, "My mother's name for me is Kidagakash."
"Ah, how interesting that she would name you 'Silver Wings' and my own name me 'Ivory Feather'. It is an uncanny likeness for so great a gap in our age, is it not? Have you earned your second name yet?"
A touch of crimson crept up her throat and she jerked her head away as though ashamed. The king felt some pity, but was still more amused by the reaction. Coddled indeed.
"Ancestor," she said with some difficulty, "would you be kind enough to follow me to a more secluded place where we may discuss this phenomenon?"
"Gladly," he replied, giving an ancient-style bow.
%*%
Kida could make nothing of this man who had only recently tried to kill her father and now stood looking at her with the fondness of a grandparent. As she led him up the stairs toward a portion of the palace away from the throne room and its resting occupant, she could not help digging through her memories for information on anyone named Sirikahn.
There was the flicker of reminiscence…of her mother telling her tales of the old kings…one by the name of Sirikahn…but what had Matim said of his rule? His was not one of the stone faces in the cavern. She had recognized them all as other men.
"Kidagakash," the man said gently, "I have not come to take your place as ruler. I ask only that you tell me what you know of this city since I fell into slumber. It was once glorious but now lies decayed around us. The people do not seem to notice, which makes me wonder about their lives."
"We have lived in this city for countless centuries. To their minds it has always been this way because they do not notice the gradual change."
"And what of the history before your time?"
"…I cannot tell you. My father has not allowed the telling of ancient stories since I was a girl." Kida hadn't meant to tell him that, but it came out of her mouth before she even realized.
"I see. How unfortunate for you and your people. The identity of a nation is embedded in its past. When I ruled we had celebrations of light and music, all centered around the greatest storytellers."
Riku lengthened his steps until he was walking at her shoulder. The so-called Sirikahn saw their desire for privacy, so politely lagged a short way behind.
"It's not an act. He believes everything he says," the young man said lowly.
"But how can that be? He has the Heart of Atlantis inside him."
"Your father told me the Heart gives everyone here long life and protection, and they give it everything they experience. Emotions, memories… Perhaps one of those memories was stronger than the rest."
They had nearly reached the palace gardens and Kida glanced back at her 'ancestor'. "I know he was not the strongest ruler of our city. Why did the memories of his life become so vivid instead of another's?"
"I don't know."
"What do you plan to do?"
"…Try to remind him of who he really is, I suppose. If his memories of being a Nobody are not entirely gone I may be able to prove he could not be two different people. Do you have a better plan?"
"Perhaps. I have not forgotten my father's words."
They entered through the archway into the garden. Centuries earlier it had been magnificent, full of exotic flowers and intricate mosaics on nearly every wall. Statues and gushing fountains as well as tiled designs along the walkways made this place the pride of each member of the royal family.
Now its mosaics and tiles had been damaged or the colors faded, statues had fallen or crusted over with age, and the fountains that worked spouted slower, no longer gushing. And the plants themselves had adjusted to the underground 'sun', most of the exotics failing entirely or evolving into paler flowers with long stems. Still, the gardeners cared for them well enough that they decorated the place with their vines, which created new archways and bowers. In nearly every corner was a fruit-bearing plant decorated with ribbons to signify who was allowed to eat from it.
Despite the loss of so much of its original beauty, the lovely flowers woven along the maze and its abundance of 'secret places' among the overgrowth created a new sense of splendor and nostalgia that had never been there when all had been properly organized and unsoiled.
While Sirikahn looked about him with interest at the strange garden, the princess took a deep breath, readying herself.
"May—may I greet you properly, Ancestor?"
"By all means, child. I do not mean to give the impression I would have nothing to do with you." He faced her, straightening.
Kida stretched her hands out to either side, leaning forward on one foot and bowing until her hair almost covered her face. The Nobody stood over her, leaning forward on one foot as well, and raising his hands until they hovered on either side of her head. She brought her hands together and clasped his forearms, then he gently touched her cheeks, lifting her head upward.
Riku watched the short ceremony with interest. She was touching him, but there didn't seem to be any change in either of them. Was the Heart not responding to her? And why?
"I am grateful that you are not so opposed to my presence, Kidagakash. I would like to help you in any way I can."
Apparently Kida had been expecting something to happen as well because her expression was blank. "I-I—"
"Where have you been?" Riku interrupted roughly.
The 'ruler' turned to him and gave a strange look as though not sure whether to answer him. "Slumbering beneath the earth, I assume."
"But before that what do you remember?"
Sirikahn narrowed his eyes. "I am not accustomed to interrogations."
"I am merely searching for the truth."
"Truth," the man scoffed. "An ironic philosophy. If I was to say and believe one thing and you another, they would both be contradictory, but 'true'."
Kida remembered Marluxia's words in the underground cavern and wondered at the similarity in beliefs between Sirikahn and him.
"This is my confidant," she said with a gesture. "Your disrespect to him is disrespect to me."
Suddenly his demeanor changed. His shoulders relaxed visibly and the cold gaze that had been measuring Riku's worth became accepting. "Ah, that explains much. Very well. In answer to your question, I recall ruling the city alongside my brother and his wife."
"When did that change?"
"I do not remember. I ruled, and then I opened my eyes in this stricken city."
Riku paused, seeming to consider his next words carefully. "Do you remember the Organization?"
"It does sound familiar. What is it?"
"At this point even I don't know. Do you know the name Lexaeus? Vexen? Zexion?"
At the mention of those names, Sirikahn's brow furrowed as though he had some idea of who the people were but did not want to think about them.
"Heartless?"
True recognition flickered in those eyes and the 'ruler' seemed to consider this more seriously than the odd names. "I do know of these creatures from murals, but we call them Dark-Halves. Yet…why do I know them by the title you use? I have never seen one save in the paintings, but somehow I know I have dispatched many."
"Did you wield a scythe?"
"Royalty only use long blades," he said haughtily, but there was something unsure in the words.
"Your name is Marluxia."
The Heart of Atlantis pulsed with confusion as both memories of Marluxia and Sirikahn conflicted, overlapping and contradicting each other. He knew he could not be both, yet he had memories of each. Which was he?
Suddenly Kida gasped as a memory occurred to her. She stepped forward, her voice strong. "You earned your third name shortly after your disappearance, Ancestor. You were called Fallarilne, the Kin-Slayer."
For an instant the Nobody looked at her with no change in expression, but then memories seemed to flash behind his eyes and undisguised shock covered his face. A cry like that of an animal mortally wounded burst from his mouth. "Alleiwyn!"
The Heart could not keep this painful memory suppressed and let out energy in bursts that broke over everyone in the vicinity like ocean waves. They were all pulled into it, unable to resist…
%*%*%*%*%*%*%
Light began to dwindle as the sun dipped toward the horizon, growing a shade of red like bloodgold. The garden was filled with its pristine statues and fountains but especially the myriad of plants decorating the area with not only their unique flowers but their assorted scents as well.
There in a secluded corner were two people, one of them sitting on a bench next to a lone pillar. The man finished speaking to the beautiful young woman and she began to cry. He sat on the bench beside her and she leaned against his shoulder as tears slid down her face.
"I suspected he was hiding something, but I never expected this…"
"Alleiwyn, he is a wretch," he said, "but not all men are." Suddenly he kissed her deeply, but she forced him away with such zeal that they fell off the bench.
"Stay away!" she cried out, scrambling back.
"What? Do you think this inappropriate after what he has done to you?"
"Even if I could use revenge as an excuse, it would not make my actions less wrong. I am married, Sirikahn."
He threw himself up from the ground. "Do you refuse me because he is my brother? You still cling to him even though he is faithless while my love has continued to rage unabated since before your union?"
The question seemed to confuse her, as if the answer was never debatable. "Of course. When we married I chose him and he chose me. I cannot control his actions, but I will not allow his deeds to affect my behavior as his wife. If I do as he has, it would not heal the anguish eating away at my heart now."
The man slammed one fist into the pillar. "Is that it? Is that the only thing to keep us apart? I can help heal this deep injury!"
"But I feel no such love for you. How can you demand that we be together when my feelings and especially my principles have never crossed your mind? You are my brother, nothing more." She seemed to dismiss his confession and started past him.
Sirikahn's mind froze with the magnitude of his hopes and yearnings as they were dashed to pieces. His expression turned dark as the blistering torment inside his chest began to overflow. All he felt was pain and all he wanted to do was make her know how he felt. If he could reject her the way she rejected him, surely she would understand.
No, she would never understand. Alleiwyn only loved that disloyal fool for nostalgia's sake, not because he deserved it.
An overwhelming rage blinded him completely. He reached toward her, hardly knowing what he was doing and saying anything that came to his mind.
"You never loved me! I slaved every day to win your affection but he always held the first place in your heart even though you were never in his. His sons should have been mine. Everything would have been better—can you not understand that?"
A gurgling noise reached his ears and Sirikahn cleared the blindness from his vision with difficulty. He found himself holding Alleiwyn against a pillar by the throat, her feet dangling above the ground.
He released her instantly, but she fell to the earth without any resistance as if she were unconscious.
"Alleiwyn?" he sought tentatively, touching her shoulder. He turned her face upward and that was when he saw in the fading sunlight the ugly marks he'd made on her neck. They were deep. "Dearest! No, no! This did not happen! Why? Why did you not simply love me?"
The ruler was running before he even knew it. There was a shenwei just outside the garden and he activated it, leaping on and speeding to the sky without making the proper signals. Another shenwei with a guard riding on its shark's back narrowly avoided him, but he ignored the man's concerned call.
He soared out over the ocean, as far as he could go in an hour. The stars barely gave any light, but he paid them no attention. All he could see was her face bathed in the light of the setting sun, appearing to wash the entire garden in blood. He could not have done it… He did not do it. He never would have hurt her!
He was flying too close to the waves but that fact hardly occurred to the tormented man even as they splashed at his heels. One hand gripped the crystal on a thong around his neck. With a quick jerk he tore it off and threw it into the sea. As it sank, the shenwei lost power but Sirikahn spread his arms wide as though welcoming the punishment. He could not imagine living without his Alleiwyn and blamed his brother for this tragedy.
"It is not my fault!" he shouted one final time before impacting the waves with such force that he didn't feel a thing as he died.
%*%*%*%*%*%*%
Riku and Kida staggered back as the vision left them with such abruptness. Nearby the Nobody stood almost limply, staring at nothing, but suddenly he seemed to come back to himself. His eyes fell on the Atlantean and islander.
"I would rather have been Sirikahn," Marluxia growled. The scythe appeared in his hand and he darted toward them with a crazed look and deadly intent.
The idea for the Heart's effect on Nobodies was actually inspired by Mako poisoning. Contradictory experiences can either make a person go crazy or face the truth about their past. There's not really a plausible 'accept and forget' phase.
As for the poll, how many of you guys are fed up with that really annoying tendency of the new Disney writers to take a movie that was actually halfway decent and make a sequel? I've got to say I can't keep the main girls straight from Jungle Book II, Little Mermaid II, and Peter Pan II. They all practically had the exact same personality. Which (of all of them, not just these) was the worst?
My answer: Little Mermaid II – To be honest, all those problems she seemed to be having were beyond stupid, plus the movie practically encourages little girls to run away from home to 'find themselves'. And Ariel was stupid too for hiding something the entire city would have been aware of. And if Triton's magic staff really controlled sea-critters, why the heck didn't he use it to get rid of Ursula's clone? Just one dumb plot hole after another…
