Chapter 11: Waiting for the Dawn
No excuses for the lateness, really. Besides that I was watching Death Note (a totally AMAZING anime series that is a must-see), along with the usual crap. So, yeah...anyway... Here we are! Yay!
I've decided to cut out like, two scenes that I originally planned to include since they would have taken forever, which was proven by my last chapter, which was supposed to cover twice as much as it did. Really sorry about that, guys. But on the good side, I enjoyed Skyra's reaction to BEN, didn't you? I'll just call him "BEN" now, instead of "B.E.N.", which drives my spell check system up the wall.
Shoutouts to: The Infiniator. Thank you very much for your super-awesome review!
Wow...I think I actually managed to keep it short and sweet this time... Well, yay for me! Enjoy the chapter everyone!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the sky above Treasure Planet, the clouds were the color of hot, liquid metal. They drifted formlessly, melting their blinding gold into the soft purple canvas of sunset. The usual daytime glare of a nearby star that served as the planet's sun had died down into a captivating yellow-orange that no longer offended the eyes to look at. The brilliant fireball was almost halfway obscured by the canopy of mushroom trees in the horizon, slowly plummeting out of sight to allow the cool night it's allotted time of supreme dominance.
Thinking about Twilight Town, Roxas?
...Yeah. The sunsets here are a lot alike. Roxas gave a thoughtful hum that was only audible to Sora. It's funny how the sky can be so beautiful, even at a time like this... Almost as if to contradict the situation.
Sora shifted his gaze away from the mesmerizing light show to watch Dr. Doppler set Captain Amelia down, using a dome projecting randomly from the metallic floor for support. The severity of her injuries restricted her from just about any kind of movement, so Dr. Doppler had carried her from the crash site all the way to BEN's place. Now, Doppler was by no means a muscle man, but even he had managed to carry her light frame without much difficulty. At least she was still alive and kicking, not hesitating to give orders as needed.
BEN was standing farther back in the room, rambling about how you'd think he would have cleaned up a bit in a hundred years while trying to figure out what to do with an old chess set. After a moment of slight embarrassment and being virtually ignored, he dumped it on the floor.
I know we're not supposed to interfere with the events of the worlds, thought Sora. But, we can't just leave these guys here either...
Yeah, agreed Roxas. I'm sure everyone else is thinking the same thing, too.
Sora chuckled mentally. You're right. I think even Skyra feels for them.
Really?
Well, she's not complaining about how we're wasting time or anything like that... She probably cares about them a bit, even though she'd rather not admit it, of course.
Skyra was currently standing in front of the large opening, which was built into the side of the structure like the wide mouth of a cave. Not one to be caught off guard, she busied herself with keeping a vigilant eye on the tree line for any probing members of Mr. Silver's crew. Ardeo played cutely with Skyra's hair while nipping occasionally at her ear, begging for her to scratch under his chin. After a moment of trying to ignore him, she finally conceded.
Donald and Goofy were both getting a good look at the inside of the decrepit structure, probably wondering how BEN could call a place like this "home", while Kairi sat next to Captain Amelia in concern.
Sora gazed about the darkening interior of BEN's home, noting that it was entirely made of dull copper metal. It was fairly egg-shaped with a tall ceiling and pipes running along the walls here and there. Cryptic circular markings adorned the smooth interior walls and the floor was covered in- you guessed it- moss. Sora had no idea how moss could grow on metal, but at least it would provide a bit more comfort for Captain Amelia.
Though they were all concerned about the rather large gash in her side, the bleeding seemed to have stopped for the most part, so healing magic shouldn't be necessary. Not that they were in any sort of hurry to expose the arcane nature of their abilities to worlds ignorant of the existence of magic, aside from the summoning of their Keyblades. Having to explain their situation was often difficult, not to mention forbidden, but the locals of the worlds usually accepted them well enough without them having to reveal anything too important.
Jim, the last one inside, climbed over the lip of the large opening just as BEN said something about finding old-fashioned romance touching. As was his habit, it came out slightly louder than necessary and Sora had to refrain from flinching. The robot clanked up to Dr. Doppler and Amelia jovially, offering them two cups of bubbling black oil on a tray. "How about a nice drink for the happy couple?"
"Ooh, uh… Oh, no thank you," replied politely, though obviously repulsed by the revolting black liquid. "We don't drink and, ah, we're not a couple..."
The two gazed at each other fondly for a few moments. Riku, who was leaning against the wall next to Sora, tilted his head sideways without taking his eyes off the scene. "... Yet," he whispered, making Sora chuckle in agreement. There was definitely something going on between the two. Even he couldn't miss that if he tried.
Dr. Doppler, realizing that the silence had stretched on for too long, did what any embarrassed scientist would do: he cleared his throat and changed the subject. "Look at these markings," he pointed out. "They're identical to the ones on the map. I suspect that these are the hieroglyphic remnants of an ancient culture."
"Mr. Hawkins," growled Captain Amelia fiercely, trying vainly to sit up. "Stop anyone who tries to approach-oh..." She grasped her side tightly, eyes squeezing shut in pain.
Dr. Delbert Doppler, who was kneeling down next to Amelia throughout this show of resilience, calmly folded up his maroon coat into a makeshift pillow an placed it under her head. "Yes, yes, now listen to me. Stop giving orders for a few mili-seconds, and lie still," he ordered in a strangely commanding voice.
"Very forceful, Doctor," commented the Captain. "Go on, say something else."
"Hey, look! There's some more of your buddies!" pointed BEN excitedly. Everyone turned to see him suddenly standing on the rim of the building's entrance. Sora had just realized what BEN had ACTUALLY seen when he began waving his arms above his head and hollering at the top of his lungs into the clearing beyond. "HEY FELLAS! WE'RE OVER HERE!"
Jim barely had enough time to pull BEN inside and out of harm's way before the unnatural green of sizzling laser fire flashed about the room. Sora only heard Riku shout "Get down!" as Jim returned fire, using the lip of the opening as a barrier to shield himself with.
As Sora mentally face-palmed at BEN's idiotic mistake, he noticed Skyra charge into him like an infuriated bull, smacking him into the wall and pinning him there with her forearm. Using her free hand, Skyra drew a black and crimson knife from its sheath with a singing hiss, pointing it directly in from of BEN's face. "You metallic MORON! " she growled, lip curled back in a spine-chilling snarl. "Why do you always have to draw attention to yourself?"
"N-no, no, I-I'm sorry! I won't do it again, I swear!" pleaded the trembling robot. When Skyra's eyes only blazed hotter, he resorted to desperate flattery as a means of self-preservation. "Heheh... Very nice, very pretty girl, Skyra," he said, stroking her arm tentatively.
Sora couldn't believe it. There was a long-ranged battle being waged between Jim and a dozen or so pirates who were quickly advancing on their position, and Skyra was threatening to kill a helpless robot.
Ardeo, noticing his companion's rage, darted over and touched down on her head, looking at her upside down and waving a scaly claw in front of her field of vision. When this failed to yield any sort of response from Skyra, the tiny reptile scampered down her arm and tugged at her hand in hopes of getting her to remove the knife from the vicinity of BEN's face, but he was simply not strong enough, seeing as Skyra was completely unaffected. Frightened, Ardeo turned his electric violet eyes towards Riku, sending him a mental message of panicked concern.
Skyra's pink streaks flared angrily in the setting sun as her knife slowly drew a line from BEN's face to his chest. Ardeo took off and began flying circles above the girl's head whilst filling the air with his deafening screeches. One might almost forget there were pirates at their doorstep; even Jim took his eyes off the downhill battle to watch the spectacle.
Skyra's eyes glowed demonically with blood rage. "With this knife, I am going to pry open that compass, reach inside, and rip out whatever mechanical guts you still possess, you spineless worm!"
"AGH! Please don't kill me!" screamed BEN, bringing his thin arms up to shield his face.
"A pathetic nuisance like you deserves to die!"
It was then that the others decided to act. What followed was nothing more substantial that a blur as Sora, Riku, Donald and Goofy lunged for Skyra at the very same moment she pulled back her knife hand in preparation to strike. It took all of them together to hold her back from her vicious onslaught, pleads for her to see reason mixing incomprehensibly with her threats and insults as she thrashed wildly.
The rambunctious squall continued even as Kairi stood up, yelling at them to quit fighting.
"Let go of me! I'm gonna kill him!"
"Wait, Skyra. Calm down!"
"Why do these things always happen to me?"
Strangely enough, the thing that ended up calming them all down was silence. The last few streaks of venom-green plasma raced into the room with a dazzling flash and then disappeared, leaving the group confused in the sudden peacefulness left in its wake. Skyra finally shifted her attention to her surroundings, rather than BEN, who took the opportunity to get as far away as possible from his almost-murderer. A familiar voice drifted up to them from somewhere outside just as Jim popped another ammo clip into his gun.
"Helooooo up there!" called the jolly, accented voice of Mr. Silver. Jim peeked cautiously through the opening to see someone waving a torn piece of cloth attached to a stick from behind a ledge, signifying peaceful intentions. Mr. Silver then lowered the flag and pulled his bulky form into view, still wearing his one-sleeved brown overcoat and loose white shirt. "Jimbo? If ah, it's alright with the Captain, I'd like a short word wid'cha."
Jim continued to watch Silver carefully as he promised no tricks. Sora slumped down against the wall, wondering what to make of the situation.
Captain Amelia stirred from her position on the floor, instantly expressing her dislike for the turncoat Mr. Silver with a growl, sharp nails digging into the moss irritably. "Come to bargain for the map, doubtless."
She moved too much and Dr. Doppler forced her back down. "Captain..." he said warningly.
"But," thought Donald out loud. "If he wants to trade us something for the map, then..."
"...That means...that he thinks we still have it," finished Jim with a sly grin. He stood up, placing his blaster on the lip of the cave like opening.
"What're you going to do, Jim?" asked Sora.
"Easy. I'll go out there and meet him like I actually have the map. I'll listen to whatever he has to say and try and work something out to our advantage."
Sora scratched the back of his head. "Sounds like a plan, I guess."
"Just be careful!" warned Goofy.
"Yeah, I'm sure he won't try anything," assured Jim as he climbed through the exit.
While Jim was out making deals with pirates, Sora had decided, partially out of boredom and partially just to lighten the mood, to play Duck Duck Goose. Sora, Riku, BEN, Donald and Goofy all sat in a circle while Kairi took her turn being "it". Skyra kept an eye on Jim's conversation with Mr. Silver while Ardeo switched to Riku's shoulder in order watch the fun.
As Kairi circumscribed the group, Riku wondered how in the world Sora had managed to drag him into playing this ridiculous game. As unusual as it was for a sixteen-year-old to be participating in Duck Duck Goose, he had to admit Sora's lighthearted idea actually DID make him feel a little bit better about being stranded on a long lost planet of legend, whose treasure had yet to actually be seen. When was the last time he'd played it on the islands with Tidus, Wakka and Selphie...?
He was jarred from his thoughts when he sensed Kairi making her way back over to him again. "Duck, duck, duuuuuuuuck...," she repeated as she tapped the heads of Goofy, BEN and then Sora. She paused for dramatic effect over Riku, who tensed, preparing to leap into action.
"...Duck," she tapped his head with a giggle and moved on. Riku put on an "I can't believe I fell for that" kind of look, letting his posture droop once more.
"...Duck, goose!" her target was Goofy.
"I'm'a comin' for ya, Kairi!" he announced as he jumped to his feet and raced after her. She was too fast, however, and managed to reach the empty space before him.
It continued on for a while with everyone cheering on the runner during each rotation; Goofy picking Sora, who tapped Riku, who chose BEN, who then picked Donald. At this point, Donald Duck learned that he was the least skilled at this game, owing to the fact that his legs were so short, everyone he chose was easily able to catch up to him. Unable to find a loophole to get himself out of being "it", the magician became frustrated to the point where he threatened to call forth thunderbolts against the "dirty, rotten cheaters".
They were all in the process of trying to calm him down when Jim returned from his parley with Mr. Silver. Riku was about to ask how it went, but Sora beat him to the punch.
"How'd it go, Jim?"
He sighed at the darkening sky. "Not the way I'd hoped. He tried to get me to make a deal with him, team up and then split the treasure in half."
"He did?" asked Sora eagerly.
"Well, yeah, I mean, I refused, but then he got really mad... Said he'd 'blast us to Kingdom Come' if we didn't hand him the map by morning."
"Right, I heard the shouting," confirmed Skyra. She let her hands fall down to her sides. "Well, this is just great. Now what are we going to do?"
"We'll think of something," stated Sora firmly. "We have to."
~~~~~~~~~ (a small look into the mind of Skyra) ~~~~~~~~~~
It was just as Sora said that, on the evening we were stranded on Treasure Planet, that I noticed a change in those eyes of his.
Looking at them didn't remind me of Havok; his held a certain chaos and, though just as deep, never burned quite as brightly as Sora's. No, it was like another side of him came out, a previously underlying willpower fueled by an adamant sense of righteousness, burning gentle, yet fierce. It said that he was willing to go amazing lengths to protect the one's he cared about, and that he would never back down from adversity because he believed wholeheartedly in the notion that all things work out in the end.
Taking all this in at a glance, I realized he wasn't just an immature fool swinging a giant key around like the idiot I first took him to be. It seemed the kid had a lot more going for him than I thought... The fact that he could wield such strength and yet be so happy and carefree all the time; it made him a little more special than I had originally opinionated. It made me think that maybe he didn't get this far purely out of dumb luck.
Hmph... Perhaps I should stop underestimating people.
"-can't believe I even trusted that old scalawag in the first place," came a bitter voice. Skyra snapped out of her daydream-like state to see Jim leaning against the wall and staring into the dark forest of mushrooms beyond, where the bright yellow glare of a distant campfire could be seen.
Sora looked at the older teen with his compassionate eyes, perhaps understanding that some part of Jim was still hurting from Mr. Silver's actions. He climbed up onto the lip of the opening, leaning with his back against the part that curved upward and putting his hands behind his head. "Well, I didn't expect Mr. Silver to betray us either, Jim," he consented with a sigh. "But you know, I think he might just be a little confused is all."
Jim half turned to him questioningly. "You...really think so?"
Sora shrugged, switching his gaze from the twinkling stars to Jim. "Yup, I guess I do. I spent some time with him, too. And, he did comfort you after the supernova incident, didn't he?"
Jim scratched the back of his head with a small smile. "Well, yeah...I guess he did." His brow furrowed a second later and he dropped his hand.
"... Wait, how'd you know about that?"
"Oh, heheh..." chuckled Sora at his own mistake. "Ah, I just sorta guessed since you were so happy next morning."
Smooth.
"I see..." said Jim, a suspicious smile playing onto his lips. He continued to look at Sora, who tried to hide his guilty smile with a cough. He had just almost exposed the fact that he was spying on Jim that night.
There he goes again, handing out forgiveness and hope like free candy... thought Skyra to herself.
Yeah, Sora's always had a talent for that sort of thing.
Skyra nearly jumped in surprise as a second voice entered her mind. The invader chuckled at her response, and she recognized it as that of Riku's. So, she said mentally, you've learned how to use Ardeo as a conduit into my thoughts.
Yep, he responded. And let me just say, it feels kinda weird in here.
Watch your step, Keyblader. Enter my mind too often, and that nice long mane of yours might just suffer its first bad hair day.
My first bad hair day was when Sora spilled honey and baby crabs all over my head, and then I fell through the brambles where a flock of seagulls pecked at my skull. Sorry, but I doubt you could do much worse than that.
Be that as it may, the mind is not simply a book to be read. It has many layers, and you might find yourself lost it it's complexities. If it sees you as an intruder, it will act as an immune system would to a disease, sending thoughts and raw emotion to attack your mind.
Ouch. Well, if you don't want me to mess around in here, then I won't. But you also need to promise not to look through other people's memories.
It pays to know the people around you, reasoned Skyra.
That doesn't make it right.
... Fine. I won't do it unless it is absolutely necessary, happy now?
Very.
Skyra felt Riku's presence leave her mind just as Captain Amelia stirred from her doze. She turned to see that the woman's arm had been wrapped in a sling. From the looks of things, the wound in her side had gotten much worse and seemed to be causing her some serious pain. The Captain had been drifting in and out of sleep for a while now, without much progress. Perhaps a little healing magic might be necessary after all...
Everyone either turned their heads or stood up in concern as she began to speak, quite deliriously, as a matter of fact. "Gentlemen, we must...stay together, and...ungh..." She went silent as Dr. Doppler began to panic.
"What? What?" He lost his cool and took of his monocle. "We must stay together and what?"
Captain Amelia looked up at him dazedly. "Doctor, you have...wonderful eyes..." Her eyelids drooped with a dreamy smile.
Dr. Doppler looked up in horror. "She's lost her mind! (Ahaha... !One of my favorite lines XD)
Jim was over there in a flash, followed by Sora. "Y-you gotta help her!"
Delbert Doppler pointed a finger at Jim. "Dangit, Jim! I'm an astronomer, not a doctor! I mean, I am a doctor, but I'm not that kind of doctor! I've got a doctrine; it's not the same thing! You can't help people with a doctrine, you just sit there and you're USELESS!"
The astrophysicist dropped his head into his hands out of stress-induced frustration. Jim walked over to the dog-man and placed his hands on his shoulders reassuringly, telling him it was okay. "It's not your fault," supported Kairi, who was sitting on the other side of Captain Amelia.
"Yeah, Doc.!" agreed BEN. "Jim knows exactly how to get out of this, it's-Jimmy just has this knowledge of things." The robot walked quietly up to Jim, who was now leaning out the opening in the far wall. "Jim," he whispered. "Any thoughts?"
Jim turned his eyes to the RLS Legacy looming miles overhead, it's form nothing more than a dark silhouette against the soft glow of the planet's distant green ring. "Without the map, we're dead." He gazed at the forest where the pirates were camping out, "If we try to leave, we're dead." Jim turned away from the opening, eyes moving back and forth restlessly as his brain calculated possible escape plans, desperately searching for anything that would work. "If we stay here..."
Morph finished the sentence, mimicking Jim in a squeaky voice, "We're dead! We're dead, we're dead, we're dead!" Morph's cheerful little smile changed into a frown as he chirped concernedly at Jim, who leaned out the hole in the wall heavily. The sheer hopelessness of their predicament was beginning to get to him.
Sora looked at Riku, who was leaning up against the wall, also contemplating the situation. "You got anything, Riku?" he asked hopefully.
Riku sighed, standing up straight. "Nope. I'm in the same boat Jim's in, Sora."
Sora frowned at their lack of usable options. It was just as Jim had said; no matter what they chose to do, the probability of casualties was high. And- even if they managed to elude the pirates that had cornered them- where would they go then? Into the endless jungle of overgrown fungus? And how long would it be after that until the moral of the group sank so low that its members either gave up or cracked into insanity?
As long as the Legacy remained in the hands of the traitorous crew, there was no way off this forsaken planet, and no way to move forward in their mission to find Arcadia. They were truly stuck between a rock and a hard place.
BEN, who had noticed Jim starting to feel down about their certain doom, whispered to Morph, "Well, I think Jim could use a little 'quiet time', heheh... So, I'll just slip out the back door."
Jim's eyes caught fire. "Back door?"
And just like that, everything changed in the mind of Jim. The wheels in his head, which were once suspended by the weight of near-hopelessness, suddenly sparked into action again; turning and grinding as Jim sought a solution at light speed. Sometimes, there is a simple way to solve any problem: for one or more small factors- which were previously overlooked or thought to be impossible- to change.
Jim rushed over to BEN, who was on the side of the circular room farthest from the opening. Sora, Kairi, Riku, Donald and Goofy all ran over to their location as the copper robot manually rotated a large dome fixed into the floor until it's underside revealed a hidden circular opening. An artificial bluish-white light filtered in from the hole in the dome.
"Yeah," grunted BEN in response to Jim's question. "I get this delightful breeze through here." Everyone stared down in awe as BEN began rambling about the importance of ventilation among friends. Beyond the large circular hole was what could only have been the most amazing engineer's feat of the century.
Vast pipes and interconnecting wires twisted vertically down a narrow chasm, from which resonated the piercing white glow that covered everything in a glossy shine. A horizontal catwalk made of metal grating ran directly underneath the opening below them, allowing for the manual access of whatever lie hidden in this seemingly endless maze of machinery.
"Whoa..." was all Sora could respond with.
"What is this stuff...?" asked Jim in awe.
"What? The miles and miles of machinery that run through the entire course of the inside of this planet?" asked BEN with a loud voice. "Not a clue."
This new revelation had made Jim very excited. He had already come up with a plan. "Hey, Doc! Doc, I think I found a way outta here!"
"No, Jim, wait! The captain told us to stay toge-"
"I'll be back!" shouted Jim over his shoulder, right before he swung his legs over the secret hatch and dropped onto the walkway below. BEN jumped in after him , yelling, "Cannonball!"
Dr. Doppler still had his arm outstretched.
He dropped it with an "and then he ignores me" kind of face. "Woof."
"Don't worry, Doc." assured Riku. "We'll make sure they come back in one piece."
"Yeah," agreed Sora. "Me'n Riku will be back soon!"
Kairi watched as Riku scaled the heavy metal dome. "You're going with them?"
Sora nodded his head. "Yeah. You guys take care of the Captain while we're gone, okay?"
"Alright, just be careful, Sora."
"Hey, no worries, Kairi," said Riku nonchalantly from atop the dome. "What's the worst that could happen?"
Sora snickered at him. "Hey Riku, isn't that the same thing you said before you fell out of that tree?"
Said boy narrowed his eyes at his friend. "Yeah, and this is the part where you shut up, Sora." Riku then gave a two-fingered mock salute and dropped into the circular hole below. They heard him land on the metal grating not a second later.
"Alright, see ya later, guys!" Sora waved to Donald and Goofy as he leapt onto the dome. They waved back at him and called out their farewells, and he dropped through the secret entrance in much the same fashion as Riku.
A moment later, after Sora's echoing footsteps died down in the distance, Kairi was surprised to realize that Skyra had not said anything nor even lifted a finger to accompany the boys on their mission.
"Skyra?" she asked the girl in confusion. "I'm surprised that you didn't go with them."
Skyra glanced at her briefly before turning her gaze once more to the forest outside. "I am perfectly content with staying here, so long as that annoying robot isn't around. He'd better not try to hug me again...for his safety, of course."
Kairi chuckled nervously at Skyra's dangerous smirk.
She then looked at Dr. Doppler as he continued to keep an eye on Amelia, but he was too distracted to hear anything of their conversation. "The Captain doesn't seem to be doing very well, huh?"
Skyra rubbed the back of Ardeo's ears absentmindedly without taking her sights off the dark nighttime landscape. "Yes, I was thinking about having Ardeo work some of his healing magic on her... We can't have the Captain losing all her marbles now, can we?"
The little green dragon chirped appreciatively from his companion's shoulder, nipping her ear and scampering to her upheld hand where he swished his tail playfully and gave Skyra his full attention.
"Ardeo," she said, quietly but firmly. "Get over there and look cute. Cuddle up to her or something, but don't heal her completely; it has to be subtle. Understand?"
Ardeo spun himself in rapid circles, chirping his agreement excitedly before taking wing and zooming towards where the sleeping Captain lay.
In a room far away:
He hung there, suspended in the silence that enveloped the room like a blanket of snow; cold and thick.
The magical chains holding him in place by his wrists and ankles gleamed dully in the pathetic shaft of light wafting down from a break in the ceiling above. Apparently, the dominant darkness thought this lone resistance too insignificant to bother with; it only seemed to make the shadows deeper. In this weak strand of light, small particles of dust danced like a flurry of snowflakes, drifting aloft on tiny eddies of air movement.
The pale beam fell onto the figure's bowed head, illuminating the top of his pure white hair and creating a barely visible silhouette. The man's clothes were impossible to make out through the thick cloak of darkness. This room was often nearly completely dark, though at certain times of the day this flicker of hope, however small, would visit him as it had now.
The figure remained quite inert; however, he was not sleeping, but silently contemplating his situation. The subject weighing most heavily on his mind was the man currently holding him prisoner. How had he found him? It was impossible for outsiders like him to track his whereabouts, let alone catch him. And yet, now that he had been bound- an outrageous sin to his kind- why had he not been questioned?
This confused him most of all. If somehow this man who called himself Xemnas learned of him, surely he was after what he thought he was? Furthermore, what was the point of his capture if he was to do nothing but hang here like some sick man's version of a wall ornament?
He shifted uncomfortably, pulling himself up a little to stretch his stiff neck and arms. The joints cracked loudly from lack of movement as he finally altered their positions. The chains clinked softly with his movements, sinister veins of violet light running down the dark metal links. He was careful not to disturb them too much; he had learned quickly that struggling against their hold held very dire consequences.
Through the fog of his subconscious mind, he was suddenly aware of himself. Just that and nothing more. His mind was suspended on that one thought: that he existed. Everything else was tranquil and blank.
But then a sound drifted to him; a voice, smooth and deep invaded the silence, invoking his vague curiosity. All of the sudden, he felt himself falling; crossing the threshold of sleep and awakening against his will. The sensation lasted not even for a second and then his brain registered the presence of his arms and legs. He then remembered his name. Random thoughts and words appeared before his mind, among them, memories; and other things that were tangled and meaningless. They lingered a moment and then he dismissed them.
A pounding in his head caused him to groan softly in pain. His eyes fluttered open. Standing before him, at about waist height, was a hooded man. He boasted an impressive build, lean and tall, giving off the appearance that he was capable of extreme agility and power. He was dark and sinister looking, and wore a white cloak with strange jet black markings. Though his identity was concealed by his hood, something about this man put him on edge, but he couldn't quite place what it was.
The man said something, but the words were lost to his fuzzy mind for he was still not quite awake.
"Where am I...?" asked the figure, his voice just above a whisper. For some reason, he did not remember.
"You need only know that I am now your superior." came the hooded man's reply. "Concerning yourself with anything else is a fruitless endeavor."
The voice was cold, indifferent.
A bad feeling rose in his stomach, bringing him fully back to his senses. Something was wrong here, but what? He glanced up and instantly realized what it was.
He was in shackled in chains.
That explained why the mysterious man only came up to his shoulders: he was suspended in midair.
Fear and panic began welling up inside him. He didn't remember how he got here or who this man was.
"What 's going on? Who are you and why am I restrained?" he asked, trying to contain his growing anxiety.
The dark man chuckled to himself. He waited a few tense moments and then- ever so slowly- removed his hood. The man's features were smooth and quite handsome. Silvery strands of hair fell away from his face like a mane, coming almost halfway down his back. His face was tanned and part of his lip was curled in the beginnings of a small, dangerous smile. The worst part, however, were his eyes. Glinting a golden yellow, they peered at him with unnerving intensity, deep into his being: the soulless eyes of a Nobody.
The prisoner's eyes widened and he gasped. He recognized the man now. This was impossible. He couldn't be alive; it was wrong, it was all so terribly wrong! Shock turned to fear. This was an abomination; Xemnas should not have been brought back! It was just so wrong!
"No...!"
The figure kicked and writhed, desperately trying to free himself. He beat his mighty wings in a vain attempt to fly away, creating great gusts of wind that made Xemnas's cloak whip around. But the Nobody paid it no heed, simply gazing up at the flailing young man. He would soon be silenced.
Purple veins appeared on the chains, glowing brighter as they sensed resistance. They hummed to life and vibrated slightly, but the winged figure did not notice in his struggling. Where the chains were attached to the wall, something clicked and an unnatural electrical current was unleashed through them.
The man immediately squeezed his eyes shut and his jaw became tight; quickly cutting off his surprised cry as he experienced the electricity's painful path through him. He endured the sensation as best he could, not wanting to show weakness. The dark room lit with the bright purple flash.
Finally, after a brief moment, it ended. He took a minute to calm his breathing and shook his head a little, trying to clear it.
"I thought ahead of time to modify these chains should you think about escaping, so you are more than welcome to try. However, as you can plainly see, resistance is a waste of your precious energy and time," pointed out Xemnas.
He could hear the self-satisfied smile in his voice, and he hated it.
"You fool!" the figure growled. "Don't you know what you've done just be being here?"
Xemnas only smirked knowingly.
"If Vexen were still alive, he would have jumped at the chance to pick you apart and see how you work..." said Xemnas thoughtfully.
The man in chains met Xemnas eye to eye, giving off a false sense of level-headedness. He ignored his panicked nerves, which, in reality, were eating at his insides; instead asking his question as placidly as he could make it.
"What is it that you want, Xemnas?"
"Oh? I would think that you of all people should know precisely what it is I require," said Xemnas with look of mild interest. "Then again, that is merely scratching the surface of something so much grander... But like I said before, that is nothing you need to concern yourself with.
"Tell me," he continued. "How does it feel; knowing that the unstoppable has begun while you remain here, trapped and rendered incapable of deterring it? That you have been caught and are at my mercy? That you are helpless to save the ones you love and there is nothing you can do about it?"
Xemnas's words seemed to have hit home. The winged prisoner could feel the anger building up in him. The fragile barrier he had built around his emotions shattered and he lost his nerve. With a blind fury he fought his bonds again, but this time with the intent of attacking his captor.
He yanked at the chains and thrashed even more violently than before. He knew it wasn't like him to lose control like this, but beyond the feelings of anger and injustice was fear. This was all a nightmare that he wanted desperately to wake up from, and so he vented it all on the man before him.
His rage-filled face came within a foot of Xemnas's, but no further. The cloaked man did not even flinch.
Another click and the evil chains shocked him again, but this time it was amplified tenfold. His back arched and he screamed in agony, he could not stop himself this time. The excruciating pain surged through him in one continuous wave as the electricity kept coming. He was unable to move, his whole body convulsed in such a tight position that he thought his tendons were going to snap from the strain. The violet light reflected eerily off Xemnas's face. It came still, much longer than last time-
Finally, mercifully, it ended.
His eyes opened wide, then dulled and crossed, closing halfway as his body went limp and he hung low once more. His breathing was hard and ragged; it took him much longer to calm it this time. He let himself hang, hating his weakness but making no further effort to resist. The sinister electrocution had stolen all his energy, and he was overcome with a feebleness that threatened to put him under.
He groaned weakly, admitting with shame that he had been beaten.
"Painful, isn't it?" asked Xemnas, as if questioning him for his personal opinion on his handiwork. He walked slowly around him in a circle, observing the effects the electricity had on his prisoner. "Perhaps now you will understand the full scope of your situation," he continued, sounding bored. "In spite of your aching pride, you would be wise to accept that you are now under my control, and my terms."
The figure tried opening his eyes, but his vision went double. Everything spun dizzyingly and hurt to look at, so he shut them once more.
"I simply require you to stay put, nothing more. Despite your position, you still have a choice. Cooperate, and no further harm will befall you. However," added Xemnas in a darker tone, stopping in front of the winged man once more and fixing him with a stare. "Should you decide to cross me, you will face much worse than these chains."
The words took longer to register, for his mind had become a scrambled mess. Xemnas turned and strode away.
"Farewell for now, and have a pleasant rest," he said in a falsely sweet voice. "I have much planned for you in the future."
The prisoner's eyes remained closed, wanting nothing more than a respite from the lingering pain that the chains had inflicted upon him. The darkness closing in around his mind rendered him incapable of abstaining from its call to a peaceful slumber. He really didn't even try; sleep was so tempting. He let it take him, welcoming it like a friend, even though he knew he shouldn't.
The memory was still fresh in his mind. That had been the first time he had woken up here, in this dilapidated prison. The stone walls were cracked and worn in this area, and dust was abundant.
A small moth fluttered from within the darkness, attracted by the light source above. The figure finally opened his eyes to watch it, or, rather, sense it.
The insect flitted erratically about his right arm and then behind his head. He lifted his gaze to witness its path to freedom.
Instead of making him feel worse, the little creature's escape had actually lifted his spirits some. Here, in this place where hope was extremely rare, any small victory was a huge comfort to him.
True, he was blind and did not actually see the moth. However, it wasn't the moth's form he saw, but it's aura.
Aura: the life-force emanating from all things. He had been taught all that was known about it since birth. It sustains all creatures, allowing itself to be borrowed for a time, but always returned in the end. It goes by several names; aura, essence, life-energy, he had even heard it called the "Force" once; but they were all one and the same.
Of all the things he could do, sensing aura in this way was unique only to him. When he looked at the moth, he really saw a glowing blue-white version of it. It left ghostlike afterimage with each movement; small waves of energy pulsed through its body, and at the same time radiated from it. In the same way, he could also "see" the guards posted on the other side of that door, and the roof above.
Their aura was dim and varying shades of dark purple: less pure, corrupted with evil. The assassins killed others of their kind just to hear their pockets jingle with coins when they walked! There was no greater sin in his mind. Well, he thought, with the exception of Xemnas.
Killing for fun or profit was one thing, but raising people from the dead, especially Xemnas... It was wrong. When someone dies, their aura moves on to be recycled once more into the Heart, and their soul departs to another plane of being. Bringing them back is stealing, and desperately holding on to this existence and doing anything to avoid death was cowardly. It is natural to fear death and the unknown, but those who have achieved Balance within themselves can learn to accept it as just another adventure.
But besides that, resurrection was no simple feat. It made no sense how he could have returned, and it scared him.
The "heroes" Xemnas had mentioned earlier undoubtedly referred to Sora, the Chosen Keyblade Wielder, as well as his friends.
He wondered what Xemnas had in store for them, and also where they were at the time...
He frowned.
They were being dragged into something they did not truly understand. This was so much bigger than anything they had ever faced before, and he wasn't sure they could handle it. Were they even ready for something like this?
He hoped so. There was something going on here, something deeper, indefinable.
There was only one explanation.
The Balance must be unstable. Something deep inside of him, the part that made him what he was told him that. He had to set things straight, had to get to the bottom of this. This was all wrong and it must be stopped!
But first, he had to escape.
He flexed his great wings, watching as they reached their fullest extent. He vowed to find some way to get out of this place, no matter what. Somehow, he told himself, he would escape. He had a duty to fulfill, and he was bound to it by honor. So, for now, he would conserve his strength; and wait for his opportunity.
A note on Xemnas's behavior: I know that he seemed to have displayed some subtle forms of emotion, but I think he may just be feigning it to get to the winged man. Or he's just being evil for evil's sake...
But, yeah! You finally got to see more of Xemnas's prisoner! Sorry, but his identity yet remains a secret. I'm hoping that I did good on that scene...
Lol, yes, our heroes were playing Duck Duck Goose on Treasure Planet! I thought it'd be funny, and quite frankly I'm just weird like that.
Once again, some of these scenes and dialogue did not actually happen in the movie. I created them in order to help explain things or connect different scenes together, since movies like to skip around sometimes.
Me: Hopefully, the gang getting stuck on Treasure Planet for another chapter hasn't bored you too much. That's why I added the last scene in there to keep you all interested. They should get off world in the next one or two chapters!
But seriously, guys. One review? Only one? You guys are killing me here! The last chapter had the most hits and views so far, so I know you were reading it! Not to complain, but I LIVE on those things! I swear, I'll go into withdrawal or something if-
(Axel, Demyx and Zexion all burst through the door like lunatics, weapons out)
Axel: We've got a problem here!
Me: (stops ranting and looks at them like they're crazy) What is it now? I was just lecturing the readers on the importance of reviews!
Axel: Trust me, this is way more urgent.
Demyx: Yeah! We were just playing Blackjack with Luxord when this thing came out of nowhere and attacked us!
Me: Huh? What thing?
Zexion: Here it comes now!
(Suddenly, a giant monstrous Titan made of cinderblocks crashes in through the wall, holding Luxord in one hand.)
WROooooaaaAARR!
What the-? What IS that thing?
Zexion: I think it may be the physical rendering of your writer's block.
Luxord: Would you be so kind as to get me DOWN from here?
Me: My writer's block looks like Cinderblock from Teen Titans? You have got to be kidding me!
Luxord: Helloooooooo?
Me: Urgh...! We're gonna need a little extra help here. Hey, Axxela! Get your butt in here!
(Axxela portals in)
Axxela: Wow, you'd think that I'd talk to myself a little more politely... What is it now... -Oh crap.
Axel: Exactly. Our attacks are barely doing any damage and Luxord is in trouble!
(Axxela dodges a flying table)
Axxela: Ahh! Hey, Luxord! Can't you just Time Warp yourself outta there?
(Luxord is being smashed repetitively against the wall)
Luxord: IT'S HARD*smash*...TO *smash*...CONCENTRATE *smash*...WHEN HE'S*smash*...TRYING TO *smash*...FLATTEN ME!
(The wall finally breaks and Luxord is covered in rubble)
Luxord: Uungh... Bloody hell...
Me: Holy fudge! Okay guys, (turns to audience) If you all hurry up and review, my writer's block will get weaker! Do it quickly if you want to save Luxord!
(Cinderblock crushes my flat screen TV)
Me: (blinks) Oh, you are SO gonna pay for that!