A/N: Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry. I've been busy, my beta's been busy. I got a huge test coming up within a week so I have to study for that.
Remember to read the author's note at the end.
−13−
The Boat
A thin line separates us from the comforts of land to the mysteries of the deep. Crystal blue that no one can describe to the fullest extent is often misunderstood. So many colors you'd wish that you could see forever. You have to see it with your own eyes to really appreciate the beauty that lies below. The flora, the fauna, and the colorful reefs that littered the floor. The places that the ocean life called home.
However, you could only see this beauty for a limited time.
A shame really, but Kairi wouldn't trade it for the world. This was the last dive and she couldn't afford to go back to the boat empty handed. The map she and Sora found in the catacombs only proved that the GPS coordinates have changed over time. She could only make out a few points on the map but had to narrow it down to three. The first two were duds and now things seemed utterly hopeless. But that didn't mean that she was giving up.
"Maybe you got the coordinates wrong." She heard Xion's voice in her ear piece. She pushed a button on her wrist as she surveyed the rocky landscape.
"No. I'm positive this time," she responded, her voice filled with confidence.
"Let me remind you that this is the last dive." She didn't want to be reminded, it only made time grow shorter. "Wait, what's that?"
Kairi looked in time to see what Xion was seeing and she couldn't believe her eyes.
"You girls found something?" She heard Riku's voice. He and Sora were still on the boat, monitoring the events and communicating through the radio.
She swam forward to widen her view, trying to contain her excitement.
"Hold on, we'll go further in," she informed them, her flippers moving her forward.
"What's it look like?" Riku asked again.
"It... It looks like a boat!" Kairi exclaimed, as she stared down at the large boat – no, ship below her. She could see it was from ancient Greece as it had row upon row of seats for the slaves to keep the ship moving. The mast was broken off and leaning towards the starboard side while the sail was eaten away by bacteria a long time ago and the paint was all gone. The oars still lined the sides of the ship as if they hadn't moved for over two thousand years.
"A boat? We came all this way for a boat?" She heard Sora's voice with a puzzled tone.
"Hang on..."She swam down to get a better look at the ship."Xion, how many oars do you see?"She asked her companion. She could see the raven haired woman swimming not too far, also heading towards the ship.
"I'm getting at least twenty five," She answered. That confirmed one of the facts that popped in her head. Kairi looked at the large boat from bow to stern, and then from port to starboard.
"At least thirty by four meters in length and width," She said thoughtfully.
"And what's that in American?" She honestly thought Sora would say something like that, not Riku.
"Ninety-eight by thirteen feet," She clarified and she heard a whistle through her ear piece.
"That's a big boat."
"Kairi..." She heard Xion, the realization must have dawned on her as well. "Do you think it's-"
"I really do. It would explain so much."
"Care to share with us, ladies?" Kairi let out a little laugh as she stared down at the legendary ship below her.
"This could possibly be the Argo," She said with certainty.
"Argo?"She heard Sora ask.
"The ship Jason used with his Argonauts on his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Since Peleus was one of his Argonauts, it could be that something was left behind the ship," Kairi explained.
"That's great, so what are you looking for?"Riku asked as she analyzed the wreck.
"We should look for something dealing with Eris, the Trojan War, or something that shouldn't be there."
"Lets hope we find something before we run out of air,"said Xion.
They swam closer to the ship and started examining her from top to bottom. Seeing if anything could be salvaged and wouldn't deteriorate as soon as it's exposed to the open air that waits above the water surface.
"Any luck?"She heard Sora ask.
"Nothing yet."
"In any case, we should salvage anything we can get. This is our last chance."
"Are you saying that because you want to be credited for finding the Argo?"
Kairi couldn't help but smirk at the thought.
"That's just a bonus."
"So, what have we got?" Riku asked the two women sitting before him. They returned to the boat with near emptied tanks and bags filled with treasure. Not gold and silver, but vases, pottery, and statues.
"Nothing of significance for me," Xion sighed, disappointed that she couldn't find anything of value. Not according to Kairi anyway.
"What about you, Kairi?" Sora asked, receiving a satisfying grin from her.
"I found this." She dug into her bag and pulled out a fairly large, but surprisingly light, statue. The others sighed in disbelief upon viewing the piece.
"Another statue," Sora groaned. They found nothing and they wouldn't get another chance for several months.
"This time a horse," She told them as they looked closer at the statue.
"A horse?" Xion asked, like it was the first time she saw it, and making the connection very fast in her mind.
"Yup. No doubt depicting the very famous horse."
"The Trojan Horse." Sora added in thoughtfully.
"That's right."
"So, anything significant on it?"
"Let's see here," Kairi started examining every bit of it. Traditional Greek design, made of clay, and the horse itself was standing on a base on only it's hind legs, like it was ready to leap off the base. There wasn't any writing on it, not even an artist's signature. "Nothing on the outside..." she trailed, but she couldn't get over how light it was, despite the clay. A thought occurred to her and it bit her chest. "I really hate to do this."
"Do what?" Sora asked, not liking the face she was making.
She stood up with the statue in her hands and raised it above her head. Everyone's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.
"Kairi!" Xion exclaimed, but was too late. Kairi sent the statue crashing down on the deck and watched as it smashed into pieces.
"Kairi! What the hell?" Sora demanded. Why on God's green Earth would she destroy a possible lead to the sword?
She ignored her comrades as she knelt down and started flipping the pieces over.
"The Trojan Horse is famous for being hollow on the inside. And if we..." She trailed off as she moved more pieces aside to find a round piece of metal, about the size of the palm of her hand, with square holes going along the edge and engraved writing around the center. "Another iron plate?" She inquired, curiously.
"Does it say anything?" Sora asked, only to receive a shake of her head.
"It says- What's that sound?"
"What?" Xion asked with confusion. The two men, however, stood up and surveyed their surroundings. They heard and watched another boat speeding its way to them and a feeling of dread enveloped them.
"Get down below. Kairi, gather the pieces," Sora instructed, watching the boat coming to view. Kairi gathered all the pieces and marched with Xion down to the bedroom. Sora crouched down to his knees along with Riku and continued to watch the boat come in. It stopped beside them and it doesn't look the least bit welcoming. "Dammit," Sora grunted.
"I am so sick of this," Riku hissed.
"What's going on?" They heard Xion calling up to them.
"Just stay down!" Riku called down, crawling towards the door and joining the two women.
"We know that you're there," They heard a man's voice calling to them through the radio. He sounded like he was from California and his voice sounded every bit conniving. "You may as well come out with whatever it is that you've found," The man reasoned with them.
"Who are they?" Xion asked, lost on what's happening around them. Sora joined them in a second as Riku took the duffel bag out from under Kairi's bed. He unzipped it and took out his .45 and handed Sora his 9mm. Xion stared at them, flabbergasted.
"You brought guns on this boat?" She exclaimed.
"Ex-mercenaries, duh," The silver haired man stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"C'mon, tiger," They heard the man again over the radio. "You don't want us to blow up the boat with you on it. Or hurt the good Doctor for that matter."
Riku got up and peered out over the deck with his gun out and ready to shoot, but he quickly back down as soon as he saw one of the men on the other boat was holding up a very large gun.
"Shit," He cursed, letting the others know of his distress.
"What is it?" Sora demanded and was met with a defeated look.
"Lexaeus has an RPG." Sora's eyes widened, knowing full well of what had to be done.
"Lexaeus?" Kairi questioned as she watched the two men walk back in and put the guns back into the bag. "What are you doing?" She didn't understand what their actions as they both gave her a defeated look.
"We're no match for an RPG," The brunette stated. Riku picked up the bag and slung it over his shoulder.
"What? So you're just going to give up?" The raven haired woman questioned, earning Riku's dejected look.
"We don't want to, but we've got no other choice."
Sora felt himself getting shoved down to his knees and glaring down onto the floor of the boat with his wrists bound by duct tape. He hissed when he felt a strong hand tugging on his hair and pulling him back to look up at the man standing before him. The man was built in structure and the smirk seemed to be permanently attached to his face. His hair was graying on the sides and the long ponytail was an attempt to make him look younger, but the eye patch that covered his right eye and the scars gave him an imposing demeanor. And that lone orange eye, to a normal person, would send chills down their spine. It was a good thing that Sora was far from normal.
His eyes shifted to his left and saw Riku in a similar position, only no one was tugging on his hair. The same went for Xion and Kairi on his right. However, the man that stood behind him had a much bigger build, dreadlocks sprouting from his head, sideburns that hooked around his cheeks, and violent purple eyes.
He looked up to the man again to see him laughing down at the brunette.
"There's a good boy," the man taunted down at him while Sora sneered back up at him. "I hope you don't have a plan in that big head of yours." He poked Sora's forehead with his index finger. Sora held in a growl. "Because whatever it is, it's going up in smoke."
As soon as Eye Patch lifted his hand, the other man with a similar build to Dreadlocks only with short brown hair, the man Riku called Lexaeus, pulled the trigger of the RPG and the group watched the bomb sail towards the boat that they were on just five minutes ago.
BOOM!
"No!" Xion yelled as she watched the boat blow up into splinters and slowly sink down to join the Argo.
"Relax, young lady, it's not like it was your boat," Eye Patch laughed and the raven haired woman glared harshly as she watched him walk toward her and knelt down before her. "Speaking of which," He grabbed her hair, enjoying her wince, and made her look at him. "Who are you?" he asked.
"Why should I tell you?" She asked him back through her teeth. He released her roughly and watched as her head bobbed forward.
"You tell us, or we'll kill you. Or don't tell us, and we kill you anyway."
"So I'm dead either way. In that case, bite me," She spat up at him, earning an irritated look from him. But then, shockingly, he started to laugh.
"You're a brave young lady. I'll be sure to put that on your tombstone." He took his gun out from its holster and pointed it directly between her eyebrows.
"No!" Kairi screamed, gaining Eye Patch's attention. He merely 'hmph'ed at the red head.
"Sorry, Doc. But you have no say in this." He looked to the raven haired woman and prepared to pull the trigger.
"I'll tell you everything!" The red head cried in a desperate plea, earning wide eyes from her friends.
"Kairi, no!" Sora exclaimed, receiving a fierce tug on his head and kicked his left kidney.
"Shut up!" Dreadlocks shouted down at him.
"What's that?" Eye Patched asked, feeling intrigued by the Doctor's offer as he marched over to her.
"I'll tell you everything we know and found. Just don't kill her," She offered, but the man merely gave her a crooked smile.
"Hmm... That does sound promising," He trailed as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "But how do I know you're not shitting with us?"
"What choice do I have?" She glared up at him, earning a hearty laugh from him.
"There's always a choice, Doc. You can choose to lie to us, spare your friend's life and we end up finding out that you were and pay for the consequences. Or there's the opposite of that." He knelt down in front of her and gave her a daring look. "So, what's it going to be?"
She gave him a strong glare. She hated to do this guys bidding but inner conflicts would deny her of her choice.
"Kairi," She turned to see Xion giving her a look that was asking for a favor. "Don't tell them anything. My life is not worth saving."
"I don't believe that," Kairi shot at the raven haired women and then turned back to Eye Patch man. "We found the Argo down there."
Her friends gave her disappointed looks.
"Argo?" Eye Patch asked inquisitively.
"Jason's ship. I found a statue down there. It was of a horse. It had an inscription on it. The coordinates for Athens."
"Are you sure about that?"
"I'd prove it, but you confiscated my bag."
He gave her a suspicious look.
"Did it say where in Athens we should look?"
She averted her guilty gaze to the floor.
"You have to look for the oldest building there. There's a passageway in there that will lead you to the sword."
He let out a small laugh as he cupped her chin and made her look at him.
"That wasn't so hard now was it?" He whispered down at her and she fought every urge to spit at his face. He roughly let her go and got up. "Head for the docks. We'll take the yacht to Athens. In the meantime, put the prisoners down at the hold."
"Well, this is great," Riku said with a sarcastic tone, glaring at the opposite wall. The four were forced down to the living quarters, all scattered about the room.
"Would you shut up? I'm trying to work here," He shot at the silver haired man. Meanwhile, Sora had pulled his shoe laces out of his military boots and tied one end around his foot. The other end looped over his duct taped wrists and tied around his other foot. He started shifting his feet like they were on bicycle peddles.
"You shouldn't have done that, Kairi," Xion shot a glare at the red head across from her. "I wasn't afraid to die."
"I won't have your blood on my hands," Kairi shot back and then added knowingly: "Besides, I just told them what they wanted to hear."
Xion gave her a questioning look.
"What do you mean?" She asked, earning a smirk from Kairi.
"I mean, I didn't really tell them where the sword is."
"So you have a plan?" Riku asked, now relieved that Kairi had done something right since they got on this boat.
"We need to stay here in Turkey. Travel south." She explained.
"And how do you propose we escape from these guys," Xion nodded her head up towards the top deck where the three burly men would surely be.
"There's a little window at the docks when we are transported from this boat to the yacht," Sora entered the conversation as he continued to work on his bonds. "I say we take that window. Ha!" He successfully cut the duct tape using his shoelaces and leaving Kairi and Xion to stare wide eyed at him. Riku, however, smiled at his former friend.
"Leave it to Sora to find a way to escape," He said, laughing.
"Besides, I knew Kairi was lying to them as soon as she opened her mouth," Sora pointed to Kairi and she gave him a thankful smile.
"Thanks for trusting me."
"Just playing my part." He returned her smile.
Xion looked on with astonishment. She couldn't believe the exchange that she had just witnessed. The two trusted each other? Was that possible?
"Xion." She turned back to the red head and saw an urgent look. "When we do escape, you should get as far away as possible."
The diver could only smirk at her.
"You don't need to say that twice. I'm already gone."
Riku was pushed roughly by the handle of an AK47. He let out a small groan as it hit his spine. He didn't ask for this, any of it. He just wanted to stay on dry and sturdy land like he was meant to be on. The four explorers and the three tough guys were walking along the dock, with Lexaeus leading the pack along side Xion, Kairi, Sora, Riku, and finally Dreadlocks taking the rear as Eye Patch walked on the side right next to Kairi, and the yacht was looming near and he had no desire to be on the damn thing.
Sora's plan better work.
"Geez, another boat in a few days. This is clearly not my week," He groaned as he started to slow down.
"Shut up!" Dreadlocks used the butt of his gun and drove it into his side, earning a hiss from the silver haired man.
"Oh don't worry, it'll get worse," He heard Eye Patch promise and he let out a breath of air.
"Well, sorry to break it to you, but I don't do boats," He clarified but was met with an uncaring laugh.
"You don't have a choice in the matter," Dreadlocks spat down at him and Riku let on a smirk of his own as he saw that they were about half way to the yacht.
"Funny. I thought I did." Riku let out a low whistle and he watched Sora break free of his bonds and slugged Eye Patch in the face. He grabbed Kairi's arm and pulled the duffel bag from Eye Patch and heard his shoulder dislocate. Soon, he was running into the town as Riku did a back kick into Dreadlocks lower abdomen and Xion swung her bound fists to the side of Lexaeus's head and ran off following Sora and Kairi.
"After them!" Dreadlocks shouted as he aimed his gun towards the direction they were running in, but found Eye Patch's hand resting on the barrel and lowered the weapon.
"No. Let 'em go," He commanded while nursing the side of his face.
"What?" Dreadlocks exclaimed in bewilderment while Lexaeus stared at Eye Patch as he recognized the knowing look.
"Xigbar, what is it you're thinking?" He asked his superior and earned a laugh from the man.
"That the Doc lied straight to our faces."
"Hurry up, Sora," The red head urged her partner. They were hiding in an alleyway and Sora was lucky enough to have found a piece of broken glass by the trash containers. He freed Xion and Riku from their duct tape bonds and was halfway done with Kairi's.
"I'm going as fast as I can," He told her in a rushed voice and finally broke the tape and she quickly took the bonds off.
"Well, this looks like a good place to part ways," Xion said as she faced the three people before her. They all knew full well that she was no longer needed and had no desire of continuing onward. She preferred her previous life of only diving and discovering what lies beneath the waves that didn't involve guns firing at her head.
"Take care of yourself," Riku said he placed a hand on her shoulder and eyes briefly meeting. Kairi then approached her and gave her a hug.
"Say hi to Ansem for me," She said to the raven haired woman as she pulled back.
"Once I get in contact with him, I will," She nodded to her red haired friend. Then her eyes fell on the brunette as a playful look appeared on her face. "Hey, Sora," She earned his questionable attention and let out a giggle. "Take care of her," She said and then ran off towards the city, disappearing into the crowd. Sora looked bewildered as he tried to make sense of what she just said.
"What was that about?" He asked and received a laugh out of the silver haired man.
"Don't worry about it. Lets just keep going."
"So where are we going, Kairi?" Sora asked their female companion as she gave them a look.
"A motel south of here. I haven't fully translated the plate."
Darkness swallowed his surroundings.
Every part of his picture had nothing.
No animal to scurry along for food or shelter, no insect to contribute to the music of the night, no wind to shift the trees in a stationary dance. The only source of light came from the half moon that was hanging above, casting shadows under his eyes and silver bangs.
The moon.
Half darkness, half light. Forever living in neutrality. Sitting in one place without a care and yet it's always changing. The light borrowed and creating its own darkness. Two halves of a same whole.
Never changing.
It fascinated him to no end.
He heard a knock on his door and told the person to come in while his back was still facing the other way.
"We've received word that the prisoners have escaped," he heard his blue haired second say as soon as he approached his superior.
"Under Xigbar's watch?" The Superior asked, his voice deep and almost questioning.
Those three have become a nuisance.
Why couldn't they stay still and receive orders like his subordinates do?
"I'm afraid so," his second responded. "But he also said that we can still follow their whereabouts."
"Follow their whereabouts, he said?" The Superior asked back.
"Yes, Master."
A smirk traced his features.
"Then proceed as planned."
"Yes, Master." He heard his second's echoing steps until a thought occurred to him.
"And Saïx," he called and heard the footsteps stop. "Be sure to have Roxas take care of our guest. She is of no use to us."
"Understood."
The steps continued and a door closed somewhere.
Left in peace to stare at the moon once more.
She heard a knock on the door. None of the other members knocked, which meant it could only be one person. She was glad, she can show him more of the stationary drawings she came up with. She heard the door open as she looked up from the desk and saw her favorite blond come in.
"Roxas. You bored already?" She asked with a playful tone. It quickly faded as she noticed his slow walk to her and sad expression. She was about to ask but everything clicked in her head as soon as she saw his regretful eyes. "No," She breathed as her hand reached to her mouth.
"It's time," He said in a deadpan tone as her heart hammered against her chest.
"Roxas, you can't," She pleaded, getting up and stepping closer to him.
"Come with me." Tears threatened her eyes. He sounded so cold to her.
"This isn't fair," She said in a harsh whisper.
"I know." He turned his back and started walking out of the room, hearing footsteps behind him. She knew her role and was playing it out according to plan.
"So what's going to happen?" She asked him hesitantly as they walked through the mansion. She took note of the interior as well as the copies Da Vinci and Michelangelo hanging on the walls.
"I take you to the place where all guests are taken care of," Roxas emphasized and she internally cringed.
"And you do it right then and there?" She received silence from him, but it spoke volumes.
She couldn't believe it was happening. That everything was coming to an end for her. She would never again go back home and start the projects she had in mind. She would never have lunch with Kairi and talk about the adventure the two of them had experienced. She would never fully enjoy Roxas's company. It wasn't fair. None of it was. She could easily blame it on her best friend, but she knew Kairi would never forgive her if she did. Kairi was strong. She would've stuck to her guns and never let anyone tell her otherwise. Most of all, she always kept her head held high. Nothing would stop her until she figured out the puzzle. Naminé saw that time and again and she almost envied that aspect of her.
But then she quickly realized that she needed to steel herself. If Kairi were here, she'd find a way to kick Roxas's ass and escape into the woods. But Kairi's not there and Naminé didn't know how to fight. Instead, she needed to brave. Not just for Kairi, but for everyone that's involved. Her sacrifice will not be in vain.
They stopped in a clearing in the woods. Lanterns were placed in a circle and she guessed that they were less than a mile from the mansion. Not a single soul was around and if she screamed, no one would hear her. Roxas turned back to her. The look he gave her told her that he didn't want to do this. That he grew fond of her and thought it was a sick joke that he had to be the one to pull the trigger.
She took a deep breath as she faced her killer with a brave look.
"I'm ready," Her voice laced with finality. He wasn't surprised. He'd act the exact same way.
"You're real brave, Naminé. I almost envy that," He said with honesty, he pulled his gun out of his holster and pointed it her. She didn't even flinch.
"You do what you must." He smiled at her as she closed her eyes.
"I really liked you." His heart broke when he saw a stray tear cross her cheek.
He said an inaudible word and everything went black.
A/N: Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry. I hope this chapter makes up for the two and a half month wait. Lots of exciting stuff and a CLIFFHANGER! You guys have been patient (or at least I hope you were) and you get a cliffhanger. Life sucks, huh?
Special thanks to (and from chapter 11) Sylvia, tennisdesi91, Redeeming Endeavor, Don't Shoot the Puppy, ash-nobody, KaUiA, T3rran, Burai Stelar, and HalfHuman007 for beta-ing the chapter.
News during the break: I turned 25 in October (holy crap!), I dressed up as Elena Fisher as she appeared in Uncharted 2 for Halloween (awesome!), Thanksgiving was delicious, been working on chapters 15 and 16 (not simultaneously) as well a couple other projects, and I've been listening to classic Christmas music in the last few days. Tomorrow I'm going to go out and buy a gingerbread house kit and spend the weekend working on that. Exciting stuff!
Oh yeah, I also decided to take part in KH-Insider's Character Mural Project for the first game/final mix version. I drew Peter Pan, Jasmine, and Winnie the Pooh (Pooh bear was so much fun!) All of which you can view in my deviantart account. You can also check out the group and see everyone else's submissions. A lot of them are REALLY good! I suggest you go and check them out. Like now!
If I don't send out another update before the holidays, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Feliz Navida, Happy Hanukah, and a Happy Kwanzaa to everyone! And since I'm in Sweden right now, God Jul!
And a Happy and safe New Year!