So, here's chapter fourteen. Thank you Yume Ninja, TaylorTyper, KH_FLUTE, Sora Tayuya, and CatchingForRain for reviewing last chapter!
Chapter Fourteen: Sunrise
"You know, sometimes when I say 'Don't jump, there's a crocodile', I really mean don't jump, there's a crocodile!"
"Shut it," Angel growled to Shadow, as he tried to hall himself back up over the railing. Below, the ticking crocodile was growling with frustration at his miss, swimming back and forth anxiously in the hopes that Angel would fall back into the water.
"You know, I'm not wrong all the time," Shadow informed him as she dodged around the blade of an angry pirate.
"Shadow, please just help me up and stop reminding me!"
"Fine," Shadow conceded to him. "Well, in a minute."
"Shadow!" Angel snapped as the brown-haired girl dashed off further down the deck in the quickly dimming light of the sunset.
"I'll be back in a minute!" she replied. Now, if I were a pirate, where would I hide stolen weapons? Grinning, she decided aloud, "Why not check the captain's quarters?" Immediately, she tried the door, relieved to find that it wasn't locked. She was even more relieved to find that Hook wasn't at home. "Hmm…" she murmured, glancing around the cabin. "Are they in his desk?" She checked quickly, but found nothing but treasure maps and the remains of treasure maps.
The next place she looked was the large chest in the corner. She grinned when she saw her claw gauntlets and their holders present, among other things. "I'll be taking these back, if you don't mind, Captain," she said cheerfully, pulling out the holders and fastening them back around her waist, fixing the gauntlets themselves onto her hands. As an afterthought, she picked up a pouch of munny, too, and stashed it in one of her pants' pockets.
"What are you doing in me cabin?" a voice resounded from behind her.
Startled, she whipped around to see Hook standing in the doorway. "Um…I wanted to help you find your treasure?"
"Nice try, missy, but I saw you stealing from me!" the captain snapped, pointed his hooked hand towards her. "No one steals from Captain Hook!"
Suddenly, the whole ship rocked. Startled, Shadow lashed out a hand, the claws of her gauntlets imbedding themselves in a wooden support beam. Hook, however, wasn't so lucky, and ended up crashing to the floor. "Smee!" he called, pushing his extravagant hat up off his face.
The portly man came running. "C-c-captain!" he cried, fear coloring his tone.
"What's going on, Smee?"
"Th-th-there's…th-there's a…"
"Spit it out, Smee!"
Suddenly, there was a sound like splintering wood. Shadow gasped with surprise when their end of the ship tipped down towards the ocean, happy now that her claw gauntlets were jammed into the wood. Hook and Smee found themselves scrabbling at various objects, trying to remain on the ship.
Then the roof of the cabin was torn off, and Shadow got a good look at what had done the damage. Her eyes widened in surprise. "It's that monster that attacked us before!" She looked down, back to the monster, and finally to her gauntlets. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the blades out. Her feet fell out from under her on the slanted floor, and she found herself quickly sliding towards the ocean below. She turned around so that she was on her stomach, digging her claw gauntlets into the wood. For a moment, she continued to slide down, until the blades slowed her to a stop. Quickly, she used them to force her way back up towards the monster.
"Hey, ugly!" she called when she got in jumping range of the creature. It's head-thing turned slowly, yellow eyes gleaming. She planted her feet on the floor, using them to push off towards the monster. Crossing her gauntlets in an X, she called, "Say good night!" She drew her gauntlets out as she flew towards the monster, effectively slicing part of its arm. She landed on the other side of the ship, using her gauntlets to keep from sliding down. Once she was secure, she turned her gaze back to the monster.
What she saw brought no comfort. The monster took one, brief look at the wound. Then, it seemed as if the dark flesh crawled back up the arm, stitching itself back onto the main body. "Damn it," she heard Angel growl. Looking around, Shadow saw him push away from the monster and land not far from her in the shadows of the night, using one of his sparrow-winged daggers to dig into the wood.
"Hey, you're not in the water again!" Shadow said with a cheeky grin when she saw him.
"Yeah, no thanks to you," he replied, pushing his still sopping wet hair out of his eyes with his free hand. He looked up to the monster, eyes narrowed in a glare. "How are we supposed to beat this thing?"
"Uh…we don't?"
"And I thought you were optimistic," Angel replied with a role of his eyes.
"Yeah, so what does that tell you?" The monster glared at them with narrowed eyes before lunging towards them with large claws. Shadow and Angel both detached themselves from the ship and jumped away at the same time. As she glanced at it, she couldn't help but wonder if there really was any way they could beat this thing. "Guess there's only one way to find out," she muttered. Taking a deep breath, she launched off a piece of splintered railing, bracing herself for a long night.
~*~
This seems familiar, Roxas thought as he fell through the darkness. Instinctively, he flipped over so that his feet were aimed downwards. When he landed on stained glass, he knew immediately where he'd experienced this. In Twilight Town…with the Twilight Thorn. And, when I battled Sora. Looking down, though, he realized that this place wasn't quite the same. The images on the stained glass were unfamiliar to him, their colors and shapes shifting every time he tried to get a good look at them, so that it appeared as if the glass he stood on was alive.
You'll be able to see it, one day.
Roxas lifted his head at the sound of the voice that was beginning to sound all-too-familiar. "Who are you?" he asked yet again. "Why did you bring me here?"
You went through an Awakening once. Now, you must be reawakened, to the powers that lie dormant inside you.
"Awakening…you mean, what happened in the virtual Twilight Town?"
Yes.
"What do you mean, dormant powers?" Roxas called.
Your powers of light.
He snorted in disbelief, lowering his head. "If you mean my Limit, I can already access that."
You used some light powers in your battle against Sora, didn't you?
Roxas's eyes widened in surprise. How could this strange voice have known that? He lifted his head, eyes narrowed as he scanned the area for any sign of the speaker.
Roxas, it is time to awaken your powers. They will not be able to stay with you for long, always retreating deeper inside you.
"What? My heart?" Roxas asked sarcastically, growing frustrated with this mysterious voice.
…No, Roxas, your soul.
At this, he had nothing to say.
Roxas, would you like to see what's happening to your friends?
"What do you mean?" the Nobody asked warily.
I'll show you.
Suddenly, Roxas felt as if the whole world was spinning. Could air rushed around him, raising goose bumps on his flesh. For a moment, everything was a blur. Then, the haze half-cleared, to reveal a dim vision. What Roxas saw, however, was enough. The dark monster that had attacked the trio before was standing tall amongst the splintered remains of a ship. Off in the distance, several other monsters hovered, but, for the moment, the one in the ship held his attention. Because, there, the forms of Shadow and Angel were battling a hopeless battle against it. "How do I help?" he asked, resigning himself to the fact that he'd have to listen to this voice.
Let your light guide you. Then, things will be clear.
Before Roxas could ask what the voice meant, he found himself spinning again. This time, when it stopped, only darkness surrounded the stained glass on which he stood. Suddenly, the glass underneath him broke, and he was once again falling through darkness.
~*~
Roxas's eyes snapped open. He was once more in the damp cave, with the large Heartless still rooted in the center. He noticed Peter Pan keeping the Heartless' attention, flying quickly back and forth so that it had little chance to retaliate.
Groaning, Roxas forced himself into a sitting position. Immediately, Tinkerbelle flew over to him. She pointed one finger frantically towards the Heartless. "I know, I have to fight," Roxas replied, forcing himself to stand. Tinkerbelle flew around him, sprinkling her dust over him. "Thanks," he told her, summoning his Keyblade. Closing his eyes, he concentrated, until he felt his feet lift off the ground.
He didn't reopen his eyes right away, however. Instead, his mind winged back to his return to the Station of Awakening and what he saw of Shadow and Angel fighting. Let your light be your guide, the voice had said. But, what does it mean? An answer seemed to spring to life in his mind. Maybe…it has something to do with my friends. Like having the strength to help them.
Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes. That's when he saw something he hadn't expected. Light flared around him for a few moments, before settling onto him. As the bright light faded, it revealed deep red armor that covered everything except his arms, head, hands, feet, and legs below the knees. The armor itself had grooves running along it, where light pulsated like the rays of the sun. Across his chest and winding around his back was a giant orange X made of metal. "It's like one of Sora's drives,"he murmured, looking at the armor. Then his gaze returned to the Heartless. Gripping the Keyblade tighter, he flew up towards its head.
The Heartless noticed his movement. It turned its head away from Peter Pan, its fanged mouth opening as it maneuvered its head towards him. "Look out!" Peter Pan cried.
"I know," Roxas replied, brandishing his Keyblade. He spiraled away from the massive jaws and flew near the head, slashing his Keyblade out towards it as he did. Unfortunately, the Heartless was able to move his head away quick enough to get little more than a scratch. It reached up a large hand in an attempt to crush him. He lashed the Keyblade out, letting it collide with its clawed hand.
What happened afterward caught him off guard. From where the Keyblade hit, a small shockwave of light spread out across the Heartless' hand. He pushed away as the Heartless roared in pain, looking to his Keyblade in surprise. "Wow! How'd you do that?" Peter Pan asked him.
"I don't know," Roxas muttered in reply, looking back towards the quickly recovering and now thoroughly pissed Heartless.
"Think you could do it again?"
Roxas nodded. "No problem." He dashed through the air towards the massive roaring head. The Heartless, glaring at him, raised a hand into the air, attempting to force him to the ground under it. When he dodged with ease, it tried the other hand, repeating the action several times as he continued to dodge. Finally, with an angry roar, it lifted both up, attempting to bring them down upon him. He was not quite as unaffected by this attack, the claws hitting him enough to force him down part of the way. He righted himself quickly, the pulsing lights in his armor flaring, and flew back up towards the head.
This time, when the claw came, he was ready. He struck out his Keyblade, feeling a sense of satisfaction as the shockwave spread out after its impact. The Heartless roared in pain, reeling back. Peter Pan took this opportunity to dash forward, using his dagger to cut along the arm, and, hopefully, hinder it more.
When the Heartless next tried to put its hand down, it seemed to be off balanced. By this time, Roxas was almost to the head. Glaring at him as best as a Heartless could, he opened its fanged jaws and tried to capture them inside. Roxas attacked with his Keyblade, a shockwave running across its head, causing it to be dazed for a moment.
"Is it dead?" Peter Pan asked, flying up near him.
"I don't think-" Roxas cut off as the head suddenly seemed to snap out of its daze, stretching out with jaws open. Before either could react, it had closed its jaws around them.
Inside the Heartless' mouth, the two remained hovering in the air, the damp darkness illuminated by Roxas's glowing armor. "Weird," Peter Pan muttered.
Suddenly, their captor surged upward. Knowing this was his best chance, Roxas cried, "Get ready!" Then he brought his Keyblade down as hard as he could. The shockwave flew out at impact, and suddenly the darkness was filled with light.
~*~
Shadow scrambled frantically away from the monster's claws, remembering what had happened before. Her breath came in ragged gasps, and blood trickled down from several gashes. Angel, too, jumped away from a claw, landing beside her. "This is hopeless," he growled.
"Well, at least it can't get any worse," Shadow replied with a shrug, before both had to jump away from a claw once more.
Suddenly, a cracking sound split the night air. Startled, both teens turned their gazes towards the sound. Not far in the distance, a strange creature was emerging from a large rock formation. Claws stretched from its head, and it appeared to have roots stretching down below it. "You had to say it," Angel growled sullenly.
Shadow narrowed her eyes, then widened them in surprise. "No, wait! Look!"
The head of the other creature suddenly seemed to burst open, light spilling out from it. It seemed to crumple in on itself, falling to the ground as darkness rolled up from its fading body, leaving two figures, one glowing faintly, floating in the air where it had once been.
As if the other creature's death - which Shadow had decided was Heartless from its dramatic death - was a catalyst, the monster they stood on disappeared, seemingly instantaneously. With a cry of surprise, Shadow found herself falling into the water below. Angel landed not far away. "Great," he muttered, swimming over to the broken planks.
"Well, at least the monster's gone," Shadow replied with a grin, swimming to the broken ship herself.
She heard a fearful cry from above. "S-Smee!" Hook cried. "Ventus is back, with that accused Peter Pan!"
"Hey, Roxas!" she called up to him.
The Nobody, along with some boy dressed in green, flew - wait, flew? - over where the two were pulling themselves out of the water. "What happened?" Angel asked.
"Just a Heartless," Roxas replied.
"Where'd you get armor?" Shadow asked. "It looks like a sunrise!"
"Sunrise, huh?" Roxas muttered, looking at the red armor adorning him. He seemed to drift off in thought.
Which, of course, left Shadow to notice something else. "Wait, where'd the crocodile go?"
~*~
Unknown to the others, Lea had watched the whole escapade from a hidden vantage point. Looking at Roxas's new form, he frowned. "Well, that's not good." He was about to go back to Time Castle, when he heard a familiar, annoying ticking. "Damn it, leave me alone!"
That's the end of chapter fourteen. Just so everyone knows, this is the last chapter the Axel/Lea poll will be open! If you still want to vote, hurry. Reviews would be great.