DISCLAIMER: I hope you realize by now I'm just having fun with this and I don't like giving disclaimers because I don't own Kingdom Hearts...oh wait, I just gave one.
Chapter 13
Picking Up the Trail
"Another dream about him."
-Roxas
He was running down the corridor, sweat leaking from his brow. The silver haired boy was gasping for air, his heart issuing pain at every beat, as though it were about to explode, consumed by the feelings of anger, of hatred, of jealousy, of darkness. At last he stopped to catch his breath in the wide open chapel.
"Wh-why? It was mine." The boy asked in disbelief as he came to his stop. Then there was a deep voice from behind him.
"Know this. Only the heart that is strong and true shall win the Keyblade." The man said and the silver-haired boy could see he was garbed in a brown cloak with no real distinctive markings on it.
"Are you saying my heart's weaker than his?"
"For that instant it was. However…" The silver-haired boy listened intently. "It can become stronger. You showed no fear in stepping through the door to darkness; it held no terror for you." The silver-haired boy shook his head, willing to give up anything for this chance of power over his once-best friend.
"What should I do?" he asked the man.
"It's really quite simple. Let your heart, your being become darkness itself." And the man drew closer to him, ready to consume his heart as a Heartless does.
"NO!!" Riku cried out quickly, snapping awake under the starlit sky and the glowing fire of their campsite. He was breathing heavily and sweat was dripping down his face. There it was. The dream had occurred again, only this time it was extended, not as long as previous nights where the dream had occurred, and it scared him. There was rustling next to him and Riku sat up, turning to face the staunchly awake form of Gentai. Gentai was staring straight at him as though he were a cat that knew no rest. Riku shifted uneasily under his companion's gaze and flexed his fingers, making sure they were okay. The silence was taut between the two and Riku said nothing.
"The dreams again?" Gentai said, breaking the silence. All Riku could do was nod at his friend, affirming the notion that the young boy already had. "They're becoming more frequent."
"I know…" Riku snapped in a hushed tone and Gentai didn't react to it, his face bathed eerily in the firelight. The crackling flames whispered around them and nobody said a word. Most of the camp was silent in the moonlight due to sleep after a hard day's work. Gentai shifted the weight of his leg around.
"What do you think it means?" Gentai asked Riku and Riku shook his head. He pursed his lips as well and put his hands together in front of his face.
"I'm not sure…but it feels almost as though Xehanort's Heartless is trying to pull me back in…back to the darkness." Riku sighed and stared at the whirring and crackling flames. "They're getting longer too. That time it almost came to the point when he possessed me…I panicked when I saw it." Gentai nodded and leaned back against the wooden bench that had been made just a few days ago.
"I thought Xehanort was gone." Gentai said clearly and Riku didn't make a comment to it for about a minute. Gentai thought it best not to push the subject further on his friend and instead waited for an answer he thought would never come. But Riku did indeed answer.
"He is gone…but, even after years, there are some wounds that time cannot mend." And almost as though on instinct, or as if he felt a twinge, he reached for his back and felt something there. Gentai nodded, knowing exactly what was troubling him: the scar that Xemnas had given him in the final battle he and Sora had fought against the Superior. Gentai remembered clearly that they had to stop a day in their travels because the scar seared Riku's skin and nearly had him whimpering in pain. He explained that it happened every year on the anniversary of Xemnas' defeat, but still, it worried Gentai. Riku now turned to Gentai and posted his own query. "And what about you, can't sleep?"
"No, I can't." Gentai said, shaking his head. "I don't know what it is, but my eyes refuse to rest, refuse to close. It's like I'm enveloped in a constant daytime…or a constant nightfall. I want so much just to close my eyes, to give my eyes some rest but I can't. There's no veil anymore." Riku had no response to that, but similar to how Gentai feared for him, he feared for Gentai. Gentai had been unable to sleep for a month now and though fatigue did not show on the young sixteen year old's face Riku still feared that it would eventually catch up to him. What disturbed him more was that he did not know why he couldn't sleep, but sometimes things were best to be left alone.
"Five days here and we've barely made any progress." Riku said angrily and Gentai nodded. "Some of the men trust us but…meanwhile the Huntsman is all cushy in Ratcliffe's cabin because he can 'provide detailed reports on the savages'." Riku scoffed loudly and even Gentai chuckled.
"Smith's gone again." Gentai stated and Riku scoffed loudly once again.
"No doubt off to visit Pocahontas!" Riku said with a jesting tone. He leaned back and shut his eyes as Gentai did the same and began to remember just what had transpired the first five days they were here.
The waters and sands of The New World lay undisturbed, whether it had been for centuries or merely a few days or weeks was unknown. But regardless of that, all had been silent. The sun was shining high in the sky and made the sands glisten and shine, making the world a beautiful place. This scene was soon illuminated by a large burst of light as a keyhole appeared in midair with no explanation for its appearance. No one was there however to see it. Only a few moments later, Riku and Gentai stepped out from the portal of light and on to the sands. They took a moment searching around for the Huntsman, surely he was here, unless Riku had a misdirection. Gentai was the first to comment on that.
"Hey, there's nothing here, man." Gentai stated. Riku grimaced, hoping he hadn't assumed the location wrong. Gentai looked at him with something that seemed similar to expectancy. Riku closed his eyes and sniffed around. There was nothing for many miles up the coastline until he at last hit the scent of men, closer to a forest that both Keyblade wielders could barely see in the distance. It was there he sensed a small amount of fetid darkness but nothing that would constitute the Huntsman. He turned his scent from those men and sniffed along what was the edge of the forest. He eventually reached once again a conglomeration of men, but they smelled different. Nothing of darkness, just not the same as the other men on the shore.
Riku shook his head and Gentai sighed. Riku once more regained his bearings and extended his scent again and smelled more small amounts of darkness in the forest that they saw. But as he scanned along he noticed a change that had taken place in the scents that rested ahead on the shoreline. A new scent, one of immeasurable darkness, was lingering among the men there. Riku raised his arm and pointed down the coastline, cocking his head at Gentai. Gentai smirked and summoned Pale Twilight while Riku replied in kind by also summoning the Way to Dawn. Together, the two nodded at each other and immediately set off at a fast trot across the beach. As they ran along, the wind whistling through their hair, they were soon coming close to approaching a high wooden wall that seemed to have been made from very tall sycamore trees.
When they got close enough to the wall they noticed men milling about, not Heartless but regular men who did not reek of darkness save for the normal amount found in a person's heart. Riku held out his hand and Gentai stopped, his knees bending slightly as he did so. Gentai examined the men around there and immediately released his Keyblade from his grasp.
"You sure you were right, Riku?" Gentai said, facing his silver-haired friend. "I mean, these are just normal guys."
"No…he's here, inside this…uh…fortress." Riku said hesitantly. Someone however had heard their voices and turned to them. The man, a red haired fellow, called over a companion of his who was black haired and muttered something to him. The two then ambled over to Riku and Gentai. Riku quickly dismissed his Keyblade as the men approached them. The two assumed faces of innocence until the men at last reached them.
"Oi!" The red-headed man yelled it what seemed to be an Irish accent. His black-haired friend said nothing but looked over the young men. "What are you doing shirking off around here? Ratcliffe'll tan your hides if you don't and we do not want him in a particularly foul mood today." Riku and Gentai stammered and glanced each other, hoping that one of them would have an idea what to say. The black haired man approached them.
"Oh, let 'em go Ben. They're clearly tired." the black haired man said and the redhead, Ben, merely sighed at this. "Though Ben has a point. I'm Lon, I don't think we met on the voyage over here."
"We're…er…" Riku stammered out, unable to find an appropriate response to that. Gentai quickly picked up the slack with a feat of improvisation the likes of which Riku had never seen.
"We mostly keep to ourselves unless the situation calls for it. I was, uh…" Gentai searched around and saw shovels in the men's hands. "I was uh digging around when Riku, was it, came here and joined me and now we're friends."
"Well, it certainly is good to have friends here in the New World." Ben told them but then his eyes scrunched up. Gentai gave him an inquisitive look. "Where're your shovels lad?"
"We lost them." Riku said abruptly. "We were digging over there and something attacked us and we dropped our shovels and ran a bit." Ben and Lon nodded, seeming to accept this unlikely story from the duo.
"Well, I can kind of understand what with those savages about." Lon said and then Ben walked around and clapped both Riku and Gentai on the shoulders.
"Well lads, if you've lost your shovels best come with us to get some of our extras and start the digging again." Ben said, smiling at the both of them. "Where did ye say you were diggin'?" Riku pointed out in the direction they had come from and Ben squinted at the mediocre sized hole they had made.
"We didn't find anything," Gentai answered the forthcoming question, sweat all of a sudden perspiring on his cheeks and forehead. Ben nodded and began leading the two along, Lon slightly ahead of them. Ben chatted amiably to the two fellows that had just inconspicuously joined their ranks. He was chatting on and on so much that both Gentai and Riku were able to put together a picture of this scene. These men were here searching for gold with their greedy governor and meanwhile they believed they were under threat from "savages". That was enough to tide the two Keyblade wielders over until they reached a rather small hole with a young man inside of it with a brown cap on.
"Oi, Thomas!" Ben yelled down into the hole and the man, Thomas, looked up. "Ye wouldn't happen to have any extra shovels here for our new friends Riku and…er…"
"Gentai." Gentai responded, almost forgetting that he had mention Riku's name but not his own. The man Thomas searched around a bit and did indeed notice two shovels sitting in the hole.
"Here you go, Ben." Thomas said and both Riku and Gentai could sense that the young man had a sense of innocence and naivety about him. Thomas through the two shovels to Ben who in turn handed them to Riku and Gentai. All three of their, for lack of a better word, friends turned away and began digging again. Riku cocked his head to the right and Gentai nodded. The two inched away to a clear patch of land where there were no holes dotting the surface. As the two dug their shovels into the ground, Riku leaned in toward Gentai.
"Nice work there, man. I thought we were sunk for sure but you put it together pretty fast." Riku said with a smile on his face. Gentai shrugged.
"I'm just kind of glad that Ben was a talker or else he would have noticed me creating that hole in the distance with a Magnet spell." Gentai said and then he sighed. "I'm glad you gave me a direction to dig that hole."
"See, we make a good team whenever we work together." Riku said but then he looked around quickly. "Unfortunately we can't do much more investigating yet so let's dig so as to not arouse suspicion." Gentai nodded in agreement and both dug their shovels deeper into the ground with their foot and heaved the dirt out with a strain of the muscles. To their knowledge they would only dig so long as there were people around and then they'd leave at once to search out the Huntsman…but unbeknownst to them these people could dig gold for hours.
Two hours later, and a sizably big hole later Gentai and Riku were standing on the exterior of their magnificently deep hole panting. Gentai looked much worse for the wear as he was leaning on his spade for support. His eyes were flickering in and out of focus for a few moments until at last he regained himself.
"Man, this is way too much physical labor!" Gentai screamed, but not too loudly, and he chucked his shovel to the side. Riku laughed sourly at this comment and almost began to lean on his own shovel for rest.
"You're a Keyblade wielder, you know physical labor!" Riku said as a complete jest and Gentai shot him the dirtiest scowl he could muster up.
"Fighting is different than digging." Gentai snarled out and even Riku was tempted to take a step back. Gentai looked around at the earth around them and its pockmarked land. "Riku, can't we just-"
"No!" Riku answered promptly, stifling whatever suggestion Gentai might have been about to propose. "We can't let on more than we know. If there's one thing I learned from Sora is that we need to blend in. Besides, I'm wondering about these supposed 'savages'."
"You can wonder all you want but I'd rather take the Huntsman down and get the hell out of here. The sooner the better." Gentai said before a new ravishing idea hit him once again. "Hey, Riku, then can't we just-"
"NO!! Absolutely not! You want them to trust us don't you?" Riku yelled with vehemence and Gentai was sorely tempted to curse out loud. "We can't reveal that there's probably no gold here because then we'll be hunted down and shot or…whatever weapons they use here." Gentai looked with exasperation to Riku and Riku just shrugged at the matter. Then Gentai froze and his eyes opened wide, not in fear, but rather a sense of surprise. There was a large shadow looming over Riku and a man dressed in a fancy purple suit behind him. Riku noticed the expression and turned around to face the portly man. He stumbled backward and nearly fell into the hole.
"You lads busy?" the rather large man said in a deeper tone than Ben, Lon, or Thomas. Riku and Gentai immediately snapped to, realizing that this must have been the Governor Ratcliffe that Ben had rambled on about. They saluted him.
"Yes sir!" They responded simultaneously and he gave them a satisfied look before walking off. Riku's nose twitched at the man's departure.
"He stinks." Riku stated and Gentai looked at him with a muddled expression. "It's not a lot but there is a certain aura of darkness around him. He must be meeting with the Huntsman…speak of the Devil." For sure enough, as they watched Governor Ratcliffe walk away, they also saw him walk up to a man clad in green and brown clothing with a feather in the hat he wore on his head: the Huntsman. The two talked to each other and the unfortunate duo saw Ratcliffe point over at them briefly. The Huntsman looked in their direction and both could tell he was smirking. Moment's later the two were walking back over. Gentai's fingers itched to summon his Keyblade but a look and nudge from Riku stopped him; it wasn't yet the time.
"So I take it you know these…men?" Ratcliffe said and the Huntsman nodded.
"Troublemakers at the very least. I offered them a chance to clean up their act by digging here. I promised them a pardon from His Majesty King James should they behave." the Huntsman said and Riku scowled. Ratcliffe was already playing into his hands and would no doubt be able to control the Heartless anytime now…or be devoured by them.
"Well, it seems they've only gone so far as to dig this one hole." Ratcliffe said with a sneer of disgust on his face. "If you want that pardon I suggest you trying working harder, we need to find that gold!" Ratcliffe then walked away but the Huntsman remained. Both Gentai and Riku held out their hands to summon their Keyblades but the Huntsman held up a hand.
"I wouldn't try that if I were you." the Huntsman said, a wicked smile on his lips. "You see, I have it in good with the governor and were anything, ah, unfortunate to happen towards me you mightn't live to see a moment or two more." Both stopped and glanced at each other.
"Playing into your hands are they?" Riku asked with repugnance. "You know as well as we do that there is probably no gold here." The Huntsman laughed and nodded his head. Riku was sure that had he been less of an enemy toward Riku he would have patted his head.
"That's the point. When Ratcliffe learns this he'll be so overcome by hatred and anger, induced by the savages of this land that the Heartless will devour him and turn him into a Heartless." the Huntsman said savagely.
"Why not just send Pete to do that, Hunty?" Gentai asked scornfully and the Huntsman winced at being called such a name.
"I believe Maleficent trusts me far more than she does that bumbling fool!" the Hunstman said now becoming apoplectic at the mention of the comparison between the two. Riku and Gentai smirked at the Huntsman who regained composure and put in his last laugh.
"Just remember, no dirty work. Ratcliffe wants to get rid of the savages so I'll give him what he wants. For the meantime, I trust you two not to get in trouble. If you survive the week, we can settle our business then." the Hunstamn told them before calmly turning around and striding back toward Ratcliffe.
"So that's what he meant when he said 'The New World', it was the name of a world…not really a new one or whatever." Gentai said and Riku concurred with that statement. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, there was the cry of "Savages!!!" and both whipped their heads toward the forest. An arrow shot straight for the duo of them and Riku pushed his hands forward, a honeycombed shield forming around Gentai and shielding him from the arrow's strike. "No time to stop now!"
Both Riku and Gentai summoned their Keyblades as the men around them began to grab their guns and shoot at the Native Americans. Some of the Native Americans were felled to the blast of gunpowder but many more resisted. Gentai looked up into the crowd of Native Americans. It was strange that he had not sensed it…but that might mean…
"Riku, I don't think these guys have any malice in them." Gentai said firmly to his companion and Riku looked at him exasperatedly.
"Are you crazy?! They're attacking!" Riku responded, preparing to fire off a shot of Dark Aura.
"But look at them, do you smell darkness?" Riku sniffed and had indeed found nothing. "They just want to protect their lands." Riku nodded half-heartedly before Gentai made the decision that perhaps they should try to find where these men had come from. "There's probably not as much darkness there so we won't be under the Huntsman's lock and key."
"All right. But just this time will I listen to a whim of yours." Gentai smiled and the two skirted around the edge of the battlefield, staying out of the eyesight of any of the settlers until at last they reached the forest where the Native Americans were beginning to retreat. Without a word from Riku, Gentai pushed into the thicket after them trying desperately to keep up with them but was soon left behind in the brush. He stumbled after a rogue root tripped him up and landed face first in the ground. He got up and brushed off his soiled clothing. He looked around and noticed something: he was alone.
"Riku!" Gentai called. "Riku!!" There was no answer as he walked through the twisted brambles and bushes of the forest. He was beginning to worry when he at last bumped into someone and fell to the ground.
"Hey, watch where you're going there!" said a voice that wasn't distinctly Riku's. Gentai looked up and saw a strong, muscular man with blonde hair and a burnished blue helmet. He seemed to be of spectacular build and Gentai even stood in slight awe of this man's presence. The man was looking down at him with something of curiosity. "Hmm…you don't look like any Native American." Gentai wondered for a moment why this man was using those terms when everyone else seemed to call them savages.
"That's because I'm not." Gentai said while quickly bringing himself to his feet. "I'm Gentai Tanaka." Gentai extended a hand and the man looked him in the eye and shook it firmly.
"Captain John Smith." the man told him and Gentai smiled. "What are you doing out here? I don't remember you from our crew so, who are you?"
"I'm…" Gentai sighed, deciding there was no way around it. He held up his Keyblade. "I'm a Keyblade wielder who's come to this world in search of the Huntsman with my friend Riku. Unfortunately, he's in with your governor so no go there. But anyway, we were attacked by the savages…I mean, Native Americans and we sought to follow them. I was separated from my companion then." John laughed at the story.
"Interesting. You've spent only a few minutes with my men and decided they were 'savages'?" Gentai looked at him strangely and the captain decided to answer him. "I'm a bit of an explorer and being in the New World makes my thirst for exploration soar. As I was searching I ran into one of them. Her name's Pocahontas. They're not savages at all."
"Hmmm…interesting. Have you some feelings for this woman already?" Gentai asked. For some reason he felt he could trust John and thus did he ask that. John seemed a little flustered at the question and refused to answer it.
"I'm seeing her again tomorrow, you could come if you like." Gentai humbly accepted and the two headed back to camp. Gentai thought for sure that Riku would be at camp but he was nowhere to be found. Gentai would have gone looking for him but the sun was sinking quickly below the horizon and Gentai didn't want to risk it whatsoever. When they arrived they met a great clamor of men cheering about how they had "beaten back the savages" and how John should have seen it. Gentai laughed along with them but the Huntsman was keeping an eye on him the whole time. That night, Gentai remained awake, as he had started doing frequently, worrying about Riku. It was around midnight that John came to speak to him.
"How are you Gentai?" John asked him as he sat down next to him, legs stretched out. Gentai shrugged and John gave a small chuckle. "I'm quite glad I met you in that forest. I knew from the beginning that Huntsman fellow wasn't a good man but now my suspicions have been confir-" Suddenly John cut off and Gentai saw climbing out of his bag a raccoon carrying a yellow biscuit of sorts. "Meeko, give that back!" The raccoon, Meeko, refused and instead ran away and near the governor's cabin. Gentai laughed.
"Well, that governor's in for a treat!" Gentai said before reverting to a somber state. John noticed the look on his face and realized what he was worried about,
"Hey, I'm sure your friend's fine. We'll find him tomorrow. We'll leave first thing in the morning. Get some sleep until then." Gentai nodded as John left. He knew of course that he would get no sleep but the comfort of the thought of it was enough. So he at least rested his eyes not knowing the world of dreams or of sleep. It was near the crack of dawn that he found John lightly tapping him. He opened his eyes in a snap and stood up. Together, as the other men were yawning and rustling they set off for the forest they had met in the day before. John took Gentai in farther than the day before until they reached a waterfall. Gentai looked out over the river and saw a young woman standing on the opposite side of the bank. For a moment Gentai felt for sure he was dreaming until John helped move him forward across the lake.
"Pocahontas." John said and he performed an Indian greeting which Pocahontas returned before fixing her gaze on Gentai. "Oh, this is my friend Gentai, we met after you and I parted yesterday."
"He is familiar…" Pocahontas said. Gentai wondered why she would say that if they had never met before until, after sifting through her words, he understood.
"Riku…you met him?" Gentai said but Pocahontas made no response, only looking between the two of them.
"Come with me." Pocahontas said and she began leading them away from the waterfall until they were in a small grotto-like area where a tall willow tree stood. And under the tree's branches was…
"Riku!" Gentai yelled and he ran up to him. Riku nodded at him and when Gentai asked him what happened he explained that he had gone looking for Gentai after he ran into the forest and had gotten lost, meandering his way through until he found Pocahontas and this old willow. And that, led Pocahontas to a reason she had brought John here. The wind began to stir around the quartet and soon a face appeared in the mighty knot of the willow tree.
"Listen to your heart, you will understand." the tree sang out and smiled upon the new pair that had arrived under her boughs for the first time. "Hello, John Smith."
"Pocahontas, why is the tree talking to me?" John asked Pocahontas. Pocahontas giggled and told him to talk back. John obliged while Gentai stood idly by and watched the proceeding until at last Grandmother Willow, as she called herself, turned to him.
"And you Gentai Tanaka, wielder of the Keyblade, of the alighted heart." Grandmother Willow said to him and he took a step back. Riku smirked and just nudged Gentai forward to listen.
"How-how do you know my name?" Gentai asked and Grandmother Willow chortled, as well as a tree could.
"I know many things my boy. Such as the fact and basis of your heart." Gentai looked down. He knew, of course, his heart's existence and its point. Riku however, looked at him as though he did not know any of this information. "The first male since Windsor to have pure light and no darkness in his heart. Only the princesses by all rights should be allowed that however, you are also accorded that honor."
"You never told me this!" Riku yelled at Gentai and Gentai shot a look of apology at his friend.
"I never told anyone. I didn't care that anyone should know that…just because I have such strong light doesn't mean anything…even if it is a light no darkness could eclipse." Gentai said and Grandmother Willow picked up the slack.
"Indeed, whether you choose your destiny and listen to your heart is all that matters." Grandmother Willow said. After that, she spoke to the Keyblade wielding duo no more and spoke only to John and Pocahontas. Around noontime the three "settlers" left. What happened the next two days was of no importance to them. John would sneak off to visit Pocahontas and Riku, after receiving a warm welcome from Be, Lon, and Thomas, joined Gentai as they went back to digging holes; this was much to the Huntsman's pleasure of course. It was on the fifth day at last, near noontime that Ratcliffe ordered Riku, Gentai, Ben and Lon to search for Smith who had once again been missing that whole day. So as Riku and Gentai joined them they took Ben and Lon in circles.
"We've been searching all day," Ben complained as they stumbled on near dusk. Riku was at last leading them near Grandmother Willow, Gentai having gone to inform her of their untimely arrival. "And still we've not found Jon, I fear we never will." Gentai emerged from the thicket.
"Gentai, did you see him?" Lon asked the young boy and Gentai shook his head before he stumbled over a root. "What was that?" Gentai got up and massaged his toe before a branch came whipping out of nowhere and struck Ben and Lon on their behinds before tripping them as well. Scared out of their wits, the two fled the scene and Riku and Gentai rolled on the ground in mirth before following after themselves, pretending to be screaming like ninnies.
It was about an hour after the search party had arrived back at the camp that John also arrived to find Governor Ratcliffe in quite a tizzy.
"Sir, we've been searching for days and we've found naught but dirt!" Lon complained to Ratcliffe who was starting to get steamed up.
"I'm starting to believe that there is no gold here." Ben said, angering at this statement.
"Yeah!" Gentai cried, joining in the cacophony and adding to the distrust of the governor. "Why should we continue to dig if there's no gold?! What is it, hiding somewhere?"
"There must be a reasonable explanation." Ratcliffe said, trying to defend himself. He gave a glance to the Huntsman who at last stepped forward into his arena.
"The governor is right…the savages have it. The savages must be hiding the gold from you all, from all of us!" the Huntsman roared and Ratcliffe picked up on this very notion.
"Yes, those savages are trying to hide it from us! That's why they're attacking us! They want the treasure for themselves!" Ratcliffe said and the men seemed to get steamed up about this, agreeing with what the governor was now saying until at last John butted in.
"That's not true!" John said. "The natives don't have any gold. And they're not savages!" The settlers were stunned and silenced at this revelation. "I've met one of them, they can help us. Like this!" John reached into his bag and pulled out a husk of corn and Gentai could almost imagine the butter dripping off of it. He hadn't eaten a proper meal in weeks.
"That's food!" Gentai said and John explained to them how the natives grew it and how they fed their own people until at last Ratcliffe cut them off.
"Forget about that! It's not gold and that gold the savages are keeping is ours!!" Ratcliffe cried. "Any man who goes near another one of those savages will be called a traitor and sentenced to death." With that, all of the men dispersed and began going about their nightly duties. Thus it was, that after five days on The New World that Riku and Gentai found themselves here perched by a campfire, but unable to rest.
Riku lifted his head and opened his eyes, their aquamarine sheen shining clearly through the darkness, much like Gentai's own eyes. He heaved a sigh. After everything they had been through…the Huntsman still held the upper hand. Still, there was hope. The Huntsman had said if they survived the week that he would deal with them then…and now there were only two more days left. Gentai made a sudden movement across from him and Riku looked at him, trying to discern why he would move right now. From reading his body language in the firelight Riku could tell he was nervous regarding something.
"What is it?" Riku asked concernedly. Gentai stopped shifting around and shot Riku a glance.
"Nothing, why would you ask a question like that?" Gentai said with a jesting tone that Riku could tell was masking other facts and other feelings behind him. Riku shot him a disbelieving look.
"Yeah…and I'm a king." Riku said in a half-hearted joke. "Come on, man, tell me." Gentai lowered his emotional guard for a moment, realizing that Riku was asking as though a big brother would ask. Riku sat there patiently and waited for the question or statement to come. It turned out to be the former.
"Riku…" Gentai stared into the fire as he said this, the crackling conflagration consuming his eyes, burning brightly in its reflection. "Do you think…that I could ever be a hero like you or Sora?"
"You think I'm a hero!" Riku scoffed out. He never had thought of himself that way, especially after all he had done. But he saw the seriousness in Gentai's face and felt it was best to answer his friend seriously as well. "I don't know…where did that come from?"
"Well, I mean…you guys are hailed throughout the worlds as saviors and I mean, I've traveled around a lot but I don't think I've really done anything to be a hero. Zeus once offered it but, I mean…what is a hero?"
"A hero…huh?" Riku thought about that statement for a moment. "Well Gentai, a hero depends on the strength of his heart and the choices he makes. I mean, it's like Grandmother Willow said, it all depends on the choices you make and if you listen to your heart. You may become a hero…you may not. I guess, what I'm really trying to say is…" He stood up and placed a hand on Gentai's shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes. "If you want to be a hero, sometimes you can't be one. But I think you can be if you want to be."
"That doesn't really answer my question but thanks for trying to answer anyway." Gentai chuckled out.
"Anytime." Riku said and he shrunk away, back to where he had been sitting before. He closed his eyes again and decided to visit an old pastime of his on this trip. He began sniffing at everyone's scents. He found Gentai's with no problem as it was clearly bathed in light. Ben and Lon were also easy to see in all of their aloofness. Riku had actually grown quite fond of them in all of their ways. But then he smelled something that seemed out of whack and he sat up from his leaning position like a shot, eyes cracking open like a whip.
"What is it?" Gentai asked with a frightened tone. "I don't sense anything so we can't be close to danger."
"Ratcliffe's scent, it's grown closer to the darkness. The Huntsman's scent is gone tonight but it seems he may have given something to Ratcliffe. But there's a scent missing." Riku said and Gentai waved it off.
"I told you, John's off visiting Pocahontas, what with Ratcliffe's threat and all…" Gentai said but Riku stood up and brushed himself of his dirt.
"It's not John…it's Thomas." Riku said and Gentai instantly notched up into high gear. Both immediately set off about camp and exited the loosely secured fortress. They ran and dashed into the forest. Both were deducing the same thing: Ratcliffe must have ordered Thomas to follow John and John was probably at Grandmother Willow with Pocahontas. "If Thomas shoots John we'll all be dead and our work here will be for nothing!"
"I'm worried about something else at this point." Gentai stated through gritted teeth and Riku didn't need or want to ask for an explanation since Gentai was going to give it anyway. "I'm getting a huge vibe here and it is not good. Something's going to happen there and it won't be pretty. Did neither of us think that Ratcliffe is tailing John with Thomas…one of the Native Americans might be tailing Pocahontas."
"Oh, that's not good!" Riku said and Gentai nodded with a quirking of his eyebrows and they set off even faster. It was lucky for them that they knew where Grandmother Willow was. They didn't meet Thomas before they reached the safety of her boughs. But there Gentai and Riku saw a sight that was both happy and yet foreboding, for they knew the consequences. John Smith stood as the wind blew around him, ruffling his blue shirt and pants with his blonde hair and even Gentai would have thought he was kind of handsome…were he not in love with Demora and a guy to say the very least. Pocahontas, meanwhile stood there with here beige dress and copper skin. Her raven black hair flowing in the wind around her and a beautiful blue necklace, shining on her neck. As Riku and Gentai pulled to a halt the two leaned in, embracing each other and they kissed passionately for a moment. But before the kiss could break Gentai felt a twinge in his senses.
But a few seconds later there was a fierce battle cry from the trees and a warrior of the Native American tribe with bear prints on his chest came out of the thicket with a tomahawk. Though Gentai and Riku stood in his way he brushed past them and made straight for John, grappling with the English soldier. The two seemed to be in a futile struggle against each other and both Gentai and Riku could take it no more. Gentai quickly grabbed Smith and Riku grabbed the warrior.
"Kocoum, no!" Pocahontas cried, but all members of the party were deaf to her pleas. Smith tried to back away but Kocoum's resistance was straining even Riku to his wits and his strength's end. Riku tried to pull him away from Smith as Gentai tried to pull Smith to safety.
And then a shot was fired.
Author's Note: Yay for super long chapters! So, pardon me for any mistake I might have made with thePocahontas portion here since it's been a while since I've seen the movie and the library holds a crappy copy of it, just let me know and I'll fix it. Anyway, I blended a lot of new things in there and a LOT of plot teasers. I hope you were glad to see Gentai and Riku back once again. Yes, they are hunting the Huntsman from Snow White whose world I will call Fabled Countryside because Snow White's House is too bland. Also, there were some new facts about Gentai and his importance. And, did you catch the theme of my story in there? Anyway, please review and sorry for the cliffhanger, but it needed to be done and now we're halfway through Part I. Dare to Be Silly.
NOTE: I have updated my profile page and suggest you check it out. OC descriptions will be there as well as brief summaries of this series now named The Existence Trilogy.