I probably should've told you guys this earlier...I am in the process of moving across the country, so chapter releases will be random for the next couple of weeks. That's also part of the reason this chapter is so late - that and writer's block. DX
On the plus side, this is a looooong chapter! I hope that'll make up for it. :3
Special thanks to my beta reader, Mystics Apprentice! :D
-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-
About fifty feet from the Research Center, Myde was stretching his arms and wings. While he was happy with his job, he was always eager to get rid of that stifling lab coat; it gave his wings cramps and rendered him unable to lift his arms above his head. Surely they could make comfortable lab coats – they were smart scientists, for crying out loud!
Suddenly, while he was reaching down towards his toes, he heard something zoom over his head.
BOOM.
Myde's head shot straight up. He whirled around to see a…train?
Yes, it was the front car of a train that had fallen from the sky. Myde stared at it blankly for a minute, wondering what he should do. Perhaps he could go check and see if anyone was inside, but he quickly vetoed that thought when the train's door swung open.
"Well, they're alive," Myde said to himself. "I'd better leave the scientists to deal with it, since they're better with decisions like that. Besides, I'm hungry!"
As if in agreement, his stomach growled loudly. He patted it affectionately and then began to walk off in the opposite direction, switching to faery size in order to fly home. As he began to fly, however, he heard a strange scampering following him. Myde glanced over his shoulder curiously, only to be greeted by empty yellow sockets staring back. A shiver ran down his spine. He nervously turned around to see a whole army of small, yellow-eyed shadow-things of every shape and color. They appeared to be pouring out from the ground, Myde realized, right where the train had crashed.
"Yeah, I'm gonna let the scientists deal with this one," he decided. On that note, he flew off towards his apartment, followed by several scampering Shadows.
-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-
Inside the laboratory, Yen Sid was rummaging through Even's shelves. His crystal ball was perched on the top beside the spell book, offering advice every now and then to the old wizard. They appeared to be searching earnestly for something, as they were checking every phial and petri dish that was on the large bookshelf.
"At least Even here is incredibly organized," Yen Sid mused as he read a bottle's label. "All of these appear to be labeled and classified with a short description included. This is extremely helpful."
"Ironic, isn't it?" the crystal ball commented. "They are organized to a T to help him, but in the end it backfires and aides us."
Yen Sid chuckled at the crystal ball's statement. "I suppose that is true. Speaking of which, where did that scientist disappear to?"
The smoke within the crystal ball changed to a bronze hue. "I'm sure he's wrestling with the Heartless in an attempt to find Ansem at this moment," the crystal ball responded.
A low chortle escaped Yen Sid once again. The crystal ball, confused, changed to a shade of green. "What's so humorous?" it asked.
"Just another ironic situation," Yen Sid explained with a small grin. "After all, Ansem the Wise's creations are aiding us, are they not?"
Before the crystal ball could respond, Yen Sid pulled out a test tube filled with what appeared to be blood. "Ah, here we are," he said, his voice filled with satisfaction. "Are you sure this matches the heart fragment?"
"I'm positive," the crystal said confidently. "Now, let us find the last supplies that we need."
Yen Sid nodded and placed the vial into the pockets of his robes. Then, picking up the crystal ball and spell book, he moved towards Even's supply cabinet. After all, it wasn't like the scientist would be using his tools anytime soon.
-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-
CRASH.
BOOM.
Homes and buildings were being raided and destroyed all around Myde by Shadows. One home to his left had just burst into flames, an attack which seemed to be a new progression. As if to confirm his observation, a small flying Shadow dressed in a red mage's outfit appeared just outside the flaming house.
"Great, now they can fly!" Myde moaned. "I have to hurry!"
The rocker faery began to fly faster, ignoring the fast-approaching scampering noises and the surrounding buildings collapsing into flames. He had to be close to his apartment, right? He had been flying for a while; surely he was at least halfway there.
Suddenly, he heard his name being called in the distance. It sounded far away, almost like in a dream. Myde… Myde… Myde…
"Don't tell me the Shadows can talk now!" Myde cried, muffling his ears with his hands.
Myde… Myde… Myde….
"I can't hear you!" Myde shouted to the Shadows, his eyes squeezed shut. "You have to speak louder than that to get to me!"
MYDE.
"That wasn't a challenge!" the faery protested. He finally lowered his hands, realizing that he couldn't just block them out.
"MYDE!"
This time, the voice wasn't quite as faint. In fact, it almost sounded like someone he knew. He turned around once more to see Sora, Riku, and Kairi running towards him, surrounded by a swarm of Shadows. Riku had what appeared to be a crowbar in his hand, which he'd been constantly using in order to run forward. Sora brought up the rear, using part of a building's wooden framework as a club. Sandwiched in between them was Kairi with a brick, which she used to clear the sides of their make-shift path.
"What are you guys doing?" Myde yelled incredulously.
"We have to get to the Gummi Ship!" Riku called back. "The Heartless are too strong; Ansem said Radiant Garden's done for!"
"We have to find survivors!" Sora added earnestly, stopping to whack a Heartless.
Myde froze in place. His hometown was done for; a lost cause that even the smart scientists could not fix. What in the world was going on?
"Can we at least check my apartment and see if they're alright?" Myde finally asked hopefully. Sora nodded and replied, "Of course! We're searching for survivors, aren't we?"
"Enough idling, let's hurry!" Riku urged his companions. They nodded and began to follow Myde, but stopped abruptly when they found their path blocked. They turned left and right in an attempt to go around the mob, but the Heartless had successfully trapped them in.
A loud roar echoed from behind them. They didn't even want to think about turning around to find out what it was.
Not too far ahead of them, Myde was stopped by a pack of flying Heartless. He slowly flew backwards until he was forced into the three young fey.
"Anyone have a plan?" Kairi asked nervously, staring at the countless yellow orbs around them.
Beside her, Riku shook her head. "Unless a miracle happens, we are pretty much done for," he replied bluntly.
"Could we try to plow through them?" Sora suggested, to which Riku snorted.
"Yeah, we are going to break through a wall of hundreds of heart-eating demons with a brick, a crowbar, and a piece of wood. Are you crazy?"
"I second Riku!" Myde threw in.
As the circle of Heartless closed in on the four, the fey huddled together and stared nervously at the monsters. The Heartless on the loose were no longer limited to the height of a small goblin: one towered way over their heads and stood on all fours, growling hungrily at its prey.
"Well, it's either charge out or wait around for a miracle," Sora pointed out, raising his weapon over his head.
"Or go out like Arlene," Riku added.
"Arlene?" Myde asked incredulously.
Sora ignored the rocker fey and continued. "Well, at least she went down fighting."
Finally, a Heartless made its move. It leaped at the trio, followed by several of its friends. Sora and Riku raised their weapons, Kairi threw her brick, Myde shouted something –
BANG!
-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-
Back in the apartment, things weren't much better. The adults were fighting off the Heartless that had broken in, Lea with his fire and Ienzo with his rain. Repliku was a couple feet behind them, a large glass shard in hand from what had once been a window; Naminé and Xion were under the remains of a sofa, the young faery desperately trying to keep Xion calm and still. (Xion seemed to congregate towards Naminé the most, so she was given the task of staying with the dark-haired girl.)
"How many of these creeps are there?" Lea panted to his friend.
"I honestly have no clue," Ienzo responded curtly. He extended his arm and threw bullet-like water droplets at the Heartless.
"What, don't like not knowin' stuff?" Lea asked with a smirk, blasting several Heartless with his hands.
Ienzo stopped to glare at the fire spirit. "Just be quiet and keep fighting until I think of something!" he retorted.
Lea went quiet and continued burning the Heartless alongside Ienzo. The longer they fought, however, the more Heartless seemed to appear, and with each new wave came more variations of these creatures―
Like red floating ones immune to Lea's fire.
And human-sized Shadows with eerily large antennae.
And Heartless that shot laser beams.
"Screw this; we can't keep going on this way!" Lea finally exclaimed. "Those lasers burn like crazy, and if I get clawed any more I'm gonna lose my skin!"
"I'm going to…have to go with… Lea," Repliku said between breaths. Lea glanced over his shoulder to check on the silver-haired teen. He was a hot mess, with his clothes charred and falling apart and numerous scratches on his face and arms.
The fire nymph turned to his bookworm companion. "So, you got anything yet?" he challenged.
Ienzo killed a Heartless with a gust of rain before turning to Lea. "I have one, but it's not very good," he admitted.
"It's better than nothing!" Lea responded through gritted teeth. He burned through several Soldiers that were crawling all over the couch, dangerously close to Naminé and Xion. "Well, are you gonna tell us?"
The rain spirit nodded. "You and Repliku go clear a window of these things. Naminé?"
The little blonde faery peeked around the side of the couch, her hands wrapped tightly around Xion's wrists. "Yes?"
"Do you know any magic?"
Naminé furrowed her brow in concentration. Thankfully, Sora had taken some basic magic lessons in elementary school; she should be able to perform those. "I know some," she told Ienzo, who nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. At the first opening you get, try and seal off the window before more of these things crawl in," Ienzo ordered. "Lea, Repliku, start when I give the signal."
He closed his eyes and aimed his hands at the Heartless. A dark cloud began to form, rumbling and spitting out water. The Heartless in the doorway froze in place and stared at it, exactly as Ienzo had hoped.
"Now!"
Lea and Repliku leaped into action, whipping around and attacking the Heartless pouring in through the window. Naminé, still firmly grasping Xion's wrist, slowly scooted out of her hiding place and raised her free hand towards the ceiling.
It took several long minutes, but the two fey finally cleared the window for a few precious seconds. "Naminé, now's your chance!" Lea shouted.
Naminé, however, was already prepared. "Gravity!" she cried.
The effect was immediate. The ceiling above the windows crumbled and fell into the apartment, piling up in front of the window. Lea and Repliku leaped back, missing being squashed by the rubble by mere inches.
Ienzo, who was still fighting Heartless in the door, took a brief moment to check what had happened. "It's not permanent, but it should work until we formulate a better plan," he told the others. "If―"
"Look out!" Lea interjected. Ienzo whipped around to come face-to-face with a blue mage Heartless staring right back at him.
Whoosh.
Suddenly it burst into flames. Ienzo blinked several times, trying to process what had just happened.
"You're welcome!" the fire spirit said cheekily. "Don't worry, you can thank me properly later. Right now, we should seal these guys out." He jumped over to the bookworm, his hands raised in front of him. "Everyone ready?"
"Yeah!" Repliku said, stepping up beside the two. "We can do this!"
Naminé nodded determinedly and joined the two, dragging Xion with her. She raised her arm once more, ready to bring the entrance down.
"Well then, let's lock 'em out!"
-MISFITS-MISFITS-MIFITS-
Xion didn't like the noise.
She didn't like the dark.
She didn't like it when people looked sad or angry.
Currently, however, all of the above was happening.
She wanted to run away, to hide from all of it―but the little girl with yellow hair kept her from doing so.
Now, she was sad and angry herself. Why couldn't she run away? Why couldn't she hide from all the darkness, noise and unhappy faces?
She heard them saying things, talking to each other. Their voices were loud, louder than before.
Why couldn't they just stop?
She heard more voices, the ones that came from inside her head. They were loud and unhappy, too; unhappy and surrounded by darkness.
Was there no place to escape?
Xion couldn't take it anymore. She screamed, screamed at the top of her lungs.
BANG!
-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-
An explosion of color filled the four feys' eyes, blinding them. When Riku finally opened his, however, he saw something that he had not been expecting.
His crowbar had changed into a familiar weapon – the sword he'd seen briefly in Yen Sid's tower. From its dark, bat wing-like blade, the angelic wing on the top, and the glowing blue eye on the hilt, Riku recognized it on the spot.
Riku didn't hesitate to use it. He slashed it across the cloud of Heartless, causing them to evaporate instantaneously.
"Well that was easy enough," he thought with satisfaction. He turned back to his companions, who were still smothered in the shadowy beings. Swinging his new weapon around, he eliminated the immediate Heartless with ease.
It was a nice weapon, he'd give it that much.
Sora and Kairi coughed simultaneously and dragged themselves up from the ground, followed by a full-sized Myde. As soon as they were up, their eyes darted immediately to Riku's new weapon.
"Woah, cool!" Sora gasped. "Where'd you get that?"
Riku shrugged. "I'm not sure, it just appeared to me," he admitted. "It kills the Heartless easily though, so I won't complain." As if to prove his point, he swung it through the cloud of Heartless and they disappeared into thin air.
Kairi stared at the spot where the Heartless had been before her eyes moved onto Riku's blade. "Hey, isn't that the one Yen Sid showed you?" she asked curiously.
"I believe it is," he replied, examining the blade again. "Well, we'd best get moving if we want to find other survivors, Myde's friends included."
Behind them, the giant Heartless bellowed at the top of its lungs. "Well, that would be our signal to leave!" Myde said. "I'll show you the way. C'mon!"
He leapt into the air and returned to faery size. The three below him nodded and took off behind Myde, Riku taking the lead to clear the path.
"Man, I hope I get a real weapon soon," Sora commented, whacking a Heartless with his building-frame segment. "It would make things a heck of a lot easier."
"Maybe we'll get our blades eventually, like Riku," Kairi replied hopefully. She had lost her brick in the Heartless dog-pile, and now felt pretty useless.
After several minutes of killing Heartless and running throughout the destroyed town, it was obvious that there were no other people around. They even had stopped briefly in several houses to investigate and take a breather, but Heartless seemed to have managed to crawl inside every building they stumbled upon.
"I hope everyone's okay," Myde said worriedly as they darted out of a Heartless-infested bakery.
"Well, we will find out soon," Riku replied. "How close are we to the apartment?"
The rocker faery gestured to the right. "It's just over there!" he informed them.
Together, they dashed down the road until they arrived at what appeared to have been an apartment complex – the key words being "have been." Heartless were either pouring in and out of holes where windows and doors used to be, or pummeling through the brick walls. The roof was partially collapsed in several areas, and the places where it remained were smothered in flames.
"Well, I guess we're going to have to force our way in and drag everyone out!" Sora sighed dramatically. "Jeez, how many of these things are there?" Despite his complaints, he brandished his weapon and glared at the building, ready to fight at moment's notice.
Beside him, Kairi was picking another brick up from the ground. Although it wasn't the perfect weapon, at least she didn't feel totally useless now. "Well, we'd better hurry," she pointed out, "or else they'll eat up the whole building."
They didn't need to be told twice. Myde hovered over the entrance and gestured for the kids to follow him. Together they ran into the ravaged building.
-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-
Xion's screech took the other fey by surprise. Four heads whipped around to glance at the raven-haired girl, an action that gave the Heartless a perfect opening. One good-sized Heartless leapt onto Lea and tackled him to the ground, locking him in a one-on-one wrestling match. Several others sneaked into the room and snuck up behind Repliku and Ienzo, which caught the fey completely off-guard.
Then, there was a blinding flash of light.
The Heartless inside the room vanished, causing the ones in the hall to hesitate. Ienzo, Lea, and Repliku arose from the ground and glanced around the room, attempting to locate the source of light. There, behind Naminé, stood Xion, a lightly glowing sword in hand. The color scheme was nothing out of the ordinary, with its gold-yellow hilt and metal blade. However, the end of the blade was twisted into the shape of a key. Xion stared blankly at her blade for a moment, fascinated by the light it emitted.
"Hey, do you think she'd let one of us use that?" Lea asked, breaking the sudden silence.
Ienzo gazed at the blade thoughtfully. "I'd say that Repliku needs it the most out of us. Naminé, do you think that you can get the sword from Xion?"
Naminé nodded, and then turned to her friend. "Xion, do you think we could use that?" she asked softly. Xion clutched the blade tightly, a defiant look in her eyes. "No!" she said firmly.
Outside of the room, they heard loud thumping footsteps coming from the stairwell. Lea, Ienzo, and Repliku glanced nervously at each other. What new Heartless awaited them this time around?
"Xion, please give us the weapon," Ienzo said firmly, holding his hand out expectantly. Xion didn't appear to have heard him; she continued staring at the blade, fascinated by the light that it gave off.
Thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump- th-thump.
The uneven footsteps pounded down the hallway. Either there were multiple new Heartless, or it was some strange new creature with multiple legs. Lea and Repliku drew their hands in close to their body, bracing themselves for the upcoming enemy. Ienzo growled under his breath and shot a glare at Naminé, who returned the glare with a helpless look.
"Just grab the weapon from her!" Ienzo said exasperatedly.
Naminé and Repliku exchanged a nervous look. "But―" Repliku began to protest, but it died in his throat the moment he met Ienzo's desperate gaze. The blonde and silver-haired fey glanced helplessly at each other once more. At last, Naminé slowly began prying the blade from Xion's hands.
Thump. th-th-th-thump.
The loud footsteps stopped right outside the doorway. Ienzo inhaled sharply, his entire body tensing in anticipation.
"Here, you work on getting that blade; I'll hold 'em off!" Lea ordered. Before anyone could say anything else, he marched into the hall with his fists raised, knocking several Heartless away as he left.
Silence lingered for barely more than a moment. Then, a familiar voice began yelling something unintelligible. Was that…Myde?
Sure enough, Lea returned with Myde himself – who was full-sized by that point – followed by three shorter figures.
"Myde?" Ienzo asked incredulously. "How did you get –"
"You guys are okay!" Myde cried happily, interrupting Ienzo with an attempted hug. "I was so worried! There are no other people around and –"
"—and we have a means of escape," one of the shorter figures, Riku, finished the sentence abruptly. "But we have to hurry. C'mon!"
Ienzo nodded. "Well then, if someone will help Naminé with Xion, l believe we're ready." He turned to Lea for confirmation. The fire spirit shot him a thumbs-up in response, and together they fell in place with Riku. Repliku followed shortly thereafter alongside Kairi, leaving Naminé and Sora leading Xion in the rear.
Down the stairs they ran, with Riku, Lea, and Ienzo clearing the path for the young fey following them. After what felt like an eternity, they finally hit the first floor and darted outside into the chaotic night.
"Well, that was close!" Lea said breathlessly. "Now, how exactly are we escaping?"
Myde opened his mouth to explain, but a loud ROAR! cut him off. The group froze; eight pairs of eyes slowly lifted to see the behemoth of a Heartless from earlier. It reared up and stomped the ground, shaking the land around the party.
"Great, now what?" Myde moaned. "We only have one person with a real weapon –"
"Two," Sora and Naminé chimed simultaneously. They stared at each other awkwardly for a moment before gesturing to the girl they were leading. Sure enough, Xion was clutching a Keyblade like her life depended on it.
"Good luck getting her to use it," Ienzo retorted, "or taking it from her, for that matter."
Great, just great. They had come all this way, only to be trapped by the biggest Heartless of them all. Was this how it all ended? Would they have their hearts taken and fade away, like Arlene and the other citizens?
"Well, it was nice knowing you all," Riku sighed heavily, earning himself a shocked look from Sora.
"You're just going to give up?" he asked incredulously, waving his arms around for emphasis.
"Well, he kind of has a point," Ienzo pointed out. "We're going down either way, whether we fight it or not. Face it – we're exhausted, running low on stamina and magic, and we have only one truly armed person. The odds are not in our favor."
The giant Heartless bellowed at them, as if to prove the rain spirit's point.
"I'm with spiky over there. We can't just give up!" Lea pointed out determinedly. "If you guys wanna give up or whatever, that's cool with me. I'm gonna stick around and fight 'til the very end though, got it memorized?" He tapped the side of his head dramatically. "Now, scram or whatever!"
"What? You're just taking him on alone?" Myde exclaimed.
Behind him, Sora stepped out. "Nah, I like his way of thinking! I'll stick around with 'im and fight." He brandished his weapon.
Riku rubbed his temples slowly. "Great, now I feel guilty," he muttered, but he stepped beside Lea and Sora anyway. "Well then, let's get this over with." He raised his blade over his head, poised to strike.
The Heartless roared once more before charging at the eight of them, its giant horns lowered to run straight through them.
"Stop!" Naminé shouted, releasing a spell from her extended hand. The giant Heartless froze in place, so Riku took off and bashed it in the head.
Off to the side, Sora and Lea were firing away at the beast – Lea with his natural element, and Sora with his basic magic knowledge.
Finally, the creature broke free from the spell and charged at Naminé and Xion. Kairi threw her brick at it, stunning the Heartless in its tracks. In the distance, she thought she heard someone chuckle.
"Laugh all you want!" she shouted into the distance. A giggle escaped Naminé's lips, something that caused Xion to stare at her. The little faery was snapped back into reality when the Heartless snorted. She quickly uttered a simple spell, blasting it with a small blizzard, which did a minuscule amount of damage in the long-run.
As time wore on, the group began to lose their vigor; they were quickly fading, and the Heartless didn't seem to be fazed in the least.
"We can't keep this…up forever!" Repliku panted, landing beside Lea. The fire spirit himself was wearing down; his attacks were growing sloppier and he was dodging less and less of the creature's attacks.
The others were looking just as exhausted. Kairi was reduced to chucking debris at the Heartless. Ienzo and Naminé had doubled over in fatigue... Hope seemed to be much farther away now.
The Heartless must've sensed this, for it growled in triumph. It reared up once more, ready to bring its massive legs down –
―on the fey below it: Sora, Riku, and Lea.
"Watch out!" Ienzo and Repliku cried. The three began to dodge, but it was too late. The Heartless was crashing to the ground!
CLING.
Something had flown right into the creature, causing it to lose its balance and miss its mark (for the most part, at least; Sora's foot wasn't spared from the Heartless' tumble.) Eight eyes shot up to the sky, each pair wondering what could've been strong enough to stagger the giant Heartless.
It was a Gummi Ship, piloted by Olette.
The Gummi Ship flew over the group and dropped the ramp attached to the bottom, revealing Ansem the Wise. He was carrying a weapon of sorts, similar in shape to a gun.
Signaling for the group to come aboard, he shouted, "Hurry, there isn't much time! I'll hold off the Behemoth; you hurry up and escape!"
"But what about you?" Myde protested. "We can't just leave you!"
A grim smile crept onto Ansem's face. "I must atone for the damage I have caused here, my cowardice that brought about the end of thousands of lives, the creation of these foul creatures…" His voice trailed off for a moment. He shook his head rapidly, as if to snap himself out of something. "Never mind my ramblings; go!" he ordered.
Naminé cast a hesitant glance at the scientist, but Xion nearly dragged the small girl into the ship. At the sight of them, Ansem frowned slightly and turned to Myde. "Are those the ones –" he began, but Myde's guilty look told the scientist all he needed to know.
"Myde, you have a stronger heart than you appear to have," Ansem commented wistfully. "I admire you for that."
Rumble. Rumble. Rumble.
The Behemoth was rising from its place on the ground, overcoming its stupor from earlier. Its yellow eyes focused on the new arrival, and slowly it began to move forward.
"Hurry up and board the ship!" Ansem yelled.
"We can't leave a man behind!" Lea backfired angrily. He ran to Ansem's side with his fists raised, and was soon joined by a determined, limping Sora.
Unfortunately, Ienzo grabbed the feys' collars and began to drag them back. "We must leave; you have to let Master Ansem do what he feels is right," he told them.
"But we can't just leave him!" Sora protested, but his argument fell on deaf ears. Ienzo had dragged them to the ramp, where the weary group was waiting.
Suddenly, Sora managed to wiggle out of Ienzo's grasp. He ran forward – limping slightly from his foot injury – and threw his wooden weapon at the Behemoth, stunning it momentarily.
BUH-BOOM.
There was an explosion of light, covering the entire area.
Then, the world went dark for Sora.
"Sora!" screamed a voice from the Gummi Ship. "Gosh darn it, someone grab the kid!"
Repliku grabbed the unconscious faery from the ground and hoisted him onto the lowered ramp, just in time for the takeoff. Lea relieved the silverette of Sora and took the faery to the back of the Gummi Ship.
From there, they flew in silence for the loss of Radiant Garden.
-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-
Inside Even's office, Yen Sid was chanting loudly over a memory pod. Dark and light tendrils of smoke worked their way around the pod, seeping into the cracks and forming a silhouette inside.
"Prepare yourself, for the final incantation!" the crystal ball yelled triumphantly.
Yen Sid nodded, and waves his hand at the smoke. Upon sensing this, the smoke tendrils froze; slowly, they began to expand, thickening until they had become small clouds.
Smiling mysteriously, the wizard slowly raised his hands over his head.
"Nimm das Blut, Nimm das Herz," he recited, slowly waving his arms back and forth, "Bild einen Mann, und mach ein Führer." (1)
The smoke clouds surged into the memory pod, disappearing from sight. Exhausted, Yen Sid slowly exhaled and sat down on the ground.
"Do you think it worked?" the crystal ball asked anxiously, its colors shifting between black and orange.
"We'll find out," replied the weary warlock. After a moment of rest, he pulled himself up and pressed a button on a remote he was holding. His wide, white eyes stared eagerly into the pod as it opened, despite his fatigue from reciting the spell.
Two large, cerulean eyes stared back at him.
"Ah, wonderful!" The crystal ball exclaimed. "Now, our pet, what shall we call you?" It paused for a moment, thinking about what name would best suit their creation. A couple moments later, it flashed white with excitement.
"Ah, I know! We shall call you Roxas."
-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-
(1) "Take the blood, take the heart; build a man, and make a leader." It's German, if you couldn't tell. XP