Negotiations

Mike, Torahne, Riku and King Mickey were soon taken into a large clay-like building, where inside was a rather large office if you will, filled with bookshelves and other clutter you'd expect for someone important. Just as quickly as they had arrived in this barren world they were soon taken prisoner by a group of incognito like inhabitants.

Soon enough, as they arrived because of the grey cloaked man and two of his brown cloaked guards, a chair soon swung around from behind a grey desk and the man sitting in his large beige chair slammed his hands on the desk in utter disarray.

The grey cloaked man said with his guards pointing spears at Mike in particular, "My liege, we have captured outsiders that were trespassing near our borders. What do you request I do with them?"

The man sitting in the beige chair was an old fellow. He wore a snowy white colored cloak, scars covered his hands and a blindfold covered his eyes. His face wrinkled and lacking of luster at all took a gaze upon Mike and co. to see what was what.

"Leave them with me Pyros.", the old man said. Then Pyros objecting to his decision said, "But my liege, these interlopers are…"

"Are you going against my wishes?", the old man asked. Then Pyros bowed to his leader as he waved his left hand telling the guards to let down their guard. He then stormed out quickly with no delay, slamming the hard stone door behind him.

"Pretty angry disciple you have there.", Mike said. The old man nodded as Mike said this.

"That was Pyros, the lead of my militant army and my right hand. I wish that there was more I could do for my people though.", the old man said.

Mickey then asked, "What makes you say that?"

"It is a long, depressing story that no foreigner could understand even with proper knowledge.", the old man continued.

Mickey then said, "We've heard all sorts of stories. In fact the tall brunette in the lean blue jeans and black t-shirt has had a million of these as a kid."

Mike gave a brief, yet mature smile to this comment as Mickey said this as the old man looked upon Mike carefully and swiftly. He studied his facial features and his man-like appearance. He then looked at Torahne and then looked out his window to an unsuspecting crowd of people that walked along the rocky streets of Rock Bottom without a care in the world.

"If you all so desire the truth about why I said I wish I could do more for my people, so be it. My people's story begins ages ago, long before you were even born…", the old man said aloud.

Over the course of his story, the old man explained that his people, the Tarman, were a vastly superior race of peoples that used to live on a lush tropical world. There they were provided with great fruit, sustenance and it was there they developed as a race. It was also there that evil sprung up on their people. Over a century before Mike's parents were even born, a drought occurred on the world that slowed the development of crops, and rivers once teeming with life, were bone dry within decades. Soon enough they declared war on themselves for suspicions amongst the populace for lechery, hoarding of valuables, and many other traitorous things. The war went on for almost three decades (up to 1956 to be exact). Soon after the world rain had come down for the first time in almost a century, but a little too late unfortunately. The world was nearly devoid of all tropical trees that made up its surface and was replaced by blood, desert and very little wildlife and forests remained after the war had been through.

It was a few years later that the old man, Tarak, was born and saw that the damage done upon his world because of their selfish war was too much to bear on the world of Harmonis, of which they called home. Soon after Tarak took over 90% of the remaining population that did remain from the war along with whatever supplies they had left to Sunset Horizons (now apparently Keyblade Graveyard from the KH BBS updates). The rest that did stay on the world were subject to starvation and cannibalism. Their once harmonious lifestyle ended and within a decade of finding nothing to eat in the world of "Keyblade Garden", discovered an underground river of water just below the surface in a nearby cave were they set up their new lives as denizens of the earth and adapted to their new life style. Yet even as they left behind the world of Harmonis, they carried a legend with them that said this:

"A youth, tall and proud, chiseled in facial features and brunette of hair started our peoples' history and in the grip of despair has always been the one to free us from fear. Should evil knock at our very door, he shall arise from afar to protect us all. Seek him out should you wish to preserve our people's legacy and our name forever."

Mike then said, "That's quite a story there, so what does that have to do with us?"

"It has everything to do with you all. With your great powers and abilities to travel many worlds, you can free my people from where I had failed as a young lad.", Tarak said.

Torahne then said, "There's a problem though. Mike and I are both tall brunettes. So then one of us could easily be the chosen and the other couldn't. So then how would you know who is who?"

Tarak scratched his chin and then took out a green book from his tallest bookshelf to the left of his grey desk. He read aloud and clear so that they all could hear:

"In legend it is said a tall brunette shall free us from destruction and fear. However, there is another that will save us from a greater evil than that of drought, starvation or any other monster imaginable.

"The Chosen" of the Tarman will be decided because his appearance will match that of what legend has depicted: green eyes, brunette hair, beat up clothing (blue jeans and a brown shirt). He would aid the Tarman in their retreat back to Harmonis, where recovery of the world was sure to be imminent.

The other chosen will be a boy from a far away world, where life hangs on, but often in chance and in survival. He will be declared the 'hero of heroes' and granted the title of 'Prince of Light'. He would deliver the universe from destruction and save it when the time was right."

Baffled by all of this Mike was then asked that fateful question. Tarak asked, "Would you foreigners, if given the choice to do so, help us in our time of need?" It was there and then that Mike came up with a plan that would satisfy everyone.

(Next Time: Mike's Plan.)