Kingdom Hearts FanFiction
Vagabond Hearts
Chapter Six
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Legal Bits
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A copyright lawyer and a cow walk into a bar. They take a seat next to this semi-anonymous fanfiction writer. The writer mentions that he writes fanfiction, and the copyright lawyer goes off about how he can't sue the writer, thanks to cushy remarks like, "All characters who are the property of Disney or Square-Enix are their property, not mine. Please don't sue me," and the fact that the writer sweats blood for absolutely no financial gain. When the lawyer's finished, the writer asks why he's in the bar with a cow. The lawyer gets real mad now, and yells out, "That's no cow! That's my wife!"
I'm kidding. I have nothin' but love for the copyright lawyers. Please don't sue me. And, yes, I know that was not funny. ===========
Darkness. There was darkness all around him. And there were eyes in the darkness. For a moment, Hex was certain he was surrounded by Heartless. He took an involuntary step backwards, tried to get a grip on the situation. As he stepped back, he bumped into something. Whirling around, he saw that Aurelie was there with him. She didn't speak, only followed his gaze as he looked over the shadows again and again.
He couldn't attack, he couldn't place the enemy. He couldn't even be sure there was an enemy. The eyes didn't move, they didn't even blink. They just glittered in the darkness in a dozen different colors: red and yellow and green and others.
Suddenly, all the eyes flared with elemental energies. Fire and water flashed like light in the darkness. The eyes looked up, and Hex followed their gaze. Above him was nothing but darkness, a darkness somehow deeper then that of the darkness around him. And piercing that darkness was a single pair of blood red eyes.
A chorus of roars shook Hex to the core. He reached behind him, and Aurelie's hand closed over his. The roars were angry, indignant, but Hex could tell they were not directed at him. The roars were rage focused on that pair of eyes above him. They carried for what seemed forever, until Hex felt certain that the roars would overcome him and destroy him, and then they were suddenly drowned out and finally silenced by a roar from the eyes above. The roar was one of power, of dark power, and seemed to inflict the worst kind of fear and despair directly on Hex's heart.
Hex could feel Aurelie's hand tremble in his. The shaking brought him back to his senses, and he stepped away from Aurelie to confront whatever darkness was spread above him. The roar died as he did so, but he knew that this only meant something worse was coming.
In a way his eyes couldn't sense, the darkness above seemed to move down on him, taking the shape of a frightening dragon. Hex's mind took only a minute to realize that the dragon above him was the Prismatic Dragon.
Before he could react, the Prismatic Dragon had descended, bringing illumination with it. Hex had time to see he was in a chamber riddled with alcoves, and in each alcove was another dragon. All of them were immobilized, some with fear, some with rage. But whatever the reason, none of them moved. The Prismatic Dragon rushed toward Hex, and he was too found himself unable to do anything. The Dragon rushed over his head, and it wasn't until he heard Aurelie's scream that he realized that he wasn't the target. She was. But why?
Hex didn't have time to consider the reason. As the Dragon rose back toward the top of the chamber, Aurelie screaming and twisting in its claws, it released a blast of darkness, and Hex was overcome. He could feel despair take him completely, and he could feel his heart slip rapidly away... -----------------
Hex managed to hold in the scream of terror as he shot awake in bed. He was sleeping in his hotel room in Traverse Town, he hadn't been wherever he thought he had been. He wasn't sure what to make of the dream. He hadn't encountered any Heartless, save the Prismatic Dragon, but he wasn't even sure the Dragon was a Heartless. And he hadn't heard the voice, either. Maybe it had just been a dream...
Hex looked out the window and saw the first light of dawn creeping over the rooftops of the tranquil village. He decided that he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, and left his hotel room to return to Leon's place, and meet up with Aurelie and Locke. -----------------
Aurelie gasped, clutching madly at the blankets of her bed. She was sweating, her body shivering in fear. That dragon, what had it been? It was huge, and so frightening. And she could still feel its power, even now that the vision had ended.
After a moment, Aurelie pushed the thoughts about the dragon out of her mind. Something else about the vision struck her now. Hex had been there with her, in that chamber full of dragons. She had always been alone in her visions, before, unless she wasn't in it, at all. But the vision of Hex's battle in the Lifebeat had been one of only a handful Aurelie had not taken an active role in. This was the first vision she had ever had that she was in, in which she had been unable to act.
The viera slipped out of bed and dressed quickly and quietly, trying her best not to wake Yuffie or Aerith. Dawn was here. Cid would be awake. She decided to see him about the vision of the dragon. Maybe it was a sign about where they should start in this quest to restore the Elemental Hearts... -----------------
Locke started awake, the steady dripping of water on his face waking him from his dream. He frowned, and but did not move. He kept his head were it rested on Celes stomach, and took what solace he could in the steady rhythm of her breathing. He had been dreaming about her, about being with her, and he was loath to let that feeling of happiness go.
After a few moments, he got up. He left the cave that was the Refuge as Traverse Town was just beginning to wake up, itself. As he passed the hotel on his way back to Leon's place, he looked up at the balconies. Hex was in one of those rooms. Hex...
Locke didn't know what to make of this strange, lost vagabond. On one hand, he genuinely liked Hex, and felt certain that any journey with Hex would be filled with adventure. And Hex was good people, Locke could tell. But, on the other hand...Hex kept making these crazy promises, promises about helping Locke with a problem Hex didn't even fully understand. So the others had told Hex about Celes, and the fall of their world to the Heartless; so what? Hex hadn't been there, he couldn't understand. And even if he was aligned with some great power from beyond, he wasn't being too clear about that power's nature or purpose. Maybe Hex didn't know the true nature of that power, himself. But then, why would he so willingly make promises of aiding Locke? If Hex didn't believe the power was right, and their separate destinies were actually one and the same, why would Hex make these promises?
And he had done it again last night, before Locke had returned to the Refuge. He had looked Locke dead in the eye and sworn to help bring Celes back, like Hex cared about her fate as much as Leon or Aerith or Aurelie did.
It wasn't Hex's habit of making this promise that disturbed Locke, or even the vagabond's strange background and origins. It wasn't the way Hex had suddenly appeared in their lives and become the center of their quest in the space of a day, either. What frightened Locke the most was that Hex had told him they could bring Celes back, that they could beat the Heartless, and all they had to do was believe.
What frightened Locke was that he wanted to believe. -------------
When Locke arrived, Hex and Aurelie were already preparing to go. There was a lot of noise and ruckus in the house, Locke couldn't be sure exactly why. Apparently, Hex and Aurelie had actually shared a vision, but Locke found he couldn't bring himself to be surprised by this. Maybe he really was beginning to believe.
"It sounds to me like the place you saw was DragonHome," Cid said as the three companions left for the first leg of their journey. "It's the Kingdom home of a powerful clan of dragons, and a handful of moogles who serve them. You'll likely bump into a summoner or two, as well. But the dragons can be distrustful of outsiders. Don't let your guard down."
Cid hooked them up with a handful of extra Gummi Blocks, as well. The ship was definitely more likely to survive a Heartless onslaught, now, and handled better. It was a quick flight from Traverse Town to DragonHome, and Locke let Hex take a shot at flying the Gummi Ship. He did well for a beginner, dodging between Gummi formations at speeds that were making Aurelie, at least, visibly nervous.
When they finally touched down on DragonHome, it seemed to be deserted. Locke could sense the power, he was sure they each could. He was excited, infected with an energy that always seemed to surge through him when the prospect of new treasure lay ahead. Hex and Aurelie did not seem to share his enthusiasm, so he took point as they entered the cavern passages of DragonHome.
None of them noticed the two people watching from a ledge above. ---------------
"Damon, did you see that?" Crystal asked excitedly.
"I saw it, yeah," Damon answered gruffly.
Crystal ignored his answer and his tone. "That one had an EssenceHand, and he looked like Hex."
"It was Hex."
"What? How can you tell? I can barely see from up here."
"The Heartless told me he would come," Damon said. He got up, and began walking towards the entrance to the mountain.
"What?" Crystal said after him. She used her Keyblade to help herself up off her knees, and hurried after him. As they stepped into the cave, lit by magical torches along the walls, she said, "The Heartless knew Hex'd be here? Did they send us here to bring him home with us?"
Damon looked a Crystal for a long time before he answered. He hated this, he hated lying to her. But his power wasn't enough to fulfill their desires, he needed hers, as well. He had to lie to her, about the Heartless sending them home when their task was done. But he couldn't tell her the truth about Hex, either.
Or could he? This could be his chance to get what he truly wanted, without playing toady to the Heartless to do it. "No," he said finally. "Hex won't join us, the Heartless didn't send us here to get him. He works against us, Crystal, and he'll give up his chance to return home to stop us. But he'll give up our chance, too. We have to stop him."
He could see the pain in Crystal's eyes as he spoke the lies, he could see it form into tears. He hated this, he really did. But he had no choice. When Crystal brushed past him, walking further into DragonHome, ha cast a glance back at the daylight. He clenched his fist, reveled in the power, the essence hidden within.
He would destroy Hex, give the Kingdoms to Chaos, and Crystal's heart would finally belong to him...
A copyright lawyer and a cow walk into a bar. They take a seat next to this semi-anonymous fanfiction writer. The writer mentions that he writes fanfiction, and the copyright lawyer goes off about how he can't sue the writer, thanks to cushy remarks like, "All characters who are the property of Disney or Square-Enix are their property, not mine. Please don't sue me," and the fact that the writer sweats blood for absolutely no financial gain. When the lawyer's finished, the writer asks why he's in the bar with a cow. The lawyer gets real mad now, and yells out, "That's no cow! That's my wife!"
I'm kidding. I have nothin' but love for the copyright lawyers. Please don't sue me. And, yes, I know that was not funny. ===========
Darkness. There was darkness all around him. And there were eyes in the darkness. For a moment, Hex was certain he was surrounded by Heartless. He took an involuntary step backwards, tried to get a grip on the situation. As he stepped back, he bumped into something. Whirling around, he saw that Aurelie was there with him. She didn't speak, only followed his gaze as he looked over the shadows again and again.
He couldn't attack, he couldn't place the enemy. He couldn't even be sure there was an enemy. The eyes didn't move, they didn't even blink. They just glittered in the darkness in a dozen different colors: red and yellow and green and others.
Suddenly, all the eyes flared with elemental energies. Fire and water flashed like light in the darkness. The eyes looked up, and Hex followed their gaze. Above him was nothing but darkness, a darkness somehow deeper then that of the darkness around him. And piercing that darkness was a single pair of blood red eyes.
A chorus of roars shook Hex to the core. He reached behind him, and Aurelie's hand closed over his. The roars were angry, indignant, but Hex could tell they were not directed at him. The roars were rage focused on that pair of eyes above him. They carried for what seemed forever, until Hex felt certain that the roars would overcome him and destroy him, and then they were suddenly drowned out and finally silenced by a roar from the eyes above. The roar was one of power, of dark power, and seemed to inflict the worst kind of fear and despair directly on Hex's heart.
Hex could feel Aurelie's hand tremble in his. The shaking brought him back to his senses, and he stepped away from Aurelie to confront whatever darkness was spread above him. The roar died as he did so, but he knew that this only meant something worse was coming.
In a way his eyes couldn't sense, the darkness above seemed to move down on him, taking the shape of a frightening dragon. Hex's mind took only a minute to realize that the dragon above him was the Prismatic Dragon.
Before he could react, the Prismatic Dragon had descended, bringing illumination with it. Hex had time to see he was in a chamber riddled with alcoves, and in each alcove was another dragon. All of them were immobilized, some with fear, some with rage. But whatever the reason, none of them moved. The Prismatic Dragon rushed toward Hex, and he was too found himself unable to do anything. The Dragon rushed over his head, and it wasn't until he heard Aurelie's scream that he realized that he wasn't the target. She was. But why?
Hex didn't have time to consider the reason. As the Dragon rose back toward the top of the chamber, Aurelie screaming and twisting in its claws, it released a blast of darkness, and Hex was overcome. He could feel despair take him completely, and he could feel his heart slip rapidly away... -----------------
Hex managed to hold in the scream of terror as he shot awake in bed. He was sleeping in his hotel room in Traverse Town, he hadn't been wherever he thought he had been. He wasn't sure what to make of the dream. He hadn't encountered any Heartless, save the Prismatic Dragon, but he wasn't even sure the Dragon was a Heartless. And he hadn't heard the voice, either. Maybe it had just been a dream...
Hex looked out the window and saw the first light of dawn creeping over the rooftops of the tranquil village. He decided that he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, and left his hotel room to return to Leon's place, and meet up with Aurelie and Locke. -----------------
Aurelie gasped, clutching madly at the blankets of her bed. She was sweating, her body shivering in fear. That dragon, what had it been? It was huge, and so frightening. And she could still feel its power, even now that the vision had ended.
After a moment, Aurelie pushed the thoughts about the dragon out of her mind. Something else about the vision struck her now. Hex had been there with her, in that chamber full of dragons. She had always been alone in her visions, before, unless she wasn't in it, at all. But the vision of Hex's battle in the Lifebeat had been one of only a handful Aurelie had not taken an active role in. This was the first vision she had ever had that she was in, in which she had been unable to act.
The viera slipped out of bed and dressed quickly and quietly, trying her best not to wake Yuffie or Aerith. Dawn was here. Cid would be awake. She decided to see him about the vision of the dragon. Maybe it was a sign about where they should start in this quest to restore the Elemental Hearts... -----------------
Locke started awake, the steady dripping of water on his face waking him from his dream. He frowned, and but did not move. He kept his head were it rested on Celes stomach, and took what solace he could in the steady rhythm of her breathing. He had been dreaming about her, about being with her, and he was loath to let that feeling of happiness go.
After a few moments, he got up. He left the cave that was the Refuge as Traverse Town was just beginning to wake up, itself. As he passed the hotel on his way back to Leon's place, he looked up at the balconies. Hex was in one of those rooms. Hex...
Locke didn't know what to make of this strange, lost vagabond. On one hand, he genuinely liked Hex, and felt certain that any journey with Hex would be filled with adventure. And Hex was good people, Locke could tell. But, on the other hand...Hex kept making these crazy promises, promises about helping Locke with a problem Hex didn't even fully understand. So the others had told Hex about Celes, and the fall of their world to the Heartless; so what? Hex hadn't been there, he couldn't understand. And even if he was aligned with some great power from beyond, he wasn't being too clear about that power's nature or purpose. Maybe Hex didn't know the true nature of that power, himself. But then, why would he so willingly make promises of aiding Locke? If Hex didn't believe the power was right, and their separate destinies were actually one and the same, why would Hex make these promises?
And he had done it again last night, before Locke had returned to the Refuge. He had looked Locke dead in the eye and sworn to help bring Celes back, like Hex cared about her fate as much as Leon or Aerith or Aurelie did.
It wasn't Hex's habit of making this promise that disturbed Locke, or even the vagabond's strange background and origins. It wasn't the way Hex had suddenly appeared in their lives and become the center of their quest in the space of a day, either. What frightened Locke the most was that Hex had told him they could bring Celes back, that they could beat the Heartless, and all they had to do was believe.
What frightened Locke was that he wanted to believe. -------------
When Locke arrived, Hex and Aurelie were already preparing to go. There was a lot of noise and ruckus in the house, Locke couldn't be sure exactly why. Apparently, Hex and Aurelie had actually shared a vision, but Locke found he couldn't bring himself to be surprised by this. Maybe he really was beginning to believe.
"It sounds to me like the place you saw was DragonHome," Cid said as the three companions left for the first leg of their journey. "It's the Kingdom home of a powerful clan of dragons, and a handful of moogles who serve them. You'll likely bump into a summoner or two, as well. But the dragons can be distrustful of outsiders. Don't let your guard down."
Cid hooked them up with a handful of extra Gummi Blocks, as well. The ship was definitely more likely to survive a Heartless onslaught, now, and handled better. It was a quick flight from Traverse Town to DragonHome, and Locke let Hex take a shot at flying the Gummi Ship. He did well for a beginner, dodging between Gummi formations at speeds that were making Aurelie, at least, visibly nervous.
When they finally touched down on DragonHome, it seemed to be deserted. Locke could sense the power, he was sure they each could. He was excited, infected with an energy that always seemed to surge through him when the prospect of new treasure lay ahead. Hex and Aurelie did not seem to share his enthusiasm, so he took point as they entered the cavern passages of DragonHome.
None of them noticed the two people watching from a ledge above. ---------------
"Damon, did you see that?" Crystal asked excitedly.
"I saw it, yeah," Damon answered gruffly.
Crystal ignored his answer and his tone. "That one had an EssenceHand, and he looked like Hex."
"It was Hex."
"What? How can you tell? I can barely see from up here."
"The Heartless told me he would come," Damon said. He got up, and began walking towards the entrance to the mountain.
"What?" Crystal said after him. She used her Keyblade to help herself up off her knees, and hurried after him. As they stepped into the cave, lit by magical torches along the walls, she said, "The Heartless knew Hex'd be here? Did they send us here to bring him home with us?"
Damon looked a Crystal for a long time before he answered. He hated this, he hated lying to her. But his power wasn't enough to fulfill their desires, he needed hers, as well. He had to lie to her, about the Heartless sending them home when their task was done. But he couldn't tell her the truth about Hex, either.
Or could he? This could be his chance to get what he truly wanted, without playing toady to the Heartless to do it. "No," he said finally. "Hex won't join us, the Heartless didn't send us here to get him. He works against us, Crystal, and he'll give up his chance to return home to stop us. But he'll give up our chance, too. We have to stop him."
He could see the pain in Crystal's eyes as he spoke the lies, he could see it form into tears. He hated this, he really did. But he had no choice. When Crystal brushed past him, walking further into DragonHome, ha cast a glance back at the daylight. He clenched his fist, reveled in the power, the essence hidden within.
He would destroy Hex, give the Kingdoms to Chaos, and Crystal's heart would finally belong to him...