Author's Note:
(It's me again! My laptop crashed, and it had all my plot-notes for this fic on it, thus explaining the muy-muy-lateness of this update. *Gets thumped on the head by Jenner*
Jenner: you're not Jar Jar, mate…
*Ryu grumbles* That was Jenner, my first character. He has a low tolerance for things like that…::mutters:: bloody Aussie…
Jenner: I heard that! ::draws his twin magnums and chases Ryu about the room::
Gaah! Enjoy the fic! O_O;;;)
Chapter Eight
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Sora kicked an empty drink can into the side of a garbage bin as he followed Griff and the others back to the Third District. The can spun and rattled as it hit the bin, and clanked as it bounced away. "The Gummi ships can't really help us if we don't know where we're going," Griff said, his hands in his pockets. "Yeah," Sora muttered in agreement, "but the longer we stay here, the quicker the other worlds will fall. We have to get out of Traverse Town."
"Then why not allow me to help, Keybearer?"
Sora spun around, summoning the keyblade to his hand. Griff followed suit, grasping his swallow in both hands. Tasha's claws immediately extended, squaring her stance as the group came face-to-face with none other than Sydney, carrying the same mysterious air as before. The blonde man raises his hands, shaking his head slowly. "That's twice this hour that I've been welcomed with steel. Put away your weapons. I guarantee you won't need them against me." Sora, Griff, and Tasha exchanged glances, and complied, ready to draw them again at a moment's notice.
Sydney walked toward them with an almost inhuman grace, his half-cape drifting gently behind him. "I can help you get to the source of this matter, Keybearer. I can guide you down the path that will lead you to the threatened worlds." To this, Tasha cocked her head slightly. "What's in it for you? How do we know you can be trusted? From what I've seen, you know just a little too much about people. What gives?"
"I have my own agenda regarding this matter, Miss Aurin," replied Sydney in a casual tone. "Lea' Monde disappeared suddenly. There weren't any of those creatures you see scuttling about this small town. From what I understand, these 'Heartless,' as you call them, devour a world's heart by infesting it until they consume everything within. What if that world were already steeped in darkness? Would that explain their absence? That is why I wish to aid you."
"That still doesn't explain the fact that you can read our pasts like an open book," Sora spoke up. Sydney raised a hand in a gesture of apology. "Lea' Monde has the power to give people certain abilities wrought from the dark. Some, like myself, can look into the hearts of others, into their pasts, as you said. Others gain the ability to see things that most would wish to keep hidden."
Griff's attention was suddenly drawn to the sky, where a multitude of stars twinkled against the darkness that was night. A single star appeared different from the others, and Griff focused on it. The celestial body shimmered, and suddenly winked out. Unbeknownst to him, the others had witnessed this too. "Time is short, Keybearer," said Sydney, "and it grows shorter still. Will you accept my offer?"
Sora appeared hesitant, but finally nodded his head. "You're right. Worlds are suffering, and I'm not supposed to allow that. Take us to the worlds, Sydney. Help us stop this." A slight smile crossed Sydney's features, and he knelt to the ground, extending a clawed finger to the concrete. With a look of deep concentration, he traced a large circle on the surface, the shape burning itself into the ground as his finger passed. He continued to draw four triangles, each one pointing to the four winds. Within the square shaped by the triangles, he carved a glyph surrounded by characters strongly resembling those on his back. Sydney stood to his feet, extended his palm toward the central glyph, and began to chant.
"To the four winds, I ask,
To be granted with flight
Through the world between worlds
With the performance of this rite.
Wind of North, Wind of South,
Wind of East, and Wind of West,
Do my bidding, or send me to my eternal rest!"
The strange circle glowed an eerie, blood-red color before a column of light shone upward, dissipating after it reached Sydney's height. The four of them stepped into the portal, and vanished in a flash of crimson light.
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From high above, glowing blue eyes watched as the foursome disappeared. Light footsteps reached the owner's ears, causing him to turn his head and look behind him. A tall brunette approached, clad in pink. Cloud turned his head back to the glowing circle. "They're gone," he said in his usual tone. "The question is, will they succeed in spite of the burden they carry?" Aerith stood beside him, a question forming in her mind. "What burden? They all look strong enough to handle whatever the Heartless throw at them." Cloud shook his head. "Remember what I told you about Griff's heart being unstable? Merlin told me about it in a prophecy not long ago. It said,
There will come the presence of one
Who is born of both dark and light.
He will bear midnight upon his head,
And the ocean in his eyes.
He will be marked with an open channel to his heart,
Where his turmoil lies,
Turning the tide of dark
By using the dark within."
Aerith ran through the prophecy over and over in her mind, trying to piece it together. "You think it's really about Griff?" Cloud shrugged. "It all fits. 'He will bear midnight upon his head, and the ocean in his eyes.' Griff's hair is colored like the night sky, not quite black, and not quite blue. His eyes look like sea foam. The line about 'an open channel to his heart' tells about the scar. It's right over his heart, and then some. Do you follow me?"
Aerith's response was interrupted by the sudden arrival of Leon, looking about with a concerned expression. He met their gaze and asked, "Has anyone seen Yuffie?"
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Yuffie Kisaragi opened her eyes. She saw nothing but blackness. For a moment, she wondered if she had lost her sight, until she realized that there was a burlap sack on her head. The cold stone floor on which she sat sent shivers up her spine, and caused a few fibers of the sack to find their way to her nose. Try as she might, she couldn't fight the ensuing sneeze that echoed in the seemingly empty room.
"Well, it looks like one's awake."
The gruff voice was followed by the scraping of a wooden chair across the stone floor, accompanied by clanking footsteps. A large hand pulled away the sack, exposing Yuffie to a room made entirely of stone. A decorative stone column stood in the middle, against which Yuffie was bound. The man who had taken Yuffie's "blindfold" away had chiseled features in addition to a rough beard. "Did you have a good sleep?" he said mockingly. His breath reeked of strong liquor, causing Yuffie to visibly cringe. At this, the man smiled a broad, toothy smile.
"Try brushing your teeth once in a while," Yuffie muttered. The guard growled, and backhanded Yuffie hard across the face. The ninja was suddenly swept up in a swirl of colors, all of which slowly began to clear. Yuffie felt a bit of moisture on her face where the soldier's gauntlet had struck, and it didn't take her very long to realize that it was blood. The smell of iron dominated her nostrils as a draft blew the smell across her nose.
"Bite your tongue, woman," the soldier bellowed, "or I'll--"
"That will be enough of that, Brother Jecob."
The new voice came from another man in the room, previously blocked from Yuffie's view. He'd been quiet until now, but his voice carried a definite tone of authority. "The Crimson Blades, drunken or no, never strike a woman. Ye are a stain on the escutcheon of our order."
The soldier who'd hit Yuffie suddenly gaped in surprise. Standing erect, Jecob stammered an apology. "F-father Doyle! I-I--" The other man shook his head. "I don't want to hear your excuses, Jecob. If I see you lay hands on a woman again, you will answer to God, because I myself will send you to meet him. Is that understood?" Jecob nodded stiffly. Doyle motioned with his head to the door, indicating that he wanted Jecob to follow. Without a word, Jecob obeyed.
Yuffie was somewhat relieved when the two Blades departed. A single drop of blood fell from her face, landing on her shirt. She looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of her reflection in something, and saw her shuriken propped against the wall by the table. She saw herself on its polished surface, and confirmed that there was indeed a cut on her right cheek. A thin line of red trailed down her jaw, releasing another drop of blood onto her shirt. There was a soft ruffling sound behind her on the opposite side of the pillar, followed by a feminine-sounding groan.
"You awake?" asked Yuffie. "Yes, but I can't see," came the reply. So, there was another captive besides herself, and it seemed as though the individual was also hindered by a blindfold. "We're in some kind of house made of stone," said Yuffie. "We're strapped to a pillar in the center of what I think is the family room." As she said this, Yuffie fidgeted with the ropes that bound her to the pillar. Gawd, I wish I'd paid more attention to the lecture on untying knots…!
Yuffie tried to maneuver her fingers into her back pocket, where she'd always kept a tiny throwing knife for luck. Her fingertips grazed the end of it, but wouldn't close on it. She silently cursed herself at her situation. The other captive spoke up. "Since it doesn't seem like we will be leaving anytime soon, we may as well try to make conversation. What is your name?" Yuffie leaned her head back against the pillar, exhaling in a frustrated sigh. "Yuffie Kisaragi. What about you?"
"VKP Inquisitor Callo Merlose."
***************
(Well! It seems as though we've uncovered the identities of the two captives a bit earlier than I'd originally planned, but hey. It's all good.)
(Jenner: *from beneath a Full-Nelson pin maneuver and choke-hold* aww, shut it, you….)