Snow
Chappie three: Hope
Author's rambling: AAHH! Sorry about the wait, loves. I've been really busy being, er…lazy! I really appreciate the reviews, everyone, so keep 'em coming! -
Part one: Ansem
I grinned at the poor ninja master that was still unaware of what she was getting herself into. I sat across from her, noticing that her eyes were darting left and right. She was looking for an exit. Of course, if she did flee through one of the doors…she would meet death by electrocution. Security is a must these days, what with lunatic spiky-haired kids trying to overthrow you with giant keys and whatnot.
"What do you want from me?" The girl glared at me, obviously uneasy. Why would she be comfortable, anyway? "I simply need a favor." I grinned with the most sincerity that I could muster…which isn't saying much. The girl's eyes narrowed and she raised her boomerangy doohickie. She raised it threateningly, might I add. "You see that young girl in that tube over there?" I gestured at my not-yet-named daughter, and Yuffie lowered her weapon. "Ooooohh. I see. You have a dau---WHOAH! Who's the momma?" She also muttered something like 'who would want to be the mother of your child is beyond me..' but I brushed that off. Even insane villains need self-control. "She is a heartless. She just has the appearance and emotional attributes of a human." Yuffie gave me a bewildered 'The hell are you talking
about?!' look, which I expected. Her tiny brain could not handle my break-through. Oh well.
"I cannot figure out a name for her…" I figured I'd get to the point, instead of explaining all of this to Yuffie. That would take days. "Oooohh! I know!" Yuffie pointed out the window and grinned. "Lookie! A full moon! How lovely!" I was just about to ask her what the Mickey that had to do with anything, when she answered my inquiry for me. "Name her Mani. I studied up on my Norse mythology, you know." Having no idea that she studied up on anything at all academic, I felt intrigued by the name. "Excellent. Her name will be Mani." Yuffie grinned and slowly inched toward the door. "Well, I guess I'm done here..." Where does she think she's going? "Stop right there." She froze and let out an 'eep' as my lips curled into a sinister villainous smile. "You are to remain here." Yuffie's eyes widened and she thrashed her arms about. "WHAA?!?!" I chuckled and put a hand on the glass which held Mani. "She need's a nanny, you know."
It has been months now, and Mani is already 16. I somehow didn't realize that heartless aged faster than humans. After all, the heartless I have been used to don't look any different as they 'age.' But, I have fixed the aging process for now. I have thankfully missed most of the 'infant' years that most parents dread. I must say, raising a child has its…ups and downs. I now notice that Mani is a free-spirit. She is very kind and loving, but I can't help but wonder…is there something she's hiding? Is there some power inside her waiting to be unleashed? The only way you can even tell that she's not human is her…being. She seems to be totally aware of everything around her. She can see right through you. She can look into your eyes and make you regret every cruel deed you ever accomplished. I fear that one day she'll turn against me. But, if she does, I will be powerless against her. She is my weakness. She is my life. Nothing will take her away. Unless she finds out the truth, then…..
Part Two: Mani
Nanny tells me that she thinks I should pay more attention to my father. Why? Is he doing something wrong? There's just something in her eyes. I've noticed a certain…look in her eyes when she talks about Daddy. I don't know if she loves him or not. She always says that he is incapable of returning such an emotion….but does that mean that he doesn't love me? I certainly hope not.
I think I can speak to the heartless, but I have no idea why. Daddy obviously cannot, because the Heartless always make fun of him and mock him and call him….names that cannot be repeated. I would chuckle a bit, and he would give me this bewildered, 'the hell?' stare. Funny stuff. Recently, the Heartless have been stealing daddy's clothes and replacing them with feminine clothes. He's furious. I would be too, if I found….never mind. Father still wonders where his shampoo went. Anyway, Nanny told me to go visit him, so visit him I shall. Maybe I should cut through the castle chapel? Daddy says I'm not allowed there, but why not? What's he hiding? Naughty magazines? I certainly hope not!
He's hiding women, is what he's hiding. I walked in and I saw all these girls…in glass cases. It was awful, to see them like that. I was overcome with grief, but was it mine? Or, was it theirs?
I ran.
I ran into Daddy's lab to find him looking over research, as usual. I was so angry at him…..and he knew it. He could see it in my eyes. "What's wrong, child?" He ventured, looking as innocent as possible. "Daddy…what's in the castle chapel?" Even though I knew, I wanted to see if my father would lie to me to save his own skin. After much hesitation and thought, he said that it was top secret. Despite my nature, I yelled at him. Yelled with such fury on the behalf of women I did not know until recently. "WHY ARE THERE WOMEN THERE?" My hands formed into fists at my sides, my face felt hot, my eyes wet. "Why are they imprisoned? What have you done to them?" He froze and stared at me, a mixture of shock and pain on his face. "…they will open the keyhole…" I stared at him long and hard. Keyhole? Oh, the heartless have spoken of it. A keyhole into….darkness. But…..why? Why is he doing this? I'm so confused. I don't want to know anymore. I want to go back to the old days. I'm so…..lost.
Father stood up and stared at me, long and hard, his gaze colder than usual. This isn't the father I know. Everything has changed. Or was it always there, carefully hidden? I couldn't stand to be near him anymore. I ran out of the laboratory and down into the dungeons. Down and down I went, until I just collapsed on the floor and let it all out. My anger, my grief, my pain, all washed out in a sparkling rain of tears. I curled up and wiped my eyes, thinking. I'm stronger than this. I can't just fall deeper and deeper into despair, until not a shed of happiness remains. I sat up and looked around at the task ahead. I had to get out of here, that's for sure. But, how, exactly? I was so blind with anger that I didn't pay an ounce of attention to where I was going. Real smart.
What was that? I thought I just heard someone sigh. Better go check it out. I think it was…that way. I ventured to a cell, which, sure enough, had someone locked up. Only….he was quite good-looking. He had long silver hair, and lovely green eyes. But, why was he locked up down here? More secrets. Another puzzle to solve, compliments of my dear-ol'-dad. The boy, who appeared to be my age, looked at me for a moment, and I decided to speak first. "Hello." I tilted my head and he smiled for a moment, before resuming his 'I hate my life' frown. As I looked at him, I felt this strange feeling in my stomach. The kind of feeling you get right before you see the third Harry Potter movie in theaters. Wait, what's Harry Potter? I shook my head and grinned at him, before opening his cage and sitting next to him. "What's your name?" I looked up at him and he blinked a few times, as if wondering what the heck I was. Typical male behavior. "Riku."
I examined his bindings, clawed at them every now and then, seeing if anything would work. Nope. "That's a lovely name." I bit into the chains to see if that would work, and my mouth began to hurt like Mickey Mouse on New Year's Eve. Don't even get me started on the taste. "Gyuck!" Riku chuckled and shrugged. "My name's okay…" I pondered a moment, and tried to karate chop the chains like Nanny taught me. Nope. "Well, you could have been named Bob." Riku blinked and nodded, smiling. "I never thought of it that way…" I grinned and rubbed my aching hand, not about to give up. "Indeed. Or you could have been named Francisco." Riku stared and blinked, changing the subject. Once again, typical male behavior. "What's your name?" I thought about many absurd names I could have mentioned just to play with him, but I decided not to. "Mani." Riku nodded in approval and gestured to his hip. "I have a sword, you know." He could have mentioned that BEFORE I beat myself to a pulp. Better late than never. I took the sword, and after a couple "HYAAA!"s and "BOOYAKA!"s Riku was home free.
"Why were you locked up in here?" I handed him his sword and he thanked me. "Heartless kidnapped me after kidnapping this crazy ninja mugger chick." Hey, that sounds like Nanny…did Father kidnap both of them? Why did he kidnap Riku? What would he want Riku locked up for in the first place?
So many questions…and not a single answer. Is there no hope?
Who are you, father?
Author's Rambling:
Whatcha think? This has got to be the longest chapter I have ever written in a fic. I'm quite proud of this. Also, the Harry Potter part was my doing. I took over Mani's brain and forced her to say it! Mwahahaaha! Also, Note the 'Booyaka!' term used. That gives a hint to another character that will make her way into the storyline.
Please review this, as your thoughts are very appreciated.