Chapter IV
The Gummi Ship
After the defeat of the teivel, the group returned to Gwandoya's house. Ace and Alpha had left for home during the battle. Gilda was waiting on the deck nervously. Dusk had long ago fallen, and the children had fallen asleep waiting for their father. As Gwandoya walked out of the woods, she called out to him.
"Oh, Gwandoya," she called as she ran to him. "Thank god you're okay. I was so worried. What's wrong, sweetie?"
"Nothing. I'm going to wash up and go to bed," He said stiffly and walked into the house. Gilda had wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders, but he pushed her away. Bergljot and Anselm stared in shock. Doya had always been so calm and sweet around his wife, but now he acted as though she was as horrid as a Heartless.
"I don't know… what to do anymore. He's been so distant lately, but he won't talk to me about it. He's never done this before, but now that the Heartless have come…" Gilda trailed off as tears welled in her eyes. She turned to Bergljot and Anselm. "Please, stay here the night. If my husband's attitude is any indication, you will be leaving early tomorrow."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Bergljot and Anselm are sitting at a booth in a restaurant on her birthday.
"Anselm, there's something I've… been wanting to discuss with you."
"Yes? What is it? You know you can tell me anything."
"Well, um… ever since we met… I don't know if you noticed, but I was a little shy around you."
"Yeah, I remember."
"I figured out why a few months ago. I… I love you."
"What?"
"I know it sounds weird, but I do. You're the sweetest, gentlest man I know, and you look fantastic. This isn't one of those little 'schoolgirl crushes,' either. I've found myself daydreaming about you and I in… err… that is to say…"
"Sexual situations?"
Bergljot blushes.
"Yeah…"
"Okay. Thank you for being open to me like that. You do realize that we can never make love together. I mean, you're a minor and I'm an adult."
"I know."
"But, Bergljot?"
"Yes?"
"I love you, too."
"Look, you don't have to lie to me. I know there's no way someone like you can love someone like me. I'm not hurt."
Anselm leans in and kisses Bergljot passionately on the lips.
"If I didn't love you, would I have kissed you like that?"
"I'll tell you when I can feel my lips again."
"There is one way around the law."
"And that would be…?"
"Well, if you don't get pregnant and no one catches us, we could get away with it. So, if you want, we could do it tonight. Think of it as a birthday gift."
"Anselm, I… hmm. I'll think about it."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Daddy, stay here with me! Don't leave us!" Zita cried, refusing to let go of her father's waist.
"No, Zita. If I don't leave, everyone will die. Uncle Anselm is going to put a powerful spell on this house that will keep Heartless out of this area. I'll be back in a few weeks to see you. As soon as Anselm and Bergljot finish loading, I'll be leaving," Gwandoya said to his child. This did not seem to help. Zita began crying harder.
"Daddy, no! You're going to get hurt! I don't want you to die!"
"Look, I-"
"Oh, come on Doya. She's only eight. The Gummi Ship is loaded, there are no clouds, and the Heartless are ransacking our house as we speak looking for us. If we don't leave now, we may not get another chance," Bergljot said. She and her husband had gone to their house and grabbed as many clothes as possible, plus their bed, water, food, and anything important that Gilda could fit in her home. There was no way, they figured, that they would reach any worlds in one day. It had taken nearly twenty-four hours for Gwandoya and Anselm's family to move from the closest world, Milburga, and they had left at midnight. The group decided that they would switch off piloting the ship. Bergljot had been sure to grab her alarm clock so they knew when to switch. As they left the house, Aeroga had worn off. Anselm did not renew the spell. Gilda had insisted on them staying at her house when they were around, and they were going to take her up on the offer. No sooner had the spell come off and Anselm and Bergljot began walking away when a neo Heartless began looking for a way in. Instead of fighting, the duo had hurried back to load the ship and the two of them were now standing in the doorway waiting for Gwandoya to board.
"Zita, I promise we'll come back. All of us," Anselm said comfortingly, looking from Bergljot to his brother. "But you must understand that we are doing this to keep you, your brother and mother safe. If we don't leave, all of you will die. We are doing this to get the monsters away from you." As he said this, he cast a powerful blocking charm on the house that would never wear off unless the caster told it to.
"I love you, Zita. I'll be back. I promise," Gwandoya whispered, wrapping his daughter into a hug. He quickly gave his baby boy a kiss and hugged Gilda reassuringly. "If you need anything, you know where Ace and Alpha are, right?"
"Yeah, I know," Gilda sighed. "You take care of yourselves, you hear?" She said as she hugged and kissed her husband.
"This must be really tough for him," Bergljot whispered to Anselm as they watched.
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, he's the one who has to leave a spouse and two kids. We haven't even tried to start a family yet. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to miss them, too, but I didn't do anything to put those kids on this planet. I'm not the one who married Gilda either, thank god."
"I was about to ask if there was something you didn't tell me before the wedding," Anselm chuckled.
"I'm glad we're going together," Bergljot muttered, laying her hands on her husband's shoulders.
Gwandoya approached them, walked onto the ship and sat in the pilot's seat. Bergljot sat in one of the five seats behind him. After closing the hatch, Anselm joined her.
"Are the two of you strapped in? Make sure both of the straps click and don't undo them until we're completely out of the atmosphere," Gwandoya instructed as he buckled himself in. "Ready?" he asked shakily.
"As I'll ever be," Anselm said.
"But not willing," Bergljot replied apprehensively.
"Then here we go."
The ship began shaking violently as Gwandoya started the engines. The ship rose loudly into the air and out of sight. Gilda took her children inside and put away all of the things that had been brought to her. All day, she thought about the dangers her husband was to face. She later gazed at their wedding picture and thought to herself He's strong. He'll be safe. I just wish he could have left a little of that strength for me and his children…
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"I never realized how beautiful space was," Bergljot whispered in awe as she walked through The Isra and gazed out of the windows.
"I never realized how much work I would have to do on this trip," Anselm replied as he made the bed for later that night. They had been traveling for an hour and had not met any Heartless. Gwandoya had managed to avoid their radar so far, but there was no telling when he would fail. There was an alarm that would sound in the event of an attack and Bergljot and Anselm were to head for the deck where it was safest during an assault. In the meantime, Anselm had seven more hours until he had to take over the controls and Bergljot had fifteen. Until it was their turn to pilot, they were free to roam the ship at will.
Anselm finished the bed and joined his wife as she walked onto the deck.
"So, Doya, where are we headed? Anselm, stop it," Bergljot giggled as Anselm had been playing with her hair and kissing her neck while she asked Gwandoya the question.
"Hold on, let me enter the coordinates and set up the autopilot so I can show you," he answered and began to type some information into the computer.
"Wait, if this thing has autopilot, why do we have to switch off every eight hours?" Anselm asked. He laughed as Bergljot began wrapping her arms around him from behind and kissed his neck. "Okay, now you had better stop it."
"The autopilot only works for one hour at a time and takes at least a day to boot up again. Dad blew it out when we moved and Ace was never able to find a replacement. Come with me, I'll show you where we're going."
Gwandoya led his brother and sister-in-law to a seemingly plain wall near the back of the ship.
"Ace added this to the ship after dad sold it to him," Gwandoya explained as he put his face close to the wall a miniscule laser shot at his eyes. An electronic voice sounded through the ship.
"Name: Gwandoya Hammond. Species: Human. Sex: Male," the voice paused to process the data. "Access: Granted."
The wall slid back to reveal a large room with black walls, a black floor and a black ceiling. It was almost impossible to tell if there even were floors or ceilings. Gwandoya walked into the room and signaled for Bergljot and Anselm to follow. They walked to the middle of the void and a pedestal with a sphere perched on the top was suddenly visible.
"Ace, Alpha and I are the only ones with access to this room. We are the only ones who know how to get in and what part of the wall the laser comes out of. If the ship is boarded by Heartless, we are to come in here. The room is partially soundproof, so we can hear what goes on outside, but anyone outside cannot hear us. There are no windows, either," Gwandoya explained. He held the sphere in both hands and said, "Show us the secrets of the universe."
"Awesome…" Bergljot and Anselm whispered.
The room was suddenly filled with silver spots that glittered and were all different sizes, just as the stars in the night sky. Gwandoya carefully replaced the fragile sphere.
"It's a star map. It shows all of the planets, stars, suns, moons, asteroids, comets, meteors, and even black holes in the universe. The planets we have visited are in red, but the others are silver. Any worlds that the Heartless have taken over are green and become so small you can hardly see it," he explained, watching his fellows gaze around in awe. "See here? This is Drummond. Watch."
Gwandoya gently plucked the speck from the group and placed it in the sphere. The sphere became the world. All of the houses, buildings, and lights were on the globe.
"Any time we want to see what a world is like or its geography, simply take the planet and place it on the sphere. This only works with planets."
"So, where's Milburga?" Anselm asked excitedly. His brother hesitated and removed the Drummond dot from the sphere. The tiny planet returned to its spot in the miniature universe. Gwandoya took a speck that was barely there from nearby. He placed it carefully in the sphere.
"MWAHAHA! GRAOH!"
"AH!" Bergljot buried her head into her husband's shoulder. Anselm just stood there, tears in his eyes.
"How…" he trailed off.
The sphere, instead of becoming a globe, it remained black. Two antennae shot out of it and glowing yellow eyes formed on the world. The Heartless' head attempted to bite Bergljot, but as it had no neck it was unsuccessful. Gwandoya, seeing how much it bothered them, removed the planet.
"I'm sorry, Anselm. I should have told you. Our world was overrun months ago," Gwandoya whispered. "Remember the morning after you two became engaged, Anselm?" he asked looking up at him.
"Yeah?"
"Well, I left out part of the dream. Ansem was revived in Milburga. That was the first world he destroyed."
"I… I have to leave. I'm going to take over for your eight hours if you don't mind."
"Go ahead, little brother."
Anselm left the room
"So, where are we headed?" Bergljot asked quietly as her husband exited the room.
"Here," Gwandoya pointed to a small, silver spot. He pulled it and put it in the sphere. The sphere shrank to become a scale model and Bergljot was surprised to see that what appeared to be a large tree was the main landmark on the world. The entire world seemed to be made of bark, grass, and leaves. There was a cavern, but what was in it was unknown.
"I did a scan on the inhabitants and climate. The world is called Ogden. The people there are a race called Guado. They are taller than humans, have stiffer hair, longer arms, and longer hands. They practice the art of summoning. They have many monsters that they can control, however there are only four that Sora was able to subdue. One is still on the planet. As for the climate, it's pretty mild. Think of an infinitive springtime."
"Are there any humans at all?" Bergljot's curiosity was beginning to get the better of her.
"One. He is a half-human, apparently the leader of the Guado. Maester Renatus, I think is what the information I read said. There is something else interesting I read. Apparently, there is a special place here. They call it the Farplane. There was no detailed information on it. All I found out is that it is the 'place where the dead live again.' I have no idea what it means, so I guess we'll find out when we get there."
"I'll be ready. Meanwhile, I think seeing Milburga scared Anselm. I think we should go to him."
"Yeah, you're right," Gwandoya replied, removing the world and picking up the sphere once again. "Hide your secrets." The secrets of the universe returned to where they came from and Gwandoya led Bergljot out of the map.
"Doya?"
"Hmm?" he looked at her.
"I am terribly sorry abut your home," she wrapped her arms around him. Gwandoya did not return it.
"My grieving is finished. Your husband is the one who needs the comfort."
"Okay."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Anselm, give me the controls."
"No. I haven't piloted for eight hours yet," Anselm snapped at his wife.
"Look, you only said that you would take over Doya's shift. His…err… yours is over and mine is starting. Your brother said that you could have his shift and I could take yours, now gimme," Bergljot commanded stubbornly. They had been going at it for ten minutes, but Anselm refused to comply. "Doya's asleep right now, anyway."
"Fine, take it," he muttered in defeat. Bergljot began to strap herself into the seat. "What time is it, anyway?"
"Just after four in the afternoon. Why?"
"Just wondering. Are you hungry?"
"No, I ate just a few minutes ago. But thanks," she nodded and turned her attention to the expanse before her. She heard a yawn behind her as Gwandoya walked into the room. "Morning, sleeping ugly."
"Ha ha. Very funny. We still have about thirty-six hours to go at least," he told them as he sat down. "Did Bergljot tell you where we're going, bro?"
"Ogden. I hear it's supposed to be nice there," Anselm answered.
"Infinite spring," Bergljot said, focusing as best she could on the route. "This is taking way too long. Can't we speed it up a little bit?"
"No," Gwandoya stopped. "We're traveling too slow for any Heartless to pick us up on radar. They only attack objects that move at swift speeds. This is the speed that a meteor or asteroid moves, so they will assume that that's what we are."
"Alright, fine, I just thought I'd ask," Bergljot said, turning to face him. She turned back around in time to see a gigantic meteor shooting through the sky at about their pace. It was about the size of a small planet; probably half the size of what Ogden seemed to be. It missed them by only a couple of yards.
"Whoa," Bergljot whispered. "How did that form?"
"I don't know, but if that were to hit a planet, everything would be annihilated," Anselm said, gawking at the rock.
"That was not on the map!" Gwandoya exclaimed in shock. Just as suddenly as it had come upon them, it was gone.
"I hope it hits a Heartless ship," Bergljot smiled.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Hours had passed since the encounter. Bergljot handed over the controls to Gwandoya and joined her sleeping husband in the makeshift bedroom.
"So how does it feel to be this far from home?" Anselm asked as he sat up and watched his wife put her pajamas on.
"Did I wake you? I'm sorry," she apologized.
"No, I couldn't sleep. You didn't answer my question."
"I don't know. It feels good to get out, but I miss all of my family and friends."
"You still have Gwandoya and I here," Anselm smiled. He pulled the blankets back so his wife could get in bed.
"Yeah, but still…" she whispered. "I'm glad you came."
"Well, I had to. I'm sworn to protect you. I would have come even if I wasn't."
"And I would have come with you even if I weren't the Keyblade master."
"I love you," Anselm whispered.
"I love you, too," Bergljot said. They kissed and fell into an uneasy slumber.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
SKREE! SKREE! SKREE! SKREE! SKREE! SKREE! SKREE! SKREE! Bergljot and Anselm leapt out of bed in a panic. They dressed hurriedly and ran to the deck. SKREE! SKREE! SKREE! SKREE! SKREE! SKREE! SKREE! SKREE! SKREE!
"What's going on?" Bergljot yelled over the noise of the siren as she strapped into a seat.
"Heartless! I couldn't find any on radar so I decided to speed it up a little bit! It seems they've been pulling the same trick on us that we played on them," Gwandoya called. He turned off the siren and accelerated greatly. "Hold on, you two. This may not end well."
"We're ready," Anselm said. He and Bergljot grasped hands tightly.
"AH!" Bergljot screamed in fear as a laser hit the ship, causing sparks to fly off the side. Anselm leaned over and held her tightly.
"It's okay, baby. We'll get out of this."
Gwandoya turned sharply to avoid another hit. Fortunately, the Heartless ship could not maneuver that quickly. Gwandoya aimed at the ship and fired. Black smoke filled their view for a second. More ships began pursuit. There was a small planet in the Gummi ship's path.
"Can't we go faster?" Bergljot yelled.
"We're already going at top speed!" Gwandoya replied, not taking his eyes off the void for a moment. "Hold on!"
KABOOM! A ship had taken a shot at an engine, causing it to explode.
"We're going to crash! Brace yourselves!" Gwandoya screamed.
The Heartless saw that they had successfully caused the ship to crash and tore away. The Isra shot towards the planet. It was engulfed by flames as it entered the atmosphere. The group watched in fear as the ground grew ever closer. Gwandoya managed to turned the ship and slow it so the damaged engine would break the fall.
"We're going to jump! Get ready!" he called as he opened the hatch. Anselm and Bergljot followed. "On three! One! Two! THREE!"
The trio jumped from the ship just before it hit. BANG! CRUNCH! CLANG! The ship rolled a few times and stopped. The travelers landed hard and collapsed. None of them knew how long they had been there.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
They awoke to find a pair of bluish-black and silver plated boots in front of them. Bergljot slowly raised her head to find a very tall, blue haired person standing over them, a staff in her hand and veins visible around her eyes. She said only three words to them in a gentle, yet stern voice:
"Welcome to Ogden."
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Alright! The shortest chapter yet! I'll try to update more often; I'm finally getting to some of the points I preplanned. I hope you all are enjoying this so far. Hopefully you are, because I'm anticipating at least thirty or forty chapters. I need reviews people! Thanks to Soul Vagabond for the only review I have received so far. I need more people to review, though! If this was just for SV, I could e-mail it to him/her! Anyway, even if you don't like to review, PLEASE REVIEW! I want to know that my efforts are not being wasted!
Next Chapter: Who is that mysterious woman with the blue hair and staff? Where have they landed (Final Fantasy X players: If you haven't figured it out yet, you suck!)? Will they ever learn about the Farplane? The answers to these questions and more in Chapters 5 and 6.