Chapter X

Escape

Bergljot prepared for the pain of the bullets, but it never came. There was a rumbling sound followed by a gun going off, but nobody was shot. The guards began to yell and shoot, but not at them. Slowly, Bergljot opened her eyes to find a strange scene in front of her. Anselm was on a motorcycle, sending the guards running. Gwandoya was in a truck behind him, all of their weapons in the back. While the guards were running around in confusion, Anselm sent lightning bolts at the ropes tying hands behind backs. He was slowed by a human wall gathering in front of him. Gwandoya approached the group.

"The four of you, hop on! I have your weapons! Bergljot, I can't fit you on here, but Anselm will be here in a second!" he called. The group jumped in swiftly and looked back at Bergljot. She nodded and drew her Keyblades, glad that she had the power to make them disappear when not in use. As a guard ran at her, she hit him upside the head with a blade. He was knocked out cold. She continued attacking the guards that came at her while Anselm tried to get at her.

"Run! Don't worry about me! Just go!" he screamed as he dodged a bullet.

"NO!" she cried.

A guard leapt at her, causing her to lose balance. Bergljot fell over, but was pulled up by a strong arm. A knife was at her throat.

"You will die by my hand," whispered Angra Mainyu. He was preparing to slice her skin when he was hit over the head by a staff.

"Get on," Anselm snapped. Bergljot climbed on behind him and wrapped an arm around his chest.

"No!" screeched a guard. He grabbed onto Bergljot and refused to let go.

"Get off of me!" she screamed back. Knocking his hood off, Bergljot was shocked to find that the creature had glowing red eyes with gold speckles in them. His skin was pitch-black and he had a red line for a mouth. She threw him aside bitterly and shook behind Anselm.

"Hold on tight," he whispered. He rode up a cliff that stood behind the ruler's throne and flew off of the edge as far as he could. They landed hard, but there was no way the guards, alive or not, would get to them.

"Thank you," Bergljot sobbed into her husband's back.

"Just do me a favor," he gasped. "Next time you decide to overthrow the government, don't get arrested."

===============

The group reunited at the site where Bergljot, Anselm and Gwandoya had crashed. The ship was still there, much to the surprise of the entire group.

"Where do we go from here?" Ken'ichi whispered. He and the other renegades had explained everything that had gone on since they were arrested and were now debating what to do next.

"I'm going to go get some food," Anselm said. He laid a hand on his wife's shoulder as he walked past. He had gotten pissed off at the fact that Angra Mainyu tried to rape her, but Anselm was angrier that he injured her. She was going to have a scar on her face the rest of her life. He went into the ship.

"I think… we should go into the castle," Bergljot suggested quietly. The group glared at her. They then bombarded her with yells of disagreement.

"Are you crazy?" Gwandoya snapped.

"After what just happened to us?" Yuffeth screeched.

"No way am I going into that hellhole," Ken'ichi shook his head.

"I ain't risking my neck again," Strifer yelled.

"I think it's a good idea," Leilani spoke up as the yelling slowed. The noise stopped completely when she said that. "We go in, get some books, and leave. There's bound to be something in the books. After today, that's the last place he'll think we'd go."

"You're right," Strifer agreed.

"I understand that when he goes to bed, he leaves the library locked. That would be the time to strike," Ken'ichi whispered.

"We can steal some cloaks from the guards, get the keys when he goes to bed, and look around while a couple of us stand guard," Yuffeth smiled.

"No. I'm not risking my life again," Gwandoya said in a final tone. "I have a wife and two kids. I want to be able to see them again."

"Then you can wait in the ship to get us out of there," Bergljot told him.

"I think we may want to head home soon anyway," Anselm called from the ship. "Gilda left a message for you, bro."

The group climbed into the ship and watched the video.

"Gwandoya. We need you to come home now. The Heartless are attacking. The spell is weakening. I fear we only have a few days at most. Please, come home. Ace and Alpha have come to live here. The Heartless already destroyed their home. Please, we need your help. The Heartless are getting stronger. We haven't much time left. They are almost in the house. Get ho-" the message was cut off. It seemed as though the Heartless had cut off the signal during transmission.

"Screw the books, I'm going home," growled Gwandoya as he prepared for liftoff.

"No! Take us to the library. We'll take a few minutes to look around and then we'll go home. I promise," Bergljot whispered.

"Fine, but only one hour."

===============

Gwandoya flew them reluctantly to the castle, where the group proceeded to steal cloaks from the first six guards they saw. After knocking them unconscious, the group slipped on the cloaks and walked into the castle. They could barely recognize each other, as the cloaks were large enough to hide them completely.

"You there!" Angra Mainyu called as they walked into the entrance. "One of you come to my chambers. I am weary, and wish to have company before I slumber."

They looked at each other, finally laying their hidden eyes on Bergljot. She reluctantly walked up to him. He led her to the bedroom as the rest of the group took their places at the library. Fortunately, Anselm's cloak contained a set of skeleton keys. They began to look around while Bergljot slowly walked upstairs with the ruler.

"Those renegades are a menace," he growled when he and Bergljot entered the room. "Don't you agree?"

"Yes, of course," Bergljot agreed, trying to deepen her voice and make it hiss.

"You sound strange. Are you sure nobody nailed you during the fight?"

"That trespasser threw me off of the bike before she escaped."

"I see," he said as he undressed and laid down on the bed. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

"Excuse me?" Bergljot was shocked.

"Get at the piano and play! She must have hit you hard."

"That she did," she whispered. She regretted never letting Kleidon, the keyboard player in the band, teach her piano. She played some keys.

"What the hell is that?" Angra Mainyu hissed. "Play the music in front of you!"

She looked at the sheet music and recalled as much from her music classes as possible. She began playing, messing up a little.

"Not perfect, but better," he sighed. "I want them destroyed. I want that woman, too. I hated to harm her, but as she has royal blood, she would make an ideal wife…"

"Royal blood?" she whispered as she stopped playing. No reply came. The lord was fast asleep. She quietly slipped out of the room and rushed to the library.

===============

"I think these are enough books," Leilani whispered. "He probably won't notice them missing."

"We hid your books in the ship, too. Let's check out those as well," Anselm said. They had abandoned their cloaks upon seeing that the library was empty.

"Hey, look at this," Ken'ichi hissed from the upper levels. "These are all about Sora."

"Grab those, too," Leilani ordered.

As Ken'ichi took the books, the library door was flung open.

"Get the hell back here!" Strifer called from the hall. A guard was dashing through the room.

"Take this!" Yuffeth cried. She flung a few Shurikens at the guard, pinning the sleeves to the wall. The guard moaned as Anselm walked up to it.

"What do you want?" he asked as he lowered the hood. "Bergljot!"

"I have something to tell you all."

"Later. That commotion summoned all the real guards!" Ken'ichi cried. Sure enough, guards were pouring in from the entrance and a hidden door behind an upstairs case. The group was pinned against the window.

"Heads up!" Strifer called. He turned to the window and pointed the Gunblade at it. The glass shattered as large bullets pelted it. Gwandoya flew up to the window as fast as he could and opened a hidden hatch in the top of the ship.

"Jump!" he called through a P.A. system in the ship.

"Let's go!" exclaimed Yuffeth. The group jumped, except for Bergljot. A guard grabbed her ankle as she prepared to flee.

"Just go, I'll be fine!" she screamed as she fought the creature.

"Thundaga!" Anselm cried, sending the bolts everywhere he could.

"Anselm, below!" Leilani said.

The plants in the stone courtyard below had caught fire from the bolts. The guard let go, but Bergljot, still pulling her leg free, slipped out of the window.

"Bergljot!" the group cried. She fell upside down towards the ground, eyes closed and surprisingly calm. She fell at such a great speed that she fell through both the flames and the platform they were on. She finally hit water.

"Gwandoya, get us down there, now!" Anselm screeched. His brother did so to find that Bergljot was not there.

"Where are you?" Anselm called as loud as he could.

"Up here!" replied Bergljot. She had managed to climb up one of the stones and was halfway across the courtyard. She hadn't seen them come, nor had they seen her climb.

"There she is! Get her!" called the guards.

"Bring the ship over here!" she called as she ran to the edge. Not even the fire stopped her. Running as hard as she could, Bergljot leapt from the platform.

"I got you!" Anselm said as she barely made it onto the ship. He caught her and kissed her gently. "Thank god you're okay."

"Gwandoya, take us to Ogden," she said as they walked into the control room a few minutes later.

"I thought you said we'd go home right after we finished here!" he snapped.

"I want to take Yuffeth, Leilani, Strifer and Ken'ichi there," she whispered. Bergljot turned to them as they stared at her. "The Maester will care for you. We'll need you when we go to the Final Sealing. Angra Mainyu will never find you there."

================

The group was pouring over the books in the map room. They had been traveling as fast as they could go, but were still at least twenty-four hours away from reaching Ogden. Yuffeth picked up a promising book and began to read.

"Listen to this:

To open Kingdom Hearts the first time,

Ansem needed the seven princesses of

heart. The first six were Snow White,

Aurora, Belle, Jasmine, Alice, and, finally,

Cinderella. The seventh was hard to find.

Her name was…"

"Who?" Bergljot snapped. Yuffeth refused to answer. Bergljot snatched the book and read for herself. She whispered the name slowly, as if trying it for the first time. "Kairi…"

"It does not say…" Anselm trailed off as he read the name.

"So that's what he meant by royal blood," Bergljot whispered.

"What do you mean?" Leilani asked.

"In Angra Mainyu's bedroom, he said that he wanted the renegades dead and me as his wife. I think he said, 'as she has royal blood, she would make an ideal wife.'"

"Well, your highness," Ken'ichi bowed jokingly. "I think you deserve a standing ovation for that miraculous escape a few hours ago."

The group just glared as he and Strifer clapped fast, slowing as they noticed the glares.

"That's not funny," Bergljot hissed angrily. "Kairi was the only royal person in my family. I'm probably only one-twentieth royal by now. I'm in no way a princess."

"Sorry," they said quietly. Leilani picked up a random book as the two jokers sat.

"What the hell?" she yelled.

"What happened to you being the quiet one?" Anselm asked.

"I think I know where to find him."

"The one who killed you?" Bergljot walked over to her. "Riku wrote this."

Leilani had picked up a diary that Riku kept from the first adventure until his death. The page read:

July 26, 2037

Well, five years have passed since Sora and Kairi's deaths. I have been leading the people well, just as he instructed. His son will be old enough to take over next year. He is as strong as Sora once was. He shall be an excellent ruler.

There was a killing today. A fool of a man went into the islands. At the trial, he confessed to finding a chronologically frozen body in the Heat Wave Desert here on Drummond. He claims to have hid it in a special place. There is a waterfall near the entrance, and drawings on the walls in the cave. One looked like Kairi and Sora offering a paopu to each other. I remember those pictures. Kairi showed them to me right before we… Anyway, he explained that there was a door near the pictures, beyond which was the man. For entering forbidden ground, I sentenced him to be poisoned. He looked at me pleadingly and told me to record this for the next Keyblade master.

Despite this death, life has been allowed to flourish. My daughter Spuria was wed to Goofy's son, Maxwell, early this month. I have just learned that she is to have a baby next April. The people are rejoicing. They still do not know that she is illegitimate. They still think she is Sora's. I pray that she does not come to the same end as her mother.

I fear that I shall not live much longer. This may be my last entry. I hope that the next master can free the people of the dark.

RIKU

"So the invincible one is hidden on Destiny Islands," Anselm whispered as he finished reading.

"That's what Sora and Kairi meant. Destiny Islands are 'closer to home than we think,'" Bergljot said. She turned the page. The book was filled to the very last page. She turned it back. "Riku wasn't a very good psychic, I'll tell you that."

"You all mind if I look, too?" Gwandoya asked as he entered. He picked up the book from a disagreeing Bergljot and began to read the entry.

"Doya?" she gasped as he finished reading. He was pale and stone-faced. He glared at Bergljot.

"Did you know before?"

"Yes. Sora and Kairi told me when I went to the Farplane. They warned me not to tell you. I didn't want to hide it. Please, you have to believe me," she pleaded as he threw the book down and stalked away. Bergljot stood and followed.

Just outside the door, she took hold of his shoulder.

"Doya, I'm sorry! Ouch!" she squealed as he turned and slapped her. Without a word, he returned to the cockpit.

===============

"There's Ogden," Bergljot whispered as they approached the next day. Gwandoya still was not speaking directly to her unless he had to. Bergljot glanced at him and turned to the travelers. "We'll be landing soon. You may want to sit down."

Ten minutes later, the group was climbing out of the ship and heading for the Maester's home.

"This looks like a tree," Ken'ichi whispered.

"Yeah, but wait until you see the inside," Bergljot smiled.

Renatus was sitting outside her manor, a small flute-like instrument held to her lips. She was playing a slow, beautiful song.

"Hello, Maester," Bergljot bowed as she approached. Renatus looked up and in doing so played a sour note.

"Welcome," she bowed in return.

"That's a beautiful song," Leilani exclaimed. "What is it?"

"Its called 'Eternity.' I love playing this, 'To Zanarkand,' and 'One-Thousand Words' on this ocarina," she explained. She held out the instrument. It was made of lightweight clay, painted light green, and was adorned with a picture of Seymour's staff head. "It's not time for the Final Sealing already, is it?"

"No, we need a favor," Anselm explained.

The next hour was spent telling Renatus what was going on, why they had to return home, and that they would return as soon as possible.

"I would gladly help you out," Renatus said finally. "The people will be pleased to see visitors again."

"Thank you ma'am," Strifer bowed clumsily.

"Don't bother. A close friend of Bergljot's is a close friend of mine, and I don't require close friends to bow in my presence."

"Still, thank you," Yuffeth smiled.

"We will return as soon as possible. May I visit the Farplane?" Gwandoya asked.

"Of course."

Gwandoya slunk out of the room, shooting a glance at Bergljot as he did.

"I'll join you," Anselm said hurriedly. He turned to Bergljot and whispered, "I won't let him out of my sights."

"Bergljot?" Renatus began to shake her. "I found this near the Keyhole the other day. I thought maybe you could use it."

Renatus reached into a drawer and pulled out a scroll. She handed it to Bergljot who proceeded to unroll it.

"One-Winged Angel Reborn…" She whispered the title at the top. She continued to read until she came to a word she had never seen before. "Sephiroth…"

"Sephiroth!" Leilani, Yuffeth, and Ken'ichi exclaimed together.

"He's the one who killed Leilani," Ken'ichi whispered.

"This must be the spell to revive him," Yuffeth gasped.

"That does it," Bergljot said finally. She rolled up the scroll and tucked it into her pocket. "When we get to Drummond, I'm going after him. I'll bring him back here with me. Leilani, you can have your battle with him."

"Yes," Leilani sighed. Her wings twitched agitatedly. As everyone now knew about her past, she had abandoned attempts at hiding them on the way to Ogden.

"I'll be taking that," hissed a voice from the door. The group turned to find what looked like a guard standing in the doorway.

"That voice… Stand back!" Bergljot called. She turned to the intruder. "There's no way you're getting this, Ansem!"

The man lowered his hood and glared at her with his orange eyes.

"That's what you think."

Ansem snapped his fingers. A troupe of the lizard-like Heartless attacked from nowhere.

"This way!" Renatus screamed. She opened a hidden door behind them and slipped through. The door closed behind the group.

"Why does everyone seem to have hidden doors now?" Bergljot half-smiled.

"This way," Renatus whispered. She led them through at least a dozen halls before they exited the tunnel. They reemerged just outside the Farplane. Anselm and Gwandoya were just walking out.

"I talked to Riku," Gwandoya said sadly.

"Ansem's here! Get ready!" hissed Strifer.

"To the Farplane!" Renatus yelled. Ansem came out of the manor as the group retreated.

"What do we do now?" Yuffeth moaned.

"We're trapped," Anselm gasped.

"Just where I want you," hissed Ansem from the entrance to the Farplane. "Now, face the wrath of Mukesh!"

A fireball fell from the blue sun. As it landed, the ground caught fire. When the fire went out, a large creature rose from the ashes.

"Have fun. I'll return for the incantation when he's through with you," Ansem laughed. The next minute, he was gone.

The creature was twice Renatus' height, with blood red skin and pitch-black wings on it's back. There were two horns on its head. The mouth was a slit with two fangs sticking out, the nose was merely two small holes, and a loincloth was wrapped around his middle. A large pitchfork rested in his hands. Mukesh let out a mournful cry as the Heartless symbol etched itself on his chest.

"Shit," Gwandoya gasped breathlessly.

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Okay people, I need your help. I need at least four more worlds for my people to visit. I already have:

1. The three visited already (Drummond, Itziar, and Ogden)

2. The world for the Final Sealing

3. A desert

4. A rainforest-like place (Amazonian women)

5. A world of monsters such as vampires (thanks to my buddy Daniel for that one!)

6. A world of animals like Ronso, chocobos, and whatever Red XIII/Nanaki's people are

7. Atlantis for underwater (Thanks Soul Vagabond!)

8. A world where nightmares come to life (Think Stephen King's IT… Pennywise! We all float down here! Mwahahaha! Sorry, sat down and watched the movie straight through for the first time this weekend and enjoyed scaring the pants off my friend)

Please, I'll take any ideas as long as they are reasonable! The only rules are that there must be at least one main ally, and the citizens must all be animals or clothed people. No nudity.

One idea I'm considering (on behalf of my friend Chris) is a world ruled by machines. Would anyone want that in? Let me know.

Okay, just to get the people who have guessed off of my back, yes Bergljot is now pregnant. She doesn't find out until either the chapter after the next or the one after that, so stay off my back about it!

Anyway, thanks loads for the reviews!