Kingdom of Chaos
Chapter 3: Blind Man's Bluff
Author: Sketchy Sunshine of OSTOCOM
Rating: PG-13, just to be on the safe side
Author's Notes: Per suggestions, chapter two has been revised slightly. People who've read it before may want to reread to avoid confusion.
See chapter one for summary, disclaimer and other goodness. Otherwise, here's chapter three! XD
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Axel stood waiting against the backdrop of shadowed waves, and doing well to hide any impatience he had. It took Riku a moment to process what had just been said… How could Axel possibly need our help?
"I don't see why we should help you," Riku finally said.
"Well, if there was nothing in it for you, then you shouldn't," Axel said as if it were obvious. "But unless you know more than you let on, you will also need my help."
"I'm not convinced of that," Riku said sternly.
"Then go ahead and try to swim across that," Axel gestured at the sea with a laugh.
"Do you know where we need to go?" Mickey asked.
"Ahh, I have an idea," Axel began, rolling his eyes skywards. Riku and Mickey waited for more, but Axel didn't continue.
"And?" Riku demanded.
"And I don't plan on telling you more until you agree to help me," Axel explained. He seemed to be somewhere between annoyed and humored at this conversation.
Riku gritted his teeth, and had to keep reminding himself not to cut this man in two. "Fine then. But why us? Didn't you meet Sora?"
"Because, unlike the Keyblade master, you are a special case," Axel said, his tone suddenly serious. "You are complete. The Organization probably would've never even formed if you had the Keyblade."
Riku didn't like where this was going. "Just show us where to go. I'm through with cryptic instructions."
"Then you'll have to deal with one more," Axel said. "This is not like the world you knew. In order to see, you must shut your eyes."
"Shut your eyes?..." Mickey repeated confusedly.
"You'll want to begin in that direction," Axel ignored the king, and pointed to his right. They looked, and saw the shoreline leading towards the horizon. A dull glow was barely visible behind the billowing clouds. "We can't do anything from this position."
Mickey squinted at their far-off destination. "It looks like it might be a town. How come the road didn't lead there?"
"You guys never run out of questions, do you?" Axel scoffed. "You'll just have to see for yourself. I will meet you there…I have something to attend to first." He nodded at the note in Riku's hand. "You can keep that souvenir. The Gathering has already passed."
"Wait, you'll meet us there?" Riku exclaimed. "You just expect us to let you leave after all that?"
Axel grinned, and began to hover a few feet off the ground. Riku raised the Soul Eater again, hoping Axel would give him a reason to use it. "Walking's not really my thing," Axel shrugged.
Riku decided he didn't need a reason after all. "Then how about never walking again!" he challenged, and slashed at Axel with the Soul Eater. Axel's image flickered away seconds before Riku hit home, and he reappeared behind them.
"I guess you could say I don't work well with others," Axel said. "Meet me there, Riku."
Before Riku and Mickey could turn to face him again, he was gone. The air settled into a stagnant mist, as if sensing it was alone once again.
Riku waited, but finally realized Axel was gone for good. He sheathed the Soul Eater with a grimace. "Bastard. I don't trust him."
"But do we have a choice?" Mickey asked.
Riku hung his head. "…No. He was right about one thing. It's the only place we have left to go."
Mickey looked back in the direction Axel had pointed, then at Riku. Even at the uncertain prospect before them, he managed a smile. "At least we have someplace to go, right?"
"Is that a hint for us to get going?" Riku said.
"We can see how far we'll get until nightfall," Mickey suggested.
The king began to walk along the beach. Riku gave one last look at the spot Axel had been, and then strode after him. He picked up his black robe along the way, and pulled it back on. He had a feeling that these would become necessary in the near future. Remembering the worn note in his hand, he crumpled it into a ball and stuck it into one of his pockets.
"I want to know what Axel meant by a 'Gathering'," Riku said as he caught up with the king.
"I'm more worried about what he said before: 'in order to see, you must shut your eyes.' That doesn't make any sense."
"I don't think any sense can be made out of those people," Riku growled. "All of them reeked of malice and dark. Just remembering their stench makes me head ache." He put a hand to his forehead as if to illustrate his point.
Mickey suddenly began to laugh. Riku shot him an odd look, and the king tried to stifle it. "What's so funny?"
"I was just thinking that your nose must be better than mine if you can remember smells like that," Mickey said, amused at the irony.
"Smells…" Riku suddenly stopped walking, leaving Mickey a few steps ahead until he realized he wasn't being followed. Riku's eyes widened as the answer came to him. "That's what Axel meant!"
"He meant smells?" Mickey walked back to Riku, his eyebrows furrowed. "I don't see how."
"Ever since we closed the door at Kingdom Hearts, I've been…able to smell things," Riku explained. "I can sense darkness and light, even how powerful they are. It's been getting stronger all the time. Castle Oblivion was the worst." Riku's voice tightened slightly. "I tried not to think about it…I thought it was some of Ansem's power left over in me."
Seeing Riku begin to sink back into his depression, Mickey gave him a reassuring smile. "Riku, any power you use is your own now. You've proven that, remember?"
"I wish I could be so sure," Riku said. However, the king's steadfast faith reminded him once again why he was glad for his company. "But with what Axel said, I think that if I shut my eyes, I'll rely on my nose more…I'll be able to detect the power of darkness."
"Golly, I never thought of that," Mickey said. "Can you try it?"
Riku nodded, and shut his eyes. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be experiencing…nothing seemed terribly different. After a pause, he reopened his eyes and folded his arms in frustration. "Nothing changes."
Mickey thought for a second, then replied, "Well, maybe you're still trying to rely on your eyes." He rolled up the sleeve of his black robe, revealing the sleeve of his normal clothes underneath. Riku watched with one raised eyebrow as the king found the stitches in his sleeve, and began to rip out a piece of the black trim. When he finished, he presented Riku with a long piece of black cloth. "Try this."
Riku instantly realized what it was: a blindfold. He hesitated, then took the blindfold and tied it over his eyes. The world he saw was muffled behind dark cloth, leaving him with the sounds of the ocean and his own breathing.
"Well?" Mickey inquired.
"Now I just feel stupid," Riku grumbled.
"It could take some getting used to," Mickey said. "It doesn't seem like something you'd be able to do at once."
"Great. So I get to walk around blind because this Axel suggests I'm better off smelling bad things than seeing them." Riku did not bother to hide the contempt in his voice.
"How about this," Mickey suggested. "I'll be your eyes if you'll be my nose."
Riku couldn't help but smile at the request. "Sounds fair to me."
The two continued along the shore, with Riku now following Mickey's lead. At first Riku couldn't walk without his hands in front of him, and he tripped more than a few times over loose rocks. But with Mickey's coaxing, he slowly became used to navigating the terrain in the dark. A few obvious things came to him quickly: he could tell which side of him the ocean was on, and which direction the wind came from. But after two hours of slow going, the benefits of the blindfold seemed even less convincing.
"How you doin'?" he heard Mickey call from somewhere ahead of him.
"Okay, I guess. I don't want to be doing this forever, but—"
Riku stopped. His head reeled as something strong assaulted his senses. Darkness…there's darkness around us!
He tried to determine which direction it was coming from, but the stench was so strong that it overpowered his other senses. Riku stumbled forward with his hands outstretched, searching for something tactile to put with the smell. His hand finally strayed to the hilt of the Soul Eater. It's familiar… He sucked in his breath. It's Ansem.
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Right, that be it for now! I've started the next chapter; it'll be along shortly. XD
Reviews appreciated!
