6H:Time for another great chapter.
Anarestu: That means it's going to be really bad!
6H:Hey, cut that out!
Jack: (dead on floor) XX
6H: What did you do to her?
Anaretsu: Nothing! (whistles innocently)
Kingdom Hearts-Shattered Fragments
Fragment 52-Family
He felt himself coming too, now aware of his surroundings. There was a soft bed underneath him, and people around him were murmering softly. He cracked open his eyes to see a white ceiling, and the tops of red walls. He looked next to him to see an older girl with long, rust colored hair.
"Are you okay?" she asked. Ryu sat up, looking at all the people around him.
"You gave us quite a scare, young man." said a man dressed like a preacher.
"Seems like the princess took another." a blonde woman with a baby in her arms told the man standing next to her. Ryu looked around confused, until he saw that one of the walls was missing in this room.
"Oh great...don't tell me I'm in the dollhouse too." he sighed."Wait! I'm in the doll house!" He let out a sigh of relief. 'Cedeile was sparred. Thank god...'
"Are you alright?" The rust haired girl asked.
"Sorry, I'm fine!" Ryu told her. "I was just thinking for a moment." He looked around at all the people again. "Tell me-are you all from the village?" he asked.
"Yes." said the preacher. "Our princess used her new sinister powers to trap us in here and play with us as dolls."
"We're all very worried about our families." the woman with the baby explained. "We wish there was a way to stop them from coming to the castle to try and rescue us." Ryu looked at the first girl he had seen when he woke up.
"Are you by any chance Risa?" The girl looked at him, surprised.
"Yes, I am. I don't believe I've seen you in the village before." she said, looking him over.
"His clothes are foreign to this kingdom!" one man said from the crowd.
"My name is Ryu! I've come to this world in search of the fragments. I've been travelling with my friends Aru and Cedeile-the heartblade master." He turned to Risa. "I met your father. He's very worried about you." The girl nodded understandingly. "Is there anyway to contact the outside?"
"No. We are cut off from everyone except Mindy." the preacher told him.
"Great. I need to make a plan with Cedeile. She has the power to revert us back to normal. But we have to find a way to escape." Ryu said.
"Are you crazy?" asked Risa. "We can't make it out of here!"
"We can!" Ryu stated. "Have any of you tried?"
"Actually, we did." A group a young men came forward. "We're the miners from the village, and when we got caught, we decided to use our smarts to get us out. We didn't even make it out the front door before she caught us!"
"Then your smarts weren't good enough." Ryu retorted, exasperated.
"No, we've tried to get out. But there's a magic barrier around the doll house. It was cast by Mindy." Risa told him.
"Don't mistake us, though." The preacher chimed in. "We still love our princess."
"What?" Ryu yelled, unbelieveing.
"Mindy actually treats us well here. We always have all the food we can eat and all the clothes we could want, a roof over our heads, and safety from monsters. We just want to go home." Risa said.
"She's just a lonely little girl." An old woman said, walking toward him with her cane. "Her parents were her only family, and then they died."
"She just wants a family to always be with her." One of the miners added.
"I see..." Ryu began to think, but was interupted by Mindy coming to the house.
"It's time for dinner everyone!" she told them. They all filed out of the room, chattering casually.
"Are you coming?" Risa asked the fragment hunter.
"Yeah." Ryu got off the bed and the two walked down the stairs and into the dining room. The whole house was well made-it looked like a real mansion. Ryu followed Risa to the table and he found a chair.
"Get ready everyone! I really made a feast for you guys..." the little princess turned away for a mintue and seemed to work her magic on something. When she returned, her giant hands placed all sorts of food on the table, now their size. Ryu could believe at everthing layed before them. "Enjoy." Mindy said. The regulars began to eat. Ryu hesitated ,but Risa nudged him, nodding, telling him it was okay. Mindy smiled at them all eating and began to eat her own dinner as well. When they were all finished, every person began to assist in cleaning up. Ryu carried a huge stack of plates to the kitchen, placing them on the counter. Risa took one from the top, washing it in the sink.
"Did you like dinner?" she asked him.
"You didn't lie. But why would Mindy be captureing us and then treating us like kings?" he asked the girl.
"It's because we're her family. She wants us to stay, so she figures if she treats us well and keeps us happy, we'll want to stay forever." Ryu didn't say anything else and walked out of the kitchen and out of the dollhouse. He stood on the house's 'lawn' and sat down, looking up at the ceiling, a million miles above, or so it seemed to him.
'I wonder how Cedeile and Aru are. I didn't think I'd miss them so much already...espically Cedeile.' He thought. Mindy appeared out of nowhere again. "Eh!" Ryu went out of surprise.
"Here you are..." Mindy said, lifting him in her open hand. In her other hand was Risa. "Tomorrow is going to be a big day for you two!" The girl said happily. "You're going to get married!"
"WHAT?" Ryu gasped. Risa laughed at his expression.
"It's okay, Ryu. I'll explain it all to you." she told him.
"Get a good rest! It'll be a beautiful wedding." She put them down on the lawn again and proceeded to walk out of the room. She turned off all the lights except for one that shone down on the house. "Goodnight everyone!" she said cheerily, walking out the doors and closing them tight.
"We're going to get married?" Ryu exclaimed to Risa.
"Don't fret, boy." the preacher said. "The girl knows little of such rituals. She thinks it's just a game."
"Like that makes me feel better." Ryu replied, his hopes sinking.
"Ryu, it won't matter at all, you know? It's just like...pretend." she reassured him. He looked at her.
"There is no way I'm getting married! I'm sure you're a nice girl and all, but I-" he stopped mid sentence, face turning red. Risa smirked.
"Is there a girl in your life?" she asked slyly.
"NO! That's not it at all! It's just I'm 14 and you're alot older and it's just not a good idea!"
"Relax! She had me get married four times in one day!" The woman with the baby told him.
"HOW CAN YOU THINK THIS IS OKAY!" He yelled at all of them, frustrated. "Oh...sorry everyone..."
Meanwhile, back at Rook's house, the villagers gathered around in a half circle behind Cedeile, who was one her knees on the ground. Aru stood in front of her.
"It's all my fault!" Cedeile cried. Tears fell off her face and onto the ground. "He did this to protect me!"
"Cedeile, I know how you feel, but we need to come up with a plan this time! Mindy is formiddable, and now we know that!" Cedeile stood up and grabbed Aru by her robe, lifting her up off the ground.
"At what cost, Aru? Ryu's her prisoner now, and who knows what goes on up in that castle! He's trapped inside the doll house and there's nothing I can do!"
"Cedeile, you have to calm down! You can't help Ryu like this, and you can do something to help him and all the other villlagers. Ryu knew this, so that's why he protected you. If you want to make his sacrifice count, then you'll calm down and help me figure out a plan to stop Mindy and her magic!" Cedeile took a few deep breaths and then set Aru back down.
"You're right. Ryu needs our help, and I'm not doing much of any good." Rook came out of his house.
"What do you plan to do now?" he asked. The villagers all erupted at once.
"Are you really planning to face Mindy again?"
"Will you bring back my daughter?"
"My wife and son are trapped in there too!"
"Bring back our preacher!"
"If the miners don't start taking care of the organic metals again, then they'll grow out of control!"
"Calm down, all of you!" Aru told them. "We'll save all our your friends and family!" However, this did nothing but add fuel to the fire. Cedeile took a deep breath.
"IF YOU DON'T ALL SHUT UP NOW, THEN WE'LL BRING YOU UP THERE AS VOULENTEERS FOR MINDY!" she yelled. They all quieted down considerably. Cedeile grinned broadly. "Good, I'm glad they coopareated." Aru let out an exaspherated sigh. "What?"
"So, we've determined that she can block just about any magic spell, including purification." Cedeile said, looking at a piece of paper on the floor, on which she and Aru were drawing up a plan. They sat on the floor in the attic of Rook's house, so they could be undisturbed. "If we take her off guard, then she won't have time to block."
"So if I cast an aqua spell and draw her attension, then you can purify her and hopefully knock the fragments out of her." Aru suggested.
"No, that won't be enough. One purification spell isn't going to end this. We'll have to make our attacks constant. Then'll she never have a chance." She pounded her fist into the paper.
"Are you sure that she won't just block everything?"
"We'll start out slow-you cast a spell and then I come in. Then we get quicker so we take her off guard. If we keep circulating around, then she'll be so concerned at looking for us that she'll have no idea what to do. How old is she anyway? Like six?"
"Cedeile, if things get ugly...I want you to run."
"Aru! But why?"
"Ryu was right-you are the ony chancewe have to free everyone! If youget captured, then they'll all be stuck in the house forever!" Cedeile sighed. Aru was right.
"But I can't just leave you behind."
"It's okay. Besides, I may just have a trick or two up my sleeve to trip her up, you know?" Cedeile nodded.
"Ahh, I get it...You're gonna pull that Lightra thing, and you don't want me caught in the blast."
"Exactly. Now, we should head out tomorrow at sunrise. For now, we should rest." Aru went over to her makeshift bed on the floor. Cedeile went over to hers and blew out the candle they had used for light. Aru went to sleep quickly, glasses resting on the floor beside her. Cedeile was restless, and found that she couldn't get her eyes to close. She took off her bandanna and her vest, folding them neatly and putting them on the floor next to her sneakers. But she couldn't calm herself.
'Are you alirght now Ryu? You're not hurt or something, right? It feels unevering to not have you here. I guess it always feels safer with you around. Go figure, eh...?' she thought, letting her eyes close. And without knowing it, she had drifted off to sleep.
She stood in a fog, all alone. She couldn't figure out where she was, but it didn't matter at this point. Footsteps sounded from the mist. She swerved to meet the figure approaching and drew out the heartblade. The figure broke through the fog and appeared clearly before Cedeile. She had long, light pink hair and dark drown eyes.
"Who are you?" Cedeile demanded the figure. She didn't anwser, but only drew out a sword.The two fought for a long time, both were evenly matched. At last, they broke apart, backs facing each other. Blood slipped down Cedeile's face from a fresh cut.
"You think your brother is dead?" the girl asked her. "You must be stupider than I thought." Cedeile turned, wind blowing her hair.
"My brother-?"
"He never died! His heart was taken by the heartless, so you only assumed he was dead."
"How do you know this? And where is my brother if he's alive?" Cedeile demanded. The girl stood, facing her, her hair blowng in the wind blocking out most of her face. She held out her hand, gestureing behind her. As the fog cleared, she saw many people, all standing together. It was all the people she had met so far on her journey and had known before-her mom, dad, and grandpa, Yuffie, Leon, Aerith, Tifa and Yuna, Kai, Benida, Silver Eye, Cid, Ryu, Aru, Tidus, Wakka, Selpihe, Sora, Riku, Kairi... and then another figure, standing all alone in the back of the group, seperated from the others, just behind Sora...
He was of a good height for a boy his age. He had messy black hair that seemed all over the place. He wore a simple blue, short sleeved shirt, army green cargo pants, and dark blue sneakeres. On his wrists were spiked bands. As her vision zoomed pass all the famillar people, they came to rest on his smiling face, but her vision faded before she ever got to see him clearly.
"Ah!" she gasped, waking up from her dream. She looked around, seeing nothing but the attic room she and Aru had been in since last night. Except this time, light flooded in through the windows. Cedeile sighed, looking out on of the windows. 'That couldn't have been a dream...it didn't feel like one. I felt like all my memories were being bombarded at me...and that boy..he looked like an older version of my brother...' There was something wet and warm on her cheek. Her fingers touched it gently and she winced in pain. She looked down at her fingers. Red liquid rested there. She shook it off, and stretched, getting up and gathering her things. After putting on her vest, shoving her gloves in her back pocket, and tieing her bandana in her hair, she decided to slip outside for a bit. She picked up her shoes and quietly opened the door to the stairs.
After getting through the second floor without waking Rook, she headed downstairs to the front door. The emebers still burned hot in the fireplace, but were slowly dieing. She placed her shoes on the floor and slipped into them, zippering them up, and then carefully opened the door and slipped outside.
The cold morning air hit her like knives at first, but then she got used to it. She leaned on Rook's fence and looked up at the castle.
'Ryu is there...along with the other captives. I can't screw up this time, or else they'll have to stay there forever!' she thought.
"What are you doing out here so early?"
"GAH!"
"Cedeile, keep it down! We don't want to wake up the whole village." Aru whispered.
"Then you shouldn't of startled me." the heartblade master pouted. "Geez Aru, you sure look different with your hair down."
"I just didn't have time to put it up, okay? You don't have to mock me over it. Hold up." She held her blue ribbon with her teeth and gathered up the rebellious purple strands. After twisting them this way and that, she took the ribbon and fasted her hair in place. "There, you happy now? Now, let's get up there and save Ryu!" Cedeile pulled on her black gloves.
"Yeah! Let's do this!"
6H:Ha ha ha! I just confused all of you!
Anaretsu: What a shame.
6H: Anyway, more will be explained too-like who was the figure in Cedeile's dream? And is her brother really still alive? Find out by reading and leaving reviews!
Anaretsu: I should've known. Another scam to get more reviews.
6H:My baka yami doesn't know what she's saying! So go ahead and look at this thing completely devoid of subliminal messages!
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