Ken: that's it! We're tired of waiting!
Everyone: (grab me and tie me to a chair)
Me: (blink) what's going on!
Ken: you've been neglecting us for nearly two weeks now!
Me: I'm sorry! I've been way too busy with school project and homework and other stuff…
Ken: No, you were just too lazy!
Me: I'm sorry!
Ken: Quit apologizing and write! Otherwise I'll get Kaitsu to hurt you very badly, since he's wanted to do it all month!
Kaitsu: … (glare)
Me: meep! Okay! Sheesh… Anywho, I'm sorry for the delay everyone, and for this, I've written a longer chapter! Oh, and there's going to be a really big surprise in this chapter! And now for the disclaimer!
(cricket cricket)
Me: um… where's Takari?
Ken: he quit. Said something about 'being sick of disclaimers'…
Me: uh… okaaay… Then, I guess Kaitsu will do the disclaimer now!
Kaitsu: Merielle doesn't own Kingdom Hearts. Merielle will die very soon. Merielle will now receive horrible injuries from my Keyblade of doom… (stalks off with Keyblade)
Me: (reads disclaimer) hey, that rhymed! … (suddenly realizes what Kaitsu just said) ………uh-oh…
Destiny's Punishment
Chapter 18—The Truth Revealed
"No."
"…Please?"
"I said no!" Sanyu glared at Tamorei, who just sighed exasperatedly.
"Pleeease?" pleaded Tamorei.
"Let's put it this way… Do you want to die?" growled Sanyu.
"But he'll never find out-"
"Find out what?" Both of them jumped as the unknown walked out of the shadows, a frown visible from underneath his hood. It was obvious that he was ticked off at something.
"Uh… nothing! Nothing at all!" said Tamorei. Sanyu slapped his forehead at the younger boy's stupidity.
"There's one thing that is bothering me…" said the unknown. "Those little brats needed the four gems to open the door. If they already opened it, then how come you two are still here?"
The two boys froze at this. The unknown smirked at their panicked expressions. "You gave them duplicates, didn't you?"
"Well… we didn't want anyone to die-"
"That's not a good enough reason!" hissed the unknown, immediately silencing Sanyu.
"Please, Master. We couldn't save Yuri… can we at least let Nori live?" asked Tamorei. The unknown sighed,
"Since I'm in a good mood…I'll let you revive Nori." He turned away, ignoring their happy shouts.
"Where are you going?" asked Sanyu.
"…Someone needs to be punished for not listening to me," hissed the unknown as he disappeared through a portal. The two ignored this and happily ran down the hallway to the infirmary.
-Ten years ago…-
The four of them ran through the fields, trying to ignore the screams from the village behind them. Flames engulfed the entire village as the people perished inside their own homes. No one had seen the attack coming, except for those four young children. They were the only ones who saw the Heartless approaching the village. They were the only ones who managed to escape in time.
They now reached the forest and managed to find a small opening in the trunk of a tree. Fortunately, they were all able to hide inside it.
"W-what do we do now?" asked the blonde girl.
"We don't have a home to return to now…" muttered the boy with black-blonde hair.
"They might come after us too," whispered the boy with silver hair.
"Oh man, we're going to die! We'll all die!" whimpered the blue-haired boy.
"Be quiet! Something's coming!" hissed the black-haired boy. The sound of rustling leaves met their ears and they froze, trying not to make any sound. The rustling stopped after a few minutes, and then came the sound of footsteps fading away.
"I think they're gone…" whispered the blue-haired boy. The four slowly stepped out of the hole and looked around. Seeing nothing in sight, they sighed, relieved.
"We're safe for now…" muttered the black-haired boy. He turned to look at them and noticed the silver-haired boy staring wide-eyed above him. "What's wrong?"
The boy didn't respond, but pointing to the tree shakily. They looked at it, eyes widening at what they saw. There on the branches sat ten shadow Heartless, their yellow eyes staring at them hungrily.
"Run!"
They all turned and ran as fast as they could, the shadows chasing right after them. Suddenly one of the Heartless caught up and latched onto the blonde girl's leg. She screamed, falling to the ground as several more Heartless latched onto her.
"Yuri!" shouted the blue-haired boy. He stopped, ready to run back, but the black-haired boy stopped him.
"It's too late, Tamorei! Let's go!"
They continued running, looking back once more as one of the shadows pulled out a glimmering heart out of the girl. The Heartless didn't waste any time and quickly went after their next targets. Suddenly a Large Body Heartless appeared in front of the three boys, causing them to fall over. It began to swing its arms wildly them. The black-haired and blue-haired boy dropped to the ground, the Heartless' arms narrowly missing them. Unfortunately, the silver-haired boy didn't see the clawed arm swinging towards him.
"Nori, look out!"
A scream echoed through the forest as the shadow's claws made contact with the boy's face. He fell to the ground, blood beginning to trickle down his face. The other two boys quickly helped him up and began running once more. They hid behind a tree as the black-haired boy pulled out a scroll.
"Defense!" He stuck the scroll onto the tree and a magical shield instantly formed around them. They looked towards Nori, who was covering his face in pain.
"My eyes! I can't see!" cried the silver-haired boy.
"Let us see," said the black-haired boy. Nori raised his head and the two gasped. Blood was trickling down his eyes, where the Heartless' claws struck. His eyes were now a faint grey instead of the dark blue they had once been.
"My god…" muttered Tamorei. They jumped in surprise as several Heartless scratched against the shield, trying to break through.
"Sanyu, do something!" cried Tamorei. The black-haired boy pulled out another scroll and smacked it onto the shield.
"Firaga!" Suddenly several balls of flame shot out and hit some Heartless, killing them instantly. Sanyu continued to do this with several other spells like Thunder, Gravity, and Ice. He reached into his pocket once more, but cursed, finding nothing there.
"I'm all out of scrolls!"
"Oh man, we really are going to die…" muttered Nori. The shield began to flicker and the Heartless stood there, ready to attack.
"Well… we gave it our best shot," said Tamorei. Finally the shield disappeared and the shadows stood there a few seconds before approaching the three. They closed their eyes as the Heartless leapt upon them, tearing them apart as they pulled out three faintly glimmering hearts. Darkness surrounded the bodies and the disappeared, their souls gone with the wind.
-
Darkness…
That was the only thing they saw… Nothing else was there…
For some reason, they didn't care where they were, or how they got there. Nothing really mattered to them anymore.
Suddenly a faint glimmer of light appeared. Stepping closer it, they began to hear chanting. They walked closer, the chanting becoming louder as they raised their hand to it. As soon as their hands touched it, a light that nearly blinded them shot throughout the darkness. Screams of shock echoed through the darkness as the blinding light grew, engulfing them in it.
-
"Where… are we?" muttered Tamorei. The four looked around the room. It was a dark circular room, with torches lined along the stone wall.
Yuri gasped. "You guys! Look at us!"
Tamorei and Sanyu looked at themselves and gasped. They were older! It was as though someone had pressed the fast forward on them, and made them into teenagers!
Nori blinked, looked down, blinked again, and glared towards where Yuri was supposedly standing. Yuri blinked too and looked at the silver-haired boy confusedly, not understanding what the problem was. Fortunately, Sanyu was able to realize the problem.
"Yuri, you were killed before us, so you didn't know what happened…" And with that he explained to her what happened to Nori and how they died. The blonde realized her mistake and apologized to Nori, who forgave her.
"Wait a sec… If we were killed, then how are we alive again?" asked Tamorei.
"I can answer that for you."
All four of them wheeled around at the voice, and there stood a boy in a black trench coat. His face was shadowed by the coat's hood, but glowing red eyes were visible from underneath it.
"W-Who are you?" asked Yuri.
"…My name is Yasuko, but you can just refer to me as 'Master."
"Hold on a sec!" exclaimed Tamorei. "Just what makes you think you're our master!"
"This does," he said, holding up his hand towards the boy. A pain like none other shot throughout him and he began screaming. Falling on his knees, he clutched his chest, the pain becoming nearly unbearable. Suddenly a spasm shot through his head and back, forcing another scream out of him. The unknown known as Yasuko lowered his arm and the burning pain stopped. Tamorei opened his eyes and gasped.
Blood. There was blood trickling down his head onto the floor. Shakily he raised his hand to touch the wound on his head, but instead of a bloody gash he felt something… fuzzy.
"W-What the hell…?" He looked at the others, who were staring at him wide-eyed. "…What?"
"You… have a tail…" muttered Sanyu, pointing behind him. Tamorei looked there and saw a cat tail, speckles of blood on some parts of its blue fur. He gasped and pulled at the fuzzy object on his head and realized that they were…cat ears!
"What the hell did you do to me!" he screamed, not at all caring if he was too loud.
"I was just having some fun. Look on the bright side, at least now you're a cat demon." …Cat demon! That freak just turned him into a cat! Yasuko smirked and turned to the other three. "Let this be a lesson to you. Never object to me."
"Why shouldn't we?" retorted Sanyu.
"Because if you do…" The unknown raised his hand and formed it into a fist. Sanyu immediately fell onto his knees, clutching his chest in pain. "…You will die."
"Stop! Please don't hurt them!" cried Yuri. Yasuko let go and smiled as Sanyu staggered up.
"Keep this in mind. If you do not obey me, you will suffer greatly. Now, I bet you are probably wondering why you are here." Yasuko looked towards them and continued. "As you remember correctly, you four were killed in a heartless invasion on your world. Ten years have passed since then, and now I have resurrected you from the dead. Even though your hearts were taken from the Heartless, I have created artificial hearts for your bodies, and inserted a gem in each one of you. That gem will keep you alive as long as it is not taken out. In return for my kind deed, you four will be servants to the darkness and obey my every command. If you reject my offer, I'll be glad enough to put you back in your grave…"
The four stared at him, the words sinking in. They were dead for ten years? The time seemed so short when they were dead… And now this? They have to join the darkness to live? Everything seemed to go past them like a hurricane. It was all moving too fast. But… if this was the only way they could live…
"…We accept," muttered Sanyu, the others agreeing with him. Yasuko smiled menacingly.
"Very well."
"Hey Sanyu, I think he's waking up!"
…Who's there?
"Nori? Nori, are you okay?"
…Sanyu? Tamorei…?
"Nori, can you hear me?"
"…Y-yes," grunted Nori, hearing Sanyu and Tamorei shout in glee. He sat up in bed and looked towards his left, where the voices were coming from. "What happened?"
"That Kotoro guy pulled out your gem, remember?" said Sanyu. "I challenged him to a game for the gems, but I lost. Strangely, he gave the gems back to me and now you can live!"
Nori blinked. The same person who had tried to kill Nori now saved him? This was… great. A smile spread across Nori's face as the two continued to cheer.
"You know, that was awful nice of him to give it back," said Tamorei. "We should pay back the deed, ne?"
"Yeah, we should. And I've got the perfect idea…"
Footsteps echoed throughout the room as the unknown walked through it, his eyes falling upon a shadowed figure standing across him.
"You disobeyed me, Kaitsu. Would you care to explain why?" hissed the unknown. The boy lowered his head and remained silent.
"Do you still have feelings for that monster you call your brother?"
"…"
"Answer me!"
"…No, I don't."
"That's what I thought. Now, you had better kill him the next time you meet… otherwise…" The unknown paused and pulled out half of Kotoro's heart. "…I will kill him myself."
"Yes, master…"
The unknown turned and left through a portal. Kaitsu stood there for a few seconds before falling onto his knees, holding back the tears that threatened to escape. Here he was, thinking the darkness would make everything easier for him… but it only made it worse…
Kotoro looked up as they approached the next door. They might have to face Kaitsu again… What would happen then? They were close to killing each other the last time they met. What would happen now? He was snapped out of his thoughts by Mickey's voice.
"Okay, everyone… remember the plan. Are you ready?"
They all nodded and pushed open the door, revealing a door similar to the one before. Stone walls, hanging shackles, and several lit torches on the wall. But Kaitsu was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there in the center of the room stood a hooded unknown. It was the same unknown who had taken Kaitsu and turned him to the darkness.
"Welcome everyone," smiled the unknown. "I am glad to see you have made it this far."
"Quit fooling around! Who exactly are you and what have you done to Kaitsu!" shouted Kotoro. Yasuko turned to Kotoro, his red eyes gleaming.
"Oh, how foolish of me. I really should introduce myself. My name is Yasuko. I truly am glad to finally meet my creator…"
"What!"
"Oh? You never knew?"
"Yasuko! Don't tell them!" spat Mickey. "They shouldn't know!"
"Come now, Mickey. It's about time they know the truth…" smiled Yasuko. He raised his hand and pulled down his hood, revealing his face to them. Horror struck them and they gasped.
He looked just like Kaitsu! His silver hair was the same length, his facial structure, everything! The only difference was his piercing red eyes. If it wasn't for the eyes, he would've been mistaken for Kaitsu.
"You look just like him…" muttered Kotoro.
"That's because I am him."
"What? What are you talking about?" asked Sora. Yasuko smiled in that evil way and said,
"I am Kaitsu's other self."
Everyone: (gasp!)
Ken: whoa… big surprise there…
Kaitsu: …
Ken: …Kaitsu doesn't seem happy about this… (scoots away)
Me: um… hey, Kaitsu, no hard feelings, right?
Kaitsu: …first you make me evil… and now you give me an evil twin! (death glares)
Me: meep! (hides under chair) I wanted a plot twist! I'm sorry!
Kaitsu: oh, you will be sorry… (summons Keyblade)
Me: uh-oh…
Ken: um… Read these review replies while Merielle gets horribly injured by Kaitsu… (screaming comes from other side of room) dear god…
Ninja Mage- Hm… Lots of "poor" people around here… The Donald and Goofy thing was a spur-of-the-moment idea (as you put it). They didn't have any special role so… heck, just get rid of them. There's going to be more of that type of stuff soon…
The Keyblade Master- I love doing plot twists. It surprises the readers and it can be very confusing sometimes… hehe…
angelfrie- If you kill me, there will be no more stories. And I'll sue you. hehe.. (sweatdrop) No worries… Kaitsu'll get better soon. I hope. …I think… (sweatdrop)
Kai- Wow. Everyone's saying Kaitsu has to be good. …never! Hahaha… ha… um, yeah… (sweatdrop) and no, Kotoro won't become evil. He has a special plan. Hehe..
Sai-ryo Aura Feana- hehe… that's a funny RP… (sweatdrop)
Me: (runs back wearing several bandages and a cast on her right arm) ouchies… (sees Kaitsu come back) GAH! (runs off)
Kaitsu: (runs after me with Keyblade) GET BACK HERE!
Ken: (sits on chair with popcorn) Don't forget to read and review. Meanwhile, I'll just sit here and watch Merielle get horribly injured by Kaitsu… hehe…
Merielle
