NOCTURNE

Chapter IX (09): 'I Am Your Future'

Inside the large, blue-and-gray metal room, at the controls of the airship and is looking at a large screen that is showing the storm outside, which are just several yards away from the door (the controls, anyway), there is a large tortoise with large, pointy spikes on its back shell (which is green colored, by the way the shell; the spikes are a dirty yellow-white) messing with the controls. The oversized turtle, who is almost twice the height of Akira, has two large horns on its head, with fire-red hair that reaches down to the rim of its shell. The large reptile has a small tail with two spikes on the end, plus a strip of black leather with little spikes on it wrapped around its neck. The turtle also has short, yellow scaly arms (with the same leather as the one around its neck) and two large stubbly legs. The creature has a broad snout, as well as many pairs of sharp teeth in its mouth. The creature also has flaming red eyes, plus large, bushy, fiery eyebrows. The creature's underbelly is yellow, while the scales covering its entire body (excluding stomach) are all a golden color.

Akira's eyes widen as he looks on at the creature, which messes around with levers and buttons that control the humongous airship. Dark is still sleeping. Lightning strikes outside, where the storm still rumbles on, and it shows no signs of stopping. There is another flash of lightning, and it seems to have hit the airship for there is a huge crack outside. Then, out of the blue, a loud boom of a voice is heard coming from the beast.

"HA HA HA! You think you can stop me? My airship can handle anything! Just watch, we'll speed through you like a hot knife goes through melting butter! BWA HA HA!"

Akira has heard enough. He opens the door all the way, smiles slyly, and tiptoes into the room, slowly approaching the oversized turtle. When Akira reaches the monster, he manages to reach high enough and slap the large creature on the back of the head hard. The monster scowls and turns around to see who had hit him. The large monster looms upward, making himself look even taller than before. The turtle then lurches forward and, right in front of Akira's face, roars a tremendous roar, which seems to rock the ship and causes the large television-like screen of the controls to fizz. The large creature then stands straight up again, glaring at Akira. Dark wakes from his sleep and seems to turn pale, making his black scales turn a tad gray. Akira laughs hard.

"You still got it, don't you?"

The large beast's looks change drastically, and instead of possibly eating Akira, he walks up to him and bear hugs him! Akira continues to laugh, returning the hug.

"Ha ha ha! Akira! It's great to see you!"

"Same here, Koopa, same here."

The two pat each other's backs hard and release each other, smiling.

"So how've y'been, Koopa? Manage to take down Mario yet?"

"Grrrrrr… Of course not."

"You haven't even gotten the Princess? You haven't changed a bit! Except for your size!"

The large beast laughs heartily.

"You, too, have changed, Akira. Look at you! Got a sword and everything! You've still got that look of determination and strength, I have to admit."

"I know, I get that a lot. And to think, after four years, we finally meet again, eh, King Koopa?"

"Indeed. And you still call me Koopa? Why not Bowser?"

"Heh, I just like Koopa better. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not! And, as usual, you're still the only one who calls me by that name."

"Really? That's cool."

Akira and the large turtle named "Bowser" start to talk for a long time that stormy night. Eventually, after all is said and done, Akira brings up the gunfire from the airship.

"What? Gunfire? I never set any orders to shoot anyone! I didn't even know there was a ship out here!"

"You serious? Those bullets came down nonstop! I didn't think that it could possibly be you."

"Well, whoever tried to shoot you will be shown no mercy! I will look this up at once! You can stay here. I'm not sure my party guests would like it if they learned you had returned…"

"I know what you mean. They still remember what I did?"

"Who doesn't? I mean, come on! You went into the middle of our war and stopped both sides from attacking each other! And then, just to show your point, you make that murderous beast of yours come out and start to swoop above our troops, causing them to pull back! You know they hate creatures such as that!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, it wasn't my intent to scare them THAT badly."

"By the way, whatever happened to it?"

"I'm not sure… I lost him one day when I was in Neo-Tokyo. Some suicide bomber came from nowhere and tried to kill us, and then the bomber called in an army of troops to takeover the whole damn city! He disappeared shortly after the battle was over. In some ways, I do miss him."

"I'm sorry to hear that. He was a loyal companion, and a very strong one. I'm sure he wonders where you're at as well."

"Yeah…"

"Well, my old friend, I'm going to check the Weapon's Room and see who's been screwing around with our machine guns! I'll report him back here immediately and do what has to be done. This won't go unjustified!"

With that, Bowser stomps from the room, swinging the large metal doors open in anger, and continues down the hall.

"Well, Dark, it seems that we've got nothing to worry about."

Dark looks at Akira worriedly.

"Don't worry! What's your problem? And plus, you look better so I'll be taking my shirt back, 'kay?"

Akira gently puts Dark on the ground after uncovering him with his black shirt and slips it back on. It is still toasty because of Dark's body heat and it feels really good. Dark stretches his little arms and legs and yawns, making a little squeak. Akira peers down at Dark again and notices that a small wing is coming into form to replace the one that Dark lost because of those reckless bandits.

"Looks like you'll be able to fly again, eh? Heh… I wonder if you can breath fire yet…"

Akira shrugs his shoulders and looks around the room for a chair or something to sit on, but sees nothing. He then notices at the corner of his eye a set of small double doors which are locked by a large bronze lock.

"Hmmm… Wonder what's in there? I don't want to be nosy, but… Eh, I don't think Koopa would mind too much if I just had a little peek…"

Akira walks towards the doors and, after looking from side to side and looking down the hall to see if anyone was coming (which there wasn't), he yanks the lock off and opens the door very cautiously. There is no sound coming within the dimly room. Akira opens the large door all the way and uses his keen vision to penetrate the darkness. At the very end of the large, hallway-like room there is a small chest under a large spotlight. The chest looks old and is covered with a small glass container. The old chest is made of pure gold and is not locked in any way. Akira walks towards the chest, taking one step at a time. He feels that something in the room is going to lunge at him at any second, so he double-checks the room. To his surprise, he sees that the room is lined with traps, from arrows to lasers to buttons you push to activate flames to come from the ground to spikes and virtually anything you can think of. Even the chest is covered with a field that would send thousands of volts through you body to kill you. Akira uses his mind to put up his invisible shield (the same one he used to cover his ship, except smaller) and strolls into the room carelessly. Trap #1 goes off and dozens upon dozens of arrows shoot from the walls, stabbing at Akira's shield and falling to the ground in pieces. As Akira continues onward to the golden chest, Trap #2 is set off and small beams of blue and red lasers jet from the top of the wall, which bounce off and hit each other, causing miniature explosions. Akira continues on, and the third trap goes off after Akira steps on a small, unnoticeable button on the floor. A large wall of flames bursts from the walls, heating the room up to the hottest of temperatures. Fortunately, Akira's shield takes the full blow of damage and no harm is done to Akira, who continues to trudge on forward. Trap after trap, he pulls through unscratched, until eventually he reaches the shining chest, which now a light from the ceiling is cast above it, making it glitter brilliantly. Akira reaches forward and the shield surrounding the chest sets off immediately, sending thousands of volts through Akira's invincible shield. The small machine causing the volts eventually burns out and is useless after several minutes of sending lightning through the glass shield covering the chest. Akira lifts the glass off the chest and a green smoke emits from under the chest. Poison gas. Luckily, Akira is still in his shield and is unaffected. The gas eventually dissipates and Akira reaches downward and slowly opens the chest. In the chest there is a large crystal ball. The ball doesn't shine at all. Disappointed, Akira picks the ball up and examines it.

"There's nothing unusual about it. Why would Koopa keep this? Very strange…"

Akira carries the ball in both hands and exits the room. Shortly after he shuts the secret room's small doors, the ball starts to shake violently.

"What the hell is this?"

Akira drops the ball and, to his surprise, it catches itself in midair, slowly rising until it is at Akira's eyelevel. Staring at the ball curiously, Akira looks around the room and sees no one else in the room who could be doing such magic.

"Mmkay, this is unusual…"

The crystal ball then starts to shine dimly, and the inside of the ball seems to glow. Colors swirl inside the ball like a whirlpool, until eventually Akira can make out the form of a young woman in the ball. The young woman has purple hair and wears an orange bow on the back of her head. She also has beautiful lavender eyes that match perfectly with her hair. The young woman is also wearing a large baby blue dress with blue lines crisscrossing both vertically and horizontally, causing large sky blue rectangles in small blue borders. Around her waist there is a sky blue sash. The young lady speaks to Akira.

"You have found me. Congratulations."

"Who the hell are you?"

"I… am your future."

"MY future? How are you MY future?"

"Hehehe… You are a foolish young man, aren't you? You think you can overcome any obstacle and that you need no friends. But if you need no friends, why do you always seem to befriend at least someone?"

"Shut it. I don't want to hear it. I can't explain it myself, honestly."

"If you have no friends, then you will die alone with no one to help you. However, if you have friends somewhere, they will fight along side you and you will be able to conquer all whom you face."

"I don't know what the hell you're trying to tell me. Get to the damn point already!"

"Don't let the evil inside you escape, or you will be overcome by everything that is already tainted with evil. It will eventually grow and overthrow your very soul, making you a living zombie."

"What… are you talking about? What evil inside me?"

"Just because your father was a devil doesn't mean you can become like him."

"My… my father? How do you know this? ANSWER ME!"

The young woman stares blankly at Akira, shaking her head in disappointment.

"You have such great potential, even greater than your father. And he knows it. He wants it for himself. In order for him to have it, he needs you dead so he can steal the power that hides within you."

"What power do you speak of? Why don't you answer me? Who the fuck are you!"

"I am your future."

"Don't give me that shit! I want the truth!"

The young woman closes her eyes and smiles.

"You are very handsome."

"Thank you, but I don't want any sweet talking. I want to hear the truth from you. How do you know me?"

Suddenly, the insides of the ball swirl again, and a young girl with long blue hair tied with a small red bow at the end appears. The young woman has brown eyes and smiles sweetly at Akira.

"Hey… Wait a second… It's you!"

"Hello again."

"What… the hell?"

"I thought you might say that."

"You're that Kaname character I met just a while back!"

"Indeed, young sir."

"No… That isn't you… I can just tell… You don't speak like that…"

"How would you know? You're such a stupid young fellow with the potential to do everything and you don't do anything."

"SHOW ME YOURSELF!"

Once again, the colors swirl. The room that Akira's standing in turns very dark, as if the ball is pulling him into a different dimension. Inside the ball now is Bowser.

"Not again…"

"What? Don't you appreciate me being here, old pal?"

"Your tricks are starting to bore me. Don't make me break you."

"Augh! Don't break me! Please!"

Bowser says that sarcastically.

"I don't see why he would keep this useless object anyways."

"Hehehe… You will learn soon enough, young demon, soon you will learn…"

The colors swirl once more and reveal a very old woman with sky blue eyes. Her wrinkles look more like flaps as they overthrow her very appearance, making her look very unattractive in every way. She has a large bush of gray hair on her head and small blue spheres on her ears, which are obviously her earrings. The old woman cackles.

"So… This is the real you?"

"How would you know? I can change my shape as much as I want."

Akira sighs.

"Just tell me who you are and how you seem to know me so well."

"Let's see, how would I put this in your words? Ah, let me think… Oh yes, I know the perfect way to put this: I am your guardian angel."

"Very funny."

"Oh? Don't believe me? Okay, then how about an ancient spellcaster with the power to make your eyes pop?"

"Very amusing, old woman. Very amusing."

"Fine then. I am just an old lady with nothing special in any way, shape, or form."

"That's what I think if you don't start talking!"

"Very well, young man, I will tell you, but you have to promise you won't tell your old friend, Bowser, about me."

"Why shouldn't I? It may be a little fun to mess with my old buddy by telling him I got to work his old piece of junk."

"You won't tell. I can see it in your future."

"Hmm, speaking of future, old hag, you told me that 'I am your future' when you were in the form of that young woman earlier when we first met."

"It is true."

"I am sure."

"And what do you mean when we first met? You forgot me already? My gosh, what has happened to your memory?"

"More jokes? Come off it, I'm not falling for them again."

"I am serious, boy. We have met in the past. Perhaps you didn't notice…"

"Alright, then, how old was I?"

"The age you are now."

"Okay, then, where did I meet you?"

"In the mountains right before you landed in Mithril's base."

"Really? Where were you?"

"I was the young lady who brought you into the helicopter and down to the base."

"What the fuck? You're joking! That was a young lady, and you're some old fart!"

"I thought you'd say that. I am a shift shaper. I can take on virtually any form I please. People from the past, the present, the future, virtually any time. The only forms I haven't managed to change into are God and the Devil himself."

"Wow, you have a lot of spare time, don't you?"

"Don't toy with me, boy."

Akira then starts to feel his head throbbing in pain. He drops to his knees. Blood starts to ooze from his mouth, and his eyes are open in sheer agony.

"WHAT—THE—HELL ARE YOU DOING TO—ME?"

"That? Oh, it's nothing, really. I'm just prying into your brain and tearing parts of them for my own purposes."

"VERY—FUNNY."

"You are a bright child, I will have to admit."

The burning in Akira's head stops and the blood, which trickled on the floor, vanishes. Akira stands to his feet amazed.

"That… Was that all an illusion?"

"Precisely. What you felt, what you saw… All of it was conjured up in your head."

"Okay, now I'm officially freaked. Who are you?"

"I am the Woman of the Crystal."

"Woman of the Crystal? You know, I could have thought up better names than that."

"Oh?"

"Yeah… Wait a second… You said you were the woman from the plane back at Mithril, correct?"

"Yes, young man."

"Then that means you can leave this crystal imprisonment of yours freely?"

"Yes. I can do whatever I want. Leave, stay, even appear in your very dreams. I have the power to do it all."

"Okay… That's all I have. Tell me the things you wanted to earlier."

"Heh, you can be a very nice person when you want to. I am glad you don't lose your temper like most I've met. Okay, I will tell you this: The destruction of Planet Imaj is imminent, and only you can stop this mass destruction from happening."

"Me? How?"

"You will meet many people along your road to find your answers, as well as befriend things that are bigger than the imagination can handle. Unfortunately, there is a race out there that also has a plan that the mind cannot comprehend, and one of the main creatures who is thinking up this plan has also befriended your father."

"My father? My father is still living?"

"Oh yes, he's been living and breathing for years now. He's perfectly fine. Of course, your mother is dead."

"Yes… Exactly why I want to find my father and kill him for what he did…"

"Looks can be deceiving."

"Pardon me?"

"You heard me. It is better to ask some of the questions than to know all of the answers."

"Yeah, so I've heard… Okay, this conversation seems to be going nowhere fast."

"Help them. Help them the best you can."

"Who? Who's them?"

"He's in trouble right now… He's going to kill him… If you don't hurry, he will die…"

"Who? Who will die?"

"They both serve a purpose… One worked for the Gods, so it's told in his legend… And the other also holds untapped power that could destroy worlds… His power will be unleashed when yours is. You two have a connection that is unbreakable. Why do you think you had to save him from those thieves? Why do you think those bandits wanted him? Because your father sensed he had a connection to you and that little dragon could lead him to you."

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat! You aren't talking about…!"

"Marry her. Don't be scared. Don't worry about it. It will all be okay in the end."

"Errkay, now you're making NO sense."

"The battle begins, and many will die. Only you can bring them back."

"…"

"You're end will come last."

The ball turns completely black in an instant, and Akira finds himself in the airship's control room again. Before him there is Dark, sleeping at his feet curled in a little black ball, and at the doorway there is a red-shelled turtle, staring fearfully at Akira.

"It's--- It's you again!"

"Spare me the talk. What's the problem?"

"They're both in the room! They're both locked in! He's killing him!"

"Who? Who's locked in what room?"

"That… demon has King Bowser locked in the room! You have to save him! He's dying!"

There is a flashback in Akira's mind with the old woman. 'He's in trouble right now… He's going to kill him… If you don't hurry, he will die…'

Akira rushes to where the red-shelled turtle leads him. It is where all the turtles and brown mushrooms were dancing in earlier. There are screams of terror coming from inside… and the agonizing cries of Bowser. There is also a loud cackling coming from the locked room. The doors are glowing a bright purple color.

"We can't break through the doors! Please do it for us!"

"What?"

"Only you can do it! Please! He's dying!"

Akira clenches his fists. His rage seems to fuel him and it pulses throughout his body. 'Yes,' he says to himself. 'I can do this. I can break through that door! HE WON'T DIE!' And with that, Akira slams both of his fists onto the double doors with all his might!

NOCTURNE

"'cuz I'm broken when I'm lonesome…" --Seether