I awoke the next morning alone. Ansem was nowhere to be seen. The moment he noticed I was awake, Tsubasa flew over to me and nuzzled my side. Absently, I stroked the top of his head. The door opened, and Ansem stuck his head in.
"Good, you're awake. I thought you'd never wake up," he said. He came in and shut the door behind him. "Come here, I want to see something."
I stood and walked over to him. Once I reached him, he seized my shoulders and began to pull my shirt down.
"What…! What are you doing!" I cried, twisting around.
"I told you, I want to see something," Ansem replied. I continued fighting him, but to no avail. He managed to tear down part of my shirt, exposing my rose shaped scar. "Of course," he breathed. He released me.
I backed away rapidly, holding up the torn part of my shirt. I glared daggers at him. I could not remember ever feeling that mad at anyone before. Irritably, my eyes still on Ansem, I somehow tied the shreds together.
"I'm sorry, but I had to," Ansem said, sounding like he meant it.
"You could have asked!" I snapped, feeling my temper rising. "You could have asked if that was there, you… you…" I fell silent, still glowering.
He looked hurt. He moved forward and embraced me. I stiffened, but relaxed when I realized her wasn't going to do anything else.
"I am sorry, truly," he whispered. "I suppose I should have asked, but…." I heard him sigh. "You know, you are dreadfully pretty when you're angry."
I tried not to sigh, and returned the embrace. "It's okay," I replied. Then I grinned. "And you're dreadfully cute when you look all hurt like that," I murmured. We stood together for some time.
Then Ansem pulled away. "You really should change your shirt, you know," he said. "There should be some more in the closet." He indicated a large wardrobe in the corner. He turned and began teasing Tsubasa as I pulled a black shirt out and pulled it on. Not for the first time I wondered where the clothes had come from. Then I figured the Heartless had raided my closet and left it at that.
I went over and sat next to Ansem, watching Tsubasa chase the string Ansem had tied to his tail. Shortly, we heard a loud thump. Ansem went over to the door and pulled it open. Cautiously, the two of us peered out. However, we saw nothing.
"What was that?" I asked. "It sounded like it came from the entrance hall."
"I don't know. Lokii, you stay here," Ansem said, uncharacteristically grim. I protested, but Ansem won out. Tsubasa fluttered out of my room, and landed in front of me. Ansem set off carefully down the hallway.
I waited for what seemed hours. Then I cried out.
"I can't take this anymore!" I cried. "I'm going to go find him!" Tsubasa tried to stop me, but I shoved him aside. I headed down the hallway, and decided to take a shortcut through the library. I hesitated with my hand on the door. As I stood there, I felt a terrible thrill of foreboding. To make matters worse, a faint growling commenced from the other side.
Like a child expecting a malevolent spirit on the other side, I took a deep breath and flung the door wide. I gasped.
Ansem was unconscious, leaning against the fountain. A puddle of blood was forming under him, trickling from the back of his head.
A horde of Defender Heartless was clustered around him. Then a Heartless I'd never seen before approached me. It closely resembled a Shadow, but it was larger and somehow more impressive looking. It presented a black card with silver writing on it to me.
The Organization requests the presence of Lokii Iotunheim at the Castle Oblivion on the date of June first. We await word of your consent.
When I looked up, the Defenders and the strange Heartless were gone. Only Ansem remained. I raced over to him, fearing the worst.
Gently, I lifted his head. Blood had stained his silver hair a deep crimson.
"Ansem, wake up. Wake up, please," I pleaded. Ansem's burning eyes remained closed. I cradled his head in my arms. His pulse was growing weaker by the second; I could feel it. I knew he would die if I didn't do something soon. But I hadn't a clue. I was growing desperate. One of my tears fell on his face. As I thought I might lose him for good, I felt a throb from my scar. A warm green light enveloped Ansem. As it faded, I knew Ansem had been healed.
Slowly his eyes opened. He looked up, and saw me.
"Lokii…" he began. But whatever he meant to say, I never knew, for at that moment I kissed him on the mouth. After a second, he returned the kiss. We held it, neither of us wanting to break away.
Eventually, Ansem pulled away. "What were those Heartless doing?" he asked. Wordlessly, I showed him the card. "So the Organization is on the move again. Hmph. Will wonders never cease," he muttered after a moment. He returned the card to me.
"What should I do?" I asked.
Ansem shrugged, and stood. The effort made him cough, and he leaned on the wall for support. "Go to them, I suppose. Find out what they want."
I made no reply. Then, at length, I spoke.
"Isn't Castle Oblivion another world? How am I going to get there?" I asked. "Surely I'm not going alone."
"No, I'm going with you. And I know someone who can take us there," Ansem replied. He headed to the library.
"Who?" I asked.
"A pirate captain I encountered once, Sam Stryker." he shrugged. "I would have chosen Hook, but he irks me to no end, and Sam knows the area better."
Within a few days, I saw crimson sails on the surface of the falls. At first I hadn't been able to tell what they were, but I soon realized what they were. I called to Ansem, and indicated them.
"Oh, good. Sam's here," he said.
Not for the first time, I wondered exactly who Sam was. There wasn't much I knew about him, and there were no records of his exploits in the library. Beyond the fact that he was captain of the approaching ship, I knew nothing about him.
In a matter of minutes the ship had come to a rest a hundred yards away from where we stood. I looked up and noticed, with some surprise, the ship hovered via propellers on the underside.
Ansem noted my shock. "Ah, the propellers. Yes, Sam's quite proud of those. Had them outfitted based on some movie."
Further conversation was cut short as a curious craft hovered towards us. It looked like the boats we used on the Destiny Islands, but it possessed dragonfly-like wings along the side. These moved at a high velocity as it sped towards us.
The pilot was female, which was mildly surprising. I paid no heed, though, and the two of us clambered into the craft. As we moved towards the ship, I saw the words Bloody Revenge painted in black and outlined in gold on the side. An intricately carved figurehead of a dragon reared up at the bow.
The sailor led us to a cabin, knocked twice, and entered.
"Ansem and guest to see you, Cap'n," she said. Ansem headed in, and I followed.
A high-backed chair facing the window sat behind a dark brown desk. A seemingly high voice, around an alto range, echoed from the front.
"So, Ansem. What do you want of this humble pirate?"
"Your help," Ansem replied. "We need to get to Castle Oblivion, quickly."
A plumed hat appeared near the top of the chair, as the occupant presumably stood. And then I got the first of many shocks from Sam.
Sam was a girl, younger than me. She was rather short, her head barely clearing the top of the chair. Her black hair was pulled back, and a red headscarf was slightly visible from underneath her hat. Her eyes appeared to be deep green.
"Who's she? Oh, I see," Sam said deviously, noticing me. Ansem twitched. "So you want to go to Castle Oblivion? That carries a heady price."
"What? You've never charged me before!" Ansem snarled.
"Times change," Sam said, idly examining her fingernails.
Ansem was growing angrier by the second. Sam grinned maliciously.
"I see I'm bugging you," she said. Ansem lunged forward, and fell over, coughing. I dashed to his side and tried to steady him. "You have a bit of a cough there, no?" Sam said. "Fine. I'll ferry you, but only out of whatever goodness is still left in my weasely black heart." Her eyes flashed. "One room, or two?"
Ansem, still coughing, glared daggers at her.
"Of course. Ansem the chaste. Well, put your lungs back in and go have the ship's surgeon Masamune take a look-see at you," Sam said carelessly. I helped Ansem up, and we headed towards Masamune.
"Right then. Off vith your shirt."
I tried not to stare as Ansem reluctantly pulled off his shirt. I'd like to think I succeeded, but somehow I doubt that.
Masamune was a silver-haired girl with pince-nez glasses, a strange accent, and a twitchy disposition. She seemed the same age as Sam. She yanked an object out of her pocket not unlike a jeweler's tool for examining gems. She removed her glasses, and stuck it into her eye like a monocle. She looked Ansem up and down. I could tell the scrutiny was making him uncomfortable.
"Vat in the name of…? Did you use Shadow lungs?" Masamune snapped. "Dummkopf." She stuck the object into her pocket. She stood back and looked Ansem up and down. "For your build… I vould haf used… Defender or Neoshadow." She shrugged. "But vatever. If you can breath vithout hacking up your lungs, fine."
She proceeded to mutter incessantly. I caught "Never in all mein days!" and "I haf never seen such stupidity!"
Ansem pulled his shirt back on, and we gratefully left. Masamune made us both nervous.
"Rather blunt around here, aren't they?"
A/N: Ja, time to give credit where credit is due. Sam isn't mine. She belongs to Masamune Sylverwulf of The Otaku Duo, also here on She let me use Sam on the condition that she got to be the ship's surgeon and get a German accent. (Laughs)
Danke to my reviewers, of which there was only one at the time I wrote this! (Sighs) I applaud thee, lone brave soul!