Yay! Reviews! So many…. I know six isn't much compared to some, but oh well….
Twizzie: You have no idea what's going on? I don't usually myself. I don't think anyone really knows what's going on in my fics. I typically lose control after a few chapters. (Laughs) Well, hold on to your butt, cuz it's bound to get more confusing after chapter six. No rough draft for 'em! (Laughs evilly)
Light Leaven666: Yay! You're my first reviewer! Cookies for thee! And I will keep writing, don't worry! And as for the pairing… er… on second thought, nuf said.
The Otaku Duo: So you reviewed! So whatcha think of my foray into shojo? (Laughs) I do? Or are you talking about the sequel to PATP? Erm… I know I have a KH Calvin and Hobbes fic I'm writing, and a fic that may or may not be a sequel to this that's not a romance, and a fic where I kill Mickey and other KH characters I hate, and a fic I may not post, cuz it kinda weirds me out. I think that's all… .O;;
RedCrow1120: Did I spell that right? Ah, what's left to say here that I haven't already said in my reviews? Aside from "Yeah, that freaked me out. I reread Kairi's description of Ansem, thought it sounded odd, and thought 'Oh dear lord, what the hell did I just do!' " and "The romance is a little light until chapter seven or so. Muahahaha… wait. We're almost at seven! Eight! I meant eight!" The chapter numbers got moved around a bit when I posted this. The letter thing was originally the prologue, but ended up chapter one. Heh… I AM THE MASTER OF OOCNESS! FEAR ME! MUAHAHAHA! Ansem fangirls unite! We shall exceed the Sephiroth fangirls someday! Someday… (Sighs) There just aren't enough of us.
ooo
Several hours later, I lay awake in my cabin, listening to the sounds of the ship. I would be glad when we left the world, and I would stop hearing the rising falls. The propellers, I discovered, where whisper-quiet, and I barely heard them at all.
Sleep evaded me. I tossed and turned, but nothing could make me drop off into sleep. Then I realized the dilemma.
I was lonely.
I have always disliked being alone. Although I was loath to admit it to myself, one of my main reasons for desiring to meet Ansem was that possibly I would have someone who would like me. My temper was (hell, it still is) unpredictable, and the others decided to label me as "Dangerous. Approach with caution or not at all." I had wanted to meet Ansem in the hopes that he would ignore this, and at the least befriend me. Even Kairi, who had put up with me, didn't seem to actually want to be my friend.
That decided, I figured out what to do.
I swung my legs out of bed, and headed over to Ansem's cabin. Quietly, I pushed open the door, and beheld him fast asleep. I crossed the room, and prodded him a few times.
"Ansem, wake up," I whispered. He rolled over.
"What is it?" he asked sleepily, stifling a yawn.
"I can't sleep. Move over."
"You know, Sam frowns on…"
"Who says we have to? I just wanna sleep."
Ansem shrugged. "You know, there's not much room here."
"I don't take up that much space. Come on, please?" I wheedled.
He shrugged again, and moved over. I cuddled up to his chest, and he put his arm around me. Soon we were both asleep.
"You know, if you had wanted one cabin, you could have said so."
"Cor, they look comfy, loike! Blimey, Cap'n, yew 'ad ter give 'em th' poshest cabin yew 'ad, dincha?"
I awoke to the sound of Sam's sarcastic voice and another with a thick, strange accent. Ansem and I were still curled up in each other's arms. I twisted my head around.
Sam was leaning against the doorframe, looking very nonchalant. An unfamiliar face was staring at us.
"Coo, don't yew tew look cute, loike!" the stranger cackled. I noticed her eyes had a peculiar yellow tint to them.
"This is Nensu, my first mate, and my highly obnoxious older sister," Sam said, carelessly brushing a few strands of hair away from her face.
"'Allo, guv'nah!" Nensu laughed.
By this time, Ansem had awakened as well. He peered at Nensu.
"Who're you?" he said.
"Sleep well, mate?" Nensu asked casually.
"Yes, I—wait a minute!"
Nensu doubled over laughing. She seemed to possess Sam's twisted sense of humour. "So easy to nail yew, innit?"
"Anyway," Sam cut in, Ansem looking livid, "I was just going to tell you that we'll be departing Hollow Bastion soon, so—"
"So iffen ye feel loight-headed, it's cos o' th' lack o' atmosphere!" Nensu interrupted.
Sam glanced at her. "Yes, I was getting to that. We will be entering an area thick with Heartless ships. There will be some risk," she said, moving farther into the room.
"The Heartless have ships?" I asked. Ansem sat up and stretched.
"Yes, but their tactics aren't very clever," he replied.
"Either a blind frontal assault, or they just sit there like lumps," came a gloomy voice from the vicinity of the door. Sam turned.
"Oh, hello Ryuko," she said. "Ryuko, battle technician."
A rather mournful-looking girl was standing in the doorway. Her eyes were purple, and her hair was long. Despite her gloomy appearance, her eyes were bright and cold.
"'Allo, Ryuko!" Nensu called.
"There is a very slight chance Hook will be in the area as well," Ryuko said. "If we do encounter him, it would be at our expense. Much as I loathe to admit it, we're weaker in an all-out fight."
Just then, a bell began ringing frantically. Ansem and I looked at each other.
"Oh corks!" Nensu cried.
"'Oh shit' is more like it!" Sam snarled, her hand flying to the rapier belted at her hip.
"Speak the devil's name, and he appears on your doorstop," Ryuko muttered grimly.
The five of us raced out on deck, and beheld another ship firing at us. Sam's crew ran hither and thither, desperately trying to retaliate.
"Oh shit," Sam muttered darkly. Then she was in the thick of the battle, shouting commands and trying to get everything under control. Swiftly, the pirates regained their composure, and began retaliating at last. I was impressed.
Sam's first broadside ripped an immense hole in the enemy ship. The next nearly took off the mast. The enemy ship launched chain shot at us, almost destroying the sails.
"Reef the sails, you morons!" Sam yelled angrily. Several lithe pirates raced up the mast and tied up the sails.
"Grapeshot!" Ryuko cried. The gunners quickly complied, and the miniscule cannonballs ripped more holes in the bottom of Hook's ship. The pirates launched chain shot of their own next. The lethal weapons spun through the air with an ominous whirring, and crashed through the opposing mast.
However, despite their best efforts, Hook's ship crashed alongside.
"Enemy on the port side! All hands to arms and prepare to repel boarders!" Sam yelled over the sounds of creaking timber. She raced back to us.
"Ansem, Lokii, I'd get myself hid if I was you," she said.
"Where?" Ansem asked.
"Not the powder magazine, obviously. And the cabins would be an equally poor choice as well."
They continued this debate while I watched the fighting.
"I want to stay," I said suddenly. Sam and Ansem looked at me. "I get the feeling slaying someone would be… something to enjoy." These words gave me a savage pleasure, and I could almost imagine what it would feel like. Sinking a sword into an opponent… then I thought, 'Hell, why a sword? Why not claws?' Almost as I thought this, my scar throbbed painfully. I fell to one knee, clutching at it.
"Lokii!" Ansem cried. I didn't reply, but gave a strangled sort of whimper as my scar blazed with pain. I felt his strong arms encircle me as he carried me into a nearby cabin.
"My…scar…" I gasped.
"Of course…" Ansem breathed. Once again he exposed the scar. "The mark of the rose. It's long been a symbol of deep darkness, but no one has been marked with it for centuries."
I gasped in pain. My scar had turned a deep black, and I felt a desire which I had never felt before:
The desire to kill.
An explosion sounded outside.
"Hurry!" Ansem cried. "Try and utilize the darkness within you."
I concentrated as best I could, and found a deep well of black power. I reached for it. The tips of my fingers seared with pain, and long shining claws sprang out. I stared at them incredulously.
Another explosion echoed across the ship.
"No time to lose!" Ansem yelled. The two of us raced outside.
The decks were in chaos. Pirates fought everywhere we turned, and explosions sounded left and right. Dead bodies littered the decks. The air was thick with gun smoke from countless pistols. Sam darted around, her bloodstained sword flashing as she ran through foe after foe.
Then Hook himself appeared. He looked like a bloody fop as far as I was concerned, especially with his wig and hat. I suspected that his mustache was fake; it so resembled a hairy caterpillar. He waded into the fray, and began hacking left and right at Sam's pirates.
Ansem and I joined the battle eagerly. A pirate menaced a scimitar at me, and I ran him through. I spun around and beheaded another.
Then I found myself face-to-face with Hook.
"Well, what do we have here?" he sneered. "Shiver me timbers, a maid such as you shouldn't be in a scrap like this."
My hand shot towards his face, but he deflected it with his sword. I growled, and began slashing at him.
"Back off, Hook, or I'll have your other hand," I snarled.
He grinned, and tried to slash my face with his hook. I dodged, and slashed his face. I tried to stab his heart, but he jumped back, and fell overboard. He surfaced, spitting and spluttering.
"Retreat!" he bellowed. His pirates raced over to their ship, some making a few halfhearted attempts at stabbing Sam's crew before joining their comrades. Sam's pirates whooped and cheered. Sam herself ran over to the railing and made a rude hand gesture at Hook.
"You'll never beat me, Hook!" she crowed. Somehow, I got the feeling this was her fight against him.
"I'll have your ship yet!" he yelled back as he sailed away. Ryuko ran up with a slingshot, and fired a musket ball at him. It struck his ass, and he jumped several feet. Sam's crew laughed and jeered at him.
Sam watched him go, grinning. Ansem approached me as my claws sank back into my hands. He put his arm around my shoulders.
"You have great power, Lokii," he whispered.
The pirates were still congratulating themselves as we sailed away from Hollow Bastion and headed for Castle Oblivion. Ansem and I watched. I was leaning against Ansem, exhausted, as we watched Masamune scurrying around muttering German swear words as she dealt with the wounded.
After a while, a pirate came running up to Sam and mumbled something in her ear.
"What!" Sam cried. She stuck two fingers in her mouth and blew a loud whistle. All the others froze and stared at her. "All hands on deck and prepare for emergency landing!" she commanded.
The pirates started rushing around, tying barrels down and reefing sails. Sam walked up to us.
"Might want to hold on. Several of the propellers were damaged, and we've been forced to land," she explained.
"Where'll we land, Cap'n?" yelled the steerswoman. Sam looked around and indicated a small, dark world.
"There!" she said. The steerswoman yanked the wheel hard, and the ship ponderously turned towards it, gaining speed as it went.
"What? We should be slowing down by now!" someone cried. Ansem and I grabbed a hold of the railing. "The landing gear must be damaged as well!" The world grew nearer at an alarming speed, as Ansem and I clasped hands.
"Brace yerselves!" Nensu yelled. The ship hit the ground with a crunch, and I was torn from Ansem. I blacked out.
A/N: Whoa! Keep it together, Fenrir! I'm losing control! Cap'n, we're losing control! I think we're gonna crash! Oh shit!
BTW, Nensu and Ryuko also belong to Masamune, but she said I could use them for free. Nensu has a Cockney accent.
I wanted the description of the battle and Lokii's duel with Hook to be longer, but I really lack the patience to describe those kinds of things. . ;;
Hold on to your butts, cuz it's gonna get even weirder and crazier from here!