Rawr! I have returned with more! Muahahaha! Fear me! Hold on to your butts, cuz this chapter's gonna be heavy on the action and light on the shojo! ((I hope…)) For you shojo-lovin' readers out there, hang tight till the next chappie! If you like horror, and hate Mickey, Goofy, Donald, and Sora, keep an eye out for my M-rated horror fic "Death to Disney!" Stupid rat! Stay out of Ansem-kun's way or I'll force-feed you cyanide!
Ansem: I wanted to do that…
Me: OK, I'll off Donald and Goofy, and you can slay Sora too!
Ansem: XD
Me: But for the purposes of the fic, you can kill 'em all!
Ansem: Yay! XDXD
Incidentally, I accidentally killed Riku and Kairi in that one. Kairi no one cares about, but Riku… I'll have to put plywood over my bedroom windows, ne?
heartsoblivion: New reviewer! XD The plot is the end result of listening to Daft Punk, Beethoven, the Ramones, etc. while writing. NEVER DO THAT:P Yay! Someone says I rock! Wunderbar! Everyone seems to like the letters at the beginning. Maybe I'll use them at the end too… or I'll use third-person. I'm better at that, methinks.
ooo
I awoke in a strange building. Before my eyes, it faded, and I found I was lying on a huge, flat boulder. I stood, and looked around. I didn't see Ansem anywhere. I thought I saw something glimmering, but when I looked closer it was just another skull. As the others had, it disintegrated when I approached.
I sighed. My head was pounding, and my wings throbbed. I realized I should have gotten rid of them, but I liked them too much. And I wasn't willing to have them ripping out of my back again the next time I needed them. I wandered around the remains of the city, trying to find Ansem. I heard voices from the lip of the volcano, carried on the breeze.
Our pursuers had caught up, it seemed. I saw no sign of their machines, and they had all removed their helmets. They all seemed to be in deep discussion.
"If they've gone done there, we'll likely never find them," said one, a curious-looking man with shaggy brown hair. I thought he looked rather feminine, but most of them did seem sort of androgynous.
"Of course we will. Their scents are hard to ignore," spoke another, this one with silver hair. He looked like someone who hid in the shadows and let others do his bidding.
"Yes, of course, as no one can fool a dog's nose, eh Zexion?" sneered another, this one with bright red hair that stood out in spikes. He looked perpetually amused about something, and I wasn't too eager to find out what.
Zexion's eye twitched, but other than that, he gave no sign he'd heard.
"Stop trying to stir up trouble, Axel," said the first speaker. Axel barely spared him a glance.
"Gee, Marluxia, where's the trust?" Axel replied, smirking.
"Are we actually going to get down there and search?" said a new speaker, who had up until now said nothing. His hair actually looked normal compared to the others, long and blonde. He had a smug look about his face, and looked like he could have given Zexion competition in the scheming department.
"Of course. After we let the Heartless have their fun. Be patient, Vexen," Marluxia said. A troop of Heartless swarmed to the edges of the volcano, so thick that there appeared to be a black cloud resting on the edges.
Oh. This isn't good, I thought. I slid back into the shadows, and renewed my efforts to find Ansem. The Heartless began trooping down the stairs, just above where I was searching. I could hear the pounding of their feet, and held my breath as they passed. I heard Axel shout something at them, and then the sound of something being trod on by several thousand pairs of feet.
Once most of them seemed to have passed, I started out of the crevice, and froze as I heard Axel and Vexen.
"Are you absolutely positive they're here?" That was Vexen.
"Yes, I've told you a thousand times," Axel replied contemptuously. "Larxene reported that ship landing here."
"Do you really trust her?" Vexen inquired.
"Not really," Axel admitted. "But she was the only one who saw where it landed. What do you want with that girl anyway?"
"I don't think that's really any of your concern," Vexen snapped icily.
"Just curious," Axel answered, a barely contained sneer in his voice.
I waited until they past, then crept out of the crevice and flew away. I had to find Ansem, fast. I landed in front of another crevice, and headed in. It was a tight fit. My wings almost got stuck. I heard the sound of footsteps, and whipped around. Someone was approaching. It was Zexion. He headed right by me, and paused. A frown creased his brow, then he moved on.
I sighed, and nearly cried out as a hand covered my mouth. I twisted, and turned around.
"Shh, it's only me," Ansem whispered. My shoulders sagged with relief. Ansem released me, and I turned to face him. "This way," he said, heading deeper into the crevice.
"Who are they?" I asked, once we were a safe distance away from the opening.
"The Organization," Ansem replied. "Not much is known about them."
We didn't speak as we headed deeper into the volcano. I kept thinking about the former inhabitants, and how they died. If the volcano was still active… I couldn't finish the thought.
It grew darker the further in we went. Soon I couldn't see even five feet in front of me. I stopped.
"Ansem, hold up," I said. The sound of his footsteps ceased.
"What?" he asked.
"I can't see a thing. Can you?"
"Yes, but my control over the darkness is greater than yours."
"Let's shed some light on the subject." Ansem and I started. Neither of us had spoken.
A small, round light flared between us, held by a man with flyaway blonde hair, and odd eyes, one darker than the other.
"Who the hell are you?" Ansem demanded.
The man smirked. "No one too important. Just passing through," he replied.
Ansem glared at him, as did I. He looked familiar to me somehow, but I couldn't place his face.
"If you keep going, you'll run into a bit of a sticky spot," the man said, indicating our original path. "Of course, you'd be in as much trouble if you went back." He laughed.
"Then what the hell do you expect us to do?" I said, my temper flaring.
He shrugged. "You could stay here and rot."
"Not an option," Ansem growled. "If you have nothing useful to say, get the hell out of here."
The man grinned again. "Fine. I'll take this with me as well." The globe of light disappeared as he closed his fingers around it. We were thrown into darkness again. "See you later. Or not. Most likely not."
"Can't you say anything useful?" I snarled. No answer. He had gone. I growled. "Bastard," I muttered.
"Well… what shall we do?" Ansem asked.
"Maybe we should go back. At least we can see what the Organization is up to."
"True."
I turned, and started walking back the way we had come. When we reached the crevice, we found the entire troop of Heartless outside it. Zexion stood in the middle, Axel and Marluxia next to him.
"They're in there, then?" Marluxia said.
"Of course," Zexion said.
Axel didn't say anything.
"What is it?" Ansem whispered. I moved aside, and he carefully peered out. "Oh damn."
"What do we do?" I said.
A crystal fell from somewhere above, shattered, and released a cloud of ash and dust. A familiar voice sounded.
"I'd take advantage of this if I were you."
I seized Ansem, and dragged him out of the crevice. I grabbed onto him, and took off, my wings fanning the dust cloud. Coughing, Zexion rose out of the mass and fired a crossbow at me. The bolt pierced my wing, and I bit back a cry. I flapped harder, and we rose above the cloud. I flew towards the dome in the center of the city, and flew in through one of the cracks. I skidded to a halt, leaving Ansem a few feet behind me.
I twisted around, trying to get at the arrow stuck in my wing.
"Here," I heard Ansem say. I felt his hands on my wing, firm but gentle. "This will hurt." He grasped the arrow, and tugged hard. I tried not to scream, and Ansem threw the arrow away. He healed the hole, and I collapsed against him. He held me, and I relaxed in his arms. I heard a voice.
"Hmph. Axel always messes everything up, doesn't he?" This was a woman's voice, high pitched.
"Yes, well, don't kill them, Larxene. Remember, they're wanted alive." That was Vexen.
"Yeah, yeah. I know."
Ansem and I slid further into the shadows near a hole. I peered through it. A woman with short, slicked back blonde hair was standing with her arms crossed and staring at the dome. She raised an arm, and lightning began to crackle around her hand.
A/N: Ooo, cliffy! Anyone get who the mystery man was? If so, tell me in a review. Rawr. Fear my cliffhanger powers.