Chapter 9 is here! I'd like to thank everyone for their reviews…. It means the world to me… - Let's see we have Mercury Gold, Eric Davis, Kistune107, Lynx Yamato, SakuraCat, Sai-ryo Aura Feana, Hindi ko Alam, Mousenabber, Hoobastank3003, Yersi Fanel, emerald-rei, Reigning Hobbitess, Yu Mutuo, and, of course, my sexy Kurai Shidosha. (Love ya, sweetie!)
Thanks so much for the reviews and now on with the story…
Italics – thoughts
Flash – Flashbacks
Chapter 9
Threats and Memories
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The ship graveyard seemed so cold and distant from the last time they had passed through. Random bubbles traveled toward the surface, the only movement aside from the small currents. Cloud Strife continued to wander through the forgotten place in hopes of finding Ursula to ask her about his light. A sudden current made Cloud turn, coming almost face-to-face with a great white shark. He ducked down behind a random ship wall, the beast swimming overhead, its thirst for blood unquenched. Out of the corner of his eye, the blonde spotted what looked like a switch.
"Well, well, what do we have here," he muttered. It was cleverly hidden behind a large stern of a dead ship, making it hard to reach. With the help of his buster sword, Cloud was able to trigger the switch causing the wall next to him to open. Without hesitation, the ex-SOLDIER swam through, the wall replacing itself once he was through. Going deeper, he came upon what looked like a small valley of volcanoes, small Heartless creatures wandered around aimlessly for they seemed to take no notice or simply had no interest in the blonde merman passing by. 'It's as if they are all expecting me...' he thought, swimming into the Den of Tides. There, he found what look like a giant fish fossil, its mouth forever open. Cloud swam in seeing the tiny unknown creatures littering the bottom of the fish's mouth. One snapped up, grabbing his wrist. "Damn..." He pried his arm free, swimming up near the top. Once passed that, he came into a room, random seaweed hanging along the doorframe. It was a large but simple room, a dresser on the right with a huge cabinet above, a cauldron in the middle, and a cove that looked like a bed, but it went much deeper in then it appeared. Cloud gasped upon seeing a pair of eyes within, glaring out at him, then relaxing.
"Cloud, my dear. How nice of you to drop by..." Ursula crowed, emerging from the cove. She came up in front of him, grabbing his chin, examining him. "You're alone. Where's that dear boy with the Keyblade?"
"I came alone," he replied, stiffly. "To ask you about Kira..." She frowned, letting him go and circling him.
"You mean that stiff at the castle?"
"Where?" She shrugged, seeing his jaw clench.
"It doesn't matter... you're not going there..."
"What do you mean 'stiff'?"
"She hasn't awoken since she was kidnapped. At least that's what I was told. I haven't heard anything lately. And it's not as if I would go there. Very hard to move out of water. I don't know how you humans do it." He stiffened as she came up from behind him, resting her cold hands on his lean shoulders.
"Where is she?" He asked, closing his eyes, trying to keep his patience. It wasn't working very well.
"Well, if it'll make you feel better, not that it would make any difference, she's ----" Distant voices cut her off.
"This place is creepy. Who would live here?"
"Obviously that sea witch."
"Hmm... they found me too," She grasped onto Cloud's arm, dragging him higher up. "Well, my dear, I hate to break it to you but ----" she shoved him into her potion cabinet, locking him inside. "---you're not going anywhere. Hope you're comfortable." She started cackling as he began slamming on the doors, hoping to jar them open. She then turned seeing the arrival of her new guests.
"There she is!"
"You better surrender!" Sebastian boomed, only to squeak as her cauldron began to glow.
"Oh? Or what?" She threw a bottle into the pot, its color changing. As that happened, her two eels, Flotsom and Jetsom, appeared from the cove, spinning around their master and attacking the intruders.
"We have to destroy the cauldron. That's what the king said," Donald squawked. Nodding, Sora pulled out his Keyblade, getting down in a fighting position. He then heard a faint pounding.
"What's that?"
"Sora!" One of the two eels coiled around his neck, attempting to choke him.
"Hel---" Smoke began pouring from the pot, filming across the sandy floor, a tint of red within. Finally knocking the reptile away, Sora cast Blizara, causing the cauldron to sort of malfunction a bit.
Inside the cabinet, Cloud heard the commotion outside. The cackle of that witch and the shouting going on between his comrades. He felt useless. Just like when his world was under attack. He was wounded from his battle against Sephiroth, unable to help his friends, help her, when they came. The Heartless. He'd watched in horror as his world became consumed, only to lose conscious and awaken in Hell. Now Hades had his soul in his possession, bound by blood to a contract only to be left behind under the death god's assault to try and rid of the enemy. But if he'd taken his soul and left him, how was he still alive? It was different to sign it away but Hades had physically taken it. He felt empty once it was gone, but there was still a warmth in his heart, though the rest of him felt cold and lost.
Ursula's scream broke his deep train of thought, hearing her say that she controlled the sea and that they weren't going to stop her.
"We have to go after her!"
"Come on!" Cloud's throat clenched.
"No... wait." Though he was in the water, his throat felt dry. He had to find out where Kira was. He had to get out of here. "Don't leave..." It all came out in a hoarse whisper.
"Sora, what's wrong?" Ariel asked, coming up beind him. Cloud cleared his throat, finally able to scream.
"Sora! Please, don't leave me behind!"
"Cloud? What are you doing in there?" Sora asked, swimming up.
"That wench threw me in here."
"Hey, guys, help me out here." The blonde shielded his eyes as light came through once the doors were pried open. Once he uncovered them he saw Sora smiling at him, "Hey, come on out of there. We have a witch to catch." Cloud forced a smile, feeling they had to hurry and find that devil.
"Right."
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"You fools, do you actually believe you can beat me! I am the Queen of the Sea!" The giant Ursula boomed upon enlarging herself.
"Like she wasn't big to begin with," Donald muttered to the knight. Ursula swatted at the duck for the comment. Cloud screamed at her, fury clear in his voice.
"I asked you before, now I'll ask again: where is she? Tell me where she is!" The witch's large head turned toward him, causing him to fall back a bit.
"I thought I told you: you're never going to see her again," she exclaimed, cackling again. His heart ached. It was bad enough that he heard she hadn't regained consciousness since he'd last seen her but now this creature was refusing to give him the information he needed. His shoulder blade was burning again.
'Iie! I don't want it. I don't want these powers, this... curse.' He squeezed his eyes shut, hugging himself, trying to hold onto his subconscious, trying not to let his demon's wing emerge. The pain was intense to a point where he couldn't really feel it anymore, the wing emerging. 'Iie! It ---' He drew it against his body, all the while his friends were fighting against Ursula. Cloud took a deep breath as the scaly wing returned to his body as quickly as it had come, a red puff of blood lingered around him. He then opened his eyes, glaring at his enemy. Drawing his buster sword, Cloud executed Sonic Blade into the witch's face, destroying her. He then collapsed, embracing the oncoming darkness.
---
Cloud felt a small hand brush his bangs, pulling him back towards the living, away from the eternal night. He stirred slightly, hoping to see Kira but instead Ariel. He squinted a bit before his Mako eyes adjusted to the light. Leaning up, he saw Sora, Donald, and Goofy were also in the room, now swimming toward him.
"Cloud, you're awake," Ariel exclaimed, happy to see that he was alright.
"You okay? You scared us back there," Sora said.Cloudnodded.
"You did it, Cloud. You defeated the sea witch," Goofy cheered. Cloud turned to Ariel, his eyes searching hers.
"That means... you are all safe now, ne?" She smiled.
"Yep, and Daddy got his trident back. You saved us, Cloud." He gazed off, his thoughts wandering.
'At least that's some good I've done...'
"Hey, Cloud?" He jolted a bit, mumbling an apology for dazing. "Come on, Daddy wanted to talk to you guys." Ariel swam ahead of them.
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"I want to thank you all... and apologize for my behavior. I thought you were here to destroy us when in fact you were here to save us. I jumped to conclusions. I do hope you'll forgive me."
"Of course. No harm done," Sora said. "But what about that thing you destroyed earlier?"
"Ah, yes. That was something that would've revealed the Keyhole of this world. You may use my trident to activate it. It is also a key."
"Really? Arigatou gozaimasu!" Sora took it, racing off to lock the Keyhole, leaving Cloud behind with the king and his daughter.
"Hey, Cloud?" He looked up, seeing Ariel in front of him. She lifted his chin, smiling cheerfully. "I hope you find her." He stared at her a moment before finally smirking, giving her a nod, and following Sora and the others out.
"Sayonara..." he whispered.
---
"Well, another one down. Man, it's good to have legs again," Sora leaned back in his seat aboard the Gummy ship. He let out a big yawn, looking over at Donald who was at the controls after fighting with him for them... again. The duck looked over at the boy, sighing. "So, then, Donald, where to now?"
"How should I know? I've never been to any of these worlds! It's ..."
"...against the rules," Sora finished with him. "Geez, you say the same old stuff, don't ya?" Donald fumed a bit before turning his attention back to the controls. Giving up on the duck, Sora looked over at Cloud. "Hey, you never really told me about this Kira person. What's she like?" Cloud paused a moment before answering.
"She... she is ...a free spirit. She doesn't like to be held down... she practices the art of Mugen Tenshin and lived with all of us at Hollow Bastion... She's alive, though. I'll find her... I miss her."
"She sounds like she's very important to you..."
"She is. More than you know."
"Maybe I do." He looked up, seeing Sora sitting on the chair backwards, leaning on the back listening intently. Cloud smirked, his face hidden in his cape.
"You're such a naive child." Sora made a face, not liking the comment. Suddenly, Donald screeched not only causing Goofy to wake up and fall out of his chair but alert the others that there was a problem in front of them.
"We have a crisis here!"
"Pirates!"Sora blurted.The large, wooden ship stopped before them, hooking their ship to it.
"Uh-oh," Goofy muttered, pulling his hat over his eyes. They all turned, hearing their door opening, revealing pirates. They were in trouble... again.
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TBC…
Trouble just seems to just trail behind them, ne? LoL….
Anyway, yeah, that's the next chapter… - More reviews and chapter 10 will be up soon - Okay… ummm.. I don't what else to say except thanks again to all the people who reviewed …
Jya matta,
Hotaru Sasaki
Ai shiteru, Kurai Shidosha….