Author's Note: If this gets confusing, don't panic. All will be explained
over time...Please read and review, thank you for taking the time to do so,
enjoy!
Secrets of Memories
Chapter 8: A Simple Secret
Aozora definitely did not know where he was. Looking around him, all he could see were a couple of strange stones that were, of all things, floating. Yeah, like stones can float!
To make things even stranger, the stones seemed to be glowing, glowing in an odd, bluish-white color. And as Aozora stood there even longer, the stones began to spin around him.
Very strange, he thought. Very strange.
Then he became increasingly worried when the stones spun even faster. And from exactly where he was standing, blue-white lines began to spread out, from under his shoes, spreading out in an intricate, twisting web of light.
"Wha-what's going on?" Aozora stammered. He didn't dare take a step back or a step forward. He could hit the rocks and something bad really would happen. "Where-where am I?"
Do not be frightened, a voice whispered. Do not be afraid.
"Who's there?" Aozora asked. The voice did not belong to the Dream Heart. This voice was different, more...feminine. An authorative, assuring voice...but still feminine. A woman's voice.
Do not be afraid, the voice said again. You will be here for only a little while, just until you awaken.
"Am I asleep?" Aozora wondered. Then it hit him. "Oh no...another dream!"
Is there a problem? The voice asked. If the voice had a face, Aozora knew the face would be smirking.
"No, not really," Aozora answered. "Wait-yes there is. Why am I here? What is this place?"
Within the Crystal, the voice answered quietly. A powerful force, a force that defends my home. A force that my mother gave herself to so that our people are protected.
"The Crystal?" Aozora wondered. "Very odd. I've never heard of it."
You wouldn't, the voice answered. Nobody has...except for the King.
"The King?" Aozora questioned.
Yes, there is a King that all people answer to, the voice replied. He knows ever secret there is in the universe, especially my home. Me, and my people, we used to live on a large, prosperous island in an ancient world. Happiness and prosperity. Then a catastrophe threatened to destroy our home. And my mother gave herself to the Crystal to prevent the catastrophe from destroying our home. And so, our home sank under the sea, protected by the Crystal, where we prosper. We have been erased from the memories of all people. Only the King knows of our whereabouts.
"Very interesting," Aozora acknowledged. "But what does that have anything to do with me?"
Not too long ago, the voice explained, a yellow dog appeared at the foot of my bed. Normally, no foreign creature can gain access to my room, no less step a foot inside the palace or step into our home. But there the dog was, sitting at the foot of my bed, black tail wagging happily. In its mouth was a letter. I was wondering about the letter and where it came from. I was suspicious of it. But then I saw the King's stamp on the letter and I quickly took it from the dog. Then the dog loped away, before I could do anything else. And I did not go after him, for I have learned at if one receives a letter from the King, one must open it quickly to do as told as soon as possible.
"What did the letter say?" Aozora asked curiously.
It told me to seek out someone he has met before, long ago, the voice replied. It told me to contact that someone through the Crystal, to tell that someone what it must know, only what it must know and nothing more.
"Am I that someone?" Aozora asked suspiciously.
Lucky you, the voice answered in an amused voice. You are that someone. You have met the King before in your life, have you not? Lucky you, I say again. I've never met the King before and that was the first letter I ever got from someone outside of my home, no less the King himself!
"Then what did the King tell you to tell me?" Aozora demanded. When did I ever meet the King? Who is this guy?
The prophecy of my people, the voice answered. Our ages-old prophesy.
"The King told you to tell me of your people's prophecy?" Aozora asked in astonishment. "What the-I don't even know you people! We've never met before! What do I have to do with you or your prophecy?"
Before you go on ranting about your past, the voice interrupted before Aozora could finish taking a breath, this prophecy has nothing to do with our people. This prophecy concerns the whole of the universe. The WHOLE.
"The whole universe?" Aozora asked. "Then why's it called ' the prophecy of my people'?"
An ancient seer of my people, long before I was born, was looking to the stars, the voice explained. Suddenly, while he was staring at the stars, he began to speak in a loud voice, a loud and terrible voice. And as he spoke, words appeared on the wall nearest to him, which happened to be one of the walls in my room. The words were written to his very word as he spoke. It was a long speech, a long prophecy. The next day, the seer died and the meaning of the prophecy, if he ever knew it, died with him. When we read it, we immediately knew the prophecy had nothing to do with the foretold destruction of our home, which my mother and the Crystal prevented. No prophecy we ever spoke of mentioned ourselves in it. This was the first one. And the only one.
"I see," Aozora nodded. "Now, can you tell me which part you were supposed to tell me?"
Very well, the voice answered. This is the part I must tell you:
No heart is left unscarred.
The souls of the angels are hurt far more,
Than those whose hearts kind Death welcomes,
In the struggle to find the true meaning behind the ancient war.
For the flight of birds will sound the death knell,
The wind and feathers welcome those who fell,
And touches them with a grace for their virtue
In a fight to defend what's real and right.
And to find the true meaning behind the light,
In the sky eyes of the white one
And the copper sight of the blue.
For within those two hides a promise so true,
For a door will open and a death knell will ring.
The third key must be found and changed,
A paradise must be destroyed for the wind to sing.
Non-existence must be brought into the dark and light.
I really don't know why this part but here it is.
Aozora's jaw dropped open.
"Am I supposed to memorize that?" he demanded.
I highly doubt it, the voice answered. It's already implanted in your mind.
"Right..." Aozora replied. "And what am I supposed to do about it?"
Like I'm supposed to know, the voice chuckled. The King himself doesn't know the meaning of it and yet he tells me to tell it to a kid whose destiny is shrouded in mystery? I can understand my father now when he said the King was farfetched. Sigh...can't blame him. With the Heartless assaulting the corner of our civilization, he's gone a bit...hm...crazy.
"Heartless?" Aozora demanded. "There?"
You have taken up residence in Twilight Town, the voice noted. Of course you would've met the Heartless. But the King's letter also mentioned of another force, another danger. Whether or not it will come here I do not know. But I hope it doesn't. My dad will never live through it all, then.
"Another force?" Aozora asked.
A force, the King wrote, that resides in the gray of the universe, the voice answered. I do not know what it mean-oh!
"What?" Aozora demanded, then noticed that the stones were losing their glowing color. The web of light under his feet were starting to fade and the stones were slowing down in their flight around him.
You must awaken, the voice answered. You must wake up!
"Wait!" Aozora shouted. He began to panic; darkness was creeping in from the corners of his eyes. "I forgot this question: who are you? What is your name?"
My name? the voice asked as the darkness began to cloud Aozora's vision. I am Princess Kida, the princess of Atlan-"
Then darkness swamped his vision and he could hear no more.
~*~
Sora gritted his teeth as the white creature bounced off his Key nimbly. The pressure from the creature as it nearly ran into his Keyblade was very painful.
A slight heat wave hit Sora in the face. Donald had just cast Firaga on one of the white creatures...with no results. The white things nimbly leaped away and the fireball harmlessly flew by them, to dissipate in the air over the dark buildings in this area of Twilight Town.
"Gawrsh," Goofy commented. "They're fast."
"Go figure," Sora muttered and attempted to strike one of the white creatures. He managed to nick the creature as it bounded away and it opened its odd mouth in silent rage as bluish-gray mist emitted from the minor wound on its foot.
"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed. Gray mist?
"Sora, duck!" he heard Donald shout and he dropped to the ground. Less than a second later, a heat wave blasted over his back and gray mist blossomed from directly above him. Sora peeked up behind his shoulder, to see gray mist and static-blue power mix and rise up into the dusk-colored sky. Sora stared. The static-blue power was forming a fading heart as it rose into the hazy sky.
"Close one," Goofy stated before whirling at a white creature with his shield. The creature flipped backwards to avoid that often-fatal attack and Goofy found himself staggering away from the railing of the spacious balcony, dizzy from his attempt to destroy that creature.
Its like they teasing us, Sora thought. Like this is a game for them. What are they?
One second later, he dodge-rolled away to avoid being beheaded by one of the white creature's knife-like hands. He leaped up and made a downward slash on a white creature Goofy just conveniently tripped. The white creature swiped out its hand at the same instance and sparks flew as both Sora and the white creature were thrown backwards by the recoil. Was the creature's hand made of metal?
"Damn it," Sora swore at the loss of a chance to get rid of one of the white creatures. Seven remained, bounding around and literally teasing them. Donald was cursing at the top of his lungs as he cast literally every spell possible. Of course he wasn't going to try Thundaga. Several times before, that spell had shocked Sora even though it wasn't intended for him. Sora suspected that something that controls magic was changing the gears, changing the way spells work in the process. After all, Graviga now has a seriously widespread affect. Once, Sora had accidentally leveled one-third of a forest when they were attacked by a rogue group of Heartless Wyvern. He succeeded in bringing down the dragons but he also succeeded in bringing down trees, with Goofy getting knocked out in the process. Thundaga and Graviga, sadly, were now off-limits unless it was a desperate attempt to stay alive.
Goofy was already giving way, gasping and leaning against his shield. Attacking these white creatures was a nightmare of epic proportions.
"Hey Goofy!" Sora shouted as he dodge-rolled another one of the white creatures' attempts to decapitate him. "Need a Potion?"
Goofy shook his head and staggered to his feet. He lumbered forward with the shield in hand and attempted to charge the nearest white creature. While he didn't hit it head-on, he was able to hit it with the side of his shield, causing the creature to go flying in Sora's direction. That done, Goofy did not attempt to do anything else as two white creature went at him, their dagger-like hands ready to slice and dice him into pieces.
"Goofy!" Sora yelled in panic but he was hindered by the white creature thrown at him. Swinging the keyblade wildly in a mad desperation to reach his friend, he slashed at the white creature and succeeded in having the white creature impaled on his keyblade. Shouting in surprise, with the white creature's very audible shrilling vibrating all around him, he dropped the keyblade. The keyblade continued to vibrate madly, which was the reason why he dropped his weapon, and the vibration reached into his ears. Closing his eyes and covering his ears, in a futile attempt to avoid the horrid sound, he staggered away.
Quacking wildly, Donald stumbled backwards, gripping his head, and ran into Goofy. Toppling over one another, they fought against the white creature's dying cry and a new attempt by the white creatures to destroy them. Donald and Goofy barely got away from the white creatures but that took too much effort and they both collapsed. Goofy fell on his back and Donald toppled onto his face. Sora, breathing hard, looked about frantically as he continued to evade the white creatures' attacks. But he was getting slower by the moment, which did presage for not-so-good moments to come.
"Do. They. Ever. Get. Tired?" Sora panted as he staggered away from a white creature before it tried to stab him. He was much too tired to use Aeroga or Curaga now and his arms were aching from holding up the weight of his key.
Suddenly, he felt something smash itself into his back and he fell forward. Then a white foot appeared before his eyes and caught him under the chin. Another foot kicked at his right hand, causing him to release the Kingdom Key; it clattered to the side. Then Sora was thrown, literally tossed aside, and he fell just a little way from the knocked-out Donald and Goofy. Sitting on his bottom, breathing hard, he looked up desperately into the dusk sky and the white creatures, the merciless white creatures who defeated them wish ridiculous ease.
Isn't there anything I can do? Sora thought desperately as the largest one threw back its head, emitted a very low, odd shrill, and leaped at him.
Sora cringed away, throwing his right arm up in instinct, awaiting the final blow.
It never came.
Confused to no end, Sora peeked through his closed eyelids...and saw a rather short being in a long black cloak and hood. There was no trace of the white creatures.
As Donald and Goofy became conscious, Sora became aware of two things. One, the being who seemed to have saved them had two very big round ears. Two, he was holding a weapon in his right hand. A weapon that glittered gold, silver, and red. A keyblade, to be exact, a Kingdom Key.
Sora gaped at him, until he felt hands on his back. The next thing he knew, his face was on the ground and Donald and Goofy were on his back. They were obviously gapping at the person they had been searching for years.
"King Mickey?!"
~
"We have no time to lose," the King said briskly as he helped Sora up. " You must hurry and go to where that building is-" he gestured to a rather pronounced apartment building in a sea of bricks "- get rid of the Nobodies- the ones you were fighting-and get him out of there-"
"Wait a minute!" Sora exclaimed as he called the Kingdom Key to his hand. "He?"
"Nobodies," Goofy said absentmindedly.
"Your blond-haired friend," King Mickey explained. "Or rather, your blond- haired look-a-like."
Sora gave a scowl. Donald decided to step in.
"But Your Majesty," Donald protested. "That-that-that idiot tried to ambush us! Why do we need to save him?"
King Mickey looked at him with calm, all-knowing eyes. "Because he must be saved."
"Huyuk...er...why must he be saved, Your Majesty?" Goofy asked curiously.
Sora noticed how the small king became rather hesitant in answering Goofy's question.
"Because," he finally spoke, "I fear he is connected to the opening of the door. There is a strong connection between him and the forces of the light and dark. And there is a much stronger connection, between him and Sora."
"What?" Sora demanded. "You mean the guy who jumped on me from the roof of an apartment building is connected to me?"
"Remember, he has two keyblades at his command," King Mickey reminded. " That already shows that he is not an average human being."
"Oh...yeah, you're right..." Sora became rather thoughtful. "I saw the two keyblades before I blacked out..." His hand reached up to finger the crown medallion he wore on the outside and Kairi's seashell charm underneath his shirt but his fingers only met air and fabric.
"My necklaces!" Sora gasped in horror as he looked down at himself. " They're-they're gone!"
"What?" Donald quacked madly.
"Now's not the time for necklaces, my young Keyblade Master," King Mickey stepped in with a rather severe tone. "You must rescue the blond-haired child."
"But why?" Sora demanded with impatience. Why wasn't he telling him anything? "What's so special about this guy? Besides what you've already said!"
King Mickey sighed and turned away, ready to leave. "Because...sometimes, even Masters need Guardians."
With that, he was gone.
"Guardians?" Goofy wondered quizzically.
"Come on!" Sora growled out irritatedly; he was not about to disobey the wishes of the King. "We've got to find that kid!"
"I have a feeling we're going to have to do more than find him," Donald muttered to Goofy as Sora leapt on top of the railing of the balcony and jumped off, Super Gliding his way towards the prominent brick building in the distance.
~*~
Ow...why does my head hurt? Aozora thought to himself woozily as real life focused in his eyes. He saw the twilit sky, looming brick buildings, the deserted streets, the rusted metal trashcans...and a white creature's hand resting against his throat.
Oh no...he thought. Why do I have a feeling this is not a very good situation?
Maybe that's why Princess Kida left him so abruptly...
"...I want to do it now..."
"...patience is of importance..."
"...I want to get my fingers on..."
"...He will not be pleased..."
"...will do now..."
"...wait, for like I've said, patience is the key..."
Aozora tried to sort out the voices that were muttering irritatedly at each other in the distance. He didn't dare to move his head; the white hand- blade was so close to his neck, he was worried about breathing.
"...awake, is he..."
"...now! You've heard me..."
It was a very confusing conversation, largely because Aozora did not understand it. Aozora, while attempting to listen in on the angry conversation, became rather aware of the flaxen ropes that kept his arms, legs, and feet tightly tied together. It was not a comfortable feeling, especially when you know the fact that you are at the complete mercy of the enemy.
"Darn it," he mumbled to himself. "How do I get out of this mess?"
His hands moved ever so slightly against the flaxen ropes tied to his wrists but he found he could do nothing; they were tied so tightly he was able to understand why his hands had been feeling funny; they felt they were going to burst.
"We wanted to make sure you wouldn't get away, Keyblade wielder," a hissing, cold voice whispered quite suddenly into his ear. Aozora froze up, a look of horror on his face. Not only did the voice sound less than welcoming, the owner of the voice obviously never heard of mint that could freshen the mouth!
"What do you want?" he demanded tersely.
"My, my but I was right after all; you're all the same," the voice murmured mockingly in his ear. "Get captured by the enemy, bound so he could not escape, and the very first thing he says is-"
"I wanna kill him! I wanna get my hands around his dirty neck and strangle him! Just let me at 'm!" a voice screamed madly. There were sounds of scuffling and plenty of curse words ran through the air.
"Tell him that he shall feel pain like never before if he doesn't become quiet," the voice slithered in a different direction.
Another voice, so monotonous yet so cold, hissed an answer in a tongue Aozora did not know and gradually the scuffling silenced.
"Now, good Keyblade wielder," the voice whispered in his ear. "Would you like to know something about your life?"
Aozora's copper eyes strained to see who the owner of the voice was; he could feel a presence near him, emitting a cold, dark mist.
"What do you mean?" Aozora asked rather angrily. "What do you know of my life?"
"Oh, many things," and the way the voice said it, Aozora knew that the owner of the voice would be smiling demonically.
"Like what?" Aozora demanded testily. "What do you know about me? Why do you know about me?"
"What do I know about you?" the voice repeated in amusement. "I know that, for one, you know you've met King Mickey before and I know everything that happened when you two met. I know who you're looking for; you'll never find her, I can tell you that-" Aozora stiffened in his bonds until he was as still as a boulder "-you'll never find one of the rightful owners of those two keychains, the two keychains that once broke the chain."
Aozora's eyes narrowed with a fiery blaze. Why did he know so much?
"And to answer your other question," the voice whispered like the wind in his ears. "I want to know about you because I have to. He has told me everything about you since day one of your pathetic life; He's been telling me something about you ever since. How could I forget you, with Him telling me your progress through every breath you take in this universe?"
"Why does He want to know about me?" Aozora growled; he didn't enjoy it when people knew something about him.
"You are so important in this part of the universe," the voice said so quietly, Aozora strained to hear every last word. "You are so important. Or have you forgotten? Do you really have a Swiss cheese for a brain?"
"A what?" Aozora demanded.
"You think you know so much," the voice hissed dangerously now, "when you know very little. You have yet to become whole; you are not complete. That was what He said and now I can see for myself."
What the hell is he talking about? Aozora wondered to himself. I'm not complete? Complete what?
"You know, I can tell you everything you'd want to know," the voice whispered in a persuasive tone. "Come, join me and put your Keys to use so we can rise up to power, and I will tell you everything you want to know about yourself."
Aozora's eyes widened in surprise. Join him?!
"And why would I join you," he growled, "when you run around with white monsters like these? When I have heard you talking about things I doubt I should hear?"
"You think you know so much," the voice laughed quietly in his ear. " Humans truly think they know everything. Pity them; they're no smarter than Ansem said about them."
Ansem? Where have I heard of that name before?
"People think they know everything there is to know in this universe," the voice scoffed. "But there are those, like you, like me, like King Mickey, like Him...we are aware of the greater forces at work. You know of the Gathering. It will happen soon."
Aozora's eyes widened. His body became extremely rigid and stiff. The voice chuckled at Aozora's reaction.
"So you are aware of who you are...or are you?" the voice dangled the question. "Aware of the larger forces in the worlds, aware that my enemy is but a small faction of the greater, and all you're doing is skirting around your chosen path. Pathetic, just pathetic. Maybe you are a human after all."
What did he mean by being a human? What was so bad?
"...a paradise will rise from the dust of those we have conquered," the owner of the voice was dreaming now, "and we shall have the supreme power. They have left Kingdom Hearts open for too long; it will benefit us in the long run."
"Kingdom Hearts?" Aozora muttered to himself. "Where have I heard of that before-"
"We know of Kingdom Hearts," the voice spoke rather highly and as though he was the only one in the world who knew anything. "I have said before, you, me, King Mickey, Him, and others know of the true Kingdom Hearts. We have been aware of it all our lives."
Aozora wondered at two things. One, he knew there was nothing good about Kingdom Hearts, with the exception being its name. Two, why is this guy telling him everything?
"Why are you telling me all this?" Aozora demanded.
"Why?" the voice sounded amused now. "If I want an enemy, I want him or her to be aware of everything around them. It makes things...a little fun for me."
Aozora did not like the malicious joy in the voice. As he pondered what the owner of the voice was planning to do to him, he became very much aware of plenty of shouting. There were odd, shrilling noises in the distance, screams of terror and astonishment. The voice that had expressed a desperate want to break his neck was now shouting unintelligently. Something was going on that was sending everything and everyone around him into panic.
"Hmm..." the voice sounded rather thoughtful. "Looks like we've got company."
With that, Aozora found himself staring at high, seamless black leather boots, hidden halfway by the hem of a long black cloak that swayed every so slightly with every little movement.
"It looks like you have rescuers," the voice hissed from the owner of the boots and the cloak. Aozora peered upward, spotting a thin yet powerful body covered by what was actually a long trench coat and a head that the hood of the trench coat covered. "Would you look at that; somebody actually cares for you!"
Aozora took some time pondering if this was an insult.
Then he heard a battle cry off in the distance and the Nobodies began their insane screaming. He heard someone yell something undecipherable and the only words he could catch were "Donald, Goofy this-"
"Good day to you, good keyblade wielder," the owner of the voice gave Aozora a mocking bow. "Now if you will excuse me while I tend to my problems and leave you to think of yours."
With that, Aozora found himself alone. There was nobody around, no Nobody, no person screaming for his neck, not even another person with a coat. " Damn but this place is damn quiet..."
The next thing he heard was, "Holy shit! Get out of the way!" but it was a distant shout and so Aozora would not have to do as the voice yelled.
Something about that voice worries me...I've heard that voice before...
Secrets of Memories
Chapter 8: A Simple Secret
Aozora definitely did not know where he was. Looking around him, all he could see were a couple of strange stones that were, of all things, floating. Yeah, like stones can float!
To make things even stranger, the stones seemed to be glowing, glowing in an odd, bluish-white color. And as Aozora stood there even longer, the stones began to spin around him.
Very strange, he thought. Very strange.
Then he became increasingly worried when the stones spun even faster. And from exactly where he was standing, blue-white lines began to spread out, from under his shoes, spreading out in an intricate, twisting web of light.
"Wha-what's going on?" Aozora stammered. He didn't dare take a step back or a step forward. He could hit the rocks and something bad really would happen. "Where-where am I?"
Do not be frightened, a voice whispered. Do not be afraid.
"Who's there?" Aozora asked. The voice did not belong to the Dream Heart. This voice was different, more...feminine. An authorative, assuring voice...but still feminine. A woman's voice.
Do not be afraid, the voice said again. You will be here for only a little while, just until you awaken.
"Am I asleep?" Aozora wondered. Then it hit him. "Oh no...another dream!"
Is there a problem? The voice asked. If the voice had a face, Aozora knew the face would be smirking.
"No, not really," Aozora answered. "Wait-yes there is. Why am I here? What is this place?"
Within the Crystal, the voice answered quietly. A powerful force, a force that defends my home. A force that my mother gave herself to so that our people are protected.
"The Crystal?" Aozora wondered. "Very odd. I've never heard of it."
You wouldn't, the voice answered. Nobody has...except for the King.
"The King?" Aozora questioned.
Yes, there is a King that all people answer to, the voice replied. He knows ever secret there is in the universe, especially my home. Me, and my people, we used to live on a large, prosperous island in an ancient world. Happiness and prosperity. Then a catastrophe threatened to destroy our home. And my mother gave herself to the Crystal to prevent the catastrophe from destroying our home. And so, our home sank under the sea, protected by the Crystal, where we prosper. We have been erased from the memories of all people. Only the King knows of our whereabouts.
"Very interesting," Aozora acknowledged. "But what does that have anything to do with me?"
Not too long ago, the voice explained, a yellow dog appeared at the foot of my bed. Normally, no foreign creature can gain access to my room, no less step a foot inside the palace or step into our home. But there the dog was, sitting at the foot of my bed, black tail wagging happily. In its mouth was a letter. I was wondering about the letter and where it came from. I was suspicious of it. But then I saw the King's stamp on the letter and I quickly took it from the dog. Then the dog loped away, before I could do anything else. And I did not go after him, for I have learned at if one receives a letter from the King, one must open it quickly to do as told as soon as possible.
"What did the letter say?" Aozora asked curiously.
It told me to seek out someone he has met before, long ago, the voice replied. It told me to contact that someone through the Crystal, to tell that someone what it must know, only what it must know and nothing more.
"Am I that someone?" Aozora asked suspiciously.
Lucky you, the voice answered in an amused voice. You are that someone. You have met the King before in your life, have you not? Lucky you, I say again. I've never met the King before and that was the first letter I ever got from someone outside of my home, no less the King himself!
"Then what did the King tell you to tell me?" Aozora demanded. When did I ever meet the King? Who is this guy?
The prophecy of my people, the voice answered. Our ages-old prophesy.
"The King told you to tell me of your people's prophecy?" Aozora asked in astonishment. "What the-I don't even know you people! We've never met before! What do I have to do with you or your prophecy?"
Before you go on ranting about your past, the voice interrupted before Aozora could finish taking a breath, this prophecy has nothing to do with our people. This prophecy concerns the whole of the universe. The WHOLE.
"The whole universe?" Aozora asked. "Then why's it called ' the prophecy of my people'?"
An ancient seer of my people, long before I was born, was looking to the stars, the voice explained. Suddenly, while he was staring at the stars, he began to speak in a loud voice, a loud and terrible voice. And as he spoke, words appeared on the wall nearest to him, which happened to be one of the walls in my room. The words were written to his very word as he spoke. It was a long speech, a long prophecy. The next day, the seer died and the meaning of the prophecy, if he ever knew it, died with him. When we read it, we immediately knew the prophecy had nothing to do with the foretold destruction of our home, which my mother and the Crystal prevented. No prophecy we ever spoke of mentioned ourselves in it. This was the first one. And the only one.
"I see," Aozora nodded. "Now, can you tell me which part you were supposed to tell me?"
Very well, the voice answered. This is the part I must tell you:
No heart is left unscarred.
The souls of the angels are hurt far more,
Than those whose hearts kind Death welcomes,
In the struggle to find the true meaning behind the ancient war.
For the flight of birds will sound the death knell,
The wind and feathers welcome those who fell,
And touches them with a grace for their virtue
In a fight to defend what's real and right.
And to find the true meaning behind the light,
In the sky eyes of the white one
And the copper sight of the blue.
For within those two hides a promise so true,
For a door will open and a death knell will ring.
The third key must be found and changed,
A paradise must be destroyed for the wind to sing.
Non-existence must be brought into the dark and light.
I really don't know why this part but here it is.
Aozora's jaw dropped open.
"Am I supposed to memorize that?" he demanded.
I highly doubt it, the voice answered. It's already implanted in your mind.
"Right..." Aozora replied. "And what am I supposed to do about it?"
Like I'm supposed to know, the voice chuckled. The King himself doesn't know the meaning of it and yet he tells me to tell it to a kid whose destiny is shrouded in mystery? I can understand my father now when he said the King was farfetched. Sigh...can't blame him. With the Heartless assaulting the corner of our civilization, he's gone a bit...hm...crazy.
"Heartless?" Aozora demanded. "There?"
You have taken up residence in Twilight Town, the voice noted. Of course you would've met the Heartless. But the King's letter also mentioned of another force, another danger. Whether or not it will come here I do not know. But I hope it doesn't. My dad will never live through it all, then.
"Another force?" Aozora asked.
A force, the King wrote, that resides in the gray of the universe, the voice answered. I do not know what it mean-oh!
"What?" Aozora demanded, then noticed that the stones were losing their glowing color. The web of light under his feet were starting to fade and the stones were slowing down in their flight around him.
You must awaken, the voice answered. You must wake up!
"Wait!" Aozora shouted. He began to panic; darkness was creeping in from the corners of his eyes. "I forgot this question: who are you? What is your name?"
My name? the voice asked as the darkness began to cloud Aozora's vision. I am Princess Kida, the princess of Atlan-"
Then darkness swamped his vision and he could hear no more.
~*~
Sora gritted his teeth as the white creature bounced off his Key nimbly. The pressure from the creature as it nearly ran into his Keyblade was very painful.
A slight heat wave hit Sora in the face. Donald had just cast Firaga on one of the white creatures...with no results. The white things nimbly leaped away and the fireball harmlessly flew by them, to dissipate in the air over the dark buildings in this area of Twilight Town.
"Gawrsh," Goofy commented. "They're fast."
"Go figure," Sora muttered and attempted to strike one of the white creatures. He managed to nick the creature as it bounded away and it opened its odd mouth in silent rage as bluish-gray mist emitted from the minor wound on its foot.
"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed. Gray mist?
"Sora, duck!" he heard Donald shout and he dropped to the ground. Less than a second later, a heat wave blasted over his back and gray mist blossomed from directly above him. Sora peeked up behind his shoulder, to see gray mist and static-blue power mix and rise up into the dusk-colored sky. Sora stared. The static-blue power was forming a fading heart as it rose into the hazy sky.
"Close one," Goofy stated before whirling at a white creature with his shield. The creature flipped backwards to avoid that often-fatal attack and Goofy found himself staggering away from the railing of the spacious balcony, dizzy from his attempt to destroy that creature.
Its like they teasing us, Sora thought. Like this is a game for them. What are they?
One second later, he dodge-rolled away to avoid being beheaded by one of the white creature's knife-like hands. He leaped up and made a downward slash on a white creature Goofy just conveniently tripped. The white creature swiped out its hand at the same instance and sparks flew as both Sora and the white creature were thrown backwards by the recoil. Was the creature's hand made of metal?
"Damn it," Sora swore at the loss of a chance to get rid of one of the white creatures. Seven remained, bounding around and literally teasing them. Donald was cursing at the top of his lungs as he cast literally every spell possible. Of course he wasn't going to try Thundaga. Several times before, that spell had shocked Sora even though it wasn't intended for him. Sora suspected that something that controls magic was changing the gears, changing the way spells work in the process. After all, Graviga now has a seriously widespread affect. Once, Sora had accidentally leveled one-third of a forest when they were attacked by a rogue group of Heartless Wyvern. He succeeded in bringing down the dragons but he also succeeded in bringing down trees, with Goofy getting knocked out in the process. Thundaga and Graviga, sadly, were now off-limits unless it was a desperate attempt to stay alive.
Goofy was already giving way, gasping and leaning against his shield. Attacking these white creatures was a nightmare of epic proportions.
"Hey Goofy!" Sora shouted as he dodge-rolled another one of the white creatures' attempts to decapitate him. "Need a Potion?"
Goofy shook his head and staggered to his feet. He lumbered forward with the shield in hand and attempted to charge the nearest white creature. While he didn't hit it head-on, he was able to hit it with the side of his shield, causing the creature to go flying in Sora's direction. That done, Goofy did not attempt to do anything else as two white creature went at him, their dagger-like hands ready to slice and dice him into pieces.
"Goofy!" Sora yelled in panic but he was hindered by the white creature thrown at him. Swinging the keyblade wildly in a mad desperation to reach his friend, he slashed at the white creature and succeeded in having the white creature impaled on his keyblade. Shouting in surprise, with the white creature's very audible shrilling vibrating all around him, he dropped the keyblade. The keyblade continued to vibrate madly, which was the reason why he dropped his weapon, and the vibration reached into his ears. Closing his eyes and covering his ears, in a futile attempt to avoid the horrid sound, he staggered away.
Quacking wildly, Donald stumbled backwards, gripping his head, and ran into Goofy. Toppling over one another, they fought against the white creature's dying cry and a new attempt by the white creatures to destroy them. Donald and Goofy barely got away from the white creatures but that took too much effort and they both collapsed. Goofy fell on his back and Donald toppled onto his face. Sora, breathing hard, looked about frantically as he continued to evade the white creatures' attacks. But he was getting slower by the moment, which did presage for not-so-good moments to come.
"Do. They. Ever. Get. Tired?" Sora panted as he staggered away from a white creature before it tried to stab him. He was much too tired to use Aeroga or Curaga now and his arms were aching from holding up the weight of his key.
Suddenly, he felt something smash itself into his back and he fell forward. Then a white foot appeared before his eyes and caught him under the chin. Another foot kicked at his right hand, causing him to release the Kingdom Key; it clattered to the side. Then Sora was thrown, literally tossed aside, and he fell just a little way from the knocked-out Donald and Goofy. Sitting on his bottom, breathing hard, he looked up desperately into the dusk sky and the white creatures, the merciless white creatures who defeated them wish ridiculous ease.
Isn't there anything I can do? Sora thought desperately as the largest one threw back its head, emitted a very low, odd shrill, and leaped at him.
Sora cringed away, throwing his right arm up in instinct, awaiting the final blow.
It never came.
Confused to no end, Sora peeked through his closed eyelids...and saw a rather short being in a long black cloak and hood. There was no trace of the white creatures.
As Donald and Goofy became conscious, Sora became aware of two things. One, the being who seemed to have saved them had two very big round ears. Two, he was holding a weapon in his right hand. A weapon that glittered gold, silver, and red. A keyblade, to be exact, a Kingdom Key.
Sora gaped at him, until he felt hands on his back. The next thing he knew, his face was on the ground and Donald and Goofy were on his back. They were obviously gapping at the person they had been searching for years.
"King Mickey?!"
~
"We have no time to lose," the King said briskly as he helped Sora up. " You must hurry and go to where that building is-" he gestured to a rather pronounced apartment building in a sea of bricks "- get rid of the Nobodies- the ones you were fighting-and get him out of there-"
"Wait a minute!" Sora exclaimed as he called the Kingdom Key to his hand. "He?"
"Nobodies," Goofy said absentmindedly.
"Your blond-haired friend," King Mickey explained. "Or rather, your blond- haired look-a-like."
Sora gave a scowl. Donald decided to step in.
"But Your Majesty," Donald protested. "That-that-that idiot tried to ambush us! Why do we need to save him?"
King Mickey looked at him with calm, all-knowing eyes. "Because he must be saved."
"Huyuk...er...why must he be saved, Your Majesty?" Goofy asked curiously.
Sora noticed how the small king became rather hesitant in answering Goofy's question.
"Because," he finally spoke, "I fear he is connected to the opening of the door. There is a strong connection between him and the forces of the light and dark. And there is a much stronger connection, between him and Sora."
"What?" Sora demanded. "You mean the guy who jumped on me from the roof of an apartment building is connected to me?"
"Remember, he has two keyblades at his command," King Mickey reminded. " That already shows that he is not an average human being."
"Oh...yeah, you're right..." Sora became rather thoughtful. "I saw the two keyblades before I blacked out..." His hand reached up to finger the crown medallion he wore on the outside and Kairi's seashell charm underneath his shirt but his fingers only met air and fabric.
"My necklaces!" Sora gasped in horror as he looked down at himself. " They're-they're gone!"
"What?" Donald quacked madly.
"Now's not the time for necklaces, my young Keyblade Master," King Mickey stepped in with a rather severe tone. "You must rescue the blond-haired child."
"But why?" Sora demanded with impatience. Why wasn't he telling him anything? "What's so special about this guy? Besides what you've already said!"
King Mickey sighed and turned away, ready to leave. "Because...sometimes, even Masters need Guardians."
With that, he was gone.
"Guardians?" Goofy wondered quizzically.
"Come on!" Sora growled out irritatedly; he was not about to disobey the wishes of the King. "We've got to find that kid!"
"I have a feeling we're going to have to do more than find him," Donald muttered to Goofy as Sora leapt on top of the railing of the balcony and jumped off, Super Gliding his way towards the prominent brick building in the distance.
~*~
Ow...why does my head hurt? Aozora thought to himself woozily as real life focused in his eyes. He saw the twilit sky, looming brick buildings, the deserted streets, the rusted metal trashcans...and a white creature's hand resting against his throat.
Oh no...he thought. Why do I have a feeling this is not a very good situation?
Maybe that's why Princess Kida left him so abruptly...
"...I want to do it now..."
"...patience is of importance..."
"...I want to get my fingers on..."
"...He will not be pleased..."
"...will do now..."
"...wait, for like I've said, patience is the key..."
Aozora tried to sort out the voices that were muttering irritatedly at each other in the distance. He didn't dare to move his head; the white hand- blade was so close to his neck, he was worried about breathing.
"...awake, is he..."
"...now! You've heard me..."
It was a very confusing conversation, largely because Aozora did not understand it. Aozora, while attempting to listen in on the angry conversation, became rather aware of the flaxen ropes that kept his arms, legs, and feet tightly tied together. It was not a comfortable feeling, especially when you know the fact that you are at the complete mercy of the enemy.
"Darn it," he mumbled to himself. "How do I get out of this mess?"
His hands moved ever so slightly against the flaxen ropes tied to his wrists but he found he could do nothing; they were tied so tightly he was able to understand why his hands had been feeling funny; they felt they were going to burst.
"We wanted to make sure you wouldn't get away, Keyblade wielder," a hissing, cold voice whispered quite suddenly into his ear. Aozora froze up, a look of horror on his face. Not only did the voice sound less than welcoming, the owner of the voice obviously never heard of mint that could freshen the mouth!
"What do you want?" he demanded tersely.
"My, my but I was right after all; you're all the same," the voice murmured mockingly in his ear. "Get captured by the enemy, bound so he could not escape, and the very first thing he says is-"
"I wanna kill him! I wanna get my hands around his dirty neck and strangle him! Just let me at 'm!" a voice screamed madly. There were sounds of scuffling and plenty of curse words ran through the air.
"Tell him that he shall feel pain like never before if he doesn't become quiet," the voice slithered in a different direction.
Another voice, so monotonous yet so cold, hissed an answer in a tongue Aozora did not know and gradually the scuffling silenced.
"Now, good Keyblade wielder," the voice whispered in his ear. "Would you like to know something about your life?"
Aozora's copper eyes strained to see who the owner of the voice was; he could feel a presence near him, emitting a cold, dark mist.
"What do you mean?" Aozora asked rather angrily. "What do you know of my life?"
"Oh, many things," and the way the voice said it, Aozora knew that the owner of the voice would be smiling demonically.
"Like what?" Aozora demanded testily. "What do you know about me? Why do you know about me?"
"What do I know about you?" the voice repeated in amusement. "I know that, for one, you know you've met King Mickey before and I know everything that happened when you two met. I know who you're looking for; you'll never find her, I can tell you that-" Aozora stiffened in his bonds until he was as still as a boulder "-you'll never find one of the rightful owners of those two keychains, the two keychains that once broke the chain."
Aozora's eyes narrowed with a fiery blaze. Why did he know so much?
"And to answer your other question," the voice whispered like the wind in his ears. "I want to know about you because I have to. He has told me everything about you since day one of your pathetic life; He's been telling me something about you ever since. How could I forget you, with Him telling me your progress through every breath you take in this universe?"
"Why does He want to know about me?" Aozora growled; he didn't enjoy it when people knew something about him.
"You are so important in this part of the universe," the voice said so quietly, Aozora strained to hear every last word. "You are so important. Or have you forgotten? Do you really have a Swiss cheese for a brain?"
"A what?" Aozora demanded.
"You think you know so much," the voice hissed dangerously now, "when you know very little. You have yet to become whole; you are not complete. That was what He said and now I can see for myself."
What the hell is he talking about? Aozora wondered to himself. I'm not complete? Complete what?
"You know, I can tell you everything you'd want to know," the voice whispered in a persuasive tone. "Come, join me and put your Keys to use so we can rise up to power, and I will tell you everything you want to know about yourself."
Aozora's eyes widened in surprise. Join him?!
"And why would I join you," he growled, "when you run around with white monsters like these? When I have heard you talking about things I doubt I should hear?"
"You think you know so much," the voice laughed quietly in his ear. " Humans truly think they know everything. Pity them; they're no smarter than Ansem said about them."
Ansem? Where have I heard of that name before?
"People think they know everything there is to know in this universe," the voice scoffed. "But there are those, like you, like me, like King Mickey, like Him...we are aware of the greater forces at work. You know of the Gathering. It will happen soon."
Aozora's eyes widened. His body became extremely rigid and stiff. The voice chuckled at Aozora's reaction.
"So you are aware of who you are...or are you?" the voice dangled the question. "Aware of the larger forces in the worlds, aware that my enemy is but a small faction of the greater, and all you're doing is skirting around your chosen path. Pathetic, just pathetic. Maybe you are a human after all."
What did he mean by being a human? What was so bad?
"...a paradise will rise from the dust of those we have conquered," the owner of the voice was dreaming now, "and we shall have the supreme power. They have left Kingdom Hearts open for too long; it will benefit us in the long run."
"Kingdom Hearts?" Aozora muttered to himself. "Where have I heard of that before-"
"We know of Kingdom Hearts," the voice spoke rather highly and as though he was the only one in the world who knew anything. "I have said before, you, me, King Mickey, Him, and others know of the true Kingdom Hearts. We have been aware of it all our lives."
Aozora wondered at two things. One, he knew there was nothing good about Kingdom Hearts, with the exception being its name. Two, why is this guy telling him everything?
"Why are you telling me all this?" Aozora demanded.
"Why?" the voice sounded amused now. "If I want an enemy, I want him or her to be aware of everything around them. It makes things...a little fun for me."
Aozora did not like the malicious joy in the voice. As he pondered what the owner of the voice was planning to do to him, he became very much aware of plenty of shouting. There were odd, shrilling noises in the distance, screams of terror and astonishment. The voice that had expressed a desperate want to break his neck was now shouting unintelligently. Something was going on that was sending everything and everyone around him into panic.
"Hmm..." the voice sounded rather thoughtful. "Looks like we've got company."
With that, Aozora found himself staring at high, seamless black leather boots, hidden halfway by the hem of a long black cloak that swayed every so slightly with every little movement.
"It looks like you have rescuers," the voice hissed from the owner of the boots and the cloak. Aozora peered upward, spotting a thin yet powerful body covered by what was actually a long trench coat and a head that the hood of the trench coat covered. "Would you look at that; somebody actually cares for you!"
Aozora took some time pondering if this was an insult.
Then he heard a battle cry off in the distance and the Nobodies began their insane screaming. He heard someone yell something undecipherable and the only words he could catch were "Donald, Goofy this-"
"Good day to you, good keyblade wielder," the owner of the voice gave Aozora a mocking bow. "Now if you will excuse me while I tend to my problems and leave you to think of yours."
With that, Aozora found himself alone. There was nobody around, no Nobody, no person screaming for his neck, not even another person with a coat. " Damn but this place is damn quiet..."
The next thing he heard was, "Holy shit! Get out of the way!" but it was a distant shout and so Aozora would not have to do as the voice yelled.
Something about that voice worries me...I've heard that voice before...