Secrets of Memories Chapter 45: Pride and Injustice
" The Prophet is, simply put, a prophet," Princess Kida said calmly as they meandered through trees and ruins. " But not just any prophet. His is a power much greater and he does more than prophesy. But nowadays, he's been leaving all the prophesying to Sally."
" Sally makes prophecies?" Sora asked incredulously.
" Who is this Sally?" Milo asked curiously.
" She is a creation of Dr. Finkelstein but that's a long story and we are digressing from the subject," Princess Kida answered. " But yes, Sora, she makes prophecies. And until now, she's been making quite accurate ones, too. But now…even she cannot see."
" I thought we were talking about Eldest," Donald huffed impatiently.
" Who's Eldest?" Sora and Milo asked spontaneously.
Princess Kida glared at Donald and Goofy. " You know, if you weren't so tightlipped, I wouldn't be having to suffer as much! Why didn't you tell him all that you knew!"
" Confidential," Donald explained.
" I have nothin' to do with this," Goofy replied proudly. " It's his fault."
" Is not!" Donald yelled back.
" Is, too," Goofy answered without a care in the world.
Donald growled at him and Princess Kida sighed. " I guess boys will be boys."
" Hey!" Sora and Milo protested.
" Eldest, Sora, is the one who saved me when my home was destroyed," a noble voice suddenly started explaining. " He is the Prophet. Eldest is his name but he is known as The Prophet."
And a great golden lion stepped out from behind crumbling ruins. Milo screamed.
" Simba!" Sora shouted happily.
The great lion king smiled and dipped his head slightly. " Hello, Sora."
" Simba's been staying here ever since the Heartless went rampant and detonated Pride Rock…again," Princess Kida sighed, rubbing her face with her hands. " Gods, the stress is going to kill me. Those Heartless are so unstoppable."
Sora, who was hugging Simba, looked at Princess Kida worriedly. " Is the situation that bad?"
" Considering the fact that the Nobodies are destroying other worlds, too, I guess so," Simba replied seriously. " Eldest made sure my family and my friends are safe but I must get Pride Rock back."
" And I'll make sure your home gets back," Sora agreed, his voice stern and dark. " The Heartless and Nobodies are gonna pay."
" And we'll do nothing if we just stand around here making talk," Princess Kida said. " And right now seems to be a decent time to enlighten you, Sora, with everything else that's going on while you're here sealing worlds."
Sora jerked his head in her direction. What was with the emphasis of his name?
" I've seen Kairi," Princess Kida began. " And-"
" You've WHAT!" Sora hollered. " You've WHAT!"
" Woman," Donald told her, " warn us before you mention her name."
" And I see why," she agreed wryly as Sora worked himself into a frenzy.
" How's she? How's she doing? How'd you meet her? Why'd you meet her? What's she up to? Does she look ok? I mean, you know, as in, does she look like life's been going good for her or something?" Sora fired off in rapid succession.
" Hold your horses!" Milo exclaimed.
They all froze and blinked at him.
" What horses?" Sora ventured to ask, looking around and not seeing any.
Milo sighed and hit himself. " It's just a saying. It means: slow down, take a deep breath, and calm down."
" Oh," came Sora's very small reply.
" Now, as I was saying," Princess Kida tried again. " I've seen Kairi, Sora. She's fine, much taller than last time around – yes, I've been watching her for some time now. I met her during a meeting between those of the Order. She is currently trying to find the pieces of Ansem's Other Report, the one lost in In-between. In-between, if someone here besides Milo doesn't know, is a universe unto itself, a universe where lost worlds go. Worlds that lack a heart or soul go there and they deteriorate into nothing unless they are restored. And two worlds lacking both lie in limbo there as well."
" Sounds scary to me," Milo shivered.
" Would Pride Rock be there?" Simba asked tensely.
" Perhaps," Princess Kida replied. " But you'll have to ask Kairi about that. Right now she's restoring Agrabah. As for Riku-"
" What do you know about Riku?" Sora demanded and interrupted.
" Let me finish!" Princess Kida shot back. " Riku is trying to save inhabitants of worlds before they get destroyed by the Heartless and Nobodies. Coliseum and Halloweentown have fallen; Atlantica is still safe, thanks to King Triton, and they should be on their way to Neverland, unless they're already there."
" Who's 'they'?" Goofy hiccupped curiously.
" Riku is teamed with two others, and Sally is coming along with them," was Princess Kida's enigmatic reply.
Then, quite suddenly, her expression changed. She grew stern, her features suddenly chiseled into her face. Her eyes hardened and bore straight into Sora's heart.
" You would do well to listen to what I am going to say, Keyblade Master," she said in a deceptively quiet voice. " And if you shy away from what I will say, I will slap you silly and disown you as the rightful Keyblade Master."
Goofy snickered at 'slap you silly' and Donald warned him by stomping on his foot. Goofy immediately shut himself up and stood up straight.
Sora studied Princess Kida as she spoke. He had a feeling he knew what she was going to say.
But before Princess Kida could continue, Milo gave a cry of exclamation. " How did you get such a horrid scar on your neck? And your left forearm, too. Gods, Sora, what have you been doing!"
Sora reflexively moved his hand to his neck, knowing that Milo was talking about the thin dark line that meandered across his windpipe. And the huge jagged line that ran down his left forearm, he hid behind his back. It was too late, though; even Simba saw it.
" Sora," Simba gaped at his former summoner, " what happened?"
A defensive look grew in Sora's face and his sky-blue eyes hardened to their concerns.
" If you aren't going to speak, then I will," Princess Kida intervened. " Sora, you must know this -"
" It's about Aozora, isn't it?" Sora turned to the Atlantean princess. " Isn't it?"
" Sora, he's been captured," Princess Kida remained unfazed by his anger. " The Society has him. They caught him outside of Zeus' Temple in Ancient Greece a day or two ago."
Sora stared at her. So did Donald and Goofy.
" They what!" Donald squalled.
" The Society is succeeding in keeping you two apart," Princess Kida continued to speak, in a voice of steel. " That was what I was trying to tell you, but because of your ignorance of the powers at play, we digressed into talking about who the Prophet was."
" It is NOT my fault," Sora quickly countered. " They never say anything."
He was referring to Donald and Goofy.
" Aozora offered protection, temporary perhaps, but at least he could have kept you safe," Princess Kida said. " He was your only real line of defense from the forces of darkness."
" I'm not weak; I can take on the darkness on my own. I don't need help," Sora shot back defensively.
" You think you're so strong," Princess Kida snapped at him, " but you don't know, you have no idea what forces are at play here. By the gods, if you die, you have only yourself to blame!"
" Who ever said anything about me dying?" Sora growled back. " And what does Aozora have to offer that would keep me from dying?"
" He is the Guardian," Simba offered. " I think that explains enough."
Sora scowled.
" Okay, okay, let's break it up here!" Milo exclaimed, holding up his hands and demanding a truce. " Look, we're not going to get anywhere here if we just stand and shout in each other's faces. Let's work together. First off, now what?"
" The Crystal force, Princess Kida," Simba quickly replied.
" Ah, of course," Princess Kida turned to Milo. " Milo, I need your help. That book, it has our ancient writing in it, am I right?"
Milo looked at the book in his hand. " Well, yes."
" Are you fluent in the written language?" she continued to question.
" Well, how else could I have gotten here?" he replied good-naturedly.
" Good, I need you to decipher something," Princess Kida nodded. " We have to find the Crystal force; they could be our only line of defense against the Heartless and the Nobodies."
They began walking down a sloping path inlaid with white stone. The others followed close behind. Sora had a very troubled look on his face and the others kept silent.
His head was still reeling from Princess Kida's news. Aozora was captured? How could that have happened?
Clearly the Society was much more powerful than Sora previously thought.
"…King Mickey said that the Crystal force was unstable, though," Goofy was telling Donald.
" I know, Goofy, but these are special times," Donald replied. " So I guess we're reactivating the force. After all, we have to keep this world away from the Heartless and the Nobodies, even though this world would eventually fall."
" If only King Mickey was here," Goofy sighed, dejected. " He'd know what to do. I mean, with things happening the way they are, nothing's going right, are they? I mean, the Other Report isn't very easy to find. And we're losing worlds, so that's very bad. And Aozora…how'd they get him?"
" I can't answer that, Goofy," Donald returned, just as depressed. " However, I can say that we're in very deep shit. And its gonna take a miracle to get us out of it."
" Is it just me or did he just curse?" Simba hissed to Sora.
" You're not dreaming; I heard, too," Sora answered, just as surprised. Donald did care about Aozora after all.
"…there is writing that I need you to read and translate," Princess Kida was telling Milo as they walked far ahead of the group. " A while back, a visiting king translated ancient text, but only a paragraph. It was proven to be a prophecy. However, we have only a middle paragraph of the prophecy and the rest of the text was destroyed a few nights ago."
" What? Who could do such a thing?" Milo gasped.
" My thoughts exactly," Princess Kida agreed. " However, I have stumbled upon another prophecy, completely intact. There is only one slight problem…"
" What's that?" Milo asked curiously. Not even ten seconds passed when, " Oh no…"
" Exactly." Princess Kida confirmed whatever it was Milo was in some sort of fear of. " We've got to swim."
" Swim!" Donald yelped and froze. Goofy ran into him. Sora swore and Simba wore a mask of trouble on his face. If all else, Simba had the most troubled look on his face out of the six." I can't swim. Well, I could, but I don't think what she means by swimming is what I mean by swimming."
Princess Kida was standing, feet in water, on a platform of white stone, with steps leading into a massive body of dark water. And dark water meant only one thing – deep water.
" I'm not swimming," Sora said firmly. " 'Nuff said. I'm staying put on dry ground."
" I second that motion," Simba added emphatically.
Donald sighed and looked at Goofy. The knight had an unusual look of horror on his face. " No, we're not going either. I don't think I have enough magic to help us. And we've a couple of wimps so…"
" I'm not swimming for reasons of my own, thanks," was Sora's snappy reply.
Princess Kida sighed. " You wimps." She then began to remove all jewelry and weaponry, and put them to the side, hidden discreetly among the alien flora, and then looked pointedly at Milo.
" You do swim, right?" she asked, as she removed all outer clothing and stepped into the waters wearing just enough to at least cover her body and not bother her when swimming deep underwater.
Milo yanked at the collar of his shirt, his face growing warm. " Yeah, I swim pretty girl – I mean, I swim pretty good."
"Good." She did not seem to notice what Milo had just said.
Sora smirked at Milo's reply and watched as the two swam off to seek whatever it was Princess Kida wanted Milo to read. " He's not too smart, is he?"
" No, I don't think so." Simba definitely had to agree. He thought Milo's mistake was really funny. He looked to Sora, who wondered," But anyways, now what do we do?"
Simba sighed and padded to the water's edge. He peered at his own reflection. " Well, whatever happens, we'd be alone when it does happen."
" What are you talking about?" Sora asked curiously, then realized that Donald and Goofy were gone. " Hey, wait a minute…where are those guys?"
" My point exactly," Simba answered as a paw gently distorted the image staring back at the lion king. " I just noticed that they were gone, too."
Sora grumbled, wondering what it was that was making Donald and Goofy act quite strange. Well, they have been acting strange but the world Atlantis seemed to be magnifying that problem a thousand fold, much to the chagrin of the hapless teenager.
" Where'd the hell would they run off to?" Sora demanded as he looked into the dense flora of Atlantis.
" And why," Simba added, returning to Sora, his whiskers slightly wet.
Sora had to agree. Why?
''
Donald and Goofy had agreed on one thing and one thing only. That in itself was an accomplishment, more so because of what it was that they agreed on.
" This is nuts," Donald grumbled as they trudged through the wild, alien flora. " I can't believe it. We lost that damn prophecy!"
" You think its Heartless?" Goofy asked worriedly.
Donald shook his head. " No, the Heartless aren't that smart. And most don't even know the prophecy existed. Oracle Kenai lived thousands, if not millions, of years ago. Not many of us were alive during that time. No, it must've been another force."
Goofy nodded for a while. " But what can that force be? Huyuk, that would be one dangerous enemy."
" I don't know, Goofy," Donald looked around, taking in the surrounding. He had yet to tell Goofy that they were lost.
" Huyuk, Donald, what if it was…" and here Goofy looked around carefully before he continued. "…gawrsh, what if it was Pete?"
" WHAT!" Donald squalled, whirling on him. " Pete! How can you say-"
He stopped himself and pondered what Goofy had just proposed. " You know, that actually makes sense. It could be Pete….GAAAAHHHH!"
Goofy jumped back. It's been quite a while since Donald last lost his temper and started screaming. " Der…Donald?"
" I can't believe we didn't think of that!" Donald wailed at the top of his lungs. " Of all the bad guys out there, foes, enemies, fiends, whatever you call them, we forgot about Pete! We didn't even tell Sora! Goofy, we gotta tell Sora about Pete!"
" Like what?" Goofy asked curiously. " What can we tell him about Pete?"
" Everything, I suppose," Donald snapped back. " Goofy, Pete's not the average Heartless. He's not the usual enemy we face, he's not someone like Hades or Captain Hook or whatever. He's worked under King Mickey; he knows what's going on. Goofy, we should've told Sora who Pete was from the beginning! Oh, fools, fools!"
" Who? Who?" Goofy asked curiously.
" Us!" Donald shouted. " We should've told Sora EVERYTHING!"
" But we didn't," Goofy countered. " He doesn't know the power of Pete."
" Exactly." Donald marveled that Goofy knew just as much as he did. Goofy, the easygoing Captain of the King's Knights, knew as much as the Court Wizard did. Then again, he stilled acted like a simpleton.
" But shouldn't he know about us?" Goofy asked, suddenly hesitant. He knew it was a volatile subject but he just had to know. " Shouldn't we tell Sora who we really are?"
Donald hesitated. He knew Goofy was going to ask him about that. He knew Goofy was going to ask if Sora should know who they really are. But should he? Was it time? Would he take it calmly? Or would he go mad?
" Goofy, I really don't know," Donald was at a loss. " But thanks for making me remember."
He could remember the past memories, the glory days, the hour of might, and the flames that ravaged the world so beautifully, the days of peace and quiet, the slow courtship between him and Daisy, and the one night that brought it all crashing down.
" Maybe not yet," Donald decided. " Maybe when the time is right. When Sora knows enough."
" But, gawrsh, Donald, he'll never know unless we tell him," Goofy said, confused. " If we keep our mouths shut, he'll never know."
" I know, Goofy but-"
A fireball shot through the underbrush, missing setting Donald's hat on fire by mere inches.
" Fire, damn it, fire!" a commanding, stern voice screamed from the underbrush. " Aim!"
Donald and Goofy pulled up their weapons, the staff and the shield, their eyes wide with astonishment. For, barging out from within the Atlantean flora, surrounded by Red Nocturnes and Green Requiems, was the last person they wanted to see on Atlantis. Or on any world for that matter.
" Pete," Donald growled under his breath.
''
" This is all very strange," Milo whispered, his hand brushing against the tiles. " It doesn't make sense at all."
Princess Kida looked at him worriedly. " It doesn't?"
" No, it doesn't." Milo read the lines again, wondering if it was a poem or something written by a madman. A drunken madman, to be specific.
A chain of memories comes chaos intense/ While journey one must to darkness' door/ In order for the end of the beginning to commence.
" This is the strangest poem I've ever translated," Milo confessed. " It doesn't make sense at all. What does it mean by a chain of memories? What journey? Darkness' door? What happens with the end of the beginning?"
" It is a prophecy." Princess Kida's face was stern, chiseled from stone. " I'm sorry I haven't been totally honest with you, Milo. You're here because you're the only one who can read what an ancient oracle wrote. This is a prophecy. And it is very urgent that you finish translating this prophecy."
" This is a prophecy?" Milo asked incredulously. " No wonder nothing made sense! Prophecies never make sense! You know, there's this one dude, Nostradamus, and he makes the craziest prophecies ever-"
Princess Kida hit him on the head, then turned his head to the tiles. " Translate. Now!"
Milo took it she didn't have much time for small talk. He didn't know what the rush was but he quickly obeyed her every word. He began to skim the characters quickly, the mystery behind them opening up in his mind. Words spilled into him as he came to understand what this was about. There was power here, power and darkness.
" This, this is…amazing," he whispered. His eyes then caught the image of an unusual rectangular design, a very familiar rectangular design. Then he read the characters with it.
" The crystals…" he realized. " Princess Kida, this here, the rectangular design shows us where the crystals are."
" Really?" Princess Kida stared. " Oh by the gods…you're right. We don't need someone to translate the text for any of us to understand. The crystal force…its here somewhere. That looks familiar…"
Milo was already rereading the prophecy. He was quite puzzled by the meaning of the prophecy. In fact, the prophecy made no sense at all. There really was nothing reasonable about the prophecy. Then again, he knew the prophecy may have nothing to do with him, which may explain why he was continuously drawing a blank whenever he tried to understand the prophecy. Maybe it was best to just read it out loud to Princess Kida.
" Princess Kida, I've got the translation," he informed.
Princess Kida turned on him, demanding, " Give it."
Milo took a deep breath. " It's a long one.
Fiery was the fire that burned in darkest night.
Tranquility shattered, promises broken;
All cast away from the promise of light.
Phoenix real changed, rising from dying embers
Salvaging the fading memories from ruins,
Protecting in shadow what no one remembers.
Dormant sleeps darkness but war awakes.
With corrosion of the mighty scales.
From hope the brilliance fire of the evil takes.
Open they doors, release the darkness within.
A king must rise but his coming must be marked.
The eyes must open, the journey must begin.
A chain of memories comes chaos intense,
While journey one must to darkness' door,
In order for the end of the beginning to commence.
Portents of the future, portents of the past
Speak to us, tell us what you see.
How long this darkness, how long will it last?
Premature, cries of war echo
Six blades, three chalices, a circle of light
Initiation comes with Time's flow.
Unity, though brief, restores hope long missed.
Breath of life guarded, secret stories enlighten
But all remains futile when promise is dismissed.
Come plains of thunder where it always rains,
Snow white it will where ground remains virgin,
Circle of blood, circle of light, the diabolical truth pains.
Dark magic and the holiest soul unites,
A radiance of stars and a king's great head,
Aligns with one another to bring the last fight.
Dark be days, full of pain
As prophecies begin to fade
And hope in the keys begin to wane.
But three keys there still remains,
Though one has yet to be changed,
Before the foe manipulates fire to be our bane.
Paradise lost, darkness there reigns
For the good earth weeps in her children's bloods,
And begs for a savior before darkness cuts all her veins.
But what hope remains, save life after death?
Gold and silver pillars there rise
And upon the breath of life marks the last test.
A throne empty, surrounded by strife.
A crownless king, anointed, unthroned,
But a door brings promise of new life.
Hope then should remain when the crownless king departs,
For searching for peace, life blood must remain in the chalice,
And a king's ascent to Throne New Order marks.
Does that make any sense to you?"
Princess Kida did not answer. She mused. " This is interesting. Very interesting – come, Milo. There's some people we must inform."
Milo nodded, and chose not to mention a strange tingling sensation in his spine, a sixth sense warning him of a danger he could not name.
''
It was only when they surfaced did Milo understand what it was he had sensed. Even with the feeling warning him, he could not understand what he was seeing before him.
" Commander Rourke!" Milo shouted, stunned into indignation. " What are you doing!"
" Taking some hostages," the tough commander shot back. His hands held Sora's arms behind his back and the teenager had a very savage look on his face. Someone was clearly pissed off.
" Why!" Milo was aghast. How could they? How dare they? " I – no!"
" Don't you move," Helga had her arm around Princess Kida's neck, her pistol cocked and pressed against her head. " Not yet."
" I don't believe this!" Milo shouted. "Why are you doing this!"
" We came here for the crystal force, boy!" Commander Rourke barked at him. " The payload's what we're here for!"
Milo gaped at him. Then he turned to everyone else. " You're here…for the money?"
" Sorry kid," Audrey, the mechanic said with a sad smile. " Money's money."
" Money always talks," Dr. Sweet said with a shrug, gripping a rope around Simba's neck. The lion would've mauled the black man on the spot but Milo saw that Vinny was holding something like a rifle against his head.
" I don't believe you guys!" Milo exclaimed. " I mean…you're all here just to find the crystal force? You're all in for the money?"
His incredulous face looked upon his crew members, all who had staunch, stony masks. They all gave him a nod, even old Packard.
" You'll never find the crystal force!" Milo shouted indignantly. " You don't know where it is!"
" On the contrary," Commander Rourke said with a smirk, " we do."
He reached into his pocket with his right hand and pulled out a piece of paper. " Conveniently, that journal you have in your possession came to me first."
He showed the paper to Milo and the young man's jaw dropped.
The page clearly showed a map of where the crystal force was, just like the tiles hidden underneath wreckage and water.
" You're here to translate whatever in heck this says," Commander Rourke told him coldly. " Either you translate or this tag team of yours goes down the drain."
Not Princess Kida! Milo thought desperately. Then he saw Sora and he suddenly understood even more. I can't let either one of them die!
Sora's hard blue eyes bore into his mind. Fear shone in Princess Kida's face. Simba was impassive. And…
Where's Donald and Goofy? Milo realized. They're not here! No, they didn't…
He stared at his former friends. " I'll…I'll translate."
As they marched for the Atlantean palace, all failed to hear the explosions of a battle in the distance.