Author's Note-Yay! I'm seventeen now! –had her birthday on June 22nd- Cake for everybody! –passes out pieces of cake to all the readers- Anyways, I was planning on posting this on the 22nd, but I've been pretty busy lately. At least I got this out sooner than last time, I think. I'm going to try to get the next chapter out soonish, but I need to add a bit more to my rough draft (it's starting to catch up with my final draft again.) I hope this chapter is long enough, so enjoy!
"My parents were gone and I caught view of Sakura running off… I followed but only got there in time to see her and Hyotoko being kidnapped, and our friend Riku being tortured. Hyotoko says it was all just a misunderstanding, but I don't believe it. So I have to find my cousin and my sister, not to mention my uncle…" Kiyoshi finished.
"You need to think about getting better first. Besides, your gummi ship is all smashed up. How will you leave?" Al asked.
"I don't know…" Kiyoshi said, frowning. "Couldn't you guys fix it with alchemy or something?"
"We'd have to know what it looked like when it was in one piece, first. We'd need blueprints or something. Can't reassemble the atoms if we don't know where they go."
"Then we're stuck here," Kiyoshi said miserably.
"Sorry. Hopefully we'll be able to figure something out at Central; I'm sure someone over there will have an idea…" Al assured him.
Kiyoshi smiled slightly. "You really think so…?"
Al nodded. "Uh huh," he replied.
Kiyoshi's eyes wandered over to glance at Hyotoko. "The bleeding… It looks like it's slowed down," he said suddenly.
"What?" Al asked. He glanced back at Hyotoko, then nodded. "Yeah, it looks like you're right…" He stood up. "I'm going to go get Ed. I'll be right back…" he said, walking out. Kiyoshi sighed and looked around. Looked out the window, spying a bit of movement…
Wait.
Movement?
But the Heartless killed everyone in this town… Which means… Kiyoshi thought. His eyes widened and he gasped as a golden eye suddenly snapped open, staring at him. They know where we are!
He suddenly heard scratching, something clawing on the front door. He tried to stand to get into fighting stance, but fell right back down. Oh no. I've lost too much blood. I can't even stand up…!
He barely noticed the approaching footsteps of Ed and Al, but the Heartless apparently did. As soon as the blonde and his younger brother stepped into the room, the monsters had disappeared.
Kiyoshi sighed in relief as the golden glow in the window disappeared. He hadn't noticed until then that he had been holding his breath. "Heartless… I saw Heartless outside the window…" he explained.
Ed and Al exchanged glances. They didn't know what to think of Kiyoshi's Heartless story, or at least Ed didn't. But then, judging from the look on the child's face, he had to have seen something outside.
"…I'll go check it out. Al, you stay here," Ed said, toning down his voice just in case someone unfriendly was outside and quite possibly listening in.
"Alright. Be careful, niisan," Al said.
"Wait!" Kiyoshi exclaimed, frowning. "You're not actually thinking of going out there, are you? The Heartless will kill you! You can't fight them with normal weapons."
"Huh?" Ed asked, glancing over at him. "Well what can I fight them with?"
"You need a keyblade," Kiyoshi replied.
"A keyblade?" Al asked.
"A big sharp key."
"Well, don't worry. I'll only be a minute or two. And if I run into those Heartless, I'll just use my alchemy," Ed said. "You guys just stay in here and be careful. I'll be right back." He walked out of the room and over to the front door. Upon opening it, his eyes widened slightly.
Gashes. Long, deep carvings streaked across the door. Well, that did prove something. Heartless or not, something had been there. Those gashes had not been there before…
Ed took a few steps out the door, into the cool night air. "Hello?" he called. "Anybody out there? Hello?"
He suddenly caught the sight of movement through the corner of his eye. A chilling gust of wind made him flinch. He kept his ears and eyes focused intently for any trouble, which was why he did not notice the ice until it was too late…
"Gah!" He cried, his feet flying out from under him. He winced, sitting up. "What the… How did ice get out here? It's only about sixty or seventy degrees!" he demanded.
He then smirked slightly as he climbed to his feet. "Oh, I see, now…" he said. "Well, whoever you are out here, that just gave you away!" he called. "It's too warm for ice to freeze out here; that had to be alchemy!"
Ed took another step forward. Where was this antagonist? They certainly weren't giving anything away with noise. It was so quiet out…
"Ah! What the?.!" Ed cried, stumbling forward as a blade cut into his back. But then he grinned, the pain momentarily forgotten. "Gotcha!" he said. He clapped his hands together, transmuting his arm into a blade as he whirled around. His eyes widened and his cocky grin turned into a look of surprise when he saw what his attacker looked like, though.
It wasn't very tall, only about half of Ed's height. It nearly had a humanoid shape, but it was pitch black-almost a dark purple or blue. The eyes were large and glowed amber. The hands weren't really hands at all, but what looked like short, automail blades like his. Decorating its chest was a red heart design, and on the top of its bare head was a transmutation circle where in the center was…a red stone?
It didn't stand still, but slid on each foot in place, as if trying to maintain its balance on ice.
"A chimera…?" Ed wondered aloud as the monster merely stared at him. Suddenly, it raised up on one toe and twirled gracefully, like an ice skater or a ballet dancer. Ed got into a defensive stance, ready to guard against any attack the monster threw at him. But…no attack came. Instead, it stopped to face the open doorway and started to slide in.
"Al! Kiyoshi!" Ed yelled, running over to stop the creature. Unfortunately, the fresh wound in his back slowed him down slightly. That and…
"Dammit!" Ed cursed, slipping on the forgotten patch of ice and landing on his face. He raised his head slightly, yelling, "Al! One of those monsters is coming in! Shut the door, hurry!"
"Niisan?" Al asked, coming into view of the doorway.
"Al, shut the door!" Ed yelled.
Al shut the door, but the Heartless managed to slip in from under his legs. Whether it was noticed or not, Ed didn't know-he hoped it was.
He climbed to his feet, noticing that he was surrounded by dozens of the monsters from before. But added to the last type was a new kind as well.
It was a bell shape that floated. A black ball and pointed hat topped with a red stone was at the top of the cone-most likely a head. They flew around with a chiming sound. They each had the heart design on their chests, and they had transmutation circles going from the center down on their hats. They were stripped, red and blue, green and yellow, ect.
Ed looked around for a few moments, then smirked. "Alright then, let's do this," he said, getting into fighting stance. The Heartless moved in…
"…Just who the hell are you…?"
Riku frowned. "What are you talking about? I'm Riku…" he said.
"You're more than just Riku," Vincent accused. "Who else?"
"Who else…? Vincent, what's this all about?"
"You mean you don't know…?" Vincent lowered his gun, but kept his finger on the trigger.
"Know what? What are you talking about?" Riku asked impatiently. This was starting to annoy him. What were they doing? They were going in circles…
"It's as I thought... Yukiro must have seen it beforehand, as well... And yet he didn't tell you, obviously…"
Riku's eyebrows raised in surprise. "What?" he asked.
"That's a bit of a gamble, isn't it? I mean, we nearly got killed to get here and the person that we're looking for might not even exist."
"Like we have a better option? Look, we don't have much of a choice. If you don't figure out a way to control the darkness in your dreams and in your heart, then something horrible is going to happen."
Yukiro… What was he talking about…?.! Riku wondered, his eyes widening in realization. He frowned slightly. He knows somehing. He's hiding it... What is it..?.!
"What the hell are you kids doin!" Barret suddenly demanded. Vincent and Riku both looked over at him-well, Vincent with sight, Riku with his Heart's Eye. Barret straightened, Yukiro's limp form in his arms. "This kid here is dyin and all you two are doing is standin around bickerin!" the man continued.
Vincent paused, glancing back at Riku. He then sighed and twirled his gun, putting it back into its holster. "We'll talk about this later. Don't think this is over," he warned Riku. He walked over to Barret. "How is he?"
"He seems to be running a fever. We'll have to get him out of this cave and to some medical attention soon," Barret replied.
Vincent nodded. "Let's go, then."
Riku listened to the conversation, but didn't rush over to join them. Something just happened there... What was it? My mind was suddenly flooded with memories and unfamiliar voices. It was like dozens of dreams…
As he slowly stood, he ripped a bit of fabric off the bottom of his shirt and tied it around his head and over his eyes. But what his memory saw was something that his eyes had never seen. At least, not in this lifetime…
"Perhaps you should send some Heartless to follow the boy, or even Roxie," a woman with shoulder-length blonde hair, identified to be a Dark Knight, a Non-Existent named Elena told him. "Surely one of them knows the location of Valentine; they were his closest friends."
"Roxie is one of us now. Besides, you've interrogated her already, haven't you?"
"Well…yes… But the kid-"
"-Is smarter than he lets on. He is rash, yes. As well as stubborn and perhaps somewhat immature, however, still intelligent. If he's followed, it won't be long before he figures out our plan."
The woman sighed as they reached the top of the stairs. "By the way, if I may ask, how is the progress of the prince going?"
"C'mon. We're leaving," Vincent said.
Riku 'looked' up at him, then sighed and nodded. "Yeah…okay." The group walked out, Barret carrying Yukiro.
"Yukiro…"
That voice…it was so familiar…
"Yukiro! Quit sleeping!"
Crystal blue eyes opened. "Wha…"
"Prince Yukiro, wake up!" the young girl ordered. Yukiro's eyes widened when he saw who it was. Dark blue eyes, long black hair in a ponytail…
"S…Seika…!"
It was Seika, only much, much younger. Eight or nine years old, if he was right.
And as he stood up, he realized with a bit of shock that that was now his age, too. Looking around, he could see that they were in the garden of the Gaian castle. There night was warm, though not unpleasant. The white castle loomed overhead, but not ominously. The night was peaceful. It was something that Gaia had lost just before he had to leave. Its peace…
"This has to be a dream…" he whispered.
"This is a dreamworld, yes," Seika replied with a slight frown. "But I'm real. And this is more than just a dream, but a world from a memory. Remember this night, Yukiro…?"
Yukiro thought for a moment, but then smiled. "How could I forget…?" he asked, looking up at the balcony of the lit ballroom. "This was the night of mine and my brother's ninth birthday…"
Seika nodded and smiled. "Yeah. It was," she agreed quietly.
"Seika… What happened? Am I dead?" Yukiro asked, frowning slightly.
Seika glanced over at him, blinking, but then smiled a smile that was slightly sad. "No," she replied. "Just within a shield."
"A shield?"
"Yes…a shield from death."
Yukiro's eyes widened. What had happened?.! He faintly remembered being stabbed, but…it couldn't have been that bad. Could it?
"It was poison," Seika replied, as if reading his mind. "And a lethal dosage at that. Don't you remember?"
"Oh yeah. That Heartless…" Yukiro muttered. Now it was coming back to him. The Heartless that had stabbed him had been poisonous.
"Yukiro…" Seika said, turning back to face him. His eyes widened as she suddenly embraced him. "You have to stop being reckless. You have to stop him; he's looking for me."
Yukiro frowned as he hugged her back. "Him…?"
Seika pulled away slightly and looked up at the balcony. Yukiro turned, following her gaze. His blue eyes narrowed at the man that had silvery-white hair and amber eyes. He knew who it was.
Quietly, his voice a bit bitter, he said, "I suppose killing him here and now wouldn't do much good in the conscious world, would it?"
"No…it wouldn't…" Seika admitted, frowning.
"Dammit…" Yukiro sighed. He looked back up at the man. "But how could he…and why…?"
"It's not specifically me that he's after; it's who I've become. He wants to find the Wishing Star, Yukiro. He wants to find your brother."
"Wait a second. Who you've become?"
"Yes. I have returned, but…not as myself. It is a different young girl…"
Author's Note-The last part is when I was trying to climb out of the pit of no inspiration, so it may not be that good… Demonsurfer, don't worry. How could I forget the most important character of the show? He'll be in there soon enough… -grins- Oh, and yeah, Hyotoko ish the 'evil' one. I just prefer the word 'misunderstood.' Samurai Champloo, I'm actually considering. I'm not too sure about S-Cry-Ed, though. I haven't really gotten into it. Doghouse, yeah, I was planning on putting in what happened to Kiyoshi and Sakura sooner or later. Just had to fit it in somewhere… As for Riku, you'll find out soon and as for Tam…well, it may be a bit longer than soon. –smiles and sweatdrops- Namine3419, I like Kiyoshi, too. He's so cute and innocent. –grin- Little kids are fun to write… I think updated earlier than usual, lol… So I'll hopefully have the next chappie out sooner. Please review (birthday reviews!) –grins- And hopefully my motivation will continue to build. Ja ne!