Chapter Seven: Forever Changed 永远改变
"Still hard to believe that you of all people are the chosen one. Well, I suppose beggars can't be choosers." –Leon, Kingdom Hearts II
I stealthily crept inside and shut the door behind me. The room looked like a mad scientist's laboratory: all sorts of gizmos and gadgets were stacked onto shelves, many with wires perilously poking out everywhere. Something about this feels wrong… I turned and tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge: It had locked itself. Oh, shit! I'm in serious trouble… I desperately searched the lab for an exit of some kind. Nothing but machines were in the room. I was trapped like a rat. Keiichiro's going to be really mad at me! Now I see why this room was locked… Since it would probably be a while until I found a way to get out of this god-forsaken room, I consoled myself by looking around the room at the various machines. There were all sorts of ghastly objects that were beyond any recognition. "Hey, maybe this is one of Ryou's labs." I whispered to myself.
Not very well-hidden, if you ask me. I wandered into the far corner of the room and saw a (rather sinister-looking) monumental machine that protruded upwards that had five corners, giving it the shape of a star. I ran my fingers over the smooth metal surface. What is this thing? I wonder what it does… A broad red button that was on the end of the part that stuck upwards had the word 'Start' printed on it neatly. Going against every part of me that shrieked, 'Don't push any buttons!', I pressed the large red button. The machine started up with a loud whirring noise that made me step back in surprise. This could be very bad. A voice came from the machine that said, "Initiating DNA transfer in 10, 9, 8, 7…" Wait, DNA transfer? What does that mean? I looked around frantically.
"How do you shut this thing off?" I muttered, inspecting the machine for an 'Off' switch. The machine selected a small cylinder of plasma from a containment chamber at its center and placed it in one of the five points of the star-shaped apparatus.
"6, 5, 4…" the voice continued. Well, maybe nothing bad will happen.
I stepped back, still searching for the switch.
"3…" Who puts a lab in a café, anyway?
"2…"
I ran my hands down the side looking for something, anything that would stop the machine. Frustrated, I fell down to my knees, silently cursing. I just hope it doesn't blow up, or something…
"1"
A huge wave of light exploded from the tip of the machine and enveloped me. "AHH! What's happening?" I screamed. And then, I was all alone. Swimming in a frothy blackness. Alone. A light shimmered in the distance. I tried to move toward it, but discovered I couldn't. Help me… The light came closer and closer until it was upon me. It dimmed to reveal a small bat creature. Its glossy coat shimmered like the night sky; it cocked its black head and regarded me curiously. Huh? What are you going to do? The bat fluttered its wings to gain speed and flew up to my face. It gave me what I could have sworn was a smile, then swept into my chest, like a ghost slipping through a wall. Overwhelming pain swept over every inch of my body. Everything melted away and became a big blur of nothing. I felt like I was falling through the center of the earth as everything faded into sheer darkness.
