A/N: YAY! I'm so happy! Thanks to Kage Ryudo and Mearii for your kind reviews! I'm excited to continue now. So I'll shut up and let you guys read...the whole chapter this time!
Oh! And sorry if any of the changes in p.o.v. confuse you…If you have any questions, REVIEW it to me! (can you tell I love reviews…) –jumps in a circle and claps- I love the reviews! I love the reviews! I love the reviews! I love the…
Avian Maria
-:-Chapter Three: Ironic-:-
-:-Solfyne-:-
-:-King Mickey-:-
Though his was ashamed to admit it, the King had always tried to avoid this place as much as possible. His cheery disposition wasn't one for dreary mackerel skies or the depressing life. It was almost always dark here—rumored to have had a record five sunny days the previous year—and today it looked like rain that somehow dyed everything from people's skin to their ragged clothes a sickly gray as they trudged through the large, tombstone buildings in the city.
The Gummi landed in a large port on the front yard of a rich man's mansion. If he hadn't known who lived there, Mickey would've thought it was a madman's lair. Yet it was just as tall and foreboding as any other building in sight. Solfyne much resembled Hollow Bastion…on a very, very bad day. The steps leading up to the house were long and crooked. They gave you time to contemplate why you were going there, was it good or bad, and should you turn back and save yourself. Mickey sighed; it'd be worse to not go in.
"Welcome your majesty," a deep, guttural voice thundered. Mickey swirled around, startling his companion who proceeded to quack. A man stood in shadow underneath the span of wing, hiding all his features but his immense size and the piercing gaze of soft gold. Mickey gulped…was this his friend after so many years?
"It's a fine ship…" the man continued, turning to examine the gummi, "not built for offensive attacks though…easily labeled a royal one." He walked out a bit further just so his face was still dark. Mickey squinted but still couldn't make anything out.
"DeHallivard?" Mickey asked uncertainly.
"Gawrsh, is that your friend your majesty?" Goofy had finally made his way out of the ship and ran into the strange bit of conversation.
"No," the man laughed, "but the Professor is waiting for you. I am his personal butler, Ulrich. He asked me to escort you through the house." A butler? If this man was already so imposing, than how much had DeHallivard changed in order to master such a being? "But it is an honor, you majesty," he finally walked out and offered his hand. His hair was pure snow-white both due to natural color and graying for this man, Ulric, looked to be near fifty. Just as he noticed before, his eyes were an unnatural shade of goldish-brown and deep-set under the noble brow of the important person Mickey deemed him to be. He was the kind of person one could see being sent on secret missions to assassin lords and politicians; certainly not a safe man to have on your bad side. It was understandable why Mickey hesitated before taking Ulrich's hand.
Ulric smiled at that and gestured towards the stairs before he started walking up them. Mickey walked along, closely followed by Donald and Goofy. The former crept up and whispered silently into the ear of the king…
"Are you sure we can trust them? I don't like this at all…" Not so surprisingly, the same question was going through Mickey's head. Ulrich didn't seem the ally type, in fact, he wouldn't be shocked if the butler brought out a gun at that moment and proceed to hold the three hostage. But we need answers…he reminded himself. There were only two professors willing to delve into the mysterious land of darkness and one of them was dead. DeHallivard was their only choice. So as much as Mickey would've loved to leave the dreadful place that is Solfyne, he knew of the responsibilities he held.
"No…" Mickey whispered back, "I'm not sure we can trust much of anyone anymore…"
-:-Radiant Garden-:-
-:-Riku-:-
"Ow!Ow!OW!" Sora cried out, waking up the entire household. Riku shot up and instinctively called his keyblade out, turning to his younger friend and ready to battle. However, when he saw Sora completely unscathed and void of enemies, he lowered his weapon albeit a little disappointed. The younger of the two was crouched in the fetal position, clutching his head and neck. He finally seemed to notice Riku's eyes on him when he looked up, wincing through his smile.
"Uh, hehe…sore neck?" he offered. The silver-haired boy rolled his eyes and threw one of the decoration pillows off the floor at his friend before slamming back down on his bed. It probably wasn't a good idea, Leon's beds were stiff. Not the best host…But better than that Sid guy…he thought. Yes, as long as he didn't have to be with grandpa, Riku would take the cardboard mattress…even though his nose hurt terribly.
So where was Leon anyways? Surely Sora's obnoxious display would've woken him up and shouldn't he check on his guests? Well…that was a stupid question.
"That made it worse…" Sora whined, finally standing up but still nursing the back of his head.
"Whatever," Riku muffled from his face plant. He found it kind of useless, those two years of injury and lost causes, traveling around and fighting heartless when Sora thought his sore neck was worth the breath complaining about it. But that was just his opinion, Sora obviously thought differently.
"Why don't you go ask Kairi to kiss it for you?" he smirked, "I'm she wouldn't mind…" Sora blushed furiously before picking up the pillow that was thrown at him and forcefully shoving it in Riku's face. Too bad Riku had his hands ready to shove him backwards. And just like that, the two started a brawl.
"C'mon Sora," Riku goaded to his friend who, at the moment, was in a vicious headlock, "are you really that rusty or am I just that good?" He saw a gleam of something in Sora's eyes, face falling from the smirk it was in just before he was thrown over the shoulder and onto the bed. Sadly, Riku would've preferred hitting the floor.
"Why you…" he stood up and leapt down on the pillow Sora was moving to pick up again. "Ah-ah…" he shook his finger. They were too busy trying to take hold of the pillow to hear the thundering up the steps.
BAM! "Where are they?"
"Careful Squall! Don't hit the boys!"
"Sora! Riku!" Kairi shoved in past Leon and Yuffie and stopped dead at the sight of Riku and Sora, having it out over a pillow at 9:30 am. "Umm…" she looked at them bemusedly. Riku noticed the newly invited trio first, letting go of the pillow which resulted in Sora tripping backwards and over the end of Riku's bed.
"Okay…now my neck really hurts…" Sora's muffled voice sighed. Riku looked back over at his friend, his host, and a girl he'd yet to meet, noticing their faces must be the mirror of what his was when he found no enemy. Chuckling, he placed his forehead on his index finger and thumb, rubbing away the embarrassment for his friend.
"Seems the hero's weakness is sore necks…" Kairi smiled faintly, but soon grimaced like she was in pain. Her hand flickered over to her heart, but it went right back down to her side when she noticed that Riku had seen it. No one else seemed to care and when she went over to help Sora up, she shrugged off Riku's out going hand.
"Is that what this was all about?" the girl he didn't know piped up, distracting him from Kairi. She looked at Riku and winked, index finger next to her nose as she leaned in, like she was telling a secret. "Squall here was hoping for some action. I wondered why he so 'generously' let you three stay. Too bad it didn't work out." Riku figured she meant Leon thought that their presence would attract heartless, but you'd have to be psycho if you were willing to give up your house for a battle…although the beds could be used as a shield… Looking up to find Leon embarrassed only contradicted the thought. Leon was desperate. No more than me when I was on the island…Riku sighed.
"That's not true…" Leon tried defending himself, "and it's Leon!" The girl just laughed.
"Yeah sure," she punched him on the arm. Oh great, another happy couple. Riku wanted to roll his eyes but settled for a grim smile at the two of them. He couldn't be mean, they reminded him so much of Sora and…
"Kairi?" Sora's concerned voice silenced whatever Leon and his girlfriend were doing. Riku glanced over his shoulder just in time to watch Kairi sway and fall into Sora's arms. Riku spun completely and leaped the five feet between him and his friends, feeling her forehead for a fever or something. She looked so pale all of a sudden, and so tired. At least she was conscious, though struggling. Riku saw her arms shaking to push herself up. They'd been at it for less than 48 hours and already the adventure was wearing her out. He'd punch Sora for letting her come were she not in the room.
-:-Solfyne-:-
-:-Donald-:-
Donald knew something was weird about Solfyne before they even landed there, and it wasn't just the scenery. He felt a sort of withdrawing sensation in his chest that spread and tingled at the tips of his feathers and webbed feet. Something was definitely off. As they got closer and closer, he almost failed to actually land the ship his vision was so full of dots. Dizzy and nauseous, Donald practically fell as he, the king, and Goofy walked up the numerous steps to this so-called "friend's" mansion. The place gave him the worst of spooks, not that it overtook the rest of Solfyne's foreboding nature. And Ulrich, this man's butler, was not someone Donald would've followed without the king's instruction. He just looked like trouble. When he told the king these thoughts, Mickey just glanced at him forlornly and replied…
"I'm not sure we can trust much of anyone anymore…" and that confirmed the greatest of his fears. Somehow Donald knew they were in for more trouble than ever before. But hearts above he couldn't concentrate on the problem with rainbow dots dancing in his vision. Sometimes it was hard being the King's top mage; you could never really rest which is what Donald assumed was his problem. What with Daisy's scorn the king's worries and no rest the night previous to their voyage, Donald was about ready to collapse. This guy better have good rooms or I'll jolt him one…
"Keep up," Ulrich glanced at Donald for he was behind, lost in his train of thought and exhaustion, "the professor hates waiting." And he continued on. Why you…he fisted his feathers. There he was, following some creep into a haunted, and most likely dirty, house after he had no rest for two days and he was telling him to hurry up. Forget the professor…Donald's brows furrowed…I'll just jolt him!
But when he tried, nothing happened. Donald shook his pointer finger and tried again. Nothing. What the…I must be really out of it… But it still didn't make sense. When Mickey looked at him curiously, Donald just shrugged it off. No use worrying when there were more pressing matters to attend to.
-:-
Turns out, the mansion was actually quite lovely…in a creepy, Victorian kind of way. There had to be more than twenty parlors full of nothing but furniture. It made Donald wonder why. Professors as intelligent as this one was inferred to be did not seem the type to throw extravagant parties that would require so much space. But it was all nice to look at, the gossamer tapestries and one-of-a-kind pieces of art in deep reds and pretty yellows and blues. It would've been a nice place to live were it not so empty.
As they walked through a series of corridors and up yet another flight of stairs, Donald couldn't help but be reminded of the Beast's castle; though a lot of it was in a much more recent era than baroque. That's what Cogsworth called the décor anyways… It looked like the kind of place where a rich benefactor like Megera might live or perhaps a well renowned man such as Jack Skellington, though Donald doubted he would keep it the same way—the walls would be filthy with spiderwebs and years of old gunk, heads instead of expensive vases, witch haze instead of flowers, a ghost instead of Ulrich…though he couldn't decide which was the improvement. The thought made DeHallivard's mansion seem ten times worse. Donald shivered and jogged back up to the group.
"He we are," Ulrich stopped just as he caught up. Donald ended up bashing into Goofy and fell back on the floor. "The professor awaits," Ulrich motioned to a door much like every other one in the hallway. How he could tell the difference was beyond the befuddled duck, but the trio of royal subjects nodded and followed in after Mickey opened the door. With one last spiteful glare, Donald shut the door on the creepy, old butler, clapping off invisible dust when he was done with his deed before turning around.
"Wooowww…" Donald's eyes widened despite their droopiness. This room was utterly amazing…there was no other word for it. Tiny tubes of warped glass twisted and snaked like intestines, finding their way into some sort of glass beaker or pump and each was filled with a colorful liquid. The room was a raging torrent of puffing and clinking noises, a wide range of rainbow colors that reflected on the shelved walls and then back again when a red or a blue reflected off the silvery objects residing on the shelves. The laboratory stretched for an entire wall length, but everywhere else was whirring and clinking just the same. A few tables were piled with thick albums of information on heartless or perhaps the latest concoction for animal transformation; one said "Urban Myths of the Scientific World" subscript "Is magic fact or fiction?". All of these books seemed centuries old.
In the far corner was the only useable looking surface where a man in his early twenties crouched over a gadget that fit in the palm of his hand. From this distance, Donald could tell his hair was dark and clean cut, gelled back to a point behind each ear. Everything on the man seemed scholarly, like he'd just graduated and still had to grow out of his school-dressing habits. He used the aid of glasses, or rather small magnifying spectacles and still he squished his eyes to focus. Years of squinting were probably what did it to him. That's why Donald never took to squinting…he needed his eyes for aiming spells; it wouldn't do much good to shoot one of his comrades. Then there was actually control and being able to remember which spell did what. It took years to learn such things, and years were something this man did not have. Surely this wasn't the Professor.
"DeHallivard!" Mickey walked over, smiling in greeting. The man in question looked up from his work as if he just noticed them which was probably true seeing how concentrated he was.
"Your majesty!" DeHallivard stood up from his desk and walked around to shake the King's hand. You've got to be kidding…this is worse than finding out the keyblade's chosen one was a 14-year-old kid. Whether he wanted it to be true or not, DeHallivard either appeared much younger than he really was, or the King was really seeking out the answers from a boy.
"I'm so glad you decided to come. I hadn't heard from you in weeks! I do hope you've had a good flight," he rambled excitedly. "And you two must be Donald and Goofy," he looked up and acknowledged the others, "The king mentioned you in his letter to me, what wonderful company!" This was DeHallivard? Ulrich's master?
"Nice to meet you too," the dog smiled offering his hand, "The name's Goofy," he nodded towards Donald, "and this over here's Don-"
"I can introduce myself you big palooka!" Donald flopped over and folded his arms in disappointment. "Donald Duck," he nodded. Regardless his rude greeting, DeHallivard smiled and nodded back. Goofy took back the conversation.
"What's that you're working on?" The young professor looked to where he was pointing and picked up the small, gleaming metal keychain.
"A gadget the king had sent over from Radiant Garden. The man, Sid, calls it a H.E.C.T.O.R. Detector, though I can only guess as to what it stands for. I was just studying its design. Fascinating how such a useful thing can be so small. Sid must be very gifted," he turned back to the King. "Apparently," he continued, "it can measure the level of darkness in a heart and recreate it so you and I can see it. Remarkable really…" he turned it over and then handed it to the King. "Good thing to have if you want to stay away from Heartless."
Mickey nodded his agreement, pocketing the small item, giving it a couple good pats.
"What is it you called me here for DeHallivard? Do you know any more information of the enemy?" The king tapped his foot worriedly. Donald sighed inwardly, here goes nothing…
"Ah yes…straight to business." DeHallivard walked over to the table of interesting tubes, picking up a tattered notebook. "Turns out some very useful information has come to my attention," he said, flipping through the pages, "I have reason to believe our little friends are actually a sort of mutation…a blending of two species if you will."
"Mutation! Whad'ya mean?" Mickey inquired.
"I mean they're something we've never encountered before. Accounts from worlds that have seen them say they look human but are colored like heartless. Most extraordinary don't you think?" DeHallivard looked at them in question, eager as a child during christmas.
"Gawrsh...so whad'ya think they really are?" Goofy gasped.
"I don't know," the professor nodded solemnly, "they must be some sort of combination between humans and heartless but I can't explain it. My best guess would be that during your previous battle with the nobody, Xemnas, the infliction upon Kingdom Hearts caused a...a reaction of sorts." He sat back down and folded his hands, elbows resting on the tabletop. "When all those hearts escaped into oblivion they must have transferred some kind of energy that the Heartless combined with to make this new species. But I couldn't tell you how they actually live. People who've seen them say they talk and move like human's do...that they have personality."
By this time Donald was gaping. A Heartless...that could plot. It sounded like Organization XIII all over, only now there were a lot more than thirteen of them.
"That's it?" Mickey asked.
"That's it," DeHallivard nodded, "for now anyways. It would be most beneficial to actually meet one of them, study them face to face, you know?" Mickey nodded, but Donald could tell his mind was on other things. This meant worlds of trouble, figuratively and literally. If they didn't know what the enemy was, how could they defeat it? And what if these new things were actually more human than heartless? Would they be slaughtering innocents?
"Where do we even start?" Mickey asked himself more than anyone.
"That is a question. They seem to be organized, following guides and rules. None have really seemed violent yet though there have been a few accounts of some particularily fiendish ones."
"So they haven't done harm?"
"No, not much anyways. They seem intent on hiding most of all, but every now and again you get some sort of disturbance. They're stealthy but not assassins."
"But you don't know yet?"
"No," the professor shook his head, "Oh! But I should mention, they retain certain traits."
"Like..."
"Hair, face, anything so long as it's transformed to black skin. If they do have hair, it's usually colored. Here see?" he turned the notebook to display a picture of a midnight black human, eyes glowing the same erie yellow as a heartless with a short blonde mane. Donald looked at the bottom of the picture where an inscription was written.
"Hopeless?" he looked up at DeHallivard.
"Ah that..." he turned it back towards himself, "they gave the name to their species themselves. At least they have a name, right?" Indeed...the new enemy...a combination of both human and heartless that could somehow think for itself...the Hopeless... Donald didn't want to think about it.
-:-Radiant Garden-:-
-:-Kairi-:-
She couldn't hold herself up all of a sudden, everything felt so weighted. What was going on? One minute she was running up the stairs to help her friends and the next she was falling over for no reason...
But she felt warm, inexplicably warm and comforted at the feeling in her chest. It was like a deep slumber suddenly took over her and she had fallen asleep while still awake. Sora held her, eyes concerned and on the verge of tears. She could see him blurring away.
"Kairi? Are you alright?" he held her tight, voice barely above a whisper. She could hardly hear him. It didn't matter, she was so tired.
"Sora…I…it doesn't hurt…" her voice faded.
"Kairi? Kairi! What's wrong!" Sora cried out. She didn't respond.
A/N:
Ooooo...something happened to Kairi. What is it! And I got a little explaination of the enemy in there too! (not fully comprehensible on purpose) Hopefully I update faster. Summer's coming up and I always blow off exams, though I'm gonna study hard for Government and Spanish. Ah...such is the life of a junior. Remember...and I won't say the "r" word...but you know what it is and you know it helps. Now I will sleep seeing as how it's 12:47 on Monday night...or should I say Tuesday morning?
The girl who will be dead in the morning
Avian Maria
