Sweet! I'm on a roll with these chappies!
crystalfeathers: As usual, you have provided a great review and useful info. (No matter how many times I read that, I keep thinking it says "useless.") Yes, these Nobodies are like Imperfects. You'll find out 'bout that in this chapter. And thanks for the hope that Rike-sama may come back.
xEternal Wingx: New reader! Woot! Sorry. Like you, I have hyper issues. Loved your reviews. Yes, Donald is a Dummy Duck and always will be, no matter how adorable he is. Yes, Heartless have lips. Why? 'Cause I say so. And I may bring in Gir as a cameo.
By the way, things are about to get a little AU. You'll see why in a sec...
Chapter 11 - Rescue
(Third person again.)
Tlaboc peeked over the bushes. He smirked in confidence and turned back into the cave. Everything looks good, he transmitted. We can easily defeat them. You all know what to do, right? Everybody nodded in affirmation. Good. Without much warning, he suddenly commanded, Ariel, now!
All of the Imperfects with the ability to fly suddenly darted up into the air, surprising the guards. A Crescendo was about to toot its horn in warning, but a Dancer suddenly skated up to it and stuffed a rock into the funnel. Several other Dancers did the same thing, and the signalers were rendered useless. The ariel assault that had shocked the Heartless was now circling the group, along with the Dancers. The next thing they knew, several rocks were being thrown at their heads by Bouncywilds. The Wyvern that had snatched Lilac flew up into the air to avoid the oncoming attacks and aimed right for Coral.
Defense! Tlaboc suddenly shouted. He jumped into the air, his body stretching out, and landed in front of the row of Bouncywilds, along with all of the other Dusks. The Wyvern tried to halt, only to be attacked by several bites from the Dusks. (A/N: I never really paid attention to how Dusks attacked... in fact, I usually dodged them.)
Everybody else, go! The Imperfect army took this as their cue to start attacking the Heartless like crazy. Punches were striking, objects were flying, and hearts were floating up into the air. Midnight would occasionally turn to stone to defend himself, only to change back about five seconds later. He was, however, very good at confusing enemies with poisonous gas.
Great! This time, it was Laroc who spoke (or whatever she did to comminucate). My comrade is waiting inside. The time to strike is now!
The army ran toward the large castle's entrance, knocking down every Heartless that stood in their way like bowling pins. Midnight was the most eager to find Lilac and get her as far away from Maleficent as possible. All he wanted was for her to be safe. More than anyone, actually. His thoughts took a quick break. Am I... he thought, his eyes growing a bit wide, actually falling in love with her?
x x x
(First person.)
I watched as the strange girl skated ahead of me and destroyed the guards in the next corridor. She was an incredible fighter, and she could actually cast magic. Not much, mind you, but even I had to start small. No matter how many times I asked, though, she never really told me who she was. The only answer I really got was, I am part of you.
We're almost there, she said, destroying the last guard.
"Where exactly is 'there'?" I whispered, tilting my head to one side in the cute way that White Mushrooms could.
You'll see... She silently giggled and skated ahead. I ran as fast as my body could carry me to catch up.
x x x
Tlaboc halted the troops and turned to Midnight. You lead, he commanded, gesturing for the Black Fungus to come forward. Midnight nodded nervously and stepped forward to a point right next to the Dusk. Trust me. You won't regret this.
x x x
My rescuer stopped me just as we reached the door. Go on ahead, she ordered. I'll stay behind in case any more guards come your way.
I nodded uncertainly and proceeded toward the door. My magic level was at full peak. What if it was a trap? Despite the fact that she had helped me escape, the stranger still had not completely earned my trust. Nonetheless, I headed toward the door...
Only to have a charging figure run right into me.
I groaned and rubbed my head. When my eyes opened, I saw a familiar purple figure standing a few feet back. "Midnight!" I gasped, running over to embrace him. I held him for a few seconds before I pulled away, blushing beneath my dark face.
"Lilac," Midnight whispered. If he had a visible mouth, I knew he would have been smiling. "I'm so glad you're safe!"
Ah, not yet, a male voice silently told me. I looked over to see a platinum creature standing just behind Midnight. Sadly, this battle has just begun. I sent Calil here to get you out of the cage so we could have another fighting force on our team.
"What do you mean?" I inquired.
Suddenly, green lightning whizzed just above our heads. I shrieked, and Midnight pulled me to the ground. An evil cackle could be heard from the other end of the hallway. How I hated that cackle...
"So, you fools thought you could get away so easily!" Maleficent boomed, holding up her staff. "Oh, but how wrong you were. I am more powerful than any of you ever will be!"
"That's what you think," I growled, getting up. I began to shiver, and flames soon shot out of my hands. They were the biggest flames that I had ever seen coming out of my body.
Unfortunately, all that they had managed to do was make Maleficent angry. She simply absorbed the wall of fire with her staff, narrowing her eyes. "Oh, you foolish mushroom," she hissed. "Now you shall all..."
Something suddenly hit her in the back. Maleficent gasped in surprise and spun around to see a face that she always hated seeing. "Sora!" I called, jumping up and down like a Rare Truffle.
Sora smiled and waved at me and the group. Goofy chuckled, but Donald looked a bit less than happy to see me. Either way, he still grinned slightly.
"The Keyblade master," Midnight whispered.
"You guys get out of here," Sora commanded, pointing toward the door.
"No way!" I protested. "We wanna help you fight!"
No, Calil hissed. Not yet. This is not our battle. Let Sora handle things for now.
"I think she's right, Lilac," Cherry agreed, placing a hand on my shoulder. "We should wait a while."
I opened my mouth to protest again, but something told me not to. Whether it was Calil speaking again or my own gut instinct, I nodded. We proceeded out the door as Sora, Donald, and Goofy held off Maleficent. I turned back to make sure that they could handle things before leaving the castle.
Once we were outside, we all headed to a large cave a good distance away from the castle. We headed deep inside before the tallest silver creature stood atop a large rock.
This is something the rest of you know, he explained, but my name is Tlaboc. I am the Powerwild Cobalt's Nobody. A Nobody is ordinarily a being that is born from a person who had a strong heart and was turned into a Heartless. But we, he gestured out to all the other Nobodies in the cave, are a special case. We were created from Imperfects that were either created by Maleficent or born from other Imperfects. So, despite the fact that we have no hearts, we can still feel.
Like you, we have come up with a special name for ourselves. We are not like other Nobodies. We know how to feel and understand emotions. So, we are Bodies. Simply Bodies.
One of the Dancers stood next to Tlaboc, and their hands (even though they lacked them, which was a bit... weird) joined. This is Laroc, Coral's Body. Another Dancer stood up, accompanied by a Dusk. And this, Lilac, is your Body, Calil, and her boyfriend Thgindim, Midnight's Body.
Boyfriend? I thought, glancing over to Midnight. I turned away just before his eyes met mine, blushing.
"Just a question," Truff piped up, raising his arm. "You guys seem a lot like us. I mean, my Body can jump very well, Cherry's is half evil, and Coral's is quite swift. Why is that?"
Because, Laroc began, smiling, we all share much of you. The same powers, the same name, and the same fate.
"The same fate?" Coral whispered. "Then, why is it that Tlaboc is still alive and Cobalt isn't?"
"Guess again, my love."
Everybody spun around, and their jaws dropped open in shock. Standing there, half hidden by the shadows, was a certain blue monkey. Coral's eyes brightened.
"Cobalt?" she squeaked, approaching him. The Powerwild nodded. "Cobalt!" Coral jumped into her lover's arms, crying. "I... I thought you were..."
"I'm here, aren't I?" Cobalt whispered before giving his girlfriend a kiss on the head.
"I can't believe it worked..." I heard Cherry whisper.
I turned around and raised an eyebrow. "You can't believe what worked?" I asked.
Cherry sighed. "Well..." All of our friends, as well as several others, gathered around to hear the tale. "When I ended up turning evil and turning Cobalt in, something in me told me that I had done horribly wrong. I knew it once I converted back to good, too. So, I spent the next night making some adjustments to the execution system. I wasn't sure if it had worked, so I avoided talking about it. When Cobalt didn't come back, I was worried that he had been killed."
"But I wasn't," Cobalt assured her. "You did everything just right. I just had to stay hidden for a while." He hung his head. "Honestly... I wasn't sure if Coral was still alive or not, and I was scared to find out. So, I hid for a long time. When I saw everybody running to the cave, I just had to follow. Then I saw Coral, and I was so happy, but I held back until just the right time."
Tears were still falling from Coral's eyes. "I'm just... I'm just glad you're alive!" she sobbed, burying her face into his chest.
Cobalt stroked Coral's back for a while. He looked up at the group and smiled. "If you guys don't mind... Coral and I are gonna camp out in a different cave tonight. We, ah... need some time alone."
"I understand," Midnight stated, nodding.
x x x
Later that night, as I lay awake on the ground, my mind began to race. Everything was coming at me so fast, it was like a ton of bullet trains coming at me from every direction. Yet, somehow, I felt a certain sense of peace. Laroc had said that we shared the same fate as our Bodies. My Body and Midnight's were dating, so... were we destined to do the same? I rolled over to face the Black Fungus and blushed. There was no hiding it. In fact, I just wanted to wake him up and whisper four simple words into his ear:
"I love you, Midnight."
To be continued...
Almost done, folks! All I need is a battle scene or two and... Well, I'm not tellin' what else!
Also, I have already started on the sequel, A Heart's Worth a Thousand Words. Hopefully, it'll be just as good as this one, maybe even better!
