Destiny Keys

Chapter Five – Torl's Story

By Glacierclaw

"So? Am I ever going to hear what the hell that mark means?"

The four of us were back at the hideout. I'm not really sure why we call it a hideout when it's so much like a home, but then, if you have to press a flower to get into it, I suppose it would be 'hidden.' By then, the sky was dark outside. I had plopped down on the couch – at least, I think it's a couch – and was glaring at Torl.

He ran a hand through his dirty-blonde hair, looking very hesitant. At last, he said, "First, you must hear what the Key Catchers are about." He sat on the couch opposite of me. Veelock sat on the floor and began to stretch – like those karate people do before a session.

Gliec was tending to the cut on my shoulder. Normally I would have told him to buzz off, that I could do it myself, but at the moment I was too pissed off to care. He was busy putting some strange creamy crap on it before he would wrap it with a white cloth.

Torl began to speak. "In the Key Catchers, when a child turns ten years old, he or she is sent to the camp where they learn how to fight and protect themselves for two years. It is not a nice way to spend two years." His eyes glinted and I realized I was hearing the story of why Torl never smiled.

"Our family used to live here," continued Torl. "In this house. But the Key Catchers found us. Of course, it was above ground back then," he added. "This is just hideout mode. Anyway, our mother sold us out. She had been a member of the Key Catchers from the start. We were forced into the group against our wills. But when my father – Kulen Hurn – tried to escape, Oraton caught him. He killed him himself."

I drew a quick intake of breath and glanced at Veelock. She was staring at nothing, doing a sort of stretch everyone would call the 'butterfly.' I turned to Torl and said, "I'm sorry."

Torl shrugged. "It was a long time ago. I was eleven. By then, I had realized that the Key Catchers were very evil and would kill to get what they wanted. I was still in the camp, and during all this, my mother was taking care of Gliec, preparing him for the camp.

"I knew I had to escape. I also knew I had to defeat the Key Catchers. The only thing that they feared was the Keyblade and its master – and the Keyblade master had disappeared while the Keyblade was locked up in a room. When I was thirteen, a year out of the camp, I stole the Keyblade, took my little brother, and ran from the Base."

Torl took a breath, and continued. "We found this old house. It had not been used in about five years, but we managed to make it habitable again. We put the house in hideout mode and started to figure out how we would get the Keyblade master to this world."

The taller boy glanced at Veelock. "That is when I met Veelock." From the floor, she grinned. "She was traveling from Aratare and just happened to walk across the ground which held our house. I honestly thought that she was part of the Key Catchers, and so I went to attack her."

Veelock laughed. "I kicked his ass."

"You did not," snapped Torl. "We declared it a draw. Both of us were so talented that there was no point in continuing the match. Even so, I was still cautious. I asked her what her name was, and she told me. I then asked her if she was in league with the Key Catchers, and she said no. Veelock then asked who the Key Catchers were, and I explained how horrible they were. Veelock was fascinated and asked if she could help. I knew that she would be a great addition to the war against the Key Catchers."

"Yeah," said Veelock proudly. "My mother – who lived in Aratare – told me that there was a great destiny waiting out there for me, and all I had to do was find it. It took such a long time – I'd been practically all over Veelock before, well, destiny called – I was attacked by Torl." She laughed again. "It was pretty funny, to be honest. I was on my way to Parutan, actually. And since then, we have been working on a complicated force that would bring you to our world."

I swallowed. That was one hell of a story. "Okay," I said slowly. "What do you mean by 'force?'"

"This world has many forces," said Torl. "And one of them just happens to include pulling people from one world to another. It takes a long time to figure out how to perform, however."

I nodded, even though I still didn't really get it. "Then what's that mark below your eye?"

"It is called a Night Mark. It signifies that a person is a member of the Key Catchers." No crap, I thought. "A person gets it as soon as he or she begins training in the camp. Since Gliec never started, he never received his. However, to wear it with a cloth over it says that you are an active Key Catcher – which means that your powers that come with being a member are unleashed. I never wanted these powers, so I do not cover up the Night Mark."

"Won't the powers help?" I asked.

"No, because though they are force powers that can be useful, they cannot be directed at another Key Catcher. Oraton used a sword to kill my father," he added before I could ask. "That had nothing to do with the Key Catcher's power."

"Okay," I said, nodding slowly. "Here's another question for you: if you were part of the Key Catchers, then how would you be able to defeat, like, ten of them so easily?"
"You must understand that there are very, very few children in the Key Catchers so far," he said. "If a child learns how to spar at a young age on this world, they will be an expert at martial arts." He ran a hand through his hair again, looking embarrassed. "I graduated early from the camp. It also might be that using your physical powers alone is more powerful than the powers that the Key Catchers have, but they fail to understand that because they believe that the powers will make them special."

I stared at him, lost for words. At last, I said, "Torl…I'm really not sure that I can do this."

He looked up quickly. "Why?"

"Well, like I said earlier – I'm just a kid. I have no proof that I'm Sora's son."

"You handle the Keyblade," said Veelock. "Only the Keyblade master – as long as he is in the same world – can weild the Keyblade."

"Okay, so say I am Sora's son – saving Veeadon is a lot of pressure. I mean, I don't know these people at all. So why should I worry about them?"

Torl's eyes flashed. "The Key Catchers chose Veeadon because it is small and easy to take over," he said. "Once they have the entire people of Veeadon under their control, do you really think that they will leave all the other worlds alone? Including yours? Traverse Town?" He shook his head. "They will not stop until all the worlds are theirs. Now do you understand?"

I gulped. "Yeah," I mumbled. Wow, I thought, I had no idea that this was so serious. Not only do I have to save Veeadon, I have to save the universe! I shivered. How would I ever do this?

I have to get home, I thought suddenly. It's the only way to escape from this fate. But even if I do get home, it won't be there for very long. The Key Catchers will destroy it. And Torl and Veelock will just keep bringing me back.

So I had to do this no matter what, even though I didn't want to at all. But then, I realized, imagine just how famous I'd be! If I succeeded, I'd've saved the freaking galaxy. I'd be a hero! I smiled at the thought.

I let out a long sigh. "Oh, all right," I said. "I'll do it."

"Good." Torl stood up. "That settles that."

Gliec finished wrapping the cloth around my shoulder and stretched, yawning. "I'm tired!" he exclaimed. "When do we get to go to bed?"
"Right now," said Torl. "I would think you are tired, Kyter."

I yawned too. Now that I realized it, I was exhausted. I looked at Veelock, who was just climbing to her feet, and said, "Where do I sleep?"

"On the couch," she replied sheepishly. "Sorry. We don't have an extra bedroom."

"Oh – that's all right," I replied, just happy that Veelock was being nice to me. Maybe she was in a good mood because of the story Torl was just telling – about how they met.

Veelock threw me a blanket and a pillow. "Here," she said as Torl and Gliec walked out of the room. She grinned. "Nighty-night," she teased, and turned out the lights.

I lay awake for several minutes, under the surprisingly warm blanket Veelock had given me. I felt incredibly sorry for Torl and Gliec – their father was dead and their mother was a traitor. And if Gliec had gone to that camp too, would he be just like Torl? Emotionless and never happy? Maybe Torl used to be just like Gliec, I thought, but until he went to train, he completely changed his personality.

It was too confusing to think about and I was too tired anyway. And it was hard to believe that just hours ago, I had arrived in this world. I yawned, rolled over, and fell asleep.