Chapter IV: Trouble in Rogue Town
Reyna awoke in a daze. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was being swallowed by the darkness from that stone. She got up and looked around her. She was in a strange town of some sort. It didn't look like too nice a place. The alley she was in had graffiti all over it. She heard a groan behind her. She turned around and saw Tyson and Namé lying on the ground. She helped them up.
"Where are we?" said Tyson.
"Beats me," said Reyna. Then for the first time it hit her.
"Where's Kai?" she said. They all turned around. The alley was empty besides a mangy stray cat and a heap of garbage.
"Do you think he walked off?" said Namé.
"I don't know, but we'd better look for him," said Tyson. They walked out of the alley and into a street. There were lots of unsavory characters, like thieves and bandits. They hurried from there and into a main plaza. Here they got a better look of the town. It was a rather large town, with outfitters, armories, taverns, and other assorted buildings.
"I wonder where we are," Namé thought aloud.
"I'll ask," said Tyson. He walked over to a man leaning against the wall of a large brick building.
"Excuse me, do you know where we are?" said Tyson. The man looked at them through beady eyes and stringy, greasy hair. "Why, don't you know?" he said "You're in Rogue Town."
"Rogue Town?"
"That's what I said."
"Do you know how far we are from Destiny Islands?"
"Destiny Islands? There's no such place around here."
"Uhh……are you sure?"
"Little runt! Of course I'm sure."
"Well, thanks."
Tyson walked back to the others. "I think we have a problem," he said. Then he told them his conversation with the man.
"So we're in some other world?" said Namé.
"Seems so," said Reyna. Suddenly she was startled by a man behind her.
"Looks like your lost," he said. He was tall, with long brown hair, a scar by his nose, black pants and leather jacket with white fur collar with a lion symbol, and a rather large sword shaped like a gun to top it off.
"Uh, yeah. Who are you?" said Reyna.
"I'm Leon," he said "I think I know what has happened to you."
"Really?" said Namé.
"Yes, in fact I knew someone in a similar predicament."
"Do you mean my dad?"
"Your father! Sora's your father!"
"Yeah, but how do you-"
"Listen, I'll explain everything, but not right now. Meet me at the Wyvern's Tail, and then we'll talk." With that he turned and walked off. Reyna turned towards the others and shrugged.
"What have we got to lose?" she said.
They walked through Rogue Town for what seemed like hours. They were totally lost.
"Guess I should've thought to ask where it was," Reyna mumbled. They turned the corner and to their relief saw a building with the sign Wyvern's Tail. They entered and walked up to the desk.
"Excuse me, has anyone named Leon come here?" Reyna asked. The lady checked and shook her head.
"No, no one has come here by that name," she said. Reyna turned to Namé and Tyson.
"We'll just have to wait," she sighed. The three sat down at a table. Tyson browsed through the menu and took it upon himself to order for them.
"We will have three juri juices," he told the waitress. Reyna looked around the place. The Wyvern's Tail was a combination of an inn and tavern, with a lot of unsavory characters. Two of them particularly caught her eye. They looked like bandits, except for the black cloaks they wore. One was smaller, with gray/silvery hair and a ribbon tied about his head. The other was big, with brown hair and an eye patch. They were sitting at a table in the corner mumbling to each other. Reyna caught a few words here and there, and they were enough to make her turn pale.
"What a weakling. How could he lose to those kids? They haven't even begun to awaken their full power." one said.
"I know," said the other, "I'll bet his heart wasn't even worth taking."
Namé looked at her strangely. "Reyna, are you all right?" she said.
Reyna stared at her. "Don't you understand?" she whispered harshly, "Those guys are talking about us! They're with that guy who attacked Destiny Islands!"
Namé gasped. They both knew they had to get out of there. They turned and grabbed Tyson, who was totally clueless.
"Hey! What are you guys doing?!" he yelled. He bumped into a waiter, who tripped and dropped his tray, which flew into the two unknowns and spilled juri juice on them.
"Uh, oh!" Namé whispered to Reyna. The two got up and walked over to them.
"Are you the wise kids who did this?" the big one yelled. The three looked at each other.
"Uhh….sorry!" Tyson said. Then the smaller ones eyes got big.
"Hey, Tyre, I think these are the three kids!" he said. The big one nodded with a grin.
"I think your right, Gamma." Tyre said. Tyre pulled out a large axe and Gamma pulled out a spear.
"Let's make the Superior proud!" Gamma said.
The people in the Wyvern's Tail scattered to get out of the way. No one left because they all wanted to see the fight, but no one had any desire to be in the middle of it. They all stood against the walls on either side of the inn. Tyre leered at them.
"This shouldn't take long" he told Gamma. Then it began. Tyre leaped up and brought his axe down with a crash. All three jumped out of the way, but the impact was enough to knock them down and blow a hole in the wall. Namé rolled behind them and quickly performed Spell Impact, blasting the two of the out the hole in the wall and into the street. Reyna, Tyson, and Namé jumped through the hole and faced them.
"Looks like they got a few tricks up their sleeve, but so do we. Gamma you're up," Tyre said. Gamma stepped forward and held up his hands in front of him. His hands started to turn black. Then he suddenly crossed them and shouted," Chains of Shadow!" The darkness around his hands shot forward like chains and wrapped around Tyson. Then they sunk into his skin, creating strange markings on them. Tyson prepared to attack but got a rather nasty shock.
"What? I can't move!" he said. He struggled but couldn't budge and inch.
"Take care of the girls, Tyre. I'll finish this one off," said Gamma. Tyre nodded and attacked with another shockwave of his axe. Namé and Reyna dove out of the way. Unknown to them, Tyre was purposely leading them away from Tyson. Gamma chuckled to himself.
"Too easy," he thought. He lifted his spear and charged it. Then he threw it with all his might at Tyson. Reyna and Namé turned to see the spear leave his hand.
"Tyson!" they screamed. Tyson clenched his teeth and prepared for the worst. In the nick of time, Leon leaped from the roof and brought his sword down on the spear. Tyson sighed with relief.
"Boy that was close! Thanks, Leon!" he said.
Leon nodded. "But what's wrong with you?" he said.
Tyson frowned. "That creep did some shadow move that keeps me from moving!" he growled. Leon thought for a minute. Then it came to him. He charged his sword up, turning it white. Then he turned and faced Tyson. He raised his sword up and brought it through Tyson, saying, "Cursed Seal Release!" The sword cut through the Chains of Shadow, but passed right through Tyson. Tyson was stunned.
"Whoa! That was amazing!" he said.
Leon smiled. "Maybe I'll teach you a thing or two later. For now, let's take these two creeps out."
Gamma was visibly surprised, but it didn't throw him off guard. He tried to attack Leon with his spear charged with darkness. Leon dodged it and attacked with a fire spell, which connected with Gamma and sent him flying.
While this was happening, Reyna and Namé were trying to take down Tyre. Namé tried to throw him off balance using Spell Impact, but Tyre simply countered with a shockwave. Tyre powered up his axe and prepared to crush them, when out of nowhere a girl with short black hair, looking rather like a ninja, leaped onto his back and gave him a mighty kick, which made him crumple to the ground. Reyna and Namé stared with amazement. The girl smiled (she liked the attention) and introduced herself.
"My name is Yuffie," she said, "and I'm glad to be of service!"
Tyre got up and grasped his axe. "I'll make you pay for that!" he growled.
Yuffie attacked with her throwing ninja stars, but Tyre blocked them with his axe. Reyna summoned her energy whip and lashed it at Tyre, cutting him across the chest. He grabbed his axe and swung it, but Yuffie threew more shuriken, which lodged in his arm. That was enough to make him lose the axe momentarily, and Namé used that opportunity to cast a thunder spell finally bring the giant down.
Meanwhile, Leon and Tyson attacked Gamma head-on. Realizing that he was losing, Gamma decided to rely on his ultimate technique. He once again charged up and then shouted, "Shadow of the Seal!"
Both Leon and Tyson were suddenly covered with strange black symbols. Their first thought was that they were paralyzed, but they found they could still move.
"What kind of technique did he use this time?" thought Tyson.
"Hahahahahaha!" laughed Gamma "Do you like this new technique? It seals your fighting power inside you and drains it, so that soon you won't even be able to lift your weapons! And unlike the last, this one won't go away until I die!"
Leon and Tyson turned pale, but Leon resolved not to give up. They tried to fight, but their strength fading fast, they were at a distinct disadvantage. But Tyson wouldn't give up. He charged and dodged Gamma's spear, leapt in front of him, and slashed his Keyblade with full force at Gamma. The power of that attack was enough to make Gamma collapse to the ground. Reyna, Namé and Yuffie joined Leon and Tyson.
"How are we going to get rid of this Shadow of the Seal?" Tyson asked.
"I can fix that," said a voice. Everyone turned to see a girl with a pink dress and long brown hair tied with a red bow.
"It's about time you showed up, Aerith." said Leon.
She smiled and replied, "Sorry to keep you waiting. I'll get rid of those shadow symbols now." She closed her eyes and her hands started to glow a soft light. She touched Leon and Tyson and the symbols disappeared.
"How did you do that?" said Reyna.
"It's a light spell that I learned. I should teach it to you, incase you ever need to use it on your journey," Aerith said. Everyone suddenly heard sounds coming from the direction of the Wyvern's Tail. The guards of the city came to investigate, and spied the group.
"Uh, oh. Let's split!" said Leon.
Everyone dashed into the alley at full speed. After several minutes of running, Leon stopped and addressed Reyna, Namé, and Tyson.
"Our ship is on the outside of the city walls. We can slip past the guards, but you guys might have some trouble. Your best bet of getting through is to travel through the sewers underneath Rogue Town. Here's a way in." Leon uncovered a manhole that led into the sewers. The three kids decided it was best not to ask too many questions. They slipped down the manhole and into the sewers. Leon replaced the lid and they were in darkness.
Reyna, Tyson, and Namé trudged through the sewers in silence. No one knew how long they had been down there, but it seemed like forever. They estimated they had made it about half way through, when a giant rat-like creature popped out of a hole in the wall. Everyone was frightened out of their wits. Tyson was about to clobber it when it spoke.
"So sorry to frighten you good people," said the creature," but the Rat Man has a way of popping up unexpectedly."
The three looked at each other. "The Rat Man?" asked Reyna.
"Yes, I am the Rat Man. I am the guide and purveyor of the Rogue Town sewers. They are my home," said the Rat Man in a rather weasely voice. Tyson, Namé, and Reyna quickly talked amongst themselves. When they finished, Tyson asked, "Do you think you could get us through the sewers to the outside of town?"
The Rat Man looked visibly pleased. "Of course, of course," said the Rat Man, "provided that you give me something in return." They all agreed. After all, what other choice did they have?
The Rat Man led them through the sewers with surprising efficiency. "We are near the end of the sewers," he informed them. They saw a ladder leading up to a manhole. They sighed with relief. It wasn't very nice traveling through the dank sewers for hours. They had almost reached it when they noticed a large alcove to the side. There was something shining brightly in the wall.
"It's a Keyhole," Reyna.
The others looked at her. "How do you know?" asked Namé.
Reyna shook her head. "I can't explain. I just feel sort of connected to this place."
Tyson stepped forward. "I think we know what we have to do," he said. The end of his Keyblade started to glow and a shaft of light shot forward from it and into the Keyhole. A loud, locking sound made everyone believe that it had been sealed. Then Reyna stepped forward. She slowly rose into the air, transparent wings showing on her back. Her heart started to glow and the Keyhole flashed white, and then disappeared. She then sank to the ground. Tyson and Namé, not to mention the Rat Man, were awe struck.
"That…….that was amazing," stuttered Tyson.
She smiled weakly. "Heh, thanks," she said. They thanked the Rat Man, who was very pleased with one of Reyna's sea shell necklaces. They emerged outside of the city walls, and saw Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith standing by a ship. They raced towards them, glad to be in the fresh air. Once reunited, Aerith asked them, "How would you like to come to Radiant Garden? You can rest up, and we can train with you,"
Reyna, Tyson, and Namé were all too glad to accept. "We'd love to," said Reyna.
Leon-
Leon is quiet, reserved, and comes across as a bit cold (though the others have made some improvement on his personality). A citizen of Radiant Garden and at one time part of its Restoration Committee, Leon is still an important member of his world. He asked to go to Rogue Town on the request of an old friend. He fights with the unique Gunblade and wields great fighting ability.
Yuffie-
"The Great Ninja Yuffie" is a long time companion of Leon and Aerith, and was also a Committee member. She seems a bit childish at times, though her constant cheer motivates the others. She uses her natural agility and her shuriken to take down foes.
Aerith-
Aerith is calm, compassionate, and much loved. She always seems to bring peace during conflict and acts as a motherly figure to all those around her. She doesn't fight, though she is exceptional at healing and some light spells.
Tyre-
XVIII in the Organization, Tyre is usually paired with Gamma, and is the brawns of the duo. He loves to trounce weaklings who get in his way, and does most of Gamma's dirty work. Gamma's element is unknown.
Gamma-
XVII in the Organization, Gamma is usually paired with Tyre, and is the brains of the duo. He loves to pick on the helpless, and prefers to leave most of the work to Gamma, since he isn't a very good fighter. He excels at binding seals, and his element is shadow.
Ratman-
Ratman has long been an inhabitant of the sewers beneath Rogue Town, and will always help those in need find their way out...for a price. It is unknown whether Ratman is his real name, or a name given to him by the citizens of Rogue Town, given his ratlike nature and appearance.
Nightshroud: I hope you liked the chapter! Once again, the fight wasn't much, but I will have good fights later on. And I have a reason for taking them, leave a review and let me know how you like the story and the Jiminy Journal entries. Thanks.
Next chapter: New Adventures in Radiant Gardens