Recollections of the Doomed
III. Scheherazade
See chapter one for summaries, ratings, etcetera et al.
A story that's rather...long-ish. But it's an easy read because it's all dialogue, so don't be put off by the length. But hey, be glad I updated! I'm surprised I wrote this too because for now I've been focusing more on my serious fiction writing. But this just kind of...came out, so whatever. Enjoy!
Let me tell you a story.
What kind of story?
A story of the past. Of things long gone, things almost forgotten. Things that will never be again.
Ooh, sounds deep. Now I'm interested.
Shut up. Don't be so facetious. Anyhow--shall we continue?
Go right ahead. No one's stopping you. Come on. I want to know what this story is about.
All right, then. Once upon a time--
Once upon a time? Really? Can't you think of a more original beginning?
Be quiet! If you think you can do a better job, then go right ahead! No one's making me to do this!
Okay, okay. No need to throw me a hissy fit. Continue.
I should warn you, this is not a story with a happy ending.
I'm okay if it isn't. I'm not in a mood for happy things, anyway.
Very well. Once, long ago, before you and I were even thought of...there was a castle.
A castle?
Yes, a castle. In a land far away. A beautiful land, filled with lush and bountiful fields, blue skies, weather mild and temperate. A land where the people were always happy, and there was no fear, no strife, no war, no hatred. In this land, the people didn't have to worry about bare survival. They could devote their time and leisure to other pursuits, to cultivating their minds, to following their dreams and desires.
And how does the castle relate to this?
I'm getting to that. Anyhow, every land, even one as carefree as this one, needs a leader. The leader of the beautiful land lived in the castle. He was a wise man, who devoted his time to study and creating a better world for his people. He cared for nothing more than his people, and nothing brought him greater joy than seeing their smiles.
Sounds like a nice leader.
He was. He did not have to run his land alone, though. You see, this man had several apprentices who helped him perform his experiments--he was a scientist as well as a leader--and also helped him administrate his country. There were five of them, all young men, and they were very close.
How close?
As close as brothers. Perhaps closer.
Ah, I see. So it was all like a nice little family in that castle?
Yes. Basically. The five apprentices, despite being so close to each other, had wildly diverging personalities. One was crude and enjoyed shooting; another was volatile and independent; another was cold and methodical; and still another was silent and strong. And the last one, the youngest...
He was the youngest?
Yes. I don't know if you could even call him a man. He was more a boy, but he didn't think so. He had a sharp mind, and was always so curious about the world around him. He loved to read and devoured anything written voraciously. And above all...he wanted knowledge. He wanted to know everything--the laws of the world, the ways of the universe. Everything. He sought knowledge as a drowning man seeks air. No knowledge was out of reach for him.
He sounds like an ambitious kid.
He was. And it frustrated him, sometimes, how his companions did not seek knowledge the way he did. They were slower and more careful about their research. In some cases, they didn't even care about their research. He did, though. And it bothered him to no end...he wanted a companion who was as ambitious as he was, who wouldn't hesitate to seek the world's boundaries, the most forbidden of forbidden knowledge. And one day...his wish was granted.
He got that companion?
Yes. The companion was a stranger, a young man with no memory or sense of self. The wise leader, because he was kind, took the amnesiac stranger in. Soon, the stranger established that he was intelligent--perhaps the most intelligent of all the apprentices. They accepted him easily, and he became one of them, rising to the ranks of becoming their leader. And the youngest was excited. There was finally--finally--someone who shared his ambitions.
Did the youngest act on his ambitions?
He did. He, his methodical friend, and the stranger continued to research deeper--deeper into the darkest mysteries of the world. The mysteries that should have never been uncovered. But the youngest apprentice didn't care. It didn't matter to him how forbidden the knowledge was--he had to have it. Like Eve, he unquestioningly accepted the apple from the tempting stranger.
Eve?
Never you mind. You wouldn't know understand...but you can understand this: The boy wanted to follow the stranger. More than anything. He would give his own soul to the stranger. He was so captivated by the stranger that he didn't think twice about following him anywhere, obeying his every command. The boy didn't realize it. He thought he only wanted knowledge that the stranger could grant, but he...he wanted more. So much more. He only realized what he wanted until it was too late to do anything about it.
Infatuation makes fools of us all. I understand. But what happened? When did things get "too late"?
He was tempted. He was tempted by the stranger to convince his master, the land's benevolent leader, to build a laboratory deep underground...to continue their experiments into the forbidden. The leader was apprehensive, because he was a kind man. But he gave in to the boy's persuasion, both because the boy was always good at persuading others and because the leader liked the boy. He trusted him.
That would be the leader's mistake, wouldn't it?
His hugest.
So what happened then?
The laboratory was built; the six apprentices and their leader continued their research. The apprentices performed shocking experiments, horrifying experiments, all for the sake of seeking knowledge. Everything, they told themselves, to discover the truth. They pried into secrets that should have never been uncovered, and still they did not see that what they were doing was wrong. They were so...excited. They did not care when they started to drown their world, which had been so cheerful and carefree, into darkness and despair.
But the leader...
The leader saw. He was visited by another leader, another king, from a faraway land. The king convinced the apprentices' master that what he was doing was wrong, and so the apprentices' master ordered them to give up their experiments.
Bet the youngest apprentice wasn't happy about that.
Hardly. And so--for the very first time--the six apprentices turned their back on their leader and defied him. They continued their increasingly grisly experiments in secret. The arrival of the king from the faraway land excited them; showed them there were worlds beyond their own. They wanted to find these other worlds, and because of that they threw themselves even more enthusiastically in their research. Month after month they spent probing the forbidden secrets, always urged on by the tempting stranger, by the ambitious youth.
They couldn't have kept this secret from the leader forever.
They didn't. And when he found out...he was not angry. No, it would have been much better if he had been angry. But he was not. He was disappointed. He had not thought his apprentices capable of such evil. He despaired, then--and realized it was too late for him. The apprentices, eagerly following the tempting stranger, had turned their backs on him. They did not hesitate to betray him.
They didn't!
Oh, yes they did. The six apprentices, at once eager and angry, banished their leader. They who had tasted the fruit of knowledge turned on their leader--their benevolent, their wise, their kindly leader--and banished him from the Garden forever.
Garden? Was that the name of the world...
The name is not important. Suffice to say the apprentices cast their leader into the forbidden realm, for all eternity. Not a single one of them regretted it. They were glad that their research could continue now, unimpeded. The apprentices, now led by the stranger, the tempter, went further than their leader had ever dared. Eventually, they went further than they themselves had expected.
What did they do? When did they realize they'd gone too far?
Only until it was too late. The youngest, ironically, was the first to realize that they had gone too far. And so the last shall be the first. He realized it when all the others began to cast off their bodies, began to enter the forbidden realm. One by one they plunged themselves into its secrets, and tore the foundations of their being apart. All out of their quest for knowledge. The youngest watched, and became increasingly horrified.
So he didn't do it? He didn't follow them?
No. He followed them. How could he not? They were his friends, his family...and the tempting stranger had been the first to descend into the forbidden realm. What could the youth then do, but follow? He had pledged to follow for all eternity. He did not take his pledges lightly.
So he followed. What happened after that?
The six of them...they became but empty and drifting shells. Too late, after they had lost themselves into the forbidden realm, did they realize that they had gone too far. They realized that in their quest for knowledge--they had lost themselves. The six shells would now do anything to be whole again--and so the shells found a land that, like them, did not exist, and made their home there, and began planning on regaining what they had lost out of their own folly.
All right. Then the six of them--
Not six. There were six at first, but then one by one more came. The six were not the only shells to have lurked the corners of the universe. There were others, many other shells. Not all could think, though. The ones that could not think, that were little more than beasts, the six enslaved. But slowly, other shells--shells that had thoughts and memories--began arriving. One by one the ranks of the six swelled...until they became thirteen.
Ah. And what happened to the youngest apprentice? The sixth shell?
What could he do? He continued to research. He continued to read. He continued to seek knowledge--but he was more restrained now. He understood what the unrestrained search for knowledge could lead to. An empty and emotionless shell, only a step removed from a monster.
There were more shells besides the six...there was the eighth one. Tell me about him.
I do not know anything about him.
Yes, you do. Tell me what he and the sixth shell did.
This is irrelevant.
No it isn't. Tell me.
Very well. I will tell you, if you insist. The sixth shell...the former youngest apprentice...even though he was wiser now than he had been before, and no longer sought knowledge with the same fervor he had before...he was still easily tempted. Too easily. The eighth shell was from a different land, and had not known the six apprentices. He was always very forward. Forward, and rude. And not particularly attractive, either.
Such slander. I object!
Objection denied. Anyhow, the youngest apprentice, despite being wiser, was still easily seduced. And however lacking in skills the eighth shell was, he knew how to seduce. He seduced the youth, drew him in with honeyed words, lies, sweet-nothings. And before he knew it...
Yeah? Go on. Don't pause now! It was just getting good.
Before he knew it...
Don't pause again! Come on.
I was yours, Axel.
....I see.
I'm sure you do.
Um...hey?
Yes? I'm tired. Let me sleep. That's the end of the story.
I just have one question. Stay awake and hear me out, okay?
...all right. But be quick. We have a mission early tomorrow, and--
You said this story...didn't have a happy ending.
It doesn't.
But...but how can you say that?
That's easy. It's true.
No, it isn't.
Tell me why it isn't.
Because...because, Zexion...our story isn't finished yet. You can't say it doesn't have a happy ending if you don't know how it will end, am I right?
...go to sleep, Axel.
You didn't answer my question. But thanks anyway for the story.
You're welcome. Now, will you go to sleep or will I have to make you sleep?
You're so cute when you're threatening me, Zexion.
Shut up.
Yeah, good night to you too, Zex.
I'm not so sure how AkuZeku this story is (it's more Zexion-centric than anything), but I always did want to write his version of the Fall...er, what happened in Radiant Garden.
Remember, if you read this...REVIEW!!! Por favor.
I can't guarantee any further updates. Consider this an anamoly.