Episode Four: A Revelation and a Walk in the Present
"Pete, is it?" Xemnas said. He thought it would be better to speak first, it would make him seem more calm than he actually was. Almost as if he were expecting it.
"Nope," said the figure. Xemnas was standing there, very confused. He didn't show it, of course, but he was. That was when the being in front of him reached behind him, and it sounded as if he was unzipping something.
"This is a better disguise than I thought," with the suit off, Xemnas could tell that, standing before him, was his chief spy. A wave of relief washed over him. And then, excitement. This meant he would find out more about Maleficent!
"So, what did you find out?" Xemnas inquired, careful not to show the pleasure he was feeling. This was the happiest he'd been in a while.
"Well, see, about that…" the chief spy began, "I got some good information, but then when I left, I realized that I forgot the paper I had written it on inside her house. I didn't want to risk getting caught, knowing the real Pete would be coming back soon, so I burnt it down to hide the evidence."
Dread washed over Xemnas. All he wanted was some information about Maleficent, a little bit about her personality, and he made her homeless. It was all his fault. He should have just been content with the little information he had, he should have known something like this would have happened. Now Maleficent was without a house, and possibly injured. He knew she wasn't dead, as he had felt her watching him just before his chief spy entered.
"Was Maleficent inside the house when it burnt down?" although he knew she was alive, Xemnas needed to know whether she was injured or not.
"No, unfortunately. It would have solved that little problem, but she had gone out for a walk before I left." The chief spy replied, "Is there anything else you need me to do?"
"No, that's fine. It's getting too risky. I can deal with the information I have," Xemnas said, and with that the chief spy left the room.
Xemnas couldn't help but be jealous. The chief spy had seen Maleficent in person, had talked to her. He had heard the sweetness of a voice that Xemnas could only imagine. And then proceeded to call her a "little problem." It was almost more than he could take.
Needing to relax, Xemnas remembered the yoga book. He proceeded to do a few of the breathing exercises in the front, thinking that may help.
It did help, but all too well. Xemnas hadn't been getting much sleep lately, and his body was weary. Five minutes into the breathing he fell asleep. And Xemnas dreamed…
Xemnas was walking down a dark path in a forest. There were strange noises coming from either side. It was quite cold, but strangely, along the path, there were random pools of warmth. He walked on, the forest getting stranger and more foreboding with each step.
Suddenly, he heard an ominous cawing. He looked ahead of him, and two figures were beginning to materialize. One seemed to be some type of bird and, considering the cawing it was making, Xemnas figured it had to be a crow. It seemed to be leading the other figure through the forest. He could just barely make out the silhouette of this figure. It was tall, but that was about all he could tell from its vague shape.
This shape became more and more familiar to him. Xemnas knew he knew the shape, but this dream Xemnas did not catch on as quickly as the waking one would have. Despite this, it instantly became clear what this shape was. It was a shape he had been yearning to see for the past… he didn't even know how long. This shape, walking in front of him, was, without a doubt, Maleficent.
Once he realized who was walking in front of him, her shape became clearer and clearer, until it seemed as real as he was. He tried to call out her name, but he found he could not speak. He tried to tap her on the shoulder, but his hand went right through her. The only thing he could do was follow.
The whole time he longed to reach up and touch her skin, but he knew his hand would only go through it, not feeling anything. It seemed he was so close to her, and it was agony that he could not communicate with her in any way. He knew he should be happy just to be there with her, but it was still painful.
Despite the pain he felt, the loneliness that had been growing in him was beginning to diminish. Walking behind her like that made him feel not so alone; it was as if Xemnas was finally with someone. If only he could let her know he was there with her…
It was then that the crow took a sudden sharp turn to the left. A short way down the path, Xemnas could see a small cottage, with flowers and a small gate…
And he woke up. He could feel Maleficent's eyes on him again, which was comforting, but he didn't feel as close to her as he had in the dream. Even though he couldn't talk to or touch her, she was right there…
And the dream seemed so real, just as real as the feeling that she was watching him. It was not like other dreams that may have seemed real as they were dreamt; this one still felt real now that he was awake. How he longed to be beside her again…
Xemnas needed a plan, and once he started thinking, it seemed obvious. Maleficent watched him for a good portion of the day, didn't she? And if he just happened to mention a plan to someone in which he went to a certain place at a certain time on a certain day, would she not hear this? And would she not come to this place? He knew it was not a certainly successful plan, but it might just work.