A/N:….I was moving and adjusting to school! I swear!
Disclaimer: I guarantee that I am not Nomura, and the Portal references were accidental. :P I do own the plot, but the Box owns me! And you….
Ch. 4
Well, things didn't exactly go as smooth as we had hoped. At first I was running after Kairi and darting from bush to bush, then the next thing I know a guard is looming over me. "Care to explain what you are doing out at this hour?" He asked in a strange voice. It was kind of like a growl, but masked in a sugary coat of fakeness.
"Uhh…."
"…"
"…."
We all just kind of stood there, not knowing what to do. Finally, the guard cleared his throat. "The Box will not be pleased with you. You shall be punished with –" Before I knew what I was doing, I punched him in the head. Hard. Really hard. I mean, he was sprawled out on the ground, completely passed out. I just stood there dumbly for a minute, when I heard a familiar voice. "Sora! The confinement center isn't that far ahead! We have to hurry!"
I nodded, then stumbled after her until we reached the cardboard shack. "Riku?" Kairi called softly.
"I'm glad you guys decided to show up." A curt voice replied.
"We ran into some trouble."
"Whatever. Do you have the supplies?"
"Yep." I took out the matchbox and tossed it to Riku through the window. "We have several routed mapped out, but first you need to get out of there." Riku was already on top of that part. He had a match lit and was heading towards the wall before I finished my sentence. "Don't you think this is just a bit-"
FLOOOF.
"-dangerous?" Kairi completed as the shack began to burn. "Riku's smart, I know he can handle himself!" I smiled encouragingly. The next thing we knew, a familiar figure came running out of the nearly decimated cardboard center, coughing heavily. "Riku!" I said happily running up and hugging him."
"This is nice and all, but do you have some water?" He asked weakly. I pulled a water bottle out of my pocket. "Okay, that's better. Now, show me the routes you have drawn up." Just as I was handing it to him, a horrifying GONG sounded throughout the Island. "Crap…."Riku muttered. "Okay, show me the fastest route to get there!"
"Uh, that path through the bakery and clothing shop…" I gestured relatively to the area from where a bunch of figures were running from. "We can always cross through the bushes behind us!" I said quickly.
"Good enough." Riku said, and darted into the thorn covered bushes. "This is going to be painful…"I heard Kairi mutter as she followed us into the thicket.
And painful it was. I had to keep urging Riku to move so that we didn't have to think about the pain of the thorns digging into our faces and hands and sticking to our clothed, but he insisted on stopping every minute or so in order to listen for the Elders or whoever the heck was after us. After what seemed like hours, I finally stopped the illuminated temple from behind the branches of the prickly bushes. "Finally!" I hissed. "Ssshhh!" Riku shushed me, and I quieted down. "Hey, I think I heard something!" A man's voice called out.
"Are you sure it wasn't just a chocobo?"
"What the heck would a chocobo be doing here?"
"Oh, so now you're a chocobo specialist?"
"Stop bickering this is serious!" A familiar feminine voice exclaimed.
"Yes, we need to find the Sinners before the Box gets too angry!" A woman's voice interrupted. I froze. The two women were my mom and Kairi's adopted mother! "I bet that Riku child caused this whole thing!" Ms. Ningyo, Kairi's mother, spat hatefully. "Just wait until the Box gets to him! Then he'll be sorry!"
Believe me, doing nothing while the adults of the island spewed garbage about Riku was excruciatingly painful. I would have rather sat in these bushes for several days than have sat there listening to them for a few minutes. "Speaking of children, have you seen our kids lately?"
"They told me they were going to the island…" An awkward silence suddenly filled the air. Finally, someone shouted, "I think I saw something over by the bakery!" As a hoard of footsteps disappeared into the distance, the three of up let out a heavy sigh and crawled out of the bushes. "Those jerks…" I muttered.
"Hey, it's all good. I don't give a damn what they think."
"It's not very well guarded, is it?" Kairi said thoughtfully, looking over the Temple of the Box. ""The adults think they've instilled enough fear into us to keep people out." Riku responded grimly. "Okay. Let's cut through the forest and to the back entrance." I told my friends. "Kairi, do you have the pick you designed for the lock?" She nodded, holding the simple contraption with a trembling hand. "Good, let's go." I wiped some of the sweat and blood off my face from the thorns, and together we crept over to the back door.
After a couple minutes of fiddling with the lock pick, Kairi managed to get us in. It was a lot gloomier than we had expected. It felt as if there was a heavy fog floating through the dark, open space. Although it was only a small area the size of a large bedroom, the emptiness made it feel as big as a ballroom.
"I don't like this." Kairi broke the silence by speaking in a hushed voice. I managed to find her hand in the darkness, and squeezed it comfortingly. "Don't worry, it will be okay!" I whispered in a semi-cheerful voice. "Hey, do you guys feel that?" Riku suddenly asked. I paused for a minute, and tilted my head to the side.
And then I felt it.
There was an aura of power emanating from the center of the room, oozing into every pore of my body. This aura…could it be the Box?
"No, it couldn't. The Box is a lie. It's all a lie." I heard Riku say to himself, voicing my concerns. "It's all a lie, it's all a lie, it's all a lie…"
"C'mon, let's find out what it is." I said uncertainly, slowly walking toward the center of the room. The aura intensified as we approached it, causing me to sweat. I could feel Kairi's hand going clammy at the same time as mine was.
Don't worry, The Box is a lie.
It was getting more and more overwhelming by the minute, causing us to begin panting heavily.
The Box is a lie; it's all just a lie.
Finally, I reached the hand that wasn't wrapped tightly around Kairi's into the darkness. All of our hands met at the top of a smooth, humming surface in the middle of the room.
"The Box…?" Kairi breathed questioningly.
I didn't know how to answer. I just ran my hands eagerly across the surface, until my hand hit the corner. I grabbed it, and slowly began to remove the lid. "Should I…?" I muttered. "Yes…"Riku replied, sounding as if he was partially in a daze. I heard his hand hit the other corner, and together we threw it off.
After that, we immediately regretted our actions. We had blatantly ignored the First Rule: The Box did not like to be tampered with.
Within milliseconds, a burning light surrounded us, accompanied by the most inhuman screech I had ever heard. Before long, we were screaming with it, tears running down our face. That's when IT spoke.
"WHO DARETH TAMPER WITH THY BOX?"
The voice was like music to our ears. It was neither male, nor female, young or old. It had an ageless wisdom woven in with a commanding demeanor. "We are sorry!" We immediately cried. "We didn't mean to! We did not believe the Elders!" we stumbled over our words, begging for forgiveness. The Box paused for a minute.
"THOU HATH COMMITED A HORRIBLE ATROSITY. THOU MUST PAY FOR THINE INSOLENCE FROM NOW-"
Suddenly, it paused. We weren't sure why, for we were still blinded from the light and couldn't see a thing. "Thou hath such powerful hearts. I wonder…" It muttered to Itself. Suddenly, it was back to Its normal, commanding self. "THOU ACTIONS SHALL NOT GO UNNOTICED, BUT I KNOW HOW THOU MAY REPENT." Together, we began speaking garbled sentences, accepting his request. "BEGONE!" It screamed, shoving us into the abyss.
Falling…
Falling…
Falling…
I was sinking into the ocean, my eyes still sealed shut. They fluttered open automatically, and I finally landed at the bottom of the ocean. Suddenly, a bright light surrounded me, and a flock of doves flew up and around me. I gazed around in awe, and then stared at the ground below me.
It was a stained glass floor, complete with intricate designs of flowers and a beautiful woman.
DAS ENDE