This chapter is a bit longer. On Monday, I'm gonna post the next chapter. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Yule Tide Greetings.
Chapter 4: Day Three
I stayed with Roxas again and as usual, we over-slept.
"Not again," I muttered as I hopped into the kitchen trying to pull on my boot and eat before Roxas pulled me out the door.
"C'mon or we'll—"
"Be late," I finished as we entered the usual spot to see it empty, all except for a note.
"Meet at the station. Today's the day we hit the beach—and don't sweat about the munny! —Hayner"
Roxas and I rode to Market Street and we saw Pence and Olette. "Hey!" Roxas and I say at the exact same time.
"Morning," said Olette.
Pence and Olette froze mid-step.
"What?" I asked totally confused.
"Huh…?" was Roxas' dazed comment.
Roxas ran up to them and I waved my hand in their faces just as a girl walked up to us. "Hello, Roxas, Xana."
Roxas and I looked at each other. "Uh…Hi?" I asked. "And that's not my name. It's Ryuu."
"You!" Roxas pointed. "You're the girl from my dream. The one in the white room. Who are you?" he asked.
"Do I know you?" I asked, confused. She looked vaguely familiar.
The girl held up a hand to quiet us.
"I wanted to see you both at least once," she said.
Roxas and I looked at each other again. "Us?" we asked surprised.
"Yes, you," she said happily. The girl walked away as Pence and Olette unfroze, leaving Roxas and I looking confused and befuddled.
"Olette dragged me along to go shopping," continued Pence as if nothing ever happened.
"Hey, you wanna come with us?" asked Olette.
"Um…"
"Uhh…" I said.
"Wait…"
"Did you just…"
"See that…"
Roxas and I looked in the direction that the girl left.
"They're stalling," said Pence.
"Very well, then. We'll see you guys later then, okay?" asked Olette.
"Y-Yeah…" we said at the same time.
Olette and Pence left and then we looked back in the way the girl left.
"Did she go to that haunted mansion?" Roxas asked.
"She headed that way," I replied and we ran after her.
We ran to the Tram Common and saw the girl again.
"She went into the woods," I said.
"Let's go!" agreed Roxas.
Once we got into the woods a dark cloud appeared and some "zipper-ghosts" came out of it and tried to pull us into it.
"Let us go!" we shouted. Roxas and I ran back to the Tram Common and the zipper-ghosts followed us. "We should go to the Sandlot. They would be out numbered and there'd also be witnesses…Maybe they wouldn't attack us then."
Roxas looked like he wanted to argue but didn't say anything as the creatures kept following us.
We tore into the Sandlot, catching the attention of Seifer, Fuu, Rai, and Vivi.
"Hey, chicken wussies," quipped Seifer.
"Help," I squeaked stopping, almost running into Roxas.
"Who's that?" asked Fuu as the creatures floated after us. She and Rai got into their fighting positions as Vivi ran away.
"I dunno," said Seifer getting into his fighting stance, "but they've already crossed the line. Find a weapon!"
I grabbed the staff that was lying on the ground next to the struggle club that I threw to Roxas. We fought but everything we did didn't seem to affect the zipper-ghosts at all.
Roxas and I got thrown to the ground, our weapons having no effect. "How did it happen last time?" I growled.
"I have no idea," said Roxas, as we stood up.
When we were on our feet, we realized the others were completely frozen.
"Not good…" we muttered as the ghosts approached us.
"Roxas! Xana! Use your weapons!" I looked around. It was the girl again. It didn't matter at that moment though. I did what I was told. Or I tried to but it was too late.
I was attacked and then transported to a dimly lit area. When my eyes adjusted I found myself standing on a stained glass platform. I tried to see what it was but being that close to it made it hard to see what it was of.
A sword appeared, then a staff, and then a shield appeared in bursts of white light. I choose the staff. I prefer magic over anything.
Suddenly, the clarinet appeared in my hand and then I was bombarded by zipper ghosts. I had no idea what to do so I just started playing different notes. All of a sudden they fell to the ground, writhing. For oxygen I suppose. Do ghosts need oxygen? I guess these ones do.
I couldn't just let them suffocate though. That would take too long. So…I took oxygen—What does that mean? I can take elements? Or I can play with elements?
I played more notes to experiment. I must have given them their oxygen back because the zipper ghosts came at me again. After more random notes, I started coughing. The air was so dry…almost like it could combust at any moment.
That's it! Combust! The air needs to combust! But, how? I looked around. Where could I get a spark?
I paused. What elements make up the atmosphere?
Carbon dioxide, helium, nitrogen, oxygen, methane, etc….So all I had to do was pull the carbon dioxide and hydrogen molecules out of the air, make them combust, add oxygen to full the flames, and burn them…FUN!
I was so lost in my thoughts that I forgot about the dry air I had created. I stopped playing, releasing the molecules I had captured and dampening the air, thus making it breathable again.
I played the tune I did when I first received the clarinet. I was weightless again, jumping on them and kicking them. I started playing something else. I played the tune I did to steal their oxygen. In turn I lost my weightlessness and tumbled on top of one of them, thus crushing it and gaining munny and health bubbles.
After trying many, many more times, I finally got the right combination of notes to make fire.
I'll have to write down the notes later and practice.
I defeated the two that were left and then a chest appeared. On the other edge of the platform a door appeared. A voice seemed to emanate from the door. "Be careful. Beyond that door lies a completely different world. But don't be afraid," it said.
I walked toward the door.
"Don't stop walking…"
I opened the door and stepped through it onto another stained glass platform. I turned around to look and see what the picture was on the other stained glass platform and saw that it looked like Roxas' description of one on the boys in his dream. "Maybe it wasn't a dream," I muttered.
I turned back around and took the stairs one by one, enjoying the view. Of course it didn't last long, because another of two of those zipper ghosts attacked me.
I played the notes that I did before. Or at least I thought I did. This time water engulfed them and myself. And then I felt like I was drowning in memories.
I had the feeling of déjà vu, like I had almost drowned before. The image flashed of a teenage boy I don't ever remember seeing before. Then I woke up. It took me a second to recollect what had just happened. I looked around and realized I was in a room. A pure white room, but a room nonetheless. "What—" I asked looking around. "Where am I? And where are those zipper ghosts?" I paused. "I was drowning… What happened?"
Then my eyes landed on her. "You! Who are you? I saw you in a dream I had…That's why you looked familiar! You liked Roxas. You know Roxas! Who are you and how do you fit in to all of this!"
The girl placed a finger to her lips, silencing me. "My name, is Naminé," spoke the girl. "Xantara, do you remember your true name?"
"True…name? What do you mean? Are you sure you have the right girl? My name isn't Xantara, it's Ryuusei." I was so confused, but it seemed like she knew me. I took a breath and looked around her room. "Wow," I breathed. "I love all the art you have in here. Did you draw these?" I didn't hear her answer because my eyes settled on a drawing of Roxas and me. There was also another guy in the picture. He resembled the one in my flashback very much.
"Who—Who is he?" I asked pointing at the guy with the faux-hawk.
She opened her mouth but the cloaked figure from the train station appeared and picked Naminé up.
"Say no more, Naminé," he commanded.
"But if nobody tells her…"
"It's best if she doesn't know the truth."
"The truth about what?" I shouted. "Who are you people!"
The man held out his hand and with the flick of his wrist he conjured up a dark portal behind me. I leapt away from it but he pushed me inside anyway.
"Seifer, strike a pose, y'know?" I heard Rai say.
I slowly opened my eyes to find myself back in the Sandlot and on the ground.
"How's this?" asked Seifer.
Roxas was lying on the ground, a couple feet away from me.
"That's totally perfect, y'know!"
Fuu was taking a picture of a posing Seifer while Rai and Vivi stood around her. She was taking the picture with Pence's camera.
"How 'bout one more, y'know?"
Roxas and I stood up. "What are those for?" I asked.
"Keepsake," said Fuu.
"Those freaks in the white jumpsuits are gone, y'know?"
"Cakewalk," added Fuu.
"What were those things?" asked Roxas.
"Outsiders, that's what. And if they don't wise up to the rules around here, I might have to take 'disciplinary measure.'"
"Oh yeah, Seifer's always lookin' after the town, y'know?"
I looked over and saw Olette, Hayner, and Pence have arrived, but Hayner huffed off. "Wait up!" Roxas and I called. We ran to follow them.
"Hey!" called Seifer. "No chickening out of the tournament tomorrow!"
"We'll be waitin', y'know?" added Rai.
I turned around, walking backwards. "Now why would we do that?" I asked, smiling.
Roxas and I arrived back at the Usual Spot where the other three were already having sea-salt ice cream,
"So…" started Pence. "You guys hung out with Seifer's gang today?"
"N-no…It's not like that," faltered Roxas.
"Of course not. We got sidetracked by something in the woods, so we decided to follow it. It turns out it was those creatures who stole our photos. They chased us out of the woods and we ran through the Sandlot because we thought they wouldn't attack us with witnesses around and Seifer and his gang helped us fight them off." The group just stared at me. "What?"
"Oh yeah! How was the beach? Wasn't that today?" asked Roxas.
"We didn't go. It wouldn't be the same without the two of you, right?" said Olette.
"…Sorry," Roxas and I said at the same time.
"What about tomorrow?" I asked.
"I promised I'd be somewhere," said Hayner.
"Ohh..." sighed Roxas. "Oh!" He perked up when he realized what Hayner was talking about.
"You and I have to make the finals! That way, no matter who wins, the five of us split the prize!"
"Okay, you're on."
"You two are gonna clean up!"
"Go get 'em!"
"Play nice you two," I said teasingly.
We all laughed.