I sincerely hope that this chapter is better than the last one…Oh, Lord x(
Anyway, here the gang of four are now bringing Xaros into the know…which is probably the last place he wants to be right now. I know I wouldn't want to be there if I were him. But anyway…
Finally, actual plot advancement and foreshadowing! :D He finds out that everything that has been told to him is the truth! And other crazy stuff happens! Egads! Ooh, I can only imagine how he's feeling about that. Because he's imaginary, and I'm not an abandoned amnesiac orphan so I would have no idea how he feels… Yeah I'll shut up now and let you get on with reading the rest.
(Warning you now: this is probably the longest chapter I've written. You've been warned.)
Sora comes clean and tells Xaros the whole reason behind all the strange behaviors and happenings. Soon deciding that words weren't enough to persuade Xaros, Sora decides to take the old "seeing is believing" route, and shows Xaros things that he can only accept as true or otherwise come off as unrelentingly stubborn. Afterward, Sora, Xaros, and the twins decide to go to out for dinner to let loose the stress of the day, but unfortunately fate wouldn't relent, and once again Xaros bears witness to the truth of his invisible reality.
Ch. 5: More Than One Truth
"Words are but Wind; but seeing is believing."
-Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia (1732)
"It's – it's you?" I gasped. No way…
"Yep." Sora slipped his glove back on, which reminded me to do the same thing. I'd been so mind-blown that I had forgotten that I had taken it off in the first place. "Life isn't going to be kind to us, Xaros. Not by a long shot." He chuckled ruefully.
Oh no, oh no, oh hell no. Why did it have to be him?
"Do…do your brothers know?" I asked cautiously.
"Oh, they know, all right," Sora confirmed. "It's you that they have no clue about."
"What?"
"They don't know that you're the second Liberator."
Something clicked in my brain when his words hit my ears. "You didn't tell them that there was a second?"
"No, they definitely know that there's another one. They just don't know that it's you."
"Why not? Did you choose not to tell them that it's me? I mean, you told me it was me." Right now I'm just gonna act like I believe this is all real just for Sora's sake. To be honest with you, I still wasn't completely sure if they were telling the truth or not. Look, I might have said that I believed what they had told me, but come on. Would you believe it off the bat if someone told you that out of the blue?
"It's not that. Well, actually," he conceded, "it's partly that. They're new to the Coalition; only been in for several months now. I decided not to tell them that I knew it was you from the start until the time was right and you realized who you are."
"And you knew who I was from the start?" I asked, my irritation rising steadily. "How did you know that when you've only known me for a few months? It makes no sense at all. Tell me the truth." It was true. What Sora was telling me at this moment only made it more mysterious as to why and how he knew so much about me, someone he had known only for a short time.
For a split second I thought I saw anxiety in his deep blue eyes. Then he deigned to say, "That's…a topic for another time."
This day seemed to drag on forever. I chanced a glance outside the window. It was only early afternoon. When could I escape this torrent of supposed truths into the comforts of my dreams?
*part line*
Oh, remember what I said about me wishing I could go back to the comforts of my dreams? I lied.
My dreams were anything but comfort. It seemed more like a nightmare than anything. Up until now my dreams had been nothing special. I'm not entirely sure if it's just coincidence or not, but my dreams started getting strange the night after Sora had told me half of the truth. I didn't realize it then, but tonight was only the start of it.
I was at a strange place. I was on a sheer cliff face, standing at the entrance of a huge black mausoleum-like building. I could tell that a wind was blowing pretty hard, even though I couldn't feel it.
Suddenly I heard scraping of rocks, and I turned to see the source of the noise. To my complete surprise, I saw that it was me. I watched as my dream-self stepped up past me to the entrance of the enormous structure. I would've gasped in shock but my voice wouldn't work in my dream.
I looked completely different – I was in some sort of battle gear that I couldn't adequately describe to you if I wanted to, but here's what I can tell you: I was wearing a black and blue leather jacket with the collars up, and the front of the jacket was open and I could see a red undershirt. My fingerless gloves were no longer just black, but green and gold at the trimming of the glove. It also looked a little bulkier, like it was also made of leather – I could see metal greaves on the back of the gloves, scratched and worn. I was wearing black shorts as opposed to my usual jeans, and a blue belt was around my waist. I was also wearing black platform boots, and I had to admit they didn't suit me very much. It only came up just above the ankles and had Velcro straps running down it. There was a ring on my left middle finger, encrusted with a gem that bore the same symbol as the mark on my hand – the caelesti, Sora had called it.
But what really caught me was that I looked like I'd been beat up multiple times. My shorts were tattered with unsightly rips, my gloves looked like they'd been charred in a flamethrower, and my jacket and shirt were also torn. These rips revealed underneath them cuts, scrapes, burns, bruises, and any other minor injuries that you can possibly think of. It was weird seeing myself like this – but this was a weird dream to begin with. My eyes were also different – there was a frenzied light in the fell golden orbs that indicated that this probably wasn't the first time I'd been through whatever I'd just endured.
I knew one thing – I didn't ever remember looking like this or ever being here.
I continued to watch myself climb the steps to the foreboding structure, then halt halfway up. I could see why my dream-self had paused in his journey to the entrance – a person was obstructing his – my – path. He was wearing that all-too-familiar black hooded coat with the belt and shoulder plate with the scary symbol. Great. Now these freaks were appearing in my dreams, too.
The cloaked guy was the first to speak, and his voice was clear with a hint of a threat. "Well, if it isn't the renegade Xaros Skyloft. I must commend you for getting this far despite being unarmed. It seems that you're not labeled Fataliaque for nothing. Such a shame that your life must end here. You were a fool to return here, Skyloft. Nothing but death awaits you in the Spekteret Fortress."
My dream-self completely disregarded his threats and stated his business, which the real me would probably never be able to do. "I never said that I was coming back to stay here, Silfur. I've come back to take what's rightfully mine. Get out of the way."
"Spare me." The dude named Silfur stabbed a finger in my dream-self's direction. "It's the swords you came for, isn't it? Division's Blight? Terribly sorry to say, but just handing them over to you doesn't seem to fall within our interests."
"I don't give a rotting rat's ass about your interests. I'm taking the swords for my own, and you're not gonna stop me. I don't want to resort to violence, but I will if you won't stand aside." My dream-self's eyes seemed to flicker gold briefly, white and all, as he stepped closer. That scared me more than the guy obstructing my dream-self's path. "I'm warning you, I won't be holding back. Last chance."
Silfur threw his head back and chortled mirthlessly, "You certainly talk big for a boy with no weapon to defend himself with. You're all bark and no bite! You –"
I didn't get to hear what else I was, because just then an earthshattering explosion interrupted Mr. High and Mighty. I was shocked to find that the gates of the fortified fortress had been turned into rubble and watched as it burst into flame. The heat from the thick sheet of orange blaze made the air ripple.
Silfur continued to stand there in numb shock as the supporting pillars of the fortress crumbled from the heat of the inferno. He looked more horror-struck than I probably did, which was saying something. But that was the furthest thing from my mind right now as I stared at my dream-self.
His face betrayed no emotion. It was as if he'd done nothing more spectacular than flipping a coin as he advanced toward Silfur, who was still petrified at the show of ferocity that I had displayed. He (there was no way that this heartless monster could be considered me) casually brushed past him, quenching the flame in his path with a lazy flick of the hand, and stepped into the gloom of the mausoleum, leaving the rest of the ruins to burn.
On the threshold of the light of the outside and the darkness of the building, he paused briefly. He halfway turned his body to chance a glance back at Silfur. By this time Silfur had already gathered his wits and his face was contorted in livid fury.
"How dare you!" he screamed at his unfeeling expression. "You'll pay for what you've done to the Master's fort! Rest assured that he will personally see to your end! No one can stand up to him! You'll never get the swords; you'll be rotting before you get even close! None can –"
I was seriously hoping that the Silfur dude would shut up right about now if he knew what was good for him. This idiot was going to get himself murdered. I didn't care if he was the enemy – my dream-self was just as cruel as I'd seen them, maybe even more. How could I have ever been like that? It made no sense to me.
All through this rant his expression remained blank. I watched myself turn away from the raving madman and take a couple more steps inside. Then I heard the most frightening words that had ever left his lips.
"Burn in hell."
There was a piercing, agonizing scream that issued from the mouth of the cloaked man as he exploded into flames. He writhed and screamed in agony on the ground for what seemed like an eternity. My dream-self was swallowed by the blackness of the interior of the fortress as he left the cloaked figure to burn into ashes. Everything went black.
With a strangled cry I snapped awake and jerked up into a sitting position. It was light in the room, the dim light of the morning illuminating the furniture.
Only a dream, I told myself to calm down. It was just a dream…right?
I wasn't completely sure. It had felt too real. The explosions. The flames. The execution. The cold fire in my eyes in the dream. There was no way that I could've imagined anything like that. My gut wrenched when I came to terms with what I had seen.
I had committed all those atrocious acts…but I didn't ever remember doing them. My soul was stained with blood without me even knowing. Something wasn't right here. What were they keeping from me?
"Pinch me," I said.
"Xaros, if I pinch you any more you're gonna get a hemorrhage," Roxas protested.
"No, I won't. This is a dream. I know it is. I'm going crazy. I'm seeing something that isn't there. This isn't real. Pinch me and wake me up!"
Do you really want to know why I'm freaked out of my mind? Well, it's rather simple.
I was staring up at a dragon.
I can almost hear your thoughts screeching to a halt right about now after I said those words. "A dragon? What kind of a crazy story is this?" "Supernatural bad guys, magical weapons, and now a dragon? How far-fetched can this get?" "Did you just come out of the loony bin?"
These are all valid questions, but I defy you to come up with a story that wasn't so reasonable without all these elements in it. To be fair, though, I initially had the same reaction you guys are probably having right now. Call it cliché if you will, but it's the truth. And besides, it's only the beginning of the story. It's gonna get (or seem) way more original later on, I promise.
Anyway, I was in a huge (And I mean huge. It had multiple floors.) underground basement that was somehow custom-built, craning my neck to stare upward at a gargantuan black dragon. It was easily twenty feet long, maybe more, its tail making a third of that length. Chrome spikes ran down starting from the base of its skull, getting progressively smaller as it reached the ends of its tail. It had a narrow, triangular head that was like a cross between a crocodile and a monitor lizard, with horns at the top of its head that curved outward at the middle then curved up again, like a stereotypical lightning bolt, except that it was as black as the rest of its body, attached to a long sinuous neck. I couldn't see its teeth, but I didn't need a visual to know that it was as fearsome as the rest of the dragon. The scales on this massive beast were lustrous, as if polished, and they appeared to be very hard. Its underbelly was a more subdued ash-like color, but it didn't look any less well-defended. But I thought I could make out two cut wounds that had scarred on his chest, right above where his heart probably was. Its eyes were serpent-like and bright green with vertical pupils. It had huge webbed wings, like you see on bats, easily thirty feet in span. The skin flaps between each fold were a translucent gray. I couldn't believe what I was seeing – or hearing, for that matter.
"For the last time, he's yours," Ven stressed, exasperated at my stubbornness. "He's yours. His name is Umbraen. He's been waiting for you for a long time. Stop gawking at him and greet him!"
I continued to stand there, staring open-mouthed at the dragon like an idiot.
"Dude, he's standing right there. What else can I do to make you believe me?"
"Nothing," I finally replied, my eyes still locked on the dragon. "Absolutely nothing."
The dragon snorted in what I could've sworn was amusement.
"He's impossible," I heard him mutter to Roxas. "Sora was right; it won't work on him. You have a go."
Then I felt a hand grasp my shoulder in a vice-grip, and only then did I tear my eyes away to face the person who had touched my shoulder, which turned out to be Roxas.
"I'm guessing that you're having a hard time believing us even with the truth staring you in the face?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Ven muttered behind my back, "Hell, even I don't believe it."
Roxas gave his twin brother a warning look and said shortly, "Shut up."
I didn't see the significance of that exchange until much later. At the time I just thought it was another one of those "sibling quarrels" and didn't really think much of it. "Well, to be honest with you, I'm still trying to believe what Sora told me yesterday…my head's so full I'm surprised it didn't explode from sheer pressure."
Oh, so you thought that Sora had stopped talking after the whole "we-both-are-Liberators" bit? That's where you are completely wrong. That was only when I wished that he would stop talking, not when he actually did stop talking. He actually talked well into the night and probably would have talked for the rest of the night if it weren't for Roxas's nagging (which for the first time I was grateful for).
Sora told me pretty much everything that I'd already heard from him, but it made more sense and was more believable after hearing it the second time. Roxas and Ven intruded somewhere in the middle, but Sora didn't stop talking. In fact, his storytelling had become more energetic and animated with them around and I had to stop him every few minutes to make sense of what he was saying.
Standing in front of a living, breathing dragon didn't simplify matters, either.
"Quite honestly, we're surprised you're accepting this at all, subconscious or no," Roxas admitted. "But, I think I know a way to convince you that this is all true and that this dragon is yours."
"How? I'd seriously love to know."
"Okay, here's what I'm going to have you do. Look at him again and think 'hello'."
"You're crazy."
"Oh, just do it already. You and your skepticism are really starting to wear on me."
I seriously thought that everything going on was all a ruse, somehow, but I didn't think anyone could replicate a real twenty-foot long dragon. So I just gave up and did as Roxas asked. But I couldn't do it without feeling like a total moron.
Uh…hello there, I thought. Can you hear me?
To my complete shock, I heard an answer – in the form of a rich, thrumming, and definitely male voice, I see you at long last, Xaros. I hope that you've been doing well. He lowered his head until it was level with mine, and the voice filled my head again. Nothing has gone wrong, I trust?
Uh… I couldn't tear my eyes away from the snout of the dragon, but I could hear the presumptuous sniggers coming from the twins. Well…not exactly sure what to say to that, actually…
What troubles you? His emerald eyes were suddenly vigilant, as if watching for danger. You seem distressed. Is everything all right?
Um, okay…here's the skinny, I sighed. Everything that has happened to me – all of, well, this – I made a vague gesture at everything that had been going on – it doesn't make any sense to me at all. It doesn't seem…real. Sometimes I think I'm going crazy, because none of this is supposed to happen in real life… I stopped. I didn't know what to think anymore.
I could feel confusion coming from him. It must have something to do with the fact that I was speaking to him like this. The confusion wasn't directed at me, but at what I'd said. I could sense a longing, too – it was faint, but it was there.
Reality can be a cruel dream. He blinked once. However, it is what you believe in that is real. As such, reality shifts for any one being.
So it's like…I can choose not to believe any of this, and this will never be my reality?
Something to that degree, yes.
I see… I pondered for a second. Well, this is as real as it gets, doesn't it? You and me speaking like this, through our minds. So…none of this is a lie. That's what I believe.
Satisfaction that wasn't mine coursed through me. If that is what you choose.
Yeah. I do. Or else you wouldn't be real.
I'm honored.
I raised my hand tentatively; then I paused. Do you mind if I…
No need to ask permission, my friend. He touched the tip of his snout to my hand. His scales were smooth, rock hard, and much warmer than I'd expected. There was a deep humming resonating from his throat; it sounded like contentment. Without meaning to, I smiled.
I wasn't sure how long we stayed like that, but after some timeless minutes passed Umbraen lifted away his snout and swiveled his head around. I turned to face the same direction and saw that the twins had approached us.
"So," Ven said, amusement clearly apparent in his tone, "do you believe us now?"
"Yeah." I nodded fervently. "Yeah, I believe you."
"Man, Sora wasn't kidding," Roxas remarked, running his fingers through his hair. "Ven's ability doesn't work on you even a smidge."
I stared. "What?"
"Oh, right – I guess we never got to that last night, did we? Because of his constant whining." Ven rolled his eyes at his brother. "But I'm sure that since you've seen Umbraen for yourself, you'll believe me when I tell you."
"Tell me what? Just get to the point."
"I'm a Veritable. Or in other words," Ven interjected before I could say anything, "I'm able to make anyone believe that whatever I say is the truth. If I told a random stranger that the sun is a giant glowing baseball, they'll believe me without question. It lasts about as long as I want it to, and then they'll completely forget what I've told them. It's pretty fun to mess with." He smiled wistfully.
"Oh, really?" These guys had unnatural abilities, too. Was the craziness ever going to come to an end?
"Well, not anyone, exactly," Roxas revised. "Most people, yes, but not everyone."
"Does it work on you and Sora?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"As much as Ven wants it to," Roxas emphasized, leaning toward Ven, who scowled like a kid and turned away, "no, it doesn't. Not anymore, anyway. Once we realized what was going on and what Ven's abilities were, we made arrangements so that it doesn't work on us anymore. There are a few exceptions though. You, for one. Or as Sora says, anyway." He suddenly looked thoughtful, and crossed his arms. "I wonder how he knows so much about you when he's only seen you for a few months."
"You're not alone there." I did wonder at how Sora was so knowledgeable about my whole aspect – even parts that I didn't even realize were there. It was like he was reading deep into my heart without me being conscious of it. Or, a more believable assumption was that maybe he knew me from before, though as I considered it I had to admit that was pretty far-fetched, too.
Roxas unfolded his arms. "Well, in any case, we thought that we could make it so that it would be easier for you to believe us with Ven's Verity, but Sora said that there wouldn't be any point since it wouldn't work. We decided to try it anyway, just to confirm what he told us. He was dead-on, apparently."
"But still," Ven cut in with a breath of relief, "you were still a toughie to convince. You put the 'skeptic' into 'skepticism'."
"Compliment or insult?"
"Eh, maybe a bit of both."
"Thanks a bunch."
"Don't mention it."
In the middle of this exchange Umbraen breathed out a warm gust of charred air that blew back our hair and growled amusedly. The three of us laughed out loud as his huge bat-like wings buffeted the stuffy air.
"Oh, guys, I've been meaning to ask," I said when our laughter subsided.
"What about?" Roxas asked.
"Okay, well, you've finally convinced me that Umbraen is really real, so I want to ask…is he the only one?"
"Only one?" Ven prompted.
"I mean, is he the only…dragon here?" Despite me finally believing that Umbraen was real, it was still difficult to say out loud. "Do you guys have one, too?"
"Oh, no way," Ven answered quickly as he shook his head a tad harder than he needed to. "Not us. We prefer to keep our feet on the ground. Trying to tame one is completely out of our league. Only three people have managed to do it in the past decade. And as you can probably see" – he gestured at Umbraen, who was preening his left wing – "you're one of them."
"I'm one of three people? To tame a dragon? In the past decade?" Too much. It was too much. I couldn't take any more without hyperventilating. My knees were getting wobbly and I was getting light-headed, something that the twins noticed.
"Hey, are you okay?" Roxas asked in a concerned tone, grabbing my shoulder again to keep me from falling. "You look like you're about to pass out."
"Won't be surprised if he does," I heard Ven mutter through my pallor.
"Ven, be a little considerate!" Roxas snapped. "I'm pretty sure you'll react the same way if you were in his shoes."
"All right, I'm sorry. Sheesh."
"I…I'm okay," I managed to say, but apparently that wasn't convincing enough for Roxas, since he held on to me all the tighter.
"I'm fine, really," I insisted and brushed off Roxas's hand with a little effort. "I just….got overwhelmed. It won't happen again. I – I can take it."
Roxas still looked unsure, but he made no move to grab me again, for which I was grateful. These three had unnatural physical strength, and they probably didn't even realize how painful it was for me whenever they held my hand or grabbed my shoulder.
"So, where were we before you almost passed out on –" Ven faltered when a death glare came his way from Roxas's narrowed eyes, and picked up with an amendment. " –er, before you panicked?"
"Something about me being one of three people to tame a dragon in the last ten years. Speaking of which…who're the other two?" I asked out of sheer curiosity. I also had no idea what it meant to 'tame a dragon', exactly, and all I could fathom was that it wasn't the easiest thing to do, judging from Ven's reaction. But as of now there was a whole bunch of things out of my reach, so I decided to touch up on it later. This matter was much more pressing for me, in the short run.
"There's one of them now," Ven said, cocking his head behind him while grinning.
The elevator door hissed open and Sora emerged from it, still limping slightly, but overall he seemed better than yesterday. At least he was walking on his own without too much difficulty.
"Sora!" Roxas rushed forward and started fussing over him like a miniature mother hen. "What are you doing, you shouldn't be moving around yet! You're not feeling dizzy or anything, right? Do your knees still wobble? I –"
Sora – with some difficulty – managed to wave him down. "I'm fine, Roxas; I'm not about to keel over. You know worrying too much is a health hazard in itself, right? I only came down here to see what you three were up to." He then looked from me to Umbraen, stared at him for a minute or two, and gave a low whistle as he turned to the three of us again. "Aren't you moving along a bit quick. I was going to save Umbraen for last, but I guess that's all out the window after today. I'm surprised Xaros didn't pass out."
"Well, he came close," Ven said, and when this triggered an alarmed look from Sora, he quickly clarified, "Xaros managed to stay conscious, so it's all good. He even got to talking with Umbraen. We were pretty floored at how well it went, to be honest. Umbraen looked happier than I'd seen him in months."
"Of course he did. He got to see his Tamer after all this time; wouldn't you feel the same way if you were in his place?"
"Well, I'm already having enough trouble trying to imagine what it's like in Xaros's shoes. I think I'll pass on this one."
Sora rolled his eyes.
All of a sudden, things began to click into place in my brain.
"Wait a minute…" I mumbled, and this elicited a curious look from Sora, though I barely noticed. "Is it really…?"
Sora raised an eyebrow in confusion, and then faced Ven, asking, "What's he going on about?"
"Well, I kinda told him that you two were of the three people that managed to tame a dragon in the last ten years. Though we didn't say it was you explicitly."
Understanding rearranged Sora's features, and he exclaimed, "Oh, that explains it! Looks like you got that far, so I guess there's really no point beating about the bush. Has Xaros seen Akuaz yet?"
Puzzled, I asked, "Akuaz?" the same time Roxas answered, "No, you got here before we got to introduce her."
"Perfect!" Sora proclaimed. "Then I can take over from here, you two. You've done enough. You guys can go up now and take a break."
Roxas protested, "But, Sora –"
"No buts. I'll be fine. I'm not alone, and it's not like I'm going to keel over and die if I trip over a wire or something. And besides, you guys have work to do." Sora glanced at Roxas pointedly, and Roxas's expression was one of defeat. Still, he was about to say something, but Ven beat him to the punch.
"Roxas, there's really no point in arguing, all right? Sora and Xaros can take care of themselves. And seeing Sora down here should be proof enough that he's on the mend. Just let loose a little. It's not good for you, not to mention it kind of annoys us." He sighed. "And of course, you don't wanna tick him off. Just saying."
Roxas didn't have an argument for that.
"Okay, fine," Roxas said reluctantly. "At least you're not alone. But promise that you will call us if anything happens," he added, looking at Sora again.
"All right, all right, I promise," Sora said, somewhat impatiently. I guess he must've seen a lot of this from him, which got me concerned as well. How many dangerous situations did they get themselves into if they saw it so much that it irritated them? But I kept my mouth shut.
"Come on," Ven urged his twin, and he had to practically drag him to the elevator.
When the two were gone, Sora breathed a sigh; of weariness or relief, I couldn't tell.
"Okay," Sora said, turning to me. "To business, then. You want to see Akuaz?"
"Well, uh, sure." It seemed the whole reason Sora had shooed away his brothers in the first place. "But who exactly is Akuaz?"
Sora grinned. "She's my dragon."
"She? Whoa, wait just a minute. You're one of the – the Tamers, or whatever they were?"
"You mean you didn't figure that out?"
"I did. I just wasn't sure."
Sora laughed when I said this. I didn't know what was so funny. "Come on," he urged. "I'll take you to see her."
I got a shock when I first laid eyes on Akuaz. I was so taken aback that I could only stare, and I had no idea what to say at first.
"Xaros, I know you have something to say. Spit it out," Sora insisted.
I raised my hands in confession. "Okay, I'm sorry. I just didn't expect Akuaz to be so…" I faltered, not able to come up with a good word, and I let my hands fall to my sides as articulacy failed me.
"Small?" Sora finished for me. "Yeah, I know. I tried to get her to be bigger since you were coming to see her for the first time, but she's stubborn as always. Her will is something fierce. And I mean that more literally than you can imagine."
"I believe you."
Lesson of the day number one: dragons are real. Lesson number two: they can change their size…according to Sora, anyway. Lesson number three: some of them have bad attitudes.
Akuaz was raven-sized, and if anything a scaled-down version of Umbraen – save for her more slender build, golden-bronze scales that gleamed like polished brass, and deep indigo eyes that were looking over me with what I imagined to be a critical light. Her spikes were a light mahogany color in contrast to her scales, and her wing webs were so light I took them to be a milky white, though I could be wrong. Her wings were folded up against her back so it was hard to tell. There was what appeared to be a tiny scar on her left foreleg. In short, she looked just as fierce as Umbraen had been to me, if not more.
Akuaz stared at me for a few more moments before she unfurled her wings, leapt off the dais she had been standing on, and deftly flapped them several times before landing gracefully on Sora's left shoulder. In those few seconds I deduced that I was right; her wings were milky white, but not translucent, like Umbraen's had been.
"Ouch. Easy there, Aku. That one hurt a little bit," Sora winced.
She just snorted and proceeded to lick her right foreleg.
"Um, Sora?" I asked as Sora sighed after Akuaz gave no reaction.
"Yeah? What's up?" He poked Akuaz so that her wing wouldn't be brushing against his cheek, which made Akuaz growl indignantly. I stifled a laugh.
"How big is she when she's, you know, full-size?"
"Nearly as big as Umbraen is now, though I can say she is just a tad smaller. An inch or two, at best. She doesn't like being full-size when she doesn't need to be. So she's usually like this."
"So Umbraen likes being full-size, then?"
"Yep. He tells me he feels safer that way."
"How –"
Umbraen is nothing but a worrywart, a new voice sounded in my head – the tone was kind of put off and annoyed, and definitely female – and I nearly fell backward in shock. I keep telling him that there isn't anything here that can threaten us, but that fool of a lizard just won't heed anything I say, the stubborn rock. I faced Akuaz, who was now staring at me intently, with my mouth hung open.
You…you can talk to me? I asked idiotically.
She rolled her tiny jewel-like eyes in what looked like impatience and snorted, this time a tiny puff of smoke emitting from her nostrils. You act as if you've never talked to another dragon before.
Um…I haven't, I confessed.
Hmph. She swiveled her tiny head to look Sora in his left eye. You would do well educating this boy about how all this works, Sora. Then I wouldn't have to deal with incompetence like this one.
Wow. I just got insulted by a dragon. Pint-sized, no less.
Lesson number four: some of these dragons have serious attitude issues.
Then I was flummoxed even further when I heard Sora's voice ring in my mind, Aw, c'mon, Aku, cut me a little slack. I'm still recovering from severe blood loss, so don't blame me if I forgot to teach him a few things in the way of the Tamers, all right? I'll enlighten him to your utmost satisfaction today, so don't worry about anything.
Fine, then. If you go back on your word I'll rake your face open and you'll have to deal with more than blood loss.
Okay, I won't forget that, Sora sighed, his expression one of weariness and trepidation. Apparently this wasn't the first time he'd been threatened.
I'm holding you to it, was her reply, and she glided back onto the dais, curling up into a tiny ball with her back to us. I was miffed. She didn't need to be so sore about this whole thing because I looked like a complete moron to her.
I looked to Sora questioningly, seeking an explanation as to what had just transpired. He gave me an apologetic look. "Sorry about that," he said. "She can be a bit rude, she can't help herself. As to how she spoke to you, dragons that have been tamed can speak to each other, as well as other Tamers."
"I've been hearing that term over and over today," I observed. "What is a Tamer, exactly?"
"It's a person who manages to make peace with a wild dragon," he explained further, "and as you probably noticed, the Tamers can hear each other's thoughts too. Pretty useful, but risky at the same time. You never know who's listening."
"Like enemy Tamers?"
He nodded in confirmation. "But for us, it's not too much of a problem. We're the only Tamers in this generation. No enemy Tamers this time around. Trying to befriend a dragon isn't something you undertake lightly.
"I see…I've got a few more questions for you, if you don't mind."
"Shoot."
"Well, first of all, how hard is it exactly to tame a dragon? From what I heard from the twins, I can tell that it's probably not the easiest thing to do, right? Since we were only two of three to do it in the past decade." I still couldn't wrap that around my head just yet. I still wondered who the third was, but it must not have been an enemy, since Sora didn't seem to be too concerned.
"You're right; no it's not," Sora agreed. "It's much harder than you can imagine. It's difficult enough that people call you crazy for even thinking about doing something so hazardous. Dragons prize their freedom above all else, and that means they aren't the easiest creatures to reign in. There is one way to gain their respect, though."
"How?" I wanted to hear more. This was an interesting topic, and I also had some other speculations which I would divulge later.
"You battle it."
I stared. "Battle it?" I asked. "You mean –?"
"Yep. There's a rule with fighting dragons – to show that you're worth their time and companionship, you have to inflict an injury on them. Just one is enough, and every Tamer that's on record did just that, probably since that was all they could manage. You can already assume how hard it is to hurt a dragon after seeing Umbraen, right?"
"Yeah." I remembered the hardness of Umbraen's scales beneath my palms. It would take a tremendous amount of energy to render them any bodily harm. "Not quite like poking a hole in a balloon, I guess." Now I realized the true nature of the scars I'd seen on both Umbraen and Akuaz.
"Yeah, well, in spite of that, there was just one of them who was able to inflict two wounds instead of one."
"Who?" I suspected I knew the answer already, but I didn't want to sound like a complete airhead, so I kept my mouth shut. There was also a possibility that I could be wrong, of course, so there was another reason for me to keep quiet.
"I'll give you two hints. He's one of the last three in the decade, and I'm looking at him," he narrowed down in a light tone, like he was trying to avoid making me look like an idiot but unable to help it besides.
"Well, ha, ha," I said, rolling my eyes. "It kinda figures, actually, after your telling of how I supposedly did all these things…which brings me to my next question."
"Which is?"
"From what I understand after everything that I heard from you, you're saying that I did all of what you've said. What I'm wondering is…Why don't I remember doing any of it? I mean, I'm pretty sure that I'd have remembered dueling a dragon at some point, of all things."
Sora raised a finger dramatically, then lowered it with a dubious, "That…is a discussion for another time." He looked at me apologetically. "Sorry, Xaros. I'm sure you can understand, right?"
I was about to protest, but then I sighed. "Yeah…"
Lesson of the day number five: some questions about your life are strictly confidential.
When we went back up to the house it was early evening, and Roxas was nowhere in sight. Ven informed me (mostly because Sora probably already knew) that he was in their room working on something. I wondered what it was, but they didn't let me walk inside and find out.
"He won't be able to concentrate with you hovering around him," Ven had explained. "He also is the only one able to work on it, so leave him alone for now."
I had no idea what he meant by that, but then again I didn't know much of what anything meant nowadays. I was used to it, but it didn't mean that I had to like it. So I conceded with good grace. Now we were lounging on the couches in the living room. Sora had gone back to his room, and Roxas was working on a project known only to these three.
"So…what're we gonna do now?" I asked.
"Hmm…" Ven mused. "I don't know. Want to spar outside?"
"Don't think that's such a good idea." I swear; these guys were not normal, in both literal and figurative senses of the phrase. What sixteen-year-old suggests sparring when asked how they want to occupy their time?
"Why not?" he argued.
"Well, I don't have practice versions of my swords, you know. What if I land a hit on you and…and you get hurt?"
Ven's face fell when he realized what I meant. "Oh," he said dejectedly. "Right. Wouldn't want me to panic again and give Roxas a heart attack, huh?"
I felt kind of guilty for bringing that up; Ven's hemophobia was a touchy subject. But I really didn't want to swing around magical knives at the moment, anyway, and there was no other way to convince him. I've had my fill of abnormal for the day.
"Sorry," I said quickly.
"No, it's fine; you're right." Ven lay down on the two-seater couch. "We could play Go Fish again."
"Sure. I'm positive that will be loads of entertainment."
"Oh, come on, Xaros; don't be such a sore loser. I honestly don't know why I always win, okay?"
I scoffed. "Right. Anyhow, what are we going to do about dinner? It's getting late."
"We could go out to a buffet or something. Sora can cook, probably, but I don't know if Roxas is going to give him the okay just yet." He sighed. "I'm so sick of eating his food. Next time I see half-cooked meat loaf I'm going to puke."
I couldn't really argue with him there. Roxas obviously was not the best chef in the house, and his less-than-edible culinary products only exacerbated the assumption.
"Not gonna argue with that," I agreed.
"Hey, why don't we go out for dinner?" Ven suggested, suddenly sitting up with his eyes bright. "We could use a change in the menu. I bet that even Roxas will cave. He doesn't deny that his food sucks."
It was starting to sound tempting, but unlikely, to me. Roxas wasn't a pushover when it came to things like this; that much I knew. Still, since it was getting late and we hadn't really done anything productive, it really was inviting.
"Well, why not?" I grinned. "We could all use a breather."
It took some convincing (especially on Roxas's part) but we managed to get the two of them to agree on a night out. The only issue had been to decide where to go, and we didn't have a whole lot of options to begin with – Roxas had qualified that we needed to go somewhere low-budget, not crowded, and small (because Sora was still on the mend, he could get hurt again, yadda yadda). By this time I had wanted to whack him upside the head for being such a wet blanket, but Sora interjected just as I was planning on raising my arm to hit him by saying that Roxas shouldn't be so concerned; it was only going to be for a few hours at the most, and being at a good restaurant with lots of people wasn't necessarily going to land him six feet underground since as a general rule, restaurants were where people went to enjoy good food, not sign their death warrant.
I was frustrated. Sora always interrupted before something bad was going to happen between the four of us right before it occurred. It was like he could predict the future, which was entirely possible. I didn't get to exact my revenge, no matter how small, whenever he was around. I had no idea why he couldn't just let me get one hit in, but unfortunately, I was pretty sure he had good reason to, and I didn't want to trigger Sora's temper, in any case.
"Okay, fine," Roxas finally caved after much pressuring. "Just don't blame me if something bad happens."
I should've known that something always bad happens with the four of us. Especially with me involved.
The restaurant was low-key. Nothing too fancy, but not too shabby either. It was a low brick building that looked like it had been refurbished after it had been worn with age, and the name of it was in such loopy calligraphy that I couldn't read it, but it seemed like an Italian place, which was just great since food from that place was way too starchy for me. There were several benches right outside the building with those huge plastic parasols that never actually fended off the sunlight or the weather conditions completely. From the exceedingly small crowd, I guessed that the business was going slow that day.
"Italian food? Really?" Ven said jauntily. "Awesome!"
"We can't go extravagant here, Ven. We don't have all the money in the world, you know," Roxas pointed out.
"Who said I wanted to? I just want all the garlic breadsticks that we can get. I swear I could live off that stuff."
"And die off of them, too," Roxas snickered, but Ven didn't hear, since we'd walked in and multiple conversations were buzzing about the place.
"Sora, can we not pay anything while we eat here? I mean, I can convince them that we're people who don't need to pay." There was a mischievous edge to his tone, and from the way Sora rolled his eyes I assumed that this wasn't the first time Ven had pulled his "make-them-believe-anything-I-want" card.
"Ven, if we do that we're going to be fined otherwise. I know you can let it wear off when you want it to, but I don't think we should take the risk here. You never know who is listening, okay? We're paying like everyone else. No arguments." Sora then gave him a steely look that said that he would get into big trouble if he resisted.
"Okay, okay," Ven said, breathing a sigh of annoyance. "I didn't mean to suggest it in that way though."
"Uh-huh."
"I'm serious!"
"Yeah," Sora said, scoffing. "Sure. Whatever."
"Um, in or out?" I broke in, partly because I was genuinely curious and partly because I didn't want to wait any longer for food.
"Out," Roxas said promptly. "We could actually have some fresh air. I don't like it in here. It's really stuffy."
For the first time today we all agreed with no arguments, and decided to grab a table outside. After deciding what to eat from the overhead menu, Ven and I left to save a spot while Roxas and Sora stayed behind to pay for the four of us.
"You serious about the breadsticks?" I asked as we walked around looking for the table that didn't look as if it would collapse when a puppy sat on it.
"Serious as a heart attack," he replied, testing a bench that lurched dangerously sideways. "You don't want it, and it'll end up in my stomach one way or the other. They're that delicious."
"Why do you like such strong-flavored foods? Don't you get sick of it?"
"Heh, no way." His eyes twinkled as he narrowly avoided a stray piece of plastic from the table on his immediate right. "I can honestly live off just breadsticks. I'd like to try but Sora won't let me. He says it's not good for my health, or something similar."
We lapsed into silence as we continued to test the tables. After over two full minutes of searching and test-sitting, we managed to find the least rusty table at the end of the court. At least it didn't threaten to break under our combined weight. A group of three people passed me as they entered the restaurant. I could've sworn one of them had been staring at me, but I didn't pay much attention to it; I was too preoccupied with calling Ven over as he was trying vainly to screw on a rusty bolt that had fallen off the bench he'd been sitting on. We sat down and continued our conversation.
"Honestly, I don't blame him there," I picked up where we left off. "Carbs from Italian food aren't exactly a fit body's best friend."
Ven shrugged. "So? They're completely worth it."
"Personally, I don't agree."
Suddenly he tensed.
"What?" I asked, but he motioned for me to keep my voice down.
"It's too quiet," Ven noticed nervously. "And it shouldn't be taking the two of them this long to pay for our food. There weren't a whole lot of people inside."
I realized that he was right. The faint buzz of murmuring voices that had emanated from within the walls of the brick building had ceased, and Sora and Roxas hadn't come out yet. Three more people had gone in since we had arrived here; shouldn't there have been more conversations going on?
Before I could get a syllable out, Ven yelled, "Xaros, duck!" and shoved my head down to an inch from the table just as the window next to us exploded into tiny translucent shards of glass in a deafening CRASH. The both of us ducked underneath a table for cover as the rest of the windows shattered and disintegrated. The people started screaming from inside and rushed out the doors in a stampede. In the midst of the chaos nobody noticed us taking shelter beneath the tables.
"What just happened?" I yelled to Ven over the cacophony. Glass shards were flying everywhere. I turned my back to the windows so my face wouldn't get cut.
"Another attack!" Ven shouted back, trying to shield himself from the glass with a stray plastic tray. "Someone ambushed us!"
It took a few moments before the windows stopped exploding into a million pieces and the ground was covered in crystalline dust. We crawled from underneath the tables, careful not to touch the glass with our bare hands, and straightened. My breathing was rattled. The silence after the explosion was the most frightening thing I'd experienced.
I turned to Ven, my heart filling with dread. He looked as devastated as I felt. "Sora," I said, my voice hollow. "Roxas, too."
"Inside," Ven said urgently, looking so fearful he almost looked deranged, "Hurry!"
Without hesitating, the two of us charged inside, and were met with a sickening sight.
The place was covered in rubble. The tables and chairs had been destroyed, and pieces of the furniture were lying everywhere. The majority of the light bulbs had likewise exploded and was part of the billowing cloud of dust in the facility. The few that had survived were flickering dimly. The curtains had been torn to shreds in the force of the blast. The front counter was nothing but dust, and there were scorch marks everywhere. There were blots of blood on the wall to my left, and I didn't want to know who it belonged to nor could I let Ven see lest he got caught in another panic attack, so I shifted my position slightly so the blood was blocked from his view. The sight certainly disturbed me, but was nothing compared to when I laid eyes on the ones who had caused it. It was the same three people that had walked in earlier, in ensembles much too familiar: the black cloak, the red shoulder plate. It was them again.
Standing in front of where the counter had been, encased in a huge transparent bubble, were Sora and Roxas. Roxas was holding up a hand, like he was trying to ward them off. He appeared strained; he was pale and beads of sweat were running down his face. Sora's expression was that of shock, anger, and concern. The area of the floor around them was completely free of debris.
The bubble vanished, and Roxas fell to one knee, breathing hard. Sora bent over his brother protectively, glaring at their attackers. If the two of them noticed us, they gave no indication of it. They probably wanted to keep their attention on themselves.
"You bastards!" Sora shouted, his face flushed in his rage. "You involved innocent humans in your attack! Leave them out of it! It's just me you want!"
"Clever young man," one of them said. I couldn't tell who it was since their backs were to us. He sounded older, like an adult. "And don't get us wrong, lad; we didn't want to attract all this attention from these humans, either. But this was the perfect opportunity for us – you had let your guard down and we were able to launch our attack without any of you noticing. But him" – the one in the middle pointed to Roxas, and his voice dripped with distaste – "that boy was the only upset. If it weren't for him, we would have succeeded!" he spat, slicing his hand through the air. "I would've gladly put the lives of the humans at stake to see that boy dead! He has interfered with us all too often, in our attempts to eliminate you! You and that accursed Fataliaque, you who stand in the way of our Master's triumph!"
The back of my neck prickled; I'd heard that term refer to me once before – in the dream I had, in which Silfur had called me the same thing. What was a Fataliaque? And why did they want me dead so badly? I didn't even know of their existence until recently.
"That's not my problem," Sora answered heatedly, balling his fists. "The only triumph he will ever hope to experience is his life being spared by my hand! And I don't see any chances of that happening in the future! He is nothing but a senile bastard who is ignorant of the source of true power! Filth like him cannot be allowed to live!"
"Arrogant boy!" a second voice shouted; this voice sounded female. The figure on the immediate left of the middle one took a step forward threateningly. "You dare mock the Master? I should kill you right now!"
"Go ahead and try," he growled, as his silver blade appeared in his hand once more in a flash of blue. "It'll be the last fight you'll ever pick." Its gems glowed, and I could feel its aura of power even from where I was standing. The three of them staggered back several steps as the energy radiating from Sora's weapon assaulted them. For some reason it didn't affect Roxas, whose face was actually getting less pale by the second. The color seemed to be coming back to his face, but he stayed down, feigning exhaustion. I wondered what they had in mind.
I turned to my right, where Ven was standing. His expression was one of vigilance and torment; he looked like he was dying to help his brothers despite knowing it was forbidden, but also seemed to be waiting for something at the same time. The wave of energy didn't seem to have an effect on him, either.
"You…you won't get the best of me, heathen!" With a strangled battle cry, the female charged at Sora, unsheathing a scimitar of wickedly sharp steel from her belt at blinding speed. The other two were still immobilized.
I was about to shout out a warning to Sora, but he didn't need it. In one swift motion, he deftly knocked Roxas out of the way and parried her oncoming blow before knocking it aside. He attacked her first this time, forcing her to block the swing. The two exchanged several blows, but it was clear to me that the woman was having a hard time defending herself. Sora blocked her last strike, and then managed to push her back several steps. She leapt back and distanced herself from him and his sword. Her body shook with what I took to be anger.
"God dammit! Die, you flea-bitten dog!" She advanced on him again with alarming speed.
Just as quickly, Sora ducked, got under her guard, and jabbed her in the gut with the butt of his sword. The woman slumped to the floor with a faint moan. I stood there open-mouthed. He did all that without the slightest change in expression.
Just before I was ready to start feeling relieved, the third advanced on him just moments after the woman went down. My hope plummeted further when Sora's sword vanished and he staggered, catching himself against the wall while clutching his abdomen. He was still somewhat impaired from his previous stab wound, and fending off the woman must have had taken most of the energy he could muster.
The first of the three let out a merciless cackle. He didn't even heed his comrade who had just been felled by Sora. "Well, well, seems like the mighty Liberator has run out of steam! You won't last long. That fool of an upstart Nakhom may not have finished the job, but he served his purpose in making this venture one of less obstruction by forcing you to smite your own body. Your faithful little Guardian is too weak to help you now!"
"Rrgh…" Sora could only watch vigilantly as the last warrior closed in on him; this one wielded nunchucks made of a shiny, black material bound together not by chains, but strings of energy. I didn't see how Sora would fare against him without the weapon or the energy he needed to defend himself. The third of the ambush party raised his weapon –
"Ven! Now!" Roxas screamed, and Ven didn't waste a second. In a blaze of green a three-foot-long silver boomerang appeared in his right hand and he threw it before I could take a good look at it. It weaved around the two that were still standing with blinding speed, who were stunned with the sudden acknowledgement of our presence. A trail of green light that was left in the weapon's wake created a glowing emerald web which surrounded our accosters. The boomerang returned to Ven's left hand, de-materialized in a flash of jade and, spinning around, Ven yanked both of his arms inward, crossed before his face. The green net of energy immediately tightened, immobilizing their opponents. I noticed that the threadlike green trails weren't trails at all, but actual bonds that had streamed out of the weapon. I could only stand there and watch, appalled at the level of skill that he'd just displayed.
"I've got you!" Ven stayed in the position to keep the energy thread taut. "No more funny business. Try anything, I'll pull this thread and slice you to ribbons. I don't need to look back at you to know if you're trying." He then called out to Roxas, "Roxas, they're secured! Get Sora!"
Roxas immediately rushed to Sora's side, but then called back, "What about you?"
"I'll be fine! Just make sure that Sora doesn't get hurt! I know you're good at that!"
Roxas hesitated, but proceeded to erect the transparent bubble from before, which must've been a force field. Now properly guarded, Sora summoned his sword once more, and the energy that emanated from it was kept within the barrier. Since I saw that it had given energy back to Roxas before, I could guess what they were bracing themselves for.
"You!" the leader snarled, straining against his bonds to no avail. "How long have you been standing there?"
"From the start. Turns out that my brothers did a pretty good job keeping your attention from turning to us. You know, your leader seems to have nothing else in interest other than wanting my brothers and the 'Fataliaque' dead." A shock ran through me when he said that. "Something is going on, isn't it? Something that he is trying to keep in the dark. What is it?"
"It is no concern of yours!" he snapped. "The Master's business is his alone! And I will not be restrained by a mere child!" He fought even harder, but Ven only tightened the bonds, causing them to cry out.
"I think you just have been," Ven said. "As long as I'm around, you won't be killing anyone. Especially any member of my family or the only hope against you tyrants!" With that he clenched his hands into fists, and the trapped assassins screamed in pain as they were enveloped by emerald-colored bolts of electricity. It stopped after several seconds.
"Why you…!" he wheezed, and turned his head to glare at him with venom, but he noticed me first.
"Th-the Fataliaque!" he gasped, forgetting about Ven. "I thought he was – !"
"'Fataliaque'?" Ven asked slowly, turning to face me. "What are you talking about?"
"No!" he cried, frantic now. He completely disregarded Ven's words. "No, he shouldn't be alive! How is he still among the living? It's not possible!"
"What are you saying?" Ven demanded. "Answer me!" He unleashed the volts of electricity again causing them to shriek in pain. I wanted to claw at my ears to block out the horrible sound, but I couldn't move for fear.
"That – that boy – he should be dead – we'd heard that – that he'd doomed himself by his own volition – that boy shouldn't be alive – he can't be!"
I didn't understand what he'd been rambling on about. I never remembered actually trying to kill myself, though I couldn't deny that I had entertained the thought multiple times.
For the first time in the conflict, the third assassin spoke up. "I tried to warn you, Tamash!" he cried. His voice sounded young, like a teenager's or a young adult's. Tamash must've been the leader guy's name. "I told you he was still alive! I told you I saw him outside the building, but you kept saying that I was mistaken and now we're paying for it! Ahkma is fallen and the Fataliaque's alive, and now the Master's cause is doomed!"
"FOOL!" Tamash thundered. "Have you lost your faith by mere coincidence? The Master's cause will never be lost! He may be still alive, but he can still be eliminated with time!"
"Xaros!" Ven turned his head to face me, and his face was livid with fury. "What are they rambling about?" he pressed impatiently. "Is it true then? Are you the Fataliaque?"
"I – I don't – I don't know what they're talking about!" I managed to get out, desperation tinged in my tone. Ven's frenzied expression frightened me. "I don't know what a Fataliaque is! It – it's the honest truth!" It was true…part of it, at least.
"Ven!" I was shocked to hear Sora's voice echo across the ruined building. I'd almost forgotten about his presence. His voiced was pinched, but he still cried out, "Don't press him for questions! I'll explain everything later!"
"Explain what?" he spat, his face flushing in anger. "I already know! You knew all this time, didn't you? You knew this whole time that Xaros was the Fataliaque! And you kept it a secret from us! All of us! Why?" He clenched his fists once more and once more the assassins' bodies were wracked by a million volts of energy. He didn't look back at his elder brother once in his tirade. "You didn't tell Xaros, either, did you? You kept it from him, from us!" He screamed in frustration. "I just don't know anymore! I can't take it! I thought you trusted us! Xaros should've been the first to know since it concerns him! But no, you kept quiet about it, and for the good of what? There were two attempts on his life ever since we took him in, and both times I nearly lost both of you! What good did keeping quiet do? Nothing!" He pulled the ethereal strings tighter still, and the assassins screamed at the top of their lungs in sheer agony, but Ven didn't seem to care. He was too consumed by the sense of hate and betrayal that stemmed from Sora. If Ven went on like this, he could seriously hurt himself, both physically and mentally, and might even end up a murderer. But I didn't know what to do to stop him.
"Stop it, Ven!" This time it was Roxas who had shouted out to him, and I was startled to see him sprint over to where we were, leaving Sora unguarded. Without hesitation, he wrapped his arms around Ven, who froze in shock.
"Ven, you've got to stop this." Roxas's voice cracked in fear and tears ran down his cheeks. "You'll kill them if you keep going on like this! Let them go; they won't try and kill us now. Please, Ven…let them go. I'm sure Sora had his reasons for keeping it from us! We couldn't do anything about that! Let it go! Free them, Ven…I… I don't want to see you like this! Please, you've got to stop!"
At first, Roxas's words didn't seem to register with Ven. But slowly, his face hardened in regret, and he lowered his arms, the threads disappearing. I could see –beneath Roxas's arms – that his arms were shaking, with effort or emotion I couldn't discern.
The two men collapsed at the sudden lack of restraint. They appeared stunned, as if they couldn't believe that they were actually free. Before they could make a move, Sora brandished his sword at them and gave them a glare so frightening that it would send even a dragon running for the hills. I could see why the faction would want Sora dead so badly.
"Don't you dare show your faces to us again," he threatened menacingly. "Take the wench and get lost. If I ever lay eyes on you for a second time, I swear that it'll be the last day you'll ever see."
The two of them didn't need any more prodding. Even the leader stumbled in his panic to get out of the ruined restaurant, leaving his assistant to drag the girl along with him as quickly as he could. He gave one last terrified look behind his back towards us before he too vanished from sight.
Pretty soon we were left alone, and time seemed to have stopped the minute the danger had passed.
Sora was still at the ruins of the counter, sword in hand; I was still frozen in fear; and Roxas was still hugging his brother, who still hadn't moved.
I jerked my head to face forward, and Sora's countenance was somber, and he covered his face with his free hand.
"Ven…I'm so sorry." His tone was more than apologetic – it was downright remorseful. He was regretting not telling them the bulk of the truth earlier, and beating himself up over it. I didn't know what I should feel about that, since my feelings were completely jumbled up at the moment.
I forced myself to look over at the twins, but the sight wasn't any better. Roxas still hadn't let go. He noticed me watching and locked eyes with me. He seemed completely terrified and relieved at the same time; terrified at what Ven had come a hairsbreadth's close to doing and relieved that he'd managed to stop him in time. His eyes were also full of trepidation, which confused me. Maybe he was afraid that I knew more about this situation than I'd initially let on. Maybe he was nervous that Ven would push him off in anger for stopping him. Whatever it was, the fear was there.
And then there was Ven himself.
His expression was a conflict of a variety of emotions, ranging from hate to remorse to hurt. I could see a tear glistening on the one eye that I could see, illuminated by the dim light of the overhead lamps. I didn't know what caused it, but I had a feeling that I didn't need a definite answer.
Another perfectly normal day gone wrong, and all because of the one person who had been the target: me.
Long chapter, isn't it? I would have split this into two chapters, but then they would end up being too short, so here it is in one easy-serving jumbo package. Hope you liked it.
Yes, you see a lot of the brothers hugging each other (and you'll see more of it in the future), and it's not just because I'm a sap, all right? (No, I'm not a yaoi fan either.) As you (should) have read earlier, family is a very important element where they're from, and they're very close to each other. And not to mention they go through a whole bunch of life-threatening situations, so it's only natural to have a close bond.
Is Ven overreacting? Possibly. But he does kind of have a temper similar to Sora's, and the secret Sora had been keeping was a pretty big deal. But make of it what you will.
Anyway. Ven and Roxas find out that Sora had been keeping a very important secret from them, something that didn't sit well with Ven at all. Is he angry at Sora for keeping something so imperative a secret all this time? Or is he willing to let it slide because he knows Sora always has a good enough reason to do such things? Only time and next chapter will tell.