The youth with dark blonde hair was sitting down, strumming his instrument then making adjustments to the cords, not satisfied with the way the sounds were coming out. He knew that show time was only moments away, but he was a a little OCD where his music was concerned.
And there was no way he'd go on stage without his Sitar being in perfect tuning.
"Yo, Emyd, thirty seconds till show time" comes a middle aged man who was also a stage hand.
"Don't care" says Emyd back to the stage hand. His focus never left his work.
"But sir?" comes the stage hand, walking up to Emyd.
Emyd looks at him, his expression serious and rather intimidating. "But nothing. I won't go on stage until my Sitar here is able to perform perfectly."
"Boy Emyd, you can be a pain" comes another, even older man, dressed in fancy clothes. "I've managed many a talent in my times, but I've never had a talent as serious and dedicated as you."
"My fans expect a lot out of me and I expect even more out of myself" says Emyd, feeling it was nearly ready for the show.
"Kid, learn to relax and take it easy every once in a while. Being serious twenty four seven can't be good for you" instructs the manager.
Emyd tries his Sitar again, finding the melody it played to be perfect at last, then gets up and heads for the curtain. He stops and looks back at his manager, saying "Relax, take it easy? What am I?"
"A nobody...?"
Realm Hearts
chpt.14: Musician's Lament
Demyx made his way down the halls of Castle Never Was, humming merrily to himself while his fingers danced gracefully across the strings on his Sitar. He had come up with a new song, which the melody was what he was humming right now, and looking forward to heading out on his mission.
Of course, his reason for this was because he would do what he usually did. He would find a nice, comfortable spot, kick back and play his Sitar while having some Dusk run around and do the looking for him, then return and tell him what they had found so he could write his report for Saix.
Although in truth, even his reports were half assed.
"Demyx, a word if I may" comes the voice of Saix just as Demyx took a step into the lounge.
"Is there a problem?" asked Demyx, walking up to stand before the Organization's No.7.
"You tell me" says Saix, shoving a piece of paper into Demyx face, making him step back then take the paper to look at. "Notice anything wrong here?"
"Hm?" says Demyx, looking it over carefully. "Oh, I know. I forgot to sign my name on the report. Sorry about...wait, how did you know this was mine? Have you memorized all our hand writing styles?"
KONK, Saix smacks Demyx upside the back of his head with enough force to leave a large, pulsating pump on his head. As Demyx cries from the blow, Saix gets an annoyed look on his face, saying "No, you lazy moron. I mean all of this!"
Saix then points to Demyx's words on the paper. Location: A nice looking tropical resort. Anything of interest? Cool looking fish, beverages are to die for. Important notices: Renting a room at the hotel will cost you an arm and both legs...
"We aren't sending you out to slack off, nor do we need to know if a location would make a good vacation spot" yells Saix.
"But I was thinking more long term" argues Demyx. "I mean, we'll get our hearts back eventually, right? We can all go there afterwords and have a party to celebrate...KONK."
Saix smacks him again, then sighs. "You didn't even make an effort to see if there were any Heartless around, did you? Nor did you make an effort to locate the world's keyhole should the need for it arises."
"What's the big deal, Saix? It's not like we can't summon those Heart..." Demyx words are cut off suddenly as Roxas and Xion's voices are heard, followed by seeing them approaching the lounge area from the adjacent hallway.
"Do not speak of that in their presence, understood?" asked Saix, his voice low and threatening. Demyx nods quickly, knowing when to stay quiet when Saix had this look on his face. "They...wouldn't understand anyways. But just a word of warning, Demyx..."
Saix then leans in close and says quietly into his ear "Lord Xemnas hasn't been happy with your work as of late, or should I say his displeasure comes from the lack of work you do. If you don't shape up and contribute along with the rest of us, you will be turned into a lowly Dusk and have to find a replacement within this Organization. Do you understand me?"
"Yeah..." says Demyx, feeling a little mellow now. "I get the message." Either he works or he's gone, neither one suited him but the latter being the less favorable. "But I can't help being this way, you know that."
"Then try to change yourself for your own sake" says Saix. He then turns to Roxas and yells out to him. Once Roxas had reached him, he says "Roxas, I'll be having you and Demyx work together on today's mission. Is that OK with you?"
"Sure" says Roxas, turning to look at Demyx. "Let's do our best out there."
Demyx gives him a half smile, saying "Sure thing...sure thing..."
After passing through the twilight portal, Roxas and Demyx found themselves stepping out onto a beach with plenty of coconut laden palm trees around and a nice cool ocean filled breeze as waves lapped up against the sandy shore.
"Wow, kind of reminds me of Twilight Beach" says Roxas, finding himself feeling a little home sick.
"Ah, this place" says Demyx, running forward with stars in his eyes. Roxas watch's in total bewilderment as his fellow Organization member dances around merrily on the beach, shouting out "The sand, the sun, the surf. Oh, I think I died and went to heaven."
"Well, looks like I know what makes him tick now" says Roxas, shaking his head a little. He then looks around and spots a road not far away from him. "Maybe that leads to a town or something? What do you think...Demyx?"
He looks back to find Demyx had, somehow, already thrown up a hammock and was now laying back, sipping on a drink made from a coconut shell with a straw sticking out of it while his Sitar rested comfortably on his lap.
"Go and see. I'll stay here and take a look around this area" says Demyx though his eyes and tone clearly said what it was he was really planning on doing. Roxas sighs, then decides it can't be helped as he walks to the road and begins to follow it to where ever it leads.
After a bit of walking, Roxas sees a sign near a turn and he approaches it. Looking up and reading what the sign says, he speaks aloud "This way to Kauai Beach. Remember to play it safe in the waters, watch out for sharks, and always listen to the life guards."
Roxas rubs his chin in thought, giving this matter some consideration. He now had little doubt that he was on an island of some sort. Perhaps making a trip to this beach could be useful for gathering information, assuming there would be a lot of people around. Having made his choice, Roxas continues to follow the road, heading towards the sandy shores and playful people.
(elsewhere)
"Oh, what could that mad scientist be up to this time?" wondered the one eyed greenish yellow skinned creature, sighing in exasperation, as he stood outside the large door that led in the doctor's lab. A red light above the door signaled that he was busy with an experiment and didn't want to be disturbed.
Luckily for the one eye, he knew the doctor in question usually forgot to lock the door. His hunch was right as he finds it unlocked and he steps inside. There were various computer screens and test tubes and other high tech looking stuff laying around, though none of these interested him. His target wasn't to hard to spot, being that it was a rather large bodied being with purple colored fur.
"Oi, it is finally completed. Now to add some water and see how it actually looks" comes the purple furred creature.
The one eyed smacks his forehead in annoyance, then says "Jumba, please tell me you didn't create ANOTHER Experiment?"
Jumba jumps a little, then looks back and blinks his four eyes. "Pleakley, how you get in here? I thought I had locked the door?"
"How do you think? You forgot to lock the door like always" points out Pleakley, reminding his roommate and best friend of his aptitude for being forgetful at times.
"Bah, never mind that now" says Jumba, waving at Pleakley to come join him over by the containment tube. "Here, here, come look at what I have made."
Feeling a sense a dread pass over him, Pleakley steps forward all the same and sees a red colored pill floating within the container with the words 629 printed on it. "Shouldn't it be 628, Jumba?"
"Na, already made a 628, but found that after 627's little episode that maybe 628 could use some refinement. So, I put it on back burner for now and moved forward with new Experiment" says Jumba, a sense of pride in his voice.
"But why are you still making them anyways?" wondered Pleakley.
"Well, seeing as little girl and 626 have been finding new ways for the others to be of use, I figured maybe more could be good thing. Besides, I like creating new Experiments to test my skills."
"Uh-huh" says Pleakley, looking at him for a second then back at the pill. "So, what's this one suppose to do anyways?"
"Ah, this one is quite different, you see. I didn't build it from scratch like rest. Before, while out for a walk, I found a most interesting creature and captured it." Jumba then moves from the container over to a computer and brings up an image of the creature in question he was referring to.
Pleakley walks over and looks at it. "So, what is it exactly?"
"I haven't a clue myself" admits Jumba, looking at the image of a Shadow Heartless. "It not alien like use. I couldn't even get DNA from it. But it does have interesting abilities and I decided to try something out."
"Wait, you mean you experimented on this thing without even knowing what it is? Are you insane?" yells Pleakley.
"I've been called worse" says Jumba, returning to the container. "I did a little tinkering here and there. But enough talk. Let's see what the end result is." Before Pleakley could protest, Jumba reaches out and pulls a lever, causing a hose to emerge in the tank and spray the pill with some H2O.
After a second, the pill begins to shake then in burst open, revealing the new Experiment 629. Physically, it resembled a Shadow in shape, slightly bigger in size though. But it's body was now red colored with black colored stripes along the back. It still had yellow colored eyes but they were more angled shape now and its antenna were more lightning shaped and its fingers looked like serrated claws.
"Oo, amazing. Much better than I could have hoped for" says Jumba proudly.
"What are you, nuts? That thing makes all the others I've seen look tame" says Pleakley, taking a second to look back at the computer screen and wonder what method was use to turn that into this.
Jumba knocks gently against the glass, saying "Come on little one. Open your eyes for you creator."
For a second, 629 doesn't respond. And the, red colored slits appear at the center of its yellow eyes, quickly darting around before its lower face opens up, revealing fangs as the altered Shadow hisses violently. Then, without warning, it begins slashing the glass of the container repeatedly.
"Oh great, it's trying to escape" cries Pleakley. "Jumba, quick. Return it to pill form."
"Relax, little friend. Container is special; made of material even 626 couldn't get through. 629 can't escape it either..."
Jumba's words are cut off as a crack appears on the glass making them both jump back. But, to their surprise, 629 stops its own attacks for a second before calling upon the Shadow's shadow power and sliding through the crack. Once out and reformed it hisses again.
"Oh no you don't" yells Pleakley, pulling out his anti Experiment gun and firing. 629 dodged easily and Jumba uses the chance to try to grab it, but this is also dodged. 629 then hisses again before shadow forming and going under the door. Jumba and Pleakley follow it outside but find no sign of it anywhere.
"Perhaps glass wasn't as strong as thought?" says Jumba.
"Oh really, you think?" yells Pleakley. "Now we have a dangerous new Experiment on the loose and this one looks like it can really hurt people. We better start looking for it..."
(Demyx)
As I followed a river
that flows into the sea
I couldn't help but wonder
where this road was taking me
I've wandered for so long
with no place to be
could this at last be my chance
to finally make something of me
I come to a stop
here at the edge to the sea
I gaze on out
and know this is where I should be
Time and again
every now and then
I feel this feeling
that sets me free
Demyx stops his composing for a moment, wondering what he should say next as the next verse would end up being the title for this new song he was writing. Already, he had written five songs since joining the Organization and, for him, they were all being written in preparation for his eventual return to being a somebody once he regained his heart and could return to his own world we he was much beloved.
Assuming, of course, his home world had been or could be restored as well seeing it had been the loss of his world that had led to his current physical state. Sure, he knew the danger in being lazy like this within the Organization. But at times like this one, it never really mattered as much to him as the verse of the song did. He was an artist and when he felt inspired, all that mattered was the creation.
Still though, he wondered. Was he happier like this, the way he was now or did he miss the old times when he was more serious? His lament; a lament that may never be answered...
(Roxas)
"Oh man, big crowd" said Roxas to himself as he looked out across the beach. He had thought the Twilight Beach was packed. But this one made that one look empty. Where would he, could he, possibly start?
"Yo, little bro. You look lost" comes the voice of an older boy. Roxas turns to see a tanned skinned man wearing swimming trunks and a life guard jacket come walking up. He had black hair that was cut like a bowl.
"Not really lost" admits Roxas. "I'm just looking for information, that's all."
"Well, I can't promise anything, little bro. But I'm willing to help if I can" says the young man. "By the way, you can call me David, little bro."
"High, I'm Roxas" replied the Keybearer before digging into his pocket to pull out the Heartless images. Unlike before, when he had used pieces of paper with drawings made by Xion, Roxas nod had a small tablet like device given to him by Zexion that showed perfect images of the Heartless seen.
David takes the device and clicks through the images. "Whoa, freaky creatures, little bro."
"Yeah, they are, aren't they? Have you seen anything like them around here recently?" asked Roxas.
"Have I seen freaky things around here? You bet, though nothing like these. All the freaky things I've seen have come from that Jumba dude's lab" says David.
"Jumba's Lab?" says Roxas, thinking. "Could you take me over there so I can talk with this Jumba?"
"Sure thing, little bro" says David before turning to look at another life guard and yelling "Hey Rhett, I'll be right back. Gotta show little bro here somewhere." He gets a wave in response. "OK then, little bro, follow me."
(Demyx)
A large bubble was growing and shrinking from out of Demyx nose as he had drifted off to sleeping following his song writing. He had been feeling pretty relaxed here and was assured he would be adding this place to his list of comfortable relaxation spots to make return trips to in the future.
A sudden breeze sends his hammock swinging a little which makes the bubble pop and brings him back to consciousness. Yawning, he sits up and rubs his eyes, wondering what time it was. Looking around, he then finds himself wondering how Roxas was doing with the search?
"Man, I'm tired...and bored. Maybe I should do some looking around too?" he considers aloud before waving that thought off. He had a better idea on how to amuse himself. Raising his right hand into the air, he snaps his fingers while saying "OK guys, come out."
Immediately, six Shadow Heartless arise from the ground while Demyx then strums some notes on his Sitar, making six musical notes made of water appear. "Now boys, give me a good show" he says before strumming out more music which makes the notes begins a playful attack against the Heartless who find themselves fighting back, confused by what was going on yet acting on instinct.
Demyx laughs a little at the scene being played before him. "If only life could be like this all the time."
Little did he know that not far away, 629 sensed the sudden arrival of the Shadow into this world and was already moving toward them, driven by its new found frenzy born into it because of what Jumba had done when it had still been a Shadow itself.
(with Roxas and David)
"Here we are, little bro" says David as he and Roxas arrived just outside Nani's house. "Over there is the lab of doctor Jumba Jookiba. Wait here a second while I see if he's in." Roxas nods as David walks over to the entrance.
"Hey, Dr. J, you here man?" yells David through the large door, getting no reply. "Hm, maybe he stepped out for a bit. Maybe the Pleakster knows where he is? Wait here a second little bro." says David before running off.
"Right" replied Roxas who then looks around to see if there was any place for him to sit down at. He then looks at the building Jumba's lab was and finds himself becoming curious. He knew he shouldn't go peeking inside but the temptation was to much. So, he walks forward and steps inside.
This lab was different than the ones back over in Never Was but still interesting looking. Roxas finds himself having to restrain himself from touching anything due to his curiosity. "Hey, little bro? Where are you?" comes David's voice from outside which makes Roxas turn to leave.
And then he sees it. The computer screen with the image of the Shadow on it. Roxas was immediately standing in front of the screen. Looking closely, he realizes there was a video icon he could click. While he could still hear David's voice yelling for him from outside, Roxas was to focused on this as he moved the mouse icon over and clicked on the video icon.
"Today, I found strange little bug thing wandering around along beach. Not anything I ever seen on this island since coming here, making me think it may be new alien life form that crashed here much like 626 did not to long ago."
Roxas was a little shocked by how Jumba appeared at first, but his shock is quickly erased when he sees the Shadow being placed in the container and hearing what happens next.
"As a scientist, I decided to examine it and found many interesting things. Perhaps modifying it can make new type of experiment? I will begin process's now."
Roxas watches in horror as the Shadow is experimented on and it slowly transforms into something that looked like a Shadow but clearly wasn't. "Oh man, this is really bad" says Roxas aloud.
"Hey little bro, you shouldn't be in here" comes David, having entered Jumba's lab and walking up to Roxas. He then sees the altered Shadow and says "Whoa, freaky looking pet Dr. J made, huh?"
Roxas is snapped from his own shock by those words and, knowing he had to act fast and find this thing, dash's from the room at top speed. "Hey, little bro, what's the rush?" yells David, following after Roxas.
"David, what's going on?" comes the voice of Nani a second after he exits the trailer and finds no sign of Roxas. Behind Nani, her younger sister Lilo and the weird alien Stitch were busy getting groceries from the car.
"Long story, Nani. And something tells me you may want to call that Cobra guy" says David.
Nani groans and she places a hand over her face. "Oh great. What did you do this time, Jumba?"
(Demyx)
Demyx was on the ground laughing at the sight before him. His water made musical notes were flinging the Shadows up and down in the air while the little creatures wiggled to get free. It was a hilarious sight. "Oh man, that's just to much" he cackles out while holding his sides.
And then he hears a loud shriek that brings him standing in attention quickly. "What was that?" he says while looking around nervously. A moment later, 629 comes leaping down from the trees between him and the Shadow, making him back up a few steps.
"Man, that's the weirdest Heartless I've ever seen...um, that is a Heartless, right?"
629 hisses at him before turning to look at the Shadows. They knew it was one of them yet its strange appearance was confusing them. 629 moves to them, hisses softly, then without warning, bites all of them which makes the Shadow's bodied spasm.
"Man, that can't be good. I didn't know they were cannibals?" says Demyx who then notices little glowing marks appearing on the Shadow's where they had been bitten.
And then, the six Shadow's begin to change, slowly changing their appearance and looking like there freaky red colored cousin. Once the six looked like 629, they all turn their attention towards Demyx, hiss menacingly, then move towards him with fangs bare.
"Now guys, do I really look like a good meal here?" asked Demyx, backing away nervously.
This doesn't stop their advance towards him and Demyx is forced to keep backing away. He tries to control them, but finds them either unwilling or incapable of heeding to his will. He soon finds himself backed up against a palm tree and on of the red Shadow's hisses loudly before lunging at him.
"Wait a moment" he yells out in a panic while trying his best to cover himself with his arms.
The sudden sound of running feet fill the air for Demyx to hear followed by the feeling of a gentle breeze brushing past him which is immediately followed by the sound of flesh colliding with metal. Opening his eyes, he finds Roxas having arrived and blocked the attack with his Keyblade.
"Got here just in time" says Roxas, pushing back hard and knocking the red shadow back away. He then glances back at Demyx and ask "You OK, partner?"
Demyx breathes a sigh of relief while resting a hand over his chest. "Yeah, thanks to you. Man, if I had a heart right now, I think it would have burst from all the excitement just now."
Roxas grins a bit as he turns his attention to the seven red Shadow; the sight of which surprises him as he only expected to see one. The one, of course, being 629 itself. "Seven of them? Just how many of those things did that large purple guy make?"
"What are you talking about, Roxas?" asked Demyx, stepping up beside him.
"While looking around, I learned this giant of a guy had found and captured a Shadow and did some sort of experimentation on it, turning it into this...thing we see before us. But there was nothing in his video logs about having made multiples" explained Roxas.
"I don't think he did" says Demyx. "While I was writing a tune, some Shadow appeared and then that red one showed up and bit each of the others, causing them to be turned into copies of the red one."
"Is that normal?" asked Roxas.
"While it's possible for Heartless to be modified using some sort of machine to turn them from Pure Bloods into Emblem's, I've never seen anything like this nor have I heard anything about a transformed Heartless being able to turn other Pure Bloods into what we're seeing here" says Demyx, who then chuckles and says "Though I admit that, being no egg head, I could be wrong or at least misinformed."
"Regardless..." says Roxas as the hissing of the red Shadow draws his attention back to them. "...we still have to fight them and defeat them."
"Man, I hate fighting" says Demyx before bringing his Sitar to the ready. "But we really don't have much of a choice, do we?"
629 growls as it scrapes its claws along the ground, making hissing sounds like it was communicating commands at the others. The others respond with their own hisses and claw movements. And then, without warning, they go on the attack.
They were twice as fast as regular Shadow's, moving like grease lightning at their targets with glowing eyes filled with rage. Roxas and Demyx break apart with four going after Roxas while the other three target Demyx. The closest to Roxas leaps up into the air while another two go low to attack his legs leaving the last to sink into the ground and start moving around as a red shadow with even greater speed.
Roxas response is to swing the Kingdom Key up high to block the attack of the one coming in from above while leaping up to dodge the attacks of the other two. The red Shadow's attacks lands against the Keyblade, hitting with enough force to nearly knock Roxas off balance. He pushes it back away from him though as his feet reconnect with the ground and he sends his Keyblade swinging low at the other two, missing one but landing a solid hit on the other which sends it flying back. But it quickly recovers in mid air, landing on its feet and giving off an angered hiss.
Roxas then spots the red shadow sliding in directly beneath his feet and, on instinct, jumps clear. Just in time too as a split second following this action, several red spikes burst out from the red shadow that would have caused him serious injury had he been struck by them. The red Shadow then rises up, hissing in anger for its prey escaping then goes at Roxas along with two others; the three of them jumping at him at once and Roxas again blocks their attacks. But this time, they clamp down onto his Keyblade with their jaws while attempting to scratch him with their claws.
"Man, these guys are tough. Hey Demyx..." yells Roxas as he struggles to knock them off the Keyblade. "Watch your feet. They can create spikes while in shadow mode." He hears a affirming "yeah" in response, the he realizes their was one missing. Turning, he finds the missing red Shadow coming at him fast, ready to strike him down while his weapon was being held down by the others.
'Man, if I don't...' thinks Roxas in a panic. He only had a split second to react or he would be hit by the fourth red and who knows what that would do to him? And then he has an idea. "Pumpkinhead" he yells, causing his Keyblade to shift into it's longer, thinner, black colored form.
The red Shadows obviously didn't expect this as their biting loosens for a second due to the thinning of the Keyblade and Roxas takes advantage of this with a quick and powerful swing that sends them flying, one of them even colliding with the incoming fourth and sending it back. Their response to this was to roar with rage.
Demyx, meanwhile, was fighting his own loosing battle as none of his water note minions were having any effect on these creatures. Quite the opposite. They were having a rather easy time destroying his water minions and at a rate faster than he could make them too. In desperation, he tries something. He had noticed one odd detail about the six the original had made and that was that they had a crack like mark present right between their yellow/red eyes. So, feeling bold, he commands one of his musical notes to do a suicide attack against that spot, hoping that a blow right between the eyes would momentarily stun it thus giving him a reprieve from one of his three foes.
The red Shadow tries to dodge, but the attack was faster due to the nature of what it was going for and the hit is dead on. For a second, it looks like it had worked as Demyx had hoped. But then something odd happens. The crack begins to grow across the red Shadow's face; its body which begins the shake then it explodes with energy, leaving nothing but a few red particles which fade quickly enough.
"Roxas, I think I found their weak point. The crack between their eyes" shouts Demyx.
"Really?" asked Roxas as one of his foes comes at him. Wanting to test it for himself, he thrust the Keyblade forward, landing a perfect bulls eye against the crack which makes the red Shadow explode just like the first one. "Yeah, it does work. Good thinking, Demyx" he shouts gleefully.
Demyx blush's a little, having never been praised before since joining the Organization. It was a good feeling, he felt inside. A few moments later, both he and Roxas had taken out two more leaving them with just three, one of which was the original which they could tell apart from the others as it was slightly bigger and had no crack between the eyes.
The remaining three back off suddenly, each hissing and roaring like wild beast.
"I think taking out the others is whipped them into a frenzy, don't you think?" asked Demyx as he and Roxas moved to stand side by side.
"Frenzy? Hey, that's a good name for these guys. A lot easier than calling them red Shadow's or whatever it was the purple guy called the original" says Roxas.
As they prepare to go finish off the last three Frenzy, something happens. The original growls out something which makes the others enter their shadow states, then go merging with the original which then sinks into the ground into the shadow state as well.
"Now what are they up to?" asked Roxas.
"Nothing good, that's for sure" notes Demyx.
The red colored shadow shifts and convulses for a few moments before settling down, then a form begins to rise and take shape from the shadow on the ground. It was bigger than the original Frenzy, though not by much. It's antenna were longer than before, it now how four arms instead of two and it had six eyes on its head; two main large ones with smaller eyes both above and below the main eyes. Once it had fully formed again, it gives off a loud shriek like sound that sounded like nails on a chalk board, making both Roxas and Demyx flinch from hearing it.
"Yup, definitely not good" agreed Roxas as the Hyper Frenzy turns its attention to them.
(Nani's house)
"That's the last of it" says Nani as she pulls a chair out and collapses into it. Ever since their alien roommates had arrived, the grocery shopping had become so much more expensive and cumbersome. Luckily, Cobra had helped her by linking her to a little secret alien boarding act they gave money to those who allowed aliens to live with them. "Stitch, can you finish putting the stuff away."
Stitch gables something out before getting to work, finishing up in record time as he had become quite skilled at doing this for her. Just as he finish's up, Lilo comes running in and ask "Nani, is it OK if we go play outside?"
"Sure. Just let me know when Cobra has arrived, will ya?" asked Nani.
Lilo nods as she and Stitch take off. She had already called Cobra and alerted him to what David said he had found out in Jumba's Lab and David was currently searching for both Jumba and Pleakley for her. Thinking about it, she wondered if there was anything she could say or do to get Jumba to stop making these new Experiments?
Outside, Lilo runs forward and does a little twirl. "So, what do you wanna play...Stitch?" She noticed he had stopped following her and was sniffing the ground and air. "What's wrong?"
Stitch doesn't respond at first as he continues to smell something familiar in the air and soil. What could it be, he wondered? Then, in the deeper recesses of his memories, from before he came to this world, he recalls something that had happened back on the interplanetary space vessel.
"Ven-Ven?" he says.
The smell was so very much like his, yet different too. But still enough like his to make him recall the blonde haired boy who he had met before. Could he be here now? He needed to know. Stitch, getting a lock on where to go, quickly breaks into a run, ignoring Lilo's yelling out his name as he follows the scent to its source.
(with Jumba and Pleakley)
"You sure that tracker of yours is working, Jumba?" asked Pleakley, getting tired from all this walking around.
"Of course it working perfectly, little friend. I made it myself" says Jumba, no doubt present in his voice. "Strange though. I seem to have been detecting multiple 629's for a moment, then suddenly lessen. Now I'm detecting one but with greater presence than is normal."
"Does it have some sort of duplication ability or something?" asked Pleakley.
"Don't recall giving it such function, unless that was ability possessed by the original source material? Hm, perhaps I should have studied it more before experimenting?" replied Jumba.
Pleakley rolls his big eye, saying "Oh really? You think?"
(Roxas and Demyx)
The Hyper Frenzy launched itself forward suddenly, going onto the attack. Both Roxas and Demyx prepare for their own counter attacks when its four arms suddenly stretch outwards like rubber, one set grabbing hold of their weapons while another arching down and latching onto their feet. The Hyper Frenzy then swirls its head around and sends it antenna shooting forward while the tips suddenly balloon out, slamming them against their faces. This, along with a sudden yanking on their feet send them falling back onto the ground hard while their respective weapons are lurched from their hands.
"Man, that's gonna..." Demyx didn't get to finish his sentence as he and Roxas look up to see the Hyper Frenzy had landed on the ground and now had all four claws planted firmly upon it as it opened its mouth and a ball of dark energy began to build up.
"Just what can this thing do?" says Roxas as the try to move clear. But it was already to late.
The Hyper Frenzy fires off its attack, hitting them both with a massive blast of dark realm energy before they could react; sending them both flying back injured and hurting. While the attack hadn't been deadly, Roxas found himself having trouble remaining conscious.
Looking up, he could see the Hyper Frenzy coming towards them, towards HIM while flexing its claws. Obviously, it wanted his heart; a heart that could wield the Keyblade. Roxas tries to pick himself up and summon his Keyblade back into his hand, but finds neither possible in his current state.
And then a foot comes down close to him. Tilting his head up a little, he sees Demyx had somehow regained his footing and was now standing between Roxas and the Hyper Frenzy. And, to Roxas, something seemed different about Demyx, like the air around him had changed and became colder.
"Enough games" came the voice of Demyx, yet not his as it sounded deeper and more focused.
Demyx then raises an arm up into the air, causing a sudden release of water to shoot from the ground into his open hand, forming itself into his Sitar. He then begins it down, spinning it as he does so while using his free hand to point at the Hyper Frenzy, alerting it to the fact that it was now his personal target. He then brings his hand back to join holding the Sitar and begins to play it.
"Dance water, DANCE" he commands, making a new set of musical notes appear around him. And, like Demyx himself, these new water notes seemed different somehow despite looking the same themselves. Something had happened to him, something that made Roxas uneasy and nervous.
The water notes rush at the Hyper Frenzy, encircling it as it lash's out with its various claws and attacks and while some strikes hit, they don't seem to do much damage. Certainty not enough to destroy any of them. The notes, in turn, swing around and pelt the Frenzy with their own set of attacks, knocking it around and making it even madder with each hit it receives.
"You don't like that, huh?" asked Demyx, grinning deviously at the creature which gives him a low, menacing growl in response. "Then you're really not gonna like this move." He then looks back at Roxas and says "Watch closely now. This is gonna be a splash."
Demyx then begins to strum a new set of notes on his Sitar which causes his water notes to begin glowing. They then begin to dance around the Hyper Frenzy as their glow begins to increase, even releasing a low hum like sound. This confuses the Frenzy, unsure what was causing this noise it was hearing. And then, without warning, the notes stop moving.
"Times up" says Demyx as he strums one final note. "Now, feel the press..."
The moment he says that, all fifteen notes he had made sudden rush at the Hyper Frenzy and slam into it with shocking force. The Hyper Frenzy howls as this occurs and for a second, Roxas is unable to make it out through all the water being pushed upon it. And then, he sees it again as the water vaporizes.
But what he saw wasn't what he expected. The Hyper Frenzy looked crushed and broken, standing there unmoving with dull eyes before it collapses forward onto the ground, still unmoving. Demyx walks up to stand over it, examines it, the brings a pointed edge on his Sitar down against its body which makes it shudder then break apart into particles that fade into the air.
"No more shall you join in the music" says Demyx, his voice low and cool as he spoke.
By now, Roxas had recovered enough to return to his feet. "Demyx...are you...?"
For a second, Demyx doesn't respond or move, then he turns around with his cheeks blushing as he reaches up and scratch's the back of his head nervously and chuckles a little. "Heh heh, you really just saw me do that, huh?"
Roxas could tell he had returned to having the personality he normally had. But still... "Yeah, I did. It may be none of my business, but mind telling me what just happened here?"
Demyx sighs, but smiles all the same and says "I don't mind. You do know about how we master Nobodies exist, right?"
"Yeah, a strong feeling allows you to retain your original forms instead of being converted into Dusk or other Nobody types. Some do have a physical change while others have a change to their minds and emotions. I heard Xemnas is an example of a physical change and Larxene of a mental/emotional one."
"That's right, though it's more accurate to say a strong heart over a feeling, but both are acceptable in my opinion. Anyways, I'm an example of the latter. You see Roxas, before I became a Nobody, I was a rather serious young man named Emyd and music was my life, my passion. The concepts of taking it easy and slacking off to have fun once in a while didn't exist to me. Twenty four seven I was either sleeping, eating, bathing, or doing something that involved my music."
After a pause, Demyx continued and said "When my world fell into darkness and I became a Nobody, I found myself become the exact opposite of the person I had been born as; someone who was lazy and carefree and didn't like putting any effort into it. I guess you can say that being a Nobody is like a vacation for me, one I never asked for yet can't help but find some enjoyment in at the same time."
Roxas nods, understanding. "And what happened just now?"
Demyx laughs and says "Well, every now and then, if I get pushed enough, something of my old self will emerge and take control for a few minutes. That was what you saw back there a minute ago; a portion of Emyd coming out and having his way with that Frenzy."
"And what about that attack you used on it?" asked Roxas.
"That was my ultimate attack; Hydrocide Nocturne. Each of us Organization members has an ultimate attack; one that can either defeat an opponent outright or leave them so weakened that they may never fully recover. I used mine on the Frenzy. It involves my making fifteen water notes that glow with kinetic energy which builds up over ten seconds. If the fifteen aren't destroyed in that time, they will smash themselves into my chosen target and present it with a massive amount of crushing pressure. Even if you destroy fourteen of the fifteen notes, the last one remaining can still have the same effect as the full group. I suggest you remember that, Roxas."
"Yeah" nods Roxas, knowing he'd never want to be on the receiving end of that.
"But also, there is a downside" notes Demyx, getting Roxas attention again. "If all fifteen are destroyed in that ten second time frame, then I as the user will be hit by a back lash of the kinetic energy that they had been building up. Not nearly as bad as my opponent would have gotten, but still enough to leave me momentarily vulnerable and easy to finish off. The same goes for the others ultimate attacks as well. Learn them, find a way to overcome them, and you will have the key to defeating a master Nobody."
Roxas took a moment to let all of this sink in, then a question rises up in his mind. "Demyx, why are you telling me..."
A sudden noise is heard, making Demyx fidget nervously. "I think we outstayed our welcome here." And, before Roxas can react, Demyx grabs him with one hand while opening a portal with another and running through it. The portal closes just as Jumba and Pleakley arrive on the scene.
"Hm, odd. 629's signature has vanished" notes a confused Jumba.
"Don't tell me it can cloak itself too?" whines Pleakley, feeling tired from all the walking he just did.
Jumba shakes his head, saying "Impossible. More likely its body destabilized and it broke down into particles. Pity, guess it was to flawed after all. Oh well, maybe 630 will be better..."
"OH NO, no more Experiments Jumba, my heart can't take it anymore" pleads Pleakley.
Just then, Stitch arrives and sniffs the air. He was sure the source of the scent was here. But now it was gone. "626, why are you here?" asked Jumba. Stitch looks at him and garbles out something, including the words "Ven-Ven."
"What? I doubt that" says Jumba, getting an angry protest from Stitch in return.
"Hm, that was a curious site to see" comes a voice far enough off to the side to not be seen or heard. "Those Heartless got turned into some interesting creatures. I wonder if the boss lady would be interested in them?" The large body figure then turns and heads off, deciding to make a little pit stop before returning to the Vale.
(Never Was)
"..and that's everything that happened" says Demyx, finishing his verbal explanation to Saix who was partly listening to him and partly reading Demyx's report. Roxas was off to the side, his attention towards looking out the window up at the heart shaped moon that would be the door to Kingdom Hearts.
"For once, you did a good job, Demyx. Though I have to wonder if Roxas actually wrote the report and you just copied his words with your own hand writing?" wondered Demyx aloud.
"I can assure you it was all Demyx doing the writing" says Roxas, having heard Saix remark.
Saix looks at him and nods, then back at Demyx and says "Then good work. Keep this up and maybe being Dusked won't ever be a threat in your future."
"Yes sir, says Demyx, though he didn't sound happy about it as he knew it meant he'd be expected to work now. "By the way, any ideas on what could have turned a Shadow into a Frenzy as Roxas called it?"
Saix shakes his head, saying "I'm not an egg head so I couldn't even hazard a guess. But a method of Heartless transformation into something other than an Emblem troubles me. We may need to get our hands on this Jumba's equipment and see what we can learn about it."
Saix then takes a second to look at Roxas, seeing his attention was back to observing their heart moon, then back to Demyx. He leans close and ask "Did you attempt to control the Frenzy?"
Demyx also leans in close and says "Yeah, and it didn't work. What ever process turned the Shadow into a Frenzy to begin with also makes it immune to any control. Of course, it may have just been me seeing as my control is far from the best when compared to you guys."
"Perhaps, but the idea that these type of Heartless can't be controlled still makes me worry. For now, we'll leave it at that" says Saix before turning away and exiting the lounge to report to Xemnas. Demyx decides to retire to his own room for now and rest. Maybe work a little more and his new song.
"Hey Demyx" comes Roxas, making him stop and look back at the Keybearer.
"What's up?" asked Demyx, walking over to join Roxas.
"I was just wondering. Once you regain your heart, do you hope to return to being the person you were or do you hope to stay the person you are now?"
Demyx thinks about it, then says "Actually, a mixture of the two wouldn't be so bad..." It was the preferred choice for him. Otherwise, he'd only find himself lamenting the loss of either in his heart.
(a dark castle in a barren world)
The large, dog faced being finally comes to a stop and allows the rope in his hand to fall t the ground. He then wipes his forehead clear of sweat as lugging all that stolen lab equipment back here had been harder than he had thought it would be. Maybe it was time to lose some weight.
"Pete, what is all of this?" comes a female voice, cold yet curious.
A flame of black, yellow, and green appears from a terrace overhead which dissolves into a tall, slender female form dressed in all black and violet with what looked like horns growing from her head.
"Maleficent, I found a curious new type of Heartless, created by this machine here. I thought it might be of interest to you and the others" says Pete.
"Let's take a look then, shall we" says Maleficent as she releases a ball of dark energy, no bigger than a marble, from her finger tip that sails down to Pete and passes into his head, reemerging a few moments later, floating back up to the dark fairy who grasp it in here hand as she closes her eyes.
"Hm, intriguing. A Frenzy Heartless? An impressive looking creature" she says with an enticed voice.
"And get this. Those guys in the black suits don't appear to have to power to control them either from what I saw" adds Pete.
This brings a smile to Maleficent's face as she says "Good work, Pete...for once. With this device and once we learn how to use it, we'll create an army of Heartless than none cane stand against..."
to be continued...
AN: Well, here's the newest chapter that I bring to you, curtisy of a local Starbucks I was able to visit...well, I tagged along so I could use the wifi for internet usage for an hour or so (however long I get to have while my brother does whatever he's doing next door at the auto shop).
As you can probably tell, this chapter was set in the Lilo and Stitch based world, though I must confess I've never seen the movie all the way through. My knowledge of things where Lilo and Stitch are concerned comes from memory of having seen a few episodes of the series and from playing BbS. So if I made any mistakes concerning character portrayal, then forgive me.
As for Stitch and Roxas not meeting at all during this chapter, I had my reasons. Maybe some of you if not all of you may be able to figure out the why or maybe not. It's just one of those things I'm not ready to reveal yet.
I do have some good news though. As of Friday...well, the Friday we just past, I finally got all my old bills built up over the summer from being jobless finally paid off. Well, I got the check that will allow me to get them paid off. The actual paying them off will come this coming week. So that means I should be able to start working towards getting moved back into my own place and back to living a normal life again.
Or at least that was the plan. Unfortunately, some new crap has come up which brings us into bad news, but I'll save talking about THAT for the next chapter which will be coming sometime in November I hope.
As for the next chapter? It will be the one where Roxas and Xion go to the Wreck It, Ralph world. I had wanted to include it in being released alongside this chapter but I'm still not quite done yet. Close but still a little more to go. So look forward to that. Till next time...