Xanthas and Brandon jumped as they appeared in the new world. They looked around. They seemed to be in some sort of building. The walls were all chrome-plated, and there was a strange noise coming from the right side of the room.
Xanthas cracked his neck to each side. "Well, that was an interesting ride. Hm. Nice place. Seems like it would be a good place to hide from something."
Suddenly, a voice sounded. "Hands in the air, punks!"
Brandon was about to say something when Xanthas turned into the direction of the voice. "Excuse me?"'
"Just do as I say or I'll blast you!" said a shadow near the edge of the light in the room. It held a strange looking weapon. It looked like a gun, but it had a glow to it, almost.
"And just who might you be, my mysterious ambusher? Friend? Or foe?"
"I said, put your hands up."
The creature cocked the gun.
Xanthas laughed. "Very well, then, I'll play your little game. Do as the man says, Brandon. I'm sure no harm will come to us."
Brandon, with a face full of disgust, reluctantly threw his hands into the air.
Xanthas casually reached his hands toward the ceiling as well. "So, my friend, do you have a name? Or would you at least mind telling some lost travelers where they are?"
The creature walked out of the shadows, revealing a long snout, large pointed ears, and tan fur. "Name's Fox. As for where you are right now, you're right in the middle of my ship. Now, I have a question for you punks."
He walked up to Xanthas and stuck his gun right to his ear. "Just who are you two, and what are you doing here?"
Xanthas' face developed an almost pouting expression. "We're simply travelers, lost, running from a terrible evil. We mean you no harm."
Fox jabbed the barrel of his pistol further into Xanthas' ear. "How do I know you freaks aren't working with Andross and the Heartless?"
Xanthas nearly jumped at recognizing this word. "Heartless? What do you know of the Heartless?"
"I know they're a pain in the tail, and that they're trying to wipe out our peaceful galaxy."
Xanthas laughed. "My friend, if you only knew the half of what they're planning."
Brandon spoke up. "Oh, yeah? Then, what ARE they planning?"
Fox looked at Brandon, and then returned his focus to Xanthas. "You know, I'm a little curious myself. How do you know so much?"
Xanthas smiled. "I know so much because I've seen the Heartless in action. I've been tracking the Heartless, trying to thwart their plans for some time now. Unfortunately, lately, I've been under a lot of stress."
"Is that so?" Fox pulled his gun away slightly. "Tell me more."
"Yes, well I won't go into great detail, but let's just say there's this group of people that wanted me for…my…talents. I told them no, and they didn't seem to like that answer."
"They a bad group?" asked Fox.
"One of the worst. They planned to take over all the worlds at one point, or at least their leader did."
"Hm…perhaps I misjudged you."
Fox pulled away his gun.
"Thanks for that," said Xanthas politely. "That thing was hurting my ear."
Fox began to walk, beckoning them to follow. "Had I pulled the trigger, you wouldn't have felt a thing."
Xanthas laughed heartily. "I suppose I wouldn't have. By the way, nice place you got here, Fox. Very modern, sleek, and stylish."
"Thank you. This is the Great Fox. It's the command ship for the Corneria Guard. I've been commander here for a long time, and I'm a celebrated war veteran."
"I can tell. You definitely have the attitude a soldier needs in battle, and you are definitely well-equipped," said Xanthas, looking at Fox's belt, which was decorated with all sorts of strange weapons.
Brandon leaned over to Xanthas and whispered while they were walking. "Why are you talking to him like that? You think it'll get us free?"
Xanthas simply said, "It's common courtesy to flatter one's host, my friend. I certainly hope that you haven't forgotten your common courtesy."
Brandon rolled his eyes and kept walking. "Idiot."
Xanthas fingered the sword on his back. "I heard that, you know."
Fox sighed. "Will you two just shut up and follow me?"
Suddenly, Xanthas froze. What's happening?
Xanthas found himself floating in a dark void. What's going on? I…I…I remember now. I remember…my true name.
---
Asher walked up to Trista and kissed her softly on the lips. "It's good to see you again, after so long. There's something I've been meaning to ask you."
"Oh?" Trista said, pretending to be surprised. "And what might that be?"
Asher got down on one knee, and pulled out a small box. "Trista, will you marry me?"
Trista started crying.
"What's wrong? Do you not want to go through with it?"
Tears still filling her eyes, Trista smiled and laughed. "Of course I want to go through with it, you idiot."
Asher frowned. "Well, then why are you crying?"
"Some people cry when they're happy."
He wiped a tear from her eyes. "Well, I don't want you to cry. I want you to smile."
Trista took the ring from the little box, and examined it carefully.
"I know you said you didn't like diamonds, but I figured you'd make an exception in this case. It isn't too much, is it?"
Trista put on the ring, and admired it on her finger. She pulled Asher up and hugged him tightly. "It's perfect."
---
Xanthas suddenly snapped back into reality. He saw Fox staring at him suspiciously. "What's wrong with you?"
Xanthas rubbed his head. "Sorry, spacing out. Where were you taking us, now?"
Fox turned back around. "You'll know when we get there."
