Chapter Thirty Nine: Seven Years
"Hey, knight! LET... ME... GO!!!" I shouted at the White Knight. He said nothing, and only dragged me further. After a minute or so, and several cars, we made it to the front of the monorail train, where the White Knight let me go.
A figure was seated, shrouded in shadows. The White Knight bowed while I massaged my wrist indignantly.
"Greetings, Sir White Knight," the figure said. His voice was familiar, but I couldn't tell who he was. "I take it you managed to free the prisoners?"
The White Knight nodded his head, then pointed to me.
"Ah... a memory from my past. It's a wonder you found him..." the shadowed figure mused. "Sir Knight, please... leave us."
The White Knight bowed again, then turned around and went out the door.
"So... Jason Rashar, Keyblade master of Earth," the shadowed figure muttered. "Never thought I'd see your face again."
"Why's that?" I asked.
"You up and disappeared seven years ago," he said. "With that... everything just went to hell."
"Who... are you?" I asked. "I recognize your voice, but it's... different somehow."
The figure got out of his chair and stepped out of the shadows...
"Sora..." I said slowly, shocked at what he looked like. His left eye was covered by an eye patch, while his right arm didn't seem to be there; instead, a purple, silk sleeve dangled down without a limb. He wore an otherwise unassuming outfit; a light blue jacket, a green T-shirt, and faded, torn, and worn jeans. His shoes were still big and yellow. "What... what happened to you?"
"Whadda ya mean?" he asked, taking out a cigar from inside his coat. "I've been like this for five years... oh, right. You were away."
He put the cigar in his mouth, then lit it with a lighter. He puffed smoke out at me, and I coughed.
"I was away? What do you mean?" I asked.
"Nobody's seen you in seven years," Sora said, taking the cigar out of his mouth. He puffed more smoke, and I coughed again.
"Could you not smoke, man?" I asked.
"Sorry. It's one of my guilty pleasures," he said, dropping it on the ground and stomping on it.
"Just sit back. We're trying to avoid detection by the Dark Lord's watchmen, but it's a bit tough... after all, we're in his realm," Sora said.
I looked at him stupidly.
"Uh... could you get me up to speed? I've been gone for seven years, apparently," I muttered.
"Oh... right," he said. "Well... it's kinda complicated. After you disappeared, we took down Amy... but someone else showed up a little while after that. He was stronger than anyone I ever knew, and is still stronger... he wiped us out."
"Wiped... you out?" I asked.
"He killed Riku... Kairi... Roy... and even Serenity," Sora said, sitting back down in his chair.
I was horrified, to say the least.
"So... who is this 'Dark Lord?'" I asked after getting over the shock.
"We don't know... his origin is shrouded in mystery, and he's never called himself anything but the Dark Lord," Sora said, sitting down and hitting a couple buttons. "We don't know if he has any weaknesses, and nobody's ever tried to take him down since... that day."
"That day?" I asked.
"A five years ago, we thought we'd raised enough troops to take the Dark Lord down, but we were stupid," he said. "The White Knight and I attacked his fortress head-on, with an army, even, but failed. That was... the day I lost my arm."
"And your eye?" I asked.
"Lost it earlier to one of the Dark Lord's archers," he said.
The worlds really have gone to hell in my absence...
"So, what are you doing now?" I asked.
"Hiding right under the Dark Lord's nose," Sora said, pushing a few buttons. "We're in the Realm of Darkness, hiding on one of his freight trains we quietly siezed. He still uses it for its purpose, but WE comandeer it. It's our HQ."
Their headquarters is a monorail train... wow.
"I have one more question," I said.
"What's that?" Sora asked. "There's very little time for a Q&A. The Dark Lord's going to be loading this train up soon, which means we'll have to hide while our undercover agents load the cargo."
"It's not a long one. Who is that White Knight?" I asked.
Sora looked at a glowing panel for a moment, then looked up.
"The White Knight? Nobody knows," Sora said. "He never sleeps or takes off his armor, so nobody's ever seen his face. He barely ever talks, either. Some say he used to wear black armor, but..."
An alarm started beeping.
"What's that?" I asked.
"No time. Hurry," he said, dragging me into the previous car. He opened a box and stuffed me inside of it, then I could hear him do the same. After a minute or so, I heard some boots going across the floor, then the shout of a guard.
"What's this cigar? Whose cigar is this?" an abrasive voice shouted.
"Oh, nothing. I was just careless," another, more distant voice said. "Sorry. I'll pick it up right away."
"Well, see to it that you don't leave any more cigars laying around. If you do, I'll have to think you're associated with the Photon Battalion and arrest you," the rough voice said, then walked off. A couple minutes later, my box was opened. I took in a deep breath...
The air in those boxes is WAY stale...
"C'mon. We've got a lot to discuss," Sora said, dragging me into the head of the train again.
"Like what?" I asked, fumbling about.
"How to fix all of this..."