~Shadows from the Past~
Chapter 3
"Faylenne, focus!"
A sword flashed into view and Fay's mind automatically sharpened into the present, blocking Ulrick's strike.
He grunted. "At least your reflexes are still sharp!"
The morning sun was just coming up, creating a soft orange glow in the front garden. Fay frowned slightly and took her fighting stance. Leaping forward, she started a sparring round with Ulrick, Skye watching attentively. Ulrick studied Faylenne's techniques with a skilled eye and was happy to see she had improved, yet not happy how quiet she was. She was usually a lively fighter who always had a lot to say during training - often so much he had to remind her to concentrate more on the fighting and less on the talking. He saw how her eyes wandered. He worried that Fay knew he was keeping secrets from her. But she couldn't know. It would only bring harm...and more heartbreak than he wanted her to bear.
Fay was so distracted in her own thoughts that she couldn't even keep her mind on the training. The words of that dark-blue cloaked man, Maxeill, kept echoing in her head from yesterday.
"He's coming...he's already here. You can't hide from him much longer. He will find you."
Who was coming? And she wasn't hiding from anyone! It seemed like some sort of silly omen.
So caught up in her own thoughts, once again, she hardly knew when her sword was flung from her hands and she fell backwards. The impact of the ground jolted her awake. A sword hovered above her throat.
"When in a real battle, you need to have all your attention on your opponent. If you don't, you're dead."
Blunt, as always. The time when the black-clad man had his scythe at her throat flashed through her mind. Men in cloaks. Where had they come from all of a sudden? Why had both become involved with her? While the two could easily relate to each other, they seemed to have seperate agenda's.
"Faylenne! Drag yourself out of that vast mind of yours!"
She frowned, more from embarassment than annoyance.
"Sorry Ulrick."
He offered a hand and pulled her to her feet.
"Since you seem to be distracted," he scolded, stressing slightly on the word 'distracted', "you can watch me and Skye."
Fay didn't fuss and focused on what the two people in front of her were doing.
Skye was a blocker. While her arm-length shield did have a point at the end which could alternatively be used for attacking, she specialised in defense and disarming the opponent of their weapon. Faylenne had always been impressed with her techniques. She more than made up for her lack of a sword.
Fay shuffled from foot to foot, feeling agitated and restless. She desperately wanted to take a walk. She needed to go on one of her 'special detours', as Ulrick had always called it. When Ulrick finally did give her permission to go, she went without a moments hesitation.
When he saw Faylenne go towards town, Ulrick got even more worried. The incident with the black-cloaked man was still in his mind - the description was too familiar. He couldn't have Fay by herself. Not until he was sure. Hastily moving into the house, Skye followed with uncertainty, wanting to know what had got Ulrick so flustered. She found him rummaging through some baxes he had yet to unpack.
"Ulrick?," Skye enquired carefully.
She knew something was really bothering him. He stopped and pinched the bridge of his nose as if he had a headache due to stress. His thin beard was beginning to look straggly and unshaven.
"I can't have Faylenne wondering the streets until I know it is safe. Those cloaked figures," he looked Skye in the eye, "Do you think it could be them?"
Skye contemplated. "...I don't know."
Ulrick searched the boxes again and found what he was looking for - a dusty, brown cloak. Without another word spoken he headed outside, shrugging the cloak onto his shoulders.
Once Faylenne was in clear sight of the place she was looking for, she smiled. It was in a quiet place of the town, away from the busy bustle of the centre. Hardly anyone came here - it was just by chance that Fay found it many years ago. Situated in a long abandoned street, there was one particular building that was different from the others. It differed in shape and had such strange markings, settled snugly between two normal Esper City buildings. It matched the height of the double-storied buildings so it didn't stand out from a distance. Walking over to it, Fay nestled into one of the grooves at its base, sighing and resting her head on it. This quirky building brought strange comfort to her, odd as that seemed. She didn't know why. Yet whenever she had a troubled mind, like she did now, coming here eased her thoughts and let her relax. She never told anyone - who would understand? They would find it strange, and Fay could never explain. it. It was a building - how could it bring comfort? She found it weird herself, but she just came to accept it and make it a place to sort out her problems. So what if it was an odd comforter to Fay? If it worked, what was wrong with that?
The sun had reached high in the sky by the time Fay made her way into the town centre. As she reached one of the four squares that flanked the centre square, she was greeted by a strange sight - near a row of shops a small crowd had gathered. Shouts and complaints were heard and Fay noticed the cause of the crowd's anger. A scrawny, young man stood in front of them all, looking worried and imploring. His features made Faylenne's lips twist in a smirk. He had blonde hair which was styled in a mullet, giving him a rather quirky look. It didn't look like anyone would take him seriously. Then she saw his clothes and Fay's heart skipped a beat. He wore a black cloak, just like that scythe wielder. Her curiosity growing, she began to listen in.
"Ohh," mullet-boy whined. "But you have to tell me. It's important!"
"We don't care if it's important!," one of the citizens shouted.
"Yeah! We're not telling you anything!," said another.
"But I must know where Ulrick is!," mullet-boy complained.
"We already told you..."
Fay didn't listen to the rest. She was so shocked that she momentarily forgot to breathe. He mentioned Ulrick! But how did he know him? And why was he looking for him? This was becoming very, very strange.
She caught sight of something and focused on the crowd again. A black mass of something appeared, as tall as a man, which Fay could only describe as some sort of black hole. The crowd gasped in shock, quieting for a moment.
Someone walked out of it.
The crowd muttered nervously and backed away slightly. Another black hole appeared and someone else walked through it. Fay was fascinated. The two new people joined the young man with the mullet and Fay saw that they too had black cloaks. A grip of fear twisted in her stomach. Were these the 'others' with black cloaks Skye had mentioned?
While she couldn't pick out details of their faces, she did see that one man had long, startling blue hair, whereas the other had dark hair streaked with grey, tied back in a ponytail. It looked like one eye was covered with an eyepatch. She listened to them intently.
"Demyx," the blue-haired man almost snarled. "What do you think you're doing?"
His voice was dangerously low and the young man - Demyx, if she heard right - cowered, as if in fear of the taller man.
"I-I was a-a-asking them a-about Ulrick," he stammered. "He's here! Really! B-but I don't know where!"
The blue-haired man hit him a death glare and the crowd got noisy again.
"We're not telling you nothing about Ulrick!"
"You lot should just clear off now!"
"You're not welcome here!"
"Go bother some other city!"
The fierce looking man practically snarled at the crowd, demanding an answer while the man with the ponytail just stood and watched with an amused grin stuck on his face.
Fay grew irritated and moved towards the commotion. She was desperate to intervene and sort out the argument - they were looking for Ulrick. She had to do something about it. The man with the eyepatch casually looked over in her direction. An arm pulled Fay back.
"Let me go!," she protested.
A figure with an old, brown cloak was pulling her away. Fighting and struggling, Fay accidently knocked the person's hood off.
"Ulrick!"
She stopped struggling. The black-cloaked man's one eye widened in surprise.
"We need to go," Ulrick said quietly and urgently. "Now."
They ran into the nearest street, away from those who were looking for Ulrick. The man with the eyepatch followed.
"Ulrick, they were looking for you," Fay gasped.
He still had her by the arm, making her walk swiftly through the City - back home presumably - and he hadn't stopped to let them catch their breath. He didn't answer Fay's comment.
"Ulrick!" Panic edged her voice.
He looked at her, just for a moment. He contemplated what to tell her. Sighing, he stopped and rubbed his scarred cheek, finally letting go of her arm. Fay frowned, staring at her guardian a little impatiently.
"Faylenne...," he began. "Those men-"
A bang cut him off and something purple whizzed by them, clipping Ulrick's cloak. Fay yelped and Ulrick spun round. Standing there was the dark-haired man with the eyepatch. He held a gun - one that Fay had never seen before.
"Well, well Ulrick," he chuckled. "You have given us the slip for a long time."
Fay stood rooted to the spot, her mind racing with questions. Was he hiding from them?
"Do you realise the trouble you've given the Organisation all these years?"
The Organisation?
"But not anymore. You're coming with us." He pointed his gun at Ulrick.
Where are they going to take him?
"I'm not going anywhere, Xigbar," Ulrick said.
Who was Xigbar?
"Ulrick?" Fay asked fearfully.
What did they want him for?
The man called Xigbar switched his attention to the young girl, narrowing his eye slightly.
"Do I know you?"
Ulrick pulled Fay behind him. "She is none of your concern. It's me you're after, is it not?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right." A second gun appeared in his other hand. "Now come along, and I won't hurt you and your little friend."
Too many cloak descriptions, I know! It can't really be helped...
You should know these guys are organisation members, and which ones they are by now. If you don't, you can't call yourself a KH fan, so just get out of here now and play the game properly XD
Tell me what you think so far!
Kingdom Hearts and their characters (C) Square Enix
Faylenne, Ulrick, Skye, Esper City etc etc (C) me