Kingdom Hearts:Birth by Sleep:Destiny's Recall~Ven's Story, Book 1, Chapter 3~
Note:Hello, my fellow readers/writers of . My note for this chapter is to thank you all for reading this far (and if you haven't, please go back to chapter 1 of Ven's story before I sic Master Xehanort on you, lol). And also, I am very excited to thank my second reviewer, Aqua Azul. I was very glad to about what she thought about my story so far. And another jolt of appreciation goes to ShinobiMatt, for giving not only one, but two reviews. I know that the last chapter was boring to the extremes, but I hope that you all will enjoy this more exciting addition. By the way, according to , Birth by Sleep, (the real game) will have a multiplayer cooperation section and you can level up and grow your own characters in, of course, armor that resembles pretty much TAV's. Anyways, please sit back and read the third chapter of Mr. Toshi's story.
P.S: I know I said in BBS:Zero that it would turn out to become quite depressing around or near the end of the story, but that was Terra's viewpoint. And I 'm sorry to say (or am I?) that Ven's will be even worse. I mean, who wouldn't be sad to figure out that your best friend was not who you really thought he/she was? I'm sure that's happened to everyone on the face of this planet, though.
~Eternal Symphonia~
Sunlight dug its fingernails into my eyeballs when I felt a hand on my shoulder, shaking me as blandly as forgotten assignments at school could. Morning peeped into the windows that edged the perimeter of the dining room we were all in, letting the Sun in as well. I had just woken up from the smooth and gentle abyss of sleep, and wasn't too happy to be shaken out of it without warning. Due to this feeling of irritation in my chest, I rolled over on the floor to face whoever was waking me up to bite back at them, "I'm still tired, you know."
Instead of it being the brunette hero of mine, Terra, it was actually Aqua who had decided to bring me back into the real world. She tensed her hand a little bit on my collarbone when my face almost touched hers, her cheeks bruising into pink circles when this closeness was completely realized.
"Uh..." Before I could say anything she flung her hand off of me and backed up a few feet, her long fingernails pressed to her chin in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry. I was just waking you up so that we could keep moving."
"Yeah, you've been sacked out for two more hours than we have, and it's almost noon. We should have left an hour ago."
I flashed a peer over at Terra as I noticed the outline of bottles inside his pants. Diagnosing the puzzled expression that lay on my face, he tapped them all in turn acknowledgedly and nodded, "Potions and ethers, since I'm not too good with magic."
Now I was really starting to believe that these two thieves of Ventus Toshi were hippie fairies or something. Magic? What, was their Keyblade also a wand? I'm sorry I keep dissing on their flaky ways and letting you know about it. But...magic?
"Like this." Before I could even see what Aqua was doing, she summoned her Keyblade and shot a fireball at me. No, seriously. Crimson flames came from the tip of her weapon and were hurtling towards me with alarming speed. I achieved almost missing it except for the little bit that hit the tip of my altitudinous spikes and started them on fire.
"Help me!" Screaming, I stop, dropped, and rolled my heart out. But to no avail, the smoldering towers of red got even bigger as they both watched me wail with fear. Even trying to pad it out with my hands didn't work, my hands having fire biting at them harshly like a rabid dog. I either had to let my hair burn all the way to my skull or get some water on it. But where in hell would I get water in this manor?
The smell of sweltering hair plugged my nostrils as my blondness was sizzling away. By now Aqua was standing in her usual position, crossed arms and a smile, and Terra was practically dying of laughter, enjoying the sight of my freaking out.
"Don't just stand there!" I yelled at them, but figured afterwards for certain that they weren't going to do anything about it unless my hair really started to burn badly. I had to do something myself, without their help. Without haste, I ran like the wind out the front door and hoped that the sudden rush of air would put it out. It finally did.
"Errrrr..." I grumbled, putting my hands on my knees and bending over to catch my breath. Terra and Aqua were still in the mansion cracking up about my oversensitiveness to a minuscule flame. The door was open, but so was the front gate that Aqua had opened up the night before. While they continued to laugh, I raced out of the yard and into the woods, obviously trying to escape so that they couldn't bring me to their cracker master..man, dude...whatever.
"Hey, he's getting away!" I heard Aqua announce loudly to Terra. Before long I heard the mansion's welcoming, ornate doors slam open as they both made their way out to catch me.
"Get...back here!" Terra howled out in fury. An image popped into my mind. And let me tell you, it wasn't pretty imagining the entire world of crap getting beaten out of me by him.
I doubt he'd actually cripple you to death... I reassured myself. But looking over my shoulder at Terra and realizing the intensity in his eyes wasn't really going to back my assumptions up.
Surrounding me were lengthly, dark brown soldiers with their heavy bows drooping down due to the harsh law of gravity. Birds fluttered about, back and forth from their nests with seeds lining their beaks, ready to drop them inside the waiting and impatient young throats that expectantly waited for food to rain down into their stomachs. Each time the parents swept by, they would dive bomb the chicks and leave behind a few thistle seeds and maybe a sunflower kernel or two. One of the duo eyed me with caution, then cawed a warning to stay away. I nodded at the robin to acknowledge that I understood perfectly. But, and this was the weird part, it actually nodded back. Really, Aqua should have let me get a few more hours, because I didn't think either normal me or birds would be able to see or do something like that.
Dirt shoveled into my mouth by handfuls when the crooked root of a tree nearby seemingly wrapped itself around my ankle and caused me to clumsily trip. All I could see at this level were two pairs of feet: two of the four belonging to Aqua, and the black and gold pair belonging to Terra.
The back of my shirt was clutched tightly as the latter plucked me up from the ground as if I was a grape from a vine. I swung back and forth as he stared hard into my face and slanted his eyes in anger. I knew what was coming next.
"And where do you think you're going?"
"Heh..." I chuckled nervously, not knowing what was coming next. All at once weird things started to happen again. What weird things, you ask? First of all, the armor on Terra's whole left arm began to expand and..kind of grow upwards onto his collar, grasping onto any surface that existed on his body. Soon everything was covered on him. Head to toe. Now he had started to look like some medieval knight of some king, except that his armor also had a few futuristic elements mixed in. The only thing I could recognize was the guard on his left arm, but everything else was brand spanking new.
"What is that? A monkey suit, or something?" I chuckled at his new attire, but was stopped almost right away when the back of my shirt was gripped tighter, alluding to what the tone of his next statement would be.
"It's my space travel outfit and also a sign that I serve under a Keyblade Master. It's also to remember those who have..." He announced matter-of-factly, his blue eyes shining through the thick onyx visor that came out from the face of his helm. What I didn't get is why he didn't finish his words and stopped so abruptly.
"Then how come Aqua doesn't-"
The sound of metal grinding against metal screeched throughout my ear canals. I turned my head over to her and realized that she was wearing the same exact iron barrier that he was, with a slight few differences; they both had metallic "horns" on their heads, but while Terra's proudly stood straight up, Aqua's was the exact opposite, protruding straight downwards and pointing to the soil below. I thought that it might signify a little something for their personalities. Like, maybe Aqua's resembled her down to earth attributes and her acute dignity. Terra's probably mentioned his resilient, but also unyielding and vigorous manner of ways. Perhaps it also symbolized a little bit of his extreme stubbornness. I know that I haven't known him for even a week, but something just told me that he was determined to measure where he was and how to get his goals done and over with. Same thing with Aqua. For some reason, I could pick up on their traits without even knowing them. In fact, I had been able to do that with everyone I knew ever since I was technically "born". From early on I knew for certain that Dirk was susceptible to others' opinions and grudges. Like, Yamada's for instance? As I thought about the pair of Keyblade wielders even more, I conceived that their knight-like appearance was all too familiar. But I couldn't seem to latch my memory threads onto my mental image sewing machine. What was it?
...
I still couldn't come up with anything, even though I knew that it was a recent event where I had seen their outfits before. I'm sure everyone is like this, but that was another thing I absolutely despised: not being able to remember something. Once again it was because I hated not being able to recollect my past like almost everything else.
"Done gawking?" Aqua asked me from behind while I thought about the two.
"I guess so. I'm just surprised, that's all." I admitted to them, but opened my mouth again to close it off with another declaration, "Though, I shouldn't be after all of what has happened in the past two days..."
"Like finding out that you've been wanted by two flaky apprentices and their kooky master?" Terra butted in. I think for the first time during our whole story he had finally lightened up and cracked a joke. I know this is weird, but I was starting to kind of like these two. At least, they seemed like someone that I could be best friends with...I don't know. I always have little tender bouts of happiness like this. If you can, spare me the making fun of and just ignore it whenever I mention anything that makes you turn around and look at me like I've just sprouted tentacles out of my ears.
As the aforementioned couple (not romantically. Well, at least I hoped Aqua didn't have a boyfriend) strode away in their full armor, I cupped my hands around my mouth and announced my "opinion" on the matter:
"Not really, since everyone wants me!"
All I got for a response was a face that I knew for certain was aghast and another that I imagined held a raised eyebrow. And I'm sure you know which face belonged to who. Aqua and Terra both cranked their necks back at me and stared. As I was being flooded with uncomfortable scrutiny all I seemed to manage was a devious beam directed at both.
Terra scoffed and Aqua giggled. Rays of joy burst through my heart like a firefighter's hose barreling into a rising flame when I saw that grin through her helmet. It made me...shiver with bright feelings, I guess you say. While they both recoiled at my stupid outburst of silliness, I was able to admire her even more. Aqua observed my out-of-place delight and was puzzled as to why my attitude that was so apparent last night had disappeared. I noticed this attention almost right away and I winked at her, each side of my grin extending to the bottom corners of my ears. Another giggle slipped past her lips when she saw this act.
"You are the weirdest kid I have ever met, Ventus." Terra stated with a friendly snicker. It wasn't a snide or mean comment, just a hearty insult that was meant to be either taken lightly or not taken at all. Really, all it did was make me remember my dream that I had had last night before they took me on the clock tower, actually making me glad.
"Good work, kiddo. I can see quite easily that you have great potential. He'll be enthralled to hear about it. Well, goodbye. I'm gonna miss the weirdest kid that's ever been here."
His words echoed through my head over and over again. What exactly did he mean when he said that "he" would be enthralled to hear about it? Who was the person excited to hear about my supposed strength?
"Okay, we're leaving." Terra did the usual toss me over his shoulder and let my arms dangle like chains over a cell wall thing.
"Could you at least let me actually walk myself?"
"Nope. You don't have a Keyblade to even ride on."
A little flicker of unbelieving flared up in my heart as the two stared at me with these little serious looks on their faces. I'm sorry, but riding on a giant key in armor to find some mystical castle in hell knows where? I take back all that stuff I ridiculed before; this definitely took the sweet, sugary cake of weirdness. Don't forget the millions of sprinkles on top. Also, don't forget to deliver it by riding on your man-sized key to the party of the crazy "keyboarders" and "Master Loonyma".
Terra instantly dropped me carelessly when he noticed me trying to hold back the hysterical screams of mockery, my shoulders heaving up and down and my hand raised up to my lips. My head hit the very top of an enormous rock that was right below us.
"Ow! What'd you drop me for?" I demanded, my skull aching from the sudden impact.
"For being an ass." As this "comment" sunk into my ears and sat there cozily for a while, electricity began to crackle around Terra's hand. Particles the hues of amber, gold, and metallic blue surrounded his outstretched fingers and spun rapidly. All of my previous predicament was forgotten as my eyes watched the light show of glow, almost entrancing me.
The first thing I noticed about what came out of his right palm was the six prongs that stuck out on each side of the blade, three on the right and three on the left. They were all different sizes, but the ones on the left seemed to be a bit longer. On top of these was a thin, rounded head that was showing a depiction of a rising sun. Each spike of light was a lighter color than the indentations between. Connecting this all to the handle was a sturdy rod of obsidian that was edged on either side with a thick bar of copper metal. Both sides were ridged and had little diagonal "slits" on each side, their number adding up to twelve with six per. The bottom of this part slanted down and outwards, giving a little space between it and the cerulean handle that would match up perfectly if they were put together, kind of like a puzzle. A bar that resembled the rod of the blade served as the part where you'd place your hand, and was straight in the middle of the two hand guards. Speaking of the guards, they both, as I said before, were strictly electric blue and somewhat reminded me of two metal wings, each of their bottoms bending out and splitting into two, equaling four in all. At the absolute bottom of this whole blade was a small circular cut through the whole thing, and hanging out of it was a golden chain that held a minuscule sun.
Terra forced the heavy sword over his shoulder and made it take my place. Compared to him it was absolutely huge.
"My Keyblade," He paused to look at my strange facial expression. "It's name is Eternal Horizons."
Well, at least it's not as bad as Divided Fate. I reminded myself. I actually kind of liked his Keyblade and its title. Speaking of which, he set it down on the forest floor and placed his foot on it triumphantly and turned his head towards me.
"Watch and learn, kiddo."
It began to grind and change shape, almost hitting me when the two sides guarding the black rod shot out and turned into giant, tarnished, bronze wings. After the handle had mutated into some kind of rocket booster, cobalt fire began to shoot out of the back. If it wasn't for Terra's solidly planted foot, it would have flown away and struck the building of the mansion. Aqua did the exact same with hers and soon both of their Keyblades had transformed into skateboard-like rockets. At the same time it looked cool, and also really cheesy. I didn't know whether to glare in awe or laugh.
Once again I was placed, hanging, over Terra's broad shoulder. I was going to ask whether I could just hold on to him and hope that I didn't fall off, but he leaped onto his Keyblade in unison with Aqua before I could. And let me tell you, I was pretty scared for what was going to happen next.
Without warning we all shot off into the sky, everything turning into blurs and streaks of orange, white, and copper. Well, at least what I could see through the golden spikes that were flying in front of my face, back and forth, to and fro. Puffy clouds that reminded me of popcorn oozed past us as we barreled through.
I wasn't scared at all at the fact that we were breaking the layers of the atmosphere. You know when you're at an amusement park and you're climbing the hill on a roller coaster before dropping to the ground? Yeah, it was like that. Rising to the climax before steadily lowering to the Earth.
Twilight Town glistened below like a diamond in the rough. The Sun was rising over the horizon and splattering crimson across the sky like it was an artist throwing paint across a plain canvas to make it a little bit more interesting. Vague hints of premonition blared like neon signs in my head; Terra and Aqua were doing the exact same with me: giving me splashes of color to heighten my dull life. Topaz for joy, green for interestingness, blue for amazement, scarlet for power, lavender for spiritual happiness, tangerine for enthusiasm, snow for purity, and onyx for mystery. Before I thought that I was unlucky to have been taken by them, but now I knew that I was actually glad. Right there and then I began to wonder if this was the start of a new story that would lead to the path of heroism.
Even within the few minutes we had been traveling, we began to leave the world behind. Since Terra was the one faced forwards I didn't have to crank my head around for once. It confused me at first, not being able to see the swirled clouds and washes of navy of the Earth below. Truthfully I could capture only the image of Twilight Town and nothing else, the clock tower being the most noticeable thing about the sphere. That was certainly strange...
"Hey, Terra?" I asked quietly so that only he could hear.
"Yes?"
"How come I can breathe out here in space? Isn't there supposed to be no oxygen at all? And how far away is this...'Castle Celest' of yours? And who's Master Lumin-"
Terra shook his head after my bombard of questions, telling me that he wasn't willing to answer them. Then, he poked at his mutated Keyblade and looked back at me, motioning the air current around us. All in all, it meant that he was too busy concentrating on flying to focus on my inquiries.
I turned my head away with a little frustration. Since he thought he was so great, then it should have been a piece of cake for him to multi task while 'keyboarding', or whatever it was called.
I have the right to know..While whining to myself, I failed to notice the measureless void around us. Instead of being a black and empty realm it actually was kind of beautiful. At least I thought so. The backdrop consisted of many of hundreds of thousands of points of light. And they weren't just plain white like the stars back in Twilight Town seemed to be; they actually glistened with many colors. A few intergalactic clouds of nebulae stretched across the expanse and shone proudly their swathes of light.
"Watch out!" yelled Aqua. A n enormous, cheese-like holed asteroid was shooting straight towards Terra and I. Aqua had already dodged it and must've assumed that Terra would have done the same.
"Holy...SHIT!" The loudest cuss I have ever heard from anyone blasted from my captor's throat as he turned his head to realize that it was about to be met with a brown rock the size of a tennis court. At the very last minute he swerved and managed to avoid impact, but only by an inch; the very tip of his owl-like "ears" screeched as they scored marks across it, sparking from friction. He became unbalanced and tottered on one of his feet, his arms propelling empty space.
He fell completely off.
Instant reaction eclipsed my body as I twisted my feet around the thin, middle section of his Keyblade and I let myself fall, while still holding on, to reach for his wrist. I almost didn't make it in time, but was able to wrap my desperate fingers around his metal-covered hand due to my sudden increase in speed. Time slowed as he was suspended there, still thinking that no one had jumped to the rescue. But when he felt the pause in his drop he unclenched his eyes apart and stared upwards with an expression of unbelief. Every part on his body fell limp except for his hand, which was still clutching onto my own for dear life. I tugged upwards on his arm and heaved as hard as I could. Thanks to my nicely sized muscles, I could not even get him up past my elbows.
"Maybe this will work instead: hang on as tight as you can." He ordered. My heartbeat raced when he prepared to lunge, which I had thought was almost impossible when only hanging by one hand. It was as if there was a spring underneath him, for when he leaped towards the bow of the Keyblade the only hard part was making sure he caught the edge. I closed my eyes and tried not to see anything. Lucky for me, I didn't have to be afraid of anything. Terra had climbed back on the little "ship" and was grasping my ankles in order to pull me back up. And when I finally did make it back up there I was thrown back over his shoulder. This time I didn't protest because I was too glad that I had saved both of us from floating endlessly like a forgotten cheerio in a cereal bowl.
Terra flashed his attention over at Aqua once he had reclaimed his position on top of his morphed Keyblade, "Why didn't you tell me about that asteroid before it nearly killed us!?"
Aqua flinched at his raised voice, but wasn't afraid to defend herself, "Maybe if you would have paid any attention to where you were going, I wouldn't have had to. That, and if you did know about it you would have scoffed and got mad at me for thinking you didn't."
All Terra did to reply was spit and murmur, while regaining his focus on flying. No more words were flung in between the two, though I could still fell the tension crackling like lightning around our atmosphere. Usually I would have told Terra that it wasn't his friend's fault that he had been too occupied with something else while the asteroid was flying towards him, but I was too afraid to in the event that he decided to "accidentally" let me slip off of his collar.
We rode on in a drowsy lull; all of us were exhausted from the previous week and weren't exactly enjoying what destiny had decided to toss at us. For me it was Dirk's betrayal, the stressful last week of school, my bruises received from Drennin, my kidnapping, Master Xehanort's stalker behavior, and finally, the amount of thought I put into what was going to happen next. What did Terra and Aqua's master really want with me, some teenage kid with spiky blond hair who was teased on a day to day basis? I remembered that, back on the clock tower in Twilight Town, Terra had slipped out something about a strong heart. But me? A strong heart? If anything, I had the exact opposite of a "strong heart" since I had been dissed on continually over the two-year period of time I had remembered anything.
At last I had harvested enough thought to ask something that would lead them away from their feuding.
"So, your master wanted me because of what?"
"Supposedly you own a very powerful existence." My hero was going to say something, but Aqua answered before her fellow apprentice could open his mouth all the way.
"And," The previously interrupted teen Terra shot a look of impatience over at Aqua before finishing. "That could be dangerous if an Unverse found you when you weren't in the most wonderful mood."
My eyes widened to the size of basketballs. There was another similarity between Terra and Aqua, and my recent dream. Now I had just found out that it wasn't only Keyblades that the two referenced, but also the Unversed. It must not have been mere coincidence. These two major things in my recent life were inevitably tied together by an unseen chain of fate. Though, it's pretty weird to think about it. A dream having to do with future events and friends-I mean, people that I would meet.
Please forget the friend part I mentioned. I accidentally used that word instead of people. Terra, Aqua, and I best buds? Can you even imagine such a thing?
A few more giant space boulders drifted lazily past, too far away to even be a bother. Another cloud of gas, a nebula, appeared in front of us. It seemed like a cluster of solid, brown fingers reaching towards the sky above, but I knew better than to think you could have stood on it. You'd fall right through, since it was only a gathering of interstellar gas that churned out the stars. That was what nebulae were: baby star factories that glowed brightly. I could tell you why they did, but I never paid attention to that part of astronomy. Personally, I think it ruined its mystifying appearance, trying to explain such a wonderful happening in boring words. But this nebula was a specific one: it was called the Eagle Nebula, otherwise known as the "Fingers of Creation". Once again, sorry if I just killed your attention cells and totally murdered your brains with dullness. And the only reason why I can relate to you and apologize is because I know that, myself, I hate boring and stupid things that waste my time. But yet, I still tell and explain such to all that could be considered the same as those stories that older people give out where you really don't want to hear them, but only because you're not sure whether you're going to benefit from it. What I'm trying to say is, I guess, that I understand that if, throughout the story of my life with Terra and Aqua, also known as Birth by Sleep, you really don't care about what I like, that's okay, because I can understand perfectly why. And the only reason why I tell you anyways is if people like you who are still reading this paragraph and haven't skipped ahead, though really wanting to, listen anyways because they know they'd want to be heard as well. Why am I talking to you so personally? Because this is the tale of my destiny, and I want you be able to understand how I felt throughout it all by being able to connect. And that starts with actually conversing to others.
Terra swerved around another nicely sized boulder and sent a thumbs-up back to me after noticing my flinch of fear.
"Trust me, we're not going to run into one of those huge asteroids again. Ones that big are pretty rare." Terra reassured. All I did to reply was nod to let him know that I had been somewhat convinced, but not completely since I was still shaking and feeling goosebumps crawl like spiders down my spine.
A few more asteroids flew past, spinning and twisting in the space air.
I didn't know how long I had been asleep, or how I even could've fallen asleep, but the next thing I knew was that my eyes were opening slowly to find a spherical globe littered with the colors of sapphire and amethyst, almost empty except for a humble little city and a castle spanning over a half of the whole world.
"What is that?" I asked with my eyes widened in amazement.
All I heard from them was one word put together in unison, "Home."
The very first thing I saw in this realm after breaking its atmosphere was the sheer cliff walls that were almost everywhere except where civilization seemed to lie. But even then, a few mountains with purple tops and blue sides rose out of the earth. Streams cut through the layers of rock as if they were traveling pairs of scissors, harboring many flowers on all of their edges, cuddled together among few trees and blades of lime grass. A lot of these rivers were sourced from waterfalls that were practically littered everywhere. Instead of tumbling down, though, a few of them actually defied gravity and...rose. All of these natural elements were accented by a taste of silky moonlight that had been cast down from above.
I assumed that since where we were headed was named Castle Celest, the sinuous, medieval structure consisting of pure obsidian blocks and many towers was probably it. Within almost every nook and cranny that existed on the face of the fortress there seemed to be at least one stained glass window brilliantly casting off glows of rainbow and light onto the grounds nestled next to it. On each side of the castle, there was only a single window big enough to be admired by many people at the same time; these ornate, intricate designs could be seen from miles away due to the candles inside that burned intensely. I couldn't really make out the story they told because of our angle at the time, though.
Now we were below the lush tips of the trees and heading straight for the very front of the stronghold. The castle reacted to our arriving by letting its wooden drawbridge drop. While this procedure slowly happened by each chain link slipping past the suspension cables, Terra and Aqua descended to the ground, our hair being tossed about by the air that blew out of the now opening citadel. I lifted my nose into the space above me and basked in the fresh smells, each revealing pictures in my mind's eye. Luxurious, bountiful banquets of food, a library filled to its seams with many old books containing vast amounts of knowledge, people with strange outfits rushing about, an interior garden seeping with pungent flowers, a grand hall lined side to side with thrones and tapestries representing each and every one sitting in those exact seats, golden halls lined with rows upon rows of white wax candles. All of this added up to what I thought matched a place meant for royalty; certainly not some crappy circus filled with ringmasters and their chums.
Finally the mouth of the palace had created a bridge over the river etching the boundaries of its grounds, leading my two captors to be able to fly right inside while riding their Keyblades.
The interior was bursting with bustling people, all rushing about and enjoying what I assumed to be their time off for the day. Terra and Aqua said that they were apprentices, right? That must have meant that they worked their butts off all day trying to please Master Lumina and his wishes. So, when else would all of these, apprentices, I guessed, have a slot of free time to enjoy the company of each other? Probably at night.
All of the residents of the castle cranked their heads up at our trio and shot a few mixed responses to my presence. A fixated stare of surprise here and there,a little smirk of amusement, and maybe a bit of "Wow, who cares?" attitudes. Many more of these were tossed at me when I decided to grin mischievously and wave at all of them. Actually, some of them waved their hands back and forth in unison. Judging my surroundings, Terra, Aqua, and I were the only ones airborne. The rest were all scurrying around on the cream cobblestone floor of the main hall, which seemed it could have fit the Titanic itself in it. I guess it wouldn't be out of place in here though, being submerged by the thousands of kids ranging from nine to twenty seven. The walls were split into two colors that were quite....clashing? The wall on the right matched perfectly with the outside walls and shone with an onyx glint due to the candles guarding it. Holding the wax sticks up on this side was a long, orchid ledge with many silver designs and shapes littering it; some stars here and there, a swirl of wind rushing through in a few parts. But this somewhat beautiful arrangement was absolutely nothing compared to the opposite side. The left part of the hall was a blinding, snowy white cascade of color with candles lined up on a ledge adorned with a light tangerine color. As with the "dark" side of the hall, there were swirls and designs smothering the side of the ledge facing the middle of the room, but in a coppery tinted gold. The ceiling also had drawings and murals concealing the paint underneath, each having its respectful side, of course, one dark and one light. Chandeliers with their bows of gold had ages of the candles burning atop them covering every inch. It was absolutely glorious...the whole hall, I mean. This gathering place must have been the very core of the castle and was almost constantly inhabited by the thousands of personnel that lived here. As said before, there were tons upon tons of apprentices in the weirdest clothing I've ever seen, but there must have been twice the amount of them serving as maids, guards, and other help that probably lived to benefit the society of Keyblade wielders here. The murals were now quite apparent, all four of them depicting very different things. But before I could really take them into detail, Aqua and Terra flew through the door opposing the one we came through first.
The next area was a long hall that also held two sides of color scheme with portraits of people on each. I noticed that the more gloomy side held the disturbing and evil looking ones. Candelabras of gold and silver stood proudly on each of their respective sides, the flame they held flickering at the air above them, casting an uncanny shine upon the frames.
"Where are we?" I asked while we glided smoothly over the blood hued carpet below.
"The Bridge of Wielders Past. It pretty much is a place to showcase the past representatives of darkness and light Keyblade Masters up until now. At the end we'll see a portrait of the two new Keyblade Masters who are the embodiments of shadow and light."
"Would Master Xehanort be on the creepy side?" I chuckled a question at them. My brow began to ache from Terra's hand slap impacting my forehead. But I was right: the second to last picture on the dark side depicted Xehanort with a solemn expression lining the folds of his face. His eyes were also still the same eerie amber color that had watched me from the bushes and trees of Twilight Town.
Yet again, another hall awaited us through the end door of the Bridge of Wielders Past. But instead of being long and thin, this one stretched side to side horizontally with a peach and rose scheme of color. Nothing was in this way except for the huge porcelain entrance directly in front of where we just came out of. And, I also forgot to mention exactly how long that this lobby was: judging from what I've seen throughout my two-year "life", it must have been the length of...probably the length of how long Stride gum keeps its flavor. No, I'm just joking. A football field, or two? Maybe even three. Anyways, across the whole area there were countless, plain, wooden doors made of cherry plywood. Except at the ends where two stained glass doors led out into two separate gardens, that was it.
Since we were on the little "go through the door facing the one you came in every time you see a new room" routine, we inevitably floated through the toilet material, porcelain one.
The next hall was pretty much the same with tons of doors all lined up against each other. It even had an access to the next part of the shining fortress that seemed to be exactly the same as the last one. We, of course, blasted through and stumbled upon the only amazing area since the main hall.
In my opinion, it was the most awesome portion that existed yet. For once it wasn't an exceedingly lasting, boring, or boxy at all. This circular room held absolutely no candles or chandeliers, but only a fountain big enough to bathe an elephant in. It trickled as softly as petals drifting onto satin could and set a calmer mood echoing into the area than the main hall did. Once again there were four murals emitting the moonlight from the outside world, setting a quadruple amount of colored maps on the slate floor. This space let off an air of eternal silence, as if it was a place to mourn for the dead. At least at night, it did. I wasn't too sure about what it looked like at day. Probably a lighter atmosphere at that time.
Terra and Aqua let their "Keyboards" lower to the ground. Once they had stepped off of them, their armor instantly receded into the shoulder guards that were prominent on their regular attire. Instead of bending over to pick the Keyblade up like Terra did, Aqua just reached her arm out and summoned it again. Terra put me down onto my own two feet when I had persisted for him to do so. Both of their faces were solemn as they both stared into my own. While under this uncomfortable scrutiny I managed only to crack a grin at them. Aqua smiled back when my actions broke the layer of austere glass. Terra only folded his arms over one another.
I looked around at my surroundings, particularly interested in investigating the depictions on the murals. I didn't know why the murals poking at me so much. For some reason I just wanted to see what they had to show.
Though I could tell all of them pretty much had separate meanings to each, they all melded together by thick, solid black lines that ran straight up and down at the four different directions: northeast, southeast, southwest, and finally northwest, all being represented by four more doors at each spot, one more of course leading to the next room at north. At the northeast end lay an entrance garnished with many silver swirls and stars set against a white background. In every corner were a set pair of wings spread across a space about two inches wide. Around the door and above was of course the portrayal that seemed to match the same exact theme. The representation showcased a beautiful scene of a cliff overlooking a cerulean sea. Tall, long grass swayed in the breeze like raving people in a concert, their fingertips raised to praise the sky above. Speaking of which, it held many clouds set like marshmallows puffing about in the air. An eagle soared high above with its feathers turning into bronze strands due to the point of light hanging above. The waves that lay in the ocean were brisk ripples of curved blue, the currents of air stroking them as if they were little pets. Seagulls floated just above the horizon, some with their beaks open and cawing for a fish to jump out of the water.
Truly, this mural was the most relaxing depiction yet. And, it was also the one I really could call familiar and welcoming. That place within the picture was what I would describe as my perfect paradise, if ever asked to.
Below that at the southeast direction was a door that held images of white stars and little silver fish swimming against a teal backdrop. Once again, every corner of the rectangle was home to a little symbol, which actually looked like mini crescent moons of azure.
The mural above seemed pretty lame to me. Well, not lame, so to speak, but a little weird and too calm? If there even is such a thing as "too calm". A coral reef sparkled at the bottom with all the colors of the rainbow dotted here and there. Little fish swam about, nibbling at a random rock or staring off into an abyss of space, as fish always do. In the scene behind all this dazzle was a sunken ship draped with underwater lichen and lifeforms. As with the mural in the northeast part of this room, the Sun beat down from above, but this time only a little bit due to the length it traveled through the water.
On the other side of this room were the northwest and southwest counterparts of the whole piece.
Southwest held a door boasting a crest of orange flame and golden stars everywhere. In the back it was just plain red. Every corner held a symbol representing the Sun, each little circle of yellow covered with wavy points protruding out to act as the light being cast in all directions. This picture was of a desert grounded by waves of tan sand and countless boulders. Snakes slithered about, basking in the direct sunlight beating down on their backs like bricks. Vultures crowded in the pale blue sky above, looking down to finding a possible morsel. Cactus and dead weeds were dispersed far apart, and mountains lined together in the back.
Last but not least, the northwest door was jade green with blue stars and lime foliage masking the most of it. In every corner of the door was a small tree in the color of olive. An admirable scene was set behind the entrance, displaying a forest filled to the brim with pine, aspen, birch, and especially oak. All of these previously mentioned trees criss-crossed the background, leaning either to and fro, or straight up and down. An aged tree that seemed to be an oak left its boughs to droop over a minuscule stream while pure white flowers crowded around the edge, hugging the water's boundaries like the people who crammed around me when I was passed out the very day my memories started to pool inside my head. Unlike the other three murals, this one actually was under the light of the moon instead of the Sun. This one was second best in my head, since it seemed the most serene.
"Amazed?" Terra butted into my round of admirations. My attention flared from the pictures to his face, and seeing the the feeling that I felt in his eyes caused me to nod.
"This room is the centerpiece of the apprentices assigned to more powerful masters dorms. Each door leads to a huge house meant for the lucky four who are privileged enough to be training under either the current Master of Darkness or the current Master of Light. Aqua and I are both the underlings of the Master of Light, Master Lumina, and because of this we both own one." Terra explained. I glanced at Aqua for reassurance of his statement, and she nodded with her eyes closed.
A question popped into my head and subsequently shot out of my mouth before I gave it thought.
"Why only four?"
"The rules set down by the founders specifically stated that no more than four could become apprentices to the higher up. Probably because it'd be too much to have so many knowledgeable of the leaders' ways."
I was going to ask something again, but I stopped myself beforehand. I was sure that the more information I received, the more confused I was going to be by the time I got out of this place. I mean, if I ever got out of this place.
All of the recent events and scenes I had witnessed were swirling around in my brain's corridors of thought. My heart pulsed with excitement, but also a little nausea. I started to feel homesick and longed desperately to see the sunset of Twilight Town once again. Or to at least let my feet dangle over the edge of the clock tower with Sea-Salt Ice Cream dripping onto my fingers. I closed my blue eyes and imagined sitting on top of Sunset Hill, watching the trains go to and fro to pass the time. A stirring of bliss began to tickle at my heartstrings. I sat there, enjoying watching movies of my explorations of the nooks and crannies of the vast city with Dirk, breaking free from the chains of his betrayal. Those were the times when everything was going great and I had absolutely no worries at all. That was the time when I was able to fly free whenever I felt like it. But now I had been whisked away to another world along with two strangers carrying me to the inner depths of their castle to be examined by their supposed master. The realization of this change of fate sunk into my heart farther and brought my quaint remembrances to an end.
"What's wrong?" Aqua asked in concern after seeing my delighted expression turn into a somber one. This way of acting was very different from when we were atop the clock tower of Twilight Town. Then she had acted like a..sorry to say..bitch. But now she was asking me why I had begun to feel so horrible. Meaning, she actually seemed to care.
"It's nothing." I lied with regret, my head lowering to face the ground below.
Terra rested his palm on my right shoulder while facing me. I jerked my head up to meet a pair of eyes the same color as mine. Through them, he seemed to send reassurance to my soul, eventually leading me to a more calm attitude.
"You'll be fine. No matter what happens, everything will turn out the way it's supposed to."
I tilted my head a few times to acknowledge that I heard him clearly.
After escorting me through the door to the next corridor, Terra and Aqua instantly let go of my arms and descended to the floor, kneeling with their heads bowed in respect. A line of two thrones were erect and standing tall in front of us, backed by many tapestries and sagging throws of color. Each seat held a color scheme: the one on the left adorned with gold and white, and the one on the right differenced by its silver and black attributes. Once again this castle held two depictions of Darkness and Light. Behind each cushioned throne lay the previously mentioned stretches of satiny cloth and banners. A huge crescent moon about ten feet tall stood on the obsidian wall behind the darker throne, glowing with even more silver. And opposing it behind the the other, lighter throne lay a golden Sun. The sides of this hall were divided into halves, each siding with their respective symbol. White walls and luxurious golden, plush carpet, along with suspended chandeliers that matched the Sun on the wall belonging to the left, while black walls and glossy silver carpet with, once again, matching chandeliers on the right. Pillars supported the ceilings of both sides and also served as interveners between every single stained glass window. Two doors loomed on either side as well, acting as the entries into the dorms of the two who belonged on the thrones. Based on everything I had seen in Castle Celest, it was decorated by someone with a thing for the number four, two, stained glass, and symbolic murals.
But the most striking addition to this room was probably the grumpy old coot resembling Mr. Clean sitting comfortably in the throne to the right.
His amber eyes flickered at the sight of our trio, letting out an aura of interest. He lifted his head off of his fist and raised to allow him to inspect us more carefully.
His voice cracked from not being used for so long before he managed to bark a question to us, "What brings you three here?"
"Master Xehanort, we have brought the boy that our master had requested," Terra paused to clear his throat and to look up. "Do you have any idea of where we may present Ventus Toshi to him? It seems that he is not here."
"Ventus...Toshi, huh?" For some reason his eyes held a tint of fear within them, but it all went away before he continued, "If I am correct, your first name means Wind in Latin, and your last represents "Mirror Image" in Japanese, right?"
I stuttered from not knowing what to answer back. Instead of muttering a "Yes", I just lowered my head and nodded.
"Anyways," Xehanort returned his menacing stare to Terra and Aqua. "Master Lumina is out on business and will not return until tomorrow. He told me that, should you two return with the requested person at the time of his absence, that I should relieve you to your dorms and allow Ventus to stay in the House of Wind."
They both got up abruptly and nodded quickly, grabbing me by my underarms and practically skipping back to the room before. Maybe this was one of the first times they had ever gotten a break from apprentice duties and weren't planning on wasting it too easily.
Within the next few minutes I had been introduced to the "House of Wind" by Aqua and Terra, which was actually led to by the first door I had admired upon entering the room. They told me that it was wise to retire to the bedroom before racing off to the main hall, ready to chat their asses off to the other apprentices. But that didn't matter to me that I had been abandoned. I didn't even gawk at the layout and grandeur that the mansion-sized dorm held, but I only cared on bringing my aching feet to peace by finding the nice bed that awaited for me. After finding my way around, I finally managed to stumble upon the bedroom. I practically dove for the bed and almost instantly fell asleep. But even as I fell into the blindfolds of unconsciousness, I couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen next. What did Master Lumina want with me? Why did that geezer eye me up with a hint of fear today? And finally, where were the shackles of destiny leading me to? I could only hope to answer these questions, the third still nagging at me the most. But exhaustion took over and I drifted once again into the welcoming province of slumber without even one care in the world what was going to happen the next day. Truly, I fell into a realm of long awaited, sweet, and gentle bliss.
