REVERSE/REBIRTH: ESPIO'S TALE
Tomo the Chameleon © Kiba Sniper
Chapter Sixteen: Revelations, Part 1
Last time on Reverse/Rebirth:
Through the guiding words of his friend, Espio learned to accept the darkness lurking in his heart. The change of heart granted him the power of the Keyblade he had once sought to control. A difficult battle raged between him and the Looming Prophet – the struggle seemingly falling to Oracle's favor. But with Deathwing's unintentional help, the dark chameleon found a vital weak point in the jackal's defenses and turned the tide of battle. However, Oracle managed to escape before Espio could deliver the final blow. But the Looming Prophet's hasty retreat proved to be his end as he met with Tomo and Terro.
---
The scene opens to the second basement floor of Castle Oblivion, where the dark chameleon and his partner were making the final stretch of his journey. After learning to master the darkness, Espio seemed to gain a deeper understanding of the world around him. The light seemed so must brighter and the darkness was just as deep. But he was not going to run away from it – he no longer feared the light or the darkness.
"Espio...." An ethereal voice called
"Who's there?" Espio questioned surprisingly.
"You thought you could just shun me aside?" The voice continued with a pleasing tone. "You may hold the Keyblade, but you have not escaped me just yet. I know you can feel it – the grip that I have on your heart. You have let in the darkness, Espio. That means very soon your heart shall become an all-consuming darkness."
"I'm not like that anymore!" Espio shouted defiantly over Deathwing's yapping. "I am not some puppet you can control anymore, Mephiles!"
"Yes, you are." Mephiles chuckled lowly.
The Hero of darkness prepared to summon his Keyblade the Moment Mephiles appeared, only to discover he couldn't move at all. Though his will was strong, Mephiles had mastered the darkness long before Espio even knew the darkness existed. A faint aura of shadows escaped his body and seemed to fuel an unseen source hidden within the corridor. Deathwing looked torn – he wanted to protect his partner, but he didn't want to hurt the chameleon either. And as the Hero of Darkness continued to struggle, he found himself lifted off the ground by a foot like a puppet on its strings.
"The Deeper the darkness runs inside you, the stronger I become." Mephiles said malevolently. "Controlling you is effortless."
"I won't...be your..." Espio grunted defiantly.
But all his strength seemed to have disappeared as Mephiles maintained full control over his body. And just when it seemed that Espio would revert to his old ways, a blur of golden light flashed across the room. Without warning, Espio dropped to the floor as Mephiles' curse was lifted over him.
"Must you interfere again?!" Mephiles roared furiously.
"Phew, that was a close one, eh?" A voice familiar to Espio sounded. "It looks like I made it just in time. That oughta keep ol' red-eyes busy for a while."
It took a while for Espio to recognize the voice, but when he did, the dark chameleon swiftly pushed himself to his feet. As hard as it was to believe, the king of Babylon Garden had returned from an extended disappearance. Unlike their previous encounters, King Jet's physical body seemed more solid and pronounced. For one short moment, Espio believed he saw the Keyblade of Darkness, Darkside, before the weapon faded. The Keyblade King stepped closer to his old friend with a playful smirk on his express.
"Sorry I couldn't get here sooner, Espio." Jet said sheepishly. "I kind ran into a little roadblock with two guys named Duskmon and Terro. But from what I can understand, Sonic took my advice after all."
"Your majesty..." Espio said disbelieving. "Is that really you?"
"Who else would be the handsome?" Jet said smugly. The dark chameleon didn't buy this and grasped the king by his head feathers, expecting to pull of a convincing mask. "Hey, watch it! I've only got five of those!"
"I...can't believe it." Espio laughed joyously as he released the king. "You're not just a fake or and illusion this time. You don't know happy I am to see you again, your majesty."
"I made a promise, didn't I?" Jet said kindly. "I swore that I would find a way back to you again and I found one. Believe me, it wasn't easy with all the Order members flocking the place. I actually got lost and ended up meeting Sonic and the others before coming down here." Without warning, Espio dropped backwards to the ground. "Hey, you all right?"
"I'm just fine." Espio sighed. "I guess I'm just relieved. For a long time, it's just been me and Deathwing fighting our way through the castle. I guess...seeing my old friends is...is a little..." He wiped a single tear that had escaped hastily, not wanting to show weakness to the king. "Overwhelming. But...uh, how did you make it here? I thought you were too far away to reach me."
"It was." Jet nodded. "But fortunately, I found a card to help me." He reached into his head feather and retrieved the card, which seemed vaguely familiar to the chameleon. "I needed a way out of the Realm of Darkness, and then suddenly, this card appeared right in front of me. When I picked it up, I could see your heart beyond the darkness. That's what let me find you." He held out the card for Espio to take. "I guess the card thought it place was with you."
"Card's can think?" Espio laughed silently, accepting the card. "But after everything that's happened, I suppose that would make sense." He stared at the card with intense interest. "Why do I feel like I know this place?"
"Only one say to find out." Jet stated.
The dark chameleon nodded in response. He pushed himself back to his feet and walk to the blank door across the corridor with Deathwing and King Jet following in step. The Hero of darkness felt safe around King Jet. As long as the avian ruler was with him, Mephiles would dare trying to control him. The trio stepped up to the platform and Espio raised his newest card to the door. The blank gateway creaked open slowly and evaporated the heroes with its ever-present light.
---Soleanna---
The Espio's sense of sight returned to him, he felt a hint of nostalgia for the surrounding area. The town they had entered in seemed to be a costal city by the visible beach seen from a distance that supplied the canals between the streets. There were a number of outdoor markets and restaurants that used the atmosphere to their advantage, but no one was to purchase any items. Espio really didn't expect anything less. But despite the sense of familiarity, Espio didn't have a single clue to where he had arrived.
"Where are we?" Espio murmured. "Why does it feel like I know this place? Do you know anything, your majesty?" There was a short period of silence when the king didn't respond. "Your majesty?"
When the Keyblade King effused to answer, Espio turned his attention back to his friends. Deathwing was scuttling around the ground, seemingly as confused as his partner, but King Jet was nowhere to be seen. But before he could question the king's disappearance, he sense a surge of darkness from behind and turned on his heels. A portal of darkness erupted from the ground, expelling Mephiles, the Seeker of Darkness.
"You may have swindled your way out of my grasp before, but not now." Mephiles said coldly. "You must battle me without the assistance of your king."
Mephiles raised his claw in preparation to strike as Espio summoned his Keyblade to his hand. Deathwing hissed at the dark chameleon's side and waited patiently for someone to take the first move. But after a long period of silence and stared, Espio did something that threw the Seeker of Darkness of his guard. He released his Keyblade.
"What's this?" Mephiles questioned. "Are you giving up? Finally ready to surrender to your fate?"
"You're not the real Mephiles." Espio stated confidently; Mephiles staggered backwards in shock. "Your scent is different from his. The Mephiles threatening my heart smells darker – the odor is more foul. But your scent just isn't like that. Its much more faint and pure, very close to a match with the Princesses of Hearts. There are only two kinds of people who could have those kinds of distinct scents."
"Really now?" Mephiles glared.
"I finally understand it." Espio stated, petting Deathwing absentmindedly. "You were the one who guided me through Hollow Bastion and awakened me from the eternal sleep. You came to me pretending to be Mephiles. You gave me the card to make me face the darkness."
"Hmm...." Mephiles hummed. "You're much more intelligent than I gave you credit for."
A ray of pure light devour the Seeker of Darkness and gave way to a new creature. She was an enigmatic character that completely concealed her appearance with the exception of her tan maw. She wore a Black Cloak with the zipper reached to her feet, a silver chain around her neckline, and matching black boots and gloves. She had a large quantity of black bandages covering her face with one red cloth concealing her eyes – Espio wondered how she could see.
"ZoN, or so I am known." ZoN said politely. "Espio, I have been watching you for quite some time now."
"Really?" Espio said indifferently. "Who are you? And what do you want from me?"
"For you to choose." ZoN said cryptically.
"Choose?" Espio repeated confused.
"You are a special entity." ZoN said praising. You exist between light and darkness – you stand in the twilight. I will take you to Kumori and then you will choose."
"Kumori?" Espio questioned. "Who's that?"
"You will know soon enough." ZoN proclaimed. "But first, I need to see how great your control over the darkness really is. If you pass my little test, I will take you not only to Kumori, but to see Sonic as well."
"Sonic?!" Espio screamed; Deathwing jumped. "You know where he is?! Take me to him!"
"First, we need to see if you are worthy enough to wield that Keyblade." ZoN stated seriously.
Espio was not in the mood to be playing games as he rigidly resummoned the Keyblade and made a mad dash for the enigmatic manipulator. ZoN displayed a playful smirked and crouched low to the ground as the young warrior approached. Espio jumped overhead and swiped his Keyblade faster than any normal man could follow. But ZoN was far from ordinary as she suddenly vanished in short flash of pale light only second before the keyblade could strike. Espio was familiar to this tactic and tried focusing his senses on her energy. Whenever someone used a teleportation technique such as Chaos Control, they always left a faint trail of energy that led to their finishing point. But as the dark chameleon concentrated on his surroundings, he came to an unexpected conclusion.
"This is...impossible." Espio said fearfully. "I don't sense anything – her trail is completely clean. It's almost as if she disappeared from the realm of existence. But...how is that even possible?"
"Years of training."
Espio turned his attention over his left shoulder and spotted ZoN standing behind him like nothing happened. And before the Hero of Darkness could react, the enigmatic warrior chopped her hand against Espio's neck. The impact was much greater than expected and sent the dark chameleon flying into a nearby pottery shop – clay fragments exploded everywhere. The wooden stand collapsed under Espio's weight and his Keyblade stabbed into the wall. He took a great deal of effort just for the dark chameleon to raise his head, which is how he spotted ZoN approaching slowly.
"That was no ordinary hit." Espio grunted loudly. "You concentrated a large quantity of magic around one point of your body and released all of it upon contact. That similar to the technique I used against Oracle, but on a greater scale."
"That's right, study your opponent." ZoN encouraged. "You are facing against an enemy who has years of greater experience and possesses abilities you've never heard of. What will you do? How will you defend? How will you defeat a superior opponent alone?"
"That's just the thing." Espio smirked. "I'm not alone."
ZoN seemed bewildered by his choice of words before she recognized the disappearance one member of the group. Espio saw this as an advantage since he knew ZoN would completely forget about his partner at the beginning of the battle. And speaking of whom, Deathwing was perched cautiously above the rooftops of the city, watching patiently for an opportunity. The moment the enigmatic warrior dropped her guard, the thestral foal jumped and dropped over the female's head. Espio's eyes followed the black arrow diving towards his enemy, but that ended up becoming his personal mistake. ZoN quickly followed the trail in he opponent's eyes and raised her hand to the sky, forming a barrier of reflective lights. Deathwing was pushed against the light and stumbled across the street.
"Deathwing!" Espio called worried.
"Your dependence on your comrades is your greatest weakness." ZoN said disapprovingly. "If you place too much faith in others, you'll only be met with disappointment and defeat."
"I'm not ashamed to rely on my friends." Espio glared as he stood up. "They are the true source of my power."
The enigmatic warrior stared at the dark chameleon – her vision suddenly betrayed her. The Hero of Darkness faded from her mind and was replaced by a different character. He was a tall, black-furred hedgehog with six quills curved upwards that possessed red streaks on each of them. He wore a silver/gold guard on her left shoulder, a black X-shape cloth with an unknown symbol on his chest, black/grey shoes, white gloves, and a checkered band on his left wrist. ZoN staggered backwards, shaken by his appearance.
"Why?" ZoN muttered sadly. "Why do I still see your face?"
"Gotcha!" Espio shouted.
The moment ZoN was distracted; Espio kicked off the ground and moved with unbelievable speed. This time, the enigmatic warrior could not follow his movements and pressed her palms into the street, forging a dome of reflective light. She must have hoped this would prevent Espio from reaching her, but she was sadly disappointed. The barrier she summoned bared a strong resemblance to the one Oracle had used, but was much weaker in comparison. With that in mind, the dark chameleon reappeared behind ZoN with his Keyblade coated with black flames. The mysterious female barely caught his attack and jumped away before her barrier was shattered to pieces.
"That was a foolish mistake on my part." ZoN commented as she landed. "I can assure you that it will not happen again."
"Why are you doing this?" Espio questioned, dropping his stance as Deathwing joined his side. "What could you possibly get from fighting?"
"To test your limits." ZoN explained. "There is much more going on in the world than just Mephiles or the Heartless. There are enemies far greater and much deadlier than those miniscule shadows. And it is unfortunate to say that I played a hand in their creation."
"What does that have to do with me or Sonic?" Espio questioned seriously.
"I'm afraid my power alone is not enough to defeat them." ZoN explained. "In the time before, I had many friends and many enemies. During that period, I was young and naïve, foolish to what was occurring in the outside world. My eyes were finally opened when I was betrayed by a person I had considered my friend."
"Is this going somewhere?" Espio asked impatiently.
"Many lives were lost and I wished to prevent that from happening again." ZoN continued. "To combat any future threat, I created an underground organization of protectors called the Seekers. Unfortunately, there is only a handful of us at the moment."
"And you want me and Sonic to join you." Espio said; Deathwing hissed.
"Sonic is too innocent to become a part of the Seekers." ZoN replied. "But you are a special case. You have seen and conquered horrors that would make man twice your age cower in fear. Your ability to control the light and the darkness is unique and your power alone. I wish to teach you how to control that power and use it against Order XIII."
"Order XIII..." Espio repeated. "You mean people like Mewtwo, Erazor, and Oracle."
"Those three were considered the lowest class amongst the Order." ZoN proclaimed. "Order XIII is a group of thirteen incomplete individuals that commands many armies of indistinct creatures. Five of them have already been destroyed and one of them is acting as a spy for the Seekers. That leaves only seven members."
"And what are they after?" Espio asked, though he already knew the answer.
"Kingdom Hearts." ZoN responded. "We do not yet know how they intend to capture Kingdom Hearts without the Door to Light or the Door to Darkness. But our operative inside the Order believes the Keyblade Masters are at the center of the plot."
"How could me or Sonic help the Order?" Espio asked.
"Of that, we do not know." ZoN said, turning her back to him. "I believe its time we end this exercise. You have already proven yourself capable of defending yourself and we are falling behind schedule. Terro must have returned from his trip in the upper levels by now."
And without another word, the enigmatic warrior walked steadily down the street, leaving Espio and Deathwing to follow. The dark chameleon released his Keyblade, but he was not to certain of what to do. The Seekers and Order XIII seemed to be at war with each other and he and Sonic was trapped in the middle. Did Sonic, acting as the original Keyblade Master, have to suffer with the weight of the worlds on his shoulders? Espio looked down at Deathwing, who stared back blankly.
"What have we gotten ourselves into, boy?" Espio moaned.
The trials and dangers are much greater than expected. Will Sonic and Espio be dragged into this secret war? Why has ZoN suddenly appeared to them? And what mysteries lie hidden with her identity? Find out on the next Reverse/Rebirth!
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