Okage Hearts
Chapter 6
I'm beginning to question the necessity of putting a disclaimer on each chapter. I still don't own Okage or Kingdom Hearts. Shocking, I know.
Sorry to take so long to update. Things will start to deviate from the game from here on out.
"Well, that was weird," Stan said, still trying to puzzle out the scientist they met along the way.
"I never would have guessed," Ari muttered, having gotten tired of Stan's continuous revisiting of the scientist. Ari found himself wondering if tape could cover the mouth of a shadow.
"At any rate, Slave," Stan said, as if he thought his talking over and over again was part of a conversation they were having, "We need to teach you magic."
"Why?" Ari asked, trying to puzzle out what use it would be.
"You're wielding the Keyblade, which, in and of itself is a legendary weapon, for starters," Stan said flatly, having heard that comment, "Also, it wouldn't do for my slave to be a weakling. Now, the firs spell is a basic Fire spell. You just shout Fire…"
Ari stood there for a moment, waiting for Stan to continue until he realized that the shadow had remembered that he didn't shout. Stan was silent for a moment, before he began again, saying, "You think the word Fire and point the Keyblade at whatever you wish to burn. It isn't as powerful as it can be, but you are not ready for that sort of power, Slave, so why don't we work with what we have to go with? Now, practice using Fire before we head into a populated area. We want to get there without anyone noticing. Otherwise, we could be kicked out. My evil royal title can't help if the population is convinced that you… Treasure chest! Go get it!"
Walking to where Stan was pointing, Ari mumbled, "Yes, sir, Shadow King."
Opening the chest, Ari saw that inside there was some money and a glass tube.
"Well, that was interesting," Stan said, "I wonder what kind of people left this treasure chest here. Ah well. Slave! Get to work on the Fire spell."
Ari tried the spell, pointing the Keyblade at a nearby tree. When he fired, the force caused his arm to jolt slightly, but it didn't prevent him from hitting the tree.
"Good, Slave," Stan complimented, "Now keep going. No Slave of mine will have even the slightest movement of their arm when they use magic."
Ari tried again, but his arm still jolted. Stan just shouted, "Again!"
Once more, Ari tried, keeping his arm perfectly straight and yet his arm still managed to shake slightly.
"Quit locking your arm, Slave!" Stan shouted after twenty-six other failed attempts, "The Keyblade, much like any weapon, requires fluidity and, above all, little to no tension. The Keyblade needs to be an extension of your body. It must be your arm, your heart, your voice! So do as I say and try again!"
Ari lifted the Keyblade, tired as he was, and once again thought the word as he pointed it with a slightly bent arm. He blasted the tree, not having even moved his arm in the slightest.
"Good," Stan said in satisfaction before Ari blacked out from exhaustion.
When Ari awoke, he saw a girl with orange hair and two horns growing out of her head looking at him. Deciding that this was how his day was probably going to be, he just blinked and closed his eyes to go back to sleep.
"Wake up!" the girl shouted in his ear, ruining his plans of avoiding having to deal with others.
Rising from the ground, he looked around. He was currently in a hotel room.
"I didn't see anything wrong, so I didn't patch anything up. My name's Linda and I'm going to be the world's greatest singer, by the way," the girl said with a cheerful smile.
Ari found himself unnerved. He didn't know how to deal with this girl. He began to wish, yet again, that Julia was there. She would have known what to say. Though, as she didn't like any of the girls in the village to get near him for some reason that probably wouldn't be good considering that the horned girl seemed to have no sense of personal boundaries. Maybe it was for the best he was alone, this time, now that he thought about it.
"Don't you talk?" Linda asked, tilting her head slightly. This was not a pleasant situation for Ari. He was currently alone with someone he had never met before, and, to top it all off, he had no one with a dominant personality to do his speaking for him. He could barely handle strangers with someone there. Why did Stan pick now to be silent?
"I-I can talk," Ari mumbled, still terrified of this situation.
"What?" Linda asked, having seen his mouth move, yet having not heard any sound.
Ari sighed silently, not pleased with the possibility of having to explain again. Still, he had to persevere, so he said, "I can talk."
"Wow!" Linda shouted, "I can't believe he can talk!"
"What are you going on about?" Stan asked, rising from Ari's shadow, "Of course he can talk! Where are we?"
"We're in Madril, obviously," the girl said, her smile not leaving her face, "Though, I think you might want to get out of town. Everything is boarded up, even the music theater. The only places that aren't sealed off are some abandoned factories and the Town Hall."
"What of the Sewer Evil King?" Stan asked, trying to figure out the situation.
"He's hiding out in the Sewers, of course. Just go to the Town Hall if you need more info."
With that, Stan returned to Ari's shadow and Ari rose to exit the building. Before they left, Ari turned and mumbled, "Thank you."
Linda seemed to take no notice of this, but Ari was satisfied. He had said his thanks, so he was not under any obligation to talk to anyone anymore. At any rate, he hadn't done too badly in the conversation, in his opinion. Julia would be proud.
"Alright, Slave," Stan said in a matter-of-fact way, "Let's go to this Town Hall to make people tell me how to get to the Sewer Evil King!"
Ari nodded his head slightly and began to search for the Town Hall. Having never been to Madril before in his life, he found himself thinking that this would be an interesting trip.