Hello. We just wanted to say some things and clear them up for all our fans and readers. First of all, thank you so much for sticking with us so far, and that it will get better from here on out.
Now. If you all have been wondering about I'ltorien. Yes, it is supposed to be mysterious and confusing. It does have a role to play, but that will be later. So we ask you all that are wondering, please be patient. And if you have been patient, then thank you very much. It will all come together in the future, trust us.
Next. We are sorry if the stories within the movies have been bland. We are trying our hardest not to break and disrupt their canon. We are trying to make them as interesting as possible, and hopefully you'll see that in this chapter.
We promise you all, things will REALLY pick up on chapter 14. We have another world for Sora and Co. to go to which will take three chapters and we have two chapters to do with Riku. After that, the pace should increase by a lot.
As of now, we have a total of 28 chapters planned for this first book in the trilogy. THIS MAY CHANGE. This is the planned course, but is apt to change. We hope this sheds some light for you all.
Thank you all for reading this far, and we encourage you to stay until the end!
TN
TUH
TN: So, I'm excited that we have got a plan for the chapter count and layout. It'll make this easier on both us and the fans.
TUH: Now, if we can finally reach "that" point.
TN: What point?
TUH: The halfway extravaganza.
TN: Ah, yes. The "teaser" this chapter alludes to.
TUH: *Rubs hands* Yes... yesssss
TN: Even though I'll end up with most the writing, haha.
TN: Anything you wanna say that's important that the giant note didn't?
TUH: Not really.
TUH: Also, one thing about the note
TUH: "The only reason I won't write some parts is because... that'd be giving too much away."
TN: Well, let's have Sora do our disclaimer and let's get this chapter a-goin'.
Sora: Ugh, why me again? Oh well. They don't own Disney, Square Enix, Fire Emblem, and a whole bunch of other stuff that may find relevance in this. Tor owns the world of I'ltorien and Alexia. They both own the plot. Enjoy and review!
Chapter VIII
Saraqael
August 2, 2010
The World That Never Was
"Is the prototype ready?" Maleficent asked icily, looking toward her lead scientist and ally. He stood up, adjusted his leather lab coat, and slicked back his hair, all in one fluent motion. She silently wondered at how he could wear a leather lab coat.
"It is almost finished. I also assume you reviewed the performance of the Praetorians and the Centurions?" he countered, adjusting his glasses and staring at her, waiting for an answer. She sighed.
"Yes. I knew that the children would defeat them, but I am pleased at how difficult it was for them. Though, that may not be the case with Sora. I hate to admit it, but he is stronger than the others, and therefore will find little trouble with them." She leaned on her staff heavily. He smiled a tight lipped smirk, barely showing merciless white teeth.
"It's good to know that they work. Now you have many at your command. The virus should keep all Shadows and Neoshadows turning into these new breeds. It was rather difficult to infect something without a biological anatomy," he said smugly, proud of his work. She scoffed within her mind.
"Just make sure this prototype does some actual damage to the kids. I want to see better results," she told him. He bowed as she left. She knew that the Keybrats would defeat it, and that he would undergo work on Mark II of the prototype. She knew all this, and it angered her. The one thing she was happy about was the ease at which Alexia had been accepted into her enemy's ranks. Now she had someone on the inside, and that was a priceless relic. Alexia had been good at keeping tabs with Maleficent, talking to her when she could get away with it. And of all the people that Alexia had been stuck with, Maleficent found it ironic that it would be Riku. He was being used and fooled by her a second time, and he didn't even know it.
Maleficent turned the corner to go to Where Nothing Gathers. She opened the ornate doors with a thought and entered the dark room, flickering with light and shadows, mainly because of Hades' hair.
"Ah, doll face! Just the maniacal witch I was looking for," he said in his charismatic way. Maleficent had always let him speak to her like this because she could do nothing to stop him and she didn't really mind when it was him.
"Ah, Hades, what is it that you could possibly want?" she asked sarcastically. All he talked about were his plans.
"Well, they set everything up, just like you had promised. And I thank ya for that, sugar. But I had the best idea to make it really spectacular! Dazzle the crowd with some show! Make a party and excitement! Yes, that's right. It's ALL going to go down at THE OLYMPIAN CUP!"
HoL:TS
August 2, 2010
Toy World
"That dog is just horrible!" Sora said to Buzz and Woody while they sat in Sid's backpack. They heard his voice drift from downstairs, a voice of a sadist.
"Hey Hannah, did my package come in yet?" he asked her in the closest thing to a normal tone that Sora had heard from him yet. Hannah's soft voice was very faint.
"I dunno," she replied simply, her mind obviously on something else.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Sid asked, his normal anger back. Sora trembled slightly as he heard Scud chew on the poor alien in the second floor hallway just outside Sid's room.
"I. Don't. Know," she said in a slow way you might for a person with impaired hearing. Sora's grandmother was the same way.
"Oh look, Jane's sick," Sid told Hannah. Instantly, Hannah shouted at him.
"No she's not Sid, give her back," Hannah pleaded.
"She needs surgery," Sid said in a masochistic tone, hinted with longing.
"Well that sounds bad," Woody said. Sora agreed as they heard Sid thunder up the stairs, and sweep shut the door to the bedroom behind him. Hannah pounded at the door, screaming. Sid locked it and approached his bedroom desk, holding a doll. He put on a painter's mask like a doctor's and put Jane's head in a vise and tightened it. Sora thought he could see dismay and fear on Jane's face before the vise crushed it. Sid's sick laughter echoed in the room. Sora watched with Woody and Buzz, in fear, as he grabbed some tools and a toy pterodactyl.
"No one has ever tried a double bypass brain transplant before," Sid exclaimed with laughter, beginning his Nazi-esque experimenting. Sora was disgusted as he watched a fellow toy be maimed. Sora could only imagine the pain and horror Jane was feeling.
"We're finished," he said softly, like one may say to a lover. This boy was demented, cruel, and sick. "Oh Hannah. . ." he said coyly. He opened the door and there she was, standing morosely.
"Jane's all better now," he said, handing her the doll. Jane's head had been replaced with a pterodactyl's. Hannah screamed and dropped the toy at Sid's door.
"MOM!" she shrieked, running downstairs. Sid kicked the toy into his room.
"It's not true! Whatever she says, it isn't true!" Sid yelled, following his sister and slamming his door. All was quiet. The three of them peered out of the bag and cautiously stepped out of it. Sora looked around the room. There were heavy metal posters, power tools, and toy remains scattered everywhere. They were in toy hell.
"We're gonna die! I'm outta here!" Woody said fearfully, sprinting away from them. He jumped from the bed and onto the doorknob. It didn't budge and he dropped to the floor. "Locked? There's gotta be another way out of here," he said, looking around the room. Sora was startled as he jumped down to Woody. He had heard a sound. He looked slowly around with Woody to see a yo-yo rolling slowly towards them before it stopped and landed on its side. Sora's Keyblade flashed to his hand while Woody grabbed a flashlight. He turned it on and surveyed the area around them. Sora, brandished the blade in the direction of the light as it changed. A sound came from under the bed, a child's worst nightmare.
The face of a baby appeared from the shadows. Woody sighed in relief at the normal and safe looking toy.
"Ah. Hey little fella, do you know a way out of here?" Woody asked. The baby crawled forward and both Sora and Woody let out gasps of shock and fear. Sora was now looking at the head of a deformed baby atop a spider's body constructed out of parts from an erector set. Sora backed away in horror but was stopped by Woody. All around them, emerging from the shadows, more deformed toys made their presence known. Woody let out a small squeal and darted up onto the bed. Sora flourished his blade as he too, jumped up on the bed. Woody and Buzz were back in the pack as Sora followed them. The toy's didn't follow but grabbed the parts of Jane and the pterodactyl, pulling them into the shadows.
"They're cannibals!" Buzz exclaimed. He then changed something on his laser. "I have now set my laser from stun to kill," he said, readying it. Woody rolled his eyes.
"Oh, great. If anything attacks us, you can just blink them to death. I for one, am trusting Sora," he said, standing and trembling behind Sora. Tonight was going to be a long night.
HoL:TS
That night, Kairi was still sitting at the windowsill, waiting for any sign of Sora, Woody or Buzz. Andy was yet to come back, so she had some hope that the three were with him. She felt so nervous and afraid for Sora, though she didn't know why. He could take care of himself and he had before, so why worry now? She felt worried. She needed to know if he was alright. She needed—
"Kai, aren't you going to go to sleep?" Roxas said, sitting down next to her. She looked tiredly over at him.
"Once Andy gets home," she replied somberly. She sighed and gazed outside like she had for hours now, not knowing that Sora was just in the room across the way.
"I'm sure Sora is okay, Kai. He'll be back with Buzz and Woody, don't worry," Roxas placated. She feebly nodded but kept her posture, gazing into the night. Then, the van pulled into the driveway. The other toys made their way to the window. They listened eagerly, just like Kairi.
"Mom, have you seen Woody? I can't find him anywhere!" Andy cried.
"Well, where was the last place you put him?" Andy's mom asked as she pulled the baby out of her seat.
"Right here in the van!" he said as he searched fervently in it.
"Well, you're just not looking hard enough," his mom answered.
"He's not here, mom. Woody's gone!" Andy exclaimed.
All the toys gasped. "Woody's gone?" Rex asked.
"Well what do ya know? He ran away, too afraid," Hamm said, as if he knew all along.
"I never knew he was capable of such atrocities," Rex said as the toys went away. Kairi wasn't thinking about all that. Woody wouldn't run away from Andy like that. She was worried at what happened to him and where Sora and Buzz could be. She was scared. She passed out at the windowsill, waiting for Sora.
HoL:TS
August 3, 2010
ToyWorld
Saturday dawned bright and sunny and stayed that way until it was about afternoon. Sora sat in an unseen corner, watching with dread, wishing he could help.
"Oh, a survivor, eh? Where is the rebel base? Talk!" Sid yelled at Woody, slapping him across the room. Sora had to give him credit, he was good at staying lifeless. Sid stared down at him with angered admiration.
"Your will is strong," Sid said passively, opening the blinds to his window, bringing in sunshine that the room seldom saw. "Well. . . we have ways of making you talk," Sid said, now using a magnifying glass to burn Woody. A spot was starting to smolder on Woody's forehead before Sid was called downstairs for some poptarts. Sid rushed out of the room, forgetting all about his interrogation. Woody sprung up, screaming in pain. He ran and dunked his head into a bowl of cereal. Buzz walked over with suction cup darts sticking off of him, helping Woody.
"I hope this isn't permanent," Woody said, rubbing at the spot on his forehead. Sora came out of hiding and walked to them. Just then. . .
"The door! It's open! We're free!" Woody exclaimed, rushing through the room, his boots clocking on the wood.
"Woody, you don't know what's out there!" Sora said, running to him and stopping him. As badly as Sora wanted to escape, he was afraid of Scud more. Clicking noises could be heard. Scuffling accompanied it. Then, out of the dense shadows, the mutant toys crawled, seeking their prey. Hungry. Ravenous. Greedy.
"Ah! Do something!" Woody screamed in fear, hiding behind Sora and Buzz. The toys blocked their only path to the outside. Buzz tried using his laser, but nothing worked, and for once, Woody took initiative. He grabbed Buzz like a hostage and pressed one of his buttons, activating a karate chop feature. Sora joined them, and with the threat of his Keyblade and Buzz's arm, they started to push through the mutant toys.
"Back! Back I say!" Woody shouted, jamming Buzz's button, making him chop against his will. Sora didn't attack any toys, but he threatened and waved his blade violently. The toys smartly kept their distance, circling the trio as the slowly progressed towards the ajar door. They slowly backed out and made it into the hallway, into freedom. They ran to the top of the stairs but stopped dead in their tracks and their faces would have paled, had they not been toys. Right there at the landing was Scud, sleeping and in the way. Could this get any worse? Sora sighed and thought it couldn't. Buzz ran down the hall and motioned for them to follow. They did, Woody crawling, and caught up with him. Sora's heart stopped as a sound loud enough to wake the whole neighborhood sounded behind him.
"YEEEE-HAAAAW!" Woody's voice box erupted. His string had gotten caught on the railing. It continued and they heard a disgruntled snarl come from Scud, padded footfalls strutting up the stairs. They scrambled, splitting up. Woody took refuge in a side closet while Buzz and Sora bolted into another bedroom, barely avoiding the hungry gaze of Scud. The dog heard something, and ran downstairs. Sora sighed in relief and went to exit the room with Buzz when:
"Calling Buzz Lightyear. Buzz Lightyear, this is star Command, do you copy!?" Sora whipped around and saw that Buzz was being displayed on a commercial. Well, Buzz had to find out sooner or later.
"What's this?" Buzz said, slowly approaching the television, mouth agape. The commercial showed all of the features Buzz had. Sora watched with a bit of pity as Buzz checked each one as the television said it. Dawning realization swept over Buzz. He gazed at the screen. His world was now revealed in a new light. He saw it differently. He even opened his wrist communicator and read that it said "Made in Taiwan." He sighed, bowed his head, and walked out of the room. Sora felt so sorry for him as he followed.
Buzz approached the railing and gazed at the open window across the second floor. There was no way to get to it but fly. Buzz had flown before, but now it seemed impossible to Sora. Then, Buzz climbed the railing.
"Buzz, what are you doing?" Sora asked him, watching him. The wings popped out and Buzz looked down at him, a fiery determination planted upon his face.
"I'm going to the Infinity," he replied, readying himself like he had nearly a week ago. "And Beyond!" he shouted, jumping out to fly. And it all happened, as if in slow motion to Sora. It seemed like he was going to make it. The daylight shimmered, like it had on Destiny Islands when the sun was low and kissed the horizon. The world seemed happy and at ignorance. But that was blissful. How he would have loved to go back and away from all this. But that wasn't his fate. He had to do this for not only himself, but his friends and all of the worlds out there.
The shimmering grew, and Sora nearly burst out in euphoria when he realized that the glimmer was just the Keyhole, coming to life. His Keyblade flashed to his hand and automatically aligned itself, sealing the door to this world's heart. But then Buzz started falling, and just like the now closed Keyhole, his dreams shut down, and he crashed to the bottom of the stairs. Sora ran after him, then ran back as Hannah found Buzz and took him. Sora bolted in to the closet with Woody, scaring him, and waited for Hannah to go to her room. On top of everything else, now they had to save Buzz.
"Come on Woody, we gotta get Buzz," Sora said, leading a dazed Woody out and into the hall. They ran to Hannah's room, but stopped before entering.
"Oh, that's soooo interesting. Please tell me more, Miss Nesbit," Hannah said. They peered around the corner and saw that she was serving Buzz, now Miss Nesbit, imaginary tea. He was being forced to attend a tea party with Hannah and her other girly toys. "Buzz!" They both screamed in whispers. He was dressed in a pink dress, and if this weren't so important, Sora would have died laughing. Then he thought of an idea. He backed up and did a horrible high pitched imitation that could fool no one.
"Hannah! Oh Hannah!" he said in that ridiculous voice, already feeling his face blush with blood.
"Mom?" Hannah cried out. He about fell in disbelief. It worked!? He rushed to the closet with Woody as Hannah left her bedroom and walked downstairs. They waited a moment and then burst into Hannah's room. They approached Buzz.
"Hey Buzz! Are you okay?" Sora asked, looking him over. He certainly didn't look okay. He actually looked drunk, if that were possible for a toy. Buzz let out a large hiccup and faced them.
"It's all gone! Gone. Bye-bye. See ya, whoo hoo!" he slurred through his actual drunken state. He swiveled a bit in his chair. Sora and Woody stared at him in bewilderment.
"What happened to you?" Woody asked sincerely.
"One day you're fighting for the galaxy. . . and then you're sucking down Darjeeling with Marie Antoinette and her sisters," he said in a near unintelligible mumble, pointing to the dolls. Okay, he's drunk. Sora thought that the situation was funny, but needed to hurry it along before Hannah came back and took them prisoner too. Woody grabbed Buzz and his now dislocated arm and helped him to his staggering feet.
"I think you've had enough tea for today, Buzz," Woody said. The dolls waved him goodbye with creepy smiles.
"Don't you see? See the hat? I'm Miss Nesbit!" Buzz exclaimed with hysterical laughter.
"Snap out of it Buzz!" Woody screamed. He violently pushed the button to retract the helmet, slapped him across the face with his own arm, and then politely closed the helmet again. Buzz sobered up, took his arm and walked out of the room.
"I'm sorry. You're right," Buzz said, not wanting to discuss what he was just doing. Sora went into loud bursts of laughter. "I'm just a little depressed, is all." He then fell to his knees, crying.
"Oh I'm a sham! I can't even fly out a window," he said, pointing to it.
"Shh! Buzz, quiet down," Sora said.
"Guys, that's it! A window! Buzz you're a genius," Woody said, grabbing his friend by the attached arm and running back to Sid's room. Sora reluctantly followed.
"Tell me the hat looked good! It looked good, right? The apron was a bit much, not my color, but that hat was good," Buzz blubbered, being dragged. Woody ran back, grabbed a coil of Christmas lights, and went back to Sid's room, a plan formulating, and Sora was catching onto it.
HoL:TS
"B3," Mr. Potato Head said. Kairi sat at the windowsill again, staring out at the sky. Behind her, Mr. Potato Head and Hamm were playing a game of Battleship with Andy's new board game set.
"Miss. G6," he retorted.
"Ah, you sunk it!" Mr. Potato Head exclaimed.
"Hey guys! Guys!" Kairi's head shot around to Sid's house. There in the open window was Woody!
"Guys, it's Woody!" Kairi cried out, alerting everyone. The other teens rushed to her before the rest of the toys made their way there. Her heart started racing. Was Sora with him? And Buzz, too?
"Oh am I so glad to see you all. Here, Slink, catch this!" He threw them a coil of Christmas lights. Slink caught it and held it with a firm grip. "Okay, good, now tie it to something!" Woody yelled.
"Or, how about we don't!" Mr. Potato Head exclaimed, grabbing the lights from Slink.
"Potato Head!" Bo Peep cried, eying him suspiciously and with shock.
"I have Buzz right here!" And then Kairi saw Buzz's arm wave to them all. This seemed to change a lot of the toys' minds. But then Woody slipped and they saw that it was just a dislocated arm of Buzz. Rex vomited (how's that possible for a toy?) and the other toys, including the teens, let out gasps.
"No, it's not what you think! He's right over here!" Woody tried to say.
"Murderer!" And with that, Mr. Potato Head dropped the lights, canceling Woody's chance of making it over. Then she saw him.
"SORA!" Kairi screamed. This brought back the teens and toys that were leaving.
"Kairi, guys, all of you!" Sora said, that boyish and goofy grin spreading across his face. Then her anger boiled, and it was directed at Mr. Potato Head.
"You IDIOT!" she screamed, Destiny's Embrace flashing. She crashed into Mr. Potato Head with so much force that his body, limbs, and facial features flew all across the room. He was definitely going to feel that next morning.
"Are you guys safe?!" Naminé yelled.
"Yeah, we're just stuck here with that psycho child. I also found to Keyhole!" he told them. They all sighed in relief.
"Well, let's leave!" Merideth said.
"We can't until I get Woody and Buzz over there. Also, I have to be there, too!" he explained.
"Buzz really is over there?" Hamm yelled. Sora nodded.
"I have to go, they need me!" Sora shouted, dropping from sight. Kairi could finally rest easy knowing that Sora was just fine.
For now.
HoL:TS
"I have to go! They need me!" Sora shouted to his friends. He leaped down from the bed and saw that the mutants had converged on Buzz and that Woody was desperately trying to rip them off of him.
"Back you cannibals!" Woody screamed. Sudden;y they all backed away, revealing a whole Buzz, his arm back in its socket.
"You fixed him?" Sora asked, looking around at the toys. He even found Jane and the pterodactyl. They had been repaired as well.
"Oh, sorry. I thought you guys were going to eat my friend here," Woody said. Then all the toys retreated to the corners of the room. Before either Sora and Woody could ask why, they heard it.
"Not now, mom, I'm busy!" Sid was home and he was already making his way up the stairs. Woody and Sora try to move Buzz, but he was limp and still depressed. After trying, they gave up and ran to hide under an overturned milk crate. Just then, Sid slammed open the door.
"It's finally here!" he said with glee, placing a box on the workbench. "The Big One." He unwrapped it and they saw a large rocket titled The Big One. Sora's eyes grew wide as he thought of all the horrible things Sid could do with that. All the innocent toys. Sid then read off the label.
"Extremely dangerous. Keep out of reach of children. Cool!" Sid surveyed his room. "What am I gonna blow up? Where's that wimpy cowboy doll?" Sora and Woody clung to the top of the milk crate as Sid lifted it. He didn't find them but stepped on Buzz. He set the milk crate down and picked up Buzz.
"Ah, yes. Let's send a spaceman to orbit!" he laughed. He duct-taped Buzz to the rocket and was about to go outside when thunder, lightning, and rain crashed through the sky. "Aw man!" He set Buzz angrily down on the workbench and left his room. The day passes and it is nighttime, the storm still ravaging the outside.
Sid had placed a toolbox on the milk crate. Sora and Woody tried with all their combined might to move the crate, but it wouldn't budge. They gave up and then noticed that Buzz was awake and still sad.
"Buzz! Hey Buzz!" Sora said. There was no reaction. Woody threw a washer at him and hit him, grabbing his attention.
"Buzz, can you come over here and help us with this toolbox?" Woody pleaded. Buzz just looked away.
"Aw, Buzz, we can't— I need your help with this. We need you!" Sora said.
"I can't help anyone," he said morosely.
"Well sure you can. You can get us out of here. We can get that rocket off of you, and then we can make a break for Andy's house!" Woody said. Thunder clapped and lightning struck. Rain pelted the window, patting away a cadence.
"For once I am thinking. You were right all along. I'm just a toy. An insignificant toy," Buzz said dejectedly.
"Whoa! Hey, now, wait a minute. Being a toy is much better than being a space ranger!" Woody yelled. Sora just watched them work this out for Buzz, not knowing what to say.
"Yeah right," Buzz said, not believing. Woody sighed in tad frustration, but kept going.
"No, it is. Look, over in that house is a kid who thinks you are the greatest, and it's not because you're a space ranger, pal, it's because you're a TOY! You are HIS toy," Woody explained. Buzz looked at him differently. And Sora could tell and feel that it finally hit Woody.
"Why would he want me?" Buzz asked.
"Why would Andy want you?! Look at you! You're a Buzz Lightyear. Any other toy would give up his moving parts just to be you. You've got wings, you glow in the dark, you talk, your helmet does that. . . that whoosh thing. You are a COOL toy," and again it hit Woody as he said this. He looked depressed now.
"As a matter of fact you're too cool. I mean. . . I mean what chance does a toy like me have against a Buzz Lightyear action figure? All I can do is. . ." He pulled his string.
"There's a snake in my boot!"
"Why would Andy want me when he has a toy like you? I should be the one strapped to the rocket," he said to himself. Sora was almost going to cry when they heard a thump above them. They looked up and Buzz was there, his hands on the toolbox. Woody and Sora nod along and all three begin to push the milk crate. It moves, but barely. They keep pushing, keep trying. The sun is rising. It's been seven days since they arrived. It's been a crazy week, and he was going to get out, now. Sora pushed with added strength, thinking of his friends, and the crate edged out enough for him and Woody to squeeze through. They jumped down and onto Sid's floor. Just then, the alarm clock in Sid's room went off. All three of them went limp.
"Wha—? Oh yeah! Lift off!" He dressed grabbed Buzz and left the room. Woody and Sora followed him in hot pursuit, but were met by Scud in the hallway. They rushed back in and slammed the door before Scud could get them.
"Well, what can we do now?" Sora asked, slightly heaving. Woody was looking at the mutant toys.
"Hey guys!" he said. The toys retreated.
"No, hey, come here! We need your help to save an innocent toy!" Woody tried to explain. The baby spider looked at him, banged a code on a wall, and the other toys moved forward.
"Great! Now, here's the plan."
HoL:TS
Roxas was sitting in the empty room that was once Andy's bedroom. All the toys had been packed, everything had been searched for anything missing, and he and the other teens were waiting for Sora.
Sora, what's going on? Roxas asked.
Oh, hey Roxas. We're trying to save Buzz from being blown up in Sid's back yard. Actually, can you come over and help us? Get the others!
Wait! Sora!
It was too late. Roxas glanced into Sid's backyard and saw that Sora and a bunch of other toys were hiding themselves around Sid and his yard.
"Guys, we need to go help Sora!" Roxas shouted. The girls looked at him questioningly. He sighed in impatience.
"There's no time to explain. We need to go!" They lifted the window open enough for them to jump out, and just like Sora, they jumped into the below bushes and made their way to the yard of Sid. They heard screaming. It was Sid. They picked the pace up and finally made it to the yard. Roxas burst out into laughter when they saw what was happening.
HoL:TS
August 4, 2010
The World That Never Was
"My queen, the prototype is ready," the scientist said, slightly bowing before Maleficent.
"Ah, send it out at once!" Maleficent said. She waved an arm, and her seeing stone flashed to life, illuminating the figures of Sora and his friends below.
"Yes, I shall have Sephiroth deliver it," he said, before turning on his buckled boot and heading out the door.
"Wait!" Maleficent shouted at him. He stopped and turned around.
"What is it, Maleficent?" he asked.
"What is the prototype's name?"
"Archangel Mark I: Saraqael," he replied smoothly. She smiled and cackled.
HoL:TS
July 16, 2010
I'ltorien
As expected, Mìelthrì Forest, while just at the edge of the valley, was not something you'd arrive in a couple of minutes, so One and Ike were left to walk through the veiled valley on their own, deafening silence only rarely interrupted by the sounds of wildlife, which One barely got her sights on, due to the aforementioned mist that enveloped most of the valley. So, as someone would have it, the two human beings simply engaged in conversation.
"Ike… can I ask you something?" One managed to question after much pondering. She had been wondering a lot about the mercenary leader's intentions. True, she knew nothing about him, but she fancied herself a good judge of character, and Ike seemed to be blunt, direct and passionate about what he did to agree to go on an endeavor like this rebellion with nothing more than money on the line.
"Helps kill the time, so go ahead," he replied with a nod, never taking his eyes of the road. He was somewhat rough, but One had learned to not mind said personalities over the years, so she could question what she really wanted to question.
"Why are you part of this group? Is it only Elincia's money keeping you and your Mercenaries here?" she questioned, that one question gaining a look from her soon-to-be superior officer.
"Why do you ask?" Ike asked, causing One to break eye contact. "Oh, I see, you want to know if we are all good intentioned. Well, I got good and bad news for you," Ike commented, crossing his arms and continuing on, leaving the girl hungering for the rest. "The good ones are that the Greil Mercenaries never take a job just for the money. We take a job because we believe in the goals of said job and want to help the contractor fulfill them," he explained, One smiling inwardly, but nonetheless wondering just why Ike would say that there was bad news. The ranger sighed and shook his head, continuing with: "The bad news is that my intentions aren't the purest you can find out there,"
"What do you mean?" One questioned after Ike's long pause.
"The Black Knight." One shivered. She had seen that thing that was called a man. She personally didn't believe it so, for the only thing she felt when she looked into the visor that lead into the being's supposed eyes was a slithering void that threatened to swallow her hole.
"So you've met him," Ike pointed out, One nodding slowly. "Well, I've had the displeasure to do it too," Ike slowly, as if he was making an effort to put this out. "He killed the founder of the mercenaries. Greil. My father,"
One stopped right at that precise moment. Did she really force someone to prod into the darkest point of their past? She suddenly felt guilty. So guilty it showed.
"Don't feel like that. Don't worry, if anyone should be bad it's me. I'm not in this just because I feel what Elincia wants is good. I'm in this also because I want him dead,"
You two are awfully similar, aren't you? All those feelings of revenge just nestling in your chest, ready to BURST OUT!
Even if One ignored her split personality, she admitted she was similar to Ike. She was trying to follow what was "right", but she knew she wanted revenge too.
"But oh well, it's not like having the bastard dead will interfere with our plans and I don't plan to commit suicide by engaging him too early, so it's good for now. Just don't try to stop me." There was no aggressiveness in Ike's voice, not even in the end, just a sheer warning. One knew better than to say anything or try anything at this point, so she simply nodded and continued her walk, Ike now increasing the pace exponentially.
Mìelthrì was massive, lush and full of strange and nigh indescribable life forms. That, combined with One's sheer lack of knowledge about most things out of the facility only made it worse for her to recognize anything inside this forest. Everything from small furry mammals to large dinosaur-like creatures that Ike swore to be herbivores littered most of where the eye could look. The verdant forest was where a lot of animals had retreated once human occupation began to be overwhelming, the already massive ecosystem only growing larger inside it.
"Okay, here's the deal. Never go outside of vision range from me. I know this forest, you don't and let me tell you the further in you get the less likely you are to come out. It's not only denser but far less welcoming," Ike explained, meaning every word but going straight to the point, his eyes already in battle mode. Just for it, One was able to realize that whatever they were hunting was either aware or was intelligent enough to realize and maybe even create surprise attacks. One nodded at the man, touching the Silver Blade on her back before slowly but surely heading behind Ike, scouting his back and the left while Ike did the same to the right and the front. They walked like this for minutes, maybe even hours, Ike leading the way through the maze of green while One simply remained vigilant. She wondered what kind of thing they were hunting. The mission info only told them to hunt the "creature that had been ruining the plantations and cattle of the area for three years straight." Nothing on how it looked or even its name, only the title of Lone Black Wolf.
Wolves. . . she had seen pictures of wolves. The carnivorous canines that hunted in packs, preying usually on small to medium herbivores for their easy capture and fast eating. It was in one of the few books her friends had managed to sneak in for her, a book about the basic wildlife. . . nostalgia was about to take her on a trip when a massive flock of birds exploded in flight at the screech of. . . something entered their eardrums.
"One, go left, I go right. Just don't get too far, okay?" One nodded and both Ike and One sprinted to their appointed directions, eyes darting right and left to see nothing but animals running away in fear. It wasn't long until One heard the screech again, even if now seemed much more like a whimper. She turned to the right, where she had heard it and immediately hid behind a tree trunk, looking around just to see if her target confirmed.
Oh it did. There was something just like she had seen in the books, a giant black canine, roughly two times her size just slowly eating away at its new morsel, one of the large herbivores she had seen earlier. "Ike! I got it!" she yelled, her inexperience damn near costing her her life, had the wolf heard her scream, which it didn't seem to, or it didn't care. Who knows? After that, One continued to observe the creature. Besides its massive size, it seemed rather normal, unless you discounted the now visible pair of saber teeth. She wondered how the thing would destroy crops or how could it have escaped the rebels for so long. Any and all such thoughts stopped once Ike appeared by her side, asking where it was.
"Over there," she told the mercenary, who proceeded to tell her to get down, both of them clinging to the ground and crawling through the foliage to get a better view. Ike's eyes laid an eye on the wolf and went still.
"That's. . . not it," he whispered, One looking at him curious. "Lone Black Wolf is just a nickname. That's a Kamu Orugaron not a. . ."
A low but sharp repeated cluck slowly made its way into their ears. The Kamu Orugaron seemed to take notice of this and looked to the side, eyes bulging before taking its prey by the neck and rushing into the forest. One and Ike turned back, Ike mouthing:
"A Yian Garuga. . ." As the purple beast in front of them arced its head upwards, opening its steel-like violet beak and screeching. It was as if one thousand chalkboards suddenly scratched inside One's head, her body reacting against her will and covering her ears with her palms as her eyes closed out of the sheer pain she was experiencing. It felt like her eardrums would soon be reduced to an amalgamation of blood. And then it stopped. One sighed in relief, thinking the worst to be over, but soon she felt Ike's arm pushing her to the side, the Garuga's beak narrowly missing his arm and her as it pecked on the ground repeatedly, its blade-like beak cutting into the ground like butter. Still, in the last peck, its beat must have hit an underground root, as the beast had become stuck. One took this time to get back and to put herself at a safe distance, drawing her blade.
She took a better look at her prey. . . or hunter. The thing resembled a cross between a dragon-like creature and a foul. It stood on two legs and had two wings that largely out-scaled the rest of its body, along with a long tail. It stood at what would be one and a half times a human, yes, it was not large, but the looks intimidated much more. First, as before mentioned, all of its body was composed of different shades of purple, each of it seemingly a different kind of shell. The darker ones, black even, seemed like real carapaces, spiked to boot, and it went all the way to the tail, where its tail spikes dripped with a strange liquid. Its beak was large and curvaceous, but sharp. It possessed one large violet ear on the right and what seemed to be the leftovers of another in the left. Same for its eyes, as its shinning green eye on the right was contrasted by a giant scar replacing it on its left. It's head sported a white mane, much like a wolf's.
"One! Two things! Don't hit the armored scales in the chest, back and wings. You won't be able to cut it. Two, the tail is poisoned. One slash and you're done! Aim for the beak!" Ike exclaimed just as the Garuga removed its head from the ground. It clucked again and shook it, then looking around to see both One and Ike, one on each side. There was a sudden glint of nigh intelligence on its eye as it took the initiative. It first turned to One and pulled its head backwards before spearing it forward as its beak opened, a big ball of flame shooting from it as if it were a missile. The girl dove to the side to dodge, the heat of it being way too close for comfort, as her feet barely escaped singing. To make matters worse, the fireball EXPLODED when it hit a tree. One quickly shook her head and stood back up just to see how the Garuga had taken this chance to charge at Ike, who trying to block it head-on, got pushed back into a tree. Seeing this, One summoned power deep inside her, creating thunder out of nothing and commanding it to spear onto the beast. It hit the target dead on. . . and did nothing.
"It's strong against fire and thunder!" Ike exclaimed, suddenly dropping to the ground to release himself from the Garuga's hold against the tree and slicing at its beak, cutting a small but noticeable wound beneath it, red blood splashing his face as the wyvern cried out in pain.
"What should I hit him with?" One asked, summoning her energy but waiting before giving it form.
"Water! High pressures of it!" Ike told her as he dodged the furious pecking of the thing by rolling to the side and jumping back into fighting position. One heeded his advice, directing her powers downwards, summoning the water that streamed bellow the forest and commanding it to erupt like a volcano. The Garuga did not understand what the rumbling of the ground and the sound of flowing water meant until it was too late, a geyser erupting from bellow it, catapulting it skyward for ten meters or more before suddenly stopping the current. The Garuga was too shocked and confused by what had just happened to use its wings in time to stop the crash, hitting the ground beak first, both it and the ground cracking under its weight.
"Good one," Ike stated, nodding and slowly approaching the wyvern. It seemed dead, its eye was unfocused and the straight fall beak-first may have just broken its neck. Still, Ike was going for the finishing blow to be sure.
Pity it was just what the Garuga wanted. Suddenly, the wyvern's eye re-focused, its beak spearing towards Ike clamping the mercenary. Ike let go of his sword at the shock and the creature rose back to its feet throwing Ike directly into a nearby tree, his neck making contact first, putting him out of commission.
"Ike!" One called, but she had no time to do so. The Garuga, now with smoke steaming from its damaged beak, turned to her with bloody murder on its one eye. It darted towards One in a speed she could nearly not react to, it was easily two times as fast as before the fall. It must have been PISSED. So, instead of dodging, One blocked it like Ike had done before the fall. Wrong move. Its power had obviously also increased, and the silver blade flew off her hands but she did manage to push herself away from its trajectory, falling to the ground.
To make matters worse, the Garuga turned midway through the charge, One suddenly having to block once again, but how?
I'll take over Sunny, her voice stated, not asked, as One felt her control over her body fade away completely, but also feeling a surge of power like never before. She watched as the body she had lived in all her life did something she never expected. It grabbed the Garuga's beak and stopped its charge on the spot. Done. See? That was ea-
A moment of lax overconfidence was exactly what creature needed. One gurgled blood as the cold realization hit her at the same time as the slicing pain. Looking to her side she saw it. The Garuga's tail, in an unparalleled act of flexibility, had twisted from the back of the wyvern and hit the girl on the side of her torso, the venomous spike entering her body, piercing her lung and injecting the foul liquid into her veins. She couldn't even cry, her body was paralyzed from the pain and shock. She could only look as her body fell nearly lifeless on the ground, the venom spreading horrendously fast, the Garuga clucking in victory. It then stopped. It was eying her and. . . licking its beak?!
Is it going to eat me?! Alive?!
Isolated fear. That was what first struck One's mind, well, what working mind was left after the avaricious venom seeped through her being, slowly ebbing away at her life. She felt cold, as if the venom had replaced her flowing blood. But that wasn't true as she felt the sticky, warm dampness of the spewing blood execrate from her side. She coughed, and she spat it up. She remembered seeing the blood the other prisoners, the other subjects, spat when she murdered them. This must have been how they felt before the last minutes of their lives faded into the shroud of the void, ceaselessly and unmercifully. She regretted everything she had ever done. She never wanted that. She was forced. By that sadist. By him. . .
And for what, to be a weapon. . .
And a broken one, at that. . .
"Oh? What's that? Can it be? Soon-to-be fried chicken?!" a mature voice that sounded as childish as it possibly could suddenly touched One's ears. Moments later, the violet monster inexplicably started to float. It squirmed and tried to fight as best as he could, batting its wings, moving its legs, but it neither moved nor flied. It ejected fireballs at random, but then the strangest thing happened. They all seemed to be drawn into each other, melding and fusing into one giant glaze. "Thanks for the free material. Now I don't have to summon it!" the same voice exclaimed. "Now go be fried armored dinosaur chicken! Advent of the Phoenix!" the amorphous blaze followed the orders of its master, melding from an amorphous blob into the perfect representation of the legendary bird One had seen on fantasy books. The Fire Phoenix spread its wings wide and flew towards the screaming Garuga, engulfing it in its flames. The wyvern cried as its scales, flesh, even the inside of its body slowly melted, its life ending in mere seconds.
Moments later, it fell on the floor. Dead.
One was amazed, speechless. She could only wonder what kind of being would be capable of such a thing. But such thoughts were trivial, for her vision had started to darken, her blood now having brought the poison to all her body. Was this the end?
"And what do we have heeeeere?"
Blue eyes met violet.
HoL:TS
August 4, 2010
ToyWorld
"Haha! It worked!" Sora yelled, running to Woody and Buzz. Sora turned and saw that his friends had come, a little late, but they came.
"We saw what you did just at the end, that was brilliant!" Roxas exclaimed, a smile on his face.
"Yeah, now we can leave!" Merideth said happily.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that. . ." A voice as harrowing as venom, as sharp as ice, emanated from behind them. They slowly turned and were faced with a toy Sephiroth, floating high above the sandbox.
"Sephiroth! What are you doing here?" Sora asked angrily. Four different Keyblades flashed to life and Merideth readied her bow.
"To deliver a message from Maleficent," he simply replied. He cast out his hand, and a circle of darkness appeared on the ground before them.
"Woody. Buzz. Run! Get to the moving van, we'll take care of this!" Kairi yelled at them. They didn't need to be told twice as they ran away, the other toys scattering as well, leaving what was about to become a battlefield.
The ground shook, as if it pulsated, a living being. The darkness grew, a tentacle being seen emerging from the nothingness. The Heartless continued to climb out, and it was massive once it finally was fully out.
Sora at first thought it was a Behemoth. It looked like one, but it definitely had differences. It had the same horn and yellow eyes. It was huge and bulking, standing upon it's massive four legs. The entire body was a blackish and sickly purple, covered in armor that was an actual part of the Heartless itself. The underside had less armor and the symbol could be seen. Along the back were eight more of the horns like that on its head; four on each side of the spine. It had no tail. Tentacles, four on each side, stretched out of it's ribs, flailing violently around. Each tentacle used a different element for attack, it seemed. The two closest used thunder, then fire, ice, then the last were pure darkness. The thing reared on its armored legs, roaring a deafening challenge. On the emblem on its stomach words could be read: Archangel: Saraqael.
Then, all around it, Heartless appeared. They must have been the Praetorians and Centurions that Roxas had warned him about, for they were labeled. The Praetorians were similar to Dusk Nobodies. They were bulkier, and their arms were swords themselves. They had a shielded back, forcing the attacker to fight face-to-face. Yellow eyes stared out from behind a Spartan-esque helm. The Centurions were different. They flew. They had four arms. Two held double-edged swords and the other two held blunt maces. The wings were large, giving it a long wingspan meant for fast a long flying. It had a tail as sharp as a spear and as flexible as a snake. They all shrieked with its leader's roar.
"Enjoy," Sephiroth said, and he vanished.
Without warning, Saraqael shot a laser that split into individual beams from it's mouth. They all flew towards each of the teens, intending to kill. They all dodged them easily, but that was just a ruse for the Praetorians and the Centurions to initiate their own attack. Sora dived under a Centurion and stabbed upward with his Keyblade. It penetrated, but did not completely kill it. It stabbed it again and shouted "Fira!" That did the trick as it blew apart.
"Wow! These things really are tougher than any other Heartless I know," Sora said, barely dodging a Fire tentacle. He was also amazed at how well the others were doing. In just a week, they had improved exponentially, even Naminé. Granted, they all needed more work, even Sora, but this was much better than before.
Kairi backpedaled from a slashing Praetorian, dodging left and right, looking for an opening. She found one and rolled forward, slicing at its ribs while she did so. Instead of blood, dark smoke misted out of the wound. The thing shrieked as it advanced on her again. It rushed at her again, more ferocious than before. She blocked a few and then her leg was sliced open. She cried out in pain and fell to one leg. She looked fearfully up and saw an arrow whiz above her head and right into the opening of the helm. It dissipated on the spot. At the same time of it being fired, her wound healed. She turned and thanked Merideth for saving her.
Roxas and Naminé were fighting back to back, holding off Praetorians and Centurions, all the while dodging beam attacks and tentacles from Saraqael. Naminé still struggled with fighting, not being adept to launch an offensive. She blocked and evaded well, but she was not as good with attacking wit her blade. She was, however, doing rather well with magic.
"Thunder!" she shouted, frying a Centurion out of the air, a crystalline heart floating upwards.
"That's nothing, watch this," Roxas shouted. "Thundara!" he yelled. His attack was weak, but it zapped multiple opponents, but didn't kill any of them.
"Hehe, it seems like I still suck at magic," he said. He then launched a physical offensive and obliterated the ones he attacked with Thundara.
Sora and Merideth finished off the last two Centurions before they all backpedaled to face down the enraged Saraqael.
"Okay, here goes," Sora said, as he led them in a charge against Saraqael. There was a loud and piercing scream. Sora whipped his head around and saw a Thunder tentacle return from striking Kairi, sending her into the nearby fence. The electricity coursed through her, making her body spasm. Sora's blood boiled as Merideth rushed to her aid.
"You son of a bitch!" he rushed, evaded another blow, and sliced off the tentacle that had hurt Kairi. Black mist poured from the wound and it let out a loud and ferocious roar. He attacked the armor, but it only chipped and cracked.
"We need to focus on the armor so we can penetrate the skin and kill it!" Roxas shouted, hacking at the armored leg. Naminé fired a Fira spell at it and blasted of a small chunk of armor, but not nearly enough. It was about the size of a fist. Sora checked over to see how Kairi was doing and was relieved to see that she was not standing, holding an empty Hi-Potion bottle. They rejoined the assault.
They kept at it, hacking, blasting, and persisting. They tried to take the armor away, but they made little progress. They were all battered and bruised, bleeding from small cuts, and all around tired.
"Blizzaga!" Sora shouted, freezing the armor. He then cast a Thundara spell on it and it did great work.
"Nice thinking, but let's try this instead," Kairi shouted. She ran over to another leg, untouched.
"Fira! Blizzara! Thundara!" she shouted. First she broiled the armor, then flash-froze it, and then completely shattered it with the Thundara. It howled as she sliced at the leg. Soon after, and many ethers later, they had removed much of the armor. It was bleeding profusely through many wounds and was starting to stagger. It then charged all eight horns and unleashed a powerful attack. Nearly a hundred beams launched from Saraqael, all aiming at the teens. They evaded what they could, but did not dodge them all. They all recuperated in a small huddle, facing the monster. It reared on its hind legs.
"NOW!" Sora shouted! The four different Keyblades launched different spells, and many of them, aiming at the weak belly. Merideth loosed two arrows at once, both flying through the spells, charging them with different elements. It all hit home on the emblem and let out a massive explosion. The thing roared and reared, spluttered and then fell over, sending dust and dirt everywhere. It gurgled and then dissipated into nothingness, a massive crystalline heart floating towards the heavens.
All the teens slumped and caught their breath. That had undoubtedly took a lot of energy to do. Then they all smiled and even laughed. Without anyone telling her, Kairi produced the device and took them all back to the Highwind.
HoL:TS
August 11, 2010
In Orbit Above World
All week, the teens had trained in the simulator world while the auto-pilot took them to a world for a revisit. Sora was excited and hadn't told the where it was. They focused on their training, improving their strengths and weaknesses. All week they had done this, flying through the stars.
"We're here!" Sora yelled at them. They were in the kitchen, finishing breakfast. He was so excited he already had his eaten and was waiting for them.
"Sora will you just tell us what world this is?" Kairi pestered him, smiling at his immaturity. They followed him to the warp room. He said nothing until they were all in their pods.
"I can sum it all up with one word. . .
"Pirates."
TUH: Well, this I'ltorien chapter was certainly more eventful. And she arrives... *chuckle*
TN: Ah, her. I'm sure the fans will love her. I'm surprised that this is my first time writing part of I'ltorien since chapter 1.
TUH: Don't get cocky.
TN: I'm not, just said I was surprised, was all.
TN: Also, I liked the boss fight with Saraqael. I finally got to show my action writing.
TUH: This chapter was just full of action, wasn't it? Just wonder if anyone will recognize the Yian Garuga.
TN: Hopefully. And if any of you do (or don't) leave it in that big box right on the bottom. We'll be bringing you chapter nine shortly. And we finally get to Riku and the mysterious villain OC: Alexia.
TUH: With Alexia and the new addition to I'ltorien's cast next chapter, it's girl power all the way it seems.
TN:Yep. Well, thanks for reading the chapter, and hopefully some more reviews than chapter 7.
TN: See ya next time, right Herald?
TUH: Next time, see ya.
May the Love of Anuwëy guide you when all Hope is lost
TorNathan
The Unknowing Herald