Chapter XIII: Topsy turvy land part IX
"Let me out!!"
Nozomi shouted loudly as she thrust herself against the iron bars as they rattled feeling the weight of her impact as she fell back down again on the floor. She looked up angrily as she still felt the same yellow rings binding her arms only allowing her feet to move looking at them grudgingly then back at the barred doors she then struggled and wriggled to get up.
Riku watched her from the opposite cage as he saw her struggle getting quietly irritated by her childish outbursts though he couldn't complain as he was bound down just as much as she was though with blue rings.
"You should quit while you're ahead, wasting your energy isn't going to get the doors opened," he told her coldly.
Nozomi looking still angrily at the bars then at him only grimaced more as she said truly infuriated, "I don't care! I'm not going to just sit here willingly! Not after they took Oralee! I'm gonna complain and rant till my last breath!"
With that she then moved her feet into a round kick as she then struck the bars really hard though of course this hardly made much difference to before.
Watching her Riku just looked at her with annoyance as he turned his face away, "no point talking any sense into an idiot…" He muttered as he then gazed around himself studying their location.
After the incident with Oralee they had both been moved to upper ground into a prison building where they had both been thrown in by the heartless that had bound them who continued to survey them from the wooden iron barred windowed doorway.
It's glowing yellow eyes looking on alien-like and still though the body still rotated with the few rings making the rest of it's body. Riku looking at it for a moment then sighed as he lent against the bars as he also felt his bonds again that were stuck fast to his arms like glue keeping them in a crossed over position which had started to make him ache.
"It's impossible to call my keyblade like this!" He muttered to himself irritated at his helplessness.
After hearing another deafening kick he then heard a thud as he looked over to see Nozomi now on her knees as she breathed in and out heavily clearly exhausted. As he watched her from where he was he watched as she kicked the bars again pathetically with only one of her feet as she then grumbled angrily.
It was then quiet for a few long moments as then he watched as she lowered her head down looking down at the floor he then heard sniffles coming from her and before he knew it she was speaking again, "it's not fair! It's not! Oralee… I was so stupid, I was-"
As she spoke these words she hiccupped as Riku then realised she was crying but the tears he saw coming from her were ones of frustration.
"Can't you do something about this!" She demanded of him.
Looking at her startled he then turned his face away as he then answered her as he then replied annoyed, "if I could I would have done it already!"
Nozomi hearing this then looked at the ground again as she felt her bindings still holding her arms down, 'I guess I can't use the keyblade if my arms are bound…'
Looking at the doorway again at the heartless she looked at it with hate filled eyes when suddenly she noticed something, a shadow quickly moved past the heartless.
Nozomi shut and opened her eyes again quickly thinking that she may have seen an illusion as she looked at the door, Silent for a moment she waited and then suddenly she heard shuffling in the hey looking down at where she thought she could hear the sound. She continued to stare at the spot as she felt herself grow a quiet feeling of nervousness as she then proceeded to shift over as quietly as she was enabled using her feet to drag her forwards.
As she arrived near the spot she continued to see it rustle more and more violently which only caused her to be more and more nervous, Riku who had been looking away the whole time had now noticed Nozomi was doing something.
Nozomi watching the continuing moving hay decided then to lower her head down though she only did it very slowly and carefully, then reaching the lowest point she could get to bending her back forwards she was now a couple of inches away from it.
It was suddenly still at as she got to the lowest point and she looked on baffled then suddenly something launched and attached itself to her.
She would have screamed but a hand muffled her voice as she blinked and recognised the feel of the fur and as she then opened her eyes looking she then recognised surprised and shocked, Cait sith!
He had his hands on her mouth keeping her quiet, Riku too looked on shocked very surprised to see the little animal again but the silence didn't last too long as he then began to whisper his instructions to Nozomi, "now ye listen ear lassy move yer hands from ye beneath ye so I can untie 'em."
He then removed his hands from Nozomi's mouth as she looked at him blinking still surprised as she gulped recovering herself and then as she was about to move cait sith then added, " and do it quietly ye banshee!"
Hearing this Nozomi's face turned from surprise to bitter annoyance, not wanting to say anything in case the heartless heard her. Quietly and carefully not to move so the heartless would see cait sith she got up a little bending on her legs kneeling as she painfully moved her arms under her as she then managed to get them in front of her as she painfully had to move her feet through the gap in her arms until finally she had them in front of her.
Cait sith taking her then looked at her manacles as he then set to work as he put his hand over them as something glowed in his hands something yellow. Nozomi stared on awestruck as then she felt the binds fall from her hands as they then disintegrated.
She felt an enormous feeling of relief and comfort as she was free to move once more, but she didn't move so much that the heartless would see her instead she waited for cait sith to speak more, "now I'll go on and untie lady over there but while I'm at it ye get yer legs do some work and get'm heartless!"
Nozomi hearing this then smiled eager to get her vengeance as she spoke, "with pleasure!"
With that as soon Cait sith moved the heartless started to react as it then saw him and started to head towards the cage and as it did Nozomi reacted as she drew out the starseeker and then with a beam of a light then unlocked the cell door.
The heartless surprised for a moment stopped in its tracks and taking this as her cue Nozomi then rushed forward crying out her battle cry as she smashed her keyblade into it pushing it fiercely back.
Cait sith at the moment was dealing with Riku's bonds as he again produced the yellow light making them disintegrate in seconds, feeling his hands clenching them in and out he got his circulation back then quickly he too summoned the way to dawn as he opened his own cell door.
As he did so though Cait sith suddenly put his fingers to his mouth as he unleashed an ultra loud and as he did the prison door smashed open and there stood a man with blonde hair and a beard wearing golden plated armour.
Riku shocked for a moment at the guy's appearance was then distracted again as suddenly a great big bang was heard and heard as Nozomi and the heartless were spinning together around the room with her keyblade being held onto by the heartless' ring as Nozomi was trying to make it let go.
"I'll give you one for you good for nothing-"
But she was cut off as then the new person had stabbed his own sword into the heartless' head making it drop her keyblade in seconds. Then Riku taking his chance finished it off in one strike as he ran over and launched himself at it making it fade into darkness in seconds.
Nozomi blinking as everything passed so quickly was a little disorientated at what had just happened, but as the keyblade faded from her hands she let out a short breath and then asked with complete confusion, "Who the heck are you?!" As she pointed at the man.
The man blinking at her and her demand slid his sword back into his scabbard as he then answered her politely, "my name is captain Phoebus of the guard… though of course there aren't any guards left that are human…" he said as he looked away grimacing.
Hearing this small introduction Nozomi blinked for something still didn't make any sense and Nozomi paused on asking digesting the information down before finally, "okay… but where did you come from? How did you know that there was at least… even us humans in here?"
At this it was then that Cait sith then walked out from the cage as he answered the question, "I was still in me cage and this lad came and got me out… I told'em bout you lot too and the rest is history."
Hearing all the information then and there was then finally not lost as she sighed in relief both from the knowledge and the freedom that came at being able to move her hands again but it was too short though to relax for too long as Riku then started to ask, "are you saying now that there only heartless now?"
At those words Nozomi moved her hand away from her head as she shuddered at the very mention of it and looking at Phoebus' face it was truly confirmed as he looked at Riku with hardened stare his eyebrows creased as he nodded, "that is indeed the case."
Nozomi's eyes widened at this as she heard the news and was furthered shocked by the rest of the information that Phoebus had to give, " and I'm afraid the only people that are left are a hunchback, the minister Frollo and Esmeralda... who he's going to be putting to the stake very soon."
"Burned!! You mean that Goat faced old man's to blame for all this?!" She cried out angrily in shock.
Everyone looked at her strangely at her outburst, feeling everyone staring at her she did feel horribly embarrassed but her anger though was leading the way in her emotions as she then just rushed out the front door as she then called out to them, "Come on we can't wait! We've got to rescue them!"
With that she then ran out and was closely followed by the others.
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Running outside Nozomi could clearly see what Phoebus was talking about as the city streets were completely barren and quiet as there was not even any lights on in any of the houses, this truly scare her as she continued to run down the streets with everyone.
'So everyone in the city are now heartless?!' She thought to herself.
But as she continued to run another thing occurred to Nozomi, "hey how do you know Esmeralda?!" For it seemed odd to her that he knew her name since she had only seemed to be a gypsy dancer and she'd never even seen this guy before anything else that had happened.
Phoebus answered her question as they all continued to run, " she and I have helped each other many times in the past, particularly with the gypsies since they were prosecuted so badly, so she and I decided to stop it."
Hearing this and remembering what Esmeralda had preached to the old goat face she wondered why they were prosecuted so much, but the why though at this moment wasn't the right thing to ask since they were in a hurry to save Esmeralda, but then this triggered another question.
"But why does he want her burned at the stake?!" She continued on.
Riku was
getting very annoyed at her ceaseless questioning, "is that even
necessary to ask?!"
Nozomi looking at his annoyed expression
only got annoyed herself at him, "well I'm curious alright! I
mean sure she and I messed things up in the feast but-"
"He's condemning her as a witch" Phoebus spoke interrupting Nozomi and Riku before they could get into an argument.
Nozomi then automatically turned her head at this as she opened her mouth aghast, "a witch!?"
"Yes on orders from some angel," Phoebus spoke as then they turned the final corner.
As Nozomi heard the word angel, an image appeared in her mind of that girl with long brown hair and metallic wings who had taken Wairu, 'it couldn't be her could it?' She thought to herself.
Finally then appearing from the street all three then made into the town square where all around were cages full of people all Nozomi recognised as the gypsies from the underground hideaway all of them reaching out to them to be rescued.
As Nozomi looked at them they reminded her of Wairu who too had a pleading look upon his face wishing to be set free from suffering.
Gritting her teeth she and the others ran on forwards until finally they saw the horrible sight with Frollo standing before a huge wooden platform where amongst all the wood tied to a stake was Esmeralda in a white plain gown.
Everyone was stunned silent, when suddenly above them came a huge shadow, as they looked above they all saw a huge creature with many wings, with a main body and many tentacles that wavered to and fro, in it's centre was a black and white mask with a sad and happy face divided in it's centre.
As they gazed upon the creature they were then distracted by Frollo who spoke, "I'm so glad you could all make it…"
As he did so he then tossed the torch he was holding onto the bonfire igniting it instantly that made everyone stare on in horror.
"It's time to finish everything…" with that the heartless then went straight towards them all as it began its attack.