Chapter 6: Raise the Alarm
Click, Clack, Click, Clack. The sound of thick, heeled boots clicking on tiled floor filled the lonely chamber at the top of Disney Castle’s highest, arched tower. The jet black boots were hidden behind a flowing, body-length jacket that was only a shade lighter in color. The woman wearing the gloomy garments had a curvy waist and an equally distinct chest, but her facial features were hidden behind the hood of the covering.
She was walking around a bizarre room, marveling at the unusual architecture. The seven walls were curved at awkward angles, leading up to a peaked ceiling with a spiraling design on it. The massive attic of the tower was occupied with dusty portraits and books stacked upon crate after crate of useless trinkets. The woman was patiently tapping her feet on the tiles to try to find a downward stairwell out of the room, but as of now, she was having no luck. After a few minutes of searching, the woman concluded that the attic was completely cut off from the rest of the castle.
“Just my luck,” muttered the cloaked mystery. With a wave of her arm, a vortex of darkness appeared on the floor before her feet, and she took a step closer to it, “I guess I’ll just drop in.” The woman took another step and plunged into the dark.
Suddenly, she was experiencing vertigo as she plummeted rapidly down a cylindrical tube, screaming all the way. Her hood was ripped from her head, and her curt, blonde hair was free to savagely whip her face. She fell face first past row after row of… stairs? With horrible shock, the woman realized she had teleported herself to a large, spiral stairwell- and she was falling in the middle of it. She tried to focus on something, anything, but she was helplessly lost in the spiral of the steps. She had been falling for a good minute, and it quickly dawned on her that she was falling through the main stairway of the castle, as well as that she would eventually hit the ground. With the air whirling all around her, the woman waved her arm above her head, and the woman suddenly disappeared head first into another portal.
This time, she materialized in midair, and fell to her knees with a loud thunk. She was hunched over, coveting her head in her hands as she slowly regained her balance. With painstakingly slow actions, the woman shakily lifted her head, finally revealing her dazzling facial features.
The woman had a slim face with pronounced cheek bones, topped with a head of neat, golden blonde hair that had two antenna-like strands leaping backwards from her head. She had large round eyes that had a rich, teal hue, which rested on either side of her cute, rounded nose. In comparison to the bleak texture of her jacket, the women’s head seemed radiant.
Regaining her senses, the woman tried to stand, but was suddenly thrown back down to the ground. “Who are you?” roared a male voice, the person who had shoved her down. The woman responded instantly. She teleported away from the person who she had still not seen, and reappeared only thirty feet back.
Standing upright, the woman finally got a look at her surroundings. She was in a large, pearl white room with a very high ceiling. There was a single red carpet leading up to a large, golden chair on a square blue mat, like a throne for a king. The woman had manifested near a massive, arched door that was the entrance to this hall.
The young man who had shoved the woman was standing alert halfway between the door and the throne. He had strange, key shaped weapon raised in his right hand, that had a spiky red and black theme, up until the end, where there was an angelic wing in the place of its teeth. Its handle was divided in two, one side being black and red, the other being the same white color of the wing. There was a small chain hanging off of the handle, ending in a trinket in the shape of the heartless symbol.
The teenager had long, silver hair that extended past his shoulders, and hung partially in front of his emerald eyes. He was wearing baggy blue sweat pants and a skin-tight sleeveless, black shirt under a white vest. His left wrist had a bandage on it, and it was hangning uselessly at his side.
The woman looked the boy up and down, “My, my, haven’t you grown,” commented the woman. The boy raised an eyebrow, “Do I know you?” inquired the boy, gesturing with his key.
The woman laughed, “No, but I sorta know you,” she cackled, “I guess you could say we met in Castle Oblivion.” The boy wasn’t affected, “Castle Oblivion? Don’t play games. I didn’t lose my memory of that place- and you weren’t there.”
The woman laughed mischievously, and then glared at the boy, “Oh Riku, clearly you don’t remember.” The boy, Riku as she had called him, was unmoving, still scowling at the woman. The woman chuckled and looked down at her feet, “There was another you in Castle Oblivion,” said the woman matter-of-factly.
Riku’s face loosened, and he too looked at his feet, “Oh… the replica,” he muttered. Looking up at the woman, he asked slowly, “You met him?” The woman smiled evilly, “Yea, and I had some good times screwing with him!”
Riku was taken back by the woman’s cruelty. He felt for his former clone, and he yelled at the woman angrily, “Shut up! You don’t understand what he went through because of you!” The woman laughed, “Spare me the theatrics. He was a puppet, as was Namine- or are you touchy about her too?”
Riku was fuming. This unknown woman garbed in an Organization coat had appeared from midair, and was now torturing him over things that had happened over a year ago. He had just arrived at the Castle, and hadn’t even seen any of its residents yet, and this stranger had come along. “Who are you?” roared Riku.
The woman had been watching him carefully, and responded with a wink, “The name’s Larxene. Maybe you’ve heard of me from Namine?” Larxene was having fun toying with the boy, but she knew this would have to end. She reasoned that she might soon need his help.
Larxene had made plans in the two weeks since she had escaped Hollow Bastion. Her first step would be to wait here in the castle for Maleficent. She too speculated that the witch would arrive here soon, and when she did, Larxene planned on revealing herself as a member of Organization XIII. After their inexplicable resurrection, the other members had turned on Axel, herself, and Marluxia due to their previously traitorous actions, and forced them to flee. She and Axel barely made it out of the castle, escaping to the World that Never Was, but Marluxia had been the main target of their attackers. He was subdued and disposed of personally by Xemnas. Thinking back on the events, Larxene found that there were so many questions left unanswered. She still had no idea how they had been revived, or why. All she knew was that she had woken up in a chamber in the abandoned castle in above the town of Hollow Bastion, and then she had been attacked.
Now she was desperate. She had thrown away her pride and decided that she would survive by any means necessary- and that meant aligning herself with the Organization’s top rivals.
Riku glared at the woman, “Larxene? You are a member of the Organization!” said Riku incredulously, “But you’re supposed to be dead!” Larxene chuckled, “Believe me kid, I’m just as lost as you are. So I guess Namine filled you in?” Riku nodded in response, tightening his grasp on the keyblade and raising it over his head. Larxene laughed wildly, erratic streaks of electricity forming in her chest, “Then I guess this’ll be fun!”
Suddenly, they both leapt into action. Riku came rushing at Larxene, while she flipped into the air and savagely hurled her knives at him. Riku barely dogged the bullet-like weapons, and hurled himself upwards towards Larxene. In the second before contact was made, Larxene giggled and suddenly vanished in midair, sending Riku flying through the air off balance. He fell down onto the carpet, and suddenly, he was back in the air.
His body was being cut in twenty different places at the same time, and all he could see were black figures appearing before him and vanishing at the same time. Larxene was moving with tremendous speed. Her clones would appear, slash at Riku, and then vanish, only to repeat the process. Riku was being thrown about, and as more and more attacks came, he found he was stunned. Electricity was flowing through his body, effectively stunning him, and causing him to drop his weapon.
Riku was blacking out. Larxene was just too fast. Her rapid attacks were just unstoppable, but Riku wasn’t giving up. With a surge of willpower, the keyblade materialized in Riku’s hand, and, fighting the stunning energy, he slashed the keyblade in front of him forcefully. Larxene screamed, and her clones vanished. The combatants fell to the ground a few feet away from each other, but neither took a moment to rest.
Larxene was laughing manically, “You know, for some reason I thought you’d be better than Sora!” That struck a cord in Riku, and he roared at Larxene, “Shut up!” He charged again, but this time he was much more prepared for her attacks- or so he thought. Grinning maliciously, Larxene raised her arms, and sent dozens of streaks of lightning at Riku. Riku ran straight into the bolts, and was thrown into the opposite wall. Riku was aching all over, but Larxene was not through. With a forward wave of her arms, about twenty large, pulsating orbs of electricity went flying across the hall directly at Riku. They hit him head on, blowing a small hole in the wall, and lifting a cloud of debris that hid Riku. Riku’s body was shaking from the force of the explosion, but he was not giving up.
Riku stood, and walked out of the dust to find Larxene smiling at him, arms crossed over her chest and her knives between her knuckles. “So, had enough?” Larxene asked viciously. Riku’s face was singed black from the explosion, but his determined smile still shone through, “Not a chance.”
Riku made a final charge at Larxene, but this time he gave up his physical assault. Halfway through his run, Riku rose his left hand, and a massive, blue and black ball of flame erupted from its palm. The fire went hurtling towards Larxene, who was caught completely off guard. The force of the flame sent her flying, and Riku soared after her. Leaping over her head, he swung his blade down, into her stomach, and sent her crashing to the floor. Riku followed right after her, hurtling towards the ground with the keyblade raised over his head.
But Larxene responded too quickly for him. She rolled out of the way, and Riku struck only the ground, leaving himself vulnerable. Larxene took the opening and kicked Riku hard enough to send him flying. Too exhausted to attack, Larxene merely got too her feet and looked at Riku suspiciously. “So, I see you can use the dark,” Larxene called to Riku, who was trying to get back up on his feet, “Impressive. Still, I don’t have time to waste playing games. Be seein’ ya kid!”
With a wave of her hands, an elliptical orb of darkness surrounded Larxene. When it dissipated, she was gone, and their fight had ended just as abruptly as it had begun. Riku sat down, panting at the effort it had taken him to keep the witch at bay. After a few minutes, Riku got up, and took his first few steps towards the door. He would have to look for the King elsewhere.
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Another gateway of darkness erupted not too far from the throne room. Several stories under the King’s chair, Larxene walked into another large room, this one just as empty as the other, and with similarly white architecture. In the center of the room was a large orb, shining with great brilliance as it rested upon its small podium. Again Larxene found that she was not alone- but this time, she was happy to see the other person.
Standing before the Cornerstone of Light, garbed in her unusually long, black cape was Maleficent, her face wide with wonder. “You,” said Maleficent incredulously, “You can’t be-” Larxene was grinning on the inside at the sight of the witch’s expression. Perhaps things were going her way. Larxene put on a face of mock surprise, and instantly teleported herself to the outer gates of the castle.
Her work there was done.
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Well, I figured I kept you guys waiting for answers long enough, so there ya go!
The woman was arxene, the man was Axel! You were right heart!
So, yea, as I said, this chapter was much longer than the others, and that's sorta why it took so long to get up. (I thinks it's almost four pages in Word...)
Now, I want a couple of reviews before I post the next one (WHICH I ACTUALLY HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT HALF OF :thumbsup: )
