I'm a bad person for making you guys wait. So, here it is, the next (hopefully) exciting segment in our tale of more than two non-city-like planetoids... yeah...
Points for whoever can discern the origin of the title of the chapter.
Points for whoever can discern the origin of the title of the chapter.
-*5*-
Sorcerers of Death's Construction
The vast expanse of blinding light stretched out in all directions for eternity. No distinction stood between the opposite ends of the vertical spectrum in the Realm of Forever. The only mar in the pure snowy dimension were the black body of Brillian and the black skull of Morbin. The two spirit brothers hovered in discussion, questioning the sudden turn of events, just as Requiem had.
"How didst this cometh to pass?" Morbin hissed. "Through our powers, keybearers' and memory hadst been seperate'd."
"Patience, brother," Brillian said, trying to placate his brother. "Surely 'twill serve a purpose in Ghalokadore's great plan, which hath only been glimps'd by we two."
"That Dirst were a foolish one, prone to anger.We knowst how anger canst transform the mortal gift of hearts."
"Indeed. But the Plan, 'twill contain all of this."
Morbin sighed. "Thou dost not know thy plan of Ghalokadore. We were charg'd with the fusion of two souls into one Charlatan. We fail'd in our charge, and so we must seek to remedy our situation, lest we lose Kingdom Hearts to the Darkness."
"What doth thou suggest we doest?" Brillian retorted. "What hath pass'd hath pass'd. Should we eradicateth their memories again, the other two of the Drei Leitfäden willst be angry with us, and we knowst how anger canst transform the mortal gifts of hearts." Brillian's repetition of his brother's words was oozing sarcasm and spite.
"Either we remedieth thine problem, or we eradicateth Eins of Drei Leitfäden."
Brillian was astonished. "Thout art willing to destroy all mortals' hope of salvation merely because one mortal arouse'd the memories we lock'd away?"
Morbin nodded. "The anger of Ghalokadore will be great."
Brillian pondered their predicament for a moment, then conceded.
"Very well. But, should Zion pass the test we shalt set before him, he remains free to expunge Helios from existence.
Morbin grunted, which Brillian took for a motion of approval.
(_-=-_)~(_-=-_)~(_-=-_)
Requiem, Zion, and Harmony walked out of the chamber containing the Fountain of Forever and out onto the ledge overlooking the colossal lotus flower overwhich the tower was situated. Requiem studied the column that had flown them up to the ledge before encountering Helios, but as the albino himself had found, the powerful force of the air could not be reversed to push them back down.
"Looks like we'll have to jump down."
Harmony looked at the Reflection incredulously. "Jump? Really? We're, what, three hundred feet off of the ground? I'm no expert, but a fall like that will kill us!"
Requiem smiled. "Just joking."
Zion changed the subject. "You told me that I was a Charlatan. What does that mean."
Requiem turned to face Zion. "There are five forms of beings. There are the Intact, the normal folks. Then there are the Heartless: self-explanatory; there are the Nobodies, those empty shells of Heartless. Then there are Reflections, the opposites of another's heart, like Trisn was to Dirst. Lastly, there are Charlatans, a soul or more than one soul that is put into a body that it did not originate in. For instance, you, Zion, are a combination of the souls of Dirst and Trisn in one body. Clear?"
"Uh...,"Zion said, the sudden revelation that he was two people overpowering his vocal faculties.
Requiem smirked. "Yes, yes. You carry the pasts of both Dirst and Trisn within you. No doubt the spirits of Kingdom Hearts separated the two halves of you so you would have no feelings of the past, only a duty to destroy Helios."
"But Helios killed Sora, ransacked the Radient Garden, cheated me out of a home, imprisoned me, twisted me to darkness, beat me to a pulp, took Harmony, and twisted... us against each other."
"That "us" may have something to do with it. Two minds are better than one only if they aren't in one body."
Harmony was astonished at this revelation. Would she be able to handle Dirst and Trisn? If she loved one half of Zion's persona, could she love the other? She debated with herself for a moment, and then realized a solution to their isolation on the platform.
"If Trisn is a part of you, could you get us a portal to the base of the tower?"
"Good thinking," Requiem congratulated.
"I'll try," Zion said. With that, he closed his eyes for concentration and pushed his arm outward. A black dot appeared, and in another second a black oval was before them, whirring and trying to pull them into its dark innards. Zion entered first, Harmony close behind, and Requiem brought up the rear.
The trio reappeared at the base of the tower in the middle of the large pink lotus. They looked around for a moment, searching for any signs of Helios, but neither the albino, Anaximander, nor Sidrix were anywhere to be found. Without consulting the others, Requiem headed off towards the oncoming form of the Ironclad of Lore. Harmony and Zion looked to each other, then hurried off after the reflection. After a thirty seconds of jogging across the lotus, down the stairs, and onto the pad, the three were in front of the ironclad as it touched down and the hatch opened up with a rusty squeal. They walked into the ship, and the hatch closed behind them. Requiem sat down in the rocking chair; Harmony suddenly envisaged him as Helios. Her breath sped up enough for Zion to worry.
"Harmony? Are you okay?"
"It's just that the last time I was here, I was with m-." She caught herself before she said "my father." She could only imagine the rage that would build up in Zion if he knew that she was the daughter of the most evil man in the universe. "I was with Helios."
Zion nodded slowly, sensing there was more to the phrase, information she had, he didn't. However, he didn't press the matter, and the rest of the flight passed in silent contemplation.
Soon, the Ironclad of Lore touched down on Mystic Port. The gunports and portholes of the ironclad were closed, so the only indication they had they were there was an elevated temperature and a loud thunk and jostle as they hit the ground on landing.
"How exactly do we get up onto the platform?" Zion asked Requiem.
"Same way we got down, except we have to climb the pillar."
Zion was about to interject, but the door opened. However, instead of a forest of tall flames, the only thing they saw was a smouldering field of stone. Shocked by the drastic change in scenery, the three slowly walked down the ramp and onto the warm rock that was Mystic Port. They turned a full three hundred and sixty degrees, studying the bizarre world. Requiem was the first to notice that the pillar that had once been the only point of anchorage on the world was gone.
"What happened?" Harmony whispered, her voice dulled by shock.
"Your father hath been this way, young girl."
Zion recognized the voice as that of the eccentric Morbin. He turned to see the two brothers floating in the sky.
"The seal is undone," the equally eccentric Brillian added. "We hast decide'd to remedy the situation with a test: shouldst thou pass, thou willst continue on to fight Helios. Shouldst thou fail, and all encompassing Death awaits to claim the debt you owe."
Zion was confused, but when a large Heartless appeared before them, his confusion disappeared. The monstrosity had a black rams head with blue horns and beady yellow eyes attached to an enormous stone ball. The appendages were black and ram-like, but instead of hooves there were nasty claws.
"Is this the test?" Requiem shouted back.
"Nay, foolish Reflection," Morbin shouted back with a sneer. "This is but a gift left by the girl's father."
Zion and Requiem turned to Harmony, recognizing for the first time the words that had twice escaped from the spirits. Father and girl. Could it possibly be.
"You're Helios's daughter?" Zion and Requiem said in unison. Harmony looked at the ground, but a black and white beam coming from the two spirits caused her to look at the hulking Heartless-goat-golem-creature as spines appeared on its spherical stone back and sharp fangs protruded from its mouth. Worse still, a pink light surrounded Requiem and Harmony. The two tried to get out of their magical prisons, but their efforts were in vain.
"This, Zion, is your test. Defeat the Beelzebub Golem, or face erasure."
Zion looked at the two spirits of Kingdom Hearts, then he turned to stare up at the colossal beast, remembering when Dirst had been in the shadow of another colossus, and all he could think was the same thing.
"This is not good."
Requiem, Zion, and Harmony walked out of the chamber containing the Fountain of Forever and out onto the ledge overlooking the colossal lotus flower overwhich the tower was situated. Requiem studied the column that had flown them up to the ledge before encountering Helios, but as the albino himself had found, the powerful force of the air could not be reversed to push them back down.
"Looks like we'll have to jump down."
Harmony looked at the Reflection incredulously. "Jump? Really? We're, what, three hundred feet off of the ground? I'm no expert, but a fall like that will kill us!"
Requiem smiled. "Just joking."
Zion changed the subject. "You told me that I was a Charlatan. What does that mean."
Requiem turned to face Zion. "There are five forms of beings. There are the Intact, the normal folks. Then there are the Heartless: self-explanatory; there are the Nobodies, those empty shells of Heartless. Then there are Reflections, the opposites of another's heart, like Trisn was to Dirst. Lastly, there are Charlatans, a soul or more than one soul that is put into a body that it did not originate in. For instance, you, Zion, are a combination of the souls of Dirst and Trisn in one body. Clear?"
"Uh...,"Zion said, the sudden revelation that he was two people overpowering his vocal faculties.
Requiem smirked. "Yes, yes. You carry the pasts of both Dirst and Trisn within you. No doubt the spirits of Kingdom Hearts separated the two halves of you so you would have no feelings of the past, only a duty to destroy Helios."
"But Helios killed Sora, ransacked the Radient Garden, cheated me out of a home, imprisoned me, twisted me to darkness, beat me to a pulp, took Harmony, and twisted... us against each other."
"That "us" may have something to do with it. Two minds are better than one only if they aren't in one body."
Harmony was astonished at this revelation. Would she be able to handle Dirst and Trisn? If she loved one half of Zion's persona, could she love the other? She debated with herself for a moment, and then realized a solution to their isolation on the platform.
"If Trisn is a part of you, could you get us a portal to the base of the tower?"
"Good thinking," Requiem congratulated.
"I'll try," Zion said. With that, he closed his eyes for concentration and pushed his arm outward. A black dot appeared, and in another second a black oval was before them, whirring and trying to pull them into its dark innards. Zion entered first, Harmony close behind, and Requiem brought up the rear.
The trio reappeared at the base of the tower in the middle of the large pink lotus. They looked around for a moment, searching for any signs of Helios, but neither the albino, Anaximander, nor Sidrix were anywhere to be found. Without consulting the others, Requiem headed off towards the oncoming form of the Ironclad of Lore. Harmony and Zion looked to each other, then hurried off after the reflection. After a thirty seconds of jogging across the lotus, down the stairs, and onto the pad, the three were in front of the ironclad as it touched down and the hatch opened up with a rusty squeal. They walked into the ship, and the hatch closed behind them. Requiem sat down in the rocking chair; Harmony suddenly envisaged him as Helios. Her breath sped up enough for Zion to worry.
"Harmony? Are you okay?"
"It's just that the last time I was here, I was with m-." She caught herself before she said "my father." She could only imagine the rage that would build up in Zion if he knew that she was the daughter of the most evil man in the universe. "I was with Helios."
Zion nodded slowly, sensing there was more to the phrase, information she had, he didn't. However, he didn't press the matter, and the rest of the flight passed in silent contemplation.
Soon, the Ironclad of Lore touched down on Mystic Port. The gunports and portholes of the ironclad were closed, so the only indication they had they were there was an elevated temperature and a loud thunk and jostle as they hit the ground on landing.
"How exactly do we get up onto the platform?" Zion asked Requiem.
"Same way we got down, except we have to climb the pillar."
Zion was about to interject, but the door opened. However, instead of a forest of tall flames, the only thing they saw was a smouldering field of stone. Shocked by the drastic change in scenery, the three slowly walked down the ramp and onto the warm rock that was Mystic Port. They turned a full three hundred and sixty degrees, studying the bizarre world. Requiem was the first to notice that the pillar that had once been the only point of anchorage on the world was gone.
"What happened?" Harmony whispered, her voice dulled by shock.
"Your father hath been this way, young girl."
Zion recognized the voice as that of the eccentric Morbin. He turned to see the two brothers floating in the sky.
"The seal is undone," the equally eccentric Brillian added. "We hast decide'd to remedy the situation with a test: shouldst thou pass, thou willst continue on to fight Helios. Shouldst thou fail, and all encompassing Death awaits to claim the debt you owe."
Zion was confused, but when a large Heartless appeared before them, his confusion disappeared. The monstrosity had a black rams head with blue horns and beady yellow eyes attached to an enormous stone ball. The appendages were black and ram-like, but instead of hooves there were nasty claws.
"Is this the test?" Requiem shouted back.
"Nay, foolish Reflection," Morbin shouted back with a sneer. "This is but a gift left by the girl's father."
Zion and Requiem turned to Harmony, recognizing for the first time the words that had twice escaped from the spirits. Father and girl. Could it possibly be.
"You're Helios's daughter?" Zion and Requiem said in unison. Harmony looked at the ground, but a black and white beam coming from the two spirits caused her to look at the hulking Heartless-goat-golem-creature as spines appeared on its spherical stone back and sharp fangs protruded from its mouth. Worse still, a pink light surrounded Requiem and Harmony. The two tried to get out of their magical prisons, but their efforts were in vain.
"This, Zion, is your test. Defeat the Beelzebub Golem, or face erasure."
Zion looked at the two spirits of Kingdom Hearts, then he turned to stare up at the colossal beast, remembering when Dirst had been in the shadow of another colossus, and all he could think was the same thing.
"This is not good."