- Joined
- Aug 4, 2013
- Messages
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- Age
- 33
This is a story I've been writing for years. Although it takes place in a universe with Kingdom Hearts elements, all the characters and settings are completely original as appose to a straight up fanfiction. Here's the first 3 chapters, if people are interested I'll throw the other 12 chapters I've written on here. Enjoy!
Chapter 1 - One Cold Night
Fresh snow lay on the ground, gentle flakes descended as if in slow motion towards the concrete roads and grass lawns. I walked down the empty street thinking to myself. Trying to distract myself from how cold it was.
But it was not a natural chill.
It was something that penetrates deep within you. It touches your soul. You can feel the pressure in your spine and in your abdomen. I suppose you could compare the feeling to a ghost passing right through you. Don't get me wrong though, it wasn't something that makes you shiver or your teeth chatter, it just gave you the chills. That being said, 37 degrees was quite warm out for winter when you think that most of the week before, the temperature was below freezing.
This chill like sensation originated from the thought of knowing that somewhere out here is a dark, vile presentence; A demon. Regardless how holding my keyblade at my side made me feel more secure, just the meer thought of the shadows in the dark gave me the chills. But I could not comprehend why. I have garnished much experience fighting them these past few years, so it was not a question of fearing the unknown. It affects you in a way that seems almost unexplainable, a seeping chill that no shield can deflect. It's painful. I wished I didn't have to remain here any longer, but it was my duty to find this demon.
I could imagine Hayden mentioning how ironic that would sound; me trying to justify something I can't explain. I would have returned the comment with a sarcastic glare…
I always thought of my friends when I was alone like this, fighting to protect my home. My friends could never help me with the burden I carry. They were all mortals.
"They can't know about people like me," I said with a sigh.
Hearing a twig snapping, I looked up and saw Cyrus coming my way. A slight smile rose to my face as I continued to speak under my breath, "At least Cyrus is here."
Cyrus was fairly tall, landing somewhere around 6 feet. He was not thin or fat, muscular or unathletic. His dark blonde hair seemed to always have cowlicks no matter how hard he tried to lay it flat. His rectangular orange tinted glasses gave him a serious "down to business" appearance, but his personality ranged from being a focused warrior to a class clown. When he was in one of those "moods" his smiles and facial expressions always had an over the top air to it. Cyrus has always referred to theses shadows by name, heartless, while I could only refer to them as demons.
We are tenants, keybarers. We keep the peace and everything we do a secret. We are able to protect people from the darkness that they don't even know that exists.
"Hey Adalia, guuuueeess what!?" Cyrus yelled, in an incredibly sarcastic, energetic voice.
"Mmm, what?" I replied, down playing his energetic tone.
"We get to go home! I took care of the heartless already," he yelled smiling and dancing wildly. His voice held a tone of ego as though he had just saved the entire world. I cracked a smile not being able to help it. Cyrus's acts of comedy were irresistible to smile at. He's such a dork and at the same time he is irrevocably efficient, I thought to myself. We both dismissed our keyblades.
"Ugg, thank goodness", I sighed as I scratched my head thinking to myself. "If we're all set I don't want to be out here anymore. I'm going to bed," I said in a slightly more somber tone turning homeward.
"Hey, are you alright?" He said, now in a serious tone.
I tried to form a smile as I turned back to look at him which ended up more like a smirk, "Yeah I'm fine," I lied. In truth I have been plagued lately by thoughts of being discovered as a tenant; a key bearer. I hated it the very thought of it. Imagining what my friends would have to go through if it were found out what I was, seemed nearly unfathomable. Well, nothing would happen to them; they wouldn't remember anything, like I was never a part of their lives to begin with. Or perhaps I'm just worried about myself, and worried that I would lose my grip on reality without my close friends. I was kind of lost in myself for a second, maybe even a little confused.
Cyrus observed me blanking out, "Damn girl, you need to stop spacing like that." He said with a smirk.
I said nothing and just smiled. Cyrus smile back, standing like a proud gladiator. He looked glad he successfully made me happy; causing a rift in the depressing mood that plagued me. He was damn good at that.
"You know, at least no one will ever find out you're a tenant," I said, "They'll just think you are insane, haha."
He folded his arms and said in a high pitched voice, "I'm not insane! I'm just a little tired!"
This last jest made both of us fall apart laughing. It felt good to just let loose, and simply laugh it out. I guess I have been a bit too worried about things lately. Well, I mean, if you were in my position you would too, wouldn't you?
I watched Cyrus wave to me good bye, and head off toward his home. He didn't live too far, but I often felt like he must have not wanted to be alone. Like he needed an audience for his over the top quirks. I thought for a second if maybe I should go with him so he didn't have to walk alone. I quickly I shook my head thought. He would be fine and I've got to stop worrying about absolutely everything. I turned around and started to head home. It would be nice to get some sleep.
Chapter 2 - A Day In The Life
I was just lying there; gaping at the ceiling. Thoughts were swimming through my mind. So many things were swimming through my mind that I couldn't control what to think of. So, I just let my mind wander, sinking into an ocean of thoughts. How much longer before we don't have to worry about the demons? What would happen if my friends were victimized by these creatures of the dark? Could I save them? Do I even have the ability to save them? Question after question drowned me in sub consciousness.
Abruptly, I was brought back into reality, ripped from the swirling tides by an unknown force. I finally start to realize the obtrusive sound of my alarm clock was disturbing the air. Snapping back to attention I leaned over to turn off the alarm. I took a few seconds to pull myself awake, let out a mild morning groan, and I pushed back my comforter and got out of bed. The bitter cold air swirled around me and quickly chilled me to the bone. My body jerked, wanting to get back under the covers. My nerves were trying to convince me that 'I have plenty of time I can sleep a little longer.' Meanwhile common sense told me not to. After a moment or two of dozing off in the middle of space I shook myself till I was alert again. I got dressed and got my things together for school.
To say the roads were bad would have been an understatement; they were horrible. I had started to snow the night before and as it always does in New England, the rain came right after. The result was a slippery but abrasive ice rink from hell. Several instances made me feel like I was going to lose control and crash. Just the thought of this sent a chill up my spine and terrified me. Seeing the wreckage of numerous car crashes on the way there didn't help my grip on serenity.
There was a bus at the first intersection I pulled up too. It was running pretty smoothly in the frigid conditions for the most part, and had just pulled up to a light. As I sat there beneath the red light, waiting for permission from the green judge to continue on my way towards school, a car lost control coming from the other direction. It ran smack dab into the bus's front bumper. Smoke rose from the accordion engine cover. I sighed and punched my steering wheel with my fist. I started to think thoughts like; "I am going to be late aren't I?"
When I finally pulled in the parking lot, which had barely any traction, I should have been 10 minutes late. However, when I walked through the front door I saw Séamus coming out of the main office. As he turned to walk down the hall toward homeroom he waved to me.
"Well, aren't you late?" he said mockingly with that usual grin of his.
"Yeah, well, so is half the school" I retorted, not appreciating the humor after the catastrophe on the road. I regretted making that statement as soon as it left my lips. Normally, things like this just don't bother me. I suppose it's just one of those days.
Laughing, he found humor in my attack while trying to ease the moment. "Whatever, homeroom is delayed anyways," he finally stated.
I breathed out, finally letting out a sigh of relief; first positive thing I've heard all day.
I had been late to school a few too many times lately and this was a nice reprieve from the usual. It hadn't been my fault. I was up late on 'demon patrols' with Cyrus, which were always at some ungodly hour. I didn't understand why they didn't just post someone who didn't have to be somewhere the next morning; it didn't make sense at all.
When Cyrus and I were sworn in as knights of the Union I didn't expect these kind of conditions. If there had been any warning that we would have to sleep only 3 hours a night, hunt for creatures that want to rob you of your very soul, and put up with all the laws that the Union set up I may have reconsidered. The laws were "to make things easier for all." I remember how Cyrus used to say it was just "easier for all the officers." This kind of comment from Cyrus about the Union was usually followed by a smirk. The thought of Cyrus's expression temporarily broke my mask and made me smile a little.
As I walked into class I was inducted into the hilarity that happens every day at school. Cyrus was running around with a standard ball point pen, like a member of Saturday Night Live, making outrageous claims like "holy freaking crap! I've got a super fancy pen!" Holly was at her desk already laughing into hysterics alongside Sahara watching Cyrus. Holly had blonde hair with low lights mainly in the front. She was a little short, but her usual up-beat nature never let you notice that. You could see her CDs sprawled across her desk including the likes of Underoath, The Killers and Muse. Since her headphones were plugged in you couldn't hear the blaring sound of guitars and the heavy vocals of Spencer Chamberlain which was always played on her computer. Sahara seemed a little shorter than holly even though they were probably close to the same height in real life. She wore an incredibly baggy sweater she borrowed from her boyfriend; it almost went to her knees. Upon her face she had glasses that magnified her eyes, making her look like some scientist with strange eyewear on.
"Where's Hayden, that slacker?" Mr. Young, our shop teacher, questioned.
Evangeline turned from her desk to reply "I was talking to him online yesterday; I think he's out sick."
Evangeline, or Eva as we usually called her seemed a lot calmer than the rest of the class, but to say she was more serious was a lie. She loved to laugh and be silly just as much as the rest of us. She had longer hair that curled ever so slightly around her face that gave her a gentle warm look, which completely matched her personality. Eva was kind of like our 'go to' person; she knew what to do in every situation. Whether it was guy problems, family problems, or just stress from school, she was always there to talk to.
"Hayden? Sick? That doesn't happen very often," said Sahara a little taken aback. "He seemed fine yesterday, or at least I thought he did."
"Hayden's sick?! What is this world coming too?!" belted Cyrus. He then proceeded to throw his pen like it had suddenly contracted some horrible disease in the direction of Séamus, hitting him in the chest. Séamus laughed as he picked up the pen.
"Cyrus, Settle down or I'll beat you with Sahara's arm," said Mr. Young. We all continued to laugh as Cyrus dragged his feet back to his desk on the other side of the room. Any of us could have finished Mr. Young's standard 'beat you with someone else's arm catch phrase'; it was habit for our teacher. The rest of the day flew by fairly quickly. Which consisted of laughing at Cyrus, going to Art, and still having heavy thoughts on my mind. This being the usual pattern a shop day flows. Mr. Young spent most of the day telling Cyrus to calm down, sit still, or go join the navy. During lunch we were 'spoken to' by "Salad Fingers" about being too loud in the lunch room, which of course was a problem Cyrus was at the route of. "go figure", I thought to myself with a smile.
"Salad Fingers" was a name Cyrus came up with, if I remember correctly. I guess he had seen her playing in the salad bowl with her hands and since he didn't like her at all the name was invented as a means of insult. So the code name or nickname "Salad Fingers" was born.
The bell rang and I was alert again. Once again I found myself zoning out, this time while waiting by the door for school to end. Reminiscing has been doing that to me lately, a bad habit on some levels I suppose.
I walked out the parking lot exit and started to half run towards my car. I didn't have to work my day job tonight so the first thing I was going to do when I got home was sleep. However, I did have an assignment with the Union tonight with Cyrus. As I jumped into my car and prepared for the dangerous ride home, I thought again about my friends and how I could protect them. "I would find a way", I told myself. "I would definitely find a way."
I had no idea, at the time, the unbelievable chain of events that would soon unfold before me like a deck of cards. All to see what hand I was dealt… and if I could do anything with it.
Chapter 3 - The Dawn of Doubt
It was cold tonight too.
Underneath the star-lit sky I waited for Cyrus to show up. The street lamps flickered while a cool breeze past. Most would say how lovely it is tonight, but not me. I didn't care how nice out it was. I still felt like something ominous was in the air whenever we had these 'missions', and of course, tonight we had something big to do. That didn't help my growing fear.
I went over the task in my head again; Commander Reck's words still fresh in my mind. Cyrus and I were informed to scope out Lake Alexander as there have been recent activities there; possibly something big.
"For people in the area to notice, it must have been something larger than just a normal shadow heartless," I had said earlier to Recks, confused about what our exact objective was.
"That is because the anomaly isn't a heartless," he responded with overpowering eye contact as he always did. "We believe someone is killing those waste-of-air demons, and we want to know why."
I shuddered at the memory. If there was one thing Recks was good at, it was making you feel like you shouldn't ask more questions then you were suppose to. His stern eyes and cold tone of voice perfectly matched his 'my way, or the highway' attitude. The way he looked and dressed, always in uniform, also contributed to his stinginess. His young appearance, most likely his late 20's, and short silver hair being the only friendly physical traits.
Thinking about the orders, it still didn't make much sense to me. If someone, or something, was slaying heartless why didn't we just let it? The extermination heartless is a good thing isn't it? I thought to myself some more, not quite understanding the purpose of the orders.
I closed my eyes trying to focus. "We're to dispose of, or capture this anomaly", I whispered into the crisp night hoping that maybe saying aloud might make more sense.'
"I can understand trying to find out what it is, but killing it? Even capturing it doesn't make much sense", said Cyrus as he climb over the fence to join me. By his tone of voice I could tell he was carrying his serious attitude tonight.
"When does the union ever make sense?" I said with a smile lit by the light post I stood below, partly hoping to ignite some idiocy in him. I had to check whether he was thinking about the same thing I was thinking.
He put his hand on his chin and stared at the ground for a few moments. "They definitely have been making less and less sense recently. It's starting to weird me out," he concluded, not taking the bait. That was it. I could tell from his response that the orders were bothering him too. He doesn't stay serious unless he felt like he had a reason to.
We talked the whole way to the lake, discussing the union, what they could possibly be doing, and why they make such an order. The Union is an organization that assigns tenants, people who are aware of Kingdom Hearts existence, with keyblades to act as a defense against the heartless. They are involved with keeping the peace and making sure the mortals on this planet in the realm of light, which the mortals call earth, are blindfolded from the truth. What is the truth? That heartless are infesting the realms. The secret is the Union's answer of keeping the peace.
Cyrus and I continued to talk about what the thing were looking for might be. He also told me about his quarrel with that solider heartless from yesterday, a heartless with light armor. He made it sound like it was some great epic battle, in the end though he admitted that it only took three hits and couldn't have lasted more than a few moments.
"It was actually pretty easy, I didn't even have to use any of my skills", he continued, slightly breaking away from his serious tone.
Although he may not think it, Cyrus is damn strong, I thought to myself. The Union has recognized his ability several times, and has even tried to promote him on several occasions. Several think he may even hold the ability to best some of our Commanders. He has turned down every offer simply because he would no longer be on duty here in our home town. It made me feel good that he choose his friends and a normal life over the Union's higher ranks, but I felt like he was meant for something greater.
As we approached the lake the two of us suddenly stopped. We could hear something up ahead. I looked at Cyrus and he gave me a nod which said, 'Let's go investigate'. We crept to a spot on the shore behind some foliage. It was here that we witnessed the last half of the fight.
It was a battle between a Wyvern Heartless, a creature with large hand like wings, and what appeared to be a boy about Cyrus's and I's age completely cloaked from head to toe in a black garb.
I immediately noticed the boy in black was wielding a keyblade. I looked over at Cyrus with a shocked expression on my face and he looked back at me sharing the same look of confusion. His keyblade's appearance looked like it was made of sand stone, but it still looked very powerful. However, he was not using it directly against his foe. He would swing it and beckon forth a mighty wave of red sand towards the enemy. Using this technique, the boy in black didn't even need to be near his target to finish it off.
The wyvern climbed through the crisp night, trying to avoid the crimson mass pursuing it. The boy created a platform of sand before him and jumped onto it, riding it up. He glided up with much speed, rapidly approaching the unaware heartless. Finally, the wyvern looked back to check up on his attacker only to find out he was right behind him. It attempted to barrel-roll to the right, trying to avoid the pillar of red aimed at its back, but was too late. The sand pierced straight through it, making a mess of black smoke as the creature fell back to earth. Heartless always disintegrated in to black smoke like that.
As the wyvern dissolved and the heart captured by it freed into the night, the boy turned his head in the direction of Cyrus and I. We immediate ducked for a hiding place. I knew in he had seen us though.
"I know you are there, just come out here," the figure stated, in a familiar voice. I again looked at Cyrus, from where I was, for some sign of what to do next. He shook his head, showing an expression of 'what the hell' and started to stand up from his crouched position. We both walked out from behind our hiding places and jumped out onto the lake. Using our magic abilities we could walk on water, a common ability among keybarers. The boy used sand to produce a similar effect.
"Your voice," Cyrus said with a confused but shocked look on his face. "It sounds familiar." The boy twitched slightly, considering what to do next. After a short pause he leaped high into the air, a bunch of sand following him, and swung down. The sand carved its path through the night straight at Cyrus. While I jumped out of the way, He summoned his wind-element keyblade, Fenestron, and jumped toward the sand, charging it, and shouted AERO. He was quickly surrounded by a protective sphere of wind which easily deflected the deadly crimson wave. As the sand mass moved from his view, Cyrus realized the figure was no longer in front of him. Cyrus franticly looked around while still in flying through the air, searching for a hint of the black cloak. He activated the propeller on the end of his keyblade to whirl around just in time to deflect another wave. However, his inability to react quickly enough caused him to get sent flying backwards into the water.
I was already there, to keep the pressure up on the enemy, when Cyrus got launched. In retaliation I yelled DARK FIRE, which launched several spheres of black fire from the tip of my keyblade, Acoustic Shadow, towards the foe. Without even moving a muscle, sand came up around all sides of the foe absorbing the flames in a blanket of sand.
Cyrus and I both regrouped quickly as possible while the boy brought down his shield of sand. He looked at us both and we looked back at him. Bending his knees, he sprung into a spin of intense speed. He scattered sand around himself, effectively blinding us. We opened our eyes once the sand stopped whipping around to see that he had vanished, leaving us a little stunned. We stood on the lake, our jaws dropped, neither of us saying anything. We just stared in disbelief of what happened.
I turned to Cyrus trying to stay calm, "I think we need to talk to Recks about what happened". Listening to my words, but not looking at me, he nodded in approval.
Still staring at the empty space where the boy vanished, he said, "I have a meeting with Recks tomorrow anyway. I will deliver our report then."
"A meeting? What for?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow and folding my arms. I was slightly shocked Cyrus hadn't told me of this before.
Cyrus finally looked up at me with a frown and said, "Recks is trying to convince me to take that promotion again. I guess the Union is in desperate need of officers right now." He sounded a little depressed at the thought.
I nodded as I unfolded my arms and let a smile developed across my face. That is why he didn't want to talk about it before, because he didn't want it to happen in the first place. He was trying to just ignore the situation hoping it wouldn't happen.
Rain started to fall and we collected ourselves and went home. There was no way to pursue the combatant. Even if we could catch up with him I have a feeling we wouldn't be able to beat him or even question him. There was something impeccably odd with the lack of briefing we got in comparison to what we found. The Union was hiding something from us and Cyrus and I wanted to know what. So many questions popped into my head as me and my teammate parted ways. Who was the tenant in the black cape? Why would the Union want him dead, and not even tell us who he is? Wouldn't it be better for the mission if we knew more about what we were facing?
As I entered my bedroom, Matthias was already asleep. Matt, as most know him as, is my boyfriend that I live with. He used to be a keybarer sometime back, but know he just wants to live the life mortal, not wanting to worry the worries of tenants.
I set my alarm and slipped into bed next to him. I was far too sleepy to be worried about the problems and questions I had. I quickly dosed off with a smile as he wrapped his warm arms around me.
Chapter 1 - One Cold Night
Fresh snow lay on the ground, gentle flakes descended as if in slow motion towards the concrete roads and grass lawns. I walked down the empty street thinking to myself. Trying to distract myself from how cold it was.
But it was not a natural chill.
It was something that penetrates deep within you. It touches your soul. You can feel the pressure in your spine and in your abdomen. I suppose you could compare the feeling to a ghost passing right through you. Don't get me wrong though, it wasn't something that makes you shiver or your teeth chatter, it just gave you the chills. That being said, 37 degrees was quite warm out for winter when you think that most of the week before, the temperature was below freezing.
This chill like sensation originated from the thought of knowing that somewhere out here is a dark, vile presentence; A demon. Regardless how holding my keyblade at my side made me feel more secure, just the meer thought of the shadows in the dark gave me the chills. But I could not comprehend why. I have garnished much experience fighting them these past few years, so it was not a question of fearing the unknown. It affects you in a way that seems almost unexplainable, a seeping chill that no shield can deflect. It's painful. I wished I didn't have to remain here any longer, but it was my duty to find this demon.
I could imagine Hayden mentioning how ironic that would sound; me trying to justify something I can't explain. I would have returned the comment with a sarcastic glare…
I always thought of my friends when I was alone like this, fighting to protect my home. My friends could never help me with the burden I carry. They were all mortals.
"They can't know about people like me," I said with a sigh.
Hearing a twig snapping, I looked up and saw Cyrus coming my way. A slight smile rose to my face as I continued to speak under my breath, "At least Cyrus is here."
Cyrus was fairly tall, landing somewhere around 6 feet. He was not thin or fat, muscular or unathletic. His dark blonde hair seemed to always have cowlicks no matter how hard he tried to lay it flat. His rectangular orange tinted glasses gave him a serious "down to business" appearance, but his personality ranged from being a focused warrior to a class clown. When he was in one of those "moods" his smiles and facial expressions always had an over the top air to it. Cyrus has always referred to theses shadows by name, heartless, while I could only refer to them as demons.
We are tenants, keybarers. We keep the peace and everything we do a secret. We are able to protect people from the darkness that they don't even know that exists.
"Hey Adalia, guuuueeess what!?" Cyrus yelled, in an incredibly sarcastic, energetic voice.
"Mmm, what?" I replied, down playing his energetic tone.
"We get to go home! I took care of the heartless already," he yelled smiling and dancing wildly. His voice held a tone of ego as though he had just saved the entire world. I cracked a smile not being able to help it. Cyrus's acts of comedy were irresistible to smile at. He's such a dork and at the same time he is irrevocably efficient, I thought to myself. We both dismissed our keyblades.
"Ugg, thank goodness", I sighed as I scratched my head thinking to myself. "If we're all set I don't want to be out here anymore. I'm going to bed," I said in a slightly more somber tone turning homeward.
"Hey, are you alright?" He said, now in a serious tone.
I tried to form a smile as I turned back to look at him which ended up more like a smirk, "Yeah I'm fine," I lied. In truth I have been plagued lately by thoughts of being discovered as a tenant; a key bearer. I hated it the very thought of it. Imagining what my friends would have to go through if it were found out what I was, seemed nearly unfathomable. Well, nothing would happen to them; they wouldn't remember anything, like I was never a part of their lives to begin with. Or perhaps I'm just worried about myself, and worried that I would lose my grip on reality without my close friends. I was kind of lost in myself for a second, maybe even a little confused.
Cyrus observed me blanking out, "Damn girl, you need to stop spacing like that." He said with a smirk.
I said nothing and just smiled. Cyrus smile back, standing like a proud gladiator. He looked glad he successfully made me happy; causing a rift in the depressing mood that plagued me. He was damn good at that.
"You know, at least no one will ever find out you're a tenant," I said, "They'll just think you are insane, haha."
He folded his arms and said in a high pitched voice, "I'm not insane! I'm just a little tired!"
This last jest made both of us fall apart laughing. It felt good to just let loose, and simply laugh it out. I guess I have been a bit too worried about things lately. Well, I mean, if you were in my position you would too, wouldn't you?
I watched Cyrus wave to me good bye, and head off toward his home. He didn't live too far, but I often felt like he must have not wanted to be alone. Like he needed an audience for his over the top quirks. I thought for a second if maybe I should go with him so he didn't have to walk alone. I quickly I shook my head thought. He would be fine and I've got to stop worrying about absolutely everything. I turned around and started to head home. It would be nice to get some sleep.
Chapter 2 - A Day In The Life
I was just lying there; gaping at the ceiling. Thoughts were swimming through my mind. So many things were swimming through my mind that I couldn't control what to think of. So, I just let my mind wander, sinking into an ocean of thoughts. How much longer before we don't have to worry about the demons? What would happen if my friends were victimized by these creatures of the dark? Could I save them? Do I even have the ability to save them? Question after question drowned me in sub consciousness.
Abruptly, I was brought back into reality, ripped from the swirling tides by an unknown force. I finally start to realize the obtrusive sound of my alarm clock was disturbing the air. Snapping back to attention I leaned over to turn off the alarm. I took a few seconds to pull myself awake, let out a mild morning groan, and I pushed back my comforter and got out of bed. The bitter cold air swirled around me and quickly chilled me to the bone. My body jerked, wanting to get back under the covers. My nerves were trying to convince me that 'I have plenty of time I can sleep a little longer.' Meanwhile common sense told me not to. After a moment or two of dozing off in the middle of space I shook myself till I was alert again. I got dressed and got my things together for school.
To say the roads were bad would have been an understatement; they were horrible. I had started to snow the night before and as it always does in New England, the rain came right after. The result was a slippery but abrasive ice rink from hell. Several instances made me feel like I was going to lose control and crash. Just the thought of this sent a chill up my spine and terrified me. Seeing the wreckage of numerous car crashes on the way there didn't help my grip on serenity.
There was a bus at the first intersection I pulled up too. It was running pretty smoothly in the frigid conditions for the most part, and had just pulled up to a light. As I sat there beneath the red light, waiting for permission from the green judge to continue on my way towards school, a car lost control coming from the other direction. It ran smack dab into the bus's front bumper. Smoke rose from the accordion engine cover. I sighed and punched my steering wheel with my fist. I started to think thoughts like; "I am going to be late aren't I?"
When I finally pulled in the parking lot, which had barely any traction, I should have been 10 minutes late. However, when I walked through the front door I saw Séamus coming out of the main office. As he turned to walk down the hall toward homeroom he waved to me.
"Well, aren't you late?" he said mockingly with that usual grin of his.
"Yeah, well, so is half the school" I retorted, not appreciating the humor after the catastrophe on the road. I regretted making that statement as soon as it left my lips. Normally, things like this just don't bother me. I suppose it's just one of those days.
Laughing, he found humor in my attack while trying to ease the moment. "Whatever, homeroom is delayed anyways," he finally stated.
I breathed out, finally letting out a sigh of relief; first positive thing I've heard all day.
I had been late to school a few too many times lately and this was a nice reprieve from the usual. It hadn't been my fault. I was up late on 'demon patrols' with Cyrus, which were always at some ungodly hour. I didn't understand why they didn't just post someone who didn't have to be somewhere the next morning; it didn't make sense at all.
When Cyrus and I were sworn in as knights of the Union I didn't expect these kind of conditions. If there had been any warning that we would have to sleep only 3 hours a night, hunt for creatures that want to rob you of your very soul, and put up with all the laws that the Union set up I may have reconsidered. The laws were "to make things easier for all." I remember how Cyrus used to say it was just "easier for all the officers." This kind of comment from Cyrus about the Union was usually followed by a smirk. The thought of Cyrus's expression temporarily broke my mask and made me smile a little.
As I walked into class I was inducted into the hilarity that happens every day at school. Cyrus was running around with a standard ball point pen, like a member of Saturday Night Live, making outrageous claims like "holy freaking crap! I've got a super fancy pen!" Holly was at her desk already laughing into hysterics alongside Sahara watching Cyrus. Holly had blonde hair with low lights mainly in the front. She was a little short, but her usual up-beat nature never let you notice that. You could see her CDs sprawled across her desk including the likes of Underoath, The Killers and Muse. Since her headphones were plugged in you couldn't hear the blaring sound of guitars and the heavy vocals of Spencer Chamberlain which was always played on her computer. Sahara seemed a little shorter than holly even though they were probably close to the same height in real life. She wore an incredibly baggy sweater she borrowed from her boyfriend; it almost went to her knees. Upon her face she had glasses that magnified her eyes, making her look like some scientist with strange eyewear on.
"Where's Hayden, that slacker?" Mr. Young, our shop teacher, questioned.
Evangeline turned from her desk to reply "I was talking to him online yesterday; I think he's out sick."
Evangeline, or Eva as we usually called her seemed a lot calmer than the rest of the class, but to say she was more serious was a lie. She loved to laugh and be silly just as much as the rest of us. She had longer hair that curled ever so slightly around her face that gave her a gentle warm look, which completely matched her personality. Eva was kind of like our 'go to' person; she knew what to do in every situation. Whether it was guy problems, family problems, or just stress from school, she was always there to talk to.
"Hayden? Sick? That doesn't happen very often," said Sahara a little taken aback. "He seemed fine yesterday, or at least I thought he did."
"Hayden's sick?! What is this world coming too?!" belted Cyrus. He then proceeded to throw his pen like it had suddenly contracted some horrible disease in the direction of Séamus, hitting him in the chest. Séamus laughed as he picked up the pen.
"Cyrus, Settle down or I'll beat you with Sahara's arm," said Mr. Young. We all continued to laugh as Cyrus dragged his feet back to his desk on the other side of the room. Any of us could have finished Mr. Young's standard 'beat you with someone else's arm catch phrase'; it was habit for our teacher. The rest of the day flew by fairly quickly. Which consisted of laughing at Cyrus, going to Art, and still having heavy thoughts on my mind. This being the usual pattern a shop day flows. Mr. Young spent most of the day telling Cyrus to calm down, sit still, or go join the navy. During lunch we were 'spoken to' by "Salad Fingers" about being too loud in the lunch room, which of course was a problem Cyrus was at the route of. "go figure", I thought to myself with a smile.
"Salad Fingers" was a name Cyrus came up with, if I remember correctly. I guess he had seen her playing in the salad bowl with her hands and since he didn't like her at all the name was invented as a means of insult. So the code name or nickname "Salad Fingers" was born.
The bell rang and I was alert again. Once again I found myself zoning out, this time while waiting by the door for school to end. Reminiscing has been doing that to me lately, a bad habit on some levels I suppose.
I walked out the parking lot exit and started to half run towards my car. I didn't have to work my day job tonight so the first thing I was going to do when I got home was sleep. However, I did have an assignment with the Union tonight with Cyrus. As I jumped into my car and prepared for the dangerous ride home, I thought again about my friends and how I could protect them. "I would find a way", I told myself. "I would definitely find a way."
I had no idea, at the time, the unbelievable chain of events that would soon unfold before me like a deck of cards. All to see what hand I was dealt… and if I could do anything with it.
Chapter 3 - The Dawn of Doubt
It was cold tonight too.
Underneath the star-lit sky I waited for Cyrus to show up. The street lamps flickered while a cool breeze past. Most would say how lovely it is tonight, but not me. I didn't care how nice out it was. I still felt like something ominous was in the air whenever we had these 'missions', and of course, tonight we had something big to do. That didn't help my growing fear.
I went over the task in my head again; Commander Reck's words still fresh in my mind. Cyrus and I were informed to scope out Lake Alexander as there have been recent activities there; possibly something big.
"For people in the area to notice, it must have been something larger than just a normal shadow heartless," I had said earlier to Recks, confused about what our exact objective was.
"That is because the anomaly isn't a heartless," he responded with overpowering eye contact as he always did. "We believe someone is killing those waste-of-air demons, and we want to know why."
I shuddered at the memory. If there was one thing Recks was good at, it was making you feel like you shouldn't ask more questions then you were suppose to. His stern eyes and cold tone of voice perfectly matched his 'my way, or the highway' attitude. The way he looked and dressed, always in uniform, also contributed to his stinginess. His young appearance, most likely his late 20's, and short silver hair being the only friendly physical traits.
Thinking about the orders, it still didn't make much sense to me. If someone, or something, was slaying heartless why didn't we just let it? The extermination heartless is a good thing isn't it? I thought to myself some more, not quite understanding the purpose of the orders.
I closed my eyes trying to focus. "We're to dispose of, or capture this anomaly", I whispered into the crisp night hoping that maybe saying aloud might make more sense.'
"I can understand trying to find out what it is, but killing it? Even capturing it doesn't make much sense", said Cyrus as he climb over the fence to join me. By his tone of voice I could tell he was carrying his serious attitude tonight.
"When does the union ever make sense?" I said with a smile lit by the light post I stood below, partly hoping to ignite some idiocy in him. I had to check whether he was thinking about the same thing I was thinking.
He put his hand on his chin and stared at the ground for a few moments. "They definitely have been making less and less sense recently. It's starting to weird me out," he concluded, not taking the bait. That was it. I could tell from his response that the orders were bothering him too. He doesn't stay serious unless he felt like he had a reason to.
We talked the whole way to the lake, discussing the union, what they could possibly be doing, and why they make such an order. The Union is an organization that assigns tenants, people who are aware of Kingdom Hearts existence, with keyblades to act as a defense against the heartless. They are involved with keeping the peace and making sure the mortals on this planet in the realm of light, which the mortals call earth, are blindfolded from the truth. What is the truth? That heartless are infesting the realms. The secret is the Union's answer of keeping the peace.
Cyrus and I continued to talk about what the thing were looking for might be. He also told me about his quarrel with that solider heartless from yesterday, a heartless with light armor. He made it sound like it was some great epic battle, in the end though he admitted that it only took three hits and couldn't have lasted more than a few moments.
"It was actually pretty easy, I didn't even have to use any of my skills", he continued, slightly breaking away from his serious tone.
Although he may not think it, Cyrus is damn strong, I thought to myself. The Union has recognized his ability several times, and has even tried to promote him on several occasions. Several think he may even hold the ability to best some of our Commanders. He has turned down every offer simply because he would no longer be on duty here in our home town. It made me feel good that he choose his friends and a normal life over the Union's higher ranks, but I felt like he was meant for something greater.
As we approached the lake the two of us suddenly stopped. We could hear something up ahead. I looked at Cyrus and he gave me a nod which said, 'Let's go investigate'. We crept to a spot on the shore behind some foliage. It was here that we witnessed the last half of the fight.
It was a battle between a Wyvern Heartless, a creature with large hand like wings, and what appeared to be a boy about Cyrus's and I's age completely cloaked from head to toe in a black garb.
I immediately noticed the boy in black was wielding a keyblade. I looked over at Cyrus with a shocked expression on my face and he looked back at me sharing the same look of confusion. His keyblade's appearance looked like it was made of sand stone, but it still looked very powerful. However, he was not using it directly against his foe. He would swing it and beckon forth a mighty wave of red sand towards the enemy. Using this technique, the boy in black didn't even need to be near his target to finish it off.
The wyvern climbed through the crisp night, trying to avoid the crimson mass pursuing it. The boy created a platform of sand before him and jumped onto it, riding it up. He glided up with much speed, rapidly approaching the unaware heartless. Finally, the wyvern looked back to check up on his attacker only to find out he was right behind him. It attempted to barrel-roll to the right, trying to avoid the pillar of red aimed at its back, but was too late. The sand pierced straight through it, making a mess of black smoke as the creature fell back to earth. Heartless always disintegrated in to black smoke like that.
As the wyvern dissolved and the heart captured by it freed into the night, the boy turned his head in the direction of Cyrus and I. We immediate ducked for a hiding place. I knew in he had seen us though.
"I know you are there, just come out here," the figure stated, in a familiar voice. I again looked at Cyrus, from where I was, for some sign of what to do next. He shook his head, showing an expression of 'what the hell' and started to stand up from his crouched position. We both walked out from behind our hiding places and jumped out onto the lake. Using our magic abilities we could walk on water, a common ability among keybarers. The boy used sand to produce a similar effect.
"Your voice," Cyrus said with a confused but shocked look on his face. "It sounds familiar." The boy twitched slightly, considering what to do next. After a short pause he leaped high into the air, a bunch of sand following him, and swung down. The sand carved its path through the night straight at Cyrus. While I jumped out of the way, He summoned his wind-element keyblade, Fenestron, and jumped toward the sand, charging it, and shouted AERO. He was quickly surrounded by a protective sphere of wind which easily deflected the deadly crimson wave. As the sand mass moved from his view, Cyrus realized the figure was no longer in front of him. Cyrus franticly looked around while still in flying through the air, searching for a hint of the black cloak. He activated the propeller on the end of his keyblade to whirl around just in time to deflect another wave. However, his inability to react quickly enough caused him to get sent flying backwards into the water.
I was already there, to keep the pressure up on the enemy, when Cyrus got launched. In retaliation I yelled DARK FIRE, which launched several spheres of black fire from the tip of my keyblade, Acoustic Shadow, towards the foe. Without even moving a muscle, sand came up around all sides of the foe absorbing the flames in a blanket of sand.
Cyrus and I both regrouped quickly as possible while the boy brought down his shield of sand. He looked at us both and we looked back at him. Bending his knees, he sprung into a spin of intense speed. He scattered sand around himself, effectively blinding us. We opened our eyes once the sand stopped whipping around to see that he had vanished, leaving us a little stunned. We stood on the lake, our jaws dropped, neither of us saying anything. We just stared in disbelief of what happened.
I turned to Cyrus trying to stay calm, "I think we need to talk to Recks about what happened". Listening to my words, but not looking at me, he nodded in approval.
Still staring at the empty space where the boy vanished, he said, "I have a meeting with Recks tomorrow anyway. I will deliver our report then."
"A meeting? What for?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow and folding my arms. I was slightly shocked Cyrus hadn't told me of this before.
Cyrus finally looked up at me with a frown and said, "Recks is trying to convince me to take that promotion again. I guess the Union is in desperate need of officers right now." He sounded a little depressed at the thought.
I nodded as I unfolded my arms and let a smile developed across my face. That is why he didn't want to talk about it before, because he didn't want it to happen in the first place. He was trying to just ignore the situation hoping it wouldn't happen.
Rain started to fall and we collected ourselves and went home. There was no way to pursue the combatant. Even if we could catch up with him I have a feeling we wouldn't be able to beat him or even question him. There was something impeccably odd with the lack of briefing we got in comparison to what we found. The Union was hiding something from us and Cyrus and I wanted to know what. So many questions popped into my head as me and my teammate parted ways. Who was the tenant in the black cape? Why would the Union want him dead, and not even tell us who he is? Wouldn't it be better for the mission if we knew more about what we were facing?
As I entered my bedroom, Matthias was already asleep. Matt, as most know him as, is my boyfriend that I live with. He used to be a keybarer sometime back, but know he just wants to live the life mortal, not wanting to worry the worries of tenants.
I set my alarm and slipped into bed next to him. I was far too sleepy to be worried about the problems and questions I had. I quickly dosed off with a smile as he wrapped his warm arms around me.