Well, the votes have said that Marluxia gets to go to 100 Acre Wood! Hee hee...;) Figments of Your Imagination ~~Chapter 4~~ ~~Arlene~~ There was a rushing sensation as Marluxia crawled into the Corridor of Darkness. The last thing he saw before total darkness was Zexion's smirk, with flashing eyes. His hair rustled as a blow of nothing, maybe some remnant of the memory of wind, swept across the realm. It had a kind of soothing scent, somewhere between peppermint and mint ice cream. Or the sea salt kind. Marluxia began to feel sleepy, and murmured as a yawn escaped his mouth. He fell to the "ground," and was fast asleep in moments. ~~~Hollow Bastion Elementary; greenhouse~~~ The sun shone warm through the glass ceiling and walls of the Hollow Bastion Elementary School's campus greenhouse. A variety of flowers, from aspens to zephyranths, lined the wood platforms, which reached from one side to the other. Lumiara whistled as he tended to their individual needs, from water to ladybugs or growth formula; at least, that was the formal name for them, although Lumiara enjoyed calling them "plant steroids." He was on the "p" row, and had just finished pouring a few ounces of water into the pot of a yellow petunia. He stopped to gaze back at the pansies, and noticed that one was limping. With a shriek, a mix between surprise and utter horror, he leaped over to it; his hand touched the pot. As his eyes widened, he stopped in his tracks. "What the- Why is this so..." He looked at the rest of the greenhouse; it had caught fire. "Hot?" He dove to his side as a fireball flew across the middle, scorching all the flowers in its path. There was a hiss as it burnt a hole in the glass; it dissipated a few meters afterward. But the whole fire was still going on. The flames licked at Lumiara's face. As if it wasn't already demented enough, the flames formed a face in the air, with spiky hair and markings below the eyes. It laughed, and actual sound came from it. Lumiara was scared to death. Now that Marluxia had time to reexamine the memory, he noticed the face was Axel's. With a laugh, he said, "Now I guess I know why I don't like him all too much." He continued to watch the memory unfold, to notice other oddities. In a second, the whole greenhouse was engulfed in flames. Lumiara was burnt on his face, arm, and one on his knee. With a screech, he used a last minute plethora of strength to leap out a broken window as an inferno shot straight up in the air. When he regained himself, he saw that he still held the pot of pansies; all but one were destroyed. With a smile, he plucked it out, and stuck i in his pocket. Later, he decided, he would put it in a glass of water. Nothing was more fitting for the flower that had saved his life. ~~~100 Acre Wood~~~ Marluxia groaned. He was tired, and had a bit of a rude awakening in the memory. He looked up for the sun, but instead saw a face. "Hello there." "Ahhhh!" Marluxia shrieked as he crawled backwards. His eyes were wide, and he was shivering. An orange, bear-like thing stood in front of him, wearing a red t-shirt. "Who're you?" they both asked the same time. Marluxia, however, answered first. "Name's Marluxia...I, uh, don't really know why I'm..." His sentence trailed off when he saw the bear drowning itself in honey. After a minute, it had satisfied itself. "Hello. I'm Winnie the Pooh. You can call me Pooh, though." "Oh...hello, there Pooh." "Well, Mar-mar, could you help me with something?" Marluxia sighed. "What is it?" he asked in his friendliest voice. "I'm searching for my friends. Could you help me find them?" Marluxia became slightly intrigued. "Well, who are your friends?" Pooh scratched his head. "Well...There's Piglet, Rabbit, Owl, Eeyore...Oh! Kanga's looking for Roo!...Oh, yes. And I lost my favorite bowl of honey." With a grin, Marluxia said, "Of course! You go one way, I'll go another!" Pooh nodded, and waddled off. Marluxia jumped up, and ran the other direction. "Whew! I'm finally away from him! I can get away from here!...Whereer here is!" He went through a few bushes, stumbled over a pyramid of cabbage, and found himself in a clearing. Across the way stood Larxene, turned the other way. Not even knowing what he was doing at first, Marluxia was staring at her, chuckling. He was the luckiest man alive to be engaged to her. He waltzed up to her. and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, Larxy." She turned around, and noticed him. "Hey, Marly! What're you doing here?" Marluxia giggled. "I was about to ask you the same thing." "Well, it started after you left. I was watching Law and Order, and then-" There was a loud bang in the distance. Both stopped breathing. Larxene had a look of fear in her eyes. "Wh-what was that?!" "I dunno! Uh...continue with what you were telling me! Quickly!" "I decided t-t-to go af-after you, but ran into Lexaus. He started talking trashy to me and-" "Hold on," Marluxia said. "Were you...scared just now?" Larxene nodded. "Weren't you?!" Marluxia nodded briefly. "Yes, but you're a Nobody...you shouldn't have emotion...that means....AARRRGGH!" He was electricuted and sent flying back; he recoiled quickly, and saw Larxene smiling at him, her kunai out. "I would've thought you wouldn't guess...but I underestimated you. Yes, I'm one of Zexion's illusions: Arlene! Now, it's time for ou to die!" Marluxia only had a few seconds to react as she cast more lightning; he made the correct choice by summoning his scythe and deflecting it. Unfortunately for him, it hit Arlene, letting her recover. She moved even faster now, and was by Marluxia in the blink of an eye. She licked his cheek before trying to smash it in. Marluxia ducked down and tried to kick her legs out like he had done with Dolur; but Arlene was smarter. She jumped up, and threw a kunai at Marluxia's defenseless body; she missed his head, but her weapon made contact with his shoulderblade. He screamed, and wildly thrashed about; he hit Arlene in the nose, and she doubled back, growling. Vines sprouted up from the ground and encircled her; instantly, they shot out and tied her up. Even though her arms were restrained, she laughed. "Ha! You think that can stop me?!" She bit down on a plant, and lightning surged through it; she then noticed Marluxia, sneering. "Why, yes. I think it can." The lightning stopped, and turned green; it started back at Arelene, who gulped. The immediate explosion caused Arlene to dissolve. Marluxia just stood as it sent a chockwave through the grass. "Heh. 2 for 2, Flower Power. I thought you wouldn't want to fight Arlene, but I was wrong." Where Arlene had stood, Zexion now stood. His eyes were closed, and he was grinning. "You're better than I thought." "SHUT UP!" Marluxia yelled. He slashed Zexion with his scythe, but he faded. "Damn...an illusion. Another illusion." Out of the corner of his eye, Marluxia spotted the shadow Lumiara duck into a Corridor of Darkness. Marluxia raced after him, and dove in as it disappeared. Zexion came out from under a tree. As he let his image be swept away by the wind, he said: "Heh...the further you go, Marluxia, you the more you put yourself in danger. Know that now." ~~End of Chapter 4~~ Whew, that was long chapter. So, where will Marluxia go now? What does Zexion mean? And what is up with the memories Marluxia has? Are they illusions or true? Find out in the upcoming chapters of Figments of Your Imagination!
*sigh* Please read the stickies. This is the #th fic post today that has a poll in it. It's been almost 48 hours since this rule as been implemented: You are not allowed to have polls in any Creativity Corner thread. Please read the stickies.
