Okay, this is my first story thread that's been in the works for months! Be warned though, these will be a little long. Please be honest about it, point out any errors, etc. Hope you like it! Prologue Surrounded in darkness, he lay floating there. When his eyes opened, everything seemed the same as if when his eyes were closed: dark, and pitch black. Where am I? Is what he wanted, and tried to say, but for some reason, he was not able to do so. He stood up, looked around again, expecting to find some change in the last two or three seconds he was thinking. He was wrong in that expectation. Okay, let’s figure out what we know so far, he thought with his head low and arms crossed, I’m in some kind of void completely surrounded by darkness with no end in sight. I have no idea how long I’ve been in here, and have no idea how to get out, plus I can’t speak. This is just great. He sighed, with one hand rubbing both temples. I wonder if they’ll find me… as his thoughts trailed. Suddenly he realized, Wait, who are they? ‘They’ were two girls, both close to his age. One was a dark brunette with hair down to just the base of her back, reddish-brown eyes, a few inches shorter than him, with a round-ish face wearing teardrop-shaped earrings. She had the garb of a fighter, wearing a black top and black shorts with a kind of long-dress-in-back/miniskirt-in-front combination that looked fairly new, and a little strange to him. The black gloves, however, were different. They looked like they were made of strong material that had been worn down over a long period of time, and from the look of her eyes, she is not someone you would want to mess with. In his mind, her face had a relieved expression, almost like she was going to cry, yet happy at the same time. It was as if she was going to say “I’m so glad you’re here, I thought I’d lost you.” The other was also a brunette, about the same age as the first girl, except with longer, lighter colored hair that was tied back with pink ribbons and braided down to the base of her back, and with brilliant green eyes. At first glance, you could obviously tell her favorite color was pink: she had pink ribbons, a pink skirt with a lot of frills (which were white). Although her expression was the same as the brunette wearing black, hers was somehow more gentle and friendly. At first glance, she seemed like a frail girl, but her eyes somehow gave her the aura of strength, as if there was much more to this girl than meets the eye. Wow, the man thought, amazed, do I really know these two? Why can’t I remember their names? In his mind they suddenly looked rather crossed, and that frightened him greatly. He quickly shook his head hard. Still, why do I feel nothing towards those two. They look like they care a great deal about me, and I might be more than just friends with one of them. Why can’t I remember anything about them? He sighed again. He didn’t need this many questions at once. He closed his eyes, moved his head back so he was facing the ‘sky’, and opened his eyes. “Why are you two so important to me?” This time those words came out of his mouth. He brought his head back down and saw white smoke pouring behind him through the darkness. He turned around and saw a white light about ten feet away from him. He broke into a run at the light, determined to not let anything stop him from getting to the other side, because for some reason, in his mind, it felt like his luck. The light got so bright that he closed his eyes while running... When he came to, he was lying on the floor with a pillow and a blanket covering him. The room itself was shaped like a small cave, domelike, but with a window and door. He groaned. He was getting a little tired of winding in places he didn’t recognize, let alone never been. He sat up, not realizing that the ceiling was much closer than it appeared and hit his head, and fell back into the bed “Oof!” The door opened, just in time to see the head hit the ceiling. He looked like he was in his mid-twenties, and had long, spiky, jet-black hair. He had a blue shirt, with two shoulder pads strapped on, one on each shoulder. Although the rest of his baggy pants couldn’t be seen, his three black belts were visible. “Ah, you’re finally awake. Sorry about putting you in my closet, but it was the only available space I could actually put you in ‘til you recovered.” The man had an embarrassed smile on while he was explaining. “But it’s a wonder you can sit up at all. You’ve been out for 7 days, I was starting to wonder if you were going to make it. In any case, a guy I know should be here soon, so while he’s here he can take a look at you. He’s pretty good at healing.” The bedridden man looked down at his stomach. Maybe it was because he had been out for so long, but he didn’t feel very hungry. He looked at the spiky-haired man with a quizzed look. Did that mean that him being in that weird ‘dark dimension’ was just a dream? “Umm…thanks…who are you?” “Ah, right. I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I? My name’s Zack. Zack Fair,” Zack took a step back, turned and waved behind him, “and this is my humble hut. And, you are?” The bedridden man sat up again, slower and cautious of the ceiling this time, while rubbing his temples with one of his hands, “I’m…” Why can’t I remember my name? He tried several times to remember his name but after a few moments, Zack got the message. “Okay, don’t worry about it. Like I said, my friend’s pretty good at healing. Maybe he can help with your memory also. Anyway, do you have any other questions?” Zack watched as the man stretched for a second. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was definitely something familiar, both comforting and disturbing at the same time. This was his first time to see him to be sure: He had silver hair, spiked and slicked back, except for a few strands that fell forward. It was spiked so that it covered his ears and flowed down to the end of his jaw line. His eyes had a strange gleam in his blue eyes, a lighter shade of blue surrounded by what looked like his natural blue eye color. His lean build looked like he had seen a little sun, with his slight tan, but that was understandable; after all, he was found in the desert a few miles outside the hut. His hands were what pricked Zack’s curiosity the most: They were a little gnarled, and had a few scars, like he had seen a lot of fighting, especially with a weapon. He looked at Zack, “Where are we, exactly?” Zack’s eyes narrowed a little, He even talks like him, “You are in a desert. The closest city is abandoned, but just outside that city is another city called Edge. Ring any bells?” The silver haired man shook his head. This still doesn’t explain that ‘dark dimension’ he was in earlier. He closed his eyes and shook his head; it’d probably be better if he kept it to himself for now. Suddenly, an explosion sounded outside the hut. The silver haired man quickly looked back up, then outside the window. There was blue and purple smoke billowing around a shadow in the shape of a man not more than twenty feet away from the hut! Zack spoke, “Sounds like my friend’s arrived.” The man looked back at Zack and raised a suspicious eyebrow, His friend is involved in explosions? Zack laughed at the look, “Don’t worry. He doesn’t act it, but he likes to make a dramatic entrance. I’ll be right back.” Zack went to the door of the hut and left outside to greet his new visitor. As Zack walked toward the new guest, the visitor walked toward him as well. As the smoke cleared, his appearance was revealed to be that of an old man. Despite his apparent age, he walked tall and briskly. His pointed hat, with stars and moons on it, and long blue robe practically screamed that he was a sorcerer of a high caliber. His long grey hair and beard confirmed that he was indeed old, but one look at how piercing his eyes were, and you would be a fool to assume he was senile, let alone challenge him to a fight. Still, his smile was surprisingly warm to Zack. “It’s been too long, Zack. How do you fare?” Zack gave a small bow to his former teacher, “Welcome to my home, Master Yen Sid. I know this is sudden, but I have a guest who needs your attention.” Yen Sid responded, “Of course, Zack. Please show me this person.” Zack led him to inside the house where the patient waited... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tifa slowly came to. With her right hand she pushed herself upright, and with her right, she clutched her side. She slowly managed to get herself upright, but had to lean on the wall of the rocky cliff for support. She hadn’t left Hollow Bastion yet when she collapsed. Her ship wasn’t twenty feet away when she felt the pain that made her collapse. Yet, even after all that, it was the image she saw in her mind before she fainted. She saw a man with very spiky blond hair lying on the ground, everything around him pitch black but him. He had an unusual black garb on, with a shoulder pad on his left shoulder with wolf’s head, clutching a ring in it’s mouth, connecting the pad to his shirt. He looked like he was about to accept defeat, and as he was passing out, he was being engulfed by darkness. This last thing she heard before she blacked out was “Tifa…” With fire in her eyes, she struggled to get to her ship and plotted a course for wherever it was that man was, since she was looking for him before she had this vision. “Cloud, I’m coming…”
Section 1 Zack led Yen Sid into his hut to see his silver haired patient. “How long did you say he had been unconscious, Zack?†asked Yen Sid. “7 days. I was about to go to Edge to get some supplies for a little trip to Traverse Town, when I saw him a half-mile ahead of me. He had one hand shielding his eyes, and was barely able to keep himself upright, when he just collapsed. Since there weren’t any hospitals set up in Edge yet, I took him to my hut.†Yen Sid nodded. Edge was recently set up after a few disasters occurred in Midgar, the abandoned city next to Edge. Yen Sid made a mental note to ask about those disasters the next time he had a chance to talk to Zack. “By the way, why are you so late, Master? You were supposed to have been here two months ago originally, but you had to reschedule for reasons you didn’t explain in your letter.†Yen Sid remembered, “It was because of Maleficent. She had somehow become resurrected after the young keyblade wielder defeated her. It took me three days before I could cast her out of my tower, but months after to make sure she didn’t leave any…unpleasentries behind.†Zack nodded. He had heard from Yen Sid’s letters stories of the new keyblade wielder, and of his battles. But if Maleficent could be resurrected, could she ever be truly defeated? When Zack led Yen Sid to the closet where the patient resided, he was examining his hands. “Did I have these scars when you found me?†he asked, not looking up at Zack. The cuts on his hands, even though they looked they’ve been there for months, felt like they were recent. “I don’t know. I only noticed them a few minutes ago. Anyway, this is Master Yen Sid, the person I was telling you about earlier.†The silver haired man looked up at Yen Sid. Yen Sid’s gaze narrowed at the young man. He mentally noted the gleam in the man’s eyes and the cuts the silver haired man on his hands. Those cuts weren’t made by anything indigenous to any of these worlds. There’s only one way he could have received such markings and that gleam in his eyes at the same time. Yen Sid turned to Zack, “Zack, gather what you need and get some clothes for your friend. I need you two to come with me immediately.†Zack knew that look all too well in his former teacher; the ‘don’t ask questions, just do as I say’ look. Zack nodded, and looked at the silver haired man. His eyes narrowed, but he nodded as well. Zack was surprised, He understood it also? But how could he? The only way he could is if…Zack shook his head again. “Come on, let’s get you a weapon and something to wear.†~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Well, you look like an assassin, but it will have to do for now. At least until we find something else.†Zack hung his head low to suppress his laughter. It failed terribly. The silver haired man had a green turtle necked shirt with its sleeves cut off, and one black-grey shoulder pad on each shoulder. He had a pair of black, baggy pants, much like Zack’s, but they didn’t fit him; so much so that he looked like he was wearing bellbottoms. A black pair of boots and a gray jacket topped it all off. The silver man’s eyes narrowed as Zack tried not to laugh. He decided he didn’t like Zack that much anymore. “Oh well, come on. Master Yen Sid is waiting for us outside. Oh! And grab that sword over by the wall. That’ll be your weapon for now.†Zack picked up a backpack he prepared and ran outside. The sword was a standard katana in a black sheath. Nothing particularly special, but it was a pretty decent looking sword that’s seen its fair share of battles. When he picked it up, for some reason the silver haired man felt a bit more at ease. He quickly went outside to catch up with Zack. Zack and the silver haired man found Yen Sid outside, who had his eyes closed and waving his hands. After a minute, he stopped, and what looked like white-and-black-kaleidoscope-for-eyes appeared. “Quickly, enter the portal!†Spoke Yen Sid. Zack grabbed the silver haired man’s wrist. The man felt his heart race for a few seconds as he was dragged through the portal. Why is my heart racing? He thought. Yen Sid followed immediately after them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A man in his early twenties ran through town. He had on a white shirt, a black leather jacket with a feathery-fur rim, black pair of pants with about three pairs of belts on it. What stood out the most about this man wasn’t the huge sword with a gun-shaped hilt, but the cut shaped scar he received from a sword fight. Although he’s been in fight’s that have scared him more times than he cared to admit, none of them scared him as much as what he had heard a few minutes ago. After another minute of walking to avoid hitting people, he got to his destination in the Borough; a house along the lower walls. He quickly opened the door, and saw sitting down a blonde man in his thirties (or forties, even fifties, there were so many jokes about his age, he just didn’t remember anymore) with goggles on his forehead, a white shirt, an orange sash and blue pants. His accent sounded something like a country bumpkin, and since it was a little deep, it didn’t help the ‘old jokes’, “Thanks fer getting here so fast, Leon.†Squall Lionheart, aka ‘Leon’, stepped forward to address the ‘old man’ directly. “I came as soon as I got your message, Cid. Where’s Yuffie?†Cid’s face frowned a little bit. Although Leon’s good at not showing fear or worry, it didn’t help calm his nerves any. “She’s already with Aerith. They’re both at Merlin’s new home.†Merlin was a very good friend of Leon and the others, who had helped them on several occasions in the past, particularly with training of young boy with a special weapon, who was accompanied by two friends and servants of a popular king. If anybody can help her, he can. Leon and Cid left the house and began to walk to the Bailey. “It’s a good thing that looney wizard left his house and moved all his magic mumbo-jumbo with him. His stuff kept interferin’ with my computers.†Cid wasn’t too good at cheering people up, but Leon appreciated the effort. “If I recall correctly, you forced him out after he blew up your computer a second time and put your ship on ice. Literally.†Leon retorted, with a slight smile. “Hey, nobody and no one does that to my baby and gets away with it, looney or not looney.†After a few minutes of this, they arrived at Merlon’s house, specifically the door to a pile of rubble that looked nothing like a house. “Gotta hand it to the old loon, you’d never think this pile of junk was a home in disguise. Not to shabby to hide it where a heartless invasion once crossed through.†A voice was heard above them, with no origin to be seen, “Be warned, sir: I may be an ‘old loon’ as you say, but my hearing is better than it appears.†Cid jumped with alarm, while Leon chuckled. He’s always surprised that he can hear him, Leon thought. A poof of white and blue smoke and the wizard Merlin appeared before them. Although with a white beard that touched his toes and a frail appearance, his magic more than makes up for any misconception that has been made or could be made. “Ah, Leon, good of you to come so quickly, thank you,†Merlin made a half-way glance, “Cid…you look…decent.†Cid narrowed his eyes, “Funny, you look-†“Can you put that on hold for now?†The three of them turned to see a sixteen-year old girl standing in the doorway. She had a low-cut hairstyle with a black headband, a black glove on her left hand, white wristband on her right, black t-shirt with white flowers and black vest, shoes that went up to the base of her calves, and to top it all off, an oversized shuriken strapped to her back. She had an annoyed look on her face, as if to say ‘you should all know better’, which didn’t suit her. Despite that fact, it had its effect on Cid, and as looked away he said something he rarely ever says to the young girl: “Yeah, yer right. Sorry, Yuffie.†She closed her eyes and put on smile, “Ha! I always wanted to see you admit for once that I was right.†Cid’s head snapped back up to glare at her, “You little…†Merlin chuckled, and Leon grinned while rubbing his temples with his hand. He saw that her eyes were very red. She’s been crying. I guess this hit her worse than any of us. There was no easy way to ask this, so Leon just came out and asked, “Merlin, how’s Aerith doing? Did you find out what happened, yet?†Cid and Yuffie stopped fighting to listen to what Merlin had to say. Merlin sighed, took off his eye glasses, rubbed them with his robe, and said “Follow me inside, please.†Merlin tapped his door to the small pile with his wand and it opened to a stairway leading down to a huge, lavish library, about the size of half the Borough, with red carpet and green walls, and books all around. A door at each corner of the room, Merlin led them to the door in the northeast corner. In there was Aerith in bed, fast asleep and barely breathing. Although she was a bit paler than normal, she looked as comfortable as the person having the world’s greatest nap. Cid and Leon walked towards Aerith, both completely in shock at seeing her like this. Yuffie didn’t step forward. In fact, she was shaking, but trying hard to contain herself, with tears in her eyes. Merlin, who hadn’t stepped in yet, noticed this and whispered something to Yuffie. She nodded and took off away from the room out of sight. Cid and Leon turned when they heard another door close behind them. Cid lowered and shook his head, “With the way she fights in battle and tries to torture me over every thing that I do, it’s easy to forget that she’s the ‘kid’ of this little group of ours.†Leon nodded, “She got especially got close to Aerith during the Heartless invasion a few weeks back. Aerith saved her life a few times during crucial moments. Just yesterday I saw Yuffie sitting with Aerith waiting for Cloud at the Dark Depths. They were talking and laughing like they were having the time of their lives.†Merlin nodded, inhaled, and said “About Aerith, I’ve-â€, “You figure out what’s wrong with her yet?†asked Cid. Merlin narrowed his eyes, exhaled the held breath to control his temper, and mentally counted to five. He didn’t need this from Cid, but this wasn’t the time to set him on fire yet. “Yes, and no.†Leon and Cid, both turned to look at Merlin, Leon looking confused, Cid looking ready to blow if Merlin didn’t make sense. Merlin spoke again, “I have identified that is indeed a rare and unusual case. What I don’t know is what we can do just yet. Here’s what has been identified so far: She collapsed after helping to move a few objects into my den, nothing major, just a few glass containers and books, when she just collapsed. Yuffie, who was on the other side of the room, saw her collapse and quickly yelled for me at the top of her lungs. I appeared, examined her, and deduced that what ails her isn’t medical or scientific, or magical. That is, not exactly magical.†More confused and threatening looks appeared beforMerlin. He took off his glasses and rubbed them on his robe again, “As far as I can determine, nobody has cast a spell on her, no heartless nor nobody attacked her, and she hasn’t accidentally strayed into any of my artifacts. I have not ascertained what has befallen her yet either, so we may assume that Aerith is the first to contract this. Nonetheless, one thing is for certain,†Merlin put his glasses back on, took a deep breath and announced, “Half of Aerith’s heart, and all of her soul is missing.â€
Here's the next segment. Sorry, this took awhile. Section 2 Zack and the silver haired man reached the other side of the portal. They arrived at some kind of small lighthouse. It looked it was the radius of about 30 feet of land, and then…nothing. There was nothing else past it, at least not in terms of earth. What was around the island was night sky, and underneath, they saw a town with many old-fashioned buildings, where people and even a few moogles were walking the streets. Zack frowned. This isn’t where he expected to be. He figured they would be over Twilight Town, not Traverse Town. Yen Sid emerged from the portal, and closed it behind him, “Follow me, quickly.” Zack and the silver haired man followed him to the tower without saying a word. When Yen Sid opened the door, and the two followed him up the many enchanted ramps to his chambers, Zack had another look at the silver haired man. There’s no mistaking it now, Zack thought, when the torch light hits him, his face looks exactly like Cloud Strife’s, expression and all. But why would his spikes be slicked down and silver? Could he just be a look-a-like? He’s more like the way Cloud used to be. By the time Zack gave himself a headache by thinking this over, they had arrived at Yen Sid’s chambers. He led them still, past a library at the first door on the left, a laboratory on the right, a dining room on the left, and so on until they reached the end of the hallway. The silver haired man watched all of the rooms go by until they reached the end of the hallway. How all of these rooms fit into a hallway this long in a lighthouse was anybody’s guess in his opinion. Yen Sid opened the door, and motioned the two to go in. When they did, he shut the door behind them. The room was a dome-shaped room about the size and width of a house, with fresh earth on the floor, just enough to cover it, but not enough to make the foundation go unnoticed. This was too much for the silver haired man, “How do you fit all of these rooms into a lighthouse?” Yen Sid responded by summoning a wand, pointed it at the silver haired man, and shot out beams of white light that surrounded him, closed in until they bound to him like ropes and turned blue. The blue beams made him hover five feet into the air, and try as he might, he couldn’t get free. The silver haired man didn’t know what was going on, but he knew he didn’t do anything to deserve this. “What’s going on here?! Why are you-” “Silence.” The sudden command from Yen Sid silenced the silver haired man in an instant, and gave him a look of total surprise. Yen Sid’s expression didn’t change from the moment he exited the portal, and didn’t change when the newcomer to be silent: cold, yet calm; knowing, but emotionless. Zack was also surprised by the action and commands Yen Sid took. He had no idea what was going on, either, but there were two things he knew for sure about Yen Sid: there was no way he could be going senile (no matter how insane his actions seemed to him at times), and the only reason he would do something as insane as attacking an amnesiac would be if he something was extremely wrong. Yen Sid reached into a hidden pocket in his robe, pulled out a red powder and threw it at the silver haired man. Aside from him sneezing once, nothing happened. “Now, who are you?” The silver haired man wanted to say, “Why should answer you? You still haven’t answered my questions!”, but what came out was “I do not remember.” He was surprised again. He didn’t think to answer that at all, so why did he say that? Yen Sid gave a slight grin at his surprise. “The powder I threw at you, if you cannot tell yet, makes you tell the truth, whether you intend to tell or not.” The silver haired man glared at Yen Sid and Zack. Just what did he do to make them not trust him so much? One things for certain: If he gets hurt, he’s not going to them again anytime soon. “How did you get the scars and blisters on your hands?” This response is crucial. Against his will, he answered, “I do not know about the cuts or the blisters.” He does not recognize his powers yet. Good. He is not tainted by it yet. “One last question: What’s the last thing you remember?” Waking up in Zack’s hut, but instead he answered, “I was surrounded by darkness, not being able to see anything or being able to speak. Then I saw the images of two young women. I tried to remember their names, but couldn’t. It was after I wondered who they were then I could speak, and then I saw this light. I ran to the light, covering my eyes as I got closer. After that, I came into a desert. Even though I realized I didn’t have any clothes on, and I was in a desert, I was freezing, even though I saw heat waves. Then I collapsed and blacked out.” Another surprise from the silver haired man. He had almost forgotten his time in the ‘dark dimension’, and didn’t remember being cold at all when he reached the desert. Yen Sid sighed in relief. He reached into the other side of his robe opposite of where he grabbed the red powder, pulled out some yellow powder that sparkled a little, and threw it at the silver haired man. Another sneeze and wave of the wand, and the silver haired man was free again. Zack was confused, more so than he was a few minutes ago. What is Master Yen Sid thinking? The silver haired man reacted a bit more angrily, “Why did you do that to me?! You can’t treat me like I’m some sort of toy. I’m a person! You can’t just treat me like I’m nothing! I’m…somebody!” Yen Sid lowered his head and shook it ruefully, “No, my dear boy. You are not a somebody. You are what’s called a ‘Nobody’.” Zack lowered his head. The silver haired man’s eyes grew wider. He actually thinks I’m nothing?! That did it. He quickly drew his sword and charged at full speed at Yen Sid. He jumped into the air with his sword over his head. I don’t care who he thinks he is, he has no right to treat me that way. He is not my superior, no matter what he thinks! The blade closed in at four feet, three feet, two feet. “Stop.” Roman numerals from one to twelve appeared in a circle around the silver haired man and he froze in midair. This earned Yen Sid another glare from him. “If you’ll calm down for a moment, I will explain. A ‘Nobody’ is a person who has lost his heart to the darkness. The heart becomes a heartless, but if the body and soul that is left behind has a strong will, it will animate on its own. That is a ‘Nobody’, but there apparently are two kinds. The weak will become a disfigured, contorted version of itself, whereas the stronger ones will retain their original bodies with minimal changes, such as a change in hair and skin color. Regardless of whichever you become, you no longer have any influence of a heart, such as love, anger, or any other emotion. What’s more, because the Nobody is born in darkness, and does not have a heart, it will eventually return to darkness as well, for Nobodies do not truly exist.” Thankfully, he could still speak, “Even if I do believe you, I’m not a nobody! I have emotions! I’m feeling anger for certain right now!! The fact that you are able to tie me up shows that I exist!” Yen Sid chuckled again. That was getting old really fast. “Since you still resemble a person, it’s reasonable to conclude that you remember what it’s like to be angry, and that is what you are summoning up, young man. But whatever the case, you are indeed a nobody.” This wizard just won’t get it through his head, he thought. “Just what proof do you have that I am a nobody, anyway?!” The wizard had better be thankful he’s suspended in place right now. The silver haired man was losing his cool and temper really fast. Yen Sid summoned a picture into his hand. It had Zack with both eyes closed with one arm making a peace sign, while the other one was around a man the same age as him. He had spiky, blond hair, and he looked like Zack had ‘lost it’. Yen Sid then looked him right in the eye and asked, “Does the name ‘Cloud Strife’ sound familiar to you?” The silver haired man really did freeze in place this time, only in shock. Cloud…I don’t ever remember hearing that name, but at the same time it feels like I’ve known it all my life. Could…could he be right? Am I really…a…? Yen Sid saw his expression, and nodded. “I have reason to believe that you are Cloud’s nobody. Look closer.” The picture vanished in a whiff of smoke and reappeared hovering next to the silver haired man’s nose. He looked closely at Cloud, and then he saw ‘it’. He…he has my face! His skin tone is a little different, but…that’s my face! This was too much! “This proves nothing! Only that I have a resemblance to this ‘Cloud’ person! Zack, you can’t possibly believe this crackpot!” Zack looked up at him, his face full of sorrow, “Can you do anything to convince us otherwise? Although the proof does sound odd, those are the actual signs.” Zack walked towards him until he was three feet away, “Is there anyway you can do to convince us that you aren’t a nobody?” Yen Sid didn’t like Zack getting that close, “There is one last piece of evidence that I have not mentioned yet. The darkness that you have described earlier while under the powder? That is the first and classic sign. The only way anyone could have seen that darkness and that doorway is if you have been born in that darkness, either as a heartless or a nobody!” His last word echoed in the room, and then dead silence. The silver haired man tried to speak, “I…uh..” Darn it! If I only had my memory back! Then I could prove…prove…His mind and heart were pounding so much that he couldn’t think straight! Wait…my heart…My heart is pounding! That’s it!! “I have proof! I-whoa!” Suddenly he started moving forward, only this time Zack was in his line of fire. Out of reflex, Zack pulled out his katana from behind his back in the blink of an eye and blocked the attack. CLLLAAANNNGG! “AAAUUUUGGHH!” There was a quick flash of light, and the silver haired man was on the floor, passed out, but writhing in pain and suddenly being covered with ice. “Zachary Fair! What have you done?!” demanded Yen Sid. “I don’t know, honest! I just did a simple block! I didn’t hit him at all, so he shouldn’t be on the ground!” Yen Sid quickly walked to the fallen man. By the time he had gotten to him, he was halfway covered with ice. “Wake up, lad. Do you hear me? WAKE UP!” Yuffie was in a bedroom a few rooms away from where Aerith was resting. She had been in intense ninja training, had dealt with armies of heartless surrounding at all sides, and countless other forms of troubles at which she survived from, and yet all of those things added together has made her feel so useless and helpless as she felt now. She had been explained Aerith’s condition several times in different ways by Merlin, but she still felt like he was holding something out on her. “I mean, how does a person lose half a heart and all of her soul?!” said Yuffie, raising her voice. Merlin raised his higher than hers, “Young lady, if I knew the answer, I would have given it to you all ready! Harassing me about will not give you the answer you, and everyone else, seeks!!” She dried her eyes. It had been half an hour since Leon and Cid arrived to see Aerith. Merlin must have told them about her condition by now. She got up and went to the library/study area. Cid was at the fireplace, sitting with a chair and coffee table he pulled close to the fireplace, sipping a cup of something and staring at the fire. Yuffie walked to where Cid sat. Cid looked up when she sat down, “Hey, kid. Feelin’ any better?” Yuffie nodded weakly, “A little. Sorry for falling apart like that earlier.” Cid shook his head, “Don’t worry ‘bout it. I think you handled it better than I would have at your age. I probably would’ve given that looney wizard a black eye before I realized it wasn’t helping.” Yuffie laughed a little. She was grateful for Cid trying to cheer her up, but at the same time it didn’t feel appropriate. Not now, anyway. “Where’s Merlin at?” she asked. “In with Aerith. He said he was going to cast a few of his ‘spells’ to slow her condition in case there’s a time limit.” Cid pointed at a teapot that was next to the fire place. “There’s some hot chocolate in the pot if you want some.” Yuffie nodded, went to the pot, poured herself a cup, then sat back down. She took a sip, but quickly spat it out into the fire. The flame erupted up the chimney for a few seconds, then settled down. Yuffie gagged for a minute, then managed to get out, “What (cough)…what’s in…this?” Cid thought for a moment, then said, “Hot chocolate mix, a little milk, cinnamon, some brandy, and a little mix I like to call ‘Cid’s wonder-bug-juice’” Yuffie stared at him in amazement. His first toy as a child must have been a garbage disposal or something! She placed the cup down on the table. “I think I’ll pass on the rest of it. Now that I think about I’m…underage! Yeah, that’s it.” Cid was surprised a little, “Oh, well, yer probably right. You shouldn’t drink that at all, then.” He took her cup and drank it in one gulp. “Ahh…pity. You don’t know what you’re missing.” Yuffie gave another weak smile. Let’s change the subject, shall we? “Where’s Leon?” Cid placed his cup down, “He went to Ansem’s study to make a few calls. I think he’s trying to find Tifa to tell her the news, then see if he can find something about Aerith’s condition on the thing.” “Is…is there anything I can do?” Yuffie’s voice trembled a little at saying that. Cid noticed, “For the moment, you and I are on standby. There are still reports of some heartless in the village, so it’s important that we take them out before they catch wind about Aerith’s heart weakening. Sound good to you?” Yuffie felt a little bit better. At least now she could do something. “Yeah, I can work with that.” Cid grinned, “Awright! Let’s start patrolling, then!”
I'm in total awe of your writing ability!!!! Ta think, I've been your friend for a while now, and I only just found out how awesome your style is!!!! GREAT JOB!!!!!! (AND I LOVE YOU ZACK!!!!) ^-^
Thanks. Here's the next one: Section 3 For a few seconds, the world seemed to swirl. When it settled, the world seemed calm. Three children, a boy with blond hair, one with black, and one with silver hair, were in a field at the base of a tower, lined up and each with a wooden sword in their hand. A middle-aged man in a blue robe was standing a little behind them. “Fire!” The man yelled. The three raised their swords forward. The silver and black haired ones burst fire a few feet in front of their swords simultaneously. The blond one had a bit of trouble. It was about five seconds longer for him to cast fire, and the blast wasn’t anywhere near as big as the other two. The wizard sighed, “Alright, that’s enough for today. Now I want you to practice this spell at least 20 times before tomorrow’s next practice.” The three boys straightened up and bowed, “Yes, Master Yen Sid.” He bowed his head back, and then headed for the tower. This meant that their lesson for today was done. The three boys collapsed on the ground, relieved to be done. “Hey, Cloud. How come this is so hard for you? It’s only a simple fire spell.” This came from the black haired boy. The look on his face seemed genuine, but his tone suggested otherwise. The blond kid lowered his head a little. “Oh, lay off, Zack. You haven’t had much success on the reflect spell, so don’t go teasing him.” This came from the silver haired kid. What was his name again? It started with an ‘M’… The world swirled again. Now Cloud was laying on the floor, smoke coming from him, like he had been in an explosion. Cloud’s eyes opened. Zack was supporting his head, “CLOUD! Come on, snap out of it! Cloud! Cloud! Cloud!...” “Cloud! Cloud! Cloud! Wake up, darn it!” The silver haired man came to, finally. He was laying in a bed and being shaken by Zack. “You can stop shaking me now,” he managed to get out. “Oh, right. Sorry.” Zack stopped shaking him and let him rest on the bed. The silver haired man was confused a little. Were…were those…memories? Of Cloud? Might as well ask. “Hey, Zack? Did we train together with a silver haired kid and Master Yen Sid?” Zack looked surprised, but nodded, “Yeah, you and a silver haired kid named Malkuth and I were taught magic under Master Yen Sid’s care and…wait a second, why do you ask?” Zack got excited and sat a little closer to him, “Do you have your memory back? Are you really…?” The silver haired man didn’t need him to finish that last question. “I don’t remember much. Just a small bit of us practicing ‘fire’. As for…” He really didn’t want to deal with this part. “I don’t know. I know I’m on the ground with smoke billowing out of me, and you’re holding my head yelling ‘Cloud! Cloud!’. But this doesn’t make sense, my being Cloud’s nobody!” He turned away from Zack, his eyes closed. Zack reached out a little, “Look, I don’t like it either, but you just had a flashback of Cloud’s memories, on top of all the other evide-.” The silver haired man turned back to look at him and cut him off there, “That’s just it! There’s one piece of evidence I tried to tell you before I got knocked out! I have a heart!” His announcement resulted in dead silence from Zack for what seemed like hours. “I know.” They both turned to find Yen Sid standing in the doorway. “I apologize for my earlier actions, lad. It’s extremely rare to find a nobody who bears no ill intentions, but you are the first one that has ever been seen with a heart. And that should not even be possible.” Yen Sid walked towards the confused Zack and silver haired man, “I found out after you collapsed from Zack’s guard. Somehow the attack you tried to deliver combined with the exposure to the magics I placed on you awakened the power that sleeps within you. Or rather, enough awakened to not only put on a rather impressive light show, but encase you in an odd ice magic after you collapsed. It took hours to break the ice-seal.” This didn’t answer much for the silver haired man, “But how can I be a Nobody if I have a heart? Doesn’t that mean I’m not Cloud?” Yen Sid sighed and shook his head. “I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way. Cloud, although we do not know how yet, lost his heart to darkness, and since he had a strong will, had a Nobody--- you. Somehow, you gained a heart, either by accident or choice after you became a Nobody. That is key notion. The only way you could not be a Nobody is if you regained the heart that was lost to you in the first place.” The silver haired man looked at Yen Sid’s eyes. It actually seemed like he was showing sympathy towards him, after all that’s happened. He lowered his head. This just couldn’t be happening. Not only is he a not a ‘Somebody’, but he doesn’t even fit the bill as a ‘Nobody’. At least, not in the traditional sense. “So…if what you said earlier about…about Nobodies not existing…does that mean I…?” Yen Sid said, “I want to say you won’t fade back into the darkness because you have a heart, but I really do not know. You are still a Nobody, so it could go either way.” The silver haired man sighed, his head still lowered. Zack wanted to help in some way, “So, uh…Cloud…what exactly do you plan on doing?” “I’m not Cloud. At least…not anymore.” He raised his head a little. For some strange reason, he felt a warmth inside. Not just where his heart was…is…wherever, but it felt like someone’s arms were around him, from behind, trying to comfort him. He appreciated this feeling, even though Zack and Yen Sid were in front of him. He raised his head up completely, and sighed a little. “I’m going to need a new name. I might have been Cloud in the past, but that doesn’t mean I’m not my own person now.” Yen Sid asked, “Do you remember hearing about Organization XIII?” An image popped into his head of several people in long, black, hooded robes, their faces covered. His eyes narrowed, “Yeah, it rings a bell.” Yen Sid spoke again, “The leader of the organization has renamed his members by rearranging the letters of their original names with the letter ‘x’. I think we should try this.” Everyone thought for a moment, and after a few bad tries, Zack spoke, “How about ‘Xalcoud’?” Yen Sid said, “That’s probably the best option we have.” He thought about it for a minute. “Xalcoud…hmm…sounds kind of dark for me. It’ll take awhile to get used to, but I think I can work with it.” “Excellent. Xalcoud it is then.” Leon was walking back to Merlin’s home. He had just spent three hours on Ansem’s computer, trying to find Tifa and tell her what happened to Aerith. Leon, along with everyone else, couldn’t figure out what had happened to Aerith. It doesn’t make any sense at all. There was no virus or bacteria that caused the illness. Merlin couldn’t detect any unusual magic, save the white magic Aerith knew. There weren’t any unusual intruders on the defense gird, save the local heartless, and even they couldn’t do this. He had only gone through half of the computer’s archives with no results. But there was an unusual reading that Leon wanted to check out before he went any further. He reached the now familiar junk pile Merlin called home, with Merlin waiting patiently outside it. “Did you make any progress, my boy?” Leon frowned. He hated it when Merlin called him ‘my boy’. “I’m not sure yet. What about Aerith? Any change?” Merlin looked at the pile, “She appears a bit more calm than she was since the last you checked on her.” Leon nodded. That’s good. Not much, but good. “Where’s Cid and Yuffie? Are they still on patrol?” Merlin nodded, “Yes, those two are after any heartless they can find. Whenever they see some darkness, they attack it with a vengeance,” Merlin rubbed his glasses with his cloak, “I’m a little worried that they’ve taken Aerith’s sickness a little too hard.” Leon shook his head, “They need to do this. Cid’s computer skills aren’t needed unless we find out what happened to Aerith, and Yuffie’s skills are centered mainly around ninjutsu and spying. This’s probably the only way they feel like they can help: By making sure none of the heartless does anything to the rest of the town or to Aerith.” Merlin put his glasses back on. “I suppose that makes sense. Incidentally, what did you find?” Leon looked around first, “Can we discuss this inside?” Merlin seemed surprised, but nodded, and they went inside to Merlin’s study. They sat down, and Leon asked, “First, I need to know. Exactly what time did Aerith fall ill?” Merlin was confused. Why was this important? “3:15 pm. Why?” Leon nodded. “At that exact time, a world went out.” Merlin was still confused. “Tragic, indeed, but what difference does that make? Many worlds have been lost to the heartless before Aerith fell ill.” Leon shook his head. “I didn’t say it was taken by the heartless.” He pulled out a map of the planets. He pointed the planet that was lost. It was on the other side of the galaxy, no where near where the heartless had been attacking. Merlin was really confused now, and this never happens. “Well, if the world wasn’t taken by the heartless, what happened?” Leon shrugged, “I only know this: The planet was healthy, there weren’t any comets, meteors, or asteroids that threatened the planet. There was not any presence of heartless or any kind of darkness on that planet, aside from the regular nightfall. The only thing unusual was that there was a huge spike of energy , then heartless appeared right before it was taken. Only the heartless didn’t have the chance to take it.” “And you believe this has something to do with Aerith’s illness? The planet is no where near our galaxy.” “True, but the moment it was lost was almost the exact moment when Aerith collapsed. It’s very slim and not likely, I admit, but it’s the only lead I’ve got at the moment.” Merlin sighed again. This looked like Leon was grasping at straws, but Merlin knew he had good instincts. “Very well. Did you have any luck with contacting Tifa?” Leon shook his head, “I can’t seem to reach her. Either she doesn’t want to be disturbed in her search, or she’s out of range. In any case, I had Yuffie stay at the computer in case she ever contacted-” Yuffie came barging in at that moment, as if on cue. “Squall! Squall! Are you in here?!” Something was very wrong if she called Leon ‘Squall’, and not expect him to get angry because of it. “Yuffie! What’s wrong?” Yuffie looked panicked, and like she just ran a marathon; she was completely out of breath, but she managed, “Squall! It’s Tifa! On the monitor! Ansem’s computer! Come quick!” She turned around and left the ‘pile’. Leon took off after her, while Merlin ‘poofed’ after them. Section 4 “All right, Yuffie. We’re here. What’s the big emergency?” Leon had just caught up with Yuffie at Ansem’s computer, while Merlin had already beaten him there. “I told you! It’s Tifa! And something’s wrong with her!” Yuffie yelled back. “I heard that the first time! A little more detail would help us know what to do!” Leon yelled back. Yuffie was startled by him yelling back, “Well…um…that is…I don’t know what’s wrong with her.” Yuffie blushed beet-red when she said this. Leon let his head drop, and Merlin rubbed his temples. Yuffie said, “Look, just ask her yourself! I’ll put her onscreen.” Yuffie did about two seconds of typing, and then Tifa’s image appeared on the monitor. Leon and Merlin gasped. Tifa had bruises on her arms, a black eye, and a thin line of blood from her mouth that had dried. She looked like she was trying hard to look like she wasn’t in pain. No wonder Yuffie was in a panic. “Tifa, come in! Can you hear me? It’s Leon!” She flinched a little, “I hear and see you, loud and clear,” She looked at Yuffie, “very loud.” Yuffie blushed again, and turned her back on her with a “Hmph! See if I get worried about you ever again!” and stormed off. Leon and Merlin looked at each other with a ‘well, what’re you gonna do?’ look, shrugged, and looked back at Tifa. “What happened, Tifa? You haven’t lost a fight since…actually; I don’t think I’ve ever seen you lose a fight.” Tifa averted eye contact for a second, “I was ambushed. I had gotten a tip that two people with phenomenal power; one was gold, the other dark, was traveling through space and landed on a world. The description of the energies seemed to match…well, anyway, I got there via warp gummi, and when I arrived, there was a huge asteroid field, and ships all over the place. The ships were crawling with Nobodies, too many for me too fight alone. I barely got out of there in one piece. A few dragoons managed to get in and…well, I can’t fight and fly a ship at the same time, so I had to manage somehow.” Leon lowered his head a little, closed his eyes, and shook his head. “Tifa, are you in a safe location?” She nodded. “Okay, send us your coordinates and we’ll have Cid go and pick you up and bring you to Hollow Bastion. There’s some things we need to tell you anyway.” She sighed and nodded. She sent him the coordinates, and Leon started programming them into the computer. When another window containing the map showed where she was, he stepped back in surprise. Tifa noticed, “Leon, what’s wrong?” Leon stepped forward again, “Tifa, quickly, tell me everything you know about the world you were about to investigate. What were the clues exactly?” Tifa was surprised, “Is something wrong?” Leon hesitated, “Maybe. Please, tell me what you know.” Tifa started again, “Well, two rays, one gold, the other black reached the planet, but along the way they appear to be clashing with each other. Once they reached the planet, a lot of energy is unleashed, but eventually it dies down. Not long after it completely dies down, it starts up again, but this time it gets so large that the heartless are attracted, but goes under before the heartless can take it. I came originally because I thought…the gold energy sounded like…” Leon finished her sentence for her, “Cloud’s Omnislash ability?” Tifa closed her eyes and nodded, “I thought that I could get to him this time, but when I got there…” Leon nodded, “Look, this is Cloud we’re talking about. He’s smart enough to know when to fight Sephiroth, and when to escape a world about to be overrun by heartless.” Then again, Cloud would do whatever it takes to stop Sephiroth as well. Tifa thought the same thing, but instead said, “Yeah, you’re right.” A light went off on the terminal Leon was operating on. Cid was in the launch bay, ready for launch. A picture showed him in the cockpit of his ship, Shera, waving. Leon punched in the coordinates for him to see. Cid nodded, started up his ship, and flew off. “Okay, Cid just left. He should arrive where you’re at soon, Tifa.” She nodded, then asked, “By the way, how is everyone? Anything happen?” Leon frowned, and lowered his head a little. Tifa reacted with alarm, “What? Leon, talk to me! What happened?” Leon raised his head again, “Tifa, there’s something you need to know. Something has happened to Aerith…” Zack’s hut showed in the desert as the only shelter in miles if you look in one direction. If you look in the opposite direction, one can faintly see the city of Edge towards the left, cliffs towards the right. A portal appeared a few hundred feet in front of the hut, and a man wearing a black cloak with his face covered in a hood came out of the portal. He looked around. He spoke with a kind of surfer’s accent, but aged “Hmph. Lousy place to put a shelter. It doesn’t look anything would want to come anywhere near here. Aw well, orders are orders.” He raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Six, disfigured, white beings appeared, wearing purple outfits and purple masks with a strange bulls eye appeared. “All right, snipers. Go to those cliffs over there. Shoot any heartless that wander anywhere near here. These guys,” he snapped his fingers again, this time six figures beings with lance-like weapons appeared, these looking more like monsters than the snipers, “dragoons, will provide you with backup. Stay on the cliff until I signal otherwise.” The twelve of them disappeared. “Let’s get this over with.” The figure walked up to Zack’s hut and knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked again. Still no answer. He kicked the door down and drew his weapons, two sniper weapons…still no response. He proceeded to investigate the house, but to no avail. It had been completely cleared out of people; he could see more than enough signs to realize that. He sighed and withdrew his weapons. He was hoping at least to scare his prey. “Not to shabby, for a hut in no-where-land. Still, Xemnas aint gonna like this.” He walked to the door, until he saw specks of powder on the floor. He bent down on one knee and mixed a little bit of the powder between his fingers. He smiled a bit from behind his hood. He knew this powder all too well. Maybe this trip wasn’t a total waste after all. He stepped outside the hut, and motioned for his ‘friends’ to come back to him. “Head back to HQ. I’ll follow in a minute.” The twelve of them disappeared. The black hooded man pulled out a remote and started talking to it, “Xigbar, here. I’ve investigated the sight. They aint here.” He held it close to his ear. “Yeah, I know, but listen to this. I’m pretty sure ol’ Yen Sid helped him get out of here. I found some of his powder.” He listened again, then smiled. “Yeah, I thought you’d like to hear about that. Uh-huh. Yeah, I’m heading back now. Alright.” He turned off the remote, and snapped his fingers. A portal appeared and he walked through. The last thing he did was snap his fingers again just as he went completely through. When he emerged on the other side, he smiled. He loved blowing up worlds. And just then, he did what he loved.
This one is a little shorter than the last few sections. Also, I won't be posting the next section for awhile. I need to prepare for back-to-school. Section 5 Cid’s ship landed back in the space it was originally when he left to pick up Tifa. Leon, Yuffie, and Merlin got to the landing area before Cid was completely finished landing. They tried to run up to see them, but Cid yelled on the loudspeaker, “Don’t come up here! We’ll come to you!†It seemed like hours before the hatch and ramp came out, and even longer before Cid and Tifa came out. When the two did come out they could see why. Tifa had to lean on Cid for support, but what frightened them most was that her injuries were worse than what appeared on screen. In addition to the cuts and bruises she endured while trying to maintain her ship, she also suffered a broken leg which Cid set in a kind of crude cast, and apparently some kind of head trauma because the top of her head was wrapped in bandages. By the time Cid and Tifa reached the others, everyone’s jaws were dropped. Well, everyone but Leon and Yuffie’s. Leon just stared at Tifa, his eyes narrowing on her. Yuffie had gotten used to seeing Tifa’s injuries from earlier. Instead, she raised an eyebrow, had a grin on her face and said, “So, did you get enough souvenirs from your ‘Nobody friends’?†Tifa closed one eye, smiled and said, “No, not really. I gave them plenty of souvenirs for them to spare, though.†Cid rolled his eyes and shook his head, “She ain’t kiddin’ about that, either. The area she was in had turned into a Nobody-ship graveyard. It’s a wonder they managed to get that close to you at all, darlin’.†Cid winked. Tifa appreciated everyone being kind about her being ambushed and obvious losing, but this wasn’t what she wanted to talk about, not right now anyway. Apparently, Leon knew this also. “Come on, we’ll take you to Merlin’s so you can heal up. After that, we’ll take you to Aerith.†Tifa’s smile faded, and she nodded. Yuffie got under Tifa’s available arm and helped Cid get her to Merlin’s home. They sat her on a couch Merlin summoned, just for this occasion. While Merlin was casting spells and using some aroma therapy to ease and heal Tifa, Leon filled her in on happened with Aerith. Tifa turned away several times as the details about Aerith got worse, to hide her tears. She came close to losing it once if Yuffie hadn’t put her hand on Tifa’s shoulder. The two had been through a lot together, Tifa and Aerith. She wasn’t too thrilled about her being so close to Cloud, but she couldn’t help but like her. Despite what was going on between those two, she helped Cloud get through some troubles when she wasn’t able to. When Leon finished giving Tifa the details about Aerith, she looked at Yuffie. She gave a weak smile and nodded. Yuffie understood and took her hand off Tifa’s shoulder.
Thanks for waiting. It didn't take as long as I thought it would to get used to classes (thank goodness). Hope you guys like this segment. Section 6 “I can’t believe he relearned everything you taught him in two days. It took all of us at least three months to summon ‘fire’.” “Yes, well, his mind might not have memory of the magic, but apparently his body remembers the magic quite well. That’s the only possible explanation for his summoning such spells so quickly.” Zack and Yen Sid watched as Xalcoud used his sword to cut through heartless and nobodies, each with a single stoke while in the familiar dome-shaped room. The fake, incomplete creatures that Yen Sid summoned for Xalcoud were very helpful for him to grasp magic. Xalcoud found that he liked to use magic on these creatures, especially when they were clumped to one area. “Thunder!” A lightning bolt from out of nowhere came and fried the last of the enemies. Zack shook his head with a grin on his face. Yen Sid said, “Take a break for now, Xalcoud. We will continue your training in an hour or so.” Xalcoud sheathed his sword, and bowed, “Yes, Master Yen Sid.” Yen Sid nodded and left the two of them. “Come on, Xal, let’s go outside for a bit.” Xalcoud frowned a little bit, but nodded. He really didn’t like that nickname Zack gave him, but there doesn’t seem to be any way to convince Zack to call him otherwise. The name made him feel lazy for some reason. Oh well, no sense in complaining now. Xalcoud followed Zack to the outside of the tower. “You know what? At the rate you’re going we might just be able to help out Leon and the others at Hollow Bastion. They’ve been having a real problem with the heartless lately, but since Maleficent’s been driven out by the keyblade wielder, they’ve made a big turnaround.” Xalcoud nodded. “Yeah, Leon’s the guy with the—what was it called? Gunblade?” Zack looked in surprise, “Yeah. How did you know—oh, yeah. I told you about the weapon, right?” Xalcoud nodded, “I’m starting to remember what it looks like, along with a few people on…” He stopped. Should he tell Zack about this? He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Zack noticed his pause, “Can you not remember the name…or is there something else?” I guess I should tell him, Xalcoud thought, “Hey, Zack, if I tell you something, do you promise to keep it between us? At least for now?” Zack’s eyes narrowed, but he nodded. Xalcoud took a deep breath, “Okay, you remember when Yen Sid interrogated me about whether or not I was a…nobody?” He probably will never be used to calling himself that, “Well, I lied a little when we got to the part about my being surrounded in darkness…I saw something else. I’m not sure if it was a memory or what, but I saw these two girls.” Xalcoud went on to describe what they looked like, how he was stunned by the both of them, how he went from not being able to speak to suddenly able, then the door to light appearing. Zack sat there, listening in awe that was increasing by the second. When the story was done, Zack’s mouth was open, “Wow…man, that was…wow…You are definitely Cloud’s nobody.” Xalcoud raised an eyebrow, “Wha?” Zack grinned, “Those two you saw. The first one, in black, her name is Tifa. The second one’s name is Aerith. I hadn’t seen either of them in a few years. You and Tifa, that is Cloud and Tifa, knew each other since they were kids. I don’t remember why, but you had to leave her and your home and came here to train with me and Malkuth. You came here when you were…14, I think.” Okay, this was getting interesting. Xalcoud asked, “What about Aerith?” Zack replied, “I have no idea how you met her, but that’s definitely her.” Zack went on to tell Xalcoud about what Aerith and Tifa were like. Xalcoud hung on to every word as he described how Cloud and Tifa hung out almost all the time until the heartless took their world. When Zack was about to start on Aerith, Xalcoud asked, “How did you first meet Aerith and Tifa?” Zack blushed in surprise, “Aerith? Umm…well, you see…Ahhh…I met Tifa about four years ago. She was searching for you, no, sorry, Cloud, and we talked for a little bit. She seemed to perk up a little when she learned Aerith was at Traverse Town. The last I heard, she went there to go see Aerith and maybe find out more about y—I mean, Cloud.” Xalcoud nodded while raising an eyebrow, “And Aerith?” It wasn’t too hard to notice that Zack was embarrassed to talk about this. Zack blushed a little more, “Well…we met about six or seven years ago, sometime after Hollow Bastion had been taken by the heartless. I was sent by Master Yen Sid to see if I could get some gummi blocks from Cid. Yen Sid wanted to know more about their properties, to see if they were similar to magic, or something of that nature. Anyway, I landed in Traverse Town’s Third District, which was the only available place to land at the time. I made my way into the Second District, where I saw a large group of shadow heartless, what looked like dog piling, a person in the middle of the area. I drew my blade and cut one of them into two: that got their attention, and they then focused on me, instead of the person. About two minutes later, they were gone; most destroyed, the rest retreated. When I turned around to see if the guy was alright, I found out he was a she. I helped her up, she thanked me, and we walked to the First District, where Cid was, while talking about what the heartless were doing, and such.” Since Zack’s face was getting more and more red when he talked about him and Aerith together, Xalcoud had a hard time believing that they just talked about ‘what the heartless were doing’, but he pestered him enough so he decided to let it go…for now anyway. “So, why did Master Yen Sid need information on the gummi blocks anyway?” Zack’s face started to fade back to it’s normal color, “You know what? I really never learned why. All I remember is that I really enjoyed going to Traverse Town that time.” He realized too late what he said, and his turned dark red again. Xalcoud turned his head, rolled his eyes, and tried to hide a grin. He then realized that he felt an unusual warmth where his heart was. Why does my…this heart feel this way all of a sudden? Xalcoud shook his head a little. This probably wasn’t the time to go into this with Zack. “Both of you! Come back inside!” Both Zack and Xalcoud flinched in surprise. Even though he was much older than the two, the times didn’t make Yen Sid’s throat any softer. He could probably out yell the both of us, thought Zack. They both went back inside Yen Sid’s tower, up to his chambers. As they went up the stairs of the tower, the torches lit up after them. Odd, thought Zack, Yen Sid doesn’t normally use enchanted torches. Oh well, maybe he’s just trying a change of pace. “I believe I now know how your memory’s been coming back to you, Xalcoud.” That got his attention. Up until now, none of them had been able to figure out how bits and pieces of Xalcoud’s memory have coming back at the strangest times. Especially the first time, when Zack guarded against Xalcoud’s attack. It shouldn’t have happened the way it did, but it did. In any case, Xalcoud was now ‘all ears’. “From what I could gather from the data I’ve collected as you trained the last two days, you can only regain your memory if you fight people or things you have already fought before. Your attack against Zack (even if not on purpose) somehow triggered your earliest childhood memory with him to emerge, and even a little of a later memory.” Xalcoud remembered that event. He still felt bad about that attack. “What about the ‘ice’ that you found me in? Does that have anything to do with my memory loss?” Yen Sid sighed and shook his head, “I’m afraid I do not know much about your ‘ice’. What I have gathered from it is most depressing. It appears to be your special power of darkness. Some creatures of darkness have a special…‘warped’ form of magic, if you will. Some have…‘dark fire’, ‘dark lightning’, others have just darkness. Yours is the first case of ‘dark blizzard’ I have ever seen, however.” Xalcoud had seen examples of dark fire and dark blizzard from the training; they always had some kind of dark aura around them whenever they’re used. “But, whenever I tried summoning the…dark blizzard, it just looked like a regular blizzard attack. Why is that?” Yen Sid responded, “That’s mainly due to your inexperience in using it. And I’m afraid the only way you can get better at it is if you practice at it more. I only know and have books that prevent the powers of darkness, not in teaching them.” Yen Sid averted eye contact with Xalcoud for a second. That wasn’t entirely true. He used to have such books, but that was before…well, before. Zack spoke up, “Does this mean he can come with me to Radiant Garden? Leon and the others could use our help.” Yen Sid frowned a little. He wasn’t sure if this was a good idea, introducing Cloud Strife’s nobody to Cloud’s friends. But, if Zack was with them he could clear up any confusion. Whichever way this was approached, certain members of Leon’s party would not take this news well. We might as well be prepared, should the worst occur. Yen Sid spoke, “We will need a few items. First, we will need a new garb for Xalcoud.” That was an obvious ‘yes’. Xalcoud saw himself in a nearby mirror. His grey turtle necked shirt and leather coat were in shreds thanks to the training. His shoulder pads were chipped and cracked, and his baggy pants had holes big enough to turn the pants into shorts. “Next, we will need to make you a new weapon. I’m afraid the sword Zack gave you has seen its last battle.” The sword was in worse shape than Xalcoud’s clothes. It was severely cracked, chipped, and looked like it would fall off its hilt at any moment. “Zack, my three assistants are not here, so you will have to help him with his clothes. You will have a much larger selection this time, so you won’t have to worry.” Xalcoud’s face relaxed a little. He didn’t trust Zack’s judgment much since Zack picked his outfit the first time. “While you’re doing that, I shall find Cloud’s weapon and make something similar to what he used. This should help speed your recovery of memory. Now, let’s get to work.” Zack and Xalcoud left Yen Sid’s presence. Yen Sid began using spells where images of certain worlds appeared, unaware that the torches on the walls were igniting. They began burning in unison, each flame moving the exact same as the other on either side. The only difference was the burns each flame left on the wall, forming a different letter. All of these actions went unnoticed to Yen Sid.
If you guys and girls think these are too long, let me know and I'll try to shorten them a bit. Section 7 Tifa woke up. She was in a daze for a few seconds before she realized that she was lying in a bed. She slowly sat up with one hand covering her forehead, trying to suppress the headache she had and trying to figure out what was going on. The last thing she remembered was standing up from Merlin’s couch, then collapsing back on it faster than she had risen from it because of a pain she had in her heart. She was already blacking out, but she could hear Merlin saying something about moving her hand, then nothing. The dreams she had afterward didn’t make any sense either. Although it was very hazy, she could make out some strange pink elephants and purple weasels dancing about, saying something about honey. Unusual as it was, it was also rather comforting, until she saw something else. While the elephants and weasels were hazy, there was someone, very sharp and focused, staring away so the only thing Tifa could see was his back, and slowly walking away. As she walked closer towards him, she could make out more features about his black outfit, but what caught her eye the most was his spiky blond hair. She knew who he was immediately and she ran at him, past all the weasels, elephants, whatever was in her way. They didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she caught up with him before he disappeared again. She tried calling his name, but nothing came out. Fine; if she can’t say his name then she’ll grab him. She’ll tackle him and pin him to the ground if she had to, but he was not going to get away from her again or face his problems alone. He meant too much to her to let him get away again. Finally, after what seemed like a millennia, she was within range, and she grabbed his shoulder. She forced him to turn around. As he turned, his spikes fell towards the back of his head, and his hair turned silver. Even with his hair changing, she still knew it was him. She tried saying his name again, but still nothing. Why couldn’t she say his name!? She lowered her head in frustration, teeth gritted and eyes closed with tears ready to come. He saw what she was trying to do, and with his serious look loosening to a small smile, used his hand to gently raise her chin so her head saw him at eye level. He bent forward, his head about to touch hers. Tifa’s heart was racing as she saw his eyes closed. She closed her eyes, expecting a kiss. She felt his lips against hers. Cursing her luck, she woke up at that moment, her heart pounding. She knew that was Cloud, but she had no idea why his hair changed. Plus, she didn’t remember him ever being that forward, either with her or anybody else. She couldn’t believe how real that kiss felt, above all else. Cloud, she thought. “Cloud,†Tifa turned her head to the source of the voice, and about jumped out of her bed in shock and fear. There was Aerith, laying there looking peaceful, but at the same time so pale. There was something glistening on her face. Tifa leaned towards her for a closer look. It looked like she was crying, but her face showed no signs of her being upset. Still, it seemed strange, the tears aside, that Aerith and Tifa were thinking the same thing: Cloud. Tifa, deciding that she had done enough stalling, slowly started getting out of bed, remembering the injuries she had received as she moved. “Uh-uh, darlin’. Get back into bed. You’re not goin’ anywhere anytime soon. ‘Specially in the condition you’re in.†Tifa turned toward the newly discovered doorway to find Cid, carrying a tray with items Tifa couldn’t make out due to the light from behind him. He closed the door behind him and walked towards Tifa, pulled a chair resting next to a wall and sat down. “You hungry?†Suddenly Tifa’s stomach let out a howl that shook her bed slightly. Tifa blushed while Cid laughed so hard he almost fell out of his chair. When he finally calmed down (and that took some time), he said, “Well, since you’ve been out for about two days, that’s not surprising,†He handed Tifa a plate of two fried eggs, two strips of bacon and two slices of toast. Despite the ‘howl’, she didn’t feel that hungry, but she ate anyway, to make sure Cid didn’t get worried. When she finished, she said, “It’s very good. Did you make this?†Cid puffed his chest out in pride, “Yep. Surprised everyone, including the old loon,†He relaxed back into a comfortable position on the chair, “but enough about that. We need to know when you got into your condition, Tifa.†Tifa stared, “What do you mean, Cid? You know it was when I was out looking for Cloud at that graveyard.†Cid shook his head, “I don’t mean your ‘Dances With Nobodies’ skit, Tifa. I mean, when you lost half of your heart.†Tifa was surprised. She didn’t know that was the pain was. She told him she didn’t know for sure what he was talking about, but she described the pain she had before she left Radiant Garden. “What was the time between your pain and you recording the energy readings?†Cid seemed anxious to hear this answer. Tifa thought for a moment, “My ships computer went off about the energy readings about…15 seconds after I had my pains. Now it’s my turn for questions. What do you know about my condition that I don’t?†Cid told Tifa about how they discovered half of Tifa’s heart was stolen. The only difference between her and Aerith was that Tifa still had her soul, Cid said. “I had no idea we were practically in the same condition. Does anybody know why this is happening?†Cid shook his head, “No, but we’re working ‘round the clock to find out what’s going on. Right now we’re just trying to focus on where the trail you gave us is leadin’ to.†Cid stood up and smiled, “Right now you just focus on gettin’ well again. We’ll need you at the top of your game in case anything happens.†It didn’t look like she was in a position to argue, especially since Tifa could see a little bit of Yuffie’s elbow and boot outside the doorway, standing guard. Tifa sighed and said, “Okay, you win.†Cid nodded, “Good. Now get some sleep.†Cid left the room and closed the door behind him. A little noise and visible pressure on the door told Tifa that Yuffie was up against the door. Since there wasn’t a window, there were only two things for Tifa to do: Fall back to sleep, and dream again. Xemans watched his monitors. On one, he saw the progress of Vexen’s tracking the energy trail from world to world, finding out where it was going, on another Xigbar’s list of worlds that he was destroying, and on his last monitor, a certain keyblade bearer, along with a few lackeys of the king, fighting the reserves of heartless that defended the castle. Xemnas smiled. Sora had been taking his time, and was behind Xemnas schedule a little bit, but he had finally showed up. His monitor image showing Sora split into two, showing a man in robes and his head in red bandages being ambushed by a few more nobodies, and not faring well. This was working out far better than Xemnas had even hoped. The list of hearts growing by the second, Kingdom Hearts would be completed in a matter of hours. Xemnas’ backup plans were not completed yet, but at the rate they were going, Xemnas was sure to win, and his plan would be fulfilled. His little hobbies were his main concern, though. His two projects haven’t been found yet, and there was still a chance either or both could be used to stop the Organization and its goals. But the time of worrying was not close yet. Xemnas sat in his chair, relaxed, and watched the show his monitors displayed.
