! Warning: Really Long Chapter Ahead !
Dawn said:
My whole body started and my eyes clamped shut when the trigger was pulled. The sound reverberated off the walls of Tram Common.
Chapter 4
The Organization
Two more shots followed. I could feel and hear them pass close by me. I opened my eyes and glanced over my shoulder. Three hearts floated up to the sky. That was the first time I noticed that’s what happens every time you kill those monsters. So, he wasn’t aiming at me? I looked back at the stranger.
He let his hand hang idly by his side as he said, “This is no time to let your guard down.”
That low, rugged voice was so sobering. He drew closer, cloak flapping in the wind.
“If you don’t give them something to fear, the Heartless will never stop coming back.”
“Is that what they’re called?” I asked, my curiosity exceeding my bashfulness and shock about the whole situation.
The stranger nodded and began to approach another group of Heartless.
“Wait!” I called to him. “Who are you?”
He stopped. “Vincent. Vincent Valentine.” He replied with his back to me. But he then looked at me over his shoulder and said, “That’s all you need to know for now, Pyroblade wielder.”
I was taken aback by what he called me. “Pyroblade wielder”…there was something that felt so right about being called that. Not to mention the fact that I surprised he knew what I was to begin with.
Vincent continued on his route towards that other group of Heartless. Feeling emboldened with him by my side, I ran at the Heartless with my Pyroblade held aloft. He shot some that were on the edges. After the fear was gone, I found the Heartless extremely easy to conquer. We worked our way from one group of Heartless to the other. Soon enough, Tram Common was void of any Heartless. We just happened to finish up in front of a crack in the wall that separated Tram Common from the woods that border Twilight Town.
Vincent stared at the crack as if he intended to head there next.
“Nobody lives in the woods. Well, except for the hundred year old hermit that’s supposed to be in there according my friend, Pence.” I added jokingly. “So, there’s no need to worry about that area, right?”
Pence was a boy in Twilight Town who was obsessed with what he called “The Wonders of Twilight Town”. Most of them turned out to be bogus. The others had yet to be really put to the test. The hermit in the woods is a good example of one of those. How can we prove that when we couldn’t just go off hiking through the woods looking for him?
“If we don’t eliminate all of them, they’ll think you’re weak.” He answered me lowly. He seemed bent on checking out the woods.
I hesitated. “Why do keep saying things like that?”
He didn’t get a chance to answer before I heard my name being called.
“DAWN!”
Naite’s uncle, Thorne, hurried across the small tram bridge that separated me and Vincent from the main part of Tram Common. He looked quite vexed. I presumed he had just run over from town hall that could be found right beside the building that overshadowed the mentioned bridge. It’s easily the one of the biggest buildings in Tram Common – you couldn’t miss it!
“Have you seen Naithaniel?” He panted as soon as he was within normal speaking distance.
“He was heading to the beach last time I checked. Actually, we all were before I got a little…distracted.”
Thorne turned on the spot, intent on rushing to the beach. But not before he turned back around and gave Vincent a wide-eyed bewildered stare. Two second later, he was running back over the bridge, and Vincent was on his way to the crack. I scurried along behind him, not want to be left behind. Why did Uncle Thorne look at Vincent that way? Could that day have gotten any weirder?
We walked through a Heartless lacking woods until we came upon the abandoned mansion that could be found in the woods.
“See? Nothing.” I pointed out as soon as we came into the mansion’s clearing. Vincent didn’t look convinced. In fact, he seemed to be making a point to make sure there were no Heartless in that particular area. Why…?
Vincent shot his gautlet covered arm out in front of me. “Stay back.”
“What? There’s nothing there.”
I ducked under his arm and took a few steps forward only to regret it when something hit fast me fast and hard. Vincent caught me before I hit the ground and steadied me. I looked back at the clearing to find out what hit me. A psychedelic shape met my eyes, and I heard a strange noise that belonged to a sci-fi movie of some kind. Then the shape turned into a green iguana-looking heartless (at least, I presumed it to be a heartless). It had been invisible seconds before, but Vincent still knew it was there?
“You must use all the senses or you will find yourself dead.” Vincent advised gruffly. He didn’t wait for any reply as he began to shoot the Heartless.
Minutes later, the Heartless was defeated. I caught my breath for a few seconds before turning to leave the clearing. I froze and spun around to face the mansion. I stared at the mansion’s top right window. I could have sworn I had seen a red figure standing at that window out of the corner of my eye, but it was gone when I got a good look at the window. I gave a jolt when I felt something cold touch my elbow – it was only Vincent’s gauntlet. He was giving me a mildly quizzical look.
As time has passed, I have come to realize that any emotions besides indifference and hate are usually dimly reflected on Vincent’s face. Luckily for me, I excel at reading facial queues. It’s that ability that has saved me on more than one occasion, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Sorry ‘bout that.
“I-it’s nothing.” I stuttered, mentally questioning my sanity.
We went back into town, walked through Tram Common, and began to climb the hill that leads to the Market Place. My shop’s window was closed tightly. Good. Dad should be all right, I thought to myself.
I looked at Vincent anxiously. “What now?” I asked.
“Your parents should be safe, but surely you have friends to worry about.”
“You’re right!” I suddenly began to worry about Naite. For some reason, Vlad just seemed like some one who just doesn’t get hurt. Perhaps it something to do with the fact that he would hardly get sick.
“We gotta get to the beach!” I said, gesturing toward the steep hill that lead toward the train station.
I dashed up the hill with Vincent, who was clearly running slow enough for me to be able to keep up. Our run was rudely interrupted by my dad’s voice.
“What the heck do you think you’re doing, Dawn Nicole Strike?”
He was standing in the doorway of my house. You see, my house was on that same hill. If you go looking for it, it’s the second to last house on the left before that row ends and you arrive at the Sunset Station area. If there’s purple paint around the front first story window, you’re in the right place.
“Sorry, Dad, can’t talk now!” I apologized, resuming my run.
I had to get to beach to make sure Vlad and Naite were fine. They were all that really mattered to me at that moment. I ignored my dad’s lectures he threw at me until I was out sight and well on my way to Sunset Station.
We figured riding the train must suddenly be free based on the fact the ticket window was unmanned and closed. The trains were still running their routes though. We had to wait a few painful minutes before a train en route to the beach finally arrived.
From the train, we could see a lot of Heartless roaming free, but thankfully all the people had already taken shelter somewhere. Vincent broke a window and began to shoot the Heartless.
“Do you ever miss?” I asked in awe. “I don’t think you’ve missed one Heartless since we met.”
“In these situations, I do not miss because I simply can’t miss. There is too much at stake.” He replied while continuing his barrage on unsuspecting Heartless below.
The beach was surprisingly barren of Heartless. The beach only consisted of the actual beach, a boardwalk near the end of the beach, a long row of shops, and the sidewalk that separated the shops from the rest of the area.
I searched the coast for a sign of Vlad or Naite. I was hoping the lack thereof simply meant they went home. I wondered why I did not do the same. Oh, that’s right – because the fate of my world had seemed to fall on me. Besides, what about the prompting the sword was giving me when the Heartless first arrived. I began to fully face the fact that I was meant to fight. This is the destiny of any Pyroblade wielder in more ways than one, but I had yet to learn this at that point.
The Comic Book Store’s – a store that was part of the afore mentioned stores - door swung open, and Naite along with Thorne stepped out of it. Relief came over me in a steady wave. When Naite saw me, he perked up as if he felt the same way. As they approached (the store was a ways from where Vincent and I were), I tried to look past the two them, looking for Vlad. Vlad was nowhere to be seen. Naite – as usual – seemed to be on the same wavelength as me.
“Vlad and I spotted those black things while we were in the tunnels.” He explained. “We split up to get rid of them. I came here, and he went to Sunset Terrace. We both agreed that the Beach is definitely my ball park. But you should have seen it, Dawn! I was awesome! Thanks to me, the Beach is free of monsters. And not only that, but I was able to test my new move, “Acid Rain”. It worked like a charm. And–“
Thorne clamped a hand over Naite’s mouth, looking short on patience. “Enough chit chat.” He snapped uncharacteristically as He began to lead Naite past us. He threw his head over his shoulder and said, “Dawn, the Mayor wants to see you, Vlad, and any company you find along way as you look for him.” He gave a pointed look at Vincent and continued on his way.
“I guess we need to find Vlad then.” I said awkwardly to Vincent.
After a quick walk back to the station, we boarded the train heading to Sunset Terrace. Sunset Terrace is perhaps my second favorite area in Twilight Town, with the beach being my first. The area is mostly houses, wonders (according to Pence), and Sunset Hill. Sunset Hill was a great place to watch the Sunset (even though it never actually sets) – hence the name.
That hill is where we found Vlad…cornered by Heartless. The amount of Heartless that surrounded him explained the lack of Heartless in the rest of Sunset Terrace. With the railing that surrounded the hill to his back, Vlad smirk confidently at me over the heads of the Heartless.
He said, “Good timing, Dawn. You came just in time to see a new move I came up with.”
I gave him a strange look. What was with the root beer bottle he had in his hand? In that bottle, was some questionable looking liquid and a strip of dirty cloth that hung out of the bottle. To my horror, he lit that cloth with Fire and threw it at a bunch of bottles that had been arranged in same arrangement of bowling pins. That bottle successfully hit the first bottle of the bottle arrangement, knocking over all the bottles. They all burst on contact, and the liquid spread the fire like water, incinerating all the Heartless. I look back wildly at Vlad to find him using his Shell spell to protect himself, looking pleased with himself. I was relieved to say the least. I did a sweeping motion with my hand, and the flames went out.
“That was a bit risky, don’t you think?” I asked Vlad with my hands on my hips.
“Yes, but it was clever as well!” He replied, resembling Sherlock Holmes after doing something just as risky for the sake of solving a mystery. “Guess what I just did.” He challenged playfully.
To my shock, Vincent spoke up and said, “You found liquids such as cleaners, which are flammable, in the trash bins on this hill. Then you mixed and poured them into empty glass bottles, and placed a cloth stripped off old clothes in the trash into one of those bottles. They worked as very dangerous, makeshift dynamite.”
Vlad stared at him for five whole seconds, but an impressed grin soon graced his face. He held out a hand. “I’m Vladimir. And you are…?”
“Vincent.” Vincent stiffly replied. He didn’t accept Vlad’s handshake, and that was a big mistake.
Vlad’s smile slid off his face and was replaced with a haughty look.
“Um, the mayor wants to see us.” I announced awkwardly. “We should probably hurry because it must have something to do with this sudden attack.”
The three of us sprinted down the hill and headed back to main part of town. But something strange happened – I hit an invisible wall head on. I rub my head and looked back down the road to see me running right behind Vlad and Vincent. My mouth dropped - another…me?! Didn’t they realize that wasn’t me?
“Guys?” I cried, pressing my hands against the invisible wall. “GUYS?!” Panic pulsed through me as they got farther and farther away.
“I didn’t think it would be this easy to get an audience with you.” A smooth, low voice said from behind.
I spun around to find a boy standing a few feet away from me. I only say he was a boy because he wasn’t much taller than I was (and still am for that matter). He also didn’t seem to be much older than me. He was wearing a black cloak and had a dark blue asymmetrical, layered bob. His cruel blue eyes seemed to pierce my very soul.
“W-who are you? Did you do this?” I asked, trying to keep my voice as strong as possible.
“Yes, I am Zexion - I represent an organization that is in dire need of your help.”
“Huh?”
“I am part of an organization that is in need of your…talents.”
The whole thing seemed shady to me. “Sorry, not interested. Now, get rid of this wall.”
“How heartless, but I’m afraid that that wasn’t a request.” He replied darkly.
He lunged at me, but I dodged him and ran up the hill to higher ground. I froze as soon as the hilltop came into view – He was now standing in the exact center of it. I looked back over my shoulder to see he was no longer in the spot where I left him.
“What are you?!” I asked him.
“That’s the question you should have led with at the very beginning.” He replied, smirking.
I summoned the Pyroblade, ready to defend my self. Zexion looked at it with scientific interest in his eyes.
“Such a beautiful weapon - I wonder if it is capable hands…” He said.
“You’re about to find out!”
I charged at him and slashed right through him. I gaped at him as he disappeared in a dark flash. I didn’t mean to actually hit him - I had expected to him to block or dodge it. I suddenly felt something that felt (oddly enough) like a book whack me the back of my head. I fell forward to the ground, and the Pyroblade bounced out of my hand, skittering to a halt a few feet away from me. Because of the pain, disorientation, and flashing lights that seemed to dance right in front of me, I didn’t react when Zexion, who was holding a huge book, approached the Pyroblade. He gingerly picked it up, as if expecting it to burst into flames at the touch of someone other than its wielder. But the only thing that happened was the flame went out.
He gave a small snort. “So this is the great Pyroblade. I would have expected it to choose someone who could at the very least hold on to it. You should be proud, Dawn. You’re going to be taking part in experiments for the be- GYAAHHH!”
His terrible cry sobered me up like a splash of icy water. He dropped the sword like it was hot because it was hot – scalding, in fact. I could tell by the way it had that red-hot glow that metal has when it is extremely hot. I looked up at him to see that the blade had burned a huge hole in his glove and had given him a solid third-degree burn. I felt very guilty after seeing the agony on his face, but I couldn’t find any words to express my sympathy.
“WHAT DID YOU DO?!” He roared at me, holding his the wrist of his wounded hand. His book had mysteriously disappeared.
I picked up the blade and stood up slowly. “I-it w-wasn’t me! I-I w-would never-“
“Oh, I’ll definitely make sure you regret that!” He said through grit teeth.
I didn’t have chance to react before several Zexions (yes, more than one Zexion) appeared out of nowhere. They continued to multiply, all the while closing in on me. I slashed at the nearest ones, but none of them proved to be the real Zexion. All the fake ones vanished in the flash of darkness. I was soon cornered on the left side of the hill (if you’re looking at it from the entrance to the hill. All I could see was Zexions in front of me. All I could do was keep them at bay.
As my hope and courage began to diminish, I heard a train approaching the hill. Beneath the hill, is a tunnel that trains have to go through to turn around and deeper into town. A crazy plan entered my mind – that train was my only chance of escape. I had to jump on it, and there was no time for doubts. I felt the vibrations from the train as it went through the tunnel. I swung my leg over the fence, and I jumped as soon as the train came into view. My fear was so abundant that it overflowed into the scream. I hoped with my entire being that I would make it.
- Continued in Chapter 5: The Mysterious Tower -
Phew! That was a quite longer than most chapters - Sorry ‘bout that. I hope you guys enjoyed it! If you’re reading this right now but you’ve never commented on the story, please do so now. It’s your feedback that fuels this story and my imagination!