The Tyrant Lord [Sora]

[Administrator]

No colors anymore, I want them to turn black...

Riku looked out of the gummi ship. This was a world he had not been to before. Of course, he didn't much notice the surroundings until he tried, and even then his gaze fell short. Just the sight of a castle reminded him of the Princesses of Heart, which reminded him of Kairi, and she was...but not only did it remind him of Kairi, but at the same time, he was reminded of the King.

Shaking his head slowly, the boy--no, he was a man now. The events in his life had aged him prematurely--the man wondered if he would ever be free of the image of Kairi's lifeless shell, or of the body of the...something that the Champion had summoned. He was half-hoping he would run into the Champion, so that he could kill him, like he so mercilessly slaughtered Kairi and Mickey.

But the other half hoped that the Champion was gone, that he had gone away forever. If he has, a little voice said, then he can't take anyone else close to you away. Riku ignored the voice as the gummi ship landed. "We're here. Wherever here is."

[Castle]

"Yeah," Sora said quietly, as though coming out of a doze, though he'd been awake the whole time.

Some of his usual energy returned once he stood up and stretched his arms above his head. Or, at least his physical energy returned. The past weeks had gone by both very quickly and very slowly. No matter what he did, how optimistic he tried to be, or how much he told himself that she would want them to be happy, a dark cloud still hovered over his heart, and it was hard not to see her blood on his hands.

He glanced at Riku. The action was a reminder that he wasn't alone, that there was someone else going through the same thing he was. It was also a reminder of why he needed to stay strong.

"I've never been here before, either," he said, dropping his arms to his sides. He started toward the exit and waved to Riku, "Come on, let's check it out."

He stepped out onto the surface of the world and caught sight of the castle. As his gaze fell on it, he couldn't help but think She should be seeing this, too. He shook his head, took a deep breath, reminded himself that she was still with him in his heart, and then waited for Riku to follow him.

[Odin]

Where Does The Time Go?

The first things he noticed were the sounds of birds chirping, the gentle touch of wind against his face, and the smell of grass. Raising his head, Velis took in his surroundings. He had been lying, face-down in the center of the remains of an ancient village, long since ravaged by the elements, and untouched by time. Behind him was a dried up fountain, filled with leaves and moss, and with a cracked stone pedestal in the center. The trees surrounding everything were dense in number, ancient in age, and their broad leaves managed to cover most of the clear blue sky.

Slowly getting to his feet, he quickly noticed that every joint in his body was stiff, as if he'd been stuck in the same position for years. Trying to move even so much as a few steps forward was a chore for him, but after a few minutes of walking and stretching, he managed to regain some of his movement capabilities. "Where am I?" The voice sounded foreign, but he quickly realized that it was his own. Strange--just how long had he been asleep? The last thing he remembered was rain--a torrential downpour, with thunder shaking the earth, and lightning splitting the heavens. Was he crying? And, what was that shadow approaching him--

"No!" Velis cried out, grabbing his head and shutting his eyes tight. It was pounding uncontrollably, every pulse made him feel as though his head would explode. He suddenly felt a warm breath on his shoulder, and managed to open his eyes just enough to see the mouth of a horse next to his shoulder. And then the pain subsided, Velis slowly relaxing and releasing a deep breath.

The horse was massive, but very beautiful. It had a pristine black coat, and its dark eyes seemed to have an impossible depth to them. It nuzzled its head against Velis, who in turn patted it, like welcoming an old friend back after a long trip. "Hey, pal. You get lost?" There wasn't a saddle on the horse--not even horseshoes, judging by the footprints. So where did it come from? And where did he, for that matter? Velis wasn't sure where they were headed, but placed one hand on the horses neck and the two began walking into the forest together.

[Administrator]

This ship is taking me away, far away from my memories.

Riku followed his friend out of the ship, feeling the absence of their third member as keenly as if he had had something physically torn out of him. His face was stoically blank, however, as he walked to stand alongside Sora. Riku watched his friend look away from the castle, and Riku felt that sense of loss multiply before dying back down.

"Well, we should probably find out who lives here," the man who was not nearly old enough to have the weight of the years he had upon him upon him. "And go meet them." To protect the light from the encroaching darkness. But we failed to protect the most important thing of all...I failed.

But now was not the time. Riku started forward, heading towards the castle. But first, they would have to go through the woods. He reached the edge and took a deep breath. "It's time," he muttered to himself. He wasn't sure what it was time for, but, whatever it was, it was big.

[Castle]

Sora nodded in agreement and walked alongside Riku to the woods. As they approached, he got the funny feeling that something was approaching them. But, what? He heard Riku murmur and glanced at him, but after eyeing his friend curiously for only a moment, he turned his gaze forward once more.

The woods seemed pretty normal, at least to the naked eye. Sora looked every which way as they walked, analyzing their surroundings in his own, low-attention-span way. In other words, he was checking for Heartless or other threats. There didn't seem to be any at the moment.

Just as he was about to comment to Riku on the seemingly average nature of the forest, some movement caught his eye. He paused and peered that way. It looked like... a solider and a big, black horse.

"Hey, there's someone over there," he said to Riku.

No matter how somber he'd been before, or how much he still was, Sora's natural friendliness immediately took over. He smiled and walked toward the person, waving a hand high above his head to catch the soldier's attention,

"Hey there! Do you live around here?" he called out.

He could almost hear Donald's voice from a few years ago: No meddling! Well, that rule seemed to be pretty outdated now, anyway.

[Odin]

Perhaps They Know Where We Are

As they had been meandering through the woods, Velis couldn't help but think that he knew this place. Like he'd walked these woods before with someone else. But who was that? He felt like it was someone very important to him, but try as he might, he couldn't remember who. It was as if some fog had been drawn over his memory, and it refused to be lifted.

It wasn't until they'd been walking for about half an hour that he realized that the horse was in fact leading him, and he'd just been following. Smiling, he patted the horse's neck, saying happily, "Well, pal, where are we going?" The horse snorted in response, as if Velis could understand what it meant. He laughed, shaking his head as he replied, "Sounds like a nice place."

They continued walking, Velis taking in the sights with wonderment while the horse plodded along at a steady pace. Despite not remembering anything at all, he could tell that this place looked the exact same as it had...however many years ago. But something different caught his attention--a boy's voice calling out to him. Looking around, he spotted two rather strangely dressed young men, one of which had unusually spiky brown hair. Still, he seemed nice enough, though his partner looked rather dour.

"Hello, there! I'm sorry, but I don't." He called back, the horse leading him to them. When they were close enough to not have to shout, he said, "In fact, I'm not even sure where 'here' is. I can't seem to remember how I got here." Velis could feel a little bit of blood rushing to his cheeks, and he smiled sheepishly. "But where are my manners? My name is Velis, and this here is...well, I haven't named him yet, actually. He found me out in the woods and I've been following him since." The horse rolled its neck and whinnied in agreement.

[Administrator]

Memories and Stuff

The man who was but a boy couldn't help but smile, if bitterly. The man, Velis, was like them, in a way. He didn't know where here was, nor was he sure why he was here. Not any more than Riku was, or Sora was, but Riku was fairly sure Sora would make new friends and try to bury his hurt in light.

Unfortunately for him, Riku could not do that. The man little more than a boy couldn't just swallow his despairs in light. They grew, little seeds of darkness in his heart, taking root and building upon themselves, and growing, cracking his resolve in the light more and more. But this was not the time for metaphors, it was the time for first impressions.

His face became more passive, not as depressed. "My name is Riku. We've been through a lot of late, so I'm not as energetic as my friend here." The emphasis on "energetic" was to make Sora smile, like when they were back on Destiny Islands, with... Riku swallowed. It was hard, but he'd have to remember eventually.

[Castle]

"I'm Sora!" he said automatically, as soon as Velis's horse was done whinnying.

His usual smile was set in place now. Velis and his horse both seemed to be friendly. Riku introduced himself, and the comment he tacked on to the introduction caused Sora to glance at him. Just like that, the smile almost slipped, but he kept it intact (if a bit sobered) as he rubbed a finger under his nose. This look passed in an instant.

"Well, one of us has to be energetic," he countered cheerfully, giving Riku a light punch on the arm. He then returned his attention to Velis. "So, you don't remember how you got here? Did something happen?"

Naturally, if this person needed help with something, he'd be willing to lend a hand. It would make for a very welcome diversion.

[Odin]

I can see it all...wait, what?

Ah, that explained it. He could've told what they were from a mile away if the foliage wasn't so thick. Warriors. A soldier could always spot one of their own. And, like all warriors, they had lost things dear to them, if the older boy's tone was accurate. Velis thought about asking what had happened with them, but the younger one--Sora--had already asked him what happened.

Velis looked around, as if he had just misplaced the memories on some tree branch or in some knot. His voice was unsure as he recounted his story. "I woke up, just a little ways down that way. I was lying on the ground next to a dried up fountain in some ancient village. All the buildings looked like they were burnt down centuries ago. I think..." His voice faded away, his eyes gaining a far-off look. "I think I was a soldier here."

As soon as he said that, he gripped his head with one hand and staggered back a few steps, screwing his eyes shut. More memories came rushing through him: his sword stained with blood, the screams of the dying, more rain and thunder and lightning. But, just as the memories left, he saw another--a beautiful woman, wearing a simple, purple one-piece dress, standing barefoot next to a wooden house. She was smiling at him, but quickly vanished as his vision went black for a moment.

Tearing his eyes open, he gasped for breath. Velis could barely speak right now, but only one word could come to his lips. "My...M...Mydia?" Was that her name? Who was she to him? He knew that she was someone important, but...he couldn't remember anything.

[Castle]

Sora flinched in surprise at Velis's sudden show of pain. However, though he started forward an inch, there wasn't much else he could do but watch. Thankfully, whatever it was seemed to pass quickly, though the young man still didn't look too good.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, starting forward a little again, but stopping once more. He just didn't want the guy to keel over or something.

The last thing Velis said sounded like a name. Was it something he remembered? One of Sora's own memories rose up, though it was vague, a memory from the other side. He just knew that what had just happened to Velis was similar to what happened to another person as their memories tried to return...

"Did you remember something just now?" he asked before he could stop himself.

[Administrator]

Loss is difficult. Except for Sora, but he has always been strange.

Riku nodded. He looked like a soldier, at the very least. Then, he seemed to be in pain. His head...? And then he said someone's name; it sounded female. He lost someone, like we did... Sympathy flashed across his features before they smoothed back into a semblance of nothing.

The man had nothing to add to Sora's energetic questioning. He only said, "It can be hard." His words could have been in reference to anything, but, if it was as he suspected, then the older man would appreciate his words. Riku knew what it was like to experience loss, and though Sora could bounce back from anything, he was much less resilient.

Needless to say, it would be a long time before he was ever anything like his old self again. If he ever would be.

[Odin]

How to explain...

Velis appreciated the two's concern for him. For some reason, it felt like it had been a long time since anyone had actually cared about him. Then again, it probably wasn't so strange since he couldn't even remember when he was last awake. "I'm fine," he said, politely raising a hand to Sora. Just because these two seemed nice didn't mean he wanted them coming to his aid every time he had a headache.

Having fully regained his bearings, he looked around at the trees, absolutely sure that he had been here before now. Returning his attention to Sora and Riku, he said, "I remember fighting--a lot of it. I hate to think about it, but I have killed before, it seems. Hopefully it was just as a soldier and not anything else. And," his voice became gentler as he remembered Mydia, "There was a woman I was fighting for. Mydia--she was beautiful." He laughed, embarrassed. These kids didn't need to hear him ramble on about some woman--they had their whole lives ahead of them for that sort of thing.

The horse that had been leading him suddenly gave a high pitched whinny and started to throw its head towards the way they had come. Uncertainty was evident in his voice as he spoke. "I think he wants me to go back to that village. I don't know why, but maybe there's something there for me? Would you two like to tag along?" He hoped they would--it looked like a few clouds were gathering, and he'd rather not be stuck in a dark woods that he didn't really know.

[Castle]

When Riku made that comment, Sora sent a confused glance his way. What did he mean by that? He knew Riku liked to sound deep sometimes, but that didn't really make much sense, unless Sora had just totally missed something.

As it turned out, Velis really had regained a few memories. He remembered fighting, which made sense considering how he was dressed, and he remembered... a woman. A beautiful woman whom he had been fighting for, fighting to protect. Sora's gaze grew distant for a few moments. He wondered if this man had also...

The horse's whinny snapped him back into focus. It seemed Velis was going back to that destroyed village.

"Sure. We didn't really have a plan here, anyway," Sora said, looking at Riku in case it turned out he really did have another plan. Even if he did, Sora would probably have them go with Velis anyway.

[Administrator]

Old selves die hard.

Riku noticed the look from Sora, but didn't acknowledge it. The boy was in denial right now, it seemed, and there was nothing he could really do to change that. And why would he want to? If Sora could function as he normally would, who was he to take that away from him? The man certainly wished he could forget that anything had ever happened at all...

Dragged back to reality by Sora's words, Riku nodded. He put on a façade, only for the boy's benefit. A small smile on his face, he said, "Since when do you plan anything, Sora?" He repressed the pain, and acted as if it was effortless. And maybe it would be second nature to him some day. Just not today.

"I didn't have anything, either, so lead away, Velis."

[Odin]

Change of subject

Good--he'd have some companions on this little trek. It's not that he didn't think the horse was good company, but he'd prefer to have a real conversation. One which he immediately started. "So, where are you two from? I don't think I asked that. What was it like on your world? What'd you do there?" Both of them were obviously sharing some melancholic memory, and hopefully some innocent conversation would break them out of it. Strangely enough, he didn't even wonder how he knew about other worlds. It seemed so natural to him.