Redemption Frägment

Chapter Two: Out of the Cooking Pot, Into the Fire

Our conversation, what little there was, soon dwindles to silence, with each of us asking the other occasional questions about things we really know nothing about. So we never really get anywhere in the knowledge department. I think the only one who knows exactly what is happening is Emma. And I think Riku and I share the same sentiment about making Emma a throw rug. One good aspect was that Riku did not seem inclined to kill me anymore. This I took as a good sign. It pretty much meant I wouldn’t die any time soon. At least by Riku’s hands.

The path we walk on seems to go on forever. We can both feel and hear the Heartless convalescing around us, waiting for one moment of weakness in either of us. It definitely did not paint a pretty picture in our heads. Hordes of Heartless oozing over your body, sinking their sharp teeth into your flesh and stealing your heart right out of your – okay, stopping that train of thought. That’s just disgusting. We walk silently a few more minutes before Riku finally stops, doubling over with his hands on his knees to breathe.

“Can’t go any farther. Tired.”

“And you told me I don’t have any stamina,” I reply, “I’m the one carrying the fuzzy death sentence.”

Emma mewls, I think, her displeasure straight into my ear. I wince and then glare at Riku when he starts to laugh.

“Shut up.” Eloquent. Thoughtful. I’m so dead. Riku doesn’t seem to mind though; he must consider me a friend. Or that I’m harmless. Oh, I’d show him how harmless I was. I’d ram my knife into his – “Riku. I think the Heartless are moving.”

Riku pauses and then brandishes his Keyblade. “Let’s go. We have to get to that door King Mickey was talking about.”

I nod and we bolt for our lives, hearing the Heartless give chase. Emma hisses at the Heartless who manage to close the gap between us and bats her paws at them. It doesn’t do much to deter them, but it gives us a bigger lead on them. We run along the path for what seems to be hours before a massive light burns our eyes. We stutter to a halt, throwing up out hands to shield our eyes.

“Must be the door.” Riku mutters.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious.” I meet Riku’s glare with a glare of my own. I think we’re treating each other as annoying brothers now. What a revelation. What a family. I need my head examined. I step up to the door as Emma leaps from my shoulders to stand beside Riku as he stands guard. The door wasn’t really a door; just a blob of ectoplasmic light with a handle. You’d think the door would be more ornate than a blob of ectoplasmic light. With a handle. Can’t forget the handle.

“So? How do you open it?”

I look back at Riku. “It’s a blob of light, okay? Give me some time.”

“Hurry it up then. I think the Heartless are getting brave.”

“Comforting.”

I touch the door with my fingers, seeking a keyhole of some sort. My only warning that that was a bad idea was a little hiss, like air being let out of a balloon. I’m thrown back against Riku as the light suddenly expands. Now I could see the door. And lots of psychedelic colours. Riku tightens his hold on me as I list for a few moments. When the pretty colours finally fade and my eyes focus, Riku is staring down at me with worry. Hey, his eyes are yellow, like mine. Never noticed that. Very interesting.

“Ansem? You okay?” Riku sounds genuinely concerned. Emma plops herself into my lap, putting her paws on my chest and butting my chin with her head.

“I think.” I push Emma off of me and stand with Riku’s help. “Well, there’s the door.”

“And what a door.”

Riku has a point. The door is a large, disgustingly ornate thing. White ivory swirls rose above the door and the symbol of Kingdom Hearts was etched onto the doors, precious gems inlayed around silver wires. It was pretty, but I think whoever made the door was either blind or very narcissistic. We whirl around at the sound of a chirp and stare into the mass of yellow-eyed hungry Heartless. We glance at each other.

“Shit.”

“No kidding.”

We turn to the door, Emma at our heels. My fist connects with the door and both our hands go for the handle. We yank. And yank. We even try to push it. It just won’t budge.

“This sucks! This really, really sucks!” I shout as I dodge to the left as a Heartless comes flying at us. It smacks the door and dissipates into black smoke. I reach for my dagger, Riku calling upon his Keyblade to smack the braver Heartless into oblivion. My dagger slices easily through the Heartless and then – why God do you hate me so much? – it begins to vibrate. How lovely. A vibrating dagger. Insert dildo joke here. No. Wait. It’s resonating.

“Riku!” I yell to him and he manages to spare me a glance. “I know how to unlock this thing!”

“Then do it! Stop talking!”

I glare at him but whip around to drive my dagger into the keyhole below the handle. Wait. That keyhole hadn’t been there before. Oh. Shit. The door begins to creak open and Riku’s hand grabs for mine. We hold on tight to each other as the door opens fully and we’re drawn into the brightest light I’ve ever seen. Emma digs her claws into my back in an effort to hold on as we fall through the light onto green grass. We hit the ground hard, rolling down the hill in a mass of limbs and fur. We come to a halt beside a gravel and dirt road and stay motionless for a few minutes. Then we try to untangle ourselves, keeping our weapons away from each other. Or trying to, anyway.

“Well, we’re out,” I manage to say, sheathing my dagger.

“Yeah, we’re out all right.” Riku helps me stand and we look around. There is green grass as far as the eye can see and then a winding road. I groan.

“This is fucking déjà vu.” I mutter, staring at the road. Riku nods his agreement. Emma claws her way up to my shoulders, twining herself around them like a fluffy scarf.

“C’mon.” Riku gestures to me, stepping onto the road. “Let’s see if we can find anybody to help us.”

“Um, right.” I should tell Riku about his eyes. Then again, I’m not much better off. I step to the road beside him, looking for any signs of life other than us. And Heartless. Running into Heartless now would not be fun, considering we’re tired and confused as hell. We walk for about an hour until we hear the sound of a cart or some other vehicle coming toward us. We step to the side of the road and continue walking, half-hoping to hitch a ride with whoever is coming. We look up about thirty minutes later to se a feline-like man driving a Chocobo powered cart. He slows as he sees ups and our condition. I mean, Heartless blood in almost silver hair, torn clothes, tired yellow eyes. Almost identical teenage boys wandering lost down the road are perfect prey for mass murderers and other assorted evil people. I seriously need my head examined.

“Hey there, boys. Need a ride?” He asks this kindly. Riku looks back at me and I meet his eyes with a shrug. He steps up to me and whispers in my ear not to talk until we were alone again. That I could handle. After all, I’m supposed to be on a journey of redemption, right? Mouthing off is definitely something I have to avoid.

Riku looks back at the man and nods. “Please? We’ve been walking all day and we ran into some Heartless a while back. My,” he pauses and looks at me for a moment before he looks back at the man, “brother and I need to get to a town or village so we can rest and resupply.”

I stare at Riku. Where does he get off saying I’m his brother? Oh. Wait. We look almost identical, so it would kind of make sense. I’ll have to ask him who was older. The feline man stares at us and surprisingly doesn’t seem bothered by the colour of our eyes.

“Hop in the back, boys. I’m headed to the seaside town of Bedouin. You know it?”

Evidently, Riku has found the benefit in lying. “Yeah. We have some friends there we can crash with. Thanks!”

Riku pulls me to the back of the cart and jumps on, helping me up. Why do I feel tired all of a sudden? Riku seems to sense it and watches me with worried sea blue-yellow eyes. Ah. So that’s why the kitty-man wasn’t overreacting.

“Why don’t you try to sleep, An.” I give him a half-hearted glare at the use of the nickname, but then I realize he’s trying to protect my identity. We don’t have a clue if the feline-man would recognize my name. Right now, I hold onto the hope that my appearance is throwing everyone we meet for a loop. The cart starts up again and I relax against Riku, drifting into sleep. The last thing I see is one crystal around Emma’s collar glowing blue.