Belgemine let me wash myself in her bathtub. She left me some towels, and a set of clean, pressed clothes (a Mage’s robe and some light chain mail for underneath. She was really resourceful. After washing away all the dirt from underground, I put on the clothes she had left me. They fit like a glove. I considered asking where she got them, but I didn’t wish to bother her further. I had to travel yet further north, to a giant fissure in the ground. There I would find both Ultima, the Holy Aeon, and Diablos, the Dark Aeon. With those, the set would be complete, and I would be ready to find the Final Summon.
I thanked Belgemine for everything, and posed one final question to her. “How do you know all these things?” She laughed. “Because, young one, I’ve been around enough to find out, waiting for someone to take my place as High Summoner…” I was confused. She looked in her twenties. “You see, young Summoner, I have been dead for at least three hundred years…” I was stunned. She was standing right in front of me. I could feel her hands when she placed the Soul within me, hear her breathing. “No more questions, now. Just continue your journey.” I walked out the door, waved goodbye. Thanked her a final time. I turned my back on House Belgemine, used Ramuh’s power to shield me (and without needing to summon him, I was not getting wearier) and began walking. I turned my head to see if Belgemine had gone back inside… and stopped. House Belgemine was gone.
I continued my trek. After leaving the Thunder Plains, I was not too far from my next destination. I was just about to stop for lunch, however, when something familiar caught my attention. Suction. Blackness. Portal. A man stepped out, somewhat angry and raving. “Excuse me,” I began in my sweetest voice, “But I’m lost… could you help me?” I figured if he didn’t know who I was, I could kill him and steal his coin purse. “Why, Gildas! It’s you!” The man lowered his hood. Brown, spiky hair with blonde highlights. I’d never seen him before. “I’m sorry. You don’t know me, but I’m a huge fan. My name’s Demyx, I’m… a dancer of sorts. I guess I’d really be called a musician, but dancing’s what I really enjoy.”
Me and Demyx hit it off. Over lunch, he told me all the things he’d heard about me from his colleagues, about how much Zexion admired me (“I can see why he likes you so much”) and he made the occasional flirtatious remark. I didn’t brush them away, but it was weird hearing someone’s else’s voice commenting on my hair, my eyes, my smile… I didn’t know why, but for some reason, the ice around my emotions was beginning to melt…
I decided to take Demyx along on my journey. What could it hurt? After all, with the ice now gone, I was hurting for Zexion again… and no-one can survive that without comfort. Unlike Zexion, who had abandoned me, Demyx was there in my time of need, and he made me feel… loved… Before long, Demyx mentioned that his house was en route to the Twilight Abyss, and that I should stop by. I didn’t know if that was a flirt, or a genuine suggestion. When the time came, however, I decided I might as well rest a bit. Demyx let me in, sat me down, gave me a glass of Coke and starting asking questions about me. There was that foggy feeling again… I brushed it off. Demyx was a nice guy, there was no questioning that. After a while he asked about my scythe (“Wow, what a big scythe you have, I bet it’s great for summoning!”) and about Zexion (“I didn’t trust him really, too much of a perfectionist, though I can see why he chose you…) . Soon I was revealing everything to him, well, nearly everything, I didn’t tell him about Zexion’s pink underwear. But… I felt compelled to tell him things I normally wouldn’t… was this a different form of love?
Demyx showed me his bedroom, and mentioned about his bed (“I know it’s a car, please don’t laugh!”) and the fact that he had had those posters on his wall for a very long time (“But who can blame me, it IS Mitch Hewer!”). I sat down on a swivel-chair and we talked some more. In the space of ten minutes, without realising, I’d moved the swivel-chair right up next to the car-shaped bed that he was sitting on. “You know, Gildas… I haven’t known you very long, but… I think I’ve got a crush on you…” I should’ve jumped. I should’ve frozen him, walked out, and never looked back. But how was I supposed to know? I leaned forward and we kissed, a long kiss that sent my head reeling. He pulled me closer, till I fell onto his car. Leant over me. Kissed me deeper. Everyone makes mistakes. I shouldn’t have spent the night at Demyx’s house… But how was I supposed to know that he was the one who made Haru and Zexion kiss?
Now it was Riku’s turn to hug me. He ran at me and swept me off my feet, and his lips were on mine, his heart was beating next to mine, his hair was mixed up with mine…We kissed more passionately than ever before. When he finally finished kissing me, he whispered in my ear. “I am so sorry. You’re right, I should have trusted you. Don’t ever leave me; I love you too much to lose you.” I smiled as he nuzzled my ear gently. “I promise. I love you too.” Roxas coughed quietly, and we broke apart to see everyone staring at us. I could feel a red hot blush creeping over my cheeks, but I stared them out defiantly, a small smile plastered on my face.
“So,” I said, after everyone had stopped staring at Riku and me. “Shall we get going again?” Everyone agreed that we should, and we walked on. My hand was in Riku’s again, and it seemed to fit there perfectly. When we decided to camp, Roxas addressed us all. “Right. We’ve done well today and walked pretty far. But we need to keep it up. If we keep up today’s pace, we should be at the Golden Chamber in a few days. Is that understood?” There was an agreeable murmur, and then we lit another fire.
That evening, the atmosphere was a lot warmer. We all felt closer after the incident with Demyx, like it had made us bond in a sick, twisted sort of way. And everyone was definitely happier than they had been last night. The stars seem to twinkle for us, too. We all waited until the fire died down before we went to bed. I was folded in Riku’s arms again tonight, and it felt like home. I could always smell his comforting scent; could always feel his protective arms; always hear his gentle breathing…
I couldn’t get to sleep. I didn’t want to; I didn’t want to waste these moments with Riku. Being apart from him made me want him more than I could stand. But then I heard something other than Riku’s breath…it sounded like…someone was crying? But…who? It was a male, I knew that. It couldn’t be Sora’s, he sobbed too much. It wasn’t Riku’s, since he was right with me. And Roxas didn’t seem the type to cry. L definitely wasn’t. So then…it was Zexion.
I slowly lifted myself out of Riku’s warm embrace and took a minute to orientate myself before following the sound of the crying. “Hey.” That was the only way I could think of to announce my presence. Zexion looked up, shocked, after trying to wipe away his tears. “It’s okay. I expect you to be sad. Plus, I heard you from where I was ‘sleeping’.” He cleared his throat, and I took it as an invite to sit with him. “What have you found, then?” I had just noticed that his tears had been falling into Gildas’s book, and figured he had read something that made him miss Gildas even more or something.
Wordlessly, Zexion pointed out the most recent page. It was written in pale pink ink, and it looked like Valentine’s Day on the page. I read it in my head, but once I got further through, my lips were moving as I read. He was…with Demyx, the freaky kidnapper who can control people’s actions? When I got to the end, I felt physically sick. I tried to talk to Zexion, but nothing comprehendible came out. “No…Demyx…Gildas…wouldn’t…he,” I stammered. “…love…no…you…kiss…no…no…no!” I screamed the last ‘no’, startling Zexion. He nodded, but I just sat there, shaking my head, muttering ‘no’ over and over again.
Was Gildas really so angry at us that he would get involved with the guy who made us make him angry? “No…” Did he know that Demyx had controlled us, made us kiss? “No…” Would he fall in love with Demyx, spend the rest of his life with him? “No…” This couldn’t be happening. I dragged myself up to my feet. “No…” Zexion was still sobbing beside me, his tears coming faster than before. “No…”
“No…”
I woke up in a car-shaped bed, and sat up, Demyx’s blue shirt draped over my shoulders. I was confused… I knew what had happened but… was I angry? Upset? Happy? I couldn’t tell… and that’s what worried me. I looked down at the floor, a brown stain on the carpet (that’d be the Coke glass I knocked over). Nothing was a blur, I remembered everything vividly… but why didn’t I feel anything about it?
Demyx walked in to the room, and smiled when he saw me awake. I stood up, walked over to the chair where my shirt was and looked back at Demyx, who was blushing up a storm. Then I looked down. Jumped back in bed, pulled the covers up tight . Blushed. “I… Um… I’ll just leave your breakfast by the door…” Demyx said, and rushed out. I was so nervous around him… but I didn’t mind… What was this? I guess… Zexion was my first love, it just felt weird feeling this for someone else… But Zexion was just a memory. Memory… oh god. He still had the book. Wait… why did I care? He could suffer and read that page every minute of every day. I would stay here with Demyx and obtain those Aeons, and then we would find the Final Summon together. Though where it was, I had no clue…
After I was… in the proper clothing, I ate my breakfast (Plain toast, how did he know?) and went downstairs. As I walked in the living room, Demyx jumped up from the sofa. “Er… umm, listen, I just wanna apologise for earlier…” I hushed him. Put my finger on his lips, replaced it with my own. After I pulled back, he stood there, breathless. “Wow… you’re really good at that!” I giggled. Stopped. Did I just GIGGLE? Oh dear. I was falling pretty badly here. “Well, Demmy, I need to find somewhere. First I need to get Ultima and Diablos, then I need to find a place called the Golden Chamber. Know where it is?” He looked shocked. “No, but I know someone who does! I’ll go find him while you’re getting the Aeons, okay?” I nodded. After me and Demmy had kissed a little longer, we left his house (he locked up with a bright green key) and went our separate ways. Why did I feel so… weird that he was leaving?
I suddenly became aware of Riku. I blinked heavily. Thought things through…”Gildas…Demyx…they…” I mumbled. I felt ill again. Riku nodded. “Zexion told me. But, it’s okay. He must not know that you and Zexion didn’t choose to…you know. It’s alright.” I was still shaking my head. “No…” I moaned again. Riku held me tightly. We had to leave though, so I swallowed my protests and walked in silence. Thankfully, nobody mentioned Zexion’s swollen eyes or my strange silence.
It was early morning when Demyx appeared again. Nobody saw the usual black hole appearing. The first warning we got was when a black gloved hand clapped over my mouth, and another gripped my forearm, dragging me back. I had been holding Riku’s hand, so he noticed right away, and his shout alerted the rest of our group. I figured it would be futile to struggle, so I simply let him pull me around, breathing slowly to keep calm. “Hey, guys. Shall we keep this short? If you don’t want me to kill this one, then Roxas, you’ll tell me where the golden thing is and how to get into it. Is that clear?” Roxas nodded stiffly.
“The entrance…is…it’s…” Demyx sighed, and tightened his grip, making me squirm from the sudden pain. “Sorry! It’s in Lindblum…” Demyx loosened his grip as he breathed, “Go on…” That was his mistake. In the moment of slack, I pulled away from him and rammed my fist into his face, and then kicked him so he fell to the ground. Then Riku was next to me, his sword at Demyx’s throat. Demyx stared at the silver tip that was reflecting his eyes…and then it reflected him disappearing.
Riku hugged me tightly. “I’m sorry…I couldn’t do anything…” I smiled and shook my head. We carried on walking, but Demyx had wrecked our happy mood. Eventually it came to the time that we needed to set up camp again. We got on with it quickly and efficiently – we had had a lot of practise – but Zexion was slow to do anything. I knew why, but I think I was the only one…
Once camp was finished and a fire was crackling, I excused myself to talk to Zexion. He was staring into Gildas’s book, but no new words were written and he wasn’t reading the previous pages. I simply sat with him, hoping the understanding sympathy would help just a little. Then, new words began to write themselves across the page and we both bent in to read…
As Demyx walked away, I felt a pang of sadness… why? He’d be back soon. I threw it aside. Travelling north, it took me a few hours. I began freezing forest animals, burning a few bushes as I went along, just to pass the time. Like a few dozen squirrels would make a difference? Eventually, as the sun began to set, I made it to the fissure. Halfway down was Ultima, and in the very pit was Diablos. It made sense to obtain Diablos first; I could then use Typhoon’s power to elevate me to Ultima’s level, obtain her, and finally exit. All in a days work. I jumped into the fissure, inwardly summoning Typhoon to keep me afloat as I made my descent.
I reached the pit with no problem. Suddenly swallowed by darkness, any normal man would be frightened to near-death. I was quite calm, however. My instincts told me that something was moving (fast!) to my left, and I ducked and rolled out of the way. Moments after, Diablos appeared, swooping by. He floated in mid-air, his wings keeping him airborne. “So, insect. Why have you come, or should I just crush you now?” I needed to appeal to its ego. “Oh Diablos, Mighty Ruler of the Dark!” I began, and knelt forward. “I come to thee with but a humble wish; that I may join with you and aid you in conquering the world!” He laughed; a typical evil-ruler laugh that was honed to perfection, enough to make most men quake in their boots. “What do you have to offer, little one?” He asked, in a deep, booming voice that sent shivers down even my spine. “I have the powers of the Six Elemental Aeons. Their blood runs through my veins, and with your power in addition to theirs, I feel that we may rule this world with an Iron fist!”
Diablos laughed once more. “You may have the power of the other Six, but what proof have you of said power?” I grinned. “Watch.” I brought my hands forward, and decided to go for something new. I channelled Ice in one hand, Fire in the other, and brought my hands up high. Releasing the power of Shiva and Ifrit in a pillar of Blue flame, I moved quickly to Ramuh and Leviathan. On either side of me sprayed electrified water, and then it was time for my final trick. I looked down, beginning to rend the ground from beneath my feet. Around this floating platform I created a shield of blustering winds so strong they could knock a man out cold. I brought the ground back down, and knelt once more. That would get me in his good books. “You see my liege, the power I wield is strong. I only wish for you to have access to this.” He chuckled. “Then my power is yours. Bring forth your inner darkness with the Dance of Death and I shall crush your enemies where they stand.” He disappeared into the gloom. I felt my mind rush with newfound knowledge… darkness was mine.
Zexion and I couldn’t help but stare at the page. The words were from this morning, and they began to appear in shining ink. I finished reading before Zexion, but I got the feeling that he was reading more slowly than usual, and I knew he read it more than once. His eyes scanned the page one, two, three times before I had to stop him. I rested my hand on his arm. “Stop reading it,” I whispered gently. “It’s not doing you any good.” Zexion nodded, and closed the book. I considered taking the book out of his hands; I knew having it would make him read it. I reached out to take it, but at the same time Zexion held it out to me so I would take it. “Ah!” We sorted out the jumble of arms, and I took the book and put it on the grass next to me.
“I…couldn’t stop reading yesterday’s entry…” Zexion swallowed. “I thought he loved me…we never…we didn’t…but, don’t you think…this is too far for it to be…revenge? If he was just angry, would he really…go this far, do you think? Doesn’t this prove…that he doesn’t love me anymore, that he…loves…Demyx?” I shook my head fiercely. “Of course he still loves you! This is just Gildas being stubborn! He’s always been like it.” That didn’t really help; but I hadn’t really expected it to. “Look, he’s a really stubborn person. But I know as well as you do that he wouldn’t go this far…I think this Demyx has made him, somehow. Gildas couldn’t like a person like him of his own free will.” Zexion finally looked at me, his eyes watery still.
“…Of his own free will…” he echoed. I blinked. Slowly, things seemed to slide into place. “That’s just it! He didn’t do it of his own free will!” I cried. “Like with us! Demyx said, “Make you and Zexion kiss…”” I nodded. “So we know that he doesn’t really like Demyx, he’s being controlled! So then…” “So then he knows about Gildas’s book, and knew that we would read it,” Zexion finished for me. We were excited, but then we realised…Gildas could be in real danger! All the air seemed to fly out of Zexion. “We have to go save him,” he croaked. I agreed.
“No, we don’t.” Another voice joined in our conversation, and we looked up. There standing over us, was Roxas. “We don’t have to go and save anyone. We are busy trying to save the world, in case you forgot? We have to make sure the Golden Chamber is safe from Demyx before you can go off and do whatever you want.” Zexion tried to protest, but Roxas cut him off. I stood up. “Gildas is with Demyx. We save Gildas, we can stop Demyx at the same time. Don’t interrupt me,” I said, for Roxas had opened his mouth again. “We are going to your chamber thing to right your mistake and save the world or whatever as a favour to you. We could just leave you to get on with it yourself. But we won’t. We are going after Gildas, and that’s final.” I hadn’t noticed how stern my voice was until Roxas sloped off, muttering to himself. I sank back down to the grass.
“So…how are we going to find Gildas to save him?” Zexion asked in a tiny voice. I shook my head. “I…don’t know.” We sat a while in silence, thinking about it, when suddenly, Zexion jerked his head up. “I know! Before, when you passed out…you said you saw Gildas! You saw what he was doing, where he was, right?” I nodded slightly, still confused. “Kind of. It wasn’t exact, and I didn’t recognize the place myself, but yeah. And I don’t think I can just make it happen.” Zexion sank. “Oh…”
Then it was my turn to have an idea. “Demyx still doesn’t know how to get into the chamber, right? So it’s more than likely that he’ll come back to ask Roxas again! If we play it right, then you could run into his dark portal thingy while I distract Demyx. Do you think?” Zexion shook his head. “How would I get back again afterwards? And what if he walks far away from where Gildas is before teleporting.” I fell silent. “But…I think you’re on to something.” I looked at Zexion, filled with hope. We talked for a long time, discussing what to do in different situations, until we finally had a plan. It was shaky, with a lot of room for error, but it was a plan nonetheless. But it all depended on Demyx coming after Roxas for a third time…
I walked to the edge of the pit. Below, a huge gash in the earth led right down to its core... It was... mesmerizing... wait. Stop. I can’t forget why I came here. I jumped into the fissure. (Disintegration.) Winds blew me up, and I stood, up, regaining my posture. I couldn’t go to Ultima lying down, now could I? Once I was stood, I brushed some dirt off my new robe and straightened my collar. As I went further up the fissure, it got lighter. But where was Ultima? I assumed she’d be halfway down, a sort of preliminary to gain the skill of Diablos? Looks like I was wrong. I reached ground level, and was rather confused. I looked around, nothing. Then I looked up. Far above I could see the sun. Slightly less far above, another light was shining. The moon? No... Ultima.
Summoning up a little more strength, I brought the winds up further, until I reached a small cloud. Stepping onto the cloud (which, surprisingly, held my weight with ease) I saw more clouds, leading up a sort of spiral staircase towards a huge cloud, a few hundred feet up. Slowly making my way, cautiously, up the cloud staircase, the light got brighter and brighter, until I couldn’t see a thing. By this time, I was on the top cloud, and I heard a soothing female voice call out to me. “Gildas... so, you have come. And you seek my power, no less. I can feel it. Your desire for power is extraordinary for one so young.”
That was really getting quite tedious. I was sixteen, I could handle myself. I was not a child any longer. “Holy Mother, I do seek your assistance. A great evil washes over this land, darker and more frightening than any that has come before. I need your help to fight back this evil.” She moved (I think, it sounded as if she was floating). “Here, little one. Let me soothe the light.” She began to sing. Some old language (Latin?) that I didn’t understand. The light began to dissipate, and I saw Ultima in her true form.
Her face was a metallic blue. From underneath her skirt, a small metal object was visible, and there was no mistaking the tone of her voice. She was a machine. “Do not be afraid, little one. My heart is as human as yours.” I fought to hold back the laughter. “What evil is it you speak of, young one?” Now I couldn’t hold it back. “You’ve never heard of him? He wields a sharp blade that proves him to be the last surviving heir to the throne of an unknown kingdom. He has power beyond imagination. He can deceive anyone he meets and...” I laughed once more, “He is standing right in front of you.” Inwardly, I summoned up my new dark strength. (Dark Messenger!) Before Ultima could react, she was swallowed by an orb of pure darkness. Her metallic shrieks could more than likely be heard from the ground. “You will serve me, Ultima. Or you will be destroyed.” I called off Diablos’ power, and walked over to Ultima, who lay on the ground, unconscious. “I can feel it already... Dance of the Deity...” She disappeared, atom by atom scattering on the winds. And then I realised that this was an unwanted sacrifice. The Holy powers seeped into my heart, and all my emotion came flooding back. I would have to feel pain, love, hatred like any other mere mortal. But it was necessary. I needed the Final Summon.
It was at least an hour before I finally stopped crying.
