Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ KHII: Turn Back To Origins ❯ Maison Lunes ( Chapter 1 )

Iris: Welcome to KHII: Turn Back to Origins. This is a supplementary story for KHII: A New Realm (read here: www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/view_st.php/40736/ to get caught up). Think of this like a Chain of Memories deal. Please love me, and be ready for KHII: ANR Part II once this is over. (I was running out of chapter space on the old one ^^; )

*~*Turn Back To Origins*~*

‘I’ve been having these weird thoughts lately…’

“Uhn… this again?”

‘.. like is any of this for real…’

“Where is everyone?”

‘.. or not?’

Sora closed his eyes as he fell, hearing the words he had thought not so long ago, but where were they coming from? He came to a slow and soft stop, his body held up by something… or someone. He opened his eyes again to find Riku holding him up. His heart was racing, “Riku! You’re here! What’s going on?!”

“If I had any idea, I would’ve already gotten out of here.” Riku set his friend down onto a cobblestone path. Sora looked around for anything that seemed familiar, but all that was there was the path, which was enclosed by desolate trees. The brunette took a few steps forward, curiously, to see if anything would come out at him. Nothing did, not a heartless, not a ^5, not even a dog.

“Hm… oh wait, what’s that?” Sora pointed towards a what appeared to be a mansion top just visible over the trees. Before Riku could answer, he took off towards it. Rolling his eyes, Riku followed.

The mansion was a breathtaking, yet eerie spectacle. It stood at least 3 stories up and several acres around. It’s design gave off a medieval feel, with four towering spires at each corner of its lot. As Sora and Riku got closer to it, it seemed to only grow in size and elegance. The windows had arched tops with black curtain hiding their inner worlds. The roofs of the main house and each spire were dark crimson and glowed with a creepy hue beneath the pallid moon. The entrance had a drawbridge affect. The door was huge and wooden, seemingly held up by two chains at either end, which acted like hinges. Before the door stood two hooded men, one of which was looking around a little less than bored.

People! Sora’s legs picked up the pace until they had just reached where the cobblestone became a dirt road, then bridge over a dry moat. Riku slowed up behind him, still captivated by the mansion’s intricate design. Upon closer inspection, pieces of what had once been embossed artwork in the mansion’s front walls. They were faded and cracked now, only giving more insight to the age of the place. That aside, Sora had found people who could help him and his friend out. He took a step forward and introduced himself, but neither men answered. Curious still and now a little put off, Sora cleared his throat and tried again. But to no avail. Riku shook his head and walked passed him.

“That’s no way to get someone’s attention.” Riku sneered. He reached up to put his hand on the shorter man’s shoulder, but before he reached it, the door jostled and shook, starting to open. He jumped back as the door cracked open to show yet another man dressed in a black hooded coat, “Hey! I-“

“Welcome, gentlemen.” The man in the door greeted, “Please remember, the walls have ears. So do take the time to consider what you say.” The two men nodded and went in. The doors rattled and began to close; Riku felt himself being shoved into the doors before they shut. He fell onto his stomach, with Sora on his back. He started to growl at Sora for being so reckless, then remembered what the man had said. He stood up, then pulled Sora up to his feet.

“I’m not quite sure what I just did, Ri-“

“Ssh!” Riku hissed, covering Sora’s mouth. Then in a whisper, “Be quiet. Do you want them to hear us?”

“No.” Sora mumbled through Riku’s hand. Riku put his hand down and turned to see that the three men hadn’t gone very far down the hall. He gestured for Sora to follow him as the three men turned the corner. Around the corner was a flight of stairs being guarded by a man and a women. Death and Despair, “AH!”

“Sora!” Riku covered his mouth again then looked over at the stairs. One of the men had stopped to inspect Death, who stood at attention, and Despair, who looked relatively unamused. He chuckled softly and went up the stairs. Sora panicked silently, fearing that the two guards would attack them, but when they didn’t, Riku let go him. The older boy walked up to Despair and waved his hand in front of her face. She kept the same uninterested look and even yawned. Riku smirked. Sora followed suit, flailing in front of Death and making face, “Stop that.”

“Oh..” Sora laughed and blushed embarassed, “Sorry. Hey, how come they can’t see us?”

“Hmm…” Riku reached out to touch Despair and his hand phased through her shoulder, “I figured. We don’t really exist here.”

“Huh? Wait, you had already figured that out?”

“Yes, about the second time you tried to introduce yourself.”

“Then why did you keep telling me to be quiet?”

“Because I wanted you to be.” Sora pouted. Riku continued up the stairs and into a room lined with cages. The three men had stopped in front of one of the cages and were looking at it. Sora and Riku caught up to them and looked inside as well. There was a young man inside, double over on his hands and the balls of his feet. The nails on his hands and feet had grown into claws. He was dressed in a torn, long-sleeved, green-striped white button up shirt and an equally torn and faded pair of jeans. His brown hair was grown down to his shoulders, though gave hints to having once been in an A-line style. He was glaring at the men staring at him from his corner of his cell, his bright electric blue eyes standing out against the shadow he hid in. He let growled at them the longer they stared, then calmed once they gaze was averted. Sora looked up at Riku. Riku was still looking at the young man in the cage, brows furrowed. The beastly man’s gaze snapped over to them and he opened his mouth to let out a gurgling growl. His canines were long and sharp, only to compliment his claws. Sora jumped.

“How has your research been going, Wise?” The third man asked, trying to draw attention away from the boy.

“Quite well.” ‘Wise’ answered, though still a little distracted, “How has your daughter been, Professor?” ‘Professor’ put his hands in his coat pockets and looked down at his feet, “I see.”

“Yes. Oh. How rude of me.” Professor looked up, “Who is this, Wise?”

“This Appr-“

“I have a name, you old prudes.” The unnamed man said, disheartened by the use of nicknames, “I am Xehanort.”

“Alright then, Xehanort. It’s your funeral.” Professor nodded.

“Whatever.” Xehanort scoffed, gesturing to the man in the cage, “What is this?”

“Ah..” A new voice entered the room from behind Sora and Riku, as well as a new person. He looked and dressed just like the crazy man in the cage, except his hair was in a well kept A-line, his eyes were a much more mellow blue and hidden behind a pair of glasses and bangs over one eye, and his clothes were much cleaner and kept. He was carrying a clipboard and seemed very scholarly, “I’m afraid that mishap in there would be my fault.” He bowed slightly and as he straightened up, fixed his glasses, “I am Zyke, Professor’s assistant. As you may know, the Professor does delve into the mystery of the soul and well… this is what that research has brought us. As well as the two guards downstairs.”

Zyke looked down at his mirror image. It stared back up at him, hissed, then turned away, “I dare say, my attempt wasn’t completely succesful.”

“What exactly did you do?” Wise asked.

“Well.” Professor handed Wise a folder, “You can read it. Walls have ears and all that.”

“Nonesense.” Xehanort growled, “Walls have ears. Who could possibly be listening in this place?!”

“You never know.” Professor said in an amused tone. He shifted his weight a little and looked past Wise and Xehanort, straight at Riku and Sora, “You never know.”

Sora panicked again, but Riku’s hand on his shoulder forced him to calm down. The older boy tugged on his shoulder, pulling him out of the room. They left the men to their business. On their way back, after making faces at Death and Despair, they discovered that the mansion was a lot bigger then they first thought. They slowly tried to back track, but only got more lost. Eventually, they found themselves at the center of the mansion, a large courtyard surround by the main house. There was a white gravel path at the center of each wall of the house leading to the middle where a beautiful, rustic gazebo stood surrounded by lush flora. Sora went up to the gazebo and inspected the flowers and plants. Riku followed, hand behind his head.

“Does anyone really need a house this big?”

“Hey! There’s something written here.” Sora looked around the flowers, unable to move them. There was a bronze plaque hidden amongst the plants. It read ‘Maison Lunes. In Memory of Umbria. The Greatest Child a Father Could Have.’ The brunette became quiet, he now understood Professor’s response to Wise’s question. He reached out to touch the plaque… and did. The plaque clicked and receeded into its base, “Uh-oh.”

“Sora!” Riku ran over to where Sora was standing, “What did you do?”

“I don’t know!” Sora cried as the gazebo began to shake and sink into the ground, “What do we do!?”

“…” Riku was watching the ground as it came up around them. It went from topsoil and into what appeared to be wires and metal. The gazebo was an elevator into a laboratory laden with large glass containers, computers, and flashing lights. At the opposite end of the laboratory was a giant glass tube filled with light blue liquid and girl. She was connected to several wires and smaller tubes and wrapped up tight in bandages. Riku approached the tube slowly and put his hand on it. It didn’t phase through. He furrowed his brow once again, then jumped as the girl flinched and spazzed wildly. The bandages incasing her head came loose, freeing shoulder length strands of black hair. The girl continue to fidget and writhe, and even now began to wail and scream, though it appeared impossible the way she was bound.

“L-let’s get out of here, Riku. I’m scared.” Sora begged, grabbing Riku’s hand. But the older boy wouldn’t move. He was watching the girl’s wild movements intently. She swung madly in her tank, banging her head against the walls and trying to rip free of the bandages. Every here and again, Riku noticed what seemed to be the outline of various parts on her. Wings, arms, tails, anything. Everytime one appeared, she screamed louder.

“So much pain..” He whispered. The girl shrieked and her head snapped to the side so a shining, unhidden red eye could stare down the two boys. At that moment, an ear-splitting scream went through both boys ears and sent painful chills down their spines. They fell to their knees, holding their ears shut. Then the familiar sound of gazebo-elevator could be heard once more, just beneath the shrieking in the two boys’ ears. It was one of the men, probably Professor. He strode up to the tank, oblivious of the fallen boys at his feet, and touched the tank. The girl calmed and hung her head slowly, falling asleep.

Once she was asleep, Professor took his hood off. He was a fairly young man, with long green hair and gentle blue eyes. He seemed, disheartened, for some reason. Then he smiled, almost cynically, before addressing the girl in the tank.

“Now now, Umbria.” Professor said softly, “Why are you causing such a ruckus? …I see…”

Riku motioned to get out. He scrambled to his feet first, Sora clambering up after him. They turned to go into a dead run when Professor began to speak again.

“You know what they say about too many cooks in the kitchen…” He turned with a raised, glowing hand to Riku and Sora, “It ruins the soup…”

Riku and Sora were over taken by light, but not before seeing ‘Umbria’’s burning red eye once again.

‘…who are you…?’

*~*Fin*~*

Iris: No! Don’t kill me for starting a new story! Don’t you wanna know more about the origins of Generica and stuff?! Huh? Huh!? Yeah, you do. Don’t deny it. <3