Cirque du Mort

[nojerom_14]

.............NUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!

Alright, alright, It's okay....

I'll live. -waits-

[Davy Jones]

Wow... Another really long wait that I have forced upon my readers. I have had writer's block, spring break, volunteer work, homework (the writer's bane), and the brainstorming for Chapter 43 and the Epilogue. But now, the end is nigh. Davy Jones Industries, Ltd. is no proud to present...

Note: The Ironclad of Lore is based off of the ironclad CSS Texas from the book and movie SAHARA.

-*43*-

The Fountain of Forever

Dirst paced nervously back and forth along the sand covered floor, staring down at the floor and watching as his footprints slowly melded together to form one ridge through the sand. The Ironclad of Lore was moving agonizingly slow; every second he wasn't heading towards Lotus Tower was another second that he was fretting about Harmony. He occasionally glanced at the other three passengers. Requiem was relaxing in the wicker rocking chair, nonchalantly rocking back and forth and nodding off to sleep every so often. Trisn stared out of the gun ports, watching the vast black expanse of the Void pass around them. Sidrix stood in a corner of the ship, murmuring words under his breath. Dirst paid no more attention to them other than letting them into his sights. Hope and despair were destroying his mind.

Seconds faded into minutes. Dirst felt useless. If Harmony was alive, she was in grave danger, and he was unable to do anything. If Nire were here, maybe this would never have happened; maybe he would have at least been able to console Dirst. If Harmony wasn't alive, then the time ebbing into oblivion time that Helios was escaping the hell that was Dirst's furious revenge. Dirst could almost feel every nanosecond slip through his grasp. Frustrated, he grunted and slammed his fist onto the iron hull like a gavel. Pain shot through the nerves in his hand, but he didn't care.

"Why won't this thing move?!" he yelled.

Trisn jumped at the sudden exclamation which cut through the quiet like a trireme through the sea. Sidrix calmly looked up at Dirst, as did Requiem.

"The ship runs off of ancient magic. The path and speed of this ship have been preordained by the Nexus Stone. The only thing that would make the ironclad move faster would be a change in the Nexus Stone itself." Requiem paused, then added," Just relax."

Dirst nearly punched the Reflection assassin in the face. "Easy for you to say."

Requiem smiled. "Clearly you don't understand the gravity of the situation. If Helios possesses the Nexus Stone, then he will control all worlds connected by the Nexuses. From there, it is only a matter of time before Helios resurrects Kingdom Dark. And with an unknown keybearer on his side now, he has the ability to obtain the Nexus stone and the Ragnarok key unimpeded. And with those in tow, he can gain what he truly covets, what all Darkness truly covets: Kingdom Hearts."

Dirst's anger was forced from boil to simmer. However, his mind was on reprieve from worry now; his mind was now wondering about Requiem's words. Kingdom Dark? Ragnarok Key? Dirst remembered Riku's speech about the Nexus Stone in enough detail to remember that the Nexus Stone connected all worlds and that it was extremely powerful, but nothing more. He was about to ask Requiem to go into more detail about the new subject when a loud scraping filled the air. The ironclad then lurched, almost knocking the three standing keybearers to the ground; Requiem was almost thrown out of his chair. But just as suddenly as it had begun, the whole episode ended. Trisn looked outside, noticing that there was now a giant green mass outside of the window.

"We've landed," he stated flatly. Simultaneously, the hatch on the ship opened up onto the giant green space. The four exchanged glances, then cautiously strode out of the ship and onto the green. They each studied their surroundings, surprised by the magnitude of their surroundings.

They were standing on a giant lily pad. In the center of the colossal plant was an equally colossal pink lotus flower. Emerging from the enormous flower was a giant column of what looked like fog, which rose hundreds of feet into the grey sky until it wound around a giant diamond made out of one monolithic piece of tan stone. In the center of this piece, right above the end of the column of fog, was a large semicircular opening in the stone diamond. Once all of their gazes were averted from the sky, Sidrix caught sight of an almost imperceptible staircase in the lotus flower.

"There," he said, pointing for the others to see. "That is our ticket up."

The group headed towards the staircase in the flower. Despite the urgency of their mission, there was a tacit agreement to walk and save energy rather than sprint. After five minutes of walking they reached the staircase in the flower. Dirst climbed it first, then Trisn, then Requiem, then Sidrix in the rear. They all walked out onto a platform next to the column of fog. A strange warmth emanated from it, and a soft noise like a light breeze filled the air. Dirst stuck his hand into the column, and it rose higher and higher without his muscles doing any work. Seeing the way up, Dirst then jumped into the column, followed by the others in the same order as they had ascended the stairs. Dirst then looked straight up the column and into the dark sky, grim resolve prevalent on his face.

"Beware, Helios," Dirst thought,"for when I get to you, there will be no stopping me from destroying you!"

-*()*- -*()*- -*()*-

"Is it done?" Treble asked, staring at Helios.

The albino smiled. "Yes, it's done." He admired his image in the slightly marred surface of the Nexus Stone. He then turned to Harmony, the smile still on his face. "See this, dear? This is all of your little friends' hopes and dreams down the drain. This is your preconceptions dashed. This stone is the beginning of a new age without the hope that led you, Dirst, and Nire, rest his soul, away from your precious Celestial Convent and out into the real world."

Harmony scowled, tears beginning to form. "You sick freak. You are not my father; you don't care about me at all!"

Helios's smile widened. "Keep telling yourself that, love." Helios turned back to Treble, stone in hand. "Now, we wait for the keybearer's to show up." He then began to turn away to a third person, but he then quickly turned back, smashing the stone into his manservant's skull. Treble didn't even have time to yell, flinch, or blink. He just watched as the blue crystal smashed into his forehead; then he saw nothing. The limp form of Treble collapsed to the ground accompanied by the metallic clang of his Gatling gun. Helios then pulled a handkerchief out of his white blazer pocket and wiped the blood off of the Nexus Stone. He then turned back to the third figure in the room.

"Good work, Anaximander. You'll make a wonderful general in my new Heartless army."

Anaximander smiled back at him, lavender eyes glinting with pride. "Always willing to help, sir." Helios studied his new found helper. Long black hair, around six feet tall, well built, and completely loyal: something that didn't happen much anymore. And he was a dark keybearer, a true dark keybearer, not an interim fool like Trisn was.

"We'll wait for the four to come up, then we'll introduce them to you and gloat about our victory. Afterwards, we'll commandeer a Nobody, put two of the keybearer's at odds, send them into battle, and escape to begin our assault on Kingdom Hearts."

Anaximander nodded his acknowledgment, then asked,"What about her?"

Helios looked at his daughter. "We'll let her go back with her friends. It's the least I can do as a loving father." His last words were sardonic, and they only served to sicken Harmony even more. As Helios and Anaximander dragged Treble over to the side of the chamber, Harmony could only hope that Dirst would thwart her father's evil plan.

-*()*- -*()*- -*()*-

The ride through the fog column to the opening in the floating stone monolith took around five minutes, all of which Dirst spent once again worrying from hope and despair. However, once all four of them were out of the fog, their mental processes were immediately focused on how to approach the chamber where the Nexus Stone was kept. A myriad of plans were debated, from a small phalanx formation to a silent approach in, but they were all shot down by one contingency or another. So, after a heated debate, the strategy of choice would be a simple, mad rush into the chamber to catch Helios of guard... hopefully.

Requiem was designated to lead the charge, being a decidedly stronger fighter than any of the others. He looked to the others, nodding that they would begin. He pulled his hand up, then raised one finger... two fingers... three fingers...

Then they all charged.

They ran straight into the semicircular opening, keyblades readied for attack. They rushed through a small antechamber hewed out of the tan monolith itself, then into a room made of the same sterile white that the Genesis key had been in. Dirst quickly studied the room, but the only thing he noticed were the figures of Helios, an unknown black-haired male, and Harmony. Upon seeing her, he felt a weight of worry lifted off of his shoulders. He rushed on with renewed vigor, but suddenly an object slammed into his stomach. The breath knocked out of him, he collapsed, gasping for air. He noticed out of his peripheral vision that both Trisn and Requiem had also fallen; Sidrix was nowhere in sight. However, Dirst's head was then slammed into the ground, and the folds of a black sleeve blocked his periphery.

"TRAITOR!" He yelled, his exclamation reverberating around the room.

Sidrix sighed. "You whole people are too gullible. Your emotions cloud your judgments. Requiem even told you that I was not to be trusted, but you did it anyway. And look where your trust has gotten you. A dead end."

Slowly, Dirst's head was lifted so that he could look around the room in detail. In the center of the white chamber was a fountain of crystal clear water the spewed out of a small floating orb. The water was then channeled into two floating plates, where it was then shot into the air and into the bottom pool again. Dirst also noticed the two figures more in detail. He first studied Harmony; she looked unharmed, but her eyes looked depressed and defeated beyond all limits. He then turned to the unknown; black hair, tall, strong, with maleficence in his piercing lavender eyes. Dirst also noticed a keyblade in his hand. One mystery solved.

Lastly, Dirst studied Helios. The albino was dressed in a white blazer, white trousers, a white collared shirt, and a purple ascot. He carried a black umbrella and wore a black rose boutonnière in his lapel; he looked every bit a gentleman. Then, to his utter shock and horror, Dirst watched as Helios pulled a crystal out of his pocket. It was oddly shaped, light blue in color, and around a foot in length: Dirst remembered the description from Riku's words. It was the Nexus Stone.

They had failed.

"Surprised?" Helios asked, staring directly at Dirst. "I must admit, you put up a good fight, but it has all been in vain. You lost so much, came so close, yet failed miserably. You, Nire, Riku, Requiem, Trisn, and my daughter: you all sought my demise and failed miserably. Now I have the Nexus Stone, and Anaximander here will help me achieve complete domination over all things through Kingdom Hearts. You could have been very helpful tools in my plan, but you decided to go to the light... save Trisn. I coaxed him to the darkness, which in turn coaxed you, Dirst, into the light. If you haven't seen it by now, Trisn is your Reflection, your other. He has sought to undo you, seeking the darkness. Now, I bid you all adieu."

He conjured up a dark portal, which Anaximander promptly entered. Then, Helios turned back around.

"Have a nice day."

He then disappeared into the portal. In response, Sidrix promptly let go of his victims and disappeared into a dark portal of his own. Once again free to their own devices, Dirst hurried to Harmony. She was bound by her hands, and Dirst quickly cut her bonds. She immediately fell into his open arms, sobbing and repeating over and over in a whisper," He's my father." Dirst held her close, putting his head next to hers. She felt slightly better in his grasp, but she was still shook up by the sudden realization that dawned upon her: the evil of Helios ran in her blood.

After a few minutes of consolation, Dirst gave Harmony a quick peck on the cheek, then let go and faced Trisn. He was sitting on the ground, staring at the floor with a pensive look. Requiem sat farther off, noting the hatred that was boiling in Dirst's eyes. He looked between the two, noting the uncanny resemblance he had never looked for before.

Dirst drew his keyblade, advancing towards his other. "You. You were helping Helios."

Trisn jumped up, drawing his keyblade, a negative image of Dirst's Lightside, in defense. "What?! I hate Helios. He imprisoned me in the godforsaken Prison of the Void for my hospitality! Is that reason for helping him?"

"You chose the darkness. You operated through the darkness in him!" With that, Dirst charged forward, attacking Trisn with a quick swing of the Keyblade. Trisn parried, and the two began combat. A flurry of blows were exchanged between the two others. They battled and battled until they began moving around. Requiem ran over to Harmony and led her away from the fray between her love and his Reflection. Slowly, the two battled their way up to the Fountain of Forever, neither gaining any advantage or wounding the other. They stepped into the water, still fighting. Dirst stepped back and swung low at Trisn. In turn, Trisn swung downward to block the blow, but in the process he hit the ball from which the water spewed from. Instantaneously, a blinding light enveloped them, ending the fight for the moment.

Harmony and Requiem averted their eyes for a few moments, then the light faded. They turned back, and Harmony gasped as she saw neither of the two there. She slowly walked forward, her pace slowed from shock. As she neared the fountain, she stopped, listening to the splash of the fountain on the water. Then suddenly, a white circle opened up in front of her. Harmony looked away, and the circle disappeared. She quickly turned back and looked at the figure before her. It wasn't Trisn.

But it wasn't Dirst either...

[Merlin326]

and so the end begins (does that even make sense?). Helios is on the verge of victory, a traitor has been discovered, and a dark keyblader found. i must say, things look like their about to get very tense very quickly.

overall, another superb chapter, maty. until next time...

with all due respect,
Merlin326

[Davy Jones]

And now, the short epilogue...

-*Epilogue*-

Birth By Death

The swirling inferno fell from the sky, raining meteors on his body. Nire couldn't move; he was paralyzed in pain and shock. Blood stained the white of his shell covering. Fear suddenly gripped him: he was going to die. Tears formed in his eyes. He had endured such tragedies at a young age only to die far from home on the quest of a lifetime. Fear gripped him tighter, like an icy vice; it flooded his body in a monsoon of feelings. It was the one thing he didn't expect and couldn't face.

The first meteor hit him. A blast of pain exploded in him like a bomb. The enormous boulder crushed his body, but it failed to quench his spirit. Then the next one fell, missing him by inches. Nire yelled as a third boulder crushed his legs.

"Please!" he pleaded to some unknown entity. "End this torture!"

Boulder rained down in a furious hail of death and hate. One after another, the boulders struck him, and eventually his senses numbed and his vision was blacked out by the mountain of stones over him. He felt nothing.

But he wasn't dead.

Fatigue filled his begin. His mind became fuddled and disoriented. he knew he was slipping away, but somehow he didn't care. The icy vice released its hold on him. Soon, his eyes closed, and the blackness swallowed his world. Soon, he heard noises. Nire tried to look around, but couldn't, his eyes still blind, his body numb. But the noises sounded like a battle. Within a few minutes, a voice came distinctly into range.

Dirst.

Nire cried out, but he heard no words. Was this the death he had feard? Dirst continued to speak to Nire as if he were alive, breathing heavily. Disoriented from his lack of sight and touch, Nire was unsure of what was happening, but he trusted dirst to take care of him.

~/~\~ +~/~\~ +~/~\~

Silence filled his consciousness.Nire had heard Dirst leave with Harmony. His two friends were nowhere near now.

Suddenly, he heard the slamming of doors and footsteps. A string of unintelligible words the room, then a loud wooden clunk followed. Nire was unsure of what was happening. Then, the voice of the chanter shouted, "Duae Flammae!", and the crackling of flames all around him sounded. He felt nothing of the fire, but he was sure that he was being cremated.

In the background, Nire thought he heard a crying person. He focused on it, and he managed to pick out the sound of Harmony weeping for him. A sadness gripped him.

He would never see his friend again.

~/~\~ +~/~\~ +~/~\~

Light filled his world. He could see his surroundings now. Slowly, his blindness gave way to the living world again. He saw a grey room, complete with nothing. He became aware of another presence in the room. He turned to see a man with long silver hair and a black cloak. His green tinted glasses turned his icy blue eyes teal.

"You are awake," the man said.

"Yes."

"Do you know who you are?" the man asked.

There was a pause, then "No..."

"Such is the fate of all Charlatans. Arise, and we shall give you a name."

He obediently followed the black-cloaked man out of the room, questions filling his mind. Who was this man? Where were they?

"Who am I?"

Soon, the duo headed into another grey room, this one equipped with a desk and a book. The silver haired man motioned for him to sit down at the table. "I am Miltuxhi, and I am here to help you. Please, read through this book, and we'll find you a name." Miltuxhi then turned away and walked out of the room. After Miltuxhi left, he settled down to read the book, which he figured out was a book of history of the worlds. He flipped the pages, noting the different names of people. Sora, Mickey, Xehanort, Ansem, Maleficent, Pete... the recent history had no names that he liked. So he went back to hundreds of years ago. Undrascus, Saturnalia, Volcanalia, Marin, Nicotyryx, Hybros, Marianus-

There. That was a good name.

However, he was interrupted as the door to the room opened, revealing Miltuxhi once more

"Charlatan, we have you a name."

"I have one as well..."

F I N I S

[Merlin326]

i sense a sequel in mind. you have left us with many questions, Davey Jones. Cirque du mort has indeed been an interesting read, but, like all things, it has come to an end.

but, as Lemony Snicket put it, there is no true ending. the ending of one story may also be the begining of another, and vice versa. one story often requires knowledge of another in order to understand everything. indeed, there is no beginging and ending, there is simply the story.
indeed, all stories begin in darkness, with the eyes losed, and they end the same way. of course, teh end of ones story does not nessessarily mean the end of one's life, and vice versa once again. but this story, i can tell, is only a part of another story. the whole story, the one that cant be told completely.

well, enough of my rambling about beginings and endings. good story, Davey Jones, and i hope to see more works soon.

EDIT: it's strange. ever since that fight, i had a feeling that something wasnt quite right abut Nire's death. it's hard to explain, just call it my writers intuition. i had a feeling that there was more than meets the eye there... you have given me even more to ponder (i could probably ramble about this, but i shant).

Your Humble Servant, forever More,
and with all due respect for possibly the last time in this thread,
Merlin326

[Davy Jones]

Thank you for your patronage Herr Merlin. I'll contact you when Cirque du Vie begins, along with all of the others who frequent this fan fiction. I'm thinking about publishing it in a hard bound copy, but there's probably so many copyright problems that it's best not to.

Anyway, thanks again, Merlin326

Your Humble Servant,
Silence Dogood... er, Davy Jones...

[Merlin326]

Originally Posted by Davy Jones

Thank you for your patronage Herr Merlin. I'll contact you when Cirque du Vie begins, along with all of the others who frequent this fan fiction. I'm thinking about publishing it in a hard bound copy, but there's probably so many copyright problems that it's best not to.

Anyway, thanks again, Merlin326

Your Humble Servant,
Silence Dogood... er, Davy Jones...

lol, someone else knows where i got that bit from. anyway... what does Cirque du vie translate to?

with all due respect (again, maybe the last time in this thread),
Merlin326

[Davy Jones]

Originally Posted by Merlin326

lol, someone else knows where i got that bit from. anyway... what does Cirque du vie translate to?

with all due respect (again, maybe the last time in this thread),
Merlin326

Cirque du Vie translates to Circus of Life (the obvious opposite to Cirque du Mort, though not as cool sounding). And yes, power to National Treasure!!!

[Xuan]

Ok ok, you guys finally got me. I'll start reading this story even though the classic title repels me everytime I wanna read it. Guess I'll just extend the post time of my short story

Edit 1: Okay, it took shorter time than expected (As I continue to surprise myself, MUAHAHAHAHA!), but still, this story is good. Although I don't really like the death of Sora or Kairi or Riku (Of course not, I'm a soft guy LOL).

Predictable story however.

So Trisn and Dirst finally reunited. And again my suspicions are confirmed: Nire is not dead. Well, in a sense, not dead.

Who is the true cursed angel? Ahahahaha... I could guess it now and then.

[Question!]

Crap! I completely forgot about this. I'm going back to read the chapters now!

[Davy Jones]

Welcome, Xuan! Thank you for finally reading my fan fiction, and thank you for your comments.

[Xuan]

Np, Davy Jones. By the way, I'm near finishing my short story. It's been hell trying to complete it, cause I've lost some of my touch, especially the horror touch (Which I loved most, DAMN!)

Okay, I've finished it. This time I failed myself. T.T!

[Aqua]

This has been amazing to read, and I have truly enjoyed it. Please let me know when you begin the sequel. Thank you for sharing this wonderful story.

Aqua

[nojerom_14]

Davy. You better make a sequel. I want to know what happens. This fic is so freaking unique. I want more, danget!!!!!!! >.<

But the chapter and the epilogue, that was lovely.

[Jub Jub376]

Davy Jones, you have the ability to write, and write well, despite problems. I hope to see Cirque du Vie, and more of what happens afterward. May you harvest more souls, and in turn, draw more readers to your facsinating chapters.:thumbup:

Awesome.:thumbsup: