Takeo: A Fractured Heart (Wattys 2019)

Chapter 13: A Slice of Darkness

Takeo looked around with a confused look on his face, "What do you mean? What position does he have in my heart?" 

"This man's name, is Otekax, and he is your Nobody. He is the leftover Darkness inside of you after your Heart split into two different pieces. One half, went to the Darkness, and created a Heartless, which you have yet to encounter. The other half stands before you, ready to defeat you and cement his existence forever." said the disembodied voice, echoing throughout the dark room.

"He's my.... Nobody? I have a Heartless? How am I here right now?!" Takeo asked, firing question after question at the voice.

"Those are answers that you will have to seek out elsewhere. But be warned, Takeo, you two are on a collision course, and are bound to collide soon. That is why you are here, so that you can obtain a new power." said the voice, foreshadowing the coming days.

"New.... power?" Takeo asked. Suddenly, a black swirl started at his feet, the floor seemingly swallowing him whole. "Wait! No! Let me go!" he yelled as the floor engulfed him in Darkness.

Once again, the room fell quiet, and nothing could be heard. The Darkness had swallowed everything, including Takeo.

Suddenly, the whole area began to rumble once more, except this time, it was more violent. There was an explosion of Darkness, and everything reappeared once again, with Takeo and Otekax standing in the center of the platform once more.

However, this time, Takeo had changed. No longer was he a boy wearing dark clothing. Now, he was much taller, looking like someone entirely different. His hair was still spiky and black, but his facial structure was much different. He looked down at himself, and saw that he too now was wearing a black coat.

"What? What happened to me?" he asked himself, not knowing who this person was that he had now become. 

"This is what remains of the Darkness in your fractured Heart, Takeo. The slice of Darkness that Otekax couldn't steal from you when he encountered you at the Palace in Agrabah. The Darkness he had hoped you would never discover." said the voice.

"I'm... like him now?" Takeo asked, his voice still being kept silent.

"No. The Darkness you are channeling now is not fueled by hate, rage, or envy. But instead, by the care you have for your friends. You wish to protect them, but it frustrates you that you are unable, that you are not strong enough. By channeling this, you are granted new powers." the disembodied voice explained.

Takeo's arm raised up, and a large blast of Darkness shot out from it, hitting Otekax in the shoulder. He stumbled backwards, almost falling to the floor. Takeo looked down at his hand in wonder, when he suddenly shot up into the air. He look to his left and right, and saw that a pair of Dark Wings had grown out of his back, and were helping him hover in the air. He did a spiral down to Otekax, where another large explosion of Darkness erupted, launching Otekax to the other side of the platform. 

Takeo slowly landed back on the platform, keeping his eyes focused on Otekax. The phantom image slowly faded away, and Takeo eased up once more.

"With these newfound abilities, with more to discover, you will at least have a fighting chance against Otekax. Now go, Takeo. Help your friends." said the disembodied voice. A bright light filled the dark room, and Takeo shielded his eyes.

Before he knew it, he was back in the Deep Jungle, and it was as if he had never left. He looked down, and saw that he was still appearing as another person.

"Let's hope Emileigh is able to recognize me before it's too late." Takeo thought to himself. A scream echoed through the air, and his head shot up. It was Emileigh, and more of the monkeys had piled on top of her, all attacking. "Emileigh!" yelled Takeo.

Takeo raised up his arm, and shot a beam of Darkness at the monkeys, launching most of them off of Emileigh. She sat up, and kicked one of the remaining monkeys off of her. She turned to see who had saved her, only to see someone she didn't know. Takeo slowly looked over at her, then back at the Heartless that were gearing up for another charge.

The Dark Wings grew back out of Takeo's back, and launched him in to the air once more. He looked down to where Emileigh was, "Emileigh, get out of there, now!" he yelled. She ran over to Jane, where they then decided to run into the cover of the jungle. Takeo made sure that they were gone, and then launched himself at the ground. He summoned his Keyblade, and aimed it at the Heartless. While rapidly spinning towards the ground, Takeo wondered how he was going to explain all of this to Emileigh, or if she would even believe anything he was going to say. Was he stuck like this now, or is he able to change back? The disembodied voice never did say whether he could change back or not.

Takeo hit the ground, and an explosion of Darkness once more erupted up, effectively defeating all of the Heartless in the area. He slowly descended back to the ground, and the Dark Wings disappeared, leaving nothing but dissipating smoke behind. He opened his eyes, and looked up from the ground to see Emileigh, Jane, and now Tarzan standing there, staring at him with horrified looks on their faces.

"Who are you? Where is Takeo?" Emileigh asked, summoning her Keyblade and aiming it at Takeo.

He quickly raised his hands, "Wait! Don't attack! Just wait for a minute." Takeo said, trying to keep the situation calm.

He thought for a minute about how he could change back, when suddenly he noticed something. He could feel an unusual amount of adrenaline rushing through him, and a feeling of slight anger slightly present in his Heart.

Takeo closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Shortly after, Darkness started to fade away from him, and he shrunk back down to his former look. Emileigh looked on, horrified, yet happy that her friend was okay.

Once Takeo was back to his normal self, he looked over at the three once more, and took a step forward. But Emileigh and Tarzan drew their weapons once more, and aimed them at Takeo. 

"Hey, what's that about? You can clearly see its me now!" he said, throwing his hands up again.

"W-We don't know that! You could be an imposter trying to trick us!" said Emileigh, still aiming her Keyblade at Takeo.

"Wait! Would an imposter know this? I'm from Traverse Town, and I don't know how I got there. I met you at the Coliseum after trying to fight the man in the black coat, who I now know is named Otekax. Then we tried to go to Hollow Bastion, when we were abruptly shot down by the Heartless!" said Takeo.

Emileigh looked at Takeo with wonder, then dropped her Keyblade, and walked over to him, "It's really you? What happened? Why did you look so different, and why were you controlling the Darkness?!" she asked, doing the same thing that Takeo was doing to the disembodied voice just a few minutes earlier.

"I... I don't know, Em. But I do know that we need to get to Hollow Bastion, and soon. Otekax and I are on a collision course, and I think that is where we are meant to meet." he said in a much more hushed tone.

"We will, but first, you HAVE to explain what just happened before I go anywhere else with you..." said Emileigh.