(Jenny’s P.O.V)
“*Yawn* Damn Master. He could have at least warned us about the ride.”
I opened my eyes, and saw that i was lying on a sidewalk. Really? Couldn’t I have woken up on a couch or something.
But wait, there's something wrong here. Once I get to my feet, I saw I was just in a suburban neighborhood, but it looked familiar. Another weird thing is that the world around me was all black and white, like those old silent films.
“This is creepy. Where have I seen this place before?”
I look around a bit more, until I found a mailbox that had the name, “Braddock.” on it.
My old last name.
I know where I am now. I’m back in our old world. But why is everything black and white? And why am I here anyways?
‘You gotta face your inner darkness.’ The Master’s words rung in my mind.
“Tsk.” I clicked my tongue. My inner darkness, huh? How am I supposed to find it if I don’t know what it is?
Well, might as well start inside my old home. Hopefully HE won’t be in there.
(Scene Change)
Bleck, even being in this place gives me a bad taste in my mouth. I walked up to the front door, and the door was unlocked so I just walked in.
This place looks the same as when we left. Though it’s lacking in the smell of drunk bastard.
If nobody could tell, I didn’t have a great relationship with my father, if you could call him one. During the first few years of my life were normal, like any other family. My mother was a regular housewife, while my dad, he was a professional boxer. Boxing has been always been a big part in the Braddock family, my grandfather James being a world champion before he died and my dad wanting to be like him.
We had a happy life, that was before my mother died in a car crash when I was six. That’s when it all went wrong.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of something being hit repeatedly. It sounds like it’s coming from the home gym. Where most of my worst memories happened.
When I walked in, I saw my old man, Jack Braddock. Tall, brown hair and eyes, scruffy looking, wearing boxing gloves, that about sums him up. But what surprised me is who was in front of him.
It was me.
An eight year old me, with boxing gloves on, on the ground with bruises all over her and panting out of fatigue.
“Is that really all you’ve got?” Dad asked my past self with a condescending tone. “If that’s all the strength you have then you have no right to call yourself a Braddock. I knew you were just a weak little girl.”
Bastard! This is why I hate him so much!
When my mother died we both took it really hard, but it was Dad that changed the most. Once a proud man who looked at his family with nothing but love, turned into a disgruntled drunk who wanted to change everything about me. I was the spitting image of my mother, and that didn’t sit well with the old man. The time after my mother died, dad raised me like a boy so I wouldn’t remind him of his dead wife.
That brings us to this moment here. Being a Braddock, he wanted me to learn how to box and be tough, but his way off teachings were more compared to torture.
In that house, while he called it “training,” I was abused by my father. He claimed that he was preparing me for when the world tried to push me around, but I always knew his true intentions.
Why am I seeing this?! Is this the inner darkness the Master was talking about? What am I supposed to be learning here?
“And to thing after all my training, you haven’t learned a single thing.” I heard my Dad say. I look up, and he was looking right at me.
“You can see me?” I asked.
“Yeah I can see you. But I don’t see much.” He said, making me growl in anger. “I still see the same, weak, little girl. You still hanging with those weakling friends of yours?”
“You old bastard!” I charged at him, ready to drive my fist into his face. Only for him to stop me by punching my stomach, and he kicked me away.
Damn it! The old bastard still has some steam left in him.
“You really thing you can take me on? I taught you how to punch, showed you your first kick, how to get back up when you are overpowered. Don’t think you can surpass your father so easily. How about you warm up with some opponents more your speed.” He slammed his fist down on the ground, and about a dozen Unversed appeared.
On instinct I summoned my Keyblade, but something was off. In my hands wasn’t Ursus, it was a default Starlight Keyblade!
What happened to Ursus?!
I had no time to think when an Unversed came charging at me. I quickly rolled out of the way and swung at it, making it disappear. Tsk! I’m not used to something so lightweight, but it’s all I got.
So I fought. The battle between me and the Unversed had eventually lead to outside the house so I had more space to apparate. While I was fighting, the old bastard just sat idly by with that smug look on his face.
The last Unversed fell. I was only slightly winded, but I will manage.
“So you actually do have some skill. Probably due to what I’ve taught you.” Dad said before walking up. “It’s time for the final round. You vs. me” He held out his hand, and Ursus appeared!
“What are you doing with my Ursus you old Bastard!” I yelled.
“Hm. So this is the embodiment of your strength? Then by extension, it’s also mine. I’m the one who gave you strength, so this rightfully belongs to me.”
“The only thing you taught me was how to push people around. My strength is my own!”
“Well then, come at me and take it. Let me see this so called strength of yours.”
I immediately charge at him, but he blocked my strike and pushed me back. He smashed Ursus on the ground sending a wave of rocks towards me. I didn’t know Ursus could do that!
The rocks hit me hard knocking me over, right above me I saw Dad in mid air. “Meteor Crash!” As he shot towards me, phantom images of meteors surrounded too.
I stood up and ran out of the way, but the concussion of the impact was enough to send me flying. I crashed roughly onto the concrete ground.
I can’t move, the damage was too great.
“Pitiful.” Dad spat out as he crept towards me. “You have greatness running through your veins and you have nothing to show for it. This Keyblade should belong to someone who has true strength. Not to some weak little girl who doesn’t have an ounce of her own strength.”
Is he right? Am I only strong because of him? That the strength I have is his and not mine?
“You’re just a waste of space, maybe in the next life you’ll find true strength!” He said, he raised Ursus ready to strike.
True strength?
(Flashback Begins)
When I was in middle school, I was a bully. Because of what the old bastard taught me, I always thought that strength was just pushing around the weak, so that's what I did. Who ever looked at me wrong, I made sure they never did it again. If you get what I mean. But then came the day I met Lan, Kira, and Crow.
I was in the sixth grade, and one oday I was beating up some eighth graders who were trying to pick a fight with me.
I stood over two passed out eighth graders, and the thrid one, who was their leader, was backing away cowering.
“P-Please, I’m sorry! Let us go!” He begged.
I only sneered, and was about to give him another beat down, until my fist was stopped by someone holding back my arm.
It was a younger version of Lan, Crow and Kira.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I asked.
“Just let them go. You already took them down. There’s no need to do anything else.” Young Lan said as he and Young Crow stood between me and the eighth graders, who took this time to run away.
“GRR! You let them get away!” I punched Lan across the face.
Lan and I started going at it, Crow and Kira stayed out of it because Lan told them to. I kept knocking him down, but he kept getting back up.
“Why do you keep getting up!” I asked, “Just stay down like the rest of the weaklings!”
“The only weakling I see here is you.” He said.
“What are you talking about?! I’m the one beating you up and you haven't even put a scratch on me! I’m the strong one!”
“Strength only used to hurt people is useless! Beating up people weaker than you doesn’t make you strong. It just makes you a bully!”
This made her stop.
“I may not have as much power as you do. But I use my strength to protect others, that’s true strength!”
That was the day it all changed. It took a while, but I took Lan’s words to heart. It took even longer to make friends with all of them. That day I found those who I want to protect, and I found the strength Lan was talking about.
(Flashback End)
*Cling!*
Just before Ursus cleaved me, I block with Starlight.
“You’re wrong, old bastard.” I began pushing him back slowly. “I do have true strength. But it has nothing to do with you!” I bashed him hard, knocking him back a good distance.
“No one gave me this strength, I found this strength within myself, and within my friends! The strength to hurt others is meaningless. The strength to defend those you care about, that is true strength!” Starlight began to glow. “But you were right about one thing. No one's strength is just their own. My strength, together with my friends, will never waver! And I will use this strength to pound you into the ground!”
Ursus disappeared in a flash of light, and reappeared in Jenny’s hands. Jenny’s Foreteller cloak began to appear around her, finishing off with the mask.
“Time to finish this!”
I charged and hit him with the side of Ursus, sending him flying away. I smashed Ursus on the ground, sending large rocks high into the air. I leap up high with the rocks in front of me.
“Grand Impact!” I swung Ursus at each individual rock, sending them flying down like meteors onto the old bastard. After he was bombarded with the meteors I came flying down and slamming down Ursus, causing a large explosion to cover the area.
When the dust settled, I stood over my father's downed body victoriously.
“I hate you. God, I hated you, and I still hate you! But I knew deep down, all I wanted was your approval! For you to tell me that I’m strong and not just some weak little girl!” I took a deep breath. “But now I know, that I don’t need it. I know that I’m strong, and that’s all I need. But, what do you know. You’re just an illusion for this exam.”
Silence filled the air, until I heard a soft chuckle coming from him.
“I guess you got your brains from me too.” What? “Sorry to disappoint you, but I am really here. Well not exactly, I’m here in spirit while my actual body is back on earth.”
“Th-then how are you here? And why?” I asked.
“God asked me to be here, to help with this Exam or whatever it is.” His grin faded, and he looked solemn. “Jenny. I know you hate me. That you think of me as a good for nothing drunk that’s done nothing but ignore and abuse you. And I don’t disagree with you. I’ve been such a terrible father, and I know that just saying sorry isn't going to fix anything.”
He looked up with a very serious look. “I am proud of the woman you’ve become. I’m glad that you found friends that can be like family too you, when I haven't. You’ve grown so strong.”
He… He said it. The words I wanted to hear my whole life.
I felt tears suddenly fall down my face. Suddenly, his body started to slowly fade.
“Looks like my time is up, and from what God said I probably won’t remember what happened here. So I guess this is goodbye. I love Jenny.” Those were his final words before fading away.
*Sniff*
"Damn old man, making me cry." I said wiping my tears away. But I couldn't help but smile. Guess he wasn't such a bastard after all. Out of nowhere, a door appeared in front of me.
"Guess the exam is over." Without any other option, I opened the door.