Chapter 2
"So, this is Radiant Garden?" X inquired, his Keyblade once again on his shoulder.
"Yup," Valerie replied. "So how long do you plan to stay this time?"
"Meh…maybe a few days. Even I could use a rest now. I think that was my last Final Destiny for awhile."
Valerie looked at him, frowning slightly. "Yeah, don't you think you overdid it back there? You could have easily taken out all those Heartless without using it, the strongest was a pair of Level 4's in the back."
"Didn't feel like wasting my time dragging out a meaningless fight," was his simple reply. He then looked at her, too. "I mean, c'mon, we haven't seen anything higher than a Level 6 for weeks. They're probably dwindling in numbers thanks to me."
"Us," Valerie corrected. "I carry my own weight, too, you know."
X scratched the back of his head. "Right, apologies. Being without emotion tends to give one a sense of pride sometimes."
Valerie's smile returned. "I know, it's fine. Once you're back to normal, that shouldn't be an issue anymore, right?"
X was silent after that. Valerie took the hint and dropped the subject. Though X was without a Heart, and thus without emotions, it still seemed to rub him the wrong way to mention the fact that he was a Nobody. She doesn't mean anything by it, he thought to himself. She's just trying to help. And besides, you did promise her.
Unbeknownst to them, X and Valerie were being followed – Reno and Rude decided to learn more about these strange visitors, and about this Keyblade and why it was so effective against the Heartless.
"Reno, are you sure that guy won't just kill us if he finds us?" Rude inquired.
"Nope, which is why he isn't going to find us," came his answer. Reno, hair now tied back to normal, was wearing his typical smirk. Being as young as he is, it's only natural for someone like Reno to be rather cocky and playful by attitude, but his strength and skill with his electro-mag rod gave him fair grounds to be that way.
As the two of them sneaked along, they overheard X say something about scanning the town for more Heartless, which made Reno and Rude look at each other.
"Rude, do you think there are more of those bastards back home?"
Rude was silent, but it was enough of an answer for Reno.
"Damnit. So Aerith and the others could be in a bit of trouble." He looked at Rude. "Hey, this guy seems to hate the Heartless, too. Maybe we can ask him for help? He did save our hind ends back there."
Again, Rude was silent. He never was a man of many words. But Reno took it upon himself to answer his own questions just by Rude's reactions, and from how Rude seemed to ignore the question, he took it that was Rude's personal way of saying, "No."
Reno shrugged. "Well, you might not like it, but I still think he could be a big help, even if he is a Nobody." Then, before Rude could stop him, Reno jumped out onto the path behind X and Valerie. "HEEEEEEEEY!" he hollered at them.
X turned around, positioned his Keyblade, ready to strike. But when he saw it was the redhead he helped earlier, he lowered his guard – someone this pathetic can't possibly be a threat.
"Oh, hello again!" Valerie exclaimed excitedly. She always did think anyone that still had a Heart was worthy of calling a friend, even if they're complete strangers.
X however wasn't so gleeful. "Why are you following us, redhead?"
"First," Reno replied, "this 'redhead' has a name, sir." He walked up and extended his hand to X for a handshake. "I'm Reno, and my friend back there—" he nodded his head backwards in Rude's direction "—is Rude."
"He's the Rude one?" X replied with a smirk.
"I mean his name, smart-ass," Reno replied, dropping his extended hand. "We're co-leaders of the Turks, the defensive organization of this district of Radiant Garden."
"With fighting skills like yours, they must not be highly useful," X said. When it came to strangers, he loved to provoke them however he could find.
"X, cut it out!" Valerie finally spoke up, cutting Reno off before he could reply in a way that would get X to strike back. "He's probably here to thank us for helping him a few minutes ago."
"Well, actually, that's ONE thing we wanted to do," Reno said, motioning towards Rude to emphasize he was included in that statement. As Rude finally decided to come out and walk up to the group, Reno continued. "We were also wanting to ask your assistance again, if you could. Those Heartless—"
"Are none of my interest," X said, shouldering his blade again. "We're not out to fight the Heartless, we're busy searching for something that belongs to me."
"That's fine, but can you at least hear me out?" Reno asked as politely as he could.
X grunted, but awaited Reno's request.
"The Heartless seem to have grown out of control in this sector. That stampede back there, that was only a fraction of what we think is waiting for us back home. Our friends could be in danger, and we could really use your help."
X sighed, rolling his eyes. "So much for a bit of rest. If Heartless really are in mass at the town, they're sure to find us." He looked at Valerie, who nodded in return. Then he looked back at Reno. "Fine. We'll get rid of whatever Heartless happen to come along. But don't think this is charity work – I'm simply doing this for her."
Reno smiled. "Hey, I don't care if you're doing it for the helluvit, as long as they're gone and the town is safe again." He extended his hand out again. "Thanks, X."
X hesitated, but then decided to go through with the handshake. He gripped Reno's hand tightly, making Reno flinch. "Just one thing – stay out of my way."
Reno, recovering from the handshake, looked on as X and Valerie walked away towards the town. "Well, that was a pleasant person," he mumbled, but at least he got what he wanted – some time to get to know the strangers, and hope for the town.
* * * * *
"FIRE!" Aerith yelled, as she cast the Fire Spell at the Large Body Heartless in front of her. The flames made the Large Body teeter in place for a moment, blinded by the flames, as Aerith went around its back for its weak point. She then held up her hands for another Spell. "Blizzard!" she aimed directly at the center of the Large Body's back, and the Spell hit dead-on, causing the Large Body to fall onto its front. Before it could get up, Leon leapt and plummeted his sword into the Heartless's exposed back. The Large Body groaned, then vanished.
"One down," he stated, as they turned to the second one behind them. Enraged at the fall of his comrade, this Large Body beat on his stomach and began to glow an eerie purple.
"Look out, he's charging!" Aerith said as the Large Body rushed forward, and they leapt out of the way just in time – the Large Body's iron-like stomach completely smashed the brick wall behind where they stood.
Before the Large Body could turn around, a large shuriken came out of nowhere and stuck right into its back. The Large Body roared in pain. Before it knew what was happening, the shuriken unleashed an energy wave, exploding and taking out the Heartless.
As the blast sent the shuriken flying, Yuffie leapt from the rooftop and grabbed it in midair, flipped and landed between Leon and Aerith.
Yuffie wiped her short brown hair out of her face. "Your welcome." She grinned, placing her shuriken into its holster on her back. Her headband strands flowed gently in the wind. Her mini-jean skirt and her almost too small, light blue shirt looked untouched from the fight they just had with the Heartless.
"Thank you, Yuffie," Aerith grinned at her, her long auburn hair slightly messy from the battle. Her long pink dress was also slightly tattered from attacks by Shadows.
"Show off." Leon shrugged, as he put his Lionheart sword back into its sheath. Standing a head taller than both of the girls, Leon looked a little exhausted from the fight. He brushed his dark brown hair and sweat out from his eyes. His dark blue jacket and white undershirt were both ripped in random places from attacks, and one leg from his jeans was ripped clean off. It was certain he'd done more to defend the girls in the fight than anything.
"Maybe we should get inside before more show up," Aerith suggested. The other two agreed, and they quickly went into Aerith's house. Surrounded by a special barrier Aerith herself conjured, it was specially designed to keep Heartless at bay.
Once they got in, Aerith poured some tea for everyone, and as they all sat down at the table to drink, they began to discuss the events of the day.
"Three Heartless attacks so far, and it's only the afternoon," Leon sighed into his cup. After taking a long sip, he placed the remainder of his tea back on the table. "This isn't good – the Heartless are clearly multiplying more each day. It's only a matter of time before Radiant Garden becomes Hollow Bastion all over again."
"We won't allow that to happen!" Yuffie exclaimed, almost slamming her tea cup on the table. Easily over excitable, Yuffie was well known (and often ignored) for her outlandish reactions to even the simplest of statements.
"Yuffie is correct," Aerith said simply, taking a sip of her own tea. The calmness in her voice seemed to affect Yuffie, and she sat back down to drink a bit more. Aerith continued, "We are still keeping this area safe. Tron is working on the defense grid as we speak, and empowering it to work better against the Heartless. The only reason we were hit by so many attacks today is because there was a slight malfunction."
"Yeah, but it almost got us taken," Leon replied. "I don't mean to dampen your statements, Aerith, but let's face it – they are getting stronger, and one false move means we end up joining them."
"Well, I guess we'll just have to make sure we don't make any false moves," Aerith replied with a sweet smile. Leon sat back, smirking. She never was one to crack under pressure, he thought to himself.
As they finished their tea, there was a knock at the door. Aerith, Yuffie and Leon all looked at each other.
"Were either of you expecting company?" Aerith asked. They both shook their heads. Aerith then looked towards the door. "Who is it?"
"It's Reno and Rude!" came the reply from their favorite redhead knucklehead.
"Come on in, it's open," she said.
"Before we do, we should warn you, we have other company," Reno replied. "Make sure Leon doesn't attack him."
Leon was puzzled, but figured out what Reno meant when he opened the door – the company was a strange girl, and a Nobody.
"Reno, what the hell are you doing bringing a Nobody in here?!" Leon exclaimed, quickly unsheathing Lionheart and lunging towards the door.
As he went to slash at X, before anyone else could react, X quickly countered with his Keyblade, holding Leon's sword off. "Well, if you must know," X began, "it's because I'm not just any Nobody. I'm a Keyblade wielder, too. And possibly the only chance you've got against the Heartless."