Chapter 5: Into the Stars
The darkness had finally engulfed the streets of Commerce City. Now Ryouji and Shirotaka, who had a kind of mutual understanding- neither wanted to walk around the city in pure darkness- were heading towards the only place Ryouji knew- the Accessory Shop on Crystania street.
"Seems kind of crazy to expect that they'd remember you, much less care about you, you know." Shirotaka pointed out. Ryouji frowned. He really couldn't stand the cynical attitude of Shirotaka, but he figured it wouldn't do any good to complain about him all day.
"Look, it's not like we'll be asking for a place to stay forever- they should be able to put us up for the night after hearing our story especially." Ryouji replied. Shirotaka shrugged at this, and kept walking after the black haired boy.
The two finally made it a good ways into the city and were turning around on the cobbled Crystania street. The first thing Ryouji noticed was that the shop light was the only one in the area. He raised an eyebrow at this, but kept going forward regardless. Shirotaka sighed and Ryouji heard him grunt in a familiar way.
"You're pulling out that Conquest Key?!"
"Conqueror Key, and yes! You do realize that Heartless could pop up at any time. This could very well be a trap if they've been targeting you as much as they've been on my back." Shirotaka explained. Ryouji blinked, then nodded in understanding.
'Guess I should get ready too!"' he thought. He clenched his fist around… nothing but air. "Ah crap! I forgot how to do it!!!!" Shirotaka looked back after this exclamation and snickered, walking forward to the accessory shop alone. Ryouji didn't seem to notice immediately, instead he called out to the air: "I summon thee, oh mighty
Keytana!" to no avail. "Duh-dun-dun-dun KEYTANA!…", "GO KEYTANA GO!!!", "Keytana a Go-Go?!" Each phrase was met with the same result of no shiny mystical weapon appearing in his hand.
Shirotaka sighed as he looked at the accessory shop door. It was locked. He figured that'd be the case, which means he'd have to break and enter. "Oh well, this thing makes it easy…" he sighed, pointing his black hilted Keyblade at the door. A glow emanated from its tip, and struck the lock on the door. He kicked it open and stepped into the dusty shop to see… A very big knuckle.
"WHOA!" Shirotaka ducked and followed it with a roll. He barely made it. He heard the door shut behind him and turned around to see a rather jockish man with blond hair in a wild style similar to a crew cut. The man had fighting gloves on for sure, and he was looking quite deadly as he cracked his knuckles.
"What are you doing here?! How did you break that lock?!" The man asked suspiciously. Shirotaka leapt to his feet (as he was on his knee from the roll) and readied his Keyblade. He held a fighting stance that consisted of a Keyblade pointed outward with a straight arm and his back and legs were straight as well.
"I used magic, basically." Shirotaka said after a few moments silence.
"It was sealed with magic," Sabin, the blond man replied.
"My magic's better." A snort was the reply to this. Shirotaka frowned as Sabin's eyes narrowed. He slowly put his fists down and looked at the Keyblade in the silver haired boy's hands.
"Is that….Keytana?!" Sabin wondered aloud. Shirotaka blinked.
'Why does this guy know about the Keytana…. That idiot must have told him."' Shirotaka thought. He looked over towards the door, wondering when 'that idiot', Ryouji, would pop in. 'What am I thinking?! I don't need that loser! I'll be fine on my ow-"' Shirotaka's musings were interrupted by a shriek and a loud crash from a room in the vicinity. Sabin's eyes went wide and he dashed away from the door and past Shirotaka with incredible speed.
"Eiko! Dagger!" he exclaimed. Shirotaka twisted around and watched as he left. He bit his lip, then shrugged and dashed after the man.
"Wait you, how do you know about the Keytana?!" he asked as Sabin broke through the back door of the shop and out into a dark alleyway. Shirotaka finally met the door and dashed through it after looking both ways- Sabin could've only gone to the left, as the right held a dead end. He dashed down and saw a flicker of movement on the out turn of the alley. A big blur of movement followed. Shirotaka's eyes went wide.
What appeared to be a gigantic spider was moving through the air, it's legs dripping a black sinewy material that looked like a poor imitation of a spider's web. The reason its legs dripped this was most likely because it was dissolving slowly as it held two women: Eiko and Dagger, wrapped onto the spider's forelegs. Sabin was leaping up onto a short building after the creature, which took its own leap- far longer than Sabin's- onto a hotel a street away. Shirotaka groaned and dashed back into the alleyway, he grabbed a fire escape's ladder and pulled it down, crawling up it at a heightened pace as he did so, and upon reaching the top of the fire escape way, kept climbing stairs until he was on top of the two story accessory shop. He looked over the buildings- which now had a few lights among them (people were apparently waking up in the hotel, among other places).
The Spider was now clearly visible. It had a black and red Heartless mark over it, and a purple armor covering everything but the legs he'd seen earlier and the underbelly. Its glowing yellow eyes set it apart from any normal creature and affirmed it was a Heartless. Sabin was desperately pushing himself as he leapt over rooftop after rooftop to little avail- the spider's mailbox sized legs were larger and more powerful, and its truck sized body didn't seem to weigh anything under their strength.
'Dang, I need to talk to that guy. He may be able to help… But how can I get his attention when he's worried about those chicks? Oh well, guess I'll just take down that Spider. But how can I reach it?" Shirotaka's thoughts were a flurry of apprehension and frustration as he came to these conclusions. He looked around almost aimlessly, then his eyes caught sight of something. Something he never thought he'd see again…
"A MS?!" He said aloud. The Aries Mobile Suit that had been used to get the Castle Fantasy dwellers there had been spotted. Shirotaka was only able to gape for a moment, then, realizing what this meant, he smirked. "Guess I found my ticket to information! I'm taking you down, spidey!" he said, talking to the air again. He dashed backwards across the roof- the MS was about seven rooftops away. He could clear the rooftops and then hack the suits input, pilot it across the city to the Spider and then just squash it like a bug. Well, the last part wouldn't be possible with the women stuck to its leg, but either way he would be getting somewhere. So he dashed to the edge of the roof and leapt. And he dashed and leapt again. And again. And again. He reached the final roof's edge and leapt from it onto the shoulder of the mobile suit. His Conqueror Key was still in his hand throughout all of this. He aimed it at the Mobile Suit's midsection, and smirked as a click was heard. The cockpit door opened and he flipped down off the shoulder of the sitting mobile suit and into the comfy control center- it had five fairly spaced out seats and a lot of glowing dials and buttons, along with a steering wheel and a holographic map displayed on the backside of the cockpit door. He looked at the map as it closed- it emanated an eerie blue glow to be visible in the dark of the cockpit. 'Well, at least I've got light. Now time to get to work!"' Shirotaka's Keyblade disappeared, and his hands became a blur of movement as he initiated the Mobile Suit's action.
As Shirotaka was gearing the Mobile Suit up, Ryouji was racing through the streets of Commerce City. It was a huge shock to see a gigantic spider's belly as it went flying over the rooftops, especially as he could've sworn he saw two very familiar women attached to its forelegs, but it was even more shocking to see the blond man he definitely recognized jumping after the creature.
'It's gotta be a Heartless!"' the conclusion was sound, he figured, as the thing was too black a color to be natural, and then it was way larger than even a tarantula. He had been running after the creature for quite a while when he saw a distant figure moving about in a manner of thought. It was pacing back and forth and for a second he wondered if he was in a Sherlock Holmes movie.
"I know it doesn't make sense, but I just got a feeling Shadow!" Zidane was saying. Ryouji was racing towards none other than Zidane and Shadow of Fantasy Falls. Zidane was talking to Shadow, not even slightly away of Ryouji's imminent arrival, and Shadow was just now starting to realize what the approaching thing was, though he felt its presence for quite some time. Zidane stopped his musing and pacing in unison, and looked over at Shadow. Shadow was now facing the alley way and, though his mask covered expression, Zidane figured he was smiling. Zidane would've smiled. Ryouji was now out of steam for running for so long, and only half running with his wrists moving rather limply from side to side. He slowed more and more as he reached them, and gasped even more as well.
"T-t-thank G-god I f-f-found you g-guys!" Taking deep breaths, Ryouji collapsed in front of the Fantasy Fall workers and grasped Zidane's leg rather pitifully. Shadow snickered.
"I go-got to t-tell someone… Giant… Spider!" Ryouji finished, his head dipping onto the ground and breathing harder and harder with every passing second.
"Hey, you're the kid that lost his world!" Zidane suddenly said. Shadow blinked down at Ryouji now, not so amused any more. "Wait, a giant spider?!" Zidane asked after realization hit him. He figured maybe the kid had seen only very small spiders on his own world, and maybe never encountered the kind he'd fought before. Then again, if that was the case…
"It's…Heartless!" Ryouji finished. His gasps were slower and farther in between now, and he stood up and thumped his chest a few times to get the air passing better. "Okay…I think I'm better n-" Zidane, Shadow, and Ryouji all stopped and looked up at that moment. For a roaring sound had emerged from the quiet night; a roaring like an engine, and, as though it was a plane, the Aries MS blitzed over the rooftops of buildings, almost grazing more than a few. Zidane's eyes were almost popping out of his blond head, and Shadow had taken an uncharacteristic look of shock as Ryouji looked on in awe.
"CRAP!" Shadow and Zidane dashed off after their simultaneous exclamation. Ryouji turned and watched them leave, then looked back up at the MS. Unsure of what to do, he groaned and dashed after Zidane and Shadow.
The Spider was hopping over its fourteenth rooftop when it hit it. The fist of Locke, that is. The beast stopped its odd crawling over the rooftop and grunted, then looked over at Locke. "Guess I shouldn't've split from the guys to steal that purse… You look pretty tough." Locke remarked to the Heartless.
"Yeah, you should have told us what you were doing so I could pummel you instead of having to look like a sissy when I turned back." A voice reached Locke's ears from further across the rooftops. Sabin was only two rooftops away, thanks to the momentary pause in the Spider's movements. The Spider looked back at Sabin, approaching faster than ever now that he was so close, and then at Locke. Its yellow eyes were wider than ever and its black fangs clicked in anxiety of knowing it was trapped.
"Locke!" Eiko and Dagger yelled. They had stopped their screaming only because of how dizzying it was to be beneath a Spider that leapt so fast and carelessly. Now they were tearing up at the sight of Locke, "you're here, thank goodness! Sabin too!" Dagger said. Locke winked.
"Yeah, unlike savage Sabin over there, I'm quick on my feet when it comes to helping a lady," Locke said as Sabin cleared the last roof between them and landed on the roof of the Spider and Locke.
"Didn't you just get through admitting you stole a woman's purse?" Sabin retorted. Locke blanched and almost lost his footing- he was still at the edge of the building as that's where the spider was headed, and the Spider seized its opportunity. It knocked Locke off the roof, and Sabin, who had leapt over with such confidence that he'd crossed his arms and smirked along with Locke, uncrossed them and looked at the scene in horror. Eiko and Dagger shrieked, and Locke yelled with them as he plummeted below. The Spider bent its legs, and Sabin overcame his shock to run towards it, but it was too late: The spider jumped. Sabin's hand scratched at its leg, but he didn't get a grip, then he backed up and looked at where the Spider was headed with its leap. "Damn!" he yelled.
The Clocktower of Commerce City was shining as bright as ever, and it was a measly (to the spider, at least) 20 ft away. The leap the Heartless had just performed could've carried it several meters up on the high tower. If not for one thing… A gigantic mobile suit speeding in front of it. There was a loud crash again, and the Spider seemed to groan as it hit the leg of the even larger MS. It was truly a sight to behold- the MS blowing out flames from its thrusters, its metallic body stationary in midair due to the pivot of its wings. The weaponry of the suit was left behind, but it was still a threatening body. One that was now getting yells.
"HEY!!! Who told you guys to fly over the city?!" Zidane shouted. Shadow and Zidane were much faster than Sabin, just the same as Locke, and so they had covered a great deal of the city and caught up with the spider. Shadow was even able to dash over and grab Locke right before he fell. Locke grumbled about not needing help as Zidane was yelling to the MS- who he had wrongly assumed the pilots of. The Spider was slowly sliding down the MS like a bug, then it seemed to realize it would drop onto the dangerous fighters below if it didn't act soon, and its muscles tensed as it stabbed its arms onto the suit. It was sticking. Its adhesive nature was apparent as it began to crawl very oddly around the Mobile Suit's body, avoiding the thruster flames and taking a few leaps up its mass. It finally reached the head of the Mobile Suit, then leapt off. It touched down on the face of the Clock tower before Shirotaka managed to amble the Mobile Suit around and sweep at it effectively. He knocked the flying weapon's hand through the metallic clock, as the Spider released its adhesive grip and fell towards the Earth, trailing screams behind it from Dagger and Eiko.
Zidane's eyes went wide as shards of glass, metal, and a clock hand went sailing towards the Earth after the spider. The Spider simply leapt away immediately after landing, and everything hit the Earth at once. 'Kira and Heero would never be that careless… Unless… It's not Kira and Heero!"' Zidane swore under his breath and then dashed towards the Spider and wreckage.
'Dangit, how did I miss… WHOA!"' Shirotaka's thoughts were rather insignificant after a moment, as the Mobile Suit was suddenly thrown from its floating state. The thrusters were out of fuel. "CRAP! No, not now, just a little longeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!" Shirotaka's last word was rather lengthy as the MS fell 200 meters or so and made a huge indentation in the ground. Zidane and Shadow had barely managed to avoid being crushed as the Suit began its descent directly after they ran towards the rubble. Shadow, however, had managed to pull Zidane aside in the same manner as Locke (who was now far behind the others, grasping the wound he'd received from the Spider knocking him off the roof).
Sabin landed next to them, having jumped from the shorter rooftop to the left of the Clock tower. He dashed over to Zidane and shook the boy who was now in shock. Zidane snapped out of it rather quickly. "W-what," he stopped talking immediately and stood up, scanning the area for the Spider. "Where is it?!" he queried. Sabin looked around too. The Spider was ambling around the streets now- wary of too many jumps now that it knew the threat of Mobile Suits. Shadow bent his knees and dashed forward, faster than anyone had moved so far. The Spider didn't seem to notice at first, then, Shadow was hit leg first with the black sticky fluid from the creature's bottom.
"Blast!" Shadow yelled, he'd reached for his shuriken, but his hands were bound to him moments later. 'I was careless; should've known it could do that!"' as he was cursing his idiocy, Sabin and Zidane were rushing forward, but the Spider was also moving towards its newly captured pray. They couldn't possibly make it in time… The Spider had arrived and was bending down for a bite to Shadow's exposed neck… A silver blur hit it instead of exposed flesh.
"Dumb animal, that pissed me off!" Shirotaka landed about 20 ft. in front of Sabin and Zidane, and reached a hand up to catch his returning Keyblade. The Spider shook itself, then stabbed its pincers into the ground, realizing what its new enemy had to fight with and readying itself appropriately. Shadow wormed around on the ground for a second, then managed to get in a good enough position to roll away at the same time as Shirotaka charged. The Spider jumped back and avoided its first slash, then smacked him with its pincer, which Shirotaka barely blocked.
"What are you doing, kid?!" Sabin's voice reached Shirotaka and the silver haired boy looked back at him.
"What do you mean?! You guys can't possibly fight a Heartless!"
"So says you… Wait, Zidane, is that the Keytana?!" Sabin had pointed at Shirotaka's weapon. Zidane looked over, and frowned.
"It looks similar but…"
"ARE YOU GUYS GOING TO HELP OR TALK?!" Shirotaka exclaimed after a while. The Spider growled and swatted Shirotaka into a wall before Sabin and Zidane could jump in. It then turned directly around and sprayed a huge wall of web between the clock tower and building Sabin had leapt from. Sabin and Zidane's eyes went wide as the Spider growled and bent down over Shirotaka, it's mouth stabbed into his shoulder before he could regain his bearings from crashing into the stone wall. "AUGH!" he moaned in pain. The Spider's eyes glowed darkly as it began to inject its poison… There was a slash, and the poison and the fangs were no longer there. The Spider screeched as its mouth dispersed into wispy shadows.
Ryouji smirked, looking at the beast from standing on its back. He'd managed to catch up to Zidane and the others by taking a shortcut (well, actually he'd gotten lost). He'd conveniently circled around the webbing to the other side of the clock tower. His smirk disappeared as the Spider was now twisting and turning, lurching and shaking to get him off. "Whoa, easy boy!" Ryouji said jokingly. Shirotaka rolled his eyes weakly, but he couldn't help but smile. Ryouji jumped off the Spider and landed by Shirotaka with his Keytana out. "Here comes the hurt!" he yelled. He slashed twice in a flash before the Spider could do much of anything, and the web holding Eiko and Dagger dispersed. He then flipped back and spun his Keytana before jumping forward and slashing at Heartless again. The Heartless leapt back in desperation, but didn't go far enough: the web had been cut up by Zidane, who now held two twin daggers. Zidane and Sabin were now standing in front of it, and Ryouji and a staggering- but a still able to fight- Shirotaka behind it. Not to mention two very angry women; Eiko and Dagger, now regaining the use of their legs and peeling web from themselves.
"Looks like its endgame for you," Ryouji said slyly, holding out his Keytana.
"What the idiot said." Shirotaka said, pointing over at his ally.
"Here comes the hurt, you big bad bug!" Eiko added, sticking out her tongue.
Sabin cracked his knuckles menacingly. "Don't do that so loudly," Zidane said after he did this. He was bending over Shadow and slicing him free at the same time as the others took up fighting positions.
"Glad to know you guys are safe!" Dagger yelled over. Shadow stood up and nodded after Zidane finished his cutting. Everyone readied themselves as the Spider began to look even more panicked. Ryouji's eyes narrowed, he bent his knees and charged at the creature. The Spider bent its legs and jumped, only to meet the fist of Sabin which knocked it back into the ground. It quickly counter with a spray of web at Sabin. Sabin hit the ground and the Spider used one foreleg to knock the blond fist fighter behind itself into Zidane- who was running to help. At the same time it brought up another foreleg and blocked Ryouji's slash. Ryouji leapt back and Zidane was, again, cutting webs as the Spider leapt up and stuck to the roof.
"FIRE!" Eiko yelled suddenly. Shirotaka turned to her and gasped. There, in her little hands, was a glowing hot red orb of none other than the Materia that Ryouji had seen earlier. As she yelled she raised the orb and it emitted a spray of flames at the Spider. The Spider seemed to shriek, and it fell from the wall into a slash from Ryouji. A back leg disappeared from the attack.
"So that's magic…" Shirotaka mumbled.
"Hey, Shirotaka, focus!" Ryouji yelled to the silver haired boy. Shirotaka snapped to attention and looked at the new scene- Ryouji was now battling harder with the creature, as the Spider sprayed viscous fluids from its behind again, ensnaring Eiko and Dagger again, though they were struggling. Shirotaka leapt to avoid a spray of liquid himself, and held up the Conqueror Key diagonally across his body.
"You need help with this thing?! Man, I feel sorry for you! Here comes the hurt, you ugly bug!" Shirotaka dashed forward, avoiding a spray of the webbing. He leapt over the spider's abdomen and slashed at its head. The Spider roared again, and shook itself violently at the same time. Both boys went flying, but before they'd impacted against the walls, they were surrounded by black and blue and standing safely on the ground.
"Whoa!" both boys said, managing to stand shakily.
"Are you kids alright?" Shadow and Zidane looked down at the boys. Zidane had asked the question and seemed to be the one who aided Ryouji, while Shadow removed his hand from Shirotaka indicating he was his savior.
"Yeah, but that thing's going on a rampage…" Shirotaka looked back at the Spider, only to see Sabin, free again, dashing forward with his fist held back. The Spider regained its balance and recovered from its pain a moment too late.
"RAGING FIST!!!" Sabin had charged with a shout. His fists became a blur as they moved rapidly against the Spider's body, pummeling the creature into oblivion. The shadowy body of the Spider finally dispersed into shadowy pieces, and the group sighed with relief. Sabin exhaled and dropped his battle stance to walk over and talk with the group.
"AWESOME!" Ryouji immediately yelled, pulling away from Zidane and running over to Sabin. "You've GOT to te-teach me…whoa!" Halfway over to Sabin, Ryouji began to wobble and look dizzy. 'Crap, pushed myself too hard… Oh well, guess…I'll never learn….That cool thing…."' Ryouji thought, his eyes closed as he began to fall- he heard vague voices yelling to him (at least he thought he would be the one called 'kid') but soon the darkness took him.
Ryouji awoke to an unfamiliar room. There were teddy bears and Moogle dolls adorning the shelves, and the white walls were covered in posters with rather childish things on them. There were a few books gathering dust on the green shelves, and beneath a nightstand lay a box marked "Materia". He immediately jumped up. A cover fell off of him. He blinked and looked down at the sheet.
"I guess it makes sense, but I still hate it." a slightly high pitched, yet masculine voice was heard. It was muffled and Ryouji knew it was coming from outside the room. He looked up at the door and saw the door knob turning. There wasn't time to do anything else before the person entered. Or persons.
"Oh, you're awake! Good!… Now tell us everything you know about the King!!!"
"AH!" Ryouji was immediately seized by a shorter boy with brown hair and cobalt blue eyes- it was Heero. He growled at the black haired boy he was holding by the collar, but two more people walked in and one soon dashed over and pulled Heero back.
"Don't be stupid, Heero! We heard about him from the others and this Shirotaka kid," Kira, the figure who was pulling Heero away from a very scared Ryouji, flicked his thumb back to the last figure in the room- Shirotaka.
"So the idiot's finally awoken. That's good…." Shirotaka looked as though he wanted to say something, but trailed off. Ryouji blinked, then looked apprehensively at the other two.
"T-the king?" he asked.
"King Grifeth… But we know you probably don't know him.. It's just… Well-"
"You have the Keytana." Ryouji and Kira, who was just cut off from his explanation, jumped. Shadow had entered as mysteriously as ever, and had his arms folded over his middle with one foot on the wall he was leaning on. His covered face was turned towards Ryouji. A few footsteps later, Zidane walked in. He was looking rather flustered, but, aside from that, okay. "Ah, Zidane. Perhaps you should explain." Shadow said. Zidane frowned as he entered through the doorway fully and looked over at Ryouji suddenly in surprise.
"Oh, you mean to Ryouji-" he said to Shadow, then immediately turned to Ryouji, "Sorry, didn't know you were awake!" He put a hand behind his head and laughed a little.
"Ah, it's okay… What are you supposed to explain?" Ryouji asked. Zidane blinked, then coughed a little.
"Well, er, as per request of Queen Gema White of Fantasy Falls… We would like for you to find our King, Grifeth." Zidane said plainly. Ryouji raised an eyebrow, still quite lost.
"Your world is obviously not the only one inhabitable." Kira took over for Zidane's rather bad explanation, and stepped forward. Ryouji looked over to him.
"Yeah, guess you're right…" Ryouji stopped talking suddenly. He remembered what was said about his world now, what he heard back in the accessory shop. Could it be true? Could his world actually have been destroyed? "But… was." the black haired boy gulped and looked down, squeezing the under sheet of the bed. Everyone else looked down, with the exception of Shirotaka, who, nonetheless, looked rather sympathetic.
A few moments passed in silence, then Ryouji looked up suddenly. "Heartless." he said. "What are they? That's what that Spider was… Right?" Ryouji couldn't be sure himself, but he noticed that the Spider, and all of the things that Shirotaka had identified before held the same mark on them somewhere.
"You're smart-" Shadow began.
"Not really-" Shirotaka mumbled. Shadow looked over at him and Shirotaka looked away and shrunk back into the doorway's crowd.
"The Heartless are… Creatures of darkness, that devour worlds. You've undoubtedly come across them before… When your world was destroyed." Shadow finished. Ryouji nodded. "They seek to bring everything into the same darkness as them. In truth, your world wasn't so much destroyed as buried in the darkest depths of… Darkness." Shadow said. Ryouji blinked.
"So… My world could still be saved?!" he exclaimed, a bit over eager.
"Well… Not necessarily…" Shirotaka replied for Shadow. Ryouji slackened and leaned against the bedpost solemnly. He then looked back at the wooden bedpost and frowned.
"Where am I?" he asked suddenly.
"You're in my room!" Eiko had stomped in. She was quite angry, as was evident by her manner of stomping, and pouted as she looked over at Ryouji in her bed. Ryouji sweated a little at her angry pout- he remembered most of last night, and her fire ability was high up in his mind. Then he was struck by an idea.
"Hey, how did you do that fire thing?" he asked Eiko. Eiko raised an eyebrow, but it was Heero who answered.
"It wasn't a fire 'thingy' it was magic. Made capable by focusing on and drawing out the power of Materia- those orbs over there." Heero said in a very official matter. Ryouji nodded, though he couldn't help but be disbelieving of the orbs being 'magic'.
'More than likely this backwards place just doesn't know the science behind it… Oh well, neither do I!"' the boy mused silently. He then came up with another question. "Who's this King- Grifeth, I suppose?" he queried- the last bit seemed to be confirmation on his name.
"He's… Well, he's our King. We need you to help find him because…" Kira trailed off on his reply. Zidane stepped forward authoritatively.
"You have the Keytana, and it's the same weapon that King Grifeth uses."
Again, dead silence followed. Ryouji looked at his hand. He focused for a moment- remember the Heartless symbol and feeling as though there was a real Heartless in the room right there. This, he had discovered, was the trick to making the weapon appear. It did so and everyone gaped a little. "You mean this?"
"Yes."
"How does it matter what kind of weapon we use? You and another person may use a sword that look alike but that doesn't mean anything." Ryouji said.
"But the difference is, a Keytana is a mystical weapon. Its power is quite great, I'd suspect. And King Grifeth went searching for it and its wielder because…" Zidane trailed off in his reply. Ryouji raised his eyebrow yet again, but didn't have to hold the stance for too long- Shirotaka stepped forward.
"It's the second blade made with the power to seal Keyholes- the thing that protects the Heart of Worlds. My Keyblade is the first." This was what Ryouji would remember in the future. Somehow, the black haired boy just knew it. He looked at his blade and blinked in awe.
"I can seal the Heart of worlds?!" he asked.
"Yeah, which basically means keep other things from interfering with them- it'll prevent the Heartless from bringing other worlds to Darkness." Shirotaka said.
"If King Grifeth knows of its power- which it's a sure bet he does- then he's looking for help to do just that," Zidane spoke up again. "So our proposal is simple… Go with Kira and Heero- they have a ship that can take you to other worlds where you can then seal the Keyholes and look for King Grifeth at the same time. Shirotaka has already agreed-" he looked over at Shirotaka, who was now glaring at him, and cleared his throat nervously. "Er, of course you'll be offered the same terms- a request of the King's, that should be within his power." Zidane finished. Ryouji blinked, his Keytana disappeared and he laid back down in bed. Eiko twitched.
"When are you guys planning on leaving?" he looked over Heero's shoulder at Shirotaka, and Shirotaka looked at his watch.
"Two hours. Nightfall. If you're coming, make your decision by then." Shirotaka said. Zidane looked startled, as though he'd missed something, but everyone else began to pile out of the room.
"W-wait, does that mean you'll think about it?!" the confused monkey tailed boy queried. Ryouji looked over, and nodded with a smile on his face. Zidane stood up straight and turned to leave Ryouji with his thoughts. Before he left, however, he said one last thing: "Ryouji," he began, his back turned towards the door and a hand on the door frame- his voice was delicate and sympathetic. Ryouji inclined his head a little from his laying position with his hands behind his head and looked at his back. "if anyone can bring your world back from the Darkness, it's the King, and, even if he can't…" Zidane trailed off, then walked out silently. Ryouji closed his eyes for a moment.
' "Do you really want what happened to you to happen to someone else?" ' he thought to himself in Zidane's voice. He reopened his eyes with a smile on his face. "Of course, this'll be the perfect opportunity for…" Ryouji leaned over his bed and looked on the floor where he had spotted his back pack earlier. He smirked, grabbed the bag, and began to unzip it…
"He's not coming, let's go already." Shirotaka yelled to Kira and Heero. Zidane made sure to leave a note with the address of the MS on it, regardless of whether Ryouji decided to go with it or not. It had already been 2 and a half hours and the group was still waiting to see Ryouji's black hair and goofy smile appear out of their peripheral vision.
"Maybe, but… Let's just give it a few more minutes, okay?" Kira said.
"Yeah," Heero agreed. Both didn't want to be stuck alone with Shirotaka on a trip across the cosmos, even though they would still end up going even if the Keytana wielder wasn't with them; the King would most definitely want any and all Keyholes sealed regardless of which key it was done with.
"HEY!!!" All three of them looked up, just as Shirotaka was about to resume bickering, and saw Ryouji dashing towards them- no longer in his school boy uniform, but instead wearing an interesting battle costume. He was wearing an open green jacket that had short sleeves and that had "Strength" and "Belief" written in Kanji on the right and left sleeves respectively; shorts that were a dark black; a chain necklace with a thunderbolt at its end was around his neck. As he ran they could see his black sneakers which also had blue thunder running over their sides. "I'M HERE!" Ryouji said, running up to the MS, which was in a sitting position by the Clock Tower.
"About time." Shirotaka said in aggravation. The Mobile suits eyes glowed, and the machine sprung to life as Ryouji hopped in. Everyone else was already sitting and buckled up.
"Nice! I got to get one of these!" Ryouji joked.
"Glad to have you aboard!"
"This is just a lame Aries Mobile Suit, but, with any luck, we'll find my superior Gundam on the way!" Kira said.
"Yeah right, like your Gundam could ever be called "superior"- it's mine that was superior!" Heero retorted. Both of them were in the two front seats, and Ryouji just caught a glimpse of a triggered stick in Kira's hands before the cockpit closed and the only light was the glowing map interface.
"Well, let's get this party started!" Heero said, lifting the piloting wheel up and making the MS respond accordingly. Shirotaka rolled his eyes, then looked over at Ryouji with a smirk.
"Don't get yourself killed… Loser… And don't get in my way either!" the silver haired boy said. Ryouji only smirked back.
The people of Commerce City blinked in shock and awe at the Mobile Suit lifting up from the decimated Clock tower. Its thrusters went into full force, and its great body was suddenly hovering for a few minutes until, with a huge jolt, the machine blasted off high into the sky and away from the city. Zidane, Shadow, Eiko, Sabin, and Dagger were gathered on the Accessory Shop's roof to watch. All of them looked up at the MS with emotional eyes. The way to King Grifeth may have just been found. Now, they were on their way to the stars.
Zidane looked up at the scene with his arm around Dagger's waist. As he felt her head touch his shoulder he only had one thought: 'Hang in there, Queen Gema, I know they'll bring the King back to us!"'
To be Continued
Next time: Ryouji and Shirotaka have begun their quest to save the Worlds and find King Grifeth! They come to the mysterious Land of Water and meet up with a group of rookie Shinobi about to have quite a battle. The Keyhole seems to be nearby, but danger abounds from the group's enemies; Haku and Zabuza. Will Ryouji and Shirotaka be able to keep their lives long enough to seal the Keyhole? Find out next time!
A/N: Whew, well, obviously I've been gone for a while, but I finally managed to finish the hardest part- introduction. So, hopefully, I'll be able to get to this story more regularly! For all those faithful people that are reading, please leave a review. I'd like to know how I'm doing and, to be honest, I'd like to know peoples thoughts on this. Trust me, you'll see faster updates with reviews- they're REALLY good motivators. Not like I won't update otherwise, but, well, you know. Thanks for reading anyway, and see you guys soon (I hope…)