A/N: Well, here's another chapter (WHOOPIE!!!). I do hope you enjoy this, because it's a little different than the previous ones. Now be sure to review when you're done, please. Oh, and I would like to thank the last chapters reviewers: Lord Moldybutt and WhatDoYouMeanI'mDrunk, you both get an invisicookie for your support.
Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own Kingdom Hearts.
Chapter 5: The Hunter, or Hunted?
With Terra:
Terra was now in a full blown sprint, he had been chasing this shadow for almost an hour now, and he was barely keeping up. Whoever he was chasing had super-human agility, they must have, because they were jumping and dodging trees as if it were mere child's play. The young warrior had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that was begging him not to follow, but he knew he had too, he knew it in his heart. All of a sudden, the dark figure seemed to increase speed, and like a streak of lighting had disappeared through the trees that seemingly gnarled together to create this forest, causing Terra to lose sight of his prey.
"Darn it…" Terra mumbled under his breath, but he didn't give up and continued in the direction the shadow went. To his astonishment, the young warrior realized the forest line stopped as he rushed through the last set of trees, revealing an opening, and in the middle, there was a large, stony building which appeared to have been abandoned, and had been for a long time, judging by the state of the structure. Terra paused for a moment as he surveyed his surroundings. "I guess there's a good place to look." He thought to himself as he proceeded to the building.
With Sora's group:
"Well, where shall we begin, Master Sora?" Arthur politely asked, his voice was laced with eagerness.
"Um…well, before I can teach you anything, we need to see how good you naturally are. I guess the point is to see what you already know." Sora nodded his head in a dignified manner, it made him feel more "teacher-like" as he would put it (this caused a giggle to escape from Kairi's lips, and a role of the eyes from Riku and Donald).
"How would we do that, Master?" The boy king inquired.
"Heh, I thought you'd never ask." Sora smiled as he stretched out his hand, and with a flash of light, a large, key-shape weapon with a grey shaft and bit and a yellow handle guard appeared in his hand. It was the Keyblade of Light in its purest form, Kingdom Key, to be precise. He assumed his familiar fighting stance, his weapon held with both hands just off his right hip, his torso slightly crouched, and his left leg taking lead position.
"Oh, I see." Arthur nervously answered Sora's challenge by drawing Excalibur, hoisting it above his head in a stance known as "Heaven's Parry". Sora raised an eyebrow, this stance seemed a bit peculiar for Arthur to take, considering the size "mismatch" between the boy and his sword might make him fall over backwards, but then he realized that Excalibur had chosen Arthur, and therefore physical restraints might not be as taxing on the boy, much like him when he used some larger forms of the Keyblade.
With Terra:
Terra opened the door and slowly walked in. If who he was chasing was here, he didn't want to alert them to his presence. After taking a few steps in, he began to look around, noticing that there was hardly any roof left as the afternoon sun fell unhindered into the straw floor below. All of a sudden, he felt the air around him chill, as if life itself held its breath. Terra summoned his weapon: a large, dark gold Keyblade whose bit had pieces of various lengths, the very tip having a rounded edge, and its handle guard was bluish silver and shaped somewhat like wings, as if designed for flight.
"Come out and show yourself, coward!" Terra barked as he prepared for the worst.
"Ah, so good to see you again, Terra." A voice replied, it sounded more like a whispering hiss, and the pitch of the words rose and fell in an unnatural manner, sounding as though it were a snake speaking, almost demonic.
"Wait…I know that voice, it can't be!" The brown-haired man nearly gasped in fright.
"Oh, but it is. I'm so glad you remembered, I was afraid you had nearly forgotten all about us." A shadow in the form of a large circle appeared on the floor before Terra's feet. A figure began to rise from what seemed to be the entry way to the Underworld itself, causing Terra to step back in disbelief. The emerging figure had a solid black, dome helmet that concealed his entire head, from the neck down to his shins he was covered in an armor that appeared to be made of muscle tissue which was colored red round his chest and abs, and black everywhere else. His feet were shod in boots made of similar material. By far, the most shocking feature about this warrior was the fact that he too had a Keyblade, only this one appeared to be made of red and white gears, and the hand guard appeared to be made of red bat-like wings with a large eye right where the hand guard met the neck of the blade. It was Xehanort's Apprentice, a warrior whose true name had been forgotten by others, and himself since he fell to darkness.
"How could I forget you?!? You and your Master killed my friends!" Terra angrily bellowed as he took a mighty swing with is Keyblade, but his adversary easily blocked it. Terre then proceeded to deliver a string of strikes at his opponent, most of which were heavy blows, keeping Xehanort's Apprentice on the defensive.
"And we shall end your life too, when the time comes." The dark warrior seemed to be laughing as he spoke,
"What…do you mean?" Terra grunted as he delivered yet another powerful stroke, but with one, smooth motion, he dodged the strike by jumping over it and performing an aerial somersault to take his back. The brown-haired Keybearer turned around just in the nick of time to roll out of the way of a bolt of Blizzaga that the Apprentice had cast, only to find that his opponent was waiting for him at the other end. Before he could even think, Xehanort's Apprentice had delivered a knee to Terra's gut, causing an agonizing groan to escape is lips as he bent over in pain. The dark warrior then placed his hand on Terra's chest and cast a Firaga spell, blasting the hero through the stone wall behind him
"Heh, you don't see it, do you? Think hard, what do you remember from our last encounter?" The Apprentice hissed as he stepped through the hole that Terra's body had created.
Terra weakly hosted himself to his feet by using his Keyblade as a crutch. "I remember…the Crossroad of the Realms…we fought you and your Master… you had all but destroyed Aqua and Ven…then there was…a heart-shaped moon…Kingdom Hearts…" Terra slowly spoke as his mind slowly recollected the events.
"But what do you remember what happened after that?" The Dark Keybearer again appeared to be laughing, as if he were enjoying the torment that Terra was going through in his mind.
With Sora's Group:
"With all due respect, Master, we've been practicing for almost a half an hour now, may we take a break?" Arthur sat down wearily to catch a breath.
"Yeah, that's fine. You're learning pretty quickly; you're a natural, your highness." Sora was panting himself. He then turned his glance over to Kairi and Riku, but when he did, he noticed that Riku's eyes were closed, and his face was serious, deathly serious. "What's wrong, Riku?"
"Something's very wrong here. I smell something far darker than anything we've ever come across. Sora, we've got to go find Terra, now! Hurry, he's this way." Riku ran off towards his right.
"Kairi, Arthur, stay here, Donald and Goofy will keep you safe." Sora commanded as he ran off to follow Riku.
A/N: Bum bum buuuummmm...this isn't good. Will Sora and Riku arrive in time to save Terra from Xehanort's Apprentice? And what is the dark warrior trying to make Terra remember? Find out in the next chapter, oh, and don't forget to review :D.
~KBMP
