I know, it's been a long time. Sorry for that. I don't know when the last (?) chapter will be done. I gotta do some research into a certain sorceress....
Chapter Eight: Into the Rose Garden
Leon fiddled with a loose knob he had discovered while they were lifting off. It did not actually need repairing but it gave him something to focus on other than Quistis' last words to him. Everything he had said to her had been true; he liked Riku and enjoyed being with the teenager immensely. They had developed a rapport that was strong and, in an odd way, comforting.
Now that he was really thinking about it, he started to recognize just how deep his feelings for Riku ran. Quistis had been correct; he had submerged himself completely in the mission and become blind to what was happening right in front of him. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say within him.
Taking a moment to cast his gaze toward Riku, he noted the terseness of the boy's expression. Riku had become rather quiet since leaving the Land of Dreams and Leon could not decipher why. He did not know what the boy had discussed with Cinderella but he had seemed at peace afterwards. This reserved attitude had not started until they were back on the Gummi ship.
He felt the need to say something, "Riku."
Aqua colored eyes shifted toward him; "Yeah?"
Now that he had the young man's attention, he was at a loss for words. Talking simply for the sake of talking was never something he engaged in and on those occasions where someone else would, he usually responded with minimal words. Everyone knew he was not very loquacious.
Silently clearing his throat, Leon said the first thing that came to him. "We should get some rest."
"I know," Riku agreed, shifting his head. His long bangs fell to cover the bit of his eyes that Leon had been able to see. "There's just…a lot working through my mind right now and it's more important that I have a clear head if we do end up confronting Ultimecia in the Rose Kingdom."
While Leon had to agree, he knew that physical rest was just as important. He had a lot on his mind too, however, and he felt it hypocritical to try pushing the youth to rest when he knew that he himself would not be doing so. Sighing to himself, he tried to come up with some way to remedy their situation. They could not go into battle like this.
"Leon?" Riku asked softly. He did not wait for the sable-haired man to answer. He turned his face toward him and smiled. "I'm happy that you have your friends back. They seem really nice."
Leon had not been expecting that declaration and took a moment to respond. When he did, a smile pulled at his lips. "I'm glad to have them back, too."
"I can tell." Silver-hair shifted and Leon had a clear view of how bright Riku's eyes were; they almost shined. "Your face has lit up brighter with each one. It makes you look so…"
Riku trailed off and cast his gaze to the side. He almost appeared embarrassed. It was a strange reaction and Leon wondered what it meant.
The teen's expression cleared and he stretched his back as he returned his gaze to the older male. "Just…don't get caught up in yourself. You've lost too much time with them already."
Leon angled his head, wondering what that was supposed to mean.
"When I first got home with Sora and Kairi, I wasted so much time fixating on what I did wrong. I really wish I hadn't, but I can't change that. I don't want you to make the same mistake."
Leon was surprised by how deeply Riku's concern struck him. The teenager had gone through a lot with his friends. He knew what it was like to have them taken away and then suddenly returned. He also understood the guilt of having wronged those friends. While Leon had not done that exactly, he had failed them and he was going to have to find a way to make up for that.
Riku chuckled lightly. "You didn't fail anyone, Leon. The sooner you realize that the better."
Steel-colored eyes narrowed.
"I could tell exactly what you were thinking by your expression." Riku flinched a bit on the last word. He slouched some and wrapped his arms around his waist. "How much longer do we have?"
"Six hours."
Nodding, Riku carefully stood. "I think I'll try lying down in the back for a few hours."
Leon nodded in response and watched Riku leave the cockpit. That conversation had seemed strange and random, at first glance anyway. After a bit of thought, however, Leon understood why Riku had said what he did. While their situations were completely different, Riku did know what it was like to be reunited with people he felt he had let down. It also appeared that he understood Leon well enough to know that he was likely to begin focusing on his perceived failure instead of just being thankful to have them back.
He was not sure how he felt about the teen understanding him that well because it was exactly where his thoughts would have gone after the situation with Ultimecia was handled. One of the main reasons he had not tried looking for his friends in the first place was his guilt for not being able to save them or their home world. That same guilt had motivated him to go on this quest after he discovered Zell was alive.
Leon fixed his eyes upon the status display but did not really see it. He knew he needed to rest as well, and did his best to let his body relax. He willed his thoughts to settle and eventually calmed his mind. Only one thought refused to leave him as he entered a restorative state…
Just what was Riku coming to mean to him…and did he mean anything to the boy?
--0—0—
The proximity alarm rang out and Leon quickly returned to full alertness. They were twenty minutes out from The Rose Kingdom and he knew he should go wake Riku but he waited. The boy could sleep until they actually landed. They could discuss their plan of action on the ground.
"Did you rest?"
Leon looked over his shoulder. Riku stood in the doorway, hair tousled and clothes slightly rumpled. The boy did not look like he had slept well if at all. "Some. What about you?"
"I'm fine." Riku took his seat and combed his hair with his fingers. "The alarm woke me up."
"We're fifteen minutes out." Leon informed him, turning back to the controls to begin the landing procedures.
"Good." Riku bit his lip and after a moment, laughed nervously. "This is going to be weird. Sora's the one always fighting the bosses head-on; I'm just the support."
"We'll be fine." Leon stated with more confidence than he felt. He had no desire to confront the sorceress again. "I've faced her before; I know what we're up against."
"She may have learned some new tricks;" Riku cautioned as the ship shuddered slightly, indicating that they had broken into the atmosphere. "She has the darkness to draw upon now."
Leon had not considered that. Riku was right; it was very likely that Ultimecia would have some new powers. She had formed an alliance with Maleficent and would likely have access to the darkness because of that.
"On the plus side," Riku continued, "You know how she thinks and will be able to predict her actions somewhat."
"I should." At least, Leon hoped he could. Having dealt with her before was definitely an advantage. Riku was correct in that, even if she does have new spells and powers, he was familiar with her tactics.
They were in clear view of the planet and, from what they could see, there were two large structures; one was a gorgeous castle with green fields and the other was a dark, spindly fortress in a barren expanse of land. Rocky spires and narrow mountain passes surrounded the fortress, while thick, black coils of thorns lined the actual perimeter.
"Well, now I get the thorn comment," Leon murmured.
"There's no good place to land nearby." Riku looked over the terrain. "I really don't want to have to walk five miles just to get there."
"No," Leon agreed. "If we come in low, hugging the cliffs, we should be relatively hidden from easy sight. It looks like there's a space about a mile from the fortress that would work."
"Go for it."
The older man manoeuvred the vehicle exactly as he said, keeping to the shadows cast by the setting sun as much as he could. Before reaching the location he had noted, he spotted a very large opening in one of the cliff-facings and decided that would be a better place to hide the ship. He broke off from his route and slipped the ship inside the cavern, landing only a dozen or so feet within it.
The ship powered down and he and Riku sat in silence for a moment. While the silence was comfortable, there was a distinct feeling that something was left unsaid; that words were waiting to be spoken, but no one was making the move to do so.
Finally, Riku broke the quiet. "I don't know if I want her to be here or not."
Leon understood exactly what he meant. Standing, he rolled his shoulders and stretched his back. "Let's get this done, Riku."
The younger male nodded and followed him out.
--0—0—
They climbed down ten feet of jagged rock to a narrow path that wound its way up to the fortress. Riku struggled a bit with it but when Leon moved to help him, he said he was fine. He made it to the ground about two minutes after Leon and insisted they move ahead after the other asked if he needed a moment.
They had only made it about halfway up the path when many Heartless appeared. They dropped from the sky and appeared over the nearby cliff-facings, swarming the two allies. There was a fair mix of different ones and at various strengths.
Without a word, Leon and Riku split-up. The teen fell back to remain behind the cluster as the elder moved forward. While Leon handed the oncoming adversaries, Riku picked them off from the rear. Since the Gunblade specialist distracted the majority of their adversaries, Riku had little trouble cutting through those in the back.
This system worked until another batch of the creatures appeared behind Leon. The steel-eyed man was enclosed and cut off from Riku. Quickly rethinking their tactics, Leon moved to the wall nearest him. After checking Riku's location, he unleashed Blasting Zone. He then ran up the opening he created to rejoin the teenager.
"Change in plan."
"I guessed that." Riku slashed at the rare truffle beside him and threw up a Dark Shield to block two gargoyles that tried to rush them. "Cut up the middle and keep moving?"
"Yep."
Each took a side and began the slow push forward. They made sure to stay even with one another, sweeping across the width of the passage. When the first group was handled, they only had a few moments before a second followed and the same happened with the third and fourth. The exercise was more tedious than difficult.
Even though there were no significantly powerful ones, Leon noted that Riku was steadily weakening. He started strong with little difficulty destroying the Heartless in his way. By the third grouping, it was visible that there was less strength in his physical attacks and he had slowed significantly. On the fourth, Leon stepped over and ended up handling most of their advisories, letting Riku fall back into a support position. Despite the clear physical weakening, his magical powers remained fairly strong.
They finally made it to the wall of black thorn bushes surrounding the fortress and the remaining Heartless disappeared. Riku was breathing heavily but when Leon moved to check on him, Riku moved away and toward the ten-foot high barrier. As he examined it, he removed a potion from his pocket and drank it.
This action did not assure Leon.
"How thick do you think this runs?" The younger male asked softly.
"My guess would be fifteen to twenty feet." Leon replied, also placing his attention on the next obstacle. He was only able to focus on it for a moment, however, before his gaze returned to the teen beside him. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah," Riku spoke quickly. "I got grazed back there but the potion took care of it."
The youth was still pale and clearly in pain. The potion probably needed a few more minutes to be fully effective. Leon decided they could spare that time. "Let's stop and figure out our next few steps while we can. It's likely that once we're inside we aren't going to have a chance."
Nodding, Riku went to a nearby bolder. He sat upon it carefully and kept his face down. "We're probably going to have to hack our way through the thorns."
"It looked pretty uniform from the air," agreed Leon. He rested the Gunblade on his shoulder and leaned his weight to one side. "I really don't want to use Revolver as a machete."
"I don't think my Keyblade is going to work on it." Riku stated in a dry tone. "It doesn't really have a cutting edge."
"I wonder if we could burn through the vines," The elder of the pair mused, glancing back at the thorny growth. "They look rather dry."
"It's worth a try." Riku slipped an arm around his waist. "You'll have to do it. My elemental magic is…weak."
Leon had noticed that some time ago. He had yet to see Riku use any form of elemental magic in the entire time he had known him. At first, Leon had seen this as a weakness but the boy had proven that he did quite well without it. "The skills you do have more than make up for that."
"That's what I've been told." The teenager smiled a bit. "I like what I can do. In the beginning, I was afraid of the darkness but now, it's as natural as the light."
"The balance suits you well." Leon turned toward the organic barrier. He brought his hand to his face and began calling upon Firga. "Let's see if this works."
Straightening his arm, the older male cast out the weakest of his fire spells. There was no point in wasting the larger ones on an effort they were uncertain the results of. He aimed the fire burst at the base of the growth and watched as the flames joined the vines, consuming them and quickly climbing to the top. The smell of burning organic material drifted toward them.
The fire began dying out and it appeared that the damage went back about a foot. As the smoke cleared, Leon stepped closer for a better look. He was a bit surprised by what he found.
Coughing once, he stepped away from the wall of brindle and toward Riku. "There's barbed wire mixed in."
Riku frowned, "Really? That's going to make things harder."
"It looks like there's some locks holding the coils together." Leon added, watching the teen stand up. It appeared Riku had recovered and he felt a wave of relief.
"Interesting;" Riku walked over to Leon's former position. He examined the area himself and nodded. "Yeah, those are locks. …Looks like this is going to be a team effort."
"It wasn't before?"
Riku laughed and glanced over his shoulder. "You know, for two loners we seem to be really well matched together."
Steel-blue eyes met aqua colored ones and for a moment, neither spoke. An exchange of some sort passed in that simple moment, and Leon was uncertain what it was. It felt as though something hidden had been seen and accepted in that moment. Whatever it was, a peculiar sense of peace followed it.
The sable-haired man broke the contact. He stepped beside Riku and casually stated. "We do."
"I'm glad." There was a hint of emotion in Riku's voice.
There was a brief moment between them. Leon decided he rather liked having the teen beside him; it felt very natural no matter the situation. He also realized that he no longer cared why that was so.
Riku summoned Way to Dawn and pointed it at the barrier. "Let's do this."
Leon nodded.
--0—0—
They made a pattern of it, Leon burning away the organic material and Riku unlocking the knots of barbed wire exposed. It was slow going but easy work and they spoke very little. Upon opening the last lock, they stepped into the clearing of the fortress.
There was only twenty feet between what remained of the thorn wall and the tall, black towered building. The interior wall of thorns had black roses, as did the foundation-line of the fortress. There was something darkly beautiful about it.
"Wow," Riku murmured, surveying the area. "I've never seen natural black roses."
"Neither have I." Leon seconded, taking a step into the clearing. There was not a sign of trouble and that made him suspicious. "…You sense anything?"
Riku concentrated for a moment. "The darkness is stirring but there's nothing outside the building."
Leon glanced up at one of the tower balconies. "Be careful. I'm almost positive we're being watched."
"Me too…"
They fell into place next to one another. Senses on alert, they crossed the space to the main door without interference. At the ridiculously tall black oak entrance, they first tried pushing it open but the effort proved futile. Leon moved to the side and watched their surroundings as Riku used his Keyblade to unlock the door.
Even after it was unlocked, the door was extremely heavy and they both had to work to open it enough to slip inside the building. The interior was dark and dusty with tarnished iron candle chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and bare stone floors. A staircase rose from the left of them and there was a second floor balcony running from it.
A few steps in, Riku made a faint noise and brought his hand to his side.
Leon frowned deeply at him. "Your side shouldn't still be giving you trouble."
"It's-"
Riku was unable to finish the statement, as several of the chandeliers flared to life and dozens of troll-like creatures swarmed over the second floor balcony and around the pillars lining the foyer. They wielded crude weapons and quickly moved in, not hesitating to attack.
Leon immediately went on the defense, blocking two of the creatures advancing with the Gunblade and kicking at a third one. No sooner had he handled those than another set came at him. Whatever these were, they were clearly sentient and were using actual tactics in their manoeuvres. He quickly lost easy sight of Riku as he focused on his adversaries.
Making a sweep at one foe and launching a Blizzaga at another, an opening finally appeared and he searched for Riku's location. He spotted the teen at the foot of the stairs, holding his own against a group of five. The teen abruptly turned and leapt up on the stair rail and darted up to the top of it. This gave him the high ground and he unleashed a series of dark auras down at his pursuers.
Satisfied that Riku was handling things on his end, Leon went back to work dealing with his own adversaries. While it was obvious these creatures had intelligence, it was severely limited. They could evade him but fell for every feint. Once he made this realization, the fight progressed and ended quickly.
The last of his enemies destroyed, Leon turned to assist Riku. The boy was still at the top of the stairs but no longer on the rail and he alternated between dark shields to keep the troll-things on the stairs back and picking off the few that got behind him with his Keyblade. One jumped up on the opposing rail and leapt at him, Riku noticing him as he came down.
The silvered male succeeded in turning him back with an upraised strike but lost his balance slightly in the process. In an effort to regain his footing, he stumbled back and hit the rail with his side, grimacing. He quickly recovered, however, and turned back on his defense.
Leon bound up a few steps, cutting down four enemies as Riku dispatched his last three. The teen wore a pained expression and he leaned heavily on the rail as the older man approached. He was not even trying to disguise the pain he felt.
Without asking permission, Leon carefully pulled Riku's shirt up. There was a horrendous bruise and obvious swelling in the area of his lower rib. "Riku…this looks broken."
The younger male exhaled slowly. "I really… didn't think it was that bad."
There was no way Leon was going to let Riku continue on this condition. Anger rose up in him that Riku had not told him about the severity of his injury. "You should have said something."
"I'm not letting you deal with her alone." Riku declared.
"That's not your call." Emotion crept into Leon's voice. "This could have waited until we knew you were okay."
Riku was giving him that look again. "I'll be fine. Ultimecia needs to be stopped before she can start anything."
"Not at your expense." Leon shot back. "Your well-being is more important to me. The worlds can wait."
The words were impulsive and Leon surprised even himself with them. His feelings for Riku were much stronger than he thought. Surprisingly, he did not find himself nearly as troubled by this as he had been.
He felt Riku's eyes on him and instead of acknowledging it; he began thinking about something he could use to support Riku's injury. He entertained the idea of taking the teen back to the Gummi but he knew there was no way Riku was going to cooperate with that. The boy was too much like him when it came to supporting his friends and fulfilling obligations.
Forming an odd idea, Leon began removing the largest of his belts. It was a good two inches wide and while it was not a great option, it would add some support to Riku's wounded ribs. "Lift up your shirt."
Riku did as told, curiously watching as the man took the belt and began wrapping it around his lower chest. The width pressed against his skin as he tightened it and he bit back a hiss of pain. Leon's movements became gentler as he murmured an apology and finished fastening the leather in place. As he pulled his hand around, Leon traced his fingers lightly along the bruise.
"That should help," He stated softly, glancing up to meet Riku's eyes.
Aqua eyes swirled with a mix of emotion. "I'm sorry; I'm going to be a burden now."
Leon reached up and brushed away some of Riku's bangs. "You're never a burden."
Riku barely nodded.
Leon forced himself to get back in focus on the task at hand. He took out an elixir from a jacket pocket and handed it to Riku. "What can you sense?"
"The darkness is gathered in the south side of the building. I think there's a few traps… I sense some disruptions in the flow of it." The teenager shook his head. "Don't waste that on me; you may need it later."
"Take it." Leon spoke firmly. "I have a few more and I need you as close to one hundred percent as you can be."
Riku reluctantly took it and drank the fluid down quickly, making a face. "That's worse than a potion."
"Definitely;" Leon straightened up and held out a hand toward Riku. He looked him in the eyes and saw when the elixir began taking hold. "Ready to finish this?"
Riku took his hand and allowed the older man to help him stand. "Let's move ahead."
