Sorry this update took so long. I had some personal business happen in my family lately so I didn't have time to work on this story. But I'm back, maybe temporarily, and I'm giving you guys a longer chapter to compensate for the long wait. I'm not sure how I'll be updating for awhile. My life is getting really complicated right now. And school will be starting soon (August 29) so I'm going to be buried in mountains of homework.
-RA Pointless
Chapter 9: Contract with the Devil
Darkness. It flowed around him as though he was deep underwater. He couldn't see his own hand in front of his face. His hand still gripped the Keyblade, unwilling to let go of this mystical blade. He kicked around, trying to swim upward. He couldn't, trapped in a free fall through the dark. He couldn't breathe and his thoughts were foggy, unable to make a single clear idea.
Sora had, in short, hit rock bottom. The execution chamber was slowly working its magic on his mind, destroying him from the inside out. He could feel it eating away at his body, mind and soul. Yet as he gripped the Keyblade the process slowed. It was as though the Keyblade was trying, in a fruitless way, to protect its owner. Yet, hard as Sora tried, the magic from within could not be summoned. If it could, he could use a shield spell to defend himself from this. But he couldn't.
He'd just given up hope, ready to fully except his own death. He wanted his last thoughts to be happy, so he thought of Kairi.
Instantly the pain started to slip away. He could feel the heat of the Keyblade's magic at his fingertips. He gripped the blade tighter and began calling on its magic.
Kairi and Riku stepped off the Gummi Ship and walked into the Airship Port. They showed their passes to the men at the gate and proceeded out of the terminal and into Agrabah. They immediately purchased new clothes to mask their identities and checked into a hotel on the edge of town. They got one room, allowing Kairi to sleep and Riku to watch over her.
"Riku, do you think that Sora is okay?" Kairi asked.
Riku smiled. "He'll be fine. Sora knows where I was supposed to bring you after the fight. He'll know how to follow us."
"Where are we going anyway?" Kairi asked. "You haven't explained any of it to me."
"In good time Kairi. In good time," Riku said. "Now go to sleep. We have a lot of traveling to do in the morning so you'll need your strength."
Kairi nodded and climbed into bed. "What about you? Aren't you tired?"
"No. I'll be fine," Riku said. "I don't need sleep. My job of watching over you is far more important than that."
Escaping the Execution Chamber had taken more effort than previously expected. His body was completely drained of magical power and would take a few days to recharge. Only with sheer will did he make it up on his knees and then onto his feet. He panted, his lungs desperate for air which could not have been received inside of the Execution Chamber. After he'd stopped breathing so hard and his heart rate slowed, Sora made his move.
He moved away from the execution chamber, slowly limping towards the door. Blood was slowly dripping from his mouth, but he didn't have the strength to cure himself with magic.
"k...ka...kairi, I...have...to...hel...p...h...er," Sora stammered, coughing violently. "Ri...Riku. D...do...you rememb...e..r...our...pro...mi-"
His knees came out from underneath him and he hit the ground with a sickening thudding sound. He coughed again, this time shaking as though having a seizure. He vomited, mostly blood, and felt thoroughly incapable of anything. But he refused to give up. Using only pure willpower, for his body had given up on him, Sora rose to his knees, then onto his feet. He leaned against the wall and slowly moved himself along, shifting most of his weight to the wall, and slowly made his way across the long hall towards the exit.
He reached the stairs and fell down onto them. He began to crawl, unable to summon his wings or to use the railing of the stairs to pull himself along. As he went, Sora left behind a thick trail of blood. Every few steps he had to stop as the shaking constantly racked his body. He threw up again, and then again. He was getting worried. Too much blood had already been lost. Anymore and Sora might...No. He had to keep himself alive for Kairi. Overcoming the unbearable pain within him, Sora went on. It hurt. Without the fierce determination and the fiery passion to see Kairi again, Sora would have collapsed from it.
At the top of the stairs, Sora finally gave out. Even his own will was giving up on him. Death, it seemed, was still going to take him. Even if he could get out of here, there was no way his body would survive the trip to the meeting place. Sora's mind raced. There had to be something he could do...something.
That something came to Sora at once. As though summoned by his very will. The power...of darkness. It was the one chance he had to get to Kairi. But could he succumb to such an awful power? A power that had perverted Riku?
"Don't think too much on it Sora, just embrace it," came a cold voice.
Sora froze. Whatever feeling he had left in his body was now gone. His blood ran cold as though his body had suddenly become a freezer. The voice...he recognized it.
"S...Seph...iroth..."
Indeed it was. The King of Hell had returned. Though he didn't have a body. He was just a mean spirit, less than a ghost. Still alive but barely.
"Sora, I can give you the power you need to reach your beloved," Sephiroth said calmly. "Honestly, what's the choice here Sora?"
"Y...ou can't be tr...usted! I remem...ber what you did...what you did to r..i..k..u...," Sora managed to choke out.
"Hehehehe...Sora, Sora, Sora. Why can you not just trust me. The darkness will not harm you. It will just make you more powerful. You shall be able to do anything, even to protect Kairi from anyone," Sephiroth snickered. "Think about it. If you die now, what is to stop me from possessing Kairi and leading her to oblivion?"
Those words hit a chord deep within Sora's heart. If he didn't except Sephiroth's help, Kairi could be killed. But if he did except the Hell King's help there was no telling what kind of damage Sora could cause. Supposing Sephiroth gained complete control of his body. With the Keyblade under his control, Sephiroth could destroy the entire world. Heaven would be obliterated and Sephiroth would rule Heaven, Earth and Hell. All would be his...but Kairi.
"Sephiroth...do it..."
"Excellent!" Sephiroth said evilly.
End of Chapter
