Chapter 9

Take Care Of Her

[Veritas]

I ran at Zel, faster than before. When I got close, I swiftly slashed horizontally , which Zel blocked. I then went for an overhead slash, which Zel was anticipating as he raised his blade to guard himself. I smirked and quickly planted my hand on the ground beside me and slide around him to get behind him. "Back off!" I shouted slashing horizontally at him. I then slashed overhead, stabbed at him before ending with Quick Blitz, which caused him to fly forward. I aimed my Keyblade at him. "Ragnarok!" I shouted. Light energy began to swell up in the tip of the Keyblade. I then released it. When it shot out, multiple, rainbow colored energy bullets shot out, flying towards Zel. They spiraled and collided with him. The attack knocked him into the ground, even having him crack the concrete underneath him.

He got back up and dusted himself off. "My my, boy. Where did this newfound strength come from boy? You've been holding back on me?" Zel asked. "This is the power of my friends! And it'll defeat you, you monster!" I said. Zel started chuckling which then turned into a maniacal laugh. "What's so funny?" I asked. "Oh, nothing. I'm just anxious to make you suffer." Zel said. He then disappeared. "W-Where are you?" I asked. "Right here." I heard behind me. I went to turn but I was quickly grabbed by the neck and lifted off the ground. I felt Zel leaned close to my ear as I struggled. "After I finish you off, I'll make sure your little friend over there doesn't suffer to bad." he whispered. "I won't let you hurt her!" I said. I gripped my Keyblade tight and grabbed Zel's tightened hand. "Fire!" I shouted. Suddenly, large fireballs swirled around me rapidly, hitting Zel and causing him to let go of me. 'Huh? That was way more powerful than I expected it to be.' I thought. "That's because you're using mine and Luna's combined strength which exponentially increases your own." Cor's voice said. I nodded. "I know but I didn't expect that. But hey, I'm not complaining. Whatever helps me defeat Zel." I said.

I turned to Zel and aimed my Keyblade at him. "Freeze!" I shouted. A giant shard of ice shot out of the blade and flew towards Zel. However, he evaded it with ease. I watched as the ice collided with the wall and covered it in smoking ice. "Grr, dammit!" I shouted. Zel then sped towards me with astounding speed. He was too fast for me even with my Soul Sync, not allowing me to have a chance to dodge. Once he got to me, he went to stab me through the chest but I managed to block it, causing his blade to slide against mine. I deflected it away and headbutted him in the stomach, causing him to stumble back a bit. "Gotcha! Ars Arcanum!" I shouted. My Keyblade began to glow a vibrant gold color. I began to very rapidly slash away at Zel, bashing him over and over again. After seven hits, I finished my assault off with a somersault slash, knocking him away. He flew a few feet away slamming into the ground. "This is it! Thunder!" I shouted. A gigantic bolt of lightning struck down from the ceiling. It was about to hit Zel, but at the last second he disappeared.

"Huh? Where'd he go?" I asked. Just as I asked that, I felt something lift me up by my hood and throw me with intense force into the nearby wall. I fell to the ground and looked to see Zel dusting himself off. "I'll have to admit, boy. You do have some skill. I mean, very minor skill, but skill nonetheless. However, you aren't at the level it takes to even compare to me." Zel said. "So you think!" I said. I stood up and tried running over to him but I felt something keeping me in place. "What the?" I asked. I looked down to see my leg was tied up by some sort of black, oozing vine. More vines grew upwards from the ground and started tying around my limbs. "H-Hey!" I said. I tried escaping but it was no use. "Dammit!" I shouted.

I saw Zel walk towards me, making his weapon disintegrate. "You put up a good fight, boy. Almost made me consider being cautious. But I was right all along." Zel said, putting his hand on my shoulder. He gave me a smile. A smile filled with malice. I kept struggling to free myself from my restraints, but I couldn't. "D-Dammit!" I shouted. "Shh, it'll be over soon. Once I'm done with you, I'll deal with that girl over there. Hopefully she'll put up a bigger fight than you." Zel said. "You leave her alone!" I said. Hearing him say that made my blood boil. I didn't want him to get anywhere near Hikari. I looked over to see her tending to her father. Zel noticed me looking at her and grinned. "How about I go deal with her first… The despair you'll feel because of it… I'm actually excited." he said, walking towards her. "N-No! I won't allow it! I won't let you hurt my friend!" I shouted. "Oh and what will you do about that?" he asked.

Zel walked back to me and grabbed my face. "That smug little face of yours… let's see the light fade from your eyes." he said. He held out his hand. Black static started forming in his palm. "Extinguish the light, let it be consumed by darkness!" He said. He then went to slam his palm into my chest but a ball of light stopped it. "What?" he asked. I looked at the light, confused. For a moment, I swear I saw Luna. The light then shown itself bright, blinding and knocking back Zel. "Veritas… I'm sorry… I'm so tired now… I'll leave the rest to you." Luna's voice said. The vines seemed to disappear as well, freeing me. I looked at Zel, who was weakly getting back up. "Damn… nice attack." Zel said. I got ready fight but he just stood still. "Well, all and all, nice fight. I'd like to stay but my mission is done in three… two… one…" he said. Suddenly, the building we were in sharted shaking. "Mission Complete… soon this world will fall to darkness. How marvelous." he said. "As if I'd let you do that." I said. "It's already been done my dear boy. Anyway. My time here has expired. I do hope we can fight again soon. Goodbye." Zel said, opening up a portal and exiting. "He's gone…" I said.

"Veritas!" I heard Hikari shout from behind me. I turned and ran over to her and Nao. "Hikari! Nao!" I shouted, kneeling at his side. "Veritas… Please… Get outta here…" Nao said. "Don't worry Nao, we'll find a way to stop this, just hang tight." I said. He held up his hand. A portal golden in color emerged in front of us. "Go… Go to where this leads you… He will help you… out with your journey from now on." Nao said. "What are you talking about Dad? You're the one who needs to help us out." Hikari said. "Hehe… I wish I could, sweetie… but this is your dad's last rodeo… I'm… I'm gonna see your mom now…" Nao said. Hikari started crying as Nao closed his eyes.

"Nao…" I said. Hikari stood up. She then immediately ran for the portal, entering it. "Hikari, wait!" I said. I looked back at Nao, who just layed there. I watched his chest as his breaths were short and weak. 'I can't leave him. I won't be able to live with myself if I let him die here.' I thought. I grabbed him and slung his arm around my shoulder and let him lean on me as I started dragging him towards the portal as the walls around us began to crumble. "Veritas… why?..." he asked. "I'm not leaving you." I said. He just chuckled. "It's already over for me. I… I'm going to be with my Dawn now… Please take care of my daughter… Protect her please... I'm counting on you." Nao said. He began to glow. "N-Nao! Stay with me!" I shouted. "Farewell…" he said. He then disappeared into golden dust that blew away. "Nao, no!" I said. I clenched my fist and looked down. "... I'll keep her safe." I said. I then noticed a pen on the ground. I picked it up before the earth violently started shaking. I then ran for the portal. Suddenly, I got dizzy. "The hell?" I said. "Your Soul Sync limit is up." Cor's voice said. "Dammit! I need to get to the portal… To Hikari." I said. I stumbled forward, wobbling as the ground beneath me shook. I started losing consciousness as I got close to the portal. It was no use. I closed my eyes, falling forward and praying that I made it through.

Hey ya'll, thank you for reading my newest chapter. I wanted to apologize to how long chapter uploads take. You know how life goes sometimes. I try to get these out as soon as possible for you guys so bear with me please. Anyway, thank you for reading and supporting me. Til next time!