Before we get started here (YAY! Another boss fight!), I'm going to answer a few questions.
OMG! hoo iz teh villainz? I can't reveal that yet, but I'll give you a hint. He's not from Kingdom Hearts II (which means he's from Yugioh, of course).
Wait a minute; I thought Sora already took care of Organization XIII! Trust me, Sora thought so to. He did get rid of them, but now they're back. Why? That will be revealed soon enough.
But if he's fighting the members themselves then...is the entire Organization going to show up? I'm still pondering that. I'm not going to have every single one of them show up for certain reasons – mainly I don't want to draw this out for too long, that would make this thing take forever to complete – but I assure you that a certain few are already guaranteed an appearance…especially our favorite chakram-wielding pyromaniac.
Dude, what was the deal with Sora getting yoinked into the puzzle? I can't reveal that just yet, but I will tell you that it won't be the last time something like that happens.
What about Drive forms and Summons? Guaranteed appearance. Drives are iffy right now – though if anyone has any ideas, lay them on me – and summons will be kinda mish-moshed from the previous games. I can guarantee that Stitch will be appearing though.
Now that the questions are out of the way…semi spoilers for KH:CoM in this chapter, so beware. Also, Yami.
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is owned by Kazuki Takahashi. Kingdom Hearts is owned by Tetsuya Nomura and all that.
Duel Disks and Keyblades
By FlikFreak
Chapter Twelve: The Graceful Assassin Strikes
"Dusks," Sora growled angrily, "And Organization XIII to boot…"
"You ganna go out there and fix it up?" Yugi asked.
Sora nodded confidently, opening the window. "Yeah. I dunno if I can do it on my own, but I have to do what I can." Inside, however, he was thoroughly worried. I can't use Drive here as far as I know, he mumbled to himself. I might be able to summon, but that's risky…unless… "Could you guys stand back for a second?"
Yugi and Anzu did step back, though they seemed wary. Sora summoned the keyblade, and closed his eyes, mentally reaching into his heart for a familiar power.
Give me strength!
The room darkened suddenly, and a wave of light surrounded Sora momentarily. His hands began to move on their own accord. He spun the keyblade in front of him by the handle, stopping it just as it pointed upward, and turned it. A bright light erupted from the tip, spiraling down the blade before it took shape at the bottom, fluttering next to Sora's head before it could be seen clearly: it was a tiny, green-clothed fairy.
Yugi was absolutely stunned by this. "What the…what is…how did you…"
Sora just grinned. "This is Tinkerbell," he said cheerfully. "Tinkerbell, this is Yugi and Anzu." The fairy fluttered up to them, looking them each closely before zipping over to the window. After quickly taking in the scenery from outside, she turned back and cried out something to Sora, though instead of words a few jingling noises came from her. "I know," Sora replied, not understanding her but knowing what she was upset about. "I need you to do me a favor. Make sure any townsfolk you meet are safely out of harm's way. If they aren't, do what you can to get them out of there safely." The fairy nodded, zipping out of the window. Sora turned back to his friends. "I'm going to go see what I can do down there. You two stay here. I can't have you getting hurt."
"No," Yugi said in reply. "I'm going too."
If anything shocked Sora, it was something like this. He shook his head. "I can't let you," he said. "You'll get hurt."
Yugi wouldn't have it. "I'm not going to stand by and watch you get hurt, either. I have my own ways of fighting, so I'm coming whether you like it or not." In one swift motion, he whipped out of his backpack what Sora recognized as a duel disk, slipping a deck of cards into the center, but not turning the device on. "I'm following right behind you. Don't worry about me."
Sora knew that the boy wasn't about to listen to any further demands, and simply nodded, leaping nimbly out the window. The numerous Dusks swarming the area swiveled their attention to him, and he wasted no time in slicing cleanly through them on his way to the center. Behind him, he heard the sound of Yugi's duel disk booting up, but thankfully he had no need to worry about the boy being attacked; he left no enemy in his path alive.
"The Graceful Assassin has been sent out, sir."
The darkness-cloaked figure grinned. "Good work. His improved power may be able to take down both the Keyblade Master and the accursed Pharaoh. If that fails, I have a special surprise waiting for them."
The man in the cloak looked up, his eyes narrowed. "Number…eight, sir?"
"Yes."
"But sir, it may be too risky. The Keyblade Master knows him! If he notices him acting odd, then he will know something is amiss!"
The man's superior nodded. "That is precisely what we need. Throw him off guard, and then he will be struck down by his own hesitation."
"It is a risk," the cloaked man said, "But I believe it may work. Shall I go awaken him?"
"No," the leader said, turning around quietly. "We must first await the Graceful Assassin to complete his duty. I also have more…tasks to attend to. Cloaked Schemer, I have my own mission for you."
The cloaked man hesitated. "Yes…sir?"
"Tell me," the leader said, glancing over his shoulder at his underling, "Have you met with someone by the name of Mokuba? I believe we may have some use of him…"
It wasn't long before Sora and Yugi reached the center of the chaos, and when they did the man's hood fell back with a single movement of his hand, revealing a stern visage and a ragged main of very light brown hair. "We meet again, Sora," the man said plainly and casually, in spite of the hatred on the keyblade master's face.
"Marluxia," Sora growled. "You're here, too?"
The man grinned malevolently. "Of course I'm here," he said. "I have a mission to carry out."
"Let me guess," Sora mocked. "It involves screwing my brain over so you can use me as a puppet, right?"
"You don't even remember half the story, do you," Marluxia shot back, the disgusting smirk not leaving his face. "But that's enough from you. I'm here to not only get you out of the way, but that stupid Pharaoh. Now, if Roxas was still on our side, we probably would have taken care of that first bit already, but isn't this convenient!" he spread his arms open wide. "They're both here for the taking! The taking of their lives, that is!"
Sora gritted his teeth. "You can't do that quite so easily," he protested. "I won't let you hurt anyone, no matter what it takes!"
"Oh, but I'll have to!" Marluxia said somewhat pleasantly. "Because if you don't do as I say, you'll never see your precious Kairi again."
The mention of the girl caused both Sora and Yugi to freeze up. Sora's grip on the keyblade tightened. "You wouldn't…"
"She's such a sad case," the man continued. "So much power, and yet she can't even defend herself. But why stop at hunting down Kairi? Why not take your precious islands altogether?"
It didn't take much to tick Sora when it came to his home. It had been destroyed once, and he would not allow it to happen again. His eyes narrowed dangerously and his teeth grit in untold anger. The keyblade seemed to pulse with his rage.
"Sora," Yugi began. "Don't listen to him!"
But the keyblade master was far too distracted to heed the words of his friend. "Even if that's an empty threat," he grumbled, "You have no right to make it. My home's been destroyed once, and I'm not about to let it happen again, no matter what you do!"
"If your conviction is that strong," Marluxia commented, holding up his scythe, "Then you should have no trouble defeating me."
Sora wasted no time in lunging forward, keyblade brandished, and prepared a strike. Marluxia began to strike with his scythe, only to have it blocked by Sora, whom struck the weapon across the handle right near the man's hand. The shocked nobody dropped the weapon, stunned, and Sora seized the chance to pick it up and hurl it at him, slamming the weapon into the man's gut and causing him to skid backwards.
"I might not remember what happened in Castle Oblivion," Sora said lowly, "But that doesn't mean I've forgotten what a rotten guy you are!"
"I take it you've failed to remember my power, then."
To Sora's surprise, an explosion of sakura petals struck him, sending him flying through the air, slamming into a light pole behind him, the sound of the collision resounding throughout the entire town square. Marluxia appeared right at the boy's crumpled form, the tip of the scythe pointed at the boy's heart. "Don't try me, Sora," he growled. "You may have improved your swordsmanship, but I have received my own special training. Thanks to the show you put on with Larxene, we know your new tricks, and now we can take you down. I have orders to take you out, and once I do I can move on to a more amusing target than you…"
"I won't let you," Sora insisted, his voice cracking. "I won't give up…" Even as he spoke, however, Sora knew he couldn't follow his own request. The pain was amazing; a single strike from this man had robbed him of most of his power. Wherever Tinkerbell was, he hoped that she was safe, but now he need her help if he was going to survive this.
An enormous flash of golden light flooded the area, snatching Marluxia's attention away from the keyblade master. Where Yugi once stood there was simply an enormous light, and the cry if his friend could be heard resonating throughout the area as a dark shield began to form all around them. As the golden light faded, Sora saw Yugi standing before them. As he looked closer however, he noticed that something was…different. For one, the aura around him seemed far more dark and sinister. His eyes were narrowed in an uncharacteristic ferocity, and the appearance of total control was etched in his now stern expression. His stance had even changed; he looked a lot more confident than the Yugi he once knew. Most importantly, Sora noticed a familiar wadjet eye on the boy's forehead, glowing fiercely. The puzzle around his neck was also glowing momentarily before its own radiance dimmed back to a normal level.
Marluxia was at loss for words only momentarily. "What the…who the hell are you?!"
Yugi apparently didn't feel like answering. "Marluxia, it's game time."
I told you there was a reason he was there. n.n Yami no Game coming right up!
