A/N: Thanks to singintoyourself and PrincessKeira (4x!) for reviewing!
My OCs are mine. Kingdom Hearts fans better know who they are. Without further ado…
XIV. Flying Solo
King Mickey raced through his castle's corridors. I never should have left her alone…she can't handle this on her own…she has to learn eventually, but I didn't start fighting whole armies! She's new…and we're without Riku…
He passed the throne room and quickly signaled to the nearest lieutenant to carry on the charge. The lieutenant nodded and kept running as his king ran to the Healing Room. There he saw Riku walking slowly, carefully avoiding any hazards to his injured arm.
"Riku! Glad to see you're awake!" exclaimed King Mickey before quickly covering his mouth. Fortunately only a few patients stirred before decided nothing noteworthy had happened.
Riku attempted an obviously pained bow. "Thanks, Your Majesty, but with all due respect I'm not too glad about this," he replied, pointing to his arm.
The King nodded sympathetically. "That must be terrible! Tell ya what; I'll still let ya in on the battle! How good of a commander are ya?"
Riku's eyes lit up with this possibility. He was always a very tactical, planning individual, and this was as close as he could get to the action as his arm healed. "I'd be honored, Your Majesty."
"Great! Come with me," replied the King. He quickly strode out of the door with Riku gingerly following. A few flights of stairs and several long hallways followed before Riku found himself on the castle battlements. Myriad stars lit the night sky as the sounds of battle echoed all the way up the castle.
"I've got to let my soldiers know that you're authorized, so don't order anyone around for a bit," said the King. "I'll send a signal when you're good."
"Yes, Your Majesty," answered Riku. He bowed as his king left. Looking around, he could see some glimpses of the battle by the light of stars and spells. One Firaga revealed an extremely thick opaque foot and a thin figure narrowly dodging it. Another Firaga showed that the small figure bore an ornate sword and had reddish-brown just reaching its shoulders.
Kairi?!
A huge transparent fist caught the starlight, and a tremor shook the ground. Kairi's sword slashed away while the fist was slowly lifted from the earth, and the friction from her slashes made small sparks that melted nearby ice.
An Ice Titan?! There's no way she'll live…
I must have faith in her…
I don't.
Just don't die, Kairi!
"He just doesn't die, does he?" Kairi muttered. She had launched Firaga after Firaga, and this huge beast seemed to have taken no damage. She had tried to play cat and mouse, letting its fists come close enough to hack away with Oathkeeper. Nothing worked; the Titan lived up to its name.
Finally Kairi decided that she had had enough. "Stopga!" she cried. As if on cue the Ice Titan ceased to move. With an Aeroga spell she levitated to the Titan's face and launched a torrent of slashes and spells. Chips of ice flew off, and Kairi thought she had done some damage at last. This thought quickly ended when the spell wore off and the Titan's massive hand sent Kairi falling back to earth.
I'mgonnadie I'mgonnadie I'mgonna… "Aeroga!" Kairi shouted frantically, pointing her Keyblade towards the ground. The resulting wind slowed down her fall and allowed her to land safely and on her feet. This only seemed to anger the Titan which then responded by conjuring a ring of massive ice chunks and sending them flying towards her.
"Reflega!" Kairi cried. The typical bubble appeared around her, and the majority of the ice was sent flying into the Titan or the nearby Heartless spectators. The Titan however seemed to have a trick up its sleeve. A final chunk flew towards Kairi just as her Reflega faded. This time Kairi's reflexes failed her, and she felt the agonizing combination of frigid cold and excruciating pain. Lying on the ground, she barely managed to turn her head and examine herself. She saw her limbs slowly being covered in blue almost like scales, and she felt her veins fill with ice. She could barely move, and she felt her brain shutting down.
Come on…no…so cold…can't move…am I dying? Will I see Sora?
Sora…
He wouldn't want me to die…
I have to save myself…cure myself…
"Curaga!" Blissful relief coursed through Kairi as she regained the power of movement. She shook off the thoughts of Sora as she stared at the Ice Titan who returned her triumphant stare with one of disbelief.
"I'm not going down that easily, Ruxik," she said defiantly. "I only hope you're watching!" She brandished her weapon threateningly and stabbed the Titan's foot. "Firaga!"
The fire of the spell coursed through the Titan. Once-thick ice began to melt into puddles, and the Heartless screamed in pain. The lesser Heartless watching nearby began to hiss in agitation. Flailing arms of ice quickly became waves of lukewarm water that drenched Kairi. Finally the ice around the chest of the Titan melted, and a heart flew towards the distant light in the sky that was Kingdom Hearts
With their leader gone the Heartless reverted to instincts; they proceeded to swarm Kairi. Neoshadows and Invisibles swarmed her only to be repulsed by several slashes of Oathkeeper.
Maybe I really can handle this…
Her request was granted; Ruxik and Maleficent were watching this spectacle. But had Kairi been there, she would not have seen expressions of shock, disbelief or even frustration. Maleficent bore her typical indifferent scowl, while Ruxik was slightly smiling.
"She's only setting herself up for a greater fall," he muttered. "She'll be cockier and cockier, and when she does fail, she'll be even easier to manipulate…"
"Do you always say your plans aloud?" Maleficent interrupted, exasperated with the redundant chatter.
"You're quite sarcastic; you know that?" Ruxik countered.
"And you're not?"
"That's not the point."
"Does my sarcasm just go over your head?"
"Your mother never hugged you, didn't she?"
"At least I had a mother."
"What kind of comeback is that?"
"It's true, no?"
"Doesn't prove a thing."
"Neither do your comments."
"Oh, come on, the mother remark had to hurt."
"I never liked her all that much."
"Shut up and watch the girl."
"I was until your inane babbling interrupted me! Don't you remember how this started?"
"Do you want absolute power or not?"
"You sound like a child!"
"Remember, I started to exist at the age of fourteen."
"It shows." Maleficent looked down at the glass to prevent another retort; this argument was annoying her, and Ruxik's childishness was grating on her ancient nerves. In a tone that was finally devoid of sarcasm she returned her focus to the battle. "What do you propose we do about the mouse and your vessel?"
"Let the mouse lend her a hand, and leave Riku alone. I have plans that those three can't possibly foil."
"You've said similar things many—"
"Not a word! I know what I'm doing."
Maleficent nearly replied before realizing this would lead into another time-wasting argument. This Nobody has no idea of who I am…this will surely be his downfall.
Riku stood on the castle battlements in shock. Kairi just took down an Ice Titan! I can't believe it! I thought she was dead back there…I guess she'll be ok as the Keyblade Master.
I just wish I could fight. But no, Ruxik HAD to ruin everything…
With a sigh he turned and strode back into the castle. As he rounded a corner, he collided head-on with King Mickey. Riku was unaffected by this, but the lightweight King immediately hit the floor.
"Your Majesty! I'm so sorry; are you alright?" Riku's concern quickly turned to happiness as King Mickey responded with laughter.
"Aw, I'm fine, Riku!" he exclaimed as he regained his feet. "I was just coming to say the troops know your new position! You can start ordering them around right about now."
"Thanks, Your Majesty," Riku replied. "Can they hear me from the battlements?"
"Probably not but I'll tell you what. I'll whip up an Aero and you can use that to get around."
"Sounds like a good plan, Your Majesty," Riku answered with a nod. He stood patiently as the King conjured the spell. A powerful wind swirled around Riku until it was difficult to hear much else. Soon the noise subsided, and Riku found he could hover if he jumped into the air.
"That's a little specialty of mine," King Mickey said proudly. "You can fly around with that; just jump off the ground and steer it around by pointing."
Curiously Riku pointed his arm to the right and to his surprise found himself soaring down the corridor. "This is awesome!" He slowly returned to the ground, but the wind still blew. Thanking the King once again, he returned to the battlements and looked to see where he was needed. Naturally his first glance was to Kairi who was still fighting well, fending off all the Heartless thrown at her. The creatures didn't seem to understand the idea that getting close to her resulted in a Reflega sending them flying back. An Invisible managed to break through with a sword slash, but Kairi artfully flipped back onto her feet and stabbed the Invisible's torso, destroying it instantly.
I think she's got the hang of this…and what's that there? A stream of red was penetrating the sea of black; the royal knights had entered the fray, and the Heartless were getting steadily driven back. This might be easier than I thought…
"Princess! You can drop out; come back when you're not tired!" called a knight.
"I'm not…" Kairi began to call, but she suddenly felt how fatigued she was. Her muscles were screaming from the exertion of the Ice Titan battle and the skirmishes that followed. "Coming!"
She turned her back to the Heartless and the crimson-clad knights. Ruxik's not going to have his way so easily…I know we're going to win here. I just know it.
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