Alright everyone! Sorry about being late on this chapter. I was aiming to bring this up Sunday, but after recently getting back to school, I've had difficulty balancing the new schedule.
Few updated before we get to business. I now have a new ticker up on my profile page. So now, whenever you want to know anything about the story, or when a new chapter might be up, check my profile page.
Also, I have decided to add a Fan-Art Section to my profile page. I already linked a piece of work to the section, drawn by my friend Proud-Pastry! Its a bit of a cheat, but I hope this will encourage the floodgates to open. So, if you want to see what I would like as a female, go to my profile. Also, if you want to or have drawn anything about my story, characters, scenes, Keyblades, go nuts! Just tell me and I will host it on my Fan-Art Page.
Now, I really hope you do enjoy this chapter, because this story is about to kick it into overdrive in the next few chapters. So, read, review, do whatever you may, just enjoy!
Oh, and a note, whenever Sora or Kairi talks to Roxas or Namine, or vice-versa, it will be denotated by underlines and italics.
Chapter 26: The Radiant Guardians
"It feels like a weight has been put off our shoulders, eh?"
Rain looked up from bed, taking care to cover herself up with the sheets due to some subconscious reason, to see Dayne stumble around in the faint blackness of their room. After the long, tiring yesterday, the group had decided to take the day off and relax on the ship before they continued their quest. It was nearing noon and the couple was just getting out of bed, which was strange as both were typically early risers, Dayne being so to an absurd degree.
"Yeah." Rain said softly, stroking down unkempt auburn hair with her fingers. "I suppose I should apologize to you."
"For what?" Dayne was searching the floor in a shutter-induced gloom for some clothing.
"Well, remember our last fight, about how you wanted to tell them earlier and I said no and then it just spiraled out from there."
"Oh yeah." Dayne found a pair of pants and, after making sure they were his, hitched them on. "Makes me wondered what would have happened if we told them even sooner, like when we first met them."
Rain adjusted the covers, this time making sure they covered the bandage that stretched down from her shoulder. "They probably would have been fine about it." She answered. "I think they were only angry with us at first because we kept it a secret from them. Even if we hadn't nearly killed ourselves in that fight, they probably would have forgiven us by now."
Dayne was about to say something to the effect of "except for that asshole Sora" but thought against it. He didn't want to stir up anymore worries and would take the chance that his wife's intuition would pick up on the Keyblade Master's animosity. He snatched up a previously discarded shirt, put it on, and ran his hands over it to smooth out as much wrinkles as he could.
"Well, be that true or false, its all history." Dayne declared with a triumphant tone, spinning around on bare feet. He pumped his fists into the air, a cocksure grin spread on his face, his entire body bristling with a confident energy. "As is our tenure with the Immortals, its all behind us."
Rain smirked too, it had been a long time since Dayne had gotten like this. "Yep. Today is the first day of a new chapter in our lives." She let the sheet drop from her body and crawled across the bed on her knees, reaching up to kiss her husband. The two closed their eyes and let the world around them melt away from the few seconds they were. When they broke apart, Dayne cupped his hands around Rain's face, identical smiles flashing each other.
Dayne then cocked his head up, the smile turning into a stoic line on his mouth. "So..." He trailed off, deciding to confront the elephant that was currently in the room. "How much time did you leave yourself after the Infuse?"
Rain shrank at the question, sinking back into the faux-security of the bed. "I'm not sure." She stammered slightly. "I mean, we both were at similar levels before right? So I think I would still be near your amount. How much do you have left?"
Dayne tried not to pay attention to the apprehensive edge to Rain's voice. "Um...a year-and-a-half I would say, give or take half-a-year."
Rain nodded lightning quick. "Me too then. A year-and-a-half..."
"That's more than enough time for one last crack at life." Dayne closed his eyes and smiled. "Hopefully a peaceful life, maybe on the Islands, or back on the Garden. And besides, we don't even know what will happen to Immortals when they run out of reserve hearts. We could die, but we could just as sure continue living." Rain nodded again. "Well, I'm going to get something to eat, do you want anything?"
"No, I'll be out soon enough. Just let me shower." Dayne left the room without another word, closing the door behind him.
Before getting up from the disheveled bed, Rain looked down at her own hands, her white skin standing out in the artificial shadow the room held. She stared at them with a bittersweet smile on her face.
KHKHKH
Sora, looking at the ceiling in his room, sighed.
He then felt a sharp jab in his ribs. He looked over to see Kairi, a wry smile on her face, with his right arm wrapped around her shoulders. "What?"
"You know what," she said, "You've been in an odd mood for a long time now." At about nine AM, Kairi had gotten out of bed, snuck past Dayne and Rain's room, and slipped into Sora's to spend some quality time with the brunette. "Every time there's a gap in our conversations, you stare at the ceiling, don't smile, and sigh, sigh, sigh." She shifted around and glared at him.
"Nothing's up alright," Sora finally said. "I'm just tired."
Kairi rolled her eyes. "Yeah and I'm the Queen of – Well, I am a Queen but...damn I guess I can't use that exaggeration anymore." She shook her head and got back on track. "Anyway, I know when something's bugging you. Remember when I said you were a bad liar?"
"Yes."
"Well you still are."
Sora nodded listlessly and went back to focusing on the ceiling. For the past little while, Sora had been thinking about Rain and Claudio, or Dayne rather. He had been thinking about the reason for his anxiety against them. He wanted to think it was because the distrust was caused by his lack of an intimate knowing of the pair, as opposed to Riku, who had been the biggest betrayer possible by openly opposing Sora. But Sora knew that part of it was a jealousy to Dayne. The husband-and-wife duo were around Kairi almost constantly, from the moment they woke up until the moment they went to bed. He knew that Dayne was married, that he loved his wife, and that his relationship with Kairi was platonic; they were more like a father and daughter than friends or a royal and her servant. But he could almost sense the connection between Kairi and Dayne, sometimes feeling that they were closer knit than he was with her. And then of course, there were the nightmare, that he would take to his grave (and threatened Roxas to do likewise), of Dayne performing non-bodyguard... duties on the young warrior princess.
Of course, to put the cherry on top of the suspicion sundae, there was the fact that whenever Kairi and Sora showed their affection for one another in public, Dayne would give Sora a look that uncomfortably reminded him of Kairi's father.
I you're not telling them, then I am.
Roxas's voice pierced through his thoughts like a sword, Sora literally feeling his blonder counterpart smiling inside his head.
If you do, Sora mentally warned, I'm throwing a 'No Vacancy' sign on my soul
Roxas ignored the threat and continued on, Besides, don't you think you're overreacting to this whole thing?
I am not! I feel like he's muscling me out of my own relationship, and you would feel the same thing if you and Namine were in our positions.
Not really. Roxas pointed out plainly. I mean, usually, Dayne doesn't sleep all too long, so he's up by like four AM, usually Namine and I ghost out and talk to him until everyone else gets up. He's friendly with Namine as well, though not to the extent he is with Kairi. I guess it's because Namine isn't a Princess technically.
Sora frowned, completely zoned out from the real world. Well, its not like our situation then. You're always there. Its you three, not the two of them with you being the occasional third wheel.
Not really. Sometimes I sleep in. I mean, I am your Nobody.
Sora was about to retort, but found himself falling back to reality when Kairi punched him in the arm. "Hey! What was that for?"
Kairi stood up, hands on her hips, and a disapproving look on her face. "You've been like a zombie for the past five minutes. I even flashed you and even those two weren't enough to snap you out of it."
Sora's face instantly burrowed through five shades of red before stopping on a beet crimson. "R-really?"
Kairi face-palmed. "No! I was joking. But I probably could have and you still would have been zoned out."
A bright light flashed over Sora's body, as the ghostly transparent form of Roxas phased out of the Keyblader's body and floated on the window seat.
"Yeah, sorry Kai." He said while rubbing the back of his head. "We were kinda stuck in an in-depth conversation."
Namine followed her boyfriend's move and semi-materialized next to him on the window seat, giggling a little bit as she did. "You two? Have an in-depth conversation?"
"Oh ha-ha Namine." Sora rolled his eyes in sarcasm. "Like I haven't heard that one a hundred times before."
Roxas huffed. "Yeah, but I haven't. That was low, Nam." The blonde lovingly shoved Namine, trying to tip her off the narrow seat.
Kairi noticed that something seemed up with the two blonde Nobodies. "Something wrong with you two?" The two blondes looked at each other uneasily.
"Well," Namine began, shifting uncomfortably. "Ever since yesterday, we got to thinking about us and how we exist."
Sora and Kairi looked puzzled, but let Roxas pick up. "Well, after seeing Dayne and Rain yesterday, it kind of felt like they were reaffirming their proof of existence, and we got to thinking about us." He held up his right hand in front of his face, the ghostly appendage somewhat obscuring his view, but he could still make out Sora and Kairi through his hand. "Even though our bodies are gone, we really shouldn't exist anymore. We do though, even if it is just as souls. And you've seen over time that our situation is evolving. Before, we could just converse with you and one another."
"About two week ago, we became able to phase out of your bodies into these...ghost forms." Namine said, demonstrating the limits of their bodies. She tried to touch the lamp on the bedside stand, but her hand just past through it. "Then, we could actually assume real, physical bodies when we summon our Keyblades...granted we have to take a "cool off" period after doing so."
"Yeah," Sora nodded slowly, "We know this. But what's your point?"
Namine ran her fingers through her short blonde hair. "We don't really have a point, because, clearly, we're looking out into the unknown. We don't know what will happen to us further down the road, we don't even know what has actually happened to us to begin with. I mean, what's next? Are we actually going to gain separate, actual bodies permanently, or is this some sort of fake-out; are we just going to fade back into your souls and cease to exist like ever other Nobody."
With a sad look on her face, Kairi stepped over to her Nobody and grabbed onto her hands tightly. "That's not going to happen. You're apart of me Namine, just like Roxas is apart of Sora, we won't let you go so easily."
The two Nobodies began to smile slightly. Sora, pushing his recent thoughts out of his mind, joined in on the affirmation. "She's right. When we're done with this quest, we'll find out what's happening to the the two of you and we will figure something out." He looked to Namine and Roxas, and then over to Kairi. "We promise, we will."
KHKHKH
That one, slow day of relaxation proved to work wonders on the entire party. Injuries were healed, energy was peaking at its highest point, and bad moods were all but vanished. That is, with the exception of Sora and Dayne, but the two did their best to hide the growing feud they had between one another from Kairi and Rain and, if they noticed, the two girls did not make any attempt to draw focus to the situation or try and mediate it.
The next morning, the group was pleasantly surprised to see that the Blank Medallion had set them on a course to the Radiant Garden again, the ship floating in orbit around the rejuvenating kingdom. Although the were stymied on what they could do on the Garden, they were none-the-less happy for a chance at a semi-vacation.
When they landed on the world, standing at the west-end of town, they were met by the gentle summer sun, a clear blue sky, and a blast of heat. You see, the Radiant Garden was a bit of an enigma when it came to the weather. In summer it was sunny and hot, neither a dry heat nor humid, but still hot. In winter, it became cold, windy, and the area became buffeted by precipitation, whether it be snow or rain. Fall and spring fell somewhere in the middle; in spring, it started out cold and cloudy but soon became bright and mild, while fall started crisp and sunny, before turning windy and rainy.
As soon as the group landed on the world consumed by the late morning sun, Dayne instantly felt the heat, stripping himself of his large coat. Instead of his normal leather undercoat (which was similar to Ed's much to Dayne's fury) he wore a sleeveless, collared vest over a t-shirt. Even so, he was still sweating, even at eleven AM.
"Jeez..." Dayne tugged at his collar and made a hissing noise. "I forgot how hot it got here during the summers."
"This is nothing," Kairi countered. "To Islanders, this is like a mild summer day."
Dayne gave a crooked grin. "Yeah well, I never did well in the heat."
Rain stepped up to her husband, a grin on her face too. "Maybe you would do better if your wore something other than leather pants, jackets, and long-sleeved shirts." Rain herself had changed her outfit, swapping out cargo pants for a pair of short-shorts and now wearing knee-high plated boots. Even though Dayne had mumbled something about Rain looking like a teenager, the reformed Immortal carried herself with an air of energy and confidence.
"So," Kairi said, breaking the conversation and stepping out to the head of the group, "What are we going to do today?" Both Dayne and Rain shrugged quickly, leaving Sora the unheard voice. The brunette was currently inattentively staring at his feet, which were in the process of scuffing up the ground.
Kairi gave him a light shove.
"Huh?"
Kairi shook her head again. "What is with you lately Sora?" Sora quickly avoided Kairi's gaze, his own line of sight falling on Dayne, who was also eying the Keyblade Master casually, before falling back onto the horizon. "I said, what are we going to do today?"
"I don't think we should be taking a vacation Kairi," Sora said with a bored tone. "I mean, we still do have a mission to complete, we can't just be fooling around whenever we want."
Kairi ignored Sora's out-of-character refusal to have fun and continued on. "Well, we've already been to the Garden before, and until an opportunity to "be the hero" arises, I think we should take a well rested break." She gestured to the city square around them. "Especially considering where we are."
"Why is this place so..." Sora trailed off as he realized how stupid his question was.
Kairi shrank back into herself, her exuberance replaced by a blushing shyness. "It's just, well...it's hard to explain my feelings for this place."
"No need to. There are somethings better left unsaid."
"Who said that?" Kairi asked, looking around for the owner of the voice; a high-pitched feminine voice.
A new voice answered. "Over here, Red." The second voice was very similar to the first but more...well, bubbly is the only apt word to describe it.
The group craned their heads left and right for the source of the now two voices.
"Oh come on," the second voice teased, "We're right in front of you."
The group looked straight ahead, narrowing their field of vision to see the origin of the calling... a trio of diminutive fairies, one brunette, one blonde with dark skin, and the third with white hair, pale skin, and wearing all black.
"Hey Sora!" Rikku called out cheerily. "Did you miss us?"
Sora smiled at the familiar sight. "Hey! Its good to see you three again!"
Yuna bowed slightly. "And you as well, Sora."
Paine, the black-clad pixie, looked beyond Sora to the other three. "I see you have some new companions." She surmised flatly. "At least they look better than those two fools."
Dayne, who didn't know whether that was an insult or a compliment, was about to open his mouth when Kairi beat him to the punch.
"Sora, who are these three?"
"Oh, right." Sora motioned to the hovering trio. "Everyone, these are-"
He was cut off when Rikku flew up, planting her minuscule foot on his lips.
"Uh-uh-uh," the blonde said with a wag of her finger, "Sorry Spike, but we like to do our own introductions." She then spun away back to her group. "So, introducing everyone's favourite group of teeny-bopping fairies...."
"I already don't like where this is going," Dayne mumbled.
Both Yuna and Rikku quickly struck poses, Paine remained floating normally, arms crossed in an uncaring manner.
"Yuna!" The brunette called out with bravado.
"Rikku!" The blonde sang happily.
"Paine." The white-haired girl said in her normal tone.
Rikku and Yuna then joined there voices together in one final cheer. "And together we are... the GULLWINGS!!!"
Sora and the group looked to one another with blank looks, wondering whether they should applaud or not. Luckily, the conundrum was broken up by Rikku.
"Paine!" Rikku whined. "You forgot to do the cheer again!"
Paine replied in a sarcastic tone, "Oh, my bad. It seems I keep forgetting that every time." Rikku huffed loudly in response.
"Uh...so what are you three up to these days?" Sora said nervously.
Yuna turned to reply. "Actually we have good news!" She then began to mumble to herself. "Um...how to explain this? Oh! Well, these bodies we have right now aren't are actual bodies."
"How is this good news?" Dayne replied with an annoyed edge in his voice.
"Well, we got these bodies when our world fell to the Heartless." Paine explained. "We were almost consumed by the darkness, but Maleficent appeared before us, saying she would grant us artificial bodies if we worked for her."
"We did so, but ever since we left her employ and she left the Radiant Garden, it seems her magic on us has weakened." Yuna declared. "For a few weeks now, we've been able to switch between these fairy bodies and our actual ones."
Rikku zipped in and pumped her fist into the air. "Yep! Prepare to get your minds blown!"
Three puffs of smoke surrounded the Gullwings, obscuring them and the nearby area from view. Soon, the smoke was swept away and the now transformed Gullwings stood proudly.
Paine looked relatively unchanged compared to her companions. The only difference was that the small pair of wings on her back were gone.
As for Yuna and Rikku, well, their transformation had added some more...liberal changes to their clothing. Yuna now wore a halter top that split down the front at the center, revealing a strange mark on her chest that looked like a cross between a 'T' and 'J'. She was also now sporting a pair of hot-pants and a half-skirt that was slung over her left hip.
Rikku's changes were even more...revealing and...dynamic than Yuna's. Her scarf was shorter and smaller, she now wore a short skirt and a yellow bikini top.
The young girl then struck a sexy pose and chirped, "So, how do you think we look?"
While Kairi and Rain had looks that balanced between mild uncaring and slight discomfort at the skimpy outfits on the young girls, Dayne clearly showing his dislike and annoyance at the trio. Sora though, he turned beet red like the morning before, then grabbing his nose in case it betrayed him and started to bleed.
The six other people all stared at the young boy with looks of shock, amusement and anger. Dayne was the first to pipe in with a bark of, "That speaks volumes, right there."
Kairi glared daggers at the young boy, who instantly jumped back to defend himself. "Okay. I know this looks bad. But let me explain myself..."
"Show me your nose." Kairi deadpanned. With a reluctant sigh, Sora withdrew his hand from its defensive position to reveal, that, he indeed have a nosebleed. "Sora!"
"I'm sorry!" He cringed. "It's my body!"
Rikku, always needing to put her two cents in, said, "I take it as a compliment."
"I didn't know real human beings actual did that." Paine noted flatly.
Both Yuna and Rain looked fairly neutral to the situation, almost confused as how to react. But Dayne, he was leaning up against a building, laughing his ass off, holding his ribs in pain. Sora was trying to salvage his dignity the best he could.
"Kairi, listen I..." the brunette fished around for the right words. But how did you apologize to your girlfriend (who you've only been seeing for a few weeks) that you comically bled from the nose after seeing a trio of hot women?
Fortunately for Sora, he didn't have to answer that question.
"It's alright Sora," a slightly agitated Kairi conceded. "I suppose this is a normal reaction any healthy teenage boy would have to..." she glanced sideways to the Gullwings, "three equally attractive women."
Rikku then came up and rested her arms on the shoulder of the couple, drawing them closer. "Ah, young love, ever resilient as always." The blonde laughed before spinning away. "But, anyways, the three of us were off to an appointment, so we really should get going. Vynafamm!"
Sora and Kairi stared strangely at Riku for spouting out the apparent gibberish until Dayne called back, "Oui duu, secco." Again, the apparent gibberish puzzled the two teens.
"You speak Al-Bhed?" Rikku gasped in surprise.
With a crooked grin, Dayne replied, "Ed'c so caluht myhkiyka."
"Could someone explain what Al-Bhed is?" Kairi asked, exasperated at the secretive code-talk.
"Well, the Al-Bhed are an off-shoot of the human race, know for tanned skin and spiral irises instead of dots." Dayne explained, then motioning to Rikku. "She's an Al-Bhed. They also speak a language, also called Al-Bhed, that is simply a cypher for the English alphabet. Each letter in our alphabet becomes a different letter in Al-Bhed. 'A' is 'Y', 'B' is 'P', 'C' is 'L', and so forth."
"That's right!" Rikku confirmed with her normal level of cheer. "So, once more, vynafamm!" She then leaned in close to Sora and Kairi. "That's 'farewell' in Al-Bhed." She then ran off down the street.
Yuna walked up to the teens and bowed to them. "We're sorry about that...disturbance."
"Hey, hey, hey, no problem Yuna. That stuff happens." Sora said, still wary of any fury he may feel from Kairi. "You three just take care." Yuna nodded before she and Paine walked away, following the blonde Gullwing.
"That was an interesting detour." Rain said after the three girls left.
Suddenly, a small group of Heartless came bursting down the street up ahead of the group, sending citizens scattering as they did.
"And this detour looks like a real party," Sora said, summoning Oblivion and running forward.
"No need to panic people! We have this under control! Everyone please remain calm!"
The calming sentiments were issued by two young men, both of whom were in hot pursuit of the small crowd of Heartless, running at a frantic pace to keep the demons in their sights. The party of four looked towards each other in wonderment, before they also headed out after the Heartless.
They found that the two men had cornered their prey at the end of the street, which was apparently only one way, already ready to fight a battle. The man on the left was tall and slender, radiating a sense of calm grace. He had dark tanned skin, like Rikku, showing off that he was (at least part) Al-Bhed, and a wash of short, curly brown and blonde hair that was slicked backwards. He also had a very thin and distinct nose that reminded the party of a some sort of noble bird of prey. The apparently Al-Bhed man was wearing a faded yellow shirt, the collar popping out from his long sleeved silver jacket, full black gloves, and a pair of grey jeans. Strapped to his belt were a pair of thin longswords, each decorated with an elegant golden basket hilt.
The other man couldn't be different from the swordsman. He was a little shorter, with a round, joyous face, long, pointed ears that looked like chili peppers, and a mop of garish bright green hair styled into a shaggy page cut. He was wearing a claret red opened trench coat over a black t-shirt, a pair of fingerless gloves of the same colour, and a pair of similar grey jeans. The green-haired man was holding a semi-automatic pistol in each of his hands.
The group also noticed that the duo had similar badges on their jacket's left breast. One was a set of four silver stars on a sky blue shield, the other was a trio of golden roses on a lavender shield with two swords crossing the shield on a diagonal.
Dayne's memory kickstarted the moment his eyes fell on the badges. It couldn't be...could it? He looked over to Rain, who apparently had the same question on her mind.
"Stop! In the name of the law!" The green-haired man spouted in an over-dramatic way at the twitching black beasts. The Heartless made no attempt that they had heard them, not that they could.
The Al-Bhed picked up on it. "You know, they're not sentient. We don't even know if they can hear. Its absolutely pointless when you say that stuff to them."
His green-haired counterpart simply flashed a goofy smile. "I know. I just like to say it." The swordsman face palmed.
"You're impossible..." He growled lowly before quickly drawing his swords and dashing into battle.
The Keyblade party watched in awe as the two young men quickly dispatched each and every Heartless in a lightning quick fashion. Sora himself had to admit that they were extremely good in eliminating the demons of the dark. The Al-Bhed danced about elegantly, parrying their claw swipes from afar, before giving them a quick skewer or slice to instantly destroy them. Then he gracefully moved on to his next target, always doing his best to dodge any attacks in style.
The green-haired gunner took a different strategy, obviously. He stood back at surveyed the small battlefield taking out any Heartless he thought would be a problem. Heartless approaching him, approaching his partner, or simply just being a nuisance. His two firearms blazed to life when he had an enemy in his sights, leaving behind a cloud of grey gunpowder smoke a haze of black dust from the fallen Heartless. The only time he stopped strafing, eying and shooting was when he quickly and efficiently changed clips for his guns.
Within less than five minutes, the entire Heartless band was gone. With a quick flash of smiles, the two young men twirled their weapons about before sheathing them, spinning about, and catching their first glimpses of the party.
"Well, check it out Clyde," the Al-Bhed said with a certain swagger in his voice, "Looks like we have our very own peanut gallery."
The green-haired man, Clyde replied with an equal amount of swagger. "And not just any sort of peanut gallery. A very special celebrity gallery." The two approached the Keybladers.
The unknown Al-Bhed pointed to each of the other four people and called out their name. "Sora, I take it Dayne and Rain." Dayne looked alarmed that he didn't address him by his pseudonym, but did not say anything. The young man then came to Kairi, green eyes shimmering with acknowledgement. He and Clyde both fell to their knees, with the Al-Bhed man taking one of Kairi's hands gently kissing it.
"And of course, you are Princess Kairi."
Normally, Kairi hated being postured to simply because of her status as a royal, but when the person doing the posturing was a young, handsome man like the Al-Bhed kneeling before her, she couldn't help but blush and swoon slightly.
At the sight of his reddening girlfriend, Sora saw the need to but in.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" He yelled loudly, sliding up next to the kneeling swordsman. "That's my girlfriend buddy!" The man looked up in sheepish surprise, but Kairi, who's face was slowly losing its red hue, took exception to Sora.
"Watch it, Sora," she said in a low voice. "I gave you a free pass on the Gullwings, you owe me this." Once more, Sora gulped and backed away from Kairi.
"Ahem," coughed Clyde, he and the other warrior now standing back away from the party. The young Al-Bhed spoke up next.
"I'm sorry for our abruptness." The man had an odd drawl to his voice, no doubt due to his heritage. "I suppose introductions are in order. My name is Allister Cdyn."
"And I'm Clyde Rantz." Clyde said happily.
"And you're Radiant Guardians, I take it." Dayne broke in quickly. "Why else would you be wearing those badges." Both men quickly touched the double badge on their jacket breasts.
"What do you mean by that?" Kairi asked.
"The blue shield and silver stars is the symbol of the Radiant Guardians." Dayne explained. "While the golden roses on the pink shield, known as the Radiant Aegis, is the sigil of the Royal House of the Garden. Its typically worn by those who serve the Royal Family."
Allister smiled. "I would expect no less from a former Guardian."
"Wait," Rain said, an unsure look crossing her face. "I understand how you know about Sora and Kairi, even me, but how do you know Dayne's actual name? Or that he was a Guardian."
"Um...that Terra guy sent a message to the Restoration Committee yesterday." Clyde admitted, an equally puzzled look on his face as he explained. The group looked shocked and confused, as it definitely wasn't the first time that Terra's seemingly omniscience showed itself, Dayne himself cursing under his breath. "Then he told them to pass it on to the Guardians."
There was definitely an unease now on the group after Clyde's admission. Terra knew far more than he was letting on, clearly knowing "Claudio's" real name even before he did. It was also equally shocking that he knew exactly when these secrets were revealed and could contact whoever he decided.
Sensing the tenseness in the group, Clyde spoke up again, looking at Rain and Dayne. "So...uh, how put this? Are you two really, um..." The green-haired man then began to make exaggerated noises and various comical gestures that drew confused looks from the ex-Immortals and Keybladers, as well as an embarrassed sigh from Allister.
"Immortals?" Rain finished flatly. "Yes. And you don't have to beat around the bush about it...or whatever it is that you're doing." Clyde stopped his bizarre pantomime with a sheepish grin.
"Hey," Sora said suddenly, "I've got to say, I've never seen two people dispatch Heartless like that, it was awesome!"
Clyde and Allister flashed grins, obviously feeling they had received praise from Caesar. "Well, that's what happens when you've had radical, unethical experimentation done to you." Clyde blurted out in an almost proud manner. Allister quickly gave him a sharp elbow in the gut.
"Shut up, you dumbass." He hissed, though it was a useless gesture as the others had heard.
"Experimentation?" Sora repeated.
Allister sighed again. "I suppose there is no hiding it. You see, after the Fall, the training academy for Guardians was sub-planted on Traverse Town. Clyde and I, like most people, lost family in the Fall, and we decided to enroll in the Academy. Problem was, the tuition costs were astronomical, even if they were desperate to refill the ranks of the Guardians." Allister ran his fingers through his hair, clearly not wanting to have to tell this story. "In order to get money for tuition, we, along with a few current Guardians, signed onto an experimental study on the human body.
Clyde nodded, the joy that seemed to be a regular on his face gone. "It was conceived as a way to increase the potential of the human body and soul in order to combat the Heartless. Various chemical experiments on our D.N.A. structure, manipulating spiritual energy, even chipping away various pieces of bone and in place, grafting on shards of Materia."
"But it all worked out," Allister finished, the nonplus look on his face replaced by a more neutral one. "Not only did we get the money for enrollment, but the powers the experiment gave us boosted our skills to the point that we were ranked in the top of the class."
"And all you had to do was sacrifice your humanity." Dayne bitterly commented.
"Whoa, easy there buddy," Clyde said, "No need to judge us."
"Oh, but there is." Dayne pushed, anger slowly pulling its cape over his face. "For someone that isn't human, I can say that I am sickened by your willingness to toss away what makes you human. And for what? Some money and a way to cheat the system."
"Actually," Allister countered, walking towards the tall warrior, "I was going to say 'For a chance to complete our goals and protect what we care about'." Allister stood tall and proud, staring at Dayne with a chilling calm. The Al-Bhed was a fairly tall man, but even he fell short of Dayne by two or three inches.
In contrast to the suave calm that was Allister, Dayne was all bluster and anger. "You can justify it however you liked, but the fact still remains. You gave up being a true human." Maybe there was a point to Dayne's argument, the others thought, as they saw a look of pain creep into his eyes. After all, both Dayne and Rain had lost their humanity by force, and just wanted to be human. It would be difficult for them to look at Allister and Clyde, two who willingly gave up their humanity and didn't want it back at all.
Weird as it was, despite previously showing that she would get angry when confronted by the subject of her humanity, Rain said nothing, she just watched with no emotion on her face.
Allister remained unflinching like stone. "I can live with this supposed 'lack of humanity'. I don't care if I am judged. What does bother me, is that I'm being judged by a hypocrite. Yeah, I said it. You and Rain may be Immortals by force, but you both went through the academy. You can't tell me with a straight face that neither of you, not once, used your powers to help you get into the positions you came to be in fifteen years ago. I'm just fine with what happened to me during those experiments, because now I can protect people better than I could before. But if you're not fine with that, then piss off!"
For a moment, it looked like the furious Dayne was about to throttle the calm Al-Bhed, but then, he just backed off. He leaped up into the air, landing on a nearby rooftop, before leaping across the nearby buildings and away from the alley.
Allister let out a sigh, and let his shoulders slump down. "Sorry about that folks," he apologized to the others, specifically Rain. "I didn't mean to set him off, or offend any of you for that matter."
"Its alright." Sora said, slightly pleased that Dayne had been knocked down a peg.
"And in 5...4...3..."
The four others turned to Clyde, who was watching the second hand on his watch slowly tick down. "...2...1...yes! Woo-hoo!" He jumped up slightly, fist pumping in the air. "We're now off duty!"
Allister shook his head. "Sometime I wonder about you." An idea then popped into his head, turning to Rain and saying, "Listen, I know that you our all on a mission to save the universe and all that jazz, but I was wondering if we could escort the Princess," once more, the dreaded "P-word" caused Kairi to cringe, "around the Garden for the day."
"That's sounds alright..." Rain said with a nervous edge. "But why are you asking me?"
"Well," Allister mumbled, scratching his head. "I guess because you're the adult and...you know what never mind." He turned to Kairi. "Does that fly by you, miss?"
"Of course," Kairi said quickly. "And, please Allister, just call me Kairi."
Allister smiled as he, Clyde, and Kairi, began to walk down and out of the alleyway. "Understood. You don't have to call me Allister either, Al is fine."
When the two Guardians and the young warrior princess left, Sora looked at the only remaining companion. Rain. Even though he was in a mood of distrust and animosity with his two new party members, most of his current anger was directed at Dayne.
I suppose this won't be so bad... Sora thought as the prospect of spending the day with Rain fully dawned on him. At least she doesn't condescend me like Dayne does.
"So..." He said at last, "What's our plan for the day?"
Rain shrugged, the slightly shorter woman walking past Sora. "I don't know. But, it is around noon. Why we get something for lunch, my treat."
Never one to turn down a free meal, even with someone who he currently wasn't on friendly terms with, Sora happily agreed and the two left like the other two parties before them.
KHKHKH
Meanwhile, far off from the Radiant Garden, on the island world of Neverland, Riku and the Elrics were leaving the Lost Boys camp and heading back to the coastline.
After stepping foot of the familiar world, Riku had instantly decided to search out Peter Pan and his troupe of young children. Although Peter wasn't nearly as suspicious as Aladdin or Jasmine were, he still wasn't totally willing to forgive the white haired boy. What followed was two hours of various buffoonish activities ranging from an eating contest followed by a belching contests, mock sword duels, and various hazing activities. But, for the sake of burying the hatchet and to redeem himself once more, Riku played the part of the willing participant well enough and completed each task put before him, ending it all by shaking Pan's hand.
"Well that was a waste of time," Ed bemoaned as the trio exited the jungle, transitioning onto grassy plains.
"But, we're still not done yet, brother. We can't leave until the Blank Medallion fires off." Al reminded his diminutive brother with his tinny, hollow voice.
Ed huffed and adjusted his gloves. "Well, the rest of this stay can't be as bad as what we just went through." Riku, from the head of the group, gave Ed a dirty look. The blonde quickly covered himself with a non-caring remark. "Hey, don't get me wrong. I know why we – or, rather, you – had to do that. I'm just saying it was hell is all."
Riku turned away and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well that's really the last we're going to have to worry about my past affecting this journey." He said confidently. "Every other world I was on, I never got caught or got in conflict with anyone. It's smooth sailing from here on out!"
Suddenly, a high whistling erupted into the air. The group looked up to see a missile, smoke trailing behind it, steaming to their location. Riku and the two brother alchemists jumped backwards to avoid the rocket and the following explosion. When the dust settled, the trio looked up into the sky again to see Josef, still clad in the white track suit, now wielding a large rocket launcher over his shoulder.
"Hey there, ass-clowns!" Josef cackled, as the heavy cannon vanished into thin air.
"Oh, great," Ed said with a crestfallen look on his face. "Its this guy."
Josef laughed at the comment. "What's wrong Keybladers? So sad to see me 'cause you know I'm gonna kick your asses?"
"Uh...no." Ed countered. "Its because you're loud and annoying."
Josef gave an ugly scowl. "Yeah, well this loud and annoying Immortal is about to take you down."
Way to the Dawn appeared in Riku's hand. "Well, looks like we just found the rest of our stay." He said to Ed.
The Fullmetal Alchemist summoned his own Keyblade and took his stance, letting out another huff. "Yeah. And unfortunately, it looks like it's going to be as bad as what we just went through."
KHKHKH
Sora gently clamped his chopsticks on his fried egg and equally as gently brought it up to his face.
After twenty minutes of searching for one of the Radiant Garden's restaurants to suite their needs, they came across a row of vendor carts selling hotdogs, kabobs, and various other quick, easy and affordable foods. As soon as Sora spotted the ramen cart at the end of the row, he darted for it as quickly as he could and got his ramen bowl with a nice fried egg on top. Rain elected not to eat as Sora quickly tore through the noodles, beef and broth.
"So, how is it?" Rain asked, casually people watching in the square they were in.
Sora slurped up the egg, chewed, swallowed, and answered. "Well, not as good as the stuff we have home. But I doubt there is any ramen in all the worlds good enough to top that stuff." The two then got up from the bench they were sitting at, stretching their limbs, and thinking of what to do next.
"Anything you can think of?" Sora asked Rain, the pair already walking away from the smells of the vendor carts. Rain once again shrugged.
"Couldn't say. The city has changed a lot since I've been here." Rain was delightfully surprised that Sora was not in a bad mood at all. She had suspected for the last day that something was brewing between Sora and Dayne, and as much as that worried her, she was glad that at least Sora seemed slightly friendly to her.
The two made a casual left at a large stone fountain, heading to an area more devoid of people than the areas around it. Sora looked up the sky, placing his arms behind his head as he did.
"When do you think this journey will end?" He asked, seemingly to Rain and no one at the same time.
"We still have two medallions left." Rain answered. "And Riku's group has at least two as well. So it seems to me that we have four new Keybladers to make. And then we have to get rid of the Immortals." Sora nodded in Rain's logical analysis. "And it seems we still have a lot of ground to cover on that topic."
"Boy, do you ever!"
Sora looked down and to Rain. "Who was..." He trailed off, knowing the answer to the question. "Rosa!"
The two turned around to see the female Immortal in her breastplate lounging on a stone mermaid that rose out of the center of the fountain. She was cupping the stone face and looking at it judgmentally. "Even if you are a statue, you're still nothing more than a carved whore... Shame I'll never find anything in this world that matches my beauty." She then turned her head at Sora and Rain with a bored gaze. "Oh, so you spotted me."
"Yeah, we spotted you." Rain said coldly, remembering her recent history with the twelfth-ranked Immortal. She had Scarlet Queen at the ready. "What do you want, besides to be a thorn in our side as usual."
Rosa jumped from her perch and landed in an elegant fashion, bowing with a spray of curly brown locks. When she stood up, she said in an almost nonchalant manner, "I'm here to kill you."
Sora summoned Oblivion. "Try us! We beat you back on Halloween Town, and we can do it again."
The female Immortal chuckled, stalking her opponents in a circular motion, boots clicking on the stone ground. "Oh, but there is a difference between there and now. You see, after our little scuffle on Twilight Town, its been decided that you annoyances need to be wiped out." A cruel smiled spread across her face, as an aura of energy began to spread out from her body. "From now on, you're going to have to face each and everyone of us, at our full strength."
Rain seemed undaunted by these new facts, raising Scarlet Queen and aiming it at her foe. "You say that as if it's suppose to scare us. Why don't try again, little Miss Prostitot."
Rosa's eyes twitched, her mouth turning into a hard line. "Prostitot?" She sneered, trying to blow-off the insult. "Please. Like a stupid insult is going to bother me!"
"Really? Then what's that ugly little vein on your forehead?" All eyes fell on the pulsing vein on Rosa's head. "I guess if that insult didn't bother you, it must be another ugly little flaw on your ugly little face."
This time, Rosa did indeed show how much the insult bothered her, gnashing her teeth together and giving Rain a vicious death-stare. Rain smiled wickedly at the effect of her psychological warfare. She had to admit, even though she was quiet woman, messing with an opponent was fun.
"That's it! You little bitch....you've been nothing but a pain in my neck since I met you. Before I kill you today, I'm going to slash up your ugly cow face and mutilate your fat-ass body!"
"Um...not to barge in ladies, but you haven't forgotten about me, have you?"
Rosa looked to her right, seeing Sora had snuck up during the banter between her and Rain. The Keyblade Master swung Oblivion and Rosa's legs before launching a fire spell. Rosa quickly dodged away from each attack, before backing far away and drawing her katana.
"I suppose I can't just deal with one pest and forget about the other one."
KHKHKH
"So, what do you think of your kingdom?"
Kairi looked over at Allister's question. To be true, Kairi had expected something a little more whirlwind in Allister and Clyde's tour. Instead, they simply milled around the city, the two Guardians chatting with anyone they knew, window shopped here or there, never really doing anything amazing.
"Well, we really haven't seen the actual kingdom." She answered listlessly. She looked ahead to see a large section of the city under construction.
"Oh, but the charm of the city is the very essence of the kingdom." Clyde replied with a swagger. "The people, the shops, the places; after all, it is the capital."
Kairi nodded slowly. "Yes, but..." She trailed off, trying to pick her words properly. "Its just, I'm not entirely sure on-"
"Ruling a kingdom?" Allister finished. Today, if nothing else, Kairi learned that the young swordsman had good intuition. "Don't look surprised," he said, getting a glance at her with his peripheral vision. "I mean, why else would you want to hang out with us for a day instead of having some alone time with your boyfriend."
Kairi pushed some of her hair back. "Yeah... Its just, there is so many things to consider, about running a kingdom, about leaving my life behind and giving up a normal life. I keep hearing people tell me its not a choice I have, that I have to do it. Its my destiny. I just don't know what to do."
Allister put a calm hand on one of her shoulders. "I had an instructor, back at the Academy. And she always had a phrase she used whenever one of us had a tough dilemma. Remember Clyde?" The green-haired man nodded rapidly. "It was 'Your heart will always lead you to what is right'."
Kairi nodded and thought about the words for a brief while. "I suppose I have to figure this all out when the time is right."
"We trust you'll make the right decision." Clyde piped in happily.
"And what would that be?"
"I dunno. Whatever your heart says is right. Weren't you listening?"
Kairi glanced over to Allister. "Is he aways like this?"
"Sadly yes." Al replied. "I've been friends with him for fifteen years and it still takes some time to adjust."
Kairi laughed slightly, before looking up to the horizon, the spires of the royal castle breaking into the skyline. My kingdom... Maybe one day I'll get use to those words.
A weird noise permeated the silence of Kairi's contemplation. The trio looked over to see a black portal forming. Stepping out of the inky blackness, accompanied by a hazy aura of overwhelming power, was the dark knight of the Immortals, Kira. Kairi turned milk white at the sight of the twisted shade of her brother, stepping back in fear. The fear was terrible, a dark demon clawing at her insides. Or maybe that was the darkness Kira had infected her with. Whatever it was, she could feel herself shrinking in the presence of the black armoured terror before her.
Luckily, she had Allister and Clyde, who did as their duty foretold, stepping forward to protect their Princess. Allister's hands had both fallen to his swords and looked Kira with his normal calm face. "What do you want?"
"I have come for my sister." Kira rasped with his arms, sword, and shield outstretched. "Who dares stand in my way?"
KHKHKH
Dayne stood outside the town, in the middle of the small ruined plaza that a few months previous, Sora had fought with, and killed, Demyx. He stared out at the horizon and the mountains before him.
He had cooled off from his argument with Allister, at least on the outside. He was still moody though, but at himself.
After hearing Allister's confession that he was okay with his inhuman nature – how slight it be – Dayne had to take a look at himself. Allister and Clyde, and the other Guardians who had been experimented on all used their own powers to protect their loved ones, protect the people of the Garden, protect the city and kingdom they loved and held dear. Dayne just used his powers to fight, and he was far less human than they were.
The worst of course, was that Allister was fine being non-human. He could live being something else, even if it wasn't visible. Dayne couldn't. He hated being an Immortal. He was nothing better than a Heartless or a Nobody or a Fell Soul, just a monster that proved only to be an unnatural insult to the Gods. He could never accept himself as anything good; he was violent, moody, hate-filled, and arrogant.
The only good thing that he had done in his life was serve the royal family, and no matter what, he could never do that again. Kairi had shown no interest in accepting her fate as Queen, she would visibly cringe at any form of royal formality. And she had no need of a bodyguard anymore. She was strong herself, and would get stronger. She also had Riku and Sora to watch her back.
Even though he had appeared to gain a new lease of life, he was trapped by fate. Trapped by something he couldn't control. And he hated that! He hated when his own life was ripped from his hands, that he had to live by the rules of destiny or whatever bull-crap the universe had to throw at him. For the next year-and-a-half, he was forced to live as an Immortal. That was the end of it. He would live this self-hated existence and then whatever happened to Immortals who ran out of life would happen to him.
But at least he still had Rain.
Dayne lowered his view and stiffened, standing straight. "I'm surprised it took you this long to come after me, Cassius."
He turned around, promptly on his heel, to face his former leader. Cassius. The first-ranked Immortal. Resplendent in his flawless white cloak and robes, the hood peak and drawn over his head and face, but Dayne could see strands of grey hair and cold, amber eyes from within the void of the hood.
Cassius placed his hands in a steeple, his eyes flashing as he stared down with his former subordinate. "I could have come and finished off you and your little wife at anytime." The Immortal leader threatened. Unlike most people, Cassius stood even with Dayne, maybe even a little taller.
"And yet you waited until now. Why?" Dayne shrugged his shoulder to bring High Streak down to the ground, so the hilt was at his level. Not only was Cassius at a height with Dayne, he was built like a bull, broad chested and thick armed, where Dayne was lithe and gangly.
"Quite simply, I wanted you to be the coup-de-grace for my mission." Cassius boomed, his being crackling with bright orange energy. Both men let out a flood of spiritual energy, a hazy aura gravitating and pressing down on the plaza, the force so powerful that it actual began to crack tiles.
Dayne heaved High Streak in both his hands, taking his stance.
Cassius flexed his hands, as his body pulsed with orange energy.
"I suppose this was inevitable." Dayne said darkly. Cassius only raised his head, to reveal a thin grin on his face.
As the three Immortals arrived on the world and unsheathed their true power, the July sun was inexplicably covered by a blanket of black clouds.
A storm had fallen on the world.
To Be Continued
Just a little side-note, Allister and Clyde are common characters in my stories and the stories of some of my friends. They have been in almost every piece of fiction I wrote since I was fourteen. Whether they be wise-cracking drug dealers, high school kids trying to make it in the world, or an Al-Bhed and a goofy sharpshooter, they are constants and I always like writing them.
And, as promised, stuff will get crazy over the next two chapters. Next chapter we will have Terra vs Creed, Riku & the Elrics vs Josef, Sora and Rain vs Rosa, Kairi vs Kira, and Dayne vs Cassius. It will be a knock-down, drag out brawl of epic levels. Next chapter, "Immortal Death-Match".
And the chapter after that is the one I've been waiting to write since I started this fic. I can't tell you anything about it, except for the chapter title, which will be called "Rain of Fire".
But, because of the content in these chapters, I can't give you an estimate as to when they will be up. You'll just have to wait and see.
And, just in case I miss the opportunity, in five weeks, the Winter Olympics will be coming to my hometown, Vancouver (to be fair, I live in a suburb outside of Vancouver, but I feel like I live in Vancouver because my hometown and Vancouver are grouped into the same area). I am absolutely hyped for the games and to have the eyes of the world on my home. If anyone maybe in the area for the games, send me a message. I have those two weeks off, so I may be able to visit one of my fans in the flesh.
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SirAngelo