Heya, guys! I'm updating earlier because now a lot of us are getting done with school and stuff, so if everyone reviews quickly enough, I might even start updating twice a day! I can't promise, but I'm definitely gonna try! Alright, shout outs! Had 9 reviews! That's the most we've had in one chapter so far, I think.
TheEighthLight: You know, I even miss you saying that, but that chapter was 3000 words, haha!
The Unknowing Herald: Well, you know how things go. Yes, he will. And I know, it's supposed to get even darker. You'll see even more in Spira, which you'll get to see some of this chapter!
Celeron96: Very much so. Yep, you won't know which one's right until around chapter 55. All you missed was like three good episodes. The best part of Season 3 was newcomer Archer, who I'll be using during the next time the group goes there.
13TheAce: You and me both. No it definitely does not!
Gohan Roxas: Yeah, I know what you mean.
AngelicWinds: Hehehe, why thank you, Angelic! But believe me, the death of Jack and the others was just the beginning. Soon, we'll be getting into the good stuff!
Lucenthia: Well thank you! It seems random because he hasn't had screen time. You have to really pay attention to what he's saying to get it. Robin's not gonna go that far, trust me. I'm staying mostly with the plot of RH Season 3, except Will and Djaq are staying instead of Tuck and Kate joining the cast.
Shadowdragon1317: Not really the Sora, but I see what you're saying. I wouldn't compare Griffin to Riku, though.
TWI1IGHTMAST3R: I guess no one paid close attention to what he said, lol. Yeah something like that. Zack's my second favorite FF character and considering I haven't brought Auron back, there's no way I'm gonna kill my favorite surviving FF character. That would make Kain my surviving favorite, lol.
Alright, well thank you all for the reviews! You should know what I own by now, so I'm not gonna do a role call and I'll just let you get on to the chapter now!
Chapter 35: The Fight for Gaia
(Timely Ambush extended, Crisis Core)
Pierce dashed out swinging, cutting through a group of soldiers that were running for the door. Ven and Shin came out less than a second behind him. Ven threw his Keyblade at a soldier up on a rock above them, aiming at them with his gun. The soldier was knocked and fell several dozen feet down to the ground, where the remaining remnant of Cloud's fighters was waging war against their attackers. Hundreds of swords clanged repeatedly, and the noise echoed loudly all over the cavern.
Ven caught his Keyblade again and held out his arm, sending a pillar of fire to carve a path through their enemies. Shin held up his blade to deflect a few bullets coming his way, and peeled off from the group, disappearing into the chaos. Pierce continued to push forward relentlessly, a firm expression on his face as he scanned the battlefield for his target.
It didn't take him long to find who he was looking for. Griffin was several dozen yards away, fighting with more expertise than he had ever shown before. The young traitor twirled his Keyblade in a circle, transforming it into a black spear. He fell to the ground, doing a full split as two of Cloud's soldiers swung toward his head. Their blades flew over his head, and he jumped back to his feet and thrust his spear forward, impaling the first one. He flexed his hand, and the spear turned into a dual-bladed axe as he pulled out his dagger and turned it backwards, driving it into the stomach of the man behind him.
As the red-head turned to look for new combatants, Pierce and Ven headed for him. They hadn't moved more than a few steps before red arrows hit the ground all around them. They looked up to see Braig smirking at them from a raised platform above them. Pierce looked at Ven and nodded. As Ven ran toward the platform to engage his old enemy, Pierce vanished into the chaos, pulling his hood up to confuse Braig.
Braig looked through all of the fighters, but could not find the young Rikkison. Just as he thought he spotted him, he heard someone step onto his platform. He turned around with an evil growl as he and Ven glared at each other.
Shin jumped over two of Cloud's fighters and kicked in both directions, knocking a couple of enemies onto their backs. As he landed, another one ran at him with a raised sword. Shin raised his sword into the air, and as the man thrust it at him, he brought his sword down vertically, forcing the man's sword into the ground. As he tried to pull his sword out, Shin smiled as his own sword began to glow. The man gasped as ice covered Shin's sword and quickly transferred onto his own. The ice quickly crept up his arms until it had frozen him solid. Shin smirked as he reached out an arm and pushed the man onto his side, still frozen in a block of ice.
Pierce dodged and weaved his way through the battle, occasionally cutting down an enemy in his way. It didn't take him long to get to the clearing that Griffin had made.
Griffin growled happily as he sliced a man through his midsection. He slowly stopped and turned as he felt the furious presence behind him. He turned to see a sight that for so long he had thought so admirable: The young, lean, form of what used to be his friend. The Rikkison in the white and black outfit, the hood completely hiding his face as he held out his Keyblade toward the traitor. "This ends now, Griffin, before you do any more damage." he said as he calmly held his Keyblade backhand in a ready position. Griffin smirked as he casually twirled his own and held it out to him.
"I couldn't agree more." he said simply, his yellow eyes staring at Pierce gloatingly. With a yell, he ran at his former friend. Pierce held up his blade to block Griffin's as it swung down toward his head. Their blades locked for a few moments until Pierce punched Griffin in the face hard enough to stagger him backward. The red head stumbled backward. He looked up at Pierce as he wiped the blood from his mouth. His eyes glowed chaotically as he threw his Keyblade into the air. Darkness surrounded the blade as it transformed into a massive black bear with spikes protruding from its back and legs. Its eyes were red as it roared angrily. Griffin smirked as he jumped onto its back.
"You can't beat me, Pierce!" he yelled happily. He raised both his hands and threw them toward Pierce. The bear roared furiously and charged. Pierce rolled to the side to avoid the bear as it swung its claws at him. He got to his feet, now behind the monster. Griffin flexed his hands, and the bear turned around to face him again. It rubbed its paw against the ground like an angry bull and charged. Pierce held his ground as the beast drew near to him.
"Through here! Go now!" Shin yelled to the few remaining soldiers. Cloud's fighters quickly ran through the tunnel leading to the evac point, and Shin looked up to see Ven struggling to get near Braig, who kept teleporting away from him and shooting him in the back.
Ven swung at Braig, who teleported away and shot a dozen arrows at him. "You know you can't get near me!" he told him, smirking. Ven sighed, gasping for breath by this point.
"But I can." said a voice. Before Braig could even turn around, Shin's boot collided with the side of his face and sent him flying off his feet. Braig fell halfway to the ground and teleported away. He raised his arrowguns, but sighed at seeing both Shin and Ven holding their blades toward him, ready.
"You win this round, kiddos." he told them, calmly backing into a portal and saluting them in farewell.
As the bear came running right up on him, Pierce stepped to the side and brought his Keyblade down on the bear's paw. The massive creature went tumbling forward right as Pierce jumped above it and kicked Griffin in the face, knocking the boy off of its back. Pierce then spun in mid-air and held up his Keyblade, the blade facing down. He plunged it into the back of the falling bear, and darkness began to ooze out of the wound.
From where he was lying on the ground, Griffin began to writhe in pain when Pierce impaled his creature. The bear roared in agony and exploded into black vapor that disappeared after a few seconds. Pierce turned and walked up to the defeated Griffin, holding his Keyblade at the boy's throat. (end Timely Ambush)
"What happened to you, Griffin?" he asked him sadly. Griffin stared up at his former friend in utter loathing.
"You're so smug. You think you're supposed to be our savior, our messiah, but you couldn't be farther from the truth. My eyes have been opened. I know the future, Rikkison. I'd do your best to suppress that Light if I were you." he told him ambiguously. Pierce slightly lowered his Keyblade.
"What are you talking about?" he asked him. Griffin shook his head and smirked.
"Wouldn't you like to know? But know this: A Rikkison will die by my hand, I swear it. I need only prove my worth to Lorans, and I will live through the Purge!" he told him calmly. He placed his hand flat on the ground, and a portal appeared underneath him, swallowing him up instantly. Pierce sighed and looked around, realizing that he, Ven, and Shin were the only ones in the cavern now. Hundreds of bodies lay on the ground, surrounding them.
"Cloud's fighters?" he asked them.
"Close to three dozen made it out." Shin told him, wiping his sword clean and placing it back in its sheath.
"Rayne made it to the surface alright. They're waiting for us." Ven told him. Pierce nodded, walking toward the escape tunnel.
"You two go on ahead. I'll be right there." he told them. They nodded and walked ahead. As Pierce was about to call Ava's communicator, he received one from Kain.
"Pierce, I'm on my way to you. I'll be at the ship in ten minutes." said Kain's voice. Pierce sighed.
"Kain, we'll need to fill you in when you get here, but a lot has happened over the last two days." he told him. Kain sighed.
"I'll be there soon." he said in response. Pierce nodded as the transmission ended. He sighed and ran to catch up with the others.
SPIRA…..
"Get off my foot!" Ava whispered harshly.
"Sorry….." Luriel whispered back. They had found a side entrance into Yevon headquarters, but it was through the sewer system. The tunnel they were going through was about four feet tall and two feet wide. "Are we there yet?" she mumbled.
"How should I know?! Just be quiet, we could be right by the wall!" Ava whispered incredulously. A second later, she smacked into a wall due to not having any light down in the tunnel. Lulu sniggered behind her, and Ava aimed a backwards slap at where she thought the other girl was. She smiled as she felt her hand hit skin.
"That was my face!" Lulu exclaimed quietly. Ava laughed quietly.
"It should look considerably better now, then…." she muttered back.
"Why, you….!" Lulu began, but Ava shushed her as she began to kick the wall in front of her. After a few kicks, the wall began to budge, and eventually it opened enough for them to get out.
Both girls stepped out into the hallway and stretched. "Well, where to?" Lulu asked. Ava listened closely, and heard voices coming from the right.
"I say left." she told her green-haired companion, leading the way down the hallway.
Soon, they emerged into a huge room with three raised platforms above them. But it wasn't the platforms that made the girls gasp in horror as they walked in. It was the five bodies hanging from the ceiling.
One was a young blonde haired girl, and the name plate sitting beneath her body read "Heretic No. 6: Rikku."
The next was a tall man wearing yellow trousers, and his red hair stuck up in the middle. His name read "Heretic No. 3: Wakka."
After him was a woman in a long black dress. Hers read "Heretic No. 4: Lulu."
Then there was a hulking creature that looked like a humanoid blue lion. His name read "Heretic No. 5: Kimahri Ronso."
The very last one was hanging by her neck higher than all the others. She was wearing her second outfit, consisting of an open white tank top, black short shorts that concealed very little, and a white sash on her right leg. Ava didn't have to read the name plate to know it said "Heretic No. 1: High Summoner Yuna." She began to sob at the scene before her, and while the scene disgusted Lulu as well, she noticed a gap between Yuna's body and the others. She saw a rope dangling from the ceiling, and a name plate beneath it right in between Yuna's and Wakka's.
This one read "Heretic No. 2: Tidus."
"Ava, someone's missing. I think he's still alive." Lulu whispered, pointing at the name plate. Ava looked up and narrowed her eyes, thinking.
"He has to still be alive somewhere then!" she said. Lulu nodded.
"But remember that woman earlier? They're not telling the public what they've done here. That has to be why they still trust Mika and Lorans. What if we exposed this?" she said, gesturing toward the hanging bodies. Ava's eyes widened in surprise at Lulu's ingenuity.
"You're not nearly as dumb as I've led myself to believe." she complimented. Lulu laughed.
"I could say the same about you!" she replied. Suddenly, a gun cocked behind him.
"What do you think you're doing here?!" demanded an angry voice.
"Uh-oh…" Lulu muttered as she and Ava raised her arms, hearing many pairs of feet running up behind them.
GAIA, FUGITIVE'S SHIP…..
"We have one chance to destroy Xehanort's foothold here, and we have to take it right now." Cloud told them. He, Reeve, and Vincent were sitting on one side of the meeting table, facing Pierce, Ven, Shin, Rayne(who was holding Soriah), Terra, and Kain, who had just arrived.
"Xehanort has Braig, Griffin, and an army!" Rayne argued. Pierce cleared his throat.
"Griffin's not gonna be fighting anytime soon. I hurt him pretty bad. And we crippled Xehanort's forces down in the cave. I'm sure we can do this." he told them. His group looked at him doubtfully, at least until Cloud pushed his wheelchair back from the table and put both hands on top of the armrests.
"Cloud, it's too soon! You can't…..!" Reeve began, but Cloud shook his head. His face flexed in immense effort, and he slowly began to rise out of his chair.
"I have to, Reeve." he said through clenched teeth. He managed to get out of his chair and locked both of his knees. He leaned against the table and tried to catch his breath. "We'll need every sword in this fight, and except for Vincent and maybe Zack, I'm all this world has left." he told them. Reeve stood close by him in case he was going to fall, but Cloud regained his feet and stood strong. "I will not sit by while my world crumbled around me." he said firmly.
"Then it's settled. Prepare your troops. We attack Xehanort's palace." Pierce told him. Cloud nodded, and Pierce's group walked outside to prepare.
NOTTINGHAM…..
Robin's gang sprinted through the woods toward screaming voices. It was at a cliff that they found Robin, grappling angrily with Gisborne. Gisborne pushed Robin onto his back, and the outlaw hit his head on a stone, dazing him. Gisborne smirked as he pressed his advantage, picking up Robin and lifting him over his head.
"Master!" Much screamed as Gisborne threw Robin off the cliff and screamed in victory. Much drew his sword, and the rest of the gang drew their own weapons. Gisborne drew his sword and turned toward them.
"Care to join him?" he asked them as his soldiers rallied behind him. The five outlaws angrily charged.
"For Robin!" they yelled as one.
MEANWHILE, RIVER AT THE BASE OF THE CLIFF…..
Marek stepped out of his portal and looked around. "Robin!" he called out, but heard no response. He began to walk up and down both shores of the river, looking for any sign of life.
After several minutes of searching, he finally found the man he was looking for. Robin was laying against a log in the shallows, unconscious. Marek sighed and ran over to help him.
GAIA, XEHANORT'S PALACE…..
"Xehanort!" Pierce yelled angrily. He, his group, Cloud, Vincent, and their remaining men were gathered in front of the palace, ready to fight. Xehanort appeared in front of them out of a dark portal.
"I applaud you, little Rikkison. You put Braig and his new slave out of commission for now. I have no desire to fight you, not yet anyway. I will only fight you when Lorans orders me to do so. But that does not mean I will hand over this world, either." he told Pierce, smirking.
"Get out of our world, you old creep!" yelled a voice. Out of one of the second story windows came a random soldier. He flew past them and crashed into a building. A second later, a man leaped out of the window and landed behind Xehanort. His Soldier uniform was tattered and torn, and he looked no less for wear, but Zack smiled energetically as he held up his Buster sword. Xehanort laughed quietly.
"I have what I need from this world. Take it, and remember who the true enemy is. Not all of us wish to see the insane dictator unleash his final contingency." he told them.
"What are you talking about, Xehanort?!" Cloud demanded. Xehanort smiled as another portal appeared behind him.
"My armies are already gone, as are the dog and his puppet. Prepare for the end, heroes of light, for it is nigh approaching." he told them simply, walking into his portal without glancing back.
The entire group looked at each other in utter shock at Xehanort's behavior. "This isn't right." Vincent muttered.
"He was scared of us!" Zack said proudly, smiling wide.
"Oh, Zack…." Ven murmured, scratching his head.
"Why would he give up a world without a fight?" Shin asked them.
"Because Xehanort wants us to take down Lorans for him." Kain told him. Pierce turned to Cloud.
"So what else do you need from us, Cloud?" he asked. Cloud smiled and shook his head.
"We should have it from here. Go, I'm sure there are other worlds calling." he told him. Pierce smiled and shook his friend's hand.
"If you need us, you know how to reach us." he told him. Cloud nodded, and his face turned serious.
"I'm sorry about Griffin." he said. Pierce nodded emotionlessly.
"He's chosen his side. He should hope our blades don't cross in battle again." he replied simply. Cloud nodded, and Pierce turned back to his group.
FUGITIVE'S SHIP, THE LANES BETWEEN….
"Pierce, you may want to answer this!" Rayne called from the pilot's chair. Pierce got up from where he had been talking to Kain and Ven and walked up to her.
"What is it?" he asked her. She reached up and pulled down the transmission screen.
"We're getting a call from Spira. It's Ava." she told him. He nodded as Ava's face came up on the screen. From the looks of things, she and Lulu were in some kind of cell.
"Pierce, we kinda got into a bit of a predicament…." she began. He sighed and smiled at her.
"I thought you were better than this!" he joked. She scowled at him.
"Don't even start with me, Pierce. I've been locked up in a cell with Luriel for almost a day now. Come get me out of here or I'll go insane!" she told him. He sighed.
"We're setting course for Spira. We'll be there as soon as we can, don't go anywhere." he told her. She rolled her eyes.
"Obviously…." she muttered in irritation right before ending the transmission. No sooner had she stopped it than Marek appeared on the screen.
"Pierce, Robin's in pretty bad shape. Apparently, he went crazy when they got back home. He tried to kill Gisborne and got thrown off a cliff." he reported. Pierce sighed.
"Is the gang with him?" he asked. Marek nodded.
"Of course. They fought their way out of Locksley and barely made it past Gisborne's men. They're tending to him now." he replied. Pierce nodded.
"Then meet us in Spira as soon as you can. Robin can wait. Mika has Ava and Lulu captive." he told him. Marek nodded.
"I'm leaving now. Race you there." he said with a slight smile. Pierce smiled back.
"Thank you, uncle." he said. Marek nodded, and ended the transmission.
"Time to kick Mika's…..!" Ven began.
"Ven, can you go check on Soriah?" Rayne asked, purposely cutting him off. Ven sighed and walked to the back of the ship, where the baby was lying in his crib, crying.
"He needs his diaper changed!" Ven yelled to let her know.
"I'm flying the ship! You'll have to do it!" Rayne told him.
"You've gotta be kidding me…"
There is a reason that Xehanort didn't fight them, and it'll be talked about later, I promise. It wasn't random, trust me. So how did you like Griffin and Pierce's clash? Don't forget to review and vote on my poll!