Zack grunted as he pulled the dagger free, kicking the guard before him in the chest and watching as he landed with a thud. He turned right and brought the blade up to catch a sword aimed for his throat, holding it in place and shaking slightly as he attempted to hold back the steel. He was about to duck left and out of the way of the blade before the sword and its owner were thrown to the other side of the room. Straightening up his bent knees, Zack nodded at Luxord and watched as the man rotated his shoulder before he picked up the sword and joined the fray. Turning, Zack was about to yell to Marshal to see how he was doing, but as he did Luxord grabbed him by the back of his collar and dragged him backwards out of the way of a pair of falling bodies.
Blinking down at the bleeding corpses with open horrified eyes, Zack glanced upwards and felt a smirk tug at his face as Marshal leaned against a spear in his left hand. Smiling, the battered Neko raised an eyebrow and offered Zack a shrug.
"What's up, kitty? Didn't think I could handle the heat?"
Zack laughed, feeing Luxord release his collar as the Raion General whipped around and sliced another guard clean in half, his sword strokes clean and swift. For a moment the odd trio stood in silence, the three enemies of war each holding a weapon, but not wanting to use it. Zack glanced up to Marshal, his eyes catching the disgust that hid there before he turned and caught Luxord's sadly shaking head. They may have been enemies once, but they were allies now. An alliance had been struck in blood.
Above them, echoing through the corridor like a swimming wave, the faint but bold tingling twangs of a bell chiming swept through the castle brickwork followed by unceremonious screaming. Luxord hummed deeply and closed his eyes, a small smile playing on his lips. "I do not believe that disguise will be necessary anymore, my friends. The bell has rung and the chime echoes for our lives. No disguise will save us now, not whilst we stand amongst the bodies of the fallen in blood stained clothes." He opened his eyes and watched as Zack pulled the amulet from his neck and instead placed it in his pocket, his breathing coming in heavy pants as the red stained his attire.
Zack picked up the rug and tried to calm his breathing. "So what do you suggest we do?"
Marshal let out a bark of laughter and drew their attention to him as he began to walk away slowly. "You kitty-cats can stay here if ya want. I'm off." He turned back to them, walking backwards as he gave them a smirk. "Cheer's for the failed rescue, Zack, but I gotta tell ya, I think I'm better off doing my own thing, yano?" He turned back around and picked up his pace, lifting his hand over his shoulder in a brief farewell. "You see Night Crawler, you tell him I'll be waiting for him! I've still gotta bone ta pick!"
Zack watched, almost stupefied, as Marshal picked up his pace to a jog, rounded a corner whilst still holding the spear he had obtained from the body at the black haired Neko's feet, and disappeared. Growling, Zack bent down and picked up the rug by his feet, ignoring the wiggling and muffled cries that came from inside it as he turned to face Luxord. "That man always was a damn coward."
"It is a coward who lives through the battle when the brave fall." Luxord mumbled, walking forwards with Zack. "Unfortunately, it is often them that claim the throne after the war. And hence another war shall beckon the first and the world will forever bleed."
Zack grunted. "So, I suppose you're gonna run off as well, huh?"
"On the contrary, I believe running will benefit none of us now. The enemy is coming, Zack. There is no way out of this castle. Marshal knows this, and so he hopes to use us to secure his own escape." He gave a stout laugh and ignored Zack's raised eyebrow. "All that is left is to prey and hope. With a little luck we may survive, but I believe the odds are against us. Come, we must attempt to leave these cursed walls."
Roxas felt his heart thump erratically in his chest every time he passed a pair of careless guards. He swallowed hard, weaving in and out of the castle corridors and keeping his hood low over his face as he swerved in between the lords and ladies that laughed and giggled in clusters. None of them recognised him beneath the cloak, and, as he looked like he had brisk order of business to attend with his fast determined pace, none of them stopped him.
But Roxas knew that there was no way he would manage to make it to the king's chambers. Not looking as he did. It would be physically impossible to penetrate such a secure fortress. Which was why, as he headed further down the third floor and jogged up a flight of steps that would take him straight to the fifth floor, he headed in the direction that rested directly beneath the King's chambers.
Another guard passed him and he felt his steps falter, his palms growing slippery with beads of sweat. His breathing was shaky, but as the guard continued passing after giving him nothing but an uneasy glance he let out a deep sigh and turned right. He knew where the King's chamber was. It was at the very peak of the castle, and it rested in the richly built section of the building. All he had to do was follow the decorations, and seeing as the castle only had six fundamental floors, it came to him as common logic that the king waited upon the sixth floor.
He stopped outside a random door and looked left and right. He needed to find a way up. He could always take the window at the end of the corridor, but with the three guards guarding the door beside it he figured they may have something to say about him trying to clamber through. Which left him with no other option but to enter a room, but which? He didn't want to bust in on an occupied room and have the screaming inhabitants bring the Neko Guard down upon him.
It was in that instant that a ravenous bell began to sound through the castle, tearing apart the very brick as it scolded the world and alerted each and every guard of an intrusion. Roxas listened; he had spent long enough in the castle dungeons to understand what each bell ring meant, and as he looked about he found that the other guards were listening too with twitching ears. Holding his breath, Roxas closed his eyes and felt the world stop about him as even the nobles stopped their conversations to listen.
DONG!
The first bell. It often meant trouble in the city.
DONG!
The second bell. The sound for trouble in the courtyard.
DONG!
The third and final bell. Roxas knew that it only had one meaning. It signified rebellion in the dungeons – where Zack and the other's where. Roxas snapped his eyes open and watched as the guards by the window, and every other guard in his line of sight, began to make their way rapidly down the corridor and the steps. Roxas followed them with his eyes, praying that Zack had set the bells off as a diversion and nothing more.
He squashed himself against the wall as the guards stormed past. Swallowing hard, he turned his attention back to the problem he faced presently because, even if Zack was in trouble, Roxas couldn't help him now. Not with that many guards heading that way. Zack's only chance of living now came from fleeing, and by the time Roxas reached the lower levels undetected amongst the hoard Zack would most likely be already gone.
Shaking his head as he attempted to convince himself that his train of thought was the most correct, Roxas watched as people began to flee back to their rooms, scared of the three bell's chime. The doors slammed all about him, and Roxas soon found himself alone down the previously heated and heaving corridor. Smirking, he made his way over to the window that lay deserted and alone. Opening it wide, he stepped up onto the sill, taking one last glance about him and checking that he was safe and that he wasn't going to be pulled back in before he climbed out and onto the small narrow ledge of brick that surrounded the outer castle.
Securing a firm foothold, Roxas clung to the grainy edge, his cloak whipping before and behind him as it flapped in the screeching wind. Gritting his teeth together, Roxas looked up at the window above him, his vision blurry from the snow that pelted against his back as the amulets on his wrists clinked against the bricks. Taking a heavy breath, Roxas slowly dug his nails into the grooves the wind had formed when it had chipped at the brickwork on stormy night. Heaving himself up, he grunted as his sore shoulder protested and dug his foot into the cracks below him, securing a firm foothold before he searched for another gap he could pull himself up with.
It took him the best of ten minutes to climb up to the rose tinted window that lined the King's chambers. But finally, exhausted and prepared for whatever awaited inside as his fingers panged under the numb force of the wind and snow, Roxas found the small narrow ledge that lined the king's chambers and hefted himself up with a grunt. Gritting his teeth together, he knelt down on the ledge so he was level with the window. Bringing his elbow up, he smashed it down hard against the panes and listened as they cracked and shattered openly, leaving a gaping hole that the wind instantly invaded with the snow.
Roxas crept inside, shaking his frame to rid his cloak of the small glistening shards. Jumping down from the ledge, he looked about at the extravagance in the richly perfumed room and almost gagged at the rich interior. Stepping out onto a woven gold rug, he left the wind behind him and turned his attention to the roaring fire that was beckoning him closer. He would love to go sit beside it, curl up and sleep, but more pressing matters gripped his attention. The dong of the bells had finally finished, and instead a deep silence had settled with the snow. The Neko King was absent from his room, and Roxas found himself instead alone as he wandered past the large oaken doors and round to the back of the room where the lush tropics of a small paradise had been planted.
Squinting, he stepped over to a dresser that rested just by the Neko King's bed, ignoring the sharp whistle of the wind. He stood behind the chair, careful not to touch anything in case it was displaced, and glanced over the curling map. Odd sections had been planted with red and blue pins stabbed into each section of land to indicate an enemy or a friend, and under the rough paper Roxas found himself frowning to find the Ookami marked with a dignified green pin. What did that mean? Pushing it to the back of his mind, he turned his attention instead to the three drawers that lined the desk.
Opening them, he began to rummage, moving aside letters from generals and lieutenants describing both friend and enemy military decisions and results. Pushing to the back of the draw he felt his hand clamp about a scrunched piece of old parchment and he pulled it free, opening it up onto the desk and unravelling it hastily.
To the prestigious king of the Neko Lands,
I have had the chance to overlook your request and in doing so I find your offer to be quite tantalising and appetising. The trade of such an item would require my understanding that you are most certainly not the benefitting tyrant of fraud misgivings, and I would need to have full proof for the possession of the item you wish to trade.
I understand that you would wish to obtain several precarious items from myself, however I am obliged to inform you that only under strict circumstances would I consider delving the obligated trust of holding the Ookami amulet to you and yours. It is not for a lack of trust and the false hearted nature of your kind that I am refusing this wish, however I must first see the item you promise me. Send the requested item to the Ookami Province Palace within the next month and I shall assure you that a trade is most certainly set upon the table.
Regards,
Sephiroth, rightful King of the Ookami Nation
Roxas froze, his numb fingers still holding down the sections of the parchment as he overlooked the document once more. The Tora and Buta pieces dangled from his wrists and scraped against the wood of the table, and as they glowed and ignited a ray of colours against the desk he found himself lost in the thoughts of his own world.
The Neko King was trading something with Sephiroth in return for the Ookami section of the amulet…it must be something incredibly valuable or important. Perhaps it's another pendant? But what would be the point in swapping one for the other? Unless, of course, the Neko King or the Ookami King have some tricks up their sleeve. That seems more likely. At least that explains why the pin on the map is green…but what could the Neko King be trading that's so important to the Ookami prince?
He'd heard of the trouble in the northern hemisphere; about how Sephiroth had taken the Ookami throne and was charging his way through the other nations, but he didn't think Sephiroth had come so far so quickly.
Clunk!
Roxas turned rapidly, his fingers letting go of the parchment to let it roll back up into a cylindrical form as his eyes widened at the person before him. Stood before the large oaken doors, a smile plastered bravely on their face as the brazen chins wiggled against each other, was the Neko King. His smile was thick and meaty, and as he looked the shadow before him up and down he couldn't help licking his lips in anticipation. A chuckle escaped his throat, and he watched as Roxas' eyes narrowed ever so slightly and his ears were thrown back against his head in disdain.
"Oh, Night Crawler, you make it all too easy. My wife never was one to be known for her smarts. Really, naming you Narah Caelyn," he tutted and clicked his tongue, locking the door and stalking further into the room as he placed it into his pocket and patted it happily. "However, I must not look upon her in such a favourable light. She will be punished, as will your friends that are running through the castle. It was foolish of you to enter this castle with three amulets, Night Crawler, especially when they call to each other so easily. "
He stopped, his fingers sliding down the bed post as he smiled and glanced over at Roxas cautiously, almost carefully, and offered him a bemused look. "I must say, I was expecting more of an entrance. You are a king now, I am told. A king should forever make bold impartial judgements to secure the foothold of demand within society…you have soldiers and civilians and jewels and wealth; you could have stormed this castle, or attempted to, at least. But instead you turn up in a bedraggled cloak with an aim of freeing prisoners…I had thought your attack would be more directed towards my person." He laughed and his fat fingers released the post to trail along the thread of his silk jacket. "No doubt you have heard of your brothers. Have you come to take revenge for them?"
The word sparked venomous curiosity inside of Roxas' heart. Never taking his eyes of the gleaming snake before him, he scowled. "What are you talking about?"
An eyebrow was raised. "You haven't heard?" The laughter was heavier this time, and it was spat out across the room with brutal force. "Funny, you never seem to know much, yet you always manage to find yourself in the thicket of my discussions and plans. The Ookami wrestled the Tori Islands a few weeks past. They stand alone, and are no more. I understand your brothers were upon that ghastly rock along with some very noble and tantalising people. They too stand no more. You are alone, Night Crawler. No siblings walk beside you now."
Roxas froze, and his gaze wandered down to the parchment that coiled back up before he glanced over to the green pin stabbed down hard into the wood. When he spoke his voice was a lost whisper, but it was all he could manage. "You're lying…you have to be…you are; you're lying!" Smashing his fist down, he watched as the king jumped back slightly and growled, pushing the desk away from himself and toppling it before he pointed at the slimy excuse for a leader before him. "You spill bullshit all the time! I know you're lying, just like you was before!"
The Neko King held his hands out in open defence and his smile thinned. "If I be lying then may the Goddess strike me down. I speak of no foul grievances, Night Crawler. The loss of your kin does nothing to upset me. However, because of it, you understand why I cannot let you leave." His eyes flashed downwards and caught the glimmering pink and red amulets before they jumped back to catch shimmering sapphire eyes. "Not unless we can come to some arrangement."
Chest heaving, Roxas took an unsteady step back and bit back a growl. "What are you talking about? This kingdom doesn't belong to you!"
"…You think it belongs to you, Night Crawler? You really think you can ever find acceptance here? Face it, my wrath is strong, too strong, and my followers surround you. I will not give up this throne. I cannot give it up. I am not prepared to, and I will see you suffer before I dare to let this kingdom slip. Now, are you going to be a good little Neko and give to me the amulets you have managed to scavenge, or must I call upon the guards?"
Roxas backed up slowly, shaking his head as he looked about the room for some form of weapon, but there was none. The Neko King began to advance, drawing from his waist a slender silver sword with a jewel-encrusted hilt. With every step came the thud of his weight, and Roxas folded his ears further back, flinching with every step.
"What deal are you striking with the Ookami?!"
"You expect me to divulge my enemy in my plans, Night Crawler? You truly are a kitten to the plans of war."
Clenching his jaw, Roxas ducked out of the way at the slice that would have swept across his chest and came up alongside the king's right side. Another reckless slash was aimed his way and the king gave a heavy pant. Grunting, the Neko King quickened hi space, moving with startling speed for a man his size, and out of sheer desperation for a place to move to avoid the glimmering edge Roxas jumped atop the bed. His feet sank into the thick mattress and the duvet seemed to curl about his ankles. Forcing a grin, he looked down on the exhausted Neko King with an abashed smile.
"What's up, kitten? Can't catch me?!" Sticking out his tongue in a bold movement, he moved further onto the bed, watching as the Neko King clambered after him with a roar that spilled from the back of his throat.
Swinging his sword out, the king missed the slice that aimed for Roxas' side, but as he reached his left arm out he snatched the distracted Neko's ankles and, with a heavy and mighty pull, he managed to drag him down into the tussled covers. Roxas yelped as he went down, pulling his ankle free before booting it outwards and catching the Neko King in the jaw. The blood splattered and the king let out a pig-like grunt that snorted into the air. Scooting backwards, Roxas growled as his elbows sunk further into the feathered mattress, making every move twice as hard and every attempt to gain the upper hand a laboured effort. His muscles became strained, his aching shoulder panged and beneath the comfort he found the Neko King's scent sickening to the point where he gagged upon his own tongue.
Another roar escaped the Neko King as Roxas' boot found its way to his face once more. With startled rage, he raised his sword high and smashed it down into the covers, ripping right through the mattress clean to the wood where the sword remained pinned. Roxas cried out at the sudden jolt of pain that ran through him, gritting his teeth hard and closing his eyes tight to try and stomach the pain that swam through his veins. Peeking an eye open, he gave a small yelp to find the silver sword glinting through his shin where it continued through his leg to pierce the bedding and wooden bedframe. The pain burned and stung, but as the adrenaline coursed through him he found it transforming into the soothing afterglow of a dull ache. He cried again as the Neko King attempted to pull the sword free only to find it lodged too deeply into the wood below.
Gritting his teeth, one eye still closed as he growled at the greasy man before him that was panting and sweating over him, he spat at the Neko King and watched as the bulbous man pulled away in repulsion. The Neko King wiped the spit away from his cheek and smirked as Roxas sat up slowly, his hood falling down from his face as he gripped at the fabric of his leg until his knuckles turned white.
"Now, Night Crawler, we can do things the easy way, or the hard way. Which would you prefer?"
Falling back in slight panic, Roxas rubbed away the sheen of sweat that had gathered across his brow. Glaring at the king, he spat each word out with as much venom as he could muster whilst still trying to fight of the black spots collecting in the corners of his vision.
"Fuck. You."
The Neko King let out a shallow laugh. "Have it your way."
From beneath his cloak the king pulled free a tiny jewelled dagger with the smallest engraved symbols along the side. He watched as the young blond before him ground his teeth together, his sharp eyes never once leaving the dagger as he raised it high, the glint catching the torchlight as the storm outside raged and-
THRUMMMMMM!
The entire castle shook, the bricks breaking loose and falling freely to the ground as dust was shaken from its slumber. Pinned to the bed, Roxas kicked the wobbling Neko King away from him as the man staggered forwards and watched as he fell flat on his back, the dagger slipping free from his grip and skidding across the floor. Wasting no time, Roxas reached over to the sword whilst the Neko King remained dazed and rolling like an overly large pudding that couldn't quite get up. Tugging hard, he cried out and panted when trying to remove it, both hands tight and clammy about the handle as he managed to pull it a third of the way out with a slick schlop before the pain became too much and he had to stop, staggering for breath.
The Neko King raised to one knee, looking about in complete bafflement. "What the damn hell is going on?!" Striding over to the window on shaken legs, confident that Roxas couldn't move and had no sufficient weapons of any sort, he opened the shutters that were clamped over the window and pulled them free. Immediately they fluttered in the wind, banging recklessly against the stone walls as the torches gutted out with the biting cold that invaded the room. The snowstorm outside had intensified, but through it the Neko King watched and saw with horrified eyes, and behind him Roxas managed to catch the quickest snippets of multi-coloured winged beasts flying through the storm as if were nothing but the simplest tickle on their underbelly.
Both Neko's remained confused. Banging his fist against the sill, the Neko King cursed loudly and openly, his rage building to dangerous levels as he let out a deafening roar that left Roxas more afraid. The wyverns continued to fly by gracefully, sweeping over the castle and encircling it as they dodged the arrows and breathed a multi-display of colourful breath over the castle, scorching the brickwork; freezing the doors; unearthing the courtyard and sending cracks of lightening shimmering across the sky. It was a battle of the most ferocious elements, and the Neko King was all but powerless to stop it.
THRUMMMMMM!
The castle was rocked once more, and this time Roxas watched, as if locked in the stopping of time, as the central beam holding up the rafters groaned, caved, and gave way. The lumbering crash was dramatic, the rocks and dust fell so thickly and heavily that the Neko King had no time to think; no time to prepare; no time to flee. The rubble buried him. The rocks smashed his legs, covering his entire lower torso and crushing his frame. Roxas covered his head, grunting as the dust clogged the room and drew from him a series of thick coughs that wracked his frame and left him wheezing for every breath. Finally the dust began to clear, and Roxas glanced up to glance at the groaning four poster bed that seemed to have covered his frame and saved him from the tumbling landslide of rocks.
But still it groaned. And he knew he needed to move. Reaching over, he shouted a series of curses openly as he tugged hard on the sword. Praying; cursing; yelling and crying; tugging as hard as he could and lifting the sword inch by painful inch, he finally managed to pull it free and sling it across the room where it twanged dangerously and lay restless and bloody. He stayed motionless for a moment, relieved that he was free before he glanced over at the twitching Neko King that lay buried from the waist down.
He grunted as he shifted his weight and began to pull himself form the bed. Raising his hood once more, he swung his good leg over the side and carefully tested his wounded limb. With every ounce of pressure he would bite back the wince that crawled up his throat and threatened to overtake him. He stood shakily, but as he took a step forward his leg buckled beneath him, taking him down to the ground as he attempted to stop the trembles that ran through him. Swallowing hard, he stood once more, placing his weight onto his right leg as he dragged the left forward, clenching his jaw. Every step was ragged and jagged, but he slowly made his way over to the unconscious king that was slowly bleeding from beneath the small pile of rocks. Separating them was the central beam that remained cracked and splintered, and carefully, licking his lips with wide eyes and tense fingers, Roxas knelt and reached over to feel the man's pulse.
It took him a while to find it, but it was there. Weak and unsteady. The king twitched, and immediately Roxas pulled his fingers back and flinched. The king groaned, but other than that remained motionless and still. Picking up his courage, he ignored the rocking castle as another attack landed close by and dove back out, latching his fingers about the chains about the Neko King's neck and yanking hard. The chains ripped and Roxas pulled his hand back as if burned, unbelieving of the amulets he held in his hand.
THRUMMMMMM!
Pocketing the amulets, he stood and slowly made his way over to the door. Cursing his luck to find it locked, he looked about for something to use. He didn't have the guts to go back to the unconscious body of the king, and he couldn't stomach attempting to seek the key from his sleeping foe's body for fear of testing fate. His eyes settled on the sword that was smeared with his blood, and, with one hand on the wall, he bent, hissing from his wound, and picked up the gleaming hilt. Turning the edge into the lock, he slowly began to twist it, turning it with practiced ease and grunting when his sweaty palms rubbed against the metal and forced him to endure more time in imprisonment with his captor.
Finally the lock clicked and the door opened. Wasting no time, Roxas turned the sword downwards, holding onto the hilt and using it more as a walking staff than a tool of war. Outside the screams and shouts echoed up to him, and in the madness and chaos nobody paid attention to the limping stranger in the black cloak.
Getting down the steps had been the hardest part. Every step had sent a spasm of pain like an electric bolt through his left leg, and with it he would wince, stumble, and grip the banister tightly to hold himself up as soldiers ran up and down and ladies and nobles ran for cover whilst the castle thundered and shook with snapping beasts. Finally, after he had swallowed back the sick feeling in his stomach for the third time and he had ducked out of the way of the guards that were weaving past him in a rushed panic, he made it to the lower levels where the Grand Hall opened up onto the courtyard outside.
The front doors had been completely blown off, and around the hinges lay the scorched black marks of embers long since gone. Outside the shouts echoed back to him, and over the din Roxas secretly wondered if Zack and the others had managed to make it out safely. Stepping over the rubble and out into the storm, he stayed close to the edge of the buildings and hoped to avoid the massacre that was taking place in the centre of the courtyard. He was halfway towards the stables when he staggered back against a building and let his back smash against it, staggering for breath as his world span and the noise seemed to blur into one wide chaotic mess. Between the blur of beasts and mayhem he failed to make out the symbols and shapes as they became meaningless shadows.
He felt his strength sap out of him, and slowly he sank back against the wall until finally he hit the ground. Stretching his leg out in front of himself in the snow, he watched it stain the white red and ignored the shipping lash of the wind against his face. He tried to get up, to force himself on, but he couldn't. His body physically protested that it had had enough and wasn't prepared to move anymore. No matter the consequences.
It was as his world dimmed that he saw the looming red blur land before him. The demonic shriek brought hell to his ears and through the white he managed to make out a black figure with spiked red hair that was wild and untamed. He knew the figure knelt in front of him, he could sense it, but he couldn't see anything beyond the black, white and red. Hitting his head back against the wall, he let his breath stumble out in a desperate whisper. "Axel…?
There was the faintest flash of a smirk, and Roxas' sapphire eyes closed; blocking out the world.
Okay, I'm sorry, I have no real explanation as to why this is late :( You have permission to blame me. And I know, I promised lots of Reno and Demyx, but instead I'm going to have to fulfil that promise in either the next chapter or the one after it depending on what you want to see.
It can be either: Cloud & co, Roxas & co, Sephiroth & co, Axel & co, or New character & co :D pick your pleasure people! Oh, p.s. if I make it over the 500 mark for reviews, I promise to update two chapters next time! :D
guest - I'm glad you like the conflict :) I want to show them as they would be lol Glad you liked the update and I'm glad you like this too!
Stalker - I'm glad you liked it ^_^ haha, don't worry about your review, I enjoyed reading it and seeing how you saw Ventus :) Seriously, don't sweat it :D
2lzy2login - haha, glad you're so excited :) Don't worry, this story won't be an mpreg :) I'm glad you kept reading though and that you liked the outcome of the chapter overall :) Cheers for the review!