Worthy Heroes
Morning came as soon as the evening did. The sun once again peaked over the eastern horizon and the beams of light glimmered along the waters of the river. Within the cave, Sora slept, curled up by the remnants of the once magnificent fire. He slowly opened his eyes and looked about. The beams of the sun shined in his eyes. Blinded slightly, he used his hand to shield them from the rays. He slowly sat up, still in a lot of pain from his wounds. He looked about at the cave. It was filling with morning light and he could now see the very end of the cavern. Gazing about, Sora looked about for Riku, but there was no sign of him.
"Riku…?" Sora uttered. "Riku, where are you?" There was no response. Riku was nowhere to be seen. Sora called out for him again, but as before there was no reply. Sora tried to stagger to his feet, but the pain of his recent wounds still hurt him and put him in a lot of pain. But he bore it for a while longer and stumbled about to the opening of the cave. He leaned against one side, slightly bent as the pain from his injuries sung out, causing excruciating discomfort. Sora looked about. He realized that the gorge was surrounded by a lush green forest.
It was there, kneeling next to the river's edge, Riku was spotted. He was washing his face in the cool water. He had also taken off his shirt to rinse his arms and upper body down. Using his shirt, he dried himself off.
"Riku…" Sora uttered. Riku turned around.
"Hey there, Sora," he said, "I see that you managed to stand up. But you really shouldn't, you're wounds haven't had time to heal."
"I just wanted to know where you were, Riku." Sora clenched his gut. The pain was even greater now. Riku quickly dried himself off and rushed over to his friend.
"You shouldn't be up and about this quickly, Sora. You still need to rest."-
"But I have to regain my strength." Sora tried to walk out of the cave, but collapsed. Riku caught him and laid his friend to his knees. "I have to keep going. We still have to defeat Maleficent."
"Now's not the time to worry about that." Riku said. Suddenly, Sora grasped at Riku, laying his head on his bosom. He had keeled over from the ever growing agony that ruptured in his gut. "What's wrong, Sora?"
"The pain, Riku," Sora uttered, "The pain. I can't stand it."
"Sora…!" The peaceful morning had lost its beauty as Riku knelt next to his friend. Sora grasped at his gut as the pain grew stronger. He then felt a wet sensation on his hand. Holding his hand up, he noticed that blood had stained his palms. Riku saw this and looked down. One of Sora's wounds had opened again and the blood was seeping through the bandages. "Oh God, Sora, you're wound's reopened. I told you not to move about too much."
"I'm sorry, Riku, I'm sorry. I just got scared that's all. I didn't know where you were."-
"You don't have to worry about me. You just have to worry about yourself right now."-
"Riku…"-
"Let's get you back in the cave." Riku picked Sora up and brought him back into the cave. He placed Sora in an area where the morning sun glimmered so that he could be nice and warm. He then checked out the wound. The blood had seeped through the bandages alright, though it wasn't dripping profusely. "Just lie down and rest, Sora."
"I'll be alright, I can take this." Sora uttered. "I've had worse."
"But there's only one problem between then and now. We have nowhere to retreat to like we did when you were badly injured at Halloween Town. And I have used up all of the bandages from first mending you."-
"I'll be fine, Riku." But suddenly, there was another pain in his gut, which caused Sora to cry out even more. More blood started to drip and protrude through the bandages. Riku could only watch helplessly as the wound opened again.
"This wound was too deep for only bandages." Riku thought to himself, "It need's stitches." He then looked up to find that a small stream of blood began to drip from Sora's mouth. Riku feared the worst. "Damn it, it must be severe internal damage that's causing this. There's no other explanation."
Just then, something else caught Riku's attention, he heard the sound of footsteps coming towards the cave ending. The footsteps seemed to shift a few pebbles as they drew nearer. Riku put his hand over Sora's mouth to prevent him from crying out.
"Riku…" Sora uttered in a muffled cry, tears in his eyes as he looked at his friend.
"You have to be quiet, Sora." Riku replied. "Bear the pain because we have company."
Sora ceased his painful moaning and went silent. He slowly raised his head up to see what or who it was that was coming. Riku unleashed his keyblade, making ready to pounce on the thing that approached, if it dared to attack them in an aggressive manner. They soon watched what looked like two shadows appeared in the morning light. Sure enough the key bearers found themselves with two dark forms standing at the entry way of the cave. The two figures stared in the cave, looking at the key bearers. Their physical features were not too distinguishable because they stood at an angle that silhouetted their forms. One was tall, no taller than Riku thought, and the second form was short and stout.
"Are you alright?" the tall one asked. Suddenly, Riku's aggressiveness mellowed down as he heard the voice of the tall figure. It wasn't a cruel or harsh voice, but rather that of a kind elderly woman, like a grandmother or something. Immediately, Riku lowered his keyblade. "Do you need some assistance?"
"Why, they're two young men." The shorter one added. "No older than Prince Philip."
"I knew that I heard voices in this gorge."-
The two came forward. Both, when their features could be identified, were not at all threatening. They were two kindly old peasant women. The tall elderly woman was rather stout in composure and had a slight grey in her hair. Her cheeks were a little pudgy and wore a pink and red dress. The shorter figure was indeed stout, with pudgy cheeks, a pale rosy color, and black hair with a slight grey complexion. She wore a blue dress and bonnet on her head, like that of a nun. Both were carrying spare pieces of driftwood underneath their arms. The tall woman also has slung on her back, a twig basket with more wood stuffed in it. To add, the fat elderly woman was carrying what looked like a basket of blue barriers.
"Are you here to help us?" Riku asked.
"Of course we are dear." The taller lady said. "Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Flora."
"And my name is Meriwether." The stout one added.
"My name is Riku." Riku replied. "This is my friend, Sora. You have to help him, please. His wound has opened up again."
"Sora…?" Meriwether recalled the name. It suddenly struck her, realizing who the wounded young man was. "Flora…"
"I heard…" Flora replied.
Flora placed her bundle of wood on the cave floor. She then, knelt next to Sora and examined the wound.
"The wound is deep." She said. "We have to get him to our shelter, otherwise, he won't last another day."
"Can you pick him up?" Meriwether asked.
"I can pick him up." Riku replied.
"Then you just follow us." Flora said. She picked up her basket and her bundle of wood and began to lead the way. "We don't live far from here."
"We must hurry." Meriwether added.
Riku picked up Sora and slung him over his back.
"Hold on tight, Sora." Riku said. "We're getting out of here."
"Riku," Sora uttered, "I'm not gonna make it. I can feel my life fading."
"You have to make it, buddy, we still have too far to go to quit now! I won't let you die, Sora. I promise." Riku put his hands on the underside of Sora's knees and boosted him on his back. Sora's head lay limp on Riku's right shoulder and his arms clutched each other loosely around his neck. "Let's go."
Riku walked out of the cave, following Flora and Meriwether out of the cave and out of the gorge. They walked up a cut path at the side of the gorge that worked its way up to the cliff side. From there, they began a walk into the dense woods. Through clearings and thickets, they trekked, Riku still following the two elderly women with Sora still weighed on his back.
"Are we almost there?" Riku asked.
"Just a quarter mile or so," Flora replied.
"We should be coming in sight of our cottage in the thicket any minute now." Meriwether added.
"How is your companion doing?"-
"He's hanging in there." Riku said.
"Well, once we're at the cottage, you can place him in a nice warm bed."-
"Fauna and Briar Rose will be rather surprised to see that we came home with two young men." Meriwether chuckled.
"Now's not the time for levities, Meriwether. You forget that that young man, Sora, is still in a critical and dire situation."-
"Sorry about that."-
Riku in the meantime, felt Sora's grip slowly loosen. This only indicated that unless he was given help soon, he might die.
"How are you doing, Sora?" Riku asked. Sora shuttered for a minute or so, before responding.
"I'm so cold Riku," Sora uttered softly, "So cold."
"It'll be alright though, buddy. We're almost there to the two ladies' cottage."-
"I'm glad." Sora snuggled up against Riku.
"You'll get to rest in a real bed instead of the hard ground of a dank cave. And you'll get to have something warm to eat instead of going all night with an empty stomach."-
"Last night was perfect for me, Riku."-
"Why's that?"-
"Because you were there to comfort me, you were the only friend I had there." Sora shuttered again, his limbs grew colder, with his fingers like ice. "If it wasn't for you, Riku, I might have died in the river, or in some other hostile place, all alone and without friends."-
"Don't say such things, Sora. Talking like that will only cause further grief."-
"It's just that I'm so grateful to have a friend like you, Riku." Sora laid his head on Riku's back. "You're so warm, Riku, you're so warm. Thank you, thank you...thank you for caring so much about me…"
"Sora…"-
Riku couldn't help, but drop a few tears after hearing such sentimental words from his life long friend. Despite being friends, Riku had never felt like this before. Even though he had committed so many wrongs against Sora in the past, at times making him seem insignificant and weak, Sora was still happy to have him as a friend. No other friend besides him and Kairi had expressed such emotion and sentiment. And with Kairi so far away from them both, Riku only had Sora to comfort and to be comforted in return. There was no further noise, but the footsteps they made, walking through the thick vegetation of the forest.
Eventually, as they came to a rolling hill, the four came to the sight of a quaint little cottage nestled in a clearing.
"Ah, there it is." Flora said. "There is the cottage."
The cottage was quaint alright, quaint and rather well maintained. It was a two story structure with a large window on the top floor. There was a water wheel at its side, which turned with the help of a little creek that passed through the thicket. The roof consisted of thick hey and straw, preventing moisture or condensation from leaking into the dwelling. A tall stone chimney bellowed smoke from its flew, indicating that a fire was going, to either warm the place up, or help create something warm to eat.
"Is that the place?" Riku asked.
"That's our cottage." Flora replied.
"Wow, it looks really nice."-
"It should be," Meriwether uttered, "I'm the only one does anything constructive in that house."
"Constructive…?" Flora said. "Since when have you ever been constructive?"
"Oh well, let me think! I do the cooking, the cleaning, the gathering, the maintenance on the roof; I get the water, collect firewood, and everything else. I mean the only one who actually gives me a hand is Rose."
"And you think I don't do anything constructive?"-
"Oh yeah, working on your potions and sticking your nose in books twenty four seven is real constructive."-
"Ok, Ok," Riku uttered, a big sweat drop rolling down the side of his face, "You can save your bickering for when after we get Sora mended up."
"Oh yes, I almost forgot. Come, let us hurry."-
The four went into the thicket, crossing a bridge that was built over the creek. It was just outside the house that a young woman was kneeling down to prune the flowers growing to one side of the house. She had long flowing, blond hair and glittering eyes of innocence. Her skin and fair as new fallen snow and her lips as red as the rose. She was slim, smooth, and slender, wearing the homespun dress of a peasant maid. She was singing as she worked and little blue birds gathered about her to chirp away with her song.
Her name was Briar Rose.
It was then that she saw Flora and Meriwether coming towards her. She took of her scarf and smiled.
"Rose," Meriwether waved.
"Flora, Meriwether," she cried. "Fauna, they're back from gathering fire wood."
From the house emerged another elderly woman, no older than the other two. She wore greenish dress with a white apron. She too had a kind face, slightly pudgy cheeks and grayish hair. She stood at the doorway, wiping hands with the apron, clearing the way the excess droplets of dishwater.
"Well, well," Fauna said, "Flora, Meriwether, I did not expect you to be back so soon."
"There's no time right now." Flora shouted. "Get the bed in the guest room ready!"
"Why, what's the matter." Rose asked. It was at that moment that they saw the two young key bearers following them. "Who are they?"
"They're two young men that we found in the gorge."-
"Riku and Sora I think their names are." Meriwether said.
"Sora…?" Rose uttered.
"Having that same recollection too, eh Rose?"-
"Anyway, one of them has been severely injured." Flora said. "Fauna get bandages and some hot water ready!"
"Yes…!" Fauna retreated into the cottage to prepare the medical supplies.
"Rose, get the herbal healers ready."-
"Of course…!" Rose replied. She went back into the house to prepare the herbs.
"Let's get your friend inside, Riku." Flora insisted. They led Riku up the stairs to the second floor and into a warm bed chamber. There, before them was a large bed with a blue quilt on top of it. Flora and Meriwether helped with Sora from Riku's back.
"Alright, gently, gently," Meriwether said, as they lowered Sora onto the bed.
"Riku," Flora said. "We'll take it over from here. Could you please wait outside?"
"But…" Riku uttered.
"Don't worry we'll make sure Sora's replenished as soon as we can." Riku lowered his head. He then looked up at the kind old woman and nodded.
"Take care of him."-
"We will."-
Riku turned and returned down stairs. Fearing for Sora's safety, he walked out of the cottage and walked a good deal away from the cottage. He stepped up the little bridge over the creek and leaned towards the railing. His thoughts were on Sora. Questions encircled his mind. What if he was too late? What if Sora was maimed for life? What if he dies suddenly? Riku only looked up at the trees and the rays of the morning sun that pelted his face.
In the meantime, Sora was in agonizing pain. By this time, Fauna and Rose came up with the material needed to help heal Sora. Meriwether and Flora, wearing white aprons around them, took off the old bandages and cleaned the wounds. Sora moaned in pain. He grasped at the sheet and bedspread.
"It hurts…" he uttered. "It hurts…"
"Rose," Flora uttered, "Try and comfort him."
"Alright…" Rose uttered. Rose sat the head of the bed and placed her hand on Sora's forehead. His forehead was burning up now due to a sudden fever. Sora eased a little. He opened his eyes and looked upon her face. His eyes widened slightly more.
"I…I…know your face…" he uttered.
"I know…" Rose uttered. "We've met before…"
Sora's eyes closed and he soon found himself in a deep sleep. Rose stroked his forehead and smiled. The three elderly women were surprised to see how calm the young man became when he laid eyes on Rose. They wondered, by the conversation, if they had met before. It had not been long before the three elderly women had finished mending up and cleaning his wounds. They placed the thick blankets over the young man and he slept soundly.
"Well," Flora said. "It's alright now. His wounds have been mended up and he should recovery nicely."
"Thank you for assisting us, Rose." Meriwether added. "You helped save Sora's life."
"It was the least I could do." Rose replied.
"By the way," Flora asked, "I overheard you say to this young man that you met him before. How is it that you know him?"
"It was almost ten years before, I think." Rose explained, "This young man is the same little boy that wields the keyblade."
"What…?" Flora gazed down at the sleeping youth. "Are you saying that this young man is the keyblade master?"
"Yes…"-
"So this is the young man who we owe out lives to." Meriwether uttered. "The same young boy we met those many years ago. I would never have recognized him. I wondered why the name Sora seemed so familiar."
"By the way, where's Riku at?"-
"I sent him down stairs." Flora said. "I thought it best that he stay out of the room while we were mending his friend up. I didn't want to take the chance of healing Sora with him in the room. Riku might just get panicky."
"He doesn't seem to be the type to panic though."-
"Speaking of which, you can tell him that he can come and see Sora now."-
"Of course…" Rose ran out of the room to find Riku.
She rushed downstairs to look for him, but there was no sign.
"Fauna," she asked, spotting her elder washing dishes, "Have you seen young Riku anywhere?"
"The last time I checked, dear," Fauna replied, "He was out next to the bridge."
"Thank you."-
Rose rushed out of the house and towards the bridge, but instead of finding Riku there, she instead saw him in the clearing. His back was towards her, so Riku was unaware of her presence. He stood tall and proud, his chest lifting up with every breath he took. Riku had taken this jacket off and wore only his white t-shirt, which was tucked into his black jeans. He had such a fantastic, muscular physique; Rose couldn't help admire him from afar.
Suddenly, Riku unleashed his keyblade, which further caught the young lady off guard. Riku then seemed to spar with invisible enemies, testing out his movements and his abilities. He swung his keyblade so ferociously, yet so gracefully at the same time. He lunged and thrust, swung and sliced so delicately with his weapon. He finally ended by spinning the keyblade straight into the air, before catching it with his right hand. The blade's metal seemed to clink and jingle as he caught it, very softly though.
"I did not know that you were a keyblade master as well." Rose uttered. Riku turned to face her, wiping off the sweat from his brow.
"I am." Riku replied.
"But I thought that there could only be one key bearer?"-
"Sora is the keyblade master. The keyblade master of light anyway. I, however, represent the keyblade of darkness."-
"Y…you control the darkness…?"-
"I know it's strange to hear of such a thing, but yes it is true."-
"Are you with Maleficent?" There was a pause now as Riku was rather shocked by the question. But he calmly sighed and looked up at Rose.
"No, I'm not." He replied. "In fact, that's how Sora was so severely wounded. We stormed her castle."
"I see."-
"By the way, how's Sora doing?"-
"Sora's doing fine now. In fact, that's why I came out here for. I wanted to tell you that he's alright and that you may see him."-
"I'll do that." Riku smiled before retrieving his black trench coat and slung it over his shoulder. His keyblade diminished from his grasp and Riku slung his coat over his shoulder. He passed Rose and the young woman followed soon after.
Riku entered Sora's quarters and sat next to his bedside.
"He should be alright now, Riku." Flora said.
"I thank you for helping us." Riku replied. He leaned over Sora and placed his hand on his sleeping friend's shoulder. Sora stirred for a moment, but continued to engage in a nice long sleep. "Get your rest, Sora."
"What time is it right now?" Flora asked.
"It's about nine o'clock in the morning." Meriwether replied.
"That procedure didn't take long then." She then looked at Riku. "By the by, I'm wondering how is it that your friend came to be so severely wounded and yet you emerged without a scratch, Riku?"
"It's a long story." Riku uttered.
"If you would care to fill us in," Meriwether said.
"I think I should. That way you won't have any suspicions about us."-
"Let's discuss this downstairs and leave Sora to rest for a while."-
"Miss Rose," Riku uttered, "I would like you to stay here in this room and watch over Sora for me, please."
"Of course Riku..." Rose replied. While rose took his place, Riku and the other ladies departed the room.
The group assembled downstairs, Fauna was putting the kettle on for tea. The clock struck nine thirty in the morning. The four sat themselves at a round table.
"Do you take sugar with your tea, Riku?" Fauna asked.
"Uh…sure..." Riku replied. "Thank you."
"Flora, Meriwether?"-
"The usual for us, dear." Flora replied. Fauna smiled and went off to prepare the tea. "Now, let us begin. First of all, Riku; how is it that you and Sora had come to be in this world in the first place?"
"Well, we didn't come to this world intentionally." Riku replied. "We were forced to land here. Our gummi ship was attacked my mobile dolls of the Midnight Faction and…"
"The Midnight Faction…?" Meriwether interrupted. "You know about the Midnight Faction?"
"Of course, we've been fighting against them in several other worlds for some time now. Why, do you know something about them?"-
"Of course we do."-
"They're the reason why this land is in turmoil." Flora replied.
"Could you fill me in on what has been going on here in this world?" Riku asked.
"Not too long ago, the kingdoms of King Hubert and King Stephen were conquered by the Midnight Faction. The faction took over the kingdoms, despite a valiant effort from the defenders of the realms, and had taken prisoner, King Hubert, King Stephen, and young Prince Philip, who is the husband of Princess Aurora. The faction came in league with the one person whom even the two most powerful monarchs in the land feared."-
"Maleficent." Meriwether said.
"Maleficent had always thirsted to take over this realm for herself. For years, her ominous presence has kept the monarchs on their toes. In fact, that is the reason why King Hubert and King Stephen had formed a tight bond of friendship and a strong alliance. So if Maleficent did try to attack, they would at least be able to battle her as a united front. Maleficent didn't dare to oppose them back then. But since she joined forces with the Midnight Faction, she gained enough strength to openly declare war against the two monarchs. Now, with the fall of Kings Stephen and Hubert, she has the entire land under her thumb."
"Maleficent…" Riku uttered. His fist tightened.
"Do you know Maleficent?" Flora asked.
"I know her far too well. She's the reason why you found us the way you did back in the cave. We had been washed down stream from her castle."-
"The Forbidden Mountains, you actually entered her realm?"-
"Yes…"-
"But that's crazy, to go against the very stronghold of Maleficent herself." Meriwether uttered. "And with the Midnight Faction in her service as well."
"You should have known better then to storm into Maleficent's castle." Flora continued. "Not even King Hubert and King Stephen's combined forces were able to break through to the castle of Maleficent. She has hundreds, if not thousands of goblins and trolls under her whim. And that old crow that perches on her scepter is always on the lookout for possible enemy threats."
"To add, she now has well trained faction soldiers under her whim, each one equaling the strength of ten of the king's best knights."-
"And what about the Heartless, their numbers continue to swell with every passing day and are becoming bolder as time progresses, wandering further away from Maleficent's domain."-
"So why is it that you stormed Maleficent's castle in the first place?" Fauna asked, pouring the hot water into four individual cups.
"We were hoping to seek out a special device that Maleficent has in her possession." Riku explained.
"What sort of device?" Flora asked.
"We don't know what it is. We assume that it might be some magic mirror, or something. But whatever it is, all I know is that Maleficent has in her possession a contraption that can contradict the whereabouts of any person no matter how well they hide, how far they run, or how well they conceal their identity."-
"Are you serious?" Meriwether asked.
"As far as I know, with that device, they can even detect our whereabouts here."-
"But we haven't had any incidences so far." Fauna said.
"That may be true for now," Riku explained, "But there may be a chance that perhaps Maleficent and the Midnight Faction are only biding their time, waiting for the right opportunity to strike when you least expect it. Either that, or they have larger fish to fry."
"What do you mean by that?" Meriwether asked.
"Tell me, have there been any further military campaigns waged by Maleficent after the fall of the kingdoms of Hubert and Stephen?"-
"Well, it seems that Maleficent's efforts have been drawn to opposing another rivaling power that just arrived here but a few weeks ago." Flora said. "They've been in constant battle with this new foe. I believe they call themselves the Arakis Foundation."
"The Arakis Foundation…" Riku placed his hand on the table, rubbing the tips of his fingers against the wood. "So it is a battle over supremacy in this world."
"Do you know the Arakis Foundation too?"-
"They're another branch of the former Dark Empire. However, we've never actually engaged in open conflict with them. It's mostly the Midnight Faction that we're trying to be rid of."-
"But what's the Arakis Foundation's purpose for being here?" Fauna asked.
"They intend to take over this world and claim it in the name of the Oceanarian race."-
"Are they trying to conquer all worlds as well?" Flora asked.
"Conquer other worlds in the form of hopes to unite all worlds." Riku said. "Unite all worlds and place them under Oceanarian control."
"But they still plan to place us under their servitude."-
"So they're our enemies as well." Meriwether said.
"That means we have two foes to beware of." Fauna said as she sat down after handing each cup to those around the table.
"But then again," Riku continued. "The Arakis Foundation hasn't been the aggressor. Their presence here might actually be of some use to us."
"How do you mean?" Flora asked.
"They are fighting against the Midnight Faction and we are fighting the Midnight faction. So why don't we take the initiative and combine forces with them for a time being."-
"That's not such a good idea though. If we were to help aid the Arakis Foundation, if we were to win in the end, there is no doubt that they'll be seeking some sort of compensation in return for their efforts in driving off Maleficent and the Midnight Faction."-
"I realize that. But it's either assist one enemy to destroy another, or we risk annihilation trying to stop both sides. And I can only assist you. I can't fight the war for you."-
"Riku does have a point." Meriwether implied.
"I suppose." Flora replied. "But even if we were to aid the Arakis Foundation for a temporary period of time, there's no way that we'd be able to sneak in without Maleficent seeing us with that prediction device you said she had. It's also suicide to rush head long against her stronghold in the Forbidden Mountains. She has thousands of goblins and trolls patrolling the area. You have no idea what lurks behind the rocks."
"Then, we'll just have to soften up their defenses from within." Riku said.
"From within?" Fauna asked.
"What do you mean from within?" Meriwether added.
"You say that King Hubert, King Stephen, and Prince Philip are still within Maleficent's castle, being held prisoner." Riku said.
"As far as we know." Flora replied.
"Then, that's how we'll initiate our attack. There is a small passage way at the base of the castle. It's where Sora and I had managed to sneak in. If we use that passage to get into the castle, go to the dungeon and free the monarchs, we can wither the defenses from inside and make the castle vulnerable to a stronger outer offensive."-
"I think we can handle that task." Meriwether said.
Meanwhile, as Rose sat besides the sleeping Sora, watching over him tenderly, the youth suddenly opened his eyes and gasped for air. Sweat dripped at the side of his face.
"Riku!" he cried. "Riku, where are you!"
"Sora, are you alright?" Rose uttered. Riku and the other ladies, upon hearing Sora's shouts, rushed up the stairs to check on him.
"Sora," Riku said. He knelt next to Rose. "What's wrong?"
"They're coming?" Sora replied.
"Who," Flora asked, "Who's coming?
"The Midnight Faction…"-
"How do you know?"-
"He's right." Riku said. "The Midnight Faction is on their way here."
"How can you tell?" Meriwether asked.
"I can sense the chi from the soldiers." Riku concentrated even more on the approaching presences. "They're no more than three hundred yards from here, ten in all."
"But what are they doing here?"-
"It seems that they're chasing someone."-
"Oh no," Fauna uttered, "The Queen!"
"The Queen?"-
Sure enough, they heard what sounded like desperate screaming coming from up the road. Sure enough, as they looked out the window, there from the path came a woman, running frantically towards the cottage. Behind her, slowly catching up, ten faction soldiers, dressed in their thick black uniforms, some in glimmering armor, others in wool and leather frocks, and others wearing former Imperial uniforms, but had been deprived of the Imperial crest.
The woman they chased seemed to be no older than forty years old. She ran as fast as she could with ten devils screeching behind her.
"Bastards…" Riku uttered. He quickly exited the room and rushed to save the woman.
"Riku…!" Flora cried.
The woman was halfway across the bridge, when a loose board tripped her and caused her to crash down into the grass on the opposite side. The faction soldiers, by this time, were no more than a few yards away from her. They surrounded the woman and pointed their weapons at her. She could only watch as the soldiers looked down upon her with cold unfeeling eyes.
"Sorry, miss," one of the soldiers uttered. "But we can't have you running off on us like that."
"Someone, help me!" the lady cried.
"There's no use shouting." Another soldier said. "No one can hear you scream all the way out here."
"That's what you think!" a voice roared.
The soldiers looked behind them to find a figure in black suddenly rush into the circle. Riku had made it in time to save the woman. He struck at one of the soldiers, knocking him unconscious. Riku stood to protect the woman, tall and proud, like that of the average impetuous youth. He did not bear his keyblade, but then again, he didn't really need it to outdo the remaining novice faction soldiers.
"You stay away from this woman."-
"Who are you?" one of the soldiers asked.
"Stay out of the way if you know what's good for you." Another soldier said.
"I will not permit you to torment this lady anymore than you already have." Riku explained.
"And who's gonna make us, boy, you?"-
"You don't even have any weapon to fight us with." Another soldier said.
"I don't need a weapon to defeat the likes of you," Riku replied, "But if you insist…" Riku suddenly drew out his hand and his infamous keyblade, Ginroio Noria, The Way of Justice, emerged in his hand.
Once the soldiers laid eyes on the keyblade, they now realized who they fought.
"It's Noctin Tilandir!" one of the soldiers uttered.
"The Child of Darkness!" another soldier said.
"Now let us begin!" Riku implied.
The soldiers attacked one at a time, battling against Riku. But Riku within ten seconds had managed to defeat all of them. The remaining soldiers had been knocked unconscious and now lay very still on the ground. Riku retracted the keyblade back into his palm and turned towards the woman. He stretched out his hand to assist the woman to her feet.
"Are you alright Miss?" Riku asked.
"Thank you, kind sir." The woman replied, taking his hand to assist her up.
"Your Majesty," Flora said, "are you alright?"
"I'm alright, Lady Flora," the woman said, "Thanks to this young man."
"They say that you're the queen." Riku implied. "Is that true?"
"Yes, it's true."-
"But what are you doing here though?"
"Don't you know?" Meriwether asked. "The queen and her daughter, Princess Aurora, are staying here."
"Not so loud, Meriwether," Flora said, "Who knows who else might be listening."
"Oh yeah, that's right."-
"Hurry, we must get inside."-
"But what do we do with those ten soldiers who are knocked out?"-
"Well…" Flora suddenly pulled out from her sleeve, a magic wand. She aimed the wand at the soldiers, unconscious on the floor and with a single shot, unleashed a magic spell, transforming the soldiers into flowers. "There, that ought to take care of things."
Riku stood stunned.
"Uh…am I missing something here?" Riku asked.
"Well…" Flora only sighed. "Well, we might as well tell you the whole story." She urged them to reenter the cottage. Riku made sure to check about to make sure that there was no one about, who might be watching.
Little did he realize that there was someone watching from afar, Maleficent's faithful crow that unfortunately was on patrol that time of the morning, happened to catch a glimpse at the pursuit of the queen. The chase thus led him to the cottage to know the whereabouts of not only the key bearers, but the missing monarchs and the three good fairies. Now with this observation in his grasp, he could quickly report the situation to Maleficent herself.
Riku and the others assembled in cottage.
"Mother…" Rose cried, running up to her mother and embracing her tightly.
"Aurora, my child…" the queen said.
"Aurora," Riku uttered, confused, "I thought her name was Rose?"
"Rose is Aurora's alias you might say." Flora replied.
"Why didn't you tell me about that before?"-
"Well, we couldn't really trust you before."-
"It's the silver hair isn't it? It makes me look like a bad guy doesn't it?"-
"Now, now, don't be so presumptuous, Riku. It was merely a precautionary step that we take when we invite strangers into our house."-
"But since you wield a keyblade," Meriwether said, "That only proves that you are one of Maleficent's enemies."-
"Well, enough with the secrets if you please," Riku uttered, "And can you just tell me what is really going on?"
"Well, as I have told you," Flora said, "This is the place where we are hiding the last of the monarchs. The queen and Princess Aurora are right now the only ones who escaped the clutches of Maleficent, but that's all we need to maintain a sense of hope for the people. The Queen takes daily journeys to and from the village, disguised as a peasant woman. She thus, gives her secret declarations to the people saying that hope is not lost."
"But do you think that mere declarations will stop Maleficent and the Midnight Faction?"-
"So long as the people have hope, young man," the queen replied, "Then that's all that's needed."
"But Maleficent won't back down to the people because she knows that they aren't much of a threat to her." Riku explained. "Maleficent is the type of person who has to be persuaded by force. She won't give in to reason and she won't compromise with those who are a potential threat to her. She only wishes to be ridding herself of all members of the royal monarchy." He then turned towards Flora. "Now what's with the wand and who are you really."
"Well, there's no need in hiding who we are anymore." Flora replied. Taking the wand, she changed her wardrobe appearance, from that of a peasant woman to a woman of eloquence and respect. She wore a steeple hat with a bonnet wrapped over her head, a bright red and pink gown, and upon her back were two little wings. "Fauna, Meriwether, you do the same."
"Alright…" Meriwether replied. She and Fauna took out their own wands and transformed themselves as well, changing their wardrobes. Their garments were identical to Flora's, but Meriwether was draped in blue while Fauna was draped in green.
"You're…you're…" Riku uttered.
"That's right." Flora replied. "We're fairies…"
"Well, I would have figured fairies to be…a little…"-
"More youthful, younger possibly?"-
"Smaller…"-
"Well, we can become any size we please."-
"At least you're being honest with me this time around."-
At the same time, the crow had managed to return to the side of Maleficent. It perched upon the scepter of its master.
"Ah, my pet," Maleficent said, "And how was your little expedition into the wilderness this morning?"
The crow suddenly began to speak to Maleficent, using its mind to utter its words. It revealed everything about what it had seen.
"Yes…" Maleficent said with a grin on her face. General Saber, at this time, walked into the chamber and looked up at Maleficent.
"You seem to have a rather cheerful attitude this morning, my dear lady." He uttered. "If I may be so bold as to ask what it is that has you in such a mood?"
"I finally know where they are." Maleficent replied. "My faithful pet has told me."
"Told you what?"-
"I know now where the monarchs are." Maleficent stood up and chuckled. "Now, I will be rid of them once and for all."
But as the crow continued to speak, it uttered words that ended Maleficent's jolly mood. Saber noticed how quickly her attitude changed.
"No," she uttered to herself, "it can't be."
Saber folded his arms in front of him and smiled.
"So the key bearers are alive still." He implied, "Just as I predicted."
"How did you know?" Maleficent uttered.
"I knew that they were alive from the start. And the rise of energy that I felt not too long ago indicates that they are both still amongst the living, though one of them, by the weak energy that I sensed, must be in critical condition. It must have been Sora, severely wounded by that booby trap we set at the main gate."-
"It's impossible! It's impossible! Those two young men couldn't have survived that tumble over the falls!"-
"Then why don't you just confirm it on that faithful mirror of yours and prove me wrong?"-
Maleficent quickly rushed down the stairs from her throne to the mirror hanging at the opposite side of the chamber. She threw open the curtains.
"Mirror," she shouted, "reveal to me the key bearers! And by thunder it had better be a lie that they're still alive."
"Over the seven rolling hills to the west," The mirror replied, "in a peasant's cottage fair and bright, the wielders of the keyblade still live."
"No, this cannot be. This cannot be!"-
"Well, well," Saber said, "It's just the way I had predicted it would turn out."
"But how can this be?" Maleficent uttered. "I don't understand. This mirror is never wrong. It said that the key bearers were dead. How could they suddenly be alive again?"
"The mirror's abilities are limited as I said. Like myself, the mirror is able to make its predictions through the measuring of spirit levels that accumulate within a person. Every living thing has a chi level, some differing greater than others. With this use of sensing energy, the mirror is able to pin point the exact location of a certain person or party with great accuracy. With its knowledge of pit pointing energy, the mirror is even able to calculate the effect that person or party will have in future events. Thus, predictions of the future are possible. But those are merely conjectures. If the energy shifts, however, a different outcome may arise."-
"When the energy shifts?"-
"That's right. In this case, the reason why the mirror said the key bearers were dead was because it was making more of an intellectual assumption. Because it could not sense the inner chi of Riku and Sora, it had assumed that they must have perished. But energy levels can disappear when someone is severely wounded and on the verge of death, or dead tired. However, once Riku and Sora were conscientious again, their chi levels were once again functioning normally."-
"But that means that this mirror is flawed."-
"Fool, everything has an explanation when you add the concept of spiritual chi and inner energy into the perspective."-
"Well, I will not have those two boys out do me!" Maleficent turned to Saber. "Send out your faction soldiers to aid my goblins and the heartless in the assault against the key bearers."
"As you wish." Saber said.
"I will crush the spirits and hopes of the people for good by crushing the last of the monarchy. Once the key bearers are dead and the queen and Princess Aurora are in my custody, then the back of rebellion shall be broken. Then all who live in this world will rue the day they dared to defy me."-
"I will do as you bid then." Saber bowed respectfully and turned away. However, as he turned away, he grinned sinisterly.
"It will all be over very soon…" he said to himself.
Maleficent took her crow, which perched itself on her hand. She then held the bird high into the air.
"Seek out the key bearers and the last of the monarchs, my pet." Maleficent implied. "Lead our troops and observe this battle, then report to me of the outcome and hope that we emerge victorious." The crow flew away to follow the faction troops. "Go, and do not fail me."
From the castle of Maleficent a whole manifestation of dark forces descended from the castle. In the lead were the Heartless, many of them of tremendous size, behemoths, defenders, and many others. Like a shadow army of terrible disarray. Accompanying them were the two antis who had confronted Riku and Sora before in the halls of the castle, taking the lead before the masses. Following them were Maleficent's own body guards, the goblins and trolls, their armors different in blackened style, rusty and ragged at best in appearance. They grunted and hissed as would be expected of such a rabble force. Following behind, with their tall banners and their loud beating drums, the Midnight Faction's own elite troops, the Phantom Forces, marched in unison. The stomping of their feet upon the ground rattled and shook the countryside. And above them all, hovering like an ominous shadow, the faithful messenger of Maleficent, the old crow, glided above the columns. Double quick time the forces moved, westward bound to untouched wilderness surrounding the domain of the former King Stephen.
General Saber watched from the tower of the castle as this large force was deployed. Accompanying him was a subordinate soldier.
"The troops have been deployed, general sir." The soldier said.
"Very good…" General Saber uttered.
"If I may be so bold as to ask you, sir, why is it that we are dispatching such a large body of men and Heartless to retrieve two women of the monarchy?"-
"The bulk of that force is meant to battle against the key bearers." Saber locked his arms behind him.
"Are the key bearers really that powerful?" the soldier asked.
"They are far more powerful than what you can apprehend." Saber reassured. "Two young men, capable of wreaking such havoc upon our forces in the other worlds, deserve to gain such a notorious reputation amongst even our elite forces. These are the same two men who brought down three of my fellow blade generals. We must no longer take them lightly at this point in the game." Saber then turned about and walked out of the tower chamber.
"Where are you going, sir?"-
"I shall return to my quarters. I have no need of further subordinate accompaniment from this point on. You may return to you post, young man."-
"But aren't you going to oversee the battle personally?"-
"I have other matters to attend to. Besides, I am confident that our forces will emerge victorious. Sora was severely wounded and won't be of much use. And with such a grand number of elite soldiers on the march, not even Noctin Tilandir will be able to fend them off on his own."-
Saber said no further word and continued on his way. But as he came out of the soldier's sight. He gave a worried sigh.
"But then again, Noctin Tilandir and his comrades had managed to defeat three of my comrades." Saber thought to himself. "There's no real guarantee that victory will be achieved with out losing a great number of our men. Forgive me, young soldiers, for sending you so early to your graves."
The soldiers, at a brisk and steady pace, neared the area where Riku and the others resided. But as this massive force of evil moved about into the wilderness, though not observed by anyone, it did not go unnoticed. Only a few miles away from where the Midnight Faction and their allies were moving, Cuchulain could sense the power that was accumulating. And with his keen sense of hearing, he could hear the distant beats of military drums. He stood vigilant at the lakeside, listening to the movement.
Cunla came over to him with a plate of sausage and eggs.
"Dad," he uttered, "Your food is getting cold. You should really eat something. That way we can start looking for Riku and Sora."
"There's no need to look for them." Cuchulain replied. "I know where they are."
"You do?" Cunla turned to the others who were sitting around the campfire. "Hey, Goofy, Donald, Miss Billiard, my dad knows where Riku and Sora are at!"
"What was that?" Ophelia asked.
"He knows where Riku and Sora are at?" Goofy said.
"Where, Cuchulain, where are they?" Donald added.
"They're at least fifteen miles south of us," Cuchulain replied. He pointed out his finger, "In that direction."
"How was it that you could sense them?" Cunla asked. "I couldn't detect anything?"
"I felt a twitch of power not too long ago, but in that instant I immediately recognized the power signature. It was Riku without a doubt." Cuchulain walked closer to the lake's edge. "To add, don't you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Donald asked.
"Listen…"
There was silence amidst the party. The sound of the water the splashing of jumping frogs, the buzz of insects, and the chirping of birds added to the confusion, but eventually, the KH team did hear something coming from the horizon, a slow and steady beat of military drums.
"That sound…" Donald uttered.
"It sounds like drums." Ophelia said.
"It could be anyone though."-
"No, it isn't." Cunla said. "I recognize that beat."
"Me too," Ophelia added.
"It's the standard drum roll of the Midnight Faction, to keep the soldiers in step. I'd recognize that familiar pattern anywhere." The sound was distinctive to Ophelia Billiard and Cunla, who have heard that same distinguishable beat continuously as former members of the Midnight Faction. The beat went roll, tap, roll, tap, roll, tap, tap, tap, and continued over again and again to keep the troops in step.
"They must be marching at a double quick time." Cuchulain said. "I can tell by the speed in tempo."
"They're practically at a running pace with that tempo." Cunla continued. "They must be taking the wide step stride, which allows a body of troops to move in unison, but at a faster marching rate than is usually expected."
"That must mean that they want to get to a specific destination in a hurry." Ophelia added.
"But the faction only accelerates at this type of speed only when it is necessary."-
"And when they speed up, it can only mean one thing. They have spotted a target that needs to be extinguished quickly."-
"Riku and Sora," Goofy and Donald uttered.
"We gotta do something!" Goofy said. "They may be in trouble!"
"Then let's go!" Donald said.
"Wait!" Cuchulain shouted. "We can't go in too hastily."
"Why not…?" Cuchulain licked his finger with his tongue and held it up in the air.
"We're up wind from the Midnight Faction."-
"So what does that mean?"-
"It means a hell of a lot for us, Donald. As long as we're up wind, the sound we make, our scent traces, and the debris we send into the breeze can be detected by the Midnight Faction's elite soldiers. They'll be able to detect our presence before we can get within sight of them."-
"That's impossible, nobody can be that accurate."-
"In my experience, seeing the Phantom Forces in action," Cunla implied, "The senses of an elite faction soldier is definitely that accurate."-
"Well, then how do you propose we approach the faction?" Donald asked.
Cuchulain pondered and pondered until he had an idea. Looking at the campfire that had been built, Cuchulain came up with a plan.
"Here's what we'll do." He explained. "The best way to cover our movement, our sound, and our smell is to cover it up. I want you guys to construct ten more fire rings for campfires. Ophelia, I'll leave you in charge of that. Cunla and I will find spare wood to burn. Donald, you prepare Firaga and ignite the fires."
"What's the plan with that though?" Donald asked.
"We'll use the fire to cover up our movements. Its ashes will be the debris, the scent of the burning wood will hide out scent. And the sound of crackling fire wood will intermingle with our footsteps."-
"I get it." Ophelia said. "Then let's do this."
"Come on, we have to hurry."-
"Time is of the essence here." Cunla said.
As Cuchulain and Cunla went off gathering some of the spare drift wood at the side of the lake, Ophelia, Goofy, and Donald prepared the circles. Once the circles were complete, Cunla and Cuchulain placed the firewood in the pits and Donald unleashed Firaga onto each of the wood stocks. Once the smoke began to bellow and the flames ignited, Cuchulain picked up his spear. He then pointed towards the area where Riku and the others were at.
"We go to battle." He said.
It didn't take long for the force of faction soldiers and their allies to reach the edge of the woods and work their way through the brush. By this time, the drums drew silent and the columns were now spreading out and worked their way through the thickets.
Riku, by this time, was overlooking the terrain from Sora's room. He knew that an attack would come, but it was only a matter of when and where from. He leaned just over the main window sill in Sora's bed chamber. He gazed and sighed. He then looked at Sora who seemed to stare off into space, uttering no word. Sora turned his head and gazed at Riku.
"How are you, Sora?" Riku asked.
"I've been better." Sora replied. "I just feel so tired."
"Well, you have been through hell and back. And it hasn't been that long since you were wounded."-
"But I can't rest now, Riku. I feel them coming. The faction soldiers are close." Sora tried to lift himself up out of bed. But Riku only placed his hands on his chest and tried to lay him back down.
"You are in no condition to fight right now." Riku said.
"But I have to fight. I can't just lay here and do nothing."-
"If you fight, you'll only kill yourself a lot faster."-
"Riku…"-
"I'll take care of these guys as best as I can."-
Sora, disappointed with this uselessness, only lay his head back down on his pillow. Riku sat next to him and laid his hand on Sora's shoulder. Tears dripped down the face of the younger key bearer.
"I will win, Sora." Riku said. "I will fight to protect everyone here."
"Thank you, Riku." Sora uttered and smiled. Riku returned to gesture and withdrew from the room, but Sora stopped him. "Wait a minute, Riku."
"What is it?" Sora drew out his keyblade from the palm of his hand. He handed it to Riku.
"I want you to take my key blade too."
"But Sora…"-
"I can't fight in the condition I'm in, but I can at least give you a hand by letting you wield double keyblades. The summoning spells might come in handy for you since your key blade doesn't have any summoning spells."
"Thanks Sora, I will fight and I will win." The youth lay his head back on the pillow. Riku only nodded and turned away, leaving Sora to rest for the time being.
Riku descended downstairs to where Aurora, the queen, and the three good fairies were sitting down, waiting.
"How is Sora doing?" Flora asked.
"He's doing alright," Riku replied, "But he's still too weak to participate in an all out fight." Riku then stepped out of the cottage altogether.
"Where are you going?" Fauna asked.
"I'm going to fight our attackers."-
"But how do you know there will be an attack?"-
"I can sense a large force approaching." Riku drew out his keyblade. "I want you to stay here and watch over Sora."
"At least allow us to give you a hand." Flora said.
"I can't afford to put any of you in danger. This fight is mine to bear." Riku walked away from the cottage, over the bridge and towards the area where the faction approached. He worked his way through the brush, edging closer to where he sensed the combination of powerful energy levels and a strong presence of darkness. He leaped up into the air and onto a strong branch of a tall oak tree. The black coat that he wore intermingled with the leaves of the oak and Riku watched as he saw the brush below him move in a straight line. There was the sound of rumbling coming through the thickets, like crashes of thunder in the distance.
Immediately after, he saw banners and glimmering spear heads waning thought the pushes and thick trees. Before his very eyes, a large of force of faction soldiers, goblins, trolls, and Heartless alike trudged forward in thick droves in a cresset formation.
"Damn," Riku uttered to himself. "They're already this close to reaching the bridge. I have to stop them here." Riku made ready to unleash his Hurricane Slash attack.
It was then, up from above, the crow, which had been scouring the skies, saw Riku in the tree. Immediately, the crow began to cry out. The faction soldiers and their allies looked up to see Riku in the tree.
"Too late, you guys!" Riku rained down his attack with powerful gusts of wind. The forces of darkness, taken completely by surprise, were struck with devastating results by the attack. Many of those in the front line were eliminated instantly.
Several of the faction soldiers aimed their blasters and fired away at Riku. The treetops were severed from their trunks as the soldiers fired away, hoping to hit the agile young key bearer. Riku descended to the ground and unleashed Cinder Canister. The seven fire spheres slammed into the ranks of the soldiers. There were deafening explosions, but the soldiers did not back down. Instead, they continued to press forward.
The forest was set aflame because of Riku's attack. Riku, quickly dowsed the flames with Iceberg Shuriken. This attack put out the fire and froze many of the enemy troops at the same time.
"Noctin Tilandir," one of the soldier shouted, "It's Noctin Tilandir!"
"Kill the bastard!" another soldier shouted.
Goblins and trolls rushed in at running speed attacking Riku from all directions. They jumped on Riku, but to their surprise, the figure they jumped on was not Riku at all.
"You guys looking for me?" Riku chuckled. He rushed into the ranks of the goblins, unleashing the attack that he learned from Kenshin Himura, the Kuzu Ryu Sen. All nine strikes battered the minions of Maleficent. Dashing, evading, and striking, there was nothing that this young man couldn't handle as he battled against the oncoming legions of the dark forces.
"Don't just stand there, you idiots," another officer shouted, "Kill him!"
Goblins and Heartless rushed into the fray, ready to battle against Riku, but the agile young key bearer, through all his experience on the battlefield, since he was fifteen, managed to fend off the frontal assault of the enemy. By this time, even the might Behemoths were eliminated with one shot. However, it was the goblins and the Midnight Faction forces that proved to be the most aggravating. Despite not being as intimidating in appearance as the heartless, their skills were greater. The elite faction soldiers for one thing were equal in strength to Riku and each managed to engage in a well matched one on one battle with the key bearer.
This disadvantage came to clear for Riku as the faction soldiers ganged up on him from all directions. The youth eventually found himself between and rock and a hard place as the faction soldiers, the goblins, and the heartless rained down on him from all directions at the same time.
Riku used every technique he knew, every attack he had in his arsenal, every summoning spell was used. Simba, Dumbo, and Bambi were the most frequently used. O course, young prince Bambi was no longer an innocent little faun. He had grown a pair of antlers and was a fine looking stag. Now, instead of prancing about, delivering bubble to replenish Riku's mp, Bambi executed a series of devastating rush attacks, which tore through the ranks of the goblins and Heartless. But even with the use of his entire arsenal and even with two keyblades, Riku found himself slowly being pushed back.
"So far, these guys just aren't giving up." Riku thought to himself. "Not only are they tough, but they have uncountable numbers coming at me all at once." Riku used combination attacks, hoping to further soften up the ranks of the dark forces. They worked for a while before the enemy regrouped again.
"You can't take us all on!" one faction officer shouted.
"So far, I think I'm doing well!" Riku replied.
"Is that so? Then try this on for size!" Riku suddenly saw the faction soldiers form their ranks. Their blasters ready to fire, they fired at the key bearer with a massive volley.
"This is not good!" Riku jumped out of the way as the explosions from the blasters bellowed out no more than a few feet away from him. Riku deployed the darkness decoys, but they were suddenly wiped out from all sides. Riku looked to find himself almost completely surrounded by faction soldiers and their allies.
A barrage rained on the loan key bearer and Riku had to take shelter behind a natural trench.
"Keep firing men!" one of the officers shouted. "Blow that meddlesome key bearer away." The barrage continued and Riku was starting to run out of options. He unleashed an Aeroga shield to protect himself from the bombardment.
"Surrender yourself, key bearer!" another officer declared. "Make your suffering less than it already is."
"That's not an option open for me." Riku uttered. "I've already used up Sora's summoning spells to their utmost maximum. Only two of them are left. One of them is the nimbus and I don't intend to use that unless it was for a last resort. The other is this untested summoning spell, Kirby." Riku pondered at the idea of using this other summoning spell, Kirby. "Well, better now than never I guess. Come on out Kirby!" Riku drew out Sora's keyblade and from the staff of glittering steel, a bright light emerged. And from that light, a little pink ball, like that of a gumdrop, appeared before Riku. It had two blue eyes and little red shoes.
"This is Kirby?" Riku said. Kirby flipped into the air and smiled. "Well, let's see what you're made of little guy."
Kirby made an adorable high pitched squeak. He then jumped onto the exposed ground where the faction soldiers were initiating their barrage.
"What are you doing?" Riku uttered. "Don't just go out there!"
Kirby stood steadfast before then enemy. The faction soldiers held their fire and lowered their weapons as they saw this little pink ball, no higher than two feet, suddenly emerge from the safety of its cover to face the bulk of the dark coalition.
"What is that?" one of the soldiers asked.
"Is that one of Riku's secret weapons." Another added.
"It doesn't look so tough." A third soldier shouted.
"Is that the best you can do, Riku?"-
"What is this? Is this some kind of sick joke?"-
"Your summoning spells have certainly downgraded, key bearer."-
"Are we supposed to be afraid now!" There was a burst of laughter from the ranks of the faction soldiers.
"Great," Riku thought, "What the heck is that little guy supposed to be doing? Is he trying to knock them out of commission with his cuteness?"
"We don't have time to be gawking at a pink pachinko ball!" one of the officers said. "We still have a mission to fulfill! Kill the key bearer at once and capture the last of the rebellious monarchs!"
"What'll I do now?" Riku thought to himself. "That goofy little summoning spell is useless."
The faction soldiers aimed their blasters and began to fire again. But suddenly, as the beams came rushing against Riku and the little summoning spell, Kirby suddenly began to inhale with his powerful lungs. His mouth grew wide and he seemed to expand like a balloon. Soon, the incoming energy waves suddenly shifted and were sucked into a strong vortex leading into Kirby's mouth.
"What in the world?" one of the soldier uttered. "What is that thing doing?"
"It's sucking in all of our shots." Another soldier said.
"Kirby's sucking in all of the blast beams from the faction weapons." Riku uttered. "But what is the purpose to doing that, what is he trying to prove?"
Soon, after consuming all of the beams, Kirby was ten times bigger than he was before.
"I don't get it." Riku said to himself. "Does he get bigger with every ounce of energy he swallows?"-
"We don't have time for this!" one of the faction officers shouted. "Fire away at Riku and take that big pink blob out with him!"
"Yes sir!" the soldier replied. They aimed their blasters and made ready to commence with another barrage. But as they made ready to unleash another bombardment, Kirby suddenly exhaled, spitting out the energy waves fired by the soldiers. The soldiers were now targets of their own attacks.
Fearing this strange predicament, many of the soldiers ran out of range, while other ducked and covered. The barrage was thrown back at the faction and many of the soldiers were forced to hit the ground as the beams went flying at them.
"That stupid thing actually spat our own barrage back at us." One of the soldiers uttered.
"Keep your heads down!" one of the officers ordered. "That thing is more dangerous than we thought."
"You're telling me." Riku uttered as he saw the little pink ball display a grand retaliatory strike against the faction and their allies. "Maybe Kirby is a lot more resourceful than what I earlier gave him credit for.