Chapter 53: Sapphire

Sora joined in the fight against Sapphire; he felt that Sakuzy would need all the help he could get. In a blur of blue, Sapphire was right in Sora's face and spinning like a saw blade, his fan-blades moving like an airplane propeller. By the time Sapphire was done spinning, having met only Sora's Keyblade, he jumped away with surprising agility for someone his age.

Sora hadn't even swung when the old man jumped. "Whoa! He's fast!" he said, his eyes wide in surprise.

Sapphire was now fighting Sakuzy and slashing with his fan-blades and had become so fast, one blink was basically one swing of his blades. Sakuzy swung his Keyblade only to have Sapphire pull a superb trick. He jumped slightly, then stepped on the Keyblade before propelling himself upward in a jump. Sapphire flipped in midair with the grace of a dancer and landed on his feet as though nothing had happened.

"Come now. Surely you can move faster than that." Sapphire said, unimpressed, "Come on. Have a free shot at me. I won't run."

Sora took his chances with this option and charged headlong into battle. He swung his Keyblade at Sapphire, but the elder simply raised a fan blade, stopping the weapon short of hitting him smack in the face. Then, with a sudden thrust, Sapphire kicked Sora right in the chest and knocked him onto his back. Just then, Sapphire parried Sakuzy's attack. The thing was that Sakuzy attacked from behind and that Sapphire hadn't even turned around; the fan-blades were positioned right behind him. Then, in an astonishing move, he whirled around, and the sudden change forced Sakuzy sideways with a CRASH.

"Sakuzy, do me a favor and try something new. I know the moves you're using, because I TAUGHT THEM TO YOU!"

Sora got up, then noticed that there were MORE Neo Soldiers. Amethyst wasn't gone, so these pains in the neck still stuck around. Sora was NOT the type to let his friends get hurt. He looked at Sakuzy, who was facing the blue-clad warrior.

"Sora! They need you! I'll be fine!" Sakuzy said, his Eagle Feather at the ready.

Sora nodded, then ran off to aid his friends in battle.

The Neo Soldiers had surrounded most of the group and the Crystalli that Joyex caused to follow him had him surrounded. He grinned his cocky grin before he spoke. "Alright, I bet you're wondering why I called you guys here and…" The Neo Soldiers readied their staffs and all sprang forward only to get impaled on each other's weapons. Joyex, on the other hand, used his chain whip to get to a rock a few feet away and hauled himself to safety. "THAT'S why!"

Another Neo Soldier had taken notice of Joyex and chased after him, its staff sparkling with electricity. The others had to deal with one of the best Crystalli to have ever been spawned. They had reflexes to rival the best warrior and staffs that struck from well beyond the reach of any of their weapons. THAT and they were backed into a nearby building. Sora glanced at them and took out his Summon Charm Kairi gave him from Skull Island. It was the Gorilla Charm.

"Joe!"

A dense jungle appeared from nowhere as leaves began to rustle and some snapped like twigs. With a roar, a fifteen-foot gorilla sprung from the trees. He was a bit smaller than King Kong and less battle scarred, but he still roared viciously before springing at the Neo Soldiers. Sora hopped onto the ape's shoulder, riding him like a war horse. Joe seized one of the unsuspecting Neo Soldiers in one hand and smashed it into the ground before moving on to the others. Some of the Neo Soldiers got smashed under Joe's feet while others met his fists. By the time Joe was finished, the Neo Soldiers were disabled or terminated. One hissed threats as it reached for its staff, but hadn't even sparked it when Sora slid down Joe's arm and hacked off its head. Joe grunted in a manner that said, "uh-huh" as he nodded in approval. He then took off on a run and vanished back into his own world.

Sora turned to Kairi, who laughed nervously. "Thanks for the charm back there." he said, calmly.

Kairi nodded. "No problem."

Sora then wondered why Sapphire didn't attack him during that time and found that he was fighting Sakuzy instead. Every time Sakuzy tried to get a blow, Sapphire would block him every time. Sapphire took a step back every time Sakuzy took a swing at him. Strangely, Sakuzy wasn't aiming for any vital part of Sapphire, but the arm, right where the crystal was lodged.

After a quick exchange, Sapphire decided to take advantage of the fight. He parried an assault from behind and sharply turned around. "Sakuzy, how many times to I have to tell you?!" With each word that Sapphire said, he hacked at the Keyblader, who barely blocked. "DON'T…GET…OVER…CONFIDENT!!"

On the last impact, Sakuzy fell on his back, his Keyblade scattered on the floor. Before he could even call it back, Sapphire kicked him in the side and forced him onto his stomach. Sapphire glowered down on Sakuzy with a look of casual indifference. "You're not worth my time, Sakuzy." he said in a low, threatening voice, "I seek a worthy opponent, but you fail to meet my expectations…as you always have."

Sapphire turned to walk away, but Sakuzy growled in pure rage as he raised his Keyblade and pointed it at Sapphire.

"BLASTAGA!!"

A larger Blast spell shot from the Eagle Feather and rocketed at Sapphire, but out of pure rage, Sakuzy didn't count on his reflective gem. Sapphire simply caught the attack on his forearm's crystal and it glowed like a light before it shot the ball of blue energy back at him.

"Oh no…" Sakuzy said as he realized that he had been suckered.

The Blastaga hit him right in the face, exploding with force greater than when Sora's at the Carnival of Chaos. The force of the blast sent him flying into a building with a crash and he fell down, out like a light.

Sora summoned the Ultima Weapon and pointed it at Sapphire like an accusing finger. "Did you forget about me?" he asked, challengingly.

Sapphire glanced at Sora, then turned away from him, answering without even looking at him. "I have no interest in YOU."

Sora growled as he dispelled the Keyblade. As Sapphire walked past Amethyst, Amethyst pointed at Sakuzy. "Go ahead. Make him a Crystalli. Isn't that what you WANT to do?!" the purple-clad Crystalli asked.

Sapphire simply turned to Amethyst sharply, yet answered in a serious, yet calm, voice. "Not an honorable thing to do as a warrior." he replied, "I'd prefer to convert him when he was conscious and well, rather than unconscious like a coward."

As Sapphire continued to walk away, Amethyst took out his scepter, which sprouted an ominous crystal spike on its orb. "Very well. Then I'll do it!"

Amethyst felt someone tapping him on the shoulder and turned around to see Petross behind him, cracking his knuckles. "Guess again, motor mouth!" said the big guy.

The medical officer of the Restoration Committee reared back his arm, then brought his sizeable fist slamming into Amethyst's face, sending him flying several feet backward. Amethyst landed with a sickening crunch, but managed to sit up and glower at them. In a flash of purple light, all that was left was air.

Scott ran over to Petross' side along with Ryan and the kid beckoned for Sapphire, like in the movies. "So, blue boy, wanna be next?" he challenged.

Sapphire paid no mind to him, but answered anyway. "Sorry. But the Crystalli have no use for mutations such as yourself." he said, casually.

Scott seemed flabbergasted as he took a step backward. "WHAT?! How'd YOU know 'bout our powers?" he asked in shock.

Sapphire spread his arms out in a manner eerily similar to a certain one-winged angel. "Let's just say that we have our resources." The old man lowered his arms, then vanished in a flash of blue light the color of sunlight on the ocean.

Sora turned and ran over to Sakuzy. He got down on his knees and tried to shake him awake, but it was no use. Sakuzy was still breathing, but he was just unconscious. Petross went over and checked his vital signs from breathing to pulse.

"Petross, will he be okay?" Sora asked.

Petross looked up and nodded, albeit solemnly. "He should be fine. However, he should NOT have used that Blast spell. Still, he'll be good as new in no time, though, I'd think it'd be best to get him some medical attention." Petross turned to Scott and thought he'd point something out. "And Scott, you got a C on your last test."

Scott looked outraged as he put his hands on his head. "Oh, come on, Prof.! I was attacked by a psychopath, remember?!"

At this point, Blader decided to intervene. "Alright, we'll do the whole school reunion later. Let's get going!"

They were going to walk back to the base when Joyex stopped Sora. "Hey, Sora, I thought you might like this. Jack Sparrow gave it to me, but I have no real need for it."

The Nobody tossed Sora the charm he found at Port Royal; the Arrow Charm. "Thanks, Joyex." Sora said. The group got Sakuzy on a stretcher and began the long trek back to the base.

Joe

A fifteen-foot-tall gorilla from the jungles of Africa. Whenever Sora calls, he'll charge into the battlefield to crush any and all of his opponents. He's a big gorilla, like Kong, only a lot more gentle and way smaller. He first appeared on Mighty Joe Young 1998.