Chapter 44: The Coachman
A/N: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. It is the property of Square Enix and the Walt Disney Company. I also do not own The Dresden Files, which is the property of Jim Butcher—who is very awesome. This fanfic is a creative work that I do not profit off of in any way, shape or form.
Hey everyone! Here's hoping I didn't leave you hanging for too long. I love a good cliffhanger, as I have no doubt you've all gathered by now, but I also don't like waiting, so I'm not going to have you all wait either.
Hope you liked the last chapter! And I also hope you like what's coming up next on Rise Above the X. We're picking up right where we left off—with Roxas in the grip of the Coachman!
Roxas gasped for air. The large man—surely, this was the Coachman—had a grip like steel. And he could smell something pungent. Tobacco, maybe? The Coachman's grip tightened and Roxas's vision began to darken. The sensation was almost familiar…he had felt this before…a long, long time ago.
"I am me. Nobody else!"
Roxas summons Oathkeeper and then charges towards the young man with the blindfold. Roxas doesn't know why anybody would be wearing a stupid blindfold, especially here, in a city that's filled with darkness. But he doesn't care. This stupid man is the Imposter. He's masqueraded as a member of the Organization for months. Roxas doesn't give a damn about the Organization anymore, but the Imposter still made them suffer. He hurt…her…Xion. This young man hurt his friend…helped drive her away from Roxas. And now he's trying to make sure Roxas can't free Kingdom Hearts and get her back.
Roxas is not going to allow that. He'll kill the Imposter if that's what it's going to take to get her back, so they can be together again.
His first attack misses—the Imposter is very fast on his feet. But not fast enough. Oblivion finds its target and it is only the Imposter putting up a barrier at the last moment that he isn't struck down, then and there. As it is, Roxas is sure he heard bones crack.
"How many times do I have to beat you?"
The Imposter is badly injured. Maybe now he will leave Roxas alone so that he can free Kingdom Hearts…and get her back…
"All right. You've left me no other choice."
"What?" Roxas asks. He's cautious, even concerned. He's beaten the Imposter. There shouldn't be any other choice to make. Just lie down and let him pass, that's all the Imposter has to do now. Why is he getting back up?
"I have to release the power in my heart," The Imposter says as he unties that stupid blindfold. "The dark power that I've been holding back. Even…if it changes me forever."
Darkness, waves of black and purple fire engulf he Imposter. Roxas takes a step back in caution. This is much more than he's seen from even the meanest Heartless. Not even Saix had power like this.
The Imposter isn't there anymore…or if he is, he has changed dramatically. Where once stood a young man who wasn't that much older than Roxas, a different man now…levitates? His skin is dark, his eyes gold. His hair is straight and white. And at his back, there is a creature like none Roxas has ever seen. Enormously tall and well-muscled, with huge claws for hands and razor sharp teeth, and veiny, blue sinews along its body.
The man vanishes and then reappears right in front of Roxas. Before he can strike, before he can dodge, before he can do anything, he's grabbed by the shadowy creature. Lifted high into the air…and squeezed. Squeezed so tight. Roxas struggles, tries to do something, anything. But he can't…his Keyblades fall from his grip and clatter when they hit the ground.
It's getting darker…even within the Dark City, it is so, so dark. Roxas grunts and groans..and he hears someone speak soft words that still pound into his head.
"I have accepted it."
Roxas groaned weakly but the tightness of his neck loosened a bit and his vision began to clear…just a little, but enough. He wasn't sure how long he'd blacked out, or flashed back to that night in the World That Never Was. Couldn't be too long—Axel and Xion had their Keyblades out, but they hadn't started fighting yet. Why hadn't they started fighting? Were they afraid of hitting him by accident? The Coachman was holding him up, so Roxas was face-to-face with him. Ugh…his breath really stank.
"Now, here's how it's gonna go," the Coachman said, loosening his grip to shake a bullwhip at Roxas. "You and your little girlfriend are going to drop your weapons. No tricks now. We're gonna tie you up, and then you're gonna do exactly as you're told, and then maybe you'll be able to wake up tomorrow."
Roxas's head was already pounding. He could see a bunch of hooded men, holding weapons of their own. At least two of them held bundles of ropes in their hands. They were all large—not quite as big as Aeleus or Dilan, but much bigger than Axel. And Pete was there too—ugh, had he always been that ugly? They were surrounded, but none of the Coachman's men had made a move yet. They were outnumbered, but surely they were stronger than any of the Coachman's men, at least one-on-one. And they hadn't even summoned any Heartless yet. Maybe, if they moved quickly…Roxas still had Oathkeeper and Oblivion.
"Come on now," Pete called out. "Don't stop! Get him now!"
"Firaga!" Roxas snarled, aiming both of his Keyblades directly at the Coachman. The resulting fireball was enormous and the Coachman howled in pain, dropping Roxas to the ground.
"Don't just stand there, get them! Crush them all!"
The Coachman's men began moving forward. One of the ones with ropes flicked it forward. It looped around one of Xion's arm. With a scream, she yanked her arm backwards, so quickly that the man stumbled. Xion sent a wave of water out of her Keyblade, followed immediately by a gust of magic. The henchman was soaked and the freezing air from Xion's Blizzard spell encased him in ice. The rope in his hands tore into pieces and Xion darted away, with another henchman in pursuit.
A henchman armed with a club charged towards Roxas. He parried the first blow with Oblivion and sliced the club in half. The henchman snarled and lunged at Roxas, knocking him down. Roxas grunted and kicked as hard as he could. He heard an almost sickening snap and the henchman dropped like a stone, clutching his knee. Roxas jumped back up and ran to put as much distance between them as possible.
"Get them!" The Coachman shouted. "You useless lumps! Get them!"
Two henchman, carrying a thick rope between them, ran forward. Roxas readied himself, prepared to cut the line when they got nearer, when two chakrams clashed against both henchmen, knocking them backwards. A moment later, both chakrams erupted into orange flames.
"Ah, ah, ah," Axel taunted. "The only one allowed to mess with the kiddos is me."
"Raaaaaagh!" The Coachman bellowed. Behind him, the green fire from the black fountain began shooting out. A spark squirted out against the back of Roxas's neck.
"Augggh!" Roxas shouted. "Ow, ow ow!"
"Roxas!" Xion shouted. She ran up behind him and raised her Keyblade up. A moment later, Roxas felt the cleansing of healing magic encase the burn on his neck. He steadied himself, and felt Xion line up to his back.
Three henchmen charged at them in turn, one armed with a sharpened pole, the other two with whips. The one with the pole—really more of a spear—lunged forward and Roxas caught the edge of the blade between Oathkeepr and Oblivion. The henchman grunted and Roxas sliced his Keyblades, disarming the henchman. The spear sailed past Roxas and Xion grabbed it before it hit the ground.
"Try and take it," Roxas taunted. "Is this the best you can do?"
"Try me on for size, lamer."
Roxas's tongue became as dry as sandpaper. From the shadows came a young man, maybe a year older than Roxas. Short blond hair…visible now, when before, it had been kept tucked under a beanie. Dark veins stood out against pale skin. And glowing, gold eyes.
Seifer…
oooo
"Roxas!" Seifer called out. "I have a score to settle with you lamer!"
Roxas didn't budge. The lamer had always been stubborn like that, never knowing when to leave enough alone. Seifer smirked. He was going to enjoy this. It was just like a lamer to butt in to something that wasn't his business, and now that was going to be the way he was going down.
"Seifer! What are you doing?"
"Are you deaf, or just stupid?" Seifer scowled. Even now, he was having to explain everything to everyone. "I said I'm going to put you down. You and your lamer girlfriend!"
Roxas's stupid look on his stupid face turned into a very angry one. But Roxas was pathetic, so it still looked funny.
"I told you, she's off-limits!" Roxas snapped and his grip on his swords tightened. "Don't do this! I don't want to hurt you!"
"Is that why you tried to humiliate me?" Seifer asked, taking a step forward. "You Keybearers are all alike. Think that because you have magic swords, that everyone has to do what you say. Even people who are better than you are."
"What? You mean that thing back when you were picking on Vivi?!" Roxas asked. "I beat you fair and square and you know it!"
"You only beat me because you cheated!" Seifer said. His eyes hardened. He hated Roxas…so, so much. He hated all of them.
"It was three-against-one!" Roxas protested. So typical of him—making excuses to justify not doing things square. "Where's Rai? Where's Fuu?"
"What's it to you?" Seifer asked. "What, you upset you don't get to be a stupid thug? You've already beaten them before. Now, I'm getting even!"
"I never wanted to hurt any of you!" Roxas snapped. "I wanted you to stop picking on smaller kids! I beat you to send a message!"
"Whatever! You're not the only one with power anymore, lamer!" Seifer called. "Look at what I can do now!"
Seifer held out his hand and he felt the tingling of his own weapon being summoned. It was a sword, but it was bigger and better than the ones Roxas and his lamer friends used. And it didn't look like a lame key. It looked like a real blade. It was black, with dark red areas that looked like blood. Sharp and jagged edges. It was almost like his old pipe, that the lamer Hayner had cut up. And it was made of that really cool metal mordite. Only the best and strongest people were good enough to have swords of mordite, and Seifer was one of them.
"Roxas!" Xion cried out, like a big baby. "The fountain! The Blue Fairy!"
"That's right," Seifer grinned. "The longer you waste time and talk, lamer, the weaker the Blue Fairy gets."
Roxas looked surprised, which only proved how stupid he was, since he had to have known the Blue Fairy's wand was here in the first place. But that was all the distraction that Seifer needed. He charged forward, holding his sword up high. After he beat Roxas, Seifer was going to make him suffer. Oh, the entire world—no, better yet, everyone in every world ever was going to see just what a big lamer Roxas was.
Roxas brought up his Keyblade—the girly one that was silvery-white—and parried his first blow. Not fair! Oh well, Seifer could keep going for a while. He struck again, only for Roxas to block his strike, this time with the black Keyblade with the teeth that were all pressed together. Seifer grunted—okay, Roxas was a little bit tougher than he looked, but Seifer could handle it. And besides, the longer they fought, the more likely it was that the Blue Fairy was gonna die.
"We don't have time for this!" Roxas shouted. "Aeroga!"
Roxas pointed both of his Keyblades right at Seifer and then Seifer pushed back by what felt like a tornado. A really, really big tornado! It blasted out of Roxas's Keyblades and knocked Seifer all the way back into the shadows. Magic?! Not fair! Roxas cheated! He knew that Seifer was winning so he cheated! Cheater!
Rage bubbled up inside Seifer's belly. The very idea of it made him furious. How dare he—how dare he! Wasn't that just like a Keybearer. They weren't winning a fight, fair and square, so they cheated until they did win. Augggh…he had a headache now.
"Get up, you lazy lump!" The Coachman shouted, yanking Seifer to his feet. "Get them!"
Seifer clutched at his head—ooh, he'd show Roxas and then he would show the Coachman. He'd get even with them both. He ran forward, his grip on his sword tight. Roxas and Xion were running, like the lamer cowards they were. He'd get them, oh yes, he would get them.
Clang!
Two really weird weapons were blocking his path, like mutant rings with bars sticking out of them. A moment later, they were yanked back in a flash of fire, and a really tall man with red hair was standing in front of him. It was the weird-o lamer with two different names. Axel?
"Aren't you listening?" Axel said. "Nobody messes with them!"
Seifer scowled. This lamer was the freakiest looking freak of all, next to that little lamer Vivi. Well, he'd show him first! His stupid little rings were no match for his mordite sword. Seifer lunged and Axel grabbed him by the arm. Yee-oww! No fair! That was his sword arm! The mordite sword fell from Seifer's grip.
"Kid, you have no idea what you're dealing with," Axel said, lifting Seifer up higher. Yeesh, his noodle arms were way stronger than they looked. "This isn't something to try and screw around with."
That was bull. Seifer should do whatever he had to do in order to balance the scales. The Keybearers were screwing around with stuff. So were Hayner and the fatso Pence and Olette. Why shouldn't Seifer learn this stuff too—Maleficent was way better than that stupid old wizard who was always sipping tea in from of the bistro. And the noddle-armed guy was getting on his nerves.
"What, the lamers couldn't face me themselves?" Seifer taunted. The grip on his arm tightened. "They sent their lamer daddy?"
For a moment, just a little one, there was a hardness in Axel's eyes. He looked like he wanted to burn Seifer up to a crisp. But then it went away, and it almost looked like Axel wanted to cry. What a wimp.
"I don't want to hurt you. But I can't have you hurt them either."
He reared his hand back and smacked Seifer in the head—right where Seifer had bumped his head earlier from when Roxas had hit him with that cheating tornado spell. And then everything got really fuzzy.
oooo
"Roxas," Xion said. "The fountain! We need to get to the fountain!"
"Right!" Roxas said. He turned his head—there were a couple of the Coachman's henchmen following them, and Pete was directing a few Heartless in their direction too. Further back, he could see Axel holding Seifer up by his arm. From behind his back, Roxas aimed Oathkeepr and sent out a beam of light. He heard a grunt of pain—he'd hit one of the henchmen. Good, that gave them a little more time. They were just at the fountain now.
The fountain was fairly large—probably twice as wide as those basins where they kept fire in the Coliseum. But it was layered as well—three layers made the fountain itself almost as tall as Axel. And a long, narrow, white wand was pressed into the faucet at the very top of the fountain.
"Can you reach that?" Roxas said, dismissing his weapons and kneeling down to cup his hands. "I'll give you a boost—quick!"
Xion did as she was told, pressing her boot into his palms. Roxas rose to his feet somewhat clumsily, but still, it was working. Roxas wasn't sure it would have worked the other way around—Xion was a bit smaller than him. But, as Roxas lifted her up, a jet of green fire splashed out of the fountain. Xion gave a small cry of pain and fell down, clutching her arm.
"Xion!"
"I'm fine!" Xion hissed. She shook her head. "Okay, not fine, but I'll manage. The wand…we need to get the wand."
"Let me try, let me try!" Roxas summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion. Keyblades could open any lock. The green fire—that was sort of like a lock, wasn't it? Twin beams of light erupted from his Keyblades and struck the fountain, but nothing changed.
"What?!" Xion gasped. "Why didn't that work?"
"I'm not—gah!"
Pain! Right between his shoulders! Like someone had plowed into him. Roxas collapsed to the ground, his eyes blurring with tears. One of the henchmen had gotten close enough to strike at him with a whip. Auggh…this hurt, this hurt!
"Roxas!" Xion shouted. "Get away from him, you freak!"
Xion charged forward, not with her Keyblade in hand, but with her claymore. The henchman's eyes—shining yellow eyes, almost like a Heartless—widened in alarm, just as Xion slammed the claymore down against him. The henchman sailed back, striking his head against the stone wall. He didn't get back up.
"Oh, you're not gonna be able to get the wand back with just your Keyblade, shirmpy," Pete cackled as he closed in on them. "The fountain was built around the wand, special. It ain't somethin' you can just unlock and make it go poof!"
Pete spread his arms out wide and wiggled his fingers. He cackled and as Roxas got to his feet, he saw Xion's face flush with fear. Right…Pete had been one of the bad guys who had captured her…who'd hurt her…
Roxas stood up straight. He wasn't about to let Pete hurt Xion again. Not Pete, not anyone, ever.
"Too bad, pipsqueaks," Pete said, pulling out a small ball from one of his pockets. Roxas tensed. An explosive? Even it was a smaller one, at this range, it could still be dangerous. "Pete's invincible!"
Pete crushed the little ball in his hands and a shield popped up. Another one of his shields? Those were really tough to get through…but then again…shields worked both ways.
"Waterga!" Roxas shouted, sending twin waves of water out of Oblivion and Oathkeeper. Pete chuckled as the waves bounced harmlessly off of him. The water drained slowly in the tighter quarters…with his shields up, Pete was like a really, really ugly island.
"Blizzaga!" Xion cried. From the tip of Kingdom Key, freezing jets of ice and snow shot out. The water in the room immediately turned into ice. Pete, plus two more of the Coachman's henchmen, were completely incased in the ice.
"Why you little brats!" Pete shouted. He punched his hand against his own shield, and it held firm. "Yee-owww!"
"Nice moves!" Axel called, vaulting over Pete. He ran over to Roxas and Xion. "You two okay?"
"I think so," Roxas said. "But the wand isn't budging."
"Let me take a crack at it!" Axel said. He summoned his Keyblade and pointed it at the fountain. A beam of light shined out of the tip of Flame Liberator, but it bounced off the fountain and ricocheted off the roof.
"The fountain's gotta be smashed," Xion said. "It was built special for the Blue Fairy's wand!"
"Well, alright then!" Axel flicked his wrist and in a flash, his Keyblade had been replaced by his chakrams. He began slashing at the fountain. "I'll get this free in no time!"
Roxas turned around and slashed at a Neoshadow that had gotten too close. Oh man, oh man, oh man. There were still more bad guys to fight.
"We gotta hurry! They're coming!" Xion cried. "Thundara!"
Bolts of lightning erupted from her Keyblade and blasted through the chamber. Three Heartless exploded, releasing their hearts into the sky. One of the Coachman's henchmen was blasted backwards and didn't get back up.
"Raaah!" Pete shouted. "When I get outta here, you're all gonna be in big trouble, do you hear me?!"
Two more Heartless crawled over the frozen dome Pete had used to shield himself. Roxas cut them down with two quick balls of light.
"You alright, Axel?"
"It's not working!" Axel called out. "Any other ideas? I think the wand is starting to get smaller."
"Let me try!" Xion summoned her claymore again. "I call on the moon's pale light!"
Xion began to glow green, but it wasn't nearly as impressive as when Isa did it. She slammed the claymore down against the fountain. More green fire spat out of the spouts but bounced off the edge of her blade. Xion grimaced and jumped up again. The shockwaves knocked several more Heartless over and rattled Pete in his shield, but the ice held.
"Uggh…I can't decide if it's a good thing or a bad thing I'm stuck…stupid pipsqueak."
"It's not working!" Xion cried. "Why isn't it working?"
She flicked her wrist and the claymore vanished. In its stead, Xion held…Goofy's shield? Wait, when had she learned to use that?! Xion screamed and hurled her shield only for it to bounce harmlessly off the fountain.
"Did you really think that one was gonna work?" Axel asked. One of the final henchmen, holding a small gun ran towards them. Axel sent a tremendous fireball at him, causing the gun to explode in the henchman's hand.
"What do you think, you runts?" Pete cackled. "That fountain's made of mordite. Ain't nothing in the world that can cut mordite! You've lost!"
oooo
Xion felt as if she might throw up. Mordite? Of course it would be mordite. Why wouldn't it be mordite? That stupid, evil, cursed metal had haunted them for practically the entire journey so more closely…it was true. There was a deep purple embedded with the black metal. The cursed metal. The metal that tore down life and death. Metal that was darkness-incarnate. No wonder they hadn't been able to break it.
Xion was trembling. She looked at the shield in her hand—it had King Mickey's emblem on it. It was a nice shield…but it wouldn't work at all on the fountain. The only thing that worked…she had shattered Hades's mordite sword with her own. And so far as she knew, Hades's sword hadn't been fixed yet, if it could even be fixed. She had her own sword…but she wasn't allowed to use it.
"Outside of the Power of Waking, that is perhaps the most dangerous thing any of my students has done! You are never to summon that blade again, ever!"
Master Yen Sid would be so furious with her. He had told her in no uncertain terms that she was never to summon the mordite sword again. But…they had to smash the fountain and get the Blue Fairy's wand. The Blue Fairy's entire life-force was tied up in that wand.
If it were to save a life…surely, that would be allowed, right?
"Ohhhh," Xion said. She dismissed her shield and held her hand out. She closed her eyes and concentrated, focusing on the hilt of a long, curved blade with a jagged edge, black and purple. She felt the tingling of the summoned weapon before she heard the chime of it appearing.
"Do it now, Xion! Hurry!" Roxas said. "There's more coming!"
Xion turned back to the fountain. She tightened her grip on the mordite sword and slashed at the fountain. Immediately, pieces began to fall away. Xion struck again and again and again, and more chips of mordite fell away, in neat slashes. Xion felt a great rush in her belly.
Power! This power! It's incredible! I can feel myself getting stronger than before! Everyone will know the power I possess! Nothing can stop me now! Nothing…
Xion paused. That didn't sound like her. That didn't sound like her at all. She didn't want power. She wanted to protect people. It was her job to light the darkness…to make others happy. That…that had been scary….but she couldn't stop. The fountain was still there, tall and ominous in front of her.
As she slashed her sword, green fire poured out from the fountain, onto her arms. Xion yelped but didn't let go of the sword. She had to keep going. The fountain wasn't smashed all the way yet. They didn't have the wand. She slashed at the fountain again and again and again. Finally, finally it broke apart and the wand fell.
"No!"
"No! Get them!"
"You did it!" Axel shouted. "Get the wand, Xion!"
Xion reached for the wand, but no sooner had she gotten ahold of it, something grabbed her from behind. She screamed and kicked her legs, but the grip was strong.
"Get me that wand!" The Coachman shouted. "Get it to me now!"
He was larger than before, Xion was certain of it. His face was so red, it was nearly purple. And his eyes were glowing. Xion felt dread rush through her veins…she had been grabbed like this, just like this before. Back in Doctor XXX's castle…where she'd been captured and tied up…and heard the screams of all the little turtles as they'd been eaten alive.
Not this time.
Xion slashed out again with the mordite sword. There was a sickening splurt of the sword hitting flesh and the Coachman dropped her, clutching the side of his head. Blood oozed out from behind his fingers.
"Raaaah!"
Xion glanced at the mordite sword with wide eyes. Had…had she just cut the Coachman's ear off? Ewwww!
"I'm gonna wreck you!" The Coachman shouted, getting back to his feet. His eyes were manic with rage and he was spitting as he spoke. "When I'm done with you, there won't be enough left to feed the fishes!"
Xion dismissed the sword and ran, as fast as she could. Behind her, Roxas and Axel were fighting more of the Coachman's henchmen. She felt something catch on her ankle and she threw the wand as hard as she could. It sailed through the air—one henchman reached up to grab it himself, only for anther to knock into him.
It was as if everyone went for the wand at once. Roxas snatched it and ran—he was much faster than Xion. She turned back to see what had gotten hold of her. A bundle of rope one of the henchmen had dropped had tangled around her ankles. Xion held up her hand and prepared to summon…no, she didn't want the sword. She wanted her Keyblade back. A moment later, Kingdom Key appeared in her hand. Its warmth was a comfort and Xion sent out a beam of light to banish the ropes into nothing.
She got back to her feet and ran. Everyone was still running for the wand. A henchman wrestled it away from Roxas, only to slip on the ice they had trapped Pete in. He hit his head and didn't get back up and Axel grabbed the wand. He kicked away one henchman, then another, and then thumped Seifer upside the head when he reached for it too.
"Gah!" The Coachman shouted. "Quick, close the gates! Now!"
Two of the remaining henchmen ran forward, but Axel was already far ahead of them. The Coachman raised his fist and black chains shot out. Axel dodged the first length of chain and Roxas sent out pillars of light that blasted the rest of the chains into nothingness. But the delay cost them. One henchman had been ahead of Axel from the beginning and was pulling the doors out of the building closed.
"Oh, sure," Pete called. "That's gonna work. Lock yourselves in with the meddlin' pipsqueaks that have magic swords that can undo any lock."
"Make yourself useful and get them!" The Coachman shouted. "Or you're all gonna be horse meat!"
Xion slid down the icy barriers she and Roxas had created. All they had to do was take out the last of the henchmen and they could get out of here. The Coachman was strong, but he was hurt. And Pete was still mostly frozen, so he wasn't going anywhere for a while either, even if he did lower his shield.
Roxas clapped Xion on the shoulder as she caught up to him. There wasn't much further to go now. Almost there—
"Not yet!"
A barrier emerged at the entryway. It reached up to the ceiling and probably beyond. From her memories of Sora's memories, Xion recognized this sort of barrier. It was the kind that could only be broken when the person casting it dismissed it, or was…struck down.
"I told ya…" The Coachman said, limping forward. "You ain't getting out of here. But I'm done playing nicely."
Darkness began to billow around where the Coachman stepped. He was getting larger and his hair was growing. He looked manic. And in his hands, he held a whip that had to be nearly twenty feet long. Axel took a step in front of Roxas and Xion, holding Flame Liberator in his hand.
"Hehehehehe," The Coachman said. "Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide."
And then, with a flash of gold, the entire room exploded.
A/N: Dun dun dun! There's nothing I love so much as a cliffhanger. Hope you enjoyed, everyone.
Thank you for reading, my dear, dear readers. Leave a comment if you're so inclined—please, tell me what you think!
I appreciate each and every one of you!
