Four made her way out of the shrine with Decadus and Claudia walking behind her. After leaving the giant tree, she went up to her airship. "Decadus, make preparations for flight."

"Hey, where are we going now?" Claudia asked.

"Damcyan. I'm holding a rally there to gather support and recruit more troops for the war. If your intel happens to be correct, then we'll also have two very important guests attending the rally as well, which means I'll get to kill two birds with one stone!"

She scoffed. "You're not going to win Damcyan over, so I wouldn't waste your time."

"We'll see about that, and in the very unlikely scenario that my logical arguments aren't received very well, then I have a contingency plan; you!"

"Ugh..."

"Hm? What's with that disgusted look on your face? Don't worry, you'll love the role I have in store for you, trust me."

"Enlighten me, princess, what does any of this have to do with what you told Maleficent?"

"This war has to be won, no getting around that, and once Damcyan folds, my victory will all but be ensured. As for the secondary objective, think about it, we know what type of person Riku is, Maleficent told us as much. So if it's true that he'll be in attendance at the rally, then we should be able to manipulate him with ease."

"It's not that simple. Even if you have an excellent bargaining chip, he can still outmaneuver you just like-" She snapped her fingers together in Four's face. "-That. No matter how I look at it, you're on the losing side here."

"Please, you just don't know how to play mind games like I do, which is to be expected from an-"

Claudia raised an eyebrow, daring her to finish that sentence.

"Er, from someone like you. Watch, the Damcyan rally will go off without a hitch, I'll win this war by a landslide, then I'll have Riku and Zero turned against each other so I can finally be in my future husband's arms~"

"Oh so THAT'S what all of this is for? How am I not surprised?"

"Don't say it like that now. My world can't be perfect without someone to share it with. I mean, what do you expect to get out of this arrangement?"

"Enough power so that I can light the fire that burns this world."

"Wow, that's so deep. You should write that in a book sometime."

"I know you're being sarcastic, but a princess like you who chases fairytales wouldn't understand."

"I suppose not, but first things first, why don't we board my airship together and I'll go over the finer details of our political strategy in Damcyan."

After they boarded the airship, they soon took off into the sky. However, as they were in transit to Damcyan, trouble arose when a certain daemon-dragon flew towards them.

"That's...strange. Why is she here?" Four hurried to the front of the ship where One landed.

"Oh, uh, One!" She clasped her hands together and forced a smile. "It's not like you to just pop up unannounced, i-is there something wrong?"

One looked straight into her sister's eyes. "Four, we need to talk." She held a very serious tone in her voice which made Four even more nervous.

"Like 'now' now? Or I'll get back to you in a few days now? As much as I'd love to catch up, I'm in the middle of something really important, maybe I can fit you in-"

"Four, why is the gate back?"

"What...gate?"

"Don't play dumb with me right now. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

She rubbed the back of her head, then tried to play it off. "Ha ha, I mean do I? You could be talking about any gate as far as I know. There's like, so many gates in Midgard, it's hard to keep track of-"

"Mercurius gate."

"Oooh THAT gate, I'm sorry, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't we destroy that thing? Are you sure you're not just imagining things? You look like you haven't slept in days."

"That's because Cathedral City has been overrun with those demons and I haven't had the luxury of getting a good night's sleep."

"I'm so sorry to hear that, my thoughts and prayers are with you."

"I didn't come here for your sympathy. Besides, it's not the demons I'm worried about. When they infiltrated my cathedral, I realized they all seemed to be drawn to a certain place so I followed one of them and that's when I saw the gate." One shook her head. "Somehow, it was put back together and there was...something behind it. I could feel it."

"How awful, well then you've definitely come to the right place! You and I are all we need; with the two of us working together, we can solve any problem!"

"Solve a problem that you took part in creating?"

"...What do you mean?"

"...Four, you know, I've always been impressed by your intelligence. You are so bright, and there is much good you could've done for the world had you applied yourself, but you're held back by your own lack of self-worth. You're always so worried about others, especially your own sisters, and now you're spiraling into self-destruction."

"Wh...Why are you lecturing me? I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Yes you did, and you know that, or maybe you're too far gone that you don't yet realize it." One walked around her. "I've received correspondence from Cent just recently and he told me what you did to Two and what you've actually been doing in the Land of Forests."

'Crap, I can't believe he's still alive.' "Seriously? I can't believe you'd take the word of that buffoon over my own!"

"I didn't at first, but then I saw it for myself... what you did to Two, what you did to Three, and now this-" She took out one of Four's anti-elf propaganda posters and then read it aloud. "Who needs elves, we'll do it ourselves."

"I came up with that one myself! It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"In all your letters you said you were just doing some 'restructuring' around the Land of Forests. Why are you attempting genocide?!"

"Genocide is a strong word, what I'm doing is more like systematic removal of an undesirable population. It only got this violent because they refused to comply."

"Four...what have you become?"

"What do you mean 'what have I become'? I'm doing this for US, One!"

"You're completely dismantling our sister's countries in order to claw your way to the top. What makes you think I wanted any of this?!"

"You don't understand. I'm creating a world where me and you are at the top! Our sisters are incompetent and not fit to rule, but us? We're so much better than them! Think of the world we could create with Four and One working side by side!"

"No..." She slowly shook her head. "No, not like this, Four."

"So... that's your answer? Just no. So you see how deranged our sisters are- I mean for God's sake, Five and Three are losers and Two's braindead, but that's okay to you?! Midgard's no better a place than it was when those tyrant lords ruled over, but you won't do anything about it?!" Four put her hands on her chest. "But God forbid I do something about it, right?! Because now suddenly I'M the problem! You want to lecture me and give me this- this disappointed look, like I'm some kind of child, but you let our sisters get off scot-free!"

"Because you are a child, Four! And as far as I'm concerned, the only one who's deranged here is you! I ask that you put a stop to this now or I will force you to stop!"

Four's hands fell to her side. "...I don't get it. Everything I did, I did for you. I- I thought you would be proud of me, One, I thought you would've loved this!"

"No. You, and whoever else you're working with, are driving this world into ruin. If you know what's good for you, you'll stop this right now."

"No, I'm not stopping. I'm doing what I should've done a long time ago. So if you don't want to stand with me, fine-" A dark aura enveloped her body. "You'll grovel beneath me."


Gundam-Knight-Chris: It begins

J Geil: Glad you're back! So glad you enjoyed that scene, that was one of my favorites to write too. I hope what I have in mind for when they do reunite will be able to top that. Pray for Two because she's in a really bad place this Branch :,( And I'm happy you like the dialogue, that's the one thing I spend extra attention on, if nothing else lol

Anon: Tbh I'm thinking the monthly releases might just be the norm until I get a break from school. Yeah she was going to play a semi-important role so I thought I give her a name, Claudia's name was taken straight from Claudia Octavia. You're right, Riku's just gonna break out but they're not thinking things through lol. I thought Ashleighlyn was like the perfect name for someone who's kinda deranged ngl.

Phoenix Keyblade: It only gets worse from here on out im sorry:|

Centurious the Azure: It's more so only Four who's aware of Brother One this timeline, since he's a part of the new villain's vale. Yes that gate, she's back, due to unconventional means. I hope the prior scene sort of alluded to what happened. And thanks, I feel the same about your story, awesome read! I'm just shocked I kept at it this long, I'm like damn two years already and I'm still releasing chapters? I have to go back and re-read some chapters or look at my notes again to remember some of it.

Ian12091995: :)

Keybladelight: 1) No claudia is not a heartless

2) Erm maybe option A would be the most reasonable, but none of that is enough bc she would still have Mikhail. Thanks for the …descriptive suggestions tho…

3) Maleficent wants to open the gate bc she wants all the power lol, it's a call back to her goal in Kingdom hearts 1

4) *If* the gate is opened then I'm not sure why it would take the form of MX in particular when it's an ancient demon.


"Fallen God"

"̸B̸ė̴ ̷q̸u̵i̸e̴t̵.̵ ̸Ỉ̴f̶ ̷y̸ȍ̴ù̶'̵ŕ̵e̵ ̵ǵ̴ö̷i̶ṉ̵g̴ ̴ṭ̸o̵ ̷b̵ẽ̶ ̶ą̸ ̷p̶ä̴r̴t̵ ̷ó̵f̷ ̷m̸e̴,̵ ̴f̴r̶o̸m̸ ̷n̸õ̶w̷ ̵o̷ǹ̵ ̵I̴'̷m̸ ̴g̵o̸n̷n̷ȃ̶ ̴ǘ̶s̴e̸ ̴e̶v̸ḛ̷r̴y̴ ̵b̸i̶t̶ ̵ő̵f̷ ̵y̸ő̶ú̵r̵ ̵p̶o̴w̸e̸r̶ ̵s̷o̶ ̵I̶ ̵c̶ä̶n̵ ̷p̷r̴ò̷ṭ̴e̴c̶ẗ̵ ̵m̶y̸ ̸f̸r̶ḯ̴ë̷n̵d̵s̷!̷"̴ ̴

"̴"̴O̷f̷ ̴c̴ơ̵u̵r̷s̷e̸,̷ ̸y̷ǫ̶ư̸ ̸h̶ȃ̴v̴e̴ ̵m̵o̴r̶e̵ ̷p̸ő̵ẘ̵e̵r̵ ̵ṭ̷ĥ̸a̵n̶ ̶y̶ȍ̶u̶ ̸ḱ̶n̴ò̶ẇ̸ ̴ạ̸ṅ̸d̶ ̵I̷ ̵s̶ủ̶g̷g̷ȇ̵s̷ţ̴ ̶ý̵o̶ṷ̴ ̸l̷ĕ̶ā̶r̸n̵ ̷t̴o̵ ̴ȗ̷ś̸e̵ ̸i̴t̵ ̷w̷ȇ̵ľ̶l̵

̶b̸e̵c̵à̸ǔ̴s̷è̴ ̸t̵h̶i̵ș̶ ̸p̴a̶t̶ẖ̸ ̸ỳ̶o̴ú̷'̷r̸e̶ ̸c̸u̴r̶r̸ë̵n̶t̸l̸ẏ̶ ̶t̸a̶ḱ̵i̵n̶g̵,̷ ̷a̸s̵ ̷a̶ḏ̴m̷i̸r̴á̷b̷l̵ȇ̸ ̷ä̴s̶ ̷ï̷t̵ ̵ï̶s̵,̷ ̵ẃ̵i̸l̷l̶ ̴ȏ̵n̴l̷ỳ̵ ̴ë̸n̷d̴ ̶ȋ̵ņ̷ ̸y̶ô̶u̴r̸ ̵d̷e̸a̵ẗ̶h̸.̶"̶

̵"̴I̶'̴m̶ ̷d̷i̶s̸a̷p̶p̷ő̶i̴n̶t̷e̵d̴ ̷ị̴n̶ ̷ÿ̴ȯ̷u̶ ̸R̴i̴ǩ̸ư̶.̷.̶.̴i̷f̸ ̴ỵ̴ô̵ṳ̷ ̵c̵a̶n̸'̶t̴ ̸h̵a̶n̷d̶l̷e̵ ̵ț̷ḥ̴e̸ ̷m̸à̶d̴n̶e̸s̴s̸ ̷ŏ̵f̷ ̸t̶h̷i̶s̷ ̸w̷o̷ṟ̴l̷d̷ ̶ṯ̵h̵e̵ǹ̸ ̶h̴ȍ̸w̶ ̷i̸ň̸ ̶t̵h̵ě̷ ̵h̴e̶l̴l̶ ̷ḏ̵i̵d̷ ̵y̸ö̶u̷ ̶e̵x̴p̴é̶c̴ţ̶ ̴ẗ̵o̴ ̶s̸a̸v̷e̸ ̴ḭ̸t̶?̴!̸"̶

"—Hey, get the hell up, pretty boy! We're in some weird shit right now!"

Once again, Riku woke up in another strange place, but instead of finding himself in a warm, comfortable bed, he was in the back of an uncovered wagon with various apparatuses scattered across the floor. He turned his head around. Wherever they were, it was in a densely wooded area, far and away from Elfheim. "Huh? H- How am I still alive after all of that?"

"Heh, I'm not that lucky."

Riku looked up at Dito and saw his head was split open by his keyblade. He closed his eyes. Then he opened them back up again. Back to normal. Whatever that meant. Maybe that wasn't real. But the blood stains on his hands were real. So the memories from last night were also real.

"I- I can't believe I actually killed someone..." He could feel his hands shake and his stomach twist into knots. "What have I done?"

"—You survived." A young woman with long, purple hair tied back into a ponytail was glancing back over the shoulder at him. Her speech and demeanor were rather languid but her eyes held such intensity as she visually dissected him with her gaze as her scalpel.

"Wait, are you..."

Three. The Commander of the Elven Resistance, the reason why they came to the Land of Forests in the first place, was just within arm's reach riding on what appeared to be a centaur. She was suited in sleek but sharp, black armor resembling a dragon's body, and the beginning of a tattoo was peeking out from her neck.

Her appearance actually took Riku by surprise, Zero went out of her way to describe Three as being sickly and 'saggy-looking' with a very lazy disposition, but she seemed to fly in the face of that. Then again, Zero also went on and on about how much a slut Five was only for her to be a covenant nun when they first met, so he was beginning to question how well she knew her own sisters.

One thing was for certain, however, Riku wanted to know who Three really was...

Beside Three were two other people also riding centaurs; an incredibly buff old man to her left and a cute elven girl with long brunette hair to her right. The elf girl was frantically pointing and waving to the tribe of Powerwild and Sniperwild heartless poking around in the treetops. "—Three, heads up! We got trouble coming our way!"

"Handle them." Three said nonchalantly.

"You got it!" The elf girl took out the bow slung over her shoulder, then shot at the Sniperwilds hiding away within the cover of the leaves.

Meanwhile, the old buff guy was crushing the Powerwilds with his bare hands like they were watermelons.

"Huh, that old guy looks a lot like Octa, no way it could be him though," Dito said.

"It is," Three said.

"Oh, okay...WAIT WHAT THE FUCK?!" The old, frail man Dito once knew had transformed into this hulking figure, with bulging muscles and a ripped chest. "What the hell's going on...?"

Just then, two flaming batons, came spiraling in their direction, Three's centaur slashed one of the batons with its sword while Three grabbed the other baton in her hand to analyze it. "Batons...so it's that demon..." She turned to the elf girl. "Rosa, watch the boys."

"Hey, wait a sec! The baton demon's super dangerous, I've heard all the rumors about it, don't be so reckless!"

Disregarding her warning, Three stood up, then jumped up away into the surrounding woods.

"Rosa, that's your name, right? Where is Three going?!" Riku asked.

"...Ugh, I know that look, don't tell me you're going to go after her! I just patched you up, and the baton demon's known for taking out entire squads of soldiers, it's way too- aaand he's gone. Why do I even bother?!"

After flying through an entanglement of trees and branches, Riku finally found Three facing off against the baton demon, better known as the Trickmaster. "-Three! I'll help you out!"

"No need...it's already mine." Three moved her hand as if she were manipulating the strings on a marionette, forcing the Trickmaster's accordion arms to wrap around its head and its spindly legs to twist themselves together into an awkward pretzel.

"Nice! I'll finish it off!"

"Don't just kill him!"

"Him?!"

"Yes. I named him Selim. He's like...a model organism. I've been studying him to understand these demons."

"Don't be ridiculous. This heartless is dangerous and I'm taking it down right now!"

"Heartless? So that's their name..."

Launching himself off the tree branch, he slashed the Trickmaster vertically, severing its body in two. While he was able to slay the heartless, Riku had overexerted himself at that point, tearing open his wounds and leaving him to plummet to the forest floor.

Before he could fall to the ground, Three caught him in her arms. "I knew you were...different." She threw him over her shoulder, then bounded across the tree branches to catch up with her team.

"-Can you work on him, Rosa?" Three asked, setting him back down in the wagon.

"Seriously? This is exactly what I said would happen."

"Sorry..." Riku muttered.

"Hey, that's what I'm here for." Rosa swung back around to bandage Riku up while her centaur continued on. "...It's a good thing those centaurs have a mind of their own right? It really comes in handy."

"Mini-taur." Three corrected.

"I do wonder what led you to give them such an odd name," Octa mused.

"Good question. I decided to venture back into miniaturization once more for these children. Octa, do you remember my last experiment in miniaturization that ended in utter failure?"

"Er... yes my lady, it was those imps we had to dispose of if I remember correctly."

"At the time, I thought it ended in failure but then I realized there's no such thing as failures since it's all part of the scientific method. AnywaysIdecidedtotrymyhandatminiaturizationoncemoreby findingararemutatedbreedofsmallerthanaveragecentaurswherefirstIgeneticallycrossedthemuntilIwasabletofindtheperfectoffspringthatwasaboutthesizeofaregularhorseofcoursetheycouldn'tbetoohumanortheywouldrebelsoIbredtheintelligenceoutofthemuntiltheyweredocilecreatures. Allinallanexcellentexperimentandthatturnedmyfailureintoasuccess-"

She took a deep breath. "...But I call them 'mini-taurs'...you know 'cause it's a play on the word 'miniature'."

"What's wrong with you?" Dito asked, then added, "-Actually, better question, what's wrong with you Octa? You look all jacked up and muscular now. It's weird."

"Oh ho ho ho ho, I'm so glad you noticed the beautiful transformation my body's undergone into its truest form!" Octa said, making sure to punctuate each word with a timely flex and manly pose.

"How the hell did you manage to do that?!"

"The answer's simple, my boy! 100 thrusts, 100 pumps, 100 kegels-"

"We look different because we were prisoners for a long, long time and forced to do physical labor," Three said.

"...Prisoners? So that's what Four did to you guys?" Riku muttered.

"Yes. It was a coup d'etat."

"Why would she do that?"

"Sadly, your guess is as good as ours. One day, Four showed up at Lady Three's shrine, and asked her to step down, when she wouldn't, she came back with a mob of angry people just a few days later. They accused her of setting demons on their villages and colluding with the elves to take humans down," Octa explained.

"So let me get this straight, you just let a bunch of farmers with pitchforks and torches throw you into prison? At that point, you kinda deserved it," Dito said.

"It was not just farmers with pitchforks and torches, a few of them had knives too!"

"Let's see who would win...kitchen knives or daemons? That sure is a tough call."

"It's not that I couldn't fight. I just ...didn't want to," Three said.

"Why not?"

Three went quiet. "...Don't worry about it. Octa, how far are we from Damcyan?"

"20 minutes give or take."

"We're right on time."

"So guys gonna explain why you kidnapped us or...?" Dito asked.

"You just got kicked out of Elfheim so we were forced to take you in," Rosa said. "Him on the other hand, we had to get him away from Claudia's-"

"Don't just gloss over that! Like, what the hell did I do?!"

"Well, if you really wanna know, you were going around pestering a bunch of guys to top them but they-"

"Ah, ha ha you know what? I suddenly remember everything about last night so no need to go over it again!"

"Yeah, but my memory's still a little hazy so I wouldn't mind you talking about how much of a sex pest he was," Riku said.

"Tch, I'm sure your fruity ass would wanna hear that! Bitch..."

"Regardless of the reason why you both are here, we all have a common enemy; Four. Which is why we're heading to Damcyan."

"Damcyan?" Riku asked.

"It's a village of refugees, located at the border of the Land of Mountains. It's remained a neutral party for the duration of the war, so strategically speaking, it's crucial, and according to our intel, Four's heading there to hold a political rally."

"Then what's the plan?"

"Kill her," Three said.

"Uh no, the plan is to force her to surrender, make her denounce her anti-elf sentiments, then kill her," Rosa said.

"Sure." She turned back to Riku. "Due to your actions last night, you've led the scurrying rat right into a trap. Although I suspect Four knows that we're coming and knows that you'll be with us, so we'll be using you against her in this exchange."

Riku shook his head. "No...I'm sorry but I don't want to take part in any more plans where someone has to die. I've done terrible things, I- I killed someone already."

"Hmph." She rolled her eyes. "The bird has idly watched the cat happily eat the prey it's killed. Does it cry now that it must also kill its prey?"

"Wh- what?"

"Answer me."

"Sorry...riddles aren't really my thing."

"Pitiful response."

"-Lady Three, if you could be more understanding, or perhaps less confusing. Not everyone is as versed in your language of riddles and allusions," Octa said. "Apologies young lad, my lady can speak rather...oddly at times, but she means no ill will. It seems she's merely calling you hypocritical, I believe."

"Loose translation," Three said.

"What do you mean I'm 'hypocritical'?" Riku asked. "If you're talking about Zero, I've never condoned her actions, but she's often in a situation where she has no choice but to take a life."

"Exactly. So how long do you intend to stay caged, brave bird? The world can't hear your song if you continue to stay locked up."

"But that doesn't make it any easier to just 'get over' you know?"

"Three, you can be so insensitive sometimes, he does have a point. Not everyone can just 'shake off' murder like that," Rosa said as she was putting a fresh roll of gauze over his open wounds. "Listen, out of everyone here, I probably understand what you're going through the most. Here- let me show you something. Just be warned, it's kinda dumb-" She took out a piece of paper from her person and showed Riku the crude drawing.

"Is...this a cat?" He asked.

"Eh, I'm getting ogre vibes myself," Dito said.

"Ugh who included you in the conversation, Dito? And for your information, it's a picture of me!"

"Oh..."

"I didn't make it myself! It's something...my little siblings made for me. They're really all that I have left, so whenever I'm second-guessing myself, I look at this drawing to remember what I'm fighting for."

"Thank you for sharing that with me, but what if...no one had to fight anymore? Maybe I don't understand the full scope of Four's actions, but there are people in this world who stumble around in the darkness, and can't find their way out because no one's ever shown them the light before."

"That logic only works with people who have reasonable motives. All Four wants is to get rid of everyone she doesn't like. It's just...senseless violence for the sake of it. You'll understand when we reach Damcyan."

Once they made it to the outside of Damcyan, they left their centaurs within the surrounding forest, then fashioned themselves into oversized cloaks to conceal their identities. Unlike the other villages Riku visited throughout Midgard, which were all pretty homogenized, Damcyan stood out as being an incredibly diverse village. Multiple races, from ogres to gigantes to humans, walked amongst each other, creating a vibrant atmosphere where all were welcomed.

Well, all except for Intoners, that was. There was no shortage of anti-Intoner posters plastered across the village, while Four held most of the market share in terms of hatred, every Intoner got their fair share.

Dito grabbed a few of the anti-Intoner posters off the wall, finding them to be amusing. "Oh shit, look at this one guys, 'To everyone thinking about moving to the Land of Seas to find better opportunities, remember, Five's still trying to find where her common sense went' Heh. That's a good one." He read another aloud. "'Cathedral City soldiers are the worst. Their entire family will get eaten by demons then they'll boast about how great their Intoner is. One's NOT going to sleep with you my guy!'"

"This village's pretty vocal about their dislike of the Intoners," Riku said.

"Not surprised," Three said.

"Not even about your own posters?"

"Especially not mine. I've long since been hated by Damcyan."

"Why's that?"

"Let's just say...this village was once comprised of only humans...and now it's not." She pointed to a shabby stage set up at the village square. "We wait there."

They joined the huge crowd of villagers that had already gathered around the stage in anticipation of Four's grand arrival.

"So...how exactly are we doing this?" Riku asked.

"We let white move first, then black. You're our king and she wants a checkmate," Three said.

"Are you saying, I'm like, a target?"

"Well, you're no pawn or else you would've been captured long ago."

An hour or so after the scheduled time Four was supposed to arrive at Damcyan, the villagers were all starting to think she'd do a no-show, which would complicate their plans. However, just when the villagers were starting to leave, her airship finally flew over, casting a large shadow over the village.

Four and her disciple were not met with any sort of fanfare when they entered Damcyan, and no amount of polite smiles and princess-waving would placate their hatred for her. So as she made her way from the entrance of the village to the stage, Decadus had to bear the brunt of all the various objects and rotten food thrown in her direction, not that he had any qualms about it.

All the while this was unfolding, Three watched Four very carefully, studying her every move and mannerism, then soon came to a realization. "Four's...off."

"How so?" Riku asked.

"Can't explain it, but she's slipping."

"...Wonder why."

"Could it possibly be stage fright?" Octa suggested.

"No, something else...something worse."

Without any further ado, Four stepped onto the stage, then began her speech. "...Ahem! Hello Damcyan. As I'm sure you're all aware, my name is Four, ruler of the Land of Mountains and regent of the Land of Forests. I pose a question for all of you, or more accurately, an observation. Have you all seen the state of the Land of Forests lately?" She feverishly paced around the stage. "It's been rife with war, death, poverty-"

"—Because you caused it!" Someone from the crowd yelled out.

"-But it wasn't always like this! It used to be a respectable place that was under the benevolence of the Intoners! Nowadays though? I'm scared to even go outside because I never know who or what will try to kill me!"

"—That's your fault!"

Four slapped her hand on the podium. "Well, I say no more! No more of the war, death, and poverty caused by those elves! Support my cause and join my army because-" She paused to dodge a shoe thrown at her. "-I will restore peace and order back to the Land of Forests and put power back into the hands of the people!"

"—Boooo! This bitch is stupid!"

Riku couldn't tell before, but now even he was aware of how much she was starting to lose it, and probably the rest of the crowd too because it was plainly obvious to see. Four was smiling like someone had to put a knife to her neck, and she raised the inflection of her voice into this very forced, I-have-to-sound-like-I'm-actually-happy-to-be-here tone. It was uncomfortable to watch, to say the least, and it made Riku question what her next move would be.

"...I see I have a lively audience today, don't I? Well I'm always open to debate about my policies because there's nothing more important to me than input from the people! So I turn the stage to you, and ask what I can do to make the Land of Forests a better, safer place!"

"—You can start by getting the fuck outta here!"

"Alright, alright, constructive criticism please-" She pointed to an ogre raising his hand. "Yes, you there in the back! Please, tell me your name, sir."

"Sure. My first name is Ligma,"

"Okay...Ligma."

"And last name is Balls."

"Balls? I'm sorry, so your name is Mr. Ligma ...Balls? Did I get that-"

That got the crowd to erupt in laughter.

"She actually fucking said it!" Dito yelled, shaking Octa back and forth.

"What a glorious occasion!"

Even the typically moody, inscrutable Three had a small chuckle at Four's expense.

With the entire village laughing at her blunder, Four's entire face flushed bright red, though, not from embarrassment. Maybe in the past, she would've dropped out right then and there with her tail in between her legs, but not this time. She felt invigorated, she couldn't just back out now, not when she was so close to realizing her dream. So she rolled with the punches and started laughing along with the crowd. "Ha ha...that was a good one, no really. So crass yet so hilarious at the same time, I didn't expect an ogre of all creatures to talk so proper!"

"—Oh fuck you!" Ligma Balls yelled back.

"You know I have a joke too, this country, that's it, that's the punchline!"

"—Booooo!"

"Why are you booing me? You know I'm right. Your Intoner's performing human experiments but when I step up to lead I'm the bad guy? HA!"

"—Because you're a racist tyrant that's why!"

"Why do you people always bring race into this? It's not my fault you butt ugly ogres don't know your ass from your elbow!"

"—Boooo! Get this bitch off the stage!"

Another shoe was thrown at her, but this time she caught it in her hand and ripped it apart. While Four lacked the charisma and presence to naturally command people's attention, she learned very early on there was another way to force it out of them. "THAT'S IT! SO HELP ME GOD IF ONE MORE OF YOU MOTHERFUCKERS BOOS ME OR THROWS ANOTHER SHOE, I WILL KILL EVERYONE IN THIS SHITHOLE VILLAGE INCLUDING YOUR MONGREL CHILDREN! AND I'LL BE STARTING WITH YOU MR. LIGMA BALLS! WHY DON'T YOU LIGMA FAT FUCKING NUTS HUH?!"

After Four's violent outburst, the villagers of Damcyan went deathly quiet, reminded of the grim reality that despite all her posturing, Four was still very much so a goddess that walked among mortals. If she wanted them dead, they would've been buried 10 ft under by now. However, what came next shook them even more than her threats because after that she had Decadus bring One to the stage and throw her down.

Four basked in the terror that spread amongst the villager's faces and started to finally regain her composure, knowing that she was in complete control. "Ah...that's what I thought. Now- now I'm sure you're all thinking to yourselves, 'unga bunga me think that's One' and you're absolutely correct!"

She picked up One by her hair, then held up for the audience to see her bloody and bruised face. "I hate to break it to you, but no one's here to save you, not even this One." She laughed again. "Ha ha, get it? Actually, you probably don't, so let me break it down for you: support my army or else. You can't stop me, so I'd go for the winning team if I were you~"

Discarding One back onto the stage, she continued her raving and ranting, "-Oh and Three, I know you're here in the crowd and I'm almost positive you brought Riku with you so here, just an added incentive-" This time she had Decadus leave to bring back Zero and throw her on the stage alongside One.

"Hey, easy! Don't handle me so goddamn rough!" Zero barked back at Decadus.

"A- Apologies...ungh..."

Back within the folds of the crowd, Riku was getting ready to rush onto the stage at the mere sight of Zero, and Three knew he was going to act irrationally so she put her hand on his shoulder and tried to talk him out of it.

"Don't, Riku."

"But I see her right in front of me!"

"A hare who blindly rushes into the woods does not see the snare before it."

"Fine! So what do we do now?"

"We wait."

Growing impatient with the lack of response, Four decided to pressure them even further. "Oh? I guess he's not here. No matter, then if it's just you, Three, I suppose you'd love to see a public execution of your dear sisters!" She raised her hand, swathed by darkness, then heartless crawled over both Zero and One's bodies.

"-Even if that's not Zero, what about the other one?! Shouldn't we save her?!" Riku argued.

"No. That's what she wants us to do."

"So you rather watch your own sister die?!"

"It's out of the way."

"Maybe you don't care, but I'm putting a stop to this!"

"-Tough crowd, huh? And here I thought you commoners loved public executions," Four said.

All of a sudden, Decadus jumped in front of Four to block Riku's blade from reaching his Intoner, but Riku simply yanked his keyblade back, forcing Decadus to fall to the ground and then rushed to pick up Zero with one hand while untying One with the other.

"You fool..." One muttered.

"A little thanks for saving you would be nice!"

"Save me? Why do you think...Four isn't ...stopping you?"

Before Riku even realized what was going on, 'Zero' jabbed him in the stomach then she joined Four's side.

"God, men are so gullible," 'Zero' said in a voice he recognized.

"Claudia! That's why you smelled so repulsive!" Blinded by rage, he charged straight at Claudia and attacked her.

"Up for round 2?" Claudia ducked under his keyblade, then grinned at him. "Aw, I just can't get enough of that angry face, it riles me up every time you look at me like that ah~" Claudia, while still taking the form of Zero, flashed her breast and ...other parts of her body in front of the entire village. Which elicited various reactions, ranging from disapproving gasps to perverted whistling.

"Claudia!" Four shrieked. "Have some self-respect, you're ruining my image!"

"Like you didn't do that to yourself already!"

While Four was distracted by Claudia's antics, One seized the opportunity to make a move herself. "Gabriel!" She cried out.

Within seconds, the stage was consumed by Gabriel's powerful fire blast, but Four reacted fast. She picked One up from the burning stage, then held her body up to the daemon dragon. "I know you can't understand me but I just wanted to let you know how precious I think the bond you and my dear sister share, it's truly noble the lengths you'd go for her. So, honest question, if you'd kill for her, then would you die for her as well?"

Four shot One's heart with darkness and so began her transformation into a heartless, and because of One's pact with Gabriel, so did Gabriel.

All the villagers thought they could do at that point was watch, watch as an eldritch monster would inevitably slaughter all of them, watch as another asshole with too much power abused it right in front of their faces because that's how the story always ended. Midgard was trapped in an endless cycle of violence with no way out, with no one wanting to find a way out, but that all changed when a keyblade knocked Four upside the head.

Moments later, Riku burst out from the flames and grabbed One's body off the ground. "Don't worry! You're not becoming a heartless on my watch!"

After getting away from the burning stage, he set her down, then performed the Power of Waking on her.

.

.

.

In stark contrast to the previous Intoners, One's Dive to the Heart was full of light. Her own station was like a shining beacon, but it was so bright that he could hardly make out the details of the portrait on her glass pillar.

"Nothing's really out of the ordinary...except for all of this light. I can hardly see anything." Riku kept walking until he reached the edge of the pillar. "Wait a second..." He saw something like a root growing at the bottom of the pillar.

"That must be the Flower."

Walk down the pillar,

You will not fall.

When Riku put his foot on the base of the pillar, he was surprised when the gravity shifted and allowed him to stand upwards as he walked down to the bottom.

'Gotta be careful. Zero warned me about what happened the last time I did this.' Reaching the bottom of the pillar, gravity shifted once more, turning upside down so he was now standing upright at the bottom of the pillar. This time, the stained glass was shaded, and cracking alongside the edges, but Riku could finally see One's portrait clearly. Her back was turned and she was all alone, at the center of the pillar was the black flower with its petals completely closed up.

I see you've finally returned to me.

"No, I haven't." Riku summoned his keyblade. "...It's over for you."

.

.

.

While Riku was still unconscious, Four shook his body back and forth, full-on panicking. "He's not moving! Why isn't he moving?! Is he dead?!" She started tugging at her hair. "No no no everything I worked for, it's all over! I'm gonna be sick!"

"—You're dead, Four."

She turned back to see Three, along with the rest of her team, approach Four with their weapons drawn out.

"Now Three, I'm your dear little sister, how could you-"

Three snapped her scissors together, cutting her sentence short.

Four rose to her feet with her hands held up. "Wait-wait-wait, before you try anything drastic, why don't we talk things out first? I - I have all of your dolls and materials with me, I mean, that's what you really want in the end isn't it?"

"No way! Three's fighting for way more than just herself!" Rosa argued.

"..."

"R- Right?"

Four cracked a small smile. "Please, don't kid yourself, no one knows my sister better than I do. Look Three, I know you don't actually care about the elves or this silly rebellion, all you want is to play with your dolls, I understand that now and I should've never taken that away from you!"

"Even if it began as being a matter of getting her dolls back, surely, after all this time, this conflict has become to mean something much greater to Lady Three," Octa said.

"Sure maybe to you guys it's become something greater but it's always been about dolls for her, isn't that right, Three? So stop this nonsense already, I'll leave you completely alone, give you the world's best lab, an endless supply of materials, and all the experimental subjects you could ask for...think about it, doesn't that sound nice? You'd be a fool to pass it up."

Octa and Rosa looked towards her, hoping and praying that she'd do the right thing but all Three had to say in response to Four's enticing offer was; "...Promise?"

Four held her pinky finger out. "I swear on it."

Just as Three was about to extend her pinky out and bind herself to Four, Rosa reached out one last time in a desperate attempt to keep her on their side."Three wait! Even if you don't care about what's going on, even if all of this was just a means to an end for you, don't tell me you would ever leave a question unanswered!"

"A question...unanswered?"

"Y- Yeah I mean, come on, I know you've been super curious about Riku! He's a human that can use magic, wields a strange sword, and talks in metaphors like you do, but the thought to experiment on him hasn't even crossed your mind?! I'm shocked."

"Three, now, Three, keep your eyes on me, okay? Don't listen to whatever garbage this elf has to say."

"-No, seriously, all Four's gonna give you is some measly soldiers and maybe some prisoners, but been there done that right? Riku, on the other hand- he's like a superhuman or something, he's way more interesting that anything you've ever experimented on in the past! Think about it, do you want a dozen of the same guys you always get or one super hot, mysterious guy? Sounds like a no-brainer to me."

"...You're right."

"What? No! She's exaggerating. Besides, I can find plenty of guys just as attractive as he is if that's what you-"

"Be quiet."

Three stabbed Four from under her chin, the long shears penetrated the roof of her mouth into the frontal lobe of her skull. She then twisted her scissors around to mesh her brains together, then yanked it right out. After that, she kicked Four to the ground, who was choking on all the blood and gunk seeping from her head into her throat.

"Rosa...are you sure this is the best course of action?" Octa asked.

"No, but we don't have a choice. Sorry Riku..."

As brutal of an attack as it was, Four's suffering wasn't quite over just yet. A loud, deafening roar that could only belong to a dragon thundered from just over the burning stage. In her final moments, One had severed the pact that bound her and her dragon together so only she alone would have to suffer. This action released Gabriella from her daemon form and she took to the skies, where she located her partner.

"ONE!" Gabriella screeched.

From her perspective, One was just a bloody corpse while Riku, with his keyblade out beside her, was her killer. So, just like that, she swooped in and ate Riku, leaving only his legs behind. She was about to eat Four next for playing a part in One's demise but Decadus jumped in at the last second and let himself get eaten in her place.

After witnessing such a horrible atrocity, Four coughed out globs of blood in an effort to scream his name out; "RIKUUUUU!"

.

.

.

Right in the middle of his battle against the black flower in One's Dive to the Heart, he suddenly felt a pain so intense that it caused him to collapse on the pillar and start throwing up blood.

'What's happening?! Am I dying?!'

It's begun

The End Will Now Begin

The last thing he saw before he blacked out was the Flower in full bloom and its tendrils slithering over to him.

.

.

.

At the brink of death, Riku was able to resurrect in time to climb out of Gabriella's throat and stab the inside of her mouth to force her jaw back open, and not only did he save himself but he carried Decadus on his back. Jumping out of her mouth, he landed harshly on the ground, dripping wet with blood and dragon saliva but somehow, despite everything, still alive.

"Eh? Never had a problem with food that didn't want to stay down! Guess that's what I get for not chewing before I swallowed, I won't make that same-"

"GABRIELLA!" One screamed.

"...One? I thought you were-"

She dragged herself towards Riku and Decadus with every ounce of strength she had left. "Don't kill that man...he's the reason why I'm still alive."

...

Following the aftermath of the Damcyan political rally, half of the village was burned to ash by Gabriella's fire, Four and Claudia were nowhere to be found, and Riku and the others had taken Decadus as their prisoner, then relocated to a forest outside the village where they would recuperate for the time being.

After well, everything, that had happened, Riku wanted nothing more than to soak up in the nearby river and wash away all the grime that accumulated over the last few days. He also washed his half-eaten clothes that Gabriella so graciously threw up for him.

'I hope Zero's doing better than I am. I just wish I could see her right now, at least so I know that she's okay.' He thought on it a little more then decided against it. 'Actually maybe not right now-right now, first I need to figure out how I'm gonna break the news to her that I have the Flower. She's gonna kill me when she finds out.'

Rather than dwell on it any further, he swam back over to the river bank with his jacket so he could set it over the rocks to dry. Just before he swam back to finish washing the rest of his clothes, he heard the sound of his gummiphone ringing and rushed to pick up the call. Not only was Mickey's face on the screen, but Kairi was also present.

"Hey guys, you're definitely a sight for sore eyes! So, what's up, did...something happen?"

"Heya Riku!" Mickey greeted. "And you can relax, nothing happened! We were just callin' to check up on ya, that's all. You've been gone for a few days and we were startin' to get worried."

"Yeah! Any luck on finding Sora, by the way?" Kairi asked.

"Uh, no...no he's definitely not here."

"Aw, well it looks like you're enjoying yourself there, taking a swim surrounded by a beautiful forest, you're kinda making me jealous~"

Riku vigorously shook his head. "No, the last thing I'm doing here is enjoying myself, trust me. And I've been here for so long because Maleficent, the heartless, and some...demon are all here and I've just been trying to stop all of them, but it's been an uphill battle, to say the least."

"It sounds like you need help, we could call everyone and —"

"No, I rather not get everyone involved. 'Sides, they're all looking for Sora. I can fix this on my own."

"Riku, you always say you wanna do things alone, but you should know by now that's not always the best way to go about things. Your friends are always there to help you," Mickey said.

"I know- I know. I guess... I'm just worried that I'm losing myself. If I always need to rely on my friends to bring me back from the darkness, then I'm starting to think I never had much light to begin with."

"Oh no, that's it, if I have to personally come down to whatever world you're at and drag you out of there! We can do an Earth 2.0, right Mickey?" Kairi asked, already getting fired up.

"No, no you really don't have to do that, I'm okay. Besides, no offense, you guys wouldn't even last a second in this world."

"What's that supposed to mean?" They both asked.

"Pretty much everyone here's crazy, murderous, or downright evil and you guys are just way too good to be here."

"That goes for you too, you know," Kairi said.

"Yeah...I guess..."

"Kairi's right! Even at your darkest hour, you're never too far from the light, and don't forget that you're a Keyblade Master, Riku! There's nothing you can't accomplish and no challenge too great as long as you put your heart into it!"

"C'mon, what happened to all your confidence? You used to be so sure of yourself to the point where it went to your head," Kairi teased.

"Hey, easy."

"Sorry, I'm just worried about you that's all. Remember, we're never far away, our hearts are always connected."

"I know...but it's not like I'm totally alone out here so you guys don't have to worry about me that much."

"Oh? You finally made some new friends? What're they like?"

"There's one that's a dragon, he's kind of a sap, but he means well, then there's this girl who's around our age-"

"Ooooh~"

"Gosh, who knew Riku would ever start talking to, well, anybody! They really do grow up fast, don't they?" Mickey said.

"Right?! He could barely talk to other girls before, now this?"

"It's not like that! She's just... cool that's all."

"Just 'cool' huh? Then why's your face getting all red, hmmm? Oh, you're definitely gonna have to introduce us to her sometime!"

Out of nowhere, Three popped up from under the water beside Riku. "—I'd also like to be a part of this."

"THREE? H- How long have you been here?!"

"A while. I wanted to study and...observe you in your natural state. You have a nice body, excellent for our up close and personal experiments, wouldn't you agree?"

"Oh Riku..." Mickey said, shaking his head.

"Looks like he's doing way more than just making friends," Kairi said

"Why are you guys still-" He quickly snatched his gummiphone. "Okay-bye-see-you-later!" And he hung up.

"So what's that device in your hand? How were you able to stuff people and animals in that small box?" Three asked.

"None of your business!" Riku stepped out of the river, then draped himself in a towel. "Why are you even here, I thought you were building a wheelchair!"

"I already finished that-" Three immediately followed after Riku. "And now it's time to start my experimental study on you!"

"What experimental study?! I didn't agree to be a part of this!"

"Rosa agreed for you, she donated your body to science!"

"She what?!" Riku marched over to Rosa, who was drinking along with Dito and Octa.

"Hey Riku, oooo~" She eyed his shirtless chest up and down. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Why did Three just tell me you donated my body to science?!"

"O- Oh yeah...that-" Rosa pulled Riku aside. "Look, Three's not exactly 'loyal' to us. She was getting ready to betray us for Four until I offered you up, which I'm really, really, really sorry about, but it was either that or she would've killed us all. She's basically only here because of you so please just entertain her for a little while until we stop Four!"

"Entertain her?! She's talking about doing experiments, I don't wanna get dissected by her!"

Rosa pat Riku on the back. "Don't be so dramatic, I doubt Three's going to do anything invasive-"

Right as she said that, Three snipped off a lock of Riku's hair.

"What the heck?!"

"A hair sample for further testing. All that's left is blood, urine, and of course your semen, but I can collect that once we get more intimate heheheheh~"

Riku shot Rosa daggers while she could only smile sheepishly back at him as she tried to diffuse the situation. "Whoa, whoaaa, Three, before we start doing all of that, shouldn't you present the wheelchair you've been working on to your sister? I'm sure she'd really appreciate it, plus we need to go over what our plan is to end the war since you're still technically, by default, our commander."

"...Fine, but I'm not done with him yet."

When Three left to retrieve the wheelchair, Riku dragged his hands over his face. "Ughhh so now I have to deal with her on top of everything else?!"

Dito shrugged. "Yeah, but look on the bright side, it's really fucking funny for everyone else! Free laughs, am I right Octa?"

"As deranged as she is, watching Lady Three senselessly lust after this young lad when my old one eye yearns for a visit fills me with nothing but pain, ohoho ho ho..."

"Geez you guys are terrible people," Rosa said.

"Exactly what I've been saying!" Riku said.

Once Three came back with a shabby, makeshift wheelchair, they made their way to One and Gabriella. One didn't have much to say to her old friend, despite it being the first time in a long time the two were together. Of course, Gabriella tried to strike up a conversation, only to be met with one-word answers or complete silence. Which, considering everything that happened to her in such a short period of time, she could understand her somberness.

When Three rolled the wheelchair to One, however, that was the first time since Damcyan that she spoke longer than a single word. "...Please don't humor me. Look at me, I'm...a mortal and I can no longer walk. The only thing I am to you is a liability."

Gabriella let out an annoyed huff. "Quit being so damn prideful One! Your lunatic sister made you something that's actually useful, yet you would turn your nose up to it? Tch..."

"Funny, I don't recall asking you for your input. This is my life to live, you don't get to choose what I do with it!" One shot back.

"You were the one crying about being a liability! Well, here's your ticket out of being one! Or would you rather we just leave you here to die alone?!"

"Maybe you should!"

"One!"

"Listen to me everyone, especially you Gabriella. I'm the reason why the world is the way it is and the reason why all of you are suffering right now. Not only did I fail as a leader but I failed as a sister and I'm sorry. I wish I could correct the mistakes I made, but I lost my power and my legs are broken beyond repair...and I- I just can't live like this...I can't. Please, just go on without me, don't bother yourselves trying to save me."

[No Response]

Flowers for the Dead


A/N: This is just something for fun that I was thinking abt, since Drakengard 3 is based on songs, I thought I'd find some songs that might represent each Intoner, the stories they go through or how their disciple feels towards them. YES some of these were a reach, but lmk if you think there's better songs in mind!

Zero: 'Flip Flop' by Megan Thee Stallion, 'IFHY' by Tyler, the Creator

One: 'Playing God' by Paramore, 'Revolution Radio' by Green Day

Two: 'love4eva' by LOONA yyxy, 'Racing into the Night' by Yoasobi

Three: 'Livin La Vida Loca' by Ricky Martin, 'The Lazy Song' by Bruno Mars

Four: 'Unpretty' by TLC, 'Not Enough' by Lido ft THEY

Five: 'Sound Proof Room' by Elle Varner, 'Motivation' by Normani

Bonus: Misery (Riku) x CPR (Zero) x Resse's puff (Mikhail