Kiyomsia: Well, I'm going on vacation for a week, so I'm putting up two chapters now, and probably another two Thursday. Hope it keeps ya satisfied for a bit Daea!
"What?" Riku stared at the light, which was steadily growing bigger as the rumbling grew louder, joined by a mechanical sound.
"Run," Cloud replied, grabbing Riku's hand and starting down the opposite direction. The Labyrinth had once again changed and they were now in a single corridor. Ansem had also disappeared.
Riku glanced behind him as they ran, and caught a fleeting image of whirling blades and flashing metal that took up the entire span of the tunnel.
"Shit!"
He and Cloud began to run faster. However, they soon skidded to a halt, their way blocked by a locked metal gate. Cloud kicked it.
"The Glade, the Cleaners, he must really like you," the swordsman muttered.
"Oh shut up!' Riku snapped back, looking around for some means of escape. The wall to his right looked cracked and unstable. He pointed it out to Cloud, who nodded.
"On the count of two," Riku said, aware of the Cleaners getting closer and closer. "One, two!"
The two body-checked the wall, then fell through as it exploded under their onslaught in a cloud of cobwebs and dust. A split-second later the Cleaners rushed by, smashing through the gate. Riku sat up and winced. Okay, so using the same shoulder he'd landed on earlier wasn't such a good idea.
"You all right?" Cloud asked, touching his arm.
Riku nodded. "Yeah, just a bruise. Remind me no to hit any thing else with this shoulder, okay?"
He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a smile on cloud's lips before the swordsman turned his head away.
"There, that ladder will help us," the blond said, nodding to a ladder on the far side of the small room they had charged into. "That is, if you still trust me." Lichen-blue eyes glanced back at him.
Riku gazed back. "Why wouldn't I? I know you just told him that to get him off your back."
Cloud nodded. "True. Shall we?"
Riku swept a bow. "After you."
And they began looked to be a very long climb.
Sora felt drained. He lay limp on the bed, not even having enough energy to put his shirt back on. He wondered if Riku was fighting his way through the Labyrinth like heroes in the past. His stomach twisted.
"He is, isn't he?" the brunette shook his head. He had no reason to believe that his friend wouldn't come get him.
Sora turned over and curled up on his side. "I'm sorry about Kairi," he murmured to the empty air. "I didn't mean to avoid you. I just didn't know how to act around you since…since I…" Sora couldn't finish and buried his head in the pillow.
"Poor boy," Ansem's deep voice said gently, and Sora felt warm arms pull him into an equally warm embrace. "You were just discovering you loved him, and he banished you to the End of the World."
"He's coming for me," Sora said firmly, remaining stiff in Ansem's arms.
"I wish I could tell you he was," Ansem said quietly, running his fingers through Sora's hair. "But I'm here for you."
Sora pushed himself away. "You're going to make into a Heartless!" he accused, glaring hotly at the man.
"Sora, you make it sound like I want to turn you," the king said gently, cupping Sora's cheek.
"Don't you?" Sora challenged, narrowing his eyes.
"It's my duty, it's what must be done, but I take no pleasure in it, pretty one," Ansem explained. Sora was still glaring distrustfully, so the mocha-skinned man bent his head down to kiss him. Sora stiffened for a moment, and though Ansem's kiss was firm and insistent, it was also gentle and seductive and Sora found himself relaxing despite himself.
Ansem pulled away and lightly stroked Sora's cheek. "Go to sleep pet, rest before the final hour."
Cloud and Riku finally reached the top of the ladder, coming out of a giant pot into a bright, sunny courtyard, where the maze was now made of neatly trimmed hedges.
"Here we are," Cloud said, beating the dust out of his cape.
Riku blinked in the sunlight and glared at the bright sky from behind his hand. "At least we're in fresh air. Now what?" the youth asked his guide.
Cloud shrugged. "This is your quest."
"You just don't know where you are," Riku grumbled. Getting no reaction other than a raised eyebrow, Riku looked around. He spied an old man dressed in blue playing chess with an owl.
"Let's go see what they know."
As they neared, the man spoke up, not taking his eyes off the board. "I was expecting you fifteen minutes earlier boy. Your rook is mine Arcamedes. "
Riku, now used to the unexpected, took this statement in stride and replied with, "I ran into a small delay." He thought he heard a soft snort from Cloud and decided to ignore it. "Do you know how to solve the Labyrinth?"
"Hmph, Merlin doesn't know where his own beard is," Arcamedes asserted, capturing Merlin's bishop with a knight.
"Come now Arcamedes, don't be such a grump," Merlin chided before looking to Riku. His white eyebrows rose as he spotted Cloud. "And who might this be?"
"Cloud's my friend."
"Ah. Now, as for your question. Sometimes it seems like we're not getting anywhere, when in fact-"
"We are, make your move!" Arcamedes interrupted crossly.
"We are," Merlin finished for himself, looking at the owl rather crossly himself and moving his knight.
"Well I'm not getting anywhere right now," Riku muttered.
"Aha! Checkmate!" Arcamedes proclaimed, setting his queen down triumphantly.
"What!? Impossible!" Merlin cried, and as the two argued it became quite apparent to Riku that he would get nothing more out of them.
"Ugh, C'mon," he said and began walking towards the castle as the hedges would allow. Cloud followed and they walked in silence for a while.
"Why did you say that?" Cloud asked, breaking the silence.
"Say what?"
"That I was your friend."
Riku threw the blonde a look as they wove through the hedges. "Aren't you? You keep helping me for no real reward. Hell, you even lied to the Heartless King for me. That makes you a friend, right?"
The swordsman looked away, avoiding Riku's gaze. "I wouldn't know, I've never had a friend."
Riku frowned. How was it possible to never had a friend? He was about to comment on this idea when a loud roar reverberated through the air.
"The hell," Riku said, and changed paths to head for the sound.
Cloud debated mention the fact that most people headed away from the sound of a big angry animal, then shrugged and followed the youth. As they neared, sounds of a struggle grew apparent and taunts were being thrown.
"Big big beast, can't fight back!"
"Ha ha, can't catch me!"
"Look, I got some hairs!"
"Bet his tail hurts from that!"
Riku poked his head around the corner, finally spotting the source of the commotion. A group of half-a-dozen Heartless in clanky armor, that moved like the Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz, were dancing around a large creature they'd strung up by it's feet. The creature looked somewhat like a were-lion but had two demon-like horns sprouting from his head.
The creature spun on the rope as he roared and swung at his tormentors, who dodged just out of reach, time and time again. It was then that Riku noticed that the Heartless were swiping at the creature with their claws, leaving small trails of blood in their wake.
Riku clenched his teeth and looked around for something he could use as a weapon. Normally he didn't involve himself in someone else's fight, but six against one, who was hanging upside down just wasn't acceptable.
The youth picked up a sizable stone.
"Dare I ask what you're doing?" Cloud asked in his quiet voice.
"Evening the odds," Riku replied and chucked the stone.
"Nice shot," Cloud commented as the stone hit a Heartless square in the back of the head. The Heartless yelled, then turned on his neighbor.
"What was that for?!"
"What was what for?"
"You hit me!"
"No I didn't!"
"Liar!" And the first swing was swung. Riku laughed to himself as the Heartless forgot about their prisoner in favor of an all-out brawl with each other. The creature was trying to used the opportunity to rip his ropes, but was having a hard time reaching them.
Riku slipped around the side, reach the stone the ropes were anchored to. The creature looked at him, surprise evident on his impressive muzzle, but the Heartless were still clueless. Riku winked at him, then began work on the ropes. The creature remained quiet and soon Riku had the knot undone, grabbing the rope to slow the creature's descent, but he was so heavy it almost didn't matter.
Still, the creature had prepared himself for the drop and landed well on all fours. "Thank you," he growled, then pounced on the Heartless.
Cries of distress and panicked shrieks filled the air as the creature made short work of them. Then silence, followed by a chorus of hissing sounds as the bodies faded away into nothing.