Chapter III
"Bad part of things?" Riku arched an eyebrow. "Aren't the Door being open and the Heartless being back around the bad part of things?"
"Well, those do issue a problem." Sora nodded, folding his arms. "But somehow that isn't the problem I'm most concerned with."
"I would think," Riku started. "That the Door being open would be the biggest problem in YOUR eyes, seeing as how you closed it. Unless there's something utterly wrong with Kairi."
"First off, I didn't close the Door alone, second, Kairi is fine, all of the Princesses of Heart are fine, which-"
"Which brings to mind my next questions. Where are your dumb-founded commrads at arms?"
Sora snorted softly at the bitter tone to Riku's voice. "Boy, someone sure sounds jealous. For your information, Donald and Goofy weren't as dumb-founded as you'd like to believe. They helped me out a lot when YOU were trying to kill me."
Riku opened his mouth to speak in protest to these words, but was cut off before he could start.
"And when we found Mickey, they went back with him."
"I wasn't trying to kill you." Riku frowned, folding his arms over his chest rather defensively.
"Dismantle me then. Does that sound better?" Sora rolled his eyes at the other. "For crying out loud, Riku, you came at me with a sword, a sharp sword no less. It wasn't just some kiddy duel with a wooden stick like old times, and it was all because you believed the Darkness over me. Me! Your best friend! You thought YOU were hurt and felt betrayed! At least I didn't come after you intentionally!"
The silence that followed Sora's words was plainful, nearly as painful as the words that had been spoken themselves. Riku's visionless gaze met the floor, as did Sora's vicious seeming one do the same. They stood, only feet apart, with their heads bowed, neither saying a word towards one another, or even daring to breathe in the other's direction.
"Well, I must say!" the newest addition to the room stepped forward slowly, forcing both boy's heads to lift. "This is adorable, really! Two of all the Worlds' most annoying gentlemen here, in one place, saving me the trouble of having to hunt them down seperately. I am most impressed."
"You." Sora growled, turning to face the other.
"Of course me, Sora dear. Who else did you expect, honestly?"
"Where's Kairi?!" Sora snapped viciously.
Riku's ears caught the sound of a Keyblade, but who's was the question that had come to his mind. "I thought you said Kairi was fine!"
"Oh she is!" the new comer mused. "She's just...Getting a look through a whole new set of eyes."
"Answer me!" Sora raged, stepping forward.
"Temper, temper..." the other tsked. "Violence shall get you no where. I'd have thought you learned that the last time, Keyblade Master."
"I'll only ask you one more time, Julian." Sora spit the name like a curse, forcing Riku to start a bit. "Where is Kairi?"
"If I told you she was perfectly safe, would you quit your belly aching and shut up?" the girl's voice was airy, as if irritated.
"No." Sora growled. "What are you doing here?"
"Congratulating the Betrayer." Juli mused once again.
"On what?" Riku arched an eyebrow in her direction.
"Your ever so marvelling stupidity, of course." she responded briskly.
Sora snorted at this, but said nothing.
"I told you, gave you fair warning that your time was running out, but you did not listen to me."
"I've never been one to listen very well to a threat." Riku retorted.
Juli snorted herself at this. "Not once was it said to be a threat."
"You attacked me!"
"No, I simply tested you."
"And the red mark making such a fashion statement on your face suggests just what kind of liking your Lord took to that." Sora smirked.
"Indeed." Juli's tone took a dangerous turn.
"How many strikes is that now, Juli?" Sora relaxed his stance a great deal. "I don't think you've any left, do you?"
The girl was silent.
"Tell me," he continued. "What happened when you run out of chances. Do you go back to being Darkness' Head Bitch?"
The sharp sound of metal against metal shot through the room like a gun shot, forcing Riku to stagger back a step. Sora let out a mocking chuckle, which earned a frustrated growl of response from Juli. When the sound again echoed through the room, their feet ceased, telling Riku they'd locked blades.
"What's the matter, Julian?" Sora let her name roll off his tongue tauntingly. "Did I strike a nerve?"
"Becareful, Keyblade Master." Juli growled again, the sound of their blades separating ringing through the room. "I hold the out come of your precious Kairi's Fate!" she wrenched something from her cloak, causing Sora to gasp.
"No!" he moved forward a step, his Keyblade hitting the ground.
"Back off!" Juli commanded. "Or I shall destroy it AND her!"
Sora hit his knees at this, earning a confused look from Riku. "No, don't..."
"What is going on?!" Riku yelled, finally having had enough of being left in the dark.
"You heed my message, Betrayer." Juli snarled at him, then turned and departed as quickly as she had entered.
"No!" again the cry left Sora's lips as he jumped to his feet, ready to go after the girl. Riku, howeverm reached out and siezed his arm, pulling him back. "Let go, Riku!" Sora yelled.
"I thought you said Kairi was alright!" Riku raised his voice in response, throwing the other back a couple of steps.
"I lied!" Sora snagged his Keyblade from the floor, holding it defensively. "I don't know WHERE she is! Just that the sisters have her!"
"Sisters? What sisters?!" Riku was becoming annoyed by this point.
"Atari and Julian." Sora caught his explosive temper with the shutting of his eyes.
"Who are they?" Riku too calmed his tone.
"No one really knows." Sora ran a hand down his face. "Just that they were lost to the Darkness. When the Door was closed, they became known as THE Lost, now they serve a man by the name of Teluha."
Riku took a moment to let this new information sink in. "What of the other Princesses?"
"Fine. They're all fine. Which is why I don't understand what someone would want wit Kairi. If they don't want the others, why do they want her?"
'There, there, Master Sora...' the Keyblade gripped in the younger boy's hand shimmered softly. 'All will be well with given time.'
"Thanks Avenger..." Sora mumbled quietly.
"What is Mickey doing about this new turn of events?" Riku asked softly.
"There's nothing he can do at the moment. We don't have enough information about what's going on for him to do anything about it."
"On our own then..."
Sora sighed heavily. "So it would seem..."
Exhaustion was something Riku had become extreamly familiar with over his years behind the Door. He learned ways, over his time, to get around it whenever possible. Sora was sat in one of the chairs, sound asleep, Riku figured due to his breathing pattern. He himself remained on his feet, stood at one of the windows, gazing into the dark nothingness his eyes showed him. His mind swam with thoughts, most of them wondering what he and Sora were to do about Kairi, and how they were to get her away from these sisters. If they could get her away. There was no telling what they had or had not already done to poor Kairi.
He shook his head at that thought. Juli had said that Kairi was fine, but was she saying that just to shut Sora up? And what was it that she has that was so valuable to Sora? It obviously held some importance to Kairi's life, else his best friend would not have freaked out the way he did.
The hard, thoughtful expression written across Riku's face faded slowly into a somewhat hurt one. Best friend? You don't try and kill your best friend. He shook his head. Sora was right, he had no place in doing what he had done. Believing the Darkness over his childhood friend? Darkness, however, was strongly convicing. It made promises to deliver one's biggest wish to them.
He blinked. The sisters. What was it that they had been promised? Why had they willingly opened themselves to Darkness' call? Or did they? Again he shook his head.
'You're doing it again...' Pretender's mental voice was monotone.
"Doing what again?" Riku asked softly.
'Thinking too hard. Master Riku, if you keep this up, I'm sorry to say, your head shall explode.'
Riku snorted. "I'm harming nothing in thinking, Pretender."
'Aside from your brain, correct?'
"Exactly, I-" Riku paused, then frowned. "Not funny, Keychain."
Pretender gasped as if deeply insulted. 'I am no Keychain!'
'Zat so?' Avenger's mental voice was sleepy.
'Yes, that is so!' Pretender snapped.
'Oh, I always figured you were a scrawny twig with screwy branches.'
Again Pretender gasped. 'Why you sorry excuse for a rusty pipe!'
It was Avenger's turn to gasp. 'I beg your pardon?!'
'You can beg all you'd like!' Pretender snorted. 'But you're STILL a sorry excuse for a rusty pipe!'
Riku chuckled softly as the Keyblades continued their argument. He lifted his Keyblade-free hand to his face, rubbing it slowly and tiredly.
"Sleep, Riku." Sora's sudden arise into the land of the awake caused Riku to jump nearly a foot. "I'll take my turn at post now."
After a moment, Riku nodded, crossing the floor to the chair Sora had abandoned. He sat himself down into it and made himself comfortable, laying his still arguing Keyblade across his chest. It took only minutes for Riku to slip into the land of nod, his exhaustion having gotten the better of him at last. With a tired sigh, his mind let go, sending him off into a world of content dreams.
((Gah! shakes hands, blowing on them FAST typing! So if there are typos...DEAL WITH IT! That's TEN pages! Twice the ammount you got last time! Are you happy? You'd better be! I worked my BUTT off on this chapter! Repay me with kind reviews!
Oh yes! Before I forget! The Disclaimer! pulls out a remote with a BIG red button on it, grins Best Buy has it all. pushes button
(frustrated looking guy with icey blue eyes and blue hair gets lowered by wires, another with the whole Silver Haired Bishy thing going for him skipping along the floor under the first, both of which are adorned in Pink Tutus)
Crystallus: I will get you for this....
Gaia: continues skipping
blinks a few times The Sign! Where's the Sign?!
Crystallus: sighs irritably, pulls out a sign from thin air that reads "I DO NOT OWN KINGDOM HEARTS!"
...I suppose I should have put this act in during the Prologue. And I DO own Julian, Atari, Desolation, and Oblivion....but I don't suppose that counts for much...Hum...walks off))