The Mighty Lu Bu
The battle continued on as Riku went one on one with the mighty warrior Lu Bu. However, Lu Bu was not one to be easily thwarted as he easily predicted every move Riku made. The power he accumulated was intolerable. Using the massive pike to do most of the damage, he swung away at Riku relentlessly.
"What's wrong, Riku!" said Lu Bu. "Not going as smoothly as you had expected!"
Riku lunged forward striking Lu Bu with one of his swift attacks, but the impact of the assault had no effect on Lu Bu. Due to the heavy armor he wore, Lu Bu was arms much like a tank. And because he was used to the weight, Lu Bu could glide in the armor as if on air, which explained the easy retaliatory strikes he inflicted on Riku.
"You should consider yourself lucky!" chuckled Lu Bu. "Lucky that I haven't withdrawn the protective case from my blade! Your body might be able to withstand hits from the blunt blade, but it would never be able to stand up to the impact of my polished blade!"
"You mean, you haven't been using your sharpened blade?" asked Riku. Looking up at the Maelstrom, he realized that is was a black case with covered the entire blade.
"If I had decided to take this fight seriously, I would've used the full extent of my blade's strength by revealing the sharpened edge of this pike!" Lu Bu swung his blade over his head and then stopped it just behind him. "However, I don't have to take this fight seriously because as far as I'm concerned, you are no threat to me whatsoever!"
"He's right." Riku thought to himself. "What is I can't beat him? What if fighting him one on one was a mistake? If I can't reach his level of strength in the battle, then that means I'm finished here!" But Riku pounded his fist into the ground. "No! I can't die when I still have so far to go! I won't let anyone get in my way! No even this guy!"
Riku drew up his sword and began to charge Lu Bu. Slow at first, but he began to accelerate his speed within seconds and now was charging Lu Bu at full speed.
"You still don't get it do you!" shouted Lu Bu. He raised his pike over his head and swung it down, with incredible speed, onto the ground. The Impact of the pike caused a powerful sonic boom to erupt, blowing Riku away. Riku fell to the ground, but while in mid air, Lu Bu made his attack. Swinging his blade over his head, he simultaneously struck at Riku as he fell to the ground. Then, using his foot to cause as second sonic boom, Lu Bu further blew Riku away. Riku tumbled to the ground and soon lay motionless on the ground. Lu Bu continued to approach him as the young warrior began to stand up.
"Riku!" cried Mickey from a distance.
"We're coming to help you!" added Donald.
"You guys stay away!" cried Riku. "He's too much!"
Mickey, Donald, and Goofy ran to face Lu Bu.
"Come on, Lu Bu!" shouted Mickey. "Face us!"
"You fools!" chuckled Lu Bu. "It isn't going to be that easy to take me down!"
Lu Bu pounded his foot to the ground, causing another sonic boom and the three were easily repelled into the air. They landed fifty yards away from where they were.
"Leave them alone!" Riku demanded. "Your fight is with me!"
"Pitiful!" said Lu Bu, disgusted. "I was expecting a tougher fight than this! But if this is as much strength as you can muster, then you really are in trouble!"
Suddenly, Riku attacked with another powerful swift attack, lunging straight at Lu Bu, but Lu Bu only somersaulted backwards, evading the attack. Once touching down on his feet, he lunged forward, striking at Riku. Riku flew through the air and tumbled to the ground.
"Pathetic!" said Lu Bu. "Can your pitiful alliance do no better than this!"
"Stop!" shouted a voice. Lu Bu looked to see someone running towards him. Sora had finally made it to the battle.
"Sora!" Goofy cheered. "It's Sora!"
"Sora!" added Donald. "You're alright!"
"You're alright!" said Mickey.
Riku looked up to see his friend standing next to him.
"Hey, Sora." he uttered. "You made it."
"Are you alright, Riku?" asked Sora, helping his friend to his feet.
"I've had better days."-
"Well, I'm here now. So we can take him on together."-
"Yes...yes we can."-
"Do you really think that Sora's presence will make a difference in this fight?" said Lu Bu.
"You just watch. With Sora here, we can fight in the style we're familiar with."-
The two warriors drew their swords, ready to enter combat again.
"And we're right there with you!" shouted Mickey, as he, Donald, and Goofy rejoined the fray.
"Your terror ends here!" shouted Sora.
"Is talking all you guys are good for!" said Lu Bu. "If you wish to end this turmoil, then show your might!"
"If that's what you want, Lu Bu! Then that's what you will get!" cried Riku. "Let's get him!"
The group attacked Lu Bu with everything they had, launching attacks from all sides, but Lu Bu managed to hold his own, despite the numbers again him.
"This guy is unbelievable!" said Riku. "How could he be able to fight us all off at the same time?"
"Don't give up!" cried Goofy, using his Tornado Spin to inflict damage on Lu Bu
"Take that!" added Donald, using as many spells as he could. But the elemental spells didn't seem to be having any effect on Lu Bu.
"Try this on!" shouted Riku. He began to power up. "Iceberg Shurikens!"
Launching a volley of ice blocks at Lu Bu, he hoped to freeze the monster into place, but Lu Bu easily detected the attack and deflected it back.
"Nice try!" chuckled Lu Bu. "But the elemental attacks you use will have no effect on me!"
"Then try this one on!" shouted Sora. He too began to power and used the technique he achieved after battling Isis. "Tundra Canister!"
Several blocks bellowed forth, but Lu Bu easily dodged the attack.
"Haven't you learned that these little parlor tricks won't work on me!" chuckled Lu Bu. But suddenly, the blocks exploded into millions of shards and each shard hit Lu Bu. Lu Bu was suddenly encased in a block of ice. "Impossible! I...!"
"Take this!" shouted Sora and Riku as they attacked with all they had. Riku using swift attacks, and Sora with the Ragnarok, they successfully pummeled Lu Bu to the ground. Lu Bu fell to the ground, but jumped to his feet only a few second later.
"I don't think so!" Sora deployed his Tundra Canister again and froze Lu Bu in place again.
"Now to add a little spice!" added Riku. "Let's see how you like Anubis's trick! The Inferno Canister!" Riku suddenly deployed a volley of fire balls that came crashing into Lu Bu. Lu Bu was struck again by each of the balls. The Giant was blown away as each ball made impact.
"Not so confident as you were before are you!" said Sora.
"Let this be a lesson to you!" added Riku. "You can never win against us as you are now! We can predict each of your moves now!"
Lu Bu fell to the ground and lay motionless on the grassy field. Sora and Riku landed on the ground, side by side.
"Come on, you guys!" shouted Goofy. "Go get him!"
"That a boy, you guys!" added Mickey.
"Show him what you guys are made of!" said Donald.
Lu Bu rose to his feet to confront the two boys again.
"Still haven't had enough, eh!" said Sora.
"Now look at who's stressing!" added Riku. "It's not as fun when you're the one getting thrashed about is it!"
"Now you know how we feel!"-
Lu Bu stood up and brushed himself off. Riku and Sora were stunned that the warrior had no scratch on him whatsoever.
"I must admit, that you had me going there, but unfortunately your luck had just run out!" chuckled Lu Bu. "Just because you managed to get a few puck shots at me doesn't mean that you'll be victorious! A few parlor tricks won't determine the outcome of this fight!"
"This guy is unbelievable!" Sora uttered. "Even after all that, he has no scratch on him!"
"Don't be intimidated by his endurance." said Riku. "He has to have a breaking point! We just have to dish out a third serving and give him a good thrashing."
"Come now, boys!" said Lu Bu. "You wish to fight me a second time! Well then be my guest!"
"Then let's do this!"-
Sora and Riku began their third attack. Sora powered up and used the Tundra Canister against Lu Bu, but this time the mighty warrior was ready. Using his infamous sonic boom foot stomp, he caused the shards to rebound away from him and the shards flew back at Sora.
"What in the...!" said Sora. He dodged the attacks, but one shard managed to grab hold of him and Sora's left leg was frozen in place.
"Sora!" cried Riku.
"It's over now!" shouted Lu Bu, suddenly charging full speed. With his pike he blew Sora away, swiping to the right, then to the left, then a blow to the top of the head, before swiping the young key bearer away. Sora flew a hundred yards before tumbling to the ground violently.
"Oh no! Sora!" cried Riku. He sneered at Lu Bu. "How could you!"
"I hoped you enjoyed your little triumph because that was the last one you'll get in this battle!"-
Sora slowly arose from the ground, blades of grass clinging onto his white shirt. Using his sword for support, he stood on his feet. He could only see a blur however as he had just regained consciousness.
"Riku." he uttered.
"Sora!" shouted Riku, running up to his fallen friend. "You OK?"
"He caught on to our attack."-
"I know. We have to some how take him down when he's most vulnerable."-
"I have an idea. We just have to strike him when he deploys a foot stomp. That seems to be the only way he can deflect elemental attacks."-
"Good idea, Sora. Lu Bu has a small interval after the foot stomp where he's completely vulnerable. Once he's in the interval from when he deploys his stomp to when he goes back to a defensive stance, that's when we attack."-
The two began their run again as they began to charge Lu Bu again.
"This is getting a little old don't you think?" said Lu Bu.
"Come on, you guys!" Sora cried. "Let's fight him!"
"Yeah!" shouted Donald, Mickey, and Goofy, who once again joined the fray of the battle. They attacked Lu Bu mercilessly, but the warrior would not go down.
"Wear him down, fellas!" shouted Mickey.
"Use our numbers to our advantage!" added Donald.
The party attacked head on at Lu Bu, from all directions, at the same time. But knowing the situation, Sora and Riku held back in the attack. Sure enough, Lu Bu crouched down and threw his foot upon the ground. The powerful sound wave blew out, repelling the attacking group.
"Not this time!" shouted Sora, jumping into the air. Powering up, he deployed the Tundra Canister. Instantly, Lu Bu was frozen in place. Riku went on the attack an deployed his Inferno Canister. Lu Bu was struck by each attack. Donald retaliated and continuously shot Blizzaga spell at the warrior. Lu Bu was continuously frozen into place, to be prevented from striking back, and the warriors simultaneously attacked him without mercy.
"We got him where we want him!" said Mickey. "We got him! We got him!"
"Let's give it to him, you guys!" added Donald.
"Take that, Lu Bu!" shouted Sora, attacking relentlessly.
However, Lu Bu had grown quite tired of their mockery and was filled with a great and terrible rage. When the last blizzaga spell wore out, Lu Bu had been freed only to be shot at by Donald again.
"Die!" said Lu Bu. He suddenly unleashed a powerful attack which elemental attacks could not break. Sora and the others were suddenly pummeled continuously into the air as Lu Bu made circling movements, striking his pike downward and upward in a 360 degree turn. Then with a final gesture of strength, selecting Sora as his main target, he slammed his pike upon the young key bearer. Sora went flying through the air, but somersaulted back onto his feet. However, as he regained his stance, Lu Bu was suddenly on top of him, slamming his pike into Sora's body ten times. Then with a sudden stomp of his foot, he blew Sora away with another powerful sonic boom. Sora fell to the ground, rolling on the grassy fields once again.
"Why you!" cried Riku, attacking from behind. But Lu Bu suddenly pummeled Riku with the same attack which he used to pummel the entire group at the same time. Riku was struck ten times with that same circular movement and slammed onto the ground with the pikes downward blow. Riku fell upon his back. Blood began to drip from his mouth. "Wha...what was that attack."
"That's the same type of attack Lu Xun used against Leon and I back at Traverse Town!" Mickey explained. "He called it a musou attack!"
"What the heck's a musou attack?" asked Donald.
"So that damn brat, Lu Xun has told you about that attack, eh?" Lu Bu suddenly uttered. "Figures. Well, since we're on the subject, I might as well tell you what the musou attack is. It is an upsurge of energy that accumulates from the body's chi. However, this attack can only be used when the chi has reached its maximum level. After that, the musou attack can be deployed at any time when the chi reaches its full capacity. The energy accumulated from the attack is so powerful, nothing can break its destructive power except for another powerful musou attack."
"That means that not even the elemental attacks will work on him if he deploys his musou."-
Meanwhile, Jim, Delbert, and Silver watched the fight from afar. They could not believe what they were witnessing. A battle of mammoth proportions.
"Can you believe this?" asked Jim. "Can you believe what we're seeing?"
"I see it, but I don't believe it." added Delbert. "All this trouble just for the sake of treasure."
"You forget, Doc," said Silver, "This isn't just an ordinary treasure we're talking about. This is the loot of a thousand worlds."
"I didn't think that people were capable of this kind of destructive power. And they aren't even depending on the aid of some sort of weapon."-
"To think that I tried to take that guy on me own."-
"And now! To finish this little scuffle!" said Lu Bu. He suddenly took of the case from the pike's blade, revealing the sharpened, glittering steel. "Now which one should I take out first!" Lu Bu looked around, first glaring at Mickey, Donald, and Goofy who stood in a terrified manner. He then gazed at Riku who sneered at him. But then, Lu Bu turned his attentions towards Sora, who still remained motionless on the ground. "Yes! He will be the first to go!"
"No!" shouted Riku. "Leave Sora alone! He isn't even conscious anymore!"
"I know that! That's why I chose him! So he won't feel any pain when I deliver the final blow!" But Lu Bu realized that Sora was slowly standing up. "Well, well, well! It looks like he's awake again! So much for a painless death!"
"Sora! Look out!"-
Sora looked back, seeing Lu Bu approaching him. He tried to stand, but could only manage to turn on his back. There he lay helpless as Lu Bu came closer. Lu Bu stood over Sora and placed his foot on Sora's throat. Sore began to choke as Lu Bu added pressure to his neck.
"Leave him alone!" shouted Mickey.
"And what do you worthless maggots intend to do about it!" roared Lu Bu. Mickey and the others stood down, knowing that they were no match for him. "That's what I thought." Lu Bu stared down at Sora and raised his pike over his head. "I'll make sure that you die swiftly, Sora! I hate to kill such a talented young whelp! But you're just a thorn in the side! And I intend to extract you!" Lu Bu held the pike ever higher. Sora's eyes could only look on in fear as the coming doom was about to land itself upon him. "Die well, Sora!"
Suddenly, a powerful force struck Lu Bu, knocking the giant off his feet. Lu Bu tumbled on the ground, skidding through the grass. Mickey and the others could only look on in wonder at what had happened. Sora looked up to see a familiar figure standing over him.
"St...Standing Eagle?" he uttered. Osiris had arrived on the battlefield to aid in the fight. This time, in Sora's favor.
"Is that who I think it is?" asked Goofy.
"It's Osiris!" said Mickey.
"But what's he doing?" asked Donald.
"It looks like he's standing between Lu Bu and Sora. I think he came to help us."-
"Him help us?"-
Riku gazed up to see Osiris standing between Sora and Lu Bu.
"Osiris?" he uttered. "What's he doing here?" He realized that he was standing in Sora's defense. "Was it Sora who turned you around? Did he show you your true path as well?"
Lu Bu slowly rose up to see his former comrade standing in defense of Sora.
"Osiris? What are you doing!" said Lu Bu.
"No more." Osiris uttered. "This suffering has gone on for far too long!"
"Why do you stand against me now!"-
"I've been fighting for the Empire for twelve years now! And it was only until a short time ago when I finally realized the truth! I thought I was fighting for a cause that would end the pain and the suffering! But instead, I realized that by trying to gain peace through submission, I am no different from those who killed my family! No different from those who wanted to extinguish our way of life! My father would no longer consider me his son if he were to see what I've done!"-
"Idiot! Don't you realize that you're fighting on the wrong side! Why change your opinions now of all times!"-
"Because I had been following a false path! A path that counters the way of the Lakota Sioux, the way that my father taught me!"-
"Well, if that's the position you take, then you are no longer my ally! From now on, if you stand against me, you are my enemy!"-
"If you treat me as an enemy, then I will do the same thing!"-
Osiris deployed a powerful twister against Lu Bu, but Lu Bu deployed a powerful foot stomp, that extinguished the twister within seconds. Lu Bu suddenly lunged forth with incredible speed and slugged Osiris in the gut with the butt of his pike. Osiris fell to the ground in pain.
"Standing Eagle!" cried Sora, as he stood up. Rushing to Standing Eagle's side, he propped the young warrior up. Osiris hunched over, comforting his gut of the pain. "Why? Why did you come here? Did you come to help us?"
"Yes." uttered Osiris. "You helped me open my eyes, Sora. You helped me rediscover my humanity."
"It's OK, my friend." Sora sneered at Lu Bu. "How could you do that to him! To your own comrade!"
"Those who stand against me will pay dearly!" said Lu Bu. "Osiris is of no exception either! If he wishes to stand against the mightiest man alive, then he will suffer just like you!"
"Tell me, Lu Bu." Osiris uttered. "What is it that you're fighting for? Do you fight for the sake of the Empire?"
"I fight for myself and only for myself! I could care less about the fate of the Empire! Power and justice can only be obtained through victory in battle! The only goal I'm interested in obtaining is being the best! To be the greatest warrior of all time! When I first encountered the Empire, the power they displayed was impeccable! Something which I could never hope to obtain in my lifetime! So, I took the liberty of joining the Empire so that I may obtain the secret behind their power. The ability to fly, the foot stomp, and incredible speed are just a few of the techniques I learned. And by learning how to control my chi, I was also able increase the power of my musou attack. At the same time, I learned the weaknesses of each member of the Empire. I took those weaknesses into account so that I may be able to use it against them when I attempted to take over!"
"You mean you joined the Empire only so you could exploit their weaknesses and later use that knowledge against them when you declare a coup!" asked Sora. "I guess what Lu Xun told us was true! And your personal files were true as well! You have a rebellious and belligerent nature, fighting only for your own personal gain! As a result, you have a tendency to betray even your closest allies!" Sora stood up to face Lu Bu. "Don't you realize that by continuously turning on your allies, you'll be betrayed yourself one day! And when you need help the most, there will be no one to help you, or even wish to help you!"
"That's why I intend to make myself sufficient in strength so that I don't have to worry about requesting aid!"-
"So that's what you fight for?" asked Osiris. "Fight for your own strength alone! That's a weak motive!"
"When I discard concern for allies and others, then I won't have anything to hold me back! Trying to protect someone is a weakness! Nothing more than that!"-
"That's not true!" Sora protested. "Protecting someone is the greatest motivation to fight! When you fight to protect, you gain a strong sense of duty that you must fight at all cost to save that person! That's what motivates me to fight and that's why I fight you now!"
"But it takes more than motivation to win a battle!" Lu Bu suddenly pounded his foot to the ground and a powerful sonic boom bellowed, blowing Sora away. Sora once again tumbled to the ground, skidding along the grass. There, he lay motionless as Lu Bu continued to approach him.
"Sora!" cried Osiris, but fell to the ground, still trying to recover from the blow. Lu Bu stood over Sora. With half open eyes, Sora could see the giant glaring down at him.
"Well, where's this motivation you were talking about?" said Lu Bu. "I guess it was all talk and no action! Pitiful!" He once again raised his pike over his head, ready to deliver the final blow. "So much for your cause to protect!" He swung the pike at Sora.
Suddenly, there was a loud clang and Lu Bu suddenly feel the pike strike something hard. He looked down to see Riku standing before Sora, using his blade to impede the pike's path.
"I won't let you harm Sora anymore." Riku uttered, pushing the pike away. "You've gone too far, Lu Bu. You've caused enough pain."
"And what do you plan to do about it, Riku?" chuckled Lu Bu. "Your friend Sora didn't stand a chance against me. What makes you think that you'll do any better than he?"
"You say that the motivation to protect is weak. I beg to differ."-
Riku suddenly lunged forward and using the sheath of his sword, struck Lu Bu in the gut. Lu Bu fell to his knees, grasping at his gut.
"What!" he thought. "How can this be! He forced me to my knees with one hit! But how did he achieve so much power so unexpectedly!"
Riku glared at Lu Bu, who now sneered at him.
"I used to be like you one." he explained. "I was always out to improve my own strength and gain more power. As a result, I became the most powerful fighter on Destiny Island. I remember how I was able to take out four of my friends at the same time in a brawl. Every time we sparred four on one, I always won. Thus, I became so confident in my own strength that I thought there was nothing I couldn't beat. I developed a sense of how not to fear anything."
"Dare to lecture me!" shouted Lu Bu. Swinging his pike around, attempting to hit Riku, but the young key bearer saw the attack and easily evaded it. He swung around and kicked Lu Bu in the face, forcing the giant to land on his back.
"I thought that there was no one I couldn't beat." Riku continued. "I thought that my friends would depend on me always. Especially Sora who was considered the runt of the litter. Unlike the others, he was the weakest back then. But when the Heartless came, everything changed. I thought that I was being strong, accepting the darkness. For a time, I believed Sora had turned against me when he went off on adventures without me. I thought that I was on my own. And I hated him for it."
Lu Bu attempted another attack, but Riku easily evaded and retaliated. Lu Bu once again found himself on the ground. This time blood ran from his mouth. He wiped the blood with his thumb and stirred it about with his index finger.
"I bleed?" Lu Bu thought. "But how? How could I shed blood before this runt? But then again, where did he accumulate all this strength suddenly! All of as sudden, I can't even strike him!" Riku carried on with his lecture.
"When confronting Sora, I thought that he was still that naive, weak little fighter I knew him for, back on Destiny Island. But even though I had gained so much strength, he had managed to beat me. In the end, I realized that it was I who was weak. Sora, whom I thought could never surpass me in strength, had gained power that I never thought was deemed possible. What Sora lacked in strength, he made up for in stamina and endurance. No matter how big the challenge, he took it head on without flinching. All that time, when I searched for Kairi, I never realized that her heart had been with Sora the whole time. But by the time I realized that, it was too late and I was consumed by the darkness. However, even though we were enemies, Sora kept our friendship first and his loyalty to me and Kairi was unhindered. I can never fully repay Sora for the loyalty he showed me. So it was Sora's notion to protect others that made him strong and what made him continue on. I, on the other hand, only cared about my own strength. And for that, I betrayed even my life long friend for the sake that he would still depend on me. But now, I realize that it wasn't dependency, but loyalty."-
"Don't you think you talk too much, Riku?" said Lu Bu. "The reason why you failed was because you didn't put enough faith in your own strength. Had you been more trusting to your strength, you could have emerged as the best. But that's what makes you weak. You weren't able to kill your friend because you knew that you couldn't live with yourself if you did."
"Believe that you want to believe, Lu Bu. But you only make hypotheses. And that doesn't lead to truth."-
"Well see about that!" Lu Bu lunged at Riku. Riku dodged again and struck from behind, but Lu Bu suddenly deployed his musou attack, his true musou attack. "Worthless scum!" Riku was struck by the attack, being slammed around by the pick. Lu Bu threw his pike upon the ground, causing a powerful sonic boom to blast out. Riku was blown away. Landing to the ground a hundred yards away. But Lu Bu was relentless and attacked again. Riku saw the attack and quickly retaliated. The two collided and stopped just opposite each other in a sudden death match. Riku suddenly fell to one knee. He felt a sharp pain on his left shoulder. Looking down, he saw that his arm had received a deep cut and was bleeding ferociously.
"Not bad!" chuckled Lu Bu. But he too felt a pain in his left shoulder. Looking down, he realized that Riku had slashed straight through the armor, cutting his flesh. To make things worse, the staff of his pike was cut in half and the heavy blade fell to the ground. "It can't be."
"It is over." Riku uttered.
"This isn't over yet, you fool!" shouted Lu Bu. But he fell to the ground again. He realized that his right leg had been cut as well. "But how...!"
Riku walked up to Lu Bu who know sat on his knees hunched over, grabbing his wounded shoulder.
"It was my notion to protect that made me succeed because I knew that I couldn't let that person down."-
"But who could've influenced you that much to keep you ironclad even again me?" asked Lu Bu.
"Him." Riku pointed at Sora, who was slowly arising to his feet.
"Sora? He was what motivated you?"-
"When you have someone, you want to protect, in your presence, you do all you can to make sure that person doesn't receive further pain." Riku gazed down at Lu Bu. Then with his one good arm, he raised his sword over his head. Lu Bu could only look down. Sweat dripped down his face and he began to shake.
"Just get it over with then." said Lu Bu. "Let it end here and now with a worthy opponent." But Riku hesitated.
"Tell me, Lu Bu." said Riku. "Do you fear death?" Lu Bu suddenly gazed up at him. "Just as I thought. You are afraid of death. If not, death is the only thing you fear. I can see it in your eyes." Lu Bu looked at the ground again.
"I do fear death. I fear it more than anything else. For me, death is eternity. I would ask and beg you to spare my life, but the evidence is too heavily built against me. The ruthlessness and cruelty of my actions in this fight cannot be overlooked and I am not worthy to receive pity. Just kill me and be done with it."-
"That's why you wished to be stronger. Because you fear death, or more likely you fear being killed by someone stronger than you. Or by anyone for that matter."-
"Enough talk and deliver the final blow!"
"Because of what you have done, you will die today! I will show you no pity! Lord Lu Bu! I sentence you to death!"-
"Riku..." Sora uttered. But before he could utter anymore words, Riku's sword rushed down with its sharpened steel aimed at its target. There was sudden silence when the blow was given. The others could only watch, shocked at what they saw.
Lu Bu opened his eyes and realized that Riku had harmlessly struck the ground instead.
"Lu Bu is dead." said Riku. He sheathed his sword.
"But why?" said Lu Bu. "Why didn't you finish me!"
"Because death would have been too easy a way out. Certainly, you would have had eternity, but to face moments in life is greater than anything you can encounter in the afterlife. I think the one thing that you fear more than death is losing your pride as a warrior. Well, today I've at least deprived you of that fear."-
"Do you think it wise to spare me, boy!"-
"I know you won't try anything. It doesn't seem like your style to stab someone in the back when you know you're no match for them."-
"You just got lucky that's all!"-
"Maybe it was luck. Either way, that was probably as close as you would ever come to death. And now that you encountered it, you are feeling helpless and afraid." Riku turned towards his friends. "OK, you guys! Don't stand around! We have a treasure to find!"
"Riku!" asked Sora. "You OK?"
"I'll be fine. And you?"-
"I've had better days."-
"Hey!" shouted Mickey, as he, Donald, and Goofy ran towards the weary warriors.
"I've never seen such a fight." said Goofy.
"Right on!" added Donald.
"I must admit I was scared when I fought Lu Bu." said Riku.
"But how did you suddenly gain so much strength to take him down?" asked Mickey.
"I didn't use accelerated strength. Lu Bu lost all on his own."-
"What do you mean?"-
"He allowed his rage to get the best of him and he wasn't able to coordinate himself properly. Lu Bu is not the type to do well when blinded by rage."-
"But what made him so mad?" asked Donald.
"When he fought me, he fought himself. We had something in common, praising our own strength. But perhaps Lu Bu will realize now that strength doesn't always come from techniques and physical and mental stamina, but you need the right motivation. He was fighting for his own gain. When he began to question his strength and lose confidence in himself, he started to become unstable and less effort was made to continue. In the end, he wanted it all to end quickly. Whereas for me, I had a firm cause of protecting my friends. And that was something that one could never give up so easily."-
"So Lu Bu just didn't have it in him to keep on fighting in the end."-
"That's right."-
"Well, now that that's settled, can we get going now?" said Donald.
"That's right." said Sora. He took out his senzu bean and broke it in half. He ate it and regained his strength. He then walked over to Osiris and handed him the other half. "Here you go Standing Eagle."
"Sora! What are you doing!" said Mickey.
"Don't worry, guys. He's one of us now."-
"After what I've done, I don't deserve any mercy."-
"Hey, you came to help us. And that's good enough for me."-
"Alright then." Osiris took the senzu half and ate it. Once digested, Osiris stood on his feet and wiped himself off. "Amazing. I feel great."
"Boy, fellers!" Goofy chuckled. "I never would have thought Goten's senzu beans would have come in so handy."
"How many of those things do we have left?" asked Donald. Goofy opened the bag, but to his surprise, he found only one left.
"Oh dear. We only have on left."-
"Maybe we should save it."-
"But what about Riku?" asked Sora.
"I'll be alright." said Riku.
"That won't be an option though." said Mickey. "That wound is bleeding severely. Give him the senzu bean, Goofy. We can always go back to Traverse Town and request for more."
"OK then." said Goofy. He handed the senzu bean to Riku.
"Thank you." replied Riku. He snapped the bean in half and ate one of the two. Regaining his strength, he flexed his muscles. "That hit the spot."
"What are you gonna do with the other half?"-
Riku gazed at the bean in his hand. He then turned to where Lu Bu knelt in pain.
"Hey, Lu Bu!" he shouted. Lu Bu looked up as Riku threw the bean at him. Lu Bu caught the bean with his good arm.
"Riku! Have you lost your mind!" said Sora. "Why are you giving the senzu to Lu Bu!"
"Yeah! Do you want him to come after us again!" added Mickey.
"You should listen to your friends, Riku." Lu Bu uttered. "By giving me the other half of the senzu, you might have dug your own grave already. How can you be so sure that I won't come after you when you least expect it?"-
"I'm willing to take that chance." Riku replied. "Besides, you and I have a rematch right!"
"You can't do this to me!" said Lu Bu. "Despite all I've done, you insist on letting me live!"
"I want you to live so that you would know that you were never a match for me. You can never defeat me as you are now." Riku turned his back on Lu Bu. "If your pride means so much more to you, then consider me your pride."
"What!"-
"That's right. I hold your pride until our rematch. And when we rematch, it will be on my terms. I will suggest when to fight and where."-
"What if I refuse to agree with your plans and decide to kill you before that!"-
"Because you were not the type to experience defeat until now. As a result you want to redeem your pride as a warrior. But in order to do that, you have to fight and defeat your opponent at full strength. If you decide to fight and kill me without my consent, then I won't use my full strength to fight you. And I know how you hate to have your opponent hold back. If you kill me without me using my full strength, then my death will wear on your mind, knowing that you never had a proper rematch." Lu Bu remained silent after that. Riku turned to Sora and the others. "Let's get going, you guys. We still have to find Flint's Trove."
"What about..."-
"Don't worry about Lu Bu. He still has a lot to think about."-
"I hope you're right." said Sora. He looked to where Jim and the others were hiding. "OK you guys! You can come out now! The battle's over!"
Jim, Silver, Delbert, and B.E.N. popped their heads out of the brush, jumped out and rejoined the KH team.
"That was so cool!" said Jim. "I never saw anything like that before!"
"I'm proud of you, gents!" added Delbert. "Never in my life had I witnessed such a confrontation!"
"That was booming!" chuckled B.E.N. "We won! We won! We won!"
"We get the picture!"-
"If I ever had such talent, they'd be bowing in the streets when I walked by!" Silver laughed. "Well, now that we have all that settled, how about we look for that treasure."
"That's what we're here for." said Jim.
"Then let's get going!" said Delbert. "OK Jim, open up that map!" Jim obliged and opened the map. Suddenly, the holographic map appeared and suddenly transformed into a green laser pathway. "I guess all we have to do is follow that beam!"
"Well, what are we standing around here for?" asked Sora. "Let's get going!"
"Everyone on board the gummi ship!" said Mickey. But as they troop left, Sora looked back to see Standing Eagle standing idle.
"You coming with us?"-
"I wouldn't feel comfortable." uttered Standing Eagle. "I fought you and attempted to kill you and your friends. And yet now you want me to accompany you as if nothing ever happened?"
He lowered his eyes to the ground. But as he gaze up again, he saw Sora looking at him with such innocent eyes. Placing he hand on the shinobi's shoulder, he only smiled.
"You're among friends." said Sora.
"But I..."-
"Let's just get one thing straight!" said Riku, as he walked up to the two. "If Sora trusts you, then that's good enough for me!" Placing his hand of Standing Eagle's other shoulder. "If you truly are sorry for what you've done, then we will gladly take you in as our comrade."
Standing Eagle's eyes were filled with tears of joy. He smiled and with a pat on the back from Riku, the three rejoined the others and entered the gummi ship. The ship took off and began to follow the laser path set out by Jim's map.
All was quiet on the fields once again. Lu Bu however was not pleased with the outcome as he still knelt on his knees. Gazing at the senzu bean he questioned his motives.
"That brat!" said Lu Bu. "He thinks he can manipulate my pride like that!" he clutched the bean in his fist. "I'll show you, Riku! You are my new target! And from now on, I will not be satisfied until I defeat you and regain the honor you took from me! You are my only target now! And I will prove to you that my strength can never be overcome!"
With that, Lu Bu ate the senzu bean silently.
