Near Death
The entire region near Halloween Town was leveled and destroyed. Halloween Town itself was spared however, but the land south of the town was demolished. Clouds of dust and smoke lingered with the mist. From the ashes, Mickey and Donald emerged coughing and choking. They looked around as they stood to find that they had landed back in Guillotine Square.
"We appear to be back in Halloween Town." uttered Mickey.
"That explosion certainly was massive if it had enough power to blow us all the way back to Halloween Town." Donald replied.
"I hope everyone else is alright."-
At the same time, Riku and the others emerged from the ashes. Riku coughed as he staggered to his feet. He looked around at the devastation. Nothing stood around them and the clouds of dust were thick as cotton, obstructing further vision. But from what Riku could gaze at, there was nothing. No structure or tree remained standing. Every tall object had been felled.
"Man." Riku uttered. "I never would have thought the explosion would have been that great." Suddenly, he saw Jack's head popping out of the ashes. Riku ran to him. "You OK, Jack?"
"I've had better days." Jack uttered.
"Don't worry, I'll dig you out."-
"Don't bother. Just hand me over to him."-
"Him? Him who?" Riku looked behind him to see Jack's body walking around, stumbling on every piece of debris on the ground. "Hey! Get over here!"-
"No use trying to shout at him, Riku." said Jack. "I'm the side with ears remember."
"Oh yeah." Riku picked up Jack's head and placed it back on the body.
"Thanks a lot."-
"Don't mention it." Riku then looked around and saw maimed and weary Imperial troops wandering about in an orderly retreat.
"Boy! That was something else!" a voice shouted out. Riku looked to see Goofy coming towards them, dusting himself off.
"Are you alright, Goofy?"-
"No. Not really." Goofy uttered. He took the hat off his head and pointed at the top of it where the golden steeple used to sit. "I lost my steeple."
"Is that it!"-
"Uh…yeah."-
"No wonder they call you Goofy." said Jack.
"Wait." Riku uttered. "Where's Sora?"
"Isn't he with you?"
"I thought you guys found him."-
"We thought you did." Goofy added.
"We better go find him. Let's split up and see if we can find him." The party split up and looked around the devastated landscape searching for their missing companion. All was quiet and the three found themselves only deeper amongst the devastation.
At the same time, General King and General Triiken wandered about the rubble, looking for missing comrades. They had found several Imperial troops and gathered them up. Their ever-growing train of wounded and dying men extended further and further.
"Any sign of General Durovano?" asked King.
"No sign of him yet, Sir." One soldier replied, who was on lookout duty.
"How many men have we lost today?"-
"We lost an estimated 63 of our forces." General Triiken stated. "The majority of them were caught in the explosion."
"Quite a terrible waste of life, but at least they have died gloriously in battle."-
"If you can call it glorious."-
The body of troops continued of their way, the line continuing to pick up more and more soldiers. The mist swirled around the growing column and the two general kept a vigilant lookout for their missing commander.
"Any sign of General Durovano yet?" asked King.
"Not yet." Triiken replied. "He could be anywhere." It was then that he saw what looked like rocket boosters flaring through the mist. The column edged their way to the light. Soon there was a rumble and a roar as they came closer.
"Ahoy!" cried Triiken. "Ahoy there!"
"General Triiken!" shouted a voice.
"It is I, General Triiken! I have brought stragglers and wounded men!"-
"Bring them here then!" The column drew closer to find a carrier, which survived the explosion, being prepared to be deployed.
"I didn't think you'd make it, Gentlemen." A familiar voice uttered. The two generals looked to see a familiar form taking shape in the darkness.
"General Durovano!" they both shouted. "Good to see you alive!"
"Tell the men that we're leaving here!-
"But why, Sir?" asked Triiken.
"Our mission was a failure. There is no longer a need to stay in this world." He led the wounded troops into the carrier. "I have issued a general retreat. We're going back to Vandor."
"It was all such a waste." said King.
"I know that." Durovano uttered. "However there was nothing that we could have done about it. We thought that no one would find us here. And even so, we thought no one would have gotten so far as actually destroying the cannon, but it happened."
"It's all Sora and Riku's fault!" Triiken uttered. "If it hadn't been for them…"
"Don't work yourselves over this irrelevant matter. I'm sure that Lord Arakis and Master Cavendish will forgive us. Besides, by destroying that cannon we might have saved our own positions as warriors."-
"I suppose you're right."-
"We should really thank those boys." It was then that General Durovano noticed that someone was still mission. "Where is General Kai?"
"We don't know, Sir." said King. "We haven't seen him since he accompanied you."
"He went back to stop the meltdown of the gravity cannon."-
"Could it be possible that General Kai is…." uttered Triiken.
"I doubt that." Durovano uttered. "It seems you underestimate General Kai's ability to survive such a pitiful blast. But I can assure you that General Kai would never allow himself to be caught in such an explosion if he knew he wouldn't survive." Durovano gazed out into the mist. "Nevertheless, I shall take the responsibility of finding him. Hand me one of the scouters. I shall relay the message when I find him."
"Yes, Sir."-
General King ran into the carrier and emerged again with a red lens scouter clutched in his hand.
"A scouter, Sir." He said. General Durovano placed the scouter on his ear and lay the lens over his eye. He blipped on the scouter and detected several high power levels.
"Well, time to choose which one he is." With that, General Durovano worked his way into the darkness, leaving General King and General Triiken to oversee the transportation of their wounded.
As Riku and the KH team looked for Sora, General Durovano spent his time to look for General Kai. It was at this time that Sora picked himself off the ground, coughing out the dust from his lungs. He looked around to see if there was anyone about, but there was no one around.
"Where is everyone?" he uttered to himself. He hollered out to see if there was anyone near by. "Hello! Is anyone out there!" There was no sound. "Riku! Jack! Goofy!" Still there was no response.
"You won't find anyone that way." A voice whispered from the mist. Sora looked about hoping to see who spoke to him.
"Who's there?"-
"So you managed to interfere with our plans again, eh?"-
"Show yourself!" From the mist a figure appeared and Sora knew immediately whom it was that stood before him. "General Kai."
"I must congratulate you, my boy. You've progressed further than anyone who's gone beyond the safety of their own world."-
"Fight me!"-
"Why should I?"-
"We have a rematch to fulfill!"-
"Do you think you can defeat me as you are now?"-
"I've improved a great deal since the last time I fought you!"-
"Is that so?" General Kai stepped forward towards Sora. The young key bearer took hold of his sword and prepared to unsheathe it. But Kai stopped just before reaching striking range. "I'm sorry boy, but that is not an option right now." Kai began to walk away.
"Even after we defeated four members of the Cavendish Shinobis, you won't fight me!"-
"You're just not ready to take me on yet, my boy. I can sense the different elemental powers accumulating within you and I must say I'm disappointed at what you have achieved since our last fight. You are not worth my time. Now, if you don't mind, I have comrades to catch up with." General Kai began to walk away.
"You're scared of me aren't you!" said Sora. General suddenly stopped.
"What did you say?"-
"You heard me! You're afraid of me! You don't want to fight because you know I'll win!"-
"You dare to insult me like that!" said Kai.
"I can do whatever I want! I want you, Kai! By defeating you, I'll find Arakis. And by finding Arakis, I'll find out where Kairi is! But you don't want to fight me because you're scared! Or is it because you want to protect the whereabouts of your lord! Which is it!"-
"You forget your place, Sora! You go too far, you'll only end up digging your own grave!"-
"Fight me, Kai and prove me wrong!"-
"Very well then." Kai unlatched the iron tusk strapped on his back behind his cape. "This fight will be for the sake of my pride and to put you in your place."
"I fight to save Kairi!"-
"I could care less."-
"You take that back!"-
"I don't think so! I could care less about what happens to that little strumpet!"-
"I said take it back!" Sora drew his sword and attacked with great speed, but Kai easily blocked his overhead swing. Banging Sora's blade out of the way, he swung about and cracked Sora on the right side of the head with his heavy weapon. Sora tumbled to ground. Blood seeped from his open wound, dripping on the blackened ground. He could barely open his right eye because of the blood, but still he staggered to his feet.
"What's wrong?" said Kai. "You lose your ego all of a sudden?"
Sora picked up his sword and faced his opponent again. Suddenly, he attacked with sheer ferocity against the shinobi. The two clashed their blades together again and again with no damaged inflicted. Just then, after five minutes of clashing, General Kai parried Sora's blade, slamming it onto the ground. He lunged again and struck the young warrior in the gut. Sora hunched over, falling to his knees. General Kai then slammed his foot across Sora's right cheek, knocking him to the ground. Blood began to drip from Sora's lip.
"Is this it?" said Kai. "Is this what I accepted? A challenge from a worthless insect like you!" Kai walked away. "This fight is already over."
"No. wait." Sora uttered, staggering to his feet. He took heavy breaths and seemed unstable when standing. "This fight isn't over yet." Sora suddenly deployed his new attack, the Twister Strike, given to him by Osiris. A mighty tornado bellowed forth, coming straight for Kai, but the shinobi only deployed his own attack.
"Monsoon Blast!" shouted Kai. A sudden maelstrom bellowed completely overwhelming Sora's twister and the two diminished on impact. Sora could only watch in shock as his new attack was rendered useless.
"Your efforts are futile." said Kai. "You must have picked up that attack from Osiris. Did he not tell you? I was the one who taught him how to use the wind element. So what made you think that I could possibly be defeated by my own attack?"
"It can't be." Sora uttered. He fell to one knee. The use of the Twister Strike drained a great deal of his energy from him.
"Look at you. How do you expect to fight me when you can't even stand anymore?" Kai began to walk away. "You are not ready. You are far from being my equal." But for some reason, he turned around and saw Sora attempting to stand again. He took his sword again and held it at the ready.
"Not yet! I'm not dead yet!"-
"I have no right to kill you. Even if I did what would be the point. You're nowhere near my level of strength."-
"It doesn't matter, I'll defeat you."-
"Now I know you've lost your senses completely. You can barely hold the sword and yet you say you can defeat me? You make me laugh!"-
Sora attacked again and lunged straight forward. Kai with very little effort dodged the sword and struck it out of Sora's hand. He then swung about and hit Sora at the back of the head. The young man fell to the ground, Blood further gushed from his open wounds. Kai suddenly powered up and fired a barrage of fireballs at Sora, point blank. The heat and flames tore at Sora, burning the shirt from off his back. Kai gazed at his handiwork.
"Now, enough of this." Kai uttered. "This fight is decided."
But still Sora stood to face his foe. Deprived of his sword, he reached for the dagger at his side. He held it in front of him.
"I still have enough energy for one last fight." Sora uttered.
"Even now, you remain defiant. I guess only in death will be you be satisfied." Kai flicked a latch on the hilt of his iron tusk and revealed a glimmering blade of the sword. "It's not often that I must draw my sword like this. But if I must kill you, I will. I'm sure Kairi can live with only one friend left alive." Kai stood at the ready. "Now come at me Sora!"
Sora cried out and charged at his enemy. The charge was however futile as Kai slashed upward. The sword cut deep into Sora's abdomen, blood immediately began to gush from the open wound. Sora fell to the ground and this time he did not stand up. Kai sheathed his sword. As he did, he saw someone coming towards him. It was General Durovano.
"General Kai!" he said. "I finally found you." It was then that he saw the body of Sora on the ground. "Is that…?"
"Yes it is." Kai replied. "Sora is dead now. So that's one key bearer down and one to go."
"I have issued a general retreat. We're heading to the carrier and heading back to Vandor."-
"Our work here is done. Then let's be one our way." The two flew back to the carrier, but Kai glanced behind for a second or two. "Rest in peace, Sora."
But Sora was not dead, just badly maimed. He staggered as best as he could, grasping onto the deep wound streaked across his abdomen.
"I have to find Riku…" he uttered as he crawled away.
Riku had separated himself from the others, looking amidst the rubble and debris, hoping that he'd spot his life long friend. The mist swirled around him, obstructing his vision.
"Sora!" he cried. "Can you hear me! Sora!"
There was only silence that surrounded him. Riku kept on going, continuing his search. It seemed hopeless until he got to a stone circle. A few downed lamps still glowed, illuminating the darkness. The only light that was present in the area of devastation. Once again Riku hollered out.
"Sora! Sora!" he cried, but still there was no answer. Riku turned away to continued his search until he suddenly heard a faint voice calling his name.
"Riku…" it uttered. Riku looked about.
"Who's there!"-
"Riku."-
Riku suddenly looked near a groove of downed trees and spotted a dark figure approaching him.
"Who are you!"-
"Riku…" The form took shape and Riku was shocked at who he saw.
"Sora…?"-
Sora looked up with half opened eyes and smiled. He staggered to Riku, the blood still dripping from his wounds.
"Sora!" Riku ran to his friend as Sora collapsed to the ground. Sora landed in Riku's arms, laying his head on his shoulder. Riku placed Sora on his back and held him up, placing his head under his chin. He looked down to see the ghastly wound on his abdomen. "Sora. What happened? Who did this to you?"-
"K…Kai." Sora uttered.
"Kai? General Kai?"-
"I tried to fight him, but he was too powerful… I…I could have…."-
"Don't talk, Sora." Riku looked about in the darkness. "Someone help! Someone help us!"
Sora began to close his eyes, but Riku shook him.
"Stay awake Sora! Stay awake!"-
"R…Riku. I..I'm not gonna make it." Sora whispered with a dying breath.
"You'll make it, Sora. I won't let you die."-
"I…I can't see. It's… so dark."-
"Sora. You stay put. I'm gonna get help." Riku began to release Sora, but Sora clung on to Riku.
"No." He uttered. "Stay here, Riku. Please."
"I'll be back, Sora. I promise I won't go far."-
"Please… stay." But Riku managed to free himself and walked away to find help. But as he began to trek a few feet away, he could hear Sora calling for him.
"Riku… come back." Sora uttered as best he could. He reached out into the darkness attempting to feel out for him. "Riku… please come back." Sora lay his hand down by his side and began to cry. The tears began to drip from his eyes as quickly as his blood did. Riku could hear Sora's weeping and he suddenly turned to see the tears coming from his dying friends eyes. "I'm scared… Riku. I'm… scared." Sora began tried to move, but could only life his hand. "Riku… come back. Come back… please."
Riku could not bear the pain of seeing his best friend lying there dying and alone. Quickly, he rushed to Sora's side. Sora jolted back, not being able to see whom it was that held him.
"Sora. It's me. It's Riku."-
"Riku… You came back." Sora's eyes were filled with tears. "Don't… leave me alone… Not here… I don't want to be alone."
"I won't leave you." Riku whispered. "I'll stay right here by your side."
"I'm so cold." The young man uttered in pain. His voice was silent and trembling. "I'm so cold." Riku embraced his friend tighter, cradling his head under his chin.
"You'll live." said Riku. "I promise."
He held Sora tightly in his arms, as if trying to shield him from whatever impeding danger lurked in the dark. Sora slowly closed his eyes.
"I'm so tired…" he uttered. "I'm… so very, very…. tired."
"You rest yourself." Riku said. Holding the young man in his arms, Riku could only look up into the darkness. He uttered to himself. "Please darkness, shield us from the eyes of our enemies. Let our friends find us here." He then peered down at Sora whose delicate skin was almost pale and his blood as red as a rose. "Sora. I am but a solitary soul who pledged loyalty only to you. To keep you warm when you are cold. To cradle you in my arms when you are alone and frightened. Here I will stay to give you new hope."
It was then that he heard the sound of voices.
"Riku! Sora! You out there!" It was Jack and Goofy.
"We're over here!" cried Riku. "Come quick! Sora's been wounded!"
"We'll be there as soon as we can!"-
"Did you hear that, Sora? They're coming to help us."-
Sora, not having the energy to speak any further, could only smile.
Mickey and Donald could only watch on as the Imperial cruiser, carrying the four commanding generals of the Dark Empire, lifted off into the evening sky vanished without a trace.
"The Imperials no longer have a purpose for staying here." Mickey said. "Our mission was successful."
"Whatever happened to Lu Bu?" Donald asked.
"I have no idea. For all I know is that he disappeared without a trace."-
"Should we tell the others about him?"-
"No Donald. I think we should keep it to ourselves. I don't know how the others would react. Keep it under wraps until the time is right."-
Mickey peered through the darkness hoping that the rest of their group made it out safely. Sally, Dr. Finklestein, and the Mayor emerged from the building and walked on to the street, next to the two KH members.
"I hope that Jack and the others are alright." Sally uttered.
"Don't worry about it." Mickey replied. "I'm sure they'll all come back safely."
"Hey look!" shouted the Mayor. Four figures suddenly appeared out from the misty night.
"They're back!" said Mickey. "They made it back alright."
Sally went running to the group. She encountered Jack and wrapped her arms around her.
"Sally?" Jack uttered.
"I'm so glad that you're alright, Jack." Sally said, happily.
"Good to see that you fellas managed to come back without a scratch." Mickey stated.
"Not all of us." Riku uttered. Mickey suddenly noticed that he was holding Sora who hung almost lifeless in his arms.
"Oh no , Sora!" said Mickey as Riku lay him down. The wounds were dressed in a primitive fashion.
"We have to dress Sora's wounds properly and get him back to Traverse Town."-
"But why? We could just dress them here and let him rest in Halloween Town."-
"Mickey has a point." Jack stated. "Sora's too weak to be moved around any further. We can watch over him."
"I suppose you're right. Mickey, contact Traverse Town and tell them to send someone over with a supply of senzu beans."-
"Right." Mickey replied and ran to the gummi ship still parked on the outskirts of Halloween Town.
"In the mean time, let's get Sora's wounds dressed."-
He picked up Sora, but suddenly he uttered.
"They'll come back for us…" Sora whispered. "They'll... try and kill… us."
"Who?" Riku asked.
"The Empire…" Sora half opened his eyes and looked at Riku. "They'll… come… for us. They'll…" Sora gasped and sneered from the pain.
"Don't try to talk, Sora. We're gonna properly dress your wounds."-
The company went into Dr. Finklestein's laboratory. Placing Sora's body on the cold operating table, the wounded young man recoiled as his skin touched its icy surface. Riku stood by him, holding his dying friend's hand. Sally and Dr. Finklestein, taking antibiotics and clean bandages from the medicine cabinet, began to dress the wounds. They had just about finished when Mickey came barging into the room.
"Riku, Donald, Goofy!" he shouted. "We have a problem!"
"A problem?" Donald asked. "What do you mean a problem?"
"The communication system of the gummi ship has been severely damaged. That massive explosion must've ruptured the electrical system."-
"That's bad then."-
"Well, you know a lot about gummi ships, Donald. Can't you somehow troubleshoot the system to make it work again?"
"Darn it Mickey! I'm a wizard, not a mechanic!"-
"It's too bad we didn't bring Chip and Dale along this time. But I didn't think we'd be doing this much traveling."-
"But we need to get those senzu beans for Sora." said Goofy. "His life depends upon it."
"Then I think it best that one of us has to go back to Traverse Town, find Goten and tell him that we need more senzu beans."-
"But what if we're ambushed by Imperials on the way there?" asked Donald. "We wouldn't be able to take them on alone."
"Then at least two of you go."-
"But that'll cut your strength in half." Mickey stated. "Suppose the Imperials return for retaliation. You know how some of those commanders want out heads on a platter."
"That's a risk we must be willing to take. I'll stay here and defend in case the Imperials come."-
"But we won't stand a chance if we're attacked." Donald replied. "You've seen how their patrols relentlessly attack us when we're in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"But right now, Sora is our main concern." Riku began. "He won't be able to stand the journey. And going into warp speed may cause further difficulties. He's already lost a great deal of blood from that open wound on his abs."
"Riku…" Sora uttered. The young man sat up. "I can make it… I can make it… back to Traverse Town."
"Are you sure?"-
"I don't… want to make anymore… trouble for Jack and the others… This is our fight… And I don't want anyone else to… get in harms way. Halloween Town… isn't properly protected from… the Empire… That is why we… must go."-
"Alright Sora. You win." Riku turned to Mickey and the others. "Board the gummi ship. We're going back to Traverse Town."
The KH team boarded the Leviathan and the engines ignited. Riku was the last to board. As he did, he saw Jack and the others waving to him.
"Thank you very much for your help, Riku!" Jack shouted.
"It was a pleasure!" Riku replied. With that, he entered the gummi ship. The airlock doors shut behind him and the gummi ship lifted off into the atmosphere, vanishing into the early morning sky.
Little did either side realize that a solitary individual was still watching from afar. Lu Bu was still on the outskirts of Halloween Town. Getting his space pod ready, he glanced towards the area where the gummi ship had taken off.
"Traverse Town, eh?" Lu Bu uttered to himself. "You're heading back to that backwash settlement, Riku? Well, wherever you go, I'll be right behind you. I intend to regain my pride as the mightiest man alive and that's what I'll do."
He squeezed himself into the pod and shut himself in. The energy level increased and Lu Bu maneuvered his way off the ground and into the atmosphere unnoticed. Setting his course to Traverse Town, he thirsted to the thought of a rematch against Riku and longed to take back his title as the strongest.
"Soon I will have revenge." He uttered. The space pod went into warp drive and headed towards Traverse Town.
