Unlikely Ally
The shadow queen could only watch as Riku and Sora disappeared into the distance. She turned with a smirk, gazing at the frozen images of Goofy, Donald, and Mickey. Caesar returned and landed by the queen's side.
"That was a little much." she uttered.
"Take these three back to the throne room." The queen ordered. "Things have turned out better than expected. Now, those two key bearers have no choice, but to come back for their friends. And as long as I am alive, their friends will remain petrified in stone."
"But Yorda still got away and they have not yet found out about the rune sword."-
"Then, we'll just have to wait for now."-
"What do you mean?"-
"Your two enemies, Riku and Sora will have to come back for their friends, right? Well, when they arrive, they will have to do battle with me. They will wish to have their friends restored to life, but in order to break the spell, they will have to destroy me first. But the chances of that actually happening are slim. They will need to retrieve the rune sword in order to defeat me. Once I tell them that's my weakness, they will scour throughout the castle looking for the sword. That is when you will follow them until they do find the sword. Once they retrieve the sword, that's when you take it from them. So it all boggles down to you, Caesar. It is up to you to take the sword from them."-
"That I will do. And in return I shall retrieve the girl and bring her to you."-
"Excellent." The queen began to head back into the castle. "Then we must get ready for our guest to arrive." Caesar chuckled and levitated the three statues. Guiding them precisely, she brought the four statues back into the castle.
Meanwhile, Riku and Sora, along with Ico made it to the opposite shore. The sand was bright as it reflected the rays of the sun from off its surface. Yorda and Zeke came running to where the three landed.
"Glad to see that you two are alright." Ico uttered. Yorda smiled and nodded. Sora set Ico down and the young boy ran to his friend. Sora walked to where the waves crashed upon the beach. He fell to his knees.
"It can't be!" Sora said, falling upon his elbows. "Goofy! Donald! Mickey! They've been turned to stone!"
"That is the one technique used by the shadow queen." Ico explained. "She turns them to stone by using her dark energy."
"Isn't there something that we can do for them?"-
"There is only one way to restore them and that is to kill the shadow queen."-
"But you heard what she said." Riku added. "No mortal weapon can hinder her." There was a silence amongst the group.
"There is one way." A voice suddenly uttered. The group looked to see who spoke. It was then that they turned to the timid young princess.
"Yorda?" Ico asked. "You spoke in our language."
"I didn't even think she could speak." Sora added.
"In order to kill the queen, you must use the rune sword." Yorda said. "Only the rune sword can hinder the queen and diminish her into the shadow realm forever."
"Are you talking about the sword my captors used to open the rune doors to the castle?" Ico asked.
"Yes. The rune sword has the ability to diminish enemies, soul and all. Anyone who obtains the power of the rune sword will be able to do away with all supernatural foes, living, dead, mortal, or immortal."-
"The rune sword?" Sora asked. "Isn't that what Caesar is after, Riku?"
"Yes." Riku replied. "That sword has the ability to smite any foe. And since it can do away with souls as well as the living being, the enemy confronted by the sword faces becoming nonexistent. That's why the Empire wants that sword. If they manage to capture the rune sword and analyze its power, they could mass produce them in large quantities and equip all the Imperial forces with them. That means that nothing could stand in the way of the Imperial threat."
"Yorda? Where is this sword kept?"-
"It is kept in the jetty, where Ico's captors first entered." Yorda explained.
"Then, let's get to the jetty."-
"Hah! Do you fools think that you'll succeed as you are now!" a voice suddenly thundered. The team looked to see a familiar figure sitting on a rock.
"It's Lu Bu!" Riku and Sora shouted.
"Pathetic insects. Even if you do manage to retrieve the sword, do you think the queen, or Caesar will allow you to use it? Caesar is a lot stronger than you think. The first battle you engaged in was only a side show. What she displayed is nothing compared to what she really accumulates in battle."-
"And how do you know this?" Riku asked.
"I could feel your energy moving about in there."-
"You know what's going on just by sensing the energy that strays about?" Sora asked.
"Because I have mastered the art of detecting power levels, the battle sequences are as clear as day to me. That's how good I am when it comes to detecting power levels."-
"So why should any of this concern you?" Riku asked. "You're no longer with the Imperial forces."
"I just want to make sure that nobody else kills you before me. Remember, you and I have a rematch to settle."-
"You can sense power levels can't you? Then, can't you determine who'll win without having to fight."-
"I wouldn't know who'll win, kid. As far as I can see, our power levels are equal."-
"So does this mean you plan on joining with us?" Sora asked.
"Don't get the wrong idea, kid! I'm not gonna jump to the rescue every time you need it! But I just want to show these fools how powerful I really am! And fighting against masses of shadows and spirits is the perfect way for me to test out my full strength."-
"We've seen your full strength." Riku said. "What do you plan to show off?"
"The reason for your sudden victory was because I wasn't focused well enough. Besides, I thought I could beat you with my present level of strength."-
"OK! That's enough you two!" Sora interrupted. "If we stay here yapping at each other, we won't get anything accomplished! I don't know if you recollect, but Goofy, Mickey, and Donald have been turned to stone and are being confined by the evil queen!"
"Sora's right." Riku added. "Our match can wait! We have more important things to sort out right now."
"Very well." said Lu Bu. "Then, we'll form a temporary alliance! Besides, I'm more than enough to fill the shoes of those three idiot friends of yours!"
"Then let's get going." Sora said. He turned to Zeke. "Are you ready to blast us to the jetty, Zeke?" Zeke nodded his head and growled. "Then let's go."
"Wait!" Lu Bu interrupted. "I've been amongst the Cavendish Shinobis and I can tell you that Caesar can detect power levels just as well as I can. And that silver dragon friend of yours, when he decides to light his rockets, he'll accumulate enough energy to attract Caesar like a beacon. The best course of action is to use the elements of surprise and attack them without warning."
"Then how do you expect us to get to the castle? Swim all the way!"-
"If you spent more time looking about rather than making sarcastic remarks, you would have realized that!" Lu Bu pointed to what looked like a series of boats tied up at an old wooden dock.
"That's where we first began our trek to the castle." Ico said. "We went by boat."
"And boats don't give out large amounts of energy. So taking the boat will be the best way to transport ourselves to the fortress."-
"Then, we'll do that." Sora said. Sora turned to Ico. "Ico, I want you and Yorda to stay here, far from the queen's reach. Riku, Lu Bu, and I will handle the situation by ourselves."
"No, you can't, Sora." Ico protested. "I too have a mission to fulfill. I have to take out the queen."
"That's out of the question, kid. If you went with us, you would have to bring Yorda along as well. Then, without a doubt, the queen will try an attempt to capture her again. At the same time, we can't leave her alone by herself. That's why I want you to stay behind, so you can look after her."-
"I'm going with you. Yorda can stay here. I know she'll be alright. Besides, you guys don't even know your way around the castle."-
"He has a point, Sora." Riku explained. "Ico knows more about the castle than we do. His guidance would prove valuable to us."
"But what about Yorda?" Sora suddenly got an idea. He turned to Zeke. "Hey, Zeke, you think you can look out for Yorda while we're away?" Zeke growled and nodded. "Thanks Zeke." Sora turned to Ico. "OK Ico, you're in."
"Thanks, Sora." Ico said, gratefully.
"If you three idiots are finished, may we get going!" Lu Bu said. He began his walk towards the wooden dock which lay half a mile away from where they stood.
"Let's go, you two." Riku added. Ico looked behind him to see Zeke and Yorda waving good bye.
"You take care of yourself, Yorda." Ico said.
"You too." Yorda replied.
The three made it to the dock within fifteen minutes. They untied a boat and began rowing to the jetty. The sun was bright and birds chirped about, flying from the castle to the shore, back and forth. Lu Bu stirred the boat towards an opening under the castle.
"So all we have to do is find that sword." Lu Bu said.
"One thing Lu Bu," Sora asked, "what's in it for you? I know you wouldn't be going out of your way just to help us without expecting some sort of compensation."
"I'm just like a closed book, Sora. I'm hard to predict."-
"Then, haw do we know we can trust you?" Riku said. "We're trying to retrieve a blade capable of killing both the living and the dead. How do we know you won't try and take that blade for yourself and attempt to use it against us?"
"Two reasons why!" Lu Bu began to explain. "One, even if I wanted to use that weapon against you, I too am still mortal. And a mortal user is just as vulnerable as the foe he uses the sword against. Deprive the user of the sword and he's just another helpless maggot. And two, when I fight, I want my opponent to be entirely fair when it comes to fighting me. I want my opponents to give it their all in battle. Just like you did on the 'Treasure Realm.' Otherwise, I would never consider myself the strongest man alive if I can't use my strength and cunning alone to defeat my enemies. Besides, the rune sword is just another weapon and can't be any more than that."
"He does have a point, Riku." Sora said. "Lu Bu may be vicious and coldhearted, but engaging in a fair battle is the one thing he's good at." Riku only folded his arms in front of him and looked away.
The boat eventually landed on the shore within a deep cavern. Fallen pillars laid about. Ico jumped out of the boat and began to run up a narrow pathway located on the right of the way they came in.
"It's over here!" Ico said, running. "Hurry, Hurry!" The three followed the young boy. Ico ran a hundred yards before reaching an old stone alter. There, placed upon the alter was a sheathed, broad sword. Ico picked it up with both hands. "This must be it." Ico was prepared to unsheathe it until Lu Bu stopped him.
"Wait a minute there!" he said, with that harsh, brutal voice of his. "Just what do you think you're doing? I can feel an extraordinary amount of energy accumulating from that blade."
"You're telling me." Riku said. "I can feel that immense energy too."
"How could you not detect that energy?" added Sora.
"Remember how I told you that Caesar knows how to sense energy?" Lu Bu continued. "The minute you unsheathe that sword, she'll know our precise location and will be coming after us like a bloodhound."
"Then what do suppose we do?" Riku asked. "We're gonna have to fight her sooner, or later."
"Riku's got a point." Sora added.
"Even if we did have the element of surprise in out favor, we might end up fighting Caesar, the queen, and all of her shadow minions all at the same time."-
"That leads to another problem." Ico said. "The queen has a super attack where she deploys all of her dark energy in a 360 degree angle. Everything the dark energy touches turns to stone."
"And…?" Riku asked.
"When she deployed that attack, everything turned to stone. I would have been turned to stone too if it wasn't for one of those rune, stone pillars that guard the doors of certain passages. It is the same energy that accumulates in Yorda. It is the only thing that stands up to the dark energy of the queen and acts as a protective shield for anyone who stands behind it."-
"What are you trying to say?"-
"Well, I'm armed with the rune sword, but the rest of you have ordinary weapons. They couldn't possibly protect you."-
"He has a point, Riku." Sora said. "The rune sword might be able to give Ico the slight advantage, but we're still stuck with average weapons. We'd be sitting ducks to such a wide spread attack."
"Then, what do you propose we do?" Riku asked.
"That can easily be resolved." Lu Bu chuckled. "You just need the right equipment." He pulled from a pocket, underneath his shoulder armor, four ringlets, three of silver and one of gold. He handed two of the silver rings to Riku and Sora and gave the gold one to Ico.
"What are these?" Sora asked.
"These are compliments of the Dark Empire." Lu Bu explained. "They are called simulation rings. They are designed to resonate the energy of one source to affect other outside sources. The gold ring is meant for the primary source of energy. Once Ico latches that ring onto the hilt of the rune sword, it will begin the process of spreading its energy to other beacons. The silver rings, which we three have attracts the primary, resonating energy and allows our own weapons to simulate the same energy signature as the rune sword. In other words, our ordinary weapons will have the same magic power as the rune sword itself."-
"Tell me," Riku said, "Are these rings limited to a certain number."
"The Empire constructed these rings so that all weapons can simulate the energy of a single primary source without the primary source of energy being drained of its own potency. An unlimited number of secondary sources can be affected without complications."
"So that's how the Empire plans to spread the power of this one sword amongst its endless ranks. By using these rings, not only do they save income on weapons manufacturing, but they can also use that kind of linkage on any type of weapon they desire."-
"We can't allow the Empire to get its greedy hands on the sword and allow them to wreak havoc on all other worlds." Sora said.
"That's why we have to stop them here and now!"-
"If that's the case," Lu Bu uttered. He slapped the ring onto the staff of his Maelstrom, "then let's fight them here!"
Sora and Riku slapped their rings onto the hilts of their swords.
"Unsheathe your swords!" Lu Bu instructed and the two key bearers followed as ordered. They then looked to Ico who placed the gold ring onto the hilt of his sword. As soon as he had done that, Riku and Sora's blades as well as Lu Bu's halberd began to resonate. Ico unsheathed his sword and it glowed as magnificently as the others.
Their energy did not go unnoticed. Caesar felt the sudden surge of energy.
"They're here." she uttered.
"Are you sure?" The queen asked, sitting on her throne. She smirked and waved her hand. "Go then and finish them! Take the sword, then go and retrieve the girl!"
"But will you not fight them yourself?"-
"It is not my place to do the work of a hired assassin. That's your job."-
"As you wish." With that, Caesar went off towards the resonating source of energy. The queen sat down in her throne and rested her head on her right hand.
"Soon, Yorda will be in my possession again and I can soon rejuvenate myself into the body of a younger being."-
Lu Bu felt the energy approaching.
"She's on her way!" he uttered to himself. Before long, he felt the energy of Caesar coming closer and closer until she stood at the entry way of the jetty.
"So, I finally caught you at last." she chuckled. "Thought you could sneak by unnoticed, eh? Well, your little attempt to take us by surprise has failed."
"Actually, we intended to lure you here." Lu Bu turned to face Caesar and the shinobi suddenly filled with a terrible fear.
"Lu Bu! What're you doing here! You're dead! You're supposed to be dead!"-
"Do I look dead to you!"-
"Have you come to help me!"-
"And what gave you that idea!" Lu Bu began to laugh. "I'm dead, remember? Dead as far as the Empire is concerned."
"You…you betrayed us!"-
"And what do you intend to do about it!"-
"I'll fight you! That's what I'll do!"-
Lu Bu took a step towards the shinobi.
"You are one of the deadliest of the Cavendish Shinobis. But even so, to me you're nothing, but a peon."-
"I'll fight you then!"-
"Give it a try then."-
"Wait, Lu Bu!" Riku interrupted. "This fight is between her and us!" Sora stepped forward.
"Get back, you two idiots! You don't stand a chance against her!"-
"But she has something that we must have. We need you to help Ico. I'm sure you'll end up facing those countless minions if you keep going."-
Lu Bu smiled.
"Very well, Riku." He uttered. "You and your friend may fight her. But don't get killed in the process."
"I don't intend on dying." Riku and Sora drew their blades. "Now help Ico get to the shadow queen. We'll handle it from here."
"So be it." Lu Bu then swooped up Ico and ran to through a small passage left of the jetty. "Come on kid. Babysitting time!"
Riku and Sora stood ready to fight.
"For a moment there, I thought I was in trouble." Caesar said. "Thank goodness for the downgrade. Taking out you two should be easy enough."
"Hey, Riku," Sora asked, "How come our swords aren't glowing? And how come our new energy isn't resonating."
"Ico must still have his blade sheathed." Riku explained. "That's the only explanation. It must be a form of safety, in case any stray blades fall into the hands of the enemy. Don't worry though, Sora. Ico plans on confronting the shadow queen, so he'll have to unsheathe it sooner, or later."
"Well! Shall we begin gentlemen!" Caesar chuckled. She stood ready with her staff in hand, taking her guard. "And just to make things more interesting…" She raised up her right hand. Suddenly, from out of the rock of the jetty's walls, large spikes began to form. They encircled all over the walls and the ceiling. "Just to confine your freedom of movement."
"Well, let's get this over with." said Sora.
"Don't worry, it'll be over before you know it."-
She suddenly came at the two and began swiping at them with the staff. The three began to engage in hand to hand combat, striking and dodging as they went. The skill used in such a grapple was unmatched by anything seen before. With such ferocity and yet with such grace, the combatants moved with such agility, avoiding sudden thrust in such tight turns.
"I can see we're on equal level with each other when it comes to using weapons alone," said Caesar," "but how good are you when it comes to this!" She began to develop shurikens from the rock, chipping them off the rocky walls and levitating them in mid air. "Now give this a whirl!" The shurikens suddenly attacked with ferocious speed, in a flock. The two key bearers dodged the shurikens and struck several of them down.
"Not this attack again." Riku said. "Is that the best you have!"
"Not even close!" Suddenly, blocks of rock and dirt came flying from out of the walls and attacking from all directions. "Not good enough! Well, let's see you dodge this!" The rubble was broken into smaller, finer pieces and transformed into a sand like texture. The debris began to whirl about the two heroes like a storm.
"What is she trying to do?" Sora asked. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain pass his cheek, then another cut his shoulder. Sora cried out.
"Are you alright, Sora?" Riku asked.
"What happened?" he uttered. He wiped his cheek and found blood was trickling down his face. "I've been cut."
"It's the shurikens. She's hiding their movement with the debris. We can't see where they are precisely with this heavy blanket of debris blocking our vision."-
"What's the matter, boys?" Caesar asked. "You hit your limits already. Not that it's of any surprise to me."
"You are a fool!" Riku said. "Have you forgotten that we have our own abilities!" He accumulated his energy and deployed the Hurricane Slash. Instantly, the debris and the shurikens were blown away from the sudden winds. Caesar watched in horror as the shurikens were diminished. One of the shurikens flew by her and cut her right cheek this time.
"You fools! How dare you!"-
"Looks like you underestimated us again."-
"Don't get cocky, Riku! This is just the beginning!" a slab of stone broke from beneath her and levitated her into the air. "Now let's see how you enjoy this type of fighting! She swooped down from the air on her levitated platform and attacked the two. She struck at the two knocking them of their feet. Instantly, the two jumped back to face their nemesis again.
"Try this on for size!" Riku shouted. "Cinder Canister!" Immediately, several fire balls formed around Riku and in a group, he deployed them.
"Idiot. You think you can defeat me with that attack in this sort of environment!" Caesar suddenly raised her hands and a wall of rock rose up to shield her. The fire balls instantaneously struck at the wall. The wall itself was only charred. "You see, even your elemental attacks are rendered useless here. I can form shields out of the rubble, to protect me! At the same time…!" She broke off the wall and sent it flying towards the two youths. "At the same time, I can counterattack without pause! Granite Buster!" The giant object neared closer and closer.
"Hurricane Slash!" Riku deployed his wind attack again cutting away at the rock, but still, it was too big even for his attack.
"Defense, Riku!" Sora shouted and deployed the Aeroga spell on both of them. The now tattered rock made impact, knocking them off their feet, but the Aeroga spell protected them successfully. "That was close!"
"Why those two little maggots!" Caesar said, gritting her teeth angrily. "They're stronger than I gave them credit for. If this keeps up, they may actually defeat me. No, I won't have that! I will defeat them here and now before I use up anymore of my energy."
Meanwhile, Lu Bu and Ico had opened the mystic doors which lead to an old lift. Taking the lift to the upper levels, they entered the grand chamber. Exiting out of the elevator, they climbed up a series of stairs to the main floor of the chamber.
"What is this place?" Lu Bu asked.
"This is the sacrificial chamber." Ico replied. "You see those pods around the room?" Lu Bu gazed to find every corner of the chamber covered with giant, stone structures. "Those are where boys with horns, much like myself are placed in to die."
"So, you just allow yourself to die in such a pathetic fashion? If you knew what was good for you, you and your comrades would've rebelled."-
"It was for the better good of my village that we sacrifice ourselves."-
"No! It's just an excuse to kill your pains quicker through death! And someone who thinks that they can end their sorrow through death can only be pathetic! That is why I continue to improve my strength! So I wouldn't have to endure my own weakness!"-
It was then that a sudden whisper began to fill the room. The two looked around to see an army of shadows and spirits slowly emerge from the rock. Even from the sacrificial pods, the souls of horned boys began to appear.
"The queen must've summoned all of her minions to stop us." Ico uttered.
"Excellent." said Lu Bu. "I could use a good fight right now." He turned to Ico. "You hurry up and defeat that queen. I'll take care of business here."
Ico dashed up to the second flight of stairs where the throne room was. Lu Bu stood in the center of the room and allowed himself to be completely surrounded by the shadows.
"You dare stand in my way!" Lu Bu thrust out his Maelstrom halberd before the horde of spirits. "Even an army of the dead must beware a second death!" The spirits were timid to strike at Lu Bu, not knowing what this mighty warrior of the Three Kingdoms was capable of.
At the same time, Ico reached the throne room. When entering, he saw the petrified statues of Mickey, Donald, and Goofy placed before her.
"So boy," the queen uttered, "you've decided to finish this haven't you."
"I have no choice in the matter." Ico replied. "As long as you are around, Yorda will always be a slave to you. You will always come after her and she will always live in fear. That is why I can't allow you to live any further."
"Hah! As if you can do anything to me! Didn't I already mention that no weapon can hurt me?"-
"Oh I know one weapon that might be able to fulfill that!" Ico unsheathed the sword and the blade glimmered brightly with its resonating energy. As soon as the sword was revealed, so was the truth to the fight's outcome. The queen suddenly filled with a great fear.
"Where did you get that?"-
"I found it in the jetty. This was the very sword that gave my captors access to this castle. Now, I will use it to destroy you!"-
"Then go ahead and try! But I won't make the task easy for you!" The queen stood up and formed a strong energy shield around her. "Let's see how you enjoy my super attack!"
"Bring it on!" Ico began to attack at full speed. But now the queen was delivering her dark energy in powerful energy waves. The energy of the sword however protected Ico from being turned into stone.
The minute Ico unsheathed his sword, the effects of the linking rings took effect. In the fight at the jetty, Riku and Sora's blades began to illuminate.
"Riku!" Sora shouted. "Look at this!"
"Ico must've unsheathed his sword." Riku replied. "Excellent."
"What kind of sorcery is this!" Caesar said. "Never mind! A glowing sword doesn't guarantee victory!" Suddenly, the ground began to break beneath their feet and columns of rock burst into the air. Caesar levitated herself on a granite slab. "This time, I go all out!"
"Brace yourself, Sora!" Riku said. Shurikens and sand shields began to form and swirl around in great maelstroms. "She's not holding back this time. She's using every powerful attack she has."
"But why?" Sora asked.
"She must realize by now that she underestimated us completely. So she's making the environment as compact as possible, so we can't use our movement and agility as effectively as we'd like. To add, we won't be able to reach her so long as she's hovering about on that granite slab."-
"What should we do, Riku?"-
"Try to deploy your attacks when the time is right."-
