Wootah: Ultra Kick-Ass Chapter! Yeah, this is so awesome! Introduce the evil! Wahahahahah...man, we're gettin' to the cool stuff now! Yeah, yeah! And, as for Demon Surfer... you thought that was simple? Well too bad you're wrong! Hah! No tree's that tall. "Head in the clouds"? (sighs) okay... calm down... anyways, this chapter is awesomeness incarnate, maybe only rivalled by the Stromwind Fight or the March vs. Orchid fight. So, R R peoples!
-
Arc dodged back as the first of the fiends leapt at him. He jumped again as it attempted to gore him upon landing, barely evading the sharp long horns on its head. He swung with Sequence, but it clanged off as the cub turned and blocked with its horns.
He noted that the other young beasts were still standing by their parent, watching carefully. Apparently, this first one was sent to gauge his strength. Probably not a good time to pull out all his aces.
He parried and blocked the horn-thrusts of the miniature Catoblepas, making clumsy stumbles when he knew he could afford it so as to make it seem he was just barely getting by. Feeling confident about the pup's inability to pose any real threat, he lunged in and slashed at its shoulder, leaving a long, red cut.
Big mistake.
The beast roared in anger, then leapt forwards, pouncing at him with its enormous paws and thick limbs. Taken off guard, Arc tumbled back, falling down with it on top of him. He pushed and shoved with his arms in an attempt to dislodge it, but it was too heavy and the snapping jaws kept him from doing anything more than defensive. As the snarling mouth went for his face, he punched upwards, lodging his shield in its jaw. It bit down, biting futilely at the metal, and Arc lodged it in further as it opened its maw wider to try and get around it. The beast howled in frustration at the block in its mouth as they wrestled, then suddenly cut off. Hot, wet liquid stained Arc's shirt, dripping from the long bloody gash and the vicious blade of Sequence. He had slit its throat.
Get him! roared Catoblepas.
He was barely back on his feet and the four were upon him.
-
Montblanc thought. It took a bit of thinking, but he finally answered, with confidence"A mountain."
The sphinx growled in annoyance, but nodded. "Sometimes they fall to that one. But it was simple. Now, your turn."
The moogle sat for a while, racking his head for riddles. Too many were childish jokes with obvious answers, but he started pooling together some of the better ones he knew. Choosing one, he spoke to the sphinx.
"A white container with no door to hide,
But also I hold golden treasure inside."
The sphinx smiled.
"Challenging, had I not heard it before. The answer is obviously an egg."
Montblanc sighed, and nodded in agreement.
"Then it's my turn" said the Sphynx.
"I stand without leg,
I move without will,
I hurt without force,
I am harder to wound than to kill."
-
Claws reached out from the darkness, tearing at her body. Orchid screamed in pain and fear, trying to escape the phantom limbs. She jumped back as something wrapped around her leg, slashing wildly at it. She could see nothing, only herself, and the dark shapes outlined agains her when they struck.
"Yes" whispered Elias in her ear. "That's right. Fear. Despair. Hurt. Die."
Orchid spun around, swinging the keyblade, but hit nothing. A chill ran up her spine as a hand lightly trailed its fingers up her back.
"The fear of such young people is so much sweeter, purer, than the terror of any adult" he commented softly.
"Fira" shouted Orchid, spinning about as fast as she could. The fireball shot off into the distance, swallowed up by the gloom, illuminating nothing more than her own frightened face, and only that for a moment.
There was a flutter of leathery wings, and Orchid peered about warily, trying to find the source. She screamed suddenly as sharp teeth bit into the flesh of her arm, and she could feel numbing cold spread from the sin black mandibles. Tearing away, blood, hot and thick, trickled down her arm, down the haft of the keyblade.
"Feed, my minions" said Elias. "Rend her to shreds. Tear her apart in the dark, and devour her heart, her mind, her body. But remember... her soul is mine."
-
Arc rolled out of the way as the fiends jumped him. They crashed down, landing nimbly and pouncing towards him again. His sword bounced off the leading one's horns as he took a sideways slash, but the monster went flying as his shielded fist slammed into the side of its head. He dodged the next two, then landed a swift kick in the side to the last one. Panting, he watched warily as they circled about him.
Now... what was it that Zell said? Arc asked himself silently. He strained to remember, the memory coming back grudgingly, but steadily. That's right. We had been out south of the castle, hunting those underwater boar-like things... forget what they're called... man, Hollow Bastion's the only place where you can walk underwater... lessee.. what did Zell say about handling them? Something about crosses... oh, yeah.
He remembered now. When dealing with large animals like that, you just draw imaginary lines from their eyes to the opposite ears. Then strike where the lines cross. That was the weakest point of their skull, always.
He dodged to the side as the first one leapt at him, catching it a grazing slash with his sword. As the next one charged straight at him, he swung back his right, then hit with all his might, smashing straight in the forehead. There was a sickening crack, and the fiend went flying past, skidding across the ground like a wet lump of meat and finally coming to a halt. It didn't move.
He grinned, then grunted as he was barreled into from the side, falling to the ground with his assailent on top of him. He cursed as his sword was knocked away, and struggled mightily to keep his shield and not get bitten at the same time. His head swung this way and that to avoid the goring horns. Finally, the beast paused for a moment, and that was all he needed. Reaching up, he grabbed it by the furry nape around its neck and pulled hard, swinging it over him and onto its back. He punched down into its gut, and it wheezed as the air was forced from its lungs. Gasping, the creature struggled pititfully as he leapt over to its head and wrapped his arms around it. He gave a heave and mighty twist, and there was a snapping noise as the spinal cord was severed. He dropped the beast, and it fell lifelessly to the floor.
"Okay, two more" he said, grinning.
The two remaining offspring circled him warily, closing in steadily. The obviously planned to rush him simultaneously. Of course, there was only one way to throw this off.
They charged, and he leapt up, directly towards one of the monsters. He crashed into its head, barely avoiding the sharp and pointed horns, and rolled off its back to land behind it as it turned. As soon as it faced him, he quickly made his little invisible X on it and then punched right in with his shield. The animal dodged to the side just barely, and managed to avoid a fatal hit, though the blow sent it reeling and crashing off to the side. Arc watched as the other one charged at him. It waved its head about erratically, ensuring that Arc could not try the same thing, and also that he would be gored. He stared at it carefully, taking a step forwards, then a few steps back.
"This'll have to be times perfectly" he muttered. Then, as it was almost upon him, he ran forwards and fell back, his legs going before him and slid across the ground. He shot between the beast's front legs, narrowly avoiding decapitation by the horns, then kicked up viciously with both legs, sending the creature tumbling past him, head over heels. Quickly scrambling to his feet, he ran back over to it, then jumped up above the floored and upside down creature, and came down harshly, elbow straight into its throat, crushing its windpipe. The monster gasped and convulsed, then was still. Arc stood up from it victoriously.
"Then I guess that's"
He was cut off as he screamed in pain. A horn, long, black, and coated in blood, protruded from his shoulder. He felt himself lifted, and cried out as the horn tore at his muscles and his feet left the ground, then suddenly, he was flying through the air, and landed harshly on the ground. He slowly struggled to rise, eyeing the monster who had done it. It was the offspring that he had struck in the head, but missed. It walked towards him, stumbling a little. One eye was lazily staring off to the side, and its legs jerked unevenly. It snarled at him as he got to his feet, then charged.
Arc kicked, his foot digging into the black ground, and swiftly lifting his leg, he unearthed something long and shiny, and it flew up into the air. His hand snatched Sequence out of the air, and he dodged to the side of the charge, blade outstretched as he braced himself, a cry on his lips. The sword cut fierce and true, straight through the beast, splitting open its side like it were nothing more than paper. The monster fell to the ground behind him, thrashing about in its blood and gore, then finally, gaspingly, laying still.
"Now it's your turn" he said grimly, turning to the glowing eyes of Catoblepas.
-
Montblanc contemplated this one hard. It was a real puzzle, and he had no idea how to go about it. Everything described was an opposite. How could something stand without a leg? Maybe it was a building. But buildings don't move. But then, wagons move without will, they move by their owner's will. But what could hurt without force? And was there anything that was harder to hurt than to kill? He cowered slightly as the sphinx rumbled in what he suddenly realized to be satisfied purring. It enjoyed his discomfort. It started at him with piercing eyes that seemed to dance with flame. That's when it hit him.
"Fire" he squeaked. "The answer's fire"
The sphinx growled, its face going from smug to annoyed.
"Fine then" it spat. "And your riddle"
Montblanc thought carefully, trying to come up with a good one.
"Ah" he said. Then he began reciting.
"I hold many things for some,
Like happiness or fear,
But though I'm just around the bend,
I never do get here."
The Sphinx's eyes narrowed, thinking about it. It pondered long, trying to figure it out. Finally, its eyes flashed open with realization.
"Tricky... in this timeless place, one forgets about time" smiled the creature appreciatively. "But I still know tomorrow."
Montblanc nodded and sighed. He had really hoped that one would stump it.
"Well then" purred the Sphinx. "My turn.
"I am that which dries up seas,
All before me mountains crumble,
I am that which brings down kingdoms
Before me all men bow humble.
What am I"
Montblanc thought hard on all the legendary monsters he'd heard of, but none he could think of had done all these things. He tried to think of natural forces. A drought might dry the sea, but did it crumble mountains? Earthquakes brought down kingdoms, but how did they dry up seas or make men bow down before it? It didn't make any sense. Then what were all men weak to? Fire? Hunger? No, there were some people beyond such things. Then what? The grave? What brought the grave?
"That's it" he cried out. "Time! The answer is time"
"You are quite clever, puny being" admitted the Sphinx. "Few have ever answered that correctly."
"Well, kupo, now I get to go" he said. He thought long and hard for the most difficult riddle he knew.
"I cannot be caught,
But I am easy to make,
I cannot be held,
And impossible to take,
I can fill a whole room,
Yet still leave it empty,
I can rouse peaceful spirits,
Or soothe a beast gently,
Not seen by your eyes,
I dance on your ears,
I am old beyond counting,
But shall last for all years."
The moogle heaved a little sigh after the long recitation, and waited for the sphinx's reply. It lay there regally, quietly pondering. It was still for a long time, saying nothing. Montblanc noticed its lips moving, silently wording the riddle to itself. Montblanc sat down, and started to hum to himself, but in the vast silence of the dark, the little moogle's singing filled the enormity of the place entirely.
"Ah, hah" said the sphinx triumphantly. "You gave the answer away, foolish being. The answer is music."
Montblanc jerked up, suddenly realizing his mistake, and silently berating himself.
"Well then... here is my riddle to you" purred the sphinx smugly.
"Greater than God, lower than Hell,
Rich men want it; poor men have it,
It is everywhere, but if you eat it you'll die."
-
Orchid screamed in pain as dark things, nightmare things tore at her. She struggled and fought, and finally she was thrown to the harsh, cold ground, were she squirmed away from the clutches of unknown demons.
"Are you ready to die, Flower of Arcadia" asked Elias coldly. There was a clicking of boots, and then Elias stood before her, staring down at the battered girl emotionlessly.
"Not...yet..." she said. Then she screamed as claws reached up from below and tore at her, spattering red, red blood all over. And Elias watched, not a muscle moving.
As it ended, pausing briefly between tortures, she felt something move in her pocket. Slowly taking it out, covering it with her body, she brought it up to her face where she could see, and Elias could not.
It was a small metal cage, filled with darkness and covered in twisted black vines. The keychain for Nightshade. She watched as little buds, black then fading to a deep purple, twitched erratically on the vines. Blood dripped down from her face, her arms, and fell on the cage, into the darkness. And the buds bloomed.
They were beautiful, crimson flowers, the color of blood. Like miniature roses, they bloomed along the vine, and the darkness seemed to intensify within the cage. Pulling the keyblade up, she stumbled to her feet, grinning.
"What are you smiling about" asked Elias, without a hint of curiosity.
"This" she grinned crookedly, blood trailing down her face. She deftly switched the keychains on the keyblade and the change was immediate. There was a flash of light, and when it was gone, so was the Mage Bloom. Now, instead of vibrant green vines were deathly slick black ones, the haft dark as midnight. The crystals in the handgaurd were now replaced by sharp black thorns. And the Mage Bloom, the awesome and powerful multicolored flower, was gone. In its place was a singe blood red rose. She whispered its name softly, there in the dark. "The Devil's Rose."
"No..." hissed Elias.
"Here in the darkness...who is the master"
-
I cannot believe this victory, growled Catoblepas. Not in a million years would I see my brood defeated.
"You aren't thinking of weaseling out of our bet, are you" asked Arc, anger tinging his voice.
What do you take me for, a human? asked the beast increduously. A deal is a deal. You may have one blow to strike me dead. And if you don't?
"Then we fight" grinned Arc, rubbing his injured shoulder. "A fight in which I would gladly die, against such an opponent."
So be it.
It kneeled down before him on its front legs, laying its head down so that it was on the ground.
One blow, mortal, said Catoblepas.
"That's all it'll take" grinned Arc as he walked up. He stood for a bit, staring at the monster's head as if he were an artist considering a blank canvas.
What are you doing, mortal? it asked impatiently.
"I'm drawing a couple lines from your eyes to your ears..."
-
Montblancs mind was racing. He wasn't coming up with anything. He couldn't find any answer that fit the riddle. What could rich men men want that poor men had? Freedom? It could work, but how was that lower than Hell? And it was poisonous, wasn't it? If you eat it you die. And what's everywhere? Air, but both rich and poor men had air. He just couldn't figure it out.
"Well" asked the sphinx, licking its lips. "Do you have an answer"
"I have nothing" he shouted. Or at least, he meant to shout. In his state of panic, the only thing decipherable in the highpitched squeak that came from him was "Nothing"
The sphinx hissed and growled, clawing at the air in frustration.
"No" it roared. "No, how could you"
It breathed angrily, then slowly calmed down, regaining its regal composure.
"Fine. I still have some more tricks for you. Ask your riddle."
Montblanc, barely recovering from the shock of actually getting it right, quickly searched his mind for something. All the riddles he had gathered were too simple for a mind like that of the sphinx's. He thought and thought, then finally had an epiphany. The sphinx had started them off, setting down the rules and how to play. As long as they played by its rules, Montblanc could never win. It had only said riddles, not what kind. He smiled delightedly.
"Okay, then" he said confidently.
"On the way to Babylon, I came across five wagons headed past me. Each had five banners, each with five symbols. In each wagon was five men, each dressed in five colors. Each man had five dogs, and each dog had five bowls. How many living beings were headed to Babylon"
The sphinx stared at him, then smiled.
"I never did say what kind of riddle, did I" it grinned. "Of course, this takes no wit at all. Just mathematics, such easy, logical stuff. You must really be on your last leg if you're trying something so easy to solve. I just have to mutiply the numbers and I'm done."
Montblanc watched smugly, trying not to smile too much as the sphinx's lips moved, mentally working it out in its head.
"Five wagons...banners don't matter...twenty-five men...so one-hundred and twenty-five dogs... so add them together..." the sphinx purred and smiled. "One-hundred and fifty, puny being."
"Wrong."
"What" shrieked the Sphinx.
"The answer is one. I'm the only one headed to Babylon" smiled Montblanc.
The sphinx jumped to its feet and looked about wildly as there was shimmer, outlining a bubble around it, then it faded and was gone. The barrier protecting it was gone.
"I'll kill you" screamed the creature, pouncing at him.
"You can try" said Montblanc, a smile on his lips and a spell on his tongue.
-
"Terror no longer" said Orchid. She held the Devil's Rose aloft. "Nightmare"
Suddenly, Elias was engulfed in shrieking, tearing darkness. It gathered, and tore, and bit, and slashed, and still it grew. The darkness so black, that the emptimess around them seemed bright by comparison. Then it exploded outwards, and the nightmare ended. The darkness shattered, and it was over.
They were back in Hollow Bastion. It was dark, but nothing compared to the darkness that they had just endured. Montblanc looked a bit scuffled, but not too much worse for the wear. Arc was bleeding from his shoulder, but his grin said that he had succeeded in whatever he had done. And Orchid stared at the battered, ragged form of Elias.
"You..." he said slowly, his voice tinged with rage. He raised his hand. And then he snapped. "Magi"
Orchid cried out as fire burst up around her. Suddenly, the flames ended, and jagged shards of ice slammed up from beneath her, then crunched together, fusing and sealing her in. Then lighning came crashing down and up, shattering the ice. Orchid screamed in pain and fell to the floor, burning, freezing, tingling, and just hurting in general.
"Now...you see? I still am more powerful" said Elias, cackling and straightening up. "You cannot win."
"Like hell"
Arc's fist slammed into the right side of Elias's face, and the man went flying. He crashed into a wall, then slumped down. Stumbling to his feet, he raised a hand to his face. There was a hairline fracture in the white half mask he wore. And from it dribbld blood, dark as to almost be black.
"I'll kill you" he shrieked, charging forwards.
"Tornado" shouted Montblanc. Hurricane wind came flying from him, lifting Elias's thin body off the ground and pinning it to the wall behind him. Struggle as he might, he could not move until the spell finished, dropping him on the ground. When he looked up, he was looking up the haft of the keyblade.
"It's over, Elias" stated Orchid calmly. Then she jabbed down.
There was a flash of light, a swirl of dark, and when it was over, the keyblade hit nothing but the wall behind.
-
The doors to the laboratory slammed open, letting in the disheveled and bloody form of Elias.
"You, Eriks, what are you doing here" he raged. He ran over, brushing past the Heartless assistants and grabbing the boy roughly by the shoulder and spinning him around. "I thought I told you never to come in here"
"Calm yourself, Elias," said Eriks softly, his voice echoing strangely, as if he spoke over himself. His eyes glowed brightly in the dim light. "I am not who you think I am."
"M-m-master..." he stuttured, taking his hand back as if it had been burned and backing away. "I'm s-sorry, I had no idea..."
"Of course not," said Eriks smugly. Then he walked over to the limp forms of Riku and Leon, hanging side by side on the wall. "The Gray One cannot be readied in time without destroying it. I am having them move it there, Elias. But as for these two..."
He slammed his hands down on their heads, gripping them tightly.
"Give in."
-
There, in his private world of pain, Riku had been going numb. He had cut off his thinking mind from all the pain, disconnected himself. But suddenly, the barrier was gone. Every wound bled anew, ever sore burned like it was fresh, every trauma branded itself into his mind again. Memories, like shards of glass, dug their way into his skull, relentlessly stabbing. He screamed, and screamed again. Every body of his cell, every thought of his mind burned with pain. He retched and twisted and arched in agony. He would do anything, anything at all to stop the pain. Then there was nothing but pain. There was no thoughts of escape. No wonderings of how long. No thoughts of how to avoid the pain. No thoughts of how much it hurt. No person called Riku. Just pain, pure and simple. All embracing pain.
And then a voice.
Give in.
Tears streamed from burning eyes, and cracked lips slowly formed one word.
"Yes."
-
A man stood, in the middle of nowhere. He no longer could recall who he was. What he was. Why he was here. Where here was. It didn't matter. For as long as he could remember, there was nothing. Only nothing. Something moved at the back of his mind. Maybe... there was someone called... Squall... a place called... home... but the memory quickly faded. There was nothing.
And then a voice.
Give in.
He didn't know what it meant. But it was better than this awful, empty nothing.
"Yes."
-
Eriks drew back, eyes glowing satisfactorily. Then he turned to Elias.
"They are mine, now," he grinned. "And as for you..."
He strode up, and Elias stood, frozen by fear. Eriks's hand reached up and grasped the white half mask.
"Time for this to go," he said. Then he pulled it off. "Goodbye, Elias. Hello, Malias."
Then there was a horrible shrieking, and the man named Elias was no more.
"Now, go destroy the Keblade Master," he said to the creature that stood before him. It nodded, then disappeared. He smiled and turned to the wall. The chains binding the two captives snapped off, and they fell to the floor on their feet, eyes wide open. "I have a door to open. Come, Leon. Come, Riku."
He walked towards the door to the hall, followed by the blank eyed servants who were quickly rearmed and redressed by the assitants.
"But, Master" rasped the head assistant. "I thought that a keyblade was required for that"
Eriks grinned.
"What do you think this is?"
The Heartless shrieked momentarily, then was gone. Where it had been, a long, white blade pierced the wall with its tip. The handle had angel wing handguards that surrounded the boy's gloved hand, and the long haft was of the palest white. Just before the end was a beautiful, exquisite wing, carved delicately out of the same gleaming white material as the haft. And the end was white also, and pointed. It was shaped like a heart.
"The Keyblade of Heart, Light," he smiled. "How fitting."
And then he laughed.
