6H:Chapter 41! Yay! We're really getting up in the numbers, eh?
Anaretsu:Why do you have a canadian accent?
6H:I duno. But I LOVE Canada! What an awesome country! It's got a cool name, they invented the best sport in the world (yay hockey!), and they have recording studios for anime in British Columbia! And Richard Cox lives in Canada! YAY! Lucky Canadians. If anyone's Candian, let me hear from you!
Anaretsu: Shut up.
6H:Not that other people aren't great too. Why don't you ALL leave me a review! That would be extremely nice of you! Well, here's the chapter.
Kingdom Hearts-Shattered Fragments
Fragment 41-Confrontation
Cedeile ran through the darkness, not even aware of her changed surroundings until she slowly came to a stop and looked around. All around her was black. A greenish light radiated above her somewhere. She couldn't see very far in any direction, and it all looked the same.
"Ryu? Aru! Are you guys here?" she yelled into the emptiness. "Riku! Riku, where are you!" There was no anwser, only silence followed. She stepped caustiously forward, not sure of what to do. After a moment, she just darted forward, not sure where she was going. As she ran further, cold air rushed pass her.Soft glows of different colors came from above, changing as she went on. She finally saw a dim light up ahead and ran faster towards it. When she reached it, she leaped forward, flying through some strange liquid thing- it felt like gel or something- and land in a different room, smack on the floor. She looked behind her to see a mirror. She stood up.
This room had a greenish hue to it. On a raised platform was a huge glass case. The walls were draped with dark curtains, and other random trinkets layed around, thrown carelessly into place. Cedeile rubbed her arms and shivered. She could see her breath when she exhaled. 'What is this place? Why is it so cold?' she thought franticly. Footsteps came closer. Her head darted up, looking at the curtain covered doorway. She backed up into the mirror, strangly scared but ready to fight none the less. The curtain swished aside, and Cedeile looked in shock.
"R-riku!" she gasped out, shivering again. He didn't look surprised to see her at all, but simply closed the curtain behind him.
"You made it. I was waiting for you to show up." he told her.
'Well, he seems to be acting normal again...still...' her thoughts went back to Monstro and cold feeling of his kiss. The back of her hand came up immediately to her lips, as if to remove the feeling. He smiled to himself. She looked up at him with a glare, spitting on the ground. "Why did you bring me here?" she hissed at him.
"You came here on your own. All I did was show up in Traverse Town and you came after me."
"What's the matter with you? You joined the heartless! And for what!" she yelled at him.
"I only work for Mallificent."
"Like there's a difference!"
"Cedeile, you have to understand! After Kairi lost her heart, I felt like I had to do something! Sora didn't listen, and he forgot us! I knew you wouldn't, though! You haven't forgotton our friendship!"
"We never had a 'friendship' Riku! You were always pickin' on me back on the island! You were jealous because Sora and me were best friends! You didn't like me from the start!" she looked back on the floor, panting in anger. "And you betrayed us all! The heartless destroyed our world, and you go running to them! This isn't about the heartblade or keyblade anymore! This is about us...just us. My parents, my grandfather and everyone else are gone! How can you...take them same side as those who did this to us...?" Riku stayed silent for awhile, looking at her. It looked as if he didn't know what to say.
"Because...of...Kairi..."he forced out. He looked over to the glass case. Cedeile followed his eyes and she walked forward, until she saw Kairi's still form laying there. She gasped and backed away, grabbing her head as she fell down on one knee. What is it about dead people that freaked her out? Her head started to hurt and random things passed through her mind, including her brother, laying in his own coffin...
Riku walked over to her, and was just about to bend down to help her when she lashed out at him, punching him in the left side of his jaw. He stumbled back and held his chin in pain. Cedeile galred up at him, kneeling on the ground, one hand holding her head in pain, the other on the floor for balance.
"Cedeile?" he asked, concerned.
"I don't even know what you are anymore..."she growled at him. "You're not the Riku I used to know. I think I like that Riku better. At least he wasn't a traitor."
"I? Betray you? Youre wrong! It's Sora who's betrayed us!"
"Leave Sora out of this! He's my best friend. I thought he was yours too..."
"'Was' being the key word."
"Damn it! Where did this all go down the hole? I was right...nothing will ever be the same..." Riku came forward once agan and knelt in front of her.
"Cedeile...no, look at me...right at me..." he said gently, lifting her chin so her eyes looked directly into his. "All of this will be over soon. The last thing that has to be done is to find Kairi's heart. "
"No, that's not the last thing. I've made promises Riku. An innocent person DIED to make sure I would make it to that last battle-the one that will rid everything of the heartless."
"That girl..."
"What?"
"That short girl that travels with you...what's her name?"
"You mean Aru?"
"Aru...I've been wondering that for a long time..."He stood up and walked over to Kairi's side. Cedeile followed. "Your last adventure seems to have brought you alot of pain."
"You don't know the half..."she lifted up the sleeve of her shift and showed him the white bandages wrapped around the punctures in her shoulder. In parts they had been tinted red.
"I'm sorry it was so bad for you..." he said, gingerly touching the wrappings. Cedeile looked up at him.
"Riku, I want to go back now. Back to Traverse Town. Ryu and Aru need me. We have to fight Nabuki, so that Yuffie and the others will be safe. We think Leon and Merlin already got killed by her..."
"Well, that's the problem...I'm also under Nabuki's comand now..." Cedeile stepped back from him.
"No way...so this is trap the two of you set up for me!"
"No. It isn't. Nabuki thinks I'm killing you off while she gets rid of your friends."
"You bastard!" she drew the heartblade out, and Riku took out his own sword. The two began their epic fight, a dance of death, a duel of destiny.
The tall white building sat above them, the bell tower being the highest point in the 2nd District. A cold wind blew across the ground, blowing Ryu's hair around. He looked grimily at the structure. Aru stood beside, looking at the front doors.
"You scared Aru?"
"No."
"Demons can smell fear..."
"I'm not afraid, Ryu. Let's just get this over with." They walked forward and pulled the huge white doors open, and then rushed in, Ryu pulling out his huge sword, and Aru ready to conjure a spell. The church was dark-the only light streaming in through a blue and violet stain glass window. Ryu stepped forward carefully. Then he proceeded again, and finally it evolved into a slow, careful walk, holding his sword up as he looked all around the darkness.
"Come out, Nabuki! I'm not afraid of you, demon!" he yelled into the shadows. There was laughter from a distant somewhere. He darted his eyes all over the place, slightly panicing, as his dark navy eyes followed the sound of laughter. Suddenly, Aru let up a slight wimper. "Aru, shut u-" his eyes went wide. She was in Nabuki's grasp, one of her deadly looking claws postioned right near her neck. Ryu glared at Nabuki, still half hidden by darkness.
"You're certainly not very nice to your friends." she told him. "Tsk, tsk..."
"Let her go, Nabuki. Battle me."
"I'm not interested in a little boy. However, this one..." Nabuki leaned down closer, getting a better look at Aru's face. She didn't move, and tried her best not to let a noise escape her throat. Nabuki smirked, the top half of her face obscured by shadow.
"Leave Aru alone!" Ryu yelled.
"Pateince, fragment hunter..." With her other hand, never moving the claw at the girls throat, she slowly made her way down to Aru's sleeve and retrieved something. When she had it in her grasp, she let Aru go and held it by the last link in the chain, looking at it while it dangled. Aru collasped on the ground and looked up at Nabuki. "This...it has the boy's aura around it. And it's around you now, too. Is he protecting you...or, are you protecting him?"
"Do you mean Riku?" Aru asked. Ryu semmed lost, and stayed silent.
"Yes, I do. I have temperarily hired him to help me with my plan."
"I don't believe that. He's not evil!"
"Maybe so...but he's slowly fading away. The longer he subjects himself to darkness, the more he undoes himself. He himself wasn't aware the one thing he found comfort in was causing his death! However, this-" she gestured to the charm-"-must be part of some last mintue sceam to save himself..." she grinned maliciously at it. Aru clenched her fists.
"It's not true!"
"What do you know of him?"
"...I..." Aru looked sadly at the floor. 'I don't know anything...Riku...'
"I thought so..." Nabuki smirked at her and threw the black charm upon the ground in front of her. The demon queen shifted her gaze back up to Ryu. "You said wou wanted a fight. I now intend to give you one." Ryu drew out his sword, and Nabuki called forth her own-a beam sword of darkness. It's eerie purple glow didn't give off any light. Ryu saw her face clearly now.
'Her eyes...are human still...' She came forward, and he blocked, forcing her off him. She came back again, and Ryu launched his counter attack. She staggered back and few steps, and he chose this time to strike. She unexpectedly blocked him, but somewhat clumisly. Ryu tried the strike again, but Nabuki grabbed him by his cloak and threw him past her. He flew down the aisle and she turned, shooting black beams of light at him. A few hit, but only burned for a few seconds before ceasing. He slowly got back up, sword at the ready, waiting for her next attack. She smiled at him, and faltered, thinking he was looking at simple ,human girl. She took this time to attack him and hit him in his right arm. He let out a slight cry of pain before landing on the floor. Aru bent down next to him and healed his wound. The blood disappeared instantly under her curing light.
"That magic you have could destory everything! It's such a great power, one I wish I could grasp in MY hands! Yet you use it to heal him and others, not fully understanding what it means. Don't you know where you got that power from in the first place? Do you know what you can do with it?" Aru glared at Nabuki, as the demon became more estatic with each word, as if she could feel the power coming to her.
"I have chosen to use my power for this! What do you know of it!" she growled back.
"Maybe you're on the wrong side...maybe you are really one of the heartless..." Aru gasped. Ryu brought himself to sit up.
"Shut your mouth, Nabuki! None of that is true! You're making it all up!"
"But how do you know you're right? And how do you know that I'm the one you have to be fighting?"
"Stop trying to play dirt and throw all your cards out on the table, you bastard! We're supposed to be fighting!" He charged forward, holding his sword out, ready to kill, when Nabuki lifted her head and spoke softly.
"Momma..." Ryu stopped dead.
"h-huh?"
"Momma and I always love to go flying with Daddy in his air boat. It flew across the sky like it would on water, and the three of us traveled across our world together. Going flying was a rare oppertunity-only every once in awhile would Momma and I get to go with him." he eyes suddenly turned dark. "But never again. After the heartless came, Momma and Daddy died. They died long, horrible, painful deaths. Just as you will NOW!" she suddenly lashed out at him. He barely blocked her, her black beams of light falling to the ground, clanging like metal, and then going out. Nabuki got impaitent and went straight at him again with her sword, making a huge cut in his right side. Blood splatter on the ground. He winced, and in a sudden moment, a huge gust of wind blew through the church and made the doors fly open. Nabuki flew out of them, into the open night air, and Ryu staggered behind her, ready to follow.
"Nabuki! Come back here!" He yelled after her. She landed on the edge of the fountain in the second district. Ryu ran to the center of the square, going to attack, but she raised up a wall of dark fire that burned around them, the black flames licking at him. Aru stood outside the wall in fear and horror. They reached up twenty feet, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.
"You can't kill me. You know that I was human once. And that makes you second guess your actions. Remember, I attacked those three. I attacked my master, Leon, and Yuffie."
"Are Leon and Merlin dead?"
"I don't know. But if I knew they still lived, then I would seek them out and kill them."
"You're a bastard, Nabuki. Why would you go after the people who took you in? They cared for you after your world was destroyed! Aerith told us everything!"
"If she did tell you everything, then you would know WHY I chose this path!"she cried, enraged. Tear streamed down her face as she lifted up her arms. Cracks formed in the ground, and dark flames burst forth, releeasing a blast of warm air. Such a blast came up right near Ryu, blowing his hair up around him. "I will destory all of them, and eventually I will hold everything's exisitance in my hands!"
"If you hate the heartless so much, than why have you teamed up with Mallificent!"
"She is unaware of my hatred of her and her minions. She believes I will help her by killing the heartblade master." she told him, her one eye looking directly at him, the other obsurced by her long brown hair. " She knows not that I will turn on her and take everything in the end. I will not do it to help her, but to protect myself! I have seen the girl's power-she can purify anything! She has such incrediable will power! I must stop her before she brings my downfall. Once that girl is out of the way, I will be able to control all the cards!"
"That isn't going to happen, Nabuki!" Ryu sneered.
"You won't kill me! I have seen the doubt in your eyes! You can't kill me because you believe me to still be human!" Ryu froze. She was exactly right-he'd had his doubts all along. Nabuki had been human once-whether she was now or not couldn't be decided by him. But he knew that killing her was irreversable, and he would have to live with the results. He could have incredible guilt if he killed another human for no reason, but what if she did kill Cedeile and the others? He couldn't make up his mind.
'Nabuki knows this. She's using it against me. What a vile demon...I just wish Cedeile would get here soon so this madness can end.' he thought franticly. 'For now, I have to hold her off...' He lifted his sword and charged forth at her. She raised her beam sword, and was ready to hold him off, but he forced her through the black flames and into the fountain. The mosiac shattered, glass falling in the water. The fire died down a bit, but still remained.
Nabuki pushed herself up slowly, black blood leaking from various cuts, wincing from slight pain. Ryu stood above her, balancing on the edge of the fountain, sword poised right above her head.
"It's over...Nabuki."
"You wouldn't dare try and kill me."
"I would."
"Then do it. Why are you hesitating? Why do your hands tremble, little fragment hunter?" Ryu brought his sword down fiercly, but only struck water. Nabuki appeared behind him, moving to ram her sword through him, killing him off. However, at the last moment, Nabuki felt a tug on her hair, making her miss and only graze his shoulder. Ryu fell into the fountain, dropping his sword and grasping his new wound. Nabuki turned around, only to receive a shot of flames in her face. She staggered back, clutching her face in pain. When the magic fire died down she looked down to see the short magician, ready to make her next attack. "You dare to burn me?" she hissed.
"I do. That and more!" Aru cried as she drew a circle out in front of her. "AQUA SPIRIT!" she yelled. The creature of water zoomed out and caught Nabuki in it's grasp. Nabuki dispelled it with her dark magic, but Aru was ready with a move of her own. "WOODA!" Great green vines lifted out of the ground and attempted to ensnare the demon, but she cut them away.
"How old are you? Eight?" Nabuki asked. "Little kids should know it's not nice to play with fire..."
"I'm not a little kid!" Aru yelled. "AQURA!"
"So, your water magic has gone to the next stage. It is still pathetic!" Nabuki yelled, cutting through the attack with her sword. Aru glared at her.
A splash came up from the fountain as Ryu gasped for breath. His oak colored hair hung limply against his face. He reached clumisly for the edge and hoisted himself out of the pool of water. Broken glass and streaks of red floated on it's surface.
"Alive, are you?" Nabuki asked slyly. Ryu collasped against the fountain, trying to find his breath again, coughing up water and blood randomly. Aru took her chance to attack.
"EARTHA!" She yelled. Nabuki stepped aside, and the attack hit the wall of the fountain instead, striking right next to the swordfighter.The grey bricks flew in every direction, and the square fell into silence, save for the water spilling out onto the street. Nabuki spread her great wings and soared to the street above, huncing on the wall as if a gargoyle on a catherdral, taunting them to come closer. Are walked slowly over to Ryu, watching the demon queen the whole time.
"I'm...alright...Aru..."he told her, between gasps for air. Aru knelt beside him and waved her hand around in the air in front of him.
"Aira." she said quietly. A small, gentle gust of wind flew into his opened mouth, and he caught his breath.
"Thanks. New spell?"
"Just an old one that's sat on the shelf for awhile." Ryu stood up slowly, reaching into the fountain to reclaim his sword. The two looked up at Nabuki. She grinned and then jumped off onto the street above them. They dashed for the stairs.
Cedeile slammed against the mirror, but jumped back up and went right for Riku. He held her off weakily, butrepelled theattack. He let his guard down, and Cedeile hit him with the heartblade without calling on her purification magic. He staggered back a few steps.
"Send me back to Traverse Town, Riku!" She demanded. "Now."
"I won't let you leave!" he yelled, getting back up again. Cedeile forced him back down. He collapsed on the floor, exhuasted from their long fight. Cedeile lifted him by the shirt.
"My friends need me, Riku! They're in trouble, and I have to help them! Nabuki will kill them all! Ryu and Aru are fighting her, I know it! I don't want them to get killed!"
"What? Nabuki...she's going to kill your friends?" Riku asked.
"Well duh. What's you think?"
"She promised me that she wouldn't hurt them...she just wanted your blood. I told her I wouldn't help her...if she was going to kill Aru." Cedeile released him and he slamed a fist into the floor. "Lying bastard!"
"Wait! You were stupid enough to believe she was going to kill me but not Ryu and Aru? Did the heartless knock out a few of your brain cells, Riku?" The sliver haired boy stood.
"I'll let you go back, then."
"Huh?"
"Go and save your friends." He turned his back to her. She was about to speak when she looked behind her and saw the mirror reflected the doors to the 2nd District in Traverse Town. She looked again at his back and hestiated, but then turned and ran to the mirror, disappearing through it. Riku sighed, and walked over to the case in which Kairi layed. He looked at her face, stuck forever in the same expression of peaceful sleep. "Did I do the right thing, Kairi? To let Cedeile go? To even fight on this side? Against Sora? If only you were awake, you'd be able to help me." The curtain behind him rustled. He turned to see Mallificent standing there.
"Where is the heartblade master?" Riuk hardened his face.
"She escaped by tricking me into opeing a portal in Traverse Town."
"I see."
"Is there something wrong?"
"A new plan is all. Come, boy." Mallificent left. Riku turned, giving Kairi a last glance, and then followed his master.
6H:That was a long one!
Anaretsu: I'm glad this chapter is done with.
6H:Next chapter-Nabuki's entire story revealed!
