Disclaimer: I DID NOT KIDNAP RIKU! OR SORA! ALL LIES!....er... i mean... .Kingdom Hearts isn't mine.... YOU HAVE NO PROOF!!
A/N: So yeah, actually updated a week after the last update. I practically had this done two days later, but I waited. So here it is. Wheeee.... finally get to that PG-13 rating, i think. Ooooo I like this one. And SORA! YES SORA! OMGOMGOMG SORA!
(that was a tribute to all you Sora fangirls out there, yes YOU, Sarah! Seee, I like Sora! really...)
Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter. I hope I cleared up just where in time this was, as in game-wise. And I like the way I started this one...
Enjoy!
(erk, glaring GLARING mistake. I fixed it, thanks Magic Blue Fire Kitsune for catching it. And you know, I was looking at it for five minutes, but my head wasn't working... sorry.)
Chapter 17
The three were standing in one of Hollow Bastion's many hallways. Green light flickered on the walls as cura healed the worst of their wounds, which weren't that bad considering how much better they'd gotten in fighting the heartless. Sora grinned, swinging the Oathkeeper in a few slashes, then looked back at Goofy and Donald.
"Thanks Donald, I feel much better now." Sora said, resting the keyblade on his shoulder.
"No problem. Now lets get going. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we get out of here." Donald said, starting off down the hallway.
"Hyuck, Donalds right." Goofy said, starting after the duck. He stopped and looked back at Sora. "Sora? Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, Goofy, don't worry about me." Sora grinned his famous grin and grabbed Goofy's arm, pulling him as he moved to catch up with Donald. "Hey, Donald, wait up!"
Sora grinned as the two caught up to Donald, but his thoughts were elsewhere. It was so strange, what had happened. Was what Riku had told him true? He sighed inwardly, his grin fading a bit. He hadn't wanted to fight his best friend, but Riku left him no choice. Why was he acting so strange, Sora thought. Couldn't he see that all Sora wanted to do was help him? His eyes downcast, he tried to understand why his friend had done what he did. Taking the keyblade from him, attacking him when the keyblade returned to Sora, and then running off without a word. When he'd first seen Riku, the older boy said he'd been looking for him, but ever since Neverland...no, ever since he'd been inside Monstro, Sora was hit, repeatedly, with the thought that that might not have been true. If he had really been looking for him, then why did he leave? Leave, like he'd been doing, without a word. What had possessed him to do attack Sora? More importantly, in Sora's mind, why wasn't Riku listening to him? Why was he acting like everything they'd done in the past, everything about the islands and all the friends they'd had, was no longer important?
He sighed, audibly this time, but although his two companions heard it, all they did was share a look and said nothing. Sora, his eyes on the floor, stopped suddenly and frowned.
"What is it?" Donald asked, turning to look back at Sora. The boy was standing in the middle of the intersection of two hallways.
"There's something on the floor..." Sora said, crouching down. There was a small, dark stain on the floor, no more than a drop. He brushed his finger through it, smearing the stain, and looked at the fingertip intently. His eyes widened.
"What, Sora?" Goofy asked, coming to stand by him.
"It's blood." Sora said, gasping. He looked back down at the floor, and a foot away saw another stain. He stood up and followed the small trail, Goofy and Donald following closely. Sora turned a corner and paused for a moment to let his companions catch up. He was slightly surprised that no heartless were appearing, and more than slightly suspicious. He picked his gaze up to look around, and saw it.
"Gawrsh..." Goofy said, slowing down to stop by Sora's side. He stared at the bloody, smeared handprint on the wall, his voice dropping low nervously. "That can't be good..."
"No it can't..." Sora said, then looked back down the hallway, his gaze narrowing and his eyes growing hard. He set off with determination, the Oathkeeper clutched tightly in his right hand. Donald and Goofy kept worried pace beside him as he turned another corner and headed down the hallway beyond it. He followed the trail down a staircase, the way growing slightly dark. Pausing for a moment, he listened intently. There, a sound. A slight shuffle in the next hallway. He held the Oathkeeper steady, looking at the others once, then moving forward. He crept to the corner of the hallway, then leaped from behind it into the adjoining hallway.
His keyblade was stuck, his first thought said. The curved edge of a battle-axe was hooked between its spokes, holding it fast. Sora blinked, then looked up from the locked keyblade and into a pair of frightened, amber eyes. Donald and Goofy, ready for an all out attack, stopped in their tracks.
"Sasha?" Sora said, dropping his arms slightly. The axe unhooked his keyblade and he put it away, staring at the girl in front of him.
"Sora, oh gods, you're here." Sasha said in a spurt. She put the axe back into its holder and sighed thankfully, leaning back against a wall. Sora looked at her, and his eyes grew wide.
"Sasha, what happened?" He exclaimed, taking a step forward. The girls arms were sliced up, and a stain on her shirt showed that it was injured as well. Worse, though, was the state of her wings. Once a shimmering black silver, they were dull and...twisted. Even as he watched, a feather shivered and detached itself, falling to the floor. One wing shivered, and a drop of blood slid along the vein of a longer feather, pausing a moment at its tip before splattering to the ground below. Sora looked back at her face, worried. There was smudged blood all over it, and a bruise beneath her right eye was tinged yellow at the edges.
"Who did this?" Sora demanded, and a quick shudder passed through Sasha. She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again, looking directly at him.
"You fought him, didn't you..." Sasha started, ignoring his question. "In the entrance hall."
"Yeah, I fought Riku, but... You don't mean... he didn't..." Sora said, the last words coming out in a slight growl. Sasha looked away for a second, and Sora couldn't believe it. "But why? Why did he do this to you?"
"I have something he wants." Sasha hissed suddenly. Pain had flared up in her side, and she closed her eyes, trying to block it out.
"That doesn't mean he had to hurt you!" Sora yelled. Donald and Goofy looked at him in surprise. Their gazes flickered from the boy to girl and back, but they stayed silent, not knowing what to say. "What's so important that he has to hurt you like this?"
"The amulet..." Sasha whispered, then opened her eyes and tried to stand up straighter. "It has some power he wants... I'm not even sure what kind. All I know is that it can't be taken by force. The person who has it has to give it willingly."
"So he's tried to force you to give it to him?" Sora asked angrily. Suddenly, he stopped. "Oh, wait a second..."
He held out the Oathkeeper and focused. Green light shone as Sasha's wings untwisted, her arms and side healing. She sighed, then looked at him.
"Thanks. I'm not that good with healing spells..." She stretched her wings, but a look of pain crossed her face. Sora lifted the keyblade again, but she held up her hand. "Save it. Anyways, I think they'll be fine after a little while."
"So, Riku did this. All for some stupid amulet." Sora said, crossing his arms. Donald and Goofy walked up beside him.
"Where's the amulet now?" Donald asked. A distant look came to Sasha's eyes for a mooment, but it passed quickly and she grinned.
"Someplace safe. Someplace very very safe." She said, but Donald remained unconvinced.
"Are you sure?" Donald asked, tapping his foot. Sasha nodded tiredly.
"Very sure. Trust me, it couldn't be in a safer place." She said, her gaze turned to Sora. The boy looked lost in thought. "Sora?"
"I need to talk to him. I need to find out what's wrong." Sora said angrily.
"I'll let you in on a little something, Sora." Sasha said, standing straight and looking him in the eyes. "Riku's in no mood for talking."
"I'll make him talk to me." Sora said, determined to find out what was wrong with his friend. Sasha shook her head and sighed.
"You're going to have to do whole lot more than that, Sora." She said, her voice hard.
"What do mean?" Sora said, but he felt he knew what was coming. "I'll fight him if I have to."
"You're going to have to do more than fight, Sora. You're going to have to beat him." Sasha said, her gaze stern. "Beat him badly."
"No, he'll listen to me, finally. I know he will." Sora said, his eyes flashing. "I'll talk sense into him."
"And what do you think I tried?" Sasha snorted. She crossed her arms. "If it wasn't for the stupid amulet, I'd be dead now for being in his way. He's beyond talking, Sora. Its just a waste of time for him. He has something in mind, he has something he wants to do, and he'll do anything to do it. Anything."
"Do you really mean it?" Sora said, his voice shaking. "There's nothing I can do?"
"Beat him, Sora. Beat him so bad that he has no choice but to hear you. That's the only way you can do it." Sasha said, her eyes turning sad. "That's the only way I can think of. And I've been thinking on it for a while now."
"There has to be some other way..." Sora said, shaking his head angrily. Sasha snapped suddenly, and stalked up to him, grabbing his shoulders. She stared him in the eyes, her look harsh with reality.
"Don't show him mercy, Sora, because he sure as hell won't show you any!" She growled. Her hands were shaking where they held their grip on Sora. His blue eyes widened at the ferocity in hers. He wanted to say something, but found himself to shocked to form words. She let go finally, backing off slightly. Her eyes still glowed with the anger. "Start hunting him, Sora... before he starts hunting you."
She shuddered, and shaking her head brushed past the three quickly. She stopped at the corner of the hallway to look back. Sora met her eyes, saw the anger, but more, saw the fear and pain. His eyes hardened, and he nodded to her. She was right, he saw. If things had gotten this bad... something drastic had to be done. Before they all ended up the same way.
Sasha entered the room she was using as a hideout, not bothering to close the door behind her. It was situated at the end of an almost completely collapsed corridor, and only the smallest of heartless found anything of interest enough to bring them to the doorway. Even the smallest, though, would lose interest before heading into the room. It was deserted, had been for ages, and probably still was. Blinded by their boredom, they retreated to more exciting haunts and ignored the lifebeat that occasionally gathered there.
Sasha stopped in the middle of the room, sighing. Looking around, she tried to decide what to do. She'd given Sora all the information she dared, she could only hope now that he did the right thing with it. She smiled slightly. She was being unfair, Sora was more than capable of doing what was right. She knew his fighting skills had progressed, and that he probably stood a more than a chance against Riku. No, against what he had become. Her eyes grew shadowed, but her thoughts were interrupted by a sound. Creak of hinges, wood hissed softly over stone. She froze, turning slowly to look behind her. The door swung slowly and clicked shut. A stillness overtook the room, and all she could hear was the beating of her heart. She looked cautiously to the sides, her eyes wide. Stupid, she tought. Its just a draft. Having spent quite some time in the room, she'd been woken more than once by the sudden blast of cold air. She blamed paranoia and turned back around.
"Boo."
Eyes widened, and she jumped back, her hand reaching for the battleaxe. A purple fireball shot the weapon from her hand, and she stepped back, wincing and holding her injured hand. Tendrils of shadow shot up from the ground, but she jumped to the side, dodging them.
"You could make this a lot easier on yourself." Riku's voice reached her from behind, sounding strange, two-toned almost. His hands suddenly gripped her wings at the elbow joints, clutching hard. She growled, focusing, and lightning flashed across feathers. Riku gasped with pain, releasing her wings, but before she could move he kicked her in the back and sent her sprawling onto the floor.
She twisted as she pushed up off the ground, facing him in a low crouch. Her axe lay by the opposite wall, she noticed, but then turned her gaze quickly to Riku. He glared at her, one hand rubbing the other, then grinned suddenly. Dark light flashed around his hands, and he shook them out, pleased. His grin turned devilish as he looked back at her. He took a few, slow steps towards her, and she backed off the same amount, watching him warily.
"Come on, Sasha, do you really want to go through that again?" Riku asked, his two-toned voice dangerous. She glared at him, ready to bolt. "Oh, and don't bother going for the door. It won't open."
Sasha glanced to the side quickly. The door was covered in darkness, and three glowing pairs of eyes stared out at her from it. Her moment's hesitation cost her, and Riku dashed forward. She tried to dodge, but he spun around her, grabbing her wings again. Angry, she plunged her elbow back and caught him under the ribcage. Though he gasped, he managed to keep his hold on her wings. She tried to elbow him again, but sudden, sharp pain stopped her.
Hearing her gasp, Riku grinned even more, twisting her wings again. He pulled them around each other and pulled out sideways, relishing in the sound of breaking bones. He could feel the muscles convulsing in his hands as tendons snapped away from joints and ligaments loosed their holds. Sasha cried out, unbidden tears pooling in her eyes. She clenched her teeth and pushed back hard, knocking Riku straight in the sternum, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to loose his hold on her wings. She dipped to a crouch and sprang forward, spinning around to face him. Riku steadied himself, his eyes narrowing, his grin growing.
"Why do you keep fighting?" He said, crossing his arms. "You know you can't win."
"I won't let you get it. I don't know why you want it, but I'd rather die than let you get it." Sasha hissed. Riku's face grew serious suddenly, his eyes burning.
"Don't wish too hard." He shot forward and kneed her in the stomach. She stumbled back and he kicked out, hitting her in the stomach again and sending her crashing into the wall. She slid to the ground, trying desperately to get back on her feet. Her vision was getting slightly blurry, and she could feel a trickle of blood start its way from the corner of her mouth down her chin.
"I'm getting a little tired of this," Riku said, his voice bored. He walked up to her with a bored expression, and summoned the dark keyblade . Reaching out with it, he put its tip under her chin and turned her face up towards him. "Give me the amulet."
"No." She said, and spat at him. He glared at her, wiping the spit off his shirt, then stopped, noticing that the amulet was no longer around her neck. He growled and crouched down, looking at her fiercely.
"Where is it?" He demanded, and she laughed, pushing the keyblade away..
"Wouldn't you like to know?" She said, trying to push herself up. Angry, Riku placed the tip of the keyblade to her chest, and she froze. "No... don't..."
"Where is it?" He hissed, digging the tip of the keyblade into her chest, right over her heart. The sharp point cut through the material of her shirt easily and pressed into her skin.She whimpered but shook her head. "Tell me!"
"No! You're not getting it..." She said, wincing as the keyblade's tip dug deeper. Riku glared at her, fully intent on slowly driving the point into her heart. The keyblade dug deeper still, and he could see a trickle of blood staining her shirt. He grinned maliciously, twisting the keyblade slightly and watching with delight as she whimpered, writhing in pain. Her hands grasped the keyblade, though she knew it was useless. Already she could feel her power becoming useless, pliant, manipulable. The darkness rippled, suddenly, and Riku paused, looking to the side.
"What?!" He said to the air, eyes widening. He growled, looking back at Sasha, then removed the keyblade suddenly, leaving a trail of blood drops. She released a breath and looked up at him warily, her hands going to her chest..
"I'll deal with you later." He said, then put out a hand. The air around her shimmered darkly, then everything faded as the darkness engulfed her.
The darkness of horror faded from around her, leaving her in a darkness that she found to be much more pleasant. She groaned as she lay there, eyes half-lidded.
"Why did he send me here?" She muttered. The hum from the Masamune rose suddenly, and she pushed herself up slowly. Carefully, she detached the belt that held the hilt to her back and removed it, laying it on her knees. Pausing only slightly, she grasped the sword hilt tightly and pulled. The sword slid out quickly, eagerly, with a light, delighted hiss of metal on material. The naked blade gleamed slightly in Limbo's darkness, and she shuddered momentarily, a strange feeling coming over her. She placed the blade gently to the side and lifted up the hilt. Tilting it slightly, the amulet slid out from where she had hidden it. The perfect hiding spot. No one could remove that sword. No one...
She picked up the amulet, then paused, glancing over at the Masamune. Picking the sword up, she positioned it and slid it back into its hilt, ignoring the angry hiss it emitted. Putting the sword to the side, she looked at the amulet for a moment. With a sigh she placed it around her neck. The center glowed brighter, then flashed, and she felt a cooling feeling pass through her. Her wings untwisted and untangled, bones straightening. Her numerous bruises and cuts faded away, as did the hole in her chest, though it still stung slightly. She sighed, looking down at the amulet.
"I wonder what else it does..." She said to herself, then shrugged. Her eyes were closing, and she leaned over, pillowing her head with her arms. Her breathing grew even, and she fell asleep with darkness surrounding her.
E/N: (moment of silence)
Sephy: (eating marshmallows) Um... I don't know why that camera's pointed at me.
Anyways, there it is. And, can you believe it, I almost forgot. FORGOT. There will be one more chapter, and then the epilogue. ONE MORE CHAPTEREPILOGUE AND THIS IS OVER!
These Wings That Ache will be done! OO I can't believe it.... geesh... only took me about two years, eh?
So yeah, the sequels will be done. And stuff. oh fun fun fun...
Note: Next chapter will be slightly strange, since it still deals with Sasha, but there's the whole Riku/Ansem/Sora fight thing and the End of the World, and since Limbo has some strange things going on, and since there seem to be wierd things going on with Sasha, she's going to sleep through all of it. So it'll be like a dream, where she sees what happens, but she doesn't. Strange..
Thanks to:
All the Reviewers I've ever had!
Magic Blue Fire Kitsune: Cliffy is good. Oh so good. more cookies and ice cream too....
Venz0r: Its an insane fic but yes, its fun. There's some chapters I'd rather burn, but some I can't even believe I wrote. Thank you!
Doomboy2000: OO Wow. I was sitting at my computer, and about every half hour I got a reviewer alert in my inbox. You amazed me, really. I was getting giddy. Thank you very much, I can't believe you actually took time out of reading to review every few chapters. Made me feel special... Evil Sephy influences (does wiggly fingers) is right on. I love the Masamune. (lots of love and many many cookies)
Sarah: You are definitely going to be my beta read when I start the sequels. I would've sent you this before I posted, but I forgot and now I'm all giddy. But you'll still be the first one I send the link to. Thanks for everything! (many 3 's)
Thank you everyone! And when this is over, make sure to keep an eye out for the mini-sequels and the main sequel. I hope I won't dissapoint you...
Laters,
Zo