Hey y'all, here's chapter four. I pretty much typed it up in hour, so forgive me if there are any spelling mistakes. Anyway, hope you enjoy it. I think this might be one of my favorites so far, lol.

Disclaimer: Why do I even bother putting this in? Anyway, I don't own anything except Steel, and maybe Axel's new boss...

"Did you really think that you could beat me?" Sephiroth mocked, pointing his blade at Riku's throat.

"No, I just thought I would chase you down and fight you for no reason." Riku replied sarcasticly. Hedecided that if he could stall long enough his strength would return, but he knew that he was in trouble if "long enough" was more than a few seconds.

"Stalling won't help, Riku. You are completely at my mercy." Sephiroth seemed to be reading his mind.

Riku continued to glare at him, but his mind was working furiously to find a way out of this. If only he had a potion or something, then he could resume the fight. It was times like this when he really missed King Mickey. He had offered to teach Riku cure, but he had declined, saying that he didn't need it. If only he had taken the time to learn it…

"Don't even bother trying to think of a way out of this. It was planned very carefully." Sephiroth pulled back his sword, preparing to strike.

Look at his belt.

Riku quickly glanced at Sephiroth's belt and saw a pouch on it.

Take the pouch.

Riku, not having another plan, gathered the last bit of strength he had and got ready to dodge the imminent attack. Then just as it came down, Riku rolled forward, in too close for the sword to really hit him, and cut the pouch open. An elixir fell out.

"It seems Diz has taught you better than I thought." Sephiroth said, trying to hide the anger in his voice as Riku used the elixir.

"I guess so." Riku could feel the elixir rejuvenate him. For a few seconds he felt like he could take on the world, but then he figured that that would be much easier if Sephiroth weren't in the world.

Riku jumped back to his feet and got ready to fight again. But then, both Riku smelt a heart full of darkness approaching and hid. Sephiroth also sensed it and hid, deciding to use the same trick he had on Riku.

Then the blonde boy Riku had seen in Traverse Town walked into the forest. He pulled out a dagger and slashed the air with it. The blade of the dagger immediately turned pitch black, then it obtained the color of a dark firaga before turning back to normal. The boy quickly pulled out another dagger and looked around, eyes sweeping the forest before landing on where Sephiroth was hidden.

"I know you're there. I can sense the darkness hiding you." The voice sounded emotionless, which only added to Riku's suspicion that he was an assassin.

"Very well, but do you know who I am? If so, then are you making the assumption that you can defeat me?" Sephiroth walked out of the shadows, drawing his insanely long sword as he spoke. "Do you also know that I have an accomplice hiding over there?"

Riku scowled as Sephiroth pointed at him. Riku hoped the assassin wouldn't believe Sephiroth, but he probably would.

"Yes, but since you were the stronger one I assumed that you were the person I was after."

"Well, you can come after me once you defeat him." A portal appeared behind Sephiroth and he stepped into it. "Riku, you had better not fail me." With one last look at where Riku was hiding, he disappeared into the darkness.

"So, I was wrong. The accomplice is the one I am after, though I will chase your master once I take care of you. My name is Steel. Remember it well, for that is the name of the one who will kill you." Steel turned to face him, his two daggers ready to strike.

"Alright, who sent you to kill me? Axel, Larxene, Lexaeus maybe?" Riku stepped out of the darkness and held Soul Eater at the ready.

Steel didn't react to Riku's question, only gripped his blades tighter. Riku heard something in the back of his mind telling him that this assassin wasn't really his enemy, but Riku was pretty sure that this guy would kill him if he got the chance. But he wasn't going to get that chance.

They circled each other for a few seconds, trying to guess the other's fighting style and how to beat it. Steel made the first move, running at Riku with his blades arcing in a horizontal slash. Riku jumped back to avoid the attack, then used a vertical downward slash to try and knock Steel off balance. The assassin expected this, however, and guided Riku's blade to the right with the dagger in his right hand, while the other dagger came in from the left to try and take out Riku's arm. Riku caught the other boy's arm and used his own momentum to throw him to the ground. Steel improvised, though, and brought Riku down with him.

The two warriors rolled away from each other and resumed circling. This is going to be a tough fight, Riku realized as the assassin came in to strike again.

"Our master has been waiting for you. Follow us." The two black knights that stood in front of Axel turned and opened the giant doors. Axel followed them into a giant throne room, about the size of a whole floor in Castle Oblivion, which was dimly lit by torches that lined the walls. Under each torch were chains, many of which still held the remains of their latest captives. There were a few that held live captives, but these prisoners were too weak to say anything. Axel knew that the ruler of this world was extremely barbaric, but also knew that if you called him that you would be the next person in those chains. When they made it to the throne, the knights motioned Axel forward and told him to speak.

"The battle between Sephiroth and Riku didn't bring the expected results, Master." Axel hoped that the man sitting in front of him wouldn't blame him for this, but chances were good that this would happen.

"And the battle with Steel?" The man speaking sat on an obsidian throne, with no light shining directly on him. The little light that did make it to him from the torches lit only his legs from the knee down, and cast even deeper shadows on the rest of him.

"It is still in progress. Our assassin doesn't seem to be living up to his reputation." Axel had guessed that the torches had been placed this way so that they would cast deep shadows on the Master. They made him even more intimidating than he would be in full light, and they hid his face so that you couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"It is good that he is taking a while during this fight. Since everything is going according to plan, you may leave in peace, Axel. But don't forget: If this fails, you will be the one paying for it." The man leaned forward when he said this, and Axel saw two glowing red eyes piercing the darkness and boring into his soul.

"Yes, Master."

Will this guy ever give up? Riku wondered. They had been fighting for three hours straight, and both were nearly collapsing.

He is not your enemy.

How many times are you going to lie to me? This guy is trying to kill me, and you're telling me not to fight him?

Yes.

Riku knew that if this fight lasted any longer, both of them would faint and if the other guy woke up first, then he would probably kill Riku in his sleep. So he decided that he would listen to the voice in the back of his head and retreat. Riku waited until he was in between Steel and the doorway to the castle then gunned it, hoping that he could outrun him long enough to open a gate to darkness and return to Castle Oblivion.

Steel saw Riku turn and run, so he tried to chase him. He took a few strides then his legs gave out, collapsing from exhaustion.

"I won't let you escape! I will chase you through every world you go to until I get her back!" Steel started to crawl after him, but instead used the last bit of energy he had and fainted.

Riku looked at the limp form on the ground. Who did I take from him? Yuffie? Riku thought, wondering if he had been Yuffie's girlfriend back on her world. If that was it, then he could have her for all Riku cared. He might even bake a cake for them the let this guy deal with Yuffie while she was on her sugar high.

Riku amused himself with that thought as he used darkness to open a door to Castle Oblivion. This was a one-way ticket, which was why Riku usually used the Twilight Road, but he was hoping that Steel couldn't follow him when he used darkness to travel, giving Riku a head start.

Larxene just happened to be there when he arrived, and greeted him with a look that could have killed someone.

"I thought you had gone to get Namine back." She remarked, eyeing him suspiciously. "Where is she?"

Riku began walking away as though he hadn't heard her.

"I just asked you a question. You are supposed to answer me." Larxene grabbed Riku's shoulder and spun him around.

Riku brushed her hand off and took a step back. "You aren't my superior, Larxene, which means I don't have to do anything for you. So unless you want to answer to Diz, you will let me go and not bother me anymore until after my mission is complete." Riku continued walking, despite Larxene yelling something about the chain of command.

He got to his room and walked over to the bag that was sitting on the floor in the middle of it. He quickly rummaged through it to make sure it had everything he needed. Elixirs, Hi-potions, tents, water, and emergency food. Yup, it was all there.

Riku picked it up, then looked at his bed longingly. Just a few hours of sleep wouldn't hurt, right? No, he had to get going. He could sleep all he wanted when he got back.

If I get back.

Ok, well there you are. Sorry I didn't include more of the battle between Riku and Steel, but this fic is still rated PG.

Thanks for the reviews, everybody.

Khobsessed-13 Thanks for pointing that out to me. I didn't realize that the site was taking out the stars I put there, lol.

Metal Chopsticks I know what you mean about the room... might have Sephiroth destroy the whole world later on... lol. Right, Steel is not bhk and he is looking for Namine.

Namine3419 I'm glad you like it, lol. That was probably one of the best lines I've ever come up with.

Well, thanks for reading everybody. Review and let me know what you think of this chapter, since it won't be the last time Steel and Riku fight each other.