Disclaimer: Do I have to repeat myself? I don't own Final Fantasy, Breath of Fire or Kingdom Hearts. BOF belongs to Capcom and FF and KH belong to Square-Enix. If I did own them, then Deis would appear in Dragon Quarter and Riku would have made more Kingdom Hearts appearances.
Anyway, I haven't been able to update much because of exams. So, to compromise, I have sent in two (yes, two!) chapters! Aren't you guys lucky?
Well, that's my little speech for the chapter done. Enjoy the next two parts of this fic!
He sat, crouched behind a curtain…waiting until the two young blond men were out of sight. When the coast was clear, he stepped behind the curtain. They did not look like members of the Empire…but still, he had to be cautious.Riku slowly came out from his hiding place and quietly made his way down the corridor. Where were Sora and Nina? They were supposed to return to the storage room in two hours! The boy looked at his watch. It was nearly three hours since he had last seen his friends. Sora did say tell him to look for them if they were not back in two hours. Therefore, it was okay for him to go and look for them now, wasn't it?
Riku crept down the corridor, his stick in his hand. He knew that it was probably not a good enough weapon to fight against a bunch of guards with guns, if he ever did get into that situation, but what else could he use that was more threatening?
He heard voices coming down the corridor. He looked around for a place to hide and realised that he had to resort to the curtains again.
Peering through the curtains, he saw Mr Argul walking with a tall blond man in his mid-twenties. Riku had never seen him before…whoever it was, he looked like a general of some sort.
"It's alright, Bosch…" Mr Argul said to the general. "We have two men guarding the dragon. If there are indeed intruders, then they will no longer be able to get to the dragon, will they?"
"…I guess not, Sir," the general grumbled.
"Now…don't give me that look, Bosch. As I told you, you need some sleep. You have had a hard day…" and with that, Mr Argul turned and made his way down the corridor.
When Mr Argul was out of sight and hearing, Bosch cursed and spat on the ground.
"How dare he talk to me like that! I, Bosch, of the well-respected De'Ver family, I who have risen high in the ranks of the Suverian army to become a general, I who have won the utmost respect of the Empress Surenka and have become betrothed to her stepdaughter! I will not tolerate that kind of behaviour!"
Geez…what a loser, Riku thought. How the hell did he win the respect of the Empress with that attitude?
Scowling, Bosch turned to follow Mr Argul. He walked two or three steps…and then stopped. He looked around.
"…it's that smell again," Bosch said loudly to himself. "Where is it coming from?" He turned towards the curtain.
Oh, crap, Riku thought. He was in for it now. What could he do? Riku quickly looked out of the window in desperation. There was no way he could climb out. It was too dark to see how far he could climb down. And what if somebody else saw him?
Bosch walked slowly towards the curtain, his rapier in his right hand. He grabbed the curtain and pulled it open instantly.
Riku froze.
An evil grin spread across Bosch's face. "Hmm…I think we've found our intruder."
Two days before Sora left Treno…
"So, there was an intruder?" Mr Argul asked Bosch, two days after Sora and Nina had rescued Ryu from the castle.
"Yeah, some stupid kid," Bosch smirked. "Silver hair, in his mid teens. Hiding behind the curtain."
Mr Argul looked thoughtful. Silver hair…in mid teens…sounded somewhat familiar to him.
"He smelt really bad as well, as if he had been in the sewers!" Bosch said, with a mocking laugh.
"….and he was alone?"
"I found him alone. Whether he had companions elsewhere in the castle or not is a mystery to me, but I intend to find out now."
It had been two days since Riku was discovered by Bosch. However, Bosch did not have the time to talk to him as he was too busy sending out scouts to look for that boy with the Keyblade. Bosch wondered if that silver-haired kid knew anything about him.
"Well, don't kill accidentally him, Bosch. He might have important information on not only the dragon's wherebouts, but also that of the two Keyblade Warriors'" Mr Argul told him firmly.
Bosch nodded.
"Don't forget, the Empress will be most displeased with us when she finds out that the dragon is missing," Mr Argul pointed out.
"Yes, she certainly is displeased, Jarves," a female voice called from behind them.
Mr Argul and Bosch instantly turned around. Standing before them was a tall young and incredibly beautiful woman. Her long silky blue hair fell down to her waist. She wore a long white dress with a gold pendant around her neck. The woman was slim and dainty looking. Her eyes were a mysterious red colour, which was glaring right at them.
"Your majesty!" Mr Argul cried before bowing down to the woman. "I did not realise that you were here!" Bosch also bowed down to the woman in respect.
"You never realise when I'm there, Jarves," the woman muttered. "Anyway, from what I have overheard, our little dragon has escaped."
Mr Argul lowered his head. "I am sorry, your Majesty."
"Sorry? Is that all you can say?" the Empress asked him in a stern voice. "Didn't you have the entrance well-guarded?"
"I am afraid that somebody had discovered our secret entrance, Empress," Mr Argul replied. "When we returned, we found the passageway open, but the dragon was still there. I left two well-trained guards in front of the entrance but when I returned to them, they were unconscious."
The woman started cursing at Mr Argul. Mr Argul looked down at the floor in regret. Bosch smiled. It was now his turn to say something.
"Your majesty, do not fret, we still may be able to locate the dragon……and even a Keyblade Warrior," he declared.
The Empress turned around.
"The night the dragon disappeared, I discovered somebody who had sneaked into the castle."
"Really, Bosch? Who was this?"
"It was a boy……silver hair, aquamarine eyes. Looked around sixteen or seventeen."
The Empress looked at Bosch. "And you suppose…..this boy has some connection with the dragon and the Keyblade Warrior?"
Bosch nodded.
"Well, have you found any out information from him yet?"
"I intend to now, your Majesty."
The Empress smiled. "Well, go then," she ordered. "Find out as much as you can from him."
"Be careful with him, Bosch," Mr Argul warned him. Bosch sneered at him.
"He has a point, Bosch," the Empress added. "We won't find out anything if you kill him. I know how you used to treat the dragon. Maybe you scared the dragon off."
Bosch would have punched her instantly if she were not the Empress. Instead, though, he gave both her and Mr Argul a look of anger before departing.
It was a dark, cold and murky cell. The walls were of a dark stone colour, just like the rest of the castle. The floor was a hard, gravel-covered surface. Therefore, Riku could not sleep without waking up with scratches and sores. Although he had only spent two nights in the cell, it felt like weeks. Nobody had come to him, save the jailer to give him food.
And so Riku remained in his small, dark and lonely cell, reflecting on what had happened. How could he be so stupid, sneaking into the castle like that! Why could he not write to the king of Wyndia instead of involve his friends in an incredibly dangerous mission to uncover the darkest secrets of the most powerful kingdom in the world?
Well, he found out one thing – there was a dragon, somewhere in the castle. He was not sure where, though.
Just then, the door had opened and Bosch stepped in, with that evil grin on his face that Riku saw two nights previously. His eyes were fixed on Riku, telling him that whatever he wanted, it was not going to be good. Finally, Bosch spoke.
"Well, well…..a bit dark and cold in here, isn't it?"
Riku could tell that this was not an expression of sympathy and gave Bosch a cold glare.
"You know, it wasn't very smart of you to come sneaking into the castle like that," Bosch taunted at Riku before suddenly grabbing him and thrusting him against the hard stone wall. He then slapped the boy.
"Well, what did you find out, then?" Bosch sneered before then dropping Riku to the ground. "What did you discover when you went on your little adventure?"
Riku did not answer. He was still recovering from the shock of being pressed against the wall (he was surprised that Bosch had not broken his spine with a such a force) and the sharp pain on his face.
"Well, answer me, you punk!" Bosch shouted.
"What the….hell…."
"I can make it worse if you don't give me a decent answer, boy!" Bosch told him. "I know what you've been up to…..okay, I'll give you another question – where's the dragon?"
He said 'where'.
"You and a few others came here two nights ago…..and that same night, something precious to the Empire went missing."
"Something precious…..the dragon?"
Bosch smirked. "Ah…so you do know about the dragon, then? Well then, tell me where he is!"
The dragon has disappeared? To where? Whatever happened to it, this was good news to Riku….maybe the Empire will not attack Wyndia after all….
"WHERE IS THE DRAGON, BOY?"
Mr Argul suddenly came walking in. "I told you, Bosch……don't be too hard on…." He stopped the moment he saw Riku.
"W-well…….good lord! That's…..is that you, Riku?"
Riku recognised Mr Argul's voice instantly and looked up at him.
"You know this brat?" Bosch asked Mr Argul.
"He is one of my students," Mr Argul answered. "He and his friends went missing two days ago. One of them was the Princess of Wyndia and the other was the Keyblade Warrior, Sora."
Sora and Nina had escaped? Well, at least they were safe, Riku thought.
"Oh," Bosch said, before turning back to Riku. "Well, Sir Argul, the boy won't give me a decent answer as to where the dragon is. I am sure he knows……the Keyblade Warrior was last seen with the dragon, when Scarlet found them yesterday."
Mr Argul bent over to Riku. "Riku, if you answer our questions, then you can return to school and we can hush up this incident once and for all." He smiled in his rather sinister way which Riku really did not like.
"…I don't know, sir," Riku was finally able to answer.
Bosch kicked him where it hurts, causing Riku to groan in pain. "Don't lie, kid! Your friends disappeared along with the dragon! Now, I am going to tell you this – you must be pretty brave – and stupid – to lie to the great General Bosch!"
"Stupid?" Mr Argul asked. "Riku's one of the smartest boys in his class. Stubborn, yes….but certainly not stupid. Especially as he and his friends have found a way to sneak into the castle without the guards knowing about it."
Bosch decided to ignore this comment and turned to Riku. "Now, tell me for the last time – where is the dragon?"
"And I'll tell you again – I don't know!" Riku nearly shouted. With that response, Bosch motioned his hands and Riku cried out in pain as he was hit with bolts of lightning.
"Bosch, what did I say…" Mr Argul began.
Bosch continued to ignore him and started to motion his hands. Within moments, Riku found himself being hit with a ball of fire. Bosch started to laugh, but only for a few seconds…
His laughter was stopped when something incredibly sharp slashed across his stomach, causing him to step back. He found that blood was dripping from his clothes. Whatever had swiped at him, it had hurt him so much that he fell onto his knees.
"….Wh….what happened…..Sir Argul…..did you….." Bosch did not finish his sentence. As he looked up, he saw something that made him gasp in horror.
Riku was standing up, with a look of rage in his eyes. He was holding something in his hand….it was long, black, with black handles at the side……and shaped like a key….
"The boy had what?"
The Empress was talking to Mr Argul, in the Grand Hall. She was sitting on one of the wooden chairs at the large table. Mr Argul was sitting next to her.
"A black key, your Majesty," Mr Argul replied. "It had magically appeared into his hands when Bosch attacked him."
The Empress smiled at this. "And….this boy….did he also disintegrate the Slave Collar?"
"No, he didn't your Majesty," Scarlet said. She was sitting on the other side of the Empress. "That was another boy. A boy with brown spiky hair and a silver key who was with Princess Nina of Wyndia."
"Did you ask the rebel that you captured in Treno about the boy with the silver key, Scarlet?"
"Not yet, your Majesty….but I intend to this evening…"
The Empress decided to forget about Locke for the moment. "So….. this boy…the one that freed the dragon… goes by the name 'Sora', doesn't he?"
"He certainly does," was Scarlet's reply. "At least, that is what the Princess of Wyndia called him."
Mr Argul nodded. It was certainly Sora, the boy whom he accepted Sir Argul's school. So…….Riku and Sora, two of the five keys that he had been searching for years, had been studying at his school all the time – and he did not know! Mr Argul would have laughed at this, if he were not in a meeting with the Empress.
The Empress looked thoughtful. At last, she knew the identities of the two Keyblade Warriors. And she had caught one of them already. Now, all she needed to do was to find Sora…….and three summoners….
"Your majesty," Scarlet said. "Shouldn't we use that spare slave collar on Riku? Just so that he won't escape…"
The Empress shook her head. "It won't work, Scarlet. That collar only works on dragons. But I see your point…..now that we have one Keyblade Warrior, we can't have him running away, can we?"
"I think I have an idea, my dear Empress," Mr Argul said thoughtfully.
The Empress turned to him. "You have? Are you sure it will work? We don't want another screw-up like you did when the dragon disappeared, Jarves."
"I assure you, your Majesty, that this time I will not make a mistake," Mr Argul answered him. "You see, although Riku lives in Wyndia, he is not a Wyndian or a member of the winged tribe, for that matter."
"Oh, and what does that have to do with your plan?" The Empress asked, puzzled.
"Well, you see, Riku was originally from the Suverian Empire himself, but he left his home in the village Takerin at quite a young age…"
"So, where are you from?" Sora asked Yuna.
"Well…..at the moment, I live in the city of Bevelle at the moment," she replied. "But I travel a lot, so I don't stay in the same place more than three years or so. Hopefully, that will change soon, however, when I get married."
They were still walking on the road. It was three hours since they had left the bandit forest. They left Treno at midday and the sun was beginning to come down.
"We should be in the town soon," Zidane told them. "I guess that we get a boat tomorrow morning."
"Agreed," Nina said. "I am getting really tired."
"Yeah, and I don't know if Ryu is gonna handle the journey, either," Zidane added as he was looking at Ryu.
"I'm okay," Ryu said.
"Really, Ryu? Well, to tell the truth, you don't look tired – but when I was your age, I would have probably passed out by now, with the distance we've been walking!"
Ryu was unsure what he meant.
"Hey, why are you staring at me like that?" Zidane protested. "It was a compliment!"
A compliment. This made Ryu feel uneasy. It was not that he did not like what Zidane said, but….nobody had talked to him like that before….
The town of Lyp was not much bigger than a village. It consisted of groups of wooden houses, huddled together. Zidane told the others that he knew that there was an inn, as he had been here before many times. Zidane lived in Treno….or he used to, until his hideout was discovered.
As Sora gazed at the fishing boats, he reminded himself of the fishing boats that used to harbour in his town. They would set sail every day, out to sea to collect fish, and then returning to the harbour in the evening
He was not keen on fishing, but the thought of the boats made Sora feel happy. He remembered sitting on the pier with Kairi, watching the boats come in and out. Sora knew that Kairi would have received his letter by now. He really hoped that she was not angry with him.
"Come on, daydreamer! Are you going to make us wait for you?" Nina called out to him. Sora jumped and saw that she and the others were standing outside a rather large wooden house, with a sign on the door which said 'Lyp Hotel'. He ran up to them and they went to the inn…..
To be continued…
Okay, I know that the sections with Sora, Ryu and the others were short. They'll get a bigger section next time! Read and review! Flames are welcome!
Wow, another reviewer! Thanks Dragonien and Shikamaru! Don't worry, I am not abandoning this fanfic! I was just waiting for at least one more review in order to update.
