NOTE: Sorry it took so long guys, I've been extremely busy lately.
CHAPTER 8:
Hakujou and Lirael stepped out onto the rooftop of the facility and looked around. The silver hared newcomer was standing close to the edge of the rail, looking out across the landscape that the group had skimmed over to land earlier. He appeared to be looking for something, but they couldn't see what it was for the life of them.
He turned as they approached and lent on the rail, waving them over. "Well timed, it looks like I'll need our help for this."
"And why should we help you?" Hakujou retorted quickly as she came to a stop just in front of him. The pretty winged-girl seemed incredibly annoyed and her disdain for the man was evident from the way in which she addressed him, her normal casual attitude had vanished to be replaced by a harsher tone.
"Come now Hakujou, you know as well as I do that I wouldn't have hung around to be found if it weren't important." He retorted quickly, then focused his attention on Lirael.
Stomping her foot and huffing to herself, Hakujou waited to see what would happen next. She knew the history between the pair of them better than most, and resented being so easily ignored in the face of it. After all, it was his fault that things had gone awry.
But Lirael wasn't looking at either of them, her attention seemed to be focused upon a spot hanging just outside of reach in mid-air. There didn't appear to be anything special about it, yet something tugged at the edge of her senses when she glanced over it. A warm feeling that was comparable to finding something thought lost for good.
One hand glittered for a second, and the keyblade appeared unbidden. Slowly raising it towards the space, there was an explosion of light for a brief moment, and as if a curtain had been removed, a large keyhole appeared in that spot.
Yet not like any keyhole ever seen before, this appeared to be a kink in regular space, a keyhole shaped light that floated above the ground and appeared to possess more dimensions that any object should. As if in a trance, Lirael stared at it unblinking.
"The Keyblade was made to seal worlds from the Heartless. To do that a keyhole on each world must be closed in order to prevent their entry." The newcomer explained to the pair of them, but they weren't really listening.
As he spoke Lirael raised the blade again and a thin stream of light shot silently from the tip of her blade, piercing the keyhole dead centre. The light expanded to encompass everything for a second, and forced Hakujou to close her eyes against the glare, and then she could have sworn she heard a faint clicking sound before the hole vanished.
"With that done there should only be a few Heartless left to mop up here." He announced proudly and turned to move off whilst their attention was distracted, but Hakujou caught him by the shoulder and spun him around on the spot.
"Not so fast Riku!" she called, and held him in place. "Where do you think you're going? You think that you can just burst back onto the scene like that vanish again? You've got some answering to do buddy."
Riku looked over her shoulder at Lirael, who was still in a daze as she looked at the spot where the keyhole had appeared. As if coming out of a dream, she seemed to slowly come back to her senses, and for the first time since arriving on the roof, realised that he was there.
She blushed a little, "Riku . . ." she whispered the name.
Not so long ago the pair of them had been lovers, inseparable from each other. Each had given the bother their heart and promised to always be there for the other, and they had been happy. But then suddenly and without warning he had vanished, leaving no message or clue as to his destination. The following tide of emotion had almost crippled her, leaving her both lonely and vulnerable.
That had been two years ago, and now he had wondered back into her life without a word and expected to take off again without an explanation of why.
Hakujou had been her friend and confident even back then, she had seen first hand the damage his leaving had done her, and had resolved never to let it happen again.
"I don't need to explain myself to you." Riku replied curtly, and brushed the girl's hand from his shoulder in a smooth motion.
"Hey!" She responded, taking a threatening step forwards as he took one back.
"I did what I thought was best."
"You left her alone!"
The pair argued as Lirael watched, herself unable to say a word. It was as if her mind had gone completely blank. Here before her was a man that she had loved above all others, but who had simply vanished one day without a word. She should hate him for it, but some rebellious part of her heart had leapt the moment she had realised who was kissing her. She could not deny that she loved him still, but the sight of him brought with it a feeling of pain at the betrayal he had shown.
"I'm gone!" he spat, spinning on the spot and stalking off, ignoring the abuse Hakujou was hurling his way as he walked towards the stairs back into Balmb.
One hand on the knob, he was about to disappear again forever. It was perhaps that fear that prompted Lirael to call his name aloud, and to her surprise he froze in place.
"Riku . . ." she repeated again and this time he visibly shivered.
"Don't . . . don't ask me to stay," he replied after a moment that stretched on forever. The hand on the door was gripping the knob so tight that his knuckles were turning white. "Don't ask me, I need to do this."
"Why?" she heard herself ask, as if somebody else were using her lips.
He didn't move from the spot, still standing in the same way as when they had begun, but she could see him begin to waver slightly.
"Because I am doing this for you. Because there are secrets that you can't tell me and without them I can't keep you safe. That's why I left, I had to discover the truth for myself before I could commit myself into your service."
"I never asked for your service, only your love."
He sagged as if defeated and let the hand on the door slide to his side. "You always had that." He whispered.
"Then stay with me," she reached out a hand towards him, the gap between them feeling like it spanned time instead of space. Without a word he turned to look at her and for the first time she saw the sense of longing in his eyes that was heart wrenching. Even Hakujou didn't say anything, she had stepped away from the pair respectfully, giving them the time and space they needed.
He looked at her hand, and she could see the sea of emotions that waged beneath the surface. Every ounce of his being wanted to take her hand, but there was something holding him back. He took a step towards her, hands clenched by his sides.
"I need to know, is there a place for me?" He asked.
"Always." She replied, and almost as she spoke the words she found herself in his arms again, crying as he embraced her. His hands held her tightly to his chest and she couldn't breathe, but she wouldn't have it any other way. It was like a part of herself had been restored and everything was right with the world.
Standing to one side, Hakujou watched the strange reunion and was forced to wonder quite what Reno was going to think when he saw that Riku was back in the picture.
Bobbing face down in the pool, Knave could feel his strength ebbing away. Unable to breathe he was running out of time, but he couldn't muster the energy to roll onto his back, everything hurt so badly.
Common, he thought to himself, if you don't move soon you're going to drown.
But another part of him thought, would that be so bad?
Since waking up in Traverse Town he had seen nothing but violence and been nothing but a pawn in the affairs of others. His own goals, it seemed meant little in the scale of things, and he had awoken into a nightmare of men and monsters. Would it really be so bad to let himself die? After all, it wasn't as if he had anything to loose.
No past, no memories, nothing.
Blood had seeped into the water, he could taste it. How many places had the glass cut him when he went through that screen? Perhaps he would die of those wounds even if he did somehow find the strength to get out of the water.
Then an image of Lirael swum through his mind, and Reno's promise to kill her replayed in his head. She needed to be warned, everybody thought that the Turk was just another one of them and he would use that fact to get close to her before delivering the finishing blow. Somebody had to head him off before he got there, and he was the only one who knew the truth.
Slowly, with great effort, one hand broke the surface and gripped the statue in the centre of the fountain. A second later the other followed suit and with a rush he pulled himself up out of the water, a rush of air reaching his lungs as he gasped and spluttered.
The light seemed brighter than it should, and it stung his eyes for a moment. Tenuously he rubbed them until he could see again, then took stock of the situation.
Things weren't as bad as he had feared, the glass had indeed cut him, but none of the wounds were fatal. He'd not been shot or broken anything either, though his left arm hurt like hell from the fall. Beside the fountain, his sword was lying buried hilt-up in the ground.
Swimming to the edge, he pulled himself out and lay in a wet panting heap on the cold metal floor. One hand wrapped around the handle of the blade and pulled it free.
Lirael held tightly of Riku's hand as they descended the stairs back into the building. Returning the way through which they had ascended, it seemed to be a much shorter journey. Or perhaps that was just the way she felt now that she had him back.
With the world now safely locked away from the Heartless, and the stronger of the monsters slain, the lesser breeds had fled. Now all that remained in Balmb Garden were the three of them and their companions waiting downstairs. Power had been returned to most areas, and the bright lighting added to the feeling of security.
She has sealed her first world. It had been easier than she had imagined it would be when Merlin had explained what she had to do to her. Her mission was to travel between the worlds infected by the Heartless one by one and lock their keyholes to make them safe again. Without the ability to bring the Heartless to bear, the one summoning them would be unable to use them as an army, rendering him a far smaller threat.
For the first time since she had set out from Disney Castle, things were beginning to look positive. She had succeeded in her first mission, and she had gained a powerful ally in her fight in the form of Riku. A man who she had never stopped loving even in all of the time they had been apart.
At that thought she squeezed his hand a little tighter, which prompted him to look down at her and smile. She really had missed that smile.
Still smiling, they entered the elevator and headed for the ground floor.
Reno had found himself a comfortable spot not far from the control room where he could get a perfect angle down onto the elevator. Carefully loading his pistol, he took aim on the door just as the indicator light began to tick itself down towards his level.
Narrowing his eyes, he took sight and waited.
Running his tongue around the inside of his mouth he relished the coppery taste of blood that lingered there from his scuffle with Knave. At some point in the battle he had taken a blow to the jaw. Nothing serious, in fact he was surprised that the swordsman hadn't been able to hit him harder, but a clear reminder that he had already removed one obstacle in his path.
A bell chimed lightly as the elevator stopped at the correct floor, and the door began to slide neatly open.
Smiling, Reno lent forwards and began to seek his target.
As the lift door swung open, Lirael brushed up against Riku for a quick hug before leading him out of the cramped interior to the spacious floor beyond.
Her right foot was just about to touch the tiled metal floor when somebody shouted a warning and she was suddenly pulled forcefully off her feet.
Riku, gripping her tightly, pulled her back inside of the lift and spun her around, shielding her with his body and pulling her tight against him as a shot ricochet off of the doorframe. Another shot followed suit quickly, but this one bounced harmlessly off of a magical barrier Hakujou threw up around the entrance.
Somebody was shooting at them, but who? Lirael's eyes tried to follow the bullets back to their source but Riku, who was pressing her into a corner, trying his best to shield her, obstructed her line of sight.
The sound of shots could still be heard, but no bullets were currently hitting the shield. Hakujou, taking one quick glance at the pair of them, stepped forwards out of the lift and yelled at him to close the door behind her. Despite Lirael's protests, his fist slammed down on the control panel and the elevator started to rise.
Glancing around, Hakujou quickly found the source of the shots, and was in time to see a blood soaked Knave hit the ground, his left side riddled with bullets. Towering above him, Reno casually reached inside of his long coat and drew his second pistol, taking careful aim at the fallen man's head.
"You shouldn't have come back." The Turk's voice carried across the distance between them, "picked the wrong ship to catch a lift with buddy!"
But before he could pull the trigger, Knave lashed out with his free hand and grabbed the gun, pulling it to one side and forcing the shot to go wide. Reno laughed and kicked him in the face with his boot, bringing the gun around for another shot. This time the swordsman was too far-gone to fight back.
Hakujou didn't know what was happening, but she was certain that it had been Knave's voice that had warned Riku of the attack. Unable to grasp the situation she did the only thing she could do, casting the first spell that came to mind, she used magic to physically pull the two of them apart. Reno flew back into a wall and stopped, but Knave was unconscious, and slid off of the walkway.
Running forwards, Hakujou leapt up and snagged his limp form out of the air. As she hit the ground again she spun around to keep Reno in her line of sight, but he had already vanished.
Not that it mattered, he couldn't get off of the planet without a ship, and there was no way he'd be able to take off in theirs without a co-pilot. They'd find him soon enough.
In her arms Knave stirred and groaned. He was cut up pretty badly, patches of glass were still sticking out of his skin and his clothes were ripped to shreds. On top of that he had several broken ribs, and bullet wounds covering most of his body.
This was beyond her magic to heal. If he didn't get help soon then Knave was going to die, no two ways about it. Cradling his head in her lap, she cast what minor spells she could to stave off the worst of it, and pushed his mind into an enchanted sleep. The pain must have been terrible, she reasoned, better that he dream.
But even as he lay there, she could see that he was slipping away. By sheer force of will he had lasted this long, to warned them of Reno's treachery. The cause of which would remain a mystery unless they caught him, but she had a pretty good idea.
His breathing coming in short gasps, Hakujou held onto the swordsman tightly as it slowed, and finally stopped.