Disclaimer: I don't own KH 2.
Summary of the last chapter:
Mina took Riku on a shopping spree, after which he treated her to lunch. Both were enjoying their day off until their peace was interrupted. The interruption turned out to be King Mickey, who seemed oddly hurried. He recognized Riku after some deliberation and was excited to tell Sora that he was alright, but Riku forced him to swear secrecy. After the King abided by his friend's wishes, he left, leaving Mina and Riku to continue with their story.
Chapter 4
Journey's Beginning
Mina grabbed the Lockblade, ready to fight the oncoming Nobodies. The cold steel of her weapon was not what made her flinch, however, but the feeling her sword gave her. She felt a terrific blood lust come upon her, over-ruling her common sense. One creature after another fell victim to her blade, and she felt no remorse, not pity, no mercy.
The feeling of blood on her exposed arms and the scream that was never completed told her she had accidentally slain a human. But, was it truly an accident? She looked at the man before her, writhing on the ground in torturous agony. No emotion except a vague shadow of content was in her. She did not even deal a mercy blow, to end his suffering. She watched him choke on his life's blood and die a slow, shameful, needless death on the ground.
With no enemies left to fight, the Lockblade disappeared. Her clouded, ruby-colored eyes began to focus, and realization attacked her unwilling mind. She felt a single drop of rain flow from her elbow to her palm on her right side. Glancing over, she wondered why the rain was suddenly so red, and why none fell from the sky…
Riku walked into Mina's room, not bothering to knock on the door. His hood had been pulled back, revealing his intimidating features. He was about to wake her so she would be prepared for the battle to come, but stopped when he glimpsed her. The covers were wrapped around her like a cocoon of white. While her body was virtually motionless, the noise that escaped her mouth astounded him. She was whimpering, like a frightened child who'd just gotten beat with the metal part of its father's belt. Every few breaths or so, she would shudder. Other than that, she continued to sound as if someone were killing her, but she did not thrash or even roll over.
"See?" The cloaked figure taunted, "You have controlled the Lockblade's inner darkness so far, but how much longer can it go on? This is your destiny, to kill like a mindless servant of the shadows. Soon, you will be as free-willed as a chained dog."
"You'd like that, wouldn't you Xemnas? If I got rid of the Lockblade, it would be all yours, isn't that right?" She tried to sound confident, but her voice shook. What had she done? Was it true? Was she really so weak that darkness could control her so swiftly?
"You should hand it over little girl. That is no toy for a child." His tone mocked her, which gave her a little bit of confidence. More than likely, he was feeding her lies to gain back his treasured tool.
"No, I won't. The Lockblade choose me for a reason! I'm not sure of what it is yet, but I trust Riku, he'll help me, I know it! He's searching, as am I." Xemnas chuckled dryly and ran at her, ready to slay her. "Riku cannot be trusted…"
"Mina… Mina… wake up Mina…"
"Riku…"
"Wake up already!" Riku shook her frame again, feeling a wave of relief as she opened first one eyes, then the other. He'd been afraid maybe she was sick or something worse. However, seeing her groan at him and turn over, he was liberated of his worries; she was fine. Minami hated getting up in the morning, especially when someone woke her up. Surprisingly, the first thing she said was G-rated and didn't involve her ripping his genitals off.
"Good morning Ansem. What's the rush?"
"Today is the day Sora will awaken. Namine has made her move, so we must make ours, or so says DiZ. Today, things get interesting. Now hurry up and get dressed, or are you backing out?" She punched him lightly on the arm and he nodded, getting her drift. "Meet me at the mansion gates in 20 minutes."
"Yes sir Commander You'd-Better-Be-On-Time-Or-I'll-Be-Helpless-Without-You."
The mirth in his eyes made her grin. "You'd better, Lieutenant My-Head's-Getting-Too-Big-To-Fit-Through-The-Door." He left without hearing her comeback, eager to get on with the plans. Today was what they'd been working towards, but a thought in the back of his head still worried him, what would he do after Sora was revived?
Riku watched Roxas run through the mansion's gate and saw the Nobodies gathering outside, ready to stop him. His expression became a frown, her eyebrows wrinkling with distaste. If that happened, Sora would not awaken. His debt would remain unpaid. He would lose his best friend. There was no way in hell that was happening. There's no way you white husks will ruin all of the effort I put into this.
The shadows opened the way for Riku to stop the Nobodies with his weapon. Right on cue, Mina arrived. "Ready for some practice?"
"Let's just hurry." Riku would usually not have been so firm with the younger girl, but now was not the time to mess around. Even one slip up could ruin everything Riku had hoped for, worked for, sacrificed for. He lashed Soul Eater out at the Dusk that was approaching him and growled when it avoided his attack. Continuing to chase after the Nobody until it was defeated; he had no time to watch over Minami. The only clues he received that he was not alone were the sound of footsteps and Mina's blade whistling through the air as she got to work as well. They fought seamlessly, covering the other when needed and never interfering with an attack. They played on their strengths and covered weakness so easily that it was as if they believed themselves perfect. Riku had power and strength galore, and Mina was swift on her feet, while Riku's defense was poor and Mina hated to get to close to her enemy.
Working together, they made a terrific duo. The lithe girl corralled the Nobodies into a group and Riku steamrolled them with strength, defeating them. It was like a dance, every move previously rehearsed and polished until it was missing only music and an audience. They did not need to signal the other or communicate with language of any sort, an amazing feat indeed.
There was a flaw in their brilliant display, however. The Nobodies were easily defeated, but their numbers were countless. For every Dusk that disappeared, ten more seemed to replace it. Riku threw a potion to Mina, who was visibly relieved to feel the cool green magic rejuvenate her tired muscles. He could go longer, but Riku knew she was pushing her limits. If the enemy numbers had been thinning in the least, Riku was sure he would press his luck and go for total victory. However, with Mina ready to collapse of exhaustion and other business to take care of, it seemed they would resort to plan B.
"C'mon, let's go. DiZ should be far enough in his plan that we are no longer needed here." He glanced over at her, raising his weapon to shield himself from an attacking foe. He realized now that he had sweat coating his face and his breath was becoming ragged.
"Okay, if you can't handle the pressure…" She hated seeming so weak, but fighting was far newer to her than to Riku. Her shirt was soaked with sweat and her chest heaved with the effort it took to bring down two additional Dusks. They were about her size, maybe even bigger when at full height and could keep up with her quick, unpredictable movements.
"C'mon." He would have loved to contradict her, but he had no time. The stone was rolling, the ball was in motion. They had a time limit and any distractions would cause almost certain failure. Of course, the Nobodies had to be held off but DiZ should be far enough by now that they could join him without fear of jeopardizing the mission. Grabbing her sagging shoulder, the darkness surrounded them and carried them to DiZ's location.
The room was bright beyond description. Almost everything seemed to be so blinding white, such a pure, untainted white. Except for the pictures on the walls, they were full of color, as if they would burst into life any minute, just jump of the walls and envelope the mansion's inhabitants. Just pull them into those moments in colored pencil…
"Roxas!" Namine called out to her friend. Riku glanced at her as DiZ snatched the Nobody by her arm. However, he was not grabbing Namine, he was grabbing Kairi. Her red locks looked like silk in the sunlight and her eyes looked at Riku, innocent and fun loving.
"Namine!" Roxas' voice, Sora's body. He could see it so clearly, his friend standing their, calling for Kairi and abandoning him. Being left alone again, vulnerable to falling into darkness forever…nobody to pull him back into the light. That was what would happen a voice inside told him. They would leave him; abandon him like before.
"Ansem!" Mina's voice snapped him into the present and he took a firm hold on reality-in which Namine and Roxas were conversing, not Kairi and Sora. A put a gloved hand over the girl's mouth and shoved her into the darkness. Slowly, the memory witch began to fade, leaving Roxas with the promise that they would meet again. How foolish, it seemed, to say such feeble things.
All three beings vanished in the blink of an eye, Riku and Minami returning to Twilight Town. It was still frozen in time, giving them peace and privacy. It was the only place they really had to go for the moment and both felt oddly anxious for the other to speak. Mina broke the silence first, unable to bear it any longer.
"So, guess you don't need me no more, huh? Now that Sora's coming around again." Mina tried to sound impassive about it, but she knew the disappointment and worry was plain for her companion to read. She had always had something to do around Riku, either helping revive his friend or taking care of the boy himself.
"No, actually, I've been thinking about something else. DiZ's goals are no longer similar to mine; he wants only revenge for some reason or another. I want something else, though I can't quite pinpoint what that would be yet…"
Mina's eyes lit up. "Are you open to suggestions?"
"Maybe…it depends…" Typical Riku answer for you. Man, did he have an issue, or was he biased against yes or no answers? God, it made all her questions five times longer than they would have been had they been directed to a normal person.
"Well," these words were soft but firm; Mina's mind was made up, "I don't know what you want to do, but I've been thinking about going on a journey of my own. Do you remember what DiZ said about the Lockblade?"
Indeed, he remembered it clearly…
"DiZ…" The addressed looked over his shoulder at the girl requesting his attention. Her gaze was on him, but she was not seeing him, she was seeing past him. Her eyes were thoughtful as she tapped her fingers against the wall in a quiet, steady rhythm.
"Yes?"
"Do you know anything about this?" She blinked and left her eyelids to conceal her gaze. Her face screwed up in concentration and her hand flashed out to the side. An angry black glow surrounded the fist and formed into her weapon. He had seen her use it and knew she had not had it for very long. Her movements with it were shaky and unsure at best. Of course, he'd only known her a day.
"I believe it's called a Lockblade. I know little of it but that it is powerful and evil. It's said that it drives those who use it for evil into insanity. And those who have tried to purify it…" He paused, "They were killed by its power. Never have I heard of any one person to wield it for long. There are those that claim if purified, it could be stronger than the Keyblade. In fact, some believe the Keyblade was originally another Lockblade that was purified by Kingdom Hearts. Of course, Kingdom Hearts is gone, so the Lockblade will always be dark. It'd be best to get rid of it, or at least stop bothering me about it."
Mina snorted; some help he was. She ran her finger down its flat edge and sighed, gripping the red and black hilt as a mother cat might grab the scruff of a troublesome kitten. She looked at it with mixed feelings before letting go of it. Now that the weapon realized it would not be needed, it vanished back into the darkness.
Riku watched it all without a sound and shook his head. Something told him that he was right to dislike that weapon. His eyes narrowed and he turned away, leaving the other two in easy silence.
"Which is why you should get rid of the damn thing." Riku looked at her with a look that said he was dead serious and a force to be reckoned with. He knew Mina would not go off on her own and he didn't wan tot be near the Lockblade.
"No, it's why I want to purify it. I know it's possible, if so many have tried to do it. Who needs Kingdom Hearts?" She could be just as stubborn as he could and stuck out her chin boldly. The silence was overpowering as they just looked at each other.
"They say the first Keyblade was formed from a Lockblade. Maybe if we purified it, it could aid Sora to defeat Organization XIII. You know that's what he'll try to do, if he's like DiZ told me." She bit her lip, hoping desperately that she'd said the right thing to persuade him.
Riku glared at her, angry that she used that against him. Sora would go after the Organization, and Riku needed to help. But what if his efforts turned out to be fruitless? However, what if Mina was right? He mulled over the pros and cons as the town began to react to something or other.
"Fine."
"Yay! Let the journey begin!"
Hey, we have a plot now! From here on out, the story will hardly follow the game's plot-as it is about Riku and Mina and not Sora, Donald, and Goofy-but you will see some familiar things. I'm happy with my reviews and hope I continue to receive them!
