A/N: Chapter 2 here. Riku and Sora are formally introduced. I'm sure you've noticed, but there will be crossovers in this story (like Gundam Wing/ Final Fantasy) But it will not all take place in the Sanq Kingdom.
I apologize if the characters are OOC, but I'm still getting the hang of this. If you have any pointers, send 'em this way!
Disclaimer: Not mine
"Wait up Riku," scowled Sora, panting to keep up with the taller boy striding briskly in front of him. Riku didn't say anything, but his pace did slow. Sora glanced up at him, "What was that all about?"
Riku shook his head, "Wait until we get back." Sora nodded, and they kept walking silently. They silently slipped into an alleyway. Riku reached out and touched a door that hadn't seemed to be there before, and it swung open, and the two slipped into the room. Sora sighed, lowering his hood, shaking out his unruly brown hair that seemed to spike in every direction.
"I don't know Riku," he commented, turning to the taller figure, "as interesting as that conversation was, it wasn't really anything we didn't know already."
Riku lowered his own hood, turning his shadow-cast sea colored eyes to Sora, "I know," a frown crossed his face, and Sora could practically see his brain working through the darkness. Sometimes Riku thought more than was necessary, and more than was healthy, in Sora's opinion. He watched Riku pull out a strip of black cloth. He had to look away as Riku pulled the cloth over his eyes and knotted it securely in place, "You can turn on the lights now."
Sora nodded sadly, even though Riku couldn't see it, and flicked on a light. Riku winced slightly as the lights came on, but didn't say anything else for a few moments.
"Sora, this is getting us nowhere. We have no leads, and no idea what we're doing this time around," Riku trailed off, "Sora, last time you had leads, allies, you knew what you had to do. This time, we don't even know what the problem is, this time-"
"This time I have you on my side," Sora interrupted, "This time, my best friend will be with me every step of the way. There's nothing we can't figure out together." For a moment, Riku thought Sora was going to just glare at him, but then Sora shot him his cheesiest grin, and even if Riku couldn't see it, he knew it was there, and couldn't help but laugh.
"All right, whatever you say, you're the hero here," snorted Riku.
Sora grinned at him, "So are you, so stop it with the pouting."
"I am not pouting!" Riku sighed, "I'm sorry, you're right, it's just…"
For a moment, Sora's sky blue eyes seemed to dim and the grin slipped, just for a moment, "…Kairi…"
A look of regret crossed Riku's face, he reached out and ruffled Sora's hair affectionately, "Hungry?"
Instantly, Sora's face brightened, "I'm starving!"Riku chuckled and moved past him into the kitchen.
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The morning of the Conference dawned dreary and overcast. Duo had been up for several hours when he snuck his way inside the Royal Complex's walls. This information needed to get to the Princess as soon as possible. He crept down empty halls, avoiding the odd sentry. He almost thought it was too easy; security was oddly lax for such a high-profile event. Especially since…
He froze as the sound of voices and footsteps reached his ears, sweeping from plain sight. The voices approached, and as they grew louder, he was able to identify several familiar ones.
"Really, Highness, I don't see the need for all of this extra security, your Preventers, personal guard, and my own guard is quite enough. The extra soldiers have other tasks they could be seeing to, couldn't they?" Quatre asked the regal young woman walking beside him. To her other side, a young man strode with purpose, focused and alert. To Quatre's other side walked a tall young man, equally alert and focused. Behind them, he could hear Wu Fei grumbling irritably about 'babysitting', and fought back a smile. Wu Fei would complain, but he really didn't mind, he was just hiding the fact that he was glad to see them.
And then there were the guards, completely surrounding all of them. Quatre sighed, it really was unnecessary.
"Well, Mr. Winner, the Parliament insisted on the extra security," the young woman replied.
"Please, Highness, call me Quatre, I think we've known each other long enough."
"Only if you drop the Highness and just call me Relena," the young woman countered, her dark eyes sparkling.
Quatre smiled ruefully, but anything he wanted to say in response was halted when the young man to Relena's right stopped, placing an arm in front of Relena protectively.
"Heero?" she asked, looking concerned.
"There's someone there." With that, Heero, seized the firearm at his side and aimed it at the ceiling and fired.
"Whoa, whoa! Hold it!" and indignant voice shouted from the general vicinity Heero had shot at.
A rustle of cloth and Duo Maxwell landed in the midst of the party, "And here I thought you'd be glad to see me."
The guards raised their weapons at him instantly, but Relena raised her hand in dismissal, "It's all right, at ease." She turned to Duo, "Mr. Maxwell, how do you manage such things?"
Duo beamed at her brightly, "Princess, I only need follow my heart and it leads me straight to you. No obstacle is too great for-"
"Shut up before I shoot you."
"Heero! What's wrong? Jealous? Don't worry, I didn't forget you," with an almost evil grin, Duo bounded up to the blue eyed man with the weapon.
Quatre eyed Heero nervously, knowing that he would indeed pull the trigger, even if Duo was the closest thing to a friend that Heero had ever had. Thinking quickly, Quatre stepped forward, placing his own body between Duo and Heero's gun. Duo didn't miss a beat and all but tackled Quatre in delight, "Q! How have you been?"
Despite himself, Quatre grinned, "I've been well, Duo."
"Awesome! And Trowa! Wu Fei!"
Relena shook her head, a small smile on her face, "Duo, as wonderful as it is to see you again, we do have a great deal to do today, so-"
"I know, and I apologize," Duo turned to her with an unusually serious look, he moved to her, his mouth up to her ear, "Stay away from the conference," her murmured, "Trust me on this."
She turned her eyes to meet his sharply, "Duo," she hissed, but she stopped, his eyes were pleading, there was no hint of a joke in his eyes.
Heero glanced between them, then exchanged looks with Trowa and Wu Fei. Wu Fei was glaring at Duo, and Duo met his eyes, "Trust me," he repeated.
Relena stared at him for a moment longer, and then nodded at Heero. Heero nodded back, "Let's go." He motioned the extra guard to move on without them. They didn't move. Heero's eyes narrowed. "Move," he ground out in a stone cold voice with a glare.
To most people, that glare was reason enough to run in the opposite direction as fast as possible. Coupled with that tone of voice, it was reason enough to do it screaming bloody murder. But the guards stayed.
"Sir, we were told to bring you to the conference hall," the Captain said.
"I'm telling you it's not necessary," Heero responded, a look of irritation beginning to cross his face.
"I'm sorry sir, but those were our explicit orders."
"Your Ruler is ordering you to move."
"The Parliament says otherwise."
Duo watched the exchange with fascination. This guard must have some kind of death wish…
No sooner had Duo thought that, Heero's gun came whipping out again, aimed at the head guard's forehead. Instantly, weapons were trained on Relena, Heero, Quatre, Trowa, Wu Fei, and Duo. Relena's eyes were wide with shock at this blatant betrayal. Slowly, the five young men pulled out weapons, and Duo sighed dramatically, "Just like old times, fighting another losing battle…"
"Hn," responded Heero, and the five young men burst into action. Wu Fei dove in, broadsword drawn. Trowa lashed out with his fists, using his agility, protecting Quatre, who had two long daggers drawn. It was clear that the guards were reluctant to attack Relena, but the boys were sure that in the madness, there was a high possibility of her being injured. Duo wrapped his arms around her waist, and with a bound, and a flash of smoke, disappeared. Almost instantly, the other four boys also made their getaways.
Relena's heart pounded and her breath grew ragged as Duo practically dragged her down the deserted halls. Her mind was racing, she wasn't stupid, and she'd known her grasp on power was slipping, but this… she couldn't believe it. She suddenly realized that Heero had appeared beside them, and he suddenly lifted her and continued running.
"Yo! Over here!" a voice shouted. A young man with wild red hair and an untidy suit was motioning at them wildly.
"Reno!" panted Duo.
"Hurry up, yo!" Reno motioned them after him, and turned down a side hall, disappearing about halfway down the hall. Heero exchanged a glance with Duo, who shrugged and followed the Turk.
"We can trust him."
Heero nodded and they followed Reno through the hidden door, just as the shouts of the guards signaled that they'd just run past.
Duo panted, slumping against the door, "Thanks Reno."
Reno grinned weakly, "'S what I'm here for." He turned to Relena, "Your Highness, sorry I'm late." Duo couldn't help but chuckle. It was the most respect Reno had ever shown anyone in his life, he was sure.
Reno groaned, "I could really use a drink, yo."
It was then that Duo noticed that Trowa, Quatre, and Wu Fei were also present, none looking any worse for the wear.
Heero glanced at the Turk, "What is your division doing?"
Reno shrugged, "I think it's pretty split, we were established by Parliament for Parliament, but most of us are loyal to Your Majesty. Some moved towards Parliament, but Tseng's pissed as hell. He, Rude, and Elena are trying to figure out exactly what's going on. He just told me to get you all here. I'm not entirely sure what's goin' on, but my guess is it's along the lines of a coup."
Duo nodded in agreement, "I overheard something along those lines this morning. Got here as quick as I could."
Reno glared at him, "You're supposed to know about these things before they happen, yo," he complained.
Duo shrugged, "Can't be perfect all the time."
Reno frowned, creeping over to another door Duo hadn't noticed before, pressing his ear up against it. "They need Princess here; we can't stay in the palace."
The others nodded in agreement.
Reno sat quietly, ear pressed against the door for a few more moments, then, looking satisfied, nodded to himself, "Ok, let's go."
The door opened slowly, and Reno pulled out an odd rod-like weapon, flipping a hidden switch. The weapon hummed to life with a crackle of electricity, and Reno slowly stepped outside. The five young men surrounded Relena, and cautiously followed Reno out.
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Sora yawned, stretching like a cat as he walked the crowded streets in the late morning hours, "Today's that conference-y thing, right?"
The hooded figure at his side nodded. Sora sighed, it was so hot out and there Riku was, wandering around in a black coat with the hood pulled up. But they were trying to keep attention away from him, and a boy bright silver hair and a blindfold pulled over his eyes drew a lot more attention that a non-descript figure in black. "How're your eyes?" he asked softly.
"It's fine," Riku responded. He breathed in deeply, an odd look crossing his face.
Sora spotted it instantly, "What's wrong?"
"I smell something…"
At that point, the shouting started. A soldier staggered into their view and collapsed in the arms of a vendor, shouting, "A coup! There's been a coup against Princess Relena!"
The soldier's repeated shouting of this caused murmurs at first, then the sound of gunshots beyond the walls sparked panic. People were running and screaming, shouting in anger and fear.
Sora shot a glance at, "Riku, the Princess…"
Riku's covered eyes glared down at Sora, and Sora winced, even covered, he could feel the intensity of Riku's gaze, "Sora, it's not our problem."
"But-"
"No, this is not our nation, not our concern. We cannot meddle in the world order. Any action we make in this could spell disaster."
"But, Riku! You just said you smelled something! There might be more to this than we realize…"
"Sora, you are a Keyblade Master. Know your duty!"
Sora let out an uncharacteristic growl of frustration, "You're the one that needs to remember his duty! Please, Riku!"
"There's nothing we can do, we don't know what's going on."
"We have to do something! The people here love their Princess, please, Riku."
"Sora…" Riku was relenting, and he knew it. The mere mention of the word 'Princess' was enough to set Sora off. He was thinking of Kairi again. Riku scowled, massaging his eyes through the blindfold with one hand. "Fine."
Sora's eyes lit up, "Thanks, Riku." And he turned and ran for the palace. Riku paused for a moment. He had a bad feeling about this, but he quickly took off after his friend.
A/N: I remembered from Chain of Memories that Riku had the ability to smell darkness, or something, so I integrated it in.
Well, things are starting to heat up.