Chapter 48
"You bastard!" Isshin tried to attack Reviver. Upon attacking him, however, Masaki blocked his sword from reaching him.
"It truly is sad when family is forced to fight against each other," said Reviver. "I wonder, can you bear the guilt for what happened?"
"Don't...you...dare..." Masaki growled.
"Oh, you were able to resist my powers like that, huh?" said Reviver.
"Masaki!" Isshin, while surprised, still held on to his sword. Was she conscious in there?
As if to answer, she looked at Isshin with sadness. "Defeat...me...please..."
Meanwhile, Zack and the others attacked. The Toguro Brothers attacked, with the smaller brother turning into a sword, while the other used him as a weapon to slash at Riku. Ansem's nobody diverted their attack away from them by using the force field, while Riku attacked the sword with darkness. Zack tried to land a hit on Aqua, but she brought up a mirror, reflecting it towards the Toguros. Both of them were slashed apart in seconds.
"What the-" Riku looked shocked at what he saw.
"Did you think I was standing by this whole time?" said Aqua.
"All right! We just need to stop Zack, and that's it!"
"If only it were that easy for you warriors." Reviver ran towards the group. Riku surprised him with a block that knocked him back. Getting up, Reviver shot back a blast, covering the room in smoke.
"My eyes!" Riku closed them, relying on aura to find the man. Suddenly, a voice came into his mind.
Riku...just awake, dammit!
Who are you?! Riku remembered the voice from when he opened the doorway.
You really don't get it. He is hiding over ninety percent of his powers from you.
WHAT?!
The enemy you are going against is someone whom cannot be beaten with your level of skill. That is why I need you...to accept me.
What do you mean, accept?
If you accept that I am a part of you, then you will gain a power over the light and darkness unlike anything the world has seen before. You and your friends Sora and Ichigo can defend this world from evil. Of course, let me show you what will happen if you don't trust me...
"Auggh!" King Mickey fell on the ground, too injured to fight. The man was moving at incredible speeds, knocking down the warriors left and right. Ansem's nobody and Isshin were too injured to stand up, and Aqua was fighting Masaki and Zack at the same time.
If you don't accept me now, your friends are going to die. There won't be nobodies of them. This time, it's permanent.
Alright, I accept you...ummm...
My name must be alluding you. Well, think about who you are. What did you choose, the light, or the darkness?
Riku was torn apart. He had no idea who this voice was, and he did not understand the question. He chose...
...neither of them.
Suddenly, Riku remembered where he was. Twilight Town. Or the replica. Either way, he remembered something. After he saw Sora sleeping inside of Castle Oblivion, he made a choice. He will always be in the twilight.
"Yugure!" Riku opened his eyes, his blade transforming. Instead of Soul Eater, a new blade comes forth. It has a black blade, a white grip, and a keychain of a soul. There was also a keychain with a small dragon on it, known as a Gible.
"Meet your end, neitherman!" Riku first ran towards Aqua, shielding her with his energy. He slammed into Zack, who fell to the ground, injured. Masaki was about to attack Riku, but he raised his right hand up, signaling a seal. Lightning rods trapped her in a force field. Reviver saw what had happened and signaled the other dead persons to disappear. Only Masaki was not put back, as she was still in the trap.
"You vain fools. You dare think that you won!" cried Reviver.
"I think you need to just shut up," growled Riku. He advanced onto the neitherman, hitting him on his body. Reviver cried, prying the sword off of his abdominals.
"You...got a good point, I guess," said Reviver, "but I do not need your advice. I am getting out of here."
"Not before you answer my questions!" said Riku. "What are you planning and why?"
"I can't answer either of those unless you live long enough," said Reviver. "I can say one thing, though. You all do not have an idea as to what you are getting yourselves into. I hope that you can get yourselves stronger before we meet again..."
Reviver left, disappearing into the darkness. Riku and Aqua helped the other ones recover.
"Well, you discovered your spirit, I guess," mumbled Isshin, rubbing his head. "I guess Ichigo got you self-aware or something."
"We better head back to Twilight Town," said Aqua. "We do not have much time. We have to get to Yen Sid's Tower, and fast!"
"Well, hang on there fellas..." King Mickey groaned, stretching his back. "We better proceed with caution. Who knows how many of those guys are in the town already?"
"We will proceed with caution," said Ansem's nobody. "But I thought that was implied."
"Whatever," said Isshin. "Let's just go!"
The group went towards the void that leads to the real Twilight Town.
The real Ansem was on a computer. He was busy analyzing samples of a object when Otowak came in the lab.
"Sir, the neithermen are making their moves," said Otowak.
"As it is, we cannot do anything at the moment," said Ansem. "We are inside enemy territory, and that capsule is not working. The best thing we can do is-"
"They breached the Forbidden barrier! There is also the matter of them-"
"I know you are troubled by this, young man. Unfortunately, we have to wait until repairs are done before we can get out of here. In the meantime, all we can do is watch."
He watched a monitor, where Riku and Ansem's nobody were talking to each other, with the other members of the group occupied in their surroundings.
"How much do you remember? All of your memories?"
"I think so. There are some fuzzy memories of me..."
"So, is that your nobody?" asked Otowak.
"Yes and no. As I said to you before, I am a lab experiment. Something that your friends created so that I could save the world. He is my nobody, but he is more real than I am."
"So, you and him won't be the same...?" said Otowak.
"Don't worry about it. For now, we focus on making sure the neithermen can be countered."
Ansem offed the monitor, frowning intensely as he continued researching the object on the table.