Maleficent and La meet in the middle of the chamber, both women sizing each other up. Being as blunt as possible, their first impressions narrow down to "wild-yet-possibly-useful-jungle-trollop" and "frigid-but-potentially-useful-green-witch" respectively.
"Well?" La demands haughtily, giving the witch a stony eyebrow. "If you have something to say, then say it. A queen's time is not to be wasted."
"Very well," Maleficent concedes with a gracious nod. "As I said, I believe that we may have something to offer each other. Those children you encountered today have long been a thorn in my own side. A thorn I very emphatically wish removed."
"And so, you seek my assistance in said removal," La says, grinning with pleasure. "I suppose I could be persuaded to lend my aid. For a price."
"I had thought that would be the case," Maleficent replies. "I require only two members of the party. The young boy wielding the key and his red-haired female companion. The rest, I would be happy to leave to your discretion."
"You have been observing me for some time, I'd wager," La says thoughtfully, leaning back in her throne.
"Indeed." The witch begins a slow stalk about the chamber, looking around as if admiring the architecture. Though in actuality she finds the "leopard" motif a bit too overplayed. "And you are just one of many. I have plans, you see, and to fulfill those plans I shall need allies. You perhaps may be just one such individual. If you can prove to me that you are worthy."
La shakes her head, stunned at the arrogance on display. "I am no one's servant, green one."
"Certainly not," Maleficent concedes. "And to show my good faith, I shall demonstrate to you the power that can come from allying your interests with mine." The witch smirks. "All I require is one of your mongrels."
Intrigued, La gestures with her staff. A leopard-man immediately obeys, approaching Maleficent with his head bowed low. The look on his feline face can only be described as apprehensive. His fellow beastmen seem to pick up on that, every one of them becoming just a little more tense. Intrigued, the queen of Opar leans forward in her throne.
Maleficent waves her hand lightly. An inoffensive gesture usually, but in this case, a rather deadly one. In response to her whim, an inky black Neoshadow rises up from the stone floor.
The reaction is instantaneous. The volunteered leopard-man growls and recoils in fright, his fellow huddling together. As for La, she has only become more intrigued. Acting on its dark, inbred instinct, the Heartless pounces on the closest target.
The sacrificial leopard-man roars, swiping a paw at the monster leaping towards him. The defensive maneuver does little good, the Neoshadow merely taking the blow without loss to its momentum. The two go down in a heap, and from there it doesn't take long before it's all over. A crystalline heart floats up from the fading body of the leopard-man. It doesn't get far though, the Neoshadow ensnaring it in its clawed hand.
The Neoshadow squeezes its prize until it shatters into pieces. The room is silent for a moment, the leopard-men not daring to make a sound and Queen La to stunned to.
"What have you done?" the queen finally demands once she's regained composure, rising from her throne with a dumbfounded look. "Where did he…? What is that…?"
"A Heartless," Maleficent explains all-too happily, smiling a cruel smile. "Creatures of purest, deepest Darkness. Useful tools, if one knows of the proper way to wield them. As for the fate of your, hmph, 'leopard-man', that only serves to further demonstrate the utility of the Heartless. Even now, the former heart of that creature is becoming yet another creature of Darkness."
"An army that grows itself, hm? Quite intriguing."
"And takes many forms," Maleficent elaborates. Holding her hand out again, she summons a trio of Powerwilds. "All yours to use as you see fit. As long as my conditions are met."
"The girl, and the boy with the key-shaped sword," La repeats. "And what, may I ask, serves to differentiate them from their companions?"
"The girl's heart is pure, untainted by the slightest touch of darkness," the witch explains coolly. "She is one of seven maidens similarly empowered. As for the boy with the key, his potential and power is… somewhat unique."
"I suppose it really is no matter," La decides with a shrug. "Neither of them are the one I have interest in, in any case."
"You speak of course of the silver-haired boy, Riku." Maleficent chuckles. "He is quite a sight to behold, isn't he? I would, however, be careful with him. That one can be rather… wild."
La smiles. "I like him more and more all the time, Maleficent." The queen of Opar is grinning fiercely now. The thought of a worthy consort finally coming to her after all this time is giving her a warm, fuzzy feeling. She turns to the leopard-men, who appear slightly wary but nonetheless stand obedient.
"You know what your queen desires," she says, her usual haughty voice carrying commandingly over her minions. "Bring the five we saw earlier to me, and make sure not to damage them too badly."
"Take a cohort of Heartless along," Maleficent says. Gesturing, she sends the group of Powerwilds, along with a few barking Rabid Dogs, along towards the leopard-men.
La's minions are still wary, but accept the creatures into the group. Everything settled, they set out. As they leave the chamber, out of the villainesses earshot, the leopard-men begin to plan. A girl with a pure heart. It has been a long time since they'd heard of such a thing.
Unbeknownst to the queen of Opar, she may have just given her minions exactly the what they need to achieve their true goals.
KH-KH-KH
A root snags Kairi's foot, throwing the running girl off-balance and nearly sending her face-planting into the jungle floor. She manages to keep her composure, stumbling a few steps but nonetheless leaving her stride unbroken.
Branches snap behind her. She spares a quick glance over her shoulder, but there's nothing there but empty jungle. She listens closely for any further sounds, but all she can hear is the background noise of insects and jungle birds.
Satisfied, Kairi focuses once again on the path before here. Just in time for her enemy to pounce.
The Princess of Heart lets out a surprised squeal, immediately chastising herself for the noise. How many times had Azlyn drilled into her that showing fear in battle is a loss in itself? She tries to recover, Keyblade springing to hand in a flash of bright light.
There's just enough time for her to swipe Azlyn's shield away, avoiding a painful blow to the chest. The Disney Castle knight doesn't pull any punches, and Kairi's used Cure on the resulting bruises enough times to always try her best to avoid them.
Azlyn doesn't seem to mind her shield being batted away, continuing to charge towards the redhead with a defiant scowl on her face. She leaps up and snaps out a kick, Kairi quickly turning aside to dodge the blow.
An open-handed jab thrusts toward her face, so Kari ducks. Crouched, she uses the opportunity to attack her opponent's torso. The hit lands, but Azlyn makes no noise to indicate it did any damage. A leaping back-flip flings the knight away from the Keybearer. Kairi allows herself a small grin of satisfaction. It's not the first time she's landed a hit, but any contact with Azlyn during a fight is to be celebrated.
Landing by her deflected shield, Azlyn shakes her head minutely. "Cocky."
That one word is all the knight has said to her trainee since she announced they would be starting immediately, while the boys finished setting up camp. From the campsite she'd led Kairi on a walk about half a mile into the jungle, and given one simple nod towards the foliage. The implication had been very clear: run.
Kairi doesn't say anything in reply, merely charges ahead with her blade drawn back. Azlyn, shield in hand, leaps up and grabs an overhead branch. She swings herself up onto the branch itself, then pushes off. Twisting midair, the knight lands on her feet behind Kairi. Locking herself into a strong stance, she flings her shield again.
Kairi tries turning to deflect the flying disc once again, but she's still a bit dazzled from Azlyn's acrobatic maneuver. The pivot is too slow, and unforgiving metal slams into her shoulder blade. The impact sends her spinning the opposite direction, and the Princess of Heart slams into a tree trunk. She tries to push off and regain her footing, but before she can, Azlyn is already slamming her yet again into the trunk. Still gripping her trainee's back, the blond throws her to the jungle floor.
"You're dead," she informs Kairi. It's so matter-of-fact (and Kairi's still a bit lightheaded from all the impacts), that the redhead nearly laughs. Azlyn frowns. "I don't see what's so funny. To you, anyway. The only reason I'm not cackling at your defeat like some demented harpy is that a teacher's gotta maintain a certain composure."
"I guess," Kairi huffs, rising to her knees, "I'm just kind of getting inoculated to the whole 'you're dead' thing." Indeed, the knight says it every time she gets the better of Kairi in a lesson.
A foot lands on the rising girl's back, forcing her face-first into the dirt. "What did I say about using words I don't know?"
A groan, and then Kairi answers with, "Not to."
"Do you know why I tell you you're dead, Princess?" Azlyn asks, clearly rhetorical. "Because if this was an actual fight, and not just a really aggressive girl-talk session, you would be dead."
"Ugh, noted." Kairi rises again, and this time she thankfully isn't stomped back down. She reaches out a hand to get Azlyn's help, but after a few seconds of her hand hanging in empty air, she realizes it isn't forthcoming. So, she just gets up on her own.
"I hope so. Now, you wanna tell me what you did wrong?"
The Princess of Heart frowns, thinking it through. "I, uh, wasn't ready for that tree-jumping maneuver. So, um, I guess I failed to factor in the fight's environment?"
"I really don't need answers to be in the form of a question," Azlyn says with a sigh. "But yeah, you were right. Also, you didn't adapt to the change on position quickly enough. Too bad about you being too dead to do anything about that now though."
Kairi snorts at the joke, but one look at Azlyn's still-serious face is enough to tell her that that wasn't the right move.
"Now, it's your turn," the knight says, stepping aside and gesturing up to the tree branch. Off her pupil's confused expression, she explains. "Do what I just did. I won't even try to attack you while you're doing it."
Kairi grimaces. That doesn't make Azlyn very happy.
"It's not as hard as you think," she says. The almost reassuring words are an odd occurrence in an Azlyn-run training session. "You know the basics of it. Don't you?" Frowning, she declares, "Back-flip. Now!"
Startled by the harsh tone, it takes Kairi a moment to process her instructions. Seeing Azlyn's mouth open to give the command again, she pushes to surprise aside. Leaping up, she does as asked. Her form is pretty good, after many hours in the Disney Castle gym working on this kind of thing between wedding discussions. When the Princess of Heart lands on her feet again, she's only turned a few degrees from her original standing position.
Azlyn's fist jabs into her side.
"Ow!" the girl protests, recoiling in pain and surprise.
"You're dead again."
Now Kairi's starting to get a little angry. "I landed that…"
"Not exactly," Azlyn interrupts. She's shaking her head, which Kairi has learned means she'll hear no arguments. "You turned mid-flip. Landed facing away from the opponent. It only takes the second you use to readjust for your enemy to stab you through the chest, or break your knee, or crush your rib cage."
"Fine," Kairi relents, huffing out an indignant sigh. "But you didn't tell me you were going to be attacking…"
"Oh, so now I have to remind you that fighting skills are used against people and things that want to hurt you?" The knight scoffs, shaking her head dismissively.
"That's… a point," Kairi relents, still frowning at her teacher. "But at least I landed steady this time!"
"Dying with both feet on the ground is a little less embarrassing, I guess."
Kairi's frown deepens. It takes a lot to get the girl angry, but Azlyn is starting to push just far enough. "All I'm asking for is a little encouragement! Sora…"
"If it's Sora's kind of encouragement you want," Azlyn interrupts, her tone harshly sarcastic, "I'm afraid you're barking up the wrong tree, Princess. I'll admit, I find it a little interesting that you're almost a girl-version of Telary, but…"
"Now you're just being mean," Kairi declares. She's a bit surprised to find herself actually scowling now. The last time she'd scowled it had been at a maniacal Nobody bent on universal annihilation.
"You want me to be nice, Kairi?" Huffing, Azlyn folds her arms across her chest. "I thought you liked being pushed. I thought you wanted to get better. But if all you're after is a pat on the back…"
Kairi throws up her hands, ready to be done with all this. "Okay, that's enough! Clearly this is getting a little out of hand." She sighs. "We should probably just head back. Have some fun with the guys, get a good night's sleep, then we can try again in the morning."
Azlyn shrugs, nonchalant. "Fine. Who needs valuable survival skills anyway, when you can just goof off? It's not like we're under constant threat or anything…"
"That's it!" Kairi is so done playing games. Turning on her heel, she stalks away into the jungle towards the campsite. "I try to diffuse the tension, give you an out, and you don't even take it! If you're gonna be like that, fine!"
"I wouldn't have to 'be like that' if you could just buck up and learn to do things right, Azlyn!"
Kairi stops dead in her tracks, turning to the knight with a raised eyebrow. Azlyn just stands stock still, frozen in the middle of the jungle.
"Okay," Kairi says, quite lost. "What exactly was that about…?"
Azlyn declines to answer. Without another word, she runs off into the jungle in the opposite direction of Kairi. Though confused and still a little frustrated, the redhead knows that the right thing to do is pursue.
She's about to take off, when she hears a branch snap behind her. Reacting on instinct, she spins around towards the noise's source. Light flashes in her hand, Keyblade solidifying within. Kairi plants her feet into battle-ready position, holding her weapon in front of her body with both hands.
Lightning flashes in the sky, followed by an ominous boom of thunder. Just as its last echoes are fading, rain begins falling in steady, fat drops, and the leopard-men emerge from the jungle.
KH-KH-KH
The loud noise of a thunderclap catches Sora's attention. Frowning, he straightens up to look at the sky. It isn't raining yet, but he can see the dark clouds hovering a few miles away. A thick, hazy curtain of semi-darkness falls from them. Pretty soon they'll be looking at a downpour.
"Do you think we're good?" Sora calls over to Telary. He shifts the bundle of potential firewood in his arms, indicating what he's talking about.
The wizard frowns at the sparsity of his young friend's haul. Looking down, he notes that his own kindling collection is rather lax as well.
"No, we're not," he decides to reply. In preparation for this outdoor experience, he'd read as much as he could about all manner of naturesque activities. Proper fire building had been a big one. "Especially with how scrawny what we've got is."
"Hey, Sora!" Riku calls from a few yards away. The silver-haired Keyblade wielder stands at the edge of the jungle thicket. "There's some bigger branches over here by the river. Probably more useful than…" Trailing off, he throws a disparaging glance at Telary's bundle of twigs.
"Okay!" Hiking up his gathered wood for a better grip, Sora runs off after Riku. Telary follows at a sedate pace, wondering just what is wrong with what he's managed to find.
Clear from the thick jungle, the manly trio stand on the edge of a large, swiftly moving river. There are indeed several very large branches scattered around.
"These should do," Riku explains, waving his hand over them. "Bigger pieces…"
"Are the best ones to keep the fire going for a long time," Telary interrupts. Riku frowns at him slightly. He shoots a smug smile right back. "I did my research."
"Uh huh." Riku says nothing more, merely grabs a very thick log and slings it over his shoulder. It's been like that for hours now. Riku or Tel says something. The other butts in to correct them. The original commentor acts like he doesn't care. Rinse and repeat about a half-dozen times.
Every attempt at conversation dies a quick death, despite Sora's best efforts. It seems that both of his friends have their walls up, and no amount of effort can tear them down. He can't give up now though! Not when he knows there's a great friendship waiting to happen between the two of them. The first step is just to reveal a commonly shared interest. But what would best unite the two big brother-type mentor figures in his life…?
A slow grin spreads across Sora's face as the answer comes to him. He's a bit disappointed, actually, that it took him this long to figure it out. There's only one thing.
"You want thick, there are some good-looking logs up there!" he announces, pointing to the tallest tree he can see. There are, indeed, several severed limbs hanging caught in their live brethren. "I'll go get 'em!"
Riku shrugs, turning back to his mission of collecting the wood on the ground. Telary, however, grimaces.
"Uh, gee Sora," he says, shrugging nervously. His voice shakes a little. "Maybe that isn't such a good idea. There's plenty of wood on the ground here, and climbing that high could be dangerous…"
"Go for it, Sora!" Riku says, glaring at Tel as he does. One of his eyebrows is raised as if offering a challenge. "Not a bad idea to have some backups. I think I read that in a nature book somewhere."
Telary's nervousness vanishes, his concerned expression usurped by a deep frown. "We'll be okay without them. I can just start a fire magically anyway. Besides, those limbs might not be as dead as you think. Using live wood not only…"
"Would you just let him climb a tree?" Riku interrupts, rolling his eyes. "He doesn't need you hovering around him all the time, telling him what to do."
Telary drops all the wood he'd collected and spins around on his heel, facing Riku. His frown has turned darker, now in the form of a full scowl. Ignored, Sora is beginning to regret starting down this road. It certainly isn't leading the places he'd expected it to.
"Maybe you're right," the wizard admits, his words complemented by a wildly exaggerated shrug. "You like being hands off, don't you? That works for you. Okay, so why don't I stay here and say nothing, and you can run away and hide in the dark like you're used to."
Sora's jaw drops. His mind goes blank. Time all around seems to freeze in place. When things finally start stuttering into motion again, the Keybearer almost can't believe this is actually happening. He hasn't heard this much cruelty from Telary since the wizard killed the Nobody Demyx. And that had been a result of thinking Azlyn was dead.
"So, there it is," Riku says, his voice oddly quiet and still. "Actually, I'm kind of glad you finally brought that up. It's good to know that you're not the coward you usually seem to be."
"Oh, I'm the coward? Yes, it was so brave of you to…"
"STOP IT!"
Sora's loud yell surprises everyone. In some ways, it surprises the man himself. But he'd seen the way this conversation was heading, two of his best friends going for each other's throat. He knows it has to stop. He knows that he's the one who has to stop it.
"I am sick of this already!" Sora continues, thoroughly incensed. "I can't just stand around here and watch you two tear into each other. You know, the two of you are the people I respect most in the whole universe. But right now, I can't even look at you!"
"Sora…" Telary says.
"Hey, okay…" Riku also says. Both of them take a step toward their younger friend.
Sora just shakes his head. "This kills me, okay? It really does, because the two of you have a lot in common. You should be really great friends. Heck, I'd be okay if you could just have a normal conversation." He sighs, shaking his head in exasperation. "But, until that can happen… I just can't be around you two!"
Telary frowns. "Now, Sora…"
Riku just huffs out a sigh. "Look…"
The Keybearer holds up a hand, cutting both his friends off. "Don't tell it to me, guys. Talk to each other. Maybe the best way for that to happen is for me to go. So I'm gonna." Turning away, he begins walking back to the campsite, still holding most of the firewood. "Come and talk to me when you get your crap together."
Riku and Telary say nothing, only stare silently as the boy each can only think of as his little brother walks away. The look on his face, that of absolute hurt and sadness… It's not a look either one likes being the cause of.
Still silent, they look to each other.
Sora keeps walking through the jungle, head held high. He had really, really hated having to do that. The older boys needed a kick in their pants, sure, but yelling at his friends has never settled well with Sora. Come to think of it, neither does being the sensible, mature one. Usually it's one of the two he just reprimanded who fulfill that role.
A twig snaps behind him. The Keybearer tries not to jump, but only succeeds in keeping his shock from going too far over the top.
"Already?" he says, beginning to turn around. "C'mon, you have to at least try! I mean, there's no way you two could've figured all your stuff out so…"
A fierce roar cuts him off, just as a blur of color rushes straight into Sora's midsection. The momentum sweeps him off his feet and to the ground. His impact against the jungle floor is unforgiving, felt through his entire body.
But Sora's been in enough scrapes to develop one heck of a reaction time, and before the shock has even faded, he's got his arm moving. His fist slams into something long, bony, and covered in a light layer of fuzz.
His opponent stunned, Sora rolls to his left. When he comes up on top, his attacker now the pinned one, he finally focuses enough to get a good look at who he's fighting. Below him, a brown-hooded leopard-man snarls.
Once again the Keybearer reacts without much thought, slamming his elbow down into the creature's snout. It roars in rage and pain, but the noise is weaker. It peters off after a moment, the leopard-man unconscious.
Sora scrambles to his feet, summoning the Keyblade as he rises. Just in time, too, as another one of Queen La's beastmen flings itself out of the jungle. Sora sidesteps this charge, swiping at its flank. The hit isn't powerful, but from the resulting snarl he knows it was somewhat effective.
The sound of rustling leaves and snapping branches alerts the Keybearer to a new attack, this one from above. He instinctively swipes through the air above his head. To his surprise, this isn't another strike from a leopard-man. The Keyblade cuts right through two Powerwild Heartless, their captive hearts floating off into the distance.
The unfortunate implications of this development don't have long to run through Sora's head, as this ambush isn't over yet. The leopard-man from before, the one not beaten into unconsciousness, is attacking once again. Its clawed hand slashes towards the Keybearer's throat, and he only barely manages to step away in time.
A hand clamps around his bare ankle. Startled, Sora looks down to see that the first leopard-man, the one who'd landed the surprise tackle, isn't quite as unconscious as it had seemed to be. Its grip on his leg is solid, and with one hard yank Sora is back on the ground. The leopard-man rises to its haunches and turns to hold Sora down in one quick movement. The Keybearer struggles, but his opponent has a good grip on his wrists now.
The second leopard-man comes to stand over him too, its expression blank-yet-fearsome. He snarls something to his partner, receiving a throaty growl in return.
Desperate, Sora lashes out any way he can. His rising knee fails to connect with anything, so he turns his head and clamps his teeth down on the arm of the leopard-man holding him. Its a desperation move, and suddenly having a mouthful of fur shocks him into letting go. Not a good idea, as the leopard-man quickly slaps him across the face. It stings like hell, leaving Sora in a barely lucid, woozy state. Everything is fuzzy, just a blur of various colors. A lot of green, primarily.
He can feel himself, in an oddly detached sort of way, being hauled to his feet. The leopard-men continue to snarl at one another, probably having some sort of conversation. After a few seconds, Sora's vision begins to coalesce from its blurry state. He feels his arms being dragged out in front of him, and looking down he watches as his hands are bound in a thick cord.
He reacts on instinct again, jabbing his tied fists forward at the creature trying to restrain him. He feels the hit land on a fuzzy torso, allowing himself some small satisfaction. His captives must not like that, or maybe someone's still miffed about the punch, because the next thing he feels is a paw slamming into the back of his head.
As his vision fades, slowly going dark at the edge, Sora can't help but have one last, actually rather inappropriate thought: at least his plan is coming together.
KH-KH-KH
Resting against a tree trunk, Azlyn slowly works out the kinks in her arm. She's been holding it up for several minutes now, using her shield as an impromptu umbrella against the heavy rain coming down.
She still can't quite believe what she'd let slip to Kairi. She hadn't been thinking, too caught up to properly consider what she wanted to say. Then again, when has Azlyn ever put an emphasis on thinking?
Another mistake, big one, had been running away. Overwhelmed by the moment, the knight had gone with her gut. Run towards physical problems, away from emotional ones. That's gotten her in trouble a few times now, but it seems the lesson just hasn't quite taken.
What's worse is that Kairi had been gone by the time Azlyn made her way back to their training grounds. Driven off by the screaming nutbar that's supposed to be mentoring her. It's all a mess, and once Azlyn gets back to the campsite and finds Kairi, she hopes it can be fixed.
Unfortunately, she hadn't been paying the best attention on the way to the place they'd been training at. Truthfully, she'd just started walking and stopped when it felt appropriate. Hindsight is another quality Azlyn could never be suggested to possess.
After another few minutes of walking, shield held overhead to deter the rain, she emerges from the jungle at a riverbank, a surprisingly open few yards between the treeline and the water. Looking around to get her bearings properly, the knight spots something through the rain. Just less than a hundred feet away stand two tall figures. Curious, Azlyn jogs towards them.
She's about twenty feet away, just close enough to identify the figures as probably Telary and Riku (though what exactly they're doing standing around together is beyond her), when the sound of Heartless warping in throws off her stride.
Azlyn skids to a stop, ending up going a bit further than intended due to the falling rain making the grass more slick. A cohort of small, shifty Powerwilds appear, coming straight for her.
She hurls her shield forward, hoping for the first strike. The group of Heartless break their close formation, but the flying disc manages to clip on in the leg, then smack another as it comes back around to Azlyn's hand.
By the time the Powerwilds, about ten in all, reach Azlyn, she's prepared. Two jump for her face, a quick slash of her shield keeping them back. Another she kicks back into one of its companions, putting them both off balance.
There's still a sizable group of the creatures coming though, and the knight barely has enough time to brace her shield, face-out, in front of herself. The Heartless slam into the barrier, pushing her back through the slick grass and wet dirt beneath.
It does manage to deter the heart-craving creatures though, forcing them back as well. Just as they're gathering for another charge, a deluge of lightning bolts crash down from the sky. The Heartless go crispy, and Azlyn throws a look over her shoulder. Telary has arrived on the scene, staff still held high.
Riku stand behind him, facing the opposite way and weaving a defensive barrier with his red and purple Keyblade. A group of Rapid Thrusters coming in from above stand no chance, cut to pieces by expert swordsmanship.
"Where's Sora?" Azlyn shouts over the heavy sounds of combat and rainfall, the loud rushing noise of the close river, non-magical thunderclaps looming in the distance.
Telary opens his mouth to speak, but finds himself cut off when Riku stumbles into his back. Startled, the wizard nearly clobbers him over the head. Even when he regains himself, the urge lingers.
"Big," is all Riku offers, obviously a bit dazed from his experience.
A sound like drumbeats suddenly fills the air, cutting through all other ambient noise. Azlyn and Telary instantly move to either side of Riku, a simple reflex action after so many fights as part of a trio.
Their foe looms large, obscured by the heavy rain. It's at least twice Azlyn's size, thickly muscled and hunched over on its massive front arms. Disturbingly, it reminds the Disney Castle pair of Tarzan's gorilla "father" Kerchak.
A bright white bolt of lightning briefly illuminates the dark, affording a better look. The creature is indeed highly reminiscent of a gorilla, but covered in purple fur like a Powerwild. The Heartless symbol stands out against its chest.
Riku wastes no time, charging back towards the creature with his blade held high. Not to be outdone, Azlyn follows after him. She hurls her shield, but it just bounces ineffectually off the Apewild's chest. She scowls as she catches her weapon on the rebound. Seems Riku will be the one getting first crack.
The silver-haired Keybearer leads off with a powerful downward slash. The Apewild raises its massive arm as a block, and the thick limb holds against Way to Dawn. Its other arm swings up, and Riku barely manages to back away from the strike.
He clips Azlyn during the retreat, throwing off the knight's landing. Growling, she pushes him away, using it as momentum to fuel her punch against the burly Heartless. It hardly matters, though, since the creature catches her fist in its own. With a roar it lifts her off the ground, whipping her body around like a flail. Her legs crash into Riku, lifting him off the ground.
Azlyn twists her body, managing to plant both feet on the Apewild's chest. With a loud grunt of effort, she pushes her legs off, then swings forward again to nail the Heartless with her heels.
It works, the Apewild dropping her unceremoniously to the ground. She tries to stand, but winces as she feels pain shoot through her shoulder. Being used as a weapon seems to be taking its toll. With all of her focus and determination, the knight manages to get upright enough to retreat.
A red and orange ball of fire comes flying in, steam from the rain surrounding its flight path. It impacts against the Apewild's chest, thankfully managing to stagger it for a moment. Realizing the effectiveness of Telary's strategy, Riku shoots off a dark purple fireball of his own. It's on track to make its own impact, but halfway through its flight it runs afoul of a second normally colored fire spell. The two attacks cancel each other out, leaving nothing but smoke and steam.
Frustrated, Riku's about to try again when he hears another loud bellow. Out of the rain and steam comes the Apewild, charging straight ahead like a runaway freight train. Gritting his teeth, Riku raises his hands to form a dark shield. The barrier coalesces in front of him, purple energy radiating off of it.
Out of seemingly nowhere, Azlyn leaps up for the Heartless's back. Damaged shoulder be damned, she attempts o tackle the charging monster. Unsurprisingly, it proves ineffective, the Apewild not even slowing down. It keeps going until it hits Riku's barrier.
The sheer force of the creature's weight reverberates through the dark shield, sending Riku's arms into an explosion of tingles. The Apewild's arrested momentum has yet another downside, as the jarring change in motion sends Azlyn flipping head-over-heels over its shoulders. She plows into Riku, their bodies colliding and falling together to the slick ground. They land just barely on the lip of the small drop to the rushing river.
Lightning crashes into the Apewild's back before it can even work up a good loom. Grunting in surprise, it turns to see Telary standing a few feet away, staff held up in the air. Identifying the wizard immediately as a greater threat than his prone companions, the creature takes a stride forward on all fours. The wizard dodges left, stumbling forward on the wet grass. He ends up on his knees, beside the just-beginning-to-recover pile of Riku and Azlyn.
The Apewild snarls and takes a few steps forward, stopping only to rap a triumph beat against its chest. Unexpectedly, two leopard-men appear around its flank. Each holds a thick cord of rope, single-mindedly stalking towards the fallen trio.
"That doesn't look good," Riku mumbles, taking a knee. He tries to stand, only to put his foot where Azlyn has her hand.
"Hey, watch it!" the knight growls, fiercely pulling her hand back.
The loud, sudden noise seems to excite the Apewild. It begins to stalk forward, shouldering aside a leopard-man. The anthropomorphic minion seems to take offense to this in much the same way Azlyn had Riku. It snarls at the Heartless, holding up its rope as if to remind the creature of their goal to capture, not kill.
The Apewild only takes it as another challenge, roaring in the leopard-man's face. The other leopard-man joins in, swiping a claw at the Heartless.
"Okay, good," Telary whispers. "Seems they aren't working together very well."
"That's going around," Riku mumbles to himself.
Telary puffs out a breath, deciding to let that comment slide. It is rather true, after all. "All we need to do is…"
He never gets to finish that sentence. The Apewild, its savage mind angered by the denial of its kill, slams its fists into the ground. The act sends the ground trembling, staggering both leopard-men.
As well as the heroic trio, perched on the edge of a raging river. Telary, one foot firm and the other still rising, stumbles back. He clips Riku in the shoulder, who nudges Azlyn. Destabilized, the trio falls backwards, falling briefly through the air before they hit the swift, unforgiving rapids below.
This, too, took longer than I anticipated, and I apologize. This was just hard to hammer out, details wise. But I have the thrust of the plot firmly in mind now, and I'm hoping to severely cut down the time until next update. I'm hoping to get this and Chain of Memories (I hope you're all reading that as well) finished by the New Year, after all.
As a note, I'm not quite satisfied with this chapter's title. If anyone could give a better suggestion (preferably something animal/jungle-related) I would be eternally grateful.
Shoutouts to TheIrsishWriter (First-time reviewer, which is awesome. and Gilgamesh won't come into play in this part, but he has a big role to play in the next story "Team Spirit), Spiderfan626, and Guest. Thanks for the reviews guys, I love and appreciate your feedback!
Until next time!