Chapter XXIX: Brother vs. Brother: Fanning the Flames
Nightshroud: Well I've stopped getting reviews from my only two reviewers, but I must persevere. I thought about stopping, but I'm going to finish this story, even if it's only for me. So there! Anyway hehe sorry for the tirade. Well, on with the chapter!
"Are we really..."
"Yeah."
"What?"
"We're in the Destiny Islands...our home."
Renkotsu teleported to one of the upper levels of the castle. Bankotsu was sitting in a chair, reclining while his halberd, Banryu, lay propped against the wall. He opened one eye and looked at Renkotsu.
"So, Renkotsu, how are things looking in the basement levels."
"Not as well as we hoped, but we should manage to rid ourselves our defectee."
"Good, our numbers are lessening. We need to make sure we take out everyone in opposition to the Organization."
Renkotsu looked cautiously at Bankotsu.
"He's not prepared for an attack. And he doesn't have Banryu. This might be my only chance. I've got to-"
Renkotsu suddenly felt a jolt of pain and looked down to seea knife in his side. He stumbled back and coughed blood onto the floor.
"You bastard!" he said, clutching his wound. Bankotsu laughed and looked coldly at his older brother.
"Gee, Renkotsu, and I thought you were supposed to be the smart one. Your little plans weren't as confidential as you probably thought."
"But-but how?"
"That annoying witch Vanessa can be useful on occasion. She listened in on your secret meetings and informed me of your plans. And now you were probably thinking what a good opportunity this was. Too bad."
"Damn you," Renkotsu muttered as he backed away. Bankotsu grabbed his halberd and stood facing Renkotsu.
"This is your chance, big brother. Think you can beat me?"
Renkotsu didn't reply but stared back hatefully. Bankotsu shrugged and pointed Banryu at Renkotsu. "Then here I come!"
Renkotsu backed away, his eyes wide in surprise, as Bankotsu rushed at him. He growled and jumped back, usnleashing a thin stream of fire from his mouth.
"Dragon Spitfire!"
Bankotsu jumped to the side as the fire blasted into the polished white floor. Then he swung his sword and unleashed a shockwave of fire into the air that blasted Renkotsu back into the wall. He rushed forward and swung his blade, but Renkotsu leaped over him as the blade slashed through the wall and unleashed from his mouth a flurry of fireballs at his back.
"Phoenix Flower!"
Bankotsu took the fireballs to the back like nothing, then turned and summoned a fireball into his hand.
"Fire Tooth!"
Renkotsu fell backward in midair to avoid the fireball as it crashed into the pillar behind him.
"Not too bad," said Bankotsu arrogantly. Renkotsu growled and began to analyze for a strategy. His lips made a slight smile as the idea concreted in his mind.
"Perfect."
The four found that they had come through the door into the Secret Place. Fayt looked around at the cave and saw the drawings on the walls.
"You guys hang out here often?" he asked.
"We did...before..." said Reyna quietly. Tyson and Namém had already gone towards the exit. The other two followed them out and found themselves at the base of the tree in the dead of night. It was dark, and the air gave the feeling of a storm. As they moved forward, black blobs began to move along the ground. They finally became three-dimensional and formed into Shadow and Neoshadow Heartless. The four drew their weapons and fought their way onto the beach. More of the Heartless appeared, surrounding the four.
"Thundaga!"
Namé unleashed a thunder spell, plowing through a line of Heartless. Reyna quickly jumped past her and followed up, slashing wildly with her whip through Shadows and Neoshadows.
Fayt cut through some Shadows, stabbed through a Neoshadow, then unleashed a symbology attack.
"Wind Scar!"
Fayt''s wind symbol ripped through the Heartless in front of him. He suddenly ducked back as a Neoshadow slashed at him. Another pounced on him from behind, but as the other approached, Tyson hurled his keyblade and cut through it. When it returned to his hand, he slammed down through a Neoshadow before swiping at some Shadows in front of him. Fayt nodded thanks and they ran separated ways.
"Perfect."
Renkotsu ran at him and suddenly unleashed steel wires from both hands at him. He was taken aback when they flew past him, but suddenly realized too late as they wrapped around the pillar behind him and came around, circling around him. Renkotsu pulled at the wires and pulled him back against the pillar. Renkotsu brought the ends of the wires together in front of his mouth and breathed in.
"Dragon Flame Missile!"
He unleashed a blast of fire from his mouth, shaped like a dragon that shot along the wires until it blasted into Bankotsu in a brilliant flash and explosion. When the smoke cleared, Bankotsu's clothes were grayed and blackened in spots, and he had his head hung, his body limp but still bound fast by the wires. Suddenly he laughed and lifted his head slightly to gaze eerily at Renkostu. Then he suddenly pushed and snapped the wires from around him, much to Renkotsu's shock.
"You can't kill me like that."
Suddenly Bankotsu grinned wickedly and ran forward, punching Renkotsu in the stomach, then kicking him back to the floor. Renkotsu saw Bankotsu retrieve Banryu and rolled to the side as the halberd pierced the marble floor. Renkotsu pulled out slips of paper with red fire symbols on them and threw them at Bankotsu.
"Fire Sutra Bomb!"
The sutras hit Bankotsu and exploded, knocking Bankotsu back, giving Renkotsu the chance to follow up with a steel wire attack that threw Bankotsu into a pillar.
"Heh, who's down now," said Renkotsu with a satisfied smile.
"Pearl!"
Reyna blasted a Neoshadow before slashing through some more Heartless. But soon, she found herself surrounded. As the Heartless all leaped at her, she spun around in a circle, her whip forming a whirlwind-like shield.
"Protective Light Barrier!"
The Heartless disintegrated as they came into contact with it. When it died down, all the Heartless near her were destroyed.
"That's how we do it!" she said happily.
Fayt slashed through some Shadows, leaped over a Neoshadow, slicing it in midair, before slamming his sword down on another Shadow. He ducked to the side as Namé unleashed a Firaga spell that blasted a group of Shadows. Then she cast Reflega as a Neoshadow leaped at Tyson. Tyson stabbed it, then threw it into another Neoshadow. He sliced through them, then cut through a Shadow before unleashing a Blizzard Raid through the remaining Heartless.
As the four reunited, the ground suddenly shook and a Darkside Heartless appeared in front of them.
"The Heartless from the other place!" said Tyson.
"This time we'll do it together!" said Reyna.
Bankotsu laughed and stood up.
"I wouldn't get too confident if I were you," he said with a grin. Renkotsu frowned and backed away slightly. Bankotsu ran and threw a fireball at Renkotsu. He jumped to the side to avoid it, but as he turned he was met with Bankotsu's fist to his face. Then Bankotsu drop-kicked him to the ground. He kicked down at Renkotsu, but Renkotsu caught his foot and threw him back. Bankotsu grabbed Banryu and slashed at Renkotsu, sending a deadly arc-shaped shockwave through the air. Renkotsu jumped up onto the wall and drew in his breath.
"Dragon Fire Rain!"
He vanished and started teleporting around the room at incredible speed, letting lose fireballs wherever he went. Bankotsu smiled and held Banryu into the air, spinning with blinding speed. It let off flares of fire that clashed with the fireballs, canceling them out. When the attack died down, Renkotsu stood panting, glaring with hatred at Bankotsu. Bankotsu laughed at Renkotsu's condition and slammed Banryu into the ground, blasting Renkotsu back from the impact.
Lerena watched from the doorway with a wrenching pain in her heart. Seeing Bankotsu treat Renkotsu this way hurt her, but she was confused.
"I can't. I love Bankotsu. There's nothing for me to do."
She walked away, but somehow she felt those words were not true.
The Darkside leaned back and began firing dark energy from its heart cavity. Namé put up a reflect barrier to defend them. Once the attack died down, Tyson ran out and slashed at its hand. It knocked him to the side, then punched the ground near the other three, causing them to scatter. A dark pool formed where its hand was and Shadow Heartless began to emerge.
"Graviga!"
Namé cast a gravity spell on the Shadows, crushing them into the ground. Fayt finished them off while Reyna ran at Darkside. She leaped up and slashed at its legs. She cut through them, but they just kept reforming. It turned its attention to her and grabbed her up in its large hand. She struggled against it as it raised her up to its yellow eyes and stared at her. Its gaze suddenly shifted down to something below. Reyna strained to look and saw Tyson hacking at its other arm. With its attention distracted, Reyna summoned her whip and cut through its hand. It dropped her, and she fell down towards the ground. Namé cast a gravity spell beneath her so that it slowed her descent. She looked to see Fayt slashing at its arm while Tyson used Ragnarok to fire magic bullets from his keyblade at Darkside. All the attacks were hitting, but they didn't seem to be affecting it too much.
"I know what to do," said Reyna to Namé. "Cover me."
Namé nodded and shot fire spells at Darkside while Reyna slipped past it. She jumped up and grabbed his arm, pulled herself up, and ran up it. It saw her and tried to swipe her, but she jumped off and turned towards its heart cavity.
"Pearl!"
She shot the ball of light right at its heart cavity. It struck, and the creature reeled back before it vanished in a flash of light. The four joined each other as a white door suddenly appeared on the beach. They walked through it and found themselves back in the castle. Before them stood a long flight of stairs, leading to the final floor.
Bankotsu smirked and stuck Banryu into the ground. Then he ran forward and grinded his right fist, causing sparks of flame to errput. Then he winded up and punched with all his might into the ground, sending off a flaming shockwave that blasted Renkotsu backward into the wall, leaving him battered and weak. Bankotsu walked forward a few steps and laughed.
"Look at you. How sad. You're never going to best me."
Suddenly he stopped as Renkotsu got up and quickly ran at him. He got into a defensive position but was surprised as Renkotsu ran past him. He suddenly unleashed steel wires at the back of the room, creating a net all around about four feet off the ground, which he quickly set fire to. Bankotsu was suddenly taken aback as he realized that the flaming net now surrounded his halberd, cutting him off from his weapon.
"Hehe...now I've cut you off from your weapon."
Bankotsu smirked and shrugged it off. "I must admit, that was very clever, Renkotsu, but I don't need Banryu to defeat you."
Bankotsu ran forward and punched Renkotsu in the chest, knocking him back. Then he backhanded him before kicking him in the back to the ground. Renkotsu jumped away and shot a blast of fire that formed a wall.
"Fire Wall!"
The wall of fire separated them, but suddenly a fireball blasted through it and slammed Renkotsu against a pillar. The fire wall died down and Bankotsu walked up to Renkotsu, grinning arrogantly.
"Well, Renkotsu, it seems you couldn't defeat me. This is what you deserve for your treachery."
Renkotsu growled and spit at his feet. "Bastard! How is what you're doing now any different than what I've done."
Bankotsu grinned wickedly. "Because I did it right."
Renkotsu clenched his fists and tired to force his body up, but he couldn't. He slumped down, his resolve died down in defeat.
Bankotsu laughed cruelly and said, "You've always felt so worthless in life, haven't you? Well now, it's time I put you to good use, by offering your heart to the Kronos Seal!"
Lerena ran back to the doorway as the seal descended around Renkotsu. He turned his head and caught sight of her in the doorway. There was a slight washing of peace over his face before a red light shot from the seal and his body sank to the floor lifelessly. Bankotsu turned away unaffected as he grabbed Banryu and teleported to the top floor. Lerena ran to Renkotsu's body and sank to her knees.
"No...I should have done something. I could have saved him."
She touched his face, then realized something. "Strange...his body is still here. When a dark person's heart is taken by the Kronos Seal, their body usually fades away. But his is still here. Maybe he found a spark of light before he...was gone."
She stood and gave one last look at him, then turned her face resolutely to the top floor.
Nightshroud: I hope the Renkotsu vs. Bankotsu fight was good! I tried hard with that one. Sorry if the Darkside one wasn't that great, but I never found him to be a very exciting boss. Ah well, anyway, we'll be switching back to Kai. Leave a review! Thankees!
Next chapter: Darkness Clashes as the Light Draws Closer