A/N: thank you DJ Diddy Dog! I'm glad you liked the chapter!
Thank you very much ashner! I felt bad for Squall, so I brought her in. And you're only half right, it was Vincent and somebody else… But I'll give you a coke anyway, you guessed half of it. I've got OCD with cola…
Also I am bringing Red XIII because I want to now.
There's also the unidentified one, with the glowing weapon, so 2 down 1 to go.
Thank you readers and reviewers again, I keep going because of you!
On with the story…
Chapter Twenty: Another Chance
"If it ain't the Keyblade's Chosen One!" Gabriel said calling him out in the area. Leana had tried her best not to get him to yell, but it didn't work.
Sora turned around the direction of the call and blinked for a moment. The mist was clearing fairly quickly, which would've helped the other two individuals with their previous fight. Gabriel looked back at Leana and gave her a thumb up, and she rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Just get the girl, right?" Gabriel said pointing to the red head next to Sora. "Her?"
Leana nodded and looked back at her injured arm, she growled feeling useless at this point. 'When I find her again, I'll mess up her freakin' arm!' it was her personal vendetta. Her honey eyes watched the two teens walk forward, rather cautiously.
"Hey hold on, if those two were here… Doesn't that mean that thing's here too?" Gabriel said out loud. "If it is, then we've got to call for some help, you know?"
"That's true… Stupid Red… I hate that thing," she said shaking her head in recollection of a memory. "We've seen Vincent and the other one… It's not a surprise to see or rather not to mention this one… Why, do we keep getting drawbacks…?"
"It's that woman…" Kairi said tugging Sora's arm a bit. "We can't go up against her, or that guy, whoever he is…"
"She's got a cast, relax…" Sora said walking up trying to be a hero.
Gabriel advanced forward with this cheesy wave, and Leana scowled him. 'Grab the girl, camouflage the keyhole, and nab the box… I hope it's as simple as it sounds…' Gabriel thought to himself as he was within close quarters to the boy and girl.
At that point Leana noticed something red jump in front of them, and Sora and Kairi jumped back in surprise. Gabriel laughed nervously hearing the animal growl in a rather defensive tone. Leana placed her good hand into the air, and a thunder bolt dropped down in the animal's direction, Sora and Kairi jumped back with their Keyblades at hand.
The animal had managed to jump back just in time as the lightning bolt hit the ground. It charged forward, and Gabriel placed a Gravity spell, but the red animal had fast reflexes. The woman jumped back and set a Blizzard spell, and the animal reflected it back with another element spell, using Fire. In the heat of confusion, Sora and Kairi stayed back a bit, looking at the man with the purple eyes but they soon lost sight of him. At that point a scream erupted from Kairi, and when Sora looked back, she was gone.
"Thanks, Red…" Leana said retreating back into a dark portal.
The animal roared out in protest, charging after her, but the portal vanished, leaving Sora and the red animal by themselves. It looked back at Sora, who was searching for Kairi, but it was to no avail, they had taken her from under his nose. The blue eyed boy looked back at the animal, it held a remorseful look in its eyes.
"I am sorry," it said.
"You… You can talk?!" Sora said in bewilderment.
The name he was given was Red XIII, and he had been held captive by one of the researchers during Ansem the Wise's reign, but it wasn't obvious. He had red, almost mahogany, colored fur, with a scar over his right eye. He resembled a red lion, almost; it looked like a mix between a dog and a lion to be honest. Red XIII wore metallic looking bands around his legs, they looked like anklets. He looked like he belonged to a tribe.
"It'd be nice if you wouldn't stare…" Red said looking at the pair of blue eyes.
It was hard not to, it wasn't everyday you'd see a talking red thing, with a flaming tail. Sora couldn't help but look at Red XIII.
"And what's your name?" Red said.
"So-Sora…" he said gulping for a moment. "And you?"
"You can call me Red XIII," he said his tail swaying to the side, the flame shined brightly despite the rain that had fallen.
"Do you know those two?" Sora asked reflecting back on Red's little brawl.
He nodded and walked up to Sora looking at him quizzically. "You look a lot like him…" red couldn't help but say it. "You've got his eyes…"
"Wha?"
"Anyway, do you know them?" Red asked, throwing Sora off guard.
He shook his head, and asked Red if he had any idea as to where they might have taken Kairi. Sora was disappointed at the fact that Red said he didn't have a clue as to where they were at now.
"I'd better tell the others…" Red XIII said walking down the street, Sora kept up with him.
"There are more of you?" Sora asked, putting his Keyblade over his shoulder.
"They're human…" Red said smirking slightly. "They're pretty close by…"
Vincent Valentine
"Are you happy now?" the voice asked, it was very stern towards him. "We've lost sight of Nanaki…"
Vincent scanned the bottom of the streets looking for a red blob walk down the area. He saw a blob with brown hair and a red blob.
"See, you worry too much," Vincent said back at the voice, the figure was hiding in back of a chimney. "He can fend for himself."
"I didn't think they'd be here," the voice said sounding feminine. "This just makes things worse. Why didn't we come here sooner?"
"It takes time for sins to be forgiven…" Vincent said looking back down. "And I think I've finally received redemption."
The figure appeared out and sighed looking back at the man. 'He's acts so much like a child. I'm amazed Lucrecia was able to keep up with him, and his child like manner towards things like this,' the figure thought blowing some strands of hair away from her face.
Vincent looked back down at the gauntlet that went down past his left elbow. He closed his fist for a moment, lost in thought once again. This was something figure was use to, and would respect his moment of silence.
It had been about thirty years since Vincent was woken up by Cloud, Aerith, and Squall, and not forgetting Rinoa as well. The figure with the feminine voice had been alive since then, and in turn had saved Vincent once.
"You make others worry about you," the figure said.
With Riku and Amaterasu
Riku jumped back upon hearing a sudden noise that even Amaterasu didn't sense. She looked at the window, noticing a familiar leg stick out of it, and she covered Riku's eyes quickly. A nosey little ninja appeared at the window.
"It's Yuffie…" Amaterasu said whispering lowly. "What the heck is she doing her? Oh yeah, Rinoa…"
"Any bright ideas?" Riku whispered, the only thing he could see was darkness.
"Unless if you call a fake-out a good idea…" Amaterasu said feeling her voice give away to a small laugh.
"…" Riku held back a laugh shaking his head. "If you're up for it?"
"Hell no…" Amaterasu said thinking of something else. Riku frowned slightly, but he recovered from the rejection of the idea. "Uh… We'll jump from the roof…"
"I like the other one better…"
"Of course you do…" Amaterasu said in a rather unpleased tone. "We're no going to die from this height…"
"Hey you two!" Yuffie said finding the two teens out. "What are you guys doing up here?"
The two teens answered back with a confused 'nothing', but it didn't satisfy the young ninja's satisfaction. As much as Riku was vouching for the other idea, he knew Amaterasu would most likely hit him for any funny business. Yuffie was walking over to them, being careful around the slippery edge, and surprisingly Yuffie didn't fall as she made her way over to the two.
"Were you guys out here the whole time?" Yuffie asked arching an eyebrow. "You guys are going to get sick…"
"Thanks for the advice." The two of them said.
"Why are you covering his eyes?" she said looking at Amaterasu.
"He's got pink eye…"
Rinoa and Squall
"Hey what's that?" Rinoa said pointing at the red thing in the distance. Squall scanned the area, and noticed a fiery tip. He looked at the boy walking next to the animal.
"It's Sora, and…" Squall had the name hanging on the tip of his tongue but it wouldn't come out. "I know his name…" he said putting on his 'thinking stance' as Rinoa called it.
At that moment, Amaterasu landed on the ground with Riku scowling at her. Rinoa blinked a bit, and smiled at the sight. Riku walked around her, shaking a finger at her, and Amaterasu raised her hands up in defense.
"They argue like we use to, sort of…" Rinoa said looking back at Squall. "Are you still thinking about his name?"
"Pink eye?!" Riku yelled out.
Squall and Rinoa looked at each other, and shook their heads in unison. Amaterasu growled and walked back into the house. Squall felt nervous now about talking to Amaterasu, since she might explode on him or something.
Sora starting to run to Riku and at first, paid no attention to him, but then he looked again.
"Your eye!"
Riku looked down, and then Sora said something that caught his attention.
"What do you mean kidnapped?!"
The red creature looked at Riku for a moment, and hung his head for a moment. He tried to explain something, but Riku didn't listen.
"Sora, you were supposed to take care of her!"
At that point Amaterasu stuck her head out from the doorway, still a bit upset, but none the less concerned. Yuffie called out from the roof, asking what had happened. Rinoa and Squall put two and two together, and figured out that Kairi had been kidnapped. At that point Squall informed the others about the situation through his cell phone, and within about twenty minutes or so, the others came down to the area.
"Nanaki!" Amaterasu said running to fling her arms around the red lion-ish creature. Nanaki purred slightly, as Amaterasu patted him on the head. "How'd you get here?"
"With the others…" Nanaki, also known as Red XIII, said looking back for a moment. "Where ever they are."
"More importantly though, Kairi's been kidnapped by some guy with purple eyes!" Sora said wildly flinging his arms in the air.
"Purple eyes…?" Amaterasu said blinking slightly, she thought back to anyone who she came in contact with, and could only think of one. Sora went on to mention the woman with the honey colored eyes. "Why the hell were you guys outside anyway?!" she said angrily.
Cloud, Aerith, Reeve, Yomigami, Cait Sith, and Gekigami appeared before Squall and the others, looking at Nanaki and greeting him. He in turn greeted them, and at that point Cait Sith landed on Nanaki hugging him slightly.
"So, then…" Reeve said looking around, "It looks like the old team's coming back…"
Yuffie jumped off of the roof and walked over to the others, dusting herself off. She noticed something red coming down from a roof nearby. She pointed in alarm and the others looking up at the sky.
Sora brought out his Keyblade, thinking it was a Heartless of some sort. Reeve, Squall, and Amaterasu told Sora to stand-down. At that point Rinoa and Aerith waved their hands, trying to catch the man's attention.
"Vincent!" the two of them yelled waving hello to him.
"Hi, Vinnie!" Yuffie said jumping up and down.
Gabriel, Leana, and Kairi
"He's gonna find you, and you'll be sorry!" Kairi said yelling her brains out as Gabriel formed chains around her hands and ankles.
"See, that's why bad guys get jinxed, it's because of people like you…" Gabriel said covering Kairi's mouth. "My God, how does she put up with you…? Back then she would've killed you. Damn, I miss Amaterasu now…" Gabriel said putting his hand back down.
Kairi had bitten him, and blood was starting to form around the bit mark.
"Stop talking and just put her in the hole…" Leana said glaring at Gabriel with an icy stare. "I'll do the rest from there… Got it?"
Gabriel nodded, and placed a Stop spell on Kairi's body to keep it from moving. It was at the second level, a stronger spell. Gabriel picked her up, and placed her in the hole, it was rather deep. He just prayed to what ever god that hopefully she didn't bleed, because then he'd find animals in there the next day sniffing for food.
"Let's try and keep her alive, please?" Leana said getting up from her little makeshift chair, she was sitting on a boulder. Gabriel moved aside and let his partner take the rest. "All right then," she sighed, and closed her eyes for a moment.
Within seconds of the spell, the top part of the hole was covered and Kairi could only see darkness now. A little stand, with a depressing rock carving of a girl's figure, that being Kairi, covered the hole, with a fake keyhole. The real keyhole was on the wall, and within it, it held the memories of Xehanort, about 2/3s of it really.
Gabriel sighed and looked back at Leana, who was taking off her cast.
"What are you doing?" Gabriel asked her as Leana flung the material on the ground, setting it on fire. "Oh… Your arm is going to smell really bad."
Leana growled and froze his arm slightly, and Gabriel jumped back yelling at his partner.
"See this is why I miss the good old days!" Gabriel said yelling at Leana for a moment, he finally found a way to thaw his arm. "I've been with you FOREVER, and I feel like killing you in your sleep…" he covered his mouth.
"I'm glad to see we're on the same page…" Leana said shaking her head. "There's nothing we can do, the past is the past. Now, let's focus on our mission."
"Right, Xehanort's memory!"
Kairi was still in the dark trying to break free from the chains that held her, but it was no use. She just prayed that the others would find her. 'Sora you jerk, you'd better not keep me waiting!'
R i k u
We're at the ravine, due to a hunch that Reeve had about finding a suspicious reading on his radar. I don't know if it was just luck, but we found something. Down in the ravine is where the old castle was, along with ruins and what not.
Amaterasu went ahead of us, to go and scout out with Nanaki and a girl with amber eyes. The others haven't made a big deal about my weird colored eye, which is a good thing, I don't want to explain it to anyone.
That girl with the amber eyes, she was with that man, Vincent Valentine. I know Amaterasu is older than she appears, so I wasn't really all that surprised to find she knew him and the girl. Still, I kind of feel a bit jealous, she's ageless, time doesn't catch up to her.
Anyway we're still walking around the area. Heartless here and there, but it's nothing we can't handle, since we're in a big group now. Yomigami and Gekigami haven't been hounding me, but I know why.
I'm still upset as to what happened to Tachigami and the others. They didn't deserve to die that way. Sora said he was outside because he wanted to see if he could find anything that Tachigami, or the twins left behind, so that he could give it to Amaterasu, but he didn't.
"To your left!" Cloud said taking out his First Sword.
I jumped to the side, and brought out Way to Dawn, hacking at the Heartless by my area. Aerith placed a Thunder spell taking out about five Heartless in a heart beat. I watched Amaterasu take out three Heartless with the swing of her Keyblade, she really got into it.
Thanks to gazing at her, a Heartless took a whack at my face and I found myself staring up at the sky.
"Riku…" Sora stood in front of me protecting my fallen self. "Don't get distracted…"
"There's an opening!" Amaterasu said calling the rest of us to another side. "Hurry up!" she said.
Nanaki attacked a couple of Heartless, and Amaterasu pushed some off of her as she was leading the way. The girl with the amber eyes moved quickly, it was hard to keep up with her sometimes. Vincent shot down five Heartless with the use of only one bullet, and it was amazing, I'll admit.
Reeve and Cait Sith helped one another out, taking out Heartless that approached one another. 'A man and his robotic cat…'
Rinoa and Squall were strong, despite their age. They're like what 27 now? That's not that old, but still it might as well be in this day and age.
"Ammi!" I yelled out as a Heartless snuck up on her. I out stretched my palm, and in a flash of white and black, an energy ball knocked down the Heartless. I sighed and looked back at my hand. 'Dark Aura,' I thought to myself closing my fist again.
'I'm taking control little by little… I want you to know that.'
"I'm not going to let you!" I yelled at my inner Heartless.
'You just tell yourself that, boy.'
That damn Heartless, stupid Xehanort, I hate him. He's been nothing but trouble from the start. First with me, and now with Amaterasu too. I hate this, I can't do anything about it, or maybe I can but I'm just using it as an excuse.
A m a t e r a s u
I looked back at everyone, they seemed to be in good shape. I went ahead again with Nanaki, and her. The Heartless were starting to retreat, which was a good thing, since I was starting to get a bit tired. Other than that, I just wanted to save Kairi from those two idiots.
I have a feeling that it won't be that east, since Gabriel can fight pretty well, but even with Leana's arm all messed up, she' still a threat. Maybe I should've killed her on the spot, but I would've felt bad. 'You grow a conscious now, that's rich…' the voice in the back of my head said. 'It would've helped back then you know, a lot of people…'
"I know…" I whispered to myself, Nanaki picked it up though, and so I laughed nervously.
There was an opening, to where the old castle use to have that little pulley system to get across. It smelled like Heartless, and I had a bad feeling about it all, but for some reason I didn't feel so nervous around it now.
The others finally caught up, and Vincent and Yuffie went ahead, just to scout. I looked back at her, the girl with the amber eyes, and she gave me a rather small smile. 'She's still the same old girl…'
"Three Behemoths!" Yuffie said running back in a frenzy.
"Sora, go and find Kairi' we'll take care of everything here, okay?" I said looking back at him. "Here take this…" I said tossing him a keychain. "You'd better bring it back though, it's a good one, and I'll kill you if you don't…" I said smiling slightly. "Please, go and save her…"
Sora took the keychain, and within moments his Keyblade changed shape. The Keyblade Ultima appeared, being one of the best of the best Keyblade's around. A very powerful weapon no Keyblade Wielder should be without. At least that's what I remember when I found it in the HBRC room.
"You've got another chance, now go!" I said looking at him. "Don't worry about us. I'll take good care of them… And Riku…" I said.
"Someone's being egotistical today…" Sora said and with that he went running off deeper into the area.
With that all of us formed a small group, fighting off the Heartless that went after the Keyblade's 'Chosen One'. It wasn't all that easy, since the Behemoths came too early, and a massive bunch of flying mage Heartless came. 'Hell's being a bit too nice…' I thought to myself watching Leon and Rinoa tag team together against ten surrounding Heartless.
"Spilt up into groups!" Yomigami said.
With Sora
"Runt at five o'clock!" Gabriel said looking back at Leana, who had gotten use to her arm again. She smiled wickedly and nodded.
"But we don't want to kill him just yet…" she said thinking for another moment. "Just coax him, but that's about it, okay?"
"Who the hell made you queen…?" Gabriel said looking back at her. "You do it… It's your plan."
With that Leana took no chance and brought out her weapon. 'If I know Amaterasu, she'll come eventually, and I'll get my chance at her…'
Kairi heard Sora call out her name. 'It's a trap… Sora don't do it it's a trap!' her mind was screaming over and over again, but it was no use, Sora wasn't psychic.
Sora got into a fighting stance, and Ultima weapon appeared in his battle ready hands. Gabriel watched from a safe distance, and remembered seeing that weapon once with Amaterasu.
"She's gonna die now…" Gabriel said smirking at the thought. "And if she doesn't, he's going to die once we're done with him."
A/N: You know what to do un/ one review please!