The Uprising
Here it is. The third chapter to "The Uprising"! I do hope you enjoy it. If you will recall, we last left off with Zexion and Lexaeus attempting to use the Riku Replica to swiftly end the rebellion in a fierce standoff with Larxene and Marluxia! Please note that I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Square-Enix, or these characters, but I do own my own ideas, so back off! Anyway, here it is!
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The Riku Replica had only one objective, to free Namine. He cared neither for Zexion and Lexaeus's plan nor for anyone else in this bloody castle. "We feared you would react so violently, Zexion. Without even the bravery to fight us yourself…" Marluxia's words echoed through the corridors of the dark basement floors. Larxene, whose leadership had grown since her untimely demise (much to the discomfort of her partner) interrupted him, bringing their own secret weapon forward. "Shatter his heart, Namine." She began, her yellow throwing knife digging into the blond girl's neck, prompting a drop of crimson blood to slide down her neck. Namine did not reply with words, but with a flinch and a grimace.
Repliku lowered his weapon in shock, which quickly turned to outright rage. "Let her go!" He screamed, brandishing his blade at the two once more. Zexion frowned, thinking of how this encounter wasn't going quite as he planned. "I… I won't." Namine said softly, her eyes brimming with tears. Larxene's grip on her neck tightened, causing a sharp intake of breath on Namine's part. "Oh, but you will, Namine, if I make you!" At that, she electrified the knife, sending shocks throughout the Nobody's body. This caused her to involuntarily shatter the Riku Replica's heart and memories, causing him to collapse to the ground. "NO!" The girl wailed, horrified at what she had just done.
Zexion nodded at Lexaeus, who summoned his axe-sword, glaring at Larxene, whose quick attacks countered his slow, but powerful movements. Zexion, in turn, brought out his own weapon, a powerful Lexicon, enhancing his already great abilities. Namine, meanwhile, cradled the Repliku's motionless head in her lap, tears falling upon his blank and emotionless face. Marluxia laughed and brought out his scythe. There was no turning back now.
Time seemed to stand still as the duos prepared for battle. At last, after the silence had become too deafening to bear, Larxene flung four sharp knives at Lexaeus, who shattered them all in one sweep of his club, causing her to summon more thin daggers. Nearby, Zexion floated several feet above the hard floor, sending out blasts of illusion at Marluxia with one hand and holding his Lexicon in the other. The Graceful Assassin responded with destructive pink rays from his flower-themed weapon. With a flurry of pages, Marluxia was enveloped into a nightmarish illusion. He looked around the dark atmosphere and began trying to mentally free himself of this prison. When he finally escaped it, Marluxia found that there were several clones of his foe holding dark scythes of their own and floating towards their target. With a cyclone of petals, the lord of Castle Oblivion sprung into attack.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, neither Larxene nor Lexaeus were making any headway on defeating their adversary. The Silent Hero used his powers to make small mounds of Earth jut out of the ground in order to catch the ninja-like foe off guard and get the upper hand. These attempts were for naught, however, for she would cartwheel and back flip out of the way of these attacks. In between dodges, Larxene would send bolts of lightning at Lexaeus, who would halt them with one swing of his axe-sword. This continued on for several minutes, neither of them making any headway.
While this was occurring, Namine was trying to get some sort of reaction from the Riku Replica. Her efforts did not produce results for what felt like an eternity to the Nobody, until at last his eyes fluttered open. She gasped and whispered in his ear, not wanting the members to take notice of them. "What do you remember? Anything?" He didn't respond for several seconds, obviously thinking intensely. At last he responded, pausing several times in between sentences, trying to recall certain things. "You're not his special someone… Are you? And… You're not mine either… The Lucky Charm… A fake… Just like… Me… I'm nothing more than… A Replica…" His face hardened. "A sham." Namine helped him to his feet and handed him the replicated Soul Eater. "Go, Riku. Run before they see you're awake." His face softened into concern. "But… What about you?" She glanced back at the battling members. "They won't think anything of your disappearance. They'll just assume the heart-shattering did more damage than they thought… And you faded away. If I vanish, Marluxia and Larxene will never stop searching for me." She turned back to him. "Run." Repliku backed away slowly and, after thanking her, turned and ran down the hallway, the shadows enveloping him until he was completely obscured from view.