Disclaimer - I do not own Kingdom Hearts. This is made by a fan for fans. No money is being made.
Author's Note - The end of the story draws near. A few more chapters, and it'll be done. That being said, I think I've got the Point of View thing down. Maybe.
Sora fell to his knees, hands covering each ear. Zexion squinted his eyes to get a better view. It looked like he was trying to keep his head from exploding. Zexion shrugged. Whatever the case, the kid had fallen just in time. Larxene's dagger whizzed by above him, disappearing in the mist.
"You missed," Zexion loved to point out the obvious. Larxene shot him a vicious look.
"I can see that."
And she called my weapon lame. She can't even aim hers. He wisely decided not to voice his thoughts. She would either get angry with him, or make a remark about his 'weapon.' Bile rose in his throat when he realized just how well he knew this woman.
It wasn't a pleasant thought. He turned his attention back to Sora. He seemed to have recovered, and was just getting up again, when, of a sudden, a duck ran into him. The white feathered animal was strong enough to bowl Sora, nearly twice its size, over completely.
A duck.
To Zexion's credit, his mouth didn't drop open.
"Is that Donald?" Larxene asked.
"What?" It was a legitimit question, granted it could have been phrased differently. 'Excuse me Larxene, but did you just insinuate that a duck could have a name?' would have been better. As it stands, Zexion was a bit dumb about the situation, and his question came out accordingly.
"I'm not talking to you," the blond snapped.
Zexion hmphed. Larxene ignored him.
"The Donald?"
Zexion kept from rolling his eyes. He was convinced of it now. He must be dreaming. Or hallucinating. Or both, if that was possible. Not only did the duck have a name...
It was famous.
What did he eat before going to sleep? He pinched himself. Ouch. Nope, not asleep. So, maybe Larxene drugged him? It was possible...
She noticed his suspicious side-long glance. "What?"
"I'm onto you."
"Honey, you will be."
God Almighty.
Donald gave himself a mental pat on the back for his ingenious idea. He was actually beginning to understand these insane people and their insane ways. It took a bit of will-power, and a great deal of humility, which was not one of his natural personality traits, but the Mage of Disney Castle had swallowed his pride.
He had played their games.
After a few rounds of Go Fish, which Red Cloak was insanely good at, Donald had opted for other games. Gain their trust, and such, you know. Donald didn't want to think back on the other games they had played. After the torture, er, fun, was done, they had sat down around the grill and began, as Red Cloak put it, a religious ceremony.
They made him eat worms.
He was very chummy about it. Not on your life, buddy! And took it all in stride. Ahm not gonna! Ahm not gonna! When it was all over, they put a miniature blue cloak on him, and declared him part of their tribe. Goofy got an orange cloak, and he got his without a 'test on his loyalty,' aka, eating worms. Donald hadn't spoken to the floopy-eared dumbo since.
Once he was part of their tribe he had the right, according to Red Cloak's Rules of Ever-changing Origin and Blueberrie Pie, to pick a new game to play. Donald had rubbed his hands together evilly with a quacky cackle. "Follow the leader," he had said, and immediately declared himself the leader. And. It. Worked.
Now he could wander around this foggy wasteland at whim! Now...where was he going?
He stopped and looked around from side to side. Nothing left...nothing right...The band of Cloaks behind him halted in their tracks and inquired where their fearless leader might take them on this daring voyage across the unknown realm. Goofy yupped.
"Uh, this way!" Donald quickly pointed to the left and began walking. The group followed behind him, but then he saw something to the right. A spikey-haired something.
"Why that big Palooka!" Donald was off like a shot.
The air was knocked out of Sora's lungs. He hated when that happened. Bad memories were associated with that. And it hurt!
"How could you of left us like that!" the ball of feathers on top of him demanded. The accusation held absolutely no truth in it. Sora didn't leave them. Technically, they left him, but he wasn't about to bring that up.
"Geez, Donald, I'm sorry."
Donald's features softened considerably. Sora had no idea what was going through the duck's mind. In fact, he might be out of his mind if he really checked his anger that easily. The duck was litterally mad or acting mad almost all the time.
Goofy came walking up, the mist parting before him. "Hiya, Sora!"
"Goofy!" Sora called excitedly. He had been worrying about them both for over three hours now, scared they would be 'hanged on the morrow' or whatever Red Cloak had said. Speaking of Red Cloak...
There he was right now, walking ahead of Goofy. And...Yellow Cloak? And Green Cloak? They both stood on either side of Goofy, an arm slung around each of his shoulders like the best of buds. Yellow and Green were both see-through, like ghosts.
Well, that's weird.
Sora did a double take. Goofy was wearing a cloak, too! And DONALD!?! How had that happened, he would like to know. Oh, boy, he would like to know. This was black-mail material right here.
"We have arrived, an escort for this young lady," Red Cloak announced, motioning to Goofy, "and her dog," and here he motioned to Donald, who looked about ready to tear the man's head off.
"Red Cloak," Sora began, studying Yellow and Green intensely.
"Steven Harry Henry the third," Red Cloak corrected.
Sora didn't even try repeating that. "I didn't know you had family."
Donald's beak dropped. "You're friends with him!?!
Red Cloak answered Sora as if Donald had never spoken. Then again, he might've been speaking to Donald...who knows. "If I choose to move to the right or to the left, it's none of your business."
Sora failed to descipher that one. Donald had graciously allowed him to stand up, so he took the opportunity. "Is Riku anywhere around here?"
"Haven't seen him," Donald said, disappointment evident in his voice.
Red Cloak tilted his head.
"Uh...Princess with White Hair," Sora clarified.
"Aha. The One who Stomps on Conscience."
Donald found, to his surprise, that he under stood that one, "How did you-"
Sora saw it coming. He moved quickly to tackle Donald out of the way. Him tackle Donald? Oh the irony.
Donald was rather upset. "Whad'ya do that for?" The rest of his complaints died on his lips...er, bill. Sora wasn't the only one who had acted. They were a team once, after all. Goofy had jumped in front of Donald, shield held ready.
The dagger clanked against the metal and fell harmlessly to the ground. Grumbling could be heard in the distance; all three looked toward it. Nothing was there. Not that they could see anyway. The grumbling stopped abruptly.
Sora's eyes didn't leave the spot the voice had come from. Someone was out there, that much was obvious. He spoke to his friends, "We should find Riku and leave." Donald shook his head vigorously in agreement. Sora's face showed concern. This whole 'bring Riku to justice' thing was, perhaps, the most stressful thing in his life. Besides the whole Kairi wanting to kill him and sending lackies to do the job thing.
Sora sighed. That's all he needed. King Mickey to put Riku in the gummie jail for fifty years. Or, worse yet, the gummie chair. Sora gringed.
He'd be slimed.
"You'll be slimed! HAHAHAHAHA!"
Riku frowned. Axel was cracking himself up. He was on the ground right now, twisting and turning every which way, every bit the laughing fool.
Roxas fought to keep his smile at bay. It was rather funny, though he was smart enough not to say so out loud. Axel would never stop then. Still, the red head had a point. Death in Disney Castle meant being encased in slime for eternity, and the word eternity is used lightly, so that the slime would come pouring in from all sides of the gummie chair and encase the villian's body. With a push of a button the slime would solidify, and there you would be. Alive. Trapped.
Slimed.
Roxas had to bite his lip. Must not laugh. Must not laugh.
Riku caught Roxas's failing attempts and rolled his eyes. He made to hide his face in his hands, but stopped himself, too proud to hide. He stubbornly grabbed at the sides of his pants to keep his hands from acting against his whim, which was just as well for Axel as it was for Riku. Roxas thought he might attack his friend at any moment. Axel, rolling around like an idiot, was oblivious to Riku's death glare.
So, it came as somewhat of a surprise when Axel suddenly stopped. He jumped to his feet immediately and looked to the sky. "She's coming."
Roxas was surprised himself, but only for a moment. He could feel it himself now, and felt just a bit jealous that Axel sensed it first. He smiled dryly. For some reason their sense of darkness hadn't left them when they landed. Pfft. It was unusual for the power to sense darkness to remain...but it wasn't really a power was it? It was an instinct.
Riku, on the other hand, had no idea what was going on. He tensed at Axel's strange behavior. "Who's coming?" he asked.
Roxas smiled. "You already know." He tried to catch Riku's facial reaction to this, but Riku turned his face away from him.
The area grew cold unexpectedly, and the mist within their little cage disappeared. They could see each other clearly for a few seconds, and then the darkness came. Roxas could see the stars slowly disappearing with a power that he would normally have control over. Darkness. But as with his keyblades, his ability to control darkness faded as soon as he stepped on this planet. He couldn't even summon a dark portal to leave. Axel and Namine had both used them to get here, but leaving the same way was quite impossible. No magic was usable here. Not black, not white. Still, whether he could control it or not, he certainly exuded a certain amount of it. He and Axel both did, in small amounts. But this darkness...it couldn't be magic, and that meant someone was coming. Someone who's dark aura was strong enough to block out the stars.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Riku said. He still wasn't looking at him, Roxas noted. His silver bangs hung over his eyes.
The darkness became more profound. It was hard to see at all now. Roxas turned away from Riku and smiled.
Axel was smiling, too, though his was considerably less ominous than Roxas's. "You'll see."
No he wouldn't. It was too freaking dark. The kind of dark where your eyes become all but useless and your other senses kick in to compensate. The speed with which it had fallen over the entire area left no room to hide from it.
Not like one can hide from the dark anyway.
Riku shook his head and got over it. He was no stranger to the dark, in more ways than one. A monster had injured his eyes once, almost completely blinding him, and no amount of curega could heal the injury. He had needed an elixer, but none were to be found. He had to go blindfolded for months before he and Sora were able to restock their supplies from a store selling the precious, and ridiculously expensive, potion. That, coupled with the experience of his previous profession, led him to a decision.
It would be all too easy...minus the hands tied behind the back thing...and the fact that minion one and minion two could practically see in the dark. Damn complications.
Axel was looking away when it happened. Needless to say, the pyro was peeved when he suddenly notice the lack of weight in his coat. Riku had taken the chakram cleanly, almost without notice, but Axel was already on guard when it came to his weapon, and kicked out savagely at the thief. Riku took it with a pained grunt, and used Axel's own kick to help him roll out of harm's way. Axel realized his mistake too late.
Riku had been the only way able to walk around the entire cage, and still was. He positioned himself well out of Axel's reach. Riku smiled smuggly, and Axel sneered at him, an expression he knew Riku couldn't see. It was too dark. She was almost here...Riku would have no way to escape.
But then Riku did something quite unexpected.
"Dispell," he said, uttering the magical word to dispell the invisible force field keeping him from freedom.
Even more unexpected: it worked.
Author's Note - Riku...slimed. XD Oh, don't laugh, it's morbid, not funny. You people, you.