A/N: Sorry this one's kind of late.
Disclaimer: I don't own characters, Kingdom Hearts, or Square Enix.
Next chapter will hopefully be up soon.
Thanks for reading. :D
Chapter 28: The Fiend and the Unexpected Friend
(Sora's POV)
Marluxia was standing at the far end of the room, holding Namine in a death grip. I raced forward to break the distance and readied myself to attack. Namine was shuddering under his rough hands. I would have given anything to remove her from that predicament, to get her to a safe haven.
But, I couldn't.
She was caught in the middle and Marluxia was holding all the cards. If I made a slip up or pulled the wrong trigger, she would surely pay the price. It was a sick and sadistic game he played, using my one and only weakness against me. I knew that I would have to play by his rules until I came up with my own.
His eyes were chilling and his mouth was drawn into a sinister smile.
"The power of the keyblade will soon be mine."
"Let her go," I barked, "this is our fight."
"Yes, but she can still be of use to me."
"What are you going to do with her?"
He laughed, "You'll find out soon enough."
"What do you mean by that?"
He demanded Namine's attention and she turned to face him in compliance.
"Namine, I order you to erase Sora's memories."
She stared up at Marluxia with empty eyes and a pained scowl. Tears began to well up and she gracefully wiped them away with the back of her hand. The color faded from her face as she glanced at me from afar.
"But…why?"
"DO. IT. NOW," he boomed.
"No," she whispered.
"What? Foolish girl, you dare defy me?"
"I won't do this."
"Why not?"
"If I do this, Sora's heart will be destroyed."
"Indeed, but he can be rebuilt more to my liking."
"I could never," she cried.
"You have no say in the matter, Namine."
"You told me you wouldn't hurt him," she pled, "you promised."
"Plans change and you WILL do as you are told."
"No, I won't take orders from you any longer."
"Insolent girl."
"Sora trusts me now."
"Trust is for fools."
"Even so, I wouldn't betray him again."
"I have no use for traitors," he threatened, "do you want to be punished?"
"I don't care what happens to me," she screamed, "do your worst."
Her words echoed in my head and hit me with as much force as a bullet to the heart. I knew I had to do something, anything at all. In that moment, I lost all composure and jumped in front of her.
"NO," I bellowed, "DON'T YOU EVEN DARE!"
Marluxia and Namine gaped at me, momentarily stricken speechless by the display of my intense reaction.
"Do what you must with me," I begged, "but leave her alone."
"Sora…don't do this," she whispered, "don't try to save me this time."
"I have to and I always will," I said as I reached for her hand.
"I don't want you to get hurt," she uttered.
"The feeling's mutual, Namine."
A soft smile lit up her face and she coyfully bowed her head.
"I'm waiting," Marluxia hissed.
"Namine, I don't think we have any other choice."
"I can't do this to you."
"Just erase the memories," I declared, "I can handle it."
"No, it doesn't have to end that way."
"I'll be fine," I said calmly, "I'm not afraid."
"I don't want to be evil anymore."
"You were never evil," I sighed, "and I'm giving you permission."
"NO. NO. NO."
"Please," I begged, "for me?"
"Sorry…I…just," she stuttered, "I…just…can't."
"Namine, it will be okay."
"No, it will never be okay."
"She's right of course," Marluxia snapped, "you're going to end up empty."
"So what," I challenged, "I can defeat you with or without my memories."
"Fool," he chided, "you'll be nothing more than a puppet on a string…MY STRING."
"OH YEAH," a voice called out, "I SEEM TO MANAGE JUST FINE!" Suddenly, the Imitation Riku appears from behind a cloud of silvery smoke. He casually strided across the room and took his place beside Namine and I.
"You," Marluxia snarled, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to protect Namine."
"You're just a hollow shell," Marluxia laughed, "you've lost everything and yet you continue to fight for this…this girl."
"You're wrong," the fake Riku retorted, "I had NOTHING to lose because I had NOTHING to begin with."
"You're a pathetic copy," Marluxia taunted, "you'll NEVER be anything more than that."
"I am just a copy," he asserted, "but I'll always protect Namine."
"She lied to you," the enemy chortled, "your memories are a sham."
"I don't care," he replied with a smile, "phantom promise or not."
"You would deliberately shackle your own heart and dismiss the truth for a lie?"
"Yes," Riku and I shouted in unison.
"Then prepare for your ultimate doom."
Riku Replica and I engaged in a battle with the fiend. He wasn't much of a challenge against the two of us, we finished him off with effortless ease. I should've know better than to let my hopes up because they were crushed soon after the fight. As Marluxia fell into the shadows of defeat, we breathed a collective sigh of relief.
It was finally over, we had won.
Or so we thought.