Chapter 6- Dark truths
After finally clearing the last of the cards they possessed, Riku and Sairu emerged in the next floor, and were met by a tall, well-built man dressed in a black cloak, with auburn hair slicked back in messy, uneven spikes. In his right hand, he balanced a giant axe-like weapon, yet seemed reminiscent of a sword. Sairu was aware of their adversary's identity: like with Vexen previously, he knew this individual's name: "Aeleus" Sairu uttered in surprise. At this, Lexaeus awoke from his reverie, glancing in Sairu's direction, before he shook his head. "No longer do I bear the name of Aeleus. Now, I am Lexaeus, and as you must already know that I am part of the Organization, the same as Vexen before me. Regardless, it was certainly a surprise to see a familiar face, especially for my comrade" "Comrade? Do you mean that-" Sairu said but Lexaeus interrupted "Indeed. Ienzo is the comrade of whom I speak" "Then, where is he?" Sairu asked pleadingly. "Continue your trek through the castle, and he will appear. But understand: he is not the same friend you once cherished" Lexaeus explained in an empty voice.
Hearing this, Sairu's once limp fingers tightened into fists, a flash of anger in his eyes. "Why does everyone keep saying that?" he growled. At this, Lexaeus directed his gaze towards Riku and said "You've done well thus far. But to possess your powers and yet fear the darkness... What a waste" he coldly remarked, angering Riku as well. "I do not... fear it!" he exclaimed shakily. "I sense that you do" Lexaeus retorted. "You're also capable of controlling the darkness. Cast away your useless fear. Open your heart. Embrace the darkness" he added.
"And if I say no?" Riku asked. "Then you lose both light and darkness- and disappear!" Lexaeus declared before he became shrouded in a dark and powerful that shook the very ground they stood on. After this display of power, Lexaeus stood straight again, saying "I, Lexaeus, will not yield to the frail heart- of an infantile coward! Now stop resisting" and as he said so, he swung his weapon to hold it in his grip for combat, finishing with the line "and let the darkness in!" Once again, Sairu was reduced into a card, leaving Riku to counter Lexaeus's immeasurable strength alone. Thankfully, Riku called Sairu out and unleashed his Shining Blast technique (where he spins his sword in a full circle and unleashes a disc of white energy when swung). This technique caused enough damage to stun Lexaeus momentarily, allowing Riku the opportunity to strike him down.
After the battle, all three combatants were exhausted, though with a swing of his large weapon, both Sairu and Riku were sent flying. Both were rendered unconscious, their weapons lying close by: Sairu was slumped against the wall, whilst Riku was face down at the centre after being thrown to the ceiling. "You were too much trouble" Lexaeus said, sounding irritated as he approached Riku. Then, to his surprise, Riku's attire changes as he rose to his knees, collects his sword and then, faster than the eye could see: he struck Lexaeus ruthlessly, who dropped his weapon with a loud bang in shock. Riku stood on one knee, brandishing his sword with a cocky smirk. "Too slow" he remarked in a possessed manner.
Lexaeus stumbled and said "You are the Superior's-" but stopped when he noticed darkness surround him. "Forgive me, Zexion. This was a fight I should not have started" he lamented as he faded into darkness, leaving a cocky Riku to smirk in triumph before he fell unconscious. Unknown to the unconscious boys, the pendant around Sairu's neck began to glow, and emitted a beam of light that shot towards Riku's limp form.
Once Sairu opened his eyes, he found he was surrounded by swirling clouds of darkness. As he looked around, he then noticed, below him, was an unconscious Riku. Then, that dreaded voice spoke again: "I see you now... clearly" This woke Riku with a start, and asked in his confusion "Lexaeus?!" "Riku... I can see your heart..." the voice spoke again. Riku realised with a pang who this voice belonged to. "No... it's not. Darkness this foul could only... only be-" "That's it, remember me... Let me drift into your heart..." the voice responded snidely. "Ansem!" Riku exclaimed, prompting the voice in question to laugh evilly, sending shivers down Sairu's spine. "You called out my name. You have been thinking about me... You're afraid of the darkness I command. Good... The more you think of me, the closer my return draws. And when I have awoken, I will take hold..." as the voice spoke, the entity himself appeared from the dark, triumphantly exclaiming "Your heart will be mine!"
At this, Sairu descended upon the scene, and exclaimed, as Riku feebly attempted to escape Ansem's approaching hand "Riku! Don't give in!" and as Sairu appeared beside his friend, another voice appeared to help "Riku, fight! Don't let him win!" the King's voice exclaimed. "Your Majesty! Sairu!" Riku said surprised as an apparition of King Mickey appeared alongside Sairu to shield Riku from Ansem's clutches, holding out their arms, looking at Ansem with determined gazes to protect their friend. "You meddlesome fools!" Ansem angrily declared, and the scene became enveloped in a bright light. The next time Riku and Sairu opened their eyes, they were in the same room they had collapsed in from their battle with Lexaeus.
As the two boys rose to their feet, Riku turned to Sairu and said "Sairu... You protected me. But how?" "I don't know, but what matters is that the King and I protected you from him. Don't fight the darkness alone. We're your friends, after all, the King and I" Sairu said reassuringly. Riku smiled, touched by Sairu's admittance of their friendship. Then, Riku looked around, calling "Your Majesty, where are you? Please answer!" Then Riku stopped and placed his hand on his chest where his heart was "You're with me too, aren't you?" he asked knowingly. "Well, are you ready to keep going?" Sairu asked. "Yeah. Let's go. We've got a friend of yours to look out for" Riku responded and the two friends continued on their way to the next floor.
Elsewhere, Zexion was as per usual, locked in his contemplative mood again, only to be interrupted by an anomaly: the disappearance of the odour of darkness that belonged to Lexaeus. "Lexaeus is gone as well..." he said, as a corridor of darkness appeared before him, revealing a tall and lean-built man dressed in a black cloak with form-fitting sleeves. His long hair was a bright red colour and grew up and down in nearly all directions. He had shocking emerald green eyes, and his face featured two tear drop marks placed symmetrically on his cheeks.
"Vexen, Larxene, Lexaeus... I wonder who will be next in line?" he said in a rather teasing voice. "I thought perhaps it might be you" Zexion replied in a vague joking manner of his own. The red-haired man smirked at this, and turned his back to his partner in crime. "Me? No way. I already took my pounding from Sora. He thinks I'm done for good" he responded light-heartedly, before sounding serious as he spoke again "Nope, I think it will be Marluxia next. For defying the Organization and targeting Sora. I hope he moves exactly as his heart commands him to" he said, before turning to face Zexion again and said, changing the subject "So, what about you? I thought you guys had plans for Riku." "Yes. We were going to set him off against the traitors... But with Marluxia gone, there is no more need. He is nothing but a nuisance now" Zexion explained.
"And he's dangerous as well. After all, he took down Lexaeus" the red haired man agreed. "You know that is not how I do things" Zexion said, before asking "Tell me, did you obtain the data on Riku's home?" his red-haired ally produced a card and threw it to Zexion, who caught it and looked at it, confirming it was indeed a card of Riku's home, the Destiny Islands. "Also, have you considered what to do about your old friend who is with Riku as we speak? If you like, I can keep him busy while you deal with Riku" Red suggested in a serious tone of voice. "That will not be necessary. I shall deal with Sairu and Riku at the same time. I cannot hide myself from those two any longer" Zexion replied. Red didn't seem convinced by his answer.
"Are you sure you can bring yourself to face him after all this time?" he asked questioningly. Zexion simply gave him an unreadable look, but responded "How can I feel remorse for any actions? Without what we banded together for, I have nothing to restrain myself. It was inevitable that we were to meet again, albeit in circumstances I did not predict. Surely you understand striking your comrades down better than anyone, Axel?" At this, Axel gave a dejected look as he folded his arms and replied "The circumstances are different. Vexen was simply a nuisance; Sairu and you are bound by something stronger than simply being comrades. Besides, despite your efforts to act all emotionless, I know you couldn't strike him down if your life depended on it" "Regardless of your opinion, that is the dark truth of reality: when your closest friend becomes your enemy, you must accept the circumstances that led to the two of you choosing different paths" Zexion retorted. "Despite our past together, we have walked different paths" "Sure, whatever you say. If there's anything I know about two different paths, is that they will cross again" Axel said as he disappeared into another corridor of darkness. Zexion merely snorted at this remark, but caught himself and stopped: it took him by surprise, the second thing to cause such shock within him after seeing Sairu was close by. 'How did I just snort at Axel's remark? It appears that circumstances have changed' he thought, as he disappeared in a dark corridor, his destination: Riku, the hero of darkness and Sairu, the light of the moon.