Holy…o_0 Dudes, you guys totally rallied last chapter with the reviews. Words fail me. Almost. You guys are awesome though, I mean it. Seriously. And you all said such nice things! I feel totally loved. I just hope my story meets your expectations ^^'. So anyway, I want to thank you all you dudes who reviewed: PirataNoctis, NiffStral, XfallenXshadowX, ramen-is-my-goddess, Mirror and Darkling, A-chan, keitorin.24, Dust to Dusk, Aindel S. Druida, FlurryDivider, kurumaotokoiscarmen, Ivy J., Chronos Mephistopheles, -xX Twilit Memories Xx-, Sexy-Tacos-Emo-Waffles, 73n5hl, Acherona, zi-ling, CloudedMirror. I think there were more of you who reviewed for earlier chapters too, so, you guys are awesome too! :D
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Chapter 5
Riku stared at Axel for a second before his initial reaction took over and he stalked forward. He approached Axel with a scowl on his face, pushing Demyx aside and jabbing the redhead in the chest. "What the hell is your problem? Have you been lying to me this entire time?!"
Axel snorted, his acidic green eyes narrowing as he met Riku's gaze aggressively, apparently eager for whatever fight was about to arise. Riku had never seen him look so menacing. Or mature for that matter. It was as if he could finally see how old Axel really looked, he really was more a young adult than teen. How could Riku have missed that for four years? "Of course I lied to you. I've wasted the last four years of my life waiting for the opportune moment. Had to fake every damn smile I sent your way to keep from reaching out and throttling you myself."
Hissing, Riku lifted his chin, the angry flash in his aqua eyes just matching the blaze in Axel's gaze. "So you lie to me for four years, keeping me on your good side, only to drag me out somewhere, kidnap me, and take me into this godforsaken shit hole of a world? I knew you were a freak, Axel, but I never thought I'd have to add 'manipulative bastard' to your list of issues." Riku's cheeks were red with rage at this point, his hands clenching into fists. His blood was boiling so hot; he'd never been angrier.
Axel was supposed to be his friend.
Axel had been his friend!
And all of it…every single moment, had none of it been real? But no, he couldn't be hurt, he had to be angry. Better to be angry than to be hurt. "I bet you even messed with my car, didn't you?! You wanted the car to break down there on purpose, trying to get me out on my own before forcing me into this world!"
Sneering, Axel leaned down so that they were almost nose to nose, his voice lowering to a dangerous growl. "Yeah, I messed with your precious car. I even enjoyed firing that thing's engine. Believe me; I could have taken a much more violent course of actions. It was hard to keep myself from just beating you unconscious and throwing you into this world to be devoured by the Heartless."
Taking a breath, Axel raised his clenched fist right under Riku's face. "Do you have any idea what sort of shit I had to go through, stuck in that damn school? Watching you live like a spoiled brat, surrounded by your little bunch of groveling slaves? Beautiful, rich, perfect little Riku Jenovan." Axel spat out every word. Riku had never seen this expression on the redhead, it was one of true hatred. "It was disgusting. Every snotty little remark that came out of your mouth just made me want to do this-!"
Riku cried out as Axel's fist suddenly erupted with fire. Before it could burn his face he was suddenly shoved away from the flame, his chest heaving as Demyx flung himself between the two of them. The water god pushed them apart, his expression angry. "There will be no fighting here!" His voice held an unquestionable force, far different from his previous cheerful chirps. "If the two of you have unresolved problems, then you will either talk it out or leave my sanctuary right now." His voice faltered somewhat, his eyes falling to the ground. "I have seen too much injury and bloodshed in my lifetime. I won't tolerate any more."
Swallowing, Riku tried to calm his pounding heart as Axel slowly lowered his arms. Anger was the only defense he had. If he didn't keep it, then all that was left…was the pain of betrayal. Looking down at the ground, Riku murmured. "Tell me…has everything been a lie? Did you ever say one thing that was the truth?"
Axel snorted, his own voice lowering to a manageable level now that Demyx was standing unyieldingly between them, though his voice had taken on an almost mocking tone. "Yeah. I said the truth once. I really did need your help with a history project. Not for school though, for here. You're here to fix what your family and kind destroyed."
Seeing Riku's blank stare, Axel let his gaze move over the silver-haired youth's shoulder, green eyes settling on Cloud. "I'm actually surprised you managed to stay alive travelling with Cloud, though I suppose it's for the best. You have a large part to play." He smirked. "After all, you are General Sephiroth's son."
Riku barely had time to react at the sound of a sudden snarl of rage came from behind him. By some instinct, he turned just in time to have Cloud's sword slice through the air right where his chest would have been not a second before. Unable to keep balance, he tumbled to the ground as Cloud twisted around with inhuman speed. The spirits's face was unreadable fury as he struck down again.
This was not the Cloud that had been training him just hours ago. Riku couldn't even keep track of this man's movements. If this was how Cloud truly fought, then Riku realized that he hadn't even been trying when they had trained.
Just as the sword was about to strike its target it was thrown off course by a blast of water to its broadside. The tip drove into the ground instead of Riku's chest but before Cloud was able to pull it out for another attack, a wave of water crashed over the both of them.
"I said no fighting!" Demyx shouted, his blue eyes dark with anger. "No matter who the enemy, or what the grudge, I won't have violence here. If you can't listen to my request then I will hold you underwater until you're unconscious. If that is what it takes, I'll do it, Cloud!"
Cloud growled, the guttural noise more animal than human. Riku now knew why Luxord had said that "demon" was another word for animal spirits. Instead of attacking again though, Cloud snorted and released his grip on his sword, taking a step back. His body was still tense with anger as Demyx moved over to help Riku stand up.
For his part, Riku was completely confused. "What, what the hell's going on?" He turned to Axel. "Tell me."
Axel rolled his eyes. "And here I was hoping Cloud would manage to do a little damage before Dem got to you. It's a shame he tried to train you some on the way here."
"Axel, you should be nicer." Demyx murmured. "It's obvious he has no idea what's going on. At the least his memories must have been erased."
"Fine, you want nice?" Axel sat down on the ground, patting the ground next to him with a sneer. "Come on, Riku. Let's have a chat."
Cautious, but with no better option, Riku moved over to sit next to Axel. He didn't know what to think any more. All he knew was that he was tired, confused, and angry. Once he had sat down, Axel spoke up again. "Alright. So you're probably wondering why everyone seems to automatically hate your guts, right?" Riku only glared at him. Axel frowned and reached out to grab a lock of Riku's silver hair. "It's because of this. And your eyes, and your skin. Trademark characteristics of the Jenovan clan. You're an exact copy of Sephiroth. The General. The Black Traitor. The man who killed the king. The second-in-command of the dark elementals who took the palace and threw this world into darkness."
"What? No. My father is a businessman. He owns companies. He's spent his life building up his career. He's not some evil…thing."
Axel laughed unsympathetically. "You actually believe that? It would have been easy for Sephiroth to gain power in your world once he got there. He was a top-ranking elemental! And a coward. He left right after the takeover, taking you and your brothers with him." Axel paused, eyeing Riku for a second with a smirk. "You might call this here a momentous occasion, being back in your native world. I've spent the last few hundred years looking for a way to get you back. Be happy."
It was all too much for Riku. He had just accepted that he had been thrown into this new world and now they were telling him that his father was a spirit? That he had killed someone? "What are you talking about? If this is about my father then why not just bring him back?"
"He wouldn't be able to help us." Demyx cut into the conversation, crouching down in front of Riku and looking him over with a new sort of curiosity. "If what the stories say is true, then you're the only one who can. You were too young to have taken part in the fight, so you were the only Jenovan who didn't betray his oath of fealty to the royal family. Because of this, you should be still connected to your charge. Axel, whose guardian was he?"
Axel raised his head, locking eyes with Riku. "Sora's. He was Prince Sora's guardian."
Demyx sucked in his breath then grabbed Riku's shoulders, his face brighter than Riku had ever seen it. "Do you know what this means?" Grinning, he turned to Axel. "We can finally find the princes! There's still really a chance that we can fix this! I had no idea he was Sora's! Now I really forgive you for being gone so long." Hopping to his feet, Demyx spun around once. "Wow, this is so wonderful!"
"Yeah, it's great alright. But now that we have him, Dem, we have to get into the palace."
Demyx froze, his face falling. "The palace?"
"The young princes never got out of the palace that night." Axel glanced over at Cloud's form, the wolf having long since moved off, away from the fire, to stand in the shadows by the water's edge. "Only Cloud and Aerith. And me. Everyone else died or was trapped when the gates closed. So we need to head to the palace."
Demyx bit his lip then clenched his fist resolutely. "Then I'm coming with you."
Axel looked up at him with surprise. "You are?"
The water god nodded. "I've, I've been in hiding way too long. All of us have. Besides, the two of us haven't gotten the chance to catch up yet. You've been gone over a hundred years now; I'm not letting you go off somewhere so soon again." He smile widened a bit. "Besides, someone's got to keep you from killing each other."
"Okay. You go pack then. I need to talk to Cloud about how we're getting to the palace."
Noting that he hadn't been given a job, in fact it seemed as though he had been purposefully ignored, Riku followed Demyx inside the house as the water god bounced off. It seemed to be the safest course of action at this point. Tentatively stepping passed the stone doorway, Riku was surprised to see a rather cozy looking interior carved from the tree. The ceiling was rather low, and the size of the room was of course restricted to the width of the tree. But there was a small stove tucked into the far side that was warming the space, the stovepipe piercing through the exterior wall of the tree. It was the main feature of what looked to be a kitchen area complete with a small table with two chairs. Another small area with two small couches was lit by strategically placed candles, illuminating carved shelves full of knickknacks and the occasional book. Decorative bowls of colorful water were also scattered about, some of them bubbling between series of pots to create an almost musical effect, obviously functioning by magic since there seemed to be no such things as electric water pumps in this world. A spiral staircase off to the side finished off the lower floor, undoubtedly leading up to higher stories with more rooms.
Seeing that Riku had followed him in, Demyx shrugged almost apologetically. "Sorry it's a little cramped in here, and dirty. Can't really make a tree house that big, you know? And as for the mess, well, I can pretend that Axel brought that in when he popped up a few days ago." He hummed then ran over to a pantry by the stove that, like the shelves in the sitting area, seemed to have been carved from the tree itself. "Now, what to bring to eat? I'm not sure if I've got enough to feed four people."
Perching on the armrests on one of the couches, Riku spoke up. "Cloud was pretty good at hunting for us while we were coming here."
Demyx paused then smiled, beginning to pack a small sack with what Riku guessed was food. "I guess he would be. I'll just bring basics like herbs and some dried food then, just in case. Do you like salted fish? I'll put it in anyway, Axel will eat it at least. Probably."
Riku allowed Demyx to ramble on for a few minutes before cutting in to the one-side conversation. "Demyx."
"Hm?"
"What did you mean, back when you were talking with Axel, about him having been gone for hundreds of years? Has he really been gone that long?"
"Yeah, he has been gone for that long. But I think," Demyx frowned, tilting his head to the side in thought. "If I remember right, there's a big difference between time in this world and time in the human world. Even though it's been over a hundred years since I've seen him, he only spent, what, four years in your world? That time difference stuff has been causing our scholars headaches for ages; it just has to do with how our worlds were linked. Or something like that. I never really paid attention during school."
"You went to school?"
Demyx blinked, pulling his head out of the pantry again to nod lightly. "Well, yeah. Before the king was overthrown, there were towns all over the place. We had schools, universities, traveling fairs, libraries; everything you needed. Now the palace is the only place that has those kinds of things anymore, since everyone's either gone into hiding or has died from this eternal night and the Heartless." The water god stuffed one more item into his sack then tied it shut, throwing it over his shoulder after tying what looked to be a small flask of some sort onto his belt. Then he turned to Riku, a bright smile on his face. "That's why I'm glad that you're here. You're going to be a big help to us, we might end up with a little more light in the world to fix the imbalance if we can find the princes."
"How do you know they haven't died already? You know, when the palace was attacked. Didn't Axel say that a lot of people died?"
With a soft frown, Demyx shook his head. "They're not dead. They can't be. Besides," he walked over to Riku and gently touched his chest over his heart. "You would have felt it, if Prince Sora had died. You're still connected to him. Like Axel said, neither you nor Sora ever renounced your duty as his guardian." Demyx smiled then pat Riku's shoulder. "Everything will turn out okay, I'm sure of it. Now, let's get to that palace!"
Riku nodded, somewhat hesitantly, watching as Demyx put out the candles and stove with water from the decorative pools on the shelves and tables before he followed the water god back outside. Axel and Cloud were ready for them when they came out, both apparently having nothing to pack. When he caught sight of Axel after he had picked up his sitar, Demyx perked up, asking, "So, have you and Cloud decided the best plan of attack?"
"We're taking the main road to the palace." Axel said, shrugging. "If they haven't noticed us yet, then they won't pay attention to a few wandering spirits. The tricky part is what will happen once we actually reach the place. That's where the guards will be. But that's something to worry about once we get there."
Partially blocked behind Demyx, Riku watched as Axel took the leading role. How strange. He never knew Axel was this sure of himself. Well, Axel had always been cocky, even when he was pretending to be Riku's friend, but he had never behaved so confident. Punk Axel was gone. This was a new persona, one Riku wasn't quite sure of. Somehow he had been knocked down to supporting role, though, and he wasn't happy about that. But he would have to go along with it until he understood more about everything that was going on.
The trip started out slow as they picked their way though Demyx's marshes again. As they were walking, Demyx explained that he could move things around to make an easier path, but that he didn't water to bother any of the settled plant life. Axel and Riku had complained but Demyx had stood firm on his decision.
When they left the marshes though, Riku was struck by the dramatic change in environment. It had seemed to blend so much smoother coming in, but now, having spent a while in the lush greenery of the marsh, the change between that and the return to bare branches was all too clear. The division was somewhat more obvious by the nearly literal wall of Heartless swarming at the boundary line, waiting for them to leave the god-sanctioned territory.
Spotting the Heartless first, Cloud had swung his great sword into a ready position, adjusting his hold on the grip. Axel caught Cloud's movements then grinned. "It's about some time we see some real action. I think I'll really enjoy this!"
Cloud snorted, narrowed eyes falling onto Axel's excited grin. "Should I leave them to you then?"
"Thanks, Cloud. This is exactly what I need." Axel threw out his arms to his sides and stretched out his fingers. Almost immediately, two spiked wheels appeared in a burst of fire, one in each hand. Grinning as he heard Riku let out a noise of surprise, Axel turned to him, spinning his weapons with learned ease. "They're called chakrams, in case you're wondering. Now, watch and learn how the big boys play, Jenovan. You won't forget this!"
Despite his desire not to, Riku couldn't help but obey and watch as Axel rushed forward toward the writhing wall of Heartless. He couldn't see Axel's face, but he imagined that the redhead was grinning maniacally as he crashed into the Heartless. The flaming chakrams cut through the creatures nearly as fast as Cloud's sword. Suddenly Axel threw one down the line of Heartless, cutting through over a dozen of them before calling it back with a clench of his outstretched fingers. It was truly a sight to behold. Everything Axel or his chakrams touched was immediately scorched; he was like a one man army, dancing between the groups of Heartless with deadly precision.
In less than five minutes, all of the Heartless were gone. Cloud was the first to shake himself from the hold of the sight, if his attention had ever actually been captured in the first place. Striding forward, he stepped over the boundary line between Demyx's last stretches of green and the cold bareness of the battleground. He took a look around then nodded to Axel. Barely even panting, Axel grinned then shrugged, his chakrams disappearing with a shake of his hands and another burst of fire. "I know. I'm a little out of shape. But what can I say? I spent four years surrounded by teenage humans. It's a little hard to practice."
Cloud merely rolled his eyes as Riku and Demyx walked over to him, Demyx shaking his head as he uncorked the flask tied to his belt, lifting his hand from it to reveal an orb of water in his hand. "Did you have to burn the trees, too? What did they ever do to you?"
"They're dead anyway. Besides, there were Heartless on them." Axel watched as Demyx put out the few small fires that were still burning in the branches or smoldering in small patches on the ground then glanced over at Cloud. "I'll let you get the next batch, okay?"
"I find no joy in it. You might as well have them for yourself."
"If you say so."
The next few days passed without much commotion. They walked, Axel and Cloud killed the Heartless, they set up camp, then they walked again. It was like traveling with Cloud all over again, but this time there were two extra party members. Riku found though, that Demyx was still the only one who bothered to talk to him. Cloud hadn't said a word to him since he had found out he was Sephiroth's son and Axel actually seemed to be enjoying not having to talk to him. Riku considered that a bit of a hit below the belt. On the bright side though, there had been no impromptu training lessons anymore, so his aches were finally starting to fade away. He was certainly happy about that.
On the third day of walking though, still picking their way though the forest, Riku was surprised to see a hint of a clearing ahead of them. Turning to Demyx, he asked, "Hey, are we almost through the forest?"
Demyx smiled weakly. "Yeah. Unfortunately."
"What do you mean?"
"You'll see when we get out…"
Curious, but knowing it would take too much effort to try to pry any answers out of the suddenly depressed water god, Riku sped up his pace instead, hurrying to catch up and pass Axel. Through the trees, Riku could see flashes of open space and also…some sort of building? Maybe an entire series of buildings. A village perhaps? It was hard to tell what it was in the dark, even though his eyes had somewhat adjusted, but he thought he could see a few corners and solid walls. Axel grunted with surprise as Riku ran ahead of him, but didn't bother to stop him as the silver-haired youth broke through the final line of trees. Riku breathed in the cool night air, his run stalling to a standstill at the sight before him.
It wasn't a village.
It was a ghost town.
The buildings, almost entirely collected along one main street, had clearly been abandoned some time ago. Their tiled roofs had fallen down due to rotting wooden beams, the collapse leaving gaping holes in the slanted roofs. The windows; it looked as if they were made of glass, glinting in the darkness, they were all broken. Even the walls looked dull and rotting away where they stood. It was as if the soul of the village had been ripped away, leaving only empty shells and a hollow absence in its wake.
Riku let out a breath as he felt someone come to stand beside him. "What happened?"
"Everyone left." That was Axel's voice. Riku glanced over to see that it really was Axel who was beside him right now. The redhead's eyes were on the empty houses and building, his expression one of resignation. "When the sun failed to rise the morning after the palace was attacked, most of the people left. The rest tried to hold out, but in the end they either were killed by Heartless or forced to escape. Every town in this world is like this now; this one is only a small example. It probably held only a few hundred spirits."
"There were about four hundred of us living here when we got news that the king had died." Demyx's voice was low as he came up behind them. Riku turned to see the water god nervously clutching onto his sitar. "We were all so happy, because I had just become the water god. We were planning for a big celebration." He smiled sickly, turning to Riku. "Actually, we were all planning on holding out when the sun failed to rise that morning. We thought it was only something temporary, like, the king was sick or something. But then a few days later the Heartless showed up. They drove us out then wrecked what was left behind."
Riku frowned. He couldn't imagine that those little Heartless, numerous as they were, would have been able to wipe out an entire population with spirit powers. "They drove you out?"
Apparently understanding the question, Axel spoke up. "The Heartless you see scurrying around now, the Shadow Heartless, are nothing like the ones that were around those first few days of the takeover. Those things were deadly, and sometimes even taller than houses. Some of them even had spirit powers of their own, both elemental and animal. At the palace, even the best warriors were killed fighting them. Of course, they were also dealing with the dark element spirits themselves, the ones who had usurped the throne, which made it even harder to come out alive. Eh, Cloud, what's the matter?"
Riku turned to see that Cloud was sniffing the air lightly, the blond's eyebrows drawn together. "There are Heartless here. In the houses." He sniffed again. "Bigger ones. Neoshadows."
Axel snorted. "So, they're getting bigger as we get closer to the palace. Whatever. We can still take them easily." He called his chakrams into his hands again and looked over to Cloud with a smirk. "What are you waiting for, them to come to you or something? Or is the little wolf scared of bigger shadows?"
Cloud scowled, then in the blink of an eye he was gone. Glancing around quickly, Riku finally spotted him halfway down the main street, sword at the ready as he kicked down the door to the nearest house.
"Knew that'd get him," Axel chuckled. With a tilt of his head to Demyx he said, "You stay here with Jenovan. Once we get a secure house we can call you in. And this isn't because I think you can't fight, Dem. It's because we've come too far to let that brat die on us when we're so close."
Demyx nodded. "I understand. Good luck."
"Luck? Who needs luck when you've got skill?"
Riku snorted in time with Demyx as they watched Axel bound off to the nearest house, looking all too happy with the thought of getting into a fight. As soon as the redhead had opened the door though, he jumped back. Just in time to avoid a Heartless taking a slicing swipe at his chest. Riku's eyes widened as Axel lured the thing out of the dilapidated building. It really was bigger than the little things he had seen so far. This Heartless was nearly as tall as a human, making the smaller version look like some toy in comparison. And it was faster than its smaller counterpart.
Riku watched as two more of the things ran out of the house toward Axel. "Can Axel handle those things?"
"Oh yeah, almost as well as Cloud!"
Further down the street, several Heartless came flying out of the house Cloud had busted into, crashing into the houses on the other side of the street before disappearing into puffs of black smoke. Apparently Cloud could handle them rather well.
Suddenly Riku stiffened as something cold flashed behind him. It was the only sign of warning he got but he whipped around to see one of the Neoshadows not a foot behind him and Demyx, its humanoid arm poised for an attack. Somehow it had snuck up on them! "Shit! Look out!"
Demyx spun around, yelping as the thing swung out. He quickly reached for his water flask, both of them jumping back as the Heartless loped forward, the thing somehow managing to look both unbalanced yet menacing at the same time. "Water!"
A blast of water instantly sliced the thing in half, but as it disappeared, two more popped out from the ground below it. Feeling another flash of cold once again at his back, Riku turned to see three more coming up behind them. Axel seemed so far away now, and was visibly occupied with their own battles, and Riku couldn't even see Cloud. It looked as if the Newshadows inside the other houses had gotten scent of fresh blood, and were coming out to aid their fellow shadows.
"Don't worry, Riku, I've got this!" Demyx drew more water from his flask with a wave of his hand before his fingers went down to the strings of his sitar. "If they want to play, then they're going to have to keep to the beat. Dance, water, dance!"
Demyx's water clones whipped up around him, twisting around Riku once before flying off to the attacking Newshadows, cutting them apart on contact. But more of them were coming, smaller Heartless spilling out of the forest to join in on the fight. It was as if the more they fought, the more Heartless came, like some sick twist of logic.
Soon Riku and Demyx were surrounded by Heartless. Panting, Demyx straightened up, tisking as he called his clones for another round of attacks. "I only brought so much water! I can't make any more clones to fight off this many." He strummed his sitar again and the clones rushed toward them, then started to circle around them, blocking them from the Heartless with a curtain of water. "I think its time we got some help!"
"Burn, baby!"
Riku threw his arms in front of his face in defense as the air itself was suddenly engulfed in fire. The water shield dissolved in a cloud of hissing steam just as Demyx pulled Riku to the ground, not a second before the air they were just occupying was engulfed in flames.
Then, it was all over; there was nothing but silence. Tentatively lowering his arms, Riku was shocked to see Axel leaning over him with a smirk. "I don't think I've ever seen you so scared." The smirk widened to a grin as Riku quickly sat up. "That right there just made my day." His green gaze then turned to Demyx. "I thought you would have been able to handle that."
"I could have." Demyx was almost whining, "But I only had this much water!" He held up his small flask, wiggling it in front of Axel's face, "I can barely stretch that out to make three clones. And then you went and steamed all of my water! What am I going to do now?"
"Find a puddle and refill the thing?" Axel shrugged, "There has to at least be a well in this town somewhere, right?"
As Demyx continued to whine, Riku suddenly found a chunk of wood dropped into his lap, probably from a broken door. Looking up, he saw Cloud standing over him. Riku raised a silver eyebrow. "What? I'm not really in the mood for playing fetch."
Cloud visibly twitched as Axel froze-midsentence, the redhead bursting out laughing a second later. "Shit, Jenovan!" He snickered. "That was the best thing I've heard in like, years. I'll be sure to put it on your tombstone after he kills you."
Closing his eyes, Cloud took a breath, probably to soothe his temper, and then glared down at Riku. "Pick it up. We're training."
"What?"
"You're still useless. Pick it up. Defend yourself."
"Damn it, Cloud. Not this again." Grabbing his makeshift weapon as Cloud took a few seconds to walk over to the nearest building and snap a piece of wood off for himself, Riku hauled himself to his feet. In the blink of an eye though, the wolf spirit disappeared from his sight. Cursing to himself, Riku twisted around only to be thrown down from behind, Cloud's piece of wood digging into his back.
"No good. Try again."
Hissing, Riku rolled over and kicked out but Cloud was already gone. This time though, Riku tried hard to focus. His eyes widened as he heard a footfall to his right but before he could turn completely, he was knocked to the ground again. Cloud frowned. "Better. But still not good. We're going to do this until you get this right."
Two hours later, Cloud finally called for a break, though only because Riku could no longer pick himself off the ground fast enough for his liking. Axel and Demyx had been no help at all. They had gone off to light a fire and start dinner while Cloud had been busy taking his post-battle adrenaline out on Riku's inability to block. At this point though, Riku was pretty sure it was impossible to block against Cloud; that man was not traceable. Nor was he sane for that matter.
Dropping with a muffled groan next to Axel against the side of one of the crumbling buildings, Riku only had the strength to glare as Axel chuckled. "Looks like you had a good practice. I think you might be improving."
"Bastard…"
"No, really. Hey, by the time we reach the palace, you might be able to block a hit. Wouldn't that be something?"
Growling, Riku flipped him the finger then closed his eyes. He could either argue or sleep right now, and at the moment, sleep sounded much more appealing.
After staying for a few hours in Demyx's old town for a rest, their small group set off again. Riku could barely walk, but at the complete lack of sympathy, found himself limping beside Demyx and nursing his bruises. The fact that it was always nighttime was really starting to bother them. In his mind, they should at least have stayed eight hours in that town to rest up, but no, since there was not morning or night, it made no difference when they started walking again in terms of advantage. It could be three in the morning for all Riku knew and he wouldn't have been able to do a thing about it.
That first encounter with Neoshadows was unfortunately not the last. As they pushed ever closer to the palace, the breeds of Heartless became more varied, and more dangerous. It still was nothing Axel, Cloud, and Demyx couldn't handle, but still. Riku had never been more thankful that he had landed in this world where he had; if he had fallen in anywhere close to the palace, he probably would have had a lot more trouble staying alive.
Cloud continued to train him. Unlike their first few sessions though, Cloud had become more vicious. Every night was as tough as the one in the town, Cloud never let him take a break. Riku suspected, no, knew, that it was because it had been confirmed that he was Sephiroth's son. But really, he preferred it when Cloud had just been ignoring his existence.
After one particularly nasty training session, Riku had demanded that Axel tell him what Cloud's issue was. Axel frowned but sat down next to Riku who was trying to staunch the blood flowing from a cut on his arm from when Cloud had gotten too close with his piece of wood. That sucker had hurt like hell. In fact it was still stinging. But at least the fire was bright enough so that he had been able to pick out all of the splinters; it was protected from the usually irritating gusts by the hill they had camped against. It was proving to be an excellent wind guard, even if Cloud didn't like camping out in the low grounds. Fire and light was much more important than defensibility at this point.
"Cloud's got a good reason to hate anyone Jenovan, especially Sephiroth. He was there when the General killed the king." Axel nodded over to Cloud, who was sitting across their campfire trying to ignore Demyx's attempts at conversation. "That sword was King Zack's. When Sephiroth killed him, he took up his stepfather's sword and went after the General himself. Obviously he didn't kill him. I think it still pisses him off that both Sephiroth and Kadaj managed to escape."
Riku started at the sound of his brother's name, his aquamarine eyes flashing over to Axel, unable to keep the venom from his voice. "What does Kadaj have to do with this?"
Axel looked him over for a second then snorted. "All the Jenovans were assigned to be guardians for the royal family. Kadaj was assigned to Cloud. The only reason you were assigned to Prince Sora was because everyone else had been giving a job by the time the prince was born."
"Who got the second prince then? There was a second one, right?"
Axel's face darkened. "There was a second prince, Prince Roxas. But there were no more Jenovans left, so the job was given to my older brother, Reno." Pulling his long legs up to his chest, Axel wrapped his arms around them, resting his chin on his knees. "Reno died in the raid. Killed by one of the dark element spirits. Still haven't figured out who did it." Axel was quiet for a moment before he started talking again, his voice low. "When he died, the job of guardian by law automatically went down to me. I never got the chance to give him my oath of fealty though, so the exchange was never made official. That's why I can't sense Roxas's presence." Turning to Riku, Axel locked gazes with him, as if daring him to look away. "That's why we need you. Because you can find Prince Sora. And if we can find the princes, we can bring back some light into the world, and we can fight to restore order to the throne."
Riku frowned then wrapped his arms around himself, looking away from Axel's intense gaze to the fire in front of them. This was all too much to take in. It was still…surreal to think that his family had anything to do with any of this. But, hearing Kadaj's name along with his fathers, it made it seem all the more real. "How," Riku swallowed then asked, "How much longer until we reach the palace?"
"It's just over the next hill. Why else did you think that we camped down here and not up on the ridge? We'll be there in a few hours."
Riku glanced over at Axel then tottered up onto his feet. His limbs protested after the training Cloud had put them through, but he ignored them and stumbled up the hill their camp was backed against. Perched on the ridge, he saw the striking sight of the black outline of a castle against the dark night sky. It was far away, but pinpricks of light shown out from windows, helping to give shape to the black mass. Riku frowned, his hands clenching into fists.
This had all just become all too real.
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