Oh, wow, dudes. Okay, first order of business. You guys TOTALLY ROCK. I don't know what I did right or what but that last chapter got me the most reviews ever. Total awesomeness. ^^ Secondly…I'm sorry that I'm a little late with this chapter, many things came up: term papers in every class, friend's b-day, not to mention my sister introduced me to Hetalia this weekend (USxUK ftw…I mean…what, who said that?). Oh yeah, and fanfiction totally screwed us over for a few days and made me lazy to write. ^^' While these are all shoddy excuses, I hope you'll all forgive me and continue to review, because I love reviews and reviewers so. ;) That said, much thanks and love goes out to: Chronos Mephistopheles, Twilight-Oblivion, Chaotic Darkness, A-chan, Aindel S. Druida, kurumaotokoiscarmen, NiffStral, zi-ling, Silver Butterfly07, FlurryDivider, Randomasdf, Dust to Dusk, redamiB6147, Ivy J., Mirror and Darkling, Sexy-Tacos-Emo-Waffles, XfallenXshadowX, CloudedMirror, whereowhere-is-my-rabbit, 73n5Hl, eve, -xX Twilit Memories Xx-, ramen-is-my-goddess, Sanya Kielo, miforever29, deludedfreak. Thank you all so much! :D

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Chapter 9


It felt as if the world was swimming around him as Riku slowly pulled himself out of unconsciousness. His head ached. Actually, his whole body ached. And he was so cold, it was as if his body has been frozen stiff. He couldn't move anything, he could barely even get his lungs to function. He thought that he was probably lying down though, from the feel of things. Where he was lying down, he couldn't tell. He couldn't get his eyes to open and his sense of touch had been chilled to the point that he couldn't tell one material touching him from another.

He felt a tremor-like shiver run through his body, his lips opening to release a shaky gasp. A second later, a hand lay on his chest, the touch instantly sending warmth through his body and calming his shivers. Riku took in a deep breath, greedily sucking in air as his eyes fluttered open to be met with the too familiar sight of the bottom of the top bunk. So he was back in the servant's quarters than.

His gaze trailed up from the hand on his chest up to a familiar face with sky blue eyes and spiky brown hair. A frown flitted across Riku's lips and he closed his eyes again, tilting his head back and letting out another deep breath that came out as a low groan. His head still hurt, damn it. The hand on his chest tightened a bit, a voice, his voice, murmuring quietly. "Take your time waking up. You've been through a lot." The voice rose as he spoke to someone else in the room. "He's awake!"

Footsteps echoed through the room and a moment later Riku felt a shadow loom over him. With a grunt, he forced his eyes open again, his expression turning sour when he saw Leon leaning over him.

"How are you feeling?"

"How do you think?" Riku rasped out. His voice trailed off with an irritated growl and he frowned. "What happened? I don't remember what happened after those...pod things opened up."

That wasn't entirely true. He remembered seeing the prince's eyes open, and their hands almost touching…But that was unnecessary information.

"You fainted. We managed to get the princes free and carry you back to our room without being seen." Leon paused then ran a hand through his brown mane. "We can give you a few moments to collect yourself as we plan our next move in my room. Prince Sora-"

"Both of them need to be looked after, so I'll stay here, Leon. If you don't mind. I trust your judgment to decide what we're to do next."

"Of course, Your Majesty. If you need anything, we'll just be in the next room over."

Riku frowned. Why had Sora said "both of them?" As the lion spirit left the room, Riku turned his head to see that the smaller, blond prince was curled up on the bunk across from his own. The boy's back was against the wall, his arms were wrapped around his legs, his face buried in his knees. Apparently noting the direction of his gaze, Sora spoke up softly, quiet enough to keep his words from reaching across the room. "Roxas just learned about what happened to Reno. I couldn't imagine…" Riku's eyes flashed back up to Sora's face. Sora managed a weak smile. "I've heard that it hurts both your heart and your body. When your Guardian dies."

Riku frowned. He had nothing to say to that.

At his silence, Sora frowned a little then suddenly straightened up with a sort of realization. "That's right. Cloud told me that you…that you couldn't remember anything. I guess I should reintroduce myself then!" An almost bashful grin spread across Sora's face as he scratched the back of his head. Riku's eyes narrowed slightly. Somehow the prince that had been talking to Leon had turned into a bubbly teenage boy. "My name is Sora Fair, Crown Prince of the spirit world! It's nice to see you again, even though it barely seems as if any time has passed."

Riku pushed himself up into a sitting position, ignoring the ache in his body. He was not one to make a weak first impression. "Riku Jenovan. Guardian of the Crown Prince. Or so I've been told."

"Heh." Sora's voice was warm, as if Riku was a long-time friend that he spoke to every day. "It's strange; you've grown up so much. They've told me that so much time has gone by, but I only really believed them because you nearly look like an adult now. It's true that I've grown too, but all I could tell from that was that I needed a larger clothing size." He motioned down to his new change of clothes, which looked like a mismatched assortment of the servants' outfit. Obviously the other clothes had been replaced as quickly as possible.

It was a little irritating really, to listen to Sora talk about them as if they had grown up together. It was as if he was just pounding in the fact that a huge chunk of his life somehow went missing. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to snap at the other teen.

Some how the voice itself was calming, the sound of it not as annoying as those kids in high school who clamored for his attention. But that was probably because he was so tired. He even found himself entering into the conversation. "Have they told you yet, about what happened?"

Sora's face fell. "…Yes. I've heard some. Cloud told me that our father was, was killed. Along with Reno, and many other of our faithful servants." His tone was returning to that princely seriousness. "It's unbelievable that something like this would have happened. My father was a good king, and his usurpers just allowed this world to fall to ruin." His gaze met Riku's. "I might have been better able to understand, if they had improved the conditions, but the world feels cold and empty now. I'm almost afraid to leave the palace if I'm going to have to see what happened to the people outside."

"Really?"

"I said 'almost.' I also know that I have to see what has happened." Letting out a small sigh, Sora dropped his hand from Riku's chest. Immediately a cold wave washed over his body and Riku let out a sharp gasp. Something was constricting his mind, a silent noise, ringing through him. His hands gripped into his silver hair as he instinctually curled forward; he couldn't think straight!

"Riku!" A hand flew to Riku's forehead. "I'm sorry, I forgot. Hold still for a second."

Riku cracked an eye open when light hit his eyelids, a small noise of surprise escaping him. Sora was glowing. Literally. His face was actually lighting up the room, his eyes closed in what looked to be concentration. Slowly, Riku felt the cold settle down again, and was slowly able to pull his thoughts together. He took a few deep breaths, his heart pounding in his chest. After a few minutes, the light around Sora's body dimmed and he opened his eyes again, a small, almost sad, smile making its way to his lips.

"Leon and Cloud told me what you did to get into the room where we were. That you made a pact with the spirit inside the door and that it possessed you. You've got a lot of darkness in you right now, but don't worry, I can balance it out and keep Xehanort's heartless at bay. Besides, I know you're strong enough to keep it under control yourself."

Riku was about to reply when there was a knock on their door. Both Sora and Riku tensed, only relaxing when Axel slipped inside. The redhead had a light frown on his face as Sora chirped up. "How is it going? Do you have a plan?"

"We're still working things out. It's going to be hard to get all of us out of the palace undetected." Axel pursed his lips, letting out a quiet breath as his eyes settled on Roxas's curled-up form.

Following his gaze, Sora frowned as well, his eyes saddening. Then he motioned with his head for Axel to go over. Axel blinked then bit his lip, his brows knitting together. From his own bunk, Riku looked on curiously. He had never seen Axel so nervous. It was certainly a strange sight, usually the lanky man was so…confident.

As Axel slowly approached Roxas, Sora turned back to Riku and they shared a look before subtly moving to watch the scene that was taking place on the other side of the room.

Axel knelt down next to the bed, resting his arms on the edge of the bunk though not reaching out to touch Roxas's legs. It was as if he was afraid that any actual contact would be too much for the boy to handle. "Prince Roxas…"

Roxas barely lifted his head away from his knees, the blue from his eyes just seeping through his spiky, blonde bangs. He gaze though was on nothing, passing right over Axel's head. Axel sighed then tried again. The patience he was already showing was amazing from what Riku knew about him. He must really like the kid then. "…Roxas, I'm here for you, okay? It must feel horrible, I know, all of this hard is take in-"

"Hard to take in? Reno's dead!" The cracked voice broke out in an angry burst as Roxas raised his head to reveal tears running down his cheeks. He let out a shuddering breath before continuing. "My Guardian's dead! He died because of me, you don't know how I feel at all!"

From the other side of the room, Sora made to stand up and come to his brother's rescue but Axel beat him to it. The redhead sprung to his feet, his body language quick and angry as he threw his hand out. "You think I don't know how you feel?! Reno wasn't just your Guardian, he was my brother!" His voice immediately lowered to a gruff murmur after that, as if he checked his own temper as Roxas stared up at him in what looked to be shock. "…Don't assume you felt more pain than me. I've just had more time to adjust."

Axel's shoulder's drooped a little and he scratched the back of his head. "But anyway…Reno wouldn't want you crying over him this much. He knew what he signed up for. He had a lot of fun with his job, and he was really proud that he would be there when you needed him. He talked about you all the time. I mean, he talked about anything and everything, but you were one of his favorite topics."

Roxas blinked then suddenly began to tremble and reached out to grab onto Axel's shirt. His head fell back down to his knees as he shook, his slim shoulders quaking with a new flood of tears. Frowning, Axel leaned down, crawling onto the bunk next to Roxas before tentatively wrapping an arm around Roxas. "Hey, it's gonna be okay…"

Riku's attention was diverted from the almost sickeningly tender moment as Sora let out a small sigh. When he caught his aquamarine gaze, Sora smiled shakily, shaking his head before he reached up to run his fingers through Riku's hair. The intimate gesture sent a shock through Riku and he batted the other's hand away with a small frown. He had barely met Sora, no matter what anyone else said about them being "so close" in the past. Besides, he didn't even let Kairi mess up his hair. Wow. It had been a long time since he had thought about Kairi.

Sora took the rejection in stride though, with all the grace his princely station suggested as he tilted his head to the side. "…I'm sorry, it really has been a while, hasn't it?"

Riku was about to reply when a loud bang slammed into their door. Riku felt himself jump as, on the other side of the room, Axel started before quickly springing to his feet. "What the hell?" There was another bang on the other side of the door followed by a series of fluttering scratches. Whatever wanted in was neither patient nor delicate. "Damn." Axel hissed. "Watch out everyone."

Riku tensed as Axel approached the door. For some reason, he really didn't want to know what was on the other side. The tension in the room had just risen exponentially.

Holding his hand up, Axel inched toward the handle, fingers poised to call their fire as in one movement he ripped the door open. Instead of a figure however, a rush of paper whipped into the room as if carried by an invisible wind, the paper twisting and dancing around a book suspended in the center of its aerobatics. Undoubtedly having seen the strange mass in the hall, Leon and Cloud quickly ran into the room after it, their weapons raised as the papers fluttered about. The papers, which actually appeared to be pages from a book, quickly curled into shapes, pulling together to reveal a sort of humanoid figure clutching the book in his hands. A paper mouth split the formless face and Zexion's voice filled the room.

"Idiots. I told you to close the door on your way out."

Axel was the first to speak up, shaking himself out of his shock. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You left the door to the prince's prison open. I told you to close it. By leaving the door open you triggered the alarm."

"We thought you were talking about the library door!" Axel's voice rose with exasperation. "You could have been a little more damn specific about that little detail!"

"I didn't think you would be so stupid as to not understand. But there's no time left to argue about this. The Superior has sensed the disturbance. There are people coming your way to intercept you, he's taking no chances. If you don't move now, you'll be trapped in the servant's quarters. Hurry!"

As soon as his last word clipped off, the human-shaped paper form suddenly fell apart like autumn leaves, the pages flying back into the book before it clattered to the ground. Before it had even hit the stone floor however, Leon and Cloud had already taken action; Cloud running to Roxas as Leon moved over to Riku's side. "Stand up."

The command had left no room to argue and Riku wasn't about to. Zexion's message had been loud and clear. With a quiet grunt as the movement caused a sting of aching pain to shoot though his body, Riku still pushed himself off of the bed. Looking back at their small group as Cloud ran ahead into the hallway, Leon called out. "Your Majesties, stay between me and Axel, no complaining, no exceptions. Riku, in the back with Axel. Prepare for a fight."

As Axel summoned his chakrams, Riku turned to him. "Give me a weapon!"

"Yeah, we don't really have time for that, Jenovan."

Riku scowled, his empty hands tightening into fists as Xehanort's words came back to him with mocking clarity. "How can I prepare for a fight if you won't give me something to fight with?"

"Look, we can deal with this later, okay? Just don't get hit and you'll be fine."

"Great advice!" Riku's sarcasm was lost on Axel as the redhead herded the two princes after Leon. Riku had not choice but to follow after him, a silver eyebrow rising as he found the group still out in the hall, bunched together as they waited for a plan of action. In front of the group, Cloud sniffed the air then quickly snorted the smell out, his expression dark. "They're coming."

"I've caught their scent too," Leon murmured. "Let's go!"

Nodding Cloud began their sprinting escape, setting a fast pace for the others to follow as they raced through the halls. After a few twists and turns, Riku was thoroughly turned around but, ahead of the group, Cloud showed no intention of slowing down.

Just behind the wolf spirit, Leon suddenly called out, "They're closing in on us!"

"I know." Cloud's voice was rough and tense as they continued to run, suddenly switching directions and taking a smaller side hall. Riku frowned as he felt a rush of cold at his side, bristling as he twisted to see a silver shape forming in the wall.

"Hey, heads up!"

Axel looked over just as the Dusk pulled out of the wall. With a swing of his chakram, he cut it down, sending it to oblivion as Riku turned to look behind them. His eyes widened when he saw that more Dusks were closing in on them. He let out a low curse. There were a lot of them. This Superior guy wasn't playing around any more. Axel quickly turned around when he heard Riku and twisted his chakrams up into a ready position, nearly running backwards as he tried to keep up with the moving group as well as keep the enemy in sight. "Leon, they're coming up behind us pretty fast!"

"Those aren't the ones we need to worry about."

Suddenly, at the head of the group, Cloud stopped in his tracks, halting their progress as the Dusks continued to well up from the hallway behind them. Feeling the increasing drop in temperature just as much as he saw them approaching, Riku clenched his fists and glanced ahead to Cloud, calling out. "What's the hold up?"

He saw the reason for the stop before Cloud even had to say anything as he looked passed Cloud and Leon's tense shoulders. Ahead of them, two people were standing in the center of the large hallway, clearly blocking the path despite the fact that their group easily could have physically slipped around them. Both were wearing that long black cloak. The man had long blue hair and golden eyes, a large cross-shaped scar cutting between his eyes in a way very similar to Leon's own scar. The other was surprisingly a woman, though she hardly appeared to be a gentle girl with her short blond hair cut, two bangs springing up almost as if they had been electrified. At the moment, she didn't appear to be carrying anything but the man had what could only be described as a giant claymore sword held as if weightless in one hand. Clearly these people were going to be trouble.

The girl tilted her head to the side in what would have been a cute, girlish manner if she hadn't also been smirking cruelly, "Now, now, Leon. I don't know what you have planned but the Superior doesn't like that you've stolen his captives." Behind Cloud and Leon, Sora had grabbed Roxas's shoulder protectively, both princes glaring at the new enemies as the girl continued. "You've gone and pissed off some bad people, and we've been sent to clean things up. But if you want to live, all you have to do is give back the brats."

Even from behind, Riku knew that Leon must have been scowling as he lifted his sword into a defensive position. "Get out of our way, Larxene."

"Fine. If that's the way you want to play it. Saix, what did the Superior say if they didn't cooperate?"

The blue haired man looked across at them calmly, though the look in his golden eyes told of something much fiercer. "That we were to kill them."

"Right. I thought that was what he said!" Without missing a beat, she whipped out a knife and threw it. Leon just barely managed to bring his sword up in time to block its path toward his chest. But as soon as metal touched metal, a rain of electric bolts zipped down the weapon.

Leon barely acknowledged the shock as it rushed to his hands, much to Larxene's apparent surprise and disappointment. Her expression actually looked as if she was going to enjoy watching him be electrocuted. With a soft snort, Leon lifted one gloved hand away from the weapon. "Leather gloves. Not conductive."

Larxene scowled then drew out two more knives, "Let's get them, Saix!"

As they ran forward, Leon just had the time to call out. "Axel, take the Dusks! Riku, get the princes out of here-!" Then Larxene slashed out at him, forcing him to defend himself with the broadside of his sword.

Saix and Cloud met weapon-to-weapon half-way, clashing together with a meeting of growls and snarls. Riku could only guess that Saix was an animal spirit as well before his attention was quickly diverted to the action behind them. Their small rescue party was now being attacked from both ends as Axel cut through a Dusk. How the hell was he supposed to get the princes away if there was a battle coming from both directions?!

Now Riku really wished that he had a weapon as the Dusks began to gather in front of Axel; he could tell that they were going to eventually overwhelm the redhead and a few were going to escape. Suddenly Sora stepped up to his side, calling out. "Axel, Roxas and I can help! We still have our Keyblades!"

"Too dangerous!" Axel threw one chakram into the growing crowd of Dusks, there had to at least be two dozen of them, mowing down about seven of them before his weapon returned to his hand. "You haven't recovered yet."

"I say if they have weapons, let them fight." Riku countered. "You're not going to kill all of them before they reach us." And I can't do anything. He refused to say the rest of the sentence out loud. But it was true, and he wasn't going to stand around and get killed if the princes could offer any help.

Sora sent him a grateful smile, apparently he didn't understand that Riku said it mainly for self-preservation, as Axel gave in. "Fine. Help. But only take down the ones that I miss!"

With a nod, Sora stretched out his hand. Almost instantly a sword of sorts materialized against his palm, and as he grabbed onto the shape it solidified into what looked like a long key. Keyblade wasn't such a bad name after all then. He had pulled out his weapon just in time. One of the Dusks had managed to dance around Axel's deadly chakrams and was now tottering over to them, its dagger arms ready to strike.

Riku stepped back to give Sora some space, falling back in line with Roxas to see that he too was holding a keyblade, his expression darker than his brother's. Riku thought he understood. The kid probably had some feelings of anger and vengeance that he wanted to vent after Reno's death.

With the grace of undoubtedly years of practice, Sora swung forward, stabbing the Dusk in the chest with his blade. The Dusk disappeared into a cloud of dust as Sora pulled away just as two more Dusks slipped passed Axel's strike range. This time Roxas moved forward to take one down as Sora struck out again, both of them finishing off their attackers at the same time. Riku was vaguely impressed by the skills they were showing. It looked as if the princes actually knew how to fight. He wouldn't have guessed it. Sora at least seemed way too cheerful.

As Axel finished off another group of his own, Riku saw a gap in the wave of Dusks. There were only about four of them left, easy for Axel to finish off. Leon had said to get the princes away. A glance back at the lion showed that he and Cloud were still locked in combat with Saix and Larxene. It didn't look that either one of them were obviously winning, so the old plan probably still stood. Reaching out, he grabbed Sora's hand and Roxas's shoulder then pulled them passed Axel and the few Dusks that were left. "Come on, we're getting you two out of here."

Both Sora and Roxas looked as if they were about to protest but Axel had heard Riku and spoke up before they could get a word out. "Go to the Southern courtyard, the place we first came in, hide in there until we come to get you. If we don't come, get out of here on your own! I'll help Cloud and Leon after I'm through with these guys."

"Wait, Axel!" Roxas tried to hold back but Riku pulled him along down the hall, away from the fighting. Riku didn't really care that the prince had taken a liking to the redhead. He was getting them to someplace safe.

Sora seemed to share Riku's sentiments because he murmured softly to his brother. "Roxas, it'll be okay, they can handle this."

Roxas bit his lip but nodded after a second, allowing Riku to lead him down the hall and out of sight of the fight. Once they were out of visual range, Riku looked over at Sora. "Alright, which way is the Southern courtyard?"

Roxas scowled as Sora let out a quiet laugh despite the situation. "I know where it is. Follow me." Still clasping onto Riku's hand, Sora took the lead now, pulling them down new twisting hallways. Every so often a Dusk would pop out of the walls, on the way to the bigger fight perhaps. Roxas, apparently still irritated at having been taken away from the fight too soon, would quickly cut it down before it seemed to know what had hit it.

In this way, they quickly reached a courtyard which Riku recognized as the once which they had been in when they had come into the palace. There was the sewer cover that they had come out of. Dropping Sora's hand, he quickly walked over to it as the prince looked around the area. "What did Axel mean when he told us to come here?"

"He meant that we're leaving the palace." With a grunt, Riku dragged the drain cover to the side. "How do you think we came in, through the main door?"

Sora looked at Roxas, the two of them showing equal surprise and slight trepidation in their expressions before Sora shrugged and walked over to him. "I guess it kept you from being caught for so long. Is it-?"

"It's clean enough." Wiping his hands on his pants to get rid of the dirt that had been stuck to the drain cover, Riku straightened up. As he did, he happened to glance over at the courtyard entrance, his face immediately paling when he saw Larxene standing in the archway. Somehow she had managed to break away from the fight. "Shit."

When she saw that she had his attention, Larxene smirked. "Lucky me, I managed to catch up to you before you slipped away with the rain water. Now hand them over before I get angry."

Riku clenched his fist as Sora and Roxas readied their keyblades, taking a step forward. "I usually don't respond well to threats."

She shook her head with a smile. "It wasn't a threat. More like a warning. This is a threat."

Larxene launched forward, three blades suddenly clutched between her fingers. She swiped at him with her artificial claws. Riku just barely managed to fall to the side, hearing the air he had just occupied crackle with static charge, using the opportunity as he fell to kick out. His foot caught her side, pushing her away, giving him just enough distance to call back to the princes, "In the drain! Now!"

Sora and Roxas obeyed without question, Riku tumbling in after them not a heartbeat before Larxene sent a shock of electricity where his head just was. Landing in the water with a splash, he shook out his wet hair as Sora heaved him to his feet. It was just as cold as he had remembered it being. All three of them looking up to see Larxene standing triumphantly above. "Well, well, well, this seems just about right, doesn't it? You guys are nothing but sewer rats. And the best part is," she flicked out her fingers to reveal another knife, sparks already springing across its small surface, "is that water is very conductive."

Damn it. Of course she was right. Riku swallowed his panic, not allowing it to show on his face but damn it, he should have realized that they would be in a much worse position now. Even if they ran for the exit, which they couldn't do because the ceiling of the underground tunnel was so frickin' low, the electrical current would still carry through and hit all of them.

"What's it going to be, kid? Are you going to hand them over or am I going to quick fry all of you?"

Shit. What should he do? Was he really going to die here, defeated because he had forgotten basic physics?

I can save you.

And to top it off, Xehanort's heartless was back. Terrific. His voice wasn't the last thing he wanted to hear.

It's either listen to me or die. I think we'd both prefer the first option. After all, if you die, it's not exactly in my best interests either.

Riku felt himself giving in to the other's infallible logic. He had a point. Death wasn't preferable.

Good. Raise your hands. I'll help you channel your dark magic, just say what I tell you to.

Apparently impatient with Riku's lack of response as he waged an internal battle, Larxene finally scowled. "Fine. If you've got nothing to say, I'll have to go with the second plan and just kill you all then!"

Riku grimaced, bracing himself as he threw his arms up just as Larxene pulled her hand back to throw the knife down into the drain. Before he realized what was happening, words broke passed his lips; he barely even comprehended that he was saying it. "Dark Shield!"

A semi-transparent black circle erupted from the palm of his outstretched hand as a burst of power shot up his arm, the disc rushing out on all sides just fast enough to rebuff the knife as it flew down. The dagger bounced off of the shield, clattering on the ground of the courtyard above them. Riku was surprised that he could actually physically feel the dagger come into contact with the shield. It was like the thing was an extension of his own body, its surface rippling to repair the damage done by the strike.

Larxene let out a strained shriek of rage at the sight of the shield, the scowl twisting her feminine features into something far more sadistic even after the disc of black light disappeared as quickly as it had come. "How dare you?!"

"Hey, you were the one trying to electrocute us!" Riku threw back, "How dare you try that on us?" He knew he shouldn't taunt her, especially when the shield had so quickly disappeared after being used, but right now he didn't really care. He had just used magic. He really wanted to know what Axel would say to that little trick.

"Larxene, get away from there!"

Speak of the devil, Axel's voice just echoed out from outside in the courtyard. A second later, Larxene jumped to the side as a burst of fire roared over the drain, the orange glow momentarily lighting up the interior of the tunnel below. Not a moment later, Axel was forcing his way down into the drain, followed by Leon and Cloud, Leon a little less gracefully than the other two. As soon as they hit the water, Cloud grabbed Leon's arm and slung it over his shoulder. Seeing Sora and Roxas's concerned gazes, he explained curtly, "Larxene caught him in the shoulder with one of her knifes. He's still shaking the charge off." He shouldn't have been talking. His outfit was slashed in several places, blood stains just visible in the dim light of the drain tunnel. It must have been a nearly-matched battle then, even three against two.

Leon grunted out some protest that he was really fine but no one seemed to buy it as Axel pushed Roxas and Sora into the tunnel. "We'll tell stories later. Its time to run before Larxene gets the courage to follow us."

With an adrenaline that hadn't been present the first time they had navigated through the tunnel, the group quickly made their way through. The lowest points caused slight trouble and slowed them down a bit but before Riku knew it he could smell the cool, crisp air of the outside world. Then he was diving under the grate and popping out on the other side free from the palace.

Axel cut his relief short though, speaking up as soon as he had also passed under the grate. "We're not out of trouble yet. I think we're just going to have to make a run for covered ground and hope the guards don't shoot down at us."

The plan sounded easier than it actually was. Out in the open, they were forced to break out into a full sprint for the cover of the far-away bushes as shouts rang out from the castle wall. Riku swore that he heard the command to aim when they were just halfway across the open field; whether the guards were equipped with bows or guns, he didn't really care. Both were bad.

The call to fire came. Riku had readied himself to feel the pain of a volley of arrows but when none fell around them, he risked a chance to look back while running to see that the arrows had been stopped by two colossal water figures standing between their retreading forms and the palace walls. Demyx.

Up ahead, the water god himself lifted out of a bush and waved them over frantically while his other hand clutched onto his sitar. "Come on! I can only keep up clones that size for so long!"

Riku felt an extra burst of speed well up inside him and everyone else as they increased their pace even further. He was surprised though when Axel ran right passed his blond friend, the redhead calling out over his shoulder. "We're going to need a better hiding spot than this, Dem! We're running until we can't run anymore!"


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