Woot! Euge! Over 300 reviews! Totally proud of you guys. You warm my heart, and in return, I offer a reward. (See end of chapter for details. ^^) I warn you now, the battle sequence is continuing, amice meum. Stay with me though, dudes, for I promise it will be anything but boring. ^^ At least, I'll keep it as exciting as my skills allow.
Thanks much to: DieChan, HeartAngel, Shinimegami7, CloudedMirror, 73n5Hl, Aindel S. Druida, Taryn Eithne, FlurryDivider, LiteraryMirage, andhearts, ramen-is-my-goddess, Mirror and Darkling, Tangerine342, Ultima Phoenix, xLion-Heartx, Dust to Dusk, Sexy-Tacos-Emo-Waffles, Shukakku the adorable raccoon, Nezrin, muumuu122, Wind Kaizer, infinityinmirrors. Thanks you guys. Keep up the most excellent reviewing! :D
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Chapter 19
Luxord picked up the five cards which had fallen with a light flick of the wrist. His sharp eyes scanned them, expression poker-faced as he looked back down at the crowded courtyard. The gambler's eyes had met his just momentarily, but Riku could have sworn that he had seen something worrying in the glance. Riku felt a knot in the pit of his stomach as Luxord began to speak again. "The Fates never cease to surprise. Not even I can predict them, or control them, but as is most common, the good has been mixed with some more unfortunate events." With one twitch of his fingers, he fanned the cards out. "But with this grouping you've paid your dues to Chance. Let's distribute the cards and continue on with this scuffle, shall we?"
He drew his arm back then threw the cards out into the courtyard. They traveled with the speed and deadly accuracy of Larxene's daggers. Riku could only watch as three struck into the melee of guards, one flew out of his line of sight to where Axel and Cloud were fighting, and one flew straight toward him and Yazoo.
The cards exploded into flashes of light right above all of their heads. Riku, at least, was blinded for a second. In that time he felt time begin to move again. But something was wrong; he suddenly realized his stance was off, in a way he hadn't realized a second ago. His feet were placed incorrectly for a proper defense and Yazoo was bearing down on him with his gun. Now he knew why he had felt so uneasy when Luxord had looked at him. He had gotten a bad card.
The next thing Riku felt was the cold steel of Yazoo's double knifes pierce his skin below his ribcage as Yazoo carried through his swing. The pain was such that Riku's entire body felt numb, like it was completely burning with white hot fire. He stumbled back a step, trying to keep on his feet as Yazoo's eyes widened. The blades withdrew from his body, doing more damage as they tore out. Riku could feel the hot blood beginning to soak his clothes.
One of them gasped as the world was suddenly thrown back to its normal speed. Riku felt himself drop to the ground. He couldn't keep himself up anymore. It felt as if all of his strength had left him, replaced instead with unbearable pain. Yazoo only stared down at him, the knifes on the end of his gun still dripping with Riku's blood. His aquamarine eyes, nearly identical to Riku's, were frozen in a state of shock. There was a hint of panic too, darting across his features. Could it have been that Yazoo had never expected to actually land the hit? Riku bit his lip, gasping out a breath of air. "Y-Yazoo…"
Yazoo started as if he had been shocked but before he could pull himself together for a reaction-
"Get away from him!"
A white and silver blur crashed into him with the angry shout. Yazoo flew backward, his gun flying from his hand as the figure that blasted him away took his place. Riku's vision was beginning to blur but his eyes still widened to see that the figure was actually Sora. But, his clothing had changed and he was now colored in white, silver, and black. His whole body was glowing and his feet were hovering a few good inches off of the ground, the prince's face twisted into and expression of panicked anger as two Keyblades floated around him. He was like a vengeful angel.
Riku tried to sit up but the movement shot agonizing pain up from his wound. He grit his teeth, tilting his head back as he focused on breathing through the pain. The slight movement drew Sora's attention to him. The prince twisted around in the air, his blue eyes glowing with a fierce inner fire. All the anger on his face vanished instantly though when his eyes rested on Riku, his intimidating atmosphere diminishing as he hovered lower, glowing hand reaching out to touch the bleeding wound on Riku's torso.
The touch sent a sizzling shock through Riku's body and his whole frame jerked from the pain. "Shit, Sora!"
"I'm sorry, sorry!" Sora's hand retracted then hesitantly lowered again. Tears were collecting in the prince's eyes as he helplessly pulled his hands back when Riku let out another hiss.
"S-Sora, too much, too much light magic…" Glowing as he was now, Sora was burning him whenever he came too close.
"I know. I just, when I felt you get hurt, I just couldn't control myself. I'm sorry! But bear with the light for a few more seconds, I have to get you to my mother!"
Riku gasped as Sora picked him up. Shit, it felt as if he was resting on hot irons. He definitely was not meant to be with compatible with such strong concentrations of light magic. Sora's normal light was soft and warm but this was just torture and combined with the wound Yazoo had inflicted was quickly sending his body into shock.
Sora seemed to sense the urgency though. Before Riku understood what was happening, they were literally gliding across the air, hurtling toward the earthen bunker where Aerith had hid before the battle even started. They were traveling so fast that Riku couldn't keep track of the fights going on around them. He heard shouts and cries of other people, saw the glinting of slashing weapons, felt the air charged with magic, but he was too dizzy to focus one any more than that.
Sora glided into the shade of the bunker Lexeaus had made and immediately, Riku was shocked by how cool and quiet the space was. He hadn't realized how noisy it had been out fighting; he had always been wrapped up in his own fight with Yazoo to notice.
…What had even happened to Yazoo?
"…Riku. Riku, focus on me, Riku."
Riku blinked his eyes open, tilting his head to the side to see that he was in Aerith's arms now. She was looking down at him with concerned green eyes. Wait. Where had Sora gone? Riku's eyes snapped open as panic ripped through him. Where was Sora?! "Sora!"
He sent out a ripple of his magic, searching desperately for Sora but his energy wasn't stretching far enough. He didn't have enough strength left. But he needed to find Sora!
"Riku, its okay, calm down, Sora is alright for the moment. Namine, dear, do you think you can help calm him down? He's only aggravating his wound this way."
Riku paused momentarily as two small hands captured his face. He blinked to see Namine looking down at him, her soft blue eyes depthless as she frowned gently. "Calm down, Riku. You need to stay still or else you'll only hurt yourself more."
Riku took a deep breath, feeling dizzy and lightheaded as he stared up at her. "Where did Sora go? He, he brought me here, what's he doing now. Is he fighting? Is he out fighting? I need to go to him if he's still fighting." His voice was starting to slur; he didn't even know what he was saying, but he knew he had to see Sora again. How could he stay calm knowing that Sora was in the battle and he, as Guardian, was laid up because of a small stab wound?
"Riku, it's alright, I'm here."
Riku turned his head, letting out a breath of relief when he saw Sora smiling down at him, the prince kneeling next to Namine. Riku returned the smile with a smirk of his own, reaching out for the prince's hand. Sora took it with a somewhat hesitant expression. His hand was cold as Sora looked up at Aerith. "Is this better? Can you treat him now?"
"I should be able to, just keep holding his hand. It seems to calm him." Riku tilted his head back to Aerith when she pushed his vest up, watching blurrily as she looked down at his wound. He was barely staying conscious at this point. Noticing his lack of focus, Aerith smiled down at him though her eyes were troubled. "It's okay if you want to rest for now. In fact I think it would be best. I have to see how deep the wound is before I know what spells I should use to heal it. Curaga may not be enough if there is a large amount of internal damage."
Barely able to keep his eyes open Riku nodded, pursing his lips as he tried to gather the energy to speak again. "Sora's not going…going to….fight…again…"
"He'll stay right here beside you." As Riku felt darkness slip over his senses, he heard Aerith speak up again, her voice much quieter. "I know this is straining for you in your condition, but thank you, Zexion. Just keep holding his hand."
When Riku opened his eyes again, he was able to collect his thoughts enough to take a first look at where he was. It was indeed a small space, dark and shaded. The ceiling was dirt, and it vaulted over one of the long sides to meet with the palace wall which made up the other wall. The floor was dirt as well. Interestingly enough though, he was lying on what appeared to be a bed of small flowers. Grunting, he tried to push himself up, hissing when his wound protested against the movement. A second later, a hand pushed him back down and he rolled his head over to see Aerith smiling. "It's good to see you awake again. That's certainly progress!"
Riku ran a hand over his forehead. "Hn…am I good enough to go out into the battle again? How long was I out for?"
"Only a few minutes. But no, you're not healthy enough to fight. That cut did quite a bit of damage. I have done what I can, but whatever blade was used must have been tainted with contaminated dark magic. It's not allowing Curaga to heal the wound completely."
Riku frowned. His thoughts were beginning to clear. He looked over Aerith's shoulders to see Namine at the mouth of the bunker, Zexion no where in sight. "Do you know what's happening out there?"
Aerith shook her head. "No. Zexion and Namine are keeping an eye on things, but my attention has been on your health. You and Sora are only lucky he managed to get you here in time. Another minute and you very well could have died."
Both of their heads twisted to the shelter's entrance when Namine let out a sudden shriek. A second later Zexion suddenly appeared in the mouth of the cave, having dropped his illusion of invisibility as he grabbed Namine's arm and pulled her further inside the cave. His voice was sharp and clipped. "Everyone get back. We've got company."
Riku pushed himself onto his elbows as a rush of fire suddenly blasted across the mouth of the cave. Riku could feel the heat from the very back of the bunker so he could only imagine how Namine and Zexion felt as they dove for cover. Just as they hit the earthen floor, two figures threw themselves in past the fire. It was Axel and Vexen, and Axel looked like he had the upper hand. The red-head had a burning chakram in one hand and Vexen's collar in the other, his grip so hot that the scent of burning fabric filled the space. The chakram quickly went to the ice spirit's throat as the fire behind them sputtered and went out.
Panting, Axel pushed Vexen to the ground, his voice little more than a tired rumble. "Do you yield?!"
Vexen grimaced, though his sweaty face paled when the fire around Axel's chakram flared. "Yes, alright. Get off of me, you imbecile!"
Axel huffed but sat up, hand still fisting Vexen's collar as he threw the other spirit against the wall. Waiting until Axel had a firm hold on Vexen, Riku asked, "Axel, what's going on out there?"
Axel glanced over to him, his acid green eyes widening slightly. "So this is where you went. I was wondering," he cut himself off suddenly and changed topics. "Things are going as well as they can after Luxord did his damage. A good number of Xigbar's guards went down but Xemnas lost more. Everyone seems to be holding their own but your brothers are mowing down everyone they're coming across…" He trailed off again, looking distracted as he glanced back to the mouth of the bunker.
Riku understood. He was worried about Roxas. "How's Sora?"
"For now? Fighting strong in his Final form."
"What do you mean for now?"
Axel gave him a sideways look. "As a prince he can harness that much power at once, but that also means he's burning through his energy much faster than usual. If he fights much longer in that form, he's gonna burn out and then he'd be pretty much helpless."
Riku's heart flew to his throat. He couldn't let that happen. He tried to stand up but a shock of pain immediately shot up his body. Hissing, he grabbed at the wound as Aerith hurried to his side to help support him. Damn. He wasn't going to allow himself to be too weak to help Sora. His hiss of pain drew Vexen's attention. The ice spirit sniffed. "How pathetic. You're already wounded?"
Before Riku could find his voice for a comeback, Axel had his chakram pointed back at the other's throat again. "I could set you on fire before you knew what hit you, so I wouldn't be calling anyone in here pathetic. You're a doctor, right? Why don't you help Jenovan out?"
"And risk having the Superior hear of such a thing?" Apparently Vexen was more afraid of his absent Superior than Axel's anger. Xemnas really did control his underlings with an iron fist it seemed. "You're insane. Besides, he looks as if he'll recover within a few weeks."
Scowling, Riku pushed himself away from Aerith. He winced as the movement only aggravated his wound. "I don't have a few weeks."
"Well you can't leave this area until you better." Aerith's voice was firm and unfortunately unshakable. Plus, Riku realized that if she were to allow him to take a few steps, he probably couldn't manage to take more than one step before he collapsed. But he had to get back into that fight.
Perhaps sensing his internal turmoil, Axel frowned. "If you guys can take control of Vexen, I can go out and make sure Roxas and Sora stay safe."
"I suppose we can always knock him unconscious…" Zexoin murmured. "Right, Namine?"
She nodded. "It would be simple." By her tone of voice Riku had no doubt that she did indeed have the ability to carry out the threat.
Vexen paled but Axel gave them a feral smile. "Good. I'll leave him to you then. Riku, don't worry, I'll do my best to look after everyone." Sure, he would do his best, but Riku couldn't help but think that no mater how hard Axel tried, he would unconsciously pay more attention to Roxas. It was only natural, Axel was Roxas' Guardian. But Riku had to trust him. He didn't have any other choice. At least it would be some sort of assurance that someone would be looking out for the Crown Prince.
Axel he nearly ran into Demyx as he was leaving, who just then was coming in with Marluxia in tow. Demyx looked as if he just barely won. His legs and clothes were scattered with blood-stained scratches from thorny vines and he was panting hard as he pushed Marluxia into the bunker. Marluxia for his part, was completely drenched, his black cloak torn in several places. Neither looked particularly pleased but there was also a strange lack of force as the apparently captured Marluxia sauntered in on his own accord, not sparing Axel a second glance as the red-head ran back out to the fight.
Vexen, in far worse condition than Marluxia with his cloak charred along the hems, gaped at his ally then scowled rebukingly. "Marluxia!"
"Please, Vexen." Marluxia waved his hand dismissively. "I didn't even care about fighting in the first place." Marluxia huffed and raised his hand so quickly that Riku started forward, thinking he was going to attack. But Marluxia's hands only flew up to comb through his hair. Demyx only sighed with exhaustion standing beside the pink-haired spirit. "Honestly, Xemnas has gone too far if he thinks that we will fight at his beck and call when he doesn't even bother to show up." His frown deepened and he glared over at Demyx. "And you didn't have to soak me so completely. I have pride in my appearance but here I am wet and you tore my cloak with your damned water." The flower spirit took a look around his surroundings for the first time. "Such a rag-tag group. I can't actually believe you got captured Vexen. And you claim to be so capable."
Vexen bristled. "At least I tried to fight instead of simply surrendering when my hair got slightly ruffled."
Marluxia shrugged. Riku was surprised how much tension seemed to be between the two spirits, as well as how informal they were with each other. Not only did they not get along with each other, but things were a lot less structured between the ranks; if a gardener and doctor could talk to each other that way. Riku paused as he was suddenly conscious of Marluxia's sharp blue gaze locked onto him. Wringing out his hair, Marluxia tossed his dripping locks over his shoulder then raised an eyebrow. "How fast the mighty hero falls."
Riku scowled and readjusted his grip on his wound. Putting pressure on it really wasn't helping, but it made him feel a little better. Demyx's brows had drawn together, the water god's attention turning to Riku as well. The blonde's shoulders dropped as he hurried forward. "Ah, Riku, what happened?! Are you okay?"
"I'll be fine." Riku growled, his cheeks turning red. The fact that he was hurt to the point where he could barely move was nothing but an embarrassment now. "You're a little scratched up yourself."
Demyx frowned then rubbed at a scratch on his arm that was still bleeding a little. Behind him, Marluxia smirked. "Even I'm surprised how well I went up against a water god. Perhaps I should be named a god myself. There are few flower spirits still around who are at my caliber after all." He directed this gaze particularly at Aerith who gracefully ignored him with all the dignity of a queen. Huffing a little at the lack of response, Marluxia raised a pink eyebrow then put his hands on his hips and turned to Vexen. "Why don't you take a look at the boy's wounds?"
Vexen recoiled with disbelief, his voice a cold hiss. "Have you lost your mind, Marluxia? The Superior would have my head if he knew I was aiding the enemy."
"Who cares what Xemnas thinks? I'm tired with this whole ordeal. Besides, Xemnas does nothing but look down on the rest of us. His and his damn superiority complex. He belittles the rest of us just to make his dark power seem so high and mighty. It's disgusting."
"What's disgusting is your inability to see your own superiority complex, oh Graceful Assassin." Vexen sneered these last words.
"Uncertain of your own abilities?" Marluxia tapped his chin. "I suppose I understand. That wound does look fairly nasty. It would be shameful not to be able to treat it, so it's best not to look at all, right?"
Riku watched the verbal fight go from one spirit to the other, shocked at what Marluxia was doing. Was the pink-haired spirit actually trying to help them? What was he up to?
"What are you up to, Marluxia?" Apparently Zexion shared his concern as well.
"What's wrong, Cloaked Schemer, are you confused? Can't I play my own game as well?" Zexion scowled but said no more.
Marluxia's expression was nothing but a condescending sneer at this point, but there was a spark of dangerous intelligence behind those eyes. Riku could only stare as Marluxia slowly continued to rile Vexen up. The normally cool and collected doctor was gradually becoming more and more irritated; it looked as though Marluxia really knew how to press his buttons. After a few minutes of Marluxia's barbed words, Vexen finally growled and threw up his hands. "Fine. I remain unconvinced that coddling is the best way to treat an enemy, but if it will silence your mouth, I will have a look at the boy."
With that said, he pushed himself away from the wall, walking as dignified as one could over to Riku in his charred cloak. Personally, Riku wasn't feeling all that confident. Sure Vexen was a doctor, but he also worked for Xemnas. Were the others really going to go along with this?
"No need to look quite so terrified," Vexen muttered. The spirit's hand was freezing on his shoulder as he pushed Riku back down onto the makeshift flower bed. As he lifted Riku's vest away from the wound again, Aerith came to sit beside him, her presence giving Riku a little reassurance. Back near the mouth of the cave, Marluxia was still trying to wring water out of his cloak. Demyx was looking from the captive flower spirit then peeking back out into the courtyard, undoubtedly trying to gauge if how badly his magic was still needed in the fight. Namine and Zexion were speaking quietly to each other, trying to strategize perhaps.
Riku was brought back to his own situation with a sharp hiss as Vexen unsympathetically prodded at the gouge in his side. The doctor's expression was all business as leaned down and squinted at the cut. Riku had the uncomfortable feeling of being on some operating table."Yes, I see that a simple Curaga would be ineffective. There's a barrier of black magic of sorts which would have rebuffed that spell. No matter, nothing some cleaning won't repair."
Riku's body gave a jerk of surprise as Vexen laid his hand over the wound and suddenly filled it with what felt like freezing cold air. Vexen looked unimpressed by the reaction, however, and simply pressed his hand down harder, holding it in place for another few minutes as Riku felt his entire body temperature plummet.
As Riku started to violently shiver, Demyx pulled his head back into the earthen bunker and called out. "Guys, Xemnas just came out into the courtyard and he looks really angry! I'm going back out."
As he made to leave, Zexion caught the back of his jacket. "Wait. I'm coming with you."
"No you're not. You could barely walk an hour ago." It was a somewhat harsher reply than what had been expected but Demyx's quiet tone revealed just how worried he was.
Zexion frowned. "I have rested enough. The rest of you are tiring too fast to be without any help. Even you have been hurt, and you're a water god. Besides, my attacks do not require me to be in any physical danger. I work with illusions, remember?"
Demyx bit his lip. He looked back to the others then back to Zexion. After a pause, he sighed then nodded. "Alright. But stay close to me, okay? And if you feel like you're getting tired, let me know and I can bring you back here to rest."
"This is a battle, if we get tired, we will have to persevere. Don't treat me like a child."
"I can't help it. I told the other's I hate fighting! This is why. I don't want to see any more of my friends hurt!"
"Then we had best leave before anyone out there gets hurt before we can reach them."
Unable to argue, Demyx nodded and the two of them darted back out into the melee, Zexion disappearing under an illusion of invisibility as soon as he stepped past the safety of the bunker's threshold. Riku watched them go enviously, clenching his fists together in an effort to stop his body from jerking. At least Vexen had stopped his blast of cold air but now he was poking and prodding as if to see what other internal organs he could freeze.
After a few more moments though, Vexen finally pulled away to inspect his work. "Not bad. It should be cleansed enough in any case to now permit a few Curaga spells. The wound is fairly deep but with magic healing everything should sew itself up sufficiently to avoid any infections. I assume you can take care of the Curaga spells?"
He directed this question at Aerith. The queen gave the smallest of nods then took Vexen's place as he stepped back. Riku was still shivering as she lay a comforting hand on his chest, her touch infinitely more gentle than Vexen's cold precision as she murmured the healing spell. This time, Riku could feel the wound begin to close up and his energy slowly return to him. He had never been more grateful for magical healing. It took three Curaga spells to repair the wound sufficiently, but when Aerith pulled away after the third, Riku found that he could easily sit up with only a slight twinge of pain from the memory of the wound.
Aerith smiled as his pleased expression, though her eyes held a tint of concern. "Well, I suppose you are healthy to go back into the fight."
Was she worried about her own safety? Riku looked around to realize that if he were to leave, it would just be her and Namine against Vexen and Marluxia. He couldn't leave them so defenseless, but he really needed to get back out into the courtyard to help Sora. Noticing his uncertainty, Marluxia rolled his eyes. "We're your captives, remember? It's not as if we would put up a fight when we know we can be beaten. Vexen and I will remain here and wait for this whole thing to blow over."
"Speak for yourself." Vexen snapped. "I will not remain here while the Superior is out fighting."
"Stop being so incessantly loyal. We both know Xemnas' hold was growing shaky over this world anyway, and the scales seem to be tipping in favor of this rag-tag army. Return to the battle if you wish, but if you do I might just have to tell your precious Superior that you helped to heal young Jenovan. He wouldn't be too happy with you, would he?"
"You're blackmailing me to remain here?!" Riku had never heard so much emotion in Vexen's voice which had risen to an indignant pitch.
"I'm blackmailing you to save your life." Marluxia shot back. "You will thank me later."
Vexen grimaced but crossed his arms. Apparently he was giving in; though Riku wasn't sure if it was from fear of Xemnas or the fact that he would also say that the tide was turning on their regime. Once both of them had quieted down, however, Namine spoke up, her voice as quiet and calming as ever. "We will be alright, Riku. Go and help Sora. Even if they change their minds, we will be able to defend ourselves. We are not as weak as you think."
Riku clenched his fists. "I don't, I don't think you're weak. I just worry about you." He stood up. It was a half-truth. He knew Namine and Aerith were strong, but he didn't know how strong, if they were actually powerful enough to equal Marluxia and Vexen's power. But he had no choice. They were freely allowing him to leave and Sora was out fighting, using energy he didn't have. "Fine. I trust you. But be careful."
"Same to you."
Riku nodded. He stared searchingly at Marluxia as he walked to the entrance, but, finding no trace of emotion to reveal his true intentions, forced himself to continue walking and stepped outside.
Immediately after he left the earthen bunker, his concerns for Aerith and Namine slipped to the back of his mind as the sounds and sight of battle once again filled his senses. More of the palace walls had gone down and the courtyard had been so overturned that it was nothing but a field of loose dirt now. The air was filled with a dusty haze and the scent of magic and blood and Riku could only stare shocked for a second. Axel had turned his attentions to Yazoo and Loz who were double-teaming him. Yazoo, who had apparently picked himself up after Sora's intervention, was firing shot after shot at the red-head who blocked the bullets with well time bursts of fire so hot that it burned blue. He rebuffed Loz's lightening-fast charges in the same manner, though also keeping the largest Jenovan at bay with his spinning chakrams. Roxas was close to him, just barely holding his own against Saix. Both light and wolf spirit were covered in dirt and blood but Riku was impressed how well Roxas was doing with his two Keyblades. The young prince's expression was set in angry determination as he blocked each blow Saix sent down with his terrifying claymore.
Xigbar was perched up on the wall now, fighting Xaldin who was stabbing viciously with his lances whenever Xigbar transported to. Lexaeus was below them fighting back some of Xemnas's guards, a bleeding gash across one of his large arms an indicator as to why he had relinquished his fight with Xaldin. Leon was still fighting in close combat with Larxene. The lightning spirit appeared to be more tired than the lion but neither looked ready to give anytime soon, still slashing at each other with equal vicious strength.
Cloud was still locked close with Kadaj, both of their expressions dark. Just passed their fight, closer to the palace building, was Sora, swinging his two Keyblades fiercely against a growing number of Heartless. The Heartless were coming from Xemnas, who in the center of that black mass was laughing at Sora's efforts. Sora was still in his Final form though, still glowing and hovering off of the ground as he delivered his deadly blows. Even from the distance though, Riku could see Sora's brown spikes and clothes sticking to his neck and back from sweat. The Prince was tiring fast and he still had such a long way to go to reach Xemnas.
Riku immediately called Way to the Dawn to his hand and ran to Sora's aid. He struck down any guard or Heartless that got in his way, though his attention was so focused on getting to Sora that he didn't once glance back to see if he had managed to kill them or not.
However, as he was passing Cloud and Kadaj, Kadaj twisted Cloud's sword from his hand with his double-bladed katana. Riku could only watch horrified as Cloud was thrown to the ground then pierced through the shoulder by the double sword. He couldn't believe that his brother had actually managed to get the upper hand against Cloud. Cloud was so fast that he was unbeatable, right? Riku had never thought to be worried for the older spirit's safety. When the wolf spirit cried out in pain, Riku found his voice. "Cloud!"
Cloud twisted his head back at the shout though his face quickly contorted with pain and looked back to Kadaj as the silver-haired spirit ripped his sword out. Kadaj's own expression was one Riku had never seen before. There was a hint of madness there that terrified Riku. He had always known that Kadaj was the most unstable of his brothers, but he hadn't imagined that Kadaj would seem to like killing another living being quite this much. Riku started running toward them as Kadaj heaved Cloud up by the collar of his black vest and grinned, his voice loud and twisted as he put his sword to Cloud's throat. He was drawing blood as he pressed down harder and harder. "I always knew it would end like this, Cloud. Me, killing you. It was destined after those fools assigned me to be your Guardian. Imagine me, guarding some worthless bastard animal! I'll have fun watching you die-"
"Kadaj, let him go!" Riku interrupted his brother's speech with his body, literally shoving Kadaj to the side. Cloud fell back to the ground coughing, using his good arm to reach for his sword as the other lay at his side, the wound to the shoulder rendering it useless.
Kadaj only kicked Riku away though, bouncing back to his feet before slashing out at his youngest brother. His face was now a mask of rage. "This has nothing to do with you, brat! Once I'm finished with Cloud, I'll kill you too because of what you took from me!"
Riku's eyes widened as he saw Kadaj's hands glow black but could not raise a Dark Shield quickly enough. The black orb of magic exploded as it hit his chest, sending him flying back a few feet, closer to Sora and the Heartless. Riku picked himself back up, intent on running back to help Cloud but Leon beat him to it.
With an angry roar, Leon in his lion form had suddenly leapt in from the side, tearing at Kadaj before he moved to stand protectively over Cloud's fallen body. Kadaj recovered from his shock to point his sword at the snarling lion, unfazed as Leon's lips curled. The silver-haired spirit walked a slow circle around Cloud's body and Leon twisted around at every turn to always face him, his large paws carefully stepping over Cloud's body as he moved. Below, Cloud could only lay frozen, fingers wrapped around the hilt of his blade but too weak to grip it with enough strength to lift it off the ground. After a few tries, he gave up and loosed his fingers to grab shakily instead at Leon's brown fur. Finally, Kadaj stopped and tilted his head to the side. "Such love and compassion for such a dirty animal. But I suppose it is fitting, seeing as how you're the same. I should kill you both, or you can kill me, if you really want to be his Guardian so badly."
Leon's growls only deepened, the muscles in his back tensing. Kadaj made the first move, striking forward so fast that Riku could barely see the arc of his sword. Leon was ready though, and let loose a roar that sent Kadaj tumbling back similar to how he had sent Riku flying just moments before.
Kadaj landed only feet away from Riku, and the younger felt his face pale as nearly identical aquamarine eyes turned on him again.
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Alright, dudes. I have a proposition for you, as thanks to your support and patience. I'm going to write a bonus chapter once the main storyline's over and I was thinking of focusing in on one pairing. (You may note I did a similar thing at the end of the Haunted series.) And, like last time, I request your input. Review for this chapter and tell me who you want to see more of: Riku/Sora, Leon/Cloud, Axel/Roxas, Zexion/Demyx, etc. I'll be taking the most popular vote and writing it, so voice your thoughts, dudes! I warn you now, whatever you pick, it will be fluffy! ^^
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