Chapter 11: Fight, Fight, With All Your Might!!
Cloud's P.O.V
I jumped backwards landing sideways on one of the support beams as Lloyd slashed wildly at me. He swung at me again, & I sprang off the beam to the nearby wall. I shot off that one doing a back flip & slashing at his arm as I landed beside him. He blocked it & swung at me again, ducking halfway through his swing as a beam of energy flew past where his head had been moments ago & hit me in the chest.
"Gah!" I yelled as I hit the wall. I could taste blood in my mouth, but I paid no attention to it as I got up & charged at Riana. She jumped back & swung at me, her fists glowing with Chaos Energy. I ducked & punched upward with my freehand, knocking her back.
"Hiiiiiii-yaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" I heard behind me as I turned just in time to see Zell running towards me. I jumped sideways as he hit the support beam that had beside where I had just been, leaving a giant hole in it as dust flew everywhere. He turned & lunged at me, swinging with his fists. I swerved out of the way as Zephyren slashed at Zell with one of his talons. The Phoenix kept Zell occupied as I moved over to attack Riana again. She jumped up high, back flipping over me as Dimethos shot a beam of Chaos Energy forward. I ducked & pulled out a smaller sword with a handle guard. This sword was meant just for two-on-one situations like this, as Dimethos was charging forward. Riana, being the closer one, charged towards me also & I swung at her. She blocked the slash with her hands. I slashed behind me at Dimethos, who just managed to dodge the slash.
"Whoa!" Dimethos said with a smile on his face. "That was close! Do you mind trimming my quills while you're at it, Cloud?" I jumped out of the way as Riana tried to kick me. I jumped out of the way as Riana & Dimethos went to attack me at the same time. They were now locking fists with each other, but I didn't get time to rest as I heard electricity crackling behind me. I quickly turned to see Zephyren dragging his talon against the wall. He jumped at me & slashed with his electrically charged hand. I jumped out of the way, feeling the hair on the back of my neck stand on end as the electricity got close. When I landed, I looked up to find Squall slashing down at me. I held up my sword to block the oncoming attack, but to my surprise he squared his feet & landed on my sword. I launched him off towards Zephyren & watched as the two fought. My little breather was cut short though, as Tifa charged straight at me. I was forced to play defensively as my childhood friend swung at me.
"Fight back, Cloud!" She said, jumping forward like a spear, knocking me over. "Hah!" She yelled as she landed a punch on my face.
"Get off!!!" I shouted, kicking her back & forcing her off of me. Getting up, I readied my swords & jumped forward, making her go on the defensive.
Lloyd's P.O.V
"Too bad we can't use our true power…" I heard Lydolx sigh in my head. "This would be over faster then." I jumped out of the way of one of Zephyran's attacks as he slashed at me again.
"Come on, Lloyd!" He snarled. "Fight me!" He lunged again & I slashed down, hitting his back.
"How's that?" I said, sticking my tongue out at him. He slashed at me again with both swords & I blocked them. We were deadlocked. We looked around to see how everyone else was fairing. Zephyren was fighting wildly against Zell, who looked like he was going to pass out from a bad cut on his arm. Tifa & Cloud looked like they were constantly switching places in a game of cat & mouse. Squall was fighting Patrick, Squall was encased in water & it looked like he couldn't move. Dimethos & Riana were fighting each other while moving at blinding speeds. We looked back to each other & nodded.
"Yes!" I heard Lydolx cheer in my head as I felt power surge through my body. My feet lifted off the ground as I started to hover. I let the Keyblades fall out of my hands & levitate at my sides. My hair started to move as if a breeze was running through it. "Finally, you've stopped holding back!" Lydolx shouted as towards the two Anthros. They both shot off to the sides & started to circle me as I approached. I closed my eyes, waiting for the right moment.
"No!" I heard Dimethos shout as Riana charged towards me. I moved my right arm in a swinging motion towards her, the Keyblade hovering on my right lashed out, sending her into the already damaged support beam. I looked over to Dimethos, he was moving incredibly fast towards me. Everyone else seemed to slow down compared to him.
"Chaos Control won't work on me, Dimethos…" I sighed, moving my left hand up & making a spinning motion with it. The Keyblade moved quickly, mimicking my movements. To my surprised, Dimethos hit the Keyblade aside & punched me into the wall. I groaned & looked up to see a pupil less Dimethos surrounded by a purple aura above me. "Whoa!" I shot sideways as Dimethos brought his hands down blindingly fast on where I'd just been.
"Dad!" I heard Riana shout. "Calm down! I'm okay!" She grabbed his arm, only to be thrown at me. I caught her & set her gently back down on the ground.
"I don't think he's listening right now, Riana…" I looked over to the crazed hedgehog. He had a grin on his face & his quills were standing on end. "Zephyran!" I turned to see my brother shrouded in darkness. He looked at me with his head cocked to the side. I pointed over to 'Dark' Dimethos, who was now charging a large blast in his one hand. Zephyran nodded & dashed towards Dimethos taking him down with a swift kick. The two were moving incredibly fast. My eyes had a hard time keeping up, even in my Final Form.
"They're moving really fast," She was squinting trying to see them. "All I can see is the dust from where they're landing."
"Well anyways, Zephyran'll take care of him." I said turning to see Zephyren charge towards me after knocking Zell unconscious. I flew upwards, watching as Zephyren followed, electricity surging once again in his talons, this time however, accompanied by fire. I taunted him as he lashed his arm out at me, releasing an electrically charged fireball in the process. I flew to the right, narrowly avoiding the attack. I charged, sending a Keyblade out in front of me. He swerved left & I quickly countered by bringing the other Keyblade down on his wing. He screeched & plummeted to the ground, landing on Tifa & knocking her out. "That's two down." I thought to myself.
"Yeah," I heard my Nobody sigh. "But there's still Cloud, Squall, Zephyran, Sora, Patrick, Dimethos, & Riana to deal with."
"You called him Squall!" I cheered in my head as I dove towards the ground. "I don't want to hear you nagging about that anymore."
"Just shut up…" I heard Lydolx sigh again. "Otherwise, I'll take control."
"Fine, fine." I chuckled, advancing towards Patrick & Sora. The two jumped back as they saw me advancing.
"Final Form, huh?" Sora said, pulling his arms in. "Two can play at that game!" He let his arms fall back, a glass-like barrier erupted around him & shattered, revealing Sora in white clothes with two Keyblades floating around him, his body hovering above the ground as I was.
"I guess it's time for me to try out this new power then…" Patrick said, pulling a jug out from behind him. "Catch!" He shouted throwing the jug at me. I slashed at it before it could reach me & water erupted in front of me. The water drew back & enveloped itself around Patrick's body. "Now let's begin Round 2!" He roared, charging at me & Sora.
Zephyran's P.O.V
Darkness…swirling…pulling…fighting two battles...the darkness & the Anthro.
"Snap out of it!!!" I heard Razphyxen roar. Shaking my head, I looked at the power infused hedgehog in front of me. His body was cloaked in a purple aura.
"His heart…I need his heart…" My darkness beckoned me. Pulling at my existence. Trying to make me one of their own…a Heartless.
"After this, you're going to confront it once & for all…" My Nobody made no effort to hide the anger in his voice. "Got it?"
"Yeah, fine." I sighed. "Whatever…" I jumped aside as Dimethos launched a beam of purple Chaos Energy at me. I landed on all fours & shot forward, landing on him. I clawed blindly, moving faster than any human should. A kick to the back of my head sent me into the wall. "I'll have to use the portals to win this." I thought to myself & heard Razphyxen grunt in agreement.
I got up, seeing that Dimethos was walking towards me slowly. Turning to the wall that was behind me, I began climbing. His eyes followed me as I got to the top of the wall & I looked toward him, to my surprise he was flying towards me! I quickly felt myself fade into the wall, emerging in another realm. I opened another portal & shot through it landing on Dimethos back as I did. I clawed at him again, he responded by grabbing my hair & slamming me against the ground in front of him. Again I faded, & again I clawed at him, this time disappearing before he could attack. I stopped for a second trying to see a pattern in how his attacks worked. He let me attack him, & then he would hit me with something more powerful in response. I noticed white & black jagged cords starting to wrap around my arms.
"Move!" I heard Razphyxen shout. "Before the darkness consumes you!" I opened another portal & jumped through it, hoping to land on Dimethos & finish this little fight with him. I did land on Dimethos, however, when I looked around I found that everyone was congratulating each other & patting their backs.
"It's over?" I said, letting myself return to normal. "Already?"
"Already?" I heard Lloyd laugh. "You were gone for an hour!"
"That's great & all…" I heard Dimethos grunt. "Now, can you get off!?"
"Oops!" I said, getting off Dimethos & helping him up. "Sorry, forgot you were there. Wait, how did you get back to normal?" I questioned.
"I was acting." He shrugged. "I learned to control my power fully. But, in doing so…" He folded his arms. "I end up looking like I'm not in control & slightly psychopathic. Nice strategy, by the way." He looked at the claw marks on his arms. "I've never seen anyone use a portal like that & so effectively." I blushed & looked away at his comment.
"You've done well at controlling your power, Sora." Lloyd praised.
"That's true. You're much stronger than I remember." Squall said.
"You okay, Tifa?" I heard Zephyren say. "I'm really sorry for that. I shouldn't have responded to Lloyd's taunts."
"It's no problem really." Tifa responded. I looked over to see a smile on her face & feathers all over her. "No blood, no foul, right?" She said holding out her hand. They shook hands & walked out of the arena.
"Time to confront it, Zephyran…" I heard Razphyxen say. "Now."
"I know…" I sighed. "I don't have to like it though." I walked off to find somewhere to deal with my problem once & for all.
CHAPTER 11 END!
