I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters.
For The Last Time
Ventus stepped out into the ring, newly restored armor covering his body, hiding the bruises and cuts he had accumulated, as well as the dark circles under his eyes. He couldn't sleep. Every battle was deafening. He had gathered that the man that had beaten Hercules was still in and there was another human easily slaughtering his way through no problem. There was also apparently some form of monster that was untouchable. Aside from that, it had been nothing but pained screams and explosions that kept him awake. But it was fine. He could sleep after he won.
Across from him stood a man with a pair of blue pants, black boots, white gloves, a blue coat, and a tattered red handkerchief around his neck. Ventus summoned his keyblade and the man snorted in amusement, holding his hands out. Purple light began to shoot off his hands for a moment before fading, leaving a pair of cross bows.
"The boss says I'm supposed to let you live," the man stated. "Course, that said, he never said anything about uninjured."
The man raised a cross bow and fired. A glowing bolt of energy sailed at Ventus, shattering against his keyblade at the last second.
"Nice try," Ventus snarled. "But you won't beat me with that."
"We'll see," the man growled. "Name's Braig. You're Ventus right? This should be fun."
Ventus sprinted forward and Braig fired several shots at him only for Ventus to slightly alter direction and avoid them completely before turning back toward Ventus. Ventus snorted at the ease with which he could avoid the shots. Then, he leapt into the air, slashing at Braig. Braig grinned, ducking under the keyblade and pressing the crossbow to Ventus's stomach, firing. Ventus's eyes went wide as he felt the blast tear completely through him and crashed to the ground. Pain on a level he had never experienced filled him, wiping his vision. He couldn't see. He couldn't move. He was helpless. Just like a child.
No, Ventus growled, forcing out the pain and pushing himself up, his vision returning as he did. I'm not a child. I refuse to lose to him.
He turned, seeing Braig watching him in amusement.
"That all you got big shot?" Braig asked.
Ventus sprinted forward and Braig crouched, beginning to move as well. He didn't charge, instead, he darted around, seemingly at random, firing every time he stopped. For a moment, Ventus was able to block the shots. Then, one scraped his left shoulder, just enough to make him spin and suddenly shots began to blast through him one after another. Finally it stopped and Ventus staggered forward a few steps before steadying himself and looking back at Braig who laughed.
"Pathetic," Braig said. "If I tripped you that's be the end of the fight."
"You think so huh?" Ventus growled. "Well, I'm not losing to you. I have too much riding on this. I'm going to win this tournament. And if that means I have to beat you to do it, then I'm not losing to you."
He deactivated his armor, exposing both his fresh wounds and the wounds he had been hiding to the world, but also lightening himself. He raised his keyblade, pointing it at Braig who began to sprint around, too fast for Ventus to aim at him. Ventus smirked and pointed the keyblade upward. Suddenly, lightning shot down from the barrier, hitting in a circle around him before ending, another ring of lightning bolts hitting just outside that one, then another, then another, spreading outward until it reached Braig. Lightning hit him despite his best efforts to dodge it, and an explosion went off. When it cleared, he was badly burned but still better off than Ventus, who had fallen to his knees, keyblade lying on the ground beside him. Braig smirked, limping forward slowly, knowing Ventus was going nowhere.
"You know kid," Braig growled. "That actually hurt. A lot. I'm going to have to repay you for that. I sure hope the boss can work with a dead body, because I don't care if you're alive or dead!"
He stopped in front of Ventus, aiming at Ventus's face. Just as he began to squeeze, Ventus fell to the side, the shot taking off his ear but not killing him. Ventus grabbed his keyblade and stood, lunging and slashing Braig across the chest. Braig staggered backward as Ventus pointed his keyblade at him, a fireball hitting him and exploding, launching him backward. Braig flipped, landing on his feet and aiming at Ventus, firing. Ventus slashed the shot, smashing it and looking up at Braig. Blood was coating his face from both a scratch on his head and splatter from the rest of his wounds. Some seemed to be in his eyes from the scratch because tears of blood were pouring down his face.
"I've had enough of you," Ventus snarled beginning to limp forward.
"How can you still move with those wounds?" Braig demanded. "How can you breathe?"
He fired again, the shot punching through Ventus's left shoulder just as Ventus's right arm swung up, hurling his now glowing keyblade. Braig swore, realizing too late what was happening. The keyblade spun through the air, splitting Braig diagonally across the chest before reversing directions, sailing over Ventus and crashing to the ground somewhere in the distance. Ventus had collapsed just as Braig was hit and wasn't moving. However, after a moment, he summoned his keyblade and used it to stand and limp his way back to his room as medics entered to collect Braig's body. Once in his room, Ventus limped out to where he knew the others were waiting. He collapsed just outside the barrier, however, his vision swimming. He felt blood pooling beneath him and when he tried to move to stand, he lost all feeling, his vision going dark. After what felt like a minute, it returned and he found himself on his back, Aqua kneeling over him, hands glowing green as she healed him with her best healing spell. The rest of his senses began to return, along with his strength and he looked around, seeing Terra and Eraqus standing behind her.
"You foolish boy," Eraqus spoke, seeing that Ventus was awake. "Stop this nonsense. Your charade has gone on long enough."
"How long will it take for you to understand that I'm not a child?" Ventus rasped.
"Ventus, you're in way over your head here," Terra stated. "You need to stop and think about what you're-"
"You don't think I know that I'm in danger when I step into that arena?" Ventus growled. "Trust me, I'm acutely aware I could die."
To emphasize his point, he raised his left arm then proceeded to slip his right completely through it using one of the larger holes he had in his body. He pulled his hand back and set his arms down, glaring at Terra.
"What do I have to do to prove to you that I'm not a child anymore?" Ventus asked, looking at all three in turn. "Can't you just support my decision to compete? I thought you were supposed to be my friends."
"We are your friends," Aqua stated, healing the last of his wounds. "And that's why we're trying to stop you. That's why, I'm sorry, but we will never support you fighting in this tournament."
"This is your last chance boy," Eraqus stated. "For the last time, stop this foolishness. If you enter the arena again, you will no longer be welcome in the Land of Departure."
"What?" Ventus blinked. "So that's it? Follow your orders or else be kicked out?"
Eraqus remained silent, narrowing his eyes.
"What about you Terra?" Ventus asked, looking to his friend. "Are you going to turn your back on me?"
"You won't survive this tournament," Terra stated. "Just come home, Ven. Come back where you belong."
"Aqua?" Ventus asked, but she simply stared at the ground in silence.
His face fell and he nodded.
"Okay," Ventus sighed. "Fine. I see how it is. I guess this is goodbye then. It was nice knowing you all."
He turned, walking back through the barrier. As he did, Aqua raised a hand, as though to stop him and opened her mouth to speak, but her voice died in her throat and after a moment she let her hand fall to her side again.
"Very well," Eraqus growled. "So be it. Come. We have work to do."
Eraqus turned and left, and Terra turned to follow but noticed Aqua hadn't moved.
"Aqua," Terra spoke up. "Let's go, Aqua. He's made his choice. We can't change it now. We have to go."
Aqua's shoulders trembled and Terra sighed, turning and walking away, following Eraqus. Eraqus watched Aqua for a moment before opening a rift.
"We're going to the castle," Eraqus stated.
Then, he and Terra left.
Read and review.