Timeless
Chapter 4: Follow the Lead(er)
(Sept. 23rd, 2007 – CTL)
"Where have you been all day?" Leon asked. Sky couldn't decide if he sounded concerned, or jealous, or simply annoyed. Huffing, Sky breezed past Leon and sat down in a swivel chair. He had just returned to the security room of Castle Luminous after his meeting with Vincent Valentine, and he was just a little sore all over.
"Got jumped by some super ninja or something." He waited the appropriate amount of time for Leon to become alarmed, but before the older brunet could speak, Sky continued on like it was nothing. "I got a tip from an informant that might help us track down Lucrecia," he said with a shrug. "Did you know she used to work for the Shinra Electric Company?" Leon composed himself as he thought back.
"Yes, it was on her resume when she applied for a job with the Restoration Committee." Leon shook his head, still unable to comprehend what Sky was talking about. "Super ninja?"
"Do you know specifically what she was involved with?" Sky asked, ignoring Leon's question.
"Research and development. They were doing something along the lines of finding new and efficient sources of energy."
"Ah, but do you know what they decided to try using?" There was a pause as, clearly, Leon had no idea. Having finally stumped him, Sky grinned triumphantly. "They were using the darkness in people's hearts as a source of power. And if what this informant said was true, they were in cahoots with Xehanort and his boys. Pretty fucking sketchy, huh? I want to check in with Tron to confirm this information, but if that guy's right, then there may be a connection between Shinra and the Righteous Hearts."
"That's impossible. Shinra went bankrupt shortly before Radiant Garden was overrun by Heartless. I was only a teenager at the time, but I remember the headlines clearly. They overspent their finances, Ansem the Wise discredited their work, their stocks plummeted, and they went out of business."
"Maybe a few of Shinra's CEOs or scientists defected to the Righteous Hearts movement. I mean, wouldn't you be pissed if the ruler of your world forced your company belly-up?"
"I still don't see the connection. They may have had shady dealings, but that doesn't make them terrorists."
"In my timeline, the Righteous Hearts had some rather shady dealings themselves. They were dabbling in experiments very similar to what Shinra was up to. The only difference is that in my time, the experiments were being headed up by Dr. Finklestein of Halloween Town. And we both know that Finklestein isn't the one behind the Hearts. He's still back in Halloween Town. He wasn't recruited until later."
"So you think just because Shinra and the Righteous Hearts both ran experiments on human hearts, it means they're connected somehow?"
"It doesn't hurt to dig around. Anything at this point is a good lead." Leon was only partially convinced, but Sky was right. They needed a lead to follow if they were going to prevent the attack in less than three days. They made their way over to the console that would allow them to communicate with the Space Paranoids world. After typing a few commands into the computer, the communication light flickered on and the voice of Tron filled the room.
"You are connected to the server," he said.
"Tron, buddy!" Sky called.
Warmth filled Tron's voice upon recognizing Sky's voice. "Ah, So- I mean, Sky! It's good to hear from you!" A small blue light appeared next to the mini camera attached to the monitor, indicating that Tron had a visual on the two users connected to his world. "And Squall, it's a pleasure as always."
"Leon…" the older brunet muttered under his breath.
"What can I do for you today?" Tron asked, having missed Leon's correction.
"We're looking for information about the Shinra Electric Company. What can you tell us about who ran it and what happened to everyone?"
"Just a moment." There was a brief pause as Tron accessed his central processing unit to obtain the information requested. "The Shinra Electric Company was founded 32 years ago by the Shinra family and passed down from father to son. They were responsible for the power in Radiant Garden, but their methods of obtaining the power were questionable at best. According to the data files I was able to find, their head office and facilities were raided several times by activists and protestors."
"What kind of methods did they use that angered everyone?" Leon asked.
"They were taking the light of Radiant Garden's heart, the heart at the centre of the world." Sky made a small noise of disapproval while Leon merely frowned. "But eventually, what made them lose their credibility was when they discovered that the darkness in a person's heart could produce more energy than the light. They began trading research with the apprentices of Ansem the Wise until Ansem found out what they were all up to. He forced Shinra into bankruptcy and exiled their top scientists. Much of this was hushed up and kept from the media. Eventually, however, Xehanort exiled Ansem and reinstated one of the scientists."
"Which one? What was his name?" Sky asked.
"That information is classified. I'm afraid I can't find anything about it anywhere in Radiant Garden's database."
"What about Lucrecia? She worked for Shinra, right?"
"Correct. However, she wasn't one of the exiled scientists. Her role in the research was deemed minimal, not severe enough to warrant punishment."
"God…" Leon muttered, shaking his head. "I had no idea that her background was so dark."
"You didn't bother running a background check on her before you hired her?" Sky asked, as if it were obvious.
"With what technology? We were just beginning to pick up the pieces of what was left of Hollow Bastion and she volunteered her services into getting our old technology up and running again. She didn't even ask for compensation at first! And we needed all the help we could get! So no, I didn't check her credentials beyond her resume and a few references. But now I'm starting to wish I had."
"Fine, whatever," Sky grumbled, turning back to the console screen. "What about their CEO?"
"Rufus Shinra and the other members of the board perished in the first Heartless war," Tron explained.
"Hmm, so that eliminates a few people from our list of suspects. What about other personnel who would have been close to Lucrecia? Does the name Vincent Valentine come up?"
"Vincent Valentine was an employee of an off-shoot of Shinra, an organization of bodyguards hired to protect the scientists and board members from the protestors. They were known as the Turks. When Shinra went out of business, the Turks went freelance and offered their services to anyone who could afford it."
"Give me a list of the remaining members. We'll see if we can track down one of them and question them about the whereabouts of Lucrecia." Within seconds, the printer next to the console printed off several sheets of information on Shinra, the Turks, and the remaining members, including personal data and photos. "Thanks, Tron. We'll be seeing you."
"Safe travels, my friend." The blue light on the camera shut off and the communication cut out.
oOoOo
"According to the profile on this guy, his favourite haunt is the Imperial Bar down on Front St.," Sky explained as he and Leon navigated the streets of Radiant Garden. "He's listed as employed but inactive. Let's find out why." They continued on in silence for a few minutes, Sky's eyes darted back and forth between either side of the street, looking at store fronts and quickly scanning people's faces. Many were making their way home from a long day of work, and they had their heads downcast, avoiding eye-contact with one another, shutting the world out until they reached home. Sky both understood that mentality and at the same time, he was bothered by it. When he was a teenager travelling from world to world, he was always met with open friendliness from the locals. It was simply irksome that the bigger a town got, the less likely they were to feel connected with each other.
"Everything okay?" Leon asked.
"Hmm?" Sky stirred, glancing at his companion. It always seemed like Leon knew when Sky was feeling particularly distracted or nostalgic. In a way, it was kind of nice that Leon noticed and cared enough to ask about Sky's wellbeing, but it could also be rather annoying sometimes to be pestered over. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just… reminiscing, that's all." Leon observed Sky out of the corner of his eye. "I know I shouldn't dwell on the past, but… there are some things I can't let go."
"I can't imagine what your timeline could have been like…" Leon said quietly. "It must've been truly horrific if it was enough to make the light in your eyes go out." Sky slowed in his steps at that comment.
"I lost a lot of people I called friends. Including you."
"Me?" Now Leon had stopped walking altogether. "I was dead in your time?"
"Sorry, didn't mean to spook you."
Leon was a little slow to catch up to Sky. "I'm not spooked, just… surprised, I guess." They walked in silence for about ten more seconds before Leon spoke again. "Well, how'd it happen? I'm curious now." Somehow, Sky wasn't surprised that Leon would be more interested in how his alternate self had died rather than be perturbed at the very thought of it.
"It wasn't anything really special…" Sky sighed. He remembered having a similar conversation with Kairi once upon a time. She was so curious to know how she had perished in the other timeline, despite it being a rather morbid topic to discuss. "Well, I mean, I heard you were quite brave. You and a small team of special ops were selected for a mission to assassinate Maleficent, but you were caught before you could execute the plan. She tortured you for information for weeks but you were specially trained to resist her. She deemed you useless and had you executed. The survivors who escaped said you were beyond brave."
Leon seemed a little embarrassed. "I kinda feel like I should live up to that title now."
"Don't worry, you already have." Sky grinned, nudging Leon in the ribs with his elbow. "I think you're pretty brave. You really took charge during the second Heartless war."
"Thanks, I guess. But I was just doing what came naturally. I was already partly a leader here. Leading an army off-world wasn't any different." Feeling a smile tug at his lips, Leon said, "You're the one who really took charge. With everything, I mean. It took a lot of bravery to travel back in time and take on the responsibility of averting a universal disaster. You've come a long way from being a scared child with a giant key in a strange new world." Now it was Sky's turn to be modest and shy. He tried not to think about things like the measure of courage. To him, it was the obvious thing to do and bravery had nothing to do with it. Granted, in the last moments he had in his own timeline before being thrust into the past, he had been terrified and he almost didn't go through with his mission. But he would never admit that to anyone. Not even Leon.
As the scenery around them changed from the business district to the entertainment district, Leon brought up something else that had been bugging him for the last few minutes. "So… what happened to the rest of Radiant Garden? Was it in one piece when you made your trip into the past?"
Sky chewed on his bottom lip, staring off into the distance. "No." Leon flinched.
"What… what happened?" Sky simply gave Leon a look that said 'Do you really want to know?' to which Leon met Sky's gaze and gave an ever-so-subtle nod. Sky closed his eyes as he launched into yet another story of a future that never happened.
(Nov. 3rd, 2008 - ATL)
Klaxons blared loudly across the city as tiny black shadows swarmed the streets, devouring the hearts of any hapless citizen fleeing from them. Chaos and destruction were rampant. The defence drones responsible for protecting the city and its people failed to activate, leaving them vulnerable to attack. The people were trying to escape to the gummi evacuation ships prepped and ready to go in the pavilion outside Castle Luminous. Radiant Garden was, without a doubt, doomed.
Leon barked orders at the soldiers around him, attacking the Heartless attempting to break down their barriers. He couldn't believe this was happening a second time in his lifetime. His home was about to be overrun by Heartless again, and there wasn't a thing he could do about it. He watched in despair as several of the evacuation ships lifted off only to get shot down by Heartless warships in orbit. There would be no escape for anyone if something wasn't done about those enemy ships.
"Cid, progress!" Leon shouted into his headset.
"Damn virus has everything screwed up in here!" Cid's voice crackled over the radio. "We've got digital Heartless sprites materializing in the cargo bay! I can't shut the system down!"
"Forget the system! Focus on cannon support! We need to cover the evacuation ships! People are dying out here!"
"Yeah, well, people are dying in here too!" Leon switched his headset off, cursing under his breath and renewing his efforts on the new wave of Heartless soldiers storming the castle walls. He was thrown off his feet when there was a sudden explosion in the sky, sending a shockwave across the landscape. Shielding his eyes, he squinted, staring at a ball of flames hanging suspended in the sky.
"One of the warships was destroyed!" Aeris called from the other side of the courtyard. Another explosion went off, followed quickly by a strong gust of wind, but this time, Leon held his footing, digging his heels in. From the second explosion, a small one-man gummi fighter broke through the flames and smoke, guns blazing. Relief flooded Leon as he recognized the markings on the fighter.
"It's Highwind II!" he called to Aeris. The fighter Highwind II swooped over the castle gates, letting loose a barrage of laser-fire on the Heartless throng, clearing the way for the escaping townspeople. It performed an aerial arc to take out the enemy fighters on its tail.
"The skies are clear!" said Sora over the radio from his fighter. "Get your people out of here, Leon!"
"Roger that!" Leon said, waving as Highwind II flew overhead. He signalled to an engineer to clear the remaining evacuation ships to leave. The ships took off, leaving vapour trails in their midst as they broke through the atmosphere and escaped into the dark corridors. All that remained was one shuttle for the commanding officers. Another gummi fighter appeared in the sky to escort them to safety.
"Cid, get your ass out here! We're leaving!" Leon heard the distinct grumbling of the older man as he acknowledged the order. Within a few minutes, Cid joined Leon, Aeris, and Tifa at the launch pad. Sora and the other fighter circled around above until the shuttle was off the ground and heading into the dark corridors where they could use their jump drives to get to Disney Castle. Leon watched grimly as they left his home behind for good. There would be no turning back this time.
The pilot activated the jump drive and Radiant Garden became nothing more than a tiny blurry streak in the distance. Soon, it wouldn't even be that much, once the Heartless were through with it. Leon's companions were feeling the same pain of loss. Cid let out a loud sigh, pulling a flask from his coat pocket. He took a long swig before passing it to Tifa, who accepted it gratefully and passed it along the line once she was done with it. With a heavy heart, Leon muttered a quick goodbye to Radiant Garden and took a large sip of Cid's own brand of whiskey. The putrid burning flavour couldn't have been more welcoming.
(Sept. 23rd, 2007 – CTL)
By the time Sky had finished telling his story, they had arrived outside the Imperial Bar, a dive bar beyond belief. The lettering on the sign above the door was faded and the paint was chipping away as time had its way with it. Many of the windows in the front were filthy and tarnished, some broken and boarded up. The door looked like it was on its last legs of life, clinging to its frame just barely by the hinges, as if a gust of wind would knock it down for good. It was hard to believe that anyone would be desperate enough to drink in this place.
"You sure this is the place…?" Leon asked with a hint of hesitancy. He made a mental note to mark this building down for rezoning as soon as possible. Something this ugly and decrepit didn't belong in Radiant Garden. Sky frowned, glancing at the sheet in his hand that had information on their lead.
"Address is correct," he murmured, unsure himself. "Sign says we're in the right place." There was a long pause as the two men simply stared at the rundown bar, assessing its worth. Shrugging, they pushed their way into the dilapidated bar, the smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke infiltrating their nostrils. Tifa's bar was definitely ten times better than this dump, Sky thought to himself bitterly. His keen blue eyes scanned the room carefully, looking for a man that fit the description of who he was looking for. And there, sitting at the end of the bar, hunched over a glass of copper-coloured liquid, was the man Sky was hoping to find. He subtly nudged Leon and indicated with a slight nod of his head to the man at the end of the bar.
"That's him," he murmured to his companion. "Let me do all the talking. I'm a people-person, right?" He flashed Leon a smug grin, making Leon roll his eyes. They approached their target with slow, precise movements, ready at a moment's notice to give chase if the man should bolt, but when it became apparent that the man had no intention of running, completely unaware of their presence, their movements became a little more relaxed.
Sky took a seat next to the man, waving his hand at the barkeep to get her attention. She fixed him with an odd look and sauntered over, a slight smirk tugging at the corners of her painted lips.
"What can I get you, honey?" she said in a husky voice, deliberately leaning over the edge of the bar top to give Sky a nice view of her endowed cleavage. Sky barely noticed.
"Two Blue Rhapsodies," he said, holding up two fingers, and then jerking a thumb at the man next to him. "And another one of whatever he's drinking for the gentlemen here." The barkeep seemed disappointed at the lack of attention and bustled off to mix the drinks. The man stirred, sitting up a little straighter, and gave Sky a wary look of confusion, scratching the back of his head.
"What's the occasion, yo?" he asked casually, sizing Sky up, trying to determine if he was legit or not.
"To making new friends!" Sky said easily as his drinks arrived. He took up one blue-glowing shot glass as Leon took up the other. A highball glass of copper-coloured liquid over ice arrived for the man. In a gentle clinking of glasses, they made a quiet toast and drank their beverages. Sky made a relaxed noise as he set his shot glass down and turned to the man fully, taking in his appearance. He had flaming messy red hair that was pulled into a ponytail, two tattoos on his upper cheekbones, and a rather rumpled appearance in his clothes, as though he had made an attempt to dress fancy for the day and had given up halfway through.
"You look… familiar…" Sky said carefully, squinting. "Did you know a guy named Axel?" The man frowned, clearly out of his element. It wasn't everyday that he was approached by strangers and offered a drink and then told he looked like someone he had never heard of before.
"No…" he mumbled. "Can't say I did."
"Do you have a brother, maybe?" Sky wasn't sure why it mattered, but he was unusually drawn to this man's appearance. If he wasn't related to the fire-wielding Nobody in some way or another, then Sky would eat his own Keyblade.
"Had." The man turned back to his glass, taking a long sip from it. "A younger brother. He died years ago. Back when the Heartless tore this world apart."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"S'okay. Not your fault, yo. Lea was a bit of a mischief-maker, y'know? He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, I guess." Ah, the connection, Sky thought to himself. Add an 'X' to Lea and what do you get? He was drawn from his thoughts when the man made an abrupt noise, something like a cross between a scoff and a laugh. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this. I just met you!"
"Well, we're friends now!" Sky laughed, patting the man on the back. "My name's Sky. This is Leon."
"Reno." The man shook Sky's hand. "What brings you to this dump anyway? Don't tell me you're a fan of the décor."
"I think it's quite lovely." Sky was quite good at being sarcastic. Reno grinned at the semi-joke. "To be honest, I was looking for someone. Know a woman by the name of Lucrecia Crescent?" Reno had to stop playing with his glass as a struggled look of concentration crossed his features.
"Sounds familiar. I think she was a client of my company way back when. But that was the old days…" He took another pull of his drink. "Haven't heard from her since. Sorry I'm not that helpful." He fixed Sky with a sly grin. "Why, she an ex-girlfriend of yours?"
"Pfft, hardly. She, uh, she owes me some money." Sky waved the bartender over again, ordering a beer to keep the conversation flowing. "Anyway, what have you been up to these past few years since you last saw her? Working?"
"Extended medical leave." Reno's lips twisted into some semblance of a sour smirk. "I fought in the recent war with Maleficent. My leg got all messed up in an explosion in some mountain base. Got an honourable discharge from the military and went back to working my old job, but the pain in my leg never went away, so I've been on long-term medical leave ever since. Works fine for me. I'm still in their payroll, yo, and that's all that matters. Am I right?" Reno raised his glass, as if toasting his fortune or his misfortune, depending on how one looked at it. He finished off the last drop of his drink. Sky grinned and ordered another one for Reno. It would seem he was a chatty drunk.
"Sounds like a sweet gig you got there, health care benefits and all," Sky replied, playing it cool. "What's the place you work at? Any chance they're hiring?" He laughed, pretending like he didn't already know that Reno worked for the Turks. Reno laughed too, taking a sip of his fresh drink, unaware of what Sky was playing at.
"Not sure if they're hiring, but if they are, they're not going to hire just anyone. You gotta be skilled, yo."
Sky raised an amused eyebrow. "Skilled at what, exactly?"
Reno smirked and took a sip before answering. "Fighting. Maybe killing. Depends on the job." He leaned back and let Sky ponder on that before continuing. "We're called the Turks. Our job is to guard whoever can pay for it. At all costs. Sound like something you can stomach?" Sky drummed his fingers on the bar top for a few seconds before leaning in, putting on his 'serious' face.
"I fought in the war too. I think I can handle a babysitting job."
Reno let out a sharp laugh. "Babysitting? Trust me, friend, the clients we take on are anything but babies. These are serious people with serious problems. They got hardcore enemies who want them dead and it's our job to make sure they stay alive long enough to pay us."
"Really?" Sky could sense he was on the right track with this line of questioning. "What kind of clients? Why wouldn't they simply go to the police?"
"'Cuz a lot of these guys are afraid of what the police might do if they found out what they're up to. The clients we get vary from job to job. I used to be a bodyguard for the Shinra Electric Company back when they were still in business. I tell ya, man, some of the horror stories I heard about those guys kept me up at night. But I was just a kid then. I've dealt with way worse things since those days."
"What kind of horror stories?"
"Shit you wouldn't even believe!" By this time, Reno was nearing empty on his third drink and his tongue had loosened considerably. "Like how they were keeping Heartless test subjects in the basement of their warehouse out on the outskirts of the city. Or how the Rufus Shinra himself was considering using the power of the darkness to seize control over Radiant Garden! I was fuckin' glad when Ansem blew the whistle on these guys 'cuz they were scaring the shit out of me!"
"Wow, that's pretty heavy stuff."
"You're telling me!"
"What happened after they shut down? Where'd your clients all go?"
"Fuck if I know! Once a contract is done, it's done. I don't look 'em up, I just take my money and move on to the next gig." Reno nearly stumbled out of his chair as he leaned toward Sky almost conspiratorially. "But I heard rumours that some of the scientists who weren't exiled got hired by some underground movement. You heard of the Righteous Hearts?" Sky resisted the urge to make a grimace, but instead shook his head, playing dumb. "They're the ones who have been setting off small bombs all over Radiant Garden, trying to fuck up everyone's shit, yo. I heard they got their hands on some of the scientists from Shinra to help them develop new kinds of weapons of mass destruction." Reno leaned back once more and nodded lazily. "But that's all just rumours and hearsay. None of my business."
"I see…" Sky gave Leon a discreet look, one that clearly said 'We got what we came for. Let's get the fuck out of here'. Leon nodded and Sky pretended to yawn, stretching his arms out. "Well, Reno, it's been real fun hanging out with you!" Reno continued grinning, nodding a thanks for the drinks. "Enjoy your medical leave and the rest of your night! I'll look into the Turks and see if they're hiring. Thanks for the tip." Sky left several munny bills on the bar top to pay for the drinks, and a bit extra for tip, and made his way out with Leon trailing behind.
When they hit the open outdoors, Sky whirled on Leon, his eyes brighter than Leon had ever seen them. "Did you see that class act? I'm on my fuckin' A-game, son!" Sky did a dramatic fist pump while Leon merely chuckled at Sky's behaviour. "We got another lead! There's a warehouse to find and some missing scientists who may have wandered into the Righteous Hearts' realm. Let's-" He stopped talking abruptly when his hyper-sensitive senses detected movement on the roof of the bar. His eyes darted to catch the movement and he just barely managed to bring a shield up around him and Leon when he heard a gunshot go off. The shield flickered dimly as the bullet impacted on the surface and dissolved.
Leon shouted, "What the f-"
"Down!" Sky ordered, summoning his Keyblade to hand and using his other arm to shield Leon, as if the Protega bubble weren't already doing that. He fired a bolt of lightning to the rooftop, hoping to stun whoever was up there, but by the time the lightning bolt struck, the mysterious assailant was leaping to the next roof, a sniper rifle in hand. "Stop!" Sky aimed another bolt and fired, missing the attacker by a hair. Whoever they were, they were very good and very fast. Sky suspected that this was the same person who had attacked him earlier. Leon watched on anxiously, unarmed and unnerved.
Getting tired quickly of playing it safe, Sky let loose a wave of magic directed at the nimble assassin. "Bind!" There was a rush of green dust overtaking the attacker and they dropped to the side, ridged and paralyzed from the spell. Sky released a sigh of relief and was about the drop his guard when three more gunshots rang out. Tensing back up, Sky's eyes flew up to every rooftop, searching for more attackers. They seemed to drop out of nowhere, all dressed in black and their faces covered up, like the ninja who had attacked him after his meeting with Vincent. They were determined to stop him from pursuing Lucrecia at any cost.
"Don't you guys get tired of playing dress-up?" Sky mocked. Over his shoulder, he murmured to Leon, "Think you can take them without a weapon?"
"That's what all those Light lessons were for, right?" Leon replied, already charging up his mana. Shaking his arms out, he produced dual strands of electricity from his hands, essentially forming two lightning whips that crackled with power. "How many do you think there are?" Sky's eyes focused on the three in front of them while trying to catch any movement in the surrounding area.
"Four, maybe five." Rolling his shoulder and releasing some of the tension with a gratifying cracking noise, he grinned. "No problem!" He sprang into battle, attacking two assassins at once while Leon took on the remaining one.
The ninjas were agile, quick to dodge the initial attacks and take the offence. Sky found himself defending against surprisingly powerful attacks. His first instinct, of course, was to use Bind to sedate his attackers, but upon using the spell, he discovered that they had the same close-fitting Protega spell as his previous attacker. From the looks of their attacks, these people went beyond the standard training that Radiant Garden soldiers had received during the war. These assassins likely had prior experience with magic and hand-to-hand combat.
Leon side-stepped a kick and launched one of his electric whips at his attacker. It latched onto the ninja's arm, sending volts of electricity through his body. He stumbled backwards, trying to shake off the jolts and during that distraction, Leon elbowed him on the side of the head, knocking him to the ground. Meanwhile, Sky was sword-fighting with his two attackers at once. He parried back and forth, waiting for an opening, and when that opening came, he grabbed a hold of one of the assassin's arm, pulling him forward and using the leverage to stab the other in the leg with the first one's sword. As Sky had suspected, their own weapons could slice through their Protega shields. Who ever came up with this variation of a close-fitting magical barrier obviously hadn't worked out the kinks on weapon-handling.
"Leon, use their own weapons against them!" Sky called. Leon nodded, using his whip to snag his attacker's baton. Just before he could use it, two more ninjas jumped down from the rooftops and launched into the fray. Leon summoned a bit of Blizzard magic to create giant inverted icicles from the ground to provide cover. He ducked behind one pillar of ice and waited for the attacker to come get him. When they were in range, he cast Flare, a blinding attack that momentarily stunned his opponents, giving him the chance to land some hits.
Now that Sky knew what their weakness was, he took full advantage of it, landing some significant flesh wounds on his opponents. He had to actually restrain himself from inflicting mortal wounds, partly because Leon was right there, and partly because he needed to question these people. It would be hard to do that if they were dead. Still, being attacked by humans instead of Heartless only brought up bad memories of his war that he was trying shake, back in the days when Maleficent had used her mind-controlling powers to turn innocent people into puppets. What really boiled Sky's blood was the fact that these assassins were seemingly acting of their own free-will. Again, he was trying very hard not to kill them where they stood.
Back and forth, both parties attacked, the ninjas using stealth and speed while Sky and Leon used raw power and magic. However quick the ninjas were, though, they began losing ground as Sky's attacks were becoming more deadly and precise while Leon's magic got more creative. When it became apparent that these would-be assassins were losing the battle, one of them made a loud whistling noise. The others stopped what they were doing and slammed the palms of their hands into the ground. The air instantly filled with a thick black smoke.
"They're getting away!" Sky cried, covering his mouth and squinting to see. Leon growled.
"Not if I can help it," he hissed. He launched his whip out to the nearest shadow he could see. The whip latched onto something. "I got something! That better not be you, Sky!"
"It's not! Reel it in!" Sky called. Leon heaved with all his might until the person was within arm's reach. When the smoke cleared, all the assassins had made a stealthy retreat, all but one. The captured assassin struggled with the whip that bound him around the waist until Sky dropped down next to him, pulling off his mask. The man's face was gaunt and serious, his hair dusty blonde, his eyes stony and icy blue. Sky eyed him carefully, reading his character. Already he could tell that this man would be difficult to get any information from.
Leon was already taking a photo of the man's face for the facial recognition program on his mobile device. "According to this, his name is Shadow, no last name listed," he said to Sky, reading the information that came up. "He was member of the Shikari, an elite group of trained mercenaries and assassins. Yuffie used to be a member of the Shikari before she met me. Shadow went missing three years ago. I'm guessing that's when he joined up with the Righteous Hearts." Shadow turned his head away defiantly, refusing to acknowledge the information as true.
Sky turned to Leon and in a hushed voice, he said, "Let me handle this one. Whatever you do or whatever you see, don't interfere. I tend to get a little serious when I interrogate prisoners."
"Serious?" Leon asked. "How so?"
"Don't worry about. Just keep in mind; I know we need him alive." Something about what he said and the way he said made Leon shiver. He didn't want to imagine the kinds of things this mature and war-hardened version of Sora had to do to stay alive in his bleak future. Sky turned back to their prisoner, an angry look appearing on his face.
"Who sent you?" Sky questioned. Shadow did not reply, instead looking off in the distance. "I said 'who sent you'!" The assassin spit, just barely missing Sky's face. Hissing with annoyance, Sky backhanded Shadow, making Leon flinch. "Don't play this game. There's only two ways out of this alley. Body bag or cuffs. Now tell me who sent you! Are you with the Righteous Hearts?" Shadow began laughing in a low, smug voice.
"Your administration won't last…" he sneered. Sky bared his teeth and backhanded Shadow again.
"Where are the Righteous Hearts hiding?" he asked coldly. Shadow had resumed his earlier silence. "Start talking, buddy! You're not going anywhere else!"
"Forget it, Sky," Leon said, shaking his head. "He's not going to talk."
"What'd I tell you, Leon? Don't interfere!"
"Look, I'll call in a specialist to question him. Let's get him back to the castle."
"Not yet. I can make him talk." Sky grabbed the assassin by his shirt, shoving him roughly against the brick wall. "Where's Lucrecia?" he demanded, his voice booming and causing Shadow to shrink back but not enough to make him speak. "Answer me! Where is she? Where are the Righteous Hearts hiding?" Still no response. Sky changed tactics, getting eerily quiet, leaning in so Shadow could hear him clearly. "I promise you, if you don't answer me within the next few seconds, I'm going to break every bone in your body." To exemplify his point, Sky took one of the Shadow's fingers and snapped it backwards. Shadow made a muffled cry of pain, trying his hardest not to scream out and give Sky the satisfaction of knowing how much pain he was in.
Sky continued on in his quiet yet deadly voice. "I'm going to lacerate every inch of your skin and then submerge you in a tub of lemon juice." Leon looked as though he was going to pull Sky off Shadow, but he held back. Sky did warn him that he tended to get intense when it came to interrogation. "I'll pluck off your finger nails one by fucking one if I don't get a straight answer to my questions." Shadow was shaking now, visibly frightened of what Sky was actually capable. And the truth was he had no idea what Sky was capable, which only amplified the fear. Sky took a deep breath, pretending to control himself. "Now I'll ask you again. Where. Is. Lucrecia."
"A-a-abandoned warehouse! Outside of town!" Shadow blurted out, his voice shaking with terror. "I swear! Please don't hurt me!" Sky smiled, a striking contrast to his earlier serious face, and he released the assassin, dusting him off.
"There, that wasn't so bad, now was it?" he said cheerfully. "Consider it your lucky day." With that, he punched Shadow hard in the face, knocking him out cold. "Stay." Turning to Leon, Sky said, "Call in castle security to clean up this mess." If their attack was an indicator of anything, it meant they were on the right track. It wouldn't be long before they had all the Righteous Hearts in custody.
(Apr. 29th, 2009 – ATL)
Large padded paws treaded across the savannah leading to Pride Rock. Not too many lions remained these days, many having been assigned to soldiers in the field as summons, the rest staying behind to ensure the hyenas didn't get out of line. Sora glanced around at what had become of Simba's kingdom. For a while, it had been green with life and buzzing with activity, but as more and more lionesses left the Pride Lands to aid in the war against Maleficent, the other herds grew too large, consuming more than what was available. The circle of life was thrown out of balance and the Pride Lands were barren as a result of the herds' excessive over-eating.
"Not a pretty sight, I imagine," said a voice behind Sora. He turned around slowly, his tail swishing gently in the breeze. There stood Nala and her maturing cub Kiara. "It's like nothing I do will ever make this place beautiful again…"
"It's not your fault," Sora said quietly. Nala bowed her head, looking sullen.
"Without Simba here, I can't maintain the circle of life. The herds are dying of starvation because there's too many of them and not enough food to go around." Nala sighed, shaking her head. "But I suppose that's not why you've come. Are you recruiting more lionesses for your war?"
"It's not 'my' war. It's everyone's war." Sora didn't like the way Nala seemed to imply with very few words that it was somehow his fault that the war was happening and it was his fault that they needed aid from the lions. "Look, I'm sorry that your numbers are thinning out, but we need all the help we can get to beat back the darkness." Nala turned her head away, a look of scorn crossing her feline features. "Anyway, that's not why I'm here. Is Rafiki around?"
"He's in his tree borough. Are you going to take him away, too?"
Sora frowned deeply and ignored Nala's last comment as he moved away from her toward the tree borough where the eccentric baboon lived. He slipped in slowly, his animal instincts on high alert for enemy activity. The tree was stripped bare of its leaves, a mere skeleton of its once former grandeur. The inside once housed a variety of fruits that Rafiki had scavenged around the Pride Lands, but now, he was lucky if he even had a few tangerines to last him the week. The wise baboon was sitting on his usual perch, a hand on his brow as if in deep thought. Sora quietly cleared his throat to get Rafiki's attention.
"Come, child," Rafiki announced, not moving or looking up. Sora approached at a cautious pace. There was always something about Rafiki that made Sora feel unnerved. But Rafiki was something of a confessor and the next best thing to a therapist, so if anyone would be able to provide Sora with guidance, it would be this wise yet peculiar baboon. "Tell me what is troubling you." There was a hint of hesitation before Sora opened his mouth to speak.
"I'm not sure… if I'm fit to be a leader… or the Keyblade Master," he admitted in a low voice. He had been feeling very unsure of himself for the last year, and with the recent death of Leon at Maleficent's hand and the anniversary of Riku's death coming up, the feelings multiplied. All he could think about was the shame and guilt and pain. How many people have died because he wasn't fast enough or strong enough to protect them? How many more would die because he was still feeling sorry for himself and not concentrating on the bigger picture?
He continued on, "Leon was captured and killed by Maleficent, and now everyone expects me to take over his commanding duties. But I don't know if I'm ready to do that! I'm…" He almost said the word 'scared' but stopped himself. He wasn't ready to admit his weakness just yet. Rafiki moved his hand away from his face and reached for his walking stick, lopping awkwardly towards Sora. He examined the young lion's face carefully, latching onto Sora's chin, turning his head back and forth.
"When I first met you, you wanted to know if you were fit to be king of the Pride Lands," Rafiki grumbled after a time, taking a step back. "And I told you 'no'. You were not the rightful king." He paused, allowing Sora to think upon that. "However… You have a destiny far greater than that of a king. You are the master of a legendary weapon that can either bring peace or destruction upon the whole of creation. You cannot deny this destiny." Sora looked down, his heart full of worry.
"I feel like… maybe the Keyblade made a mistake picking me. I mean, I couldn't even save my own lover from his fate-"
"That was out of your hands. You feel guilt for something you didn't do."
"I know, I've been trying to tell myself that for months, but it hurts so much!" And then, without warning, Rafiki brandished his staff and struck Sora across the head with it. "Ouch! What the hell was that for?"
"It doesn't matter!" Rafiki said with a knowing smile. "It's in the past!" Sora opened his mouth to retaliate but instead found himself rubbing the sore spot on his head with his large paw.
"It hurts…" he muttered, disgruntled.
"The past can hurt, but you have a choice to either run from it or… learn from it." Rafiki went to strike Sora again, but Sora's instincts kicked in this time and he whacked the staff across the hovel. "Ah HA! You see?" Rafiki patted Sora's shoulder. "You mustn't look at it so negatively. Instead of dwelling on those you couldn't save, you should focus on those you have saved. Think of the thousands still alive because of your heroic actions."
Sora looked down at the ground, pondering this advice long and hard. It was true that the number of people he had saved greatly outweighed the numbers he couldn't. Each life was precious. Even if he couldn't rescue every single inhabitant of a world, for each one he did manage to take to safety, it was one less lost soul. Rafiki was right in the end. Focusing on life rather than death turned Sora's whole outlook on everything around.
Seeing the twinkle of understanding in the lion's eye, Rafiki grinned. "These things take time, but you can only move on if you choose it."
"Right…" Sora nodded his head, a bit more determined. "Yeah! Riku would want me to stay strong. I'll honour his memory."
"Good! Now go be the leader you were born to be!" Rafiki patted Sora's shoulder and pointed vaguely to the entrance way, to the destiny that still awaited Sora.
Sora galloped out of the tree borough and across the desolate savannah with a renewed sense of purpose. He was ready to accept his responsibility. He was ready to be a leader that this war so sorely needed.
oOoOo
A/n: I love putting in cameo appearances of other characters. :) Don't forget to R&R! Even if it's just to leave negative feedback, like, "Sky/Leon? No way!" I like to read comments that will help me improve as a writer. Please and thank you!