Bait, Chapter 4
Finding a blind spot in a small room wasn't as easy as one would think, yet Riku was pretty sure he had found a place that would insure he could slip out unnoticed.
The door was positioned right in a corner of the room, and it had a high enough ceiling for a person with particularly good wall climbing abilities to place himself right above the door. He intended to hide himself in this space, then leap out right as the door opened and run. He didn't care if people noticed his presence once he was outside the room, but he had to get out of there first.
He had spent most of that morning double-checking his plan, making sure the door was open wide enough and long enough for him to escape from it, making sure the area above the door wasn't booby-trapped in some way to deter any escape attempts. He found none, and was actually glad at the arrogance of the organization to think that their dungeon was inescapable.
By afternoon he had it all figured out, he would climb the wall by wedging himself between the corners, wait for the person bringing the afternoon meal to come, and swing out by the frame of the door, knocking the organization member aside and making a run for it.
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Back at Yen Sid's tower, the other members had been perfecting their own strategy, with Kairi of all people providing a valuable piece of information- Riku was most likely being held at the same place she was after Axel had abducted her. She had overheard another organization member mention that it was the only place that was equipped to hold prisoners.
Lea too had experienced a sudden burst of memory- the dungeon in their stronghold actually consisted of multiple levels, and someone with magical abilities like Riku was probably going to be held in one of the lower levels, as it had the most fortifications.
This had aided their strategy considerably, as they were now able to choose a place to draw out the diversion, one that would hopefully gave them the upper hand. All that had to be decided was when.
"What we should do is inform them of our acceptance of their challenge. Challenge them to duel us at the proposed place in one weeks time."
"A week?!"
"Yes, Sora, a week. I know you want to get Riku back sooner, but that is the least amount of time it can take to get the challenge and response. We can also use that time honing our own skills, giving us more of an advantage."
"I just hope he can hold out for another week." Sora sulked.
"You know, Sora, I think you forgot how strong Riku is." Kairi reassured him. "He endured a lot worse than this before. You'll see, the worst that's probably happened to him is he got bored senseless!"
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Riku had positioned himself in the place he had intended, his hands just above the frame of the door. The organization member in charge of bringing food due to arrive any minute. Sure enough, the door opened, a pouch of food thrust into the room.
Suddenly Riku burst out of the room, his feet making contact with the stomach of the organization member.
"Ugh!" The cloaked figure fell to his knees, doubled over, while Riku miscalculated his landing, tripping on one of many scrapped boards that littered the floor and falling flat on his back. He quickly righted himself and fled from the area.
The sound of the altercation had alerted the rest of the organization of his escape, and Riku was annoyed to find that they reacted quickly.
Black-clad figures came at him from both directions. He knew at this point escape was futile as the nearest figure seized him and pinned him against the wall. His hands were rough, Riku felt like he was being crushed under their force.
"Uggh, let go of me!" Riku cried defiantly. The hood had come off the organization member pinning him,revealing his face. Scarred face, an eye patch, the sadistic Xigbar. This could not end well at all.
"I think...not." Xigbar replied with a twisted smile on his face. "In fact, lets make it so you have no choice but to stay put until we decide what to do about you, my slippery little friend..."
Grabbing one of the boards, he savagely swung it at Riku's leg. Riku felt his bones break under the force of the blow, while the lingering sound of his snapping bones and agonized screams echoed around the dungeon. Riku's head was spinning, the pain was too intense- he was sure Xigbar had damaged a nerve as well.
He lifted his head, taking his focus off the pain long enough to utter one final curse at the man:
"You...are...pathetic..."
He blacked out and saw no more.
End of chapter 4.