A big apology is needed for those of you who must have been waiting for this next chapter. A sudden severe case of the flu prevented me from writing, along with getting even near a computer to upload. I'd like to say sorry, and hope this chapter along with the next will make up for the wait. Enjoy the chapter ^-^
Disclaimer - I do not own anything from Kingdom Hearts and all original character have been allowed use by their sole creators.
Chapter Three - The True Danger
A furious explosion rocked the entire beach. A streak of dark blue energy sliced its path straight towards Sora and his friends, causing the group to jump in their own particular fashion. Barely dodging the sickle of darkness, which soon exploded in a fiery display of power, Sora continued to grip tightly a hold of his keyblade. Pushing himself back up onto his feet, the young warrior willed his legs to push himself towards the still floating figure with Riku and Kairi soon willing the same thing the moment they got back up.
With a faint smirk, the silver haired figure mocked the three even further, his arms crossing over his chest while the powerful Guardian loomed behind him. Its massive dark arms flexed its unnaturally tight muscles, its bright yellow eyes watching the three warriors rushing across the sand with their weapons drawn to strike it.
Within its large opened palms, the heartless growled once again as the orbs of flaring darkness grew larger for its wielder. Once reaching their ripe full sizes, the Guardian grasped a hold of them causing the energy to coat its arms, before its wild swings released it in the form of more dark sickles. Much more prepared this time then before, the three easily evaded the attacks, the darkness digging more trails along the sands before explosions further back behind them signaled the end of the attacks.
"Sorry, same trick isn't going to work twice on us!" Sora said with a confident smile, as the brown haired keyblader was the first to reach the floating man, his smirk still remaining even when Sora leapt towards him with his keyblade raised high to deliver the powerful strike.
"Sora watch out!" Riku shouted to his friend, the situation clearly familiar to only the silver haired keyblader, which meant quite terrible news for Sora.
Hearing his friends warning all too late, Sora's eyes widened as the smirk on the dark man's face disappeared, in fact, so did his entire body and presence.
Before Sora's feet could even touch back onto the soft sand, the snake like grip that tightened from his arms caught the young man off guard. A brief scream of pain escaped from his mouth while the dark figure instantly had appeared behind him, the Guardian using its powerful arms to squeeze the very life out of Sora.
Tighter and tighter, the powerful vice like grip from the heartless sent waves of pain through Sora's body. The keybearer just barely kept himself from screaming any more, while also trying his best to keep his hand clutching onto his keyblade. Riku's eyes glared at the dark figure above himself and Kairi, his memories replaying an event that occurred almost identically to what was happening right now.
"Riku, be careful ok." the red haired keyblader said with almost a whisper, her soft voice causing the young man to face her before he smiled and nodded.
Taking off running towards his friend and their powerful opponent, the keybearer leaped straight into the air, similar to what Sora had done as he swung his weapon towards the back of the dark creature. Immediately reacting, the Guardian and floating man spun around to face Riku, launching Sora like a rag doll in the process. While the brown haired boy was hurtling towards him, Riku shot his arm straight out, catching a hold of Sora and throwing him, as lightly as he could, onto the sand before coming to a halt in front of Kairi.
Landing quickly back onto the ground, Riku's eyes glanced up towards the quickly approaching man. The Guardian shot out its massive arms in another attempt to latch onto one of the wielders, however the silver haired young man was more then ready for this.
Displaying his fast reflexes as he threw his body underneath the dark beings, Riku immediately followed it up by leaping towards the Guardian's exposed back. Swinging his keyblade, the Way to Dawn, Riku landed the first of many hits on the heartless. The painful roars escaped only from the dark creature, while the man simply continued to float and move with his monster, in complete silence.
Opening his eyes after the pain finally began to fade away from his body, Sora glanced up to Kairi, the boy realizing his head was settled within her lap as the red haired woman smiled down to her friend while kneeling on the sand.
"Come on lazy bum, we have to help Riku." Kairi said with a smile, her eyes looking up into the air with a hint of worry, causing Sora to follow her line of sight and see what was causing such a feeling.
Strike after strike was launched at the floating man from Riku, though every attack was quickly intercepted by the airborne Guardian. Its large arms swung and took and full force of the powerful attacks from the keyblader, all while the man never moved a muscle to help. Raising his keyblade in defense, the mature young man released a held grunt as the fist of the heartless slammed directly into the flat side of the wing like blade, sending Riku hurtling into the ground, and causing sand to erupt straight into the air.
Raising its dark arms, the Guardian created an illuminating cage like orb around the dark man, suddenly causing the two sneak attacks from both Sora and Kairi's keyblades to be instantly repelled.
"Such pathetic skills." the towering man suddenly said, his instant comment causing Sora to grit his teeth as he clutched his keyblade much tighter while nodding briefly to Kairi.
Taking off running just like the last failed attempts, the figure still continued to smirk at their useless and simply pointless attacks. The powerful Guardian once again created the impenetrable shield around the man, causing Sora's Kingdom Key to strike harmlessly against the powerful energy, sending his strength right back at him and away from his target. Smirking much more confidently, the figure finally uncrossed his arms, causing the heartless behind to do likewise as two more orbs of dark energy formed in the creature's opened palms. As the two sphere's of darkness began to crackle with malevolent electricity, the dark demon slowly started to raise his massive arms higher into the air. All the while, the orbs continued to get dangerously close to one another, hinting to the severe destruction that could be caused if they were to ever touch judging from the increasingly loud crackle and sparks.
Soon after landing back onto the soft sand, Sora's gritting teeth were immediately replaced with quite a cocky smile as he watched the dark man raise higher into the air, his bright yellow eyes suddenly widening at what Sora already knew.
"Got ya!" the keybearer said, the towering man's head turning quickly to as much as the side as he could, just as Kairi and Riku swung their keyblades at the Guardian. Starting from each side of its shoulders, the two skilled warriors continued their downward slice forming a large X that covered the creature's entire back.
Screeching and roaring in immense anger and pain, the Guardian was much to preoccupied with its own damage to even think about doing anything to stop the sudden attack from Sora. The brown haired man swung and launched his keyblade directly towards the man, who having lost all sense and command with the Guardian, could do nothing but stare wide eyed at the rapidly spinning weapon before it struck him squarely in his chest.
Immediately sent flying backwards, the man crashed into the heartless' own chest sending both of them hurtling back into the ground. The tall silver haired man rolled slightly away from the Guardian, which remained severely wounded on the sand. Placing his left hand firmly into the sand, the figure slowly began to push his large body up in any way he could. Soon finding the strength to fall back onto his hands and knees, the bright yellow eyes of the man were soon brought to equal level with the three who had worked together to defeat him.
"Hmm, I assume congratulations are in order? Well done." the man said with a smug looking grin on his face, his tanned hands gently applauding the three while they stood around him still holding their keyblades.
"Why did you come here? Why do all of this?" Sora was the first to ask, his eyes staring at the man and his unnatural looking smile.
"I believe I already answered that question for you. We came here, because you called us. You've always called us...And we're grown sick of it." the man answered bitterly.
His bright yellow eyes glaring back up into Sora's bright blue, as the boy seemed to be trying his best to understand it in his mind.
"As for this? We wanted to meet those of the key. We wanted to know who would not stop calling us." the man soon added, his head lowering a little to gaze at the dark sand below him.
"You keep saying we're the one's who called you? What does that mean? We've never done anything to call you?" Kairi asked, her questions causing Sora to nod in a questionable understanding, though still the brown haired man knew no more then when they began.
Neither Sora nor Kairi had any answers to anything they had asked the mysterious man, that was, until they heard a single word.
"Keyblade." the silver haired keybearer said, almost so low it was nearly not noticeable, though the two friends had clearly heard it.
"The Keyblade? What do you mean Riku?" asked his red haired friend, causing Riku to raise his head to her.
"It's the Keyblade. He means, we've been calling him with the keyblade. Isn't that right?" the older man answered for his friends, while the tall kneeling figure only nodded in confirmation.
"But, that doesn't make any sense? That would mean he's one of them, but there was only one of them like that, and we took care of him years ago." said Sora, his mind wanting so much to blow steam out from his ears if it was possible, while Kairi looked back and forth between her two friends.
"Wait, I don't understand. What doesn't make sense Sora? What are you two talking about?" the young woman questioned, her sweet eyes moving from one friend to another, hoping for some sort of an answer from either of them.
"He's a heartless. Just like Ansem, or should I say Xehanort. He's just like him, a human heartless." the mature keyblader said, causing the man to snarl as his eyes seemed to get even brighter like those of the heartless.
"What a pathetic excuse for our kind. No true power, no intention for our brothers and sisters, he was not fit to call himself heartless!" the figure immediately said, his rising anger once again causing such a stir in the group, that it was more then enough for the man to shot his left arm towards Sora.
Able to react quickly in order to block and open palm, Sora still was left reeling as he felt himself pushed and sent flying through the air. Swinging his keyblade with a powerful collection of force behind it, Riku's eyes momentarily widened as the figure had threw his body forward towards where Sora had stood. His hands quickly caught his fall within the sand, though using it as a sort of physical leverage, the man pushed his legs up into the air behind him, kicking them backwards like some sort of mule and striking the silver haired keybearer directly into the chest. Easily breaking a few ribs and causing him to begin coughing up blood Riku stumbled backwards in sheer overwhelming force and pain.
His free hand and arm clutched his pain ridden chest, while Kairi ran to her friends needed side. Still using his hands within the soft sand as leverage, the figure soon brought himself back onto his feet. Standing once again towering above anyone there, the Guardian that had protected him slowly floated to his side.
For a moment, a sense of sadness seemed to wash over the figure's face, as his eyes appeared to be that of concern for the Guardian while his tanned fingers gently stroked one of its long tendril like antenna's.
"I must use your strength one last time again. May I?" the figure asked the heartless, completely out of character from the cold and anger filled personality he had show previously. Answering the figure with one of its normal sounding growls and noises, the man smiled as he nodded, suddenly running his hand down the large terrifying Guardians chest before the loud roar escaped and bellowed out from the powerful creature.
All turning their gazes towards the sound, the three wielders watched in shock as the figure held his entire arm within the middle of the Guardian's chest. While its painful roar filled the entire air with no other kind of sound, the faint cracking of a dark glow began to spread from the point of the stab, before quickly reaching every corner of the creature. Taking this as a chance to retaliate, Sora once again got back onto his feet. Rushing towards the figure, Kairi was busy using what healing magic she had learned from Sora, hoping in some way it would help Riku and his wounds.
As Sora got closer and closer to his opponent, a sudden flash of light eclipsed his keyblade, soon replacing its colour and shape with that of a pure white weapon. The colourful points that made up the key end of the blade and the chain that hung from it, showed its great importance to the young man as he held onto it tightly. With the Guardian finally fading completely away, Sora reached the man with seconds, his powerful swing from his keyblade causing an arc of light to follow in its wake. Just then, a clash of metal upon metal was heard, halting the attack in an instant. In front of the keybearer, the entire arm of the figure was covered in a strange shimmering, yet organic black metal. The substance ran the entire length up the beings arm, creating what appeared to be a section straight of a suit of armour, with the white from Sora's Oathkeeper contrasting with the pitch darkness of it all.
"I'm done letting you continually hurt us, it's our turn now!" the figure said as his smile twisted into more of demented smirk, the pressure he was using against Sora's keyblade increasing rapidly, even too much for the strong young man to hold off all by himself.
Using what strength he could use in a single strike, Sora pushed back against the tidal wave of force coming from the figure's arm. Amazingly able to push him back a few feet, it gave the young man enough time to gain some distance from the clearly underestimated figure.
"He's strong, way too strong then he led us to believe." the brown haired man said internally, his breathing rushing past to escape from lips, while his heart was in danger of beating straight out of his chest if it was to go any faster.
His blue eyes scanned momentarily the now slowly approaching man, his dark arm shinning from the brief explosions of light brought on by the thunder storms raging above them. Taking a risk, Sora glanced to the side of the figure, his eyes showing the pain of seeing his best friend grimacing as he was sprawled on the ground with Kairi, who trying her best, was most definitely out of her depth with what hurt had befallen the silver haired keywielder.
While it was only for a moment, a moment was all the towering man needed. Returning his gaze to the figure, Sora's mouth opened as the man wasn't quite as far away as he first had been. Swinging his arm, the young man soon was placed on the defensive, his weapon striking against the dark metal arm again and again. Sparks from the two contradicting metals occurred with every attack, though it was clear, neither men were showing their true powers yet.
Raising his head up from out of the sand, Riku groaned in pain, to which the red haired nurse soon tried to help.
"Riku, keep down. You're hurt pretty badly, you'll put yourself in danger if you get up." Kairi said with a caring tone layered in her voice. Staring up to her from behind the silver hairs hiding his eyes, and to that of the fighting between Sora and the towering man, Riku soon made up his mind to what they had to do.
"Kairi, help me up please. We have to take care of him now." the keywielder said with confidence, though every word also had that twinge of pain to it, as if he had to force every syllable out past his lips.
With painful understanding, Kairi slowly nodded her head and began to help Riku back onto his feet. Gripping the Way to Dawn within both of his hands, Kairi soon did the same with her Destiny Place keyblade. Both wielders now stared at the figure that brought darkness to their home once again, before the two charged straight towards him.
While Sora and the man seemed to simply dance around each other. One would send a strike to the other, the opponent then blocking said strike and then having both circle a little around. Their battle appeared to get rather boring, with either warrior holding their strength back, and just waiting for one to use it all so wastefully.
"SORA!" Kairi's voice called out to her friend, signaling the brown haired man to turn his head for yet another moment and causing a smile to brighten up his face yet again. With Riku running just as fast as Kairi, Sora was happy to see his friend up and moving again, his smile still present across his face even when he turned back to the figure. The sparks of power exploded right before Sora's eyes, causing the man to close them for a moment before staring straight into the heartless yellow of the large figure.
"Your dark friend is much more resilient then I believed. Next time I'll make sure to really cause harm to him!" the dark figure said with a small chuckle, the dark claw like fingers that stretched from the points of his hand gripped the very blade of Oathkeeper itself.
Continuing to squeeze tighter and tighter, Sora could only watch as his keyblade was in the complete mercy of the figure. Though he didn't believe that a single person could break the keyblade, Sora had also never known of a being like this figure.
Perhaps he could.
Perhaps he could snap the keyblade in half like a twig.
What would happen then?
Would he lose the keyblade forever?
So many questions rushed through Sora's mind at once, it almost overwhelmed the young man who's fear was beginning to take control of him.
This was precisely what the figure wanted. Sora, the powerful keyblader, the one who saved the universe not once, but twice, the one who had battled countless enemies, creatures of darkness, living husks, all his past experiences seemed to fade in front of this one figure. Compared to him, nothing he had learned, nothing he had gained over the years seemed to be a match for him. Except maybe one thing.
"C-Could that actually work?" Sora asked himself.
A brief glimpse of a dark city, a tall skyscraper with large neon lights illuminating the peak like giant screens, a blond haired boy, who's black and white clothes seemed to go perfectly with him, while his comforting and friendly smile shined back to Sora. All of these images flashed within the warriors mind, banishing his fear yet again as the figure's smirk fell into a more primal grit of his teeth.
Raising his left arm, the one to which like the rest of his body was not covered in the metal, the figure summoned a large sphere of blazing darkness, his eyes glaring down at Sora as he suddenly swung it down towards him. Suddenly, his grip on Oathkeeper fell, as the figure was forced back by the spinning dark blade from Riku.
Rushing to a complete stop by his side, Kairi held Sora's shoulder before shaking him out of his thoughts. Both of their gazes soon were locked on that of Riku, the man who had only been laying in the sand with broken ribs a few second ago, and who knows what other harm done, was now forcing the tall figure on the defensive himself. His dark covered arm only managing to block the powerful strikes from Riku, while the large orb of darkness was suddenly thrown towards the silver haired blur, exploding on the sand and making it that much harder for the towering figure to keep an eye on his opponent.
Suddenly, for the first time since they had begun battling, the figure had lost sight of not only Riku, but the other two keybladers as well. Quickly darting his gaze back and forth as he tried to see where they were, the figure never noticed the reappearance of Riku, clutching his chest from behind the partial smokescreen of sand. Falling onto one knee, it wouldn't take long for the figure to find out where Riku was. The man had used way too much energy in that impressive display of moves, way more energy that someone in his condition should have had. It was nearly all gone.
No more running.
No more impressive blocking or attacking.
The young silver haired man was barely able to keep his keyblade in his hands after everything.
"Need some help?" the soft voice of Sora, soon caused Riku to look up towards his best friend. Grabbing onto his hand, Riku nodded and smiled as Sora helped him back onto his feet.
Soon realizing something as he turned to look at Kairi, Riku watched as Sora held onto his other friends hand softly. A faint glow of light escaped from their hands, while the little mist of darkness escaped from both of theirs.
"You think this is going to work? Riku asked Sora, who's smile and determined eyes looking forward all he needed to see.
"Lets get him off our island!" the red haired wielder said with a smile of her own, causing Sora to nod before taking off like a shot, his hands still holding onto his two friends as they ran straight into the sand cloud.
This was a very fun chapter to write, and I hope you enjoy reading it.^^ Originally, this along with the next piece, was a single chapter. But I believed it was possibly too long so decided to split them into separate parts. I hope this way will make it easier to read and understand. Once again, reviews are always welcome, and thanks for reading. ^_^