Sorry about the wait, guys! You wouldn't believe the kind of craziness that's been going on lately. There was band stuff involved, and college courses, yada, yada, yada.
Anywho, this is a very special chapter that revolves around my favorite telepath.
Nehrut: "Jean Grey?"
Very funny.
Nehrut: "I know, right? DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or the characters from the two other games included in this chapter. He also doesn't own two of the OCs that appear here. They belong to Shinku Ryuuga."
I know you've been waiting for this chapter for a long time, man! Here it goes...
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Chapter 64: A Sad Story
"I can't believe Barbossa mutinied on him again." Sora said several hours later.
"At least they didn't leave him for dead on an island this time." Nehrut said, idly spinning a small pillow around in the air. "Not that a dive like Tortuga is much of an improvement, but still."
"But the laugh's on Barbossa this time." Riku chuckled. "He was probably out in the middle of the ocean before he realized Captain Jack stole his charts."
"I guess he realized Barbossa would betray him eventually." Kairi said.
Their conversation was interrupted by a loud 'Wak!' coming from the hallway. Donald ran in, holding an empty munny pouch. "Jack stole my munny!"
The others traded amused glances. "Do you think he plans it all out, or just makes it up as he goes along?"
Minutes later, everyone had left the lounge but Nehrut. He had planned on calling it an early night, but something wouldn't allow it. He was lying wide awake on one of the more comfortable couches in the room, which he had pretty much claimed as his own.
He was wracking his brain. What was it that wouldn't allow him to sleep?
Oh, the storm.
That must have been it. He was momentarily satisfied to realize what had been eating at him (subconsciously) before he realized why a storm was troubling to him. And the memories that came flooding back to him were some that he wasn't in the mood to think of. Ever.
The first memory that came to him was the storm raging in the skies of Pax Pacis. The lightning striking the elegant buildings, reducing them to cinders. Thunder loud enough to deafen the average man.
Then a blur of red light flashing toward him in the throne room...
He had tried to avoid those memories ever since he had joined this crew of misfits, but it wasn't working. So he did what he always did when faced with pain; he meditated.
He did what he could to center himself, sitting cross-legged on the couch. He tried to gather peace into his mind, to calm the storm of painful memories swirling around in his head. But it was surprisingly hard this time.
Now more recent memories. A young man in red armor. Lightning bolts snuffing out the lives of good people he had known.
"Are you alright?"
Nehrut's eyes snapped open. He hadn't actually realized he had closed them in the first place. Bariss was sitting on the couch next to him, looking at him in concern. She had a hand on his shoulder. He probably didn't look that good, then.
He was right. He was panting, and there was a thin layer of sweat on his brow. He took a moment to catch his breath before he placed his hand over Bariss's, grateful for something to hold on to.
"What's wrong?" She asked softly. He somehow couldn't resist answering to that soft, wonderful voice of hers.
"Memories." He answered. "That storm earlier brought a few things back."
"Xaynew?" She ventured.
"Yeah..."
"I've told you about my past." She offered. "You can talk to me about yours, you know."
Nehrut was silent for a few moments, before cracking a half-smile. "I guess I'll have to let someone know eventually. It may as well be to someone I know I can trust. But are you sure you want to know? My story isn't a very happy one."
"I'm sure." She squeezed his hand encouragingly.
"Alright." He leaned back into the couch. "I come from the world of Pax Pacis. Long before the Brotherhood of the Dark moved in, it was a peaceful world...
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It was a beautiful world, covered in lush, green forests and mountain ranges. The forests were broken only occasionally by large, prosperous cities, and small villages only miles outside of them.
The cities were composed of elegant buildings; Tall, well constructed, beautiful towers, small, well-kept stores, well-sized, warm homes. People walked up and down the streets with smiles on their faces. One particular palace-like building overlooked this particular city.
It was a massive building over three hundred feet wide, and a few hundred feet high. The smooth, shining, dark grey outer walls were roughly pentagonal in shape, with the widest end facing the capital city of Salusis from the top of a large hill that was nearly a mountain in itself. A huge arched doorway was set at the front gate. Situated high above it, and slightly behind, a pair of large, blue-green stained-glass windows looked out across the city from the throne room. Inside the outer walls, the castle was built out of many different buildings all linked together. Some stretched upward to form its eight towers, with one high, central one near the center.
"The people were happy. We lived in peace. We were a prosperous world, and were among the first to make contact with other worlds."
A man in a white hooded cloak and a red sash walked up to the palace gates. He wore two metal plates on his forearms, had an amputated left ring finger, and was clearly well-armed. He did not draw these weapons, however. Next to him was a small blue-grey-skinned being of half the height. His head was large, and his pupil-less eyes turned from black to violet to dark red depending on the lighting. His was in a white and dark blue jumpsuit. (1)
"We formed an immediate alliance with the world nearest us. A place called 'The Holy Land.'"
They walked up the steps of the palace and met a welcoming party consisting of seven people. Two of them were boys only about thirteen years-old and another of about ten or eleven. The older ones were two men and two women in middle age. All of them were dressed well. One of the young boys had a glowing blue saber on his belt.
"The royal family looked out for the whole world, wisely and well. My family served for generations as the defenders of peace and justice on our world, and sometimes the immediate worlds around us. My great great great grandfather was the first in our line to do so, to stop an invasion from our other neighboring world Furon. They're a war-like people, but they couldn't conquer us. Since then, we'd become tentative allies."
The two beings from off-world greeted the royal family and their guardians. The tall human appeared fascinated by the blue blade that one of the young men offered to them. This was a ritual on Pax Pacis. The blade would be presented briefly to the visitors as a sign of trust.
The tall human held it up to the light to examine it, marveling at how the sun's rays made it shine even brighter. He ran his fingers along its length, and then handed it back to the boy, stating that it was a magnificent weapon. The boy then handed it to the short alien, who looked at it for a much shorter amount of time. He handed it back, saying that he preferred the kind of weapon that 'went boom' but that it was still 'pretty cool.'
The youngest of the boys looked very irritated, and was glaring daggers into the back of the other boy's head, casting envious eyes toward the blade.
"My great great great grandfather fashioned a blade from the huge variety of crystals on our world, which was said to have given him his telekinetic powers, which we've since inherited. He named it Presul, and it has been passed on to the oldest in every generation since then, all the way down the line to me."
All of them walked inside save for the boys. The youngest three in the group stayed outside. The thirteen year-olds started talking like the old friends they were, and went off to find three of their other friends, leaving the diplomatic business to their parents from here on. The younger one went off to his own devices.
"My brother –still going by Yenaw- was something of the family black sheep. He had a very strong mind, and was just as skilled a telepath as I was, but he had a 'dissocial personality disorder'.(2) A sociopath, he was always violent and hostile. He wouldn't let anyone else in. He didn't even seem to care about anything else. But he was ridiculously jealous of me. Probably because I had the sword, and the responsibilities that came with it. He didn't."
"We fought frequently, but one day, things came to a head in the worst possible way."
"I'm sick and tired of living in your shadow, brother!" Yenaw shouted.
"What do you mean?"
The two brothers stood in one of the courtyards of the palace. The ambassadors from Furon and the Holy Land had gone inside over two hours ago, and Nehrut's friend was spending time with his girlfriend. The thirteen year-old Nehrut had walked into one of the garden/courtyards surrounding the palace and had nearly been hit by a flying plant pot. He was used to his brother's outbursts but today felt different somehow.
Yenaw was particularly angry today. But why was that? Perhaps it had something to do with their visitors. That was likely it. Nehrut would be around them a lot more frequently, as he was the 'chosen wielder' of Presul.
"You trot around with that blade, holding it like a trophy." Yenaw went on. "And I'm here, sitting on the side, watching you live it up. How mother and father allow someone like you to wield it is beyond my reckoning."
"Someone like me? Holding it like a trophy?" He repeated incredulously. "Do you realize how ridiculous you sound right now?"
In response, Yenaw shoved him into a wall with his mental prowess. He left a crack in it, and fell to the ground. Nehrut got to his feet, and plowed him into the ground with a similar effort.
Yenaw snarled as he got to his feet, and rushed toward him. Instinctively, Nehrut drew Presul and pointed it at the face of his younger brother. He stopped dead in his tracks, and looked cross-eyed at the blade. Its tip was an inch in front of his nose.
"Just stop, brother." Nehrut said calmly. "You're making a fool of yourself."
He glared daggers at him, and then walked away, seething.
Nehrut sighed in sadness and exasperation, sheathing the sword. Why did his brother have to be cursed with that disorder?
Yenaw walked away from the castle, eyes filled with anger. People noticed him passing and steered clear, knowing a bit of his reputation.
He stewed in his own anger all the way back to his home, not knowing just how far this anger would take him.
"My brother always had a hard time controlling his anger. But with his condition, what could you expect, really? Maybe if he hadn't been cursed with it though, my world would have been spared."
Just minutes after Nehrut and Yenaw's confrontation, three people encountered the Nobody.
The first was a young man. He was tall and had long, black-brown hair slicked down the back of his head. His left eye was red, and his right was green. He wore a black trench coat over a red muscle shirt with dark pants. He wore a pair of fingerless, metal-backed gloves on his hands. On his belt was a katana in a sheath with green dragons running down its length. His name was Takuya.
The second was a girl of the same age, who was holding his hand. She stood a few inches shorter than him. She had pale skin, and long black hair with violet steaks through it. Both her eyes were a bizarre shade of pink. She wore a black jacket over a dark blue tank top. Strapped to her back was a metal longbow, and a quiver full of razor sharp arrows. Her name was Mina.(3)
The last was a shorter girl of only about five feet tall. She had short, wavy blonde hair, pale skin, and light blue eyes. She wore a violet jacket and long, loose skirt. She wore fingerless gloves of the same exact color of dark violet. Unlike the others, this girl was clearly not carrying any weapons. Her name was Liz, (an unusual name for someone on this world) and she was the happy fiancee of Prince Essej.
They walked down the street in the opposite direction from the palace. They were talking companionably as any set of friends would. Finally, almost ten miles from the palace, Takuya asked, "Do you think the Furon's roasted anyone by now?"
Liz rolled her eyes. "Just because he's a Furon doesn't mean he's going to kill them, Takuya."
"Well, think about it for a second, Liz." Mina interrupted. "Those aliens have tried to wipe this place out for years, right?"
"That was one time." Liz corrected, rolling her eyes again. "And it was over a hundred years ago. They haven't tried anything since."
"Maybe they were biding their time?" Takuya suggested, still not totally convinced.
"Do I have to spell it out for you?"
"You usually do." Mina said, grinning.
"The Furons are starting to die out. They keep themselves immortal through cloning, and their batches are starting to degrade."
"How do you know that?" Takuya asked, clearly surprised.
"Essej told me last night."
"What were you doing with him last night?" He asked, smirking devilishly.
She was just able to hide her blush, but didn't respond to him. "The Furons need our help if they don't want to go extinct. Besides, if their ambassador really intended to kill the King, then Nehrut and his mom would have sensed it by now. And the guardians are still in there with him."
Takuya sighed in resignation. "Okay, you're right."
"As always..." Mina added.
Liz just smiled as they continued their walk.
The streets were nearly empty, for one reason or the other. It was either because they were staff at the castle attending to the diplomats or the royal family, or because the sky threatened rain.
Fairly far off to the south, there were dark storm clouds approaching. But there was something unusual about this.
"Those weren't there earlier..." Takuya commented, gazing at the clouds. "The sky was totally clear."
"Weird." Mina agreed.
It got much weirder when a huge bolt of lightning shot from the clouds, and struck the space not ten feet in front of them.
They leapt back reflexively, shocked and confused. Lightning didn't travel at a nearly horizontal angle to strike a place miles away. It was unnatural, especially when a person appeared in the space.
A figure was kneeling down in the scorched, black patch of pavement where the lightning had hit. He was wearing a red cloak and light armor plating with an unfamiliar crest on it. He had straw-colored hair, and they recognized him immediately.
'Yenaw' rose to his full height, and looked himself over, admiring the new clothing. By now, the clouds had come rushing in at a ridiculous speed, and had nearly covered the city in a matter of seconds. He looked up into those clouds as if with curiosity.
He then turned his gaze to his gloved hand. He wiggled a few of his fingers, which began to spark lightly. He looked back to the sky, and raised his hand high. He quickly closed his hand and made a fist. There was a flash of lightning and a boom of thunder.
He smiled, and moved his hand in a wide circular pattern around the sky. The dark clouds above them began to swirl and churn in the sky like the eye of a hurricane. He clenched his fist again, and the hole closed up again immediately.
His smirk widened, and a manic gleam came into his eyes. "Power... Finally. I have the greater power..." He chuckled low in his throat.
It was all a little much for Takuya. Of course, it would be a lot for anybody if your friend's psychotic brother suddenly appeared in a lightning bolt, with an unknown emblem on his chest, started manipulating the weather, and then mumbled about power under his breath.
He put one hand on the hilt of his katana. He and Yenaw had gotten violent before, and it always paid to be prepared.
Yenaw noticed this, and held out his hand. There was an eerie red light, and a scarlet crystal blade appeared in his hand. He took up a fighting stance he had seen him take before. With his blade pointed directly at his opponent with both hands.
Takuya pulled out his katana. The hilt was wrapped in green bandages and had a bronze guard. The blade itself was jet black, and shining. He took up a fighting stance himself, holding his blade back by his head, point facing forward, and his free hand held palm up, as if beckoning.
Mina held up her longbow, already loading an arrow from the quiver, and taking careful aim, with her right eye closed. But Liz stepped forward, arms held out in a placating gesture.
"Everyone put your weapons down!" She said firmly. She looked at 'Yenaw'. "What's going on here, exactly, Yenaw?"
"Not Yenaw." He corrected. The look on his face suggested that he was trying to remember some distant memory. "Xaynew. And what's going on here is that I just found three new practice dummies."
And without further explanation, he charged at them.
Takuya brought his blade up to meet his. They met in a shower of sparks, and Takuya parried his next blow, and stabbed at the Nobody's chest (of course, he wouldn't know what a Nobody was).
Xaynew leapt away from the blow, and lost a lock of hair. The cause of this was a razor-sharp steel arrow coming within an inch of his head, and just barely missing it. Mina was already loading another one from the quiver on her back, which held more than two dozen of them. She fired, and this time Xaynew was forced to deflect it with his blade.
As it landed on the ground with a clatter, Takuya struck at him again. Xaynew had to duck under a swipe that could have taken his head off. So he struck at his midsection, but the attack was parried fairly easily. He blocked the follow up attack aimed at his face.
And then surprisingly, he was kicked hard in the stomach by Liz. He stumbled backwards, and got clipped in the shoulder by one of Mina's arrows.
He grunted in pain, and gave ground, backing away from Takuya and Liz's attacks. Mina hung back to aim from a safer distance.
Xaynew parried a strike from Takuya and slashed at Liz. She held up her arm, and the scarlet blade hit her wrist. It impacted with a concealed combat bracelet under her jacket, and stopped dead. Liz advanced forward, aiming a punch at the Nobody's face.
Using his free hand, he grabbed her wrist, and threw her over his shoulder with all his might. She hit the ground several feet away.
He parried another blow from Takuya, and then leapt over him entirely. He landed on his other side, and punched out his hand in Mina's direction. A large gust of wind knocked her off her feet and sent her flying backwards.
He turned around just in time to block Takuya's next strike. Their blades became locked together for a matter of seconds, and they looked at each other from past them. "Is that all you've got?" Takuya taunted, smirking at him. "I thought you were supposed to be powerful now?"
"I'm just getting warmed up!" He disengaged from Takuya's blade just as Mina shot another arrow at his back. Had Takuya not brought up his weapon in time, she would have run her own boyfriend through.
"Sorry!" She shouted, getting ready to fire again.
Xaynew was ready for her. He twisted around to face her, and made a gesture as if inviting her over (palm up, and fingers beckoning). A gust of wind from the other side of her caused her to misfire into a nearby tree, and drop her weapon. She flew forward…
Right into Xaynew's outstretched sword.
Her eyes widened, and she let out a strangled kind of gasping noise. She looked down, seeing the sword embedded into her body all the way up to its hilt. There was a small amount of blood seeping from the wound in her stomach.
Xaynew smiled widely, with a manic gleam in his eyes. He turned both of them around, and shoved her off his blade. She fell to the ground, and clutched at the wound, groaning in agony.
Takuya gaped, disbelieving.
That didn't just happen…
He was still just standing there, with unshed tears in his eyes, when Liz ran past crying in rage.
As she engaged Xaynew in one-on-one combat, Takuya dropped his sword and rushed over to the fallen Mina. He bent down over her, and examined the wound, hoping desperately that it hadn't hit her spine. It didn't seem to have, but she was clearly in a lot of pain, and she was losing blood.
He held her in his arms, cradling her head in his hand, and supporting her by the small of her back. "Please, Mina…" He whispered to her. "Please don't leave me now."
A mute nod was her response. She drew in a harsh gasp of air, and trembled in his arms. He kissed her briefly for what might have been the last time, and set her back down on the ground as gently as was possible. He turned around at the sound of a pained exclamation.
Liz was on the ground, clutching her side. There was blood on her hand. Xaynew looked down at her, still smirking.
Takuya had had enough. He grabbed his weapon, and stood up slowly. He glared daggers at Xaynew, and a single tear fell from his eye to the ground. The second it struck the pavement, he held his blade to the sky, clutching it in both hands.
"Spread your wings, Ryuumaru!" He shouted.
The blade let off a flash of emrald green light, and then began to change. The blade lengthened, and widened, becoming nearly seven feet long. Its sharp edges took on a scarlet color, while the rest remained black. The guard changed, emerging from the metal on either side, stretching down the length of the hilt until they looked like two bronze wings on either side of the hilt. The hilt itself had also become longer, long enough to hold it with two hands.
Takuya gripped it firmly, and pointed the tip of the blade at Xaynew. "Dragon Fire Barrage!"
The blade was enveloped in green flames, which quickly burst forth from it as giant fireballs at the Nobody.
He lifted his hand, and lightning shot down from the sky into his palm. With his hand coursing with electricity, he punched it out at the flames, and lightning shot forward.
The two elemental attacks collided in midair, and there was an explosion, kicking up dirt and chunks of earth in between the two warriors.
When the smoke cleared, they were both still standing, holding their weapons in fighting positions. "Don't hold back you little punk!" Takuya shouted.
They rushed toward each other.
"One day when we received two special visitors from Furon and the Holy Land, things went horribly wrong inside of my brother. That was the day our world changed for the worse."
In the throne room of the palace, the royal family and the guardians were speaking with the off-worlders.
"It's a pleasure to have you here." King Prudens said to the visitors, taking a seat in one of the two thrones in the room. Queen Forma sat by his side. "And we sincerely hope we can reach a favorable agreement with the Furon Empire."
"Yeah, yeah, so do I." The alien said. "But tell me, why is the assassin here?"
"I am here to ensure that your agreement doesn't interfere with the one they have with my world." The assassin explained.
"You need not worry, my friend." The King said. "We have been allies for far too long to betray you so suddenly. I have no desire to bring harm to your world."
"Very good. My master sends his regards."
"Now, down to business."
The large doors at the end of the room opened, and in rushed Nehrut, and Prince Essej. Essej was the same height as Nehrut. He had similar brown hair, but with a reddish tone to it. His eyes were bright blue, and had a sparkle to them. He wore the deep green robes that marked him as royalty.
They stopped when they realized that the eyes of their parents and visitors were plastered on them immediately. They had been trying to be subtle.
"Glad you could join us boys." Nehrut's father Durus was trying to restrain a laugh, but his mother Callidus looked disapproving.
"Sorry dad."
They walked into the room, trying to look professional.
"Boys, these are the delegates from Furon and the Holy Land." The King said. "I think you'll remember Altair Ibn La'Ahad." He had a bit of trouble pronouncing the last name of the assassin, as he always did. "And this is Cryptosporidium 137."
"Salus Pax Pacis." The teenagers said in unison.
"Safety and Peace." Altair responded.
"Uh... Yeah. Hey." Crypto responded, a little confused.
"This is my son, Prince Essej." King Prudens continued with the introductions, disregarding Crypto's lack of understanding, and Essej's dislike of the title. "And the youngest of our guardians, Nehrut. Tardy as always, eh boys?"
They grimaced on the inside.
"Okay, enough small talk Monkey-boy." Crypto said, also not liking titles. "Let's get down to the nitty-gritty before I have to start blowing stuff up."
"Should we be concerned?" Essej asked Nehrut quietly. He shrugged.
"Looking back, I wonder whatever happened to Altair and Crypto. What happened next was a bit confusing..."
Suddenly, Callidus and Nehrut looked up into the air. Their senses were picking up something bad. Nehrut drew Presul, and Callidus drew a similar blade made of green crystal.
Crypto freaked out and drew a blasting weapon from his sleeve. It looked more like it had materialized there. He pointed it at Callidus. She shook her head and pointed up at the ceiling. Altair and Durus drew their blades, as well. Altair held a more traditional saber made of steel, and Durus a blade of green crystal like his wife's.
"What's wrong?" Queen Forma asked, rising from her seat slightly.
"Something's coming." Nehrut explained, his eyes on the ceiling.
"This is strange." His mother added. "I've never felt anything like it, but there's something familiar about it."
Some of them looked at Crypto, expecting a betrayal. "Don't look at me."
Suddenly, the roof cracked open with the sound of a thunder clap. Chunks of the roof fell down around their heads, and the telepaths worked together to toss them away. Crypto immediately started shooting through the new hole in the roof. Yellow balls of energy shot from the end of his blaster. The shots collided with something and bounced into the walls.
When the dust cleared, they didn't like what they saw.
Floating above them was what was left of Yenaw. He was wearing red armor, not yet marked with the Brotherhood's crest, but by the Nobody emblem. He had a red crystal blade in his hand. Beyond him, the sky was dark, filled with storm clouds and lightning bolts.
"Yenaw!" His father shouted. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Taking what's mine, father." He raised his hand to the skies, and a bolt of lightning struck the center of the room, mere inches away from Essej. "I'm stronger than any of you now. And I'd like vengeance."
"For what!?"
"My years living in the shadow of my dear brother there!" He pointed his new blade at Nehrut like an accusing finger. "You've strutted about with that blade long enough. It's time it had a new owner."
"Do you hear yourself, son?" Durus exclaimed, quite as outraged as Nehrut had been earlier that day. "He hasn't strutted anywhere! And you know our traditions-"
"Forget your decrepit traditions!" He interrupted. "I am the future! With my new power, I will bring true glory to this world. And I can bring the others under my control!"
"I might have something to say about that." Altair said calmly, taking up a fighting stance.
"You stay away from my planet monkey!" Crypto shouted, making a few adjustments to his weapon so that it changed into another one. "Now could we please get over this whole dysfunctional family crap and get to the part where I kill something already?"
"I'm sorry son," Durus said disregarding Crypto yet again, "But you won't have that blade."
"And you won't take this world, if that's what you've just implied." Prudens added, standing up from his throne.
"Well, 'Your Highness', it's not really up to you."
"Son." Callidus asked calmly, "Please, stop this, and come down here."
Xaynew inhaled loudly, it wasn't a pleasant sound as the air came in through his teeth. It was like a snake hissing. "I will have this world one way or another." He smirked. "And if that means you all have to die..." Thunder boomed. "Then DIE!"
Two large lightning bolts shot down from the sky at the king and queen. They struck them both in the chests, electrocuting them painfully for a few seconds. Their bodies went limp, and fell into their chairs.
"Mom! Dad!" Essej cried out in anguish. He ran toward them, but didn't even make it half-way there before a smaller bolt of lightning struck him in the back.
"Son of a-!" Crypto ducked out of the way of a lightning bolt aimed at him, and fired up into the ceiling at the one who was now Xaynew. Arcs of blue lightning shot from his blaster toward him, but he successfully evaded the shots.
Nehrut and Callidus shot up towards the newly created Nobody (though of course they didn't know what he was yet).
Callidus was there first, and she struck toward her former son's chest. Her blow was parried, and he struck back at her face. Nehrut blocked the strike and mentally threw him back into the far wall. He crashed and fell to the ground behind one of the thrones, and rose up with a blast of wind.
He dropped back to the ground immediately to avoid a razor sharp throwing knife that Altair had sent at him. Durus ran towards him, blade held aloft. Xaynew stabbed at his stomach, and he lept away. But the Nobody kept coming, striking first at his head, and then at his legs. Durus wasn't psychic, but he was still an able swordsman.
Altair ran to his side, and swept at Xaynew's legs with his own blade. The Nobody lept over the attack, and kicked the assassin in the chest, knocking him onto his back. Before he could finish the man, however, concentrated balls of yellow energy were coming toward him.
He blocked the first strike and leapt over Altair toward Crypto, deflecting more shots. He ran toward the alien, and was about to cut him in half when a hidden jetpack in his back activated, sending high into the air. In his place was Callidus, her sword aimed at his chest.
He frantically parried, and took to the air. His face met the bottom of Nehrut's boot, and he crashed to the ground in front of Prudens's throne. His former brother landed in front of him, his blade flashing toward his neck. He ducked under it, and blocked the follow up attack.
They stood there for a few seconds, gazing hard at the other past the blades.
"You're out of your mind!"
"You have no idea..."
Xaynew threw the blade off him and side-stepped to the right. Crypto emptied his disintegrator ray toward him, but he ran around the stream of fire.
His blade met Durus's with a flash of sparks. Despite the older man's greater size, he was pushing him back. At the speed his blade was going all around them, it looked like a bright red swirling mass, nearly obscuring his form. It was a wonder that his opponent was able to keep blocking the strikes.
But it didn't last.
As he was backing up, but before Altair or Nehrut were able to reach him, he tripped over something. It was Prince Essej's prone form lying face down on the floor, clothes smoldering.
Durus landed on his back, and his blade fell from his grasp.
Snarling, Xaynew seized the opportunity, and stabbed.
There was a strange noise as Durus's chest was holed by his former son's blade; some kind of combination between a gasp, and a gurgle. His eyes went wide, and for a single frozen second, he stared at Xaynew with something like sadness in his eyes. And just like that, he died.
Xaynew withdrew his blade with a sneer on his face. He looked into the disbelieving, horrified, angry, grieving faces of his mother and brother and said, "One down."
Then he was slammed into the wall again by Nehrut and Callidus both. Their hands were outstretched and there were tears in their eyes. They continued to press the Nobody into the wall, which was starting to crack under the pressure. Crypto and Altair stood to either side of them, weapons at the ready.
"What's happened to you?" Callidus asked, trying hard to hold back sobs.
"I woke up." He responded without a hint of remorse. Then he shouted into the sky, a loud, bellowing, animal cry. The thunder echoed him, and a lightning bolt streaked down from the sky through the hole in the roof.
At least her death was quick. The bolt struck her in the back. For a moment, she seemed surprised, as if she didn't quite believe that she had just been struck by lightning. Her hand slowly opened, and her blade fell from her slackening fingers to the floor, landing with a clatter.
Then she closed her eyes, and looked almost serene as her knees buckled, and she fell forward. She didn't move again.
Nehrut's hand fell to his side, and he stared at her lifeless form in disbelief. Xaynew landed on the ground again, and dodged Crypto's shooting. Something inside Nehrut finally snapped.
With a cry of pain and anguish, he shot toward Xaynew with the speed of a bullet. The younger one was just barely able to catch the blow. The two hovered above the ground for just a moment, glaring at each other. Then they shot through the hole in the ceiling, their blades blurs of red and blue as they battled.
Crypto and Altair looked after them just as the rain began to fall.
"Man oh man, bro." Crypto said, watching the fight far above them. "Things are getting a little freaky-deeky around here. And I know a thing or two about freaky-deeky, let me tell you that! Whad'ya say we blow this rock and get a drink somewhere?"
Altair was silent for a moment, and then rushed toward one of the large pillars in the room that ran all the way from the floor to the ceiling. Using the intricate patterns engraved into it as handholds, he climbed up it to the ceiling with surprising speed.
"Dude, what are you doing?"
Altair didn't answer until he reached the top and was standing on the ceiling. He unsheathed his sword. He spoke just loud enough so that the alien could hear.
"Whatever that boy has become, it is a threat not only to this world, but to ours as well. Possibly others, as well." He turned his gaze from the battle to Crypto. "And as long as I breath, I will not make it easy for him. That boy may not be able to defeat him on his own, so I believe we should help him. Do what you will, but I will stay and fight."
He ran across the roof, following the fight.
Crypto was still for a moment, thinking. Then he let out a huff of aggravation, and shrugged. He activated a small communications device on his wrist. "Pox, I'm gonna be running a bit late." He activated his jetpack and shot through the hole into the stormy sky.
Unbeknownst to him, the second he left, the black form of the Telekinetic rose from the ground. The Keyhole of the world appeared in the wall behind the two thrones.
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Nehrut stabbed at Xaynew's chest, but the blow was parried, and he was pushed away by a large gust of wind. His back crashed into one of the four large towers that jutted from the palace's roof.
He pushed himself off the wall a split second before it was speared by Xaynew's sword. He landed squarely on the rain-slicked roof of the palace. Xaynew landed a few feet away. The storm was in full force now.
Lightning forked the sky frequently, illuminating the false night with flashes of harsh light. Bolts were striking the surrounding buildings, taking chunks off of them and sending debris flying into the air. There were fires too intense to be extinguished by the downpour. The sounds of screaming filled the air.
Nehrut looked at what had once been his brother. "You're a monster."
Xaynew's response to this was to lift his blade into the sky. Three narrow bolts of lightning struck it. They sizzled around the blade for a moment, before flowing through his body and into the palm of his free hand. The white-hot electricity coursed around his closed fist for a second, before he opened it, and thrust his hand in Nehrut's direction.
He reacted instinctively, and brought his blade up to block the electricity. He jerked as the energy collided with Presul, but the attack was still blocked. Lightning kept pouring from Xaynew's hands and crackled around the blade. His own sword was still held high in the air, collecting the lightning from the sky.
It didn't seem that it would ever end. Electricity kept shooting from his hand, and he didn't show any sign of tiring.
Nehrut was calling upon his psychic energy to hold the lightning at bay. Beads of sweat were beginning to appear on his face, indistinguishable from the rain drops. He was exhausting too much energy just holding the attack back. Panting, he dropped to one knee, still holding his blade defensively in front of him.
His life was suddenly passing before his eyes. He looked at his former brother, and saw a sadistic sort of satisfaction on his face. And to top it all off, the earth was shaking. But interestingly, buildings and such all around weren't falling, they were just disappearing.
Not ceasing his attack, Xaynew said, "The door is open." These same words would be eerily repeated by a silver-haired kid just a few years later on a world called Destiny Islands. "If I can't have this world, no one can. It's been fun, brother."
The lightning intensified, and Nehrut was just barely hanging on. But then there was more lightning shooting from behind him. The bluish lightning hit the Nobody square in the chest, knocking him backwards. His lightning attack finally stopped, and Nehrut let out a gasp of relief.
Crypto ran past him, and fired another burst of lightning at Xaynew. While those two were occupied, Nehrut was hoisted up by one arm by a strong hand. Altair handed him his blade, which had slipped from his grasp without him realizing.
By this time, half the city had vanished into thin air, and the screaming had ceased. The world was being destroyed, its heart being consumed by the Darkness that Xaynew had brought. A side effect of this was that corridors of Darkness were randomly popping up all over the place. One of them opened up not far away from them on the roof.
Altair looked at it. Crypto looked at it. Nehrut looked at it.
And without a word, Altair shoved the young telepath inside. It closed behind him immediately.
That left the assassin and the alien alone with the Nobody, as everything vanished around them.
"It's a good day to die." Altair said. He calmly drew his sword.
"But let's still try to avoid that, shall we?" Crypto aimed his blaster.
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Nehrut was falling through Darkness. All he could see was black everywhere, but he felt the sensation that he was flying quickly down a long tunnel. He looked around, clutching Presul tightly.
Finally, a great distance away, he saw a tiny speck of light, which was growing larger by the second. Now he felt like he was being sucked with great force toward the light. His clothing billowed around him, and a ringing sound filled his ears.
Then suddenly he was in a small, village-like place. He was falling from about ten feet in the air, and landed with a thud in front of a brick building. The sign above it read, 'Accessory Shop.' Nehrut got to his feet, eyes flicking back and forth. What was this place? He saw a few people wandering about. A few of them glanced at him sympathetically. He heard a man whisper to his wife, "A star just went out."
"The poor boy. He can't be even fifteen."
As he wondered what in the worlds that was supposed to mean, he felt two people standing beside him. He turned around, and immediately decided that things couldn't get any weirder.
Standing in front of him was an anthropomorphic mouse that came up to just about waist height. He had big, round ears and a kind face. He was wearing casual clothing, (for him, anyway) red pants with large, yellow buttons. Standing not far behind him was a tall man with long brown hair and a scar across his face.
"A star just went out." The mouse said. "I'm sorry."
Nehrut stared at him in confusion for a moment, before asking, "What do you mean?"
The mouse looked at him with pity, and sighed. "I can explain everything, if you want. I'm Mickey Mouse. This is Leon." He extended his hand. "Welcome to Traverse Town."
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"After about a month living with the King at Disney Castle, I needed to stretch my legs, I guess." Nehrut said. He was leaning heavily back on the couch, looking very weary. "I borrowed a Gummi ship and traveled to other worlds for a while. I'm not totally sure why. Maybe I wanted to run away from the past. Or maybe I wanted to meet my brother again, and give him some payback."
He sighed, and put his hand over his eyes. "I lost my family, my best friend, and my home in less than an hour. And all I had left of them was my sword and some memories."
Bariss was holding him, listening intently, though his story had brought tears to her eyes. She pulled him to her, and he leaned his head on her shoulder. He was grateful.
"We're a lot alike, huh?" She said. "Both orphans. Both forced to grow up too fast."
"There's truth to that." He answered. "Thanks for letting me talk. You're awesome, you know that?"
"You're not so bad yourself." She replied with a small grin.
As before, the one who had just finished their depressing origins felt better for having done so. As before, the two of them fell asleep together on the same couch.
As before, Roxas and Namine had heard everything.
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Yay! I finally posted it! I hope you guys liked this chapter, and that it helped you understand Nehrut a little better.
Nehrut: "Yeah! My life sucks."
You've got Bariss, quit whining.
(1) Belonging to Assassin's Creed and Destroy All Humans!, respectively. I had just finished playing the latter game when I started writing this chapter and thought, 'Hey, why not!?' Might have been a mistake...
(2) An actual condition. Look it up.
(3) Just to clarify, these two are Shinku's. I think he's including them in his own story. Check it out.
(4) The adults' names mean 'Wise' 'Beauty' 'Toughness' and 'Clever' respectively, in Latin.
Please review!