TN: Hey guys! Chapter 10 already? Well, I want to say a little something before we kick it off!

WARNING!
WARNING!

Within this chapter, there is a small section that contains very graphic material that pushes the T rating very far, venturing into the M realm. We, as in TN and TUH, have agreed that this section was necessary, though we did not like it. We like what it brings to the character. Please be lenient on this section. Please do not hate us. We hope that you can find the necessity in the piece. And try to enjoy the chapter!

WARNING!
WARNING!

TUH: I'm still feeling a bit insane from writing her.

TN: I feel off just from reading her.

TUH: *Chews on top hat* I know, right?

TN: Speaking of chewing (my fingernails right now), I'm really worried yet extremely anxious for that section in this chapter. . .

TUH: Repressing memories in three, two, one. . .

TN: Yeah, well, I have nothing else to say. Are you ready for the possible backlash?

TUH: Possible? Inevitable

TN: Well, here we go. . .

Sora: They own nothing but the plot and their characters.

Chapter X

The Garden Asunder

I'ltorien
July 18, 2010

"She hasn't woken up yet and it's been more than a day, I'm calling this deal off!" a gruff, battle-scarred voice exclaimed, for the first time in what seemed like forever making One's eardrums transfer their information into her brain, awakening her from her deep slumber. Opening her eyes she was met with a wooden ceiling. A quick search around yielded the discovery of a window where various leaves almost entered and another bed on the opposite side of the room. The same kind of bed she was now. . .

"How am I. . ." One first said, remembering the past events. She had fought a Yian Garuga to the death and had gotten poisoned. . . then someone had saved her. "Is this her home?" she asked, the conversation moving on the outside.

"But Tiiiiiibs! She got shanked by a Yiaaaan!" the same voice that had saved her shouted childishly. One was still trying to realize if she was a girl or a woman, but as soon as she found the open door to the outside, she saw the owners of the voices. The woman was there, her hair was strange; it was a mix of red and pink. She even questioned to herself if that hair was even natural. It was tied in a braid, falling over her right shoulder and VERY long, touching her waist. She wore a detailed robe, filled with different figures of violet and gold. To make her look even more wise and solemn, she was wearing a gold tiara with a small ruby on the center, one that branched out on the back of her head. Yet, there was something that quickly caught One's attention. Her ears? Pointy. And while the clothing did a good job at tricking you, her expression didn't. She was pouting with her cheeks all swollen, blue eyes eying the man in front of her with childish anger while she rotated her arms, trying to slap him, being less than successful as he easily weaved around the slaps.

"Your point? Let the beorc boy carry her. I'm not going to have whatever she is in my part of the forest any longer. My tribe has felt uneasy ever since you set foot in the town with her," the black haired man said. He had covered his forehead with a red headband, used a thorn green coat that left his chest in the open, complete with coat tails, bandages on his forearms, a red sash extending from his golden buckled belt and a light, teal set of trouser. But that was hardly the distinguishable characteristic. He most importantly possessed spiked ears and a giant, majestic pair of brown wings, whose color was lighter on the edges. Yes. Wings. He had them. In short he was badass, VERY badass. What? He was.

Of course, this would be something One wondered about. . . if she wasn't greeted with this marvelous comment.

"Whatever she is, she's no beorc, she's no Laguz, and she's no elf. She's an Imperial Weapon that represents just why we're stuck in this forest and I don't want my tribe to be associated with her," One's entire world almost went black at the bluntness of the comment. . . but also as to how logical it was. That had been the worst part of it. She could not say no to what he had just said because, deep down, she believed it, even if she didn't know what half the names there meant. However, this had the complete opposite reaction on the woman with the blue eyes. They suddenly went straight amber as she pulled her hand back once more, THIS slap connecting so hard One heard the sound of a jaw dislodging.

"Don't you dare speak of that little girl like that Tibarn. She's walked through hell and back already, no need for you to lay spikes on her bedside," she seethed, her words like the flames she had used to burn the Garuga into a crisp. The man seemed to be genuinely taken aback and dare I say, afraid of what was to happen.

Despite his comments though, One's last desire was for anyone to get hurt, so she said:

"Hello?" to draw their attention. The woman snapped her neck to the side in a way you'd almost believe she disjointed it before having her amber eyes boggle and turn back to normal.

"Oh, you poor girl!" she exclaimed, rushing towards One and pulling her into a tight hug. "Don't mind Tibbs, he's a prick when he puts his feathery head up his a-"

"Watch your mouth, you're still in my tribe," Tibarn sounded much less awe inspiring adjusting his jaw back into a useable position, but he still made a point.

"You were still pretty mean," the woman pouted back, to which the bird-man crossed his bandaged arms and turned to say:

"My brothers and sisters were slaughtered by people that would go to create her. Do not think she'll be welcomed by any of the forest dwellers," Tibarn replied, not looking directly into her eyes.

"Pft, you guys and your grudges. . ." she dismissed, flicking her fingers, which somehow made a large lollipop appear in her hand. "Want one?" she casually asked One, who was simply speechless. "Okay, here, apple, your favorite!" she exclaimed, willing another of the treats unto existence and giving it to One.

"How-"One began.

"Oh that? I read your mind when you were asleep," she said, expression unchanging, as if she had not said anything creepy, invasive, dangerous, to name a few. She took two licks of the lollipop and noticed One's shocked expression: "What?"

"Y-you. . . what did you see?!" One demanded, a mix of fury and fear grabbing her. She was furious at someone prodding so deep into her, but she was more afraid of what this unknown person would know about her now. Her expectations were sorely met once the woman lost her carefree expression for the second time.

"Far more than what I wanted to have seen. . ." she said gloomily, before suddenly jolting back into her normal persona, biting the lollipop off in the process. "But anyway, we're done with that mumbo-jumbo. I'm Merlina Magus, your organization's ambassador in The Mìelthrì Forest. I was just walking around the forest, minding my own business, smoking my chocolate cigar. . . more like eating it. Smoke tastes blerg. . . I'm getting off track, aren't I? Where was I?" One could only stand in shock at the person, wondering if this was normal. Bad choice of words. Still, Tibarn had rolled his eyes at the display, so apparently it was. "Oh, right, right, riiiiiiiight! Okay, I was walking around the forest, looking for Princess Whatever-her-name when I found you about to get eaten by a giant chicken. Then a voice in my head said Wait a minute. . . aren't humans supposed to EAT chickens?! soooo I fried it!" she exclaimed, extending her arms as if she had just told the whole story. Moments passed before she then spit out: "Oh and I healed you of that poison and brought you here, saving your life, you're welcome sweetie!" so fast One again had to take a few moments to get it all in her head. "Chicken tasted great though. I saved some for you to try at home."

"Speaking of home. . . ULKI! GET THE BEORC BOY TO THE ENTRANCE!" Tibarn shouted to the treetops. "You're going home," he told One without any emotion, apart from distaste and maybe even disgust.

"Tibbs…" Merlina began, but the man had already left the house.

"Just get her there. I'll take her home myself. I doubt any of my tribe would hold back their talons like I will," he told Merlina, sounding less than threatening for the first time since One had awakened. Not nice, but he didn't seem to be after her neck for once. And with that, he jumped out, batting his wings and disappearing through the foliage.

"Don't mind him too much. . . the Serenes Massacre still looms over his wings," Merlina began, looking at one. "This forest once used to be three times as big, yes, three times. But sometime ago, when the Emperor ascended, he deemed it so his Empire needed more land. He burned the forest down, slaughtering any 'sub-human' that tried to stop it. Eventually, Tibarn's tribe of Hawk Laguz, along with others had to run to the deepest parts of Mìelthrì for solace in the elves. The Emperor wouldn't be sufficiently insane to mess with elves, so he deterred himself from entering their sanctum. Tibarn and the other leaders have never trusted someone from the outside since. Outside of me that is," Merlina told One, who covered her hands in shock. No wonder he had been so aggressive towards her. . . even if unjustified, it must bring back nightmares that he wants dead.

"Walk with me, will you?" Merlina began, snapping her fingers. One suddenly lost all sense of direction as colors shone around her, soon finding herself near a tree trunk. It took a moment for One to realize she had just been teleported. Looking around she saw the shocked gazes of Hawk Laguz, all of them with the same wings as their leader, staring at her with both hatred and fear. This was their village, their last sanctum, and she represented what had torn down their last one. "You see, Laguz are a special breed of humans. They are much like us in every way mentally, but they have a special gift. They both possess some part of an animal, as Hawk Wings, as well as the ability to completely morph into one of those animals. Fascinating, aren't they?" this information changed One's perspective completely.

"So all those hawks flying around are. . ." she had noticed some particularly large birds just flying around her, a somewhat strange sense of awareness glinting in their eyes.

"All Laguz." Suddenly, one of them exploded in a flash of green and turned into a female in her twenties, completely proving Merlina right. One gawked in awe. This was beyond any story she had read. An entire tribe of fascinating hawk-people that lived in treetop houses. What more could the outside world give her? "But as you most certainly realize, humans don't tend to deal with 'new' and 'strange' well. Long story short, Laguz and Beorc, as they call humans, have remained on their own turfs for as long as there is written history. . . then you know the rest," she explained, One nodding. "I'm here to ease the tensions between Laguz and Beorc, as well as elves, to try and get them to help us against the Empire. We all hate it as it is, so that single point has been key for our efforts. As much as I dislike treating you like this, you'd better get out before some of them snap and do something that will affect both you and the race's relationship." One understood what Merlina was implying. She was no stranger to murder, she knew she was being targeted as they spoke. At least three of the males and two of the females wanted blood. She could feel it in their gazes. Suddenly, Merlina stopped. "Shhhh, get over here!" she pulled One behind a tree and looked on.

One couldn't help to notice an elaborate, magnificent ring whose surface seemed to shine in the form of dancing flames. Her eyesight was completely taken by it, and her whole body longed to touch it. However, just as her hand started to strive for the ring:

"Just get a load of this!" Merlina exclaimed, grabbing her by the head and pulling her in.

"You seemed quite wanting of fighting my tribe's people. Why's that?" Tibarn asked Ike, curiosity in his voice. He didn't seem to distrust Ike per say, even if he didn't show trust, he seemed simply curious.

"It's not every day you find an entirely new species. You can learn just about anything with that kind of potential. You guys must have some amazing battle secrets to go with your forms. Besides, you were strong, I like being challenged. Not much more there is to it. It was a learning experience, and I'd do it again if I ever found myself here," Ike told Tibarn bluntly, seemingly fully frontal and honest about it. Tibarn at first looked shocked, but then chuckled for a moment before bellowing in laughter.

"I never thought I'd say it, but I like your style Beorc! If you ever end up close by again, let's have a bout. I'd love to see how your styles changed in the past one hundred years!" he exclaimed heartily. One was surprised at the mention of the time span, but not that much, it was another race altogether.

"Daw, Tibby-wibby found a friend!" Merlina exclaimed, hopping from her hiding spot and dragging One with her. "And a beorc too!"

"I have to ask, why call us Beorc? Why not human?" Ike questioned, Tibarn laughing again.

"If you want me to insult you, I'll do it. Human is used as an insult around these parts. As Subhuman is around yours!" Tibarn explained, Ike and One nodding. "Well, for once, I'm in a good mood, somehow. Just don't ruin it girl!" he told One with no malice, Ike seemed to have upped his spirit enough. He then slammed his bandaged fist together and squaked, exploding in green energy, in his place appearing a gigantic Hawk, easily three times as big as Ike from wing to wing, sharing the coloration with the wings on the back of Tibarn, a mixture of green and brown. "Get on. We soar!" the bird told One and Ike, who complied by getting onto its brown feathery back, which seemed to be large enough for two people easily.

"Oh! Almost forgot! One, be a dear and give this to my hubby!" Merlina exclaimed, handing One a pink letter with a kiss mark on it. "Just ask anyone for my hubby and they'll tell you. And this is for my Gramps. . . if you ever get a hold of an airship that is. Just bring it with you, you may just find Grampa Merlin!" and again, another letter, this one blue and addressed to Merlin from 'The worlds' bestest grandaughty!' "Arri,Arri,Arrivedeci!" she exclaimed, waving all the while as Tibarn flew like a missile into foliage and then the blue sky. "And now, to go and further this world's plot. . ."

Not more than ten minutes had passed before they had left the forest and were met with the large plains that lead to the mountain valley. One and Ike expected a safe, quick journey, but yet. . . Tibarn started losing altitude. Were they too heavy?

"What's the problem?" Ike asked. Tibarn remained silent. He landed and nudged them off before transforming back into human form. Turning to One and Ike, his expression was far more serious. Not threatening, just stone cold serious.

"One. . . was it?" he asked the girl, a chill running up her spine as to how imposing his tone was. A true king's voice.

"I need an answer, and depending on what it is, I may or may not have to kill you."

HoL:TS

Radiant Garden
August 9, 2010

Riku jumped to the side of a tall, marble beam, nearly being crushed with two tons of steel. The metal met the concrete and cracked it with a loud clang, clashing ringing in his ears. He scraped his tanned elbow as he dodged and felt the sweat he had worked up seep into it, stinging the muscle. He cursed on the inside as he swiveled his head—covered with a construction hat—and looked up on the scaffolding above him.

"Watch what the hell you're doing!" he shouted up at the much older workers standing up on it. They said nothing but scoffed at him, seeing him as just an angst filled teen. Well, they'd be angry too if they had nearly died. He rolled his eyes and turned around, walking away as they reassembled the load.

For the past week, he and Alexia had been working and doing errands all around Radiant Garden. Riku had seen her only a few times outside of Merlin's house. When she was out and about, she was usually helping organize all the new trafficking and commerce. The trading and traveling was booming, and she had a great mind for organization as it turned out. And what did that mean for Riku? That meant he had to go and work on building the new districts. Districts one thru five had been built prior to their arrival. He was now working in eight while six and seven were also undergoing construction. He had been working here for the last week, busting his ass and working his muscles. At least it was keeping him fit.

He shrugged away, telling his "boss" that he would be back after a few minutes. His boss never questioned him because he knew who Riku was and how important he was. Riku discarded his hard hat and shook the droplets of sweat from his silver-lilac hair, feeling the cool wind flow through it. He leaned on the balcony of the bluff, over looking a giant drop into a ravine. He looked as people crossed the bridge that expanded over it, people walking between the unfinished districts. He spotted a girl with black hair and felt his heart pick up a tad. He had always had a thing for raven-haired women when. . .

"Hey, Riku!" He turned to see Alexia walking towards him in her new adventuring outfit. They had been paid handsomely for not only working on the restoration of the Garden, but for their unique work for the King. She had bought many needed clothes and he had bought himself some as well. He had kept the same adventuring outfit, but was wearing some regular shorts right now and a white tank-top to battle the heat of working.

"Yeah, what is it," he replied, stretching his worn out muscles.

"We need to go on another trip. His Majesty sent a letter explaining for us to revisit the worlds and see how they're going," she explained. Perfect timing, too. It was about eight in the morning.

"Well, okay. Let's meet at Merlin's," he said, grabbing his things and following her, but keeping to himself.

After a refreshing and cool showering, he dressed in his old adventuring outfit, which seemed like brand new because of Merlin's magic. He had refreshed and repaired it, giving it some abilities to repair itself with minor damages. Riku grabbed some extra assortments and met Alexia in Balmung outside. They took off, heading for Twilight Town.

HoL:TS

Aboard the Balmung
August 10, 2010

"Didn't you stock anything different?" Alexia asked Riku, searching through the walk-in pantry. He may have been fine with eating the same things every time, but she at least wanted some diversity, seeing as it was all provided.

"Yeah, so what?" he answered through a mouthful of spaghetti.

"And where are your manners?" she asked in slight disgust, settling on some hamburgers and fries, keeping it very original.

"You should see Sora. . ." he said, leaving the thought hanging as he finished up and washed his dishes. "I'll be training. Join me later, if you want." She planned to.

After about fifteen minutes, she grabbed her customized Naginata. It had been hard for the smithy to make it, but she enjoyed having her sword separate from the staff, making it two weapons instead of one. Magic and melee at once? That was her favorite, seeing as how she was equal in both. Her only problem was that she couldn't do white magic. She had to rely on potions to heal her, assuming the enemy could harm her.

She strolled into the Tron styled room, the non-dangerous one, finding Riku fighting something which resembled goblins. He ended the simulation and set it to a higher difficulty. He didn't need her telling him to do so. They may have disliked each other a first, and now barely tolerated each other, but they "clicked" well together. This was shown when they fought, for they thought the same things and worked well together.

"Ready?" he asked.

"You bet," she responded.

The steel room darkened once more, and then flashed to a dazzling light. They stood atop a bluff, overlooking a sheer cliff face. Opposite the drop were many caves, shadowy and menacing. This was a new simulation. She readied her long Naginata, thrusting it out from her as Riku flashed his Keyblade.

"Riku?" she asked cautiously as some unholy sound came from one of the caves in the hillside.

"Yeah?" he responded.

"What're in those caves?" she asked.

"Well, I punched in random creatures," Riku answered. She gulped.

"Okay, but how many?" she asked.

"Until we die," he said, smiling.

"Great, just great, Riku." Another roar sounded and some crashing, then the first one emerged. A long and slithering Anaconda made its way into the sun, followed closely by a Clay Golem. Then, some Chimeras and some Dark Flans followed. Soon, many beasts were swarming. Riku wasted no time by rushing toward them, blazing his sword with fire and killing.

She strode forward, and dodged a lunge from the massive anaconda, rolling away and bringing her naginata up with a swift stroke, beheading the snake. It faded away as she backpedaled from the Rock Golem. It was advancing and trying to smash her. She jumped to the sides and rolled, knowing her naginata wouldn't do anything. She cast some spells and obliterated it, simple as that.

And so, they trained for a couple of hours, but the numbers and difficulty became too much before a pincer pierced Riku's heart, killing him and Alexia was burned alive. They re-spawned like a video game in the main room, the steel back again.

"Good job," she said admiringly to him, finding herself rather tired. He grunted before walking away. She paid it no mind as she left and went to her room. She picked out a new pair of pajamas, walked into the cool bathroom, stripped, and took a long and refreshing hot shower. They would be at Twilight Town in a couple days, and she would have to report to Maleficent.

But she was a bit worried. Riku was getting better at fighting, and that was a bad thing. She walked to her bedroom and took a cool shower. Afterward, she found her sphere and tried to contact Maleficent. After a few minutes, she was connected.

"Ah, Alexia. How go things with Riku?" she asked. Diablo cawed on her shoulder.

"They are going well. He is still oblivious to your plans. But, he is growing stronger. Your threat has made him train harder every day. If this keeps up, he will be most formidable," Alexia explained.

"That is nothing to worry about," Maleficent assured, stroking her pet crow, the dark

HoL:TS

Twilight Town
August 12, 2010

"What the hell was that, Hayner? If you let your guard down like that when the Heartless attack, you will die for sure! Now, try again!" Seifer shouted at Hayner. Riku smiled at how he was handling the teens and even the adults of this world. They were all clad in either light or heavy armor, depending on their choice. It looked like the majority of the fighters were warriors, choosing melee. Hayner was one of them. Riku had met many of the teens this morning and afternoon. The ones that were Sora's friends were Hayner, Pence and Olette. Pence was a mage as was Olette. Seifer had picked to be proficient in melee, but was skilled in magic somewhat. Vivi had taken over on helping with magic, even outfitting the trainees in proper mage equipment. Fuu was assigned to help with ranged weaponry while Rai was taking care of the defensive aspects on all branches.

There were many people for this part of Mickey's army. Riku had seen the list and there were about one thousand people within Twilight Town learning under the four teens. He was astonished. He would never had believed that many people lived here, let alone the ones that didn't sign up. He looked over at Alexia and thought he saw a nervous look on her face, but as soon as it was there, it was gone.

Riku walked up to a struggling Hayner, fighting some other boy in a duel. They were wearing light armor and using wooden swords for now. Hayner was having a difficult time blocking but was doing well with offense. It seemed as though Seifer was overlooking all of Hayner's good moments and just reprimanding him over everything else. Riku knew instantly that they had to be rivals, then. A large horn rang out. People stopped what they were doing and scattered in all directions in the encampment that they were in. Many of them heading to three buildings meant for storing the gear.

"You seem to have things under way," Riku said with a small and rare smile. Seifer smirked and thanked him.

"It's not been easy. For every decent trainee there are ten that are garbage. It will take forever to train them properly," he explained to them.

"Totally," Fuu said, appearing from a passing crowd of teens. Rai made his way through, as well.

"Yeah we're all doing our best, but not like Seifer, ya know?" he said, annoyingly as usual. Then the little kid Vivi ran his way over, his hat flopping around.

"The mages are doing well," he said in a hyper voice. Seifer smiled down at him,

"That's because they have a great mage teaching them," he praised, lifting the child's mood. Riku looked around at all the commotion and saw four teens make their way over to the group. There were two girls and two guys.

"Riku, this is Haley, Mary, Don, and Gary. They are our leading trainees," Seifer said, indicating each.

Haley was obviously a mage. She still had her equipment like the other three. What could be seen of her features was black hair and blue eyes. Her counterpart, and later to be known sister, Mary, was a ranger. She had red hair with green eyes. She was very pale and smiled a lot. Don and Gary were twins, both tall and lanky. They were warriors. Don hid his gray eyes and black hair underneath a heavy helm. His longsword was sheathed at his side. Gary rested his lance on his shoulder.

"It's nice to meet you all," Riku said, shaking each teen's hand. Alexia met with them as well as Seifer continued explaining all the details. They began walking around the hastily built encampment.

"We are doing well on supplies, members, anything you can name. The only thing we have a problem with is just teaching. It's hectic. We need more help. The four of us can't do it all," Seifer explained.

"Well," Riku began, stroking his chin, "take the best trainees you have, and more than just those four. Take the best, say, fifty, and have them help. Sort of like captains, per se." Seifer looked to consider this as Riku and Alexia inspected the buildings and grounds.

Their feet stomped on brown reeds, dying and falling under the conditions. The sun still set, as ever, and the air was vibrant. Large pavilions were constricted around the entire area in the plains. Some were medical, one was a mess hall, others were lavatories. The area was outfitted for training at its best. The wind rustled their hair, the breeze whispering secrets.

Boys, as young as thirteen, walked by in only their shorts, sweat glistening on their torsos. The hot air pressed against them as they made their ways home. Girls did the same, more discreetly, but they were just as pushed. Hundreds filed by, ready for another day of intense training. Another day to battle Maleficent at any time. Riku turned and faced Seifer.

"Okay, we should be able to do that. But one more question," Seifer said, his voice becoming more edgy. Riku looked at him sternly.

"What is it?" he responded quickly.

"Will we be leaving? Will we be going away from the only homes we've ever known? Will we never return?" Riku stood there, looking down at the ground and rubbing his head. There was silence among the wind, and an icy tension. Riku remembered some of the words Mickey had told him. He looked back up at Seifer and the other residents of Twilight Town. Honesty was the best, Sora once told him.

Riku couldn't find the words, but a slow nod said everything and more.

HoL:TS

Aboard the Balmung
August 15, 2010

"So what was your home like?" Riku asked, picking at his nail while sitting on the soft and delicate mattress of his room. Alexia was sitting in a plush chair, reclining her feet out, toes in the air.

"It was cold, wet, and crisp. It had the most beautiful of autumns and the harshest of winters. But I loved it there, maybe for the same reason you love the Islands. The ocean," she explained to him. He remembered how much he would love just to stare out at sea and think. He thought about many philosophical ideas and "what ifs". And his thinking never led him astray. There were other worlds, and he was talking to one of those inhabitants now.

"Well, you've already seen my home, so there's nothing much else to say. I lost my parents, too," he told her, remembering how she had told him that they died recently. He felt like he had truly connected with her and experienced something one in the same. Maybe she wasn't all that bad. . .

"I'm so sorry," she said, speaking her condolences. He nodded in thanks and they sipped on their hot cocoa, courtesy of Alexia. They had been talking for that past hour in his bedroom, sharing details and getting to know each other little by little. She had told him about the last couple years, of traveling and fighting, surviving. At the same time, he told her all about his past adventures, both the good and bad. They talked freely, they sipped on their cocoa, and they enjoyed the others presence.

"You know, Alexia. . ." Riku said, hesitating as he did so. He was never good with these types of things. He sighed and continued. "I'm really sorry about how I acted when we first met. It's just. . ." He left the thought hanging, not knowing what to say.

"You miss Sora and Kairi," Alexia said. He looked up at her from beneath his hair, shocked. "You miss your best friends, but you miss Sora even more. He was the only one that ever understood you, or so you felt. And after being so long away from him, and Kairi, but mainly him; you miss him, and just want to be back on the islands with him. You want your old life back," she explained. He was absolutely shocked. She had read him like a book, and he wasn't even showing half of those feelings.

"How did you—"

"I am a great judge of personality. I also feel the exact same thing, burning within me. I long for my old life again." Riku felt numb from disbelief. He may have found someone that finally shared the same pain he felt.

Or even worse.

HoL:TS

Destiny Islands
August 16, 2010

"U-um. . ." Tidus hesitated. He had been hard at work all morning, and it was now just late morning, at about ten. He had about one thousand trainees under his official command. He, of course, was specifically helping those proficient in melee. He had ordered Wakka to help those with range, Selphie with magic, and Jake with defense. Sophia was aiding the help of magic, just like her sister, while Morgan assisted Wakka in range. Lucy and Catherine were helping Tidus keep organization over all of the plans and training while Robin was helping Jake with defense. All of these teens, with the help of the Vanguard, were slowly training all one thousand volunteers.

The Vanguard of Destiny was the equivalent of a police or military force on the Islands. They had helped Tidus by lending many supplies and gear in the aid to help stop Maleficent. But this entire time, the training had been going well. It was already a week in, but the entire time, Tidus had been overstressed and super worried. He had told Riku that he would have no problem handling things, but on the inside, he was frantic and overwhelmed.

"U-um, you need to ask Wakka about that," he said to a girl with a pair of shurikens. She nodded happily and strode over to the ranged area of the grounds. Tidus had taken a large and unused section of land on the islands. Much like Twilight Town—for they could now communicate with a select few worlds—they had set up an encampment full of pavilions and buildings. Just then, a bright light flashed in his vision, temporary blinding him, and then dying away. When his vision refocused, he sighed in relief.

HoL:TS

"Riku! Alexia! What brings you guys back?" Tidus asked them, running towards the duo with his Brotherhood sheathed at his side. His golden locks shimmered in the late morning sun, his feet pounding the sand and sending flying. Riku loved the islands, and nothing could take them away from him.

"Well, we were coming back to check out how things were going," Riku replied. He looked around at the encampment. It was much like the one at Twilight Town except located on the east coast of the main island. There was an obstacle course set in the grainy sand, meant to train stamina and muscles. Even to this day, Riku knew it could be hard to run in the sand, let alone complete an obstacle course. Set up closer to the hard earth were the training grounds. Each area of combat specialty had a large splotch of land to themselves. The training simulator had been moved to accommodate the northern section of the grounds. All over there were hundreds of teens and adults, training in magic, melee, and ranged. The air was humid and rang with the sounds of metal, bursting of magic and thuds of weapons making contact with dummies. Tidus and whoever was helping him looked like they had the place and situation under control.

"Thanks. I've been doing my best, and I've had our friends helping us, and I think we can add the next course over here, and I—"

"Tidus! Calm down, man," Riku said, placing a hand on the teen's shoulder. Tidus stopped his rambling and took a deep and ragged breath. He closed his eyes and opened them again.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. The entire week I've been so worried and nervous about handling all this. Everyone follows my lead easily, but I just don't know if I can lead them right," he explained. Riku had to admit that Tidus had that "likeable" factor. People loved to be around him and joined him in anything he did. But that was just the thing: he didn't know what he was doing unless it was with girls.

"Hey now. It will be better, trust me. You just have to get used to being a leader," Alexia placated. Tidus shook his head. They then followed him as he gave them a tour of the grounds. He explained all about how their small group of friends was helping him run things. HE showed them the ranging arena and the melee, where he was the teacher. The defense area was smaller than the magic and the medical ward was just next to the mess hall. After about an hour of talking, Tidus said farewell to Riku and Alexia. They waved with radiant smiles on their faces and beamed up into the Balmung, ready to head back to the Radiant Garden.

HoL:TS

Aboard the Balmung
August 18, 2010

Night was descending upon the Balmung, or so their clocks told them. Alexia and Riku had gotten to know each other a bit more, discovering more of the others past. They had shared a couple more laughs and hardly argued anymore. Their ship was outfitted with a lot of entertainment. They played some video games, watched movies and sitcoms on DVD. They tried a lot of new foods and recipes. Alexia had said goodnight to Riku, his hair still damp and hanging in front of his cyan eyes. She herself was about to take a shower and go to sleep. This time she slept with a smile on her face.

But that was soon destroyed.

Some time later in the night, at about three in the morning, Alexia moaned and turned restlessly in her bed, tugging at the blankets and sheets, a pained look upon her face. She muttered unintelligible words, but snatches of "no" and "help" were heard. She kept muttering, distressful and scared, a word that sounded like "daddy" creeping from her mouth, choked with fear. She tossed her hair about, her scarred eyelid loose upon her rolling eyeball, or what was left of it. She let out slight screams and sweat beaded out on her skin. Her nightmare intensified and became vivid. She was familiar with this nightmare, but never had it been this vivid. . . this alive.

HoL:TS

Alexia had just finished reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and sat the book on her nightstand. It had been a present from her Pappy for her thirteenth birthday, which had been a few weeks ago. Her room was dark save the bedside lamp that cast shadows all about the clean room. It was pink, mainly. She had posters of different cute animals and some famous thinkers and doers of time. She had Einstein here and Tolkien over there. She had some kittens around the room and a puppy or two to diversify. It was a room of tranquility, and it was her sanctum. But, most of all, it was a place she could hide in. From her monsters in her closet or under her bed. The moonlight had crept from behind the clouds and it shone brightly in her chilly room, the Maine air nipping at her skin. She curled under her blankets, ready for sleep. She shut off her lamp and closed her eyes. Then she heard him.

"You bitch! Why ish my dinner cold?" her father screamed at her mother in his drunken slur. If she could see her mother, she would feel terrified at just the sight.

"You've been out drinking for hours. Dinner was made a few—" There was a loud slap that cutoff her mother. Crying immediately followed. Alexia shed some tears, almost too afraid to breathe.

"Thash no exchuse you whore," her father said. Her mother wept loudly and she heard her father stomp loudly.

"Stop yer damn cryin'!" he roared at her.

"B-b- but I only tri—" It was cut off by a loud scream that ended flat, silence followed by a dull thud. Alexia didn't want to think about what her father just did. He left their bedroom and walked past Alexia's room, muttering to himself.

"That oughtta keep the woman quiet," he said, heading for the bathroom. Alexia pulled the covers up, almost hiding all of herself. The first rule as a child was to hide under the covers. If you couldn't see the monsters, they couldn't see you. It was an unbreakable rule.

She heard the toilet flush and then the heavy footfalls grew louder as he approached her door again. She was silently praying for him to pass by. She didn't think she could come up with another excuse for the teachers.

"Where did you get those bruises, Alexia?" they would ask.

"Oh you know, just climbing trees and being careless," she lied.

And she cried on the inside.

The footfalls grew louder until they stopped outside her door. Her heart stopped and it clogged her throat. She couldn't breathe, and maybe that was a good thing. Rule number two was to stay quiet and don't make a move. Her body felt paralyzed, and maybe that was good too. . .

"Alexia? Are you awake, baby?" he asked. She did not answer. He jiggled the doorknob. She started to sweat and and her pores released fear. The door swung open, letting the hall light enter her room. She was facing her back to the door and could see his looming shadow on her far wall, standing and haunting. He approached the bed and laid a hand on her shoulder. She jumped.

"Oh, you are awake," he said, sitting by her side. She rolled over and looked him into his brown eyes. Gluttony, greed, and hatred stared back, but he never knew it.

"Your mother was being awful rude to me," he said. Alexia could only stare. He sighed and she could smell the malt on his breath, laced with danger and other thoughts.

"You'll always be my baby girl, right?" he asked, massaging her shoulder gingerly, although a little calloused. She didn't answer. She just stayed quiet while her purple eyes welled with fear. He grew slightly angry.

"You're just like yer mother sometimes!" he said, gripping her shoulder tightly, digging his fingers into her before releasing. She squealed slightly and wept. He noted this.

"What, are you gonna cry, too?" he asked, standing up quickly. She cowered under his sheer form.

"You'll always be my little baby. Do NOT be like yer damn mother and be a dirty whore," he yelled. Alexia wept openly and finally found her voice.

"Don't talk about mommy like that," she said in a choked voice, that clog ever present.

"It's true and you know it!" he shouted.

"No it's not!" she screamed back. She instantly clapped her hand to her mouth. Fear flooded her being. Her screams rang out into the night. She would hold that black eye for two weeks.

"Do not talk to me like that!" he shouted, withdrawing his fist. She wept loudly. "And don't you expect any different from any boy you meet. My little girl is growing up, being a teen and all. Boys are gonna want you in different ways, baby," he said, his volume back under control. She was confused as to what he was talking about. What did he mean?

"D-d-daddy. . . what do you m-mean?" she stuttered through the tears. He sighed and approached her again. She shuddered and pulled the covers up.

"Your mother was the same way when we were young. She was always stubborn and I always hated her for that," he said bitterly, looking lost in memory in his hazy state.

"Daddy?" she asked, quiet as a mouse. Something about him snapped. He looked as if in a trance. He also still looked lost in memory. He looked at her dazedly.

"Daddy?" she asked again.

"Janet," he said, calling her by her mother's name. Now she became very scared. He beat mother more than he did her.

"Janet, why won't you?" he asked. He sat on the bed and stroked Alexia's silver hair. She was trembling and shaking all over.

"D-daddy?"

"Janet, you will be mine!" he shouted.

"Daddy?!" there was no response. He was too drunk and too lost in confusion. He had mistaken Alexia for his wife. He ripped away the cover. Alexia kept saying "daddy" over and over again, growing in decibel. He gripped her arms tightly and kissed her on her lips roughly. She screamed into his mouth, muffled. She kicked her legs and thrashed as much as she could. It didn't work. He was a big man and much stronger than her. She was only thirteen.

"I love you, Janet," he said lustfully. He kissed her neck and she screamed an ear-piercing note. No one would hear her with her mother unconscious and their house two miles from town. One of his hands left her arms and groped her left and developing breast. Now she was hysteric, punching him with her free arm as his kisses worked down. She thrashed and he continued. He ripped her shirt off, exposing her body. She was crying spasmodically now, flowing like waterfalls. He kissed her belly.

"D-d-daddy! Stop!" she screamed, her throat becoming coarse. This was by far the worst thing he had ever done to her, even worse then when he broke her arm. He paid her no mind as he started pulling her pajama bottoms down, exposing her tender flesh to the cold Maine air. Gooseflesh rippled across her.

"DADDY! STOP!" she screamed. She cried without pattern now. It was heavy and brutal.

He kissed her inner thighs, his hands rubbing her legs, slowly moving up. She had almost given up, her muscles too weak to do anything. She was still trying to kick him, but to no avail. Then her eyes shot open, small droplets of tears flying from her lashes. She screamed as loud as her body would let her as she felt his hand move up. . .

Then suddenly, he was thrown back from her and through one, two, three walls, through the outer window in the bathroom and out into the yard. What had just happened? The house was a ruin as she redressed in different clothes. The walls were torn apart; items that had fallen from them strewn about with the debris. She was still crying when her mother groggily entered the room, blood slowly dripping down her temple. She looked in shock at the room. After some tense and silent minutes, they walked through the holes to the shattered window.

The last thing Alexia saw before she fainted was her father. He was speared through an iron fence.

She still remembered his lifeless eyes. . .

HoL:TS

"Alexia! ALEXIA!" She woke up, screaming, bathed in sweat. Her silver hair was damp and stuck to her face, concealing her scar. She felt a hand gripping her shoulder and and lashed out, punching whoever was grabbing her.

"No daddy!" she screamed as she did so. She realized she had just punched Riku in his bare chest, making him grunt from the blow. He rubbed his highly muscled chest and she averted her teary eyes, casting them on her dark room. She had kept it as is. She looked back to him, still afraid and feeling vulnerable.

"You're welcome, Alexia," he said to her. She was crying profusely, scared and trembling. She pulled her sweaty blanket up to cover her nightshirt, which was a bit revealing.

"R- Riku. What are you doing in here?" she asked, breathing heavily while silently sobbing. She felt the tears start to crawl back.

"What happened?" he asked, forgetting her question.

"It was just a nightmare. Now what are you doing here?" she asked again, not wanting to talk about that horrid dream.

"I heard you screaming from my room. I ran here as soon as I heard it. I had to make sure you were okay," he said, worriedly. She believed his tone. His eyes were frantic, yet colorful. He was wide awake in minutes and all his emotion and slight fear were in his eyes. She believed him, but she didn't believe the situation. That dream. . .

"Th- thank you, Riku. I never knew you cared so much," she said meekly, almost embarrassed. She was crying for mixed reasons now. She took a sharp intake of breath as he reached out and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I always care about my friends."

Her heart soared. A friend. They weren't just a myth.

HoL:TS

Radiant Garden
August 23, 2010

Riku took his yellow hard hat off and placed it on his bedside table. He had a half hour lunch break and had went back to Merlin's house. He walked to his bathroom and splashed sold water onto his sweaty face, relishing as the droplets rolled down his neck, following the tendons sticking out of his neck and dripping down his chest. He dried his face with a brilliant white towel and looked in the mirror. He understood the importance of the restoration, but that didn't mean he had to enjoy the work that went along with it. But he had to give the committee—which he was a part of—credit; they ran things smoothly and quickly. The process of building went fast, and the job was done with high quality.

He now considered Alexia a friend, and he never questioned her about what her nightmare was about. She seemed to have been very troubled by it, and he would let her tell him when she wanted to. He ran his callused hands over his eyes and sighed. He shrugged and went downstairs, ready to get something to eat.

He walked into the main room, the entire committee there. Aerith was bringing plates full of food to each of the members. Everyone was glad that Axel was with them today instead of Lea. Merlin confessed that he had not gotten any headway into the situation. Yuffie didn't care, along with many others. But Merlin found this as a problem that needed to be fixed. There had been no appearances of Maleficent or Sephiroth. The Radiant Garden had been a good place for a while now. The travel was smoothing out, the housing was no more an issue, and the commerce was booming. Life was good and sound.

And it would be for about another minute.

"So, how is the army doing on T—" Tifa was asking, but interrupted by a massive booming and crashing from outside. In less than a minute, all the members had dropped what they were doing and had grabbed their weapons, rushing outside. Riku looked for Alexia as he summoned Way to Dawn. He couldn't find her and assumed she had made it out into the streets.

As Riku passed the tables piled with papers and out the door of Merlin's house, he heard screaming of thousands of people. He saw dust furled in the sky from a felled tower. Debris and white washed bricks scattered a courtyard very close to Merlin's house. Houses had been crushed along with a few number of civilians. It was mass chaos outside, civilians running everywhere in hysterics. He found the committee group and followed their unison gaze up where the tower used to be. Cloud was the first to yell.

"SEPHIROTH!" he shouted. And there he was, floating high in the sky, a dark smile on his face. His wing was extended out and his masamune was drawn. He looked down on them like insignificant life forms. Riku watched as everyone but Cloud backed up and put away their weapons.

"What are you all doing?" he asked. Aerith answered him.

"Because only Cloud can contend with Sephiroth. We have no chance compared to Cloud and Sephiroth," she explained.

"Well I can," Riku said, taking his stance by Cloud's side as the committee retreated into the house.

"Riku, go back inside. You will not have a chance. It's best that you don't get hurt," he told him seriously, readying his buster sword. Riku chuckled.

"You obviously don't know me," Riku retorted.

"You obviously don't know Sephiroth," Cloud answered back. Riku thought of the few times Sora mentioned Sephiroth. Sora had always been afraid of him and the power he held.

"So, Cloud and Riku. I get bored so easily working with Maleficent. And when I make my way here, ready to have some fun, I never expected to get the deluxe package. Is this for free?" he asked, amused.

"Go away, Sephiroth!" Cloud yelled back, his leather gloves squeaking as he gripped his sword more roughly.

"Oh, come now, where would the fun in that be?"

And without warning, he disappeared, and reappeared in a flash, an instant. Riku barely dodged the blade as Sephiroth was now just in front of them, Cloud pushing Riku out of the way while he met Sephiroth's blade and pushed him back. He was fast! How did Cloud even see that sword coming? Riku recovered and joined the swordplay that had already began. He slashed at Sephiroth as Cloud did, yet Sephiroth was too fast, blocking and parrying them both with one hand and easily. He smirked and kicked back, vaulting away from them and swinging his sword midair. A large beam of energy rushed towards them, slicing through anything and everything it touched like it was air. Cloud jumped high in the air, meeting with Sephiroth again. Riku could only barely jump the beam.

Riku ran to catch up with them as they danced like fire. Metal clashed and rang and Riku fire spells, hoping to distract Sephiroth long enough to give Cloud an opening. Not only did this not work, but Sephiroth sent his own spells with just his free hand, striking Riku easily. They were too fast for him to dodge. Riku was thrown backward and into a wall, falling into the thick dust that had settled from the destruction. He coughed as it entered his lungs. His skin was badly burned, but he dealt with the pain and joined them once again.

Riku thrust at Sephiroth's side, then switched to his leg. As Sephiroth sidestepped the attack, he kicked the blade from Riku's hand, sending it flying. It immediately returned to Riku's hand, and this was the first thing to surprise Sephiroth. Cloud took the opportunity and landed a small nick on Sephiroth's shoulder. His smirk vanished, and so did he. He returned behind Cloud and struck him with a powerful blow, sending him through a brick wall. Riku had just brought up his blade to block Sephiroth's. They started their own swordplay, and Riku became cut multiple times. Then Sephiroth laughed and lunged forward, punching Riku in the gut, dropping him instantly.

"And I expected more. Sora was actually able to cause me a problem. You're too weak. I would feel bad killing you so easily. But what do I care?" Sephiroth stated, looming over Riku's spluttering form. He was on his knees, bent over and coughing up blood. Riku looked up to see a black and leather boot kick him in the jaw, breaking it and sending him into barrel rolls. He hit the ground and rolled into some debris, his blade disappearing, just like his vision was beginning to.

"NO" Cloud shouted, returning to the fight.

Riku blacked out.

HoL:TS

Radiant Garden
August, 25, 2010

Riku sat with Cloud as he told him all about the fight after Riku had been knocked unconscious.

"So, you don't think he will come back?" Riku asked.

"Not anytime soon," Cloud replied.

Riku had woken the next morning in his bed, all his injuries gone thanks to the masterful healing abilities of Aerith.

"We told you not to mess with Sephiroth," she had told him when he initially woke up. He had lost. Not only that, but he had been thrown around like a toy. Sephiroth had done just that: toy with him. And he would have died had he not been saved by Cloud. He needed to be better. He had to.

Just as Cloud was about to continue. . .

"Hey guys, we have a message from Olympus, come here!" Yuffie shouted to everyone from the monitor. Cloud and Riku shrugged, getting up to come and see what it was all about.

"Check this out," Yuffie said excitedly. Riku looked at the monitor and saw what was an advertisement poster. On it was the Olympus Coliseum. And in big letters were:

THE OLYMPIAN CUP!

Come all, to the biggest event in the cosmos!

Fighters from all around the universe will be attending for the grand prize, and that winner might be you! Come and see all the grandness that is the Olympian Cup!
September 1st

"We have to go, Leon," Yuffie said.

"The King knew about this ahead of time, and we decided it would be good for everyone. Of course we will go. Maybe Sora will be there?"

Riku looked at Alexia and winked. This was going to be fun.

HoL:TS

Olympus
August 31, 2010

This place was huge! Riku looked in awe at the place. The sandy marble columns rose high up, meeting the stone roof of the front building. The blue sky shone down on the grounds. Pot torches flickered violently as people walked here and there, all different species. Hundreds of contestants were there, but only twenty-four would be picked for the finals. The prelims would be intense. Merlin, Cid, Yuffie, Leon, Axel (or was it Lea?), Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, Alexia and himself had come here for the cup. Sora had bragged about winning all of them. Riku was going to end his streak, in one way or another.

Riku was just thinking about how he would beat Sora when. . .

"Riku! Everybody!" Riku turned around to see that goofy grin and dumb spiky hair.

He smiled.

TUH: Wow that was long-winded. *Gets into a bunker*
TUH: Let the hate commence.

TN: Well, now we leave Riku and the mystery of Alexia at the Olympian Cup. We see that Riku has a lot of growing to do and that he and Alexia are now friends. But what of Alexia's horrid past? What are all of your thoughts!? Like we said, sorry about that section, but it was great for her character. We can't wait to see you all in. . .

Chapter XI: And a Bottle of Rum

May the Love of Anuwëy guide you when all Hope is lost

TorNathan
The Unknowing Herald