Chapter 27: chaser and chasees
I do not own kingdom hearts or the properties shown in this fanfic. They belong to the respective owners and the original story is based on the works of Darius Almighty. Kingdom hearts and trials of the keyblade is owned by square Enix, Disney, and Tetsuya Nomura. Please support the official release.
Right. Now we arrived back on the shera! Warning: there's gonna be a major character death! I think you know who if you read the original fanfic!
With that out of the way, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
"You!" Sora shouted. "You bastard!" Without a second thought he summoned his Keyblade and charged straight for the Chaser. In a shower of sparks, their Keyblades clashed with incredible force.
"Come, boy! Is that all you're capable of?", the Chaser mocked. The strong and brutal Chaser was a force to be reckoned with, parrying and blocking every attack the boy attempted. Stronger, faster, and much more skillful, Sora was quickly overwhelmed by the dark knight and knocked off to the side.
"Sora!" Kairi cried. On cue all the Keybladers rushed into the fight. Everyone except Jack Sparrow that is, who was slinking toward the door as quietly as he could. Unfortunately, Beast grabbed him and threw him into the battle.
The Chaser sidestepped Kairi's attack, slapped her with the back of his Keyblade, then began effortlessly parrying Beast's powerful swings, an amazing feat on its own. A mighty retaliating slash sent the Beast flying. It was sonic's turn to try his luck but the Chaser grabbed him by his ball form and threw him across the bridge. The dark armoured man turned to Mulan only to be met with a jet of flame that hit him head on. Mulan kept the stream of fire going, not giving him any mercy but, to her dread, the Chaser walked against the flames and straight toward her, backhanding her and snuffing out her attack. Not even his cape was at all singed. Before he could finish her off, Mushu leaped on his covered face and started clawing away but didn't even make a scratch on the hard, cold armour.
"Oh, that usually works," Mushu stammered before he was thrown off. Before the Chaser knew what happened, Jack jumped on his back and started bonking him on the head with his Follow the Wind Keyblade only to be lifted off by the scruff of his clothes and brought before the knight's face while his feet dangled in the air.
"Aren't you the one who shot me with a cannon?" the Chaser asked menacingly. Jack sweated bullets.
"No, uh...that was Mr. Cotton!" Jack stammered while giving a shaky smile. "He and that trigger-happy parrot of his! Just a misunderstanding then! If you could just let me go..."
"Nothing personal," the Chaser said, raising his large Keyblade for the terrible deed. "It's just business." Before he could cut the pirate down to size he was suddenly covered in a thick sheet of ice, freezing him on the spot with Jack still in his grasp. Sora stood, slightly battered, with his Keyblade pointed at the armoured monster after just firing a blizzaga spell.
"Come on!" he shouted to the others. "It's us he's after! We've got to get him away from the others!" The Chaser ice sculpture started to crack and vibrate as Jack freed himself. The Keybladers all rushed out of the bridge, reluctantly leaving their friends behind. As soon as the doors closed behind them the Chaser shattered his icy prison, shards of ice flying everywhere. After he was free he shook his head in annoyance.
"Why do they always run?" he sighed. He snapped his fingers. Several white portals opened in the bridge and from them emerged the white Nobodies. Slippery Dusks, sharp-headed Dragoons and brutal Berserkers made up his ghastly entourage. "Bring them to me. Alive."
The Keybladers rushed through the Shera halls as fast as they could manage. They were like rats caught in a trap to which there was no escape. It was enough to drive a man mad. Or in some people's cases, madder. "We're doomed," Mushu whined. "We're dead. We're finished. Game over, man. Game over!"
"Mushu!" Mulan hissed. "Part of hiding requires being silent!"
"This all my fault," Sora moaned. "I should have told everybody about the Chasers! Now they're all hurt because of me!"
"Yeah, that about sums it up," sonic muttered. Everyone glared at him.
"Sora, it wouldn't have mattered if you told anyone or not," Kairi said gently. "No one could have predicted that guy showing up here. What we have to worry about now is how we're going to get him out."
"But we can't!" Beast stated. "You saw what happened back there! He took on all of us without breaking sweat! He's unstoppable!"
"Beast is right," Sora said, an idea forming in his mind. "We'll split up. Kairi and I will go one way, Beast and sonic, Jack and Mulan will go another. Try and get him to follow you. We'll all meet up in the hanger. I have an idea."
Wade roused himself back on the bridge only to be met with a large amount of pain. Looking around, he saw that everyone else was still knocked out. With strong effort, he crawled over to one of the control panels that was mostly undamaged.
"Gotta...help them...somehow," he choked, hoisting himself up and typing in commands on the computer.
Deep in the ship, a certain cat went online.
KHKHKHKH
The Shera was deathly quiet as Sora and Kairi waded through thehalls. They kept their Keyblades at the ready for the first sign of danger. "This is bad," Kairi whispered. "I've never been more scared in my life. That guy just gives me the creeps."
"Don't worry," Sora assured. "We've faced lots of scary stuff in the past but got out okay each time. This guy will be no different. I hope..."
A noise was heard in a closet they happened to be passing, putting them on alert. Sora and Kairi glanced at each other and nodded simultaneously. They slowly approached the door with their Keyblades ready.
"One...," Sora whispered.
"Two...," Kairi whispered back.
"Three!" The doors swished open and they leveled their Keyblades.
"AHHHHHHHH!" Denzel and Marlene cried clutching each other.
"Back away from the kids, bub!" Lula snarled, floating in front of the children and glowing with dangerous power. She then saw who it was. "Well, look who decided to show up!" Marlene and Denzel stopped screaming.
"Sora! Kairi!" Marlene cried running to them. Kairi bent down and gave her a reassuring hug. "Thank goodness your back!"
"There, there," Kairi soothed, holding the little girl. "Are you both okay?" Marlene nodded gently.
"Did you beat that guy?" Denzel asked. Sora shook his head miserably. "Who is he? We were trying to find you guys after you flew off and he just popped out of nowhere! He said he was looking for your Keyblades!"
"He beat everyone!" Marlene said. "Even my daddy! He was so strong!"
"Barret told them to hide away," Lula explained. "And Adelbert actually was decent enough to send me with them as protection. Glad some decency actually reached that helmeted head of his." Sora clenched his fist in anger.
"Where are the others?" he asked.
"Shalua's still with her sister in the medical bay," Denzel replied. "And I haven't seen Aerith in a while."
"What are we going to do?" Marlene asked worriedly.
"What indeed?" Everyone jumped at the Chaser's cold voice from where he stood in the hall. His large frame took up most of the space and his Keyblade was drawn. Marlene hid behind Kairi as she and Sora gripped their Keyblades. Lula hovered in the air while Denzel did his best to look brave which was hard in the face of such a threat. "Well, Keybladers? What's your heroic plan of action? I'm dying to hear it. Something daring, no doubt."
"What do you want!?" Sora demanded.
"How many times are we going to go through this?" the armoured man asked. "I want your Keyblades. Give up peacefully and I'll make it quick and painless."
"Not a chance!" Kairi declared. "You have a name? Your buddy gave us his."
"Charon never was the smartest of us. But if you must know, it's Aradan. And if you won't lay down your arms, I shall grant you a warriors death." He made his way for them slowly and they backed away.
"Who is he?" Marlene whispered.
"A Chaser." It was not Sora or Kairi that had answered Marlene's question. The hunted party looked behind them. There stood Shelke and Shalua. Shelke was completely healthy and her sabers were in her holsters. The one-eyed doctor's lab coat had been discarded revealing her sleek body and robotic left arm. Sora and Kairi were surprised to see Shelke awake but not as shocked as they were that she knew of the Keyblade wielding warrior.
"How did...?" Sora stammered.
"A Chaser," Shelke continued. "Servant of the darkness. Hunters of the legendary Keyblades. Unstoppable warriors that devastated the Keyblade War and plunged the universe into chaos."
"Keyblade...War?" Kairi repeated. She didn't like the sound of that.
"You're quite the clever little girl," Aradan drawled. In a single bound, he flipped over Sora and Kairi to land right before Shelke and Shalua. "But too much knowledge is a dangerous thing."
"Get away from her!" Shalua snarled. Aradan merely swatted her away like a fly, sending her crashing into the wall.
"Shalua!" Sora and Kairi ran to confront Aradan the Chaser and the Keyblades started flying. While they attempted to hold off the Keyblade thief, Marlene and Denzel rushed to help Shalua up. The scientist struggled to stand, feeling the worse for wear. She limped over to two large thick steel doors and entered the commands on the security pad next to it. The doors slid open, leading to another corridor.
"Quick! Get in!" she shouted to everyone. Marlene and Denzel wasted no time and went across the threshold. Sora and Kairi were tiring fast against Aradan. The Chaser had no problem taking on the two skilled opponents. A living sword was another story all together.
"Come on, big boy!" Lula yelled, flying in and swatting the Chaser with the flat of her blade. She flew all around him like a gnat, shooting energy blasts and smacking him.
"Rrrrggghhh! Accursed blade! Get away!" Aradan shouted swinging his Keyblade, trying to bring Lula down. As the sword kept him busy, Sora and Kairi ran inside the doors with the others. The only one still outside, other then Lula, was Shelke, who stood between the Chaser and the door.
"Shelke! Come on!" Shalua cried. The little girl with the nineteen-year old mind headed for their position but a stray hit from Aradan's Keyblade knocked her to the ground. "Shelke!" Shalua ran out of the doorway and to her sister's side, hoisting her up by the arm.
"Let me go," Shelke said resisting against Shalula's grasp.
"Never again!" Shalua declared. Shelke stopped resisting and stared at the scientist, confused. "We have ten years to catch up, Shelke," she said smiling. "I won't let this end here!"
Aradan was finally able to stop Lula's pesky attacks by grabbing her by the hilt and throwing her through the doorway just over Denzel's head. By some crazy twist of fate she was flung straight into the door control panel on the other side, causing the doors to short circuit and begin to close. "Shalua! Hurry!" Sora called. If those doors closed, Shalua and Shelke would be trapped on the other side with the Chaser. Shalua hoisted her sister up and made a final sprint for the door but there was no way they would make it in time. But as a last desperate act, Shalua wedged her mechanical arm in-between the doors and stopped them from closing any further.
"Shalua!" Kairi cried. She and Sora both gripped the doors and tried to pull them open but they just weren't strong enough. Denzel and Marlene helped but it was still not enough. Shalua winced as her arm was slowly being crushed. Shelke watched on.
"Why...?" she whispered. Shalua, despite the pain, smiled before pushing Shelke through the small opening. Behind the one-eyed scientist, Aradan the Chaser stalked slowly towards her, Keyblade ready for bloodshed.
"Shelke," Shalua said as her arm was slowly compacted. Sora and the others still tried to open the doors but to know avail. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't a better sister." The bolts and wires in her arm popped and snapped. "I'm sorry I let you suffer for so long." The metal began to crunch under the pressure. "Sora, Kairi. Take care of my sister."
"Wait!" Sora pleaded through clenched teeth. The doors were almost closed as Shalua's arm was compacted smaller and smaller and the Chaser was getting closer.
Shelke's mouth hung open in utter confusion. Why was this woman doing this? What would drive her to such an act? "Shelke," Shalua continued. "I'm glad I was able to find you. And remember, I'll always love you." The doors closed shut and the arm was crushed completely, leaving Shalua trapped on the other side.
"No!" Sora shouted banging on the door. "Shalua! Shalua!"
Shalua stood with one missing arm on the other side of the door and turned to face Aradan without any fear. Aradan stopped before her, staring down with his inscrutable features hidden behind his helmet. "You're very noble," he complimented, raising his Keyblade. "Your reward awaits you."
SWISH
Sora stopped pounding on the door whenhe heard the Keyblade fall. "No..." he whispered. Kairi eyes began to fill with tears. Denzel bowed his head as he fought back the tears. Marlene started sobbing. And Shelke? She felt something she hadn't felt in overten years. Sadness.
"Why?" she muttered. "Why would she...Shalua..." A loud pounding hammered on the steel doors. Outside, the Chaser was hammering at the doors, creating huge dents in the thick metal. They wouldn't hold for much longer.
"Come on!" Sora hurried everyone along, dislodging Lula, before Aradan could break through and carry on with his mission.
KHKHKHKH
"Dunn, dunn, dunn! Dunn, dunn! Dooo, dooo, dunnn!" Mushu sang as Mulan and Jack snuck through the Shera. Their Keyblades so they would not be caught off guard. "Dooo! Dunn! Dunn, dunn, dunn!"
"Mushu!" Mulan hissed. "We do not need dramatic background music!"
"Well, then how else are we gonna know when someone is sneaking up on us?" Mushu scoffed. "I'm doing everyone a favour here!" Mulan sighed, a growing habit when she dealt with her family guardian.
"Which way to the hanger from here, Jack?" she asked the pirate. Jack brought up his hand on which he had scribbled down directions. Unfortunately, the heat of the situation had caused him to sweat quite a bit and his map was smeared as a result.
"Uh...I think it's this way...no, this way...or is that an arrow?" he muttered, trying to decipher the mess on his hand. "I - I think that's a fraction...Aha! It's that way!" He pointed straight at a wall. Mulan and Mushu scowled at him. "That...doesn't help much, does it?"
"Like fish-food for a dog," Mushu scoffed.
"Honestly, Jack," Mulan sighed. "Can't you be serious for just a moment? This is a terrible situation!"
"I'll have you know I can be very serious! You don't become a pirate captain on good looks and charm alone. Even though they work very well. You get what I'm saying...savvy?" Mulan rolled her eyes. "Now, now, let's not be cold. A time of crisis often bring two people closer together."
"But we're always in a crisis."
"Exactly! We're meant to be!" Mulan shook her head and sighed again. When she reopened her eyes she immediately went on alert.
"Look out!" she cried tackling Jack just before a claymore could crush his head. The Berserker Nobody dislodged his weapon from the wall and towered over the two Keybladers. Behind it were several more Berserkers with Dusks and Dragoons. The Berserkers hefted their claymores and the Dragoons brandished their spears while the Dusks slithered their way towards them. Mulan and Jack stood back up and started backing away.
"See! I told you! We needed background music!" Mushu exclaimed.
"What say we mosey on out of here and meet up with the others, eh?" Jack stammered. He turned around but their path was blocked by more Dusks, Dragoons and Berserkers. No way to escape. They were caught between a rock and a lot of Nobodies. "Oh, bugger. I need a drink." He reached for his bottle but to his dread he found it was empty. "Oh, bugger!"
KHKHKHKH
Sora, Kairi, Denzel, Marlene, Shelke and Lula reached the hanger doors, all out of breath. They faced the door they came in and awaited the Chaser's inevitable arrival. "Get ready," Sora warned. Loud footsteps could be heard approaching. Each step making a horrendous 'clang' and growing louder as Aradan drew closer. "Here he comes..." They kept their eyes glued to the doors as the torturous footsteps grew louder.
Imagine their surprise when the wall to their left was slashed open with the sounds of grinding twisting metal. They all jumped back in shock as out of the new hole strode Aradan the Chaser, as deadly and frightening as ever. His nameless Keyblade rested on his shoulder. "Nowhere left to run," he said quietly. Sora and Kairi stepped in front of the children protectively.
"We're done running," Kairi stated bravely. "You're gonna pay for hurting our friends!"
"Denzel, Marlene," Sora said to each of them in turn. "Go back to the bridge and see if everybody is okay. Lula, Shelke, you guys look after them." Shelke looked uncertain.
"Please, Shelke," Kairi pleaded. "We need your help." The red-haired girl thought for a moment before making her decision. With a hard face, she nodded.
"Good luck guys," Denzel said.
"Be careful," Marlene whispered. Sora and Kairi gave them reassuring smiles. The three children and the floating sword ran out the hanger doors, leaving Sora and Kairi to face the Chaser alone.
"What do you expect to accomplish?" Aradan mused, making careful steps towards them. "I've defeated Keybladers that were twice the warriors you are. Twice the size too."
"I don't care!" Sora yelled. "I don't care how strong you are! I won't let you hurt any more of our friends!"
"That goes double for me!" Kairi backed up. "We're gonna bring you down!"
Aradan chuckled. "Don't make promises you can't keep!" He charged toward the two at a speed they didn't think possible. He quickly knocked Sora into a wall then rounded to knock Kairi into another. In a matter of seconds he had beaten them both. "Well that was terribly anti-climatic. Keybladers just aren't what they used to be."
Suddenly a lightning bolt struck Aradan, stopping him in his tracks. Powerful volts coursed though the armour. The Chaser didn't scream but grunted in pain. Sora and Kairi were dumbfounded. Where did it come from?
"Sora! Kairi!" There standing in the threshold of the doorway was sweet, kind Aerith. Her normal smiling face was replaced with one of pure anger directed solely at the Aradan. Her beautiful green eyes burned with determination.
"Aerith," Sora gasped.
"You're okay!" Kairi exclaimed. Aerith nodded but didn't take her eyes off the Chaser.
Smoke billowed from Aradan after the thundaga attack. "So I missed one," Aradan sighed. "How many rats are on this ship? But if you want a fight..." He completely ignored Sora and Kairi and walked for her. "...I'm willing to oblige."
Aerith placed both her fists together in front of herself. As she separated them something appeared in her grasp. A staff. A long wooden staff. There was nothing really special about it. Just a chiseled down piece of wood. And yet...there was something magical about it as Aerith held it in her hands.
"I don't enjoy fighting," Aerith whispered. "But you leave me no choice."
"Famous last words," Aradan mocked. He charged in with his Keyblade held out. Aerith rushed in turn. The two clashed in the hanger's center, Aerith's wooden staff somehow able to stand up to Aradan's destructive Keyblade. Both stared each other down in a death lock. Aradan was much larger then Aerith but she held her ground. Finally they broke apart and traded blows in earnest.
The Chaser's incredible Keyblade hammered down on the gentle flower girl with unforgiving power. He was a brutal and skilled fighter by nature. But Aerith was as swift and agile as the wind. She blocked every attack Aradan sent at her until she was able to drive her staff into the Chaser's stomach. Armour or not, all the air was forced out of Aradan's lungs. Aerith then rounded and slammed the staff into the side of Aradan's helmet. She continued hitting the Chaser again and again, so fast that Aradan couldn't defend or attack. Sora and Kairi watched the fight with unblinking eyes. They had never seen Aerith like this. It was as if something was driving her to fight her hardest against Aradan. Like a woman possessed.
Meanwhile, Kairi pulled out her Kimmunicator and contacted the other Keybladers. "Guys! Where are you? We need your help!"
"Sorry, Kairi!" Beast shouted on the screen, looking very stressed and ragged. "We've got our own problems to worry about right now! There are Nobodies everywhere! "
"Bring it on!" sonic hollered off screen. "You want some of this!? I'll take all of you on! You there! With the face! Come here!" Nobodies were flying everywhere behind Beast in the hedgehog's battle frenzy.
After delivering a series of punishing attacks, Aerith raised the hand not holding her staff and fired a firaga spell at point-blank range straight at Aradan's chest. He skidded across the ground on his feet, bending down on one knee. Aerith panted heavily, exhausted after holding off such a powerful opponent. For a while, Aradan didn't move from his kneeling position and Aerith thought it was over. That is until...Aradan began to laugh.
"This is quite unexpected," Aradan laughed, standing back up. He was completely unharmed by Aerith's efforts. "You're one of the Ancients! Here, of all places! And I thought we wiped you all out. But here I find the last of the race. There's always at least one bug hiding under a rock." He stretched his neck a little. "Time to get squashing then." He charged at her again and Aerith could do nothing to stop him. She was completely spent. Her mana reserves were depleted. Before she knew it, he was in front of her with Keyblade and about to end her life. It came down.
CHINK
The sound of metal on metal surprised Aerith's ears. Opening her eyes, she saw a mess of spiky brown hair.
"You're...not going...to...hurt...anyone else!" Sora hissed as he kept the Chaser at bay with his Kingdom Key. Aradan towered over the young boy, overpowering him. Sora's knees began to buckle under him.
"You fool," Aradan hissed. He broke their lock by pushing Sora hard so that he flew straight into Aerith and they both skidded across the steel floor, tired and sore. "Keyblades are not meant for the weak, boy. Only those who crave power are deserving enough towield their magnificence. We Chasers are the only ones who are truly worthy to own such a weapon. And you, child, are in the way of our progress."
Sora's head was bowed low casting a shadow over his face. To Aradan's surprise, he chuckled. "You talk too much," he said. "Kairi! Now!" While Sora and Aerith had kept the Chaser distracted, Kairi had crawled to the hanger door controls. She pounded down on the open command and gripped the panel tightly. Sora and Aerith ran to a wall and gripped the pipes running through it.
"What!?" Aradan exclaimed. Behind him, the large doors began to open to the great vastness of space. The huge doorway was immediately turned into a large vacuum, sucking out everything that wasn't nailed down. Sora, Kairi and Aerith hung on tightly to their safety harnesses lest they be pulled into their own trap. Aradan the Chaser, however, had nothing to grab on to and was slowly lifted off the ground. Thinking quickly, he drove his Keyblade into the floor, anchoring himself. He quickly lifted and drove his Keyblade in again, moving slowly towards the heroes with each drive. Sora's heart stopped when he saw this.
"It's not working!" Kairi shouted over the violent suction.
Aradan continued his slow and careful march with grim set determination. "Nothing stops a Chaser!" Aradan hollered. "I am the darkness! " It was true, Sora realized. Nothing they did could bring him down. All their skills, all their powers, all their cunning, still not enough. He was truly a monster.
But the forces of good made one last stand.
"BANZAI!" Out of nowhere came the robotic cat, Cait Sith. He flew through the air on the pull of the open hanger doors on a head on collision course with Aradan. He pumped his fist and nailed the surprised Chaser's face, so surprised that he let go of his Keyblade and was sent hurtling backwards with the cat.
"Got him!" Wade cried from the bridge, seeing all that had happened from the camera that he installed inside Cait Sith. Denzel and Marlene also watched anxiously while Lula and Shelke attended to the wounded crew members.
Back in the hanger, in a last ditch effort, Aradan grabbed hold of side of the hanger door, bending the metal with his steel clad fingers, trying to avoid being plummeted outside. Cait Sith flew past him and grabbed a hold of the Chaser's flailing cape.
"Cait Sith!" Kairi cried.
The robot cat flashed her a feline smile. "Don't worry, lass!" he called. "A robot cat's got to do what a robot cat's got to do! I'm just a bot after all! It's your lives that matter!" Aradan's grip on the side began to weaken. The vacuum motion of the hanger was too much for the Keyblade hunter to handle. Despite the wind, the noise and the empty blackness behind him, Aradan turned his covered head toward Sora. Sora felt those eyes bore into him even though they weren't visible underneath the frightening helmet.
"You're only delaying the inevitable, boy!" he hollered to Sora. "It may not be today and it may not be tomorrow, but we will meet again! The Keyblades will be ours and our master will return! All shall fall before the darkness! And there's nothing you can do to stop us! Nothing! Hahahahahaha! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" His hold was finally lost on the ship and was sent hurtling into infinite space, laughing all the way with Cait Sith still on his cape. As soon as he was out, Kairi slammed the control panel and the hanger doors slammed shut, equalizing the rooms pressure and halting the vacuum.
"Now!" Wade shouted. He slammed his fist down on the warp button on the control panel. The Shera engines roared to life. Though damaged and broken, the ship was able to pull one last jump, warping out of the area faster then the speed of light, leaving behind two former passengers.
Back in the hanger, Aradan's Keyblade, which was still wedged in the floor, suddenly vanished. A sign that they had truly escaped the Chaser's wrath...for now. Now that the room was pressurized, Kairi could stand freely and calm the beating of her heart. "Sora?" she called to the other side of the room. Sora didn't, nor couldn't, answer her. There he lay on the metal floor, sound asleep and still clutching his safety pipe. Even after all that happened, Kairi couldn't help but think how peaceful he looked.
"Come on," Aerith said. "Let's get back to the bridge." Kairi nodded and they lifted Sora off the ground. Placing each of his arms over their shoulders, they carried him out of the hanger, off to the aid of their friends.
And that concludes another chapter. Be sure to write nice reviews, adapt the original story (Darius Almighty's work) on DeviantArt, turn it into a webcomic or post the story on TV tropes or follow and favorite it. And remember may your heart be your guiding key!