Centurious the Azure: Cent should've neeeever taken her to Three, that's for sure. Riku's songs were so fun to write, especially the rap XD
Raximus: frl, Riku was stacking those bars tho
Anon: I'm the latest one here anyways so no worries! My boy Riku is gifted in everything else but signing, even though I'm pretty sure his VA is like a singer or something idk. The Kingdom hearts speak goes in one ear and out the other for Zero, unless it immediately concerns her. Ah unfortunately Besaid won't be a location that gets explored this time around, but it'll come up at some point. I'm thinking I'll have a drawing of Dark!Two up next chapter so I'll have an image for that. Nah, Two and Zero have literally no idea what Riku's doing.
Keybladelight: It wasn't my idea at first, someone else actually suggested the dragon keyblade to me so I'm grateful for that. I'm sure Riku will probably be able to save Two, maybe? That's too bad you don't like the persona series, it's one of my favorites, but I'm not a fan of XC2 myself so I won't be up for a sequel like that.
Ian12091995: lmao
"Memories of Dust"
Riku, Zero and the others made their way to a desert town located out on the horizon. It was a quiet, sleepy town built around an oasis that went by the name of 'Djose'. Unlike the prior villages and towns they visited, Djose had a far different culture than the rest of the world. The men and women walked around in long robes and the shops and buildings were in a completely different language.
"...Finding proper lodgings will prove to be difficult in this town," Decadus said.
"I can tell. Two, you should know where to find an Inn since you rule over this land," Riku said.
"You can sleep outside for all I care."
"You realize you have to sleep outside with us?"
"Heh heh, it's worth it to see you guys suffer~"
He sighed. "Guess we'll have to figure it out on our own."
Fortunately, one of the locals noticed them wandering around town and approached them. She was a young woman dressed in long robes just like the rest of the people, although most of her face was concealed with cloth, she sounded more than willing to help them.
"Hello! I take you must not be from around here? I would be happy to-" Her eyes widened from shock when she realized Two was standing before her as well. "Oh! Is that really you Lady Two? I thought you were unwell...wait why are you in chains?!"
"Oh she's unwell alright. She likes being tied up in chains, especially out in public," Zero said.
"Ugh...chains..." Decadus mumbled.
"No that's not-"
Zero swiftly jabbed Two in the stomach before she could explain herself. "Honestly, as her older sister, it worries me how perverted she is."
'Wait, I know I've seen that flower-eyed girl on wanted posters before. She's a wanted criminal so there's no way she's telling the truth, I'm almost certain she's keeping Lady Two prisoner. Should I act now? No, I can't take them all on by myself. I'll have to play along for now.' "-Uh so, what can I help you all with? Are you perhaps looking for somewhere to rest for the night?"
"Yeah actually. If you could show us to this town's Inn we would really appreciate it," Riku said.
She clapped her hands together. "Ah yes- yes! My family runs what you people would call an 'Inn', we'd be more than happy to take you all in. Please, please, follow me! My name is Yuna by the way, if you don't mind me asking, what brings you guys all the way out here anyways? I never dreamed Lady Two would ever visit our small town."
"She's usually cooped up in her dungeon all day so we took her out to get some fresh air," Zero said.
Dito sighed. 'She's getting way too much enjoyment out of this.'
"Ha ha, my sister has such an active imagination! It's no wonder everyone in our family hates her!" Two shot back.
"Well a-anyways, we're here at the Inn."
Yuna showed them a humble structure made of stone and lined with colorful tapestries along the walls. Despite the modest exterior, the interior of the Inn was rather nice, at least compared to the rat-infested, crap shoot Inns they were used to. Yuna instructed them to leave their shoes at the door, then went to the front counter to speak with her family.
"Good news! We're able to keep you free of charge, we could never ask for compensation from Lady Two. I'm sure you all must have empty stomachs from your long travels through the desert, so we insist that you join us for dinner once you're settled in!" When she returned, she'd dressed down and removed her long robes. Underneath the swathes of cloth and fabric hid the face of a beautiftul, dark-skinned woman, but a pretty face alone wasn't enough to shake off the overwhelming suspicion Zero had towards her.
"Damn, a place to sleep AND some grub? That's pretty generous of you," Zero said, glaring at her.
"Y-You must understand, we have the utmost respect for Lady Two! It's an honor to serve our wonderful ruler!"
"Huh, you brainwash these poor bastards or what Two?"
"Nah, brainwashing's not really my style. I'm just that good of a person."
"i'M jUsT tHAt gOoD oF a PeRsOn."
Two scowled at her. 'God, what I wouldn't give to kill her right now.'
Feeling the boiling tension in the room, Yuna decided to push dinner up further on the schedule. "Actually, how about we just eat now! Come on everyone, follow me, the dining room's down this hall." 'Okay, it's now or nothing, I already told my parents and little siblings to go to bed early so they should be safe. I'll have to play it by ear until I can find an opening to attack.'
When they entered inside the dining room, they were invited to the first of many culture shocks for their stay at the Inn. Instead of chairs being around the table, there were small cushions where they were supposed to seat themselves.
"Please make yourself comfortable, I'll be back shortly with dinner!"
"This food better be good for all this stupid shit we have to do," Zero grumbled as she sat herself down.
Riku let out a chuckle. "You know Four would probably be giving us a lecture about how we need to respect other people's cultural practices right about now."
"...She was very big about showing off her vast knowledge about different cultures, heh, but then always had her share of grievances when she was in private," Decadus said.
"Oh, I can't help but feel a bit of remorse. It was my Intoner who bears most of the blame for Four's demise anyways and Two was forced to play a part in her schemes," Octa said.
"That's right...I almost forgot how kind Two used to be..." He could barely conceal the anger rising in his voice. "And now look at the monster she's become."
Two rolled her eyes. "So? You say that like this is your life to live, I couldn't ask for anything better than not giving a crap about anyone."
"If that's how you feel then I think it's time we rethink our plans involving you," Riku said abruptly.
"What- why? I don't want to be stuck with you guys anymore than you want to be stuck with me. I'll take you to my shrine as promised and we can deal with each other there! That sounds fair, right?"
If the eyes truly were the window of the soul, then all Riku could see in Two's was an endless sea of malice and hatred, someone who was content thriving within their own suffering. It was probably what Sora saw back at Hollow Bastion in what seemed like an eternity ago and now those same hollow eyes he once had were staring back at him. "No...this isn't about your sister anymore, is it? All you want is to stay in the darkness, even if that means you have to keep being our prisoner. There's no way we can trust someone who's actively being self destructive."
"Then what now? It might take days fucking around in that desert to find out where the shrine is and we need to reach my dragon as soon as possible," Zero said.
"You guys better hurry up if you want to save that overgrown lizard. Well...then again, Three's probably already broke him by now, so I wouldn't even bother."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
She smirked. "You know, he'd always whine about how you guys were gonna save him like some sniveling child. He even refused to eat the food we offered him, he looks so pathetic now, just some skin and bones all because he was foolish enough to-" Before she got the chance to finish her sentence, Zero had already went across the room and held her scarf in her clenched fists.
"I don't want to hear another word from you."
"Excuse my intrusion, but if I'm to understand this correctly, we're no longer able to use Two as a means for navigation?" Decadus turned to Riku. "Perhaps I'm overstepping my boundaries here, but you were able to take the evil out of Lady Four when she was on the verge of death on her airship, were you not? Couldn't you do the same to Two, so she'll be able to cooperate with us?"
Riku thought for a moment. "I didn't want to resort to doing that, but it looks like I might have to."
Zero slammed her fist on the table. "No way in hell! That's out of the question!"
"But if we're to save Mikhail before Three has her way with him, then isn't this the best option?" Decadus argued.
"Decadus is right. Saving Mikhail now is way more important than what might happen to me in the future!"
"All you're doing is burying your own grave! This isn't the plan I agreed on, I told you if something goes wrong then we're doing things my way!" She drew her sword. "And there's no way I'm letting you throw away your life just so this bitch can breathe another day!"
With her options quickly narrowing in on her, Two dug her heels into the ground in a last assertion of her autonomy. "Fine, go ahead and kill me already! I rather die living the way I want than be a vegetable for the rest of my life anyways."
"Gladly!" Zero swung her sword back
"Zero! Enough, you're not thinking this through!"
"No, this is what I should've done from day one!"
"—STOP! I WON'T LET YOU!"
A set of dinner knives came flying at Zero, she was about to use her sword to shield herself, but Decadus rose to the ocassion and jumped on the table to block the incoming blades for her with his arm.
"Finally you're useful for once."
"Ohhhh, you're far too cruel Lady Zero."
When that initial attacked failed, Yuna burst into the dining room with a scimitar in hand, so she could finish off Zero herself. While it was a courageous effort, all Riku did was grab her arm to stop her in her tracks.
"L-Let me go right now! I need to save Lady Two!"
"Don't be stupid, just stay out of the way."
"Like hell! I'm not letting you monsters kill her!"
Zero flashed her sword at Yuna. "You better listen to him or I can kill both of you if that's what you want."
"If you kill Two now then we definitely won't make it to her shrine in time! I can take more of the Flower, but Mikhail won't survive if he becomes a heartless!"
"Damn it! Don't make me have to fucking choose! Nothing else is working so this is the only thing I can think of!"
"You... want to go to the shrine of sands, don't you? I know a route that'll only take a day's journey," Yuna said.
"Why the hell would I even trust you?! You just tried to kill me!"
"I only did that because you were about to kill Lady Two and it was the only thing I could think of at the moment! But I'm serious about helping you guys if that's what it takes to save her!"
"Why do you want to protect her so much?" Riku asked.
"That's simple, she's the reason why my family and I are still alive. I...I owe her my life so you must understand why I don't want you to take hers away!"
He let her go. "What's this route you're talking about?"
"Are you kidding me?! Just because this bitch has a decent face you're trusting her that easily?"
"What? It's not even like that! I can tell she has a genuine heart, that's why."
"More like you can tell she has a genuine ass," She muttered.
"I heard that!"
"Please don't argue over me! I know this isn't much coming from me but I swear on my life that these tunnels will lead you to the palace. My people—the Al Bhed —used them for hundreds of years until they were closed off by the tyrant that ruled before Lady Two, but they should be accessible now."
"Uh-huh, so what's the catch?" Zero asked.
"The catch?"
"Yeah I know how these things work. Let me guess, there's hundreds of monsters crawling in there and no one's ever made it out alive?"
"Yes, unfortunately. I wish I could say otherwise."
"No, this is the best opportunity you could've given us. We need to reach Two's shrine fast, so we'll have to cut a few corners. Thank you for telling us about this," Riku said.
"The only condition I have is that you allow me to accompany you. I want to keep an eye on the flower girl so she doesn't end up killing Lady Two."
Zero rolled her eye in response. "We already have enough dead weight, we don't need one more."
"And it's way too dangerous for you," Riku said.
She raised an eyebrow. "Just because you got me one time doesn't mean I still can't fend for myself! I already made my mind up so you're not talking me out of it!"
"If you wanna die so bad for her then fine by me, but don't expect me to save your ass," Zero said.
"I wouldn't dream of it."
"Don't worry about her. Whatever happens, you can count on me," Riku said.
"So are we still getting dinner?" Octa asked.
"That was just a cover, I didn't actually make anything, sorry."
"I see...well there's plenty of other options on the menu! If I can't stuff my face with a proper meal, then I'll gladly feast on your..."
Riku death stared Octa, daring him to finish that sentence.
"On...your, uh, intellect."
"Um thanks? Well, I suppose we should all retire for the night, it'll be a big day for all of us tomorrow."
"Will there be breakfast at least?" Octa asked again.
"...No?"
Later that night while everyone was fast asleep in their rooms, Two was lying awake on the floor, trying not to lose her mind at Decadus's blaring loud snoring. 'Stupid Decadus, couldn't just leave me and Cent in a room by ourselves. Not like we can do anything anyways.' Luckily for her, Cent suddenly woke up out of his unconscious state, saving her from mind-numbing boredom.
"Huh? What's going on- where am I?!"
"Shhhh!" Two scooted over to Cent. "I'm glad you're awake sweetheart, but you need to keep your voice down or you'll wake Decadus up."
He lowered his voice into a whisper. "Apologies...it seems like I've missed out on quite a bit while I was out. Would you mind filling me in?"
She held her head down low. "Basically we're screwed."
"What makes you say that? I know we're in a tough spot right now but-"
"No Cent...we just lost our best shot at escape. Riku became suspicious of me and they're having one of the natives guide them to my shrine instead."
"And what's wrong with that? We'll be able to get out of these chains faster and it seems like Riku is willing to spare your li-"
"You don't get it! As soon as he drags me back to my shrine he's going to seal my powers and force me to go back to that mental hell. Right now, I've never been more at peace with myself because I don't feel anything anymore. I don't know what Three did to me, but it was like waking up for the first time from an unending nightmare. And now it looks like I have to relive it all over again..."
Cent pressed his forehead onto hers. "...The whole reason why I brought you to Three was to make you smile again. I'm sorry, I wasn't taking your feelings into consideration at all. I won't give up on you, we've worked so hard to get where we are now, who am I to throw it all away?"
"Thank you sweetheart, I just don't know where to go from here...I guess I should start off on telling you what you missed."
As they were in mid-conversation, they watched the door slowly inch open and Yuna slip inside their room "Don't be alarmed, I want to free both of you." She checked behind her back. "I have a plan for escape, but I fear speaking openly like this might land us in trouble."
"Uh who's this?" Cent asked.
Two thought for a moment. "...She's an ally. Hey, you said you were Al Bhed, right? We'll speak in your language from now on, I'm a little rusty but I'm still fluent in it."
Yuna smiled. "Ah, you never cease to amaze me! Uh ok so...um, I checked everyone's room and the rest are asleep so now's the perfect time to sneak out! I'm a pretty good lockpick, so I'll be able to free you from those chains, then you can escape with my camel!"
She shook her head. "These chains are magic, nothing can break them unless the caster releases it himself, but I believe there's another way out of this too."
"Which way would that be?"
"To kill him. If he's dead, this spell should disappear too."
"...So we have to kill him?"
"Yep. There's no way me or Cent can do that chained up like this, but you definitely could."
"I- I don't know. I mean, I'm a good fighter, but I've never actually taken someone's life before."
"Don't think of it in that way. Think of it as you saving countless lives by sacrificing one."
"What do you mean?"
"If Riku has his way all of this land will suffer for it. Believe me, if there was a way I could've done this without shedding blood, that would've been my first option, but him and Zero want nothing more than to destroy the peace and livelihoods of everyone..." She started to tear up. "You understand now don't you? I have no choice but to resort to this...and you're my last hope. I just want to be able to keep protecting you and your family, Yuna."
Yuna squeezed the handle of her scimitar. "I ...I understand."
"Good. Now listen closely to this next part, if we're not careful, all of us will die."
.
.
.
The next morning, everyone checked out of the Inn and gathered outside, waiting on Yuna.
"Just so we're all on the same page, you definitely lost yesterday, Z. I believe you owe Octa some payment," Dito said.
"What? No I don't. I was perfectly calm the whole day."
"You threatening to kill two people was 'perfectly calm'?"
"I was being reasonable about it."
"I don't even think you know what 'reasonable' means, but whatever. I guess you're too much of a chicken to follow through with your word, I figured as much."
She let out a sharp breath. "You're not gonna shut the fuck up about this, are you? Alright fine. Let's just get this over with already." She waved to Octa. "Get over here…"
"Yes-yes-yes, finally!" He skipped over to Zero. "You know I've been dreaming of this moment with you, Lady Zero!"
Zero lowered herself to Octa's level and felt every last shred of dignity crawl out of her body as he puckered up his old man lips. "God ...fucking ...damnit..."
Right as Zero and Octa were getting into it, Yuna finally walked out of the Inn with her supplies. "Hello everyone, sorry for-" She choked on her words when she saw the public display of affection going on. "Uh, I-I can come back at a later time actually!"
"Don't worry about it, Zero's only making out with her grandpa," Two said.
"D-Did you just say her grandpa?!"
"Yep, gross right? They do this all the ti-"
That was enough for Zero to pounce on Two and they started brawling on the ground, it took the combined effort of Riku and Yuna to successfully pull Zero off of her.
"So all of these weird men following you around aren't your friends but y-your family?" Yuna asked.
"These assholes aren't related to me! Two's just a lying piece of shit!"
"Oh that's a relief."
"Wait, you didn't mean all of us when you said 'weird men' ...did you, Yuna?" Riku asked.
"Yeah, why?"
His shoulders sunk. "No way...this can't be happening."
"W- Wait a second, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you or anything like that!"
Dito slapped him on the back. "Hey, you're one of us now, that's a friggin badge of honor man!"
"Exactly, there's no higher honor than being subjected to such h- harsh verbal abuse and scornful looks ...ungh," Decadus said.
"Are you two serious? Women thinking you're weird is pretty much a death sentence for any well-adjusted guy. Just like that Riku can say goodbye to ever having a girlfriend," Cent said.
"I could've told you that. Guy's a virgin after all," Zero said.
"Damn, he'd be lucky to get a prostitute at this rate."
"How are you both teaming up against me?!"
"I feel your anguish Riku, I too have fallen off the good graces of the ladies. My monstrous nether regions simply scare off most women at first sight."
"You're not helping, Octa! Ugh, let's just go already, we've wasted enough time as is."
Without any further hesitation, Yuna led them to an area not too far off from Djose where she located crumbling ruins tucked away in between a few sand dunes.
"This is the place."
And so began their venture into the underground tunnels, it didn't take long for them to run into a group of bandit heartless that manifested along the sides of the tunnel walls.
"Oh no, it's those demons!" Yuna yelled.
"No problem!" Riku ran ahead and threw his keyblade at an angle so the blade could ricochet off the walls and cut through the darkness before they even knew what hit them. After a clean kill, he caught his keyblade in his hand then pushed forward.
"Not bad. So does that make you the demon slayer I've been hearing about?"
"Yep."
"That'll come in handy, I suspect these tunnels will be crawling with them the deeper we go."
"I'd be surprised if they weren't."
"Question, do you think we'd be so fortu-I- I mean unfortunate enough to run into some ancient traps?" Decadus asked. "Imagine...snake pits, spiked walls...it would be absolutely devious ohhhhh."
"If there's traps then that means there's gotta be some treasure they're trying to protect," Dito said.
"It's a possibility. These tunnels were originally built as a means of transport, but I wouldn't put it past that tyrant if he did install traps. Just watch your step and be careful not to-"
All of a sudden, the ground began to violently rumble.
"Decadus, goddamnit!" Zero yelled.
"I- I swear that wasn't me!"
"Whatever, let's get the hell out of here!"
A row of spikes emerged from the ground in succession and they had to make a break for it to avoid getting skewered.
"Damn, we're running out of ground! We'll need to jump across that gap if we want to make it out of this!" Riku said.
Decadus gulped down. "That's a pretty wide gap...what if I can't make it across?"
"Then it was nice knowing you big guy," Cent said.
"Dear god, so it seems the death awaits, ungghhh."
"Don't think about it, just do it!" Riku leapt across the gap and the others followed suit with most of them making it across except for Yuna, who just missed the ledge. Luckily, Riku was quick on his feet and grabbed hold of Yuna's arm before she could fall to her death.
"Sorry...I guess I kind of overestimated myself."
"Don't beat yourself up over it. I think now's a good time to ask about this 'tyrant' so we know what to expect going forward."
"His name was Bass, he invaded this land and terrorized my people for many years. He was a sick, twisted man who enjoyed experimenting on humans, particularly children. It wasn't uncommon for soldiers to roundup kids from poorer families who couldn't afford to pay them off and ship them to his castle, never to be seen again."
"...I didn't know it was that bad, I'm sorry you had to go through that. It sounds like a nightmare."
"No, if it was a nightmare, we could've at least woken up from it, but this was our reality. This land was riddled with war and death for years on end. That's why I decided to learn how to fight myself so I could protect my little siblings, but thanks to Lady Two overthrowing him... I don't really have to worry about that anymore."
"Then I'll give credit to Two where it's due. Guess you could say I'm fighting for the same thing , as long as I know I'm making someone's life better, then I'd say it's all worth it in the end."
"Wow, I'm impressed. I didn't think someone who travels around with the flower girl would have such a strong character."
Zero whipped her head back to Yuna. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"
"I mean...you're kind of a wanted criminal...n-no offense."
"You're on thin fucking ice."
"Come on Z, is she really that wrong about you? You're not exactly a saint here," Dito said.
"Cut her some slack, I think she's getting better," Riku said.
"In what way? Couldn't even go a whole day without getting pissed off."
"That's only because she was so passionate about protecting Riku and Mikhail. I thought that was a fine act of friendship," Decadus said.
Zero could feel her face turning red at his comment, which frustrated her to no end. "Shut up! So what if I don't want their asses to die!"
"It's not like I meant to chide you Lady Zero!"
As they were walking out of the narrow passage, they entered into a massive room that was overflowing with sand. Riku motioned to the sizable opening along the ceiling of the room where slivers of light shined through. "A part of the tunnel must've caved in at some point, but I see an opening just up ahead."
They were all able to make it halfway across the room when they felt the tremors of a faint earthquake under their feet. With the intensity growing stronger by the second, they had to scatter from the center as the Antlion heartless soared out from the sand dunes like a shark lunging for its prey. After failing to catch anyone in its powerful mandibles, it half-submerged itself in the sand and bulldozed towards whoever was within closest range.
Unfortunately for her, Yuna just so happened to be the one that was closest to the Antlion and so became its primary target. Despite being faced against a towering, mechanized heartless, she tried her best to stand her ground against it. With trembling hands, she pulled out a slew of homeade bombs and charged straight at it. 'I wanted to save these but I have no choice but to use them!' Even though she successfully landed the bombs inside of its mouth, it wasn't nearly enough firepower to stop it from bulldozing towards her so she had to retreat, but she ended up tripping over a rock pointing out of the sand.
"Oh no no no nono. Come on, I have to move! I have to do something!" But when she looked back into the heartless' empty yellow eyes, in that moment, it was like all the years of combat training she did meant nothing. 'No...this is just like before when that monster attacked my family. I couldn't do anything then and I can't do anything now, I'm no fighter at all.'
'But I know it can't be over for me! Two will save me again just like she did before!'
'Two will save me!'
'Two will save me?'
'Two?'
"-Don't worry, I'm coming!" Riku scooped up Yuna in his arms, narrowly saving her from getting chomped up by mandibles.
"You're not hurt, are you?" He asked.
She shook her head.
"—Riku, you dumbass!"
In the act of saving Yuna, he left himself wide open for attack, but Zero rushed to the Antlion, jumped onto it, then dragged her blade through its back as she ran down its spherical body.
"Thanks Zero, heh guess you really don't want me to die after all."
"Shut the hell up and destroy this thing already!"
"Yeah, I got it! Just watch out!" He shot the Antlion with a Dark Thundaga spell that briefly paralyzed it. Now that it was immobile, both Zero and Riku worked together to chop it up into pieces. Finally, to top it off, Riku introduced a flashy new technique where he imbued his keyblade with darkness, then unleashed a flurry of attacks so fast it was as if he was teleporting around it. At the end of his rush of strikes, the mighty Antlion was reduced down to a fragile heart.
In the wake of their victory, Yuna was still left dumbfounded at the fact she was carried out of danger from Riku's arms and not Two's. 'Even though he was to one to save me, I'm sure Two...' Her eyes searched for Two's so she could at least see if there was a look of concern on her face, but her head was turned away from her, not bothering to check whether she was okay or not. The only eyes that met with her were Riku's who motioned for her to follow them. With a conflicted heart, she joined Riku and the others as they walked into another long hallway.
"You think we're getting to the end of this?" Dito asked.
"It's still daylight outside so probably not," Riku said.
"Ughhhhh."
"Maybe I get pissed off all the time, but you're the one who bitches the most," Zero said.
"Hey, I'm just saying what we're all thinking."
"What're you talking about? I rather be here than sweat my ass off in the desert."
"Don't remind me. We could've been traveling under intense, scorching heat for hours on end. Ohhh, the suffering we could've endured," Decadus said.
"Well I don't know about you all, but prickly heat gets my blood rushing down there if you know what I mean heh heh," Octa said.
"We always know what you mean, Octa. We're not five," Dito said.
"With how short you are I wouldn't be surprised if someone mistook you for a five year old," Zero said.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm short. Doesn't stop me from getting shit done around here."
"All you ever do is whine and talk shit."
"Uh, no. Did you already forget how I…"
As their conversation dragged on, the words fell from Yuna's ears because all she could focus on now was Riku's back and how easy it would be to stab him and end this charade already. And yet... 'I can't do it. I can't. He's been so kind, just like Lady Two was to me, how can I possibly end his life? But if I don't kill him now then...' Her heart was pulling her every which way so she desperately looked to Two one last time for any sort of guidance. 'Tell me what to do Two, I'm not sure anymore.'
For the first time since the day started, Two turned back to meet her gaze and it made Yuna think back to yesterday night.
...
"...If I have to kill Riku, then wouldn't it be a better idea to just do it now while he's asleep and then escape?" Yuna asked.
"No, that won't work. That bastard is on high alert at all times, if you come at him with murderous intent, he'll know immediately," Two said.
"Then how do you expect me to kill him if he's that powerful?!"
"He does have one weakness and this is why your role tomorrow will be the most important."
"What do you mean by that?"
"As long as you're friendly to him, he'll let his guard down around you. Then once he's begun to trust you, he'll hesitate to attack you, even as you're trying to kill him. It'll be your call on when to attack him, but everything hinges on you catching him in that moment of vulnerability."
"Are you sure that'll work? I mean, if I'm trying to kill him, wouldn't he also want to kill me?"
She scoffed. "That's just the type of guy Riku is, annoying right? But we'll use that to our advantage."
"So...if I do manage to kill him, then what about Zero and her friends?"
"If this plan is successful then I'll kill Zero and her disciples in an instant. After that, we'll all be free to escape from the tunnels and you can go home knowing you saved your family from ruin."
"...Right. I'll do it. You can count on me.'
...
'The plan was for me to befriend Riku so I could catch him off guard, but it looks like he was the one who affected me instead.' She quietly unsheathed her scimitar. 'No. No more thinking. I've been so distracted all day, but that ends now. Please forgive me Riku, because you are truly a good person.'
["Guess you could say I'm fighting for the same thing , as long as I know I'm making someone's life better, then I'd say it's all worth it in the end."]
'If only there were more people like you in this world, then I wouldn't have to kill you today.'
Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as Yuna made her attempt on Riku's life. The time it took for her to take a breath, step forward, thrust her arm back and for Riku to quickly catch the blade in his hand felt like hours had passed by, when in reality, it all happened in the blink of an eye.
Yuna's eyes widened in horror as the blood from Riku's hand dripped down her blade. "What...how did you..."
"Because..." He winced from the pain. "I ...I already knew you wanted to kill me, Yuna."
Hearing his answer, she hesitated. 'So he knew and still protected me.'
Yuna could already hear the sharp cry from Zero's sword as it slid out from its sheath.
'I guess this is it for me now. That was my only chance to attack and I didn't take it.'
In just a couple of seconds, her head would be rolling on the ground and Two didn't as much as look her in the eye as she prepared to sing her swan song. Right then and there, Yuna decided that if she lived through this, that would be the last time she ever look at Two's eyes again.
If there was a god, they must've been looking down on Yuna in that moment because her life was spared purely by chance. Right as Zero was moving to slice her, Riku accidentally bumped into the wall and ended up triggering another trap.
The ground beneath them began to crumble away and they plummeted into the depths of the underground tunnels. Acting fast, Riku cast an Aeroga spell so that it would cushion their fall. Then, even after everything Yuna did to him, he still went out of his way to grab onto her before she could hit her head against the wall.
Once they safely landed on the bottom, he set Yuna on the ground, then turned back. "...Everyone okay?"
"Wh- Why did you save me?! Even after I tried to kill you still..."
"That's what I wanna know," Zero snidely remarked.
"Someone trying to kill me usually isn't a dealbreaker. Crazy, I know, but I already told you that I knew you had a genuine heart so there was no reason to retaliate against you." He faced Two. "The real enemy is her, I had a feeling she'd put you up to this."
Two stuck her tongue out. "Wow looks like detective Riku caught me red-handed~"
"I don't understand! Why are you so...so evil now?! You were such a kind person, what happened to you Two?!" Yuna cried out.
She broke out into a demented laughter. "God, it's like you guys are a broken record or something! 'Aw, what happened to old you', 'I missed the old you'! Haven't you idiots ever considered the possibility that maybe just maybe I LIKE the way I am now?"
"H- How could you say something like that?"
"Because being the nice one is such a goddamn joke! I did everything right, I gave my LIFE to those brats and I STILL ended up killing them in the end! So what's the point of even trying anymore if it's just gonna blow up in my face and give me trauma, right?! Don't blame me, blame whatever god put me through the ringer 'cause he's one son of a bitch!" She took a step back. "Alright Cent, I ran out of talking points, let's make a break for it!"
"Right behind you!"
"No! Get back here!" Yuna jumped to her feet and scrambled to catch up to Two and Cent.
"Yuna, stop!"
Two and Cent were already well ahead of the rest of the group and they made their way into a wide, empty room with a single door at the end.
"Two... you know I'm not one to question your judgement but what exactly is your plan here?" Cent asked.
"Getting back to my shrine!"
"What about these chains?"
"I'm going to have Three cut my hands off and reattach them, it's not a big deal!"
"Then what about that golem?!"
"What?!"
A giant, hulking creature descended upon them, blocking whatever room lied beyond them.
"Oh that? No problem, I used to fight these when I was a kid!" Two skidded to a stop, then propelled herself high up in the air where she landed a devastating kick on the golem. With the force she put into that one kick, it blew a huge chunk off its body and incapacitated it almost immediately. She dropped down on the other side of the collapsing giant, then continued all the way to the end of the room.
"Huh, the next room is sealed for some reason, I wonder if that golem was trying to protect whatever's behind here? Maybe it's like a treasure room or something where Bass hid all of his riches..." Two mused.
"Damn Two, not to sound like Decadus, but I want to see some more of that monstrous strength of yours when we're in uh, closer proximity," Cent said.
"Heh heh, come on Cent, you know I can't focus when you start talking to me like that."
"Then hurry up and get us out of here, you know I've been dying to-"
"-TWO!"
"-There they are!"
"Crap they already caught up to us! We don't have time to flirt right now!" Two kicked straight through the sealed door and they ran inside.
"Phew, what a stench! It smells like..." For whatever reason, Cent went deathy quiet.
It was a small room compared to the others they ventured through and while it wasn't a typical treasure room filled with mountains of gold and jewels, it contained what the past ruler considered to be his own 'treasures'. There were a few intricate ornaments adorning the walls, but much more unfinished projects scattered across the ground collecting cobwebs.
Of course, upon closer inspection, anyone could see that those weren't ornaments. No, every single 'ornament' in that room they happened upon was the stuffed body of a long deceased human being. Either they were chained up along the wall or making grotesque poses on the floor like a mannequin.
But by far the absolute worst aspect of that room was its centerpiece; an incomplete diorama of what was supposed to be young children acting out a scene. However, it decayed so much over time that it was now just a lump of commingled flesh embroiled with the ghoulish faces of children.
That horrific sight evoked such intense feelings for Two that even with a heart firmly in the clutches of the darkness, it brought her down to her knees and made tears stream down her face.
"Cent...I don't know if I can do this anymore," She said in-between bouts of crying.
"...Two? What're you talking about?! Come on, speak to me!"
"I ... I don't know if there's evil inside of me and that's why I killed her or... if I killed her because I'm evil."
"Her?"
"My sister, Cent! My baby sister...I killed her...I killed her...and I was so mean to everyone...I just want my life to end. Please, make it end already...I can't do this anymore!"
"Two! Don't EVER say that! Please, try and be strong! You've worked so hard to regain your happiness, don't let it all go to waste right now! Please, please...I- I don't want to see you suffer like that again!"
Suddenly, the tears stopped flowing down her face.
"Whoops, sorry about that, won't happen again!" Her hair turned completely white and parts of her skin began to peel off, revealing the heartless that was beginning to emerge. She grinned at Cent like everything was fine, then finally stood up. "Alrighty then, this is the end of the road for me so I wanna go out in a blaze of glory and die without a single regret!"
Cent stared in horror at the monster his lover had become. "No...what have I done to you?"
We often hurt the ones we love the most
And whether by choice or accident
The foolish disciple who claimed to love his Intoner oh so dear,
Never failed to inflict the most suffering onto her.
Flowers for the Dead
A/N: HELLO AGAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN
Sorry this chapter came out so late, a lot's happened in the past two months including me going to the ER but I lived lol. Anyways, I should be back on schedule this time so the next chapter shouldn't come out too late and it'll be packed with way more action. I posted a body swap joke chapter on my Ao3 for April Fool's day, read if you'd like!
