Two, do you remember when One took us to that old house a long time ago?
It was so broken down and dirty, but we had to stay in it because One had business in the next town.
The Intoners had found themselves at a vacant house, temporary refuge before they set out to the next village. While One was outside fixing a cart, the others were inside the house, keeping themselves busy until it was time to leave.
I was making dolls that day because I was bored, I guess Four and Five were bored too because they wouldn't stop bothering me.
Five plucked Three's doll right off the ground and inspected it. "Ooooh what is this? It's so weird!"
"It's a doll. Give it back."
"Aren't dolls supposed to be cute? This one's so gross looking," Four said, pulling at the limbs. "Why can't you make nice things for once?"
"It's not for you." Three tried to reach for it, but Five held it just out of her reach. "I said give it back!"
"Hehehe, maybe if you beg then you can have it back again~"
Four snickered. "That's so unbecoming of an older sibling."
Two came from behind and pulled Four and Five's ears. "Knock it off you two!"
"Ow-ow! You're super strong Two so it really hurts when you do that!" Five whined.
"Then apologize to Three and give it back to her!"
"Sorry..." Five mumbled, dropping the doll back on the ground.
"I'm sorry too," Four said.
Two let them go and they scurried away.
"Don't worry about them, they're still pretty immature." She picked up the doll and handed it back to Three. "You know, I think your dolls are really cool, Three!"
"You... don't think it's weird?"
"No way!" She grabbed Three's hands. "You can make stuff Three and coming from someone who pretty much only breaks things, that's so amazing! And you're super smart too, I bet you're gonna end up making something that helps a lot of people in the future!"
"Really...you think so?"
"I know so!"
I never forgot what you told me that day and in the end, you were right Two.
I've created something that'll help everyone. This whole world in fact.
If only you could've stayed by my side to see this new world that I'll create.
Anon: Three's story takes a few references and D2 is one of them. Oop well, Two should've got some pointers from Three :v Midgard truly brings out the worst in people. Can you imagine Dito's heartless? It'd be so sick., not even the darkness wants to touch that XD Oh you will see how the Flower affects Riku this time around. You're right about the parallels between Cent-Two and Riku-Kairi, I didn't even think about it so thanks for bringing it to my attention! The darkness could be half of Riku's dialogue and she still wouldn't understand it.
Raximus: Glad you liked that scene between them, it was super fun. And yeah, Three's lost her goddamn mind for sure lol. Oh for sure, this chapter's gonna get pretty dark.
Gundam-Knight-Chris: dun dun dun-dun dun
Keybladelight: Two's gonna be fine, nothing traumatic's gonna happen to her ^_^ As soon as I play the new NieR game I'll consider it but I honestly have no good ideas for it so idk.
Centurious the Azure: Omg, I think I always end up killing the Intoners as soon as they get redeemed lmaoo. The ending is coming up soon so y'all already know what to expect. I binged watched the entire fourth season in one day and it was sooooo good! Cleared my skin, watered my crops, cured my depression.
"Eclipse"
"This is it. Mikhail won't have to wait for us any longer," Riku said.
Zero took out Two and Cent's sword from her belongings then threw it to their feet. "There. Put it to good use."
"How do you carry so much junk with you? I didn't even know you had those things," Dito said.
"Women always carry a lot of shit around."
"Oh yeah sure..." He said, dissatisfied with her answer.
"Good luck to you all. I wish I could join the battle, but I have faith that you'll emerge the victors. I'll be awaiting your return," Decadus said.
"Decadus, do you have the item I requested yesterday night?" Cent asked.
"Yes of course and it was my pleasure gathering it for you." He threw a small vial of serum to him.
"And now I believe we're ready."
"What the hell's that?" Zero asked.
"Plan B in case Three can't be restrained. Hopefully I won't have to use it."
"You probably won't even need it. Now let's get out of here."
Once Riku used bind on himself and Zero, they began their infiltration of Two's shrine. The first part of the plan went by smoothly enough, mainly because there were no soldiers or guards to stop them.
"This isn't making any sense. She made a point to move all of our forces here, so where the hell are they?" Cent asked.
"She must've moved them somewhere else. Let's just keep on going, we don't have time to waste," Two said.
They pushed forward and made it to the largest chamber of the shrine where Two and Cent assumed Three would be, but it too, like the rest of the shrine, was completely empty.
"Uh...hello? Three! We brought Riku and Zero as prisoners!" Two yelled out.
"Might I add they were a pain in the ass to deal with, so I say we make their punishment as cruel as possible," Cent chimed in.
Nothing.
"You think they left?" Zero asked.
"No, I still smell Three's scent of darkness. It's overwhelming."
"Usually I say that's bullshit, but I smell Mikhail's scent too. They're definitely here," Zero said.
"We can try checking the basement," Two said. "The entrance should be just down this—"
The ground shook so violently that parts of the room were crumbling apart, then all of a sudden, the floor burst open as Mikhail lunged into the air with his mouth wide open. The explosive entry left everyone scattered, but Zero was the one who got caught in Mikhail's jaws so she had to stab the roof of his mouth and climb out before she could slide down his throat.
"What the FUCK is wrong with you?!" Zero screamed as she descended back to the ground.
The darkness had transformed Mikhail into a near-spitting image of Michael; he was fully grown, his scales were jet-black, his horns were blood red and his eyes had the yellow glow of a heartless. But no matter how much of a monster he'd became, he could never forget Zero. "Z-Zero...and Riku too...it's you guys? You finally came back?!" He thrashed his head around as if he were fighting against something. "Well it's too late! Do you see me now?! I'm not weak anymore! I'm just as strong as Michael—no—even STRONGER!"
"Michael? Why are you bringing him up?"
"Isn't it obvious already Zero?!" Enough fire to burn down a small village filled his mouth, when he breathed it out, it enveloped the chamber in flames so tall it touched the ceiling.
Riku doused out most of the flames with a Waterga spell while the others regrouped.
"If Three's nearby then she has to be in the basement, but I don't think we can do that without getting past Mikhail first," Two said.
"Damn, this plan's falling apart. It's like she knew we were coming to stop her," Cent said.
"I guess she didn't have much faith in us to begin with." Two pulled her sword out. "Whatever, change of plans then!"
Zero held her sword in front of Two and Cent. "Stay out of this. He's mine."
With the fire mostly cleared out, Zero ran up alongside one of the columns that held up the chamber and threw herself at Mikhail. "I don't know what type of shit Three's been telling you, but you're still my dragon so I'm not going to let you do this to yourself!"
"I stopped being your dragon when you decided I wasn't good enough for you!" He flapped his wings to push her away from him and make her fall back down.
As she was falling mid-air, she took out her chakramas and threw them both at Mikhail. "That's not true! You're way more than just good enough to me!" She stuck her sword in the column to slow her descent down back to the ground then watched as her chakrams cut straight through Mikhail's wings. "Stop this already and come back to me!"
"Don't lie to me!" Slamming down on the ground, he swiped his talons at several columns so the debris would fly out all over the place. "I was just a dummy and an idiot to you because I wasn't like Michael! And now that I'm strong, I'm not gonna crawl back to you! You're nothing compared to me!"
Zero was trying her best to destroy as much of the debris as she could with her gauntlets, but even she got overwhelmed. Luckily, Riku was always there to back her up and cast a reflect spell that shielded them from the rest of the debris.
"Guess calling him an idiot all the time wasn't the best idea," Riku said.
"Shut the hell up, you're not helping!"
"Sorry. So you think you can get me close enough to him so I can restrain him?"
"You stay out of this too! I can handle him by my own damn self!"
"Hold on, this wasn't apart of the plan Zero!"
Disregarding Riku's warnings, Zero ran ahead, dodging all of the fireballs sent her way and reached Mikhail once more. "You dummy! You think you're top shit because some crazy bitch is controlling you, but you will NEVER be like Michael!"
"NO! SHUT UP!" He went into a fit of rage and began destroying everything within reach, Zero used the falling debris as a cover to jump on top of him and sink her sword into his head. "You're an incompetent idiot, but...that doesn't make you matter any less to me. I'm sorry that I made you think otherwise."
"Wha...r...really?"
"—How kind." Three came from behind Zero out of a dark portal. "If only you would've said that while it still mattered to him, but now it's just meaningless words." She stabbed Zero in the back with her scissors, then shoved her off of him.
Riku caught Zero in his arms, then cast Curaga on her before the Flower could 'heal' her. "You're a coward Three! Stop using Mikhail for your own twisted plans!"
"A coward?" She cackled. "The only cowards are you scum that constantly get in the way of me trying to save this disgusting world! I'll be the one who will purge everyone from the plague of-" In amidst of her monologuing, a stray chakram spun towards her and embedded itself deep into her arm.
"Is that you Octa? I'm almost impressed." She watched Octa slide down from the column where he was hiding. "I suppose you're not completely worthless."
"Please my lady, put an end to these atrocities! All you're doing is making others suffer at your behest!"
"No, I won't. I'm trying to save everyone, what don't you understand about that?!" Three was met with another ambush, this time Two came at her from behind, tackled into her and threw both of them off of Mikhail's head.
"Riku! Do it now while I have her!"
"I got it!"
Three could see the golden chains fly out of Riku's keyblade so she manifested a dark portal for both of them to fall into mid-air. When she re-appeared, she landed on top of Mikhail's head, this time holding Two hostage.
"You were the only sister I liked and you still betrayed me in the end? I should've just turned you into a heartless!"
"Three, please, I'm sorry if I wasn't there for you enough or if you felt like I abandoned you. Know that no matter what happens, you will always be my sister and I will always love you! So stop this please...stop this already so we can all go home!"
"No..." Her hold on Two tightened. "It's too late for that! You're too late! I've gone this far already, I'm not stopping now!" At the height of her anger, she began her song of ruin.
Verse 3-3
Sleep. I shall give thee death.
The scum who went along with the sacrifice shall now be punished.
Under Three's song, Mikhail was even more ferocious than he'd ever been before. "Mikhail, it's dinner time! EAT UP!" Three threw Two in front of Mikhail and right before he could devour her, Octa cast his last chakram and it jammed itself inside his jaws, saving Two from certain death.
Cent ran ahead and caught Two in his arms, then set her down.
"Thanks Octa, I owe you one," Two said.
"We'll discuss my payment later! Watch out!"
"I'll burn ALL OF YOU! AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Mikhail breathed out fire that was as black as the night sky and as hot as the blazing sun. The sheer destruction of the flames were causing huge chunks of the chamber to fall apart and collapse.
"This place looks like it's gonna cave soon! We need to defeat them as quickly as possible!" Riku yelled.
"They're both under Intoner mode now so you guys need to match them in power," Two said.
"I know. Let's go Riku," Zero said.
"Oh so now you want my help?"
"Yeah, yeah, don't make a big deal out of it."
"Heh, just wanted to hear you say it. Let's do it!"
Duet Verse I
On that day, the Black Flower's song will be the end,
We'll prevent that day from coming!
That sounded terrible, try again,
Uh Black Flowerrr-Black Flowerrrr something.
Despite their lackluster performance together, their Intoner powers still activated.
"Huh? I'm surprised that worked," Riku said.
"Yeah you're welcome."
"Sorry. Still getting the hang of it."
Now that they were powered up, they raced ahead to take on Three and Mikhail. Riku bounded across the falling debris and made his way up to Mikhail where he used Dark Splicer to rush in on him with a series of quick strikes. "Mikhail! What happened to wanting to make everyone happy?! That's what you told me, don't tell me you forgot already!"
"Who cares?! None of that matters anymore!"
"Of course it does!"
Mikhail charged straight ahead at Riku, clawing and snapping at him, but Zero came in between them and unleashed her own attacks. Because she cared so much about him, she didn't hold back an inch of her strength and put everything into cutting straight through his tough skin.
"I'm sorry I have to do this, but I'm not losing you!" She cried out to him.
"Impudence." Three shot several dark spheres at Zero, causing her to crash into the ground.
"Zero!"
"Don't stop! Keep fighting!"
Riku shot multiple Thundaga spells at Mikhail so he could build up to a devastating Thundaza finisher. By the end of his long string of attacks, Mikhail plummeted to the ground where Riku finished it off with a Bind spell that wrapped his body in chains. However, the chains were hardly suffice and didn't properly restrain Mikhail's head, the most dangerous part, so he used the last of his magic to freeze his head solid with a Blizzaga spell.
"Hah...hah...you still holding up, Zero?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." She got up and ran over to Mikhail then pet his frozen head. "It's almost over."
'Crap, I think Three disappeared right before I hit Mikhail with that Blizzaga spell. I need to do this quickly before she tries something.' "Wait- Zero, get away from him!"
In an instant, a hybrid solider grabbed Zero from behind and held her against her will while the ice encasing Mikhail's head melted away and turned into a thick steam.
"Damn it! Zero!" Before Riku could come to Zero's aid, another hybrid solider restrained him.
Then Three finally revealed herself from the shadows. "You see, I haven't fed Mikhail in a while so he's very hungry. My older sister will make an excellent meal for him and as soon as you're done watching her get eaten alive. You can be his afternoon snack."
"No way in HELL!" Despite the solider being several times his own weight, the rush of adrenaline from Zero's life being on the line gave him all the strength he needed to overpower the soldier and slam him to the ground. With not a second to waste, Riku blindly ran into the steam, quickly located Zero, pulled her away from the solider, then moments later, she heard a gruesome crunching noise.
Once the steam cleared, Zero saw the upper half of Riku's body lying on top of her, while the lower half was in-between Mikhail's teeth. Both of Riku's legs, up to his thighs, were completely bitten off and he was gushing out blood faster than a river. "No nonononono...don't die! Don'tidedon'tdie! No...no..."
Riku's dwindling life was evident by his chains disappearing from Mikhail who didn't seem to be conscious of his actions until he saw the results lying in a bloody mess in front of him. "Wha...Riku? Wha- What did I do?! What did I do?!"
"Shh shh. What you did was right. They're your enemies, Mikhail, they fear your power." Three re-appeared on top of Mikhail's head out of a dark portal. "Now finish off the rest of these scum! Burn them to ash! HA HA HAA-" She was suddenly stabbed in the chest by a spear that seemingly came out of nowhere, but when she turned to identify the attacker, she saw Dito sliding down one of the columns.
"—That should shut you up," He said.
She pulled the spear from her back. "As if this would kill me!"
"But this will!" While she was preoccupied with Dito's surprise attack, she didn't notice Cent, who had came at her from behind and ended up stabbing her in the chest.
"Neither will that." She was about to take out his sword when she was suddenly paralyzed by such intense pain that she could hardly move. "Wh...what?!"
"Three, are you okay?!" Mikhail asked.
"She won't be for long." Cent dropped down from Mikhail's head, then waved a small vial in his hand. "I coated my blade with the venom of the most deadly scorpion known to the Land of Sands. Fun fact: did you know it can kill you within 10 minutes? I'd get that checked out if I were you."
"Damn...how annoying. Mikhail ...we need to leave." She faced the rest of them. "Know this: we will destroy this world and rebuild it back anew."
With a giant flap of his wings, he pushed himself into the air, then flew through the ceiling of the chamber. It was the last disturbance that finally caused the chamber to collapse on itself.
"MIKHAIIIIIIIIIL!" Zero screamed, but he was already gone. She scooped Riku's body in her arms, then yelled for the rest to follow as they made their escape.
"Hang in there Riku! I'll find a doctor for you, just don't die on me!"
Fear not, you will not die
You gave up death the moment you were bound to me.
"...Zero...ah...don't let it...Zero..."
I will give every bit of my essence to you and in return,
You will become my vessel
"The Flower...Zero...stop it..."
"Shut up! How are you even talking right now?!"
You will not remember our exchange,
Not until it's time for you to end this world.
He tried reaching for Zero's dragon sword, but he lacked the strength to grasp it. "Zero please...you need to...kill m- ah...AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
"Riku?!"
They made it out of Two's shrine just as Riku was beginning his transformation. In a horrific turn of events, a flower germinated out of Riku's left eye, then it grew larger and larger and larger until a hand sprouted out from its petals.
Zero stood back, watching Riku regenerate by slowly climbing out of the Flower, drenched in blood.
"Damn he's gone full Intoner," Dito said.
Two put her hands over her mouth. "...Riku..."
Zero held him in his arms again before he could fall to the ground. "Tell me you're okay," She said.
"...I'm fine...I'm just...tired." Once he fell asleep, Zero picked him up, carried him over to the campsite, then set him down.
"Octa, get whatever clothes you can from his original body. Decadus, get some water."
"Right away."
"Yes ma'am."
"Heh, not bad at all," Dito said, walking over to them.
"Fuck off."
"Hey, I'm just saying. I know you were thinking it too~"
'It's like he thinks I ALWAYS think about sex. I wasn't even looking at it that much. Whatever.' She got closer to his face to get a better look at the recently bloomed Flower in his eye. 'Just like mine. I guess the Flower wanted him to live.'
"-Is it...is it my fault he looks like this because he absorbed my powers?" Two asked.
"No. This is all because he met me." She fell down to her knees. "Fuck...Mikhail hates me and now I ruined Riku's life forever. Hell, I ruined both of their lives."
"Hey, don't beat yourself up so much. I'm sure Riku wouldn't want you blaming yourself for the decisions he made and it's not like Mikhail meant those things he said to you."
"No. I genuinely fucked up. I let them both into my shitty life and fucked both of theirs over." Rather than sulk on the ground, she stood up and picked up her belongings. "Fuck this."
"Wha- Where are you going?"
"I don't know, I'm done dealing with this shit."
"...Are you serious? Riku almost died for you and now you're just gonna leave him behind?!"
"Yeah actually. Life was better when I didn't give a shit about anyone."
"Running away from your problems doesn't make your life any better, it's just makes you more miserable. I know that better than anyone. So stay here and be with Riku because he needs you now more than ever."
"...I'm the last person he needs." Without another word, she walked away.
Two's shoulders sunks. "I can't believe it...how could anyone be so cruel?"
"You're so kind Lady Two that you can't comprehend the actions of those who are selfish, but I understand perfectly," Cent said. "Just let her be. She'll come to her senses soon enough."
"If you say so." She rubbed her arm. "By the way...I didn't know you were planning on killing Three."
"It had to be done. Look at the destruction she's caused...and the barbaric way she almost killed you is unforgiveable. Some people are just far too gone to be saved."
"But...I'm here. So that's not completely true. The darkness makes you do terrible things and you know that firsthand Cent...it wouldn't be fair to her at all if we gave up on her entirely!"
Cent looked over to Riku's blood stained body. "I think that ship's long sailed by now."
Hours passed into the day and as the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, Riku finally woke up. Before he could even figure out what was going on, Two immediately hugged him. "Oh, I'm glad you're awake! We were all getting so worried about you!"
"I was doing fine," Dito said.
"Well most of us were worried."
"Thanks, uh, I don't know if it's because I'm still tired, but why can't I see out of my left eye and...why am I not wearing pants?"
"Basically, Mikhail bit your legs off and you were about to die, but then a flower grew out of your eye and it created a new body for you. That's as far as I know."
"So that means I have the Flower now? Damn." He looked around. "Where's Zero? She might have more information."
"Uh...well...about that..." Even though she didn't say it, just one look in her eyes told Riku all he needed to know.
"...Oh."
"—Hey, asshole!" Zero popped back up at the campsite with several bags in her hands that she dumped all on the ground. "You're looking shitty as always."
"What is all this?" Riku asked.
"I wouldn't mind if you walked around half-naked but I figured you'd be pissed about it so here-" She pulled out a fresh pair of black trousers along with other articles of clothing.
Having known Zero for this long, Riku was naturally skeptical at first. "You're not up to something, are you?"
"No, you dick. I'm being nice to you, but I can throw it into the fire if you don't want it."
"Wait, sorry, I was just kinda surprised. This is unlike you."
"You're acting like I'm a selfish bitch all the time."
"Uh..."
"Don't be a fucking smartass about it, just try it on already."
Two pulled Zero aside while Riku tried on his new clothes. "So, what's with the sudden change of heart? You really made it seem like you were leaving."
She shrugged. "I can't beat the heartless on my own."
"That can't be the only reason, you were so serious before."
"Really, that's it."
"Uh huh..." 'I'm not buying that. Wonder what it could've been though.'
"-Hey, these aren't bad. Thanks Zero, I appreciate it," Riku said.
She crossed her arms. "Yeah, don't mention it."
"But now that you're here, do you know why this flower suddenly grew in my eye?"
"Guessing it wanted to keep you from dying. You already know what this means, don't you? It'll try its damnedest to take control of you, be prepared for it."
"I figured, but I'm ready for whatever happens."
"Did it speak to you at all before it happened?"
He shook his head. "If I did I don't remember, everything went blurry after Mikhail bit off my legs. Which speaking of, where do you think him and Three flew off to?"
"She most likely fled back the Land of Forests to heal herself."
He wound his arm around. "Then that's where we're headed next, right?"
"That may not be wise. I think Three might be preparing for something big," Cent said.
"What do you mean? Like an all out attack?"
"Yes. Do you remember that very first conversation you had with Three? She was basically talking about taking over the world. It was just talk then, but now that she has Mikhail I think she's actually serious." He snapped his fingers together. "Ah, and I have a feeling all of our soldiers that were supposed to be in Lady Two's shrine are in the Land of Forests with her."
"So what if Three has a few dozen soldiers and some heartless, even she couldn't take over the whole world like that," Zero said.
"Heh, actually, half the work is already done for her. Four and Five are dead and their countries are probably swarming with heartless by now. The Land of Sands isn't looking too hot either now that our whole military's gone. That just leaves..."
"Cathedral City," Two said. "That must be her next target. If Cathedral City falls then it's basically over. We...We have to go there as soon as possible so One can help us defeat Three! She's probably, no she's the only one in the whole world who can help us put an end to this!"
"So now we have to leave Mikhail alone with that crazy bitch?!" Zero argued.
"It might be what's best. Lady One will have all the tools and resources necessary for us to ensure our victory in this encounter," Decadus said.
"It's okay Zero. This is the last time we will ever lose to her. We're going to get Mikhail back soon and make Three pay." Riku's voice may of sounded calm as ever, but his rage showed itself through his actions as he squeezed the rock he was sitting on so hard that it crushed under his hands.
"You're right, then tomorrow we go to Cathedral City."
The Keyblade Wielder.
What a poor, foolish boy,
A strong heart that has yet to yield.
But soon, his hands will be used to destroy.
Flowers for the Dead
A/N: Fast update bc I'm out of school and unemployed rn so I'm writing a lot now. Anyways, if you guys got any suggestions for what to call the drakengard keyblade then lmk!
