The pirates ganged up on them with their cutlasses and spears. "Don't think you've won, boy! We'll kill you lot and take the flower girl in one way or another!"
"At least you'll all make great target practice for this new technique I've been working on." Zero got out a heavy chain from her person, connected it to the handle of her sword, then swung it around like crazy, cutting down a large group of the pirates...and nearly Five and Riku's heads.
"Watch where you're swinging that thing!" Riku yelled.
"Right, you almost gave me an ugly bald spot!" Five cried.
"Alright, fine!" Zero went further into the fray of pirates to avoid accidentally beheading her allies while Five and Riku stayed behind.
"D- Do you really think we can do this? I mean, there's so many of them," Five said.
"Yeah, if we put our minds to it then we can do anything."
"Easy for you to say. I'm afraid I'm not as strong as I used to be..."
Riku yanked Five back before a spear could impale her. "Then I got enough strength for the both of us." Since they were right smack in the middle of a giant enemy mob, Riku focused on crowd control. Wrapping his keyblade in a veil of dark lightning, he hurled it at the incoming pirates, and it zapped around in an orbit, cutting everyone in its path.
Riku caught the blade in his hand as it flew back to him, then faced rest of the pirates. "Alright, who's next?"
All of a sudden, a larger-than-life, fully decked out airship followed by a fleet of other ships flew overhead. The remaining pirates waved frantically at the sky. "It's the Captain's ship! We're saved! We're saved!"
An enormous shadow cast from Captain Faris's airship loomed over the battlefield, marking a change of tide for the ongoing battle. Pirate heartless crawled out from the giant shadow and assisted the crew, forcing Five and Riku to go on the defense, their backs against each other.
"That ship...you think Faris is on that thing?" Riku asked.
"She has to be, I remember that ship when she first sailed to the Land of Seas! Faris is the one that stole everything away from me but I'm taking it all back today—my land, my people, my summer vacation home and my...d...disciple?"
Riku could feel Five's body tense up so he turned his head to her. "Hey, you okay?"
"Dito..." Five left his side to run over to Dito, who had finally shown up on the battlefield.
"Gotta say Five, your 'disguise' really threw me for a loop, I guess even a dumbass like you can learn a thing or two when your life's on the line."
With everything going on around her, Five's physical appearance was the last thing on her mind, instead, she was focused on trying to convey her feelings to him and say all the things she never got a chance to in the brothel. "I ...okay, look-" She let out an exasperated sigh. "I've done some reflection over the past few weeks and I realized that I maybe wasn't being the best Intoner to you and I-"
He held his hand out. "Yeah let me stop you right there, I don't give a shit about your half-assed apology. I just wanted you to see how much better off I am without you making my life miserable before I kill you!" He swung his spear out, then tried to stab her but she swiftly dodged the blade.
"Fine! I don't care if you hate me Dito, I still won't give up on you!"
On the other side of the battlefield, Zero was practically yawning at how easily she was slaughtering the pirates just by swinging her sword around.
One of the pirates turned to his buddy as they were defending against Zero. "Oi, this shit's turning out to be a losin' battle, where's the Cap'n when ya need her?"
"Prolly drinking her own weight in beer!" He laughed.
"Ha ha that's our Cap'n alr-" He paused mid-sentence when he saw his buddy's head get cut off right in front of him. "Gah! This ain't funny anymore!"
Despite the speed it was flying at, a pirate who was clearly worth their salt in swordsmanship managed to intercept Zero's blade and knock it to the ground. Of course, the only one who possessed any semblance of skill had to be the captain of the Elven Pirates herself; Captain Faris. "My crew hasn't gotten their land legs back quite yet, but you'll find no such weakness with me," She said, twirling her cutlass around in her hand.
True to what her shanty described, Captain Faris was a beautiful, voluptuous elf woman with long, luscious pink hair that flowed down to her back. However, that beauty only went skin deep, not only did she look the part of a pirate, sporting a frilly black waistcoat and even the stereotypical eyepatch, but she was every bit as despicable as a pirate could be.
"Elf, huh? So you're the one everyone's up in arms about," Zero said.
"That's right, in the flesh, lass! Now, why don't we end this quickly so I can get home at a decent time for once."
"Heh, you're cocky for someone that's about to die!" Zero slung her sword at Faris and their duel commenced.
'A sword tied up to a chain? She's a crazy bitch, that's for sure. Well, then it's time to get up close and personal.' Ducking and weaving past Zero's sword as it came flying in her direction, Captain Faris ran up to Zero and attempted to stab her, thinking she left herself wide open, only for Zero to grab her sword suddenly with combat bracers. "Gotcha."
Unbeknownst to her, Zero wasn't just haphazardly throwing around her sword, but had a plan in mind. While Captain Faris was doing all of her fancy footwork trying to avoid her attacks, Zero ensnared her feet with the chain, and when she yanked on it, the elf pirate fell to the ground. Then when Zero pulled at the chain again, Captain Faris was turned to her stomach so the last thing she would ever see was Zero's sword sliding across the pavement, about to slice her body in half lengthwise.
For being able to execute such an elaborate trap, Zero thought she could've at least been rewarded with the kill, but like the talentless hack Captain Faris was, she fell back on the darkness as a last-ditch effort and summoned her heartless to stop Zero's sword in its tracks. One big body heartless had its foot on the chain while the other helped Captain Faris up to her feet.
"You thought it'd be that easy to kill me? Cute," She taunted as if she wasn't just moments away from getting slaughtered.
"Shut the hell up." Zero put away her sword and chain for now and decided to rely on her combat bracers, Darklord's Flame, for the duration of the fight. 'Fuck it, I'll just beat the shit out of her with these.'
For being on opposing sides of each other, their fighting styles were remarkably similar, both leaning heavily on the aggressive side. Neither of them would let up either, not even for a second, so they both got cut up a considerable amount. Though this was to Zero's advantage since she was intentionally building up to Intoner mode. However, little did she know, Captain Faris was well aware of her powers and so right before the crescendo of their fight, she decided to strike up a deal with Zero.
"Intoner, allow me to let you in on a little secret," Captain Faris said as they clashed once more. "I'm sure you've seen your wanted posters around the city, that wasn't a mistake. I want you alive...in fact, you were always my target from the beginning."
"What the hell for?!"
"Those were the orders from my boss, but I try not to be cruel if I can help it. If you turn yourself into me now, I'll call off my crew, my heartless and allow your friends to live, how about it?"
'No, there's something off about all of this. This bitch was going all out on me before, now's she suddenly trying to weasel her way out of this like she knows that I'm getting ready to use my Intoner powers. And not only that, but she knows what the heartless are called, this world only just began, so how could she know anything about that?'
After a quick analysis of the situation, Zero came to a sudden realization. 'Wait a second, she mentioned having a boss. I wonder if it's possible that I'm not the only one who remembers everything that happened in the past and if they're responsible for why this bimbo has dark powers. Either way, I have to find out who her boss is or Riku and Mikhail could be in serious trouble.' And so in a rare turn of events, Zero relented on her parley. "...Fine."
"Wait, seriously?"
"Yeah."
"Whoa! That was way easier than I thought it would be, cool! I mean- ahem, of course you would give in to the demands of THE Captain Faris. As promised, I will call off my crew and your friends will be free to go."
In the meantime, Riku was sweeping out the pirate heartless that surfaced on the battlefield, until the whole battle got abruptly called off. What was left of Captain Faris's crew withdrew and were retreating back to her airship.
"...Everyone's leaving?" Riku checked his surroundings, trying to gather as much information as he could. "That doesn't make sense, Five's still here...wait, Zero! I need to fin-"
"—Looking for someone, boy?"
Riku found Zero standing near Captain Faris, who was smiling in his direction. "I'll be taking this one off your hands, though I'm sure she won't be missed."
He gripped his keyblade. "LET HER GO!" Rushing over to Captain Faris, he swung his keyblade over his shoulder, ready to clash swords with her.
"Aw, shit!" As much as Dito wanted to shred Five's body into pieces, he had to eliminate the threat to his captain's safety first. Five tried to warn Riku of the impending danger but Dito was fast on his feet and Riku was single-mindedly focused on Captain Faris. So just like that, Dito shoved his spear straight through Riku's stomach.
"RIKU!" Zero screamed.
Through sheer tenacity or perhaps sheer stubbornness, Riku refused to go down. "No...hah...hah...I WON'T LOSE YOU ZERO!" A dark aura enveloped both his body and sword as he tapped into the power of darkness, his darkness feeding and sustaining itself off his pure, seething rage like fire would consume the oxygen in the air. Despite the severity of his injuries, he executed one of his more complex techniques, Dark Splicer, and every enemy around him; Dito, the pirates, Captain Faris, were all placed under a Stop spell before they could even react.
Riku set his sights on the elven pirate, then moved around her so fast that Zero couldn't even see when he swung his sword, only the afterimages of his body and the streaks of blood splattering across the ground as if it were a canvas.
In order to stop him, Zero had to predict his movements and intercept his sword before he could strike again. Sparks flew from their blades as they locked swords with one another and battled for dominance. "Enough Riku, I wanted this, okay?!"
"What're you talking about?! What do you mean you wanted this?!"
The look Riku gave Zero was almost enough to take her out right then and there, but she was so determined to protect the person she lo- cared so much for that she was willing to go through with the crazy plan she hatched up. So she pushed down harder on his blade. "It means...it means that I'm doing this for you, damn it! I'm not letting what happened to you and Mikhail last time happen again, so for once in your life, just stay out of it!"
"No...Zero...you're..." With his adrenaline rush dying down, he was starting to feel the excruciating, burning pain of the spear that was still lodged in his body. He did everything in his power to stay conscious because there was so much he wanted to say to Zero, so much he wanted to get off his chest, but the words just couldn't quite fall out.
Zero caught Riku in her arms before he could fall. "...Promise me that you'll stay out of it, Riku. Please, just do that for me."
Centurious the Azure: Yep back in the game and pushing these chapters out until I go into hibernation again. Yes I thought it was super amusing for five of all people to go on Christian purity rants. Oh yes I was going to address that towards the end, I think she's bi herself or maybe pan idk though I'm not sure if Dito is bi or just flat out gay
J Geil: The answer's yes lol, I don't leave things half done. N:OII deals with the ramifications of Sora being gone and learning to deal with his absence. If Sora does come back, I'll have to explore those concepts tho. Tbh idk much about star wars, let alone the clone wars, but it sounds pretty interesting.
Gundam-Knight-Chris: Whenever she decides to get over herself, Zero would as soon as kill any harem he might have tbh
Anon: Oh so not a car key but a house key, I see the line of thinking, still a downgrade tho. Riku'll get used to Midgard soon enough;) My favorite tropes are cutting off arms and bumping into forests, lol, great narrative tools. Can you blame Riku? He's literally friends with mickey mouse and kh speak is all he knows. I think if Zero actually met Donald and Goofy, I think she'd understand why Riku is the way he is. God-fearing pious nun Five folds after seeing one undressed man.
Keybladelight: Five's not exactly going to her child form. Zero doesn't know anything abt that keyblade, it's just nothing she paid close attention to. Riku's just gonna have to regain his memories on his own time if he wants to remember using the way to dawn keyblade. Branch B focuses more so on Five and Three, but everything will come together in the last branch.
"Oath"
The last time I got captured like this was back before all of this started, back before the Flower ever took root in my life...
Back then, I would tell myself that everything I did, all the lives I took, the places I robbed, all of it was for my own survival but that was all just a big lie to make myself feel better. In reality, I was shitting away my life, living empty day after empty day without purpose, it's actually funny how stupid that all was.
["Ahem! As you can see, the Captain's not exactly in the best shape right now, but she'll recover soon. As her first mate, that means I'm in charge of the crew. So...I guess I'll start off with the status reports, basically, a lot of people died but we did capture the Intoner so it was a mission success. We just have to wait on-"]
["-Oi! Ain't that the Captain's runt?"]
["-Yeah, I think the runt's name was li'l Dick!"]
I guess I didn't care because I knew that I was gonna die one way or another, it's not like there was anything worth living for anyway. So whatever, kill a few hundred people, rob families for the fun of it, I'm going to hell anyway so who cares.
But I feel like I tell that story over and over again; poor prostitute girl gets the shit beaten out of her until she eventually keels over and dies. That's how my life was supposed to go after all, but clearly, I wasn't so lucky, and now I find myself back in the exact same situation I was in all those years ago.
["So what do we do with the Intoner then runt?"]
["Just throw her in the dungeon for now, Faris will deal with her later. In the meantime, you guys dispatch the rest of the airships and search around the perimeter of the city."]
["Eh, what for?"]
["I know Faris made a deal with the Intoner to keep her friends alive but fuck it, I'm captain now. Find Five and that boy she was with and kill both of them. Call it payback for what they did to Faris."]
["Aye, aye!"]
At least now I have a reason for all of this, a reason to give myself up, a reason to give a fuck about what happens in my life. And honestly, I can't say I hate the world as much as I used to. The same world that's tried its damndest to fucking kill me so many times has given me everything I ever could've wanted. So I guess it's not so bad.
["Alright, we're at home base, boys. Let's bring da Intoner to da dungeon like da runt ordered."]
The pirates threw Zero into a damp, dark cell that reeked of old piss and stale beer, a smell she would, unfortunately, had to get used to.
"Da Captain'll deal with you later when she's up and at 'em. Just know you're in for it when she comes down here." The moronic-sounding pirate slid a finger past his throat.
Zero rolled her eye so hard she swore she could see the back of her skull. "Looking at your ugly mug is torture enough." Her slick comment made her receive a strike across her face and a heaping pile of spit at her feet.
"I wouldn't be a smartass if I were ya, Intoner. Or things'll start gettin' real ugly down here." Then he slammed the cell door shut.
Zero lost track of how long she was imprisoned, it could've been hours, days, hell, her time in there could've been approaching a week. They only fed her every so often, not that she was ever looking forward to it, even a dog would turn its nose at the slop they gave her, but it's not like her immortal ass had a choice in the matter. She couldn't just wait for the sweet release of death, if her body lost all function due to starvation, it would just create a new one, over and over, in an endless cycle.
So she toughed it out for days on end until one day, she heard the sound of heels clicking down the steps. Captain Faris had finally recovered from Riku's brutal attack and came down to see Zero.
"Long time no see, Inton-" She pinched her nose. "Oh god, you smell like a gigas's asshole. Let's get you bathed, I can't have you stinkin' up the place when my boss arrives."
"So I'll finally find out what the fuck you guys want me for?"
"I'm as lost as you lass, so it'll be a surprise for both of us. Boys, take her to the washroom now, then meet back here in no more than 20 minutes. We're running on time here."
"Aye, aye!"
By the time Zero was shoved back into her cell, Captain Faris was pacing around the dungeon, her face wrought with anxiety, a sharp departure from her usual bravado. But Zero knew how these things worked, the so-called 'Captain' was just another henchman posturing as the final boss, while the worst had far yet to come.
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind rushed inside the dungeon, even though they were underground, then dark, black clouds billowed from the steps, roaming across the dungeon floors. A bolt of lightning struck the ground, igniting emerald green fire with flames so high it grazed the ceiling.
Zero watched Captain Faris's face go from anxious to downright piss-herself-at-any-moment levels of terrified, so she was fully expecting a demon or some eldritch monster beyond human comprehension to step out of the flames. Instead, it was just an old witch lady dressed in a tattered, black cloak, and her intrigue immediately went down the drain.
"Way to make an entrance," Zero muttered.
"Uh um- ahem!" Captain Faris scrambled herself together to bow down to her 'boss'. "Greetings Maleficent, my lady, the Intoner Zero as you requested is in her cell!"
"I can clearly see that, now get out of my way." Maleficent approached Zero's cell, her long shadow swallowing her whole. "My, my, so this is the Zero who everyone's been raving about, the immortal girl with the power of a demonic entity inside of her. How very intriguing indeed."
"How the hell would you know about that?!"
"I have my ways of getting what I want, and right now, you have something I want-" She drummed her long fingernails alongside the iron cell bars. "Or rather I should say, you have something that I want for Riku."
"...You know Riku?"
"Do I know him?" Her cackling laughter reverberated across the dungeon, ringing through Zero's ears. "Why of course I do, that boy is like the son I never wanted, I'm the reason that he's so familiar with the darkness in the first place." She walked around, reminiscing on the past, while Zero followed her every movement and listened very carefully. "...I had such marvelous plans for him, that boy possessed a raw talent for the darkness unlike most, but sadly my vision for him was thwarted by a certain nuisance. No matter, because it's all led me to here. This world is far better suited to my interests than any I've ever been to before."
She scoffed. "He sure as hell never mentioned you before."
"Because he didn't trust you, dear, and I can see why."
"Are you gonna tell me what the fuck you want or are you gonna keep monologuing to me you old hag?!"
"What a temper, how you're not a heartless yet is beyond me. In any case, I came here to ask how exactly you were able to implant the Flower inside of Riku?"
"I knew it, so you know about the world starting over too! I bet you're behind why all of this shit has been happening at Midgard! All of these heartless, the weird fucking 'darkness' powers, and why Riku's even here in the first place!"
"Mm, perhaps I had a hand in introducing the heartless here, but Midgard was more than willing to accept them. Though, I wasn't aware that the subjects of this world knew of this timeline resetting. Is Riku or that dragon of yours aware of the events from the past as well?"
"No. I'm the only one that knows."
"Is that so? Then you seem to be a rather perceptive girl, I wonder, do you know who's responsible for this? I must also have them killed should they stand in my way again."
"I have no idea what you're talking about. What's your big plan for all this anyway? What do you even want Riku for?"
"Why, to have what any surrogate mother wants, their son back in their arms again."
"Bullshit! You already know about the true intentions of the Flower, you just want to be able to control Riku so you can have him carry out your sick plans of world domination or whatever the fuck you want."
"Then I need not waste my time with you any longer. You will tell me how you were able to implant that Flower inside Riku, and should you not, I'll simply turn you into a heartless. I've been told of the terrifying transformations your other sisters underwent so your heart should yield quite the formidable heartless."
"Go ahead and turn me into a heartless, I'm still not telling you anything!"
Maleficent's lips curled. "Oh? So you would lose your life to protect that wretched boy? That's quite commendable. However, I have no intentions of backing down, Intoner, if you won't tell me yourself then I'll simply have to coerce the information out of you."
"Coerce?" Zero looked her up and down. "So you're gonna throw it back for me or what, granny?"
"E...Excuse me?"
"Excuse her vulgarness, my lady. She's a common whore," Captain Faris said.
Zero gritted her teeth. "Why don't you come a little closer and say that shit to my face?!"
"Oh, I see, worry not Intoner, the darkness will soon cure the sickness in your head once it poisons your heart." Maleficent turned to Captain Faris. "Elf, I know I said I didn't like to resort to torture at the best of times, but make this one an exception. I have other matters to attend to at the moment, but once I return, I want you to thoroughly shatter the pride she so stubbornly clings onto."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"And one more thing, you've made sure Riku's has been kept alive and in good condition, correct?"
She winced. 'FUCK! I mean I think he should be fine, right? He's a tough kid.'
"Uh...yes, yes! H-He's in great condition! N-Not a hair out of place...!"
"I mean you did have your lackey stab him so there's probably a few hairs out of place," Zero said.
"He's been stabbed? Did I not make it crystal clear that Riku had to be kept alive at all costs?"
"Yes- m-many times in fact, but my partner- he was acting on his own."
Maleficent approached Captain Faris in a way that forced her to back up against the wall. "The reason I gave you those powers was so that very thing would not happen, yet you're still so incompetent that not even all the power in the world could save you." Her hand lit ablaze with dark magic. "Perhaps you would just be better off as a heartless, at least then you won't waste my time."
"Someone's in trouble," Zero teased.
Tired of being humiliated in front of her own prisoner, Captain Faris did what she knew best and started talking her way out of it. "...My lady, if I may speak, if such a sloppy attack like that was enough to kill Riku, then he was never worthy enough to be the vessel of this demonic entity you speak of in the first place. I can tell that he's a strong kid, he'll overcome any obstacle he faces and come dragging himself back to me in order to save the Intoner."
She continued. "And by the time he does come here, I'll have the Intoner at my mercy and he'll be ripe for the picking."
"Good, and should you fail your mission, you'll be joining the Intoner, do you understand?"
"Y...Yes...ma'am."
"Don't disappoint me." And with that, she vanished into a veil of green flames.
"Damn, better get to it so your ass isn't on the chopping block," Zero said.
Captain Faris reached in between the bars of the cell and snatched Zero by the collar so hard that her face slammed against the cell bars. "So don't make this any harder than it needs to be, Intoner! Just tell my boss whatever she wants to hear when she comes back and you won't have to get tortured, in fact, we'll even release you when all of this is over! My boss doesn't want that boy to get hurt and I'm promising you your safety so it's a win-win situation here. Come on, don't try to play the hero, just be reasonable about this, alright? So whaddya say?"
"I say go fuck yourself."
She let out a sharp exhale, then dropped her back on the ground. "Fine. We'll do things the hard way." Heading towards the steps, she stopped one more time to face Zero. "I feel real sorry for ya Intoner, I'd give it a day until you're spilling your guts. My first mate's one sadistic son of a bitch, he's gonna have a ball making you shit your brains out."
"Heh, I'm game. Give me your best shot." 'If anyone's listening to me up there then please just let me turn into a fucking heartless or whatever the fuck you need to happen so Riku and Mikhail don't have to go through all of that bullshit again. They can probably stop the Flower on their own, and at least this way I won't have a chance to ruin their lives any more than I already have.'
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"̵̱͎̗̜̠̬̆̀̈͂͠ͅB̴͖̫̰̝̔͜e̵͎̹̥͋̀ ̵̫̺̼̻̱̼̏̀̌͊̀̃̀̒q̷̭̖̉̊̅̔u̴͉͍͔͒̌̈́́̆̎̂ỉ̵͈̱̳̖͕̕e̸̲̰̒̋̓̅̈͆̈t̶̨͔͉̺̗̺̮̄̓̂̀͘.̴͖̘̗͌͝ ̵̡̱͂Į̶̡̖̤̖̙̑̓͗͝ͅf̷̛͙͉̙̻͉̲̬͚͊͘͘͝ ̵̢̧̥̙͎̞̩̐̏̈́̾̀͛̕y̴̢͙̥̙̖̥̦̹͗͊͌͘ͅó̸̰̙̼̼̗̟̖̟̿͐̓̎u̶̝̰̗̞̭͇̣̼͑͐̎̑̇̂̈́͆̓͜'̵̮̼͔͆̈́͆̎͝r̸̡̠͖͓̽͗́̍̄́͆̎̕͜ế̸̛̯̫̦͐̍̌̑̕ ̷̻̖͚̣͙̼̹͔̺̀̔ǵ̵̱̊͠o̴̩̰͛̀̈́͗̀̍͛͑̚î̷̡̢̛̹̞̗̜̂̏͆̔ǹ̷̮͈̖͓͔͓̗̃̉͌̈͌͠g̷̖̀̋ ̴̲̟͖̽̽͜͝ṫ̵̢̞̫͚̩̰̥̩̲̓̔̄̀̽͒̄͘ơ̶̢̻͚̥̪̣̲̂̀̓̎ ̶̘̤̋̇̋̎̏͆b̵̖͉̟̑́͌͒̍̈̒̈́͝ě̷͎̩̠͓̲͇̤͂̿̀͜ ̸̭̐̀̔ą̵̨̛̣̘͔͔̱̤͙̈́̌̋̑͝͠ ̴̻͕̒̈́̈́p̵͚̈́͛̓͑̓̚͘ȧ̵̢̲͚̼̣̺̮͈ṝ̴̺̟̣̣̼̳̅͋͌̏̈́͛̚t̵̢͓̠̭̻͚̘͇̏̽͒̔̈́̑̚͜ ̴̡̇̊̏͛o̸̧̨̨̖̩̐̆̋̽̇͒f̷̝͚̦͍̻̣͒́ ̸̡͍̂͘m̶̛̮̠̮̗̬̫̿́̀͐̈́̒̓è̷̡͈̱̦͋̇̐͒̚,̶̢̡̲͓̦̩̩̀ ̸̡̥̥͗̇̆͠f̸̢̣̩͖̖͙̽̏r̴̗̾͋͑͌ơ̴̧͇͓͙̮̣̑̇͑ͅm̴̹͍̃͑͜ ̷͚͕͕̭̝̆̃ņ̶̨̘̬͂͗̀̈̒o̵̡̙̙͎͖͙͂͑͑́̚͜͝͝ͅw̷̮̟̲̙̏̽̋̅̅ ̸̼̤̾̿͜o̷̤͔͎̜͎̦̲̔̀̆͐̓̃͛͑͝ǹ̷͇͍̣̹ͅ ̸͎͙̗̫̰̲̖͓̌́͌̎̎̆̃͗͠ͅÍ̵̢͍͖̣͎̥'̶̢͎͙͇̎̈́̀̈́̈́͛̄̒m̷̨͖͚̬̯̃̓͊̽͝͠͠͠ ̸̢͚̗̗̪͒g̸̨̬̩͚̰̼͖̿o̸̝͍̦̱̮͎̍n̵͇̾͑̾̈́̃̈́͠n̷͖͎̬̘̠͈̾a̵̼̤̞̯͉͕̜̭͌̌̅̒͜͝ ̶̤͍̮̤̪͓̳̏̓̐̔͋͑̐̎͜u̸͕͚͍̬̿s̵̢̼̙̘̠̿̆́͛̋̆͝͝ë̸̝͕̗͕͂̔̆͋̓̍̋͘͜ ̴̡̰̦̇͂̈͌̾̈́̒̄͝ͅę̵͖̙͕̺̗͉̏̔́̆̏̿̀͜ṿ̵̢̨͇̣̟̖͙͑̑ͅe̸̡͙̮̙̓́̏͌̊̅̕r̸̡̜͓̩̱̻͒̄̍̇̚y̶̹̅̓͂̌̓́̆͘͠ ̵̝͕̤̭̂̐͒̒͝ͅb̶̛̗̮̹̱̘͗́͗̍̏̀̊͠i̷̱͓̊̓̓͒͆͊͆͝͠t̸̛̰̠̤̣̤̓͊͋̊̓̕ ̴̨̺̝̻̦̪̗̬̩̇͐͋̑̐̈́̑̅ō̵̦͕̘̮̙̊͒́f̸͕̝͌̄̈́́͜ ̶͓̤̥̓͒̓̾̍̊̍̐y̸͕̰͉̮̳͇͎͝ò̷̹͔̻͍̻͕͙̏̓́͛u̵̢͆͗̈́̆̋̇̚r̷̢̯̻̺͕̲͝ ̴̲̪̫̝́̕p̴̼͓̻̣͓̖͊̕ȏ̸̫̌̓͗̍̊ͅͅw̸̢̖̹͈͉̗̓̎̐̀͆̽̀͘ḛ̶̂̀̇̓̽́r̴̻͓̟̥͈̝̐͋̾̽͜ ̷̮̪̖̉͋̂̾ş̸̪͔̺͉̠̜͉̄́̓̄̋͗͑̍o̴̞̹̒͑͒̚ ̷̧̤̞͍͚̭̒̇͆̏̄̈̑̑͝I̸̼̥̖̲͙̯̰̽͌̆͜͝ ̷͍̘̣͍̰̒ĉ̶̱̪̳̭̑͊̀̿̇͘͝͝ą̷̛͙̖͚̑͆̄̓n̸̛̯͒͐̚ ̶̢̢̨̱̝̝͙̭̂̾̾͆͋̊p̶͔̼̜̾͗͘r̸͙̉̽ȍ̷̢̬̬͆̎́̃͆͘͝t̸̝̪̤͚̬̱͓̎̇̀̓͜ͅe̸̜̥̤͒̀̉͗̽̄͘͝c̶̺̆̍̉̂̈́͒̅͌́ṯ̴̮͎̥͍͎̱͋̈́ ̷̢͇̼̦͚̋̒͑̓̀͌̕ṃ̶͇̺̜̣̪̳̜̒̓̿̆̕͝y̶̧͓͕̲̯͍̌̂͑͂̕ ̶̧͈̖̮̝͆̃̓̏͊̂͝f̴̛̥͌͆̂͌͋̈́ȑ̶̭̥̹͛i̴̛͈͚͑̾̍̓͑e̷͈̰̞̭̘͈͔̊̇͂͜͝n̶̨̳̩̍͋̿͘͜͠͠ď̷͚͙͋s̷͍̯̟̱̬̉̑͌̅́̈́̌͘͝!̴͚͎̘̟̣͎̪̾"̵̢̧̡̜͉͍̩̘̆̓ ̷̟͕̤͙̺͖̈́̃͠
[̸̻̭̼͎͔͐"̷͕̃"̵̩̮̙̽̽̒̓͑͜Ȍ̴̖̭̰̃̏̏͌f̴̗̻̟̄̈̀ ̵̢͔̱͕̀̔͂͊̎̏c̸̛̝̬̓o̶͚͍͇̠̊͜u̶̖̗̘̜͐̏̀̇̓̐r̵͕̻͜͝ş̶̡̩̼̟͒̓͛̕̚é̶͈͙̟̬͖̂͘͝,̴͎̬͔̘͈̀ ̴̨̧̜͂̚̕y̷̨̻͌̓͆̃o̸̩͖̝̖̪͑ͅù̴͉̗̅̆ ̸̩̥̝̩̤̲̆̽̈͘͠ḧ̵̰͙̯͓̭à̵̭̩͉̃͐̍͘v̵̨̹̹̟̩͐͆̓e̴̜̤͆̄ͅ ̵̦̮̀͌͘͠͠m̴̲͘͝ǫ̸̠̪̟̅͜ȑ̶͈̓e̷̙̹͚̩̻͋̐̐̐ ̵̤͎͗̾ṕ̶̢̹̟͈̰̣̽͘̚͠͝o̵̢̹̙̳̒̇̓w̴̬̜̐̏e̸̝̲͔̠̅͐͐̎̆͠r̴̫̤͉̣̿̆̿̈́ ̴̧̤̣̟̗̠͆ț̸̻̖͕͌h̵̦͖̠̘͊͛̈́̉͐̇a̵̬͓̠͈̦̘͑̈́̏̔͒͠n̸͎̒̈́ ̷̡͔̜́̿͛̽͐͜y̵̨̮̓́̀͊́̈o̴̭̜͆ù̷̪̀̕͘ ̴͍̲̐̓͝ͅk̴͕͙̽̒͘͝ṋ̵̱͔͓̊o̷̹͉͂̍̓̑̏͛͜w̴̫̺̮̠̪͉̎ ̷͓͓̥̞͙͈͂͝ä̸̤͚̯́ň̷̢̛̞̂͋d̷̫̫̞̐̇͜͝ ̴̡̳͖̥͌I̴̞̞͚͚͍͑̽ ̷̟̼̍̿͂̏s̴̡̭̟̟͕̾͆ư̶͍̫̩͍̜̇̒̕͜ǵ̶͖̤̪̩͗̈́̓̀͝g̶̛̦̫̺̤͐̾͊e̵̱̺̿̓̈́͆̈͠s̷̬̪̻̝̏̍̓̏͛t̷̲̘̞̅̍̾̃ ̶̥͚̺̰̟͐̍͠y̷̞͚̺͋͒͐͐̇o̵͕͎̼̼̽̂̀͝ͅũ̴͜ ̸͈̳̬͔̣̤̊̈͊́̈l̴̤̘̭͕͛̐̊̽̐é̸̦̭̲̺͙͉͘a̵̰̿̌̽̌̔r̶̳͔̥̗̓n̵͔̳̙̓̄͝ ̶̨̢͖̝̦͈͐̿͘͝ṯ̷̡̨̤̍̀̃̈́͋͝o̷̦̊͘ ̸̧̫̀̽̔ȕ̴̜̰̋̽̿ͅͅs̸̱̄è̴̝̹͖̥̻͒͠ ̶͇̝̙̦̪̱͊̿̚ȉ̵̼̗̿̄͆͌͋t̴̢̤̓͒ ̴͖͚̝̀̏̏̑w̵̨̛͙̺͚̤͌͛͑̄ͅë̴̘̲́̈̏̔l̴̨̳̟̘̑l̴̛̘͔͔͈̪͗̓͗̚ ̷̡̖̣͋̌̏̄̿b̷̲̙͚̌̏͒́ͅe̶̛̩͕͔̰̳̎͒̋͑̔ç̶̧̻̝̜̰̎̅̈́a̵͍̺̰̳̣͑ủ̵̘̮̬͚͉̯̓̈́̅s̸̫̰̗͓̪͊̌͝ē̷̦̈̽̀̔͊ ̶̫͙͔̺̜͚̑͛̈́̿t̵̡̘̋̊͠ȟ̶̨̩͈̭͋̄̾͐̒ḯ̴͉͑͂͌ş̴̮̹̈́́̌ ̴̡͌̉̕p̸̡͔͂â̴̧͎̍͗ͅt̸̯̟͑̄͋h̷͙̗̀͑̆̄͝ͅ ̸̨̰̥̱͎̈́ͅy̸̨̙̠̠̎͗͐͐͜ͅo̴̹̞̣͚̭͛͑̚͠ṳ̸̢̺̉͋̾̈́̊̈́'̴̡̦͇̳̹͆́̌̍̕ȓ̶͎̥̞̿̾͗̈́e̸̢̞̯͚͕͆̅̈́͐͌͠ ̸͔̞̲̑̈͒̊̓c̸̡̥͙̪̿̍͆ͅu̶̪͇̾̉͌̚͠r̸̢̰̮̪̾̈́r̴̯̞̱͂͊̈́̿ẹ̸̢̹̼̫̳̐̒̀n̴͈͖̩̤̾͑t̵̞̥̜̆̂l̵̺̏͂̎y̴̧̞̓̒͐̈́̂ ̵̤͊̓̚ṯ̸̔̈́a̶̙̘͐̎̕k̶̠̥͊̔̔̓͋i̴̛̹̯̟̫͑̈́͆n̵̜̞͖̹̳̫̈́̇g̶͖̲͒̉́́,̷̳̓͗̆̈́͂̉ ̸̗̾̓̉̿͘a̴̫͙̖̔s̵̞̱̯͙͕̙͘ ̶͎̱̓́̓̎̋ã̷̳͛̄d̸͙̰͙͕̝̅̊̋͋ḿ̴̲̘̦͚̄i̶͍͎̒̈́͌̉̚͝r̷̨̐ͅa̸̰͑b̵͓̝͗̓̄́̄͆l̸̹̘̲͊̃́ȇ̸̪̠̒͐́ ̴̧͂̌̂̾͘ą̸̻͊͆̕s̶͙̬̬̳͐ ̵̲̉́́̓̿̈́ĭ̶̧̼t̶̞̩̜͖̬̗̀ ̴̗̼̋͐͂̕î̶̡̨͙̹́̆̂́͠s̵̛̱͋̀̌̓̕,̵͓͖͓̝̆͑̿̍ ̴͍͝w̴̢̫̎̔̿̕ī̵̞̰͐̉͝͝l̶̡̰̱̙͍̱̿l̶̩̐͗̐ ̸͉̱̝͂̉̑͝o̷̫̝̼̯͈̩͒ń̸̝̖̰̦́͛ļ̶͙̩̻̤͓̈́͌̒̌͐̚ỷ̷̤͍̳͖͙̀̇ͅ ̷͇̘̗͈̌́̈̒̓̒e̸̳͉͓͚̕n̴̡̂̔̓̈̀d̴̻͍̀́̀͋ ̴̜͈͕̺͒̔͊͐́͝i̷̡̮̙̮͖͊͒̆̀̎n̶̗͕̈́͗̀̇͘͝ ̴̫̜̺̯̪͒y̴̮̣̣̐̆͑̋ǫ̷̰͙̪̳̯̀̋̾̏͝ǘ̴͕̠̺̺͆̀̽̾r̷̢͕̱̦̫͑̚ ̶̡̼̏d̸̰̑́̈́̀͛̿ͅę̴͊̔͐̄̾̚a̷̱̙̪͚͌͜ẗ̷̛̤͈̩̥͚́͜h̸̳̠͉̬̣͋͊̊͒̄͋.̴̳͎̭̉͛̓̑͘͘"̷̢̬͙̙͔̈́̂̾́̎̌]̷̢̯̹͇͍̖͐͘
̶͉̬͉̯̈́̿͐̍[̷̣̞̟͇͚́ ̶̬͈̙̞͚̓͆̉͆"̴̨̜͉̬̈́́̏̆I̵͖̫̫̣͊̀̎͗'̸̠͗L̶̨̖͎̚L̴̼̲̈͐̿̆͂̕ ̴̟̜̝͓̏̇͂͠R̷̰̃͐̀̚Ī̵̧͔͐̒͆͌̾P̸̧͈̱̱̱͂͂ ̸̨̙͌̂̀̅͊Y̴̛̛̝̼̻͎̣̣͒̂̉̀O̴̘͎͓̒Ů̷͕͛̓́͂͜ͅR̷͉̭̮͕̝̦͐̔ ̷̧̢̪̺̦̟͐̆̅F̷̤̭̎Ư̷̢̥̲̇́́C̵̭̘̳̹̝̽͜K̷̥̭̹̟̓̋̈́I̷̘̟̬͂̅͜Ņ̵͛Ġ̶͓̟̆͊͌͝͝ ̶̨̗͎̺͉̲̈́̋H̴̥̜̗̾͗͠Ę̷̦̻̗̳̮̀̑À̴̜̪̲̬͖͠ͅR̵͎͚̻̠̼̉̎͂̐ͅT̷͈̽̄̕͝ ̷̡̯͔̮̰̈́̑̔͝͝Ö̷̡̻̪̟̗́͜Û̷̮̗̗͉̺̩Ṭ̷̠̯͛̓!̴̤̩͖͈̗̋̊̕̚"̸̩̗̪̮̄͌̍̈́̚͝]̴̺͇̱̯̲͎̿͑̔͘
̶̦̫͋́͐̐̒͛͜[̶̡̂̅̏͂́ ̶̼̦̤͕̯̪̔̑̈͘̕̚"̶̢̧̣̻̱̜͐̉Į̶̟̂'̶̧͈̫͍̗̣̃̽̆͘m̴̤͜͠ ̵͙̖̓̅̒͛͆͜d̷̪́͝ḯ̶̛͈̙̦̣̀s̶̫̳͇̓̎à̸͈̽p̶̲̭̉́p̶̛̠͖̉͒̚ȍ̶̯̗͙̔̅̏i̶̛̼̙͕̼̇̅̄̾͆͜͜n̵̲̳̓̐̈́̀͒̚t̶̺̘̱̄̊̉e̷͎̹͖̲̯͕̐́d̶̯̦̔ ̷̥̾͝i̸͕̹̟͝n̸̡̰̹̐͛̊͋͜ ̵̞̖͉̀̄y̵̡̯͕̽͒͌̇͐õ̴͈̼͈̫̬͜͠u̸̻͗̃̈́͌ ̵͙̥͍̪̤̅̔̕͝R̶̪̂̈́̚ḯ̵̛̫̻̫̲̹̋͌̕͘k̴̤͙̯͊̏͘ǘ̷͗̎͝ͅ.̵̹̄̑̚.̴͉̈͑͝.̸͓̬͎͖͒͌ḯ̴̧̤͔f̵̛̱̩̞̝̺̂̐́̿̕ ̵̡͊͗͐̀͝ẏ̵̧̼͖o̵͓͕̪̥̬̍͘͠͝ṵ̶̬͔͍̭̇̅͛̾͋͆ ̶̧͙͇͔͈̂̎̕͜c̵̡͉̝͒̌̈́̂ͅa̶͓͍̗̩̠̬͌́͐̕n̸͉̰̖͖̮͎̆̾̋̚͝'̵̧̧͙̙͍̅͊̽́̊͠ţ̵̉͊̇͜ ̵̨̧̰̱͉̺̄͐̑̒̃͝ẖ̶̍a̸̜̬͋̈́̾̈́͝n̴͕̙̤̫̑̑̓̓̄̆d̷͙̻̪̥̍l̵̪̭̹͂͑̒̃́̕ề̵̤̘̚ ̵̡̨͓͇̖̊͘͝ͅt̴͚͗͐͗h̸͍̖̓̏̀̄̚͝ẻ̷̛͕͈͈͊̓ ̶̡̛̱̂̇̆̑͑͜m̶̧̜͍̣̿̀́a̴̼̩͖͉̋̚̚̕ḋ̸̜͔̘̫̀̈́͒͐͜ǹ̶̨̼̭͓̦ͅé̷̡͔̜͚̓͗͐͛s̵̹̤̉̐s̵̝͘͜ ̷̡̢̪̖̗̓̔͛͝ọ̶͑͐f̶̥̖̣̤̦̼̄͂ ̶̡̎̅͗͠t̴̫̙̦́̔̔̎̑͝h̷͉̺̃̈́̔͋̑ï̵͍̹̋̇̐s̴̺̳̝͝ ̴̙͇͊͊̆̈́͋͝w̷̧̛̽̈̆̃o̸̯̳̬̹̊̿r̷̨̪͉̠̈͂̆ͅl̷͕̀̉͆d̴̬͈̗̬̣̉͌́̚ͅ ̴̧̮͚̳̜̗̀́̒̄t̵̪̩͈̒̈́̀̔̈ͅh̷͈͔͇͇̓̍̀͜e̶͎̠̳͑͌̈́̊͠n̴͈͒̋͐̓̀̚͜ ̴̡͚̤̆́̒ḫ̵̖̞͍̮̊̑̏͘̚ọ̸̲̹̠̥͖͂w̵̛̩̠̦̺̾̊̎̄ ̷̨͓̜̫̗̦͒͌̇̉̽ḯ̴̧̜̱̼̆̑͋ń̷͖̝̠̲͊͒̍́ ̷̡̝͕̭̤͆̈͘t̷̛̛͚̤͕̋͗͛h̵͉̟͑̽͊̆̌̕ẻ̸̱̼̪̥̠͆̽͑̚ ̴̗͎͕̪̃̇̈́h̴̢͚̝̭̭̆̒ė̸͍̣̠̜͆͊̂l̷͇͈̱̎̏̑̑̉̈́ͅl̸̮̰̰̹̀̈̃ ̵̧̖͙͙̜̓͛̎̓̈́̕d̷͖͓̠͎̣̠̏̍͋i̴͇͕͔̗͚̾̒̆̒ͅd̷̳̘͎̩̰͎͑ ̵̪͉̻͒̊̾̓͝ỹ̵̧͉̬̠͔̜̍̾̌o̷̮̖͚̎̆͝u̴̟̟̱͒̿̒̌ ̵̛̛̤̿̔͝ē̸͍̜̌̉x̸̹͒́̂p̴̧̗̥̭̱̾͌̈́̎̄e̷̮̦̗̻͗͒̑̅̌̕ç̴̭͓̭͓̂͑̐̚t̶͙̮̹̤͠ͅ ̴̡̘̹͖̆̈t̴̘̙̤̗͋̊̅ó̶̺̣̮̲͕͔̓̈́ ̷̰̻̋͋̅͠s̵͖̫͒̈́̽̂̀å̸̟̫͆̀̉͘͝v̸̳̹̰̠́͒̎̕͘̚ê̴̤͕̹͋͌ ̷̘̈́i̸̡͖̥̲̖͖̊̃̃t̴͓̩͎̀͝?̸̰͕̺̮͚̏̏̀̀͝!̶̳͖̫̙͌̃͛͝"̴̰̳̤̒̏͋̈́͠]̸͍͕̟̜͛ͅ
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.
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Riku woke up in a cold sweat. 'What was that dream I just had, or maybe it was closer to a nightmare? I couldn't make any sense of it, yet it still felt so familiar.' Before he had the chance to dwell on it any further, he caught a whiff of by far the foulest odor he ever smelled since arriving at Midgard and it caused him to jolt forward. "What is that smell?!"
"Don't get up too fast!" Five warned.
"Ow! Ughhh-" He immediately clutched his stomach, evidently, his stab wound had not yet fully healed.
"Good morning Riku!" Mikhail greeted.
"Morning..." When he was finally starting to wake up and orient himself, he realized they were in the grotto outside of Crestholm. "H- How did I get here? We were in the city and then Zero- that's right, she's-"
"Calm down Riku, you're overexerting yourself." She handed Riku a stick with mystery meat on it. "Here, eat up. You need to regain your strength."
"Agh," He pinched his nose, then swatted at the air. "So that's what was stinking so bad? There's no way I'm eating that."
Now Five was getting pissed. "Who nursed you back to health and protected you for several days while there was a citywide manhunt for us?! I did! So you're going to eat what I made for you and you're going to like it!"
Mikhail laughed. "Oooooh, Riku got in trou-ble! Hahaha!"
"Okay, fine!" He swiped the meat skewer from her hand a bit into it. "...Thanks...I guess it's not that bad, or maybe I'm just hungry. The meats really tough and chewy though, what is it?"
"Ogre testicles!"
Riku immediately spit the meat out. "WHAT?! Blegh! Why would you feed me that?!"
"Oh, I don't know, maybe because that's all I could grab from the market before they HUNTED ME DOWN with knives and swords."
"Right...sorry." He rubbed the back of his head. "I didn't mean to cause you so much trouble."
"Don't worry about it darling, that's what friends are for, right? And now that you're awake, I'm sure you're ready to go save Zero now, Mikhail definitely is."
"Yeah, I've been really, really, REALLY worried about her! We gotta save her from all those meanie pirates!"
He shook his head. "Forget that. The last thing she said to me before I blacked out was for me to stay out of it. She clearly didn't want to be saved so let her bury her own grave."
"Riku, I know you don't really mean that," Five said.
"No, I'm tired of this! I'm supposed to stay out of it when all I've ever done was stick my neck out for her and stay by her side?! This is how she treats me after everything we've been through?!"
"Don't be mad Riku, whatever Zero's doing, she's doing it for us 'cause she really cares about us! I mean, right?" Mikhail said.
"If she actually cared then she would've been here with us right now!" He yelled.
"Watch your tone, Riku! Just because you're upset doesn't mean you have to take your anger out on Mikhail," Five said.
"You're right...I'm sorry Mikhail...I just...I don't understand. Why did she sacrifice herself like that? And why did she think I'd just be okay with it?!"
"Hmm... I know, how about I tell you two a story? I think it'll help you understand the situation we're in."
"Yay!" Mikhail wagged his tail like a puppy. "Storytime! Storytime! Storytime!"
Five looked expectantly at Riku. "Well?"
"I guess I don't have a choice."
Once upon a time, many moons ago…
There lived a very beautiful, but very greedy princess who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted, and she wanted many things in the world because that's what distracted her from how deeply sad she was. She couldn't live without expensive clothes or delicious food or ...hours of nonstop, back-arching, toe-curling -
Riku coughed. "Ahem!"
Sorry, I'm getting off track here. Anyways, one day, an evil warlock came to her castle, offering the things she really wanted like shiny stuff, food and of course lots of sex. Unfortunately, that silly, but unbelievably beautiful princess fell right for her trap.
She was so distracted by all of those nice things that she didn't know the evil warlock and her advisor were plotting against her. That was until one night, when they lured her in with the promise of sex, only to trick her! They tied her up and gagged her, so she couldn't use her powers, then threw her into an ocean infested with sharks.
"Whoa! And then what happened?" Mikhail asked.
The gorgeous princess thought for sure she would die, so in her final hours, she prayed to God, promising to give up all the things she once enjoyed and become a devout follower of his. Somehow, someway, he heard her prayers because a fisherman saved her life and took her to a village for refuge where she had no choice, but to give up everything.
And although she had nothing, she wasn't nearly as sad as she was before because she was surrounded by a wonderful community. But that sexy princess wasn't exactly the brightest and she thought that having nothing was what gave her happiness.
It wasn't until two travelers and their...pet arrived in that very village and turned her life upside down that she finally began to understand the true source of her unhappiness.
Despite the two travelers' constant bickering, it was clear to her that they treasured each other and when she saw the lengths they would both go through to protect one another, she had a realization. It wasn't that she simply wanted things, but she wanted someone to share those things with her. In other words, someone to love.
Of course, for love to find her, the first step was for her to love herself. Perhaps she wasn't a saint, far from it, but she would be beautiful inside and out; protecting her people, feeding the poor, and defending against evil. That's how she would show her love for her people.
And maybe, with any luck, she would find someone who cherished her as much as the two travelers she met did.
"Wow, and the princess lived happily ever after right?" Mikhail asked.
"Um, I hope so. The cards are still out on that." She turned to Riku, then bumped on his shoulder. "So, what did you think? I know my story had like, so many layers, it's okay if you didn't really get it."
"No, I got it. It was a nice story and all but that other 'traveler' made her choice."
"Well, she was clearly trying to protect you, sweetie, I don't see what's so hard to understand about that. Then again, I get the feeling there's something else you want to say that you're not saying, hm?"
"There's nothing else to say about this."
"Okay...so will letting her just get tortured on your behalf make you feel better?"
"No! I just...I wish she knew that she didn't have to shoulder all of this on her own when I'm here for her. That's all."
"You should tell her that yourself, in person."
He rubbed the back of his head. "...I don't think she'd care."
"It's worth telling her how you feel, even if you don't think she'll care." She held her hands together and made a very obnoxious kissy face. "Then you can give her a big wet kiss and make her heart melt~"
"Yeah, not happening. Me and her are just friends, nothing more than that."
"Then why's your face so red? Hmmm?"
He suddenly got up. "Alright, we've wasted enough time sitting around here. Let's head out to Crestholm."
"Ah, so you do want to save Zero?"
"Only so I can give her a piece of my mind."
"It's a start," Five stood up. "I got some new cloaks for us, let's hit the streets."
Riku and Five slipped in and out of the shadows to avoid detection by the dozens of pirates patrolling the street. Soon, they reached the upper level of Crestholm where the well-off lived and the difference was like night and day. The city streets were clean and illuminated with lamps that kept the darkness away. Fancy taverns with pleasant aromas and grandiose inns encircled the city's main plaza and at the center of it all was a beautiful, glistening fountain.
"My vacation home should be just down the street," Five said.
Riku pointed at the long lines of cargo heading towards the manor. "What's that all about?"
"Faris is throwing a huge party post-recovery to celebrate Zero's capture, I hear a bunch of important people are going to be attending as well. I take today's the day of the celebration."
"Sure looks like it."
Using the cargo as cover, they reached the manor and hid behind a statue where they figured out a way to get in. "This place is heavily guarded, it'll be hard getting through," Riku said.
"Hmm, we could disguise ourselves as pirates and get in that way."
"Not a bad idea. Let's see if we can-"
Just then, a pirate came running up to the gates where two other burly pirates holding giant harpoons were standing guard.
"Oi mates, sorry I'm late, but I'm here for the party!" He tried to get in but the guards held their harpoons in front of the gate.
"Only certain guests are allowed inside the manor, the rest of the crew has been ordered to stand on guard or man the airships. Sorry, Captain's orders."
"Surely I'm on her list! I'm one of her favorite crew members!"
The guards exchanged glances with each other. "Captain's orders."
"Come on mate, that ain't fair! I've been with Faris since she first started sailing, if anyone should be allowed in it's me!" The pirate tried to force his way inside and ended up getting impaled in the head.
Five gulped down. "Okay, well THAT plan is definitely out of the question."
However, while sneaking in as pirates may not have been an option, when Five saw a group of male prostitutes allowed entry through the gates, no questions asked, she formulated a new plan for them to sneak inside.
"Those guys walked in no problem," Five turned to Riku with a huge grin on her face. "Riku, I think I have an id-"
"No."
"But you don't even know what I was about to-"
"No."
"Riku!" She pouted.
"No. I already know what you're going to say and there's no way in hell I'm dressing like that to get inside, we'll think of another way to get inside and save Zero."
"My vacation home is crawling with pirates who know what we look like. Sneaking in with a disguise would be the fastest and easiest way in and in case you forgot, Zero is being held hostage by Faris who would have no problem using her demons to tear her apart limb from limb. Or is your pride more important than saving a friend?"
"No it's not that, but I mean, come on, there has to be another way."
"Unless you have any better ideas."
Riku looked back to the guards who harpooned another unlucky soul who tried to get past them, then back to Five who couldn't contain her smile, and he could feel his heart sink to the bottom of his chest. "...Fine."
She clapped her hands together. "Fantastic! Don't worry Riku, you're in good hands, I'll bring out your inner sexy beast~"
He let out a small whimper. "...No..."
Five stopped by a small boutique and stole what she could for their disguises before she got found out by the owner, then they returned to the grotto. "Alright, Riku-" She laid out the clothes and other various accessories alongside Mikhail's back. "And here begins..."
OPERATION: ROMEO
While Five had no shortage of outfits lined up for the clothes she picked out for him, she could only force him to wear tight black pants and an unbuttoned white coat that showed off his bare chest. "Please tell me we're done here..." He muttered.
"Oh far from it, darling." Five paced back and forth in front of Riku like a military sergeant. "Because you see, it's not enough for you to look the part, but you need to act the part too. Otherwise, Faris will see right through you and our plans will be ruined, but not to worry. I've read so many romance novels that I'm practically an expert. When I'm through with you, you'll sweep every woman right off their feet!"
"If anyone's listening to me up there, then please let this be as quick and painless as possible."
"You're so overdramatic Riku!" Five grabbed his hand. "Come on, this'll be fun!"
*Many agonizing hours later*
"So, are you guys finally done playing dress-up?" Mikhail asked.
"That wasn't dress-up, we were going through a difficult training regime for the purposes of reconnaissance and tactical support," Riku said.
"What's all that mean?"
"Just a long way of saying yes," Five said. "It was bitter work, but I believe my work here is done. My protégé has effectively learned the art of 'fake it 'till you make it'. He's no longer a boring, awkward virg-"
"Easy," Riku said.
"Sorry, basically, Riku's learned to be a totally different person now."
"Whoa, really? How'd you do that so fast?"
"What can I say? Rent was due and the landlord was at our doorstep," Five said.
"Whatever. Let's just get this over with," Riku said.
They soon returned to the manor in their pimp and prostitute disguises and approached the guards.
"Hello there boys~" Five greeted.
"State your purpose."
"Isn't it obvious? I'm his pimp and he's here to offer his services. When I heard about the party Captain Faris was throwing, I simply couldn't pass up on the opportunity to make a few extra coins."
They exchanged glances with each other. "Fine. He goes, you leave."
"Oh you're mistaken, I'm not here to make some meager pocket change, I'm here to swim with the big sharks. So allow me to make negotiations with the woman of the hours herself and-"
They pointed their harpoons at her. "He goes, you leave."
"Okay, okay, I hear you loud and clear." Five leaned over to Riku, then whispered, "Time for plan B."
"Got it."
"Ahem, but before I go, I just wanted to let you boys know that I deal with men and women. I have plenty of cute girls who would do anything to please their master, but I understand if you want to be stuck here all night on guard duty while your captain gets dicked down."
They exchanged glances with each other. "Tell us more about these...cute girls you have."
"I'm so glad you asked, my first girl is..." While she pretended to negotiate with the guards, Riku walked through the gates. When he was out of earshot, he cast Sleepga on the guards and they slumped over.
Five joined Riku's side as they made their way to the manor. "Good work my protégé...by the way, before we get inside, there's been something on my mind lately."
"What is it?"
"I've been thinking, maybe we should cut Faris some slack. Don't get me wrong, she's done a lot of horrible things, but I don't know ...I see parts of her in myself because I used to do these same exact things. It wasn't that long ago when I used to throw lavish parties and bring dozens of men over, I think she just wants all these things because it distracts her from how sad her life really is."
"You know, it takes a lot of courage to admit something like that."
"Traveling with you guys has taught me a thing or two about courage."
He smirked. "And don't worry about Faris, I'll free her from the darkness."
They walked up the steps leading to the doors. "Alright, here's where your skills as a slut will be put to the ultimate test. Are you ready?" Five asked.
"Unfortunately."
"Good. We'll use our code names from here on out."
Just as Five had feared, Captain Faris and her crew ransacked her once lavish, baroque style manor. All the expensive furniture and paintings were looted, replaced by beer barrels and rotted wooden tables. To be fair, she did technically steal the manor when she overthrew the previous governess of the land, so the old saying of 'how you get them is how you lose them' certainly rang true, but she still couldn't help but feel a small part of her die inside at witnessing her vacation's home new makeover.
But all Five could do at that point was let out a pained, heavy sigh to mourn her loss, then turn to Riku. "This horrible tragedy aside, with any luck, Faris should still be mingling with her guests, which will give you..." All of a sudden she went deathly quiet and the color drained out of her face, and it wasn't because she saw another painting was missing.
"Uh, Fi- I mean Sarah, you okay? You're going pale," Riku said.
"Nononononono- th-they're here?! This can't be happening!"
"Who's here?"
"My sisters!"
At a place she never would've expected, One and Four were at a table at the opposite end of the room, talking amongst themselves.
Four tapped her fingers against the wooden table, bored and generally disgusted by the low-brow party they had found themselves in. "Honestly One, Five's antics have been an embarrassment to the Intoner's legacy. I mean, seriously, she got outclassed by an elf pirate? And the worst part is this elf completely showed her up, taking over her country AND capturing Zero?"
"That's what I'm concerned about. We couldn't even defeat Zero with the five of us together and yet this woman who we've heard nothing about prior comes out of nowhere and is able to capture her? Another thing, the fact that they want Zero alive is concerning."
"Wh- What're you trying to say?"
"That this situation, those demons suddenly appearing and Three's disappearance are all connected in some way. I have a feeling there are larger forces at play here that we may not be aware of but Faris most certainly does."
"What do you propose?"
"Hopefully Faris is receptive to diplomacy, otherwise, we'll just have to kill her."
Two souls, by chance, they meet
Apart, two halves of the same whole
But together, they are complete
And spin each other live's, out of control
Flowers for the Dead
A/N: My birthday passed 2 days ago and my gift to you all is updating sooner than later :D I hope you guys have a good one and thank you all for reading thus far
