ScruffinMcguffin: Horror and amusement, but mostly horror
Gundam-Knight-Chris: Condemned to death by snu snu
J Geil: Something like that, they would both have to compromise with each other *alot* in order to make something work. I can only imagine how much Zero would hate Disney land and only tolerate it for Riku's sake XD
Ian12091995: Thanks!
Keybladelight: It only takes a month being with a kh character to be disney-fied right along with them. Oh yes I should draw Riku's slut outfit, maybe sometime in the future bc I have more alt designs for the Intoners incoming.
Anon: Yeah I thought I'd spice up her attacks, gonna start throwing her other weapons in too since I was neglecting her chakrams, combat bracers, and spears last branch. Yeah being an instigator runs in the family. That dream sequence will become clearer as the story progresses. Sadly two tsundere don't make a deredere. Yes, I drew a lot of inspiration from the wall market portion of ff7, clearly XD! Thanks!
Phoenix Keyblade: Thanks! Maleficient goes big or goes home lol
"Lady Luck"
Four scoffed at such a notion. "She's an elf, I really wouldn't expect much in the way of 'diplomacy'. Do you remember when I had to get rid of all of those other elf pirates? Those brutes just wouldn't go down without a fight."
"...I suppose you're right. By the way Four, how are you holding up now that you're in charge of two countries? I know I had to put a lot of responsibility onto you suddenly but the Land of Forests needed an Intoner."
"Oh it's hardly an issue, but I do appreciate your concern, One. If you'd like to know, the Land of Mountains practically runs itself, and I've been efficiently handling all of the...nuisances in the Land of Forests. Before long, it'll be back on its feet."
"That's good to hear, I just hope we can locate Three in time."
"Don't fret, I've already dispatched my best general to scour the country for my dear elder sister."
"Hm, perhaps I've underestimated you. You've really come into your own and stepped up to the plate, I'm proud of you, Four."
She smiled. "Thank you, any praise from you is high praise indeed and always greatly appreciated, but it's not necessary. This is simply my job as an Intoner and a loving sister to the rest of my family."
"Speaking of family-" One gestured her hand to Five and Riku, who were walking around the foyer, ducking in and out of the crowds. "Those two seem suspicious, especially the red-haired girl, which I suspect is a wig. I've been sensing Five's presence ever since those two arrived at the manor, call it a hunch but I think that might be our sister."
"Uh, I know it's been a while One, but what about her looks like Five to you? Sure she's wearing a god-awful, clearly fake wig and the gaudiest, most ridiculous outfit I've ever seen before- oh my gosh I think that might actually be Five!" Four stood up from the table. "Oh we HAVE to embarrass- I mean embrace our felon, ahem excuse me, our family, as her sisters of course!"
When Five saw that One and Four were coming their way, she dragged her sweaty hands down her face. "Nooooo they're coming this way! I can't be seen by them, especially not by Four! My chest still hasn't recovered yet, and if she sees me like this she'll NEVER let me hear the end of it!"
"Chill out! Besides, if I had to dress up like a stripper, you're going to have to face your fears too," Riku said.
"It's not just that, if they see me here then our covers will be blown and there goes my plan right down the drain!"
He exhaled sharply. "...I'll distract them. You go ahead and find Zero, I'll find Faris by myself."
"Oh, they grow up so fast!" She wiped away the tear forming in her eye, then pulled out a spiked collar with matching spiked bracelets and suited them on him. She also gave him handcuffs, rope, and a gag. "This is for you-know-what, Faris is a pillow princess with a capital P so I don't think you should be on the receiving end, but just remember what I taught you in case you are."
"Well, it won't get that far because you'll meet in the bedroom in like 15 minutes right? That's what you said."
"Mm-hm, I said something like that. Alright, you got this, you sexy beast!"
"Please don't call me that."
While Five disappeared into the crowd, Riku spun around with two drinks in his hand just as One and Four were approaching. "Hey, what're two beautiful women like you doing here at a party like this?"
Of course, the moment Four saw Riku's face, she was swept off her feet and dissolved into a giggling mess. One, on the other hand, was completely unreceptive.
"There was a woman with you just now, do you know where she's going?" One asked.
"No idea, I talk with so many girls I easily lose track of them. I'm way more interested in you two, I say we ditch this party and spend some quality time together~"
One watched Four twirl her finger around in her hair and knew she was lost at this point so it was up to her to keep them on track. "No thanks, now if you excuse us-"
["...Riku, generally there are two types of women in this world. Women who will entertain you and women who won't, you're already so handsome that you'll rarely come across the latter but if you do, I'll teach you several tricks to keep their eyes on you."]
Riku quickly held onto her arm, then pulled it close to him so he could kiss her hand. As he lifted his head up, he met his eyes with hers. "Leaving so soon? But I've just barely gotten to know you and it's not often I meet girls as beautiful as you at a place like this."
One rolled her eyes. "I don't want your 'services' so stop wasting my time. Four come on."
"Ehehehe..."
"Four!" One grabbed Four's arm. "We. Are. Leaving!"
"But One!" She pouted. "I-I can't just leave, I - I think he may be the one! Plus he seems really interested in me- I mean us, can't we stay and talk for a while longer?"
"He's only pretending to be interested because he's a prostitute trying to make money off of us. Don't forget what we came here for!"
She waved it off. "The fate of Five and her country can wait, but true love can't!"
"—Lady Four, there you are! I have the drinks you requested!" Decadus jumped in between them with two glasses in his hands, which gave Riku the opportunity to slip away and continue on his search.
"Decadus, you buffoon! Look at what you did, you just scared away my future husband!" Four cried as she pushed on Decadus.
"A -Apologies Four, p-please, feel free to p-p-punish me any way you see fit, uhhhh."
'So those were the other sisters? What a weird family.' Riku was walking up and down trying to find Captain Faris. 'It can't be this hard to find someone with long pink hair. Crap, what if she's already sleeping with someone? I don't even know how I could get to her then.'
As luck would have it, Riku managed to find Captain Faris drinking with several aristocrats. Unsurprisingly, she was swarmed by men at all sides.
Riku gulped down. 'Here goes nothing.' Pushing past the crowd of men, he tapped on Captain Faris's shoulder. "Could I steal you away for a second?"
The elf pirate looked at him up and down, luckily she was a bit tipsy so she didn't seem to recognize him. "Mmm, well aren't you handsome? I'd love to see where this goes." She got up and followed him to the bar.
'She reeks of darkness, and another scent that's strangely familiar. Whatever, I'll just have to figure it out another time, right now I have to focus all of my attention on this.'
["Now here comes the most difficult part of your training. In order to get Faris to take you up to my bedroom, you'll need to expand your vocabulary past flirting and into dirty talk. Remember, you're just one of many prostitutes, so you'll need to sell her the fantasy."]
'This is gonna suck. I'm actually glad Sora isn't here to see me like this.' "Ahem, Captain Faris, so... you're the woman of the hour, huh? Gotta say, you're as beautiful as they say, but I'd like to see more of you~" He bit his lip at the end of it, hoping he didn't come across as too forced, but she clearly wasn't paying attention to a word he was saying.
She pursed her lips. "You know, it's not every day I come across someone of your caliber, but men are only as good as what they're packing down there." She drew close to Riku, attempting to slip her hands down his pants, but he held her hand before she could reach down there, then guided it to his chest instead.
"Your heart's beating so fast, are you nervous?"
As embarrassed as he was, he couldn't stop now when he was so close to having her wrapped around his finger, so he swallowed his pride and went the whole nine yards. "No, I'm just so t...turned...on...imagining all the things I'm going to do to you." He leaned in close to her. "So why don't we go somewhere private, like your bedroom for example, and I promise I won't disappoint you."
"Say no more."
Riku picked up Captain Faris, holding her in his arms like a princess. "Lead the way." 'Five, please, please, please tell me you're on your way to finding Zero. I can't keep this act up any longer.'
Five was NOT on her way to finding Zero, in fact, she hadn't even left the main room yet. She had an ongoing battle between her lust and her better judgment, and sadly, her lust won that battle for today. So there she was, several prostitute men by her side, some of which were engaging in illicit activities under the table. Not only that but she was gorging herself on plates of greasy food and drowning herself in pints of wine, she had all but relapsed at that point, despite coming so far in her journey.
"Mmm, you know, I can't help but feel like I'm forgetting something very important," Five said after finishing off another plate of food.
"Don't worry about that, you're here now and I want all of your attention on me." One of the prostitute men pulled her in for a kiss, she closed her eyes, relishing the moment then she felt something very warm and wet on her face. "Ooh, is that what I think it is? You're a naughty boy~"
Five dragged a finger down her cheek so she could get a taste of the substance she thought was on her face, only for her to get the savory taste of blood in her mouth. "...Uh..." That's when she opened her eyes and saw that the prostitute she was just kissing was impaled by a harpoon. It was a gorey, gruesome sight that immediately took her out of the moment and snapped her back to reality. "Oh my god, oh my GOD- what am I doing?!"
"—Next is your head, you bitch!" Roared one of the pirate guards. While all the male prostitutes scattered away from her in a panic, the other pirate guard had his harpoon in his hand, ready to throw it at her head like a dartboard.
As one of the harpoons spiraled towards her, Five jumped behind the sofa, narrowly avoiding her head getting skewered. Then she crawled on all fours to the nearest entrance to the cellar while the guests were all running around in chaos from the attacks. Eventually, she made it to the cellar and had to fight past a slew of pirate guards before finally reaching the prison where Zero was being held at.
When Five found Zero, she was head down, chained up against a wall. There was no shortage of wounds across her body, some were still fresh and raw, others had healed itself and formed a roadmap of scars that recorded every lashing she'd received.
"Oh Zero, I'm so sorry I was late. I started feeling really bad about myself and then one thing led to another and I was getting ate-"
"Five...why the fuck ...are you here?"
"Why to save you of course, now let's break you out of here!"
After enduring brutal torture for such a long period of time, Five thought she would be well, happy, or at least relieved to see her but she seemed to be more angry than anything. Regardless, Five went ahead and proceeded to break Zero free of her chains, then held her up before she could fall to the ground and as thanks for freeing her, Zero pushed her away with what little strength she had left.
"What the- What gives Zero? Me and Riku came all the way here to save you and you wouldn't believe what we had to go through to get to this point so stop being so stubborn and come with me already!"
"I didn't ask for you guys to save me! I said to stay the fuck out of it, you idiots just ruined everythi-" She started coughing uncontrollably, then when she was finally able to speak again, she pressed her hand against the wall, her legs unable to support her weight. "...Now all of this bullshit ...was for nothing."
Five clicked her tongue. "Are you actually serious? Talk about ungrateful. You know, I had to talk Riku into saving you in the first place because he was so in his feelings about what you did."
"Then he had the right idea!" She snapped. "...There's someone out there who wants to use me to get to Riku and I hoped that you guys wouldn't come or that I could just die and get turned into one of those demons or whatever before you did, but now it's too fucking late! Riku's going to do something stupid and fuck his life over again...all because of me."
Five crossed her arms. "Dying? Really? So there's someone out there who wants to hurt Riku and that's your answer to all of this? Chances are, whoever this person is, you'll have better luck defeating them together."
"No, there's no point when all I do is ruin his life! Just like with everyone else! The only reason she even knew about the Flower being inside of Riku was because of me!"
"I'm sorry you're so down on yourself Zero, but you need to make your mind up now on whether you're coming with me or not because Riku is dressed up as a stripper and by now he should be with Faris in my bedroom. So if we don't act now, he could be in serious trouble!"
"Wait WHAT?! What do you mean he's dressed as a stripper?! You should've just led with that!"
"It's a long story, and I don't exactly have the time to tell it, so come on! Riku can only lap dance for so long!"
Zero banged her fist against the wall. "That lucky bastard...she'll pay for this! We have to stop her at all costs!"
"That's the spirit!"
"Wait a second, since when did Riku even know how to do lap dances?!"
"Well I had to teach him, he's actually not that ba- agh-"
Zero miraculously found the strength to grab Five's neck and shake her back and forth. "I should kill you too after Faris!"
"— Hey, me first." Dito returned to the dungeon with torture devices in hand, but he had more pressing matters to address first now that his prisoner had escaped. "Man Five, you're like a cold sore, you just keep coming back no matter how many times we try to get rid of you!"
"Zero! You go on ahead, I'll deal with Dito," Five said.
Dito whipped out his spear. "Yeah, I don't think so." He tried to go for Zero, but Five intercepted the attack with her own spear and forced Dito to contend with her, allowing Zero to escape. "Shit! Whatever, I'll just have to kill you first real quick then go drag her ass back here afterward!"
"Dito! I - I know I can't get through to you when you're like this so here-" She pulled out Dito's toy panda accessory from her person, then handed it to him. "...I know it's not much but I wanted to at least give you back something after everything I've taken from you."
Dito stared at the accessory for the longest time, then squeezed it in his hand as if to suffocate it. "You disgust me! I know you're just doing this to have your way with me again, and when I'm your disciple, you're gonna do what you please because I can't refuse at that point!"
"That's not true because I won't ever force you to be my disciple again! You are your own person, I understand that now, and I won't ever take that away from you, but know that the reason I'm fighting now is to stop you from becoming a heartless and enslaving yourself!"
"You've played with me before, why the hell would I buy your self-reflection crap now?!" He readied his spear, attempting to stab Five again, but Five beat him to the punch, snatching the blade and pushing it through her arm to show her resolve.
"Do you believe me now?! So kindly step out of the way!"
Meanwhile, following her instincts as a prostitute, Zero quickly found the master bedroom where she kicked down the door right off its hinges. She wouldn't have believed Riku's apparent transformation into a stripper if she didn't see him giving Faris a full-on lap dance while she was bound in ropes herself. And as pissed as she was that Riku was even here in the first place, she couldn't pass up such a golden opportunity like this to tease him.
"Looks like you're putting on a whole show, Riku. Mind if I pull up a chair or would you charge extra?"
Zero's sudden appearance took Riku immediately out of the zone and he fell over on his back. "ZERO! I- It's not what it looks like! I swear!"
"Intoner?! How did you get out of your prison?!" Captain Faris turned to Riku next. "And she called you 'Riku' just now, I thought you said your name was Yozora?!"
"Uh..." Now that his cover was blown, there was no reason to keep up the act any longer, so he cast Sleepga on her, then ran over to Zero. "Zero, I'm glad you're okay. Where's Five?"
"She's dealing with her disciple, but back to your dumbass-" Her anger bubbled over to the surface and in an explosive display of emotion, she shoved Riku so hard he nearly fell back on the ground. "I told you to stay the fuck out of it, so why do I still find you here dressed up like a goddamn whore?!"
That set Riku off and he got right up in her face, "I'm sick and tired of you, Zero! I come all the way here, go through hell to save you and this is how you treat me?! I didn't ask you to sacrifice yourself like some kind of martyr, I mean, did you even think about how that would make me feel?!"
"Is it so fucking bad that I just wanted to keep you safe for once?!" She shoved him again. "How do you think I felt when you got your arm and legs bitten off trying to save me?!"
"That was in the past, you don't have to keep me in the dark about all of your stupid plans anymore! I've been here for you Zero, I always have, and I always will be!"
"Don't fucking lie to me! You were just talking about leaving the other day!"
"Because it really seems like you hate me Zero! Why do you always treat me like dirt?! What did I do last timeline- or this timeline, whatever, to deserve this?!"
"Maybe I do hate you, Riku! Maybe I hate how much fucking better you are than me! How you manage to fix every single fucking problem you have but all I can do is make your life worse!" She ended up shoving Riku against the wall. "And what I hate most is that you never even tried to understand the way I feel!"
"...What're you talking about?"
"Michael was my first dragon...and my first friend. He understood exactly what I wanted and knew exactly who I was, but you not only don't understand anything about me but you go against everything that I do and I just don't fucking get it! I don't fucking get why you'd ever want to be friends with me, I mean, to you, I'm just a murderer and whore, right?"
"You're not even-" All he could do was sigh and look earnestly at Zero. "Maybe the reason I don't understand you is that you either don't trust me as much as you say you do or you're so self-destructive that you rather get yourself killed than let me help you. Which is something I never really got about you, it's like you have it drilled in your head that I'll stab you in the back or something, but I would've done that a long time ago if that was the case... If you could see yourself the way I do, then maybe you would've understood that."
"What do you mean?"
"That I never thought you ruined my life, Zero, in fact, you could even say that I'm glad I met you. Yeah, you can be annoying sometimes, but you're passionate about the people you care about, and I know you've been through a lot, so the fact that you're still willing to fight alongside me is inspiring."
She could feel a blush spread across her cheeks, so she pulled out a dagger from her person and held the handle tightly clenched in her hands. "And what if I killed you right now? Then would you still say the same thing?!"
Riku knew that the only reason Zero tried playing this intimidation game with him was because she was clearly growing flustered and this was her way of regaining control of the situation. But after all of the times she would tease him and make him lose his cool, he thought she was long overdue for some payback, so he leaned in so close to her that they could feel each other's breaths on their faces and said in a low voice, "Try me. You always talk so much, go ahead and actually do it."
Despite all the grief and suffering she had caused Riku over the past couple of days, he had to admit, seeing Zero get embarrassed and red in the face for once was almost worth being forced to be a stripper, almost. Not only was it amusing, but he kind of thought it was cute to see her more girly side, which was usually hidden away under layers of dirty talk and violent threats.
"Guess you're not so scary after all," Riku said with that stupid smug look on his face.
Of course, Zero wasn't the type to lose, especially not to pathetic virgins. She still had one more trick up her sleeve that would wipe that smirk right off his face. She hooked her fingers under his collar, and...and she completely froze up. Memories of the last time Riku rejected her flashed through her mind to stop her from doing something she'd instantly end up regretting.
Riku, on the other hand, was left bewildered at this point. "Zero...are you trying to k-"
A blinding light flashed in the bedroom as lightning struck the hardwood floors. Then out walked Maleficent from a wall of green flames to ruin whatever moment the two were having with each other.
Maleficent took one look at Riku and shook her head like she was a disappointed mother. "Look at how far you've fallen Riku, taking after this wretched woman, how disgraceful."
"Maleficent!" Riku whipped his keyblade out. "I've fallen from grace, huh? Look who's talking! You're the one palling around with Pete all day trying to relive your glory days!"
"Tch, you're still the impudent brat I remember, but soon you'll be right back where you belong."
"Yeah whatever you're planning, it's never gonna work. Your darkness can't control me."
"No, I suppose not-" Maleficent walked around him. "But the Flower certainly can...or did you forget? My, with that look on your face, it seems like you did."
He lowered his keyblade. "...What're you talking about?"
"Don't listen to her, let's just kill her while we have the chance," Zero said.
"...Riku would be quite familiar with killing someone, so I can't say I'd be the least bit shocked."
"That's bullshit, he's never killed anyone before!" But when Zero turned to Riku, he had a distraught look on his face. "Riku, you may not remember everything that happened, but I do and you were way too much of a goody-two-shoes for that shit, so don't let it get to you."
"I...don't know," His head was pounding. "There was something...that happened after you died."
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"̴͙̈́B̶̘̈́ė̵͎ ̵̫̚q̸̨̀u̷͌ͅi̸̧͊e̵̹͂t̴̘̅.̴̮̆ ̵̳̓Ỉ̴̯f̸̜̕ ̴̥̆y̴̨̆ȍ̵̜ù̷̝'̵̦̌ŕ̴̨e̸̦͝ ̸̖̂ǵ̶̡ö̵͓́i̵̳̒ṉ̴͗g̴̠̅ ̴͉̏ṭ̷̇o̸̡̅ ̶̮͝b̴͑ͅẽ̶ͅ ̸̺̔ą̷͗ ̵͚̓p̴͇̆ä̶͖́r̵̺͆t̶͍͘ ̵̩̏ó̴̠f̸̻̑ ̷̲̈m̷̟̊e̵͓̿,̵͔̍ ̴̞͊f̸͙̐r̷̯̄o̴̘͒m̵̻̎ ̴̲̈n̸̘͋õ̷̰w̵̺̐ ̷̹̑o̸̤͋ǹ̶̝ ̴͙̽I̸͎̿'̷̲̈m̸̤̕ ̷̰͠g̵̗͒o̸̹͆n̶̤̂n̴͖̂ȃ̶̫ ̴͉͝ǘ̴̺s̸̰̄e̴̞͠ ̴̺͗e̵͉̚v̷̨̓ḛ̷̕r̴̫͂y̴̭͌ ̸͖̍b̷͎̕i̴̬̒t̸͇̓ ̷̞̎ő̴̫f̵̳͝ ̴̣̉y̸̺͆ő̷͇ú̷̩r̵͓̎ ̵͇̊p̷̣̃o̴̦̎w̸͈͂e̴̫̓r̸͔̐ ̴̞́s̴̬͗o̸͓̽ ̸̣͘I̷̘̊ ̸̘̓c̸̖̈́ä̶̞́n̶͑͜ ̵̬̇p̶̥̃r̶͉̿ò̸͍ṭ̵͆e̷̟͒c̵͉͠ẗ̷̲ ̸̛̬m̵̑͜y̸̺̓ ̴̩̚f̵̤̉r̷͕͊ḯ̸̝ë̴͎́n̶̺̽d̷̝̽s̶̪̔!̷̪̈"̴̮͂ ̷̧̛
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̵̺̄[̵̦̈́ ̴͍̊"̵̺̐Ȋ̷̻'̶͇̅Ḻ̸͠L̸̼̍ ̶͇͝Ř̶̼Î̷̠P̸͚͌ ̷͇͗Y̵̻͒O̸̳͋Ŭ̶̻R̴̲̍ ̵̫̊F̴̘̂U̶̠̎C̵̝̎K̷̙͠I̶̓͜N̷̟̍G̸̭̈́ ̸͚͆Ḧ̵͈́E̴̳͊Ä̵̭́R̶̩̀T̸̺̽ ̷̬̉O̷͕͊Ṳ̵͋T̷̪̂!̷͚̕"̸̲́]̵͎̒
̴̙͛[̴̰̋ ̷͉͊"̵̡͛I̵̪͆'̸̙̉m̷̼͑ ̶̱̐d̸̳͛i̶͔͋s̴̮͆a̵͚̓p̷̦̀p̵̧͑ő̷̮i̵͔̎n̶̮͗t̶͉̿e̷̥͂d̶̺͂ ̷͔̏ị̵̛n̴̪̈ ̴̜̅ÿ̶̱ȯ̴̖u̷͇̎ ̶̩̍R̶͜͝i̸͓̓ǩ̴͓ư̸̪.̸̣̆.̵̫͒.̶̞͝i̷̤͝f̴̝̅ ̷̟͌ỵ̴̑ô̶͖ṳ̴̃ ̴̬̏c̷̳̑a̸̭͝n̴̥̾'̴̢͋t̸̖̀ ̵̛̼h̴̩͂a̴͉͋n̵̳͝d̷͎̎l̸̬͝e̵̮͐ ̴͇̉ț̸͝ḥ̶͂e̸̼̍ ̶̘̑m̴̗̋à̷̳d̶̼̊n̶̟̒e̴̮͐s̵̭̃s̴̻͌ ̴̀ͅŏ̷̻f̵̧̛ ̶̈͜t̸̠̃h̶̘͝i̸͓͗s̴̗̃ ̸̾ͅw̸̛̠o̸̫̐ṟ̷̑l̷̬͂d̶̩̈́ ̶̢̋ṯ̸̉h̷̨͠e̶͍͐ǹ̶͉ ̷̜̓h̶̺̄ȍ̸ͅw̵̟̚ ̵̺̾i̵͕̓ň̴̥ ̷̡͛t̵̩͂h̸̘̃ě̷̦ ̴̻͐h̸̘̒e̵̪͒l̷̕ͅl̷̞̒ ̸̜͝ḏ̸̈i̶̫̍d̸̡͂ ̵̱̂y̴̜̾ö̸̺́u̸̩̔ ̷́͜e̸̯̽x̶̻͠p̶͇͌é̸͈c̸̡͘ţ̴̍ ̶̫̑ẗ̶̲́o̴͇͠ ̷͓̓s̴̻̓a̵͚͘v̴̭͑e̶̫͝ ̸̉ͅḭ̶͐t̸̬̋?̵̯̐!̴͓͘"̶̻̍]̴͇̂
.
.
.
"Soon he will remember what he was capable of and one way or another, he'll be controlled by the Flow-" Maleficent disappeared in a black vortex to dodge Zero's incoming sword strike then reappeared behind Captain Faris with her hand on her head. "And Zero, you will be that boy's undoing."
Darkness engulfed Captain Faris and she was reborn again as the terrifying siren heartless known as 'Lady Luck'. Lady Luck resembled a humanoid aquatic creature with jet black scales adorning its body and razor-sharp fins lining its limbs and its back. It caught sight of Zero first and snapped its fangs at her as a warning before lunging at her like a shark. Quickly, Zero lodged her sword inside its mouth to hold it in place then she jabbed her heel into its stomach to get it off of her.
It screeched in pain then it crawled across the floor and walls, eventually stopping on the ceiling where it began singing a melodious, enchanting tune. After it was over, it sprouted bird-like wings from its back and flew through the ceiling.
"...Well that was weird-" All of sudden, Zero received a deep cut down the middle of her back, when she turned around to see who she was up against she was shocked to see it was Riku who delivered the blow. "Oh don't fucking tell me!"
"Protect Captain Faris at all costs..."
The bedroom burst open and Five ran inside with Dito behind her. "Zero! Riku! This isn't the time for a lover's quarrel, we're in serious danger!"
"Yeah, you don't say!" Zero pushed back on Riku's keyblade. "That dumb bitch got turned into a heartless and she sang something that brainwashed Riku, or whatever, I have no fuckin' clue!"
"Right, the same thing happened to Dito so I used the power of song to free him. Maybe you should also-"
"No! I - I mean, it'd just be easier to kill Faris's heartless instead of constantly using the power of song."
"Zero, I'm worried that if Riku and Dito were brainwashed then that must mean-"
Just as Five feared, hordes of men, pirates and prostitutes alike, barged into the bedroom on orders to protect Captain Faris. There were so many of them filling inside the room, that they ran to the window to try and escape through there, only to find out that the city of Crestholm was flooding at a dangerously fast rate.
Five turned to Zero. "Well, if this is how it ends, being hunted down by hundreds of hot men is how I've always wanted to di-" Zero shoved Five out of the window mid-sentence. "-IIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!"
"Good call," Dito said.
When Five's screams stopped after a few seconds, Zero thought she'd actually killed her, but unfortunately, it was because Mikhail caught her in the nick of time.
"—Never fear 'cause Mikhail's here! Dun- dun dun DUNNNN!"
"Alright. That's our ticket out of this hell hole." Dito jumped on Mikhail's back next, but Zero hesitated to follow after him.
Five waved her hand over. "Zero, what're you waiting for? We have to leave!"
"Wait I-" She looked back to Riku. "I can't leave him."
"Oh? I see how it is. Honestly, if you wanted to be alone with him, you could've just said that from the beginning."
"That's not the fucking reason! We need him to kill the heartless, so just hold it off for now, and I'll catch up later."
"Um and how do you propose we-" But Zero had already disappeared back into the horde of men.
Five looked back to Dito for help, but he could only shake his head in response. "I'm as lost as you."
Before they could even figure out what to do next, Mikhail was getting shot at with rounds of cannon fire by the airships looming around in the sky. "Whoa! What do we do now Five?!" Mikhail asked.
"I can see Faris' heartless flying around up there. If you can get me close to her then I'll finish the rest!"
With Five's help, Mikhail maneuvered past the cannon fire, and flew just within Lady Luck's reach. Then Five leaped off Mikhail's back, lodging her spear right through the siren's body. Although it was a well-executed attack, Lady Luck was a heartless so her attack did little more than annoy it, in fact, it started thrashing her around like a raging bull and made Five fly off her back and send her crashing into one of the rooftops down below.
By the time Five picked herself back up, she was being targeted by Lady Luck's water blasts so she had no choice but to run away, bounding across from rooftop to rooftop, to evade her attack. To make matters worse, several brainwashed men swam up to her and climbed up the houses in order to corner and attack her.
'Dear God, does this ever end?! No matter, my Intoner song can-' One of the brainwashed men slipped past her radar, and before she could even open her mouth to unleash her song, she got stabbed from behind and pushed into the water.
—
While Five was drowning, Zero was battling against Riku and the rest of the brainwashed men. Though 'battling' wasn't exactly the right description, Five's bedroom looked more like a massacre had taken place. The blood of men painted the room a sickly red color and their slaughtered bodies were strewn across the floor, some even piled up on top of each other. The only person left without so much as a scratch on their body was Riku, who she saved for last.
"Riku!" She braced herself as Riku hammered down on her sword. "Snap the hell out of it already! I know you're stronger than this or else you wouldn't have made it this far!"
"Protect Captain Faris at all costs..."
But her words merely fell on deaf ears and it's not like she was the best motivational speaker in the world so that meant she had little other options than to fight him head-on, and so commenced their duel on the bloody floor.
Their blades made a sharp, metallic cry as they slid down against each other. "...Me and you haven't fought like this in a while right?! I still haven't gotten the chance to properly beat your ass yet!" Zero pulled back from Riku then the two battled it out.
Only a few minutes in and their clothes were tattered, soaked with blood, and they made deep cuts along each other's bodies. With the amount of blood lost, they were both running out of stamina fast, but Zero was still no closer to unscrambling his brains than when they first started their bout.
"Damn it, Riku! What will it take to get you to wake the fuck up?!" At the climax of their battle, they clashed blades one last time in a thunderous confrontation. Zero was able to knock Riku's keyblade out of his hands, which made him pounce on her like an animal and slam her neck against the floor. Then Zero did what any woman would do in a life-threatening situation like that and kneed him straight in the balls. This was clearly the best course of action because Riku not only immediately let go of her but also got snapped out of his brainwashing through sheer force.
"Holy mother of- [redacted] [redacted] [redacted]!" Riku cried out, as he was on the floor shaking and holding himself like a baby.
"I didn't know you had such a mouth on you like that, I must've taught you well," Zero said.
"...What did I do... to deserve this?"
She clicked her tongue. "Try attempted murder, asshole."
"Attempted,..murder?" That's when Riku finally realized all of the blood that was on Zero, the cuts and scrapes along her body, and the bruising on her neck. "I ...did all of that to you? I'm sorry, I- I'm so sorry, I - I don't know what's wrong with me."
"Calm down, it's not your fault. Faris turned into a heartless and brainwashed you."
"Wait, I was brain- oh, never mind. That's still not an excuse for my actions. I should've been stronger for you, but I let Maleficent get in my head and I just sort of blanked out. I'm sorry again."
"Really, it's no big deal, I'd worry about yourself more than me. Besides, in a different circumstance, I'd let you choke me like that again~"
"Yeah, you're fine. So...now what?"
"Now we finish this bitch off for good."
—
In the meantime, Five was still sinking in the flood, she watched as blood flowed out from her open wound and dyed the water a beautiful, dark red color as it dissolved. It would be scenic if wasn't her blood and if she wasn't the one drowning.
'And here I am drowning again. To think, all of this could've been avoided had I not been me.'
'No. That's not true. All of this could've been avoided if I actually loved myself, every part of myself, but that all changes today. It's time to take that first step starting now!' Five's spear materialized in her hand, then she found the strength to shoot up out of the water and use her spear to hang off the side of a building where she set her sights on the siren heartless.
"—Five! You're okay! You're really okay!" Mikhail flew down to her location, then let her hop on his back.
"Mikhail, and my precious lit- ahem, I mean Dito! You two came at just the right time, how did you fare against all of those pirate ships?"
"We had lots of help from One's dragon! He flew in and defeated all of them in one swoop!" Mikhail said
"Fantastic, then that just leaves Faris's heartless. Why don't we put this unsightly thing in her place for good?"
"Then I think we should summon Phanuel for this one," Dito suggested.
"O- Oh? Are you sure? I- I mean only if you want to..."
"Duh. That's why I suggested it in the first place."
"If it's okay with you, then it's okay with me!" She pointed her spear to the sky. "Faris, I believe Crestholm's had enough of your god-awful singing and you're long overdue for you to hear my own voice!" And with that loud proclamation, she commenced her Intoner song.
"Behold, the Fifth song: Grand Light of Antiquity! The great power made manifest...The ceremony of glorious arrival...Burn into thine eyes the punishing lance of divine retribution." He held his hand in the air. "I, Dito, summon thee in my name...Phanuel, arise!"
PHANUEL
Verse 1-5
-Crescendo-
Pure and strong are these white claws
And are these fangs that snap at the heavens.
"Someday the flower shall bloom eternal, someday the flower will destroy," They say
I've heard it all before, but today...
I WILL HOLD THE WORLD IN THESE WHITE CLAWS
Phanuel was a giant angel resembling a crab, it arose from the water and immediately shot Lady Luck out of the sky with its own, much more powerful, water blast.
"Now that's what I call a bullseye! The rest of you guys will remain on standby for now, but once Phanuel has her on her knees, I'll go in for the finishing blow and hope that'll be enough to kill her," Five said.
"Got it. By the way Five, is it just me, or do you look like...yourself again?" Dito asked.
"Oh?"
Not only had Five's trademark confidence returned to her in full force, but after she sang her song, her original blonde bombshell appearance also returned to form. "Why hello, my darling H-cups-" She squeezed her breasts together. "How mommy has missed her babies!"
"You certainly sound like yourself," Dito said under his breath.
As a result of Five's newfound strength flowing back into her, Phanuel also had a power boost that made his strength unmatched. The moment Lady Luck fell to the water, he thrashed the heartless around like a chew toy, his claws shredding through its body. After just a few minutes of 'playing' in the water with her angel, Five could tell the siren heartless was already on its last legs, or rather fins.
"Mm, and now it's fine time to put this naughty demon back in her place, I'll have to think very long and hard about your punishment!" Diving off Mikhail's back, Five was prepared to launch her spear at Lady Luck, when droves of mutated water core heartless suddenly rose out from the water, seemingly attracted to her angel, and barred their rows of razor-sharp teeth at her.
"Wait-no no nononono!" The mutated water cores surrounded her in an instant, enveloping her in unending darkness, and by then, she knew exactly what was coming next. "No- NO! I don't - I don't want to die! I don't want to-"
Right before her heart could get torn out of her body, a bolt of lightning thundered from the skies and struck down the mutated water cores in a flash.
"—Five! You got this!" Riku yelled, falling down from the sky to also finish off Lady Luck.
Lady Luck, ironically being down on its own luck, decided to fall back on its desperation move and begin singing its siren song, but Five was quick to react. She lodged her spear through its throat, preventing it from using its voice, then as Riku was coming down, he slashed the heartless down the middle of its body, severing it into two halves and ultimately freeing Faris's captive heart once and for all.
With the surrounding ocean no longer being controlled by the whims of the siren heartless, the water drained out of Crestholm and everyone who was previously brainwashed was finally free. Though despite their best efforts, the city was still left in ruins and the death toll was likewise unimaginable.
"It'll take a long time to rebuild Crestholm, I really will have to give this place a makeover," Five said.
"Hopefully without any of the poverty, inequality, or human trafficking," Riku said.
"Of course. As far as I'm concerned, no one in the Land of Seas will ever have to worry about going hungry or having rags on their backs again." Five walked up to Faris's body as she was disintegrating. "...Honestly, I have a lot to thank you for, me and you are the same, afterall. It easily could've been me who became a heartless, but after you took literally everything away from me, it forced me to see just how immature and ... lost I really was."
"Yeah, she was a way better boss than you ever were. Damn shame this is how she has to go out," Dito said.
"You always did have a...way with words."
While Five was parting ways with Faris, Riku turned to Zero, who was suspiciously quiet. "Uh...by the way, did you want to talk about what happened back in the-"
"No."
"But it seemed like you were-"
"What part of 'no' don't you understand?"
"...Sorry." Not wanting to endure the long, awkward pause between them, he approached Five instead. "So Five...when did you want me to seal the Flower?"
"Oh, right! I hate to say it, but I can't right now. Presently, I still need these powers in order to rebuild my country, buuut if I start going mad then you know where to find me."
"Wow, thanks for making it so convenient for us," Zero sarcastically remarked.
She smiled at her. "I take you're all going to the Land of Mountains after this, right? Sadly, I can't join you guys on your adventure, but if you ever decide to return to the Land of Seas, know that you're always welcome here."
"Ah, well, actually- I was thinking maybe we don't have to go to the Land of Mountains right now," Riku said.
"Why not?" Zero asked.
He rubbed the back of his head. "I still feel really bad about what I did to you earlier and I wanted to make it up to you before we go through another round of traumatic events."
"I told you it was fine, you don't need to make it up to me or whatever." Which wasn't true, there was one thing she wanted from him but she wouldn't dare admit something like that out loud.
"Are you sure? I was thinking maybe we could go somewhere nice to eat that's not a bar for once, but if you're not up for it then-"
Five grabbed both their hands, bursting with excitement, "Say no more! I know the perfect place!"
Zero snatched her hand away. "And who the hell invited you?!"
"I did, silly! Now come on you two, let's not waste another second! I still have to get everything prep-"
"—Leaving without saying hello to your sisters?" One asked as she and Four went up to her. "I have to say though, I'm impressed you were able to take down that tyrant without asking your older sisters for any help. I can tell you've done a little growing up, Five."
"Well, a little extra help would've been much appreciated, but oh never mind that!" Five pulled her sisters in for a giant hug. "I love you guys so, SO much! You don't know how much I've missed you!"
"Love you too...Five," One said, barely able to get a breath out.
"Ugh Five-" Four tried to push her away. "Please, enough of this, you're being so embarrassing!"
"Oh, alright." When she did let go, she introduced them to Riku and Zero. "I have so much to tell you two, but most importantly, Zero's actually decided to not kill us anymore! Isn't that great?!"
"...What?" One looked at Zero, who shook her head in response.
"Don't ask me. I'm just along for the ride at this point."
She turned to Riku next. "Then you must be the one who owes me an explanation."
"Sure. We're going around Midgard saving the Intoners by sealing the Flower within you guys. It will make you lose your powers, but it means that we won't have to kill you."
Four shook her head. "Wait- I know you! Y-You're that stripper from the party! So you've aligned yourself with Zero?!"
"Th- That was just a disguise, and that's beside the point! What I'm trying to say is we're all pretty much on the same side, so there's no reason to be hostile towards each other."
One crossed her arms. "Let me get this straight, you intend to save the Intoners by no longer making us Intoners? That's the most foolish thing I've ever heard."
"How? The Intoners are the reason why this world is so messed up!"
"You must not be from around since you feel emboldened enough to speak blasphemy against the Intoners."
"No, I'm not from Midgard, but I've been here long enough to know the Flower needs to be taken down at all costs, even at the expense of the Intoners."
"Is that so? I can only imagine what bald-faced lies Zero fed to you, but it wasn't too long ago when Midgard was once this godless land you speak of. It was rife with war, death, poverty, and inequality. Us Intoners overthrew the tyrannical lords who dictated these lands and brought peace to Midgard."
"Wow-" Zero clapped mockingly at One. "Gotta hand it to you, that was a professional asspull."
"You may live in delusion sister, but the Land of Seas flourished under Five's rule until Faris overthrew her," One gestured broadly at all of the destruction and death in Crestholm. "This is what Midgard looked like before the Intoners."
"But it's not like my people were living it up under my rule either. We may be goddesses but that doesn't mean we're perfect!" Five argued.
"Please, the only reason your country suffered was simply that you're an incompetent ruler," Four said.
"Uh no, it's because I'm cursed with a demon!"
"Of course you'd pin your own shortcomings onto something else. You know, One and I seem to run our countries just fine with little issues even though we're Intoners too. Honestly, if there are problems in the world, it's not because we're Intoners, it's just because of the type of person you are."
"Oh please Four, enough with the nice girl act, I know you have skeletons in your closet too. And for the record, you're not becoming One's favorite sister just because you suck her off more than a common whore!"
"Why I- how dare you!"
One held her arm out in front of Four. "Don't waste your breath. Look, I don't think either of us are going to change our minds on the matter so I'll just say this; I don't trust you, Zero, or this foreigner's plan to 'save' the Intoners. So if you decide to interfere with us, then you'll be treated as an enemy and dealt with accordingly. If you truly want to save us, then you'll stay out of our way."
"So be it. I guess we'll have to drag the Flower out of your kicking and screaming," Zero said.
She glared at Zero. "You'll be long dead before that happens. Four, let's take our leave, we have no more business in the Land of Seas. And Five- I suggest you assume your duties as Intoner, or you'll be treated as an enemy as well, no different than Zero."
Five turned back to Riku and Zero. "...She's a stubborn one, that's for sure."
"No one said this shit was gonna be easy," Zero said. "But I'm not worried about them right now, what was that 'perfect' place you were talking about before?"
"Oh, right- right!" She clasped her hands together. "Don't worry- you two are gonna love it!"
And so the day had been saved once more,
But a battle won did not mean the end of the war.
A witch, her henchman, and a certain opportunist sew the seeds of discord,
Though they are unaware, they are not the only players on the board.
Flowers for the Dead
A/N: Just as a heads up, this story in its entirety will end in about 10 chapters or so, mostly because I ran out of ideas:p
