Land of Sands
-Outskirts-
By careful manipulation of the Intoners, who sewed the seeds of discord throughout the world, the Flower had cultivated itself the perfect environment in which it would thrive. There was no better sustenance for this demon than complete and utter insanity.
After enduring the hellscape that was Midgard, Riku's mind had all but shattered. The Flower saw through to that from the moment they first made contact, and yet, a part of him still resisted. Yes, it was that godforsaken heart of his that not even the Flower's sharp thorns could pierce.
With each interaction Riku had with its offspring, the Flower could feel that light in his heart start to expand, bit by bit, and it could not afford to let him slip out of its grasp again. Not when The End was so close to completion. So, it did what any parasite would do and took control of its host, steering him away from the clear danger Zero and the others presented. Instead, it made him head to Cathedral City, where he would fulfill his final purpose to the Flower.
.
.
.
Riku walked up the steps of the Cathedral where Maleficent was waiting for him.
"And so you've finally returned to me, my dear child. Oh, the memories this reunion brings back..." She beckoned for him. "Now, I've waited long enough, join me and we shall go to Merucrius Gate. You will open its doors for me and I will become the rightful master of the Flower and all of the power it possesses!"
"...Then we have similar goals."
"Hm, 'similar goals', you say?"
"I also plan to open the gate, but not now."
"And why not? There's no time like the present."
"The present we control, but the future is out of our hands. I can feel the remaining Intoners approaching with each breath drawn."
"What of it? They're nothing more than mere nuisances."
"That they are, but this isn't the first time Mercurius Gate was opened. Back then, Zero alone had the power to almost wipe out the Black Flower altogether...and she still does."
"Oh? And are you suggesting the same will happen to me? Then you grossly underestimate my power... that petulant girl and her dragon are but mere children compared to myself."
"If you're so full of yourself, then dispose of Zero and the rest of those pests, they are no longer needed by the Flower. And after they're gone, I'll open the gate and you can have the power you so desperately want."
"Hmph. I see you haven't grown out of your impudence, but I suppose we can make an arrangement." 'This boy thinks he's so clever. His previous betrayal hasn't escaped me, but this time, I'll return the favor and he'll be the one fooled.'
J Geil: Yeah omg I have to update that soon, I'll have to get on that asap. I love Zero a lot so I'm glad I got to write this story for her. As for everyone else, I'm ngl they had to grow on me, especially the other Intoner sisters whew. But I'm happy that this story was able to rekindle your love for Riku, would you believe I didn't use to like him like that lol. I wrote this story via request, but thankfully he grew on me once I started reading up on him to get a feel for his character.
I also didn't intend for the story to get it as long as it did, I thought I'd wrap it up in like 20 chapters w/Zero dying in the end. Lol clearly I changed my mind, but I knew I wanted Riku and Zero to get together from the moment I wrote the first chapter, it would just take hella long to get to that point. But to answer your questions:
1.) So like not to spoil what happens later on in the chapter, but he fights like a hack more than anything.
2.) If you do have a commission, that would be awesome! You can send it to me via email, which is elarkin223[at sign]gmail[dot com, I think that's the best way to reach me bc that's the only thing I reliably check. Tysm!
3.) Honestly, I'm not sure. If I do anything it'll be something like a slice-of-life story
4.) Yeah I saw it in my recommendations, I'll have to watch it sometime
5.) I think "Exhausted" fits as well but yeah!
Also I listened to each of those songs, they were very sweet. "A Very Special Love" and "No One Else Comes Close" were my personal favorites, thank you for sharing!
Phoenix Keyblade: Very high
Anon: Fair enough, I figured Aqua would've been somewhat emboldened by everything she went through, so I didn't think she'd be particularly worried about the Flower root at first. Tbh when you put it like that, the insanity of yokotaro vs the insanity of nomura vs the relatively normal Disney stuff somehow meshes together in the end, sort of like a really twisted version of the Enchanted movies. I'm not sure how One originally made her Brother, but in this case, she's just stitching all of his flesh back together and the Flower's doing the rest.
One and Zero are such extreme opposites of each other and yet there are also two sides of the same coin, one of the highlights of writing this story is figuring out how Zero would interact w/ each sister on semi-cordial terms.
Keybladelight: You'll just have to see what develops later in the chapter!
Ian12091995: And thanks for reading!
"End of the World I"
It was morning.
And One was pissed.
"Can someone explain to me what this is?" One pushed down the barrel and a random dead body that was definitely not her brother tumbled out. "Quickly. Before I implode."
Dito pointed his finger at Decadus. "He did it!"
He gasped. "I did NOT! What reasoning do you have to even come to such an absurd conclusion?!"
"Oh, I'll tell you the reason!" He paced around with his hands behind his back. "You knew One's brother was important to her, so you waited until she was asleep in order to get rid of him right under her nose!"
"And why in the world would I ever do that?!"
"Why do you do anything Decadus? So she could punish you later and you could get your oh-so-precious kink off!"
Three stared at the back of Dito's head in disappointment. 'Is this seriously the excuse he took all night to come up with?'
"H- H- How dare you falsely accuse me of such heinous acts...ungh..."
"See? I rest my case!"
One sat back in her wheelchair and massaged her temples. She was so unbelievably angry that everyone could see a vein bulging out from her forehead.
"..."
"So are we good or?"
"..."
Four looked on at her older sister with worry in her heart. 'Oh no, her dialogue is only in ellipsis! I should investigate the matter myself for her sake.' "Actually, not that I wouldn't put it past him, but you said that awfully fast Dito, almost like it was rehearsed..."
"Me? Rehearsed?!" He scoffed, then after shaking his head a few times, let out a whistle. "Wooow, there you go being uh... classist again! It's because I'm a disciple isn't it?!"
"I- wh-what?!"
"Nothing to say for yourself, huh?"
"Of course not, because that was ridiculous! I love poor people—I mean the less fortunate!"
"And, again, I rest my case!"
"Unbelievable! It's so obvious you did it- just fess up already!"
"Fess up to my innocence, you mean? I wouldn't be surprised if you were an accomplice or something. You already broke your sister's legs, who's to say you didn't also break her barrel too? Hmmmm?"
"Oh my god is THAT why One's in a wheelchair? I just thought it was a fashion statement!" Five said.
"No..." One finally broke her silence. "Four may be guilty of breaking my legs, gouging Two's eyes out, imprisoning Three, overthrowing Five's country...Oh, and not to mention destabilizing Midgard, committing several war crimes, attempting genocide, treason, tax evasion..."
'One must be really mad at Four if she's bringing that tax evasion thing up from last year.' Two thought.
"And don't forget those shoes you borrowed from me that I never got back!" Five added.
"What?! You said I could have them!"
"I was just trying to be nice, I didn't mean it!"
"Ugh, you can't be serious right now...okay, fine, I'll give them back! And One, you promised you wouldn't bring that up again!"
"...Oh, then it must've slipped my mind, but I digress. This is one transgression you did not commit, miraculously." She spun around in her wheelchair. "Dito, I already know you opened the barrel and Three, I already know this dead body is your handiwork, and I've known since last night."
Three and Dito both pointed at Octa. "He was there too."
"I understand Dito selling me out—but Lady Three! Have you no solidarity with your disciple?!"
"Well damn, if you knew it was us the whole time, why didn't you just open up with that?" Dito asked.
"Because I value integrity above all else, but I see I was foolish to expect that from any of you. Just tell me exactly what happened to my brother and we'll go from there."
"Dito and Octa opened the barrel...they fought...then he escaped into a dark portal," Three said.
"In other words, he could be God knows where right now, and just like that, there goes all of that tactical information on Maleficent." She shook her head in dismay. "Yet another situation that blows up in my face. What gods did I anger to have this luck?"
"Aw, don't be so down on yourself, sis! Don't forget we have the power of light!" Two said.
"A nebulous concept that we have no understanding of."
"And we also have each other too!" Five said.
"Yes, two intoners and 4 underpowered humans, one of whom is crippled."
"Yeesh, I guess we know where Zero's grumpiness went, huh," Two said.
"Wait, One, y-you don't think we're actually going to like...die to this Maleficent person, right?" Five asked.
"...I can't say. The future isn't promised."
"Oh here we go with this again! One, if you don't stop sulking around already—it seems like you're doing fine one second, then all it takes is one minor setback for you to act like it's the end of the goddamn world! And do you wanna know what the sad part is? I haven't heard a single peep from Zero about facing Maleficent and she's the damn poster child for cynicism," Gabriella said.
"Because Zero only has to worry about herself and Mikhail, I have to make sure all my sisters, including you, somehow make it out of this alive!"
"Girl, it's not like your brother would've made a difference, no offense. If this is all it takes for you to falter, then everyone will die."
"Gabby's right, One, we're all looking to you right now for guidance- powers or not!" Two said.
"-Hey," Zero joined the Intoner sisters. "I'm done preparing. It's time to go."
Everyone looked over to One and she nodded solemnly.
"...Yes. Let's set course for Cathedral City at once. Everyone, my sisters, we will be up against a powerful enemy, perhaps the most powerful one we've ever faced. If I should die before you, know this and carry it with you; for as much as I want you to save this world, I want you to be happy as well. That is all, I love you dearly."
Due to One's rather foreboding speech, the rest of the way to Cathedral City was solemn, the Intoner sisters weren't entirely sure what to expect when it came to Maleficent so there was a very real, terrifying possibility that they were going in like lambs to a slaughter.
Still, all they could do was keep in high spirits and enjoy the last few moments they were able to spend together...well, excluding Three, that was. As punishment for lying to her, One forced her, Dito, and Octa to clean the airship's deck, and for whatever reason, Decadus insisted he also get punished alongside them. That left Five, Four, Two and Cent together and they thought of ways to kill the time while they were in transit to the city.
"Ughh..." Five rolled her head back. "I'm SO bored! Oh- I know we should play a game to pass the time!"
"What do you have in mind?" Two asked.
"Hmmm...how about a game of strip poker~"
"Pass. Only you'd want to play a game like that," Four said.
"I have to agree with Lady Four on this one. I don't want any perverts leering at my lady's soft, supple skin or her curvaceous, well-endowed body, only I'm privy to that!" Cent insisted.
Two buried her face in her hands. "Cent, please don't say that in front of everyone..."
"Oh alright, if no one wants to play strip poker, I suppose we can always gossip!" Five said.
"...About?"
"Um, Zero's personal life obviously, what else? She's been so guarded about what's going on between her and Riku, I just know she's hiding something!"
"It might be best to respect her privacy..." Four gulped down. "This is Zero we're talking about, remember? I-I don't want her to murder us..."
She crossed her arms. "Well, she'll just have to get over it! Besides, she's had a crush on Riku for the longest time, I have to know whether she got rejected by him or not!"
"S- Seriously? No- no there's no way, I don't believe it!" Four said.
"Yeah, it is um...difficult to imagine Zero having feelings for anyone to say the least...so how did you figure it out?" Two asked.
"Well back when I was traveling with Riku and Zero, let me tell you, it was sooo obvious! I could tell just by looking at her face! Plus the fact that they never slept together!"
"Oh, that is pretty suspicious considering how handso- I mean handy! H-How handy he is..." She said, rubbing the back of her head. 'Gosh that was a close one, if I let that slip out, Cent would make such a big fuss over it!'
Four and Five both raised an eyebrow.
"Wh-What're you two looking at me like that for? Actually don't answer that! I know- why don't we just ask One what she thinks, it seems like she's been with Zero and Riku the longest so she should know what's up, right?"
"Mmm, good idea!"
The sisters all decided to pester One, who was sitting at the edge of the deck alongside Gabriella, staring out into the sky.
"Ohhh big sis~" Five cooed. "I have a ~question~ for you!"
One turned back to them. "Yes, Five, what is it?"
"Sooo I was wondering, do you know anything about Zero and Riku's secret relationship?"
"Hm? I wouldn't call it much of a secret."
"Well, we don't know anything about it! Just tell us whether they hooked up or not!"
"It's not polite to pry into someone else's business."
"See? I told you Five," Four said.
"But since the person in question is Zero, then I really don't mind."
'What?! So much for integrity!'
"To answer your question, yes. I believe they're in a relationship, I saw them kiss and hold each other's hands, additionally, I've heard Riku call her 'Rose' a few times."
"Rose? Is that a pet name...or- no wait, that's her real name, isn't it?"
"That's correct."
Five and Two held each other's hands and squealed in excitement while Four looked like she was about to faint.
'This is horrible, the love of my life is taken by my worst enemy...' Four clutched her chest. 'This is probably the worst day of my life. I think I'm gonna be sick.'
Some hours passed and the airship was now flying through the graveyard of skyscrapers, breaching the border of Cathedral City.
"So...what are we looking for again?" Mikhail asked.
"Mercurius gate," One said. "But I don't think we'll be able to access the same entrance we did before."
"Why not?" Zero asked.
"That entire area was destroyed and buried under debris following all the battles that took place there. Even if it was reconstructed, it's not wise to invite ourselves to danger like that."
"Then how else are we supposed to get to the gate?!"
"There is an alternative path. Underneath the Cathedral is a tunnel that directly connects to the vault where the gate is held. We can access it within the church hall."
And so they set course for the Cathedral, as expected, there were swarms of heartless blackening the skies, but it was nothing the cannons and fire-breathing dragons couldn't handle. The real danger came when they reached the entrance of the Cathedral because there were no heartless; only Maleficent.
"Looks like she was waiting for us," Zero said.
"Do you...think Brother One might have told her we were coming?" Four wondered.
"No time to think about the details." Zero hopped on Mikhail's back. "We end this now."
"That's right Zero! Go get your man!" Five said.
"What the- how the hell do you know about that?!"
"Oh I have my ways darling!"
"Alrighty team DDILFs, let's give it our all today!" Mikhail dove off the airship, speeding toward Maleficent with his fangs bared and his claws extended. However, instead of facing them, she backed away into a dark portal, enticing them to follow. Of course, she didn't leave without a parting gift; black thorns rose from the foundation the Cathedral laid upon and proliferated at a rapid rate until they trapped them inside a forest of thorns and shrouded them in darkness.
Oftentimes, the most terrifying aspect of the darkness was what lay hidden within the shadows, and inside that forest of thorns was a hunter and they were its prey. A pair of blood-red eyes followed Mikhail and Zero, darting across the shadows until, suddenly, an enormous creature draped in shadows emerged from the forest and lunged at them. The beast was appropriately named the Dark Hide.
Gabriella and One swooped in at the nick of time, the dragon shooting several fireballs to get it to back off, then as it was retreating, One turned to Zero and yelled; "Keep going and defeat her! We'll catch up with you!"
While Zero and Mikhail advanced forward inside the Cathedral, the rest of them stayed behind to defeat this elusive heartless.
"Gabriella, fly as close as you can to the thorns, we can try forcing it out with fire," One said.
"Tch, let's kill that fucker as soon as possible, it's giving me the creeps." But when Gabriella flew closer to the thorns, they reacted to her presence and began snaking around her neck and body, effectively trapping her
The thorns grew around the airship as well, rendering it immobile and forcing everyone on the ground.
"Gabriella! Are you okay?!" One asked.
"Not really, but I'll get out eventually!"
"I know, I trust you. I'll fight on the ground to be of more use to you-" One grabbed her wheelchair, then pushed herself off of Gabriella's back. Luckily her sisters were there to catch her as she fell, saving her from her recklessness.
"One, never do that again or you'll end up breaking way more than just your legs!" Two reprimanded.
"Mm who knew big sis had such a wild side to her though," Five said.
All of a sudden, they heard a loud, rustling noise going back and forth inside the forest.
"Stay alert, it's approaching!" One said.
"But from where?!" Five asked.
One paid close attention to the sound until she figured out the direction. "Four- it's coming from your side, watch out!" But she was just a second too late, by the time she gave the warning, the Dark Hide was already lunging at Four with its mouth wide open.
In those precious few seconds away from death, Four surely thought her life was over, but at the last moment, Decadus pushed Four out of the way so that he could stand in the Dark Hide's path. With a smile on his face, he turned to Four and asked her; "Do you remember the first exchange we ever had together?"
"Decadus, no stop! Please...please don't do this!"
"The answer is yes. It has always been yes. I would die for you, Lady Four."
Those were the last words he ever spoke to her before his torso got ripped away from his legs and his heart consumed to create yet another heartless. Then, after brutally murdering him and reducing him to a creature of the darkness, the Dark Hide darted back into the forest to hunt for its next prey.
"DECADUS!" Four watched what was left of Decadus's body disintegrate into nothing, so all that remained was the small shadow his heart became. She held onto the mindless creature, and as she gazed into its yellow eyes, she felt hot tears stinging her eyes. "Decadus...no...this-this can't be."
Decadus's sudden death raised the tension considerably, Cent instinctively held his arm in front of Two, then turned to One. "Lady One, this thing is out for blood, we need to react accordingly. What are your orders?"
"I...uh..." She was blanking out at the worst possible time.
They heard rustling from the forest again, and despite One's nerves, she managed to spit something out, "We...we should stay together at least, there's power in numbers."
"Fuck that, we're all gonna die at this rate, I'm getting out of here!" With his spear held close to his chest, Dito broke apart from the group and ran to what he perceived was an opening within the forest.
Fearing for Dito's safety, Five chased after him, but just as she was within arm's reach of yanking him away, the Dark Hide emerged from the opening. One moment, Dito was there, the next, his legs were dangling out of the creature's mouth. It all happened so fast, and now Five was staring down into its blood-red eyes, watching it open its mouth again. The next victim would be her, but just as it snapped its jaws, she was tackled to the ground by Four and they rolled away, barely escaping its reach.
However, the Dark Hide didn't seem to be all too satisfied by consuming Dito's heart, so it wouldn't retreat back into the forest just yet. It targeted Four and Five, jumping around the sisters to intimidate and confuse them before it would eventually go for the kill.
Verse 1-3
Sleep. I shall give thee death.
Three's song distracted the Dark Hide enough to tear its attention away from Four and Five and gun down Three instead. Since she was enhanced by her song, Three was able to put up a formidable fight against the beast and keep it busy while Four and Five re-grouped.
"That should buy us some time. One, what do we do now?!" Two asked.
"..."
"One!"
"One, tell us what we should do! Or...or more of us will die," Five said.
"I...I don't know..." The only thing One could focus on was the sound of her heart pounding against her chest and how she seemed to take in less and less air with each breath she took. Everything else may as well of been white noise to her.
"One, listen to me!" Four screamed. "Maybe you don't realize it, but between all of us, you shine the brightest! So snap out of it, Three is putting her life on the line because she believes in you most of all! So if anyone can figure out how to beat this demon—it's you! If anyone can save the world—it's you! It's always been you!"
Something about what Four said resonated deeply with One, it calmed her down and allowed her to focus clearly. "...I'm sorry, I haven't been acting like myself lately. That won't happen again. From now on until the end, I have complete faith in us all, and as for this demon...I know exactly how we'll end this."
—
While the Intoner sisters were staging a counterattack against the Dark Hide, Mikhail was soaring through the Cathedral until finally reaching the church hall where Maleficent stood.
"You done running away?" Zero asked, hopping off Mikhail's back.
"You are an impudent, foolish girl, who has no place in this world, and I will take full pleasure in finally casting you off to the darkness!" Maleficent snapped her fingers together and a wall of green fire circled around them, enclosing the three of them together.
"Well, aren't you dramatic." Zero brandished her sword, the Feral King's Wildblade, it was a long, slender katana that hit hard and hit fast. It wasn't her preferred sword, but it would do her good in battle. With the handle tightly clenched in her hand, Zero stepped forward. "Mikhail, watch my back."
Zero ran ahead, effortlessly dodging the blasts of dark magic Maleficent sent her way. As she was closing in on Maleficent, she was met with a blockade of Defender heartless. Zero whipped her back to Mikhail, but he was already on top of it, shooting a series of fireballs that cleared the way for her. Now just within reach of Maleficent, she channeled all of her power into her arms, then swung Fearl King's Wildblade so fast that the air howled as it was sliced by her sharp blade.
She had a clear shot of Maleficent's neck, and was confident she could slice it off in one go, but her blade skidded across the air, narrowly missing its target. Apparently, Maleficent was a lot faster than she gave the witch credit for, but she wouldn't make that mistake again. Knowing she left herself vulnerable, Zero prioritized guarding herself against Maleficent's counterattack.
Despite Zero raising her guard, however, Maleficent's magic was still incredibly powerful and her Dark meteor attack knocked Zero clean to the ground.
"Hmph. Pitiful." Maleficent approached Zero with a ball of darkness in her hand. "You should've fled when I gave you the opportunity. Now it's too late and you will meet your end."
"Aahhh, Zero! Don't worry, I'm gonna save the day!" Mikhail shot a slew of fireballs at Maleficent, consuming her in a blazing hot fire.
While Maleficent was screaming in agony, for a second, Mikhail thought he actually killed her but they weren't so fortunate. Her screams soon died down and gave way to malicious cackling that rattled throughout the church hall.
"HA HA HA! You FOOLS, do you honestly think those worthless attacks are enough to defeat me, the Mistress of Evil?! Allow me to show you what real fire looks like!" The orange fire Maleficent was burning in was devoured by her green flames, then she grew larger and larger, morphing into something monstrous.
—
In the meantime, thanks to One's breakthrough, the Intoner sisters were gaining the upper hand against their enemy. One had paid close attention to Three while she fought against the Dark Hide, and was able to come up with a strategy in seconds. "...From what I can gather, this demon behaves like a wild animal, it will attack anything it perceives as its prey, which means we can outsmart it. It's too dangerous and unpredictable to engage it in close combat, so we'll have to attack at a distance. While it's weakened, we'll help Gabriella break free of the thorns and she'll deliver the finishing blow."
"And...how will we do any of that?" Four asked.
"Simple. With the tools we already have available."
Running low on her Intoner powers, Three stabbed the Dark Hide one more time to get it to retreat, then re-grouped with her sisters. "...One?"
"We'll need to use your dolls, Armisael. Put as many of them as you can on the field, this will allow us to spread out without getting individually attacked."
"Risky. Might have an adverse effect on the heartless."
"If it's a gamble, so be it."
She nodded. "Octa?"
"Yes, my lady. Ahem- Behold the Third song: Quickened Puppets of Antiquity! The raging demon's deathly gaze...the army of heretics that rejects the natural cycle... Render into ash the powers of reason and order!" Octa held his hands in the air. "I, Octa, summon thee in my name...Armisael, invade!"
ARMISAEL
Verse 2-3
-Requiem-
Die. For I am your executioner.
Sing. For this is your swan song.
Suffer. For your death is near.
Sleep. For this is your punishment.
Fifty doll-like creatures of varying shapes and sizes invaded the field, at the same time, the Dark Hide was mutating as a result of Three's song. Surprisingly, it didn't change much physically, which meant that all of its mutations happened underneath the surface. Despite the inherent uncertainty this presented, One stuck to her guns and proceeded with her plan.
She turned to the others, then said, "Now we scatter."
Placing their faith into One, the Intoners sisters and the rest of the disciples dispersed across the field. As One anticipated, the Dark Hide began attacking the Armsiael dolls, rather than them, believing the dolls to be easier targets. One then initiated the next phase of her plan and commanded everyone to attack it on all sides, aided by the Armsiael dolls already shooting their eye lasers, this concerted effort stacked a large amount of damage against the beat.
After a while, however, the Dark Hide held its position, then lowered its snout to the ground.
One watched the Dark Hide carefully. "...What's it doing?"
The Dark Hide raised its head abruptly, then spun around to where Three was standing. It charged at Three, bulldozing past the Armisael dolls, and locked itself into combat with her once more.
'My plan should've bought us more time than that. Think One, I have to figure out why its behavior changed.' One took a few moments to analyze the situation from all possible angles, then it dawned upon her. 'Could it be that it's relying on its scent? Is it possible that Three's song made it lose its eyesight somehow, but in exchange, its other senses heightened? This must be the adverse reaction Three was talking about, if that's the case then we need to end this as soon as possible.'
"Everyone, I need you to focus all of your efforts on freeing Gabriella right now! Prioritize her above all else, even me!" One yelled.
"...If you say so, One. Cent, think you can help me out?" Two asked.
"Of course, anything for you, my lady!" He got into position, cupping his hands together, then lowered his arms to his knees. "Ready when you are!"
Taking a few steps back to give herself a running start, Two sprinted toward Cent, then used him as a jumping-off point to fly straight to where Gabriella was being held captive. She unsheathed her sword, then sliced off as many thorns as she could before falling back to the ground.
"-Oh, right behind you Two!" Five also wanted to try her hand at ̶s̶h̶o̶w̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶f̶f̶ saving Gabriella, so she ran toward Cent head first, expecting him to push her up as well. Clearly, he didn't get the memo, so they collided with each other and fell to the ground. This loud noise attracted the Dark Hide, and it left Three to pursue them.
"HEY! I'M RIGHT HERE!" One screamed, hoping she could get the Dark Hide to hunt her down instead. It seemed to work because the Dark Hide changed course, gunning for her now.
Having limited mobility, One's intention wasn't to run away, rather, she held her position and watched the terrifying beast approach her with its mouth hanging wide open. Unlike the last time, her heart did not stir because she had absolute faith in her sisters and Gabriella.
But then Four stepped out in front of One and that set her heartbeat off again. She had given her sisters a command to prioritize Gabriella for a reason and yet Four foolishly defied her, but why? Was it to play hero and win her praise, her forgiveness? No, it had to be something deeper than that if she was willing to give her life away.
While Four appeared to be relatively meek, she took One's advice to hone in her skills seriously, and even without the Flower she was still quite strong. At least strong enough to do the unthinkable and hold the Dark Hide back with just her hands.
"F- Four- what are you thinking?!"
"I already told you One, you shine the brightest." But Four was only so strong and the Dark Hide soon overpowered her, clamping down onto one of her arms.
One knew what was coming next and she could no longer just sit there and watch. So she pulled out her chakrams, then with every last bit of her strength, threw the circular blades so that one would slice Four's arm clean off, severing her from the Dark Hide's hold, and the other would lodge itself into the beast's mouth.
All this bought them was a few extra seconds, but that was all the time needed for Two and Five to slice off the last of the thorns trapping Gabriella and for her to finally break free. "YOU'RE DEAD!" She swooped down, snatched the heartless by its neck, then drove it into the ground. "You fucked around with One and her sisters enough, now it's my turn!"
As Gabriella was thrashing the Dark Hide, the Intoner sisters and the remaining disciples took the opportunity to re-group. Three was the one who scooped up Four in her arms and brought her to One and the others.
One rolled up to Three, the words spilling out of her mouth. "Please, please, tell me she'll be okay!"
Three took a long look at Four. "...I can stop the blood. Can't fix the arm."
"...This is my fault, if I hadn't been so clumsy then none of this would've happened. I already lost my disciple...I almost lost you too!" Five cried.
Two put her hand on Five's shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up over it, I should've stopped her when I could, but...everything just happened so fast. Let's be thankful that she's alive at least."
"Okay..." Five wiped her tears away on the back of her hand. "So...One, do you think Gabriella can finally kill this thing?"
One didn't answer right away, but eventually, she said, "We should hope." Her attention was glued to Gabriella and the Dark Hide's bout. If not even Gabriella could defeat the creature, then they were bound to all die, and One could only pray that wouldn't be the outcome.
However, the situation took a turn for the worse when the Dark Hide managed to wrestle out of Gabriella's grip after shooting her with a shadow ball, then it retreated back into the forest. Soon, everything went dark, then they saw a ring of colors spiraling around them, illuminating the forest.
—
Meanwhile, inside the church hall of the Cathedral, Maleficent's green fire slowly started to dissipate. From the ashes of her flames, rose a giant, black dragon that rivaled Mikhail in size.
"What the fuck? I guess anything goes here..." Zero returned to Mikhail's side so that they could fight against Maleficent together. "Ready?"
"Ready Captain DDILF!"
"Drop that already!"
"Not until you think of something better!"
"Ugh, forget it then! Now watch out!"
Maleficent breathed out massive amounts of green fire that Mikhail flew away from to avoid. He decided to spew out fire of his own, creating a giant wall of orange and green fire.
Then Maleficent took flight herself and flew straight through the wall of flames, catching both Mikhail and Zero off guard. She pounced on the white dragon, sinking her fangs into his neck while he helplessly flailed about.
"AAAHHHHHH!" Mikhail cried out.
"I'll get her off!" Using one hand to hold onto Mikhail's saddle for dear life, Zero exchanged her katana for the chakram set; Electroshocker. She flung Electroshocker with whatever strength she could afford and it cut through the ridge of Maleficent's snout as fast and ferocious as a bolt of lightning. This was enough to get Maleficent off and allow them a window to retreat and gather their bearings.
"You okay?" She asked.
"Yeah I'm fine," He shook his head back and forth. "She's just strong- really, really, really strong!"
"Then I'll go into Intoner mode and we'll give her a beating!"
"Good thinking, Zero!"
Verse 1
-Encore-
A world transparent
The song shall meet its end
When I kill the monster I've become
The power Zero once thought was nothing more than a curse would now be used to save a world that ought to be damned.
Blessed by the Power of Song, Mikhail came back at Maleficent with full force and ravaged the black dragon like a feral beast. Still, even during a life-or-death battle, Mikhail lamented that they had to fight like this at all. Regardless of Maleficent's initial appearance, right now, they were both dragons, and so he felt a sort of kinship with her.
'No one should have to fight like this, not people, not dragons, not anyone. I don't want the world to be like this anymore.' Mikhail was on the verge of ripping Maleficent's throat out, when an extremely heavy ball from out of nowhere exploded on his head and threw him off of her.
"Owowow ow!" Mikhail groaned.
"Mikhail!"
"Owie...what was that thing?"
"Not sure..." 'Is someone else in this church too with us?' But before she could dwell on it any further, Maleficent raised her head and shot a round of fireballs at them. At this point, they had exhausted the Intoner's song, and both Mikhail and Zero were lying on the ground.
"Damn it, doesn't anything kill her?!" Zero picked herself up, then ran to Mikhail, shaking him awake. "Hey... you hanging in there?"
"Hah...hah...I...hah..." He was panting heavily and blood was dripping down from his body to the ground.
Maleficent opened her mouth to shoot more fireballs at them but Zero threw Electroshocker at her, knocking her head down to the ground.
Zero spun back around to face Mikhail again. "Reincarnate! Even if you lose your memory, at least you'll still..."
"You know it, right Zero? Why dragons can be reborn? Because they get a 'final wish'."
"Enough! Just hurry up-" Maleficent managed to get another fireball out of her, but Zero had her chakram to protect her from the impact. "-and do it already!" She spat out.
"...A dragon's wish is a deep and powerful thing...so now, I'm gonna make mine and I'm gonna kill that dragon lady."
"What're you saying?!"
"If I use my life to wish it...then I can make it happen. Isn't that great?!"
"...No, No!" She moved closer to Mikhail, placing her hands on his head. "No, nononono! I'm not letting you do this! NO!" She tried to push him back, but he kept marching forward and she was powerless to stop him.
He held his wing around her. "It's okay Zero, if I lose my memory, I wouldn't be me anymore anyway."
"No! No. no...please, no!"
"And besides, I had a lot of fun Zero...I mean, being with you...and Riku... and all your sisters...we all had lots and lots of fun together!"
"Mikhail you can't- I won't let you!"
"Zero...I want you to live out your dreams...just like the one you told me."
"No, Mikhail, please! It's not worth it if I have to lose you! I rather give it all up!" But no matter how much she begged and pleaded, Mikhail wouldn't listen to her.
With Maleficent readying for another attack, Mikhail felt empowered to finish her off once and for all...
—
The Dark Hide spun out of the thorns so fast that it left behind afterimages, Gabriella tried to stop it, but it out sped her claws.
One rested her head on her chest. "...I fear this is the end, but at least, we gave it our all and tried our best. Hopefully, those two can save the world and make it a better place in our absence."
Just when their world was closing in on them, the last bit of hope they desperately clung on to came falling from the sky like shooting stars. With their keyblades held tightly in their hands, Aqua and Mickey Mouse drove their blades through the Dark Hide's body, slaying the beast where it stood and freeing its heart once and for all.
'This fiend... I never thought I'd have to see that thing again.' Now that the immediate threat was past, Aqua turned back to the Intoners, who were staring at her and Mickey all wide-eyed with their mouths hanging open. "...I'm sorry, I know I'm terribly late," She began to say, but before she could get the rest of her apology out, the sisters and the remaining disciples crowded around her and Mickey.
Five threw her arms around Aqua and started sobbing on her shoulder. "Oh my GOD! You saved us...you saved us!" The rest of what she said was incomprehensible babbling.
"Um, there, there?" Aqua awkwardly pat Five on the back, she tried to look to Mickey for help, but he was getting squeezed to death by Two.
"Ugh, for the last time- I'm NOT a stuffed animal!" Mickey grumbled.
"Aw, but you're so adorable and you saved our lives so I have to thank you somehow cutie!"
"This is no time to relax, Zero and Mikhail are facing someone named Maleficent. I'm sure they need your help just as much, if not more, than we do," One said.
"Maleficent, huh?" Mickey finally broke free of Two's grasp, then started toward the Cathedral. "No problem, I'll run on ahead and handle her myself!"
Aqua nodded. "We'll be right behind you!"
After Mickey infiltrated the Cathedral, it didn't take long for him to locate the church hall where he saw two dragons; one of which he immediately recognized as Maleficent and the other, a white dragon. Swinging his keyblade out, he stormed inside the church hall, dodging the subsequent fireballs coming his way. When he reached Maleficent, he jumped up, spun himself sideways, then cut through her like a buzz saw.
Sliding back round on the opposite side of her, he imbued his keyblade with light, then launched it at Maleficent. This was the decisive blow that ended Maleficent's reign of terror right then and there. With no power left to fuel her dragon form, she returned back to her weaker, humanoid appearance, lying pathetically on the ground.
Now that she was defeated, Mickey ran up to Zero and Mikhail, who were both dumbstruck. "You two must be Zero and Mikhail, right? I heard about you guys from your pals! Sorry if we were late, we ran into a bit of trouble, but we're here now! You won't have to face the darkness alone anymore!"
Zero slapped her hands on her face, but she still saw Mickey standing in front of her. "...So this is real? Wait, you're that...thing from Three's device, aren't you?"
Mickey pointed to his ears. "The name's MickeyMouse!"
"...Right. Well, whatever you are, thank you. I mean it."
He rubbed the back of his head. "Aw shucks, just doing my job! As long as I can...wait did you say 'whatever you are'?!"
"Anyway, I see you left her alive." She unsheathed her katana. "I'll end her."
"Wait, you don't mean kill her, do you?!"
But Zero was already walking toward Maleficent, dragging the blade across the ground. Before she could execute her, however, a loud explosion sounded and the entire floor suddenly collapsed. Mikhail caught both Zero and Mickey in time before they could fall down alongside Maleficent.
"Thanks, pal!" Mickey said.
"No problem...oh and...thank you for coming when you did. If you hadn't, I'd probably be..." Mikhail went quiet for a moment, contemplating his actions, before speaking again. "Zero, I'm sorry for scaring you like that...I just wanted to protect you."
"...I know."
"So that stuff you said to me back there...was it all true?"
"Of course it was true, dummy."
"Wow...that makes me really happy! So, uh, what do we do now?"
Zero looked back to Mickey. "Well? I know you're here for Riku, so what's the plan?"
"...While we didn't find Riku on our way here, I got this sinking feeling in my heart the closer and closer we go to this cathedral here. I remember you mentioned something about a ...'Mercurius Gate' the other day, that place must be around here somewhere right?"
"Yeah, it is... it should be somewhere below us. I'm guessing the floor collapsing wasn't a freak accident."
"You're right about that. There's definitely something funny going on...so before we go down, let's wait for Aqua and the others. They should be here any second now."
"—Mickey!"
"Aha! Right on cue!"
Aqua led the Intoners inside the church hall while One flew in on Gabriella. Realizing the floor was collapsed, Aqua held her arm in front of the girls before anyone could fall through. "What happened here?!"
"Aqua, apparently this Mercurius Gate is underground! We have to get down there!" Mickey yelled.
"So this is it then...even from all the way up here, I can feel so much evil radiating from that demon. Girls, from here on out, you should stay behind. You've done more than enough fighting on your end, you can leave everything to Mickey and I," She said to the sisters.
"Thank you for your concern Aqua, but we're seeing this all the way through!" Two said.
"That's right! We're sisters 'till the end and we'll stick together no matter where it'll take us!" Five said.
"...The bond you sisters share with each other is endearing. Cherish that for as long as you can."
"Blah blah blah, no way in hell I'm carrying all of you! One of you is heavy enough," Gabriella said.
"It'll only be for a short while, Gabriella, and Mikhail's here to share the burden...and after this whole ordeal is over and done with, I promise to treat you to your favorite meal. You've certainly earned it," One said.
"Hmph. If I break my back this is all on you!"
Mickey jumped off Mikhail's back, then landed next to Aqua. "Oh, don't worry about us two! Aqua and I have no problem getting down to the bottom, we'll follow you guys there so lead the way!"
Without any further delay, they ventured down into the darkness until they finally reached the vault of...
MERCURIUS GATE
The gate was tall and vast; a marvel of the old world. At one point, it was enhanced by futuristic technology from a bygone era, but that time had long passed and it was reduced to a former shell of itself. No longer password protected, whatever force was keeping the gate closed, barely held it intact. There was a web of fissures sprawled across the doors, with black roots growing out of the crevices like a monster waiting to be set free.
Maleficent lay at the foot of the gate while Pete nervously paced around. "Ooh Maleficent we're in trouble now!"
"Pete!" Mickey pointed his keyblade at his long-time rival. "I bet you were the one behind all those explosions!"
"Yeah? And what if I was?! Clearly, I ain't do the job right if yer still scurrying around in one piece!"
"Getting back at me is one thing, but you and Maleficent endangering so many innocent lives is taking it way too far!"
"Tch, 'inn-o-cent' my butt. Those Intoner girlies are wayyyyy worse than me 'n Maleficent, but here you are pallin' around with them!"
"And what the hell are you supposed to be? A...cow or something?" Zero asked. 'Why can't I shake off the feeling I've encountered this guy somewhere before?'
"A cow?! No you lousy, good-for-nuthin', one-eyed bimbo, I'm a cat, can't you tell?!"
"No, really, what are you?"
"Whaddya mean 'no really'?! Obviously, I'm a cat, dang it! I bet you ain't even see one before because your face scares 'em all off!"
"Enough, we came here looking for Riku, tell us where he is right now!" Aqua demanded.
"I don't know where that bozo is! I ain't his keeper!"
"Like hell we're buying that! You better start talking or your fatass is gonna be smeared all across this floor!" Zero yelled.
Aqua exchanged a worried glance with Mickey. 'She has such a gentle face, but underneath it all, she's incredibly violent. I'm curious as to why she's so fond of Riku...'
"—Looking for me?" A dark portal rose from the ground in front of them, then Riku walked out with his hands in his pockets. "Now that all of you have so kindly gathered here for me today, I can finally proceed with the final phase. Soon, this world will be no more."
"Not if we have anything to say about it! Riku, I'm comin' to get you outta there!" As Mickey made his way toward Riku, several roots emerged from the ground in an attempt to capture him, but he slashed his way through until he reached Riku where they clashed keyblade to keyblade. "Riku, you gotta listen to me! Don't let this demon be the end of you! You battled against the darkness and Xehanort's control before and came out on top! That's how I know you can defeat this thing, so don't lose faith!"
"Silence, you insignificant creature!" A root from below shot up from the ground and snatched Mickey up, but he had already fulfilled his role as a diversion. Aqua was right behind Riku, her blade inches away from him, quickly, he deployed Dark Barrier to get her off his back, then used the shadows to roll away from her.
Aqua kept track of Riku as he was dodging, and she was able to meet her blade with his every time he tried to escape. This back-and-forth went on for several minutes until it escalated into a full-on battle. Aqua was tricky and acrobatic, while Riku was crude and aggressive, she was not only able to easily maneuver around his vicious keyblade swings but redirect his energy back toward him.
"You're a Keyblade Master, aren't you? These are novice mistakes." Aqua blocked a head-on strike from Riku, then tilted her sword downward and slipped it out from under him. Due to the sheer amount of force he was exerting, this left him wide open for Aqua to kick his keyblade out from his grasp. 'If I keep the pressure up, he'll start getting desperate and I should be able to incapacitate him. After that, Mickey can use the Power of Waking.'
With a clear plan in mind, Aqua was confident enough to start fighting offensively, pulling out all the stops, and before long, she was overwhelming him. She knew he was going to start getting desperate, but what she didn't expect was for him to burst out into song.
Verse 0
The Black Flower
Is calling
"What's...going on?"
"You've wasted enough of my time," Riku said.
From that point on forward, Zero decided she would join Aqua's side.
"What are you doing? I can face him alone," Aqua insisted.
"Just shut up and I'll cover you."
"Respectfully, I don't need your assistance!"
"Quit being so damn stubborn, when he's powered up like this, he's invulnerable to all attacks. Except one that is-" She took a dagger made from the shards of her dragonbone sword. "I'll free him from the Flower, even if I have to carve it out of his chest!"
"Fine, if you insist, just don't fall behind."
"Whatever." 'This bitch is so full of herself.'
But as Aqua and Zero were approaching Riku, several roots shot out from the ground, creating a wall of separation between them.
Aqua lit her keyblade on fire, attempting to slash through them, but this only caused more to grow rapidly in response. "No, this can't be happening!"
"You'll need a lot more firepower than that puny thing can muster!" Gabriella shot a round of fireballs at the roots that burned them down faster than they could grow back.
Finally, they reached the other side, but they were too late. Mercurius Gate was already open.
At first, it appeared to be empty, then all of a sudden, multiple arms shot out from the darkness. They grabbed Riku, Three, and even Zero, despite her best efforts. With their power feeding back into it, the Flower grew in size, soon towering above them...
You have reached [Accord] outside of my normal business hours.
After the tone, please leave your name and number, and I will call on the following business day.
Flowers for the Dead
A/N: Ik this was a faster-than-usual update, I've had a lot of time to write lately. Hopefully, the next chapter will come out within this month!
