Valentine of Destiny

Ah, I love this chappie. Baby huh? NOW there's someone who writes cooler than D.F, at least this chapter is. Eh? I somehow took perverted as a measure for coolness. Gotta keep that away...

As usual, I hope for impossibly-super-fast-high-quality-chapter. Preferably tommorow provided that you don't die of exhaustion :P

 

Here's the next chapter:

"What about you?" Aerith asked, "How is it between you and Sora?"

"Well..." Kairi started, then stopped. She just sort of sat there, fidgeting a little and avoiding eye contact. How can you tell someone that was wrong but you didn't know what?

Aerith noticed Kairi's hesitation, "Is anything wrong?"

"No...yes...I'm not sure...Aerith...what was Zack like when you two were growing up?" Kairi didn't know what possessed her to ask that question, but, nonetheless, it came out.

Aerith looked a little confused, "I'm not sure I understand what you mean...Is Sora acting differently, Kairi?"

Kairi nodded, "He's...he's just not himself anymore. I mean, yeah, he's the same, goofy, one-track-minded guy I've known, but...something has changed." Kairi told Aerith about Sora's refusal to fight Reno and Rude, his hesitation when the heartless came, and how he always tried to avoid the subject whenever she asked him.

"It's just...I don't know what to do here. We're dating now, but he keeps trying to hide these things from me. Could this really be so damaging that it could be...," Kairi paused and stared at Aerith in confusion, "...worth chuckling over? What are you doing, Aerith?"

Aerith had her mouth palmed, and was shaking slightly. She was trying very hard to be serious, but the irony of the whole thing was just too much for her. She finally managed, "I'm sorry, Kairi! I know you're serious, but this...it's a big walk down memory lane for me!"

Aerith took another deep breath, "I think I understand your question about what Zack was like."

Kairi blinked, and then nodded her head. She forgot that she asked that question for a second, but if it would help...

Aerith turned her head a little and looked at the fireplace, "In many ways, he was a lot like Sora, when we were kids. He smiled a lot, always liked playing with swords...would play the knight that had to save the princess...," she smiled a little bit at the memory of him slaying the 'deadly dragon' made of cardboard, "Eventually, we admitted that we...liked each other...not much older than you and Sora are now...but not long after that, Zack did start acting differently. He was always trying to be more 'mature', not doing any of the 'kids stuff' that we used to do, trying to act more like an adult...so much so that it was starting to hurt our relationship a little bit,"

Kairi listened intently as Aerith told her about Zack. She could hardly believe that the four of them had so much in common...From what Aerith described about Zack, he could very well have been a key barer, as similar as he was to Sora.

Aerith sighed, "Whenever I asked him about it, he was always hesitant, and at the same time, a little hurt, like it was obvious, but I just couldn't see." Aerith turned her head towards Kairi, "Is Sora doing that?"

Kairi frowned a little and nodded, "What did it...what did it turn out to be?"

"Basically, I found out he was trying to protect me by changing himself." Aerith replied.

Kairi blinked, "I don't understand."

Aerith smiled, "Do you remember the adventure you all had? When your island home disappeared?"

"How could I forget? Sora and I ended up fighting Riku and armies of heartless just to get back home!" Kairi replied.

Aerith still smiling, nodded, "Right, but you weren't doing the fighting," Kairi tilted her head a little, confused. She saw everything that Sora saw during the whole trip. She knew she was there...

"Picture this for a second, Kairi," Aerith said, "Sora didn't know that you were inside him, so he didn't completely understand the risk of what would happen if he were to lose a fight with the heartless. A year later, he learns that you've been kidnapped. He knows very well that he could lose you for good this time, so this time, he fights with everything he had in him to save you, and barely pulls it off,"

"Now the girl he cares for is training and is starting to go into fights with him. He's trying to avoid as many fights as possible, now. Do you see where I'm getting at?" Aerith waited intently for her answer.

Kairi had to think this over for a minute. Consequences? Just what did that...and then it clicked.

"He's trying to protect me...again," Kairi said. Aerith nodded, "You are everything that's important to him. You are what drives him to keep going when his back's against the wall, just so he can see you safe and smiling again. Can you blame him for being so hesitant to tell you that he can't stand seeing you in such danger, while he has also fight to save everyone else around him?"

Kairi lowered her head a little bit,and closed her eyes. Looking at it now, it was obvious, yet stupid.

"I never knew Sora was such a bare-faced liar, Aerith," Kairi said, not looking up. Aerith looked at her confused, "What? Kairi, I think you missed-,"

"Always acting like an irresponsible goofball," Kairi then looked up, smiling a little, "while trying hard to be deep and protect everyone around him so."

Aerith relaxed, and smiled again, "Looks like you do get it." Kairi got up, walked to Aerith and gave her a hug, "Thank you, Aerith."

"Anytime, Kairi," she replied.

"On a lighter note," Kairi's tone picked up a bit, "Do you know what you're baby is yet? Boy or girl?"

Aerith started laughing again.





Cnc?

 

This, and the one before it, were great to read. Not to mention to catch up on.

Good job. I really liked how this one went. Kairi's in yet another pickle.

-Kairi

 

Yes, finally got to read your latest updates! :3

Let me just say this - the thought of Merlin on helium is quite amusing. It's stuck in my brain now! XD

But yeah, nice chapters as always darkcloud! ^^ Zack sounds like a really sweet guy. Makes you smile when he comforts Aerith.

 

Yeah, Zack seemed like a nice guy from what I've read about him.

Next chapter:

Cloud landed outside the narrow corridor that led to the Dark Depths. He walked all the way along the corridor, and stopped just short of the exit out. He took a deep breath, and exhaled it...with all the time he's been alone, whether it was by himself or surrounded by everyone else, it felt like at the rate he was going, he probably would never get used to this. He walked outside the corridor, into the Dark Depths.

The farther he walked into the Dark Depths, the more Tifa became visible to him. She was sitting on a blanket, a picnic lunch set out. She was facing the castle, restored thanks to the program the others took part in a month or so back. She appeared to not notice Cloud.

Cloud sighed a little in relief, while still maintaining his 'serious' face. He walked a few steps forward, and then he heard it: "I was beginning to think you weren't going to show," said Tifa, still staring at the castle. Cloud froze, his heart beginning to pick up a bit. She sounded a little annoyed that he was late, but she also seemed kind, like it really didn't matter...since Cloud still wasn't used to Tifa being around him so much, he couldn't tell if she was being sincere or if he was in big trouble and that he'd pay for it later. He mentally flipped a coin, chose 'sincere', and walked forward until he was next to Tifa.

"Sorry," Cloud said, taking a seat next to Tifa, one leg straight out, the other's knee bent and going up to Cloud's chin, "We got a little delayed. There was more trouble going on with Sora than we anticipated." Cloud told Tifa everything they found out when he and Squall went to the Destiny Islands. Tifa didn't look at him at all, making Cloud seriously doubt his choice about thinking she was 'sincere'. It wasn't until he mentioned Hiashi that Tifa actually looked at him.

"You found Hiahsi?!" Tifa exclaimed. She looked like she somebody told her the greatest news in the world, "Is she all right?! Why was she gone all this time?!" Cloud recoiled a little at the sudden change in emotion from Tifa.

"She's...I'm not sure," Cloud looked at the castle, "She's not the same as I remember. She should be older than us, but it looks like the reverse. She doesn't appear any older than Riku."

Tifa stared at him, "Maybe she just ages gracefully. You're certainly one of those cases, Cloud. You look like you're 21," She leaned towards him and hugged his arm, resting her head on his shoulder, "I'm glad you all found her, though. I haven't seen her since she babysat us."

Cloud, head still faced towards the castle, turned his eyes toward Tifa. He felt like his heart was going to burst at this rate. He really wasn't used to this. He gulped a little bit, and then started again, "She also doesn't act like she did back then." Tifa lifted her head and looked at Cloud. He quickly turned his eyes towards the castle.

"She's much colder than I remember. She doesn't laugh, hardly smiled, and looked like she was going to pick a fight with anyone at a moments notice," Cloud shook his head, "She looked like she was going to attack us at one point in time, until we told her who we were. That really didn't make her feel any better, though."

Tifa watched Cloud as he tried hard to keep his gaze at the distance. Despite his blushing, he was doing a decent job at trying to look like the 'cool/tough' guy. It still looked like he was having a tough time trying to open up to her. At least he's trying, she thought. Tifa smiled a little, Besides...he looks cute when he's trying to cover it up.

"Well, we can't really blame her for not being trusting," said Tifa. Cloud turned his head towards her, "Why's that?"

Tifa looked up at him, a little confused, then she realized and nodded, "That's right, you don't know," she straightened up and let go of his arm, "We took a look at some of the Ansem reports, and found out that Hiashi's boyfriend was involved with the experiments with darkness."

Cloud raised his eyebrows, "Who was her boyfriend?"

Tifa sighed, "It was..."






A little short, but that should keep you all going for a while. Cnc?

 

Hmm, maybe Xehanort or one of the five apprentices but never mind.

 

I personally hope it's Braig but that's just me. :3

Cloud trying to be all serious is very adorable - I can see it so clearly right now... X3

No cnc this time tho.

 

^_^ You'll just have to wait and see...fufufu.

Next chapter:

Squall, Zack, Riku, Sora, and Hiashi stopped their running when the town square that Squall described was in view. Sora, Riku, and Hiashi grimaced a little. The 'explosion' that Squall described wasn't very accurate. A few buildings were in completely destroyed, several were damaged, and the entire middle looked a small volcano had erupted. Riku shook his head. All that hard work in trying to restore the town...and this happens, he thought.

The were plenty of soldiers running around, though. It looked like everyone was doing their part to try and get this mess cleaned up quickly. One nearby soldier saw Sora and the gang, quickly stopped...whatever it was he was doing, and ran to Squall. He gave a quick salute, "Sir Lionheart! We've secured the area, as you ordered, and we've gotten all civilians in the area evacuated. All injured are receiving medical attention, and there have not been any deaths, sir!"

Squall sighed in relief, "Well done, Captain. You've cleared a lot of the wreckage in a short amount of time...is the passage clear yet?" The captain nodded. "Good," said Squall, "Have your men continue their work for about two more hours." The captain nodded again and once again saluted, "Yes sir!" He then walked off to relay the order to the rest of his men.

Sora couldn't hold it in any longer. He started laughing at Squall, "I forgot that lead an army now! Roxas told me in his letters that you were training them, but I didn't realize that meant you were acting command!"

Squall raised an eyebrow, "Why is that so hard to believe? You saw everything yourself."

Sora slowly started to calm down, "Oh, come on, Squall: A captain, in full uniform and everything, saluted and took orders from a leather-clad guy, who looks like he's with a group of bikers? It's just so weird that it's funny!"

Zack rolled his eyes, while Riku narrowed his eyes at Sora. He almost didn't feel bad that he interrupted his and Kairi's moment alone in Kairi's bedroom at the Destiny Islands...why he did it on purpose, though, that was the real thing he needed answered. Riku shook his head and looked away from the group. Why is this bothering me? he thought, I don't want to be with Kairi, and I know that Sora loves being with her. So why is it that I get upset every time I see them together?

Zack saw Riku turn away after Sora displayed his logic...or lack of, depending on who was listening to him. He raised an eyebrow to the look on his face: Depressed, serious, and a little uncertain...he knew that look a little to well.

Before he could say anything, though, Hiashi spoke up, grinning a little while raising an eyebrow, "'Sir Lionheart'? When did you get knighted, Squall?"

Relieved at the slight change in conversation, Squall replied, "About two months ago. I helped lead the Restoration Committee in restoring Radiant Garden to it's former glory...although I did make a few near-fatal mistakes." He looked at Sora as he said that last sentence.

Sora grinned and raised an eyebrow, "Oh, I don't know about that. A lot of things fell into place thanks to you...especially with me and Kairi." Squall's serious face slightly spread to small smile, while Hiashi frowned a little bit. It looks like she now knew who to thank for her sister being involved with the keyblade weilder.

Riku, tired of the talk of 'Sora-and-Kairi-are-a-couple-', spoke, "Are we ready to investigate yet?" There was a small hint or irritation in his voice.

Zack replied, "Yeah, we are. In fact, we should head down right now if we're going to get back home in time." Everyone began to proceed to walk to giant hole in the ground, where rather ancient looking stairs where at the inside edge. They began to walk down the steps.

"Before I forget, Zack," Sora said, from behind Zack, "Is everything all right with you and Aerith?" Zack turned to face Sora. Sora seemed a little worried.

Squall spoke up from the lead, not turning back, "She does seem to be having frequent mood swings, Zack. Are you two fighting or something?"

Zack rubbed the back of his head and looked straight up, "Umm...well...yeah, kinda...I'd rather not go into detail about it, though...not til eveything's worked out." From behind everyone else, Hiashi had to suppress a giggle. It looked like she was right in her suspicions about Aerith. So, she is pregnant, she thought. She didn't say anything about it out loud, however...

"You know where we live if you need help, Zack," Squall said. He then stopped walking, and pointed straight ahead. The place they had reached looked like a dimly lit sewer, with torches about to burn out. Three of the four entryways were buried with rubble, but one looked like it was still intact.

"We're here," Squall said.

 

Another Riku versus Sora for Kairi? Man, I hate that...

The word pregnant sounds very...

 

Don't worry, I can tell you for certain that it won't lead to that.

Could you elaborate a little bit on that last sentence?

 

Well, when you think of pregnant on Aerith, you would wonder whether the same will happen to Kairi, even though I'm sure it won't lead to that either, but that thought's burned in my mind... AHHHHHHHHHH

 

Glad you like the story, Keyblade Weilder, but please don't spam (we've got a problem of some members doing that, sometimes myself included). Please open an introduction thread for that. That out of the way, thanks again for your support.

Here's the next chapter:

Hiashi looked around the tunnel, while Squall was going on about how he and his men found it during a training exercise, blah, blah, blah, Yuffie nearly blew up an old lady's cow, yadda, yadda...

She couldn't believe it had been nearly ten years since she had been down in these tunnels...

"Hiashi?"

She turned around, at the voice. Riku was standing right behind her, looking a little concerned, but mainly confused. He asked, "Everything all right?"

Hiashi blinked, "...yeah," She looked around, "Where'd everyone go to?"

"They went back to the surface. Squall and Zack showed Sora and me the coffins that Elanore and a few of her friends emerged from, then went back up," Riku paused, then added, "You've kind of been standing there for at least a half hour...Is there anything you want to talk about?"

A half hour? Was it really that long?

Regardless, there wasn't anything she wanted to tell this...kid, "Nothing I want to share with, no," Hiashi started to walk towards the only open entryway in the tunnel, an angry scowl on her face.

Riku sighed and cupped his face in frustration, "Why do you hate us so much? I can kind of understand why you hate me, but Sora? He's practically the living embodiment of innocence!"

She turned her head so she could see Riku with one eye, "I told you before: You are both keyblade wielders. You both have willingly surrendered yourselves to darkness at least once, and you have been tainted because of it." She walked forward a little bit, then paused, "It's like an addiction; you can never completely be rid of something like this, and with you both wielding the keyblades, you both have the potential to lay the universe in ruin."

Riku was still as confused about her as ever, but it was what he saw and heard from her next that stood out the most:

A tear coming out of her visible eye, she said, "You two are too much like...him!" She turned her head quickly and stormed through the entryway.

Riku just stood there, stunned. Who was she talking about...and was what she said really true? Would he or Sora ever truly be rid of that kind of darkness? He had just fought with everything he had in him to rid himself of an evil that nearly took over Kingdom Hearts, if not everything else.

Riku closed his eyes again. Xehanort...was this the full extent of his legacy? Even though he's gone, heartless, nobody, and whole, he was still causing pain and suffering, not just to him, but apparently to everyone he has and hasn't come into contact with.

Hiashi, Riku thought, Just what have these people done to you? For some strange reason, Riku was starting to feel pain from this...

BOOM!

Dust fell from the roof of the tunnel, and some debris shook loose, as the explosion occurred from above. Riku heard Zack's voice from the tunnel entrance,

"Riku! Hiashi! Get up here, now! Elanore's attacking, and she's got plenty of heartless!"

Riku ran through the entryway that he saw Hiashi go through and quickly found her. She was standing in front of a surprisingly high-tech sarcophagus. Riku could vaguely make out a man inside the casket.

"Hiashi, we're under attack!" Riku said. Hiashi, without looking at Riku, pulled out the key she recovered from the Secret Cave, "I know, I heard. That's why I'm letting him out." She placed the key into a a keyhole just above where the head was visible, turned it, and immediately smoke started steaming out. The hatch of the coffin popped open.

After a few minutes of suspense and smoke, the figure started to move. A gold, metal arm slowly reached up first and grabbed the side of the coffin, and pushed himself up. Riku's eyes widened a little bit as he got a good luck at this guy.

He was dressed a lot like Hiashi. He wore mainly black, save the gold, metal armor on his left arm. He had a crimson cape, but he also had a headband on, also crimson. His hair was long and unkempt, and draped a little bit over his red-brown eyes. But what got Riku's attention, if not his concern, was the weapon he had strapped to his side: A long, three-barrel gun with a three-headed dog key chain attached.

He sat there, cracked his neck to the side, and with a gravely voice, spoke, "...Hiashi...It's good to see you again."

She smiled, a few tears coming out of her eyes, and replied, "Hey, pops. Did you get enough sleep?"




Cnc?

 

...ooh boy, that can't be good.

Next chapter:

Reno and Rude were thrashing madly at the armored-knight heartless that were appearing like no tomorrow with their wooden batons. It looked like they weren't going to make it until Squall and Zack surfaced from the tunnel, with Sora following shortly after. The three of them were surprised at the sight.

How did so many heartless appear without their notice?

"I thought I told you two to stay out of trouble!" Squall yelled at Reno and Rude.

Rude turned at Squall after punching a heartless, "We didn't start this! That girl appeared with all of these things and just waved at them to attack! She said 'Attack anything that moved', and they did!"

Zack turned back towards the tunnel, "Riku! Hiashi! Get up here! Elanore's back and she brought a group of heartless with her!" He quickly blocked the attack that was coming at his face from one heartless with his katana.

Sora began hacking and at whatever heartless came near him with the keyblade, "Okay, so you guys didn't cause this. You could have warned us about this little 'party' first."

Reno kicked another heartless and spoke up, "Yeah, but more importantly, we know what happened to MMPH!" Reno was dog piled by a group of heartless before he could finish his sentence, followed by Rude getting dog piled by another group.

Elanore was floating above the quartet of people, laughing, apparently having the time of her life, "This is SOOOOO much more fun than hunting for some stupid keyhole!" She straightened up a little bit, wiped a tear from her eye, pushed a little bit of hair from her face, and turned a little to the cloaked figure standing on the building behind her.

Smiling, she said, "You've mastered summoning the heartless rather fast, kid. You think you're ready to take on your 'friends', yet?" The figure raised his head to where his mouth was visible, "They were never my friends. If they were, they would've treated me more than just 'luggage'," He cracked his knuckles, "Just say the word and I'll fight them here and now."

Elanore's smile became more malevolent. She looked down at Sora, Squall, and Zack fighting all the heartless, slowly being forced back-to-back-to-back, with Reno and Rude unconscious and no one paying attention to them.

She yelled down at the three, "Hey, you guys!" The three of them looked up at her.

Elanore looked back at the hooded figure, "Go for it, kid!", then turned back at the trio, "Heads up!"

The hooded figure jumped in the air, and dived with unbelievable speed into the middle of the trio, sending everything, including heartless flying everywhere. From within his right sleeve, chains shot out and lashed wildly, hitting mainly the heartless and making them turn back into darkness until they finally wrapped around Sora, Squall, and Zack.

The chains started to squeeze, tighter and tighter. Elanore smiled at the boy. This was getting good...

The figure opened his mouth to speak...but didn't say anything, mainly due to Reno smacking him in the head with his baton, and Rude ramming him from behind, knocking the wind out of him and knocking him down on the ground. Sora, Squall, and Zack were released from the metal coils when the figure crashed into the ground.

Reno straightened up and dusted himself off, wide awake and angry, "Just what are you doing?!" Rude stood up and pushed his sunglasses closer to his face, also angry, "Why have you betrayed us, Seymour?!" he demanded, pointing at him.

Sora blinked, "Seymour?" He looked at the figure, his hood fallen off to reveal his face.

Sure enough, the guy looked like him, but he seemed different. The face was the same, the hair was the same, but Seymour looked like he had taken a huge amount of steroids. He looked like he was years older than the rest of the group.

Seymour smiled, "You should never have treated me like I was just luggage, Reno. You were always holding me back." He shot more of his chains at Reno. They were too quick for him to dodge. Reno braced for impact...

A reflect spell appeared in front of Reno just in time, sending the chains back at Seymour. He recoiled a little bit as the chains hit him.

Squall looked at Sora. Sora shrugged, "It wasn't me."

Seymour looked around, trying to find the source of that attack, then looked up as a shadow was growing bigger towards his feet.

Riku landed just in front of Seymour, and swung his keyblade from his side, sending Seymour flying back farther than his chains had ever extended.

As soon as Seymour crashed, Riku rested his keyblade on his shoulder, "Well, I finally found someone dummer than Reno." Reno's eye twitched.

Seymour recovered from being stunned and looked at Riku, "You! You're the worst of them all!" He charged at Riku, full speed, with his chains propelling him forward.

Riku started to feel his blood boil, "I'm really getting sick of this!" He charged as well, surprising himself a little that he could move that fast.

Somehow, in the space of time that it took to close the distance between the two of them, Riku found himself thinking: Everywhere I go it's the same thing! People fighting for anything but the right thing, with my friends and I getting dragged through their mess and having to help clean it up, or being hated for something we did, didn't, have, or might do! I can't take this anymore!

"ENOUGH!" Riku yelled.

In a flash of light and darkness, the charge was done.

Seymour's chains fell limp as he fell to the ground, unconscious. Riku turned around slowly and looked at Seymour. He seemed peaceful lying on the ground.

He then turned to face Elanore, "You're next,"

Elanore raised an eyebrow, still smiling, "You think you can take me, looking that goofy?"

Riku was about to object, when Sora spoke up, "Riku...what have you done?"

Riku looked at Sora, "What are you talking...," He then saw what Sora meant: He looked at himself. He was wearing the armor that he originally wore when he embraced the darkness. The black, form fitting armor with Xehanort's heartless' familiar insignia, "...Oh, no."

Before anyone could react, a dagger came and hit Seymour in the back. He dissolved into darkness, leaving a floating heart behind. The heart floated up to Elanore, and she shoved the heart into her chest, dissolving into her.

She took a deep breath, exhaled, and said coyly, "Alright, children. Who wants to go first?"



Cnc?

 

Cliffhanger, damn you!! This is just so exciting now! I wish I knew what Seymour looked like tho, that fighting scene sounded epic.

CnC:

I have nothing. You only forgot a word in this sentence: "I thought I told you two to stay out of trouble!" Squall yelled Reno and Rude.

 

if my assumption is correct, i think it my be the seymour off FFX, ne?

 

Yah, I meant the Seymour from FFX

Next chapter:

"Zack! Let's go!"

"Right behind you, Squall!"

Zack and Squall simultaneously jumped in the air and began attacking Elanore, but to very little effect. Whether she had a barrier or she was just too strong was anyone's guess, but none of the attacks that Zack was landing with his katana, or a combo of energy slashes and point-blank shots from Leon's gunblade, none of the attacks that the two tried dealing any damaged to the very amused, if not annoying, Elanore.

All the while, Riku and Sora were dealing with different problems of their own...

"This can't be happening...,"Riku stared at his hands, then the rest of himself, in the armor he thought he would never see again, "...Why?! I don't belong to the dark realm anymore! So why is this power still here?!" Riku stared at his reflection in a puddle of water in the ground. A mess of memories started flooding back, from when he tried to eliminate Sora, while wearing the armor, to when he was in Castle Oblivion, trying to free himself of Xehanort's heartless.

"I can't believe you used it again...,"

Riku turned his head to the source of the voice, and was a little surprised. Sora was staring at him, furious, and shaking his head slightly. "You've been down this path before. You knew what would happen if you used the power of darkness...you know the pain it will bring!" Sora assumed a battle stance and summoned his keyblade, his voice raising in volume, "I fought with everything I had in me to try and bring you back! To me! To Kairi! To our friends and family!! And you're just, all of a sudden, willing to throw it all away to continue down the same path all over again?!"

Riku stared at Sora, both in confusion and anger. Sora has the nerve to think that he willingly chose to use the dark powers again?! Riku, not sure why, but definitely not caring, summoned his own keyblade and assumed an all-too-familiar attack stance, "I didn't choose to wear this armor again, Sora, but while we're on the subject of 'fighting', just what were you doing?! I was the one who was trying to save Kairi in the beginning! Yeah, I admit, I was a little...misguided, but at least I was doing something about her condition! All you wanted to do was swing your sword around, playing 'hero'!" Riku pointed at Sora, "Did you even begin to consider the consequences of your actions while you were fighting? How many lives you could have endangered?"

Sora practically screamed, "WHY DO YOU THINK I TRIED TO STOP FIGHTING?!" Riku froze in response, but still growing in anger.

Despite the sounds of swords hitting solid objects, time seemed to stand still. Sora's head and arms hung low, as if in defeat, "...I'm tired of fighting, Riku. I...I was happy when Kairi and I started going out, but it wasn't until I told my story to Reno and the others that I realized something: It's never going to stop. Whether it's by someone controlling heartless, or a jerk who thinks everyone's against him, everyone's going to want the keyblade," Sora raised his head to Riku, an extremely flustered look on his face, "That's why I didn't want to fight anymore. I figured that if nobody saw the keyblade anymore, they would start thinking it was legend again, or that it was lost...something other than it actually existing!" The keyblade disappeared from Sora's hand, and he just stood there, staring at them, "Besides, what kind of a life is that for Kairi, anyway? Having to rush off every time danger appears, leaving her behind? What if I don't come back after another summoning? What if I-?" Sora was interrupted by Riku, who, fed up, sent Sora flying with a punch.

Sora flew backwards until he collided with a nearby wall, causing it to collapse from the force of the impact.

Riku started a rant of his own, "Would you just stop it all ready?! This little 'helpless' act of yours is really getting pathetic, Sora!"

Sora managed to crawl his way out of the rubble. Riku started up again, "Yeah, Reno and his crew acted like jerks toward you, as well as everyone else, but you've been doing more damage with this act of yours!

Sora got back up on his feet, the keyblade once again appearing in his hand, "What are you talking about?" Riku prepared his keyblade, "Have you forgotten how much you hurt Kairi by not telling her why you weren't fighting? She was more hurt by that than by your own concerns! Anyone else would've left, but Kairi, despite your being cruel towards her, stayed with you!"

"I'll never understand what she sees in you, Sora!"

The world grew silent around the two for a good couple of seconds.

"Take that back, Riku!" Sora growled. Riku assumed his stance again. The two charged at each other, full speed.

Their blades were just inches away from connecting...centimeters...

"AAAHHH!"

Elanore was blown back a good distance by a beam the shape of a blade, which hit her arm. Squall and Zack, exhausted by their lack of progress, looked behind themselves to find out who delivered that attack. Hiashi ran past the two of them, and then stopped and drew her sword.

Sora and Riku were on the ground, a good distance away from each other. Slowly, the two of them stirred, then both of them sat up.

"Ooogh...what happened...?" Sora managed, massaging his head.

Riku shook his a little, "I don't know...the last thing I remember was my defeating Seymour, then..." Riku opened his eyes wide, and looked at himself, "...I'm not wearing that armor anymore!"

Sora groaned a little, "Okay...that definitely wasn't a dream. I remember that, too...Look, Riku...,"

Riku looked up at Sora, "Sora, about what I said earlier-"

"You're right...," Riku blinked at Sora in surprise, "I've been nothing but selfish with Kairi since I've had these issues. As soon I see her next, I'm going to tell her everything."

"That's great, bud," Riku said, "but you need to know...I'm sorry. I didn't intend to say any of those things. They just..came out, and I couldn't stop myself. I just saw red, nothing else."

Sora frowned a little, "Weird...I saw red, too. As soon as you had that armor on, words just flowed out of my mouth..."

"Elanore has that kind of talent."

Sora and Riku turned their heads to the source of the voice, and both froze. A man, with pale skin and red-brown eyes, dressed all in black, with a crimson cape, headband, and gold armor on his left arm walked forward towards the two of them. He walked a couple of steps forward, stopped, and pointed at Elanore.

"Elanore has the ability manipulate and magnify people's emotions. The more she manipulates them, the easier those people are to control. I suspect that's what happened to the friend who fought you earlier."

Sora's face twisted a little in disgust, "Aw, man! What's happening to her?"




Elanore looked at Hiashi, furious and clutching her left arm. It had grown to something much larger, more grotesque, more monster, than human.

"Hiashi...," Elanore hissed, then smiled again, "I should have known it was you who attacked me on Destiny Island! Back from the dead, I see!"

Hiashi turned her head a little to the side, "Pops! Are you ready, yet?!" Squall and Zack turned towards where Hiashi was yelling. Zack recoiled in shock, "No way! It's really...He's back!"

Squall looked at Zack, "You know him?

Zack grinned, "Yeah! I heard he was dead when the heartless invasion was in full swing!"



Sora turned towards the man after Hiashi yelled at him, "'Pops'? Wait...who are you?" Riku watched him, a little uneasily.

The man drew out his three-barreled revolver, and cocked, "My name is Vincent Valentine." Vincent lowered his gun and started walking towards Hisahi and Elanore, preparing for battle.



Cnc?

 

Alright, let's see if you're right about this then, Thalassa.

Here's the next chapter:

Elanore started to laugh again as Hiashi assumed a battle stance with her sword. She never thought she'd get to have another game with her old playmate, but...

"Sorry, girlfriend, but I'm not much in the mood to play with you right now," She stopped clutching her injured arm, and used her free hand to snap her fingers. About fifty heartless appeared in response.

"This should keep you occupied for awhile. Bye bye, Hiashi!" Elanore taunted, smiling. She then proceeded to walk off.

A gunshot that destroyed a statue close to her made her stop, a little annoyed at the constant interruptions she was receiving. She turned around at the source. Squall was back on his feet, but a little wobbly.

"We're not through, yet." He managed. Elanore watched him in amusement. Squall could barely stand, and Zack was still on the ground, barely awake but still aware of what was going on. She could 'play' with them for a little while longer...but that would be against her orders. Oh well, couldn't be helped.

"Maybe later, honey. When you're not as scared, that is." Elanore turned around again...


Vincent proceeded to walk towards Elanore and Hiashi, then stopped. The large group of heartless appeared in front of him...

He shook his head. Even after ten years, some things never changed. He put his gun back into it's holster.

He ran forward and punched a few nearby heartless with his armored arm. They never stood a chance; they dissolved back into darkness instantly.

A few minutes later he found his way to Hiashi and stood back-to-back to her. Hiashi felt him there, "Pops, what are you doing?! She's going to get away!!" Vincent said nothing, and continued to attack the heartless.

Eventually, he spoke up, "It's taken care of."

Hiashi turned her head a little to see him slightly, "What do you-?"

Sora and Riku ran past the two of them, trying to catch up to Elanore. Sora turned around as he ran, "We'll take on Elanore while you take these heartless!" He turned back around and tried to catch up with Riku.

"Get back here!" Hiashi yelled in response, then cut another heartless in two. She really didn't need this right now. She looked back at Vincent again, "What are you thinking, letting them go after her like that?!"

Vincent spoke again, "These heartless are the more immediate threat, Hiashi. Besides, those two are more than capable of handling Elanore, now."

"They're keyblade wielders!" She practically spat that while slicing through six more heartless, "Besides, you know as well as I do that they can't stop Elanore, even if she is a heartless!"

"I know," Vincent kicked one into a large group of heartless, defeating them all at once, "That's why they're stalling her until we are able to catch up with her."



"Maybe later, honey. When you're not as scared, that is." Elanore turned around again...

"You sure you don't want another fight?"

She sighed and turned back around. Sora and Riku summoned they're keyblades, standing just a few feet in front of Squall and Zack.

"We're more than ready to take you on, now," said Riku.

Elanore thought for a second...well...maybe it wouldn't hurt if she...indulged herself a little bit.

She smiled and raised her hand slightly in the air. A barrier surrounded the three of them.

 

Occupied...? You're giving us another cliffhanger to bite on our nails! That's unfair!

 

Yeah, actually. I'm going to be pretty occupied over the next few weeks, so I thought I'd leave it to you guys to imagine how the battle turns out. I gave you guys a few clues as to what might happen, some obvious and some not-so-obvious.

As for the cliffhanger, yeah, sorry. I couldn't think of any way to end this chapter, while at the same time make it so you guys would want to come back for more. I'll try harder next time.

 

Ah, man. This gets better and better everytime I read it. I also like how you include Zack and Vincent in these. Very entertaining. Keep up the great work and take your time with the next update. We'll survive!
See, I still respond. Just a little favor. =)

-Kairi