NEXT CHAPTER =D I worked hard on this, and I hope you guys enjoy it. Some intense stuff is coming up in the next chapter after this one, so this one kinda' builds up to that
Enjoy! <3
Chapter 12
A husky voice rang throughout the atmosphere, burying itself deep into the moist sand.
“You are foolish, boy.”
The daunting figure implanted his feet in the soft ground, letting his weapon hang loosely by his side.
“And what about us,” a voice cut in, “what if I want to kill him?”
It was Sparda, whose helmet was directed at Terra. It gleamed in the newly found sunlight, which was now high overhead.
Riku held back a gulp of worry. He held back his fate, which would not be good if he didn’t run.
I can’t run, he told himself,
Sora and Kairi need me… and most of all, the King.
His dreamy eyes averted from Terra to the lifeless body resting on the sand.
“D-did you kill him?” Riku asked, somewhat hesitantly.
Silence.
Terra turned to Mickey. “You mean that mouse?”
Sweat poured down Riku’s hot head. He brushed it off with a flick of his wrist.
“Y-yeah…”
But then, at that moment, Riku’s question was answered by the king himself. The mouse first showed sign of life by flicking his tail. Like a snail, the king used his arms to slowly push himself up off the sticky sand.
Riku had never seen his friend in such a bad condition.
“Mickey!” He exclaimed, starting for his friend.
“I don’t think so,” cried Terra, cutting in front of Riku. They clashed keyblades. Sparks went flying.
Riku struggled to keep his position. “Leave me be, you idiot! I’ll fight you after.”
But Terra did not listen. “You’ll fight me now,” he rasped.
A powerful force pushed Riku across the sand, his feet still in place. The faithful boy looked hopefully at his dear friend, Mickey. The mouse coughed up a bit of sand, his eyes shutting at each gasp. Staggering a bit, the mouse managed to stand upright.
Letting oxygen enter his throat, Mickey pointed his keyblade at Terra.
“Leave him alone. You have no reason to kill him.”
Riku smiled at Mickey’s brave words. They brought peace to the keyblader’s soul, but only momentarily, for Terra had spoken up again.
“Of course we have reason to kill him. We have reason to kill all of you. You three are here to destruct our purpose, and anyone who does so will be slain.”
“Your purpose is in vain, Terra!” The king shot back, his expression grim.
“So what if it is,” Terra replied calmly, “we’ll still be able to do as we wish.”
Riku put his hand to his forehead, not because of the heat, but because of the stupidity of Fernando and the Chasers.
Don’t they know Organization XIII is gone?
Mickey raised his voice. “You’re foolish to invade this world, Chasers, we’ll-“
“And you’re foolish to fight us,” exclaimed Ezra, who was now in front of Riku.
She turned to the boy. “Let me take him, Terra. I haven’t had a fight like this in years.”
Riku cringed at the thought of fighting her, as Terra hesitated to respond.
Finally, he spoke. “Very well, do what you want with him.”
The female figure spun around to Riku, her bulky armour moving swiftly with her tender body. “Ready for some fun?” She taunted.
Raising his weapon, Riku shouted, “you don’t know who you’re dealing with!’
“Neither do you!” She retorted, raising her own weapon.
Mickey watched in horror as the fight began. “Does it have to be like this?” he thought out loud. Looking up into the bright blue sky, he asked, “Is there anyway out of this?” The king stood in horror as Riku fought vigorously with the swift woman. Mickey clenched his fist around his golden keyblade with anger. Hastily, he leaped up into the air. Landing in front of Terra, he cried, “Our fight is not over!” A gleam in the king’s eye showed the amount of determination he had.
Light shall prevail…
And so, the battle began.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kairi darted after her speedy friend, who was now quite a ways in front of her. “Could you wait up a bit?” She shouted, her pink shoe’s meeting dry sand and her lean legs moving as fast as she could make them move.
Kairi’s worry about Sora grew intensely.
What if he’s dead? she thought to herself. Shaking her head, she blurred out the horrible thought.
No, he’s fine. He’ll come back to me… I know he will. Sora and Kairi’s relationship had grown profoundly over the last two years of living on Destiny Islands. They never went a day without seeing each other at least once. She would often deny feelings of love for him, but deep down inside, she knew the truth. One day, she would tell him of her true feelings.
“Well hurry up then! We don’t have much time,” the black figure in front of her responded, his black cloak flapping in the wind. His bright-red hair made him stand out, the silky locks waving with each gust of wind. He ran at quite a fast speed, so fast that he would be out of site before they reached their destination.
“I am a girl, you know!” Kairi shot back, somewhat serious. “I can’t run as fast as you, Axel; especially in this skirt!”
Axel laughed to himself, shaking off her words with a grin on his face. He was still taking in what had happened.
How is Turoz still alive, how did he get here, and why is he here? The ex-organization member turned his head to Kairi, slowing down a bit.
Then again, like she'd know anything.
Kairi noticed Axel staring at her. “What is it?” She asked, catching up to him.
He smirked and turned back to his destination point. “Nah, it’s nothing.”
“H-hey, wait up," she stormed, charging after him.
She ran on, not daring to stop for breaks, as Axel would not stop until he reached the arena. Her legs stiffly obeyed her orders of movement, becoming sorer at each step. The sun burned hard into her light skin, and her hair plastered itself to her sticky face.
It was mid-day at Destiny Islands.
Finally, they had reached the arena. Surprisingly, there weren’t very many people left. A group of kids stood to Kairi’s right, seemingly gossipping about something. One of them, a boy, eyed Kairi up and down. She kept running. A couple of adults were scattered here and there, each buried in a deep conversation with a friend.
Axel flipped up onto the stage with ease. Kairi took her time to lift herself up, using her two frail arms. Letting out a big sigh, the girl plopped onto the wooden stage, her legs throbbing from the exhausting run. Turning her head, she noticed a boy and a girl, both of which looked worried. Then, Kairi noticed it. It was the same girl who had saved her earlier. Sitting upright, Kairi hollered, “Hey, Collete!”
Immediately, the pretty, purple-haired girl noticed Kairi and smiled. “Hello, Kairi!”
Collette giggled. “What are you doing on the ground?”
Kairi blushed. “Oh—well, you see, I ran here all the way from the little waterfall.”
“I see,” the girl responded, her smile beaming in the sunlight.
Axel was now walking across the stage, arms folded neatly.
“Who’s he-?” The girl asked, staring Axel down.
Axel, somewhat shocked, stopped and turned around to Collette.
“Me?” He asked.
“Yes, you,” she replied curtly.
Then, Axel’s eyes widened. A hot red filled his cheeks. Opening his mouth a couple of times to say something, Axel couldn’t manage to find the words to speak.
“Oh, he’s Axel,” Kairi said for him.
Axel turned to Kairi with a grateful expression on his face.
“Axel?” The boy beside Collette, asked, raising a brow.
Axel spun around to the boy, eyes flaring. “Yes, Axel. A-X-E-L, got it memorized?”
“Uhh, sure,” the boy responded, scratching his head, not knowing what to say.
“I’m here to speak with Turoz,” Axel announced openly, “do you know where he is?”
A husky voice entered the atmosphere, coming from the stage entrance. “I’m right here.”
Axel stumbled past the boy, looking for his target. Spotting him, Axel folded his arms again.
“Well well well, what do we have here? First you were exiled, and now you’re all tied up.”
The small figure sat on a chair, covered with sloppily tied ropes. His eyes burned deep into Axel’s skin with hate.
“Things just aren’t going to well for ya’, are they, bud?”
“I’m not your bud, you fool. I’m your enemy.”
“Ah, I see,” Axel replied, playfully. “But right now, that’s not why I’m here. I’m here to—shall we say—interrogate you.”
Turoz lowered his head, his black hair drooping.
“What’s going on, Turoz?” Axel pressed, squatting to the enemy’s level.
Turoz looked him in the eye, his orange eyes glowing fiercely. “Revenge,” he spat.
“Wait,” Axel exclaimed, pointing to himself, “on us?”
“That’s right.”
Axel shook his head. “Now why woudlya’ wanna’ do that?”
Turoz shook his chair violently. “You know very dang’ well why!”
Axel rubbed his chin, stuck in thought. “But why would you want revenge, Turoz?”
“I don’t,” the man replied bluntly. “I was only in it for the money… I hadn’t expected a welcome party.”
“Well ya’ know what?” Axel told him, sticking his nose in Turoz’s face, “Organization XIII’s dead.”
Turoz lifted his head. “What?”
“Yup, I’m the only one left!”
Turoz shook his head, “But—Fernando and Xin… they said you were all alive.”
Axel shot back, “Well they’ve been living in the past, then, haven’t they?”
Turoz held Axel’s gaze. “Then they’ve made a mistake.”
“Mistake?” Axel asked, confused.
Kairi now stood beside Collette, listening intently.
“They summoned the Chasers.”
At first, Axel stood there, frozen in spot. But then he leapt back. “The Chasers? You’ve gotta’ be kiddin’ me!”
“No… I’m not. And I believe the summoning has already taken place.”
Axel’s eyes bulged out of his head. “W-wh…wh…where are they now?”
“That keyblader kid and his friends went that way, along the shore of the beach.”
“Sora…” Kairi mouthed, her beautiful hair blowing wildly in the wind.
Axel took time to think for a moment. The silence was passed with cawing of eagles.
“If it’s me they want, they’re gunna’ get me,” Axel declared, head held high. “And I’ll be sure to give them the truth.”
“Kairi,” he turned to the girl. “Wouldya’ like to come with me?”
She looked at Axel. She looked at Collette. “I-… I don’t know.”
Just then, another figure leapt up onto the stage, his outline beaming in the sunlight, his weapon sparkling in each person’s eye.
“Go where?” His voice rung.
Kairi opened her mouth in disbelief.
“S-Sora,” she cried, “is that you?”
Immediately, Sora ran to Kairi. The two friends embraced. He held her tight, his eyes filled with tears.
“It’s me, Kairi.”
She snuggled her head deep into his shoulder blade. “I was so worried, Sora.”
“It’s okay, Kairi, I’m alright now.”
Kairi stood there, happiness filling her lungs. She was overjoyed of her friend’s safe return.
“All is well,” Sora reassured her, “all is well.”
The outside world disappeared around the two, their minds fusing as one.
But everything was cut off, as Axel spoke up. “Long-time-no-smell, kido’.”
Sora raised his head to Axel, still holding Kairi. But the shock of seeing Axel made his arms loosen.
“A-Axel?”
Axel scratched his fluffy head, a grin spreading across his dirty face. “Yup, that’s me! Looks like we have some catching up to do.”