Chapter done! Enjoy it =)
CHAPTER 8
Fernando, like Turoz, let the coat fly off his back. Its black, leathery skin waved rapidly in the air as it soared high into the sky and out of reach. Sora watched it for a moment, thinking of Roxas, who had also worn that cloak; the cloak of the nobodies. But Roxas wasn’t a nobody anymore. No, he was part of Sora. We can do this Sora! Roxas said in Sora’s mind. The young keyblade master nodded in agreement. Fernando would be stopped.
Mickey stared grimly at Fernando. The king did not favour fighting, but if it happened to be the only way, he would fight. That was the current situation. Fernando would not cooperate, so he would have to be taken down.
“You’re making a mistake, nobody!” Mickey threw at Fernando.
The enemy shrieked with laughter. “So you think, little mouse!”
Riku waited eagerly for the moment he would slash into the nobody’s body. He craved to bring his opponent to the ground. He craved to stand over his opponents body, victorious and triumphant. And shockingly, he craved the smell of blood.
He shook his head. What am I thinking…? It’s those old dark thoughts again… Get out! This time, Riku shook his head more violently.
Sora noticed what Riku was doing. “Riku,” he asked, confused, “What are you doing?”
“Uh- nothing Sora,” he peeped out, combing his hands through his air, “Just prepping myself for battle.”
“Ahh, okay then…” Sora replied, clearly unconvinced.
Surprisingly, Fernando wore a cloak under his Organization suit. It was a fairly brown cloak, fully covering his upper and lower half of his body. On it was the symbol that Sora recognized immediately. It was the nobody symbol in which he had encountered many times along his journey.
“Keeping the clothes simple, huh?” Riku laughed.
“Indeed, I am,” sneered Fernando. “I do not dress in absurd clothing like you.”
Riku frowned and inspected himself. While doing so, Fernando continued. “I like to keep things normal- and civilized. You three are out of the ordinary.”
Looking up, Riku shouted, “There’s nothing wrong with my clothing!”
Sora added, “Yeah, and we aren’t normal because we’re something special…”
“Keyblade masters!” Mickey finished. Sora nodded in agreement.
“Pft, a bunch of so-called ‘keyblade masters’ means nothing to me. You will all die, keyblade masters or not.”
The wind howled all around them. Its loathsome screams created an even darker atmosphere. In the horizon, the sun could be seen escaping from the horrible scene, its orange glow flowing across the water, just barely reaching the shore. The feel in the air turned humid, increasing Sora’s inhaling rate. The sand below their feet turned moist, burying deep into the ground.
“Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for; my weapon!” Fernando shouted with pride.
The three buddies tensed. They watched as Fernando withdrew his weapon.
It was-
“What?” Sora cried in disbelief.
“Huh?” Mickey turned his head, dazzled.
“What the-“ Riku exclaimed.
“A whip?”
Indeed, what was displayed before them was an incredibly long, black whip. The handle was formed similarly to that of a pirate-sword handle, which seemed very unlikely, considering it was a whip, not a sword. As for the rest of the whip, it was deadly. Sharp, jagged spikes ran along it, each about two inches apart. Fernando cracked it in the air, raising his arm quickly and bringing it down violently. The sound produced was ear-piercing, like the sound of someone’s neck being snapped in half. It emanated throughout the area like a billion guns being shot simultaneously.
Sora gulped. Riku shuddered. Mickey stayed silent.
“Don’t be afraid, fellas’! We can still take him down, no matter what!”
“That’s right, listen to you’re master, who will get you all killed,” provoked Fernando, rolling his eyes. “Now,” he said, raising his whip again, “who wants a taste of this first?”
“I’ll go,” said Sora and Riku in unison. They exchanged glances. Sora shrugged.
“Uhh, could I?” He asked.
“Well… I kinda’ wanted to first, Sora; you know, give him some serious pain. But uhh… if-”
But before they came to a decision, Mickey had leaped into battle. He had successfully dodged the first lash of Fernando’s whip and stood in front of his opponent. Mickey attempted to swing at Fernando, but to his surprise, his weapon was stopped by Fernando’s whip, wrapping around the keyblade ruthlessly. Like a feather being blown away, Fernando yanked Mickey’s weapon out of his grasp. It was sent sprawling to the sand. Mickey stood there in disbelief, not absorbing what had just happened. He was too slow for what was came next. The whip lashed directly across the side of Mickey’s head and sent him high into the air. Sora was ready to catch the out-of-control mouse, but Mickey landed safely onto the sand.
Wiping his bloody face, the king commented, “You got me good there.”
“No one gets past this whip. No one.”
“Why you-“ Riku growled, running at Fernando.
“Wait, Riku!” Sora shouted, taking after his friend.
The whip first came at Riku, who ducked under it successfully. It came across Sora as well, just barely skimming his nose.
“Whoah,” he breathed.
Riku spiral flipped and came upon Fernando in a frenzy of slashes. With only a couple of body movements, Fernando was able to evade all of the attacks without a single scratch left on him. But Sora dodge rolled and was waiting for Fernando from behind.
“NOW!” Sora shouted.
With haste, Riku passed Sora his weapon. Sora caught it in his left hand and advanced upon Fernando. The enemy whipped around quickly and blocked the first incoming keyblade. As for the second keyblade, Sora brought it down, only to be blocked again by the whip. Its spikes loomed over Sora, ready to dig in. Instead, Sora kicked Fernando in the chest, causing his whip to loosen its grip. He exited the danger area successfully, landing a meter or so from Fernando. Riku came up beside his ally and took back his keyblade.
Fernando laughed. “You two are quite pleasant to watch. You’ve only managed to hit me once, and that wasn’t even with your weapons.”
Sora and Riku tightened the grip on their weapons angrily.
Feeling along the whip, Fernando continued. “I know my whip. I know everything that it will do. It is like my son, obeying my every command.”
“You disgust me!” Riku spat, ready to charge at his enemy. But Sora held him back.
“We do this together,” he told his friend.
Riku hesitated for a moment, but then nodded in acknowledgement. Together, they charged at their enemy, weapons held high, and hearts determined as ever. Fernando spun his whip mindlessly around in the air. Mickey was in the middle of fending off him off when Sora and Riku leaped into battle. All three of them put cooperative effort in disarming Fernando, but could not get a single strike on him.
Come on, thought Sora, while slashing at the various attacks of Fernando’s whip, we’ve gotta’ hit him!
Finally, at the right moment, Riku was able to cast a shield barrier around Sora. The scarring attacks of Fernando’s weapon merely deflected off of the shield. Sora drove to the core of the enemy, his chest, and slashed diagonally across it. Roaring in pain, Fernando lashed his whip at Sora in fury. The spikes dug into Sora’s stomach and dragged him along with them. After being fully extended, the whip released Sora onto the ground.
“Sora!” cried Riku, making his way to his motionless friend. But before reaching him, Riku was cut off by the crackling of the whip. A powerful blow was delivered to his waist. He spun to the ground, motionless.
“Fellas’!” Mickey exclaimed in horror. The site of two friends lying lifeless on the ground was almost too much for Mickey, but he pushed on. “You’ll pay for that one, nobody!”
“That’s Fernando to you, you imbecile!” Fernando screamed, panting from the wound that Sora had so brutally given him. He raised his hand to strike, but this time, Mickey was too quick for him. The king sent a pearl of light flying straight at Fernando’s hand. The enemy cried in pain as the white fire-ball struck his hand, releasing his weapon. It plopped to the ground. Fernando attempted to pick it up but was shamefully thrown back as Mickey slashed him in the arm.
Mickey spoke with a brave voice. “No more of you whip tricks, Fernando! It’s over!”
The king picked up the deadly weapon and threw it away from Fernando’s grasp. Sora gradually regained his senses and came to his feet. Riku followed shortly after, moaning as he rose.
Sora glared at the defenceless nobody. “You’re cornered,” he said, getting his keyblade ready.
But Fernando was not listening; instead, his vision was directed elsewhere. Sora, Riku, and Mickey stared in horror as they saw Fernando’s eyes turn a blazing orange. In a booming voice, he declared, “You are too late! It is time!”
Instantly, all eyes went to Xin, whose outline was glowing bright yellow. His eyes were wide open. His sockets were an empty white. He was smiling maliciously.
“The time has come for the Chasers to be erected!”
CHAPTER 8
Fernando, like Turoz, let the coat fly off his back. Its black, leathery skin waved rapidly in the air as it soared high into the sky and out of reach. Sora watched it for a moment, thinking of Roxas, who had also worn that cloak; the cloak of the nobodies. But Roxas wasn’t a nobody anymore. No, he was part of Sora. We can do this Sora! Roxas said in Sora’s mind. The young keyblade master nodded in agreement. Fernando would be stopped.
Mickey stared grimly at Fernando. The king did not favour fighting, but if it happened to be the only way, he would fight. That was the current situation. Fernando would not cooperate, so he would have to be taken down.
“You’re making a mistake, nobody!” Mickey threw at Fernando.
The enemy shrieked with laughter. “So you think, little mouse!”
Riku waited eagerly for the moment he would slash into the nobody’s body. He craved to bring his opponent to the ground. He craved to stand over his opponents body, victorious and triumphant. And shockingly, he craved the smell of blood.
He shook his head. What am I thinking…? It’s those old dark thoughts again… Get out! This time, Riku shook his head more violently.
Sora noticed what Riku was doing. “Riku,” he asked, confused, “What are you doing?”
“Uh- nothing Sora,” he peeped out, combing his hands through his air, “Just prepping myself for battle.”
“Ahh, okay then…” Sora replied, clearly unconvinced.
Surprisingly, Fernando wore a cloak under his Organization suit. It was a fairly brown cloak, fully covering his upper and lower half of his body. On it was the symbol that Sora recognized immediately. It was the nobody symbol in which he had encountered many times along his journey.
“Keeping the clothes simple, huh?” Riku laughed.
“Indeed, I am,” sneered Fernando. “I do not dress in absurd clothing like you.”
Riku frowned and inspected himself. While doing so, Fernando continued. “I like to keep things normal- and civilized. You three are out of the ordinary.”
Looking up, Riku shouted, “There’s nothing wrong with my clothing!”
Sora added, “Yeah, and we aren’t normal because we’re something special…”
“Keyblade masters!” Mickey finished. Sora nodded in agreement.
“Pft, a bunch of so-called ‘keyblade masters’ means nothing to me. You will all die, keyblade masters or not.”
The wind howled all around them. Its loathsome screams created an even darker atmosphere. In the horizon, the sun could be seen escaping from the horrible scene, its orange glow flowing across the water, just barely reaching the shore. The feel in the air turned humid, increasing Sora’s inhaling rate. The sand below their feet turned moist, burying deep into the ground.
“Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for; my weapon!” Fernando shouted with pride.
The three buddies tensed. They watched as Fernando withdrew his weapon.
It was-
“What?” Sora cried in disbelief.
“Huh?” Mickey turned his head, dazzled.
“What the-“ Riku exclaimed.
“A whip?”
Indeed, what was displayed before them was an incredibly long, black whip. The handle was formed similarly to that of a pirate-sword handle, which seemed very unlikely, considering it was a whip, not a sword. As for the rest of the whip, it was deadly. Sharp, jagged spikes ran along it, each about two inches apart. Fernando cracked it in the air, raising his arm quickly and bringing it down violently. The sound produced was ear-piercing, like the sound of someone’s neck being snapped in half. It emanated throughout the area like a billion guns being shot simultaneously.
Sora gulped. Riku shuddered. Mickey stayed silent.
“Don’t be afraid, fellas’! We can still take him down, no matter what!”
“That’s right, listen to you’re master, who will get you all killed,” provoked Fernando, rolling his eyes. “Now,” he said, raising his whip again, “who wants a taste of this first?”
“I’ll go,” said Sora and Riku in unison. They exchanged glances. Sora shrugged.
“Uhh, could I?” He asked.
“Well… I kinda’ wanted to first, Sora; you know, give him some serious pain. But uhh… if-”
But before they came to a decision, Mickey had leaped into battle. He had successfully dodged the first lash of Fernando’s whip and stood in front of his opponent. Mickey attempted to swing at Fernando, but to his surprise, his weapon was stopped by Fernando’s whip, wrapping around the keyblade ruthlessly. Like a feather being blown away, Fernando yanked Mickey’s weapon out of his grasp. It was sent sprawling to the sand. Mickey stood there in disbelief, not absorbing what had just happened. He was too slow for what was came next. The whip lashed directly across the side of Mickey’s head and sent him high into the air. Sora was ready to catch the out-of-control mouse, but Mickey landed safely onto the sand.
Wiping his bloody face, the king commented, “You got me good there.”
“No one gets past this whip. No one.”
“Why you-“ Riku growled, running at Fernando.
“Wait, Riku!” Sora shouted, taking after his friend.
The whip first came at Riku, who ducked under it successfully. It came across Sora as well, just barely skimming his nose.
“Whoah,” he breathed.
Riku spiral flipped and came upon Fernando in a frenzy of slashes. With only a couple of body movements, Fernando was able to evade all of the attacks without a single scratch left on him. But Sora dodge rolled and was waiting for Fernando from behind.
“NOW!” Sora shouted.
With haste, Riku passed Sora his weapon. Sora caught it in his left hand and advanced upon Fernando. The enemy whipped around quickly and blocked the first incoming keyblade. As for the second keyblade, Sora brought it down, only to be blocked again by the whip. Its spikes loomed over Sora, ready to dig in. Instead, Sora kicked Fernando in the chest, causing his whip to loosen its grip. He exited the danger area successfully, landing a meter or so from Fernando. Riku came up beside his ally and took back his keyblade.
Fernando laughed. “You two are quite pleasant to watch. You’ve only managed to hit me once, and that wasn’t even with your weapons.”
Sora and Riku tightened the grip on their weapons angrily.
Feeling along the whip, Fernando continued. “I know my whip. I know everything that it will do. It is like my son, obeying my every command.”
“You disgust me!” Riku spat, ready to charge at his enemy. But Sora held him back.
“We do this together,” he told his friend.
Riku hesitated for a moment, but then nodded in acknowledgement. Together, they charged at their enemy, weapons held high, and hearts determined as ever. Fernando spun his whip mindlessly around in the air. Mickey was in the middle of fending off him off when Sora and Riku leaped into battle. All three of them put cooperative effort in disarming Fernando, but could not get a single strike on him.
Come on, thought Sora, while slashing at the various attacks of Fernando’s whip, we’ve gotta’ hit him!
Finally, at the right moment, Riku was able to cast a shield barrier around Sora. The scarring attacks of Fernando’s weapon merely deflected off of the shield. Sora drove to the core of the enemy, his chest, and slashed diagonally across it. Roaring in pain, Fernando lashed his whip at Sora in fury. The spikes dug into Sora’s stomach and dragged him along with them. After being fully extended, the whip released Sora onto the ground.
“Sora!” cried Riku, making his way to his motionless friend. But before reaching him, Riku was cut off by the crackling of the whip. A powerful blow was delivered to his waist. He spun to the ground, motionless.
“Fellas’!” Mickey exclaimed in horror. The site of two friends lying lifeless on the ground was almost too much for Mickey, but he pushed on. “You’ll pay for that one, nobody!”
“That’s Fernando to you, you imbecile!” Fernando screamed, panting from the wound that Sora had so brutally given him. He raised his hand to strike, but this time, Mickey was too quick for him. The king sent a pearl of light flying straight at Fernando’s hand. The enemy cried in pain as the white fire-ball struck his hand, releasing his weapon. It plopped to the ground. Fernando attempted to pick it up but was shamefully thrown back as Mickey slashed him in the arm.
Mickey spoke with a brave voice. “No more of you whip tricks, Fernando! It’s over!”
The king picked up the deadly weapon and threw it away from Fernando’s grasp. Sora gradually regained his senses and came to his feet. Riku followed shortly after, moaning as he rose.
Sora glared at the defenceless nobody. “You’re cornered,” he said, getting his keyblade ready.
But Fernando was not listening; instead, his vision was directed elsewhere. Sora, Riku, and Mickey stared in horror as they saw Fernando’s eyes turn a blazing orange. In a booming voice, he declared, “You are too late! It is time!”
Instantly, all eyes went to Xin, whose outline was glowing bright yellow. His eyes were wide open. His sockets were an empty white. He was smiling maliciously.
“The time has come for the Chasers to be erected!”