Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Jenova's Children ❯ Funesta ( Chapter 7 )

Jenova's Children

By Kawaii and Junsui

 

Chapter 7

Funesta

 

“What the hell?!” the conscious teen breathed. The words were Kadaj's, but his lips hadn't moved. He just lay with enlarged, glassy eyes, breathing shallowly. “What's going on?!” Riku demanded, rising to his feet.

“Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.” The voice responded, deepening and maturing.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?! Where are you?!” Riku shouted, spirals of doubt and nervousness creeping across his chest.

“Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter, In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore. Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he; But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door - Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door - Perched, and sat, and nothing more.” From the shadowy depths of the church appeared a tall, lithe man. He was swathed in thick leather, steel toed boots, steel pauldrons, and across his bare part of chest were crossed two straps of leather. A sadistic smile played across thin pale lips, barely more flushed than his ghostly pallor. Sheets of silver spilled over his broad shoulders, brushing against the floorboards, blowing in an unseen breeze. Cold, thin metal pressed against Riku's jaw line, and he steadily gazed across the six foot katana's edge to it's owner. He traced the outline of the man's body, locking eyes. Twin orbs gazed into each other, one in shock, and the other holding a penetrating, knowing glare. Sephiroth's thin smile twisted into a look of triumph as he lowered the Masumune's tip to the ground.

“Sephiroth.” Riku breathed, not daring to look away.

“Do you remember me, little one?”

“R-remember…?” the silver tressed teen backed away slightly. “What… I've heard about you. About the misery you caused everyone, the death, destruction, everything.” He said resolutely, glaring with hatred.

“Is that what they told you?” the superior SOLDIER sneered. “Figures. I'd be willing to bet they never told you what they did to me. Or to Mother.”

“Whatever they did to you must have been well deserved.” Riku shrugged, coursing with boldness. “And who the hell at this age goes crying off to his mother or is so defensive of the subject?” the teen's lips curled into a triumphant snarl. “Wuss.”

Within a blink of an eye, Riku was pinned to the wall, his feet dangling several inches off of the ground. The silver-tressed youth grabbed at the gloved hand's fingers wrapped tightly around his neck, attempting to pry them off as he struggled for breath, feebly kicking his feet as he stared into the man's blue-green irises. A sadistic smirk curled onto Sephiroth's pale lips as he became dangerously near to Riku's face, “You shouldn't talk about your mother that way.”

“My…?” Riku wheezed as his vision began to bleed white. The teen's lungs froze in place and the tingling within them transformed into burning as he felt his heart beat against them rapidly. As quickly as the horrible sensation had come, it was over as Riku was dropped to the ground, crumpled up in a heap as he placed a single hand over his chest and rapidly gasped for air, “My… mother…? You mean…?” He panted.

“More specifically, our mother, little brother.” Smirked the ex-warlord as he towered over Riku, staring down at the helpless teen with merciless eyes of a kaleidoscope of jade and indigo. Riku's own eyes of icy azure suddenly shot open wide, as his pupils became cat-like slits; bursts of green exploding into them as they did. He quickly scrambled to his feet and attempted to move off, but a sudden pain shot through his head and Riku was on the ground seconds later, clutching his head as his pupils rapidly dilated and shrunk back to slits. Sephiroth turned towards the boy, a light smirk forming on his lips.

Flashes of memories played before Riku's eyes; the jagged bracelet dangling off of his pale wrist, a searing pain shooting through his body, and finally, the chillingly emotionless automated voice of the computer: “Commencing Project R.I.K.U Jenova #1445.”

Riku

Jenova

There was no denying it. The words were placed right together as plain as day. The pain finally subsided and Riku pushed himself off of the ground, staring at the tall man that was calmly approaching him as tears leaked out of his eyes that were now subsiding back to their normal shade of ice blue; the warm spheres of liquid rolled down his pale cheeks and landed on the ground before him, each drop marking the degree of sadness that had manifested within Riku's heart.

“You… you're not lying, are you?” The boy whispered, his hands balling into loose fists that gathered small amounts of dirt dampened by his tears.

“I wouldn't lie to you, little brother.” Sephiroth spoke in his deep voice that was shockingly honest, as he knelt next to Riku, whom was still crying profusely, “Not like them.” He spat in disgust.

“Who…” Choked Riku, looking up into Sephiroth's shockingly calm eyes with his tearstained ones of icy azure. The teen was trembling violently with anger, hurt, and betrayal, “Who did this to me?!” Riku yelled, his voice shaking as much as his body.

“The question is… who didn't?” The man with the long, silver tresses inquired as he placed a heavy, gloved hand on Riku's shoulder in an odd gesture of false comfort, “Everyone. Everyone in the lie.” A woman with a shaded face pushing back his hair as a constant beep sounded throughout the room and a man with words as cruel as a whip, “The one whom you called `Mother', whom fed you the lies from the beginning.” A weeping woman with crystal blue eyes and white-blonde hair, clutching a tiny bracelet, “Those whom see you as the lie and helped you to grow into it.” A boy with spiky brunette tresses staring at him with disgusted blue orbs and a redheaded girl sobbing at his bloodstained body. “And the ones who knew the lie all along, but never tried to stop it.” A man with spiky blonde tresses and dewy eyes, a small woman short with dark hair falling over large brown orbs, and yet another obsidian-tressed woman all peering at him worriedly as if he were about to spontaneously combust at any second, “They. All. Lied. To. You.” Sephiroth spoke each word clear and bold and Riku let out a sob and recoiled into himself, tears rolling down his cheeks faster than ever.

 

 

Riku gasped and lurched upwards, looking around in a crazed panic. His heart palpitated at an accelerated rate, sweat drenching his body. He clutched at his head, snaking fingers through matted silver tresses, massaging his temples, trying to alleviate the throbbing pain. When he had calmed down enough, he raised his head cautiously and scanned the room. Nothing was out of place - it was the same guest bedroom as Cloud had showed him. Something fluttered against the bare skin on his arm. He started, and then laughed hoarsely when he realized it was only the curtain. Clenching the fabric in a shaking fist, he pulled it along the rod and unleashed the rays of sunlight. It was morning.

Memories of the ghastly dream floated back to him. In it he remembered leaving the bar early in the morning and wandering around until he came to a church. It was beautiful, and would have been magnificent had it not been destroyed, like everything around it. Kadaj was there too… on the ground. He had answered cryptically, only answering in lines from different poems, Edgar Allan Poe, Shakespeare, and the like. And then he had collapsed and… Riku wrenched his eyes shut, blocking out the rest of the nightmare. It was too weird. He didn't even know what Sephiroth looked like, but somehow something within him told him that… it just felt right. Somehow he knew it was Sephiroth. Perhaps it was the clothes he wore, or his physical appearance, the eyes and hair that were so similar to his own and that of the three brothers. Or maybe it was the voice; deep and strong and cruel, feeling almost comforting with an unsettling edge, like a honeyed blade. Riku growled at himself to stop thinking about it.

Sighing, he popped the tense muscles along his spine and shoulder blades and through off the clammy sheets, shaking himself of the feeling of them plastered against his skin. Taking a tentative step towards the bureau, Riku found a new outfit set out for himself in the middle drawer where he had placed his previous clothing the night before. In ways it was very similar to what he had grown accustomed too, at least in fit around his muscular frame, only slightly more elaborate. The first layer (excluding his boxers) consisted of the same type of black sleeveless tank top he had worn prior that unzipped down the front with a thick silver zipper pull that was very reminiscent of Roxas'. Folded beneath this was a pair of black wash jeans with what seemed to be more pockets and loops for guns and ammo belts or pouches. He had retained his three layer stud belt and silver, black, and yellow shoes however.

He poked around for the yellow and white puffy jacket and wrist bands and finally came upon another drawer… which consequently was just below the previous one. He frowned at the folded cloth and removed it from it's holdings, letting it open itself up as he held it out. He smiled cockily upon figuring the article's being - a dark brown trench coat with a slightly lighter liner. Three thick straps ran across the front spaced about an inch apart, and held to the cloth by elegant yet masculine silver braces and buckles, much like as he would come to see, Vincent's cape was belted at the neck. All dressed - and reminding himself to purchase new accessories - he tiptoed through the strewn mess on the floor - mind you the room had been vacant and used as storage for many a year - and proceeded down to the kitchen.

The table was already set out, place servings for ten. Ten? Riku's cerulean orbs danced around the crowded scene, taking everything in. Tifa was busy helping Marlene get started buttering her waffle, Denzel was sitting beside the other orphan observing the two. Every now and then he'd make a sly comment or compliment Tifa on her motherly skills. The woman would promptly blush and thank him, returning to her other tasks and minding the others. Cloud watched her from the easy chair, trying to stay as much out of the way as possible. He smiled softly when he thought no one was looking staring in Tifa's general direction. Yazoo had done an apron, which wouldn't have been half as comical if it hadn't been a pink “Piyo Piyo” one that Marlene gave to Tifa for Easter last year. But somehow he managed to make apron look relatively manly… sorta… seeing as he was a bisexual and all. In any case, he whisked about the kitchen, a frying pan in one hand and dishes in the other, going to and fro the kitchen, sink, and table, cleaning as he went. Loz sat at one end of the table, across from the orphans. Yuffie entered the room with her arm draped around the waist of a tall, attractive, pale skinned man with flowing ebony tresses and a scarlet tattered cape. He chuckled softly under his breath as Marlene won the fifth round of Go-Fish.

“Heheh… Loz-onii-san lost again!” she giggled, shuffling the over sized cards haphazardly in her tiny hands. Tifa winced slightly upon hearing the affectionate nickname. The silver haired men were still not meant to be trusted fully just yet. Not that the kid's saw, however.

“Gosh darn it!” he huffed. “Again?” he asked eagerly.

“YAY!” Marlene cheered. “Hey, Loz-onii-san?” she asked, dealing out the cards.

“Ya?”

“Looking forward to Halloween?” she quipped. “I wanna go as Tifa!”

“Halloween?” Loz frowned, cocking his head to the side.

“You don't know what Halloween is?!” Marlene cried incredously. “It's only the best holiday ever! You get to dress up as whatever you wanna be, get candy, and stay up real late!”

“Halloween is for little kids.” Denzel scoffed from over his cereal.

“It is not!” the girl stuck her tongue out at him. “Right, Loz-onii-san?”

“Uh… sure. See, my brothers and I don't celebrate any holidays.” He explained with a nonchalant shrug.

“Why?!” the kids cried in surprise.

“Because we're Jenova's Witnesses!” Loz smiled.

“That's Jehovah's Witness, dumbass.” Yazoo sighed, setting a platter of scrambled eggs and sausage before his brother. “Which we are not. Actually, we don't follow anything at the present, as far as religion goes. I mean, we aren't hardly baptized or anything.” Loz shuddered audibly, remembering how Aeris' curing water had burned them before.

“Yazoo-kun?” Denzel quipped, poking at a biscuit. “Do they really not celebrate anything?”

“Yes, they don't have holidays.” The older man confirmed with a nod. “And where the hell were you?!” he exclaimed, voice hardening as he pointed an accusatory spatula at the front door. Kadaj rolled his eyes and shed his jacket. Yawning, he plopped down at the kitchen table and put his head in his arms.

“Leave me alone, I'm tired.” He growled half-heartedly.

“I still want to know where you were at. You left really early and didn't even leave a note!” his brother continued, replacing the pots and pans.

“Yes, Mother.” Kadaj drawled irately.

“Don't say that!” Loz whispered loudly. “I don't want to hear that word again!”

“Whatever.” The teen scoffed, straightening up. “I was at that old church if you must know.” Riku's eyes widened as he stood stock still on the last landing. “Didn't intend for things to take so long, I guess I fell asleep.”

“What kind of things?” Cloud asked, seating himself beside Vincent and Yuffie.

“What's it matter?” Kadaj said defensively.

“You will tell me what you were up too.” Cloud said firmly.

“I-!” Kadaj began angrily, then sighed sheepishly and stared at his fork, watching the way light reflected off of it. “I was looking for… I just… I was trying to remember Mother.” He whispered.

“Kadaj, Jenova has been destroyed. The last thoughts of Geostigma are dead.” The towhead reminded him.

“Not that robotic freak!” the teen hissed, standing up suddenly from the table. “Why do you always have to insist that that was how I wanted to be?! Huh?! Did you ever think that I'm an orphan too?! Because I am! And I just wanted to try and remember what it was like when someone actually gave a damn about what became of me and try to forget what it's like to have someone breathing down your neck and twisting your thoughts even as they're forming in my mind! I hate this fucking place!” he screamed, throwing his napkin down on the table and stalking up the stairs to his room. He glared at Riku as he passed, and in a brief flicker of time, he transformed to the Keybearer's eyes - older, crueler, harsher - as Sephiroth. But in a second longer, he was gone and had slammed the door behind him.

“So it wasn't just a dream.” Riku whispered, staring after him.

“Ainsi, allait-elle comment la nuit passée?”

“Huh?” The silver tressed teen looked up at Yuffie, whom was staring inquiringly at Vincent.

“Joli alésage si vous me demandez.” The red clothed man answered. Yuffie scoffed loudly before she playfully hit Vincent on the arm, the man grinning.

“Voyez si vous obtenez ce soir!” She growled irately; just as she did, Yazoo sat down next to Loz, his face pale.

“Oh? Je volonté. Comme toujours.” Vincent retorted lightly. Yazoo gagged and Riku looked towards him, blinking his iced azure eyes in confusion.

“Um, Cloud…” Riku said softly, turning to the spiky-tressed man as Cloud's eyes snapped to Riku.

“Yes?” He replied.

“Why are they speaking in French?” Quipped the silver-tressed teen as the Vincent and Yuffie continued to converse rapidly.

“Yeah…” Said the blonde slowly; “They've been going that for awhile now…”

“C'est terrible…” Yazoo whispered darkly, and both Yuffie and Vincent look towards him, their eyes wide.

“You… YOU SPEAK FRENCH?!” Cried the ninja incredulously.

“Oui…” The silver-tressed man's eye gave an involuntary twitch, “Et peux je dis, ma'am, que vous ne devriez pas employer cette sorte de lit-parlez devant de petits enfants.“

Yuffie squeaked and buried her face in her hands, Vincent's expression was unreadable, however he did seem considerably paler than usual.

“Wait a minute!” Tifa suddenly stood from her chair, slamming her hands down onto the table, “You speak French?! We've been trying to figure out what they've been saying for weeks! Can you-?”

“No.” Yazoo grumbled, his cheeks taking on a pinkish hue as he stared at Marlene.

“Come on, you-!”

“No.”

As Tifa and Yazoo continued to argue loudly, Riku looked to Vincent, whom was patting Yuffie on the shoulder, soothing her in what Riku was relieved to hear was Japanese.

“-okay, it looks like Yazoo's not about to-“ The raven-tressed man was saying to the ninja as she whimpered, her arms wrapped around her knees from where she was seated.

“Um, hey. I don't think we've met before.” Riku said softly as Vincent turned his garnet orbs onto the teen. Riku cleared his throat lightly and extended his hand to the man, “My name's Riku.”

“Vincent.” Said the red-clothed man in his dark voice, “Vincent Valentine.”

“Bond.” Yuffie said suddenly, “James Bond.” Vincent rolled his eyes as the ninja set down her legs and leaned forewords towards Riku.

“Hey there, kiddo.” The girl with the dark tresses reached out and ruffled Riku's silver tresses.

`They. All. Lied. To. You.'

Riku pulled back uncomfortably and fixed his hair as Yuffie frowned slightly, her frown progressing into a sheepish grin, “Sorry, I didn't know that you didn't like your hair played with. Its just really hard `cause Vince has really long hair and won't ever let me touch it-“

“Not on you life.” Vincent grumbled, fingering his obsidian tresses lightly.

“-and you have kinda long hair, too, and-“ The ninja went on before Riku stood up and looked away, “Hey, where `ya goin?”

“I'm not feeling to good.” The teen partially lied, “I'm going back to bed.”

“-feel compelled to tell us-! Oh? Really?” Tifa stopped in mid-argument with Yazoo and looked to Riku with concerned chocolate brown orbs, “Well, if you need something, fell free to use the medicine cabinet in the guest bathroom.”

“Thanks, but I think I'm just gonna lay down.” Riku shrugged and started back up the stairs.

“…okay. Try to feel better. “ Tifa called after him softly.

“Sleep tight!” Yuffie chirped.

As soon as the silver-tressed teen was halfway up the stairs, all conversation seemed to resume at the table. Riku sighed in an almost dejected way and ran a hand through his platinum hair, falling against a wall and punching it lightly, his brow knitted in frustration.

“You see know, don't you?”

Riku jumped and stared with wide eyes at Kadaj as the elder teen bored holes into his flesh with blue-green orbs.

“Who… who are you?” Riku whispered darkly, taking a step backwards, but only coming into contact with the wall behind him, at the same time wondering how Kadaj had gotten from his room to the upstairs hallway un-noticed.

“Isn't it obvious?” Kadaj smirked softly; Riku's eyes widened, as Kadaj's presence seemed to flicker before his eyes- taking on the form of Sephiroth, “You can thank me for putting you to bed, later, little one. And at the same time- I think I'm growing tired of my old vessel. Come outside, I've something to show you.” Sephiroth seemed to flicker away, becoming Kadaj once more as the elder teen blinked several times in a dizzy way before swaying in place and falling over in a way that would've been comical if Riku wasn't shaking.

The younger teen stared with wide eyes at Kadaj's lifeless form before his fists tightened and he promptly turned on his heel.

 

 

“Sora…” Kairi said flatly, her violet orbs the size of saucers, as she stood, dumbstruck, before the large ship. It was a sleek, ebony model with red highlights with a long ladder propped up against its side that lead up to the roomy cockpit, “Where did you…?”

“Pulled a few strings with Disney Kingdom's Gummi Ship system… it seems that saving multiple worlds multiple times from deadly heartless gives you a few privileges now and then- you coming?” Sora explained and he grabbed onto the ladder propped up against the Gummi Ship.

“Sora… don't you think we should tell our parents?” The girl inquired, however, she grabbed onto the ladder as soon as the boy with the spiky tresses was halfway up.

“Do you honestly think they'd ever let us go?” Sora replied in a question with a roll of his unreal blue eyes as he hoisted himself up into the vehicle.

“Good point.” Nodded the redhead as she extended a hand to her boyfriend. Sora pulled her into the stark-white cockpit and promptly pushed the ladder to the ground. Kairi made herself comfortable in the large chair on the right-hand side of the captain's seat as Sora stood at the top of the ship and hit a few buttons in order to seal the doors.

“I'm used to launching this thing out of one of the hangers, but I've done a few land take-offs before.” He said out loud as Kairi tightened her grip on her chair.

“S-Sora.” Squeaked the girl as her eyes became dangerously bulbous in horror, “You do know what you're doing, right?”

“'Course I do!” Beamed the brunette as he plopped down in the captain's seat and pulled on his seatbelt, clicking some of the controls on the arm rests as the vehicle jolted to life. Kairi promptly screamed and her grip on the chair turned into a metal-death-grip before Sora hit another button and the gummi ship began to vibrate, shooting into the sky and leaving parallel un-natural waves sliding through the azure sea; all the while, Kairi screamed and nearly tore off the arms of her chair.

“I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die! I'M GONNA DIE!” Screamed the redhead as she rocked back and forth.

“Kairi! Chill!” Sora commanded calmly, “Its not like this thing is just gonna fall out of the sky and blow up-“ Kairi whimpered, “I mean- the Gummi Ship is long and hard! It isn't going to crash anytime soon with these aerodynamics!”

Suddenly, the girl's attitude seemed to change as she burst into a fit of nervous giggles, “What? What is it?” Sora inquired with a small grin.

“I'm… sorry…” Kairi giggled, her face turning pink, “Its just… you reminded me of a part from this movie I saw; there's this part where there's this spaceship in the sky shaped like a-“

 

 

“Dick!” Loz spat angrily at a customer, whom stormed out of the bar in rage, “Calling me all those mean names! HMPH!”

“I hate to break it to you, brother, but when you spill the customer's drink on his three consecutive times, he really does have the right to call you a `Brainless Retarded Fish Fucker'… however vulgar that is.” Yazoo sighed as he promptly used a rag to clean up the remainder of the mess.

“I think its clear that we can't have you busting tables anymore, Loz.” Tifa sighed as she leaned on the bar, massaging her temples, “And watch the language. I don't want to hear you saying that sort of thing in front of Marlene or anything.”

Loz's blue-green eyes became large and frightened, “No, never!” He squeaked truthfully as said girl poked her head into the bar from the kitchen.

“Tifa! Denzel's slopping dish water at me!” The girl whined.

“Am not!” The boy's voice echoed from the kitchen.

“Cloud!” Tifa sighed, exasperated.

“Stop fighting.” Cloud quietly intervened from where he sat at the table, scanning the newspaper.

“As if that's going to do any good!” The woman snapped.

“I'm sorry.” Shrugged the blonde half-heartedly as the obsidian-tressed woman growled irately and stepped aside to let Vincent and Yuffie pass.

“Thanks for having us for breakfast, Tifa!” The ninja squealed, pulling Tifa into a bone-crushing hug.

“Anytime…” Choked the taller woman, feebly smiling at the younger woman. Yuffie broke the hug and beamed at Tifa before latching onto Vincent's arm and pulling him towards the front door. Before they left, however, Yuffie glanced over her shoulder at Tifa.

“Oh, and tell Riku to get better for me! T'ta!” She beamed, and proceeded to drag Vincent along.

“Speaking of silver-haired teens…” Tifa muttered as she headed towards the spare room that Kadaj had seemed to claim. The woman threw open the door and promptly stormed in, “Kadaj! Get your brooding ass out here! It-“ The woman's auburn orbs widened as she spotted the young man passed out on the floor below an open window, “Kadaj!” She gasped and ran to his side, even though they were still enemies, he was under her care and Tifa couldn't help but show at least a shred of concern for the teen. She grabbed Kadaj by the shoulder and flipped him over, attempting to shake him into waking, “Kadaj! Kadaj, wake up!” Tifa cried again and again; when this seemed to fail, she huffed irritably and reared back her hand, slapping the teen on the cheek.

“OW!” The silver-tressed youth bolted upright, rubbing the offended cheek softly, “What the fuck was that for?!”

Tifa ignored his rude demand and stared him straight in the eyes, “Kadaj, what happened?” She inquired seriously. The teen's blue-green orbs suddenly widened as he registered the past events.

“Him…” Whispered Kadaj, his eyes widening even further.

 

 

Riku stared, wide-eyed at Sephiroth. The tall man stood placidly in front of the bar as if it was what he had done every day of his entire life. He gave the young man an unreadable look and then turned his head to the sky, his blue-green orbs unblinking. Riku followed the taller man's gaze, and his own eyes of ice blue widened.

“A Gummi Ship…?” The teen whispered as the ebony vehicle began to lower to the ground; most likely somewhere quite near where Cloud's Buster Sword was planted in the dust.

“I'm sure you know those riding upon it.” Sephiroth smirked softly.

`Those whom see you as the lie and helped you to grow into it.'

Riku's pupils snapped into cat-like slits momentarily as they widened in realization.

“Its your first step to eliminating the lie and becoming who you truly are.” Explained Sephiroth lightly as he smirked at Riku, his half-lidded eyes glowing with some sort of amusement.

“But…” Riku whispered as his dark pupils dilated back to normal, icy azure orbs coruscated with nervousness.

“They are as much to blame as the rest of them.” Said the man softly. And like that, he was gone. Nothing was left of him, save for an obsidian feather that floated to the ground.

Riku stood, staring him mixed emotions at the single feather lying placidly on the ashen concrete before he picked up sounds of movement and his head snapped up.

“Come on!” Kadaj cried, dragging Tifa along with him at the wrist. Naturally, Cloud had followed at the sight of the felon pulling along his girlfriend.

“Kadaj! What they hell are you playing at?” Cloud yelled loudly, snatching the first Tsurugi, along with its leather sheath, off of the wall before the silver-tressed youth threw open the door. Where Riku had stood seconds later, unbeknownst to the trio, there was only the single obsidian feather. Cloud's dewy blue orbs widened at the sight of the single appendage and the name he silently mouthed was unmistakable, `Sephiroth.'

“Shit!” Kadaj swore vehemently, tossing his head violently, “Where the hell did they-?” His blue-green orbs widened as he spotted the landing ship, and something deep within his mind seemed to click, “Come on! We have to hurry!”

He suddenly took off, dropping Tifa's wrist and tearing down the streets, headed towards the wastelands in the outskirts of Edge.

“Let's go.” Cloud said to Tifa calmly, but the ebony-tressed woman could hear a bit of uneasiness cracking at the back of his throat.

“Mmm.” The woman nodded, her chocolate brown orbs narrowed in determination as they sprinted along after Kadaj.

 

 

Sora leapt from the dark vehicle and landed on the ground in a feline crouch, turning around and peering up at Kairi with his unreal blue orbs, his arms outstretched.

“D-“ He began, but Kairi, reckless as always when it came to jumping, had already taken a flying leap into Sora's arms. The brunette had to spin her around in a circle to keep the momentum and prevent both of them from falling, setting her down placidly beside him and lovingly brushing a lock of red hair behind one of her ears, “Don't do that anymore, it scares me.”

Kairi smiled sheepishly and began to apologize, but her violet orbs suddenly because as wide as saucers. “RIKU!” Screamed the beryl-tressed girl and began to sprint into the dusty wastelands. Sora's eyes widened as well and he followed her gaze to the silver-tressed teen that stood a dozen yards away from them, slightly pigeon-toed and staring at the ground in-between his feet so that a sheet of platinum hair fell over his eyes.

“Riku!” Kairi cried in joy, running as fast as her feet could carry her towards her childhood friend. Tears gathered at the edges of her violet orbs as she threw her arms around the young man, placing her chin on his shoulder. “Oh, Riku! Where have you been? We've all been so worried! Oh… Riku…” Whispered the girl, letting the warm tears flow quickly from her cheeks, “Please don't do that again, your mo-“

The girl was cut short as, in a split second, she felt cold metal pressed against her neck. She barely had time to realize that The Way To The Dawn's ivory blade was curled around her neck before it punctured delicate skin, and in one fluid motion, Riku pulled it back to his side, slitting the girl's neck, and sending her entire body twisting towards Sora. Crimson beads flew from Kairi's throat as she stared with wide, violet eyes at the horizon, her mouth formed into a feint grimace.

“KAIRI!” Sora yelled at the top of his lungs, wasting no time to summon the Ultima Weapon Keyblade in a streak of blue and sprinting to the girl's side as she landed on the ground. “Curaga!” Sora commanded, raising the Keyblade made of crosshatched light blue metal over his head as a trio of pink flowers rained luminous petals down onto Kairi, knitting the wound into a tender, pink scar. His eyes then whipped to Riku, whom stared down at Kairi with orbs that were kaleidoscopes of blue and green with thin cat-like slits of ebony for pupils and a blank expression, “RIKU! What the hell are you-?!”

But Sora was cut short as well as Riku came down on him with the scarlet blade tipped with indigo. Sora's blue eyes doubled in size as he raised his Keyblade above his head and pushed off Riku's blade in a horrifically familiar way. The brunette stood, feeling lightheaded and weak as he stared at Riku with his wide, unreal blue eyes, “Riku… no…”

Riku glared his new feline-like eyes at Sora from behind a thin sheet of silver tresses, before charging him with inhuman speed. Sora quickly leapt into the air to evade the attack, but Riku was quick to think; rebounding off of, and completely unearthing, a dying tree, he slashed the ivory tip of the crimson and indigo blade across Sora's chest whilst they were both still in mid-air. After planting the attack, Riku landed on the ground and sprung up backwards, slashing Sora once more, and then repeated the process a final time before the brunette Keyblade wielder hit the ground, all three of these quick attacks being performed in under a second.

“Riku… why…?” Sora whispered in a cliché way as he grasped at his bleeding chest, staring at Riku with tearful blue orbs.

“I… hate… you.” Growled the lustrously tressed boy in a way that leaked sheer anger and malice. Riku then raised The Way To The Dawn above his head for a final blow, the bits of crimson blood on the ivory blade glinting cruelly in the dim sunlight.

“RIKU! NO!”

The young man casually glanced to his side, his face, once again, expressionless, as he sidestepped an attack that Kairi had attempted to deal to him with her rogue and azure Keyblade. The redhead spun around in front of Riku, protecting Sora as the brunette healed himself, the floral blade clutched in both of her hands as she stood in a defensive stance. Riku cocked his head to one side and then chuckled in an icy way.

“Trying to play Sailor Moon, little girl?” He quipped softly as Kairi's violet orbs narrowed and she tightened her grip on her blade.

“You leave Sora alone…” She growled coldly; Riku laughed once more and smirked coolly.

“That's exactly what you said before you plummeted to the ground and got attacked by heartless… and I was the one who saved you… that was the time I gave you that to defend yourself.” He casually jerked his head at the floral Keyblade in Kairi's hands, “Well, little girl. I'm going to tell you that there's not going to be someone to save you this time!”

With a loud cry, Riku swung the Keyblade down on Kairi, only to hear it collide with metal a second later. The ivory wing slashed down the thick sheet of silver, creating a trail of aureate sparks before Riku pulled away, his cat-like eyes wide as he stared at Cloud, whom had intercepted the attack with the First Tsurugi. The blonde man's dewy blue eyes were wide and unforgiving, his face of stone nearly expressionless, save for the small frown upon his face before he used his free arm to push Kairi back into Sora's arms. The recently self-healed brunette grabbed the girl and pushed her to the ground, shielding her with his body as Cloud seized the First Tsurugi with both hands and sliced it down towards Riku with a feral cry. The teen scoffed and smirked, dodge rolling out of the massive sword's way and behind Cloud, swiftly attempting to knock the towhead off of his feet with a sweeping kick. In the time Cloud used to regain his balance, Riku was upon him, unleashing a combination of swift slices upon Cloud; half of which Cloud blocked, using the First Tsurugi as a shield.

“YOU KNEW, DIDN'T YOU? DIDN'T YOU?!” Screamed the teen as he continued to slash away at the massive sword. Cloud's eyes widened suddenly; not because he was confused at what Riku was saying; but because he was shocked to realize that he knew exactly was talking about. Riku knew that Cloud knew… what Cloud had known from the beginning was that Riku had Jenova within him. He sensed it from the beginning, yet he had hidden it from the silver-tressed teen without a second thought. The teen's eyes flashed onyx and with a snarl he threw his weight into the final strike, aiming just higher than the previous strikes. Cloud inhaled sharply, barely avoiding the weapon from slicing off a good inch of his hair. Riku ceased his attack on the towhead's sword and leapt high into the air, landing in a crouch behind Cloud and springing up quickly to swing the Keyblade violently acrossed his unprotected back. The elder man winced as it tore a clean diagonal line across the skin, scarlet tears beading up around it.

He twisted around and instinctually brought the First Tsurugi before him protectively, deflecting the next strike. In a few short moments, the blonde had unanchored a single blade from the First Tsurugi, one of two short blades with retractable handles that fit snuggly along the outsides of the complete blade. Discarding the first, he flipped the flat sword with a twist of his wrist and drew it's mirror image, holding onto the hilt and flicking the switchblade out in a fluid motion. Using it as an off-hand weapon, he backed Riku up in a flurry of gold and blue light and ringing metal. The teen's eyes narrowed further, head bent under the pressure of succeeding attacks, tensing his muscles as he was staved off.

Unpredictably, he smiled sadistically, eyes glinting, inches away from the blonde's. He had remembered a vital piece of information. Pushing Cloud away, he sped around behind the man but decided not to attack. Instead, he waited for the blonde to whip around before darting off a few yards in the opposite direction. Cloud growled in irritation - the boy was a good listener after all. Damn Yuffie for giving him an advantage. Riku stood calmly with The Way to the Dawn pointed towards the ground in a bored sort of posture. All Cloud had to do was fall into the trap. And he did, willingly, knowing others would be hurt if he didn't. Slinging the switchblade into his sheathe, he disconnected one of the back blades and held it as Riku himself held his Keyblade in a fighting stance, barring the space before him with what remained of the First Tsurugi. He charged as was expected. The silver tressed teen grinned wickedly, raising his left hand slowly. Clenching his fingers into a fist, black vapors twisted along the length of his arm, shaking his frame from the effort. When Cloud had come within a yard of him, his fingers flew open, sending forth a burst of flaming bright blue light. The blast knocked the other man off his feet, sending him rolling roughly over the uneven earth.

The teen's body trembled with a surge of pain, sweat dripping down his brow. The blonde coughed and got to his feet unsteadily, discarding more pieces of his sword until all he had left was the Main Core and Hollow Blade. Separating the two pieces, he held them as he had before. Shaking his head regretfully, sorrow clouding his expression, he charged the Main Core with similar blue flames. Riku's eyes squinted in confusion, uncertain of what the attack would do, unable to move, still in a slight paralysis from the power of his own attack. There was a flash of light as the blonde performed Blade Beam, sending the light rushing forward and impacting heavily with Riku's chest. He staggered over, but when the light cleared, he was gone. Cloud panted heavily, looking around wide-eyed. The attack shouldn't have been powerful enough to obliterate the teen completely… had it? And icy tremble crept down his back as the atmosphere darkened. Riku emerged from an oval portal laughing cruelly, still in a weakened state. They rushed towards each other and crossed blades. Cloud attempted to block the young man, but Riku soon grew tired of the towhead's defenses and growled irately.

“Its time I end this - NOW!” Screamed the silver-tressed teen, and took off sprinting, leaping upwards and turning one hundred and eighty degrees in mid-air. Skidding to a stop and sending plumes of dust into the air, he turned and sprung towards Cloud, dealing several swift, yet deadly slashes just as he had done to Sora, cutting up, horizontally, down, and back up which ironically seemed to be the Keyblade wielder's version of Cloud's Omnislash. With a heave of effort, he wrenched the Keyblade diagonally across Cloud's body, extending from the hip to the shoulder blade, a froth of blood flying freely like crimson rain. The blonde feel limply to the ground, a small cloud of dust rising around him as he shuddered and gave in to the screams of his aching muscles. Riku approached his prey, sick triumph gleaming in his feral eyes. He walked with a silent grace, straddling his victim and brushing the stray blonde hairs out of Cloud's face with the tip of The Way to the Dawn, slicing into the delicate skin on his face. He stood over Cloud, watching in fascination as the rivulet of blood trickled down the dusty face, his eyes trembling in a watery way with hurt and betrayal. A halo of dim sunlight glimmered around him as he pointed the weapon at Cloud, whom chuckled remorsefully.

“You could've done so much, better, kid.” The towhead sighed, “I'm sorry I let you down.”

“'Sorry' isn't good enough, this time.” Riku whispered coldly, “'Sorry' can never erase the scars left on a soul… the scars I left on their souls… the scars they left on mine. `Sorry' is never good enough. I give up. I carry too many scars that can never be erased. Too many blemishes that hold me to the dark.”

And with that, The Way To The Dawn came swinging down upon Cloud for one final time.