Division: Part 3
Jun. 21st, 2006 11:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bard_linnTitle: Division
Pairing(s): Same as Bound, at the moment.
Rated: R (overall)
Previous Parts
Still don’t own the FFVII characters or the KH ones. And Bound doesn’t belong to me either.
Aerith smiled at her guest, happy to meet someone else who felt like family. Even with the recent discovery of Marlene’s heritage, the Cetra still found it hard to believe others like her – even if they weren’t her people precisely – existed. Her guest was actually older than she had thought, specifically in her early twenties. “So, you haven’t seen your friend for seven years?”
The young woman nodded. “I haven’t been able to leave my home until lately. I hope he’s okay.”
“I’m sure he is. The name isn’t familiar to me, but I’m sure you’ll find him. From what you’ve told me he isn’t likely to just fall apart, even if he does get in trouble. His name sounded vaguely Wutaian. It might – ”
A familiar presence interrupted Aerith. “Hurry, daughter. There isn’t much time left before he can no longer tolerate the power. And that might spell all of our ends.”
The young woman gasped as her mother’s spirit faded and stumbled to her feet, caught in a compulsion she could not break. “I’m sorry,” she managed to gasp, “I need to – ”
“Sora! Sora, he’s in trouble!” The woman cried, one hand over her heart. “We have to hurry. He won’t last long.”
Aerith stared at her guest. The Ancient hadn’t said what had happen so how had she known? “Kairi, how – ”
“Please, there’s no time!” Kairi interrupted. “He’s too close to dying as it is!”
Between the redhead’s request and the power pushing at her Aerith could spend no more time on words. She ran out of the house, Kairi right on her heels; the pair ignored Elmyra’s surprised calls of concern in favor of speed. Their feet pounded on the ground in an ominous counter point to their otherwise silent run, sounding almost like a clock proclaiming the hour.
Sounding like the slow countdown to death.
Finally they reached the outskirts of town. Once she was completely surrounded by open space Aerith feel to her knees, throwing her power down into earth below her. Guided by something she could not understand, the Cetra called the Lifestream upwards, commanding it to release its burden. It wasn’t easy work, nor was it particularly skilled, relying instead on sheer force of personality and will. It took all of her concentration, but slowly – too slowly! – a green light began to shine from the earth below her. Unfortunately, Aerith began to gray out as her energy rapidly diminished.
Small calloused hands settled on her shoulders and strength flowed into her. “I’ll help.”
With Kairi’s power Aerith managed to bring the Lifestream to the surface. The green liquid bubbled violently for a few minutes before a naked body appeared in its depths. Exhausted by her efforts, Aerith could only stare at it. Though looking rather white, Kairi kicked off her shoes and dove into the liquid, swimming swiftly to the body and dragging it ashore.
The young woman collapsed next to Aerith, breathing heavily. The Ancient glanced at her new friend, more than slightly worried at the effects the brief mako exposure would have on the young girl, then turned her gaze towards the body. It was the first time she had gotten to see Cloud free of Sephiroth’s form, but she was sure it was him, though Aerith couldn’t quite say why.
“Sora!”
Green eyes turned from the comatose figure in front of her to the one running towards the group. She stiffed when she saw the youth’s appearance, uncannily similar to Sephiroth’s. Could this be a clone? “Who are you?”
O ~ o ~ O
All eyes had turned to Riku after Sephiroth’s announcement. “Where. Is. He.” Zack demanded, hand reaching for the Buster Sword.
“I don’t know. We told you. We didn’t know what would happen when we transferred the keyblade,” Riku replied.
“Then I suggest you find out.” Vincent moved over towards Riku, golden claw glinting in the dim hotel light.
Riku’s fists tightened. “I’m just as worried as you are. Sora is my friend too!”
“Well then – Aerith?” Zack halted his advance towards Riku to glance out the window behind the clone-look-alike to see a pink clad figure running off towards the edge of town. “What’s going on?” Zack hesitated for a minute, torn between his girlfriend and the interrogation of the one person who might know what had happened to his dear friend. Then again, it wasn’t like there wasn’t anyone else who would happily do that interrogation for him. “I’m going after her. Can you guys take care of this?”
“Easily,” Sephiroth replied. Zack gave his friend a quick nod of thanks then bolted out the door.
“Hey, were did he go?” Reno asked. He gestured to where Riku had been a moment before. “He vanished!”
“That’s impossible. We didn’t take our eyes off of him,” Katal countered. They hadn’t, except for possibly a glance out the window or to blink. “He could not have escaped this room.”
“Well unless he’s hiding under the bed or something I think that might just be the case,” Reno muttered. “Now what?”
O ~ o ~ O
He was floating, thoughts scattered about in a pleasant sort of haze. Something – which felt too much like pain for his mental comfort – hovered at the very edge of his consciousness, but he was very happy to ignore it. He missed the “oneness” he had felt with something, before he entered this state, but he let the ache resulting from its vanishing fade away as well. He would be quite content to stay like this, yes.
“Cloud.”
Cloud? He knew what clouds were; they adorned the sky in the place he had been in before this. White and fluffy, dark and dangerous - two sides linked thought a natural progression.
“Cloud.”
The voice was sterner now, sounding slightly annoyed. He knew this voice, though he hadn’t heard it in a long time.
He…missed it?
“Cloud!”
Definitely irritated, though why someone would be shouting at things that didn’t exist in this world he didn’t know.
Unless they were talking to something else.
“Cloud Strife, don’t make me call you again!”
No, not at thing but a person. And not just any person –
Me. I’m Cloud.
Blue eyes opened slowly to stare at the blonde haired figure hovering over him. He knew her; it was just taking him a few minutes to remember…. “Mom?”
“Hello, sweetheart.” His mother crushed him in her arms, holding him tightly. “We don’t have much time. You can’t endure too much more of this; your body will collapse. Don’t worry though. Ifalna called for help. Soon you’ll be back in the world of the living.”
“I’m not so sure I want to go back,” Cloud mumbled, instinctively aware the pain would hit him the moment he left this comfortable bubble.
“Of course you do!” The elder Strife chastened. “Don’t you remember who you left up there?”
“Riku,” Cloud murmured, remembering his good friend who he had so recently found. “Zack, Vincent- ” His chest tightened. “Seph.”
“Take care of them, but especially him,” his mother ordered sternly. “There are few treasures as valuable as good friends – and true loves. Now, Aerith is starting the spell. Time to go!”
O ~ o ~ O
Riku opened the portal of darkness on the edge of town, trying to pinpoint the feeling he was getting. While it was certainly true that he didn’t know where Sora was, that didn’t mean he couldn’t find him. Riku had carried that keyblade for years, which resulted in an awareness of its presence. It was faint now, but he was sure he could find it. Just as well that Zack had been distracted by that “Aerith” which had given him just enough time to slip into the darkness. Once there none of the others had noticed him.
Ironic, but those who were touched by darkness often had a hard time seeing it themselves.
Riku didn’t rush, walking slowly as he tried to get a ‘fix’ on where the feeling was coming from. Not for the first time, he wished Kairi was with him. She would have been able to scry Sora’s location easily. Abruptly the feeling strengthened. He’s getting closer. The silver haired man broke into a jog, making for a green light on the horizon. He was close enough to see when someone pulled a family blond-haired figure from the water. “Sora!”
“Who are you?”
Riku ignored the brown haired woman’s question, intent on getting to his friend, only to receive quite a surprise. “Riku!” Kairi smiled and waved weakly. “You made it! Don’t worry, Aerith. He’s a friend.”
Riku watched the woman – who must be the “Aerith” Zack had seen – relax. She had to be a friend of Kairi’s. Speaking of whom… “Kairi? What are you doing here?” Riku skidded to a stop next to the two women.
“Looking for you of course,” Kairi replied. “Did you honestly think I was going to let you look for Sora by yourself?”
The faintest blush colored Riku’s cheeks. He had forgotten how persistent and single minded Kairi could be, not to mention her dedication to her friends; she was very much like Sora in those aspects. “But how did - ?”
“Aerith! Are you all right?”
“Zack?” The Ancient looked up at her boyfriend. “When did you get to Kalm?”
“Long story.” Zack shot Riku a sharp glance. “And what are you doing here?”
Riku ignored the SOLDIER and lifted Sora into his arms. “He’s lost weight.”
“Cloud?” Zack walked over to the youth, examining his appearance and the bubbling pool of Lifestream. “What happened?”
“He was in the Lifestream. I called him out. She helped.” Aerith explained shortly, as best as her exhaustion would allow, pointing at Kairi. “We need to get him someplace safe.”
“Cloud was in the Lifestream?” Zack asked in amazement. “You’re right. He’ll need help. He probably has Mako poisoning.” He reached for Cloud.
“No,” Riku snapped, holding the body closer to him. “Don’t you touch him.”
“You’re the one who did this to him in the first place!” Zack shot back.
“No way!” Kairi interjected. “Look, none of this would have ever happened if Sora didn’t feel like he had to come back here! He would have been happy with us!” She struggled to her feet and stood next to Riku. “Just leave him alone!”
“Zack, Kairi.” Aerith managed to stand, though she shook. Zack quickly wrapped an arm around her to help support her. “Cloud needs help and rest. We have to get him back to town as soon as we can. Arguing won’t help him get better, and every second we wait could mean -”
“Okay!” Zack surrendered. “Carry him back, but if anything happens to him – ”
“It won’t.” Riku promised. He turned to Kairi. “Can you walk back on your own?”
“I think so,” the Princess of Heart replied. “Though I’m going to go pretty slow. Don’t worry about me, I’ll catch up.”
Riku looked over her once then nodded. It wasn’t like she couldn’t take care of herself after all. “Let’s go.”
O ~ o ~ O
“To put it bluntly, Mrs. Gainsborough, I can’t believe this child is even alive.” The doctor packed away his instruments carefully by feel, eyes still fixated on Cloud in disbelief. “I’ve never seen anyone with such a high level of mako poisoning still living and not mutated. There is nothing I can do here, beyond giving him some drugs to keep him asleep and comfortable. If you took him to Midgar they might be able to help him recover, but even then it would be chancy, and unlikely that he would even survive the journey.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Elmyra said smoothly. She paid his fee and walked him to the door. The minute the man had vanished from sight, Zack, Sephiroth and Vincent appeared from various hiding spaces well within earshot. Sephiroth, now clad in ordinary pants and a simple shirt thanks to Aerith rather than Zack’s bathrobe, immediately moved to a chair next to Cloud’s bed, the Masamune placed in an easily accessible place as he sat. Vincent took up a position by the door, hand over his gun. Zack, however, turned to pacing.
“I can’t believe this! Cloud isn’t going to die!” The former first class SOLDIER snapped, anger in his eyes.
“Cloud’s dying?” All eyes turned towards the speaker. Marlene moved out of the shadows to stare at the figure on the bed. “Is it true?”
“He may still live,” Elmyra replied. “He is not worsening, and Aerith may be able to help him.” And you as well, she thought but did not say, well aware that those in the room did not know of the little girl’s heritage, nor did Marlene know that Aerith’s adopted mother knew it.
“And Kairi!” Marlene said. “Aerith said that she helped her get Cloud out, so maybe she can help heal him.”
“Maybe. Would you like to help me make some lunch for her? She’s probably hungry,” Elmyra suggested, subtly leading the girl out of the room. Despite Zack, Sephiroth and Reno’s protests, both Kairi and Riku had joined them in staying in the house Aerith and the former Avalanche members had relocated to after they left Midgar. Aerith’s comment had been rather simple: this was her house, and she decided who could stay. If they had a problem with that they could leave.
Sometimes Zack regretted the strength of spirit that had drawn him to Aerith. Not often, but sometimes.
“There is nothing we can do at the moment save wait. Stop yelling, Zackuri.” Vincent ordered. Contrary to usual behavior, Zack did, as all three settled in and watched the figure on the bed.
O ~ o ~ O
As Kairi woke up, she was aware of Riku’s watchful presence from a chair besides the bed. It was a comforting feeling, and one she had missed in the years during the trio’s separation. Hopefully, now that they were all together again, she would be able to enjoy both of her friend’s company. She sat up slowly, blinking. “Good morning, Riku.”
“More like evening,” Riku replied. “How are you feeling?”
“Better,” Kairi answered cheerfully. “I’m no where near full strength, but I think I’ll be okay.”
“Good.”
The Princess of Heart slipped out of bed and wandered over to a large bundle in the corner. She heaved the package onto the unmade bed, grateful no one had disturbed it during her sleep. Kairi unlaced the material and pulled out a long thin object. “Here. I think you could use this more than I could and I never really did get the hang of it.”
Riku took the object, a short sword, safely sheathed. He recognized the Malefic Impediment immediately by the elaborate handle and guard, done in ice blue and deep grays. The blade itself was etched with runes and blessed by every religion Riku had ever encountered during his time as the sword’s bearer, which had given the weapon an especially strong power against the forces of darkness. In length it greatly resembled the keyblade he had once used in Hollow Bastion, thus perfect for him to wield.
When Sora had given him the keyblade Riku had in turn left this with Kairi. Sword work wasn’t her strong suit, but it had been his hope she would grow into it. No such luck, it seemed.
Kairi then removed her own weapons. She had armor and various magical boosters from the moogles specially designed with her in mind, along with also sets for Sora and Riku, though whether or not they would actually fit would be anyone’s guess at this point. Her main weapons, however, were arrows. It had taken her a hard long year to become proficient enough with the bow to accompany Sora and Riku on their journey.
Only once before had she attempted to jump into a small battle involving some stronger heartless. It had almost been a disaster. A completely untrained civilian on the field, despite her intentions, had caused havoc on both sides. In the end both Sora and Riku were wounded in her defense. She had promised them that she would never do that again, and had returned to Hollow Bastion to receive training so that she could help her friends as they looked for a way to return to Destiny Islands.
Simply learning the weapon was difficult enough, but Kairi had discovered she had a knack for sorcery, and under Merlin and Lady Rinoa’s instruction, had become quite skilled in it. The arrows she now carried were carefully crafted and enchanted so that they could actually hold a spell and carry it to a target. Once she had gotten that trick down she had become quite an adversary herself. Combined with her limited skill with her long dagger for close combat, she was no pushover.
As long as she had her weapons anyway. If Sora hadn’t been so injured, both he and Riku would have given Kairi a long lecture about running out of the house without them.
Finally she removed one last item from the package, stuffing the unnecessary objects back inside along with more than a few potions. Her hands caressed the metal gently. After Riku had been lost to the darkness, she had given Sora her lucky charm. When the three had been forced to part, Sora had entrusted Riku with his keyblade and had given Kairi his crown medallion, something she had never seen him without since the day he had first received it. At the same time he had passed his not-so-insignificant magical powers to her, which bolstered her own. It was far time both were returned to him.
Riku followed her as she left the room after buckling her dagger on. The arrows would be useless in such a small environment, assuming she could even hit one of the others in the room. From what Riku had told her before she had finally succumbed to sleep, they had inhuman abilities that made them very difficult to defeat. Hopefully there would not be a fight, and if there was her magic would be enough to help Riku defeat them.
The one Riku had described as “Vincent” was by the door when she entered, deep in the shadows. Kairi shivered, feeling a dark presence besides the warrior’s intimidating one. Two men sat next to Sora’s bed, huge swords besides them. Their glowing eyes landed on her then switched to Riku who stood a bare pace behind. She they ignored, but her good friend was treated to a dose of unconcealed hostility.
She took her chance and walked over to the bed. She carefully put the medallion round Sora’s neck and placed her hand on top of his heart. The power surged out of Kairi, happy to return to its original owner. Surprisingly, the exchanged did not leave her exhausted. Must have gotten stronger than I thought. The past several years she had spent working diligently on her own abilities until she finally managed to find a way to open gates for the gummi ship and track down Riku and Sora seemed to have paid off. “Hey sleepy head, wake up! You’re being a lazy bum.” The words were teasing, but lacked some of their usual spark.
“Kairi – ”
Catching the warning tone in Riku’s voice, Kairi moved back away from the bed and followed her friend out of the room. Come back to us, Sora.
O ~ o ~ O
It seemed young Kairi’s brief visit was the turning point. From that moment on Cloud’s condition steadily improved, but at the same time a strange feeling fell around the house and all of those in it. Time seemed somehow more flexible, almost as if it was moving at a much slower pace than normal to accommodate Cloud’s slow recovery. As it was, Sephiroth was the only one in the room when the teen’s blue eyes finally opened. “Wha- ”
“Cloud.” Sephiroth moved closer to his lover, a bit hesitant. Bedside manners weren’t a usual part of a general’s training.
“Seph? I had the oddest dream.” Cloud murmured. He ran a hand through his blond hair and suddenly became aware he wasn’t wearing a thing – other than a very familiar medallion. “How? Kairi!” His fingers clenched the metal. “Kairi’s here, isn’t she?”
Sephiroth nodded shortly, hiding his annoyance that Cloud had immediately thought of his ‘old’ friend. “She’s asleep at the moment.”
“No wonder. It’s the middle of the night,” Cloud grumbled as he noticed the clock on the wall. “I feel like I could sleep for a week.” He glared at the former general. “What are you doing in that chair anyway?”
“Cloud –”
“I mean, the bed is small but it’s not that small.” Cloud continued right over Sephiroth’s objection. “And I know it can’t be the fact I don’t have any clothes on.”
The faintest smile graced Sephiroth’s face for a moment then he climbed into bed with Cloud. It was a tight fit, but being able to be physically holding his lover was far worth nearly hanging off the side of the bed. Apparently Cloud was thinking the same thing, because he shifted upward to give Sephiroth a long kiss. “Goodnight, Seph.” He settled in, cuddling against the silver haired man. Sephiroth tried to imitate Cloud’s contentment, but couldn’t become quite as relaxed.
For some reason, he couldn’t shake the feeling this was not – quite – the youth he had loved in Midgar, that something was wrong, different than before. With that unsettling thought the former general settled down for the night, hoping things would clear with morning’s light.
O ~ o ~ O
O ~ o ~ O
This universe is just fun to write in. I’m getting to experiment with all sorts of parts of the KH game playing system – speaking of which, there will be MINOR spoilers for KHII mechanics (drives, reaction commands, ect) though the plot will still be left out, along with all the new non-Disney characters (Disney ones may show up.) – and just generally writing for fun. Not nearly as much work goes into this as it does for Butterfly Effect, but that makes it a stress reliever!
I realize that Kadaj’n’Crew should have shown up with the circle and all that already, but we’ll pretend they were held up by a rampaging moogle wanting crazy items from them or something and deal with that next chapter. Behold the power of AU!
Unbetaed as normal. Let me know if you see anything wrong, especially you, Quela. :)
Pairing(s): Same as Bound, at the moment.
Rated: R (overall)
Previous Parts
Still don’t own the FFVII characters or the KH ones. And Bound doesn’t belong to me either.
Aerith smiled at her guest, happy to meet someone else who felt like family. Even with the recent discovery of Marlene’s heritage, the Cetra still found it hard to believe others like her – even if they weren’t her people precisely – existed. Her guest was actually older than she had thought, specifically in her early twenties. “So, you haven’t seen your friend for seven years?”
The young woman nodded. “I haven’t been able to leave my home until lately. I hope he’s okay.”
“I’m sure he is. The name isn’t familiar to me, but I’m sure you’ll find him. From what you’ve told me he isn’t likely to just fall apart, even if he does get in trouble. His name sounded vaguely Wutaian. It might – ”
A familiar presence interrupted Aerith. “Hurry, daughter. There isn’t much time left before he can no longer tolerate the power. And that might spell all of our ends.”
The young woman gasped as her mother’s spirit faded and stumbled to her feet, caught in a compulsion she could not break. “I’m sorry,” she managed to gasp, “I need to – ”
“Sora! Sora, he’s in trouble!” The woman cried, one hand over her heart. “We have to hurry. He won’t last long.”
Aerith stared at her guest. The Ancient hadn’t said what had happen so how had she known? “Kairi, how – ”
“Please, there’s no time!” Kairi interrupted. “He’s too close to dying as it is!”
Between the redhead’s request and the power pushing at her Aerith could spend no more time on words. She ran out of the house, Kairi right on her heels; the pair ignored Elmyra’s surprised calls of concern in favor of speed. Their feet pounded on the ground in an ominous counter point to their otherwise silent run, sounding almost like a clock proclaiming the hour.
Sounding like the slow countdown to death.
Finally they reached the outskirts of town. Once she was completely surrounded by open space Aerith feel to her knees, throwing her power down into earth below her. Guided by something she could not understand, the Cetra called the Lifestream upwards, commanding it to release its burden. It wasn’t easy work, nor was it particularly skilled, relying instead on sheer force of personality and will. It took all of her concentration, but slowly – too slowly! – a green light began to shine from the earth below her. Unfortunately, Aerith began to gray out as her energy rapidly diminished.
Small calloused hands settled on her shoulders and strength flowed into her. “I’ll help.”
With Kairi’s power Aerith managed to bring the Lifestream to the surface. The green liquid bubbled violently for a few minutes before a naked body appeared in its depths. Exhausted by her efforts, Aerith could only stare at it. Though looking rather white, Kairi kicked off her shoes and dove into the liquid, swimming swiftly to the body and dragging it ashore.
The young woman collapsed next to Aerith, breathing heavily. The Ancient glanced at her new friend, more than slightly worried at the effects the brief mako exposure would have on the young girl, then turned her gaze towards the body. It was the first time she had gotten to see Cloud free of Sephiroth’s form, but she was sure it was him, though Aerith couldn’t quite say why.
“Sora!”
Green eyes turned from the comatose figure in front of her to the one running towards the group. She stiffed when she saw the youth’s appearance, uncannily similar to Sephiroth’s. Could this be a clone? “Who are you?”
All eyes had turned to Riku after Sephiroth’s announcement. “Where. Is. He.” Zack demanded, hand reaching for the Buster Sword.
“I don’t know. We told you. We didn’t know what would happen when we transferred the keyblade,” Riku replied.
“Then I suggest you find out.” Vincent moved over towards Riku, golden claw glinting in the dim hotel light.
Riku’s fists tightened. “I’m just as worried as you are. Sora is my friend too!”
“Well then – Aerith?” Zack halted his advance towards Riku to glance out the window behind the clone-look-alike to see a pink clad figure running off towards the edge of town. “What’s going on?” Zack hesitated for a minute, torn between his girlfriend and the interrogation of the one person who might know what had happened to his dear friend. Then again, it wasn’t like there wasn’t anyone else who would happily do that interrogation for him. “I’m going after her. Can you guys take care of this?”
“Easily,” Sephiroth replied. Zack gave his friend a quick nod of thanks then bolted out the door.
“Hey, were did he go?” Reno asked. He gestured to where Riku had been a moment before. “He vanished!”
“That’s impossible. We didn’t take our eyes off of him,” Katal countered. They hadn’t, except for possibly a glance out the window or to blink. “He could not have escaped this room.”
“Well unless he’s hiding under the bed or something I think that might just be the case,” Reno muttered. “Now what?”
He was floating, thoughts scattered about in a pleasant sort of haze. Something – which felt too much like pain for his mental comfort – hovered at the very edge of his consciousness, but he was very happy to ignore it. He missed the “oneness” he had felt with something, before he entered this state, but he let the ache resulting from its vanishing fade away as well. He would be quite content to stay like this, yes.
“Cloud.”
Cloud? He knew what clouds were; they adorned the sky in the place he had been in before this. White and fluffy, dark and dangerous - two sides linked thought a natural progression.
“Cloud.”
The voice was sterner now, sounding slightly annoyed. He knew this voice, though he hadn’t heard it in a long time.
He…missed it?
“Cloud!”
Definitely irritated, though why someone would be shouting at things that didn’t exist in this world he didn’t know.
Unless they were talking to something else.
“Cloud Strife, don’t make me call you again!”
No, not at thing but a person. And not just any person –
Me. I’m Cloud.
Blue eyes opened slowly to stare at the blonde haired figure hovering over him. He knew her; it was just taking him a few minutes to remember…. “Mom?”
“Hello, sweetheart.” His mother crushed him in her arms, holding him tightly. “We don’t have much time. You can’t endure too much more of this; your body will collapse. Don’t worry though. Ifalna called for help. Soon you’ll be back in the world of the living.”
“I’m not so sure I want to go back,” Cloud mumbled, instinctively aware the pain would hit him the moment he left this comfortable bubble.
“Of course you do!” The elder Strife chastened. “Don’t you remember who you left up there?”
“Riku,” Cloud murmured, remembering his good friend who he had so recently found. “Zack, Vincent- ” His chest tightened. “Seph.”
“Take care of them, but especially him,” his mother ordered sternly. “There are few treasures as valuable as good friends – and true loves. Now, Aerith is starting the spell. Time to go!”
Riku opened the portal of darkness on the edge of town, trying to pinpoint the feeling he was getting. While it was certainly true that he didn’t know where Sora was, that didn’t mean he couldn’t find him. Riku had carried that keyblade for years, which resulted in an awareness of its presence. It was faint now, but he was sure he could find it. Just as well that Zack had been distracted by that “Aerith” which had given him just enough time to slip into the darkness. Once there none of the others had noticed him.
Ironic, but those who were touched by darkness often had a hard time seeing it themselves.
Riku didn’t rush, walking slowly as he tried to get a ‘fix’ on where the feeling was coming from. Not for the first time, he wished Kairi was with him. She would have been able to scry Sora’s location easily. Abruptly the feeling strengthened. He’s getting closer. The silver haired man broke into a jog, making for a green light on the horizon. He was close enough to see when someone pulled a family blond-haired figure from the water. “Sora!”
“Who are you?”
Riku ignored the brown haired woman’s question, intent on getting to his friend, only to receive quite a surprise. “Riku!” Kairi smiled and waved weakly. “You made it! Don’t worry, Aerith. He’s a friend.”
Riku watched the woman – who must be the “Aerith” Zack had seen – relax. She had to be a friend of Kairi’s. Speaking of whom… “Kairi? What are you doing here?” Riku skidded to a stop next to the two women.
“Looking for you of course,” Kairi replied. “Did you honestly think I was going to let you look for Sora by yourself?”
The faintest blush colored Riku’s cheeks. He had forgotten how persistent and single minded Kairi could be, not to mention her dedication to her friends; she was very much like Sora in those aspects. “But how did - ?”
“Aerith! Are you all right?”
“Zack?” The Ancient looked up at her boyfriend. “When did you get to Kalm?”
“Long story.” Zack shot Riku a sharp glance. “And what are you doing here?”
Riku ignored the SOLDIER and lifted Sora into his arms. “He’s lost weight.”
“Cloud?” Zack walked over to the youth, examining his appearance and the bubbling pool of Lifestream. “What happened?”
“He was in the Lifestream. I called him out. She helped.” Aerith explained shortly, as best as her exhaustion would allow, pointing at Kairi. “We need to get him someplace safe.”
“Cloud was in the Lifestream?” Zack asked in amazement. “You’re right. He’ll need help. He probably has Mako poisoning.” He reached for Cloud.
“No,” Riku snapped, holding the body closer to him. “Don’t you touch him.”
“You’re the one who did this to him in the first place!” Zack shot back.
“No way!” Kairi interjected. “Look, none of this would have ever happened if Sora didn’t feel like he had to come back here! He would have been happy with us!” She struggled to her feet and stood next to Riku. “Just leave him alone!”
“Zack, Kairi.” Aerith managed to stand, though she shook. Zack quickly wrapped an arm around her to help support her. “Cloud needs help and rest. We have to get him back to town as soon as we can. Arguing won’t help him get better, and every second we wait could mean -”
“Okay!” Zack surrendered. “Carry him back, but if anything happens to him – ”
“It won’t.” Riku promised. He turned to Kairi. “Can you walk back on your own?”
“I think so,” the Princess of Heart replied. “Though I’m going to go pretty slow. Don’t worry about me, I’ll catch up.”
Riku looked over her once then nodded. It wasn’t like she couldn’t take care of herself after all. “Let’s go.”
“To put it bluntly, Mrs. Gainsborough, I can’t believe this child is even alive.” The doctor packed away his instruments carefully by feel, eyes still fixated on Cloud in disbelief. “I’ve never seen anyone with such a high level of mako poisoning still living and not mutated. There is nothing I can do here, beyond giving him some drugs to keep him asleep and comfortable. If you took him to Midgar they might be able to help him recover, but even then it would be chancy, and unlikely that he would even survive the journey.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Elmyra said smoothly. She paid his fee and walked him to the door. The minute the man had vanished from sight, Zack, Sephiroth and Vincent appeared from various hiding spaces well within earshot. Sephiroth, now clad in ordinary pants and a simple shirt thanks to Aerith rather than Zack’s bathrobe, immediately moved to a chair next to Cloud’s bed, the Masamune placed in an easily accessible place as he sat. Vincent took up a position by the door, hand over his gun. Zack, however, turned to pacing.
“I can’t believe this! Cloud isn’t going to die!” The former first class SOLDIER snapped, anger in his eyes.
“Cloud’s dying?” All eyes turned towards the speaker. Marlene moved out of the shadows to stare at the figure on the bed. “Is it true?”
“He may still live,” Elmyra replied. “He is not worsening, and Aerith may be able to help him.” And you as well, she thought but did not say, well aware that those in the room did not know of the little girl’s heritage, nor did Marlene know that Aerith’s adopted mother knew it.
“And Kairi!” Marlene said. “Aerith said that she helped her get Cloud out, so maybe she can help heal him.”
“Maybe. Would you like to help me make some lunch for her? She’s probably hungry,” Elmyra suggested, subtly leading the girl out of the room. Despite Zack, Sephiroth and Reno’s protests, both Kairi and Riku had joined them in staying in the house Aerith and the former Avalanche members had relocated to after they left Midgar. Aerith’s comment had been rather simple: this was her house, and she decided who could stay. If they had a problem with that they could leave.
Sometimes Zack regretted the strength of spirit that had drawn him to Aerith. Not often, but sometimes.
“There is nothing we can do at the moment save wait. Stop yelling, Zackuri.” Vincent ordered. Contrary to usual behavior, Zack did, as all three settled in and watched the figure on the bed.
As Kairi woke up, she was aware of Riku’s watchful presence from a chair besides the bed. It was a comforting feeling, and one she had missed in the years during the trio’s separation. Hopefully, now that they were all together again, she would be able to enjoy both of her friend’s company. She sat up slowly, blinking. “Good morning, Riku.”
“More like evening,” Riku replied. “How are you feeling?”
“Better,” Kairi answered cheerfully. “I’m no where near full strength, but I think I’ll be okay.”
“Good.”
The Princess of Heart slipped out of bed and wandered over to a large bundle in the corner. She heaved the package onto the unmade bed, grateful no one had disturbed it during her sleep. Kairi unlaced the material and pulled out a long thin object. “Here. I think you could use this more than I could and I never really did get the hang of it.”
Riku took the object, a short sword, safely sheathed. He recognized the Malefic Impediment immediately by the elaborate handle and guard, done in ice blue and deep grays. The blade itself was etched with runes and blessed by every religion Riku had ever encountered during his time as the sword’s bearer, which had given the weapon an especially strong power against the forces of darkness. In length it greatly resembled the keyblade he had once used in Hollow Bastion, thus perfect for him to wield.
When Sora had given him the keyblade Riku had in turn left this with Kairi. Sword work wasn’t her strong suit, but it had been his hope she would grow into it. No such luck, it seemed.
Kairi then removed her own weapons. She had armor and various magical boosters from the moogles specially designed with her in mind, along with also sets for Sora and Riku, though whether or not they would actually fit would be anyone’s guess at this point. Her main weapons, however, were arrows. It had taken her a hard long year to become proficient enough with the bow to accompany Sora and Riku on their journey.
Only once before had she attempted to jump into a small battle involving some stronger heartless. It had almost been a disaster. A completely untrained civilian on the field, despite her intentions, had caused havoc on both sides. In the end both Sora and Riku were wounded in her defense. She had promised them that she would never do that again, and had returned to Hollow Bastion to receive training so that she could help her friends as they looked for a way to return to Destiny Islands.
Simply learning the weapon was difficult enough, but Kairi had discovered she had a knack for sorcery, and under Merlin and Lady Rinoa’s instruction, had become quite skilled in it. The arrows she now carried were carefully crafted and enchanted so that they could actually hold a spell and carry it to a target. Once she had gotten that trick down she had become quite an adversary herself. Combined with her limited skill with her long dagger for close combat, she was no pushover.
As long as she had her weapons anyway. If Sora hadn’t been so injured, both he and Riku would have given Kairi a long lecture about running out of the house without them.
Finally she removed one last item from the package, stuffing the unnecessary objects back inside along with more than a few potions. Her hands caressed the metal gently. After Riku had been lost to the darkness, she had given Sora her lucky charm. When the three had been forced to part, Sora had entrusted Riku with his keyblade and had given Kairi his crown medallion, something she had never seen him without since the day he had first received it. At the same time he had passed his not-so-insignificant magical powers to her, which bolstered her own. It was far time both were returned to him.
Riku followed her as she left the room after buckling her dagger on. The arrows would be useless in such a small environment, assuming she could even hit one of the others in the room. From what Riku had told her before she had finally succumbed to sleep, they had inhuman abilities that made them very difficult to defeat. Hopefully there would not be a fight, and if there was her magic would be enough to help Riku defeat them.
The one Riku had described as “Vincent” was by the door when she entered, deep in the shadows. Kairi shivered, feeling a dark presence besides the warrior’s intimidating one. Two men sat next to Sora’s bed, huge swords besides them. Their glowing eyes landed on her then switched to Riku who stood a bare pace behind. She they ignored, but her good friend was treated to a dose of unconcealed hostility.
She took her chance and walked over to the bed. She carefully put the medallion round Sora’s neck and placed her hand on top of his heart. The power surged out of Kairi, happy to return to its original owner. Surprisingly, the exchanged did not leave her exhausted. Must have gotten stronger than I thought. The past several years she had spent working diligently on her own abilities until she finally managed to find a way to open gates for the gummi ship and track down Riku and Sora seemed to have paid off. “Hey sleepy head, wake up! You’re being a lazy bum.” The words were teasing, but lacked some of their usual spark.
“Kairi – ”
Catching the warning tone in Riku’s voice, Kairi moved back away from the bed and followed her friend out of the room. Come back to us, Sora.
It seemed young Kairi’s brief visit was the turning point. From that moment on Cloud’s condition steadily improved, but at the same time a strange feeling fell around the house and all of those in it. Time seemed somehow more flexible, almost as if it was moving at a much slower pace than normal to accommodate Cloud’s slow recovery. As it was, Sephiroth was the only one in the room when the teen’s blue eyes finally opened. “Wha- ”
“Cloud.” Sephiroth moved closer to his lover, a bit hesitant. Bedside manners weren’t a usual part of a general’s training.
“Seph? I had the oddest dream.” Cloud murmured. He ran a hand through his blond hair and suddenly became aware he wasn’t wearing a thing – other than a very familiar medallion. “How? Kairi!” His fingers clenched the metal. “Kairi’s here, isn’t she?”
Sephiroth nodded shortly, hiding his annoyance that Cloud had immediately thought of his ‘old’ friend. “She’s asleep at the moment.”
“No wonder. It’s the middle of the night,” Cloud grumbled as he noticed the clock on the wall. “I feel like I could sleep for a week.” He glared at the former general. “What are you doing in that chair anyway?”
“Cloud –”
“I mean, the bed is small but it’s not that small.” Cloud continued right over Sephiroth’s objection. “And I know it can’t be the fact I don’t have any clothes on.”
The faintest smile graced Sephiroth’s face for a moment then he climbed into bed with Cloud. It was a tight fit, but being able to be physically holding his lover was far worth nearly hanging off the side of the bed. Apparently Cloud was thinking the same thing, because he shifted upward to give Sephiroth a long kiss. “Goodnight, Seph.” He settled in, cuddling against the silver haired man. Sephiroth tried to imitate Cloud’s contentment, but couldn’t become quite as relaxed.
For some reason, he couldn’t shake the feeling this was not – quite – the youth he had loved in Midgar, that something was wrong, different than before. With that unsettling thought the former general settled down for the night, hoping things would clear with morning’s light.
This universe is just fun to write in. I’m getting to experiment with all sorts of parts of the KH game playing system – speaking of which, there will be MINOR spoilers for KHII mechanics (drives, reaction commands, ect) though the plot will still be left out, along with all the new non-Disney characters (Disney ones may show up.) – and just generally writing for fun. Not nearly as much work goes into this as it does for Butterfly Effect, but that makes it a stress reliever!
I realize that Kadaj’n’Crew should have shown up with the circle and all that already, but we’ll pretend they were held up by a rampaging moogle wanting crazy items from them or something and deal with that next chapter. Behold the power of AU!
Unbetaed as normal. Let me know if you see anything wrong, especially you, Quela. :)
