I LIVE! Not that this fic is popular or anything... I'm sorry for my absence folks, but I was on a roll with another one of my fics. Here I am though, updating some of my old ones. Enjoy!
Summary: AU. Sora has always found himself enchanted by the old temple. When he hears that no one's ever been inside and takes it upon himself to explore within, he finds out that the legend of the Keyblade is no mere myth, and history is about to repeat itself...
More Than A Legend
By FlikFreak
Chapter Thirteen: The Freeshooter
"Sir, the boy and his friend are nowhere to be found. We believe that the traitor may have hidden them."
"No, they are not hidden, Vexen. Roxas has taken them somewhere beyond the Corridor of Light, and Xigbar has followed them."
"The Corridor of Light…?"
"Yes. We cannot be sure when they will return, but that is of no importance. Are the preparations ready?"
"Almost, sir. We're putting the finishing touches on now, so to speak."
"Very good. Once you are through, send someone to check on the girls…"
Sora could hardly believe what he was witnessing. So many people he knew and had dealt with every day were his enemies. His history teacher, his math teacher, Riku's sensei… Larxene had been right. No one could be trusted.
A barrage of crossbow bolts snapped him from his daze and he jumped to the side, the other Sora with him and both Rikus on the other. More of the bolts came tearing through the air toward Sora, but there was no time to run. His counterpart leapt in front of him, summoning a shield of hexagons around both of them that lasted a hood half second. It sent the bullets going right back where they came from and prevented any harm from coming to the would-be victims.
Xigbar gave a yelp when he found his weapon being used against him and vanished, reappearing closer and standing upside-down in midair. "Clever little sneak," he grumbled. "You're as slippery here as you were at home."
"And you're as slow there as you were here!" The other Riku added, sending several blackened fireballs to Xigbar and knocking him back a few feet.
The former math teacher was quick to retaliate, sending an enormous, glowing projectile toward them. The other Sora was quick to react, parrying the strike with his keyblade and sending it slamming back into his opponent. Riku pitched in, hurling a sudden flurry of black fireballs at Xigbar. The other Riku did the same, and the sniper was knocked out of the air, falling to the ground with a loud gasp. Taking the chance, Sora made his way forward at an incredible speed, brandishing the keyblade and swatting aside any bullets that came his way. He leapt into the air, stabbing downward as he made his way to his enemy.
He didn't miss.
With a hoarse mutter, Xigbar sneered. "No wonder he chose you," he remarked, even as he began to fade away. "But you're nothing compared to Xemnas."
The other Sora approached, hands clenched and ready to make a threat, but he didn't have to. Xigbar said nothing more, and evaporated entirely. Once he was gone, Sora suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion, cued by shock and fatigue, fall over him and he fell to his knees. Why…why are they…
Roxas approached, biting his lip. "It shouldn't have come to this. If I had managed to divert them, they would never have-"
"It's not your fault," Sora insisted. "Don't beat yourself up over it."
"What're you going to do?" The other Sora asked.
Sora narrowed his eyes in determination. "I'm really not sure. If I take down the Seekers, then everyone will be safe. I guess that's what I have to do now."
"We can't go with you," Riku's counterpart said, crossing his arms. "It's against the rules, you could say. But we can wish you the best of luck."
Riku chuckled nervously. "We're going to need it."
The other Riku grinned. "By the way, can I have my bandanna back?"
"Oh…" Riku hurriedly took off the blindfold and gave it back to his counterpart. "Here. Sorry."
"Good luck to you too," The other Riku continued, smirking. "Say hi to Kairi for me."
Sora's jaw dropped. "Wh…there's a Kairi here, too?"
The other Sora looked away, biting his lip furiously. Riku grinned, tugging his friend along. "Come on. Let's go save the planet, then we can worry about that."
"But Kairi…"
"Come on, lover boy."
"What did you just call me?!"
Everyone began laughing – even Roxas – as Sora put on his best pouting face. This is so not fair. At all.
Kairi clutched the bars of her cell. At this point, she wasn't sure whether or not she should want to be taken out or left in. No one wanted to be captive in a place like this, but if those cloaked men were going to be using her…
Footsteps approached and Kairi scampered to the back of the cell. Naminé remained completely calm as a tall man stopped and quietly observed them. It took Kairi only moments to recognize the long, braided black hair and the sideburns…the narrow eyes… She blinked. "Mister Dilan?"
The man grinned. "Actually, it's Xaldin," he replied. "Are you enjoying your stay, Kairi?"
Kairi was shocked. "How…but you're…it's not…"
"Being a teacher was quite a hassle," Xaldin continued, scoffing, "But necessary if we were to accomplish our goals. We had just found a way around the barrier in the Temple of Light when your friend Sora took what we were searching for…and now he intends to use it against us."
"Sora?" Kairi echoed. "What are you going to do with him?"
Xaldin grinned. "Nothing yet. We will have to dispose of him eventually, however. And for that, we need bait. In other words…" he leaned in. "…you."
She backed away. No…he's in danger because of me…
"Oh don't worry. We won't hurt you. Just him. As for Naminé here…"
Naminé's expression stiffened, and she didn't say a word. Xaldin smirked before he walked off. "Enjoy your freedom while you can, ladies."
He calls this freedom? I have to get out of here…Sora, he'll…
"Don't worry," Naminé said, as though reading Kairi's thoughts. "Sora will be fine, and we'll get out, too."
"How do you know?" Kairi asked.
Naminé only smiled.
After a few last goodbyes, Roxas led Sora and Riku back through the Corridor of Light and into their original home world. The deserters were waiting for them in the cavern, but like before, they couldn't be noticed until the effects of the light wore off. Instead they sat near the door, careful not to upset too much dirt. Larxene was standing nearest to the entrance, kunai in one hand and a dirty glare toward outside in case anyone came in. Axel was leaning against the cavern wall, and Marluxia had crossed his arms and stood nearby. Zexion…Ienzo, Sora corrected himself…was sitting next to Demyx, whom was playing his Sitar. The meledy was soothing and calm, and he could hear the young man singing along.
"He always was good at that," Roxas mused quietly. Sora nodded in agreement.
Ienzo was the first to notice the effects of the corridor wearing off. Demyx followed his gaze and ceased playing. "You're back," The sitarist said. "How'd it go?"
Roxas scowled. "We had a run-in with Xigbar," he said plainly. "He's out of the way now."
"Where'd you take them, anyway?" Larxene asked.
Riku and Sora exchanged glances, and Roxas simply grinned. "Nowhere too unfamiliar."
Axel apparently knew what Roxas was referring to and snickered, but everyone else remained baffled.
"There are still other Seekers to worry about," Marluxia said, standing. "And Xemnas will be starting up the storm at any moment. We don't have time to chat."
Roxas gave a long sigh. "Time for me to get going, then."
"You can't be leaving!" Axel exclaimed. "I only just now got to see you again!"
"Yeah!" Sora chimed in. "Why do you have to go?"
Roxas closed his eyes. "I don't belong here anymore. I only stayed to help give you a push in the right direction." He turned. "However, I will leave you with a parting gift. Hopefully it'll be of some use to you." He held out his hand.
Sora hesitated, his fingers twitching when he stared at Roxas's offered palm. Tentatively, he reached out, swallowing nervously, and took the boy's hand. Immediately, he doubled over in shock.
Suddenly, Sora heard everything. The wood in the trees creaking outside, the wind in the tunnel, the grains of sand tumbling in the slight breeze, the other Deserters breathing (Demyx, however, was holding his breath and doing a pretty good job of it)…he even heard the sound of them blinking their eyes. Sora clutched his head for a moment; it was a bit much for him to take in within a split second. "Urgh…"
"Stop!" Someone cried. "You're overloading his senses!"
"Hang on. He's almost done."
And then Sora heard even more. Voices, countless voices crying out to him. He clamped his hands over his ears in attempt to stop them, but they only got louder. More voices came, some in tempting whispers, others crying out in pain, some whimpering in sorrow. The hum of voices softened after a few moments, all collecting into one unanimous plea for aid.
A plea that Sora had every intent of heeding.
Standing with difficulty, Sora rubbed his eyes and looked around to find that Roxas was nowhere to be seen. Riku placed a hand on his shoulder. "You okay?"
"Yeah," Sora replied. "Just kinda took me by surprise. Where's Roxas?"
"Gone," Ienzo replied. "He used the last of his power to give you what he could."
Sora bit his lip. All that for him…did this responsibility really rest on his shoulders? Suddenly everything seemed so surreal to him, and he had to hold his head for a moment to gather his thoughts. What should I do? He began to wonder. What can I do?
He was answered by a roar of thunder from outside. Attention caught, Sora raced out of the cave, followed closely by Riku and the other Deserters. In the sky was a large sphere crackling with dark energy, an empty light swirling within it. The voices cried out in Sora's heart, pleading him all the more urgently. It was then that he knew what he had to do.
"You ready?" Axel asked, summoning his chakrams in a burst of flame.
Sora tightened his grip on the keyblade. "It's now or never. Let's go."