Chasing Destiny

The World That Never Was

"It's quiet," Xion voices your thoughts in a near whisper, glancing around.

"Maybe they don't know we're here?" Reno suggests.

"No, they know. I'm sure some sort of alarm went off when we walked through that portal," Noctis points out, nodding back towards the alley where you appeared.

"Then why are they letting us walk through?" Sora asks.

"To lure us in," you mutter, pointing forward.

Small wisps of darkness are floating ahead before an oval portal appears, black and purple swirling together in a dangerous dance. A flash of silver appears before a knife flies through the air, embedding itself in Riku's side. He groans in pain, stumbling to the side until his shoulder collapses against the wall of the closest building. Yuffie runs forward, placing a hand on his abdomen as she studies the blade stuck in his side.

"Damn. I was shooting for one of the Key brats," Larxene laughs as she tosses back the hood of her coat, a gleaming smile on her pleased face. "Oh well. I guess an ex-creature of darkness works, too."

She ducks out of the way as Reno shoots his gun at her, barely dodging one of the lead bullets.

"You've gotta be faster!" she shrieks, disappearing in a poof of smoke.

Your eyes are still locked on Riku's shaking figure, who's crying out in pain as Yuffie pulls the knife from his body. Suddenly, something appears right in front of you, and before you can even blink you're kicked in the chest and sent flying backwards into the air.

"Too slow!" Larxene cackles as your head collides with a building, slumping down to the ground.

Your entire body is tingling with something more than crippling pain, and you clench your eyes shut. Electricity is flowing through you like poison, locking every joint. Someone places a hand on your shoulder, but you somehow manage to kick them away.

"I-I'm fine, just kill her!" you growl, still unable to open your eyes.

Your health means nothing if they're all defeated while worrying about you. Thankfully, your would-be savior can be heard running away, and you can only listen in agony as screams, clashes, and jeers ring through your ears. After almost a minute, the feeling starts to come back into your body. Your toes stop tingling, then your calves, your thighs... Eventually you're able to wiggle your fingers and open your eyes. Though your vision is blurry, you're just able to make out Larxene falling to the ground. You blink a few times and rub your eyes, a small smile growing on your face when you see Ven retracting his Keyblade from the back of her head.

"Pity," Axel muses dryly as he body starts to disappear into nothing. "I was hoping to be the one to kill her."

"Sorry," Ven apologizes sarcastically as you shakily pull yourself up to your feet.