A friend and I have been doing a RP for a while now, and it has been scattered across several threads on two different sites. It started as a group story (about fast food of all things ) but then it transformed into something else entirely.

 

We request that nobody join in this RP or post anything on this thread; if you wanna say how awesome we are, message us some other way.

 

Um...You're free to read this for fun if you want to, but this thread has major Birth By Sleep spoilers. And since we've been doing this for a while, we will probably refer to things we've done in the past and you will have no idea what we're talking about. So if you want to save yourself from confusion, then you probably wanna stay away. If not, hey, whatever.

 

The plot was discussed and posted on another website, but here's a quick summary of the whole thing: It's the return of Xehanort.

 

Characters:

Peanut: Sora, Namine, Leon, Aerith, King Mickey, Terra, Ventus, Xehanort, etc.

Forever Love: Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Yuffie, Aqua, Vanitus, Tron, etc.

 

I believe I've said everything that needs to be said...Forever Love, let's get this show on the road, eh?

"Did she save you with compassion, or did she do it for her own sake?" Riku asked, his eyes now closed as he thought this over. Did Etro know that Caius was going to come after her? And after seeing how Lightning did with handling the Fal'cie, recruit her to protect herself? Riku was suspicious in all this...as he usually was.

Lightning sighed. "I can't afford to think like that right now," she said, though she considered the possibility before. "My hand is forced right now. Either Caius dies, the world dies, or I die. So we need to figure out how to kill him without destroying the world in the process instead of figuring out Etro's intentions." She didn't like the situation, but that was how things were. She was more emotionally detached than she should have been.

"Right," Riku said lowly, not arguing. What was the point? Lightning was going to do what she wanted, anyway. He hadn't been in her life for the past year, or so it had been for her. She relied on herself for that long, and he doubted that was going to change now. She was different.

Lightning lowered her gaze to her lap. As long as Etro's heart beat within Caius, he'd continue living. But if they extracted it, then what? Would he die and Etro live on? How would they even go about taking the heart back? Ever since Etro and Lightning became one in a sense, she couldn't hear the goddess's voice. So she'd have to figure it out on her own. Unless Riku could help, which she didn't see happening right now. He was sulking too much.

Riku let the silence sink in, though he could tell it was an ugly one. Awkward, uncomfortable. He could get through it, but he wasn't happy this was happening when things were fine a few moments ago, back in the bedroom. He needed to go let out of some steam, but where?

Lightning stood up, summoning two blades to her hands and just looking at them. She thought maybe she'd be more comfortable using them for a little while still. Holding them now made her feel less emotionally attached. "For all we know, Caius could be lying," she said without looking at Riku. "Maybe stabbing the heart of Etro is a way of releasing it from a body. He'd die and Etro would live on." It was possible, sort of.

"The only way to do that without destroying the heart is by using a Keyblade," Riku said lowly, opening his eyes to look at Lightning. "I don't know how to extract hearts." Not yet, anyway. He was sure he could learn, but that would require leaving, and he wasn't sure how to do that here. He was sure he was stuck in Valhalla until a rift arrived.

Lightning nodded but felt more optimistic as she looked up at Riku. "But it's at least possible," she stated. They could extract the heart from Caius. No telling where it would go after that, but anywhere was better than it staying inside a man who wanted to turn the universe into a wretched place like this.

Riku nodded in agreement. The first place he assumed the heart would go was to Kingdom Hearts...or maybe a Heartless, if they were that unfortunate. Regardless, he was sure the heart would be safe in Kingdom Hearts even more. He was sure the entity would accept it, but they could never know for sure.

Lightning walked over to a window and looked out. "There has to be a gate out of Valhalla somewhere," she said. They just had to find it. She shut her eyes and felt an armor cover her body--Rose's armor, not the silver armor that Etro granted Lightning when she first met Caius. It was a little sad she was more comfortable with that persona than being herself anymore. "Or we trick him into making one. Either way, you need to find a teacher."

Riku looked over Lightning's--Rose's--armor briefly before her words caught on. "...The only person that we know who could extract hearts was Xehanort," he revealed. Master Yen Sid had told them as much. Xehanort was gone. In other words, Riku couldn't be taught.

"There's a ton of Keyblade wielders wandering around your realm," Lightning reminded him, turning around to face him. "Somebody aught to know. Or at least have an idea." And maybe Master Yen Sid was lying for some reason. She wasn't a big fan of the Keyblade master for some reason. She wondered if Master Eraqus knew...

"And you think I'm just going to leave you here," Riku assumed, not making it a question. He didn't want to do that, ever. He told Lightning he was with her the whole way, and now that he was here, he wasn't backing down. He would go find another Keyblade wielder who could teach him, but only if she came with. But was that even possible?

"It might be the only option," Lightning said gravely. Riku, despite what Caius said, could possibly be the one to kill him. To kill Caius and keep the heart beating at the same time...Riku would only be able to do it if he left and found a teacher. Obviously there weren't any Keyblade wielders here to teach him.

Riku looked away, realizing the truth in Lightning's words. "...And Serah?" he asked lowly. Would Lightning want him to bring her with? It wouldn't be a problem for him, since he wanted to protect her. But Serah would make a fuss.

"Serah needs to go home," Lightning declared. "She's not staying here." Riku saw the level of danger here. Every day you survived, it was a miracle. Somehow Lightning was able to fight Caius off for the past year. If she could just keep it up a little longer, then Riku could return and deal the final blow. He could end it.

Riku nodded slightly, lifting his eyes to Lightning before looking away again. He agreed. Serah needed to be with Snow, safe. She wouldn't like leaving Lightning behind, but it was just how it was meant to be. Riku accepted that for himself, even if he didn't like it.

"Finding a way out would be the first step," Lightning reasoned aloud, again looking to the window. "I'll search." She had to admit to herself that she still didn't feel completely alright from yesterday, but this was important. Even if time didn't flow normally in Valhalla, they had to get this done as soon as possible.

Riku shook his head immediately. "Don't be stupid," he told Lightning. He would be going out on his own. "I'll go." He didn't know his way around, but he would figure it out. He'd done enough wandering around in his lifetime; he would find his way back.

Lightning arched a brow. "I'm not being stupid. I'm being practical. I know Valhalla better than you do." She had been here a year after all. There hadn't been time for sight-seeing, obviously, but she still knew the city better than Riku did. And if things got overwhelming with Caius, she could teleport back like yesterday.

"And Caius is out to kill you," Riku stated lowly, taking a step toward the woman he loved. "You're asking to be attacked by running around out there." If Caius found her, it wouldn't be good. He knew Lightning had teleportation abilities, but was she even in any shape to use them?

"Just another day to me," Lightning said dryly. Just being in Valhalla was asking Caius to kill her. Existing was also prompting Caius to kill her. If she just stood by idly, that was going to be her life from now on. Sometimes risks needed to be taken, but she would take risks concerning her own well-being, not Riku's or Serah's.

Riku's gaze turned into a subtle glare, not at all pleased with the response he got. This wasn't supposed to be your life, he wanted to say. You were supposed to be safe! Happy! And you're acting like this is okay! It wasn't, not in any sort of way. Riku wanted this issue gone. Immediately.

Lightning caught Riku's look of fury and decided to remain silent. Go ahead and say it, she silently dared him. Go ahead and yell at me because I'm not the woman you love anymore. She knew that she wasn't the same; she knew that Riku was infuriated with how she handled the situation. But she had no choice with this. A drastic change was the only way to survive.

Riku lowered his gaze to the ground. "...Whatever," he mumbled, beginning to leave the room. He started upstairs, knowing that Serah trained up there before. He would do the same; he needed to blow off some steam. It was the only way he knew to take out his anger.