Tainted Eyes

Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy is owned by Square Enix.
Warning: This chapter is extremely tame compared to the others. Brief sexual situations and violence.

Tainted Eyes: part X: Valentine

The creature sat in the shadows, not moving a muscle. Fortunately for him, this palace was very dark, and the halls were very large. There were many places for him to hide himself. They would soon know that he had escaped from his prison. He ran ahead of the others to scout things out, and they had been captured once more. But the guards failed to noticed that he was missing at that time. But soon they would know, because Livion would tell them. Livion knew all that went on in this castle.

The creature ducked down this hall and that, taking in whatever he could so that he could use it to hivantvantage later. He found dining rooms and sitting rooms, torture rooms and dungeons, luxury rooms for the ones who lived there and prison rooms that mocked luxury. And after what seemed like hours of searching and hiding, he came upon a group of guards carrying food trays.

Refilling the cold storages and food closets, the creature thought to himself.

He crept through the shadows, following the guards, his massive form swelling with each breath. He was like a large shadow himself, and he effortlessly moved up the wall and walked along the ceiling. He watched what was going on below him as they punched in a code on the keypad near the door and entered the room. Two men went to fill the food storages for thesonesoners, and one stood by the door in case the prisoners inside tried to escape.

The creature got as close as he could without being detected, and he watched and listened.

"Stay strong boy," laughed the man at the door. "Wouldn't want you passing out on us again."

"Not that it stopped us from fucking your brains out," laughed one of the men inside the room. “Haven’t had one that tight in a while.”

"Hey, we have some time off don't we?" smirked the man at the door. "Lock the other doors so his little friend doesn't get in the way. Or on second thought, maybe he'd like to join?"

The creature heard the sound of shuffling inside the room.

"Don't fight it, kid. It'll only hurt more!" laughed one of the men inside. "You'll learn to like it like the whore you are. Spread those cheeks wide! We‘ll play a little game. If you cry out, we take your friend too!"

Kid?thought the creature. Those bastards don't care who they take. A child is no more or less innocent than an adult. But....

A clawed hand fell upon the man at the door as the creature let his body drop from the ceiling. The man was strong, but he soon found the creature's arm impaling his body, shooting straight through his chest. The man's body convulsed even in deas ths the arm left his body. The creature looked into the room to see the two remaining men. One of them was on the bed, holding a boy down and trying to rip his clothes off. The other was enjoying the view. But when both caught sight of the creature who stepped through the door they immediately approached him with fear, sinking to their knees and begging forgiveness.

"Forgive us, master! We didn't mean to take what was yours!" one of them cried out.

Ais mis moment another boy... one with spiky brown hair ran into the room. He too caught sight of the creature, and his eyes held terror. The creature watched as he ran to check the first boy's condition.

"Leave this room. Go about your duties and speak not a word of this," the creature said to the cowering two men.

And they took off, running down the hall and leaving the door wide open. The creature observed the two boys, stepping closer to them. At the same time the boy who had been attacked slid off of the bed. He was older and taller than the creature had thought he would be. He was dressed all in white... white kahkis, a white t-shirt. And this whole room was white and silver. The creature assumed that this one was Livion's pure one... the one Livion craved to corrupt. The boy showed no fear when he looked up, and he walked over and turned the lights up as high as he could. Now they could both see each other. The boy saw the creature... a demon. It was hairless and had large bat-like wings to go with it's enormous body. Still, the boy showed no fear in his eyes.

"Is this him?!" yelled the other boy, who wasn't half as calm about seeing a demon in the room. "Is this Livion or one of the others in demon form?!"

The brown-haired boy dressed in blood red ran in front of his friend, determined to protect him. "He's not going with you this time! Got it?!"

"Never think to compare me to that evil one again," growled the monster in a deep, eerie voice.

But the boy in white stood calmly. Too calm. The creature narrowed his eyes on the silver-haired boy. There was something about him.... Something familiar. But he no longer hand time to think. He suddenly felt pain shoot up his spine and his body tingled from head to toe.

"I've stayed like this too long," he muttered to himself. "My strength is leaving me...."

The boys watched as the demon seemed to shrink. It looked worn and tired, and it groaned in pain. It's skin slowly started to pale in color... from a dark obsidian to a pale white. Long black hair started to flow from the demon's head, and it's bulky body shrank down to form a strong, tall, lean human figure. The man sank to his knees and shuddered under the pain. The creature now looked completely human, except for his unusual red eyes. He was clothed only with a golden claw that made up one of his hands. He had an eerie beauty to him, a wicked grace, and a certain darkness. No wonder he reminded the two of Livion.

"This isn't Livion. And it isn't one of the other three. This is someone new," said the silver-haired boy calmly.

"Vincent..." muttered the man. "My name is Vincent.... I am not one of them. I am a prisoner here, the same as you. The men only believed that I was one of Livion's kind because I could transform."

The two boys looked at each other curiously, and soon the silver-haired one brought the silvery blanket from his bed and wrapped it around Vincent.

w dow do we know we can believe you?" asked the brown-haired boy, more to his friend that to Vincent, obviously wondering how his friend could be so trusting.

"You don't," Vincent snapped back sternly, "This will take trust. Something I cannot say I possess myself. But for the time being we will assume that what I say is true. We will also assume that the best course of action is to leave through the door that has been left wide open."

The silver-haired one looked to his friend. "Let's leave."

"But--"

"The door is open, Sora. Now we can go to the outside! He could be lying, but at least we'll be out. But I don't think he's lying because his eyes don't hold the darkness that has everyone else here. And he just saved me. So let's go!"

"What is your name?" Vincent asked, looking to the silver-haired one.

"Riku," he said, flashing his sea-green eyes towards Vincent before pointing to the closet. "You might want to put something on."

~~~~~~~~

The guards moved the prisoners through the hallways, all the way back to their rooms. Some of the guards were amazed at how far the prisoners had run. When they came to the final hallway they found the guard who had come to refill their food storages. He had been stupid enough to enter alone, and now he was dead... his neck broken.

The head of this group of guards kicked the body aside in order to push the prisoners into one of the rooms.

"Make sure all of the doors to the hallway are secure. Are they all accounted for?" he called out.

The other men examined the group.

"One woman, two men. One of the men is missing, sir."

"I only recall one woman and two men," said another guard.

"I thought I saw either Lord Livion or one of the other lords come here a lot."

"That was probably what you saw then. I only recall three peo We We would have seen a forth."

And with that, they pushed the three prisoners into a room and locked the door behind them. They all stood up, staring at the door.

"He's out," came the sweet voice from the young women. "Vincent made it out."

~~~~~~~~

After dragging the body of the man that Vincent impaled from the doorway to the shadows of a dark hall, the three made their way through the castle, walking only in the shadows of unpopulated halls. All of them were wearing white clothes from the closet in Riku's room. Vincent thought itld bld be wise to dress in the least distracting color that the two boys had. White and red were the worst of choices, but a decision had to be made. After an eternity of creeping, ducking, crawling, and hiding, they found a hall that looked familiar to Vincent.

"My group is here," he whispered. "You two stay in these shadows. I'm going to go ahead to see what the code is for their rooms."

"I thought your body was too weak from the last time you transformed," whispered Sora.

"We have no other options," replied Vincent and he stood up.

The boys watched from the shadows as he cautiously made his way to one of the doors and knocked. He looked around to make sure no one was coming before knocking again. There was a pattern to his knock... some secret rhythm that would be hard to copy. He then backed up and started to transform. His body slowly started to change into the demon Riku and Sora saw before. Before the transformation was complete he walked up the wall and made his way to the dark, extremely tall ceiling of the hallway. No one could see his larigurigure unless they looked very hard.

Tense moments later, three of Livion's large guards came down the hall.

"Didn't we just feed this group?" muttered one of them. "Why are they asking for food again?"

"I guess the previous guy didn't get all the food in before they killed him," smirked another. " nee need to stop sending in the small guys."

The guards typed in a code on the keypad near the door. Soon the door flew open and the men walked in to drop off the food. They left as quickly as they had come, since they were not as stupid as the ones who had visited Riku's room. Long after they left, Vincent descended, changing back into his human form. His were clothes rippedshreshreds from the change and were barely hanging on him. He looked as though he would pass out at any moment. He motioned from the two teens to join him in front of the door. Without saying a word he entered the code he had watched the men punch in.

The door opened!

Vincent rushed through the door, looking as though he was prepared to fight. He stood up straight when he found no attack.

"We knew you'd be in shortly after them," giggled the girl in the room. "So we didn't plan an attack this time."

Vincent only nodded and collapsed into a chair, exhausted. Riku and Sora slowly walked in after him, much to the group's surprise.

"Hello," smiled Sora.

"Hey," nodded Riku.

"Oh my! Look at who you've brought!" smiled the girl who spoke before. She was a lovely girl, with smiling blue eyes and long brown hair that was tied back with a pink bow to match her sugar pink dress. It was form fitting, and she wore brown boots. She looked so gentle, but her outfit spoke of someone who was on the move as well as someone who was girlish.

"My name is Aeris," she said smiling.

"Squall," said a tall young man as he approached them. There was something very distant... and almost cold about him. He wore a lot of black, with many silver zippers and buckles. It was dark attire, except for his white shirt under the black jacket, and the print of two red angel wings on the back of the jacket. He had a long scar across his face, that crossed the bridge of his nose from forehead to cheek.

"What will we do about this door?" he asked. "Do we stay here and rot, or go now?"

"Where do we go?" asked Aeris.

"We--" Squall looked up and focused his attention on the young man dressed in gray who walked in from a connected bedroom. He stood in the doorway, staring at the two boys.

"Cloud," Aeris said. "This is Sora, and that's Riku."

Cloud approached the two boys, his blonde hair catching the flicker of candles and lanterns in the room. His blue eyes held a certain fire in them. He stopped not far from Riku, his eyes staring into him.

"He just looks a little like him," Vincent said to Cloud. "There isn't as much of a resemblance as your eyes are leading you to believe at this moment."

"I looked twice as well," added Aeris. "Only to realize that the combination of silver hair and green eyes isn't common. That is the only reason they seem to look alike."

"Who is 'he'?" asked Riku, glancing to Aeris, who seemed the most friendly. “Who do I look like?”

Cloud shook his head and headed for the door. "Let's go."

They got up, intending to follow Cloud, but he stopped in the doorway. He backed up a bit to let someone pass. "A third?" he muttered.

"No," said the familiar red-head as she walked into the room. "I am not with them."

"Kairi!" exclaimed Sora, who felt the need to jump in front of Riku.

Aeris looked to Vincent curiously "H "He does that a lot," Vincent said softly.

Kairi walked over to Sora and ran her fingers through his hair gently. She wore a light black dress that hugged her thin figure. She looked like an angel bringing death. Sora pushed her hand away immediately, glaring into her eyes.

"Oh Sora," Kairi smirked, "Did you really think that Livion didn't know you three were running around in the shadows?"

Sora swallowed hard and looked back at Riku, who held no emotion on his face as he looked at Kairi. Kairi grinned as she looked around at the others.

"Kairi, would you open your eyes! You'll be happier with us!" Sora yelled.

"Livion makes me happy. He can hear my thoughts even now. If I call for him now, he will come for you."

"You like being his puppet?!"

"I like being his princess."

Sora was about to say more, when Cloud walked over and swiftly punched Kairi in the midsection when she turned curiously to see his approach. She fell unconscious, and Cloud caught her before she fell to the floor. He put her on the bed and turned around to face the others, who looked at him wide-eyed.

"What?" he asked as if nothing had happened.

"Shouldn't you have asked her to be quiet first?" Vincent murmured.

"That doesn't silence dark thoughts."

"Neither do nightmares," Squall said, more to himself than to Cloud. "But that was the best course of action."

A cold shadow fell across the room, bringing a chill with it. Riku shivered at the familiar feeling.

"It would have been the best course... had he moved a little faster," came the deep voice from the doorway.

A knot held in Riku's stomach and fear shot up his spine. He thought he felt the pain of torture all over again, but was too paralyzed to do anything. He turned to see the dark void-like eyes staring at him from the doorway. Livion took a step inside, smiling darkly.

"You two are not in your rooms," Livion said, directing his voice to Riku and Sora, but looking at Vincent. "I am displeased by that."

Vincent didn't move or flinch as Livion approached him. He stared into the dark eyes as Livion's cold hand landed on his shoulder, squeezing roughly. Cloud and Squall tried to inch closer, but found themselves paralyzed by some dark power.

The others with powers like Livion are close, thought Riku.

"You two shall stay where you are," Livion commanded, glaring at the two paralyzed young men. "As for you, dear Vincent Valentine, you must be punished for your behavior."

"No!" cried Sora. "We didn't have to follow him!"

"Let him go," Riku said forcefully.

"Vincent is not bound by the same rules as your fallen friends or Sora. You cannot take his place," smirked Livion.

"If rules meant anything to you my friends would still be alive!" Riku yelled, approaching without fear.

Aeris ran to Riku, holding him back. "No, please!" she whispered in his ear.

"Just take me and get it over with. I have already been through hell, and I fear no evil from you," Vincent said calmly. "I have wronged you and will accept my punishment as is just."

Livion smirked and turned to Vincent, but suddenly he felt a hand wrap around his wrist. He turned back to see Riku staring into his eyes with anger and disgust... and the same determination. He held forcefully to Livion, his eyes speaking a thousand words.

"Riku--" Vincent began, but Livion lifted a hand and touched Vincent gently. Aeris cried out as Vincent began to tremble, then convulse violently. His eyes rolled back and he fell to the floor, and the others saw sparks before he stopped moving altogether.

"A lightning spell!" cried Aeris.

She ran past Livion and knelt down to check on Vincent. But soon the other two young men were affected as well. Squall started to shiver violently, and frost touched his clothes and hair. Cloud broke into a sweat and groaned in pain, his skin becoming more and more flushed. Aeris was not spared either, as she felt a forcing pulling her to the floor, nearly crushing her with it's immense power. Groans of pain and tortured cries filled the air.

"STOP!" yelled Riku. He opened his eyes wide as Livion's eyes fell on Sora.

Sora stood there, waiting for the attack. When none came, he searched the black hole eyes for an answer.

"If you stop," Sora said, his voice shaking, "I'll go with you."

Livion smirked, then laughed darkly. The others stopped writhing in pain instantly, falling unconscious. Riku shook his head slowly, his sea-green eyes fixed on Sora. Sora couldn't read the look in his friend's eyes. There was pain... a lot of pain. Riku suddenly tried to grab on to Sora, intending to die before he let his friend go through what he went through. And even in death he had no intention of letting Sora go. But Sora backed away from him, averting his gaze as he did so.

"I'll be back," he whispered, "I promise...."

"NO!" Riku yelled as he charged Livion, but the sting of something caught his neck, and he found his energy drained. He fell against Livion, but didn't fall far.

"You won't... take him.... Never...." Riku gasped as the drug took hold. "Never...." He clung to Livion's cloak, his body slowly slumping to the floor. "I'll do... anyth--"

Sora watched as Riku collapsed to the floor, the powerful drug having taken it's full hold. He glared hatefully at Kairi, who held the small needle in her hand, grinning at her work. She drugged him... she is was helping Livion.... Sora hated her.

"It is also my sleep spell that holds the others," smirked Kairi, as if reading Sora's expression. "I needed something more lasting and painful for Riku."

Kairi laughed darkly at Sora as she left the room. Livion moved closer to him and smiled as he stared down at the boy.

"Let us go," Livion said, placing a freezing hand on Sora's cheek.

Sora jumped, nearly startled to death as Riku's hand shot out and grabbed Livion's ankle. Livion looked surprised as well, and he wondered how anyone could still move after taking the drug. Riku's grip tightened as he lay there on the floor, breathing heavily.

"Ne...ver...." he muttered very softly.

"Riku, I--" Sora began, his heart aching.

"He's unconscious," Livion said, kicking Riku's hand away. His arm fell limp.

Livion headed for the door and Sora slowly followed, looking back only once to his most treasured friend. The self-sacrificing friend with the passionate sea-green eyes… and the silver hair that caught the wind and sunlight. Sora looked…

...Feeling deep down that this look would be his last....

~*~*~*To be continued*~*~*~