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Shadows of Birth Prologue Part 2: Friends till the end

I tried to help, you can say no different...

"Stephen!" Waking up with a start, Consus sat up swiftly and tried to look around. Let alone not being able to see, he soon felt a sharp pain in his back and almost buckled-up. He heard a voice to his right, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. After a moment, the pain slowly settled and both vision and hearing started to return.

"You alright? I mean, I know every one is a bit rough when they first wake up, but man you looked like you had one hell of a ride."

Shaking his head, Consus finally cleared the clouds from his eyes and looked around. He noticed he was in a dimly lit alley, surrounded by several tall buildings. Turning to his right, he saw a shorter male with blonde hair that was pulled back in a rat-tail fashion. Just as he was about to reply, he notices something behind the legs of the new person and saw it was a long tail. "Yeah, you can say that... Where am I?"

The boy with the monkey tail gave a laugh, "Guess you are really just like the rest of um. To tell you the truth, you're better off not knowing where you are."

Giving an odd look, Consus soon attempted to stand, but once he was on his feet he started to black out again. He fell back to one knee and started to breathe heavily. "...Man, fighting takes a lot more out of you when you actually have a target to get rid of." Before he knew it, he felt as the new human-like creature helped him off of the ground and onto his feet.

"We need to get you to the base before you pass out again. Selphie will be glad that I'm bringing a new guest."

Mind in a complete daze, Consus found himself now standing in front of a large silver door in front of a black building. There were no windows and it seemed like this was the only entrance to the place. Once his helper used something on the door, it opened up and they both stepped inside. Taking a look around, Consus was shocked when he saw it looked pretty close to what was the modern home on Perin. There were quite a few different things he didn't recognize, but right now that was the least of his worries.

"Wow Zidane, where'd you find this guy? You look quite rough right now. The name's Selphie!" Almost out of nowhere, the form of a girl appeared in front of him. She was wearing a plain yellow shirt and blue pants. Her brown hair helped emphasis her blue eyes in the lighting of the room.

"...What does it matter? It's not like names are going to change anything. I have to find out how to get back home."

Selphie's expression turned from happy to grim. "You're not going anywhere until you recover. I can tell just by looking at you that you've got a few broken bones. I just wish I knew something about how to fix the wings."

Consus was about ready to protest, but he wasn't in the mood to fight with anyone. "...Alright, but if I stay, I hope to get some answers. My name is Consus."

Zidane smiled, "Yeah, we'll answer what we can, Consus. Just be sure to show me your Keyblade again before we get into too much."

Staring at Zidane in shock, the half-dragon couldn't believe what he just heard. "Wait, you know about it? But how...?"

"It was in your left hand when I first found you. It disappeared almost as soon as you woke up. It looked like one of the most wicked Keyblade's I've ever seen."

"If you know about my weapon, do you know anything about the mysterious creatures that attacked my home? They-"

"Black shadows that made you feel hopeless? Yeah, we know all about them." Selphie chimed in, bringing up a couple of chairs. "Looks like we have a lot of explaining to do. You might as well sit down so I can look at the damage you took. I just wish Arith was here too, she would be able to patch you up in no time.

Zidane leaned against the wall, propping his leg up against it and crossing his arms. "'Keep in parties of two. It's much safer, though I'll go it all alone.' You know Squa-I mean, Leon. Damn! Why did he have to go and change his name on us?!"

Selphie let out a laugh where as Consus sat confused. He just wanted to figure out what was going on, but these two wanted to take the long way to give him the information. He watched as the girl finally sat in the chair beside him and slowly forced him to stretch out his left wing. He held back a cry of pain as she slowly moved it back and forth, and was releved when she stopped. "Seems like the outer fingers are all broken. I'll have to see what I can do to wrap those. While I'm working on Consus, Zidane, make yourself useful and make us some food. My guess is that meat would be best."

Giving the girl an annoyed glance, the thief let out a sigh as he pushed himself off the wall and started walking into a hallway. "Fine, but be warned, my cooking is worse than yours."

Tossing Zidane a glare, Selphie reached over and started to examine the right wing. "Damn bastard, making fun of my cooking. I'll show him..."

Letting out a sigh, Consus didn't know whether to be happy to be alive, or wishing he was still stuck in that alley by himself.

"Well, you really proved it. I guess my cooking is better than yours." Selphie held her nose as Zidane presented his dish to them. "Man, this really stinks! It smells like rotten fish, what did you make it out of?"

"Oh this is my specialty. It may smell rancid, but Goshyl Pickles are the best. I used them as a puree on the behemoth steak we got. I guess a bit of the kitchens in Alexandria got into me."

"Eww... I don't think I'm gonna have any. I lost my appetite just from that smell."

Zidane let out a small grunt. "Fine, more for me and Consus then." Setting a plate down on the table in front of the half-dragon, Zidane smiled as he saw his nose twitch at the awful scent. "Don't mind the smell, trust me. It tastes great!" Setting down his own plate, Zidane soon began to cut into the large slice of meat smothered in a light green sause.

"No, it smells real good. Then again, all I can smell is the meat right now."

Staring blankly at the drake, Zidane took a bite of the meat and was lost in the flavor instantly. "Mmm... Yeah, you've got to have a lot of talents like that. You are a dragon, after all. Don't let it get cold. Eat up, man."

With a nod, Consus picked up the silverware on the table for a moment. Not only was he not used to company, but he had never truly learned how to use such thing since the humans frowned upon it. Looking at the fork and knife, he sighed as he set them down and just grabbed the meat in his hands and took a bite. He was surprised by the rush of flavor the sauce actually provided. The meat was real tender, but just melted in his mouth. Just buy instinct, he began to quickly devour the steak, just getting odd looks from his hosts.

"I think he likes it... Maybe. Either that, or he was starved to death on his planet before it was destroyed." Quickly covering her hands over her mouth, realizing what she had said, Selphie stared at Consus as he swallowed the meat in his mouth and set down the small piece that was left. "Too soon?"

Zidane let out a sigh and passed Consus over a cloth. "Yeah, haven't gotten that far yet."

Selphie sighed and looked down at the ground, "Damn, I always ruin moments just like this. I'm sorry..."

Consus had finished wiping off his face and gazed at the sad girl. This was the first time he had seen someone actually feel bad for him for something. He didn't know what to do or say. "...It's alright. I just want to know what's going on and you seem to know a lot I don't. I expected Perin to be destroyed with that attack... I felt it in my heart that it was gone."

Zidane gave a nod. "Well, certainly the best survivor so far to take the home planet part well. Most of the time they go crazy for days, hell, even weeks."

Selphie kicked the side of Zidane's leg. "You're not helping!"

Consus couldn't help but to crack a smile. They reminded him of a pair of kids he once saw fighting over a wooden doll in Threo. Once Zidane saw the smirk he smiled wide. "Ha! He does live! I knew this one would have a sense of humor, I could feel it!"

Consus crossed his arms and looked across the table at the only two people he could have ever called friends. "Yeah, still not too sure on the alive part, but I think I've got everything. Let me just... Awe damn, I forgot my sanity in Perin. Guess I have to live without it."

"You're still awake? You really need to get some sleep, man." Walking up to the open door, Zidane stared at the half-elf in the chair staring out it.

"I'm just thinking. Just so used to being alone, I guess I just do things the way I always have."

Pulling up a chair, Zidane smiled as he sat down in it, crossing his arms on the back piece and staring out the window himself. "Yeah, I know that feeling. Now knowing about the Heartless and how they act, I'm usually alone myself when it comes to missions. Leon likes my stealth, I guess."

"The Heartless... What are they exactly? I mean, you said the shadows of our hearts, but what does that even mean?"

Nodding, Zidane stood up again. "Want to know more about them, huh? Don't blame you, but first you will need to learn more about your weapon. You know all that is needed about Heartless for now, but the Keyblade is much more complex."

Consus' gaze lowered from the lights of the city streets. "...Yeah, I haven't been able to make it appear again since I was on Perin."

Zidane looked at him confused. "Really? That could be a problem... Well, even though you can't wield it yet, you need to know some of the power of the weapon. You see, the Keyblade has one main purpose, which is to unlock hearts."

"Unlock them? Like how?"

"...I'm not too sure. This is really all I've heard from Leon and Cloud about the blade. I never figured I would have to help train a Keyblade master like they did, but I guess I had no decision on that." Zidane watched as Consus gave a frown. "Awe, come on now, I didn't mean it like that. Trust me, it was getting quite dull here. Being on sentry duty is do boring."

"No, I'm not upset. You said Keyblade Master, but I was called something different."

"'You were called?' Oh, the awakening? What did it say?"

"Keyblade Deathbringer."

Zidane stayed silent for a moment. He stared at the drake for a moment before pushing his chair away and shutting the door. "You need to get some sleep. We'll start tomorrow."

"Start what? Are you smiling?"

"Yeah, I guess I am. You better get ready, you've got a lot of training to do."

Having spent a few weeks at the base, Consus was starting to get the hang of actual hand-to-hand combat. Everyday since his talk with Zidane, six hours a day was spent between Zidane, Selphie, and himself in a special room to help him train for when he had to battle the Heartless. In this time, he had really opened up to them and shared what he went through on Perin and they showed that they cared. This helped make him stronger, but made him want to find out why the Heartless truly wanted him.

"You better pay attention, or I'm gonna beat you!"

Looking up, Consus watched as Zidane's blade flew his way. He moved over to his left and caught the attached blades in his hand. "What are you doing? You never throw this thing."

"That's a spare pair I had. I want you to have them. You've been doing very well bare handed and with magic. The fact that you can catch blades in mid-strike suprises the hell out of me. Since you still cannot wield your Keyblade, you will need a weapon. We need to report to Leon soon and you're going to come with us to meet him. We'll most likely be leaving in the next two weeks, so we need to get you prepared by then."

Looking down at the duel-blades, Consus did notice they were different than the one's Zidane used, but the design was quite similer. The blades were completely black with yellow trim and a blue hilt on each blade. He held the hilts in his hands and split the weapon apart, swinging both blades ahead of him. "You ready for the toughest fight of your life, Zidane?"

He returned the smile and he drew his daggers from their hilts. "You're a long ways away before you come close to my worst nightmares."

Before Consus knew it, Zidane had dashed forward and did a slashing uppercut, which he barely avoided. Once the monkey was in the air, he slashed down at the dragon furiously with several quick strikes. Now actually having blades to parry the attacks actually helped Consus out. When he had caught Zidane's blades before, it required precision. This he had almost a full arms length more and could figure out a counter. Zidane seemed to keep repeating the same three slash combo, so Consus found a way to lock one of Zidane's blades and countered with a slash to his open area. Zidane was just inches from the blades strike, which truly surprised Consus. "Awe, my blades are shorter than yours!"

"Honestly, that's why I gave them to you." He said with a laugh. He then realized that he was just hanging in the air, being held up buy the blade-lock Consus made. "Well, I can do one of two things. First, I could blast ya with magic or second, take your weapons away. Which should I do?"

"I fully believe the first thing, but I dare you to try and disarm me!" Consus began to push off Zidane, but his friend quickly flipped his blade forward, ripping his left weapon away. As he swiped that away with his right hand, he used his left to disarm Consus' right. He then pointed a blade at Consus' heart as he landed on the ground. "What do you do now? Just so you know, I will attack. You have three seconds."

"Wha-"

"Two."

Consus watched Zidane pull back his blades and get in position.

"One."

As Zidane jumped forward, Consus let out a yell as he stretched his arms forward to block the attack. As Zidane's blades came inches from Consus' skin, Bloodlust and the silver sword appeared in his hands to block the attack. With the force of the blow, the sword shattered and Consus was knocked aside. As the drake recovered, Zidane stood motionless and just stared at him. "So that's what the Keyblade Deathbringer is... Consus, I'm sorry you have come across such a painful destiny." His eyes went wide as his friend's craze took over. He could see in his eyes that the elf wanted to kill. The Keyblade had him now, he wasn't Consus. "You need to fight it. I will help you on the outside, but you are the only one who can surpress the Keyblade's power! Don't give- whoa!" Jumping to the side, Zidane avoided the remaining hilt of the silver sword from the tainted body of Consus. "...Fine, I'll play hardball."

No... I don't want to fight you...

He watched as Bloodlust was positioned across his chest as he dashed forward. Zidane looked ready to block, but Consus faked him out and kicked him to the side, slapping him with his tail in his face on the turn. Zidane was quick on his feet, but Consus had taken to the air and already had his strategy in mind he could see what he was going to do before his friend would even have time to react.

No, I cant let this happen...

He dashed behind Zidane as he was recovering and held his blade forward as he wrapped his open right arm around the upper chest and placed the blade's edge just above his friend's throat. Consus was about ready to burst inside. He tried as hard as he could and held himself in position. He noticed Zidane slightly struggle in his grasp as he watched a drop of blood trickle from down his neck and onto the blade.

"Consus... You can control it. You are not alone..."

For a moment, Consus wondered if he was going to go through with it, but as he began to think, he realized that he himself could move his arms. He drew away the blade and released his friend, who fell onto the hard floor. "...I'm so sorry... I never meant to..."

After a moment, Zidane sat up and gave a smile. "It's alright kiddo. Damn, I really underestimated your speed. You're like lightning when you get mad."

Consus gave a smile and reached down to help Zidane up, but as soon as he grabbed the drake's hand, the two were sent flying in different directions from a black blast. Looking up from the ground, Consis saw as a ring of Darkness formed in the ground below. Not here too, oh please...

"Consus! That's a Darkside! We need to get out of here!"

Trying to find his friend, the dragon dashed around the massive beast and picked up the black blades given to him. He put one in a hilt strap on his waist and held the other in his right hand with Bloodlust in his left. Once he had his equipment set, he had to dodge a few shadow balls launched at him. Once he found Zidane on the other side, he flew directly between the legs and landed right next to his friend behind the foe.

"What should we do? If we let it stay, it could do the same thing to this place..."

Zidane let out a small grunt, trying to find a way to explain it to the new Keyblade bearer. "No, if Darkside appears, the world isn't long before it's burned. This won't be the only one, Consus. They destroy planets in swarms. We need to get off this planet before it's too late."

"...But all the people living here. What about them? Why do they die when we could try to do something?!"

"You're not ready yet! You cannot take out all these Heartless... Look out!"

As they were talking, the Darkside had turned his attention to the pair and slashed with it's claws. Consus took to the air where as Zidane jumped up on the arm and began running up it. "Take the hallway to the west. That one we said was a storage closet. Enter there and go get Selphie!" With a nod, Consus dashed out of the training room. Once his friend had left, Zidane let off a massive slash attack on the face of the beast and landed on the ground. "I'm sorry Consus, but you need to live. I promise I'll see you soon."

Running down the long hall, he made it to the fork to the living room and the bedrooms, he turned right and opened the door. Inside the room was dark, but he continued anyway. As he entered, the door shut behind him and Selphie turned around. "Consus, there you are! You got to go, now!"

"What? But what about Zidane?"

"He can handle himself, we need to get you safe. You're still weak from your planet's destruction and you need to keep training. They can help you on the other side." Selphie pushed the drake ahead and showed him to a strange green door. "I need you to use your Keyblade. Once you go through this door, you will be in another world."

"But I can't summon my Key- huh?" As soon as he had the thought that he wanted Bloodlust, it appeared in his left hand again. "Well, maybe I can, but I need to help Zidane!"

Selphie pushed him again, "No you don't. I've got him. You need to get out of here. The quicker you go, the quicker I get to Zidane!"

After a moment, Consus gave in and pointed his Keyblade level with the keyhole on the rusted handle. Once he heard a click, the door began to open and a patch of swirling darkness lay on the other side. "...Are you sure this is safe? I mean, I never wake up well going into these things."

She came up close to him and game him a light hug as she let out a sigh. "We'll meet again. You be safe." With a single tear running down her cheek, Selphie used all her strength to thrown the bigger drake into the darkness ahead. "...Good luck, Keyblade Deathbringer."

"Where is he? I can't find him anywhere! The King was here just a moment ago!" Swiftly turning around, Donald watched as the Heartless began to surround him and his partner. "Goofy! Do something!"

With a nod, Goofy held his shield tight as he dashed forward, plowing through the first Nightshade and doing a whirlwind into the large crowd. On the other side of the field, Donald was casting Thunder spells and freezing Heartless in place with his magic.

From above, a massive claw reached down and grabbed onto Donald, lifting his from the ground. Goofy turned to the new for and jumped towards it before seeing what it even was. Once he noticed it was the Darkside, he launched his shield forward, hitting the Heartless in the head. It still held onto the mage tightly and reached out with its open hand to grab the falling Goofy.

"What do we do?! I can't cast anything!" Donald was beginning to get mad, which usually never helped anyone. He started ranting and raving before he inhaled deep. "Where the hell is Sora when you need him!"

As they were being pulled off by the giant shadow, the pair heard a loud thud from above them and a loud howl. Looking at the top of the Darkside's head, Donald smiled when he saw Riku and Sora pulling their blades out of the beast's neck. "Donald! I hope you have magic to make us fly!"

Once free, the duck smiled at his old friend. "You bet. Been saving that spell for a rainy day such as this."

Sora returned the smile as he watched Riku free Goofy. "Great. I bet you didn't expect it would ever be raining us, though."