FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Shadows of Birth Chapter 3 - More than one?

Staring at the mouse in front of him, Consus stayed silent as Bloodlust began to beg its master for another kill. The half-dragon fought the urge and listened for any explanation before he tried to defend himself.

"Deathbringer?" It was Sora, he held his Kingdom Key tight in his right hand, scratching the back of his head with his left. "Never heard of it. What exactly is that?"

Turning to his old friend, the King showed a slight nod. "Well you see-"

"Allow me to explain." From above, the group of Keyblade bearers watched as a man wearing a crimson red coat and black pants floated down in the center of the group, a smile on his face. "Allow me to introduce myself... Not only am I the last thing you shall see before you die, but once I'm finished with you all, you shall work side-by-side again, only for me. I am Venair, and on this day, the Deathbringer will destroy you all!"

Before they knew it, the new man spun in a circle and released a yellow shockwave, knocking everyone but the King back to the walls of the near circular room. Consus grabbed the back of his aching head and looked up to see the golden Keyblade master beginning to fight the Venair person. He looked at the objects he now held in his hands and almost yelled out loud. He has two Keyblades?! How's that even possible?!

As everyone was able to gather their bearings, they each charged into the fray at their own time. Soon, all but Consus were swinging their blades at the new foe and casting powerful magic at him. It wasn't long before the King was knocked back and lay on the floor, unmoving. Consus eventually let out a sigh and held Bloodlust tight, drawing a single blade of Triumph in his right hand, he then dashed forward. He watched as Venair had swung one of the blades he held directly at Riku's head. Consus jumped up and blocked the attack just mere inches from the human's face.

Venair stared at the drake before him. He hadn't noticed who he was attacking at first besides the damn mouse, but when he took a good look at the dragon-kin in front of him, his lips parted into a smile. "Your weapon is too good for you, boy. Bloodlust does not deserve to be in your hands."

Consus glared at Venair as he pushed forward, watching as the foe jumped back and now targeted him directly. "Like hell! Bloodlust chose me for a reason!"

Venair gave a cold laugh. "Yeah? A Deathbringer with a heart? Give me a break!" He turned his Keyblades slightly, the arc's of the blades now facing towards the half-drake. "For you, I shall simply kill you and add your power to my own. Bloodlust will have its wish granted whether it is from me or you... Consus."

"...What did you say?!" Before he could react, the form in red burst forward and blasted Consus in the side with the back of the blade. The force of the blow sent Consus flying into the wall again. Lifting his head up, Consus watched as one of the two Keyblades missed the attacking Riku, but found their mark on the smaller Sora. Both of them had retreated for a moment, but Venair didn't give them much breathing time before he was back, swinging his blades rapidly at the two. Sora seemed to be struggling the more he blocked, his right arm bleeding from the wound he had just received.

Summoning the energy, Consus stood back up and began to slowly walk forward. He felt almost in a daze, like everything around him was a dream. As he realized he had no control over his body anymore, Consus watched as he blocked a series of attacks from Venair, protecting his two new friends.

"Why do you struggle? Let the Darkness consume you now so you won't have to suffer in the end."

Turning swiftly, Consus looked at his two allies and the close-by Mickey. He then jumped into the air and swapped hands his weapons were in. Once he landed, Venair was on the move to attack him, but he dodged the slash by jumping right. "Quit running away!"

Before he knew what he was doing, Consus watched as he spun Bloodlust around and threw it at Venair. The man was able to easily dodge the attack and started to laugh. "My, talk about the desperation move. Do I have you on your toes?" He dashed forward, coming face to face with Consus with a smile. "You're just like me. You too will see the true calling of a Deathbringer."

Consus wanted to take a good look at this man before he was able to pull away again. He had long ears and pale skin with green hair. His eyes were as black as the evening sky and penetrated through Consus as if he were looking directly into his heart. As he gazed at the man, Consus soon buckled over in pain, feeling as his flesh was being torn apart from one of Venair's keyblades entering his stomach.

"And now, like all the rest before you, you die and I shall take your power to destroy everything!"

"Not so fast!" Out of nowhere, the King had jumped up and slashed Venair a few times in his back. This caused the man to pull his blade out of the drake and turn his attention to his old foe.

"You really have a death wish, don't you mouse?" Without hesitation, both blades swung down above the king. Consus could hear a call from Sora as the blades made their decent.

In a flash of light, Venair stood alone, his Keyblades sitting on the ground right where Mickey was once standing. Venair let out a disappointed grunt as he lifted his weapons from the hard ground. "Damn, he got away." Looking at the two remaining fighters, Venair let out a laugh as he turned to Sora and Riku. "You know, this was fun. I might let you live just be get a chance to do this again."

Angrily, Sora rushed up to Venair and slashed with his Kingdom Key, but was deflected by an aura of darkness that appeared and surrounded Venair. "You're nothing but a coward!"

Venair smiled. "Cowardly or tactful? You decide when you come find me. I'll let you know this: if you don't succeed in finding me, there will be no more worlds left to save."

Riku walked up next to Sora and held his friend back. He knew it was useless to attack the Darkness that protected Venair.

"Oh, and I almost forgot." Turning to the nearly unconscious drake, Venair reached into his pocket and tossed an object down at him. "Make sure he gets that. I wouldn't want him to forget..." After the object landed next to the fallen comrade, Sora and Riku watched as the man in the Darkness seemed to vanish. It was a few moments before both of them could even react.

They both walked up to Consus and stared down at him. "I guess there's a lot more to this guy than I thought." Riku said, bending down and lifting the drake onto his shoulder. "We need to get him back. He's bleeding like a leaking faucet."

"Mommy? What ever happened to Daddy?" Walking up to his mother, he sat calmly on the chair as he stared up at her. She had been holding something in her hand, but Consus couldn't see what it was.

"Your father... Ran away from us a long time ago."

"But why? Where did he go?"

He heard her whisper something, but couldn't make out the words, then she turned towards him and gave a slight loving smile. "You father was a nice, gentle man. He left almost as soon as you were born. But no matter where he is, he and I will always watch over you."

Feeling dazed, Consus lifted his head from the bed he was on and took a look around. He was in a new room, but he could tell he hadn't gone far. The layout of the room was just like the one Aerith had set up for him, but everything was exactly opposite.

"Ah, you're up!" Practically jumping on the bed, Sora smiled at his new friend. "Glad to see you're okay. You took quite the shot there."

"...Venair. Who is he?"

Sora gave a shrug. "Beats me. I met him the same time you did." After he saw the disappointed look on Consus' face, he then remembered the object their enemy had left. "Hey, that jerk left this behind. He said to make sure you got it." As Sora placed the object on the bed, he gave the drake a worried look. "Is this is the same as-"

"Yeah, that's my symbol. But how did he...?"

"Sora, come here! We're getting ready to leave!"

It was Riku. He sounded quite the distance away, but all the drake could do is stare at the pendant in his hand. It was smaller than the one on his Keyblade and was a dark blue instead of gold. "Were you guys going to leave without me?"

Sora brushed his hand through his hair sheepishly, "We were going to give you time to recover, but I'm guessing there's no way to talk you out of going."

Consus gave a light smile. "I may be injured, but there's no way in hell I'm letting that guy get away without getting my sword in his gut!"

"So, he's finally left Perin and awakened at the next Keyblade Deathbringer. I wonder what this plot twist has in store for us."

Venair walked into his dark living quarters and looked at one of the several shadow forms in the room. "How come I was never informed of this when Perin was attacked? Did I not say to report any findings to me while on that world?" He hears a few scratchy remarks from the Shadow, but soon he drew his first Keyblade and slashed the figure clean in half, its black blood spraying around as its body fell to the ground. "You were hardly worth it, but Inferno wanted to taste your blood all the same." He turned to a group of Neoshadows and gave them a glare. "It's the same to you who do not wish to share the same fate. ANY information regarding my son will be brought to me INSTANTLY or you shall die by either Inferno or Apocalypse in my hand!" As a wicked smile formed on his face, he sat at the large throne in the back of the room as many of the larger shadows disappeared. Consus, it's about time you learned a few lessons about what we Deathbringer's really are... One day, you too will submit to the Darkness and kill any Keyblade Master who breathes, but that's only if I don't kill you and take that power first.

"Are we ready to go? You're not forgetting anything, right Goofy?" Donald asked as he took his seat in the Captain's chair. The ship had almost doubled in size since they last saw their ship. There were plenty of seats for passengers now, but one look at the monitors showed that there was no lack of power from the alterations.

"Ahyuck, Can't say I did. Unless you mean that Consus guy, then we're forgetting him."

"Awe phooey! Forget that kid!"

"Forget what kid? He's coming too!" Sora said, stepping onto the bridge. He gave his two friends a smile as he walked up to his seat and sat down. Riku and Consus followed him inside as well, Riku going to a seat next to Sora.

As Consus stared at the weird object he was in, he found it odd how there were several different blinking gadgets. Nothing there made sense to him, but he knew that there was a lot he wouldn't understand for a while.

"Are you going to stand there all day?! Park yourself somewhere!" Donald yelled, pushing a few of the blinking lights.

With a nod, Consus soon sat in a seat in the corner. He was about to ask what was going on when he watched as a box appeared in front of them. On it showed a picture of two creatures. They kind of looked like chipmunks.

"All ready for takeoff Donald?" One said. It seemed quite eager of something.

"Ready for launch!" The duck replied.

Before he knew it, Consus began to feel the entire ship shake and leaned back in his chair as hard as he could. He held on tight to the arm-rests on the chair as they moved rapidly. After a moment, things seemed to slow down and even out. Only then did Consus feel confident enough to release his tight grip on the soft fabric. He noticed that Sora and Riku were quite calm about what was happening. Looking over, Consus soon gave a sigh. Goofy's asleep! How can I be the only one freaked out about what happened...? With that thought, he remembered what had happened in Traverse Town before he had passed out. He called up to Sora, who had quickly turned to pay attention to the drake. "Where did that King go, anyway?"

Sora gave a smile, "Where ever he wants, I guess. He's always done stuff like this, but usually he explains himself about what's going on."

"Yeah, but when Venair attacked him..."

It was Riku's turn to smile. "Don't worry about the King. He's fine. Though we may not understand what he does or why he does it, the King is always looking out for the best for his people."

Consus gave Riku an odd look. "...Is he my King too?"

Sora and Riku took a second to look at each other. Sora gave a shrug and they both turned back towards Consus. "I would think, but I'm not sure. Did you have anything like that where you came from?"

Looking down, Consus gave a nod. "It was a little different. We had a group called the Elders that made the laws of the land, though I only saw them once when I was young."

Sora gave a smile, "Yeah, it's just like that, but only it's one mouse instead of a group of people."

Consus gave another nod, starting to understand at least what type of government was truly held over all the worlds. "What is this thing that we're in, anyway?"

"This is our Gummiship! We use it to travel between several different worlds, though there are still many that need to be discovered."

Riku gave a nod and turned back towards Donald, a slight smile on his face. "So, what's our destination, Captain Quack?"

Donald glared at Riku and started to mumble something, but then cleared his throat. "We're going to Destiny Islands. Kairi needs to see Sora, according to the letter I just got."

It wasn't long before the craft was shaking again. He heard Donald yell something about wearing seatbelts as they landed, but Consus didn't even attempt to understand what he meant. Once the ship stopped shaking, Sora and Riku both stood up and stretched their arms out.

"Last one out is a rotten egg!" Sora yelled, swiftly opening the door and jumping out of the ship. Riku, Donald, and Goofy were all quick to follow, but Consus took his time. He needed to get his feet used to being on the ground again. Sure, he was used to flying, but that was with his own wings, not from anything like this.

Once he stepped outside, he noticed that they were on a large beach. Gazing over, he saw the most massive amount of water he had ever seen.

"You coming, Consus?"

Turning to the questioning Sora, Consus smiled and began to walk towards him. "Sorry, just amazed by the view."

"Yeah, the sea is nice, isn't it? That's why Kairi and I decided to live here."

"Kairi? Is that your mate?"

Sora's face turned instantly red, "Uhh... yeah, I guess if that's what you call it." After he scratched his head, he began walking towards the house. "Come on, let me introduce you to her!"

Opening the door, bit Sora and Consus entered the house. It was quite lively there compared to the base in Traverse Town. There were several decorations all over the walls and several objects that Consus didn't know.

"Whoa! What is that?!"

Turning to look at the female voice, Consus stared at a girl with long, red hair. She wore a pink outfit, almost similar to the one Aerith wore. She gazed at him with her wide blue eyes and he couldn't tell if she was scared or amazed. Looking slightly down, Consus noticed that she was almost ready to become a mother.

"This is Consus. He's a half Elvin-Dragon thingy that Leon met in Traverse Town. He said he could really help us out. He's another Keyblade Master!" Sora was all smiles, and it seemed to be attractive. Donald and Goofy both also had a smile on their faces and it wasn't long before long when the girl showed hers. He then leaned forward and gave her a quick couple of kisses before smiling at her again. "How are you doing? I hope things have been calm around here."

She gave a nod and smiled back. "Things have been quiet here. I've just been trying to do what I can for you guys here. You all look like you've been to hell and back."

Consus gave a coy smile. "What makes you say that?"

She turned to him and gave a slight glare, but tucked away a smile. "For starters, it smells like none of you boys have taken a bath in ages... And you're covered in blood, did you know that?"

Looking down, Consus looked down where her eyes had turned. Lifting his arm, he noticed his newest wound just below his chest. He gazed at the small wound in his stomach for a moment. It had a slight curve to it, but it seemed nothing more than just a scratch to him. "It's nothing."

"Nothing?! Look at this trail! How long have you been bleeding?!" She had actually looked onto the ground and walked out the front door all the way to inside the ship.

Consus looked at Sora, who only gave a slight shrug. "Beats me, man. I've had worse, but-"

"You have GOT to be kidding!"

"...but what do I know? I'm just the Keyblade Master." He said as they watched Kairi make her way back. Once she was in the door, Sora placed his hands on her shoulders. "Now honey, it's not good to get made when you're-"

"There is a puddle about eight feet wide in there and NONE OF YOU saw it?! What is wrong with you?!"

Consus had to admit it. For the first time in his life, he was scared to death of a pregnant human woman. "It's alright, I'm fine. The only thing you need to take care of is your husband. He missed you."

Sora gave him an odd look, but quickly recovered before she had turned to look at him. She then turned back to Consus and gave a weak smile.

By the time they finally calmed her down, Riku had already come back from further inside the house with some gauze wrap. Kairi quickly wrapped the wound, asking him how he had gotten it. The drake just shrugged and that annoyed her, but she soon gave up after. "You boys... You'd never keep your heads on right if it weren't for me."

After they had all settled in, each group had started doing their own thing. Showers were taken in turn (Riku had to REALLY explain to Consus on this one) and after they had all cleaned up, Kairi had called them for dinner. As they all sat at the table, they all looked at the one empty seat. Sora gave them all a weary look, which was replied by curious glances. "Have any of you seen Consus?"