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Shadows of Birth Chapter Five - A Dragon's Bond

After several hours of flight, Consus soon stood just outside the wide forest. It was too thick to try to get in from the top, so the old fashioned way would have to do. Stepping into the musky woods, Consus could instantly tell he wasn't alone. Fearing of what Bloodlust could do, He just drew Triumph's blades and held them in his hands tight as he proceeded. It wasn't long before he had started to see different variations of Heartless form around him. Zidane had told him how Heartless came in virtually any shape and size, Consus sighed at how true that statement really was. In front of him stood a heartless about twice his height and as round as a ball. Scaling the size of it, Consus decided to use his environment to his advantage and jumped up into the trees.

Many of the Heartless stayed on the ground, but the Shadows and the aerial forms kept at him like flies on honey. No matter how many Consus killed, there seemed to be no end to the swarm. I need to keep moving if I'm going to make it out alive. They're trying to swarm me, but I wont have it! Turning around, Consus quickly sliced through a Shadow standing beside him and watched it vanish in a small poof. He then got his footing and began to jump from tree branch to tree branch as fast as he could balance himself.

As he went deeper into the forest, it seemed as though the Heartless' numbers seemed to drop. There were more of the larger ones as he went, but he was able to swiftly dodge them in the trees. It wasn't long before Consus was in the darkest area of the forest he had seen. There seemed to be a small opening from the trees, so he decided to investigate. As he moved closer, he watched as the mouth of a cave started to come into view.

Then, he stopped suddenly. Did I just hear a voice? What was that? He listened more closely, trying to figure out what he had heard. As he did, he didn't notice, but Bloodlust had formed in his left hand, eager for a fight.

"I wonder what's taking him so long? I figured a few Heartless would help him get here quicker, but I guess I was wrong." Walking up to the dark crystal, Venair was rubbing his fingers along one of the tips. "You know, if he doesn't come soon. I'm going to get board. Since there are no Heartless around for me to kill, I might just have some fun with you for a while." He gazed over to see Layla's tired eyes. He was actually amazed the dragon was still awake, but that didn't matter. He gave a smile as he felt a small prick on his finger. Drawing up his hand, he saw a small stream of blood running down his hand from the tip if his index finger. "Since I know you can't talk, I'll just do the talking. You see, I just love the sight of this." Turning over, he lowered his hand down to her eye level and forced her to see his wound. "As long as there is a living creature willing to save the world, there's always someone who wants to kill him. I guess I just happen to be that bastard this time around."

"...Why...?"

Venair's long ears twitched at the word. "You ask why? Heh fine, I'll tell you." He stood back up, licking the blood dripping off his hand at the same time. Once he was in front of the black dragoness, He held out his right hand and a black Keyblade formed into it. "You know, I might just show you. It's just so much more fun that way!"

Layla was screaming in her mind, but no matter what she tried, her body wouldn't do a thing! She was scared, of course, but not really for herself. Damien... I'm so sorry...

"...I'm so sorry..."

Consus' head perked up at the voice. He knew he wasn't going crazy. That was Layla! Where are you?!

"...Sora...?"

"No, it's Consus. Just tell me where you are so I can come get you! I'm inside the cave!

No! Don't come, he'll kill you! If you're the one he's talking about, are you this bastard's ---AH!

Consus mind began to ring, like he had been standing next to a bomb as it exploded. He leaned against the wall for a moment, waiting for the pain in his head to calm down. Layla! Are you alright?!

He just stabbed my tail! Oh man... I can't move Consus! You need to run while you still ca-AH!

The second scream was enough. Consus dashed ahead through the tunnel and soon came to a fork in the road. Damnit... Why now? He hesitated for a moment, but just went on his gut feeling and took the path to the right. He felt nothing but hate flowing through him right now, and was sure it all wasn't from Bloodlust. He didn't have to travel far before he came up to an opening. He ran into the door and looked over to see a black gem in the ground. Behind it, Layla was on the ground with a Keyblade in each arm, pinning her to the ground. Consus gazed in horror at the sight of the dragoness. He looked down at her tail to see a deep gouge in its center.

"Glad you could make it. Layla here was starting to bore me, she's too weak to even scream right now."

Swiftly turning to his left, he saw Venair sitting in a chair, having a hand resting under his chin. Oh no... There were enough screams... I'm going to kill this bastard!

"Consus... Don't give in."

He let out a sigh. It was too late, he knew the Darkness had him right where it wanted anyway. "Venair, you are one sick son of a bitch." He turned back to get one last glance at Layla before he would have to defend himself. I'm going to get you out of here. Both you and your baby.

"Awe, you two done yet? I may not be able to hear what you're saying, but I'm not stupid. You damn dragons and your telepathy."

Consus turned back to the Elf and gripped his blades tight. "You know, you just need to learn when to shut up!" He rushed forward and swiftly slashed down as Venair, but the form he hit just vanished in black smoke.

"You really think it would be that easy? Just to come into one of my lairs and kill me? Think again, kiddo."

Looking over at Layla, Consus watched at he drew his blades from her limp form. Consus couldn't explain it, but as he stood in the room, he began to understand what she was feeling. He felt sluggish, like all his energy was being drained from him. Ignoring his state, he began to walk his way to Venair. "No, as I've always said, nothing is ever easy, but that isn't going to stop me from killing you for hurting Layla."

The elf let out a laugh, "Oh? You really think you could? Killing your own flesh and blood, just like those seven innocent humans you killed that day?"

Consus stopped and stared at him wide eyed. "...What?"

The smile on his face curled even more. "I mean what I said, boy. Not only do I know about the villagers on Perin, but I used to live there for a time. In fact, that's when I found a certain someone. Now let me think of the name, oh what was it...?"

At the same time, Venair yelled and Consus whispered, "Cherrina."

"MAN! Can't we get away from these guys?!"

"Head's up, Sora!" Riku had tackled a Neoshadow to his friend, who slashed the beast with a swift uppercut with his Keyblade. "Nice shot."

"Won't do us any good unless you can kill a hundred at once! We're getting surrounded!" Damien yelled as he watched several more appear below them. "This is useless! There's no end to them!"

"Damien, you go on ahead. We'll take care of this group on our heels then follow." Riku said, slashing through a Shadow Heartless.

The blue drake hesitated a moment, but then gave a nod. "Thanks... I'll see you soon!"

As the drake rushed off, Donald cast a series of Thunder to help lessen the amount around them. In the open spot created, though, a massive black spot appeared and out of it came a Darkside.

"You guys ready to get a record time on this guy?" Riku said, tossing a smile towards Sora.

Sora replied with a small laugh and a smile of his own. "If we can't kill it in less than a minute, I'm a monkey's uncle."

There is no way... He can't be...

With a smile, Venair was now standing just a few feet away from the half-drake. "Yes, Cherrina. So beautiful in both her human and dragon forms... You know, that was a rare trait in our world. Dragons only obtained that power if they were somehow linked to the Royal Family there. Cherrina was the best Ambassador they had ever seen. If I recall, she was even the one to sign the peace treaty between the Dragons and Humans."

He just knew so much. No one knew his world but him. As far as he knew, he was the only survivor. "Just be quiet, you don't know what you're talking about!"

Venair shrugged. "Don't I? You should remember this clearly, though if you don't remember all that ." Reaching behind his back, Venair reached into a mall pouch and pulled something out, throwing it to Consus. He caught it in the air and gazed at the round object. It was small and a solid gold in color. Consus honestly had no idea what it even was. "That's a Memory Gem. It was created by your mother years ago. Go ahead and smash it. You'll see what I speak of."

Growing curious, Consus wanted to prove to himself once and for all if Venair was lying or not. He dropped the gem and watched as it smashed into the hard stone below. Once it was broken, the environment around them seemed to change. Before he knew it, they all were all standing/lying inside of his cave on Perin. This is impossible...

"Mommy! Where are you going?! Don't leave!"

"I have to go. I'm sorry, but there's something I have to stop. Something I should have done a lone time ago."

Watching as the little boy with a tail and wings ran up to the entrance. Consus gazed out to see the golden dragon he saw every night in his dreams. She was enormous compared to the young him, her body scaling almost the entire size of the cave.

_"Don't leave me alone! What if the Humans come back?"

"I have faith in you, Consus. I do not think I will be gone long, but you're a big boy. You can take care of yourself. Just remember that I will always love you."_

The boy wiped tears from his eyes, "Don't say it like that! You make it sound like you're not coming back!"

She lowered her head and smiled down, letting him hug her one last time. "I'm sorry, you're right. I'll... see you later."

As the area faded out, Consus began to feel tears form in his eyes. He held them back as hard as he could, but his emotions soon got the best of him and they began to roll down his cheeks.

"Ah, I think I struck a nerve. Do you remember clearly now?" Venair was just standing there, both his Keyblades were resting on his shoulders. "I think that's pretty much proof, wouldn't you say?"

Consus glared at the elf in front of him. "You're not my father! My father was a coward!"

"Oh, is that how she spoke of me? I remember she was the one that fled from me. You see, she wasn't even the same dragon after she had you."

"...what do you mean by that?"

"It's pretty obvious, but I'll explain to you anyway." Just when Consus thought his smile couldn't get wider, it just did. "You see, I kidnapped your mother and took her back to my Lair on Perin. At the time I had no idea she was a Dragoness in the form of a human, but that didn't stop me from raping her that night in my chambers."

Bloodlust flared in his hand. He had enough of this. Rushing forward, Consus swung the blade in absolute rage. He could hear Layla pleading in his mind for him to stop, but he felt the Darkness start to take over his body.

Venair blocked the attack with both his blades and gave another smile. "Yes! That's it! Let out all your anger! I want to see all your pain!"

"It came from this way!" Damien said to himself as he reached the fork in the cave. Hearing another clash, he soon figured out that it came from the right path. He rushed ahead, but soon slowed down as his body gave him some kind of warning. "Something's not right..." Entering the open area, Damien watched as Consus continued to attack the Elf in front of him, who was blocking every attack thrown at him. Looking to the right, he saw the bloody mess of Layla behind a black crystal and wanted to scream. In his furry, he charged ahead, smashing the crystal in his rage.

Looking over, Venair lost his concentration for one moment with the shattering sound and took a slash to his left arm. He turned back to Consus and disappeared in a cloud of smoke before appearing behind Damien and kicking him in the back, sending him onto the floor next to Layla. "How DARE you destroy my possessions!"

Sitting up, Damien cringed as he looked down to his mate. "Are you alright, Layla?"

"And don't you DARE ignore me!" He said, swinging Inferno down. It stopped suddenly in mid-air, being blocked by Bloodlust. "You're a fool, you know that." He said, using Apocalypse to slash through Consus' stomach.

He felt the pain searing through him, but once the crystal had been destroyed, he began to feel some of his energy coming back. He swiftly pulled back Bloodlust and was able to rip Inferno out of Venair's grip. He then thrust his blade forward towards Venair's heart, but he side-stepped out of the way and bashed him in the back of the head with the blunt end of Apocalypse.

As Consus fell to the ground, he heard a laugh from Venair. "It's so funny how you actually think you stand a chance. Let me ask you, did you kill a single Heartless with your blade coming here? If you didn't, then you're a fool and shouldn't even be here." He placed the bladed end just on Consus' shoulder and smiled. "At least you help me get stronger in your death. Don't worry, your friends will be joining you soon." Rising his Keyblade, Venair prepared to deliver the final blow to his son.

I'm sorry everyone... I let you down.

As the blade came inches from him, He watched as Venair was knocked away by a set of three Fire spells. He swiftly turned to see Riku, Sora, and Donald at the entrance to the room. In his mind he wanted to thank them, but his eyes stared at the Keyblades in their hands. He felt his body rise and turn towards them, pointing Bloodlust at them.

No... What am I doing?!

Watching as the fire hit, Sora gave a small cheer as the blast knocked Venair aside, stopping the attack. "Talk about right on time!" After a moment, he then watched as Consus turned towards him. His eyes were a solid black, not the typical red. As the crimson Keyblade was lifted, all Sora could thing was one thing. "What did he do to you?"

Without giving time to react, the drake dashed up and was going to strike Sora, but from the side Sora watched at Layla tacked him to the side, pinning him to the ground with her size. "I'll take care of him! Get Venair while you have the chance!"

After the Keyblade masters ran ahead, Layla looked down at the struggling Consus below her. "Don't let the Darkness consume you! Learn to fight with it! Use it for what you want, not for its own desire!" She tried to see if she could access his thoughts again, but she was being blocked. "You've got to fight it! If you don't, we're all as good as dead!"

Layla felt his grip tighten around her wrists as he struggled, but she held him tight. She may have been weak, but Consus was on the verge to breaking. After a few moments, he seemed to calm down. She looked at his eyes and felt a bit confused. They were still black, but they just stared blankly ahead. What's going on in his head?

_Darkness everywhere he looked. Hell, when he looked down, he could hardly even see himself. "So, is this what the end looks like? When you finally cross the line over to the Darkness?"

"No, but you are close."

Consus let out a gasp. He knew that voice. "Mother? Where are you?!"

"Right now, somewhere safe. I cannot let you know just yet, it is not the right time. You need to help your friends... You're about to even kill the one trying to bring back your senses."

Consus cringed, "Layla... Damnit, What do I do? I can't do anything right now!"

"You must accept the Darkness for what it truly is. Death itself is neither good nor evil, it is up to the Bringer to decide their fate. Whether it is to save or destroy, you must use the Darkness that flows in you to achieve your goal."_

"...Are you saying that Darkness isn't always evil? I just don't understand."

"Follow your heart... It will guide you in the right direction, always..."

He felt as the presence slowly began to fade away. "Mother...? Cherrina! Damnit!" He let out a sigh and thought hard on what she had said. "I've got to stop myself... Damien will kill me if I hurt Layla!"

Sora watched as Venair punted his duck friend across the room, slamming him into the charging Damien. Both fell to the floor hard and were a little slow to recover. The Deathbringer was surly giving them a good fight. He's just so fast! It's almost like he knows our attacks are coming... Dodging to the left, Sora then saw a quick opening in the warriors side and decided to take a chance. He jumped at him, arching his Keyblade forward, narrowly missing his target. He fell to the ground and started to get back up when he felt the tip of his blade enter is back.

"Sora!" Riku bashed Venair away from his friend with a tackle and followed up with a slash, but Venair had gained more distance and was able to avoid it. Damn, this guy is something else.

"Don't you see, it's useless to fight me. As your king said before, a Deathbringer kills Keyblade Masters. You three will be no different."

Watching as the Elf took a few steps forward, Riku readied his blade to defend his recovering friend. "Like hell you are."

As Venair drew up his blade, there was a bright flash over near the entrance of the cave. Riku kept his eyes on Venair, but as Sora was standing, he gazed into the light. "There's no way..."

Opening his eyes, Consus noticed that he was standing... a lot higher than usual. He looked ahead to see almost everyone's attention at him. Looking over to his right, he expected to see Layla, but saw nothing.

"What happened?"

Consus jumped. "Layla? Where are you?"

He felt his arm move on his own and he took a look at it. His eyes went wide as he noticed the familiar red markings of his friend on a set of golden scales... on him! His hands held claws at the very tips and in his left claw, Bloodlust was still being held.

...I think you are me, or I'm you. Sora and I have done something like this before. It's called a Drive form.

Just being glad to have control over some form of body again, Consus began to walk towards the surprised Venair, gripping onto his Keyblade tight. "This battle is just beginning..."