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Disclaimer: I do not own the next character appearing in this chapter and in no way do I want to claim it! A friend of mine asked if my story can have his character in a chapter and I agreed. Credits for this next character goes to XtigerX!

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Chapter 12: The Zealot

Once again night had descended on the fields as I walked along the plain. I felt that after the news reports, & experience with that gang of criminals that we've encountered, that it was best to avoid civilization for a while. Because if anyone recognized me, there was no telling what could happen to either me or Kimahri. I had a lot on my mind but it was all gone when I heard the sounds of footsteps closing in on me. I turned around quickly and saw that it was Kimahri and smiled.

"Hey Kimahri!"

"Hi. Kimahri find place to stay. Eric follow Kimahri."

"Sure." I always knew that I could count on Kimahri to find places to camp so I followed him. After a nice ten minute walk, we reached our destination. I looked around and saw that it was a really nice place. The air I smelled was the cleanest I smelled and the view of the ocean miles away was just amazing. There was no one else there so I was relieved. For the next few hours, we just sat on the campfire which lit up the area around the darkness of nighttime, eating the meal that the Ronso had cooked for us.

"Eric alright?" Kimahri asked. "Not say anything for a while." I was actually a little depressed to tell the truth.

"Huh? Oh I'm fine Kimahri. Just... thinking."

"What Eric thinking about?" He grew curious about and wondered if anything is making me this way.

"Well... I'm just wondering about Ryan. I haven't seen him in ages. I just want to know if he's okay. And with everything going on... I just... argh!" Lying back, I looked at the stars. I didn't take the chance to stare at them for a long time since Ryan was on my mind and nowhere to be found. "And now my friends are probably stressed that I'm gone too. When can we go home?"

"Eric need to relax." I then felt Kimahri's arms around me, feeling comfortable from the Ronso's warm embrace. "Kimahri believe that Ryan is okay. And Kimahri watch over Eric. Eric is not alone. Kimahri is there."

"Thanks Kimahri."

"Eric need sleep. We resume journey tomorrow." I nodded in agreement and returned the hug and enjoyed the moment once again. I got into a comfortable position next to him. After a few minutes, I finally felt myself fall into the abyss of dreams.

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"Eric... Eric... Eric..." Was what I heard when I woke up, got up, and yawned really loud. It was too dark to see anything and my eyes had trouble opening because of it. It was almost like that I really heard someone calling my name.

"Kimahri?" I asked & yawned again. I waited for that voice to call me again, but all I heard was the sound of the wind, so I figured that it was just a dream and went back to sleep.

"Now don't fall asleep Eric. I wanted to meet you so much."

"Who's there?" I was completely awake now and got up. I looked around the area and saw nothing but pitch blackness that was lit only by the stars. I eventually saw the area as my eyes had adjusted to the darkness. But I noticed that something wasn't right, Kimahri! He was gone. "Kimahri!"

"Don't worry Eric, he's just taking a walk. After all, he would have made things more awkward."

"Where are you? Show yourself!"

"Why don't you come with me? Or, I might be forced to persuade you. You wouldn't want anything to happen to that beast would you?"

"Whoever you are, don't talk about Kimahri like that!"

"Ooh, a sensitive spot. Better follow me Eric."

"But I don't know where you are."

"I'll make it easy then." In a flash, small bright purple flames appeared in front of me, making a trail which lead the way. "Well Eric?" I wondered if I should obey or not, or even trust this guy. I didn't know what he looked like, but he knew about Kimahri and I did not want to risk him getting hurt. I followed the trail knowing that I would be lead away from camp, but it still felt strange to follow the voice of a stranger which can conjure up purple fire. Purple! "That's it Eric, I'm not far."

"...." I came to the end of the trail and the purple flames died out. I didn't see anything else but the trees and grassy field. "Okay, where are you?"

"I'm right here." Right that second, a cloud of shadow appeared out of nowhere and I backed up in shock. When it vanished, a figure in a dark blue robe was left standing in front of me.

"What the hell?!" I saw him and he was something I couldn't exactly describe, but for some reason, thoughts of Kingdom Hearts came in about Organization XIII. When their faces are hidden under the hoods of their black coats.

"Language Eric."

"Who are you?" I drew out the Keyblade and took my battle pose with a grunt. I didn't take any chances.

"I am one of the Dark Star Zealots. My name is Inura."

"Well Inura, what do you want?"

"I just wanted to meet you. After all, your soul is what drawn me here."

"My soul?"

"Yes. It wasn't much before, but it became far more powerful recently. I came to find out if you are the one we seek."

"What are you talking about?" Inura sighed and looked at the ground, then turned back to me.

"You know Eric. I'd rather not be here. I thought meeting you would be more... exciting. I guess not. You're as pointless as everyone else on this planet." I withdrew from my battle pose for a moment.

"If you're trying to insult me, telling me that I'm like all the retarded humans out there, it's not working. Just tell me what you want and what you've done to Kimahri."

"Fine. You're... thing that you call Kimahri. I've led him on a trail away from us so I could talk to you more easily. As for what I want, I want to know if you have him inside you."

"Who's him?"

"You need not worry Eric. I just want to look inside your soul and then I'll be on my way."

"I'm not sure I want you to be anywhere near me, so why don't you leave us alone?"

"I can't do that. Now, don't resist and it will all be over quickly." Moving his right hand forward, black shock waves surrounded his hand. "It should be painless."

"Will you promise to leave after this?"

"Yes."

"Alright. But you better leave Kimahri out of this."

"I can't guarantee that. I need to check his soul as well." Souls, Zealots. I thought, great, like I need more crazy crap in my life.

"If you hurt one hair on his body, I'll-"

"Now now Eric, no need to overreact. I won't hurt him much." I regained my battle position ready to strike at any moment.

"Don't push me Inura." He laughed inwardly, wanting my rage to grow, and it was obviously working. I get angry easily when someone pushes me or my friends to the limit, and Inura figured that this would be easier to figure out if I was the one he needed. I just held my ground preparing to thwart anything he'd try to pull on me. "Inura."

"Yes Eric?"

"Just deal with me. Don't hurt Kimahri."

"We've been through this Eric. Now." He moved closer to me and moved his hand outward, away from his body.

"How are we going to do this?"

"I just grab you by neck, send these waves into your body and I can look inside your soul." Right out the blue, Inura grabbed me by the throat and forced me onto my knees. This he sent black waves into my body causing me to yip in pain. He said it wouldn't hurt much but something was wrong. The pain was actually increasing, and it only got worse. I looked up and saw nothing but darkness from under his hood, but I sensed something in his eyes. They had joy in them, but it was from hurting me. I didn't take any chances and had to do something about it. I swung the keyblade and hit him in the knee, and he grunted in pain releasing me from his grasp.

"You." There was anger in the Zealot's voice this time, and I knew I was in trouble and got into battle position. "I'll kill you for that!" Then he conjured up orbs of dark energy from his hands and was prepared to launch them. I switched to a defensive blocking position seeing as trying to dodge or run seemed inevitable. He launched the orbs and I closed my eyes as they waited to close in on me, but they never did. I reopened my eyes and saw that Kimahri has grabbed Inura by the chest.

"You hurt Kimahri's mate! Kimahri make you pay!" The Ronso then sent Inura flying into the air and threw his spear at him.

"Weak." He smirked, and in an instant Inura warped away leaving Kimahri's spear to fall back to the ground.

"What?"

"Behind you." We turned around and saw a cloud of shadow which he stepped forward. "Now that wasn't a good idea you fucking beast."

"Shut up! Class change: Mage!" I then transformed my clothing from within the light, and when it was finished, I was in my mage's outfit. It mainly consisted of a blue robe tied to a red ribbon belt with long sleeves which was neatly folded at my wrists showing white. I had on a pair of brown boots with red laces on them tied to a perfect double knot. On my neck resided a red bow tie and I was wearing a blue wizard hat with a red leather belt which decorated it, and my weapon was a type of staff. "Ice!" I casted the spell and it was a direct hit, and froze the Zealot's chest. "Yes."

"Now." Kimahri picked up his spear. "Kimahri make you pay for hurting Eric."

"Hmph. Pathetic." Inura shattered the ice with force of will and continued moving forward. "To me that was a light breeze. I've felt worse from a women I work close with."

"Then I guess... We have to fight!" I exclaimed, posing for the next attack.

"Fine by me!" Inura immediately charged forward, separating the two before he moved to attack Kimahri. With a shadow orb in his hand, he evaded all of Kimahri's spear strikes and pressed the orb against the Ronso's chest. The orb exploded and waves of shadow launched Kimahri a good distance away. The only thing we heard from him was his roar in pain.

"Kimahri!" I looked to see if he would get up, but it seemed like the pain in his chest was preventing him from standing. "You son of a bitch!" I shouted looking back at Inura.

"Guess it's your turn then." He ran towards me, and I tried holding him back with swishes of fire spells with my staff. It seemed to work though, but in one quick movement, he grabbed my weapon and looked at me. " That won't work again." He grabbed me by the robes and tossed me into the air. He gathered his energy for one of this shadow skills and fired it at me. "Die."

"You not harm Eric!" Kimahri swiftly and used his jump skill and leaped high into the air. Instead of using it to attack Inura, he used it to get to me and held me.

"Kimah-" I was interrupted by the Ronso pushing me away and I hit the ground hard, causing me to return to my freelancer class, Keyblade and all. I grabbed the weapon and saw him engulfed by a large sphere of shadow. "K-Kimahri!?"

"He can't hear you." Explained Inura.

"What have you done to him?"

"That would have happened to you. But, that foolish idiot took the hit. Watch." with a movement of his hand, the shadows vanished and Kimahri fell to the ground hard.

"Kimahri!" I ran to the injured Ronso, and I held him close and felt blood running down his face. I examined him more closely and saw more open wounds all over the Ronso. "Y-you."

"Awe, did I hurt your little friend?" Inura said in a mocking tone.

"Just shut up!" I charged forward at the zealot, wanting revenge against him for all the pain he laid on Kimahri. It proved to be too much of a hassle as every strike I landed on him he was dodging and I took several blows back at me. But I was not going to give up, and when I was knocked down, I'd get up and attack again.

Idiot, he thought. His anger clouds his judgment. He blocked my Keyblade's blow again and spoke to me.

"Why do you care so much for a beast that shouldn't even exist on this planet."

"Shut up! He means a lot to me, which you'll never understand!"

"I don't give a damn about you feelings for that thing!" I didn't saw another word since I felt a sharp kick to the face and falling back to the ground. I was tasting blood in my mouth and I felt it bleeding from my nose too. I spat it out and the Zealot stood on top of me. "Farewell Eric. I'll make this quick." He kicked the Keyblade away from me before I could do anything, and I thought to myself, NO!

Inura had lifted his arms up and prepared the energy in his hands. He kept me down on the ground with his foot and was about to fire it. however, a loud snarl caught both my attention and his. The Zealot turned around and a fist punched him in the face knocking him away from me. I had been helped up and I noticed that it was Kimahri, but he seemed ok with his wounds still present, with blood matting his fur and clothes.

"Very good."

"What?"

"I never expected you two to hit me. Yes, I did plan on killing you both."

"What's wrong?" I asked grabbing a handkerchief from my pocket and pinched my nose with it. "Afraid we're going to kill you?" Inura just laughed at us.

"Like you could. You're still weak Eric, but not the one we seek. As for you... Kimahri. You aren't either."

"What?"

"While he was in that sphere, I could see into his soul. Strong, but not what we're looking for."

"Just what does your organization want anyway?" I asked him.

"Don't concern yourself with us Eric. There is nothing on this planet that interests us. You have a strong power, but it's coming from that." He pointed at the Keyblade which made me look into it.

"Inura just jealous of Eric." Replied Kimahri.

"Jealous? Hardly"

"If you have nothing more to do, then get lost and leave us alone!"

"Well. If that's the way you want it, I'll leave. Goodbye Eric, you won't see me or any of my associates again." In a cloud of shadow, Inura vanished, leaving us alone in the field.

"Eric alright?"

"Yeah... He was really tough, and if you weren't here, I would have died in a few hits. Are you okay Kimahri? You're bleeding."

"Kimahri fine."

"Class Change: Cleric!" Again I transformed into another class and likewise I was in a different outfit. I wore a magenta tunic and I had a magenta cape on which went down to only my lower back. My arms and legs we're covered by a navy blue cloth which the long sleeves in my arms felt more like a jacket. I wore on a pair of light brown boots and the weapon this time was I wasn't sure what it was exactly but it seemed like a mace. "Heal!" I cleaned both our wounds with the spell and didn't mind using it up. Being in this class could also mean that I have a lot of magical energy to spare. Kimahri's open wounds and bloodstains were gone and he felt strength returning to his bloodied body.

"Why Eric use magic?" He asked

"I just want to be sure you're okay. You were losing too much blood." The Ronso then held me close, hugging me tightly and he looked into my eyes.

"Kimahri proud of Eric."

"Why? I didn't defeat him and he could have killed either of us. Especially me since I'm still very weak. What if he causes more problems later? I really don't like the sound of these Zealots."

"No need to worry. Inura said they'd leave us for good. And if Zealots return, Kimahri protect you."

"But... What if you really get hurt?"

"Kimahri not get hurt. Eric is getting stronger, Kimahri really proud of his mate." He then gave me a kiss on the lips, thinking it would cheer me up. It felt really good and it seemed to work.

"Thanks Kimahri."

"We should keep moving."

"Yeah." The two of us then walked away from the battlefield for a few good minutes and I shifted back into freelancer. I couldn't help but stare at the beauty of the starry night sky. Just... Just who was he exactly? I asked myself, but the question left me completely when we heard something in the distance. I turned around quickly and Kimahri did the same. We saw a tint of light in the distance with flashes of red and blue. Then all of a sudden, we saw out there that there were a few tanks and police out there.

"Oh Crap!"

If you read my journal, again, I'm sorry. I've finished this chapter sooner, but kept neglecting to evaluate and post it. So anyway, hoped you enjoyed it, hopefully the next few chapters will come sooner than you think. ;)

End of chapter results

Eric Lewis

Human

Class: Cleric (Rank 1: 4/10)

Lv. 6

Exp: 1056

Next Lv: 52

HP: 282/282

SP: 0/43

G: 0 ($2319.04)

Kimahri

Ronso

Class: Ronso Warrior

Lv. 48

EXP: 571,489

Next Lv: 44,244

HP: 4911/4911

SP: 406/431