The dragon Heartless clawed at them with enormous, razor-sharp talons, barely missing as Ryan jumped back.
He attempted to strike from behind, but was tripped when it swung its tail, throwing him high into the air. He seized the opportunity, and struck it hard across the back.
The dragon Heartless shrieked, and whirled, throwing Ryan off and leaving him breathless.
"You okay?" Asked Max, rushing to his friend's aid.
He managed to gain footing again after a brief moment. "I'm fine."
They wore it down more, but only a little before things began to go downhill.
~Flashback~
She went into a dark dungeon, walking silently down the hall towards the last cell. A Heartless was being held inside, thrashing against the chains-- even more so when it was dragged outside by Maleficent's goons. Maleficent spoke once they got outside.
"Find the young man with the key and bring him here. You are free to roam the world only in search of him. But do not fail me."
The chains were removed and the Heartless flew away.
~Now~
Ryan jumped back, panting as he swung once more-- and missed again. It slashed him directly under his right eye.
Apparently realizing enough of its strength was already spent, the dragon roared, and flew off into the distance.
Max walked over as Ryan dismissed his Keyblade. "You should take care of those wounds." he told the blonde.
"It's nothing. Just a couple of scratches."
"That you got from a dragon Heartless. That doesn't worry you at all?"
Sure, they hurt a little, but--
Okay, they hurt a lot, but the duo had to press on.
"I'll be fine," he insisted, "Let's go."
"...Right." Max grumbled bitterly.
~The next day~
Ryan got up early that morning.
His friend was still asleep, which made sense considering what time it was. When he woke up a few hours later to the young man cooking breakfast, he gave an exasperated sigh. Max got up, grabbed Ryan by the ear and dragged him over to the river.
"Ow! What the heck was that for!?
"Look at your reflection, Ryan. This is bad."
The wounds had darkened in color, and were starting to look even worse.
"I'm telling you, you need help." Max insisted, "and I'm not letting you deal with it on your own."
"I'm not dealing with it on my own because I'm not dealing with it at all because it's not-- Agh--!"
He fell onto his knees from shock as the injuries started throbbing uncontrollably.
"Ryan!?"
He grunted, looking up towards his friend.
"Ugh... Nngh... F-Fine... You win... this time. We'll get h-help. Agh...!"
Ryan slowly stood up again and turned towards the distant city.
"...Are you sure you're alright?" questioned Max.
"Yes."
"You said that yesterday, and well... just now..."
"I'm sorry for worrying you. Let's go."
"But--"
"You want to wait even longer to take care of these things?" Ryan snapped irritably.
And off they went once more.
YOU ARE READING
My Dark Heart: Ryan's tale (a Destinies Intertwined, Riku x Oc sequel)
FanfictionA year after Master Xehanort's defeat, Ryan comes to two terrifying realizations One: His sister has gone missing Two: Briefly being controlled by Ansem had left a dark stain on his heart (The only Oc's are Ryan and Rachel and their parents) (and th...
