Fan Fiction / Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction / Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Thir13en Ghosts ❯ Isaac Vs. Kairi ( Chapter 15 )

Thir13en Ghosts

By Charles Xavier

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Chapter Fifteen: Isaac Vs. Kairi

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“Heh, heh, heh!”

Isaac’s energy was growing, and Kairi was unsure of what to do. She was without a weapon, and her bare fists were unlikely to thwart the boy. This gave Isaac his first chance to swing his scythe across her. In immediate reaction, Kairi ducked while the scythe only succeeded in cutting through corncobs. Without bobbing her head up to make herself an easy target, she scurried across the field, hoping to get away as far as possible.

She didn’t know, however, there were other figures standing about in the field. And she never expected to encounter anybody made out of straws. “AAAAAA!!!!” Accidentally running into a distorted looking scarecrow, Kairi half-screamed before covering her mouth. The scarecrow was fortunately not alive, which brought her a sigh of relief. But what made her jump out of her skin was when she felt Isaac’s warm breath behind her neck. Quickly turning round, she saw him take another swing with his scythe. This time, she dived sideways, avoiding his attack a second time. The scarecrow was sliced in half in her place, and Kairi now chose to crawl on her knees.

Trying to remain calm was difficult, but one panicky move was liable to get her closer to sudden death. Ignoring the mud that she was gathering from her hands and legs, Kairi kept her breathing to the lowest volume as she tried to find a way out. Keeping to a straight path, luck found its way when she discovered a wooden barn a short distance away. Rolling out from the fields, she shot up and sprinted towards the abandoned shelter.

Pushing the heavy door open, Kairi slipped inside and pushed the door back behind her, blocking it with a large log of wood. Inside was nothing but unused hay and a lit lantern hanging as a sole source of light. With the wind outside, the lantern was swaying back and forth, and the wooden structure of the barn creaked. It felt like this place would collapse if it was unable to withstand this weather condition much longer.

She prayed that she would be safe from Isaac’s harm for the time being. But that time arrived sooner for her, and his delicate and innocent voice called out her name.

“Princess Kairi…where are you hiding?”

The crunching of his heavy footsteps in the cornfields could be heard, and they were growing louder. A pair of black shoes were sighted underneath the gap of the entrance, and the footsteps ceased. The door nudged once, then twice, and was then followed by a blissful laughter.

“You’re quite the typical one, aren’t you? Always sneaking away.” Isaac mocked. “I see you want to play cat and mouse.”

Kairi held back another scream when Isaac’s scythe tore through the door. Quickly, she dashed into a small closet in the corner. Being careful not to knock any of the storage equipment inside, she watched through a small hole as Isaac cut his way through the door, lifting away the log and stepping inside with a gleeful smile across his face.

Sweat trickled down Kairi’s cheeks. Her hands tried to grab onto darkened objects inside this claustrophobic atmosphere. From her left she felt the shape of a sharp sickle touch her fingers. She grabbed it and pocketed it for later use, because from her right she felt the long shaft of a farmer’s pitchfork. Taking the weapon in her trembling hands, she peered outside and saw Isaac nearing her. He crept towards the closet, reaching his hand for the loose knob. Kairi tightened her weapon, ready to make her move.

Isaac stopped. He heard something rattle behind him, and went away to investigate it. Watching him walk away from her sight, Kairi loosened her grip and sighed, thanking whatever good force had driven her enemy away for a little longer. Now, if only she could find a way to outsmart him…

Suddenly, light rushed into the closet when the door flung open and Isaac offered a warm greeting to her. Surprised, Kairi sprung out and shoved her pitchfork straight into Isaac’s stomach. Isaac jerked back from the impact, but felt no pain whatsoever. Kairi had wished she had inflicted more damage to him, but the boy wasn’t taken down by a mere stabbing in the guts. Isaac smiled again at her, taking the pitchfork and pulling it out with ease. Though traces of blood gushed out from his shirt, it showed no sign of him weakening.

“You’ll have to do better than that.”

Isaac swung again, plunging his scythe into the wall when he missed. Kairi felt the blade of the weapon sweep across her hair when she dived under. She took her shot and kicked him in the kneecap, taking him off guard momentarily. Not long enough though, Isaac kicked his shoe into her face, knocking her back. He pulled out the scythe and aimed to cut her into two from her fallen position. Kairi rolled over as he struck, and threw a handful of hay into his face when she rose.

Isaac spat and wiped off the dirt form his face. And with the blink of an eye, he saw her whipping out a long silver sickle at him. Kairi took full force when she swung across his eyes, tearing his sight severely. “AAAA!!!!” A splutter of blood dropped to the ground, and Isaac grasped his face with one hand. Still holding the scythe in a fit of rage, he swiped it fiercely, managing to shred a deep wound within Kairi’s right leg.

The girl tumbled back, sensing the agonizing sting seep into her limb. Isaac blindly sensed her movements, and continued to swing his weapon aimlessly yet closer to her. Kairi, afraid to be hacked, frantically shuffled back until she slammed straight into the wall. Lifting up her bloodstained leg, she stood and watched Isaac nearing the lantern inches away.

With one mighty swing, he cut the rope holding the lantern, making it shatter.

A fire began to spread rapidly, and in seconds the barn was fully torched and engulfed in flames. The roof was likely to fall any minute. Smoke surfaced and Kairi could smell it distinctly; it made her cough. That gave away her tracks for Isaac, and he didn’t pause to approach her. Aware that she couldn’t run due to her leg injury, Kairi limped around him, heading desperately for the broken door. But she was grabbed by the arm when Isaac caught her. He yanked her back despite her efforts to shake out from his grasp, drawing her away from her exit.

The roof cracked then, and everything from above crashed down. Isaac was struck by something hard and was buried beneath heaps of fiery wood, leaving Kairi mostly untouched. Seeing that there was still an opportunity to escape, she made her way out of the entrance and fled from the barn, leaving it to demolish itself. She went far into the cornfields once again, finding a safe spot to settle down, and calm herself from this chaotic situation.

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“Poor boy.” Was all what Kairi had to say about Isaac. What in God’s name was eating inside the child’s fragile brain to make him lead a bizarre cult involving murdering one’s parents? The idea of it was sickening, not to mention disturbing. She was thankful that she never grew up into this society in the first place, otherwise goodness knows what would happen…

Footsteps…Kairi felt the ground shake and glanced out to the field to see whatever was coming her way. To her utter distress, she discovered Isaac; his shirt ripped apart, his hair revealing its white streaks, and his eyes seething, hungry for the heart of the princess. He was without a weapon, but he marched like a cyborg unwilling to fail its mission.

“Time to die, Princess.”

“NO!” Kairi held her sickle and threatened Isaac with multiple swipes as he came closer. Unimpressed by her pathetic defense, Isaac found the right second for an open attack, and clutched his hand right onto her neck. Kairi croaked as she felt her feet lift off from the ground, with her enemy snarling at her like a untamed beast. Unable to take another breath, victory seemed confident for Isaac. Just one crush from his hand would mean death for her. But her hand was still holding something…she took her sickle for the last time, and slashed Isaac’s throat.

“ACK!!!!”

She was dropped, and Isaac was left gasping for air with his hands wrapped around his neck. He staggered away while he started to grow pale, losing his energy fast. The spirit possessing him departed from his body through his gaping mouth and disappeared into the clear moonlit sky. Now powerless, Isaac deteriorated as his flesh rotted and his skin detached. And eventually, Kairi was presented with his skeleton breaking apart, disintegrating into millions of molecular pieces blown away and lost forever.

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The wind stopped blowing, the fields stopped rustling, and the laughter of children could be heard no more. Kairi was alone, but she couldn‘t help smile for once…it was clear that she had ultimately won the battle. Dropping her sickle, she reached her fingers for her pendant. She opened it, gazing into the face of a woman that held deeply to her heart. She whispered:

“Thank you, Grandmother.”

Now exhausted and beat…she shut her eyes and fainted, hoping to drift her mind away elsewhere to forget these events…

…

“It seems that you have lost again.”

“Indeed…I must admit that your granddaughter is quite the player. I had never expected her to beat me at my own game.”

“So she has. And so will you keep to your promise to release her, including all her friends.”

“And what about those who perished?”

“They will obviously be brought back…as always.”

“Fine…they shall all be returned safely to their rightful homes, unconscious of what has passed this night. They shall recall nothing of these events, but know that I never forget a face when I see one. And when the time comes for the twelve and myself to rise again, we shall fight once more.”

“And we‘ll always be ready for you…what about your friend, Isaac?”

“Isaac means nothing to me now. He may have passed on, but there shall always be other followers like him.”

“Only time will tell.”

“You don‘t suppose you think this game will last forever?”

“If it is…then I’m willing to take that chance. But for now, it has come to an end.”

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Author’s Note: I’ve not much to say except that the fights are officially over. Only the last chapter to go.