Sora ran through the streets, slashing Heartless at every turn. They were everywhere. People screamed in terror as they died by the droves, and Sora could do little to protect them all. His heart conflicted, he pushed through with gritted teeth and tears trickling to the corner of his eyes. With every chilling howl of destruction, Sora's conscience tore into his chest harder than any Shadow's claw. But he couldn't afford to stop running towards the castle. The Door to Darkness was open, and if he didn't act fast, the whole world would perish.
When he reached the royal gates, Donald and Goofy were already clearing a path. Bruised and battered, they were saved from certain demise when Sora dispatched the remaining Heartless with his Keyblade.
"Everyone's in the throne room," said Donald, casting a quick cure on everyone. "We've gotta hurry!"
They rushed into the courtyard, slamming through another wave of demonic shadows. "How did it all come to this?" Sora wondered, his arms sore from swinging the legendary blade. Drenched in sweat and out of breath, he wasn't allowed a single moment to rest let alone answer his question.
It all began with the witch, he knew. When the witch came to town, everything changed. She did something to the Cornerstone of Light—corrupted it in such a way as to allow the unimpeded flood of Heartless. In order to stop the chaos, the Hall of the Cornerstone would need to be purified by the Keyblade.
And so, the three warriors fought long and hard until they finally carved a path to the throne room. Inside, Riku was fighting fast to protect Queen Minnie.
"It's about time you showed up!" Riku grunted, jumping away from an onslaught. He clutched at his bloodied shoulder, wincing as he parried an oncoming attack. Donald gave him a quick cure before he and Goofy took the queen to safety.
"I'll hold down the fort here," Riku said, his shoulder better. "You get to the Cornerstone. Mickey's there holding her back."
"By himself?" Sora shouted in a panic. He didn't have time to wait for a reply. His feet kicked into autopilot and propelled him towards the stairs. Not caring about the numerous free hits scored on him by the Heartless, he repelled what he could and charged like a bullet to the thorny dominion below the castle.
That's where he saw her: the witch. Cackling with all her evil glory, she effortlessly toyed with King Mickey. The power of darkness pouring from the Door to Darkness fed her an infinite stream of omnipotence that even the Keyblade couldn't deflect.
"Your Majesty!" Sora cried, instantly winning the witch's full attention.
"You're finally here," the witch crooned, her lips twisting with a devilish smile. "Now things will get interesting." Before anyone would swing a Keyblade, the witch summoned an army of Shadows. "Let's see if you can save your precious king!" she chortled, siccing the Heartless on Sora before returning her focus on an ailing Mickey.
The King, who was bloodied and bruised, could barely stand. He had been fighting the witch without rest since she appeared, and the endless resurgence of Heartless made his job of cleaning out the hall almost impossible. Alone, his Keyblade was too weak. He needed Sora's power.
"I'm coming, your Majesty! Just hold on!" Sora slashed and whacked the innumerable shadows. For each one he killed, it seemed like a dozen took its place. The Heartless grabbed at his limbs, pinning him down and slashing him repeatedly in the chest. The magical garments made by the Three Good Fairies couldn't hold together for long. Sora lost his protective barrier and the shadows mobbed him. As the Heartless festered around him, Sora could hear Mickey scream in agony. The king was getting battered.
And then it happened. The witch grabbed Mickey. She exploded in a fit of raucous laughter. "What fools crown a mouse as their king?" she guffawed. "How about this, Sora? Make your way here by the time I count to one hundred, and I'll spare this filthy rodent."
"Sora..." Mickey's eyes were swollen and his arms hung limp at his sides. The Keyblade was in danger of slipping from his fingers as he dangled from the witch's grip.
Enraged, Sora found the strength to fling the Heartless from off of him.
"One, two..."
The NeoShadows came and they tore the muscles in Sora's leg.
"Thirty-four, thirty-five..."
Darkside appeared, and Sora's impaired mobility made it impossible for him to avoid getting pounded into the ground.
"Sixty-seven, sixty-eight..."
The Shadows born from Darkside attached to Sora like a thick coat of darkness. He couldn't move. The fist came for him again.
"Eighty-nine, ninety..."
In a final act of desperation, Sora summoned all the energy he had left and unleashed one of his most arcane sword techniques. He destroyed all the Heartless, and using his Keyblade as a crutch, he hobbled towards Mickey.
"...One hundred." The witch smiled. "Too late."
Sora's eyes went wide. He forgot about his lame leg and the adrenaline made him numb to all the pain shooting through his body. "NOOOOO!" he screamed as he ran towards the witch. But the twisted, evil witch laughed harder than ever as she took her magical staff and stabbed the king through the heart.
With a sickening thud, Mickey's body fell to the cold ground as the witch continued to howl with laugher. Sora ran to the king's side, tears streaming down his dirtied cheeks. "No, this can't be happening!" he said, trying to shake Mickey awake. "You can't be gone...you can't! Please, your majesty, open your eyes!" But Mickey remained motionless.
"Do you see how weak you are?" chortled the witch, drunk on her dark power. "You're no match for my might, Sora. No one is! I control the fate of everyone in my hands!"
"How could you..." Feeling an anger unlike any other, Sora's whole body was shaking. "How could you!" he screamed. The witch just laughed even harder. She relished in his suffering.
"I won't let you win!" Taking Mickey's Keyblade in his offhand, Sora went to strike the witch with two Keyblades. But he failed. She swatted him away like a fly. Sora landed hard on his back and lost consciousness. The Heartless swarmed him.
"Sora...wake up."
With a groan, Sora opened his eyes. His vision was foggy, but he could make out the silhouette of a familiar face sitting by him. "Where am I...?" he asked. "What happened?" His vision soon returned to him, and he realized Kairi was holding his hand. They were in some kind of white room, possibly in a hospital.
"Sora, I'm so sorry..." Kairi sad, her face sullen.
"I had a horrible dream. It was a nightmare, really. King Mickey was killed by a witch." Sora laughed nervously. "Pretty stupid, huh? You were right, Kairi. I do sleep like a lazy bum." He laughed again, but when she didn't join him, the truth started to sting. "Oh no...it wasn't a dream." Sora felt sick. He was going to vomit.
"He's gone, Sora," Kairi said, rubbing his hand with hers to sooth him. "Riku and the others found you in the hall and they were able to drag you away from the Heartless."
"What happened to the castle?"
"Lost. It belongs to the witch now. All the surrounding worlds are slowly plunging into Darkness."
Sora had heard enough. He slipped free of Kairi's hand and got out of bed.
"What are you doing?" Kairi scolded.
"We can't fight her like this," Sora said, putting on his clothes. They were all stitched up from the fight and washed a few times to get rid of the bloodstains. "We need help."
"From who?"
"From the only ones immune to her powers." With that ominous reply, Sora left.
Hours later, he found himself in a magical world that few knew existed. He walked up to a door that had a plaque reading "Mr. Sanders" and rang the doorbell. It wasn't long before someone let him inside.
"Please," Sora pleaded, "I didn't know where else to turn. She's killed King Mickey and she's starting to go after everyone else! Can you help?"
After a long, agonizing pause, Sora got the answer he was hoping for: "The Fellowship accepts your request."
The witch would pay; she would burn in hell. The Fellowship would make sure of that...
To be continued in "The Fellowship of the Pooh"