The group stood outside Merlin's house, completely drawing a blank on where to start. That is until Sora stated, "Riku, no offense, but you knew Maleficent best. Where would be an important enough place for her to hide a Horcrux?"
"Are you going to start explaining this soon?" Ron asked. Riku shot him a dirty look as Ron shrugged. The silver-haired boy ran his fingers through his hair as he let out a sigh of defeat.
"I worked for her for a couple months, she told me she'd help me find Sora and Kairi. So I know her better as a result." He explained shortly, glaring at the trio as though daring them to judge him. "But I didn't even know she would have anything to hide, so I have no idea where to start."
"Gawrsh, she seemed pretty close to her villain friends; maybe she hid some with them!" Goofy suggested.
"Like You-Know-Who did with Lucius Malfoy and the diary," Hermione realized.
"And if there are any places important to her," mused Harry. "You-Know-Who hid some in his family's old house and in a cave where he'd been tormenting children. Dumbledore said he'd hide them somewhere important to him."
"Well we may as well start at the castle then," stated Riku. "She spent enough time there."
The group nodded and set off towards the castle. The golden trio gazed up and realized it was nothing like Hogwarts. It looked as though it was in the process of being rebuilt, had multiple pipes, gears and wires visible and chipped violet paint. At the castle gates with his arms crossed over his chest was a man with wild dark brown hair, short-sleeved leather jacket with a fur collar, an odd weapon that looked like a cross between a gun and a sword, and an old scar across his face. The man looked directly at Harry, Ron and Hermione and the trio cringed.
"Hey, Leon!" called Sora. "How goes the restoration?"
"It's going," replied Leon, turning his gaze to Sora. "What brings you here?"
"We were just wondering if we could take a look around the castle," Riku replied, "We think Maleficent may have hidden something in there, and if we destroy it then we should be able to beat her for good." Leon instantly perked up at the idea, but then shrugged.
"As much as I love the idea, I seriously doubt you're going to find anything of Maleficent's here." Leon sighed.
"Why not?" Donald quacked.
"The restoration committee already cleaned out the entire castle; we can't find a single trace of Maleficent anywhere now."
The group exchanged looks of frustration. "Well if we could look around anyway, we'd be most obliged," stated Kairi.
Leon nodded, "Go ahead. Perhaps you'll find what we did not."
He turned to look a Harry, eyes fixed on his lightning scar. Harry glanced at Leon's scar.
"Sucks to be scarred, doesn't it?" Leon asked as Harry nodded, "Got mine ten years ago when the heartless took over. They got my family as well."
"I got mine when the killing curse rebounded. It killed my parents, but I just got a scar."
"Interesting how those things happen," commented Leon. "Good luck to you. And make sure Maleficent suffers for everything she put us through." Harry nodded his understanding as he watched Leon leave then walked into the castle were the group was waiting for him.
"Interesting friend you've got there," Harry said to Sora.
"He just seems grumpy," commented Sora. "He's pretty nice if you get to know him." the spiky-haired boy pulled out the medallion and almost dropped it in shock to find it already dimly glowing.
"Looks like I was right," commented Riku dryly.
"Now we just need to find it," stated Donald. "It is a big castle and who knows what she may be using to guard it."
"But that bloke just said they'd cleaned out the castle," Ron injected, "How would they miss something like a horcrux?"
"Maybe she had a secret room somewhere," Hermione suggested then turned to Riku, "Did she reveal to you any passageways or anything that may lead somewhere?"
Riku frowned. "Well she didn't actually show me, but there was a passage behind the bookshelves. I saw her come out of it once, but she didn't notice me."
"Oh yeah," Sora realized, "When we were last here we had to do a bunch of puzzles like that to move the bookshelves."
"Then that's our first stop!" exclaimed Kairi as Sora and Riku led their group to the library.
As soon as they opened the doors, Hermione nearly fainted. There were thousands of books neatly shelved. It was about the size of the Hogwarts library and Hermione immediately began to scan the titles. She was surprised to see familiar titles, such as Advanced Transfiguration, 1001 Magical Herbs and Fungi and Secrets of the Darkest Art.
"You would get along so well with Belle," Sora smirked as they all began scanning the books.
They stayed in the library for what seemed like an hour, searching for any book that could possibly open a passageway the world-travelers hadn't already discovered. At that point, Harry, Ron and Hermione had taken a break and gone off to the far corner of the library to talk.
"What do you think of them?" Harry asked, "I want to get rid of You-Know-Who, but I honestly just think we're wasting our time here."
"I agree mate, but if Maleficent is as bad as him then we might as well help get rid of her too."
"I agree with Ron," commented Hermione. "This might not be ideal but we don't need to finish of You-Know-Who and have another nut case trying to rule the world. It'd be best if we finish them both off."
Harry nodded in agreement. "All right, let's get back to searching for the book that'll get us where we need to go."
"This is taking forever," moaned Ron as he grabbed a random leather bound book. "There are so -" He froze before calling, "Hey I think I found something." The five world travelers ran up to him and gasped at the sight of a long, dark hallway revealed from behind the bookshelf lined with torches burning with green flames.
"Spooky," commented Harry.
"How'd you do it?" Kairi asked looking at Ron with admiration.
"Lucky guess," answered Hermione, her eyes narrowed at Kairi. Sora pulled out the medallion again, and realized that the glow had slightly brightened.
"This is it," he told the group as they moved to follow the dimly lit passage.
As they moved closer in, it slowly became colder. Kairi and Riku shivered; the rest pulled their jackets tighter. As they moved down the hall, the glow intensified as the hallway ended in a solid wooden door. It was ringed with silver and was very sturdy. A heavy metal lock hung on it.
"How much you want to bet that it's locked?" asked Ron rhetorically.
Sora's Keyblade flashed into existence and Hermione drew her wand. Both approached the door.
"Ladies first," saluted Sora, pulling aside to let Hermione go past.
"Alohomora," she said confidently before pulling on the lock. "She must have put a spell in it to keep us from using that spell." She stated turning to look at the others.
Sora stepped in front of her with the Keyblade drawn, he expected the Keyblade to automatically unlock it, but nothing happened. "She prepared for that too," he said to no one in particular.
"Can anyone pick locks?" asked Riku looking to the trio, as he already knew his friends didn't possess the talent.
Harry and Hermione shook their heads, but Ron nodded. "My brothers taught me," he explained before turning to Kairi and Hermione. "Anyone have a bobby pin?" Hermione nodded before pulling a pin from her bushy hair and handing it to Ron. The freckle-faced teen took the pin and stuck it in the lock, before he knew it, the door opened.
"What?" Donald demanded, "It worked? That was too easy!"
"She's arrogant," commented Sora. "She didn't expect anyone to use such mundane methods. Nice one Ron," he congratulated as the group moved into the room, unconsciously huddling together. The room was dark, round, freezing and completely empty except for a single elegant silver mirror at the end of the room. As they walked closer and closer to the mirror the medallion's glow intensified to the point of it being almost blinding.
"Looks like we found our horcrux!" Goofy stated.
Just as Donald reached out to touch the mirror, a huge black cloaked heartless appeared, throwing the duck from the mirror. The group banded together, surrounding Donald who struggled back to his feet. Riku glared at mirror, hate rising in him, as he knew a piece of soul belonging to the woman who had manipulated him was there.
"I'll destroy it," he stated, his tone not allowing for any argument. "You guys take care of that heartless."
Without another word, Riku sprinted towards the mirror, his Keyblade appearing in his hand, but just before he could strike it a blinding light appeared out of the mirror, blinding the teen. Riku shut his eyes in defense, and couldn't control it as his body fell limp to the ground.
The rest of the team noticed the light and shut their eyes as well, but when they opened them again, they noticed that Riku had vanished. The group however had no time to dwell on the thought as the heartless swooped towards them. The team just barely ducked out of the way as Sora recognized the heartless as the one who attacked him, Donald, Goofy and Peter Pan in Neverland.
"Hey Phantom! Remember us?" Sora called as Phantom released an annoyed growl as he swiped at Sora with his claws, an attack quickly blocked by Kingdom Key.
"Where's Riku?" Kairi demanded as she rushed towards Sora's aid and the golden trio and two Disney residents joined them. Harry looked towards the mirror that still contained his reflection, but a second later the image changed to a young black-haired woman dressed in Slytherin robes. As the boy who lived squinted, he noticed in the background a limp figure with long silver hair.
"Riku's trapped inside the mirror!" Harry exclaimed as he fired a curse at Phantom, who was about to attack him.
"What?" Goofy exclaimed, holding up his shield that Phantom scratched at, "We gotta save him!"
"Let's break the mirror!" Donald exclaimed as he ran towards the horcrux, but was held back by Hermione
"No, we have no idea how her horcruxes work and we can't risk hurting Riku," she stated. Despite only knowing him a short time, Hermione didn't want to see Riku hurt.
"Plus, don't we have our own problem to deal with?" Ron asked, indicating Phantom who floated in front of the group, barring its claws as a glowing red heart appeared underneath the heartless's cloak.
Donald, having dealt with Phantom in the past, hit the heart with fire magic as Phantom staggered backwards, feeling the hit. The heart's color changed to blue as Phantom growled and charged towards them again. Kairi raised her Keyblade and attacked Phantom's captive heart with several swipes from her Keyblade and a blizzard spell. Harry and Ron attacked the back of Phantom with a wide variety of spells and curses while Hermione used her potions to heal the team's wounds. Goofy defended the team with his shield.
Phantom's heart glowed yellow as Sora hit it with a thunder spell. The three wizards raised their wands, summoning their patronuses who managed to cause a great deal of damage to the heartless, along with Kairi and Sora's light magic. Knowing that he was running low on health, Phantom released a loud battle roar that sounded similar to moaning. The heartless raised its claws before charging towards them once again.
Meanwhile, Riku slowly cracked open his eyes as he moved to a sitting position. The space around him reminded him of Betwixt and Between, only it was colored dark purple with a few ribbons of green light randomly appearing.
"What happened?" the islander asked.
"You're inside the mirror," a voice said behind him.
Sensing danger, Riku summoned his Keyblade and spun around finding a girl around his age with shoulder-length black hair, wearing black robes trimmed with green, a pale complexion and a small amount of makeup that revealed a sinister expression.
"Maleficent," breathed Riku, shocked that she had once been so beautiful.
The girl smiled, "oh very good. I see why you are so wonderfully useful. You could achieve greatness and overshadow those who call you a friend. I can see you still desire that and with me it will be possible." She watched him expectantly, waiting for his answer.
"Give me one good reason I should abandon my friends!" Riku snarled while Angela released a laugh worthy of her future self.
"Oh, come now, don't be so stubborn," Angela said while in a split second she had pinned him to the wall with unexpected strength, holding down his wrists in a vice-like grip, digging her nails into his skin. "I can show you so much; you and I can be so much together, Riku." She pressed herself closer to him, smiling and Riku nearly vomited at the overwhelming scent of darkness. "You're desires, this desire is possible my dear. We could make anything happen if you would join me now." Riku turned his head away from her, just as Angela had placed her lips on his neck and kissed him. "Come on, help me out of here; let the heartless destroy those imbeciles. It will be just you and me forever."
Riku struggled harder, wrenching his right hand from her grasp. "Not happening," he gasped, pulling and twisting his left wrist.
Angela stared at him, her face twisting. She dropped the smile and scowled at him. "I can bring about your fears too. Would you not prefer to rule alongside me to the madness I can send you spiraling towards?"
"I'd rather die than go down that path again; you make me sick!"
"Ah but Riku, you don't get the choice of death. I know your fears better than you do." Images began to form, Sora and Kairi bathed in blood, a massive cobra hovering over them. Riku paled and struggled harder than ever. But, Angela never allowed her grip to loosen. His right arm was free, but he was unable to attack her, the images began to grow and become more real. He was more preoccupied with the snakes slithering towards him then the wiry body holding him down.
He saw Ansem smirking at him, a younger version of himself helpless to stop him from taking over his body. When Ansem smirked inside Riku's body, he raised the Keyblade of People's Hearts, slicing Sora and Kairi as they released blood-curling screams. He saw himself as a seven year old in the island woods backing up in fear as a cobra slithered towards him, sending the child colliding into a tree as the snake prepared to strike.
Sweat poured down Riku's brow and tears streamed down his cheeks as his fears replayed over and over in his mind. Angela smirked at her victim before releasing her hold on the teenager and allowing him to crumble to the ground as the visions instantly stopped. Riku shakily rose to his feet, bent over and panting heavily as Angela circled him.
"Do you see now, pet?" Angela asked, "Nothing you do will ever stop me. I've won." Angela pulled Riku's wrists behind his back with one hand and with the other stroked his chin with her sharp nails. Riku glared at Angela the best he could, but the witch only smirked at him, "It's not too late for you to take that tasteless comment back you know, I can make all your pain go away if you just abandon the fools. Of course, it's up to you; you can join me, rule at my side and live or you can suffer as I tear you limb from limb for standing in my way!"
Riku couldn't help but shiver at Angela's words as she turned him around to face her, "I'll give you a hint on which you should choose," she stated mischievously. Before Riku had any time to react, Angela had forcefully placed her lips on Riku's, roughly kissing him. Riku struggled against her, but Angela wouldn't release the hold she had on his mouth. After what seemed like a really long time, Angela released him, leaving Riku panting for breath, "Now, don't pretend you didn't enjoy that. What will it be pet? Suffer or be with me?" Riku glared deeply into Angela's eyes, as the witch awaited his response.
"Being with you would lead to suffering no matter what you say. I know what I have to do now; I choose NEITHER!" Riku roared and in a split second he had summoned his Keyblade. Angela gasped in shock, but had no time to react as Riku charged towards her and slashed her across the chest and Angela released a blood-curling scream as she faded into darkness.
Meanwhile, in the chamber, the team was losing against Phantom. They were out of potions and standing on their last legs. Phantom raised its claws, preparing to deliver the final blow, when suddenly the entire room turned to the mirror as they noticed it beginning to crack. The cracks continued until the mirror collapsed to the ground, exploding in a burst of blinding light that caused Phantom to wither and howl in pain as he was reduced to nothing. When the light died down, the mirror was destroyed and Riku was standing in front of it holding his Keyblade and just about ready to pass out from exhaustion.