Chapter 11

Hello, and welcome back readers! I've got a nice long new chapter ready for you to check out.

And, if you feel like it's been so long that you may have forgotten what happened in the end of the last chapter, you might want to go back a page to refresh yourself. I wouldn't want what is coming up next to sound random and confusing. I do remember I left chapter 10 finishing with a cliffhanger. In the words of Axel, "Had to try it once you know." Lol

But, you guys do whatever you want. It's only a suggestion...

Please, enjoy! ;-)

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Chapter 11

~Strange Whispers plays (KH OST)~

The man in a black coat turned around to face the Keyblade masters. Without removing his hood, he mocked them by saying,

"Running a little late, aren't we?" He pestered them. "Didn't you realize that I had heard where the location was while I was standing out in the hall? I expected you to at least try to get here before me. Imagine my disappointment when I didn't find you here to stop me..."

"Well, we're here now!" Riku protested. "And just in time to stop you in your tracks." The hooded man looked at Riku.

"Is that so?" He questioned him. Riku glared at the hooded guy, who appeared to be one of the shorter members.

While Riku had the guy in the black coat distracted, King Mickey made an attempt to sneak over to the princess. But before he could get to her, the hooded man quickly spun around and blasted the king back with a snap of his finger, forcing the small mouse to slam into the wall! Princess Aurora looked worried, helplessly from the sidelines. Riku gasped as Mickey dropped to the floor on his head.

"Mickey!" He cried. The mysterious member from organization XIII turned his attention back to Riku.

"I saw how your amateur rescuing plans come out during my last encounter with you. And I made sure to take notes of them," the hooded man said. "So there is hardly any chance of you doing anything I will not be able to predict. How do you plan on rescuing this princess, now? Did you bring any backup with you this time?" Riku was silent after hearing this.

"Nothing to say?" The guy in the coat asked. The king was struggling to get back up to help Riku protect the princess of light. Riku decided to buy him some time, until he was back on his feet.

"How's about you take that hood off so we can see who you really are," Riku requested in a demanding tone.

"I don't see any reason to since you already know of the entire organizations' true identities," the guy in black retorted. "My own appearance means nothing, for we who wear the coat are all one of the same, the Keyblade master you defenders of light should fear the most. I am Xehanort!" He declared.

Without removing his hood, Xehanort lifted his arms out in front of him to summon the Heartless with his dark powers. Riku quickly called out his keyblade and prepared to fight.

~Apprehension plays (KH II OST)~

Soon, an army of Neoshadows appeared, ready to obey their master's commands.

Mickey was now up on his feet, with his Keyblade in hand. He stayed close by Aurora to protect her from the Heartless that surrounded them. The three fairies used their magic to help Riku and the king fight off the Heartless. Xehanort only stood by and watched from a distance.

Prince Philip, who had been unconscious through everything, was starting to come to. He looked up at Aurora, who was still holding him, wondering what was happening. After he saw the Heartless, he climbed to his feet and drew his sword he carried with him. The princess was relieved to see her true love was okay. Taking her by the hand, the prince told Aurora to follow him to safety.

The king fought the Neoshadows around them, trying to clear the way so the prince and princess could make an escape. With the aid of the fairies, Riku was easily slashing right through the Heartless. But the Neoshadows were still blocking the room entrance, making it impossible for the prince to get out with the princess of light. The three fairies were doing their best to clear a path for them, but there were just too many Heartless.

While looking for another way to escape, Philip noticed the window was open, and saw that the way was clear to it. He looked over at Mickey and gave him a nod. The king acknowledged what he was planning to do when Philip made a quick glance toward the window after getting his attention. King Mickey nodded back to show his approval, and continued fighting off the Heartless.

Philip and Aurora ran to the open window, and lucky for them there was a tall vine growing up that side of the house from outside. Together, the two carefully climbed down from the window, using the vine as a ladder. However, their escape did not go unnoticed as Xehanort caught sight of them leaving. The hooded man summoned a dark portal and disappeared into it, leaving the two Keyblade masters to fight the room full of Heartless.

Riku and Mickey saw the dark corridor before it disappeared, and knew that Xehanort had gone after the princess.

"Mickey!" Riku called as he continued slashing his Keyblade at the Heartless. "We're running out of time!" The king was hitting the Heartless with his magic as he looked back at Riku.

"I know," he said. "Let's finish these together and get out of here."

"Right," Riku nodded. The two combined their powers into double firing attacks, with Mickey using his orbs of light, and Riku using his dark aura spheres. They stood back to back, while spinning above the ground with their aerial abilities. The fairies stayed back as the Keyblade masters fired their attacks through the whole room at every remaining Heartless, eliminating them with a single hit.

It wasn't long until every Heartless in sight was defeated.

~Apprehension ends~

"We should've done THAT sooner," Riku said in a boastful way. Mickey nodded back at him.

"Come on," the king said, "we have to hurry!"

The three fairies offered the Keyblade wielders their assistance in finding the princess, then, the five of them left the empty room by climbing out the window. Riku and Mickey easily jumped out, while the fairies flew.

Once they were outside, they looked around for the princess, but there was no sight of anyone.

After seeing a trail leading into the woods, they decided to get closer to have a better look.

When they reached the forest path, they could see someone further ahead, walking along the trail.

It was a black hooded figure! They quickly ran after him.

As the chase continued, everyone suddenly came to a halt when they saw that up ahead the path was split into two ways. This made things difficult, for there was no sign of the guy in the black coat.

The fairies began to question the Keyblade bearers to see which way they should go.

~The Silent Forest plays (KH BBS OST)~

"Which path do you think we should take, dears?" Flora asked anxiously. The short fairy dressed in blue pointed up ahead.

"I think he went this way," Merryweather supposed. Mickey scratched the back of his head.

"Well...we need to be sure, especially if we want to catch up to them," the king reminded. While the others were discussing which path they should take, Riku walked ahead to take a look at the two trails. This caught the attention of the pink fairy, Flora, which caused her to follow him.

Riku crouched down closer to the ground, hoping to find some kind of clue to which path the hooded guy had taken. King Mickey looked around at their surroundings with a frown.

"We can't even know for sure he didn't just go through another portal when he got here," Mickey sighed hopelessly. Riku was about to agree with Mickey...until he spotted some tracks on the trail to the right.

"Hey, look at this!" Riku called out as he examined the footprints. "These tracks look fresh." Flora went over to him to see for herself.

"Oh, my! Those look like hoofprints!" Flora said excitedly, after she had a close look at them. "They may have come from Prince Philip's horse." Riku looked at the smiling pink fairy.

"Then that means, they could have gone through here recently," Riku replied. Fauna and Merryweather rushed over to Flora.

"For once, I have to agree with you, Flora. This has to be the right path. Let's go!" Merryweather said confidently, while remembering the many times when she and Flora could never agree on the same thing.

"Yes, let's hurry!" Fauna chimed in. After hearing the good news, Mickey ran over to join them.

"It looks like we've gotta lead now. I just hope we're not too late," Mickey said. Riku motioned his hand for everyone to follow him.

"Come on," Riku told them. With Riku in the lead, everyone quickly followed the hoofprints marked on the trail, hoping to find the princess along the way.

~The Silent Forest ends~

As they made haste along the path, looking for any sign of the guy in black or the prince with the princess, they finally found the two they were searching for. Only this time, the couple were being threatened by someone other than a member from the organization.

The Keyblade masters found themselves confronting one of their old enemies. Standing in front of Prince's horse, preventing Philip and Aurora from leaving, was the evil fairy, Maleficent.

~Villains of a Sort plays (KH II OST)~

Riku and Mickey glared at her, neither one glad to see the witch who had caused so much trouble for them over the years. Maleficent, however, was undaunted by their presents, and responded to the look on their faces with an irritating chuckle.

"Well, well...look what we have here," she said. "If it isn't the pitiful mouse king and the boy who is constantly getting himself mixed up with the Darkness. What a pleasant surprise this is." Riku snarled back at her and summoned his Keyblade.

"Maleficent!" Mickey exclaimed. "Just what are trying to do, now?

"Why, I am only here to take care of some unfinished business," she replied with a grin. "I have been waiting for the right time to come. The day when I would have my revenge on all who underestimated my true power. All we need now is a touch of Darkness, and the light within this World will be extinguished forever!" She proclaimed as she rose her staff into the air, spreading out her cape like long black wings.

"Except, we aren't going to stand by and let you do that," Riku rejected with a smirk. Maleficent's overconfident smile faded as she glared at Riku, looking as though she weren't impressed by the young Keyblade master's response.

"Oh, is that so? It sounds as though you underestimate me, yet again...how unfortunate." The evil fairy replied. Princess Aurora and Prince Philip held onto each other while they sat motionless on the horse's back, getting more worried by the second.

"You obviously feel very sure that you're going to win," Riku said. "But you couldn't be more wrong. Look around...you're totally outnumbered, Maleficent. Do you really think you can take on two Keyblade wielders at once?"

"Such insolence!" Maleficent declared. "I never said I was going to fight the both of you on my own..."

Riku and Mickey looked confused, which made the evil fairy laugh.

"What are you up to, Maleficent?" King Mickey demanded her to tell them. The princess began to shudder when Maleficent pointed her finger toward her.

"Hand over Princess Aurora and I will be on my way," Maleficent told them. The king summoned his Keyblade, then replied with a..."No!"

"Very well...have it your way," Maleficent said in a hostile tone. She wave her hand over her staff until Darkness emitted around it.

~Villains of a Sort ends~

Mickey charged at her with his key, but already the Heartless were beginning to emerge from the Darkness. Before they were surrounded, Riku rushed over to the prince.

~Revenge of Chaos plays (KH ReCOM)~

"You'd better get the princess away from here," he advised the prince. "Just stay close to Flora and the others. We'll try to meet up with you guys soon." Prince Philip nodded and rode off on his horse with the princess.

Riku signaled the three fairies to go with the prince to keep them safe. Flora, Fauna and Merryweather got the message and quickly followed Philip's galloping horse. The idea was to get Aurora out of harms way, but Riku hadn't planned on a swarm of Heartless to chase after them. As Riku watched them from behind him, he noticed some of the Heartless had wings, which meant it wouldn't be long until they caught up to them. He wondered if the three fairies could handle the dark threat alone.

The king had made his way to where Maleficent stood, but was having difficulty landing any of his attacks at her. Maleficent had summoned two stronger Heartless to bodyguard her. Each of the large Heartless protecting her had muscular looking arms and heavy bodies. As Mickey jumped up to hit one on its head, it grabbed the king's leg and forcefully tossed him down.

"Waah!" Mickey yelped. Maleficent let out an irritating cackle at the sight of the mouse getting slammed to the ground.

After seeing that Mickey was in trouble, Riku ran over to help as his Keyblade slashed through the Heartless blocking his way to the king.

Mickey was quickly back on his feet to fight the strong Heartless. He cast his most powerful Blizzard spell to freeze them temporarily and slow them down. He looked behind him and called out...

"Riku! You gotta protect the princess!" He commanded him. "Don't worry about me, I can take care of Maleficent. Keeping the princess safe is more important than helping me! Hurry!"

"Alright." Riku agreed, then he did as the King wanted and ran to catch up with the three fairies.

Maleficent looked at the surrounded king with a sinister grin.

"Are you quite sure you can stop me on your own?" She questioned him. "Remember, the last time you faced me? You barely managed to keep yourself alive. If it hadn't been for your meddling friend from the darkness, I would have been rid of you for good." Mickey made a fist at her remark.

"You had my friend's lives on the line then...I was ready to do whatever it took to protect them," he said. "But this time, I'll show you what a Keyblade master can really do! Light!" He shot a beam of light at her with his key, causing her to be pushed back as she tried her best to shield herself with her cloak of Darkness.

The frozen Heartless started to shake as they began to melt free. Mickey swiftly fired his orbs of light at them to hold them back.

A lot of the other Heartless had been defeated by Riku's attacks, but there were still quite a lot left. As Mickey prepared for a tough battle, he could only hope that Riku would successfully keep Princess Aurora safe.

~Revenge of Chaos ends~

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Riku was running as fast as he could in the direction Philip's horse had gone. He knew he was on the right trail because of the hoofprint markings on the ground.

He hadn't gone very far when he could soon hear voices a short ways up ahead. He was getting really close. But, as he drew closer, he could sense a strong Darkness.

"That can't be good," he thought. This made him hurry even faster.

Now, the dark scent was becoming so strong that it made his nose burn. But the strange thing was that there was no one on the path in front of him. He looked down to see the tracks he'd been following, and was surprised to find them leading off the trail and into the forest.

"Why would—" Suddenly he was cut off by a near by scream! "I guess that's why!" He realized, before darting off into the direction the scream had come from.

He continued running straight until he came to a clearing in the woods.

There, in the open area of the forest, he saw the prince and princess, along with the three good fairies, with some unwelcome company. The guy in the coat had finally caught up to them!

"I knew I smelled trouble!" Riku said to himself. He ran over to help the others.

Philip had drawn out his sword he always carried with him, and the fairies were gathered in front of Aurora. From the looks of things, it seemed that Xehanort had only just found them.

Xehanort brought out his special Keyblade to fight the prince, and that's when Riku stepped in. Right before Xehanort could attack, Riku fire dark aura sphere to stop him, which surprisingly, Xehanort managed to deflect before it could hit him.

"Must you always intervene?" Xehanort inquired after Riku's arrival. Riku went into his battle stance.

"Until you've given up on capturing the princesses...then, yes!" Riku answered. The hooded guy directed his Keyblade at the young Keyblade master.

"It seems this time you leave me with no choice..." Xehanort consented. "But you should know, I have gotten stronger since the last time you and I battled. I will not be easily brought down."

"Fine with me," Riku replied. "I'm sure you're not the only one who has grown stronger...whoever you are."

~Dark Impetus plays (KH BBS OST)~

Riku stared at Xehanort's unique looking Keyblade, and wondered which one of Xehanort's incarnations wielded that particular one. It definitely looked familiar...

Before Riku could make a move, Xehanort disappeared and teleported behind him, landing a surprise attack on the unprepared Riku.

"Ugh!" Riku cried while being pushed forward from the direct hit. Xehanort, still hooded, looked at Riku as he was regaining his balance.

"Is any of this beginning to feel familiar now?" Xehanort questioned him. Riku stayed silent as he went into his battle position. Xehanort began to shake his in disappointment.

"Hmph...I guess not," the hooded guy concluded.

Riku swung his Keyblade straight at Xehanort, managing to successfully make a few hits. But this did not stop his opponent from teleporting and slashing Riku with his laser blade.

Xehanort's Keyblade acted as a whip, extending when he swung it around him. It was hard for Riku to block the rapid attacks the hooded figure was dealing, which made Riku take quite a bit of damage.

When Riku tried firing Dark Firaga at him, Xehanort dodged and countered with his own fire blast that was oddly shaped like a giant 'X'.

"And here I thought you would be a tough opponent...how disappointing." Xehanort mocked the new Keyblade master.

Riku, however, was not offended by what his enemy was saying about him. He used his more powerful move called 'Sacrifice', which did a lot of damage on its opponent, but also drained some of the user's strength. Luckily, his quick Keyblade slice made a direct hit on Xehanort as his enemy let out a loud groan.

The attack seemed to take a lot of damage, for Xehanort was unable to move as fast as he had been.

The hooded man countered back by firing multiple laser pin missiles, which homed in on Riku.

There were so many he had trouble blocking all of them!

"Gugh!" Riku grunted as the missiles exploded after hitting him. Xehanort continued his fire at the surrounded Keyblade wielder.

~Dark Impetus ends~

As the two continued to battle, a dark corridor suddenly appeared beside the princess, and a tall figure in a black hooded coat stepped out. Aurora and Philip were soon trapped by the Heartless the hooded man had quickly summoned. Flora, Fauna and Merryweather tried to fight the Neoshadows with their wands, but to no avail did it have any effect on the dark creatures.

~Shaded Truths plays (KH BBS OST)~

When Riku heard their cry for help, he looked back to see the other hooded figure.

As Xehanort kept Riku occupied with his missile attack, the other hooded man was making his way to Princess Aurora. Philip was immediately knocked down by a group of Neoshadows jumping straight at him, leaving the princess unguarded, since the fairies were also being kept back by the Heartless.

Riku cast Dark Aura Sphere at the Xehanort he was busy battling, wanting to get away to help the princess.

The spheres aimed at Xehanort's shrouding hood and knocked it completely back, revealing his face.

"Augh!" Xehanort gasped. Riku was in too much of a hurry to stop the other hooded man from trying to capture the princess to notice that his hood had come off though.

As Riku ran toward the princess, the unmasked Xehanort angrily blasted another type of missile at him.

"Not so fast," he yelled. Once the shots had made a clear hit, Riku was almost entirely cased in ice! The ice missiles had froze him in his tracks!

"Wha! I can't move!" Riku exclaimed as he struggled to get free. The unmasked Xehanort walked toward Riku with a smile.

~Shaded Truths ends~

Riku watched as he went right by him while he was stuck standing still, unable to move. Xehanort glanced back at the frozen Keyblade hero for a split second with a look of satisfaction on his face.

~Organization VIII plays (KH II OST)~

When Riku got a good look at who it was, he was taken back when he recognized him as the younger Xehanort from the organization. It was the one who had interfered with his and Sora's Mark of Mastery Exam in the Sleeping Worlds, and caused everything to go wrong, along with putting his best friend in danger. He wasn't glad to see that particular Xehanort at all!

"So it was you!" Riku shouted. "I should've known." Young Xehanort paused to a moment...

"But you didn't. And now you can stand by helplessly while I get away with the princess of heart." Young Xehanort sneered back at him. Then he made his way to his comrade.

"Hands off the princess, you." Young Xehanort demanded the other man in a black coat. "I was given this assignment, specifically. And it will be I who carries it out." The taller hooded man turned to face him, crossing his arms with annoyance.

"You had your chance. But it looks like you couldn't pull it off on your own." The hooded guy said in a deeper voice.

"That is incorrect. I had everything under control."

"Not from what I saw," the deeper voice argued. "You still have so much to learn..."

"I was given this task by our leader," Young Xehanort reminded him. "Leave capturing the princess to me. Unless you'd like to explain all of this to the man in charge."

"Fine!" The other agreed. "I'll see you back at headquarters." Young Xehanort nodded.

The hooded man disappeared into his dark portal, leaving the younger Xehanort to bringing the princess. Prince Philip saw what was happening and ran past the Heartless with his sword in hand. "Stop!" He ordered.

But, before the prince could get closer, Xehanort blasted him back with the snap of his finger. Riku watched the prince fly back to the ground as he tried his best to break through the solid ice around him. The hand he held his Keyblade in was trapped in ice, which made it impossible for him to fire an attack.

Xehanort grabbed Aurora roughly by the arm, then forcefully pulled her toward the dark portal he had just summoned. Aurora wriggled to break free, but his grasp was too strong!

"No, please! Help!" Aurora pleaded helplessly.

Just before walking through the portal with the struggling princess, Xehanort turned to see Riku still frozen in ice...

"Better luck next time, Riku. I'm sure this won't be the last time we meet. Until then...you might want to think about getting into some more practice. You'll never be able to stop us this way..." Xehanort laughed. The ice holding Riku was beginning to thaw out, and he was able to break free at last!

~ Organization VIII ends~

"Arrgh! Hold it right there!" Riku yelled as he ran to stop Xehanort. But he was too late! The portal was gone. Along with the princess.

"No..." Riku sighed with his head hanging low. He dismissed his Keyblade and stood silent in his defeat. Flora and Fauna were attending to the devastated prince, making sure he wasn't too hurt to move, while Merryweather walked over to check on Riku.

"Are you alright?" Merryweather asked. Riku looked up to see the fairy in blue standing next to him.

"Yeah...I'm fine." Riku replied. The small fairy looked at the spot where the dark corridor was last seen and began to ruffle up.

Oh, why that...that, no good, black coated brute! He better not do anything to harm our princess." She said while getting all steamed up. "I'd sure like to take a whack at that big bully!"

"I can't believe I let him get away..." Riku uttered miserably. "Mickey...he trusted me to make sure nothing bad happened. And even after everything we went through...one of the seven princesses get captured by the organization. How am I going to tell him?" Riku looked down at the ground, wondering what he should do next.

"Rikuuu!" He suddenly heard a familiar voice calling from the distance. Riku looked up to see where it was coming from.

"Over here!" He called back to the voice he recognized as the king's. Though Riku was glad to hear his friend was safe, he was still dreading to tell the king the bad news...

Mickey followed Riku's call all the way to where they were. He was relieved to see them all there, and was assuming that everything had gone well...up until he noticed the depressed look on Riku's face.

"I'm sure glad I finally found ya," Mickey said as he approached Riku and Merryweather. "But, why the long face? Did something bad happen?" Riku was quiet as the king began looking around to make a headcount for everyone who was present, when he soon discovered that someone was missing. "Oh no! Where's the princess?" The king asked frantically. "Please, don't tell me..." Riku nodded at him with regret.

~Riku plays (KH II OST)~

"I'm afraid so. Xehanort got away with the princess." Riku explained. "I'm sorry I let you down, Mickey. It's my fault. I wasn't strong enough to keep her safe, even after you put all your trust in me...I failed." Mickey let out a sigh, then turned to Riku with a small smile.

"Aw...it's not you fault, Riku," Mickey attempted to cheer up his dreary friend. "Why, I'm sure you did everything you could to stop him. Remember...this time we are dealing with a bad group, who are as cunning as they come. It will take a lot more than just one of us to stop Xehanort from winning this time. No doubt this threat will probably be the toughest it's ever been. But I just know, as long as we all pull together, we're sure beat him! We can't let a little bump in the road now and then get us down. We've gotta keep on trying, no matter what!" Riku started to smile a little.

"Yeah...I know. But now, Xehanort is one step closer to his goal," Riku reminded him. "And I'm sure he isn't going to stop there. Just think, there are eleven more Xehanort's out there, probably trying to capture more right now. How are we going to get to every princess of heart before they do?"

"Hmm? I don't know..." Mickey replied with a frown. "The plan is to rescue as many princesses as we can. Which would put a halt to Master Xehanort's big plan, keeping him from making any more progress in starting another Keyblade War."

"Then...do you still think we can do it?" Riku asked.

"I know we have to try," Mickey replied determinedly. "And who knows, we might even still have a chance in rescuing the one we lost. We can't give up!" Riku nodded at the king with renewed hope.

"Thanks, Mickey," Riku replied. Merryweather walked in between Riku and the king.

~Riku ends~

"Do you really mean you're going to try to get our precious Aurora back?" She asked hopefully.

"Of course! We promise to do everything we can," Mickey assured the worried fairy. Flora and Fauna made their way to Merryweather to join the conversation.

"The boys said they are going to try to get Aurora back for us, Flora." Merryweather told the pink fairy. "Isn't it wonderful?" Flora and Fauna nodded happily.

"But, what should we do in the meantime?" Fauna asked her friends.

"I think we should go see Yen Sid. We may be of some assistance to him," Flora suggested. The other fairies agreed to go back to Yen Sid's tower.

"I'll go tell Prince Philip our plans, and try to convince him there is no need for him to worry over Aurora," Fauna said before walking over to the prince. Flora explained their intentions to King Mickey and Riku.

"That sounds like a good idea to me," Mickey agreed. "I'm sure you three will be a big help to Master Yen Sid. We'll probably be going there soon, too. But not until after we've checked on a few more things."

"Alright. Then we will see you there," Flora replied. "We want to do anything we can to insure that princess Aurora is brought back here safely." Once Fauna had joined the other two fairies they bid the Keyblade masters farewell, and using their wands, they turned into little balls of light and disappeared.

"I guess we'd better go, too," Mickey said after the fairies had left.

"Yeah, we've still got a lot of Worlds to visit," Riku replied. "It looks like the organization isn't the only thing we have to worry about. If Maleficent is involved, that means more trouble for us to deal with."

"Yeah..." Mickey sighed. Riku then thought of the battle with Maleficent, the one the king had just battled on his own.

"Oh, yeah! So, how did you get away from Maleficent?" Riku asked curiously. "I was so busy thinking about the princess that I'd forgot all about you staying behind to hold back Maleficent and the Heartless." King Mickey put his hand under his chin to think...

"Well...it wasn't easy, but I managed to gain the upper hand in the end," Mickey explained. "After I had got rid of most of the stronger Heartless and could finally get to her, she quickly retreated and escaped into the darkness. But...I guess that's Maleficent for ya."

"Hmph. Well, I'm just glad you made it out of there okay," Riku smiled.

"What about you? Did you ever find out who it was hiding under the hood?" Mickey questioned Riku.

"Actually, I did," He replied. "I guess some time during our battle his hood must've got knocked off. He turned out to be the same younger version of Xehanort we encountered in the Sleeping Worlds. The one who was holding Sora captive after forcing him into that slumber. He wielded some type of Keyblade, too." Mickey looked surprised.

"Wow! That must've been a tough battle for you," Mickey assumed. Riku made a fist as he stood still next to the mouse king.

"He definitely was no pushover. He ended up getting away after using some kind of blizzard spell that froze me in ice." Riku answered. "It wasn't exactly may greatest moment."

"I'll bet that was frustrating for you, not being able to do anything," Mickey sympathized with the young Keyblade master.

"Yeah," Riku confirmed. "I guess I still have a lot to learn."

"You're not the only one," Mickey laughed while referring to himself. "There is still lots that I don't know, either. We'll just have to find out together!" Riku laughed to himself.

"So...you ready go, then?" He asked. Mickey nodded with a big grin,

"Yup!" Then, the two Keyblade masters made it back to the king's gummi ship and took off, hoping to get to the other princesses before their enemies did.

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After finally reaching camp, John, along with Sora and his friends found that many of the men had been ordered to surround the borders and watch out for danger.

Once they were inside, John asked if Sora would wait with his friends while he arranged a meeting with Governor Ratcliffe. Of course Sora agreed he would.

While Sora waited by Donald and Goofy, he realized that he hadn't even talked over his plan in going along with John with his team. He had got a little caught up in everything too fast for having any second thoughts. It was important that he remembered this time, he was not on his own. He had friends beside him who he needed to look out for, and consult with before making decisions.

After taking his Mark of Mastery test on his own, though it was not intended on being that way, he experienced what it felt like to be the one in charge.

There was no one else to consider things with. It was just him and his Keyblade. Having all that time being on his own had made him feel more self reliant, so it was difficult to adjust to the feeling of working as part of a team again. Before, he had always relied on his friend's ideas as much as his own. He depended on his friends to help him when things got hard, just as they did with him.

Being able to go on his next quest, and share new sights with his two best pals was great. It was just like old times, and nothing could make him happier.

But still, he would need to remember from now on to always include Donald and Goofy in everything he was doing. That's what being part of a team was all about, after all.

Sora decided he would be a better leader, and be careful not to ever forget about his friends who traveled by his side.

Donald and Goofy were whispering to each other in a private conversation, while Sora was waiting for John to return. When Sora glanced their way and saw the two, he gave them a funny look. After they saw that Sora was watching them they stopped talking secretly with each other and turned to face their curious friend.

"Hey. What are you guys up to?" Sora asked, confused by their reactions toward him.

"Um...we were just having a little chat. That's all," Donald tried to convince him.

"Really? About what?" Sora continued to question them.

"Oh, you know...just the usual," Donald said with a grin. Goofy scratched the tip of his nose with a nod.

"Yup. Nothing we don't want you to know about, that's for sure," Goofy added, unaware that he'd just made a mistake by telling him that part. Sora tilt his head with a confused look on his face.

"Okay..." The boy with spiky hair uttered. Before he could ask anymore about their suspicious behavior, John returned with the permission to speak with the governor.

"It's all settled," John informed him. "We can go to see him now. Actually, we have to see him now. I was told by a fellow crewman that Ratcliffe demanded I report back to him once I got back. And by the sounds of it, the governor is getting very impatient. We'd better hurry. That is...if I can still count on you coming with me, Sora."

"Sure. I'm ready," he replied with a nod. "You guys don't mind if I go with John to talk to the governor, do ya?" Sora said as he turned to Donald and Goofy.

"Go ahead," Donald consented, gesturing for him to go on by waving his feathery hand in a forward motion out in front of him. Sora smiled back with his teeth showing, then walked with John to Ratcliffe's personal tent.

Now that Sora had left, Donald and Goofy made way with their own plan, to try to get some of the crew to change their thoughts about Pocahontas's people. Hoping to surprise Sora and John after they have finished their talk with the crew's leader.

"So...you think he's really upset?" Sora asked John about the governor as they made their way across camp.

"By the looks of things...it sounds like it," John replied.

"Great..." Sora sighed.

"Are you worried?" John teased. "Come on. Let's try not to keep him waiting any longer than he already has." Sora acted like he thought what John said was funny and laughed sarcastically as they walked.

It wasn't long before Sora and John had been admitted into the tent by Ratcliffe. Their host definitely didn't seem to be in a very pleasant mood. He looked even angrier as they stood in his presence.

"Now...where have you been, Smith?" Ratcliffe demanded, acting as though Sora wasn't even there, by only addressing John as he spoke. This made Sora stay back behind John, thinking it best not to interfere and just be there for support.

"I was out scouting the terrain, sir," John began. A smile spread across Ratcliffe's face.

~Hesitation plays (KH II OST)~

"Excellent. Then you must know the Indians' whereabouts," Ratcliffe assumed. "We'll need that information for the battle." Sora's eyes widened by his words.

"What battle?" John questioned him with a look disgust.

"We will eliminate these savages once and for all."

No! You can't do that!" John argued. Sora nodded while glaring at the governor, showing that he agreed with John.

"Oh, can't I?" Ratcliffe sneered. Sora was struggling to stay quiet...

It was obvious to Sora, now. What he had seen happen to most of the villains from other Worlds he had been to was happening to Ratcliffe, as well. He knew the dark smoke emitting from the governor's body, again, meant that he was allowing the Darkness into his heart.

But, seeing how he hasn't attempted to get rid of him or his Keyblade, he supposed that Ratcliffe could be unaware of the Darkness that was feeding off of his anger and greed.

"We don't have to fight them." John pointed out, trying to remain calm so he wouldn't provoke the governor. "I sort of met one of—"

~Hesitation ends~

Suddenly, there was a loud crashing sound from outside the tent!

Through all the screams and commotion from the men outside, Sora could hear Donald and Goofy calling his name.

"What's that?!" Ratcliffe cried.

"I'd better go take a look!" Sora exclaimed before darting out of the tent.

"Sora! Wait!" John tried to stop him, but was too late. To see what was happening, he hurried out the tent after him.

Sora found Donald and Goofy waiting near by for him. They were both looking up with their mouths hanging open at the giant Heartless they had first taken on after they're arrival. Sora was as surprised as they were to see it again. Nothing about the beast had changed, except that this time, it was even more riled. They knew that the large Heartless had escaped before they could finish it off, but none of them expected it to return so soon!

Rattacoon had nearly wiped out the entire campsite. The high fence the men had just finished setting up had been torn down to shreds! This time, Rattacoon seemed even more fierce than their last battle with it. But instead of going straight to attack the heroes, it spun around three times in wide circles and ran into the woods.

Sora and co. knew they couldn't let it get away again. This time, they had to stop it!

They were ready to go after it when John called for Sora to wait.

"You're not seriously thinking about going after that..that THING, are you?!" John asked him.

"We're not going to let it just tear down the whole forest!" Sora replied.

"Well...let me come with you, then," John volunteered. Though he did appreciate it, Sora shook his head.

"No...you'd better stay here," he told him. "It's too dangerous! We'll be fine." Then, without giving John a second chance to argue back, Sora motioned Donald and Goofy to follow him, and away they went into the woods.

The trio still had the Heartless boss in their sights as they ran to catch up with it. Donald fired one of his blizzard spells at the Rattacoon, hoping to make him slow down.

The attack caught the attention of the large beast as it quickly spun its self around to face them. Sora quickly summoned his Kingdom Key and got ready for battle.

~Dance to the Death plays KH II OST

"Just like last time, guys," Sora encouraged his allies. "Only this time, we can't let this thing get away!"

"He won't get passed me!" Donald boasted. Goofy held his Shield up...

"Let's get 'em" Goofy cried.

Before they had time to attack, Rattacoon suddenly leaped into the air above some trees and disappeared! The heroes looked up and saw the branches shake on a few of the trees overhead.

Apparently, it was hiding itself up in the tops of trees.

They tried to keep an eye on the shaking trees so they wouldn't lose sight of it, until the rattling in the leaves came to a stop.

"Uh oh! How do we know where it is, now?" Goofy wondered.

"Fire!" Donald cried as he aimed his magic up at the trees. They all watched for the Rattacoon to fall from the impact...but it never did.

Instead, a loud growl suddenly startled them as they stood on the ground below. Afterwards, a large shadow was cast over them! Rattacoon had leaped out of the trees, and was heading straight down at them! Their eyes grew wide as they watched it falling toward them.

"Ruuuuun!" Sora cried. The trio waisted no time in getting out of the way!

While they ran away as fast as they could, Rattacoon was inches from hitting the ground. The tail on the beast was longer than they remembered. Sora barely made it far enough from its tail as it just missed him. When the creature landed, a rough quake followed as dust flew into the air from stirring the dirt. It also created a strong blast of wind, forcing Sora and his friends to fall backwards with a thud.

Sora let out a sigh of relief when he saw how close he was to being smashed by the large tail that was laying in front of him.

The Heartless was the only one who hadn't been effected by its fall. It was already up on all four feet and ready to attack. The trio jumped to their feet, and started hitting at the large Heartless with yellow glowing eyes. Goofy rammed into its legs with his Shield, trying to make it lose balance. Donald zapped Thundaga at its feet to help Goofy knock it down. This gave Sora time to bash Rattacoon on the head with some powerful blows with his Keyblade. The heroes kept up with their attacks.

As it tried to dodge Goofy and Donald's attacks, it stomped around with his big feet, nearly stepping on them. Whenever it would start stamping its feet they would get back until it calmed down.

The thumps it made with its tail as it swung it on top of the ground left an earthquaking effect. It was hard for the heroes to keep their balance as they were shaken violently.

After taking so many hits on its legs, the giant Heartless crashed to the ground with a a hard thud.

Now that their foe was down, everyone jumped up onto its back to keep it down as they continued with their attacks. But staying on top of it while it relentlessly struggled to get up wasn't easy!

One thing they hadn't planned on it doing happened as it suddenly rolled over on its back to get back on its feet. It rolled so fast they barely had enough time to jump off!

Donald didn't get to jump off as he lost his footing and tumbled off to the other side, but to where he'd be safe. Goofy slid down on his shield like a sled, down to where Donald had rolled off to. Sora was about to jump, but he had been knocked off his feet the second the large Heartless had threw his head back as Sora was swinging his Keyblade at it!

Without much choice, Sora crawled closer to the back of Rattacoon's big head and held on tight to its pointy ears, right before the Heartless had rolled completely on its back.

Donald and Goofy watched nervously as the beast rolled sideways multiple times.

The Heartless was moving so fast that Sora couldn't see anything but a spinning swirl when he managed to open his eyes. The wind was blowing against his face so hard it took most of his air away. He gritted his teeth together and grasped on tighter to its ears, lying as low as he could on his front side, hoping that it would stop rolling before he fell off!

Just when he didn't think he could hang on for much longer, finally Rattacoon was back on his feet, and Sora was able to catch his breath again.

Donald and Goofy waited for Sora to get down safely before continuing with their attacks.

Sora released its two ears and carefully stood back up. He felt a dizziness rush by him as he attempted to get his balance. His head felt like it was spinning. Placing his hand over his head, Sora tried to shake the dizzy feeling off.

Once he could see where he was without everything spinning, he slowly jumped off of Rattacoon's back to the ground.

"Man...what a crazy ride," Sora said. "I don't think I'll be up there again any time soon." Donald and Goofy smiled as he looked their way, relieved that Sora was okay.

"Now, Goofy!" Donald directed the captain of the royal guard to help him fight the Heartless.

"Charge!" Goofy cried as he followed after Donald.

Sora ran ahead of the Heartless as his friends charged toward it. They wanted to trap it in one spot to make it easier to for doing multiple attacks.

When he was a few feet in front of their foe, Sora aimed straight at its face with his Keyblade and shot out a beam of light toward it.

"Light!" Sora yelled.

The beam hit Rattacoon right in the face! It staggered back, trying to get away from it.

As it tried to turn around, Donald and Goofy were right there to stop it.

"Wind!" Donald shouted, making a funnel of wind blow around the enemy.

Goofy ran straight into the funnel of air Donald had conjured and used his Tornado Spin ability. He was carried up into the wind blowing around the Heartless, which made his move even faster. As he continued to spin with his shield out, the wind swept him all around Rattacoon, doing double damage.

Seeing how the Heartless Boss was getting worn down, Sora ceased the opportunity to finish it off.

Running toward a tall tree, he jumped high into the air, then kicked off the tree over to the one next to it, pushing himself higher up. He'd learned how to do this after his training in the Sleeping Worlds. While he was still in the air, he did a quick front flip to make go him go down faster. With his Keyblade pointed toward the Heartless below, he did a nosedive straight toward it.

~Dance to the Death ends~

When the two collided into each other, there was a powerful shockwave that followed.

Sora's Keyblade continued to drill into the Heartless, which ended in a big explosion of dark smoke.

Rattacoon slowly began to disappear as it sunk into the ground.

Sora, Donald and Goofy looked up as the large captive heart released into the sky.

"We did it!" Donald exclaimed while jumping into the air.

"We sure did!" Goofy chimed in.

"Oh, c'mon. Was there ever any doubt?" Sora added playfully, giving a slight punch at his chest.

"Gawrsh...look where we are, fellers," Goofy said as he walked around. Donald and Sora began looking too.

"Huh...that's funny. How'd we end up here?" Sora wondered.

They saw the same old Willow tree they had found Pocahontas and John Smith sitting by earlier.

During their battle with the giant Heartless, they had been too busy to even notice where it had led them to.

Then suddenly, they heard a voice calling for them near the Willow tree. The trio decided to get closer to the tree to check it out.

It was just as they thought, the voice came from Grandmother Willow, the face in the tree had appeared before them as it did before. But why was she ask in for them to come over to her?

As they approached the talking tree, she gave them a warm smile.

"Well done on defeating that dreadful monster," Grandmother Willow said. "I saw the whole thing from over here. What good teamwork the three of you boys have together."

"Thanks," Sora replied with a nod.

"Now the woods should be more peaceful again," Donald added.

"Oh, yes. It did cause quite a ruckus, didn't it?" The tree laughed. "I knew the three of you were brave heroes when I first saw you. And you must have a long journey ahead of you in an effort to dispel the Darkness. But, before you go, I have a question for you, young man." She angled her wooden face toward the spiky haired boy.

Sora looked at her confused, but said, "Okay." The Willow tree smiled, then cleared her throat.

"Would you suppose that believing in something hard enough can be as resourceful in solving your problems as taking things into action can sometimes be?" Grandmother Willow asked him the riddle-like question. Sora folded his arms over his chest to think...

"I know that you should always believe in yourself and all your friends," Sora answered. "It's also important to believe that no matter how impossible something seems, you can never give up. There's always a way. And, if you never stop believing in the Light, the Darkness can't win. So...I think by believing in something extra hard, you can solve just about any problem."

"Mmm, yes. You are correct," Grandmother Willow smiled at him."Remember to always keep believing, no matter how bad some things seem to be."

Then, the river beneath the tree began to make ripples in the water, and a light started to glow in the center of it. Sora and the others looked down at it as the light got brighter. Without doing anything, Sora's Keyblade appeared in his hand. This seemed familiar to him in a way.

After the light had grown so big that it shined through the entire forest around them, Sora could see a keyhole forming under the water. Using his Keyblade, he attempted to seal it.

As he pointed his key at the keyhole, a beam of light shot from it, and a strong gust of wind carried afterwards. It felt as if the wind was coming from the place where all the Worlds could be found in. A whole other universe.

After the wind stopped, the light dimmed down and there was a clicking noise, like something had just been locked.

"I guess that means we've done our part in this World, and it's time to move on," Sora said as he dismissed his key.

Goofy nodded,"Yeah. When you seal the keyhole to a World, that means there are more waiting out there for us to visit."

"Oh, boy!" Donald said excitedly.

"Good luck on your quest," Grandmother Willow bid them before she disappeared.

"Does this mean...it's time for us to go?" Sora asked his friends.

"Sora!" John suddenly called out. Sora glance over his shoulder to see where it was coming from.

"Hey, it's John!" Sora said with a smile. John ran over to the trio.

"What happened to you guys? And where did that monster go?" John expressed his curiosity with a ton of questions.

"We got rid of it for you, just like we said," Sora replied.

"Well that's certainly good to hear!" John admitted.

Then, coming up the path stood Pocahontas, followed by her little animals friends. She had returned to the spot she had promised to meet John at before she had to leave. John rushed over to her side with a dreamy look in his eyes.

"There he goes again," Sora said with a laugh, as he threw his hands behind his head and went into a leaning position.

"Do you want to say goodbye?" Donald asked him.

"Well...this is a good chance to. Since they're both here," Sora agreed. He, Donald and Goofy walked over to their new friends.

"Um, John?" Sora hesitated to interrupt them.

"Yes?" John responded.

"It's just...I think it's time for us to go now," Sora told him and Pocahontas.

~Friends in my Heart plays (KH II OST)~

"You guys are wanting to leave?" John frowned.

"Well...we've still got a lot we need to take care of. You know how it is?" Sora replied.

Giving a slight wink, John said, "I guess I can't argue with you there.

"Will you be back?" Pocahontas spoke up.

"You can count on it," Sora assured the Indian princess. A smile spread across Pocahontas's copper skinned face, then she stepped toward him.

"Take this with you," she said while holding out her hand to give something to Sora. "And thank you for helping so many others. Just by being around all of you, I've learned that I must do everything I can for my people—And to always follow my heart."

After placing it into his hand, Sora, Donald and Goofy looked closely at it to see what it was, and found a colorful leaf in his palm. Then, Sora happily stuck it into his pocket and smiled at Pocahontas.

"Thanks!" He said. "Are you sure you guys will be okay, though?"

"You've done everything you could, Sora," John answered. "Don't worry. I'm sure we'll settle this misunderstanding. I give you my word that I will keep trying. We'll figure out some way to bring peace between both sides. Won't we, Pocahontas?"

"I hope so," she replied, giving him a look of concern.

"Me too," Sora agreed.

"We'll be seeing ya soon!" Goofy called out, just before the trio went on their way.

"Take care," Donald waved.

~Friends in my Heart ends~

Once they had said their goodbyes, they headed back to where their ship had landed. As they walked, Donald glanced up at Sora.

"You know that gift from Pocahontas..." Donald began. "I'll bet it's the right size to attach to the keychain of your Keyblade. You know...like you used to do with some of the other gifts from other Worlds."

"Hey, yeah! Good idea, Donald," Sora replied, grinning. "I'll give it a try in the next World we go to."

"Look over there, fellas," Goofy cried, pointing a finger out in front of him. "There's the gummi ship!"

"Ah hah! Race you to it!" Sora laughed as he ran ahead. Donald and Goofy chased after him.

"Hey, Sora! Not so fast!" Donald yelled, running even faster.

The three friends reached their ship, with Sora taking first place. Then, they hopped into the gummi ship and lifted up into the sky.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

~Organization VIII plays (KH II OST)~

The white room filled with tall thrones had been quiet for some time...

As he sat by himself, in the throne that was elevated as high as it could go, his mind drifting off into his thoughts.

With his face leaning upon his white gloved hand, Master Xehanort stared into space, remembering an old lingering memory of his long past...

A pair of young men were sitting together in a large room. Each sitting upon wooden thrones which stood in a row of three, overlooking the decorated gathering room within a large castle.

The two young men were apprentices to an old and wise Keyblade Master.

One of the apprentices was himself, while the other was also a wielder of the Keyblade. Xehanort and the dark haired young man thought of each other as brothers. They cared very much for the other, and hoped to both one day become Keyblade masters.

The two were having a conversation that concerned an old legend about a Keyblade war that had once raged, long ago...

The old story had been going through Xehanort's head at that time.

"Have you heard of the ancient Keyblade War?" A young relaxed Xehanort, with white gloved fingers pressed between his eyes, asked the other apprentice. "Many years ago, Keyblade wielders started a war over the ownership of light."

"Yep, the Master loves telling that story," the other replied with a laugh, while leaning the side of his face against his left hand, propped up on the arm of his seat.

"Then I take it you also know of the 'lost masters'?" Xehanort questioned him further.

"Nope, where'd you hear about that?" The other said, sounding confused.

"On that land shall darkness prevail and light expire," Xehanort explained. "But you knew that, didn't you?"

~Organization VIII ends~

While Master Xehanort was lost in his thoughts, he was suddenly interrupted by the sound of someone entering the room. The old Keyblade Master looked at the visitor to see who it was.

"Master, forgive me for intruding, but I bring you good news." Young Xehanort announced. "I have successfully captured one of the the princesses of heart. Everything is proceeding just as you planned." An evil grin of satisfaction grew across Master Xehanort's aged face.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Aaaaand, that's all for chapter 11! I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Riku and Mickey's scenario was almost long enough to fill this whole chapter. I just couldn't stop! There was so many things happening at once! Lol

Did it surprise you when Xehanort successfully subdued Riku and got away with one of the seven princesses at the end? Now Master Xehanort is that much closer to reaching his ultimate goal.

It looks like Sora, Donald and Goofy felt they did all they could do in one World, for now. They will soon be flying to their next World. Where will they end up next?

The E3 event that recently took place was awesome!

I loved the KH II.5 Remix trailer! And I loved how it contained a special teaser for KH III! It gave me a little more info for my story.

I did say I would try to make this story as close to the actual game as I could.

Thanks for reading! And if you have anything you'd like to tell me about how this story is so far, please, feel free to post you thoughts. Until the next chapter... Stay tuned. I promise I'll try to post the next chapter as soon as I can. Ü