KH Dream Drop Distance: Distance Connects Us All

Chapter 13: Young Xehanort

Haruka watched Ansem calling Riku weak and slowly she was losing her cool. "After all your efforts to command the darkness and protect those you cherish it is a shame you locked that power away in the end." He explained.

"You're wrong. I can still save Sora." Riku said.

"So you understand what to do. Set the darkness in you free, and you can rescue your friend." Ansem held out his hand but Haruka wrapped her arm around her boyfriend's arm. He held her hand.

"Ansem. Or…Xehanort…" Riku trailed off and looked at Haru who glared at Ansem.

"You used to be a Keyblade Wielder; a strong one." She stated.

"But darkness stole your heart, and the Keyblade with it." Riku said. "Don't you see? That's half the reason I'm on this journey. After allowing darkness into my heart, am I still fit to wield the Keyblade?"

The silver haired teen placed his hand on his heart and went quiet for a moment.

"Even after locking you away, here you are, haunting me again. So I get it now." Haruka turned to him with a smile. "There's no point in trying to hold the darkness back."

"At last you see clearly." Ansem said.

"You know…when I look at you…there's this memory that flashes back. A secret I said I'd keep when I was little. The main reason I kept dreaming about seeing the outside world… was 'cause of him." He explained.

Haru stared to the ground and thought about what Riku said about the man he met when he was 5. Her eyebrows furrowed together and her green eyes widened when she looked up.

"Terra!" She whispered and turned to Riku with a massive smile. That's why he reminded her of her old friend.

"My journey begins here, and now." The cyan eyed teen's Keyblade appeared in his hand. "I'm going back to the real world, and then to Sora's side."

Haruka stood in front of him and held her hand out. Her Magnificent Light appeared in her hand.

"So you're Ansem?" She questioned.

"And you the Princess of Light and Darkness?" She nodded.

"The name is Haruka, got it in your head. I've heard what you have done to my friends." She growled. "You took over Riku and you will pay!" She shouted.

Their surroundings turned pitch black and they floated in the air. Ansem started shooting large orbs at them which had a lot of energy within. Haruka grabbed Riku's hand and pulled him away from it. They started flying away to avoid getting hit.

An orb grazed her shoulder and she yelled with pain. The Princess fell onto her knees and gripped onto her left shoulder.

"Heal!" Riku yelled and a quartet of flowers sprinkled light over her. She stood up and smiled.

"Thanks!" She exclaimed and joined him.

Riku's Keyblade was smacked out of his hand and the Princess saw this.

"Riku!" She called and turned to him. She summoned her Deadly Darkness and threw it to him. He caught it and nodded.

She joined his side and they joined their Keyblade. They both became one and started smashing Ansem with the Keyblade which Ansem could not bear to see because of the immense light. At times, the Heartless guarded himself with his Guardian. But Haruka shot an orb of light at the Guardian to blind him and Riku would strike at Ansem.

Ansem's Guardian grabbed Haruka with both his hands and she began screaming. Riku was paralyzed by Ansem's shots and was on the floor. His eyes widened when he saw her. The Guardian squeezed her and she screamed with agony. Tears of pain fell down her cheek and she couldn't breathe. There was an evil smirk on Ansem's face.

"We will have great use of you Princess." He stated.

"Let me go!" She growled and closed her eyes as she felt the guardian squeeze tighter.

"Hey you." She heard a voice in her head.

"Huh?" She asked.

"I am Kura. Release me and I will help you. I am your guardian and my duty is to protect you."

Haruka let the thing inside her free. Riku's eyes widened and his heart stopped.

It was a teenager who was bigger that the Guardian. She had black long hair up to her ankles which floated around, her eyes were green and her skin was so white. On her back were black enormous wings.

"Let her go, NOW!" Kura yelled with her demonic voice as she picked the Guardian up. He let go of the Princess and she was falling down.

Riku managed to break free from paralysis and ran. He skidded as he managed to catch Haruka. She breathed heavily and coughed. He got onto his knees and held her tightly against him.

"Haru…" He whispered and kissed her head.

The Guardian disappeared and Kura held up Ansem. Riku held up Haruka's Keyblade and she held onto his hand. They used their power and shot it at Ansem. He yelled and Kura smiled as she faded away; so did Ansem.

"Protect the things that matters…" Riku trailed off and hugged Haruka.

Memory's Skyscraper:

Haruka and Riku stood side by side.

"Did we make it out of the dream?" Haruka asked.

"Sora and I have been split up since the start of our journey, because Ansem; no Xehanort planned it. And that means we're a long way off course from the Mark of Mastery." He explained and Haruka looked down. "Sora's gotta be here."

They started walking and she kept staring at Riku and sighed. He turned to her and they stopped walking.

"What's wrong Haruka?" He asked.

"I wanted to tell you about what happened before we fought Xemnas." She stated and started explaining what happened. Tears started falling down her cheeks and he hugged her. She cried in his arms and he hushed her whilst stroking her hair.

"It's okay. No need to be afraid. I'm here." He whispered and she nodded. She looked up at him and rubbed her nose against his.

"I love you…Riku…" She mumbled and he smiled.

"I love you too, my Princess." She blushed and he kissed her lips in a sweet kiss.

They started walking and got to the Brink of Despair.

"End of the road." Riku said and she looked up at the Castle hovering. "I know we're back in the real world, but I still have my Dream Eater powers; which means he still hasn't woken up."

"Where are you, Sora?" Haruka asked.

They heard a squeak and the couple started looking around. It started squeaking again cutely and they both saw a cute creature rolling around in the Castle's entrance.

"Aww!" Haruka smiled.

"A Dream Eater! That must be were Sora is." Riku said.

"How do we get across?" The Princess asked. Suddenly Komory appeared and sat on Riku's shoulder. The bat flew to Haru and rubbed his head against her. "Hiya, Komory."

"Wait, I get it…" Komory landed on Riku's shoulder and they flew up. The silver haired teen picked Haruka up in a bridal style and they flew to the Castle. She wrapped her arms around his neck with a giggle.

They started walking around the Castle That Never Was and got to a white Throne Room with 13 thrones around. They walked onto the middle and looked around.

"Sora!" Riku exclaimed and he ran to a throne.

Young Xehanort appeared and pushed him away with wind. Haruka's green eyes widened and she growled. She ran up to him with Keyblade in hand and he lifted her up by the throat. The young woman started coughing and glared at him.

"Hello, Haruka." He smiled and she spat on his face. "Ungraceful Princess." He muttered as he threw her into the middle next to Riku.

She rolled onto the floor and breathed heavily.

"Hands off my new vessel." Young Xehanort said. They got off the floor and looked up at him.

"Vessel?" They questioned.

"Yes, we originally had our sights set on you, Riku." The man stood in the middle of the room in front of the Keyblade Wielders. They both stood up and glared at him. "But you developed a certain…resistance to darkness. So we did what the Keyblade did, we moved down the list. Roxas and Phoenix; they were excellent, worthy candidates. But unfortunately, they became too aware of themselves and returned to their personas. Organisation XIII's true goal is to divide Xehanort's heart among 13 vessels."

Haruka's green eyes widened and she gasped. She closed her eyes and heard and saw something about 7 lights, 13 darknesses and a Princess of Light and Darkness.

"Thanks to you and Sora, we learned not all our candidates were fit for the task. But, we managed to make up the difference. And now, Sora, the 13th vessel, is within our grasp." Young Xehanort said.

"13 Xehanorts?" Riku questioned. They both looked up to see many people appearing on the thrones; they wore the black coats and hoods. Haruka and Riku looked very shocked with wide eyes.

"The real Organisation XIII." Young Xehanort stated and Haruka got her 2 Keyblades ready. "I am Xehanort from the most distant past. My future self gave me a task, to visit the splintered versions of myself in many worlds, and ensure they gathered here today." He explained.

"From the past?" Riku asked.

"There are restrictions to movement through time. First you leave the body behind to do it. Then there must be a version of you waiting at the destination. Upon arrival, you can only move forward as per the laws of time. And you cannot rewrite the events that are destined to happen."

"What. Have. You. DONE?!" Haruka and Riku shouted.

"My most future self will arrive soon." Young Xehanort pointed up at the highest throne. "Then time for all of us will return to normal and I will go back to my era to live the life fate has in store. He can vouch for that."

Haruka looked up at the highest throne and stared. She started to think who could it be? Who was the most future self of Young Xehanort. Her eyes widened.

"Master Xehanort!" She exclaimed and casted a spell on Young Xehanort. "STOP!" He stayed still.

"What's wrong Haruka?" He asked.

"Grab Sora and go. This is gonna get really dangerous." She stated.

Young Xehanort reappeared behind Haruka and punched her head. She was flung forward off the platform and fell on the ground. She shrieked with pain.

"Haru!" Riku exclaimed.

"Hands off!" The evil man shouted.

Haruka placed her hand at the back of her head and sighed with relief to not find any blood. But she felt light headed and dizzy. King Mickey appeared by her side.

"Are you okay?" He asked and she nodded. She tried moving but Mickey couldn't help her as she fell too much.

She felt someone wrap their arm around her and turned to see Noctis. She smiled at him and he nodded.

"Noctis." She whispered.

"I'm here for you; always." He stated and helped her up.

"How can you be moving?" Riku asked.

Young Xehanort summoned his Keyblade.

"Oh no! Are you…?" King Mickey turned to Young Xehanort.

"Be gone!" His yellow eyes brightened.

"Riku be careful! He's extremely strong and he can control time." Haruka yelled and they disappeared. "I hope he'll be okay…" She whispered with a tear falling down her cheek.

What will happen next? Expect a lot of surprises. One of Haruka's relatives will come to the rescue; but who will it be? (Not Axel)

~Parisa01