Chapter 20- Strength of heart
As they arrived at the entrance to the castle, they discovered that it was locked, but they had an idea of where to look. Retracing their steps, while Sairu and Beast took out all Heartless, they soon came across what appeared to be a mechanism. "You think this is it?" Sora asked. "Only one way to find out" Sairu said, and the two of them activated the jewel in the centre. It immediately responded to their touch and the cogs began, followed by a thumping sound. "That must have done it" Sairu said. "Then we shall see, won't we?" the Beast said.
With that, the trio returned to the entrance and indeed found it to be unlocked this time. As they emerged in the entrance hall, the Beast then said "Be on your guard. They're close, I can feel them. Are you prepared?" As Sora and Sairu moved forward to look around, the Beast turned back, and saw a person dressed in a golden dress suddenly turn into a Heartless. This served to enrage the Beast, who lunged headfirst after the Heartless, and consequently, was shut away from his companions. As they looked on, a voice sounded behind them "Quit while you can". It turned out to be Riku with Donald and Goofy at his side. Sairu took this opportunity to run at Riku, but Riku expertly dodged and retaliated, sending Sairu flying meaning he struck his head against the wall on the far side, conscious but slow.
"No, not without Kairi" Sora said. Then, as Riku spoke, his clothing changed to appear to a black and purple attire adorned with the Heartless symbol minus the cross-like symbol in the centre, a symbol of the growing darkness in his heart. "The darkness will destroy you". "You're wrong, Riku. The darkness may destroy my body, but it can't touch my heart. My heart will stay with my friends. It'll never die!" he said proudly, prompting Sairu to smile despite the pain. "Really? Well, we'll just see about that!" Riku retaliated, shooting a blast of darkness in Sora's direction. Though Sora braced himself for impact...
"Sora ain't gonna go anywhere!" Goofy exclaimed, having blocked Riku's attack with his shield. This served to brighten the smile that graced Sairu's features. "You'd betray your king?" Riku asked, surprised by the sudden twist. "Not on your life! But I'm not gonna betray Sora or Sairu either, because they've become some of my best buddies after all we've been through together!" he declared with a thumbs-up to Sora and over to Sairu. "See ya later, Donald. Could ya tell the king I'm really sorry?" "Hold on, Goofy! We'll tell him together" Donald shouted back, before running to rejoin his friends. "Well, you know... All for one and one for all" he said sheepishly, as he and Sairu returned to their friends as well. "Sorry, Sairu. You were right" Donald added. "It's okay, Donald. You're here now, that's what counts" Sairu acknowledged with a smile.
"How will you fight without a weapon?" Riku interrupted. "I know now I don't need the Keyblade. I've got a better weapon. My heart" Sora said. "Ha... your heart? What good will that weak little thing do for you?" Riku said in a condescending tone. "Although my heart may be weak, it's not alone. It's grown with each new experience, and it's found a home with all the friends I've made. I've become a part of their heart, just as they've become a part of mine. And if they think of me now and then... if they don't forget me... then our hearts will be one. I don't need a weapon. My friends are my power!" Sora's speech ended as he drew the wooden sword ready to fight, Sairu was impressed and touched with his speech, knowing what he said was true.
After Sora finished speaking, the Keyblade then disappeared from Riku's grasp, and replaced the wooden sword in Sora's hands. With that, the quartet were ready to fight, with their opponent wearing an expression of anger and confusion. Sairu didn't realise that Riku was this powerful a contender without the Keyblade. 'Maybe that's why he was chosen by the Keyblade' Sairu thought jokingly. Despite this, the four friends were faring decently against Riku, but after the passing of some time, Riku was struck by Sora, ending the battle. Afterwards, Riku's attire returned to his own clothes and tore off in his anger and confusion. Behind them, the Beast re-emerged from the door, and spoke to Sora "So your heart won this battle". After introductions were finished, the five warriors pressed on in their journey, beginning in the library of the castle.
As soon as they emerged in the library, Sairu was filled with a wave of nostalgia, at all the books he had read as a child, and solved the labyrinth that was the library. When there was nothing more to be discovered, they returned to the entrance hall to be bombarded by remarkably stronger Heartless. "Hmm?" Sairu noticed a door with the Heartless insignia, which stirred confusion and curiosity. "Hey, look at this" he called to the others. "What's wrong?" Sora inquired. "This door won't open. I think this may have something to do with it" he said, gesturing to the indentations in the door. "There must be pieces that fit the door to unlock it" Sora thought aloud.
After looking all over the library and the entrance hall for what felt like an eternity, they soon unlocked the door to the lift stop, with which they could climb higher into the castle. "This is not the home I remember" Sairu said aloud, disappointment evident. "It's ok, we'll fix it" Sora added, hoping to pick up the mood. "Sure, you're right" Sairu responded, feeling lighter after hearing that.
After emerging in a dark and gloomy looking room, they eventually discovered the sorceress, Maleficent ahead. When he saw her, Sairu was filled with a murderous loathing for the witch, and determined to strike her down where she stood. As they approached, Sairu ran forward. "Sairu! What are you do-" "You guys stay back! This one's mine!" he yelled at them.
"So, boy, you came to face me alone? You have spirit, that I will acknowledge, but I'm afraid you're too late. Any minute now, the Final Keyhole will be unsealed. This world will be plunged into darkness. It is unstoppable" Maleficent explained, in a confident and prideful tone of voice. "You done rambling? Nothing I hate more than an enemy who brags" Sairu responded with equal confidence. "You clearly overestimate yourself. How can you defeat me when you are not a bearer of the key?" Maleficent mockingly asked. Sairu growled, then drew his sword and stated "Then you clearly underestimate the strength of our bonds. Together, my friends and I are going to put an end to you and your diabolical scheme".
"Very well. Since you insist on trying your luck, then disappear into the chasms of darkness!" Maleficent exclaimed, using her magic to levitate the platform she stood on, but Sairu was prepared for this. His sword glowed a stronger white, then he rapidly pointed the tip of the blade to the ground, which seemingly affected the platform, causing it to crash down, stunning the witch. With that, Sairu dealt a string of combos that inflicted reasonable amounts of damage, until Maleficent came round and threw him back. Sairu then noticed her raising her arms and she chanted, "Meteors of heaven, unleash thy fury!" With that, a portal to the darkness opened, billowing forth humongous meteors wrapped in blue energy coming at him.
Realising he was trapped, Sairu did the only thing he could do: he raised his blade and it began to spin above his head, engulfing him in a sphere of white light. The technique did not stop the meteors, but his control over gravity allowed him to redirect them slightly to lessen the impact. Maleficent was not surprised to see what he did, but knew he would still receive damage from the technique. When the meteors' rain ended, Sairu emerged from the technique, still standing but badly injured.
Then, he disappeared in a white flash, and landed a powerful and swift attack, appearing from a streak of white light behind the witch as she clutches her side in agony. "H-How...?" she managed, before succumbing to the pain again. "My blade represents the moon, allowing me the ability to manipulate gravity and light. However, the extent to which I control the former is severely limited in comparison to the latter. Regardless, it seems it was more than enough to bring you to your knees" Sairu finished explaining with a satisfied smirk on his face.
"Well then, are you going to be rid of me, boy?" Maleficent inquired. "Tempting, but that would be an act of cowardice. That would mean I would be no better than you" "Well said. However, I imagine your friend would say otherwise, and I'm not referring to the Keyblade brat". "You mean... you know where he is?" Sairu asked, anger apparent in his voice. "He is in darkness now. He will not be the same as you remember" Maleficent said triumphantly, only for Sairu to strike her with his sword again, not a fatal attack but the intent was present.
"If you lie again, witch, the next one will be fatal" Sairu growled as Maleficent disappeared into a portal of darkness. Sora, Donald, Goofy and the Beast ran to reunite with Sairu. "That was cool, Sairu!" Goofy cheered "How did you do that?!" Donald asked, wanting to know more. "Where is the witch?" the Beast asked. "Through there" Sairu answered, gesturing to the portal. "Then... let's finish this" Sora said. Sairu nodded in response and the quintet travelled through the portal, emerging in another room, where Maleficent was still hurt from her battle with Sairu, with Riku close by, holding what looked like a Keyblade.
"Do you need some help?" Riku said to Maleficent, until... "Riku." Sora called, as Donald then noticed the Keyblade that Riku held "Is that..." "Yes. A Keyblade. But unlike yours, this Keyblade holds the power to unlock people's hearts. Allow me to demonstrate... Behold!" Riku exclaimed, as he struck Maleficent's chest with it. "Now, open your heart, surrender it to the darkness! Become darkness itself!" he finished as he withdrew the Keyblade from Maleficent, and disappeared into a portal of darkness.
After he left, Maleficent was surrounded by a sinister green aura, feeling rejuvenated. "This is it! This power!" Maleficent laughed evilly. "Darkness... the true darkness!" she shouted in ecstasy, as she became fully engulfed in a black and green aura that blinded everyone present. Once it died down, they saw how now Maleficent had become a dragon of enormous proportions. After getting over their hock at her transformation, the five warriors leapt into action.
This battle seemed impossible with the cursed fire everywhere, which severely wounded everyone. Had it not been for their healing spells, they would have perished right from the get-go. Eventually, feeling he had had enough, Sairu then raised his sword above his head, as energy engulfed the blade, extending it to over thrice its original length, having learned this technique from Leon years ago. With a war cry, Sairu brought the blade crashing down, releasing the energy to crash down on the dragon's head, dealing great damage, then stunning it long enough for the others to land the finishing blow. The dragon then collapsed altogether, as it began dissolving and disappearing, until all that was left was Maleficent's cloak.
Riku then reappeared, and remarked "How ironic. She was just another puppet after all." "What?" Sora asked. Then, Riku responded "The Heartless were using Maleficent from the beginning. She failed to notice the darkness in her heart eating away at her. A fitting end for such a fool" he said as he mockingly trod in her cloak, before both it and he disappeared. After Riku's departure, the quintet returned to the chapel, where the portal closed behind them forever. Then, to their surprise, a doorway was revealed where a wall once was.
After taking some much needed time to recover, the Beast decided to carry on his search for Belle separate from the rest of the group, knowing they had more important things to attend to. With that, the remaining four continued through the new doorway until they emerged in the Grand Hall, where to their shock, they discovered six ladies seemingly held captive, among them being to their shock and relief, Alice and Jasmine, whilst the other four they did not recognise, but could only guess they were six of the princesses of heart. As they continued to the upper level, the crew then noticed Goofy had been repelled by some sort of force field. But, in the middle of the level, Sora and Sairu found what they had been searching for, and had bonded over: their unconscious dear friend, Kairi.