Chapter 21

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Darkness swirled behind Kalista's eyes as she fell. Her energy was gone, and she was so exhausted she couldn't even grasp the fact that her life would end in a matter of seconds. She didn't struggle; all she could think of was how much she needed sleep...

Sleep...

Her eyes finally closed, and conscious thought escaped her.

Then, like a hazy dream, she felt a small tug back to reality. She wasn't sure what caused it, but it felt like she was touching someone. Or rather, someone was touching her. Was it an arm around her waist? She couldn't be sure. But she did know she wasn't falling anymore. She felt suspended in midair. Then she was moving upwards, and finally, she felt herself being laid down onto a cold, smooth surface. This made her happy. Now she could sleep...

An unexpected jolt surged through Kalista's body. It ran up and down her spin and through her arms and legs. It was painful, but at the same time her mind woke up. She took a deep breath and her eyes snapped open.

Xehanort's heartless was looking down at her.

Suddenly, everything she had forgotten during her fall came back to her. Where she was, what was going on, and why she had been so surprised just before she fell. She felt a little dizzy, and lowered her head to let it all sink back in. Then it hit her.

The guy in front of me is...!

Kalista's head shot back up, ready to say exactly what was on her mind.

Only, there was no one there. Her eyes darted around franticly, and finally she caught sight of her rescuer again. He had run back across the room to where Kairi was fighting more heartless.

"Hey! Get back here!" Kalista yelled, jumping to her feet. But it was no use. There was too much noise to hear clearly. Still in a slight state of confusion, Kalista took in her surroundings. She was still on the second level, but was a far distance from where she had fallen. Come to think of it, why had she fallen? Looking back to her previous location, she saw that the floor had broken and fallen apart. Then she remembered how many heartless had been chasing her just minutes before. They must have caught up to her, and the weight had been too much for the thin, suspended floor to handle. She was still holding the keyblade from before.

Below her, Sora, Donald, and Goofy were still hacking away at heartless. She noticed Sora was more dysfunctional. After all, he didn't really know how to fight with her weapons. I should go down there and help them, she thought, and then I need to talk to Ansem... I mean Xehanort... I mean...

A chilling, familiar vibe flew through the air and rapped itself around Kalista's mind. She felt her blood turn cold. Only one person's presence gave off that sickening feeling. Kalista's eyes traveled around the room. There, on the highest pedestal above every battle, stood Maleficent. Beside her stood a heavy, dog-like creature. Even with the distance between them, Kalista could see her venomous eyes darting around, drinking in the surroundings with a disgusting pleasure that made Kalista's stomach turn. Her hands fisted, clutching the keyblade till her hand changed color. She forgot about everything else, and focused only on the target in front of her. Fury built up inside her; visions of her nightmares raced though her head.

"Time for payback, witch," she said, pre-fighting adrenalin already swimming through her body.

All of a sudden, a voice echoed through the massive chamber.

"So, Xigbar's been wondering, have you been a good boy?"

Kalista looked all around, searching for the source of the voice.

"Show yourself!" shouted Sora. Beneath her, Kalista saw him glancing around as well. Then, as an answer, an Organization member appeared before him. His long black hair was pulled back, and a patch hid one of his eyes. He was holding large shooting katars. He gave Sora a mocking smirk.

"Oh, it sounds like you haven't, Roxas," he continued.

Sora tilted his head in confusion. "Roxas?" he turned to Donald, "did he just call me Roxas?"

"You've really put Organization XIII in a pickle. I guess that must be why the Keyblade chose you. But man, did it pick a dud this time. You don't look like you're half the hero the others were."

"Are you done rambling?" asked Sora, irritated.

"Rambling," Xigbar laughed, "all I'm trying to tell you, traitor, is that you time is up."

Cocking his weapons, he aimed them straight at his three opponents.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

"LOOK OUT!" yelled Donald, and the three of them sprinted out of the way of the oncoming bullets. Xigbar continued to fire his machinegun-like weapon, targeting Sora the most. Sora responded by knocking the bullets right back at him. Unfortunately, Sora wasn't used to the sai in his hands, so he couldn't advance close enough to strike his enemy.

Kalista couldn't remember a time when she had to make such a difficult choice as the one presenting itself to her now. Here was Maleficent, the person she hated most and was so close to finally extracting revenge on, and then there were her friends, who were fighting a losing battle. Her stomach squirmed, and she felt herself start to sweat. She need to act NOW, otherwise she'd be too late for both. She kept glancing back and forth between them, as if doing so would somehow help the situation.

Then, she saw Maleficent and her henchman exit through the door they had come. Kalista panicked; she couldn't loose sight of her! Not when she was so close to ending what had haunted her for so long. She headed for the same door, deciding her friends could take care of themselves. Suddenly, a sound made her stop in her tracks. A flurry of Xigbar's bullets had knocked Sora's weapons out of his hands, and a few had pierced his shoulder. He let out a pained yell and fell to the floor.

"Got ya now, traitor!" Xigbar yelled in triumph.

Kalista watched in dread as he aimed his both katars in Sora's direction for a final attack.

"Oh, damn it all!!!" she yelled, running to the edge of the ledge she was on and jumping off. She whizzed through the air at lightning speed in Xigbar's direction. Her shout had caused him to turn around, but not in time to stop the oncoming keyblade from striking him clear off his feet.

"Sora, catch!" she yelled, throwing the keyblade in her friend's direction. Sora responded by throwing her own weapons back to her. Kalista caught them and turned to Xigbar once more. However, he had taken this opportunity to get out of her reach. He now stood between her and Sora; both guns pointed at each of them.

"Well, well, well," he looked at Kalista with distain, "looks like the keyblade master's got a wench."

"A wench who's about to kick your sorry ass!" Kalista yelled back at him. Sora looked startled at her response; she must be really mad.

"Take your best shot," taunted Xigbar.

"With pleasure."

Instantly, masses of jungle vines broke through the marble tiles of the floor, surrounding Xigbar. Before he could escape their tangled forms, they rapped themselves around him. He struggled frantically, shouting and shooting at the inanimate beings, but the more he struggled, the tighter they constricted. Then, he let out a piercing cry.

Sora stood before him; his keyblade stabbed through Xigbar's chest.

Sora removed the keyblade, and the vines disappeared back into the ground. Xigbar fell to the floor on his hands and knees, rasping for breath. Darkness began to fade off his body, just like every Nobody at death's door.

"Why did you call me Roxes?" asked Sora in a clear, demanding tone.

Xigbar gave a short laugh. "Wouldn't you like to know," and then he vanished.

"Hey! Hold on!" yelled Sora.

"Sora, it's no use," said Kalista, "he's gone."

Sora let out an aggravated sigh. Turning to her, he eyed her warily. "You gonna be ok? I've never heard you that angry before."

"I'll be fine...eventually," Kalista answered, mulling over the chance she'd just let slip through her fingers.

"How did you perform such a strong spell? I thought you'd be too tired after the wave you created."

"I would have been," she agreed, "but I had... some help." She looked around. The heartless were, for the most part, gone. Kairi and her "friend from the darkness" were still on the upper level. Kalista stared at him, trying to make sense of it all. Sora followed her gaze, then looked back at her in disbelief.

"Ansem helped you!?" he asked in shock.

"Well, he's not really... Sora?" But he didn't let her finish. He was already running to the stairwell that led to the second level.

"Sora, wait, you don't understand... uh!" Kalista ran after him, a knot already forming in her stomach. This was not going to go well.

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As Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Kalista reached the last stair, Kairi turned and saw them. Up close, she looked even prettier to Kalista than before. Her dark red hair fell slightly past her shoulders, and her pink dress seemed to highlight her already pinkish cream skin. But, even with the keyblade in her hand, her eyes still showed an innocence and gentleness unknown to anyone Kalista had ever met before. Donald's voice interrupted her musing.

"Kairi, you were great!" He said. Goofy gave an agreeing nod.

"Oh?" said Kairi, girlishly flipping her hair.

Sora walked up to her. For a moment, neither of them said anything. Sora seemed to be taking in this person whom he hadn't seen in a year but had thought of so often. Kairi seemed to do the same. Finally, Sora spoke.

"You are different, Kairi," he admitted, "but I'm just glad you're here."

"You and Riku never came home, so I came looking for you."

Sora looked away, and there was a deep sense of guilt in his eyes. "I'm sorry..."

But his apology was cut short as Kairi rapped her arms around him. He stiffened for a moment in surprise.

"This is real..." Kairi whispered in his ear. Sora smiled, and felt as if the largest burden on his mind had finally been lifted. Finally, he'd found her. She was safe, and they were together. Sora returned her embrace, feeling the warmth of her presence against him. He wished he could stay like this always; safe with her in his arms.

Then his gaze rested on the shadowy figure behind Kairi. Ansem was creating a portal, and as much as Sora wanted him to leave, he felt obligated to at least express his gratitude.

"Wait Ansem! I mean, Xehanort's heartless..." Sora said, letting go of Kairi and stepping forward. The cloaked man paused and looked back over his shoulder.

Kalista, who had been watching the happy reunion and almost forgot all of the awkwardness about to take place, cringed at Sora's stupidity.

"Uh, Sora?" she said quietly, trying to save him from saying more.

Sora didn't seem to hear her, and kept trailing on. "I never thought for a second that I'd ever see you again..."

"Sora," Kalista said a little louder.

"...Just thinking about all the things you did makes me really mad..."

"Sora!" Kalista brought her hand to her face in embarrassment.

"...But... but you saved Kairi, right? I have to be grateful for that... so I'd like thank y..."

"Sora!"

"What?!" he said, finally turning around.

"Shut up!" Kalista yelled, very irritated by now. She saw "Ansem" give a small smirk, and then he turned to walk through the portal. Kairi, however, ran to him and grabbed his hand, pulling him back in earnest.

"Riku, don't go!" she said.

Everyone but Kalista immediately looked taken aback.

"Huh?" said Donald and Goofy, exchanging looks of shock.

"Kairi, wh...what did you just say?" asked Sora in disbelief.

Kairi turned back to Sora. "Riku," she repeated.

The cloaked man shook Kairi off. "I'm no one," he said, "just a castaway from the darkness."

Kalista couldn't help rolling her eyes at the dramatic statement.

"No," Kairi insisted, taking his hand again. "Sora, come here. Say something to him."

Sora hesitated, but then slowly made his way over to them. Kairi took his hand. "Here, you'll understand." She placed all three hands together. "Close your eyes."

Again looking doubtful, Sora did as he was told. A few moments later, his eyes opened again in awe.

"Riku...it's really Riku!"

He fell to his knees, still clinging to the gloved hand. "I looked for you," he said, tears starting to form and run down his face.

"Come on, Sora," the voice which spoke now had changed from a deep, middle aged voice to a young, teenage voice, "you've got to pull it together."

"I looked everywhere for you," Sora repeated.

Riku looked away, "I didn't want you to find me."

"Then it was him who kept helping us, wasn't it?" said Goofy.

"Huh?" asked Donald in confusion.

"Those clues we kept finding during our travels. It musta been Riku."

"I was starting to worry if you guys would ever catch on. Sora never did pick the brightest friends."

"What's that supposed to mean?" accused Donald.

Riku eyed Kalista, "except for her. She seems to have a talent for being conniving."

Kalista gave him a look. "I'm guessing that's not actually a compliment, but I'll take it as one."

"You're welcome," he answered.

Sora stood up and faced Kalista. "Wait a second, you knew who he was? And you didn't tell me!?"

"I didn't know until this last battle!" she retorted, feeling clammy, "And I did try to tell you, but you were too interested in getting to Kairi to listen to anything I said."

"We recognized each other after you two exchanged weapons," Riku explained.

Kalista winced.

"Recognized? You mean you two have met before!?" he stared at Kalista accusingly.

"No! Well, yes, but..." by now, Kalista really wished she'd told him everything earlier. She looked up to avoid Sora's glare. "I might have... run into him once before."

"Literally," added Riku.

"Hey! At least I stuck with Sora and didn't run and hide in the darkness," snapped Kalista, putting her hands on her hips.

"Ouch," said Donald.

"But you knew he was alive and never told me?!?"

"I wanted to," Kalista groped for a simple way to explain, "I just... it just wasn't my place to say anything. Mickey knew, right? But he didn't say anything. It's the same with me... mostly. I mean, if Riku didn't want you to find him, then it's none of my business to tell you anything. Besides, I didn't know where he was or anything, so it wouldn't have helped."

"Yes it would have. I wanted to know if he was ok," said Sora, looking back at Riku, "Why didn't you just let me know you were ok."

"I told you, I didn't want to be found," repeated Riku. He looked down at his hands, "Not like this. I couldn't. I fought Ansem—with Xehanort's Heartless—when it invaded my heart, and I won. But to use the power of darkness, I had to become Ansem myself."

"No offence," said Kalista, causing everyone to look at her, "but that's a really stupid excuse; to hide from your friends because you look a little different from before."

Riku's eyes narrowed on her, "No offence, but I'm afraid you don't have much ground to stand on in this. You have no idea what it's like."

"Sure I do," Kalista retorted, making Riku give her a strange look, "my point is, you don't even look that bad."

"Riku?" asked Kairi, bringing the quarrel to a halt, "about your...condition. Does what you said mean... you can't ever change back?"

Riku looked thoughtful. "This battle isn't over yet. And until it is, I still need the power of darkness."

Suddenly, Sora slashed his keyblade through the air. "Then let's finish it. You're still Riku, no matter what!"

Kalista smiled at his cheesy outburst. Typical Sora. He turned to Donald and Goofy, "So how about it; think we can handle one last rumble together? The King's waiting!"

"Yeah," shouted Donald, "let's get going!"

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Kairi all bolted towards the stairs that led to the next level of the castle. Kalista and Riku followed more slowly. As she walked, she saw him smirking at her from the corner of her eye.

"What?" she asked, still slightly irritated at him; not to mention uncomfortable.

"You know, lying just gets you into bigger trouble later."

"I didn't lie to Sora about what happened with... us..." Kalista argued, feeling more awkward by the second, "I just didn't expand on every detail."

"If you say so," he replied, walking faster to catch up to the others.

I might as well just get it over with now, she thought, I probably won't get another chance.

"Listen, Riku," she started, and he turned back to look at her, "um... about the last time we met. Well, about...uh, about my..."

"Daring escape?" he finished for her.

"Yeah, about that. I can explain..."

"Don't worry," he said suddenly, "your friend already filled me in on her "brilliant" invention."

Kalista stopped for a moment, confused. Then she let out a groan. "Oh, Ember," she muttered, "what else did you tell him?"

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So sorry it took forever to update. That was probably the longest I've ever procrastinated. But don't worry, I promise I will keep updating until it's over. This story is close to finishing; only a few more chapters left. Sniff Sniff It's come such a long way. Hope you've enjoyed it thus far.

Have a Merry Christmas!