Angel lunged at Spike, swinging her Keyblade with a yell. The Soulless blocked her attack with one of his chakrams and sliced at her with the other. She twisted her body to dodge the attack and then pushed off of Spike with her blade, back-flipping away from the blonde. As she straightened, Spike gave his chakrams a twirl and said, "You know, you ain't that strong without your lover boy. This should be easy… I wonder if he'll feel it when I kill you."
Angel growled and lunged at the Soulless again, bringing Way to the Night up in an arc. She felt the tip pf her blade graze Spike's chest and smiled victoriously when she heard him curse. She danced away from his attack and swung her blade again for another one. This time, Spike stayed cautious, quite aware that Angel could land a hit on him if he let his guard down. The two of them moved in their deadly dance, their weapons nothing but blurs to the onlooker. Angel put all of her focus in getting rid of Spike once and for all and getting to Riku.
Suddenly, a dark aura swirled around Spike and he unleashed wave after wave of black fire. Angel had to move quickly to dodge the attacks, but Spike suddenly appeared alongside of her and struck her in the chest with his arm, sending her flying and striking the mountainside. She let out a soft cry as she dropped to the ground. Gasping for breath, she pushed herself up and staggered to her feet. She glared at Spike who stood a few feet away, smirking slightly.
"Not so tough now, huh?" the Soulless mocked.
Angel panted for air, feeling the toll this battle was putting on her body. She straightened and faced Spike, a thought forming in her mind. "It's hasn't even started yet," she replied before holding out her free hand, willing for Way to the Dawn to come to her. She couldn't help but smile when she felt the familiar weight of Riku's Keyblade in her hand. It worked, she thought.
Spike's eyes widened when he saw the other blade materialize in Angel's hand. "What…?"
"Our Keyblades are connected," Angel said with a small smirk of her own at the Soulless' baffleness. "So if needed, we can summon the other's Keyblade to wield with our own."
Spike shook off his bewilderment and scowled. "I'll still take you out, little girl," he said, jumping forward. Angel jumped away from him, bringing Way to the Dawn down on his exposed back. The Soulless spun around and blocked her attack with one chakram, swinging the other one at her mid section. Angel blocked this attack with Way to the Night, the two weapons creating sparks. She once again pushed off of Spike and landed a few feet away. Spike snarled and he began to glow with the black aura again. Angel felt something tugging at her heart and she let out a soft gasp, suddenly realizing where Spike was getting these power bursts.
He was sucking the energy from Riku.
"Figured it out, huh?" Spike asked, laughing at the look on Angel's face. "The White Witch said that his power would be useful, and with that poison Xehanort gave him, draining his power is easy."
"Bastard…" Angel whispered softly.
"You're in no position to be name calling, little angel," Spike taunted, grinning wickedly. "After all, who knows if you'll even be alive after this attack?" He then launched at Angel, who blocked both of his chakrams, but not the painful blast of black fire.
Angel hit the ground a few feet away from the base of the mountain. She didn't try to get up this time, trying her best to stay conscious. She could sense Spike standing up on a ledge on the mountainside, staring down at her. Come on girl, think… this guy is going to kill you if you don't think of something. Angel then remembered what Aura told her. Look for the power in myself… Angel closed her eyes and reached deep inside of herself.
She could feel the place in her heart that helped her call forth the Keyblade, the part that enabled her to use joint attacks with Riku. And right next to that Angel felt something else, something much different. She reached for it and pulled it to herself, embracing it and as she did, she felt a warm sensation spread through her body before a feeling of release.
Angel's body was surrounded by a glow that grew brighter and brighter until she was no longer seen. The light then seemed to explode, causing Spike to throw up an arm to shield his eyes, hissing from pain; the light felt like it was burning him. When the light faded, Angel began to stir.
She slowly pushed herself up with her hands, blue locks of hair falling over her eyes. She took a hold of Way to the Night, and, driving the tip to the ground, used the blade to help push herself up. Then without warning, she whipped the blade around, twisting her body so she could look up at Spike above her, pointing her Keyblade at him. A violet light glowed around the hilt before shooting up the length of the blade, the colors shifting from blue to violet as a beam of light blasted from the tip, heading right at the Soulless.
Spike was too shocked at the turn of events to move. The blast struck him in the chest with a burst of white light and the Soulless screamed as the light ate at his body. When it faded, he dropped to his knees, his body already beginning to dissolve into black particles. He looked at Angel and gasped, "How…?" Then he collapsed and vanished completely.
Angel panted heavily, staring up at where the Soulless had been. She pushed herself to her feet, feeling her new power rushing through her. She dismissed both Keyblades before calling out to Skysong with her mind, moving away slowly from the scene of her fight. She looked up when she heard the rush of wings and watched as Skysong descended from the sky to land in front of her. The griffin closed her wings and looked at Angel, tilting her head slightly. Your hair has changed color, and your magic inside of you feels much different now.
Angel reached up and pulled a few strands of hair to her view. They were indeed no long the medium brown they'd once been moments ago, but now a sapphire blue albeit a bit lighter. "It must be an after effect to my release of power," she said, releasing the hair and sweeping it away from her face. "Maybe I could talk to Merlin, or Mickey, about it." She then looked up at Skysong and said, "Is the witch gone from her castle?"
Yes, the griffin said, nodding. Her army is marching for the final battle, as is ours. We must hurry.
Angel nodded and she launched herself onto Skysong's back. The griffin took flight and headed towards the castle.
Riku shivered in his prison, his limbs and joints stiff from the cold. How long had he been in here? It seemed like ages… So this is how a person feels when awaiting their execution, he thought to himself. He wondered for how much longer he would have to wait until Xehanort came to claim him. Just thinking of it made his body shake even harder.
Suddenly the ground shook with a roar that seemed to come from above him. Riku lifted his head up and slowly pushed himself to his feet, bracing against the wall. He looked up, wondering what kind of beast the witch had in this castle and whether or not if it was a prisoner like himself or her watch dog. He then let out a yell as the wall with the window seemed to explode, showering him with ice chucks. He looked up and let out a soft gasp at what stood at the hole in the wall.
Angel sat astride a magnificent beast that was a cross between a lion and an eagle. The aura of the creature was immense and from the slight darkness of the outside, he was able to see that it was a gray silver in color. But what really shocked him was Angel. Her aura was different now and her hair color had changed. She looked down at him and smiled. "I knew I'd find you," she said softly.
"Angel… what…?"
"Long story," the girl said simply. She reached a hand down to him. "I'll explain everything on the way."
Riku just nodded and he reached out to take Angel's hand. The moment they touched, he felt the fogginess in his mind clear away and his strength returned. He smiled then as Angel pulled him up to sit behind her. Then with a screech, the beast gave a powerful flap of her wings and took flight.
"Riku, this is Skysong. She's a griffin," Angel said, introducing him to the creature. "Skysong, this is Riku."
A pleasure to meet you, Riku, Skysong said, her voice sounding in his head.Angel fought hard to get to you.
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Skysong," Riku said. "And I believe what you said." With that, he wrapped his arms tightly around Angel's waist. "So what happened?"
He listened as Angel explained all the events that transpired after his kidnapping, right to the point about a half hour ago when Angel found her inner gift and released it, which initiated her hair change and led to the defeat of Spike. "So, my inner gift is the darkness that I control," Riku said, putting all of this together inside his head, "and yours is the light?"
"That's right, and now that I can tap into my own power, we can use each others and intermingle them."
Riku shook his head and sighed. "I bet Yen Sid didn't expect this one."
Angel laughed and then she exclaimed, "There's Aslan!"
Riku looked down and saw a large lion with a golden mane leading an army of animals and other strange beasts across the plains. Skysong dipped low and Riku saw two human girls riding on the lion's back. The griffin shrieked a greeting to the lion, who looked up at Angel and Riku. "So you found him, Angel," the lion said. "I am glad. Now we fight the witch and defeat her once and for all."
Angel nodded and she threw back her head and let out a war cry that was echoed down amongst the beasts that followed the lion. Skysong screamed out her own war cry as she took to the sky again, joining the other griffins, who were in different colors and ranged from her size to three times her size, that flew in the sky following Aslan.
They reached the field where the battle was and Riku could see that is was already in full swing. The witch's army was made up of goblins and trolls while Aslan's was made up of woodland animals and mythical beasts. Riku could also see the heartless, nobodies and soulless that moved through the battle as well. When Skysong swooped low, he and Angel jumped from the griffin's back and called forth their Keyblades. The heartless, nobodies and soulless, sensing the Keyblades, all turned on the two of them, which was their intention.
Riku swiped at the dark creatures, slicing them in half with his blade. Angel fought alongside him, the two of them protecting the other's back. At one point, Angel pointed her blade at an incoming swarm of heartless and a beam of violet, blue and silver light burst from the tip and struck the horde, destroying them in a burst of white light. Riku stood back to back with Angel and looking over his shoulder at her, he asked, "Wanna joint attack?"
"Now you know that's a stupid question," Angel retorted, shooting him a smile, her golden orbs glowing.
The two of them held their Keyblades before them with both hands, allowing the legendary blades tell them what to do. Both weapons glowed brightly as the heartless, nobodies and soulless swarmed around them. They then spun their blades around before driving them into the ground. A circle of light spread out from them, covering the dark creatures around them. Some that had wings tried to fly away, but the light shot up like a column, incasing ever heartless, nobody and soulless in a twenty foot radius. When the light faded, there was only a handful left to take out, which Angel and Riku dealt with easily.
With the heartless gone, they turned to the rest of the enemy army, but they didn't have to do much, for the battle was almost won. In fact, Peter was facing against the White Witch and seemed to be having a difficult time. The two Keyblade wielders glanced at each other before making a silent agreement and heading towards Peter and the witch.
"Need a hand?" Angel asked, stepping up beside Peter and flashing him a smile.
"I have a score to settle with the witch," Riku growled, standing on Angel's other side, his grip on Way to the Dawn tightening.
The witch's eyes widened at the sight of Riku and she hissed, "You escaped!?"
"Yeah, I really don't like small cold spaces," Riku spat, shifting into his fighting stance.
"It's not a good idea to piss Riku off," Angel said, taking a similar fighting stance.
The witch sneered and said, "You cannot win. Xehanort will defeat you."
"He's tried already, and has been trying," Riku said. "So far, he's been pretty unsuccessful."
The witch shrieked and brought up her wand. Angel jumped forward and swung her blade up, cutting the wand in two before moving away to let Riku deal the final blow, putting both his power and Angel's into the attack. As the witch dropped to her knees, her body dissolved into black miasma.
"She was a heartless?" Angel asked in slight amazement.
"She gave her heart to Xehanort for more power," Riku said softly. "What she didn't realize was that she gave herself to him, completely under his control. It only made her the opposite of what she desired before."
"You speak as if you know exactly what happened," Peter said, sheathing his sword.
Riku nodded and said, "I do… it happened to me…" With that, he dismissed his Keyblade and headed back down the slope.
"I think I could sleep for a week," Angel said, dropping down next to Riku before flopping onto her back.
Riku smiled and looked down at her. "You've improved a lot in strength and power in such a short time. Of course you're tired."
Angel waved a hand dismissively at Riku before allowing it to flop back to her side. After a few moments, she sat up, propping herself up with her elbows and looked at Riku. "So what do you think of the whole Aura thing… about how she's still somehow involved?"
"I don't know… I mean, she did help you find your inner power." He looked down at her and smiled, brushing a lock of her blue hair from her face. "I actually like this new look to you," he said.
"Good, 'cause I don't think it's going anywhere," Angel said with a grin.
Riku smiled and lowered his head for a quick kiss. He then stood and helped Angel to her feet. "Come on," he said. "Let's start saying our good-byes."
The two of them made their way back to the castle where Aslan and the four humans were seemingly waiting for them. Skysong was there as well, her wings ruffling slightly. When they approached, the lion said, "You are leaving now?"
"Yeah," Angel replied, nodding. "It's not over yet. At least your world is safe for now."
"Yes, and we have you to thank," Aslan said, bowing his head to the both of them. "Narnia will forever be in you debt."
"Thank you for your help," Susan, the oldest girl, said.
"No problem," Riku said with a small smile.
Angel cleared her throat and, shooting Riku a look, she then turned to Skysong. "And thank you, Skysong, for helping me. I will miss you."
The griffin let out a soft cry and lowered her head to Angel's chest, nuzzling her gently with her beak. I will miss you as well, Angel. Take care of yourself.
"I will."
"Safe travels to the both of you," Aslan said, looking between the two Keyblade wielders. "Good luck."
Angel looked at herself in the mirror, tugging her hair slightly. It was no longer flippy and wingy like it use to be, but hung straight. Her eyes were the same color though, so she was grateful for that. Sighing she backed away from the mirror and placed her hands on her hips, frowning at her reflection. Why the sudden change? Not that I'm complaining, but it's just different, that's all. Ah, well, least my entire appearance didn't change and besides, the hair's kinda cool. Been wanting to change it for a while now anyways.
"Hey, Angel," Riku called from the cockpit. "Done admiring yourself yet?"
"Shut up!" Angel yelled back. With one last glance at herself, she walked back to the front where Riku sat in the captain's chair. She dropped down in the chair next to him and gave him a look. "I'm just trying to wonder how?"
Riku shrugged and said, "The power of light and darkness are a mystery, even to those who wield its power. I mean, some of the things that pop up on my end surprise me all the time." Riku tugged on a lock of his own hair and said, "My hair use to be almost white, but now it has a silvery lavender hue to it, ever since I started wielding the power of darkness. So it's not just you."
"So we'll probably never really know why," Angel said.
"That's what I mean."
Angel flashed Riku a smile and then asked, "So, where to next?"
"Radiant Garden again," he replied. "The Keyblades didn't open a new path for us, so I figured-" He was cut off by a loud bang followed by the gummi shaking violently, sending the both of them to the floor.
"OW!" Angel yelled, looking up as the alarm sounded and the room started flashing with red lights. The ship was hit again, this time causing the regular lights to go out, leaving only the red one. She watched as Riku struggled to his feet and tried to keep his footing as the ship shook again. "Riku, what's going on?"
"We're under attack," Riku said, looking down at her. "All power is down and…" He then looked out the window and his mouth dropped open slightly. "We're being pulled into a world, at least I think it's a world… it's more like a black hole."
Angel struggle to her feet and stood beside Riku, gripping his arm to help keep balance. She could see out the window and saw what Riku was talking about. It did look like a black hole and as they were drawn closer, Angel could see what looked like a castle in it. The ship began to shake even more the closer they got and the ship was pulled in faster. Angel could see the world getting closer and the darkness began to swallow them up.
"Riku!" Angel cried as the ship gave another violent shake, throwing the two of them to the floor once more. The alarm sounded even louder and then the red light went out, submersing them into darkness.