DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters. Nor do I own the Horned King of Prydain (which is owned by the awesome Lloyd Alexander). But I own whatever original characters appear.
Chapter 20
Season of the Witch
It was hard to believe that mere hours after Gentai Tanaka woke up, he would be sent into a difficult battle and then be killed in the destruction of a castle because he refused to leave despite the fact that he had a window and an opportunity to do so. These were the thoughts that swirled around in all of Riku, Sora, Kairi, and Melissa's head as they stared into the heap that was Annuvin. Sora almost wanted to laugh as he remembered the last time this very same castle had been destroyed. he quickly did a scan around at the shore near Annuvin and saw the gathering forces of their own army from the battle. Most of the enemy forces, according to Leon, had been completely devastated in the battle, especially once the Cauldron Born just crumpled down into mere skeletons and nothing more. After that major loss of their forces, many of the remaining Keyblade wielders turned and fled, taking the Unbirths with them, signaling a victory in the Battle of Prydain.
But Riku's heart was heavy. Gentai, despite the issues he had recently ironed out, was still a friend and they had lost him in this battle. It was especially lamentable due to the fact that they had all seen the immense skill he had in battle while fighting the Horned King. Riku wanted to hit something but he restrained himself and instead proceeded to look around at the space around them. It was strange seeing such a conglomerate of their forces and Maleficent's combined but here it was, in plain sight. Of course, Maleficent herself had not been present in the thick of the battle and instead had directed her forces from the sidelines. Riku suddenly jumped when he felt Melissa's hand on his shoulder. He quickly turned to look at her.
"Are you okay Riku?" Melissa asked caringly and comfortingly, a small well of sadness in her eyes. Riku just shook his head, without answering. Melissa squeezed his shoulder in a way to remove her sadness and his. He faced her with a sad smile that answered no questions. But his words soon did.
"It's just a little difficult to believe that after all this time, after he comes back after twelve years he has to be an idiot and die." Riku said with a slight chuckle and Melissa nodded her head almost knowingly.
"Who had to die?" came a voice from behind all of them. Immediately, the four Keyblade wielders turned to face the voice only to find Gentai leaning against a tree, his arms folded and looking as if he didn't have a care in the world. He was smirking at their dumbfounded expressions as he stepped forward and away from the tree. "Oh, really, you guys actually thought that, given the chance to escape, I was gonna stand there and die?"
"Then what were you doing?" Kairi asked, her eyebrows raised in question. Gentai chuckled at this statement as he cracked his knuckles.
"I, went to go and track down the Horned King." Gentai said simply, almost as if he expected everybody to know this answer. "It's a little trick I picked up while bouncing around, trying to find him for the past month. Shoot your own little portal at his corridor of darkness, that corridor doesn't fully close and then, using my special powers I reopen the gate and follow him to wherever he may be. It's really quite simple."
"So then...we can assume that you've found him?" Riku asked sternly, wondering the most important piece of information.
"Oh yeah...I found him." Gentai said but to Riku it sounded almost accusatory. "And I, for one, am surprised you hadn't found Onyx's base before now. Honestly, all it took was one little trip to the Vanishing Planet and you would have found it." The silence that permeated the five of them was immense, especially as Sora, Riku, and Kairi shared a look with one another.
"Why would we go there when that place has brought us nothing but pain?" Kairi said in a soft voice and Gentai looked at her incredulously.
"Maybe because it could mean the difference between thousands of lives!" Gentai said angrily and they all took a step back. "Hey, I understand the pain you guys would feel going there more than anyone...not exactly some happy memories for me, you know, but you should have at least sent someone. Onyx has been allowed to hide out there for, what, ten years now and all you can think about is what you lost there."
"Uh, Gentai, not exactly an easy place to want to go to is it now?" Sora said, determination lit in his eyes. Gentai faced Sora and stared straight into his eyes, giving Sora the impression that he was reading him like an open book.
"True, true, but really, if we don't at least try to take him and the Horned King out now on that base then we lose any chance we had of winning this war, do you understand?" Gentai said and somehow, they all got a wake-up call surging through them. "So, are you guys ready to go or what?"
"But who shall go?" said a calm and yet a sinister voice that forced Gentai to freeze. He should have known this confrontation would be coming sometime in the future, he however did not happen to know when that would be, and now that it was coming he had a split decision to make on the matter. To him the voice was hollow, a reminder of the past events that had cursed, destroyed, and ripped apart his life forever and was a voice he had hoped his companions would have crushed so long ago and yet…the witch lived on. This was affirmed when a large pillar of green flame suddenly blasted near them and from it strode the pallid faced form of Maleficent.
"What do you mean?" Sora asked, his eyes narrowing and Gentai could tell that Sora, despite having formed this alliance with Maleficent, was no happier to work with her now than before. Gentai could then feel Riku's eyes on him, attempting to ascertain what he would do.
"I mean that clearly not all of you brave warriors can go and I have a certain score to settle with the Horned King." Maleficent said, her eyes flashing with green flame as she mentioned the name of her adversary. Suddenly she gave a miniscule start and turned to face the shocked white face of Gentai Tanaka. "Gentai, dear boy, it's been too long."
"How about not long enough…" Gentai mumbled out angrily as he glared daggers at the witch. She chuckled and it sent a chill running through Gentai's bones.
"I'm sure you are more than aggrieved to see me again, much less to be working with me after I…" she tapered off as Gentai picked up the slack, himself rightly guessing that Maleficent thought it would cause him unendurable pain.
"After you destroyed Agradar and killed Demora. Oh, yeah, I'm still pissed at you…I don't think that'll ever go away." Gentai said but still he made no move towards the sorceress. "But you're working with Sora now so I'll just have to trust you. It's clear that you want to battle the Horned King yourself, I don't blame you. So I'll step aside." He had said this last comment more to the group than anyone else and Sora tilted his head to the side pensively.
"Then it's just me and Maleficent." He suddenly said after a moment of silence. Almost immediately, Kairi rounded on him.
"Sora, are you nuts?!" Kairi yelled at him, thwacking him on the shoulder. "Don't you remember the last time you were there you-"
"Yeah, Kairi, I died, I know. But that was last time and this is this time." Sora said with determination and a grimace on his face. "I'll go with Maleficent to stop the Horned King and Onyx and it will just be the two of us. The rest of you, go back to Radiant Garden and start forming the army for a final battle. If we can't win here…that's it, we go to war tomorrow."
"Are you sure you can trust the witch?" Riku spat out, making a point at calling her that to her face. Maleficent's face betrayed no surprise or movement in the slightest. Sora folded his arms and looked at Riku sternly.
"I may not trust Maleficent, but right now she's the best shot we have at defeating the Horned King." Sora said. "Now get going, the sun's just come up. With luck you can get to Radiant Garden before noon and I should be following you shortly. We'll have this done in no time." Riku seemed to stare at Sora for an eternity before finally nodding and turning away. Sora briefly looked to Gentai who shrugged and also turned away from the sight. Sora then turned to Maleficent.
"Well then, Sora, shall we get going?" Maleficent asked, the dark tone in her voice sounding threatening.
"You first, Maleficent." Sora said with a smirk and Maleficent raised her staff into the air. Sora held his Keyblade in front of him and a portal appeared. With one last look at Maleficent who was now disappearing in a rush of green flame, he stepped through the portal and came out onto a dry and barren cliff, overlooking the wasteland that was the Vanishing Planet. It seemed no different than what Sora had seen twelve years ago, the barren wasteland with no vegetation and clusters of rock dotting the land, making it seem even more barren. There was a ferocious wind whipping around the pair that had just arrived on the world, making Sora's spiky locks sway slightly in the wind and his jacket whipped around him, his Keyblade held loosely at his side. He had to squint his eyes slightly from the sand that was blowing up from the wasteland. He took a chance glance at Maleficent and saw her standing there resolutely, her robes whipping around her madly, her staff upright and glowing with its eerie green and she looked more the part of the sorceress than ever. "So, where do you think we'll find him?"
"Oh…I think we'll let him come to us." Maleficent responded. Instantly she responded by firing her staff into the sky and setting the entire sky awash in a green tint that looked eerie at best. "I'm sure that they'll know I am here by now. Come Sora, let us walk and see what comes to us." Sora had no choice but to follow. However, the Horned King was not coming and the further they walked, the more despair filled Sora's heart as he began to think they would never find their elusive quarry. Then he passed by something…a broken rock. And in his mind's eye he saw the dying form of Hikaru lying against that rock, being cradled in Gentai's weeping arms and an idea came from him.
"Of course…" he breathed out and Maleficent halted, turning to face him. "It's so obvious. They were using Zexion's base from the beginning! How could we be so stupid!" Sora smacked himself on his forehead with his palm. Maleficent seemed to have understood his words for she started off at a brisk pace where Sora quickly caught up to her and managed to lead the way. Directions were quickly flashing through his minds eye before he at last saw the large stone rock that seemed almost like a pillar, indicating they were close. He and Maleficent darted around it, and standing not a few meters away was the Horned King himself.
"So…the witch herself has arrived." Sora heard him breathe out, calmer than he had been when battling Gentai little over an hour prior. "And Sora, we are once more graced with the chance to meet again."
"Can it!" Sora said before quickly taking in his surroundings. "So where's the little puppet master, you know, Onyx?" The Horned King chuckled at this but Sora was't sure it was because he was asking or because he called Onyx the puppet master.
"He's waiting below, using his powers to sense your imminent defeat." The Horned King stated, black lightning surrounding his hands and his black sword appeared within it. He stuck it in the ground and stared at Sora. "You and I have a score to settle Keyblade Master. Twelve years ago I received these scars from you in battle."
"And personally, I think you look better for it!" Sora jeered and the Horned King's face, concealed behind the mask, made no movement. He picked his sword up.
"No, the pain they caused me was unendurable. While you merely scarred my mask it was as if you damaged an extension of myself." The Horned King sneered out. "That is why I wield this blade now, to prevent any such damage as you cause to me that day from ever happening again."
"Hey, I can still take you down." Sora said confidently and the Horned King snickered.
"Is that really what you want Sora…?" the Horned King said, beginning to pace around. "To have me fall? Think about it, if you were to join me as I asked of you twelve years ago you could become one of the most powerful beings in the universe. You could rule not only Radiant Garden but everything else under my command. Together we could overthrow Onyx. His powers of Kingdom Hearts are mere trivialities compared to our combined power!!" There was a manic tone now issuing forth from the Horned Kings mouth and he had been wrapped up into such a fervor that Sora was subjected to only glaring at the propositions the Horned King made. "Come now Sora, both of us want to overthrow the Key of Darkness and who better to do so that we, the best combination of light and darkness than even the twilit road is."
"SHUT UP!!!" Sora said, leaping forward and attempting to bring Kingdom's Crown down on the Horned King. Swiftly, he blocked the blow and pushed Sora back. "Why don't you stuff it?! I have no intention of joining you and I never will so go back to your little hole and rot there for all I care." The Horned Kings topped his pacing and stared malevolently at the form of the Keyblade Master.
"So be it…keybearing fool." The Horned King said malignantly and from his hands issued forth a gigantic barrage of fireballs that came to zero in on their target: Sora. Sora prepared to erect a reflect shield but before he could so much as blink a green pillar of flame extended in front of him and absorbed the blow, fading soon after the attack did. "You protect him?!" Sora's head swiveled to look at Maleficent whose green orb of her staff was glowing.
"He is the one who shall preserve the status quo you fool." Maleficent said, her anger and rage matching even the Horned King's. "He is the one who will preserve the villain's way of life. The one who will allow us to destroy our heroes. None shall have revenge on him but me!"
"Then you burn with him!" the Horned King said and a ribbon of flame shot out of his sword. Maleficent twirled her staff around and fired out of it, her own green ribbon of flame that connected. An explosion ripped through the area and Sora flung himself away from the dueling sorcerers. Maleficent's orb flashed brightly and strands of lightning shot out wrapping their way around the Horned King, pinning him in place. Maleficent thrust her staff out, a green ray of death aiming right for the Horned King's heart. The Horned Kings attempted to move but to no avail. However, with quick thinking, pillars of eart shot up from the ground, breaking him from his paralysis and leaving a shield which the death spell shattered.
Maleficent whipped herself around and raised her staff to the air and icicles began to rain down on the Horned King. He sent a flame arcing through his blade and sent it spinning around his head. The intense heat radiating from the sword caused the icicle to melt and quickly the Horned King thrust his blade out and trapped Maleficent in a whirling tornado. The Horned King cackled evilly at the sight of his foe being whipped around in an unrelenting tempest. He quickly advanced on the helpless sorceress.
"So you see Maleficent, all your protection for him means nothing. You are no match for my power!" the Horned King said and he raised his hands to deliver the fatal blow. "Now you will die." But Sora saw something before the Horned King did. Malficent's eyes were burning with a green flame and suddenly green flame wreathed her entire body. For a moment he believed that Maleficent was going to flee from the battle but was soon dissuaded from that notion as he saw a sight he had only truly seen once in his life before. Maleficent's form changed and the Horned King stepped back in shock as Maleficent suddenly had four legs and a tail of the deepest black sprout from her. A lonch arching neck also extended and the whirlwind was broken, dropping from it, the form of a snarling dragon. Sora, in that moment, realized what this might entail but he knew he would have to see things through.
The head of the dragon struck, snapping its jaws at the Horned King who moved to take a might blow at it so as to cleave its head off. But the dragon was too fast for it, its head zipping up before it reared on its hindlegs and crashed back down. Both Sora and the Horned King had to grit their teeth from the power of such an attack, but the Horned King, who was still standing took the brunt of the attack. However, he remained standing. He quickly sent a jolt of lightning at the dragon but the dragon snapped its head forward and spirals of green flame shot out of it. The Horned King quickly erected himself a shield of cascading water which battled against the flames for a time. The dragons head snapped out as the flames circled around. The Horned King attempted to dodge but the dragon's fangs grazed his shoulder, leaving a deep gash. The Horned King knew he stood no chance against the dragon at all. He sent a darkness rippling through his blade and dodged the dragon's next blow, quickly plunging his blade into the stomach of the dragon. The dragon cried out in pain and began to flail around. The Horned King, attempted to move away but found he was stuck…and yet…there was a new power coursing through him, something greater than ever before: the true darkness…a darkness that could bring back the most foul of foes.
When the current of darkness ceased he was flung backward with his newfound power brimming within him. The dragon collapsed and a fading darkness surrounded its body, fading away the exterior of the dragon to reveal a rasply breathing sorceress who looked drained beyond all comparison. Sora shot up and ran at the Horned King who decided retreat would be the best option. He rose his hands and instant the black hued, yellow eyed form of the Heartless appeared before him. Sora stopped in shock for a moment and lunged at them, quickly clearing them away as the Horned King descended into the fortress. However, from that same fortress, emerged Onyx, a smug look upon his face.
"You…after all this, you're the ultimate one responsible for this." Sora seethed at Onyx in anger.
"This is what you deserve for allying with scum like her. You're but a dying breed, soon to fall to your very existence and nature. Sora, your time is not long lived. You and your pathetic band of an army have no resistance to the darkness that is about to fell you." Onyx stated, his own tone seething despite the fact that is face looked calm.
"We have resistance!" Sora yelled angrily. "And we can prove it to you! Just watch! Our power combined, the power of our friends, is more powerful than you'll ever be! You'll see tomorrow. We'll fight, you'll die, and we'll win."
"So be it. We battle at your Great Maw." Onyx said, turning away, accepting the offer of battle. "Oh, and Sora…mull it over. We'll have a pre-battle parlay to see if you can see reason ." With that he strode away, sending a blotch of darkness into the still green sky: a herald to the death of Maleficent. Sora quickly ran to her rasping side.
"You must preserve the status quo…Sora…" she said as soon as Sora reached her side. Sora didn't say a word but stared at the dying sorceress. "If I shall not have revenge then none…All my legacy passes to Pete for only he understands…our mission."
"I understand." Sora said resolutely and Maleficent laughed weakly.
"You always were…my most admirable foe." Suddenly her hand strongly clutched Sora's arm. "You must be the one to finish me. Only light can forever dispel the darkness. Unless you do not wish me gone forever, you must destroy me. It is the same with the Horned King…destroyed by light..or return from the darkness."
"Why are you telling me this?" Sora asked exasperatedly.
"To give you the chance to live and the chance for things to be the way they were meant to be. For I cannot kill you and so none shall. Do it!" Maleficent ordered and with heaviness in his heart, Sora quickly stabbed Maleficent in the heart, at last felling the witch that had plagued him for years. She heaved a final breath and was still. Sora looked to the sky that was darkening with Onyx's spell and knew: the war against the darkness was about to end…one way, or the other.
Author's Note: There's a lot that could have gone wrong with this chapter but there it is. Maleficent is at last gone and I mean totally gone. I also show you who I think would win in the Maleficent and Horned King fight. Ironically, I think this is the shortest chapter I've written since Twisted Souls…which is saying something I think. As you can now see everything is being set up and I hope you can see connections (cough Chapter 13 cough). Now, if you want to imagine this in your mind's eye, the song from the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince soundtrack "The Journey to the Cave" is actually what I imagined playing as Sora and Maleficent go to the Vanishing Planet. The next chapter may take me a while to write as it is a large portion of the battle but I'll get it to you as soon as I can. Personally the few parts I'd like you to review on are the plot developments, Gentai's character (as usual) and the duel. So until the next time we meet, please review heavily and Dare to Be Silly.