A/N: Hope you all had a great Christmas and with the end of the year fast approaching, I figured an update for this is a nice way to end 2018. Next time I'll update this, it'll be the end of 2019. I kid, but seriously, I don't mean to be so slow with updating this story. I just... you know that feeling of having a favorite kid? No? Good. You shouldn't (admit that publicly anyway). Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter XXV

The Medicine Goes Down

Stepping into the den of adulthood as Larxene had so eloquently put it, her and Sora took their seats right at the front of bar and ordered. Larxene ordered her Jägerbomb before her bottom had even hit the seat. After some careful deliberation of his own and a good look at the menu, Sora eventually went with a non-alcoholic root beer and small basket of fries.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Sora asked, noticing out of the corner of his eye the amused smile Larxene had from the moment he had ordered to the moment his order had arrived in front of him.

"Nothing," Larxene dismissed, picking up her drink and giving it a swirl.

"Sure, I believe that," Sora said, reaching for the condiments to sprinkle on the fries.

"Wait, so let me get this straight. You tell me you don't want any drama between us, yet you're all the more ready to incite it yourself? Am I the only one not seeing the sense in this?" Larxene asked.

"That wasn't what I- agh, forget it… you're impossible," Sora said.

"And don't you go forgetting it. In what little time we spent together, I made sure your other half learnt that lesson," Larxene said.

"You and Roxas talk to each other much?" Sora asked.

"We went on one or two missions together, but he seemed just as unremarkable, perhaps even more so, as you if that's what you were asking."

"It wasn't. Want a fry?" Sora asked, picking one up and circling about in front of her.

"Stop that!" Larxene swatted away only for it to hit the floor.

"Hey!" Sora said as he reached down to pick up the fry.

"Ugh, you aren't actually gonna eat that, are you?" Larxene asked.

"Floor looks clean. And five second rule." Sora chuckled and popped it into his mouth. "Mmm, floor fries… the best."

"Degenerate," Larxene said.

"Takes one to know one."

"You're such a kid," Larxene replied, taking a swig of her drink.

"We established already, or are you already starting to lose your memory at your age?" Sora asked.

Larxene laughed. "I'll give you this, you're witty. In a fairer world, the forces of darkness would be no match for the quips of the light."

"If only it were that easy," Sora said. He looked at Larxene out of the corner of his eye for a moment. Had he somehow managed to make her laugh? Now he was really worried. Being in Larxene's good graces couldn't possibly be a bad thing. Could it?

He looked around the bar. Granted, it wasn't as dingy or weird as Sora had expected. He wasn't sure what he had expected really. There was music coming from behind the bar of what he assumed was some famous band from Radiant Garden. Admittedly, it wasn't the type of music he was used to. Back on the islands, the music often seemed softer and lighter instruments were often used to produce a more relaxing and simple sound. This seemed much more intricate and complex. He wasn't sure how he felt about it at first but he was slowly growing accustomed to it.

There didn't seem to be any shady characters around them either, but Sora wasn't sure what he had been expecting with that either. Of course, as Larxene had said, they were just regular adults drowning out the banality of their everyday lives.

"So what is that exactly?" Sora asked, nodding at Larxene's drink.

"A Jägerbomb. You start with a pint glass of something sweet, usually with a high content of caffeine, then add a Jägermeister, that's alcohol with all these herbs, spices and fruits mixed in, and put it in a shot glass. Then you pour it in with the energy drink. Because caffeine is a stimulant and alcohol is a depressant, the energy drink usually helps to mask some of the effects of the Jägermeister."

"Pint…? Shot…? Like a shotlock?" Sora asked.

"What… are you even… no. Just do yourself a favor and don't work in a bar. I mean, I'd imagine you'd be good at the customer interaction part but… just don't," Larxene said.

"So you worked at a bar then. How was it?" Sora asked.

"I've worked a lot jobs. Anything to keep me out of the house. Being behind the bar actually was probably my favorite of the jobs now that I think about it. Got to study mixology—that's making cocktails for you—and I met a lot of interesting- well I say interesting but with what I've experienced, interesting at the time, I guess. There were a couple of fights I had to break up and at one point I even got a black eye over it but it comes with the job. I didn't cry over it or anything," Larxene said.

"Doesn't sound like the kind of thing you should have to worry about though," Sora said.

"Well, it only happened the once and the manager offered to send me home early. I've actually thought about… ah, forget it, I don't know why I'm discussing this with you anyway."

"Oh, come on! Don't dangle a carrot in front of my face only to pull it away. I promise I won't laugh if it's embarrassing," Sora said.

"It's not something to laugh about. Ugh, I can't believe I'm doing this. I've thought about opening up my own little bar at some point, okay? Some nice food, some musicians playing every night… it's stupid," Larxene said.

"I don't think so. I think it's admirable," Sora complimented. "Why not follow through with it?"

"Because life doesn't always go the way you want it to. Now that I'm whole again, I don't even know if I have the same dream in mind. Just have to go with le flow and see where life takes me," Larxene said. "And for some reason it has currently taken me to you, so you better make it worth my while."

"I won't make any promises," Sora said. He turned his head as the music in the background turned into a guitar solo. "You listen to this stuff?"

"Small talk… so it's come to this. No, not really. I'll take classical and good book by a nice warm fire any day of the week," Larxene said.

"A book? I don't think I figured you for a book person."

"Which is why the saying 'don't judge a book by its cover' applies," Larxene said. "Now, unless you want to know what color panties I'm wearing next, should we just get to the topic of finding Maleficent?"

"Larxene, please. I- I wasn't thinking about that," Sora said with a blush on his face.

"Ah, man's first lie. They're always thinking about the panties. Or are you more of a bra man? A pity I'm not wearing one then."

Sora spluttered on his ginger beer while Larxene kept her eyes on her own drink as she lifted it to her mouth. Sora looked up to see the bartender looking at him with a disapproving stare.

"Well if it was that bad, all you had to do was say," the bartender said. With a huff, he returned to cleaning the glasses in front of him. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Luna turned around on her seat to face him, a smirk playing on her face as plain as day.

"So… about Maleficent," she started. "I take it destroying a world and riding its carcass right into Traverse Town isn't your style?"

"That goes without saying," Sora said with his eyes on the table.

"Well, in that case, I suppose your best chance is a corridor of darkness. One quick portal can get you there in a jiffy. Only problem, for you anyway, is that it's pretty risky, but if we're quick about it we can get you through with no problems," Larxene said.

Sora finally faced her with a grin. "You're going to help me? Okay, what do you want in return?"

Larxene scoffed. "Oh, please. You think I'm THAT kind of person?"

"I know you're that kind of person," Sora said.

Larxene lazily shook her head. "Yeah, fair point, but since I can't exactly think of anything right now, we'll discuss your payment later."

"I don't suppose you could do it purely out of the kindness of that brand new heart of yours, huh," Sora said, far from optimistic of the response.

"Oh, you mean take a page out of the book of altruism? Like so many other people do? This isn't even a thing you learn as you get older, it's just straight up advice from me. People care to the point where they'll do something as long as it doesn't detriment them in some way. You tell a man he can do his part, he'll be glad to do anything just to feel better about himself but if you tell him that to really make a change he has to sacrifice his luxuries, well, unless you have a suitable alternative in place then just don't expect him to do everything for you."

"Well, I was expecting pessimistic. Not sure I was expecting a lecture to go along with it," Sora said.

"Well now you know so you'll never have to be disappointed in anyone ever again," Larxene said. She finished her drink and ordered a regular beer before turning to Sora. "When you're finished we'll be on our way. I'm sure Maleficent will be happy to know you've come… for her panties."

And with that, Sora had all he needed to stuff his mouth full of fries. After gorging down, Sora followed Larxene out of the bar and down the wet and damp street. Despite the ground showing evidence of rain having fallen, the sky looked as orchid purple as it had on any other ordinary day. It was a wonder anyone could tell when rain was coming and when it wasn't, of course they had found a way.

"Alright, this seems like a pretty good spot. I'm going to open the portal," Larxene said after checking to make sure no one was about.

"What about Johnny? I promised him I'd bring him with me," Sora said.

Larxene scoffed. "And what, get captured? As far as I'm concerned, you're the one with that sprit's powers now, not him. He's an old fossil, a liability. Trust me, the two of us alone are more than enough for that bat."

When Sora made no objection, Larxene threw up her left hand and opened a dark corridor. "Just stay close. The darkness… well… you had any clingy exes? It's like that," Larxene said.

"I… haven't. Have you?" Sora asked, immediately regretting ever asking the question. Fortunately, Larxene didn't seem fazed by this.

"I'm not a relationships kind of person. Never really felt like it was necessary," Larxene said. She looked at the portal and smiled. "Ever wondered what going through one of these feels like? Time to join the bad boys club, Sora."

"Do I at least get a cool jacket?" Sora asked.

"Do elephants fly? Now hurry up before I call this thing off and do something that I actually won't regret with my life," Larxene said.

"W-well, actually… sure," Sora mumbled to himself as he headed in.

Aqua's POV

A few quick jabs and a swing. Repeat. Aqua's feet glided forward like smooth butter as she locked one attack into another. Her body ached as she put effort into every swing… no, not effort. She lowered her arm slowly just as she were about to bring it down for another vicious strike. It was frustration.

Her mind pounded with the events of going back to her old home, coming so close to waking one of her dearest friends only to have him snatched away from her and told to wait just a little longer. Just a little. After spending over ten years in hell, this was to be her reward upon escaping it.

Of course, she knew Yen Sid was right. Acting rashly was exactly what Xehanort wanted, as anyone who sought to take advantage of their opponent would do. Often times, as the master had so eloquently put it, the biggest roadblocks to victory were not external but often deep within. Where Xehanort's weakness lied, Aqua was sure it was in his lack of trust in others and his thirst for more, but there was no foreseeable room with which they could exploit that. For her and her friends… well, their weakness was all too obvious. On both sides, no one concealed anything and yet one could lose it all so more easily than the other. Now if there was a balance she would like corrected in the world, it was that one.

"Ven… if you were here you'd be tired of me saying it, because I am too. Just wait for me and whatever you do, keep your light burning strong. I promise I will see this through. Your return…" and Xehanort's retribution. She stopped just short of saying this however.

Before, when she had no knowledge of the on-goings of the outside world, she really had no goal other than to rescue her friends. It had been all that had been keeping her alive in that darkness. If a person could be defined by their reasoning alone, then Aqua's existence lay only in seeing Ven and Terra again, otherwise she simply wouldn't be. Now, it felt strange to have an enemy to want to defeat purely for what he had done to them. She never thought she could hate as she did now, which led to her wonder if what she was feeling now was even her own or a grossly amplified result of the darkness getting to her.

No, that's not the way to think. I have to accept the fact that it is my own, Aqua thought, banishing her Keyblade. The worst has come to pass. My heart is shrouded in shadow now.

She left the park and took off down the street. She was supposed to be aiding with Kairi's training but knowing Kairi's heart, she was afraid it would expose just how ugly her own had become. If she was prepared for that then she had to be truthful with herself now before it ended up hurting later. Now that she had accepted her darkness, she had to figure out how to face it. It was good thing then that she had a great teacher when it came to that—a best friend who had once struggled with his own.

Stepping onto the main road, the smile which she had been determined to keep on her face for the rest of the day not even a few seconds ago faded when she encountered a most bizarre sight.

She backed up and hid behind the corner of the nearby building, peering around. Her bewildered eyes watched as someone in a suspicious black coat stepped into a corridor of darkness and behind her…

"Sora… what…" Aqua didn't have time to try and figure anything out. The portal was already closing behind him. Remembering the concern Riku and the others displayed for the supposedly strange way Sora had been behaving made up her mind all the more.

Aqua ran forward and, with her eyes closed, threw herself head first, hoping that she had actually made it. Her eyes opened and she thanked her lucky stars that she had been able to make it in time. But now that she had, she wasn't quite sure how to proceed. The familiar feeling of fear and loneliness gripped her and it took her a few second to realize that she was not, in fact, back in the dark realm. It sure felt scarily close to it though.

Her eyes soon found Sora and she tried calling out to him multiple times, but he didn't seem to hear her. She supposed that had to do with the compression of space within the portal. She could appear to be close to Sora as it seemed now when in reality she was thousands, possibly more, miles away from him.

Whatever the case, it was best not to consider the matters of space travel when they could leave her behind at any moment. She started after them when the narrow passage behind her began closing in. Aqua took off into a sprint, pushing past tendrils of darkness as they formed out of the walls like tiny hands to grab her. With how narrow her path was becoming, she soon had to transition into moving sideways.

She let out a gasp for air as she leaned her head back to prevent the tiny hands from touching her face. Of course, then she felt them against the back of the head so she could really only pick which one she could ignore the most.

After an exhausting tango, Aqua could see a light up ahead. She summoned her Keyblade and began chopping indiscriminately as she made her way towards it. Painfully aware to just how little time she had left, she threw herself forward to the light. Her body hit the ground a second later, left arm first. Groaning, she slowly took in her surrounding as she tried to get back up.

Objects and pieces of buildings and debris floated above her, attached to nothing. The only things attached to the ground other than the three of them were the street lamps and their bright lights illuminating on the cobbled asphalt. She looked up and motioned in a circle, taking in the countless stars and galaxy clusters that surrounded them, some farther than others.

"What is this place?" Aqua asked, rubbing at her aching arm.

Sora turned around in surprise which soon was replaced by horror. "Aqua? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, now this is rich. Perfect. I mean, could this get any better?" Larxene asked, shaking her head. She concealed her sardonic smile as she turned around once again to look elsewhere.

"What am I doing- what am I doing here? Trying to find out what you're doing here, that's what! Why are you following this woman into the darkness like that? Where even are we? I want answers and you're not going anywhere until I get them," Aqua said. She bowed her head for a moment before looking up with pleading eyes. "Look, I understand if you don't want to get me involved. I'll accept that. Goodness knows I don't have it in me to doubt a friend again. But you have to give me something because while you're here doing who knows what, your friends are worried about you. Worry isn't concerned with sapping away the sorrows of tomorrow, but the joys of today. Trust me, I know what it's like to want to push your friends away to keep them safe, but it's not the answer. Go down that path and regret will be the only friend waiting for you at the end of the road."

Before Sora could reply, green flames erupted from the ground in front of them. Maleficent stepped out of the rescinding flames and smiled as she scanned the three of them.

"You?" Aqua asked, glaring at the witch.

"Why, Aqua, it's been too long. I must admit this is quite the reunion," Maleficent said.

"Well, this makes things easier. Thanks for dropping by, now hand over that orb on your staff," Sora said, summoning his Keyblade.

"This?" Maleficent's hand and long fingers hovered over the green orb. "Ah, so I see you've come to know of this gem's power. A hell stone, correct?"

"When did you find out?" Sora asked. Aqua looked back and forth between the two, utterly baffled but powerless to do much else at the moment but listen.

"You truly think I would use something with so little understanding of what it actually was?" Maleficent asked. "I found this stone in the pocket of an infirm traveller wandering in my mountains. He collapsed outside of my castle one day, quenching for thirst and hunger. And he could have it all indeed, for I made sure he was adequately attended to. As thanks for saving him, he told me of its secrets—of how kingdoms could be brought to their knees by this single stone, and that its power was too much for sensitive minds such as that of man. I agreed with him, which is why I took the stone from him and turned him into one of my henchmen. AHAHAHAHA!"

"And there she goes. I guess some things really don't change after ten years," Aqua said.

"Yeah. Heck, I wouldn't mind a change in one at this point," Sora replied.

Maleficent ceased her chortling and looked back at Aqua. "I remember what you told me all those years ago. That I was too clouded by darkness to see that there was something greater. But if I was clouded by darkness, then you must admit you were clouded by your naïve outlook on 'love'. Love didn't bring you back from the darkness, child. It was me. Your faith can only take you so far but you were willing to believe it could take you over the horizon. Your misguided beliefs are but one of many reasons why you and your friends will never vanquish the darkness!"

"I agree," Sora spoke up. "We're not conquerors, and we don't have anything to prove. We don't need to vanquish the darkness. Just those who use it for nefarious ends."

"Must you have a response for everything?" an unperturbed Maleficent asked.

"Yeah, he's annoying alright," Larxene suddenly said, her hands placed on her hips. "And he kinda pisses me off, but I think we all agree unanimously that the witching hour is long over. Time to exit stage left, grandma."

"Wow, Larxene… that was almost cool of you," Sora said, smiling at the blonde.

"Almost, he says. After her, you're next," Larxene said.

Sora raised a brow though his smile remained. "Why you always gotta ruin a good thing?"

"Silence, you conceited curs! If you insist on prattling about like fools then I shall do my utmost to accommodate. Welcome to a world that you, as you so eloquently put it, don't wish to vanquish." Maleficent raised her staff and became engulfed in green flames once more. As she disappeared, countless Heartless took her place, swarming the ground and the floating objects above them.

"Starting to regret tagging along, Larxene?" Sora asked, as he readied his Keyblade.

"Please… more pain for them means more fun for me," Larxene said.

"Ah, glad I'm not on the receiving end of that line this time, though I'm not exactly sure Heartless feel pain," Sora said.

"Well they've never met me. Not these ones anyway," Larxene said, bringing out her knives. "I'll have 'em squirming."

Aqua summoned her own Keyblade and quickly scanned her surrounding enemies. Considering the darkness was weaker here than in the Dark Realm where the Heartless originated, she didn't want to say it was child's play so much as a form of stress relief. She hadn't quite been herself ever since revisiting her old home. To have a tangible enemy in front of her was better than swinging angrily at the air, though she truly wished she didn't feel this way at all.

The trio darted forward in separate directions. Larxene sliced her way through the shadows in front of her, the air thinning around her strikes as sparks of electricity flew off in quick succession. Aqua glided forward on the ground as she changed into her Spellweaver style. The Keyblade whisked around in and around her dominant hand, spinning and cutting through the Heartless, leaving behind a bright neon blue trail in its wake.

After culling a few more of their numbers, she whipped around to look at Sora. "Hurry, you go after Maleficent. You can't let her get away."

"But-"

"We'll be okay. We'll be there as soon as we can to help, alright? Just… give her some of her own medicine while you're waiting, for me, will you?" Aqua asked.

But Aqua's words had done little to soothe Sora's consciousness. He was still hesitant to leave her, Larxene less so but considering she was their ticket out of there, he didn't have much choice but to care.

Larxene threw him an annoyed look. Her knives set on another Heartless in front of her, she changed target at the last second and sent a bolt of lightning right down on where Sora was standing. He let out a little noise and just managed to dodge the bolt by tripping over himself and falling to the ground. Larxene darted forward and grabbed the boy by the neckline of his t-shirt, dragging him back up forcibly.

"If you won't make up your own mind then I'll make it up for you. Is that okay with you? Is it?"

Sora reached up to wrest Larxene's hands from his shirt. It wasn't for some stupendous strength that caused her to eventually drop him however. Larxene recoiled, clutching her right hand as if she had just placed them on a scalding hot object. Sora didn't seem to take particular note of this, glad that he was finally free from her grasp.

"Fine, I'll go. Just… cover her, Larxene. I'm counting on you," Sora said. Larxene didn't reply. Didn't so much as even nod. She had been so caught up in the pain she had just felt that she had almost forgotten she was even in a battle.

Sora didn't wait for a response either. He set off up the stairs and down the dysfunctional street. Heartless approached him from either side as he continued on. Thrusting his hands out, blue hellfire engulfed the Heartless, causing them to sag and burn away. As much as he wanted to stop and contemplate how he had even accomplished that, the current situation made that impossible.

He pulled open the large wooden doors in front of him and stepped through. He paused only seconds after entering and turned his head right to see a branch of thorns shooting out towards him. He rolled forward and pivoted, watching as the branch twisted round and shot forwards once more at him. Sora raised his hand in an attempt to recreate the same result as with the Heartless, but the branch was too fast for him. Like a spear, the thorny branched pierced his stomach and launched him backwards, pinning him to the wall.

The harsh guffawing that ensued was followed by Pete coming into view.

"Serves ya right for comin' here, ya big dum-dum. Why, I wouldn't be surprised if Maleficent is planning the same sticky end for your friends back there. Ha! Get it? Sticky?"

"You… talk too much…" Sora said through gritted teeth. Thorns dug into his hand as he tried to pull out the branch.

"You really think you're gonna be pullin' that out anytime soon? Stop trying! Hey, maybe if those wimpy friends of yours get here on time, you might just stand a chance. Wouldn't count on it though!" Pete exclaimed, letting out another round of laughter.

Sora hung his head low. It was useless, as Pete had said. The pain was unbearable, he could barely breathe and he certainly wasn't going to be pulling himself out of this mess. His arms fell to his side and he closed his eyes. He didn't think he would ever die as pathetically as this, least not to Maleficent and Pete of all people.

I can't believe I'm living inside an idiot's body. Here, let me show you how it's done.

It was like Sora had been submerged under water against his will. No matter how hard he tried to make it back to the surface, a force kept him under. He could only watch as his body moved on its own accord. He witnessed a blue flame wrapping around the branches, travelling up its roots.

Like a knife out of butter, the thorny branch slid out of Sora's stomach all too easily. It was like slurping on noodles. As much as Sora didn't care much to make that comparison at the moment, he couldn't help but think it. The difference was that whereas noodles and the broth accompanying it gave slurping an alluring appeal, the smooth parting of body and bough was anything but that.

Pete's laughter died out, his body visibly trembling as he watched on in horror. Sora finished pulling the last pieces of wood out and watched as the hole in his stomach filled back in. It was a grotesque sight, and even he wished it he could scream. There was just one problem however. He wasn't in control of his own body.

Eventually the Rider looked up at Pete, ignoring the burning blue branch that had limply fallen to the ground and was withering away.

"That kind of hurt… my feelings. Can't exactly say I like what you've done with the place, by the way. Seems like the kind of thing an edgy teen would think of. Know what I mean?"

Pete's mouth flapped repeatedly as though he wanted to say something. Eventually, he began backing away.

"N-no way! You're not human! Th-there's no way…"

"You catch on quick. Want an autograph?"

Pete shook his head frantically. He almost tripped over himself as he turned to run. "You can forget this, Maleficent! I'm outta here!"

Pete opened up a corridor of darkness and promptly escaped, closing it behind him. Just then, Sora felt a tug as though he were being pulled back up to the surface. Soon he found that he could move his fingers and the rest of his body once more.

He moved to clasp his mouth as he felt a rush of bile rising up. Turning around, he dropped his hands and threw up next to the building.

Uh, yeah. That… can happen when your brain believes you still have a hole in your stomach. My advice? Don't let it happen often.

"You don't say," Sora muttered, wiping his mouth. "Oh, and don't ever take control of my body again without my permission. I'm using you, not the other way around. Don't forget that."

Heh, if you say so.

"I'll ignore that," Sora said. He turned his head away from the wall as Maleficent appeared from her green flames.

"Coward. I shall deal with him later, but for now…" Maleficent raised her arms, her body glowing a faint green. "You shall face the power that has felled whole worlds!"

"Oh, could you be any more dramatic?" Sora asked. Suddenly, bright emerald flames engulfed her entire body, forcing Sora to cover his eyes. When the roar of the flames subsided, Sora looked back to see a very familiar dragon leering at him.

Sora stepped backwards to create some distance between the two, all the while admiring how much smaller it had looked since the last time he had faced it, or how much taller he was. Maleficent sneered and let out a spray of green flames. Sora turned right and leapt of the terrace, landing on the lower levels of the used-to-be second district.

Landing on all fours, he pushed forwards with his shoulders until he was a considerable distance apart then spun around, summoning his Keyblade as he did so. He expected, when turning, for Maleficent to still be there. Instead, he found a tail fast approaching as his reality. Like a pendulum, the dragon's tail slammed into Sora, launching the boy across the street.

His body aching, he fought off the urge to stay down and picked himself back up. He shot a quick look at Maleficent to see her extending her long neck. She was going in for the bite. He drew out his Keyblade and parried her lunge. Her snout grazed against the length of the Kingdom Key, just enough of a gap for Sora to dart to the left. Her neck turned and she continued biting in an attempt to catch him.

Sora ducked underneath Maleficent's long neck, swinging his Keyblade upward as he ran past her. The Keyblade struck the dragon's flesh, eliciting a roar from Maleficent but little else to show for it. He supposed annoying her would only get him so far.

His eyes became glued to atop the gizmo shop and its belfry. It was suitable high enough ground for him to fight on. Anywhere else around here was too enclosed and left him at a disadvantage. He just had to get to it without getting trampled on.

Maleficent grabbed the ledge of the upper level in an attempt to maneuver around. It was probably true that fighting on this ground was probably just as uncomfortable for her, but Sora also saw his chances as better on higher ground.

Her mouth glowed green as she opened it, the slightest of hints available to him that she was preparing to breathe her hellfire. Sora backed away and threw his Keyblade like a boomerang. The spinning key struck Maleficent's head, interrupting the build up to her attack.

He summoned his Keyblade and continued on his way to the Gizmo Shop. Meanwhile, Maleficent shook her head and followed after him. They were like prey and predator. Anywhere Sora turned, Maleficent was close behind, clawing and thrashing at everything. It was very unlike the witch. Her movements reeked of desperation and were even animalistic.

He hopped onto the bench that was still fortunately there since the last time he had been in Traverse Town and used it to bounce onto the ledge. Putting one step in front of the other, he made his way over to the Gizmo building and hopped onto the sill jutting out below the shop's roof. He looked left while hugging the wall to see Maleficent preparing to breathe fire again. Here, on this narrow footing, he had no room to make a rebuttal.

He jumped up and grabbed the ledge with a single hand, urging himself to hurry as the green light by the corner of his eyes grew brighter. Just as Maleficent released the blast, he managed to pull himself up and over, escaping a most certainly crispy death… for the time being anyway.

He allowed himself a few seconds to breathe before getting back up. Reappearing in his hands, Sora brandished the Keyblade, waiting for Maleficent to make her move. From her position, Maleficent began to hover, slowly gaining in altitude as she tried to spread her wings. With all the debris in the air however, it seemed that she was becoming increasingly frustrated with the process.

Inching forward, Sora swung the Keyblade at Maleficent as she tried to reach his level. After being hit a few times, Maleficent retaliated and managed to successfully grab the Keyblade with a single bite. Sora brought his free hand forward and was about to cast Firaga only for Maleficent to flare her nostrils. He felt a wave of hot air suddenly descend upon him, causing him to lose his balance and fall backwards.

Sora looked up in time to see a grin come out of the dragon's mouth. Already that same green glow was making itself manifest in her mouth. Sora, paralyzed to the spot, couldn't think clearly. The obvious answer was to move out of the way, but if he did, then which direction should he move in? His plan was in tatters. Soon he would be too if didn't think of something quickly.

Then, as he looked into the jaws of green death, he was struck with an epiphany. Defiantly, against everything screaming in his mind to do otherwise, he stood up and waited for Maleficent's blast to come.

Finally resigned yourself to a quick death, huh? Well I can't say you don't have a flare for the dramatic if this is how you-

"Shut up and merge with me already," Sora muttered under his breath.

A little while before, Aqua and Larxene had somehow managed to take out the remaining flood of Heartless. Larxene held her hand out and tried to catch her breath. Aqua, on the other hand, seemed to be recovering at a faster pace.

"Okay… having a heart isn't easy. That was… a lot…"

"Quality over quantity. Believe it or not I've faced worse in the Realm of Darkness. I didn't even know what these things were until Mickey told me, but when I came to find out from him what was going on in the outside world, I made a promise to myself. I'd stay strong and face the darkness in preparation for whatever lay outside. A few Heartless can't keep me down," Aqua replied.

"A few… yeah, sure, whatever. Anyway, let's be on our way then," Larxene said, kicking at the ground.

"So, how exactly do you know Sora?" Aqua asked, as they made their way over to the next district.

"He killed me once upon a time," Larxene responded.

"O…kay…" Aqua said slowly. She had been hoping to hear more but when Larxene remained silent, she gave up on that. It was nothing she couldn't get from Sora, it was just that this woman wasn't exactly the type she imagined a boy like Sora to be hanging out with. She supposed she could erase girlfriend off the list though.

When they burst through the double doors, the sight of the dragon at the far end of the street greeted them. Aqua was only barely able to make out Sora behind it before green flames ensnared him.

"NO!" Aqua screamed, covering her mouth soon after. She couldn't believe what she had just seen. She outright refused. That the hero who she had been told had saved countless worlds could fall like this… it just didn't seem real. The fairy tales she had spun in her head of this boy with a heart that sparkled like a diamond… those had been what had kept her going in that darkness. She had wanted to meet this boy and confirm with her own eyes the reality of the fantasy in her head.

"I… can't believe it… he's dead," Aqua managed to choke out. He's dead, he's dead, he's dead, he's dead, he's-

"Hey. Chin up," Larxene suddenly said. Aqua glanced at her in confusion, but Larxene did not look back. She was instead staring at the Gizmo shop. Aqua slowly peered back up at the dragon. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell agape.

Rather than consuming him whole, the flames found themselves repelled as Sora stepped forward. The skin on his face had melted away to be replaced by the flaming skull. Piercing red eyes glared right back at Maleficent, who in turn found herself confounded by this most unexpected sight.

The flames died down and Sora cracked his knuckles. "Was that all? Best out of five, maybe?"

He hurled his fist forward, slamming it into the dragon's face. At first, Maleficent's face curled around at an odd angle in response, but she was soon blasted from the air and back down to the ground. The spirit of vengeance hopped down from the Gizmo Shop and approached the slumped dragon, all the while stretching his chest and shoulders by holding the Keyblade behind his back.

As he neared Maleficent, he caught sight of Larxene and Aqua by the door. In particular, he noted Aqua's bewildered expression, all before Maleficent suddenly sprang to life and slammed him into the nearby wall.

"Agh! Really? The fake out?" Sora groaned. He grabbed at the foot that was pinning him and pushed back with all his might. He was able to separate himself from her just enough to slid around to its side. Jerking the foot forward again, he slammed its claws right into the spot he had just been, lodging them into the building.

Maleficent cried out and tried to bite Sora only to receive a blow to the face as he recovered the Keyblade. He darted towards the dragon's tail and grabbed it with both hands.

"I always wanted to do this," he said. He pivoted and began swinging on the spot. Surprised at his newfound strength, Sora let it go on for longer than he perhaps needed just to admire the ease of it all. Eventually he let go and Maleficent went flying, no wings needed. Her body crashed into the belfry of the gizmo shop, and a resounding clang rang throughout the district as the bell hit the ground. The shop's glass windows shattered through the shockwave that Maleficent's body had produced.

After the raining glass had stopped, Sora took his time in walking over to Maleficent. He didn't see much need to be hasty. Her slowly shrinking form indicated to him that she was out of commission for good.

Maleficent gasped as Sora landed in front of her and backed away in an attempt to reach her staff. Reaching forward, Sora grabbed Maleficent by her robes and lifted her off the ground.

"Y-you… you're not Sora. Who… what are you?" Maleficent asked. Though her words said something else, her eyes pleaded with him to grant mercy. It was something that was so out of the ordinary that Sora had to pause to think twice about whether he was doing the right thing.

"An avenger. Now it's time you faced punishment for the pain you've caused," Sora said, activating the penance stare. He dropped Maleficent and watched as she looked on, paralyzed, trembling in fear. The fire on his skull died down and skin slowly reappeared back on his face. He slipped his hands into his pockets and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "No use fighting it. The Rider's got your number."

A/N: So I was thinking since this is an AU and all, that I could bend the rules a little and have Maleficent be based on the one from the live action film. That would, in effect, mean that something happened to turn Maleficent bad. Since the Penance Stare can help people come to terms with the atrocities they've committed, its possible that she could have a different role. But I want to run this one by you guys. Think it's a good idea or should Maleficent stay true to her roots?

Anyway, please look forward to Aqua's reaction to Sora's new form in the next chapter, coming hopefully... soon. Ta-ta for now!