Shimmer
"Take a look at this tiny place." mused Ansem, who was still in Riku's form. "To the heart seeking freedom, this island is a prison surrounded by water. And so this boy sought to escape from his prison. He sought a way to cross over into other worlds, and he opened his heart to darkness."
An indigo light engulfed him as he turned to face the brown-haired Keyblade master, and he changed into Ansem's true form. Sora cried out, "Riku!"
"Don't bother. Your voice can no longer reached him where he is." chuckled the former king as Sora shrank back, ready to attack whenever possible.
Ansem smirked and continued. "His heart belongs again to darkness. All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, grows, consumes it. Such is its nature..."
The Keybearer and his allies turned around and jumped back when the villain warped behind them. "In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came. You see, darkness is the heart's true essence."
"That's not true!" objected Sora, much to Ansem's surprise. "The heart may be weak, and sometimes... it may even give in. But I've learned that deep down, there's a light that never goes out."
"So you have come this far," growled Ansem, floating higher in the air and crossing his arms, "And still you understand nothing. Every light must fade, every heart return to darkness!"
Goofy hid his face with his shield, Donald readied his staff, and Sora called upon the Keyblade when a monstrous Heartless appeared behind their enemy. And thus, the battle began.
At first, Ansem floated away and laughed evilly as his guardian unleashed magenta orbs of energy at Sora and the others. It was no competition for the Keybearer; he blocked it back with guard, much to the former king's dismay. A slice from the Keyblade knocked him off balance. Ansem gripped his side where Sora ahd slashed him; he hadn't counted on the Keyblade master being that strong.
"Come guardian!" yelled the villain. His guardian vanished and reappeared in front of Ansem, taking the opposers' blows for his master.
The battle lasted for no more than a half hour. It was a brutal event of darkness versus light, Ansem always getting closer to killing Sora once and for all. But Donald's Curaga always fixed him right up. This frustrated Ansem. Each time he knocked Donald out, the Keybearer would revive him, and Donald would heal Sora. Goofy would occasionally give the two a gift of more Magic Power, keeping the battle going.
They were still battling when the half hour was up.
"Cease your battling." came a voice. Everyone dropped their weapons and the guardian disappeared. Their attention was turned to a transparent hooded girl with black feathered wings folded on her back.
Ansem, already irritated with the battle, took the time to be foolish and yell at the angelic being. "Why should we? All of us are in a heated debate, and we fight over it!"
"Violence isn't always the answer." retorted the girl, clearly ticked off. She pointed at Ansem and he flew into the remains of the shack. Everyone was utterly shocked.
She spread her wings and began hovering. "All of you must learn to cooperate. The two animals will be left behind while I choose a place for the silver-haired rat and the Keyblade master."
"Hey!" exclaimed the former king, rubbing his head and stumbling back from his crash. The angel beckoned him and he immediately shot toward her. She grabbed him by the collar.
"Listen up, you moronic twit!" shouted the girl, letting go of Ansem and allowing him to fall. "You and Sora will be stuck together in a place of my choosing for a very long time, so learn to keep your trap shut!"
Before the two humans could object, a white and orange portal formed behind the girl. She disappeared into it and motioned for Ansem and Sora to follow. Of course, because of her powers, it didn't matter if they wanted to or not. They flew unintentionally through the vortex and it closed. Leaving the two Disney characters alone on the island.
Already dying from boredom, Donald turned to Goofy. "Hey Goofy, you know how to play Go Fish? I have a deck of cards with me... don't ask why I brought 'em..."
***
"THE LIGHT! THE LIGHT! I'M MELTING!" cried Ansem, covering his eyes. Sora slapped him and brought the former ruler to his senses.
They were in a heavenly place. It was as if they were in a cloud; in fact, Sora made a wild guess that they were. All around the two was a spongey white substance, and under their feet was a path made of crystal. There were holes in the ceiling where sunlight spilled in - the sun had been in Ansem's eyes when they first got there. That's why he had screamed.
The hooded girl appeared in front of them, this time in flesh and blood instead of a ghostly image. "This is the world of Shimmer, my home. You will be staying here until the both of you learn to cooperate."
"Me?! COOPERATE WITH HIM?!?" chorused Sora and Ansem in shock. The angel smirked and crossed her arms. She nodded before vanishing into thin air.
The two glared angrily at each other. Even though they knew it wouldn't help, both of them thought it was the other's fault they were here. They were complete opposites; how did the angelic girl think that they could get along? It was pretty much impossible!
So they just stared at each other for hours, thinking evil thoughts about the other. Ansem felt like he was going insane. Sora WAS insane. This was proved when Ansem blinked.
"Ha! You blinked, I win!" cried Sora, pointing and waving at his enemy. The former king looked around as if to ask, 'Did I miss something or what?'
***
"Got any fours?" asked Goofy stupidly. He didn't even have any fours. Donald shook his head and the dog picked a card from the deck. It was a five. He started cheering.
"What?" inquired Donald. "Did you get a match?"
"No."
The duck stared at his partner sympathetically, then shook his head. He felt pity for the idiotic palooka. Besides knowing nothing, he didn't know how to play a decent game of 'Go Fish'.
***
"I spy something... white."
"The ceiling."
"Right. I spy something... white."
"The wall."
"Which wall?"
"That wall."
"Right. I spy something... blue."
"The floor."
"Right. I spy something... brown?"
"Your hair."
"No, I mean... I saw something brown. And it wasn't my hair."
In this land of flowers and rainbows, brown was a pretty uncommon color. Ansem looked around, but he didn't see anything brown. Other than Sora's hair. "I can't see anything."
"Neither can I, it must've been a bird and flew away." Sora said, shrugging. "I spy something... silver."
"Your Keyblade."
"Right. I spy something... white."
"The other wall."
"Right." Sora rolled his eyes. "Your turn. I've run out of things to spy."
"I spy something... blue."
"The floor."
"No."
"Crud! The ends of your hair?"
"Right."
"Dang, Ansem, that's too hard!"
"Whatever."
***
Donald stared in disbelief. How he had lost the bet to a mental dog, he didn't know. But Goofy was sitting opposite from him, counting the munny. Or, at least, trying to.
"1... 2... 16... 38... 92... 56... 73... Orange... DANGIT! I ALWAYS FORGET WHAT COMES AFTER ORANGE!" yelled Goofy in frustration.
Yes, Donald really couldn't understand how he had lost.
***
"Having a fun time, boys?" asked the angel. Sora screamed like a girl and fainted; the winged being's sudden appearance had freaked him out. Normally he wouldn't have screamed and fainted, but let's face it, he was going insane.
"No." grunted Ansem.
The girl grinned happily and crossed her arms. "Good. Oh, and my name's Shi, just in case you wanted to know. If you need anything, get Sora to summon me, okie day?"
With that, she disappeared. Ansem shook Sora, trying to wake him up. The angel's name was "Shi"... how fitting. "Shi" was Japanese for "death". Thinking of what plans were boiling in Shi's mind made the former ruler shudder. Finally, Sora awoke.
"What happened?"
"Shi came and scared you."
"Who's Shi?"
"The angel girl."
"Oh."
"Sora?"
"What?"
"Can you summon Shi for me?"
"Who's Shi?"
Ansem slapped his face. It wouldn't be long before he was joining Sora in his insanity. "Just summon Shi, okay? Call on her or whatever, and make her come here."
"Okay." replied Sora. He got up and after some flashy theatrics, the angel girl appeared.
Shi put on her most innocent, caring smile, but Ansem knew it was completely fake. "You wanted me, Keyblade master? Silver-haired rat?"
"Hey!"
"Hush! Sora summoned me! He must want me!" the girl scolded. The angel turned to Sora. "What do you want, bearer of the mighty Keyblade?"
"Actually, Ansem wanted you."
"Oh." Shi frowned in disgust and turned to Ansem. "What is it now?"
"Can you get us out of here?"
"Sorry, can't do that. Only when you two learn to get along. Toodles!" replied Shi, vanishing in a puff of smoke. Ansem grabbed off a chunk of cloud and screamed into it.
Sora looked blank. "Who are you?"
***
"Oh, I remember now!" exclaimed Goofy. "Orange goes before one and England comes after three... wait, I'm confused again. 1... 16... England... Elevator... 88... 1,000... 10... Umpteen... Crud, what comes after Umpteen?"
"Infinity?"
"Oh yeah, thanks Donald."
"Welcome."
***
"Monkey beans!" cried Sora. "Monkeys! I'm a baboon!"
When he got no response from his silver-haired adversary, the Keybearer screeched. "Clap! Clap! Applause for the monkey bean baboon, or else!"
"Or else what?" Ansem countered boredly. Sora jumped on him and clawed at the former king, who stood up, screaming, and banged his head against the wall in an attempt to get Sora off.
Both of them paused their activities to the sound of a girlish giggle. "You two will never cease to amuse me! Of course, it would be bad if you did stop."
They turned to see Shi, who resumed talking. "If you aren't funny anymore, than you meet the same fate as everyone else I've brought here - you have to stay underwater for twenty minutes if you wish to stay alive."
Ansem coughed and sputtered, angry and scared out of his mind of the challenge at the same time. "Twenty whole minutes? We'll die anyway! You're crazy!"
"Ah, but there's a secret to the water in Shimmer. If you can figure it out, you'll overcome your obstacle." explained Shi, grinning a bit too widely.
They stared, terrorstruck, as Shi vanished, laughing maniacally. Ansem laid down on the ground and scrunched up in a fetal position while Sora resumed his insanity. This went on for two or three more hours, after which all that changed was the following. Sora went to sleep, occasionally waking up and screaming at the top of his lungs, and Ansem started muttering something about how he was doomed.
The sunlight from the holes in the ceilings dimmed, signalling nighttime. The Keyblade master's eyes fluttered open to the sound of quiet sobbing. When he looked over, his eyes widened. Ansem was crying!
"What's wrong, Ansem?" he asked drowsily. Ansem didn't get angry or strangle Sora like he probably would do any other time. He - to everyone's horror - hugged the insane Keybearer.
"Oh, Sora! I'm sorry for everything I ever did to you! If I had to, I would go back and rip up every single page of that stupid report! I want my mommy!" moaned the former ruler.
Suddenly, something clicked in the Keyblade master's brain, and he went back to normal. "I know, Ansem! Let's try to figure out a way to get out of here!"
"Great! You have a plan?"
"I thought you would have one."
"...We're doomed."
"No we're not! Let's think! Hm... do you think we should just try and follow the crystal path?"
It was so obvious. Ansem nearly exploded with frustration; the path had been there the entire time. He kept all of his feelings inside (except for a teeny bit that was released as an eye spasm) and grabbed Sora's hand. The Keybearer didn't even have time to get up. Ansem just dragged him.
The scenes around them as they went mirrored that of Snow White or Bambi, where the animals were exceedingly cute and weren't afraid of them. Sora fainted from the overbearing sweetness of it all. The villain (who wasn't really a villain anymore) had to close his eyes to keep from blacking out. Of course, it made it hard for him to navigate. The animals winced every time the Heartless' master ran into something.
"You can open your eyes now." Ansem's pulse quickened and his stomach flip- flopped at the sound of the familiar voice, belonging to the angel of death (he was already starting to think of her as that) herself, Shi.
"If I open my eyes, will you leave us alone?"
"Um, what's the word I'm looking for...?"
"Yes?"
"Nope, the word is... NOOOOOOOO!"
Five minutes later, Ansem still hadn't opened his eyes. Shi rolled up her sleeve, glanced at her watch, then began tapping her foot impatiently. Sora yawned and looked around, screaming and fainting again at the sight of Shi. The hooded girl rolled her eyes.
"ANSEM! OPEN YOUR EYES NOW!"
"I don't wanna."
"NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Although he didn't want to look, Ansem supposed it was better than death. He shrieked at the sight of Shi. "Okay... I opened my eyes... what now? Oh no... please no..."
Shi nodded and swept her hand across a broad lake. He couldn't even see the end of it. "You have to cross that without surfacing once. You two no longer amuse me."
"Sora! Wake up!"
"But mom, I WANT to marry Riku!"
"Sora! I'm not your mo- Wha?" Ansem paused for a moment, then twitched at Sora's most recent confession. "Anyway, WAKE UP NOW!"
Sora looked up at him with half-closed eyes. "Good morning Ansem! What are you doing in my room? Hey, where'd Riku go?"
"RIKU ISN'T HERE! Tell you what, though! SHI IS HERE! And we have to do the thing about staying underwater for twenty minutes."
"I'm ready and waiting, you guys." remarked Shi. Both of them shuddered at the sound of the angel of death's overly cheerful voice.
***
"I betcha... 10,000 munny that Ansem and Sora will NEVER cooperate." declared Donald.
Goofy scratched his butt in utter confusion. "Well, one time or another they'll have to work together if they wanna get back. You're on!"
They sat there in silence for a few minutes.
"What now, Donald?"
"I'm not sure. After you won the card game, you threw all the cards into the water. You gave up counting the munny and threw THAT in the water. After watching me go nuts because you threw the munny into the water, you tried to throw ME into the water."
"So that's why the log was so white and fluffy..."
"What log?"
"I was tryin' to build a raft so we could sail outta here."
Donald slapped his face. "Goofy, you don't build a raft by throwing a log into the water."
***
"The water is so clean and pure to breathe!" exclaimed Sora while they were underwater. Ansem looked strangely at his former nemesis, then came to a realization. Sora was breathing underwater!
But, of course, he wondered whether the Keybearer could breathe because he was nuts or because he COULD breathe underwater in Shimmer. Ansem felt his lungs going wacko. He would never surface in time, so it was worth a try. He opened his mouth and sucked in.
"Oh my gosh..." murmured Ansem. "I can breathe underwater! This is Sweet with a capital S!"
"Isn't it?" asked Sora.
"Yep!"
"And much more variety down here... I spy something... green!"
"Seaweed!"
"I spy something... yellow!"
"That fish!"
"Which fish?"
"That one!"
"Right! Your turn!"
"I spy something silver!"
"Your hair!"
"Yep! I spy something... blue!"
"Hm... Gimme a hint."
"We're in it right now."
"Water!"
"Right!"
Ansem paused for a moment, then felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see the horror of all horrors, the mistress of evil herself, Shi! The water began bubbling from Sora's loud screams.
"You guys won." she said, sounding quite defeated. "Sora went too insane for MY own good. But that doesn't mean you guys are off the hook. You still haven't cooperated."
"But we consider each other friends." offered Ansem. The audience gasped, Sora gasped, and Shi gasped. Sora and Ansem, friends? Unbelievable, but true.
Shi thought for a moment, then grinned evilly. "I meant, you two have to cooperate and find a way out of here together. That's what I meant all along..."
***
"I'm not swimming in THAT!" said Donald, pointing at the indigo-colored water. Goofy, chuckling to himself, shoved Donald into the water. The duck quacked angrily.
He lifted one wing and realized that there was nothing wrong with the water. Its color had just changed. And actually, it was more pure than normal water. Goofy watched in amazement as Donald slurped up great big gulps of the indigo-colored water. Shrugging, the dog jumped in the water too.
They paddled around in the water for awhile, then dipped underwater and collected shells. Surprisingly, none of the shells had been broken. It was nice there at... um...
"Shouldn't we name this place, Donald?" asked Goofy. The duck, who was in a much better mood than usual, considered the idea and nodded.
"I name it... Disney Island!"
"Naw, that's too cliche... how about 'Amethyst Isle'?"
Although he hated to admit it, Donald thought that Goofy's name was much better than his.
***
[They're getting too clever for their own good.] thought Shi, watching as Sora and Ansem continued swimming underwater. [They were supposed to become even worse enemies...]
Underwater, Ansem and Sora continued swimming. If Shi wanted them to cooperate, they would! Those two would do anything to get out of Shimmer and back to... wherever they wanted to go. Shi's world was nice and all, but it was too cute for the duo's own good.
Eventually, they came to a dark tunnel. Fortunately, since Ansem was used to darkness and could see in the dark, he could lead Sora through. Little did they know, Shimmer wasn't all puppies and rainbows. It had a dark side to it, also. And the dark side happened to be at the opposite end of the tunnel...
"I spy something black."
"The darkness."
"Right. I spy something... black."
"The darkness."
"Right. Hey, Ansem?"
"What?"
"How many times have you said 'darkness' in your lifetime?"
"I lost count after one thousand. Why?"
"Just asking."
Suddenly, a music box version of "Simple and Clean" began playing in the background.
"You hear that, Sora?" asked Ansem, his eyes searching around for the source. Sora nodded and hugged Ansem. Unfortunately for Sora's former enemy, it was a very strong, big hug.
"Ansem?" remarked Sora, shuddering in the sudden coolness of the water. "Why are we sinking?"
"YOU'RE CUTTING OFF MY AIR SUPPLY!"
"Oops, sorry."
"Look! Light! A light at the end of the tunnel! I've never been so happy to see light in my entire life!"
"You've never been happy to see light in your entire life."
"Oh yeah."
They swam as fast as they possibly could towards the light. At first, the two were frightened that it might just be a lantern fish or something. But no - it really was the end of the tunnel! They were safe! Or were they? As they got closer, the music got louder and changed into its original version, singing and all. But the voice that was singing it wasn't Utada Hikaru's.
And it was oddly familiar.
"Kairi!" cried Sora. The red head noticed both of them as soon as they came out of the tunnel. She gave them a wide, pearly grin and motioned for them to come over.
It took Ansem all the strength that he had in order to keep his lunch in his stomach as Sora and Kairi were reunited. But why was Kairi in Shimmer, anyway?
"I suddenly found myself in Shimmer. I was about to look around when a brown-haired version of me popped up and told me that you were here." Kairi explained to Sora. "I wanted to look for you."
Sora looked directly into Kairi's eyes. "Thanks, Kairi."
Their little rendezvous was interrupted by the sound of someone throwing up. Ansem wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Sorry... it was just getting a little too sappy. And I thought you liked Riku."
"Anyway." continued Sora, getting nervous at Kairi's evil glare. "Hey Kairi, did this brown-haired version of you introduce herself? And did she have any unusual attachments or powers?"
"She had wings, I remember that. Angel wings."
"What color were they?"
"Black. She told me her name, but I can't remember... oh yeah, she! Her name was Shi!"
The water bubbled with Sora's screams at the sound of the angel of death's name. Ansem considered what Kairi had said. "So, really, Shi is Kairi's alter ego. I wonder where she is now."
"Right here." called a voice from above the water. Everyone surfaced to see Shi herself sitting on a rock that jutted out of the water. She wasn't wearing her cloak. The only difference between her and Kairi was their hair color; everything else about their looks was the same.
"Okay, Shi, we want out of here right now." demanded Kairi. The alter ego laughed evilly and shook her head with pity. Then she smiled at everyone.
"My apologies, but I just can't do that. I can let Ansem and Sora go, but not Kairi." replied Shi. The trio was a little taken aback, and Kairi was horrified.
Sora shook his fist at Shi. "Why can't Kairi come? She found us, and that was your challenge for her! We stayed underwater for twenty minutes! What is wrong with you?"
"My hair isn't the same color as Kairi's, and I can't meld my wings into my back. That's why I have to kill her. You see, little miss Princess of Heart here is what people call a 'Mary Sue'; she's absolutely perfect in every way. I'm here to change that. Once she is gone, my hair will be the same color and I can make my wings disappear and reappear as I please. You won't know the difference."
All this time, Ansem, Kairi, and Sora were only half-listening. They had gone numb with shock when Shi said that she was going to kill Kairi. The angel of death sighed and used Thundaga on all of them. It brought the trio back to attention.
"As I was saying, today, Kairi will die. I will take her place. Unlike her, I will not be a Mary Sue. I will be outright mean and nasty." finished Shi.
"You weren't even in the game!" growled Ansem, jumping on Kairi's alter ego. "I think YOU'RE the one that's going to die! Silver-haired rat, my foot..."
Suddenly, the former ruler was blasted back and hit the ceiling. He dropped into the water, unconscious. Shi grinned. "Anyone else? Oh, yes, Kairi. Silly me, I forgot."
The angel (?) rose to her feet and approached Kairi, who was too stunned to move. Shi didn't count on something else; Sora's unfathomable amount of love for the Princess of Heart. In a flash of silver and gold, one of her wings fell to the earth and vanished. WHOOSH! WHACK! The other one was cut off too. Shi whipped around and grabbed Sora around his neck.
"Listen, you," growled the Kairi look-alike, "I was created because Kairi- bashers were tired of miss Mary Sue here. I came here to show that everyone, no matter how beautiful, has flaws!"
"I'll show you my strength!"
Everything got dark as Ansem floated out of the water, his eyes missing pupils and turning red. Suddenly, his guardian popped up from the ground underneath Shi and a pool of dark magic exploded upwards.
"What are you trying to accomplish?"
Kairi scrambled to help Sora up. They watched as the guardian continued torturing Kairi's alter ego with dark magic. Ansem was laughing maniacally. He had waited a long time to get revenge on Shi.
"You cannot deny it... The final darkness is now!"
The guardian flew back to his master and blasts of power knocked Shi into the water. The girl struggled to stay on the surface, but, unfortunately for her, Ansem had commanded his guardian to hold her under. Not that it made any difference. She COULD breathe underwater.
"Hi-five!" said Ansem. His guardian zoomed back and they hi-fived.
"Thank you, Ansem!" thanked Kairi. Sora's former nemesis rolled his eyes.
"I didn't do it for you." muttered the Heartless' master. "I did it because a) I've waited very long to avenge myself and b) NO ONE knocks ME unconscious."
"Hello, people. I'm still alive, ya know." grumbled Shi as she clambered out of the water.
Ansem turned to Sora, a wacky grin on his face. "Hey Sora, didn't Shi say that you could summon her now?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Dismiss her."
All three of them turned their attention to Shi, sly looks on their faces. The ex-angel shook her head. "No! Anything but that! Anything! ANYTHING!"
"Shi, you are dismissed!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The Kairi look-alike's voice faltered as she began glowing and turned into a little orb of light. It floated into Sora's hand and turned into a stone. "I call it the Darkshimmer!"
[Epilogue]
Sora stowed the Darkshimmer at the very back of the secret place on Amethyst Isle after they returned. After some searching around,all five of them (including Donald and Goofy) finally found the Door to Darkness. It was a bit difficult to shut, but with a little help from Mickey and Riku on the other side, they managed to shut it.
Kairi and Sora were returned to Destiny Islands, Goofy and Donald went back to Disney Castle, and Ansem went back to Hollow Bastion, where he apologized to everyone and became the king again. The barriers between the worlds came back, but Ansem was trying to find another way of travel.
Sora and Kairi were a bit upset about Riku, but they pressed on and lived a happy child/teenhood on the island. Ansem started writing novels. Goofy stopped avoiding weapons whenever possible and was the most strict knight in the army, whereas Donald became a calm and collected wizard.
Kairi learned to stop being a Mary Sue and went a little nuts, but Sora excused her wild behavior.
To make a long story short, everyone lived happily ever after. Except for poor old Shi.
[Author's Note]
Maji: When I wrote this one-shot, I had A LOT of fun with it. Gypsy helped with some of the funny parts--
Gypsy: *big grin*
Maji: --and I just had the most fun I've had in writing for years. Oh, and I have nothing against Kairi or her Mary Sue ways, it just made the story funnier to mention her perfection.
Vivi: WH00T! GO MAJI!
Young Sora: Great story! SEQUEL! SEQUEL! SEQUEL!
Maji: ...Wow! Both of you hate me, but you're loving the story? Cool! ^^ I might actually MAKE a sequel!
[Disclaimer]
I don't own Ansem or his guardian, Sora, Kairi, or anything else that was mentioned in the story that I don't own. I DO own Shimmer, Shi, the Darkshimmer, and... okay, so I don't own Amethyst Isle, but I own the name! NO ONE CAN USE MY STUFF WITHOUT MY CONSENT!
"Take a look at this tiny place." mused Ansem, who was still in Riku's form. "To the heart seeking freedom, this island is a prison surrounded by water. And so this boy sought to escape from his prison. He sought a way to cross over into other worlds, and he opened his heart to darkness."
An indigo light engulfed him as he turned to face the brown-haired Keyblade master, and he changed into Ansem's true form. Sora cried out, "Riku!"
"Don't bother. Your voice can no longer reached him where he is." chuckled the former king as Sora shrank back, ready to attack whenever possible.
Ansem smirked and continued. "His heart belongs again to darkness. All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, grows, consumes it. Such is its nature..."
The Keybearer and his allies turned around and jumped back when the villain warped behind them. "In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came. You see, darkness is the heart's true essence."
"That's not true!" objected Sora, much to Ansem's surprise. "The heart may be weak, and sometimes... it may even give in. But I've learned that deep down, there's a light that never goes out."
"So you have come this far," growled Ansem, floating higher in the air and crossing his arms, "And still you understand nothing. Every light must fade, every heart return to darkness!"
Goofy hid his face with his shield, Donald readied his staff, and Sora called upon the Keyblade when a monstrous Heartless appeared behind their enemy. And thus, the battle began.
At first, Ansem floated away and laughed evilly as his guardian unleashed magenta orbs of energy at Sora and the others. It was no competition for the Keybearer; he blocked it back with guard, much to the former king's dismay. A slice from the Keyblade knocked him off balance. Ansem gripped his side where Sora ahd slashed him; he hadn't counted on the Keyblade master being that strong.
"Come guardian!" yelled the villain. His guardian vanished and reappeared in front of Ansem, taking the opposers' blows for his master.
The battle lasted for no more than a half hour. It was a brutal event of darkness versus light, Ansem always getting closer to killing Sora once and for all. But Donald's Curaga always fixed him right up. This frustrated Ansem. Each time he knocked Donald out, the Keybearer would revive him, and Donald would heal Sora. Goofy would occasionally give the two a gift of more Magic Power, keeping the battle going.
They were still battling when the half hour was up.
"Cease your battling." came a voice. Everyone dropped their weapons and the guardian disappeared. Their attention was turned to a transparent hooded girl with black feathered wings folded on her back.
Ansem, already irritated with the battle, took the time to be foolish and yell at the angelic being. "Why should we? All of us are in a heated debate, and we fight over it!"
"Violence isn't always the answer." retorted the girl, clearly ticked off. She pointed at Ansem and he flew into the remains of the shack. Everyone was utterly shocked.
She spread her wings and began hovering. "All of you must learn to cooperate. The two animals will be left behind while I choose a place for the silver-haired rat and the Keyblade master."
"Hey!" exclaimed the former king, rubbing his head and stumbling back from his crash. The angel beckoned him and he immediately shot toward her. She grabbed him by the collar.
"Listen up, you moronic twit!" shouted the girl, letting go of Ansem and allowing him to fall. "You and Sora will be stuck together in a place of my choosing for a very long time, so learn to keep your trap shut!"
Before the two humans could object, a white and orange portal formed behind the girl. She disappeared into it and motioned for Ansem and Sora to follow. Of course, because of her powers, it didn't matter if they wanted to or not. They flew unintentionally through the vortex and it closed. Leaving the two Disney characters alone on the island.
Already dying from boredom, Donald turned to Goofy. "Hey Goofy, you know how to play Go Fish? I have a deck of cards with me... don't ask why I brought 'em..."
***
"THE LIGHT! THE LIGHT! I'M MELTING!" cried Ansem, covering his eyes. Sora slapped him and brought the former ruler to his senses.
They were in a heavenly place. It was as if they were in a cloud; in fact, Sora made a wild guess that they were. All around the two was a spongey white substance, and under their feet was a path made of crystal. There were holes in the ceiling where sunlight spilled in - the sun had been in Ansem's eyes when they first got there. That's why he had screamed.
The hooded girl appeared in front of them, this time in flesh and blood instead of a ghostly image. "This is the world of Shimmer, my home. You will be staying here until the both of you learn to cooperate."
"Me?! COOPERATE WITH HIM?!?" chorused Sora and Ansem in shock. The angel smirked and crossed her arms. She nodded before vanishing into thin air.
The two glared angrily at each other. Even though they knew it wouldn't help, both of them thought it was the other's fault they were here. They were complete opposites; how did the angelic girl think that they could get along? It was pretty much impossible!
So they just stared at each other for hours, thinking evil thoughts about the other. Ansem felt like he was going insane. Sora WAS insane. This was proved when Ansem blinked.
"Ha! You blinked, I win!" cried Sora, pointing and waving at his enemy. The former king looked around as if to ask, 'Did I miss something or what?'
***
"Got any fours?" asked Goofy stupidly. He didn't even have any fours. Donald shook his head and the dog picked a card from the deck. It was a five. He started cheering.
"What?" inquired Donald. "Did you get a match?"
"No."
The duck stared at his partner sympathetically, then shook his head. He felt pity for the idiotic palooka. Besides knowing nothing, he didn't know how to play a decent game of 'Go Fish'.
***
"I spy something... white."
"The ceiling."
"Right. I spy something... white."
"The wall."
"Which wall?"
"That wall."
"Right. I spy something... blue."
"The floor."
"Right. I spy something... brown?"
"Your hair."
"No, I mean... I saw something brown. And it wasn't my hair."
In this land of flowers and rainbows, brown was a pretty uncommon color. Ansem looked around, but he didn't see anything brown. Other than Sora's hair. "I can't see anything."
"Neither can I, it must've been a bird and flew away." Sora said, shrugging. "I spy something... silver."
"Your Keyblade."
"Right. I spy something... white."
"The other wall."
"Right." Sora rolled his eyes. "Your turn. I've run out of things to spy."
"I spy something... blue."
"The floor."
"No."
"Crud! The ends of your hair?"
"Right."
"Dang, Ansem, that's too hard!"
"Whatever."
***
Donald stared in disbelief. How he had lost the bet to a mental dog, he didn't know. But Goofy was sitting opposite from him, counting the munny. Or, at least, trying to.
"1... 2... 16... 38... 92... 56... 73... Orange... DANGIT! I ALWAYS FORGET WHAT COMES AFTER ORANGE!" yelled Goofy in frustration.
Yes, Donald really couldn't understand how he had lost.
***
"Having a fun time, boys?" asked the angel. Sora screamed like a girl and fainted; the winged being's sudden appearance had freaked him out. Normally he wouldn't have screamed and fainted, but let's face it, he was going insane.
"No." grunted Ansem.
The girl grinned happily and crossed her arms. "Good. Oh, and my name's Shi, just in case you wanted to know. If you need anything, get Sora to summon me, okie day?"
With that, she disappeared. Ansem shook Sora, trying to wake him up. The angel's name was "Shi"... how fitting. "Shi" was Japanese for "death". Thinking of what plans were boiling in Shi's mind made the former ruler shudder. Finally, Sora awoke.
"What happened?"
"Shi came and scared you."
"Who's Shi?"
"The angel girl."
"Oh."
"Sora?"
"What?"
"Can you summon Shi for me?"
"Who's Shi?"
Ansem slapped his face. It wouldn't be long before he was joining Sora in his insanity. "Just summon Shi, okay? Call on her or whatever, and make her come here."
"Okay." replied Sora. He got up and after some flashy theatrics, the angel girl appeared.
Shi put on her most innocent, caring smile, but Ansem knew it was completely fake. "You wanted me, Keyblade master? Silver-haired rat?"
"Hey!"
"Hush! Sora summoned me! He must want me!" the girl scolded. The angel turned to Sora. "What do you want, bearer of the mighty Keyblade?"
"Actually, Ansem wanted you."
"Oh." Shi frowned in disgust and turned to Ansem. "What is it now?"
"Can you get us out of here?"
"Sorry, can't do that. Only when you two learn to get along. Toodles!" replied Shi, vanishing in a puff of smoke. Ansem grabbed off a chunk of cloud and screamed into it.
Sora looked blank. "Who are you?"
***
"Oh, I remember now!" exclaimed Goofy. "Orange goes before one and England comes after three... wait, I'm confused again. 1... 16... England... Elevator... 88... 1,000... 10... Umpteen... Crud, what comes after Umpteen?"
"Infinity?"
"Oh yeah, thanks Donald."
"Welcome."
***
"Monkey beans!" cried Sora. "Monkeys! I'm a baboon!"
When he got no response from his silver-haired adversary, the Keybearer screeched. "Clap! Clap! Applause for the monkey bean baboon, or else!"
"Or else what?" Ansem countered boredly. Sora jumped on him and clawed at the former king, who stood up, screaming, and banged his head against the wall in an attempt to get Sora off.
Both of them paused their activities to the sound of a girlish giggle. "You two will never cease to amuse me! Of course, it would be bad if you did stop."
They turned to see Shi, who resumed talking. "If you aren't funny anymore, than you meet the same fate as everyone else I've brought here - you have to stay underwater for twenty minutes if you wish to stay alive."
Ansem coughed and sputtered, angry and scared out of his mind of the challenge at the same time. "Twenty whole minutes? We'll die anyway! You're crazy!"
"Ah, but there's a secret to the water in Shimmer. If you can figure it out, you'll overcome your obstacle." explained Shi, grinning a bit too widely.
They stared, terrorstruck, as Shi vanished, laughing maniacally. Ansem laid down on the ground and scrunched up in a fetal position while Sora resumed his insanity. This went on for two or three more hours, after which all that changed was the following. Sora went to sleep, occasionally waking up and screaming at the top of his lungs, and Ansem started muttering something about how he was doomed.
The sunlight from the holes in the ceilings dimmed, signalling nighttime. The Keyblade master's eyes fluttered open to the sound of quiet sobbing. When he looked over, his eyes widened. Ansem was crying!
"What's wrong, Ansem?" he asked drowsily. Ansem didn't get angry or strangle Sora like he probably would do any other time. He - to everyone's horror - hugged the insane Keybearer.
"Oh, Sora! I'm sorry for everything I ever did to you! If I had to, I would go back and rip up every single page of that stupid report! I want my mommy!" moaned the former ruler.
Suddenly, something clicked in the Keyblade master's brain, and he went back to normal. "I know, Ansem! Let's try to figure out a way to get out of here!"
"Great! You have a plan?"
"I thought you would have one."
"...We're doomed."
"No we're not! Let's think! Hm... do you think we should just try and follow the crystal path?"
It was so obvious. Ansem nearly exploded with frustration; the path had been there the entire time. He kept all of his feelings inside (except for a teeny bit that was released as an eye spasm) and grabbed Sora's hand. The Keybearer didn't even have time to get up. Ansem just dragged him.
The scenes around them as they went mirrored that of Snow White or Bambi, where the animals were exceedingly cute and weren't afraid of them. Sora fainted from the overbearing sweetness of it all. The villain (who wasn't really a villain anymore) had to close his eyes to keep from blacking out. Of course, it made it hard for him to navigate. The animals winced every time the Heartless' master ran into something.
"You can open your eyes now." Ansem's pulse quickened and his stomach flip- flopped at the sound of the familiar voice, belonging to the angel of death (he was already starting to think of her as that) herself, Shi.
"If I open my eyes, will you leave us alone?"
"Um, what's the word I'm looking for...?"
"Yes?"
"Nope, the word is... NOOOOOOOO!"
Five minutes later, Ansem still hadn't opened his eyes. Shi rolled up her sleeve, glanced at her watch, then began tapping her foot impatiently. Sora yawned and looked around, screaming and fainting again at the sight of Shi. The hooded girl rolled her eyes.
"ANSEM! OPEN YOUR EYES NOW!"
"I don't wanna."
"NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Although he didn't want to look, Ansem supposed it was better than death. He shrieked at the sight of Shi. "Okay... I opened my eyes... what now? Oh no... please no..."
Shi nodded and swept her hand across a broad lake. He couldn't even see the end of it. "You have to cross that without surfacing once. You two no longer amuse me."
"Sora! Wake up!"
"But mom, I WANT to marry Riku!"
"Sora! I'm not your mo- Wha?" Ansem paused for a moment, then twitched at Sora's most recent confession. "Anyway, WAKE UP NOW!"
Sora looked up at him with half-closed eyes. "Good morning Ansem! What are you doing in my room? Hey, where'd Riku go?"
"RIKU ISN'T HERE! Tell you what, though! SHI IS HERE! And we have to do the thing about staying underwater for twenty minutes."
"I'm ready and waiting, you guys." remarked Shi. Both of them shuddered at the sound of the angel of death's overly cheerful voice.
***
"I betcha... 10,000 munny that Ansem and Sora will NEVER cooperate." declared Donald.
Goofy scratched his butt in utter confusion. "Well, one time or another they'll have to work together if they wanna get back. You're on!"
They sat there in silence for a few minutes.
"What now, Donald?"
"I'm not sure. After you won the card game, you threw all the cards into the water. You gave up counting the munny and threw THAT in the water. After watching me go nuts because you threw the munny into the water, you tried to throw ME into the water."
"So that's why the log was so white and fluffy..."
"What log?"
"I was tryin' to build a raft so we could sail outta here."
Donald slapped his face. "Goofy, you don't build a raft by throwing a log into the water."
***
"The water is so clean and pure to breathe!" exclaimed Sora while they were underwater. Ansem looked strangely at his former nemesis, then came to a realization. Sora was breathing underwater!
But, of course, he wondered whether the Keybearer could breathe because he was nuts or because he COULD breathe underwater in Shimmer. Ansem felt his lungs going wacko. He would never surface in time, so it was worth a try. He opened his mouth and sucked in.
"Oh my gosh..." murmured Ansem. "I can breathe underwater! This is Sweet with a capital S!"
"Isn't it?" asked Sora.
"Yep!"
"And much more variety down here... I spy something... green!"
"Seaweed!"
"I spy something... yellow!"
"That fish!"
"Which fish?"
"That one!"
"Right! Your turn!"
"I spy something silver!"
"Your hair!"
"Yep! I spy something... blue!"
"Hm... Gimme a hint."
"We're in it right now."
"Water!"
"Right!"
Ansem paused for a moment, then felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see the horror of all horrors, the mistress of evil herself, Shi! The water began bubbling from Sora's loud screams.
"You guys won." she said, sounding quite defeated. "Sora went too insane for MY own good. But that doesn't mean you guys are off the hook. You still haven't cooperated."
"But we consider each other friends." offered Ansem. The audience gasped, Sora gasped, and Shi gasped. Sora and Ansem, friends? Unbelievable, but true.
Shi thought for a moment, then grinned evilly. "I meant, you two have to cooperate and find a way out of here together. That's what I meant all along..."
***
"I'm not swimming in THAT!" said Donald, pointing at the indigo-colored water. Goofy, chuckling to himself, shoved Donald into the water. The duck quacked angrily.
He lifted one wing and realized that there was nothing wrong with the water. Its color had just changed. And actually, it was more pure than normal water. Goofy watched in amazement as Donald slurped up great big gulps of the indigo-colored water. Shrugging, the dog jumped in the water too.
They paddled around in the water for awhile, then dipped underwater and collected shells. Surprisingly, none of the shells had been broken. It was nice there at... um...
"Shouldn't we name this place, Donald?" asked Goofy. The duck, who was in a much better mood than usual, considered the idea and nodded.
"I name it... Disney Island!"
"Naw, that's too cliche... how about 'Amethyst Isle'?"
Although he hated to admit it, Donald thought that Goofy's name was much better than his.
***
[They're getting too clever for their own good.] thought Shi, watching as Sora and Ansem continued swimming underwater. [They were supposed to become even worse enemies...]
Underwater, Ansem and Sora continued swimming. If Shi wanted them to cooperate, they would! Those two would do anything to get out of Shimmer and back to... wherever they wanted to go. Shi's world was nice and all, but it was too cute for the duo's own good.
Eventually, they came to a dark tunnel. Fortunately, since Ansem was used to darkness and could see in the dark, he could lead Sora through. Little did they know, Shimmer wasn't all puppies and rainbows. It had a dark side to it, also. And the dark side happened to be at the opposite end of the tunnel...
"I spy something black."
"The darkness."
"Right. I spy something... black."
"The darkness."
"Right. Hey, Ansem?"
"What?"
"How many times have you said 'darkness' in your lifetime?"
"I lost count after one thousand. Why?"
"Just asking."
Suddenly, a music box version of "Simple and Clean" began playing in the background.
"You hear that, Sora?" asked Ansem, his eyes searching around for the source. Sora nodded and hugged Ansem. Unfortunately for Sora's former enemy, it was a very strong, big hug.
"Ansem?" remarked Sora, shuddering in the sudden coolness of the water. "Why are we sinking?"
"YOU'RE CUTTING OFF MY AIR SUPPLY!"
"Oops, sorry."
"Look! Light! A light at the end of the tunnel! I've never been so happy to see light in my entire life!"
"You've never been happy to see light in your entire life."
"Oh yeah."
They swam as fast as they possibly could towards the light. At first, the two were frightened that it might just be a lantern fish or something. But no - it really was the end of the tunnel! They were safe! Or were they? As they got closer, the music got louder and changed into its original version, singing and all. But the voice that was singing it wasn't Utada Hikaru's.
And it was oddly familiar.
"Kairi!" cried Sora. The red head noticed both of them as soon as they came out of the tunnel. She gave them a wide, pearly grin and motioned for them to come over.
It took Ansem all the strength that he had in order to keep his lunch in his stomach as Sora and Kairi were reunited. But why was Kairi in Shimmer, anyway?
"I suddenly found myself in Shimmer. I was about to look around when a brown-haired version of me popped up and told me that you were here." Kairi explained to Sora. "I wanted to look for you."
Sora looked directly into Kairi's eyes. "Thanks, Kairi."
Their little rendezvous was interrupted by the sound of someone throwing up. Ansem wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Sorry... it was just getting a little too sappy. And I thought you liked Riku."
"Anyway." continued Sora, getting nervous at Kairi's evil glare. "Hey Kairi, did this brown-haired version of you introduce herself? And did she have any unusual attachments or powers?"
"She had wings, I remember that. Angel wings."
"What color were they?"
"Black. She told me her name, but I can't remember... oh yeah, she! Her name was Shi!"
The water bubbled with Sora's screams at the sound of the angel of death's name. Ansem considered what Kairi had said. "So, really, Shi is Kairi's alter ego. I wonder where she is now."
"Right here." called a voice from above the water. Everyone surfaced to see Shi herself sitting on a rock that jutted out of the water. She wasn't wearing her cloak. The only difference between her and Kairi was their hair color; everything else about their looks was the same.
"Okay, Shi, we want out of here right now." demanded Kairi. The alter ego laughed evilly and shook her head with pity. Then she smiled at everyone.
"My apologies, but I just can't do that. I can let Ansem and Sora go, but not Kairi." replied Shi. The trio was a little taken aback, and Kairi was horrified.
Sora shook his fist at Shi. "Why can't Kairi come? She found us, and that was your challenge for her! We stayed underwater for twenty minutes! What is wrong with you?"
"My hair isn't the same color as Kairi's, and I can't meld my wings into my back. That's why I have to kill her. You see, little miss Princess of Heart here is what people call a 'Mary Sue'; she's absolutely perfect in every way. I'm here to change that. Once she is gone, my hair will be the same color and I can make my wings disappear and reappear as I please. You won't know the difference."
All this time, Ansem, Kairi, and Sora were only half-listening. They had gone numb with shock when Shi said that she was going to kill Kairi. The angel of death sighed and used Thundaga on all of them. It brought the trio back to attention.
"As I was saying, today, Kairi will die. I will take her place. Unlike her, I will not be a Mary Sue. I will be outright mean and nasty." finished Shi.
"You weren't even in the game!" growled Ansem, jumping on Kairi's alter ego. "I think YOU'RE the one that's going to die! Silver-haired rat, my foot..."
Suddenly, the former ruler was blasted back and hit the ceiling. He dropped into the water, unconscious. Shi grinned. "Anyone else? Oh, yes, Kairi. Silly me, I forgot."
The angel (?) rose to her feet and approached Kairi, who was too stunned to move. Shi didn't count on something else; Sora's unfathomable amount of love for the Princess of Heart. In a flash of silver and gold, one of her wings fell to the earth and vanished. WHOOSH! WHACK! The other one was cut off too. Shi whipped around and grabbed Sora around his neck.
"Listen, you," growled the Kairi look-alike, "I was created because Kairi- bashers were tired of miss Mary Sue here. I came here to show that everyone, no matter how beautiful, has flaws!"
"I'll show you my strength!"
Everything got dark as Ansem floated out of the water, his eyes missing pupils and turning red. Suddenly, his guardian popped up from the ground underneath Shi and a pool of dark magic exploded upwards.
"What are you trying to accomplish?"
Kairi scrambled to help Sora up. They watched as the guardian continued torturing Kairi's alter ego with dark magic. Ansem was laughing maniacally. He had waited a long time to get revenge on Shi.
"You cannot deny it... The final darkness is now!"
The guardian flew back to his master and blasts of power knocked Shi into the water. The girl struggled to stay on the surface, but, unfortunately for her, Ansem had commanded his guardian to hold her under. Not that it made any difference. She COULD breathe underwater.
"Hi-five!" said Ansem. His guardian zoomed back and they hi-fived.
"Thank you, Ansem!" thanked Kairi. Sora's former nemesis rolled his eyes.
"I didn't do it for you." muttered the Heartless' master. "I did it because a) I've waited very long to avenge myself and b) NO ONE knocks ME unconscious."
"Hello, people. I'm still alive, ya know." grumbled Shi as she clambered out of the water.
Ansem turned to Sora, a wacky grin on his face. "Hey Sora, didn't Shi say that you could summon her now?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Dismiss her."
All three of them turned their attention to Shi, sly looks on their faces. The ex-angel shook her head. "No! Anything but that! Anything! ANYTHING!"
"Shi, you are dismissed!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The Kairi look-alike's voice faltered as she began glowing and turned into a little orb of light. It floated into Sora's hand and turned into a stone. "I call it the Darkshimmer!"
[Epilogue]
Sora stowed the Darkshimmer at the very back of the secret place on Amethyst Isle after they returned. After some searching around,all five of them (including Donald and Goofy) finally found the Door to Darkness. It was a bit difficult to shut, but with a little help from Mickey and Riku on the other side, they managed to shut it.
Kairi and Sora were returned to Destiny Islands, Goofy and Donald went back to Disney Castle, and Ansem went back to Hollow Bastion, where he apologized to everyone and became the king again. The barriers between the worlds came back, but Ansem was trying to find another way of travel.
Sora and Kairi were a bit upset about Riku, but they pressed on and lived a happy child/teenhood on the island. Ansem started writing novels. Goofy stopped avoiding weapons whenever possible and was the most strict knight in the army, whereas Donald became a calm and collected wizard.
Kairi learned to stop being a Mary Sue and went a little nuts, but Sora excused her wild behavior.
To make a long story short, everyone lived happily ever after. Except for poor old Shi.
[Author's Note]
Maji: When I wrote this one-shot, I had A LOT of fun with it. Gypsy helped with some of the funny parts--
Gypsy: *big grin*
Maji: --and I just had the most fun I've had in writing for years. Oh, and I have nothing against Kairi or her Mary Sue ways, it just made the story funnier to mention her perfection.
Vivi: WH00T! GO MAJI!
Young Sora: Great story! SEQUEL! SEQUEL! SEQUEL!
Maji: ...Wow! Both of you hate me, but you're loving the story? Cool! ^^ I might actually MAKE a sequel!
[Disclaimer]
I don't own Ansem or his guardian, Sora, Kairi, or anything else that was mentioned in the story that I don't own. I DO own Shimmer, Shi, the Darkshimmer, and... okay, so I don't own Amethyst Isle, but I own the name! NO ONE CAN USE MY STUFF WITHOUT MY CONSENT!
