Chapter 2: First Battle

The new and improved Ansem lifted his arm, causing Goofy and Donald to slide backwards, and a cage of black fire to envelope them. No matter what they did, they couldn't get out.

"Think you can beat me without your little friends, Sora?" Ansem sneered.

"Actually, I was hoping to get you all to myself," Sora shot back. "Don't worry guys, I can do alright alone!" he shouted to his friends. "Okay Ansem, let's get this over with!"

Sora rushed at Ansem, who floated into the air. He tried hundreds of combos from every angle, sometimes being able to get a hit in, other times being thrown back by a counterattack. He was faster and stronger than he'd ever been, his hate of Ansem, and the love of his friends (new and old) fueling him farther than he'd ever thought possible. Unfortunately, Ansem was extremely powerful. His supply of tricks and spells looked as if they had no end. He could block almost all of Sora's moves, sometimes sending them back at the Keyblade Master. The fight seemed to go on for hours. Finally, when it seemed that Sora would win, Ansem tried a dirty trick.

As Sora began his final charge, Ansem threw sand into his eyes, temporarily blinding him. Then, coming up from behind, he shot an energy blast at Sora's back, sending him skidding in the sand. Sora slid for more than ten feet, almost falling off the edge of the cliff into the never-ending abyss. He held on to the side, trying to get a good grip, while the sand trickled over as if it were falling in an hourglass. Ansem walked over, leaning on one knee to look closely at Sora's face.

"Well, it looks like you've lost boy," he said. "Although...I could help you up and spare your life...if you hand your Keyblade over to me. I need it to open the door to Kingdom Hearts, releasing the Heartless and the darkness that dwell within."

"First of all," Sora snarled, "Kingdom Hearts holds light, even if there are Heartless inside. And second, I'll die before I hand the Keyblade over to a creep like you!!" Ansem's triumphant smile turned to an angry grimace.

"That can be arranged," he said. He held his hand in front of Sora's face, ready to blast him into oblivion. Suddenly, a voice yelled:

"Hold it Ansem!!"

Ansem's head began to throb painfully. He screamed, pressing his hands to his temples and falling to the ground. Sora could swear that he knew that voice. From where he was (still hanging onto the cliffside) he couldn't see what happening to Ansem. All he saw was a white flash of light. He began to feel his fingers slipping. Just as he started falling, an arm came down and caught him. He was helped up onto the sand, and collapsed from exhaustion. After a minute, he sat up. When he looked at the figure leaning over him, he could feel a tear escape his eye, but he quickly wiped it away.

"Hey Sora," said Riku with his sly smile, "Did ya miss me?"

Author's Note: Hi everybody, it's Cheza. I hope you liked the first two chapters of my story. Please review to tell me how I did. I hope I didn't make Sora seem like a baby (crying and all). I just wanted to show how good he felt about seeing Riku again. The third chapter won't be out for a short while (maybe a week or so). By the way, the parts of the story with "" around them are parts that would be interactive in the game (meaning battles that you do). If you don't like the way I wrote them, you can imagine your own specific versions.