"Okay, this silence is getting a little creepy," Max remarked, sitting in the Valefor. "What's up, guys?"
Sora sighed heavily. "Emma says that we're going to see Riku again when we're at the next world."
"Really? That's good." There was silence again. "Um…isn't it good?"
Emma shook her head. "Maleficent's probably had him possessed early so he wouldn't be tempted to come back to us. We can't get him back on our side until the end, if we can at all."
Max scratched his head. "I get it. Can't you use your powers to-"
"I can't control anyone who's sided with the darkness."
"Oh." Max pushed a button on the dashboard. "Well, we're at Hollow Bastion now. Good luck."
Murmuring apprehensively to each other, Sora and Co. walked to the save point in the back. "Thanks," Emma called over her shoulder.
… … …
Sora and Co. were a little late getting to where Riku and the Beast were; with six party members all trying to climb the icicles and be the first to get to the platform, there was a considerable amount of shoving and falling. By the time they all made it up, Beast was already sprawled on the ground. "Whoa!" Sora jumped back, then looked at Riku. "Why? Why did you do this?"
Riku looked up. "You!"
"Yeah, us!" Jake cheered, jabbing himself with his index finger. "We're gonna stop you from…uh…what was he going to do, Emmie? I still haven't gotten this far in the game."
Emma focused on the ground. "He's going to take the Keyblade. Aren't you, Riku?"
Riku stepped forward. "I have to. If I don't obey Maleficent…this won't be the only scar I have." He took off his left-hand glove just long enough for Sora and Co. to see a deep gash that ran there, then put it back on. "I need the Keyblade. If I have to, I'll take it by force." He held out his hand. Before the Keyblade could disappear from Sora's hand, something knocked Riku to the ground. "Hey!" He lifted his head up, only to see Emma kneeling over him, taking something silvery out of her pocket. His eyes widened in terror. "The knife!" He rolled over, and scrambled to his feet.
Emma grabbed Riku's arm, then struck him in the forehead. Riku clenched his fists, shuddering, expecting to hear the tear of skin. However, all he heard was the crinkling of aluminum foil, and Emma's laughter. "Gotcha."
"That wasn't funny," Riku grunted, grabbing the aluminum wrapper. "What is this, anyway?" He tore it open, and peered inside. "Why are you giving me little white chunks?"
"It's a Toblerone," Emma explained. "You wanted to see other worlds, so I brought you some real-world candy. I wanted to give it to you in Guadosalam, but Maleficent had taken you already."
Riku snorted, though he was smiling now. "I'm trying to take the Keyblade, and you're giving me candy? You're a psycho, Emma."
Emma grinned. "I neither confirm nor deny that statement. Will you come back to us, Riku?"
"But…what about Maleficent?"
"If Maleficent comes back, I'll shove my pole up her-"
Riku raised his hands. "Thank you, Emma, but that's disgusting." He also started grinning. "Fine. I'll come back to you guys."
"Ah, the magic of Toblerones," Dia chuckled.
"I was going to leave Sora alone to figure out how to open the castle door by himself, but…c'mon!" Sora and Co. ran onto the lift, except for Jake. "Hey, hurry up!" Riku called.
Jake prodded the Beast's arm. "You're looking for Belle, right?" Beast looked confused, but nodded. "If you come with us, we can help you find her!"
Beast slowly got to his feet. "I…will." His confusion being drowned by his love for Belle, the Beast lumbered over to the lift. Unfortunately, there wasn't quite enough room, so Emma and Jake had to sit on his back, and Jake insisted on petting him every few seconds. "I'm doing this for Belle…I'm doing this for Belle…I'm doing this for Belle," he constantly reminded himself.
… … …
"Emmie, why are we going into a library?" Jake asked, trotting behind Emma.
"To rearrange books."
"Myeh. Why are we doing that?"
Emma stopped and turned around. "If we put all the books where they're supposed to go, we can open a secret passage," she explained.
Sora and Co. split up, grabbing books and shoving them onto the shelves. About a minute-and-a-half later, all the books had been rearranged, and the door to the Main Hall's balcony unlocked itself. Riku pointed to several objects as they walked out. "We need the four pieces of the Heartless insignia to get to Maleficent. We have to light those candles, activate that stone to blow out the fire in the chandelier, get the one under the dog statue, and get the piece in the chest."
Sora, Donald, and Dia ran around the balcony, casting Fira on the candles. Jake jumped down to get the piece in the fountain, followed by Goofy, who went to retrieve the one in the chest. Emma cast Thundara on the small lightning symbol, then Blizzara on the chandelier's fire as Riku and the Beast pushed the ferocious dog statue to one side.
"All right!" Emma cheered. She, Sora, Jake, and the Beast each pushed a piece into the door. With a rumbling noise, it lifted, and Sora and Co. ran outside. "Maleficent, here we come!"
… … …
Maleficent stood in the Castle Chapel, growling. "What could be taking Riku so long? The king's fools must be stronger than I anticipated."
"Who're you calling a fool, fool?" Dia called, followed by the rest of Sora and Co. "Are we going to fight now, or what?"
Riku took out the Soul Eater. "I'm going to do what I should've done a long time ago; finish you off!" Maleficent gaped. "That's right, you old hag, I quit! Come on, Jake!"
Jake jumped up, and landed in Riku's arms. Sora and Dia each took one of Riku's feet. "Blasting off in ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One!" Maleficent warily held out her staff. "0.75! 0.5! 0.25!" Jake yelled. Maleficent looked nothing short of vexed. "0.125! 0.03! 0.047! 0.0027784!"
"Just do it, Jake!" Sora complained.
"Myeh. Blast-off!"
Sora and Dia pushed on Riku's feet, and he and Jake soared into the air. Riku slashed at every bit of Maleficent he could get at. Maleficent clutched at her face, looking around wildly. "Where did the little girl and boy go? They cannot be…ugh!"
The witch fell over, with Jake standing on her back. He waved the Titan Shield around. "That was awesome! Hey!" He tumbled off as Maleficent stood again. "Stupid old lady!"
"That answers half of the question, but where is the…oh, perfect," Maleficent snarled. Emma was standing in the corner, clutching something. "Wait a moment…what are you going to do with that? Throw it at me?"
Emma held up a small, grey stone, looking defiant. "It's an elemental stone!"
Sora tried his best not to laugh. "Emma, that's a pebble. A normal pebble."
What? It can't be a normal pebble! Emma thought for a few seconds. "It would be a spell that has to do with metal, I guess. Try casting a spell!"
"Whatever you say, Emma." Sora extended the Fairy's Harp. "Metal!" Nothing. "Steel!" Still nothing. "Shiny, silver stuff!" Goofy started ha-yucking nearby. "Yeah…Emma, I'm pretty sure that what you found is an ordinary rock."
Emma blushed a little. "Um…oh! In Final Fantasy, there's a spell called Protect! Try that!"
Sora rolled his eyes. "Alright…Protect!" A grayish shield surrounding him, prompting him to yelp. "Whoa! You were right, Emma! How'd you know?"
"I just guessed," Emma replied modestly. Actually, I just found a neat-looking stone, then hoped for dear life that it was an elemental stone. Clouds of grey mist rolled in. "STEEL ANGEL!" Emma's eyes and shirt turned grey. She took out her metal pole, and bent it so it resembled a boomerang. "HYAH!"
The boomerang completely missed Maleficent. She cackled. "I should be thankful that you have horrible aim," she remarked. However, her smile faded when she noticed that Emma was smiling back at her. "What?"
"Who said that I was aiming at you?" Emma asked happily. The boomerang flew around Maleficent in circles; metal blocks rose out of the ground and surrounded her inside of a tight tower. Under everyone in the room, excluding Maleficent, metal cylinders rose to the tower's level, carrying Emma's allies to the top. Cast Thundara into the hole!"
"THUNDARA!" Sora, Dia, and Donald yelled.
"NOOOOOOOOOO! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME? ME, THE MISTRESS OF ALL EVIL?" Maleficent howled. The lightning bolts all struck her, leaving her dead inside of the tower.
Emma raised her fists. "Whoo! I love these stones more and more!"
"Yeah, you knocked the dookie out of her." Dia glanced at her watch. "Hey, it's 11:00 AM! Why haven't our parents told us to come up yet?"
Jake batted his eyes and clasped his hands together. "Alissa and Daddy are probably too busy talking on the phone together and being all mushy and stuff! Yuck."
"We'd better leave anyway," Emma suggested. "Since we've got Riku back on our side, there's no need to hurry."
"What about Belle?" the Beast asked. "Is she going to be-"
Riku nodded. "She'll be fine. Can you wait a little longer? We're going to need Emma, Dia, and Jake to be there." The Beast also nodded, reluctant but agreeable. "Thanks. Hurry back, guys!"
… … …
"Emma! You're down there, right?" Alissa called.
Emma turned off PS2. "Yeah, I'm down here!" She walked up the stairs. "What's up?"
Alissa beamed at her. "We're having lunch at Taylor's house!"
"When did you schedule that?"
"Just now! I was talking to Taylor on the phone."
She really WAS ignoring me because she was talking to Taylor? Man…if things continue like this, she might forget me completely! No, that couldn't happen…right? No, it couldn't. But she'll probably be talking to Taylor more than she talks to me. Emma drooped a little.
Alissa patted her daughter's shoulder. "I know Taylor's probably not your favorite person at the moment, but you'll like him eventually! Besides, you can play with Dia and Jake!"
Emma smiled a little. "Yeah, there's that."
… … …
"And then he said, 'That's no orangutan, that's my wife!' Isn't that hilarious?"
Alissa, Taylor, Emma, Dia, and Jake were seated around a large table. "No," Dia replied flatly. "You've been telling that joke since I was old enough to understand speech."
Taylor didn't seem to notice her. "Anyway, I really appreciate you coming over here last-minute, Alissa."
"It was no problem," Alissa assured him. "It'll be good for Emma if she has a few friends."
Emma raised her hand. "Mom, can I have a sleepover with Dia?"
Alissa smiled. "That's a great idea! What do you think, Taylor?"
"I think that's great, too! I bet you girls are probably going to be playing those video games all night, huh?"
Dia and Emma grinned at each other. "Yeah, pretty much," Dia confirmed.
… … …
Ansem sat on the steps of the Grand Hall, without his glowing, grey cloak. "Maleficent is dead now. Pity, she was one of my finer lackeys. I suppose the fools who did away with her are on their way."
A hologram of Seymour appeared. "You're talking to yourself," he noted. "You know, you haven't done a very good job of trying to destroy your little antagonists. Do you mind if I try my hand again?"
"I mind it very much. I must dispose of the Keyblade Master myself."
Seymour chuckled. "In the next few years? Face it, you'll need some aid."
"I had aid."
"Your aids were killed by your antagonists, one by one. You're next, my dear king."
Ansem scowled. "I do NOT need any comments from you, Maester. It has taken you just as much time to annihilate the summoner's guardians. How long have you been planning this?" Seymour didn't reply. "HA! BEAT THAT, MAN-LADY!"
"Who are you calling a man-lady?"
"I'm calling YOU a man-lady!"
"You wanna take this outside?"
"We're in different worlds, stupid!"
"Then I'll find a Gummi ship!"
"That will take forever! I could have ran away before you got to Hollow Bastion!"
"You're running away? Who's the man-lady now, Ansem?"
"Your momma's the man-lady!"
"Who cares about my momma? I killed her and made her the Fayth for my Aeon, Anima!"
"Dude, that's straight-up cold."
"And I killed my dad."
"You're wiggity-wack."
"Your momma's wiggity-wack!"
Ansem burst into tears. "I never knew my momma!"
Seymour twitched a little, then blinked. "What just happened?"
Ansem straightened himself. "I…I don't know. Let's just agree to never speak of that moment again, hmm?"
"Agreed."
… … …
Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Riku waved as Emma and Dia appeared on the Valefor. "Hey!" Sora greeted. "Where's Jake?"
"Sleeping," Dia explained. "The only reason we're here is because Dad doesn't give a can of severed squirrel feet for what we do most of the time. Jake probably could have snuck in here with us, but he was too tired." Suddenly, Dia started laughing. "Sorry, I was just thinking about something," Dia told her allies.
"About what?" Max asked, turning away from the dashboard.
Dia shrugged. "It's nothing much, but since Emma can change the game, I decided to try my hand at messing with some stuff. I pictured Ansem and Seymour calling each other man-ladies, and then insulting each other's moms."
Sora laughed. "You can't control darkness, Dia. Emma's tried that already. But that would be hilarious, huh?"
"Yeah, that'd be awesome," Dia agreed. "Too bad it probably won't happen."
