6H:Welcome to chapter 60! YAY!

Anaretsu:Boo...

6H:Hmm...I need to spice up my author notes. FALOOUGA!


Kingdom Hearts-Shattered Fragments

Fragment 60-Infiltration


After a silent lift ride back up to the castle, they found themselves back in front, staring up the side, leaning back to try and see to the top. Vincent and Lulu stayed quiet, recollecting lost memories of thier home. It had been seven years since they saw the outside of the castle.

"It looks almost the same..."Vincent said.

"Yes...except it's not a shinning as it used to be. It's as if the glow has dulled because of the darkness that came here." Lulu said ominously. Ryu, Sora, and Aru gathered by the wall on the other side of the walkway to plan.

"Okay, Aru will try to dispell the lock on the door." Ryu said.

"I think it should be easy enough to break." she added.

"We'll try and go in quietly. That way we won't attact too much unwanted attention." Sora said. He looked over to their other party members. "I think with all this help, we have a pretty good chance. What do you think?"

"Vincent and Lulu don't worry me. It's the Beast that does. I'm afraid as soon as I turn my back he's gonna rip my throat out." Ryu comment quietly.

"He's not that bad." Aru said. "He's kind of like you were when we first met, except you didn't look as menacing as he does."

"Oh shut up. Let's just get in this castle and get the hell out." They walked up to Vincent and Lulu, who were talking quietly.

"Are you guys ready to go?" Sora asked.

"Yes. We're ready to take the heartless by storm." Vincent said, clicking his gun to make sure it was ready.

"Of what we've seen so far, this place hasn't changed much. But I'm sure that what we'll see from this pont onwards will change our minds." Lulu told them coldly. They proceeded up the stairs and began to make their way to the doors. However, they were ambushed from behind by some of the Darkballs, Guardians, and Air Soilders. They pelted down on them and then hurried up out of range. Ryu and Sora took heavy damage from them, falling to the ground. Vincent shot two of them out of the sky, hitting his targets dead on. Lulu got rid of some of the dark balls with a wateraga attack. Aru took out a Guardian with a series of thunder attacks. Beast slashed through one of them , and then hurled it over the edge. Aru and Lulu healed Ryu and Sora, who then took out the rest of them alongside Vincent. When they were all gone, the small party walked up to the doors in front of them.

"Okay, Aru-unlock the door." Sora urged. Aru stepped up.

"I think I can knock it over with a few earthas..." Lulu stepped in.

"Please, allow me." she offered. Aru nodded and got out of the way. Lulu held out her hands in front of her, crossed over each other. She closed her eyes and muttered an ancient chant in an unfamillar language. "Mihado gosca hi dama!" she yelled. A small stream of light came from her hands and went into the doors. They slowly shook open. "A lock picking spell, if you will." Lulu explained. Ryu nodded. "The words I said meant 'Through magic, open.'"

"What language was that?" Aru asked her.

"An old language that was lost when the modern language was developed. Only a few small clans use the old languages anymore. Most spells written in the old language were banned becuase it was hard to translate them."

"How did you know what the words were?" Ryu asked, serious ecthed all over his face.

"Come on guys, let's just go in." Sora said, sort of despreately.

"No, I need to know. Is there a book that taught you?" Ryu asked Lulu again.

"Yes. There was a translation book in the archive, so I learned the words nessicary to use some of the spells. Why do you need to know? You look like I've discovered a secret you've been guarding."

"Sort of. That's the language of my family." Ryu told her. Everyone looked at him in surprise, except Sora-who had no idea what was going on-, and Beast-who didn't care about what was going on.

"You speak the old language?" Aru asked, exasperated.

"Yes. It's been passed through my family."

"You're from one of the clans. I knew there was something special about you, kid." Vincent said. "When you said 'fragment hunter', it caught my attention, but I wasn't sure why. What clan do you come from?"

"The Dragon Clan, or otherwise known as the Ryu Clan. My name is Ryosuke Takita."

"I see...the Takita line of the Ryu Clan..." Vincent said. "I read a little about the Ryu Clan, which at one time was one of the largest clans in the all the worlds. However, your numbers have diminished." he walked up to him, examing his face. "The same navy eyes of the Ryu Clan. For some reason, they all had navy eyes...Some might consider it a mutation."

"Come on guys! What's so important about Ryu's family, anyway?" Sora asked, getting anxious to continue with their journey.

"The Takita line of the Ryu Clan extends more than 600 years into the past. In other words, the Takita's lived through the creation of the keyblade and the disater of 500 years ago. But that's not to discuss right now." Ryu said, brushing past Lulu and Aru and entering the castle first. The others, save Sora and Vincent, went onward.

"What's 'the disater of 500 years ago?'" Sora asked.

"Like he said, it'll be discussed later." he replied, entering the dark shadows of the doorway. Sora thought over it a mintue, and then went through as well.


The room had been called the main entrance, and seven years ago, most of it had been a bronze gold color. The stairs had been a lovely white with blue carpets flowing down them like a water fall. plants had hung from the ceiling above, their green leaves of life spilling over the edges. The fountain between the two stairs had been overflowing with life, the water clearer than any other ever seen, and fish had been swiming in it without a care in the world. Up high above them, there had been the grandest chandiler ever made, guilded with gold and bronze, lights lit by magic fire, and diamonds hanging off graceful, swooping curves that reflected the light to all corners of the room in an array of rainbows.

Now it was mostly black, with two, desolate staircases frameing a fountain that poured black, dead looking water. The chandiler was gone, replaced by some ugly thing that had some kind of light source on top of it. The plants were gone, and the fish,dead. Lulu and Vincent looked in what seemed like horror. Was this their home? Could it have turned so dark in only seven years? This had to have been the heartless' doing. Vincent clutched his fists so tight the knuckles of his one hand might as well have been white under his glove.

"Those...bastards...what have they done?" he asked, shaking in rage.

"No need to get so angry now." Beast said. "This is only the first step." Suddenly, there was a noise behind them. They all turned. In the doorway stood a beautiful girl with brown hair and dressed in a golden gown. Beast gasped. "B-Belle!" he got out, raspy. He charged forward, through the doors, and they closed behind him, locking.

"No!" Sora yelled. Ryu came forward, standing beside Sora. Aru, Vincent and Lulu went to step forward as well, but ran into what seemed to be an invisible wall. Sora and Ryu turned to look at them, confused. "What is it, guys? Come on...we have to go onward."

"Sora...we can't..."Aru said, hands against the invisible wall.

"What do you mean, you can't! You're perfectly capable of walking! You haven't shed any blood yet! We've only been through minor battles! Why can't you walk forward?" Ryu asked, annoyed.

"There's a magic barrier there. It's specificly designed to keep out mages and those who have magic body replacments..."a voice said. Sora and Ryu turned to see Riku, standing on the fountain, arms crossed over his chest. He wore a different, darker outfit, looking sinister. Ryu surveyed the boy's new look and then put one of his hands over his face to keep from laughing.

"Don't tell me...that's a skirt..." he got out, trying not to laugh, but failing considerably. Riku frowned angrily.

"Shut up, you fool!" he yelled, drawing the keyblade. Ryu still laughed, tears coming out of his eyes. The rest of the party looked at him, almost begging him to stop with their expressions. Finally, he realized he was out of line and shut up, coughing in slight embarassment. Donald and Goofy stood off to the side, looking at what would unfold to be a huge battle.

"Riku..." Sora growled.

"What are you doing here? Did you come to try and take this?" He held forth the keyblade. "What is your weapon to fight me with?"

"My heart." Sora anwsered.

"That weak little thing? What a pathetic anwser."

"My heart may be weak, but it's not alone." Sora anwsred. He glanced over at Ryu for a brief moment and then turned his gaze back to Riku, his former friend. "With all the people I've met, I've made a bond that will never be broken. So even if we can't see each other, we'll never forget each other, and our hearts can give each other strength. Knowing that all these people I've met in other worlds have put their hope and faith in me gives me strength greater than anything else. Even the keyblade!" Riku gave a short laugh.

"Hah! That's so lame. The only place you can draw strength from is your own soul and heart. Only you can save yourself in battle!" Riku retorted.

"Shut up, bastard!" Ryu said, stepping forward and taking out his sword. "Now where is Cedeile?"

"It's obvious she's not right here, isn't it?"

"Anwser me!" His loud demand shook the walls.

"Someone has a temper, now. You don't need to know where she is now." Ryu growled under his breath, frustrated. "So, I suppose this is a challenge, eh Sora?"

"Now just hold up a mintue there." Goofy said, coming forward. "Now, I may not be too bright, but I know what friendship is. And Sora's been a great friend to me and Donald. It doesn't matter about some old key now if I have to fight my friend. I'm gonna stay with Sora." He turned to the boy. "Is that alright?" Sora nodded.

"Yeah. Thanks Goofy."

"Hey! What a about your king?" Riku asked him.

"King Mickey would understand." Goofy replied. Donald though for a moment, before going over to join them.

"I've made up my mind! I'm going to fight, too!"

"Heh. The both of you have signed death warrents!" Riku decalred. He hopped off the fountain and got into a fight stance. Ryu held his sword out in front of him, Goofy held up his sheild, Donald readied his staff, and Sora clutched the wooden sword tightly in his hands. And the fight began.

Sora and Riku ran up to each other, weapons clashing. Surprisingly, the flimsy wood held up against the metal. In fact, Sora sucessfully pushed Riku back. The silver haired boy lost his footing temporaily and stumbled, but gained it back quick enough to force Sora away and leave a little damage on him. Donald cast firaga on him, but it hardly did anything to him. He went for Sora again, but Ryu stepped in his way and the two had their stand off.

"Just like Monstro, huh?" Ryu taunted him.

"This time, Cedeile isn't here to save you."

"I have enough strength to finish you on my own." Ryu replied, smirking.

"Cocky bastard." Riku retorted. He pulled back and then came forward sharply, jamming the keyblade into Ryu's shoulder. Riku smirked at Ryu as he gritted his teeth in pain to keep from crying out. He tighened his grip on the keyblade, red blood seething from the wound. "Thudaga." Riku said softly, his voice dripping with poison. Ryu yelled out in pain as the thunder attack seeped through his body and left him limp and useless for a time. He fell on the floor, loosely holding the hilt of his sword. His breathing was ragged, and his eyes glassy, all from one attack. His blood felt like it was on fire in his body and was burning him to nothing. He couldn't feel his arms or legs. It was as if his soul already left him. He gasped hard for breath, his body shaking with each attempt to fill his lungs. Riku looked at his work proudly, smiling as if he had just accomplished some great goal he had always dreamed of, or as if he was beaming at a child who had made it to a great milestone. Suddenly, Sora came up behind him and wailed on his back, slashing several times and ripping through the material, and then the pale skin underneath, causing black looking blood to slowly ooze out. Riku turned, glaring at him, and then turned swiftly to counter. However, Sora was no where to be found, so Goofy served as his replacment, charging forward and banging Riku with his shield. Riku stumbled backwards, but then came forward and knocked Goofy away and onto the floor, hard. When he stood once again, he clutched his arm in pain-it had been popped out of its socket in his shoulder. Riku looked for Sora, but he was no where to be found. Donald rushed up to him, waving his staff around. He cast Blizzaga, Firaga, Gravity, and anything else he though would do some real damage. Riku slashed through them all as they flew at him, and also dodged a few in a great show of skill. Aru, watching from behind the barrier, almost turned away, her eyes tearing up from the pain of seeing someone who had meant so much to her suddenly turn his back. His words from before echoed in her head still.

"You mean nothing to me..." His cold face and the way he had said it still made her want to die right there. But she wanted to believe that he was just being controlled by the darkness and that evil voice that he said lived in his mind. Donald and Riku, meanwhile, were still having an epic fight against each other. Finally, it seemed Riku had enough with their game, and blasted Donald with a great force from his hand. Donald went flying into a wall on the other side of the room, and then slunk down to the floor below, out cold. Riku looked around the room, as if looking for a certain person in a crowd.

"Huh, it seems Sora's turned tail. So your faith was ill used." Ryu shook on the floor suddenly, and Riku felt a hand grasp his ankle. He looked down at the bloody hand grasped firmly around him, and then trailed down to arm to the boy's face. "You're still alive, are you? You just don't know when to lay down and die. Look at you-covered in your own blood and blind in your eyes. The good news is, if you live long enough ,your eyesight will clear up there."

"You...idiot..." he got out. "You think I'm done...? G-...guess...a...gain!" He thrust his sword up blindly, and smiled when he heard a slight gasp of pain. He had aimed true-or so he hoped. Cold, inhuman feeling blood dripped onto his face, causing him greater satisfaction. He had hit Riku somewhere, but he wasn't sure where. He hoped he hadn't killed him, but just injured him enough.

Indeed, the injury wasn't enough to kill him, but it did take him by surprise. The sword had punctured the right side of his chest. Blood crept out of the cut as Riku pulled away and Ryu fell back on the floor, panting.

'I did it...for you, Cedeile...think of it as revenge for what he did to you all those times...'he though before letting his eyes close. His grip on his sword losened.

"Ryu!" Aru yelled. "Don't die yet! Hold on for a few more moments!" She begged him.

"He's lost so much blood...he may bleed to death." Lulu analyzed grimly.

"Curse this barrier!" Vincent said, banging on it. "We're useless!"

"Where did Sora go?" Aru asked to herself more than anyone else. Riku seemd to be wondering the same thing.

"Sora, are you afraid of me? Come out, wherever you're hiding, or I'll finish off your friends! You don't seem to care about them that much anyway. Well, Ryu won't need much work since he's already almost dead." Riku taunted to the room.

"Hey Riku!" a voice called. "Up here, stupid!" Riku looked up at the ceiling when Sora came from over to top of the fountain and grabbed the handle of the keyblade. Riku tugged back, and a power began to build between them. The two pushed their foreheads against each other, glaring and hissing and growling as they pulled on the keyblade, trying to get it out of the other's hands. An orange glowing orb developed around them, emitting itself from the keyblade as it pulsated. The light of the orb intensfied, and light began to zap through it, going around the two boys fighting for the power to save the universe or destroy it.

Aru gripped her hands tightly, blood spurting out from her skin. She trembled as she watched them, an unexplainable anger riseing up within her. It felt famillar, but strangly and frighteningly new. At last, she let it take over her body.

"So, Sora, little one, are you ready to surrender the power that is rightfully mine?" Riku asked mockingly.

"N-never!" Sora replied, grasping the keyblade harder. That's when he felt it shoot through his viens-another presence within the keyblade itself-like a heart shining through that was being hurt by their fighting. It made him lose his grip on the handle for a second, but his hands tightened, trying to deal with the prensence and Riku at the same time. Riku never faltered, which made Sora wonder if he couldn't feel the presence within.

There was a shattering noise and a booming voice that made the castle shake.

"STOP!" The keyblade dropped from the two boys' hands as the power died away. It was as if they had been woken up from a trance and the power they had been conjuring had been scared off. Aru stepped forward, past the barrier, her head down and bangs covering her eyes. When she looked up, her eyes were not their usual crimson glow, by a fierce, sharp, bright green. "The both of you stop it!" she yelled. Ryu moved his head slightly, opening his eyes slowly to try and see what was going on. Donald as well awoke from his sleep and Goofy watched in awe and confusion. Riku and Sora looked at the girl in surprise. She seemed quite unlike herself. "You don't understand what you're doing! You're hurting more people than you realize, fighting like that! At this moment in time, Riku could never weild the keyblade and be it's master. He chose darkness, and it took his heart. Now he's being controlled by it and it's killing him off!"

"Shut up! No one's controlling me! I'm doing this on my own!"

"Riku, listen to me! It's that evil voice hiding within you that's slowly taking over and putting thoughts in your head. That's why you sought me out-so you could try and save yourself. It didn't work, I know. I wasn't strong enough to protect you from the darkness."

"Aru...what-?"

"Sora, not now." Aru hissed at him, keeping her eyes focused on Riku. In truth, Riku was frightened by her new eyes. The green held unrestrained power that could blow this world to bits. Their image seemed other worldly, and the presence Aru was emitting right now covered up every other presence in this place, even Sora's, and Sora was right next to him and weilded alot of power in his soul. He had no doubt that Mallificent could sense the power from wherever she was right now. He felt as if he would tremble if he had to look at her eyes any longer. Aru stepped forward, and fell over to the side, her eyes closing, as if fainting. She was caught with one arm by Goofy, who looked down at her, a little frightened. Ryu supported himself on his elbows, trying to crawl over to them.

"Aru?" he asked, not sure what was going on, as he fell in and out of uncoinciousness. Knowing now was not the time to think, Sora dived for the keyblade and grabbed it in his hands, sliding across the floor. When he stopped, he held it up for Riku to see. He then jumped up and dashed forward. He hit Riku pretty good, sending him flying to the ground.Riku stood up again, looking around, and faded away into darkness. Sora reached out for him as he faded, but Riku turned his back. When he completely disappeared, Sora dropped his hand sadly. It had not been easy to fight his best friend. Vincent and Lulu now gathered around Goofy with Donald. Sora joined them.

"Miss Aru! Wake up now..."he prodded. Sora broke into the circle and took Aru from Goofy.

"Sorry about this guys..."Sora said, looking at their injuries.

"Gawrsh, it's alright Sora. I've gotton alot more than this here." Goofy reassured him.

"It's nothing that can't be fixed with healing magic!" Donald added. Sora slightly smiled and knelt down to the ground, resting Aru on his lap. He held and arm behind her shoulders and gently touched her face with his free hand.

"Aru...Aru, wake up now. Come on..." he begged quietly. Slowly, as if she had heard him, her eyelids came open, the irises now back to their usual crimson. Sora was surprised at first, but then relieved. "I think she'll be okay."

"That was the most powerful magic I have ever felt from anything in my life." Lulu said, coming up behind him.

"Yeah! If she could overpower the other auras here AND have it feel THAT momentous, then...I don'twantto know." Donald shuddered.At that moment, Aru fully came to.

"What...happened?" she asked, groggy. She sat up straight, taking off her glasses and rubbing her eyes out.

"You don't remember?" Vincent asked. She shook her head.

"The last thing I recall was being trapped behind the barrier and watching Sora and Riku fight over the keyblade. What happened then?" she asked them.

"Hold on guys!" Donald called. He walked over to where Ryu lay on the floor limply, completely out of energy and waiting for death to claim him. Donald held up his staff. "CURAGA!" he yelled. Light showered down on him from the holy bell flowers and the blood faded away from the ground and his clothes. Slowly, he regained consioucness and slowly pushed himself off the ground. "How do you feel?" Donald asked.

"Fine...I guess. My eyes are back to normal." He turned to Aru and Sora. "So Riku ran off, huh? And what did you pull, Aru? From what I could make out, it was really freaky." Aru sighed, standing up and walking towards the fountain, away from the group.

"I don't know."

"It wasn't a spell." Lulu said after a long pause. Everyone except Aru turned to look at her. "I sensed that power building, as if something was trying to break forth, but was held back by the last thread of defense."

"Which would be...?" Sora asked, not following.

"Aru's will. She held the power back with her own strength."

"Let's not stray on it!" Aru cried out suddenly, upset. "There are more important things to do than standing around here and talking about it! So let's go..." The group agreed in silence and went up the stairs. They found a door to the far right and one right in front of them, that was sealed closed. Sora went to the door on the far right, and the others followed.


When they opened the door, they found a huge library in front of them. Golden stain glass windows let sunlight come through, bringing a misty glow to the fine, wooden staircase that went to a loft above. Lulu and Vincent looked around in awe and wonder, like they had discovered something wonderful. The slowly walked around through the shelves that twisted like a maze.

"Yeah...the shelves were all in straight rows last time I saw them, but these are all the same books that have been here for ages." Vincent said, looking up at all the bindings.

"Look, Vincent! 'The History of Hallow Bastion.' It's still here and intact..."Lulu exclaimed happily, flipping through the pages, but her face fell. Ryu noticed.

"What is it?"

"The records of our last king have all been ripped out of the book. Everything that happened seven years prior to the world being taken over is gone..."

"Someone must've not wanted us to know something. Or was trying to erase part of the past." Vincent said, taking the book from Lulu and placing it back on the shelf.

"But why?" Sora asked.

"Who knows?" Ryu anwsered, leaning against a shelf. "Maybe Mallficent did it, or maybe it was no person but a force that caused it to-"

"Fourteen years ago...of course!" Vincent hissed out suddenly.

"'Fourteen years ago' what?" Ryu asked, confused. He took his weight off the book shelf, standing striaght up and moving in closer. "Did something happen then?"

"Our king's daughter, the princess, was born fourteen years ago and lived the first seven years of her life in Hallow Bastion before the world was destroyed. We never knew what happened to her."Vincent explained. "Everything that happened in the past fourteen yearshere has been removed from the records book. I want to know why."

"I guess we'll never find out." Aru said. "But I wonder if my lost memory had something to do with it."

"It's highly unlikely."

"Oh yeah. Just now, when I thought of it, I remembered something else in that memory. The fields that I was in, were just outside of a castle." Aru told them.

"No way! You remembered that just now?" Ryu asked, stunned.

"Yeah. Now tell me how many other worlds have a castle."

"Are you sure it wasn't Moonlight Castle, or the castle in the Ore Kingdom?"

"The Ore Kingdom castle is too small for the one I saw. And It's not like Moonlight castle. It could be white...yeah, maybe it's white. It's hard to tell because it's nightime in the memory. White...with blue, perhaps."

"Look at the outside of the castle. It's silver and gold. I don't think that this is the castle from your memory." Vincent told her.

"White with blue...I think there is a castle like that...I forget the name..."

"Disney Castle?" Donald exclaimed. He turned to Aru. "Is it Diseny Castle?"

"How would I know?" she asked him. "We're trying to figure this out because I LOST my memory, remember?"

"Gawrsh, Miss Aru-now why would you be seein' our home in your visions there?" Goofy asked.

"You live at this 'Disney Castle?'" Aru asked him and Donald.

"We heard about that back in Book City." Ryu said, recalling what Yuna had read to them out of a book. "Some people believe that the fragments are the keyhole of the castle."

"What a load of hooie!" Donald said. "The keyhole's not in some 'fragments' that's for sure!" he told them. "I know! I've seen it myself! Not that I can tell you where it is. It's a secret!"

"Yup! No one would ever guess it's in the throne room, A-yuk!" Goofy added. Donald smacked his forehead.

"You idiot..."

"What? Somethin' the matter, Donald?"

"Nevermind..."

"Who cares where your damn keyhole is. But tell me, do you guys know what the fragments are?" Ryu asked, grabbing Donald by the shirt. "If you do, you better tell me!"

"First of all, get your hands offa me! And secondly, I've never heard of any fragments in all my time of living at the castle. All I know is that the keyhole is not in the fragments!" Ryu dropped him and walked over to the windows. Aru followed.

"If it's not the keyhole of Diseny Castle...then what ARE the fragments, and why do they have so much power?" He asked to no one in particular as he he thought it over himself. After a few moments of silence, Sora walked up to him.

"Should we move on? I'm sure Cedeile is here somewhere, and I feel like we got closer to finding her." Ryu nodded, and they headed out of the library. They decided to try the other door, and walked through a short hallway to the doorway on the other side...


Riku ran up a flight of stairs in a darkly lit room somewhere deep in the castle. He was scared still from his encounter with Sora and his friends, and how Aru had broken his barrier spell and the way her eyes looked at him. But more than that, he was frustrated.

"How? How could I lose!" he cried out. "I was unstoppable! I had the power of the keyblade!"

"It's because that keyblade has the weaker power." A man said. A hooded figure stepped out of the shadows. Riku stopped running and turned to face him. "In order to gain true power, you must completely let darkness take over you. Let it consume your useless heart and give you true strength..."

"I wasn't strong enough to protect you from the darkness."

"I..."he hesitated.

"If anything is holding you back, then think hard. Is what makes you hesitate worth more than the power you seek? Worth more than the girl you wish to save? And more than going to paradise?" Riku thought hard, thinking about everything that had happened to him over the past few months. In truth, it had seemed more like years than just a few weeks. He thought about ending up alone in Hallow Bastion, about finding Kairi, lifeless and dead seeming, meeting up with Sora and Cedeile again, meeting Aru for the first time and battling with her, bringing her to his sanctuary and helping her remember, seeing her just a few moments ago, confronting Cedeile at Oblivion Mountain, the heartbreak of realising that Cedeile would always be loyal to Sora instead of him...

He had nothing. It was that simple. By taking this step, he could turn the tables and gain all he wished to acheive. To paradise...he was only a few steps away. He could see him, Kairi, and Cedeile all walking hand in hand to a beautiful place like their home where they could live forever and never worry about anything again.

"There is nothing worth more than going the paradise with them." he told the man.

"Good. Now open your heart to darkness..." Green flames began to shoot up his body, but he embraced the feeling of the darkness entering him, taking over his soul and flowing power into his body. But suddenly, it didn't feel right. It felt like he was...dieing.

Everything was fading out and he felt weaker. The hooded figure stepped towards him. Riku sunk to his knees and then fell forward, clutching his body and rest on his kneeling legs. He looked up at the man.

"What's...?" he got out, sounding like an old, feeble man. He felt as if all life was being drained out of him.

"Foolish boy..."the man grinned.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"A shell of what once was! A being who is about to come back to this world and take what it rightfully mine. And you're the one who's responsible for letting me do it. You're the one who will cause the fall of all worlds!" Riku's eyes went wide.

"Y-you...used me?" He didn't believe it.

"Indeed I did. It was simple task...for one so weak..."

"But...I'm the keyblade master..."

"You WERE the keyblade master, boy! Now you are nothing more than a pawn of darkness. Look at you, lying here like a pathetic child! Your body will do quite nicely for me...even if it is puny..." Riku felt the flames totally wash over him and the darkness take over. He looked at the hooded man, and then to the ceiling.

'Aru...I'm so sorry...I wish I could see you again. Is this it? Am I dying? God, I'm so scared. I wish you were here with me...what was I saying before? You mean nothing to me? God, Aru, that's so far from the truth. You mean everything to me...You were right-I was losing myself to the darkness. I thought I had control over it, but it was controlling me. I wish you would hold me now and make the pain go away...oh well, I can still invision your face in my mind...' he let his eyes droop closed peacfully and dared to smile a little when he remebered what she looked like, and this time, he wasn't scared. 'How could I be afraid of you, Aru? You're so kind...and considerate...you look out for everyone, while trying to find the key to your past. I wish I could've helped you find your memory...it would've been nice to journey together and see all those worlds. Aru, if you can hear me now...I want you to know that...'

The hooded man came forward, looking down at Riku's body, lying on the stairs, limp and powerless. His soul was nearly broken, and now it seemed he was making a confession in his head. A last mintue reconciliation for all his sins. The man found this amusing-it's not like the boy could get to heaven, or even hell now-but he wouldn't say anything. He would give the boy false hopes. Yes...that would be good. Now was the time-the boy was weakened enough and he seemed almost dead. He knelt down and rolled the boy on his back. He then placed his hands on the boy's chest and let them be absorbed into the new body for him to inhabit. Riku groaned at first, and then cried out from the pain of letting another enter his body.

'Aru! Help me! It hurts...I'm dying and I wanted to see you again with a kind smile on your face.' He opened his eyes as the man continued to infiltrate his body, sinking in more and more. He looked blankly at the ceiling, his eyes glazing over and letting tears flow down his face. 'Aru...it's no use, you can't hear me now...I'm so sorry to everyone...Sora, what have I done to you? You're my best friend. And Cedeile, you probably hate me for all I've done to you. Kairi, I know you wouldn't have wanted me to save you like this, and I'm sorry. But Aru...I hurt you the most. If I ever see you again, I'll make sure to tell you everything. Till then, hold onto that chain for me...I know you will...oh god, Aru...goodbye...' He let his eyes shut for the last time and a great power burst forth as the hooded figure completely absorbed himself into Riku's body. The cloak flew away, being blow off by the energy being released, and landed limply on the stairs below. When it died down, the body of Riku stood up, slowly, and flexed his fingers, testing the new body. He grinned, starting to walk up the stairs.

"At last...a proper body for me...now it is time to greet the keyblade master properly..."


The next room seemed like a huge elevator shaft with all sorts of lifts everywhere. It was considerably brighter in here than in the previous hall-the stone was grey marble, and a skylight a beautiful orange and gold stain glass crowned the ceiling far up above them. Vincent trembled with anger.

"T-those bastards...they destroyed all the stairs..." he trembled.

"Why does it matter?" Ryu asked. Lulu sighed.

"My great-great-great grandfather crafted all those stairs by hand! And they ripped them out for these...hideous inventions!" he yelled. Lulu stepped forward, looking at the blue threads that streched in front of them. When she touched the space between the threads, light ripples flew across the panel, like water.

"A magic barrier. This is new." she said to herself.

"This place used to be the staircase?" Sora asked. Lulu turned back to him.

"Yes. Every staircase in this room was crafted by Vincent's ancestor."

"What did they look like?" Aru asked.

"They were the finest green marble, with wooden handrails...and in the railings were beautiful stain glass roses, etched in red and green on a gold background. The wood was so polished, it would've shined in the dark." Lulu envisioned all this in her head, smiling slightly as she recalled her memories. She opened her eyes again to see the desolated castle, destroyed by heartless. "It seems they've also taken out alot of the floors in this room as well. Must be to keep themselves isolated in the main part of the castle. We'll have to figure out how to get up there..."

"Where?" Ryu asked. "You guys wouldn't be leading us into a trap, would you?"

"To the top of the castle, of course. To...what we called the main hall. It was the throne room of our king. And...it's where the keyhole is." Vincent explained.

"I thought people came here to get away from kings and all that." Ryu stated.

"They did." Lulu replied. "But the king...our king, was not the ordinary king. He was to make descions based on the peoples' opinions."

"King...it was more like an endearment than a title. The last king we had...I don't even remember his name...but all the children would call him uncle or papa king or something like that. He loved all the children, and when he finally had his own daughter he rejoiced by throwing a huge party and told us we had to be her older brothers and sisters. Our job was to protect her and teach her well as children, for there were some things adults could not teach children. And to us...that girl was like our sister, and she kept us together. The possibility of finding her with our king someday keeps us together." Vincent told them. They walked onward, taking a walk to the doorway on the other side of the platform they stood on. He continued his story. "Lulu, do you remember the painting Aerith's mom painted of all the children with the king and princess?"

"Yes...it must've been more than ten years ago, at least."

"Yes...it was before Yuna was born. I think eleven...yes, the princess was four."

"No, it had to have been before her fourth birthday...I remember just standing there for hours while she worked on it, and we weren't allowed to see it until it was done. Not even the king could see it before then."

"Guy, reminicing is great and all, but we're about to be ambushed by some heartless, so get ready to fight." Ryu interupted as Wyvren appeared at the top of the stairs. They were outside the castle and across the front courtyard. Ryu and Sora headed the group, blade and keyblade drawn. "What are you doing?"

"Hey, I got my keyblade back. I've gotta make up for lost time!" There were five wyvrens, six Air soilders, and three Red Noctures. Aru came up behind them, followed by Donald and Goofy. "Aru and Donald, take the Red Noctures. Goofy, Vincent-take the Air soilders."

"I suppose the rest of us will just take on the giant flying things." Ryu added sarcasticly. They all charged up the stairs, ready to take on their foes.


6H: A LONG chapter, eh?

Anaretsu: Too...much...detail...

6H:Hey, this is supposed to be angsty, and I'm gonna take it for all it's worth!

Anaretsu: NO!

6H: It's either this or locked in a room with Ansem.

Anaretsu: (hides behind couch) You mean...the dress wearing man?

6H:Mwhuh ha ha ha...