6H:Welcom to chapter 62!

Anaretsu: Welcome to the bordem that is MY LIFE!

6H:Shut up! This is MY STORY! Anyway, read this chapter, and leave me a review!

Anaretsu: You're asking for reviews already?


Kingdom Hearts-Shattered Fragments

Fragment 62-Verus Mallificent! The Name Ansem


Riku moved closer, but Cedeile stepped back, slapping him across the face.

"This time, I'm not bound up and captured." she snarled at him. He shook his head at her sadly.

"What a shame. We could've been together in paradise." He pushed her back, and she stumbled over the edge of the platform.

"AH!" she screamed, falling. Ryu ran to the ledge, reaching his hand down.

"Cedeile!" he yelled. She felt herself falling through the air, wind ripping past her. She assumed she would hit the water but she never did. Instead, she was surrounded by darkness. She just felt herself falling for a long time until she felt herself fall into her own body and let her eyelids open, not even remembering a time when she closed them. She was in some kind of large room, on a balcony that overlooked the entrance of the room-a long, carpeted hall. She also saw a keyhole shaped door up a flight of stairs, and, at last, her eyes came to rest on Kairi, laying on the floor, seemingly asleep.

"What happened...?" she asked, going to move her hand to her head, However, her hand did not respond to her mind's request. She looked down to see herself caught in some pipes and glowing blue. "Oh no...not this again..." she mumbled to herself. "I can't move, and no one will hear me, no matter how loud I yell."

"I'm glad you still remember how it works." She looked up to see Riku, standing there, and glaring at her with malice. He came forward, stopping three feet away from her. "How are you liking Hallow Bastion?" he asked. His voice seemed different to her.

"You...are not Riku." she stated firmly.

"How do you deduct that?" he asked.

"Because...Riku would never wear a skirt!" Cedeile exclaimed, eyeing the strange clothing he now wore.

"Girl, you are pushing me...I'd advise that you stop before I go over the edge."

"Well, your voice gave ya away to, if you were wondering. And Riku does not call me 'girl.' In fact, he never really called me anything...he kind of used to grunt at me..."

"Quiet!" he demanded.

"So, what have you done to me? And to my friends?" she asked, becoming serious.

"Your friends are making their way here. They think to save you and the last princess." He pointed over his shoulder and Cedeile looked to see him pointing at Kairi.

"Kairi? Kairi's not a princess!"

"Ah, but she is. Do you remember how long she's been living on your island for?"

"Um...she appeared...about seven years ago."Cedeile said slowly.

"Indeed. You have no idea about her origins, about her family, where she came from, what she did BEFORE she came to your island. Indeed, she is the seventh princess of heart, holder of the white rose of purity, and the last key to completing the final keyhole. Quite a surprise, isn't it?"

"I guess...I never really thought about it before. Sora just found her on the shore one day. She never did remember her home town..."

"That's because her world was destroyed, and during the destruction, she lost her memory of that day and most everything that happened before then. It is of no matter now. At last, the heartblade master is in my hands. The only thing left is for the seventh princess's heart to be released from the keyblade master and then you and I shall walk hand in hand into the neverending darkness."

"What the hell are you talking about!" Cedeile spat at him.

"There is a place that is devoid of feeling, a place that could only be filled with the most disarable things, and can either be made of darkness, or light. They call this place...rakuen...the ultimate place of being. The seven princesses of heart are needed to complete the final keyhole here and open the doorway into the world of darkness, Kingdom Hearts. Once there, it is said that only the heartblade master can open the doors to rakuen. I must get there, and you will take me." He approached her, lifting his hands to her face.

"Get your hands off of me!" she yelled.

"You are the ultimate goal...everyone wants to hold the most powerful piece. But you are mine. And you have been from the beginning. Take me to rakuen..." he gently placed his lips on hers, and she cringed at their cold touch. She felt the same way as she did in Monstro, and now she knew-that this person had taken over Riku and been controlling him from the beginning of all this. Little by little, the control of this person had grown, and in Monstro the tables had turned and Riku began losing the fight within himself. Now, Riku was gone, and this person, whoever they were, had taken over for good. He released her mouth and looked directly in her dark emerald eyes. His eyes glared at her cooly, and she saw his eyes were no longer pure ice blue, but now had gold mixed in them. "Soon, I will emerged from this form and take on my true self. That is when we will depart..." he stepped back, and Cedeile would've liked to barf at this moment, but couldn't find it within herself.

"Where are Sora and the others now?" she asked him.

"They are nearly here. They are going to fight Mallificent soon. It's spectacular, the way things have spun themselves out, don't you think?"


They pushed open the doors and found themselves in a dark, long room. Vincent went in first, followed by the others. He slowly looked around the room.

"What are you thinking?" Lulu asked him.

"I was just thinking about Aerith's mom...she used to have such a warm laugh..." he told her. "That time...the painting of all the kids with the king, well, it's right here." he walked over to a picture leaning against the wall on the floor. The frame was busted and part of it was laying on the floor, covered in dust. The painting, as well, was covered in dust that blocked out it's colors. Taking his real hand, he brushed it away. Sora, Ryu, and Aru watched in amazement as a younger Vincent and Lulu were revealed and then, slowly blurring into focus, came a much younger Leon, a small Yuffie, a little Tifa, a happy Aerith, a smiling Cloud, and a few others that were unrecongnzable because the kids had never seen them. They were posed on either side of a silver throne, in which sat someone, but something had erased whatever had been there. The only visable part was a person's legs and what looked like some red hair, as if a child had been sitting on the knee of the person.

"The king and princess have been removed." Lulu said.

"Yeah. But there's us and everyone...look at us. We were so happy and carefree." Vincent said, finding it hard to believe that black haired boy standing in the back with one hand was actually him. The amber eyes of his former self stared back at him. Ryu brushed past him and bent down to examine the painting.

"According to the date, this was painted nearly eleven years ago. You guys are older than I first thought..."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Vincent glared at him.

"Nothing. It just means you guys look really young is all." Ryu told him. "I just find it hard to believe that this place used to be as you said. The heartless must've really destroyed the place. But why? And why would they go to the trouble of eraseing part of this painting?"

"Who knows." Donald sighed, slightly bored.

"Let's move on guys. We still have to find Mallificent." Sora said. The group walked forward to stage at the end of the room. Suddenly, slow clapping was heard from somewhere. They all stopped dead. The group looked around, wary of the echoing sound. Then, a vile, sly voice rose up out of no where and seemed to cast an echo off every wall, making it impossible to find where it was coming from.

"Bravo, keyblade master! A job well done indeed!"

"Mallificent." Aru breathed. The witch appeared on the alter before them, smirking evilly.

"Ah, you've even brought some sewer rats with you..." she remarked, looking straight at Vincent and Lulu. Vincent flexed his clawed hand, glaring. Ryu drew out his sword.

"Where is Cedeile?" he demanded calmly, holding his sword at his side.

"The girl is safe with me. There is no need to worry." she looked at Sora and his group. "The true canidate, chosen by the keyblade to be it's master. Riku was the true master, until he killed off his own pure heart...you were simply next in line..."

"Next in line!" he growled, lungeing forward. Ryu and Goofy held him back.

"Calm down, you idiot..." Ryu hissed in his ear. Mallificent let out a laugh.

"What a fool! You are just a little boy who can't control his temper. Foolish, foolish boy...you are no match for me."

"Mallificent! Tell me why you've done all this to the castle? Why the deterioration? Why did you destroy what we found precious?" Vincent sneered, despite Lulu's warning glare.

"I did not find your castle's original layout suitable for my needs. Stairs are so old fashioned..." she smirked as he glared harder.

"So, I suppose you came to try and stop me? Hah, I'd like to see you try. But if you want a battle, I shall not refuse to give you one..." She rose up on a flying platform and floated over them. "Behold my power!" she exclaimed. The group began their assualt on her, and the castle shook from the battle.


"Ahh, right on cue. The keyblade master is fighting Mallificent right as we speak." Riku said, smirking at Cedeile. She looked worried for a moment, then continued to keep up her glare.

"Who are you, really? Why hide behind the facade of Riku?" she demanded.

"All to be revealed in good time, heartblade master."

"Whoever you are...you're seriously creepy. You know that? And why are you trying to get into ever-lasting darkness? I mean, sure, you're evil and all, but evil people usually want to destroy everything, or rule everything, or both, but not in that particular order..."

"It's to get back...to her..." he murmered softly. "To my beloved Cyanna..." Cedeille looked at him, confused and questioning. Riku bowed his head, his hair covering his face. "This is all...to find her...the one I lost...the only one I could ever have affection for. She was my one, true love, and I am willing to trade in the entire universe for her."


Sora jumped onto the platform to go face to face with Mallificent. He went to strike with the keyblade, but instead met with her staff. She pushed him away, but he went forward again, only to be pushed off to the floor. He landed smack on the ground and groaned from the impact. Ryu jumped up to strike from behind and landed one hit, making the heartless leader stagger forward. She whirled around and hit him in the side of the head with her rod. He tumbled down on the platform, but quickly got back up and got another hit before being knocked off the platform all together. She made the platform rise higher than any of them could jump and thunderbolts started to cascade off the walls and take aim at them.

"Damn it." Ryu growled, feeling the blood drip down the side of his face.

"Are you going to be alright?" Aru asked. He was about to anwser when she got struck by a thunderbolt and went flying off to the side.

"Aru!" Ryu yelled out. Lulu cast a water spell, making it splash up onto the platform from the floor. She swiftly cast Blizzaga on the water and manged to anchor the platform to the ground. Vincent ran at Mallificent and whipped out his gun and shot three holy bullets at her in a row. Two of the three hit, and the third burst into a flash of bright light behind her. She gasped out in pain and fell off the platform. Goofy was up next, and bashed in her with his sheild. Sora came up behind her and hit her with several sucessful attacks.

"You...bothersome children..." she said before blowing them all away with explosions. Donald cast a few useless gravira attacks. Aru pushed herself up to watch the battle. It was evident that Mallificent was going down. She stood up and summoned her powers. Darkness weaved through her fingers.

"STARDUST CANNON!" she yelled, shooting it all out at Mallificent. Sora put in the last few attacks on her body, and so, Mallificent fell to her knees, gasping for breath. She slowly faded away. Everyone let out sigh of relief. Vincent looked toward the alter. There, a dark orb glowed, beckonning them to come closer.

"She's not done with us yet." he said. "Mallificent is just beyond that portal." Aru limped over to the group.

"We have to find out where she's keeping Cedeile." Ryu insisted.

"Would you relax, kid? We'll find your friend, alright?" Vincent growled at him.

"And Riku...we have to find him too." Sora said determinedly.

"You have alot of courage, Sora." Lulu said. "So you'll understand why I want you to go on without us." Everyone looked at her, surprised. Even Vincent.

"Lulu...?" he asked, confused.

"As much as we want it to be...this isn't out fight, Vincent." she said without looking at him. "Sora and the others must go on from this point, without our help. It doesn't matter how much we want to get revenge for everything that happened seven years ago. This battle is bigger than Hallow Bastion. I'm sure Squall realised that a long time ago. Otherwise, he would've been back by now..." She looked back at him. "Do you understand? We must wait for them to come back. Let's go, Vincent..." She began to walk towards the exit of the room. Vincent nodded and followed her.

"Where are you guys going?"

"We're going to wait in the Library and we're going to go through all the books and try to make some sense of what's going on." She told him. The two turned back to the group of warriors. "Good luck in defeating the heartless, Sora, keyblade master..."

"Yeah, and I hope you and the heartblade master really do fulfill the legend and force back the darkness." Vincent added. The two went through the door and disappeared. Sora turned to the portal before them.

"Let's go guys..."


"I lost her...it was all her fault. After it happened, I studied every text I could find about death and what happened after the soul and heart left the body. From what I learned, I found that the soul and heart of a person go to a place either called heaven or hell. When they get there, they live a peaceful 'afterlife' of some kind. I want to find that afterlife, so I decided to seek it out. However, after discovering that it was unreachable, I tried another way-going into the depths of the world's keyhole to find her. I thought maybe she would be there. It nearly tore me apart..." Cedeile watched as he slowly lifted his head. He had been crying.

"I am Ansem...the seeker of rakuen..."


6H:Did you enjoy that, my readers?

Anarestu: I'm sure that they didn't.

6H:Shut up!