6H:Hello everyone! Welcome to chapter 64!
Anaretsu: Boo...
6H: BAKA! Anyway, this chapter will leave you in suspense...AGAIN!
Anaretsu: I doubt that.
Kingdom Hearts-Shattered Fragments
Fragment 64-Sora vs Riku! Cedeile's Disaster!
Sora and the group raced through a new passage that had been opened and into the lift stop again. Two Guardians and a slew of shadows awaited them, but they were taken down with no problem. They continued through the dark doorway and found themselves in front of two massive doors.
"This is it." Sora said. "I can feel it."
"Then lets head in and talk about it later." Ryu said. With everyone's help, they pushed the doors open and found the grand hall strecthed out in front of them. They quietly stepped forward and saw the walls lined with tanks. They went to the first one on the left and saw someone inside.
"Oh my god! It's a person!" Aru said. They all came forward and saw it was a girl dressed in a fancy gown. They gasped out.
"Why would they be keeping her here?" Donald asked.
"Wait a mintue-do you guys remember before our fight with Riku, that girl who appeared right before the Beast left? He called her Belle, right? Well this looks like her." Ryu said. Donald and Goofy were looking at the other tanks.
"They're all girls!" Donald said.
"And look over on the other side! It's Miss Alice and Princess Jasmine!" Goofy said. "At least we know what happened to them."
"Maybe Cedeile's in one of these tanks!" Ryu said.
"Nope-I don't see her." Donald said, exaiming each one again.
"Could these girls be the princesses of heart we've heard about?" Sora asked himself out loud.
"They look like princesses. " Ryu replied.
"Hey guys! Up there, it looks like a keyhole!" Aru said, pointing to the platform above them. Sora and Ryu dashed for one of the staircases. Aru and the others followed close behind, catching up. They went up the left staircase and saw a girl laying on the floor. They all proceeded towards her, but Goofy got knocked back down the stairs by a forcefield that magically appeared.
"Kairi!" Sora called to her. He knelt down beside her and picked her up, shaking her gently. "Kairi! Kairi! Open your eyes!" he begged. Cedeile had been watching them this whole time, amazed they were here.
"Ryu! Aru! Sora!" she yelled, but it was no use-the spell prevented them from hearing her. "Damn it. I should've known..."
"It's no use. That girl has lost her heart. She cannot wake up." a voice responded. Sora placed Kairi back down and stood up, looking at the figure who had spoken.
"You, you're not...Riku..."
"The keyhole cannot be complete." he said, jumping off his perch high above and floating down to land in front of the keyhole. "...as long as the last princess of heart still sleeps."
"A princess? Kairi's a princess?" Sora asked, confused.
"Sora, get ready to fight him!" Cedeile warned. "He's trying to use me and Kairi to get him to rakuen! Some creepy dude took over Riku's body and is useing him!"
"So those other girls were the princesses of heart." Ryu said to himself.
"Duh, Ryu!" Cedeile yelled. Aru looked like she had heard something.
"What is it Aru?" Aru looked around and her eyes came to rest on the spot Cedeile was entangled in.
"I thought...just for a moment, I could hear Cedeile's voice..."
"What?" Ryu said.
'Aru can hear me? Maybe it's because she has magic...I can make this work for me.' she thought. "Yes Aru! I'm over here! You aren't going nuts!" Aru looked all around the room. "No! I'm in front of you! No, now I'm to your left, I mean right!" Aru looked straight at her again and then walked toward her.
"Cedeile...? Are you here?" Aru asked. Riku glared at her and extended his keyblade, causeing black lighting to strike right in front of her. She stumbled back. He then pointed it at Sora.
"Ah!" he yelled, feeling pain. He fell down on his knees.
"Sora!" Donald yelled.
"What's-?"
"The princess's heart is responding! Don't you see yet? It has been there all along! Kairi's heart rests within you." He paused.
"Kairi...Kairi's inside me...?"
"I know all that there is to know."
"Yeah right." Cedeile saide from the pipes. He looked over at her. "What!" she yelled at him. He smirked at her and looked back to Sora.
"Tell me...who are you?" Sora asked.
"It is I, Ansem! The Seeker of darkness!"
"Hey! Hold up a mintue! You're supposed to be a good guy who wrote a bunch of reports on the heartless! What are you doing being evil?" Ryu interupted.
"Quiet, boy. Or you will be next. Do not interfear." He walked forward towards Sora. Donald went forward with his staff to try and stop him but got knocked through the barrier.
"Oh no!" Cedeile said. Aru came over to her and Ryu followed.
"Aru? What is it? You've been acting weird."
"Cedeile is here...I can hear you, Cedeile. Tell me, are you near me?"
"I'm right in front of you, damnit." Cedeile responded. Aru squinted a bit and then her eyes went wide.
"I can see you!"
"Really?" Cedeile said, hopeful.
"Sora in trouble!" Ryu said. Riku stood over him with his dark keyblade raised.
"I shall release you now, princess. Open the door! Lead me into everlasting darkness!" he exclaimed. Sora was frozen in pain on the floor. He couldn't let it end like this.
"Sora!" A voice called. Suddenly, the clanging sound of metal against metal rang through the hall.
"Forget it! You're never taking Kairi's heart!" Sora yelled, pushing him back.
"Very well then. If it's a fight you wish for, then we'll fight. And I pull the girl's heart from your dead bleeding carcus." And the two were off, keyblade bashing against each other at every turn. Aru and Ryu turned back to Cedeile.
"You're not hurt, are you?" Aru asked.
"Not really. Just bored. And cramped up. Can you get me out of this spell?" she asked.
"I don't know. I'll try though." Aru said, unsurly.
"Hey, I've got faith in you." Cedeile said.
"Aru, can you really see Cedeile?" Ryu asked unsure. "All I see is you talking to air. And it's kind of creepy."
"If I squint really hard than I can make out a faint outline. It's a strong spell. I doubt even Donald would be able to see her no matter how hard he tried."
"Then how can you if you're just a magician in training?" Aru remained silent. "Maybe your memories deceive you and you're a master magician. Anyway, do you really think you can get her out?"
"I'm going to try." Aru replied, determined. Ryu decided to amuse himself and look at the place in the pipes where Cedeile was supposedly being held captive by a spell. He squinted as hard as he could until he could see a faint outline, just as Aru had said, but as he let his eyes open as wide as they could, the outline didn't fade out-it got clearer until he could make out every detail on Cedeile.
"Oh my god...Cedeile! I can see you!"
"Ryu! That fake me didn't hurt you too bad, did she?" she asked. His face fell slightly-all he saw was her mouth moving, there were no words.
"I'm sorry Cedeile...I can't hear you..." Cedeile's face fell too.
"It's okay..." she said. "Aru, how far are you coming along?"
"I'm doing the best I can to counteract the spell. It's very intricate...like nothing I've ever seen." she said. Cedeile sighed as she looked up to watch the battle between Riku and Sora. 'It's so wrong...Sora and Riku are supposed to be friends. We're all supposed to be friends...It breaks me up to see them fight...' Meanwhile, back at the fight, Sora was giving it his all to protect Kairi's heart. He wouldn't let this creep use it for his evil plans. Everytime his own keyblade hit the dark one, he felt the pulsesating of that heart again. He was unsure if it was Kairi's or another, but he would protect it not matter what. Suddenly, he got forced back. He stumbled, feeling blood drip down his arm-he had received several slashes. He glared at his former friend.
"I don't understand why you're doing this..." Sora said.
"Don't blame the boy. I'm just borrowing his vessel. Of course, I don't intend to bring it back to him." he replied. The two clashed keyblades again, pushing on each other.
"Then where is Riku?"
"Dead. The boy's heart and soul were overwhelmed and he died!"
"You bastard!" They broke away and Sora went forward at him.
"I'm almost done, Cedeile!" Aru said, breaking her train of thought. Cedeile looked down at Aru work for a moment, and then back up to the battle.
'Hold on Sora...' Suddenly, there was a flash of light and Cedeile felt movement return to her body.
"Done!" Aru said. Cedeile fell forward out of her bondage and landed on her feet.
"Thanks Aru. Now there's something I gotta do." she said. She wipped out the heartblade and dashed to the center of the battle.
"Cedeile! No!" Ryu yelled. Sora was pushed to the ground, his keyblade a few inches from his hand. Riku stood over him, ready to strike. Sora grabbed his keyblade and jammed it up towards him and Riku did the same to him, however, the keyblades never hit each other...
Sora's eyes went wide, but Riku's expression never changed. Aru gasped in shock and Ryu fell to his knees. Caught in the middle of the assult, with both keyblades rammed through her, was Cedeile. She winced a little at the pain. Sora froze, hand still on his keyblade handle. She looked up at him, her dark emerald eyes still sparkling.
"This is...wrong...friends shouldn't fight..." Her body began to glow and slowly break off into little specks of light from her ankles and moving up.
"No!" Sora cried, still unbelieving he had killed his best friend. "No! Don't leave me here, Cedeile! I can't lose anymore friends to this stupid war!" Tears went down his face, staining his tanned skin. Cedeile smiled at him, one eye closed in pain.
"I'll be waiting for you...at the last world..." she got out. Her head went down as the particles went up her body and she was completely gone. Her red bandana was left behind and fluttered to the ground. When the particles left, Sora dropped his keyblade and slowly grasped his hands around it, looking in disbelief at the red material.
"C-cedeile...n-not you...first Kairi...then Riku...now you're gone..." he sobbed, and then begain full out crying. Donald and Goofy bowed down their heads in respect and sorrow. Ryu still looked at the spot where Cedeile had stood, unable to move or make a sound. Aru cried too, and had to take off her glasses to wipe away the tears. Finally, Ryu trembled and banged his fists on the floor.
"CEDEILE!" he yelled. Riku stepped back, dropping the dark keyblade.
"No...not her...my gateway to paradise...you fool, what have you done?" He kept going back until he walked into the keyhole, still muttering to himself. Sora picked up his head and looked at the bandana again. He sniffed and looked back at Kairi, then to the dark keyblade, and back to Kairi again. The barriers were let down, so Donald and Goofy came back up and examined at the keyhole. Aru stood next to him, still teary eyed. Ryu still didn't move, he just stayed looking at the ground, fists slightly bruised.
"I promised her...that I'd never let her die before me...that I'd protect her...but now..." he got out. He felt his emotions spilling out, and he was unable to control them anymore, which was the first princepal of his training-never let the enemy see your emotions;keep them off the battle field. Maybe he had forgotton the last part and a long time ago,decided not to feel anymore, ever again.
"I used to cry a long time ago...but it wasn't helping anything,
He felt something cold and wet slide down his face, and it wasn't blood.
...so I stopped."
Sora stood up, looking at the dark keyblade. He picked it up, holding it in his hands.
"So, this is the keyhole?" Goofy asked in the distance. He could only think about saving Kairi now. Cedeile and Riku were beyond his reach, but he could do this one, last thing.
"Sora? What are you doing with the dark keyblade?" Donald asked. Aru looked up at him, and Ryu raised his head from the floor. Sora thought long and hard for another moment and then looked over to his friends, giving them his trademark grin, before jamming the keyblade in himself. He hardly made a sound of pain as his body lit up and streams of light began flying around the room.
"Sora!" Donald, Goofy, and Aru cried out at the same moment. Ryu got up off the ground.
"You idiot!" he yelled. Suddenly, a glowing red light left him, gasping out as it did, and it floated over to Kairi. Her eyes came open slowly as she sat upright. Soon, she realized that the empty shell before her was Sora. She got up and ran to him, but he disappeared into three streams of flying light. Aru smiled sadly.
"I see...he gave himself up..."Kairi looked at the short magician. "...to save you..."
"What's going on here? What happened after the island was infested?" she asked. Ryu walked up to her.
"You're Kairi, right?" Ryu asked. She nodded. "Yeah, Cedeile told me about you. And about what's going on...it's a long story."
"But who are you? And how do you know Cedeile and Sora? And where is Cedeile? And what happened to Sora?"Donald screamed out at that moment, so the explanation was cut short. A man appeared in one of the dark corners and approached them.
"Foolish children. Did you think I would surrender so easily? I still have the way to paradise!" He stepped forward, but then froze. A semi-transparent figure with a green outline appeared in front of him, seemingly holding him back.
"Riku!" Kairi gasped out.
"All of you! Get out of here! I don't know how long I can hold him back!"
"But-" Kairi said.
"No! Don't worry about me-it's too late! Go now!" Kairi nodded, and all of them except Aru ran down the opposite stairs. Aru stood there, looking at him. "Aru! Please go! I don't know what I would do if he got you, too." She walked forward and put a soft hand to his face. "Aru...I'm sorry...for what I said before...you were right-I was being taken over by the darkness..." he said sadly. She tilted his head down and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead. He looked at her, confused, but she only smiled back.
"Good luck..." she said.
"Get out of here safely."
"I will. Thank you." she let her hand slip away, and he felt the warmth that had just sprung up from within him fade off and she ran away, dodging pieces of the ceiling as she went, and then disappeared down the stairs. Ansem snarled at him.
"You would risk losing your soul to save her?"
"Yes. It's cause I love her."
"Love is fake, it is what makes the foolish weak. It is better if you don't believe in it."
"I don't care. It's the one thing I know will last."
They desperatly tried to make their way down the castle and get back to the Rising Falls out front. The walls seemed to be crumbling as the whole place shook around them.
"Are we gonna make it?" Kairi asked.
"I don't know." Ryu replied, barely missing a huge piece of rock that fell out of nowhere.
"What about Vincent and Lulu?" Donald asked, running for his life.
"They're long gone by now. I'm sure they've survived worse than this. We just gotta focus on getting to the gummi ships!" Ryu yelled. They burst through the doors in front of them and found themselves in the main hall. They dashed down the stairs. Suddenly, a heartless came out of nowhere and cut them off. Kairi, who was in front of the group, stopped in her tracks, causeing everyone to crash behind her. Donald slid out in front of her and hit the heartless shadow on the head with his staff.
"Leave us alone! We're trying to escape!" he yelled. The heartless shook it's head. Kairi smiled and gently pushed Donald out of the way.
"Miss Kairi?" Goofy asked, confused.
"We don't have time for this!" Ryu complained. Kairi approached the creature carefully and held out her hand.
"Sora? Is that you?" she asked. Everyone gasped. "Yes, it is you. I'm glad you're okay." Suddenly, a whole army of shadows emerged from the ground, ready to attack. Everyone drew out a weapon or prepared a spell and surrounded Kairi to protect her. She picked up the heartless Sora and held him in her arms. "You always protected me Sora, so this time...I'll protect you." Suddenly, there was a flash of light. Everyone turned back to see what was going on. The heartless cowered away in fear. Embracing Kairi in his arms was the keyblade master, Sora.
"Kairi...thank you...you saved me from the darkness." They released each other, smiling. He then turned and took out his keyblade, stepping beside Sora.
"You're back. Took you long enough." he said jokingly.
"Yeah, well, I time my entrances right." he replied. The group took out the rest of the heartless in the roomand headed back to the gummi ships. They each boarded their respective ships and got ready to get out of there. Ryu did all the nessicary procedures to start up his engine and pulled down on the ignition lever, but nothing happened, and the ship didn't spring to light. He pushed it up and pulled it back down again.
"Damnit! It must be busted!" he yelled.
"We can't escape!" Aru cried. The sound of something laching onto the ship came from above them. They looked up-Sora's gummi ship had launched anchors into Ryu's and was attempting to lift them out of here. "They're going to help us!" she said happily.
"If they have enough power to lift us, that is." Ryu replied. Their ship slowly lifted off the ground. A wave of heartless was coming for them...
The ship lurched off the ground with a force that knocked the two out of the ship's only seat. Aru landed on the floor, and Ryu face first onto the control pannel. Ignoring the small bloody nose he was suffering from, he looked up to see the ground below move farther and farther away. Ryu looked out the front window as the heartless got smaller and smaller. He didn't remember that blood still dripped from a small cut on his forehead and out of his nose-the only thing he could think of was how he failed her.
'Cedeile...' Aru looked up at his blank stare from the floor as she brushed off her clothes. She sniffed to try to keep herself from crying again. Ryu sat back down in the seat and leaned forward onto the control panel, clutching the sides of his head.
6H:Hah! How was that?
Anaretsu: Half of it was EXACTLY like the game!
6H:I know. Let's just say I lost to Riku QUITE a few times...
Anaretsu: Sure...
6H:Well, enjoy this chapter, and I'll have the next one up soon! And just a small note-Cedeile ISN'T dead! You'll find out what happens in the next chapter!
(Repost note: This is last chapter posted before Shattered Fragments got kicked off. After this point, every chapter is a brand new, never before read chapter! Isn't it awesome?)
