6H: Welcome to chapter 73! Almost to the end! Thus begins the last battle-The keyblade Master Sora versus the ruler of darkness Ansem!
Anaretsu: Yipee. A short punk verus a dress wearing man.
Riku and Ansem: IT'S NOT A DRESS!
6H:Deny it all you want. Here's the chapter!
Kingdom Hearts-Shattered Fragments
Fragment 73-Return to Destiny Islands? Ansem is there!
They slowly decended down into the mountain, wind blowing pass them as they climbed down further. Rocks crumbled away and fell down into the crater, echoing off the sides. Aru stopped in her tracks for a moment to rest.
"What will happen when he get to the bottom of this crater?" she asked. Sora stoped in front of her.
"We might find Ansem. We've been going down since we left the Hallow Bastion area with that lab. He's gotta be somewhere in this place. That monster we fought must've been another obstacle to keep us from getting to him." Sora said. "But what I want to know is why that thing was after you before he grabbed you." Aru sighed and took the chain out of her sleeve hesitantly. She held it up for him to see.
"This. Riku gave it to me a long time ago and told me to protect it for him. I don't know what it is yet, but it must have some sort of power, if he was after it."
"I see." Sora said, looking at the black metal.
"You guys, come on! You're getting left behind!" Ryu yelled up to them.
"I'm coming!" Sora yelled. He look back up to Aru and brushed some ash off his face. "When we get down there, we'll all get healed. Donald wasn't as badly injured as you were, so we'll let him do it, alright?" He asked. She nodded and the two proceeded downwards.
When they all reached the bottom, they were exhausted. Their clothes were burned, Ryu and Sora's more than the others. Aru's robe was in shreds from Chernbog's claws, and they were all more or less covered in blood or something else. Donald waved his staff in the air.
"CURAGA!" he yelled out. The holy bells appeared over all of them and brought them back to full health and repaired all the tears in their clothes. When he finished, they were ready to jump into the hole in the center of the mountain floor and discover what was beyond.
What they found was a small area simillar to the rest of this place. Some ruins over against the wall, tangled up iron fencing, and raw gummi blocks. Before them was a hole in the wall, and beyond was a small room, different from the rest of this place. Sand trickled down from above and into rocks that floated in midair, and then poured down to the ground, like fountains. In the center of the room stood a rose colored door. Sora walked up to it and touched the handle. A voice sounded in his ears. A rather famillar voice.
"Beyond lies only darkness. The battle will be tough. This is the last place of refuge within this place. Rest here before you go beyond...But remember, you are the one who will open the door to the light. You can find the one who can open the gates of Rakuen..."
"Whoa. Did you guys hear that?" He asked.
"What are you talking about now?" Ryu asked.
"You didn't hear that voice just now? It was so famillar...a woman's voice, calling out to me." he said.
"Sora, maybe we need to rest for awhile before going through this door." Donald said, concerned.
"I'm fine! I heard a voice when I touched the door is all!"
"Well, it is possible. Anything can happened here. After all, back in that valley I saw Ce-oh..." he stopped abruptly. Everyone looked at him.
"What was that?" Aru said.
"Nevermind!" Ryu insisted. "Really, I'll tell you all later. For now, let's just concentrate on one thing."
"Beating Ansem." Sora replied. "Let's make a pact, right now." He said, sticking his hand out. "We all fight to the end. To find Cedeile and Riku, and to put an end to all this." They all nodded and put their hands over his.
"To stop Ansem from getting to Rakuen!" Donald cried.
"To get back the roses for the princesses!" Goofy exclaimed.
"To save Riku from Ansem!" Aru said.
"To find Cedeile..."Ryu added quietly.
"And to defeat Ansem once an for all!" Sora said. With that, they were ready, and they turned, facing the door. They all gripped the handle and opened it wide, light flooding the room and taking them beyond.
When Sora opened his eyes, he couldn't help but gasp. He looked all around him. The ground was made of sand. Water washed up onto shore and retreated back into the mass ocean. Palm trees grew overhead. Yet, it was deathly still. However, there was no mistakening it.
"Is this...my island?" he asked out loud, looking to out at the ocean. The others also stood up. Ryu stepped beside him.
"Is this where you and Cedeile used to live?" he asked. Sora nodded.
"Yeah. This is the place. Or at least a well made fabrication." Aru walked in the sand, coming beside them.
"I keep sinking in the sand." She said. Suddenly, however, the sand became hard and she was able to stand on it. "Nevermind..."
"Wha'dya think we should do now, Sora?" Goofy asked. Sora turned to behind them and looked back to under the tree.
"The secret place..." he murmered, and began to walk to it. The others followed, unsure of what he was doing. He hopped into a pit of sand and walked around it for a bit. "This isn't right. There should've been a waterfall right there, and this should've been a spring." he said, kind of to himself. He climbed back up on the path and looked a a bunch of bushes grwoing in front of a tunnel in the rock. He approached it, standing before the entrance. A huge gust of wind blew out from it, blowing through his air and into his eyes.
"This place has been connected..." Behind them, Riku's small island disappeared.
"What was that?" Goofy asked.
"...tied to the darkness..." A small tremor formed.
"A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing..." A bright flash of light came forth from the secert place and engulfed the whole island. The water on the shore turned dark, and the shoreline itself began to break up. The dock snapped and collapsed. The tree split open, revealing a strange area behind it that was mulitcolored. The island was half transformed into a twisted wasteland in the middle of nowhere. When the light subsided, Riku stood on the edge of the shore, his back turned to them.
"I knew it. A farse..."Sora said sadly.
"Look at the shore, Sora." Ryu said warrily.
"It's...Riku!" Aru said.
"Or Ansem in disguise. Ready guys?" Sora asked. They all nodded and ran towards him. The figure, whether Riku or Ansem, laughed.
"Look at this place." he said, in Ansem's voice. "To the heart seeking freedom, it is a prison...surrounded by water. But to the heart seeking solitude, it is the perfect cage. And so, the boy thought to escape this prison, and gave himself up to darkness, while the girl sought to put shackles on herself. I do not know who was more foolish-the boy who wanted more than anything to go, or the girl who never wanted to leave."
"Riku..." Sora said. The figure turned and Riku changed into Ansem's form. He was a tall man with tanned skin and bright, golden eyes. His long silver hair trailed down his back. Sora glared at him, but Ryu spoke first.
"You bastard. You captured Cedeile!" He was about to lunge at him, but Goofy, Aru and Donald held him back.
"Ryu!" Aru begged. Ryu gritted his teeth at the evil man.
"Control your temper, boy." he said. "Your voices can no longer reach him, or the girl. The most valuable piece of the puzzle-the heartblade master-is mine forever."
"You bastard, I'll kill you!" Ryu yelled, trying to break free. Ansem smirked.
"They both belong to darkness. All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different! Darkness sprouts within it, grows, consumes it! Such is its nature! Purification may work for awhile, but it cannot completely rid the heart of darkness! That is what makes the Heartblade a useless weapon. It's master, however, she is quite useful to me. It doesn't matter though. In the end, every heart returns to the darkness from whence it came!" He vanished and appeared behind them. They all turned, Ryu trying the break free to kill the ruler of darkness, but Aru, Goofy, and Donald held him back, though it was a tough fight to keep him at bay. "Heh heh. Boy, you prove my point. You see, darkness is the heart's true esscence. And the anger inside you shows it."
"That's not true!" Sora and Aru yelled at the same time.
"Don't talk about Cedeile like she's some sort of object. She's a real person, and she's...she used to be alone alot as a kid. She's been really sad for a long time. I never knew exactly why, but she seemed to be that way...after her brother died." Sora said, adding the last part quietly. Ryu looked at him, suddenly understanding how it all fit together.
'Cedeile never told him...' he thought, relaxing. The others still clutched onto him, for fear he'd do something stupid.
"But you're wrong! The heart can be weak sometimes, but that's why it's not alone. The soul and body protect the heart and give it strength, so it's never alone! And the three unite together and give each other strength, which lets us go on, even when we're lost in darkness."
"You've come this far, and still you understand nothing. Still, you have learned to understand the trinity, to some extent. But you know nothing about the circumstance that brought you here." Ansem said.
"Does that matter so much?" Aru asked, releasing Ryu and standing up to her full height-which wasn't that impressive. "Does the past matter in the present? I have lost almost every memory of my past, having nothing to fall back on-yet does that stop me from going onward? I'm here, aren't I? I could've given up a long time ago, but I didn't. That's when I learned...THE PAST DOESN'T MATTER!"
"You are fools!" Ansem said, and rose in the air. "It's too late now! I'm so close! Rakuen is just within my grasp!" On the ground under him, his shadow changed and morphed into a dark spirt that rose from the ground and attached itself behind Ansem. "NO ONE WILL STOP MY QUEST TO RAKUEN!"
"Everybody ready?" Sora asked.
"We're all with you, Sora!" Donald responded. Sora looked to Ryu, who was stading next to him. The fragment hunter nodded and it was off into battle they went. Sora and Ryu ran in ahead of the group, and Ryu mangaged to get a few feet ahead of Sora. Aru stayed back, poised for an attack.
Ryu got the first chance to attack Ansem, who floated in the air, grinning evilly at him.
"THIS one is for CEDEILE!" He yelled as he jumped up and was ready to bring his sword down from above his head. He slashed downward, hoping to make a hit, but was stunned to find the shadow blocking it, holding the blade in it's two, twisted hands.
"Have you become aquainted with my guardian, boy?" he asked, smirking. The guardian threw down the sword, sending Ryu flying to the ground. Sora skidded to a halt as Ryu hit the sand, the yellow stuff blasting into the air. The guardian came down, and punched Sora hard in the chest, knocking the air out of him and sending him flying back a few feet. Ryu got up out of the sand while Ansem was distracted by that.
"You shouldn't have let your eyes off me!" He yelled, slashing across Ansem's back. It was hit, and Ansem fell forward. He turned to look at the hunter, glaring.
"I went on easy on you since you have nothing to do with this, but now I won't show anyone mercy!" The guardian disappeared from Ansem's back and a dark orb flew over to Ryu and slipped through his chest, grabbing onto his heart.
"GAH!" he yelled.
"Watch out, everyone!" Aru yelled from back where she stood. She reached out one of her hands, and vines twisted up in it, forming a huge arch. In her other hand, vines twisted out of her palm and around each other, to form an arrow. She latched it onto the bow and pulled back the string, taking aim. "WOODAGA ARROW!" She yelled. The arrow went flying towards Ansem. His golden eyes went wide-he couldn't call his guardian back quick enough. The arrow pierced his chest, and the vines unfurled from the end, wrapping themselves around him.
"Nice one, Aru!" Sora yelled. He lept forward and slashed Ansem with the keyblade a few times. Ansem called back his guardian out of Ryu, who was on the ground, trembling and shaking from the attack. The guardian came up and hit Sora, sending him back. Ryu crawled back up to the battle, spitting up blood as he went.
"Damnit. That thing...damn it all!" he muttered to himself, spitting more blood onto the ground.
"Ha ha. You mere children cannot defeat me. Already my guardian has used it's curse on the boy. You should've stayed out of it. you have nothing to do with all this, anyway." Ryu looked up at him.
"I don't have anything to do with this? Are you insane? I'm a fragment hunter! I have EVERYTHING to do with this! The fragments and the keyblade are connected, damnit! My family was at the Disaster of 500 years ago! I'm Ryosuke Takita of the Fragment Hunters and the Ryu Clan, and I'll be damned if you say I got nothing to do with all this!" Ryu charged forward, his blade meeting the guardian's arm.
"You are mistaken, boy. Besides, the knight always slays the dragon. And a dragon cannot fall in love with the princess." Ansem taunted.
"Oh yeah? Well, let it be written down for generations to come, that a dragon slayed the ruler of darkness!" he yelled, pushing Ansem back, not before the guardian ripped through his cloak and left some nice cuts on him.
"THUNDAGA!" Donald yelled, a few of the lighting bolts hitting Ansem. Goofy and Sora moved in, attacking with their own weapons.
"STARDUST CANNON!" Aru shot her spell at him, sending him flying. Suddenly, he just stopped fighting, and flew over to the tear in the world, that was a twisted place, raw gummi blocks all fused together, nothing like the island at all. They all collasped on the sand, resting after their long battle.
"What do we do now, guys?" Sora asked. Ryu stood up, wipeing off the blood that trickled down the side of his mouth.
"We keep fighting him untl he goes down. We have to stop him from getting to Rakuen!" Ryu said. Sora nodded. They all healed themselves and ran up to the rift in time. Sora lept through, followed by Ryu, but As Aru and the others went to go through, they were thrown back.
"What the-?" Donald asked.
"We've been locked out!" Goofy said.
"Oh no." Aru said. "Ah!" she suddenly yelled out. Her head began to pound furiously again, sending her to her knees in agony.
"Miss Aru is sick again, Donald!" Goofy yelled.
"Hey, rookie! Are you alright? Can you hear us?"
"Not now...not now..."she murmured to herself. "Not now..."
Inside the rift, Ryu and Sora stood, looking around the area for Ansem.
"Where is he?" Ryu asked.
"I'm not sure. Did we see him come here?" Sora asked. There was no time to argue about it, for Darkside arose from the ground, having all the detail that Sora remembered from that night so long ago. "So, we meet again." Sora said.
"You two know each other?" Ryu asked.
"This thing was the first heartless I ever fought!" Sora said. "Let's go!" The two boys charged in, and made quick work of Darkside, chopping away at his hand and not sustaining much damage of any kind. Darkside disappeared and the boys were alone again, or so they thought.
"Bravo, dragon, and keyblade master." Ansem said, his voice booming, echoing off the walls. "I was hopeing to face you alone, keyblade master, but if the dragon wants to interfear, then I'll have to take care of him!" From out of the ground, a magic, clawed witch hand came, grasping Ryu around the neck and holding him up in the air.
"Ryu!" Sora yelled. He tried to slash his keyblade through the hand, but it passed right through the transluscent black form. Ryu grabbed at the fingers, trying to pry them off his neck, the nails leaving little, bleeding cuts on his skin. Sora turned back to Ansem, who came at him suddenly with a light shield, knocking him to the ground. He groaned in pain.
"Like I said to him before-the knight always slays the dragon." He taunted. Sora looked back up at the derranged man.
"Tell me, why are you DOING this?" he asked. "Why are you tearing our lives apart to find this 'Rakuen' place?" Ansem glared harder, and then put a hand to his face.
"Because..." his voice actually shook, taking Sora off guard. "I'm searching for her..."
"'Her?'" Sora asked. In the corner, flower petals began to swirl around. In them appeared a woman with long red braids, her eyes closed and her hands folded, smiling gently. Her hair blew slightly in the breeze. Sora thought the woman looked awfully famillar...
Sora's eye went wide.
"That woman...looks like Kairi!" Sora said, hardly believing it. Ansem flew over to the figure and put his arms around some invisable force field that held the woman within the flowers.
"Cyanna was the only woman I ever loved. She was so delicate, like a flower..."
"Why does she look like Kairi?" Sora asked. Ansem glared at him.
"Don't say that name!" he yelled. "Cyanna was delicate, and very frail. Still, she was unafraid of what would happen to her, as long as her child lived. Though I was glad to have a child, I did not think Cyanna would have to sacrifice herself."
"What are you blabbering about? You're not making any sense!" Sora yelled.
"THAT GIRL KILLED CYANNA!" Ansem yelled. "That girl, who was named Kairi, she KILLED my wife!"
"How? Kairi would never hurt anyone!" Sora insisted, not understanding anything. "How did she-?"
"Don't you see it yet? Don't you get it? Seven years ago, the girl landed on your island, her world was gone! Hallow Bastion, all the stories you've heard! Cyanna died in childbirth!" Sora's eyes went wide.
"You don't mean...You're the king of Hallow Bastion...and Kairi's father..." Sora hardly got it out. It was like his was choaking on his own words.
"Who are you?" A younger Sora asked the red haired girl.
"The girl was the cause of my beloved's death. I hated the child for taking Cyanna's life. She looked so much like her though...I would've killed her off then if she didn't. But then, I learned she was of some importance to my quest. This whole time, my goal has been to find Rakuen, and Cyanna!" The woman disappeared, and tears freely flowed down Ansem's face, twsited with anger. "She's the seventh princess of heart, I had to keep her alive! My hatred for her will never cease! Yet, as long as she can serve some kind of purpose for me, I must keep her alive. At least till I get to rakuen!"
"You won't do that! Kairi didn't do anything! It's not her fault her mother died! It's so sad-you're her father and you don't even care about Kairi!" Sora said, crying as well, for Kairi.
"I told you! DO NOT SAY THAT NAME!" Ansem lashed out as Sora, sending a blast of dark waves at him. It threw him back to the ground, heaving for air. Ansem came forward again, a huge shield of energy surrounding him. It hit Sora and sent him flying again in pain.
"Sora!" Donald and Goofy yelled. Aru's shaking became more violent. The keyblade pulsated in Sora's hand at that moment, and everything froze. Ansem stopped his assualt momentarily, and Aru froze for a moment, not even breathing.
"Miss Aru!" Goofy yelled. "Donald, she just stopped breathing!"
"What? But why? She's not hurt in any way!"
"Must be that sickness!" Goofy went down to help her.
"Don't touch her! I feel a great power trying to break through! It's gonna break everything apart!" As Sora flew through the air, he felt the pulsations of the keyblade in his hand, and they shook his body like never before. Everything seemed to stop, even time itself, and he couldn't feel himself fly through the air anymore. Suddenly, a soft, male voice whispered into his ear.
"Silvia..."
Then, time began again. Sora hit the ground, the keyblade went flying, Aru began shaking again, and her breathing came back, though ragged. The hand holding Ryu suddenly desintigrated and he fell to the ground, trying to catch his breath back in his empty lungs. Sora got up, and looked around for the keyblade. Ansem appeared right over him.
"Interresting. A heart is within the keyblade!" He said, before he sent his guardian into him. Sora cried out as the guardian worked it's curse on him. After a few moments, the dark spirit retreated and came behind him. "You are weak, keyblade master. You shall not stop my quest." Sora slowly pushed himself up, but Ansem threw him away again. Ryu got up, pulled out his sword, and charged at Ansem's back. At the last second, the guardian blocked his assulat, and forced him backwards.
"Sora, get up! I can't do this alone! We can beat him, but you have to help!" Ryu yelled. Sora pushed himself up slowly and faced Ansem. He raised up his hands above his head, and the keyblade came back into them, He swung it around and then pointed it out in front of him, glaring at Ansem. Blood ran down his cheek from a cut on the side of his head.
"I'll beat you. For Kairi." he hissed. Ryu smiled.
"About time." He said quietly. Sora lept forward and Ansem came at him. They exchanged three blows before flying apart, and the Sora came back at him. Ansem threw some darkness waves at him, But Sora flipped up in the air, avoiding them and then hit Ansem on his way to the ground again. They dealt some furious blows at each other, glaring and grunting with each hit. Ryu stood off to the side, still in a fighting postion. He figured if Sora wanted to fight Ansem alone, then he should let him. As much as he hated to admit it, he was starting to like the keyblade master.
Ansem dealt a rather stong blow on the keyblade itself, trying to force it out of Sora's hand. Sora recoiled, the keyblade nearly swinging out of his grasp, but he gripped it tighter and brought back around, hitting Ansem in the chest. The keyblade went through the man's sham body and pierced his guardian as well, who screamed out as the keyblade released it's holy force. Ansem went back and hit the wall. He then faded away. Sora panted for breath, exhausted from his battle. Ryu walked up to him, ad put a hand on his shoulder.
"That was a good fight." he said.
"Is it over?" Sora asked.
"Are you okay? You look like a mad man." Ryu said, slightly laughing. Sora shook his head, sweat flying off his skin and hair.
"Yeah." he anwsered. "Just angry. And sad...for Kairi."
"I know." Ryu said. Suddenly, everything around them faded away and the two began to float downwards into darkness.
Ansem's voice boomed out from every corner of this new darkness.
"Behold the endless abyss!" he yelled. "Within it lies the heart of all worlds! KINGDOM HEARTS!" Aru seemed a little better, but still rather pale as she floated down in the darkness.
"I don't...feel good..."she said, nearly silent. From far in the distance, they could all make out a white door, floating in the emptiness.
"Are those the doors to Rakuen?" Ryu asked.
"Look as hard as you are able! You'll not see the smallest glimmer of light! From those dark depths are all hearts born-even yours..."Ansem sneered.
From below them, a huge ship sailed at them. It was more like a huge monter, heartless, or hell demon of some sort. The bow was a giant demon's head, it's red and violet skin twisted and riled. The body of the ship was a caged area that was blocked off by a magic field. Inside, they could make out a figure in red, laying on the floor...
"Cedeile!" Ryu yelled.
"Darkness conquers all worlds!" Ansem yelled. "And within this darkness, must lie the doors to Rakuen-where all wishes are granted!" Suddenly, Aru, Donald, and Goofy started floating away and into a black void, and then disappeared. Ryu and Sora began falling past the ship and into the infinite darkness. As Sora fell, he heard a famillar voice call out to him.
"Come on, Sora! I thought you were stronger than that!"
'Riku...' Sora stopped falling suddenly, and began to fly upwards. Ryu zoomed past him, still falling at high speed. Sora looked down as the fragment hunter's form got smaller.
"RYU! You have to believe in yourself!" Sora yelled. Ryu closed his eyes.
'What do I have to believe in anymore?"
"Ryosuke! Promise me! Promise me you'll find all the fragments and be the best fragment hunter! Promse me!"
"Ryu!"
'Cedeile...Seiki...' He felt the falling slow down a bit, although he continued to fall into the darkness. He cracked open his dark navy eyes to see a light come down to him, a blurry figure, wrapping its amrs around him shoulders. He smiled to himself, and the figure disappeared into many flecks of light that gathered around his back.
Sora had thought the fragment hunter was doomed,and was surprised when he soared back up to the same level as the keyblade master. Sora was awed at what he saw-off of Ryu's back were two, beautiful translucent wings, white and angelic like.
"Ryu...what the-?"
"I just did what you said. And I had a little help from an angel." he added, winking. He looked back at the wings. 'Cedeile, Seiki, this will help alot. Thank you both.'
"Let's fight him!" Sora said. Ryu agreed. The two boys drew their weapons and flew in. Now, Ansem was attached to the ship. He floated in the air, connected by wires in his back, looking much like the paintings of angels, except evil and twisted. His golden eyes were completely expressionless. But that didn't stop the two boys at all. They were back with a vengence, and they weren't about to quit now. Ansem's dark voice seemed to radiate from deep within the darkness as it taunted them. Wires shot up from the ship, trying to ensare the boys. They flew in, dodging the cables as best they could and went right in for Ansem. He now posessed a long, double bladed staff that he swung in a huge figure eight. Ryu and Soragot cut often, blood flying out of their new wounds. Sora satrted using his own magic, using Aero to protect himself from the brutal assualts. Ryu came in, countering the weapon with his own blade and blocking most of the shots. Sora tried to come in, but almost got hit by a laser, so he flew above the battle, avoiding the beams of killer light. Ryu and Ansem's weapons clanged against each other.
"Dragons were meant to be slain!" Ansem's voice echoed. Ryu was thrown back into the air. Sora came down and went to attack Ansem, but suddenly, hundreds of cables flew up from the ship, and Ryu screamed out. Sora turned around to see the most grotesque site he had ever had to see.
Ryu was hanging the air, his body almost in a cross form. The cables had all pierced through him-through his arms and legs and chest, and his wings, which bleeded clear blood that almost looked like sparkling tears. Ryu coughed blood up, the red liquid falling on the ship and the magic forcefield, sliding down it. Blood dripped down the cables as well, turning them red. The stench of it filled the air and made Sora feel nausous.
"RYU!" He yelled out in agony. He tuned back to Ansem, tears pouring out of his eyes. "LET HIM GO!"
"As you wish. But it is too late for the dragon." Ansem's voice said. The cables pulled out of him, and he gasped out, falling to the ground. Sora flew down to him and landed on the ship. He ran to the fragment hunter and gently lifted his bloody head.
"Oh, Ryu...say something. You can't die! Cedeile is waiting for both of us!" he said, trying to calm himself down, but this was pretty bad. Ryu was already covered in blood, and his breathing was getting shallow. Sora looked down at the keyblade. "I don't have alot of magic left-only enough for one last spell. You've been fighting with me this whole time, and I know Cedeile cares about you alot-enough to give you those wings. I'm going to give the last of my magic to you...becasue you're my friend." He raised the keyblade above his head with one hand and a light began to form above it. Ryu cracked his eyes open slightly, thinking he was just about to die. He smiled, blood dripping out of the corner of his mouth and his head fell to the side, his eyes closing, and his body became limp. Sora's eyes went wide and the keyblade fell from his head, the magic dying down.
He used his free hand to lift Ryu up a little more, and shifted him towards him to get a better look atthe fragment hunter.
"Ryu! Ryu! Come on, wake up! I'm going to heal you, it'll be okay! Ryu, I-...I'm not going to tell Cedeile you died!" Sora's chest heaved violently as he tried to hold down the sobs, but it was no use and it exploded forward. He let out a cry of anguish that echoed all through the darkness-the saddest sound that was ever heard.
"Where am I?" Ryu asked, his body floating further down into the water. It was silent all around him. Suddenly, water rushed up past him, bubbles rose to the surface.
"RYU!"
'Who's there? Go away. Let me sleep.' He thought, getting too tired to even speak. He was in so much pain, but he didn't know why. Bubbles blew by him again. He opened his eyes and saw the light from the surface getting farther and farther away.
"No Ryu. You can't give up yet." a voice said.
"What's the point?"
"Have you forgotton your promise to your brother? What about Cedeile? Don't you want to see her again?"
"Yes." Ryu replied. "I want to see her again...and hold her...and tell her so much..."
"You can't quit now! Cedeile's so close to you! You've almost found her again! Sora needs you, too! He can't fight Ansem alone!" Ryu stopped falling. He opened his eyes with much effort and looked to where he heard the voice coming from.
"Who are you?" he asked. A figure stepped forward. It was an exact reflection of him. "Good god...not another mimicing heartless."
"I'm not fake, Ryu. I am the inner you. I represent everthing you have to live for." The other Ryu said. "Ryu, you have to go back. It'll be hard, but you must do it. You cannot die. Do you understand? A dragon WILL slay a knight...and-" he added the last part slyly, smirking at his other self-" a dragon will fall in love with a princess." The real Ryu blushed furiously.
"GOD! I'm not in love with Cedeile! I'm just trying to get back her heart!" he yelled. The other Ryu smiled, laughing.
"That's it. You're getting back to your normal self. Now, are you ready to go back? I will take you there, and together, we'll fight." The other Ryu reached out his hand. The real Ryu sighed and grabbed his other self's hand.
"Let's go." He said, and a bright light made everything fade away.
"RYU!" Sora yelled. Ryu's navy eyes came open, and he became aware of the massive pain that consumed his body. He looked at Sora. He was crying like a girl-and Ryu found it rather funny. He laughed slightly, even though it hurt. Sora stopped, opened his eyes, and looked at the fragment hunter.
"Hey." Ryu whispered. Sora sniffed, but smiled a huge grin.
"You jerk. I thought you really died. I didn't know what I was going to tell Cedeile." he said. Ryu shook his head and laughed slightly again.
"Don't tell her anything, now. I'm not gonna die yet."
"You're hanging onto life by a thread."
"I know. I nearly let go of myself entirely, but I knocked some sense back into myself." Sora looked at him weird, but Ryu shook his head. "Never mind." Sora grabbed the keyblade again and lifted it straight up into the air.
"Curaga..."he said softly. The holy bells appeared, and down showered healing sparkles of light. Ryu's eyes slightly widened when he realized what Sora was doing.
"That's the last of your magic!" Ryu said softly.
"I know. I'm using it to heal you. Because you're my friend now, Ryu." The blood faded away, and the puntcures closed. The rips and tears were fixed by the magic, and Ryu felt the pain subside. When the light was gone, Ryu was fully healed. Sora stood up, and helped Ryu up to stand. "Are you ready to fight again?" Sora asked.
"Yeah. This time, a dragon will slay a knight." He said. Sora dug into his pocket for a moment and then handed something red to Ryu. He took it in his hands and examined it. "This is Cedeile's bandanna!" He said. Sora nodded.
"I know. You hold onto it for now. Besides, I already have a good luck charm." he said, flashing Kairi's charm. Ryu nodded and placed the cloth inside his cloak. The two boys faced Ansem's body, glaring.
"I don't understand! The boy should've died! What did you do? Cure magic doesn't bring back the dead!" Ansem's voice said.
"That's because it'll take more than that to kill off one of us!" Ryu said. "Let's do it, Sora!" Ryu yelled. The two boys took flight once again and charged at Ansem. The bond between them stronger, they fought together with greater ease, their movements feeling natural to themselves and to the other, and soon, this new form of Ansem was defeated. His body retreated under a giant heartless symbol, and before him appeared a dark portal. The two decided to fly in.
It was dark all around them-really dark. Heartless were glaring at them from the darkness, and they were in huge numbers. Donald called out to them and joined them, healing them both, as they kind of needed it.
"Damn it! We never get a break, do we?" Ryu yelled.
"They're only shadows! They're easy to take down!" Sora yelled, and the three took them down with a problem. A round orb-like and eye opened up behind them, lighting up the darkness. They attacked it and it burst into a flash of light. They were back out around the ship again, and a new portal appeared in front of the mouth of the ship. They fought the head to kill it and then went inside.
"Sora, Ryu, Donald!" Goofy called, joining them. They once again went through the same thing and destroyed all the heartless and the eye in the darkness, and were released. Once outside again, Ryu looked around for the other portal.
"Aru's the only one left. We've gotta find that portal! She's not in any condition to fight!" Ryu said, concerned.
"Up there! Sora said. The portal hovered above them. They all jetted up through it hopeing that Aru was still alive. When they entered the darkness, Ryu called out for her.
"Aru! If you're there, then anwser me!"
"Ryu!" Aru cried. He found her lying on the floor, looking just awful. Her breathing was ragged, and she still seemed sick. The heartless were crowded around her, looking on at the girl. Ryu slashed through them and kneeled beside her as she tried to sit up.
"What's wrong?" he asked as the others fought.
"I just feel so out of it. Ever since we got here, to Kingdom Hearts. It's almost like I've been here before."
"Don't talk! Just try to hold on for a little longer! We've almost beat Ansem! After we do, we'll all get out of here, and you can rest, okay?" he said, brushing away some of her purple hair. She smiled weakly.
"I'll do my best, Ryu." He nodded at her and then stood, shiled her from the heartless.
"Alright, I can take you!" he yelled. He killed off several with his blade as they jumped up on him. Soon, they were all defeated, and they all attacked the eye, and they were out-free of the dark void.
When they were outside of the last portal, the shield around the caged area of the ship broke off, permitting them to enter. They landed on the edge, and Ryu ran to Cedeile; Sora, Donald, and Goofy were close behind. Aru started to feel worse and worse, and collapsed onto her knees, clutching her head, and gasping for breath.
"Cedeile!" Ryu yelled as he skidded to a halt beside her. She layed so perfectly still, her body unmarked by the keyblades, making Sora heave a sigh of relief. Ryu lifted her head and back slowly off the ground and gasped.
"She so cold..." he said quietly. Suddenly, before them appeared Ansem. He floated in the air and then slowly landed down on the floor.
"Ansem!" Sora and Ryu yelled. Ryu was about to pounce on their foe, but Sora put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hold on! Something doesn't seem right."
"You're correct, boy. This is just a hologram of me. My body is up there, recovering from your assualt." he glared at them slightly. Donald gasped out without warning, and Ansem's eyes went wide.
"What is it?" Sora asked.
"A great power just broke forth!" Donald got out.
"I feel it." Sora replied.
"I don't even have magic and I can sense it. It covers up every presence in this place-even Ansem's evil aura!" Ryu said. They all felt it-it was coming from right behind them.
They slowly turned to see the cause of the distrubance, and what they saw surprised them. Someone was in the spot were Aru had been, kneeling on one knee. The figure rose slowly up their full height. They were tall-about the same height as Ansem's shoulders. It was a woman with rasberry colored hair. She shook her hair out of her eyes. On her face were round glasses, and from behind them, bright mint green eyes looked out at them. Her hair was simillar to Aru's style-a bun was tied on the back of her head, with the short strands hanging on the sides of her face. She wore curious clothing-a dark cerulean body suit that went to the base of her neck, and lose brown material, tied on top of the right shoulder, and tied around the waist by a rope. It hung down to half way down her theighs, splits running up the sides. Her shoes were lose, cream colored boots with small heels. They were all awed by this new person.
"Who are you?" Sora asked. The woman smiled as she stepped forward, a look of confidence on her face.
"I...am Hikari Tagami."
6H:Aw yeah! What you have just read is two hours of work one day, then four hours the next day, a break for dinner, and then another twenty mintues of work! YEAH! I was listening to the radio alot while I wrote this. Thank god for WRRV!
Anaretsu: God, that chapter was LONG!
6H:Well, it kind of had to be. I really wanted the next chapter to be a certain SOMETHING that I can't say, but it's going to reveal exactly who Hikari Tagami is, and what happend to Aru! But this was a really great chapter to write. Sorry if is was so borring at some parts, but this is the moment I've been dreaming of! You have no idea how long I've waited to write those last four words of the chapter.
Anaretsu: How pathetic.
6H:Yeah, yeah. Anyway, next chapter-ALL is revealed...well, not really-but MOST of it! Including the truth behind Aru's past and her true purpose, and Hikari Tagami's identity!
