6H: Welcome to chapter 74-the chapter I've been waiting for months to write!

Anaretsu: Oh joy.

6H: Shut it, you. Anyway, it's time for a little side note on the mysterious new person, Hikari Tagami, and her name. Hikari is japanese for 'light' and her last name, Tagami, is a spoof on the word 'kagami' which means 'mirror.' Put em together and what do you get? 'Light mirror!' Keep that in mind as you read about her.

Anaretsu: Good god, it's so obvious what's going on!

6H:Maybe to you, but not to them. READ ON, my faithful readers!


Kingdom Hearts-Shattered Fragements

Fragment 74-Hikari Tagami


"I...am Hikari Tagami." she replied. She walked towards them, her confidence never fading as she stared down Ansem-the ruler of darkness. "I was the greatest blacksmith mage, and master mage, of my time. You could say, that because of me, all this began. To think Mallificent had searched all over to seek me out, and here I was, right under her pointly, little nose." She stoped beside Sora, still looking directly at Ansem. "You could say, that it is you, Ansem, that causes me to awaken at last, but I don't think that's entirely true." Sora looked up at her, warrily, and she noticed this. She turned to him and smiled.

"Huh?"

"I have been waiting a long time to meet you, keyblade master. I'm glad I am now able to appear before you. Unfortunatly, I was also hopeing to meet face to face with the heartblade master as well, but..." She looked over at Cedeile's body. "She's not here right now. But thanks to you, that was possible. And I see now it needed to be possible. Let me see the keyblade for a moment." she said. Sora reluctantly handed it to her, and recieved a death glare from Ryu that practically screamed 'You're an idiot, Sora!' Hikari ran her hands down the long shaft.

"Is there something wrong with it, Miss Tagami?" Goofy dared to ask.

"Ah, there's nothing wrong at all. I was just looking for something. It seems that it hasn't really been so long since I last held the keyblade in my hands." She said.

"Were you a former master?" Sora asked. Hikari looked at him surprised, but then it went away and was replaced with the confidence.

"No, not a master. But I do watch over ever master and weilder of the keyblade AND the heartblade. You see, I created the two weapons. I am the one who welded the Keyblade and Heartblade, 500 years ago." Everyone's eyes went wide.

"You are the creator of the keyblade!" Ansem demanded. Hikari looked over at him.

"I am."

"I remember Mallificent was searching for the welder of the keyblade and heartblade. She thought it was Silver Eye, but it wasn't. To think it was a woman..." Ryu said.

"For 500 years, I have been haunting this place, trapped by my own mistakes. This is where I died, after all."

"You're dead!" Sora yelled.

"Yes. But I should go back to the beginning."

"Woman! Don't you dare ignore me!" Ansem yelled. She turned to him again, anger in her eyes.

"Ansem! You've been causing madness for the past fourteen years! You have to stop now! You cannot find what you seek-it is not here!"

"Then tell me where Rakuen is!"

"I don't know! But it is somewhere in one of the worlds!"

"The worlds?" Sora questioned.

"The present world, the world of light, the world of darkness, and the world of In-Between." Hikari replied. She turned over the keyblade and, using her sleeve, rubbed off some tarnish. "Come here, keybade master." He came closer and saw what had been previously disguised. Clearly scratched into the keyblade's metal was Hikari's name, and a deep chip in the metal.

"What is that dent from?" he asked.

"That chip there is from where the heartblade came. While I completed it, a piece of metal chipped off the keyblade, and from it came the heartblade. I had never intended to create two weapons. The heartblade is very mysterious to me. But like I said before..."She glared up at Ansem. " I'll start at the beginning. 500 years ago, the worlds were one, ruled by Light, In-Between, and Darkness, formerly dark. King Aruther called me to his court one day, and told me he was worried about the growing power of the darkness. He wanted me to create a weapon that could stop this darkness. And that's how we decided to make the keyblade."

"Lies." Ansem hissed at her.

"I don't lie. You do, however." She sneered. "Why are you doing this, Ansem? The whole universe has been put in danger because of you. I don't know why this sudden change happened in you. YOU used to be the keyblade master, many years ago." The group gasped, and Ansem's eyes narrowed.

"Him?" Sora asked, disgusted. "HE was the keyblade master! No way! I won't believe it! He's pure evil!"

"He didn't use to be." Hikari replied. "I'm sure you've heard the legend of the keyblade. The master either saved the worlds with light, or plunged them into darkness. They got that from fact, however. The keyblade's powers come with a terrible price, one that I did not put in place."

"What price is it?" Ryu asked. Sora was clearly afraid of finding out.

"The keyblade master has a choice- he can either throw the worlds into oblivion and live in the light forever...or he can save the worlds, at the price of casting himself into oblivion." Sora's eyes went wide.

"No..."

"Ansem, in order to save the worlds, chose to take on the curse of oblivion. That is why he is like this." Hikari looked sad now. "I have watched the masters through the centuries since my death, and it pains me to see them suffer. They are like my children, but I have no way to protect them from the pact of the keyblade." She looked down at the keyblade disdainfully. "Just another of my mistakes."

"What happened after you made the keyblade?" Ryu asked.

"It took a long time to create it. It had most forms of magic intertwined within it, and it needed to have enough power to fight the heartless. When it was finished, and the heartblade layed beside it, there was one problem left to solve. And that was, how do we know who is worthy to weild the keyblade? The heartblade seemed to have it's own aura and it's own way of judgement, but the keyblade was still like an oridnary weapon. King Aruther and I decided that the keyblade had to have it's own heart. I was going to create and artifical one using my mystical powers, but then...that's when she came." Hikari bowed her head in shame. "That girl who knew that the darkness was coming, and knew this had to be her path. A girl came to the palace dressed in white clothes, and said she would sacrfice herself so that the keyblade could have her heart."

"Oh my god..."Ryu murmured.

"We said no at first- that there had to be another way, but she inisted that she wanted to do this. It was her mission she said. Her name...was Silvia."

'Silvia!' Sora thought. "I've heard that name before!'

"Unwillingly, we took her heart and sealed it within the keyblade. But her body and soul were left-she wasn't dead. We decided to honor her-and protect her- by sealing her body and soul inside a glass panel that was enchanted by magic."

"Then...Silvia's heart is in the keyblade?" Sora asked. Hikari turned to him.

"Do you understand why the heartblade master didn't become a heartless, or die for that matter?" she asked him. He nodded. "It is because the dark keyblade made by Ansem has the power to unlock hearts, and yours has the power to lock them. The way they hit her was important. Only by a hair, did the dark one pierce her first, but then yours locked her heart and sealed it-but the force seperated her body from her heart and soul. Right now, her soul is shielding her heart from Ansem. If the trinity is seperated, then a person will die. But if two parts are together, then that person can continue to live- they just won't exist."

"Aren't you going to reveal my plot, Hikari Tagami?" Ansem bellowed. A strong wind blew through them, and distracted them as a small, winged heartless went into Ryu's cloak and grabbed the bottle of fragments.

"No!" Ryu yelled. "Give those back!" The heartless delivered the bottle to Ansem. Behind him, a glass panel began to appear, with many chuncks missing, but most of them filled.

"This whole time, I as well have been gathering the fragments. This is their purpose-to keep Siliva sealed away! But once I place these last fourty in the puzzle, she will be freed again!"

"The fragments are Silvia?" Ryu asked, confused.

"No Ansem! Don't bring Silvia back from her confinement! Her presence defies the rules of existance and non-existance, and it being released could make the whole UNIVERSE unstable!" Hikari yelled.

"Ha. I'm through listening to you."

"The heartless went after Siliva on that day 500 years ago, the day I died here in the darkness, alone. I tried to save the keyblade and the heartblade as I escaped, and the castle was infested with them. I saw them going for her, so I took the heartblade and smashed the panel into many, uncountable pieces. I escaped with the fragments, but I had to leave the two weapons behind, for the masters of that time had been chosen. Don't you get it? Bring Silvia back will only cause her more suffering. I'm begging you, Ansem! Let her rest in peace! Don't let the past be repeated!" Hikari pleaed, falling to her knees.

"I've come this far, to find the pure heart that could unlock the doors of Rakuen. The heartblade master has the purest heart, and Silvia has the last rose!" Ansem declared.

"So Silvia was the last princess of heart?" Sora yelled over the storm.

"Yes. She had a very pure heart. Possibly the purest of all hearts ever in time. I can't explain it, but it's like Silvia isn't of the world or plane." Hikari replied. Ansem crushed the bottle that the fragments were in, and they blew out of his hand and fell into place. The picture on the glass was a profile of a girl with long hair that blew up behind her as she floated, partially curled up in a ball, her arms and hands hangning limply at her sides. The lines began to light up, and then a great power burst forth. The keyblade began to pulsate rapidly.

"Is that Silvia's heart?" Sora asked.

"It's responding to her body, fool!" Ansem declared. When the light cleared. Silvia's small, frail form appeared, hanging limply in the air. Her knee length hair was a white-ish gold color, and the simple dress she wore was also white. "At last, Silvia has been brought back!" he began laugh manicly.

"We have to stop him!" Donald yelled.

"How?" Goofy asked. Before any of them could do anything, Ansem's hologram grabbed Silvia and disappeared with her in the darkness. The ship lurched to one side, knocking them all over.

"No! Silvia!" Sora yelled. The ship became steady again, and they all began to stand up. Ryu looked behind them, searching for the small mage.

"Aru?" he asked, not seeing her anywhere. He turned to Hikari. "What did you do with Aru!" He demanded. Hikari looked at him with her fierce eyes.

"I am Aru, and Aru is me." she replied. All there eyes went wide.

"What?" Ryu asked.

"Aru is me, and she is not me. I am her light side, and she is my dark side. We cannot exist without each other now."

"I don't understand! Are you saying that you and Aru are the same?" Ryu asked.

"No. We're not the same at all. We only share a body. We have our own heart and soul, however. Aru...is like my shell..."

"Your shell?" Ryu glared at her.

"Maybe that was the wring word to use. But I must share her body. It is the only way I can exist in this world. But there is something inside her...the power oppisite light."

"You mean there's DARKNESS inside her?" They all exclaimed. Hikari shook her head slowly.

"I don't think it's darkness at all. I think that it's the last bit of dark that remains. It had hopes for the future, and it needed to seek refuge from it's corrupted self, so it sent itself into Aru to protect itself, and decided to rely on her to carry on the power of dark. That is what kept me sealed away."

"Then how did you awaken? Why haven't you appeared until now? And why do you have such a sinister aura around you?" Donald demanded, at last being able to speak. Hirkari laughed and smirked at him.

"You really don't like me, do you? Is it because a rookie is more powerful than you? Well, I have mastered every type of magic, including light, as you've seen before."

"That was you?" Ryu asked. "Every time, that was you!"

"I only had a desire to protect Aru. That was the only way. My aura isn't sinister- you only make it out that way because the dark is mixed in with it. I do have a huge amount of power. I was the greatest mage of my time, and I probably still am." Donald scowled at her.

"But how did you awaken again?" Ryu asked.

"When Riku and Aru met in Monstro, Ansem had hidden himself in the back of Riku's head. That presence caused me to awaken, and ever since then I have been waking more and more. I couldn't appear until now for two reasons. My presence is strongest in the place, because I died here. For 500 years I was here, and now that my body came back, I could come forth. Second was Aru's will. You were curious as to why she was getting sick? I'm afraid that's my fault. My power was a bit much for her, and I am sorry about those images you saw. Those are some of my memories that slipped through." Hikari said. "From now on, I wish to aid both of the masters as best I can. This war will be unlike any other before it, and I feel that the worlds my be shaken to their very cores and the powers may become so unbalanced that everything is destroyed." She approached Sora who was standing off to the side. She knelt down before him on one knee and handed the keyblade back to him, her head bowed. "I am in your service now, keyblade master. I am on your side." He accepted the keyblade back from her.

"Thank you, Hikari. I hope that we can help you."

"I've made so many mistakes." she said.

"Don't worry about it. We still have Silvia's heart, after all. We'll find her again." She looked up at him.

"Please, guard her heart well, keyblade master. If she awakens...I don't know what Ansem is planning, but she CANNOT awaken." He nodded.

"What about Cedeile?" Ryu asked. Hikari stood up and turned to him.

"You have a part of her, don't you?" she asked. Ryu looked confused for a moment, and then realized what she meant. He took the bandanna out of his cloak.

"You mean this?" he asked.

"Yes. Use that to find her her. Now, I'm going to go back behind my mirror. Aru will return to you. But don't worry-I shall be able to return whenever I want from now on." she said.

"Thank you, Hikari." Sora said again. She nodded in approval and then began to fade out. Aru came back into focus, sitting on the floor, her eyes wide with terror.

"Aru?" Ryu asked. She looked up at him.

"I'm not me at all." she replied. "I'm Hikari Tagami. I know everything now." she seemed sad. Ryu walked over to the edge of the ship, looking down into the never ending darkness. Suddenly, he saw a glimmer of light. He smirked to himself.

"Ryu?" Aru asked. "What are you doing?" He turned back and smirked at them all.

"I'm gonna take a deep dive." He said. To everyone's horror, he jumped off the edge of the ship, falling down into the abyss.

"Ryu!" They all yelled. Sora turned back to Aru.

"Aru, stay here and protect Cedeile's body! The three of us will go get Ryu. Or do you want one of us to stay behind?"

"No, go on. I need some time to think about all this." she said, sniffing a bit. Sora nodded, and the three of them lept over the side after Ryu. Aru turned back to Cedeile's body, and began to cry. "I have no idea who I am anymore. I was never me. I'm not even a real human." she said. A figure appeared on the other side of the ship and walked towards her.

"You're who you percieve yourself as, Aru." A famillar voice told her. She looked up. The figure knelt down before her and smiled.

"Riku..." she said softly. "I missed you."

"Aru, you can be you, but only if you chose to. If you stay here, thinking you're nothing more than a lost shadow, then you'll never be able to be anything more than that. And remember, you're real to me."

"But I'm so confused!" she cried, throwing herself on him and holding onto him tightly. He put his arms around her and tried to comfort her. "Am I Hikari Tagami? Or am I Aru? I don't have a past!" she sobbed. "I don't have a family, or anyone at all. All I have is darkness!"

"That's not true. You have a future, and that's what you must look towards. And besides..." He pulled away so he could look right into her eyes. "...if you have darkness, then you have me too."

"Thank you, Riku." she said.

"I came here to give you something." He said. From out of his back pocket he showed her something famillar.

"The chain!" she said. She pulled out her own. His was the other half of the heart and the necklace.

"I'm giving this part to you, because it's too dangerous for me to have it. Ansem is after it, Aru, because this chain is the seal over my heart. He gets his hands on this, then he gets me." Aru's eyes went wide.

"You mean you gave me the first half-"

"I knew I was fighting a losing battle, so I gave you half of my heart to guard, so I would be able to depend on part of myself not being taken. Now, you need the other half. I've lost my body, but I still have the other two parts of my trinity-soul and heart. I will take my body back eventually." He handed the other half to her and the two became a whole. She looked up at him.

"Riku, I promise I'll guard this for you."

"I know you will." He said, standing, his touch leaving her. She grabbed onto his hand.

"Don't go!"

"I have to. But remember, you're not Hikari Tagami-you are Aru. You can be anyway, if you want to."

"Will I ever see you again?" she asked.

"Yes. I'll come back. One day, anyway. We'll meet again."

"I'll wait for you."

"I know you will." He said sadly. "Aru, don't forget this-I love you, and that makes you real. I'll always be there to make you know you're real." He said, as he faded back into the darkness.

"I love you, Riku! I'll wait forever if that's how long it takes for you to get your body back!" she yelled out to him. He completely disappeared, but Aru was not sad. She lifted the chain over her head and placed it around her neck, where it hung safely.

'He's right, you know.' Hikari said in the back of her mind. Aru nodded.

'Yes. I can be myself. I'm not just a shell.'


Ryu fell faster and faster through the darkness, the cold wind whipping by him, but he wasn't afraid. He felt Cedeile down here, in this darkness. That's when he saw it-a bright orb of light deep down in the depths. He felt him gain control over his fall and slowed, letting himself enter the orb.

Up behind him, Sora and the others were racing to save him from death when they too saw the light. They all came to a stop outside the orb, looking at it in wonder. Even in this dark place, it never lost it's light.

"Let's follow him!" Sora said, about to go in, but Goofy placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hold up there, Sora. Do you know what this is? This here is Miss Cedeile's soul and heart!" He said.

"How do you know that?" Donald asked.

"Isn't it obvious, Donald? Something that can keep it's light in the dark-the heart of the hearblade master! Let's give them time alone, Sora."

"It's not like we're completely cold and wouldn't let you say goodbye to your girlfriend in private."

"Okay." Sora said, remembering Ryu's words from Traverse Town.


When Ryu's eyes adjusted to the harsh light, he saw her, her back to him, standing off by herself. She stood so still, he wasn't sure she was real. This place was devoid of shadow, and all around him seem to sparkle. He felt like he was in some kind of church, the way the colors were reflected on the walls. Cedeile slowly turned around, her emerald eyes smiling.

"Cedeile." He said, happy to finally see the true her. He smile grew wide and she ran to him.

"Ryu! I knew you would find me here! I tried to call out to you, because you were so close to me!" she almost tackled him to the ground, she came at him with such force. He gratefully hugged back.

"I'm glad to see you again!" He said. "I came for you, so that we could go back together. Alot has happened since the last time we met. Like Aru is really Hikari Tagami, or something. I'll have to fill you in later, I guess." They pulled apart and smiled at each other again. Then he remembered that she didn't quite look right and he pulled her bandanna out of his cloak. "I've been holding onto this for you." He said. He took it in his two hands and attempted to tie it in her hair, but he wasn't sure how. She watched his arm as he tried and then smirked at him when he was done.

"Ryu, you're horrible at this." She said. Truthfully, it was tied on a little crookedly. He crossed his arms.

"Geez! You think you would be more grateful!" He said. She smiled at him, laughing and he sighed. He placed a hand on her head and ruffled her hair a bit. "Ready to go back?" he asked. She nodded.

"Can you take me back to my body?" She asked.

"Sure." He anwsered. She nodded and the light faded out.


Ryu was back in the darkness, Sora and the others around him.

"You followed me?" he asked.

"Well, when you jumped like that, I thought-" Sora went to say, but Ryu interupted.

"Thanks for having faith in me." he said. "Come on, let's go back. I have to deliver this back to Cedeile."

"What?" The three asked. He opened his hands and showed them the little light that was inside of them.

"See? Come on, let's go." They rose up again, flying past the darkness, and made it back to the ship, where Aru was waiting. He walked forward, to Cedeile's body and opened his hands, letting her soul and heart fall into her body. All around them, lights appeared and began to fly around them. They all watched as the blue orbs circled around.

"What are they?" Aru asked.

"The true power of darkness-dark." Sora anwsered. "They're granting our wish. And Cedeile's." Suddenly, Cedeile's hand moved, and her emerald green eyes came open for the first time in awhile. She sat upright and stretched out her arms.

"Geez! I'm so stiff from laying around!" she said. The others laughed. Aru cried out and got Cedeile in a huge hug.

"Cedeile! I missed you so much! We all thought you died!" she cried. Cedeile smiled.

"Thank you, Aru. But don't worry now-I'm back for good!" She looked over at Sora. "Hey there." she said. He nodded, tears running down his face.

"Cedeile..."

"Stop crying, Sora. You look like a little girl when you do." He stopped, his face becoming annoyed.

"I do not!" he yelled back. Cedeile pulled out of Aru's grasp and stood up, confronting him.

"You do too, you little girl!" she teased, sticking her tounge out at him.

"Shut up! I was worried about you!"

"Thanks, Sora!" she replied, grinning. He pouted at her.

"You really can be such a jerk." he said. She laughed.

"Ahem. How about some graditude for the one who saved you!" Ryu said, his arms crossed. She walked over to him.

"Thanks for saving me..." she moved in closer and put her fingers in his hair, and then ran them through it. "...Ryosuke..." she whispered the last part. His face flammed up red as he backed away from her. Sora was in a state of shock at his best friend's actions.

"God! What the hell is up with you?" Ryu yelled at her. She laughed at his expression.

"Gotcha!" she said.

"Bastard! You're an idiot, you know?" He said. Sora walked up and pushed the two apart, blushing himself a little.

"You guys forget, Ansem is still up there! Let's go take him down!" He said. Cedeile smirked.

"Oh yeah! Time for soem payback!" She whipped out the heartblade. "Okay, who's with me?" Everyone took out there own weapon of choice and zoomed upwards towards the last fight.


6H: HA HA! Cedeile's back with a vengence!

Anaretsu: who cares?

6H: How about that plot twist? YOU NEVER SAW IT COMING! Ah ha ha! It was great to leave you all in suspense about Aru, and I almost blabbed a few times, but I kept it till the end!

Anaretsu: Just shut up and say the chapter is over!