Author's note: Fourth chapter people! This piece revolves mostly around Leon and may be a little shorter than all the rest, but my action chapters tend to be a little short. I may not be the best at describing fight scenes, but I try! So I hope you guys like it. Keep reviewing for me and enjoy!

The Descending Darkness

Chapter four-

Invasion

Sora plunged into the swarm of heartless in a display of excellent swordsmanship, swinging his keyblade in every direction as he quickly cut down Shadows and Large Bodies with surprising ease. Every swing of his mighty weapon of light destroyed another creature of darkness, the Ultima Keyblade granting him strength beyond that of which he could have ever dreamt possible before this great and perilous journey had begun. Before these vile things had come to take him of his home, but bless him with new friends and fulfilling his wish to see other worlds.

Leaping up, the keybearer towered momentarily above as the army cast their golden, eerie orbs upon his figure. His weapon rose high, the tip gleaming with a light that soon covered the entire keyblade itself. As gravity took it's toll, Sora plummeted down, leaving behind a trail of yellow specks.

"Ragnarok!"

The instant his feet made contact with the floor, the teenage boy broke into a fury of powerful assaults so great that for every strike five or more heartless meet their end. Unfortunately, the time given to attack was brief, and despite having taken out a large number of those creatures, more heartless just replaced the ones lost.

"This is insane," a frustrated Leon called out between gritted teeth, bringing up the Gunblade he held so firm in his grasp before brining it down upon the body of another Shadow. In his anger, he did not notice an approaching Large Body behind him, but the superb aim of Yuffie with her deadly ninja stars disposed of any threat that beast could have to him. "The numbers are endless!"

"Damn! How can we stop them then?" Sora inquired while narrowly avoiding an unwanted encounter with a Shadow's claw. Bringing his weapon up diagonally with his arm, the blade cutting like butter through the heartless, reducing it to nothing but a dark cloud that soon dissipated.

"We must escape," Aerith spoke up while Cloud defended her from nearing heartless with his mighty sword. Alone, the gang could not prevent these dark things from invading. For now, escape was their only option. At the time, their heart's, more importantly Sora's, was at risk.

Leon was not one fond of this idea. He would not fail to save another world from these beasts. He swore he would not. He had failed twice to protect his home from the darkness, never would he fail again. These things took everything he loved. Rinoa, the woman who he cared for above all, was gone because of them! They had to suffer! They had to pay!

"Forget it Aerith," Leon shot back while blocking a punch from a Large Body with his Gunblade, pushing forth with all he had until finally the weapon cut through the fist and abdomen of the creature. "I will not run, will not rest until they are all gone! Every last one of these things will be destroyed!"

Yuffie was amazed at this sudden change in Leon. Never before had he been so determined to face the odds, especially when achieving victory was impossible. Why was he being so stupid? The man she knew was smarter than this. Yes, definitely smarter. His judgment clearly was clouded by the lust for revenge.

"Just leave it alone for now Leon!" The female nina stepped forth, taking a sudden leap in the air as she caught side of a Soldier hurtling itself towards her. With the swing of her arm, the ninja star she held plunged down, striking the heartless in the chest and reducing it to a cloud of dark smoke. "You can't fight all these things alone! If you try, t-then you'll die Leon! Your heart will be lost!"

"Be quiet Yuffie!" Angered, Leon yelled back at the woman who was apparently shocked to see such hatred in his eyes. Despite knowing the glare was not of hatred for her, but for the heartless, seeing such a thing in Leon's once beautiful eyes was disturbing greatly. "I'll take down any one who is stupid enough to get in my way! "

In his rage, the Gunblade Master did not see the approaching Shadows from behind, raising their deadly claws in preparation to strike. Had it not been for Sora, who had struck the heartless from nowhere with this Strike Raid, Leon would have indeed sustained serious injuries.

"Are you okay Leon?" Sora inquired while rolling off to the right, evading the attack of another heartless. Concentrating the magic forces within him, the pull of a trigger in his mind unleashed a devastating Firaga spell from the tip of his Keyblade. The creature was incinerated in a great explosion that sent many of the surrounding heartless falling to the ground.

Leon only battled on, not responding.

While the man continued to strike and dodge, rolling away from and attacking any heartless that drew near, the rage he felt only continued to grow. Every time he destroyed one, he felt the desire to destroy another. In a way, Leon lost sight of his goal. Although reaching it slowly by killing these beasts of darkness, he did not do it for the sake of revenge or punishment. No, he carried out their destruction for the sheer purpose of watching them die. He killed just to watch them fade into nothingness.

Distracted, lost in the joy of annihilating the heartless, a sudden roar erupted from the swarm about them, a roar that Leon did not take notice of. Suddenly, without warning, a blast of fire shot out from the dark army, incinerating every heartless that got in the way. By the time Leon noticed this, the flame had already collided with his back, sending him into a daze while his body was racked with the pain of burning flesh. Shaking it off with extreme difficulty, his eyes flared with something far worse than hatred, an emotion that could be described. But having eyes that glowed with this upon one could easily make a man see his death before it happened. And currently, the Defender responsible for his wound was the victim of the glare.

With a cry, Leon burst forth, tearing through whatever resisted him in a fury of powerful attacks, receiving many wounds upon his arms and legs in his anger. But the Defender would not fall so easily as the rest. Raising it's mighty shield as the monstrous head's eyes flared a dark red, another devastating blast was released to end the warriors attack. Leon met the ball of fire head on. Raising his Gunblade high, a vertical strike with everything he had canceled out the blast, leaving him unharmed. Twisting himself around and bringing his arm that held his sword in hand, the Defender raised it's shield defensively, only to it fail as the momentum gained from Leon's spin enabled the Gunblade to tear through the defensive weapon and slide completely through the Defender itself. Satisfied with his victory, he watched as the beast faded away.

"Leon! We have to go now!" Aerith began to move forward, but Cloud cast his arm out before her protectively, forbidding her to venture forth. "We can't save this world! We have to leave now!"

"She's right," Donald quacked up from nowhere, having been hiding with Goofy the entire time behind Aerith herself. "Let's go Sora!"

"But.." Sora looked back sadly as many residents were slowly back into corners, frightened and unable to defend themselves from the heartless. Sora felt helpless, incompetent. But he knew nothing could be done. Shaking his head, the Keybearer broke into a run to the group who waited for him. Leon still do not come.

"Let's go Leon" Yuffie hollered, slowly backing away from the heartless approaching.

In silence, Leon stood defensively with his blade stretched out before him, standing tall while heartless slowly closed in around him. Aware of how dangerous this man currently was, though not fearing him.

"This isn't over," Leon whispered with a sudden calm. "I will live, and I will continue to kill all of you off until not a single Shadow, or any heartless for that matter, is left alive. So enjoy your victory….just as I'll enjoy your defeat when the time comes."

Immediately many heartless sprang forward, Defenders and Wyverns beginning to take the place of the Soldiers and Large Bodies. Leon responded quickly. As the creatures fell, he contorted his torso slightly to the left, heaving himself off on his right foot and breaking into a spin while swinging his sword like a whip, destroying that which it touched. Reluctantly, as he landed, Leon ran. Moving to avoid an confrontations with more heartless, he finally reached the group beside the gate, pressing his back up against the wooden door with a heavy sigh.

"Let's go," Cloud spoke up while pushing the door open with a single hand. "It's time we left."

Aerith, Yuffie, Donald, and Goofy disappeared into the darkness beyond the gate. Leaving Cloud, Sora, and Leon behind.

"We have to go Leon," Sora spoke up while turning to face the wounded man. "But we will but a stop to these things, once and for all."

"I know that Sora." Leon's eyes narrowed for unknown reasons, a serious look upon his face. He turned away the swarm closing around them, and began to move to where the Gummi lay. "I'll see to personally." With that, the man disappeared as well into the dark.

Exchanging glances, Cloud and Sora followed.