-Sora53: Yarr. Sorry for the brief delay.
Fans: DARKNESS!
Sora53: Umm...sure.
Riku Fangirls: Riku!
Sora53: Sure.
Joe: Corita!
Sora53: Sure.
Sora Fangirls: Sane Sora!
Sora53: Sorry, no can do.
Sora Fangirls: -throws cherry lollipops at Sora53-
Sora53: It's part of the game! What do you want me to do?-

Disclaimer: I dun own KH or CoM. I own Corita...and mouthwash! WAHAHA!

"Riku, do you have any mouthwash?" Corita asked as she and Riku walked the long path to Oogie Boogie's manor.

"Uhh...can I ask why?"

"I've got a funny taste in my mouth, and it won't go away...do you have any or not?"

"Sure..." Riku muttered, pulling out his small bottle of mint mouthwash that he always carried around with him.

"Thanks." Corita said thankfully, grabbing the bottle and pulling the cap off of it. After about 5 minutes of continuing on in silence, Corita spoke again.

"Riku, do you have some mints?"

"Sorry, I left all my mints back in Dr. Finkelstein's lab." Riku said sarcastically.

"Oh...really?"

"No, not really! Corita, what's wrong this time?"

"I told you; there's a funny taste in my mouth and it won't go away!"

Riku sighed impatiently. "Corita, don't you get it? That's the taste of darkness!"

"Darkness? Yeah, right. Like you can taste darkness."

"Fine, don't believe me. Just try to get that taste out of your mouth."

"I'll do that." Corita said defiantly. She then tipped nearly the entire bottle of mouthwash into her mouth and began to gargle.


"STUPID DARKNESS!" Corita yelled, kicking a nearby tombstone for the second time in her adventures through Halloween Town in Castle Oblivion. "STUPID GHOST!" She cried as a fake ghost popped out of the tombstone. "STUPID...CASTLE!"

"Couldn't get the taste out of your mouth, huh?"

"Don't make me kick you next, Riku."

"Sorry."

"Anyway, we're almost to Oogie Boogie's manor. Are you ready to take him on?"

"Why do I have to?" Riku asked lazily. "Why don't you just blast him into oblivion?"

"THAT'S IT!"

"Hey! Stop kicking me!"


"You're all he's got left." Axel said calmly. "If you don't stop this, no one will."

"It...it's too late now." Naminé responded sadly.

"Oh, I don't know about that." Axel answered lazily. He looked down at Naminé, but there was no response. "By the way,
Naminé. I don't see Marluxia around. Do you?"

At this statement, Naminé's head lifted from where it hung sadly and her eyes looked up at Axel, full of shock.

"What are you trying to say?" She asked nervously.

"There's no one here to stop you. Do it right." Axel answered, and Naminé nodded quickly. She stood up and dashed away, leaving Axel alone in the room.
He stood in silence for a few moments, then he did something very strange. He began to laugh.

"Hm hmm... Ha ha haaa! Now THIS should be good!" Axel laughed. "All the actors are in place. Now, Sora! Naminé! Riku! Corita! Marluxia! Larxene! It's about time you gave me one hell of a show!"


"Sora, you shouldn't talk to Donald and Goofy like —" Jiminy started to say, but Sora cut him off.

"Keep it to yourself!" The Keyblade Master growled, and Jiminy nervously crept back into Sora's pocket. Sora had used the last World Card, and was now running down a long stretch of beach.
Beach?
Sora screeched to a halt, nearly causing Jiminy to go flying out of his pocket. He looked around, dazed.

"I'm not going crazy. Right? I know exactly where this is..." Sora muttered to himself. "Yeah! This is our island — where Naminé and I used to play together!"

"Hey!" Called a familiar voice. Sora turned to it, and saw that his three old friends were approaching him.

"What's up, Sora?" asked a boy with orange hair. He was gripping a blue and white ball tightly.

"Whatcha doing?" asked a young girl with brown hair and a bright yellow dress.

"Hey guys!" Sora said cheerfully. "Boy, am I glad to see you, um..."

"'Um' what?" asked the final person, with scruffy blondish hair and a long red stick clutched in his hand.

"We got food on our faces?" the orange-haired boy asked.

"Please, Wakka." The girl said, sighing. "Only you could be stupid enough to not notice food stuck to your face."

"Hey, that's cold, Selphie!" Wakka cried.

"I dunno, Wakka. Selphie's right."

"Not you too, Tidus!"

"THAT'S IT!" Sora roared in glee, causing Selphie, Wakka, and Tidus to take a few steps backwards.

"Did you get hit in the head with another coconut?" Tidus asked with concern.

Sora shook his head. "No, just thinking aloud."

"Oh, I get it." Tidus said with a grin. "You must be thinking about HER again!"

A smile spread across Wakka and Selphie's faces as well.

"That would explain why he's actin' all funny toward us." Wakka agreed.

"I bet you want us to take a hike so you two can be ALONE, huh?" Selphie asked.

Sora looked at her with a bit of confusion on his face. "Umm...I guess."

"Alright, see you later, Sora!" Selphie said cheerfully, and she dashed off.

"We'll try to be quiet while we SPY on you!" Tidus yelled, causing him to be hit in the head by Wakka's ball.

"Don't worry, Sora! I'll keep him away from you!" Wakka called as Sora's 3 old friends ran off.


"Man, that Oogie Boogie was a wimp." Riku said cooly as he and Corita approached the world's exit.

"Well, he IS just a bag of bugs..." Corita explained. "You were pretty good in battle back there, Riku."

"You weren't so bad yourself." Riku complimented. "I guess not all girls are wimps in battle after all."

"Hey, are you saying I thought I'd be a wimp in battle?"

"Hahaha!"

Corita's cheeks burned crimson as Riku laughed at her. Indignant, she resorted to kicking him again, but he nimbly avoided her kicks.

"Sorry, that won't work anymore. I'm too quick." Riku said calmly.

"Oh...then I'll just have to come up with other ways to threaten you, now won't I?"

The two passed through the door leading to the next hallway of Castle Oblivion, bickering over silly things like friends do. When they got halfway up the hallway, however, Riku stopped. Corita stopped as well, noticing for the first time that there was once again someone else in the hallway.

"That scent... You're another 'nobody.'" Riku said bitterly to the tall, muscular man standing before the stairs. He had short, wild brown hair and looked like he could bend a steel bar into a pretzel if he so desired.

"Another?" Corita sighed. "How many ARE there?"

"You've done well to make it this far, Riku." The man said calmly. "Your reputation is deserved. But to be afraid of the darkness...what a waste!"

"I'm not scared." Riku said boldly.

"I can see that you are." The man said. "You have the potential to control it. Cast away the fear that weakens you. Unbind your heart, and take hold of the darkness within."

"What if he refuses?" Corita asked.

"Then he ends here — light, darkness, and all!" The man roared. He summoned up his strength, and before Riku or Corita could do anything, he shot a blast of dark energy at Riku.

"Riku!" Corita cried as Riku was knocked backwards.

"Uggh..." Riku moaned as he kneeled up.

"See the power of darkness! I, Lexaeus, will not yield to a frail-hearted craven!" Lexaeus roared as he approached them. "Now, end your resistance, and let the darkness in!"

"Who're you calling a frail-hearted craven?" Riku cried, leaping off of the ground and drawing his sword.


Sora ran down the bridge towards the small raised island with the paupu tree, searching for someone, anyone...when a coconut bonked him on the head.

"OW!" Sora cried, rubbing his head and blinking.

"Pay attention down there!" A voice called from up above. Leaping down from the top of a coconut tree was a teenager with silver hair and teal eyes, and he was grinning.

"What's going on?" He asked. "I know you...you're Riku!"

"Thanks for remembering me." Riku said with a bit of amusement in his voice. "It's been, what, a couple of hours?"

"Er...never mind. Are you okay? Are you still under his control?"

"What's wrong with you?" Riku asked.

"Oh...I get it. You must be the Riku from my memories." Sora said.

"'The Riku From My Memories'? I didn't hit you THAT hard with the coconut, did I?"

"I dunno...you may have."

"Ha, you're such a little kid." Riku said cooly. "How are you gonna take care of HER if you act like that?"

"So you know where she is?" Sora asked. "I've been -"

As Sora spoke, the ground began to shake. Coconuts went flying off the trees, and several narrowly avoided hitting Riku and Sora, who where trying to keep there balance.

"What's going on?" Sora cried.

"How should I know?" Riku asked. "Whatever it is, it can't be good. I'm gonna go warn the others!"

"Then I'll..."

"I know! It's your job to take care of her! So get going!" Riku cried, running off along the bridge.


"Riku, here's some advice for the future." Corita hissed as she ran to him after avoiding Lexaeus's giant tomahawk weapon. "DON'T DO ANYTHING THAT'LL GET YOU BLOWN UP"

"Like I'm gonna just let him call me a frail-hearted craven!" Riku hissed back.

"Good point."

Riku and Corita parted as Lexaeus shot another blast of darkness in their direction. Riku started slashing at him with his sword, and Corita ran to the side to blast him with spells.

"YOU FRAIL-HEARTED CRAVEN!" Lexaeus roared, preparing to strike Riku with his weapon.

"Hey, Mr. Muscles!" Corita cried. "Over here!"

Lexaeus turned to Corita's voice, causing Riku to get in a few slashes and avoid being struck by Lexeaus's weapon. Enraged,
Lexaeus turned back to Riku and shot a blast of darkness at him. Even someone like Lexaeus couldn't miss a target 2 feet away, and Riku was knocked backwards by the blast.

"Riku!" Corita cried for the second time within 10 minutes. Riku got up off the ground again, and something strange happened. He began to glow with a dark aura; it surrounded him and entered his body...entered his heart. A flash of dark light and a cry from Riku later, and Riku was slashing at Lexaeus dressed in his clothes of darkness - a symbol of his dark powers.

Corita blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes. Riku, the one who'd been fighting the darkness...was using darkness in battle!


"The island's breaking up!" Sora cried as he tried his best to keep his balance. Everywhere, the ground shook and coconuts flew out of the trees. Sora looked up, and even the sun was fading...everything was going dark...
He looked behind him, and something was rising from his shadow...
Darkside had returned to fight him.

Sora53: DUN DUN DUN!
Sora Fangirls: Poor Sora has to fight Darkside AGAIN!
Naminé: Sora53, you actually put a bit of fighting in! Congrats!
Sora53: Well, since there aren't people turning into cards all over the place, why not?
Joe: Corita, you got to fight again! How does it feel?
Corita: Get away from me. I'm not in the mood.
Fans: What's wrong?
Corita: Darkness, that's what!
Sora Fangirls: At least you're not a frail-hearted craven like Riku!
Riku Fangirls: WE HEARD THAT!
-fight between Sora and Riku Fangirls-
Sora53: ...-