AN: Okay, let me tell you right now that this isn't the last chapter. It was supposed to be, but the chappie was turning out so long that I decided to break it up into another one. I mean, it was 17 pages and I still wasn't done writing it, so I knew it was best to break it up into two chappies. So now I have here a 10 page chappie. The second-to-last-chappie. For sure, the next chappie will be the last. I am almost done with the story, so I know I won't have to break it up again. And then of course is the epilogue, which I'll probably write after I update in DDR elite. It's been really hard to write because there was so much going on and I didn't really know exactly what was going to happen. But I'm slowly finishing it up. I should have the final chappie up soon. Enjoy!
Mr. Moogle: Hello reviewers! Long time no see! Just so you know, Aliasfan still owns nothing.
Chapter 23: No Where To Run, No Where To Hide
"Are we there yet?" Riku asked, still trudging along in the dark tunnel, saying the overused line every child says on a long car trip.
"For the billionth time, no!" Evelsone shouted. The tunnel did seem a bit longer to him than before, but he knew this was the right way. "How're you holding up back there, Jahu?"
No answer.
"Jahu!" Evelsone yelled, spinning around. Jahu was lying on the ground ten feet back. "Why didn't you guys help her!"
"Er…sorry…" Sora said, scratching the back of his head. "I didn't notice…"
Jahu slowly got up as Evelsone ran up to her. "Mesna?"
"I'm here, Jahu. What happened?" Evelsone asked, concerned. He knelt on the dirty ground next to her.
"I don't know…I just…fainted again or something." Jahu rubbed her eyes. "It's okay, I'll be fine."
"M-maybe you should go back with Vern and the others. They'll take care of you back at the gummi ship." Evelsone suggested.
No, son, what are you doing? The Mystique Heart must be destroyed along with the three keyblade masters. You can't just let her go!
Ansem, just watch me.
Boy, I swear, if you let her leave I'll-
You'll do what?
…
That's right, nothing.
"G-go back?" Jahu dusted herself off. "I can't go back. I want to be here with you guys."
"But you're too weak." Evelsone said, grabbing Jahu's hand. "I don't want to see you get hurt…" I…know she's the Mystique Heart…she's supposed to be killed…but…she's my friend…and I can't let her die…because…I love her…
Jahu looked up at Evelsone. "Y-you're…crying…Don't cry! I won't get hurt, I promise!"
You can't keep that promise. If you stay here…the Heartless will kill you… "No…you have to go back…"
Jahu started to cry as well. "Mesna…don't worry about me." Jahu said, wiping away his tears. Jahu knew that Mesna loved her. She had heard him say it when she used her powers on herself. She didn't know if she should say anything. It'd be better if I wait for him to talk to me about it… "You know I don't like seeing other people cry…" she said, staring into his eyes. His…his eyes aren't the same…as they used to be. They aren't as lively as they once were…they seem…dark…Suddenly Jahu jerked back, her eyes turning white. It's…happening…
Jahu felt a strange sensation enter her body. She began to see dark black swirls all around. There was little light to be found. It seemed as if the light and dark were in a sort of battle. Jahu couldn't tell who was winning, but the amount of darkness she saw was unsettling. Then she began to hear the voices, which scared her. It seems like there are two voices but…is that possible?
At first she heard a deep voice she didn't recognize…
Didn't you remember? They tried to get me out of you. So, what better way than to cut you open?
Evelsone? Evelsone? This is not you. This is the old you. The old you loved Jahu. The old you didn't want power. That was your weaker self. You are not Mesna anymore, remember? Now you are Evelsone.
Listen to me Evelsone! This girl is nothing but trouble. She will only ruin our plans. The mystique heart…
Evelsone, you tell me that you want to be strong but you also want to love this girl. I tell you that you cannot have both. Loving this girl will only make you weak. If true power is what you seek, then no love can be in your heart. Every single nook and cranny of your heart needs to be filled with darkness. Not even a hint of light!
Jahu could tell her heart was beating faster and faster. Is there a way to save Mesna from this darkness? There must be…because…I saw some light in his heart…he is not…totally gone from us…
That's right…lead them to the door to darkness…
Darkness? Jahu though to herself. It's…a trap!
No, son, what are you doing? The Mystique Heart must be destroyed along with the three keyblade masters. You can't just let her go!
Jahu felt a huge knot in her stomach. This can't be happening…this isn't real…Ansem…can't be inside Mesna…Wait…he said…Evelsone…he…he can't be evil…but…what's going on…I'm so confused…Jahu continued to listen to the voice, but this time it was Mesna speaking…
Ansem…you're right. Love will only get in my way. After all, I don't even know if she loves me back…so why bother trying, right?
What? I know the old me was weak. I don't want to be weak, I want to be strong. The old me loved Jahu…and the new me still loves her. I had almost forgotten about her in my heart. But now that I can see her beautiful face and hear her voice, I don't want to let that go. I don't and I won't…
I…know she's the Mystique Heart…she's supposed to be killed…but…she's my friend…and I can't let her die…because…I love her…
Jahu wanted to cry out. I was right…there is hope…Evel- Mesna still has love in his heart…I must save him…but…how? He…he…wants to kill…the three keyblade masters…and Ansem wants him to kill me too…
Jahu could tell she was fading back into reality. She took one last look at Evelsone's heart…and saw the ugliest face she'd even seen. He had a wide, twisted grin and an evil look in his eyes. His raspy voice called out to her…
You know the truth, so now you must die…
"NNNNOOOoooo!" Jahu screamed, her eyes changing back as she came to.
Mickey, Riku, and Sora were already by her side. "What happened? Are you alright!" Sora exclaimed.
Jahu was in tears, her head throbbing wildly as she looked up at Evelsone. She was met with a pair of angry eyes.
"What have you done!" Evelsone yelled, shaking her violently. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!"
Jahu began to cry even more. Mickey pushed Evelsone away. "Mesna, what do you think you are doing? She was only using her powers on you!"
"Jahu, what's wrong!" Sora asked anxiously.
Jahu could feel her breaths getting shorter. "I…I…Mesna…he…I heard…" Jahu tried to tell the others about Mesna and his plans…but she was too exhausted. Since she still hadn't recovered from using her powers on all of the defenders, using it even one more time was one time too much. Jahu started mumbling, and then fell back down, collapsing on the ground from all of the stress and fatigue.
"Jahu!" Sora cried out. He shook her, trying to get her to wake up. "Jahu!"
Riku got up and shoved Evelsone against the wall. "What'd you do to her, you bastard!"
Evelsone shoved Riku back. "I didn't do anything! She's the one who did something to me!"
Mickey breathed out hard. "What did she hear?" Mickey asked, recalling the few words that Jahu managed to get out.
Evelsone folded his arms. "How am I supposed to know?"
"Well, Jahu seemed pretty upset when she came back. Why do you think that is, Mesna?" Mickey asked with suspicion.
"I…I don't know! I haven't done anything wrong!" Evelsone yelled.
See…I told you that girl was nothing but trouble. You should have disposed of her a long time ago. Because you got too close, because you cared, she was able to use her powers on you, and now look what she's done…
"Are you telling us the truth?" Sora asked.
"What did Jahu want to tell us?" Riku questioned.
Look what you've done…
Evelsone grabbed his hair, bending his knees. "Just…shut up! All of you!" He looked up to find everyone had stopped and was staring at him. Evelsone didn't know what to do, so he did the first thing that came to mind.
He ran.
"Mesna! Come back here!"
Evelsone could hear the keyblade wielders yelling at him, and he could hear them running after him, but he didn't look back. My plans…will not be ruined…I must get to the door…and unleash the Heartless…Grr…how long is this stupid tunnel!
Evelsone kept running. He felt as if he'd never reach the door, but then…
It was there. Like the light at the end of a tunnel. Except it wasn't light…it was…darkness…
I must act quickly…Evelsone though to himself. The door to darkness stood there, tall and inviting. Evelsone faced the door, breathed in the darkness, and lifted his hands.. "I call upon the darkness. I call upon the Heartless. It is I…your master. The master of all that is and all that will be."
Sora and Mickey reached the door first, with Riku carrying Jahu not too far behind.
"Mesna!" Sora yelled. "What are you doing! Wait…this…this isn't the door to the light!" Sora could see the darkness seeping from the door. "It's the door to-"
"Darkness…yes…" Evelsone turned around, his eyes now blood red. "Unleash your powers and use your strength to crush the enemy!" The darkness that was seeping suddenly shot out, and the door to darkness opened.
The keyblade wielders' eyes opened wide as they were met with thousands and thousands of Heartless. All of the Heartless poured out. Evelsone held a hand up, and they all stopped behind him.
"Why are you doing this?" Sora asked, readying his keyblade.
"Why should I answer your question? It won't matter, because you'll be dead before the day's end." Evelsone said, an evil grin forming on his face. Power…I have…power…
"You have to stop this! You don't know what you're doing!" Mickey pleaded.
"I know exactly what I'm doing." Evelsone said, smirking. "Don't try to beg for me to stop. Mercy lives far from this heart…"
"But don't you care about Jahu?" Riku said, still holding her.
Evelsone glared at the boy. "She nearly ruined my plans…so now she will suffer the same fate as you three." The Heartless began screaming, clawing at the ground. "My minions are becoming impatient…and I am too. The time has come." Evelsone raised his hand, then snapped his fingers. "Die."
The battle was on.
The Heartless seemed to rain down on them like a storm. Riku ran to the entrance to the cavern, laying Jahu on the ground. He stood in front of her. "Anyone who wants to get to her…has to get through me first…" That's exactly what the Heartless tried to do.
"So," Riku yelled to Sora, "Are you gonna fight? Or do you still see these Heartless as just innocent human beings?"
"You were right," Sora admitted in defeat. "They may have been innocent human beings, but they aren't now. I don't want to…but I can't help but do this…" Sora said, swinging at a yellow opera. There seemed to be both weak and strong Heartless in the mix.
"I wish Goofy and Donald were here to help!" Mickey shouted, using Firaga on a defender. The defender took the hit but continued towards Mickey, taking a huge swipe at him. He missed, but just as soon as Mickey had dodged it, another Heartless swung at Mickey, knocking him to the ground.
"There's so many of them!" Sora yelled. He jumped away from a shadow, slamming the keyblade into its back. Then he swung the keyblade around in one large swipe to knock away the other incoming Heartless.
Riku slashed violently at the three Invisibles in front of him. He was having a hard time protecting Jahu and attacking at the same time. One of the Invisibles flew into the air, trying to fly over Riku to get to Jahu. Riku struck it with his keyblade, but because he focused his attention on it that left him wide open for an attack by the other two Invisibles. They slashed at Riku's chest. Riku doubled over in pain. "Ahhh!"
"Riku!" Sora shouted, trying to concentrate on both his friends and the Heartless. "Thundaga!" Sora's spell struck many Heartless surrounding him. "Riku, are you okay!"
"Curaga!" Riku yelled. The pain wasn't that bad. The wound was still there, but now it wouldn't stop Riku from fighting. "I'm…okay…sorta…" Riku said, swinging his blade and killing the two Invisibles in front of him. He turned back to see that Jahu was still untouched.
Evelsone stood on a small, rocky platform, watching the scene that unfolded in front of him. "You cannot destroy them all!" he laughed. "You cannot destroy me!"
"I don't know how much longer we can hold out!" Mickey exclaimed, surveying the huge cavern. There were still thousands of Heartless, and they all looked ready to kill.
"Not much longer…" Sora said, using Curaga on a gash made by a neoshadow. "There's so many of them…I think there's only one thing we can do…"
"No…" Riku whined. "Don't tell me we hafta…"
Sora dodged the attack of a defender. "It's the only way we'll get out of here alive!"
Mickey sliced his way through some Heartless, making his way to Sora. "If running is the only thing we can do, then let's do it!"
Sora nodded, and both he and Mickey stuck out their blades, ramming into Heartless as they ran to the entrance. Riku cast Graviga then lifted Jahu up.
"Admitting defeat, eh?" Evelsone said, smirking. "I love a foe who can tell when he's weak."
"We're not weak!" Sora yelled out. "We are strong! Strong enough to defeat you and these Heartless!"
"Then stay here and show me that what you say is true." Evelsone jumped off of the rock. It looked like he was about to land on top of some Heartless but they moved at the perfect time, allowing Evelsone to land on the ground. Evelsone raised his hand, and instantly all of the Heartless stopped.
"We don't have to prove anything to you!" Mickey yelled.
"That's right." Evelsone said calmly. "You don't need to prove to me that you can beat me, because I already know that you can't."
"I don't need to stand here and allow him to say those things…" Riku said through gritted teeth, marching up to Evelsone.
"Stop!" Sora said, pulling Riku back. "We need to get back to the ship. From there, we can fly off to safety and think of a strategy. Then you can come back and kick his butt, okay?"
Riku grumbled, but agreed. "Alright, let's go!" The three keyblade wielders ran out of the entrance and through the dark tunnel.
Evelsone made his way to the tunnel entrance and watched the three run until they were out of sight. Then he turned around. "My creatures of darkness, show me how dark you really are! In five minutes I want the keyblade wielders dead…and the mystique heart as well, along with any others you find at the ship. Now, do my bidding. Go!"
The Heartless immediately headed for the entrance, thousands of Heartless trying to squeeze past one point all at the same time. "Go! Go!" Make no mistake about it…I will get what I want…
Riku, Sora, and King Mickey ran as hard as they could through the dark, winding tunnel. "C'mon!" Sora yelled to Riku, who for once was running slower than Sora. "We have to get to the ship before Mes-Evelsone does!"
"Cut me some slack here, I'm running as fast as I can! Just to let you know, I'm carrying a girl weighing at least 100 pounds here!" Riku shouted back, pumping his legs.
Though Mickey had short legs, he was able to run quite fast. "I can't believe this is happening…" Mickey stated in shock.
"I know!" Sora agreed, still running. "I never knew he would do this to us…"
"C'mon!" Riku whined. "How long is this stupid tunnel?" As if on command, the three wielders could see the two other paths come into view.
"Good! We're already at the fork in the road. We can't be too much farther now!" Mickey exclaimed.
Sweat was dripping off of Riku's brow. He wiped it off, panting hard.
"Riku," Sora called out, noting Riku's fatigue. "Do you want me to carry Jahu?"
"And end up dropping her after taking two steps? I don't think so." Riku responded. "I can handle it. Mickey said we're almost there."
Sora nodded, turning his thoughts back to the events that just occurred. Why is he doing this to us? I can't believe I thought he was my friend…was he playing me this whole time?
Some rocks were scattered on the ground, and since Sora wasn't paying attention, he tripped, falling to the ground. Riku stopped as Mickey lifted Sora up.
"Are you alright?" Mickey asked, concerned.
Sora brushed off his clothes and wiped the blood and bits of rock from his knees. "Yah, I'll be okay. Just keep running. No matter what, keep running."
The three continued to run again. Sora kept looking back to make sure the Heartless and Evelsone weren't too close behind them. I feel like such an idiot…running away…but if we stayed we would've been killed…
"There were too many of them." Mickey said, seeming to have read Sora's thoughts. "It's best that we go back to the ship, heal up, and think of a strategy. Plus, Donald, Goofy, and the others will be able to help us fight."
Sora nodded, building up more confidence in the choice they had to make.
"I think I see some light!" Riku yelled to Sora and Mickey. Sure enough, they could see the cave opening straight ahead.
"We're almost there!" Mickey exclaimed happily.
Sora smiled. "Good, 'cause my legs hurt so much I feel like I'm about to-"
Sora paused as he emerged from the tunnel. Riku and Mickey ran out as well, stopping at the sight they were witnessing.
The darkness that filled the world only seemed to grow more. The hope that Sora and the others had for surviving became very small at that moment. For there in the open void…was nothing.
Riku fell to his knees, laying Jahu on the ground in front of him. "The ship…where's the ship…"
Mickey kept walking forward, as if somehow the gummi ship would magically appear into view, but it didn't.
Sora just stood there, gazing at what he wished wasn't there. "-die."
"How very right you are, Sora. You will die."
Riku grabbed Jahu and ran to Mickey as Sora whirled around to see Evelsone standing at the cave entrance. "You…" Sora said angrily.
"Who me?" Evelsone asked, pointing to himself. Then he snapped his fingers and folded his arms. "Or them?" The Heartless that the three keyblade wielders had tried so hard to escape from emerged from behind Evelsone. Then Evelsone started chuckling.
"What so funny?" Riku spat, sparks forming in his hands as the keyblade materialized.
"Why, you are." Evelsone said bluntly. "I mean, c'mon, did you really think you could get away? This is my game. No one leaves till I say so. I am the king and queen of the chessboard. My Heartless are the rooks, bishops, and knights. And of course, that leaves you to be my pawns, though you've already been that for quite some time now."
Sora's anger boiled over. "You betrayed us!" he screamed, running up to Evelsone with his keyblade in hand. Sora swung his keyblade to strike him but a shadow jumped in the way, the darkness spewing everywhere as the keyblade ripped it in half.
Evelsone seemed unfazed by the whole thing. "It's useless to try and defeat me. Too bad your little friends aren't here." Evelsone said, kicking up dirt on the ground. "Oh well, they'll come back. And when they do, they'll find you all slaughtered, and then they'll suffer the same fate as you."
"Stop it! Stop it!" Sora yelled, slashing the keyblade wildly at Evelsone. Even though Sora was attacking Evelsone, it seemed as if a Heartless was always in front of him, sacrificing himself to save the master.
Mickey intervened, pulling Sora away from Evelsone. "Sora, it's no use." Sora tried to pull from Mickey's grasp, but he couldn't and ended up falling to the ground.
"Mickey is right. It's no use. Just give up now." Evelsone smirked.
Mickey furrowed his brows. "I mean it's no use trying to attack you right now. Once we defeat all of the Heartless, there'll be nothing left to defend you. That's when we can kill you."
Evelsone shook his head, the tone of his voice getting darker. "Listen up you little pipsqueak, you won't be able to defeat me, let alone the Heartless."
Mickey countered his response by summoning the keyblade. Riku walked in front of Jahu, taking a fighting stance, and Sora got up, his keyblade already summoned in his hands.
"Ooh…" Evelsone said, putting his hands behind his head. "Let's see you try."
Sora wimpered slightly as déjà vu crept up to him. "How are we gonna kill all these Heartless?" Sora said lowly to Riku and Mickey. "It's not like we've gotten any stronger by running all the way here."
Mickey put his hand on Sora's shoulder. "We can't give up. We have to believe everything will work out."
Riku was pounding with fury, his anger ready to be unleashed…again. "Let's get this over with so we can go home." Riku said to Evelsone. "I'm hungry."
Evelsone laughed devilishly, raising his hands up high into the air. "So are they…"
As soon as Evelsone brought his hands down, the Heartless poured from the mouth of the cave, seeming to surround the three in an instant. The keyblade wielders quickly formed a circle around Jahu, who was still unconscious. It seemed as if they had defeated more of the artificial heartless, because they only saw the pure darkness ones, like shadows, neoshadows, and invisibles.
"Last time you were able to run away, but now that your ship is gone, there is no where else to go. You'll just have to face me." Evelsone said.
"And we will…" Sora said, gripping his keyblade tightly. The ship…why did they leave? Where could they be? We need them…