"Quit while you can." Spoke Riku in an arrogant tone. Sora just shook his head with an act of stubbornness.
"No! Not with out Kairi!" Riku just shook his head in pity.
"The darkness will destroy you!" He yelled as he opened his heart and called forth the darkness to his aid transforming himself into a new suit. It was purple mixed with some red on each arm. Two belts that crossed below and around a small cape. The most noticeable thing was the black heartless insignia that was plaited on his chest.
Sora stood in his place with no look of fear of the new look of his former best friend. He still believed he was talking to Riku his best friend.
"You're wrong, Riku. The darkness may destroy my body, but it can't touch my heart. My heart will stay with my friends. It'll never die!" He placed his hand over his chest. Riku looked at him with an amused look while Goofy and Donald looked on with nervous looks at each other. Not knowing what to do.
"Really... Well, we'll just see about that!" Then it happened so fast that Sora didn't have time to think or act. Riku had stuck out his hand and cast from it a small orb of dark energy to the direction where Sora was preaching. It happened so fast that Sora didn't even have time to blink. It's all over he thought, but then in an instant a blur of black mixed with green flashed in front of Sora and blocked off the attack. It was Goofy who protected Sora from the blast much to Sora and Riku's surprise.
"Sora ain't gonna go anywhere! " Yelled the knight. Riku looked at Goofy with a perplexed look.
"You'd betray your king?" Goofy just shook his head in disbelief.
"Not on your life! But I'm not gonna betray Sora, either, 'cause he's become one of my best buddies after all we've been through together!" Goofy turned over to look at his old friend standing next to Riku, trapped between duty and friendship.
"See ya later, Donald. Could ya tell the king I'm really sorry?" He asked in a pleading voice. The powerful mage jumped up in down with excitement.
"Hold on, Goofy! We'll tell him together." The tempered duck ran or more like waddled over to his two comrades and looked at Sora with a sheepish look.
"Well, you know... All for one and one for all." Goofy then turned around and looked at Sora with one of his trademark goofy smiles.
"I guess your stuck with us Sora." Sora looked down at his shoes in order to hide his tears that were threatened to come out.
"Thanks a lot Goofy…Donald," but he couldn't let them see them, and he especially couldn't let Riku see them. Thinking of Riku pushed back the tears and made his eyes turn from gentle blue eyes, to a frozen gaze that met on Riku's face.
Riku just looked at the trinity with a look of confusing. They would give up their titles, and respect of their king just for Sora? It didn't add up to him. From the looks of things all Sora would do is cast magic since he could break his wooden toy in two. Goofy and Donald would be the only two really fighting and they shouldn't be a problem. "(Yes)" the young platinum warrior thought with a smug look on his perfect face. "(This won't be a problem. I need to test out this keyblade anyway and see if Sora even was using it probably.)" He looked up at Sora and decided to gloat him with his choice of weapon.
"How will you fight without a weapon?" Sora just shook his head like it was the obvious answer.
"I know now I don't need the Keyblade. I've got a better weapon. My heart." The dark swordsmen bit back a laugh and answered back with a cocky attitude.
"Your heart? What good will that weak little thing do for you?" Sora just shook his head in disappointment, and at his ignorance. It seemed that his old friend had changed since he last saw him a few months ago.
"Although my heart may be weak, it's not alone. It's grown with each new experience, and it's found a home with all the friends I've made. I've become a part of their heart just as they've become a part of mine. And if they think of me now and then...if they don't forget me...then our hearts will be one. I don't need a weapon. My friends are my power!" Riku just gave a short chuckle.
"(Such a fool. Preaching till the end.)" Then the arrogant teen felt a jerk in his hand and looked down to see his trophy had vanished and then to his surprise it transported it self back to it's rightful owner. Sora gripped the holy weapon into a fighting stance and took his place in front of his two companions.
"Riku please give up now." Riku just gave an angry growl at his former best friend and yelled back.
"Come then Sora! Come show me the power of your weak heart!"
"It is your heart that is becoming weak Riku!" Sora jumped into the air to strike down at his old friend only to see that he wasn't in the same spot anymore. Riku moved to the left in time to dodge Sora's hit and draw out his evil looking batwing sword Soul Eater. Drawing in time to parry the next attack from Sora's keyblade and countering with his own with lightning reflexes. Goofy moved on Riku and used a tornado ability on Riku, but he saw it coming from a mile away and he easily jumped over his attempt and attacked him from behind and pushed him in the way of Donald's way stopping him from casting a spell. Sora ran to Riku and continued striking at Riku's sword arm in order to disarm him since he had no intentions of killing his childhood friend. Riku was surprised from the pain and in doing so gave Sora the chance to hit another combo on him. Riku blocked some hits and countered with his own, but Sora had guarded against everyone as if he read the attacks from a book. After fighting Riku back home for years Sora had memorized his sword style for years, but the same could be said about Riku.
He saw some hits coming and deflected them and striked a slash on Sora's face. Sora ignored the blood coming out of the small cut as he dodged rolled out of the way of Riku's horizontal strike coming to finish Sora and returned with an Arms Arcum. Riku was just about to counter when a heavy hit was sent to his head and sent him falling to the floor. It was Goofy who had used a rocket technique against Riku to send him back against the wall. Riku blinked away the stars flying around his head and returned his focus as Goofy came with another rocket attack right as him as he was pinned against the wall. Riku flipped over Goofy letting him run into the wall and returned to Sora as he came behind Goofy's attack and clashed his blade against Riku who blocked it and elbowed him in the face and strike through his stomach with incredible speed and then used the darkness to push him back as he turned his attention to Goofy who had charged again only to meet head on with Riku's attack and then become a victim of another. Donald had cast Aeroa on Goofy just as he hit the suit of armor Goofy had fell into and then cast Cura on Sora who had just got up. Riku gave a groan.
(The stupid Duck can heal damnit!) He thought. With in an instant Riku had called forth the powers of darkness as the gruesome swordsmen jumped over to behind Donald ready to put an end to the feathered annoyance and get back to Kairi. Donald had just sensed him as he cast Gravia on Riku to slow down his attempt and call forth a Fira to push him off. Riku had felt the pain, but with the darkness he ignored the burnt in his suit, or the cuts and tares made by Sora. He just cast another orb of darkness to the wizard to destroy his presence from his sight, but the magical duck had cast Aeroa as the blast came to a hit. Goofy had glided over to catch Donald as he flew back into the doors as Sora charged against Riku forcing him to go backwards in defensive up the stairs.
The two swordsmen striked at each other in hopes of an opening. They seemed at an equal which frustrated the living hell out of Riku since he had the darkness on his side, while Sora had his weak heart. Sora just appeared calm. He knew that Riku had indeed become stronger, and that he was faster than before all the Heartless, and keyblade stuff ever happened. Where Riku was the strongest as he was reminded time and time again.
"(Not this time!) He thought. "(I will never give up!)" Sora had advanced on Riku who had jumped in the air and had landed on the second floor up the stairs in front of the entrance. Sora had followed him as he came in with a vortex swing to which the Heartless warrior jumped over and came in with a thrust to Sora's neck. Sora had barely dodged by a hair as he used his dodge roll to roll underneath him and use the time to cast Cura on himself. Riku saw him cast the spell in the corner of his eye and he gave his rival a growl of hatred.
"(He can heal himself too! Is this the gift of the Light?)" Riku didn't have time to wonder as the Keyblade Master came down on him with a Blitz attack that had landed going across the Heartless symbol on the silver haired fighter's chest as he stood bleeding. Riku pushed back against Sora in order to get him in the corner, but it failed as Sora jumped over him and gilded over to the edge. Riku called forth the darkness once again as he jumped to his rival to push him off. Sora saw him approach with a calm expression he jumped to the side and striked his giant key to Riku's head. Riku blocked it and moved to the side and slashed his sword against his ribs that made contact. Blood stained Sora's jacket, but he ignored his pain and thrust his own attack that Riku pushed to the side and countered only to be blocked and used the force against him as Sora used his Arms Arcum against his old friend and push him off the high ground to fall into the fountain. It failed as Riku gained his control in mid air and landed in front of the fountain.
The swordsmen didn't have time to breath as Donald had returned to the fight by casting Thundara spells to keep Riku busy on his feet one right after another Donald cast to wear down his endurance. Sora watched the battle go on from above and an idea came to him!
"Donald Goofy get him to the fountain!" The two avatars nodded as Goofy attacked Riku head on and Donald casted spell after spell to push the young silver haired teen to the fountain. Sora had jumped off and glided over to the doors while his two friends distracted Riku. Sora saw Riku standing where he was the moment he first walked into the room and that was all he needed.
"Donald! Goofy! Move out of the way!" The Keyblade Master yelled out with excitement. The two animals didn't need to be told twice as they dived out of the way letting a straight opening for their leader.
Sora had concentrated all his power he had left into this one Strike Raid. Time seemed to have slowed down like a Stop spell was cast around the whole room. Donald and Goofy diving opposite sides, Sora standing there with his hand out from throwing the keyblade towards Riku who just noticed the attack as it was right in front of him. It was too late. The attack went right at his chest hitting him into the water. He fell in and strangled to get up on his knees. His dark uniform had disappeared and he stood in a weakened form. With whatever dignity he had left he ran to the left and went through the door to the library and pulled out a book through a secret passage, but as he ran through a hall he tripped and fell to the ground, not evening bothering to get up as he was dripping wet with water in the ground mixed with some blood. They had shown mercy to him, but he felt like dying. It was there that Riku had fallen to the power of three hearts.
Next chapter: "Is that…?"
"Yes. A keyblade, but unlike yours."
"So I see the path has emerged at last."