Disclaimer: (I figured I should put one of these in somewhere)

All characters are © to Square-enix and Disney. Story belongs to me (hybred)

Chapter Four – Cloaked in Red

They slowly trudged up the mountainside, seeing the castle as it loomed over their heads. The rain seemed heavier now, and the shadows were a lot larger. That could only mean more Heartless. Squall held his gunblade as he walked, just as Dagger held onto her weapons. There hadn't been any sign of Heartless, but they couldn't be too careful.

As Squall entered the city for the second time that day, a cold shiver ran down his spine. He stared up at the castle as they walked, and noticed that it seemed even larger and darker than the last time. It would take them hours to search the whole thing, and by then, it could already be too late. Dagger looked around hesitantly as they climbed the stairs to reach the castle.

"So … you haven't told me your name yet." She said, and he could sense the nerves in her throat.

"Leon." He said gruffly. "And if you're scared you don't have to come in with me."

"Scared?" She replied, laughing nervously. "I'm just worried they'll do something to hurt Vivi…"

Just what is Vivi anyway? He thought, but said nothing more. He wasn't really interested in talking just then. They had reached the castle, and it now seemed even bigger than before. Squall gripped his gunblade tighter when he noticed the Heartless insignia on the large doors.

"Get ready…" He said, as he pushed all his weight against them, and they slowly opened. It was dark inside. It was the perfect place for the Heartless to live. They stepped inside, and he scanned the area as his eyes adjusted slowly to the dark. There was a faint glow in the distance, and he noticed another Heartless crest on the wall. He guessed they'd just have to follow it. He felt Dagger move closer to him, and he could sense her fear. He just hoped it wouldn't attract anything dangerous.

They approached the symbol and found a room with a set of stairs leading down. Squall carefully descended the stairs. As they reached the bottom they found an odd room, where the walls were glowing green. There was a single pathway in the centre, but on either side there was no floor, just a sheer drop into a pit of water below, where the glow was coming from. Squall noticed another insignia on the other side of the room, so he stepped onto the pathway, carefully following it to the other side. He was starting to find it weird that no Heartless had attacked them yet.

When he got to the other side of the path, he found it was nothing more than a dead end. Before the insignia was a statue of some sort, but there was nowhere to go.

"What now?" Dagger asked, looking around for something else. Squall followed her gaze as she looked at the water but he shook his head. They weren't going down there.

"There must be somewhere else in the castle." He said, turning to walk across the pathway again, when a tremor shot through the ground. The world around them began to shake, and Squall lost his balance. The pathway suddenly didn't feel stable anymore, as bits of rock fell from the ceiling. Dagger screamed as she grabbed onto Squall for support, and almost as quickly as it started the small earthquake stopped. Slowly, Squall got to his feet, holding his gunblade before him.

"What was –" Dagger began, but she never had the chance to finish. There was a loud roar as a huge snakelike creature emerged from their right, just as the water sprayed all over them. It was dark, nothing more than a shadow, and Squall realised that it was a Heartless. Dagger stumbled backwards, knocking one of the candles out of place and the wall suddenly shifted behind them, revealing two seats on something that looked like a rollercoaster. Without even realising, Squall had grabbed Dagger's hand and ran for the chairs, just as the Heartless dove down to bite at them. Before they'd even sat down properly, belts came out of nowhere and strapped the two in, and the chairs began to roll down the tracks, moving quickly away from the Heartless.

But the Heartless was persistent and it followed them through the tunnel. Squall suddenly wished they hadn't gone for the chairs at all. He felt like a sitting duck! He held his gunblade in his hand, but the seatbelts wouldn't let him move his arms. The Heartless was just about ready to snap at them again when they suddenly dropped down, and Squall felt something force itself over his head. They stopped abruptly, and the seatbelts released them. Squall felt as if he'd left his stomach on the other side of the ride…

He looked up, and saw the Heartless racing after them. He grabbed Dagger's arm again and moved her out of the way. The Heartless crashed into the seats they had been sitting in just moments before, destroying them on impact. It stopped moving, but didn't disappear, and Squall knew it hadn't been defeated.

"Dagger!" A voice called out suddenly, and their attention was drawn away from the Heartless.

"Vivi!"

"Leno!"

"Kuzco!"

Vivi and Kuzco were lying in chairs and were strapped down with belts, and beside them stood Kronk and Yzma, who was holding a staff in her hand. It was long and dark, matching her dress, and there was an orb on top which Squall noticed was glowing darkly. The Heartless shifted behind them, its eyes had changed to the same colour as Yzma's orb. Squall was confused. He'd never seen a Heartless whose eyes had changed colour…

"It's so nice of you to join us." Yzma leered. "I'll bet your wondering why that Heartless is no longer attacking you…"

"It's this orb! It has the power to destroy the Heartless!" Kronk said suddenly, and Yzma cast him a dark look.

"You know, I can't get the whole evil mistress thing down with you interrupting me."

Kronk smiled at her sheepishly.

"But yes, it's this orb. We've obtained the power to control the Heartless, and this one's been specifically designed to take the emperor's heart! Ahahahahahaha! This one's been designed specifically to take the emperor's heart. Not that he has a pure heart or anything, but with the emperor out of the way finding one with a pure heart will be easy as pie!"

"I make a great pie." Kronk said, and Yzma hit him over the head.

"In any case, taking the emperor's heart is not the only thing this baby can do…" She said, and the orb suddenly burned a bright yellow. The Heartless' eyes changed and it noticed Squall and Dagger. It let out another roar and dived for them, just as Squall brought his gunblade in front of him and slashed at the creature...

He didn't even get a chance to hit it.

There was an explosion of gunfire behind him and bullets came flying out of nowhere. The Heartless was stunned for a moment, but it regained itself as more bullets were fired. Squall looked around for the shooter, but he couldn't find the source. They really did seem to be coming from nowhere…

Squall lifted his blade, deciding that the bullets weren't enough to stop the Heartless. He slashed at its body, as the bullets continued to smack it in the head. He heard Yzma cry out "What's going on!" and he could hear Kuzco saying something, but he couldn't make it out. The creature, unable to find the source of the bullets, suddenly became very interested in Squall, and was snapping at him with its massive jaws. He moved his blade so that he knocked it in the side of the head and it was forced back, just as a bullet hit it square between the eyes.

The creature stumbled, and it quickly decreased in size, until it was no more. Squall turned to find that Dagger had jumped on Yzma, and was now holding a knife to her throat. Kuzco had managed to release himself from his straps and was biting Kronk on the arm, while Vivi had run to a nearby cupboard and was now rummaging through it.

"Kronk you idiot! Can't you do anything right!" Yzma yelled, as Dagger pushed the knife into her throat a little deeper.

"I'm doing my best!" He cried back, trying to knock Kuzco away. With nothing better to do, Yzma started swearing at Kronk, telling him what a pathetic man he'd been, that even a twig could do a better job than him and "I've never liked your spinach puffs!"

Kronk stopped mid-punch, and Kuzco let out a gasp. He stood there for a moment, letting what Yzma had said sink in, and there were tears in his eyes. Finally, he straightened up, and walked over to the cupboard that Vivi was in, and pulled out a vial. He walked over to Yzma, who started to panic and he opened the contents and poured it over her face. She cried out, and Dagger lost her grip on her. Yzma started to squirm around, as a purple pink smoke engulfed her. Her body started changing shape, and the smoke had covered her completely and she screamed out in pain.

There was a small explosion, and the smoke started to clear, and in Yzma's place was the cutest little kitten. Kronk then grabbed another vial, ready to hand it to Kuzco when Yzma burst out laughing. It was odd, hearing her laugh in that catlike voice, and when she hissed at them it only looked even stranger.

"You think you have defeated me?" She sneered squeakily. "Things are only just beginning!" She grabbed onto the orb at the edge of her staff, and a dark smoke seeped from it, curling around Yzma. The smoke grabbed her, pulling her into the orb as it started to grow, darkness leaking out of it as it did.

Kuzco stepped on it. The darkness disappeared, and when Kuzco removed his foot there was nothing but shattered glass.

Kronk had given Kuzco a vial that changed him back to a human instantly. He then explained how Yzma had been so obsessed with taking over the empire that she turned to the Heartless. He wasn't sure where she'd gotten the orb from, or whether there were more in existence, but he knew she'd used it to get stronger. When Kuzco disappeared, she'd stolen the hearts of nearly everyone in the town.

"I guess there's nothing left here then." Kuzco mused, "Did she make it to the village on the mountain?" Kronk shook his head in reply. "Then we must go there and warn them. The Heartless roam this world now thanks to that witch, and we must do all we can to protect what's left of my empire."

Squall was surprised to hear him say this. "I thought you didn't care much for peasants?" He asked, and a smirk flickered on Kuzco's lips.

"What's the point of being an emperor if you've got no one to rule over?"

"I'll go with you." He said, but Kuzco shook his head.

"You've done enough for me Leon. You have your own friend to find."

"She must be in the village anyway. There's nowhere else…"

"Unless she's left by now." Dagger cut in. "You said you had a tracking device? Maybe you should check that out before you go off with Kuzco."

Kuzco nodded. "The girl does have a point. Kronk and I will need to leave immediately anyway."

Squall nodded slowly. As much as he hated to admit it, she did have a point. "All right. If she hasn't left I'll meet you in the village. If not, I guess this is goodbye."

Kuzco nodded, then wished him well and left the dungeon. Squall looked down at Dagger and Vivi, who were looking at him curiously, then he made his way to the smashed orb on the ground. He looked at it for a moment, then bent over to pick it up.

"Do not touch it." A voice said, and he was stunned to find a man before him. He wore a long red cloak, which covered half his face, and had long black hair. Where had he come from? Squall moved slowly to grab his gunblade, but the man was quick and had drawn his gun, aiming it at Squall's head.

"I do not wish to harm you." He said calmly.

"Were you the one shooting before?" Squall asked, even as he stared down the gun's barrel. They had searched everywhere for the source but they couldn't find anything. Yet here was this man, who definitely hadn't been there before.

"Yes. Now if you touch what's left of it, the darkness will consume you." He said, referring to the glass shards on the ground.

"Who are you?" Squall asked.

"A friend," The man said simply. "And I suggest you leave here before the darkness takes you as it has done to this castle."

Squall stared at the man. There was something nagging him at the back of his mind that this man couldn't be trusted, but for some reason he found truth in his words. He couldn't explain it. He wasn't even sure what it was he was feeling.

"Come on Squall." Vivi said suddenly, which made him jump. He'd forgotten that they were even there. "We should go and look for your friend Yuffie now."

"Yuffie?" The man asked suddenly, and Squall looked back at him. His red eyes showed no emotion, but the way he'd said the name told Squall that he knew something. "Your friend is not here." He said slowly. "In fact … I think it might be best if you make your way to Montressor Spaceport."

Squall stared at him blankly. How would he know that? He opened his mouth to ask him again who he was, when he disappeared into the shadows. Squall followed after him, but the man had vanished completely.

"Come on." Dagger said, grabbing his hand. "You're wasting time." Squall looked back into the shadows, but the man really had gone now. "Who was he?" He asked aloud, and Dagger gave him a puzzled look.

"Who was who?" She asked. Squall blinked down at her.

"He was just here! He was just talking to me!" He said, but Dagger only shook her head.

"There's only the three of us." She said and Squall stared at her in disbelief.

"But he was right here!"

"Come on." Vivi repeated. "I think the darkness is doing something to your head."

The darkness… Squall thought. That man had said a lot about the darkness… He looked back one more time, but he couldn't spot the man anywhere. Just what the hell is going on here? He thought, as Dagger and Vivi led him out of the dungeon.

As they approached the gummi ship, Squall couldn't help but notice that Dagger and Vivi had not left him. He remembered distinctly saying that once they'd saved Vivi and Kuzco, he didn't want to work with them anymore. He constantly wondered aloud where their own ship was. "Just a little further." Dagger would say, though Squall found this very hard to believe.

As he reached the ship he stepped inside, and turned on the engines so that his monitor lit up. Sure enough, the little blip that was Yuffie's ship was on the edge of the screen, and nearly out of sight. He looked over to Dagger and Vivi, who still had hopeful looks in their eyes, and he sighed in annoyance.

"All right. Get in."

In the dungeons of Kuzco's castle, the man cloaked in red emerged from the shadows. Staying hidden had always been something he'd been good at, and his stealth was something that he had picked up over the years. As he walked across the ground, he made no sound. Thoughts were racing through his mind as he walked; thoughts that were beginning to confuse him.

They told me Yuffie was dead.

He reached the shattered orb and bent over it, examining it for a moment. The darkness that it had contained had been weak, but it had been enough to control that Heartless, even if it had only been for a little while. He grabbed it, feeling the darkness suddenly flow through his body. It was just what they needed.

It's just what the Sorceress needs to gain control of the darkness.