"Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light."

-Helen Keller

Chapter 9 Dark Horizon

Riding on the back of this creature- Kero, Harry recalled, was much like riding the Hippogriff Buckbeak. The winds whipped at his face, cold and stinging, and the fur, though smooth and soft, began to wear on him.

Inuyasha, true to his word, kept up easily, running at breakneck speed and hoping from rooftop to rooftop. The slight crunch of his feet hitting the ground was effortless, and he almost seemed to be flying, even gliding short distances.

"How much farther!" Harry shouted, glancing back at the boy behind him.

"Almost there." The brown haired boy replied gruffly, pointing towards a shrine within the horizon.

The sun was nearing the end of the afternoon, and the first signs of night were beginning to show, creeping along quietly.

When they landed, Harry hesitantly but thankfully jumped off of the lion's back, feeling his bum quite sore from the ride. The younger boy showed no discomfort, leaping down with practiced ease.

Robin, flushed from the wind and being held so closely, shakily took a few steps away from the angel.

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but a loud voice cut through the courtyard.

"Syaoran!" a loud, relieved voice accompanied a pink blur as it tackled the gruff boy, sending him careening to the floor.

The boy's hard brown eyes softened immediately as he held the blur, which turned out to be a brown haired girl, whose hair was lighter than the more auburn of the boy Syaoran. She glomped him happily, while she fired off question after question. "You're not hurt are you? You didn't get injured, right?"

Smiling gently, his visage changed completely, Syaoran nodded. "Yes, yes. I'm fine, Sakura."

"I was so worried!" the girl buried her head into his chest, and he closed his arms around her tightly.

Robin's eyes softened as she smiled at them, feeling warmed by the emotional display.

Inuyasha, on the other hand, wrinkled his nose and turned away, making a "Keh" noise.

Harry smiled too, and felt that this was why he was out here. To make sure no one lost a loved one, and everyone was safe.

"Oi, brat. Let go of her." The lion, Kero growled, rolling his eyes.

Syaoran scowled at the winged beast, but Sakura merely grinned and looked at him curiously. "You're okay too, right Kero? You too, Yue?"

The angel and the lion both nodded, smiling warmly.

"And our guests... you three are alright, I hope." A third child came into view, sapphire haired with large, round glasses that dominated his face and glimmered his cobalt eyes.

Harry was both unnerved by the intensity of those eyes, and familiar with the sort of presence he exuded. A genial, commanding one, much like Dumbledore. "Ye-yeah, we're okay." He said, unsure as to what to do next.

"Thank you for saving us." Robin, thankfully, kept her head and smiled sincerely, bowing formally. "My name is Robin Sena." Frowning slightly, she looked expectantly at Inuyasha, who was still acting aloof.

"Don't mind Inuyasha. He can be rather stubborn," Harry said smoothly, frowning at the half demon and shrugging helplessly at their rescuers. "My name's Harry, though. Harry Potter."

"You're English." The blue haired boy said, raising a single eyebrow.

Surprised, the Boy-Who-Lived nodded, unsure of himself. "Uh... yeah. But I'm from a different England than the one you probably know." Harry said awkwardly.

Again, the boy simply smiled enigmatically. "I see." The way he said it made you believe that he really did understand the confusing statement. "Well, my name is Eriol Hiiragizawa." He made a slight incline of his head.

With a flourishing sweep of his hand, he gestured to the others. "And you have already met Keroberos," the lion gave a slight nod, "Yue," the angel looked at them impassively, "Syaoran," the brown haired boy stared back defiantly, "And this is Sakura." The girl smiled warmly at them and waved.

"And you three," he continued, "Must be here to deal with the Heartless."

"That's right." Harry said, nodding and setting his jaw firmly.

Eriol continued smiling enigmatically. With a single gesture, he stepped aside, motioning towards the temple. "Then step inside, if you would. We have much to discuss."

Atop a building, across the street, crimson eyes watched with great interest. The Dark Lord Voldemort, clad in a flowing midnight cloak and robe, was hooded, hiding most of his snake-like visage, save for those blood red eyes.

The boy and those two creatures were of little real threat to him, but the blue haired boy and the girl had extraordinarily powerful magical auras. Either one of them would make a good candidate for his experiment.

The Dark Lord frowned. But the boy seemed experienced, and far too much like that old fool Dumbledore to be easily caught. The girl, on the other hand, was young and, although more powerful, was far too inexperienced to ward him off.

The girl then, Lord Voldemort decided, shadows flitting and malice etched on his face.

"Yes. She will do nicely."

"The Heartless appeared a time ago, at first in ones and twos, ambushing people in parks and in dark alleyways." Eriol began, his glasses reflecting in the candlelight, hiding his eyes. He sat in the center of the room, in front of the candle. "But soon they came in force.

"That first assault wiped out nearly half the town, driving the rest of us into the elementary school. We fought them off for some time, but, within a few days, they had whittled us down to almost nothing." Eriol's voice became quiet.

"The five of us, as well as Sakura's brother, Touya, a girl named Tomoyo, and my guardians, Ruby Moon and Spinel, escaped the school, and fled to this shrine. However, the Heartless gave chase... the others didn't make it." Eriol finished, and his voice was tinged with sadness.

The shadows seemed to deepen as they danced about the candlelight, flinging themselves, whirling and twirling, leaving smoky veils.

Sakura made a sniffling noise. Syaoran put his arm around her shoulders reassuringly.

When the name Touya was mentioned, Yue seemed to stiffen and grow colder.

"Damn. We're too late." Harry cursed, clenching his fist, looking down. All that training, all that he had learned- for what?

A gentle hand laid upon his shoulder, and Robin's emerald eyes looked directly at his turned head as she smiled softly. "Don't be sad, Harry. We can still do what we can." She assured him, and Harry felt a small bit of his anger leave him.

"Where are the Heartless coming from?" Inuyasha asked gruffly, glancing at them out of the corner of his eyes. He was seated in the corner, with his sword upraised and resting against his shoulder.

"We're not sure." Syaoran answered, frowning deeply, lines etched on his face. "But we've caught glimpses of a black clad man with red eyes among the Heartless... we think he has something to do with it."

Harry sucked in a breath. "Voldemort." He spat, the name a vile curse on his lips. "That bastard must have known we were coming."

"You know him?" Eriol said. His voice wasn't sharp or surprised, and kept the same cordial tone as before.

The other four shifted, each of them wanting to hear every word.

The Boy-Who-Lived barely noticed, and his voice became low, a mixture of wear and anger. "Everywhere I go, he's there, waiting for me." His voice picked up, becoming stronger, more resolute. "He's my Enemy, and I will kill him. No matter what." The words rang out, leaving nothing but stillness.

Inuyasha crouched down on the rooftop of the shrine, doing what he was prone to do when he wanted to think. Stare at the moon and stars from the highest point possible.

His mind wasn't on the moon or the stars, but on battles. He had let himself get lost in his anger, and nearly gave in to his demon side today. Only Tetsusaiga's decidedly weakened influence kept his mind from slipping fully into that demonic rage.

The half demon knew he wasn't in this to help other people or save worlds, not in the way that Harry and Robin were. He wanted, needed to find Kagome. And to do that, he needed to stay alive.

He could not afford to succumb to revenge, not until he made sure that Kagome was found.

Suddenly, he was aware of a presence on the rooftop with him. His eyes immediately darted towards the moonlit figure of Yue, whose ivory clothing, hair, and wings seemed to shimmer in the light.

Inuyasha was about to demand what he wanted, when the angel spoke.

"You should take care. The Moon is nearly spent for this cycle, and your powers will not last long." Yue said enigmatically, looking at the moon.

His thoughts racing quickly and his heartbeat beating in his chest, Inuyasha looked up, and cursed.

The moon was barely a sliver of itself.

"How did you-" the half demon began, but the angel simply looked at him piercingly.

"You are bound to the Moon." Yue replied quietly, his blue eyes shimmering with some unknown knowledge. "I am tied to it. I can feel your connection."

Inuyasha, feeling rather disquieted, said nothing.

Yue continued speaking. "You suffer the pains of loss. Tell me... did your most important person fall to the Darkness?" he asked, turning his deep, enigmatic blue eyes onto the half demon.

Unable to stop himself, Inuyasha nodded. "Ye-yeah." His face, just for a moment, twisted in agony, and anguished look of immeasurable pain. And then it was shadowed.

"It hurts. But there are others important to you, and you must not forget that. I almost did once." Yue finished, and looked at him one more time. His words resounded in the air, hanging there, like an ominous prophecy.

Zelda sighed, changing the wrinkled, crumpled bed sheets slowly, easily. Though not befitting of royalty, she had watched the maids do it and Impa had instilled in her a great deal of self-dependence.

The Queen looked at Ginny's sleeping face with a touch of sadness, and sighed again. "I do wish you would wake, Lady Ginny." Zelda murmured quietly, knowing that the redhead couldn't hear her. "Harry needs all the friends he has, and to have come so far still holding you... you must be a dear friend."

A quiet knock on the door caused her to turn.

Impa looked at her with a serious expression, but the softness in her former guardian's eyes was detectable to Zelda. "My Lady, the Council wishes to go over the reports from Lon Lon Ranch." The subtle urging was classic Impa.

"Thank you, Impa." The Queen said, glancing at Ginny one more time. "I'll be with them shortly."

Behind them both, Ginny Weasley's hand twitched.

Harry frowned, leaning against the wall, his eyes drifting outwards into the night sky. The moonlight illuminated his face, highlighting his emerald eyes.

Voldemort had been here. Voldemort might still be here.

Though the injury had been healed, he still remembered the aching pains of that shadow as it struck out at him, as though it wasn't even Voldemort's will controlling that backlash. Harry scowled deeply, fist clenched until the knuckles were white.

He hadn't even put a scratch on the Dark Lord the last time they fought. Would two months of training possibly make a difference?

Harry knew it wouldn't.

The question was... if-when it came down to it, could he ever hope to match Lord Voldemort's seemingly limitless power?

The door opened with a tiny slam, and the girl- Sakura, Harry though, after thinking for a moment, walked in, smiling slightly with a tray of- spaghetti? Harry had eaten quite a number of strange things in Hyrule, so something mundane like this dish was... unusual, to say the least.

"Are you hungry?" Sakura asked, her brown eyes gentle as she offered the tray, steaming and smelling delicious.

Harry's stomach growled, and he blushed. He hadn't eaten all day, he suddenly realized. "Uh... yes, thank you." He said awkwardly, smiling and finding it easier than usual.

Smiling brightly, Sakura merely set the tray down. "I'm happy you came. Things were looking bad..." her voice was tinged with melancholy and her lip trembled, and once more, Harry felt a surge of anger towards Voldemort. No one, especially such a sweet girl should suffer like this. "But Eriol says you have the power to save us."

She smiled even wider than before, and her eyes closed even as her face brightened. "I'm very happy you came here." Sakura bowed deeply.

Stunned, Harry rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, unsure of himself. "I... I'm not really sure if I do have that sort of power." The Boy-Who-Lived admitted softly. He took a slow bite of the spaghetti, noticing in a detached manner the different taste than what he was used to. "I'm really just a kid who stumbled into this battle."

Sakura looked at him, frowning as she set her jaw determinedly. "That's not true! I can sense the power in you! You're strong, I just know it!" she said heatedly, and, for a moment, Harry believed.

"Thank you." He said gratefully, bowing his own head. "For the food, and for your words."

Robin sipped her tea, feeling more at home with the familiar taste of Japanese tea in her mouth.

Eriol smiled in his enigmatic way as he lifted his own cup, but did not drink. "I hope you're enjoying this tea, Miss Robin. Thankfully, it's a luxury we can still afford."

"Its very good. I've missed this type of tea." The witch replied, inclining her head in gratitude.

"I'm glad we can offer you some comforts." The wizard said, nodding his head in kind. After a moment, he spoke again. "So tell me... do all three of you hail from the same world?" his voice had just a trace of curiosity.

Robin looked up from her tea, and paused to reach over for a slice of cake. "No, actually I met Inuyasha and Harry only recently. We've just started traveling together." She paused, and placed the frosted sweet on her plate.

Eriol's eyebrow raised fractionally. "I see." He said, sounding a lot older than his years. "Tell me, why exactly are you three traveling together, if you are all strangers?"

The redhead looked perplexed for a moment, before she shrugged, pausing in the conversation to take a bite out of the cake. The sweet taste filled her mouth, and Robin though she'd never tasted anything so good. "I really have no idea. Harry just asked me to come with him, and I did." She paused, and her brow furrowed as her mouth set itself in a frown.

"I wanted to help out... but I also want to try and find a friend of mine, who might have gotten lost on one of the worlds, like I was." Robin said quietly, and looked downwards, her face filled with melancholy.

"Though all roads come and go, they will always cross again." Eriol stated, smiling as though he knew a secret no one else in the Universe knew. He sipped his tea. After a moment, his smile changed into one of warmth. "Do not be sad. It does not fit with sweets and tea."

"Do you really think we can trust them?" Syaoran's gruff voice rang in her ears as she stepped out of the room.

Sakura merely looked at him, and said in a chiding tone, "Syaoran, Eriol says we can trust them. And they seem like very nice people."

The Chinese boy grunted as he continued to lean against the wall of the room. "Well, if Eriol says they're okay..." he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "That spectacled bastard's lied to us before, remember?"

"He had good reason, Syaoran, and you know it." Sakura said defensively, placing her hands on her hips as she stared at him determinedly. "Just because you and him can't get along doesn't mean Eriol has bad judgement. He is Clow's reincarnation, after all!"

Syaoran merely grunted again. "I still don't like it. Just because they say they're from another world..."

Sighing, Sakura rolled her eyes. "Oh Syaoran... do you have to be so hostile to everyone?"

Moving from his place against the wall, Syaoran straightened, and looked at her dead in the eye. His face turned gentle, that familiar look that she loved so much. "I'm just worried..." he murmured softly, and wrapped his arms around her.

Sakura sighed, and placed her head against his chest. "I know, I know. But don't be. Everything will be okay, in the end."

And then the everything went to Hell.

Inuyasha and Yue, on the roof, were the first to act, but even they were slow against the sudden assault.

Eriol's face twisted into sudden anger and fear for a moment as he knocked over the table, spilling the cake and tea everywhere. The mess went unnoticed, and he and Robin tore out into the courtyard.

Harry was the last to get out, but the first to notice the attack, courtesy of a sudden, angry stabbing into his mind, his scar burning so fiercely that he felt as though his mind was splitting open.

Stumbling blindly outside, Harry summoned the Keyblade, and felt the pain recede as the moonlight illuminated the scene.

Syaoran was screaming and roaring like a wounded animal cornered in the forest, his sword like lightning as it swung again and again, tearing through Shadow and Soldier Heartless alike.

Inuyasha had been cornered by several Shadow Knights, snarling and as ornery as an angry dog, a deep growl emanated from his throat. He leapt aside from the black blade, and tore the head off of the Heartless with one quick swipe.

Robin and Eriol fought back to back, Robin's Fire Craft burning Heartless after Heartless as magical bolts hurtled from Eriol's staff. The staff was a long, gold ornamental metal pole with a large, spiked golden sun affixed to the tip. The boy whirled his staff with the grace of a master.

Yue and Kero were the farthest into the mob, but they were being held back by a wave of Heartless that continued hurling themselves through the air, and even the mighty magicks of these two creatures could not hope to push through.

And beyond them, an unconscious Sakura was held loosely in a cocoon of shadows, controlled by-

"VOLDEMORT!" Harry roared, Keyblade raised as his footsteps rebounded throughout the courtyard, past the other battles, intent solely on the Dark Lord.

Lord Voldemort turned towards the Boy-Who-Lived with an amused smirk, a sea of Heartless between them.

"Potter... how nice of you to come." The Dark Lord said silkily, somehow audible throughout the noise of combat. "I'm here for the girl, not you, boy."

Harry growled, rage filling his mind. He needed to break through, but there was nothing he could possibly do against this many Heartless.

Unless-

The orb Kurama had given him, back in Hyrule. It had a great deal of power... maybe enough to end this battle right here and now.

The words tumbled from his mouth before he knew what he was saying, as though it was some half-forgotten ritual he was performing.

"Lend me your strength! Angel of Destruction!" Harry shouted, and immediately, a surge of incredible power roared in his veins, a power bowered from another, channeled through him.

Instinctively, he shifted his grip on the Keyblade as he thrust it forward, as if he were holding a gun. A large orb of golden light began to grow at the tip, and a humming noise filled the air.

Lord Voldemort's eyes widened as he stared at the Boy-Who-Lived.

A storm of violent sparks began spinning around Harry, whirling around the Keybearer, lifting his raven hair as his locks drifted in front of his closed eyes.

The tempest of light began to coalesce around Harry's back, forming the outlines of something much like golden wings, so massive that they spread over twenty feet away from Harry, lighting up the night.

Harry continued to be intoxicated by the immeasurable power surging through him as the summoning began to take effect.

The orb of light at the tip of the Keyblade shined brighter, and brighter.

Everyone's eyes were glued to that orb, and the Dark Lord looked both amazed and fearful, his crimson eyes wide.

The power continued building upon itself exponentially, and Harry felt his magic continue to be a conduit for it, channeling this person's strength as his own-

And then his magic went slack, and suddenly, the orb and wings of golden light faded away into the night and Harry felt himself overwhelmed with intense fatigue.

As he fell to the ground, the last thing Harry saw was the Dark Lord's victorious eyes.

Author's Notes

That didn't take nearly as long as I feared it would.

Big fights and big twists next chapter.

As always, the link to my Yahoo Group is in the profile. If you'd like a response to a question or want to discuss an aspect of this story, drop me a line in there. It's a fast way for me to get respond to reviews.