Chapter XXVI: A Hassle in the Castle Part II

Meanwhile, at the top of the castle, Bowser walked up to a giant door with a heartless symbol. He smirked with evil in his eyes as he opened the door and walked in it. The room looked like a church type of room without the chairs and had a long red carpet going down the middle of it. The room was lit up by lanterns all around the hall as the Koopa King slowly walked down it. To his left, he could see three girls inside a glass container which looked like a pod of some sort. The three girls in the pods were non other then Dixie, Princesses Peach, and Princesses Zelda.

He then looked to the other side to see three more girls in another pod. One of them was Samus without her helmet on. She had a beautiful face with blonde hair in a ponytail. The next girl that was probably the youngest of the six girls. She was a bear cub who wore a red shirt with a yellow star on it, purple sweat pants, no shoes, and blonde hair with pigtails. The third one was an adult purple fox who had blue hair and wore only a loin cloth and bra.

In the middle of the room was Kairi in a levitated state. Her body remained lifeless and pale as a ghost. She was surrounded by a pink shield which was shaped like a pill. Bowser bent over to her and breathed on her face softly.

"Soon babe." Bowser whispered. "You'll be my gateway to total annihilation." He then took out his Star Rod. "The time has come. Kammy Koop!"

"Yes, you're evilness?" the witch called as she entered the room.

"Use your spell book and find the words I need to say so this door will open." Bowser instructed.

"As you command." Kammy Koop complied.

While she looked for the spell book, Jr ran into the room and panted all the way up to his father.

"Pappa! Pappa!" Jr cried. "There are..."

"Quite, Jr." Bowser replied. "Can't you see daddy's working doing evil and rotten things?"

"But..."

"Jr!" Bowser said, rasing his voice. "You wait patiently." Jr was about to speak but, Bowser put his finger on his mouth. "Now, tell me what's the matter."

"There are intruders in the castle!" Jr cried.

"INTRUDERS!" Kammy Koop cried. "I better inform the keyblade master."

"You know Jr, things like that should be told right away." Bowser explained.

Jr rolled his eyes and sighed. "Yes, pappa."

Kammy Koop came back with a sigh. "Okay, now that we've got that situation taken care of, let's continue." She then began reading from the book until she found the spell. "Aha! Here it is!" She then handed the book to Bowser. "Okay sire. Read this entry and the spell shall be released."

"Right." Bowser said. Unfortunately, due to having the I.Q. of a walnut he couldn't even read the words right. "Uh...O...h...oh...ma...di...moddies...of..."

"Sir, do you want me to read it to you and then you repeat it?" Kammy Koop asked with a sigh. "After all, you did only past the first grade when you were sent to Evil Villain's night school."

"Whatever." Bowser sighed, handing the book to Kammy Koop.

"Now, repeat after me." Kammy Koop said, clearing her throat. "O those of the purest heart."

Bowser then took his Star Rod out and held it up high. "O those of the purest heart."

"Reveal to me the keyhole of darkness!" she finished.

"Reveal to me the keyhole of darkness!" Bowser shouted.

The six princesses in their chambers began glowing and six small lasers came out of their chests and all struck at a giant heart with a gold pipe outline and waves of multicolor on the inside with dark waves sticking out. Bowser laughed manically as the process finished.

Back downstairs, Sora and Fox have just entered the entrance hall of Hallow Bastion. Sora had never seen such a big room before as he noticed a small water fall in the middle of the room, a chandelier on the ceiling, and pillars that held up the first and second floors of the building. As they walked in more, he could also see two stairs that went up each side and met at the end. He also saw another brown door on the left.

Below his feet was a mixture of green and blue color on the floor. He bravely walked forward and looked around the room.

"I don't see anything." Sora said.

"Hey, if I were you, I wouldn't let my guard down for a minute." Fox pointed out. "Can you feel them? They're close. It's like I can feel them breathing down my neck."

"Yeah, I can feel it too." Sora agreed. "But that's not stopping me."

"Don't worry, I've got your back." Fox said. "Let's get going."

Sora began to walk away and Fox followed when a female voice stopped him.

"Fox." called a soft female voice, with sort of a British accent.

Fox froze upon hearing the voice. He began to feel a lot of high hopes and excitement and turned around quickly.

"Krystal?" Fox said, turning quickly. He then looked to see the purple fox from before standing at the door way. Fox could feel his heart rate go up and breathing getting heavier. "I-is that really you?" As he slowly walked towards her, she transformed into a shadow heartless which got the fox ticked off. "Grr! You've got my hopes and then you trick me! You'll pay with your own life!"

Fox took out his staff and charged at the heartless screaming with anger. Sora turned around upon hearing Fox scream and jump at the heartless.

"Wait, it's a trap!" Sora called, trying to stop Fox. But it was too late, he ran passed the door and it closed on him. Sora just rolled his eyes and sighed. "So much for keeping your guard up."

He then heard a familiar voice. "You never seem to give up, do you?"

Sora turned to see Riku standing in front of him.

"Riku!" Sora exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I was told there was an intruder and just as I suspected it was you." Riku responded. "There's no point in continuing this. Just surrender!"

"Forget it!" Sora shouted. "I'm not leaving here without Kairi!"

"What?" Riku gasped. "You just keep going and going. You've lost everything. The keyblade, a home, and your friends." As if expected, Luigi and Yoshi sadly walked next to the current keyblade master. "As you can see, you've lost, it's all over, you're nothing but a loser now. Without the keyblade..." All of a sudden Sora began laughing manically at Riku. "W-what are you laughing about?"

"The kid's finally cracked." Luigi sighed.

Sora then stopped laughing and smirked to his rival. "I'm laughing because I realize now that you're the loser."

"Me?" Riku asked in surprise.

"I may not have my friends, I may not have the keyblade, but I still have my heart." Sora explained. "It's true that the keyblade master can change the world but, what kind of keyblade master would use that power for evil?" He then turned to Luigi and Yoshi. "I know you guys are suppose to follow the key, but would you follow a good keyblade master or a bad one? Doesn't Mario want to bring happiness and peace to all worlds?"

"Of course he does." Luigi agreed.

"Then why are you with this guy?" Sora asked. "As far as I'm concerned, the keyblade made a pretty bad chose when choosing its master."

"ENOUGH!" Riku shouted. "I've had it with you, Sora! It's time to do what I should have done a long time ago!"

Riku's body then got engulfed in a wave of darkness and he transformed. His normal clothing transformed into dark clothing with red and blue all over it. On his chest was the heartless symbol and he wore a white type of dress looking thing that was supported by a belt. And he had on dark boots.

"Listen, please, we may not be with him anymore but he's still our friend." Luigi pleaded.

Ignoring Luigi, Riku smirked at Sora. "I'll give you one more chance to surrender. The darkness will destroy you if that is your desire."

"You're wrong!" Sora cried with full bravery. He was ready for anything that was going to be thrown at him. He'd do it for all of his friends. "The darkness may touch my body, but it will never touch my heart. As long as my heart stays with my friends it can never die."

"Then let's find out shall we?" Riku said, firing a dark energy wave from his hand.

Sora tried to run, but somehow he felt like his entire body became paralyzed. He watched as the beam was closing in on him. He felt his life flashing before his eyes, from his child days on the island to battling the heartless with Luigi and Yoshi. The beam got closer and closer and Sora was too scared to even look. He wish that he could tell Kairi how sorry he was. Then, from out of nowhere a familiar egg with green dots knocked the beam off its course and sent it into a wall.

Luigi gasped in shock. "What the heck?"

"What is this, some sort of trick?" Riku asked. "No one can stop that attack!"

Sora opened his eyes to see he was okay. He looked around to see how he was able to escape the attack. He finally looked down for the answer to that question. Standing in front of Sora with his arms out on both sides was a familiar green dinosaur. He was protecting Sora.

"Y-yoshi?" Sora asked in surprise.

"Stay away from Sora, big bully!" Yoshi growled at the silver haired boy. "Sora go nowhere as long as Yoshi stay with him and protect him."

Riku just scoffed. "So, you're betraying Mario and your ancestors for him? He's not even a waste of your time."

"Riku wrong!" Yoshi growled. "Yoshi never betray Mario in a million, million years." With a smile he turned to Sora and took his hands. "But...Yoshi never betray Sora either because Sora and Yoshi best friends forever, remember?"

"I...I remember." Sora said softly.

Yoshi then turned to Luigi. "Sorry, Luigi. But Yoshi made up mind. Bye-bye! Will Luigi get on hands and knees and tell Mario that Yoshi sorry?"

"I won't need to do it for you!" Luigi responded. "We'll do it together!"

Luigi ran over to Sora's side and looked up at him. Riku was left speechless by this turn of events.

"Luigi?"

"Hey, you're right kid." Luigi smiled. "It's not the weapon, it's the person inside that counts. And at this moment there's no person I'd rather be with than you. Don't you remember the vow we made when we first met? All for one and one for all? We got to stick by it. We're in this together until the end of time. So, no matter where you go, the two of us are going to follow you. "

Sora felt happy knowing that no matter if he had the keyblade or not that Luigi and Yoshi would be his friends forever. He could feel his sorrow lifting and the joy and cheer he once had for so long now return to him. He put his head down trying to hide his emotions but, Yoshi jumped up and licked his face.

"Sorry, Sora." Yoshi giggled. "Sora stuck with Luigi and Yoshi for the rest of time."

Whispering, Sora responded with a faint smile. "Thanks a lot...Luigi, Yoshi."

The two smiled at their friend telling him that everything was okay. The boy looked up at his friends and gave off his famous goofy smile, indicating that he was okay. Riku was getting annoyed and finally ended their reunion.

"It doesn't matter!" Riku called out. The trio then turned to him. "Your odds are still too great. Those two fools won't make any difference. Besides, how can you even beat me without a weapon?"

"Riku, I don't even need the keyblade anymore." Sora responded. "I have a weapon far stronger then it. My heart!"

There was silence in the room for a few seconds when Riku broke into laughter and fell on the floor.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Riku laughed. "You're kidding me, right? Your heart! What are you going to do, take it out and throw it at me? Man, you are a riot sometimes!"

"Riku!" Sora snapped at him angrily. "I'm not joking!"

Riku stood up to catch his breath from the laughter. "I know. It just sounded so funny. What could a weak little thing like that do for you?"

"It may be weak, but it's never alone." Sora responded. "Every challenge I've met it has become stronger than before, growing with each new experience. It's also found a home with all the friends I've made. Our friendship has made it much stronger, and I've become a part of their heart as they've become a part of mine. As long as we stick together and if they think of me and never forget me...then our hearts will be one. It's my friends that give me strength, the drive to fight." Taking out his wooden sword, he got ready to fight. "This might be tipped in your favor but, we're willing to try as we stick together. I don't need a weapon, my friends are my power!"

Riku took out his keyblade ready to fight with a smirk when something was wrong. He could feel a force of gravity pull the keyblade away from him. He tried to pull it back but the force was too strong. The keyblade then disappeared from him

"What?" Riku gasped in surprise. "What's going on?"

Luigi's eyes widened as he saw Sora bright up. Looking at his friend's hand, Luigi could see the keyblade reappearing in Sora's hand.

"Kid!" Luigi exclaimed. "The keyblade is in your hand again!"

"You're right!" Sora gasped. He then looked at it with surprise.

"But how?" Riku asked in shock. "What did you do, Sora? That's impossible!"

"He didn't do anything." Luigi said. "Maybe he pressed a secret button or something."

"No." Sora said. "I think I know why." He then turned to Riku. "It's because the keyblade rejected you." Riku remained in complete shock. "You dove into the darkness and you were fighting for all the wrong reasons. You didn't show any sign of goodness in your heart and when I showed my inner light and goodness, it returned to me."

"Oh, yeah!" Luigi cheered. "In your face sissy boy!"

Riku couldn't believe his eyes, he had it, it was right in his hands. Everything was going exactly as planned. How could have he lost it? Why Sora? He was always better then him. He became so filled with rage and anger that he whipped out his Soul Eater and swat it hard, creating a giant wind that pushed the trio back. The group pushed against the wind and were able to make their way back.

"That's it!" Riku shouted. "If I can't have the keyblade then nobody can have it!" He then smirked at Sora. "I can still beat you! I've defeated three people at once before and this is no difference."

"Wrong again, Riku!" Sora disagreed. "There's two misconceptions you made. This isn't a game, this a battle of fate and the three of us together are the ultimate dream team. I'm going to finally beat you and with their help."

"Bring it then!" Riku said, getting ready.

Sora, Luigi, and Yoshi got ready to fight as Riku got into position with his sword. The wind blew through the room softly as they had a stare off. The four began to sweat nervously as they stared their opponent down or for Riku's case opponents. Finally, lifting one leg up and down Sora charged at Riku first, followed by Luigi, and Yoshi. Riku ran at them screaming at the top of his lungs. Sora and Riku clashed their weapons together causing an ear shattering sonic boom. Sora gave a hard thrust at Riku who spun out of the way and tried to swipe Sora's back but, Yoshi stuck his tongue out and knocked the attack back.

Luigi shot a fire spell at Riku, but he easily dodged the attack and quickly spun behind Luigi and slashed him down. Sora jumped in and clashed with Riku again. Riku swiped at Sora who jumped over the attack and tried to swipe Riku, but he knocked the attack back with his sword. Sora brought his keyblade down on Riku who clashed with him again. Riku and Sora both rapidly slashed at each other clashing their swords. Eventually, Sora hit a wall and Riku tried to thrust but Sora spun out of the way and kicked him aside. Riku got back up and spun at Sora with incredible speed. He then smacked Sora in the face and sent him crashing into the water fountain.

Sora charged at Riku again with Luigi and Yoshi behind him. Sora attacked again and Riku did a back flip over the attack. Riku then kicked both Luigi and Yoshi into a wall. Riku quickly spun around to clash with Sora again who then jumped over Riku and kicked Riku in the back. Riku quickly used his hands to push back up and uppercut Sora. The yellow shoed hero flew into the ceiling and kicked off against it and charged with his keyblade tightly gripped with both hands

Riku jumped out of the way as Sora brought his keyblade down on Riku and it missed him. Riku swiped at Sora who quickly moved left to dodge the attack. Riku swiped at Sora who blocked with his keyblade at a forty-five degree angle and then the other side. Sora kept blocking Riku's attacks and clashing with him. Sora the clashed together with Riku's sword and pushed Riku back.

"Give it up, Riku!" Sora said.

"Never!" Riku shouted.

Sora then used his weight to push his rival back into Luigi who used Luigi Tornado to knock the silver haired boy into the air. Yoshi then jumped high into the air and did a flip and pointed his bottom at Riku. Yoshi then did a pound ground on Riku and they crashed into the ground causing pieces of ruble and dust to fly out. Sora and Luigi shielded their eyes from the dust and particles. When it was finally calm, the two walked over to see if Yoshi was okay. They then saw Yoshi flying right at them and knocking them over.

Riku got back up and was getting very annoyed. He grabbed Sora and threw him at a wall. Sora quickly grabbed the support that was holding the first floor and second floor and spun around it. He then launched himself back at Riku and kicked him back. Riku slid across the floor and quickly jumped back up. The four of them were panting as they began to get exhausted from the fighting.

"Wow! You've gotten better." Sora said, impressed. "You've learned a few new tricks. But, I've learned some too."

"Then in round two you show me them." Riku suggested.

"Bring it on!" Yoshi said with a tough guy look.

The three charged at Riku again who ran at them with full speed. He spun his body at them with his sword, but they quickly dodged it and all three of them kicked him at once. To recover their strength, Sora called Tails in who used his healing device to give the trio more power. Finally, they had the advantage as they worked at a team to defeat Riku. Luigi used F.L.U.D.D to spray the floor which caused Riku to slip and fall. Yoshi then grabbed Riku by the lower leg with his tongue and threw him into the air. Sora ran up a wall as fast as he could and then jumped off it and charged at Riku with a flying kick going down.

"THIS ONE'S FOR KAIRI!" Sora cried.

Sora kicked Riku in the chest and the two of them went crashing into the ground, once again causing ruble and dust to go flying. Luigi and Yoshi ran over to the spot and saw Sora weakly walking back. They both helped keep the keyblade master steady and ready. Riku was on his hands and knees, sweating very fast and breathing very hardly. He could see the sweat drop down from his hair and looked up to see Sora's group approaching him.

"No." He whispered. "I...can't...lose...to him. I won't lose to him. He can never beat me."

Riku got back up and brought his sword horizontally, ready to strike Sora but, the spiky haired hero knocked the sword out of Riku's hand.

"Riku, you lose." Sora smirked.

"Sora, you wouldn't hurt me would you?" Riku asked innocently. "I'm your best friend."

"Hey, it's like you said." Sora snickered. "Never let your guard down until your opponent is beaten."

Sora firmly gripped the handle of the keyblade and with a hard swing, knocked a weaken Riku into the water fall. He was so exhausted that he lost the dark clothing he had and was truly defeated. He weakly got up and with his last bit of energy he retreated. Sora sighed with relief and smiled.

"We did it!" Luigi cheered.

"Sora, Yoshi, and Luigi rock!" Yoshi also cheered.

"We rule!" Luigi said, giving Yoshi a high five.

"Riku drool!" Yoshi giggled.

"You forgot the s." Luigi pointed out. "It's drools."

"Same difference." Yoshi giggled. Luigi just rolled his eyes.

"Thanks, guys." Sora said wholeheartedly. "I'm glad you two stuck by my side no matter what."

"Hey, the three of us go together like spaghetti and meatballs." Luigi said proudly. "Yoshi is the spaghetti, you're the meatball, and I'm the sauce, the most fantastico part of the meal." He then noticed Sora giving him a disappointed look. "Hey, can't you take a joke?"

"How can I even take it if it wasn't even close to a joke?" Sora chuckled.

Sora then heard a familiar whimpering and turned to see Yoshi looking up at him with guilty eyes. The boy picked up the dinosaur and hugged him.

"Yoshi miss Sora so much." Yoshi said with tears streaming down his face. "I sorry for leaving."

"Hey, I owe you a lot." Sora said, comforting the dinosaur. "You saved my life today. I'm proud of you little buddy." He then pulled Yoshi away from him. "Don't feel bad about leaving me from before. You had to do what you had to do."

Yoshi then licked Sora's face causing him to chuckle.

"Um, I'm sorry I called you unfaithful before." Luigi apologized to Yoshi. "Can you ever forgive me kid?" Yoshi then jumped off of Sora's arms and licked Luigi's face. "Stop it! Dinosaur germs! I can't stand it!"

Sora laughed as he watched Luigi get slobbered by Yoshi. He then turned to see Fox walk back in.

"Fox!" cried Sora. "You're okay!"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Fox said, greeting the trio. "Got sidetracked a little bit, but as I opened this door I saw the most epic fight ever. You truly are the keyblade master."

"The kid couldn't have done it without Mr. Muscle over here." Luigi said, trying to draw attention.

"Then the next time we fight Riku, you can fight him yourself." Sora joked.

Yoshi then called out, "Riku! Luigi wants to-"

Luigi quickly covered Yoshi's mouth, trying to stop him from finishing that sentence.

"Sora." Fox said. "The real winner of this fight was your heart, wasn't it?"

Sora nodded and smiled. He then made a serious look as well as the others. They knew that they were far from finished and had a long way to go. After Sora explained his story to Luigi and Yoshi, the trio along with Fox made their way towards the next part of the building. They walked up the stairs to go after Riku, but sadly the door was chained up and they couldn't get in.

"Um, how did he chain up the door so fast?" Luigi asked.

The group then turned to see another door right near by them.

"This way!" Sora said.

The four walked up to the other door and opened it. What they saw next amazed them and shocked Sora. It was the library from his dream about Kairi. He remained completely stunned as the others looked around the library in aw.

"Wow!" Luigi said, with amazement. "I've never been in a library like this before. If Yoshi ate a library book I'd take the words right out of his mouth."

Fox just rolled his eyes, "It's true what Sora says. You do tell the worst jokes."

"Ah, my adoring public." Luigi sighed. He then noticed Sora looking around the library. "Are you alright, Sora?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sora said, trying to refocus. "Something just entered my mind." He then walked over to a corner of the room to see the stairs from his dream. "This can't be the same place. Could this be where Kairi came from? Or maybe I just have a bad case of deja vu."

The four walked up the stairs and arrived at the second floor. They noticed a square table with a small green lamp on it. As they walked over to take a rest, Luigi tripped over a book and landed on his face. Everyone started laughing as Luigi stood up and picked up the book.

"I swear one of these days I will have the last laugh." Luigi groaned. He then looked at the book and saw an open spot from a bookshelf. "Some slob most have left this book here. Someone can break a leg if they're not careful."

"Then how come you haven't broken one yet?" Fox asked rhetorically.

Ignoring Fox's comment, Luigi walked over to the bookshelf to put the book away.

"Careful." Sora warned. "Something might happen."

"Kid, you watch too much T.V." Luigi said. "Trust me. This is real life." He then put the book back on the shelf. "See? Nothing..."

All of a sudden the bookshelf spun Luigi into the wall. Sora ran over to the bookshelf and looked up at it.

"Nothing will happen, huh?" Sora said rolling his eyes.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE KID!" Luigi muffled through the bookshelf. "GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Sora pulled the book out and the bookshelf spun around again this time sending Sora behind the wall and Luigi on the outside. "Thanks, kid." He then looked to see only Fox and Yoshi. "Hey, where did you go?" He then looked back at the bookshelf. "Are you behind the bookshelf?"

"No, I'm all the way in South Dakota." Sora muffled sarcastically. "OF COURSE I'M BEHIND THE BOOKSHELF!"

Luigi turned to Fox and Yoshi and said, "Why don't we just leave him in there? It would finally be quite around here."

"I HEARD THAT!" screamed Sora.

"Only kidding." Luigi chuckled nervously. He put the book back in and Sora came spinning out while Luigi went spinning in. This time Luigi put his hand out to stop the spinning and crushed it in the process. "YOW!"

"Guys, let's leave him like this." Sora joked.

"Listen, let's stop fooling around and try to figure out a way in." Fox said, annoyed.

Sora, Yoshi, and Fox pushed the bookshelf the other way freeing Luigi. The plumber took off his glove and started kissing his hand. Sora bent down to him and chuckled.

"You okay man?" Sora asked.

"Yeah." Luigi responded. "Every single bone in my hand broke and I thank you for doing so."

"Don't mention it." Sora joked.

Yoshi wandered into the secret bookshelf and noticed a red button on the wall.

"Ooh, shiny red button." Yoshi said excitedly. He then pressed the button causing the sound of a door to open.

The others also noticed this sound and could hear it coming from the hallway.

"What just happened?" Sora asked Luigi.

"It sounds like something opened up." Luigi assumed. He then gasped in realization. "The door we need to get into! That's what opened up!"

"But how did it open suddenly?" Fox asked.

Sora then realized that Yoshi wasn't around anywhere. He began to look around the library when he saw the secret bookshelf and Yoshi still inside. He walked into it and bent down to Yoshi.

"Hey, was that sound from you?" Sora asked.

"Um...Yoshi press shiny button and then it make funny noise." Yoshi said nervously. "Is Yoshi in trouble?"

"No way!" Sora smiled. "You just helped up open the door."

"Hooray!" Yoshi cried. He then paused and made a dumbfounded look. "Um, what door?"

Sora just chuckled while rolling his eyes. "Never mind."

The two rejoined the others and the all headed outside. They then looked to their left to notice the chained door has opened. The four cheered as they made their way down to the first floor. Unfortunately, the heartless showed up just as they began to walk.

"Not again!" Luigi exclaimed.

Drawing his keyblade, Sora slashed through the heartless with a very hard strike. They then dissolved from the hard attack. He looked at his weapon and kissed it on the blade part.

"Ah, so good to have you back." Sora said relieved.

Fox twirled his staff around to confuse the heartless, making them follow his staff's moments. Finally, Fox gave a hard slash at them, destroying them. Yoshi shot his eggs at the ones in the air and knocked them down. Luigi then shot thunder at them and destroyed them. A couple of round ones charged at Sora who used strike raid on them and sent them flying. Another one came from behind, but he threw it at the other one just in time.

The gang finished off the rest of the heartless and quickly made a run for the door. New wizard like heartless attacked them with magic spells and Luigi used an updated Aero spell to protect them from the attack. The gang made it to the door and dove into it, getting away from the heartless. They stood up and brushed themselves off. The next area they were in was a blue room which had yellow light strings at the cliffs.

"Guys, let's move!" Sora told his friends. "The world won't save itself you know."

The foursome left to the next area of Hallow Bastion. Meanwhile, back in the chapel of the castle, a familiar figure was limping into the room. He put his hand against the wall and breathed heavily. He could still feel the sweat coming down from his silver hair. He still couldn't believe he lost the keyblade to that nobody. He was better then him in every way. He was more stronger, more popular, and undefeated. He had been scarred for life from that defeat.

"Why?" Riku said weakly. "I had it right in my hands. Why him? I'm way more powerful then him."

"That duel of yours proved wrong." said a low and mysterious voice. Riku turned to notice the same cloaked man that Sora met back at Destiny Island was in front of him.

"What do you want old man?" Riku panted. "What do you mean? It's true."

"Boy, know only this." the man began. "Only the heart that is strong and true shall claim the keyblade. You however did not meet the requirements."

Riku gasped at what the man said. He couldn't accept the fact that Sora's heart was stronger then his own.

"Impossible!" cried Riku. "My heart is weaker then his? It can't be!"

"For that instant it was." the man explained. "He surpassed you in every way. It was his friends that gave him this powerful boost and it still remains with him at this moment." Making a more sinister voice, the man approached Riku. "However, just because his heart became stronger doesn't mean you can't do the same."

"Sorry, pal." Riku said in a harsh tone. "The friendship thing won't work for me."

The man laughed softly under his hood, "Ah, but there is a way that will make the boy's friendship shatter into pieces. Your heart will surpass him in every single way." Riku looked at the man with a curious look. "Well, it seem I've caught your attention. I've been watching your progress and I've seen a lot of potential in you. You showed no fear in stepping through the door of darkness. It held no terror for you."

"Darkness?" Riku asked. "How can that help me?"

"It's quite simple." the man said. "Just open yourself to the darkness. That's all it takes. Let your heart, your being become darkness itself."

Riku closed his eyes at he could feel a green wave surround his body. He relaxed into as he felt a warm wave consume him. He was unaware that the strange man was coming towards him slowly. Sora and the others have made their way outside from the blue area. On the way they explored the castle for a bit to find any useful items that might come in handy. They also found the remaining Pikmin which made the trio very happy.

Outside, the group encountered dragon like heartless that dove down at them. The group evaded the attack, but as one went back up it took Luigi along for the ride. The plumber held on for his life as the heartless took him flying around the area.

"Hang on!" Sora cried.

"Hey, I was champion of the Wild Birdo Rodeo for five years!" Luigi called. "I can mange this!"

The heartless began shaking Luigi all over and finally dove and threw him into a wall. Luigi slowly slid down the wall and hit the ground. Sora and the others ran over to him and cured him.

"Guess you lost your title." Sora said.

"Shut up." Luigi groaned.

"Duck!" Yoshi cried.

The four ducked as the heartless flew by them. Sora threw his keyblade at it, knocking it off course. Fox threw his staff at the heartless and stabbed it. As it fell, Fox jumped off the cliff and grabbed it and slashed the heartless to pieces. He then stabbed the side of the castle and jumped back up. The four activated another strange spike switch which caused a platform to appear.

Shrugging their shoulders they entered the platform and got warped to another area. They then noticed another floating platform, but this one was larger then the others. They walked over to it and used the spike switch to enter it.

"I have a feeling..." Luigi began.

"Don't finish sentence!" Yoshi cried. "When Luigi say something bad things happen!"

"What's the least that could happen?" Luigi asked, reassuring Yoshi. He turned to see heartless appear before them. "A toast to my big mouth."

Sora's group attacked the heartless head on. Sora broke through the shield heartless with a Ragnarok attack and Fox used earthquake to knock a group of wizard heartless off course. Luigi used thunder at one of them, but it disappeared and reappeared behind him. Yoshi used his tongue to eat it before it could strike its pray. Fox twirled his staff around and slashed the remaining heartless into oblivion.

With that done, our heros finally exited the platform and walked into the next room. They then had to climb what appeared it be endless stairs. They climbed for what felt like hours to them when it was only ten minutes. Finally, the foursome crawled to the top of the stairs so exhausted that they were sweating and Yoshi's tongue hung out.

"Tired tortellini." Luigi sighed. "That felt like climbing the Empire State Building."

"If you make us fall down the stairs like last time." Sora began. "I'm going to take your cap and throw into the sea."

Luigi stood up and brushed himself off. "Right, whatever. Let's get going!"

"Krystal." Fox said softly. "She's close. I can feel her."

"What's his problem?" Luigi asked Sora.

"The guy's love struck." Sora said angrily. "Can't you respect that?"

"Like you and Kairi?" Luigi teased.

"What?" Sora blushed.

Yoshi giggled and sang, "Sora and Kairi sitting in a tree..."

Before Yoshi could finish the heartless showed up again and ambushed our heros. Sora getting fed up with the constant attacks summoned Marth into battle by sending Luigi and Yoshi into summon gem.

"I am here master." Marth said, greeting Sora.

Sora just laughed, "Listen man, I'm not your master. We just need some help."

"Oh, right." Marth nodded.

He then charged up his sword which caused his body to glow brightly. The heartless all flew at Marth ready to strike when Marth finished charging up and released a powerful blow that caused an explosion. The force knocked Sora and Fox back into a wall. As the smoke cleared, the two could only see Marth around the area, putting his sword away.

"Whoa!" Fox exclaimed. "He's pretty good!"

"My work here is done." the swordsmen said quietly. "I shall be available again when needed."

As Marth disappeared, the others rejoined Sora and Fox. The group made their way through the next level encountering wave after wave of heartless. Sora didn't care if he faced a million, he was in this to save both Riku and Kairi from the darkness. He bravely slashed through an army of heartless and defeated them all. The others including Luigi all fought their hardest knowing they were fighting for their loved ones.

At long last the group reached the last level of the tower. The group had to climb up a giant pedestal with a heartless symbol on it to each the top. After a few minutes of climbing, everyone but Yoshi made to the top. Yoshi noticed another spike switch and pressed it causing half of the pedestal to lower. Sora, Luigi, and Fox smacked their foreheads realizing they went through all the trouble for nothing. Yoshi rejoined the others and the four made their way inside towards the chapel.

Meanwhile, back in the summoning room with the seven girls, Kairi was laying in the middle of the round area that had medal pipes all around. It also had the heart with the multicolor inside and the dark waves. Bowser approached the heart and looked up at it. He made an evil smile as he looked up and began to laugh manically.

"Oh, yeah, baby!" Bowser laughed. "Who is da man with the plan? I think that would be me. Soon, everyone will finally bow before me. I think I'll even open my own amusement park." He then began to fantasize it. "Bowserland! Those most rotten place on earth! Where you can come to the Terrible Kingdom!" He then laughed manically again.

"For someone with such an insignificant mind, you sure can cause a big disaster." called a strange voice.

Bowser turned to see Riku wearing his dark clothing again. But something was different about him. Bowser couldn't figure it out though. The evil rival walked next to Bowser and looked up at the heart.

"And what do I call the pleasure of this visit?" Bowser asked annoyed.

"You did a good job." Riku said with a mixture of two voices. "The path has emerged at last."

"Isn't it beautiful?" Bowser said proudly. "I proudly present to you the keyhole to the darkness." Bowser then laughed. "The time has come."

"If you unlock it, the heartless will overrun this world." Riku pointed out. "I suggest being careful..."

"Ha!" Bowser laughed. He then smirked. "Whatever man, does it look like I care? With the power of the Star Rod, the darkness can't even touch me. However, I shall use its power to rule all worlds and everyone shall praise me!"

"Hm, someone has a bit too much confidence." Riku smirked evilly.

Bowser snorted at Riku, "I may be an idiot but I can still pull this off." He then paused at what he just said. "Hey wait a minute..."

"Fool." Riku muttered under his breath.

Riku held out his hand and a dark wave appeared in his hand. The wave then turned into something shocking, a keyblade. Riku's however was different then the one held by Sora. Unlike its good counter part this one had no keychain on it, a red handle that was shaped more like an oval and had red waves on the outside. The blade was black and much more sharper then the normal keyblade. Bowser noticed this and made an amazed look.

"Wow!" Bowser said. "Cool!" He then began to notice something wrong. He couldn't understand why the keyhole wasn't fully complete. "Something's not right. The keyhole should have been completed by now. The princesses of heart are all here, aren't they?" He then began counting the princesses. "One, two, three...um..what comes after three?"

"Four." Riku groaned.

"Four, five, six, seven." Bowser said, counting again. "They're all here." He then noticed Kairi's lifeless body. "Rotten reptiles, of course! It's this kid that's the problem."

The two villains walked over to Kairi. Riku looked at her like he didn't even have as much feeling as he used to for the red head. Simply looking over her Riku could tell that something was missing.

"The keyhole will remain incomplete until her heart is reunited with her body." Riku said. "Our efforts are pointless unless we get the heart back."

"I've looked everywhere and I still can't find it." Bowser sighed. "How are we ever going to get this show on the road without it?" He then noticed a confident look on Riku's face. "You know, don't you? You've known all along. Tell me where it is!" Before Riku could answer, the two turned to hear the sound of a door opening in the distance. Bowser groaned upon hearing it. "Oh, great. Looks like that pasta pulverizing plumber's pals just arrived." Sighing, he snapped his finger and a half oval floating vehicle with a clown face floated up to Bowser. "If you can't get someone to get the job done, then you do it yourself." He then turned Riku. "I'll personally take care of those worms myself. Meanwhile, you stay here and guard the princesses. Also, tell my son to retreat for our backup plan incase of failure which should not happen."

Bowser jumped into his clown cart and flew out of the room. A blue mist surrounded Riku as he watched the koopa king leave.

"Too bad your fate has already been sealed." Riku said with a sinister voice.

Sora, Luigi, Yoshi, and Fox finally arrived at the chapel room of Hallow Bastion. Away from the heartless for the moment, Sora, Luigi and Yoshi slid down back to back and sighed. Fox steeped forward and looked around.

"We're close." Fox said. "It shouldn't be long now."

"Hold up, Fox." Sora sighed. "I'm pooped."

"Kid, I've battled space monsters on a flying ship for most of my adult years and did I once ever say I'm pooped?"

"Buddy, do you realize how many flights of stairs we climbed to get here?" Luigi complained.

"So?" Fox said, rasing his eyebrow. "I'd rather walk up flights of stairs just to save the one I love."

"Fox is right." Sora said standing up. "We're almost there anyways. Let's keep going."

"Sorry, worms." called a familiar voice. "But you won't be going anywhere."

"That voice..." Yoshi began with a gasp

"...it can't be!" Luigi finished nervously.

Bowser then floated in on his giant clown cart and laughed.

"Bowser!" Sora exclaimed.

"Who were you expecting? The Tooth Fairy?" Bowser asked sarcastically.

"You know this joker?" Fox asked Luigi.

"To make a long story short let's just say he has a thing with abducting people." Luigi said to Fox.

Sora took out his keyblade and angrily pointed it at Bowser. "Bowser, hand over Kairi!"

"And Krystal!" Fox added.

"Peach as well!" Luigi and Yoshi said together.

"Sure why not?" Bowser lied.

"Really?" Yoshi asked with hope.

"No." Bowser scoffed. He then laughed. "One of the nice things about being evil is, you get to lie a lot."

"What kind of villain rides around in a blimp that looks like a clown anyways?" Sora asked rhetorically. "No dark horse, flying space ship. I'd rather face Maleficent then a guy in a clown blimp." Bowser growled.

"Cut me some slack, kid." Bowser growled. "I have a low budget. You don't know how easy it is to keep this place dirty and rotten."

"You mean like yourself?" Luigi said.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Luigi." Bowser smirked. He then made a serious look at Luigi. "We've been fighting each other for years. You and that brother of yours have always foiled my plans. But it's different this time. It's more then just capturing Peach. You boys are too late to stop us. As we speak the final keyhole is getting ready to be unsealed and this world will plunge into the deepest darkness."

Yoshi cowered behind Sora in fear and the others gasped.

"No, it can't." Fox said in shock.

"Afraid so." Bowser smirked. "You can't stop the darkness. It's unstoppable. Go home now while you have the chance."

Sora eyed his friends and they all nodded to him. They knew that their toughest challenge was right in front of them. Luigi was the most nervous of them all. Not by the number of times he acted like a coward but it was an extremely rare occasion for him to face Bowser alone. He was scared and wished that his big brother was here to fight. He then saw an image of his older sibling in front of him and smiled.

"I know you're not with me bro." Luigi thought. "But I will fight with all my heart. I'm going to make you proud big brother."

He then looked to see that his friends were also by his side and he knew that he wasn't alone. He then looked at Sora. Somehow over the past few weeks of knowing him, Sora has matured in a way that made Luigi feel like a proud older brother. He knew that Sora looked at him like an older sibling putting aside the silly antics they always got into. Luigi felt as though his brother's spirit was resting inside the keyblade master. He had nothing to fear and was ready. He knew that this was going to be the most intense fight he's ever faced against Bowser.

Sora got his keyblade ready for the battle. "After coming this far? I don't think so. We'll stop it no matter what you say!"

"You fools!" Bowser growled. "Do you actually think you can beat me? The king of all koopas?"

"So, I guess you couldn't stand your lackeys doing your job anymore, huh?" Fox smirked.

"I got bored." Bowser explained. "Haven't done anything rotten in a long time, not since yesterday." He then took out the Star Rod. "And you forget that I hold the Star Rod. The one held by Dedede is nothing compared to the power of this one. Mario couldn't even beat it on his first shot."

"It doesn't matter!" Yoshi cried. "We beat you!"

"Then it's time to exterminate you pests once and for all." Bowser said. He then made the Star Rod glow and produce more heartless. "Attack!"

The group ran at the heartless as fast as they could. Fox and Yoshi took on the heartless while Luigi and Sora went for Bowser. Fox jumped over the shield heartless and slashed it from behind. He then twirled his staff around and gave it a hard swing like a baseball bat. Five more surrounded him and he stuck his staff into the ground and grabbed it and went horizontal, running around the heartless in a clockwise position. He then shot a ice spell at one and jumped onto one and jumped off it. He then fired his laser gun at it, blasting it away.

Yoshi used egg roll and rolled around the room, knocking heartless away. He then ate one and turned it into an egg and threw it at another one. He then used the butt drop on another slamming it into the ground. Yoshi then swatted a few away with his tail and knocked one into the air. He then took another egg and hit the one in the air.

Sora and Luigi ran at Bowser with their weapons out. Bowser flew down at them and the two ducked under the attack.

"Hey, do you know his weakness?" Sora asked Luigi.

"After facing this guy ten millions times I think I would know." Luigi groaned.

Bowser then took out a bomb and threw it at them. Sora quickly threw his keyblade at the bomb and destroyed it.

"Grr, lucky punk!" Bowser growled. "How about these apples?"

"What's with the one-liners?" Sora asked Luigi. "He sounds like you except worse."

"Kid, not now!" Luigi moaned. Bowser took a maniacal toy version of himself and threw it at them. "I swear he can be more original then that."

Luigi walked over to the toy and stopped the wind handle. He then threw it to Sora who made a confused look at it.

"Uh, what do I do with this?" a stumped Sora asked.

"Throw it at his head!" Luigi shouted.

Sora threw the wind up toy at Bowser and it hit his head.

"Ow!" Bowser shouted. "That hurt! A wise guy, huh? Take this!"

He then fired his Star Rod at the both of them and they quickly dodged it. Sora jumped up and got onto the Koopa cart and held on with his life.

"Hang on!" Luigi called to Sora.

"Get off you brat!"

"No way!" Sora cried. Bowser flew as fast as he could to try and shake the boy off him, but had no luck. "My turn!"

Sora stabbed the clown cart and quickly jumped off. It began sparking from the powerful blow and then exploded, sending the koopa king flying across the room.

"You'll pay for that!" Bowser said.

Sora clashed his keyblade with the Star Rod and Bowser grabbed Sora's lower leg and threw him into a wall. Luigi fired a thunder spell but Bowser created a force field, blocking the attack. He then fired a lightning spell which zapped Luigi hard.

"LUIGI!" Sora cried in shock.

Luigi weakly fell down from the attack and was black with smoke coming out of him. Sora used Cura to bring Luigi's health back up and helped him up.

"Be careful." Luigi warned, still a little dazed. "This Star Rod is very dangerous."

"Right." Sora nodded.

Soon Fox and Yoshi joined the battle and they all attacked Bowser.

"Guys, try to get the Star Rod back from him!" Luigi instructed.

Yoshi tried to grab it with his tongue, but Bowser grabbed Yoshi's tongue with his other hand and threw him across the room. Sora and Fox attacked with their weapons and Bowser shot fire out from his mouth. The two dodged the attack and slashed at Bowser who only blocked it with his arm.

"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed.

Bowser grabbed both of them and slammed them into the ground. Luigi shot a ice spell at Bowser who once again used Star Rod to block it. Sora quickly got up and rammed his head into the monster's stomach and sent him crashing into a wall. Sora then rapidly slashed at the koopa king who then finally rammed him back. He weakly panted as the four regrouped.

"We've got you now." Fox said with confidence.

"Sorry, pal." Bowser said with a sinister smirk. "Not even close."

Bowser caused his Star Rod to glow green, releasing green sparkling rays of light. Although it was beautiful, they knew he had recovered his health.

"That Star Rod is too powerful." Sora said. "How are we going to beat?"

"Well, the star spirits could have helped but when our world was destroyed, so were they in the process." Luigi explained.

"This room is kind of stuffy, so let's change the setting." Bowser said holding up the Star Rod.

A giant out line of a yellow Star flew out from the rod causing it to fly into the air. It then released a bright light which blinded everyone. As the light began to dim, Sora opened his eyes and gasped at his new surroundings. They were nowhere but on a giant green platform that was extremely large. By looking at the shape, they could tell they were on top of a giant heart.

Sora could also notice giant round floating bombs with spikes on them. He then could see Bowser holding the Star Rod with an evil grin.

"What happened?" Yoshi whimpered.

"I just wanted to set the tone for when your when I pound your faces into the ground." Bowser laughed.

"We'll see!" Sora cried.

The four ran at Bowser again who also ran at them. Sora clashed with the Star Rod again and spun around to hit Bowser on the side. However, Bowser was quicker and knocked Sora back. Luigi and Yoshi then kicked Bowser, sending him sliding across the floor. Bowser got up and fired lasers at them which they barley dodged. Bowser then shot multi fireballs at the foursome.

Fox spun his staff around and blew the attack right back at Bowser. He quickly ducked underneath the attack and fired more fireballs at them. The gang dodged the attack and ran at Bowser again who this time fired a giant energy wave at everyone. Sora ducked under the attack but the others weren't as lucky. They all spun back and hit the ground.

"Now feel my true power!" Bowser cried.

Bowser put the Star Rod up and he began glowing all over. He was surrounded by pink energy and outlined stars. Sora slashed at Bowser but it had no affect whatsoever.

"T-that's impossible!" gasped Sora.

"Oh, it's very possible!" Bowser laughed. He then smacked Sora across the room until he slid to the edge. "As long as I hold the Star Rod, I'm invincible." Bowser walked over to Sora with his pounding feet and grabbed him. "Since you've been the entire cause of this problem, you'll be the first to suffer."

"No!" Luigi shouted weakly. "Leave him out of this! This is between you and me!"

"Wait your turn." Bowser sang with a singy-songy voice. He then punched Sora in the face and sent him flying across the room again. Bowser used the Star Rod's power to bring him back into Bowser's giant hand. "Wait, there's more!"

Bowser spun his Star Rod around causing Sora to go flying all over the place. He then send Sora crashing into the ground. Sora couldn't go on. He was too weak to continue fighting. He could feel defeat inside of him. Bowser grabbed Sora's shirt collar and held him up.

"Sora!" Fox weakly called. "Be strong!"

"Enough!" Bowser said. He then noticed the bomb and made a sinister smile. "Well, I admit that even the keyblade master did a good job of standing up to me. But in the end, I'm still number one." He then positioned Sora towards the bomb. He was ready to throw him. "This ending is going to be a blast."

Sora knew it was over, that he had failed. He had failed everyone; Luigi, Fox, Yoshi, Riku, and Kairi. A tear slowly streamed down his face and the tear drop gently landed on his keychain. The keychain then began to glow and Bowser noticed this.

"What the-"

The keyblade became brighter then anything ever seen before. It was beautiful and amazing. It then pointed its tip at the Star Rod and fired a beam at it. The darkness got extracted from the rod and stopped glowing. Bowser dropped Sora and look stupidly at the Star Rod.

"What did you do?" Bowser asked in horror. He tried to activate its power but didn't do anything. "Is there an on button here or something?"

"What happened?" Yoshi asked Fox.

"I felt it." Fox weakly said. "Bowser was able to use the darkness from the Star Rod to use its power. Somehow, Sora's keyblade wiped out the darkness, making it useless to the ones with darkness in their hearts."

"I see!" Luigi said excitedly. "That means that Bowser if finished!"

Luigi used his Cura magic to restore Sora to full power. Sora firmly held the keyblade with both hands and smirked.

"Looks likes the tables have turned." Sora smirked.

"No, I can still beat you without this stupid rod." Bowser growled, throwing the Star Rod to the ground.

Bowser tried to attack but Sora countered with a hard strike, knocking the beast down. Sora then used Ragnarok and rapidly slashed Bowser. He then gave one hard strike to the koopa king and sent him crashing to the ground.

"Quick, grab his tail and throw him at the bomb." Luigi called out. Sora made a look at Luigi like he was crazy. "Trust me! He may way a ton, but he's light on the tail!"

Sora nodded and grabbed Bowser by the tail. He then spun him around as fast as he could. He then released Bowser's tail and Bowser hit the bomb and he went flying into the air. Bowser then landed on the ground and growled weakly. The others cheered as they ran over to their friend and congratulated him

"No!" Bowser growled in pain. "How could I lose!"

The room then flashed and reverted back to the chapel. Sora noticed an Ansem Report on the ground and picked it up. For a moment, Sora weakly lost his balance but Luigi helped him up and gave him a potion to slowly drink. As Sora recovered, Bowser weakly got up and groaned.

"Bowser still standing!" Yoshi gasped.

"This guy never stays down." Luigi groaned.

"Bowser, give it up!" Sora demanded. "We've got you surrounded."

Bowser weakly chuckled and slowly backed into the wall. "Sorry, but I'm not done. As the old saying goes; he who koops and runs away lives to koop another."

A dark portal appeared behind him and he weakly moved into it and disappeared. The others ran towards the portal trying to stop him. However, they didn't realize that an unspeakable terror was awaiting their arrival.

To Be Continued...

A/N: Long chapter, huh? Well, next chapter will bring us to another climax in the story. And if I don't get the next chapter up by next weekend then Happy Holidays to all.