A/N: This chapter will strictly be a Final Mix chapter. Most of you fans will know what to expect from the title of this chapter. In Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix (aside from the Showdown of Fate), an extra boss was added to bring more in depth for the storyline, and set the stage for Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II. I won't ruin much, but the role of these types of people is much bigger in the next two installments.
Chapter XXXII: Showdown with a Mysterious Stranger
Darkness was all he could see. He felt the throbbing pain in his body, and the numbness. He tried to move one inch, but he felt like he was being restrained. He knew that his eyes were closed, and yet, he couldn't open then. Taking a deep breath, he slowly opened them, knowing that the results of the battle were possibly deadly. Sora's vision was blurry, but he could tell he wasn't in the arena anymore. Instead, he was in a hospital bed with his leg on a support with a cast around it.
Sora put his head down in sorrow, feeling like he lost his title. Lifting it back up, he looked around at his environment. A small hospital room with white tiles on the floor, a white curtain that went halfway around him, and a giant window in the corner. Sora saw he was set up to a heart monitor, it beeped at a normal pace. Sora sighed with relief, knowing he may not have won, but at least he had his life spared.
"Can't win them all." Sora thought sadly.
He looked to his left and noticed a small table. On the table he noticed a get well card looking right at him. Sora saw that it was a handwritten by a child, so he knew it was written by Yoshi. He rested his head on the pillow, sighing all the way. He could then hear a small creaking sound coming from the right. He skimmed the entire area until he saw the door to the room open. He smiled, seeing both Luigi and Yoshi entering the room.
Yoshi excitedly ran over to Sora and licked his face. Tears were streaming down the frightened dinosaur's face as he licked away. Luigi walked up to the boy, smiling with relief, knowing that he was okay.
"Thank goodness you're up, kid." said a relieved Luigi. "We were all praying for you, and you came through." He then sat down in a chair next to his friend, slowly sliding down it, feeling the vibration from it. "Mama-mia! I was on the edge of my seat in that fight. I didn't know you had it in you."
"I didn't even know I had it in me, too." Sora chuckled. "It was so intense! One of the most intense fights I've ever encountered.
Sora lightly smiled and petted Yoshi's head, calming him down. Yoshi sat next to Sora and smiled at him.
"Yoshi was so worried." said Yoshi worryingly. "Yoshi thought Sora was going to..."
"Can't you ever have faith in me?" Sora said to Yoshi, a little disappointed. "I would have been fine no matter what." Yoshi put his head down and Sora petted him. "I didn't mean to snap, don't be sad." Yoshi looked back up and smiled again. Sora then turned to Luigi, rubbing his head from the pain. "What happened?"
"Well, it's like this," Luigi explained. "You were in an intense battle with that one winged freak, going at each others throats. I tell you, I haven't seen a brawl like that since my brother first took on Bowser. You really impressed me."
"Thanks," Sora blushed. He then made a sad look. "Did I lose the fight?"
Before Luigi could respond, the trio heard the door open. They saw Professor Oak, Cloud, Ash, Tails, Toadsworth and Pikachu enter. Professor Oak held something that made Sora excitedly widen his eyes, it was a blue trophy that was shaped like a leafless tree, with two points in each direction. Pikachu ran into Sora's arms and licked him. Sora started laughing from feeling the sand paper like feeling on his cheek.
"Calm down, Pikachu," called Ash, giving a slight chuckle. "Give Sora a chance to breath."
Pikachu jumped off of Sora and the Professor walked over to Sora, clearing his throat.
"I, Professor Oak, award the Platinum cup trophy to Sora, the champion of champions." Professor Oak announced.
Professor Oak put the trophy down next to Sora's bed as the boy looked at it, feeling proud of himself. He excitedly knew that he won the match, but how did he?
"So I won?" Sora asked in surprise. Everyone nodded. "But, I don't even remember how I could have won?" Sora tried to think back to when he was fighting Sephiroth. "I remember charging for one more strike, and then I blacked out." He made a stumped look, resting his chin on his hand. "So, what happened?"
"The moment you two collided," Cloud said. "He disappeared from the arena."
Sora looked at Cloud with a bit of disbelief.
"It was weird." Ash added. "He never showed up after that attack."
"And since he wasn't present in the ring, he was automatically disqualified." Oak concluded. "You won by default."
Sora didn't know rather to be happy or disappointed. Sure he won and all, but it was only because Sephiroth probably bailed out. Then again, he didn't care, he was happy to be the winner and cheered.
"Oh, yeah!" cheered Sora. "I did it!"
"You did well, kid." Cloud smirked, impressed. "No one has ever been able to survive the onslaught of Sephiroth. You truly are a warrior and that's something to be proud of."
"Thanks," Sora blushed. Cloud then began to leave. "Hey, where are you going?"
Cloud turned back and smiled, "I'm off to find my own adventure. I hope that our paths will cross again one day. As I always told you, keep your light strong."
"Don't lose your light, too." Sora smiled back. "Keep it burning strong."
Cloud gave the young key wielder a thumbs up and left the room. Professor Oak handed the trophy to Luigi to hold onto, a keychain called "The One Winged Angel", and an Ansem report. Toadsworth walked over to Sora and chortled.
"Well, Master Sora," chortled Toadsworth. "You've have quite a day, haven't you?"
"Yeah." Sora chuckled weakly. "I guess I was in over my head a little bit."
"Luckily, Sora only get minor boo-boos." Yoshi said hopefully.
"Only a few minor injuries," Tails said. "You should be up and Adam by tomorrow."
"Who is Adam?" Yoshi asked curiously.
Sora just chuckled lightly and laid back down. Luigi walked over to the other side of Sora and smirked.
"You've impressed me, Sora." Luigi said. "You're defiantly one of most powerful people out there." Sora blushed and smiled. "We've got a surprise for you."
"A surprise?"
Sora then saw the door open, revealing Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny walking in with a giant cake. Sora was the white colored frosting on, the red colored icing, and the words that were written on it. It said, "Congratulations, Team Sora."
"Aw, is this for us?" Sora asked wholeheartedly.
"It sure is." Ash nodded. "You guys earned a piece of cake."
"Ooh, Yoshi love cake." Yoshi said excitedly licking his lips.
Yoshi ran for the cake, but Luigi held him back.
"Hold up, Yoshi." Luigi shouted. "Don't you even think about!"
"Think about what?" Yoshi gulped nervously. "Yoshi just wanted to admire cake."
Everyone started laughing at the comment. Everybody cut a piece a of cake out, and Luigi gave one to Sora, who was still in bed. The group chatted away with each other, having a good time now that the fighting was over. The cake they had was very good. Sora was thinking about Ansem and how he knew there was still one more threat left to deal with. Ash walked over to Sora and bent down to him.
"Hey, Sora," said Ash. "What's next for you?"
"Well, we have some unfinished business to take care off." Sora explained. "Tomorrow, I'll be off."
"Be careful," Ash warned. "You're still injured."
"I'll be okay." Sora reassured. "I have my friends at my side."
Luigi proudly walked over next to the bed, "Yeah, this kid has Mr. Muscles here and I can break anyone in half."
Luigi did a karate chop which accidentally hit a lever. That caused the support on Sora's leg to quickly lower, brining his leg down, hard onto the bed.
"Ow!" Sora shouted.
"Oh, sorry, let me fix that!"
Luigi jumped onto the bed to try and fix it, but he kneed Sora's leg again.
"LUIGI!" yelped Sora in pain.
"Don't worry, I'll fix it." Luigi said frantically.
He then tried to press a button, but he pressed the recline button which raised Sora's upper body, knocking his head into Luigi's head. The other were also trying to help stabilize the situation. Unknown to them, Yoshi was secretly picking away at the cake. Pikachu ran on the bed, only to press a button which caused both parts of the bed to recline up, crushing Sora between the two mattresses. Everyone could hear Sora's muffled cries of pain. Everyone got on each side of the bed and pulled on it. Finally, they were able to pull the mattresses out of him.
Ash tumbled back and knocked the trophy onto the floor which rolled into Yoshi. The dinosaur lifted his foot and it landed on the trophy, tripping him back into the support that was holding the cake, knocking the cake off, sending it into the air. Everyone caught their breaths from their attempts to rescue Sora.
"Man, are you alright?" sighed Tails.
"I'm fine." moaned Sora. "Now I'm going to be here for a week," He then turned to Luigi with an evil glare. "And it's all your fault."
"At least I didn't get on the receiving end of the blow." Luigi pointed out. He then looked up to see the cake falling on him. "Why, me?"
The cake landed on Luigi's head, causing a great big splat. Everybody else started cracking up at Luigi who looked like a fool. The frosting slowly slid down his face. Luigi just stood their with lowered eyes and a bittered lip. Yoshi walked over and licked Luigi's face, getting all of the frosting off.
"Mmm, that good." Yoshi said, licking Luigi's face clean.
Later that night, Sora's group turned in. The doctor, much like Tails has mentioned said that Sora was fine to go tomorrow. As he rested his bruises and scars, he wondered what ever happened to Sephiroth. Shrugging it off, he fell into a well deserved night's sleep. The arena remained in ruin for a long time. Pieces of ruble were split into two from the vicious duel.
The night stars glimmered in the sky, looking down at the arena. The wind blew lightly through the area with a warm breeze. It seemed that everyone had turned in for the night, except for one person. He slowly walked into the arena, gazing out into the arena. His giant red cape and spiky blonde hair blew in the wind. That person was Cloud. He held a piece of paper in his hand and looked down at it, trembling the hand writing on it.
"Meet me at midnight tonight," Cloud recited the letter. "We shall settle this once and for all."
Putting the letter in his pocket, he slowly walked to the center of the ring, his breath raspy, feeling the tension in the air. He knew that the moment he has longed to achieve was finally here. Finally, he walked onto the center of the ring, holding his mighty sword in his right hand, gripping tightly onto it. He skimmed the area as he looked for something. The wind blew in different directions, causing the man to move his head at a fast pace.
He then heard it above him. Looking up he saw a dark feather drift its way onto the ground. As he looked at it, he felt another presence. He saw a small shadow appear next to the wing. Soon two feet worn by familiar boots lightly touched the ground. Cloud stiffed his shoulders as he looked up, seeing a familiar silvered haired swordsmen. It was him, Sephiroth.
"I knew you would show up." Sephiroth smirked. "You'd never back down from this challenge."
Cloud stood up and stared his opponent down. The two enemies looked into each others, their bittered hatred rising. Cloud knew he had to end this nightmare once and for all.
"Indeed," Cloud nodded. "I'm surprised you'd even show your face after a defeat from a child."
Sephiroth simply laughed, "You as well. Let's not forget that you fell to him twice." Cloud frowned. "But, I left the battle because I did not wish to have my face in the dirt, especially from the boy." He then smirked. "I've been waiting for this moment a long time, so it doesn't matter about the keyblade master."
"I've been searching for you." Cloud said coldly.
"As have I." Sephiroth responded.
Cloud slightly walked forward, clinching his teeth with frustration.
"I can never escape from you." Cloud bluntly said. "You're a nightmare I can never awaken from, a nightmare that hunts me as you continue to breath. You are my darkness."
"Flattery will not help you in this fight." Sephiroth joked with a chuckle. "So, I shall draw you into a darkness, into a nightmare world that will deprive you of light forever, from which you can never awaken from."
"You make me sick." Cloud said disgustingly. "As Sora would say, I'll have you beaten so badly that you'll be on the floor, crying like a little baby."
"Oh, boohoo!" Sephiroth joked. "I'm so scared!" He then rested his hand on his sword. "Let see the light save you from this."
Cloud grasped the handle of his giant sword with both hands. Electricity sparkled as the two powered up, the ground lightly shaking from their intense power, pebbles floating into the air from their force. The wind began to blow rapidly and rough. The two stared each other down with fires in their eyes. They gave each other a glance of confidence.
"So, winner takes all?" Cloud suggested.
"Agreed," Sephiroth nodded. "This showdown of fate will prove that I, the darkness am far stronger then you."
Cloud felt the presence of all the new friends he met, knowing in spirit they had his back. Nodding, he got his sword into position. The planet began to rumble from their incredible force. At battle that was destined to happen has finally occurred. The two continued to stare at each other with tension in their bodies, their hearts beating, and their blood boiling. Finally, the two dashed at each other, holding their swords out. The two clashed their sword together with a hard clang.
The two struggled against each other and then pushed back. Cloud flew at Sephiroth and they rapidly clashed with each other. Sephiroth swiped at Cloud who jumped over the attack and swatted back at Sephiroth who side stepped the attack, giving a hard thrust back at his rival who did a cartwheel over the attack. The two clashed with each other and spun back. Sephiroth flew into the air, Cloud following short behind.
The two clashed their weapons again, clashing back in forth, not holding back and not backing down. Cloud slashed at Sephiroth who disappeared and reappeared behind him. Cloud charged at him and rapidly clashed with him again. The two backed away, and flew back at each other, clashing again. The two continued this pattern, until they both drew a dark energy ball and blasted each other, knocking back into the ground, sliding across the ground.
They both jumped back up, and Sephiroth fired dark balls energy balls at the hero who dodged them. Cloud jumped backwards, dodging the energy balls. Two appeared beside him, and he ducked under the attack, causing an explosion. He flew onto a mountain, flying around, dodging Sephiroth's dark blasts. Landing on the mountain, he looked around for his opponent.
"Where are you?"
He then heard the wind rushing from behind him. He quickly ducked as something slashed through the peak of the mountain, breaking it in half. Cloud jumped onto a giant piece of the rock, and then looked up to see Sephiroth. Cloud put his sword out as Sephiroth clashed from above. The swung at each other, fierce strikes landing upon their swords. Cloud gave a hard vertical slash, cutting the rock in half, but missing the one winged angel.
Sephiroth jumped from rock to rock with Cloud following short behind. Cloud clashed with Sephiroth again, and Cloud pushed Sephiroth back, clashing in a circular motion with Sephiroth blocking with his sword. Cloud continued to rapidly slash until Sephiroth side stepped again. Sephiroth quickly threw a punch, but Cloud jerked his head back, dodging the attack. He then brought his sword from over his shoulder and clashed with Sephiroth again.
The two jumped back and flew at each other. They clashed again and rapidly blocked and clashed as they slowly flew back down into the arena. From a distance, it looked like giant round lights flashing closely at each other. Finally, the two flew down into the ground, creating a massive explosion of light. The two slid back, breathing heavily from their fight. Both fighters looked at each other again, sweating from the intensity of the duel. Sephiroth smirked at Cloud who smirked as well.
"Good form, Cloud." Sephiroth said impressed. "You've improved greatly." He then made an evil grin. "But, I've only warmed up."
Cloud looked a bit nervous at Sephiroth, wondering if he couldn't win. He then remembered that Sora told him not to lose his light ether. He lightly smiled at his enemy.
"So have I." Cloud responded.
The two lunged at each other again, screaming at the top of their lungs. Their two swords finally gave one finally clang as they collided, creating a giant flash of light. As the light dimmed, they were long gone. Cloud and Sephiroth were never seen again at the coliseum. Next morning, Sora was slowly helped out of bed by his friends. He slowly moved around, getting the feel back in his body. He stretched out a little bit, and soon enough, he was able to move around pretty normally.
Knowing they didn't have anytime to waste, they headed for the Toad Express, with Ash and his friends sending them off. Luigi held onto the trophy as they arrived at the door. Sora turned to Ash and shook his hand.
"Ash, I had an amazing time here." Sora said. "Pokemon are the most amazing creatures I've ever seen."
Pikachu blushed at the comment and made a proud look.
"You should try being a Pokemon trainer yourself, Sora." Ash suggested. "You'd have lots of fun. You could even become a Pokemon Master."
"It's hard enough being the keyblade master, so I think I'll past." Sora chuckled. "Listen, we're going to get going and we'll never forget any of you."
Ash slightly titled his head in confusion, "Are you going somewhere? It sounds like we'll never see you again."
Luigi and Yoshi both glanced at Sora who made a nervous look. He knew that they were onto him. Taking a deep breath, he turned back to Ash.
"Sorry, I meant I'm sure we'll see you soon." lied Sora.
"Then take care." Oak said, saying good-bye. "Don't be a stranger. You're always welcomed back here. Next time I won't be as rude."
"And good luck at becoming the world's greatest Pokemon Master, Ash." Sora said as he shook the trainer's hand. "I think you'd be the best."
"Thanks, Sora." Ash chuckled. "Not a lot of people said that." He then looked at Pikachu. "Say good-bye, Pikachu."
Pikachu jumped into Sora's arms and licked his face. Sora chuckled as he received the gentle licks from the Pokemon. The group final said all of their good-byes and boarded the ship. Tails started the engine and blasted off into the deepest, darkest part of the universe. Aboard the ship, everyone sat back in their seats, knowing that the excitement was over. They knew that the serious part was about to commence.
Sora sadly turned to the window, knowing that his journey was almost over. All the amazing adventures he had were going to come to an end. He felt happy knowing that he was going to finally go home, but he wish he didn't have to leave his friends. Meanwhile, Luigi, Yoshi, and Toadsworth were all in a group discussion.
"Master Luigi, what is troubling you?" Toadsworth asked.
"The kid is hiding something from us." Luigi told Toadsworth. "Ever since we left Hallow Bastion I saw this look in his eyes, like something was disturbing him."
"Yoshi got Sora down like a book." Yoshi added. "Sora not himself. He hiding something from Yoshi."
"Hm, you could be right." Toadsworth said, gently rubbing his moustache in thought. "Perhaps we should confront our dear friend about this. It's unhealthy to leave something bottled up inside."
"Okay, so we agree then?" Luigi said. "We get it out of him."
"I agree." Toadsworth nodded.
"Yoshi agree, too." Yoshi nodded. He then made a dumbfounded look. "Um, what we agree about again?"
Luigi rolled his eyes and moaned, "Never mind."
Sora sadly sighed out of the window, seeing all of the beautiful stars in the sky. He thought back to the strange and wondrous worlds he's traveled to. From the jungles Kongo Bongo to the giant space ship of the Egg Carrier. Sora held back the tears that came into his eyes. He then felt like he was being watched. Peering over his shoulder, he saw Luigi, Yoshi, and Toadsworth looking at him. Sora felt a hard rock in his throat, a rock that he couldn't push down with a swallow.
"I'm in trouble." Sora thought nervously.
"Okay, kid," Luigi said. "I know that look. You're hiding something from us."
"W-who me?" Sora said nervously. "You got all wrong guys, I'm not hiding..."
He noticed everyone frowning at him. They weren't buying his story. He didn't want to tell them his secret, but they were pushing onto revealing it.
"That's it!" huffed Luigi. "If you don't tell us right now, no more meatballs with dinner."
Sora narrowed his eyes, looking at the plumber with a groan.
"Luigi, you're threats are as bad as your own jokes." Sora groaned. "I think I can live with that."
"Okay, um, how about no extra sauce?" Luigi suggested. Sora rolled his eyes. "Um, brush you teeth before every meal? No, no, no, wait!"
"Master Luigi, please stop at once." Toadsworth said. "We're getting no where like this. Threatening Master Sora won't give us the answer we seek."
Luigi was about to say something when the group heard a voice that was not even their own.
"Keyblade master, can you hear me?" called a familiar voice.
"A ghost!" Yoshi cried.
Yoshi quickly dove behind one of the chains and coward. Luigi looked around the room in panic.
"A ghost? Let me out of here!" Luigi panicked.
Luigi also joined Yoshi behind the couch and coward with him. Sora recognized that soft female voice right away.
"Krystal?" Sora asked in surprise. "Is that you?"
"Yes, keyblade master," she responded. "I'm glad I've found."
"I don't see you anywhere though." Sora said, looking around the room.
"I'm talking to you telepathically." Krystal responded. "Listen, Sora, I need you and your friends to return to Hallow Bastion."
"Something wrong, princess?" Toadsworth asked curiously.
"I can't explain it here." she responded. "Please, you must hurry. Something terrible has gone wrong."
Not being the one to back down from helping the princesses, Sora bravely stood up, holding the keyblade in his hand.
"We're on our way!" Sora announced. He then called to Tails. "Tails, back to Hallow Bastion, and step on it!"
"Aye, aye, sir!" Tails called.
"Come on!" whined Luigi. "We're so close to facing that white haired freak, and every single time we ether answer a call for help or partake in a tournament! Are we everyone's babysitter?"
"Look, I know this is getting annoying, but this will be the last time we help anyone." Sora rest assured. "I promise!"
"Plus, I'm sure this isn't a plea from just princess Krystal," Toadsworth added. "Probably from the others, including princess Peach." He then paused for a moment, realizing she may be in danger. He then started to panic. "Edgad I say! The princess is in trouble!"
"But we no know that yet." Yoshi pointed out.
"Fine!" Luigi groaned. "To Hallow Bastion then!"
Tails used the warp drive feature to bring the plane back to Hallow Bastion. Sora's group, along with Toadsworth exited and headed to the chapel. On the way, the heartless came at them. With their amazing increase in power, the trio had no problem defeating the heartless. Sora even called Kazooie into battle. She used grenade like eggs to blast opponents aside, she flew into the air and dove down, pecking away at a few of them.
Using her feet, she picked Sora up and flew him across the area. Sora slashed at the heartless in the sky with his keyblade. One fired a laser at them, but Kazooie spun them around, dodging the move. Sora used blizzard and knocked it down. Sora then jumped out of her feet and finished the rest of them with Sonic Blade attack. Sora landed on the ground and put his keyblade away as Kazooie landed next to him.
"Thanks, Kazooie," Sora smiled. "You're a good summon."
"Aw, go on, kid." blushed Kazooie. "I admit, without me you would be mince meat." Sora rolled his eyes. "Only joking, but at least you're lighter to carry then Banjo."
"Banjo a friend of yours?" Sora wondered.
"Yeah, stop by my world sometime and I'll introduce you." Kazooie said with a wink. "Though you should watch out for all the weirdos that live there. Witches, shaman, and talking vegetables. That's the story of my world."
Sora chuckled and returned Kazooie to her summon gem. The four made there way into the main hallway, and then into the library. Inside, they walked up the stairs and arrived to see Fox and Krystal. The princess of heart was on the floor, legs cross, and eyes close. Her breathing was light as she sat there. Sora curiously walked up to Fox and whispered in his ear.
"Hey, man," Sora greeted with a whisper. "Um, what's she doing?"
"She taking nap?" Yoshi asked out loud.
Luigi and Toadsworth both shushed Yoshi up. Fox whispered back to Sora.
"She's meditating," Fox responded. "She's trying to establish communication with the source of the strange energy she's been sensing."
"What energy?" Sora asked.
Fox shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know." Krystal gasped and came out of her trance. Her entire body was trembling from the force she felt. Her mind was boggled with questions, and at the same time, she was completely stunned. Fox put his arms around her, comforting her. "Krystal, are you okay, sweetheart?"
"I'm fine, Fox." Krystal sighed. "But I couldn't establish communication. I've sensed major powers before, but none like this. This was simply...words can't even describe it." She then turned to Sora. "Sora, I believe that the only way to find out what it is..."
"We know, we know," moaned Luigi. "We've got to investigate."
"It would put us at ease." Krystal nodded. "I can count on your, right?" The trio nodded. "Perhaps, the others could give you some more information about this power. I suggest taking Fox along for help." Fox nodded to her and she then hugged him. "Be careful, my love."
The two kissed each other lightly on the lips, holding their love strong. Luigi impatiently tapped his foot.
"Would you two stop and let's get moving?" Luigi said.
"I'll see you later, Krystal." Fox said, saying good-bye.
The five made their way into the secret elevator and used it to rise up to the chapel entrance. The group easily disposed off all the heartless, and quickly ran into the next room where the princesses of heart were all in group discussions. Sora noticed a strange dark portal that appeared in the center of the room. He recognized it at the same one that lead to Bowser. He felt his spine tremble, wondering if the evil Koopa King was alive. Peach approached the group with the other princesses behind her.
"Sora, Luigi, Yoshi, Toadsworth, thank goodness you came to help." sighed Peach with relief.
"Of course, princess." Toadsworth said with determination in his eyes. "I'm sworn to help you in dire need! It's my duty!"
"I knew I could count on you, Toadsworth." smiled Peach. "But, why don't you stay with us? This mission is a bit dangerous."
Luigi and Yoshi both gulped nervously, knowing that dangerous was their least favorite word.
"What appears to be the problem?" Fox asked.
Tooty stepped forward, "A gate of darkness has appeared. I don't know if it's the sign of something bad or good. It's power has left me a lost for words."
"From this gate that suddenly appeared, I can feel a power of darkness." Peach said, observing the portal. She then sensed it again, realizing something horrible. "Wait! This isn't darkness at all! It's...different from anything I've ever felt! Maybe even more dangerous then darkness!"
Yoshi and Sora restrained Luigi as he tried to run.
"Let me out of here!" Luigi screamed. "I want my mommy!"
"Luigi, you look like an idiot right now." Sora snapped.
"I'm willing to risk my reputation right now to look like one!" Luigi shouted.
"What reputation?" chuckled Fox.
"I just have a bad feeling about this." Dixie said nervously.
"I'm sure that we could hold back the power of darkness just a little bit, but this is completely different. A power other than darkness." Zelda said.
"Other than?" Sora wondered. "Darkness, light, only powers I can think of."
"A third power between the light and darkness." Zelda pondered. "What could this mean?"
Samus nodded, "What could it be for that matter? We'd check it ourselves, but the force is holding us back."
"Don't worry because we'll investigate." Sora insisted with confidence.
"Thank you, Sora." Peach smiled with appreciation. "I knew we could count on you." She then made a worried look. "Just be careful."
Sora nodded and left for the portal. The others followed into the portal as well with Yoshi nervously holding Luigi's hand. They arrived in the same room where they claimed their victory against Giga Bowser. The room was completely silent, not a word was said. The four didn't notice any changes since their last time here. The four split up and looked around for anything strange. There was nothing at all.
The foursome searched for a few minutes, leaving no stone unturned. Everything seemed pretty calm to them. They thought the princesses made some mistake, but how could six of them sense the same thing? Shrugging their shoulders, the trio regrouped near the portal.
"You guys find anything?" Luigi asked.
Sora shook his head, "It's all peaceful." He then put his hands on his hips, unsure about something. "I can't help feeling like something's wrong."
"Is Sora sick?" asked a concerned Yoshi.
"I'm fine, I just have a bad feeling." Sora said, sliding his hands into his pockets.
"Weird," Fox said worryingly. "I feel bad, too."
"Well, you feel bad, I'll run like mad for the exit." Luigi said, ready to leave.
Yoshi felt as if though someone was directly behind him. Turning around, he saw a shrouded form that faded in and out of existence. Slow eerier sounds of a buzzing noise appeared around the form. Yoshi got nervous and ran over to Luigi, knocking him over.
"Ow!" Luigi cried. "Yoshi!"
"Luigi, there something here!" cried a frantic Yoshi.
"Listen, you have issues where you like to hallucinate things." Luigi said. "It's nothing to..." Luigi then noticed the mysterious being making its way towards Sora. He started to sweat upon seeing it. "Okay, everything is cool. My eyes are a little dirty, let me clean them out." Luigi rubbed his eyes, hoping what he was seeing would go away. Upon opening them, he saw the form approaching Sora at a fast rate. "Holy ravioli! Sora, watch out!"
"Huh?" Sora asked confused.
The boy turned around to see the mysterious figure almost upon him, gasping and falling back as it reached him. But it walked straight through him. A flash appeared in Sora's mind and he saw all of his memories of everything that happened up to this point. His days on Destiny Island, the night of the storm, arriving at Isle Delfino, his fights against Leon and Guard Armor, teaming up with Luigi and Yoshi, traveling to other worlds, reuniting with Riku, battling Ganon, Riku's betrayal in Shyguy's toybox, more visits to worlds, Riku siding with the heartless, Yoshi and Sora's friendship growing stronger, Sora's duel at Hallow Bastion with Riku and Ansem, the promise Sora made to Kairi, and the fight at the coliseum.
Sora fell backwards, his mind feeling like it was just zapped by lightning. The others ran to his aid, making sure he was okay. Sora put his hand over his eyes, he never felt a feeling like this. He felt like whatever did that just reached into his memory bank for a viewing pleasure. Yoshi licked Sora's face to comfort him.
"Sora, what happened?" Fox asked in concern. "Are you okay?"
"It's so weird," Sora groaned, rubbing his eyes. "I felt like everything we ever did flashed before my eyes. I lost control of everything in that instance. I thought I couldn't even breath."
"Don't look now, but we have an uninvited guest." Luigi gulped nervously.
Sora turned around to notice a cloaked figure with his back turned to them. His coat was a dark-greyish color. His entire body was covered, showing no sign of skin, nor showing if the person was male or female. He wore dark grey boots, dark gray gloves, and his jacket zipped up to the top. The figure's face was hidden away in his hood, making it impossible to see the face.
Sora never saw a person like that before. He was different from the heartless, or Ansem for that matter. His muscles tightened, his breathing became light, he felt tingly all over. Truly it was a frightening moment. Sora stood up and bravely stepped forward, trying to establish communication with this person.
"Who are you?" Sora demanded to know. "Why did you sneak up on us like that?"
The figure simply stood his ground, staring blankly into space. He didn't speak at all, but something strange happen. The four could see the words appear in their minds. They were left in shock by this.
"Ah...it seems you are special too." said the figure.
The four startled back, shaking their heads from the incident. This person's way of speaking was even more eerier than the way Mewtwo spoke.
"How did he do that?" Sora asked in shock.
"Let's not stick around to find out!" Luigi said, running for the exit.
He ran for the exit, only to see the portal has disappeared. Luigi gulped nervously, his heart beating rapidly, he knew that they were in for it now. He slowly walked back to the group, staying close to feel safe. Yoshi began to wonder about this person's identity. He then figured it out.
"Ansem?" Yoshi cried. "It Ansem!"
"Are you sure?" Sora asked Yoshi. "Maybe it's a trick!"
The man looked over his shoulder, glimpsing at the four. His words appearing in their minds again.
"It sounds familiar to me." the figure said.
The man held out his hand, reveling his dark glove. All of a sudden, a strange blue light filled with a lattice of hexagonal shapes began to fizzle in it. He kept his back away from the group who could sense that Ansem or whoever it was wanted to fight them. Sora took his keyblade out, gripping the handles tightly. Fox took out Krystal's staff, holding both sides of it.
"Get ready everyone," Fox whispered. "This guy didn't come for cake and coffee."
"Where?" Yoshi asked excitedly.
Sora notice the man exchanging another glance at him directly.
"You look just like him." the man said.
Sora didn't know rather to take that as an offense or a confusing remark.
"What's that suppose to mean?" Sora asked.
Sora gasped as he saw the man turning around, holding the energy. Sora quickly put his keyblade up horizontally, and held the back with both hands. The man fired the energy at Sora who blocked it. The energy gave a hard impact on the keyblade, pushing Sora back towards the wall. He gave all his effort and pushed the energy back at the man.
The man quickly grab the energy ball and spun his body in the air and gave an underhand throw back at Sora. The boy quickly moved his head left to dodge the attack. Sora noticed the energy ball coming right back at him. Sora blocked it again with his keyblade and finally pushed into the air, hitting the ceiling. Sora turned back to the stranger, already out of breath. A shower of mortar and fine stone descended from the impact of the energy. Some which hit Luigi in the head.
"Ah!" Luigi cried
The shrouded man turned to face Sora's group. He didn't have any emotion or could hear the sound of his breathing. They didn't even know if this person was even human. He seemed to be thinking about something, but it was hard to tell from the darkness around his face.
"It shows...you're incomplete." the man said. "You remain incomplete. However, that power you hold..."
Sora got ready along with the others. They knew this battle wouldn't be easy, but they had to give it all they've got. The group saw the words one last time before the fight.
"Allow me to test your power." the man concluded.
The four bravely got ready and charged at the man. Sora leaped at the figure who side stepped his attack. Sora rapidly slashed at the man, only to see him dodge the attacks at speeds he's never seen before. The man effortlessly knocked Sora aside without even flinching. Sora slid across the room and used his feet to kick back up.
"He's so fast!" Sora thought in shock. "It's like he knows my every attack."
Luigi fired blizzard spells and Yoshi fired eggs at the man. The figure put his hand out, creating a blue wall of energy that protected him from the attacks. The man then held both of his hands out and fired to energy balls, which collided to create one big ball. The energy blasted the duo into a wall. Fox charged with his staff in hand and brought it down, and as if like a bullet, the man took out a red sword of light and blocked the attack.
Fox angrily spun his staff around as he tried to land a blow on the figure. The figure clashed with everyone of Fox's blows, dodging left and right as he went. Fox spun his body horizontally, sending a hard swipe, but the figure did a back flip over it. Fox rapidly slashed again, the man blocking the attacks with his sword. Fox finally cornered the man into a wall, but as he gave a thrust, the figure spun out of the way and slashed the fox's back.
Fox felt the burning pain from the attack of the energy. He fell back and held his back, trying to lessen the pain. Sora quickly dove in and slashed the man in the chest, sending him crashing into the wall. He was shocked to see the man effortlessly stand up and brush himself off. Sora couldn't even hear a cry of anguish from this person. The man bolted forward and slashed Sora hard in the chest, burning a piece of his shirt off. Sora rested his hand on the chest, feeling the burning pain.
Sora ran at him again and clashed with him. Electricity flowed from their amazing power, both struggling against each other. The figure became interested in Sora's power as he held his ground. Sora jumped back and a gave a thrust at the man who side stepped and used his energy wall to knock the boy back. Luigi used gravity which knocked the man back. Taking the chance, Sora rammed the man into the ground and tried to bring the keyblade down on him.
The man slid under Sora's attack and jumped back up, slashing Sora in the back again. Fox used his earthquake attack on the man, but he jumped over Fox's attack and kicked him aside. Yoshi shot another egg at the man who effortlessly dodged it. He was defiantly a hassle, but if they work hard enough, there was a chance of beating him. Sora threw his keyblade at the man who dodged again, but Fox came in from the side and slashed his shoulder, knocking him aside.
The man quickly recovered from the attack and fired blue energy beams at the group. They quickly dodge the insane amount of blasts that came at them. The group panted nervously, they were close to taking the hit. The group charged at the man again who stood, ready to face them. Luigi and Yoshi both jumped up and kicked the man in the face, quickly and hardly. With the man stunned, Sora and Fox both slashed at the man in the stomach, knocking him back.
The man stood up and brushed himself off, "Impressive. I guess I'll need to take it up a notch."
The man drew two swords of light and leaped forward at the group. Luigi and Yoshi attacked from both sides, but the man side stepped them and slashed them both aside. Sora called Tails into battle to heal them of any wounds. Tails was astonished by the figure's appearance.
"Who is that?" Tails asked in surprise.
"Wish we knew." Fox replied.
The man clashed his swords with both Sora and Fox who backed up. The two clashed and dodged from both sides of the attack, trying to at least get one hit in on the figure, but couldn't. The figure rushed passed the and knocked them over. He then jumped into the air and fired more energy beams. The two quickly rushed backwards, trying to dodge the blasts from the man. The two were cornered at the edge of the room as the man fired red energy bolts at them.
Fox spun his staff around, deflecting every attack, putting a lot of strain and effort.
"Hit him now, Sora!" Luigi cried.
Sora quickly jumped into the air and slashed the man aside, sending him crashing into the ground. The man quickly kicked back up and put his arms across his chest. They could tell he was up to something as an outline of blue light appeared on his body. All of a sudden the energy was released, a giant ball of energy surrounding the man, and small lasers flying all around the room from the ball. The group narrowly dodged the attacks, a few which hit them.
One attack hit Tails, knocking him down. Sora quickly returned him to the summon gem to heal him. The attack finally ended and the man fired red energy beams that hit everyone, knocking them over. They panted and sweated from every blow. They thought they couldn't go on, but they had to try. Sora charged again at the figure who stood ready. Sora and the man ran at each other with full speed and power. Upon impact, Sora knocked both swords out of the man's hand.
Sora brought his keyblade up and brought it down with a hard and vicious blow. The man jolted back from the attack, not expecting a hard blow from the key wielder. Sora took a giant step forward and brought his body around and gave one finally slash, knocking the man back. Finally, the man seemed finished as he stumbled backwards, clutching his chest with a blue energy ball in it. Sora leaned on his keyblade, no longer having any fight. The others couldn't even continue as Luigi was too tired to even use cure magic.
Everyone gasped in horror as the man stood up and pushed the energy away with his hand, resulting in a wave of blue and black energy.
"This guy in unreal." Fox panted tiredly. "It's like our attacks had no effect on him."
The man looked at Sora, again with darkness entering his mind.
"...Truly fascinating." the man said.
With his last bit of will and strength, Sora stood up, confused by the man's words.
"Huh?"
The man stood ready.
"This I'm going to enjoy." he said.
Fed up with the man's riddles, Sora took his keyblade and ran at him.
"What the heck are you talking about?" Sora asked angrily.
Sora leaped into the air, keyblade held high. Sora felt like he went color blind for a split second, his body completely frozen. He heard a buzzing sound and finished the attack, only to miss as the man half-fades in and then back. Sora turned to man, annoyed and tired.
"Figures, at your present state you'd probably not understand." the man said, a bit humored. "However, you've got my attention." The hooded man looked over his shoulder to see the boy with his blue eyes, exhausted from all the fighting. "My work here is done." He then turned to leave. "In any case, the time when we can meet again will doubtless come."
Fox, Luigi, and Yoshi joined their friend as he staggered back, too tired to even stand up. Fox let Sora put his weight on him, trying to keep him a balance.
"Man, he did a number on you." Fox exclaimed.
Sora's eyes began to close, he felt himself losing consciousness, he was too weak from the blows he received. He weakly spoke up one more time.
"Tell me," Sora said weakly. "What are you?"
Everyone gasped as the man faded away from them, his invisible ripples moving, indicating he was moving, subtly moving away from the group.
"I am..." his voice whispered.
Sora couldn't hold on any longer and finally fainted, hearing his friends exclaiming. In the darkness of his mind, he heard the voice one last time.
"...a mere shell..."