Well, I'm just shooting out these chapters aren't I? Probably a little too fast. But oh well, I plan for it to be a long story anyway. But still, I think I'm going to start backing off soon. I'll update from now on, within a week. (Gaurenteed, Unless on Vacation, sudeen illness, death and lack of reviews)

The trio followed the warrior company until evening. It was boring, but nothing that they weren't used to. The soldiers didn't pay them much mind, that is, except for Ping. During the few times they saved time for a break, he would look over and at one point he had come over and talked.

"Why are you here? We've never seen you before these battles either. Is it just coincidence that you happened to show up with those monsters?" He had eventually asked, after a few minutes of small talk.

"Yes and no" Sora had said in reply. "It isn't exactly coincidence that we are here, but we did happen to show up with the Heartless. Yours was just the first world that we came across."

"First World?" He asked confused. Donald prodded Sora painfully in the side with his staff. "Nevermind" Sora said. He could tell that Ping wanted to ask more, but the others were hurrying to their feet. Sora was puzzled at the sudden movement, but then he caught a hint on the wind. Smoke. Something close was burning.

Ping joined her friends and the soldiers ran off together. Sora, Donald, and Goofy followed. The soldiers were already rushing down the other side of an enormous hill. As the Key bearer reached the top he saw a great palace, no doubt the same one he had seen from space, aflame.

A sense of panic was rolling off of the soldiers, which Sora now realized were probably reinforcements. The Heartless did this. Sora knew. But why? Other than swallowing hearts, such minor physical damage has never been their thing. Who are they answering to?

Donald and Goofy were already hurrying down the hill. Sora ran to catch up.

As they reached the Palace, they saw other Imperial soldiers fighting the Heartless. It was amazing how few Heartless were actually needed to defeat so many people. But then again the soldiers were ill equipped. They had the heart, which was probably why they did any damage at all, but their weapons were nearly useless against the Shadows and other breeds.

Ping's company immediately joined the ranks of remaining soldiers to defend their Palace. Sora stepped up to the battle front as well, crossing under a huge squared archway to get there. Sora's hand started to twitch again. What now?

A large, dark, hulking figure emerged from behind a wall of ash. It wasn't a Heartless. It was, "The Hun's!" Sora heard several soldiers yell. "Are they behind this?!" Sora didn't really know or care who the Hun's were but, he did find it peculiar that the Heartless weren't attacking him.

"He must be controlling the Heartless somehow!" Donald whispered fiercely. Sora silently agreed. It was the only possible explanation. The Heartless don't have personal vendettas against any select people or areas, all they wanted was the power of the World's heart.

A large pitch-black raven landed on the Hun's outstretched forearm. The Hun stepped forward. "Your cities will fall and your lands will belong to the Hun!" He said in a deep raspy voice. The Heartless gathered behind him, and none of the soldiers seemed able or willing to answer. But finally a clear voice cut the silence. "Not a Chance!" Ping stepped out of the ranks, an obvious challenge. Sora, Donald, and Goofy, stood behind Ping, as silent support.

The Hun drew a wide and heavy looking sword, which was not good because he was wielding it with one hand. The Raven cawed and took flight again, circling around its master's head.

Ping drew his own sword, which looked like a twig compared to the other one, but Ping did not back down. The Hun roared and charged Ping, who ran up to greet the invader. Their swords met with a sharp clang and Sora wondered how Ping was still standing. After all, that Hun was massive.

What followed resembled a strange dance, parries, attacks, counters and blocks were the steps, however Ping broke through the Hun's defenses and scored a deep gash in his cheek.

The wound started to drip blood, and the Hun was enraged. However the flow began to slow and the blood became dark, unnaturally so. The Hun was bleeding darkness. His body went into a series of spasms, each greater than the last, and as it did, it changed.

The skin became black. His body burst through his clothes as new muscles formed. His eyes began to glow yellow. He managed to keep his sword, but his other hand grew tremendous claws. It seemed as if he were becoming a living Heartless right before their eyes. Some freak mutant hybrid between humans and the Shadows.

The beast roared again and back handed Ping, sending the soldier sprawling, as well as knocking him instantly unconscious. WTF?! Sora screamed in his mind. What is that thing?! The former Hun noticed them and started in their direction. Sora raised his Keyblade into a defensive position. What ever it was, it was their problem now.

"Fire!" said Donald and Sora together. Twin fireballs hit the beast in the middle of the chest, pushing it back, but not seeming to do much else. Donald was preparing a Blizzara spell for when the mutant was in range again, but Sora was placing his faith in Thunder.

They both tried their separate spells, Donald first, then Sora, then Donald again with a follow-up Gravira. The mutant Hun dropped to one knee. But soon it was up again, slowly lurching to them. "Forget it!" Sora yelled at Donald. "Spells aren't going to work on this guy!" With that, Sora ran towards the Hun.

Sora rolled forward as he came close, effectively dodging a nasty swipe aimed at his head. He came up slashing, damaging the beast's side. But not much. In fact, it hadn't even noticed.

It caught Sora by the back of his shirt, and threw him hard. Sora smashed right into Goofy's shield. Which was fortunate. Having a large bruise on your head was better than landing in roaring flames. Goofy hauled Sora back to his feet, steadying the woozy Keyblade Master. The mutant was still coming towards them.

"Let me try one more time." Sora breathed. Goofy let him go. Sora raised the Keyblade high into the air. "Power!!" Points of light slowly entered the Keyblade and the world around Sora dimmed. His body vibrated at an awesome speed, and he knew he must use the limited time left.

Sora rushed forward, using the technique of Sonic Blade to reach the Hun in a blink of an eye. He blasted into the mutant, squarely in the chest, knocking the hun to his back. The Hun didn't attempt to get up.

Sora returned to his normal speed. No heart was revealed, but true to Heartless form, the Hun's body simply faded away. However, the world remained dark, and the people around him were not moving, as if they were frozen in time. Only Donald and Goofy seemed to be able to move.

Sora felt the hair on the back of his neck rise, and he saw an Unknown walk towards him, stopping only a few paces away. "Key Bearer"

"You again"

The Unknown gestured to the spot were the Hun had lain a few seconds before. "This is what happens when one dabbles in the forces of darkness. He tried to use Darkness to his own needs, however instead, it was devoured by it."

Sora looked at the cloaked man. "Why didn't it happen to Riku then?" He asked.

"Didn't it?" The Unknown replied. Sora raised a confused eyebrow. "The boy Riku had a strong heart. Because of this, he could wield the Darkness without much trouble. But his heart was not strong enough. Eventually, the darkness still used him to its own ends."

Sora nodded, understanding slowly. "Ansem"

"Yes. He was the embodiment of darkness at the time. But, it could have been anything else. Possibly even something worse. Just realize Key bearer, that no one is immune or impervious to the effects of the Dark. They gave the Hun the power to control the Heartless as an experiment.

"His body was strong, but his heart was truly weak. When driven by revenge, anger, and reckless actions, you become easy prey. He couldn't control the power that was granted to him, and the Shadows not only took his heart, but his body along with it, using it as a puppet, to pick up, play with, or throw away."

The Unknown turned, preparing to leave. "Why are you telling me all this? What experiment are you talking about?" Sora asked before this man could get away.

"I tell you to warn you. Your enemies are not of this realm, and they do not care about the consequences of their actions. The boy Riku, was also an experiment. Could one person actually control the Heartless, without in fact losing his own heart? The answer? For a limited time, yes if the Heart is strong. But what if it is weak? Can the same control be accomplished then? You've seen the result. Do not turn to Darkness, Key bearer. Do not lose sight of the Light."

He disappeared and the surroundings finally returned to normal. Donald tapped Sora on the back with his staff. "Was that the guy you got the ship from?"

Sora thought about it, then shook his head. They were similar, but the two had set differences, he know realized. This one had a clear voice, as opposed to the darker and deeper one. Sora also noticed that the one that had just appeared was wearing a peculiar blindfold... "This guy was definitely someone else..."

Sora noticed a strange silence had fallen over the soldiers, who were crowed around Ping. Sora and the others pushed through to the front of the crowd and looked down at the fallen warrior. Ping was just starting to stir. "What happened?" He asked cradling his head.

His voice had changed, it no longer sounded masked, but strangely feminine. And with his hair out of that tight bun, Ping looked a lot like a...girl? Donald's jaw dropped. "Kill the wench!" A voice cried out, from someone among the gathered.

"No!" Sora said. Stepping in front of Ping, who seemed to had realized what was going on. "Get out of the way, foreigner! You have no say in our laws!" There was murmured agreement to this and the crowd started to edge forward.

"Do not move!" Shouted an old voice. The people halted immediately. There was indeed an old man making his way towards them. He wore a golden crown and appeared to command high respect from the soldiers.

"None will harm this child" He said, finally stopping and standing near Sora and Ping. "But Emperor!" The original voice called. "No woman is to fight in the army! Its treason!"

"Treason?" The Emperor asked quietly. "I think not. This girl has risked her life in these recent battles for our country along with this outsiders as well. They have all done us a great service, and will be treated as thus. The girl is to be tended to and her wounds are to be addressed immediately. These others," He said gesturing to Sora & Co., "Will be treated with the utmost respect during their stay.

"You young men, have made me proud. And in honor to them, and to you, we will feast tonight, and rest well tomorrow. Our enemy has been defeated." The soldiers gave sort of a whooping battle-cry and Sora followed the Emperor into the Palace.

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Mulan, (she had finally given up that stupid name) spent the night eating well, but saying nothing. The Emperor had welcomed them, but they all still felt uneasy about the whole thing.

But soon enough, it became time for Sora to leave. They still had many worlds left to explore, and the Door to the Light had to be found. Not to mention, Sora wanted to check up on Kairi, but he still had no idea as to where in the Universe they actually were.

However, as Sora walked out into the smoky night once more, the Emperor stopped him. "Thank you again, my son. I wish you to have this. I believe that it will mean more to you than to my kingdom." The Emperor handed him a rolled piece of paper and returned to his living quarters.

Sora shrugged and started on their way back to the Gummi ship, but as he reached that squared archway, his hand twitched and called the Keyblade. Sora automatically raised it, and the World's Keyhole appeared in what looked to be a pane of glass.

Sora pointed the blade at the Keyhole and an arrow of light shot forward to lock it. The outline of the Keyhole shimmered with light, then melted away.

Back safely in the Gummi ship, Sora finally looked at the paper. He briefly skimmed it before his eyes rested on the bottom. The paper was signed.

Ansem

Review.