Ack! Sorry for such a long delay! Been busy and stuff, and the site was acting screwy for a bit, but it's all good now. Two or three chapters to go! Yay!

Disclaimer: …Do I really have to say it? (Sigh)…No, KH isn't mine. If it was, I'd be super rich and would get even richer come the end of March, when KH2 is supposed to come out.

Phase 12: The Flames Below

Each readied their Keyblades, coated in blood, preparing to began another dance of the Keyblades.

"STOP IT!" Kairi shouted. "STOP IT RIGHT NOW!"

Both lowered their Keyblades suddenly, and snapped their heads in the direction of the scream. It took them little time to see who it was.

"Kairi!" both exclaimed, letting their Keyblades dissolve for the time being. The blood that had been upon the Keyblades had no choice but to drop to the ground.

"What are you doing here!" Riku questioned, now becoming conscious of the utter mess he and Sora he become during the battle. "This...this isn't the best time..."

"I brought her here,' Cloud explained, still seeming a little antsy around the two combatants. "I wanted to make sure you idiots wouldn't go killing each other."

"Since when have you really cared about us?" Sora asked, crossing his arms. "Last time I checked, you just randomly drop in here and there whenever you felt like it."

"Well, this is a bit more important than that," Cloud growled back. "Mainly, if you continue fighting like this, there isn't going to be any Traverse Town left to fight over."

The Masters of Light and Darkness glanced down below. It seemed Traverse Town had seen better days. Random buildings had been blown up, others were burning up in fire's consuming hunger, still others were barely standing, holes and bloodstains littering their exterior.

"Damn..." Sora mumbled.

Even Kairi was shocked by the sheer amount of damage to the town. She could only see so much from ground level. But from here...it looked like the town had been ransacked by ruthless bandits.

"Why...why are you guys doing this?" Kairi asked.

Sora and Riku looked away.

"Well..." Riku began.

"You two made a promise to me, remember!" Kairi exclaimed. "That you'd never kill each other!"

"Yeah...we know..." Sora replied. "It's just..."

"Just what?" Kairi interrupted. "Just that you're darkness and he's light means you guys have to beat each other up now?"

"Well..." Sora began.

More explosions occurred below. The warriors rushed out of the created smoke, seeming to race each other. It was none other then Mickey and Vincent.

The coat Mickey bore upon him would never again be of pure white. Almost the entire robe had been bathed in scarlet, along with the Keyblade he wielded. Not far away was Goofy, also wearing quite a bit of ruby on his knightly clothing. The shield he carried had lost its original graceful beauty. The intricate decorations that had been upon it had now been torn off by claw marks or washed away by liquid ruby, leaving only a primitive piece of round metal painted red.

On another nearby rooftop was Vincent. The lavender fur was now matted with blood, but he couldn't have cared less as he stared at his opponents. His tail whipped around furiously, creating a loud cracking sound every time it struck on the rooftop. The vapor of his breath could be seen streaming out of his mouth as he laid in rest and wait.

Suddenly the beast sucked in a vast amount of air and summoned a whitened laser from within him. The attack cut into the roof Mickey and Goofy was standing on, two others beside it, and eventually was diverted to the sky as its power wavered. The collapsing of the target areas hid everything in smoke once again.

A series of fireballs zipped through another section of the 2nd District, exploding the building they happened to strike and leaving the remains to burn. As the fire's breath rose into the hazing sky, a silhouette could be seen erupting out of the mist of the inferno.

Donald Duck fired a Blizzaga spell the instant he materialized from the smoke, his wizard uniform now hanging onto him in bloodied tatters. The spell shot to an area that none above could see clearly. As the area suffered the deep frost of the attack, another one soon dashed out. The ice crystals that clung to his hair, clothes, and blade indicated that Leon had been struck. The frost soon became liquid once more, sliding off of him as red droplets.

He leapt forward and tried to skewer the water fowl, who jumped out of the way. Leon then took a quick swipe at his chest, leaving yet another slash across his bosom. Before he could land another strike, however, Donald hastily cast a Gravity spell on the wall a few feet from Leon. The Gunblader soon found himself being slammed into the side of the building. He managed to get himself up, but not without great effort.

The duo found themselves trying to capture their breath again, both leaning on their weapons. But it seemed that they couldn't quite catch it, and found themselves kneeling on the ground.

"That's it,' Sora spoke at last. "This has got to stop."

Sora dove down below into the streets of staggering buildings, forcing away the smoke choking the air with every mighty wing blast. His golden eyes seemed to emit a faint glow from the iris, matching wits with the glances of the flames that playfully danced upon the streets and sky. His wings reflected the unholy light of his surroundings, tainting them with red, yellows, and oranges. With an unbending will of majesty, he landed right in the crossroads of Donald and Leon's paths.

"Stop it!" he barked, fanning out his onyx wings. "This is going nowhere!"

Leon eyed him with the discrimination of a stranded cat, the light from the fire making them seem the hue of one. "Don't you have Riku to deal with?"

"That's over now,' Sora replied. "There's no more reason to be fighting like this."

"You bastard, you killed him didn't you!" Leon hissed, poising his Gunblade for a strike.

"No! I-" Sora began.

Donald leapt in front of the Master of Darkness and also held out his staff, his gaze more akin to a hawk than a duck. "Aeroga!" he yelled.

"Donald! No, this-' Sora tried to protest over the howling of the spell as it surrounding them in a secure orb of sharpened wind. The shrieks of the wind faded away, until only a quiet rushing was heard, as the spell became stable. "Look, Riku's not dead! We've come to a truce!"

"A truce?" Leon scoffed. "Between the Master of Light and the Master of Darkness? I find that highly unlikely."

"Hey, if you don't believe me, go ask him yourself!" Sora responded. "I can take you to him!"

"And why should I trust you?" Leon growled.

Sora sighed. He raised his Keyblade into the air and let a deep green mist creep out of it. It snaked around Leon and soothed some of his wounds. "Look, go to the top of the clocktower and wait. He'll meet you there."

He looked down at the red-streaked waterfowl just in front of him. Sora allowed Donald to be bathed in the darkened fog as well.

"Come with me,' Sora spoke, stretching his wings out a little and flapping them some. Within a few moments he was back into the black-and-white blotched sky. His wings stood out starkly against the white, while the black spots seemed to absorb the wings effortlessly.

With a little effort, Donald lifted himself off of the ground, without the help of feathered appendages. It was a phenomenon possible only by the power of pixie dust. Soon after he zipped off to join Sora the Keyblade Master, the Master of Darkness but not of Evil.

The wings of the Master of Light starkly contrasted with the shadowed surroundings lit only by flame. The darkened vapor produced by these raging lights hastily made way for him, as any remaining smoke slid over him. No amount of fire's breath, however, could dim his upstanding corona of white.

It was not long until his pale blue eyes focused in on their target. Somehow, Mickey, Goofy and Vincent were still fighting, though not with quite as much exuberance as before. Mickey was about ready to take a chunk of meat out of Vincent's side when he intervened. Before they were quite able to understand what had happened, the opponents found themselves on two reverse sides of the battered street. Standing right at the middle was Riku, his wings fully extended. He remained sideways, one side to look at Goofy and Mickey, the other side to keep an eye on Vincent.

Vincent let out a rambling of grunts, howls and barks at Riku. The Master of Light simply shook his head. "That's enough," he said in a quieted voice.

Mickey and Goofy still were in battle poses. "What are you doing back here so soon?" The King asked in a wary tone.

"Look, I think we've had plenty of bloodshed here for one day,' Riku continued. "Far too much..."

Mickey's eyes narrowed. "Where's Sora?"

"Relax, the idiot's still alive,' Riku assured. "And we've decided not to kill each other."

Riku noticed how a thick blue smoke enveloped Vincent for a few brief instants. When the mist was blown away, the human Vincent had replaced the position of the beast. His cloak of blackened cherry now had numerous patches of scarlet upon it, making it new no more.

He eyed him with a sharpened gaze. "Are you insane?" he hissed. With the return of his human body came the repossession of understandable language. "What deal could you possibly have made with him that won't swallow all of us in darkness?"

"This may seem quite amazing to you,' Riku began in a teasing tone. "But Sora isn't actually the root of all evil."

Vincent's eyes slimmed down to slits. "And what makes you think you can trust him? That isn't the Sora you knew from childhood, whether you'll accept that or not."

"Oh, but it is,' Riku replied. "Aside from some fancy new wings and the power over darkness, he's still the same goofball I always knew."

"Certainly you know better than to fall into the darkness again, don't you?" Vincent growled, some of his true form bleeding through as the irises of his eyes were dyed crimson.

He beckoned Vincent to come to him. "We'll discuss this in more detail at the clocktower."

He carried him off into the whiteness and blackness above, leaving Mickey and Goofy to be collected by the Master of Darkness.

They had had quite enough of the flames, smoke, and blood that now greedily consumed what remained of Traverse Town, the place of rebirth for so many lives that had been torn apart.

Phase 13: Distinguishing the Line in the Blinding Vapor

Leon gave Riku an unpleased look as he arrived on the clocktower. Most of the blood outfitted upon Leon had been shed by sweat, but his blade still remained dressed in dry crimson. Only a few spots were left untouched, and it seemed the only reason that it was so was to glare at the approaching figure in discontent. The deviled eyes of the fires below showed themselves on the impressionable surface of the sword.

Riku's light reflecting off the face of the innocent golden bell, which saw little but the Master of Light's corona now. It had done nothing, yet had received wounds from both sides. The upper part of the bell now bore a burn mark that melted its skin, causing the area to be indented and somewhat flimsy. The lower part that been struck with merciless frost, with now had made that area frozen and brittle. Lengthy cracks on all sides were slowing snaking up its way towards the top, threatening to tear the bell into useless fragments.

He landed not far from Leon with Vincent in tow. The one in the ruined cloak of blackened cherry also glared at him disapprovingly as he was set upon the ground. The Master of Light let a pale mist drift out of his Keyblade and swirl around Vincent, healing his wounds to some extent.

Vincent distanced himself from him, seeming ungrateful for the treatment.

"What were you thinking!" Leon growled, his arms crossed.

"I'm trying to end this war," Riku replied. "All that it's done is broken the trusts of the alliance and set them up to kill each other."

"So you are so desperate for peace that you would trust the darkness?" Vincent hissed.

Riku gave him a steady gaze. "Darkness isn't our true enemy."

"This alliance was formed to wipe out the darkness, Riku. You know that," Leon stated. "I'd think you of all people would understand why it is so important to exterminate the darkness."

"Wrong," Riku replied. "This alliance was created to destroy evil. Evil and Darkness aren't the same force."

"And what makes you so certain?" Vincent questioned. "Is it just because of your friend happens to be the very opponent you must take down?"

"It's not just that," Riku answered. "Look, if darkness was true evil, then why was it that I myself was able to wield it back at that time, after Ansem was defeated?'

"That was merely because of the seal Maflicent cast on you," Vincent replied. "Any power you tried to use was transformed into darkness."

"But I was still able to use it for good,' Riku argued. "Doesn't that prove my point?"

"That was only because it was supposed to be light,' Leon responded.

Riku paced back and forth slowly, altering his path of sight back and forth from Leon to Vincent.

"Darkness is always perceived as the enemy," Riku began. "But that's really an unreliable way of judging sides. After, if evil and darkness are separate, then why not light and good as well?"

"What? Are you saying that there's evil light?" Leon asked, as skeptic as ever.

"I don't see why not,' Riku continued. "If darkness can be good, then there's no reason why light can't be bad."

"Are you saying you yourself could be evil?" Vincent growled.

"No, that's not what I meant," Riku answered, a bit flustered. "What I mean is just because something is aligned with light doesn't mean it's necessarily good. Light can illuminate and purify, but it can also burn and blind. And while Darkness can corrupt and mislead, it can also soothe wounds and rest the weary."

"Now you're just not making any sense," Leon hissed.

"Oh, really?" a familiar voice questioned from above.

They all averted their gaze to Cloud, gliding above them effortlessly. His wings were fanned out in all their black-and-white glory. He set himself down just before the injured bell.

"Believe it or not, light and darkness can exist at the same time, and in the same place," Cloud explained. "That's where Twilight comes from."

"And I suppose that's what you are?" Vincent asked.

"How did you ever guess?" Cloud replied, in a slightly teasing manner.

"I could tell by your scent,' Vincent replied. "It is equal in both light and darkness."

"Which proves my point,' Cloud answered. "That light and darkness don't necessarily wipe each other out when they are confined to one space."

"That is true,' Vincent answered. "But I doubt they would be mixed by their own choice."

Leon strolled over to Cloud. "But not so long ago you were just as much against the darkness as we are."

"But I didn't know I was the Master of Twilight either," Cloud replied. "That I found out during the training I underwent last month. And there was something else."

"And what was that?" Vincent quizzed.

"There's a separate entity for evil," Cloud responded.

Leon couldn't help but be surprised. "You mean there's-"

"A Master of Evil?" Cloud finished for him. "Yes."

Yes, there is a Master of Evil. But who, or what, is it? That shall be answered in the coming chapter…can you guess the identity of the Master of Evil? Go ahead and try if you like. The correct guessers will get…background info on the origins of MOLAD.

Cya!