Disclaimer: not mine
Chapter 6
"Ri…ku?"
Riku spun to the hall at the broken sound of his name from a familiar voice, heart in his throat. Sora stumbled into view, one hand on the wall, looking almost half asleep…but he was awake! On his feet and no longer looking dead. He dashed across the balcony, skidding to a stop in front of him.
"I'm here Sora, you're safe," he promised, reaching for him, ignoring Kairi and her 'friends' below. He didn't understand, how had the curse been…he stared at Sora in awe. The only thing that had happened was that he had kissed him…and that was the way to break one of the curses….True Love's Kiss. Proof that Sora belonged with him, not her. He wrapped an arm around Sora's waist to support him, why did he seem so disorientated? What he'd read said that the as soon as the curse broke, the person was completely fine.
"Sora? Come on, focus, I'm here," he murmured, stroking his cheek with his other hand.
Sora's eyes were glassy, struggling to focus. "Ri…" he slurred. "Ca…can't…fight him…" Sora gripped his hair in one hand, shaking his head, and Riku felt the blood freeze in his veins. "R…rrrun," Sora gasped, pushing away from him, screaming and clutching at his head, falling to his knees.
"Sora!" Kairi leapt up to the balcony and rushed forward but Riku grabbed her stopping her, even as Darkness began to rise from Sora's body.
"Sora you have to fight it," Riku told him, and Sora raised his head, staring through them.
Him…Sora had said he couldn't fight him, but fight who…no…please no…was this his fault? He remembered the strange cloaked figure he'd heard for years, had seen now and then, even here…but not since Sora had been cursed.
"Sora, stay with me," he begged, reaching out to him, even as Sora screamed, hands now pulling at the clothing over his chest…his Heart.
"Riku? What's happening?" Kairi asked, and he looked at her, ready to snap, but then he saw the way she was looking at Sora, the terror, even as she reached out to him.
Riku shook his head, Kairi had moved on…hadn't she?
"Ri…Kai…" Sora fell to the floor, reaching for them with one hand, and they both reached for him, only for Riku to pull her back as Darkness exploded from his body, concealing him from them.
"No!" Kairi screamed, and Riku held her to his chest, his own heart racing in fear.
The Darkness slowly receded to reveal Sora standing, his head bowed.
"Sora," Kairi called in relief, but Riku tightened his grip, able to feel the Darkness and…Sora's clothing had changed.
Gone was his red playsuit and jacket that Sora was so fond of. Instead he was wearing a form fitting black suit that almost looked like something from his Mum's medical text. The black faded to red around the wrists, with dark yellow, almost gold, gloves tucked under the suit. The chest area was red and had the Heartless emblem. Yellow feet and shins faded into black legs. There was a dark red belt and a weird cloth around his waist, opening in the front. The cloth was an off-white colour that faded into dark blue and was ripped all around the bottom. That was not something Sora would ever wear!
"Sora?" this time she sounded unsure.
Sora raised his head, and Riku pushed her back at the dark smirk on his face. "Princess," he called her, but it wasn't Sora's voice.
"Run," Riku pushed her back. "Run Kairi!" he got between them, Soul Eater appearing in his hand. "Let Sora go!" he snarled.
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Kairi stumbled back, shocked. No, not Sora! But there was no denying, that was not her friend. Riku got between them, blade in hand…protecting her. That was the Riku she remembered, not the cold boy she had faced lately.
"Kairi!" Donald and Goofy joined her, staring in shock at the two boys. "Come on," Donald grabbed her arm.
"I can't leave them!"
"We gotta find the Keyhole!"
"Go Kairi!" Riku told her, obviously surprising them.
"Riku…"
"I'll be okay," he told her. "This…this wasn't meant to happen…it's my fault…just go!" He dodged as Sora attacked.
Kairi hesitated but then realised Sora was trying to get to her. She nodded and then bolted for another exit from the entry area.
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"Who are you?" Riku demanded once she was gone.
Sora smiled at him but it just looked wrong. "It is I, Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. Do you not recognise me?"
"It is you," Riku grimaced. "What have you done to Sora?" they circled warily. Sor…Ansem was empty handed for the moment, but he didn't trust that.
"The boy's Heart has fallen into Darkness. The Keyhole cannot be completed so long as the last Princess is not collected."
Riku frowned and then the pieces clicked. "Kairi…you think Kairi's the last Princess."
"What do you care? She abandoned you," Ansem taunted.
"But she didn't…did she?" he shook his head. He'd been used and manipulated and had been too blind to see it. Now Sora was the one paying the price. "Leave Sora, take me instead."
Ansem laughed coldly at him. "You are no longer suitable boy. If not for the curse, Sora would have been even less so, but the cursed Heart has no defence."
Riku felt sick, even as he blocked a fireball, wincing from the heat. He couldn't do it, he couldn't hurt Sora.
Ansem smirked, "and now the Princess is right where she's needed." He stepped back, fading into Darkness, and Riku lunged but it was too late, he was gone.
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Kairi skidded to a halt, seeing Maleficent waiting for them.
"I'm afraid you're too late. Any moment now, the final Keyhole will be unsealed. This world will be plunged into Darkness. It is unstoppable."
Kairi summoned her Keyblade, ready to fight. "We'll stop it! After coming this far, there's no way we're gonna let that happen! And I'll get Sora back from whatever you've done to him too!"
She glowered at Kairi, slamming her staff against the stone floor. "You poor, simple fools. You think you can defeat me? Me, the mistress of all evil?" she demanded, and Kairi settled more.
"We can," she snapped back. She had to win, they had to seal the Keyhole and save Sora. Riku…Riku seemed to have realised he was on the wrong side at least.
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He stood before the incomplete Keyhole, smirking. The Princess was close and soon it would be completed. He walked down to where the other Princesses were kept, lifting his hands, Dark energy gathering. When it faded, a Keyblade rested in his hands. One Heart left to collect and he now had the perfect weapon to do so with. Soon, Kingdom Hearts would be his. Soon the boy within would be lost forever in the Darkness, he could feel his struggles growing ever weaker. He turned and left the hall, feeling Maleficent falter.
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Maleficent clutched her chest, using her staff for balance. Her breath came in tight gasps as a Corridor of Darkness appeared behind where she stood. She looked back, shocked to see the younger boy step out, a dark Keyblade in hand.
"Do you need some help?" he asked mockingly, voice echoing, and she realised the child was possessed.
"Sora!" the girl cried as the trio ran into the room, the possessed boy turning to face them, smirking.
"Is that—"
"Yes. A Keyblade," Sora held it up. "But unlike yours, this Keyblade holds the power to unlock people's hearts," he explained.
"Sora please, you have to fight this. Come back."
He let out a cold laugh. "I'm sorry Princess, the boy cannot hear you. But allow me to demonstrate... Behold!" he spun, and Maleficent felt a brief pain as the Keyblade sank into her Heart.
"Wha—" she gasped even as she was flooded with Darkness.
"Now, open your heart, surrender it to the Darkness! Become Darkness itself!" he commanded, removing the Keyblade before retreating into another Corridor.
She straightened up, quietly laughs to herself. "This is it! This power!" she glowed with a green aura, laughing. Such power! "Darkness... The true Darkness!"
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Riku rushed through the portal in the chapel, emerging in a round room where Kairi and friends were battling…a dragon? He grimaced but called Soul Eater and lunged in to slice at a back leg, throwing it off balance. He met Kairi's eyes and she gave him a shaky smile even as he nodded. The four of them worked together to take the dragon down.
"Riku?" Kairi stood across the dissolving body from him, Keyblade lose in her hand, wary.
Riku looked down, Soul Eater vanishing. He watched as what was left of Maleficent faded away. He'd been so stupid! "Kairi, I…"
"How ironic," Ansem's voice had him calling his weapon back, turning to face him. "She was just another puppet after all."
"What?" that was the duck….Donald?
"The Heartless were using Maleficent from the beginning. She failed to notice the Darkness in her heart eating away at her. A fitting end for such a fool," Ansem sneered, grinding his foot into the floor and the cloak disappeared. He backed away into a Corridor of Darkness before Riku or Kairi could reach him.
"Is that really…" she couldn't finish, but Riku nodded.
"He's possessed by Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. He took advantage of Sora being in a cursed sleep to get into his Heart, but I'm going to get him back," he swore, somehow.
"We'll get him back," she said, and Riku spun to face her, eyes wide. How could she mean that? She shocked him by holding out her hand, even as Donald objected. Riku stared at her hand and then extended his own.
"Kairi…I'm sorry, for everything. I was so stupid, I let Maleficent manipulate me…and Sora…he was right not to…there was no attack, she cursed Sora to get him out of the way…" he realised. "He had too much influence over me so he was a threat to their plans." He supposed they were lucky that they hadn't just killed Sora.
Kairi stepped closer and then she was hugging him and Riku stiffened before slowly wrapping his arms around her, lowering his head to her shoulder, fighting tears.
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Goofy watched as the boy they had seen falling deeper into Darkness with every meeting practically collapsed in Kairi's arms, hugging her. It was a relief, the idea of a kid being taken by Darkness was horrible and made him feel sick. But now he seemed to be fighting his way back to the Light and it seemed he'd been manipulated into giving in in the first place. But that other boy…Sora…could they save him?
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Sora floated limp, body covered in armour but it was beginning to tarnish and crack as Ansem never let up the assault, determined to cast his Heart into Darkness forever…their Hearts.
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"Ansem said that you're the last Princess, that he needs your Heart to complete the Keyhole," Riku explained as they made their way towards the Hall.
Kairi nodded slowly. She was a Princess? How was that possible? Ansem…they had to defeat him and save Sora, they could worry about the keyhole after that. She gasped as she saw six other women in capsules lining the wall as they entered the hall, all of them seemingly asleep. They had to be the Princesses and Ansem thought she was one? They were all so pretty and graceful looking, even the blond girl who didn't look much older than her. How could she possible be the seventh? She shifted closer to Riku and his hand brushed hers, so she grabbed it.
"Keyholes up there. Kairi, keep your head, don't let him get to you. Remember, it's not Sora," Riku warned her, and she nodded slowly.
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They moved deeper into the hall only to be ambushed by Heartless.
"Go Riku!" she called to him, and he looked at her, seeing her hold her ground with the others. She grinned at him, leaping up and over a Defender to slash at its back.
Riku nodded, sending a Dark fire ball at a Darkball before rushing up the stairs. He faced the incomplete keyhole, keeping a firm grip on his blade, as he looked around. "Show yourself Ansem!" he called.
"So, you've come to save the boy."
Riku looked up to see Sora's body lounging in the top of the heart shape, appearing totally at ease, then again Sora had never had issues with heights. "Let him go."
"No, I have need of this body. I have one last Heart to claim." He slipped off and floated down to the ground.
"Forget it! There's no way you're taking Kairi's heart!" he snarled. He may have lost Sora…he would not lose Kairi too. She was his friend, he knew that now.
Riku struck, hitting him square in the side. Ansem winced, but recovered, blocking a further attack. He tried to toy with Riku, forcing him to strike first and dodge at the last minute. Riku blocked his next strike and sent a Thunder spell at Ansem, who responded with a Dark fireball that hits Riku straight in the chest. He staggered back, rubbing his chest as he cast a Cure spell.
"Now witness true power!" Ansem cried, the melodramatics just seemed so wrong with Sora's body. An aura surrounded him and he floated into the air, his left hand glowing. He plunged his Keyblade into the ground, unleashing lightning shockwaves from the floor. Ansem's eyes were wide with madness and he laughed as they fought, Riku dodging wildly to avoid being hit. He swiped the Keyblade down, sending a blade of energy surging toward Riku, who deploys a weak Aero spell to absorb some of the damage but he had barely begun training with those spells.
"Behold the power of darkness!" Ansem started running impossibly fast, pelting Riku with blow after blow from his Keyblade as he rushed around the room.
Riku endured the blows, waiting for the chance to strike. He healed as soon as he could and once Ansem stopped running, he leapt at him, only seeing the triumphant smirk when it was too late. He felt a sharp pain in his chest and looked down to see the Keyblade sticking out of his chest. No…he looked up at Sora's face and he saw it, horror deep in his eyes.
"Sss..ora…" he tried to lift his hand, to reach for his friend, but his eyelids were growing too heavy, body going limp. He felt himself falling back, unable to do anything to stop it.
"No…" he distantly heard the familiar voice, no longer echoing, Sora?
"RIKU!" Kairi…
Riku was completely unaware as his body exploded into little pinpoints of Light which drifted up and away.
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"No…." the Keyblade slipped from his hands even as he staggered back, watching Riku glow before he exploded.
"RIKU!" Kairi screamed, but Sora couldn't move, couldn't speak, if he did Ansem would take back control.
He felt a spell hit him, knocking him down. He lay on the floor, staring at Kairi. "Ka…fffiinish…freeee," he struggled against Ansem to get the words out, hoping she would understand.
"Sora?" she gasped. She hesitated but then she ran, dropping to her knees beside him, reaching out to touch his cheek.
"Dddo itt. Cann't hol' 'im."
He saw her eyes widen in horror. "No…no Sora, I can't."
He tried to speak only to find himself frozen. No! He stared at her, begging with his eyes, and then he was moving and she scrambled back, just in time.
"You should have attacked while you had the chance Princess," Ansem told her, advancing.
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Kairi watched in horror as Sora's body warped and changed until a man was standing there who looked nothing at all like Sora. "Let him go!" She screamed.
Riku…Riku was dead…Ansem had killed him, she would not let Sora die! She saw his Keyblade on the ground and darted for it, grabbing it, holding a Keyblade in each hand only to gasp as his glowed. "No," she gasped as it pulled itself from her grip, glowing like Riku had before breaking apart into six orbs which flew passed her, towards the other Princesses. She saw the barrier in the heart shape glow, breaking.
"The Keyhole is now complete. You have served your purpose, but now it's over," Ansem told her, stalking towards her, and she readied her Keyblade.
"Don't make another move!" Donald ordered as they came up beside her.
"Do you think we can stop him?"
"I don't know!"
She was shocked when he stopped, seemingly struggling to move.
"Impossible..." he gasped, grunting with exertion as he tried to move.
She gasped as an image of Sora appeared in front of him, arms spread wide, blocking him.
"No. You won't use me for this!" Sora snarled as he shielded them.
"Sora!" she cried out in relief, he was still in there, still fighting.
"You've got to run! The Heartless are coming!" Sora told them, obviously struggling to hold Ansem back.
A horde of Shadow Heartless appeared and surrounded them. Kairi touched her necklace and nodded, before raising her Keyblade and unleashing a Thunder spell before turning and bolting for the stairs. Donald screamed as the three of them escaped from the Grand Hall.
"What about the Keyhole?" Goofy asked as they ran.
"Let's just get out of here!" Donald yelled.
None of them noticed the one Heartless among the horde that was acting…oddly, seemingly torn between following the others and following them. Not that it didn't stand out anyway, floating above the Shadows, clutching a sword in one hand as it watched them flee.
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Ansem caught sight of the strangely behaving Heartless, one of a kind among the Shadows. It appeared to be…fighting itself…its instincts…and Ansem smirked. It wasn't surprising with the Darkness he had welcomed into his Heart during his time living in the castle but now his usefulness was done. He raised his hand towards the Invisible, Dark energy gathering. "Farewell young Riku," he told it before releasing the blast. When it had passed, the Heartless was gone…hmmm, impressive. He had no need to go hunt it down, it may be holding on to something of its humanity, but that wouldn't last much longer.
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"Tell me what happened," Leon asked once Aerith had finished checking them over, concerned over the look in Kairi's eyes. The three had come straight to the house they had claimed as a base in the Third District and he was just grateful Yuffie had been there and called the rest of them in. Donald and Goofy spoke, explaining what they knew.
Kairi suddenly shook her head. "It was Sora, he begged me to kill him, but I couldn't and now…now they're both gone," her voice shook and Aerith embraced the trembling girl.
Leon had never had to face a possessed friend and for the boy Riku to have come to his senses and helped them, only to be killed by said possessed friend… would she have the strength to do what had to be done? Ansem was still out there and it would take the Keyblade Master to finish him for good. the only question was, was anything of the boy still in there? Would she be killing her last friend as well or was he already gone? He hoped for her sake that Sora had been killed in the full possession, it would be kinder for her to kill his killer and not him as well.
He listened to the rest of the recount, frowning. "So the Darkness is flowing out of that Keyhole..."
"No wonder there are more and more Heartless everywhere. The only way to stop them is.." Aerith spoke up, and Kairi summoned the Keyblade.
"Seal the Keyhole, right?" she asked hollowly. At least she could still summon the weapon despite her pain.
"Maybe. But no one knows what will happen once it's sealed," he warned her.
"Well, we can't just stay here. We have to do something," she whispered and then her expression hardened. "I've got a friend back there."
"That's right. You have one more friend to worry about. Ansem's Keyblade must have been born of the captive Princesses' Hearts - just like that Keyhole you saw. Without your Heart, it remained incomplete. Once that Keyblade was destroyed, the Princesses' Hearts should have been freed." That all it had taken was for her to touch it to destroy it was amazing. "Don't give up Kairi. If anyone can save your friend, you can," he offered, not able to take away her hope. Maybe the boy could be saved without killing him.
"Not sure why, but the Heartless are getting stronger," Yuffie spoke up from where she was leaning against the wall. "New types of Heartless are popping up all over the place! If anything happens to us, I know we can count on you, Kairi," the teen grinned at Kairi who nodded.
"I thought the Keyhole would strength the Darkness. I mean the Darkness is strong, but still... It's almost as if someone is holding the Darkness back," Aerith added.
"Could it be the other Princesses?" Goofy asked.
Leon nodded thoughtfully. "Jasmine apparently hasn't returned to Agrabah. I suspect the others are still in the castle, too. They may be using their powers to hold back the Darkness but if they are, it can't last forever."
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"Riku... Kairi... I'm sorry..." he whispered, walking through the Darkness. It was all his fault, he hadn't been strong enough to stop him. The bits of armour he seemed to be wearing were confusing but he ignored them. "Is this the afterlife? It probably was, he deserved this. He'd killed Riku! He stumbled and stared as his body seemed to shimmer and flicker. "I'm not ready. Not yet. Not until I see Kairi one last time...I have to know she made it out. That I didn't…"
"Sora, can you hear me? I'll be there soon," a voice called and he spun around.
"Who is that?" he asked, scared.
"I have the other Keyblade—the one that belongs to this world," the voice answered.
Keyblade? Sora frowned as he looked around. Keyblade…oh. The weapon he'd…he'd killed Riku with, that Kairi wielded.
"I've been trying to get through to you, but the Darkness trapping your Heart kept me away."
"Who are you? What's happened to me?" he begged for answers.
"Your Heart won the battle against the Darkness, but it was too late for your body. That's why you're here, in this place of Darkness where Hearts are gathered."
"So what do I do? Am I…am I dead?"
"The Door of Darkness will open soon, but it's a door we can't enter. It has to be closed from both sides. To do this, you need two keys and two Hearts. Maybe you're here for the same reason I am. Maybe it was fate."
"Fate? Was it fate that I…that I killed Riku? You seem to know everything, don't you?" he snapped but then hugged himself. "What about Kairi?" he whispered. His eyes widened as an image of Kairi ran towards him out of the Darkness.
"Don't you feel the echoes of her Heart? You already know the answer. Look inside your own Heart."
Sora closed his eyes, a small, watery smile appearing. "Okay," he agreed and then he knew he was alone again.
He kept walking, but now he had a little hope, he could still help Kairi. He saw Heartless in the distance and hoped they stayed away, he had no weapon, no way to defend himself. So of course, one did approach, floating in front of him, sword in hand. Sora scrambled back but then stopped when it didn't attack, just stared at him. He stared back and then slowly his eyes widened. "Ri…Riku?" he stammered in shock.
TBC…
Anyone see that bit at the end coming?
