Alright…I really want to get the hell out of Kingdom Hearts in this chapter. I'd say it's about damn time we got to Castle Oblivion. You agree? No? Well I am going to anyway.

I don't own any of the characters or places in this fanfiction.

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Angel Memories: Chapter 4

Mixed Entities

The floor beneath Ansem burst upwards, creating something of a dark pillar on top of which he stood. He rose above us with outstretched arms. Below him, Heartless began to multiply at a breakneck pace. They popped out of the dark floor in droves until they surrounded our small group and spanned as far as the eye could see. I tried to look at the crowd of shadows but my eyes couldn't quite focus on it all. The landscape shuddered and danced in an insane jig. Heartless giggled loudly and it filled the air with their mad cries.

Ansem stood above it all, looking down with a broad smile. His outstretched arms flailed wildly and lost their form in his frenzy. They morphed into enormous bat-like wings that stretched downwards and into the ground below. His legs lost their shape as well and intertwined themselves with the pillar he had been standing on. Enormous tendrils of shadow burst forth from his breast to crash loudly into the giggling mass of Heartless.

The ground bucked and rolled violently. All around us it rose and fell and formed wild half shapes in the darkness. Between Ansem, the Heartless and the quaking ground, there were only two inert objects. The bright door remained entirely motionless against the rolling waves of darkness. It stood as a pillar of light against the chaotic display of shadows.

The other complacent features in the roiling torrent of blackness were my two companions. I had to kneel and hug the ground for fear of being hurled from it. But as I looked at my fellow warriors I saw that they each were standing stock still upon unmovable ground. Mickey's Keyblade was shining a violent shade of gold that seemed to keep oncoming tremors at bay, while Riku's Soul Eater was humming with a dark noise. He held it nonchalantly over his shoulder while oncoming waves of darkness were halted and seemingly sucked inside the blade. It glowed a deep and dark red that almost seemed black.

These two beings looked fearlessly upwards at the wildly smiling face of Ansem. Their eyes shone righteousness and their breathing displayed confidence. They seemed entirely unworried about the slowly approaching legions of Heartless. They gazed quietly toward the being of darkness that was Ansem. There was power in their eyes.

I gripped once again at the ground to steady myself against another tremor. How could they be so calm? Hadn't they seen what kind of power this man held? Had they not watched me being humiliated and utterly defeated by this madman? How could they be so confident while I could hardly stand from fear?

Riku's eyes broke from his lock with Ansem and he turned to look at me. His eyes were distorted by the blood red aura from his sword but I could see they held compassion. He tilted his head for a moment and grinned widely at me. That sign seemed to set something loose inside me. Despite the vibrations beneath my feet I stood up to my full height. Masamune quivered in support and I drew it. The gleaming silver blade came free of its sheathe and I held it outwards, parallel with the floor.

"It's time, Masamune."

The blade sprang to life. The hilt ceased quivering and held itself completely still. The blade seemed almost to dim slightly. I felt a gate open between Masamune and I. Our respective powers flooded through the open gate and began to mix. Suddenly I felt sharper. My mind and body felt more refined, my movements felt quick and perfectly executed. Breathing felt more like a comfort rather than a necessity and the blade in my hand no longer extended from the hilt, but instead from my very essence.

I could see tiny lines in the space before me. Small white edges in the air. This is what Masamune could see. Everything could be cut, even the air itself. The jittering rows of Heartless moved slower now. With every second, I could see every opportunity that presented itself. Bright white lines formed that told me where I could cut and when in order to defeat, wound, kill or otherwise incapacitate my enemies. This is what a sword sees, and what I could see now as well.

As my new senses flooded my body, I felt my emotions thin and slowly fade away in the mixed solution of our collective consciousness. I looked for a moment at Ansem, towering and dark, and my fear slowly fell out of me. Even as my fear fell away I felt my compassion leave me as well. My love quietly drained away to leave me with the very essence of a sword.

I was sharp. I was strong. I was made to kill, made to cut and cleave through my enemies. It was not my place to judge what was right and what was wrong, who deserved to be slain and who did not. I was a sword, a sharp edge and handle. I was there to be used, to be wielded in competent hands. That is my purpose and that is who I am.

Despite this, I still maintained enough judgment and peace of mind to be the wielder as well. Masamune and I rarely let the wall break between us because if we were not careful, the bond could become so set and overbearing that I would cease entirely to be a swordsman. Masamune requires a swordsman of top notch quality, and without one, those that hold it will be destroyed by it. Because of that, and the fact that Masamune and I would be one, I would be forced to kill myself.

But now was not the time for hesitation. The moment required action. Opening the gate to form perfect synchronization between the sword and the swordsman was the only choice. And so it was done. My new eyes stared upwards to the towering black figure that was Ansem. He hovered over everything with giant wings and a crazy smile. His orange eyes glistened with madness.

But his body was covered in tiny white lines. Each line told me that I could easily decapitate, sever, wound and otherwise cause pain to my enemy. I searched over his body for a moment. The brightest lines were placed over his eyes, these would harm him the most, but something still didn't fit. I focused intently on the lines near his eyes.

Not a single one of them would bring death.

To a sword, this was impossible. Every living thing short of gods can be killed. There is always a vital point that can be exploited with the proper measures, some certain placement of an attack that would bring an end to a battle. But Ansem had none. I paused; both my human and sword attributes were halted in confusion. I turned to my partners and said, "He can't be killed."

There wasn't fear in my voice. That had escaped along with pride and various other unsword-like qualities. Instead my voice resonated with polite curiosity. I was generally interested in the impossibility of this unkillable foe. Riku glanced at me again and raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Hm? I'll have to disagree with you there," he said jovially. "If you really feel that way then you can take down the Heartless while we go after Ansem though."

I nodded at his statement. It wasn't my place to tell him what he could or could not do. He was another swordsman while I was a tool to be told where to go and what to kill. I looked down upon the roiling sea of Heartless. They danced and slowly crept forward under the wings of Ansem. The ones in the front lines had their mouths open in a wolfish grin. Tiny hands twitched and feet shuffled in the darkness.

"Idiots!" Ansem's booming voice resonated from above. "Even in this place you still defy me?"

Riku stepped forward confidently and held the Soul Eater forward. The glowing blade pointed between Ansem's blazing eyes. Riku smiled widely and cocked his head to one side. "That's what heroes do isn't it?"

Ansem paused for a moment and then let loose a wild laugh. "Heroes? You can talk big can't you? You know I'm not going to kill you." His enormous body leaned forward with a loud rumble. "But I would watch out for your comrades there." He returned his previous towering form and smiled widely. "That's enough idle chatter. Let's begin!"

The mass of Heartless let out wild howls and in a single fluid movement they all ran forward. Their tiny claws stretched in front of them, aching to tear us apart. Riku and Mickey stood back to back and faced the oncoming wall of shadows and yellow eyes. I watched them for a moment and then walked quietly toward them.

"Get down."

They each began to give me questioning looks but were cut short by the swiftly approaching blade. Masamune swung over their quickly dropping heads. The mixed solution that was out power emptied into the blade and gave it incredible strength. There was no shockwave or flash of light, but the approaching Heartless halted in their tracks all around us. For nearly a five hundred foot radius, yellow eyes dimmed to darkness.

All at once, the area erupted into shadowy globs. A sea of liquid darkness rose and evaporated in seconds. The remaining Heartless charged through the fine black mist without hesitation. Their brethren faded into nothingness but those that remained continued to approach. It was a fairly remarkable site.

"Holy hell…" Riku whispered as he struggled to his feet. I looked down at the boy. He was staring at Masamune with intense fascination.

"You said you would take on Ansem…I will take care of the Heartless."

Riku finally regained his feet and shook his head quietly. "Yea…yea we'll do that." He turned to King Mickey and shook a thumb toward Ansem. "Let's mosey!"

Riku thrust the blade of Soul Eater into the dark floor and immediately, enormous stairs of shadow grew upwards from the floor. The two once more glanced toward me, gave brief nods and then took off up the raised shadows to meet with Ansem. I turned to face my own would be attackers. The crowd of Heartless seemed to be just as large as it had been before I made my attack before. The leapt over and crawled under each other in fervor to reach me. The larger Heartless tore through the ranks, leaving their brethren decimated in their path.

Above me, the sounds of battle began to resonate and reverberate through the dark air. Riku's cries mixed with the laughing and occasional howling of Ansem. Brick red light mixed with golden flashes in a crazy melee of colors. Mickey roared something and a loud explosion could be heard. In front of me, Heartless grew ever closer, streaming around the white door at my six.

"Here it goes then."

Me feet flashed against the dark ground, completely eliminating the distance between the approaching Heartless and myself. I tore into the crowd and ripped the advancing lines to shreds. All around me, Heartless burst into darkness and evaporated. I drove onwards through the black mist that settled around me. Masamune and I carved a wide arc through the dense crowd and finally came to a halt.

The black smoke that the defeated Heartless created began to thin and disappear. When it was gone entirely, I found myself once again entirely surrounded by Heartless. They chattered wildly in frenzy and quickly made their way towards me. Without moving an inch from where I stood, Masamune shot out and cleaved through a wave of shadows. They burst into nothingness. I flicked my wrist slightly and another twenty evaporated into the fine black mist.

Again and again I obliterated the approaching beasts. For every hundred that left the battle field, one thousand took their place. The battle seemed to be completely endless. A small sigh escaped my lips and I rubbed my temples for a moment. In a swift spinning motion I cleared the area around my person. Hundreds of Heartless flew away and evaporated into nothingness.

"That's enough for now, Masamune."

Our consciousnesses broke apart from each other. I felt some of my own power drained away through the gate that separated us. Masamune pulled overzealously at my strength but I tore it from its grasp. Then our mixed solution thinned until we were separate entities once again.

I opened my eyes to see the now familiar site of enormous crowds of Heartless. They dashed forward to meet me in battle. Masamune fell limply to my side. I raised my open hand and flicked some stray hair over my shoulder. My body slowly encased itself in bright blue light.

"I shall take you to the promised land!"

Masamune was hurled skywards where it disappeared in a tiny glimmer. A thin and powerful looking Heartless broke through the ranks and darted forward toward me. As it raised its sharp shadowy claws to kill me, it was crushed beneath a falling rock that glowed red with energy. More boulders fell from the sky, decimating the population of Heartless. The roiling sea of shadow became pockmarked with enormous red objects.

My upraised arm grew limp and weak but it remained in the air as bright red energy began to surround it. My hair rose upwards from the gusts of wind that came from the floor. The enormous red boulders began to float through the sea of shadow, leaving destruction in their wake. Above me, a large glowing red orb formed and grew to epic proportions.

With a quiet command, the giant red stones exploded violently, crushing nearly a thousand Heartless in their collective explosion. The orb above my head sparked violently with unchecked power. I felt its weight begin to bare down upon my limp arm. Using everything I had, I sent the ball of energy flying into the concentrated mass of shadows. It flew slowly forward into the roiling mass of darkness and then disappeared as it hit the ground.

For a moment everything was silent. Nothing moved. I didn't breath.

And then everything flashed red.

I was thrown back from the violent explosion. Black mist scattered everywhere, carried by the wild winds of the explosion. I fell on my back and slid for several feet, carried by the backlash of the attack. My head knocked against something solid and I looked upwards.

Above me, Riku was tumbling through the air, headfirst. As he neared the ground, a large shadowy hand tore out of the ground and caught him mid-fall. From that hand issued a human shaped object that grew two large orange eyes. The pillar that my head had just been stopped against dissipated and faded into nothingness. Mickey fell from the sky as the pillar disappeared beneath him. He was unconscious, but still breathing.

He landed with a loud thump just as I regained my footing. In front of me, the figure of Ansem reached out a hand and placed it on the Riku's forehead. Riku appeared to be sleeping, probably unconscious like the king. I took off at a stumbling run toward the pair. Slowly, Ansem's body dwindled and began to funnel into Riku's skull. As I reached them, Ansem's orange eyes drifted slowly into Riku's and looked upwards at me. He gave one last wink, and then was gone.

For a long time I stood in the darkness, staring down at the prostrate form of Riku. His silver hair fell over his face and short ragged breaths caused his chest to rise and fall. I kneeled down and cradled his tiny head in my hands. His hair was soft and shiny in my hands. Was my hair like this when I was a boy? A single tear coursed down my cheek and onto my chin where it fell slowly onto Riku's forehead.

Behind me something whooshed and a loud gust of air came bursting from nothingness. Footsteps echoed against the floor as they made their way towards me and Riku. Black boots appeared by my side. They were nearly covered by a long length of black leather that seemed to extend upwards. I did not turn to see my new company but instead continued to cradle the boy's head in my lap.

"Axel…knock him out."

A hand placed itself against my neck lightly and a masculine voice spoke from behind my ear.

"Yes sir."

And everything faded to white.

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Ok…so…just to clarify something…I have played Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. I beat it both with Sora and Riku. With that out of the way I'd like to ask everyone here on question…WHEN THE FUCK IS KINGDOM HEARTS II COMING OUT? God…it was like supposed to be this December but they only just recently released images of an entirely new world…Wtf? Oh…for anyone who hasn't heard or seen the magazine scans…the new world is Tron. Fucking Tron. How crazy is that? It's awesome.

Thank yous for Unita, Vratix and Heartsoblivion for reviewing on chapter 3. Hope you enjoyed this one justa s much.

I really like the descriptions in this chapter…I think they work very well. I worked hard on this…so here you are. Sorry I don't have a longer Authors Note…I just don't have it in me tonight.