Kingdom Hearts II The Untold Chronicles

Chapter Ten – I Wanna Stay With You Forever

Reminder: It's getting kind of hectic. A lot of weird plot twist or things that one might not understand why are happening. But if you've gotten this far; Godspeed because it's about to get a whole lotta crazy—real fast

"Where am I going…?" Ashley asked as she was being rushed out of the cellar area by a man nearly painted in red. She was being held by her waist.

"I got the mission from Cloud." She freaked.

"No! Let me go! Let me go! He hand fed me to that silver-haired demon!" She cried. He said nothing. "Sephiroth! Sephiroth!" She would rather be stuck with him than to go back to Cloud. A cold steel hand smacked against her mouth with out mercy.

"This is going to feel weird." He told her as she could see a light at the end of the hall. It seemed like a long tunnel and the man was taking her to heaven. From the outside, he swirled up into a red blob with frayed edges. He flew out of the mansion

"Why are you doing this?" Ashley asked trying to look at his eyes. They had a red-orange glow. She was afraid it would start out the way Cloud seemed to help her, but then turned on her the moment he saw her defect.

"I'm not doing this for you—if that's what you mean." Cold hearted. Ashley looked away. She was sorry she asked.

Cloud stood outside of Merlin's house, tapping his foot. He looked up into the sky, seeing the red blob heading his way. Cloud smiled to himself, knowing that Vincent, of all people, would get the job done. Cloud opened the front door and stood back, allowing Vincent to fly into the room freely.

Vincent flew into the room like a hawk, circling slowly, looking for a place to settle. Shuku, Riku, and Tidus were the only ones at Merlin's. Tifa and Aerith had gone out for food. Shuku was sipping on some tea with Riku, sharing a friendly stare. Their eyes followed the red thing around the room. Vincent settled to the floor with Ashley tucked away under his red cape.

"Who are you?" Shuku asked. She was quiet interested. He fit the description of tall, dark, and handsome.

"Vincent Valentine." He responded.

"What do you got there?" Shuku had no idea Cloud sent Vincent out to retrieve Ashley. Vincent lifted his cape, exposing the terrified Ashley. Riku dropped his jaw. Shuku stood up. "Is this a sick joke?" Shuku was very offended.

"It could be if you wanted it to." Vincent said. Riku walked over to Ashley with a look of shock. She was becoming thin and her eyes, which had returned to normal, showed sleep depravation. Riku placed his hands on her face, staring deep into her eyes.

"How did you do this, Riku? How did you give your self up to the darkness…?" Ashley asked. Riku embraced her tightly, hiding his own weakness. Vincent stepped back to give them some room.

"You don't have to worry about that. It was part of the past. You don't have to be like me." Riku said, trying to smell her. Her sweet scent had faded and she just smelled like rotten fruit. He pressed her head against his chest. "Why did you do this to yourself? Was it all for my sake?"

"When I woke up one morning on the Gummi ship… I had discovered something hideous. I had one wing and that wing was black—tainted with hatred and malice and my left eye was blue. I didn't know why it was so. The next day, I put on the cloak and planned to bump into you, Riku." Ashley was interrupted.

"So then you could see into his past…" Shuku said, nodding her head.

"That's when I saw it…" Ashley slowly pulled away.

"It was a different time when I went into the darkness. I'm not the same." Riku tried to explain. Ashley lifted her hand to stop him, but she didn't jam it in his face, either.

"I saw that, too, but what I…" She held her head and gave Riku a shove backward. "S-Stay away! I don't have it under control! I could kill you if I'm not careful." Ashley said. Vincent tucked her back under his cape.

"That is enough." He said to Riku. "I don't care about this situation because truthfully, this is just childish. But I will not have you pressuring someone in her condition." Vincent escorted Ashley to the door. Shuku rushed after Vincent.

"I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, Vincent—for bringing her back to me." Shuku bowed to honor him. Vincent blushed a bit as Shuku bent over he could see down her shirt. He said nothing. Shuku gave a seductive smile. "I will take her to the Hollow Bastion Lake, then to the hot springs. Her wings won't fit in a bath tub." Shuku smiled. Vincent just stared, handing Ashley back to Shuku. "You can come if you'd like." She smiled seductively. Vincent shook his head no.

"I can already tell, getting semi-naked with you wouldn't be in my best interest." Vincent kind of smiled.

"I don't bite—hard." Shuku winked. Vincent turned, flipping his cape before they could hit on each other anymore. "What a masterpiece." Shuku said turning to Ashley. She nodded slowly. "Now that's what I want to see! Let's go get clean and talk about boys, okay!" Shuku grabbed Ashley by the hand. Ashley remembered when they were children and would always hold hands.

"Shuku…" Ashley kept to herself.

Shuku stood waist deep in the clear lake water. Shuku and Ashley were wearing a white T-shirt, just incase they weren't alone. The girls had to cut a hole in the back to fit their wings through. The hole got so low it almost exposed their butts. Shuku scrubbed between Ashley's wings. It was over all quiet. Shuku took a plastic bucket she brought and poured it over Ashley's head to get all the suds off.

"Why'd you do it?" Shuku asked.

"Do what?" There were a lot of things Ashley had done. Most of them were pretty stupid and that's what it sounded like Shuku wanted to know. Shuku wanted to know why she did the stupid thing. But it was hard for Ashley to narrow that down.

"Look into Riku's past." Shuku clarified.

"I swore to myself I wouldn't." Ashley looked away. She scrubbed harder, trying to wash her sin away. "There are so many people that would die to see what some one was doing on a certain date—to see if they were telling the truth. Relationships are about trusting each other. What kind of person would I be if I had peered into his past the day after? I placed my faith in him. But I had to know. There was that feeling that something wasn't right. I needed to know."

"It's not your fault you wanted to know the truth. What am I talking about?" Shuku sighed. "I've been looking for people to blame or to just establish whose fault it was for this happening to you. I blamed Riku when it was really your own."

"I can take responsibility for my actions…"

"So what's it like?" Shuku asked.

"The darkness?" Ashley started to smile.

"Yeah!" Shuku was curious.

"It's amazing. A whole world of new power has opened up to me. But my sanity is the cost. Those who wander in the light have to train hard and earn their power. In the world of darkness all you need is compromise and you can have anything you want." Ashley seemed to be married to it.

"But you can't control it, either. Can you?" Shuku taunted.

"When Riku is near, it just goes crazy. The hate swelling up in me. The sex burning up my thoughts."

"Were you really going to shoot him, that day?"

"I was going to kill him if you hadn't spoke out to me." Ashley admitted. "I am ashamed because of that. This so called destiny to be consumed by the darkness isn't all I'd thought it to be."

"Why is that?" Shuku walked into the shallows, Ashley followed.

"Words are losing their meaning to describe my despair. I don't think I remember what love is. All I've wanted to do was forget the word."

"Let's head to the hot springs." Shuku said, putting the soaps and shampoos into the plastic bucket. They began climbing up a slope to reach the base of a mountain in the area. The mountain was known for its volcanic activity that produced cozy hot springs. Shuku and Ashley would sit and mellow out.

Shuku slid in first, wearing a towel around her. Ashley followed sitting down with a hand towel folded up on her head. They both gave the feel good sigh and sank deeper into the water.

"How I've got some gossip for you." Ashley said.

"Who's it about?" Shuku smiled.

"It's about me and a certain One Winged Angel." Ashley implied.

"Oooooo!" Shuku cooed with glee. Shuku slid over to Ashley, sitting on a natural rock formation that made a bench. "You didn't!"

"I sure didn't." Ashley sighed with the hots for Sephiroth.

"Why didn't you! That was like once in a life time chance!" Shuku crossed her arms. "I would have dove for it."

"Well… He tried to rape me…" Ashley looked down.

"…Tried? So that means he failed right…?" Shuku was getting worried that Ashley had her womanhood stolen from her.

"Well you can't rape some one if they like it." Ashley stuck her tongue out with a devilish giggle. Shuku pushed Ashley on the shoulder

"Tell me what happened!" Shuku was giddy, now.

"I didn't know Sephiroth liked chocolate, if you know what I mean. But then again everyone has a sweet tooth." Ashley punned.

"What happened! Don't delay! Tell me, tell me! And you know you're going to have to tell Riku!" Shuku shouted.

"I don't have to do shit." Ashley turned her nose up. "I'm a bad girl now. Well, first off, I was being an uber bitch to him, right?" Shuku nodded. "I hoped he would kill me, actually. It seemed to me like the easiest way out than facing my fate. But he ripped off my panties and by now, I'm screaming my little head off. Sephiroth looked me in the eye and I shut the hell up. Then he did the thing—with the fingers—and the oh my gawd—feel so good…" Ashley drifted.

"You lucky, crow!" Shuku splashed water at her.

"Crow?" Ashley turned her head.

"Yeah, your wings look like the wings of a crow." Shuku said, daydreaming.

"I like it." Ashley seemed to be herself, again. But with more attitude than before. Shuku was glad.

"So did you sheath is Masamune, if you know what I mean." Shuku smiled big.

"No! But if that Vincent hadn't gotten me, I'd be Sephiroth's bitch right about now." They both drooled.

"Promise to get me a date with him?" Shuku gave her puppy dog eyes routine.

"Go get your own piece of depressed-I-want-every-thing-to-die emo ass! Vincent seems that way. You were hitting on him, and he was playful." Ashley said.

"Well, he didn't seem all that interested…"

"Aren't you supposed to be with Sora?" Ashley narrowed her eyes.

"Aren't you supposed to be with Riku?" Shuku narrowed hers.

"Touché. Continue."

"I mean Vincent is just a bit too lonely for me. Sephiroth is my kind of guy." Shuku clasped her hands together in a form of prayer. "O please, Gods, reward me well for my service to the light." She laughed. "So unfair that you go over to the darkness and you seem to reap the benefits!"

"Like I said, there are some cons to being in the darkness as there are cons for being in the light."

"Name one!" Shuku argued.

"Cloud." They looked at each other.

"Eww." They said together.

"What a pussy." Shuku said.

"Amen to that."

"Still, getting to be lead to the darkness by Sephiroth? You're a lucky crow!" Shuku rested her head on Ashley's shoulder.

"I just still know fear. I pretended to be macho in front of Sephiroth. Once he finds out I'm gone; I'm afraid he'd come after me in a womanizing-domestic violence sort of way." Ashley held her hands together. "Oh god, I know he's coming for me." Ashley's body started to tremble with fear. Shuku lifted her head.

"Don't be afraid. You like him right?" Shuku doubled checked. "Because if you don't, I'll take your place."

"Riku… Riku! Don't let him touch me! Riku, where are you? You said you'd protect me! Riku, I'll forgive you for sleeping with Kairi, just come help me! Riku… Ri-i-i-ku" Ashley sobbed. Ashley covered her mouth and closed her eyes tightly. She looked to Shuku. Shuku was on to her now.

"You're dead serious about the darkness, aren't you? All this time you say you can't 'control' it. You were never talking about the darkness. You can control the darkness just fine. You just can't control the speck of light that is still in your body! That would explain why your wings are still here!" Shuku moved away from her.

"I want it out of my body! It's what keeps me remembering Riku—the one who betrayed me! The one who stolen my heart and made me this way! It's his fault not mine! He did this to me!"

"No. You did this to yourself." Shuku said as she was losing face with her friend. "I'm not going to hang around anymore. Nice talking to you—I guess." Shuku stood up and proceeded to walk away.

Ashley sat in the hot spring, diving into her mind. It was an all white area. Where the dark Ashley roamed it was painted black. The dark Ashley walked over to the light Ashley who was tucked into a ball. The light Ashley sported white wings and a plain white dress.

"You think this is funny, don't you?" The dark Ashley threatened. The other half looked up with long eyes. "Sending out your little S.O.S.! Once I find out a way to rid myself of you completely you'll rue the day you did that in front of Shuku!"

"I know this isn't my destiny! The thing is about destiny is that it can be changed and…" The dark Ashley slapped the light Ashley across the face.

"You shut your fucking mouth! Talk like that will get us killed! We are different but this is one body. Our body. The people of the light will try and kill us since I rule now. If I pansy out like you would, we're as good as dead! And then you'd never see that pitiful excuse of a soul, Riku! You wanna see Riku, right!"

"To see Riku…? If am I good…?"

"Yes, you'll be able to see that stupid son of a bitch. Now be a good girl, and kept quiet!"

Ashley opened the door to Merlin's house. She was in her normal clothes of a blue halter top and a black mini skirt. The room was quiet although it was filled with faces. Riku looked at her with disappointment.

"You peered into my past?" Riku confronted. Ashley's eyes darted to Shuku in disbelief. Shuku had snitched on her. Shuku wore of look of, 'hit me if you wanna.'

"Yeah. I did. Get over it." Ashley knew when it was time to leave. She turned back around to head out the door. Riku rushed over to the door and grabbed it to keep her from opening it. He looked at her with hurt eyes.

"You're so different now…" Riku started.

"Get away from me." Ashley sneered. She wasn't going to listen to the past. She like herself more than ever. She was strong and could control her fire. It was her destiny to go to the darkness.

"I liked the way you smiled at me after I found you. The way you smiled was hideous…" His words pierced.

"You're going to find a foot broken off in your ass." She threatened.

"It was hideous and yet so beautiful. Will you at least rethink this whole darkness charade. You don't have to prove anything to me—or do what some dead guy says." Riku comforted. Her heart was being set aflame. Riku was reaching her.

"Well, I…" Riku could see the passive, sane, normal Ashley coming back to him. "I wanna stay with you forever, Riku." A force like no other wrapped around Ashley's wrist, sliding through the door frame.

"That's most unfortunate." Once his voice entered the room, eyeballs rolled and Cloud was instantly pissed off. Sephiroth stuck his foot in the door and kicked it open. The door smacked Riku in the face, but Ashley was kept along side the door so she was unharmed. Sephiroth yanked her arm, nearly tearing Ashley in two.

"You're hurting me…" She whimpered.

"Fair is fair. Didn't you think you hurt my feelings when you ran off like that?" Sephiroth smirked. Who knew he could have feelings.

"Unhand her, Sephiroth." Cloud spoke up.

"Oh, Cloud. Did you miss me? I know I've missed you." Sephiroth toyed with him. Cloud wanted to spit into his face. Sephiroth turned his attention to Ashley. "Let's get going, my sweet." Shuku clutched her throat, holding back the vomit. Shuku ran the phrase in her head over and over, 'his sweet.' She felt ill. Riku did as well.

Sephiroth yanked Ashley again, pulling her close and laying a wet one on her—even jamming his tongue down her throat. Jaws dropped. Riku felt his existence falling apart in that instant. Ashley was starting to lose it again.

"I told you—I told you acting like a pansy will get us killed! Look at how he is treating you! Tossing you around! Handsome or not, we shouldn't stand for this!" Ashley's dark side fought with her in the regions of her mind.

"I guess you we right this whole time…" Ashley's light side huffed a sigh.

"Now, don't punk out like you did before and submit your heart to the darkness—ALL OF IT!" The dark side commanded.

"But I'll die." The light side responded.

"You'd die anyways! Let the darkness take you completely! And don't try and run back like you did before! This time, we'll make the transformation complete and we won't have to compete for exsitance."

"Why can't we just co-exsist?" The light side tried to reason.

"Shut up!" And with that, Sephiroth pulled away from Ashley, everyone unaware with the choice that Ashley just made in that brief moment. Sephiroth stuck his finger into his mouth.

"Were you chewing gum, my love?" Sephiroth asked, pulling out the last and final chunk of the Kingdom Millennia Crystal. He flicked it like trash. Shuku watched carefully, as the tiny grain landed on the floor. Ashley looked up and her wings started to wilt like a rose. All the feathers floated down to the ground making two large piles. The bones that supported the wings turned to dust. Shuku rubbed the tears from her eyes.

"She's gone…" Shuku sniffled a bit. She kept her calm. "The Ashley we know is gone…" Sora and Tidus were confused. Riku, all the more. "You all say you know the legend of the keepers of Kingdom Hearts. We're branded by angelic white wings, are we not?"

"Yeah…" Cloud answered for them. He was more alert to the story that was thought to be fairy tale anyhow.

"Her wings are gone. Only her pure heart kept them there, and her pure heart kept the crystal in her body. She gave herself up because of him." Shuku glared at Sephiroth. "Because of you!" Shuku cried out ready to go after Sephiroth. She didn't care what happened to her. Her best friend was truly gone.

"Because of him, I'm finally free of that nuisance piece of the light residing in my new body." Ashley said looking over her hands. Something about her essence was over all different. "I should thank him..." Everyone couldn't believe their ears. Thank him? Sephiroth basically turned her into the undead.

"I knew you'd come around, my love" Sephiroth played the violin to get Ashley back on his side.

"…But I won't." A wicked smirk crossed Ashley's face. She grabbed Sephiroth's wrist like he did hers. She gave a simple flip and Sephiroth was on his knees holding his shoulder joint. "Should I say sorry, cupcake?" She twisted harder. Sephiroth yelped. "Should I say sorry? SHOULD I? SHOULD I?" She was obviously having fun, but outside the box, everyone thought she was nuts. Yet, they were all stunned. She was brining the One Winged Angel to his knees.

"N-no!" Sephiroth said, and Ashley let go like a good girl. Sephiroth went to hit her with a vicious punch. He threw his fist at her.

Ashley caught it with knew effort. She slowly moved her head to get a good look at Sephiroth.

"You've gotten what you've wanted… Is this not to your liking, pumpkin?" Ashley mocked with the pet names. Her eyes were slowly turning blue with cat-like pupils—just like Sephiroth's. Cloud stepped backward.

"Dear god," Cloud said. "Sephiroth, what have you unleashed on the worlds in your greed to have Kingdom Hearts?" Ashley looked to Cloud. Cloud stepped back, afraid of what she'd do with her childish attitude for hurting people.

"He will not have Kingdom Hearts. Because Kingdom Hearts… Belongs solely to me." Ashley said with a black aura flaming upward.