CH 22

"It's only been a week, and look at the state he's in." Jafar pointed out, gesturing to the Keywielder, who was still being clung to by the Princess of Heart.

"That minnow is swimming in a shark tank!" Ursula agreed, "He can't seriously be ignorant of what's going on. He's mute not stupid, despite his...naive nature"

"Yes, he knows." The queen of the castle said thoughtfully, "However, at the present he feels no need to do anything about it. It has not reached his inner being quite yet. This will change. What we must decide in the next two weeks is how to utilize this new development. Sora is a being who acts unpredictably. Do we allow Riku, who has an uncanny grasp of the Darkness, to teach him how to control it before it consumes him fully? Or do we hasten the process, a task wich may result in him losing what little mind he has left, turning him into just a higher rank than a Shadow? Or, do we let it run its course, and see what suprizes the Darkness has in store for him? As you see, we have much to decide."

"Well, dis whole scheme was yer revenge ta begin wit, Maleficent. Why don't you decide?" Pete asked, folding his arms.

The Mistress of all evil sighed "Please, you inferior buffoon, this is not simply my revenge. We all are agreed that this meddler is our responsibility as a whole, for as a whole, hasn't he defeated us all at several points?"

The villains murmured agreement, and then Jafar sneered in disdane "I don't see why we cannot simply skin this rat and get it over with already."

"Oh no you won't! Lord of the dead here, yeah, see...here's the thing snake lips...I...Don't...Want him! No way no how! Keyboy stays in your neck of the woods thank you. I am NOT dealing with him in my domain. No thanks!"

"Oh please, she was going to deliver him to you anyway."

"Why do you hate me, dragon queen? Seriously?! After all we've been through, you'd send that insect into my realm?! That pain in the toga brat would ruin my nice, creepy underworld with his annoyingly boundless optimism. I'd have to start from scratch again, maybe even beg Zues, gods forbid, into granting me another hovel where I can plan his inevitable destruction...See this is why I seldom get into the details DO NOT send him to my realm!"

"Rest assured that plan is no longer in motion, my dear Hades. Now, The question remains. What do we do about Sora?"

"I strongly advise against letting me old shipmate plot the course of Darkness for the boy. That would have us run agroiund." Hook pointed out

"Yes." Regina, Snow White's 'Evil Queen' said "Riku's interference coulkd spark resolve and strengthen the hero's resistence. Also, given that extraordinary boy's inner strength, if he was to guide Sora in the use of the Darkness, Sora would become twice as powerful, and don't forget, old friend. True love comes in many forms. They bond over this, you will lose your pet. Not even the Keyblade can seal the most powerful magic in existence, and force it to keep a contract."

"Honey, on that same tangeant, why the heck're you letting dollface over there that close to Sora? You do know they've been a thing since childhood, right? How is that not true love?"

Maleficent laughed scornfully "True love? The blithering oaf doesn't even realize that's what it is! He clings to her because she is his Light, but the thought never occurred to him why exactly that is! At least, not in terms uncliche. It's one thing to have affection for a girl who washed up on these very shores, but quite another to actually contemplate and realize that you are hopelessly in love with her. We have nothing to fear from those two. However, Riku is another story. Regina my dear, you make an excellent point. I and the dawn treader have quite the history. The easily moldable mind and heart of that boy has been made hard as iron and sharp as any blade. He has grown in his Darkness, and if he were to pass his knowledge to Sora it could prove annoying at the very least. Though I am enjoying this game of cunning and wits we're engaged in, I cannot have him lessen the hero's torment."

She looked at Riku, who was actually trying to get her attention, and had distanced himself from his two friends. She smiled wickedly "You see? His cunning matches my own so closely, that he knows when and how to hold our little sparring sessions. Alas, what a pity he chose compromnise with the Darkness and his friends over having me as an ally! What we could have accomplished together!"

She sighed and moved towards him, then turned to her fellow villains, "I leave you to ponder Sora's fate. A descision does not have to be made tonight, bear in mind."

KHKHKHKHKHKH

Riku gestured her over to a table far from prying eyes and ears. They took seats at opposite ends of the table. Riku folded his arms and lowered his head.

"So, I suppose you see me as more of a threat now that Sora's absorbing Darkness into his being thanks to the clothes he wears."

The witch chuckled. "A threat? Hardly, boy. However, you will prove a major annoyance should you guide Sora on the path to Dawn. I simply cannot have that in this stage of the game."

"So, you're going to let the Darkness take from you your revenge. Because that's what'll happen if it seeps into his heart without a buffer or guidance. The Darkness could care less about your agenda, Maleficent. Make no mistake, if it takes Sora, it will drag him into its realm and you will never get him back."

The witch smiled wickedly at the teen, "Yet you came back, and stronger than you were before.. Are you so blinded by your accomplishments and growth that you'd think that Sora, whose heart was so strong that he wrested the Keyblade from you, it's original master, wouldn't do likewise at a more intense level?"

"I had help, first of all. Secondly, low blow but I'll give you points for trying that tactic. My move. Even if he came back, because his heart is so strong, he'd be a hundred times more powerful than anything you could conjure up. You would lose complete control, because Sora would disregard the contract."

"Then he would perish, along with the rest of you."

"Not necessarily." Riku smirked, "He may die, but I can guarantee he'd take you with him. Even in Darkness, light still shines. Once you're gone, we go free. To mourn, yes, but alive to clean up the mess you made."

Maleficent marveled at her once-puppet. His blow seemed a desperate gamble, a cliché'd comeback, grasping at false hope, but she was no fool. Even as he stated the hopeful dream ending, she knew his mind was working out all the angles, picking the scenario based on his knowledge and experience with the Darkness, then predicting how Sora would react based on the hero's own traits and quirks. This, she decided, could prove very useful to her.

"You make valid points, Riku." She said at last, "However, it still stands that you, in your cunning, could manipulate my pet as you trained him. So tell me, my old puppet, what you would do in my situation?"

At last! The boy was taken aback. The witch had just dealt a good blow, and for once, Riku had been unprepared for the attack.

"You...want me to play devil's advocate?!" he croaked, still reeling from the unexpected turn of the battle.

"Why not?"

"Because you know that if I do, you'll use my strategies against us! I'm not a fool, Witch!"

"Indeed you aren't, dear boy. However, the alternative is for me to put an end to Sora. Choose wisely."

Riku snarled. He'd made a tactical error. However, he was determined to regain his footing. To do that, he had to reach into the Darkness and shut off the Light, if only briefly. He had to be heartless to save his brother's heart...and his life.

"Alright. I'll do it."

Maleficent smiled in triumph. The upper hand for this round was hers.

"That's my boy."

"I'm NOT your boy!" Riku snapped back, "I'm doing this for Sora, not you!"

Riku's raging ice-blue eyes suddenly went wide, and Maleficent grinned a Cheshire grin. The boy had an idea.

"I think I just solved our problem."