Chapter Nineteen: Sora's Betrayal

Cutting a swath through all the Heartless, Nobodies, and Luce, my friends and I battled our way across the town down to the courtyard. There we slew a great group of Heartless, then continued to force our way through the darkness to the Crystal Fissure. There, standing before the Great Maw, we saw the true army. It was vast and seemed limitless; perfect fighting conditions for me.

"You guys think we can take this many of 'em?" I asked Jason and Amy.

"If Sora did it, we should be able to do it too!" Amy shouted.

"Yeah, of course!" Jason agreed.

"Then let's go!" I yelled, charging face-first into the Great Maw. The battle quickly stepped up, and soon I was forced to use my True Form to keep up with all of them. Dodging and slashing were all I knew; soon using my Phoenix Sword, I fought them with all I had. As usual, my friends and I were soon standing back to back in the sea of twilight.

"So, was Sora able to take this many?" I asked them.

"I don't think he had to do this much…" Amy panted, clearly exhausted. She was now dual-wielding her katana and sakabato.

"Either way, we can't give up! Let's go!" I shouted, then charged back into the twilight. Even with my abilities, the number was ridiculous. They just kept coming. After a while of continual attacking, I made my way back to the center of the Great Maw, fighting anything that got in my way. We were soon standing back to back again.

"So… still think this was a good idea?" Jason asked, breathing heavily.

"Sure… why not? All we have to do is…" I said, breathing heavily as well. I had dropped my True Form; I had become too exhausted to maintain it. "… hold out until the cavalry arrives."

"Are you sure they're coming? Because I don't know how long we've been fighting…" Amy breathed heavily. We were all exhausted, it seems, and still adrift in a seemingly endless sea of twilight.

After fending off a few more enemies, the cavalry did arrive. It was heralded by spires of light that burst forth from the ground, destroying all they touched. Moments later, anyone that could use any type of weapon in Hollow Bastion jumped off of cliffs surrounding the Great Maw. Inspired by everyone's courage, I headed back into the fray.

Now the battle began to die down. With over a dozen people fighting, added to my strength and the strength of my friends, their numbers didn't seem so limitless. After only a few more minutes of fighting, I could see the horizon. After a few more minutes, the great battle was over.

All in all, everything turned out well. The town had been roughed up a little, but it was nothing a few weeks of work couldn't fix. The worst part was the state I was in; totally exhausted, and about to faint. Amy and Jason weren't in better shape; they too were exhausted to the point of fainting. I persisted, though just moments before we were all able to gather in the center of the Great Maw, Amy and Jason passed out.

"So… how is… everything?" I asked through my heavy breathing. I had been wounded in the battle; I was holding my bleeding right shoulder with my left hand, and carrying my Phoenix Sword in my right hand. I had also twisted my left ankle, and was limping.

"Everything's fine," Aerith told me. "The city's safe."

"But… the sky still… hasn't changed back," I managed to say. "Why?"

"I suppose the source of wherever all those enemies came from is still here," Squall said. "We should go find it."

"No… I'll go," I said.

"You're tired and hurt. You shouldn't push yourself," Tifa said. "Get some rest."

"I can't… I refuse to…" I muttered, limping off. I got cries of protest from everybody, but I continued my solo trudge. I knew only one other place someone could be: the Dark Depths. I hobbled there as fast as my feet could carry me (which wasn't very fast). When I got there, I wasn't too surprised to see someone in a dark purple cape standing there, overlooking the wreckage of the old castle.

"Who… are you?" I asked.

"I am a servant of the world. And if I am a servant, you should consider yourself a weapon, at best," the figure answered.

"What…?" I was stunned. That was the same thing Ansem had said to me two years ago…

The person turned around. It was a woman in a deep purple cloak. She had raven hair, brown eyes so dark they seemed black, and was quite beautiful. But I knew…

"Who… are you? Tell me!" I yelled as best I could.

"I? I am Senka… what of it?" she asked back.

"Senka? Didn't I see… you before?" I asked.

"Quite right. You're very perceptive… and stronger than I had imagined," Senka told me. I could feel something odd about her…

"You… you're the one who… led this army, aren't you…" I wheezed out.

"Yes. And it was fun, seeing you fight," she said with a wicked smile.

"You… I'll end you, if you plan on doing something like this again," I told her as forcefully as I could. I tried to point my blade at her, but I was too weak.

"You… end me? That's amusing…" she laughed a couple times. "But it is not in you power to end me. Not even you, the void."

"I'll… do what I must!" I shouted. I pulled the Cutlass off my back and slammed it into the Phoenix Sword. In a flash of light, the blade was forever changed. It had become smaller, more refined, and the blade was now made of yellow Orichalon. I pointed the smaller blade at her. "I'll do it, you know."

"Of course you would. But you cannot do it," Senka told me with another wicked smile. "See?"

"What… my body! I… can't move!" I struggled as my body stopped moving. I slowly put my sword down at my side, then got down on my hands and knees. "What are you doing?" I shouted as adrenaline began to run through me, giving me the energy to yell.

"Nothing… just making you listen to your inner darkness," Senka said. "You know, the darkness you have been ignoring for two years?"

"That's impossible! Who… what are you?" I asked through heavy breaths.

"I told you, I am a servant of the world," she replied simply. "Now be silent. Sora approaches and I have a choice for him."

"He's already made his choice," I managed to get out before I was silenced. Sure enough, Sora came dashing up just minutes later. He stopped short, as I had, recognizing Senka.

"You! You're that woman who took Kairi!" he shouted. "What did you do with her? Where is she!"

"Kairi? I have not hurt her, if that is what you mean," Senka replied simply. I knew where this was going… and what the result would be…

"Take me to her! Take me to her NOW!" Sora shouted, summoning his Keyblade and pointing it at her.

"Is she that important to you?" she asked.

"Yes… more than anything," Sora said softer this time while he lowered his Keyblade. I knew what Senka was doing…

She was going to break him. I could already tell.

"Even more important than yourself?" Senka asked, opening a dark portal. "Show me just how important, and maybe I will take you to her."

"Please…" Sora begged, getting down on his hands and knees, as I knew he would.

"Very well. Come," Senka bowed, ushering Sora into the dark portal. He got up and sprinted through it instantly, but Senka remained a moment to taunt me one last time.

"I will see you later, Roy," she said to me with a wicked smile again. When she had at last gone through the portal, I felt the restraint be released, and I dropped down on the ground. Utterly exhausted, but not surprised at all by Sora's betrayal, I picked up my Phoenix Sword and began limping back toward the castle.

After a few minutes of staggering, I made it back to the now empty Great Maw. Another few minutes of staggering, and I made it back to the Crystal Fissure. Riku ran by me near the entrance without a word as I limped forward. After I made it to the Courtyard, Riku came running back.

"Where's Sora?" he asked.

"He… left with that woman… Senka. You sensed her, did you not?" I asked back.

"Yeah… there was this foul stench in the air from the moment we got here. I thought it was just all the Heartless, but I guess not. Who's Senka?" he asked.

"I'll tell you later," I managed, but then collapsed.

"Here… let me help you," Riku said, going to support me.

"All right. I guess we're all going to need to help each other out now…"