So, this will be my last update on any story until probably December. Next month is NaNoWriMo, which is National Novel Writing Month… where I and many others around the globe will attempt to write a novel in one month. So, no fanfics for November unless I finish my novel.

So, enjoy this little chapter.

Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!

Sasuke © to Yami!

Ocs © to me!

Chapter 18: Cry For Help

At Tifa's bar, Sasuke Kazekiri sat, taking a sip of bourbon before rubbing his temples.(1)

"I thought I'd find you here." His wife Rydia slid onto the barstool beside him.

"Oh, hey, Rydia."

"I…" she began slowly, "heard about what happened to your goddaughter. Is she doing ok?"

The guard captain set down his glass, staring into the remainder of the liquid at the bottom. "Not exactly. It'll definitely take time for her to adjust."

"I see." The woman moved the glass away from her husband, waiting until he looked up at her. "How are you taking all this? Are you alright?"

He brought up his hand, resting his face in his palm with a long sigh. "Things have just gotten way out of hand. I was already worried about Patria's darkness before, as was everyone else, and then this happens! Pat goes berserk after those filthy assassins tricked her into believing Pith was dead! And some mad… person, thing, unknown tried to take her over."

The green-haired woman reached over, rubbing his back gently. "It really sounds like a rough experience for her.

"Understatement of the year! And if that wasn't enough, this thing has been pumping darkness into her for years, apparently trying to mold her into the perfect vessel or something! All this time, the darkness she had been exuding that had us all worried about her," he brought down his fist on his glass, shattering it, the blood from his fresh cuts now mixing with the remaining bourbon on the bartop, "has been coming from someone else, and none of us realized it!"

"Please! Calm down, Honey!"

"I should've known something was off! I thought I perfected my ability to sense light and darkness, and yet I didn't have a clue that her darkness wasn't entirely her own!" Sasuke placed his bleeding hand against his forehead. "I bet if Master Kaname was here, he would've sensed something off…"

Rydia took her husband's hand, gently picking out some of the glass fragments. "Don't be so sure. From what I understand, even great sorcerers were caught off guard by this. I don't think anyone could've seen this coming. It's not your fault. It's no one's fault but this mysterious figure."

"Not to mention those Sovereign Enforcers." His eyes flashed with anger. "The fact that Braig is once again involved in the hardships of Kairi's family, especially this event, just pours salt on the wound. I know how this whole situation must be affecting Kairi. I swear! Can't fate just give my surrogate sister a break! Hasn't she gone through enough already!? It's just so maddening." He took a deep breath, staring at his hand. "And to top it all off, Pat's… violent behavior has been something of a ruse this whole time. She only acted that way because it was the only way she know to vent all that darkness so that she doesn't self-destruct on her loved ones."

"She was willing to sour her own reputation just to protect those she cares about."

Sasuke watched as his wife took out the last large glass shard and cast a healing spell. "We have all been so hard on her. Why couldn't she have just told us from the start? We could've helped her so much sooner. And now this whole experience has left a serious mark on her that will probably never go away, both physically and psychologically."

Rydia looked into her husband's eyes as she laid her hand on her heart. "I really feel bad for her. I can't imagine what she's going through right now, or how her life will turn out going forward."

"It'll be tough, I know that much… I just wish there was something I could do. And what if this happens again…? I just, don't know if we can do anything for her…"

Riku rubbed the bridge of his nose after he closed down the call. Of course, he had been excited to receive a phone call from Sora, but as soon as his friend started talking… well, he wasn't as happy anymore.

"Was that Sora?"

"Yes…"

Hara cocked her head as she studied her husband's face. "What's wrong? Is it… Hikari?"

"No, our little girl is fine. It's Patria." The man sighed. "Her darkness is worse than we thought…"

Sora sat in the back of the gummi ship, petting his daughter's hair as she leaned against him, sleeping. His heart ached. How long had she suffered in silence?

Silence…

No.

She'd been crying for help.

Silent and round-about ways.

When she turned down their help, claiming she was alright. Her acting out. She'd been asking for help the whole time… he just didn't notice.

His shoulders shook as tears began to trickle from his eyes. "I-I'm so sorry, Patria. I'm so sorry."

"You realized it too?" Kairi spoke softly, sitting beside him.

"We didn't even notice how scared she was and how much she wanted help… now it's almost too late."

"Almost." The princess of heart gently laid a hand on her daughter's face, brushing aside strands of hair in her face. "We can help her now." She studied her daughter's face. "She looks afraid…"

And indeed, she was.

In Patria's dreams, the mysterious figure raged…

"You foolish little brat! I would kill you if you weren't necessary to me."

The figure held her in tendrils of darkness, squeezing her limbs tightly.

His hand came up, grabbing her chin in his hand. "You told them everything!"

"I did!" Patria cried out, pushing past her fear. "You almost took control! I couldn't let that happen!" She sighed. "Finally, I told them. It feels good."

The figure grabbed her by the hair, making her cry out. "No! You belong to me!" The darkness around him faded away to reveal a suit of Keyblade armor similar to that of a Samurai(2). "The darkness has tainted you. A constant reminder of me. And now… I will take your sleep, and I will take your sanity. You will not have restful sleep as long as I am here."

"My parents have magic! It can stop you!"

"No… it won't…" He laughed.

The dream began to fade away, but the laughter still rang in the air…

"Patria, wake up."

Sora's soft voice cut through the dark laughter as the girl blinked. "Dad?"

"Hey, girlie. Sleep well?"

"No." She leaned against him, sighing. "He said he was going to take my sanity. He scares me…"

Sanity.

Sora dreaded the thought of his little girl losing herself like that. "I will do everything I can to stop him. I'll protect you, Patria." He wrapped his arms around her. "Starting with getting you help with your darkness. We're here."

Patria felt the ship settle to a stop, probably in the Disney Castle Gummi Hanger. If anyone could help her, it was her Uncle Riku. Forcing herself to stand up, she walked out of the ship with her dad. Hikari already ran off the ship with PJ and Max, the three of them standing before Riku, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey, chatting away. Her eyes glanced up, meeting Riku's.

She saw nothing but compassion and concern in them.

Riku patted his daughter's head with a soft smile. "Why don't you find Mom? She's inside with your brother." Immediately, he strode over toward the Kumos, smiling at Sora and Kairi. "Hey…"

"Hey, Riku."

"Sounds like you guys have had it rough lately." His eyes darted to Patria who stared at the ground. "Take some time to rest and think about your next move. I'll take it from here."

"Thank you, Riku."

Giving their daughter one last encouraging pat on the shoulder, the couple went to join the others. The group slowly meandering their way out of the hanger.

Until they were alone.

"Want to tell me what happened?"

Straight to the point.

"Well… I just… I got so angry I just lost it. Briana said.. And Angel had… I-I thought they'd killed my brother. So, I snapped. I attacked Angel. But then… that person, that thing, took over. I tried to fight back, but I couldn't. Dad and Mom brought me back."

Riku sighed. He'd worried about her darkness before, but this was something else.

It reminded him of Ansem.

"Let's go for a walk." Placing a hand gently on her shoulder, they left the hanger and went out through the castle gates. "Sora explained to me what he could. So, this thing, person, whatever, has been pumping you full of darkness for years. If that's the case, your mom and I should've noticed something."

The girl shook her head. "He said that he was able to block you two from sensing it. I'm not sure how, but he's very powerful."

"If he was that powerful, you would be fully under his control by now." He paused, taking her hands in his. He studied them for a moment. The darkness that stained her skin looked like that of a Heartless, and the red tips of her fingers gave him a similar impression. "He tried to take over, but couldn't, so he left you this. A reminder that he still has a hold on you. Tell me, has he contacted you yet?"

"Yes. He said he would take my sanity and not give me a peaceful sleep until I give into him."

Riku thought for a moment. "Wait, give into him?" He gasped. "Patria, when you lost control, what were you thinking? Like what was literally going through your mind?"

"That… I didn't care if the darkness consumed me, or if he took over."

Riku nodded slowly. "I get it. He can't take over you without your consent. He has to find a way to make you willingly give in. Taking away your sanity will make it easier for him." I'll ask Master Yen Sid, and Oukoku about ways to help you sleep and maybe prevent that from happening. When this is over, I suggest you go to Areth and work with him constantly to help keep your mind clear. Now, as for your darkness, Sora said that you use it in order to prevent yourself from losing control of it, correct?"

"Yes."

"Then that's what we'll work on." They'd taken a path down underground into the sewers. The only ones around now were the magic broomsticks, but these wore hardhats with little lights to allow them to see. Down a tunnel, the underground opened up into a large room full of old crates and barrels. "This is my personal training ground. Let's get started."

Minnie handed Kairi a cup of tea, her eyes filled with sorrow. "I'm so sorry all of this happened."

"Things haven't been easy for you two." Jiminy sighed.

Kairi nodded. "I know… ever since Jun's death it's like the universe wants to make life hard."

Sora looked at his own cup of tea. It's true that since their first child died, life had been harder. While they'd had ups too, nothing really stood out other than the birth of the twins as something fantastically great. "I wonder if it's because I'm Oukoku's heir or something. Or this whatever it is that is screwing with Patria, has been actively sabotaging our lives."

"I don't think so, Sora." Hara spoke softly, trying not to wake up the sleeping toddler in her arms. "When your first child died, that event shook your world. I'm not surprised that few things brightened it up. Of course, whenever Patria started getting this darkness inside her, then this outside force was working, but before that I think it was just the recovery from Jun's death. Now, Patria being targeted… this could be because of you or your lineage."

"That's not fair!" Hikari huffed, crossing her arms. "Patria never did anything to this jerk!"

"I know, dear. Minnie, do you think having her near the Cornerstone will do anything?"

"I don't know. It might be painful for her with how darkness has become part of her." The elderly mouse wrung her hands.

"At least Riku is helping her get some sort of control now. But we could at least try and put her near the Cornerstone."

"it's worth a try."

"Focus." Riku laid his hands on his niece's shoulders. "Try and center a small portion of darkness around the spell. It's hard at first, but it gets easier."

Patria's hand shook as the Fire spell begged to be loosed, the magic pulling at her mind to release it. She focused all her attention on that feeling. The pulling. She pictured the magic drawing some of the darkness out of her and them melding together. As she pictured this, the flames in her hand changed.

Orange to red.

Red to maroon.

Maroon to a deep purple.

"There you go!"

Patria let the spell free, the Dark Fire slamming into a box. She'd just… used darkness.

But used it right. Like Uncle Riku.

"I did it!"

"Good, now keep practicing. If you can learn to pull that power into every single magical attack you do, it should help lessen the burden darkness puts on you, and you shouldn't have to be so mean to people anymore." The two stood quietly for a while. "Tria, I don't understand why you didn't tell me. Your mom and dad sure, but I of all people would understand. If you had asked, I would've even kept it a secret from your parents until you were ready to tell them."

The red-head slumped down against a box. "I was going to when the worlds connected again, but then the whole Xehanort thing happened and I exploded on Maleficent. Then this freak saved us from death only to try and take me over. I was so scared… I didn't know what to do."

"Did Pith know?"

"Yes…"

Riku didn't say anything else. For a while, they kept up a soft silence until the king finally spoke. "Let's keep practicing."

Pith stood up as the cell door opened. Briana dragged Angel and threw her inside. The girl's wing dripped blood along the white feathers, marring the pristine parts.

"Just look at what your sister did." The princess tossed a potion at their feet, laughing as Pith lunged forward, catching the bottle before it shattered on the ground. She warped away as the cage slammed shut.

Pith handed the bottle to his friend, sitting beside her, letting her wing rest on his lap. "Braig showed me what happened. I'm sorry about what my sister did to you."

"I don't blame her… I wish I had a sibling that cared enough to lose it if I was in trouble. My brother would just kill me himself." The girl whimpered as the potion took effect, healing up her wing. "Even if I did die, I have no family to miss me."

Pith wiped some of the blood off her wing with a soft smile. "You do actually… a half-brother and a niece."

"Wait, what?"

"You didn't know… Xehanort had another son. Actually, you wouldn't know because Xehanort himself didn't know. But Areth, your half-brother, really would like you to come home and stay with him and his daughter. They want you to be part of their family. So, when this is all over, you have something to look forward to." Gently moving her wing to the side, he wrapped his arms around the girl, singing softly. "No more talk of darkness, forget these wide-eyed fears. I'm here. Nothing can harm you. My word will warm and guide you. Let me be your freedom, let daylight dry your tears. I'm here, with you, beside you, to guard you and to guide you…"

The girl let her wings droop.

She had… family?

Family who wanted her?

Was it a trick… no. Pith wouldn't lie to her. The only one who wouldn't lie. Her only comfort in the world.

Closing her eyes, she whispered the next line, ignoring the romantic implications as best she could, her mind focused on the news, the hopeful news he brought. "Say you love me every waking moment. Turn my head with talk of summertime. Say you need me with you now and always. Promise me that all you say is true. That's all I ask of you…"

"Let me be your shelter, let me be your light. You're safe, no one will find you. Your fears are far behind you."

"All I want is freedom, a world with no more night. And you, always beside me, to hold me and to hide me…"

Her words dissolved into sobs as the boy comfortingly patted her head.

"Tired?"

"Yes…" Patria sighed. "That was so hard."

Riku smiled, "Yeah, until you're used to harnessing darkness in that way, it's difficult. Just keep practicing and things will get easier. I'll tell your dad to let you train on the ship; he can even supervise you to make sure things are going well."

The girl nodded, staring at her red-stained fingers as she fiddled with them. "I really should've told you. Maybe then things wouldn't have gotten this bad."

"Maybe. Maybe not. We don't know. But what's done is done and we just have to deal with what we have. And now that this is out in the open, we can keep tabs on you and it." He stopped, grabbing the girl in a hug. "You're never alone, Patria. You have so many people who love you."

Patria felt tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. Uncle Riku, always so sincere. He never sugar-coated. He never held back. His words, always full of feeling, could touch any heart.

Even a dark and broken one like hers.

She buried her face in his shoulder. "Thank you, Uncle Riku."

"You're welcome."

The two parted, walking side-by-side to the castle. The girl's heart felt just a little lighter as they walked along the white pavement of the castle and into the massive throne room.

All the others waited on the other side.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Little Kuro called, reaching for his father with a wide smile.

"He woke up and was wondering where you went off to." Hara laughed, handing off the toddler to her husband. Her gaze shifted to Patria and changed. "Patria, we have an idea. It might be a long shot, and it honestly it might make things worse. We don't know."

"What is it?"

Kairi wrung her hands, her eyes full of fear for her child. "Hara suggested we take you to the Cornerstone of Light, but we don't know what that amount of light might do to you at once."

"I want to try."

No hesitation.

"Patria," her dad spoke barely above a whisper, "are you sure?"

"Yes. I have to try!"

Hara glanced over at Minnie who nodded. "Alright." Hara held out her hand toward the throne(3), the platform beneath it shifting and moving to the side.

Patria all but ran down the steps. As soon as her head passed underground, her head suddenly throbbed. She let out a scream before falling down the rest of the stairs.

"Tria!"

The girl, totally oblivious to her aching body, screamed as her heart seemed to tear in half.

"Get her out of here!"

She felt strong arms grab her and lift her from the ground. Her eyes, partially open, spotted the cornerstone shimmering. The light seemed to be reaching out to her. "W-wait… d-don't. I-I want it…!"

Her arms began to throb, pulsing with the frantic beating of her heart. She reached out toward the cornerstone, despite how much it hurt, hoping to feel some of its warmth.

Her fingers burned, the red beginning to glow slightly. Her eyes widened, but before she could pull her hand back, darkness burst from her hand, fizzling away in the light, but the darkness drew from Patria, thrashing out toward the source of light.

This takes so long to say, but it happened so fast, no one could move as the darkness slammed into the cornerstone. Cracks appeared across its smooth surface before the glowing sphere crumbled into glowing shards.

"Oh no!"

"I-I…" Patria gasped as her darkness dissolved away, "I didn't do that… I-I wanted the light. I didn't…" She shuddered, tears flowing down her face. "I didn't do this!"

"But I did, and you helped me."

The voice whispered in her mind, laughing.

So then… she did do this.

"Father, why keep them together? Look at them!" Briana glared at the security footage of Pith and Angel embracing.

"I agree," Xext huffed. "She's corrupted enough as it is."

Braig chuckled. "Don't you see, it's all part of the game, right Holly?"

His wife slid over next to him. "Of course. Let them hope. Let them be happy. And then tear it from them at the last moment!"

"Oh…" Braig suddenly stiffened, listening for a moment to the host in his head. "Well, well. Our benefactor just gave us a golden opportunity. The Cornerstone of Light, the protector if that stupid Disney Town, has been destroyed, by Patria no less."

"Oh really?"

"Want in, sweetie?"

Holly giggled. "Why I would love to." She took the whip from her hip, tightening it with a snap. "I would love a new kingdom to call my own."

So, hope you enjoy this cliffhanger before I vanish for a month!

Deuces!

Please review!

Footnotes:

(1) This scene is courtesy of Yamichaos27!

(2) Think similar to the Shredder's armor in the 2003 TMNT.

(3) I'm going under the assumption that the queen is supposed to guard the cornerstone, and so Minnie passed on the power to Hara when she and Riku took over.