Chapter 213: Stressful Battle

It felt like his Shadow was going to rip right out of his skin at any second. Sora would've gritted his teeth, had he had full control of his body. But his Shadow had that, or, most of it.

His Shadow flung them at Maleficent, swiping with his blade—he swung his blade with only one hand, which felt weird to Sora. He was used to dealing two-handed blows.

Maleficent sent a blast of fire at them as they jumped back. Sora's Shadow made sure they rolled out of the way.

Sora heard the sound of barriers going up. That couldn't be good. Maleficent already had barriers up! Where'd the second set come from?

"Relax," his Shadow told him. Strangely, he spoke out loud instead of silently. Sora was sure they could communicate silently if they wanted to… "That one's good."

You set it up? Sora asked.

"No, a friend of mine did," his Shadow answered, running in to get another swipe at Maleficent.

That statement was accompanied by a flicker of images and snippets of conversation. It was all too much to put into words, but Sora understood their meaning just fine.

"You're working with Hades!?" he exclaimed, the shock forcing the words out of his mouth.

Sora's Shadow paused and moved backwards so they were out of Maleficent's immediate range. He shot an annoyed look to the side, as if trying to glare at Sora. "Did you have to say that out loud?"

"Why? Hades doesn't want anyone to know he's a part of this?"

"Well—"

"Hades?" Maleficent asked, sounding a little surprised. "But I—oh. I see." Her eyes narrowed. "This is a betrayal."

"More like we were kind of always intending to kill you," Sora's Shadow called, with a laugh.

"Hmph." Maleficent raised her staff. "Even with help you won't succeed!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that!"

They rushed in and landed one… two quick strikes while Maleficent was preparing her next attack. She didn't seem too fazed by the blows, but Sora had a feeling she just wasn't showing it.

The sky darkened behind her, and from the darkness shot various meteors. Sora's Shadow didn't bother to move out of the way, and they were knocked back against the barrier. Thankfully, despite being made of fire, the barrier didn't hurt them. The meteor attack, however…

What the heck!? Sora asked.

His Shadow scrunched his face up in pain, but didn't answer. Sora didn't need him to. He knew that his Shadow had forgotten what attacks could hurt him now that he was using Sora's body.

Potions, Sora said. In my pocket. I think I have a few on me. I should….

His Shadow didn't respond. Just groaned.

Sora quickly reached into his pocket to dig for a potion. He didn't dare try and move any further, unsure of how much control of his body he had. Just the movement of digging in his pocket made his head spin a little. His Shadow's presence pounded under his skin, clamoring as if to be released, even though Sora wasn't holding it there. Sora wondered if he should try and force his Shadow out, but decided against it. At least for right now…

He raised the bottle to his lips and forced himself to drink, grateful his Shadow didn't stop him.

Damn… his Shadow said, silently. That hurt.

No duh, Sora told him. Now get up before she—

His thought was cut off by a flood of images. Memories. Fears. He was vaguely aware of his body being pulled to its feet and his Shadow charging at Maleficent, but he was too curious about the memories to pay the battle much attention.

"I want Sora back!"

"I'm his Shadow and you're doing my job!"

It was anger—desperation—pulsing through his veins. Sharpened by every dealt blow. Strengthened by every hit taken. Maleficent had humiliated his Shadow, and Sora couldn't have felt it anymore strongly. It was embarrassing. It was disgusting.

"Do you think I cannot sense how you've been tainted?"

"I'm- I- I'm not! I'm not I—"

He'd been so scared.

He couldn't be tainted.

But he—

"Hey, Sora!"

His Shadow's voice—well, his voice, since it was coming from his mouth—grounded him.

"You don't mind keeping the whole working-with-Hades thing hush hush do you? Hades doesn't want Mickey knowing."

Sora didn't even need to ask why. He knew Hades didn't want to make Mickey angry. He wouldn't want to make Mickey angry! Who would?

You, uh, don't think he's already heard, do you? Sora asked.

"Through two barriers? I doubt he did. Probably." His Shadow grimaced, but whether that was due to his uncertainty or due to the fact he was dodging the Thunder raining from the sky Sora wasn't sure.

"I hope he didn't hear," Sora's Shadow said, after a moment. He sidestepped another Thunder bolt and charged at Maleficent. "Hades would kill me. Well—"

He didn't finish that out loud, but Sora still heard him.

If he can kill me.

Sora felt very uneasy. He was too in sync with his Shadow right now to not see the memories.

"Cut it out! It's obviously not working!"

Light. Excruciating pain.

"Why am I still alive!? That should've killed me!"

If his Shadow couldn't die…

"Then again," his Shadow said. They swung at Maleficent. Dodged one blast of fire. Blocked another. Swung again. "I suppose it would get me out of fighting Hercules—if Mickey were to find out. If anything, Hades will be too mad at me to—"

What do you mean you can't die!? Sora demanded.

His Shadow stopped dead in his tracks.

"I—not now. It's distracting."

But—

"We need to kill Maleficent!"

You mean you need to kill her…

"Well- yeah, but- but that's hard to do when you're poking ar—"

"Watch out!" Sora shouted, and without waiting for his Shadow to respond, he raised the Keyblade up to block a blast of magic. They blocked the spell just fine, but by taking control of his body again, his Shadow was almost flung right out of it.

Their forms flickered on top of each other, the Keyblade morphing between Sora's then his Shadow's again and again. It was agonizing—something was trying to force his Shadow out of his body, but his Shadow was clinging to stay put.

"No no don't do that!" his Shadow screamed. The words came out from two different sources. Sora's body. His Shadow's not-entirely-corporeal body. "I need more control or I won't be able to stay in here at all!"

"Excuse me for saving your butt!" Sora replied, relinquishing control, but just a little. Just enough for his Shadow to get an anchor, but he still had enough control to shove his Shadow out any second, and both he and his Shadow could feel it.

It was a threat. Leverage. His Shadow wanted to use his body. Sora had a say on whether or not that happened.

"We can fight her together, you know," he said, quietly.

"I can't hurt her," his Shadow replied.

"Then let me—"

"I want to do this!"

Sora could feel the desperation. The pain, the bitterness. His Shadow wanted revenge. He wanted revenge and Sora knew exactly why.

But.

"It's not going to prove anything," Sora told him, gently.

His Shadow swallowed, and he hesitated. He hesitated for a while. Nervous. Trembling.

"You can't deny Maleficent dying isn't a bad thing," he said, finally.

"…no," Sora admitted. He couldn't. The worlds were better off without Maleficent. He only wished there was another way. Well, there was, of course. He could tell his Shadow no, force him out of his body. But there was no telling what would happen next…

His Shadow wanted Maleficent dead, and wanted to kill her himself. He could only do that through Sora. And either he'd try and put himself in Sora's body again—and be much more forceful about it—or he'd go back to dragging Sora around like a puppet.

Sora'd much prefer not being dragged around like a puppet, so he relinquished control again. Let his Shadow back in.

His Shadow charged at Maleficent right away, and Sora did his best not to interfere. He focused his thoughts inward. They were in sync, he and his Shadow. The lines between their minds and their hearts blurred.

His Shadow was like an open book. All his thoughts and memories on display for Sora. More than that, Sora could feel them without even looking. And…

And there was something bubbling. Quiet, but bubbling, deep in his Shadow's heart. A string of emotions and thoughts all knotted together. It was… distressing to think about. Something about it made Sora's stomach churn and his skin burn. He wanted to claw at his face until it came off and—

"Sora!" His Shadow shouted. "Focus! Please."

There was a slight crack in his voice.

Sora ignored it and tried to focus his attention on the battle. He didn't want to think about the knot of emotions, anyway. He could still feel them, but he didn't have to pay attention to them.

You aren't gonna get… stuck in here… right? Sora asked, slowly.

It seemed stupid, seeing as his Shadow's essence or whatever it was still was beating against his skin for release. But how connected their hearts were made Sora worried. He could hardly distinguish his own emotions from his Shadow's anymore.

His Shadow chuckled. "Get real. You can feel how much I want out of here, don't you?"

Sora didn't respond. He wasn't sure how to. His body and his heart were telling him two different things, and all it did was make his stomach flip flop.

Either way, they needed to start getting serious about Maleficent.

xxx

"Mickey?"

He paused, pulling his Keyblade away from the barrier. There was a slight dent in the barrier, which was good, but it was going to take a lot more to break through. He turned to look at Minnie, who'd called his name.

He flashed her a small smile. "D'ya think you could lend me a hand?"

"Why does it need to come down?" Minnie asked, moving so she was beside him.

"Well Sora and his Shadow are fightin' Maleficent and Sora's Shadow has possessed Sora and he's really intent on killin' Maleficent which would be fine I guess except he's in Sora's body and I don't want him hurtin' Sora—"

Minnie nodded, putting her hand on the barrier. "Is it just this one?" she asked.

"Maleficent's got flames around them, too, but those shouldn't be too hard to get rid of…"

"He's going to wear himself out," Daisy said. Minnie turned to look at her, and Mickey slowly did, too, grimacing a little in embarrassment. "No offense," Daisy added, directing her words at Mickey. "But you already took down the barrier around the garden earlier."

"Well, yeah," Mickey admitted. "But that's why I wanted some help…"

He sent a glance over at Minnie, and after a moment she met his gaze. She looked at him for a long while, and then turned her attention to the barrier. After a moment, she slowly pulled her hand away from it.

"Shouldn't the barriers go down once Maleficent's gone?" she asked.

"Yeah," Mickey answered, frowning a little. "But we gotta help out!"

"I think Sora can take care of himself," Minnie told him. "And between him and his Shadow they should be able to take care of Maleficent." She smiled, reassuringly. "I know you want to help Sora, but there's only so much helping one Mouse can do."

Mickey swallowed. He supposed she was right. And what if Sora didn't want his help? He was sure Sora's Shadow certainly didn't. Maybe it was for the better…

But…

"…but is killin' her really the best way?" he murmured.

He could hear Minnie take a breath to say something, but then she never did. She stayed silent, for a long while, too. But then she put a hand on his shoulder, and sighed.

"Unfortunately, Mickey," Minnie said. "Something has to be done about her. She's threatened the safety of this castle and this world."

"But are ya sure killin' her is the best way?"

Minnie shook her head. "We may not have a choice. Nothing else we've tried against her has worked for very long. And if Sora's Shadow is so set on killing her…" She paused again. Sighed again. "We may not be able to stop him."

Mickey put his hand on the barrier, trailing his fingers over the dent he'd made, and he let out a long breath.

Finally, he said, in a whisper:

"Maybe if we can just get this one down… And then put up one of our own. So if something goes wrong we can help right away."

Minnie placed her hand next to his.

"Alright."