(Ok, yes, I know. This is LONG overdue. I've been busy with College work as of late, so that's why. But I don't want this story to die; especially not after viewing the SatAM DVD set. I don't own SatAM OR Sonic; DIC and SEGA do. I also don't own Kingdom Hearts, Riku, Scar or Organization XIII; Square Enix and Disney own them. I DO own Scar's Nobody, however. Just not Scar his self.)

CHAPTER 10

Pointing his Keyblade threateningly, Riku showed he meant business. "Why don't you just stop talking and start fighting?!"

"Start fighting, you say?" Robotnik asked rhetorically, "You really want to lose quickly don't you?"

"Heh," Riku gave a cocky smirk, "I WON'T lose. I've dealt and triumphed over guys like you before, Heartless and Nobody alike."

"Such bravado," Robotnik taunted, "Let's see if you can live up to it, and defeat my Heartless!" Robotnik floated up into the air, and the Swat Heartless started to advance and attack.

Riku jumped away from the swinging claws of one Heartless, and held up his Keyblade in a blocking manner to defend against the lasers fired upon him.

Sonic ran and leapt about as he dodged the firing lasers from the Swat Heartless, before jumping at the nearest one, pouncing on its face and bouncing across their dome heads like stepping stones.

Bunnie was karate kicking Swat Heartless left and right, thrusting her metal legs into their half metal/half darkness bodies while dodging their swinging, extending metal claws.

Sally dodged to one side as one Swat Heartless lunged at her in a feral matter, spinning its metallic claws about like a tornado, before landing on the ground. Before it could fire its laser at Sally however, Sally whipped out her blaster pistol and shot at the creatures eyes, blinding it before she shot it straight through the chest.

Riku dashed right through a line of Swat Heartless, cleaving right through them with his Keyblade as he charged back and forth, watching as they dissipated into darkness, releasing captive hearts into the sky. He dodged the swinging claws of one Heartless while parrying those of another, before deflecting laser fire back with his "Dark Shield."

Meanwhile, however, Swat Heartless were spreading and wreaking havoc upon Knothole Village. Laser bolts were fired, setting the ground and buildings ablaze with fire, and causing Freedom Fighters to run for their lives or stand and fight. Blaster pistols were fired, swords were swung, and fists flew as the battle raged on. At first it seemed like the Freedom Fighters were managing to stand their ground as Heartless fell, exploding into dark smoke and hearts drifting up into the sky, but the Heartless continued to grow and multiply, slowly overtaking the hapless Freedom Fighters.

A young male horse swung his sword wildly as Swat Heartless surrounded him. It seemed as though he was holding his own as he easily struck three down, but suddenly he was caught off guard, as one Heartless struck him from behind. The creature raked its dark metallic claws along the stallion's back, drawing blood and knocking him down, before he was shot through the back by a fatal laser blast that erupted right through his chest, killing him instantly. The stallion's eyes went blank and lifeless as he dropped to his knees, and vanished into nothing before he hit the ground, leaving only his heart glowing faintly in his place before it touched the ground and transformed into another Heartless.

One by one, different Freedom Fighters started to meet the same fate, as they were dealt killing blows, making their bodies fade from existence and leaving their hearts to become new Heartless. Others continued to fight on; defeating Heartless left and right, not knowing the very Heartless they were defeating may have been their former comrades at one point as their hearts drifted up into the sky.

"Perfect," Vexen grinned with glee as he watched, "Everything is going according to plan… Kingdom Hearts shall absorb these fresh hearts one by one until it is ready." He surveyed the battles below him with interest. "Riku's skills are superb as ever, I see. Hmmm… These Freedom Fighters aren't putting up too bad a fight; especially not that one called Sonic." Vexen's eyes soon came upon the fleeing form of the young two-tailed fox, Tails. "And that must be that flying fox boy… Perhaps he would make a good specimen for me to study?" He disappeared from his spot on the rooftop.

Tails, still being inexperienced at combat, had wisely taken Sally's advice to find shelter from the battle, which was no easy task. Heartless were everywhere, fighting against Freedom Fighters, taking them down one by one, and converting them into Heartless themselves. Tails ran, or more accurately flew, for his life, Swat Heartless hot on his trail. He darted in the air from left to right as he avoided firing laser shots, searching for a safe haven. Various Freedom Fighter huts lay in shambles, or burning with hot orange flames, leaving little cover. Tails darted into the Great Oak Slide, and flew up to the top as if it were a tunnel. As he saw light at the other hand, it seemed that he had escaped from his pursuers and could hide safely as he flew out of the oak tree. His accomplishment was short lived however, as the moment he exited the tree, he was surrounded by a circle of Swat Heartless that slowly began to advance on him. "S-Sonic… Aunt Sally… Aunt Bunnie… ANYONE! HELP!" He cried out in fear as he cowered defensively, expecting the worst.

KA-SHINK!! KA-SHINK! KA-SHINK!

The sudden collection of noises caused Tails to lift his head up to see what was happening. To his shock, his Heartless pursuers stood there incased in a field of ice, completely immobilized and helpless. A few seconds later, the frozen Heartless were shattered into ice cubes, scattered all around. "Wh-What the… What happened!?"

"I happened, my dear boy."

Tails looked over to his right, to find the source of the voice. A middle-aged human man, possibly in about his late 30s or early 40s, with long blond hair stood before him. He was dressed in a strange hooded black cloak and carried around an odd shield-like weapon. "Who…are you, mister?"

"My name is Vexen," Vexen introduced himself to Tails, "You don't know me, but Riku does."

"Y-You're a friend of Riku's?" Tails asked hopefully.

"Well, not really a "friend." I prefer the term "acquaintance." Either way, I am not with the Heartless," Vexen sugarcoated his motives, not wanting to arouse suspicion. "I see you're looking for a safe haven away from the swarms of Heartless."

"I am, but I'm also worried about Sonic, Aunt Sally and the others," Tails explained, "They're still down there fighting for their lives!"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much," Vexen said with a smile as he walked towards Tails, "In situations like this, I believe it's best to follow an old saying."

"Wh-What saying's that?" Tails asked worriedly.

Vexen just grinned and placed a hand on Tails' head. "I believe the saying is…" he began, when a cold breeze suddenly began to blows around Tails, followed by the appearance of floating ice crystals, before…

SHIIIIIINK!

In a flash of white cold light, Tails was frozen solid in a block of ice.

"Keep a cool head!" Vexen grinned maliciously as he finished his sentence. He cackled menacingly as he disappeared into darkness, taking Tails with him.

Meanwhile, back at Knothole, Sally was firing her pistol left and right as she fended off Heartless, but they kept advancing as she tried to dodge their laser fire. "Riku! Sonic! Bunnie!" She called out. "We have to check on the others! Everyone needs to-AGH!!" Sally cried out as she was hit in her left side by a stray laser, falling to the ground. Moaning in pain she held her injured side as she struggled to get up, only to have a Swat Heartless loom over her menacingly. Gasping in horror, she backed away, as the creature pulled a clawed arm back, and thrust it right at her. Sally shut her eyes in horror, bracing herself for the strike.

CHAWACK!

The sickening sound of flesh being pierced sounded out throughout the battle field. But yet, Sally felt nothing. Why was that?

"M-My princess…" A voice muttered weakly.

Sally's blood ran cold as she recognized the voice and opened her eyes. What she saw made her heart drop to her feet; in front of her, taking the full brunt of the Heartless' fatal attack, was Antoine. Sally felt sick to her stomach as she saw the dark beasts' claws sticking right out of Antoine's back. "A-Antoine?" She choked out.

Riku, Sonic and Bunnie all halted their attacks and looked up, just in time to witness Antoine's noble sacrifice before their eyes.

"S-Sugar-Twan!?" Bunnie gasped as she saw Antoine's grievous wound.

"Antoine…no…" Sonic suddenly felt numb all over.

Riku was at a loss for words as he witnessed the scene before him, but almost felt like he could drop his Keyblade at any moment.

Antoine's eyes held a blank stare as the Heartless retracted its claw from his body. His arms went limp at his sides, before he slowly leaned forward, his body sparkling and turning transparent, before he fell to the ground, disappearing from existence. All that remained of Antoine was the shimmering image of his heart as it floated in mid air.

"Antoine…oh, Antoine…" Sally whimpered breathlessly as her pretty eyes filled with tears. "ANTOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIINE!!!!" She screamed out in sorrow as Antoine's heart floated up to the sky and vanished.

"Such a pity," Robotnik said with mock sadness, before grinning evilly. "But I assure you he won't be alone. Look." The Heartless dictator pointed over to another part of the battlefield.

Sally glared hatefully through streaming tears at Robotnik before she looked to where she was pointing, only to have her heart break once again. "N-No! No… Not him too!! Rotor!!"

In front of Sally, Sonic, Bunnie, and Riku, Knothole's fellow mechanic, Rotor, stood with the same blank eyed expression as Antoine had had, as the Heartless behind him pulled out its claw from his back. Much like Antoine, Rotor, too, leaned forward and fell to the ground, vanishing from sight and leaving his heart behind to float up into the sky.

"ROTOR!!! ANTOINE!!" Sally screamed out to the sky, before she buried her face in her hands and sobbed hysterically.

"Ant…Rotor… This can't be… This is WAY past un-cool…" Sonic shook his head in disbelief, as his own tears fell from his eyes.

"Rot…Sugar-Twan… This ain't happenin'…it can't…" Bunnie choked out through her tears as well.

Riku's eyes, however, did not portray sorrow. What they portrayed was fury; absolute fury and hatred towards Robotnik and the Heartless, for taking away the hearts of so many in this village, for taking the hearts of two innocent people right before their eyes, for destroying the last place these people had to call their home. They would pay dearly for this. Riku could feel his inner darkness growing inside, reacting to his rage and hatred. His grip on his Keyblade tightened as his fists balled up and shook.

Robotnik was about to taunt Sonic, Sally and Bunnie once more, when he sensed a strong presence of Darkness nearby, and turned to Riku's direction. "What is this? This power…it feels like the same one I witnessed before…only stronger." When he focused his gaze on Riku, his eyes widened in shock. The boy stood in the middle of the Heartless, shaking with rage as a strong aura of darkness billow and grew all around him. "This power…such a strong darkness to it… Who IS this boy? What kind of power does he truly possess!?"

Riku looked up at Robotnik with furious eyes. "What kind of power!? HOW ABOUT I SHOW YOU, YOU MONSTER!? RAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!" Riku thrust his arms into the air and screamed with rage, causing a strong wave of dark energy to erupt right from his body, engulfing and destroying the many Heartless surrounding him.

Sonic, Sally and Bunnie shielded their eyes from the blast as wind and dirt kicked up from the explosion, Heartless around them starting to back away as if in fear. When the wind died down, the 3 Freedom Fighter uncovered their eyes as the dust settled. They looked to where Riku had stood to be met with an unnerving sight.

In Riku's place, there stood a tall man with long white hair and dark brown skin. His white hair seemed to be style with two "wings" at the sides of his head, with one "crest" at the top. His youthful face bore a sinister smirk and cunning yellow irises. He was dressed in a long black hooded cloak, and carried the same Keyblade that Riku carried, from the bat-wing blade, to the demon/angel wing handle, to the heartless symbol key-chain.

Robotnik, meanwhile, was in shock and confusion as he witnessed Riku's transformation. "Riku!? What manner of trickery is this!?" He demanded.

"Riku?" The man repeated, before staring long and hard at Robotnik. "Riku is out of the picture for the moment. The name is Ansem, now!" He pointed his Keyblade at Robotnik. "You dare to try and challenge me? Maybe we should see who possesses the stronger darkness."

'Ansem!?' Bunnie questioned, mentally. 'Wasn't that the name of the Heartless leader that possessed Riku; the very one that Riku even took the form of!?'

TO BE CONTINUED