(Well, THAT was a surprise, wasn't it? Looks like Ansem/Xehanort's Heartless isn't quite dead after all or perhaps Riku's just using his form to his advantage, much like he did for the majority of Kingdom Hearts 2. We shall find out soon enough, along with what Vexen's done with Tails. I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Sonic the Hedgehog, or SatAM. They're owned by Square-Enix, Walt Disney, SEGA, or DIC.)
CHAPTER 11
"Ansem, hm?" Robotnik repeated the man's name with interest. "I sense a power within you, similar to that of the Heartless."
"You are correct, Robotnik," Ansem spoke with a grin, "As Ansem, I was the leader of the Heartless at one point, and sought to consume all worlds with the power of the Heartless and fill Kingdom Hearts with darkness. I took possession of young Riku, and used him as a vessel to conduct my plan. But there was one who dared to stand against me with the power of the Keyblade; Sora, the Key bearer. In the end, Sora and his friends defeated me and obliterated my existence with the power of light; or so they thought. I was not completely destroyed, as you can see. A small essence of my self still lingers inside of Riku, waiting to be released. Whatever power he possesses, I possess too." Ansem held up Way to the Dawn and smiled at it. "And, apparently, since he's able to use the power of the Keyblade himself, that power is also available for me."
Robotnik's eyes narrowed. "Are you insinuating that you wish to fight me for control of the Heartless?"
Ansem gripped Way to the Dawn tightly and held the Keyblade in the same, single-handed, right arm arched back manner that Riku did. "Perhaps I am, perhaps I am not. What does it matter at this point?" With that, Ansem charged at Robotnik with a lightning fast slash of his Keyblade, cutting right through the Heartless dictator's dark body.
Robotnik growled in pain and clutched his side. The attack hurt, but he refused to show it, and simply chuckled. "Was that supposed to hurt? That was nothing more than arthritis pain to me!" He lied, laughing evilly, standing proudly, before the center of his outfit glowed bright blue and fired two separate streams of blue energy bullets at Ansem in a wide spread angle.
Ansem dodge rolled to the right repeatedly, trying to keep out of the line of fire of the first stream, before getting up and barely blocking the next set of bullets in time. He ran straight at Robotnik and jumped over a third stream of bullets and swinging his Keyblade down upon the Heartless dictator.
SWOOSH!
Ansem was suddenly halted in mid air as Way to the Dawn's blade was grabbed straight out of the air by a demonic blood red shape, which Ansem soon realized was Robotnik's cape. The said cape being tossed Ansem up into the air.
Robotnik fired two black flames from his eyes, which spiralled around one another before hitting Ansem in the chest, before teleporting above Ansem and delivering a hammer blow to his back, striking him heavily with both hands.
Ansem was sent plummeting to the ground like a meteor and would have hit the ground with a tremendous force; if he had not suddenly disappeared in a flash of darkness right before hitting the ground.
"What!?" Robotnik spluttered and looked around. "Where is he!?"
"Excuse me," Ansem's dark voice purred out from behind.
Robotnik turned around, only to be met with two quick Keyblade strokes against his massive belly, before a shower of Keyblades pelted against his giant girth, forcing him out of the air. Robotnik, however, somewhat retained his balance and landed on his feet, albeit with a loud thud and feeling like he was stung by a swarm of killer bees.
Ansem landed gracefully on his feet, a smirk on his face. "Ha-ha-ha… Poor, pitiful Robotnik. Your Heartless power has not yet matured."
"Not yet matured!?" Robotnik repeated at Ansem's challenging tone. "I have ruled over this planet with an iron fist and a black heart for years! My power is BEYOND mature!" He opened his mouth, releasing a cloud of black smoke.
Ansem covered his mouth trying not to inhale the thick black smoke. "Hiding, are we?" He called out as he trod through the smoke. "Show yourself, you fat fool!"
"It would be my pleasure," Robotnik bellowed out, before charging through the smoke with an energy charged shoulder dash, ramming into Ansem like a charging bull.
Ansem grunted loudly as he was thrown back a few yards, before Robotnik appeared from the opposite side, striking him again. Ansem went flying through the air in the opposite direction, before suddenly stopping in mid-air. "Not so fast!" He suddenly shot up into the air, before launching his "Dark Break," swooping down upon Robotnik with fierce Keyblade strikes upon his head, before landing in front of the overweight Heartless dictator.
Robotnik dropped to one knee and grunted painfully, Ansem's aerial attack leaving him in a minor daze. "Impressive," he growled, "You're living up to your hype." Seconds later, however, he seemed to recover instantly and stood on his feet. "But, this old dog knows some new tricks."
"Hmph, perhaps your power's not in such an infant state after all," Ansem mused, rubbing his sore shoulder.
"What can I say?" Robotnik boasted, grinning proudly. "Obviously, some of us our just BORN to be evil, rather than made."
"True," Ansem agreed for once, "But there's one other difference." He kept his free hand behind his back as he charged it with black flames.
"And that is?" Robotnik inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"Some of us THINK they can control the darkness when it's really the one controlling them," Ansem paused for a moment as he looked down upon the ground. When he lifted his head up, though, his eyes suddenly changed from dark and sinister to rebellious and defiant. "And some of us HAVE been controlled by the darkness, but now know how to use it against scum like you," He suddenly spoke in Riku's voice, before launching "Dark Firaga" fireball at Robotnik.
Robotnik gasped in surprise, his cape familiar wrapping around and shielding him from the attack. "That voice… What on Mobius?" He narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "Who are you really? Are you Ansem? Or Riku?"
"Technically, I'm both," Ansem-Riku shrugged, "As Ansem/I said before, there's still a part of Ansem in my heart; I just have to keep an eye on him to make sure I'm the one controlling HIM for once, instead of the other way around. The darkness isn't a toy, Robotnik," he said, pointing his Keyblade at the overweight Heartless, "It can be used by some, but it can use others. It uses, and it is used."
"Hm-hm-hm-hm…ha-ha-ha-ha…MWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!" Robotnik chuckled softly, before bursting out into laughter. "HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! What a joke! You're saying it as though the darkness is the one using me!" He laughed again before casting Riku and evil grin. "Well, let's just see who's using who, shall we?" Robotnik's arms became encased in black metal, resembling dark versions of his former roboticized limb.
"Fine by me, but you're going to regret those words," Riku said as he took his stance again, keeping his Keyblade raised above him, pointed at Robotnik.
From not too far, Sonic, Sally, and Bunnie watched as Robotnik and Ansem-Riku battled against each other, darkness against darkness. They could do little but watch, though, as many SWAT Heartless surrounded them, keeping them prisoner.
"Mondo-Freaky!" Sonic exclaimed. "Riku, Ansem, or whoever that guy is, is packin' some serious power there."
"He's really goin' to town on ole' Robotnik there," Bunnie agreed.
Sally, however, said nothing. She wasn't even watching the fight. Antoine and Rotor's deaths played over in her mind; their life less expressions, their blank stares, their limp bodies, their hearts drifting up into the sky. Sally couldn't bear it; two close friends since childhood, gone, just like that. To add to her pain, almost everyone in Knothole Village, save for her, Bunnie, and Sonic were gone; lost to this plague known as the Heartless. She didn't even KNOW where Tails was. All Sally wanted to do now was cry.
Vexen watched as the match between Ansem-Riku and Robotnik raged on, before casting a glance to the captive Freedom Fighters. "Hm-hm-hm… The experiment has taken quite an interesting turn," he mused with a devious smile, "Although it appears Robotnik has too much of an advantage. Heh-heh-heh-heh… Sorry, Doctor, but you can't claim your victims just yet. WE still have a use for them; to kill off your precious Heartless and surrender all the Hearts to us."
Ansem-Riku and Robotnik, meanwhile, continued to battle, as Ansem-Riku launched a Dark Firaga at Robotnik, only to be countered by Robotnik's "Eye Fire" shot. Both balls of black flame connected with one another, and cancelling each other out in a large puff of smoke.
Ansem-Riku brandished his Keyblade and charged at Robotnik like a high-speed train, attempting to slice right through his obese body.
Robotnik, meanwhile, charged back at Riku with a shoulder charge, like a bull going for a red cape, his shoulder generating a powerful energy wall of darkness.
Both combatants charged at each other with speed and force. They drew closer by the second until…
CHINK! CHINK! CHINK!
Ansem-Riku and Robotnik were thrown back a few yards; but not by their attacks. In the middle of where they almost collided, three large icicles stuck out of the ground.
In a flash of darkness, Riku shifted back to his original body. "Ugh," he grunted as he struggled to his feet, "What the hell…Icicles?"
"What IS this!?" Robotnik bellowed, glaring at Riku.
"Hey, don't look at me!" Riku shot back. "I had nothing to do with this!"
"Liar!" Robotnik shouted. "You must have had some help from somewhere! Where are they hi-!" SHOOM! Robotnik's sentence was cut off as, in a flash of cold white light; he was frozen solid in a block of ice.
Over on the Freedom Fighter's side, the SWAT Heartless, too, had been frozen in ice, much to Sonic and Bunnie's amazement. Sally, however, remained oblivious in her sorrow.
"Hm-Hm-Heh-Heh-Heh," a high pitched laugh littered the sky.
Riku tensed up at the sound. "That voice…" He narrowed his eyes. "I KNOW that voice."
A portal of darkness suddenly opened up near the frozen Robotnik, and the black hooded figure of an Organization XIII member suddenly appeared. The figure reached up and pulled his hood back, revealing the familiar long blonde haired, middle-aged face of the Organization's No. 4.
"Vexen!" Riku shouted out. "You're…alive!? That's impossible! Sora defeated you, and Axel finished you off!"
"Well I AM standing right before you, aren't I?" Vexen asked rhetorically, a malicious grin on his face. "It's such a pleasure to see you again, dear boy."
"That's your opinion, not mine," Riku spat, "How did you survive?!" He pointed his Keyblade threateningly at the Chilly Academic.
"Oh, wouldn't you like to know," Vexen said, his face turning serious, "but that's none of your concern." He patted the large Robotnik ice cube beside him, his smile soon returning. "What do you think of the makeover that I gave Robotnik here? He did quite a bit of damage, didn't he?"
"You mean…YOU'RE the one who made him like this!?" Riku demanded.
"Oh, not just I," Vexen waggled a finger; "Lexaeus and Zexion had a hand in it too."
'Lexaeus? Zexion? They're alive too!?' Riku remembered his last encounter with that Organization trio, during his journey through Castle Oblivion. Only he knew about and fought Lexaeus and Zexion, however; the only one of the trio that Sora had fought was Vexen, until said Nobody was supposedly executed by Axel.
Sally, while still grief stricken, overheard EVERYTHING that Vexen had said. 'Antoine… Rotor… Tails… Everyone's gone… Our last safe haven against Robotnik…all gone… All…because…of him!?' Sally's head shot up, her beautiful blue eyes filled with tears and hatred. "HOW COULD YOU!?" She screamed, making Sonic and Bunnie nearly jumping out of their skin. "You've taken away our home! You've killed almost everyone here!" She sobbed angrily. "You've ruined our loves now! Now we have absolutely nothing! HOW COULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS, YOU ASSHOLE!?" Sally glared at Vexen with tear filled rage.
Vexen simply looked back at Sally. 'My, she's certainly upset…FAR more than Sora was when I tried to drop hints about the Riku Replica's identity.' Then his eyes widened as he sensed the essence of Sally's heart. 'Her heart… My word! It's so pure…full of light, hope, love, compassion, determination…such a strong and powerful heart. She could prove VERY useful later on.' He started to smirk, before it grew into a smile.
"Wh-What are you smiling at, you bastard!?" Sally shouted angrily.
"You've got SOME nerve bub!" Sonic joined in, "you mess up ole' Buttnik into some dark monster and trash our home like this! You think you're getting' away from this smellin' like roses?!"
"You've cost us a lot of our friends, our home, and Sally-girl her happiness, yuh creep," Bunnie agreed, "you're cruisn' for a bruisin,' sugar!"
Riku smirked at Vexen as he heard the Freedom Fighter yell, "Looks like you've already made some new enemies, Vexen." But to Riku's surprise, and annoyance, Vexen still kept on smirking.
"Hm-Hm-Hm-Hm… Such defiance, such valor, such determination, such strong hearts… How amusing," Vexen cackled.
"Is that all you can say, Vexen?" Riku challenged with a frown. "If you're looking for a fight, leave them out of this! Come and get me, I'm right here!"
Vexen simply shook his head. "Oh please, Riku. You honestly think I came here to pick a fight? Well you're wrong. I'm here to throw you a bone and get you out of this mess…for now and least."
"Help us? …That's not like you, Vexen," Riku said with suspicion in his voice.
"No tricks this time, Riku," Vexen raised his hands, that cocky smile still on his face, before he flicked his index finger.
Riku was suddenly engulfed in a portal of darkness. "What the!? Vexen!?"
"Relax," Vexen waved a hand dismissively, "it's merely a portal that will transport you elsewhere. The "Freedom Fighters" will be transported there too. Count yourselves lucky; you'll be far away from Robotnik here. Consider it as a rare bit of charity, from me."
"Charity!?" Sally challenged. "Because of you we've lost every-!!" Sally was cut off as the portal swamped over her and took her elsewhere.
"Sally-girl! Whut in high hell is-!?" Bunnie, too, was cut off as a portal of darkness swept over her.
"Sal! Bunnie!" Sonic turned to Vexen with a glare. "What did you do with 'em you-!?" Sonic was engulfed in darkness as well, and taken.
"Vexen," Riku began before the portal transported him elsewhere, "WHAT are you, Lexaeus and Zexion plotting now?"
Once again, Vexen just smirked at Riku. "Why Riku… You and Sora have fought against us before. What do YOU think we'd be doing?" He asked coyly, before the portal closed up over Riku; the boy disappearing from Vexen's sight. Vexen looked over to the frozen Heartless, a few feet before him. "Hm… Waste not, want not." His trademark blue shield appeared in his hand, before producing a large blade of ice from the top of the shield. Wielding the makeshift "ice sword," Vexen darted towards the frozen SWAT Heartless in front of him and sliced right through them, appearing right behind them with his back turned to them. The moment the ice blade disappeared from Vexen's shield, the frozen Heartless shattered into ice shards, releasing the now free hearts into the air, where they gradually faded away into the sky to join with Kingdom Hearts. "A little contribution," he told himself, "Well, it looks like the experiment was a complete success. I've got all the data I need, including a little "sample" from earlier. Now I'd better take my leave before the fat fool breaks free." Vexen disappeared in a swirling mass of dark energy, just as Robotnik broke free of his ice prison with a loud, angry roar.
TO BE CONTINUED