Chapter LI: Only the Beginning

Nightshroud: Oh, in case you were wondering, the Kaleidoscope Keyblade was destroyed. Not to worry, though, Tyson still has the Lionheart keyblade and the Diamond Dust keyblade. Anyway, here's the next chapter so enjoy!

Mickey leaped back as Amnael's aerial blades sliced at him. Mickey rebounded off the wall of the seal and sliced at Amnael. Amnael blocked with his aerial blades, but was unprepared for when Mickey used Pearl at point blank, blasting them both in opposite directions. Amnael picked himself up, then spied Kurama coming at him. He rushed forward, then stopped as he saw Kurama's rose whip straighten then plunge into the ground.

"Rosewhip Uplash!"

The whip shot out of the ground in front of him, striking his mask and knocking him backward. Amnael felt the indent where the whip had cut into his mask while Kurama's whip returned to normal.

"Fool."

Kurama ran at him, lashing his whip toward him.

"Gaia's Hand!"

Amnael placed his hand to the ground, and the earth in front of him errupted into a large hand, which grabbed Kurama and slammed him against the barrier. Amnael was almost distracted enough to miss Mickey's surprise attack. He barely dodged the first slash of the keyblade, but was able to parry the other.

"Helios's Fire!"

Amnael held his hands out and shot a blast of intense fire. Mickey sommersaulted over the flames and landed behind Amnael, striking him in the back. Amnael got up, and his eyes gleamed wickedly.

"Is that all you've got, Amnael?" Mickey challenged.

"You haven't even begun to see my powers, little king."

Leon sliced a tentacle away as it lunged for him. But as much as they hacked and sliced, it wasn't doing much good. The tentacles always seemed to grow back, stonger than before. Yuffie jumped as one crashed into the ground where she stood, then threw some shuriken at Amnael's grotesque form. The shuriken imbedded in the flesh, but just seemed to be absorbed.

"This things's unreal!" she said with exasperation.

"Yuffie!" Leon called.

Yuffie turned to see a tentacle shoot at her. Goofy suddenly dived in and deflected it with his shield.

"Gwarsh, be careful, Yuffie!"

Yuffie nodded, then leaped away and hurled her large shuriken at Amnael. It whizzed toward Amnael's chest area, but one of the tentacles shot up and knocked away to the side, despite being cut off. Leon's eyes narrowed.

"He was protecting his chest area...if my hunch is right, this has to be a manifestation of his body, while the one inside the seal must be a manifestation of his spirit. Which means...this thing must have a heart."

"Goofy cover me!"

Goofy nodded and jumped at Amnael.

"Goofy Tornado!"

Goofy spun at rapid speed, bashing his shield into the montsrous creature. Amnael staggered back, unable to see past the blur that was Goofy. As soon as Goofy finished his attack, he was left dazed, stumbling around.

"Goofy!"

Yuffie dived in and knocked him to the floor as Leon jumped apst them, aiming his gunblade for Amnael.

"What?! Aagh!"

Leon plunged his sword deeply into Amnael's chest, grinning with grim satisfaction as Amnael's head reared back, and a low, guttural noised escaped his throat. Then suddenly Amnael laughed, causing Leon to start with surprise.

"Are you looking for this?"

Amnael lifted a tentacle in front of Leon, which slowly pushed forth his heart. Leon gasped as it sunk back into the slimy flesh.

"I can move my heart anywhere in my body. It's impossible for you to find where it is and kill me."

Amnael swung another tentacle and knocked Leon away. Leon fell to the ground, his gunblade clattering on the ground next to him. Goofy jumped in and shielded him long enough for him to get up.

"That doesn't make you unkillable. We just have to make sure we target every part of you at the same time."

"And how do you plan to do that, fool?"

"Renzokuken!"

Leon leaped at the monster and slashed at it rapidly, leaving eight nalrge gashes on its body.

"Was that your plan?" Amnael said, mocking.

"No," said Leon, jumping away "That was just the distraction."

Amnael's eyes widened as he saw the kunai with exploding tags embedded in the ground around him.

"What?!"

Leon smirked. "Boom."

The three ducked for cover as the explosion rocked the burrough. When they looked up, all they saw was a stain on the stone wall that slowly disappeared.

"The rest is up to you, Mickey..." said Leon as his gaze drifted toward the figures trapped inside the Seal.

Reyna, Tyson, and Namé made exited the castle with a sigh of relief.

"I hope I never have to see the inside of their again," said Namé. The other two nodded. They made it to the Castle Postern when they saw to figures coming toward them.

"Thundaga!" they heard the one quack. The Heartless nearby where struck down with bolts of lightning as the two made their way up to them.

"Donald! Aerith!" Reyna said. The two nodded.

"We came to get you," Aerith explained. "Amnael is in the burrough! He split in two. One of him is fighting Leon, Yuffie, and Goofy in a montsrous state, and the other is fighting King Mickey and a stranger named Kurama in the Seal."

"Kurama!" said Namé in shock. The other two saw her surprise. Donald quacked in response.

"Well, what are waiting for? Come on!"

Tyson nodded, and the five ran back toward the burrough.

Mickey frowned as he and Amnael stared off.

"D-Charge!"

Mickey started to glow gold, his power level increasing. Amnael smirked.

"Hyperion's Rage!"

He began to glow a deep red, his giving off a powerful aura as well. Mickey leaped, and Amnael charged forward, clashing weapons. They exchanegd blows at such a furious rate that Kurama had a hard time following as he freed himself from the vice-like grip of the hand that Amnael had used on him.

"I'm want to kill him myself," said Kurama, his hand gripping his rose whip. He felt his anger flaring up, but chose not to curb it. He was going to need it if he wanted to defeat Amnael.

Mickey clashed his keyblade against Amnael's aerial blades, and managed to push him back. Mickey leaped in to slash again, but Amnael vanished.

"Wha-"

Amnael appeared behind Mickey and kicked the mouse away. He lifted his hand and fired a blast of red energy that blasted Mickey away to the far corner of the seal.

"Heh, so much for the great King Mickey. And now-"

His eyes widened when Kurama appeared from behind and lashed him with his whip. Amnael staggered forward, when Kurama leaped in for another attack.

"Rose Whiplash!"

Kurama lashed at rapid speed, cutting into Amnael with ferocious speed and strength. Amnael fell to the ground, and Kurama's whip entangled his thoat. He pressed his foot against Amnael's back and pulled hard on the whip, strangling his opponent. Amnael gasped and clutched at the whip, trying to free himself. Mickey got up, slightly stunned, and saw what was happening. He could feel darkness beginning to encircle Kurama as he slowly took the life of the Organization's head.

"Kurama, stop!" Mickey pleaded. Kurama grip loosened slightly as his gaze drifted to the king.

"But-"

"Haha, Hesperides Tree!"

Amnael placed his hand to the ground, and a huge tree sprouted from the ground, snatching Kurama in one of its limbs. Amnael stood and laughed.

"There's one ancient plant that you can't manipulate."

Kurama growled and struggled to get free, but the tree only tightened its grip.

Reyna and the other made it up the stairs to the bailey and made it into the burrough just as the Hesperides Tree ensnared Kurama.

"Kurama!" Namé called, her hands held together in an unspoken prayer.

The others looked with an unknown dread as they layed eyes on the head of the Organization, the ancient wielder of the Kronos Stone's secrets.

"I hope King Mickey and Kurama are enought to stop him," Tyson said. Reyna didn't reply, but watched tensely as Mickey stood off against Amnael once again.

Amnael's aerial blades gave off a screaming sound as a he spun horizontally like a blur at Mickey, his blades whizzing dangerously close to the king as he attempted to block the attacks.

"Brontes's Thunder!"

Amnael threw Mickey backward with a blast of lightning. Mickey panted as he stood watching for Amnael's next move.

"Pearl isn't strong enough to stop him. I'm going to have to use something more powerful."

Amnael leaped forward with a yell and attempted to decapitate Mickey with a swing of his blades. Mickey flipped backward to avoid it, then charged his keyblade with light.

"Holy!"

He let loose a blast of intense light at Amnael, who didn't have enough time to defend himself. Amnael's body faded away in the intense light, and when the attack died down, the Hesperides Tree receded letting go of Kurama. The seal remained for a moment, then slowly disappeared.

"Kurama!" said Namé, hugging him. He smiled and returned her embrace.

"It's good to see you again," he said softly.

"I can't believe you did it!" said Tyson, running up to King Mickey. Mickey smiled and nodded as Donald cast a cure spell on him. Something didn't sit right with Mickey.

"Something doesn't feel right..." he thought. He looked over at Reyna, who returned his look as someone with the same thought.

"Fools," said a figure from atop one of the buildings. "If they think it's over, then they are sadly mistaken. This is only the beginning."
Nightshroud: Yay, I hope the fight was good! Anyway, I'm sure you're all itching with suspense at the next chapter, so I'll try to update quickly. Review and let me know how you liked it! 8D

Next chapter: An Unexpected Homecoming: The Destiny Islands Enslaved