When You're Strange

Chapter 6

Dark Force

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Sora and Odd both rushed each other, covering the distance between them in but a split second. As if mirroring each other, they both punched each other in the face with their right fist. The resulting force of the two attacks connecting sent both combatants soaring backwards with an ear-splitting boom. Sora landed on his back and continued to slide across the ground. Odd back flipped and landed on his feet, sliding while standing upright. He raised his hand; firing dark bolts from his palm while still sliding backwards. Sora was unable to react and crashed into the far wall, being pelted with the bolts of darkness moments after. At this point Odd had finally stopped sliding and launched a tendril from his right hand into the cloud of dust and debris that Sora had made. The tendril tensed as it latched onto its target, which was violently pulled forward. Odd smirked as he summoned dark energy into his left palm, dragging Sora along the ground.

However, Sora quickly stood upright and halted his movement. Clutching hold of the tendril he swung Odd up into the air and slammed him back down towards the earth. Odd was so stunned he lost the technique he was preparing. Sora repeated the action, once again leaving an impact crater in the stone ground of the imperial city. He swung his opponent overhead in a circular motion, picking up speed and momentum. It was at this time that Odd severed the tendril from his hand and as it dispersed into nonexistence he went soaring through the air towards the wall. Odd landed on the stone structure feet first, and then proceeded to jump towards Sora like a rocket at inhuman speed. Sora quickly reacted by slamming his fist into the ground producing a shockwave that stopped Odd's assault and forced him backwards. He then quickly rushed forward, grabbed his opponent by the ankle, and hurled him at the wall. Odd was unable to react and crashed into the stone structure causing chunks of debris to fall on him. Sora wasted no time and summoned dark energy into both his palms. After a brief moment he joined them and shot an orb of dark power at the pile of rubble. The resulting blast raged with light and sound, leaving a massive hole in the wall. For a moment nothing happened.

"SHORYUKEN!"

The ground at Sora's feet suddenly erupted. Out burst Odd, connecting an uppercut with Sora's chin and sending him hurdling skyward. With a flash of speed Odd was now also in the air, dropping towards Sora who was still being flung upward by the force of the hit. Odd somersaulted forwards as he dropped. When he was almost upon his opponent he extended his right leg and screamed "BANZAI!" His heel connected with Sora's forehead, sending him plummeting downward. The impact produced an ear-splitting bam and sent debris and dust upward and in all other directions. Odd remained airborne, levitating himself without effort, admiring the results of his attack. His joy was short lived as just then a tendril shot out from the dust and wrapped itself around his neck, violently pulling him down. Just before he hit the ground Sora released his grasp on his enemy to hit him point blank with a ball of dark energy from his free hand, knocking Odd skyward once more. In a move that mimicked Odd's, Sora vanished in a burst of speed, reappearing above where Odd was now heading. His right hand emanated with a faint glow just before Sora punched his opponent square in the nose. A fiery explosion of dark energy sent Odd crashing into the same crater that Sora had been in, deepening it. Rather than wait to see what happened next, Sora rained down dark bolts upon Odd's new location. Each exploded on contact, sending more debris outward and widening the crater. Sora finished his assault and fell to the earth, gracefully landing on both feet. He once again summoned dark energy into both palms and joined them after a brief charge, sending another orb of dark energy at the crater. Without warning a thunderous yell erupted from the center of the crater and an invisible force immediately cleared the air of any dust as well as sending rubble out in all directions. The force halted the attack, which seemed to be attempting to force it's way through some invisible barrier. After a moment the dark orb lost the battle and was forced skyward where it erupted harmlessly.

As Odd quieted the unseen force also dispersed. He panted and stared down his opponent, who growled in response. After a few seconds he took and deep breathe and exhaled. He stood tall once more, no longer panting, looking as if nothing at all had a happened. Odd smirked and began to chuckle. Within moments, he threw his head back and roared with laugher.

"I knew it!" he proclaimed. "I knew you had it in you! Just look at all the destruction you've caused, the result of all your rage! It's magnificent!" He stared down Sora, who appeared to be completely unaffected by anything Odd had just said. "Well don't just stand there!" Odd continued. "Keep going! Show me what else you've got!"

Sora sprinted towards his target on all fours with blinding speed. Odd slammed his right fist into the ground and spikes of darkness soon erupted from the earth. More and more spikes erupted, heading forward to meet Sora who dodged to the side. The trail of spikes turned and continued to follow him, nipping at his heels as he continued towards his opponent. Odd used his free hand to summon a dark ball of flame and quickly launched it at his aggressor. Sora quickly ducked under the ball, which exploded behind him, hurling him at Odd who backhanded him to the side. As Sora bounced across the ground Odd stopped the spike attack and shot a tendril straight up. After extending some distance a mallet head formed at the end. The dark hammer swung down at the still bouncing Sora. Just before impact he used a blast of darkness to force himself away from the hammer head. He quickly righted himself and dashed at Odd while summoning dark energy into both palms. Odd dispersed the hammer and mimicked Sora. Both combatants' palms began to glow with a menacing light. When they were both just a few yards from each other they joined their hands, both unleashing a giant ball of darkness at each other. The two attacks met and instantly exploded in a massive and deafening blast. A split second later both opponents had smashed into opposite walls and were covered by falling rubble.

As the dust settled it was Odd who freed himself from the debris first. He quickly dusted himself off before laughing heartily once more.

"Man! You don't disappoint, spiky! Come on outta there so we can have another go!"

Odd was pleased when he saw the rubble at the other end of the battleground shift. He walked toward it casually, as if he was approaching an old friend. When the rubble had cleared he stopped and cocked his head, confused. Instead of the dark animalistic form he had been fighting but moments ago, Sora emerged completely normal. Shaking, he managed to pull himself from the rubble then stumbled forward.

"Where… What happened?" Sora muttered, completely disoriented. He shook his head to try and shake off the feeling of vertigo. After a few moments, just as he was beginning to feel better, he noticed a pair of black boots in front of him.

"Well, this is bit disappointing."

Sora looked up and was stunned to find Odd standing in front of him.

"YOU!" Sora summoned his keyblade and swung at Odd, who easily sidestepped out of harm's way. The violent attack threw the still recovering Sora off balance, causing him to fall flat on his face. He pulled himself to his feet and faced his enemy once more. "When did you get here?"

Odd raised an eyebrow. "You've got to be kidding. We've been duking it out for like the past twenty minutes."

"What are you talking about?"

"I guess you don't remember going all dark-mode either. Or wiping out a few hundred Heartless like they were bugs, do you?"

Sora just blinked and scanned his surroundings; particularly surprised at the significant amount of damage the palace courtyard had received.

"I did this?" he asked.

"We did this."

"How?"

"Why don't I show you?"

Odd stabbed his hand into Sora's chest. Sora was unable to do anything but watch Odd's devilish grin.

"No offense meant, but your dark form was way better an opponent than you'll ever be," he explained as darkness began to flow from his arm into Sora. "I'd just like to go another round with it, if you don't mind."

Even after odd had removed his arm Sora felt the cold feeling of Darkness quickly spreading through him. He collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest in pain as his clothing and skin began to turn black. Within moments, Sora had now completely taken his previous form. Odd took a few steps back as he smirked.

"Round two. Ready? Fight!" he exclaimed with glee.

Sora rose, his bright yellow eyes scanning his pitch-black body. He stared down his enemy, anger clearly visible in his expression.

"What did you do to me!?" he shouted. Odd's eyes widened, obviously not expecting Sora to talk. "Answer me!" Sora tried to summon his keyblade, but was shocked to find that he couldn't. He tried again and again to no avail. Realizing that his weapon was not going to be appearing anytime soon, Sora rushed forward with his fist raised. Odd easily caught the punch, grasping Sora's fist with his hand.

"Ok, this is not at all what I was hoping for," Odd stated, twisting Sora's arm until he keeled over in pain. "You're not fast or strong, you have no dark powers, no killing intent, and now you can talk for some reason." He scratched his chin with his free hand until his eyes widened with realization. "I get it! Before it was one of your Drives, but this time I tried to force you into that state. Guess it doesn't work that way," He grabbed Sora by the collar and effortlessly raised him into the air. "And all those powers you were using you used on instinct, like a Heartless. Now that you're actually thinking, you can't use any of them 'cause you don't know how." He tossed Sora a short distance away, who landed square on his back. "Which means the fight's over. Bummer."

Odd snapped his fingers, dispersing the barrier around the battlefield. Kairi wasted no time and sprinted towards Sora as Riku struggled to keep up with her. Mulan and Shang led the soldiers towards Odd, all of their weapons drawn. Kairi stopped a few yards from Sora, panting heavily as she gazed at him.

"Sora?" she asked, still panting. Sora turned to her and quickly got up. He started towards her but stopped as she took a few steps back. "It's…. really you… right?" Sora opened his mouth to answer but stopped. He gazed at his hands and clenched his fists, feeling both anger and shame. He turned towards Odd, still looking smug as the imperial army began to approach him from his sides and back.

"Change me back," he ordered.

Odd folded his arms. "Make me."

Sora snapped. "CHANGE ME BACK!" Sora's voice boomed throughout the courtyard, echoing for several moments afterwards. A small dark aura began to form around his body. Everyone stared wide-eyed at Sora except for Odd, who looked thoroughly pleased.

Odd sighed. "Fine, you crybaby," he mocked. He raised his hand and Sora found himself hovering a few inches off the ground, unable to move. Odd twirled his hand in a circular motion as darkness began to slowly flow from out of Sora chest and into his hand. After the last of the darkness had been removed Sora fell to his hands and knees, once again assuming his normal form. Kairi and Riku quickly rushed to his side. Odd took a waft of the dark mass now in his hand, and then he quickly snorted up all the swirling energy. He let loose with a single wheezing cough that also let a small black cloud escape his throat. It quickly dispersed and disappeared. "Damn! That's some good shit!" he shouted, more to himself than anyone else.

"Freak," Riku muttered, helping Kairi pull Sora to his feet.

"You in the coat," shouted Shang. Odd turned to look at who was addressing him. "Surrender peacefully, or you will be taken by force."

Odd just stared as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. After several moments, he began to stifle a laugh. Seconds later, he fell on his back, laughing like a hyena as he rolled across the ground.

"'Surrend'- HAHAHAHA! –'By force!' – HAHAHAHA! Oh Christ! That's a good one! HAHAHAHAHA! You really had me going there! HAHAHAHAHA!"

"SILENCE!" Shang shouted in anger. I took Odd a good five minutes to successfully stifle his laughter.

"You're-heh- you're serious aren't you?" Shang grunted in response. "You do know what you're getting into, right?" Shang took a fighting stance, as did Mulan and the rest of the soldiers. "Alright then," Odd's smirk curled devilishly, "I hope you've enjoyed the use of you're testicles." Shang's mouth dropped open. He had never heard such a vulgar threat before. Odd's smile suddenly dropped as he put his hand to his ear, listening intently. "Is there a parade on the way here?"

Before anyone could respond a thunderous roar emitted from beyond the castle gates. Soon one of the dragon Heartless, a Storm Rider, came into view.

"FALL BACK!" ordered Shang. The army retreated along with Riku and Kairi who managed to help along a still exhausted Sora. Odd simply stood still and stared.

"That has to be the ugliest parade float I've ever seen," he said to himself.

As the Storm Rider continued to approach tremors began to arise. Within moments an enormous Heartless burst from underground. Although it did bear some resemblance to a dragon, it looked more like a lion. It stood on four legs, all of them baring long claws. Its body was rough and mostly brown with a crest around its head colored bright yellow. It's upper jaw extended past it's lower, and two large fangs gave it an appearance similar to a sabertooth tiger. Its eyes were blank yellow orbs and the Heartless emblem was imprinted on its chest.

"Ugliest until I saw that," Odd said, once again to no one in particular.

As the Storm Rider entered the grounds and the Lion-Dragon pulled itself out of it's hole an ear piercing screech came from above. The third of the monstrous Heartless arrived, and this one couldn't be mistaken for anything other than a dragon. Its body was long and snakelike, possessing two small, clawed arms and no legs. The top of its body was covered in deep red scales while the belly was a bright yellow. An orange mane trailed from the top of its head to the middle of its back, and two long whiskers protruded from its snout. Its eyes, like the others, were yellow and round and the Heartless emblem was printed on what could be thought to be its chest. It flew by some unseen energy and approached the other two giants. The three bore down at Odd and simultaneously screamed at him, their voices shaking the entire imperial city. Odd, however, stood completely unfazed. After a few moments of a stare down, Odd turned his head towards Sora.

"Hey, spiky!"

"What?!" Sora asked, still considerably upset and unwilling to talk to him.

"Mind if I handle these three?"

Sora just stared, dumbfounded. The person who just a few minutes ago was making his life miserable was now offering to deal with a rather large problem for him. He looked to Riku and Kairi, who both wore the same expression he had. The three nodded to each other.

"Go for it," Sora answered. Odd beamed a smile and bowed.

"¡Gracias, señor!" He turned to the Heartless who still bore down menacingly on him. "So, who wants to die first?"

As if to answer his question the Lion-Dragon opened its mouth. Earth and rubble began to gather in front of its face. Moments later an enormous boulder had formed, roughly the size of the monster's head.

"Ooh! Are we playing dodgeball?"

The beast launched the stone ball, which went hurdling forward with amazing speed. It connected with its intended target, forcing him backwards several yards. Soon it stopped.

"I caught it!" yelled Odd in a singsong voice. He easily raised the massive projectile above his head. "Know what that means?" He cocked his arms back, preparing for a throw. "You're OUT!"

The projectile flew towards its source even faster then it had been initially launched. The Storm Rider and Flame Dragon flew upwards to avoid it. The Lion-Dragon, lacking this ability, took the hit square on its forehead. The boulder shattered upon contact, and its target was sent flying through the air before smashing the wall behind it. As the dust settled it made no attempt to move.

"One down…"

A the Flame Dragon screeched as it dive bombed Odd, biting a large chunk out of the spot that he had been standing but milliseconds ago.

"Whew! That was close."

Odd had moved only a few yards to the left of his last location. The Heartless quickly turned to him and took in a sharp breath and Odd, surprisingly, did the same. The Heartless shot a stream of fire from its throat while Odd fired his own. Odd's flame, however, was jet black and at a much higher magnitude than his opponents. The stream of pitch-black flame overpowered the bright red one, almost seeming to eat it up, before engulfing the Flame Heartless' face. It screeched in pain and thrashed about wildly, falling onto its back as it tried in vain to put out the flames.

"That's two…"

With a graceless thud the Storm Rider touched ground behind him and began charging an orb of lightning from its horns. With a roar it shot the orb at Odd, who disappeared in another flash of speed.

"Hi there," he said, making his location just below the Heartless' head known. Before it could react Odd slammed a fist into its stomach, seemingly knocking the air out of it. "SHIN-!" he shouted as he rocketed upward, slamming an uppercut into its chin."-SHORYUKEN!" he shouted as a bust of energy shot him up further, forcing the Storm Rider to go skyrocketing straight upward. When he landed on the ground, the dragon was still soaring upward.

"And now to finish this!" he proclaimed in an almost heroic tone. With a burst of speed he quickly grabbed the Lion-Dragon's leg and threw the beast upward with little effort. It was at this point the Storm Rider began to fall. In another flash he grabbed the Flame Dragon's tail. He lifted the beast into the air and slammed it back to the ground, knocking it unconscious. He turned to the falling dragon, which was mere seconds from crashing into the ground. Odd swung the Flame Dragon like a bat, connecting with the Storm Rider and sending it hurdling into the airborne Lion-Dragon. The force of the impact caused both creatures to go soaring towards the mountain summit. Odd spun the third Heartless over his head two more times before throwing it at the other two monsters. As they all flew through the air Odd took a fighting stance, cupping his hands as if he was holding something. A dark aura began to form around him as a ball of violet light shone from between his hands. "Shinkuu…HADOUKEN!" He thrust both arms forward, releasing the ball of energy. In moments it erupted in an ear splitting explosion, destroying all three of the helplessly airborne Heartless. The shockwave produced by the explosion was so great that everyone else was blasted onto his or her backs. Sora picked himself up and just stared.

You've got to be kidding me!

Before he knew it Odd had warped directly in front of him, wearing a particularly smug and satisfied look on his face. Raising both arms triumphantly into the air he shouted "YATTA!" His voice echoed throughout the ruined courtyard for nearly half a minute before finally ending. Sora, Riku and Kairi all stood up, ready to summon their weapons if necessary. Odd let out a satisfied sigh before finally making eye contact with the three in front of him.

"So, whatcha think? Pretty badass, right?"

Sora quickly slugged him, causing him to stumble back a few steps. After recovering from the initial shock, Odd glowered menacingly at Sora.

"The fuck was that for!?"

Kairi and Riku both struck the top of his head with their weapons, causing him to fall flat on his butt.

"THE HELL!? WHAT IS YOUR DEAL!?"

"WHERE SHOULD WE START!?" Kairi yelled back. "YOU KIDNAPPED ME AND THEN TRIED TO KILL US! DID YOU REALLY THINK WE'D BE HAPPY TO SEE YOU UNDER ANY CONDITION!?"

Odd groaned as he brought himself to his feet. "For the last time, I don't want you dead. I want you alive so I can keep coming back to fight you again and again and again! Why would I want to destroy such a great source of fun for me?"

"Well you've already had your fun, so why don't you stop following us?" demanded Riku.

"Aww, isn't that cute?" said Odd, thinly disguising his anger behind an unconvincing smile. "You think I'm your own personal stalker!" He let his smile drop before continuing. "Sorry to disappoint you, but the reason I came here was because I had some time to kill and I felt a large surge of Darkness coming from this world. I figured I'd just come here and beat the shit out of some Heartless before I needed to be somewhere again. Finding you here was completely coincidental! "

"All the same, you haven't done much make us feel grateful for your arrival," Sora commented, clenching his fist and trying to control his anger.

"Oh sure! I've done some horrible things since I've been here, haven't I?" he retorted, thickly laying on the sarcasm. "I stopped you're practically Heartless of a boyfriend from potentially killing everyone here!" he said addressing Kairi. He turned back to Sora before continuing. "And I took care of three, count 'em, three huge Heartless that you guys were gonna have to fight anyway! I'm a bad person, aren't I?"

"And let's not forget how tried to force me back into that dark state," added Sora. "And that you threatened to kill the imperial army."

Odd was literally shaking with rage. "All you needed to say was two words, just two little words. Just one half-hearted little 'thank you,' and I would've up and left. But you know what?" He pulled back his sleeve, taking a quick glance at his watch. "I've still got plenty of time before I need to be somewhere. So how about I spend that time beating the ever-loving crap out of YOU!?"

As he spoke those last words an intense aura burst from his body sending Shang, Mulan, and the entire imperial army flat onto their backs. Sora, Riku and Kairi barely managed to keep themselves from falling over, sliding back several yards before finally stopping. Sora summoned his keyblade and took his stance along his friends. It was at this time he noticed a stream of pure light begin to descend from the sky. I twisted and turned several times before finally touching ground. Odd noticed Sora's confused expression and turned to gaze at the shining thread. Soon a bead of light began to travel down the path the string of light had set.

"Oh man," muttered Odd. "I know that light show…"

As the ball of light touched down five figures emerged from it. Each one was identical to the others in every way. They wore golden helms that covered their entire heads, extending forward to a point making them look somewhat like beaks. Near where the ears would be were tiny angelic wings. Their shoulders, chests, as well as shins and feet were also adorned armor. Long white sleeves covered their arms down to their wrists, their hands were covered by white gloves, and white leggings tightly gripped their long legs. Each was armed with a small circular shield held by their right hands and short sword that was currently sheathed and resting at their hips. Most eye-catching of all, however, was their ethereal and almost silky wings extending from their backs. All five stood completely silent.

"What the hell are they?" Riku muttered.

"Hopefully help," answered Kairi.

"Don't bet on it," Odd chimed in.

In a flash all five shot forward. Two attacked Odd, who caught their swords with his hands. Sora and Riku both barely managed to block the attack with their own weapons. The attackers still pushed forward, sliding them backwards several feet. The final aggressor smacked Kairi's keyblade from her hand before she could adequately respond. It quickly grabbed her by the wrist and dashed back towards the pillar of light. Kairi quickly summoned her weapon back into her hand and struck her would be captor across the back of its head. After it released her she fell to the ground, then turned to see the being preparing to slash her. Sora saw this and pushed his opponent to the side, then proceeded to cast thundaga. The bolt came down and struck its target just in time save Kairi, who quickly got to her feet and ran from her attacker. The figure that Sora forced away took advantage of his change of focus to attack. Riku saw this as well and with his free hand fired a Dark Firaga ball, striking the enemy and saving Sora. With his attention shifted, Riku's opponent smacked his keyblade from him, preparing to stab him through the chest. Odd noticed this and hurled one of his opponents into the other creature, knocking them both away from Riku. He then slammed his fist into the other attacker, then struck it again with a blast of dark energy, sending it flying into the enemy that had attempted to take Kairi. All five of the enemies quickly recovered and flew towards Kairi, who took a defensive stance to prepare. To her surprise, Odd jumped in the way, raising a barrier just in time for all five of the aggressors to slam into it.

"Take a hint, fellas," he said with smirk, proceeding to blast them all back with a dark shockwave. "She's taken!" He slammed his fist into the ground causing five black spikes to impale each opponent through the chest. Despite this they didn't show any significant signs of slowing down. Odd's free hand began to emanate with a dark glow before he placed his hand on his other arm. The glow quickly raced across his arm and then across the spikes. When it met the beings at the end of the spikes it caused them to explode. Despite the fact that they had literally been blown to pieces, there was no blood. Soon the pieces dissolved into sparkles of light that soon vanished. As Odd pulled his had from the ground, the spikes vanished. Kairi took the opportunity to cast a Pearl spell at Odd, who deftly dodged and grabbed her wrist.

"Most people would say 'thank you,'" he stated in an annoyed voice. Kairi simply glared in response.

"Let her go!" Sora ordered, he and Riku now within striking distances. Odd did as he was told, but not before plastering an extremely wide grin on his face. Sora relaxed, if only slightly. "You know what those things were, don't you?"

Odd's grin stretched even further. "Maybe…"

Kairi stuck the tip of her keyblade against his temple. "Talk, or I'll blow your head off." She threatened

"Well that's a little dark for cute little Kairi, don't you think?" Odd's grin had still not left his face.

"Don't think I won't do it."

In a flash, Odd was gone and so was Kairi's keyblade.

"Now, now. A cutie like you shouldn't be so angry all the time." The three turned to see he was only a few yards away, twirling the weapon like a baton. "Keep scowling and you'll get these ugly wrinkles on your forehead that'll make you look like an old hag." Kairi raised her hand and summoned her weapon back to it. This didn't seem to surprise Odd in the least. "Besides, if you really wanted to ask me something, you just had to ask nicely. Just say, 'Odd, please tell us what you know.' Is that so hard?"

"Tell us what you know," demanded Riku.

"You forgot to say 'please.'"

"Like hell I'm gonna say that!"

"Jeez! Whatever happened to heroes being a pinnacle of morality? A symbol of what everyone else should be like? Honestly, you guys sure aren't out of any comic books. Maybe a manga, though."

"Do you ever turn off?" Sora muttered.

"Sorry kiddo, but it'll take something pretty big to make me all serious… Something like that."

The three turned to see several threads of light begin to fall from the sky, twisting and turning as they descended just like the one from before.

"Oh boy…"muttered Sora.

"Now what?" Riku asked to no one in particular.

"Not sure, but…" The three turned their heads just in time to see Odd raise his hand, sending out another sonic boom that blasted them to the other side of the courtyard. Once again he raised a barrier, cutting the courtyard in two.

"You jackass!" yelled Kairi. "What the hell!"

"Sorry cutie, but I gotta make sure my new friends don't get killed. Don't worry, I'll handle this."

"We're not your friends,"

"Keep telling yourself that, hunny."

He really is insane, Kairi thought.

Odd whistled, summoning Twitch to his shoulder. "Ready to lay the smackdown, little guy?" The small Heartless arched its back, preparing for a fight. "That's what I like to hear."

As more of the angelic creatures began to exit from their shining transports, Odd and his Heartless companion began to glow with a dark aura. The Shadow dropped off his shoulder and stood ready by his foot. The creatures' numbers were now in the hundreds, all ready to annihilate all in their path. The dark auras around the dark combatants had darkened to the point that it seemed their bodies were smoking. The angelic beings attacked, hundreds of opponents dashing forward with weapons drawn. When they were seconds from being upon their targets both of the dark beings erupted with dark energy, not only unleashing a massive shockwave but also cloaking both with a veil of pitch black smoke. As the stunned army got its bearings the black cloak began to disperse. Odd's eyes were now pitch black and smoke rose from his mouth and nostrils. But the biggest change was with Twitch who was no longer and Shadow but a Neoshadow. Both quickly took a feral stance before dashing forward. In a flash many of winged warriors had been diced to pieces. Now roughly in the center of the army the two unleashed another dark shockwave, once again covering themselves in the dark fumes. As the smoke cleared Odd was shown to have no change from before. Twitch again had gone into a new form, this time an Invisible. The two comrades stood back to back and spun quickly, firing bolts of darkness in all directions. The angelic fighters were quickly losing their forces. Once more the two released a shockwave and were coated with the black fumes. However, the force of this shockwave was considerably greater than the two from before, and the smoke began to tower several feet into the air. Once it dissipated Twitch once again had a new form, this time towering over everything else as a Darkside. Odd stood on its shoulder, grinning menacingly at the figures below.

"Finish 'em!"

The enormous Heartless raised its right hand placed his left on the opposite wrist. A glowing ball of darkness began to form and all the angelic beings were pulled towards it. Soon the remnants of their army were helplessly orbiting the ball when it suddenly burst into a gigantic mass of energy. The creatures were sucked in as the mass expanded, soon reaching the size where it touched the ground. Once it did it held its size for a few moments before gradually fading away into nothing. Not a single remnant of the opposing force remained. The Darkside began to melt away as Odd gracefully fell to the ground. Soon the giant figure had dispersed into its original form and the small Shadow landed on its master's shoulder. Odd's black and smoking attributes had dispersed, giving him his original appearance as well.

"And that's a wrap."

Odd snapped his fingers and the barrier dispersed. Sora immediately shot forward with amazing speed, taking a hard swing at Odd, who easily caught his weapon. The force of the impact actually caused the ground to crack.

"Damn! Where'd that strength come from, kiddo?"

Sora ignored him and attempted to hit Odd in the head with a sweeping kick. Odd easily caught this attack as well. With his fee hand Sora swung his fist hard at his enemy's face. Before it could connect Odd dropped the keyblade and the leg and jumped backward. Odd's grin widened.

"Whoo-whee! Now that's some aggression! Where'd this come from, and why didn't you do it before?"

"Shut up," Sora spat, neither angry nor flustered but simply determined. "I'm going to kill you. You're way to powerful and way too dangerous to be allowed to do as you please. That last attack of yours was more along the line of Limit than some sort of super attack. I'm supposed to be other only person who can initiate one of those."

"Aww, has someone's ego been hurt?" Odd let loose a demonic chuckle before continuing. "As much as I'd love to continue this little bout, I'm out of time. So long and, farewell my good friend."

"You're not going-!"

"Stop!"

Sora and everyone else turned to see none other than the Emperor. He casually walked forward, carefully observing the battlefield around him. Shang and Mulan stepped forward.

"Your majesty, you shouldn't be out here!" Shang stated. "It is far too dangerous!"

"I wouldn't be so sure. I snuck a glance at the many battles fought here. It is of my opinion that no more fighting will be necessary."

"But your majesty, there is still a dangerous force here opposing us!" Mulan argued.

The Emperor shook his head. "Dangerous, undoubtedly. But I do not believe that we ourselves are in any danger."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

Mulan and Shang drew their swords at Odd, now only a few paces away from them. Riku and Kair approached from behind as Sora sprinted towards them, cursing himself for allowing the distraction to let Odd get away. The Emperor raised his hand, signaling for them to lower their weapons. Shang and Mulan hesitated for a moment but obeyed. The three keyblade wielders did not, but made no motions to attack.

"So you're him, huh?" Odd continued. "You're the head honcho 'round these parts?" Odd carefully scanned the Emperor. "Not bad. So, what does the geezer wanna talk to me about?"

"YOU WILL ADDRESS HIM WITH RESPECT!" burst out Shang, barely able to keep himself from cutting his head off.

"Easy, pretty boy. I meant it as a term of respect. Old geezers like whitebeard here are the only kind of people who consistently have something work listening to." Odd turned his attention back to the Emperor. "So, what does the big man have to say?"

"Am I not keeping you from something?" the Emperor asked. "As I understood it, your presence is requested elsewhere."

"Believe me, showing up late wouldn't be a first time thing. They can wait for a few minutes."

The Emperor made a short nod in response. "So, you have managed to tame that creature?" he asked, his gaze focused on the Shadow at his shoulder.

"Little Twitch here is one in a million. Isn't that right, little guy?" Odd scratched the back of his pet's head who leaned back into his fingers and moaned contently.

"May I have your name?"

Odd posed dramatically. "I am the most eccentric of eccentrics. The most enchanting man in all the worlds. A man who – Nah, I'm just kiddin', my name's Odd," he finished casting off his dramatic speaking tone for a more normal one.

"Odd then, I would like to thank you for your assistance here this day. Please, accept my gratitude."

Odd's face brightened. "Ooh! Does that mean I get a reward, too?" Before anyone could stop him, he began to ramble. "I want a Ferrari, a rubber ducky, a bottle of vodka, a summer beach house full of Swedish fashion models, and a baby brother!"

Everyone just stared. Even the Emperor, despite his usual composure, also wore an expression of pure bafflement. After a few moments Odd burst out with an uproarious, but still nonthreatening laugh.

"Naw, I'm just kiddin' wit'cha! Seriously though, if you're gonna grant me a prize, I'm afraid I'll have to decline."

Shang, Mulan, and especially Sora, RIku, and Kairi were particularly surprised at that.

"Oh? You would not request any sort consolidation for your efforts?"

"Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good prize as much as the next guy, and I undoubtedly did all the heavy lifting here today. But I didn't do it because I was trying to save you or your kingdom. I did it for fun, and I don't see why I should be rewarded for that."

The Emperor simply grunted in response. Odd turned to face the three keyblade wielders.

"Well kiddies, it's been a blast, but when you gotta go you gotta go."

"Hold it!" shouted Sora, thrusting his weapon into his face. "Just what re you trying to pull here!?"

Odd chuckled. "Like I told you before, 'I may not be the hero, but I ain't the bad guy.' You're gonna learn, really soon, that the little black and white world you live in is filled with lot's and lot's of grey."

"What are you talking about?"

"Just foreshadowing future chapters in the story."

"Wh-What?"

"Nothing. Anyway, see ya!"

And with that Odd and Twitch disappeared into a dark corridor. Sora fumbled through his pockets but was too late.

"Damnit!" he shouted, holding the now useless pendant in his hand. He turned to Riku and Kairi. "Sorry guys. I missed the chance."

Riku rested his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Don't worry. He'll definitely be back. We'll get another chance."

"Sora?" Mulan asked. "Is there anything we could do to help?"

Sora shook his head. "No. It's ok. It's something we need to handle ourselves."

"Are you sure?"

Sora smiled. "Just keep your world safe. That's enough."

Mulan smiled back and bowed, and Sora did the same. "And thank you to you as well," she said addressing Riku and Kairi. The two also made a short bow. Mulan's smile was replaced by a look of curiosity as her gaze shifted to the sky behind the three. "What's that?"

The three turned and immediately recognized it as a Gummi Ship, and not just any Gummi Ship. The three happily raced forward as the vessel landed. The door opened with a hiss and out stepped two familiar figures. Both happily ran forward and tackled Sora.

"Donald! Goofy!"

"Sora! Good to see you!" quacked the magician.

"How've ya been?" the royal knight asked.

Sora's face fell somewhat as he brought himself to his feet. "Could be better, but not all that bad."

The two Disney Castle residents' gaze shifted to Riku and Kairi.

"Hey there, you two!"

"Hey yourself, Goofy," Riku replied. "That's some entrance you two made."

"Well, I see we have some more familiar faces."

The five friends turned to see the Emperor as well as Shang and Mulan right behind them. Donald and Goofy stood up and made a short bow.

"Good to see you, your highness," Donald said in the most professional tone his voice would allow.

"It is a pleasure to see you as well."

"Good to see you too Mulan, Captain Shang," Goofy chimed in.

"General now, " he corrected.

"General Shang," Goofy said again.

"So, what are you two here for?" Kairi asked.

"Well, actually we came here for the three of you," Goofy stated.

"Is something wrong?" Riku asked. "We haven't heard from King Mickey since he sent that letter asking us to be prepared for the Heartless. What did we miss?"

"Well, some guy in a cloaked just showed up at the castle a few hours ago?"

"'A cloak?'" Sora asked, afraid that it might be Odd once again. "What did he look like?"

"Dunno," answered Goofy. "He had the hood up. It looked kinda like the ones those Oraganization XIII fellers were wearing, but still kinda different."

"Different how?" asked Kairi.

"It's got all these fancy designed patterns all over it, too."

The three friends turned to each other. It didn't sound like Odd. His cloak was identical to the Nobody's attire.

"What did he do?" asked Sora.

"Well, not much," replied Donald. "But, he's actually still there."

"Huh?" all three replied in unison.

"He said he's got some message to read to some specific list of people, and you're on the list."

"What did the message say?" asked Riku.

"No idea. He says he won't read it until everyone who's supposed to hear it is there to listen to it!"

"So that's why you came to get us," Sora stated. The two nodded. "Actually, how did you find us here?"

"Well, first we went to the islands, but you weren't there," Goofy stated. "We took a guess and went to Radiant Garden where Leon told us you went here."

"I see you are needed," the Emperor butt in. "You should leave immediately."

"But what about, you know?" Sora asked, gesturing to the ruined courtyard.

"We can fix that on our own, " Mulan replied. "You guys have already helped with the hard part."

Sora nodded and turned to his friends. "We should probably return Cid's ship before we head to Disney Castle."

"If you're going to stop by there first please give that girl our thanks," Shang said.

"You mean Yuffie?" Kairi asked. Shang nodded. "We will."

"Donald, can you take us to the summit first?"

"Sure thing, Sora!"

The three turned and said their goodbyes before entering into the cockpit of the Gummi Ship.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

DAMN! 17 pages! Longest. Chapter. Ever. Unlike the last chapter this one was actually fun to write. I really hope the battle scenes here were adequate because I put a lot of work and thought into how they turned out. The Anti vs Odd fight was meant to be really intense while the fights with the Dragons and the mysterious creatures were meant to show how ridiculously powerful Odd is (and by comparison how strong Sora's Anti form is).

Anyway there was a lot going on in this chapter so I'd like to answer some potential questions you'd have. 1st are the 4th wall jokes that Odd made including the Street Fighter moves as well as "foreshadowing the later chapters." Well I always intended Odd to be extremely insane but while I was writing this chapter I found another character to base aspects of him off of to make him seem even more insane. That character is Marvel comic's post popular obscure anti-hero, Deadpool a.k.a. "The Merc with a Mouth." I'll admit I only discovered this character a few weeks before X-Men Origins debuted in theatres, but he has left an impact on me. 2nd is what are the new creatures? Well, you'll have to wait for that. 3rd, why the Land of Dragons? Personally I love Mulan and I feel that the world doesn't get enough attention in fanart and fanfiction. The three big ones are always the Pride Lands, Halloween/Christmas Town and Port Royal, not that I don't like those worlds too.

Anyway, with luck I can have the next chapter up within a few days. I've really been looking forward to writing this next chapter, so hopefully that will speed things along. Please review, or else I might have to start being an ass and do some thing where "I won't update unless I get 5 reviews!" Ok I probably won't do that, but as much as I love the feedback from my good friend StevtheZombiehunter and amazing inspiration TimFortune I'd like feedback from other people as well. Anyway, its late so time to hit the sack. Luv ya all!