Chapter Three:

Return to the Garden

The throne room of Maleficent's grand castle was wreathed in the darkness. Despite being pulled under its thrall once before, Maleficent was still confident she could command it, so long as that snake of a boy Riku was out of the way. The only light, in fact, came from the strange green fire of torches that surrounded the room, and the glowing pillar of light in its center.

"Now, we best make this fast, Miss Maleficent," the man in the pillar said with a hint of southern drawl. "I have a meeting with the local Boy Scout troop in 20 minutes, and I'd hate to be late."

"Just assure me that things are going as planned," Maleficent said dryly.

"Oh, right as rain," the man replied jovially. "Things are all lined up for the Heartless invasion, all my associates are paid off, no complications at all."

"Excellent. Then you may go, Wilkins."

"Pleasure chatting with you, Maleficent."

The face of Mayor Wilkins flickered out of view, and the torches became the sole source of illumination.

"Y'know, my mama told me never trust a politician, Maleficent," Pete piped up from next to the foul witch's throne. "You sure we should rely on him?"

"He'll do his job," Maleficent curtly replied. "As will you, if you know what's good for you."

"And remember what company you're in," a chilling voice sneered from in the gloom. A hulking, hairy shape was visible in the eerie green glow, his top hat faintly illuminated. "You have a future King in your midst."

"Aw, clam it, Rat boy," Pete scoffed.

"What was that?" Rattigan snarled swiftly. "You impudent little..."

"Silence!" Maleficent cried sharply, and Rattigan fell silent. "I shall have no bickering in my chamber."

"Maa," a new voice sighed from afar. "Did we come at a bad time?"

Faintly visible in the doorway of the chamber were three figures, just out of range of the fire light. Still, the silver hair of the one in front was turned a pale green by the glow, the only sign of his appearance.

"Ah, you have arrived," Maleficent said, a sick smile on her lips. "I'm glad you arrived when you did, actually. I want to waste no time in our business."

"You said you could return something that belongs to us," another of the three said gruffly.

"Patience, my friend, patience," was the witch's not-so-soothing plea. "All in due time. First, I need you to do a job for me."

"What kind of job?" the third said, voice sleek and charismatic.

"You have heard of the Keyblade Master? I want him, and all his comrades, dead."

"And in exchange, you'll give us…" the first began.

"Your hearts, yes," Maleficent finished for him, nodding. "It will be given to you as soon as you do this for me."

"Well then," the leader chuckled. "Where can we find this Keyblade Master?"

"He'll be arriving in Radiant Garden any minute now, so you might want to hurry."

"Done."

And the trio was gone.

While the streets of Radiant Garden were mostly empty, it was lined with shops, doors flung wide and filled with goods. Sora stared in awe at the rebuilt city, but mostly at the glittering castle that stood in the distance. Great windows gleamed and shone in the sunlight, with pennants fluttering from high towers.

"Wow," he gasped. "They've really done a number on this place."

"It's incredible," Riku said, nodding.

"Glad you like it!" a cheerful voice called from afar.

Sora whirled just in time to see the 'Great Ninja' Yuffie jump from a rooftop onto the ground in front of the band. She landed elegantly, and beamed at the group as she stood in front of them, dressed in similar attire as last time. The only change Sora could notice was the neon green trim her shirt now sported, and a similarly colored scarf around her neck. Her more-colorful style seemed to suit the healthier Radiant Garden.

"Yuffie!" he cheered, beaming back at his old pal. "I see you've been fixing things up nicely. Or, at least, Leon has," he added teasingly.

She scoffed and turned her nose up at him.

"I'll have you know I've been working just as hard as he has! Harder than you, anyway," she said sulkily, but she quickly smiled again. "But how've you been, anyway? We've been waiting for you to show up again."

"I've been good," Sora replied, shrugging. "But, it's been kinda boring, stuck on my Island."

"We've been keeping him in shape, though," Kairi cut in, slinging an arm around Sora's shoulder and noogie-ing him. He sputtered and tried to shove her off.

"What about you guys? Any Heartless?" Riku asked, ignoring his tussling friends for now.

"Not that I've seen, no," Yuffie said, shaking her head. "Why, is something up?"

"There's been a big surge of Heartless lately," Donald grumbled, tapping his foot in an agitated fashion. He was clearly eager to skip the chit-chat and get back to business.

"And the Bendless," Goofy said sagely, as placid as Donald was high-strung.

"Endless!"

"Er, right! Endless!"

"Endless?" Yuffie asked, but before Donald could say anything, Riku waved his hand dismissively.

"Long story."

"Yeah, well, speaking of stories," Yuffie began, scratching her chin thoughtfully. "Leon's got somethin' he wanted to tell you. That's why he was hoping you guys would show up against soon. He should be up at the castle." As if necessary, she pointed directly at the gleaming towers.

"The Castle, got it!" Sora repeated, nodding, having finally shoved Kairi off himself.

"I'd show you the way, but I've got some stuff to do in town," Yuffie said apologetically, a flight flush dusting her cheeks. "Sorry about that!"

In a flash, she jumped back onto the high roof she'd leapt from, and disappeared in a flutter of scarf.

"She's fast!" Kairi said, sounding somewhat amazed as she stared after the vanishing ninja.

Sora and Riku, long ago used to superhuman feats, just shrugged.

"But come on, you guys!" Sora said, face radiating enthusiasm. "Let's go see Leon already!"

"But the Endless…!" Donald began.

"Come on, they're not going anywhere," Sora scoffed. "They're Endless, after all."

He was off and running before anyone could stop him so, with Riku leading the way, they followed him through the streets of Radiant Garden, the Castle's gleaming towers their only directon.

High above, glittering golden eyes watched silently as they went. It paused there until they vanished from sight, and then it was gone.

Sora stared out in awe at the Great Maw, and his mind twisted back to the battle he'd had there with a thousand Heartless. At that time, it had been teeming with the dark forces, and he'd ripped into them with fury after the apparent death of Goofy. Now, though, it was completely empty.

"Hard to believe we fought a war here once," he muttered, staring at the dusty plane.

He felt a hand drop on his shoulder and turned to see it was Riku's.

"Come on," Riku said softly. "We've gotta get to Leon."

"Right," Sora said, nodding.

The group started forward through the area, but as they approached a closing of the rock walls around the canyon again, there was a sudden roar of engines swelling around them. They stopped at the edge of the canyon at stared up at the top. Just barely peeking over both sides…were tires.

"Ne, Brother, is this the Keyblade Master?" a voice called, smooth as velvet.

"I'm pretty sure," replied another voice, which absolutely reeked of confidence and made a chill run through Sora's bones.

"We've finally caught them, Brother!" a third voice called, manly and gruff. "Now let's kill them, quickly!"

"Who are you?" Sora cried, Keyblade appearing in his hand on cue. He could see, from the corner of his eye, that the same was happening for Riku and Kairi.

"None of your concern," the cocky voice shot back. "Now, shut up and die!"

In a flash, Shadows started emerging all around them. Sora merely scoffed and charged into the swarm. In a single swipe, three exploded into clouds of darkness. He ducked and weaved around their attacks, cutting through them like a whirlwind. This was his strength, this was his ecstacy, the thrill of battle charging through his veins.

Lightning sizzled around him as Donald let loose, and he felt Goofy's shield make his hair ripple from the wind, but never even flinched. Even the addition of Riku and Kairi was seamless, his darting speed and her fluid dance adding to the carnage.

Even as Soldier Heartless appeared, he never slowed in his brutal strikes. What had once been feared adversaries were now mere rice stalks before the scythe that was his Keyblade. He struck effortlessly at the weakest spots on their bodies, knowing precisely where to hit to bring the shadowy monsters down.

He leapt and ducked, rolled and dodged, battle them away with the blunt end and cut through them with the deceptively dull-looking key.

Before he even realized it, the tide was gone, vanished in the smoky gloom of shadow. He stood, in that Eye of the Hurricane, and turned his face once again up towards the strange, unknown visitors.

"Hey!" he yelled. "That all you got?"

The three merely laughed at this, a smug, bubbling chuckle. It was a sound as dark and slick as oil.

"No, Keyblade Master," scoffed the one with the silver tongue. "That's not all."

"Not all by a long shot!" the gruff one barked, laughing again.

"Well, brothers?" sneered the leader. "Which one to use?"

"The red one! Use the Fire!" advised the gruff one, speaking with the eagerness of a child.

There was a flash of light, and dark clouds started to roll in high overhead. As Sora looked back, the entrance to the canyon was sealed shut by an unpleasantly familiar wall of energy. The darkness grew overhead, slowly spiraling down towards them until it was a tornado, striking the earth in front of Sora's feet. He stumbled back, shielding his face, and the darkness slowly faded.

Within it stood a towering dark beast, human in body but with a face half wolf and half demon. Long horns curled off the back of its head, and a mane of flames crackled along its back. It hefted up two great fists, claws tipping its fingers, and let out a mighty roar.

"Say hello to Ifrit SIN!" laughed the leader. "I hope you like it!"

Behind him, Sora's allies took their battle stances, and he did the same. His eyes locked on the gleaming gold of the Ifrit SIN.

"Ready guys?" he called.

"Ready, Sora!" Donald cried back. Riku and Kairi nodded.

There was another roar from the beast, a flash of fire building in its maw, and the battle begun.