Hello! Here it is. What you've all been waiting for. Part 2 of Sora's, Balto's, and Mooneye's judgment! Sorry I took so long. Hope you enjoy!
"Look!"
"W-What's happening!?"
"Oh my...!"
"The sun…! I-It's…disappearing…!"
"You know what this means, don't you!?"
"No… It can't be…"
"It is!!!"
"They've lost!!!"
"All hope is gone!!!"
Panic was spreading throughout the town's people. They're witnessing their beloved sun in the sky being swallowed into darkness. Not one speck of light was left, as the sun completely vanished. Everything was in complete darkness. People screamed in fear. Children started crying and clung tight to their parents. The only thing the people could possibly think of is go back to their houses, turn on every single light they have, and locked the doors. There was nothing else they could do, expect wait to see what their fate is.
Rosy and her parents were on the floor, holding eachother tightly; fearing the worst of what's soon to come for them. The darkness could only mean one thing: Sora, Balto, and Mooneye have failed to defeat Lavendra – and now she has total control of Kingdom Wolves.
Tears started to fall from Rosy's eyes. Her mother and father tried to comfort her by giving her a kiss on her forehead and kept telling her that they love her with all their hearts. Rosy said continuously that she love them in return. Jenna walked up to Rosy and started nuzzling her with love and care. The family then opens their arms to let her join in the hug. Jenna started licking each of their faces. Rosy smiled and petted her.
"Oh, how I wish I know what you're saying, Jenna," She said. "There are times I'd like to know what's on you and Balto's mind. You two seem to know what everybody's saying – even before Sora came here. You do understand me, don't you?"
Jenna barked happily. Rosy chuckled.
"I'm guessing that's a yes."
She then let out a sigh.
"Does the darkness actually mean it's all over now – that Sora and Balto couldn't stop those monsters and close that door?" She asked. "What's gonna happen to us? Are we gonna be monsters too?"
Rosy started crying again. This time, her mother and father could no longer find words for comfort. They just hold her tightly, letting all the tears come out. All hope seemed lost now.
Jenna looked out the window. Everything outside was completely pitch black, except for the lights and lanterns coming from inside people's houses. From that, an old memory had awoken inside her head. She then thought of something that could possibly help everyone, even Balto, Sora, and Mooneye. Jenna ran into the kitchen and grabbed an already-lit lantern on top of the table. She then ran back to the living room and went outside through a doggy-door. Rosy and her parents gave eachother a puzzled face when they saw their dog ran out with a lantern in her mouth.
"Jenna?" Rosy's father called when he walked outside.
Because of the blackness, he could only see the light coming from the lantern Jenna was carrying as she ran off. Rosy and her mother came out and saw Jenna heading to the outskirts of Nome.
"Should we go after her?" Rosy's mother asked.
"No, it's too dangerous," Rosy's father replied. "I don't know what she's doing, but that dog is crazy to go out there all by herself."
"Maybe she's trying to bring back the light for us, Dad," Rosy suggested. "Why else would Jenna take the lantern and leave? Probably try to help Sora and Balto fight off those monsters. Jenna is really smart, after all."
Her father just lets out a sigh.
"That could possibly be it, sweetheart," He said. "But we don't know for sure. Let's just head back inside. We're probably safer in there…if at all."
The family walked back inside. Before she went in also, Rosy looked out to see only a little speck of the lantern's light from a distance.
"Good luck, Jenna…" She whispered before she closed the door.
Jenna ran as fast as she could toward Balto's boat. There's something inside the old wooden vessel that she needed in order for her plan to work. Carrying the lit lantern in her mouth, the rust and vanilla colored husky was making her way outside of Nome. She was just about a few feet away from the boat. If it weren't for the lantern and her senses, Jenna wouldn't be able to find the old boat, at all. The lightless sky would've made anyone else completely lost and possibly never know where they're going or where they are.
Soon, Jenna made her way up the old plank and walked into the steering room. She saw that Boris, Stella, Muk, and Luk were holding eachother, terrified of the darkness. They screamed in horror when they saw the light coming from the lantern.
"Calm down, guys, it's only me – Jenna."
The two polar bears and the goose couple stopped screaming and shaking when they recognized Jenna's voice and got a better look at her.
"What are you doing here, Jenna?" Boris said. "You know it's dangerous to be coming all the way out here in this inferno blackness."
"Yes, I know, Boris," Jenna said. "But there's something I need to do that might bring some light back to Nome."
"I think the humans might have their own set of lights in their homes, sweetheart." Stella said, putting her wings on her hips.
"Yes, I know that, Stella, but I have something better that could possibly help everyone." Jenna said.
"Really, Jenna?" Muk asked. "What do you have in mind?"
Luk made some mumbling noises, wondering what Jenna is planning, too.
"Here, I'll show you." Jenna said.
She walks to an old wooden chest – that was located next to the doorway on the starboard side – and opens it. She then pulls out a bag and places it on the floor.
"Would you mind carrying this for me, Luk?" Jenna asked.
The massive polar bear mumbled and nodded, meaning a yes. After saying thank you, Jenna grabs the lantern and tells everyone to follow her. Muk and Luk were the first to follow (with the mysterious bag being carried in Luk's mouth); while Boris and Stella were wondering what Jenna is dong. Scratching her forehead with her feathered forefinger, Stella asked:
"Don't suppose you know what she's doing, do you, Boris?"
Boris just shrugged.
"Your guess is as good as mine," He said. "Perhaps we should just follow them and see what Jenna has cooked up."
The goose couple then ran out from the boat and catches up to the others. They've walked for nearly five minuets. No one said a word as Jenna led them to wherever they're going. Boris looks at Jenna and noticed that there's something missing.
"Say Jenna, how come you're not wearing that red scarf you always have around your neck?" He asked.
Jenna looks at him and sighs.
"I gave it to Balto, before him and Sora left," She replied, still walking to where she needs to go. "It's so he'll know that a part of me is right near him. And, hopefully, keep him from being captured by the darkness."
"Oh…" Boris said, looking a little sad.
He, Stella, Muk, and Luk were just as worried of what's happen to Balto as much as Jenna is. They didn't know what exactly the pitch black sky meant, but they knew it wasn't a sign that Balto and Sora have stopped Lavendra and her two remaining subordinates yet. Luk started to whimper in worry of what might've happen to Balto and Sora.
"What are you talking about!? Of course, they're alright!" Muk stated to his "big" brother. "They can take down anything that gets in their way. Why, I'll bet that Sora's kicking monsters' bottoms with one hand behind his back! And Balto is ripping them to shreds without a single sweat on his fur!"
Jenna, Boris, and Stella chuckled when they heard that.
"I hate to admit it, but those two fluff balls are right," Stella said. "I may not have known this Sora kid for very long, but after hearing everything Boris has told me about him; he seems like a strong and courageous human. And, of course, Balto is no pushover. He'll get through whatever tight spot he's in without any problems at all."
Boris nodded in agreement; nobody knows Balto better than him; Balto always thinks of a way to get through something – no matter how crazy and dangerous it is. Boris has always known that there's absolutely nothing that Balto can't handle.
"We're here!" Jenna announced.
Boris, Stella, Muk, and Luk looked around their surroundings. They were standing in a clear field, on top of a hill. From what they could possibly see from the lantern's light, there was nothing but the snow they're standing on.
"Uh…what is 'here' exactly, Jenna?" Boris asked, rubbing the back of his head.
Jenna didn't answer him. She just puts the lantern down, trying to make it in the position it needed to be.
"Sun…" She muttered to herself.
Jenna then went and grabs the bag from Luk, who had just put it down when they stopped walking. Jenna brings the bag next the lantern and opens it. There was nothing inside but broken glass bottles in different colors.
"Icecaps…"
She then pushes the broken glass to the north side, blocking the lantern's light with her body. With puzzled looks, Boris, Stella, Muk, and Luk just stared at her.
"Jenna, what in the world are you doing?" Boris finally asked.
"Look to the north and you'll see." Jenna replied.
When she got out of the light's way; the broken bottles starting shining, revealing a beautiful majestic light of wondrous colors; it had spread throughout the field. Everyone gasped in delight of its amazing rays and colors. It looks exactly like the Northern Lights, but far more beautiful. Boris, Stella, Muk and Luk looked back at Jenna, who gave a smile to all of them.
"Wow!! Where did you learn to do this, Jenna?" Stella said in amazement. "I've never seen lights this beautiful before!"
"Balto showed me," Jenna replied. "It was the day when Rosy started to get really sick. I was worried of what was happening to her. So Balto led me to the crawlspace of the hospital. There, he showed me the broken bottles and what happens when the light hits them. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
The four looked at eachother with surprise. They had no idea that Balto knew how to do this.
"And when Balto and the rest of the team were lost," Jenna continued. "I used the light to help guide them home. Now…I can only hope that the light can guide Balto and Sora – along with everybody else – out of the darkness."
Everyone smiled warmly at her and continued to stare at the beautiful lights. Boris held Stella tightly. Muk and Luk held them as well.
"Balto…please come home." Boris said.
"We're all waiting for you." Muk said.
"And we'll be cheering you on after you give those monsters what they deserve." Stella said.
Jenna smiled, once again, at them. The she got up and started howling – singing a beautiful song to Balto, hoping that he could hear it, wherever he is.
Back in Nome, people could see the colorful lights, outside their windows. They all ran outside and stared at it. Everyone shared a smile of astonishment of what looked like to them, the Northern Lights. The dogs wore the same expression, as well. It was a sign that there's a little bit of hope left.
Meanwhile…
"At long last…! I have found it! The door…! The door to Kingdom Wolves!!!"
Lavendra was standing in front of a long, white double-door with the expression like she has finally gotten the beautiful pony she's always dreamed of. The witch continues to stare at the door; thinking of what's behind it would lead her straight to domination of all worlds and time. Two of her faithful (and remaining) subordinates, Neon and Kie, stare at their queen – waiting for her to grab hold of the two silver doorknobs and walk in. However, for some strange reason, Lavendra didn't. She just let out a deep sigh of accomplishment.
"How long has it been?" Lavendra asked her subordinates that were behind her – continue to stare at the door. "How long have we been searching for this wondrous door that would soon lead us to that one thing we wanted the most? How many sacrifices – and lives of our fellow and faithful subordinates – did we have to take just to get here? And how many innocent lives did we destroy so we could get to this magnificent place…?"
Neon and Kie looked at eachother, surprised and speechless. They weren't expecting their queen to ask them these questions. She's probably asking them this because she has waited a long, long, long time for this day to come.
Soon, Lavendra started touching the door, feeling its smooth and cool structure with her long, dark, cold fingers. What's keeping her from opening the door is that it seems too good to be true. Far too good!
Finally, Lavendra grabs hold of both doorknobs, but before she could turns them, she looks back at Neon and Kie.
"I want to congratulate you both for making this possible," She stated. "You both have worked so hard to make all this possible. Neon, it was your big brain that gave us the new information on how to truly open the portal; for giving me my body back by using my great-great-great-great niece's, and showing us the location to where that wretched Mooneye has hid the portal to Kingdom Wolves. Thank you very much."
Neon made an honor's bow and smiled.
"The pleasure is all mine, Your Majesty," He said. "It was a true honor to do what I can to please you deeply. I could never ask for more than that."
The dark witch smiles at him, deeply. Soon, her attention turned toward Kie's.
"And you, Kie," Lavendra said. "Thank you for doing such a wondrous job on obeying my orders and doing them correctly."
Kie smiled and bowed to her, as well.
"You're being too modest, Your Gratefulness," She said. "It was the least I could. No reward is better than making you smile."
Lavendra gazed happily at both of them, soon her gazed turned serious in a flash.
"Unfortunately," She stated. "There's still something that is not entirely finished."
Both subordinates had puzzled and shocked looks on their faces. There's something they didn't complete? What could it be? They couldn't think of anything that seemed incomplete. All seem to go according to as planned. What is it that they could possibly not have finished?
Lavendra could read their faces like two open books.
"Tell me, Neon," She said. "Where is it that Sora, Balto, and Mooneye are again?"
Neon stops thinking and quickly replies:
"They're in one of the lands' booby traps, Your Majesty – getting crushed by their own pathetic emotions. I can't possibly see them being wretched pests to us, anymore. They're being tortured right now, as it is; quite fascinating that the enemy is doing the job for us if you think of it."
Kie laughed.
"Yeah, you're right about that, Neon," She said. "The poor and defenseless are torturing their rescuers…talk about ironic!"
They continued to chuckle at the thought of Sora, Balto, and Mooneye being crushed by the weight of their emotions. Lavendra, on the other hand, still looked serious and cleared her throat loud enough to get Neon and Kie's attention again.
"Nevertheless," She said clearly. "They could still come and ruin my plan of ultimate domination. I want the two of you to stay here and make sure that never happens. I've waited far too long for this moment, and I don't want it to be smashed into a million pieces by a foul little boy and his miserable mutts! This is do or die! Nothing more, nothing less. Can I count on you both to guard this door with your very lives!?"
Both Neon and Kie bowed, once again.
"Of course you can count on us, Your Majesty," Neon said. "We would not dare dream of those imbeciles walking through that door."
"We shall fight to the very end, if we have to," Kie said. "Believe me, Your Majesty – they will not even stick a toe on the other side of that door. I give you my word."
"Good," Lavendra said, satisfied. "Now, if you all don't mind, it's about time I open my door to destiny."
With that said, she turned around, turns both doorknobs, and pulls open the door. A blind flash of white light appeared once the double-doors were ajar. Lavendra could hear the cries of anger and fear inside. She then started to chuckle. Soon, it turned into an evil laugh. Eventually, the laugh became even higher as Lavendra walked inside; the doors closed right behind her…
As he continues to lie on the cold floor (due to the mysterious high force of gravity holding him), Sora felt lost. Everything seemed so confused to him now; two of his best friends have joined the forces of darkness – along with his worst enemy he thought was destroyed by the light of Kingdom Hearts. Both of them claimed that the darkness isn't as bad as it's thought to be; they learn to control it and make it the way they wanted it to be. Sora just couldn't believe this. He thought for sure that Riku and Kairi knew better not to trust the darkness. It's just pretending to obey them, but deep down, it's actually the darkness that's controlling them.
Sora moves his eyes up at Riku, Kairi, and Ansem, who were giving him disgusting looks – like he was just a pile of trash nobody has bothered to throw away. Kairi sighs and shakes her head of disbelief.
"Why Sora…?" She asked. "Why can't you just open your heart so you could have the same power as us? Think of all the good things we could do for all the worlds out there. We could finally end pain, hunger, sorrow, hatred and possibly even death. Don't you care?"
"I do," Sora said. "But using the darkness isn't the right way to do it! You can't trust it, Kairi! Think back to what happened to Riku! We almost lost him, thanks to the darkness and Ansem! He only used Riku as his puppet so he could bring out more darkness!"
Riku shook his head and laughs.
"You still don't get it, do you, Sora?" He said. "I chose to be Ansem's puppet so he could show me how to control the darkness."
"Your friend is right, Sora," Ansem said. "He was my apprentice. I taught everything he needs to know about the darkness – how to control it and how to use it well. I could teach you too, Sora. Sadly, you still understand NOTHING of its amazing power!"
Sora remained silent after hearing all that. None of this made any sense to him. He couldn't remember Kairi ever wanting to use the darkness for anything. She knew that the darkness was bad and shouldn't be messed with. Riku did want to use the darkness, but only to save Kairi; and eventually, it started to overpower him, turning him against his friends; then it made him into Ansem's puppet. Riku never wanted that. After he was free from Ansem, he helped Sora closed Kingdom Hearts – while he and King Mickey were on the other side, where all the remaining darkness lingers…
Riku, Kairi, and Ansem continue to stare coldly at Sora. Riku looked as though he was ready to spit on Sora's wolf muzzle and leave. Kairi gave a hurt expression – like the Sora she once knew no longer exists. And, worst of all, Ansem gave a look of triumph that he had stolen Sora's two best friends away from him and made them his own puppets; Sora was filled with rage that he wanted get up and pounce Ansem, and rip his face to shreds with his own teeth.
"We have seen enough, children," Ansem said, turning around to leave. "Let us leave this…beast to do what he pleases. As for us, we still have very important matters to attend to."
Then he walked off. Riku and Kairi went to follow him, not without giving one last dirty glare to their ex-best friend.
"C'mon, Kairi – let's leave wolf-boy to scratching himself and howling at the moon." Riku said walked off as well.
Kairi shook her head and sighs.
"I thought I knew you better, Sora…" She muttered.
Then she went to follow Riku and Ansem; Sora wanted to run after them, but the high presser of the gravity was keeping him from doing so. Suddenly, he felt himself being pulled down to the ground, even more.
What's wrong with me? He thought. Why is this all happening? It just doesn't make sense at all. Whatever reason it is, I can't let Riku and Kairi leave with Ansem.
Sora could only shout out to them.
"Wait!!! Don't go!!!"
Riku and Kairi stopped and look back at Sora, with smiles of satisfaction on their faces – thinking that they finally got through to him.
Mooneye just lies on ground as his father continues to abuse him of how much a failure he is. The more Mooneye listens, the more pressure he felt his body sticking to the cold ground – like a piece of metal sticking on to a powerful magnet. Tears continue to leave his eyes, creating a little puddle beside his head. If there was anything Mooneye was ashamed of, it was being a fool to his father.
All his life, Mooneye wanted to be just as powerful and amazing as his father – the man who took down the evil witch, Lavendra, single handedly. When he was a kid/pup, Mooneye taught himself sword-fighting with a wooden stick, counting the days till the Wolfblade rightfully belongs to him. There were also times Huttser would train Mooneye properly on how to fight with a sword. When they weren't training to fight, Huttser would train Mooneye to observe with his magical eye.
In their wolf forms, both father and son would be sitting on a mountaintop, looking at a clear view of a meadow. From above, they could only see tiny dots moving – but using their magical moon-colored eyes (and with lots of practice for Mooneye); they could see that the tiny dots were a herd of caribou – as though they were actually sitting on the clear valley.
Mooneye always felt so happy when he's learning everything from his father. Although, there were times when he would struggle with something – which is, of course, natural to young beginners, but Mooneye would always take it hard on himself. He's the son of a mighty warrior! He shouldn't struggle with anything! Mooneye always felt his father was ashamed of him whenever he messed up with something.
Now, all of Mooneye's feelings about his father were true; Huttser looks darkly at his weakling-of-a-son – a look that could possibly rip Mooneye's head off, if looks could actually kill, that is.
"Get up!" Huttser demanded. "Get up – now!"
"I…can't…" Mooneye gasped. "Some powerful force is pulling me down, keeping me from getting up."
Huttser's face just got even redder.
"Excuses – excuses…! That's all you were ever good at – making excuses for yourself, proving to me how unreliable you are!!"
"But – Father…" Mooneye began. "I never once made an excuse about anything to you. And I'm not making one, now. I am stuck and I can't get up. Please, Father – I'm begging you – help me!"
Huttser's expression has never changed while hearing his son's plea; he showed no attention of helping Mooneye. He just stood there, staring darkly into Mooneye's eyes.
"Help yourself, weakling," Huttser said coldly. "What good would it do if I get you back on your four paws? I think it's a good time for you to try to discover a hidden power in that eye of yours – help you stand up again…if you could, that is…"
Seeing his father's expression, Mooneye knew he had no choice but try to find a hidden power in his magical eye that could possibly help him get free of this mysterious force. Hot tears were forming as he tried to concentrate hard enough to discover the power he needed; he thought his eye was going to melt right out of his socket, if he keeps this up. The high stress was keeping Mooneye from seeing clearly. Soon, he saw nothing but clouded images. Aching in pain, Mooneye kept on focusing to find a clear picture – showing him something that could get him back on his feet again.
Finally, Mooneye could see clearly at something from his magical eye. It was Sora. Mooneye could see that he was lying on the ground – by the looks of it, Sora's stuck to the ground as well. Mooneye then got a look to what Sora was staring at…
What are they doing here? He thought. And what are doing with Sora? Don't they know who he is? They should be helping him out of that inferno force.
Then, without warning, Mooneye's vision changed from Sora to Balto. He too was stuck to the ground, staring at…
Them again? What do they want with Sora and Balto? Wait…! Is this part of the task? Is this high force keeping us from accomplishing it? Or are we suppose to figure out something to escape this force – that's actually the task itself?
The vision of Balto disappeared. Mooneye then looks back at his father…with a wide stare.
No…! Mooneye thought. It can't be…! It wasn't…? It never was… It was all just a… Now I really am a fool! Well…not anymore! Time for some payback!
Huttser continue to stare at Mooneye, waiting for to do anything to get himself up.
"Well – are you gonna get up or are you planning to make me feel ashamed, even more!?"
Then, with a great surprise, Huttser heard his son chuckle, eventually turning into a high laugh.
"I would still make you feel ashamed," Mooneye stated when he stopped. "But now I know I could no longer do that…because the fact is: you're not my father!"
Huttser's eyes widen of shock.
"What are you talking about, son!?" He exclaimed, outraged. "Of course I'm your father! I may no longer be proud of it, but I still am!!"
"NO YOU'RE NOT!!!" Mooneye yelled. "You never were my father!! You're an imposter!!"
Huttser gasped and started shaking as he backed away. Mooneye expressed a grin.
"I should've realized it from the very beginning," Mooneye began, feeling the mysterious force lighten up a little. "My real father would never be so hard on me, no matter how much I failed on something."
He then tried to raise his body up; slowly, but surely, the high force of the gravity was weakening. The fake Huttser continued to back away from him.
"My father knew how hard it was for him to master the eye," Mooneye continued, trying to stand on all four paws. "It took him years to learn it all – just as much it is for me, as well! He felt no shame of it! And he never showed shame to me when I couldn't control the eye at all! He would always tell me to keep holding on – to never give up on mastering it!"
Mooneye was now standing tall and proud. The mysterious high force of gravity was completely off of him.
"My father was always proud of me and my accomplishments," Mooneye still continued on, staring angrily at his fake father. "It was my fears that blinded me from all of that – and created you! But now, thanks to my eye, I could see clearly now on what you really are: my fears!"
The imposter stops walking back and looks down to the ground; a slight chuckle immerged from him.
"Very good, Mooneye," He said. "Well done. You have discovered the true me – and past the first part of the task. Unfortunately, in order to get through this task…"
The fake Huttser summoned a Wolfblade – almost the same as Mooneye's – but slightly different. The Wolfblade was silver, carved with a fierce wolf's head on the tip, and dangling on the keychain was a raven.
"…you'll have to defeat me. And I can insure you; I know every skill and ability your father has. You are up to the task?"
Mooneye immediately summoned his own Wolfblade after the imposter had just finished. His wolf ears were pinned back and his tail was moving slowly and swiftly – and his Wolfblade held firmly in his mouth.
"Bring it!!"
With a smirk, the fake Huttser attacked. The battle had begun.
Balto could only close his eyes – not wanting to look at dark creatures that were once his family and friends. They were a result that he was too late to stop Lavendra and her subordinates; she has tooken over everything now and turned it all into darkness. Balto wanted to believe that this was all a dream – that none of this was real. He was hoping that when he opens his eyes, the dark forms of Jenna, Kodi, Boris, Steele, and everybody else were gone. However, sadly, they were still there when Balto shot his eyes open. Each of them continued to snarl at him.
"You can't get rid of us, Balto!" roared the dark form of Jenna. "We're all here to stay! We wanna make you suffer the same exact way we're suffering now!"
"Yeah, we even begged Lavendra to turn you into a Heartless, too!" Kodi shouted. "But she said there was no need to make you experience the suffering, Dad – she told us you've already suffered enough!!"
"What a joke that is," growled the dark form of Steele. "You have no idea how it is to be…a monster!! We have no will anymore; EVERYTHING is controlled by HER!!!"
He then started panting – a pant that sent a chill up Balto's spine. Steele was giving a look of a rabid dog, wanting to rip Balto into shreds and taste his blood for satisfaction. Balto soon noticed he wasn't the only one giving that look; everybody else was in a pounce stance, panting heavily and monstrously. He tried to his best get up, but, once again, he couldn't. It was as though all his strength was completely gone. All Balto could do is either to witness or shut his eyes as his love ones rip him to shreds. He chose neither.
"I'm sorry…" Balto began. "I'm sorry for failing all of you. I made a promised that I'd stop Lavendra and save Nome, but I couldn't; I couldn't stop her in time. I broke my promise – the only promise I couldn't keep. Now, more than anything, I wish for a second chance to fulfill that promise. All of you mean everything to me, especially you, Jenna. It pains me that I failed you and you hate my guts; and the fact of what has become of you, now. I'll do whatever I can to make it right again – and this time, I attend to keep this promise, for sure!"
Everyone stared at him in silence for about a minuet. Then, one by one, high laughs erupted – as though Balto had told them the funniest joke, all day.
"You're sorry!?" chuckled Boris.
"It pains you that you failed me!?" mocked Jenna. "That's a good one!"
"You'd try to make everything right again!?" laughed Steele. "Wake up, mutt!! There's NOTHING you could do now!!! Lavendra is, by far, powerful than you could ever imagine, wolfdog!!! You screwed up your chance to finish her off when you could!!! Now, it's all over – there's nothing left, no hope at all, thanks to you, mutt!!!"
Balto felt himself being pulled down to ground, far more. It felt like he was carrying a ton of weight on his back and it seems that more and more are being added. He was breathing hard due to the lack of oxygen he's receiving. The dogs were all getting closer to him with teeth bared (Boris just stood back to watch), and their eyes glowing yellow.
"Enough waiting," Steele said. "Let's just give this half-breed what he deserves!"
"Yeah, it's time we finish this!!" Kodi shouted. "If Lavendra isn't going to make you suffer, Dad – then we'll make sure you do!!"
Jenna was the first to get close to Balto. He looks up at her, seeing a full set of sharp and long fangs that she's never had before.
"Goodbye, darling," She said, coldly. "It'll be over before you know it…although I could possibly break that promise!"
Balto said nothing; he just closed his eyes. He did not want to see his mate sink her unnaturally long fangs into his fur. He just prayed that it all will be over soon…
Wherever you are, wherever you may be
I'll be waiting for you, for now and forever
Praying for your safety and triumph, and your courage continue to burn strong
No matter how long it takes – no matters what happens
I'll keep holding on
I'll stay strong
There's nothing that could be said!
Nothing could be done!
Nothing that could ever stop me from loving you, Balto: my true guardian angel
Ahhhhheeeooooooooooowwww!
Balto's eyes flew open; he had just heard a beautiful melody that sounded from afar. Someone was howling to him – a howl of song. It may not be exactly words he hears, but it's the howling that's making sound like it is. Balto looks up at everyone; they seem not to have heard the howling. Was he just imagining it then? Is his mind playing tricks on him before his love ones devourer him?
Soon, Balto hears the same howling melody again. Then something clicked inside his head that had nothing to do with him turning crazy. He recognizes the howl now! He should've known he'd recognized it anywhere!
Jenna…!
It was Jenna, all right – but not the dark Jenna that was inches away from tearing Balto's throat out. It was the Jenna he knew and loved. She had been howling to him all the way from Nome.
Even from afar, I know you're well
I can still hear your heart beating proudly
Your spirit keeping you sane and brave
Your love for me and everyone burning strong
Your determination to beat the evil is going
Being with you, I'm no longer scared
I'm no longer scared
I'll keep holding on!
I'll stay strong!
There's nothing that could be said!
Nothing could be done!
Nothing that could ever stop me from loving you!
Ahhhhheeeooooooooooowwww!
The dark forms were just about a few inches from biting into Balto's skin – growling and licking their chops like a pack of wild dogs, but Balto didn't pay attention to any of them. He was still focused on hearing the rest of the song.
I know you're strong to face whatever stands in your way
There's nothing that could keep you from fulfilling your quest
With all the love from your friends and family, you'll make it through okay
And with my scarf around your neck, you know my light and love is with you!
Ahhhhheeeooooooooooowwww!
Jenna…it's actually you! Balto thought. Another tear fell down his furry cheek, but this time, it was a tear of happiness. The real you!! You're alright!! You're giving me hope again!! Thank you…my guardian angel of the Northern Lights.
Suddenly, he felt the warm comfort of mate from the red bandanna; even from far away, Balto knows that Jenna is right by his side, forever and always – no matter what! Then he also realized of what the Jenna that's in front of him and the hungry-looking canines really are!
The dark creatures chuckled evilly.
"Any last words, before we sink our fangs into you, wolfdog?" Steele asked.
"Yeah, this isn't real," Balto said with a confident smirk. "None of you are real! You never were!"
The dark Steele and Jenna rolled their eyes.
"Must you keep telling us that, Balto?" Jenna said with annoyance and anger. "You know PERFECTLY well that this is all real!! You failed!! You didn't stop Lavendra on time!! And now look at us!! Isn't that proof enough for you!?"
Balto chuckled, then it turned to a high laugh. Everyone gave puzzled looks to eachother. Next thing, Balto is starting to get up; the high force of gravity, for some reason, was weakening.
"At first, it was, Jenna," He said, saying the name with full of doubt as he was slowly getting back on all four paws. "I felt for sure that I have failed you all, but after hearing my real mate singing to me, I know now – without a doubt – that I haven't failed them yet, because none of you are them!"
Balto was now standing proudly. All of his fears have completely vanished and the high gravity is fully off of him. Everyone was shocked to see him standing.
"What are you saying?" The dark Jenna asked. "That I was singing to you!? I wasn't singing any song!"
"That's right," Balto said. "It's because you're not the Jenna I know and love! You're an imposter – just like the rest of you all! The Jenna I know would never blame me for failing anything and continues to love and support me; that's what keeps me determined to finish what I started! And that goes for everybody else who knows me!"
The dark creatures stopped snarling and took a few steps back away from the hybrid; they all showed grins of approval.
"Very good, Balto," said the fake Jenna.
"You have seen through us all," said the fake Steele.
"Now you know what we truly are," came the fake Boris.
"We are proud to know that the love of your mate has broken your fears," said the fake Kodi.
"And now, you have only one last thing to do to fully complete this task and meet up with your friends," said the fake Jenna.
After hearing that, Balto saw that rest of the dark creatures has disappeared. Only the fake Jenna, Steele and Kodi remain.
"You must defeat us all!!" They said in unison.
Balto was in his battle stance, as were the rest of the dark creatures.
"Are you ready?" They asked.
"Yes," Balto replied.
They all attacked.
"Well, Sora, do you have a clear picture of what the power of darkness could do for us?" Kairi asked when she faced him.
Sora looks at her and had his mouth open, but no words were coming out. She, Riku, and Ansem were staring at him, waiting for his answer. Riku crossed his arms and starts tapping the ground with his right foot.
"While we're still young," He said impatiently.
"Now, now, Riku," Kairi said. "Let's have him think it over for a minuet – let him fantasize of all the wonders the darkness could do for everyone."
"Young Princess Kairi speaks wisely," Ansem said; putting his hands on top of Riku's and Kairi's shoulders. "The boy should have the pleasure of visioning the worlds, once it's all ruled by darkness; see how wonderful it all will be."
Sora felt an enormous growl coming up from his throat; this wasn't the reason why he called them back.
"NO!!!" He shouted in anger. "I will not vision what everything would look like when there's nothing but darkness!! I didn't call you guys back for that!! I called you back because I didn't want you leaving with him!!!"
Sora said the last word like he just tasted rotten filth. Kairi, Riku, and Ansem gave, once again, disappointed and irritated looks.
"Why do we waist our time on you?" Riku said. "That's it! I've had it! Let's get out of here! Hope the darkness makes you see things through, wolf-boy!"
Kairi shook her before she turned around to follow.
"Some friend, you are…"
"HOLD IT!!!" Sora exclaimed.
His two friends stopped and turned around to face him, once again.
"Listen to yourselves," Sora stated. "This doesn't sound like you guys at all. You never used to be this way; we would always talk about exploring different worlds and meeting new people. We would always play together and draw pictures on the walls of the secret cave. Don't you remember any of that? You never once thought of using the darkness to change things. You both know that it's foolish to use the darkness on anything!! Don't listen to Ansem!! He's only telling you lies; the darkness WON'T make anyone happy! It'll just make them suffer!!"
Riku snorted.
"Yeah, nice try, Sora," He said. "But it won't work! You know what your problem is? You're blind!! That pathetic speck of light is blinding you from seeing the true power of the darkness – oh I don't have to repeat myself. If you don't want join us, then fine!! We'll just let you rot here then!! Let's get out of here, Kairi – before wolf-boy starts howling like a scared little puppy."
Kairi threw an angry glare at Sora.
"Riku's right; we shouldn't waste our time on you!!"
She turns to leave as well.
"Why do I still bother with you…" She muttered.
Sora felt himself being push down to the ground even more; the high force doesn't seem to end. Sora felt tears coming out of eyes.
What am I gonna do now? He thought. The darkness has complete control on them. And I can't do anything to save them! What is this thing that's pulling me down, anyway? Why can't I get up to help Riku and Kairi? Why are they acting this way? Why am I stuck to ground like glue? Wait! Didn't that vixen warn me about this? What did she say again?
Sora thinks back to what the vixen (The Cunning Trickster) said to him.
"Whatever you have to hide, will only weigh you down. Remember, you must lighten your heart if you want to complete the task." said the cunning fox.
Okay… Sora thought again. I guess the "weighing me down" part has to do with me being stuck on the ground. And I guess the only way for me to get up, is to release whatever I'm hiding. But what do I have to hide? I'm not hiding anything…am I?
Thinking really hard, he tries to figure out what he's hiding in his heart; so far, no luck.
Man, I've got nothing! What am I suppose to do now!? Ansem has Riku and Kairi in his dark and dirty hands – and they think darkness is good and light is bad! They're gonna turn everything to the Heartless! And I can't do anything about! All the hope the worlds have are now gone!
As if on cue, Sora felt the familiar force of gravity pulling down more. His body would soon be crushed by the giant invisible weight, if this keeps up!
Wait! That's it! I've got it! Of course that's what it means! That's not… Oh, I'm so stupid! I knew there was something going on!
Then Sora felt the high force of gravity getting a little lighter. He made a slight grin; he was right after all! There was just one thing left to do.
"Hey! Riku, Kairi, Ansem – come back!!" He called out.
The three dark followers turned their heads around and looked back at Sora. Each making a sigh of annoyance, they walked back to him.
"What is it now, wolfie?" Riku asked irritated. "Wanna protest about the darkness again? If that's the case, save your breath!"
"No matter what you say about the darkness, Sora, we're not gonna change our minds about it!" Kairi stated. "So just drop it, okay?"
"The children have already made up their minds, boy," Ansem said. "You can't force them to throw away the darkness."
"Oh no," Sora said. "I wasn't going to say that. I just…"
Right then, Sora pulled himself slowly back on his feet; the high gravity force lowered until Sora was on all four paws again. He was no longer stuck on the ground. Ansem, Riku, and Kairi gasped in horror; Sora smirked and summoned his trusty Keyblade.
"…Want to knock some sense into all three of you!" He finished; in his wolf battle stance.
The two best friends and worst enemy each made a smirk and chuckled.
"In other words, you want to see the true power of darkness, once more?" Ansem asked.
"If you put it that way, yes!!" Sora replied.
"Foolish boy…!" Ansem muttered, shaking his head.
Riku and Kairi looked at eachother with darks grins on their faces; next thing that happen, they both floated into the air and a massive amount of darkness entered their chests. After that, Riku's and Kairi's clothes changed into Heartless uniforms – with the Heartless symbols on their chests.
"Ready to show wolfie, here, our new powers, Kairi?" Riku asked, summoning his dark Keyblade.
"Yes, Riku," Kairi agreed, summoning a dark Keyblade – with a keychain of a dark version of her good luck charm, dangling on it. "Let's show him!"
Ansem chuckled; he was very proud of them.
"You still don't get it, you weak-minded fool," He said to Sora. "As I said before, every light must fade – EVERY HEART RETURNE TO DARKNESS!!!"
On cue, the dark creature – known as Ansem's Dark Guardian – Sora has faced before appeared right behind Ansem's back. The three-on-one battle had begun.
Riku and Kairi were the first to strike; Sora used his Keyblade to block both attacks and started slashing Riku on his right side. Kairi then strikes Sora hard, causing him to land a few feet away from them. Sora manages to block the upcoming Riku from attacking him with his dark Keyblade. Using his wolf abilities, Sora jumps back, away from Ansem's and Kairi's oncoming attack. Unfortunately, however, this was perfect for Riku; he then used his quick speed to strike Sora. It caused the lupine Keyblade wielder to fall to the ground hard. Before Sora could get back up, Ansem dashed right to him.
"SUBMIT!!"
His Dark Guardian strikes Sora and disappears into his body. Right then, Riku and Kairi started attacking! Sora tries to block their attacks and fight back, but the Dark Guardian would reappear and grab his neck and stomach for five seconds, which was enough time for the two dark warriors to unleash some attacks on him. The only thing Sora could do is avoid their attacks and try to strike Ansem, in order to get the Dark Guardian out of him. Thanks to his wolf legs, he easily avoided everyone's attacks and manages to cheat his way into striking Riku and Kairi with one quick move, every now and then.
Sora then made a high jump on the floating Ansem and unleashed a powerful combo, causing Ansem to call back his Dark Guardian.
"Good one, wolfie," Riku confessed.
"Thanks," Sora said. "You guys aren't doing so bad, yourselves, either!"
"Yeah, but…how long do you think you keep this up?" Kairi asked sinisterly.
"Just as long as it takes to clear your guys' heads!" Sora replied.
Ansem, once again, chuckled and shook his head.
"We'll just see about that, young Keyblade Wielder!"
"Yeah," Sora said. "We will see."
The battle continued on.
Mooneye and his fake father were giving everything they got to see the other fall; like he stated, the fake Huttser has the combat skills and abilities just like the real one. This isn't really much of a problem for Mooneye, though. He has learned everything from his father, so he knows what to block, avoid, and attack from. Both fighters were five feet away from eachother, breathing heavily from exhaustion. They have been fighting eachother for over an hour; each was carrying wounds all over their bodies.
Mooneye had a few scratches on his shoulders, front legs, and muzzle, but nothing too serious. The imposter didn't receive has much damage as Mooneye has – thanks to his body armor, but he did receive scratches and wolf bites on his face. Despite his minor injuries, the fake Huttser was weakening; he was close to falling down to his knees. A heavy smirk was placed on Mooneye's face.
"Getting tired, already?" He asked. "Wanna call it quits to save the humiliation?"
The imposter smirked and chuckled.
"Don't get overconfident, just because it looks like someone is down," He stated. "Isn't that one of the rules of battling your father taught you, Mooneye?"
"It sure is," Mooneye replied. "I might've sounded overconfident, but I'm not! I just want to be certain if you actually want to throw in the towel, before I start ramming my Wolfblade on you again!"
The imposter smirked again and stands up straight, staring into the black wolf's different-colored eyes.
"To answer your question," He stated. "No, I'm not finished yet. I just haven't shown my true strength, or in this case, your father's true strength!"
Mooneye didn't show any sign of surprise; he just kept his proud smirk on.
"It's about time, too," He said in such pride he hasn't felt in a long time. "I thought you'd never show it!"
Another grin appeared on the imposter's face.
"Ready?"
"Absolutely!"
Then, in a flash, both fighters charged and attacked; they each hit eachother's Wolfblades and jump a few feet away from eachother, continuously. To the naked eye, they looked like nothing but flashes of spicks hitting eachother and bouncing all over the place, but in reality: both Mooneye and the imposter were charging and fighting eachother, super fast! This continued on for about a minuet with no changes. They each were trying to strike the other with a quick slash, but the other would block the attack easily, leaving no damage. Finally, they pulled back and stopped, figuring it was pointless to keep going.
Man – this guy really does have the skills my father holds, Mooneye thought. I have to think of a different strategy to finally end this task.
He examines the imposter thoroughly; he was now in a stance that Mooneye was all too familiar with…
Oh no! He's going to release the final blow! Wait…that's it! Of course! If that guy has everything my father has and knows, then there's no doubt he has his weak-points, too!
The fake Huttser's Wolfblade had some blue energy source growing on the long blade; it kept growing and growing until it was twice the size of a basketball, on the Wolfblade's tip. A look of success was on his face.
"I assume that you already know what this is, Mooneye," He said.
"Yes, I do," Mooneye replied. "It's the Forest-Rain Attack: a sacred power of the high wolves – a sacred power to finish off even the most powerful enemy, sort of speaks."
"Correct," said the imposter. "And I also understand that you've yet to master it, yourself. The son of the mighty Wolfblade Wielder still has ways to go, I'm afraid."
"I'd be nothing but a fool to deny that," Mooneye said, still keeping his cool.
A slight smirk displayed on the fake Huttser's face.
"Too bad you'll never get the chance to learn it!!"
Huttser then rises up the Wolfblade, shouted: "FOREST-RAIN", and aimed the blade at Mooneye, unleashing a powerful spell. Spirits of many forest animals shot out of the Wolfblade's tip and ran fiercely toward the black wolf. Mooneye snorted before making a big leap over the powerful attack, landing right behind the imposter! The imposter only had time to gasp and turn around – after that, it was all over for him. Mooneye used his own Wolfblade to strike his fake father's Wolfblade out of his hand, sending it flying a few feet away from them, before landing hard on the ground. Before the Wolfblade even hit the ground, Mooneye sends a powerful strike to the imposter, causing to him to fall to his knees and finally fall onto the ground, completely.
The battle was finally over.
Mooneye puts away his Wolfblade and lets out a high, proud, victory howl. The imposter slowly got up, after Mooneye finished. The imposter then smiled at him and bowed down on one knee.
"Forgive me," He said, looking down. "You truly are the son of the great Huttser; you have mastered all your fears and doubts, replacing them greatly with courage and faith. I'm deeply sorry for putting you all through this, but…you must understand…I had to –"
"I know," Mooneye interrupted. "It is my duty to guard and protect the great door of Kingdom Wolves, and the only for me to do that: is to put all my fears and doubts aside. And I thank you for helping me with that…wolverine. Now, I ask you to change back to your true form; seeing you in the form you're in, makes my heart ach."
"But of course,"
A bright glow appeared throughout the fake Huttser's body; then in a quick second, his body had changed into wolverine.
"Thank you." Mooneye said.
Balto bit hard onto the fake Steele's neck, he hold on tight as Steele tries to shake him off; the fake Jenna and Kodi tries to bite onto Balto's hind-leg to get him off, but Steele kept moving, making it impossible for them to do the task. Steele then tries to crush Balto with his own weight; as though he was reading his mind, Balto cut loose of Steele's neck and jumped a foot away, before Steele made the pounce on him. It only had Steele hurting himself in the result. The enraged malamute was literally blowing steam through his nostrils, which caused Balto to make a satisfying grin.
"Had enough, 'Steele'?" He asked.
"No, not by a long shot, you filthy mutt!" replied the fake Steele.
Then he, Jenna and Kodi surrounded Balto. They've all been fighting him for over an hour, and the three of them still couldn't bring the wolfdog down! Balto had easily dodged most of their attacks – due to the fact that he knows most of his mate's, son's and friends' every dirty moves they have. Although, one of them would managed to grab hold of him and all three would start attacking, but Balto always manages to break free from their clutches by using his newfound powers. He would freeze them in time, before they did any serious damage to him, and unleashes some attacks on them. But, unfortunately, the time freeze power drains Balto's energy every time he uses it – so he has to rely on his instincts to defeat the three dark creatures.
Balto could see that the three imposters were breathing heavily as they circle him, showing that it's only a matter of time till they could no longer fight; Balto was going to sure that happens. He wasn't even close to collapsing from exhaustion. In fact, he feels as though he could keep up this battle, all day long; as though something was feeding him energy and continues to do it. Balto knew there's a source, and it's resting right around his neck…
"You're a tough one to beat," said the fake Kodi. "You know that?"
"A hard shell to crack, that's more like it," said the fake Jenna.
"Funny," came dark Steele as well. "You wasn't like this when we first saw you, mutt. What's with the change?"
"It's because my real mate is giving me all the power I need to get through all of this, so I can finish my quest and go home to her," Balto replied. "Her heart is feeding my heart with all her love and faith for me to defeat you three impersonators, find my friends, and bring down the witch that murdered my mother!"
The three imposters stopped and made evil chuckles.
"Let's just see how much 'power' your mate has giving you, then, shall we?" mocked the fake Jenna, darkly.
She and the other two were in their pouncing stances; Balto was on his guard now. A second later, all three charged at him. Balto just barely avoided their collision, which resulted them bumping into eachother. Now, it was Balto's turn. He pounced and tackled Kodi, head on – causing the dark husky to fly right into the fake Jenna. Steele, unfortunately, took this as an opportunity to grab hold of Balto's neck and starts pounding him onto the ground like an old rag doll, continuously. After pounding him nearly a dozen times, Steele let goes of Balto, who was dizzy and badly hurt.
Barely able to keep himself from falling and could hardly get a clear vision of what he's looking at, Balto kept his grounds as he possibly could. The three dark canines sniggered as they walked toward him; their fangs were fully shown, ready to into bite into the nearly defenseless wolfdog. Due to the heavy pounding, Balto thinks he's seeing five or six copies of Jenna, Steele, and Kodi. He shakes his head to try to see things clear again, backing away as the imposters get close to him. Steele made another sinister chuckle.
"Having a hard time seeing things clearly, huh, Balto?" He said. "A good number of bumps on the head could do that to someone – even to a stubborn old mutt who doesn't know when to quit!"
Balto smirk, getting his vision cleared up.
"Hate to disappoint you," He said. "But I never quit on anything!"
He then charged and pounced on the fake Steele, who went flying backwards on to the ground. The dark Jenna and Kodi went to attack him, but Balto quickly grabbed hold of his fake son's neck and used him as a hard pillow to hit Jenna with. While all three were lying on the ground, Balto knew it's time to finish this; he grab hold of Steele and started pounding and biting, continuously. However, Kodi manages to get up and bit hard into Balto's neck – soon came Jenna, as well. Balto had no choice but to use the dirty tricks he learned from his old rival; he tries to shake them off and use his own weight to pound on them, but the two imposters just won't let go.
Balto felt his legs getting weak from exhaustion. Guess he couldn't keep this up all day if he had to, after all. Steele manages to get up and made another dark, sinister chuckle; Jenna and Kodi have pinned Balto down.
"Well, looks like I get the last laugh, weakling," Steele sniggered, making a pounce position, once again. "Time to say bye-bye!"
With those last words said, Steele made his charge and was just about to take down the helpless wolfdog – but, astonishingly, that didn't happen. A second before the fake Steele even manages to get his long fangs into Balto's fur, a huge flash of blinding, white light appeared throughout the hybrid's body. Suddenly, Balto felt that he's gaining extra strength; he felt like he could not only defeat the three dark creatures, but also take down Lavendra as well. With this strength, Balto pushed the two imposters off of him, sending them flying even higher before they hit the hard ground.
All of them gasped; their eyes wide open. Balto smirked, once more, before attacking them with amazingly combos. He felt sort of bad that he's hurting the imposters that look so much like his mate and son, but he kept telling himself that they're not his real love ones. Now, the only one that remains was the fake Steele. The malamute growled loudly and charged at him. Balto quickly avoided him and bit hard into his top neck. Steele yelled in pain as Balto starting pounding him like a big old teddy bear on the hard ground – and threw him to the remaining beaten up imposters like a bowling ball hitting two remaining pens.
Balto breathed heavily of finally taking down the dark creatures that were impersonating his love ones. The task was done. Just then, the dark creatures slowly got up to their feet and slowly walked up to him. Balto bared his teeth.
"What will it take just to have you guys realized this battle is finished?" He growled.
The three imposters said nothing; Balto was ready for whatever sneak attacks they're planning to do. But no sneak attack ever came – the dark creatures bowed their heads to him.
"You win, Master Balto," they announced in unison with their heads still down. "You've truly passed the second task real well. Please forgive us for putting you through this dreadful circumstance."
Balto felt at ease at this.
"I will," He said. "Now show me your true selves and tell me why you did all this."
The fake Steele, Jenna, and Kodi looked up and nodded; then a quick flash appeared all around them, and revealed their true forms. Balto now knew who they were; he had met them before.
"Wolverines…"
Now, back to Sora's battle with Riku, Kairi, and Ansem; the young Keyblade-wielding lupine had given the dark former Wise Man a few good combos – and was easily avoiding the Dark Guardian's touch, too. Riku and Kairi, however, were a bit of a problem. They both have fully awaken their dark powers and were causing chaos; Riku was in high speed and unleashed some hard attacks on Sora – while Kairi, who had grown gargoyle-like wings on her back, was giving him powerful aerial attacks up in the air.
"How do you like me now, Sora?" She asked after unleashing an aerial combo on him. "Don't you think the darkness makes me look more beautiful than I was, before?"
Sora felt a high growl growing in his throat as he gets back on all four paws.
"No!" He yelled. "It just makes you look stupid and ugly!"
That resulted in receiving a Darkball and a powerful combo by Riku.
"Don't you ever talk to Kairi like that, got it!?" Riku exclaimed. "Or you'll have me to deal with, wolf-boy!"
After using his cure spell on himself, Sora growled at him.
"Bring it then!" He shouted.
Riku made a battle cry as he literally zipped his way to give a good pound to Sora; Sora dodged his attack and gave a few combos to Riku's left side. Kairi swept quickly to rescue her fellow dark friend; she made a few good swings with her Keyblade, giving Sora some hard hits, and sending him flying away from Riku.
"Thanks, Kairi," Riku said after getting back on his feet.
"Not a problem," Kairi said. "That's what Sora gets for calling me ugly!"
They both looked at their ex-best friend, trying to think of what good attack would do the job of finishing him off. Soon, Kairi snapped her fingers of thinking the perfect one. She whispered the plan to Riku, who laughed after hearing it.
"Good one, Kairi," He said. "There's no doubt it'd work!"
Then he and Kairi put their Keyblades together, making them in the shape of an X. Soon, purple electricity was formed throughout both of the blades. Both Keyblades have stick together as Riku grabbed hold of it. Sora was cautious; he had a slight idea what's gonna happen next.
"Hey, wolfie," Riku shouted, blowing whistles like calling a dog. "Wanna play fetch? Here – fetch THIS!!"
He threw the combined blades at the young wolf; Sora dodged it in time and figured it's a good enough time to unleash some combos on his two dark friends. He barely managed to give one hit to Riku and Kairi – sadly, the dark-powered Keyblades were used like a boomerang, and went right back to Sora, giving him a good blow to the head.
"AHHH!" Sora yelled in pain as he fell to the ground.
He barely even got the chance to get back up when the boomerang struck him again, sending him flying a few inches and landing the ground, hard. Riku and Kairi laughed from their accomplishment; Ansem, who was watching the whole time, was quite impressed. After hitting Sora a few more times, the boomerang went straight back to their masters, becoming Keyblades once more. Sora was struggling to get back on his paws, but he couldn't; he had received heavy damage from each blow. Riku casually walks up to Sora, bending down on one knee to get a good look at his ex-friend's injuries.
"Aww, is the little puppy hurt?" He asked in a baby-mock tone of voice. "Was his new toy too rough for him? Does he want another one? Do you, Sora? Do ya? Do ya? Do ya?"
He kept tapping Sora's head as he said that. Sora's wolf instincts were yelling at him to rip Riku's arm off and start chewing on it. But, instead, he just made a threatening growl. Riku laughed and removed his hand from Sora.
"I wouldn't be growling, if I were you," He said. "You're in no condition to fight back – not like you always were, anyway. We just wanted to 'play' with you, just to show you powerful we are!"
Kairi walked up right next to Riku.
"Since you've seen our new powers, Sora," She said. "What do you think of us, now?"
"Do I have to keep repeating myself?" Sora said as he got back up. "You should already know what I think of you both!"
Riku hit him with a Darkball, before Sora even got a chance to react. Sora fell to the ground again. It was now Ansem's turn to say something.
"After everything you've just witnessed from your friends, you're still too stubborn to accept the fact that darkness rules over all things?" He said when bent down to a good look at the Keyblade Master's wolf eyes. "You still understand nothing, because that's what you are: NOTHING! Nothing but a miserable little kid that enjoys playing the hero, everywhere he goes – wanting to help those who are in trouble, and beat up the ones who cause trouble. Why, without that Keyblade, you truly are nothing! You wouldn't stand a chance against anyone. They'll just simply push you away – and you wouldn't be able to help anyone!
"However, with the darkness on your side," continued Ansem. "You will not need the Keyblade as a weapon. The darkness IS your weapon! It is EVERYTHING: You can do anything you ever vision of doing; you could even help all the words – make them the way you wanted them to be. End those that doesn't please you. And most important of all, make everybody happy. So, I'm going to ask you, Sora, one last time: Will you open your heart to let the darkness in and join us of saving all the worlds?"
Ansem gave Sora a moment to let this all sink in, though it wasn't really necessary; Sora already had his answer; he was just waiting for Ansem to shut up so he could say it.
"My answer is just the same as it always been," He said as got back on all four paws. "No! No! No! NO!! Not in a million years will I open my heart to the darkness, because I know everything you told me is just a lie! The darkness will not make anything happy. It'll just make them greedy, selfish, and cruel! No good will ever come from the darkness, ever! And that's all I'll say about darkness, 'cause I'm sick of saying the same thing, over and over again!"
Angry glares were displayed on the three dark users; all of them had their weapons ready.
"Then let the darkness put you out of your misery, you sightless fool!" Ansem cried.
He, Riku, and Kairi, once again, charged at Sora and giving everything they got, no longer holding anything back.
"FETCH THIS, WOLF-BOY!!" Riku exclaimed as he threw the dark boomerang at Sora.
Sora was quick at dodging the boomerang, this time; he dashed as the thing went after him. If things couldn't get any worse, Ansem was having his Dark Guardian to attack him again. Sora just barely avoided being touched by the Guardian's long, creepy hand – and being pounded by the boomerang. Ansem, Riku, and Kairi watched in amusement.
"C'mon, Sora," Riku yelled out. "We all know you can't dodge them forever! Even a wolf needs a breather, every now and then!"
"It's your own fault that this has to happen, Sora," Kairi called out. "We could've avoided all of this, if you just join us!"
"Do not waste your breath, children," Ansem said. "It was that fool's actions that caused this and his alone. Let's just witness our sacred darkness destroy him!"
Sora was soon slowing down; he knew it was pointless to continued running like this. He had to think of something to get both the Dark Guardian and the Dark Boomerang off his tail.
Think, Sora, think, He thought as he continued running. What could stop those things from chasing me? Wait! That's it! If those things could hit me, why not their… Aye, why does it always take me forever to figure things out? Okay – here goes nothing!
He took a sharp turn and went straight toward Riku, Kairi and Ansem, with the Dark Guardian and the Dark Boomerang catching up to him. Nobody saw it coming as the Dark Boomerang gave a hard blow to Riku and Kairi as it continues to chase Sora, who laughed at his accomplishment. With even more angry glares, Riku and Kairi summoned their Keyblades to return to normal and brought back to them.
"Cleaver one, Sora," Kairi said. "But don't go thinking you got us beat by our own game. We still have one more trick to show you."
"Hey, Ansem," Riku called out. "You think it's about time we show wolfie-boy our darker magic?"
"Why, I believe it is, Riku," Ansem replied with smirk on his face. "LET US UNITE!"
Closing their eyes, all three dark warriors lifted themselves high up into the air while holding eachother's hands; Sora's mouth was open as he saw purple mist all over Riku's, Kairi's, and Ansem's bodies. Next, their eyes turned purple too when they finally open them.
"Awake, our precious shadows," They said in a mystic-like tone.
And then, three of their shadows went to the ground and disappeared. Sora knew what was coming next.
"AHHH!"
Before he could do anything, Sora was attacked hard by Riku's shadow that shot out from the ground and hit him in the gut; then came Ansem's shadow – sending a powerful blow to Sora than Riku's. And last was Kairi's – giving Sora a blow that took him up into the air and landing on the ground hard. After getting back on his paw and quickly healing himself, Sora made a break for it. He managed to avoid all of the shadows' attacks as his wolf legs kept running. Riku, Kairi, and Ansem were laughing at his foolish tactic.
"When will you learn?" Ansem asked. "It is futile to keep fighting against the darkness. It's better for all of us for you to give up now, boy!"
"Yeah, Sora – just throw in the towel already," shouted Riku. "You should know better than to keep running away! Just let our shadows finish you off so we can get this over with!"
"There's no point of denying it any longer, Sora," came Kairi. "It's over! You're finished! Darkness will always prevail! Deal with it, already! You can't beat our shadows now – they disappear into the ground right after they attack! Your Keyblade would be able to even touch them!"
"Your friend is correct, once again, Sora," Ansem said. "That wretched Keyblade of yours is useless to you now – and so is your wolf ability! You've lost!"
"Guess again!" Sora shouted to them.
He then stops to a halt and lefts up his head.
"RISE!" He howled.
The next second, the three shadows popped out of the ground, looking really dazed. Sora then wasted no time to unleash powerful attacks on all three.
"WHAT!? NO!!" Ansem, Riku, and Kairi shouted in unison.
All three shadows were destroyed and vanished. Sora showed a bright smirk to Riku, Kairi, and Ansem.
"What was it you three were saying again?" He asked mockingly.
Furious glares were on all three faces; then they shouted angry cries as they dove in to destroy the lupine Keyblade Wielder. Just as Ansem made the first strike, Sora quickly dodged it and hit him hard on the face with his Keyblade. The former Wise Man was sent flying to the hard ground. Sora avoided Riku's and Kairi's attacks as he made his way toward Ansem, unleashing powerful combo attacks on him while he was down.
"Get away from him, you stupid mutt!" Riku cried out.
The young dark warrior zoomed in and tried to strike the Keyblade wielding wolf, but Sora easily dodged him and gave Riku a power swing at his gut. With both his eyes and mouth wide open, Riku slowly sank down to his knees and onto the ground. He was finished.
Ansem got back on to his feet and saw what Sora has done to Riku.
"How DARE you do that to my faithful apprentice!" He exclaimed. "Be gone, you filthy wretched being!"
Ansem then shot out a laser beam at Sora. Sora immediately dodged it by using his wolf abilities to jump out of the way and run toward the dark-follower, giving one last powerful attack with his Keyblade. Ansem fell down to the ground, trying to get back up, but it was no use – Ansem fell back down, completely unable to get back up again.
It was only Sora and Kairi now. The two stared coldly at eachother as they circled around.
"Ready to end this, Sora?" Kairi asked, holding her Keyblade firmly in both hands.
"Now more than ever!" Sora replied, making his wolf battle stance.
Kairi smirked; and then they battled. They both were dodging and blocking eachother's Keyblades for about five minuets; finally, Sora got through Kairi's block and strikes her. Kairi immediately regained herself and used her gargoyle wings to fly back up to the air. Sora then immediately jumps and attacks her, giving her every blow he could possibly give before landing on the ground. Kairi was sent falling back down; there, Sora unleashed even more attacks. Kairi fell down to her knees and lost her Keyblade, unable to use it to strike her ex-best friend. Sora held his Keyblade firmly in his mouth; one more hit should finally finish the job. Sora was about make the strike…
"No! Please, Sora!" Kairi begged. "You don't want to finish me off. I know you don't. You made a promise to me that you'll always protect me, no matter what! Are going to break that promise?"
Sora loosens his grip on the Keyblade, staring at Kairi.
"That's right, Sora," Kairi continued. "You don't want to hurt me. You never did. We're best friends. Think of all the things we used to do, together. We had so much fun: Drawing pictures on the walls of the Secret Cave, playing swordfights with eachother, dream of seeing other worlds, and, most important, enjoy eachother's company. Do you really want to throw all that away?"
Sora lowers his head from hearing all that.
"No," He replied. "I could never do that. Those are things I permanently keep in my heart, as well as all my friends. All the things I cherish go in there – things I never want to lose. And you're right, Kairi – I don't want to hurt you. My heart aches whenever my Keyblade strikes you or Riku. But you know what…"
Sora brings up his Keyblade and strikes his friend in the chest.
"…YOU'RE NOT KAIRI!" He yelled. "YOU'RE A FAKE, JUST AS MUCH AS THE RIKU AND ANSEM I FAOUGHT WITH!"
Without another word, Kairi (well…the fake Kairi) fell to ground. The battle was finally over. Sora puts away his trusty Keyblade.
"About time those fakes are finished…"
Yes, Sora knew they were all fakes, all along. He just didn't say anything because he thought this was part of the second tasks: Fight the ones who you cherish, and the ones you despise. Sora then takes a good look at the unconscious imposters.
"All right, cut the act," He said. "I know you've all been faking it. So just get up and show who you three really are!"
On command, the fake Ansem, Riku, and Kairi got up and bowed to him on one knee.
"Please, forgive us, mighty Keyblade holder," They said with their heads down. "We're very sorry for putting you through all this."
"Why did you?" Sora asked firmly. "And who exactly are you guys?"
All three stood up and changed into their original forms – wolverines.
"Okay, that's settled," Sora said. "Now tell me, what the heck was that whole thing about?"
Where we last left off with Mooneye, the wolverine was congratulating the Wolfblade wielder for a job well done.
"You have done well on learning to master, face, and defeat the very thing you fear the most, son of Huttser," He said, taking another bow. "I never expect any less from you."
"Thank you," Mooneye replied. "Now please tell me, has Lavendra opened Kingdom Wolves yet?"
The wolverine looks down.
"Well…yes and no," He replied. "It's only a matter of time till she gets her hands on controlling everything – we cannot let that happen."
"Then let me, Balto and Sora go and face her, now," Mooneye said. "We'll make sure Lavendra fails and we'll sure she's truly destroyed for good."
"None of us have any doubts that you three can stop Lavendra," said the wolverine. "We all have faith in you, the son of the great Aniu, and the young Keyblade wielder; it's just that you three need to take these tasks to better prepare yourselves for what your about to face. Not only that you three have to be physically strong, but spiritually strong, as well…"
"…Spiritually strong…?" Balto asked.
The three wolverines have been telling him the exact same thing the other wolverine was telling Mooneye.
"In other words, you need to let loose of all your fears, doubts, and weaknesses, and fill them with courage, faith, and valor," said one of the wolverines. "That is one step into stopping Lavendra and saving our beloved Kingdom Wolves."
"So, the whole reason why you all turned into the thing I fear more than anything else – is so I can learn to master and take down my fear?" Balto asked.
"Yes," They said. "We believe if you can master your deep fear, you can master almost anything."
"…Really? I could master almost anything?" Sora asked, a little speechless.
"Yes," one of the wolverines replied. "You have let go of the weight that's been keeping you down, far too long. When you thought you were witnessing the very thing that you fear, it weighed even more until you saw clear of what it was and fought back. All those things we've said – well, what you thought your enemy said – was just a test – a test to see if you're strong willed no matter what, and it gives pleasure to say that you've passed."
Sora felt both astonished and proud of himself; he always sticks to what he believes in and he never lets anyone or anything change it for him.
"Now, Keyblade wielder, you only have two more tasks to finish," said the wolverines.
"What!?" Sora asked, surprised. "More tasks!?"
The wolverines smirked and nodded.
"Yes, I'm afraid so," They replied. "But this time, you'll be accompanied by your friends again."
"You mean Balto and Mooneye?" Sora asked.
The wolverines nodded.
"But there's one thing I don't get: why do we have to do these task if Lavendra is close to reaching Kingdom Wolves?"
"So you three will be better prepared when the time comes to fight her," replied the wolverine. "You'd be able to see through her tricks, avoid her dirty tactics, and have no doubts on defeating her."
"Well – why won't you just help us fight her then?" Sora asked. "If you guys were strong enough to scare me and give me good hits, we could all beat Lavendra in no time!"
All three wolverines lowered their heads in shame.
"I'm afraid it doesn't work that way," replied the head wolverine. "We were only that strong because your fears thought that's how powerful we are. Lavendra is far too powerful and too intelligent to be fooled by us. We'd be useless to you. But you shouldn't worry; you're all incredibly far from being weak. And once you three have completed all the tasks, you all will have what it takes to stop her, for good."
Sora thought of this for a moment; what they said seemed true to him. The memory of Lavendra pushing him and Mooneye away like nothing had flown right into his head. If they're going to stop Lavendra, they need to be rightfully prepared in order to take her down – and prove they have what it takes to protect Kingdom Wolves.
"Yeah, you're right," Sora spoke at last, "These tasks, so far, are making me a lot stronger and wiser in battle. Maybe if I keep this up, I can beat Lavendra without a problem."
"Yes, now – we only ask you one more thing," The wolverines said to the three warriors at the same time.
"What's that?" Sora, Balto, and Mooneye asked.
"Howl," The wolverines replied. "Howl to let everyone know that this task was a victory to you – that you have the courage, power, and faith to do what needs to be accomplished. Howl to Lavendra and her subordinates, so they know you have the will to stop them and save Kingdom Wolves."
In their separate places, Sora, Balto, and Mooneye took a deep breath and let go a victorious howl that filled the entire room their in. A second later, a quick flash appeared and they found themselves in some sort of corridor, this time, they were together again.
"Balto! Mooneye!" Sora shouted when he saw them.
"Sora!" They said in unison and ran up to him.
"Are you guys okay?" Sora asked.
"We're fine." Mooneye replied.
"Did you guys…have to…?"
Mooneye and Balto looked at eachother with the same expression on their faces, then back at Sora.
"Yeah, we both had to fight our own fears," Balto replied. "Did you?
"Yes," Sora replied. "What was your guys' fear?"
"Mine was my father seeing me as nothing but a failure." Mooneye said.
"And mine was seeing Jenna, Kodi, Boris, Steele and everyone else turned into Heartless because we were too late to stop Lavendra," Balto said. "What about you, Sora?"
"I saw my friend, Riku," Sora began. "But…he was still following the darkness, and still under Ansem's control. And to make it even worse: Kairi joined them and was using the darkness, too."
They all looked at eachother for a few seconds before saying anything.
"Well, we still need to keep going," Mooneye said, staring at the destination they need to go. "We have two more tasks to finish and three monsters to stop."
"You're right," Balto said, going next to Mooneye. "I want to I stop Lavendra, so the thing I fear most never comes true."
Sora agreed with them both.
"Yeah, and this time, we'll accomplish the tasks together."
Mooneye and Balto nodded in agreement.
"Oh, by the time, Sora – I would like to thank you," Mooneye said.
"What for?" Sora asked.
"For giving me back my confidence," Mooneye said. "When I was battling my fear, I first had doubts that I'd be able to beat it, since it looked so much like my father. It wasn't until I remember you telling us to stay positive that I had the courage to defeat my fear. You were right, Sora, if I were to stay negative, I would've lost for sure. But if I stay positive, I no longer had any doubts on finishing off my fear. Thank you, Sora."
Sora smiled and nodded, feeling real proud that Mooneye had followed his heart and no longer feels weak. For the first time since he's met him, Sora now sees a different a Mooneye – one with confidence, courage, and faith; things a Wolfblade wielder should truly have. And plus, Mooneye has finally discovered a new power in his enchanted eye – a power that is sure to help them in the upcoming battles they're about to face.
"Don't mention it." Sora replied.
Then they continued on the corridor, ready for the next task they have to accomplish.
End of chapter. Sorry if the battles seemed short. It took me forever trying to get it good, especially for Balto. Anyway, in the next chapter, Sora and the gang finish the two remaining tasks - and go face-to-face with Neon and Kie. I can't believe that I'm close to finishing this story! I only have THREE chapters to go! Once again, thanks for your wonderful reviews. I hope to hear more from you soon.