The Uprising

Behold! The eleventh chapter of "The Uprising"! I feel the need to tell you that Larxene's personality has been tweaked a bit. Ever since her death, the Savage Nymph's mental stability has been a bit off, making her more unpredictable and dangerous than ever. Special thanks to my refrigerator for giving me inspiration and allowing me to make the tenth chapter exponentially better. Anyway, read on and review afterwards please!

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Roxas paced around the edge of the clock tower, becoming more stir crazy by the second. Axel had forbid them from leaving until it was deemed safe again, as Organization members could be lurking anywhere. The eternal sunset was driving them all mad, it being so different than their previous residence, which was frozen in the dead of night. The blonde keybearer groaned as he reminisced about his previous lifestyle. Roxas knew he and his friends were safer here, but he couldn't help but miss being able to sleep on a mattress instead of the hard surface of the clock tower.

The trio of rogues wasn't nearly as protected as they had hoped, though, for Larxene was growing dangerously close to discovering their whereabouts.

The Riku Replica cautiously entered the stronghold of Villain's Vale, prepared for whatever traps might await him. He had embarked on a perilous journey here after being freed by Namine in Castle Oblivion, his false memories erased by the temporary shattering of his heart. The Repliku eventually came across the ruins of Hollow Bastion, a chaotic fortress that was slowly being transformed back into Radiant Garden by the returning residents. His only objective was to find shelter, and the abandoned citadel seemed like a good enough spot as any. Its spindly towers appeared to be withering away, although with luck, they would hold for the time being.

The replica's footsteps echoed along the damp walls, complementing the soft drips of rusted pipes. The whole building was built as a sort of maze, its corridors twisting and turning throughout, along with dead ends and forks in the path. After hours of travel, Repliku finally arrived in a grim ballroom. Its color scheme was mostly black and grey, with chandeliers and decorations that appeared to be made of human bones. Silently, thousands of Neoshadows rose from the ground, clawing their way out of liquid darkness without a sound. They crept behind the unwelcome guest, their fierce loyalty driving them to annihilate the trespasser.

As soon as the Repliku reached the center of the establishment, they attacked.

The replica successfully summoned his Soul Eater in time to deflect a multitude of slashes from his assailants; however he soon found that the arena was filled with the nasty creatures, hundreds more than he could handle on his own. Without hesitation, he called upon the power of darkness. His former clothes immediately exploded in a cloud of dust, revealing the tightly-woven body suit below. Using his free hand, the Repliku sent a powerful blast of darkness at the Neoshadows, taking out hundreds at a time, which were quickly replaced with more soldiers of a fallen army. The battle continued for quite a while longer, the Riku Replica barely hanging on. Right as he was about to submit to the onslaught, a clear voice rang out from the top of an ancient altar, emblazoned with a glowing green Heartless emblem.

"That's enough!"

The Neoshadows immediately ceased and bowed their heads respectfully. The replica slowly raised his head, the fatigue he felt showing on his face. Maleficent stood proudly, grasping her signature staff, its orb matching the emblem below. Her image blinked in and out of existence, but finally remained a constant state of semi-transparency when Diablo, the black crow, landed on her cloaked shoulder. The deafening silence was only broken by the replica's staggered breathing. "By all means, make a path for the boy." Her voice sent chills down Repliku's spine and caused her minions to part, leaving a clear trail for him to follow. Reluctantly, he complied, slowly approaching the evil fairy. With a slight tremor, he responded. "What do you want, witch?"

"I want us to help each other, my dearest clone. You desire an identity of your own and I can give you that. All you need to do is come closer."

With each word, the orb on Maleficent's staff grew ever-brighter, swirling with a dark power only she could control. Her influence spread to her potential crony, his eyes growing a bright shade of green and his feet shuffling forward. "W-what are you doing? I won't help you!" he screamed, trying to fight her power. She cackled and responded, her bony hand reaching out to him. "Just take my hand and everything will be set as it should be. That's right, just a little bit closer." Around the stone altar, figures began to shimmer into view, their images weaker than Maleficent's, but still strong enough to be visible. Although Repliku didn't know it, they were the dark fairy's former cohorts: Hades, Oogie Boogie, Ursula, and Jafar, being summoned by her dark abilities.

The replica's hand drew closer, and at last met with the green flesh of Maleficent. The room erupted in green flame and foreboding laughter. Repliku's organic clothing unraveled into wisps of darkness as his genetic code was being rewritten. He shrieked in agony and tried to pull away from her iron-clad grip. The process was nearly halfway complete when a Corridor of Darkness opened behind the mistress of all evil. A man wrapped in red strips of cloth came out of it and immediately shot Maleficent with some sort of weapon, its technology beyond anything the replica had ever seen. She shrieked in pain and disappeared, along with her associates. "Be gone demon!" he cried as the Neoshadows erupted in frenzy. With a few more shots of his mysterious weapon, the cloaked man sent a message to them not to come any closer.

Repliku slumped to the ground, his unclothed body landing in fetal position on the stone tiles. His bare flesh was covered in a layer of sweat and was trembling from what he had just experienced. Without delay, the savior scooped him up and carried the boy through the Corridor, its shadowy tendrils closing behind them.