Author's Note: I do not own anything from the Kingdom Hearts franchise or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Ch.7 Vanitas

I ran through the mountainous area of the Dwarf Woodlands, battling Unversed left and right while I tried to catch up to the queen, who was trying to escape. One Unversed, a Bruiser, tried to punch me and I responded with Fire Strike, knocking it off-balance before I finished it off with Poison Edge. More came after me, but one Magnet Spiral drew them all toward me and let me destroy them in a single attack.

Ahead of me the queen stopped- being disguised as a hag making her weaker than usual- and called "Monsters of light's bane, attack now with claw and fang!" There was a crack of thunder and it slowly began raining, while a dozen more Floods appeared from the ground. I grimaced at used Pulse Bomb, destroying half pf them and killing the others with Magnet Spiral.

After that I kept running for the queen, intent on catching her, but she began climbing the rocky cliffs to try to escape. I dismissed my Keyblade and climbed as well, but the rain and lack of light, save for the occasional flash of lightning, made it hard to climb. I reached for a ledge just as the rain picked up, and the sudden rush of water made my hand slip. My eyes widened and I held on with my other hand, swinging myself over the ledge and continuing.

Above me the queen cackled, and she called down "Having fun? Enjoy this!" I looked up to see a slew of boulders falling off the edge of the cliff. Perfect. One flew down straight towards me, and I had to jump sideways onto another ledge to avoid being crushed. A few Unversed, Ax Flappers, threw spinning blades of razor-shape air at me, and I was forced to dodge those too as I ascended. Finally I made it to the top of the mountains, ending up on a large plateau.

In front of me was a smaller ledge that led up to a huge rock, which the queen stood next to. She saw me and glared before cackling and saying "You've done well, my pet. But now for a real monster!" She raised her hands and chanted "Beast of poison and powers of night, show us who in this battle is wrong or right!" In the middle of the plateau huge fire blazed despite the rain, and when it faded there was one more Unversed.

This Unversed's body was built like an ape, with a pair of small legs and huge arms, but the resemblance stopped there. The entirety of its body was covered with black spikes, and the Unversed crest was on its back. Both it legs and hands ended in long red claws, and its head was the strangest of all. It had a long neck like an accordion, and the head was an actual red apple, which had a pair of green slitted eyes and a maw with fangs. So basically, I was up against an Unversed's with a claws, spikes, huge arm and an apple jack-o-lantern for a head. Lovely.

The Unversed, I decided to call it a Poison Apple, roared and jumped at me, bringing its claws down to slash at me. I rolled to the side to avoid it and the resulting shock wave from the landing, and summoned my Keyblade. Focusing for a second, I unleashed my Shotlock on the monster, who roared at the attack and smashed a fist into the ground. Pillars of earth shot towards me, and even when I kept running they came after me. Deciding not to waste my energy I stood and used blocked the attack.

However, when I blocked the attack I took my eyes off the Poison Apple, who ran towards me and swiped with it claws. I flew back and landed on my feet, quickly casting Curaga to heal any injuries. I ran forward and used Fire Strike to deal some damage, hoping that it might be weak to fire element. It was, and roared in pain at the heat of the flames. It jumped up and tried to crush me underneath, and although I dodged the Poison Apple itself I was still sent back by the shock wave.

I landed on my back and groaned, before the monster jumped and tried to crush me again. I rolled to the side and jumped, only narrowly dodging. I swung overhead with Poison Edge, the attack knocking the Unversed once again off-balance and allowing me to attack relentlessly. I used Fire Strike again and my body burst into flame, meaning that I had activated Firestorm. Smiling at continued hammering at the enemy, each attack now dealing extra damage due to the flames.

Then said enemy roared louder than before and stamped around, its body turning black. After a second it returned to normal, and then the Poison Apple reared its head before breathing a stream of green flames at me. I shouted in surprise and dodged to the side, but the Unversed kept on me relentlessly. The flames hit me once of twice, and I had to cast Curaga to heal the burns. After a minute the Poison Apple stopped, and I took the opportunity to unleash my Firestorm Finish.

In response I received a slash across the chest, and my Curaga spell had yet to recharge. I frowned at the pain; the wound wasn't deep but it still hurt. I charged forward and blocked another strike, retaliating with a stab into its arm. I pushed down and twisted my Keyblade, pinning the Poison Apple's hand to the ground. It growled and tried to move its hand, but it was no use. I smiled and cast Curaga now that it was recharged, and ran forward.

Jumping off my Keyblade I kicked the Poison Apple in the side of the head, avoiding its fangs which snapped at me. I landed on it back and grabbed the middle of its neck, punching over and over. With a great heave the monster removed its hand from the ground and began bucking around, trying to knock me off. I held on and kept punching before I summoned my Keyblade and cut it a long cut along its neck. After this I jumped off its back and into the air, thunder crackling.

The Poison Apple looked up, and I flew downwards with Ultimatum, using both the momentum of the fall and my strength to unleash a single devastating Poison Edge. Even better, I hit it on the wound on its neck, and the Poison entered its body. It screeched in pain and swung wildly, breathing flames and swinging at anything that came close. I sighed and decided to put it out of its misery, using one more Fire strike to finish the job.

The Poison Apple roared one more time before it fell on its side, fading into nothing. I smiled, but that faded when I saw the queen standing on the ledge near the edge of the plateau. I pointed my Keyblade at her and said "Now, tell me. How do I bring back Snow White?" She glared at me, before smiling fiendishly and saying "There's no need for me to tell you, since you'll be dead!" Then she pulled a huge stick out of the ground and stuck it under the rock next to her, pushing down.

My eyes widened and I held up my Keyblade, but honestly I wasn't sure if I could survive being hit by a boulder that size. Then there was a boom of thunder and a bolt of lightning shot down, hitting the far edge of the cliff. The bolt and light caused the queen to back up, but behind her there was nothing but air. She balanced on one foot, trying to stay on, and I ran forward to stop her from falling. But I was too late, and she fell over the edge, the rock following suit.

I ran to the edge and looked down, but by the time I was there the rock had already hit the ground, with the queen's hands and feet sticking out from under it. I sighed sadly and dismissed my Keyblade; now I never would figure out how to revive Snow White. The rain stopped and I slowly walked back to the cabin of the dwarfs, unwilling to admit my failure. But when I arrived at the edge of the meadow, I was saw Aqua standing there, talking to the dwarfs. Then she nodded and turned heading off towards the castle. I smiled and said to myself "If anyone can figure this problem out besides me, it's Aqua."

I walked back out of sight and opened a portal back to the Lanes Between, summoning my armor and glider before going through.

xxx

Now I had been to two worlds, but in the whole of the Dwarf Woodlands I didn't see hide nor hair of Ventus. As I flew through the Lanes Between I scanned the space around me; hopefully the next time I arrived at a world I would run into him. Then I felt something rush up from behind me, and it crashed into my glider. I yelled "Whoa!" and looked at what had gotten ahead. It was a red and block cloud, but in the middle of it I swear I saw a boy with a mask. Then he turned and flew off, and I sped up my glider to after him.

Not only was this guy in the Lanes Between without any armor, but I could sense darkness coming from him. That could mean nothing good. I flew after the boy in the mask until I saw a world in front of me. I looked to be rather mountainous and barren, but part of the world was obscure, like mirage. I summoned a portal and flew through, seeing that the world was indeed barren dirt and mountains.

The boy with the mask stood there as well, but as soon as I showed up he fired a trio of fireballs at me. I blocked them and dismissed my armor and glider, landing on the ground with Ultimatum in hand. "Hm, took you long enough to get here," the masked boy said. My eyes narrowed. "Who are you? Why did attack me?" "I've got my reasons for attacking you, but as for my name, it's Vanitas," the young man said.

The moment he said his name my head felt like it would split open, and I dropped my Keyblade as I fell to one knee, holding my head. An image flashed through my head: Vanitas descending through the air to stand float above someone, while a fourth person talked to him. But before I could see who it was, the image faded and I opened my eyes, just in time to see Vanitas summon a Keyblade and swing at me from overhead.

I rolled away and grabbed my Keyblade, blocking a second strike before jumping back. "What do you even want from me?!" I asked. Vanitas chuckled darkly and moved to a battle position. "i wan to see if keeping an eye on you is really worth my while," he said. I grunted and lifted my Keyblade, the feeling of it in my hands soothing me. "Alright, you asked for it!" I called, charging forward. Vanitas laughed and blocked my strike easily, pushing me back before sending a wave of lightning at me.

I attacked Vanitas with blow after blow, each one of which he blocked and countered. After I tried for a particularly vicious blow, he descended into the ground and become a dark spot on the ground. Then that spit moved beneath me and he erupted upward, cutting me along my chest and knocking Ultimatum out of my hands. I flew until I landed on my back, and Vanitas slowly walked toward me.

"Are you kidding me? You're not even using your power?" he asked. Then his Keyblade began glowing with energy, and he said "I guess you're not worth me and the Master's time after all." He swung down at me, and I held up my hands in fear that I was going to die. That's when something happened. I felt something within me stirring, awakening. I waited for the attack to come but instead I heard a frustrated grunt from Vanitas.

I opened my eyes and I saw that Vanitas's Keyblade had stopped few feet in front of me, held by back a crystalline wall. The wall surrounded me like a dome, and my hands were glowing with white and black flames. Vanitas pulled back and slammed down on the dome, a small fissure appearing. I grabbed my Keyblade and it set aflame, black and white fire burning along its length. I stood and willed the dome to disappear, as Vanitas jumped back and readied himself. I felt power coursing through me and I smiled. Now I had this fight.

xxx

Well, how about that. Now it's Dexal vs. Vanitas, but how will it turn out? What is this power that has awakened in Dexal, and can he use it to win? Stay tuned to find out.

Riilustra: Thank you for you assistance, it will prove most helping the making of the next chapter.

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding... or am I?)