Chapter 25

Riku doubled over in pain as numerous memories resurfaced in excruciatingly vivid detail, and in a split second he had found himself teleported from the desolate landscape of abandoned Keyblades to the small cold room in Organization XIII's dungeon, with Xigbar gloatingly leaning over and forcing him into a restrained position. Riku screamed in agony as the man forcefully entered him, inflicting severe damage to both his body and mind.

Then he was back in the present, shaking as the pain and horror of the flashback ebbed from his memory. He fell to his knees as the right side of his chest exploded with stabbing pain, focused primarily below his ribs, where Xigbar's knife pierced him.

"Dead? Get your facts straight! It'd take more than a mere battle to kill me!" The man said, staring in disbelief at the cowering form before him.

"I know what happened that night, Xigbar! Sora said you sank like a stone after he struck you!" Riku exclaimed, backing away from the man, clutching at his heart and shuddering as he imagined the man slicing his chest open and plunging his hand in.

"My name is Braig!" The man spat in distaste. "And I can't believe they allowed a coward like you in the army of Light!"

"Coward?" Riku snarled. "After all I went through because of you!?"

"What are you talking about?" Braig exclaimed in disbelief. "I've never seen you before in my life!"

"Don't play dumb with me! You've hurt me and my friends more times than I can count!"

"I've never laid a finger on you!" Braig said with an air of self-righteousness- Though I wouldn't be surprised if that would be all it took to take down a sniveling coward like you! Make your choice... are you gonna fight, or keep trying to run away?"

"I- I AM NOT A COWARD!" Riku roared, summoning his Keyblade and charging at the man, thoughts of pure hatred coursing through his mind. Braig quickly summoned his own weapons and blocked Riku's attack, only to be left wide open for a surprise counter- Riku had struck him hard in the abdomen with the hand guard of his Keyblade. Braig doubled over briefly, quickly righting himself and leaping a distance away.

Riku had barely a second to react before a flurry of bullet crystals assaulted him from all directions. He was able to reflect most of them using Dark Barrier, but a few got through, leaving deep gouges in his skin where they grazed him.

The barrier spell had caused the bullet crystals that didn't strike their target to be deflected, flying right back at Braig. He wasn't able to block them, making the majority of them lodge themselves deeply in his body. None of them pierced anything vital however, meaning Braig was still able to fight, and was now driven mad by the pain.

Riku slowly worked his way closer to his opponent, deflecting most of Braig's attacks, taking damage from others. The man was beginning to get winded, his attacks getting slower and less powerful, and soon Riku was able to breach the man's defenses.

"I said... I am not... a coward..." Riku said as he struck the final blow. Braig fell to the ground, dead, no longer a threat to Riku or any of the remaining warriors of Light.

Riku fell to the ground with a groan as the memories began to resurface again. Now he found himself back in the abandoned dwelling in Hollow Bastion, watching helplessly as Xigbar tortured Sora and stripped him naked, with the intent of violating him in the same manner he had violated Riku during his confinement. He watched as Sora tried to fight against Xigbar's attempts, he listened to his own voice plead with Xigbar to take him in his best friend's place.

Then he was back in the present, the sound of a primal scream of pain and rage echoing across the landscape, which he soon realized was coming from him.

XXXXXXXX

Roxas had charged at Xehanort with intent to kill, but had been stopped in his tracks by another Nobody, the cold-hearted berserker known as Saix. He was having trouble, constantly having to dodge his attacks while being unable to get any blows in on his side. Lea had watched Roxas' struggle helplessly for several minutes before jumping into the fray himself.

Aqua and Ven were surrounded, every point of escape closely guarded by black-cloaked Nobodies. Ven tried to sneak past one, only to be quickly thrown back to the center of the circle by one. His hood came down, and Ven stared at his face in horror.

"TERRA!" He shrieked, running at the Nobody full speed, only to be stopped in his tracks by Aqua.

"That's not the Terra we know, Ven!" she said sadly.

"Donald, Goofy, stay close to Kairi!" Mickey exclaimed as he jumped into a group of charging Dusks and Nobodies, quickly getting lost among them.

"YOUR MAJESTY!" Donald bellowed, ready to run to the King's rescue, when Goofy stopped him.

"We have to do what he says, Donald..." Goofy said sadly.

"But there's so many of them!" Kairi exclaimed. "What are we going to do about this?!"

Suddenly the sound of a whining cry broke through the sounds of battle, distracting both ally and adversary. Looking toward the horizon, they quickly noticed the source of the sound.

Dream Eaters, hundreds of them, led by a bright blue Meow Wow, were charging at the swarm of Nobodies as fast as they could, quickly taking out several.

"We're here to help too, kupo!" A familiar voice said to Aqua, who turned to see a massive gathering of Moogles, led by the same one she had rescued from the Realm of Darkness.

"We're here too, and we brought help!" Myde exclaimed- behind him Lumaria led a group of familiar faces from all over the Worlds. Kairi could see Cloud, Tifa, Leon, and Yuffie from Hollow Bastion among them.

Xehanort looked on the sudden turn of the tides with distaste. In a moment of blind rage, he summoned a mass of concentrated dark magic and began to give it form.

Meanwhile, a fair distance away, Sora arrived on the battlefield, where he heard the final echoes of an agonized scream. Turning toward the source, he stepped forward and tried to seek it out.

End of Chapter 25.