Chapter 7: Showdown
"Come on you lazy bum, wake up!"
Alex's eyes fluttered open. He was suddenly aware of the pain his body was in. He remembered pushing Sora out of the way of a fireball and that was the last he remembered. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he had been hit. He could feel that he was on a bed. He put his arms back and pushed himself up, shaking his head to get over the feeling of waking up after being knocked out. This was a talent that Alex was used to getting into. He turned his head to see who spoke and got the most pleasant surprise. It was Kairi!
She leaned down. "Are you okay?"
Alex shrugged. "I guess."
"Those creatures that attacked you are after the Keyblade. As long as you stay with its wielder, they will keep coming for you. It's the heart of the Keyblade wielder they want and they will take yours too."
Alex already knew they took hearts, even if he didn't get it. How did that tie in to the Keyblade though? That man had said the same thing. What was so important about the giant key?
Alex got back to the matter at hand. "I'm really glad that you're okay Kairi."
Kairi stood back, alarmed. "Kairi? Who are you talking about. I'm the great ninja Yuffie."
Alex frowned. Who the heck was Yuffie? Why was Kairi acting so strangely? He realized that Kairi looked a little fuzzy and he still felt dazed. He shook his head as hard as he could and opened his eyes again. This time he was greeted with the real sight. Yuffie had short hair like Kairi's, but it was black. She had a yellow scarf around her neck, a green sleeveless top that was held to her shoulders by blue straps, khaki short shorts, and yellow fingerless gloves. She smiled at Alex and turned around.
"I think you might have overdone it a bit Squall," she said.
"That's Leon."
Alex looked past Yuffie to see the man who had almost killed him standing there. He jumped up in surprise.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Alex yelled.
"You aren't the one who should be asking the questions right about now," Leon said.
Alex lost it. "Screw you! I've just had my second home taken away from me from creatures I know nothing about, Sora gets this giant key, Leon over here tries to kill us, and now you're trying to tell me that it attracts those monsters. I have the right to ask you any questions I want you jerk and you better answer them!"
Leon was a little surprised by the outbreak. He just figured these kids had gotten into this by accident. Now he realized that there was more to their story than it appeared.
Alex heard groaning and turned around. Sora was just waking up. He opened his eyes wide and saw Leon.
Sora leaped from the bed. "Are you gonna try to kill us again?"
"No," Leon said. "That was just a misunderstanding."
"Yeah," Sora said. "A really painful one." He looked around the room some more and found the Keyblade resting against the wall.
"The Keyblade!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah," Yuffie explained. "We had to get it away from you to shake off those creatures."
"Why?" Sora looked at Alex.
"These guys say that's how they were able to track us," Alex explained.
"Getting the Keyblade from you was the only way to conceal your heart from them," Leon said. "But it won't work for long."
"Why won't it work?" Alex asked.
"The creatures know the scent of your hearts," Leon explained. "They can find you."
"Well, I sure didn't ask for this Keyblade," Sora said. "If you want it it's all yours!"
"The Keyblade chooses its master," Yuffie said. "And it chose you."
"Yeah," Leon smiled to himself. "Kinda hard to believe that you of all people are the chosen one."
Leon grabbed the Keyblade and swung it in the air horizontally. The Keyblade disappeared in a flash and reappeared in Sora's hands.
"Well," Leon said. "I suppose beggars can't be choosers."
"Hey smart guy why don't you start making some sense," Sora demanded. "What's going on here?"
"Okay," Aerith began. "You know there are many other worlds out there besides your castle and this town, right?"
Aerith had led the duo to her hotel room, which was opposite Leon's.
"Yeah," Donald nodded. "Everyone knows that."
"But aren't they supposed to be a secret?" Goofy covered his mouth.
"Well they've been secret because they have never been connected," Aerith explained. "Until now."
"What happened?" Goofy asked.
"When the Heartless came," Aerith said. "Everything changed." She closed her eyes to hold back tears.
"The Heartless?" Sora asked.
"That's what those creatures are called?" Alex said.
"The name is pretty self-explanatory," Leon said. "Those without hearts."
"The darkness in people's hearts, that's what attracts them," Yuffie explained.
"And there is darkness within every heart," Leon said.
"Gee thanks for the pick-me-up," Alex grinned.
"To put it simply," Leon said. "They are people's hearts that have been corrupted by darkness and have no physical form or soul. They reproduce by taking other people's hearts and turning them into Heartless. That is all they know."
Alex was relieved to finally hear the whole story. It all made sense now. The taking of the hearts and why they were coming after them. He thought that would be all of it until Yuffie asked a question.
"Hey, have you ever heard of someone named Ansem?"
"Ansem?" Goofy scratched his chin.
"He was a man who was studying the Heartless," Aerith explained. "He recorded all his findings in a very detailed report."
Donald tapped his foot on the ground, waiting for her to give it to them.
"Gawrsh, uh, can we see it?" Goofy asked, politely.
Aerith shook her head. "It's pages are scattered. No one knows where they are."
Donald couldn't contain his frustration. "Scattered?!"
"To another world probably," Aerith suggested.
Goofy had an epiphany. "Oh, then maybe the King went to find them."
Donald turned to Goofy and nodded, surprised that Goofy thought of that before he did.
Aerith nodded as well. "Yes, those were my thoughts exactly."
"We gotta find him and quick!" Goofy exclaimed and was about to leave.
"Wait Goofy!" Donald jumped up and down. "Remember what the King said in the letter. First we need that key."
"That's right," Aerith said. "The Keyblade."
"So this is the key," Sora said, holding it in front of him in the air.
Yuffie nodded. "Exactly."
"The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade," Leon began to lean against the door. "And that is why they are going to keep coming after you no matter what."
"Wait, let me get this straight," Alex said. "They are going to keep coming after us because we have a weapon that they fear? Why would they want to mess with a guy who can kill them in one swipe?"
"The only way that the Heartless can ever be truly free to harvest on the hearts of everyone is to take the life of the Keyblade wielder," Leon explained. "So tough luck."
"They're gonna keep coming after me?" Sora asked, starting to get a little scared. "How did all this happen? I remember being in my room...OH! Wait a minute! What happened to our home, the island, Riku, Kairi?"
Leon just closed his eyes. "You know what, I really don't know."
Sora hung his head. Alex just sat on the bed.
"You are going to have to make a choice," Leon said, standing in front of them. "This will probably the most important decision you will ever make."
Alex and Sora got up and stared at Leon.
"Make no mistake," Leon said. "Sooner or later, the Heartless will find you. Both of you.You can't run. You can't hide. The only thing you can do is prepare yourself.
"For what?" Alex asked, afraid of the answer.
Leon looked at them with his brown eyes. "To fight for your lives."
Alex and Sora looked at each other, trying to find confidence.
"So the question is," Leon began. "Are you ready to fight for your lives?"
Alex's mind went blank. What kind of question is that? Of course he would fight for his life. But then he realized, that the Heartless weren't after him. They were after Sora. He was the one who was the Keyblade master. The Heartless wanted his heart. As long as he stayed away from Sora he would be fine. Alex thought about it, but immediately dismissed it. Sora was his best friend. There was no way that he was going to leave him alone in this fight. Alex's mind flashed back to the night of his parent's murder. They were killed by these things. He didn't want Sora to be killed because he was too much of a coward to fight them. He had been running for too long. It was time to fight back.
"Yes," Alex answered. "I am."
Sora stared at Alex. So did Leon.
"C'mon," Alex grinned. "With the two of us fighting these things, they've got no chance in hell, which is exactly where we are going to send them."
Sora smiled. "I'm ready too."
Leon smiled for the first time and Yuffie stared at them in an admirable way.
"Okay then," Leon said. "That's just what I wanted to hear." He turned to Yuffie.
"Yuffie," Leon said. "Let's meet up with Aerith. She should be here by now with the other visitors."
Sora didn't even have a chance to ask who the other visitors were because Yuffie screamed.
"Leon!"
Forming in the hotel room was a Soldier Heartless.
"Not these guys again," Alex complained.
"Yuffie go!" Leon grabbed his gunblade.
Yuffie burst through the other hotel door, slamming Donald in the process.
"Yuffie, what's going on?" Aerith asked.
"Heartless. Run!" Yuffie grabbed Aerith and pulled her out of the room.
Leon, Sora, and Alex drew their swords. "Guys let's go!"
Leon kicked the Soldier and sent it crashing though the glass window which led to the alleyway. The three warriors leaped from the window, into the alleyway. The jump wasn't that high.
"What should we do now?" Alex asked, slicing a Shadow.
"Don't bother with the small fry," Leon said, parrying the claws. "Go for the head honcho."
"How will we know which one that is?" Sora yelled, kicking a Soldier in the head.
"Believe me you'll know!" Leon grunted.
They finished up the Heartless in the alleyway and went to the Second District.
The Second District was in chaos. The Heartless had gotten into people's homes and they had all run outside. Alex saw the Heartless attacking people right and left.
"We gotta help them!" Alex said.
Leon and Sora nodded and rushed into the fray.
Alex rushed into the center of the square with a battle cry. He slashed two Soldiers before they even knew he was there. He sliced the Shadows that were attacking people. He blocked the claws of a Soldier and stabbed it. Another one tried to come behind him, but Alex stopped it with a back kick. The Soldier fell on the ground and Alex stabbed it. He saw a group of Shadows trying to attack a woman and her child. They had gotten them into a corner.
"Please!" the woman pleaded. "Please don't hurt us!"
"Mommy!" The woman turned around to see a Soldier holding the boy and beginning to suck his heart out.
Alex felt a surge of rage overcome him. He ran as fast as he could and slammed himself into the Soldier. The Soldier dropped the boy. Alex crashed the Soldier against the wall and brought him to his face.
"Oh," Alex said, doing his best Curly impression. "Wise guy huh!"
He took his index and middle finger and jammed them into the Soldier's yellow eyes. The Heartless squealed in pain and disappeared in black mist. Alex turned around and dealt with the smaller Shadows.
"Are you guys all right?" he asked the woman.
"Yes," she said, holding her child. "Thank you."
Alex nodded and rushed into battle again.
Sora now understood the purpose of the Keyblade. It was to kill Heartless. He was really looking forward to carrying out that purpose. He kicked a Shadow and sent it flying. He ducked the claws of a Soldier, twisted to the left, and dug the Keyblade into the Soldier's stomach. He ripped it out to slice another Shadow. Sora saw the Heartless about to attack an elderly man and rushed over. He barreled into the Heartless, slashing the Keyblade in every direction. There was only a Shadow left and he stomped it under his massive sneaker.
"Thank you," the elderly man cried out.
"You're welcome," Sora said and ran away to fight more.
"Oh these youngsters today," the old man sighed.
Alex and Sora were pretty good fighters, but Leon was fantastic. He was killing Heartless right and left. He slashed a Shadow and quickly changed his strike to horizontal to get a Soldier. He leaped in the air higher than a normal human being and stabbed a Soldier when he landed. He kicked a Shadow out of the way. He sliced upward, killed a Shadow, swung it in an arc, brought it to the ground, and sliced a Soldier in half.
Soon enough, all three combatants had cleared the Second District of Heartless.
"Not bad guys," Leon said.
"You're not so bad yourself," Alex complimented. "How did you get so good?"
"Tell you later," Leon promised. "Yuffie, Aerith, and I will take the First District. You guys should take the Third Distirct."
"Gotcha," Sora gave him a thumbs up.
"Good luck," Leon said and headed off to the First District.
"Well, where is the Third District?" Alex asked.
"I think it's in that alley," Sora pointed to it. It was an alley between the stairs leading to the lower level and a building.
"Okay let's go!" Alex yelled.
The two went into the alley, turned a corner, and sure enough, there was the door to the next district. Alex opened it and the two guys went inside.
The third district was generally a big square, quite literally. Alex and Sora entered to a brick level that had a small house on the left, but had stairs to the right that led down to the lower floor. The lower floor was in the shape of a square and had many neon lights that lit up the area. There was a golden fountain in one of the corners. Alex and Sora ran down the stairs and into the square.
High above the square, there was a platform and Donald and Goofy had somehow gotten on it. They had been running from the Heartless and found themselves up here. Goofy looked down to see two boys run into the square. Suddenly he heard a noise and turned around. Two Soldiers had surrounded Donald and Goofy. Donald took out his mage's staff and Goofy took out his knight's shield.
"Gawrsh, are these the heartless guys?" Goofy cowered behind his shield.
Donald wasn't afraid and swung his staff in the air. "Let's go get em, Goofy!"
The next thing they knew, the Soldiers had punched them off the platform. They screamed as they fell to the ground.
Alex and Sora looked up to see who was screaming and tried to get out of the way, but it was too late. Donald and Goofy landed on the two boys. All of them saw stars.
"Hey get off!" Alex yelled.
Donald and Goofy were about to get up, when they saw what Sora was holding.
"The key!" Both of them said at the same time. Alex thought that the voices sounded familiar. Donald and Goofy got off of the boys, excited that they found the key. Sora turned around first and saw a duck and a weird looking dog that were looking at the Keyblade. Alex turned around and was ready to chew, whoever they were, out for falling on them.
Alex stopped breathing. His jaw dropped to the ground. His hands didn't shake. His eyes were drawn wide open. He wasn't sure how he was living because he thought his heart had stopped, when in fact it was beating faster then any normal person. He was just awestruck at the sight that lay before him. He tried to convince himself that it was a dream. He was still recovering from being fell on. He shook his head once. He shook it twice. He shook it three times and nothing changed. He was looking at two of the most famous characters of all time. The characters that he grew up with as a child. He was looking at Donald Duck and Goofy.
Alex fainted. He didn't even remember hitting the ground. The next thing he remembered was waking up from someone slapping his face.
"Alex are you okay?" Sora asked.
Alex looked up at Sora. "Yeah, I'm just tired."
Sora helped him to his feet and Alex got his first real good look at Donald and Goofy.
"Gawrsh are you okay?" Goofy asked.
Alex took awhile to respond. He was just getting used to the fact that a Disney character was asking if he was okay.
"Y-yeah," Alex stuttered
"You gave us quite a scare," Goofy exclaimed.
"Sorry," Alex mumbled.
"Well at least those Heartless are gone," Donald spoke.
Donald was wrong. The whole area began to shake. Alex feared it was going to be an earthquake. His thoughts were soon dashed when stone pillars jutted out of the ground, blocking any exit out of the Third District.
"Well, this can't be good," Alex muttered.
Soldier Heartless began to appear on the pillars and hop down into the square, now turned arena. Alex, Sora, Donald, and Goofy brandished their weapons.
"Hope you guys know how to fight," Sora said.
"Don't worry about us," Donald said. "Goofy stop shaking."
Donald and Goofy had never had to put their combat skills to the test before. Donald had training from Merlin and Goofy had gone to knight's school. Donald had secretly wanted this. A chance to show people and himself that he can do magic and fight. This was the time. Goofy liked peace and was not longing for a chance at combat. He had a quick flash back to his days training as a knight.All the training that he learned came flashing back to him. He was scared, but he had three allies that would look out for him. He was as ready as he ever would be.
The Soldiers formed in a half-moon around them and started to close in slowly, waiting for them to make a move.
"Well, no time like the present. Yeeeeehaaaaaaaaawwwww!" Alex bellowed and sprinted into the Heartless with the trio not far behind him.
Alex, Sora, and Goofy did the close range fighting while Donald struck from long range with his magic. Alex closed in on a Soldier and bashed it with the sword. The Soldier swung its claws at him, but he just dodged them. Alex got the Soldier with a fake to the face and changed his direction to slice his legs.
"Move!" Alex rolled out of the way and looked in time to see the Soldier finished off by a small fireball. He looked to see Donald waving his staff in the air and grinning.
Sora and Goofy fought more closely together. Sora blocked the claws of a Soldier and sliced its leg off when it tried to kick. Goofy finished it off by ramming his shield into the Soldier's face. Goofy punched at a Soldier. The Soldier blocked and countered with a claw strike. Goofy blocked quickly with the shield and caught the Soldier off-guard with a side kick. Goofy was more into fisticuffs.
Donald performed fire spells which worked well against the Soldiers. He locked on one and shouted,"Fire!". A small fireball shot from the end of his staff and met the Soldier with a bang. It was killed instantly. He shot one in front of him and quickly turned to shoot one to his side. He got worried when one got too close and swiped at him. He did the first thing he thought of and blocked the claws with his staff. He quickly shot the Soldier at point blank range.
It didn't take long for the Heartless to be destroyed. Alex finished off the last one with a stab and turned to check on his new comrades. No one was hurt. Alex was impressed with Donald and Goofy. Donald's magic was powerful and Goofy, for all his shaking, kicked some butt. He smiled and couldn't believe that he fought with these guys. He also was relieved that the fight was over. It wasn't.
Something fell from the sky in pieces. It struck the ground and came back up to form. Alex saw that it was giant armor pieces. There were five pieces and they were all different shades of purple. The pieces were the two feet, two arms, and the torso. The arms hung in the air right by the torso and the feet came right under the torso. There was no body in it so, except for the feet, the pieces were floating in the air. A final piece fell from the air. The head. The visor was up so it had no face. The armor looked like it would fit for a big knight. It had an insignia on it which Alex guessed was the mark of the Heartless. A big heart that's pointed at the bottom, with a red "X" in the middle.
"Holy crap," Alex said. He had fought against giant Heartless before, but not giant armor with a mind of its own.
"We can do this," Sora said. "All we need to do is take down the parts one by one. Alex and I will take the feet and you guys take the hands. We'll do the main part last."
The other three nodded and faced the Guard Armor. They held their weapons ready and the armor charged them.
Alex and Sora dodged the armor and started bashing the feet. Donald and Goofy had to leap in the air to get to the hands. The armor turned to them and started to spin its hands all the way around its body at increasing speeds. Goofy was hit by one and went to the ground. Alex was hit and flew across the arena. Donald backed away at the last second. Sora timed it right and jumped in slashing with the Keyblade. The Keyblade struck the arm and stopped the spinning. This was when all the parts of the armor separated from the body. The feet started walking one way, the arms went another way, and the torso and head just stayed in place.
The others got back up and started attacking again. The arms punched at Donald, but he dodged and countered with Fire spells. Goofy blocked a punch with the shield and jumped up to bash the hand. One hand backfisted Goofy, but he blocked most of the blow with the shield. The hands were hit continuously by fireballs until one of the hands swiped at Donald. He was hit by the hand and thrown to the other side of the arena. The hands started to jab at Goofy with its sharp fingertips. Goofy did the best he could to block the jabs, but was cut by one. One hand tried to punch at Goofy's leg, but Goofy jumped in the air and slammed down on it with the shield. Donald got back up, extremely angry. He saw the hand that Goofy pinned down.
"Goofy move!"
Goofy saw Donald and quickly jumped out of the way. The hand tried to get back up, but was hit by a very powerful fireball, courtesy of an angry duck. The hand started to rumble on the ground and it broke into pieces.
"Good goin' Donald," Goofy said, right before he was hit by the other hand.
Donald saw this and became even more enraged. He leaped at the hand and whacked it with the staff. The arm flew back and came for Donald. Donald got his staff ready. The arm was flying straight at him, trying to impale the duck with its fingertips. Donald stood like a bullfighter and waited. Right as the hand came for him, he did a complete flip in the air. As he did the flip, he shot the hand with a fireball. The hand spun out of control and hit the wall. It tried to impale Donald again, but was knocked aside by Goofy. The arm fell to the ground. Goofy leaped into the air and thrust his shield down with all his strength. The arm was destroyed on contact.
"Nice Goofy," Donald said.
"Gawrsh thanks," Goofy smiled.
Alex and Sora were fighting with the feet. Alex rolled and dodged a stomp from one of the feet. He quickly cut it and leaped back. Sora sliced it with the Keyblade which seemed to do a little more damage. A foot tried to kick Sora, but Sora just slashed it with the Keyblade to send it back. Alex dodged a kick from the other foot and tried to stab it. The foot just flipped in the air and came back down. Alex dodged the stomp and stabbed it then.
The feet were suffering damage from the two boys and started to get more vicious. Alex blocked the sharp points on the feet's armor with the sword. They jabbed more and more. Sora blocked two jabs, dodged one, and slashed the foot when it tried a fourth. The feet stopped jabbing and started stomping. The feet began to run after the boys, which if they got close enough would smash them.
"Crap crap crap crap!" Alex yelled as he ran from the feet. He ran as fast as he could in a circle around the square. He ran under the torso and hid under there, but it didn't work. The feet jabbed at him under the torso. Alex was almost stabbed when Sora began to chop them from behind. He started to attack the feet too, but the torso leaned back and hit Alex with its waist. Alex landed right in between the feet.
"Jesus!" Alex rolled like crazy, narrowly dodging being smashed by the feet. He looked up to see one foot about to squash him like a bug. On instinct, Alex thrust his sword into the air, impaling the foot from the bottom. The foot broke into pieces. Sora finished off the other foot with a few quick thrusts.
Now all that was left was the torso. All four fighters attacked the torso at once. Alex and Sora slashed it with blades, Goofy pounded on it with his shield, and Donald pelted it with fireballs. The torso still didn't go down that easy. The torso would lean back and hit them. Donald got hit and Goofy blocked the blow with the shield. Alex kept jumping up and slashing it, until the torso rose in the air and just crashed on the ground. Everyone dodged and fell to the ground from the rumble, but the move proved to be the undoing of the armor. It couldn't get up fast enough. Everyone hit it with their strongest attacks and soon enough, the torso began to rumble. It shook in the air and the head fell off. The last of the armor pieces disintegrated into a white light.
Alex took a deep breath. "Well that was bracing."
The other three nodded and Alex gave them a weak smile. "Now its over."
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
Alex jumped in fear and quickly looked around the district. He could see nothing.
"What was that?" Goofy asked, getting scared.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
"Where is that coming from?!" Sora exclaimed.
"Who are you?!" Alex screamed into the night air.
"You know who I am Alex Bane!"
Alex immediately started to feel like passing out. He fell to the ground clutching his head. The voice's laughter kept ringing in his head.
"STOP IT!" Alex screamed.
Suddenly, the voice stopped. Alex breathed in short bursts and opened his eyes. He was no longer in the Third District. He wasn't even in Traverse Town.
He was in the place from his dream. The darkness all around him. He was standing on the same stained-glass platform. The sword was in his hands.
"My, my, my Alex you've grown."
Alex recognized that voice. He wasn't even surprised. After seeing Disney characters, it would be hard for anything to surprise Alex from now on.
Alex turned around to see Dark Alex smiling at him.
"What the hell do you want?" Alex growled.
"I wanted to renew our acquaintance," Dark Alex said. "I made such a bad impression at our first meeting. I feel awful about it."
Alex doubted that he was. "So you're a Heartless too."
"Yes I am," Dark Alex said. "About time you learned about us. I was beginning to feel a bit ignored."
"Oh don't worry," Alex said. "I never forgot about you. Not for one second."
"I'm flattered," Dark Alex smiled.
"You can't be my Heartless," Alex explained. "I haven't lost my heart yet."
"Quite correct Alex," Dark Alex explained. "I am in fact not your Heartless."
"Then whose Heartless are you?" Alex wondered.
"Don't you remember my policy," Dark Alex shook his head. "I never give spoilers this early in the game."
"Fine then," Alex drew his sword. "Then I'll just make you talk."
"Oh I like the way you think Alex," Dark Alex grinned and pulled out his own sword. "Just to let you know, you aren't the only one who's gotten better at combat."
"I've waited for this for two long years," Alex growled. "Two long years I thought about what I was going to do to you when I found you. How about cutting you into tiny pieces? That sounds fun!"
"Watch out Alex," Dark Alex smiled. "You're starting to sound like me."
"This is for my family you bastard!" Alex yelled.
"Well bring it on Bane!" Dark Alex screamed. "Show me what you've got!"
The two Alex's ran at each other and their blades clashed.
Dark Alex ran in with a stab, which was parried by Alex and came in for another one. Alex crashed his blade on top of his twin's and punched Dark Alex in the mouth. The evil twin recoiled like a snake and struck just as quickly. Alex blocked the strike and lunged at his stomach. Dark Alex flicked his blade to the side for a quick parry and lunged to the face. Alex twisted his face to the side and blocked vertically. He pushed the blade off of his and sliced vertically. Dark Alex blocked the strike, but the force of the blow brought him to the floor. He saw a kick coming, blocked it, and got back up.
Dark Alex continued the fight with a swing to Alex's side. Alex brought the blade to the side to block, swung his blade and Dark Alex's blade in an arc, and crashed his blade on top. Alex tried to backfist his clone, but he blocked and pulled his blade out from under Alex's. Alex had to bring the blade up quick to block and swung madly at the twin. Dark Alex blocked the first strike, parried the second, ducked the third and dodged the fourth. Alex went in for a fifth, but Dark Alex already swung his blade upward. Alex blocked horizontally and punched again. Dark Alex caught the punch in his hand and pushed Alex's blade up to try to cut off Alex's hand. Alex quickly pulled his hand away and stepped back.
The two circled each other, waiting for someone to make a move. Alex was ready for anything that his clone threw at him. Dark Alex decided to surprise Alex with the same trick and shot a fireball from his hand at him. This time, Alex was ready. He made a quick decision to copy Sora. The fireball came at Alex, but Alex hit the fireball like a baseball. He did the same thing Sora had done to Leon. He expected Dark Alex to be no different. Unfortunately, Dark Alex had expected Alex to do that and he sliced the fireball horizontally. It split in half and disintegrated in the darkness.
"Not gonna work with me Alex," Dark Alex gloated. "I am you after all."
Alex growled and charged. The two went back to swords. Alex faked a lunge and quickly changed to a side slice. Dark Alex barely blocked the slice and he countered with a strike to the head. Alex drove his blade upwards and the two swords clashed. Dark Alex did a quick front kick, which hit Alex in the stomach. Alex breathed deeply to get air back in his lungs and charged again. Dark Alex swung at the legs, which Alex jumped over. As he jumped, he swiped at Dark Alex's head, but the twin blocked it.
Alex was starting to realize that they were equally matched. He decided to make it more up close and personal. Dark Alex charged and swung at Alex. Alex blocked, but immediately stepped in to deliver a punch to the jaw. Dark Alex was taken by surprise and tasted blood in his mouth. He parried two strikes from Alex and countered with two of his own. Alex had to swing his blade to both sides to parry. He followed up with a side kick, but Dark Alex caught it and swung his sword at Alex's vulnerable leg. Alex leaned as far as he could and blocked the blow to his leg. Alex thought quickly to the power that he had gained from the dream. He called on it for strength and he felt it. Alex pushed off with his one leg on the ground. He spun in the air and he kicked Dark Alex in the face.
Dark Alex cried out and blood began to come out of his nose and mouth.
"Impressive Alex," Dark Alex grinned. "You really have been tapping into that power you had. Of course...so have I."
Dark Alex clenched his right fist and with a cry, slammed it into the glass. The glass platform shattered and the ground was removed from the two Alex's. They began to free fall into the blackness.
"This should be fun!" Dark Alex screamed.
Alex turned to see Dark Alex angling towards him and getting closer. Alex took a firm grip on his sword and swung. Dark Alex parried the blade and countered with his own strike. Alex twisted his body and knocked the blade away. Dark Alex grabbed a hold of Alex's feet and pulled him until they were face to face. They began to engage in a battle of freefalling fisticuffs.
Dark Alex grabbed Alex's face. Alex punched the twin in the gut and grabbed his back. Dark Alex headbutted Alex and kicked out with his foot. Alex pushed the twin away so he could block the kick. The two grabbed onto each other again. Alex elbowed Dark Alex in the face. The evil twin countered with a side kick to the chest which pushed Alex away. There was no wind as they fell, so Alex's hair didn't whip in his face.
The two came in contact once more. Dark Alex punched Alex, but Alex scratched his face. The evil twin screamed in pain and crashed his palm against Alex's nose. Alex cried out and kicked the twin away. Alex looked up to see his sword falling right beside him. He reached over and grabbed it. Alex swung his sword, only to be blocked by Dark Alex's. He had retrieved his too!Their bodies twisted in the air as they clashed their swords together.
"Uh-oh! Looks like we're landing," Dark Alex laughed.
Alex looked down to see another stained-glass platform coming up fast. He was sure they were going to die. He closed his eyes and waited for the pain of smashing into glass at God-knows how fast. It didn't come. Alex opened his eyes to see that he was floating down to the platform. Dark Alex was too. They both landed on their feet.
Dark Alex smiled. "Now wasn't that fun. Have you ever been in a better fight? I know you haven't."
Alex just grimaced from his hurt nose. Dark Alex didn't seem to be bothered by the pain.
"Why? Why did you come back?" Alex asked.
"Because I can't be free until you are dead," Dark Alex responded.
"What does that even mean?" Alex said, frustrated.
"You'll find out soon enough," the evil twin said.
The two just stared at each other for the longest time.
Finally Dark Alex said," Pretty big shame about those islands though."
Alex suddenly turned. "How do you know about that?"
"Gee I don't know," Dark Alex mocked. "Maybe because I was the one who led the Heartless."
Alex was shocked. "You were the one who sent the Heartless there?"
Dark Alex held up his hand. "Guilty as charged. It was fun too."
"Fun?" Alex growled.
"Yeah it was," Dark Alex smiled. "Taking people's hearts. The whole island was taken. I can't think about anybody that survived."
Alex stared at the evil twin, getting more angry by the second.
"There was this really funny girl," Dark Alex rambled on. "She thought that I was you and she kissed me. Can you believe that? Hah! I will admit she was cute. Very tasty too. Think her name was Selphie."
"Selphie?" Alex clenched his fist around the sword.
"I took her friends too," Dark Alex explained. "Those two weird looking guys. They fell pretty quickly. Screamed the whole damn time. Didn't they know that it's rude to scream at dinner?"
"Dinner?" Alex's mind was a red haze.
"The tastiest person though wasn't even on the main island," Dark Alex explained. "She was this really cute red-haired girl."
"Kairi?" Alex said.
"Kairi," Dark Alex smiled. "What a beautiful name. She thought I was you too, but I quickly showed her otherwise. Out of all my victims, she was my favorite. The most...tasty!"
Alex had heard and seen some horrible things in his life. He had watched violent crime shows and movies. he thought that nothing could surprise him. But this was just unspeakable. This was the bastard that took Kairi's heart. Alex was filled with uncontrollable rage. He ran at Dark Alex, screaming at the top of his lungs. Dark Alex didn't turn around fast enough and was tackled by Alex. They crashed into the glass floor.
Alex got on top of the evil twin and punched him. He punched again. A third time. A fourth time. He punched again and again until Dark Alex's face was a bloody mess. He was about to punch again when Dark Alex caught it in his hand.
"My turn," Dark Alex gave a bloody grin and pushed Alex off.
Dark Alex kicked Alex in the chest which sent him flying back. He punched him until Alex's face was as bloody as his.
"How does that feel?"
Alex answered with a kick to the head. Dark Alex cried out and stepped back.
"Pretty damn good." Alex answered.
The two Alex's charged each other again. Lightning began to flash in the darkness beyond. It flashed with each blow.
Dark Alex punched at Alex, but it was blocked. Alex came in with a kick, but it was blocked as well. Alex blocked a punch from the twin, faked a kick, and punched Dark Alex in the jaw. Dark Alex immediately countered with a backfist that caused more blood to come to Alex's mouth. Alex blocked two punches and rolled away from an axe kick. Dark Alex kicked him in the back when he tried to get up, but was hit in the stomach by Alex's foot. Lightning continued to flash on the battlefield.
Dark Alex hit Alex with a jab, but was hit in the chest by two more. Alex tried to hit him with a crescent kick, but the twin ducked. As he ducked, he twisted around and stuck his foot out, sweeping Alex's feet out from under him. Alex fell to the ground, but immediately lashed out with a kick that hammered Dark Alex in the chest. Alex went in with another punch, but Dark Alex used the momentum to grab it and trip him. He saw Dark Alex right above him and Alex lashed out with two quick kicks that hit him in the head.
Alex blocked a kick and pushed Dark Alex to the ground. He lashed out with a powerful punch, but Dark Alex rolled out of the way in time. Alex ended up hitting the glass. Alex screamed in pain. Glass had shattered and was in his knuckles. He felt a blow to the head and turned around. He rushed Dark Alex and the two grabbed each other. They could smell each other's breath, they were so close. Alex pushed Dark Alex down and kneed him in the face. Dark Alex yelled and head butted Alex in the gut. Alex recoiled back.
"You broke my nose," Dark Alex gritted his teeth. "You'll pay for that Bane!"
Alex tried punching again, but Dark Alex grabbed his fist and pushed the glass on his hand deeper into his skin. Alex screamed and elbowed Dark Alex in the gut. The wind was knocked out of the evil twin and he was hit with Alex's palm in his forehead. Dark Alex punched and Alex blocked with both hands. The twin thrust his other hand out and hit him in the head, then followed up with a side kick to the stomach. Alex countered by slamming both of his hands into the sides of Dark Alex's head.
The two Alex's backed up from each other. Both of them were bleeding and were almost out of energy. But not just yet. Alex walked over and picked up his sword. Dark Alex did the same. They held their blades in front of them. Alex said a silent prayer and charged one last time.
Lighting crackled as their swords crashed together. Dark Alex thrust to the head. Alex twisted to avoid the strike, while swinging the sword. Dark Alex blocked and slashed down. Alex brought the sword up and they clanged together. Alex twisted his blade aside and bashed the twin's face with the hilt of his sword. Dark Alex growled and parried two strikes before countering with his own. Alex ducked the head swipe and rolled out of the vertical strike.
Alex swung wildly, not caring where it hit. Dark Alex blocked these easily, faked a head swipe, and kicked Alex in the shin. Alex winced and swung his sword more. The sword never hit flesh and bone. It only hit another sword. Alex lunged forward. Dark Alex sucked in his stomach and countered with an uppercut. The blow flew Alex in the air and back to the ground. Alex spat out blood and tried to get up. Dark Alex quickly sat on Alex.
"I'll admit you put up a really good fight," Dark Alex said. "Better than I expected at least."
Alex desperately tried to get free. He just had no strength left.
"I'm going to enjoy this," Dark Alex smiled. "Don't worry. You'll see your dead brother again very soon."
Tears came to Alex's eyes. He had failed! Failed to avenge his family! He couldn't even protect himself. He failed his brother!
His brother!
Alex thought back to the last thing Sean said before he died.
Alex. Don't give into this bastard. Don't give up you hear me. Never give up.
The words rang in Alex's head. Never give up! The words of his brother gave him strength he had never known. He gritted his teeth and attacked.
Alex leaned back as far as he could. Dark Alex was pushed forward a little bit. Alex brought his legs up until they were right around Dark Alex's throat. Then he pushed down.
"Gaaaaaaaahhhhhh!" Dark Alex was getting choked by the legs. He eventually gave way and Alex slammed his head onto the glass.
Alex got up to see Dark Alex slowly getting up.
"Eat this,you son of a bitch!" Alex tapped into his newfound strength and shot a fireball at Dark Alex. He didn't even have time to cry out. The fireball slammed him almost to the edge of the platform. Alex knew that he had won.
He walked over to the soon to be dead body of his nemesis. Dark Alex was still alive, but barely.
"Alex. Alex come closer," Dark Alex whispered with any strength he had left.
Alex leaned in closer.
"You think you've won," Dark Alex gave a weak smile. "You're only just starting."
"What do you mean?" Alex asked.
"I told you that I led the Heartless to the islands." the twin said. "But I didn't lead them there because I felt like it."
"What are you talking about?"
"Me coming after you and your family," he said. "Even though I loved it, it wasn't my idea."
"What are you saying?" Alex said.
Dark Alex smiled. "I'm saying that I was ordered to do it. By my master."
Alex gasped. He sat back and a chill ran down his spine.
"Who's your master? Tell me!" Alex screamed.
Dark Alex just grinned. "Think of this as a final present from me. The truth behind the attacks. If you really want to avenge your parent's death, you'll have to take him out. My master."
Dark Alex's body disintegrated into the darkness of the abyss.
Alex just sat there. He wasn't behind his parent's deaths? Then who? All of these questions flooded his mind until he did the only thing he could do.
He screamed into the darkness with all of his soul.