Kingdom Hearts II
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It is then, Roxas's body starts to glow and vanishes into Sora.
The brunette hugs himself as he weeps silently in the downpour.
二人の約束
The Promise Between the Two of Us
Chapter 20:
Old Friends Reunited
At Twilight's View
Naminé and Kairi run down the steps at Twilight's View, Pluto following behind.
Namine...Take care of the rest...
The blond halts in her steps as Kairi halts too and looks at her. "Namine?" Namine looks at her and smiles. "It's nothing…Come on."
They are about to move on, but stop when they see Berserker Nobodies and Saïx appears in front of them. "Namine…There you are." Namine steps in front of Kairi, acting like her shield. Saix smirks and looks at Kairi. "Kairi. I'm afraid leaving is not an option." He holds out his hand. "I'll take you to see Sora." Kairi glares at him, as Saix retreats his hand. "You don't want to?"
"I do! But not with your help!"
Saix smirks. "If I had a heart, this would be where I die of laughter."
They hear the sound of a sword. Saïx turns around to see the Berserker Nobodies fall to the ground and disappear. Behind them is another figure in a black cloak holding a wing-like Keyblade. "You... Didn't Roxas take care of you?"
Namine smiles at the figure. "You can take it from here, Riku." Kairi gasps behind her. "Riku?!"
The figure's Keyblade disappears, and he shoots a Dark Firaga at Saïx. Saïx blocks with his arms and jumps backwards. The figure grabs him and slams him against the wall. Saïx puts a hand to the wall, he creates a dark portal and escapes into it. The figure is about to follow when Kairi runs up to grabs his sleeve.
"Riku…You are really here…"
She takes off his hood and reveals the figure of Ansem, who looks away from her.
Back to Sora and company
The group continues through Nothing's Call to Crooked Ascension. Donald and Goofy steal glances at Sora, who is walking at the back. The brunette has his head hang low, his bangs covering his expression. After what had happened at the Memory's Skyscraper, Sora had been silent throughout, making the other two worry. They enter Twilight's View and ready themselves for the Hall of Empty Melodies.
"Sora... You've done well."
Donald and Goofy look up to see Saïx on a very elaborate high ledge. Sora still has his head hang low, seeing this, Saix smirks. "Does it hurt? To lose the one you love."
Sora remains silent.
"But does it hurt more? To kill the one you love with your own hand…"
This makes Sora glares up at him, his eyes are red due to the crying. Saix chuckles and points to the moon. "Our Kingdom Hearts... Thanks to you, we've collected countless hearts...Can you hear their euphoria? Now, all they need is one more helping from the Keyblade bearer!"
Saïx snaps his fingers and hundreds of Shadow Heartless emerge from the walls. Donald looks at Sora. "Sora! We gotta fight!" Sora clenches his fist.
"Sora!"
Sora looks up to see Kairi on another ledge. "Sora! It's really you!"
"Kairi?!"
Suddenly a bunch of Shadow Heartless pounce onto Sora and company. Kairi gasps. "Leave Sora alone!" She takes a few steps back and leaps over the railing and off the ledge. She hits the ground running but the Shadow Heartless overtake her too. "Sora…!"
There's a flash of light suddenly and the Heartless covering Kairi disappear. She's taken by the arm of Ansem, who hands her a Keyblade. "Take it."
Kairi takes the Keyblade in her hand. "This time...I'll fight! You know Sora's completely hopeless without us! C'mon, Riku!"
He watches as she runs into the fight, bashing Heartless with the blade. He readies his Keyblade and rushes in. Saïx watches from above when something catches his eye. Maleficent and Pete enter on the opposite ledge.
"Well, well. Will the intrusions never end?" He chuckles and vanishes.
Maleficent smirks. "Why, Pete...this castle is perfect. Perhaps we should...acquire it."
"Well, the setup is...kinda nice, I guess, but...what about all the Heartless? This in-between world---it's way too close to the darkness! They ain't gonna listen to us here!"
Maleficent snorts. "Once again, you underestimate me."
On the other hand
The moon shines brightly in the sky as King Mickey runs through the castle, knocking out Heartless and Nobodies. He finds Diz on the floor, surrounded by Nobodies, and takes them out. Mickey helps DiZ to stand, when he notices an odd-looking device next to him. Diz reaches to his face and takes off the red cloths on his face., revealing Ansem the Wise.
"It's been too long, my friend."
"Ansem the Wise. Why didn't you come to me before things got so bad?"
"Xemnas, the Organization's Superior, is the Nobody of Xehanort, my foremost apprentice. The burden was mine to bear."
"Is that all?"
Ansem turns to look at the moon. "I won't deny there was more. I was...obsessed with thoughts of revenge. My apprentices stole everything precious to me---my research, and my pride."
Mickey sighs. "I can't help you with revenge."
"I know. Riku's told me a thousand times."
"Where is he?"
"He must be with his friends by now. Riku was a great help to me. I found him wandering the darkness, after you and he lost track of each other."
Mickey folds his arms. "Gosh, we didn't lose each other exactly. Riku left...well, 'cause Xehanort's Heartless was still inside his heart, troubling him. And he sure must've been suffering. But what I don't understand is why he looks like that now, when he's still Riku at heart..."
"I am to blame. When I met Riku the first time he still had the appearance of a boy. Probably because he had such a strong heart. I asked him to find a young man named Roxas from Organization XIII, and bring him to me. When I told him it would help Sora awaken from his slumber, Riku left without a word. He fought Roxas. And I can only surmise Riku lost that fight. Riku must have realized then: to fight in the realm of darkness, he would have to immerse himself in that same darkness. And when he did...you saw what became of him. When Riku brought Roxas back to me, he was introducing himself...as Ansem. If that was what it took to awaken his friend, he was ready to live in darkness. Riku was the victim of my revenge. ...Oh, how my heart ached. I could only laugh to hide my shame."
Mickey pats him. "I guess it musta been after that when I saw Riku again. He said he wanted to help Sora...but he made me promise… Promise that Sora wouldn't ever find out about what happened to him while he was out in the darkness."
"My friend, the time has come. I must make amends to these young people." Ansem the Wise picks up the strange device, and he and Mickey walk inside.
Back to Sora and company
Sora pushes the Shadows Heartless off him, he looks up to see Kairi and Ansem fighting off the Heartless. Suddenly, a katar takes aim and shoots. The shard lands on the battleground near Sora. He looks up and sees a myriad of projectiles, which obliterate the Heartless.
"Have you been a good boy?"
"Show yourself!!"
Xigbar appears on the elaborate ledge. "Oh, it sounds like you haven't. Sora! Roxas!" Sora stirs at the name. "You've really put Organization XIII in a pickle. I guess that must be why the Keyblade chose you. But MAN, did it pick a dud this time. You don't look like you're half the hero the others were.
"Are you done rambling?" Sora's anger is rising within himself.
"What did ya said? Rambling? As if! All I'm trying to tell you, traitor, is that your time is up!" He throws each of his hands up and his shooing katars appear. He throws them to his sides and cocks them.
"Here he comes!" Xigbar jumps down to the floor where they stand and smirks.
"You really shouldn't have betrayed us."He spins his katars around and locks them together. He teleports up to the ledge. "Gotcha now!"
He aims at Sora and fires. Sora warps to each of the projectiles he shoots and knocks them back with his keyblade. To his shock, Sora looks down at his new keyblade. It is a silver blade with a black handle, at the end of the keychain is the same symbol as the choker that is always on Roxas collar.
"Roxas…"
"Clever little sneak!" Xigbar teleports back down to the group. Sora get ready and fights him until he can no longer hold up his katar. It clatters to the floor.
"I lost? Me?"
Xigbar looks up at Sora. "Traitor…" He fades away as Sora looks at the keyblade in his hand.
Meanwhile, Mickey and Ansem the Wise arrive as they look over the ledge at Kairi and Ansem fighting the Heartless. "Uh-oh, they need our help."
Ansem the Wise stops him. "Sora and Riku are together. We have no part to play here."
Mickey looks at Ansem. "Gee, I wonder if Riku will ever change back..."
"Riku chose that form so he could use the power of darkness. It won't be easy." They leave the Hall of Empty Melodies.
At the top of the castle, millions of hearts float and merge with the heart-shaped moon. Xemnas chuckles. "Yes...Kingdom Hearts... Rejoice, and feast on these hearts we offer! Shine your pale light on this empty realm... Share your power with all Nobodies!"
He lifts his arms to the moon and Saïx appears. "Xemnas. Is Kingdom Hearts ready?"
"Very soon."
"Then, I can end this charade?"
"Indeed."
Saïx smirks. "How I've waited to hear that."
Back to the other side, Sora, Donald, and Goofy find Kairi and Ansem. She turns around and sees them, she walks towards Sora. "Kairi…"
"You and Riku never came home, so I came looking for you.
Sora looks away from her when Kairi suddenly rushes up and hugs him, much to Sora's surprise. "This is real..."
He hesitates a little before he hugs her back. A portal appears behind Ansem, and he begins to walk into it, but Kairi runs over and stops him. "Riku, don't go!"
Sora, Donald, and Goofy gasp, Sora moves towards Kairi. "Kairi, what did you just say?"
Kairi looks from him to Ansem. "He's Riku."
Ansem looks away. "I'm no one…just a castaway from the darkness."
"Sora… Say something to him." Kairi takes his hand. "Here. You'll understand." She places their hands together with hers. "Close your eyes."
Sora does so, as Ansem looks at him. In the dark, Sora sees Riku in a black cloak standing at the place where Ansem supposed to be. Sora opens his eyes again.
"Riku... It's really you…"
Tears rolling down his face, as he clenches hard onto Riku's hand. "C'mon, Sora. You've got to pull it together."
"I looked everywhere for you!"
Riku sighs. "I didn't want you to find me."
"But it was him that was helpin' us, wasn't it?" Donald looks at Goofy "Huh?"
"Those clues we kept finding. That musta been Riku."
Riku smirks. "I was starting to worry you guys weren't ever gonna catch on. Sora never did pick the brightest friends."
Sora looks at him. "Why didn't you let me know you were okay?"
"I told you. I didn't want to be found. Not like this..." Riku looks at himself. "I couldn't. I fought with Ansem. With...Xehanort's Heartless…when it invaded my heart, and I won. But to use the power of darkness, I had to become Ansem myself."
Kairi looks at him in worry. "Does that mean...you can't change back?"
"This battle isn't over. And until it is, I still need the power of darkness."
Sora nods. "No matter what, you are still Riku. Come on, the King's waiting!" The brunette paces forth as Kairi looks towards Donald and Goofy.
"Donald, Goofy, did something happened? Sora is acting weird…"
The two hesitate until Sora shouts to them, they quickly head to where the keybearer is.
On the other hand, Ansem the Wise and Mickey find the closest ledge to Kingdom Hearts. "This spot should do." Ansem sets the device down.
"What's this gadget for?"
"It's a device to reclaim Kingdom Hearts and encode it as data."
"Not sure I get it."
"I do not claim to know the outcome of this venture, either. After all...Hearts are unpredictable." He starts up the device, which shoots a steady beam at the moon.
Back to Sora, Donald, Goofy, Kairi, and Riku, they enter the Proof of Existence. The room feels like a graveyard, and all but three of the gravestones are damaged. They enter one of them and end up in Havoc's Divide. They look up to Kingdom Hearts and see a beam connected to it.
"What's that?"
Riku looks from it to the group. "It's the King and Diz…I mean, Ansem the Wise. They must be higher up. We better hurry."
Sora nods. They start to leave, but Luxord appears suddenly, separating Sora from the rest of the group. He snaps his fingers and large cards rise and cover Donald and the rest. Luxord snaps his fingers again, and the cards fly away, with Sora's friends missing.
Sora glares at him as he summons out his keyblade. "You!"
"I'd rather we just skip the formalities. The first to run out of time is the loser."
Sora fights a time battle with Luxord, having a hard time as the cards are causing the distraction. "You play the game quite well."
Sora slashes his Keyblade and runs at Luxord for a final blow. Luxord surrounds himself with cards. Sora slashes right through the cards, slicing them in half, and striking Luxord.
"How could you...Roxas..."
Sora remains silent as Luxord fades away. The cards fly back in and return his friends. "Sora, you okay? Sora…?"
Sora snaps out from his daze. "Yeah! Yeah..I'm fine. No worries. Let's keep moving."
They return to the Proof of Existence and enter Addled Impasse, to find Saïx looking up through a large window at Kingdom Hearts. He smiles at them when they enter.
"Only you could have made it this far in one piece...Roxas."
Kairi looks over at Sora. "Roxas? Sora, what did he mean?"
Sora clenches his fist hard as he glares at Saix. "Stop calling me by that name when you know that I'm not him!!"
"Different names, same fate." Saix thrusts the claymore forward and a wave of vibration shoots forward toward them. Riku runs to cover Kairi, and it send them sliding forward. A barrier forms before them and they are blocked out. They can only watch as Sora, Donald, and Goofy fight Saïx.
"Do you feel it, the moon's power? Moon, shine down!"
"I'm gonna defeat you for sure!" Sora growls as he summons his keyblade. After an intense battle, Saïx is defeated as Sora places his blade near his neck.
"Are you going to kill me? Do it then. If you can…"
Sora brings up his blade. Everyone gasp as they thought Sora is really going to kill Saix, but to their relief, the keyblade disappear from his hand. "I want to. But…I won't. Not to fulfil your satisfaction."
Saix smirks as he fades off. Everyone walks towards Sora as Kairi touches his hand. "Sora…" It is then, they realize that the brunette is crying as Sora fells to his knees and cups his face.
Riku squats down in front of Sora. "Looks like he have found you." This makes Sora looks up at him. "Xemnas was the one who found Roxas. He could use the Keyblade because he was your Nobody. That's why Xemnas brought him into the Organization… But Roxas betrayed them. After that I fought him because I thought it would help you wake up. I lost, but the next time we met I made sure I was the stronger one."
At that moment, a flash of memory flashes through Sora's mind.
Flashback
Roxas pants as he looks down at Riku, with his Oblivion still pointing at the silver-haired boy. "What the hell do you want with me?!"
Riku smirks as he stands up making the blond step back. "What's wrong, Sora? Is that all you got?"
"What are you talking about, I can beat you any…!" Roxas pauses as he is shock at his outburst.
Riku smirks at this. "Humph, so, you really are him…"
"Shut up!" Roxas charges forth as he hits Riku, sending him crushing towards the buildings. Roxas wants to attack again, but before he could do it, a large black hand comes out from the smoke and grabs his throat. Roxas struggles as he is being hold in mid air. After a while, the blond pass out as the smoke clears off, revealing Riku in Ansem's form. The hand that is grabbing hold onto Roxas is from a big black heartless floating behind him.
Flashback End
Riku folds his arms. "Maybe I didn't need to fight him after all. I think he left the Organization because...he really wanted to meet you."
Sora lets more of his tears fell. "But…I…killed him…I killed Roxas…"
Riku shakes his head. "No, Sora." He grabs Sora hand and place it on Sora's heart. "He's here…and he will always be."
Sora looks down at his hand. "Roxas…"
TBC
Lolx, another chappy finish!!
Alright guys! I won't update the next chapter if the reviews count did not reach 175!! Kukukuku…
Riku: All right. Let's go.
