Chapter 30: The Challenge

Thunder struck as all the thieves gathered around the battle arena to where the challenge will be held. Abu and Iago found themselves locked inside a small wooden cage. A particularly fat thief was sitting on Carpet, while Sora and Aladdin stood next to Cassim. Abu chattered something to Iago. "Escape?" the parrot translated. "Not likely. Our ride home is grounded, while Al and Sora... well, it's been nice knowin' them."

Aladdin felt no better about the situation. "What's going on, Dad?" he asked

"Oh, the challenge is simply enough." Cassim explained, "Only one man survives, well in this case, one team." Sora and Aladdin looked over to Sa'luk who was waiting in the arena, his face basically screamed 'psycho killer', making the two gulped as thunder brighten up his deadly figures. Sora looked behind him and saw a Heartless that he hoped that he would never see again in this world...

It was Kurt Zisa

"Oh no, anything think but that Heartless." Sora moaned. Aladdin saw Kurt Zisa and was now starting to make a letter of his lasts words to Jasmine while Cassim looked at Sa'luk with annoyance.

"Sa'luk! When I mean one Heartless; I meant one that is the same size as you. Not one that is big enough to destroy the entire lair." Cassim proclaimed. Sa'luk grunted angrily as he disposed of Kurt Zisa and summoned a shadow form of himself, making Sora and Aladdin sigh in relief. "As I was saying…" Sora and Aladdin looked at Cassim, "You're my son and you're a keyblader. You'll be that team." He said. Sora wasn't so sure about that considering the fact that Sa'luk has the ability to control Kurt Zisa. Cassim then handed Aladdin his dagger. "Knock him dead, kid. Seriously." Aladdin took the dagger of his father and Sora and Aladdin stepped into the arena.

The four looked deadly at each other; Sora looking at Sa'luk while Aladdin looking at Anti-Sa'luk. The thunderstorm carried on above them as the winds picked up a bit. This reminded Sora of the storm that hit Destiny Islands before it was swallowed by darkness; it wasn't as strong but still very familiar. All four of them summoned they weapons, getting ready, as they watched one of the thieves approach them. He waved his sword down, like a flag, signalling them to start.

As soon as the sword went down, Anti-Sa'luk literally jumped Aladdin as he tried to rip Aladdin apart. Aladdin kicked the heartless off him and flipped back up before dodging its wipes. Sora wasn't having that much like either. Sa'luk started trying to punch and slash Sora, Sora dodges his attacks but finds himself against a pillar. Sora saw Sa'luk's attack and was about to counter it when his Keyblade disappeared from his hand. 'What the-' Sora saw Sa'luk aiming for his head and quickly dodged it, making him fall into the thieves.

Aladdin pulled out his dagger and tried to attack the Heartless; it dodges and attempts to swipe Aladdin's head off. Aladdin saw this coming and round kick it in the gut, making it gag for breath. Sa'luk starts to taunt Sora as he is pushed back up by the other thieves. Sora tried summoning the Kingdom Key while being pushed but nothing happened. 'Why can't I wield the Keyblade?' Sora looked up and saw Sa'luk about to slash him. Sora thought fast and ducked, avoiding Sa'luk attack. Sora then sweep kicks at Sa'luk's legs, making him fall over.

Anti-Sa'luk regained his posture and started to punch Aladdin at the mid-section and jaw. Aladdin dropped to the floor while dropping his dagger next to him. Anti-Sa'luk was about to pounce on the fallen Aladdin like a lion would on prey when Aladdin quickly grabbed his dagger and forced it through the Heartless's chest. Anti-Sa'luk then stepped away from Aladdin with the dagger still in his chest. He fell to the ground and faded back to Kingdom Hearts. Aladdin walked over to the dagger and picked it up before heading over to Sa'luk and Sora.

Sora was still evading Sa'luk attacks while trying to summon his Keyblade. Sora had some slashes on his mid-section and his left shoulder but the adrenaline in his body was keeping the pain away for the time being. Sora was backing away from Sa'luk's attacks when he tripped over a rock behind him and fell to the ground. He looked up as he saw Sa'luk approach him. Sora tried summoning his weapon again and praying to who knows what to make it appear. Sa'luk stood over him and chuckled.

"Maleficent was wrong about you." He growled like a heartless, "You're nothing but a weak, useless boy."

Sa'luk was about to attack and possible end Sora's life when Aladdin came sliding in, kicking Sa'luk in the legs as he slid in and made Sa'luk fall over again. Aladdin ran over to Sora and gave him a potion. Sora thanked Aladdin as he pulled him up, not realising that Sa'luk had gotten back up. Sa'luk's attack was aimed at Sora's head; Aladdin saw Sa'luk behind Sora and pushed him out of the way. Sa'luk's claw struck down and when deep in Aladdin's arm.

As Aladdin screamed due to the pain in his arm; Cassim flightily watched his son get tripped to pieces while Iago and Abu watch helplessly from their cage. Aladdin grabbed his arm in pain as he looked up at Sa'luk who was smirking. Sora gave up summoning his Keyblade and finally deicide to use hand to hand combat; luckily for Sora, he had managed to learn some forms of hand to hand from Riku, Beast and Hercules.

While Sa'luk wasn't looking, Sora ran to him and strikes him right in the middle of the chest. The punch forced Sa'luk to go flying into the pillar, collapsing it at the same time. Sora's eyes widen in surprised and looked at his right hand, the hand he had used to punch Sa'luk. His hand flashed brightly before turning back swollen and half of his hand was turning dark. Sora looked up as Sa'luk as he pushed out of the rubble. Sora, as well as everyone else, was surprised to see that Sa'luk had three claw marks where Sora had punched.

"Sora, how did you do that?" Aladdin asked, a bit of fear was hidden in his voice.

"I have no idea." Sora replied with a hint of worry in his voice as he looked at his hand again. Since Aladdin and Sora was distracted from that strange attack. Sa'luk had managed to grab the both of them by the legs. Sa'luk held them upside down as both of them struggled to escape. Sa'luk then walked over to the edge of a cliff as he threw them off and watched.

Cassim just froze in place as he watched his only son who he thought was dead all those years ago was throw over the cliff. "No…" he breathed and hoped that his son and his friend were still alive.

As Aladdin and Sora started to fall, Sora tried to summon and by chance it finally came. Sora slammed his Keyblade in the cliff while Aladdin mimicked the action with his dagger. The weapons made a path in the cliff as it tried to save their wielders life. The weapons finally stopped the two from falling and stepped on a small edge that must have been formed from erosion from the death crushing sea below. Aladdin sighed in relief and looked up to get his dagger; he stopped what he was doing and tapped Sora on the shoulder while pointing up.

Sa'luk was coming down the cliff with his claw holding into the cliff. Sa'luk landed on the edge and started to approach the two with a grin on his face. Aladdin and Sora started to back away and then saw than they had nowhere else to go and Aladdin couldn't climb due to his arm being clawed.

They were trapped.

Sora started to looked around and saw that they needed Sa'luk to back away. The thunder struck once more but it was nearer to the group. Sora went to summon the Keyblade back into his hand but the Kingdom Key wasn't responding again. Sora sighed, frustrated about how the Keyblade wasn't working with him today and he needed the Keyblade to use his element. Sora felt his right hand shake as he felt a force that was familiar to the dream he had. His arm subconsciously rises in front of him as both he and Aladdin watched his actions.

Sa'luk was bothered about Sora's actions a bit and stepped closer.

Thunder then struck again near them and Sora could feel words starting to escape his lips.

Sa'luk took another step forward

Sora felt that someone else was in control and could hear Roxas trying to see what's going on.

Another step

"THUNDERA!" Sora shouted but it wasn't his own voice, it seemed darker.

Thunder struck again at the same time that Sora cast his spell. Both bolts of lightning joined together and struck Sa'luk, making him back away. He was now behind the weapons. Aladdin jumped over Sora, grabbed the Keyblade in the wall and kicked Sa'luk straight in the face. Sa'luk backed away even more and started to slip on the edge. He started to lose balance and then jumbled off the side. Sora and Aladdin went to grab his hand but missed and the two watched one of the Forty Thieves fall to his death.

Aladdin looked up to see the thieves throw down one side of a rope while Sora just looked at his swollen arm with curiosity and concernedly. "What's happening to me?" Sora said quietly to himself. He looked at Aladdin and quickly healed the both of them before they started to climb the rope. Aladdin pulled out his dagger and put it away while climbing up. Sora had done the same action with his keyblade as he climbed up the rope and wondered what had just happened to him.

When Sora and Aladdin got to the top of the cliff, they saw the other 38 thieves surround them. "Look w—w-we didn't mean-" Sora tried to explained to the thieves but they ignored his explanations and grabbed the two. The thieves took Sora and Aladdin, as well as Iago, Abu and Carpet in front of the King of Thieves, Cassim.

"You killed Sa'luk. The code of the Forty Thieves is very clear at this point." Cassim said darkly with his arms crossed.

Aladdin and Sora gulped with fear.

"You're in." Cassim shrugged as the other thieves cheered for their new members.

BOWBOWBOW

Kairi, Donald and Goofy came into the treasure room than was set inside the Cave of Wonders. The group had just gone though the trail that they had to go through last time they came here. Kairi had a little trouble at first but with Donald and Goofy's help, she was able to pass the trial and was able to learn cure off of Donald. When they stepped into the treasure room, Kairi was simple awed.

"Wow…" she breathed, "I didn't expect to see this much treasure."

"Uh, just be sure not to touch anything." Goofy warned her, "Last time Donald touched something, the entire place collapsed on us and we barely escape with our lives." Donald immediately turned to Goofy and wacked his staff against Goofy's leg. "Ow! That hurt." Goofy rubbed.

"That wasn't me that made the Cave collapse. That was Abu." Donald defended himself. Kairi carried on looking at all the treasure in the room, forgetting about Donald and Goofy for the moment.

"Really?" Goofy asked, now confused by his own memories. Donald nodded and then looked over to Kairi. Donald snickered mischievously as he turned back to Goofy.

"Goofy, do you remember the plan that we discussed with Genie?" Donald asked

"Uh…." Goofy lifted his hat and scratched his head as he thought while Donald tapped his foot impatiently. "Oh! I remember! That was…" Goofy shouted but was stopped half way by Donald.

"Shh Goofy!" Donald scowled, "Just follow my lead." Goofy nodded hastily as Donald let go of his month. The two animal-like creatures then caught up to the distracted princess as she continued to look at the treasure. Donald and Goofy nodded to each other, similar to when they were telling the King that they were leaving back at Radiant Garden during the Heartless invasion. The both of them grinned before staying next to Kairi.

"Have you seen anything shinier that treasure, Goofy?" Donald asked, making himself sound excited.

"Well…I thing that the wedding would be much better than some treasure." Goofy said honestly. Kairi turned away from the treasure and looked at the two. "Hey Kairi, I betcha looking forward to the wedding, Ah-yuck!" Kairi smiled softly at them as a response.

"Weddings are so romantic." Kairi said dreamily

"Yeah, it's too bad that Sora can't dance." Donald sighed. This caught Kairi's attention.

"Sora can't dance?" Kairi asked, there was a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Gawsh Kairi, we thought Sora told ya." Goofy replied

"I don't blame him though." Donald defended, "If I was in Sora's shoes, I wouldn't dare tell Daisy about my dancing." Kairi giggled at the thought of Sora trying to dance but ending up falling to the ground instead.

"I think I'll have to do something about that." Kairi said to herself then faced her complainers again. "C'mon, let's seal that Keyhole." Kairi then headed towards the room where Genie was found. Donald and Goofy chuckled among themselves before following her.

When the three entered the room, they saw that someone was already sealing the keyhole with their Keyblade. Kairi looked at the Keyblade curiously. The Keyblade appeared to have no keychain on the old fashioned Keyblade and it seemed to be shaped of a back handed wielder. Kairi looked up again and saw that the person was the knight see saw back at Notre Dame. Before she could say something, she heard barking.

Everyone looked at the source of the noise and saw a yellow dog by the knight's side. The trio's eyes widen in shocked.

"Pluto?" The three gasped

Pluto barked happily in response and wagged his tail as the knight patted his head caringly. "Donald and Goofy." The knight said to with surprise, "You guys haven't changed."

"How do you know us!" Donald demanded. The knight chuckled as he finished balancing the world and face the three.

"King Mickey saved my life a couple of years ago against Master Xehanort's apprentice." The knight replied. "Don't you remember?"

"Apprentice?" Goofy echoed. "Xehanort has an apprentice?"

"Time is of the essence. I have no time to explain." The knight replied, he then bowed to Kairi. "It's an honour to be in the present of a Princess of Heart. One who isn't on the floor after casting such powerful magic." The knight said in amusement.

"Y-You're Ventus." Kairi guessed, ignoring the princess comment at the moment. The knight nodded in agreement, making Donald and Goofy gasp with realisation. "How do you know Sora?"

"Like I said, time is of the essence." Ven replied. The place started to rumble as it started to collapse. Heartless appeared around them. Ven took his back handed Keyblade and threw it at the Heartless, controlling his Keyblade using his wind magic. After he took out the Heartless, he made to portals of light appear. He faced the three as he pointed towards the left portal. "The portal will take you back to Agrabah." Ven informed them as he and Pluto headed towards the right portal.

"Wait!" Kairi called out but Ven and Pluto when thought the portal. The portal disappeared and left behind a piece of white paper. Kairi quickly ran over to it, while dodging falling rocks, and pick up the note…

I once one a peaceful world

But left to aid my friends,

As your friend did before.

Sometimes the unexpected happens,

And it causes friends to walk the wrong path.

As Kairi read the note, she paused to think what Ven meant. What does he mean? Is he talking about the past or the near future? Kairi pushed the thought away for the moment as she noticed more writing on the note.

The item you seek isn't here,

You'll find it on a turtle's back.

Kairi placed the note in her pocket and turned to look at Donald and Goofy who was calling to her from the other side of the room.

"C'mon!" Donald called out to her before going thought the portal that Ven had formed.

"Hang on, Kairi." Goofy shouted and summoned his shield. Goofy ran over to Kairi while using his shield to protect his head. "C'mon Kairi, we gotta skedaddle." Goofy said to her while lowering his shield. Kairi was about to replied and follow when she noticed a bolder collapse from the ceiling and was going to hit Goofy. Kairi summoned Oathkeeper and aimed it in Goofy's direction, earning a scared expression from Goofy. "Uh Kairi…"

"Aero!" Kairi shouted and a gust of wind fired out of her Keyblade.

"Woah!" Goofy immediately dropped to the floor to avoid the attack. He rolled on his back to see the gust of wind push the bolder that was about to hit him, be pushed into the wall. Kairi walked up to Goofy and held out her hand. Goofy grabbed her hand and Kairi pulled her up. "Gee Kairi, thanks. I was a bit worried there, Ah-yuck!" Goofy said, cheerfully.

"Sorry, I guess I should have warned you." Kairi replied sheepishly, placing a lock of her auburn hair behind her ear. The place started to shake again and reminded the two that the place was collapsing. Kairi and Goofy quickly ran thought the portal before the Cave of Wonders collapsed…..again.

BOWBOWBOW

Sharks were swimming in the calm, silent sea with the moon reflecting its shine on the watery surface. The sharks started to circle something that could be seen under the water when one of the sharks was suddenly dragged under. The other shark went to swim under when something dug its black claw in its chest and threw the dead shark on the beach. The figure slowly approached the shore of the beach. The light of the moon then shined on his face, revealing the appearance of this creature.

It was Sa'luk

His entire chest, where Sora had struck had turned completely black along with his right arm. He looked like that someone had grabbed a random heartless and tried to merge the two bodies together. Sa'luk looked at his right hand and saw that his knuckles looked pointier that usual. When he clenched his fist, black shadowed claws pieced thought his skin. Sa'luk then looked at his other hand, which was still normal. He clenched his fist but it seemed the same. Sa'luk looked down as he saw his golden claws wash on to the shore. He picked them up and placed them on his left hand. He then turned his direction to the moon.

"This power is much more offering than what Maleficent had given. I can take over Agrabah without her." Sa'luk said to himself, he then looked at his claws, both black and gold. "And I will get back at Cassim, Aladdin and Sora with this new power."

A/N: Yes! I finished this chapter. Stupid word decided to finish it's trial so I can't do the story over the weekend now and I don't know when the next chap would be up. Well at least it gives you guys some time to ask some questions and to review. Remember, join the Order by reviewing, we have cookies. Also, if you want to know about some of my Oc's then go to my profile where I have written about my Oc's and what there weapons are and everything.

Now time for messages:

Kisdota-The Freak Gamer: No prob, it's a great story and I always wondered why you called Sora2, Azurith but not Aros like others? Did you decided to be creative unlike the rest of

ONLY ONE! Man, you guys are missing out on some good cookies. Remember to R&R.

May the light in our hearts keep us strong

Kingdommad