Chapter 129: Gardens of Greed

In one whole day, they had returned to Destiny Islands, discovered parts of Brian's past, heard that the mayor had placed Sora and Riku wanted and Kairi had been taken by a mysterious person, there only clue being from Radiant Garden. From the return to the Gummi ship, Sora remained in his room, the mutters and yells of frustration and sorrow told the others to leave him for this short time, they could tell he was blaming himself with what happened. The gummi ship had just past the Radiant Garden's defences, allowing the gummi to reach the world within 4-5 hours, as Hikari and Steve keep an eye on things in the cockpit.

Riku sighed with worry as he walked back into the bridge, he failed to cheer his friend up, only fuelling his worry and sorrow into rage as the Keyblade Master began to destroy items within his room again. As he looked around the bridge, he watched as Brian was looking deeply down at his reports, a pad of paper next to him, lines of dates written down. "What's that?" he asked, taking a seat opposite to the Endless.

"I'm figuring out which date is what." Brian kept his on the papers. "Getting the order right makes the future more clear."

"So you're not questioning the fact that someone mysterious had taken Kairi right from under our noses and that the fact that Sora is currently destroying our room out of guilt?" Riku looked at him in disbelief, only watching as Brian quickly looked up before looking back at the papers, remaining silent. "Well?" he waited.

"I'm worried too but you don't see me destroying everything." Brian snapped, glaring back at Riku, catching him off guard. "If you have forgotten, I'm trying to sort out what is what in my past. Ever since that flashback, I've been getting images of my past and present mixed up so as much as I like to worry about this, despite the fact that the kidnapper had given us a huge clue to where he is, I want to make sure that I don't fall unconscious when we do get to Hollow Bastion."

"Radiant Garden." Riku corrected before sighing at the sight of Brian's angered glare. "Sorry. I'm just worried for the both of them."

"Trust me; you should be more worried when we get there." Brian muttered, looking back at his notes as began to add the dates on the reports.

Riku raised an eyebrow at this. "Why? What's going on?"

"Can't tell you." Brian simply said.

"Then why tell me to be more worried?" Riku stood up, glaring down at him. "What is it with Endless and their riddles? Can't you just tell me something straight?"

"What was going on when you last went to Radiant Garden?" He asked him, looking at him with a smirk.

Taken back by the sudden question, the tall, silver haired teen stood back in thought. He had arrived at Radiant Garden unconscious due to his contact with Link. He had awoken to a new form of Nobody attacking the town, nothing that the committee couldn't handle, he had found Ventus, encountered Vanitas and found out that he was the Dark Master. He had also met Prince Kasper for the first time— His face flashed with realisation as he took his seat once more. "WHY DIDN'T I REALISE BEFORE?" Riku shouted, face palming the desk as he realises the truth. "I'm an idiot!"

Brian chuckled as he looked at the stressed keybearer. "Spare to share your discoveries?" He asked.

"GUYS!" Hikari shouted from the cockpit, her voice filled with urgency. "Battle ships! Twelve O'clock. We need people on guns!"

Brian jumped from his seat, looking back at Riku with the same urgency that Hikari held in her voice. "Get Sora. Put him on guns. It'll properly calm him down." He chuckled before running to the cockpit, shouting. "NOW THIS IS A RECUSE!"

The red gummi halt in place, the sight of the world was in view, only for the sight of Nobody battleships to be surrounding the world, attacking the world with all of its forces. With the force of the boosters, the gummi began to race between the huge battleships, taking out any of the small gummi ships as it sped through the maze that the ship formed. Some of the grey ships seemed to be driving the gummi ship away from the world, with only the main guns firing, they had to avoid the blockage and go through one of the battleships.

Brian looked back at the blockage before focusing on the enemies ahead, confusion set in his eyes. "Why are they stalling us?" Brian asked.

Hikari shot a couple more enemies down in front, looking to the sides as the enemies began to build up. "What if they know that we would come straight away?" Hikari pointed out. "What if the whole reason they left a clue to Radiant Garden was to lead us in a trap?"

"If it's a trap then those two better get on the side guns quick!" Brian sharply said, spinning the gummi so that all of Hikari's shots could take the surrounding ships. "How do we get out of here?"

"We should be able to get through the side." Hikari shook her head as she added. "But it will only lead us out of the battle."

"There's no other way around this?" Brian said in disbelief, slamming his fist down at the steering wheel. "We can't waste time! We need to get down there."

"I've been through this kind of ship before." Sora voice blasted through the communicator of the ship. "We can go to the core and escape there. We can take them all out and get to the world with no problem!"

"We won't escape the blast in time if we do that!" Brian countered. "We'll be crashing to the world."

"We don't have a choice, Brian." RIku quickly told him.

Brian sighed, frowning at the thought of completely losing his ship before groaning. "Fine!" In theory, it was the quickest way and they didn't have time to waste but he huffed as he sobbed slightly. "Goodbye gummi ship, I'm gonna miss ya." He turned the gummi, blasting its way to the core of the battleship.

BOWBOWBOW

Yuffie cheered as she jump from house to house, taking out a couple of Dusks before landing safely on the ground, side by side with Leon and Rinoa and a huge Seeker stood, tempting to destroy Merlin's house. She quickly teleported, attacking the Seeker's grip, the roar of the Seeker's pain echoes through the streets of the gardens. "Leon! NOW!"

Leon charged towards the nobody, gunblade rose as he sliced down at the being, quickly rolling out of the way as the Nobody slashed at him before slamming at Merlin's house once more. The brunet watched the Nobody in disbelief as it continued to break into the house, the sight of the protective barriers that the mages have placed on the house was beginning to show. "The Nobody is too big. We need something huge to take this one down."

Rinoa, who was executing spells at the huge Nobody dragon, looked at them with the sense of aid. "What can we use? We're not close enough to the walls and the houses are too small." She pointed out.

A huge sonic boom crossed the sky, making the three quickly look up in the sky. There was the sight of the sky being lit up in a bright orange colour, expanding in a form of fireworks along a reddish spot burning passionately in the centre. It didn't take long for Leon to realise what the red colour was, quickly grabbing Yuffie and Rinoa as he pushed them to the ground. As they landed on the ground, the sound of the Seeker shrieking in pain as it was forced into the stone wall, disappearing from the impact of both wall and object. Leon looked up, shaking his head as he saw a completely trashed gummi ship, either being covered by the collapse of the wall or burned from the explosion in the sky.

The gummi ship door creaked open, only to give up and break off from the force of Sora's boot, jumping off the gummi as he looked at the damage he had made, he looked around to see Leon, Yuffie and Rinoa looking at him in disbelief. He could only chuckle sheepishly at their looks. "Hey guys."

"Hey Sora, what happened to your ha-"

Leon quickly covered Yuffie's mouth, his eyes staying on Sora as he spoke. "You guys have good timing. We could use your help."

"What's going on here?" Sora asked, hearing Riku, Hikari, Brian and Steve jump out of the gummi as they approached the three fighters. "And have you seen Kairi?" He asked, he looked back, seeing that Hikari was currently trying to drag Brian from his gummi, the guy being on his knees, looking back at the gummi in tears.

Yuffie removed Leon's hand away from her as she looked at them in confusion. "Kairi? I thought she was with you guys?"

Riku stepped forward. "We were at Destiny Islands when she was taken from under our noses." He explained. "Our only clue leading here."

"Perhaps you were led here for a reason." Leon's expression said it all. He did not like the sound of this.

BOWBOWBOW

"Time to wake up, Kairi."

"Wha?" A groan slipped through her lips as her head ached in pain. Her eyes slowly opened to a dimmed lit library, seeing that she was laying on one of the library's old stuffy sofa. She looked around the room in confusion, clearly remembering that she was supposed to be in her room, watching as Sora attempted to jump from her back garden tree to her bedroom balcony. So why was she suddenly waking up in a mysterious library with a painful headache? "Where am I?" she said out loud.

"Why, you're home."

"Home?" She questioned before turning to face blonde teen, he looked close to her age but his face looked slightly familiar yet dark. With the stranger in front of her, the Princess of Heart shot up from her resting place, looking at the person with caution. "Who are you? Why did you take me from my home?" She demanded, watching the blond teen carefully for any mysterious movements.

The slightly armoured teen smile as he spoke. "I removed your from that Island so that you could escape from that room. I mean, I don't blame you trying to escape. That mayor was beyond a lunatic."

Kairi wasted no time in summoning her keyblade and pointed it threatening at the teen's neck, only for it to bounce back as an invisible shield waved in front of the guy. She placed her keyblade by her side, looking at the boy deadly. "My father is NOT a lunatic!" She made clear to him.

"Before you start claiming people's sanity, why don't you look where you are first." The teen suggested, making his way through the library. With a click of a finger, light filled the room, getting rid of the creepy feeling within the room's atmosphere.

With the extra lighting in the room, Kairi could look in the library more clearly, her eyes widening at the sight. "I know this place." She quickly scanned the room, taking her surroundings in. She went over to where a large window was bringing light in; a single chair remained in the centre of the square of the room. She went over to the single armchair, her hand rest on the wooden furniture.

'Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away. Do you understand, Kairi?'

"This is my grandmother's favourite spot." She thought of the photos that she had found of her family. The sight of her and her grandmother, smiling. The thought of the photo made her blink with surprise as she looked back at the blond teen; the image of a small blond haired filled her eyes. "Kasper?"

The teen only smiled at this. "Kairi."

She looked at him, as if not sure whether he was actually here or not, previously doubts disappearing in an instance. She was just getting used to the change that he had gone through from a little boy to who he is now. "What happened to you? You just disappeared?" She stepped toward to him, getting a closer look at him. "You've changed so much."

Kasper grasped her shoulder as he smiled back at her. "So have you." He smiled before letting go of her, walking past her. "The night Radiant Garden was taken; all I remember was falling to the darkness. It went on forever, as if I was falling. I found myself on a small world after that. It took a while but I managed to learn how to get from world to world, so I could return home." He looked back at her, his face filled with curiosity. "How is it that you escaped? Why did you never try to come back?" He asked.

"I found a new home." She simply said. "With my friends…on Destiny Islands."

"But how did you get there?" He repeated, questioning even. "I mean, that world is such a small word. How did the Princess of Heart end up there, of all places?"

"Does it matter how I got there?" Kairi pointed out. She didn't like how Kasper's voice was turning into a tone of annoyance as he spoke. She felt guilty but the feeling of doubt was coming back, Kasper was beginning to seem dark once more. "Besides, sometimes being smaller is better."

Kasper only huffed at this, as if it was some joke. "If you say so, Kairi." He chuckled, walking towards the window.

"Why did you take me from Destiny Islands?" She questioned.

Kasper remained by the window as he took in the sight of the outside world. "This world needs order and control, Kairi." He began to explain, seeing that she was standing by him, looking out the window. "This is something that the people of Radiant Garden don't realise. Their pitiful RGRC can only do so much."

The red head took the sight of the outside world with slight horror. There was Nobodies roaming all around the castle, some bigger dragon shaped ones attacking the town. All of Leon and the others hard work is all going to waste from this attack. Why were she and Kasper talking as if nothing is happening? They need to go out and help the others. She looked back at him, determination raised in her voice, "Kasper, we have to help them—"

"They need a leader, Kairi!" He cut her off, glaring back at the girl at a sudden speed that it made her jump slightly. "I am the heir chosen by Ansem the Wise, yet the people don't seem to give me a chance to make this world better." He turned towards her, his voice softened as he spoke, "But if you rule alongside me, a Princess of Heart, the people will surely change their minds."

"And what if I say no?" She asked horrified of what Kasper has become, her hand still holding her Oathkeeper tightly.

"Then I'll give the Order the Keyblade Master's weakness and this battle will only get worse." His eyes turning cold as he watched her look at him in shock. "That RGRC weren't chosen to rule. We are the only ones that can lead Radiant Garden to its future."

Kairi looked back at him with the same cold expression that she was receiving from him with her keyblade in hand. "This world isn't yours nor mine to rule, Kasper." She told him, looking at him with reason as she lowered her weapon. "If you wanted to be accepted, you should have worked along with Leon and the others with finishing the restoration of this world. Forcing everyone to accept doesn't make you a leader! It makes you a coward!"

"I AM NO COWARD!" He yelled, summoning his staff as he slammed the end of the pole to the ground, realising a purple pulse that waved through the floor. He didn't waste time to dash towards the Princess from the confusion and swung his staff at her, only to be pally with her keyblade. He chuckled as he stepped away from her. "You've made your choice then."

"I have." She said deadly before shaking her head at him, her face filled with sorrow and disappointment. "If she saw what you become…"

Kasper flinched slightly at Kairi's words, surprised from the sight of guilt filling his body. He looked up to see that the Princess of Heart was turning her back on him. "Where are you going?" He questioned.

"I'm stopping this. Perhaps, you'll understand why one day." Kairi simply said, grabbing the library's doors as she swung them open. She didn't even have time to react from the sight of someone waiting on the other side as she felt herself go out cold.

BOWBOWBOW

The sound of trumpets were heard throughout the gardens, the sight of a projecting image grabbed Sora and the others' attention as the sight of a blond hair teen appeared, clapping his hands. "Well, your great committee has taken down one of my larger Seekers. For once, I have to get them credit, they know how to fight." He spoke to the town. The voice had finally driven Brian away from the wreck of a gummi, his facial expression full of worry as he and Hikari quickly joined the other, looking up at the projection. "But your choice to deny my right to rule was the wrong one. You have one more chance to change your mind, people of Radiant Garden, or I will be trading a princess so dear to you to the Endless Order." The projection stepped away, showing the Princess of Heart, tied to a chair, her hands cuffed, unconscious.

"No…" Sora looked up at the projection, his face full with desperation.

The teen only chuckled evilly as he left with his last two words. "One hour."

Sora could only keep eyes at where the projection was in disbelief, looking back at the others with confusion. "Who was that? Why does he have Kairi?"

"I should explain." Leon grabbed the Keyblade Master's attention. "When you guys have left, we had found him in the castle. He was Ansem the Wise's heir when we were younger but he disappeared with his father when the Heartless attacked. When he had returned, he had asked if he could take over in Ansem's rightful place. Respecting this decision, we let the people decide. When the people had decided that we should stay in charge, he showed his true nature."

"But why would he want Kairi?" Brian questioned, his eyes avoid contact as he looked up to the sky.

"Because he's Kairi's brother." Riku spoke up, grabbing the group's attention from his words. "I had run into him when I was recovering at the castle. I had wondered why he was looking for Kairi at the time but now it all makes sense. From what Kairi had told me and Sora, the description matches." He looked over to Sora, waiting for his friend to confirm the theory.

"Brother? He's Kairi's brother—" Sora shot up, realisation hitting him. "Back at Agarbah, Kairi had asked what had happened to her family to the Oracle. The Oracle told her that she had a brother. I remember Kairi showing me a picture when we were last here too; there was a picture of her with her family. There was a boy with blond hair."

"I remember him!" Hikari stepped toward, ignoring Leon and Yuffie's look of shock for the moment. "Kasper would always follow Ansem around like a little pet."

"But the question is, will Kasper hand Kairi over to the Order just to gain more power or do you think he's pulling a bluff?" Riku questioned.

"For one without a heart, he would." Leon told them. " If our defences weren't on the mend then we would have realised that he was a Nobody earlier on."

"So we're dealing with the Nobody of Kasper?" Hikari concluded, watching as the committee nodded to this. "Kasper was pretty greedy when we were younger, with being a prince and all. Without a heart, I can see him trading his own grandmother if she was alive."

"Where is he?" Sora demanded, the story of Kasper and Kairi's relation had angered him.

"In the castle." Yuffie told as they took sight of the castle in the distance. "Kasper's Nobodies are surrounding the place though. It'll take a while to get in."

"We need to think of a plan first." Leon told them.

"Here's the plan!" Sora summoned his Kingdom Key, slamming it to the ground as his eyes burned with anger. "We'll burst through!"

Brian scoffed at this. "Very basic thinking, Sora." He stepped toward, looking at the others. "We've only got an hour before the Nobody Prince hands Kairi to the Order. Even if we all charged in, we'll be too late."

"Well I don't see you coming up with any ideas!" Sora snapped before grabbing his keyblade and walked a couple of steps away from the group, swinging his keyblade angrily in the air.

Yuffie watched Sora's raging with concern. "Is he alright?" She watched as the group's chocobo ran over to Sora, seeing if she could calm him down.

"He's worried about Kairi." Riku said with a worried tone of voice. "His virus doesn't help. He's going through a lot." They watched as Sora took sight of Steve before he dropped to the ground, sitting on the floor as he disposed of his Keyblade, his head facing the ground.

Rinoa pondered for an idea, speaking as if still thinking of the idea. "If we blow the front entrance, we can take care of some of the Seekers and it will distract the other Nobodies outside. We could sneak in the old entrance by the Postern." She suggested.

"Won't there be any Nobodies guarding that entrance?" Riku questioned. "Didn't Kasper find that entrance?"

Yuffie laughed at this. "He was too busy bossing people around and figuring out what size his crown was gonna be."

"So we have a plan." Leon confirmed. "Someone will have to blow the front entrance up."

Brian shot his claw up, grinning at the idea. "I'll do it!"

Riku chuckled at this. "Very eager of being the distraction lately." It was strange though, volunteering to be out of the action to save Kairi.

Brian smirked back. "I have my reasons." He told him, watching as Riku's expression turned into a serious one. He ignored Riku as he looked back at the committee. "Where do I go?" he asked, not wanting to waste any time.

Riku kept his eye on the Aversion Endless as Yuffie explained to him how to get to the front entrance of the castle. He was hiding something, but what would cause him to be the distraction for everything lately?

Ahhh coursework done. I can write for the summer! I hope I can get the chapters mostly done now :D

Kingdommad