Disclaimer: not mine
Chapter 13
Sora reached for the storm, staring at the Heartless between them and the doors, there were so many…and then lightning struck, over and over. When it stopped, they were gone, and Sora extracted himself from the storm again. That trick wouldn't work once they were inside. Riku shot him a concerned look and Sora dropped the shields they were all learning to develop to keep from letting the others' emotions overwhelm them in a fight. It had been starting such a massive storm that had exhausted him, nudging it to do what he wanted when it was already going had barely tapped his magic.
The got the massive doors opened and stepped into the eerily silent entrance hall. The doors slammed shut and locked behind them, leaving them no choice but to move deeper into the strange castle. At least Riku knew his way around, they could wander for days without that knowledge.
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She ran her nails over the orb in her staff, watching the image of the group as they entered her trap. And there…the final Princess! The Keyhole was reacting to the girl's presence. She knew Ansem had his own plans for it but she had no more use for him. With the Seven Princess' of Heart, she would open the Keyhole and control the Worlds.
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Riku hated being back in Hollow Bastion, his memories of the place once Maleficent took control of him were fuzzy but he could still remember. It was as cold as he remembered and even more Heartless roamed the halls, likely meant to wear them out and slow them down.
It was amazing to see Sora and Kairi fight. Sora was…incredible and Kairi was doing well for such a beginner. Riku was using the blade Cloud had given him, it was very different to Soul Eater but it didn't leave him feeling cold and dark. It still didn't feel natural though and he knew why…the Keyblade had been his but had moved to Sora back on the Island when Riku had been taken over. It was for the best; Sora was a much better hero then he would ever be. He had to fight his own instincts too much, he had trouble getting along with people, but Sora was good at those things. But that didn't mean he couldn't be there to help and support Sora, just like he knew Kairi would too, they were mates after all.
The fact that they had truly wanted him forever, that Kairi had trusted him that far, it still kind of felt like a dream, like something Maleficent was letting him see to keep him from fighting back. But it wasn't, it was real. He could feel them, even with all three of them keeping the bond shielded for concentrations sake.
The sooner they found the Princesses and got out of there, the better.
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They made their way through the never-ending Darkness, making their way to where the Door would be. They had no way of knowing if anyone would be on the other side to help seal it, but they had to do it. If they failed, all the Worlds would eventually fall to ruin within the Realm of Darkness, just like the ones they were traversing.
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Kairi grimaced, struggling to hold back the Heartless wielding some kind of weapon, hands tight on her staff. She dove aside as Riku slammed it with a blizzard spell and then Sora's Keyblade finished it off. The Heartless here were more powerful than anywhere else she'd been, it was a good thing she'd upgraded her staff before they left Traverse Town, just like Donald and Goofy had upgraded theirs. Sora didn't do that, he just collected Keychains that changed his Keyblade so it suited different circumstances, which was neat.
Slowly but surely, they were making their way deeper into the castle, even if that meant going out onto the battlements at times. The place really was a complete maze. She'd nearly fallen once but the wind had wrapped around her, bringing her back up. The storm was almost sentient it had so much of Sora's magic in it.
She heard Riku click and whistled in response, letting him know she was okay. She couldn't make the sounds they could, but she could whistle in a few pitches. Kairi laughed as Sora used one of the larger Heartless as a launchpad, going high into the air only to come down on a group heavily, the Heartless dissolving, freeing the Hearts.
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Ansem knew Maleficent had her own plans for the boys and Kingdom Hearts, plans that he could not allow to continue. Kingdom Hearts would be his and Darkness would consume all. He would deal with the boys if Maleficent failed to, it was possible Riku was still malleable enough to become his Vessel, he would be a better one than this one. This body had lingered too long in the dungeons, there was little left for him to use, he could not even take his true form with it.
He watched and waited for the right moment to act.
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They stepped cautiously into what looked like some kind of chapel, able to hear the storm, lightning illuminating the room through stained glass windows.
"I'm afraid you're too late," a familiar voice called and then she was there, Maleficent. "Any moment now, the final Keyhole will be unsealed. This world will be plunged into Darkness.
It is unstoppable." She smirked at them, most of her focus on Riku and Sora. "It is not too late for you dear children."
"We'll stop it! After coming this far, there's no way we're gonna let that happen!" Sora snarled at her, shifting slightly in front of Riku, Kairi at his side.
"You'll never hurt Riku again," Kairi stated firmly, her own magic rising in response to the threat.
"You poor, simple fools. You think you can defeat me? Me, the mistress of all evil?" She raised her arms and the platform underneath her rose out of the ground.
"Yes, we can," Riku stated firmly, sword in hand. He moved from behind them, the group spreading out so she couldn't target them all at once.
Maleficent glowered at him, green sparks rising from the orb of her staff. "Now you'll know the meaning of fear!"
Riku lunged to the side as green lightning crashed into the stones he'd been standing on. A ball of hot fire merged with a blast of wind, flying at Maleficent curtesy of Donald and Sora. A blast of ice lashed out from where he could feel Kairi and he sent his own spell to join it. Sadly, there was no water source in the room for him to use his most comfortable element for, Donald didn't know any water spells to teach him and they hadn't had the chance to ask the local wizard of Traverse Town. So, he was stuck using ice which was still technically water just in a more solid form.
As the platform dropped under the magical assault, Sora and Goofy leapt at her, weapons in hand. Riku…hesitated, scared of getting closer to her and that orb…he was scared. He was a merman, a top predator, and he was scared of some crazy woman with a magic stick. He gripped his sword and as Goofy stumbled back he moved, leaping over him, sword raised.
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Maleficent stared in horrified shock as her staff was sliced in two. A hit from the Keyblade caused her hand to open, the top half falling. And then Riku was there, glowing eyes met hers briefly before he brought his new sword down on the crystal orb. "NO!"
TBC…
Been stuck on this for ages so decided to post now.