Kingdom Hearts II: Duel against Fate

[The Prophet]

Okay, this is my first real try at a fanfic that I already have pretty much fully planned out. My past fanfics have been... shall we say, not good. I’m supposing at least one person here remembers the person who was normally writing horrible humor fanfic. Tyrannachu was my name back then, wasn’t it? Then Tyrandoom... then many more... finally ending with... Vaporeon the Axe, was it?
Well, after a year or so, I’m back
And, hopefully, better.
With a Kingdom Hearts fueled mind.
Be afraid.
Be very afraid.

Kingdom Hearts II: Duel against Fate (Rating: PG-13 *may go up* for eventual violence, language, and blood.)

Chapter 1
The Players

Midgar

Midgar was the largest city on Terra. But then, if a city is the center of a government that controls practically ninety percent of the planet, it would have to be. It was divided into two levels, on the plates that roofed the city and below them, which in turn were divided into eight sectors, as they were known. Despite its somewhat noble status (there were many who despised the energy company turned superpower), the areas under the plates were filled with murderers, drug addicts, kleptomaniacs, and stalkers, just to name a few. On the upper plates were the rich and the important government employees, who would most likely push you into the middle of the highway if you asked them for a place to stay. Either level, if you got lost, you were pretty much screwed.

Riku Ragnarok didn’t care much that he was lost under the Sector Seven plate. The events of the past four years had led him to believe that he’d been screwed since the day he was born. Since his friend Sora had defeated Ansem, he’d been trapped in Kingdom Hearts. The four years hadn’t made any difference on King Mickey, who had been trapped with Riku, but they certainly affected Riku. Riku rendered oblivious to darkness(as all who had opened their heart to darkness were), so he could see even when blindfolded. He wore a blindfold, a black leather coat, black jeans, and dark blue boots. His hair had grown longer, and he had become more muscular from fighting the Heartless in Kingdom Hearts, and he wielded a sword that Mickey had provided him with. The royal mouse didn’t look like it, but he was a walking weapons arsenal.

After managing to fight their way to the door that lead to Terra (Kingdom Hearts had a door for every world, you just had to know how to find them), a sudden onslaught of Heartless had attacked them.

“I’ll hold ‘em off!” yelled Mickey, drawing the Royal Keyblade. “Meet me at the Forgotten Capital!”

Riku didn’t have a clue as to what this “Forgotten Capital” was, and was about to ask Mickey about whatever the hell it was, when Mickey shoved him through the door. Riku blacked out for a while, being roused by someone tripping over him. The man yelled a few less than appropriate things at Riku, then stomped off to the local bar, leaving Riku sitting there, looking rather confused.

What the hell am I doing here? Oh yeah... I’m supposed to meet Mickey at the Forgotten Capital thing. Well, better hope not everyone in the bar’s plastered....

He ran toward the bar, which had a sign reading “The Seventh Heaven” on it, not noticing the cloaked figure lurking in the shadows.

* * * *

Destiny Islands

Kairi Kokoro was bored and worried.

She missed all the “adventures” she, Riku, and Sora used to go on, even though she knew that even if they were here she’d be too old for that sort of thing. But she’d always laughed more when with Sora and Riku than with Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie. Even watching Tidus and Wakka playing Blitzball had lost its excitement. She was somewhat afraid to speak to Selphie, as she had developed a sugar addiction and was now singing about trains.

Sora’s well-being was weighing more heavily on her mind than anything else at the moment. He’d told her before they’d been separated that he’d give Kairi her lucky charm back somehow, and that comforted her. But she wasn’t yearning for her charm. She wanted to see Sora again, to tell him how she felt about him, to ask him if he felt the same way...

What Sora had told her about Riku was also worrying her. He had been so devoted to trying to save her that he’d almost been consumed by darkness... and now she didn’t even know if he was alive, dead.... or a Heartless. She’d had many nightmares about that final possibility.

But all she could do was wait for news of the two of them....

“HEY KAIRI!”

Kairi snapped out of her thoughts.

“Yes, Selphie?”

“Wakka and Tidus told me to tell you that they’re gonna teach you how to play Blitzball!”yelled the hyperactive teen, jumping on the rock next to the one Kairi was sitting on.

“No thanks, Selphie, I-“

“Aw, come on! It’s really fun!”

Kairi sighed and reluctantly slid off the rock. If she didn’t go and do it, Selphie would bug her until she complied.

* * * *

The Magical Kingdom

Sora Excalibur was in a dark room. He could hear someone or something walking and his own breathing, but that was all. Suddenly, the room faintly lit up, revealing a person in a long, hooded coat standing in the middle of the room. He remembered it as the person he had fought with Donald and Goofy in the chamber where Maleficent met her doom... or at least someone in similar attire. He drew the Keyblade and shouted, “Who are you?!”

The person did not reply, but instead pulled a small scythe from inside his(her?) jacket. The person gave the scythe a light flick, causing it to extend to its full length. Sora prepared to strike, in case the person tried to pull anything... but before he could react, the person had driven the scythe through his chest.

“NO!” yelled Sora, sitting up very suddenly and smacking his head off the bottom of the top bunk.

“Sora!?” yelled Goofy, still sounding half asleep. He poked his head up from below Sora’s bunk.

“It was that nightmare again, wasn’t it?” asked Donald grouchily, looking down from his bunk. “Tell me, who died THIS time?”

“Me,” said Sora, rubbing his forehead. He wished Goofy would put Donald’s bunk a bit higher up so that wouldn’t happen.

“Well, try to get back to sleep,” said Goofy. “Tomorrow we’re gonna start on our modified Gummi Ship design so we can break through the world shields and find Riku and King Mickey!”

* * * *

Unknown

“We have come for you, my liege,” said a Shadow Heartless to Ansem’s unconscious form in a monotonous voice.

What seemed like an hour to the Heartless passed. Why wasn’t anything happening? They had performed all the rituals as they were written.


The Heartless were about to leave their fallen king when Ansem’s gleaming red eyes shot open. He glanced up at the Heartless.

“You are the source of all Heartless,” said a Neo Shadow.

A thin smile crossed Ansem’s lips.

* * * *

Unknown

“How the hell did he manage to escape Kingdom Hearts?!” yelled a cloaked man to eleven other cloaked figures.

“We have reports that Mickey Mouse helped him,” replied one of the figures. “But not to worry. We have dispatched Thir to eliminate him and any witnesses.”

“Isn’t that a bit much?” asked a cloaked figure with a glowing eye. “We all know how incredibly effective Thir is, despite him being the most recent to join us NEOs... and Riku can’t be that much a threat, can he?”

“Silence, Fou. You do not know the magnitude of the power Riku has gained in Kingdom Hearts. I doubt Riku himself knows...”


I swear that later chapters will be shorter... unless you want them to be longer... Oh, and next chapter I will start adding quotes after each chapter, just so ya know. ^-^
[EDIT] Fixed an error on why Riku wears the blindfold...

[The Prophet]

Thanks! ^^ Don't worry, next chapter will be longer, and will contain a fight scene (my first, whoo!). I'm working on it right now, by the way.
And I hope you don't mind KH being spoiled a bit in case you do play it, because this pretty much spoils the entire ending, so...

[The Prophet]

He he, certainly, Kuja. There's a rather big one in the next chappy.
Thanks for advertizing, by the way.

[The Prophet]

Sorry 'bout double posting, but... AH FINISHED CHAPTER TWO!

Chapter 2
The NEO, the Barmaid, and the Turks

Midgar

Either Riku was imagining it, or most of the people in the bar looked like a particularly rough crowd. In fact, the only people that didn’t look heavily tattooed and scarred were the barmaid and five people in blue sitting rather close to the bar. The people in blue seemed to be in deep conversation, but Riku honestly didn’t care. In what seemed like three seconds to Riku he had crossed the distance from the door to the bar.

“Hey, how ya doin’?” asked Riku, then mentally slapped himself for the lame pickup line.

“I’m perfectly fine, thank you,” said the barmaid, looking Riku over. Just how old is this guy, anyway? thought the barmaid. Nineteen? And what’s up with the outfit? Can he see through that blindfold or something? And why does he remind me of him?

Riku suddenly found himself at a loss for words. The barmaid had long brown hair and large garnet eyes, which were now looking at him skeptically. She was wearing a white tank top and had breasts that looked like she shouldn’t really have a good sense of balance. She had one hand on the counter, and on it she wore a steel knuckled glove. She was also wearing a pin that read “Hi! My name is Tifa Lockheart!”

“So, uh... Tifa?” asked Riku, desperately hoping he had pronounced her name right.

“What do you want?” asked Tifa, though she knew what he probably had in mind. She couldn’t help that practically every straight guy on the planet would like at least a photo of her nude.

“A... er...” Riku tried to find the polite way to respond, “SEX!”

What happened to your devotion to Kairi?

That thought brought Riku back to reality. This woman probably wouldn’t even think of having sex with him, and besides A) he didn’t want to see if those knuckles were just for show or not and B) what would Kairi say if he said he’d been with a loose woman?

“Er... nothing.” Riku felt slightly embarrassed.

“Then what did you come up here for?” Tifa asked indignantly.

“Erm...” Riku didn’t want to say what he was really thinking, so he just said the second thing that came to mind.

“Do you know anything about the Forgotten Capital?”

“Never heard of it,” said Tifa. “They might know, but I sure as hell don’t.” She was pointing at the people in blue.

“Who are they, anyway?” asked Riku.

Tifa stared at him. “You don’t know who the Turks are?”

“Am I supposed to?”

“Well, I dunno where you’re from,” said the barmaid, lowering her voice, “but the people there are incredibly lucky.”

Riku looked over his shoulder at them. They seemed to be the neatest, most mannerly people in the place... well, discounting a red haired men who had his shirt untucked and seemed rather disorderly as a whole. A cloaked person with two objects strapped to his back who had entered the bar also caught Riku’s gaze. He didn’t know why, but that person gave him a rather ominous feeling. He tore his gaze away from the person and centered it back on Tifa.

“Why are we lucky?” he asked. “They seem pretty decent compared to those guys.” Riku pointed toward a particularly nasty looking group.

“Nasty bunch, the Turks are. They are rather orderly... well, except for Reno there,” her gaze fell on the red haired Turk, “but there’s an odd one in each bunch.”

“But what do they do?”

“Pretty much everything Shinra tells them to.”

“Shinra?”

“My gods, you must live under a rock or something.” She looked at the ceiling and walls, apparently making sure there wasn’t anyone bugging the bar, and continued.

“Shinra’s the company that’s been making everyone’s life miserable for the past forty years. They started out as a major supplier of weapons to the royal government, then, when the last king died, they took over and began using the life energy of the planet as power. They also began to amass a large army and kill anyone who opposed them. I should know. My friends Biggs, Wedge, Jessie, and Barret were recently discovered as members of the rebel group AVALANCHE and executed. They have a lot of creeps working for them. You sort of know the Turks; Reno, Rude, Elena, Tseng, and Vincent, and above them are the important executives; Palmer, Scarlet, Heidegger, Reeve, and Hojo. Don’t ask me to elaborate on any of ‘em but Reeve, Reeve’s a pretty nice guy, but the rest are freaks, especially Hojo.” Tifa shuddered. “Above them is the vice president, Rufus, and then the president, Fat *** Shinra.”

“Well, they certainly sound like a colorful lot,” said Riku. “And I’m supposed to ask the Turks for guidance?”

“Well, you don’t have to, depending on the importance of finding this Forgotten Capital,” replied Tifa.

Well, it was critically important that he found Mickey, as Mickey was the only one who knew where the next door was, and, more importantly, where his friends were, so he tipped Tifa with ten Munny (Tifa stared blankly at the currency) and moved to a table near that of the Turks. The Turks had apparently stopped their conversation, so Riku motioned to the nearest Turk (who happened to be a man of about twenty-seven with a red bandana keeping his long black hair out of his eyes, the color of which matched his bandana) to come speak to him. The man gave him a fairly dark look and went back to his drink, which happened to be a Bloody Mary. Riku clenched his right hand into a fist and extended his middle finger toward the man. The Turk didn’t seem to notice the obscene gesture aimed at him.


Riku turned his gaze back to Tifa. The cloaked person was now talking to her. Tifa looked at something the cloaked man was holding, nodded, and pointed at Riku. Riku gripped the hilt of the weapon Mickey had given him. He hadn’t paid attention to its general look before, but then, he had never really needed to. It was a normal katana with the king’s crest as the hilt. He prepared to draw it if necessary.

As if on cue, the cloaked figure walked towards him.

“Are you Riku Ragnarok of Destiny Islands?” His voice reminded Riku of a colder version of Sora’s.

“Yeah,” said Riku, standing up. “What’s it to ya?”

“You are a threat to the NEO order,” said the person in a harsh whisper, gripping the two objects, one in each hand. “Prepare to die.”

He drew the two objects. Riku’s jaw dropped in surprise. The man had not one, but two Keyblades. Did that mean.... oh gods, that must mean Sora and King Mickey are... But before Riku could say anything, an obviously drunk voice yelled, “Hey! That kid out there’s stealin’ a Chocobo!”

Practically everyone ran outside, leaving most of the ones who weren’t completely drunk (the Turks, Tifa, Riku, and the cloaked man) staring in utter confusion.

“I believe that would be your cue...” hissed the cloaked man to Tifa and the Turks.

“I don’t believe that I or the Turks would take orders from-,” said Tifa, but was silenced when one of the Keyblades came within centimeters of decapitating her, slicing through one of the glass bottles on the wall and imbedding itself in it. Tifa fainted. There was a short, uncomfortable silence.

“Don’t we have an assignment?” asked a woman with short blond hair and brown eyes nervously.

“I suppose we could always have Reno persuade Scarlet to give us one...” said a black haired man with some sort of dot in the center of his forehead. Reno glared at him.

“Well, be seeing you,” said the black haired man as the Turks walked out the door. “At least, hopefully.... I liked this bar, too...”

Riku stared as the cloaked man went to retrieve his second Keyblade. This man apparently had no code of honor. Plus, he was some sort of homicidal maniac.

“Right then,” said the cloaked man. “I am Thir of the order of the Non-Existant Ones, or NEOs. I was told by my superiors to hunt you down and kill you. I do not know their reasons. I would not question them. Now, I must ask you. Will you go quietly and painlessly, or will I be forced to make your last moments a living hell?”

The NEO’s words did not affect Riku much. The only reason he kept on living was to see his friends again, and if he died, he’d just have to wait a little longer to meet with them... and, from the way it looked, he’d be seeing Sora first.

“Well...?”

Riku’s reply was a quick slash across Thir’s chest. Thir knelt in pain. There was a short pause, as Thir stared at the wound. It wasn’t deep, but it was probably enough to piss off the NEO. He stood up. Then Thir spoke, his voice shaking with a combination of anger and pain.

“I hope you’ll enjoy damnation, Ragnarok...”

Thir jumped at Riku, and when he got within inches of Riku’s neck, he brought the two Keyblades together in a scissor like move. Riku ducked just in time to avoid decapitation, and somersaulted to his left. Riku stood up just in time to jump out of the reach of a black, spiky Keyblade and parry the white one. Riku then launched his own attack, which Thir blocked with both of his Keyblades. He preformed the scissor like move again, which Riku narrowly dodged.

“I’ve had enough of this silly game of cat and mouse!” exclaimed Thir. He crossed the two Keyblades. “Stopaga!” cried the NEO. Riku froze in place. Thir chanted for a few seconds, extended both Keyblades, and yelled, “TORNADO!” Thir quickly clipped the two Keyblades together and threw them at Riku. They began spinning more quickly as they got closer to Riku. But to him, they seemed to be going in slow motion. The last thing he thought before the Keyblade struck was Beaten by the dirtiest trick in the book.

”I hope you enjoy nightmare worlds!”-Gaz, Invader Zim

Oi... I spent a long time trying to think of a good fight scene. Hopefully the one I wrote wasn’t crappy... Oh, and I apologize to the Turk fans that feel their role was a bit short and pointless. They will be back, I assure you. As for what happened to Riku, well... I’ll just leave you hanging on that one. Every chapter I’m following a different main character (or group of them, in Sora and the NEOs’ cases), so you’ll just have to sit through a Sora or Kairi part before we get back to Riku. But I promise you that Chapter 4 WILL CONCERN RIKU.
Thanks to my readers, and goodnight ^_^

[Legends-Kuja]

OOoohh... Much better this round, although its rather short.

Bad News... You won't see Riku OR Kairi for a WHILE in my fic... rrrarrggh...

[The Prophet]

Don't worry... there will probably be a t least a small fight in each chapter, and I'm planning a big one.... Let's just say Kairi's chapters aren't exactly going to be fuzzy bunnies and butterflies... besides, now that Ansem's back, he's not exactly friendly to the residents of Destiny Islands....

Just a bit of foreshadowing for ya ^-^ Hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter up before Sunday, because then I have a week of camp.... :/

Oh, and that sucks for Kairi and Riku-Kun :(

[edit] New chapter! WOO!

Chapter 3
A Peaceful Day...?

Destiny Islands

“Three minutes. Not bad, ya?” said Wakka as Kairi broke the surface of the water, gasping for air.

“Can’t we just get to the games?” said Kairi, panting. She didn’t know that Blitzball was so difficult that you needed lungs the size of a whale’s just to play it. Of course, she’d never really tried it before, but....

“You can’t just surface for air every three seconds, you know,” replied Tidus. “If the professional players did that, it’d be lucky for a team to score one point.”

Kairi shrugged. She’d never really liked sports, anyway. She’d watch Tidus and Wakka every so often, but she wasn’t exactly rabid about the game, as Tidus and Wakka were.

“Eh, I think that’s enough for today, anyway,” said Wakka. Kairi silently thanked the gods. “But get a good rest, ya? We’re gonna start on the actual game tomorrow.” Kairi inwardly groaned. She’d had enough Blitzball for about a year.

“Well, be seeing you.” Kairi walked to the house the residents of Destiny Islands had generously provided her when she first came to the island. Recently, she’d redone it to fit her personal tastes. She’d become a rather accomplished artist since the islands had been restored, and portraits of her friends lined the walls, both here and.... well, wherever Sora and Riku were. Many people held the belief that Kairi’s portrait of Sora was the best of them. She’d put extra effort into that one, so much that occasionally in the early morning, she mistook the portrait for Sora himself. But she knew that he was somewhere far away, and that no amount of wishing could get her off this island, now that the worlds were no longer connected. Still, she kept hoping...

She pushed the door open and walked into her house. It was rather small, just a bedroom, a fireplace, a bathroom, and a studio, but Kairi didn’t really mind. She didn’t need much space. She walked into her studio and began working on the portrait of the only person on Destiny Island that she hadn’t done yet: her own. She stared at the unfinished self-portrait. She hadn’t really noticed her image much since Sora and Riku disappeared, but now she was being somewhat forced to. She hadn’t cut her reddish-brown hair in a long time, and it hung down to her waist. She was taller, that was a given, but not by much. She had always been somewhat short.

Kairi sighed and went back to work. She had finished sketching and a bit of the actual painting, but she still had a long way to go. She worked for about an hour (she always limited herself to an hour, it prevented her from getting stressed out), watched the sunset (she’d always done that, as if hoping to see Sora come flying in using a Gummi Ship), and then turned in for the night.

* * * *

Kairi had been stirred by a loud growling noise outside her window. She changed from her bedclothes into shorts and a white T-shirt, grabbed her knife off the mantelpiece (Sora’s father made weapons, and she’d received the knife from Sora as a traditional gift on the first anniversary of her arrival to Destiny Islands. She felt the gift was a rather odd one, but she supposed tradition was tradition), and walked outside, ready to defend herself against whatever was making the noise if it decided to attack her. At first she heard nothing. She supposed one of her friends was playing a joke on her. She had turned around to walk back in the house when she heard it again.

“Wakka, if that’s you-“ she said testily, but stopped when she noticed that her shadow was growing longer, which was odd, considering it was nighttime. Then the shadow began to change shape and lift itself off the ground. When it finished, it was a large, humanlike shape, except for the fact that it was pure greenish black, had small wings, glowing yellow eyes amidst a tangle of what seemed like hair, claws, and had a large, heart shaped chunk of its body missing.

“I have orders to take you to King Ansem,” said the black figure in a deep, monotonous voice .

“Ansem?” asked Kairi. “He’s dead. Sora destroyed him.” Kairi was rather confused, but she hid it. Even if he was alive, why would Ansem have given this creature orders to capture her? Plus, it was obviously a Heartless, but she never really thought they could talk. A loud, booming noise interrupted her thoughts.

“You think his loyal servants would leave him for dead? Fool. Now will you come with me peacefully, or will I have to use extreme force?”

“I’m not going to submit to you or anyone else!” yelled Kairi fiercely. “This time.... I’ll fight.” Kairi suddenly felt very stupid and helpless. She remembered Sora telling her about how he fought this particular Heartless before.... Darkside, wasn’t it? Yes, Darkside. But how did Sora do it?
... hands and head....weak points.

Oh, yeah. She wasn’t exactly sure if that was her mind, but hey, whatever worked...

Kairi dodged Darkside’s first assault and countered by stabbing the Heartless in the claw, causing it to scream in pain and pull the claw out of Kairi’s range. She stabbed Darkside again as the Heartless tried to slash her. The Heartless snarled and aimed to crush Kairi, but she was too fast for it and dodged the blow. She then began stabbing Darkside’s clenched fist as many times as she could before the gigantic Heartless pulled it out of her reach. She was getting ready for whatever Darkside threw at her next when she felt a sharp pain slice through her leg. She looked down and saw a small black Heartless readying itself to attack her again. She stabbed it, ending its existence. Darkside then slammed its left claw on the sandy beach and began readying a concentration of dark energy in its right. Kairi then did something rather brave and very stupid: ran up the gigantic Heartless’s arm and began stabbing it in the head. Darkside seemed oblivious to Kairi’s attack, concentrating on completing the energy spell. When it was completed, Darkside stood up very suddenly, throwing Kairi off its back and down to the sand below. It wasn’t that far of a fall, but it stung like hell. Kairi managed to get up just in time to avoid part of the hail of dark energy that was now raining down on the arena. She ran towards Darkside, who now seemed very close to defeat, and began attacking its left hand like a rabid woodpecker. (A/N: Maybe I ought to keep away from analogies ^^;; ) When Kairi had delivered the final blow, time seemed to slow down for a few seconds as Darkside’s life began failing. When it finally gave up its struggle, it disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke... but then black creatures started to figuratively crawl out of the woodwork. They looked like larger, more muscular versions of the small Heartless she had killed during the fight with Darkside. Seemingly, they wanted to avenge the death of their little cousin. Whatever the case, Kairi was hopelessly outnumbered.

Get......secret place.....no Heartless....back then....

It sounded like a more mature version of Sora’s voice that kept fading in and out, like a badly tuned radio. Apparently, Kairi was the only one who heard it, as she was the only one who looked around for the source... or maybe Heartless weren’t wired that way.

“Sora...?”

...go!

Kairi needed no second bidding. It was a bit tougher to get through the small opening than when she had been fourteen, but she eventually managed to get through into the inner part of the small cave. She leaned against part of the tree and tried to catch her breath.

“Sora?”

No reply other than the faint echo of her voice.

“His voice... it’s left me,” Kairi said to herself. She wished it hadn’t. She could have used the company, even if it was just a voice. It was then that she realized that she was exhausted. She laid on the floor and began to doze off when a cold, monotonous voice brought her wide awake.

“Hello, Princess Kairi.”

Yaaaaay! We’re doomed!- Gir, Invader Zim

Mwa haha.... >=)

[The Prophet]

ARGH! Must not let first GOOD fic on the boards die!

Chapter 4
Near Death Experience

This is it....

Don’t give up, Riku! You can survive this! said Mickey’s voice.

I can’t, Your Majesty... I’ve been almost ripped in half...

Get up! You’ve survived worse!

So much pain...

You can’t just give up! So many duties rest on you!

What does...? The fact that I was the original wielder of the Keyblade? That was more of a burden than a duty...

Don’t you want to see your friends again?

Eventually, I’ll see them again even if I slip off this mortal coil... besides, Sora’s already there...

Sora’s alive.

What? But that Thir guy.... he had two Keyblades...

I’ll explain it to you when you get here. There was a slight tone of urgency in his voice as he added, Get here as quickly as possible. You’re in great danger if you stay in Midgar... or anywhere but the Forgotten Capital. And once you’re dead, they’ll go after Sora and Kairi.

Where’s... “here?”


The Forgotten Capital! Didja forget about that already?

Yeah....

Now get up!

* * * *

Riku opened his eyes and painfully sat up. He was in a bed somewhere, with bandages wrapped around the middle of his chest. He had been a little off regarding as to where the two Keyblades had hit him, but it didn’t really matter. He had to find the king even more than ever.

“So, you’re awake?” Tifa had walked in, a look of surprise on her face. “That’s nothing short of a miracle. The only other person able to survive a wound like that was the... a great general of the Shinra Army .”

After a short silence, Riku asked, “...Why’d you help me?”

“You seem like a decent guy. Besides, we need all the help we can get against Shinra.”

Riku stared. “After what they did to your friends... you’re not afraid of them?”

Tifa stared at the ground. “I don’t fear death.” She looked up at Riku, a look of determination engraved in her features. “All I fear is facing my friends, in either Heaven or Hell, and telling them that I didn’t even try to avenge them.”

Riku nodded. He’d feel the same way if that happened to Sora and Kairi. But still, he did feel a bit skeptical about the idea.

“Well then, we’ll go on a nice little kamikaze mission, just the two of us, against an entire ****in’ government, and get our heads impaled on stakes out the front doors. Gee, that’ll be a nice way to go.”

“It won’t just be the two of us. AVALANCHE has a whole military force waiting for me to give the command. And they wouldn’t put our heads on steaks. Hojo doesn’t like to do experiments on headless specimens.” She cringed. “That’s where they give all the bodies of executed criminals. Many also have the suspicion that Hojo’s also the executor.”

“What does he do to them?”

“Nobody’s really sure. He never releases much to the public. In fact, he’s never even shown on the television.”

“Then how do you know what he does?”

“Reeve.” Tifa s face brightened somewhat. “He’s our mole. He always knows important political decisions a week before they’re released, plus he gives us the dirt on all the executives. Really nice guy.”

“Doesn’t anybody get suspicious? I mean, he’d have to give up work for this...”

“Reeve doesn’t have to be here in person,” said Tifa. “He’s a mechanical genius. A while ago, he built a little remote controlled robot that he gives us info through and that attends important AVALANCHE meetings for him.”

As if on cue, a small, black and white, catlike robot walked in. It reminded Riku somewhat of what one of the residents of Mickey’s home world would be like. The robot spoke up in a Brooklyn accent.

“Tifa, are you sure you should be telling him all AVALANCHE’s secrets? We aren’t exactly sure if he’s not a Shinra spy yet.”

“Don’t act like an idiot, Reeve. He didn’t even know who the Turks were.”

“Spies are supposed to be good liars.” The robot crossed its arms.

“Aw, ‘cmon, Reeve, I’ve been able to weed out spies and liars before. Do you think my little gift would let me down now?”

The robot shrugged.

“Whatever you say.” He walked up to Riku and extended a paw. Riku shook it.

“Riku Ragnarok.”

“Reeve Metar. But in any other situation, call me Cait Sith. Can’t let anyone know I’m working with AVALANCHE, or else we’d be short one mole.” The robot chuckled. Then it turned to Tifa.

“Your plan will work, as the president feels that AVALANCHE wouldn’t be so quick as to choose a new leader. Should I suit up in my mech, then?”

“Exactly.” Tifa then turned to Riku. “You coming? I’m not forcing you into joining.”

Riku paused for a few seconds. He was in debt to Tifa, but he had to find King Mickey.... urgently.

“Sorry... but I really have to find someone. The lives of my best friends are in grave danger.”

Tifa looked dejected for a few seconds, then nodded in understanding. As Riku put on a black raincoat (his old jacket was ruined) and began to walk toward the door, Tifa stopped him for a second.

“Riku...?”

“Yes?”

“Good luck.”

The ghost of a smile hovered on Riku’s lips.

“Good luck to you, too.”


Augh, sorry, couldn’t think of any good quotes that had to do with the chapter. Plus it’s short, but that’s kinda how I wanted to end it. Next chapter might be about Sora, but I’m leaning toward Ansem. But I am going to novelize the city part of the Deep Dive trailer in chapter 6. Oh, and Cait Sith is going to be MUCH better in this universe, powerwise and rolewise.

Caio for today ^_^

[Legends-Kuja]

I'd have you know it's nice to see you didn't portray Darkside as a slow-moving weaking like I see in all the other KH fics.

In my fic, I DON'T EXACTLY portray the sequel, BUT my fic is split into four seasons (One Season=around 20 something episodes), and Season 2 will have the return of a certain girl with twin-Keyblades...

And Invader Zim quotes are cool. I suggest you use a bit more... teamwork. So far everyone's been fighting alone...

[The Prophet]

Oh, don't worry, there certainly will be teamwork after I finally figure out how I'm going to put Sora's first scenario together... and possibly before, if I don't do so before Chapter 8 rolls around... let's just say that once Chapter 6 rolls 'round, Riku's gonna begin honoring his debt to Tifa... 'course, the Turks are always there....

And thank you for the Darkside comment ^_^ He was kinda slow in the game, but he's gotten a bit smarter since his last defeat by Sora...

Seasons? Kinda like an anime? Kewl.

As for who the next chapter's about, I'm kinda tempted to use the POV of a rather hated FF7 character. (His labcoat would be sexy if he were younger..... but this world is an AU version of FF7, which means I can tweak whatever I want! Mwa ha ha! ) *is looked at like a three headed chicken* *in a sing song voice, tuning it to the Jenova Theme* Youuuuuu didn't hear thaaaat..... but that's what I think I'll do. Myep.

[The Prophet]

I'm leaving today, so there won't be another chapter for an entire week.... but I'll give ya these KH outtakes to tide you over ^_^

The part where the door to KH is opened
"It is futile," said Ansem. "The Keyblade alone cannot seal the door to
darkness. Kingdom Hearts! Fill me with the
power of darkness..."

Kingdom Hearts' doors opened with dark smoke coming out.

"Supreme darkness..." continued Ansem

"You're wrong." said Sora. "I know now, without a doubt. Kingdom Hearts... is light!"

Tentacles appeared from Kingdom Hearts doors.

Sora stared in shock, as did Donald, Goofy, and Ansem.

"Cut!" yelled the director. "Who let Jenova- AAAARGH!"

Meanwhile, in the Shinra Labs, Hojo snickered, then, realizing there was nobody in the area to give him disturbed looks, burst out into a fit of maniacal laughter. They would pay dearly for leaving him out of Kingdom Hearts... very dearly indeed...

At the part where you fight Cloud

Sora's group fought the next round and was victorious. Then, they fought
Cloud. Sora and his friends were defeated by Cloud, who raised his buster sword to decapitate Sora... and falls to the ground, a gun wound in his back. A dark haired, rather handsome looking man with red eyes and a metal encasing over his left arm below the elbow (which, Sora noted, was missing the finger coverings, exposing rather mutated looking fingers) walked out of the gate, hoilstered his gun, pulled off Cloud's clawlike finger coverings and cape, and walked back towards the gate. Sora stared blankly.

"Cut!" yelled the director. "Vincent, we're not even sure you're gonna let you be in Kingdom Hearts Two, let alone kill Cloud, so- AARGH!" The director's statement was cut short by the fact that Vincent had transformed into Chaos and attacked him.

"That's the second one this week..." muttered Sora.

"Ah well.... wanna play Super Smash Brothers: Melee?" asked Donald.

"Yeah!" yelled Sora.

"Everyone loves Super Smash Brothers: Melee!" yelled Goofy. They ran off singing.

A few hours later, Aeris ran on set with a Pheonix Down.

During the fight with Ansem, when the Guardian has the lasers

Sora was in the heat of battle, when a somewhat echoing voice yelled, "Hey! Those things are dangerous!"

Sephiroth made his dramatic entrance right in front of Ansem. Sora stared blankly at Donald, who shrugged.

"They're supposed to be dangerous, you idiot!" yelled Ansem. Sephiroth responded by reflecting one of the beams into Ansem's right eye, causing him to scream in pain.

"Remember, kids.... PILLARS OF FIRE ARE YOUR FRIENDS!" yelled Sephiroth, summoning pillars of fire to surround him while laughing maniacally, setting the ship on fire.

"Where's the director?" asked Sora.

"Dunno," replied Goofy.

In the part where Leon and Yuffie are explaining to Sora about the Keyblade, the Heartless, Life, the Universe, and Everything

"I think you might've overdone it, Squall." said Yuffie.

"Call me Leon or I'll rip your lungs out!" said Leon.

"Cut!" yelled the director. "Squall, say the line ri- ARRRGH!"

"... Ya ever notice how all our directors die?" mused Sora. "I wonder where they're coming from..."

The opening of the fight with Sephiroth

Sora ran into an arena with a dark reddish tint. A rotating symbol appeared in the sky, seeming to engulf the stars. When it stopped, a bluish beam shot out of the center, creating a dome. When the light subsided, a man with long silver hair stood up, then extenting his right hand and a black wing, caused loud orchestral and vocal music to fill the arena, like the very devil instructing the souls of the damned to sing. The man turned around, Sora readied the Keyblade... and a voice yelled, "LASERS!"

A laser struck the man in one of his eyes, causing him to scream in pain and fall on the ground twitching.

"I am victorious!" yelled Ansem, striding into the arena. However, that was not the case.

"METEORS!" yelled Sephiroth, bombarding Ansem with chunks of space rock, knocking the darkness-obsessed man out. Sephiroth threw his head back and began laughing maniacally. Sora just stared blankly and wondered where the director went.

During a battle involving a Blue Rapsody

Sora turned to fight the Rapsody, and gasped.
"VIVI?!"

When Ceberus stomps Cloud

"Oh, and there's one thing I forgot," said Hades, smirking towards the fallen warrior's sword. "Accidents happ-huh?"

Ceberus howled in pain, trying to dislodge Cloud's hair from its foot. Sora stared blankly.

"Cut!" yelled the director. "That's gotta be some hair- AAARGH!"

Looks like Jenny came back for more.

Oh, and I will be doing Ansem's POV, by the way.

[The Prophet]

Chapter 5
Deal Between Demons (A/N: Wheeeee! Alliterations!)

“Your visitor has arrived, my lord.”

Ansem glanced toward the Soldier Heartless. Finally, they had stopped babbling about how he was the source of them all after every statement.

“Send him in.”

The helmeted Heartless bowed.

“Yes, my lord.”

The Soldier vanished in a cloud of purplish black energy. A few minutes later, a tall, silver haired man in an armored black trenchcoat walked through the tall doorway, flanked by various high-ranking Heartless. His catlike green eyes scanned the room, which consisted of black walls with torch holders on them and a spiky black chair, on which the dark-skinned king of the Heartless was seated.

“Gods, talk about a lack of taste... anyway, you called?”

The man proceeded to use the nearest Soldier’s helmet as an armrest. He began drinking a red, slushy looking beverage out of a container in his right hand.

“Yes...” replied Ansem, looking distastefully at the man’s laid back manner. “Guards, you may leave.”

The Heartless bowed and left the room, closing the tall double doors behind them, plunging the room into darkness. The only thing even remotely visible was the slight green glow of the tall man’s eyes, which were slightly narrowed.

“It would be nice to have a little light...” he said in a dangerous tone.

“Ah. Yes. I keep forgetting that many of my visitors are not gifted with the vision of darkness.”

There was the sound of fingers snapping, and the room was lit, albeit dimly. The man’s expression did not change.

“Well, this is certainly romantic...” he remarked sarcastically. Ansem blinked. His visitor was being the least cooperative of his three guests, and he had thought that the insane government official (Kefka, was it?) would be impossible to top. He pretended to ignore the man’s comment.

“To business. I am Ansem, the seeker of darkness and ruler of the Heartless.” He expected his visitor to look impressed, but the man’s face was impassive.

“Hey, nice titles you have there. You collect them?”

Ansem glared. A smug look crept onto the visitor’s features.

“I am Sephiroth, former general of the Shinra army, rightful heir to the planet Terra, and the last of the Cetra.” The ex-general grinned. “Beat that.”

Ansem looked slightly more dangerous than he had previously.

“I’d advise you to be a bit more courteous in my presence, as I could command every Heartless in this world to rip you apart.”

Sephiroth’s expression did not change.

“And what a small world this is. Tell me, did you build it yourself?”

“Yes. Anyways, I have a deal for you that you could certainly benefit from....”

“Let’s hear it.”

“I am seeking revenge on a Sora Excalibur and a Riku Ragnarok. If you find either or both of them, either bring them to me or give them directions to this world, whichever you find more fitting. I have someone close to the both of them whom I will use as bait of a sort. In return, I will provide you an army of Heartless, who will obey you and only you.”

The ex-general now wore a skeptical look.

“Heartless? Those wussy looking things with the crests? I decline your offer, as it would be nothing more than a waste of my time.”

Ansem glared at him. “I didn’t exactly tell you that you could decline my offer, did I? I apologize for not making that clear...”

Sephiroth’s eyes narrowed. His left hand strayed to the hilt of a sword at his side.

“You believe you can defeat me....?”

Ansem stood up.

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

“Then.... shall we begin?”

Ansem responded by drawing a double bladed sword that resembled a pair of dragon wings and attacking the ex-general. Sephiroth dodged it and opened his mouth to taunt Ansem... but suddenly found himself pinned to the floor by a demon that had what appeared to be tape across its mouth and chest. Ansem put one of his sword’s blades a fraction of an inch from Sephiroth’s throat.

“I believe we’ve reached an agreement, then?”

Is that the best you can do?-Sirius Black, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Meh, I know it's kind of short....

[The Prophet]

Thank you for your kind comments!

Chapter 6
Thir walked through an alleyway in the upper Sector Eight, a slightly bored look on his face. His prey had been rather easy to kill (he wasn’t even immune to Stop, for the Gods’ sakes), and he needed more challenge than that for him to feel actual accomplishment. It had also started to rain, robbing him of any traces of a good mood.

Then, he heard something behind him. He turned, hands grasping his two Keyblades, and stared for a fraction of a second. Neo Shadows started crawling out of the ground, apparently after his blood.

Thir had never been very good with fighting in tight spaces(it interfered with many of his more powerful attacks), so he dashed out of the alleyway and drew his two Keyblades, prepared to fight whatever Heartless chose to fight him. And hundreds, possibly thousands, chose to do so. He began to charge up his Keyblades by spinning them around and then clashing them together, causing electrical energy to flow out from them, destroying a few Heartless.

* * * *

As soon as he had made it to the top of the plate, Riku had scaled the side of the nearest building in order to get a better view of Midgar, hoping to find some sort of exit. The only thing that wouldn’t involve falling about fifty feet was if he could get to a crane near the edge of the plate, climb down until he got to the hook, and then fall about fifteen feet. Hey, it was better than nothing. Riku looked up at the sky. A part in the clouds had formed, allowing him to see some meteorites streak through the sky.

* * * *

A fiery symbol that seemed like that of the Heartless surrounded Thir, preventing them from attacking the NEO. If this hadn’t happened about fifty times before, Thir would have yelled in anger regarding to the delay of his fight, but now he welcomed it as a blessing...

I trust you have eliminated Ragnarok?

“Yes, sir.” Then Thir added, “He was rather disappointing. I trust my next prey will be immune to Stop?”

Yes. You are to find and eliminate Sora Excalibur, third Keyblade Master of the Present and current wielder of the Present Keyblade.

“Good.” Thir smiled. This certainly would be a much more challenging endeavor.

* * * *

Riku removed his blindfold to try and get a better look at the meteorites, as he had not become quite used to the vision of darkness yet. He cursed softly and replaced the blindfold when he found that it was still too bright for him to see. But he knew what the meteorites signified. The barrier of this world had been broken....

* * * *

“Where’s Sora, anyway?”

But the leader of the NEOs had broken the connection. Thir cursed and resumed his fighting. Heartless began to spring into the air, apparently thinking they could dive-bomb Thir. He did a back flip in order to close the distance between him and a Heartless, and threw his Keyblades at it, obliterating it. The Keyblades boomeranged back to Thir, and as he grabbed them, lightning struck, destroying a small group of Heartless. When Thir landed, he preformed another back flip, landing at the base of a hotel looking building. There were now too many Heartless for Thir to even think about fighting. He would just have to try out his new skill...

* * * *

A hint of a smile appeared on Riku’s face. Not taking notice of the Heartless which were now following him, he began walking towards the edge of the building and looked down. There were certainly enough Heartless to break his fall... and a certain hooded figure with two Keyblades. Apparently, Riku’s new friend had come back to mortally wound him again.

* * * *

Thir jumped onto the side of the building.... and ran up it, causing Sir Isaac Newton, a physicist on a backwater planet known as Earth, in a backwater galaxy known as the Milky Way, to turn over in his grave. The Heartless began to jump onto the sise of the building and climb after him.

* * * *

Riku dove off the building. Apparently, Thir had noticed his prey as well, and threw the black, spiky Keyblade at Riku, who managed to catch it. Thir then drew a third Keyblade from a sheath on his side, not stopping his charge. As they passed, Riku gave a sort of a “What the?” look at the wielder of three Keyblades as Thir gave Riku a look of what was most likely intense hatred. Riku continued falling, quite a few Heartless slowing it, until a small group of the shadowy creatures broke it. Riku tore a path through the ranks toward what he assumed to be the Shinra building, which was the tallest building in the area. He did not know how far the ranks of the Heartless fanned out, but he had the nasty feeling that AVALANCHE was in danger of being attacked...

* * * *

“I am sorry, sir, but it appears I will not be hunting Excalibur down for a short amount of time. By a cruel twist of fate, my original target survived. I will embark on my next assignment as soon as I have assured the death of Ragnarok.”

Thir flicked the phone closed and placed it in a pocket, then proceeded to walk through the building’s top spire. He just managed to miss a confrontation with a Keyblade wielding mouse in a metal helmet and a gray jacket, who cursed as the NEO made his exit.

BALANT MATRIX RIP-OFF-The One Ring to Rule them All 2

You know what’s scary? I can imagine various Disney characters swearing quite easily.

[Legends-Kuja]

Originally posted by Shadow Trainer Ash
Actually it makes FIVE. :P My KH stories Tooi Kono Machi De and Look to the Sky are on here as well

Hey, a link would be nice? I can't find it...

Do me a favor and tell me how my story is on my post...

As for the Prophet, longer chapters would be nice, but it's a good imporvement. I can't wait for KEFKA to mkae an appearence. Will Kuja be here too? Riku JUST MIGHT be here soon... for the most part, I gotta finish Episode 10, I'll post nine later on tonight

[The Prophet]

Kuja... well, I'm rather undecided on him.... but I will assure that I will be using a certain non-Square/Disney furry's world... not sayin' who, but I'm sure you won't be disappointed...

Oh, and after the first Sora themed chapter, I'll start following more than one character a chapter, so they will be longer.

YAY! RIKU-KUN! ^_^ <3

[Legends-Kuja]

I got a new chapter up! YOU SHOULD TOO... I like your story.

[The Prophet]

I would just like to warn everyone that Donald is going to have a filthy mouth for the rest of the fic... AND SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG! I was in Indiana for the weekend.






Chapter 7
Meanwhile, on the Magical Kingdom Front...
“Who’s the leader of them all, he’s great to you and me...” sang Goofy, horribly off key.

“M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!” sang Sora.

“Mickey Mouse!” sang Goofy.
“Donald Duck!” exclaimed Donald, in his squawky voice.

“I hate to break it to ya, pal, but that isn’t in the original anthem...” said Goofy .

“Who the **** cares!” yelled the duck. “You wanna start something?”

“Guys, break it up...” said the Keyblade Master, silencing Donald and Goofy. In the past four years, Sora had grown quite a bit taller, more muscular, and generally more respectable, (the armor he had received on his arrival to the castle also helped) so he found that he could manage to break up arguments between his two friends up more easily than before.

“We can’t get this modified Gummi Ship together if the two of you end up attacking each other.”

“You’re right,” said Donald, but in a rather halfhearted voice. In his opinion, Sora was getting his hopes too far up that the three of them would ever be able to continue looking for King Mickey and Riku, and that the whole idea of them ever getting of this world again was incredibly stupid. He had made that clear many times before.

“All right then, now let’s see... where should I put this Curaga Gummi?” asked Goofy.

“Same place it was last time, you *******,” replied Donald irritably.

“Alright, no need to get angry...”

Sora sighed. This garage was starting to weigh on his nerves.

“Guys, I need to go for a walk. If I don’t get some fresh air soon, I’ll go completely insane.”

Goofy grinned. “Go ahead. We can handle this ourselves.”

As Sora walked up the spiral staircase, he heard Donald yell, “YOU *******! The wing doesn’t go THERE! The Gummi Ship isn’t supposed to look like a shark, for the Gods’ sakes!”

Sora smiled. His friends hadn’t changed a bit over the past years.

* * * *

Sora laid on his back in the tall grass outside the castle. He needed the quiet of the outdoors to even think these days. His dreams had recently changed from visions of scythe wielding Unknowns to dreams about Kairi. In the first one, she’d been fighting Darkside and defeated it, only to be captured by Neo Shadows. The rest of them involved Kairi imprisoned in a cell somewhere. Donald told him not to act like an idiot about it, and that they were only dreams, but Sora had the nasty feeling that they were more than that. But then again, he’d always been a bit superstitious regarding dreams.

Sora was also concerned about the goings on of Destiny Islands. Not just regarding Kairi, but also his foster mother and friends. When Sora first arrived at Traverse Town four years ago, he hadn’t really understood what had happened to the Islands’ residents, and by the time he had, he was already convinced that there would be a way to save them, so he hadn’t really worried about them. Besides, to understate it, he and his parents had always had a rather distant relationship. His parents was extremely distrustful of anyone who hadn’t been born on their particular island, and when they had found out that he had given Kairi a traditional gift, they kicked him out of their house. Riku’s mother had welcomed him into her household, and Riku was almost ecstatic that his best friend was now virtually his younger brother.

Sora sighed. Thinking about the past had really gotten to him, now that he had peaceful nights to reflect on them. Well, boring nights would be a better term. He almost missed the Heartless. He started counting the stars, a favorite new pastime of his, pointing out the ones he’d visited and wondering about the ones he hadn’t. Soon, he dozed off.

* * * *

Sora was awoken with a start by a noise he remembered all too well: the sound of the appearance of the Heartless. In disbelief, he stood up and summoned the Keyblade into his hand. The Heartless looked something like a seven foot tall, bipedal blue wolf. It opened its mouth, but Sora leaped at it before it could move and pressed the Keyblade to its neck.

“Who are you, and how did you get here? Tell me or you die, Heartless!” Sora yelled, expecting the wolflike Heartless to maintain the silence that all of the dark creatures seemed to be cursed by.

“Name’s Fenrir, and for the second point, get off me and I might tell you.”

Sora, rather surprised at the fact that the Heartless had spoken, grudgingly removed the Keyblade from near its throat. It stood up, looked over Sora’s surprised expression, and remarked, “What? You didn’t know Heartless could speak?” Sora shook his head.

“If they could, I would have expected them to try and talk to each other and make plans during battle.”

Fenrir laughed, surprising Sora even more. Hadn’t one of the Ansem Reports stated that the Heartless were incapable of emotion?

“Most of them are too stupid to even feel emotions, let alone make plans. There are a chosen few of us that are able to feel emotion and are quite intelligent, but I’m the only one I know who sides with Ansem. Hmm, let’s see... Ziz-er, Gligamesh, is freelance, Bahamut has begun the moronic quest to find the light, I’m not sure what side Yojimbo thinks he’s on, and of the rest I couldn’t tell you...”

Sora stared at the Heartless. It was working for a dead person?

“Well, I’m pretty sure they aren’t working for Ansem like you are, as Ansem’s dead.”

Fenrir waved one of its claws in a “not so fast” sort of manner.

“Last time I checked, he was giving me the order to hunt you down. He’s a bit desperate for revenge, you know.”

“But how...”

“Cut it. I’m not exactly here to explain everything. I’m here to tear you apart.”

Sora put his Keyblade in a defensive position.

“I don’t exactly believe that will be the case...”

* * * *

“Well, I think that’s it for tonight,” said Goofy, looking over the Gummi Ship.

“You know, Goofy, if you look at it at an angle, it looks like a decapitated sheep, but if you squint, it looks like a large dog,” remarked Donald.

“Naaw, it looks more like a cow.”

“Whatever it is, we’ll have to go get Sora. He’s probably fallen asleep outside again.” The two friends began to walk up the spiral staircase that led out of the garage.

“Mmyep. I don’t blame him, though. The past four years have been rather dull.”

“Yeah. As crazy as this sounds, I miss the Heartless. At least back then, we were actually able to get off this world and go on adventures and that sort of thing.”

“Uh huh. But it’s really for the better now. The worlds can exist in peace now, without having to face the threat of the Heartless.”

“True. But you kinda wish some nutcase would try to steal the crown while Mickey’s disappeared to the Gods know where.”

* * * *

Sora tried to dodge one of Fenrir’s slashes, but the Heartless was extremely fast. Sora was now bleeding from numerous wounds, some of which he was sure were fatal. He needed to rest.... for it to end...

“Tired yet, Keyblade Wielder? Want me to end this?”

Sora did not reply.

“I suppose that’s a yes? Well, it doesn’t matter. Say hello to Satan for- ARGH!”

Fenrir turned to face the caster of the Firaga spell to see a dog holding a blue and white shield and an angry looking duck wielding a blue and yellow staff. The duck’s expression melted into one of shock when he noticed the severity of most of Sora’s wounds.

“OH MY GODS! Sora!” yelled Donald. He used a Curaga spell, which healed most of Sora’s wounds and lessened the severity of the others.

“Thanks, Donald!” yelled Sora as he aimed an attack at the wolflike Heartless, who just narrowly dodged it, only to be hit by another Firaga spell. Fenrir growled and turned his attention to the duck. That was a rather stupid mistake, as Sora began slashing wildly at the Heartless’s back, while Goofy attacked its side with the razor-edged shield. Fenrir spun around to block the two warriors’ assaults, which left his back open to another Firaga. Sora’s Scan ability told him that the Heartless was close to defeat, so he unleashed his Ars Arcanum ability, which destroyed the Heartless.

“Glad that’s over...” said Goofy.

“Are you crazy? That’s the most exciting thing to have happened in the past four years!” exclaimed Sora.

“...Are you sure that thing didn’t injure your brain?” said Donald irritably. “You know as well as I do what the appearance of a Heartless means....”

Donald’s words smashed Sora back into reality. It also brought back Fenrir’s words.

“Guys, you’re not gonna believe this, but.... ”

* * * *

“I am sorry, my lord. I did not count on Excalibur’s friends showing up...”

Fenrir closed his eyes and waited for the storm to blow over.

“Never mind, Fenrir. I congratulate you on bringing Excalibur close to death before his friends joined the battle. However, your failure means you shall not receive a reward.”

Fenrir stood up, a relieved look on his face .

“Thanks, my lord. What’s my next assignment?”

Ansem smiled.

“I have something very special in mind for you, Fenrir...”

* * * *

“How’d he do it, Sora?” asked Goofy. “We saw Ansem die! Dead people don’t give their servants orders!”

“Fenrir didn’t say anything regarding the matter,” replied Sora. “I’m hoping that our first destination will help us with that.”

“What?” asked a surprised Donald. “Where are we going?”

“Where else? Hollow Bastion.”

Goofy’s jaw dropped.

“But Sora... we don’t know if Ansem’s retaken it! What if there’s a whole army of Heartless waiting to kill us?”

“I’m sure Leon or somebody like that’s in charge.” Sora grinned. “And if Ansem’s there.... well, he wasn’t exactly hard last time we fought him, was he?”

“True....” said Donald. He had a rather depressed look on his face, though. “Maybe our journey meant nothing after all.”

I think I’m through with you...- Zim after getting beaten practically to a pulp, Invader Zim

[The Prophet]

You know, I’ll accept constructive criticism...

Chapter 8
Rescue

“SORA!”

Kairi woke up very suddenly, looked around her cell, and shook her head. It was all just a nightmare. A very realistic nightmare, that’s all. Sora’s not getting ripped apart by some wolf Heartless thing, he’s safe... wherever he is. Well, at least now he was.

“Cryin’ over your soon-to-be-dead boyfriend again, eh?”

Kairi glared at Fenrir. She hated its attitude...

“Ya know, he’d be dead NOW if it wasn’t for the duck. Isn’t that right, ‘Blos?”

The Heartless, Diablos, which resembled a large red and black incarnation of some god of the underworld, nodded.

“Though you ought to stop playing with your prey before killing it. Wastes time, you know.”

“But it’s fuuuuun.....”

“That’s what your chew toys are for.”

“They don’t move, though. Plus, it tastes good to sink your jaws through living flesh...”

“I’ll hand it to you there. Still, we have to do what Ansem says.”

“Yeah...”

“Anyway, you want to know a fun, yet quick way to kill something? First, you rip out your victim’s liver....”


Kairi couldn’t bear to hear any more of the gory details.

“You guys are sick...”

Her comment went unnoticed. She laid against the wall and tried to go to sleep, but before she could manage to get comfortable, a voice yelled, “Hey! Dumb and ugly!”

She sat up and looked out of the cell. Besides the two Heartless that were supposed to be preventing her from escaping, there was now a blue animal with long, hairlike spikes and wearing red shoes standing there with his arms crossed.

“What the-“

A split second later, the animal was standing behind the two.

“Too slow! They don’t call me Sonic the Hedgehog for nothing!”

Sonic looked around, shrugged, and assumed a fighting stance.

“What the HELL are ya doin’ here?” yelled Fenrir.

“What’s it look like, Einstein? I’m getting that princess outta here!”

Fenrir tried to practically impale Sonic on its claws, but where Sonic had been a few seconds before, there was only thin air.

“Heh, this is too easy! Sonic Wind!”

Blades of air flew towards the two Heartless, hitting them both.

“You think that’s gonna kill two well trained Fragmented?” asked Diablos, aiming a Gravity spell at the hedgehog.

“Naaw, you two idiots don’t need to die...” replied Sonic, dodging the dark ball of energy. “Unless there’s no way in hell I’m knocking you two unconscious!”

Sonic rolled into a ball, which somehow caused green streaks of light to surround him. When he stood up, there was a green glow surrounding him.

“Ready.... GO!”

Faster than the eye could see, the two Heartless were hit by Sonic.

“Damn, he’s fast!” exclaimed Fenrir.

“Took ya long enough to figure that out, Wolfie. Now-“

“Hi, kupo!”

A small, mole-like creature with a pair of bat wings and an antenna-like pompom waved at the Heartless. The two stared at it in what seemed to be terror.

“OH MY GODS!” yelled Fenrir.

“What the HELL is THAT?” yelled Diablos. They looked at each other in terror, and ran. Sonic stared at the two as they charged down the hallway.

“Mog, what’d you do?”

Mog grinned.

“Moogle Charm, kupo. It makes me look like the enemy’s worst fear. Anykupo, I got the keys. Shiva’s a sucker for cute, fuzzy things.”

Sonic gave him a slightly envious look. He then turned to Kairi’s cell.

“Anyway, princess... you heard me before.”

Kairi smiled. It was a miracle.

“Thank you.”

“It was nothing compared to some of the things I’ve accomplished,” said Sonic as he unlocked the cell.

* * * *

“Sir, there was nothing we could do!”

“There was this cocky hedgehog, and then there was this horrible... thing!”

“Did this ‘horrible thing’ speak to you?”

“Yeah... it was kind of a squeaky voice, now that ya mention it...”

“It was a Moogle.”

Fenrir gawked at Ansem.

“Aren’t they supposed to be cute fuzzy things?”

“They use the Moogle Charm for self defense.”

“Oh... er, should we hunt them down, then?”

Ansem glared at them.

“That’s a yes, right?”


This guy are sick.- Aeris Gainsborough, Final Fantasy VII

[Legends-Kuja]

YES! S-O-N-I-C GO!

I'm nearly finished with Episode 11! You' WON'T be disapponted!

Oh,a nd PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE make chapters LONGER. I hate to copare, but One episode I write is longer than a third of your story? Or is that a bad thing?

[The Prophet]

I'm REALLY sorry the chapters are short. I just can't seem to make them long... I like to end them at points that I feel are good, and I just can't seem to make much fit in.... but I'm definitaley making future chapters longer.

I knew you'd like Sonic's appearence. I'm not exactly sure if he'll end up in a Donald/Goofy/Sora style party with Kairi and Tails or if he'll end up kinda like the FF characters did in KH... but you can be sure there will be a rather large cast of Sonic characters in this. ^_^

[Legends-Kuja]

I vote for the Kairi/Sonic/Tails party.

Episode 11 is up. Trust me, you'll LOVE it.

[The Prophet]

Chapter 9
A Perfect Landing... NOT!

“This is our ship?”

Donald beamed at Sora.

“Yup!”

Sora tilted his head and squinted.

“It looks like a decapitated turkey. Ah well, nothing Cid won’t be able to work out.”

Sora grinned and jumped in the cockpit of the ship. Donald and Goofy exchanged uneasy looks and followed suit.

“Uh, Sora...” said Donald in a worried tone.

“Yeah?”

“We never really completed it. It’s missing the-“

“The oxygen tanks?”

“No, the-“

“The shielding?”

“No, it’s-“

“Lasers? Engines? Any crucial circuits?”

“None of those, it’s missing the l-“

“We can live without it. Ignition, in five...”

“SORA! WHY THE **** WON’T YOU LISTEN! IT’S MISSING THE LAN-“

But the rest of Donald’s sentence was drowned out by the roar of the engine. Goofy stared at Donald and Sora with a terrified look on his face.

“Sora-“

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing!”

Goofy fell silent. As they sped off towards the warp hole that led to Hollow Bastion, Donald silently stared at the wall, while Goofy sat shaking in a corner. Sora entertained himself by humming an old Destiny Islands folk tune known as “Blast Away!,” which, ironically, had nothing to do with blowing things up, but eating coconuts. Sora never really understood the whole concept, but the tune seemed fit to destroying Heartless ships, so Sora made it the ‘theme’ of the trips in the Gummi Ship.

* * * *

“There it is...” said Tifa, her voice a mix of anxiety and excitement. “The Shinra Company Headquarters. Reeve?”

The catlike robot, which now sat in a bipedal mech-style walker, nodded.

“All’s clear.”

“Alright.” A hint of a smile hovered on Tifa’s face. “On three, we charge into the building. One... two...”

“TIFA!”

Tifa turned to see Riku running toward her assault team, holding what seemed to be a giant, black house key. Some of the AVALANCHE members gawked, others exchanged nervous looks(apparently questioning the young man’s sanity), while others looked as if they were trying extremely hard not to laugh.

“Did you change your mind?” asked Tifa, also glancing in disbelief at Riku’s choice of weapon.

“N-yes, and I also came to warn you.”

Tifa suddenly became more alert.

“Of what?”

Riku glanced over his shoulder at the advancing legion of Heartless.

“That.”

* * * *

“Guys, why isn’t the landing gear working?”

Goofy turned out of his corner, a terrified look evident in his eyes.

“That’s what we’ve been trying to tell you, Sora... we didn’t get around to installing it.”

Sora paled.

“So... we’re gonna crash?”

Donald, still staring at the wall, nodded.

“Damn!”

Sora angrily hit the steering wheel, and, to the horror of everyone present, it snapped off.

“Oh, Gods...”

“I suppose that signifies that we’re officially screwed?” asked Donald, who had moved his gaze from the wall to Sora.

“Yep.”

“I suppose that’s our cue to begin screaming like terrified little girls, then?”

“Probably.”

As the ship began spiraling toward the Rising Falls, three screams that remarkably matched that of a young child witnessing a decapitation erupted from it.

* * * *

“They don’t look so tough!” exclaimed one of the assault force... right before he dropped dead, a nasty wound in his chest inflicted by one of the dark creatures now filling the area in front of the Shinra Building. Tifa stared in shock for a split second, then quickly turned to the rest of AVALANCHE.

“Fire on those things!”

The assault force needed no second bidding. But, to their horror, only a few were cut down by the bullets. The rest had flattened to the ground, now seeming almost like shadows as they disappeared into the darker areas of the street.

“What the hell? Where’d they g-AAAAAGH!” yelled an unfortunate member of AVALANCHE before one of the creatures snapped his neck, flipped him over, and tore at his chest.

“Use close range weapons!” yelled Riku, who seemed to be having a much easier time killing the monsters than anyone else at the moment. “They won’t have as much time to melt into the ground!”

The assault team either didn’t hear him or didn’t exactly think he was the most trustworthy person on the planet, as they kept using their guns, each of which seemed to take out a pathetic number of attacking monsters... while the numbers of the members of AVALANCHE were decimated.

“Tifa!” yelled Reeve as he shot a few missiles at the dark creatures. “We can’t hold out much longer! We have to get the remaining forces to the stairway at the left side of the building!”

“Alright, troops!” yelled Tifa as she put her foot through one of the monsters. “Follow Reeve!”

The robotic cat pressed a button on the mech it was seated in, and it was transformed into what looked like a saber-toothed, winged bear with rabbit feet, which hopped towards a door on the left side of the building. It was followed closely by Tifa, Riku, and three AVALANCHE members, one of which was killed by a Heartless as the once large group made their escape.

* * * *

“Wow, we managed to survive!” said Sora as the group made their way to the front gate of the castle.

“Yeah, no wonder they’re called Gummis! You bounce right off them!” exclaimed Donald.

“Pity it’s wrecked... there’s no way off this world now...” said Goofy a bit remorsefully.

“Well, that’s not exactly the worst thing possible. This place is kinda nice now.”

Donald was understating the matter: the castle was completely brighter and cheerier than it had been before.

“Well, there’s nobody out here, so I suppose we ought to go inside.”

Sora pushed open the tall double doors... and narrowly escaped decapitation by a long, broad sword covered in tape.

* * * *

Tifa leaned against the wall, silent tears streaming down her face. She had become personal friends with many of the deceased.

“Reeve, how many did we lose?”

“Ninety-seven.” Reeve’s voice also sounded shaky. “This is horrible...”

“Dammit... I never saw them kill this many before...” muttered Riku.

The remaining members of the assault force bowed their heads for a moment of silence. After the moment, Tifa looked up, her eyes still brimming with tears, but a look of determination now engraved in her features.

“Alright. Let’s head on our way.”

Reeve’s remote controlled robot stared at Tifa.

“Have you gone insane? The odds are now even more against us than when we had a hundred!”

“Still, we have more of a chance against the Shinra then we have out there. As Barret used to say, there’s no chance of us getting off this train we’re on...”

Woah! Deja-vu!”- Tony Jones, Magi-Nation

Edit: Added some things.

[Legends-Kuja]

*snickers morbidly* Nice one. Better comments later.

[The Prophet]

I hope writer's block doesn't kill this fic like it killed all my previous ones...

[Tha Legend]

Ah, the demon writer's block strikes again.
~Legend~

[The Prophet]

Yes! The curse of writer's block has been lifted!


Chapter 10
Traverse City

Kairi didn’t expect Traverse Town to be much different than the short time she had spent there four years ago(if a bit less densely populated), but that assumption was disproved once she and her two companions stepped through the tall wooden doors that lead out of the world. There were many tall, brightly lit buildings, and the streets were now made of some sort of white rocklike substance.

“You’ve been here before, haven’t you?” asked Mog. “During the first Plague of Heartless?”

Kairi nodded, but with a bit of a worried look on her face. She wasn’t sure if Sonic and Mog were going to stick around to give her a guided tour.

“It’s changed a lot in four years, though...”

“Don’t sweat it,” said Sonic, dispelling her fears. “We have specific orders to bring you to the casino.”

Mog suddenly looked a bit nervous.

“Well, er...”

“One of your dance contest things?”

“Yeah. Sorry, kupo.”

Sonic crossed his arms.

“You have to stick to the missions!”

Mog glared at the hedgehog.

“DMR contests are more important! Especially when this could be the only chance to defeat your rival once and for all!”

Before Sonic could argue further, the Moogle walked off towards a brightly lit building that had a glowing sign that read “ARCADE” on the front, muttering something about a pink marshmallow. Sonic shrugged.

“Whatever. Come on, Kairi.”

The hedgehog walked toward the general direction of a large, pyramid like building. Kairi assumed it would be a good idea to follow him.

* * * *

“Do these stairs EVER end?” yelled one of the members of AVALANCHE. She was rather tall, had long-ish blue hair(that was most likely dyed), green eyes that seemed to burn with a strange energy, and wasn’t exactly what you’d call super model material, but she wasn’t that bad looking. She also looked like she wasn’t exactly the type you’d like to tangle with.

“No need to yell, Azel, and we have two more staircases, going by Reeve’s judgement,” was Tifa’s response.

“You don’t suppose this is like that never-ending stairway in that one video game?” asked the other survivor. He was of normal height, had light red hair, and was not suspiciously handsome.

“Darek, if Shinra had access to the impossible, we’d be dead thirty times over by now,” replied Reeve, who sounded rather hushed.

“You know, you’re the safest one on this entire group!” shouted the woman referred to as Azel. “What are you doing, eating potato chips in a large comfortable chair?”

“You ought to be more quiet, Lacsah... and for your information, I’m currently in a bathroom, trying very hard not to be heard by the rest of the staff.”

“What is the current situation up there, anyway?” asked Tifa.

“Staff party. Probably for the supposed defeat of AVALANCHE.”

“Hm, didn’t think I’d become a professional gatecrasher during this ordeal,” said Riku, speaking for the first time since AVALANCHE began their climb.

“Hey, this was a great time to launch an assault, despite those homicidal....things,” said Darek brightly. “I certainly hope they have punch.”

* * * *

“What’s this DMR thing, anyway?” asked Kairi, trying to make conversation as she and Sonic made their way toward the center of Traverse Town.

“The Gods know,” replied Sonic. “Could stand for Damned Maniacs’ Rave for all I care. It’s definitely a dance game of some sort, though.”

“Oh.” She paused a minute, then resumed conversation.

“What’s a casino, and why are we going there?”

“Casinos are where you can play games of chance to either win or lose money. The current town leader loves them and spends most of his waking hours there. I never caught on to the idea, but it’s a pretty cool place.

“How’d you escape your world’s destruction?”

“It wasn’t destroyed. After the Heartless first appeared in my world, Mobius, my adopted younger brother and I decided to go try and find where they were from, what they were doing, who was behind them, and how they could be stopped. My adopted brother, Tails, is a master at building any sort of plane or ship, so he built our ship, the Tornado III, out of the meteorites that had started to land in Mobius. Then we just sort of ended up here, in Traverse City-“

“I thought it was called Traverse Town.”

“It was, until a few years ago when the population skyrocketed. The political leader here decided that Traverse City was a more fitting name. Anyway, he was the one who gave the order for Mog and I to rescue you.”

“I suppose I’ll be meeting him, then?”

Sonic grinned.

“Right on the money, sister.”

Kairi smiled.

“Want to race the rest of the way there?”

Sonic blinked.

“Alright... but I’m warnin’ ya, I AM the fastest thing alive...”


* * * *


Thir walked through a shiny, white wall on the fifty-ninth floor of the Shinra building, drew his two Keyblades, and stood in wait. He was sure his prey would be here eventually... and this was the perfect ambush....

* * * *

“What took you so long, Kairi?”

Sonic watched Kairi come closer to the casino with a smug look on his face.

“Hell, I even went easy on you.”

“Oh, stop it!” said Kairi, panting. She thought the physical training Wakka had put her through for four years would have prepared her for this... but then again, the weapons training Tidus had given her hadn’t helped her too much yet.

“Hey, it’s cool. You managed to keep up pretty well compared to some people I’ve known.”

Sonic pushed the glass door open and gestured for Kairi to go ahead through. As she passed him, Sonic muttered, “Don’t touch the small slot machine in the back.”

“Why not?”

“Let’s just say that it wouldn’t be the best idea. Ya might kill everyone in the place...”

“The black wind howls again...” - Magus, Chrono Trigger

Guess who the town leader is... (hint: Final Fantasy 6 owns!)

[Legends-Kuja]

^Hmm... is it KEFKA? EDGAR? Hmm... I'll find out.

YO I got a NEW CHAPTER UP! Kim Possible Goodness!

[The Prophet]

Well, I'm sorry to say that I won't be continuing this... for a while. I'm going to go back and edit the past chapters and repost the fic under a different name (I'm starting to think this one's title sounds cheesy). But I won't keep my dedicated readers without fanfiction for long. My muse is torturing me into writing a fic entitled The King, the Warrior, and the Guardian. I won't go into too many details, but I will say that Legends-Kuja will like it...

(walks off singing Simple and Clean)

[Legends-Kuja]

WHAT?! Aww man! I just got two chapters down, and I'm looking forward to your next one... don't torture me like this!

[The Prophet]

*scratches head in Anime style embarrasment*

Yeah, I got the same response on another board... but my muse has been irking me to change the plot for the better...

[Interpol HQ]

I just finished reading your fic, and i love how you added sonic in here *hopes Big makes an appearance* keep up the good work!

[The Prophet]

Well, I am editing the plot of this a bit... and who knows, all the Sonic characters may appear in a future work of mine...