Fighting Darkness

Chapter Sixteen

Arrival at Hollow Bastion

As soon as she stepped off the ship, Usagi felt a sense of familiarity. She knew this place. She was here before. She lived here. This was it.

Her home.

"Garwash. You okay, Usagi?"

The blonde craned her neck to look up at Goofy. He was giving her a worried look as were the rest of the guys. Then she realized she had fallen to her knees. "Yeah, I'm fine." She had noticed that Sora looked the most concerned. He had tried to talk her out of coming here and now she just gave him a reason why she should have stayed with Leon and the others.

"You look kinda tired," This worried voice came from Donald. Big shocker there. They may have yelled at each and argued from time to time, but they do care for each other like any other friend would.

"I'm overwhelmed, I guess." She stood on shaky legs. "This is my home world. I just know it."

"I'm sure it is," Sora said. "I feel a warmth," he put a hand over heart, "right here. I think it's Kairi trying to connect with me."

Usagi nodded. After her own connection with Kairi, she knew that it was possible.

Sora stared at her, looking upset.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I'm worried, and so is Kairi."

Usagi wondered why Kairi would be worried. Sora, she could understand, but Kairi? "Well, this is basically the Heartless' hideout. This whole place is just oozing with darkness. You're just worried about the final showdown." A smirk spread across her face. "And you might be nervous about seeing Kairi, huh?" She winked at him teasingly.

"Wha-!? No! That's not-!" Sora's face was as red as an apple from embarrassment.

Though that was the reaction she expected, Usagi didn't like it. It even hurt a little. But she smiled anyway while Donald and Goofy laughed. The happy moment didn't last long.

A loud roar broke through the air, instantly changing the atmosphere.

No words were needed as the group moved to the same destination.

/…/

Riku glared down at his opponent that he had defeated so easily. He was pathetic, trying so desperately to save one of the Princesses of Heart. Too bad he failed. One more hit should do it. Riku swung his sword for the final blow.

He was intercepted.

Usagi blocked his blow and quickly countered. Riku dodged with a back flip. He did that back on the island, but they weren't on the island anymore. Riku landed perfectly on his feet. Now Sora and the two animals arrived. He eyed the Keyblade in Sora's hand.

Good.

"Where's Kairi?" The question came from Sora. Usagi was wondering the same thing, but she kept quiet and let Sora do all the talking.

Donald and Goofy kept their guard up and their attention focused on Riku in case he made any moves to attack.

"I don't know," Riku replied, pulling something from behind him. "Here," he threw the object in Sora's direction.

The brunette saw what it was before it had it the ground, but felt the need to ask. "What's this?"

Donald and Goofy displayed confused looks.

Usagi had her own confused look too. Why did Riku toss a wooden sword at Sora?

"It's your new sword," Riku said with a smirk.

Sora felt his Keyblde move slightly, then it wrenched forward. He kept a tight grip on the handle and wrapped his other hand around the circular blade in haste. He pulled it back, but the unseen force pulling it forward was stronger. "What are you doing!?"

His comrades could only watch his struggle with the Keyblade. Usagi racked her brain for a way to help him. Where the force coming from? Once she found the source, then maybe she could stop it. She then felt a pulse of dark power.

Usagi's eyes went to Riku, the source. "You…"

"That's right." He raised his hand up, causing the pull of the Keyblade to become stronger. "Let the Keyblade choose its true master!"

It vanished. Sora stumbled back, dumbfounded. He stared at his empty hands. It had disappeared in a flash of light, just like that. He saw a glimpse of the same flash and looked up.

The Keyblade was now it Riku's hands.

"Wha…?" Was all Usagi could say. What just happened?

Donald and Goofy were speechless.

But Sora wasn't. "But that's impossible! I'm the one who fought my way here with the Keyblade!"

Riku scoffed as he held his new weapon to the light, admiring it. "Your part is over now. You don't have what it takes to save Kairi. You were just the delivery boy." He gave the Keyblade an experimental swing. Satisfied, he turned to leave. Footsteps came at him at a fast rate.

Looks like Sora won't give up that easily. He turned, pointing the Keyblade. But the tip was not at Sora's chest, it was at Usagi's. A quick glance pass the girl told him that Sora was on the ground, looking completely defeated.

The blonde did not flinch. She wasn't going to let Riku go without sharing a few words. She looked right into his cold, dark eyes. "You're wrong."

Riku chuckled.

"Sora is the true master. Enjoy that Keyblade while you can. We will be taking it back soon enough."

His arm tensed up slightly. Riku really wanted to try out the Keyblade, but decided against it. He had better uses for it. He dropped the Keyblade from her chest and turned to walk away.

Usagi let out a breath. Now what do they do? Sora is pretty much defenseless without the Keyblade. One of them would have to keep a close eye him. At least he can still do magic. In the back of her mind, Usagi was thanking Cloud for all the training he put her through. She was sure it would come in handy at a time like this. She's going to have to put her magic to the side and use her sword more often.

While the blond was planning their move, Donald was having an inner turmoil. They had orders from the King to stick to the Keyblade Master, and Sora no longer has the Keyblade. Donald had grown close to boy and didn't want to leave him alone.

But he was even closer to the King.

"Goofy, let's go."

"But Donald," The duck wasn't the only one having an inner turmoil. Goofy had the same thoughts, but he was more reluctant to leave. He did have the King's orders to follow, but leaving Sora now just wouldn't be right.

"We have to remember our mission," the magician said. By his tone, Goofy could tell that he didn't really want to leave either.

Usagi had not missed their conversion. "What's going on?" They wouldn't look at her. Not even when they walked right pass her. She clenched her fist tightly. This couldn't be happening. "Guys?" They didn't turn around. "You can't leave us!" Her voice echoed, temporarily muting the sounds of the rising falls.

"We're sorry."

They were gone. It was as if all the worlds they went to, all the battles they fought, all the time they shared, and the fun they had didn't matter. She felt drained and wanted to fall to her knees again.

This is no time to be weak. Sora needed her.

Usagi put a comforting hand on Sora's shoulder. She couldn't believe that Donald and Goofy left them! All because of the King's orders! "I thought the Keyblade only goes to pure hearts…" she wondered aloud. "But Riku's heart, if that is Riku, is full of Darkness. It doesn't make sense."

Sora remained silent. Usagi sighed and looked in the direction where their so called friends had gone. She really wants to hurt them for doing this to Sora… She could somewhat understand why they would leave, but Sora needs them now. She needs them now. At the same time, she can't forgive them. Not just yet.

Something behind her grunted.

Usagi and Sora turned to the Beast. They had completely forgotten about him. He was trying his best to get up with his deep wounds. "Hey!" Sora ran to his side. "You shouldn't get up. You're hurt."

"I… have to… find Belle!" He forced the words out in each breath, still trying to stand.

"Let me cure you first," Usagi said, giving him a stern look. "Then we will go after Riku and Belle."

"Let me do it," Sora said.

"But Sora, I-"

"Please," he interrupted, giving her a look, a desperate look. There wasn't much he could now. Magic is all he has. "You need to save all your strength for the Heartless here. And I can't fight…" He looked down at wooden sword. He won't be able to much damage with that, if he could do any.

That's right. She was thinking the same thing before Donald and Goofy left. "Yeah," she gave him a nod. "Okay."

/…/

Deep inside the castle, Maleficent entered the room that held the seven Princesses of Heart and the heart of the world. Most were put into a deep sleep, not knowing that their hearts will be used to unlock the darkness hidden deep within the world.

The witch walked up the stairs and reached the only princess that was not put into a deep sleep. Kairi had lost her heart to Heartless when Density Island disappeared. Maleficent glared down at her, upset that she has to wait even longer to unlock the gateway of darkness.

With a wave of her hand, a clear image appeared showing the beast and the two children fighting off Heartless. She smiled, now knowing she won't have to wait much longer. The boy was now here. And the girl…

Maleficent couldn't wait to sink her nails into her life force.

/…/

Usagi caught her breath as Beast finished the last Heartless. This was harder then she thought it would be. Sora had made it look so easy. Then again, Donald and Goofy were around to help out.

"Are you alright?" Sora asked. He noticed that her stamina had been decreasing quickly since they first entered the castle.

Still catching her breath, Usagi could only nod. Not true. She was not alright. She felt tired, almost to the point of exhaustion. She could still fight, but it has been getting harder and harder the deeper they go into the castle. Beast and Sora opened up the double doors. Usagi walked in and looked in the room.

The room was rather large. There were a set of converging stair cases and in between them at the bottom was a water fountain. At the top of the stairs was another set of double doors. Off to the left was pathway covered in dark red carpet and it ended at another door.

Beast felt the familiar dark aura of the Heartless from behind. He turned quickly with his claws ready and fangs bare. He stopped. There wasn't any Heartless. It was Belle! She was standing there, smiling at him. "Belle! You're alright!" He ran towards her through the double doors that he and Sora had just opened.

Sora turned just in time to see Beast run to a clearly fake Belle. There was a dark purple aura surrounding her. "Beast, no!!"

The doors slammed shut.

Usagi turned. The Beast was gone. "What happened?"

Sora didn't answer her question. Instead, he was glaring ahead looking very tense.

"You should quit while you're ahead."

Usagi's attention went to Riku, who was now standing in front of the fountain with Donald and Goofy behind him. Great. They lost Beast so it was going to be an outnumbered battle. She doesn't want to fight them, but as long as they were on Riku's side, they were her enemies.

"This isn't a playground, get lost."

"Not without Kairi," Sora said. He was determined to find his friend, Keyblade or not!

Riku raised his hand. Usagi jumped in front of Sora, ready to counter his magic with her own.

The silver haired boy smirked at her. "Really? You think you can defend the both you?"

Usagi stood her ground, glaring at Riku.

Riku smirked wider as his eyes narrowed. "Well then tell me, how are feeling?"

Usagi did not flinch. She was hoping that her lack of energy wasn't that apparent and even now, she refused to let it show.

Sora looked at blonde's back, remembering how she looked earlier. "'Sagi?"

Donald and Goofy were watching the scene, unsure of what to do. There were the King's orders to follow, but the teens were practically defenseless without them. This just wasn't right.

"Think you can?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "We'll just see how you do against the darkness." He quickly gathered dark power in his hand and released it.

She had to act fast.

Concentrate…

Think…

Too late.

The spell hit.

Goofy stood in front of them with his shield in hand. There were some newly made scratches on it caused by the dark spell. Three different cries echo through the room at once.

"Goofy!" Sora couldn't keep the happiness out of his voice. He really thought that he had lost his two new friends.

"What are you doing you big palooka!?" Donald shouted.

"You would betray your King?" Riku asked, glaring at Goofy. "You should be obeying me!"

"Donald, would you tell the King that I'm sorry? I'm not going to betray these two. They became my closest friends."

Donald looked surprised. "What!?"

"You can you do what you think is right! But I'm sticking with these two."

Usagi unconsciously smiled to herself, happy to have Goofy on their side again.

"Wait! That's not fair!"

All three of them blinked in confusion as Donald made his way over to them. He looked a little grumpy. "All for one and one all for all… right?"

Usagi's smile got bigger. She was so happy now that she could cry! "Thank you, guys…"

Sora's smile was a little more apparent. Donald and Goofy were back! He thought he had lost them like he had lost Riku. He stared at his old, silver haired friend standing alone. "I don't need the Keyblade," he realized aloud. "I have my friends with me and all the people I met along the way. They all make me stronger. They make my heart stronger. Riku…" He looked directly in his dark eyes. "What you have is not true power. You can keep the Keyblade. I have a better weapon, my heart!"

The Keyblade disappeared from Riku's hand in a bright flash of light. It blinded him.

The Keyblade reappeared in Sora's hand. He stood in front of his friends, ready to fight if it was necessary.

"Your heart?" Riku scoffed, summoning his own wing shaped sword. "What can that weak thing do for you?" He gathered dark energy in his sword. "A heart can't protect anything!" He swung his sword, releasing the dark energy.

Sora, Donald and Goofy jumped out of the way. Usagi was too slow. She crossed her arms to shield herself, but she still felt the full force of the attack. She was thrown back.

"Usagi!" Sora ran to her side.

It hurt. Her body hurt everywhere. There was a deep stinging in arms, torso, and legs… Her vision was blurry, her mind was foggy and she could faintly hear her name. The voice sounded so far away. She was on the verge of passing out and she knew it. After few experiences, Usagi knew the feeling well. She had to fight it.

There was wave of cooling relief over her body. The voice was becoming clearer now. No wait, voices. There were three. Donald, Goofy and Sora. Her mind started to clear and when she blinked, her vision became clearer too. There was another cool, relaxing wave over her, washing away the pain. A cure spell.

Usagi rolled over and coughed. The attack had knocked the wind out of her. She had been hit with a thunder spell, a fire spell, a blizzard spell and a gravity spell, but none of them felt like this.

Painful.

"'Sagi! You okay?" Sora asked for maybe the tenth time. He looked at Donald. "Maybe another cure spell?" He couldn't understand how this happened. Usagi was the fastest one in the group. She would have been the first person to dodge. Sora remembered the brief, one-sided exchange she had with Riku. What was happening?

The blond waved her hand. "I'm alright," she said, her voice sounding breathy. She coughed again.

"You sure?" Goofy asked. "You were out of it for a while."

She nodded and sat up. Her head was spinning, but she could tell that someone was missing. "Where's Riku?"

"He left," Sora answered. He wanted some answers himself. "Are you all right?" She opened her mouth to speak, but he already knew what she would say and he was not in the mood. "You're not alright. Something is wrong! You couldn't dodge that attack and Riku said you couldn't block his spell! I even saw that couldn't! You tried, but you couldn't!"

He was right. She couldn't even summon a simple fire spell. After training with Merlin, she was able to summon strong magic in a second. She should have been able to stop the spell. Maybe that's why Goofy jumped in. He could have seen that she couldn't cast magic and stepped in.

"I'm really tired, I guess. I have been fighting more than I usually would."

"What about the training with Cloud? This is what he trained us for!"

"And he was harder on you, remember?"

"Well yeah, but…"

Usagi stood up and swayed a bit. Goofy reached out to help her, but she held out a hand to stop him. "I'm fine. We have to get moving. Kairi's waiting."

/…/

Maleficent growled as she glared at the heart shaped gateway. Three molten colors, red, green and blue, blended together within the heart. It won't open!

"Impossible!" She shouted. "All of the Princesses of Heart are here! Why won't the Keyhole open!?" She looked over her shoulder at the red headed girl, the last princess. "It must be her." The boy is here now. Her heart is sleeping in his. The Keyhole should be opening, just as the cloaked figure told her.

"Without her heart, she wouldn't be able to release her power."

Maleficent turned when she heard Riku's voice. Her ears had picked up something different about it, something darker. One look at his new attire told her that the boy had completely opened his heart to darkness.

He wore a skin tight, dark purple body suit with a white tattered cloth covering his beackside. It was held up by a dark purple belt. On his feet, he wore purple boots. In the center of his chest, was black heart outlined in red. In his hand, he held a Keyblade with a black blade and a dark purple handle.

"The Keyhole to darkness, huh? Once it's unlocked, Heartless with will overrun this world." He smirked as he thought about a certain blonde. "And with that girl, they will overrun the multiverse."

/…/

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