A great transformation seemed to occur with Gildas and Riku. They stood taller, their shoulders looked broader and the hands brandishing weapons were strong and steady. Once they shouted Ansem’s name, we all knew who he was, and the spell seemed broken. Everyone joined in the fight, Roxas and Sora hacking and blocking and slashing with their Keyblades, L using White Magic as it was needed, Namine distributing much needed items. I tried to use my magic, but it was hard to get a clear shot with the close range fighters dodging and weaving around him. I kept trying to cast, but I couldn’t get a target for long enough, and I was scared of hurting someone on our side. I felt helpless as I watched everyone working together. Everyone except for me.
There was a burst of light, and then everyone was knocked to the floor – except for me; I had been out of range. Ansem had used some kind of magic, and now he was glowing a menacing yellow. He sneered. “You will never beat me!” he laughed, stretching his arms out to indulge in his moment of glory. And then I let off a Firaga that hit him square in the chest in a fiery column. Gildas was on his feet again, and slashed his scythe down. Ansem looked down in surprise. “You…made me bleed? Ahahaha. You have surpassed my expectations, children. But can you handle this?”
Then a high-pitched whistling sound that was painful to listen to sounded. It grew louder and louder, until we were all bent double, and then rays of magic shot out from him. They rebounded off the walls until we were all on the floor, panting, again. I closed my eyes, willing everything to end. And then it did. The sound stopped with no warning. I pulled myself up to my feet, and helped Riku up, noticing that everyone else had gotten up a lot quicker. But where was Ansem? And why was Riku worse off than the rest of us?
Ansem was gone. That last blast of magic was obviously a teleportation spell, as well as an offensive attack. Some sort of anti-black hole, maybe. I had no clue, all I was worried about was finding him. I was so determined that I was just beginning to leave everyone behind, heading for the earthen passageway, when Haru called my name. She was worried. Very worried. I turned, and everything moved in slow-motion. First I saw Naminé gasping. Sora bringing his hand to his mouth. Zexion slowly stepping back. Roxas shaking his head. Haru running out of my sight… and as I turned a full 180 degrees… I saw Riku. A purple glow surrounding him. Pure Darkness.
“No! You used me before, you can’t do it again!” He screamed, clutching his chest. His hair was growing shorter, his clothes changing before our eyes. As he screamed in agony, I saw him tearing out his hair, for it only to be replaced by more silver strands. His eyes dimmed, glowing darker, and his trainers became black boots. His jeans seemed to meld together, forming black trousers, with a white Hawaiian-style skirt on top. But this was hardly comical. As I looked back at Riku, a purple, skin-tight outfit covering his chest, I gazed at him in horror. He looked younger. But worse, there was an emblem on his chest. A heart, black, with red lace covering the outside line, crossing at the centre. He was possessed once more.
Haru screamed, and stepped back, shaking her head. She had remembered the emblem too. I raised my scythe only to have Zexion grab my shoulder. “This isn’t your battle.” I looked down, but nodded. He was right. This was Haru’s batt- hang on. Haru was stood back, Naminé hugging her tightly. Roxas was gone, and L was stood in the corner. I then noticed Sora. Glowing, no, shining, he stood ready, Keyblade in hand. His hair had taken on a different style that was similar to Roxas’, and he now had Roxas’ boyish grin. They’d merged together, Original and Nobody. As Zexion pulled me back against the wall to give the two boys space, I couldn’t help but wonder why Haru wasn’t in Sora’s place. As if reading my mind, Zexion smiled down at me. “Sora and Riku have fought like this before. Sora won, of course. That time, however, Riku wasn’t as strong.” I was still a little confused. “And Roxas?” Zexion looked up at the two boys, now taking slow steps towards one another. “When they fought, and Sora won, Sora sacrificed his heart to save Kairi. This caused him to become a Heartless, and in turn created Roxas. In a sense, Roxas was still part of Sora. I can’t help but feel that he’s made the wrong decision though…”
Clash. Keyblade struck sword. I looked up and heard grunts as Sora and Ansem-Riku stood close, swords crossed, baring their teeth and glaring at one another. “You can’t have him again!” Sora cried, and broke contact. Riku stumbled forward, and dodged just in time as Sora brought his Keyblade swinging forth again. Sora then jumped back, almost as if he was gliding to the far side of the room. He fumbled in his pockets. What was he doing? He pulled out a small chain with a heart attached to the end. Interesting way to waste time. He then removed the chain attached to his Keyblade, a smaller chain with three circles on it, sort of shaped like ears on someone’s head. He then jumped and dodged a blast of darkness that had sprung forth from the ground beneath his feet, and span in the air, gaining height and speed. What WAS he doing? Now on the other side of the room, he began to attach the heart-shaped chain. Suddenly, his Keyblade shone intensely, brightened further by the Golden walls of the Chamber. He simply smiled, giving us a thumbs-up sign. This boy made no sense at all. And then I saw his Keyblade. Now longer, and covered in intricate patterns and swirls, it was obviously changed, and more than likely stronger. He jumped back into combat.
“Ragnarok!” He cried. Beams of light shot from an arcane symbol that formed about his blade, and struck Riku squarely on the chest. The possessed boy staggered backwards, and shot what looked like a deep purple version of Haru’s Firaga spell at him. The blast missed by inches, burning Sora’s outstretched fingers. The boy yelped, and began swinging his Keyblade to and fro, edging slowly closer to his opponent. This is when I realised Sora’s combat style. He wasn’t a warrior, to be sent to battle and defeat many opponents by simply letting out a massive battle cry and taking the blows, slicing his weapon in any random direction. He was no primitive animal. He was more, much more. He was more of a Dancer in his movements, much like my own with my scythe, his quick footwork and lithe movements giving him the edge over his possessed friend. His tactics nearly flawless, he struck over and over at Riku, and eventually he got through his defences and struck his arm. Riku screamed, Haru cried, and then Riku looked from his now-bleeding arm back to Sora, and smiled. And disappeared.
As we all looked around to find out where he had gone, I heard Sora gasp. “Not again!” He jumped up high, flipping in the air to gain more height. Just then, Riku appeared just above the ground, and, almost dragged by his blade, dashed forward in a straight, clear line. He disappeared again. Re-appearing straight after, he slashed forward again… and again… and repeated the process, Sora jumping nimbly between each disappearance. But he failed his last jump. Visibly tired, he had timed it too late, and was struck on the leg by Riku’s final slash. He fell, grabbing his leg, and Riku appeared in the centre of the circular slashing grounds he had used. He brought his blade down hard, splitting the Gold flooring, and dark blasts rose from the ground. I couldn’t see Sora. Was he okay? I saw L raising an arm, and pointing is towards the black flames. They disappeared, and Sora stood, weary but alive, a small circle of floating Red orbs around him. “NulBlaze. Stops fire from hurting.” I nodded. Sora would be okay, for now. But he was too weak. Naminé threw a bottle at him, and he drunk it swiftly, and stood straight. He was better! That was some kind of miracle to do that! Then Sora brought his Keyblade to his chest, the blade itself facing him. What was he doing? Zexion shot his hand out. “No! Don’t!” But there was no stopping the boy. He rammed the blade into his chest, stabbing at his heart. What was he thinking? What good would that do? He’d just stabbed himself, now who would stop Riku? None of us had the power of light… But then Zexion’s voice rebounded in my head. “…Sora sacrificed his heart…become a Heartless… and in turn created Roxas…”
I wasn’t sure what to do; where to stand; who to help. I wanted to get Ansem out of Riku, get him back – so should I help Sora? But then I would feel like I was betraying Riku, and I knew I couldn’t hurt him. So I simply stood where I was and watched the fight unfold. I just watched as Sora hacked and slashed and sliced, and couldn’t stop the tears. I couldn’t do anything as Sora tired slowly, and then he had stabbed himself…what were the rest of us going to do now?
We all rushed towards Sora to catch him as he fell, but he didn’t…instead of collapsing to the floor, or arching backwards, he just…started to float. His eyes were closed; his face looked peaceful. Gone were the traces of fear and anger and sadness, he seemed almost happy. And then a red light started to glow. It came from the centre of his chest, and it slowly grew until it was too bright to look at. Everyone shielded their eyes until the light cooled again, and when I looked around…
Sora was lying on the floor. It didn’t look as though he was breathing. Next to him was the still body of Roxas, almost his mirror. And hovering above them was the source of the red light – Sora’s heart. As I realised what it was, it floated down; into Roxas’s heart. It didn’t seem to make a difference at first, but then he started spluttering and sat up. He looked puzzled. “Wh…what? What’s this feeling? Why do I feel…so warm?” he coughed. And then he saw Namine. He grinned at her. She smiled back at him, but then screamed as Riku’s sword came swinging towards Roxas’s head.
“Roxas!” Namine was distraught. She tried to run to him, but L grabbed her shoulder and held her back. Meanwhile, Roxas had rolled out of the path of Riku’s sword and was on his feet, still grinning. He summoned up his Keyblade and sliced it through the air once. And then…he summoned another. Roxas faced Riku, serious now, a Keyblade in each hand. “Bring it,” he joked, trying to cheer Namine up without turning his back on Riku. Namine was sobbing uncontrollably now. I closed my eyes, not wanting to watch Roxas hurt Riku, not wanting to know there was something I could do, not wanting to see him this way. There were so many things I didn’t want…so what was it that I did want?
I had closed my eyes, but I couldn’t close my ears. I heard the clash of metal over and over again, heard grunts of effort and gasps of pain, heard Namine trying to gulp back her tears but failing. And then everything went silent. What was going on? Had I fallen asleep? Had I wished myself away from all of this? I opened my eyes again. Riku was lying on the floor, traces of himself mingling with his dark appearance. Roxas stood over him, sadness in his eyes and the goofy grin gone. Namine had stopped crying now it seemed that Roxas would be safe and everything was over.
I began to cry again. Riku still didn’t look like himself completely, but his eyes…His green eyes sparkled with tears until Roxas crouched down and closed them gently with two fingers. He turned to face me. “I’m…so sorry.” I couldn’t look at him. I shook my head, willing myself to speak. I had to say something; so why couldn’t I? What was stopping me from talking to him? I stared at the floor, watching the small puddles at my feet grow as more tears fell into them. That feeling of numbness was back; I felt hollow, empty, again. Just like the last time he had collapsed…No. This wasn’t him collapsing. He wasn’t breathing. He wasn’t going to open his eyes.
I felt someone hug me, and just let them do it. I stood there in the embrace, my arms loose at my sides and my eyes still on the floor. I was aware it was Gildas, but I really wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone yet; not even him. Gildas stepped back eventually, and I knew he had gone back over to Zexion. He had finally given up on me. Everybody whispered to each other, so quietly it was difficult to hear. Until Namine screamed, “No!” that is. I looked at her, not interested, just vaguely curious.
Namine was clutching Roxas’s hand and shaking her head fiercely, shaking tears everywhere. “No…you can’t…what…I…don’t!” Roxas pulled her into a hug, resting his chin on her head, his blue eyes tightly shut. “I have to,” he whispered. Namine sobbed into him. She clung to him so hard that I thought she’d break in half. A single tear escaped from Roxas’s closed eyes and ran down his face into her hair. “I have to,” he whispered, even quieter. He pushed Namine back gently, and she shook her head once more, softly this time. “…I can’t stop you, can I? Just…leave it a while. Please! Just give me some more time with you…please.” Her voice was weak, but Roxas nodded wordlessly.
I was still thinking about Riku, and the time he had collapsed before. I was so glad when he woke up…And then something inside me clicked. Roxas wouldn’t have killed Riku! He would have killed the darkness inside him! Right? He woke up the last time; there was no reason why he wouldn’t now! I ran over to his seemingly lifeless body and grabbed his hand. “Riku! Riku, wake up, I’m crying! I’m crying on you so that you can wake up! Come on, wake up already! You have to wake up! I need you to…” I sobbed at him. My tears fell on his hand, his chest, his hair as I checked his pulse, his breathing, his eyes. He didn’t wake up. A sense of desperation washed over me. “Come on, Riku! Get up, damn it! What the hell do you think you’re doing? Wake up!” I yelled at him. He still didn’t respond. “Wake up…” I whispered as I was dragged away by Roxas. He propped me against the wall, and walked away.
“Look, Namine.” Roxas was talking to Namine softly, and took her hands gently in his. “I can’t delay this any longer; I have to do it now. Because…if I spend any more time with you, then I won’t do it ever. I love you, Namine. I love you so much. And when I spend time with you, I don’t want it to ever end. But it has to. I have to end it right now. And then our memories can fade away into just that. It hurts to leave you, but it’s the only thing I can do for you now.” He dropped her hands and walked over to Sora’s body. Tears ran down both of their faces silently as Roxas aimed the Keyblade at his chest just as Sora had done. “Goodbye, Namine.” Roxas smiled gently as he plunged the blade deep into his chest. He fell backwards, onto Sora, and then…he seemed to melt into him.
Haru was sobbing. Naminé was sobbing. L just stood there, almost as if he was used to sadness. But I clutched Zexion’s cloak, my arms over his shoulders, crying into his chest, and he too began to choke back the tears. Roxas was gone. Forever? I guessed so. What about the Chamber? Who did it belong to n-Wait! Why on earth do I care about the Chamber? Roxas is gone, and I never got to know him. Riku seemed dead too… and Sora was slowly opening his eyes. So… not a total loss then. Sora got up, and walked over to Naminé. “I… I’m not Roxas…” He began, also with tears in his eyes, “But I have his memories. And I have my own. In Castle Oblivion, you put those fake memories in me, the meteor shower? I made a promise to you. Even if it’s a fake, I promised. I won’t take his place. But I will protect you. I’ll stay by your side.” Naminé sobbed as she hugged Sora.
Later, no-one had moved from the Chamber. Ansem was a fading memory, nobody cared anymore. We sat around Riku’s body, now free of the dark grip on his heart. The same 17 year old boy we’d met on the Islands lay before us, calm, almost… peaceful. Haru was stroking his hair. Naminé had her head on Sora’s shoulder. Me and Zexion mirrored them. L sat on a pile of treasure, in his usual knee-up fashion. “When Kairi lost her heart, and I was born… I’m the reason she left, Sora. It was me.” Sora looked quizzically at her, and shook his head. “Don’t be silly, it was some guy she went after.” He jumped up, Naminé falling to the floor. “DEMYX! She went after Demyx! She left me for… that freak!” He fell to the floor again, and began sobbing. It didn’t matter now. Demyx was gone. Kairi was missing. “When her heart was taken, Sora… she became more adventurous, no? She even started fighting with her own Keyblade to protect you. Soon, she lost her love for you, and only wanted excitement. That’s because I’m part of her. I’m the innocent side. She became… rebellious… and I’m her inner child. I’m the one who… took her love and her innocence from her…” She began to cry again. And she and Sora hugged one another. Zexion turned to me, and whispered to me. “Don’t tell Haru. It’ll confuse her. But Riku isn’t dead…”
Zexion explained to me why Riku was still alive. He was in… a sort of trance, or a coma if you will. He couldn’t be awakened until we defeated Ansem for good. But if we told Haru, she’d get her hopes up, and her heart would be weaker, she’d put more into her spells, her fighting if she was angry. Of course, it was me and Haru who had to fight… alone. Zexion was being a little mean, but he was right. We needed to fight our hardest, and Haru would fight harder for vengeance than for a chance of redemption. I kissed his cheek. “Is this… goodbye?” He smiled. “Not if you win, my love… Just, try your best… for me?” I nodded, a solitary tear, the last one I had left, rolling down my cheek. From that moment on, I would never cry again.
Haru and I stood up at the same time. “Haru, we-“ “Need to defeat Ansem, right? I won’t let him get away with this!” L stood up, but Haru threw her hand out. “Don’t, L. This is our battle. Gildas was possessed. I lost… he took him away from me. No-one else has a reason to fight, apart from Sora… but you’re in no condition to battle right now.” Zexion looked down. He would fight for me, but he knew this was our battle. Haru walked over to the fabled Ultimate weapons, upon their podiums. She found a staff, labelled “BloodBane Rod” and took it in her hands. She smiled, but it was not a smile of happiness. Rather, one of success. She felt strong enough. This was definitely a good sign. I nodded to her, and we took the passageway into the earth. “We’ll miss you…” I said, as we walked out of the chamber. They nodded. Zexion looked away. I’d miss him the most…by far. But I wouldn’t cry. Not anymore.
“Ready?” I asked. Haru nodded, mentally checking her spell inventory. She knew all the spells, apart from Death. She never did get round to that… We’d have to do without it. (Gaia Rage!) The earth flipped. In an instant, the passageway to the Chamber disappeared, and unknown to us, the others had already begun making their way through the tunnels back to Lindblum. I turned, another slow-motion moment. Trees, grass, bushes, flowers, a giant ball of energy flying towards Haru (Diamond Dust.), a small explosion in which no-one was hurt, butterflies, squirrels, Ansem. I sneered. He had a shocked look on his face. To quote L, “He who moves first always wins.” He’s said that in a Tennis match with a boy who turned out to be the guy who’d been murdering criminals in Japan. Of course, L didn’t know that after saying that phrase, “He who moves first always wins.”, he lost the Tennis Match. Ansem had made the first move. I’d defended. But you can’t succeed by defending. To win, you have to… "ATTACK!"
