Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ A Fragmented Tale ❯ The Awakening ( Chapter 11 )

A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger! I'm too nice to leave you all hanging and fuming [especially SupersexyPooka and Kiwi711 who were so kind to leave a review] so TA-DA! Here's a new chapter! But… Uh-oh… I wonder what's gonna happen… Well, read and find out! ^-^

 

 

A Fragmented Taleby cursed l0ve

 

Chapter Eleven: The Awakening

 

 

 

Riku felt utterly lost. For the first time in his whole life, he was trapped. He couldn't do anything. Aleron was winning. She had them cornered where they couldn't escape. He knew it wasn't her though, just her darkness. He desperately wanted to break free from his prison and beat Sora senseless for being an idiot. He sighed; he couldn't do that. It wasn't Sora's fault in the first place. He could fight off the spirit, but he would probably end up accidentally killing Sora in the process. Nope, count that out. He was stuck and he didn't know how to stop it before it was too late.

 

Aleron had successfully thrown them all against the rock and kept them there. They couldn't come down. Now she was controlling Sora, being able to wield the Dark Blade. She was going to use Kairi to unlock the Great Beast.

 

Riku looked over at the others, they were all knocked out unconscious. His eyes widened. Why were they like that? They hadn't exactly hit back against the rock hard in the impact. He brought his glare down to Sora. The bright, blue orbs were staring up into his aqua-green ones.

 

“You have to sleep now, Riku. Sleep.”

 

Riku's eyes felt heavy, but he struggled. He had to stay awake. If he fell, then it was too late. If he slept, the beast would awake. It was the same, the snow and the unlocking of the graveyard.

 

“It all began with… birth by sleep,” a voice sounded in his head. A flash of the Nobody standing before him on the roof back at the Destiny Islands crossed his mind.

 

“Kerri,” he mumbled under his breath, finally realizing the meaning. He was always the last one to fall asleep, and when he did… something unlocked. Soon, unable to fight it anymore, his eyes fell closed.

 

“Yes! Father, I did it! It's almost done!” Sora yelled to the sky.

 

Kairi was glowing. And soon, she was floating up in the air. Her burgundy-red hair fluttered around her. The skies darkened with fast-approaching clouds. The thunder crashed and rumbled, shaking the ground with ferocity. Lighting flashed, and the winds raged. Sand twirled around them, trapping everything contained by a huge sand twister. Rain fell, pounding the earth. And then… the growling came.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

 

Around him, the darkness embraced him. He could see nothing there, nothing at all. What was this place? He blinked, and in the distance he could see a light. It was small, but once he started moving, it came closer.

 

And closer.

 

Finally arriving within the light, he saw a silhouette. The light was behind it, shadowing the whole being.

 

“Who are you? Where am I?” he found himself asking.

 

The silhouette moved, turning around. It was Aleron. She smiled, and the light brightened. “Riku! You finally came to talk to me!” Her face grew forlorn. She sighed, “I am sorry… I didn't know…” she stammered.

 

Riku moved closer, now able to see her clearly in the light. He brought his hand up to brush her cheek, but again, it passed through. His perfectly shaped brows curved downwards.

 

“I am within you, Riku. Did you forget?” she nodded morosely. “I know my darkness has taken control of the prophecy… She possessed Sora, and now wields the Dark Blade. And she has unleashed the evil.”

 

“Aleron,” Riku began. His hand twitched to move towards her again, but he dropped it at the last minute. “I failed, I'm sorry…”

 

“No Riku, you have to wake up now. I will try to help you. Now wake up!”

 

Suddenly, she wasn't so transparent anymore. Aleron pushed Riku into the light and the darkness held him in its embrace, no more.

 

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Once he opened his eyes, he found himself falling. Before the ground could dangerously rush to meet with him, he flipped gracefully, landing on his feet. Sighing, he stood up. His hair was soaked, sticking to his skin. His helmet was left discarded some few feet away. Looking at the surroundings, he found Kairi floating in the air inside a purple light. Searching to his left, he found all of the others still tied up on the wall of the rock formation. Sighing, he moved to his right. Kerri and Donovan were lying together, propped up against one of the rocks.

 

The storm was still raging dangerously. He shivered as droplets of water slid down inside his armor. Not seeing Sora or the beast anywhere, he quickly removed his golden armor, abandoning it at his feet. Leaving the white tank top and the shorts on, he picked up his Way to Dawn and the Oathkeeper that had fallen.

 

After pausing to dislodge the metal protection on the leather boots he had on with his armor, he walked towards the rock where Kairi was floating. As soon as he drew near, the hairs on his back stood on ends. The wind blew sand around him, blinding his vision. His wet hair whipped around him, painfully slapping his face. Growling, he hurriedly tied it back and gripped the keyblades in both of his hands. He searched around, looking for Sora.

 

“How did you get free, Riku? You are far stronger than I had thought. Perhaps Kerri was correct, you should have been the master.”

 

Riku turned sharply around as the wind died down. Sure enough, Sora was standing not two feet away from where he stood. He narrowed his eyes.

 

“No, I will stand by what I told Kerri before. I am glad it was Sora, not me that was chosen for the task,” Riku spoke menacingly.

 

Sora's body twitched and Riku watched as his eyes snapped tightly shut. A blue glow shone around the form and a transparent figure of Sora stepped out.

 

“Riku! Help me! Stab me with the Dark Blade!” Sora's spirit yelled desperately.

 

Riku watched helpless as the spirit was forced back inside its body. Sora twitched again and his eyes opened again, glowing its eerie blue color. Sora smirked.

 

“Heh. So, Sora thinks you can save him? Tell me, do you seriously think you can defeat me? How are you to take the Dark Blade from me?”

 

“Easy,” Riku shrugged. He used his power of speed and zoomed in front of his possessed best friend. Giving him a smirk of his own, he dispersed both the Oathkeeper and the Way to Dawn before leaning close to whisper in his ear. “Like this.”

 

Riku quickly grabbed the Dark Blade from Sora's grasp and sped out of the way before Sora could blink. It had all happened so fast. Sora stood there in shock.

 

`So he was able to outrun me… Fine, if that's the way it is…' Sora mentally hissed. Snapping his jaw closed, he disappeared and appeared behind silver-haired boy who had been grinning mischievously at the other.

 

Realizing what was happening, Riku quickly frowned and turned around. He managed to dodge a blow and charged backwards out of the way. If he was going to do this, he had to do it now. Eying the boy warily, Riku watched as Sora prepared to charge. Quickly, Riku raised the Dark Blade, and turned it so that the point was at his heart.

 

“What are you doing? Sacrificing yourself?” Sora cackled mercilessly. “And here I thought you were trying to defeat me!”

 

It was Riku's turn to laugh, “Heh. That's what you think… Actually, I'm freeing your light.”

 

Sora's face contorted in shock and fear. “No!” He transported, appearing right in front of the boy a second too late. “Don't!”

 

Riku had already thrust the cursed keyblade in.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Laughing at Riku's stunned face, Sora grabbed the fallen keyblade, “I have to say, and you really had me this time! But enough with this foolishness!” He turned around and faced Kairi. Closing his eyes, he brought the Dark Blade towards her, muttering an enchantment.

 

Riku couldn't move. He'd failed again! What was he supposed to do? How the hell was he supposed to stop this if he couldn't free Aleron? Maybe he had to stab Sora instead… `No, then she'd probably just possess him again…' he shook his head. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and then drew out both of the keyblades. He winced, his chest hurt, but he had to ignore it. `If I can't let her out, I'll just have to fight him. There's no other choice!'

 

He was about to charge, when a hand was placed on his shoulder. Startled, he spun around; nearly slashing the face he thought he'd never have to see again. There was another standing beside her. Speechless, he sputtered out, “But… I thought you were supposed to be dead?”

 

The purple-haired Nobody shook her head and grinned, “No time to talk, he'll handle it. You stay with me, Donovan, go.” Riku blinked and stared at the curly haired Nobody beside her. Donovan gave him a wink and disappeared, reappearing in front of the Dark Blade's path, startling Sora.

 

“You! I killed you! What are you doing roaming around? Get out of my way! I have to finish calling the beast!” Sora hissed angrily.

 

“Sorry, I won't let you do this!” Donovan shook his head, grabbing Sora's wrist.

 

“Traitor! I thought you were loyal to my father, but I assumed wrong!”

 

“No, your father didn't want this,” Donovan said calmly, forcing Sora's wrist down.

 

“We all misinterpret the prophecy. Everyone thought Xehanort had sought to bring the worlds into darkness, but that wasn't true,” Kerri spoke up, approaching the two. Riku stayed behind, watching in confusion.

 

“What the hell are you saying? Then what is my purpose here? Didn't the prophecy say that Sora was the one to bring chaos and ruin to the worlds?” Sora said, lacing confusion in his words.

 

“Yes. And you made that true. Stop this now. Don't unleash the beast. If you do, it's the end for everyone,” Kerri spoke softly, trying to reassure Sora to stay calm and understand.

 

“Fine then, what was the true prophecy?” Sora crossed his arms, still holding the blade in his hand.

 

Sighing, Donovan straightened up, but stood alert. Kerri twisted her hair, walking a foot away. She turned around, “Okay, first…” she reached inside her black jacket and took out a hand made book. “Here are the reports Ansem the Wise wrote. The number 0 is Ansem's own, with the written prophecy on it. The eight others after that are Xehanort's own while he pretended to be who he was not.” Sora glared at the book in distrust. After a long moment, he reached for it with his left hand and stared at it.

 

Riku took this moment to approach them, eying the book in disbelief. “How the hell did you get those? If I remember correctly, Sora was the one that collected them all!”

 

“Well, you know that night you and Sora went after Donovan?” she began nervously. Riku nodded. “It was a distraction so that I could search for useful stuff. I'm sorry I made you think I was the villain! I believed in the fake prophecy… and that caused us to act this way…. Anyway, I found those under Sora's bed and took them with me. I had my suspicions with Maleficent and since Xehanort had been my best friend, I had to find out for myself,” the woman spoke a little nervously at first.

 

“Figures…” Riku rolled his eyes. They all looked back at Sora who was glaring at them in full force.

 

“What do you expect me to do with this?” the boy hissed.

 

“For one, you will understand what your father has gone through. And two, Donovan and I have been loyal to him and we still are. Maleficent has corrupted both Ansem and Xehanort, and changed the prophecy, so that it involved you. You were never the Key. It was all untrue,” Kerri explained, getting frustrated. “So stop this and read! For your own sake and for your father, please!”

 

“Why do you even care? You are a mere Nobody after all,” the brunette scoffed.

 

“You simply returned me to my true self. I am no longer a Nobody,” Kerri said, smirking. “Same goes for Donovan.” She pointed her thumb at the man beside her. Sora gasped.

 

“How?” He said mystified.

 

Riku growled, “Shut it with those stupid questions! Let Sora go already!” He grabbed Sora's shoulders and shook him.

 

“No! Not until this is done! I want answers now!” Sora spat, pushing Riku away from him.

 

“Stop it, you two!” Kerri yelled. Suddenly, she understood how Enya had felt. Remembering the others, the ex-Nobody demanded Sora to release them. Mumbling discreetly, Sora snapped his fingers and everyone else dropped down to the ground. They all sat up woozily.

 

“What happened? What's going on?” Ryo asked hoarsely. He stood up slowly, leaning against the wall for support. He bent down to help Matty stand up and then did the same for Enya.

 

“Sora!” King Mickey yelled, running to him.

 

Sora snorted and turned away. “I have not changed. Remember your place, mouse.”

 

Quickly before launching at the boy he stopped himself. “Ah… This is confusing…” Mickey said, worriedly.

 

“Yes, indeed,” Merlin said, brushing the sand off.

 

Another rumble and roar sounded, reminding everyone that the storm still brews. Riku motioned Kerri and Donovan to continue their explaination.

 

“The prophecy does not apply to Sora. It applies to Xehanort himself,” Donovan said, finally.

 

“What are you talking about?” Sora hissed. Sora was torn between blasting them away with the keyblade he held in his hand and deciding to let them talk. At the last moment, he gave in.

 

“Long time ago, Xehanort was born and raised here. Kerri and I were his companions. We grew up together in that little village not far from here. He was the last Keyblade Master, wielding the Dark Blade you now hold. Before it was tainted, it was known as the Key of Hope. And he was also a Chaser,” Donovan spoke.

 

“For many years, we fought beasts and helped people. Of course, Xehanort was the prince of this world. When he came of age, he married a princess from another world and became King. Together, they had two daughters.”

 

Everyone looked at Enya and then looked at Sora sadly.

 

“Enya, of course, you would remember how your father would protect us from the threats of the Great War.”

 

Enya nodded, “Yes, I remember it well. Unfortunately, twenty years ago, Father was called away to fight in the war we now call the Keyblade War. They fought against thousands and thousands of keyblades and then—“

 

“The Great Beast appeared,” King Mickey announced.

 

Everyone started down at the mouse with surprise. Enya, along with Kerri and Donovan, nodded. The fiery red head looked over at the other two with confusion on her face.

 

“Father defeated it and sealed it away with the Key of Hope. And the war ended. After that, I received the news that he and mother had died. Of course, recently, I found out from King Mickey that he had disappeared. And I was certainly confused when I saw you, Kerri, at that village back there… You were attacking us.”

 

Sighing, Kerri nodded. “Yes, I'm sorry. To tell you the truth, Maleficent was messing with our minds, and I was confused myself. After we had safely brought Kairi and Aleron to the castle, I read the reports and everything came to me. I understood and I knew I had to fix this. It was already too late, but I wanted to bring Kairi back to you before something happened, but Aleron had beat us to it and killed us, taking the girl and continuing on with our intended plan…”

 

“I don't know what to believe! Tell me, what did you mean that Father was the wielder the prophecy mentioned about, not Sora?” Sora all but yelled in frustration.

 

“How long is this going to take? What's going to happen next? Can we save Sora and Aleron? Can we get Kairi out of that?” Riku asked, getting tired of the whole journey. “I just want everything to go back the way it was and go home…”

 

“Shut up, Riku!” Sora hissed, sending a small green orb towards the silver-haired boy. Riku jumped out of the way in shock.

 

“What the hell was that for?!” Riku yelled, whipping out the Way to Dawn and charged at Sora.

 

He took a swing, but Sora successfully jumped out of the way. Sora glided in the air and flip-landed behind Riku. He threw a heated, green punch at his back and Riku sent a shout of surprise. Sora dodged as Riku spun around, swinging the keyblade.

 

“STOP!” Ryo roared.

 

Everyone froze. Riku was in mid-punch and Sora was about to kick upwards. They all stared at the dark-haired Chaser with wide eyes.

 

“This ends now! This whole thing is pointless!” Ryo shouted. He pierced his rose-colored orbs at Sora. “Aleron, let Sora free, NOW!”

 

“Who are you to order me around?!” Sora hissed dangerously.

 

“NOW! First, call off the incantation and let Kairi free!” Ryo repeated, growling.

 

“Fine!” Sora grumbled, unleashing the Dark Blade and mumbled a spell. The storm slowly subsided. The skies were dark, the stars were out and the moon was full. The sunset was past gone. The winds died down, the sands settled around them. Kairi came down slowly as the purple light faded. Once she was safely lying on the rock, Sora turned to glare at Ryo. “If I allow Sora free, what do I get out of it?”

 

Ryo brushed his hand through his hair. “You are still a part of Aleron, are you not?”

 

“I suppose so… You want me to go back as one?”

 

“Yes. And you will do no more of this,” Ryo hissed dangerously.

 

“Fine. As you wish.”

 

“Good. Now, pierce yourself with the Dark Blade and free yourself from Sora,” Ryo commanded, pointing at the keyblade.

 

Everyone watched in disbelief as Aleron's spirit followed orders. Sora picked up the keyblade in the same fashion Riku had, turning it around so that its end pointed at his heart. At the last minute, Sora looked up at Ryo. “I am sorry.”

 

At that moment, Sora stabbed himself with the blade, and it completely disappeared. King Mickey gasped in shock. Why had it disappeared?

 

Light surrounded Sora and then faded. He twitched and then fell to the ground. Aleron still stood, solid. She looked around at the people staring at her. She gave a sheepish grin and bent down to give some energy to Sora. They stared in amazement as her hand went through his heart, but a small blue light appeared and dispersed. She stood up and walked away from everybody.

 

“Good-bye,” she whispered.

 

“Aleron!” Riku shouted, running to catch her, but when he touched her transparent skin, she was gone. He turned to face King Mickey. “Where did she go?”

 

“Don't worry, Riku,” the mouse said, smiling. “She went to return to her body. You still have Aleron's true soul, so we have to let her free when we get back to my castle after we get this settled.”

 

“How--“ Riku began to ask.

 

“No Riku, later.”

 

The boy sighed.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Sora's eyes fluttered. He blinked, and opened a little. Blink. Blink. Finally, he opened his eyes fully. His azure orbs found nine other pairs of eyes staring down at him.

 

“Huh?” he mumbled, his face contorted in confusion. He yawned and stood up, scratching his head. He looked around until he found Riku. “What happened?”

 

Riku grinned, “Long story. We'll love to explain it to you, but we got to get going. This isn't over yet. Aleron said she killed Maleficent, but we think otherwise.”

 

“Aleron? Oh wait… wasn't there someone in a red jacket thing? And… and… the last thing I remember was whoever it was…” his face twisted into disgust. “It kissed me! EW!”

 

Everyone burst out in laughter. Riku slapped him in the head. “That was Aleron. Her dark side, though. I thought you would have been glad you got kissed by another girl!” he teased.

 

“Hey! What did I tell you about hitting me? That hurt! And YOU are supposed to be the one Aleron kisses not me!” Sora retorted, crossing his arms.

 

Riku blushed and clenched his fists, “Shut up, Sora! Let's go! Don't forget to grab Kairi. She's asleep.”

 

“Kairi? She's here? She's safe?” Sora turned and saw his girlfriend on top of the rock, sleeping. He brightened up and ran to her. He reached over and hugged her tightly. She began to stir.

 

“Sora?” she whispered.

 

Looking at her, he gave her his infamous grins, “Yeah Kai! I'm here, you're okay!”

 

“Sora!” she yelled happily, crushing him to her in a suffocating embrace. “What happened?” she asked as she let go of him and noticed the surrounding.

 

He sighed, “Long story. Riku has one to tell me too, so we can all sit together when we're all done and find out! Come on, do you need me to carry you, Kai?”

 

“No, I can walk,” Kairi said, smiling. She stood up and stretched, grabbing Sora's hand.

 

“Okay,” Sora said, bringing her to join with the rest of the group waiting at the narrow opening.

 

“We have to seal this when we get out,” Ryo announced.

 

“Yeah, or else someone can come across and unleash the beast,” Matty added.

 

“No, they need the Dark Blade to do that, remember,” Enya cut in.

 

Donovan tensed, “Wait! Do you suppose we are able to find it again and destroy it?”

 

“Well, it disappeared, so I say that it's pretty safe now,” Kerri announced.

 

“Alright then,” Donovan said.

 

“Come on! Let's go!” Sora yelled, dragging Kairi along with him. “We gotta go sav—“ He dropped Kairi's hand.

 

“Sora?” Kairi asked worriedly. “Is something wrong? What's happening?”

 

“Sora! Let us out!” Riku yelled.

 

“Sora?” Ryo asked.

 

“Maleficent,” Sora breathed.

 

 

End Chapter Eleven.

 

A/N: What do you think? Not too confusing, I hope… I noticed I had too many twists… LoL. I was reading Ansem's reports from KH2 and I realized. It was Xehanort not Sora. So kinda, I was basing my theory for the KH3 thing with Xehanort's memory and the Chasers and stuff… If you want to know what I'm talking about, go read the reports here

 

http://www.kh2.co.uk/pages/kh2/Reports.txt