Fan Fiction ❯ Kingdom Hearts: The Third Epic ❯ Change of Fate ( Chapter 11 )

Change of Fate

 

Meanwhile, upon the Earth, the fight between Riku and Anubis had not changed. Anubis, using his aerial advantage, deployed one fiery attack after another. Riku, dodged again and again, managing to avoid any real damage.

“Come now, Riku!” said Anubis. “This is getting a little boring! Make a move already will you! For the passed thirty minutes, all you've been doing is dodge and roll, dodge and roll! Can't you do anything else besides that?”

“You said that you perfected your aim, Anubis!” Riku replied. “Well, if your aim is so deadly, how come you haven't managed to hit me yet?!”

“What's the point of trying to hit you when I can do it so easily? I'm just missing on purpose, so I can watch you squirm! But when you hover about in the air like I do, you begin to lose interest!”-

“Then, why don't you hit me with something besides Hell Flashes and little balls of fire! Personally, I'm getting bored with this as well! I've already learned your attacks so thoroughly; I can react to them while I'm asleep!”-

“As long as you keep dodging and rolling, this fight will go nowhere!”-

“But there's another reason why I've been doing the same thing over and over again!”-

“And what might that be, Riku?!” Anubis swung another fired ball at Riku. However, instead of an automatic dodge, Riku suddenly stood his ground. And using his sheathed sword rebound the ball, deflecting it back at Anubis. Anubis had been caught off guard and he suddenly found himself being confronted by his own attack. He dodged within centimeters of the attack. The ball rushed by, but took snapped off one of the light beam decors off his sun mask.

“After a while of dodging and rolling to evade your attack, you too got use to seeing me perform the same move over and over again! But as I had expected, once I reflected the attack instead of dodged it, you didn't know how to react in time!”-

This however, angered Anubis and the eyes of the mask began to glow a bright red.

“You little bastard!” He said, angrily. “Look at what you did! No one has ever done that to me before!”

“What's the matter, Anubis?” chuckled Riku. “Can't take the heat of your own attack!”

“You'll pay for that little escapade!”-

“So I guess your pride as a warrior has been hurt! But I thought you didn't have honor, or pride! A person who's purged themselves of their honor and pride wouldn't allow something like that simple retaliation to faze them!”-

“Well, I never saw that one coming, Riku!” Anubis shrugged his shoulders and chuckled. “Oh, well! At least you gave me a good excuse to use my real skills! And believe me, when I'm finished here, it'll be more than just your pride that'll be hurting!”-

“I see your gums flapping up and down, Anubis, but all I hear is Blah! Blah! Blah!”-

“You go ahead and laugh, Riku! Psych yourself up for the upcoming doom!” Anubis began to power up again. His hands held the fired of the next attack. “You'll enjoy this next attack which I have christened the name Incineration Blockbuster!”

“Well, I hope that your attack is just as intimidating as the name you gave it!” said Riku.

“Oh, it is!” Anubis accumulated a large ball above his head. “Get ready for this!”

 

The shinobi thrust down the large ball of fire towards Riku. Riku saw the ball and immediately dodged the attack. However, unlike the previous attacks Anubis deployed, which exploded on contact, this new attack rebounded off the ground and bounced into the air. Riku looked up to suddenly see this massive fire ball coming straight for him. Because of this sudden shock, the margin of dodging time had been by three quarters. Riku dodged the attack, but was caught in the explosion. The blast blew him away and Riku ended up rolling on the sand which has not been scorched yet. Thanks to his heavy, black coat, the flames didn't singe him heavily. His coat, however, had suffered dearly. The buttons had been blown off and one of the armored shoulder plates had been melted away. Riku stood to his feet again. As he gazed up, he saw the shinobi chuckling at him.

“Well, you did a lot better than I expected you to do!” chuckled Anubis. “No one has ever confronted my Incineration Blockbuster and lived! You'd be the first one to do that! Either someone up there is looking after you, or you were remarkably lucky!” Anubis began to form another fire ball. “Let's give that another try shall we?!”

Anubis thrust the ball down on Riku again. The agile youth saw the ball again and dodge rolled from its path, but again the fire sphere rebounded into the air and attempted to land on him again. Riku dodged in time, but again the ball bounced up and descended upon him. Seven times he dodged and seven times, the ball bounced and crashed down upon him. Finally, becoming disoriented by the continuous, Riku stopped to see the ball come down on him again. He dodged by a narrow margin and the sphere exploded near him. Riku continued to roll, despite the intense heat. The sand was melted down and turned to glass. The heat reddened Riku's face as the flames jumped around him.

“Blast!” he thought. “This guy can somehow control the energy of that attack. Allowing himself to detonate it to his leisure! I have to somehow find a way to either avoid it, or deflect it back at him! And since trying to avoid it has proven useless, deflecting it is my only option!”

“What's wrong, Riku?!” chuckled Anubis. “Had enough already! I just finished serving the appetizer and the main course! But what's the point of leaving the table without having some dessert!!” The shinobi launched another ball.

“I have no choice!” said Riku. “I have to somehow block that thing and deflect it back!”

The ball came ever closer, but Riku dodged again so he could regain consentration. The ball bounced again and descended upon him. But this time, he stood his ground. Unsheathing his sword and holding it out before him, he hoped to deflect it.

“I ain't gonna be that easy, key bearer!!” shouted the shinobi. He thrust his erected index and middle finger upward. On impact, the ball exploded just before touching Riku's sword. Riku, seeing the sudden reaction, threw his arms in front of his face, in a guarding position. The explosion once again threw him off his feet and Riku landed on his back in the sand, amidst the crashing waves of the ocean.

“What happened?” Riku said to himself. “How could that thing have ignited without connecting with me?”

“You fool!” shouted Anubis. “Neither evading, or blocking the attack can stop the Incineration Blockbuster's destructive power! It falls upon my will! I control the very energy of the fire sphere! Therefore, I can easily detonate it whenever I please! Of course, I'm sure you already came to that assumption! But you know as they say! You'll never know if it works unless you try it! In this case, you tried it and as a result, the coat on you back has been burnt to a crisp!” Riku slowly stood up. His coat was now little more than tattered, burnt rags. “I see that you managed to hold your own though! Despite the heat!”

 

“You have some impressive tactics, Anubis.” Riku uttered. “I'll give you that much. However, you have to have a flaw somewhere in your arsenal. Nobody can have strengths without weaknesses!”

“I'm afraid you're wrong, my friend. I have no weakness so long as I maintain the aerial advantage over you.” Once again, Anubis began to form another attack with the fire in his hands. “If you liked that technique, I'm sure you'll enjoy this one! A little something called the Cinder Canister!” The ninja concentrated his energy and the fire grew more intense. But as he brought the flames forth, instead of one massive ball, Anubis deployed several smaller balls of fire. Instantly, they spread over Riku. Riku knew that dodging them wouldn't work this time because now the inferno spheres covered a large range. A range to which he could not easily evade. He threw up his sword and made his stance. The balls landed about him and exploded with great ferocity. He deflected several, only to launch them against a target that was no longer there.

“Where did he go?” he thought.

“Over here, Riku!” shouted Anubis. Riku turned to see Anubis deploying more spheres at him with great speed. One managed to hit him while the others passed by harmlessly. Riku quickly regained his stance. “I don't think so, fool!” Anubis pointed behind Riku. Riku turned to see those same fire balls rebounding towards him again. Riku instantly dodged amongst the crashing waves and white sand.

“But how?”-

“Quite simple, Riku. The Cinder Canister has been constructed with a special energy balance. Each ball has been perfectly fitted with a certain amount of energy. It only takes one to hit the intended target for the homing effect to work on the others. When one hits the intended target, a rupture in energy levels causes the others to react. As negative attracts positive, the negative energy within the fire balls are attracted to the positive energy reverberating deep within your being. So no matter how much you try to evade, those balls will follow you wherever you go.”-

“I have no choice then.” Riku stood to take on the incoming fire balls head on. Thrusting his sword in front of him, he deflected each one back towards the ninja. However, the balls automatically deflected away from Anubis and headed back towards Riku. “Oh man! You have got to be kidding me!”

“Oh, did I forget to mention that deflecting them doesn't make any difference and deflecting them back at me won't do any good either. The reason why is because once the fire balls find their intended target they stay on that target until the target itself runs out of steam. Once that happens, the spheres have an easy kill. So if you want my advice, taking them head on will be less painful. Another fact is I have made sure to unleash my negative energy within me. And because I hold negative energy, other negatively charged objects are repelled away from me. So trying to use my own weapon against me is hopeless.”-

“This guy talks too much for his own good!” Riku stood to his feet, deployed a wind shield and embraced for impact. But unfortunately, the fire absorbed it self into the shield. And once all spheres took impact with the shield, an even greater explosion erupted. Riku was thrown off his feet and landed on the wet serf of the beach.

 

“Well that was a stupid move indeed!” chuckled Anubis. “I guess you have no knowledge of wind and air do you?! Well, let me enlighten you, though it won't mean anything in the end since I intend to kill you straight off! Fire thrives on oxygen and wind is usually a form of oxygen excelled to a faster, stronger speed. Therefore, a wind shield is more of a threat to you than my attack. It actually increases the effectiveness of the fire's intensity, spreading it about, causing further damage. And since all that pressure took place in a confined area, that sudden explosion was the result. Taking it head on, without the use of a wind shield, would've inflicted less damage instead. But you're too stupid to have figured that out.” But as he gazed, he realized that Riku's had suffered any real damage from the flames. The boy slowly staggered to his feet. Falling back on his chest the first time, Riku regained enough strength to get himself back on his feet. “I don't understand. Those intense flames should've burned the skin off of your bones. Why didn't it have a more damaging effect?”

“It's you who's stupid, Anubis.” Riku uttered. “You were so caught up in hitting me with that attack, you didn't realize that I was rolling around in the wet surf. As you know, we're on a beach. And where there's a beach, there's bound to be water close by. What you didn't notice was I was creating my own protective barrier using water. Flames alone cannot douse water.”

“Very clever, Riku! Very clever! But water can only be effective against a mild heat source! However, water evaporates and water boils! So, if I make the water hot enough, the minute you step foot in it, you'll be boiled alive instead of being singed to death!”-

“He's right.” Riku thought to himself. “Knowing his form of knowledge, Anubis will most definitely use that to my disadvantage. If I try to use the water for cover, he could easily activate another attack and boil the water with me still in it. This battle has already proven that he doesn't hold back when he spots a flaw in a strategy. He automatically takes that flaw and uses it against his opponent most effectively.” Riku tore off the tattered coat, leaving his black vest to cover his back. “I have to find a way to stop him. Find one weakness of his. Come on, Riku. Think! What weakness could I use against him.” Riku delved into the memories he had in the previous encounters with Anubis. Then suddenly, he remembered what it was that Anubis was afraid of. “That's it! I know his greatest weakness!”

“Well, this has been fun and all, Riku, but I've spent ten minutes over my tolerance period.” said Anubis. “You see, I always manage to defeat my foes and end my battles in less than thirty minutes. However, I've been playing with you for forty minutes. And like all things, they get old and I eventually lose interest in them. So, I'll make this quick for you. I hope you don't take this personally, Riku, but please don't think this has been one hell of a blast, because it hasn't.”

“This will be my final fight then.” Riku uttered. He formed a wind shield again. “In that case, I will be sure to make my final efforts count.”

“This again?! I would have thought that after that last attack, you would realize that using wind against fire is more hazardous to you than helpful!”-

“I'll take my chances!”-

“So be it, kid! But I thought you would have been smarter than that!” Anubis began to form more fire in the palms of his hands. “Since you favored the Cinder Canister and the Incineration Blockbuster that last time, then I guess I'll humor you by finishing you off with those same moves! I'll make sure to tell Sora that you said `goodbye!'”

Anubis then fired his barrage of fire balls and each of them went charging at Riku. The impact they made was even grater than the last time. Smoke and ash, along with grains of sand, bellowed into the air. Anubis watched as the explosions incinerated all around them. He then took his mighty Incineration Blockbuster and thrust it down to where the smaller fire balls made impact. The explosion caused half of the beach to go up in flames. The water boiled and sand turned to glass in mid-air.

 

“Poor little imbecile.” Anubis uttered. “Took death head on without any bit of resistance. Well, that Riku wasn't as tough as I thought he was. Maybe his friend, Sora, would have made a better opponent than him.” But as the smoke cleared, Anubis gazed upon a sight which deemed impossible. Riku still stood with the wind shield still in effect. The attack deployed against him had no effect on him whatsoever. “It can't be. It can't be! That's impossible! You should be dead!”

“As you can see, that outcome has been denied.” Riku said.

“But how?! I hit you with my most powerful attacks! How could you have survived those, taking them head on!”-

“I used my Aeroga shield.”-

“But even with the Aeroga shield, there's no way it could have deflected the flames!”-

“Not unless you use a counter element.”-

Anubis's eyes grew wide with shock and fear. Could it be that this boy had a grasp of knowledge of the ice element?

“Don't tell me that you've grasped the ability of the ice element!”-

Riku suddenly leaped up into the air and unleashed the Blizzaga spell at point blank range. The shards struck Anubis and the shinobi fell to the ground in agony.

“You can thank my friend, Sora, for teaching me that technique.” Riku explained. Anubis curled up in a ball as if his body was flowing with acid. “I understand why you use long ranged attacks instead of hand to hand combat. The reason why is not only so that you can defeat your foe at a safe distance, but you could also avoid encountering any foe who had knowledge of the ice element. That is the one great weakness you have. It became painfully obvious when Donald shot that Blizzaga spell at you back in the jail block. You had raved in agony when the shards hit you. That is why you wanted to avoid hand to hand combat. You feared that ice would be deployed. And since we have a history of using ice, you wanted to ignore close ranged assaults.” Anubis slowly stood up. “Look at you. That one shot and you're sent to the ground screaming in pain. If you were smart, you would have concentrated of focusing on your weaknesses instead of your strengths. Only when you concentrate on your weaknesses do you become stronger.”

“Shut up, you!” said Anubis, angrily gritting his teeth. “You were just lucky that's all! But I can do away with your ice advantage! All I need to do is concentrate all my energy and make my heat greater! Then, I will strike back at you and you'll be sorry you ever took a swing at me!”

“Then, let's see if you can back up your words!”-

“You fool!” Anubis struck with his Cinder Canister, but Riku quickly deployed the Aeroga shield combined with the blizzaga spell. The fired balls were quickly quenched by the cold temperature. Riku deployed a second Blizzaga spell and struck at Anubis. Anubis again was hit and he fell to the ground in agonizing pain. He heated his body to stop the chilly sting. Leaping back to his feet, he prepared to counter with a Hell Slash. But Riku suddenly appeared before him, with his sword drawn. Anubis knew he could melt the swords blade if he caught it and catch the blade he did. But his fingers burned again. He grasped his hand.

“Nice try!” said Riku. “But I knew you'd try to grasp the blade and try to stop my attack! That's why I took the liberty of using the Blizzaga spell to freeze the blade. That way, you couldn't touch the blade without getting freezer burns!”

“You arrogant little fool!” roared Anubis. “I'll show you!”

“What's wrong? Has your pride been hurt?!”-

“Idiot! I have no pride to hold me back!!”-

 

“You could've fooled me!”-

“I'll give you something to mock, boy!”-

Anubis suddenly went into grappling with Riku, trying to strike at him with power arm and leg work. But Riku predicted every move and easily deflected and evaded them. With the sheath of his sword, he struck the shinobi across the belly. As Anubis hunched over, Riku knocked him on his back, forcing the ninja to drop to the ground. Anubis, irritated by now, slowly staggered to his feet.

“You see.” Riku explained. “Because you excel in one type of fighting, you lack in the other. When you were using those long ranged attacks, you were so confident and so comfortable. Not only did you know what to do in such a situation, you also knew that I couldn't retaliate since you were out of my reach. However, now that you're on the ground, and are now engaged in hand to hand combat, you've been racked down to novice. You can't even make a proper punch without me seeing it.”

“Don't you dare lecture me, Riku! You don't know what you're talking about!”-

“I know exactly what I'm talking about! You've been so caught up in your battle strengths, you haven't bothered to work on your weaknesses! Because of how you deployed your most powerful attacks, I knew right away that you had perfected them to a point where you could always use them efficiently and effectively. But by perfecting such tactics, you forgot about your true weaknesses. If you had put some time and effort into making yourself resistant to ice, or if you could have practiced more on grappling techniques, you would have grasp of some good knowledge to use when the predicament presented itself.”-

“I said shut your mouth!”-

“No! You shut your mouth! Listen to yourself, Anubis! You're making the same mistakes like you did earlier! You're getting impatient! By encountering you, I knew exactly what kind of person you were. Our earlier encounters and this present battle has told me a lot about your personality. You're the type of person who keeps a closed ear to people unless it benefits to you. You're also the type of person who jumps at every advantage and plans his strategy thoroughly. As long as things go the way you planned it, you remain relaxed and confident. However, when things begin to shift against you, or don't go as you planned, you become frustrated and angry. Also, you're a person who wants to get things done in a hurry. One example was the trial we were put in. You seemed to be in a rush when you accused us. But you had been so much in a rush, you didn't even realize you spoke our names for us, instead of you asking us what they were. And that was a mistake that you now wish you hadn't made. Also, in the jail block, when we began to question your intentions, instead of trying to make an excuse to try and defend yourself, you only gave in and tried to rush out. All because it wasn't part of your plan. And now, in this battle, you're experiencing that same pressure. During the period from when you left to when you appeared again, you must have taken the time on how you would make your appearance, what attacks you would use, and how you would deploy them. It was all planned ahead of time. But now that things haven't gone as you planned, you feel helpless. Not knowing what to do next.”

“That's enough out of you boy!!” roared Anubis, angrily. “Your problem is that you don't know when to shut that pie hole of yours!! You think you can just read me like an open book?!! I, Captain Anubis, am not that easy to predict!! I'll make you eat your words!!”

“Then get on with it already!”-

 

Anubis suddenly disappeared in a great ball of fire. Riku took his stance, sword drawn before him. Just then, Anubis appeared, attacking him on the flank. Riku turned to defend himself, but what he saw was only an afterimage. The image disappeared into the air. Again Anubis appeared, but again it emerged as another afterimage.

“Not so easy to predict now! Am I!” chuckled Anubis. Suddenly appearing behind Riku. Riku turned, but it had been too late as Anubis came rushing at him with great ferocity. “Inferno Rush!!”

Riku evaded the attack, but the intense flames of fire burned through his vest and white shirt, taking off completely the whole front of his top clothing. Riku's chest was slightly burned, but no real damage was inflicted.

“That was too close for comfort.” Riku thought.

“Now, who's been put at the disadvantage?!” chuckled Anubis. “I don't hear your lips flapping anymore, kid! I guess you have no wise cracks to make about me now!!”

“I have to somehow predict him. If I don't figure out his attack this time, it may be the last time for me.” Tearing the tattered vest and shirt from his body, revealing his youthful bosom, Riku closed his eyes and concentrated on the surroundings with the use of his other senses. “I must not allow myself to be fooled by afterimages. I must somehow predict him without seeing his movements with my eyes. I'll use my other senses and see if they detect any vital detail my eyes failed to notice.”

“Look at that fool.” Anubis laughed inwardly. “How does he expect to stop me when his eyes are closed? Maybe he's just waiting for me to attack head on. Well, not if I can elude him with my afterimages. He may try to detect me by my heat source. That'll work solely to my advantage. He won't be able to detect me when he's surrounded by heat.” He looked on as Riku lowered his sword. “Oh well, guess I'll humor him for a while.”

Anubis deployed his attack. Despite Riku being completely off guard, Anubis used his after technique to increase the heat around Riku. Yet, despite his efforts, Riku remained in a calm form of meditation.

“Idiot.” Anubis snickered. “I'll just attack him. He ain't trying to stop me.”

Anubis increased his fiery power and lunged himself at full speed against Riku. But this time, as he lunged, he realized Riku did react this time. Riku suddenly threw out his sword in front of him. The glinting steel aimed to impale him. Anubis saw the point and quickly reacted, stopping his attack. But as he did, Riku continued his attack and fired a spell of Blizzaga straight into his face at point blank range. Anubis attempted to grab the mask that had been frozen solid. The chill burned on his face, but he could not touch the icy surface.

“But...How?!” he uttered.

“Simple.” Riku explained. “When I closed my eyes, I noticed specific details I left out when I had my eyes open. For instance, when you power up, the flames you accumulate roar a little louder and become hotter. So hot, you don't even have to be near me in order to be detected. That's the one disadvantage about using fire as your specialty. Everyone knows when you'll attack by the intensity of your flames. And unlike the afterimages, who's heat diminishes after so long, your source remains at its highest maximum. Once combining the sound you make with the heat intensity accumulating from your body, I could easily pinpoint where and when you would attack.”

 

But as Riku finished his statement, he realized that the mask Anubis was wearing, because it inhabited an area where extreme cold and heat collided, began to crack. Within seconds, the mask had broken off completely, revealing the true face of the ninja. Riku looked upon a face that was pitch black. Two red eyes, glowing with such ferocity, glared at him.

“You! You!!” roared Anubis. “You've seen my face!! No one has ever dared to see my face!!”

“You say as if that were a bad thing!” said Riku. “You don't look that scary!”

“That's not the point! The point is that no one has ever gotten the best of me in any battle! No one! No one has ever made a fool out of me in battle! Let alone breaking my mask and seeing my true face! You'll pay for that! You'll pay!!”

“Your pride has been shattered to bits. The way as it should be.”-

“I have no pride! Did I not make that clear to you the last time!”-

“I don't believe you ever meant that. You only said that to avoid fighting me head to head. It was the only excuse you could make so that your pride an honor wouldn't be effected directly. In my opinion, your sense of honor and pride is just as strong as mine.” Riku stood upright over Anubis. “I'm satisfied now. Your sense of pride and honor has been broken beyond recognition. For the first time in your life, you have fought and lost to an opponent who is superior to you in every way. And to make matters worse, your opponents just a kid. Right?”

“You're frustrating, Riku! The fact that you lecture me, frustrates me beyond recognition! You act as if I were some sort of novice! Well, I'll show you! I'll show that I'm better than you! I'm better than you!!” Anubis's flames had reached their limit and bellowed forth like solar flares. With his burning hatred, the ninja leaped into the air. His body was suddenly engulfed in a sphere of heat and flames. The fire surging in his body grew hotter than the sun. Riku could feel as the fire began to burn the surface of his skin. “I will use the one attack which I failed to display to you before! The ultimate attack in my arsenal! I've dubbed it the name Apocalypse Blast! This is one which you cannot hope to dodge! This attack is what I use to annihilate entire country sides with! Once I make impact with the ground, everything within a fifty mile radius will be vaporized! No one will survive, but me!!”

“Damn! He's too high up for me to attack!” Riku thought to himself. “And because of that intense heat, even the Blizzaga spell won't work at this point! But I have to try! Whatever it takes!” Riku formed an Aeroga shield and used the Blizzaga spell to form an icy combination.

“Now meet your end, Riku!! And curse the day you ever dared to enter combat with the mighty Captain Anubis of the Cavendish Shinobis!!”-

Anubis began his rush against Riku. Riku thrust up his blade up in the air in a guarding position. Using the Blizzaga spell to freeze the blade, he braced for impact against the scorching shinobi. The impact made, when the two met, caused the entire beach area to shake violently. Debris flew into the air, only to be incinerated by the intense heat of Anubis's aura. Riku held his position with every ounce of strength in his body. However, despite his efforts, he slowly began to lose ground. The heat began to melt through the protective barrier.

“Face it, Riku!” shouted Anubis. “Your chances of victory have been severed! I have the force of gravity on my side and my aura burns hotter than the sun! You will be vaporized by my flames! Along with everything else throughout Aube!”

“And it's because of that reason why I can't afford to fail!” cried Riku.

“You will fail! You will die! And all will be burned! Ash and smoke blown the way of the wind!”-

Riku staggered as the pressure continued to mount against him. He fell to his knees, but still he held off the heat. The heat began to burn his skin, but still Riku held on, increasing the Blizzaga spell with every passing second.

 

“I can't afford to die here!” Riku thought. “Sora and the others are waiting for me to return! They're counting on me to stay alive! I gave them my word!” Riku slowly stood, fighting off the intense heat and the immense gravity. “I can't give up now, when there's still so far to go! I won't give up!” Riku began to form ice energy at the palms of his hands. With all his might he deployed the one attack given to him by Isis. “Iceberg Shuriken!!”

From his palms, a great blast of ice bellowed forth. Heat and cold clashed as the two continued their stand off. The imbalance of energy had become so great, that the auras of the two fighters caused a rupture in the atmosphere. Suddenly, a massive explosion erupted and the two were blown back by their own attacks. Riku and Anubis skidded across the sands of the beach. Riku fell into the shallow water, nearly drowning. However, he managed to turn on his back, the waves crashed around him. Anubis on the other hand, slowly staggered to his feet. He had wasted a great deal of his energy.

“Damn that boy! Damn him!” Anubis uttered. “He almost caused me to lose my life! Well, I'll make sure he feels the full extent of my retribution!” Anubis slowly walked to where Riku lay. He soon noticed the youth's blade laying upon the sand. Picking it up, the shinobi continued to tread down the beach towards the exhausted key bearer. Riku tried to lift himself up, but he did not have enough strength to even lift his arms off the ground.

“My body.” he uttered to himself. “Heavy. So heavy. I used up too much of my energy for that stand off. Now, I don't even have enough strength to lift my head.”

Anubis soon found himself standing over the youth. With his strong right hand, he gripped Riku by the throat. Picking him up, Anubis held the key bearer in a strangle hold. He then raised the sword over his head. The sword glimmered in the sun.

“Well, this has been more enjoyable than I had expected earlier.” Anubis chuckled. “You were the first one to ever inflict such collateral damage on me like this. But in the end, you ended up suffering the same fate as all the rest before you.” Anubis held the blade ever higher. “But don't worry. You won't be alone for long. I'll make sure that Sora and the rest of your friends arrive in hell soon enough to keep you company. Came so far, only to fail against me. Even your strong heart was no match for my belligerent nature. Without the will to kill another, you will surely perish.”

Anubis struck down at Riku. But without warning, Riku suddenly thrust his hands in front of him, opened towards the ninja.

“Iceberg Shuriken!!” he cried. From his hands, powerful ice energy blasted out, hitting Anubis, point blank. Anubis could not react in time. Releasing both Riku and the sword, he froze instantly in the position he was in.

“No!” cried Anubis. “It...cannot....be....!!” Within seconds, Anubis was frozen to death, the ice covering him completely. Riku stood up and picked his sword. He then stood before the shinobi.

“Unlike you, I can't afford to die just yet when my task is far from over.” Riku said. “You had an obligation to kill. I had an obligation to protect. And the obligation to protect is the strongest sense of justice anyone can stand for. And now...” Riku held the sword over his head. “Your life as a ninja has ended. And so has your life as an individual.” Riku slashed his sword through the ice, cutting the body of Anubis in half. The body suddenly incinerated into the atmosphere, leaving no trace of the former shinobi. Riku fell to the ground, exhausted. As he sat there, he felt a surge of energy enter his body. He had learned a new technique. The Cinder Canister. Riku took out the Senzu bean from his pocket.

 

“Well, Sora.” he uttered, eating the bean and regaining his strength. “I guess I was able to fulfill my promise to you after all.”

 

 

Victory had been achieved by Riku and anther member of the Cavendish Shinobis had fallen. However, the fight in space continued to escalate. The Imperial fleet had managed to fend off and destroy much of the attacking enemy. ZAFT and Earth now fought side by side against the powerful destroyers. But these city sized battleships proved to be impenetrable. Because of the immense size and precise defense system, they were virtually unapproachable. To make matters worse, the mobile dolls were now being deployed in swarms. The average mobile suit and average Ginn were no match for the computer controlled mobile dolls.

The Archangel met the center of the fray, being attacked my dolls from every direction. Mwu, Cagalli, and the other Archangel defenders continued their fight with great valiance. They lost one mobile suit after another, but still they continued to fight. The Archangel's Gottfried and Valiant cannons continued to bellow, hitting several enemy suits in the process. They could only watch as ZAFT and Earth carriers fell victim to both enemy fire and the mobile dolls.

“Damn! How many of these mobile dolls do they have?” said Mwu.

“Without a doubt, due to the large size of those Imperial destroyers, there could be an endless amount of them! And since each doll is equally matched to both Natural and Coordinator, it takes only one of those stupid machines to shoot down how many of our troops!”-

“Any word from Kira and Athrun?!”-

“Nothing since they began their second run!”-

“What about Sora and the others?!”-

“Not since they made contact with the grand destroyer!”-

“I sure hope they're alright! It would really suck if they didn't make it!”-

“Well, if they didn't then we really are in trouble! Both sides have already suffered over fifty percent casualties!”-

“I'm afraid to admit it, Cagalli, but I think we're licked!”-

“Don't speak that way!” shouted Captain Ramius. “We still have a fighting chance! If we give up now, we might as well wait for the end to come anyway! But if we continue to fight, there's still a chance we'll survive this!”-

“I guess your right.” chuckled Mwu. “It would be rather pointless to do all this fighting, only to suffer defeat in the end.”

 

On the ZAFT front, Kira and Athrun, once again joining the front line with their mobile suits newly repaired, joined Yzak and the others in the fight against the mobile dolls. The battle had intensified as the dolls and the destroyers began their run against the PLANT colonies. They could only watch helplessly, as one colony fell one after the other. Ginns swarming around the massive destroyers could do little damage. Like gnats irritating a bull, the Ginns, along with their Earth, mobile suit, counterparts could barely scratch the surface of the enemy vessels. The defense was so intense that many mobile suits fell before the onslaught. Ginns, desperately trying to hold back the Imperial attack on the colonies, were destroyed squadron by squadron before the doll attack.

“The colonies!” cried Athrun. “We have to save the colonies!”

 

“We can't!” replied Kira. “We've barely managed to stay alive, working as a team! If we split up now, that'll limit our success of defending the line and increasing our chances of being killed!”

“Damn!”-

“What do you suggest we do?!” asked Yzak.

“If we want to prevent any real damage, we'll have to aid the areas most likely of breaking!”-

“Then let's do that!” said Dearka.

“But the areas prone to a critical blow are around the colonies.” Rau Le Creuset. “We could try and help them, but that would mean we would end up wasting a lot of fuel and energy just to accelerate to aid that area! By the time we get there, we would have wasted at least 50% percent of our energy!”

“Then let Athrun and I aid the colony area!” Kira suggested. “We've been recently refueled, so we'll last longer than the rest of you!”

“But what if....” said Dearka.

“There's no real choice in the matter.” said Athrun. “If we don't act now, more people will die.”

“Very well then.” said Rau. “Well, be on your way before it's too late.”

“Right.” Athrun turned to Kira. “Let's go, Kira!”

“Yeah!” Kira responded. The two mobile suits went on their way.

“Come back to us alive!” said Yzak.

“Don't worry about it!” chuckled Lowe. “If I know those two, they could fly to hell and back if they wanted to and they'd still come back without a scratch!”

“I'll never understand Naturals.” sighed Gai.

“And that's what's so beautiful about Natural thought! We're so unpredictable!”-

“I'll say!”-

Kira and Athrun continued on their way to save the colonies. As they gazed back, they worried about the safety of their comrades in arms.

“You think they'll be alright, fighting without us?” asked Kira. “By losing our assistance, they've lost a strong asset to their defense.”

“Don't worry about it, Kira.” Athrun replied. “If I know those guys of the Le Creuset team, they're not the type to give up, let alone die so easily.”

“I only hope that Sora and the others made it safe onto that grand destroyer.”-

“You and me both. If they succeed, the dolls will cease to function and the tide of battle would have turned in our favor. Then, we could use the bulk of both the ZAFT and Earth military to stop those destroyers.”-

“Then, we would have successfully saved our world.” Kira looked back to where the grand destroyer lay. Flashes of light appeared and vanished around it, indicating that the battle had intensified within that perimeter. “Sora. I sure hope you made it. You may be our only hope left.”

 

Meanwhile, within the grand destroyer, Sora, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, ran about the millions of corridors and halls. It seemed as if there was no sign of the doll center command.

“We better find out where that stupid source of power is!” said Sora. “We're deep enough in hot water as it is!”

 

“If it wasn't for the Dark Empire interfering, by sending in their fleet, we could have been out of this world long ago!”

“Well, there was no way that we could have predicted that they'd be here!” said Mickey.

“The best course of action is to just keep searching for that central command!” said Sora. “I don't know why, but I feel as if I know my way around!”

“You do?!” said Donald. “Well, then lead us in the right direction already!!”

“How can that be possible?” asked Mickey. “How do you know where we're going?”-

“I don't know,” Sora uttered, “but my heart keeps pulling me in this certain direction. As if it's looking for something, or someone. I don't know much about it, but I feel as if there's a certain someone I'm trying to track down.”

“Who?”-

“I don't know. I just know I'm looking for that certain someone. It's the feeling of a presence which I've sensed before. I think it may be the same guy I encountered on Destiny Island and in Traverse Town.”-

“An Imperial?”-

“I guess. I never saw the guys face on Destiny Island. And out of all the Imperial faces I saw at Traverse Town, it could be any one of those guys. That same presence was there when Kairi was captured. How could I ever forget it. I was so scared. And now his aura calls to me. As if he's beckoning me to find him ”-

“So your heart is guiding you where he is?” asked Goofy.

“Yes. He's urging me to find him. Perhaps, if I find this guy, he'll tell me where Kairi is.”-

“Then, let your heart guide you, Sora.” said Mickey. “We'll be behind you all the way.”

 

Meanwhile, within the main control room, General Ameba and his men continued to track Sora down on the radar.

“I don't believe it!” Ameba said. “Sora and his friends are able to find their way through the ship! But how?! They have no knowledge of the ships format and characteristics! How could they possibly be able to direct their way?!”

“Sir!” cried one of the attendants. “They're working their way to the central area! If they keep this up, they'll have access the bridge, the dolls power source, and the officer's quarters!”

“Where are our troops?! Why haven't they stopped these intruders yet?!”-

“General Ameba!” shouted another operative. “Our troops haven't been able to track them down! They're wandering about throughout the ship!”-

“Incompetence! Incompetence! They can't even find their way around their own ship!”-

“General Ameba!” one of the officers transmitted through the loud speaker. “We still haven't found them, Sir! They've somehow managed to remain undetected by our troops! They're moving about the ship in a random pattern!”

“Of course they're moving around!” roared Ameba. “What did you expect them to do?! Sit down and pose for you?! If you had bothered to contact me first, you would have known that they're on their way to the central area! So stop your dawdling and get after them!”

“Yes, Sir!” The transmission ended soon after, but Ameba wasn't going to take any chances.

“Captain! Take command!” Ameba ordered. “I'm going to stop these fools from taking out the vital areas of this ship! If I want something done, I have to do it myself!!”

 

 

As Sora and the others continued on their way, they encountered several troops of the Imperial fleet, who no sooner took pursuit of them. Before long, the team found themselves before a long corridor, slightly larger than the first ones they ran through before. While running, Sora realized there was a large blockade door which was easily accessible from either side.

“A blockade door!” he cried. “Close it behind us as soon as you can!”

“I'll take care of that!” Donald replied. Deploying his magician's staff, he fired a blast of the Blizzaga spell, activating the massive door. The door shut close behind them within seconds, cutting the Imperials off the pursuit. “Takes care of that!”

“Not quite!” said Sora. Unsheathing his sword, he cut the control panel in half. Sparks flew along with bits of metal.

“And to add a little spice!” chuckled Mickey. He used his key blade to cast a Graviga spell, further sealing the door. “That ought to do it!”

“Not quite!” said Donald. He deployed his staff again activated Aeroga, creating a strong wind barrier to help deflect any chance of trying to break down the door. “Now, we can go!”

The three continued running down the corridor, leaving the Imperials, in pursuit, behind to deal with the door.

“Blast!” shouted the commander of the pursuing Imperials. “They got away! You men, get working on this door!”

“Sir!” hollered one soldier. “We can't get anywhere near the door! They protected it with some sort of wind barrier!”

“Damn! And we can't use our blasters effectively in here without causing severe damage within the ship! Well, do what you can! Find another access way into the central area!”-

“But this is the only way, Sir!”-

“Crawl through the ventilation system then! Just get in there somehow!”-

“Sir!”-

 

Sora and his friends reached the end of the hall, making there way to, they realized the corridor now divided into two separate halls.

“Oh dear.” said Mickey. “This possess a problem.”

“Which way do we go, Sora?” asked Donald.

“We go this way.” said Sora, pointing to the left corridor. “My heart tells me it's this way.”

“But what about the other way?” asked Goofy.

“Sora knows what he's talking about.” said Donald. “His heart has guided us in this far!”

“I know, but what about that thing down the other corridor!” Goofy pointed down the right passage. In the distance, they observed a massive generator accumulating electrical currents within it. “Do you think that's the source for them thar mobile dolls flying around outside?!”

“What do you think, Sora?” asked Mickey. “The room looks large enough.”

“But I have this nagging feeling saying that we should go left.” Sora explained.

“But what if that is the source of power?”-

“There's only one way to know. We'll have to split up.”-

“Split up?” asked Donald.

“But why?” added Mickey. “That could be the very source of power for those mobile dolls.”

 

“I know that.” said Sora. “But something tells me to go down this passage way. For some strange reason, my heart is urging me on to continue down the left corridor. That's why it's best that we split up. Mickey, you and the others go down the right corridor and destroy that generator. Destroying it may either cease the functioning of the mobile dolls, or may disable the grand destroyer in a way. Either way, it'll cause the Imperial fleet to lose face.”

“But what do you suppose is down that corridor?” asked Goofy. Looking down the dimly lit corridor laying to the left.

“Are you kidding?” said Donald. “It has death written all over it!”

“That may be so,” Sora uttered, “but I must go that way. My heart tells me I have to.”

“But Sora.” said Mickey.

“Don't worry about it, your Majesty. I'll be fine. I have my heart to protect me. Your only main focus is to destroy that generator.” Sora turned and ran down the left hall, into the shadows beyond.

“Sora!” shouted Donald. “Come back, Sora!”

“Leave him be, Donald.” said Mickey.

“But your Majesty.”-

“We have a mission to fulfill. To stop those dolls and save this world.”-

“Then, let's go!” chuckled Goofy. The three ran down the corridor. But as they began to near the open area, nine turret guns suddenly appeared and began firing lasers at them.

“Deploy shields!” Mickey ordered. They deployed Aeroga shields, but the lasers managed to pierce through their defense.

“Aeroga's too weak!” said Donald.

“Everyone, behind Goofy's shield!” The three took refuge behind Goofy. “Well, that settles it! Whatever that thing is, it must be of great importance to the Empire if they have it so well defended! OK Goofy, let's keep going! Walk slowly down the corridor! And make sure not to leave the safety of the shield!” The three continued their way down the corridor, but as they neared the entry, they realized that the laser grew more intense with every step they made. Soon dents began to form on Goofy's shield.

“We can't keep going like this!” said Goofy. “The shield won't last!”

“We have to find some way to get passed that security somehow!” said Mickey.

“Leave that to me!” shouted Donald. Leaping up for a second, he took good aim and fired a blast with the Blizzaga spell. However, not only did the ice shards not reach their intended target, they were also shot down by well aimed beams. “Can you believe that!”

“Not a single shot wasted! They all hit their intended target!”-

“That's not good then! We're stuck!”-

“Well, we have to think of something! We can't let this thing get the best of us!”-

“Gawrsh!” said Goofy. “They're really slugging it out!”

“We have to figure something out!” said Mickey. “We can't croak over yet!”

 

 

At the same time, within the depths of the grand destroyer, stationed in his quarters, Lord Arakis observed the outside battle against the Imperial mobile dolls. He watched as Coordinators and Naturals fell like flies before the might of the fleet and the dolls.

 

“Such gallantry these Naturals and Coordinators display before me.” Arakis uttered. “Despite the odds, they continue to fight, even to the last man. Even when they know there's no hope. They fight for their homes and firesides. Amazing to gaze upon the irony of the situation. Only a few months ago, both sides were aggressively attacking on another. But now that they face a common enemy, they have rallied together as allies to stop this one great threat. Perhaps, if they succeed, they will realize the common bond to which both Coordinator and Natural hold. And as a result, an everlasting peace. Only through such devastation can they fully realize each others worth.” Arakis took another sip of his tea. “Let us see if they are willing to fight and die for the sake of their world, and their world alone.”

“Your Excellency!” shouted the Captain. “We have a major crisis! Sora and his friends have managed to enter the area where the main generator for the mobile dolls, the destroyer bridge, and the officer's quarters are! You are in danger my lord!”

“So are you, Captain. But unlike you, I can easily take care of myself.”-

“We've sealed off the bridge doors! Please, seek refuge, my lord!”-

“I told you that will not be necessary.” Arakis continued to sip his tea. “By the way, where is General Ameba?”

“He's gone to stop their advance to the bridge, my lord. He's waiting for their arrival, in the second observatory as we speak.”-

“Very well. Thank you for informing me.” Ending transmission, Arakis stood up and latched on his sword. “Time for me to decide his fate.”

 

At that very moment, Sora had reached the second observatory. The room was large, constructed in a round, cylinder type fashion. There were a few antique archives in it and a few activated monitor screens. The room itself was poorly lit. The lights were wade so dim, the appearance within the room seemed almost dark. The only true source of light was the light emanating from the doorway. From the door way, he could see two other corridor openings. Each separated apart by a perfect forty-five degree angle. Sora's heart still beat hard, urging him to enter the room and enter a specific corridor. He rushed in and headed towards the right corridor entry way.

“That must be where that energy is resonating.” Sora thought. “I better hurry.”

But as Sora reached for the door, the door itself suddenly closed, preventing him from entering. He turned to exit, but the two remaining doors closed shut as well. The room turned dark as the dim lights and monitors shut off. Sora was left in the dark. Suddenly, a lone light from above illuminated the space in and around him. Sora was slightly blinded, gazing hard into the darkness that lay behind the bright light.

“Greetings.” a voice uttered from the darkness.

“Who's there?!” shouted Sora, reaching for his sword. “Show yourself!”

“Quite the little warrior aren't you?” The voice continued, waving about in the dark. “The one thing I hate more than a hero, is a young hero who's too cocky for his own good.”

At that moment, another light illuminated the observatory. Sora looked, with his sword still unsheathed, to see a solitary individual, in a grey coat, standing before him. Under the coat, he wore a green, shin lengthen frock, and a frilled neckerchief. His sword and scabbard hung down at his side by a black shoulder strap. Sora immediately remembered the face of the one who stood before him.

“I know you.” he said. “I saw you at Traverse Town. You're one of those high Imperial officers.”

 

“That is correct.” said the individual. “I am General Ameba. The leader of this so called mission. And to tell you the truth, I'm rather irritated about the fact that you and your friends have decided to interfere with my plans.”

“We had no other choice! You were attacking these people!”-

“Silence, boy! I will not have you speak unless I give you permission to speak!” Sora sneered at this loud general standing before him. Never allowing himself to drop his guard, he kept his sword within easy access. “Frankly, you have interfered long enough and I am sick of it! First, you urge Aube to continue fighting. As a result, instead of surrendering themselves, they've decided to engage themselves in space to try and face us! Because of that, their representatives managed to make contact with Earth and ZAFT, uniting them. And all because of your damned influence within the organization. Now, you dare go so far as to penetrate through the grand destroyer and destroy the very center of power for the mobile dolls! Well, I can tell you here and now that you'll never succeed! You'll never get beyond this point!” Ameba turned on an air projected monitor which almost filled the room. On the screen, the images of Mickey, Donald, and Goofy displayed themselves. They were still under constant fire by the laser guns, which still guarded the corridor.

“Mickey! Donald! Goofy!” cried Sora.

“As you can see, they did happen to stumble onto the very source of power which activates the mobile dolls! Had you not decided to split up, you could have been there to help them! But you had to follow your heart! And as a result, your friends have been pinned down in the corridor, with nowhere to run! And to make matters worse for you!” Ameba turned on another screen. Before them, they saw the pursuing Imperial slowly breaking through the blockade door. “Soon, my troops will break through that barrier and attack your friends from behind! Perhaps, if you had decided to stay with them, you could have helped save them. But now, it's too late.”

“That's where you're wrong!” said Sora. “Even if I had stayed with them, it wouldn't have made any difference! Instead, I would have been placed in the same predicament as they! But splitting up was advantageous! We could cover more ground that way!”

“Which is why this is the result! I told you that the corridor, which your friends are entrapped in, is the one way and only way that leads to the mobile doll generator! But the security is too tough, they'll never get within a hundred yards of that generator! The laser guns are too well accurate! There's no way to dodge them! It's over for them and it's over for you! You may have progressed this far, but no further will you go!”-

“I don't think so! If I know my friends, they won't allow themselves to be beaten by those lasers so easily! And If I know myself, I won't allow myself to be beaten so easily! Especially by the likes of you!”-

“Don't you dare condescend to me! You are no match for my skills!” Ameba drew his sword. “You have caused quite a blunder of your operations! First, splitting up, allowing your friends to die miserably! Then following your instincts to a dead end, when your true objective lay behind you! And now you do battle with the leader of the former Midnight Organization of the Dark Empire, only to die alone and far from where any or your friends can help you! You should know full well that you don't stand a chance against a professional soldier!”

“Although I may be alone, my heart still throbs with the will of my friends! And because of that, if we don't forget each other, if we put the utmost faith in each other, then our hearts will be one! Their strengths will never die!”-

 

“Wake up, Sora! You've been dwelling in a dream land! You must realize that you're not fighting the Heartless anymore! Therefore, those specific philosophies regarding the heart's strength doesn't apply to this particular scenario! You must face the harsh truth between what is mere idealism and the reality of this world! Your heart might be strong, but let's see how strong you think it is when I pull my saber out of your chest!”-

“It isn't mere idealism!”-

“Enough! Actions speak louder than words! So stand and defend yourself! I won't be holding back on you, key bearer! So be ready to accept your death!”-

Ameba charged Sora with his saber above his head. Sora quickly drew out his sword and blocked the overhead slash. Ameba side slashed to the right, but Sora blocked the second attempt. Ameba lunged with his heavy saber, hoping to stab Sora. But every time, the young key bearer evaded each strike. Again and again, the general took the sword and always went on the offensive.

“You can never match my skills, boy!” chuckled Ameba. “You continuously hold back, wondering how to strike me without killing me! That's the one disadvantage between the two of us! You've never developed an urge to kill! And that's what makes your weak!”

“No! I put more value in life than you ever could!” shouted Sora. “I don't want to kill you!”

“Then, that'll prove to be a fatal mistake! To defy the law of nature! You must kill, or be killed!”-

“But I don't engage in merciless bloodshed like you! I can see it in your eyes! You enjoy the sight of blood and suffering!”-

“That is the only way to assure success! To be aggressive and dominant over all! Whether they be soldiers, or civilians! Only through a sense of fear can things truly be accomplished!”-

“But a person who only thinks in such a way would only find limitations in their philosophies! Sooner, or later, you will encounter a predicament where you will be the one wishing for mercy! But because of the reputation you hold, there will be a slim chance that anyone would show you mercy!”-

“That will never happen to me! I'm too strong!” The battle continued for a good five minutes, or so.

“Sooner, or later you will meet your match!” said Sora. “Sooner, or later you will meet your end!”

“But not here and not against you!” chuckled Ameba. “You're too soft to kill me! But why?! You seemed to be doing well against those swordsmen back in Traverse Town!”-

“I didn't have a choice! They wouldn't have listened to me!”-

“And why not?!”-

“Because they were clones! They only knew how to act and think in a certain way!”-

“But were they still not living things like me, Sora?! Did they not breathe and bleed like you and I?!”-

“I...I...!”-

“You see! Now, you regret ever taking their lives!”-

“But I never meant to kill them! It was either kill, or die!”-

“Then what makes me so different?!”-

 

“I may have killed those swordsmen back in Traverse Town, but I never did it for malice, glory, or fun! I didn't want to kill them! I wished not even to hurt them because deep down, I knew their hearts beat like mine does now! The same with the Heartless before them! I wished not to kill without regret! They might have been just Heartless, but they were still living things, built from some sort of essence which gave them life! That is why I never kill for the pleasure! So, do you think I can kill you so easily without a second thought! If I lose that sense to cherish life and the lives of others, then I would lose the true meaning of what if means to fight and protect! I'd become no different from you!” Sora placed his sword at the ready. “However, I know that if I don't stop you, then the suffering of this world will continue! You have lost all sense of life's value! That is why I can't allow you to have your way! I see that now!”-

“Then, don't hold back!” Ameba lunged forward. Sora did the same. In an instant, metal touched metal in a bright flash of light. The two suddenly appeared, facing opposite each other. Sora's jacket and shirt suddenly split at the shoulder, revealing his tender skin. Ameba had managed to slash through the clothing, but caused no blood to spill. However, as Ameba observed, this saber suddenly cracked, and the blade broke from the hilt.

“Impossible!” Ameba said to himself. “That boy managed to break my saber in two! But how?! He couldn't be that strong can he?!” Ameba looked to see the sword Sora used against him. With the familiar imprint on the hilt, he knew right away what it was that caused his saber to be cut in two so easily. “The Imperial katana! But that blade is made only for the top lords of the Empire and no one else! How did that boy manage to get his hand one of those?!”

Sora quickly sheathed his sword.

“This fight is over.” he said.

“No it's not!” shouted Ameba. “It's far from over! Just because you deprived me of my weapon doesn't mean that I have others! If I can't defeat you with a blade, I'll just destroy you with my own strength!” Ameba began to power up. But his chance to display his true strength was interrupted by an incoming transmission.

“That is enough.” said a voice. “You've done well enough, General Ameba.” The overhead screen activated a visual transmission. And there, before the two combatants, the form of Lord Arakis appeared. His face was covered by shadow, so identity was impossible. However Ameba knew exactly who it was.

“Your Excellency!” said Ameba.

“Stand down for now, Ameba. Let the boy continue on his way.” Arakis stated.

“But, my lord....”-

“Sora. I must admit, I'm stunned to see that you've made it this far, my friend. How about challenging me in a duel.”-

“My lord!” Ameba protested. “This is the most unorthodox decision you could make!”

“It's fine, General.” Arakis uttered. “So what do you say, Sora. Will you duel with me?”

“Why should I?” asked Sora.

“I could make it worth your while.”-

“And how could you possibly make it worth my while? I still have someone I need to find on this ship and I have no time to accept duels. And unfortunately, General Ameba is not who I'm looking for.”-

“I can tell you where to locate what you're looking for. And I'm sure she'd be very happy to here that you'll be rescuing her earlier than expected.” Immediately, Sora's attention was drawn.

“Are you talking about Kairi?”-

“Princess Kairi of Hollow Bastion? Yes, I am.”-

“Tell me! Where is she?! You better not have hurt her, or I'll...!!”-

 

“Don't fret over the matter, my boy. She has been treated like an honored guest. If you wish to speak about it more, enter through there.” Suddenly, the door to the right reopened. “Just follow your heart though the corridor. If your heart is as strong as you have claimed it to be, then you will find whom you're looking for.”

“Then, you must be the one responsible for kidnapping Kairi! You just wait! I'll be there soon! And then you'll pay for what you've done!”-

“I look forward to it, Sora.”-

Sora ran through the door and down the corridor.

“My lord! This is uncalled for!!” shouted Ameba. “Why are you giving this boy so much leverage?!”-

“Calm down, Ameba. And return to you station.” Arakis said. “Sora is determined to find Kairi and that's what he'll do. Once he finds Kairi, they go home, and we're left with our business.”

“But my lord...!”-

“Calm down. Whether we kill him ,or he goes home, he still leaves us alone am I right? He only treks for Kairi. Nothing else.”-

“I understand.” As the transmission ended, General Ameba was left standing in the dark. “You put too much pleasure in this situation.” He straightened his coat. “There's nothing to fear though. Arakis's strength surpasses Sora's by far. So the boy won't last very long. As well, Mickey and his two subjects will never get passed my security system. So, I'll just retake my position on the bridge.” Ameba walked out of the observatory, leaving his sword and scabbard scattered on the floor.

 

At the same time, Sora was running down the corridor, reaching for the end of the hall. At the same time, the loud speaker in that particular corridor continued to ring.

“Listen carefully to what I have to say.” Arakis explained. “There's a catch to this duel I've set up between us?”

“And what might that be?!”-

“If you win, then I will tell you where your friend, Kairi is being held.”-

“But if I lose?”-

“If you lose. Well, my friend, you will just have to continue with tracking down the seven members of the Cavendish Shinobis.”-

“In that case, I can't afford to lose!” Sora soon spotted two large doors at the end of the hall. “That must be where he is!”

Sora opened the doors and walked into the room. The room was vast and dark. The few lights which gleamed within it provided a clue that this room was used for assembly of troops and officers. On the podium area, Sora saw a lone individual in black, standing before him. It was none other than Lord Arakis.

“So you must be the guy!” shouted Sora.

“Welcome, key bearer.” said Arakis.

“Enough of your talk! I've come here to battle you!” Sora used his super glide and flew over to where Arakis awaited him. The Death Lord, armed with a straight sword, tapped the flat side of the sharpened blade on the fingertips of his white gloves. “My name is Sora!!”

 

“I am Lord Draco Arakis.” said the dark lord. He placed his blade before him. Sora unsheathed his sword and lunged forward. However, Arakis blocked the attack. Sora again struck and again the dark lord blocked the effort. The two continued to fight with such strength and spirit. But finally, Sora dodge rolled leaped into the air and delivered the final blow. But in a strange twist of fate, Arakis only evaded with a sudden twist to left. Sora's blow flee harmlessly to the floor. The death lord turned and again, facing Sora and swerved the sharpened blade against Sora's throat. Sora couldn't believe it. He had lost before the battle even started. He gazed up, looking into the eyes of his enemy.

“The duel is mine.” Arakis uttered. He forced the blade upward, causing Sora to rise to his feet.

“You bastard.” Sora uttered. Arakis smiled and drew the blade harmlessly away from his throat.

“It was a good fight.”-

“If you don't stop me now, I'll keep coming for you, Arakis!”-

“That sounds interesting. Perhaps we can battle again.” Arakis sheathed his sword and began to walk out of the assembly hall.

“Wait! This fight isn't over!” Sora shouted, picking up his sword. “Fight me, Arakis! Fight me!”

“It was over the minute my blade touched your jugular. Had I been in a killing mood, you would be dead right now.”-

“But you still haven't beat me. I still have plenty of energy to waste.”-

“Then, waste it some other time. But not now.”-

“You told me that you'd tell me where Kairi is if I beat you in a duel! Well, the last time I checked, I was still alive!”-

“Then, that allows you to live and fight another day!”-

“I said hold it, Arakis!” Running at Arakis, Sora drew his sword and stood before the lord. “You think you can just make a promise like that and then walk away?! Putting some sort of price on one's life?! That's sick!”-

“I'm starting to grow agitated with you bickering, Sora.” said Arakis. He continued to walk out the door, but Sora still held his ground. Pointing the sword straight at the Death Lord's throat, he stood ready to thrust.

“Then, tell me!” Sora shouted. “Why won't you fight me!”

“Three reasons why, my friend.” Arakis extended his fingers in chronological order, while explaining the situation to Sora. “One, I have only been using a fraction of my true strength. By fighting at your present level, not only would it be a challenge for you, but for me as well. If I had decided to take this battle seriously, you wouldn't have stood a chance against me. Two, even if you did manage to kill me, you wouldn't have gained any further advantage, since I am the only one who knows where your friend, Kairi is. So, if you slay me, then you'll never know the precise area of where your friend is being held. And three, I don't want to kill you knowing the debt I will have to repay that young girl when I tell her that you died in battle. I've seen the look in her eyes when she talks about you specifically. Her teary eyes tells me that she doesn't want anything bad to happen to you. And how could I break such a young girl's heart. She would be utterly devastated by your loss. So, I recommend that you stand down for the time being.” Sora lowered his sword and Arakis continued to walk by, not giving a second glance. As he walked out the door, he turned his head, but never looked back. “Just to let you know, I want you to keep the goal of our duel a secret to your other friends.”

“But why?” asked Sora.

 

“If your friend, Riku were to find out that you had gambled in a duel, in exchange for Kairi's whereabouts and lost, he would lose all respect for you. Thinking you as incompetent, unreliable, and weak. And I'm sure the last thing you want is for a rift to rebuild itself between you two again. So, it's best to keep the matter a secret.” Arakis walked out of the door and down the hall. “Your friends probably need help now. I would recommend helping them for the time being.”

“Wait!” cried Sora. He ran into the hall. “Why are you doing this for me?! Why are you letting me go?!”

“Because I think you can do better. I believe that you can achieve more than what you already have.” Arakis disappeared into the darkness of the hall. “We have a rematch, Sora. So until then, I expect you to stay alive.”

“A rematch, eh?” Sora was left standing in the still quiet of the hall. “What is it that you're planning?” He looked down at his feet. Gripping his sword, he placed it back into the sheath and ran down the hall. “Arakis can wait. Right now, I have friends to help.”

 

 

On the battlefield of space, things grew darker for the ZAFT and Earth forces. The gundams had by now run low on fuel and were inflicted with heavy damage. They watched as the dolls slowly regained ground.

“Damn these mobile dolls!” said Kira. “They've pounded us beyond recognition!”

“We can't give up yet, Kira!” Athrun replied. “If we give up now, we lose everything!”

“Face it, Athrun!” shouted Yzak. “Even we, being Coordinators, haven't made a dent in their defense! Even with the combined forces of Earth and ZAFT, we still are no match for those mobile dolls!”

“But even if we don't stand a chance,” said Kira, “even if it all seems hopeless for us, we can't surrender to these tyrants! If we must die, we die fighting!”

“Let's face the reality, Kira! This battle was doomed the minute we lost control of the first defensive line! Now, we lost the GENESIS, we've lost our resource satellite, and now the colonies are under constant threat! When will it be enough!”-

“When we're all dead!” shouted Athrun, angrily. “If you want to run now and be killed later, if you want to be oppressed by the Empire, then go and get out of our sight! But leave the fighting to the real men!”

“How dare you!”-

“How dare you! You think you can just escape from this fight saying that you've had enough! Well, tell that to our fellow Coordinators who have died defending their homes! Tell that to those comrades of ours who have lost their lives in the past! Tell the loved ones left behind who have lost someone in this conflict! You can tell them that you were to scared to confront your fears and keep going!”

“I'll show you, Athrun! I'll show you what I can do! And You'll regret ever saying that!”-

Yzak, with great fury, clashed into the bulk of the mobile dolls.

“How did you know that would work?” asked Kira.

“Reverse Psychology.” chuckled Athrun. “It always works when your pride's on the line. And to someone who is as prone to honor being breeched as much as Yzak, he definitely takes it personally.”

 

 

 

Sora reached his friends in the hallway. Seeing that they had been pinned down, he dodge rolled as best he could, evading each laser. But as he reached his friends, Sora realized that it had become more difficult to out dodge the lasers.

“Glad to see you made it.” said Mickey.

“What happened?” asked Donald.

“I ended up fighting the leader of the fleet.” Sora replied.

“Did you win?”-

“More, or less.”-

“But what will we do now?” asked Goofy. “We can't go any further.”

Sora looked about at the effects of the lasers. He then had an idea run through his head.

“I have an idea.” Sora said. “Donald, how much ether do we have?”

“Well, we have two ether vials,” Donald explained, “one mega-ether, and one elixir.”

“That's good enough.”-

“What do you plan on doing?” asked Mickey.

“This is the plan.” Sora began. “I will use the Tundra Canister as a decoy. Without a doubt, those laser turrets will aim and shoot at those ice shards. With the first volley, I want Donald to cover Goofy's shield with a Blizzaga spell, to help reinforce the shield's strength. We have about fifty yards to cover before we're in striking range of those turrets. Therefore, I will fire one volley of Tundra Canister within every five seconds. We should be able to cover at least ten yards or so within ten seconds, if we take our time. Once we're in striking range. I want Donald to shoot Blizzaga and freeze their functioning capability. Then, I will deliver the final blow.”

“Amazing.” said Donald. “How did you plan that out?”

“By analyzing the capabilities of those laser turrets.” Sora took his position behind Goofy. “Alright! Let's go!”

He jumped up and deployed Tundra Canister. The block of ice hit the ground and exploded into hundreds of smaller shards. Immediately, the laser turrets turned their attention towards the incoming shards. At the same time, Donald blew Blizzaga into the front of Goofy's shield, increasing the strength of the defense. They, Sora and the others began their advance. As soon as the turrets shot all advancing shards, they concentrated their fire on the KH team again. The ice was slowly chipped off a little at a time, allowing the KH team to advance more. However, as the group grew closer, the lasers became more intense and soon the shield's icy defense was shattered to bits. But again, as the last icy layer was being chipped away, Sora again jumped up and released a second volley of Tundra Canister. Donald doubled the shield's defense this time and they continued to advance.

“Wow!” said Goofy. “We covered at least forty yards!”

“Alright!” shouted Sora. “Donald! Get ready!”

“Right!” Donald replied.

Sora leaped up and released the Tundra Canister. The block exploded and shards scattered before the turrets. Once the turrets turned their attention towards the incoming shards, Donald took aim behind Goofy's shield and released Blizzaga. Freezing several turrets. All three on the left side of the hall and two on top.

“That's five down!” said Donald. “Four to go!”

 

Sora quickly unsheathed his sword and destroyed each of the frozen turrets. He quickly sheathed his sword and hid behind the shield. The turrets once again, after destroying the stray shards, put their attentions on the KH party. But again Sora managed to fired one last volley with the Tundra Canister. The shards immediately caught the attention of the turrets and the lasers blasted about, destroying them all. Donald leaped up and froze the remaining turrets. Sora then used his sword to destroy the remaining turrets. However, one of the turrets was prematurely frozen. It broke from its icy tomb and began shooting at Sora. The moment Sora destroyed the other three, he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. One of the lasers had struck him, burning through his leather jacket.

“Sora!” cried Mickey. He leaped up and cut the last remaining turret in half before it could inflict any further damage. Mickey landed on the ground and he and the others ran to Sora's side. Sora sat up, grasping his shoulder. “Are you OK, Sora?”

“Just a scratch.” said Sora. He looked at his shoulder, seeing only a minor burn. “Not too serious.” He rose to his feet, still grasping his shoulder. Before them was the generator which powered the mobile dolls. “Alright! Let's do this!”

 

Their achievement did not go unnoticed. One of the attendants in the main control room detected the penetration.

“General Ameba!” he cried. “Sora and his friends! They've managed to take down the defense of the mobile doll generator!”

“What?! On screen!!” shouted Ameba. The screen was activated and there stood Sora and his friends with an open path all the way to the power source. Ameba grit his teeth in a bitter rage. “Damn that little bastard!! I'll take care of him myself!!” He quickly dismissed himself and ran towards the hall where the KH team were at.

 

Sora walked to where the generator stood. The generator itself was a sight to behold, with blue electrical surges encircling it.

“All we have to do dispose of this thing.” he said. “Then, the mobile dolls would cease to function.”

“Uh, fellas.” Goofy uttered. “We have company.”

The team looked behind to the entry way to see Ameba rushing down the hall. Behind him, were thousands of Imperial troops, who managed to break through the barrier they made earlier.

“Oh no!” shouted Mickey. He saw the control panel on side of the door. “We have to close the doors, or we'll be overrun!”

“Right!” said Sora. He rushed over and pressed the large red button on the panel. Immediately, the massive doors began to close. “Mickey! Goofy! Begin destroying that thing! Donald and I will keep these guys at bay!”

“Gotcha!”-

Goofy and Mickey rushed forward and began attacking the generator. However, they could only do so much damage at one time due to the immense size of the power generator itself.

“Rush them!!” Ameba ordered. “Take them all out!!”

The doors finally closed and Sora slashed the panel in half, sealing the door for good. However, several Imperials managed to get in and further battle commenced between the KH group and the Imperials. The Imperial soldiers used their blasters against their foe. But even that was not enough to stop the grit of the KH team.

“We're almost rid of the last of them!” said Donald.

 

“Good!” Sora replied. “How are things coming with the generator?!”

“A few more hits and we'll be through here!” Mickey replied.

“We'll give you a hand!” Sora and Donald went to work on the generator too.

On the other side of the doors, Ameba was awaiting his men to open the door manually.

“Will you hurry up already!” shouted Ameba.

“We're doing the best we can, Sir!” said one soldier, hotwiring the door.

“Well, you're not doing well enough!!”-

The efforts of the Imperials was in vain though. In only a matter of minutes, Sora and the others managed to break the power connection of the generator. The generator itself became unstable and began to overload with excess power.

“Well, that's done!” said Sora. “Mission accomplished!”

“It won't be if we're trapped in here with a generator that's about to explode!” said Mickey.

“It's all taken care of.” Sora thrust his sword over his head. “Come out, Zeke!!” There was a bright flash of light and before the group emerged the silver organoid. “Alright! Jump on!”

The three jumped on the back of the silver dragon.

At the same time, the Imperials managed to open the doors, but it was already too late and the Imperials found themselves confronting a feisty, silver dragon.

“Sorry, guys!” said Sora. “You were a little late! Let's go Zeke!”

The little dragon roared and blew through the Imperial ranks, knocking many of the soldiers aside. General Ameba could only look at the collapsing generator.

“It's too late.” he uttered, falling to his knees. Pounding his fist into the ground, he glared back to where Sora had made his escape. “This isn't over, Sora! You will pay for my humiliation with your life! You and your friends!”

“Sir!” shouted one of the soldiers. “We must withdraw from this corridor!”

The Imperials evacuated the area as the generator collapsed to the ground. A powerful explosion erupted, blowing tremendous gusts of wind down the corridor. Ameba could only gaze at what had happened. He looked at his hands.

“Useless!” he uttered. “I could not even stop a boy from destroying my plan. But I will have my revenge. In this life, or the next.”

 

As the generator collapsed, so did the Empire's hopes of success in conquering the `Seed Realm.' One by one, the mobile dolls began to stop. Around the Archangel, the machines, in midst of battle, suddenly ceased to be active and hovered in the depths of space like giant paperweights.

“Hey, they've stopped moving.” said Cagalli.

“He did it!” shouted Mwu. “Sora did it! He stopped the dolls at the source!!”

Immediately, there was a change in the tide of battle as the Imperial offensive had been severed in two.

“My fellow human beings of Earth and Space!” Lacus Clyne transmitted throughout the fighting forces. “The tide of battle has turned in our favor! Let us drive the enemy from our homes! Let us unite and force these ruthless invaders to flee before our might!”

 

Hesitation was not resent in the hearts of either the Coordinators, or the Naturals. Having been inflicted with numerous casualties, many of the survivors wished for revenge against the Imperial forces. So with great courage and gusto, both sides began to attack the Imperial destroyers. The destroyers, despite distortion fields and barge cannons, could no longer effectively attack the enemy. Immediately, the Imperial forces went on the defensive. To complicate matters, further declining the Imperial effectiveness, the distortion field generators of each destroyer had been used to their absolute limit. Because they were providing protection for city sized battle ships, the shield generators had to unleash a great amount of energy. But now, the power cells for the shield generators were losing energy dramatically and the ships found themselves vulnerable to enemy attack. Now, the destroyer's defense had been severed as they were now prone to the attacks by Earth and ZAFT. It was the grand destroyer who felt the bulk of Earth and ZAFT's retribution.

Ameba still sat on his knees, still trying to overcome the shock. His men tried to move him, but he refused to budge. General Durovano rushed to where the commander lay and tried to wake him.

“How could this happen?” he uttered.

“Sir, we must withdraw!” said Durovano. “We have lost all possible ways of mounting a counteroffensive!”

“How could this happen? Everything was so perfect. My hands are useless.”-

“General, Sir!”-

Just then, a transmission made its way to the hall. A message screen suddenly appeared before him. From the screen, Lord Arakis glared at Ameba.

“The fleet is in danger, General Ameba. Order a withdrawal from this realm.” Arakis said.

“But, my lord!” Ameba replied.

“Things have gotten out of hand already, General. You might have proven that the mobile dolls are effective enough to be used efficiently against the Alliance fleet. However, your strategy to install a power generator in only the grand destroyer instead of one for each destroyer has failed. Had you been less thrifty, we could have engaged in a more expendable campaign. But because of our limited power, the fleet itself could do very little effectively.”-

“But I did not want to endanger the fleet as a whole! I thought that using only one would be sufficient! It also saved a great deal of money to build only one!”-

“But as a consequence, the fleet could only stay within a certain proximity in order for the dolls to have any effect. Had any of the ships strayed from the fleet, their dolls would have been useful only as big paperweights.”-

“My lord!”-

“Order the retreat before the rest of the fleet is put in jeopardy.”-

“But I promised victory to the Imperial Council of Lords and to His Excellency, Master Cavendish!”-

“Well, apparently, this result is everything, but a victory. This blunder will not bode well in the eyes of the Imperial Council. So, you may drop all notions of being promoted to Lord, General” Arakis then turned to General Durovano. “General Durovano. You have been requested back to Halloween Town by your subordinates, General King and General Trikken.”

“Yes, Sir!” replied Durovano.

“This mission is over! All return to you stations!”-

The soldiers retreated back to the posts, leaving Ameba and Durovano alone. Ameba rose to his feet and stared down the corridor to the room where the generator once stood.

 

“This isn't over.” Ameba said to himself. “Lord Arakis, you were hoping for me to fail so that I wouldn't gain the reputation within the Empire that I had hoped. That is why I detest the Death Lords. Believing my ways to be some sort of barbaric method, when in reality they are the most effective. But apparently because of this failure, my achievements will not be recognized. But in this particular scenario, your opinions don't matter. The real thorn lodged in my side is that boy, Sora, and his friends. For the humiliation he has inflicted upon me this day, I will see that he pays with his life. He is my target. Until I regain my honor from this humiliating defeat, I will not stop my hunt for this boy. This is far from over, Sora. Far from over.” Ameba turned to General Durovano. “Get the grand destroyers main cannon on line! If I can't have a proper victory, then no one can! The earth and ZAFT may have won, but not without severe losses inflicted upon them as well!”

“You intend to destroy them with our main cannon?!” asked Durovano.

“I don't intend to inflict total genocide upon these people, but I can come close to it! Aim the cannon at the earth sphere! Then, these people will curse the day they ever dared to confront me!”-

 

The Imperial fleet began to turn from Earth and the PLANT colonies of ZAFT. Both Coordinators and Naturals cheered in great triumph as they saw the humbled Imperial Fleet turn away in shame.

“Serves you right!” shouted Cagalli.

“We won!” added Mwu.

“We did it!” cheered Athrun and Kira.

“We survived!” chuckled Lowe and Gai.

“It's over!” bellowed Dearka. “Sucks to you guys!”

The cheering roared throughout space and Earth. ZAFT and their colonies celebrated in the streets as they saw the Dark Empire run with their tail between their legs. The cheering could be heard from Earth to the PLANT colonies. Soldiers sighed relief.

“Congratulations!” Lacus Clyne said through another transmitted message. “We all have done it! Not as individuals! Not as Coordinators, or Naturals, but as members of the human race! When we stood united, we managed to confront a great power that was on the verge of destroying us and wiping us from the face of the universe! I wish to congratulate all who had put their effort and all their souls into helping save this world!”-

“Not quite!!” another transmission interrupted.

“Who in the world is....” Kira said. But before he could finish his statement, a screen appeared before him as it did to all the other mobile suits and carriers.

“This is General Ameba! Leader of the 3rd Imperial fleet of the Dark Empire! Do not think that this is over?! Do not think that because you have won a single battle, you've won the outcome of the war?! All this little victory of yours has done was buy yourselves a little time! But we'll be back with more resources and better strategies! Next time, you will feel the full force of the Dark Empire! Something which none of you will be able to withstand! Let alone survive!” The grand destroyer suddenly turned its underside towards Earth. From the bottom, a light of red energy began to pulsate. “Now curse the day you ever dared to defy me! General Ameba of the Dark Empire! And curse your own stupidity! Open fire!!!”-

 

Immediately, a large beam descended down to the Earth's sphere. Within seconds, there was a large explosion and a great ring of spread throughout the Earth. The once happy smiles turned to gasps of horror, the loud cheers of joy turned to terrified screams, and the hope of the people of Earth and ZAFT were burned like the surrounding lands and seas where the explosion took place. They saw as everything within a one thousand mile radius was incinerated. What once was Europe, Western Asia, Northern Africa, and the Eastern United States, was reduced to ashes, or covered in water.

“Oh no!” said Kira. Tears began to fall from his eyes.

“Damn them!” shouted Athrun. “How could they do such a thing?!”

“How could they?” Sora uttered, looking from the recently launched gummi ship. “What was the point of doing that?!” Sora fell to his knees and cried. “Those bastards! They'll pay! General Ameba! You'll pay! You'll pay for what you've done! I swear it!” Sora raised his head, his eyes filled with rage. “I may defeat the Cavendish Shinobis! I may defeat Lord Arakis! But you are the one who I will kill! My hatred is you and no one else! Anyone who takes the lives of innocent people without a second thought, or without any thoughts of remorse, or regret, don't deserve to keep their lives!”

“I hope Riku's alright.” said Mickey.

“He is. And he is just as angry as I am.”-

“Let this be a lesson to all who dare to stand in the way of the Empire!” chuckled Ameba. “Had you allowed us to have our way and emerge victorious, this event could have been avoided! Most importantly, you can curse those who set you against us! Especially, the two keybearers, Riku and Sora! The next time we return, don't expect any further remorse from us!” He turned his attentions towards Riku and Sora. “And a message to the keybearers! You want me, then come an get me! But let your pigheadedness be a burden to you as each soul killed is a result of your defiance!”

With that, the Imperial fleet vanished without a trace, returning back to the dimensional realm from which they came. The battle was over, but not without its losses.

 

The gummi ship landed on the island where Riku and Anubis fought. Sora ran out to find Riku sitting on a stone, next to the crashing surf.

“I heard about what happened.” Riku said. “I saw what happened. I saw a bright light, a sudden explosion, and the surface of Earth rumbling violently. Many people died today.”

“I just can't believe the Empire would go so far as to destroy half the life on this planet just to get their point straight.”-

“It's that General Ameba. He's the one who provoked it. He's the one responsible.”-

“Then, he should be the one we kill without hesitation.”-

“Yes, but right now, we have a friend to save.” Riku took out from his pocket, the next information disk. “We gotta go.”

“Right.”-

The team boarded their ship to interpret the code. Sora saw Kira and Athrun walking down to meet them.

“You guys going?” asked Kira.

“We have to.” Sora replied. “We have a friend to save.”

“I just can't believe everything that's happened.” said Athrun. “Such a tragedy.”

“Maybe things would have been better, if we hadn't interfered.”-

“That's not true.” Kira placed his hand on Sora's shoulder. “If you hadn't come, things might have been worse that this. We would have been enslaved by the Empire.”

“It's thanks to you, Sora that we managed to survive and are still free from oppression.” said Athrun. “Maybe it was fate.”

“I guess.” Sora smiled and began to walk away. “Are you sure you guys will be alright?”

 

“We'll be fine. It'll take some time to get over, but we'll be fine. As we speak, Earth and ZAFT are already meeting with each other to declare terms of peace and unity. Knowing that we must still confront further threats from the Empire, they've taken it within their own considerable power to ensure peace amongst Coordinators and Naturals.”-

“Come on, Sora!” shouted Mickey. “We gotta get going!”

“Right, I'm coming!” Sora replied. He waved good bye and ran back to the ship. “It's all up to them now.”

The gummi ship ascended into the air. It's boosters booming with great intensity. Further and further it went, until it disappeared into the atmosphere, leaving Kira and the others to continue with reconstruction of their world.

 

In the gummi ship, Riku decoded the disk. Before them, their next destination and where the next member of the Cavendish Shinobis resided.

 

Osiris, master of wind, has been assigned to take over the “Treasure Realm.” Lord Lu Bu will be accompanying him. Their mission is to see if they can gain a sufficient amount of riches from the legendary pirates keep of Captain Nathaniel Flint called Treasure Planet.

 

“Our next destination isn't too far away.” Riku stated.

“Lu Bu...” Sora uttered. “Is he the guy that we saw at Traverse Town?”

“The one with the giant feelers.”-

“I wonder how strong he is.”-

“We'll soon find out. But if the rumors are true about his strength, we're in for one hell of a fight.”-

Off to the `Treasure Realm.' the party went, hoping to find the next member and stop him. However, the tragedy of the `Seed Realm' did not leave their minds and thoughts of revenge against the one who killed so many grew stronger with every step closer, they took.