Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ A Fragmented Tale ❯ The History Repeats ( Chapter 12 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: cursed l0ve
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters therein. Although, I do own Aleron- she’s mine! ^-^

Read and Review please! Arigato!

It's far from over.

Non Anime: Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Adventure / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 02.15.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 5.0K | Visits: 295 | Status: Completed

A/N: I'm not going to blabber and make you wait, so here's the chapter! Things are going to be clear and someone else appears... Who is it? Who knows...
A Fragmented Tale by cursed l0ve
 
Chapter Twelve: The History Repeats
 
Inside the dim darkness, Aleron waited. She was still stuck within Riku, she knew. He had tried to free her, but had failed. So, now she was pondering inside her fleshly prison. How was she to get out? And she could hear what was happening around her. She could see, and she could feel. It was several of the advantages she had being connected with Riku.
She listened to Kerri and Donovan's tale. And she believed them. So, she wasn't the Key all along? Then how was this strange world opened? And how had she unlocked the door on the Destiny Islands all those years ago? It was confusing, indeed.
Suddenly, she came to a conclusion. They were probably desperate to stop her dark side from continuing their plan, so they made a little white lie. That had to be it! She smiled slightly. Her dark side had given up and released Sora and called off the spells. But where had the Dark Blade gone? She had a feeling she knew, and she knew Maleficent wasn't truly gone. Had it gone to her? She shuddered.
She was glad Kairi was awake and well. She was glad to see Sora smiling like his old self again. She was glad seeing the Chasers eager to finish this off. She was glad Kerri and Donovan was among them, on the right side.
To tell the truth, Aleron had been shocked to find Enya was her older sister! And that Xehanort was their father! She had known all along, with a suspicious feeling, that her parents back home weren't blood-related to her.
They were all walking towards the exit. They were going to destroy this formation, so that no one would attempt the same thing again. Although, hadn't she heard growling earlier? She'd swore she thought Sora, while possessed by her very dark side, had unleashed the Great Beast.
So... where was it really?
Her musings stopped, and her fears rose again. Sora had stopped and everyone was yelling at him. I felt Riku tense up, when the spiky-haired brunette confirmed everyone's fears.
"Maleficent."
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The witch stood before them, cackling loudly at the dumbfounded faces staring unbelievably at her. The black crow sitting on her left shoulder cawed loudly.
Sora managed to move forward, allowing everyone else to line up beside him. He clenched his fists and drew out the Excalibur.
Riku quickly elbowed him, whispering his name. When Sora acknowledged him, the silver-haired boy threw him the Kingdom Key. Nodding a quiet thanks, Sora focused back at the witch with the sword in his left hand and the keyblade in his right.
The Chasers all drew out their swords. Ryo held his massive keyblade in his right hand. Matty held his katana in his right, and his wazikachi in his left. Enya had both of her katanas, dual-wielding them.
Kairi remembered hers from Matty and held out her short sword, shaking nervously, but eager at once. Riku held his Way to Dawn and his Souleater. Merlin simply had his wand out, and King Mickey held his golden Kingdom Key.
Maleficent eventually quieted her cackles and glared coldly at them with amused eyes. She studied each one of them before tightening her hold on her green scepter in her right hand. A shock went across the sandy field towards the group.
They all gasped and braced themselves. Sand fluttered sharply around them, piercing their skin and stuck on their clothing and armor. The rocks behind them shook and began collapsing.
"Look out!" Riku shouted, as he noticed one of the rock formations tipping over towards them, like a falling domino. They all rushed forward, moving too close to the witch than they would have liked.
The rock fell with a deafening thud, sending a strong spray of orange at them. The other formations fell one by one, clashing against one another like a domino effect. Thud by thud. Sand continually attacked them strongly.
"Whoa... that was close!" Matty shouted, still recovering from the shock.
"Yes... well she fixed that for us," Enya spoke, shaking sand off from her hair.
Sora, Kairi, and the Chasers all brushed sand off their armors. Riku wiped at his face, sighing. He should have left his on. There was no time to complain since there were dangers ahead of them.
"Yeah," Sora agreed. "Now no one can call up the Great Beast."
"That's where you're wrong," a menacing voice spoke. Everyone gasped and glared up at Maleficent. She was smirking. "Sora here has already awakened the infamous Great Beast."
"What the hell are you saying? Where is it then?" Riku yelled, slashing his keyblade in front of him in frustration.
After another cackling, Maleficent scoffed, "Can you not hear it? Look behind you now."
Slowly turning to face the rocky destruction behind him, Sora gasped in disbelief. Instead of rocks, there stood the Great Beast. And it was growling.
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'Oh no… I need to get free, so I can help them! I'm the only one that can stop it!' Aleron mentally panicked. 'Shit, shit, shit!'
Seeing through Riku's vision, she shivered slightly. How were they supposed to defeat it? Something dawned at her; didn't Merlin say they needed the Dark Blade for that?
So, where was it? And was Sora the one to defeat the beast? Also, she began remembering what Kerri said earlier. Xehanort had been in a Keyblade War, hence the reason for the cluttered keyblades surrounding them.
They were all standing in the middle of a crossroad. Maleficent stood to the South while they stood to the North. The beast was right in the center now. It had jumped over them, seemingly to be defending the evil witch.
Aleron took the pieces from Kerri and Donovan's story. Xehanort defeated it with his Blade of Hope. Why had it tainted? She furrowed her brows in thought. Perhaps, her father had begun to felt the darkness within his heart and it had begun to overpower him, hence, tainting the Blade of Hope into the Dark Blade. Yes, that must be it.
She desperately wanted to speak to Riku. She wanted him to ask King Mickey or Merlin to allow him to return to the Disney Kingdom, so she could return to her body and blend in with her dark side and return, able to help them. But how? And they would need the Dark Blade anyway.
How was she supposed to get out in the first place though? She sighed in frustration.
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As if feeling Aleron's troubled soul, Riku held his fist over his heart, glaring confused at the beast in front of him. He took a quick glance over to King Mickey. The mouse returned it, knowing what Riku was asking.
"I feel her, too. It seems like she wants to talk to you. Go ahead, and try to be quick about it. I'll guard you," King Mickey spoke, once he placed himself beside Riku.
Riku nodded and moved back, walking farther up the Northern path of the crossroads. He sat down, leaning back against two of the abandoned keyblades and closed his eyes.
Mickey glanced back at the boy before standing guard at the center, but at the entrance of the path. Sora looked over in understanding and moved closer and took his usual battle stance. The Chasers placed themselves around Sora. Enya on his left and Matty on his right, and Ryo directly in front of him. Kairi moved to stay close to Riku, standing in between her friend and the mouse.
Maleficent cackled, "What are you all trying to do? You cannot defeat it for I have the Dark Blade, and from what I know, you need it, along with that wretched Key to do just that."
The Great Beast stared down at them, its eyes glowing dangerously red. Its fangs were bared, emitting a roar, before crouching down to take a charge at them.
"What the fuck do we do?" Sora yelled over the growls. "Should we just try our best to weaken it?"
"Yes! Just us four then; Merlin, you stay and create a protective barrier!" Enya yelled, directing the last words over her shoulder at the old wizard.
Merlin nodded and moved to stand close to Kairi. He raised his wand and a shimmering blue barrier formed around himself, the girl, the King, and Riku.
Satisfied that the others would be safe for the time being, Enya turned around just as the beast charged. Sora and Matty moved to the right, as Ryo and Enya jumped to the left, effectively evading the attack. The beast fell headfirst into the barrier and was blown back by the shock. It landed on top of Maleficent before the witch realized what was happening, and she dissolved away.
Sora mumbled, knowing from past experiences, "Don't worry, she'll be back. She never dies when she's supposed to be."
The crow cawed and flew away, dragging the abandoned cloak and the scepter in its claws.
Ryo's eyes widened, "Look!"
Sora followed his glance and found the Dark Blade embedded in the ground where the witch had been. The beast stood up again, roaring loudly at them before rearing up to charge again.
"Okay, Sora. We'll distract it and you go and get the blade. Maybe Kairi could convert it back into its purified state, so that you could use it without being manipulated again," Ryo announced, keeping his eye at the now charging beast.
Sora nodded and jumped away, running under the beast towards the blade. Ryo took a massive swing at its head just as it lowered. Enya crouched down and boosted her power to jump into the air and land on the beast's back. Matty positioned himself underneath the beast, thrusting his katana into its stomach. Enya stabbed hers with her right hand into its rocky back. It deflected. Growling in frustration, she quickly jumped down before it reared up on its hind legs from Matty and Ryo's attack.
Ryo had successfully blinded one of its eyes and Matty had cut open its stomach. Blue blood was pouring down, staining the sand blue. Sora made a face at the sight, as he turned around and reached for the Dark Blade. He was about to grab it, when someone else beat him to it.
He looked up and then filched back in surprise at the man standing smugly in front of him.
"Van!" Sora yelled, studying the dark-haired man in suspicion. "What are you doing here?"
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"Aleron?" Riku called out in the dim darkness. He searched until he saw the light again.
"Riku! How did you know I wanted to talk to you?" Aleron ran to him in a happy surprise.
"I felt your emotions. We are connected, you know," he said. "Mickey allowed me to speak to you, so what is it?"
She sighed, "You cannot defeat it without me. I need you to go to the castle and let me free so I can return to my body. The problem is, you'd need the Dark Blade."
His brows furrowed, "But I tried that and it didn't work."
"I think, because we tried inside the formation. It had a special barrier that deflects any pure magic. Now that it is gone, it should work, especially if you do it at the castle."
"Oh, but where are we supposed to find it if it disappeared?" he asked, crossing his arms.
Aleron froze. She stared up into Riku's aqua eyes in fear. "Oh no... I feel it. Maleficent's disappeared again, and I feel it. It's there now and Sora's running towards it."
"The Dark Blade's back?" Riku said in disbelief.
"Yes... but someone else wields it."
"What? Who?"
Aleron sighed, "Van."
Riku stared down at her in shock. Van? What the hell was he doing here? And what did he want with the keyblade? And who the hell was he?
"Go now. Fight off Van and take the Dark Blade and ask Mickey to transport you to me," Aleron blurted out seriously, pushing at him, causing him to walk back towards the light.
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"Heh. Funny you should ask," Van said, chuckling. He turned the blade over in his hands. He peered up from it towards Sora. "I once led my army against Xehanort. So, half of the abandoned keyblades you see here were from my men."
"What? So... you were defeated by Xehanort, right?" Sora said, interested.
Growling, Van answered, "Hardly." Sora watched as he brushed through his black hair. "I managed to escape just as this same beast appeared. I watched from a distance as the bastard defeated it and locked it up within the formation you saw before. And then... I saw it happen."
"You saw what?" Sora asked, wanting to know more.
Flicking his eyes at the boy and the beast behind him. Van smirked, "Xehanort changed this blade, and out of fear, he locked it, putting this whole graveyard under a protection spell, and then disappeared."
"Ah... and then the prophecy was written, and this whole chaos happened, right?" Sora asked, understanding.
"Yes. The history has repeated, though. But this time..." Van said, his tone growing hard. Sora watched him with distrust as Van stepped back and admired the blade before smirking up at the boy. "This time, I will be Xehanort, but I shall not escape."
"No!" Sora yelled, swinging down his Kingdom Key at the chuckling man.
Van evaded and slashed at the boy's back. Sora hissed in pain, falling to his knees from impact. He grabbed his keyblade that had flown inches away and spun on his knee, slashing the weapon at Van's legs. The man jumped, landing behind Sora. The brunette sharply looked over his shoulder in frustration, clenching the Excalibur.
"You cannot attack me," Van smirked.
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Riku woke to find Mickey and Merlin both helping the Chasers. Kairi was kneeling beside him, watching them fight. Fear was swirling in her brilliant blue orbs. Taking a deep intake of breath, Kairi snapped her sight towards him.
"Riku! Hurry, Sora's fighting with that man and the others are struggling with the beast! Matty cut its stomach, though and Ryo blinded it in one eye. Enya tried to attack from the top, but apparently it is weak underneath," Kairi quickly spoke, helping Riku up.
"Thanks Kairi, stay here," Riku gave her a sturdy glance before rushing off to join the battle.
Kairi sighed, frowning at them. Why weren't they letting her fight? Wasn't she strong enough? Perhaps she looked delicate to them. The least she could do was respect their wishes, so she stood, watching the chaos in front of her, protected inside the barrier.
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"Riku!" Ryo yelled, just managing to evade the beast's slash of claws. "Thank god! Help us!"
Shaking his head, Riku explained, "I gotta help Sora, so I can take the Dark Blade and free Aleron at Mickey's place. Aleron's the only one that can defeat it." Understanding, Ryo nodded before focusing back at the fight at hand.
Riku ran under the beast, avoiding its massive feet and the spill of its horrid blood. Keeping his stomach at bay, he arrived at the smaller brawl.
Sora was in the air when he arrived, Van's back was in his view. He ran to bring his Souleater into the man's back just as he crouched down. Sora landed, missing the man entirely and was almost impaled by Riku.
"Eh?" Riku shouted in surprise.
"I can sense things coming," Van said proudly. He grabbed at Riku's Souleater and jerked him violently down to the ground before placing his left foot on the boy's back, pinning him to the sandy ground. "So, don't think you're ever gonna defeat me and get the blade."
Sora charged at him angrily, but Van easily grabbed Sora's Excalibur and slid it out of his grip and threw it a distance's away. Sora stared at his empty hand in shock. The brunette quickly took his Kingdom Key in both hands and charged to attack again.
Riku was stuck. He was pinned, and no matter how much he moved, he couldn't budge. Van was too strong and he began to rethink. Perhaps he was too powerful. But, he had defeated Xehanort. Ansem and Xemnas were the same man. If this man was Xehanort's enemy, then their powers must be equal. And since they'd both defeated Xehanort not too long ago, then they should be able to bring Van down as well. But how?
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End Chapter Twelve.
A/N: I typed this yesterday and was going to post it last night as a Valentine's present! I know, it wouldn't be a good present because there wasn't any romance involved anyways. I typed this in the drafts of the email on my Sidekick and I couldn't go on the computer since it was late. So sorry! Here it is, right? Lol.
 
Next time- Chapter Thirteen: The Final Awakening