Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ A Fragmented Tale ❯ The Final Awakening ( Chapter 13 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters therein. Although, I do own Aleron- she�s mine! ^-^

That includes Ryo, Matty, Enya, Donovan, Kerri, AND Van.

Read and Review please! Arigato!

Non Anime: Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Adventure / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 02.15.2007 | Updated On: 02.15.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 269 | Status: Completed

A/N: You lucky readers! I was home sick today, so I had time to make a chapter list and fill in some outlines for several upcoming chapters, so guess what? We're just halfway through! We have eleven more chapters left, including an epilogue! Now that I know what I want for the story, it'll go faster! SORRY about the length of the last chapter! I didn't realize how short it was. It said 8 pages on Word, but it was like 3 pages on MM.org. Sorry! And I apologize if this one is a bit short, too. I'll try making the rest of the chapters back to the normal length again. ^-^

A Fragmented Tale by cursed l0ve

Chapter Thirteen: The Final Awakening

Aleron could feel the pain Riku was enduring and it was too much. She tried to soothe him, but it was difficult since he was very distracted. Of course, if someone had his or her foot on her back, pressing her painfully against the rough sand, she'd be distracted, too.

Riku's eyes were shut tight, so she couldn't see anything. She could hear Sora shouting at Van above them. She could hear Van speaking back offensively. There was clanking of keyblades hitting keyblades. Riku tried to move again, but Van pressed in harder.

And Aleron was getting pissed off.

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"Heh, heh. Maybe it's a good time to tell you," Van said, bringing down the cursed blade against Sora's Excalibur. "Everything happened because of me! And since you failed, I guess I'll have to finish it myself!"

Sora jumped back from the attack in shock. No, wasn't it Xehanort who started it? He was the one that tainted the Blade of Hope and then disappeared. Xehanort created those Heartless and tried to engulf everything into darkness.

"What the fuck are you saying? It was Xehanort, not you!" Sora hissed, gripping his weapons tightly.

Van stared down at the brunette in disgust, "Xehanort? That bastard? He was just another puppet, just like Maleficent and Riku, along with the others who were corrupted into MY original plan! Even you."

"What..." Sora gaped. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"Nope, I am the true Master, I am the definite Seeker of Darkness," Van said darkly, finally removing his foot from atop Riku and walked towards Sora.

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Distracted by the battle, nobody saw someone new pop up. Eyes swept around at the surroundings. Kairi was still standing safely within the barrier, but it was slowly fading. Merlin's strength was decreasing.

Enya and Matty worked, teasing the Great Beast by running in and out under its feet. Ryo jumped over it constantly, trying to keep it distracted. Enya took frequent moments to slash her katanas against the Beast's stomach, causing its already open gash to widen. Matty attacked its feet.

King Mickey copied Ryo's moves, and also sent yellow orbs towards it. The Beast roared and growled, stomping at the ground, trying to capture one of them underneath its' massive feet. Merlin was conjuring barriers around him and as the Beast charged or swung its claws at him, it was painfully deflected back. The wizard also conjured barriers around the others one at a time, deflecting in various spots. The Great Beast was getting really angry.

Smirking, the newcomer walked towards the smaller group. Van had just released Riku and was walking towards Sora. The brunette charged forward, hoping to impale the man with his Keyblade, but was painfully hit on the shoulders. Van had quickly evaded the charge and swung around, cutting into the little hero's arm.

Riku was pushing himself up, wincing in pain now and then. Aqua eyes quickly met blue. He gasped and sat up quickly; too quickly. He doubled over in pain as his spine cracked.

He looked up again, and the stranger put fingers against the mouth to keep him quiet. Riku watched in amazement as the newcomer slowly strode towards Van with silent stealth. He saw as the other formed the Oblivion in hand and drew back the right arm before throwing it like a spear into the enemy's unguarded back.

Van spun around in surprise, staring at the black handle of the Oblivion protruding from his back. He hissed in pain, glaring up at the person in front of him, before realizing his mistake and turned back around to face Sora. Too late, Sora had attempted the final blow from the air and Van fell unconscious.

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"Hello boys, I bet you two are glad to see me now, huh?" she smirked before grinning.

Riku was staring up at her in disbelief. He watched in a trance as she came closer and gave him her hand to help him stand up. Brushing off sand from his white outfit, he drew a deep breath.

"How?" he finally sputtered out.

Sora came to a stop beside his best friend, staring at her in the same matter. He suddenly grinned and moved forward to give her a big hug.

"Aleron! You're back!" Sora yelled, hugging her.

"Not exactly, I am the one who possessed you earlier, I went back to the castle to bring the body. Easier than going back and forth, huh?" Dark Aleron said, chuckling. Sora's face fell, but then he retained his composure and smiled slightly. He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Ah," Riku said. He moved his hand to his heart. "So, the real one's still inside me. You confused me for a moment."

"Sorry, well let's get moving! There's not much time left!" Dark Aleron apologized, before looking at Sora. "I can reverse the Blade, but I need the other me."

Sora had already picked up the Dark Blade from Van's grip before approaching. He looked at it before studying the girl in front of him. He sighed, nodding as he handed it over. Aleron picked it up from his hand and studied it for a moment.

"Wait! Let me try something," Riku yelled, grabbing it from her grasp.

"Hey!" Aleron hissed, putting her hands on her hips. She rolled her eyes when she understood what he was trying to do. Crossing her arms across the white tank top, she tapped her brown boot against the sand. "Go ahead..." she shrugged.

Sora looked at her with his eyebrows furrowed and looked over at Riku who was now flipping the blade, so that its tip was at his heart.

After a second attempt, Riku painfully pulled it back out and dropped it in Aleron's outstretched hands, frustrated.

"I knew it wouldn't work, so did you. So, what was the point of going through that again?" Aleron said with amusement. She sighed, grinning. "This is the only way to get the other me out."

Riku watched as she walked closer, holding the Dark Blade in her hands. His eyebrows were furrowed and he started backing up. He had his right foot up, ready to step back, but Sora pushed him forward and secured him in his spot. Riku looked over his shoulder in annoyance and glared at Sora.

"What the hell are you doing, idiot?! Let go of me!"" he hissed. Sora was smirking and it was annoying him. "Why are you smirking? It's not funny!"

"Well, maybe she's the one to do it, not you. So, stay still!" Sora yelled.

"What? My chest already hurts cause I stabbed myself twice today and now you think she's gonna do it to me?" Riku seethed.

"Yeah, why else would she be coming? And she has the Dark Blade."

"Didn't you think she could be trying to manipulate us again?!" Riku yelled.

"Heh, heh. Riku! Relax..." Aleron sighed, stopping in front of him. "Here," she took his hands and placed the Dark Blade in them. "If it makes you feel better, you can hold it." Now they were confused. Sora got a flashback and he started panicking.

"No!" Sora shouted.

Sighing, Aleron spoke, "It's different than the last time, Sora."

She flickered her eyes back to Riku's. He still wore the puzzled expression on his face as she grinned at him. Her whole being glowed green and her eyes, eerily blue. Riku flinched, but didn't move. She moved up on her tiptoes and slid her arms around his neck, drawing her face close to his.

Riku was staring at her, and he couldn't break away. His breaths became quick and his heart was beating fast. In less than a moment, their lips met.

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Aleron was excited. Although, she was getting jealous. She saw her other half coming to her rescue. 'Figures, she'd know how to get me out. Maybe she had always known,' she mused.

She had to giggle at the way Riku was acting. She could feel his tension and his heart was beating way too fast. She stopped as she realized something, did it mean he had something for her?

The moment their lips met, she was pulled by force. Like a rapture, her soul was consumed, devoured. She felt like a firstborn baby, waking in a world of light for the first time.

She gasped, backing away. She noticed that it was Riku standing in front of her. There was something on his face she couldn't explain. She looked down and noticed she had her arms around him. She quickly let go, taking a couple steps back.

Aleron checked out her clothing, which she noticed as her white under paddings for her armor. The white tank top and the tight shorts that reached to her knees. On her feet were those brown leather boots. She realized that she was actually back in her body. She was whole again! She gasped happily, twirling and jumping around. She was back! Looking back up at Riku, she saw he was... confused?

"Riku?" she whispered, taking a step forward.

"You're really back?" he whispered in return. "It felt weird, like something is missing from inside me again." He studied the medium length dirty blonde hair, which was a bit longer than Kairi's, with her front bangs dyed very blonde. He looked at her blue nose stud on the right side of her nose. And noticed that her skin, which was usually fair, with a bit tan, had become darker. He smiled at the sight of her. He noticed she was in the same state of dress as he was, wearing their under armor padding and boots.

Giggling, Aleron hugged him around the waist. "Probably because I was in with you way too long. You'll get used to it again," she said.

"Yeah," he said. She felt his arms go around her shoulders. She grinned in his shirt. "I'm glad you're back..."

Looking up, she nodded, "Yeah I know." She let go of him. "Okay! We gotta finish this. Can I have the keyblade?"

"Yeah, Aleron!" Sora yelled, grinning. He slapped Riku's back and the silver-haired boy hissed. Sora backed away with a nervous chuckle.

Riku handed over the keyblade and watched as Aleron closed her eyes in focus and soon, the keyblade turned bright and began to float in the air.

Sora and Riku both watched in amazement as the dark aura of the Blade faded away and was replaced with a brighter, pure one. The blade was white, with silver swirls shaped like a key. There was a silver, star shaped keychain hanging from the handle. It was a very elegant keyblade. No wonder it was the most powerful one out there.

Their eyes followed it as it descended back into Aleron's hands. She opened her sapphire orbs and smiled up at them, bringing the blade into their view.

"Whoa..." Sora breathed.

"That was awesome!" Riku shouted. He slid his hand along the surface and nodded at Aleron. "You know what you have to do. We'll help you if you need us."

Aleron sighed, studying the Blade of Hope. Peering back up at the boys, she gave them a determined grin. "Let's destroy the Beast!"

She had just turned her back, and the three of them had begun to run towards the bigger battle, when a noise stopped them.

Turning their heads, they found Van pushing himself to stand up. He flashed them a malevolent smirk.

"Don't think you got away yet," he hissed.

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End Chapter Thirteen.

A/N: Yay! Aleron's back and things are moving! Well, we still gotta get Van out of the way! Reviews please! Two chapters in one day, that's a treat! I'm working on the next one, so I might finish it today. Check for it though!

Next time- Chapter Fourteen: The Memory of Van