Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Kingdom Hearts: Castle of Darkness, Heart of Light ❯ The Dark Wolf ( Chapter 7 )

Riku ran alongside Keirii, their paces matched despite her being smaller than him. Running at Riku's other side was Sora and Kairi. Behind them were Leon and Aerith, followed by Yuffie, Cid and Tifa. King Mickey, flanked by Donald and Goofy, ran ahead. They had taken a different way than Cloud, but Riku knew that once they finished off Sather, they would turn around and join up with Cloud. They were going up higher into the castle and seemed to be getting closer. The places up here looked more lived in than everything down stairs. Suddenly, Keirii stopped and if it wasn't for Leon's quick reflexes, he would have plowed into her. Riku stopped and looked back at Keirii. She stood still and Riku could almost see the wolf in her; alert and seeming like she caught whiff of something. Suddenly, Keirii leaned back, lifted her leg, and kicked in the door she stopped in front of. “I sense him in here,” was all she said before going in, her sword appearing in her hand. Riku followed her, with everyone else behind him. They came into a library. The shelves that must have once held thousands of books were now empty and coated with cobwebs. They weaved through the shelves and got to the center of the library; an open area where tables and chairs must have once sat.

 

As they came to the area, Neoshadows surfaced from the shadows on the floors and walls. Riku looked around, but there was no way to go forward but to defeat the heartless that stood before them. He held out his Keyblade, saying, “Okay, all the heartless; getting a little annoying…”

 

“Tell me about it,” Sora said beside him, holding his own Keyblade. “Bring out the boss already.”

 

“Both of you,” Kairi said, “stop complaining and fight.” Then the red head sprang forward and began to swing her floral Keyblade at the Neoshadows. Everyone spread out again, took fighting stances and began to fight. These Neoshadows seemed more aggressive than the last bunch. Riku fought alongside Sora this time, the two of them using their combos together to create an even more powerful attack. They took out heartless left and right, but this time, more kept coming back. Riku took out one Neoshadow and two more came to take its place. He snarled as he found himself back to back with Sora, more heartless around him than he had started with.

 

“Screw this,” he heard Keirii say somewhere close by and then suddenly, a snarling filled the room. He looked around to see the large silver and blue wolf jump down on a Neoshadow, ripping the head off with her fangs and then go to another in less than two seconds.

 

“Glad she's on our side,” Sora said, watching Keirii take out the heartless.

 

“Yeah,” Riku said before turning back to the fight. Despite all of their efforts in taking out the heartless, more came to replace the ones destroyed. Riku let out a yell and slammed into several heartless, his sword cutting through them. This was beginning to turn out like the fight against all the Shadows in the corridors, except the Neoshadows were a lot tougher to take out. The time it took Riku to take out one Neoshadow, he could take out three, if not four, Shadows. He was beginning to grow weary, and he could tell that he wasn't the only one. Nearby, Yuffie jumped to catch her shuriken and stumbled slightly when she landed. Cid's swing of his weapon wasn't as powerful as it had been in the beginning. Donald and Goofy's movements were slowing down and it kept going from there. Everyone was tiring and Aerith was doing everything she could to keep up all of their strength. Riku knew that all of them would keep going until the fight was done, but this was nothing for what was coming up ahead. Sather is wearing us out, so he can easily take us out, since his first plan failed, Riku thought, and all of these heartless means that he is still alive, somehow…

 

Suddenly, as quickly as they had appeared, the heartless vanished. Riku spun around, wondering what was going on. He looked over at Sora, who shrugged. Everyone grouped together and Aerith did a quick healing spell on all of them, returning most of their strength back. Riku frowned as he looked around the room. “Something isn't right,” he said.

 

Leon nodded and walked around the room, searching in the shadows. Coming back, he shook his head. “Not a heartless in sight,” he said, “They all disappeared.”

 

A loud clapping filled the room and they all spun around to see a black robed and cloaked man walk in from the opposite door. Riku didn't need to see the glowing yellow eyes under the hood to know who this was; it was Sather. Beside him, Keirii, back in her human form, snarled angrily and everyone stood in fighting stances. Sather stopped a few feet in front of them. He stopped clapping and stared at all of them. There was a long stretch of silence and then Sather spoke in the deep cold voice that Riku had heard come out of Cloud's mouth when he was under control.

 

“Well done,” the Dark Mage said, “I never expected you to come this far. But, alas, this is the farthest you will go.”

 

“We were after you,” Sora said, holding his Keyblade in front of him, “so you just made things easier for us.”

 

Sather laughed and looked at Sora. “Feisty one, aren't you? You are different from other Keyblade wielders. All three of you are. Who would have thought that I would actually get three Keyblade wielders in my grasp at the same time?”

 

“You don't have us yet,” Riku said, pointing his Keyblade at Sather. “This is the end of the line for you.”

 

Sather tilted his head, shifting his eyes on Riku. “You're Keyblade is quite unique, isn't it? A sign to remind you of your dark past, yes?”

 

Riku glared at Sather but before he could say anything, Keirii stepped forward. She glared at Sather, hatred glowing in her eyes. “Bastard,” she growled, “I never thought I would have to face you. We thought you were killed years ago.”

 

Sather chuckled and said, “Keirii, the granddaughter of F'lan, the past leader and general of the Mountain Tribe army that had fought against me one hundred years ago. A pity that I have to kill you, just as I had killed your grandfather.”

 

Keirii stared at him and asked, “How? How are you alive after all of these years?”

 

Sather said nothing, but instead lifted his hands to his hood. He pulled it back, revealing a face that seemed young, but ancient at the same time. He had long, sleek black hair and his eyes glowed gold. He smiled wickedly and said, “I'm sure you know the legend of this world, how it had once been the world of the Wolfkin. And how it had been destroyed by the darkness and the Wolfkin that didn't escape became the darkness itself. Well, let's just say that I'm that darkness. I live off of this world and it lives off of me; and we both live off the dark souls of the Wolfkin who had died here.”

 

Keirii stared in horror and it dawned on Riku of what this man was. Keirii stepped back slightly and said, “You're a Wolfkin.”

 

Sather laughed again and as he did, his mouth seemed to stretch and lengthen. “You could say that,” he said with a grin that was full of sharp teeth. “I am neither human nor Wolfkin. I am the darkness that had brought this world to its long, bitter end. Before, I could control the darkness of Wolfkin hearts, but now, I have the ability to gain control of the darkness of all hearts.” Sather quickly thrust his hand out, a hand with wicked black claws, and reached out at Riku.

 

Blinding pain seared from Riku's chest and it felt like his heart was being ripped apart from all angles. His Keyblade dropped from his nerveless fingers and he dropped to his knees onto the floor. Beside him, Sora dropped beside him, shaking his shoulders, crying out his name. The world was spinning around Riku and he heard a screaming which he realized was his own. The pain grew more and Riku wanted nothing more than for the pain to stop, for him to die…

 

There was a terrible snarling and the pain stopped. Riku gasped for air as he fell forward, catching himself with his hands. He stayed like that, trembling, his body covered with sweat. Beside him, Sora had his hand on his arm, to catch him if he passed out. Riku caught his breath and then realized that the snarling hadn't stopped. Lifting his head, he could see Keirii and Sather in front of him. To his left, Keirii, who was a silver and blue wolf once more and to his right, Sather, who was now a jet black wolf with evil yellow eyes. Riku was helped to his feet by Sora and he wrapped an arm around his friend's shoulder, allowing Sora to support him. His legs felt like rubber and didn't seem to want to hold him up at the moment. Sora took a grip of his belt at the back with one hand and held on to the wrist of Riku's arm that was over his shoulders with the other. Riku looked down at his Keyblade and called it back to him with his free hand. Kairi rushed over to Riku's other side and looked up at him, worry in her eyes. Riku smiled and nodded to her. Coming up beside him, Leon held his gunblade ready to attack Sather and Riku could sense behind him that the others were preparing for the attack.

 

“Go to Cloud,” Keirii said without looking at them, “and get Riku out of here.” She stood facing Sather, her fangs bared and her tail held high in aggression. Sather stood casually in front of her, as if everything was only a game to him.

 

“Keirii,” Riku said, his voice hoarse.

 

Keirii looked at him for a moment and a slight smile appeared. “Go on, Riku. I can't allow him to do that to you again. I will see you soon.” Then she turned back to Sather and with a snarl, sprang up into the air. Sather jumped up and met her and the two wolves collided and went by each other, slashing with their fangs.

 

Sora led Riku out of the room and back down the corridors. Riku walked the best he could, which was basically dragging his feet along. Once they were a safe distance away, Aerith cast Curaga on him. Riku held on to Sora until he was able to stand easily and walk. King Mickey came around in front of him and looked at Riku, eyes filled with just as much worry as Kairi had had. “Are you alright, Riku?” he asked.

 

“Yeah,” Riku said, nodding, “I'll be alright.” He rested a hand over his heart and asked, “What did he do to me?”

 

“I believe that he took a hold of the dark part that is inside you and used it to cause you pain,” Mickey said, “I don't think there is enough darkness inside of you for him to control you, only to rip your heart and cause it extreme pain. He probably would have killed you if Keirii hadn't jumped at him when she did.”

 

“It felt like… like my heart was being ripped to pieces.”

 

Mickey nodded and said, “I had never seen such power before, but I had heard of it.”

 

“Well, let's hope we never see that again,” Cid said, shouldering his long spear, “That sent chills right down my spine, seeing Riku contort like that. Something you would read in a horror book or something.”

 

Yuffie nodded and looked scared. “I thought Riku was going to die, the way he was screaming.”

 

Tifa walked over to Riku and looked at him. “Are you alright to move on?”

 

Riku nodded and said, “Let's go. I'm really in the mood now to kill something.”

 

Leon nodded and said, “We'll get up to Cloud, and see if we can help. If not, well, I'm sure we're going to be running into some more heartless.”

 

Everyone headed forward, but Riku looked back. He couldn't hear the sound of the fight anymore, but he knew that it was still going on. He wanted to go back and help Keirii and take out Sather, but before he could move, Mickey placed a hand on his arm and Riku looked down at the small King. Mickey shook his head and said, “Although we all came to take out Sather, this is Keirii's fight now. She is fighting for the pride of her people. And she doesn't want you to get hurt again. She knows that Sather will try what he did to you again to distract her. As long as you are away from Sather, the easier it will be for Keirii to fight.”

 

Riku nodded, but he looked back still, a feeling inside of him telling him that he wasn't going to see her again. Mickey must have noticed because he said, “She'll be fine, I know it. She is strong, in both will and heart.”

 

Riku looked at the King and nodded again. Then the two of them turned and headed after the others, in the direction of where Cloud was probably still fighting Sephiroth.

 

~*~

 

Keirii landed on her feet and spun around. Her sides were streaked with blood; her own and Sather's. She faced Sather, who had wounds of his own along his body. Adrenaline was rushing through her body and she snarled as she lunged at Sather again. He ran at her and she ripped by him, taking a chunk from his shoulder with her fangs. She turned and the two of them circled each other, fangs bared, fur bristling. Sather's eyes glowed with an evil light that Keirii had never seen in a Wolfkin before. It sent shivers down her spine and if she wasn't well trained to face anything, she would have been cowering and tearing off with her tail between her legs. No one has ever faced him before, she thought, not like this. She stopped and glared at Sather, still growling deep in her throat. “What is your purpose for wanting the Keyblade bearers?”

 

Sather smiled and lifted his head high. “To take their hearts and power and becoming the most powerful creature that has ever touched the darkness. I planned to take over the worlds, one by one. I planned to take out that witch Maleficent and her crony Pete, so nothing could stand in my way. I would have become more powerful than Xemnas, Ansem and even his Majesty King Mickey. I would gain control, taking the hearts of all of the strong and powerful of each world, and convert all into darkness.”

 

“What a wonderful plan,” Keirii snorted, tossing her head. “But, you forgot one thing.”

 

Sather cackled, his eyes wild, and said, “And what is that?”

 

“Light,” Keirii said, “No matter how much darkness there may be, there will always be light to fight it back. You should have seen it in Cloud, when, despite all of that darkness in his heart, he managed to beat back your control over him with what light he had. Riku, who had been in the very heart of the darkness, managed to break free with the light he had in his heart. There will always be light to fight back the darkness, or this universe would have been plagued in darkness long ago, just like this world. Every human, every creature in this universe has a darkness in them; jealously, hatred, envy. But, there is a light that will always keep it at bay; hope, friendship, love. There will always be a light that never goes out.”

 

Sather tilted his head, a wicked smile on his face. “Then, I shall be the one who will rid this universe of its light. Light cannot exist forever. Sooner or later, either darkness or light will win, and I shall be the one who will allow darkness to win.”

 

“You're wrong,” Keirii snarled, “Light and darkness are eternal. Neither one or the other will cease to exist.”

 

“We shall see about that,” Sather hissed and he lunged at Keirii. Keirii lunged at him and they collided. She reared up onto her hind legs and began to rip and tear at the black wolf. Sather rose up onto his hind legs as well and they snarled and clawed at each other with both fangs and claws. Keirii dropped back down to all fours and clamped her fangs into his side. Sather snarled and whipped his head around and bit down onto the top of her hip. She felt bones crack and she bucked him off before he shattered her hip bones. He threw her down and Keirii slammed into the wall. She quickly pushed herself up, feeling blood run down the sides of both her hind legs. With another snarl she lunged at him, using all the strength she had in her hind legs to throw herself at him. Sather turned to meet her attack, but Keirii ducked low and clamped her fangs into his throat.

 

Sather roared and slashed open her shoulder right to the bone and Keirii yelped and jumped back. She looked at her shoulder, shook off the pain and charged in again. Sather slammed into her, driving her into the wall as he clamped his jaws onto her back. Keirii howled with pain, but she whipped her head around and crunched down onto his front left leg, shattering the bone. Sather threw her across the room where she slammed into the other wall. Keirii slid down the wall and laid there on her side, hurting everywhere.

 

“You see,” Sather whispered, slowly limping towards her, his front left leg dangling in front of him. Keirii tried to stand as he got closer, but her hind legs had gone numb for the moment. Sather came up to her and pressed a heavy paw onto her neck, pressing down slightly. “Darkness is stronger than light. You should see that now; you, a heart of light, defeated by me, a heart of darkness. It only proves that darkness will always be stronger.”

 

Keirii glared up at him and laughed softly. “Again,” she whispered, “you're wrong.” Then she threw up her head, dislodging his paw from her neck with her sudden burst of strength, and ripped open his throat.

 

Sather tried to scream out, but there was only an explosion of blood. Sather stumbled back, his life blood pouring onto the floor. He dropped to his side and lay there, dying. Keirii stood up and went over to him. Her right hind leg was useless now and she could hardly put any weight on it. She needed to be cured and have about a week of rest to get back to normal. She stared down at Sather, whose eyes were wide in surprise. “Light,” Keirii told him, “can never be defeated.”

 

“How?” Sather choked out, “How did you beat me? I was so much more powerful than you.”

 

“The light inside of me is my power. I gain strength from it. Those who wallow in darkness begin to lose that strength and soon, they found themselves beaten. You lost Sather. After so many years, you finally lost.”

 

To Keirii's surprise, Sather began to laugh softly. “I may be beaten, but, what of your brother. If I'm right, he should be about dead about now. You may have beaten me, but at the cost of the life you cherish the most.”

 

Keirii stared at Sather and she pressed her paw down. “What do you mean?” she snarled, but she got no answer; Sather was dead. Even as she removed her paw, the body of the black wolf turned to ash. Suddenly, the ground shook and Keirii lifted up her head as dust fell from the ceiling. She realized that with Sather's death, the world was beginning to crumble as well. They had an hour, maybe two at the most.

 

“Cloud,” she whispered softly. She turned and ran as quickly as she could down the corridors. Up ahead, she heard the sounds of battle, so she took a detour. She needed to get to Cloud, because if what Sather said was true, then her brother didn't have a lot of time left. I had made a promise to protect him, she said to herself as she ran, and I will keep that promise.

 

Even if it kills me.