Chapter 18: Reunion in Battle

Hours later, Sora groggily woke up. He noticed that he was chained to the walls of the gigantic dungeon along with everyone else. They all started coming around.

"Ow", said Sora, "What...what happened?"

"I didn’t have you all killed, genius", replied Sharak, "That’s what happened."

Everyone looked to see Sharak along with the entire Council of Darkness gathered alongside him.

"I thought I might as well let you see one more thing before you all die", smiled the emperor, "It will be most entertaining watching you squirm before the lights go out and it’s the end of the show."

Sharak sneered and seethed with hatred as he turned to Ansem. He ran up to the researcher and viciously hit him in the face.

"And YOU!!!" roared the creature, "Out of all the people in the entire universe, I thought that YOU would be the one that would understand and appreciate better than anyone else what I am trying so hard to accomplish. You researched the heart. You understood how everything works. You appreciated how everything is supposed to work. You brought the Heartless back to life. You created new Heartless. You followed in my footsteps in the quest for truth. As hard as it is to believe, you made me proud. YOU!!! The so-called seeker of darkness! And then you seek the ULTIMATE darkness, and what do you do?"

Sharak then proceeded to lay into Ansem with brutal fury, striking the researcher again and again.

"YOU CHICKEN OUT!!! YOU DISGRACE THE HEARTLESS!!! YOU DISGRACE THE UNIVERSE!!! YOU DISGRACE EVERYTHING INCLUDING YOURSELF!!! YOU WORTHLESS PARASITE!!! YOU PATHETIC..."

"Leave him alone!" shouted Leon. Sharak stopped his assault and swung round to face him. He then burst into laughter.

"Oh, this is rich!", chuckled the source of all darkness, "This is so rich! Squall "the failure" Leonheart, sticking up for his former master! The one that made sure mister "personality of the year" lost everything he FAILED to protect! You just CAN’T get any better comedy than that! So, go on then, FAILURE! Say why you’re standing up for him! Is it because all failures have to stick together?!"

"It’s because he’s now realised the truth", said Leon, "He’s realised what ALL intelligent beings know. That all darkness gets erased. That’s something you’re too stupid to accept."

"Liar", sneered the creature, "Darkness is vastly superior to light. I should know, I conquered the universe, rid it of light. And that was at the very beginning."

"If you’re so superior", said Yuffie, "Why did you get your butt handed to you by Sora?"

"Quiet, broad", replied Sharak as he smacked Yuffie in the face. Everyone sneered at Sharak. Hercules, Adam and Genie all tried to break free but just couldn’t.

"Honestly, chaps! Do you all really think I’d be dumb enough to let you all in here without a leash of some kind? Those chains can counter anything you use against them. And now that that’s all sorted, onto business. As you all know, my mission to obtain the darkness from Hollow Bastion’s keyhole was a complete success. I am now a quarter of the way back to how I was. It is now time to continue my restoration, and the best way to do that, is to get the lovely darkness that resides in Kingdom Hearts."

"Kingdom Hearts is light!" argued Sora, "It..."

"As much as I would just love to gut you to keep you quiet", seethed Sharak, "I am afraid I will just have to explain this to you by finishing off my speech and then killing you all in style. As much as I hate to admit this, there is no denying that Kingdom Hearts is both dark AND light. Hearts are born there. Those who are evil have hearts born from the dark, those who are good have hearts born from the light. All I need to do is just take all the darkness that there is from the heart of all worlds and that will further my regeneration. I will then take all the necessary steps left to completely restoring myself to my fullest potential. When that happens, I will corrupt everything that there is to corrupt. All light will fade, permanently this time, the universe will be mine again and the council shall rule all."

"You’re insane", sneered the Keybearer.

"So you noticed", giggled Sharak. Sora was teetering on the edge of rage when Sharak had said that last sentence in Kairi’s voice.

"And I think it’s now officially time to resurface the door. Of course, rather then go to all the hard work and trouble of going to where Kingdom Hearts was and try and reopen it from there, I think I’ll choose the easiest option of them all...and bring Kingdom Hearts right here."

Everyone looked on in surprise as Sharak held his hands high above, his eyes and mouth glowing incredibly bright red light, looking like his head was about to explode.

"Kingdom Hearts!" began Sharak, "Hear the call of the source of all darkness! Return to me what I put inside you all those millennia ago! Reveal yourself to me! Give me back what you owe me!"

Using his incredible power, the enormous door to the heart of all worlds materialised right in the gigantic dungeon of Castle Sharak. The whole fortress shuddered violently along with everything else inside it. Seconds later, Kingdom Hearts appeared right in the heart of the castle.

"You see", explained Sharak, "After putting darkness in people’s hearts, I realised that Kingdom Hearts would keep on producing fresh hearts NOT blessed with darkness. So I put darkness in there as well so hearts would ALWAYS be born with darkness. When I was destroyed, part of me ended up being added to the darkness already in Kingdom Hearts. The same goes for Hollow Bastion’s keyhole. That’s how I was able to regenerate myself. I’ve already reclaimed all that I lost at Hollow Bastion, now I’ll reclaim all that I gave and lost to Kingdom Hearts. I only just remembered this a few days ago by the way."

The giant door slowly crept open and Sharak held his hands out towards it.

"That’s it, baby", smiled the creature, "Come to daddy."

The door burst open and a torrent of darkness flooded from Kingdom Hearts. It completely covered Sharak as he laughed, feeling the incredible surge of power return to him. Minutes later, Sharak had taken every trace of darkness that there was from the now open door.

"And now that you have all witnessed that little ceremony", smiled Sharak, "You may watch each other, or rather hear each other as your eyes will be closed because of the pain, die."

Tendrils shot of Sharak and connected to all of the prisoner’s hearts. They all screamed in agony as they felt the insidious darkness poison them. All the other council members smiled. They realised that Sharak was coming closer and closer to having his sanity restored. Maleficent and Sephiroth still continued to watch the proceedings with interest.

"Now is the time to reclaim my prize", spoke Sharak, "Now is the time for all my enemies to fall and all worlds to bow before their rightful ruler once again. It is time for the reign of Emperor Sharak to begin anew! Now is the time for...AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!"

Sharak screamed as the power of the Keyblade went straight through him. A great hole appeared in his chest and he lost control of his tendrils. Everyone gasped in relief as the pain in their hearts stopped. They all looked in surprise to see what had happened.

"The legend himself!" shouted Adam.

"YOUR MAJESTY!!!" shouted Donald and Goofy.

Sure enough, King Mickey had returned. After escaping to the door to the light and being safe there for two years, the king had finally managed to return through Kingdom Hearts, having now been opened thanks to Sharak.

"The king!" roared Sephiroth as he rushed into the attack. Mickey continued tearing into Sharak with his Keyblade. He turned around to see the One Winged Angel coming at him. The king of Disney Castle blocked Sephiroth’s attack and knocked him down with a counter attack. The other council members rushed into the ambush. Mickey Mouse used all his magic to hold the enemies at bay whilst he ran around striking whatever moved.

"Fool!" roared Jafar, "Your power pales in comparison to ours!"

The royal vizier assumed his genie form and hurled showers of cosmic fireballs at the king, who only just managed to move out of harm’s way.

"Meteors of Heaven!" called out Maleficent, "Unleash thy..."

The sorceress never got a chance to finish her spell. She fell to the ground after being taken down from behind. She slowly got up to see her attacker running around punching away at Oogie Boogie.

"You", sneered Maleficent, "Bolts of lightning! Strike him down!"

Riku saw what was going to happen and only just managed to roll out of harm’s way. Mickey continued his attack, clearly refusing to give up. He attacked Ursula and managed to stun her long enough to hold the other members of the Council of Darkness at bay. Sharak groggily stood up and turned to see his attacker.

"YOU AGAIN!!!" roared the creature. He held his hands high into the air and charged them with all his power. He summoned the giant Heartless that looked similar to Sharak, the ones that had subdued Sora and the others.

"Goliaths!" shouted Sharak, "Destroy the king!"

The Goliaths moved towards the king and looked down on him. Mickey had just knocked Hades to one side when one of the giant Heartless got ready to unleash its laser breath on him. Riku had just avoided a sword swipe from Captain Hook when he noticed what the Heartless was going to do.

"Your majesty!" yelled Riku as he ran over to save Mickey, "Watch out!"

Riku dived at the king, moving him out of the path of the devastating blast. Sharak growled in fury as he summoned Invisibles.

"Destroy the boy!" yelled the emperor.

Mickey realised that they needed help. He held his Keyblade high in the air and the manacles on Sharak’s prisoners became unlocked. Sora and the others ran to engage the Heartless. Weapons clashed with one another, Heartless fell to pieces and supernatural powers conflicted with others. Riku was kicked in the face by Sephiroth and fell to the floor. The One Winged Angel closed in for the kill only to be knocked to his feet by a hurled Keyblade. Riku instantly recognised whom the Keyblade belong to.

"Riku!"

"Sora!"

The two stood in front of one another, unknowing in terms of what to say to one another. After a few seconds of silence between the two, Riku spoke.

"I’ve missed you, Sora."

"And I’ve missed you too, Riku."

The two friends clasped hands with one another and smiled, happy to be reunited again.

"Your majesty!" smiled Donald and Goofy as they ran up to their king. Mickey smiled at them.

"It’s good to see you again, my friends!" replied Mickey. The king turned to Adam, smiling at the Saviour’s brother.

"You’ve grown up a lot, Adam. And you’ve become so strong. Your father and brother would be proud."

"Thank you, your majesty", smiled Adam as a tear fell from his eye, "How did you..."

"Me and Riku have been with you all this whole time. Trust me, we know."

Sora turned to see Sharak slowly tip-toeing away. The creature stopped to see the Keybearer looking at him. The emperor grinned and burst into laughter, gesturing Sora to come after him as he ran out of the dungeon.

"Get him, Sora!" said Adam as he ran to attack the Invisibles, "Finish him off!"

"But..."

"Go!" said Donald, "We’ll take care of these guys!"

"Give him what’s comin’ to him, Sora!" cheered Goofy as he charged into Oogie Boogie.

"Sora, you’ll need help!" shouted Riku.

"Okay!" agreed the Keybearer.

"Here, my friend", said King Mickey as he gave his Keyblade to Riku, "You’ll need this."

"What about you?"

"I’ll be fine. You need it more than me."

Riku smiled and accepted the Keyblade.

"Thank you."

"Good luck to both of you", smiled the king. With that, Sora and Riku ran out of the dungeon to face Sharak. Mickey and the others continued to battle the other council members and the Heartless. Adam and Hercules ran up to a Goliath and used their combined strength to hoist the giant creature above their heads and throw it by its legs at a large majority of Invisibles, flattening them instantly.

Aladdin, Carpet and Genie engaged Jafar, Peter Pan engaged Captain Hook, Jack Skellington battled Oogie Boogie and Hercules fought Hades. Old grudges resurfaced along with desires to settle old scores. Meanwhile, Adam, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Ansem, Leon, Cloud, Yuffie and Beast proceeded to battle Ursula and the Heartless. A series of brutal conflicts followed, resulting in a titanic confrontation taking place. No-one seemed to notice Maleficent and Sephiroth slipping away from the battle.

"Time for a somewhat "panicked retreat", wouldn’t you say, Maleficent?"

"Indeed. We have far more important matters to attend to."

Meanwhile, the two Keybearers raced through the castle, looking for Sharak.

"Where do you think he’ll be?" asked Riku.

"At a guess, his throne room", said Sora.

"Do you think we can stop him?"

"No problem! Let’s do it!"

Riku smiled and then a look of shame appeared on his face.

"Look, Sora...about two years ago...about Kairi, I...I just want you to know that..."

"Riku, stop", said Sora as he skidded to a halt. Riku did the same, "It’s the past. I know you’re sorry...and so am I."

"What for?"

"I failed Kairi. I tried to save her! I swear I did! And...and I know nothing I say can..."

"You tried", said Riku, "You did what you could. No-one can ask for more of you. The desire to save her was there."

"My exact words to you", replied Sora, "You chose your own path to save Kairi."

"And so did you", smiled Riku.

"Do you think it can ever be the same again between us?"

"We have to try. And I accept you and Kairi. The two of you together."

"Do you...do you really mean that?"

Riku smiled. His face said it all. Sora smiled back.

"Come on", said Sora, "We can still save her."

"I know", replied Riku, "But it’s gonna be difficult."

"Just remember. No matter how deep the darkness, a light shines within."

"Do you truly believe that, Sora?"

"You KNOW I do. And I know that deep down, you believe in that as well...friend."

The two best friends smiled and hugged each other. United and ready for battle, the two Keybearers continued their way through the castle. Minutes later, they arrived at the throne room. Sure enough, Sharak was there, sitting in his throne.

"Two little Keybearers", sang the creature, "Hanging dead from a tree. Making the winner...little...old...me."

Sora and Riku bought forth their Keyblades and readied themselves for battle.

"You know", said Sharak, "I’ll never be able to understand why you keep fighting. I threw absolutely everything including the kitchen sink at you and it didn’t work. I implanted those nightmares in your head, I set Jaron against you and killed him in front of your own eyes, I took Pluto and Kairi and ate them alive and NONE of that discouraged you. No matter how many tragedies you suffered, no matter what I, the Heartless, or indeed the Council of Darkness lay in front of you, you ALWAYS found a way to deal with it. Overcome the pain and try and stop me. You always prevailed. AND I HATE YOU FOR IT!!! I LOATHE YOUR REFUSAL TO GIVE UP AND DIE!!! I DESPISE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE!!! WELL ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!! I’LL RIP YOU APART WITH MY TEETH AND THEN IMPALE YOUR BEST FRIEND FROM BOTH THE INSIDE AND OUT!!!"

"You can’t beat this team!" yelled Sora.

"OH YEAH??!!"

Sharak leapt out of his throne and ran towards the two Keybearers. The two friends speed-dashed towards the creature with their Keyblades held outwards in front of them. Sharak screamed as the weapons were impaled right through his chest and the light burned inside him. Sora and Riku removed their Keyblades from Sharak and the creature staggered backward with his clawed hand held over his wound. He laughed and laughed as he took his hand off his chest and showed his severe injury. The two Keybearers could see right through Sharak.

"That’s one point for your side, kids!" smiled the emperor, "But you’re forgetting I can regenerate from any damage done to me. Just like...that?!"

Sharak tried as hard as he could, but couldn’t heal the hole. He continued desperately to regenerate but there was nothing he could do.

"How?" said the creature, "Why? I obtained great power! How can this be happening?!"

"Your insanity is eating away at you", said Riku, "You’ve allowed you’re madness to grow like a cancer, one that’s hindered you ever since your refusal to believe that Sora is that much better than you. It’s hindering your control over your powers as well as impairing the influence and control you have over your followers. And all the power you accumulate isn’t going to help you as long as you remain in this crazed state of mind."

"Remember what I said before, Sharak?" asked Sora, "All the darkness in the universe can’t help you. Time to start wishing, I think."

Sharak seethed in fury. His eyes and mouth glowing bright red.

"I’LL KILL YOU FOR THIS!!!" roared the creature as he summoned a thunderstorm that struck the two friends viciously, "THIS IS YOUR FAULT!!! IF YOU TWO HADN’T EXISTED, I WOULDN’T HAVE THIS CRAZY OBSSESSION!!! IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT!!! YOU SHOULD HAVE FOLLOWED THE RULES AND BEEN GOOD LITTLE BOYS!!! INSTEAD YOU CHOSE TO BE MY GREATEST ENEMIES AND TICK ME OFF!!!"

Sharak kicked Riku in the face before turning to headbutt Sora. Spikes came out of his fist and he thrust it at Riku whilst he was still on the ground. Riku rolled out of the way and clashed with the source of all darkness as he altered his right arm into a mace.

"You’re wrong, Sharak", said Riku as he avoided the deadly weapon, "It was YOU that chose the option to make us suffer. It was YOU that decided to become obsessed with us. You bought all of this on yourself."

"We’re not your greatest enemy, Sharak", said Sora as he recovered and joined in on the attack, "You are!"

The Keybearer unleashed a Sonic Blade attack on Sharak. Stunned and wide open, Sharak soon fell prey to a spinning attack from Riku. The spinning Keyblade slashed Sharak again and again. Sharak tried using his telepathy.

It didn’t work.

Sora delivered a Ragnarok attack to the emperor, which tore into him some more. The Impact fireballs hit him hard. The source of all darkness tried using his telekinesis.

It didn’t work.

Riku leapt at Sharak and hit his shoulder hard with his Keyblade. The creature screamed and tried to teleport to get away.

It didn’t work.

Riku was right. Sharak had allowed his insanity to develop to a stage where it had affected him physically as well as mentally. He was unable to utilise any new powers he had obtained and was prevented from using regeneration, teleportation, telepathy, telekinesis, psychic attacks or metamorphosis. He could only rely on strength, speed, magic, solidification and his ability to defy gravity. Sharak’s madness had blurred his focus and had severely damaged his once solid hold over everything he had complete control over. The two Keybearers knew they had the advantage.

Riku and Sora charged all their power into their Keyblades and hurled them at Sharak. They plunged deep into the emperor’s left arm. The creature screamed as the combined power became too much for his arm to handle. His entire left arm disintegrated. The dark monster howled in total agony and rage as he ran to the two Keyblade masters. Their weapons returned to them and they leapt at a berserk source of all darkness. They swung their Keyblades at the creature’s face. The combined power was inflicted on the right side of Sharak’s face. His screams echoed throughout the entire castle as the light corroded away at his face.

Sora and Riku looked at a greatly injured Sharak and wondered how he could still be standing. He’d suffered a hole through his chest, he’d lost his left arm and half of his face was now destroyed. The regenerative creature couldn’t heal.

Only suffer. His mind was now completely beyond repair.

To him, all of this was unbelievable. Sheer fantasy.

It couldn’t happen to him. He was unbeatable. Invincible.

Sharak fired a laser from his remaining eye that knocked the Keyblade out of Sora’s hand. The source of all darkness ran up to Sora and viciously punched him in the face. Sora went flying across the room where he landed in a heap against the wall. The emperor then headbutted Riku, grabbed the Keyblade in his hand, wrested it from his grasp, threw it to one side and kicked Riku in the face, knocking him flat on his back.

Riku tried to get back up only for Sharak to leap down on him, pin him down and choke him with his remaining arm. Riku gasped for air as he looked up at the heavily damaged and enormously grotesque face of the creature that had been driven totally over the edge.

"DIE!!!"

Riku gasped for air and Sharak certainly wasn’t going to give it to him. A sinister smile appeared on the emperor’s half-face as he realised that he was finally going to be rid of one Keybearer before moving onto the next.

Or so he thought.

"Enough!" yelled Sora as he struck Sharak in the back of the head with his Keyblade. The creature let go immediately and staggered forward both madly and painfully.

"THIS..."

Sora and Riku continuously used their Keyblades on Sharak again.

"ENDS..."

And again.

"NOW!!!" shouted the two Keyblade masters in unison as they sent Sharak flying across the throne room. The source of all darkness crashed against his throne before falling down the stairs that lead up to it. He slowly got up shaking violently.

"Im...im...im-poss-ible..."

"Thank you for making our decision for us, Keybearers", replied Sephiroth.

Sora and Riku looked in surprise to see the One Winged Angel standing behind Sharak. The creature didn’t have the strength to turn around.

"And thank YOU, Sharak, for your more than generous contribution."

Sharak screamed as Sephiroth impaled him on his sword. After having the One Winged Angel’s weapon pulled out of his body, Sharak slowly turned around to see Maleficent in her Dragon form towering over him. The creature howled as the Dragon breathed fire all over him, before falling flat on his face and Maleficent flattening her former leader with her clawed foot. Sora and Riku looked on in total shock as Maleficent and Sephiroth mused round the remains of Sharak, which soon disappeared into nothingness. The mistress of all evil and the One Winged Angel chuckled about how well their plan had gone.

"You were planning to betray him all along?!" asked Sora.

"No. His once brilliant mind allowed us to obtain what we want without having to resort to betrayal", explained Maleficent as she returned to her human form, "His dive into madness made us act."

"We didn’t destroy him", said Sephiroth, "His obsession did."

The two villains looked at the two Keybearers.

"And now, with his insanity no longer around to damage our goals", continued the One Winged Angel, "We can realise his brilliant plan and remarkable dreams for him. We shall rule in his place as his successors and as a mark of respect for his amazing brilliance."

"And we will do what Sharak NEVER could", smiled Maleficent, "We will rid this universe of you two once and for all. My apologies, my dear Riku. I thought we could have accomplished so much together, you and I, but alas, it was not meant to be."

"That’s something I don’t deny", replied Riku.

"Surprising, isn’t it?" remarked Sephiroth, "All these sudden turn of events."

"Oh, I couldn’t agree more."

Sephiroth and Maleficent swung round in horror only to be impaled on the sword blade arms of a resurrected Sharak. The two villains fell off his arms and died. Sora and Riku couldn’t believe what was happening.

"You never did have the stomach, or more appropriately, the heart for true darkness, did you, Maleficent?" asked the emperor, "You surprised me though, Sephiroth. I would have thought that a master of such power could take a little more than most humans could."

The bodies of the traitors then disappeared into nothingness.

"Did they really think that their deceit and treachery would go unnoticed by me? Did those two idiots think that they could manipulate and betray ultimate darkness? I thought that they were intelligent enough to realise that. Clearly, I was wrong."

Sharak stood before the two Keybearers fully regenerated and healed. He was sane again and back to the way he was previously before his madness. Seven-foot tall with a human like body, a cloak of pure darkness and of course, no mouth. Sora and Riku couldn’t believe it.

"But...you were destroyed!" said Riku, "We had you..."

"I don’t deny that you did", agreed Sharak, "In my...confused state, I was unable to focus or fully utilise my power. I was an easy prey for you two. Before those two traitors made their move, I was close to being destroyed. If it hadn’t been for their unwilling assistance, I would be no more. Darkness can’t destroy darkness. It can only replenish it. Their attacks fully healed me and the darkness they used on me helped repair my mind."

Sora and Riku readied themselves for battle again.

"I now accept the fact that I CAN be beaten", said Sharak, "Which means there is nothing you two can do to stop me. Now that I am sane again, fully focused and half as powerful as I once was, I can complete my total rebirth, now making me totally unstoppable."

Sharak teleported out of the throne room. He reappeared in a cold, dark, spacious part of the ocean of all worlds. He stood still and spoke words for the entire universe to hear.

"Hear me, all forms of darkness!" declared Sharak, "Repay your debt to me for allowing you glorious freedom! Whether you are static darkness in the hearts of those who embrace the light, those that worship me, or are simply my children, return to your source! Return the generosity I gave! Return that which I sacrificed! Unite yourselves with me! Complete me!"

Castle Sharak.

Mickey and the others continued battling. They stopped however, when they felt the darkness being purged from their hearts and returning to its source. Heartless were being dragged away to the lonely part of space that Sharak currently occupied. Jafar, Hades, Ursula, Captain Hook and Oogie Boogie screamed as they were dragged away to be unified with their leader. Everyone looked on in astonishment, wondering what was happening.

It was happening all across the entire universe. Good, kind, innocent people who embraced the light were being cured. The darkness in their hearts was being taken away from them to be returned to Sharak. Every single Heartless in the universe was also being dragged away to be combined with their father, as were those who embraced darkness. Every single trace of darkness that there was in the universe was being sucked in by Sharak.

Several minutes passed. During that time, Sharak changed. His cloak transformed into gargoyle wings and his size kept increasing every second. When there was no more darkness left in the universe for Sharak to retake, a horrible sight appeared for all worlds to see.

Sharak had now fully regenerated.

He was once again a gigantic humanoid that was now larger then the universe itself.

Everyone looked at the source of all darkness in total horror.

The reign of Sharak had begun anew.