KH: Antipode [Alpha draft] pt 32

[keybearer]

Chapter 32: Storming the Castle

One thing was clear about all the Heartless: Maleficent really didn’t want Riku and his friends to go any further. Even after they’d cleared out one mob, another one soon replaced it, complete with Shadows, Wizards, and even more of those obnoxious Wyverns and Defenders. It got to a point where Riku had to keep jumping, gliding, and rolling to avoid flying fireballs, chilling ice breath, and constant corkscrew dives. He’d lost track of how long they’d been at it, really. It had to have taken at least ten minutes, if not longer.

Of course, with four of them fighting tooth and nail—literally in the Beast’s case—it wasn’t too hard to keep them in line. If anything, it was just a nuisance. The Beast definitely had what it took to take on the toughest Heartless in the room, tearing through the crowd with his massive arms and flinging his enemies aside. His roars sent Wizards flying into pillars, and his claw swipes tore Wyverns in half. Though it took a while to plow through mob after mob, eventually their attackers dwindled in numbers until one little Shadow remained. All it took was a bonk on the head from Donald’s staff, and they’d finally cleared the Entrance Hall.

With that out of the way, Riku let out a sigh of relief and made his way up the stairs and towards the doorway where Sora had made his escape. By now, he was probably way ahead of them, but that wasn’t going to stop Riku from pursuing his friend. Every minute he wasted dawdling around gave Maleficent more time to toy with Sora and more time to push her plans forward, and that just wouldn’t fly. So, he slipped through the doorway, half-expecting another hall or at least a lift. Instead, he came face-to-face with a wall. Yep, a dead end. And the strangest part? The barrier bore the shape of the Heartless emblem. Something fishy was going on.

When Riku stepped back into the hall, he found Donald, Goofy, and the Beast waiting just outside the doorway. Donald tapped his foot expectantly, while Goofy tilted his head and the Beast huffed. They probably all wanted to know what the holdup was.

“It’s a dead end,” said Riku, glancing around the room. “There’s a barrier blocking the exit, so we’ll have to find another way around.”

“There’s a door over there.” The Beast raised one of his gargantuan arms and pointed at a wooden doorway.

“Then what’re we waiting for?” Donald groaned. “Let’s check it out!”

They slipped through the door with relative ease, entering a large chamber with a high ceiling. Shelves of books filled the area, stacking high above them. While it would’ve been great to explore the room to its fullest, there was one big problem: the bookshelves blocked the way. How were they going to pass through if there wasn’t a clear path? Even stranger was the fact that one of the shelves was missing a single book. Riku squinted, and he stepped up to the shelf, noting that all the books around the gap were in the A section.

“Bah!” Donald stomped past several of the shelves, coming to the dead end. “That’s just great. How’re we supposed to get through if there’s a dead end here, too?”

“Wait a sec, Donald!” Goofy crouched down, eying a red book that lay flat on the ground. “Looks like somebody dropped this! And it says here… ‘Khama volume 8’. Huh!”

“Hold on, Goofy.” Stepping away from the A section, Riku made his way over towards the dead end, where another empty space appeared, this time in the K section. K, like Khama… He looked over at Goofy and pointed at the shelf. “I think it goes here.”

“Thanks, pal!” Grinning, Goofy waltzed right up to the shelf and slipped the book into the gap. However, when the shelf started to shake, he leaped back and let out a yelp. Right before his eyes, the shelf slid to the side, opening up a path into the rest of the library.

So there really was more to it. The missing books and the shelves fit together like pieces in a puzzle. Maybe, if they looked around, they’d find similar books and shelves. Riku darted around the immediate area, skimming the nearby shelves on the lowest level. When none of the shelves revealed anything suspicious, he circled back towards the bottom of the nearby staircase, where he beckoned for his friends to follow.

“Riku, what’s goin’ on?” Donald raised a brow. “Were you looking for something?”

Riku nodded. “Yeah, I think this library’s like some kind of labyrinth, and the missing books might hold the key to getting through it.”

“Oh, I get it!” Beaming, Goofy held up his index finger and glanced around. “So if we start puttin’ those books in the right places, this here library’ll shift around.”

The Beast frowned, and he looked down at the floor.

“Wait, what’s up?” Riku stepped up to him.

“It’s just, I… well.” He stuck out his bottom lip and huffed. “I can’t read very well, so I don’t know if I can help you.”

“Seriously?”

“It’s just been so long.” The Beast stood up straight and glanced around. “If Belle was here, she’d know what to do. That’s just another reason why we have to get through here somehow.”

“Tell you what, Beast.” Riku smirked. “You just keep an eye on the books’ colors and the symbols on their spines. That’s all you need to know.”

“Maybe we oughta split up, too.” Crossing his arms, Donald climbed up a few of the steps. “This library’s huge! We don’t wanna take forever.”

“Sounds like plan.” With that, Riku and the others hurried up the steps, and each of them took to the countless shelves and tables all around them.

On his way through the upper level, Riku immediately spotted two peculiar shelves. One of them was missing its book entirely, while another just a few yards away contained a book of the wrong color. So they weren’t just dealing with missing books, but misplaced ones, too. Well, it wasn’t like removing books was hard work. Shaking his head, he scurried up to the shelf and pulled out the misplaced book. By the looks of it, the book belonged in the M section, so he’d just have to keep his eyes peeled for other blindingly green covers and a missing T book for the now vacant space.

“Hey, look at this, fellers!”

Riku turned away from the shelf and found Goofy pointing up at yet another. By the looks of it, he had a good reason, too. Up at the top rested another book. The only trouble was getting it down. Even though Goofy was tall, there was no way he’d be able to reach that book on his own, so the only real options were to stack up, or find a way to knock it down. Though Goofy scooped up Donald and tried hopping into the air, they still couldn’t manage it.

And then the Beast charged into the shelf from behind, causing the book to slid down from the shelf and land flat on Donald’s face.

“Gah!” He threw the book into the ground and scowled. “Next time, give us a little warning, okay?”

“…Sorry.”

“So, what’s it say on the spine, Donald?” Riku slipped the book under his arm and approached the silly display.

“Gimme a second, okay?” With a soft huff, Donald scooped the book off of his face and squinted. “Azal… volume three.”

“Then I know exactly where that goes.” Smirking, Riku snatched the book out of Donald’s hands and hopped down to the lower level. He landed perfectly on his feet thanks to a bit of gliding, and once he made it to the shelf, he shoved the book next to the others in the A section.

When the shelf slid out of the way, it opened the path to… more shelves. With a groan, Riku followed along the now open path, eying a shelf full of green books. One of the spaces was completely empty, so he slipped the other book into place. However, a bright, blue book took up what should’ve been another M. He scooped up this book and glanced at the cover, noting the S in the title. Luckily for him, a shelf full of blue books sat just a short distance away; it was easy enough to slip ‘Salegg volume six’ into place and press on.

Somewhere along the way back to the steps, he caught sight of Goofy carrying yet another book. Together, they met up with Donald and Beast at the top, shoving the N book right into its proper place. They repeated this process a few more times, scooping up misplaced and missing books and bringing them back to their rightful locations. It took a bit of running around to sort out the shelves, and there were a few times where Goofy dropped his books along the way, but eventually they placed the final book in place. When the shelf slid aside, it revealed a square button of some kind.

“Gawrsh,” said Goofy, placing a hand on the switch. “I wonder what this button does!” He pressed down, and the nearby set of doors clicked.

Well, Riku was the first to head over to the doors, and he shoved them wide open. When he and the others stepped on through, they emerged along a wide, circular balcony high above the Entrance Hall. There, several strange things stood out. First of all, the chandelier in the center burned with a bright, blue flame. Several square panels surrounded it, each with a bolt of lightning on the front. Countless candles sat on small tables, but not a single one had been lit.

“You know…” Riku glanced around, and he approached a strange little stone. “I bet this is another puzzle. Look, this stone has a bolt on it, and so do those platforms.”

“And look at all those candles!” Donald’s brow furrowed. “Maybe I oughta light ‘em up, just to see what happens.”

“And that’s not all!” Goofy pointed over at a strange, horned statue just a short distance away. “This here statue’s standin’ right on the edge. It looks like it’s gonna fall!”

The Beast stomped over to the statue and leaned back. “Then leave it to me.”

Without warning, he slammed his upper body against the statue, sending it down towards the ground. It landed with a THUD, shattering into a million little pieces, all while revealing what looked like… a piece of the Heartless emblem!

“Nice going, Beast!” Riku grinned, and he peered down at the ground below. “I bet if we look around, we’ll find more of those pieces. Just let me handle this stone…”

He flicked his wrist, summoning the Keyblade. Seconds later, a bolt shot down and struck the stone, causing it to glow brightly, while the square panels flipped backwards and started to move around the room like little platforms. There was no doubt about it; the whole room had to be a puzzle, and if they messed around, they’d probably dig up more emblem pieces or at least find some way to press on.

So, while Goofy and the Beast investigated the remaining statues, Riku and Donald rushed for the candles, igniting them with their flaming magic. After all the candles burned brightly, the flame in the room’s center withered away, revealing another piece of the emblem. In order to reach it, Riku took a glide right on top of the chandelier, scooping up the piece before he swooped over towards Goofy and one of the statues. It read, ‘O mighty one… show me your crushing power,’ and boy did Beast show it some power alright. Using all his strength, he shattered the pots surrounding its base.

With the pots out of the way, the statue sank into the floor, and the sound of running water prompted Riku and the others to look down at the fountain below. Not only did a stream of water spew out of the spout, but a red emblem chunk, too. So that made three pieces now, and one statue remaining. Rather than run down to collect the two pieces along the floor, Riku and his friends rushed over to the final statue and read its inscription: ‘O mighty one… prove your strength by moving me.’

This time, Goofy did the honors. He took a deep breath and pressed his back up against the statue’s side, pressing hard in an attempt to move it around. The statue did move, albeit slowly, and after a few seconds of hardcore shoving, it sunk into the floor just like the previous statue. At that moment, Riku glanced down to see if anything changed; sure enough, a treasure chest popped up near the blocked doorway.

When they hopped down to the lower level and approached the chest, they discovered the fourth and final emblem piece. Now they had everything they needed to move on and hopefully pursue Sora in the process. Each of them took a single piece, and when they made it to the barrier, they all shoved them into the matching slots. The pieces fit like a glove, and before long the barrier lifted, opening the way into the next section of the castle.

Now they could continue their pursuit of Maleficent and Sora… hopefully without any more puzzles.

x.x.x

“So, you’re saying that if I use this Keyblade on myself, Kairi’ll wake up?”

“Correct. You need only open your heart, and she’ll finally release her power.”

It’d been a long and complicated discussion with the strange, cloaked man. He kept giving Sora little hints about what had happened to the seventh princess and who she was. Sure enough, he really did know what he was talking about. The fact that Kairi’s heart had been inside him all along suddenly made sense. All those visions, all the times he’d heard her speaking even when he was all alone added up after all this time. He’d thought that the Heartless took her heart, but in reality, she was there with him all along.

The idea made his heart sink, as he looked back on his actions in Halloween Town and Agrabah. Thinking it’d help her, Sora had taken both the fake heart and the Genie’s lamp, and what did he have to show for it? One of his… 'friends' got completely destroyed and swallowed by the darkness, and Jafar got locked away in a little lamp. Sure, Maleficent told him that it wasn’t his fault, and sure, they still had all the other princesses just waiting for their little miracle, but it kinda hurt to think about it all the same. It sure didn't help that she'd hidden the truth, either. There had to be a reason for it, but what?

He still didn’t have all the answers. Many things just didn’t add up, like what would happen if…

He shuddered. “But what’ll happen if I open my heart? I know Kairi’ll be okay, but what about me?”

“It’s really quite simple.” The man chuckled, and he leaned forward just a tiny bit. “You’ll release the light that shackles your heart, and in turn… the darkness shall swallow you.”

“What?!” Sora’s eyes widened, and he took a step back. So saving Kairi would send him deep into the darkness, just like Oogie and Jafar? Would he just… disappear? Would he even be himself anymore? Or maybe he’d… He gulped.

“What’s that supposed to mean? I mean, I’ll be able to see her, won’t I?”

The man shook his head. “Your entire being shall vanish into a blackened abyss, that is, unless…” He stepped closer. “Unless you take that darkness and make it your own. You see, darkness is the heart’s true essence. Those who fight its influence are the ones who become its greatest victims.”

Darkness was the heart’s true essence? But how could something so dangerous and so scary be what really defined a heart? What about light… and friendship? Those had to be more important than some dark power that turned people into Heartless and swallowed them whole! How could embracing darkness save him from being swallowed whole? Wouldn’t that just make it worse?

“I thought embracing darkness was dangerous, though!” He winced, looking down at the dark Keyblade. “I don’t wanna lose myself…”

“I speak from personal experience. As one who cast myself into darkness, I know well of its dangers… and potential.” The man’s tone shifted to something a bit softer. Kinder? It was the same kinda tone Maleficent used with him. “Perhaps Maleficent was right to warn you of the darkness, but you have nothing to fear. You must be brave… And surely your friend is worth the risk.”

She was worth the risk… Sora’s friends meant so much to him that he’d do anything to protect them. Even his fighting against Riku was for his own good, to keep the Heartless away from the castle and Kairi. Sure, the thought of embracing darkness was kinda scary, but maybe he was looking at it the wrong way. Maybe, if he thought of it like catching fish with his bare hands, it wouldn’t be so bad! …okay, so the metaphor was kinda silly, but getting the fish always took a lot of focus, otherwise they’d slip right outta his grasp. Maybe darkness was like that too. He’d just have to take a different approach than Oogie and Jafar. If it meant bringing Kairi back, he could handle a little darkness.

“So, what should I do?” He raised the Keyblade just a little, and his heart stung again.

“Find Maleficent,” said the man. “And see for yourself what she plans for you and your friend.”

“So did she… know about this?”

“She has for quite some time now, yet that fool concealed it from you under the assumption that it would do no harm.”

“Oh…”

Maleficent must’ve had her reasons, though. Maybe she didn’t wanna break it to him right away. After all, he still had to rescue all those other princesses and help his friends. Plus, it was a lot to take in. If she’d told him a while back, he would’ve been really distracted! That had to be it. She would never hide something from him unless it was for his own good, right? This whole time, she’d helped him in so many ways. Taught him magic, brought him to Kairi and Riku. Maleficent was a good person. She wouldn’t… plunge somebody’s world into darkness.

...it really did sound like he was coming up with excuses. Somehow, talking to this guy made that even clearer than when he'd spoken with Riku all those times. Could it be that she had some ulterior motive after all?

He had to see for himself. There was no time to waste; he'd march right up to Maleficent and demand answers. Real answers. He still wanted to trust her and believe she was his friend, but now he had even more reasons to question her motives. Plus, Kairi was waiting for him to come in and save her. There were plenty of reasons to go find Maleficent.

“I guess I’ll get moving, then.” Sora gazed towards a nearby entryway that lead to one of the lift stops. “And, uh. Thanks for the help.”

He still didn’t fully understand what he was getting himself into, and his heart ached from the uncertainty, so he pressed on in search of answers and in hopes of saving his friend.

x.x.x

So, for the most part, Riku and his friends didn’t have to worry about too many puzzles. Instead, they ventured throughout the immense lift stops, where they found barriers made of electricity, countless spiky switches, and big lifts that took them from place to place. Each lift carried them to the castle’s higher levels, and they found themselves surrounded by steaming pipes, spinning gears, and plenty of Heartless along the way. It all became fairly routine, in fact.

They’d flip a switch, hop onto a lift, and then they’d emerge on a higher level. There, they’d take on Defenders, Darkballs, and Wyverns that put up a nasty fight in their attempts to finish the group. But for every powerful blow the Heartless dished out, Riku and the others retaliated with equal force and determination. After fighting so many of them, the group had already figured out each Heartless’ attack strategies, so countering them was a complete and utter cakewalk. Plus, they had the brute strength of the Beast backing them up.

After several minutes of Heartless beating and toggling switches, they encountered a gargantuan lift platform. Due to its size, it moved sluggishly as it carried the group high above the castle gates, and on the way, several Heartless appeared and attacked. It made moving forward a colossal pain, especially since most of the Heartless that showed up were Wizards that warped almost constantly to avoid being struck. Luckily, they eliminated their foes and made it to the next lift stop soon enough.

From there, they entered the Great Crest, where they hopped another lift to ascend high above the smoking pipes and large chunks of rubble that lined the balcony. The lift led them to a higher balcony with tall fencing, where two large, red platforms blocked their path and where countless Wyverns kept them from messing with the nearby switches. In order to keep moving, Beast kept the Heartless occupied, while Riku and the others fiddled around with the switches. Their efforts resulted in a new path forming from shifting platforms. Two switches made the large platforms sink so that they could press onward. Another set shifted the platforms in order to create a massive set of steps for them to climb.

This led them to another lift stop, where they found a single entryway. Through it, they entered a dark and dismal chapel with pale grey walls lined with pillars that held up blazing torches. The architecture looked just as ancient as the rest of the castle, but the lack of light combined with the eerie green of the flames and the Heartless emblem in the distance gave the chapel the look and atmosphere of something demonic rather than holy. It didn’t help that a strange lady with dragon horns and a long, black robe stood just below the emblem. There was no doubt about it; she had to be Maleficent.

And given that little fact, both Riku and the Beast rushed straight for her, eyes narrowed and teeth bared. The Beast let out a bellowing roar and crouched down to the ground, while Riku called forth his Keyblade and looked her straight in the eyes. Seeing this, Maleficent laughed, and she held up her staff.

“Well, if it isn’t the Keybearer and the King’s fools.” She gave a twisted little smile. “It’s quite impressive that you made it this far.”

“What can I say?” Riku sneered. “I’ve heard great things about you from my best friend, and I’ve been dying to meet you.” He swept his Keyblade through the air. “So, tell me. Where is Sora?”

“That is no longer your concern.” She placed her free hand against her chest. “Moments from now, the Keyhole will be complete. Sora’s fate has already been decided.”

“Whaddaya mean?” Goofy peeked over the Beast’s shoulder with a frown.

“It matters not,” said Maleficent. “For you see, your adventure is coming to a swift and untimely end. It would be best to leave now, or I may have to use more persuasive methods.”

“I won’t leave until you release Belle!” The Beast slammed his fists against the ground, and the bridge of his nose wrinkled up as he scowled.

But Maleficent simply laughed again. “A Beast such as you hardly deserves the affection of a princess. She is in far better care here than as your prisoner.”

The Beast didn’t even bother to talk back. He lurched forward, fangs bared, and he charged at Maleficent with his claws at the ready. When he drew close enough, he slashed his claws through the air, but rather than striking Maleficent, his attacks met with green flames that vanished from sight. Roaring wildly, he turned around right as Maleficent shot purple bolts of electricity down from the ceiling. They hit head-on, making the Beast twitch in agony. Then, when Donald scampered up to her, Maleficent knocked him aside with her staff. She’d barely done anything, and already she was giving Riku bad vibes.

“So you have chosen to fight? You poor, simple fools…” Chuckling, Maleficent twirled her staff, as the very ground around her shook and a circular crack formed at her feet. Soon, a large chunk of the stone floor broke away from the solid ground, hovering a few feet in the air. Then, she whirled her staff once more with an eerie chant.

“Meteors of heaven, unleash thy fury!”

Riku’s eyes widened as countless burning rocks rocketed his way, each one surrounded by bright blue flames. Though he tried to knock some of them away, the very edges of the flames singed his arms even as he leaped and rolled out of their path. Then, when the flaming stones finally crashed and shattered into a million pieces, Maleficent unleashed several dancing bolts of thunder magic that chased Riku and his friends throughout the chapel. They were easy enough to dodge by jumping, gliding, and sliding out of their path, but they sure left little opportunity to strike back. It sure didn’t help that she was up in the air, either.

Groaning, Riku rolled out of the path of a pillar of flames, darting over towards Goofy as he deflected another meteor. Beneath the Heartless emblem, Donald sent a chilling blast up towards Maleficent’s feet. It barely struck her robe, and even then she hardly flinched. Instead, she cackled and hurled more burning stones straight at him, giving him little time to make a getaway. When the meteor came close, he leaped forward and slid along the ground. The downside? His tail feathers now burned a bright blue, and the heat of the flames sent Donald on a mad dash throughout the room, squawking frantically.

“Enough!” The Beast let out another roar before he charged towards the floating stone and raked his claws against the bottom. Was he trying to break it or something?

Well, it was better than running around like complete morons while Maleficent unleashed spell after spell. Narrowing his eyes, Riku rushed towards the stone and leaped up into the air, striking furiously at the hunk of rock. Soon, he caught sight of Goofy banging his shield against the stone from below. With one more whack from Donald’s staff, the stone fell flat against the ground, leaving Maleficent completely vulnerable.

At first it seemed like they’d have an easy shot at beating her. The Beast literally jumped at the chance to thrash at her with his fangs and claws, while Goofy hurled his shield directly at her face. Riku even managed to nail her with a swift dash to the gut. However, when Donald hopped up and tried to make a hit, Maleficent groaned and sent him flying with one swing of her staff. And to make matters worse, several Darkballs emerged from the darkness, smacking their jagged teeth as they pursued the group. Was that supposed to be some kind of distraction?

It might not’ve been a good one, but it did give Maleficent the opportunity to raise her platform into the air once more and send meteors throughout the entire chapel. Even when Riku held up his Keyblade to block, the speed and force of the meteors pushed him back several feet. He barely had a chance to dodge the next three that came zooming his way. And if that wasn’t bad enough, more of those obnoxious bolts followed him on his way back towards the floating stone.

When Defenders unleashed an icy breath from the mouths of their shields and Wyverns twirled through the air, Riku retaliated by launching thunder all around the chapel. Occasionally he’d stop to hurl his weapon at their sides or plow straight through them with a series of sliding dashes, but the whole time he kept his eyes on the floating stone. He couldn’t let the Heartless slow him down, though. Right now, he and the others needed to stay focused. Maleficent was their real target, one they couldn’t let get the best of them with stupid distractions and magic tricks.

Come to think of it, if the stone was floating, did they really need to worry about knocking it around? When Riku drew close enough, he didn’t bother striking the bottom like the Beast and Goofy. Instead, he held up the Keyblade and focused dragging the stone down to the ground. A blue field formed all around it, and soon the platform crashed once again. Control of gravity definitely had its advantages, like exposing witches and leaving them wide open for a few Strike Raids and rapid combos to boot.

The downside? While Riku and the others managed a few hits, Maleficent didn’t sit around like a punching bag. Instead, she tapped her staff against the platform, sending a purple wave straight at the trio; Riku knew exactly what it was, and he didn’t even have time to get away before that terrible prickling sensation got the best of him and sent him stumbling down to the ground. Poison… it just had to be poison, didn’t it?

“Ya know,” said Goofy, chugging down an elixir. “Maleficent’s sure usin’ a lot of nasty tricks! How ‘bout we do somethin’ to even the odds a bit?”

“Like what, though?” Donald groaned, summoning a gust of wind to shield himself from an approaching bolt. “Even with four of us against her, how’re we supposed to deal with all her magic spells?”

Tricks… wait a minute! Riku glanced up at Maleficent, watching as she started to chant again. Those meteors were sure to follow, but who said they had to sit there and do nothing? Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the Genie’s lamp and held it up high. He did say he’d show up whenever they needed help, and boy did they need it now. Right as the meteors flew their way, Riku rubbed against the surface, and he couldn’t have picked a better time to do it. Before those flaming rocks could make contact, a familiar, blue form appeared, knocking the meteors back with an over-sized tennis racket.

Leave it to Genie to make an… interesting entrance. Even Maleficent looked a little shocked, and she gasped at the sight of him.

“A Genie, here?!”

“Here, there, everywhere!” Genie laughed, and he started popping up all over the room. One minute there was one Genie, and the next he’d spawned at least three duplicates that huddled close together and vanished in a puff of smoke. “Just a rub of the old lamp, and I’m here in a flash. Your satisfaction guaranteed, or you get your munny back.”

“We’ll see how it goes.” Riku smirked, pointing the Keyblade at Maleficent. “So, Genie. This is the witch who kidnapped Jasmine. Think you can show her a thing or two?”

“A kidnapper, eh?” Narrowing his eyes, the Genie twirled around and gained a police uniform, plus a baton. “Well, you have the right to remain silent!” Snapping his fingers, he sent a gray blast right at her chest, yet when it struck, she didn’t make a sound. After that, he floated back a few feet and hurled a few balls of energy at her for good measure.

“There, that oughta cover it for a minute or two! I’ll leave the rest to you guys. After all, I’ve got a cozy little condo with my name on it.”

“Don’t sweat it. I think we can take it from here.” Grinning, Riku hopped up onto the stone and started nailing Maleficent with all his might. She silently flailed her staff around, occasionally blocking his blows, but no magic spells slowed him down. Whatever the Genie did, it must’ve temporarily stopped her from dishing out spells.

He didn’t stick around to pull off any more tricks, though. Instead, the Genie grinned and vanished in a puff of smoke, Riku and the others to deal with the now muted Maleficent. Without magic to slow them down, the group ganged up on her and started lashing out like crazy. The only real downside was that Heartless continued to appear in even greater numbers than before, forcing them to hop down from occasion and combat vicious Wyverns and Defenders. And by the time they’d cleared the room of Heartless, the appearance of meteors, green flames, and thunderbolts all at once indicated that Genie’s little spell had finally worn off.

But Maleficent stood hunched over on the stone platform, even as she unleashed her spells at an even greater frequency than before. They must’ve worn her down at least a little, and that’d definitely give them a fighting chance. Sure, she’d turn into a little, green ball of light and start floating around the room when they came too close, but whenever she reappeared, Riku and the others were always close behind. They struck hard, fast, and relentlessly, using gravity to pull the stone down and their combined strength to knock her around. Though she retaliated with a nasty assortment of spells ranging from poison to slow and more meteors and thunder, they didn’t back down.

It took several more minutes’ worth of spell dodging, Heartless beating, and fierce attacks before Maleficent’s floating stone fell to the ground and crumbled. She slumped, clutching tightly to the front of her chest and breathing heavily. She scowled at the group as she slowly stepped back towards the wall. A whirling, purple aura wrapped its tendrils all around her, and she soon vanished inside it. It looked like another one of those dark corridors the Heartless always used to get around, but for some reason it didn’t disappear. Instead, the portal remained in plain sight, almost beckoning Riku and the others to step inside.

Something about it was awfully suspicious, but if Maleficent was still willing to put up a fight, how could they back down?

Riku glanced at the others and pointed at the corridor. “C’mon, guys. I think she’s just getting warmed up.”

They didn’t have many other options. Not a single path appeared beyond the end of the chamber. Other than the portal, it was a dead end. So, even if they were walking into a trap, the group pressed on, slipping through the corridor without another word. Who knew what Maleficent was planning next? No matter what awaited them inside, they’d have to stay on guard.

TO BE CONTINUED

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