Maiden of Darkness

Sora's Point of View

"Man, where the heck could she have gone! I thought she was going to stay put!", you said running around in circles, in search of the lost Aniko. You threw books of there shelves, and looked behind the stairs, but found what appeared to be dust.
"Calm down, Sora! Aniko will come back. She'll be okay!", Goofy walked over to you and patted your back for comfort. You took in a deep breath, and let out a small sigh of defeat.

"I guess..."

"Besides, Leon and the others are coming soon", Donald replied with a smile, he knew you were worried. "How am I going to tell Leon I lost Aniko. Kairi's gonna kill me too".
"It's not your fault, Sora. Knowing you, you were probably fighting off some heartless!", you turned around to here the familiar female voice, and opened your eyes widely to see your red haired friend.

"Kairi! Uh-I, uh"
"It's not your fault, Sora. Knowing Aniko, curiosity probably got to her, first!", Kairi approached you and gave you a hug. You felt a bit calm now that you knew you weren't in trouble.
"What we don't know, is if she's in trouble or not!", said another voice behind Kairi, realizing that Leon, Yuffie and Cloud arrived with Kairi.
"Where's the king?"
"We split up after a swarm of heartless appeared, he said he would be joining us after", Cloud explained to you, as you nodded in understatement.

"We have to find her quick, who knows what Maleficent is up to, and what she could do to Aniko?", Yuffie worried about Aniko, after all, Yuffie was already so close to her.
"I suggest we wait here, until the king comes. We can derive a plan from here on there", Leon suggested, you nodded to his reply, and sighed again. You felt a hand grab your arm, as you looked down to the floor.
"She'll be okay, Sora. She can take care of herself!", Kairi smiled at you. You smiled back, only hoping that she was right.

"Gosh, they're everywhere. I didn't know it was going to be this hard...", King Mickey walked outside the castle, where Sora once had to destroy Maleficent alongside Goofy and Donald.

It must've been a hard journey for them, he thought. As he walked with the golden keyblade in his hand, he approached the large door to the castle.

"Now that I lost them, I can meet up with Leon and the others...", he whispered to himself, as he opened the door, by pointing the large keyblade at it. The doors opened, and the king walked in. He looked around the hall, deciding to take the stairs to the library.
"The others must be waiting for me. I hope I didn't keep them waiting too long-", the king froze, and looked back, for a strange noise had caught his attention. He got on his guard, and kept his keyblade close.

"More heartless?", he asked, but without a minute, his eyes focused on the target, for he had spotted a figure from the corner near the stairs.
"Are you involved with the heartless?", he asked, not leaving the figure out of sight, he continue to glare at it.
"Your Majesty, you've known me too long, I'm always involved in Sora's mess!", the figure replied. King Mickey loosened himself by hearing that familiar voice. He smiled and made his keyblade disappear.
"Oh boy, it's you, Riku!", he said, Riku took off his hood, and walked over to his royal mouse friend.

*Riku's Point of View*

You took off the hood, and walked over to his Majesty, King Mickey, and knelled down next to him.
"Riku, I'm so glad to see you! Sora and the others will be thrilled! Especially Aniko, she's been worried about you-"
"Yeah, I kinda ran into her a few minutes ago...".
"Did she recognize you?", King Mickey asked, you looked down, and sighed, as you removed the glove from your hand and revealed the shadow that had completely covered it.

The king gasped at its sight, and his expression changed.
"The darkness is swallowing your heart and body. Maleficent knew this was going to happen...", King Mickey explained. You nodded at him, as you got up.
"I didn't want Aniko to know, so I didn't tell her".
"Hmmmm, we're gonna have to defeat Maleficent, once and for all, or else it could get worse...", Mickey summoned his golden keyblade, you quickly shook your head, and looked at the king.

"That's why I'm here, your Majesty, I have to tell you something important. Maleficent is after Aniko. I need you to keep her safe, until Maleficent can be brought down".
The king smiled once again at you, reassuring that he understood your reason. "Don't worry Riku, Sora's with her, and if anything happens to her, we'll make sure to help her".

You sighed in relief to here the king's words. You nodded at him, as a thanks and turned around to open a portal, but before you could, the king shouted out.
"Riku, don't give yourself in to the darkness. No matter what...",the king's words entered your mind clearly, you made a portal and walked in, whispering to yourself, "I won't". You vanished without leaving a trace.

*Sora's Point of View*

You were nervous to where Aniko might of been, but at the same time, anxious for the king to arrive. Kairi stood beside you, as you both looked out the window, down to Radiant Garden.

"The king will be here soon. We should start getting ready to keep moving", Kairi said, you turn to her and sighed. She smiled and said, "You worry to much, you lazy bum!". You couldn't help but give her a cheesy smile.
"Guys, the king's here!", Yuffie cried out to you and Kairi, as you grabbed Kairi's hand and walked toward the entrance of the library.
"Your Majesty!", Goofy and Donald went and hugged their loyal pal, as he laughed, "Gosh, hope I didn't make y'all wait too long?"
"Your Majesty, you made it!", you yelled out to the sight of King Mickey's return. He waved at you, while Goofy and Donald pulled away from the hug. King Mickey looked around for a minute, making you even more nervous, for you knew what was to come, the king then look at you puzzled.

"Sora, where's Aniko? I thought she was with you?", he asked confused, not knowing where Aniko had been. You looked down to the floor trying to avoid eye contact with the king. You felt embarrassed for not being able to protect her.
"Your Majesty I-"
"He was fighting off heartless, and didn't want Aniko to get hurt, so he told her to stay here, where it was safe!", Kairi explained to the King, you quickly looked at Kairi who continued to speak.

"When he came back, Aniko was gone...", she stopped and gave a worried look.
"This is bad. Aniko could be anywhere. Maleficent could be after her...", the king said, as you gave a puzzled look at him.

"Maleficent? Why would Maleficent be after her...", you asked, as you came to realize that Aniko has the power to take over heartless, what else could Maleficent want from her.
"Leon, what do you suggest we do?", Yuffie asked impatiently, Leon crossed his arms and calmly said, "We're going to the keyhole. Knowing Maleficent, she probably already knows by now we're heading there. If Aniko is around here, she'll know where to meet us-"
"What if Maleficent has her?", you asked interrupting him. He faced you, and shook his head, "She'll be there. Count on it". You stared at Leon for a minute and then nodded. You summoned your keyblade out, and held Kairi's hand.
"Alright then, let's head out!", King Mickey said as he helled out his keyblade and led the way.

*Riku's Point of View*

You ended up back in your dark room, you sighed in relief, for King Mickey had gotten the message, and apparently Maleficent hadn't noticed you had left your room.
"All I have to do is find some way to get to Maleficent and-", you were interrupted as the door opened, you slowly backed away and glared at the witch standing at the door.
"There you are my pet. Come, I have something for you-"
"It better not be another lame assignment", you murmured under your breath, as you walked over to Maleficent.
"I can assure you, you won't be disappointed, my pet...", she said as she placed her hand on your shoulder and led you down the dungeon stairs.

As you headed down the dungeon stairs, you could hear rats, and heartless swarming around the walls and corners. You ignored them and kept a emotionless expression on your face, for Maleficent had something up her sleeve, and you could tell it wasn't good.
"We're almost there..", she said in a delighted tone, it made you worry for a minute, but still, you continued to follow her.

'What is she up to?', you thought to yourself, you both approached a door, Maleficent used her staff, and the door slowly opened. You saw nothing but pitch black in the room. You looked up to Maleficent, she stretched out her hand, leading you in to the room. You walked in searching for what Maleficent was referring too.

You heard slow breathing in the room, you followed the noise until you reached a corner. Your aqua eyes opened widely in shock, for what you least expected lied in the floor, sleeping soundly in the dungeon.
"Aniko...?", you whispered to yourself, making the young girl move and slowly open her eyes.