Kingdom Hearts 2: 2nd sequel to the Legendary 8th Princess of Heart

Chapter 48: A Palace of Troubles

"We're just glad you're not in black cloaks," Chien Po informs.

At the mention of black cloaks, my friends and I stiffen a little.

"You saw him?" Mulan asks.

"Yeah--he's in the palace," Yao answers.

Whether it's Riku or the Organization; either way, we need to make sure that the emperor and the city are protected. We try to make it to the palace, but some Heartless appear, blocking our path. Thankfully, it's not the dragon Heartless we saw before, which makes this fight easier for us to handle.

"To the palace! Hurry!" Mulan exclaims.

We all nod our heads and run to the palace doors. However, when we try to open it, it refuses to budge.

"Open up!" Luke calls out.

I bang my fist on the door, hoping for someone inside to hear. "Open the door!"

Push, pull, we try all we can do to get the door to open. Some of the guys: Asch, Harada and Nagakura slam their shoulders against the doors, trying to force them to open. Either those who are inside are too busy to care, or something bad happened. Regardless, the doors just refuse to open no matter what we do.

"Over here!" Mulan calls out, gaining our attention.

We look and see Mulan standing next to a pillar.

Madison examines the pillar. "Looks like it connects to the palace."

"Do you really think so?" Heisuke asks.

"Only one way to find out. Start climbing," Harada says.

One by one, we each start to climb up the pillar. Though, in Kuro and Chibi's case, they had to be carried. I'm not sure what type of being Stitch is. All I know is that he grew extra arms, and easily carries them while climbing up the pillar.

Mulan and I are the last ones to climb up. I jump onto the pillar, with Mulan right behind me. We struggle to climb up. Mulan must've lost her footing, because she ends up falling.

I reach a hand out to grab her, but she manages to regain herself. She nods her head at me, letting me know that she's alright. I let out a relieved sigh and nod my head back at her. We then resume climbing and enter the palace.

Once inside, we jump onto the ground level, then head to the throne room. However, there in front of us, is someone wearing a black coat. His back faces us.

"Wait!" Mulan calls out.

The man flinches, then slowly turns around, his attention now on us. Everyone brings out their weapons, prepared to fight, if necessary. I bring out my Keyblade as well, but...I hesitate. I need to know...if the man before me really is Riku.

"...Riku? Is it you?" I ask nervously.

My friends' eyes all widen at my question. Some keep their guard up, while the others become curious. As for the man in front of us, he removes his hood, revealing his face. Instead of Riku, it turns out to be someone else.

"No. Never heard of him," the man says.

Suddenly, some Nobodies appear, surrounding us. Not only that, but that man from the Organization disappears. I only took my eyes off of him for a second, and now see that he's heading for the exit. I'll admit, I'm sad that that man didn't turn out to be Riku.

But I know we've got more important matters to deal with right now. Since we're in a hurry, I change into my Master Form, making it easier for us to defeat the Nobodies. Once the fight is over, everyone looks at me with curiosity.