Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts 2. All the characters belong to Disney and Square-Enix.

End of Eternity

Chapter 1

A chilly evening breeze woke Riku from his afternoon nap. The sun had long sunk below the horizon. Night was coming sooner day by day as it drew closer to winter. Though it had gotten cold lately, Riku liked sleeping on the beach of his hometown. The gentle sound of the waves washing up and down the seashore always gave him peace of mind.

Dusting the sand off his clothes, Riku began to make his way home. The streets were empty. On the contrary, nearly all the household lights were lit as families gather together for dinner. Eventually, Riku came to the street where Sora's house was. He had to walk past Sora's street on his way home. Not that he expected to find his friend on the street, Riku took a glance into the street. In the faint streetlight, he spotted a familiar figure coming out to the main street.

"Kairi?" Riku called to his friend.

"Riku!" Kairi quickened her walking pace to join him. "What are you doing out here on the street at this time of the day? Been sleeping on the beach again?" she grinned.

"That's my line," Riku returned her a brief smile. "You went to check on Sora? He's not home again, is he?"

Kairi shook her head. "His mum is worried about him too. I wonder where he has gone this time…" She turned her gaze towards the sea. The cool evening wind blew her long red hair behind her. "It's been a whole year, Riku, ever since Roxas and Namine left. We all thought time would heal it, but… The Sora I know is full of energy. He would laugh and act silly. I miss him so much."

Riku was unaware that Kairi was watching him as she mentioned Namine. "To Sora, Roxas and Namine are his friends," Riku said. "What he is doing now is like what he did three years ago. He went looking for you and me when we were separated. He is probably searching for them without actually realising."

"Searching…" Kairi murmured.

They stood in silence for a while before Kairi suddenly spoke again. "Hey Riku," Riku looked down to her, who was a head shorter. For some reason, she looked a little nervous. "Do you ever think about…"

"Think about…?" Riku raised an eyebrow. He tried to look at her expression but Kairi was staring at her own shoes.

"Well, about Na-"

Before she could finish the sentence, they both felt it. An invisible shockwave washed over them, interrupting the steady beat of their hearts. It was brief, perhaps less than a second. It wasn't a painful sensation, but it was overwhelming. An image formed in their mind – Kingdom Hearts.

Riku and Kairi looked at each other. Riku could see the fear in her sea-blue eyes. He wondered if his eyes were showing the same thing. They both knew something had happened to the heart of all worlds.

"Could it be…Sora?" Kairi looked at Riku in the eyes, waiting for an answer.

Riku put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'll go find out what it is. You stay here," his feet were already carrying him towards the where the gummi ship was parked.

"No Riku, I'm going with you! There's no way you're leaving me behind again," Kairi protested, running after him.

"Kairi-"

"I'm sick of waiting for you two to return. Do you think it's fun to be the one that gets left behind all the time?" Kairi put her hands on her hip. "I know I may be a burden, but I'll do my best not to get in the way. I'm coming with you not matter what," she finished resolutely.

Knowing Kairi was serious, Riku had a thought. "Sora!?" he suddenly looked to his right. Just as Kairi turned her head around, he lightly hit the back of her neck with the side of his hand. He gently caught her as she passed out.

"Sorry Kairi," Riku said to the unconscious girl. "It's not that Sora and I don't want you with us. We are just afraid we won't be able protect you against whatever we may face."

Utilising as many warp holes as possible, it took Riku a little over a day to reach Kingdom Hearts. The drive was relatively peaceful comparing to three years ago; he encountered very few heartles' and nobodies on the way. A little over a year ago, the heart of all worlds was damaged in a great battle. While the gigantic heart mended itself, the little king of Disney Castle – King Mickey – put up a magical barrier around the heart so no one with the intention of harming it could go near. The King had also constructed a small tower beneath Kingdom Hearts when he placed the barrier. After parking his gummi ship beneath the tower, Riku went up the tower.

At the top of the tower, the gigantic Kingdom Hearts floated high above, defying gravity. The tower was about the same size as the one in the Castle That Never Was, where everyone gathered before the final battle. Battlements were placed around the edge for safety reasons. In front of Riku was a stone door he had never seen before. It was covered in green moss and vines. There was no keyhole on it. Silently summoning up his keyblade, Riku pointed it to the door.

It didn't respond to the call of Road to the Dawn. Riku slammed a fist on its hard stone surface in despair. "Where are you, Sora?"

"You are acquainted with the wielder of light?" A woman's crisp voice came from behind.

Riku spun around immediately. A young woman stood in the mouth of the stairway he came up from. Judging from her appearance, she wasn't much older than Kairi, a year or two the most. She was slightly shorter than Riku. What stood out about her was her hair colour. It was the most unusual colour Riku had ever seen. It was ocean blue and just long enough to touch her shoulders. She wore a lightly armored, cream-colour outfit with gold trim.

"That can only be opened by Sora. Where is he?" the young woman said, examining the door from a distance.

"Who are you?" Riku demanded. He didn't like the fact she could get so close without him noticing a thing. At first, he considered she could be a nobody. But she didn't have the smell of darkness on her that the organisation members had.

The young woman didn't respond to Riku's hostility. Her expression remained neutral. "Where is Sora?"

"Shouldn't the one to ask identify herself first?" Riku snapped. He closely watched her every movement in case she were to attempt something drastic.

She stared at his face for a short moment before answering. "I am Zenith, Maintainer Zenith."

"Maintainer?" Riku mumbled the word to himself. He hadn't heard of such thing. "Why are you looking for Sora?" he asked.

Glancing up to Kingdom Hearts, Zenith slowly spoke. "Sora has made the choice. He must be stopped, or otherwise…" she paused. "We won't let it happen. Now, tell me where Sora is."

"What is that choice that you said Sora made?" asked Riku. He was getting a very bad feeling as they talked. All of a sudden, the ringtone of a phone sounded, suspending their conversation.

Taking out the ringing phone from her pocket, Zenith flipped it open and put it to her ears. "It's me," she answered the call. "No, he's already gone when I came." Riku watched as she listened to the person on the other end. "I understand. I'll go there now."

Putting away her phone, Zenith turned back to Riku. "If you find Sora, stop him." Before Riku could say anything back, she stepped up on the railing and jumped down. Following that came a quacking style yelp from below that sounded awfully like a particular duck.

"Hey wait!" Riku ran to the edge of the tower and looked down to the where she jumped. The height wasn't something anyone could simply leap down without hesitation. He was in time to see her started the engine of her Flyer, a light-weighted aerial craft that resembled the one he and Sora used to fight Zenmas' enormous dragon nobody. King Mickey, Goofy and Donald, who had just arrived at the tower, saw her off with a stunned expression on their faces.

"Your majesty!" Riku called. As soon as the King saw Riku, he quickly made his way up, followed by his trusty general and magician.

When the three arrived at the top, Riku noticed the King noted the presence of the stone door, but went up to him before examining it further. "Did you sense it too, Riku? That something occurred to Kingdom Hearts?" the King questioned.

Riku nodded. "But when I arrived there was nothing out of the ordinary…except this door and that woman."

"Who was that young lady? She seemed like she was in a hurry didn't she?" Goofy asked.

"I bet she did something horrible she didn't want us to catch her. So she fled as soon as she saw us," Donald folded his arms, looking cranky.

"Just because she scared you unintentionally-"

"Oh be quiet Goofy!" Donald interrupted him.

"Donald, Goofy," the King's risen voice silent the two instantly. "Let's listen to what Riku has to tell us."

Riku told them how he met Zenith and the things she said. Donald and Goofy exchanged worry glances to each other. The King frowned when he heard the part about Maintainer and Sora's choice. "Do you know Sora's whereabouts, your majesty? Can you open the door over there? And what is a Maintainer?" Riku asked.

King Mickey shook his head. "I'm sorry. Regrettably I do not know the answers to any of your questions, Riku. As with that door, I'm afraid it is just as Zenith said, it can only be opened by Sora. However, what I know is we must do now is to find Sora."

"My thoughts exactly," Riku agreed. "I can leave right away."

"Hold on Riku, Donald and Goofy shall accompany you. Find Sora and ask him what is going on. I'm going back to Disney Castle to look up as much as I can about the Maintainers," the King told him.

Surprised by the arrangement, Riku thought about saying something, but couldn't decide what to.

"What's wrong, Riku?" King Mickey asked. "You have the gummi ship Sora used before don't you? It should fit the three of you."

"Not used to having company?" Donald teased when he saw the look on Riku's face.

Riku smiled. "May be not the loud and noisy sort." Goofy and King Mickey laughed while Donald protested.

"But your majesty, this mean we're going to be separated again," said a concerned Goofy.

"No need to worry, I will join you as soon as I finish with the business at Disney Castle," the King reassured. He turned to Riku. "You have a lot on your mind, don't you Riku?"

"I guess it's useless to try hide anything from you, your majesty. It is ironic isn't it? Two years ago, Sora and his sidekicks were looking all over for me. Now it's the other way around," said Riku. "Your majesty, do you still believe in Sora?"

Gasping at the question, Donald and Goofy looked to their King.

After parting with the King, Riku, Donald and Goofy decided to look for Sora at the nearest world to Kingdom Hearts – Beast Castle. As soon as they got off the gummi ship, they headed for the castle entrance. A few heartlesses attempted to ambush them as they cross the castle bridge but were no match to the three. Ever since the incidence that occurred three yeas ago, the number of heartlesses and nobodies greatly decline. However, their number appeared to be on the raise again.

The place was different to how it once was. Statues placed around the castle were no longer ones of frightening creatures. The creepy and dark atmosphere was completely gone. "This is strange," Donald mumbled, knocking on the tall front door. The three stood and waited. No one came. Donald knocked again. He was not as patient as the time before. Still, no one came. Annoyed they were being ignored, Donald readied himself to charge at the door. Just as he did so, Riku pushed it open, causing Donald to run straight through and crashed into someone inside.

Riku and Goofy followed Donald in. The castle seemed to be in a state of panic. Maids and servants were running around in every direction. No one was paid particular attention to their arrival. Donald apparently crashed into a chubby-looking man. They were both sprawled out on the carpeted floor.

"Are you two ok?" Goofy went up to the two.

The chubby man groaned, rubbing his sore back as he stood upright. "Donald, Goofy?" he said in surprise when he noticed who was in front of him.

"Have we met?" Goofy asked the man. His voice was somewhat familiar.

"It's me, Cogsworth!" the man replied.

"But the Cogsworth we know is a clock," Goofy scratched his head as if to confirm his own memory.

"We all turned back to human after the witch's curse on the castle was lifted," Cogsworth explained. "Ah, I wish you came at a better time though. So we can welcome our guests properly."

"What is going on? Why is everyone panicking?" Riku asked.

Goofy introduced Riku to Cogsworth. "It is terrible," Cogsworth sighed miserably. "Mistress Belle fell unconscious since this morning. One of our maids reported she spotted a suspicious person in the garden. The prince ordered the entire castle to look for that person. No one is allowed to rest until we do."

"Can we see her?" Riku asked. Donald and Goofy nodded earnestly in agreement.

"Certainly!" Cogsworth looked delighted. "This way please," he gestured.

Riku, Donald and Goofy followed him to the East side of the castle, where Belle's room was. Cogsworth straightened himself before knocking on the bedroom door. "Master, it is me, Cogsworth. I brought with me some guests who would like to visit Mistress Belle. May we enter?"

Expecting to hear a roaring reply from Beast, Donald plucked his ears. Instead, a weak voice answered from the other side. "Come in."

"Master's temper has improved a lot since he turned back into human," Cogsworth whispered to the three before entering the bedroom.

In the middle of the room was a large bed, with Belle – one of the seven princesses of light - resting in it. To Riku, she looked like she was only asleep. A man dressed in fine clothes sat by her bedside, holding her hand. His face brightened when he saw his guests. "Donald, Goofy!" he greeted them joyously.

"You are Beast?" Donald asked doubtfully.

The man chuckled, "Yes, and no. I am a beast no more. What brought you three here? And this is…?" The prince asked, referring to Riku.

"This is our friend, Riku," Goofy explained. "We came looking for Sora. Have you seen him?"

"No I haven't," the prince answered.

"What happened to Belle?" Donald asked. He touched her cheek and was shocked to find it cold as ice.

"I want to know too," the prince said miserably. "I had the doctor look at her. There is no sign of external wound at all. It seems like she ran into some stranger in the garden this morning. I ordered the whole castle to look for that person." He looked down to Belle, "I don't care about anything else. I just want Belle back."

"Her heart has been taken," Riku said quietly. The princess' condition was exactly the same as Kairi's when her heart left her body three years ago.

The door burst open. A skinny man rushed into Belle's room. "Master!" he cried. His face brightened just like the prince when he saw Donald and Goofy. "Donald! Goofy!"

"What's the matter, Lumiere?" the prince asked, frowning deeply.

"That's Lumiere?" Donald and Goofy said in unison.

"Please excuse my intrusion. A suspicious person was sighted outside the castle gates!" the butler reported.

Author's note: Well I'm back from a long break in writing. With II Final Mix and Re:CoM beatened, I have decided to give this sequel a shot. Please review as always!

I have watched the new secret ending in KHII FM and is aware of how bizzarre it is. This story will not attempt to relate to it. Therefore if Zenith's description somewhat resembles a certain blue-hair character; they're totally different people.