Here at the End

by Ederek Cole

This is my prediction about how the whole series might end. Don't be angry at me, it's just an opinion. Also, Nexus is just a guy I made up; he is not the actual villain in Kingdom Hearts 3. Rated for a lot of violence.

Kingdom Hearts: Here at the End

Sephiroth fell to his knees, panting from exhaustion. Cloud landed beside Sora as the Keyblade vanished.

"How?" the one-winged angel said, his mouth bleeding from the extremity of the beating he had taken. "You're...just a boy...."

"I live in the light," Sora explained. "And that will always be enough to beat back the darkness."

Sephiroth was silent. Cloud stepped forward. "I'm done with you," he said, readying his sword for the final strike. "Stay in my memories."

Sephiroth scowled. "I've told you," he grunted. "I'll never be a memory."

Tifa, Leon, Cid, Yuffie, and Kairi watched the horizon intently, searching for a sign of life. Cloud and Sora had been gone for a long time, and the group was getting worried.

After a while, Kairi was the one who broke the silence. "Don't worry," she said, and the rest of them turned to her. "Sora is strong, and Cloud has his light. They'll be back."

"Look!" Yuffie yelled in excitement, pointing to the horizon. They all looked, and Kairi smiled. Two shaded figures were walking away from the immense cloud of dust that had accumulated during the battle with Nexus, one holding a large sword, and one holding a Keyblade.

"Sora!" Kairi called, and ran toward him. Sora met her gaze and followed her lead. They met in a tight embrace, Sora burying his face in Kairi's hair.

"Kairi," he whispered as Cloud passed them. "I'm so glad you're alright."

"Me, too," she breathed in response.

"Sora," Cloud called over his shoulder. Sora and Kairi looked up at him. "Take care of her." Cloud looked down, disgusted with himself. "You'll never know how hard it is, not living with her." Sora nodded.

"Aerith was important to you, wasn't she?" Kairi asked sincerely. Cloud merely looked away. "You know that we'll always be--"

Something cut her off. Sora looked down at her. She wore a mingled look of fear and confusion.

"Kairi?" he asked cautiously.

Suddenly, she fell. Her eyes seemed to roll back in her head as she fell toward the ground. Sora caught her before she landed, frightened.

"Kairi!" he called out to her. Cloud rushed over to see what had happened, but there was a flash of light that encircled Sora, and Cloud stopped, and then fell over. He was dead.

"CLOUD!" Leon screamed. He reached for his gunblade, but Terra was upon him next, the knight's Keyblade at Leon's throat.

"Don't," Terra warned.

"Kairi," Sora whispered, leaning down to try to hear if she was breathing. She was, but just barely. "Don't go, Kairi," Sora moaned, tears forming in his eyes. "I can't lose you both."

"You won't," came a voice from behind him. He turned. It was Roxas again, this time in his black robe, the hood pulled down over his eyes. "Even if she falls here, she'll still be with you."

Terra appeared in front of Sora, between him and Cloud's lifeless form. "Now, you will die, and the Keyblade will never be able to create chaos in the world again." He swung his Keyblade down on Sora's head, but Sora was faster. The Oblivion and the Oathkeeper appeared for him; as the Oathkeeper blocked the assault, the Oblivion struck Terra in the stomach, throwing him backwards through the air. He landed in a crumpled heap, but was nowhere near defeated.

"Fine," Sora growled, laying Kairi gently on the ground and getting to his feet. "If you want to fight, then I'll make you pay for every moment that you've tried to cause my friends pain. You'll die for every life you've taken!"

Sora charged, readying both of his Keyblades for a strike that usually won most battles. Terra easily deflected both sides of the strike, however, and countered with an even faster swing that barely missed Sora's face. Terra meant business.

Sora jumped away for a moment to try to get his bearings. Terra, however, didn't need the extra time, and took the opportunity to charge at Sora, ready to finish the battle in one swing.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and Terra flew back again. Sora focused, trying to figure out who had helped him. Riku looked back at him.

"You giving up already?" Riku taunted as Sora tried to get over his bewilderment.

"I thought you fell into the darkness...."

"I did. Turns out, the light was stronger." He smiled. "We'll go together, remember?"

Sora nodded, then readied Oathkeeper and Oblivion to help the Way to the Dawn finish Terra for good.

"Good," Terra said, rising slowly to his feet, "the more, the merrier."

Sora and Riku charged at the same time, the three Keyblades flashing faster than Sora had ever remembered. Somehow, though, Terra was able block every strike with his single Keyblade, unfaltering in his motions. Riku leaped over his head, swinging downward at Terra's helmet. It was the first assault of the entire battle that connected, and it shattered the metal, revealing Terra's long brown hair and scarred face.

"Hmm..." The knight was impressed. Never before had he been hit, save for the Keyblade War. He spun quickly, swinging the Keyblade at Riku. Sora dashed over in an instant, blocking the strike. He spun as well, the two Keyblades spinning with him. They both struck Terra's armor, splitting and shattering it. Terra staggered, stepping back.

"FIRE!" Leon screamed, still hazardously upset about the loss of Cloud. The Firagun spell struck Terra where Sora had removed his armor, scorching the skin.

"Ice!" Sora yelled, but instead of shooting the spell at Terra, he engulfed the Oblivion in the frost. He charged forward while Terra was stunned and shoved the blade into the knight's weak spot.

Terra's Keyblade fell to the ground, quickly followed by Terra himself. "Sora," he struggled to say. Sora looked down at him, a look of disgust on his face. "I...will not leave you...without ensuring that the Keyblade will never see the light of day again..."

Suddenly, with strength that seemed to come out of nowhere, Terra flew at Kairi, slashed once, then fell again and died.

"KAIRI!" Sora and Riku screamed in unison. Sora dashed to her side, tossing both Keyblades away.

"Kairi," he said frantically, lifting her up off the ground. She was no longer breathing. "Kairi! Kairi, come back!"

Riku, though just as distraught as Sora, knew that now was not the time to lose their heads. "Sora, she was locked in the darkness before Terra did that. She couldn't have been sa—"

"You're wrong!" Sora retaliated before Riku could finish. "If I had just followed you into the darkness before this stupid quest began, I could've saved her!"

Riku's temper flared. "Don't talk like you would have given into the darkness! You don't know how horrible it is until you're there, and I don't want to see you fall into it, too!"

But Sora had stopped listening. He had stopped thinking. He knew that if he went to try to finish Nexus alone, he would be ripped to shreds. Subconsciously, though, he hoped for that. He hoped that if Nexus took his life the same way Terra had taken Kairi's, they might find each other again.

"I'm going to fight Nexus," Sora said, standing again. "And you're not coming with me."

"What!?" Riku stepped back, completely blind-sided by this sudden change in Sora's heart. "He'll destroy you alone!"

"I know," Sora snapped, turning on Riku. "I hope he does."

"Sora!" Yuffie yelled. She, Cid, and Tifa were running towards them, waving their arms and pointing back over their shoulders. Leon had stayed where he was, holding out his arms as if to embrace the rapidly approaching dark cloud. The mass met Leon, and he was torn to shreds.

Yuffie screamed and tripped over Cloud's corpse. Tifa turned as if to go back to her, but Yuffie had already met Leon's fate. Tifa ran the other way, toward Sora and Riku, but she wasn't fast enough to outrun the darkness. Cid all but gave up; he stood for a moment, staring at the approaching cloud, then turned and gave Sora the same look he always gave when everything was alright. The smoke consumed Cid, then continued to approach.

"Riku!" Sora shouted over the growing thunder. Riku turned away from the mass to lock eyes with Sora. "Are you afraid of the darkness?"

Riku looked back at the cloud, knowing that his answer would either allow them to save the world or destroy it. He turned back to Sora and smiled.

"No," he said confidently. "Remember? We are the darkness."

"We'll go together," Sora said, hoisting Kairi up onto his shoulder. Oblivion appeared in his hand. "Into the darkness."

And together, they gave in to the shadows, falling into the black abyss.

Riku lifted himself up off the ground, the effects of the darkness still working against him. He looked around for a moment and noticed that Sora wasn't there.

"Sora?" he called. "Where are you?"

He was about to step forward when his foot caught something soft. He looked down.

"Kairi," Riku whispered. "Why'd he leave you with me?" He lifted her up into his own arms, and his eye caught something that had been lying under her.

He picked up the Oathkeeper and examined it for a moment. Then he realized what had been done and held Kairi tighter.

"Sora," he said to the darkness. "Why?"

Sora had used the darkness, just as it had used him. To him, the void was nothing but a tool now, and he would not rest until it destroyed itself. He knew he was the strongest; he just didn't know exactly how strong he was.

He had used the darkness to get him back into The World That Never Was, the place where they knew Nexus had gone. He was ready to finish this, even if it meant the end of him.

"Sora!" came the king's voice from behind him. He turned. King Mickey's Keyblade disappeared as he approached Sora. "Why are you here? I thought you were preparing the worlds—"

"Kairi's dead," Sora said shortly. "So are Cloud and the others. But we took Terra out."

"Sora…," the king said sympathetically. "I'm sorry…."

"Don't be," Sora retorted. "Riku's safe, he has Kairi, and I'm going to go finish Nexus for good."

"No!" Mickey was surprised at how much Sora had changed. "He'll destroy you!"

"You don't think I know that?" The Oblivion disappeared, replaced by the Ultima and Fenrir. "I don't care if he destroys me. I'll be with Kairi, and even if I die, the Heartless are mine now."

"Sora, I can't let you do this. I won't watch you fall into darkness. Let me help you." He held out his hand in a genuine attempt to win Sora back from the shadows.

"Stay out of it, Your Majesty," Sora growled, trying not to lose his temper with the king. "You can't help me with this." He walked past King Mickey. "No one can."

Mickey let his eyes fall to the ground as his arm fell back to his side. Above them, the clap of thunder signaled the rain.

"I'm sorry, Sora," the king said, truly regretting that it had come to this. The first raindrops fell on the ground. "But I can't let the one person that everyone is looking to for this to end well fall into the darkness now." The Starseeker Keyblade and the Kingdom Key appeared in his hands. He jumped backwards through the air, landing in front of Sora and blocking his path. "Even if that means forcing the light back in."

"Fine," Sora barked. "If that's how you want it, then that's how it is."

They charged each other, Keyblades primed to strike. Sora took the first swing, but the king was fast—faster even than Sephiroth—and easily parried the attack, then delivered his own. The four Keyblades flashed in intricate patterns through the air and close to the ground, raining sparks onto the saturated pavement. Each attack that Sora dealt was easily deflected by King Mickey, and each blow that King Mickey attempted to land was just as easily blocked by Sora. The battle raged on for nearly ten minutes, the two warriors jumping all over the buildings around them, trying desperately to accomplish their individual goals. With each swing of his Keyblades, Sora wished that King Mickey could see the knife in his heart more and more; King Mickey only needed Sora to see reason, for he felt that that would be enough to open his heart once more to the light.

They had reached Naught's Skyscraper, and had ascended it to the top. The rain was now pouring down in thick sheets, coating everything in an inch-thick sheet of water. At the summit of the skyscraper, Sora held his ground while King Mickey flew through the air and continued to swing the Kingdom Key and the Starseeker at Sora. Sora had become strong, though, and through his adventures, he had become aware of all kinds of attacks and the simplicity of blocking each and every one.

The king landed behind Sora, catching him off guard. Sora turned too fast, and lost his footing. He almost fell from the building, but King Mickey caught his arm.

"Sora, climb!" he yelled over the rain. Sora placed his foot on the side of the building and kicked himself up onto it. The king eyed him intently. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Sora replied, unshaken by the sudden near-death experience. "You're not."

King Mickey realized what was happening a moment too late; Fenrir swung around and caught him in the stomach, throwing him far away from any of the buildings and into the middle to the town square. The king seemed suspended in the air for a moment, watching Sora with a look of sheer disappointment. Then he fell, and landed on the pavement so far below with a loud crunch.

Sora stood, both Keyblades in hand. He looked down upon King Mickey's broken body and frowned. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty," he said, "but Kairi needs me, and no one is going to keep me from her." With that, he turned to The Castle in the Sky.

Riku had taken Kairi back to the islands and laid her to rest in the secret spot, the Oathkeeper at her side. He knew he would not return to the islands, even if he did survive, so he had left her where the others could find her. Once he was sure they would, he returned to The World That Never Was.

"Sora!" he yelled over the rain. "Where are you?"

He found it odd that the Heartless weren't here. Normally, they would be swarming the place, looking for a new heart to steal. Now, however, the streets were bare and abandoned.

Finally, he found a familiar landmark. Naught's Skyscraper loomed ahead, behind the next wall of buildings. He was close.

He rounded the corner, expecting to see Sora somewhere in the square. Instead, all that met his eye was a crumpled black heap lying in the center of the buildings.

"Your Majesty!" Riku yelled, running to the king's side. He dropped down to his knees, sliding the last few feet to the king. He was almost dead.

"Riku," King Mickey said with what little strength he had. "Sora…has fallen to the darkness…."

"No," Riku moaned, disbelieving the entire situation. How could Sora destroy his own friend?

"Don't…fight him….He needs the light…." King Mickey grabbed at Riku's shirt, pulling him closer. "Show him…the light…."

And with that, King Mickey was gone.

"NEXUS!" Sora screamed at the top of his lungs. "GET DOWN HERE AND FIGHT, YOU COWARD!"

"Well, well," a voice said from above him. His eyes shot upward, the white robed figure meeting his eye instantly. "Someone's in a foul mood."
Fenrir disappeared, and Sora reached out his now empty hand. At his command, a legion of Heartless—Shadows, Soldiers, Large Bodies, Dragoons, all of them—appeared at his side. The Fenrir reappeared in Sora's hand as the Heartless readied themselves to fight for their new master.

"The Heartless are mine now, Nexus!" Sora yelled, tightening his grip on the Keyblades. "And nothing you say will change their minds!"

Nexus chuckled. "And what makes you think I need the Heartless?"

Sora was unaffected by Nexus's confidence. "I said, get down here and fight!"

Nexus looked curiously at the young man. Hadn't this been the boy that had once sworn by the light? "What are you trying to prove?"

"That no deed—good or bad—goes unpunished." Sora glanced at the Heartless around him. All of them were awaiting the order to attack.

"So you come to my castle and order me to fight—call me a coward—and then summon a legion of Heartless to fight for you? Now who's the coward, Sora?"

"Sora!" Riku yelled. Sora turned, livid that Riku had come here.

"I told you not to help. Why did you come here?"

"To back you up. I can't let you fight the darkness alone. It'll destroy you before he does!"

"Your friend doesn't seem to have much confidence in you," Nexus taunted. "Maybe it's him you should be fighting. After al…" Nexus looked up at Kingdom Hearts. "…he did get Kairi killed."

"Sora, don't listen to him!" Riku cried desperately. "Come back to the light! We can end this together!"

But Sora's new resolve didn't waver. "What is he talking about, Riku?" Sora demanded, the darkness in his heart growing stronger.

"Terra only found you because Riku found you. He led him right to her!" Nexus was truly enjoying this.

"Riku, if that's true…." Sora jammed both Keyblades into the ground and let the darkness explode in his heart. Riku stepped back, away from the Anti-Sora.

"That's right, Sora! Become a Heartless!" Nexus laughed hysterically as Sora vanished into darkness, only to reappear in front of Riku a split second later.

"Sora!" Riku yelled as the Way to the Dawn appeared. Riku blocked Sora's vicious assault for a while, screaming at Sora to stop. But he wouldn't.

Finally, Riku jumped away, his Keyblade vanishing.

"Enough!" Riku shouted as the Soul Eater sword flashed into his hand. He swung it once, and the Anti-Sora's soul was gone, replaced by Sora, who fell to his hands and knees at Riku's feet.

"Is it true?" Sora asked through gritted teeth and tears. Riku hesitated. "IS IT!?" Sora screamed.

"Yes," Riku replied, sorry that it had to be said. "It's true."

Sora nodded, still crying. "Fine," he said. "Then this is my battle." He took off before Riku could stop him, grabbing the Ultima and Fenrir on his way up the side of the castle.

Nexus's double-bladed Keyblade materialized in his hand, and as Fenrir came down from the sky, he swung. Sora barely blocked the assault with the Ultima, but when Nexus swung again, it was a different story. The tip of the key sliced right through Sora's chest, cutting his heart open. The boy fell back down to the ground.

"Sora…," Riku breathed, knowing, but not daring to believe, that what he saw was true.

Sora was gone.

Riku stepped over to Sora's body and reached down to lift him up. The crown necklace that Sora always wore was now sprayed with Sora's blood, a testament to how far Sora would go for the fate of the worlds.

Riku took the necklace and put around his own neck. Then, he reached down and picked up the Ultima.

"Nexus," Riku said dangerously, "you're a dead man."

Riku jumped up in much the same fashion as Sora, but he struck with the Soul Eater first. Nexus blocked the sword, then spun around and swung with the other end of his Keyblade. Riku vanished in an explosion of darkness, then reappeared behind Nexus, ready to end it. He swung the Soul Eater, which was blocked again, then he disappeared again, and repeated the process. Finally, after the third time, he appeared above Nexus, and swung downward with both the Ultima and the sword. Nexus used the shaft of his Keyblade to block the sudden change, which Riku had anticipated; using his momentum, he swung down and around, and kicked Nexus off the edge of the castle. Nexus smiled, then turned to face the rapidly approaching ground.

Riku was on him in a flash. Nexus's smile faded as Riku appeared just below him, Ultima and Fenrir in hand. He only needed to swing them once; Nexus's focus broke, and when he hit the ground a hundred feet below, it was headfirst.

Riku smiled to himself. "I'm coming guys," he said to the sky, and he closed his eyes, welcoming the unforgiving pavement.