A Kingdom Hearts Short Story: 'Happy Dreams'

by Craxuan

Continuing 'Mirror Game', this is going to be a shock for those who had expected another romance story from me, no. Guess what, I loved them but horror is a bit of my old specialty. I'm still wondering whether I've lost those touches but... Here we go.

A Kingdom Hearts Short Story: 'Happy' Dreams

Part I:

It was morning. Sunshine shone through the curtains of Sora's room and landed directly on his face. At first it would seemed that he was having a really deep sleep, but a closer look told things differently. His eyes were clenched too tight, his hands holding the blankets underneath his body in a death grip, and his legs were thrashing like fish on land. This would've gone on even longer if it wasn't for Kairi's voice calling out from outside the windows, "Sora! Sora! Wake up already! We're gonna be late for school!" He stirred. There was something that's holding him in his dreams, would not allow him to return to reality, and he was fighting with everything he had to wake up, but it wasn't enough. Then he heard another voice. Riku's voice.

"I'll handle this, Kairi. Watch me."

Before Sora could dive out of the way and towards safety, a surge of dark energy has blasted him off the bed and right to the opposite wall. Dazed he might be, but there was no mistake of the smirk on Riku's face. And Kairi's restrained giggles that burst into uncontrollable laughter. Slowly but steadily, he got up to his feet and stared daggers at Riku, his eyes blazing dangerously, "You've blasted -" he looked into the huge gap where his windows once were, "- twelve thousand munny outta my purse just to wake me up?" Riku looked around mockingly, pretending that he was surprised by the devastating destruction, "Oh my god Sora, what on earth could've did that? I would never have done such a blasphemy in my entire life. In fact, I do good by waking my best pal up with a healthy dose of - Agh!" And Sora charged into him with his head. It no longer mattered to Sora that his garden would be dirtied to the point of no return. As they fought Kairi simply stared at the tangled mass of Sora and Riku, giggling non-stop. She sat down on the grass and looked into the sky.

"It's a beautiful day, right Sora?"

Sora and Riku released themselves and sat on the grass, looking at the same direction as they felt the silent breeze swept over them, the sun shining.

"Yeah."

While Riku and Kairi managed to escape punishment as this is the first time they had ever been late to school, Sora was not so lucky. In fact, he had never failed to arrive late to school, and this time Mr. Jameson was mad.

"Sora?"

Gulp "...Yes?"

"GET OUTTA MY CLASS AND STRAIGHT TO THE HEADMASTER'S ROOM!"

It felt like the Northen Pole for Sora. The Headmaster of Destiny's School has been well-known for his ruthlessness and creativity in punishing ill-behaving students. Sora could still remember clearly the day when Tidus was dragged out of the classroom by the impossibly strong Headmaster and thrown into a truck. No one knows where the Headmaster drove Tidus to and what he did to him, but all remembered the complete terror and anguish on Tidus' face when they came back, and since then Tidus has never played anymore pranks in class again. To the students, it was a miracle. To Sora and Riku and Kairi, they believed that the Headmaster must have a cloning facility somewhere to clone a new Tidus and disposed of the real person. And now...

But there was no escape. Out of nowhere, two prefects stepped into the classroom and held Sora on both arms. Without a single word, they marched him out of the classroom and towards the office. Sora was afraid, very afraid indeed. He didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to Kairi! As all sorts of frightening weapons of torture course through his mind like a racing horse, he realised that he was there. Too fast, you stupid prefects! In front of the dreaded door of Doom. Sora thought he could saw a glimpse of terror on both of the prefects face before they opened the door, threw him in and scurried away like thieving rats. Groaning at the ungraceful fall, he stood up and looked around.

To Sora's big surprising, everything seemed to be normal. Shelves of books, ancient looking artifacts, a wide glass table and a comfortable feather-cased chair. Typical items for any Headmaster of a school. He couldn't see the Headmaster though, he was giving Sora his back and did not turn around. It was as if Sora was unworthy to talk with face to face! A bit of anger flared, but subsided as quickly as the flash of light when a cold, deathly voice resonated around the room.

"What is your name, boy?" It was so cold, so inhuman that Sora nearly tripped over his own feet! Shivering slightly, he replied with a hint of fear, "Sora, sir. The name's Sora."

Silence. Then it was complete silence. As Sora waited anxiously for a reply, he noticed that the thuderous emotions within his heart were threatening to overflow. It was as if an alarm bell had rang soundlessly behind his mind, and he could do nothing to stop it. After several unbearable minutes of silence, Sora finally decided that he cannot take the pressure anymore longer and burst out in defence, "It wasn't my fault, Headmaster! I didn't choose to wake up late! I had a dream last night, and it was horrible! There was this guy there, he was holding me down and I couldn't get up! I struggled and struggled until I was exhausted, but -"

Sora stopped abruptly, completely dumbfounded. What on earth is he talking about? He had no recollections of that dream before, at least until he stepped into this room. At least until the Headmaster has asked him about his name. Something was terribly wrong, but he cannot understand, he simply cannot understand! What in the nine hells is happening? But Sora knew he was right in the middle of the trouble. Instinctively he ran towards the door, to escape this horrible place that threatened to drown him with unspeakable emotions, but it just wouldn't open! It was as if the door had been glued to this one and only exit, for the doorknob just wouldn't turn, the piece of heavy oak just won't budge! Slowly he turned around, straining a half smile on his face as he spoke outloud, this time trembling, "H-Headmaster, the door seemed t-to be locked. Could you g-give me the key to open it?" And still there was no answer from him! Bastard, it was as if -

Suddenly, everything made sense. His mind froze as he moved across the room, never really knowing what he was doing. A trance, that's it, I must be in a trance or something, he thought with a crazy smile. His hands touched the Headmaster's chair and turned it over. Numbness coursed through his body.

There was no one. There never was. Sora suddenly understood what was wrong when he first came in. He should've seen two pairs of feet, one his and the other pair the Headmaster's. But instead, he saw no feet except his own.

Kingdom Key shone into Sora's palm. Now nearly mad with fear, he charged towards the door and slammed the Keyblade as hard as he could on the door, intending to destroy it and get out of there forever. But to his utter horror, it merely bounced away as if it is a toy and quickly vanished into nothingness. No matter how many times Sora tried, he cannot summon his Keyblade. Sora fell to his knees, crying. His last hope was gone and he was trapped in this place.There is no escape. He could see feet moving underneath the door, but no matter how hard he screamed for help, no one came. No one at all.

He heard his laughter, his cold cruel laughter.

And he screamed.

Wake up.

Part II

"I do not understand, One. What is it do you want from the Keyblade Master?"

A lone figure stepped out from the corner of the magnificent castle, to probe his leader's plan for Sora. He simply could not understand why the boy was so important. So weak. So fragile.

"Not today, Chapel. Not today. Once Maretine succeeds, I shall tell you about my intentions... How many times should I tell you to adress me by my name? You do not need to respect me, Chapel. We are after all, equals." Turning around to face him was an old man of ancient. The bald head and funny beard has never failed to amuse him, and yet the thought to smile never crossed his mind. He knew very well that the old man's appearance were no judge to the true power he held.

Even though One had insisted again and again that they are equals, he knew the truth more than anything else in the world. Friends they might be, but the line between their existences lies all too clearly. And still, the fact that One would regard him and only him as an equal flattered him mightily. His tone lightened, "Why not now? Surely a simple explanation would not disrupt your plans, aye?"

One closed his eyes and savoured a moment of silence before answering slowly, "You should know how Maretine operates. He does not like his work to be... uncovered." Before the lone figure could say anything else, One jogged away as if he was a three years old, whistling in a tune so joyous that the rainbows dazzle above the castle seemed to dim in shame. He gave a small frown before continued his facial expression with an understanding smile.

Funny guy. He always is.

Chapel headed back towards the door he came from, and silently cursed Maretine for setting his original plans back.

Sora woke up with a start again. What a horrible nightmare! I certainly hope that it would not happen again, Phew! Slowly, he got up from his bed and instinctively reached for the curtains. It was too dark around here, and he cannot see a thing. Must be the extra layer I put on yesterday, he spoke to himself outloud. But then he frowned to himself. Something isn't quite right. How come he couldn't touch the curtains? And why does his voice sound so mute -

And suddenly he found himself hanging above a pit hole of nothingness, his arms bounded by a single chain. It came first as a surprise, then horror, then utterly hell-binded panic. Immediately he began to struggle against his unbreakable bounds, thrashing his body around like an mad monkey to no avail. It felt as bad as bananas out of reach. What is going on?! But no matter how hard he shouted, no sound came out of his throat. Throat? Did he even have a throat, or is it another hallucination?

All the sudden Sora remembered that a lesson in his class about sound, that sound is actually produced when air particles collided against each other. Funny that he actually remembered what Mr Jameson taught in his school, given that he slept through most of his class, and now under such stupid circumstances -

He couldn't breathe. It happened so quickly that he released the only air in his lungs and sucked back… nothing. His gasps came in fast and shallow, but he simply couldn't get the air he needed so much. He was suffocating to death! Sora's body began to thrash around wildly as the pressure build up in his burning lungs. Never had he felt so desperate and painful in his life.

Fire! Oh, the fire!

It felt like worms, flesh eaters with their alien fangs chomping into his chest, and with each greedy bite his soul was deepening with crimson and chow. And so he struggled and struggled and struggled. And then he ceased to struggle, because there was no oxygen left in his body, and gone with the only fuel that generates energy in a human body.

If then so, why hadn't Sora passed out? Why is he still tormented by the ever growing death that sat on his shattering being?

God knows. He, knows. Amidst the poor boy's screwing mind, Sora thought he heard a faint whisper floating past his ears.

Ten minutes passed. A thousand more to go…

It was the most pleasant job One had ever gave him. It was like, ten years ago since the day he was famed as 'The Psycho'. Not since he was captured by the Keyblade Wielders of the past and sentenced to death. One had saved him then, and gave him freedom as well. Even better now is this. Finally, the chance to do this, to fix his victims with ecstasy beyond comprehension, to fix their bloody, bleeding, useless crap of… of it. Finally, after ten years -

Another mindless scream from Sora. What a waste of effort, that idiot. He chuckled deeply in his head, clearly enjoying with all his heart as he jumped around playfully at the consideration of moving Sora on to the second phase. If he had laughed out loud, one would hear a deep, masculine voice with all hatred and madness concentrated in every single phrase.

There is no hope in this world. There never was. Scream as you like, to struggle so hard that you make a fool out of yourself, but you could never escape the torment.

Yes, that has been his belief for so long, and it had only grown deeper since ten years ago. Had the Keyblade Wielders been merciful to him and simply die under his sword, he would've been satisfied and commited suicide. To end all the madness as the legend amongst villains. But no, they just had to go against him, do they? An unconscious snarl sprang to his face as he spat with contempt at Sora's face.

While it was a dangerous act to do, he was the master among masters. No, he was GOD. Outer interference would have easily released a person from The Nightmare, but he seriously doubted that they would care about a spit on the face when the true pain he conjured descended upon them.

True pain indeed.

Ok, let's move on then. Maretine cackled gleefully, brown eyes gleaming. And so he walked towards the rigid, whimpering boy and caressed his cheek softly and whispered, So Sora. A cruel smile sprang to his face, How does it taste? Is it… sexy? But he knew Sora would never hear him. He was too busy feeling... something else. Maretine's heart now felt pleasant enough for him to stop.

But no. Truly unfortunately for you, Sora. Maretine gave another cold laughter of triumph. Yes, this is what he had been seeking. To torture the hated Keyblade Wielders until they are all ripped apart. Until forever. And after all of Sora's soundless pleas and mindless begging, there was no release. Yet. There would not be any at all if One had not warned him not to overstep the boundaries... Yes, One's order shall be his command, but he will not stop until hours later, so he would savor the distorted face of Sora's, to lick on his fear until it became wild and uncontrollable, to feast on his torment and the screams in his head.

I love you, Sora. This is, but the beginning of my pleasure, hahahahahahaha...

Thousands of blades sprang to life just outside Sora's dreams, and a second later they dived into the mysterious fog of the young boy's mind.

Riku has always hated his school bag for getting in his way, and this time he decided that he would get rid of it once and for all. It wasn't about the stupid bag tripping him off the school fence while he walked above it again, but it was the fact that it had so nearly prevented him from avoiding a fatal blow aimed for his left ribs. The bag was ripped apart at once by a massive sword of silver, its skull guard reeking with Darkness. Papers scattered everywhere as if rain while Riku flashed to a far spot, The Way to Dawn winking into his hands. He stared intently at the huge, bulky figure that stood menacingly ten metres beyond.

It was a beast alright. It wore a bear's face, and yet his size would've put the biggest of elephants to shame. It was as big as a medium-sized house, and yet its body was so well shaped and muscled that it looked like a human. Even more astonishingly was the fact that he had two pairs of hands and a pair of car-sized feet. The start of a dialogue however, did not surprise him one bit.

"Hello, Riku. I trust that peace had lasted long enough to lick the wounds in your heart, aye?" A raspy, feverish, snarling growl. Almost immediately unspeakable anger exploded from his heart, the shock of that embarrassing truth thrown naked at his feet nearly killed him patience. Orbs of sea squinted dangerously, and then came a tone so deadly that it even overwhelmed this enemy's, "You... Uglier than the worst pig in town. Your parents must be abominations of puny insects to have such a pathetic weakling."

The mighty beast raised an eyebrow before answering angrily, emphasizing each words with the deep hatred that it felt for everyone and everything ever existed in this accursed hell spawn of world, "So, the mighty Keyblade Master would mock me huh? You must be eager to die quick -" Before Riku could react, the beast shot forwards and swung his sword on him mightily, "LIKE, NOW!"

Pure instinct that saved Riku's life. Pivoting towards his side like rockets, he somehow saved himself from being crushed into a pancake by a hair's breadth and a single blow. He's unbelievably fast! Riku thought with increasing frustration. This ain't going to be an easy fight. Not at all.

And then he charged directly into the great beast's guard, The Way to Dawn gleaming like diamond under the sun ready for slaughter.

Somewhere near Destiny's Street, Kairi is hopping cheerfully towards Sora's house. A happy smile came to her face when she thought of the present she got for Sora. And of course, the kiss that she'll never miss in her entire life (Kiss scene could be found in Mirror Game).

Part III:

Sora had always thought that suffocation was the worst way to die ever, but what he was bearing now was nothing compared to the pain of losing skin, and limbs. This time, he could feel the air entering his lungs and slight relief swept through his being like a swift wind. But he soon wished that he hadn't got them back. An imaginary blade stabbed into his stomach as pain and blood exploded in his head. Then he felt his left index finger sliced off with effortless precision. Then the slow, easy scrapping danced on his right thigh until all the skin was scaled off. And it began to scrap off his flesh.

The melody of hell, begins.

Maretine began to play his piano. And at once music reigned as more blades plunged into Sora's body like hungry lions. With eerie perfection Maretine waved and played the sweet melody like magic combusting; he intended to scrap Sora down to the bones. Tone by tone he struck as one by one the blades stabbed in and out of Sora's body, making this strange 'eerkkk' sound whenever they enter, but nevertheless it is beautiful.

Too exquisite.

But this is not the climax yet, he must raise the melody to even higher grounds to float above the fluffy clouds and -

TWANG. A broken string whipped the air painfully. The song was now devastated, incomplete and downright terrible. How unpleasantly similar his life. All the blades vanished into thin air as he walked towards the half-mad spiky boy.

"Hello, Sora." Maretine spoke sweetly, his pointy teeth flashing.

"Hehe... haha.. eee hehehe... Who... What... WAHOO! Hehe..." Sigh, he lost his mind a bit more than I'd expected. Oh, how unfortunate. And so Maretine decided that it was enough; that carving out his organs and his eyes and skinning him alive and chopping off his legs are simply overkill. And to his knowledge, the only way to overcome overkill is to...

Bring the song higher. Let's put a smile on that face! Haha!

And so this time, with both eyeballs popped back into Sora's eye sockets, he grabbed his hair and tore out a huge chunk of it, reveling in the anguish shouts Sora gave. Slowly, he whispered into his ears, "Now now, m' boy, I knew we're far from done just yet. You're a strong kid, you know that? I couldn't believe you were plotting how to escape even under such... joyful events, but guess what? You'll enjoy this even further..."

Donald and Goofy were the ones strung up now, and the same torment Sora's been through was happening to them as well. At Sora's shocked yells and desperate moans, Maretine smiled devilishly. He slowly paced back towards his piano.

And so the tune rose again, accompanied by Sora's screams for his non-existing friends except in his dreams, and the joy for the revival of the shiny blades, and thus began the most beautiful melodies ever existed in the world.

The music of life, and death.

One stepped into his laboratory. It wasn't very big, merely a few hectares at each side covered by bright, flaming walls, but to One, it would be sufficient. And until he could choose a bigger and better one in the near future, he'll just have to wait patiently.

After all, Sora is playing right into their hands.

Staring into the left corner of his eyes, a screen projecting an image of the Nightmares conducted joyfully by Maretine. And he was doing a splendid job in closing down the boy's heart. In fact, it was a masterpiece. One was glad that he had chosen Maretine for the work, for he had completely surpassed Hyphon in that beautiful art.

What a beautiful scarring of heart. Simply gorgeous.

But still, One was unsatisfied. The show Maretine's putting on now is still lacking of something. Something... sensational. And he knew exactly what it is. Break.

He waited patiently for Maretine to finally end his beautiful melody before relying instructions on how to improve. And of course, Sora is the guinea pig to total victory.

Riku was hurt in many places. The head, the arm, the legs, the ribs... just name it. Dammit! He's a monster! A monster! He nearly toppled over another powerful bash that struck him with the force of tanks, forcing the desperate warrior to dodge roll and avoid its full, blunt impact. He had tried every single trick in the book – and his book is very good – while pushing out every ounce of strength in his body to fight the beast. Unbelievably, nothing works. His powerful slashes did nothing except for some small scratches, sometimes nothing at all.

And his magicks were a joke, a bad joke: His Thundaga merely scorched away some of the beast's brown hair. Riku nearly laughed at the thought as his silver hair sparkled across the air. However, the grim reality had kept him rooted and fighting with all his might. Slash by slash he dealt on the great beast, pushing it back with surprising ferocity and kill but hell! The bastard wasn't hurt at all!

It is time, Riku told himself. I don't have a choice. Holding that thought to his heart, he slipped past another rain of blows and came straight to the beast's front. It was exposed, naked, and vulnerable. Then Riku stared it directly in the eyes, and saw a hint of mischief and mock invitation. Almost immediately his black powers began to combust as rage took Riku. So, he would allow me a single strike at him, eh? I'll make him regret that decision!

Powerful dark aura began to explode around Riku's body as his eyes turned yellow. His Keyblade began to shimmer with trembling force as the young adult struggled to inject all of his strength in it. Then, it burst into a twelve feet tall of pure black inferno.

Riku smiled, and the monster smiled back.

With an inhumane cry, he threw himself forwards and slammed The Way to Dawn with a world's worth of energy capable of tearing through even the thickest ground. Upon the impact the beast gave a ferocious roar, and something terrifying and unbelievable happened. His chest bulged open and expanded like bubble, except that this bubble ain't gonna burst any time soon. However, The Way to Dawn and Riku will not be denied as they injected a final surge of energy to throw the horrible beast backwards, its ugly face completely screwed up as it crashed into a house. The entire structure wobbled and fell upon it, signifying the end of the fiercest battle Riku had ever fought.

Or is it?

For the first time in thirty minutes of intense battle, the beast laughed, and it was laughing while being buried under a ton of rubbles! "Is that all you've got, Riku? Even my grandma could've fought you and won! You really had me disappointed, with all that big talk and cocky face..."

The rubbles erupted of volcano and the beast vanished from Riku's sight. The young adult frantically looked around with his Keyblade poised for attacks from all directions. Even if he was exhausted, dodging the monster's attacks was still a no-problem for someone as agile as him.

But he forgot to look up.

And there was this bone crunching blow the beast dealt upon Riku's head, and he knew no more.

"You didn't kill him, did you Beast?" One questioned seriously. He had a curious dislike for death even though he had done more murders than a supercomputer could count.

"No, I did not. And what does my prey have to do with you anyway? Mind your own buisness!" Beast had never liked obeying orders from One. He hated everything in this world including himself. And One was one of them. But then again, One always had a way to control his beastly form, to control his rising temper, and to tame him before he went out of control. And for that, he was secretly grateful, even though he never revealed that fact to anyone. Beast suspected that One knew that too, and that made him angry as well. Until he could locate the hated scientist who had transformed him into this abomination, he shall follow One's orders.

Until then.

One waved his hands dramatically before answering Beast with an air of apology, "Oh no, my powerful Beast! I had no intentions to stand between you and your prey, or should I say what rights do I have to do so! But Riku... Riku is a valuable asset, very valuable indeed. His existence was a miracle itself: Tainted by the Darkness, and yet he still existed as a human. He was unlike anything I've seen before! Therefore -"

"- Should he not prove himself to be a complete nuisance, we shall keep him alive and study him until we understand what he truly is. Trust me, One. We know." It was Chapel. He stepped into the laboratory with a smug look on his face. One's expression shown nothing but pleasant surprise but Beast's face was livid with solemn and serious. He was unhappy and angered for some strange reason. Snarling, he stomped out of the room and left them alone. Chapel stared directly into One's eyes, and instantly both knew what was about to unfold. The fall of the Keyblade Master.

One of the screens showed a cheerful Kairi knocking on Sora's house with a beautifully wrapped present on her hands.

One smiled.

If there was anything Sora wanted more than Kairi in his life, it was death, now. It was the only way he could escape, the only way he could end this eternity of madness. He was taking a bath in hot, boiling blood, his blood. He had never known hell. He knew it now.

But what that had maddened him more is the fact that Donald and Goofy were suffering just as much as he is. He cannot see what was happening to them, his eyes were forcefully pulled out by the horrible scum called Maretine, disallowing him from seeing what he was doing to his friends. Their terrible screams are the worst sounds that he had ever heard in his entire life. Drenching in red, bloody red hell in this panic filled fear contained hell of shit -

And suddenly he was himself again, Kingdom Key ready in his palm and Maretine stood in front of him, smiling. Sora had not recognized the back male, but that cold smile he gave was more than enough to clarify everything. Sora was perfectly normal, filled with energy and more importantly, out of pain. Out of everything.

Alas, out of the nightmare.

And now, something that has never burned in his heart ignited. Hatred. Impossibly deep hatred. His grip grew tighter as his Keyblade shone with Light, and within the essence of his hold… Could that be… Darkness?

Maretine raised his hands in a gesture for Sora to attack. And without hesitation, he did, screaming like a maddened monster and he charged into Maretine with no other intentions except for murder. Thirty steps now. Twenty. Ten.

Zero. He swung his Keyblade down in a massive arc, aiming for the neck.

Kairi was angry. Very angry. She knew Sora was in the house for she could see him through a peek hole Riku had dug on his bedroom years ago. He was actually still sleeping when she was out there, banging on the door and calling out his name so loudly! Her eyebrows arched dangerously as she summoned her Keyblade to her hands and unlocked the door. There is no way Sora's going to get out of this one, Kairi thought angrily. She'll definitely beat the heck out of him. The famous hands-on-the-hips pose was out to strike fear once again, and it was rumored that even Riku armoured to the teeth – and Xehanort the Heartless plus the entire Organization XIII – would've look less intimidating than her fury. She stepped to Sora's side and growled angrily as Sora let out another loud snore that threatened to blow her ears. She sucked in some air and readied her fist. It's pounding time.

All the sudden, Sora's eyes fluttered open to reveal a red, seething hatred before a hideous scream of madness broke loose. Kingdom Key ripped apart the air and zoomed towards Kairi's neck.

And it was bye-bye Kairi, forever.

Is it?

The Finale:

Sora never saw the horror until it was too late to stop. All the sudden, Maretine had turned into a terrified Kairi and before she could even scream, his Keyblade sliced her head off clean and perfect. His hands trembled wildly as he stared at the lifeless head that held all the love he ever had. The headless body began to spray out a fountain of crimson blood.

"H - A - A - A - U - A - A - U - A - U - A - A - A - A - A - A - A - A - A - A - A - H ! ! !"

Life has never been so beautiful in THE hellish way. Unable to believe, unable to trust, Sora conjured up a false fantasy that none of this had ever happened, it never had -

And the Darkness took him, as he fell into an endless slumber, once and for all.

Wait! What is... that Light?

Man, and I thought you were stronger than that, Sora! Wake up!

Wake up... and to see her dead in my hands? NEVER!

Who said she's dead, anyway? See the truth for yourself, Sora! Hmph, and I thought my other was better than his looks! Ugh!

Sora began to reach out for the Light.

Roxas...

He was awake. His hands still hold the Kingdom Key, and his assault was as real as the world around him, except that the Kingdom Key has stopped a milimetre away from Kairi's neck. Finally freed from her shock, Kairi stumbled away from Sora and touched her neck to see if whether it was still intact. Her eyes shone nothing but fear and terror. She could not understand, not at all, that sudden light of madness and torment she had saw in his eyes. And she thought -

She thought he really wanted to kill her. Sora.

Sora's heart was shattered to pieces when he saw the undisguised emotions of horror and repulsion behind Kairi's eyes, but the deep wave of relief swept through his heart and soul was real. True.

He had not killed her. He never intended to. He began to turn away before Kairi called out, her voice trembling, "Sora? What… What was -"

"I'm sorry. I had to go. I must find Riku... Never come near me again, I'm afraid that -" He feared that he might burst into tears and the grim reality that dawned upon him, and so he leaped towards the cool air above him and flew away.

And still she sat there, dazed and frightened.

Ten minutes later, Sora discovered Riku near the beach. It hadn't surprised him at all: If the enemy could put him through all of that so easily, then defeating Riku should have been child's play. But still.

Still. How is this possible? After all that we have been through, are we truly so weak? So pathetic?

Deciding that he should heal Riku first, he called upon the green magic to heal his pal. Bells jingled as the wounds disappeared, but his best friend was still out cold. It was when he stared into Riku's pained face that he knew what actions he should take, or at least he thought he knew. He would leave Destiny Islands forever.

"I can't… allow them to get hurt because of me. I just can't." Sora spoke to himself firmly. This was his decision, and no one would be able to stop it. No one.

Riku stirred. He didn't want to answer any questions, nor did he want another fight with Riku when they argue whether he should leave or not. He stared into the blue sky and sea that joined their worlds together.

"Final." And with that, he disappeared from sight in jumbled radiance of light.

Still dizzy from the blow on the head, Riku climbed up to his feet with a string of curses stuck in his throat. He had no idea what had happened, but still, there was no mistake. He saw Sora, and there was unmistakable grief in his eyes before he vanished away.

One was furious. His fist slammed into the computer screen so hard that he punctured a gaping hole as the entire thing exploded consequently. Chapel quickly disappeared into a nearby corridor before One decided to land his wrath upon him. It was One's turn to stomp away from his laboratory, swearing on top of his lungs that he will kill Maretine, the Nightmare Artist no matter where he tried to hide. And he was right, as always. Ten minutes later, somewhere in the sewers of Destiny Island, a hideous howl of misery broke out, and Maretine is no more.

"... Xehanort." Ah, how much had he missed that name. That title that was granted to him, so much better than the one given by his parents. One sighed deeply at his past memories.

"Ah, Chapel. Is that you? Forgive me for my outburst." One paced back and forth aimlessly, his mind distorted by Maretine's failure. He had been a fool, a complete fool to trust Maretine who cares more about his own personal interest than work. And now he had paid dearly, very dearly indeed.

Seeing that there was no harm, Chapel began to ask questions. He spoke slowly, "I do not understand, Xehanort. Maretine failed, but why must you kill him? He made a simple mistake, that's all."

"Mistake!" One bellowed. Instantly Chapel grew silent, as One began to continue his speech, this time angrily, "Mistake, that he had failed to break the boy's heart! Mistake, that he had failed to close the boy's heart once and for all, and instead made him stronger than ever! Mistake, that he had caused us the Kingdom Key!" And he grew silent again, leaving Chapel to wonder about his last sentence. The Kingdom Key, Chapel thought to himself, so that's what he as after?

"Yes, Chapel. That is what I want. The Keyblade of the Realm of Light." Chapel was startled and annoyed upon that unexpected reply. It had been ten years, and still he cannot get used to One reading his mind as easily as he would study a book. One finally calmed down, but still he spoke with and angry hiss, "We failed to close the boy's heart. And so the Kingdom Key would still be bounded to Sora, and without the Key we are unable to obtain Kingdom Hearts, the Hearts of All Worlds. It as a simple mistake, but a fatal one. It had caused us everything." Again he raised his arms high in the air in a dramatic gesture, his mouth working furiously, "The first rule of survival! Strike down the strongest person first, and so the remaining blocks shall topple in our favor! The most important rule of the arts of heart, to crush without hesitation! And although I had completed the first rule for Maretine, he had failed in absolute everything!" One began to pant heavily as he held himself straight with a table. It was not good to subject a body to anger.

Chapel decided that it would be safe to ask, even though it might invoke One's wrath again, "But... if we are to obtain the Kingdom Key of the Realm of Light, then surely we would also want to take the Key of the Realm of the Darkness. And definitely, Sora is not the strongest of all! Have you forgotten King Mickey?"

One froze suddenly the moment the word K flew out of Chapels's mouth, and he held his breath. To his amazement, One began to laugh, "The mouse? Him?" One flung his left arm aside and threw an enormous fireball, blasting a gigantic hole in his laboratory again so fast that Chapel nearly fell over. One's eyes seemed to burn with ill enjoyment, "I had never forgotten him, never. He seemed so useless, so young, so weak. I was lulled into a false sense of security, thinking that his existence would never had affected my plans. And ten years ago, it was this harmless little mouse that has foiled everything." He took a deep breath before continuing, "And I shall not make the same mistake again. Sora may look weak and harmless, but if a mouse could wreck my plans, so will Sora. After all," he gave a feral grin that Chapel has never seen before, and he prayed silently to himself, "King Mickey's time had passed."

He gestured to the screen on top of his head. Chapel looked up and saw that Disney Castle is under attack, and King Mickey and Donald and Goofy and the others fleeing on a Gummi Ship. The Cornerstone of Light was theirs now.

"He is now truly, useless. As soon as I dispose of Sora, King Mickey would be an amusing toy. His Key can wait." And the screen was switched off. One turned around and stared directly into Chapel's eyes. He began to relay his orders, "You would tell Hyphon that it is his turn to prove his worthiness. He would tell him that if he fails, he shall receive the same fate as Maretine. I will give no mercy." And again he disappeared, blinking away as if he was never there but not before he finished his sentence.

"As always."