Kingdom Hearts III: Eternal Light

Chapter 60: Escape from the Awakening

Sora and Vanitas prepared to square off with one another as Kairi and Riku began to awake also. They were on a separate platform, somewhere inside of the Awakening. Kairi groaned and rubbed her head.

"What....What just happened?" Kairi asked. Riku groaned and sat right up, looking around him.

"Hey. Isn't this....the Awakening?" Riku asked. Kairi looked around herself and nodded, feeling something was different though. They looked below them and the floor they stood on appeared to be Sora's Keyblade crossing with Kairi's blade. Kairi suddenly heard the faint sound of metal clashing.

"Uh oh. Riku! I think Sora's in a fight!" Kairi shouted.

"Huh?! How are you even sure Sora is here?!" Riku asked. Kairi quickly turned to him.

"I...I don't know. But I just feel like he is! Come on! Hurry!" Kairi called. Riku sighed and tailed after Kairi. Meanwhile, Vanitas and Sora were in a fierce fight with one another. Their swords furiously clashed and they were soon in stalemate.

"Who ARE you Vanitas?! Another of the Dark Knight's goons?!" Sora shouted. Vanitas huffed.

"You could say we have SOME connection. But I work alone." Vanitas said, shoving him and Sora apart. Sora groaned.

"Then, answer me this! What did you do with Ansem the Wise?" Sora asked. Vanitas just shrugged.

"Like I know. Ansem was NEVER here to begin with. The one you found in the Realm of Nothing? That WAS me all along." Vanitas said. Sora gasped.

"What?!" Sora exclaimed. Vanitas suddenly drew his blade again.

"Now....let me ask you something boy. Do you know WHERE your powers come from? Or are you too ignorant and oblivious to know the truth?" Vanitas asked. He suddenly came charging and attacked, forcing Sora back. They continued swinging and countering each other's attacks until Vanitas finally knocked Sora's Keyblade from his hands. He stumbled to the floor and was suddenly greeted by Vanitas' sword, pointed directly at his face.

"Do you even KNOW what is truly going on with your "girlfriend" Kairi?" Vanitas asked. Sora growled.

"Like I'd ever tell YOU about what's happening to Kairi! She's my friend!" Sora shouted. Suddenly, Vanitas started to laugh.

"Ha! Like I WANT to know. After I got to talk with Kairi, I know EVERYTHING that she is going through. Shall I tell you?" Vanitas asked. Sora growled, calling back his Keyblade. Vanitas watched it suddenly return to his hand and Sora struck back swiftly, spooking Vanitas slightly and knocking his blade away. Vanitas leaped back and snatched his sword.

"If you know about Kairi, then why did you show yourself? Are you after her?!" Sora asked. Vanitas huffed.

"Not quite. I'm after YOU Sora. You have something I want. Your heart.....that's what I want." Vanitas said. Sora groaned.

"That's what they ALL say." Sora said. Suddenly, Vanitas chuckled and snapped his fingers. Dark portals opened behind him and some strange creatures lunged out for Sora, pinning him down. They didn't appear to be Heartless or Nobodies. These were the Unversed.

"What the?! What....are these things? Some kind of new Heartless?" Sora asked. Vanitas chuckled.

"Not quite. Sora? Allow me to introduce you.....to the Unversed. You could consider them to be subordinates of mine, ready to aide me at my very whim." Vanitas said. He then began to approach Sora as multiple miniature Unversed pinned him down.

"As I said before, your heart? I want it. For it is the key.....my key to Ventus!" Vanitas shouted. Sora groaned, looking up at Vanitas.

"Your key....to Ventus? No! You're NOT getting your hands on him!" Sora shouted. He suddenly reached for Ven's charm and activated it. The sheer force blew Vanitas and the Unversed back, far enough for Sora to stand again with Ventus at his side. Ventus was in his casual armor and holding his Keyblade.

"Vanitas...." Ventus growled. Vanitas smirked.

"Ven....how long has it been? Twelve years now?" Vanitas asked, chuckling shortly after. Ventus clutched his Keyblade tightly.

"I never thought I'd see the day that you would rear your ugly face again." Ventus said. Vanitas huffed, preparing to attack again.

"I'll never stop Ventus. Not until I get what I want. Finally, after all these years, we settle this TODAY!" Vanitas shouted. He laughed and came charging, swinging but missing both Keybladers. They jumped to opposite sides and faced Vanitas.

"Come on Ven! Let's get this guy!" Sora called. Ventus nodded and came charging. Both Sora and Ventus attacked Vanitas, but he poofed away and appeared behind Sora.

"This is the end!" Vanitas shouted. But just as he attacked, Sora deflected it and gave Ventus a big enough opening to counter attack, striking Vanitas directly. Sora then attacked with Ragnarok and pushed Vanitas up against an invisible wall.

"Gagh....drat. I....didn't expect the two of you.....to have such a strong bond by now." Vanitas growled. Ven and Sora smirked, raising their blades.

"We're Keybladers! And as I like to say, Keybladers always have strong bonds. Bonds that no one can break." Sora called. Vanitas growled, lunging for Sora.

"Then let's see how strong your bond is after I kill one of you!" Vanitas shouted. He prepared to attack, but Ventus soon stepped in front of Sora.

"Ven?!" Sora gasped.

"Perfect! Two birds with one stone!" Vanitas laughed. Suddenly, Ven began to form a glowing sphere in his hand. He glanced back at Sora.

"Sora! Lend me your strength!" Ven shouted. Sora nodded and rested his hand against the orb, suddenly making it shine even brighter. The light blinded Vanitas temporarily before he was suddenly pierced through his chest by a beam of pure light. Vanitas gagged, coughing bits of blood, as he fell to the floor. He laid unconscious on the floor and the sword vanished from his hand. Sora looked down at Vanitas.

"Ven. What's going on? Who IS that guy? What do you two have against one another?" Sora asked. Ventus looked at Sora.

"I'm sorry. I....I want to explain but....now is not a good time. Please, Sora, you have to come to the Realm of Darkness. Terra, Aqua, Ansem and I are waiting for you." Ventus said. Sora gasped.

"Wait! Ansem? He's in the Realm of Darkness? But....what do you mean by....?" Sora asked as he saw Ventus beginning to fade away.

"Sorry Sora. Until next we meet, come to the Realm of Darkness!" Ven called out as his spirit returned to his artifact. Sora groaned and looked back at Vanitas, still out cold on the floor. He turned to find that his friends, originally trapped as stone statues, had been freed. Nothing but empty pedestals stood around them.

"The....Realm of Darkness. What did he mean?" Sora thought. Just then, he heard feet rushing his way. Kairi and Riku were just arriving on the platform and hurried to Sora.

"Sora!" Kairi exclaimed. She suddenly hugged Sora tightly as Riku stopped to watch.

"Kairi! Riku! You guys are all right." Sora said. Riku looked down at Vanitas on the floor.

"Sora? Who's that? And why does he look like you?" Riku asked. Sora asked if he meant Vanitas and Riku gave a nod.

"I'll explain later. We....We probably should get out of here though." Sora said. Kairi agreed and the three began to leave. But suddenly, Sora felt a bad feeling starting to happen. The pedestals around them vanished and Vanitas began to slowly rise again. His body began to grow, tearing the clothes on his arms. Sora, Kairi and Riku saw a giant shadow towering over them and the sound of a demonic growl.

"Where are YOU going Sora?! The fun's only beginning!" a warped voice exclaimed. They turned around and saw a giant Heartless towering overhead. It appeared to be a Darkside and it's torso was the same as Vanitas' outfit, including the shape of his hair.

"Gah! Sora! What is that?!" Kairi gasped.

"It's Vanitas! Look out!" Sora called. Vanitas rose back and swung his fist, missing the three of them but starting to cause the glass below them to crack.

"He.....He's a Heartless!" Riku shouted. Vanitas' eyes glowed yellow as he turned to Sora.

"Where's your precious Ven now?! Looks like he just abandoned you to die! Some BOND you two have!" Vanitas shouted. He attacked again, but missed, inflicting more cracks to the floor. Sora attacked and was able to strike Vanitas' wrist, inflicting a big strike to him.

"Geagh!" the monster roared. Kairi and Riku attacked next, aiming for Sora's wound. They then attacked together and were able to slice off Vanitas' left hand completely. The giant Heartless glared at his severed hand and snarled.

"You! You! Die!" Vanitas exclaimed. He then roared loudly, almost in an ear hurting tone. As Kairi heard him, her memory of the monstrous creature from her flashbacks came to vision. Vanitas' roar was causing the floor beneath them to grow even more cracks until it finally shattered. Sora, Kairi, Riku and Vanitas started to fall through the floor.

"Gah! The floor shattered!" Riku shouted. Kairi watched on in fear, fearing they were all about to plunge into the dark abyss below. But as she covered her eyes, she felt someone grab her. She looked and saw Sora.

"Sora!" Kairi gasped.

"Don't worry Kairi! I've got you!" Sora called. Kairi soon grasped onto Sora tightly, yelling as they continued to fall. But suddenly, a bright light flashed before them and warped Sora, Kairi and Riku away as Vanitas continued to fall. The light had somehow brought Sora, Kairi and Riku back to Radiant Gardens, waking up on the floor in the exact same spot that they ran into Vanitas. Their friends surrounded them.

"Look! They're awake!" Lilo shouted. Genis sighed.

"That's great. For a minute, I thought we were never going to wake them up." Lloyd said. Sora and the others sat up, holding their heads.

"Guys? Ugh. Where....Where are we?" Sora asked.

"We're in Radiant Gardens. Are you three all right? We found you unconscious on the floor moments ago." Regal asked. Kairi nodded, saying they had a pretty bad "vision" about something.

"Why? What did you see?" Leon asked. Riku sighed.

"We'll tell ya in a while Leon. Right now, ugh, my head really hurts for some reason." Riku said. Sora looked to his side and saw Raine and Colette.

"We're glad you're all right. Colette and I have been trying to use our artes to wake you up. I guess they must've finally worked." Raine said. Sora looked at himself and chuckled.

"I guess they did." Sora said. He then saw Donald and Goofy looking on as well.

"Donald? Goofy? I'm really sorry about before. I....I wasn't myself and....I shouldn't have yelled. Can you forgive me?" Sora asked. Donald looked up at Goofy and Goofy did likewise, both having a cocky looking smirk on their faces. Soon, the two of them began to laugh.

"Of course we can Sora!" Goofy laughed. Sora chuckled, growing a small tear in his eye. Donald and Goofy then hugged Sora tightly, all three laughing.

"After all, we're best friends, aren't we?" Donald asked.

"Yep! We're the three Mousekateers!" Goofy cheered. Donald sighed.

"That's "Musketeers" Goofy!" Donald pointed out. Goofy gasped.

"Don't worry. You've always had a WAY with words Goofy. But....you mean well." Sora said. Donald, Goofy and Sora started to laugh again, happy to still be friends. Kairi chuckled and so did Riku. But as they laughed, a faint figure, shaped like Vanitas, watched Sora and vanished in a flash against the moon.

TO BE CONTINUED...