A/N: Kairi's P.O.V.

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"Riku!" I called, trying to run over to my friends, but Master Aqua was keeping me to her and Master Terra. "I said, release him!" Riku growls at Vanitas. Vanitas laughs, "Ordering me around isn't going to get you anywhere!" I struggled against Aqua, "Let me help him!" "It's too dangerous." she says. I growl up at her, "It's too dangerous for me to do any of the stuff this group does but I still do it!"

"Yes," she says evenly, "But Riku wants me to keep you out of harms way this time. This is his fight." "How?" I scoffed, "We're all here!" "Yes, but," Terra says from beside us, "Vanitas called war upon Riku, and is now using Sora to make sure Riku fights. This is Riku's fight, he knows what he's doing. Calm down, Princess, if anyone knows how well Riku can carry himself, it's you."

I sighed, "Yeah, I know, but still! I have to help him!" "Then wait." says Roxas, now coming up beside us, "If things get too bad, I'll step in myself. There's no way I'm letting Sora die. Ever." "Roxas.." I say. He smiles lightly, "Watch and learn, Princess. Riku's about to free Sora." I returned my attention to the fight just as Riku gets up under Vanitas and slashes across his chest with Wrath of Dawn and Vanitas stumbles back, causing his prison to shatter, and Sora falls to the ground.

I instantly break free and run over to Sora. The others stay where they are. Riku continues to fight Vanitas on his own. I made Roxas swear to help if things got bad, which I'm grateful they have yet to. I get to Sora and kneel by him, lifting him into my arms. "Sora? Come on, Sora, it's time to wake up now." I say, just over a whisper. I gently stroke his cheek, "Come on now, don't make us do all the work. You gotta wake up now.."

I continue to stroke his cheek gently, "Come on now, Sora.." I was hoping my coaxing words would get him up, but I'm not having any luck. "You have to fight with Riku, remember?" I asked, trying anything to rouse him now, "You two are a team, gotta beat Vanitas together, so we can go home. Don't let Riku do it by himself. You know he needs you just as much as the rest of us do. Sora, we need you. He needs you. I need you."

Sora's eyes flutter and I held my breath, willing it to not just be my imagination, hoping that it wasn't too late for Sora. I let out my breath in a sigh of relief when he opened his eyes. "Sora!" I cried, hugging him to me. He hugs me back, chuckling at me lightly, then lets go, getting to his feet, taking me up with him. He looks around and locates Riku. "I gotta help him. Stay out of the way." he instructs. I nod, showing him I understand.

He takes a step forward, summoning his Keyblade. Vanitas fires Darkness at Riku, Riku dodges it, but to our dismay, it's a huge ball, and heading for Sora and I, big enough to engulf us both. I gasp and Sora quickly grabs my arm and tosses me as far as he can, without using enough force to really hurt me. "Sora!" I cry. He brings his arms up over himself, a gesture of protection as the Darkness swirls right for him. He has no time to move. "Sora!" I scream again, this time more urgently.

I try to get up, to run to him, to get him out of harm's way. But I'm not fast enough, and I scream his name again. It seems someone else is though. Someone, I'm not sure who at the moment, appears in front of Sora, shielding him from the blast. The substitute gets the full blast, he screams, Sora gasps. I scream, because I finally see who it is; "VENTUUUUUS!"

I quickly run to him once the Darkness had disappeared. Ventus falls back, into Sora, who catches him. "Ven!" Sora gasps, "Ven!" I get to them, standing by Sora, I grab Ventus's hand, "Ventus? Ventus!" "Ven.." Sora cries, "why?!" "I..." Ven says, "couldn't...I couldn't let our last hope...die..." "Ven.." I say, tears rolling down my cheeks, not even moving my hands from his to wipe them away.

"Don't cry...Princess.." he says, smiling weakly at me, "I would die...for you, Riku, or Sora...any day..." Sora is struck silent, I only cry more, "Oh, Ven!" "Tell...Aqua and Terra...I'm...sorry..." he breathes, barely over a whisper. "Ven.." I keep pathetically repeating over and over, not finding anything else to say. Damn..I'm so stupid.. A friend is dying, and all I can do is cry his name like a child.. "And...Sora..." he says, clinging his free hand to Sora's shirt.

"Y-yeah..?" Sora asks, trying not to cry, but obviously about to. "Keep...keep the Light within you... burning bright..." And that was it. That's the end. Ventus's hand drops limp from Sora's shirt, his other hand goes limp and cold in my hands. The light goes out in Ventus's eyes. It may just be me, but it looks as if his body, it's gotten, just barely, slightly darker. That's it. That's the end. Another friend is lost. Ventus, a dear friend, something of a perfect example to Sora, is gone. Dead. That's what I'm trying to say to myself; Ventus is dead.

Sora gently lays Ventus's body on the ground, closing Ven's eyes. "Don't worry," he mumbles to the body, "I will. I promise you I will." "Sora..?" I ask, reaching out to him. He looks at me, standing tall now, his eyes full of grief and anger, "What, Kairi?" His voice was flat and emotionless. I hate seeing Sora like this. This isn't a way Sora should ever be. Not ever. I will find a way to make this easier on him. I promise him that.

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I stay out of the fight, like I promised Sora I would. Terra and Aqua are silently grieving for their lost friend. Even Lea and Roxas cry silently over his body, well, Lea doesn't cry, he just stares down at him sadly. I have this theory that after Xion, he doesn't know how to express his full emotions to grieve anymore. Sora and Riku agree with me, Riku having been there when he had his breakdown when he found her.

I watched silently as Sora and Riku went round and round with Vanitas, no one getting anywhere anymore. Sora was fighting with grief and anger alone, Riku, with his new powers, made him stronger and faster, than even Sora really. Vanitas manages to knock Riku down, across the room and Sora goes to hit him, but he vanishes and Sora looks around angrily, "Show yourself you coward!"

Sora was beyond caring. He'd finally had enough. Vanitas appears behind Sora, but Sora doesn't see him, neither does Riku. But I do, so I stand fully up, summoning my Keyblade, and aim it right at Vanitas's back, pressing all the light I can into the tip of my blade, hoping to weaken him just enough for us to finally win this thing. I can't let another person die because of this guy.

Once all the Light I could muster was pressed into my Keyblade, I shot. The Light hit Vanitas square in the back and he roared, spinning around, facing me, glaring at me, coming at me. I prepared myself for an attack and planted my feet firm on the ground. He soars into me, taking me right off the ground, slamming me into the wall though keeping a tight hold on me. "You'll pay for that, Princess." he growls.

I squirm under his hard touch, but I have no chance of escape. "Let her go, Vanitas!" roars Sora. Vanitas smirks at me, "The Prince wants his Princess back. How cute." His sarcasm was really starting to annoy me. "I said let her go!" demands Sora. "Nah." Vanitas chuckles darkly, "Don't wanna." "Vanitas," I warned, "You've gone too far! Now let me go!" I struggles some more, but it was no use, I couldn't escape. Vanitas just laughs at me, "Oh I haven't done anything close to what I have planned." That scares the hell out of me. What could he possible have planned? I could feel his tight grip start to bruise my forearms.

"Let her go, Vanitas." comes Terra's cool voice, "She's no interest to you." I find myself doubting his words. I think I'm what he plans to sue against Sora, I know this so bad, I can hear Sora's agonizing screams, but I try not to think of that. It makes me nauseous and I don't want to get sick, especially not in front of my friends, and definitely not in front of Vanitas. "Let her go, now, or else!" growls Sora. "Or else what?" snickers Vanitas.

"Or else you'll die!" Sora yells. "Calm down." I heard Riku say, no doubt to Sora. "Let her go, Vanitas, she has nothing you want!" says Aqua. "Oh doesn't she?" laughs Vanitas, "Her heart is something I want! Xehanort can now forge the True X-Blade by using only the Seven Princesses hearts. Kairi's heart, is very much something we want and need." Everyone, including me, except Vanitas of course, gasped. Vanitas laughs at our stunned faces.

"So, if I want to overthrow Xehanort, and still win, all I have to do is take this one girl's heart." he muses. I growl softly and he chuckles, "What do you think, Sora? I think it's worth it." "Don't you dare touch her!" Sora growls. Vanitas snickers at me and I glare back at him. An Unversed comes form his body and stabs into my chest. I scream at the sudden pain and Sora screams, "Vanitas, don't hurt her!"

He laughs as the Unversed extends its hand, if it has one, into my chest. "NO!" screams Sora, lunging for Vanitas, who shoots Sora right back down. I scream again and try to shake Vanitas off, but I can't, he's still stronger than me. I groan in pain and the Unversed leaves my chest, not taking anything with it, it goes back into Vanitas's body. I'd expected it to take my heart, why had Vanitas stopped it?

"That was just an example of what I can do." Vanitas laughs, "Do you wanna see the real thing? Cause I'm more than happy to show you!" "You're sick!" growls Aqua. Vanitas just laughs at her. "Let her go, Vanitas!" Sora growls, "NOW!" Vanitas laughs and drops me, while I'm twelve feet in the air. I scream at the sudden release of pressure, plummeting me to the ground. Thankfully Riku acted first and caught me before I hit the ground. I tried to thank him, but he was focused on shooting death glares at Vanitas, who sneered down at us.

Riku puts me down and Sora runs to me, instantly taking me in a tight, but gentle embrace one of worry and love. I hug him back with the same and then we let go of each other, turning back to our enemy who refuses to die. "All bets are off." says Riku, addressing us, "Ventus is dead, Kairi almost was too. We're all going to fight, we'll have the upper hand in numbers, and Vanitas will target whoever he wants. We need to fight as a team." No one disagrees. And Riku's new plan is put into action.