Riku emerged from a dark portal in an elegant, grand ballroom. While the ballroom was very well-lit, through the huge glass windows he could see that it was nighttime outside. This must be the Beast's castle. He left the ballroom and began to walk throughout the castle corridors. It seemed very well kept; but despite this, he could see no servants or guards of any kind. His footsteps echoed in the huge empty space. Surely this castle wasn't under the same sleeping enchantment as the castle in Maleficent's home world? Memories of that castle came crashing back to him as he remembered Kairi's current state, but he brushed such thoughts aside. He was here because of Kairi, after all. Now, where could Belle be?

Lifting his hand, he summoned a group of Heartless.

"Find Belle. Do whatever you want to anyone who gets in your way, but keep her safe."

As the Heartless scurried away, Riku grinned. Now it began; the search for the sixth Princess of Heart. Belle would soon be his.


"For the love of Zeus, there are even more Heartless in this district," Hercules said in frustration, punching through a group of them.

"We'll be fine. Just don't give up!" Sora said.

"Sora, watch your back!"

Sora turned quickly and blocked a Heartless attack with his sword a split second before it hit him. He then forced it backwards and slashed it out of existance.

"Whoah... thanks Leon."

"No problem."

"I wonder why there are so many Heartless in this area?" Yuffie asked aloud. "That witch Maleficent is usually in charge of them, but we haven't seen her here in a while."

"It's possible that they have another leader," Leon said with a frown. He stabbed a Heartless with his gunblade. "You know, a particularly powerful Heartless or something like that. If we find and eliminate the leader, the Heartless problem will probably take care of itself."

"Well, we should start looking," Aladdin said, who was fighting back to back with the Genie. "Genie, do you think you could find out where the leader is?"

"Sure thing Al!" the blue Genie said, a magical blue radar appearing before him. "Let's see. According to my Genie-Dar 2000, the strongest Heartless here is... by the Keyhole."

The group exchanged glances.

"By the Keyhole? But doesn't that mean..."

"Oh no!" Sora said, eyes widening in fear. "They're trying to steal the heart of this world!"

"Where will everyone go if Traverse Town is destroyed?" Jack Skellington asked with worry. "This is already the world of refugees. Will we all just disappear?"

Leon glared, then slashed his gunblade through the air. "Not if I can help it."


Riku emerged from the dark portal, then dropped to his knees, panting. Belle, who he had been carrying over his shoulder, fell to the stone floor, already unconscious.

"I see you brought Belle. Excellent work."

Riku said nothing, still trying to catch his breath. Maleficent smirked, then continued.

"It was reckless to bring her here without at least using a vessel. Remember, relying too heavily on the dark powers could cost you your heart."

Riku glared at her. "I don't need your concern. I'm the Keyblade Master, after all."

"As you wish."

Riku took another deep breath, then straightened and looked at Belle. "So now we have six of the seven princesses, correct?"

"Yes. I'm working on finding the final princess as we speak."

"And Kairi?"

"She has yet to awaken. I moved her from your chambers to the room where I have kept the princesses so I could keep an eye on her."

Riku nodded silently. Capturing Belle hadn't been easy - he had met quite a bit of resistance from another resident of the castle, the Beast. Riku had only just managed to escape with her; by the time he got away, the Heartless had found the Keyhole. He assumed that the world had been destroyed by now; and while he felt a little guilty, he would destroy a thousand worlds if it meant saving Kairi.

Suddenly, a loud roar rang out in the distance. It sounded like it was coming from outside the castle; Riku turned to Maleficent in alarm. Weren't they the only two residents of this world?

"A castaway," Maleficent said simply, reading the expression on Riku's face. "Though his world perished, his heart did not."

"You mean...?"

"Yes... the Beast. When you took the princess from his castle, he apparently followed her here through sheer force of will. But fear not. No harm will come to you. He is no match for your power."

"My power?"

Maleficent smiled. "Yes, the untapped power that lies within you. As weilder of the Keyblade, you already know that your heart is the strongest there is. Now, child, it's time you awakened that power and realized your full potential."

As Maleficent lifted a hand over his head, Riku felt something odd occurring within his chest. Surges of dark power ran through him; was this the true power of the Keyblade Master?

"I believe you can handle our unwelcome guest yourself."

Riku nodded. "Thank you for doing all of this for me."

"Think nothing of it, my boy. After all, I have grown rather fond of you."

Riku gave a small smile, then turned and began to walk towards the front of the castle. He would deal with the Beast quickly, then get back to saving Kairi. They had one more princess to find... he had no time to waste on unimportant distractions.


A huge armored Heartless stood before Traverse Town's Keyhole. Yuffie took a deep breath.

"I guess this is it. The leader."

Leon nodded. "If we take him out, the Heartless problem in the other districts should take care of itself. We can't let them run our town any longer."

"What are we waiting for?" Sora said, slashing his sword through the air. "The sooner we get rid of him, the better!"

"Everyone, do your best to fight this thing, but be careful. Remember, they're still Heartless, and they can still steal your heart. Aerith is standing by with healing spells," Leon instructed the group. "Now, give it everything you've got!"

"Let's do this thing," Cid said, slamming his fist into the palm of his hand. The next moment, the group was running towards the Heartless leader, preparing to strike.


Riku soon found himself at the Rising Falls. It had been some time since he had been here - the last time was when he had first come to Hollow Bastion after the islands had been destroyed, and Maleficent had found him. So much had changed since then. He wondered... how would things have been different if the Heartless had never come to the islands? Sora, Riku, and Kairi... they were once inseparable. Would the three of them still be friends if none of this had happened? So much of this seemed like one long, bad nightmare; and yet there were good things that had happened as well. He had grown stronger in his adventures... and he had discovered who his true friends were. Only time would tell if he still had any regrets once it was all over.

Far below him, Riku could see the hairy brown mass of the Beast. How was he still alive? Riku was almost positive that the Beast's world had been destroyed. Jumping down from the highest platform, he landed on the floating stone platform just above the Beast.

The Beast drew back in surprise, then glared at Riku with malice as he realized who was standing before him.

"You. You're the one who took Belle from me."

Riku smirked. "No vessel, no help from the Heartless... so tell me, how'd you get here?"

"I simply believed," the Beast said quietly. "Nothing more to it. When you brought darkness to our world and took Belle away from me, I vowed I would find her again no matter what the cost. I believed I would find her. So, here I am. You must have brought her here." The Beast clenched his fist angrily. "I will have her back!"

"Take her if you can," Riku said, grinning.

The Beast gave a roar of fury, then leapt forward, swiping at Riku with powerful claws. Riku merely sidestepped him, slashing at him with the Keyblade. The Beast collapsed in pain.

"I won't have you getting in the way of my plans," Riku said quietly. Lifting his hand, he summoned a group of Heartless, who swarmed around the Beast. The Beast tried to fight back, but was soon covered in writhing darkness. Within moments, he was gone; a huge, hairy black Heartless stood in his place.

"I may have some use for you later," Riku said, then snapped his fingers, dismissing the Beast's Heartless. It was a bit of a shame; the Beast's story sounded like a classic fairy tale romance. However, Belle was necessary to open the final door, and saving Kairi was more important to him than the fates of anyone else involved.

Riku turned to go back inside the castle, but was shocked to find a hooded man standing in his way. Riku summoned his Keyblade, clutching it tightly.

"You possess great strength and diligence," the figure said in a low voice. "The Keyblade chooses its master well."

"Who are you?"

"You don't remember me, I see," the figure said quietly. Riku thought for a moment; then his eyes widened in recognition. He remembered speaking to the man just before his home world was destroyed.

"You... you were on the islands that night, weren't you?"

"Yes. I opened the door."

Riku gasped. "You mean... you were the one? You were the one who led the Heartless to our world?"

"Yes. I was searching for the Keyblade Master."

Riku's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why? What do you want with me?"

"The Keyblade holds far more power than you are aware of. I have come to unlock that power."

"But Maleficent already said that she unlocked my full potential."

Riku could not see the man's face, but he could feel his smirk. "She cannot comprehend the forces she toys with. The power of the Keyblade is far greater than anything she could ever imagine. You wish to open the final door, correct?"

"Yes," Riku said quietly. "I hope to save someone who is very dear to me."

"I can help you find the seventh princess," the man said.

Riku gasped. "Really? Please, tell me! Who is she?"

"Will you do as I say?"

"I'll do anything if it means saving Kairi," Riku said fiercely. The man chuckled quietly, an eerie sound.

"Very well. Come with me."


While it normally might have taken quite some time, with everyone working together the gigantic Heartless was quickly defeated. It fell to the ground with a crash, at which point the entire group cheered.

"We did it! We saved Traverse Town!" Sora said happily, jumping up and down. Yuffie grinned, then pounded him on the back.

"We did, thanks to you!"

"What? But it wasn't just me, everyone helped out..."

"Yep, but it was your idea to recruit people," Aladdin said.

"I'll admit, I was surprised," Leon said, giving a small smile. "I didn't expect you to be any help, but you have been. Hell, we probably would have been a lot better off if you had gotten the Keyblade instead of Riku."

"Well, I dunno about that," Sora said quietly.

Yuffie nodded. "Speaking of Riku... he's still off in Hollow Bastion with Maleficent. Shouldn't we be finding some way to get there?"

"Gawrsh, but we had the only gummi ship," Goofy said, scratching his head. "And since Riku destroyed it, we've got no way of gettin' around."

"Riku's fine, I'm sure." Sora said quietly. "I just hope he's started to come to his senses."


"So this is the Keyhole?"

Riku and the hooded man were standing in a huge room in the depths of the castle. Elaborate machinery lined the walls; in the center of the back wall was a huge swirling portal in the shape of the Heartless emblem. Kairi was lying on the ground on the center of the main circular stone platform. In the hallway leading to this room, Riku had seen the pods where the six princesses were being kept, comatose.

"Yes. In order to reach the final door, it is necessary to harness the energy contained within the world's heart. After all, the final door leads to the heart of all worlds, and all worlds are connected to it."

"And that's what Maleficent is after? The heart of all worlds?"

"Yes... Kingdom Hearts."

The name itself seemed to hold a kind of power, taking Riku's breath away. He turned to look at the man.

"Why? What does she hope to gain?"

The man chuckled. "If darkness is the heart's true essence... then surely the heart of all worlds must be the same. Within Kingdom Hearts lies an infinite source of power unlike any the universe has ever seen."

"So hearts are... ultimately dark?" Riku asked quietly.

"I should think it would be obvious by now. You have seen it yourself, have you not? The Keyblade chooses whoever has the strongest heart... and your heart lies within a deep darkness. Darkness is strength. But that isn't the full extent of your power."

"It's not?"

"You showed no fear in stepping through the door to darkness. It held no terror for you. Plunger deeper into the darkness, and your heart will grow even stronger."

Riku nodded. "Fine. But first, tell me where I can find the seventh Princess of Heart. You said you knew."

The man chuckled quietly. "You still haven't figured it out, have you? No matter how long Maleficent searches, she will never find the seventh princess. This is because the seventh Princess of Heart has been under her nose this entire time. Yours as well."

Riku gasped. "You can't possibly mean..."

"Yes... Kairi is the last princess."