This is the last chapter chapter, followed by an epilogue. I've also had incredible writers block. There will be a sequel. Anyway, here's another chapter. Catch!

It wasn't long before Sora heard the sounds of battle behind him fade and new ones made themselves present before him.

"Sounds like...Maka is in the middle of a fight now," Sora stated to his partner as he paused to catch his breath. He heard chilling laughter from the battle ahead and couldn't help but shiver. "Creepy..."

"At this rate we won't make it to the others in time..." Light said, and Sora made a mental note of the slight disappointment in her voice. However, it was quickly replaced by a more alert tone when she said, "We aren't alone here." Sora took stock of his surroundings, doing his best to take in as many details as he could in the dim lighting. He now found himself in a hall with stone pillars to either side. Some sported images of Lord Death in various poses, but most were blank and, in many cases, the pillars were cracked and worn. The shadows behind each held unknown dangers that kept the Keybearer cautious.

"What's that?" he said, when he saw what he had thought was a pair of Heartless eyes, but it was gone as soon as he took his second glancing.

"Whatever it is...it's waiting."

"Waiting for a chance for a surprise attack?" came the voice, the texture of it dark and foreboding...but oddly foreboding, "I wouldn't worry about that...from me at least. I couldn't say the same for Medusa." Sora turned to find the pair of eyes staring at him once again, and this time they didn't move. The Keybearer swung the Keyblade over his shoulder.

"If I don't have to worry then why won't you show yourself?" asked Sora.

"You won't like what you see," came the reply. Due to recent events, Sora had a good idea of what his enemy was: his Heartless form. Probably beefed up with the Black Blood if Medusa was involved. Oh well, he could handle it: a Heartless was a Heartless after all. Unfortunately, the voice had been right, and Sora felt his jaw drop from what he saw.

"Surprised to see me...Sora?" he asked, stepping forward out of the shadows to reveal the form of a boy slightly taller than Sora. His skin was all black and his eyes were yellow, as Sora had assumed it would be, but the hair was longer. What looked to be exposed muscles covered all but the neck, face, hands and feet, all of which were smooth (except for the feet, which looked more like the being were wearing boots.) Lastly, what appeared to be equally dark cloth hung from the waist. In it's hand was a sword made of shadow in the shape of a dragons wing.

"Riku...no there's no way you're him!" Sora cried out.

"Of course not, fool," the heartless said, his tone mocking, "I...am merely a creation: an experiment by the Witch Medusa. The Heartless have proven...useful to her causes."

"But...how did she make a Riku copy?" asked Light, her voice laced with concern. The Heartless picked up on this easily.

"The Keyblade...bane of my kind. That you have conciousness is disturbing. Now, to answer your question: the Organization."

"The Organization?"

"Yes. They have been working with the Witch for some time now...but that's a story for another day," he raised his sword in a fashion uncanny to that of his real counterpart, "I'm here to kill you." Without a seconds hesitation, the Heartless was in motion, his blade aiming for Sora's heart. Sora rolled out of the way of the attack only to find the Heartless standing before him again, blade raised high. Sora brought the Keyblade up and blocked the attack.

"You know, Keyblade," the Heartless said, "On this world you and I are a lot alike: both of us beings of great power...emotionless monstrosities meant only for the destruction of the other. Except that's not the case for you...is it?" Sora could imagine the cocky smile his aggressor would have at this point.

"Maybe so," said Light, "but I will never be like you! A being of darkness stealing the Hearts of the innocent!" With that, the Keyblade flashed with power, surprising the Heartless and giving Sora an opening. He struck out with his fist, causing his enemy to stumble back and then went on the offensive, rushing in and swinging the Keyblade expertly. The Heartless, not one to be taken lightly, blocked each attack as it was delivered, sending sparks flying with each metallic clash. Feeling the power surge through him, Sora leapt back and unleashed the final part of his attack: Ragnarok. He wasn't sure how effective it would be, but if it was as strong as it was when Light had used it before, then he assumed this would be over quickly. As the energy gathered, however, he was met with an unpleasant surprise.

"Think that's going to work? How pitiful!" the Heartless cried as an aura of darkness surrounded him before his eyes closed and he went into some sort of trance, "Eternal darkness...give me power!" At that, tendrils of shadow burst from the ground around him, bursting the building energy at the end of the Keyblade and wrapping around it. Others caught Soras legs and pulled him to the ground...hard.

"Sora!"

"I'm fine..." he said, forcing himself to his feet, using the Keyblade to cut away the shadows around his ankles, since they seemed unable to withstand the power of his weapon. That didn't stop the tendrils, however, and they relentlessly attacked the Keybearer. He deflected them deftly, his blade a blur. The Heartless merely laughed and charged forward, adding his own sword strikes to the frenzy. Sora was soon beginning to find himself unable to defend himself, and many of the blows were beginning to make contact.

"Sora, you need to fall back! You can't fight this much once!"

"No! I can do this!" he replied angrily, "If I can take on a thousand Heartless all at once, then I can take this guy! He'll regret trying to be Riku!" The Heartless laughed at this.

"That battle may have been a great genocide to my kind, but they were all ants in comparison to my power! I doubt even your friend could contend with me!" The tendrils whipped backward, allowing the Heartless in for a flurry of blows that basically destroyed the rest of his suit. Then, he kicked, slamming Sora into the wall, where he was quickly followed and bombarded by every tendril at the dark beings disposal. When they retracted, Sora was within a massive crater in the wall, unconscious. The Keyblade lay on the floor before him.

"Hah!" the Heartless said, walking forward as the tendrils retracted, merging with the shadows once more, "That's the power of the Keybearer? Don't make me laugh! And to think that Medusa was scared of you. Maybe I'll take her on next." As he neared, the Keyblade flashed and Light was standing before her Meister, arms held out defensively and her eyes flashing.

"Take another step and I'll show you just why you Heartless fear me!"

"A bit defensive, are you? Don't tell me you actually feel for this fool?" the Heartless said, taking that dared step. Light merely backed up a bit more to cover Sora more fully. The Heartless chuckled and raised his sword, the tendrils rearing up behind him once more.

"Guess we won't have to worry about this key anymore," the Heartless said, and Light prepared herself, knowing that fighting alone would be fultile. But she would protect him. She had to. It was about at this point that she felt a hand fall on her shoulder. She looked back to see Sora, his own eyes flashing as he stared down his opponent. A faint smile flickered across her features before she transformed back into the Keyblade while Sora forced his way out of the wall. He didn't know if anything had been seriously injured in the impact, but he wasn't about to let something like broken bones stop him from ending this guy.

"Ready Light?"

"Let's end this," was her reply as she began to glow with a bright white light. Their souls...no...their hearts joined and in one powerful, unified voice they cried, "Soul Resonance! Final Form!" The light spread from the Keyblade to Sora, and in a surge of power his suit was gone, his enchanted armor and clothing underneath changing to a white color as another Keyblade, the Oblivion Keyblade, appeared in his free hand, and another voice rang out.

"It's about time I get some real action!"

"Oblivion!" Light cried.

"None other! Now lets show this one just what we do to Heartless!" Without missing a beat, Sora leapt forward, flying forward with an ethereal grace. The Heartless backed away, blocking attacks, and was shocked to find that the tendrils couldn't touch him: in fact, they couldn't even get within five feet of him before his radiance just sort of dissolved them. It wasn't long before Sora had his enemy cornered.

"Wait!" it cried, seeming to show genuine fear (something Sora wasn't sure could even actually happen), "Let me live, and I'll help you destroy the Witch, Medusa. I'll even help you take out the Organization, if I have to! Just spare my life." At this, Sora (who had been floating in place until that point) and kicked the now groveling creature to the floor. It raised it's arms defensively and looked...pathetic.

"The real Riku wouldn't beg me for forgiveness. Time for you to face judgment," Sora said, lifting both Keyblades high. Light engulfed both until it was impossible to tell there were two. Then, in a great swing, he brought the two weapons down, an arc of light trailing behind it, followed by a flash that was both beautiful and terrible, like a bolt of lightning.

"Sora?" asked Light, confused.

"What are you doing, Keybearer? Kill it!" Oblivion pretty much ordered. Sora said nothing, his eyes on those of the monstrosity before him, which was currently huddled in fear beneath him.

"You're pathetic," Sora said, spitting the words out as if they were acid, "and by all rights I should destroy you right now, and end all this." Sora then pried the Keyblades from the stone floor and turning away.

"And yet you don't...why?" the Heartless asked. Sora turned to look at the creature, Oblivion held at his side and the Kingdom Key on his shoulder, his power keeping him airborne.

"You're a monster, but like it or not you have conciousness...maybe even a heart. Lucky for you: if it were anyone else you'd be dead."

"Sora you can't be serious!" Oblivion cried, but the boy ignored her and continued. The Heartless stood and, with an angry growl, dashed at the boy.

"Save your pity, Keybearer! Didn't they teach you not to turn your back on an enemy?" he cried, but before he could make contact Sora had whirled on him, lopping off its left arm, which disappeared in a smoky haze as it howled in pain, collapsing and grabbing the spot its arm used to be.

"GRRR...I'LL DESTROY YOU KEYBEARER!"it cried out, and Sora turned to see darkness surround it once more. He prepared himself to finish the job, but something happened before the Heartless could attack.

"THE BLACK BLOOD WILL GIVE ME ALL THE POWER I NEED TO KILL YOU! I'LL-gck!" it cried before it fell again to it's knees, before it began to convulse as the Black Blood began to react violently within it, its form spiking all over. Sora ignored it, despite the small amount of guilt he felt for doing so, and flew through the halls with all the speed he could muster.

"Sora, you shouldn't have left that...thing alive!" Light protested, but Sora didn't have time to answer her as an immense power rushed past him, and he knew that it was too late to stop the revival of the Kishin, Asura. When he finally arrived at the shrine, all he saw was Maka and Soul get dragged up through a hole in the ceiling. Black Star and Tsubaki were nearby (Tsubaki helping an injured Black Star to his feet) and Kid looking up after his friend. Sora wasted no time and pursued, using the power of the Final Form to launch himself up through the hole. He was soon met by the cool night air on his face. Ahead of him he saw the Kishin, and he targeted it.

"Sora what are you doing? asked Oblivion, while he held his weapons ready. As he neared He watched Maka and Soul fall back behind him. He watched as they hit the ground (Soul taking the brunt of the fall for his Meister) and that only fueled his determination. Soon, he was face-to-face with the man.

"Get ready to meet your maker!" Sora cried, swinging his weapons, but the Kishin only deflected them with his arm. The rush of power was actually enough to knock Sora and Light out of sync, and with a sarcastic wave the monster pushed him. Nothing more, just a light push to the chest, but the effect was sending Sora to the ground like a meteorite. After that, everything faded to black.

To make a few things clear, I was referring to the suit of armor Riku usually sports in the description of the Heartless. It was the way I've always seen it so sorry if it sounds kinda...morbid. Also, stay tuned for the epilogue, which should help set up a kind of cliff-hanger mood. Anyway, please R&R and always, and thanks for reading!