Author's Notes: If you're still sticking with me, through the miserably long periods of waiting for an update, congratulations! You've made it to see the epic conclusion. You've braved the totally lame filler chapters, too. You're FanFiction's little trooper :D Now, sit and stare blankly at your computer as the tale unfolds into an exciting chapter, and perhaps an epilogue. We shall see what we shall see.

ZOMGWTFLOLBBQRABIDFANBOYNEWSUPDATE:

(August 18, 12:06 AM) News reports have confirmed that, unless popular demand suddenly spikes, odds are there will be no sequel to Undying Lover's less-than-notorious tale, Kingdom Hearts: Altered Promises.

Reports have also substantiated that, if there were to be a sequel, it would NOT be entitled Kingdom Hearts: Altered Promises 2. It may, anonymous sources say, not even revolve around the series' main character, Sora, but his alluring counterpart, Roxas, and his rocky relationship with a fiery redhead, Axel. There may be other components to this relationship, the author hinted at a press conference, but that will remain under wraps, potentially forever. Seymour Butts, ABC News.

-

So, basically, that's what's up with the story as of now. If I get a substantial amount of reviews insisting that I continue, I probably won't. Even if I do get flooded with reviews, I will probably agree to do it, but postpone it until I finish, or at least make more progress with my other stories, some of which, at the time of writing this, haven't even been shown to anyone.

Anyways, on with the usual junk.

Disclaimer: I wish I had something epically comical to say here, but I don't. I just will say that I own nothing- not even this disclaimer. Technically, the laptop it's being typed on at midnight tonight is owned by my father. By association, my father owns this disclaimer.

Warning: As you are hopefully already aware, this story contains copious amounts of boy-boy loving. If you don't like it, and have read this far, kindly go to the kitchen, and drink a tall, steaming glass of Shut The F-ck Up. O-: )

Oh, by the way, this chapter is going to be rather somber, so I thought the classic "Line Break! WOOT!" wouldn't cut it. Now, lines are broken with a simple dash.

-Cracks neck, checks that Evanescence is at max possible level on his iPod- And thus, the finale commences.

Kingdom Hearts: Altered Promises

Chapter 10: Battle for the Worlds

"All in all, I fear that, whether or not the darkness overtakes the light, not all will experience the fairy tale happy ending."- Secret Ansem's Report 12

-

Bleary eyes awoke to what was sure to be the last day they would.

At least, in this castle.

Riku squirmed, the light pouring into his eyes. Not unlike a teenager, he rolled onto his side, glancing at the sundial in the middle of his room. Yes, his room had a sundial as opposed to a clock. If there was one place in this twisted universe that was more technologically retarded than the Destiny Islands, it was this place. The sundial was in the noon position. Riku smiled drowsily. He had had a fifteen-hour sleep, a welcome respite from the hours on end it seemed like it had been since he had last dozed off.

Of course, the slumber was much enhanced by having slept while clutching, as if to never let go, to a certain insanely-shaped-haired boy. Yes, Sora, the boy who was his savior from the darkness, and, of course, boyfriend, did make sleeping a far more enticing option, especially when it came directly after certain…er, 'relations' they had shared.

Riku beamed. Speaking of the runt, where is he? Chuckling at his own joke, he set off to find Sora, which, considering the mammoth size of the castle, was a considerably daunting task.

Or, more appropriately, it would have been. Had Riku not known exactly where Sora would be, Riku may have taken a good two hours to find him.

Riku casually opened the door to the castle kitchen, and smiled softly, as there Sora was. Eyes fixated on a pan he held securely over the oven, he hadn't taken notice when Riku had so inaudibly entered the room.

Riku closed the door, the volume of that less loud, if possible, than before. Striding over calmly, his smile grew as he neared Sora. He wrapped his arms tenderly around the boy, resting his head on the younger boy's shoulder. He took in Sora's smell. After all this strife, he still manages to smell like an ocean breeze. Riku giggled too quietly to be heard. I'm dating a magician.

"Not now, Riku. I'm tryin' to make you breakfast!" Sora whined as Riku started planting soft kisses up his neckline.

"Fine," Riku said dejectedly, withdrawing his arms, "you're no fun."

Sora whirled around, a fake glare in his eyes, though his lips were curled into a smile. "I didn't say stop holding me."

Riku laughed affectionately. "Fair enough." He bound the boy in his arms once again. Sora smiled softly. He turned to Riku, and whispered in his ear, "don't ever forget. Wherever you go- I'm always with you."

"Huh? Where did that come from?" Riku asked.

Sora giggled. "I dunno. Just…felt like it needed to be said.

Riku smiled, giving Sora a chaste kiss on the lips. The smell coming from the pancakes the boy was cooking up was tantalizing, to say the least. Bending over Sora, forcing Sora to emit an audible groan, Riku snatched a pancake off the pan, and swiftly chucked it into his mouth.

"Rikuuu!" Sora whined. "That was Cid's!"

"What, so you've designated each pancake to each person? OCD, much?" Riku asked through a mouthful, poking his boyfriend in the ribs.

Sora giggled. "No. That was the awkwardly-shaped one."

Riku's left eyebrow, and only his left, shot into his hairline. "And you were going to give Cid that one?"

"He's too cynical for his own damn good." Sora said surely, making a show of crossing his arms.

Riku merely chuckled, ruffling Sora's hair. Sora, in response, grumbled something about hating it when he did that. Shaking his head slightly, he looked at Riku with pleading eyes. "How is it?"

Riku chewed thoughtfully for a minute. He then swallowed firmly and said, "needs syrup."

Sora nodded, and responded with "needs butter, too."

"Needs powdered sugar."

"Needs whipped cream."

"Needs you topped with whipped cream and powdered sugar."

Sora laughed. "What do you mean? Are you going to eat m-oh!" His fleeting look of shock turned to one of chagrin, as he turned back to his pancakes, blushing furiously. Riku only leaned in and whispered seductively into his ear, "exactly." Boisterously laughing at the crimson his boyfriend was turning, he went to fetch him the syrup.

-

Leon lay still on his bed, eyes drooping exhaustedly. Try as he might, though, he could not get himself to fall asleep. Everything in his midsection hurt. The doctors, which had been Cid, the mysteriously bandaged man, and Merlin, had funneled in the painkillers, almost to the point of fatal overdose. However, they had barely done their job. Leon moaned to himself as he felt another stabbing pain shoot through his abdomen.

Suddenly, there was a small dot of light above his head, clearing the darkness. Leon's eyebrows raised slightly. The dot expanded, slowly engulfing the bed Leon lay on, along with the desk, the empty bottle of pills, until the dot had blossomed to contain the entire room. Once this had been accomplished, the light grew brighter and brighter, until Leon thought he was going blind.

"Cloud," Leon moaned, as he, too, was swallowed up in light.

-

Cloud fell to his knees, panting, wanting more air, but just couldn't find the strength to draw it in. Slash marks tore his clothing, while blood stained it. He couldn't open one of his eyes, and blood slowly dripped out of his mouth. He was in horrible condition.

Cloud felt the lengthy sword's tip poke at his neck. Opening his one good eye, he met Sephiroth's confident gaze with his weary own. "It's over, Cloud." Sephiroth simply uttered, bringing the sword back, winding up the final blow. "Nice to have known you."

I'm not going to die when I'm not with him. Cloud furiously thought. With that silent cue, he somersaulted back. Sephiroth paused in surprise. Gracefully, Cloud lunged for Sephiroth, launching his last-ditch effort against the man.

Sephiroth should have known that Cloud wouldn't go down without one hell of a fight.

Sephiroth's eyes widened exponentially. Sephiroth thought a lot like Cloud, and he knew exactly what Cloud was trying to pull. What's worse, he knew Cloud enough to know that he was useless against it.

"Omnislash…" he whispered.

-

Yuffie, upon waking up, was met with the pleasant scent of lilacs. She blinked hazily, eyes fluttering around the room surprisingly gently for the young girl. She tiredly tried to find the source of the pleasant smell. Turning her head directly to the left, she found said source.

Aerith was sleeping next to her. She looked extremely serene in sleep, the kind of peace that is only usually reached in death. Breath was gently drawn in through her mouth, tensing her shoulders up slightly, only to have the tension released as she exhaled.

Yuffie smiled softly. They were the textbook definition of an odd couple. Aerith was calm, Yuffie was hyper. Aerith wore mostly pink dresses that covered her, Yuffie wore revealing, entirely black outfits.

Not that Yuffie was complaining. Quite the contrary, she was extremely happy to have Aerith as a lover, be it secret or not, be it right or wrong, be it in health or in sickness. Yuffie had promised Aerith she was hers forever, and Yuffie vowed to stand by that promise. Granted, that promise was made in the midst of… 'activities.' Activities that mothers would not want their sons, and certainly not their daughters to bear witness to. Still, a promise is a promise, and Yuffie was a ninja of her word.

Yes, they were different. But opposites attract, do they not?

-

Meanwhile, directly above the two girls was a scene that was less-than-perfection.

Merlin hurled a pillow at the bandaged man, which was dodged swiftly. Grabbing frantically for another one in his fury, Merlin found nothing, but instead fell off-balance, and tipped over like a sleeping cow victimized of cow-tipping. He lay on the bed, moaning pitifully, through broken sobs. Looking up at the bandaged man, he asked, "Why not? What harm could come of it?"

"Merlin," the almost-British voice spoke, in an almost pleading tone, "you are a man of wisdom. I know this firsthand. Please, think of the consequences of telling all about us."

"Enlighten me." Merlin said, voice dripping with held back rage, daring the other to say something to cross him.

The man sighed. "You are a genius of your time. You have gained the respect of everyone around you. You are, in every sense of the word, miraculous."

Merlin, unimpressed, rolled his eyes. "I didn't ask to be showered in compliments, though all that is flattering. Answer my question…Ansem."

Ansem smiled slightly. "Think on it. What about me? I WAS a genius of my time. People looked up to me, people trusted my studies, people listened to me. Back then, I could have told them that I was really an extraterrestrial, and they would have been apathetic to my flaws.

"Now look at it all. Look at my career, my respect. All shattered because my colleague, Xehanort," he said the name with a voice filled with spite, "used my power for evil. He assumed my name, and used it to take my experiments further than they were ever designed to safely go. These actions of his put the world into what appeared to be everlasting chaos.

"And yet, the general public think that all of these were my own actions. Because this colleague of mine, a man who served below me, a man whom I taught, took my name, the public will forever spite my name, spite my existence, loathe everything that is me. I believe there is nothing I can say or do to change that. I thought maybe I had a chance to turn it around by assisting Sora and Riku. But alas, I now know the truth- my false sins will never be pardoned."

"That's not fair!" Merlin cried, extending his arms dramatically, as if Ansem had any control over the situation.

"The masses have no idea what the word 'fair' means." Ansem the Wise sharply retorted. "They only know what they have been spoon-fed by the news travelers who were passing by would give them. They only know that a man named Ansem is the reason why they cannot live in harmony with the darkness.

"Herein lies the conundrum of your proposal. In light of all of this, knowing that men of utmost civility will seethe at your sight if you outwardly speak of this, knowing that in doing this, you abandon everything you previously knew and loved, you still want to be…?" Ansem trailed off at the end.

Merlin smiled gently. "Yes, Ansem. That is what I want, above all else. We have been secretly dating for four ye…"

"I know how long we have been dating." Ansem harshly interjected. Sighing slowly, Ansem collected his thoughts. The most stubborn man to debate with is a genius. He closed his eyes. Or perhaps a genius turned fool. Turning his back to Merlin, he spoke softly, his voice cracking occasionally. "I hate throwing this word around, I truly do, but…I love you, Merlin. I love everything about you- your smile, your laugh. You are the living proof that beauty can still blossom at an old age." Merlin strode towards him, taking this as a yes.

"This is exactly why I cannot, Merlin. Don't you see? I love you too much to let you get dragged into this. I'm sorry."

"Discretion is for cowards!" Merlin pleaded. "It takes true valor to come forward. Ansem…I'm five hundred and seventy five years old. I'm fairly certain I can decide for myself."

Ansem paused giving it a moment's thought. "I'm sorry, Merlin. I just…cannot find the willpower to do that."

Merlin opened his mouth to rejoin that, but realized quickly- there was nothing he could say that could change his mind. Sighing heavily, Merlin forced the words out of his mouth- "fine. You win. But if you ever change your mind, if by some miracle you gain the public's trust again, and you decide you can be seen with me- you know where you'll find me."

With that, Merlin trudged out of the room. Ansem heard the door closed, and a tear stained the bandage surrounding his right eye. Laying back down onto the bed, he buried his face in the pillow, falling asleep.

Next to the bed, lay the objects Merlin had been previously holding- a bouquet of white roses, the petals of which were now strewn across the floor, and a black box containing an engagement ring, which, as one can tell, was to be worn nevermore.

-

Cid sat in the large leather seat, in front of a computer, monitoring two things at once- large readings of darkness and Leon's health. Donald and Goofy sat in the corner. Goofy had found a piece of lint in his pocket, and was playing some form of hand soccer with it, where he used his index and middle fingers to create two men who kicked the lint around, and occasionally scored goals, which would cause Goofy to let out a loud "a-hyuck!" Donald merely was stewing over having to sit up all night, waiting on 'this Cid palooka' hand and foot. What's worse, whenever Donald would ask anything other than a variant of 'what can I do for you?' Cid would snort, and respond with a cynical "shut yer trap."

Cid, meanwhile, stared at the computer, but wasn't focused on anything in particular. He hated being in the direct middle of the castle, where he could hear everything that was going on. Tonight, he had heard moaning coming from Sora and Riku's room (a sound he definitely did not want to hear), screaming coming from Ansem the Wise's room, snoring coming from Yuffie and Aerith's room, and fragmented breathing and sobs coming from the bed Leon lay in. Cid sighed loudly. Turning to Donald and Goofy, he asked, "Have yew ever wunnered what it's like to be in a relationship?"

Donald and Goofy looked at each other inquisitively, wondering where this had come from, before turning back to Cid and giving a simultaneous negative shake of the head. Cid merely half-smirked. "Figgers." He said plainly, turning back to the computer.

As if on cue, the computer started beeping rapidly. Sirens also went off on it. "Holy shi…" Cid let out, typing rapidly, while also addressing the other two in the room. "You two!"

Donald and Goofy jumped to their feet. "Gawrsh, what's wrong?" Goofy asked panicked.

Cid snorted. "A lot. Leon's heart rate is off the charts, and we are gettin' strong darkness readin's emitting from the kitchen. Donald- go wake up Aerith, and tell her to git her small ass in here. Goofy, wake everyone else up, and tell them to meet in the kitchen, and go tell Sora and Riku what's going on. If Riku described Sora accurately, Sora should be in the kitchen now. Riku should be there, too. Tell them it's showtime. Hurry!"

Donald and Goofy scurried out of the room, both running their awkward runs, Donald bent over, and Goofy's top half lagging behind the bottom. Cid, meanwhile, turned back to the computer, and puffed away at his cigarette, while quietly repeating to himself, "Showtime."

-

Riku reached into the dented oak cabinet calmly, slowly, fetching the syrup for his boyfriend's pancakes. Feeling around briefly, passing up vinegar and olive oil, he found the handle for the amber, delicious maple syrup. Smiling contentedly, he shut the door, and turned around.

Only to come face-to-face with their mortal enemy.

Riku staggered back, letting out a startled yelp, slamming into the oak cabinet behind him. "Riku, what's wro…" his mouth dropped when he saw just what was wrong.

Ansem grinned, flaunting pearly white teeth. "We meet again." He stated simply. He walked towards Riku slowly, a malevolent smirk planted on his face. "I'm quite hungry for a kill." His hands slowly wandered up to shoulder-height, spread apart just thick enough for Riku's neck to fit into. Riku stared at him, terrified.

At least, until a certain breakfast food hit Ansem in the back of the head.

Ansem slowly turned on his heel, trying to see who had tossed that. Once Riku saw the flat food stuck to Ansem's hair, he burst into fits of laughter.

There, in Ansem's direct line of sight, was Sora, nonchalantly tending to a frying pan. "You sure you aren't in more of a…oh, I don't know…pancake mood?" He asked, a leer plastering his face.

Ansem scowled at the boy. "Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?"

Sora's sneer grew wider. "Well, they can't be that threatening, with breakfast food stuck to them." Riku's laugh got louder in response to this.

Ansem furiously ripped the pancake off of his head. Stewing, he summoned his guardian, a muscular looking being of darkness. He looked almost like a genie, although he was wrapped in bandages.

Now, it was Riku's turn to take a poke at Ansem. "So, to recap, we have a man with breakfast food attached to him, and a guardian who looks like he's into bondage. Look out, Sora! They'll feed you and sex you simultaneously."

Ansem was glowing red by this point as Sora cackled delightedly. With a flick of his wrist, in the hope of silencing them for good, he commanded the guardian to leap towards Sora, hand outstretched, wanting to claw the light out of him, and the guardian obeyed willingly. Sora summoned his Keyblade, and blocked it's hand. Retaliating with a furious swing, he found it bounced off the being's chest.

While Sora distracted both the being and Ansem, who watched the fight as a moviegoer watches a movie, Riku snuck behind Ansem. Drawing his Keyblade, he raised it, and struck him firmly in the back. Ansem stumbled forward, but only for a split second. Summoning a shield made of what appeared to be lasers, he charged forth towards Riku. Riku felt his body being sliced by the lasers. When he stumbled out of it, parts of him ached, though he wasn't in terrible pain. Riku whirled around, and delivered a critical combo to Ansem's back. He heard Ansem cry out in pain.

Meanwhile, Sora was still distracting the monster, and now thanking whatever gods were listening that the room was so big. Now, the monster had plunged underground, and was shooting up at Sora with short bursts of energy. Sora rolled out of the way of each one, even continuing when he got extremely dizzy. The energy beams stopped firing briefly. Sora stood, and was trying to get steady, when the being appeared behind him. It picked him up, and literally wrung him, almost as if attempting to squeeze some kind of juice out of him. Sora howled in pain, but soon got out of it, jumping and doing a backwards somersault, landing on his feet. The monster then went back to trying to claw his face off, albeit unsuccessfully.

Riku, meanwhile, was, in short, getting his ass kicked. Ansem was rocketing back and forth around the room, with some form of blue shield surrounding him, like a ball one puts their hamster in. This caused Riku an extreme amount of pain when it hit him, which was considerably frequent. "Sora…" he uttered. Though Sora was busy with his own problems, he sensed Riku's pain. Call it uke's intuition. He rolled out of the path of destruction being caused by Ansem's guardian, and pointed his Keyblade up to the sky. "Heal!" He shouted, penetrating the screams of pain and fury that filled the room. Riku's pains disappeared, almost in an evaporating feeling. He turned to Sora, and nodded his thanks. Then, Sora and Riku turned back to their opponents.

Riku kept a steady cadence of blows raining on Ansem, who struck back less and less as time wore on. After what seemed like days of these hits, Ansem rocketed back, catching his second wind, continuing his zipping back and forth around the arena. He was about to collide with Riku firmly, which may just have finished him, but he never knew if it would, as he was solidly hit in the face with a shruiken. The star-like weapon boomeranged back to Yuffie, who caught it quickly in her right hand. Riku smiled.

There stood Yuffie, Merlin, the bandaged man and a man he did not recognize. The man was dressed in a red flowing coat adorned with golden patterns around the shoulders, which were closer to mahogany than the rest of the coat. The border where the zipper would have normally been was navy blue. There were three sleeves, two normal ones and one that reminded Riku of a cast. There was one arm in the normal sleeve, and the other in the cast-like sleeve, while the other sleeve lay dormant. The man had a scar trailing down his face, forcing his right eye closed, or so it would seem. The one open eye was hazelnut brown. He had jet black hair, put up in strange spikes. He was bearing a large sword, green at the handle, with a brilliant silver blade. The man met Riku's gaze. "The name's Auron." The man said simply. [A/N: What? I HAD to include him somewhere!

Riku gaped at the man, dumbfounded. "When did you get here? Who sent you?"

"Moments ago and Hades. Not necessarily in that order." Auron grunted, a harsh laugh.

Riku was shocked at this answer. Hades, Lord of the Dead? The same Hades that had tried to kill them back in that coliseum place? "Why would he want to help us?" Riku asked.

Auron looked away. "He said Ansem was…on his turf." With that, Auron ran forth, sword at the ready, preparing to strike Ansem.

Ansem, however, had other plans. Lifting a hand, the floor was enveloped in darkness. Sora stopped rolling out of the way of the energy beams, as they ceased to exist. Ansem slowly sunk into the darkness, grinning widely as he did. "I'll see you all in hell." He said calmly, as they were jerked into the darkness, knee deep in it.

Riku heard footsteps run in, and a feminine scream, mixed in with sobs. Turning around, he saw Cid sinking with the rest of them, with Donald and Goofy trying to comfort Aerith, who was in tears.

"What's wrong?" Riku asked, his stomach knotting tighter and tighter with each passing second.

Cid looked away, dismayed. "It's Leon. He…didn't make it."

Yuffie choked back a snivel. Merlin looked down at his feet, depression apparent in his eyes. The bandaged man did not show emotion, though there was something different about his look. Auron, meanwhile, remained neutral. "Focus on his cause-of-death," he stated manifestly. Riku looked at him, getting his reference to Ansem. Hatred for the man welled up inside of him.

"Leon's death will be avenged," Riku said bitterly, his voice shaking slightly. As he sunk in, he could swear he saw a blur of yellow, but he couldn't be sure.

-

Sora felt his feet hit something solid yet spongy. Falling to his knees in response to the sudden contact, he eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness. When he saw just what his surroundings were, his jaw dropped in shock.

Sora was alone. He was standing on an island which seemed to be made of what looked and felt like muscle. Standing in front of him was a fifty-foot tall version of their formidable foe, Ansem, and his guardian. His arm muscles were bigger than Sora himself.

"Take a good look around you, kid." Ansem said, his voice booming, resonating across the unending darkness that surrounded their scene. "Go ahead and try. You won't be able to find one beacon of light around you. This goes to prove that the light shall never conquer the darkness."

"True," Sora conceded. "The light will never conquer the darkness. But the darkness will never conquer the light. They were meant to live in harmony. And nobody will change that. Maleficient couldn't, Hades couldn't, and you shall not."

Ansem's expression darkened significantly. "Silence!" he bellowed. Sora felt the atmosphere around him get hotter, hotter, boiling. It got to the point where he thought he was going to die. Suddenly, a laser shot out at him, knocking him back, forcing him to fall off the platform. The last thing he heard before being swallowed in the darkness was Ansem's victorious cackle.

Sora fell, his mind racing. This is the end. This is how it all ends. For me, for the worlds, for everything and everyone I know and love. He let his body go limp, knowing there was nothing he could do for himself now. He was destined to plunge forever in this darkness until he died. However, he heard an all-too-familiar voice echo in his head.

C'mon, Sora. I'm not dating you so you can just give up in a situation like this. We can conquer the darkness. Together. He felt a hand clasp around his own, a warm, loving hand, showing signs of interaction, something Sora thought he'd never know again.

He felt his everlasting plummet end, as he now found himself going the opposite direction, almost falling up, in a sense. It was effortless in nature, he just let himself float back up to rejoin the fray.

Ansem's laughter drifted back into Sora's ears, though it quickly ceased once he laid eyes on the boys. Ansem found himself speechless as the two glowered defiantly at him. "How can this be? You were immersed in the darkness! You were supposed to plunge forever!"

"You don't understand, Ansem." Riku said, eyes still narrowed. "When we are engrossed in darkness, when our environment gives us no hope of survival, when all human beings know is darkness, our hearts serve as our light. And Sora and I, our hearts are connected, while your heart remains cold, alone, destined for great isolation. And I feel sorry for you."

Ansem growled furiously. "No matter how you slice it, you kids cannot win!" Lifting his hand, he effortlessly, single-handedly removed their power of levitation, as if it was a cloak, and simple to slip off. The were reacquainted with the feeling of falling in the shadows.

[A/N: LULZ totally pulling an FFVII:AC here

At least, until a calm, deep, slightly scratchy voice spoke, saying, "Don't give up. This is your story." A whirlwind appeared, a tornado, carrying them back up to Ansem once again. That soon died out, though. In it's stead, underneath them was a rapidly spinning shruiken, as they heard Yuffie's perpetually cheery voice yell, "Go get 'em! Whoo!" They bounced off the shruiken as it undoubtedly returned to Yuffie. Now they were once again level with the platform they had stood on before, as they heard Ansem roar, "Impossible!" They clutched hands, as Cid, who was now standing on the platform, caught them with his ten-foot long spear, catapulting them in the general direction of Ansem now, while saying, "y'all come back alive now, y'hear?" Cid's spear was replaced by a rapidly spinning shield with a mousy-looking logo on it, while Goofy called after them, "Make this quick! A-hyuck." As the shield disappeared from underneath their feet, they heard Donald squawk, as a bolt of lightning just grazed them, just charging them enough to send them flying towards Ansem's eyeball. They heard the bandaged man speak, "Test my new invention for me, if you would," and heard him deeply laugh, as a beam of light shot out from under their feet, which they rode as if it were a handrail, and they were on skateboards. When that disappeared, they heard Merlin scream, "finish him!" as a trampoline appeared in a cloud below them. They bounced off of it, and went soaring, landing, in a remarkably graceful fashion, on the top of Ansem's head.

He swung at them but, try as he might, he could not swipe them off of his head. He hollered loudly in frustration, but then in pain, as Sora and Riku drove their Keyblades into the top of his head. They sprinted in arbitrary directions, dragging their Keyblades along with them. They got to the opposite ends of his hair, and they each planted their right foot firmly on the hair, while the other kicked forward, causing them to flip over. One shot at this… they both simultaneously thought. Pointing their Keyblades through the hole they had created, they held it steady as a beam of light shot out of them, spearing Ansem. The light multiplied, mushroomed, burgeoned, until all the darkness in the room they were in was banished.

It was then that Sora and Riku hit ground again.

-

[A/N: ZOMG LAST EPIC SCENE:'D

Ansem fell to his knees, panting, trying to stay alive. His insides burned, writhed with pain. Looking up, blood dripping from his mouth, he saw the group that was the cause of his downfall. Sora, Riku, Aerith, Yuffie, Cid, Donald, Goofy, Merlin, that man in the red coat…and Ansem. Ansem the Wise, that was. All of the aforementioned were glaring at him with the intensity of the sun.

"Give it up. You've lost, Ansem." Sora said, pointing his Keyblade, ready to fire a beam, to finish him off for good."

"Don't be…so sure." Ansem forced out, a small leer casting a shadow over his face. Lifting his hand, he summoned his guardian, who leapt forward, and struck, before any of them could react.

[A/N: Don't kill me please! TT I had to kill someone off before the end of the story! Someone else, that is. oo I mean, it's not like I'm going to continue this, so it doesn't really matter. Had everyone who was still surviving survived, it would have felt too unreal. Still. Please forgive me.

[I never really liked him anyways. D:

At first, none of them knew what had happened. The heard rustling behind all of them. Turning on their heel, they saw it. Merlin dropped to his knees, three slash marks across his chest. Blood poured out of him. The man in bandages shouted in despair, a shout which lasted the last few seconds of Merlin's lifetime. Merlin's spirit left his body then. "Forgive me…Ansem." He uttered out, but then fell silent, to talk nevermore.

Everyone stared in shock, either at the bandaged man, their foe, or the newly-deceased Merlin. Meanwhile, Ansem laughed evilly, and turned to a gigantic, heavenly-looking door. Hand outstretched, he shouted to it. "Kingdom Hearts! Fill me with the power of darkness." It started to open, strands of darkness emerging. "Supreme darkness…" he said, joy filling up in him.

The bandaged man looked up and, to everyone's surprise, he was smiling softly. "You've lost…Xehanort."

The opponent's nostrils flared at usage of his old name. "What do you mean, you old man? I've won! The teacher has beat the student! The student has killed the one the teacher loves!"

At this, the bandaged man, the real Ansem, frowned. "This is true. However, when one kills, it darkens the heart. But if that kill ended a truly loving relationship, that means your heart is completely submersed in darkness."

Xehanort frowned. "So?"

Riku continued, picking up on Ansem's point. "So, your heart is completely submersed in darkness. And the ultimate damnation for a dark heart…"

"…is to be hit," Sora finished for him, "with light!" They drew their Keyblades.

Almost as if in response to this, the door burst open, and great beams of light came firing through them. Xehanort put his hand up to his eyes, in an effort to deflect the glow, though it was as if this light was undeflectable. "Light…?" he weakly asked, as he was swallowed up in it. When it had disappeared, Xehanort had followed in it's footsteps, gone from their scene. It was safe to assume that they had killed him.

Fits of celebration broke out among the remaining non-deceased group. At least, most. Unbeknownst to them all, Ansem the Wise had walked along the path, leaving the group, potentially forever. Meanwhile, also going unnoticed, Auron followed, his body slowly fading, small balls of light emitting from it, until he was gone.

That left Sora, Riku, Donald, Goofy, Cid, Aerith, and Yuffie to celebrate the end of their long and perilous journey. They chatted idly, until they realized that the giant door was still closed. Sora and Riku looked at the others, and they silently agreed that those two and Donald and Goofy would be better off to go and close the door, Donald and Goofy just going as backup. Those four sprinted off, leaving the other three to talk.

They approached the door, and all four saw a familiar face or shadow. Donald and Goofy saw the bounding silhouette of their King. He had big round ears, an olive-shaped nose, and some form of shorts on was all one could tell from the view they got of him. Meanwhile, Sora and Riku saw someone they really did not want to see, though this one wasn't trying to kill them. This one seemed like her old, benevolent self. Yes, the red-haired Kairi had reappeared in their lives.

"Kairi!" Sora and Riku shouted, while Donald and Goofy shouted, "Your Majesty!"

"Kairi…what are you doing here?" Sora asked.

Kairi giggled. "Isn't that a stupid question, Sora? Man, you've always been so naïve."

Sora protested with a vigorous "hey!" while Riku and Kairi shared a good laugh. Once the laughter had stopped, Riku asked the question he and Sora had been itching to hear. "So…you're not mad about Sora and me being…y'know…"

"In love?" Kairi asked, to which Sora and Riku nodded. "Well, I was upset, but I honestly let that go a while ago. Ansem just made it seem like I hated you. He took over my body, forcing me to do his will, feeding on the anger and hurt that lay inside of me being rejected. But hey, I have a new boyfriend now."

"Seriously? You found someone in the realm of darkness?" Riku asked, eyes widening in surprise.

It was then that a familiar blonde boy emerged from behind the doors. He wrapped his arms around Kairi. She smiled and giggled a bit. Turning to Riku and Sora, who both had their mouths agape, she said, "Sora and Riku, meet my boyfriend…"

"TIDUS?!" they both asked in unison, shocked.

Tidus smiled, bearing gleaming white teeth. "Well…I was the one who saved her moments before she died on that night in Destiny Islands. That's really what started us off."

Sora and Riku just gaped. They certainly hadn't been expecting that. His voice finding him, Sora finally spoke up, "Well, uh…good for you, Kai!" She smiled in thanks.

-

Meanwhile, Aerith, Yuffie, and Cid were chatting away about how they couldn't wait to get back to Hollow Bastion, which had been their former home. They were planning on sprucing things up, having Cid and Yuffie build most of the stuff, while Aerith worked on providing things for them, such as wood, snacks, whatever they decided they needed.

They heard footsteps behind them. In unison, they whirled around, readying their weapons, expecting a fight. What the reality was certainly wasn't something they were expecting.

[A/N: I felt bad for killing Merlin

Cloud walked towards them calmly, a relieved smile on his face. Walking beside him, though he had to carry the man slightly to help him balance, was none other than he whom had been previously forsaken for dead- Squall Leonheart.

The three of them gaped, silence coating the room. Cloud opened his mouth happily, hugging the boy with the arm he held Leon upright with. "I found him getting a glass of milk."

A stunned silence reverberated among the five of them, until uproarious mirth broke out among them. God knows they were relieved to have Leon back.

-

It was then that The King finished his conversation about his adventures with Donald and Goofy. He reached down, and pulled up a sparkling golden Keyblade. "Now, Sora! Riku! Let's close this door for good!"

"Together, we can do it," Kairi encouraged. Sora and Riku firmly nodded, and they pushed on the door while Kairi and the King pulled back on it. The door slowly started to close. Just as it was about to shut, Kairi turned to the two boys, and said placidly, "take care of each other." With that warm-hearted advice, the door slammed shut.

Sora and Riku leapt back, pointing their Keyblades up to the sky. On the other side of the door, the King and Kairi mimicked their motions. Particles of light gathered around the tips of all four Keyblades, Finally, beams shot out of the tips. A solid clicking sound was heard, signifying that the door had been locked. The door disappeared in a flash of light, revealing just a path that seemed to continue forever. Satisfied, Sora and Riku turned back, heading back towards where the others were standing.

-

"Oh my God, Leon!" Sora shouted in joy, running up and tackle-hugging the man, who took it while grunting loudly in response to the impact. Laughing joyfully, he patted Sora on the back, and Sora removed himself from the older male. "How are you alive? We all thought you were dead!"

"Well, I almost died. But I held onto the thought of something which kept me in the material world."

"What's that?" Sora asked innocently.

Leon gripped Cloud's hand while looking at him and smiling, the smile that says, "I know something Sora doesn't." "Well…let's just say I hold it dear."

Sora's eyes darted from Cloud to Leon, until a knowing smile crossed his face. "Aww…that's sweet." He took just a moment to bask in the lovely moment, before spotting something that interested him, and taking off down the path.

Cid slowly turned to Riku. "Kid, I think yer boyfriend has ADD."

Riku laughed appreciatively, walking a bit towards the adults. "So, what's going to happen to us now that we've finished this?"

"Well…here's where you have a decision to make," Leon said, a frown crossing his face for the first time since he 'died.' "You can either fall with Sora into the darkness, which should lead you back to your islands, or you two can secure things, and make sure the darkness isn't able to penetrate the light ever again. I think you can go see a man by the name of Yen Sid for information on how to do that. Or perhaps Ansem- bandaged Ansem, good Ansem," he clarified quickly, "knows something."

Riku thought for a moment, and finally spoke up. "Well, I think we, as Keybearers, still have a job to do. We have to protect the light. Maybe someday we can return to the islands."

Cloud smiled. "A wise decision. Unfortunately, either way, the walls between worlds will be rebuilt, thereby making travel between worlds impossible."

Riku frowned forlornly. "So, that means this is goodbye?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid so." Yuffie said slowly, for once.

"Don't worry, "Aerith said, gently touching Yuffie's shoulder, "no matter where we are, our hearts will bring us together again. Right?"

Riku smiled. "Yeah." He looked over at Sora, wondering how he would break the news to Sora that they couldn't return home just yet. Looking back at the group, his eyes met Leon's, who was smiling. "Go to him. He needs you."

Riku nodded, and turned, running away from them, shouting a variety of valedictions behind him, which were responded to with more farewells.

-

Sora inched away from the edge of the cliff, looking down. It seemed to go on forever. Sora, of course, being afraid of heights, was none to keen on falling down there. Therefore, he backed away from it, ready to run back to Riku, Leon, Cloud, Cid, and the rest of them.

"Sora!" he heard a voice call. Turning around, he saw Riku casually jogging up to him. Sora smiled. "Riku," he called in response.

Riku slowed to a halt right in front of him, beaming at the boy. He took in breath, ready to tell Sora they were to protect the light from the darkness, and not return home, when he felt a brief rumbling beneath his feet. A cracking sound, and suddenly, Sora was unwillingly threatening to float away from Riku on a small chunk of the now cracked path. Sora grunted in shock, almost falling over, before Riku caught his hand, holding onto him for dear life. "Sora! Remember what you said before?" he asked. Not waiting for a response, as he didn't have that kind of time, he continued, "I'm always with you too. I'll come back to you. I promise!"

Sora, wincing from having his arm stretched so much, shouted back, "I know you will!"

With that, Riku let go of Sora's hand, and Sora drifted away from him. He watched Sora's island slowly fall, thinking. He had lost Sora before, but this time, he felt as though this wasn't fightable. It was almost…destiny that he depart from Riku, and return to his island. That's what he wanted anyways, right? Either way, Riku solemnly vowed to himself, right there, that the promise he had just made Sora was not to be an empty promise. He would return.

Turning back, he saw that Leon and the gang had left. He walked calmly up the path, walking away from where he had last seen Sora, ready to continue his journey, to write the next chapter in his story.

-

Phew.

Yes, that is all Chapter Ten has to offer, and all the main story has to offer.

Over 51,500 words in total, and 124 pages on Microsoft Word, and we aren't even done yet. There is still an epilogue to write!

Thank you to the few who read and reviewed the last chapter. Man, this story isn't getting as much publicity as I had hoped previously it would. :/ Oh well.

Since I cannot think of anything clever to write, let's just say there's no little bonus at the end of this chapter. Sorry to disappoint.

Want a happier ending? Read the epilogue.

Please review. And yes, the epilogue will be up shortly. In fact, I'm going to get working on that right now.