Here's the next chapter. Enjoy.

There will always be Light chapter ten: Twilit Realm

The Nobody leader fell through the corridor of Darkness and stepped onto a hard surface. He turned around and felt a pain in his shoulder. He looked down and saw a bolt of Darkness was protruding from his shoulder. He lifted his hand and pulled it out. He felt pain spread through his shoulder and he saw black blood leak out of the wound. He looked down at the wound and pressed his palm against it. He felt heat spread from his fingers into the wound. He drew his hand away and the wound was healed. He picked up the bolt of Darkness from where he had dropped it and proceeded towards the sound of voices. He walked through the multitude of corridors that he and his fellow Nobodies had carved out of the mountain. He stepped through a door and saw Sora, Riku and Kairi look out the window. He walked up on them and spoke. "It seems to me that your enemy means business." The Nobody leader lifted the bolt and set it on the table next to the window. The trio of teens had turned at the sound of his voice and looked back out the window. "He shot that through my shoulder." Sora and Kairi turned with concern on their faces and looked towards his shoulder. Riku picked up the shard and closed his eyes. The Nobody leader knew that the user of Dawn was identifying the source. "You need not see who's bolt that is, user of Dawn. It was the same one we defended you from earlier today." Satisfied of his find Riku set the bolt made of Darkness down on the table. When he had withdrawn his hand the Nobody leader whipped his hand towards the bolt and crushed it with his fist. The shards melted into wisps of smoke. "Come I shall show you your rooms."

Sora followed the Nobody out of the room and tried ignoring the pangs of guilt he felt. He also tried his best to conceal his fatigue but the Nobody wasn't fooled. "We will rest until you are ready to start training. My comrades and I have scattered our rooms throughout the castle. I live in the tower if you should wish to speak with me."

Sora had tried remembering the Nobody's name but couldn't recall him giving one. "What is your name anyway?" Sora tried his best to sound polite but he knew it was a probing question. The Nobody chuckled at Sora's attempts at politeness. "My name is Xavier. And you need not be so formal with me Sora. We all respect each other so we need not be formal." Sora blushed at Xavier's words. He walked in silence until his curiosity forced him to ask another question. "How big is this castle? Where can we eat? How big is this world?"

"Well this castle is about the size of The World That Never Was. There are multiple kitchens spread throughout the castle. Even Nobodies have to eat. Each of you will have a kitchen in your room. This world however is limitless. At first we thought it was about the size of Castle Oblivion. But the longer we stayed here the bigger it appeared to become. We think that it might expand the better we come to know it. Another expansion is sure to follow now that you are here. As we have no need to spare space we took up this entire mountain as our domain. You will see what I mean when you see your room." Sora, Riku, Kairi and Xavier walked for another ten minutes and then Xavier suddenly stopped. "This is your room Riku. To open the door you have merely to lay your hand on the wall. The room will change in appearance to fit your taste. The food in the kitchen will be replenished in the morning. Good night. If you should wish to find Sora and Kairi you have but too look at the monitors scattered throughout the rooms. For your entertainment we have installed the latest in all technological advancements from all known worlds. If you wish to go to Sora or Kairi, their rooms are directly to your right."

Sora, Kairi and Xavier continued down the hall. "Hey, Xavier what would happen if Dante happened to appear?" Xavier looked at Sora as if he was a small child but he answered him nonetheless. "This realm is outside time and space. A second outside this realm is the equivalent to eternity. When you choose to leave this realm you will find that it's the exact same time as when you left. It's next impossible to find this realm by chance. In all my time in existence I have found no portal to the outside realm. In other world there is only the entrance we used to enter. We destroyed that entrance the second we appeared in this realm. So if Dante were to find a portal into this realm you will probably have been here for millennia. And then you would be ready to destroy him." Xavier walked on in silence. Xavier stopped in front of another door. He placed his palm the door and it opened. He ushered them both in. "This is your room. I hope you enjoy." Sora and Kairi blushed in unison. They looked at each other and blushed some more.

" We renovated it so that it was comforting to stay in for the both of you. We switched out the double bed for the King size and put in a few comfortable couches. The rest of the room is like Riku's." Sora didn't know what to say. Thank you or Excuse me. Insult Kairi by accepting or make her dump him if he says no. He was spared the decision when Kairi took his hand and pulled him in. "Thanks Xavier." Xavier chuckled and called in. "Kairi, if he upsets you, you can send him one room over. We prepared that for him." Xavier closed the door behind him and headed over to his own room.

Sora looked at the room he and Kairi were going to share. The term room didn't spring to mind when Sora looked around. The ceiling was twenty feet high and four chandeliers hung from it. There were two TVs in the room and multiple gaming consoles were plugged into each. Couches were littered around the room. The floor was of black marble. The walls were a very pale blue. Sora looked at Kairi and saw her in the kitchen. Sora walked into the kitchen. The kitchen too was enormous. It was in a hidden doorway in one of the walls. Sora could see four fridges. At the moment all four were open and Kairi stood in front of them, inspecting the contents. "None of these are older than a day. The plates look freshly washed and there isn't a speck of dust in sight. I say that this was cleaned less than five minutes ago. And look at this." Kairi walked over to a shelf and messed up the contents. She showed Sora that it was messy and she opened it again. When she showed Sora the contents he saw that they were perfectly arranged. She signalled for him to follow her and he did. She threw out the milk that was in one of the fridges and put it back again. She closed the fridge and pulled out the milk. Sora saw that it was still sealed. "So the contents in the kitchen replace and clean themselves. Sounds like a spell Donald or Merlin can use. I've seen weirder." Kairi thought it over and realised it wasn't that great of a trick. "Your right. Let's go check out the rest of it." Kairi ran out of the kitchen and opened another door. "Bathroom by the look of it. Let's see." Kairi walked into the bathroom and called out to Sora.

Sora ran out of the room and into the bathroom. He walked around the corner and got a face full of water. "Check it out. The hose has no pipe." Sora looked around the room and saw the bathtub and shower. The bath was deep and had been installed with a bubbler. Sora looked into the shower and saw eight nozzles. Sora turned back to Kairi and saw her playing with the tap. Sora suddenly saw a microphone in one of the corners of the room. "Bath fill." Sora spoke in a clear voice and was quite impressed to see the bath filling itself. When the bath was filled to the brim the water automatically cut off. "Bubbles on." The bubble bath started bubbling and Kairi giggled. Sora walked over to Kairi and picked her up. He carried her with his arms behind her knees and shoulders. He walked to the bath and smiled sweetly at her. He dropped her and she hit the water with a splash. She sank down underneath the water and she opened her eyes. She glared at Sora through the water and he started laughing. Kairi came up and her head broke through the surface. She kept glaring at him. He sighed and dove into the bathtub so they were even.

They sat in the bathtub for ten minutes enjoying each other's company before Riku walked in. "So you found the bathtub, ehh?" He raised an eyebrow and asked the obvious question. "You know you should take your clothes off when you're taking a bath right?" Sora looked at Riku in embarrassment and just submerged underwater. Sora stayed underwater for about five minutes before coming back up to find that Riku had gone. Kairi was looking at him in fascination and he shrugged his shoulders. "He was right, you know." Sora looked at Kairi with a strange expression on his face. "Well yeah but I don't care. I had fun Kairi. I'm getting out, I don't want to catch a cold." Sora got out of the tug and took of his water logged shirt, jacket, shoes and socks. He kept his gloves on because he knew they would dry quickly. He walked out of the bathroom and went into the master bedroom. He found himself a pair of boxers and a tee-shirt. He closed the door and put them on. He hung his clothing over the door to dry. He went back into the sitting room and watched some TV. He heard Kairi leave the bathroom and he didn't turn around. He knew Kairi was looking at him with each step she took towards the bedroom. She came out wearing her pyjamas. She took a seat next to Sora and waited for him to notice her. "I'm not gonna talk about it. If you want to then I'll go sleep in the other room." Sora looked at Kairi and noticed the tears in her eyes. "Sora this isn't about the bath. It's about us. What happens when you leave me again? I know you would try and come back soon but... What happens if you don't come back?" Sora suddenly understood the tears. "Kairi I'm strong. And if my enemy happens to be stronger I'll do my best to come back to you. You know that. And if you want to come with me you just have to ask. Now come on, stop crying. It's not going to help anything. It's not going to protect our friends. Emotion gives us strength but the opposite is true too. You know this." Sora spoke with a voice so gentle Kairi cried even more. Sora stood up and went to the kitchen. He took one egg, two teaspoons of cocoa powder and a glass of milk and mixed them together. He took cream out of the fridge and piled it onto the milk. He looked around in the drawers until he found what he had been looking for. He added a teaspoon of vanilla with a little coffee. He stirred vigorously and put a slice of lemon in for flavour. He carried the brew and gave it to Kairi. "Drink. It's tasty and smells nice. And as a plus its good for you." Kairi shook her head and Sora forced the glass into her hand. "It'll give you good dreams. When I was feeling down Goofy made it for me. 'It's icky and gooey but its good. Drink up. It'll give good dreams.' He said the funniest things but in the end I drank it. I slept like a rock for ten hours straight." Kairi took the brew into her hand and smelled it. "Lick the lemon after each sip. That makes it even better." Kairi took an experimental sip and wrinkled her nose in surprise. "It's good. Kinda sweet and kinda icky. Goofy was right." Kairi took another swig from the glass and licked the lemon. Inside of a minute the glass was empty and the lemon eaten.

Sora talked to Kairi and waited for her eyes to droop. When her eyes finally closed he picked her up and tucked her in. She took his hand and held it against her cheek. Sora chuckled softly and pulled his hand gently away. He sneaked back into the sitting room and turned the TV off. He sat in silence before and thought about going to bed. He looked down at his hands and saw that he still wore his gloves. 'Thorn how do I take off my armour?' Thorn chuckled in his mind. 'Going to bed so soon? Does the fact that your having a early night have to do with a specific girl in the next room?' Sora felt his cheeks flame. 'That's none of your business.' Thorn chuckled again and told him. 'I'm just teasing. Riku had no right doing that.' Sora sighed and padded on silent feet towards his and Kairi's room. 'Yeah I know but its Riku .If anyone had the right it would be him. So how do I take off my armour.' Thorn sighed in his mind and felt some new power flow into him. 'That power is the power of clothing. If you know where it is and how it looks you can summon it onto your body. The opposite is possible as well. You have but to will it and it will happen. If you want your gloves off will them away and when you want them off wish them on.' Sora pondered Thorn's words. 'Thanks Thorn. That gave me an idea.' Sora walked into the master bedroom and walked towards one of the closets. He opened it and summoned every bit of clothing he owned into the closet. As he willed it to happen every piece of clothing appeared in the closet. Sora turned to another and willed Kairi's clothes there. Sora had a limited knowledge of Kairi's clothes but he had looked in her closet when she had talked to her father. He thought back and remembered everything he had seen. He willed with all his might and her clothing appeared in front of his eyes. He closed the closet and wished away his gloves. He wished them onto a bedside table and they vanished off his hands and arms and appeared on the table.

Sora switched of the lights, Sora then walked towards the bed and pulled back the covers. He lay down and pulled the covers down over his head. He heard Kairi breath beside him and felt her moving. She reached her arm towards his and took his hand. Sora closed his eyes and he fell asleep. Before he knew it he was woken up by a voice in his head. 'Rise and shine. You've been asleep for a good twelve hours.' Ventus had talked within his mind. Sora moved slightly and felt a weight against his side. He opened his eyes and saw Kairi leaning against him. Sora tried moving without disturbing Kairi but heard her moan in her sleep every time he moved. Sora sighed and gently began shaking her. "Kairi, time to get up." Sora heard her mumble something along the lines of 'Five more minutes.' Sora rocked her again and saw her open one eye and squint at him. "What time is it?" Sora chuckled lightly at the annoyance in her voice. "Sleep if you like but I'm gonna shower. I'll wake you up again in a hour or so."

Sora stood up and walked towards the bathroom. He showered and brushed his teeth. He combed the knots out of his hair. He summoned himself some clothes and walked into the kitchen. He made himself some bacon, scrambled eggs and sausages. He poured himself juice and gulped it down. He ate his breakfast and looked out a window. Sora looked and saw nothing. He looked up and saw clouds. He looked down and saw rock. 'Not much of a view.' He looked at the rooms he and Kairi hadn't and didn't find anything interesting.

When the hour had almost passed he went into the bedroom again and saw that Kairi was fast asleep. 'And she calls me a lazy bum.' Sora tried waking her up but didn't have much success. He shook and talked to her but she just pulled the covers up higher. He finally gave up and opened her closet. He took out some clothes for her and walked out of the room with them clutched in his hand. He walked into the bathroom and he made a bath ready for her. When the bath was ready Sora put Kairi's clothes on the counter and walked back into the room. He pulled the covers off her and she rolled onto her side. He picked her up carefully and carried her into the bathroom. He gently placed her in the shower and turned them on cold. "Shower on." The ice cold water hit Kairi and she shrieked in pain. "Shower off." Sora opened the shower door and saw Kairi standing in the corner. She was fully awake. He smiled and walked in to get her to take a bath. He took her by the hand and pulled her toward the bath. Sora picked her up and was about to drop her in when she began unbuttoning her shirt. Sora stepped back and put her down. Kairi stood in front of him with her shirt almost completely unbuttoned. Sora turned around quickly and heard her hop from foot to foot. She suddenly threw him with her pants, followed quickly by her shirt. Sora heard her stem into the bath and heard her sigh. "Bubbles on." After Sora heard the bubbles he slowly turned around and saw Kairi with her head and fingers out of the water. She was looking at Sora with confusion. Sora walked forward and snapped his fingers in front of her nose. She barely reacted. 'She's still asleep. She's sleepwalking. How am I going to get her to take a bath?' Sora looked at Kairi and made a decision. He took the hose and adjusted the nozzle. He sprayed Kairi with water and kept at it. He moved closer and began wetting her hair. He looked at the baths edge and saw a bottle of shampoo and conditioner. He picked up both bottles and washed Kairi's hair followed closely with Sora adding conditioner. When he was sure her hair was clean of all products he turned the hose off and grabbed a brush. He scrubbed Kairi's Fingers and arms. He washed her face gently with his fingers. He soaked Kairi until he was sure she perfectly clean.

Later when Kairi was sitting with a plate full of breakfast in front of her she finally awoke. She coughed and stretched. "Morning Sora. How was your day so far?" "Oh pretty good. Did you sleep well?" Sora was sporting a bleeding lip and had a bite mark on his neck and a few other choice places. Kairi had gotten difficult while he was washing her back. "Slept like a rock, just like you said. You?" Sora laid down a plate full of toast and decided how to answer. "Good, until Ventus informed me that I had slept twelve hours. He woke me up." Kairi looked at Sora with sympathy. "That's too bad. Why didn't you wake me up?" Sora dropped another bowl of food in front of her and sat down. "I did. You refused. I threw you in the shower. I took you out and you started taking your clothes off. I washed your hair and a few other places and you bit me. You hit me in the face while I was helping you dress." Kairi looked at Sora with a look of shock on her face. She blushed the colour of her hair and started laughing. She laughed and stopped. She shed a tear and blushed again. "Can we keep this between the two of us? I don't want Riku finding out." Sora looked at Kairi as if she had gone insane. "Of course I was going to keep it between the two of us. Do you know how much Riku would laugh? Do you know how much your dad would cry?" Sora was hysterical. That was the most difficult thing he had done in his life. Dressing Kairi.

"Eat up. I wanna go see Xavier later." Sora heard the door to their room open and he saw Xavier enter. Xavier looked at them and saw the expressions they wore. "Did something happen?" He saw Sora look at Kairi with a worried look and saw Kairi struggle to keep from laughing. "I guess from the look on your face that something has. No matter, how did you sleep?" Sora and Kairi answered with answers that varied between funny and exciting. Xavier nodded and looked at Sora. "What did you want to speak to me about?" Sora blinked and shook his head. "What are we going to do while we are here?" Xavier looked at Sora with a look of surprise crossing his face. "You're going to train for as long as you want. There is no time limit to the time you have available. You will not age and you don't have to worry about missing anything as time has no hold on this realm." Sora nodded and knew he needed to ask a question but he didn't know what. "Will you help me master my power?" Sora looked scared as he asked that question. "Of course Sora. We are here to help. If you need anything just ask." Sora scratched his head for a second. "Do you have a training room?" Xavier went to the monitor that was mounted on a wall and brought up a picture of Riku, practicing his stance. "We have more than just a simple training room. We have several rooms where you can adjust the gravity. Riku is at the moment training at ten times normal gravity." Sora looked at Riku train and summoned his gloves and armour to him. Sora put them on and stood up. Xavier waved his hand. "Peace. Kairi is still eating. We wait until she is ready to depart."

Kairi waited at the door for Sora and Xavier. Sora had suggested they play a game until Kairi had finished. Xavier had recommended Call of Duty. At the moment they were both playing, against each other. They were playing some kind of battle where one had to kill all team members on the opposing team. Sora had killed one of Xavier's troops and Xavier had killed four of Sora's. Sora was at the moment creeping forward to silent kill one of Xavier's troops. But Sora soon realised that the one soldier was bait. When Sora emerged from cover a sniper shot him. He wasn't dead yet so he tried retreating. He turned back the way he had come and saw two soldiers facing him. One shot him with a pistol and the other blasted his head off with a combat shotgun. The words 'You lose' drifted over Sora's screen. Sora sighed and turned the game off. He walked up to Kairi and shrugged his shoulders. "He's a genius. No other way to explain it." Xavier walked past them and waited in the hallway. Sora and Kairi followed.

"So where are we going?" Sora was standing with his hands behind his head. Kairi sighed and was about to tease him when she realised she didn't know herself. "We are going to the training room. In the west wing of the castle. The most stable." Xavier started walking down the hall when he finished explaining. When he reached the end of the hallway he waited. Sora and Kairi sprinted to catch up. When they had reached Xavier he lifted his hand and pressed his palm to the wall. The floor lifted off the ground and shot forward. Sora would have fallen over but Xavier shot his hand outward and steadied him. Within minutes they had reached the training room. Sora and Kairi stepped off and waited for Xavier. Xavier sprang down and the floating flood shot off the direction they had come. "Convenience." Xavier shrugged and opened the door to the training room.

The door opened and they walked in. They immediately felt themselves get heavier. Riku had turned to the door when it opened and walked toward them. He placed his palm against a segment on the wall and Sora could feel himself get lighter again. "Artificial gravity. It's useful." Riku shrugged and turned back towards Xavier. "This room is awesome. I went looking through the equipment and I found everything I needed." Xavier nodded and turned to Sora and Kairi. "This room is where you will be training. The floor, walls and ceiling are nigh indestructible. You can train to your heart's content. There is a kitchen with health beneficial food and four beds. You never have to leave the room if you don't want to. If you get injured there is a medical bay in the next room."

Xavier walked towards the wall and pressed a tile. The wall opened and a great variety of equipment appeared. "All the equipment known to man is in this wall. You can alter the gravity like Riku has done but I suggest you take it slowly. Altering gravity will sap your strength. I suggest you don't go over ten times normal gravity. At least for the time being. I myself train at a meagre one hundred times gravity when I have the time." He nodded towards Kairi and his voice softened. "Kairi, you should train at normal gravity for the time being. Your body is not yet used to fighting. Training at normal gravity for seven hours a day will suffice for the time being." Xavier turned towards Riku and Sora. "You however can probably train at ten times normal gravity for about twelve hours." Xavier turned to the door and walked out. "If you should need me I shall be in my room for the duration of the day. If you want to return to your room simply use the floor as I have shown you." Xavier left the room and immediately felt the gravity being modified. 'I hope they manage to survive the week.'

Once Xavier left the room Sora immediately changed the gravity to twenty times normal. He felt himself become heavy and he walked around until he was used to the change. He went to the equipment and started training. He grabbed a few things and started training. He looked at Kairi and saw that she was struggling to even walk. "What's the matter Kairi?" Sora went to her and helped her for a little while. He let her go and saw that she was still struggling. "Is it really that difficult to move Kairi? It's easy for me and Riku." Sora looked at Riku and saw him hanging upside down by his feet with weight strapped to his arms. He saw him lifting himself with the use of his core muscles. "Sora didn't you listen to what Xavier said? He said Kairi isn't as used to fighting as we are." Sora contemplated Riku's words and walked over to the gravity controller. He returned gravity to normal and heard Riku scream in pain. As he was about to lift himself Sora had turned off the gravity. He had shot upwards and had hit his shins with the weights. At the moment Riku was trying to get himself down so he could kick Sora in the head for being stupid. Riku struggled in vain to get to the weights and resigned himself to his fate. Kairi seceded to let him hang for ten minutes so he could cool off. When the ten minutes were over she went to cut him down. She cut the rope and he dropped like a stone. Before he hit the ground he had found his feet.

An hour passed and Sora was getting bored. Riku had suggested they start with weight training and so he, Riku and Kairi had started lugging around weights. For the last fifteen minutes they had been benching. Riku and Kairi had started at half their bodyweight. Sora however had skipped that part and had started with his full weight. Kairi had been content benching that amount of weight but Riku had added the other half of her weight. He had done the same with his. Sora however had kept adding more and more weight to his bar. By the time Kairi was finished Sora had completely filled the bar's space for the weights. He was still pushing the weight upwards without missing a beat. His face was calm and his breathing the same as when they had begun. 'He's not even sweating. And it looks like he wants to add even more weight. How's that possible. What did he do the last few years to give him such strength? Riku's doing it too. Even though he can still add weight he isn't. He even looks bored.'

When Riku was done as well Sora stood up holding the bar crammed full of weights in one hand. He casually walked over to Kairi and picked up her bar as well. "What's the matter Kairi? Tired already?" Sora was relaxed and wasn't in the least tired. Quite the opposite actually. It felt good to him to use his strength again. He walked over to the small pile of equipment he had pulled down from the rack and dropped the two bars beside it. He picked up four small devices and read the directions of use on the back.

Well I hope you liked chapter ten of There will always be Light. I hope you continue reading my story. Next chapter: Training

And remember to review my story. Please?

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