(( Wow... it's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry for the really, really long delay, but here's chapter 10! More possibly coming soon; we're getting close to the end here! Enjoy, and feel free to R&R. ))

Riku was silent. This information was almost too much to take in. He shook his head in frustration and denial.

"That's impossible. Kairi can't be a princess. All we have on the islands is a mayor, and she's not related to him at all."

The man shook his head slowly. "Hardly impossible. Aren't you forgetting something? About her past?"

Riku's eyes widened in comprehension. "You mean... her home world? Tell me, where did she live before she came to our islands? Do you know?"

"She lived here, in Hollow Bastion. This is where she was a princess, before Maleficent conquered this world."

"Then..." Riku looked over at Kairi's lifeless body. Panic spread through him. "Then why isn't she waking up? Did the Heartless really take her heart?"

"No. Kairi's heart is safe, although you cannot reach it."

"Then where is it? Please tell me!"

The hooded man chuckled. "It's ironic. You would have done well to keep your friend Sora close at hand. That's where Kairi's heart went... it has been there all along. Kairi's heart rests within Sora."

Riku's eyes narrowed. "What? That's impossible. Why would it be inside him? He barely even cares about her."

"I do not know the reasons for what happened, merely that it is so. If you wish to revive Kairi, that is where her heart is."

"Fine. How do I get it out?"

"There is only one way to extract Kairi's heart," the man said, folding his arms. "Because the two hearts are connected, you must first release Sora's. Only then will Kairi's heart return to her body. I realize you might not wish to do such a thing to your friend..."

"Sora isn't my friend," Riku said fiercely. "I'll do it in a heartbeat if it means saving Kairi."

The man chuckled. "You do indeed possess great strength of heart, I see. The Keyblade suits you."

Riku waved his hand impatiently. "Of course it does, I know that. Now, how do I release Sora's heart? Do I just set a Heartless on him?"

"No. If the Heartless attack Sora, Kairi's heart will be consumed along with his. Instead, there is a specific method that only the Keyblade Master can utilize. Will you do as I say?"

Riku's eyes flashed. Kairi was so close he could almost taste it; there was no way he was going to back out now.

"I will."

"I see the path has emerged at last."

"Yes," Maleficent said with relish. "The Keyhole to the darkness."

Riku nodded. After helping him out, the hooded man had vanished. He seemed to not want Maleficent to see him. Riku had no idea why... nor did he care. After all, the man was helping him grow far stronger than Maleficent ever had. She had no idea what the true potential of the Keyblade Master was.

"If you unlock the Keyhole, won't the Heartless overrun this world?"

Maleficent scoffed. "What do I care? The darkness holds no power over me. Rather, I will use its power to rule all worlds."

Riku smirked. "You're rather confident. What is it that you always say to me? That the darkness consumes the hearts of the careless?"

Maleficent shot a glare at him. "Don't get smart with me, boy. What do you know? I hold powers you could never dream of."

Riku gave a dark smile. "Of course you do." It was all he could do to keep from wiping the self-satisfied smirk from her face by telling her what he knew, but now was neither the time nor the place. She would get what was coming to her soon enough.

Without another word, he summoned the dark Keyblade that the man had helped him create. It had a blood-red handle and a pitch-black blade; it looked positively wicked. Maleficent frowned when she saw it.

"What on earth is that?"

"A Keyblade with the power to unlock hearts. I created it from the hearts of the six princesses."

Maleficent looked surprised. "That's rather impressive I'll admit, but... how would you know to do such a thing?"

"It just... seemed obvious," Riku lied, not adding that it had been the hooded man who had instructed him through the process. "Since it's made from the hearts of the Princesses of Heart, it should be able to unlock the Keyhole once we have the seventh princess."

"I see," Maleficent said quietly, then smiled. "Excellent work, Riku. You have more worth than I anticipated. Now, I must check on the progress of the search for the seventh princess. The sooner we unlock the path to the final door, the better!"

Riku nodded, and Maleficent vanished in a burst of green and black flames.

"She underestimates you," a voice said suddenly, and as Riku turned he saw that the hooded man had appeared once more.

"What do you mean?"

"She claims to hold such power over the darkness... when in reality, you have far more power than she does. She has failed to notice the darkness in her heart eating away at her. She is just a puppet of the Heartless."

"I see," Riku said quietly. It made plenty of sense, but something wasn't adding up. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Tell me something; how do you know all of this?"

The man chuckled. "Don't be so quick to mistrust, Riku. I, like you, am merely a seeker of darkness. I simply wish to see all of this unfold."

"How do you expect me to trust you when I don't even know your name?" Riku demanded.

The man bowed his head. "Fair enough. My name is Ansem."

"Ansem?" Riku repeated. The name sounded familiar somehow. Reluctantly, he nodded. "Alright. I'll trust you for now."

The man chuckled. "Excellent. Now that introductions are out of the way, shall we get on with saving Kairi?"

Riku smiled rapturously. "You have no idea how long I've waited for this moment."

With the gigantic armored Heartless gone, the Heartless were beginning to clear out of Traverse Town on their own. There were still a few stragglers, but with the Traverse Town Resistance Force (as they had named themselves) patrolling the streets, it was relatively safe throughout the entire town. Pretty soon, those whose worlds had been destroyed were able to start their lives anew in the other districts.

"We've come a long way," Leon said quietly, watching as a group of card guards and a handful of gorillas helped move furniture into a vacant home. "This town is actually turning into a little safe haven. We've been doing pretty well without the Keyblade Master after all."

Sora nodded. "I'm glad that everyone's been getting along. This is a pretty nice town."

"We're glad you showed up," Yuffie said, patting Sora on the shoulder. "If not for your ideas, we might still have the Heartless knocking on our door."

Sora blushed. "Hey, knock it off... it's because of everyone working together that Traverse Town is back to normal, not just me."

Yuffie laughed. "You just can't take a compliment, can you?"

"Well, anyway... I'm glad to be here," Sora said with a smile. "I just wish I knew if Kairi was safe. But if Riku is trying to save her... then maybe I have no reason to worry. Even if he is dark, I know Riku can get the job done."

"We'll be able to find her," Aerith said reassuringly. "There's a team working on building another gummi ship as we speak. I'm sure Kairi is fine."

Sora nodded. "Thanks, you guys..."

Without warning, a dark portal suddenly opened beneath his feet. Sora gasped and tried to struggle away.

"Sora!" Leon shouted, grabbing his arms. "Hang on!"

"H...help!" Sora shouted, as darkness crept up around his legs. Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith tried to pull him free, but couldn't. Within moments, Sora had vanished.

"S...Sora!"

Why does this keep happening to me? he thought desperately as he faded into darkness.

A bright light suddenly pierced through his closed eyelids; blinking, Sora found himself in a brightly-lit library.

Where am I...? Am I... dreaming?

An elderly woman was sitting in a rocking chair, talking to someone. She was speaking and didn't seem to notice him.

"Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light. Everyone loved the light. Then people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves. And darkness was born in their hearts. The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts. It covered everything, and the world disappeared."

She shook her old head sadly, then gave a wrinkled smile. "But small fragments of light survived...in the hearts of children. With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. It's the world we live in now. But the true light sleeps, deep within the darkness. That's why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other. But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open. And the true light will return."

She pointed a gnarled finger at someone Sora couldn't see. "So, listen, child. Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you. Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away. Do you understand, Kairi?"

Kairi?

Sora looked down and saw a young girl with red hair, younger than when she had first come to the islands; but soon everything faded into black.

Sora felt himself floating along through darkness, the feeling he usually got when going through dark portals. It didn't last long; after a moment, he reappeared on a stone floor. He looked around.

Where am I? Is this... Hollow Bastion? Then that means...

"Good to see you again, Sora."

"Riku!" Sora said, getting to his feet. "How are you? Is Kairi okay?"

"What do you care?" Riku snapped, glaring at him. "At any rate... look behind you and see for yourself."

Sora turned, then spotted Kairi lying motionless on the ground, and his heart skipped a beat. He ran to her, kneeling down and holding her in his arms.

"Kairi! Kairi, open your eyes!"

"It's no use," Riku said quietly. "She's lost her heart; she can't wake up. I've tried, believe me."

"Then... what can we do?" Sora said, getting to his feet. "Riku, I know you hate me, but... please! I have to help save Kairi!"

"Isn't it ironic?" Riku said quietly, ignoring him. "You, who care so little about her... you're the one who had the key to saving her all along."

"What are you talking about?"

Without another word, Riku summoned his dark Keyblade. Sora gasped as an unbelievable pain tugged at his chest in response.

"What's..."

"Don't you see yet?" Riku said angrily. "Kairi's heart is responding. It has been there all along. Kairi's heart rests within you!"

"Kairi... Kairi's inside me?" Sora gasped, clutching his chest.

"Yes. I don't know why, or how, but it's the truth. And now I'm going to release her heart."

"Wh...what does that mean?" Sora said, taking a step back in fear. Riku smirked, clenching his fist.

"What do you think?" he asked, then slashed the Keyblade through the air, pointing its deadly tip at Sora's chest. "This is a Keyblade that unlocks people's hearts. It's the only way to save Kairi."

"Wait a second," Sora said in panic. He drew his sword, although the hand holding it was shaking. "You can't unlock my heart... won't I turn into a Heartless?"

"If it means saving Kairi, I couldn't care less."

Sora stared at Riku in disbelief. This was a nightmare. He knew that Riku had started hating him recently, but... destroying his heart? Had they really grown so far apart? He stared desperately at Riku, then ran forward, preparing to strike. It was his only chance. Riku blocked the attack, then swung his Keyblade in a wide arc and sent Sora sprawling to the ground, face-up. Riku lifted his hand and dark restraints appeared, pinning Sora to the ground. Riku approached him, readying the Keyblade.

"Riku..."

"I'm sorry, Sora," Riku said quietly. He lifted the Keyblade over his head, gripping it with both hands. "I actually do wish things could be different. But they're not."

Without another word, Riku plunged the Keyblade deep into Sora's chest.