1Everything seemed to be in chaos. Here and there were small chunks of destroyed worlds, and they fought monster Heartless along the way. Eventually they managed to find a large door, and they looked at it curiously.
"This door. . . seems familiar. . ." Sora said, looking at it.
"Yeah, it does." Riku nodded, and touched the door, trying to find a way to open it.
Careful. A voice seemed to echo in everyone's minds, and they looked around fruitlessly for the source. This is the last haven you'll find here. Beyond, there is no light to protect you. But don't be afraid. Your hearts are the mightiest weapons of all. Remember, you are the one's who will open the door to the light.
A bright light shone from the door, and everyone shielded their eyes. Suddenly they were on this island's beach.
"This is. . ." Riku reached down, holding some of the sand in his hands.
"It's Destiny Islands." Sora shook his head.
"Wait!" Amanda looked around, then jumped up a ramp and toward a waterfall, disappearing behind the bushes. Everyone followed, winding up in a small cave. They found Amanda by a large wooden door, looking at it.
Riku flinched. "It was my fault this island was taken."
"What do you mean?" Kristen looked at him, concerned.
Amanda looked back unmercifully. "He opened this door to the darkness, wanting to find other worlds."
"You did?" Sora asked.
"I didn't know!" Riku looked down at the ground. "I didn't think."
"You can't blame yourself. And you're working to fix it all." Kristen crossed her arms.
"She does have a point." Melissa added. "So let's find Ansem, since he's somewhere on this island."
They ran out of the small cave, gasping in shock as they saw the destruction. The island began to fade away, leaving awful remains. At the edge stood Ansem, looking off the edge.
"Tied to the darkness. . . soon to be completely eclipsed. There is so very much to learn. You understand so little." The earth began to shake as he spoke, and the once-beautiful sea turned purple. "A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing."
"You're the guy that approached me in the Secret Spot!" Sora realized, drawing his Keyblade.
Ansem turned. "Take a look at this tiny place. To the heart seeking freedom, this island is a prison surrounded by water. So this boy sought to escape this prison. He sought a way to cross over into other worlds. And he opened everything to darkness." Riku flinched again as Ansem pointed at him, but Ansem continued. "Perhaps you would make a better host."
"Back off!" Kristen cast a Thundaga spell, and Ansem took a step back to avoid it. "You're gonna just go away and give Amanda back Alex!"
Ansem smiled. "No voice can reach Alex anymore. His heart belongs again to the darkness. All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, grows, consumes it. Such is its nature. In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came." He vanished and reappeared behind Sora, who jumped out of the way. "You see, darkness is the heart's true essence."
"That's not true!" Sora yelled. "The heart may be weak. And sometimes it may even give in. But I've learned that deep down, there's a light that never goes out!"
Ansem began to float, and crossed his arms in contempt. "So, you have come this far and still you understand nothing. Every light must fade, every heart return to darkness!"
They fought Ansem and the Heartless that protected him. When they were sure that they had defeated him, he floated backward and the land split in two, causing a giant crater to come forth. Sora and Riku jumped into the crater, but everyone else was unable to follow. They could only watch as the two fought a giant shadow. When that was fading away, Ansem approached Sora and Riku.
"We have to do something!" Kristen said, casting spells to keep the two alive. As they defeated Ansem a second time, the barrier over the crater dissolved, and they fell into the darkness below. Ansem floated in the darkness, and pointed to a door that sat on a detached piece of land, covered in a grey fog.
"Behold the endless abyss! Within it lies the heart of all worlds: Kingdom Hearts!" He smiled. "Look as hard as you are able. You'll not find even the smallest glimmer of light. From those dark depths are all hearts born. Even yours. Darkness conquers all worlds!"
The group turned and ran toward the door, Sora trying to lock it. Ansem laughed as it didn't work.
"It is futile. The Keyblade alone cannot seal the door to darkness." He appeared in front of the door and faces it. "Kingdom Hearts! Fill me with the power of darkness. . ."The door opened and dark tendrils came out, surrounding and suffocating the group. Melissa tried to slash at it, but her attempts were fruitless. Ansem smiled as the darkness surrounded him. "Supreme darkness. . ."
"You're wrong!" Sora protested, slashing his way through the darkness. "I know now, without a doubt. Kingdom Hearts . . . is light!"
The door opened all the way with his words, light pouring out. The darkness instantly disappeared, and Ansem vanished into the light. They ran to the door, and saw the many Heartless within, trying to get out.
Everyone began pushing at the door, but it wasn't closing fast enough. Kristen looked back at her sister, who was simply watching their attempts in a daze.
"Amanda!" Kristen yelled, and stopped pushing the door to shake some sense into her sister.
Amanda looked at her. "You cannot close the door right now. There must be two keys in order to close the door."
"What do you mean?" Riku ran up to Amanda, who looked back at him sadly.
"You must close it from the inside, locking it together with Sora. Only then can Kingdom Hearts be closed."
Riku nodded and ran inside the room, pulling the door from the inside as Sora and the others pushed. Heartless moved closer, and suddenly vanished as they were destroyed by a glowing mouse.
"King Mickey!" Donald and Goofy exclaimed.
"Let's close this door for good!" Mickey exclaimed, wiping out some more Heartless.
The crack between the two doors left only a small view, and Kristen looked at Riku, concerned. "Riku. . ."
"Don't worry! The King and I will find a way back! I promise! But we have to hurry!"
Kristen nodded and everyone pushed on the door even harder until it closed. Sora used his Keyblade to lock the door, and it vanished into nothingness. Everyone looked at eachother, happy that it was finally over.
"Guys. . ." Melissa looked at the other three girls, holding her hands up. They were fading.
"What's going on?!" Sora exclaimed, grabbing Stella's hands and realizing that she was fading too.
"I guess. . . we're going back home." Kristen sighed. They were already halfway invisible, and were rapidly fading.
"It's. . . time, I suppose." Amanda said reluctantly.
"What if I never see you again?" Sora looked at Stella desperately.
She shook her head and smiled. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a star charm that she had kept when she was younger. Stella looked at it, smiling, and handed it to Sora. "Now we'll have to meet again, so you can give it back. We'll find a way, I promise."
They finally vanished, leaving Sora, Donald, and Goofy by themselves. Sora looked down at the charm in his hand and smiled.
Amanda slowly rose her head, looking and the clock in front of her. It was still 3:30, the same time as when Stella had begun to put the game into the player. She hadn't recalled falling asleep, but the dream was all too real. She couldn't remember the last time she had a dream so vivid or so long that she had thought it was real. Her friends had just begun to wake up, and she wondered how they had all fallen asleep at the same time.
Looking at them, she realized that Melissa was flustered, both Kristen and Stella were crying, and she had the faintest sensation that she was, too.
"I just had. . . the best and worst dream ever. . ." Kristen whispered, wiping her eyes.
"Me too. I was in Kingdom Hearts. . ." Amanda smiled, remembering the dream. She looked back, noticing that her friends were staring at her oddly. "What?"
"I dreamt that too." Melissa said, crossing her arms. Stella and Kristen nodded.
Amanda straightened, and looked at the T.V. On it Sora was looking at a small charm, and the image faded to darkness and to credits. She stood and walked toward the TV, touching it, but nothing happened.
"It wasn't a dream." Stella said, shaking her head. "Not all of us could have dreamt that, and. . . I don't have my charm with me anymore. Sora has it. And we have this." Stella pointed out a necklace that she now was wearing. It was a perfect mini-replica of her weapon. Everyone looked at the necklace's they were wearing, smiling as they had replicas of their weapons, too.
"Guess we have to find a way back." Melissa grinned.
Amanda and Kristen looked at eachother and smiled. "Guess we have even more reason to anticipate the next game."
End of Hearts Connected
note from the author:
Thank you to those who read this. I would really appreciate reviews so I can apply them to the next series. Yes, there will be a "chain of memories" version. Look for that title or for "Links of Recollection." Once again, thank you.
-Saku