A/N: Hey guys, I know it's been a long wait for this one, much longer than I wanted. I'm so sorry for that. I got caught up in this pesky thing called life but I'm here to deliver the final chapter for you guys. Hopefully it lives up to your expectations and thank you so much for reading!
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The heart of the darkness was a world that seemed to be ripped out of the fabric of space. The moment Dean set foot on this world, he felt every muscle in his body tense up. They emerged from a small rock cave on the edge of a large lake, the water sparkling blue. Rocks were scattered about and big purple and black orbs fell from the sky and into the water, though they made no splash. At the horizon, a group of rocks stood out of the water like Stonehenge. They were surrounded by a purplish light that gave off the idea that there was more than met the eye.
"Gwarsh, is that all that's left of the worlds taken by the Heartless?" Goofy asked, his eyes looking around.
Dean's heart stopped and he looked over at Sam, who mirrored Dean's expression of shock and sadness.
"We're looking at world fragments?" Sam asked.
"So we could be looking at my and Sam's world and not even know it," Dean said.
"My islands…" Sora trailed off. "The worlds will be restored if we beat Ansem, right?"
Donald nodded. "You bet'cha."
"But if we do beat him and all these worlds become restored and disconnected, what's gonna happen to this place? And to us?" Sora asked.
"Well, uh…" Donald fumbled for words. He obviously didn't have an answer for Sora.
"I'm sure we'll be fine," Dean said, though he wasn't sure.
"This is a Heartless world," Castiel said. "It is quite likely that once we defeat their leader, this world will disappear."
"Huh?" Sora and Donald sputtered at the same time.
"As to what happens to us should we still be here when that happens…" Castiel trailed off, refusing to meet any eyes, "what happens to us remains unclear."
"Aw, shucks guys," Goofy said. "Even if this place goes poof, our hearts ain't goin' nowhere. I'm sure we'll find our pals again. Yup, I just know that we will."
Sora nodded. "Yeah, you're right."
Sam and Dean exchanged a look of skepticism, but chose not to say anything. Sometimes a glimmer of hope is what was needed in order to do what needed to be done.
Sora glanced at something in his hand, muttered something under his breath and squeezed it tightly, holding it to his chest. He stuffed it in his pocket and then looked at the group. "Okay, let's go."
"Looks like we'll have to swim," Sam said, looking out at the vast lake.
"Gwarsh, I dunno about that," Goofy replied. He looked down at his feet and the water that he was standing on. "I don't think somethin's quite right here."
"What the hell is this?" Dean asked, taking a step out onto the lake. "Suddenly we're all pulling a son of God and walking on water?"
"It's a Heartless world, Dean," Sam replied, examining the water that was now under his feet. "I doubt they have any concept of how physics works."
"We should get moving," Castiel said. "We don't know how much time we have."
The group started across the lake, their feet sloshing on the water with every step.
The Heartless world was filled with surprises and twists. They faced countless Heartless along the way. Beyond the lake was a huge chasm with gems popping out from the ground. It was always dark and with a sense of foreboding, however, they all knew they had to dive deeper and deeper into the world in order to find Ansem. And once they did, they were going to end all of this.
They had to go through miniature pieces of all the worlds they had been to and they had to fight a huge gargoyle-like creature. It was made easy because they could fly around, just like they had been able to in Never Land. The creature was made quick work of and the group continued into the crater where they climbed more layers below the surface and faced even more Heartless, including another of those behemoth Heartless, until they reached the ornate golden doors.
Sora stopped short of them when he saw them.
"What is it?" Sam asked.
"This is it," Sora said. He looked at the gently gurgling waterfalls, their waters sparkling peacefully, but his eyes were mostly focused on the doors. "This is the final resting spot."
"Yes, I can feel it," Castiel said. "The darkness' final hold is beyond that door. It is sure to be stronger than anything we have encountered thus far."
"We'd better rest up and prepare then," Dean replied. "We don't know what waits for us behind there."
"Well we do know one thing that's behind those door," Goofy said.
"What's that?" asked Donald.
"Ansem," Goofy replied. "Whatever else he's got planned'll be behind this here door."
"What he'll throw at us is what I'm more concerned about," Dean said.
"We need to be ready for whatever he gives us," Sora said.
Sam nodded. "I think we all can agree that Ansem is the biggest threat and the one that we should all go after, in case he has any minions come after us."
Castiel nodded. "I agree, but someone has to take care of the minions or else they'll just get in the way of our real target."
"I think you just volunteered to be our minion manager, Cas." Dean grinned.
Castiel sighed. "Very well."
Sora had a sly smile on his face. "You can't expect him to do that all by himself, do you, Dean?"
"Are you volunteering too, short stack?" Dean shot back.
"No way!" Sora exclaimed.
"Then don't try to volunteer me," Dean said.
"You volunteered Cas!" Sora pointed out.
"We don't have time for this," Castiel said, but the two ignored him.
"Yeah, because he suggested the role," Dean replied to Sora.
"Guys!" Sam said, raising his voice. "Come on, we don't have time for this. Stop wasting your time fighting. It doesn't matter."
"Gwarsh, I'll do it if it's causing this much of a fuss," Goofy said, scratching his head.
"Thank you, Goofy," Castiel said, nodding his head in the knight's direction.
"So are we ready now?" Donald asked, his wings crossed and his foot tapping impatiently.
"Are you really that impatient?" Dean questioned.
Donald gave him a look. "We have worlds to save, you know, and they don't have time for all of this arguing," he quacked.
"Does everyone have everything they'll need for the fight that lies ahead?" Sam asked. The group around him nodded. "Are you all sure?" They checked their equipment and supplies one last time and then nodded that they were all ready. "Okay, then let's go."
Sora headed for the doors. They seemed so familiar to him, like something he once saw in a dream. "We're sure we're ready?" Sora asked. "Last call."
"Let's do it," Dean replied for the group.
Sora pulled open the doors and stepped into the bright light and into the sun.
"Is this… is this my island?" Sora looked around at his environment. He looked at the tall tropical trees and felt the blistering sun and the gentle sea breeze. This was, without a doubt, his island. His home. The one that he had thought lost to the darkness.
"This is your island?" Sam asked from behind the boy. The group had all come through the doors, which had promptly disappeared as soon as they were all through. There was no going back.
"Yeah," Sora replied. "Riku and I used to swordfight all the time on this beach and on that little island over there." He pointed to smaller island off of the coast where a wooden bridge had been built, connecting the two islands. "Oh, I should show you guys the secret place!"
"The secret place?" Sam asked.
"We have other matters to attend to," Castiel started to protest.
"It'll take five minutes," Sora replied. "Besides, we might find something there since there's nothing out here." He ran toward the dark shadowy part in between the gigantic vine-covered tree and the peaceful waterfall.
"This world has been connected," a deep sinister voice rang out over the island.
Sora stopped in his track, turning to look at his also bewildered friends. Around him, he began to see parts of his precious island begin to disappear. The island where he and Riku would swordfight. The seaside shack. The secret place. The waterfall. Gone.
"What was that?" Goofy asked.
"Ansem!" Dean blurted out, his muscles tensing and his pulse starting to race.
Ansem's voice spoke again. "Tied to the darkness… soon to be completely eclipsed. There is so very much to learn. You understand so little. A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing."
The island quaked and the ocean's blue color deepened into a purple. The beach became fragmented and shattered, and at the very edge of it, where the beach used to be, stood Riku in his red and blue muscle suit. His back was to the group. The voice was coming from Riku.
Ansem spoke again. "Take a look at this tiny place. To the heart seeking freedom, this place is a prison surrounded by water. And so this boy" –Ansem spread Riku's arms out- "sought to escape from his prison. He sought a way to cross over into other worlds. And he opened his heart to darkness." Riku's body turned around, and as it did so, it faded, leaving behind Ansem's body, the one that they had seen briefly in Hollow Bastion. This time a dark shadow seemed to follow him around, its yellow eyes fixated on Sora and the gang. It was black and human-like, but floated instead. It had two strong arms and had shadow horns coming out of its head. Its gruesome teeth were showing and its body was bandaged in various place, most notably on its mouth where the bandages made an X on its face.
"Riku!" Sora cried out, extending a hand to his friend.
"Don't bother," Ansem scoffed. "Your voice can no longer reach him where he is. His heart belongs to darkness."
"Say that to my face, bitch," Dean muttered, Ansem still talking even as he said the words. He uttered a small cry of surprise when Sam elbowed him. "What? We were all thinking it," he mumbled.
"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," Ansem said, his voice consuming the small world. He rose into the air, the shadow flexing its muscles. "You see, darkness is the heart's true essence."
"That's not true!" Sora said. "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 rose even higher so that he was towering over the group. "So, you have come this far and still you understand nothing. Every light must fade, every heart return to darkness!" He spread his arms and a wave of dark aura from his fingertips made everyone shield themselves.
Weapons came out instantly and Sora was the first to go up and attempt to strike Ansem, but Ansem's guardian caught his Keyblade in between his large dark hands.
Sora gasped in surprise and dropped to the ground, his Keyblade hanging in the guardian's hands for only a split second before it returned to Sora's hands in a sheen of light.
Dean ran up, his feet sinking into the soft sand, and jumped to reach the Heartless leader. The sand prevented him from going as high as he wanted, but he was still able to reach Ansem. This time, the guardian didn't interfere and he landed a solid hit.
A fireball flew past Dean, so close that he could feel the heat from it, and hit Ansem squarely in the chest while the man was open. Ansem let out a grunt of pain.
"Come, guardian!" Ansem yelled, and the guardian at his back phased to the front, creating a barrier between him and the fighters. Goofy's shield harmlessly bounced off of the dark guardian. After a few seconds, it retreated, but the guardian immediately sent out discs of dark energy.
The discs sliced into the group of fighters, though Goofy was lucky and managed to put his shield up in time to reflect them. The others were ravaged by the discs, sliced and bleeding in some places.
Dean could feel the dark energy sapping his strength, drawing on his desire to fight, his will to live. He hissed in his pain, trying to resist the discs' dark nature. "We got hold him down, guys! He's moving too fast for us to really hit him!"
"How?" Castiel asked, his trench coat sliced around the edges, but otherwise unhurt.
Sora spoke up. "Magic. Give him everything we got and then you three grab him, hold him down, and we'll take of it."
Donald's cry of pain distracted them and as they turned, they saw Ansem's guardian holding the wizard, choking the life out of the poor duck. A dark aura began to shine around the duck, seeming to inflict even more pain.
"Donald!" Goofy yelled, running at Ansem.
Sora took off and since he was used to running in the sand, he shortly overtook Goofy. The Keyblade wielder jumped up, swinging the Kingdom Key in an upward arc. "Let my friend go!" The blow shook Ansem to his core and his guardian promptly released Donald, dropping him onto the sand where he gasping for air.
Goofy took a defensive stance over the duck so that he could recover and Donald wheezed his thanks.
Sora was caught in a tense battle with Ansem's guardian, who had come in front of Ansem and was swinging his dark arms at Sora. Sora held his own for a little bit but then he was pushed back onto the sand.
Luckily, Sam came up just then, blasting fire and ice at Ansem, which stopped his movements toward Sora. But then the guardian stepped in, taking the fire and ice without a scratch.
Dean took this opportunity to dash behind Ansem and slice the Heartless leader from behind, gaining the attention of Ansem's guardian. Dean paused for just a split second, allowing the guardian to grab him in both of his hands and feed off his heart. He could feel the energy in him staring to drain and cold seep through his entire body. But it was worth it. Ansem was wide open with his precious guardian preoccupied. "Now guys!" he yelled with the energy that he had left.
Goofy swung his shield, hitting the guardian's hands, causing the guardian to drop Dean. Donald, now back on his feet, let loose a huge lightning bolt, striking Ansem and his guardian straight through the core. Sora and Sam raced forward, with Sora slashing Ansem upward and Sam bringing Archfiend downward.
Ansem's guardian vanished. He scowled and flew up into the air and into the trees as the ground shook, causing the guardians of light to stumble around on the sand.
"Wah!" Donald yelled.
"What's happening?" Goofy shouted.
"My island!" Sora exclaimed as the tree that he had loved since childhood split open, the bark splintering, revealing a dark inside. It was like an arena, whatever had come up from the island as everything split open and twisted around to suit Ansem's dark purpose.
"Just stay calm!" Dean ordered through the tremors.
Seconds later, the tremors stopped and Ansem cackled as he lowered himself into the dark crater that he had created.
Sora took off like a lightning bolt to the crater, not even saying a word to the others.
"Sora!" Sam called after him. "Wait!"
But he didn't.
Dean was right on Sora's tail and followed the boy inside the crater just before the force field went up.
"Dean! Dean!" Sam called from the other side of the field.
Dean stopped and turned around, though Sora kept going further into the crater. "Damn it, not again!"
"I can't get though," Castiel said, putting his hand up to force field and then sharply jerking it back as though it had stung him.
"Ahyuck, we've got bigger problems," Goofy said, holding his shield up.
Dean looked past Sam and Cas, watching as swarm of Heartless crawled toward them from the other side of the force field. "Crap."
"Watch yourself in there, Dean," Castiel said right before he turned around with his angel blade in hand.
"What he said," Sam said.
"Dean!" Sora's voice called out.
Dean turned around, his eyes going wide with awe and a little bit of fear.
Sora was standing at the feet of a huge Heartless. It was taller than the bark walls of the crater they were in, which Dean would say was about the height of a small skyscraper. It had piercing yellow eyes that were covered by strands of wavy darkness. A huge heart-shaped hole was cut into its torso.
"Is it just me or does that thing kinda look like you?" Dean asked.
"It's not just you," Sora replied. "I've faced him before, when my island was destroyed. Go for the hands and the face."
The Heartless brought down its fist, shaking the ground and creating a pool of darkness where its hand was. Shadows leapt out of the pool, their twitchy features crawling towards Dean and Sora.
"You got it," Dean said, making a break for the fist. He brought down his Keyblade again and again, ignoring the pool of darkness at his feet. He was stopped when a Shadow scratched him from behind, and so he turned his focus on the pesky little things, leaving the fist to Sora.
The Heatless picked its fist back up, its silent yellow eyes looking down at the duo. It spread its arms open and from its core, released orbs of purple energy that rained down from the sky. One of them hit Dean and he jolted as a shock wave of pain erupted through him, his muscles twitching.
The Heartless stepped around, swings him arms around lower, closer to the ground. Sora rolled out of the way just in time, but Dean was caught in it, the arm throwing him into the wall.
"Dean, heal!" Sora yelled.
Flowers appeared around Dean's head, dust sprinkling out of them, and energy returned to him, the pain slowly fading away. He got to his feet and ran toward the giant Heartless again. Sora was jumping up, trying to reach one of the Heartless' hands. He got in about two or three hits per jump, but it didn't really seem to affect the Heartless much.
The Heartless reached out to Dean, as if trying to grab him, and then Dean got an idea. As the hand came toward him, he jumped, landing on the creature's arm. He quickly ran up the arm as the Heartless' yellow eyes fixated on the human on his arm. Then Dean jumped, slicing Bravura right through the center of the creature's face. It brought both hands up to cover its face as Dean fell to the ground, landing hard on the ground, the impact sending shock waves of pain up his legs.
The Heartless slowly disappeared, a pink heart floating out of its core.
"Whoo!" Sora yelled with glee.
"Don't celebrate yet," Dean said as the temperature dropped another few degrees. "It's not over yet."
Ansem appeared before them, a snarky grin on his usually solemn face. "It will never be over, Dean Winchester. Sora, the Keyblade bearer of the Realm of Light."
Sora rushed at Ansem, swinging his Keyblade at the Heartless leader. But Ansem simply tossed Sora aside with the flick of his wrist.
"You cannot win," Ansem said. "Give up now. Let your hearts return to the darkness whence they came."
"Not a chance," Dean growled. He arched Bravura up, swinging it so that it would hit Ansem squarely on the head. But the Heartless leader's guardian caught it between the palms of its dark shadowy hands.
"Don't you see it yet?" Ansem said. "The light will always be smothered by the darkness."
"I don't think so!" Sora yelled, coming up from the side and slashing his Keyblade across Ansem's midsection.
The guardian let go of Bravura, allowing Dean to drop to the ground with a grunt. Ansem grimaced, clutching his stomach. He floated away a few feet, still doubled over in pain.
"Take that, Ansem," Sora crowed.
Dean got to his feet, skeptical of how easily the boss went down.
Ansem looked up, a smile on his face. "Not so fast, guardian of light." He laughed maniacally, spreading out his arms, and the environment before them changed. Everything faded into inky blackness and suddenly they were all standing in a void, including Sam and the others. Ansem was nowhere to be found.
"What's going on?" Dean asked, his voice echoing.
"Behold the endless abyss!" Ansem's disembodied voice rang out. "Within lies the heart of all worlds, Kingdom Hearts!"
In the inky blackness, Dean could just make out a white door on the horizon, surrounded by tall gray stones, almost as though they were pillars.
"Look as hard as you are able. You'll not find even the smallest glimmer of light," Ansem continued. "From those dark depths are all hearts born. Even yours."
Suddenly, emerging from the shadows, a huge ship appeared. It was gross and malformed, as though the entire thing were made from sinew, muscle, and bone. A skull with pink skin stretched over it was at the very front. A huge guardian was at the back, sitting on top of what looked to be the heart of the ship, which was protected by a translucent force field. Right in front of the guardian was Ansem, shirtless, connected by his back with long tubes that were attached to the ship. He held a two-pronged staff, a blade at each end, identical to the bat-like blade that Riku had wielded. The entire thing was a living, breathing ship, one that made Dean want to puke right there in the realm between worlds.
"Darkness conquers all worlds!" Ansem declared, spreading his arms open.
The invisible floor beneath them suddenly disappeared and they all fell downward, into the abyss. Dean had to watch as his brother and Castiel were pulled into a portal leading God knows where, quickly followed by Donald and Goofy before the portal sealed up.
Sora and Dean were left falling into the vast pit off darkness, the ship getting smaller and smaller in their views.
"Sam!" Dean yelled, his voice echoing as through the void. "Cas!" He refused to let it end like this. He would not allow the darkness or this asshat Ansem to win. He would see his brother and his friend again. Dean refused to let it be any other way. Then suddenly Dean was floating in the void, soft yellow dust coming off his body.
"Dean!" Sora yelled, still falling.
Dean swooped down, grabbing Sora by the arm. "Come on, kid, let's do this."
Sora nodded and then Dean flew up, still having Sora in his grasp, so that they were level with Ansem's nightmarish creature. "You can let go now," Sora said, and so Dean did and the Keyblade wielder floated there, determination flashing in his young eyes. "Let's teach him a lesson."
Sam was surrounded by darkness. He couldn't see anything beyond himself. His grip on Archfiend tightened. He could hear scuttling around him, the scuttling of Heartless no doubt. He was hit from behind and though he turned, whatever it was had vanished into the darkness.
"Dean!" Sam called out. "Cas! Anyone!"
No one answered, of course. Sam knew he was alone. It was just him and the darkness, one on one.
Sam swung blindly around, the noise of vanishing Heartless the only thing letting him know that he was hitting something. Sam knew he couldn't do this forever. Not alone. Not when he knew that something dark and deep within him was calling him to the darkness. But for now he had to keep going and he had to stay strong.
Yellow eyes began to appear around Sam, surrounding him. Shadows.
Sam charged at them, slicing a shadow right down the middle, right in between the eyes. "Who's next?" he yelled.
Castiel began to panic. He was back again. Back in the darkness. Back in his prison. He couldn't control the Heartless anymore, couldn't stop them from advancing. He felt their dark waves come closer and closer to him.
His grip tightened around his angel blade. He was an angel of the Lord. He would fight back. The darkness was something to be fought. He wouldn't let it win, not this time. If the Winchesters had taught him anything, it was that he was in control of his own destiny. And his destiny was not to perish here.
He did not get saved from the darkness once only to be swallowed by it again.
"We gotta destroy the ship!" Dean yelled as Ansem slid into the ship, recovering from the wounds he gained battling Sora and Dean. "If we destroy the ship, then Ansem has nowhere to hide."
"But what about our friends?" Sora asked.
"We'll just have to hope that they'll be safe," Dean replied. "If we defeat Ansem, I'm sure we'll find them again."
Sora's eyes caught something dark and shimmering amongst the ship. "Dean, look, a portal!" He flew toward it, despite Dean's protests.
"Sora!" Dean yelled, but he was too late as Sora disappeared into the portal and it closed right before Dean could follow him.
"Damn it," Dean muttered. "Guess I'm on my own."
He flew up, dodging blue bolts of energy that were being shot at him, as the giant guardian waved its arms around. He slashed at the things creating the bolts and slowly one by one, Dean knocked out the ship's defense systems. He had to keep dodging the guardian's arms and the other bolts coming after him, but he knew in order to do bigger damage to this guy, he needed the ability to get near the ship without being shot at. He had just finished up with the top half and was about to move on when Sora popped up seemingly out of nowhere.
"Dean!" he yelled.
"Sora!" Dean flew toward the teenage boy. "You all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sora replied. "I thought you were right behind me." His eyes were on Dean, but out of his peripheral, he was keeping track of the ship's movements, especially that guardian. "Sorry for leaving you."
"No time for apologies now. You're back and that's what matters," Dean replied.
"Dean, look out!" Sora yelled just as a portal appeared behind Dean and sucked him in. Sora reached out for Dean, grabbing his hand and getting sucked in as well, but just as they were going through, their hands slipped and each of them lost sight of the other.
Dean dropped down into a dark room, not a glimmer of light to be seen. He held Bravura tighter in his hand as he heard the scuttling of Heartless around him. A dark orb floated in the middle of the room, swirling and festering.
"Hello? Is somebody there?" a voice called out from the dark depths.
"Sam!" Dean yelled, instantly recognizing that voice anywhere. Out of the darkness, Shadows erupted from all directions, crawling and clawing all over Dean. He was slashing blindly, unable to keep up with the swarms of Heartless that were attacking him. Then suddenly, there was a weight lifted off of Dean and the Heartless began disappearing one by one.
"Dean," Sam breathed, holding Archfiend and staring at his brother with wide relieved eyes. "I have never been so happy to see you in my life."
"You can tell me that again as soon as we get out of this mess," Dean grumbled.
"I think we should hit the orb," Sam said, his eyes looking around for more Heartless, though none seemed to be showing up. "It didn't exist until you showed up."
The brothers whacked at it for a while before the room suddenly slowed down and suddenly they were back at Ansem's ship, being cast out near the pink ugly skull at the front that somehow reminded Dean of Voldemort.
Sora and Goofy popped out of the portal just a few seconds after Sam and Dean did. The face roared, chomping and biting its gross yellowing teeth at the four of them.
"Time to take this sucker down," Dean said, flying at the face and slashing it down its center. The face contorted under the Keyblade, its pink exposed jaws gnawing the empty air. Sora and Sam flew in, copying Dean's movements, delivering a crippling blow to the soft skin of the creature.
The skull went slack-jawed, its mouth opening wide to reveal another dark portal that led who-knew-where. It moved with red and black and green in it, always shifting.
Dean and Sora shared a glance, then Dean turned to Sam. "You and Goofy head to the heart of this thing, right underneath the guardian, and take it out from there. If I'm right, we're going in the portal to rescue Donald and Cas."
Sam nodded. He patted his brother's back. "Stay safe."
Dean returned the favor. "You too. Be careful."
Sam nodded and flew up with Goofy into the heart of the ship, where the shields had been let down, exposing the white underbelly of the ship, a vulnerable part of it.
"Ready?" Dean asked Sora, who nodded, and then they both flew into the portal.
Dean was alone in the darkness. Sora had disappeared. They'd gotten separated again, just like last time. He could hear the scuttling of Heartless around him as they closed in on him from all sides, their yellow eyes the only thing really visible in the darkness. His hand tightened around Bravura, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Suddenly, there was a flash of silver and Castiel appeared from the dark depths, swinging his angel blade around. "Dean," he breathed, his musky voice obviously relieved to see the Winchester.
Dean swung his Keyblade, taking out a Heartless in front of him. "I'm here, Cas."
In a matter of seconds, the dark room was empty, the only source of light being the same dim orb floating in the room, same as Sam's prison.
Dean turned to Cas, briefly embracing him. "Are you okay?"
Castiel nodded. "I'm okay, Dean. Where are we?"
"A prison," Dean replied. "But I'm busting you out. We have to go help Sam and the others finish this once and for all." He pointed at the glowing orb in the center of the darkness. "That's our ticket out."
Dean and Castiel flew out of the pink skull's mouth moments before Sam and Goofy, now with the aid of Donald and Sora, hit the ship where it hurt: right in the heart. The center of the ship seemed to stop and everything was now lifeless.
"Is that it?" Dean asked, flying up to meet the rest of the group.
"I wouldn't bet on it," Sam replied.
Just then, the ship shook and out from his hiding place came Ansem, still larger than any building Dean had ever seen. His wounds were fully healed from the battle with Sora and Dean. His face was an expression of rage. He held his two edged staff between his hands. "You have not won."
"Not yet," Donald cried.
"Not ever!" Ansem roared. He lashed out furiously, his staff twirling and jabbing at the air and at the guardians of the realm of light.
Dean watched as Sora went flying back, followed by Goofy. "Sora!"
"Goofy!" Donald called. The wizard turned his attention back to Ansem, raising his wand, and yelling, "Thunder!" A lightning bolt came down, striking the giant boss, but it hardly seemed to phase the giant being.
"Sam, look out!" Deran yelled and he flew in front of his brother, holding up Bravura just in time to block one of Ansem's jabs.
"Thanks," Sam breathed.
Dean nodded, trying hard not to notice the pain that was shooting up his arm.
Sora came flying back with Goofy trailing him.
"He's faster, stronger, and more powerful," Dean said as Sora got closer. They barely dodged some of his jabs.
"We have to defeat him," Sora said.
"We will," Sam assured them both.
"How?" Goofy asked.
Glowing orbs of darkness came shooting at them from Ansem, where he had summoned them from the dark realm around them. The group quickly separated, though for Dean, it wasn't enough. An orb came flying at him, hitting him square in the back. He tumbled through the air.
"Dean!" Castiel yelled, dashing over.
"I'll cover you," Sam said, floating between the angel, his brother, and the giant Heartless.
"Dean," Castiel said, helping the Winchester brother upright. "Are you alright?"
"I'll just have to shake it off, Cas," Dean winced. Darkness flowed all around his body in tendrils, little after effects from the dark attack.
Donald flew over just then, yelling "Heal!"
Flowers appeared over Dean's head, sprinkling down some sparkling glitter and chasing away some of the darkness. Not all of it disappeared though, with some still barely visible and circling Dean's body. "Thanks," Dean said, feeling the pain ease even just a little. "Definitely avoid those things."
Dean looked up, his attention being brought back to the fight. Sam, Sora, and Goofy were circling the edges of Ansem's reach. It seemed as though they had come up with a small strategy. Sam and Goofy distracted Ansem, drawing his attacks in their direction, then Sora would fly in and land a hit or two before Ansem went after him.
The strategy wasn't perfect, and as Dean watched, he saw how risky it was for both the distractors and the attackers. Dean knew that it couldn't go on like this. They would all be dead long before Ansem was defeated.
Then Dean's eyes caught the cord on Ansem's back.
"Dean, I know that look," Castiel said. "You have an idea."
"Yeah, I do," Dean replied. "Cas, follow me. Donald, tell the others to cover us."
Donald nodded and flew off.
"What is it?" Castiel asked.
"The cord on Ansem's back. He's attached to this ship. He's probably getting his power from it," Dean said quickly. "So if we cut it-"
"Then Ansem becomes powerless," Castiel finished. "But how do you know it will work?"
"I don't," Dean replied. "But I think it might be the only shot we've got." Dean flew off in Ansem's direction, staying to the outside of it. He could hear the battle cries of his friends, though Sam's in particular stood out to him. They were keeping Ansem's attention and now Dean was at an angle where he could see the thick black cord that went from Ansem's back to the hideous giant Heartless ship.
"We probably only have one shot at this, so let's make it count," Dean said.
Castiel nodded. "I'm ready."
Dean's eyes were on Ansem and when he deemed that Ansem was completely unaware, he gave the command. "Now."
The angel and Winchester flew toward the cord in the small passage between Ansem and the rest of the ship. They were almost there when Ansem caught them out of the corner of his eye.
"No!" Ansem yelled.
"Keep going!" Dean called to Castiel.
Sam's voice yelling "Fire!" and Sora's voice yelling "Deep freeze!" could be heard in the background as their comrades upped their attacks. Ansem flinched, but he wasn't fully phased. The cord wound around as Ansem moved, making their target harder.
"We're almost there!" Dean yelled. His eyes were completely focused on the cord. He tightened his grip around Bravura, aching to feel the Keyblade slice through the cord to end all of this.
Castiel gritted his teeth, his attention now on Ansem. He could see in his mind where this was headed and that was something he wanted to prevent. The angel turned around, flying straight at Ansem's face, his angel blade positioned to strike.
The Heartless leader's face turned into one of surprise and then one of hatred. Ansem took a hand and batted the angel away, though not before Cas dug his blade into the Heartless leader's hand.
"Cas!" Dean yelled, pausing in his flight.
"Dean, go!" Castiel yelled.
"We got this!" Sam said, flying in.
Dean flew off again the cord in his sights. He took Bravura and sliced the cord clean through, all of his pain and rage and hatred going into that last hit.
"No!" Ansem yelled, his body beginning to convulse with darkness starting to eat away at his body from his feet, working itself all the way up to his head. The ship began to shake, seeming to face the same fate as its captain.
"Everyone get clear!" Sora yelled.
The guardians flew a safe distance away from the ship and watched it get devoured by darkness until only Ansem's body, his normal body, remained.
Sora flew over to him, where he was weakly flying toward the big white door: Kingdom Hearts.
"It is futile. The Keyblade alone cannot seal the door to darkness," Ansem said, his voice slower and weaker. His eyes turned towards the door. "Kingdom Hearts! Fill me with the power of darkness!" The white doors cracked open, darkness spewing out like fog. "Supreme darkness!"
"You're wrong," Sora interjected. "I know now, without a doubt that Kingdom Hearts is light!"
The dark fog stopped as the doors opened wider and a bright light cascaded out of the doors, so bright that everyone had to close their eyes. But no one was more affected than Ansem, who had to turn from the light, the leader groaning with pain in it.
"Light? But why..?" Ansem groaned. Then his body disappeared, peeling away and shattering in the presence of so much light. Then the light slowly faded, leaving them once again in darkness, though the doors were still slightly ajar.
"Come one, we have to close the doors!" Sora yelled.
The group of six landed on the small sliver of ground and headed up the pathway toward the white doors. They were all trying to push the door shut, which was unexpectedly heavy, when Goofy stopped, peeking in at something inside.
"Stop staring and keep pushing!" Donald yelled.
"Gwarsh!" Goofy exclaimed.
Donald peeked in, trying to see wat Goofy was reacting over. "The Heartless?! Hurry!"
"It's not shutting," Dean groaned. "Why are these doors so damn heavy?"
Suddenly a gloved hand reached out and grabbed the door's edge, pulling with them. "Don't give up!" a familiar voice said.
"Riku!" Sora exclaimed.
"Come on, Sora! Together we can do it, all of us!" Riku said.
"Okay!" Sora said.
The effort was doubled, but yet the doors would barely budge. They moved but at an exceptionally slow pace, one that would not outrace the approaching Heartless. They were approaching ever faster, now with a chance to escape their realm, and it was clear that the doors wouldn't be shut in time for them to reach it.
"It's hopeless!" Donald wailed.
One by one, the Heartless began disappearing, their darkness scattered again across the realm. A bright light illuminated a mouse figure in the distance, holding a Keyblade above its head, the shadow of which was identical to Sora's Keyblade.
"Your Majesty!" both Donald and Goofy cried out in happiness and disbelief.
"Mickey?" Dean said, confused. "He's the king you've been looking for?"
"That's 'Your Majesty' to you, Dean!" Donald quacked sternly.
"Now, Sora! Let's close this door for good!" Mickey's voice echoed across the realm.
"Close it, quick!" Goofy said, still pushing on the door.
Sora hesitated. "But…"
"Don't worry," Mickey reassured. "There will always be a door to the light."
"Sora, you can trust King Mickey," Goofy said.
Riku glanced behind him and his eyes grew wide with fear. "Now! They're coming!"
"Donald, Goofy, thank you," Mickey said. "Dean, be careful out there, ya hear?"
"You got Mickey," Dean called back, then swiftly corrected himself when Donald cleared his throat. "I mean, Your Majesty."
When the door was almost closed, Riku said, "Take care of her."
Sora nodded before stepping back, his Keyblade appearing in a column of light in his hands. He held out his Keyblade toward the white doors and a beam of light shot out of it. On the other side, Mickey was doing the same. The sound of a lock clicking was heard and slowly the white doors faded away from existence. The gray rock path continued on in front of them, disappearing into the horizon.
There was silence for a moment, but then Castiel spoke up. "There's been a shift."
"A shift?" Goofy asked.
"In the universe, in the world order. Everything is going back to the way it was," Castiel replied.
"Hey, what's that?" Sam asked, spotting was seemed to be something floating in the darkness.
Sora turned around, his eyes lighting up. "Kairi!" He ran over to her without even thinking about it.
Donald tried to follow, but Goofy held him back.
"What's she doing here?" Dean asked, utterly confused.
"Their hearts are connected, Dean," Castiel replied. "That connection led her here."
"Young love," Dean deadpanned.
"I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not," Sam said.
"Yes," Dean answered simply.
They watched as the two were separated and Sora let go of Kairi's hand, promising her that he'd come back to her.
"Where's she going?" Sam asked.
"Back to her world," Castiel replied.
When Kairi was completely out of sight, Sora came back to the group.
"You alright?" Dean asked.
Sora nodded.
"Sam, Dean," Castiel started. "It's time."
"Time?" Dean asked.
"I can't keep us here any longer. The pull to go back to our world is too great," Castiel replied.
"What about them?" Dean asked.
"Their work is unfinished," Castiel said.
Sam nodded. "I guess this is goodbye."
"Take care of yourselves," Dean added.
Sora grinned. "We will, I promise. But you have to promise that too."
Sam and Dean shared a meaningful glance.
"We'll do our best," Sam replied diplomatically, though he meant every word nonetheless.
"See you guys," Goofy said.
"Be careful!" Donald said pointedly.
Then Castiel let the pull to their world overtake them and the Winchesters and the angel were gone, just like that. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were left at the stone path leading to the edges of the universe with another adventure looming ahead.