Stella and Avalon were the first to walk into the portal, and the first to end up in a dimly lit city that reeked of darkness. They moved forward a few steps, and Stella sighed.
"I can't imagine what Amanda's going through." Stella whispered, glancing back at Sora, who was talking to Donald, Goofy, and Mickey.
Avalon looked down. "Those two were together since the beginning of this whole mess . . . I can't really imagine it either."
Stella looked up, seeing a giant flying fortress that covered a heart-shaped moon. It was the brightest thing in the whole town, almost illuminating the rest.
"Amanda's gotta be in there." Sora said, looking at the castle.
The group maintained in silence as thunder ripped through the skies.
"Let's get going!" Mickey urged, breaking the silence.
They continued through the narrow streets, beating the Heartless along the way. They hesitated upon reaching a plaza that ended in a huge skyscraper. Stella and Sora stopped in the center of the plaza, looking up at it in awe, and turned rapidly upon hearing the clatter of metal hitting itself. Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Avalon were trapped behind two samurai-looking Nobodies who refused to part the way.
Stella took a step forward, but Sora did not follow, and she turned to see him facing a man in a black cloak. The man held a Keyblade, and charged at Sora. Sora blocked with his Keyblade, which made them disappear into an area that seemed reminiscent of a stained glass window upon the floor.
The two began to fight, the cloaked man now holding two Keyblades that seemed to contrast with its partner. Stella looked across the field, knowing it would be useless to get between them, and noticed a cloaked female figure standing somewhat nearby.
"Kristen?" Stella said, running toward the girl.
The girl laughed. "You know, I told him that this was silly. When he gets something in his head though, it's pretty hard to knock it out." She looked at Stella, her smile wider. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" She pulled off her hood, revealing her identity.
"We could stop them." Stella said, noticing how the fight was getting tougher and more serious. The two men struck at eachother, hitting hard enough to be struck pretty far back.
"GO!" Melissa said, running between the two men as they charged at eachother. Stella adapted her pace to meet Melissa's, and they intercepted between the two men, spreading their arms wide back-to-back to stop them.
Both Sora and the cloaked man stopped rapidly, the hood falling off of the cloaked man to reveal messy blonde hair and striking blue eyes.
"What are you doing?" The blonde asked Melissa, both confused and frustrated.
"You know this isn't right! It never was a competition, only DIZ's preference." Melissa said.
"But why Sora over me?" He stopped, then looked at the floor, then at Stella. "Now I see . . ." He smiled and turned, walking toward the darkness.
"Roxas!" Melissa exclaimed, grabbing his arm.
He smiled at her, looking back at Sora. "You make a good other, Sora." He looked at Melissa. "You stay with them, where you belong."
"But . . ." Melissa seemed to be at a loss for words. "I . . ."
Roxas' smile never faded, and he lifted her chin so he could look her in the eyes. "We'll meet again, so don't worry."
A blinding light flashed, and the group wound up in the plaza again, where Donald, Goofy, and Avalon waited for them.
"You guys just vanished! We were so worried!" Avalon exclaimed.
"You just disappeared, an' then we had to fight a bunch of Nobodies." Goofy added.
Melissa was standing a good distance away, zoned out and looking at the top of the skyscraper. "Roxas . . ." she whispered.
Avalon ran and hugged Melissa, and the rest followed suit into one big group hug. "We missed you!"
Melissa looked at them and laughed. "Yeah . . . sorry guys."
"What were you doing?" Sora asked.
"I was with Roxas." She shook her head. "It's a really long story. Too much to explain."
"We have a bit to explain as well." Stella said. "But we can handle that on the way to the castle."
Amanda sat on the floor of the prison cell, holding her knees close to her chest, her only consolation for so bleak and outlook. She heard footsteps nearby, and with the hopefulness that it was her friends, she stood quickly and came to the bars.
Saiix was the only one who stood before her.
"You . . ." Amanda growled, wanting ever so strongly to draw her blade and cut him down. If only the bars were not in the way.
Saiix smirked. "You know you're the reason why he's gone."
"You-!" Amanda quickly thrust her arm through the bars, scratching Saiix's cheek.
Saiix brushed his cheek, ignoring the blood. "Hurts, doesn't it? Knowing that you're responsible for his death, and the impending doom of your friends?"
"Just disappear already." Amanda growled.
Saiix laughed, leaving Amanda alone in her cage. Amanda's defenses loosened, and she held onto the cage bard for support, a tear escaping her eye. It was her fault, after all, and she could not let that thought leaver her mind.
She heard the familiar sound of a portal appearing behind her, and turned, seeing a young blonde girl reaching out form the portal.
"Namine?" Amanda asked, surprised at how long it had been since she had last seen Namine.
"This way!" Namine said, determined.
Amanda reached for Namine's extended hand, a light flashing from where they touched.
A bright beam of light shot out from a chamber in the castle, blinding Sora and the gang momentarily. Sora's Keyblade appeared, and he pointed it toward the castle, making a pathway appear. They ran up the ramp, entering a ridiculously white, intricate, and technological castle.
"We have to stay quiet." Mickey whispered. "This is their stronghold!" He ran off, ignoring the group's calls after him.
Amanda ran alongside Namine down the steps of the castle. They stopped running when they approached a number of large Nobodies. Saiix appeared, and looked at the two girls with slight disdain.
"There you are, Namine . . ." He then looked at Amanda. "I'm afraid leaving is not an option. I can take you to see your friends."
Amanda summoned her blade, standing infront of Namine.
"You don't want that?" Saiix asked.
"As if, freak." Amanda growled. "I do, more than anything. But not with you around!"
"If I had a heart, this is where I'd die of laughter." Saiix said sarcastically.
Amanda growled, but the sound of a sword made her hesitate. Saiix looked behind himself abruptly, seeing his large Nobodies fall to the floor. Behind them was a figure in a black cloak, holding a winged blade.
Namine smiled. "You can take it from here, Riku."
"Riku?" Amanda looked at the man in shock and looked for her sister, but she was nowhere to be found.
Riku struck at Saiix, but it was easily dodged as he moved towards Amanda and Namine. A cloaked female flipped over the girls, striking Saiix in the back with her flaming staff. Saiix fell forward and was grabbed by Riku and slammed into a wall. Saiix, however, put his hand into the wall and escaped, smiling.
The cloaked Riku looked back at the cloaked female, who took of her hood.
"What a pain in the ass he is." Kristen growled. "I don't know why he's so against dying."
Riku let out a short laugh. Amanda ran forward, hugging her sister from behind.
"I missed you!" Amanda said.
Kristen wrenched herself free, looking at her sister angrily. "I've heard that you've been getting yourself into trouble recently."
"Yeah, well . . ." Amanda looked for an escape, seeing Riku standing a distance behind Kristen. "Why's your boyfriend still in a cloak? Is he afraid we'll see a pimple or something?"
Kristen growled at her sister, smacking her in the back of the head. She smiled and nodded at Riku, who took off his hood.
Amanda stumbled back a couple steps in shock. "Kristen, he looks like—"
Kristen hugged Riku's arm. "I know he looks like Ansem, but he's still Riku deep down. And that's all that matters."
"You've done well . . . Sora." Sora and the gang stopped abruptly, looking up at Saiix who stood on an extremely ornate ledge.
"Where's Amanda?" Melissa yelled up at Saiix,
Saiix sneered. "Ah, back from spending time with that traitor?" He let loose a small laugh. "As for Amanda, I assume she's catching up with her friend from the darkness."
"What are you talking about?" Avalon growled.
"She doesn't need you anymore." The grin on Saiix's face was enraging.
"As if we believe that!" Sora crossed his arms.
"You don't have to. . . but you can believe this. Organization XIII has no further use for you. Just look there." Saiix pointed toward the bright moon with pride. "Our Kingdom Hearts. Thanks to you, we've collected countless hearts . . . can you hear their euphoria? Now, all they need is one more helping from the Keyblade bearer!" He snapped his fingers, and hundreds of Shadow Heartless appeared form the walls, approaching the group rapidly.
"We don't have a choice!" Avalon cursed, drawing her gun. "We have to fight them!"
"But—Kingdom Hearts!" Sora looked hesitant, and the reason was obvious.
Suddenly the first line of the Shadow Heartless burst into flames. Everyone looked upward, seeing Amanda and Kristen looking over the ledge.
"You guys look like you could use a hand." Kristen smiled. She smiled and nodded at Amanda, then at the cloaked figure behind her. The three leapt over the ledge, landing in the middle of a large group of Heartless, annihilating them in a matter of several swings.
"You're getting rusty, Amanda." Kristen joked.
Amanda ignored her sister, and ran up to Sora and the gang. "Took you so long that Kristen had to save me!"
The cloaked man's hood had fallen off while fighting the Heartless, revealing his face. He looked exactly like Ansem.
"What's going on?" Sora asked, completely confused. He didn't attack Ansem since it didn't seem that Amanda nor Kristen saw him as a threat.
Only a few Heartless remained, but were suddenly destroyed by bullets from a gun far above them.
"Have you been a good boy?" Xigbar asked from upon a high ledge.
"And the weirdo parade continues. . ." Stella mumbled, rolling her eyes.
"Oh, it sounds like you haven't. Sora! Roxas!"
"Did he just call me Roxas?" Sora asked, looking back at the group.
"Well that is insulting." Melissa said, shrugging. "To Roxas, I mean."
"Thanks." Sora said sarcastically.
"You've really put Organization XIII in a pickle." Xigbar continued. "I guess that must be why the Keyblade chose you. But man did it pick a dud this time. You don't look like you're half the hero the others were."
"Are you done rambling?" Sora retorted, irritated that he had been insulted.
"Rabling? As if! All I'm trying to tell you, traitor, is that your time is up!" He raised his hands, summoning his guns, and threw them to his sides, cocking them. He jumped down from the ledge to stand in front of them, and smirked. "You really shouldn't have betrayed us." He teleported back up to the ledge, and aimed at the group.
They used his own bullets to warp around the room and avoid his shots, and hit his own bullets back at him.
"Clever little sneaks!" Xigbar commented, warping back in front of them.
They worked to defeat him, finding it challenging to avoid his bullets and difficult in making him stay in one place long enough to strike him, for he kept warping around the area. It seemed even more impossible when he changed the format of the room to resemble a square and shot at them randomly, however Kristen's reflect spell helped them avoid a large amount of damage. In the end, though, they managed to defeat Xigbar, and he slumped to the floor.
"I lost? Me?" Xigbar appeared to be in shock.
"Why did you call me Roxas?" Sora asked.
"Wouldn't you like to know . . ." Xigbar smirked, vanishing into the darkness.
"Hey, hold on!" Sora said, looking for Xigbar.
Melissa was about to speak up, but she noticed Kristen putting her finger to her lips as she looked at Melissa, motioning for her to stay quiet. Melissa nodded and closed her mouth.
"We've been looking everywhere for you two!" Stella said, grabbing the twins in a huge embrace.
"Well, unlike you slackers, I was busy." Kristen growled.
"What have you been doing?" Avalon asked.
Kristen smiled and shrugged. "I was with him." She motioned toward Ansem, and the blush that was beginning to appear on her face was confusing. She noticed that he had drawn a portal and was beginning to walk into it. "Hey!" She exclaimed.
"Wait, Ansem!" Sora called. "I mean, Xehanort's Heartless . . ." Ansem stopped, and the portal vanished. He looked at Sora with interest, and Sora continued. "I never thought for a second that I'd ever see YOU again. Just thinking about all the things you did makes me really mad. But . . . But you helped saved Amanda, and you stuck with Kristen, right? I have to be grateful for that . . . Thanks."
Ansem nodded and began to turn to leave again.
"Hey!" Kristen cried. "Where do you think you're going, Riku?"
Everyone except Amanda, Kristen, and Riku gasped in shock, and Stella was the first to break the oncoming awkwardness.
"What did you just say?" she asked.
"Whoops." Kristen blushed in embarrassment, then smiled. "It's Riku."
"I'm no one—just a castaway from the darkness." Ansem/Riku argued. Everyone was becoming more and more confused.
"Oh, cut the crap." Kristen ordered. She looked at Sora and smiled. "I know just what to do." She grabbed Sora's hand and dragged him to Ansem and linked their hands within hers. "You both are close friends, so you should just feel it, Sora, like I do. Just close your eyes."
Sora did so, and, as he opened them, he looked at Ansem in shock. "Riku . . . it's Riku. Riku's here . . ." Sora fell to his knees and began to cry.
"C'mon, Sora. You've got to pull it together." Even though he looked like Ansem, his voice sounded exactly like Riku's.
"I looked everywhere for you!" Sora continued.
"I didn't want you to find me." Riku looked away, slightly depressed.
Kristen looked at the two, then bent down by Sora. "Oh, Sora . . ." She said sweetly (even though Melissa, Amanda, Avalon, and Stella knew that the tone she had meant bad news). She rapidly smacked Sora in the face and swipe kicked Riku's feet out from under him, making them both fall. She stood up, patting off her cloak.
"Now if you both would stop acting like such girls . . . we might actually accomplish something." She crossed her arms as the two men looked at her in surprise. "Well?"
Riku let out a small laugh and stood, helping Sora stand as well. "I suppose you're right."
"No, I am right." Kristen argued.
"Wow . . ." Amanda said. "Though I do agree that it was a little gay there, I really feel sorry for Riku for having to deal with my sis."
"What was that?" Kristen ran up to her sister, pulling her cheeks.
"It was you two who was helpin' us, wasn't it?" Goofy asked suddenly.
"Huh?" Donald asked.
"Those clues we kept finding." Goofy explained. "That musta been Riku and Kristen."
"I was starting to worry you guys weren't ever gonna catch on." Riku smiled. "Sora never did pick the brightest friends."
"What do you mean by that!" Donald growled.
"Why didn't you at least let us know you were okay?" Sora asked.
"I told you." Riku said. "I didn't want to be found. Not like this . . . I couldn't. I fought with Ansem. With . . . Xehanort's Heartless."
"And we won that battle." Kristen added, remembering Castle Oblivion.
"But . . ." Riku continued, "to use the power of darkness, I had to become Ansem myself. And I can't change back until the power is over. Until it is, I still need the power of darkness."
"If he can change back . . ." Kristen whispered sadly. Amanda was the only to hear her.
"Well, you're still Riku to us, no matter what you look like!" Sora grinned. "Now let's finish this together! The King's waiting!"
They continued down the path, ending up in a place that looked like a graveyard. Amanda stopped in front of a cracked tombstone, looking at it sadly. "I guess these are the only things to prove that they were here. This one belongs to Axel."
Stella bent down before a tombstone that had not been broken. "But this one, like two others, doesn't quite match . . ." She touched it, revealing a doorway. They walked through it into a large platform. Not far away was a beam of light that reached out to Kingdom Hearts.
"I guess DiZ must have started already." Kristen said, looking back at Riku.
"He must be with the King, as well." Riku agreed. "We better hurry."
They began to leave, but Luxord appeared, and the group was surrounded by cards. Avalon and Amanda managed to roll out of the way, but when Luxord snapped again, their friends were missing.
"You!" Avalon growled, drawing her weapon.
"I'd rather we just skip the formalities." Luxord said lazily. "The first to run out of time is the loser."
Amanda smiled. "If it's a game he wants . . ."
" . . . he better be prepared to lose." Avalon smiled at her friend, and they began to charge at Luxord.
It was a bit of a hassle when he transformed them into cards or dice, but double-teaming him made the battle easy, even when he hid in his cards. After a short time of fighting, he jumped backward and laughed.
"You play the game quite well." He smiled.
Avalon went to her knees and aimed at Luxord and fired. He quickly created a card barrier around him, but Amanda ran and jumped from Avalon's shoulders, jumping over the barrier and striking down Luxord.
As Luxord began to fade, their friends reappeared from the cards. Luxord looked at Sora. "How could you . . . Roxas . . ."
"That's Sora!" Sora yelled angrily. Luxord vanished rapidly.
They returned to the graveyard, and entered another door that had resulted from one of the uncracked tombstones.
Riku stopped once they entered a room that ended in large windows. "I can sense Saiix. He's using something to boost his power. If we can figure out his power source, then we may be able to use it, too."
As they came nearer to the windows, they saw Saiix looking through the window at Kingdom Hearts. He turned to them as they came closer, and smiled. "Only you could have made it this far in one piece, Roxas." He summoned his claymore, an intimidating huge sword.
"That's really getting old!" Sora growled.
"He's Sora!" Donald agreed.
"Different name, same fate." Saiix said, readying his weapon.
"Do you mean the kicking your ass part?" Melissa grinned, drawing her weapon.
Saiix quickly thrust the ground with his sword, sending out a huge shockwave. Donald, Goofy, Avalon, Riku, and Kristen were thrust backward, blocked from the fight by a barrier. It was up to Sora, Melissa, and Stella to defeat Saiix now, an idea that seemed easier in concept than in practice.
"Do you feel it, the moon's power?" Saiix asked. "Moon, shine down!"
The moon seemed to be Saiix's source of strength, and he would take his claymore and slam across the area with it, destroying all in his path. It was an effort to avoid these attacks, but they were then able to use his own claymore against him when he left it in the ground. His attacks became more powerful as they continued to attack him, but they also became more random. After a difficult battle, Saiix was defeated.
Saiix fell to the ground. "A heart . . . if I had a heart . . ." He dropped his claymore, which crashed to the floor loudly and made a large bang. He turned to the window, looking up at the moon hopefully. "Why . . . Kingdom Hearts . . . where is my heart?" He reached toward it as he faded away.
Sora looked to his friends as they went to him to be sure that the three were alright.
"I don't get it." He said finally. "Why's everyone been calling me Roxas?"
"Because, Sora. Roxas is your Nobody." Riku said.
"My . . . Nobody? But that's crazy. I never turned into a Heart . . . Oh, right."
Amanda smiled. "It was when you saved me, remember?"
Melissa sighed. "Xemnas found Roxas, and Roxas could use the Keyblade because he was your Nobody. Which is why Xemnas admitted him into the Organization-but Roxas betrayed them."
"He was different, that's for sure. Axel told me at least that much." Amanda crossed her arms.
"After he betrayed them, I fought him." Riku said. "I thought it would help you wake up. I lost, but I made sure I was the stronger one. Maybe I didn't need to fight him after all."
"He wanted to know who he was . . . who Sora was. He knew he would never find those answers in the Organization." Melissa sighed. "He wanted to meet you, and now he's a part of you."
Sora tilted his head in slight confusion, but he seemed to get it.
"All right." Kristen said, bored. "Let's go."
They went back to the cemetery, where a large path was open. They continued up the stairs, where Ansem the Wise and Mickey were near a machine that seemed to be near explosion.
"Your Majesty!" Sora exclaimed, and they approached closer to the two."
"Sora, the rest is up to you . . ." Ansem the Wise said. "And Roxas—I doubt you can hear me—but . . . I am sorry."
"Ansem!" Mickey exclaimed, noticing the machine's quickening state of destruction.
"My heart is telling me what I must do. Please allow me to do what it says!" Ansem pleaded.
"No!" Mickey protested.
Riku grabbed Mickey, pulling him back slightly.
"Riku!" Mickey looked at Riku in shock.
"His heart's decided. We can't change that." Riku said calmly.
Xemnas appeared, looking at Ansem with slight disdain. "I was wondering who would dare interfere with my Kingdom Hearts. And look-here you all are. How convenient for me. Ansem the Wise... You look pathetic." Xemnas sneered slightly.
Ansem ignored him. "Have your laugh. I deserve as much for failing to see you for
the fool you are."
It was apparent that neither would give in on insulting the other. "Students do take after their teachers. Only a fool would be your apprentice. After all, none of this would have happened without you. You are the source of all Heartless. It was your research that inspired me to go further than you ever dared."
Ansem looked down glumly. "I admit...my disregard brought chaos to more worlds than one. But what were you seeking? You erased me from the world, only to take my name and continue research better left forgotten... Is this the answer you've been
looking for?"
"All that and more. I'm carrying on what you yourself began, and I'm creating a brand new world, one heart at a time. I thought you'd praise me, but all you ever do is hold me back. I understand, though. Unlike me, you have a heart. And you're powerless to control it. Consumed, by the jealousy you feel toward the student who surpassed you."
Melissa whispered to Kristen. "I don't get it, Xemnas is acting like he actually has a heart. I'm so confused . . ." Krsiten shrugged, also confused by what was going on.
Ansem looked back at Xemnas. "Xehanort. Foolish apprentice of a foolish man. You have surpassed nothing-only proved how little we both know. We may profess to know the heart, but its essence is beyond our reach. We're both ignorant-as oblivious as when we began. I'm afraid that any world you try to create... Any world of yours...would be an empire of ignorance. That is why you and your creation are destined to fall!" The machine began to spark, and Ansem changed his attention to Riku and Kristen. "We've said enough! Riku, Kristen, you know what to do. King Mickey, my friend, forgive me!"
The machine sparked and exploded, and Riku stopped Sora from helping Ansem while holding back Mickey, and Kristen blocked the advancement of her friends. A bright light flashed, pushing everyone backward and to the floor. Hearts fell from Kingdom Hearts, and Heartless grabbed them and continued toward the castle.
Everyone sat up slowly, stunned by the blast. Kristen shook her head, and looked over at the others, who were still slightly lagging and dazed. Then she noticed that Riku had changed, that he looked like he had when she first saw him.
"Riku!" She got up and helped him sit up, and smiled at him.
"Wow!" Everyone else chorused.
"Ansem did say 'anything could happen' . . ." Mickey added.
Kristen smiled at Riku and took off his blindfold. He opened his eyes slowly, looking at her. "Now there's the eyes I know and love!" She grinned, and he smiled back at her.
"I'd really hate to kill this moment . . ." Avalon said, looking over the ledge, "but we have trouble." She pointed out the dark look of Kingdom Hearts, and then pointed out the millions of Heartless that began storming the castle.
"Uhhhh-oh!" Donald said.
"What should we do, Riku?" Sora asked.
"We have to defeat Xemnas. He's the Organization's last survivor." Riku replied.
Kristen unzipped her cloak and took it off, throwing it over the ledge. "Being that we'll be swarmed by Heartless anyway, this cloak kinda loses its use." She wore the same clothes that she had worn in Hollow Bastion and in Castle Oblivion.
Riku smiled, taking off his cloak as well and throwing it out. His clothes had certainly changed. Now he wore a white and yellow vest over a black shirt, and had blue jeans instead of poofy pants. Stella thought that he actually looked normal now, but she knew if she said that then Kristen would kill her.
They continued through the castle, fighting Heartless while transporting on floating platforms. However, as they got into a larger room, they noticed that Heartless were literally pouring through the castle's windows.
"There's no end to these guys . . ." Kristen sighed.
"We can stop 'em!" Sora argued, even though only half-heartedly.
Maleficent and Pete suddenly appeared in front of the gang.
"Be gone form here!" Maleficent ordered. "Leave these creatures to us!"
"But there's no way we can take 'em all!" Pete protested.
"I will be sending them after Xemnas." Maleficent motioned toward Sora and the group. "Or, perhaps, you would rather fight them yourself?"
Pete thought for a moment, then returned to his cowardly ways. "Frankly, my dear, I'd rather run!"
"Off with you, then!" Maleficent said disgustedly. Although Pete hesitated, he still stood by Maleficent's side. "Sora! "Your Majesty"! Do not forget—when I've destroyed them all, this castle shall be mine!"
"Opportunities like this don't come along every day, ya know." Pete added. He looked at the Heartless. "Bring 'em on!"
The two rushed into the fray, fighting the Heartless.
"We gotta hurry." Mickey urged. "They're doing what their hearts command. We can't interfere."
Sora nodded and they continued to the top, where Xemnas had his hands extended toward the damaged moon.
"Ohh . . . my Kingdom Hearts . . . ruined." Xemnas lamented. "Now I'll have to start all over again. Warriors of the Keyblade!" He turned to the group, facing them. "Go forth, and bring me more hearts!"
"No!" Mickey, Sora, and Riku said at the same time, pointing their Keyblades at him.
Xemnas seemed unimpressed. "Denizens of light, answer this: why do you hate the darkness?"
"We don't hate the darkness." Amanda said. "Sometimes its better to embrace it." She held her hands close to her chest. "Just because it's dark does not mean it's bad."
"It's the evil in the darkness that makes us afraid and makes us fight. Not darkness itself." Avalon added.
"We need both darkness and light, the two halves of one whole." Mickey finished.
"Then allow me another question. You accept darkness, yet choose to live in the light. So why is it that you loathe us who teeter on the edge of nothing? We who were turned away by both light and dark-never given a choice?"
"We don't loathe Nobodies, either." Kristen said. "If you paid attention, you'd know that."
"It's Nobodies like you who ruin our worlds that it applies to." Riku said.
"That may be . . . However, what other choice might we have had?" Xemnas' face may have appeared sorrowful, but it fooled no one.
"Just give it a rest!" Sora exclaimed. "You're not sad about anything!"
Xemnas chucked. "Very good. You don't miss a thing. I cannot feel—sorrow . . . no matter what misery befalls the worlds. No matter what you think, what you feel, or how you exist." He threw his arms up, energy surrounding them.
Sora and Stella wound up at the skyscraper where Sora had fought Roxas. Or at least it was an image of it, for the area kept distorting. No one else was anywhere to be found.
Xemnas stood before them, and suddenly a barrier appeared around Sora, weakening him. Stella charged at Xemnas, which disrupted his concentration and destroyed the barrier. Xemnas disappeared and reappeared on the top of the skyscraper, his hands covered in a blue lightning. Sora and Stella nodded and eachother and ran up the building as Xemnas conjured two red beam-like swords. They clashed near the middle of the tower, and Sora slammed Xemnas into the building, stunning him. They all fell to the ground, where Stella and Sora worked together to get around Xemnas' other attacks.
Weakened, Xemnas fell back. "So . . . it wasn't a fallacy . . ." He fell to the floor, fading away.
They could hear their friends calling their names. Their environment began to disintegrate, fading into a bright light. Suddenly, the two fell on the floor, and their friends rushed to them worriedly.
"Where's Xemnas?" Sora asked.
Donald looked around, pointing out Xemnas floating before Kingdom Hearts. "Hear me, Kingdom Hearts!" Xemnas called. "It seems we must begin anew. Ah,
but know this: I will give to you as many hearts as it takes. Mark my words! You can no more be complete without me than I without you. Heed me, Kingdom Hearts! Lend me your power, so that we may be complete! The power to erase the fools that hinder us. . ." Sora and the gang called to try to stop him, but he ignored them. "Hearts quivering with hatred . . . hearts burning with rage . . . hearts scarred by envy. . . That fool Ansem said the heart's true nature was beyond understanding. But it is not beyond mine! Hearts are the source of all power!" Kingdom Hearts glowed brightly, and Xemnas disappeared.
"Guys!" Melissa called, pointing out a large door that suddenly appeared. "What is this?"
Mickey looked at it in awe. "Kingdom Hearts . . . the worlds gave us this doorway. They want us to be the guardians of their destiny!"
"Xemnas must be inside." Riku said. "Once we go through, there's no turning back. It's victory . . . or oblivion. So, guys, are you ready?" He turned and smiled at the group. "Last time we stood facing each other on opposite sides, but now we'll fight together."
"Let's end this!" Sora said, summoning his Keyblade. He, Mickey, and Riku touched their blades together and held them up. Beams shot from the Keyblades, opening the door.
They enter the door, seeing what seemed to be an entire world inside. Xemnas stood in the center of it, and they gasped.
"So . . ." Xemnas said. "It seems your hearts have led you to obliteration. Perhaps it doesn't pay to be too loyal to one's heart. I will have to be sure and remember that."
He pointed, and a building flew toward them. They ran backward, and the building collapsed on the floor. The door began to close, with Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Avalon, and Amanda on the other side.
"No!" Amanda called, reaching out for her sister. It was too late, and they were trapped on the other side.
"We can handle him!" Sora said confidently.
They ran toward Xemnas, but windowed walls continued to block their path. Sora jumped up, breaking them apart with his Keyblade. A giant flying machine flied into the sky and fell to the ground. A platform that they stood upon rose to the level of the machine, and buildings began to fly at them. Teaming up two at a time, they destroyed the flying buildings, running across the pieces to get closer to the machine. The last destroyed building thrust them into the cylinder of the flying machine. Nobodies surrounded them, and they hit the Nobodies into the core of the cylinder, jumping to the other cylinder just in time to avoid a large burst of energy.
They went back and forth a couple of times doing the same thing until one cylinder fell off. However, upon the destruction of the second one, they had to jump into the core, which was a rather formidable jump. They all managed to make it, even though Stella almost fell. But with her friends by her side, they managed to destroy the core.
They wound up face-to-face with Ansem, who seemed to be sitting like a king on a throne in heavy armor. With him were many weapons.
"Cursed fools!" He growled. They only had to keep attacking him, avoiding his weapons as he struck out at them. In little to no time, they had him defeated. He screamed in agony, and they returned to the top of the castle, where their friends were waiting for them.
Xemnas fell to his knees, clutching his heart. "I need . . . more rage. I need more . . . hearts . . ." He said in exasperation.
"Xemnas." Sora stepped forward. "There's more to a heart than just anger and hate. It's full of all kinds of feelings. Don't you remember?"
Xemnas looked up at them. "Unfortunately . . . I don't." Xemnas faded away, and they all celebrated at his defeat.
The girls looked at eachother worriedly.
"You guys are coming with us, right?" Sora asked them. Riku was behind them, smiling.
"I hate to burst your bubble," Kristen said, "but look." She showed her hands.
"Nice hands." Riku said sarcastically. Kristen glared at him.
"What she means is . . ." Avalon said, suppressing a laugh, "if this battle were over, we'd be going home like the times before. But we're not."
"We could just be worrying too mu—" Amanda stopped suddenly as the ground began to shake. They struggled to maintain their balance.
"I'll open a path!" Riku said, extending his hand. Nothing happened.
"You don't belong in the dark realm anymore, Riku." Mickey smiled.
"Well then how do we get out of here, Your Majesty?" Donald inquired.
Amanda looked behind her, seeing Namine opening a dark portal. She was invisible to everyone else, Amanda knew, but she was still lending a hand.
"Where did this come from?" Goofy asked.
"Well, I'm not sure." Mickey said. "but we'd better hurry and get through."
Mickey and Donald went into the portal first, then followed Goofy, then Avalon. Namine appeared before Amanda.
"Thank you, Namine." Amanda said.
Namine looked at Sora. "Sure. See? We meet again, like we promised."
"Huh?" Sora looked confused.
"You said we'd meet again." Roxas said, appearing out of Sora. He seemed to be as transparent as Namine.
"I always thought Nobodies were doomed to fade back into the darkness . . ." Namine said thoughtfully.
"But we didn't. We got to meet our original selves." Roxas glanced over at Melissa. "And somehow I got to learn what it was like to have a heart."
"It was my pleasure." Melissa blushed. She worked hard to cover the tears that threatened coming out of her eyes, because she knew what Roxas had to do, and that she wouldn't see him again. She didn't want him to see her cry.
Amanda extended her hand toward Namine, and Namine took it, fading back into Amanda.
Roxas quickly hugged Melissa. "I'm sorry it has to be this way." He said, returning to Sora. He faded into Sora, with Sora once again whole.
"C'mon, you guys." Melissa said, working to maintain her composure, "let's go back."
"Right!" Amanda trotted behind Melissa, and both entered the portal together.
Stella smiled at Kristen, and the two began to walk toward the portal. However, it rapidly shut, leaving Stella, Kristen, Sora, and Riku trapped in the World that Never Was.
Far, far away they could see a glowing green core. From the core the giant flying machine, a dragon, burst out and flew toward them, slamming the tower. The tower began to collapse, and they began to slide toward the ground. Both Sora and Riku slammed their Keyblades into the floor, and grabbed the girls' hands as the tower continued to fall.
Kristen looked for something to help, and saw two large hovercrafts nested together. "Riku!" She pointed at them, and the two ran toward them, getting on and flying to Stella and Sora.
"Need a ride?" Kristen asked, and Stella jumped onto the hovercraft while Sora jumped onto Riku's.
They began to fly the hovercrafts to get away form the building, and the giant machine dragon flew alongside them. While Kristen and Riku attempted to destroy parts of the dragon with lasers from the hovercraft, Sora and Stella blocked the rays that the dragon shot, allowing for an easy fight. The dragon plummeted to the ground, surrounded by energy upon crashing and filling the area with smoke. However, from the smoke and even larger machine appeared. They could see Xemnas in his armor sitting at the head, and they flew the hovercraft toward it, jumping off for the hovercrafts to be lost into the abyss.
Instantly Xemnas shot them out into the space, and they glided toward nearby buildings, shooting them toward the machine to break its shield. With that, they flew into the area, striking at Xemnas. At the final strike, though, there was a bright light, and they ended up in a gray area that swirled around them.
Kristen held her head. "I swear I'm going to go crazy with all of these location shifts."
"Same here." Stella looked up, seeing Xemnas in a black and white outfit.
"Heroes from the realm of light . . ." Xemans called. "I will not allow it to end this way—not yet. If light and darkness are eternal, then surely we nothings must be the same. . . eternal!"
"You're right, light and darkness are eternal." Riku said.
"Nothing probably goes on forever, too." Kristen smiled.
"But guess what, Xemnas?" Stella put her hands on her hips.
"That doesn't mean you're eternal!" Sora finished.
Xemnas chucked. "No more eternal than that radiance of yours . . ." His hands began to spark with blue energy, and they charged at him, working to avoid his dark energy waves. When he split into two, they split up and targeted both, until one disappeared to reveal the true Xemnas.
Xemnas appeared behind Stella suddenly. "Can you spare . . . a heart?" he surrounded her in blue energy, and Sora ran to stop it, only to be shot back by a wave of energy. It was apparent that Stella was being drained, and the group fought the clone to get by and help her. Sora managed to run past, and punched in, blocking the energy and grabbing Xemnas' hand. Stella fell to the ground, where Krsiten supplied a quick cure spell while Sora slammed Xemnas in the face with the hilt of his Keyblade and threw Xemnas far away.
"Is that all you got?" Sora asked proudly.
"There is no such thing as light!" Xemnas yelled, creating two spheres of energy within his hands, melding them together to create absolute darkness that spread throughout the area. Within the darkness, a thousand lights appeared, and the group stood back-to-back as Xemnas fired them all at them. They worked to deflect them as quickly as possible, which took a lot of energy. When finished, though, there was a flash of light, and they wound up staring down Xemnas. Xemnas knocked Stella, Kristen, and Riku back, and Sora looked back toward his friends.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Xemnas held a beam sword to Sora's head.
"Sora!" Stella screamed.
Sora looked back, but he would not be able to move fast enough to get out of the way. Xemnas swung his arm back to hit Sora, but Riku blocked with his Keyblade, and Xemnas swung around. Riku pushed Sora out of the way, getting hit with the beam sword in the side. Riku fell to the floor.
"Riku!" Kristen gasped. She glared at Xemnas, getting up quickly and piercing his chest with the sharp end of her staff. He stumbled backward, leaving Sora and Riku enough time to send a beam of light from their Keyblades and through Xemnas.
"Cursed . . . Keyblade . . ." Xemans growled, reaching out angrily as he faded in wisps and smoke.
"We did it!" Sora said cheerfully.
Riku looked around, seeing hundreds of Nobodies. "I wouldn't be too sure of that . . ."
Kristen stepped in front of Riku. "Don't worry, we'll protect you." She smiled, and he stood and shook his head, and they attacked the Nobodies, leaving them defeated in a short matter of time.
Exhausted, Riku fell to the floor. "I can't . . ."
Kristen went to his side. "You can't give up when we've gotten so far!" She helped him stand with the aid of Sora, and both provided him support.
"It's not over, it's just not." Sora protested.
"How can you two say that?" Riku asked. "Even if we could go on, look where we are."
Stella giggled as she walked behind them. "You've been in the darkness too long, Riku, you gotta think positive."
Riku smiled. "Fine. You lead."
They began walking, anywhere, just walking to try to find a way out. It seemed hopeless, but none of them were willing to vocalize that in front of the others.
"You know . . ." Riku began after a long while of silence. "I always figured I was better at stuff than you, Sora."
"Not surprising." Kristen giggled.
"Are you mad?" Riku continued.
"No." Sora smiled. "I always thought you were better at everything, too." They laughed softly.
"Hey . . ." Stella said, running to get alongside the group. "What's that light?" A bright light appeared before them, and they walked into it, winding up on a dark beach.
"Looks like the end of the road." Kristen murmured, leading Riku to the water's edge. The four of them sat by the waves, enveloped in thought.
"This world is perfect for me." Riku said finally. "If this is what the world really is . . . just this, then maybe I should fade back into darkness."
"Riku . . ." Sora whispered sadly.
Riku smiled at them. "If the world is made of light and darkness . . . we'll be the darkness."
"Yeah. The other side . . . the realm of light is safe now." Sora said thoughtfully.
"That's what I mean." Riku smiled.
Kristen lay back in the sand. "I could live with being the darkness." She looked into the darkened sky and smiled, closing her eyes. "At least, no matter where we are, the waves sound the same."
They all closed their eyes, listening to the waves.
"Thinking of you, wherever you are." Stella said softly.
"Huh?" The three looked at her curiously.
"A poem I heard once, like a letter. 'Thinking of you, wherever you are. We pray for our sorrows to end, and hope that our hearts will blend. Now I will step forward to realize this wish. And who knows: starting a new journey may not be so hard, or maybe it has already begun. There are many worlds, but they share the same sky—one sky, one destiny.'"
As Stella finished a bright light appeared over the water before the gang.
"Light." Riku said, somewhat surprised.
"The door to light . . ." Sora stood suddenly, offering his hand to Stella. Riku stood, helping Kristen stand as well. "Let's go together." He smiled.
They entered the light, winding up in a bright ocean with a bright sky above them. They heard their names being called, and saw their friends upon the shores of Destiny Islands. Quickly they swam to shore, falling back into the water upon being barraged by the eager hugs of their worried friends.
The girls stood together, smiling about finally being reunited.
Amanda looked down at her hands, which were slowly fading. She looked at the girls to show them, then looked over her shoulder at the guys who were still reuniting.
The girls' faces grew glum; they didn't want to leave just yet, and they didn't want to risk the chance that this was the last time they would see the guys.
"Why so sad?" Sora came over, smiling. "This is a time for celebration!"
Stella forced a smiled. "We would if we could, but it's time for us to go." She showed him her hands, and Sora's face dawned in realization.
"Look at your guys' faces." Riku laughed as he came over. "You'd think someone died or something."
"It's pretty close." Sora mumbled, noticing how the girls' feet and legs were beginning to fade as well.
"Oh." He looked at Kristen, who looked at the floor sadly. She suddenly grabbed Riku in a tight embrace.
"I don't wanna go." She sniffled. "I'm afraid I'll never see you again."
Riku returned the embrace. "Hey. I'm positive we'll see eachother again. Besides, I'll find you just like I always have."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
Amanda, Melissa, and Avalon glanced at eachother sadly, knowing that they would never get that reunion.
They began to glow, and vanished, finally going home.
Kristen woke up sitting on the couch alongside her sister and Melissa. Avalon was leaning against the couch as she sat on the floor, and Stella resting on another chair. She wiped the tears from her eyes and fingered the charm on her necklace as the others woke up.
Stella groaned, stretching out in an odd fashion on the small chair, her face in her hands. "Just five more minutes . . ." She grumbled.
Melissa got up quickly, bringing in the plate of pizza that they had left behind. It was still hot, and she took a piece. "I have barely eaten anything at all, and I bet you guys haven't either. Makes the food taste better."
Everyone took a piece of pizza, looking at the black screen with distaste. As they finished their pizza, Avalon leaned back.
"What now?" she asked, obviously losing interest.
"Who knows?" Amanda replied sadly.
The doorbell rang, and Amanda popped up from her seat. "I've got it." As she opened the door, she asked "Who is it?", but only managed to get halfway through the question before her jaw hit the floor.
"Geez, Amanda, who is it?" Kristen asked irritably.
"Well . . ." Amanda appeared to be at a loss for words. "It's for you and Stella. A delivery."
Stella looked at Kristen, both confused. They both got up and went to the door, their jaws also hitting the floor when they saw who it was.
Kristen instantly ran out the door, yelling "Riku!" The other girls got up as well to see what was going on, and saw that Riku and Sora were at their doorstep, Riku currently having the life squeezed out of him by Kristen in her enthusiastic state.
"I thought I'd never see you again. . ."Stella said softly. She embraced Sora softly, and they stood there for a couple of minutes.
"Part the way! Hot stuff coming through!" A cloaked figure pushed his way through Riku and Sora's touching moment, and stopped in front of the remaining girls. "Guess who?" He asked.
"Only one person could be that arrogant." Amanda chuckled. She jumped, grabbing the cloaked man in a tight embrace.
He took off his hood, revealing bright red hair. "Miss me?"
"You have no idea."
"You're hogging the room, Axel!" A cloaked figure complained.
"Leave it to a hothead to get in the way of everything." A second one commented.
They pushed past Axel, taking off their hoods as well.
"Roxas!" Melissa's face brightened as she hugged him.
"Zexion?" Avalon blushed in shock. Zexion smiled at her, hugging her.
"It's funny how a heart can modify one's perception of love. I had it, and I didn't know it until it was too late." Zexion grasped her firmly, seemingly unwilling to let go.
"Wait . . ." Amanda said, processing that last statement. "You mean you guys have hearts now?"
"Precisely." Zexion smiled. "We had to, or we would still not exist.
Riku, with one arm still around Kristen, explained. "Somehow we knew where you guys are. This is still another world, so it seemed to make sense that we could get here by Gummi Ship. But, as we entered orbit, these three just seemed to appear, perhaps because they were kept in your hearts this whole time."
"I'm just glad I get to be my own entity away from this idiot." Roxas said, motioning toward Sora.
"And I'm glad I got my best friend and my girlfriend back." Axel grinned.
"Anyway . . ." Sora said, trying to ignore Roxas' insult, "we don't really have anything else for us back home, and we had the Gummi Ship modified so we know when there's trouble and we can all travel together." He showed them the Gummi Ship, which seemed no bigger than a normal charm.
"This is great!" Avalon smiled. "For more reasons than the ones we see right here."
"Oh yeah? What's that?" Kristen asked.
"We could totally dominate cosplay contests." Avalon said evilly. "And I'll just kill any fangirl who tries to get close to Zexion at the conventions.
"She does have a point." Kristen chuckled.
"We still have a lot of things to figure out . . .and this won't be easy . . ." Stella said. "But at least we're all together."
END
So I hope you've enjoyed the Hearts Connected series. I won't do a Birth by Sleep one nor a 'Days' one, since that might be impossible even with my creativity. But if there is another Kingdom Hearts that comes later, then I may just do that. It all depends, but I hope you've enjoyed this journey as much as I have!
-Saku