A/N: Second to last chapter! Enjoy~
Disclaimer: I own nothing but Shadow, Kurai, & Night.
Kingdom Hearts 2, Shadow's Story
Chapter 26
The World That Never Was…The Final Fight!
"Kairi, you were great!" Donald praised.
"Oh?" Kairi said, and she turned to us, bashfully flipping her hair. Sora and I walked up to her.
"You are different, Kairi, but I'm just glad you're here!" Sora told her.
"You two and Riku and Kurai never came home, so I came looking for you," she replied. Sora and I looked away from her.
"We're sorry," we murmured. Kairi rushed up and hugged Sora, much to his surprise, and I jumped off from the brunette's shoulder to let them have their moment.
"This is real…" Kairi whispered. Sora hugged her back, and a portal appeared behind Ansem and his creature, and they started to walk to it.
"Wait, Ansem! I mean, Xehanort's Heartless…" Sora said, and Kairi pulled away from Sora. I jumped back onto his shoulder. Ansem and his partner stopped and the portal vanished.
"We never thought for a second that we'd ever see YOU again. Just thinking about all the things you did makes us really mad. But…but you saved Kairi, right? We have to be grateful for that. Thanks," we said. They started to leave again, but Kairi ran over and grabbed Ansem's arm, stopping them.
"Riku, Kurai, don't go!" she begged them. The four of us stared at her in shock, but I was less surprised. 'I KNEW it!' I thought to myself. I still couldn't hide my slight sadness of seeing my old friend transformed into a Heartless-like monster.
"Huh?" Donald and Goofy gasped.
"Kairi, what did you just say?" Sora and I asked for clarification.
"Riku and Kurai," she repeated.
"We're no one—just castaways from the darkness," Ansem and Kurai said coldly.
"Sora, Shadow, come here. Say something to them," Kairi told us. We walked over to her, and she took our hands. "Here. You'll understand." She placed our hands with Ansem's. "Close your eyes." We did as she instructed, and closed our eyes, Ansem and Kurai watching us. We saw Riku in a black coat with Kurai back to his old, dark grey self on Riku's shoulder, and the silverette was holding Sora, Kairi, and my hands. We opened our eyes in realization.
"Riku…It's Riku. Riku's here…" Sora whispered in shock. I whimpered loudly as I watched my friend with happiness The brunette fell to his knees, still holding Riku's hand, and I jumped onto the silverette's shoulder to join Kurai, trying to hold back tears of joy. Too late for Sora, as tears rolled down his face. "We looked for you!"
"C'mon, Sora. You've got to pull it together," Riku told him. I stared at him in shock; Riku shouldn't be telling Sora that when he hadn't been with his best friend for over a year.
"We looked everywhere for you guys!" we said in unison.
"I didn't want either of you to find us," Kurai replied.
"But it was them that were helpin' us, wasn't it?" Goofy said.
"Huh?" Donald said, perplexed.
"Those clues we kept finding. That musta been Riku and Kurai," Goofy explained.
"I was starting to worry you guys weren't ever gonna catch on," Riku said. "Sora and Shadow never did pick the brightest friends."
"What do you mean by that?!" Donald demanded.
"Why didn't you let us know you were both okay?" I asked him.
"We told you. We didn't want to be found. Not like this…" they said, and looked at themselves. "We couldn't. We fought with Ansem. With…Xehanort's Heartless—when it invaded our hearts, and we won.
"But to use the power of darkness, I had to become Ansem myself," the silverette sighed.
"And I had to accept darkness into my body," Kurai added.
"Does that mean…you can't change back?" Kairi asked him.
"This battle isn't over," Riku explained. "And until it is, we still need the power of darkness."
"Then…let's finish it. You're still Riku and Kurai, no matter what!" Sora and I assured him, and the others nodded in agreement. "So how 'bout it: Think we can handle one last rumble together? The King's waiting!" we said to Donald and Goofy.
"Yeah! Let's get going!" Donald said eagerly. The six of us entered the Proof of Existence, where all but three of the carved stones were damaged. The place felt like a graveyard, and it was eerie. We entered one of them and ended up in Havoc's Divide. We looked up to Kingdom Hearts and saw a beam connected to it.
"What's that?" I asked from Sora's shoulder.
"It's the King and DiZ—I mean, Ansem the Wise," Kurai explained. "They must be higher up. We better hurry." Sora and I nodded, but when we started to leave, Luxord appeared, separating us from the rest of the group. He snapped his fingers and large cards rose and covered Donald, Goofy, Riku, Kurai, and Kairi. The cards spun around them, and when the cards flew away, our friends were gone.
"You!" I snarled.
"I'd rather we just skip the formalities," Luxord said with a smirk. We fought a time-based battle against Luxord and won. As Sora and I dashed in for the final blow, Luxord surrounded himself with a barrier of cards, but they proved to be no match against the Keyblade and light. We slashed right through them, slicing them in half and striking Luxord.
"How could you…Roxas and Night…" Luxord said weakly as he faded.
"That's SORA and SHADOW!" we yelled at him furiously. Luxord faded away, and our friends returned from the cards.
"You okay?" Kairi asked us.
"Yeah! No worries. Let's keep moving," we assured her. We returned to the Proof of Existence, and we entered the next area in there: Addled Impasse. We found Saix in there, gazing at Kingdom Hearts through the large window wall. He smiled evilly at us when we entered.
"Only you two could have made it this far in one piece…Roxas and Night," he said, his claymore in his hand.
"That's really getting old!" Sora and I shouted at him. Donald and Goofy stepped in front of us.
"Yeah! They're Sora and Shadow!" Donald yelled at him. Saix's claymore became super-sharp with blades around the points.
"Different names, same fates," he said indifferently. He thrust his claymore forward and sent a wave of vibration forward toward us. Riku and Kurai ran to cover Kairi, and it sent them sliding forward. A barrier formed and they were blocked out, so they could only watch as we fought Saix. We fought and intense battle against Saix, his claymore proving to be quite a powerful weapon. He would absorb some of the moon's power as his own, and would go into a berserk mode. He charged at us, slashing with the claymore, and bellowing with rage. Eventually, we tired him out and took him down. Once beaten, Saix dropped his claymore onto the ground and turned toward the window, looking up at the heart-shaped moon.
"Why…Kingdom Hearts…Where is my heart?" he said weakly. He reached out to it as he faded away. Sora and I stared for a moment where he was and turned then to Riku and Kurai.
"We don't get it. Why's everybody been calling us Roxas and Night?" we asked him, looking frustrated and confused.
"Because, Sora and Shadow. Roxas and Night are your Nobodies," Riku said simply.
"Our…Nobodies? But that's crazy, we never turned into Heart…Oh, right," we said, remembering.
"It was when you came to rescue me, remember?" Kairi reminded us.
"Xemnas was the one who found Roxas and Night. They could use the Keyblade and light because they were your Nobodies. That's why Xemnas brought them into the Organization—But Roxas and Night betrayed them. After that we fought them because we thought it would help wake you up. We lost, but the next time we met we made sure we were the stronger ones," Kurai explained. "Maybe we didn't need to fight them after all. I think they left the Organization because…they really wanted to meet you both."
"Roxas and Night…We wish we could meet them, too," Sora and I murmured. Riku walked closer and pointed to our hearts. Sora also pointed and looked at Riku, who nodded.
"All right. Let's go," Kurai said finally, and we left for the Proof of Existence. We soon headed up the stairs to Naught's Approach. We saw King Mickey and Ansem the Wise standing nearby when we got up there.
"Your Majesty!" Sora called out as we ran over.
"No!" Mickey protested to Ansem as we approached. Riku grabbed the King's arm. "Riku! Kurai!"
"His heart's decided. We can't change that," Riku told him firmly. Suddenly, Xemnas appeared.
"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 said.
"Have your laugh. I deserve as much for failing to see you for the fool you are," Ansem retorted.
"Students do take after their teachers," Xemnas replied. "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."
"I admit…my disregard brought chaos to more worlds than one," Ansem admitted. "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," Xemnas replied simply. "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 that surpassed you."
"Xehanort. Foolish apprentice of a foolish man," Ansem told him. "You have surpassed nothing—only proved how little we both know. We may profess to know the heart, but its true 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!" Electricity surged through and around the device he held. "We've said enough! Riku, Kurai, you know what to do! King Mickey, my friend, forgive me! Farewell!"
The machine sparked and exploded, and Sora and I tried to run to Ansem, but Riku and Kurai held us back. Kairi held on to Mickey as Donald tripped when he tried to run in front of Goofy. Light flashed and pushed us backwards in a giant swirling tunnel. When Sora and I awoke, we saw Riku and Kurai next to us with Riku's flowing silver hair and a blindfold on. Kurai lay next to him, back to his old dark grey armor. His armor no longer bore a Heartless emblem, either.
"Riku?" Sora said, and the silverette woke up. He picked himself up onto his knees. "Riku!"
"Kurai!" I cried out, and scurried over to my friend's side.
"Wow!" Donald and Goofy gasped.
"Riku! Kurai!" Kairi said happily.
"Ansem did say 'anything could happen'…" Mickey told us. Riku, Kurai, Sora, and I looked ahead.
"Riku, you gonna take that off?" Sora asked him regarding the blindfold.
"Oh…" Riku said, and he pulled of the blindfold, finally revealing his aqua eyes.
"What was that?" I asked as Kurai perched on Riku's shoulder.
"His eyes couldn't lie," Mickey explained.
"Lie? And just who were you trying to fool? Huh? Huhhh?" Sora asked teasingly.
"Myself," Riku replied calmly.
"Riku…Kurai…C'mon, man! Why did you try to do so much on your own?" Sora asked. We ran to the others.
"You've got friends…like us!" I reminded him. Riku and Kurai looked at each of them in turn.
"Have you forgotten? I'll tell you both why," Riku said. "'Cause I'm not a total sap like you." He smirked.
"Say that again!" Sora dared him. Tons of hearts were flying to Kingdom Hearts which had taken on a darker look as though infected. We looked down below and saw millions of Heartless storming the castle.
"Uhhhh-oh!" Donald yelped.
"What should we do, Riku and Kurai?" Sora and I asked him.
"We must defeat Xemnas. He's the Organization's last survivor," Kurai answered.
"Right!" we agreed, and Riku whipped off the coat.
"C'mon!" the silverette and his partner said, and we nodded. The coat flew through the air as we entered Ruin and Creation's Passage. We fought our way along the floating platforms, but before we could run to the next area, Kairi got our attention.
"Sora! Shadow! Riku! Kurai!" she yelled, and we ran over to see her pointing at the oddly shaped windows where Heartless were literally pouring in. They started to crawl up the hexagonal pathways between the platforms.
"There's gonna be no end to this," Riku said in horror, and Kurai shuddered.
"Together we can stop 'em!" Sora and I replied determinedly. Suddenly, Maleficent and Pete appeared in front of us.
"Be gone from here!" she ordered us. "Leave these creatures to us!"
"Bu there's no way we can take 'em all!" Pete protested.
"I will be sending them after Xemnas," she explained. "Or, perhaps, you would rather fight them yourself?" Pete thought about that one.
"Frankly my dear, I'd rather….RUN!" he told her.
"Off with you then!" she snapped at him. Pete backed away slowly until he saw Mickey.
"Well, if it ain't the boat-boy King," he remarked.
"Time to weigh anchor, Captain Pete!" Mickey replied.
"What, like 'abandon ship'? I don't think so!" Pete argued.
"Sora! Shadow! 'Your Majesty'! Do not forget—when I've destroyed them all, this castle shall be mine!" Maleficent told us.
"Now lookie here. Opportunities like this don't come along every day, ya know," Pete added. He rejoined Maleficent. "Bring 'em on!" They rushed into the brawl.
"We gotta hurry," the King said.
"But…" Sora and I murmured with worry.
"They're doing what their hearts command," the King told us. "We can't interfere." We continued onward to the Altar of Naught, where Xemnas had his arms raised to the heart-shaped moon.
"Ohh…My Kingdom Hearts…ruined. Now I'll have to start all over again," he said. He turned to face us. "Warriors of the Keyblade and light! Go forth, and bring me more hearts!"
"No!" Sora, Riku, Kurai, Mickey, and I said, and the three Keybearers pointed their Keyblades at him defiantly while Kurai and I bared our fangs.
"Denizens of light, answer this: Why do you hate the darkness?" Xemnas asked us.
"Aw, we don't hate it. It's just kinda…scary," Mickey answered. "But the world's made of light AND darkness. You can't have one without the other, 'cause darkness is half of everything. Sorta makes ya wonder why we are scared of the dark."
"It's because of who's lurking inside it," Riku said.
"Then allow me another question," Xemnas replied. "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?"
"That's simple. It's because you mess up our worlds," I answered from Sora's shoulder.
"That may be…However, what other choice might we have had?" Xemnas said.
"Just give it a rest!" Sora snapped finally. "You're Nobodies! You don't even exist! You're not sad about anything!"
"Very good. You don't miss a thing," Xemnas chuckled. "I cannot feel—sorrow…No matter what misery befalls the worlds. No matter what you think, what you feel, or how you exist." Suddenly, Xemnas threw his arms up into the air and energy surrounded all of us there. When the brightness cleared, Sora and I were at Memory's Skyscraper, but the landscape was completely warped and the environment waved like a flag in the background, almost nonexistent. We looked about for our friends in a panic for a split second.
"Guys!" we called out. They weren't there, and we knew we had to fight a two on one battle with Xemnas. Xemnas stood before us, and then he vanished, creating a barrier around us that sapped at our energy. Xemnas reappeared at the top of the skyscraper, and we ran to the base of the building. The energy depleting barrier vanished, and Sora and I dashed up the building to confront Xemnas. As we did, Xemnas's hands coursed with blue electricity. He jumped up, flipped downward, and conjured two red beam swords, one in each hand. He flew down the tower and we met him in the middle of the giant video screen. Sora and I slammed Xemnas into the building, stunning him, and we all three fell to the ground. Sora and I decided to use our Final Form, which we had gained after our fight with Roxas and Night. We flashed with a burst of light, and Sora and I hovered above the ground, both us glowing with silver aura. Sora's clothes were sliver with black stripes that were scattered on his clothes here and there, while my body was silver and had the same black stripes on me as well. We glided after Xemnas, and Sora had the ability to use two Keyblades at once, and they both hovered behind his back as he flew, but when he fought, the Keyblades slashed without Sora even touching them. My new abilities allowed me to use my most powerful light attacks at my disposal, and I took advantage of that, twisting around and blasting light attacks at Xemnas. Soon, he fell to our powerful attacks, and we reverted back to our own forms. Xemnas lay on the ground before us, and he faded away.
"Sora! Shadow! Where are you?" Kairi's voice called out to us. Everything went white.
"Sora, Shadow, answer me!" Riku and Kurai yelled as well, and we both fell onto the floor at the Altar of Naught, reunited with our friends once more.
"You're both okay!" Mickey said, relieved.
"Where's Xemnas?" I demanded urgently. Donald looked around and saw Xemnas inside the heart-shaped moon.
"What?!" Donald gasped, and we all looked at Xemnas.
"Hear me, Kingdom Hearts!" Xemnas was saying. "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."
"Xemnas! No!" Mickey shouted.
"Hearts quivering with hatred…"
"Xemnas! Don't!" Sora and I begged.
"Hearts burning with rage…"
"You'll never win!" Donald yelled.
"Hearts scarred by envy…" Xemnas continued. "That fool Ansem said the heart's true nature was beyond his understanding. But it's not beyond mine! Hearts are the source of all power!" The moon glowed insanely bright, and when we looked again, Xemnas was gone.
"Xemnas! You can't hide from us!" Sora and I yelled to wherever he was.
"We can't let him get away now!" Mickey told us.
"Look at that!" Kairi said, and a giant door appeared before us.
"What's goin' on?" Goofy wondered.
"Kingdom Hearts…" Mickey murmured.
"Let's go. Xemnas must be inside," Kurai growled.
"The worlds gave us this doorway," Mickey said calmly. "They want us to be the guardians of their destiny!"
"Once we go through, there's no turning back," Riku told me and Sora. "It's victory…or oblivion. So, Sora and Shadow…are you ready?" Sora and I walked over to the door.
"Beyond this door is the beginning of the end of your journey," a voice said to us in our minds as we approached. "Are you prepared for what lies ahead?"
"Let's end this!" Sora and I said firmly. Mickey, Riku, and Sora touched their Keyblades together, and Kurai and I hovered above, focusing our light energy. They raised them up, and energy beams shot from the tips and from our focus points in our claws. The door opened, and we braced ourselves for what lied ahead.
"Get ready, Xemnas! It all ends here!" Sora and I said in unison. The eight of us entered the doorway, and we saw almost an entire world inside. Sora and I gasped as we saw Xemnas in the center of it all.
"So…it seems your hearts have led you to obliteration," he remarked as he saw us. "Perhaps it doesn't pay to be too loyal to one's heart. I will have to be sure and remember that." He sent a building flying at us, and we ran back as the building collapsed to the ground. The door started to close with Mickey and Kairi on the other side.
"No!" Riku cried out, reaching out for them. We were too late and the door closed. Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Kurai, and I stood and readied ourselves.
"We can take him on our own!" Sora declared as he and Riku summoned their Keyblades. Kurai and my claws glowed in response. Several windowed walls punched up from the ground, blocking our path. Sora and I sliced through them with ease, and we continued. As we approached, Xemnas's giant mecha slammed into the ground, and the platform we were standing on rose up to its level. Several buildings flew through the air toward us, and Sora and I ran through, slashing through them and dashing. He used the Keyblade while I used my claws. We sliced through the last one, and we were sent to the cylinder of the flying mecha. Nobodies appeared, and we sent them flying into the core of the cylinder. We jumped onto the side pipes, dodging the large wave of energy that erupted from the cylinder. We then jumped onto the next cylinder and slid across the grate. We repeated the process of sending Nobodies into this cylinder, and we dodged and reached the other cylinder in time as another wave of energy erupted from it. We repeated this process again, and this time, we dodged the explosion. We did it again with the second cylinder, and once we dodged the explosion, we leapt up to the energy core. Riku, Kurai, Sora, and I used our Limit: Session. We used a quick series of combos, followed by jabbing attacks. After that, Last Saber was used, and that was another series of jabbing attacks. We followed that with Dark Cannon, launching a series of dark fireballs at the energy core. Eventually, we used Master Hearts, and Sora and Riku used their Keyblades in long-range slashes while Kurai and I launched a light energy beam. Then, we used XIII Blades, and that was thirteen blades that slashed at the energy core. We used Master Hearts again, and then finished the combo with All's End. Sora and Riku threw their Keyblades into the air, and Kurai and I darted to the center above it. The two weapons fired light and dark energy while my friend and I drew in the enemies for the attack to work. The Nobodies scattered around the room we were drawn in, and we destroyed them all. We finished the combo and Sora and Riku caught their Keyblades, and the four of us bumped our fists together. We soon came face to face with Xemnas, sitting like a king, armored on his throne.
"Cursed fools!" Xemnas yelled at us, and we fought a long, hard fight against him. Once beaten, Xemnas screamed in agony. We all appeared back at the Altar of Naught, and Xemnas fell to his knees, clutching his chest. "I need…more rage…I need more… hearts…"
"Xemnas. There's more to a heart than just anger or hate," Sora and I told him calmly. "It's full of all kinds of feelings. Don't you remember?"
"Unfortunately…I don't…" he said, and he faded away from existence. We looked at each other, ready to celebrate.
"Gosh, you all did great!" Mickey praised us. Sora and I walked over to Riku and Kurai.
"You're coming back with us, right?" I asked him hopefully.
"I had given in to the darkness," they replied.
"Riku, Kurai!" we protested.
"How'm I gonna face everyone?" they demanded of us.
"Like this!" Sora said, and squished his face in, making Riku and Kurai laugh loudly. Suddenly, the building shook.
"Hurry!" Mickey said urgently.
"I'll open a path!" Riku and Kurai told us, and they held out their hands but nothing happened.
"You don't belong in the dark realm anymore, Riku and Kurai," Mickey explained.
"How do we get out of here, Your Majesty?" Donald asked the King. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Kurai, and I turned and saw an image of a girl in white standing nearby. She opened a portal, and Mickey and Donald ran right through her over to the portal. "Who did this?"
"Well, I'm not sure. But we better hurry and get through," the King replied. Pluto's bark sounded, and he ran around Donald and Mickey then into the portal.
"Wait for me!" Goofy called after him, and he ran in after Pluto. Mickey followed him.
"Hurry!" Donald told us impatiently, and he ran in after them. The girl in white appeared again as we walked over. I was perched on Sora's shoulder.
"Thank you, Naminé," Kairi told her.
"Sure," she said, and turned to Sora and I. "See? We meet again, like we promised."
"Huh?" Sora and I said, bewildered.
"You said we'd meet again, but when we did, we might not recognize each other," a pair of voices said. Roxas and Night stepped out from Sora and I. The brunette and my expressions were stunned, to say the least.
"I did, didn't I?" Naminé replied.
"But we knew you," Roxas and Night said.
"Mmm…It's strange," Naminé murmured.
"We think we understand. We see ourselves the way you remember us. And you see yourself the way we remember you," Roxas and Night explained.
"I always thought that Nobodies were doomed to fade back into darkness…" Naminé told them.
"Yeah, but you and the two of us didn't. We got to meet our original selves," the pair said.
"So, we can be together again!" Naminé realized. Roxas, with Night on his shoulder, walked over to Naminé's side.
"Right. Anytime Sora, Shadow, and Kairi are together," Roxas and Night agreed.
"We'll be together every day. Right, Sora and Shadow?" Kairi said.
"Uh…yeah!" Sora said after a pause, and I chuckled. Kairi took Naminé's hand, and the pair glowed as she transferred into Kairi.
"Look sharp!" Roxas and Night said to Sora and I. Sora and I straightened up slightly, and Roxas and Night glowed as they transferred into us, and our bodies glowed slightly in response as they transferred back into us.
"Huh?" Sora said, checking himself.
"Don't worry. You're both all still you," Riku and Kurai assured us.
"Hey, let's go home!" Kairi said as she stood next to the portal.
"Riku…Kurai…C'mon," we told our friends.
"Yeah," he agreed. Kairi walked into the portal, but when she did, it started to close. We ran to it as she turned back.
"Sora! Shadow! Riku! Kurai!" she cried out in desperation, but it was too late; it dissipated before our eyes.
"What?" Sora said, and there was a flash of light. We looked to see a nesting core, and the giant flying mecha burst out from it and flew towards the tower. It knocked into the tower, roaring, and the tower started to break and collapse. We started to slide toward the ground, but Riku and Kurai spotted a hovercraft and ran towards it. "Riku! Kurai!" Sora gasped as they ran towards it. They jumped off of the falling tower and landed on the hovercraft. Riku flew it over to us as Kurai hovered in the air beside him.
"Sora! Shadow!" the silverette called, and Sora jumped on the little platform on the craft as I spread my wings and jumped into the air, becoming airborne with Kurai. We soon caught up to the mecha and started firing lasers at it, and whenever enemies would fire at us, Kurai and I projected a barrier to block the lasers they shot. We eventually charged up enough power to fire a mega laser, and we repeated the process several times until the mecha was defeated. We watched from the hovercraft as it crashed to the ground. Suddenly, energy swirled around it, and the area filled with smoke. When the smoke cleared, we saw a larger mecha with even more guns equipped to it. We flew over on the hovercraft and saw an armored Xemnas sitting on his throne again, but this time we knew he had more tricks up his sleeve. We jumped off, but the hovercraft was lost to the huge swirling abyss behind us. The two Keyblade wielders readied their Keyblades as Kurai and I bared our fangs and unsheathed our claws. We started to fight him, and he sent us flying towards the abyss.
"Nothingness is eternal!" Xemnas shouted from his throne. As Sora and I flew back to the nearest still building that WASN'T flying at us, Xemnas said, "Riku…Kurai…are you sure you're not jealous of Sora and Shadow?" We soon smashed it forward, Riku and Kurai on top of it and flying to the mecha that had braced itself with a shield. Riku and Kurai hacked through it, and we swiftly dodged Xemnas's attacks as they came. We dropped back down, ready for the next round. Xemnas knocked us back into the abyss again after a few attacks, and we glided over to the nearest still building again. As we smashed it forward with Riku and Kurai balanced on it again, Xemnas taunted, "Sora and Shadow…are you sure you can trust Riku and Kurai?" The silverette and dragon shot forward again, and slashed the shield, breaking through it once more. Xemnas shouted, "Embrace nothing! Hearts are power!" We ignored his words and continued to attack him. Once beaten, everything went white. We appeared in a gray and white area, and Xemnas stood before us in a black and white cloak.
"Heroes from the realm of light…" he started. "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 and his dragon agreed. "Nothing probably goes on forever, too."
"But guess what, Xemnas?" I said.
"That doesn't mean YOU'RE eternal!" Sora told him.
"No more eternal than that radiance of yours…" Xemnas chuckled. His hands sparked with blue energy. "Anger and hate are supreme." Xemnas threw Sora and I into the air, and us plus Riku and Kurai had to use Reversal several times in order to dodge his thorned vines and red lasers. We successfully used a series of Reversals to dodge, and when Xemnas was done with that, we focused our attention on defeating him. Sora and I ran over, smashing into Xemnas with the Keyblade and my claws, but his copy he had projected of himself knocked us back. Riku and Kurai dashed in, and I swiftly recovered to join him. After he was weakened somewhat, he suddenly trapped Sora and I into a blue sphere that started to drain our energy.
"Can you spare…a heart?" Xemnas said in torment. Riku and Kurai jumped up to try and stop him, but they were knocked back by the copy.
"Sora! Shadow!" Riku and Kurai cried out, and they blasted through the copy as they ran to us. The pair reached us, and Riku and Kurai punched through and grabbed Xemnas's hand. Sora and I were released from the sphere, and we dropped down and quickly recovered as Riku used the hilt of his blade while Kurai used his tail to smash Xemnas in the face. They grabbed Xemnas horizontally, spun him around, and then threw him. "Is that all you got?" Riku said jokingly to Sora.
"There is no such thing as light!" Xemnas shouted, and he formed two spheres of energy in each hand, melding them together to create darkness around us.
"Sora! Shadow!" Kurai shouted in warning, and we were forced to move as fast as we could to block the sudden thousands of lasers that shot at us. I heard Xemnas laugh as we deflected the attacks, and we soon blocked them all. We were on our hands and knees as we stared down Xemnas. He suddenly knocked back Riku and Kurai.
"Riku! Kurai!" we gasped as he did so. Xemnas pointed his beam sword at us as the silverette and his dragon looked up. Xemnas swung his arm back to hit Sora and I, but out of nowhere, Riku and Kurai, in a flash, got up and blocked the attack with their Keyblade and light. Xemnas swung around as Riku and Kurai pushed us out of the way and took a vicious blow to their left sides from the beam sword. As our friends fell, Sora and I caught ourselves and leapt forward. He grabbed Riku's Keyblade as I charged up my power into my white diamond form I hadn't used in a long time. I exploded with power and turned glowing white and Sora and I delivered powerful blows to Xemnas. Sora smashed Xemnas with the two blades, and I used my tail to slam him, sending him spinning back. Sora crossed the blades and knocked Xemnas high into the air as I charged up my most powerful attack at my disposal. Sora and I landed next to Riku and Kurai.
"Riku!" Sora said, and Riku nodded, placing his hand on Sora's that was on his Keyblade as I finished my charge. Kurai placed one of his clawed hands on my flank as I finished. We shot a beam from the Keyblade and my jaws, and they went straight through Xemnas, defeating him.
"Cursed…Keyblade…and light…" Xemnas whispered in agony. He reached out to us angrily as he faded away in wisps and smoke.
"We did it!" Sora cheered when Xemnas was gone.
"I wouldn't be too sure of that," Riku remarked as many Nobodies appeared. We readied ourselves for the fight, and when they were beaten, they all vanished. My glow of my armor faded as I reverted back to my original form. Riku and Kurai fell to their knees.
"Sora, Shadow…We can't…" they murmured as though giving up.
"Don't say another word! It's not over. It's just not," Sora told our best friends firmly. He put Riku's arm over his shoulder and helped him up as I picked up Kurai and carried him on my back.
"How can you say that?" Riku asked Sora in disbelief. "Even if we could go on…look where we are."
"Aw, c'mon, Riku," I said sternly. "You've been hanging out in darkness too long. You gotta try and think positive!"
"Sora, Shadow?" Kurai said.
"Hm?" we replied.
"You both lead," he told us.
"Got it," we said. We started walking, not knowing where we were going, but at least we were trying to make progress.
"You know…I always figured I was better at stuff than you," Riku told Sora as we walked.
"Really?" Sora replied.
"Are you mad?" Riku asked.
"No," Sora answered. "I kinda always thought you were better at everything, too." We looked ahead.
"Riku, Kurai—look. What's that light?" I said, and we walked into the light, ending up at a dark beach.
"End of the road?" Riku asked quietly.
"Yep," Sora answered.
"Put us down," our friends told us. "I can walk." Sora set him down and helped him stand as I watched Kurai worriedly when he slid off my back. Riku shrugged as he stood, as did Kurai, showing us they were okay. Sora and I walked down to the water.
"You know…maybe the darkness has gotten to us, too," we murmured as we watched the waves. We turned and saw Riku and Kurai lying on the sand. "Riku! Kurai!" we gasped, running back to them.
"This world is perfect for us," the silverette and dragon murmured as they kneeled there. "If this is what the world really is…just this, then maybe we should fade back into darkness."
"Riku…Kurai…" Sora breathed, and I stared in shock.
"If the world is made of both light and darkness…We'll be the darkness," Riku said as he sat down.
"Yeah," we agreed. "The other side…the realm of light is safe now. Kairi, the King, and the others are there."
"That's what he means," Kurai confirmed. "Hey, Sora and Shadow…Could you help us? We want to get down to the water." Sora and I nodded and helped Riku and Kurai up and over to the water. As we walked, Riku said softly, "At least the waves sound the same." We sat at the waves in comfortable silence for a while, and I curled up between Kurai and Sora.
"What we said back there…about thinking we was better at stuff than you…To tell you the truth, Sora and Shadow…We were jealous of you," Riku and Kurai admitted.
"What for?" we asked, perplexed.
"I wished I could live life the way you do," Riku explained. "Just following my heart."
"Yeah, well, we've got our share of problems, too," Sora and I replied.
"Like what?" Kurai asked.
"Like…wanting to be like you," Sora answered.
"Well, there is one advantage to being us…Something you two could never imitate," Riku told us.
"Really? What's that?" we asked.
"Having you two for friends," Kurai answered simply.
"Then we guess…we're okay the way we are," we replied. "We've got something you could never imitate too." We looked at the dark sky and closed our eyes, feeling the breeze on ourselves and hearing the sound of the waves. I noticed Riku had something washed up between his legs, and it was a note in a bottle. He picked it up, opened it, pulled out the note and read it with Kurai reading over his shoulder.
"Sora? Shadow?" the silverette said, and I jumped onto Sora's shoulder again. He handed the note to Sora. "I think it's for you." Sora began to read it aloud.
"Thinking of you, wherever you are," we read. "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." A light appeared on the water's surface before us.
"Light," Kurai murmured.
"The door to light…" I whispered. Sora scrambled to his feet and offered his hand to Riku while I offered my hand to Kurai.
"We'll go together," Sora told them.
"Yeah," the pair agreed. They stood up and we entered the light. Sora, Riku, Kurai, and I flew as graceful as falling stars as we landed in the waters of Destiny Islands. We surfaced and looked about.
"Sora! Shadow! Riku! Kurai!" Kairi's voice rang out over the ocean. We looked and saw Kairi standing at the shore. We swam as fast as we could to the shore, and when we got close, suddenly Mickey, Donald, and Goofy ran out to us. We were shocked to see the trio of friends here, to say the least. Donald and Goofy ran to me and Sora, piling onto us in the water. Mickey ran to Riku and Kurai, the silverette picking him up and spinning him around. Sora and I sat up as Goofy hugged us and Donald wiped his eye. The pair hugged us again as we looked at Riku, Kurai, and Mickey, and we looked to Kairi, who giggled with a smile on her face. Sora pulled out the Oathkeeper keychain, and he looked up at her as I chuckled.
"W-we're back," Sora and I said as she watched us.
"You're home," she said simply, but the words echoed with meaning. She held out her hand, and Sora grabbed it with the Oathkeeper keychain in his.