(Battle Music Cue: L'Oscurità dell'Ignot – Dream Drop Distance)
"Roxas! Axel! Namine!" Sora exclaimed, having just been separated from his friends by Repli-Axel's ring of fire, leaving Sora alone with Riku and their respective Night Terrors.

"We'll be fine! Focus on your own-WHOA!" He heard Roxas exclaim from the other side before hearing the sound of metal striking metal.

"SORA!" He heard Riku exclaim. Sora quickly spun back forward to see Terror-Riku charging straight towards him, Soul Eater in hand and ready to strike.

"Tremble in FEAR!" Terror-Riku exclaimed as Sora quickly raised his Keyblade, but he didn't have to block at all as the real Riku intercepted with a Dark Shield, stopping the Night Terror in his tracks before Riku leapt in and, with a ferocious swing, impacted his Keyblade against the Night Terror's sword, sending the Terror sliding backwards on his feet along the ground. In the meantime, Sora turned and saw Ansem coming towards Riku, the Guardian bursting up from his back as he approached. Sora quickly scrambled around Riku, reared back his Keyblade and swung just in time to stop the Guardian as it reached for Riku, the resulting blow to the creature's hands causing it to recoil and turn its attention to Sora.

"That will not save your friend, Sora." Ansem replied, keeping his arms crossed over his chest as the Guardian roared and reached for Sora, but he quickly dodge rolled clear of its hands. Riku on the other hand, was virtually fighting a mirror battle. Every move he made, the Night Terror of him countered with the exact same move. Dark Firaga would be countered by another Dark Firaga, negating the attack. A swing of the Keyblade would be met with the exact same swing, again negating the move.

"What's the matter, Riku? First time you've ever fought YOURSELF?!" the Night Terror taunted. Riku merely scoffed with a smirk.

"No. In fact this is the third time I've fought someone who looks and sounds like me. I guess three's the charm, isn't it?" Riku asked, although it was more of a statement. The Night Terror was caught off guard by his response. He wasn't expecting the answer to be no.

"What?" the Night Terror asked.

"That's right. I beat myself twice, I can beat myself again!" Riku said, earning a smug smirk from the Night Terror before it charged towards him, the two exchanging blows but again it was a mirrored fight and Riku was not keen on keeping it that way. Meanwhile, Sora was dodging the Guardian's attacks left and right before finally turning and delivering an uppercut with his Keyblade, nearly hitting Ansem had the Guardian not intercepted it. Sora looked up at Ansem and his guardian with a grin but when he saw a smug smile still planted to Ansem's face and he heard the guardian clearly laughing maliciously, he realized his attack had had no effect whatsoever.

"What?!" Sora exclaimed in disbelief before quickly jumping away just as the Guardian brought its fist down where he was standing. Sora quickly started barraging Ansem with magic attacks. Firaga, Blizzaga, Thundaga, everything, but none of it worked. Ansem kept coming, not even being slowed down by anything Sora threw at it.

"What's going on?!" Sora exclaimed in disbelief as he jumped clear of the Guardian's fist again. Ansem chuckled maliciously before the guardian suddenly vanished, reappearing behind Sora and grabbing him with both hands, keeping his arms pinned as Ansem hovered up close to the Keyblade Master.

"Did you believe that you could let another face your fears? The fear of one's heart is always different than those of another. You would rather face someone else's fears instead of your own?" Ansem asked as Sora struggled.

"I'm not running from my fears! I trust Riku! And if I can help him overcome his fears, then so be it! If a friend needs me to be there, I'll be there!" Sora exclaimed before suddenly bursting free from the guardian's grasp with a Reflega, sending the bolts of light in all directions as he dropped to the ground, but again the light didn't harm the Night Terror who merely laughed and continued the chase as Ansem and Guardian came back together. Sora was running towards the two Rikus, knowing by simple appearance which was which.

"Riku!" Sora shouted, catching the attention of both of them. Much to his surprise, they both came at him, weapons raised, causing Sora to slide to a halt, confused. He quickly raised his Keyblade just as the Night-Terror swung at him but the real Riku stopped and delivered a vicious punch to the fake's right cheek before stepping in behind Sora and casting a dark shield around them just as Ansem's guardian tried to smash them both.

"Okay my first idea that I could beat myself hasn't worked out so well." Riku said as he kept the dark shield raised, Ansem and the Night Terror Riku stepping back, facing their respective targets with dark smiles on their faces, waiting for the shield to come down.

"I can't stop Ansem either." Sora replied, supplementing Riku's dark shield with a Reflega.

"Got any ideas?" Riku asked, not taking his eyes off Ansem.

"There is nothing you can do to stop us, Riku. Neither of you have the power to stop us both. Fear is something that cannot be destroyed. It is the same as Light, Darkness, and Nothingness…Eternal." Ansem said, raising his arms out to the sides.

"You're right. Fear is eternal. It can't be stopped completely." Sora said as he and Riku dropped back into their fighting stances.

"But it can be overcome!" Riku exclaimed as he and Sora dropped their shields and charged, headfirst, towards their respective Night Terrors. Sora charged towards Terror Riku and when their blades met, it sent off a shower of sparks.

"Where's your Nobody, Sora? Are you going to call on him to help save you with a Drive form?" Terror Riku asked with a taunting grin, knowing full well that Roxas was trapped behind the flaming barrier.

"Are you afraid I'll beat you?" Sora asked back with a determined glare but the Night Terror only grinned wider.

"Oh highly doubt it. You think mere words will stop me, Sora? You forget that I am born from your fears! I know when you are afraid the most and when you are most vulnerable. You cannot hide anything from me. Face it! Kairi is doomed and it will be your fault!" Terror Riku replied, their blades continuing to be pressed together.

"You're wrong! I've come this far and I'm not about to stop now!" Sora replied, shoving the Night Terror back before coming back around with a vicious swing but the Night Terror leapt back, dodging Sora's attack, and lunged forward but Sora dodged. Terror Riku then turned and swung at Sora but the attack was blocked. Terror Riku chuckled for a moment before suddenly disappearing into thin air in a strange blur, only to reappear behind Sora who seemed unaware. Just as the Night Terror was about to deliver a decapitating blow, Sora ducked, dropping to the floor and kicking the Night Terror in the chest with his foot, knocking him back long enough for Sora to leap back up with his Keyblade and turn towards the Terror who snarled at him.

"That was dirty." Terror-Riku hissed as he slowly rolled onto his left side, attempting to conceal his left hand as it formed a Dark Firaga but Sora was wise to him and stood in a defensive posture, his Keyblade raised between him and the Night Terror.

"You're out of tricks! I'm going to rescue Kairi and nothing you say or do will ever stop me!" Sora said, the Terror scowling angrily at his words.

"And if you don't succeed?" Terror Riku asked, attempting to climb to his feet but he found a Keyblade pointed at his face.

"It's not a matter of if I succeed, it's when!" Sora replied, standing firm on his declaration.

Riku had just leapt towards Ansem, the Guardian trying to smash him at every turn but Riku bobbed and weaved past the giant hands of the guardian. He then happened to dodge one attack and deliver a vicious cut to the beast's wrists, causing it to howl in anger and pain but Ansem continued smiling.

"You continue to struggle, Riku. Struggle to accept the fact that you will never escape me. Eventually, I will overpower you and you will become my host once again." Ansem said, eliciting a groan from Riku.

"Oh this old routine again? I thought I was finished with you before Sora and I killed Xemnas!" Riku exclaimed before hurling a Dark Firaga but the guardian made no move to block. Instead, Ansem caught the dark fireball in his hand and held it up for Riku to see.

"Have you truly escaped your Darkness, Riku? Then why use these?" Ansem asked, crushing the Dark Firaga in his hand.

"I don't need Darkness to defeat you! I can do it on my own!" Riku replied before taking a step back and then swinging his blade forward, sending out a regular Firaga, but Ansem side stepped the attack and stretched out his hand.

"Come, Guardian!" Ansem commanded, causing the Guardian to quickly disappear into the ground only to reappear behind Riku, but Riku was fast and quickly slid forward just as the Guardian attempted to smash him between its large hands. Riku then back flipped onto the Guardian's back, causing the creature to flail around trying to reach the teenager on its back but Riku stabbed it in the back of the neck, causing it to disappear in a burst of smoke. Riku landed on his feet and looked up at Ansem with a smug grin, but that grin vanished when the Guardian suddenly reappeared behind Ansem.

"You know your fear is true, Riku. You've always feared that Sora will surpass you and that you will be destroyed by him. Sora is your doom and there is only one way to stop him. Accept that Sora is stronger than you and allow me to give you the strength necessary to destroy him." Ansem taunted but Riku narrowed his eyes at the Night Terror, scowling angrily at him.

"You're right about one thing. Sora is stronger than me. But what you don't understand is that I'm proud of him. I failed to protect Kairi once. Heck, I even helped to bring harm to her. When I turned to the Darkness, I passed on the duty of protecting Kairi to Sora and he has surpassed me in ways I cannot even begin to fathom. I'm not afraid he might surpass me, I know he has, and I'm not afraid of him. In truth, I'm proud of him. He's done what I don't think I'll ever be able to do. He's saved the worlds twice, he's protected Kairi, and he has Mastered the Keyblade! So when it comes to me, I can hold my head high, smile, and say that at the very least, I'm proud of my friend and I'm equally proud to even be able to call him my friend. My best friend." Riku said, glancing over at Sora at the end of his speech and smiling as he watched Sora battle the Night Terror Riku. He then heard a growling sound coming from Ansem. He turned and saw that Ansem was starting to become slightly blurry, a strange black mist rising up off his back and shoulders as he growled at Riku. Riku then realized something, his eyes widening before he turned and ran towards Sora.

"SORA!" Riku exclaimed, leaping in and landing next to Sora who now had his Night Terror pinned.

"Riku?" Sora asked, looking up for a brief second but in that second, the Night Terror Riku vanished and reappeared next to Ansem, his weapon ready.

"Sora, I know how we can beat them." Riku said, standing next to Sora, both of them with Keyblades raised and facing their respective Night Terrors.

"Really? How?" Sora asked.

"I don't blame you for Kairi's kidnapping!" Riku replied, startling Sora and making Night Terror Riku stagger forwards a little as if something hit him.

"What?" Sora asked, confused.

"That Night Terror of yours says your fear is that I'll blame you for what's happened to Kairi, when in truth I can never blame you. You've never once done anything to Kairi. You love her. I do too, but not on the same level as you. You're both my friends and I know you will do everything you can to protect Kairi. So if anything happens to her, it's not your fault. Maleficent ordered Xion to kidnap Kairi. You had nothing to do with what happened so I blame Maleficent for all this. Not you." Riku explained, Sora looking at him thoughtfully.

"But what about your fear that I'll overpower you?" Sora asked but Riku laughed.

"You already have, but I know my friends. I know you would never do that. If anything, I'm a little jealous. But that doesn't mean that I won't stand beside you and help you when you need it." Riku said, extending his hand. Sora nodded understandingly, grasping Riku's hand with a smile. The second their hands touched however, it caused a bright light to appear over their hands which quickly grew to envelop them. The two Night Terrors however both had the strange black mists rising off their back and shoulders while becoming blurry. Night Terror Riku then raised his sword and started charging them with a loud war cry as he charged. Ansem quickly followed suit but Sora and Riku both spun towards them, a white glow around them both before quickly raising their weapons and with a single vicious swing, knocked the two Night Terrors into the air. Sora and Riku quickly leapt into the air after them, and trapped the two disoriented Night Terrors between them before they began dealing a series of rapid stabbing moves with their Keyblades. They then leapt back, and barraged the two with orbs of Light and Dark magic, before they both swung their Keyblades across in front of them, creating sweeping beams Light and Dark energy as they swung, striking the Night Terrors before they suddenly summoned thirteen swords made of light that swept across in front of them, striking the Night Terrors again. They then leapt apart, throwing their Keyblades into the air, the two Keyblades quickly moving around so they were pointed directly at the two Night Terrors who hovered back-to-back with each other. The two Keyblades then unleashed two powerful beams of magic, one of Light from Sora's Kingdom Key, and one of Darkness from Riku's Way to Dawn, both beams hitting the still disoriented Night Terrors, as additional orbs of Light and Darkness started streaming off the beams, the orbs arcing around and striking the Night Terrors before they were enveloped within a blinding light. It was Sora and Riku's Eternal Session Limit Break. (End Battle Music)

When the light faded, Sora and Riku were standing on the ground, when they saw what looked like two Shadow Heartless pop up from the ground only they had glowing green hairline cracks running all over them and their usually yellow eyes were solid green like the cracks. Their Night Terrors had been reduced to simple Nightmares. The two friends exchanged knowing smirks before they leapt forward and brought down their Keyblades on the Nightmares, destroying them for good.

"Thanks Riku. I knew I could count on you." Sora said as Riku nodded.

"Likewise." Riku said as they turned around in time to see Axel, Namine, and Roxas approaching.

"Sora! Riku!" Roxas exclaimed as they continued walking up.

"Looks like you did it. You finally overcame your fears." Namine said, earning nods from the two friends.

"Yeah, we did." Riku said, resting his Keyblade on his shoulder.

"Well I guess we won't be seeing them again." Axel said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, they'll be back. They just won't ever be as strong as they once were, is all. We saw to that." Riku replied.

"As long as we face our fears head on, knowing that what we fear is irrational and unfounded, we'll always be able to overcome our fear." Sora said as he rested his hands behind his head.

"Then let's find Kairi and do what we came here to do." Namine said as they all turned towards the doors and began running towards it. They continued running, down the stairs, where they came to a stop before a pair of large double doors. They each made sure their weapons were primed before they quickly threw the doors open, revealing a large empty room with only a single table with a glowing white sphere in the center, but no one inside.

"There's no one here." Axel said as they cautiously entered the room, weapons at the ready. The then noticed on opposite walls were open doorways that were to the right and left of the main entrance.

"These must be the passageways Lightning mentioned." Namine said as they looked the doors passages over.

"We need to rescue Kairi. I say we go to the dungeon." Roxas said but Riku shook his head.

"And be swarmed by Replicas on the way out? No, we need to take out the Replica Lab first." Riku said.

"But that'll just give them an opportunity to do something to Kairi and Serah before we can get to them in time!" Roxas argued, glaring at Riku before Axel tossed a chakram in between them.

"Hold it! Lightning said to hit both at once! I say we split up! You and Riku rescue Kairi, and the rest of us clear out the Replica Lab. Besides, I have a suspicion as to who it is responsible for all these punks." Axel said, glaring towards the hall leading to the lab.

"Then we split up. You three take out the lab, while Riku and I rescue Kairi and Serah." Sora said as they all nodded.

"You got it, Sora." Roxas said, a determined smile on his face.

"But please, be careful you two." Namine said as Sora nodded. He then started reaching into his pocket.

"You three have been with me since the start of this adventure. It's meant a lot to me knowing that you were there to back me up and to help me get this far. I could never have done this without you guys and I just want to say, thank you…for everything." Sora said as he pulled out the blue sphere that he had picked up back on the train in the Dream Twilight Town. Roxas, Axel, and Namine each pulled out their respective spheres, holding it up while Riku stood by with a smile on his face.

"We're glad to have been able to come along, Sora. It's been one heck of a journey." Roxas said with a smile.

"And I'm happy to have been able to do some good and be on the front lines for a change instead of just being in the background. You've given me that chance, Sora." Namine said, also smiling.

"I could make some emotional response to this, but I'm the one who still doesn't have a heart so emotional responses are a little beyond me." Axel said with a smirk.

"You could always fake it." Roxas suggested as Axel shrugged.

"Heh. There is that. Okay, here goes. Sora, you gave me a chance to redeem myself. To make up for the crap I did to you, to Namine, and for putting you through Kingdom-knows-what just to see Roxas again, including kidnapping Kairi that one time. I guess I'm saying, thanks for the second chance." Axel said as they pocketed the spheres.

"Be careful out there guys." Sora said as the three nodded.

"You too." Roxas said before he, Namine, and Axel turned and started running down the hall towards the labs. Sora then turned to Riku and smiled.

"Come on, hero. Let's go rescue your Princess." Riku said with a chuckle and slapping Sora on the back before they both started running down the hall towards the dungeons.


End Chapter 28.

Next up, the source of the Replicas is revealed and what will be waiting for Sora and Riku in the dungeons? Find out in the next chapter!