Chapter Fifty-two Key to the Kingdom

Sora struggled to get back to his feet before Mercutio could come over and finish him off. He grabbed for his Keyblades, finding one, but as he groped for the other he could not locate it. It was just then Sora realized Final Mode had run up, and with only one weapon against the other Keyblade Master's two, his time would soon run out too.

"I don't want to have to do this Sora. I'm not a murderer or a villain. I was once a hero just like you, I still want to be a hero and save the worlds from their loneliness," Mercutio called out as he approached the other boy, "You still have a shot at survival, as do your friends. All you have to do is finally listen to what I have to say,"

"How can you stand there and call yourself a hero? You've done nothing but hurt people. You've hurt me, my friends, even innocent people who have nothing to do with this like Marlene. Kingdom Hearts is unsealed because of you. The Darkness and the Heartless will keep spreading and even more people will get hurt!" Sora leaned on his Keyblade for support and tried to step towards Mercutio. The other Keyblade Master rushed forward and knocked Sora back down.

"Marlene made her own decisions, I did not take advantage of her. Her heart was lonely because you ignored her. When I told her what I wanted to do, that I wanted to end loneliness forever she willingly helped me. She is not as 'innocent' as you would like to believe," Mercutio hissed. The blond boy leaned over Sora with his weapons held threateningly, "And neither is Kingdom Hearts,"

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked. With the ancient being so close, the boy knew he was in great danger. As Mercutio stood over him, Sora tried to reach for his Keyblade again. The blond realized what the Keyblade Master was trying to do and with one foot kicked the blade away and with the other kicked Sora in the ribs.

"Face it, the way Kingdom Hearts was, was evil. Its own rules insisted on keeping away from your friends. To not 'meddle' in the affairs of other worlds, even if you can make things better. Time and time again Darkness comes out and you have to reseal Kingdom Hearts. Generation after generation of Keyblade Masters have been summoned to do the same futile task. Yet each time another villain or set of villains comes and unseals it, making the sacrifices you make be in vain.

"I have watched for a thousand years as pitiful, hopeful fools such as yourself willingly sacrifice everything they hold dear in order to keep Kingdom Hearts sealed, only to fail because the next being comes along and undoes everything they did. It takes so much heartache to keep Kingdom Hearts closed, yet it is so easy to make it open. That can only mean one thing Sora, one thing and one thing alone. Kingdom Hearts was never meant to be sealed, it was always meant to be open, you were always meant to travel to other worlds. And that is what I have done for you, done for all of us. Never again will another Keyblade Wielder's story end in tragedy. Kingdom Hearts is unsealed, the rules have been changed, the worlds have been saved from their own misery!"

"That can't be true…" Sora refused to believe that Mercutio's insane ambitions had merit, "Kingdom Hearts being sealed keeps the Darkness away, it's the Darkness that's evil, not Kingdom Hearts,"

"You speak of Darkness, Sora. Darkness is not evil, not any more than Light or Nothingness, it is an inevitability. All Keyblade Wielders eventually give into the Darkness. As much as you try to deny it Sora, you will one day have your heart consumed with Darkness, it is supposed to. Heartless may cause pain, but they are our own creation, something we must learn to live with. And their pain is nowhere near as horrible as the aching loneliness that fills all hearts. Darkness must become an accepted part of life, just like death," as Mercutio spoke the living blackness of the cavern began to warp again and a belt of darkness came out of the floor. It began to wrap around Sora's body and swallow the young Keyblade Master. Sora was too tired to fight against it and the darkness began to wrap around his face and mouth. As the last of the blackness consumed the young man within its clutches, he could hear the original Keyblade Master say, "Darkness is just the way things were meant to be…"

'May he's right,' Sora began to think to himself, 'Maybe this is the way things were meant to be. After all, wasn't it my dream to be able to see all my friends whenever I want?' The Darkness began pulling Sora deeper and deeper within itself, and he could feel himself begin to slip away. 'I was so sad when I lost Kairi and Riku, and then when I had to say goodbye to Donald and Goofy. I'd always sit on the shores of Destiny Island, always waiting for a note from the King to tell me I was needed again. I hated the feeling of being away from those I cared about, to be so alone…'

Sora could feel himself losing more and more of who he was, and he felt strangely at peace with it. Just as he felt the remaining pieces of his heart and soul go away, he could hear a voice crying out from the darkness. No! I won't lose my heart again! I won't become a monster, not when I just got my life back!

'Vincent?' Sora recognized the voice.

I won't go back to being that numb, I won't sit back indifferently when things happen in my life. I told myself even if it meant that I'd feel nothing but sadness again I'd be a happy man. I mean that. I won't let go of my Heart! Sora opened his eyes and saw nothing but darkness. He couldn't see the long-suffering gunner, but he could feel his presence. Vincent was still alive and still had his heart.

Sora began to hear a second voice too. I have to help Sora, he needs me. I won't let him down again. I won't let the Darkness separate me from my best friend again. I won't!

'That's Riku's voice…I'm not alone,' Sora could feel his senses coming back. In the pitch black Darkness that surrounded him Sora began to realize what had happened to him and saw the truth, 'This isn't the way things are supposed to be! Darkness being free may have let me visit other worlds, but it was what kept me away from Riku and Kairi in the first place. Darkness has ruined lives, taken them. The real Ansem, Axel, Lulu, they are all gone because villains had used Kingdom Hearts for Darkness. Kingdom Hearts is the Heart of All Worlds. The emotions of all living things are reflected in that one Heart. As long as Darkness was let free, it would only mean more negative emotions and more Heartless, which would bring on even more negative emotions in an endless spiral,'

Sora began to hear a heartbeat. He wasn't sure if it was the sound of his own heart in the empty silence around him, or if it were coming from somewhere else, but with each pulse he could feel himself getting stronger, 'But that doesn't have to be that way, Hearts are filled with all kinds of good emotions too: friendship, happiness and love. Kingdom Hearts doesn't exist in the realm of Darkness, but between it and the realm of Light. Kingdom Hearts is neither good nor evil, it is what we make of it. It becomes whatever our Hearts want to be. And just like Leon said: All paths within the Darkness lead to Light!" The Keyblade Wielder began to understand where the sound was coming from, his pocket. The boy reached in and pulled out the black and white pendant Matilda had left behind in Prydain, it was now glowing brightly and warmly. The Keyblade Mercutio kicked away before Sora had been pulled into the Heartless walls reappeared and was glowing just as brightly as the pendant. As Sora took hold of the weapon, he could feel the light spread inside him, "Kingdom Hearts is LIGHT!"

"What!" Mercutio gasped as the wall of Darkness that had trapped the younger Keyblade Master cracked open and released a brilliant light. Sora stepped out of his confines with his body completely glowing. His clothing had changed to shining gold and silver. A second Keyblade appeared in his hand, a gleaming metal key with delicate tapers and fine filigree. His other Keyblade had changed form and looked like a folded up angel's wing with black feathers. Around his neck was a black and white pendant. The glowing Keyblade Master stepped decisively towards his enemy, his Keyblades ready for an attack. Mercutio for the first time seemed genuinely afraid and though he held up his blades, he could not hide his shaking.

"You're wrong Mercutio. You're wrong about everything. The Darkness doesn't unit us, it divides us, it doesn't end loneliness, it causes it. When Riku and Vincent were trapped within the Darkness, they were miserable. Darkness may allow the worlds to be open to each other, but it isolates our Hearts. Though the walls of light that are created when Kingdom Hearts is sealed separate the worlds we are never truly alone. I may not get to see my friends Leon or Cloud or Hayner or Aladdin all the time, but they are always with me, because our Hearts are united!" Sora rushed forward and knocked Mercutio down before rushing further towards the opposite wall of darkness and jumped up. He plunged his two Keyblades into the wall and slid down, causing two cuts. From these two cuts Vincent and Riku fell out and collapsed on the ground. Though knocked out, they were otherwise unharmed, "And right now all my friends are with me, just like they always were. Vincent, Riku, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, the King, the friends from all the worlds I've visited. The friends I've lost in battle and the friends I'll make one day. They are all here with me, and all of us are going to beat you!"

"I've saved the worlds! Kingdom Hearts being unsealed is the way things are meant to be! Darkness is the way things are meant to be! If they weren't why is it so hard to protect it?" Mercutio screamed out, his rhetoric unchanged as he leapt up and charged Sora.

"Just because something is easy doesn't mean it's right," Sora easily countered Mercutio attack, knocking the other being back to the ground, "I know that other Keyblade Masters have suffered, and I've suffered too. But it's that suffering that reminds us of what we truly love. Our job as Keyblade Masters is to protect: protect the worlds, protect Kingdom Hearts and protect those we care about. The ones who fell into Darkness lost sight of that and stopped caring, but I never will. Every success I obtain makes me want to succeed more, every failure makes me want to work harder. I know I wasn't the first Keyblade Master, and I know I won't be the last but I'll keep protecting with every last bit of my Heart. And I'll keep fighting villains like you who threaten Kingdom Hearts!"

Sora lunged forward at Mercutio and the battle once again began. Their Keyblades sparked each time they hit each other and the two Keyblade Masters used their force to try to move each other's bodies. As Sora and Mercutio dueled, the brown haired boy realized something. Unlike the other modes he had used that had taken his strength over time, the longer this mode created by Matilda's pendant lasted, the stronger Sora felt. Mercutio's blows seemed to have no effect on him. Even the ones the younger Keyblade was unable to dodge didn't seem to harm him that much. As Mercutio got weaker, Sora got stronger, as the blond slowed down, the blue-eyed brunette got faster. Their fight continued with Sora gaining the edge. He blocked, dodged and countered every attack, letting loose fury after fury of combination attacks Mercutio was clearly unfamiliar with.

With a fast swipe one of Mercutio's Keyblades was knocked out of his hand and it skidded across the floor. The ancient being glanced fearfully as he lost his weapon but his fear quickly turned to anger, and with his only weapon charged one final time at Sora. Sora did not flinch as Mercutio ran towards him. He merely held up the shining silver Keyblade and thrust it forward, catching the blond squarely through the chest. Mercutio froze and looked down at the weapon that had run him through and turned pale. As his body began to turn translucent he cried softly, "My dream…"

"This wasn't what Denise would have wanted," Sora said sympathetically, "You spent your whole life trying to find a way back to her and you lost sight of the fact she never left you. She was in your Heart the whole time. Go to her Mercutio, it's time you stopped being alone,"