Chapter 51 Regret and Promise

Darkness…That was all he could see. Nothing but empty darkness around him. Riku found himself wondering for what felt like an eternity but no matter what, he wasn't making any progression.

"So, this is my punishment…" Riku muttered to himself. "Can't say I don't deserve it. Sora, Corrin, Kairi…I'm so sorry…" Riku said as he continued to be lost in thought.

"Sora. Why did I believe that witch?" Riku said in despair.

His and Sora's moms were best friends since they were little, and as a result, he got to know Sora when they were very little and Sora was always a little brother to him. Why would he ever believe that Sora was replacing him?

Was it because of Corrin?

Riku's thoughts then drifted to the white-haired youth.

Riku never hated Corrin, but he'd be lying if he was jealous of him. When Corrin came around, Sora was all about his new brother and Riku was just his friend.

"Could that have subconsciously entered my thoughts when Maleficent was trying to convince me that Sora no longer cared?" Riku asked himself.

Although, the more he thought about it, he was just afraid of being alone. Sora and Corrin are stepbrothers and it didn't take a genius to know that Sora and Kairi liked each other, so where did he fit into the group?

"An idiot who believed a witch over his best friend that's what. And what did that get me?" Riku asked

"The one I consider my brother to stab himself and turn another friend into some kind of dragon. Maybe I should just fade away completely." Riku said sadly as his body truly began to fade away. As it did, he could feel his life flash before his eyes.

'I know it's out there somewhere…the strength that I need.' A younger Riku's voice rang through his head

'Strength for what?' An unknown yet strangely familiar voice asked

'To protect the things that matter. You know, like my friends.' Young Riku answered. At that, Riku's eyes snapped opened.

"No! I'm not ready yet!" Riku declared. "I need to see Sora, Corrin, and Kairi one last time."

"Riku, can you hear me?" An unfamiliar yet kind voice rang out. "I'll be there soon!"

"Who said that?" Riku asked as he looked around for the owner of that voice.

"You'll see soon. I promise you that." The voice answered

"Well then, tell me, where am I?" Riku demanded

"In the end, your heart was strong enough to defeat the darkness, but sadly it was too late for your body. That is why you are here. In the darkness where all hearts are gathered." The voice said

"Where hearts are gathered?" Riku repeated

"I've been trying to reach you for quite some time, but sadly the darkness kept blocking me." The voice said. "But it's not too late to help your friends."

That got Riku's attention. "What do you mean?"

"There is a door that must be sealed, but Sora won't be able to seal it by himself. To seal this door, you need to seal it on both sides, so we need two keys and two hearts. I already found the Keyblade from this side." The voice explained.

"What do I have to do?" Riku asked

The voice just chuckled. "Maybe both of us were destined to come here to seal the door!" The voice cheered as a bright flash of light shined in front of Riku.


In Hallow Bastion, Kairi was looking over some scrolls that Aerith had given her on using magic. Sadly, Leon was too busy trying too get things started on restoring their home to give sword lessons. Though Kairi didn't mind. This magic was tough enough and at least she was learning some means of fighting.

"Okay, let's try this again." Kairi said as she prepared herself. She set up a small target in front of her and held out her hand. "FIRE!" She shouted.

A fireball formed in her hand and shot towards the target destroying it.

"I DID IT!" She cheered to Yuffie who entered

"Uh, Kairi?" Yuffie pointed to the target. Kairi looked and saw that the whole thing was on fire.

"Crap!" Kairi screamed as she and Yuffie frantically tried to put the fire out, only for Aerith to enter and throw a Blizzard spell to immediately put it out.

"Maybe you should practice outside?" Aerith asked

"Sorry Aerith." Kairi mumbled

"It's fine sweetie, but you need to be careful. Magic can be really dangerous if not used properly." Aerith lectured

"Yes Aerith." Kairi said

"Well anyway, why don't we take a break and get something to eat?" Aerith offered

"I'm all for that!" Yuffie cheered

"Sure. I could use a bite." Kairi said

"Alright then, let's go." Aerith said as the three girls headed to the dining hall.

"So, how's the magic training going along?" Yuffie asked

"Okay, I guess. I'm starting to get the hang of Fire and Cure, but not much else." Kairi answered

"Practice makes perfect Kairi. No one gets better overnight." Aerith said.

"I know, but Sora and Corrin made it look easier." Kairi said

"Some people learn faster than others Kairi. You'll get it someday, and who knows? Maybe you'll even surpass them in magic one day." Aerith offered.

"Not to mention that Sora and Corrin kind of had to learn it fast with their whole mission, and had a lot of Heartless to use as target practice." Yuffie pointed out.

"That's true." Aerith added.

"I guess so…" Kairi mumbled.

"You are learning pretty fast Kairi, but nothing happens overnight." Aerith said.

"I know that, its just…I hate feeling so useless. Not to mention that if I didn't lose my heart, Riku wouldn't have been lost, Sora wouldn't have had to stab himself with the Keyblade, and Corrin wouldn't have transformed into a dragon." Kairi said

"Sora and Riku made those choices on their own Kairi. Don't blame yourself for that." Aerith pointed out.

"And transforming did help Corrin remember a small part of his past, even if it wasn't a happy memory." Yuffie added.

"I know but still, Sora and Corrin are going off to fight some big powerful foe, and I'm stuck here because I'd just get in the way." Kairi said.

"Hey, we've been there. We lost our home too don't forget." Yuffie pointed out.

"When our home fell, I was still a novice a magic, and I lost a very close friend to me." Aerith said with a sad voice.

"Unable to do anything but run as everything you ever knew and loved be taken from you." Yuffie muttered sadly

"Aerith…Yuffie…." Kairi mumbled.

"And even after all of our training, in the end, we had to put all our faith in Sora and his Keyblade." Yuffie said "But on one up side, I'm glad I got to meet them."

"And know you are pushing to get stronger know Kairi." Aerith said

"That's true." Kairi admitted.

"Look, I know how you feel Kairi, and one day you will get stronger, but you need to keep at it and not fall into self-denial. You're not useless." Aerith said.

"Yeah, I mean who was it that turned Sora back to normal?" Yuffie asked.

"I'm not even sure how I did that." Kairi said

"You'll learn Kairi. You'll learn." Aerith said

Kairi just nodded. 'Sora, Riku, Corrin. I'm sorry I can't do much now. But one day, I'll be there to help you. I promise.'


And that's a wrap.

I needed to add the Riku scene from Final Mix, so I also figured to add a scene to show how Kairi's doing. Next chapter will begin the final world, I promise. But for now, enjoy and I will see you guys next time.

Guestwithideas: The magic boost was just to power up their spells to the next level. Just like what happened with Genie.