Sora gave a yell in agony that came from his very soul, tears coming down his eyes. He had failed! Ansem had won his body and was sure to unleash Darkness on every world. He wasn't only thinking of Kairi and Riku but now the countless worlds that would fall. He had thought that those princes were all evil, thought that Kairi's friends would've killed her if he hadn't stopped them, thought that he could somehow use the power of Darkness for good when it was all over. It was all one horrible lie…
"Sora, it's alright!" A bright and bubbly sounding voice called to him.
"Huh?! Who's there?!" Sora's eyes opened in shock. The boy looked around at the dark abyss all around him, nothing but blacks and greys for miles, no shapes just space. Where was he?
"I can't explain much, but I'm a friend of Kairi's. I know it's hard, but you must trust me!"
"The last time I trusted someone I ended up-!" Sora glanced around again. "Wait… Where am I?"
"This is the Realm of Darkness, where hearts come after they are lost." Explained the female voice. "Here, you are free from Ansem's control since you are just your heart."
"But he still has my body, he can still use it to hurt them..." Sora whispered in worry. "I can't let that happen! I have to resist him again somehow!"
The voice sighed. "You no longer have that option. You couldn't resist the control, your heart and body were consumed by his Darkness. And so, your heart cast your body away as it would in order to create a Heartless, but you traveled here instead since you passed through the final keyhole."
Sora didn't understand how he survived entirely, but was just glad he did. He then thought of his friends. "Kairi and Riku are still fighting, I am too! How do we stop Ansem, for good?"
"I already have what we need: a key from the dark that matches another in the light. Kairi and I will lock the door togther, but we need someone to help close it on this side."
"You can count on me!"
The group of warriors arrived at Hollow Bastion as soon as they could, determined to save everything they loved.
The first thing Kairi, Daisy, Riku, and Clarabelle did was rush in to check nearly every room to see if Belle was alright. They were shocked to find she was actually safe and researching with the Traverse group in the library, the last place they checked. Beside her, a large hairy beast was helping collect books while sneaking glances at her determined face.
"Oh! You're here!" Belle cried, seeing them. She put down the book and ran to them.
"You're alright! Last time we saw you…" Clarabelle muttered.
"I manged to beat those Heartless, and the princes have been able to hold the rest back with thier born powers." Belle exsplained.
The Beast nodded, walking up to them. "We're doing the best we can, but the Darkness is strong to say the least. We need the assistance of the key wielder, that's you?"
Kairi nodded to him. "Yes! I'm so glad you and the other princes are safe, but, where are they?"
"I didn't realize they would need my help." Riku whispered, feeling guilty that he hadn't added his power.
"They're all in front of the final keyhole. As long as we focus, our hearts radiate enough to keep the Darkness at bay. But that boy, the one who captured us, he gains more power every second he's in the realm, it will get harder."
"Ansem's the one responsible, not Sora." Kairi quickly told him. She then pushed her slight anger aside. "But, we will stop him and all this Darkness."
While Daisy and Clarabelle were talking about how to stop Ansem, Riku felt a dark aura nearby, a familiar one very close. His eyes widened in shock and the borrowed sword he had from Cloud was gripped hard. He pulled Kairi aside quickly from the group and behind a bookshelf. "Kairi, he's here!"
"Ansem's here?!" Kairi gasped in shock. She looked around before Riku pulled her to where he felt the presence.
There was a portal in front of them that looked just like the one Sora had fallen through. It was giving off a purple and blue glow that circled around it, drawing them closer.
"Why would he be here though?" Riku asked himself in confusion. "Ansem went through the keyhole, so he'd have no use for us…"
"Sora's resisting him!" Kairi assumed quickly, running to it. "He was able to get back control and open that portal for us to find him! Come on, I'm done waiting!"
"Kairi, NO!"
In her eagerness to save Sora, Kairi didn't think of the consequences of diving into a portal like this. Her heart ached with pain as the Darkness hit her at every angle. She couldn't see, she couldn't breathe, she felt her heart screaming in agony as Darkness was forced upon it. She saw with blurry vision a light and in that a room. The girl used all her strength to crawl to it. She was able to stand once closer, but only barely. Sora had gone through this too, when he didn't have a vessel to protect himself with. The thought made Kairi want to see him all the more.
Eventually, she made it, and fell into the room from the portal. She gasped for air, feeling almost sick with darkness being quickly drained from her now that she was safe.
While she stabilized, the portal was dismissed, trapping her there. She turned around in shock and then winced. She immediately thought that it would've been better if she had called for her friends to help, or at least told them where she was going. But, she had to face Ansem alone anyway, and this was to save Sora. She felt her charm in her pocket.
"Your resemblance to her is uncanny…"
Her fingers fell from caressing the shells as she heard someone walking towards her. She looked up to see someone in a pitch black coat towering over her, his face completely shadowed by the hood. The girl narrowed her eyes. "Ansem!"
A deep voice responded to her, but it was not Ansem at all, someone different. "That name…. rings familiar…."
"Who are you then?" Kairi asked. She noticed he clenched his fist. She gritted her teeth. "Why did you trap me here?!"
"How peculiar. Even incomplete, you hold such a strong will, much more fire than the other…." Whispered the man. He then straightened. "You are here for my test, girl. Rejoice, for it is the very last one…."
Kairi grimaced, backing away slightly. Last one?
"Do not disappoint me."
Without warning, a ball of blue electricity shot out from his hands, aiming for her heart. Kairi gasped in shock, but was able to summon her keyblade quickly enough.
The ball ricocheted off and landed in the ceiling, making it crumble slightly. The girl glared to where the man was, but he had vanished. "Wha-?"
She gave a yell in pain when a burning sensation filled her back, searing it. With that force, she was completely thrown away into the opposite wall.
Kairi gave a cough, wiping her mouth before turning to the man.
In each hand was a glowing, sword-like green laser.
"This is not a good way to introduce yourself!" Kairi yelled at him, running. She gave a cry, leaping up to hit him on the head, but he vanished. The girl gasped and fell to the floor. Though, she at once turned around, and managed to hit him before he could perform the same trick again. Catching him off guard, she was able to parry him a few times before he suddenly made a wall made of magic that was right in front of her. He slammed his hand into it, forcing her back.
He formed two balls of the dark energy, sending them at the fallen hero. But she was giving him a taste of his own medicine.
The girl vanished thanks to the teleporting charm and appeared at his side. She leapt into the air and slashed him with light moves and quickness. Due to her growing magic, the transport charm was able to last longer, and even personalize with her fighting style, so she was able to turn into a ball of light and bounce around the room before the man could catch her, sending out shock waves.
When the girl fell out of the form, she panted for air, she had been unaware she could do something so extraordinary. Extraordinary and exhausting.
She heard the man racing to her and immediately pointed her keyblade forward, after a vertical swing down. "LIGHT!"
The man staggered, clutching his chest.
Kairi halted at once, wondering if she had defeated him.
"I see… she's been holding herself back now, such power, but no will to use it…"
"What are you talking about?" Kairi cried in surprise.
The man appeared then behind her, making her turn around in shock. He held an old and wrinkled paper in his hands just at her height.
From a distance, Kairi couldn't read it fully, but she made out the word 'Ansem' at the top. Her eyes widened and she ran to him, keyblade drawn. She needed that!
The man then hid the paper away again before slamming out his hand in her direction.
Kairi was suddenly stopped in her tracks when dark strands surrounded her and put into a deep sleep in a dark cocoon. She gasped and whimpered in the pain that she had felt in the dark passage.
The cloaked man watched with slight curiosity and he tightened the cocoon.
Kairi gave a scream, her keyblade dropping to the ground before vanishing.
Seeing this, he was satisfied.
He let another portal open for himself and took one last look at the girl. "And now, it is over…"
Kairi was dropped to the ground, unconscious.
"You were able to go against me quite well, and yet you are defeated by the unexpected… Excellent." The man whispered. He turned away and walked into the portal, his voice echoing the room. "I have made the right choice."