Sorry to keep you all waiting so long for an update! I've been busy with some video games, one of which just so happens to be a certain KH rhythm game that's a TON of fun... at least gameplay wise ;) Either way, we're finally more or less at Keys' halfway point (yes halfway point, with stuff that happens very close to the END of KH3 so you know we're in for it if I'm saying that ahaha) so that's pretty exciting! And we have a pretty exciting chapter to mark that too, so I hope you enjoy it! Let's get started!


Chapter 34: The Realm of Darkness

Space, this is what I choose

Despite their disheartening loss of a Key back at Beast's Castle, the group returns to the Mysterious Tower to some surprising news, to say the least. Mickey is the one to cheerfully greet them when they return, excitedly reporting that after months of fruitless searching and countless dead ends, he'd finally happened upon the most promising lead on Aqua's whereabouts yet. And through that lead, their search for the missing master can finally continue, and perhaps if they're lucky, at last come to its long-awaited end.

Even so, Riku has plenty of reservations on embarking on such a mission, now, of all times, from the moment it's proposed to him. Most of those reservations lie, however, less with the daunting task ahead of them, and more because of what just transpired instead. In private, he tells both Mickey and Yen Sid about what had happened at Beast's Castle, and not just about losing a Key to the Organization on his first mission as leader either. He apprehensively details what had happened to Sora, the pall of monstrous darkness that had overtaken him and how he'd managed to keep that darkness a secret without so much as a single regret about doing so in the first place. Along those same lines, he also reiterates the punishment he's laid out because of that secrecy, for Sora and Kairi both, and admits his worries about leaving so soon after imposing it. About leaving Sora in particular so soon after the unnerving discovery he'd just made about him, a discovery that, as far as Riku is concerned, needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later.

However, while the king and the sorcerer share his concerns and agree with his stern judgement call, they also counter with a point Riku can't really argue with. With eight Keys already claimed, either by darkness or by light, the inevitable clash between both sides continues to draw ever closer. While it's unknown if the Organization has all thirteen members they need on their side, the guardians of light are still painfully short two members, members that they're quickly running out of time to find. But now, there's a glimpse of hope, a genuinely solid lead. A that, the king advises Riku, they have to follow fast if they ever hope to find Aqua and bring her back to the realm of light where she belongs. Which means only one thing:

It's time for the pair to return to the Realm of Darkness.

So Riku agrees, even despite his misgivings about Sora's wellbeing. He is somewhat reassured, however, when Yen Sid promises to keep an eye on him until he returns. And just as importantly, to ensure that he remains at the tower, just about the only place Riku can be sure he'll stay safe anymore.

So they prepare themselves to set off that next morning, making sure that they're well-equipped to take on the abundant dangers lurking within the Realm of Darkness this time. The others gather outside of the tower to see them off, and Riku is genuinely surprised when he sees Sora among them. Though based on his cross, dour expression, it's clear that he's likely only there because Donald and Goofy, or even more plausibly, Kairi, forced him to be.

"Mickey, Riku, I wish you both safe tidings on your journey," Yen Sid begins astutely from his spot near the tower. "I look forward to seeing your, as well as Master Aqua's, safe and soon return."

"Thanks, Master," Mickey smiles, though it's somewhat diffident all the same. "Hopefully we'll actually be able to find Aqua this time…"

"Worry not," Yen Sid assures. "I am confident that this time your search will be successful. I believe that, once it is complete, three Guardians of Light shall return from the Realm of Darkness safely."

"Three guardians?" Goofy whispers to Donald, aside. "I thought they were only supposed to be goin' to get Aqua. Who are the other two?"

"He's talking about Aqua, Riku, and the king," Donald deadpans dryly.

"Ohhhhh, that makes much more sense!" Goofy nods. At this somewhat humorous intersection, the pair happens to spare a glance over at Sora, expecting him to find at least some level of amusement in it. But he remains unmoved; not even the smallest hint of a chuckle escapes him as he stands with his arms crossed and his expression set in a bitter glare away from the parting taking place before him. A parting that he clearly has no intentions of taking part in himself.

Everyone else, on the other hand, is much more willing to see Riku and the king off cordially. "Try not to have too much fun spelunking in the Realm of Darkness, you two," Axel says with something of a smooth, teasing grin. "And try not to get lost in there either; wouldn't wanna have to send someone in looking for you fellas too."

"No…" Riku agrees somewhat absently. He spares yet another glance Sora's way as he does, one that isn't returned in the slightest. "We wouldn't…"

He's caught off guard, however, as Kairi suddenly throws her arms around him in an unexpected hug. "Be careful, please," she pleads quietly. Her voice is soft and subdued, shame from the previous day's disastrous events still lingering in it despite the apology she's already given him. An apology he's already accepted as he wishes Sora would at least try to offer one in the same vein. "I-I know you've been there before," she continues, glancing up at him fretfully. "And I know you're ready to face whatever you might run into there, but I-"

"Don't worry," he says, lightly returning her embrace. "I'll be back before you know it."

"Good," she finally offers him a bit of a weak smile as they part. "And… m-maybe when you get back," her voice drops down to a whisper as she discreetly looks Sora's way. "We could work on… fixing things?"

Riku understands what she means by this, knowing that there are plenty of broken things that need to be fixed around here. And just about all of them are between him and Sora. "Yeah," he says with a soft, somewhat remorseful sigh. "Though I don't see why we can't try to start doing that now."

Kairi gives him an encouraging nod as he turns to approach Sora. With Yen Sid and Axel distracted watching Donald and Goofy bid Mickey a fond farewell, it gives Riku just the kind of private moment he'd like to have, even if it is a moment Kairi spectates on from a distance. Even so, Sora doesn't even bother glancing up as Riku comes to stand right in front of him, his expression every bit as solemn and uncertain as his tone is when he works up the nerve to speak a moment or two later.

"Hey," he begins. Sora still refuses to acknowledge him, his glare sharpening just the slightest bit the moment Riku greets him. Even so, he decides to continue, to soften the blow his punishment was clearly still landing on him, even in some small, simple way. "Look, I… know you're not happy about having to stay here while I'm away, but it won't be for too long. And when I get back, we can start looking for a way to help you control that, um… d-darkness problem you've been dealing with." He winces as he says it; after all, coming to terms with the fact that someone like Sora, someone who he's always seen as such a bright beacon of light against his own inner shadows, has so much darkness of his own harbored within his heart isn't exactly the easiest thing to do. Even if he had the clearest, most horrific proof he ever could have gotten of that darkness's existence yesterday.

Sora bristles at the offer though, finally looking directly at him as his hands transition into tight fists at his sides. His expression is sharp and fierce enough to cut Riku every bit as much as the first and only words he says to him do. "I don't need your help," he hisses coldly before he abruptly turns on his heel to head back to the tower.

"Sora-" Riku reaches out a hand to stop him. He's interrupted, however, by Mickey's call from the far side of the yard.

"Well, I think we're just about all set to go," the king concludes. "You ready to head out, Riku?"

Riku hesitates, his sights still set on Sora as he reaches the tower door. He pauses only briefly as he opens it and steps inside, sparing another bitter glance over his shoulder. He gives Riku nothing else, not even a single word of farewell as he ultimately turns away and closes the door behind him. Shutting him out once again, just like he always seems to do anymore.

"Yeah," Riku turns to rejoin Mickey so they can depart. But not before sending one final glance back at the door Sora just went through, hoping that the next he goes through it, things might be better somehow. That he might have a chance at fixing everything that he knows he's had a hand in breaking. "I'm ready."


Even though it's been months since their last venture to the Realm of Darkness, the shadowy world remains unchanged. It's still just as eerie and empty as ever, even as Riku and Mickey reached its farthest edge: the Dark Margin and the endless black ocean that stretches out from its shores.

"This is it?" Riku asks, confused as they arrive on the familiar beach. Despite that confusion, he is relieved that they've made it to their apparent destination. It's enough to finally get his mind off of his countless concerns about Sora, at least for a little while. "We didn't find anything last time we were here. Has something changed since then?"

"Yeah," Mickey nods, looking out across the dark sea. "While you and the others were out looking for Keys, a letter showed up at the tower. All it said was: 'Help the light cast adrift in the sea of darkness'."

"And… you think that letter was talking about Aqua?" Riku presses, curious. "Who was this letter from anyway? And how would they know where she was?"

"I'm… not sure," Mickey admits with a frown. "But the handwriting did look sorta familiar. If I didn't know any better, I would have almost thought it was from… well, Ansem the Wise."

Riku turns to him, aptly surprised by such an odd thought. Especially considering the researcher's supposed grim fate. "What? But that's impossible. How could he-"

"Wait," Mickey stops him, holding a hand up as he scans the surrounding area with newfound scrutiny. "Do you feel that?"

At first, Riku doesn't feel much of anything out of the ordinary, but after a moment or two of focus, he manages to sense what the king already has. The immense force of destructive darkness swiftly approaching them.

Despite catching onto it early, the Demon Tide still catches them both completely off guard the moment it appears. It surges up from the sand, a wave of Heartless merged together into a towering torrent that rushes for them full speed. Riku only has seconds to summon his Keyblade before it crashes into him, sending him flying across the beach before he can even deliver so much as a single hit on it. He lands hard on the far side of the shore, the air knocked out of his lungs and his Keyblade thrown out of his grip. As dazed and disoriented as the vicious attack has left him, he only barely hears Mickey's concerned cry for him, and amidst that concern, the king doesn't even register the darkness blooming on the sand right under his feet. At least, until that darkness explodes, the Demon Tide pouring out of it and sweeping Mickey up into its racing horde of clustered Heartless. Much like Riku's Keyblade, his own weapon goes flying, landing on the shadowed sand just short of the dark water's edge.

"Mickey!" Riku shouts upon seeing all this, racing to pick himself up as quickly as possible. His chest protests painfully from the effort, a sure sign that his brutal landing had fractured at least one of his ribs. Despite the surge of agony it brings him, Riku refuses to let that keep him from trying to race to the king's rescue, even if his hand is trembling when he calls his Keyblade back into it.

By now, dark energy is swirling around the Demon Tide, creating a devastating storm that Mickey is lost somewhere within. With his side still pounding in palpable pain, the most Riku can do is rise to one knee to face it, the tip of his Keyblade digging into the sand as he tries to steady himself. He watches tensely, breathlessly as the darkness converges. The Heartless the Demon Tide is composed of seem to fade away as the remaining shadows take on the shape of a murky orb of inky-black malice. And from that malice, something emerges.

A shadow, a silhouette, not of a Heartless, or any other such monster, but of a person. It isn't Mickey; Riku can tell that much from their height alone as they land across the shore from him, standing tall a moment or two later. Everything about them is obscured by the immeasurable darkness enshrouding them, but even from a distance, Riku is easily able to sense an air of nothing less than sheer hatred emanating from them. Though what the source of that hatred is, he has no idea.

The dark orb the Demon Tide has been reduced to still hovers high over the shore, and slowly but surely, Mickey becomes visible, still completely trapped within it. He blearily opens his eyes just in time to watch the shadowy figure stroll across the shore at a slow, patient pace. They pay the king and Riku no mind, instead focusing on Mickey's Keyblade, still resting at the water's edge. They come to a stop before it, reaching down to pick it up and looking it over. As they do, Riku notices something else start to permeate the hatred radiating from this unknown being; longstanding despair and burgeoning anger, both of which only seem to grow the longer they look at the Keyblade resting in their shadowed hand.

"This Keyblade…" they finally speak. Their voice is feminine, and while Riku doesn't really recognize it, Mickey does. Even despite how quiet, bitter, and downright cold it strangely sounds.

"That voice…" the king mutters in disbelief, immediately alert and awestruck. "Could it be…?"

He dares to hold onto that newfound burst of hope, but it quickly diminishes as the shadows finally begin to fade from her form. And once they do, he can finally see just what horrible fate has befallen Aqua during the long, lonely years she'd spent within this forsaken realm.

Her once unmistakable blue hair has paled, turning an icy shade that almost looks white if not for the sparsest hint of cyan it still carries. Her clothes, once worn in gentle pastel shades, now drape off of her dark, dreary, and damaged. Shadows cover her legs and her arms, reaching all the way up to her shoulders, and all the way down to her hands, her fingers replaced with crimson-tinged, deadly claws. But the worst change by far doesn't make itself apparent until she finally turns to face the king behind her. "Mickey…" she said, her voice ringing hollow and hateful. "You're too late."

And indeed, he is, far too late it seems. Because now, her once calming sapphire eyes have been filled with bright, bitter gold. Gold that reflects the darkness that's now corrupting her once-noble, long-broken heart.

Riku can't believe what he's seeing; he doesn't want to either. He's heard so much from Mickey about Master Aqua, about her courage, her kindness, her unwavering strength even in the face of certain doom. Even if he can't recall ever meeting her before this very moment, he still admired her from those commendable accounts alone, still looked up to her as the kind of Keyblade Master he'd like to become someday. Those stories had pushed their lengthy search along, had encouraged Mickey to persevere in locating his long-lost friend, had inspired Riku to work toward meeting his once-rescuer, now-role model. But the woman who stands before him now is a far cry from the brave, seemingly unbreakable Master that existed in those stories of the past. Because now, after years of wandering alone in the dark, after spending such a long time adrift in the shadows, Aqua has become the very thing she had once sworn to stand against.

She's become a vessel for darkness itself.

Mickey is every bit as shocked as Riku is by such a disturbing revelation. Guilt, a familiar kind of guilt that plagues the king every time he thinks about his missing friend's plight, hits him harder than ever before at the mere sight of how far she's fallen. A fall that, if he had only come sooner, if he had only searched harder, he might have been able to prevent. "W-what happened?" he asks, wavering under the scorn of her golden glare.

"You abandoned me, that's what happened," Aqua hisses. Her clawed grip tightens on the king's Keyblade, and she briefly bares her teeth, sharpened somewhat to almost look like fangs. Yet another sign of the monstrous, malevolent transformation she's been forced to undergo, both inside and out. "Left me to rot in this shadow prison for more than a decade, knowing what it would do to me. Knowing that it would turn me into this. You forgot about me."

"N-no!" Mickey protests urgently, honestly. Because even after 12 long years, even after he'd discovered her here the first time, he hadn't forgotten. Even if he had, time and time again, failed to live up to the promise he'd made, both to himself and to her, to come back for her somehow. And now that he finally had, it was all exactly as she'd said: far too little, and far too late. "No, I didn't, I… I'm sorry," he says with a sad, remorseful sigh. "This is all my fault…"

Aqua sneers, her manner pitiless and resentful as she turns to face the dark sea before her. "I reached this shore after endless wandering," she says, the realm's glowing moon making her falsely yellow eyes shine ever brighter with contempt and disdain. "Waited forever for help to arrive." She steps into what should have been the shallows, but her feet stand atop the water, almost like it's glass beneath her, ready to be broken every bit as much as she already has been. "But no one ever came." She walks further out onto the water as a hint of what almost sounds like pain etches its way into her tone. Whatever grief there is within it, however, is quickly lost within the tide of anger washing over her as she continues.

"I lost my Keyblade. Had no means of fighting my way back through the Heartless. You should have known I was stranded," she says, and Mickey did know, he wants to counter that he knew, that not a day had gone by since his first visit to the Realm of Darkness that he hadn't wanted to come back and help her. But he doesn't, mostly because he can't even bring himself to deny that every last word she's saying, every single thing she's accusing him of, is completely true. "Do you have any idea how lonely it is here? How frightening it is to have no one?"

Riku shifts upon hearing this as he starts to put the pain keeping him pinned to the ground aside. Because he does know, he knows all too well, exactly how lonely the darkness really is. He knows just how terrifying it is to stand alone within its depths, to wander within it with no real hope of escape. He knows exactly what Aqua has been through, because in many different, yet similar ways, he's been there himself. And, it's how he knows that, even despite the sinister shroud of shadows she stands under now, it's not too late for her to be freed from them. After all, if he could be freed from the clutches of darkness, alluring and powerful as it might be, then so could she.

"I never had a chance at getting out of here on my own…" Aqua finally stops at the center of the sea. Her back is still turned to the pair on the shore, but her frigid words are aimed at them, pointed and precise, like knives sharpened for the sole purpose of piercing their spirits and hearts alike. "You were my last and only hope, Mickey. And you failed me. So why hope for anything at all if I'm only going to be let down in the end? All that's left in my heart is misery and despair… And now…" She suddenly spins around, brandishing her stolen Keyblade as she grows fiercer, harsher, as her ire burns bright and hot for all to see and feel its sting. "You can share it!"

Mickey is ready, willing even, to accept whatever consequences may come for his negligence, for all of the suffering he could have, should have saved her from, but didn't. Riku, on the other hand, isn't about to stand by and let that happen so easily. "There's no need," he says sternly. "I've got plenty of my own." He approaches the shore, the pain pounding at his side put away for the time being as he prepares himself for whatever might happen next. As he prepares himself to do whatever he can to help Aqua find her way back to the light, her own road to dawn, just as he had done before her.

And, based on the familiar, comforting presence stirring inside his heart, offering to lend his strength in the fight ahead, Riku knows that he won't have to do that alone.

His Keyblade flashes into his grip and he holds it steady as he ventures out onto the stable surface of the dark sea. Aqua stands, ready to meet him, her vicious glare sharpening at his brazen boldness in challenging her at all. "You…" she growls between sharp, gritted teeth. "I know you. I saved you from the Heartless… at the cost of my only chance at getting out of this unending nightmare. You're every bit as much to blame for what happened to me as he is!" She points the tip of her Keyblade at him, and as she does, the shadowy orb enveloping Mickey rushes over to her, positioning itself squarely between Riku and Aqua. The king sends his young companion a worried look, but Riku returns it with a confident nod, the unspoken assurance that he knows what he's doing. Or at least he hopes he does.

A second or two later, the Demon Tide rises once more, engulfing Mickey and obscuring him completely from view before it swells to swirl behind Aqua. Despite his palpable fear for the king's safety, however, Riku doesn't back down. He can't, not when they've finally found who they've been looking for all this time. "Master Aqua, please, listen to me." His voice is firm yet emphatic as he addresses her, hoping that his words will somehow reach the vile veil hanging over her heart. "I don't want to fight you."

"No," Aqua retorts crossly as she takes up an offensive stance. "You don't."

Despite this, however, Riku stays the course. "We came here to help you. We can take you back to the realm of light, and-"

"Oh, really?" she interrupts him with a harsh scoff. "What kind of a fool do you think I am? You say you came here to 'help' me, but you must have come here to mock me instead. Any chance I had at returning to the light died a long time ago. And now, any chance you might have of doing the same will too!"

She charges forward suddenly, swinging her Keyblade wide and dangerously. Riku has no choice but to block the attack, no choice but to fight her in the hopes that it might somehow bring her back to her senses, that it can restore her ruined heart before it's lost to the darkness forever.

If it isn't already.


Sora sits alone in one of the tower's several lounges, the lower half of his face buried into his arms as they're pressed against the table before him. He's been there largely all day, a sullen scowl stuck on his face as he stews in silence, awash in frustrated thoughts that he knows aren't worth anything. Not to Riku, or to anyone else but himself for that matter.

He doesn't sit up as the door creaks open behind him, doesn't care about who's come to try and raise his spirits this time around. Because as long as he's trapped in this tower under Riku's orders, then he intends to keep his spirits exactly where they are: just about as low as they'll ever be.

"Sora?" Goofy enters and Donald follows with a steaming bowl in hand. "You missed dinner, so we decided to bring you some soup since you're still, uh… up here."

"It's still nice and hot, so eat up," Donald sets the bowl down on the table in front of Sora. He pushes it away.

"I'm not hungry," he mutters, his low, sulking posture unchanged. Donald and Goofy exchange a brief glance at this, neither of them sure of what to do to bring their young companion out of this despondent state. Not when he seems so determined to stay in it, if for no other reason than to simply prove his stubborn point.

Which, of course, is why Donald is the first to call him out on it. "Augh! I've had it!" he snaps, annoyed. "Would you quit moping around already!? Acting like this isn't going to change Riku's decision, especially since he's not even here to see you doing it!"

Sora scoffs, rolling his eyes as he sits up. "I don't know what you're talking about," he lies, crossing his arms.

"Sora…" Goofy frowns, taking a much gentler approach than Donald had a moment ago. "We know you're upset about, uh… about being punished and all, but we-"

"No, what I'm upset about is that we're just wasting our time sitting around here when we should be out looking for Keys!" Sora interrupts with an impatient huff. "If we don't get the rest and stop the Organization soon, then… t-then I could…" He trails off, dread drifting into his severe expression as he stares down at his hands. His hands, which are likely covered in darkness by now, darkness that's only being thinly concealed by the spell still keeping it all hidden just under the surface.

Donald and Goofy immediately understand what he meant, however. And while sympathetic towards his daunting plight, they still know that Sora has been the one to create plenty of the problems he's facing entirely on his own accord. "Well, maybe if you had just told Riku the truth from the beginning, he wouldn't have had to punish you like this!" Donald scolds angrily. "Speaking of which, I can't believe you still haven't told him about everything else yet. He should know what's happening to you so he can-"

"So he can what? Ground me all over again?" Sora asks, his tone sharpening once more. "Things are already bad enough as it is; I can't tell him, not after all this. He'd never let me out of his sight again if he found out!"

"Would that really be such a bad thing though?" Goofy asks. "You said before that you have been wanting to spend more time with him, after all."

"Yeah, before he basically became my boss," Sora deadpans, perching his chin on his hands as his elbows rest against the table. "Everything's so… I don't know, different now that he's in charge. I feel like even if I wanted to tell him, all he'd do is get mad and punish me again for keeping it a secret for so long."

"Maybe another punishment is exactly what you need to get you to finally come clean about everything…" Donald mutters, aside.

"Sora, I'm sure if Riku knew the truth, he'd do everything he could to help you, just like he said he's gonna do when he gets back," Goofy reminds patiently. "All you'd have to do is ask."

"Sure, I'll just go and ask him to save me again," Sora scowls, glancing away from his companions. "And while he's at it, he can go ahead and show everyone how much better he is than me at everything. Just to rub it all in."

"Sora! Why would you even say something like that?!"

Before Kairi can even properly enter the room, Sora nearly falls out of his chair while spinning around to face her. In his sudden panic, he briefly remembers just how much of a risk even discussing his heart's unfolding condition within the tower's walls is. At least, as long as someone like Kairi is around to hear any of it.

Fortunately for him, however, she really hadn't caught much of the conversation that had unfolded right before this. Still, the expression on her face is far from pleased as she walks into the lounge, Axel casually trailing not far behind her, though even he seems to be taken aback by just how upset she seems to be with Sora's last comment. "Riku punished you-punished both of us for a reason," she says sternly as she approaches him. "And he had every right to do it too after what we kept from him. Why can't you just accept that already?"

Sora jolts at this, his former fear falling away into frustration at the thought that Kairi, of all people, would have the nerve to take Riku's side in all this instead of his. "Why should I accept any of it?" he asks, rising to stand as he walks away from her toward the window on the far side of the room. "You really think I should just be ok with not being allowed to go anywhere without Riku standing over my shoulder the entire time? Or that we don't get to travel together anymore? You were so excited about that, Kairi. Why aren't you just fine with Riku saying we can't now?"

"I'm not fine with that!" Kairi protests earnestly as she comes to a stop right behind him. "I wanted all three of us to finally be together again! I wanted things to go right back to how they used to be, b-but then… Riku was named leader, and you…" She trails off, glancing down with a sad, disappointed sigh. "Nothing's the way it's supposed to be between the three of us… and I don't know why."

On impulse alone, Sora nearly places the blame for that on Riku, but he narrowly stops short, knowing that's likely the last thing Kairi wants to hear right now. And besides, he can't really deny that he might share a good bit of fault for his own plentiful part in wearing the once-strong bonds between the three of them down too. Bonds that, for every part of him that wants to hold onto his petty feelings of frustration, every other part wants to find a way to fix. "Kairi…" he begins, the slightest hint of guilt edging its way into his tone. "I-"

Before he can even get another word out, the stark sound of his Gummiphone ringing from its spot on the nearby table cuts through the conversation completely. Sora sends a brief nod over to Donald and Goofy, who answer it in his stead. "Oh, hiya, Chip and Dale!" Goofy greets the chipmunk duo on screen. "How's it goin'?"

"You guys don't have another monster infestation over at the castle, do you?" Axel asks from the spot he's taken on the other end of the table.

"No, but the news we've got is every bit as bad!" Chip exclaims, clearly in a panic. Dale rushes in to pull him away from the phone so he can be the one to deliver that grave news instead.

"We just got an emergency alert from the king's phone, all the way from the Realm of Darkness!" he reports urgently. "That's the only kind of signal the Gummiphones are able to send from there at all!"

"And if the king sent one out," Chip continues just as fretfully. "That means him and Riku must be in trouble! REAL big trouble."

"What?!" Donald and Goofy both exclaim in apt alarm. Likewise, Axel sits up in his chair a bit, while Kairi lets out a startled gasp as she hurries over to the table so she can learn more.

"Are you sure there isn't any way we can reach them from here?" she asks the pair, her hands pressed close to her heart to try and stem the worry steadily filling it.

"Nope, no at all," Dale shakes his head remorsefully. "Sorry!"

"Ya know, we really oughta work out that kink in the Gummiphone's next model…" Chip notes offhandedly.

"Focus, you two!" Donald snaps. "There's gotta be some way we can help them!"

"From there?" Dale asks, doubtful. "I dunno… No offense, but you'd probably have about as much luck helping them from the tower as we would from here at the castle."

"Wow, real optimistic," Axel remarks, rolling his eyes. "So basically, what you're telling us is that they're pretty much sunk unless one of us manages to find a way there?"

Before anyone can get another word out, Sora suddenly slams a hand down onto the table, his expression steady as he declares his decision. A decision that has only taken him mere seconds to reach, one he knows he has to stand by, even despite his former anger. "I'll go," he says unwaveringly, even despite the wave of protest that flows right after him.

"No, you won't!" Donald argues sternly. "How many times does everyone have to tell you?! You can't go to the Realm of Darkness!"

"I have to," Sora insists, refusing to back down this time as he looks between the others. "I'm the only one who can now."

"No, Sora, it's too dangerous!" Kairi exclaims intensely. "If this is about you trying to prove yourself to Riku or something, you don't have to-"

"It's not about that," Sora says, and he means it. This stopped being about his pride the moment any trace of it he might have had was broken to pieces in front of him back at the castle. "Riku's in trouble, and I… I-I can't just…" He sighs, shame filling his expression as he looks down before going off on an entirely different tangent. "The last time Riku and I were in the Realm of Darkness, all we had was each other. I don't see why that should be any different now."

Kairi stills, more than any of the others do, upon hearing this. She studies his expression carefully, realizing that all hints of bitterness that had been there moments ago have completely faded away. In its place, there's worry, fear, and remorse alike, but there's also determination. A burning sense of resolve to rescue Riku, not to make a statement or prove a point, but simply because it's the right thing to do. Because even despite his anger towards him, despite his harsh words from before, despite the severe punishment he'd been handed, Sora still so clearly, so deeply, so earnestly cares for Riku after all. And that comforting thought is more than enough to prompt Kairi to follow in his footsteps to show the same.

"I'm going with you then," she steps closer to him, taking his hands in hers. "That way, if something goes wrong a-and you… i-if the darkness overwhelms you again, t-then I can be there to help you find your way back to the light."

Sora offers her a brief, yet somewhat sad smile as he gently pulls his hands away. "Kairi… I'm sorry, but… y-you can't come…"

"Why not?" she asks, appalled. "I-I can handle whatever we might face there, I know I can!"

"I know that too," Sora nods, his smile turning a bit prouder. Because sure enough, even over the course of the past few short months alone, Kairi has already done so much to prove just how capable she really is in a pinch. He's hard pressed to think of anyone else he'd trust more to stand by his side in the darkness than her, really. And yet… "But… I owe this to Riku. After how I acted and what I did, I… T-the last thing I said to him before he left was that I didn't want his help… I can't let that be-"

"I know," Kairi cuts him off just before the guilt-driven tears can fully well up in his eyes. She hesitates, letting out a soft, solemn sigh before relenting by way of surprising Sora with a sudden, soft embrace. "I told Riku this, and I'm telling you too: be careful. I… I can't lose either of you..."

"You won't," Sora assures, lightly returning her hug. "I'll be back soon; Riku and I both will. I promise."

"Uh, not to interrupt such a touching moment," Axel speaks up, glancing over at Sora warily. "But didn't Riku tell you you're supposed to stay here while he's gone?"

"He did!" Donald adamantly agrees, scowling at Sora. "And you're gonna listen to him! Which means no trips to the Realm of Darkness!"

"But I have to go," Sora presses once again, practically begging as he looks between Donald and Goofy alike. "If I don't help Riku and the king, who else will?"

The pair is hard-pressed to answer this, both of them knowing that Keyblade wielders are in short supply as it is, much less ones that are experienced enough to venture to a place like the Realm of Darkness and actually make it out alive. Even so, they still have plenty of reservations about Sora going there, especially in light of recent developments, even if most of those reservations they can't really address in front of Kairi or Axel. The diffident look they both send Sora is more than enough to tell him that their concerns deserve to be addressed; just as long as they aren't discussed here.

"We can talk more about it on the way there," he says to them both quickly before picking up his phone. "Chip, Dale, how do I get to the Realm of Darkness?"

"Only King Mickey can open a door to the Realm of Darkness," Dale explains, eliciting a bout of confusion in the trio gathered near the phone.

"It's because he has a special Keyblade of darkness!" Chip pipes up to elaborate. "He figured out how to open the way."

"Gawrsh, what do we do then?" Goofy scratches his head, bewildered.

Sora pauses for a moment, realizing just how right everyone had been before on a practical level at least. He really isn't equipped to travel to the Realm of Darkness if he doesn't even know how to get there in the first place. Still, he can't let that stop him, not when Riku's life could very well be on the line. "...May my heart be my guiding key…'" he repeats the cryptic phrase before addressing his companions. "That's what will show us the way."

"So we're actually gonna do this then?" Goofy asks apprehensively.

"We shouldn't be," Donald grumbles, but even so, Sora refuses to change his course.

"Well, we are," he says firmly before glancing back down at his phone. "Thanks for all the help, you guys," he offers Chip and Dale a brief smile just short of hanging up, then turns to Kairi and Axel as his grin turns somewhat pleading. "Uh… is there any way you two can cover for us with Master Yen Sid until we get back?"

"Sure," Axel shrugs. "But you know he's gonna find out you three left as soon as he looks outside and sees your ship is gone, right?"

The trio exchanges a somewhat uncertain glance at this, but fortunately, Kairi steps in with the reassurance they need just in time. "But still, we'll do our best," she smiles, though there's a tinge of worry behind it all the same. "Be safe."

"And take care not to get yourself in any trouble there while you're at it," Axel advises with a wry grin. "'Cause if you do-"

"Then we'll be the ones to bail you out of it," Kairi finishes with a small chuckle.

"Just like before," Sora shares her warm smile at the thought of how they'd both brazenly come to rescue him from Maleficent. A rescue that he would have once thought of with scorn for his own weakness, but can't help but appreciate now. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

With a few final words of farewell, the trio heads out into the hall, Sora leading the way while trying to be as quiet and discreet as possible. After all, even if Kairi and Axel had promised to cover for them, that doesn't mean there isn't a chance Yen Sid might discover them on their way out. Even so, that doesn't stop Donald and Goofy from at least trying to get a word in edgewise against the risky plan Sora already seems so dead-set on undertaking.

"Sora, can we just talk about this for one second?" Donald asks hotly. He's interrupted however, by Sora quickly shushing him, still trying to maintain some semblance of stealth as they head down the tower stairs. The magician rolls his eyes but complies, dropping his voice down to a whisper. "This is a bad idea and you know it is."

"Donald's got a bit of a point," Goofy admits earnestly. "We wanna help Riku and the king just as much as you do, but there's gotta be another way to do it. One where you don't have to have to go to the Realm of Darkness, Sora."

Sora sighs, keeping his voice down as he glances back at the pair. His expression is far from confident; in fact, it's almost every bit as anxious as his companions' are. "I don't think we have any other option," he says tersely. "And we don't have much time to find another one either. Or at least, Riku and the king don't."

"But what if going there only makes things worse?" Goofy asks nervously.

"I… don't really see how me showing up to help them could put them in any more danger than they're already in…" Sora notes, confused.

"Not worse for them, worse for you!" Donald corrects. "It's called the Realm of Darkness for a reason. Do you really think it's such a good idea for you to go there with… what's been going on lately?" he asks carefully, something that Sora is admittedly grateful for, even as they enter the foyer and begin to approach the main door.

"I… don't know," he admits honestly. "B-but I'll just make sure to be extra careful. Besides, it's not like Maleficent or the Organization could really show up there to mess with me. H-hopefully."

"Well, what about whatever Riku and the king are having trouble against?" Donald asks, raising a critical eyebrow. "If they can't beat it, what makes you think you can?"

"W-well, I… uh… I don't know," Sora says again, wincing as he reaches the door. "I guess I'll find out once I get there."

"Once you arrive where, my I ask?"

Sora freezes the moment he opens the door, only to find Yen Sid himself standing just on the other side. From the looks of it, clearly he's already been waiting there for the trio to show up.

As suddenly speechless with surprise as Sora finds himself, Donald and Goofy are quick to rush in to make excuses for him, perhaps despite their better judgement. "W-when we arrive back inside after the short walk around the tower we were gonna take!" Goofy exclaims tightly, forcing a fake smile onto his face.

"Uh, y-yeah, just a walk!" Donald nods nervously. "W-we just wanted to pass some time while we stay right here, not even thinking about going to another world until Riku and the king get back. Isn't that right, Sora?"

Sora hesitates, glancing between his companions first before meeting the expectant stare the sorcerer is sending his way. And under that state, Sora knows, he can't lie about this; he doesn't even want to anyway, not with something so important at stake. "No," he says, eliciting gaping looks of shock from Donald and Goofy. "I… I'm going to the Realm of Darkness. I have to. Riku and the king are in trouble."

"Yes, I have received word of their plight just as you have," Yen Sid says, his calm expression unchanged.

"I have to help them," Sora continues intently, unflinchingly. "I know it's dangerous, a-and I know Riku said I'm supposed to stay here until he gets back, but… I can't just stand by and do nothing while they're in trouble. Please, Master," he bows his head in respect. The show of humbleness stands in stark contrast to his admittedly embarrassing, haughty behavior of the past several days. It's not lost on Donald and Goofy at least, even if it's still too soon to glean Yen Sid's response to it. "You have to let me go help them. I-it's just... something I need to do…"

For what feels like ages, Yen Sid says nothing; instead, he simply strokes his long beard thoughtfully before turning to face the vast starry skies surrounding the tower on all sides. "Sora," he finally speaks. The trio stands at attention to carefully listen, with Sora finally glancing up as he fears his only chance to rush to help Riku is about to slip through his hands completely. "You have been told many times now that you are not prepared to venture to the Realm of Darkness. You failed your Mark of Mastery exam, and you still have not obtained the power of waking."

"I… I know…" Sora sighs. He glances down in shame as he rubs his arm, crestfallen by this pointed reminder of just how many times he's failed. How he still hasn't found a way to rise above those failures even now that they're behind him.

"Furthermore," the sorcerer continues, his back still turned to the trio. "You have been admonished, more than once for acting in defiance and disobedience toward your new leader. To the extent that said leader believes it necessary for you to remain under constant surveillance for your own wellbeing. And that's not even mentioning the apparently monstrous transformation that you've endured on a number of occasions, a transformation fueled by darkness, one that you intentionally kept hidden from your fellow guardians of light despite it standing as a potential risk to their safety and yours."

"Y-yeah… I know..." Sora closes his eyes, taking in a deep breath as he tries to hold back tears. Because he knows, in light of all of the damning evidence stacking against his case, the mountain of mistakes that he's solely responsible for, there isn't a single chance that Yen Sid will allow him to go now. Yet even so, what the sorcerer says next does catch him off guard quite a bit.

"All that said, I still must ask," Yen Sid finally briefly glances back over his shoulder. "Sora… do you believe that you are truly ready to go to the Realm of Darkness for yourself?"

Sora pauses at first, unsure of how to answer such a question. He'd like to say yes, to proudly proclaim that he's more than ready to face whatever the sinister, shadowy world might throw his way. But in the end, he can't even bring himself to try and make such a claim. Not after every slip up and shortcoming of his the sorcerer has already pointed out. Not after everything else he knows he's facing, failing to overcome even beyond all of that. "No," he says quietly, not even trying to suppress the shame in his tone as just one of his tears finally falls. "I'm not…"

Surprisingly, Yen Sid adopts the smallest hint of a compassionate smile upon hearing this. "Believe it or not, it takes incredible strength of heart to admit one's weaknesses. And even greater strength to be willing to rise above that weakness for the sake of fighting for one's friends."

"W-what?" Sora asks, not following as he wipes his tears away.

"I will allow you to go to the Realm of Darkness to assist Riku and Mickey," Yen Sid fully turns to the trio, his tone turning even more serious as he says this. "But only because you have demonstrated a noble purpose behind your desire to do so, one that is not grounded in proving your own strength or fortitude, but instead in wanting to help a friend in need. A selfless ambition, aimed toward a necessary cause. It is admirable, to say the very least."

"S-so… I can really go?" Sora asks with a stunned, yet growing smile. One that Donald and Goofy don't share as they look to each other in apt concern, especially as the sorcerer nods his confirmation. Confirmation that, in light of what Yen Sid doesn't seem to know in regards to Sora, neither of them are entirely sure he should really be giving.

"Uh… M-Master Yen Sid?" Donald speaks up with a fretful frown. "You should know that… um…" He trails off, especially as Sora sends an alarmed glance his way, already knowing what he might say, what he might be intending to reveal. In truth, the pair wants to reveal it too, knowing that it would be for Sora's own good, for his own safety if they do. That it will keep him out of the dangerous Realm of Darkness if nothing else. But when they see his distraught expression, remember his stalwart, selfless drive to bring both Riku and their own king back safely, they both solemnly realize what needs to be done.

"That… w-we'll, uh… make sure to keep Sora out of trouble, j-just like we always do," Goofy finishes somewhat halfheartedly. For his part, Sora sends them both a small, grateful grin for their continued silence; neither of them are comforted by it in the slightest.

Yen Sid nods, not sensing that anything is wrong, even though Donald and Goofy both desperately wish he would. "I would expect nothing less," he walks past the trio to enter the tower. "I will advise you to be on your guard," he says to Sora as he briefly turns back. "The Realm of Darkness preys upon the deepest doubts and fears resting within the hearts of all who enter it. If you are not careful, you may find yourself consumed by the shadows that dwell there completely."

"R-right," Sora says uneasily, still anxious, on many levels, about what he might face within the forbidden realm. But for Riku, he's willing to face whatever he has to. He's willing to do just about anything, at this point, to make up for the mistakes he's made before.

"You may not be completely ready to face the task ahead of you, Sora," Yen Sid concludes before closing the door behind him. "But I am certain, with your virtuous goal, your zeal to help those you care about most, held close to your heart, that in this daunting task, you shall succeed."

Sora offers the sorcerer another grateful nod, just shy of rushing to the Gummi Ship, knowing that there's not a second to lose while Riku and the king are in trouble. Donald and Goofy apprehensively follow, and all they can do as they board the ship is hope. Hope that it's not too late to save Riku and Mickey, and even beyond that, hope that this risky trip into the darkness isn't exactly where Xehanort wants his proposed thirteenth vessel to go.


In the absence of any tangible method for getting to the Realm of Darkness, Sora does as he said before and relies on his heart to lead him there. His Keyblade opens a gate within the Lanes Between, one that he pushes the Gummi Ship through as fast as it can possibly go. But instead of leading to the Realm of Darkness, the gate takes the trio to a place that's about as seemingly far from the shadowy world as it could be: the Destiny Islands.

The moment he steps foot upon the play island's sunny shores again, Sora has to pause for a moment, letting the bittersweet feeling of being home again wash over him. It's only been a few months since the last time he stood on the shores of his childhood, but it feels so much longer than that all the same. So much has changed since he was here last, to the point that the peaceful days he used to spend here with Riku and Kairi by his side feel like they're a lifetime away now. Still, Sora finds himself longing for those long-gone days, days he knows he has to keep fighting for if he ever hopes to get them back again. Days that he knows won't be anywhere close to complete if Riku isn't there to enjoy them too.

So he begins to make his way across the beach, Donald and Goofy trailing after him as they try to make sense of the peculiar destination the Kingdom Key had taken them to. "Why do you think that gate brought us here?" Goofy asks, aptly curious.

"No idea," Donald shakes his head as he looks to the one who had opened up that gate in the first place. "Sora?"

Sora doesn't answer, his focus drawn by something lying in the sand just a few feet ahead of them. He steps closer to it, and is immediately surprised to see that it's a Keyblade of all things. It's elegant, sturdy and well-crafted, and its weight is manageable yet strangely imposing as Sora tentatively picks it up to get a better look at it. "Where'd this come from?" he wonders aloud. After all, a stray Keyblade without any sort of wielder to be found along with it is very rare indeed; or at least that's what he's been told.

"It looks so old…" Donald notes with a frown.

"Who do you suppose it could belong to?" Goofy asks, just as bewildered

Sora shakes his head, not familiar with the weapon in his hands in the slightest. It's not Riku or the king's either, even though both of them recently received new Keyblades to replace their damaged ones. And as far as he can tell, the rest of the island is empty; not a single other soul is in sight to claim this supposedly lost weapon as their own.

Yet even so, he can't shake the feeling that this unknown Keyblade has found its way to these shores for a reason. That it's found him for a reason.

"I think… this is what'll show us the way to Riku and the king," Sora says, carefully pointing the tip of the Keyblade up. He closes his eyes and takes in a deep breath, silently asking the weapon to guide him to where he needs to go, to help him find his way into the darkness. It answers his unspoken plea as light blooms around its silver tip, pouring out toward the entrance to the secret place. A golden-gilded door forms in front of the cavern's entrance, one that Sora knows, from the moment he lays eyes on it, can only lead to one possible place: the Realm of Darkness itself.

He rushes towards it, not heeding either of his companions calls for him to wait. He has no choice but to hear their protests out, however, as they both happen to rush past him to stand before the door just before he can reach it.

"Sora, stop!" Donald orders, both his and Goofy's arms held out wide to halt their young companion's progress. "You're not going to the Realm of Darkness!"

"Nope!" Goofy sternly agrees. "At least not without us!"

Sora sighs, shaking his head as he looks between the two with a frown. "You guys…" he begins diffidently. "You can't come. It's like I told Kairi; I need to do this alone. Besides, the Realm of Darkness isn't safe for you."

"It's not safe for you either!" Donald argues.

"If you're going to save Riku and the king," Goofy presses worriedly. "Then who's gonna save you if something goes wrong?"

"Like if you lose yourself to the darkness again?" Donald asks, believing such a monstrous transformation to be far too likely to easily befall Sora in a place like the Realm of Darkness itself.

"Or if you get even closer to becoming the Organization's vessel?" Goofy adds fretfully. There was no telling if Xehanort's rising influence over Sora's heart would actually expand as a result of this perilous trip, but it was a gamble neither the captain nor the magician thought was very wise for him to make all the same.

"Or if you panic and shut down and can't fight back against whatever you find there?" Donald finishes, concern permeating his adamant tone. Concern that's quite understandable considering the fact that panic and fear are things that still hold Sora back just as much as they had in the days following the torturous captivity that had cultivated those feelings within him in the first place.

Sora listens to their worries carefully, and this time, he doesn't make any sort of effort to argue against them. Mostly because he's harboring each of those fears within his own heart as well. "Look," he begins, his tone as even as it can be as he glances away from the pair. "The truth is… I-I don't know what'll happen to me once I get there. I wasn't lying when I told Master Yen Sid that I'm not ready for this. But… I can't let that stop me. Not when Riku needs my help."

"B-but weren't you awfully angry with Riku just before he left?" Goofy asks as something of a last-ditch effort.

"That's right!" Donald exclaims, jumping on the captain's sudden, if not questionable idea quickly. "He was named leader of the lights instead of you and he punished you to boot! Why would you wanna go save him after all that?"

Surprisingly, Sora smirks at this, quickly catching on. "I know what you guys are trying to do." The hints of lingering nervousness and dread in his tone are clear, despite his wavering smile. "And I'm sorry, but it's not gonna work. It doesn't matter what Riku did or how I felt about it. What matters is that if I don't do something soon, he could… H-he might not…" His smile fades as he holds his hands close to his chest, hoping to keep them from trembling as they've been doing since the door to darkness first appeared. It does little to stem the tide of warm tears that are starting to well up behind his eyes though. "R-Riku did everything he could to save me from the Organization. And… even if it wasn't really enough…" He clenches his hands against his heart, against the invasive, vicious darkness that he knows is invading it more and more each day. Darkness that he could never, ever blame Riku for not being strong enough to protect him from when in reality, his own pathetic weakness is what's allowing it to continue to thrive. "A-at least maybe… I can be enough to save him this time…"

Despite their best efforts to stand firm in their resolve, Donald and Goofy quickly find themselves folding upon hearing all this. They both know, they've known for a long time now, that Sora doesn't give up when it comes to either Riku or Kairi. That when push comes to shove, he'll always put them first, always strive to keep his two closest friends safe when either of them are in trouble. Even if doing so comes at the cost of his own safety each and every time.

"...Oh, fine!" Donald surprisingly relents first, even though he lets out a frustrated huff as he does. "You can go, but only as long as we go too!"

"That's right," Goofy readily agrees. "You can't make a whole pint without us!"

Even though Sora appreciates the earnesty and care that comes with this brazen appeal, he still can't bring himself to accept their support this time. Not when this mission could stand to bring them both so much harm if something really did go wrong. "Come on, think about it," he says with another weary sigh. "Even the king and Riku struggled in the Realm of Darkness. A-and… we all know I might too," he admits, even though he doesn't want to. "Someone needs to stay out here, just in case. If something happens to the rest of us… well, you know where to find Kairi and Axel. I know we can count on all of you guys to bail us out if we need you to."

Donald and Goofy don't return the confident smile Sora sends their way as he walks past the two of them to continue on toward the door. Even so, they do still stop him one last time if only for the sake of offering him a solemn goodbye. "You promise to be good?" Donald asks, his tone much more patient than it had been before.

"And come home nice and safe?" Goofy adds just as gently.

The questions they pose are simple, mundane even, but they're enough to push both Sora, and his swiftly rising tide of emotions over the edge. He rushes back to the pair, throwing his arms around both of them without a second thought. Neither of them hesitate to return the hug and hold it, all three of them hoping that it won't be the last they're able to share. "Of course," Sora assures his companions in an almost tearful whisper. "I'll be home soon… I-I… I promise." That promise is barely audible, mostly because it's one he's not so sure he'll be able to keep. But at the very least, he intends to make sure that promise rings true for Riku and the king, even if it can't for him. Even if he might not see this sun-soaked shore he's always called home or the friends he desperately doesn't want to leave behind ever again.

The trio pulls apart slowly, and they stay silent as Sora turns to face the door once more. He calls upon the Keyblade he's just found, hoping that this mysterious weapon will give him the power he needs to preserve in the task ahead of him. Hoping that his own heart will somehow find the strength it needs to survive in the darkness that's about to engulf him both inside and out. With one final, fretful glance sent back to his equally fearful companions, Sora steps forward.

And he enters the door to darkness, and whatever unknown awaits him beyond it.


Riku is losing this fight and he knows it. By all accounts, it's an outcome he should have seen coming before this battle even began what feels like ages ago now. Though they both share the title of Keyblade Master, Aqua far outmatches him in experience, skill, and strength. Even if a good bit of that strength is likely coming from the darkness flooding her heart, if the shadowy spells she continually casts are any indication. The swings of her stolen Keyblade come swift and severe, and even the ones Riku manages to block wear him down more and more each time. The Demon Tide, with Mickey still trapped somewhere within its Heartless swarm, only makes matters worse as it continues raging around their watery battleground, launching itself at him in the brief spaces between Aqua's brutal blows. His side still aches horribly from his previous injury, and several more have joined it since, from the wide gash on his arm to the black eye he's barely aware he received. But despite his waning energy and unsteady stance, Riku forces himself to press on all the same; after all, Mickey, and even Aqua herself, need his help. He won't be leaving anyone behind in the Realm of Darkness, not this time.

The Demon Tide crashes into his chest once again, throwing him to the far side of the dark sea. Its reflectionless surface remains unbroken as he narrowly manages to land on his feet, desperately clinging onto his Keyblade as he does. After all, even a moment without his weapon in his hand could prove to become a deadly one. Aqua gives him no time to catch his breath, however, as she rushes for him, speeding across the surface of the water with her Keyblade already poised to attack. Riku winces as he manages to block her blow just in time, his arms buckling from the incredible force she throws behind the swing. She's stayed largely silent throughout most of this fight, but even she can sense her opponent is starting to waver against her power. And as a result, she finally manages a small, sinister smile for the first time since she's appeared.

"Do you really think you stand a chance here?" she asks Riku, slowly approaching him as he tries to steady himself for her next assault. "I used to believe I did too. But then I realized that nothing from the realm of light can survive for long in this forsaken world." Her voice is vicious, icy as her golden gaze narrows hatefully at him, as if she's blaming him for all of the suffering she's been forced to endure. Him and everyone else who failed to help her in time. "This place takes any ounce of hope, every glimmer of light it finds… and crushes it completely."

She doesn't give Riku a chance to counter these claims as she suddenly rushes for him. She crosses the distance between them far faster than he could have ever anticipated and though his Keyblade stands at the ready to defend against a higher blow, he doesn't expect what Aqua actually does next. She suddenly drops, sliding smoothly across the surface of the water and for a moment, Riku thinks she might speed right past him. At least until the side of her Keyblade slams into his left leg. Hard.

His agonized scream echoes across the dark sea as his shin shatters on contact with the edge of the weapon. He falls to the ground in a dull splash, blinding pain searing through the brutalized bone that, as he somehow steals a glance down at it, he immediately realizes is broken. His lower leg is bent at an awkward angle, and even the slightest attempt at moving it is absolutely unbearable. His thoughts surge with panic, both Aqua and the Demon Tide largely forgotten as he draws his Keyblade close to the injury, his hand trembling all the while. Yet before he can so much as even begin casting a healing spell, a burst of powerful, icy magic hits his Keyblade squarely, throwing it clean out of his hand and onto the surface of the sea, far away from where he lay languishing in pain. A mere moment later, Aqua is standing over him, her expression completely unsympathetic as he looks up at her, distraught and desperate for a moment of reprieve. But much like how she saw not a moment's mercy from her years of lonely wandering, she has no intention of showing him any such mercy either.

"I've lost everything I used to have, everything I once hoped for," she says, fixing him with a withering, disdainful glare. "And now… now that you're about to lose everything just like I did, tell me-" She raises her Keyblade high, powerful shadows swirling around its tip, which is aimed directly at him for what will no doubt be a deadly blow. "What do you have left to hope for?"

In the stark seconds that follow, Riku says nothing. He briefly glances down at his leg again, one that he knows he won't be able to stand upon even if he tries. He looks at his Keyblade, lying far out of his reach and even though he can easily call for it, he knows it won't be enough to stop what's coming. He looks to the Demon Tide, which Mickey is still trapped within, unable to help him every bit as much as he's unable to help himself. And he looks at Aqua, at the bitter ire filling her golden eyes as she stares down at him relentlessly. He briefly tries to imagine what she must have truly been like once upon a time, before her heart had been broken, before her spirit had been brutalized by the darkness all around her. But between the unending pain in his leg and the suffocating fear rising in his chest, he can't seem to pin down any image of how the lost Master is really supposed to be at all, as much as he wishes he could. As much as he doesn't blame her in the slightest for the horrific fate that's about to befall him. After all, she's every bit as much of a victim here as he is, if not even moreso.

Still, he offers her an answer as he braces himself for the end. It's an answer filled with remorse, with regret over a wrong he'll never have a chance at setting right now. And yet, a small part of it is also filled with hope, the very thing Aqua claims the Realm of Darkness so easily destroys. Hope that he refuses to let be taken away from him even now that everything else, even his very own life, is about to fade away.

"S-Sora…" he says, his voice weak and wavering to the point that he's practically fighting back tears as his grief-driven thoughts continue to crash into each other. Sora, who he was so stern to, so cross with, so cold in punishing him for something he clearly has no control over. Sora, who he wanted to make amends with, who he would give anything to see one last time to do just that. Sora, who would now have to struggle against his own inner darkness alone, without the help and guidance Riku had wanted to give him to overcome it. Sora, who he hadn't even given a proper final goodbye to, wouldn't have the chance to know just how much he means to him, just how much he really cares about him. Sora… who he will certainly never see again.

Sora, who against all odds, is the one who finds a way to come to his rescue when he needs it most.

Somewhere in the blackened skies high above Riku, a burst of blinding light, almost like a glistening star, appears among the darkness. That light reshapes itself into a door, one that connects the realms of light and darkness to each other. And from that door, Sora emerges.

He's ready as he falls from the sky, still enveloped in a warm glow of light from the familiar world he's just left behind. Even as it fades and the dark world becomes apparent around him, he doesn't spare a single thought for it or what it could do to him. He's only here for one thing, after all: to save Riku and the king, and get them home safely. And with the Keyblade he found on the beach still in hand, that's exactly what Sora intends on doing.

He's still plummeting toward the dark sea as he spots Riku, lying prone on the ground, an unknown figure standing over him with the king's Keyblade in hand. Sora quickly flips amidst his freefall, aiming himself just right as he comes in for his landing. His Keyblade soundly slams into the one about to strike Riku down, throwing its shadowy wielder back far across the surface of the sea. He lands seconds later, splashing down squarely onto the water directly in front of Riku. And for his part, all Riku can do as Sora makes his unexpected, yet incredibly timely entrance is watch him in what's nothing less than absolute amazement.

In fact, he doesn't know what to think, doesn't know what to say even as Sora turns to face him, his eyes wide with fear and alarm. "Riku!" he cries, glancing him over fretfully. "Are you ok?!"

Riku is silent briefly, still trying to make sense of the miracle Sora has somehow managed to pull off here. But since this is Sora, of all people, standing before him somehow, he knows he shouldn't really be that surprised. Not after the miracles he's seen him achieve before. "S-Sora…" he says, unsure of what else to add onto his name alone.

"Oh, r-right!" Sora interrupts, suddenly flustered, guilty almost as he glances away. "I, uh… I-I'm sorry. For disobeying your orders and leaving the tower. B-but I had to come," he says and Riku can sense the earnesty behind his words. Can see the remorse in his expression. It's a sobering change, a far cry from the sour mood he'd been in when they'd parted ways. "I… I couldn't just-"

"I know," Riku cuts him off, unable to hold back a growing smile. Because standing before him now isn't the Sora he kept bucking heads with back at Beast's Castle, the Sora who he'd had no choice but to punish for his defiance and dishonesty. This is the Sora he's always known, the one he's grown up alongside, whose smiles are warm and welcome and whose words aren't hidden under thin layers of jealousy and resentment. And, in seeing this side of Sora now, of all times, Riku couldn't be any happier. "Thank you." He isn't able to manage too much else in his current state, his words hitching with pain as he tries to sit up. But he hopes it's enough to get the message across all the same.

The smile Sora returns his with is short lived as he hears a soft, pained moan escape him. "A-are you hurt?" Concern flashes over his expression, especially as he happens to spot Riku's clearly injured leg. "What happened?"

"I-I think it's broken," Riku places a ginger hand against the fractured limb. "I'll be fine, I just need to-"

"I-I can heal it!" Sora hastily volunteers, ready to do anything he can to help. Yet just as he aims the tip of his Keyblade out to cast a healing spell, Riku just so happens to notice the immediate danger rushing up from behind him. "Here, let me just-"

"Look out!" Riku warns sharply. Sora heeds him just in time to block the heavy swing that comes his way, one that stirs up a massive spray of water the moment it lands. Amidst that splash, Sora manages to push their attacker back once more, but it's only as the wall of water falls back down to the surface that he's able to clearly see exactly who they're up against.

"Wait…" he lowers his Keyblade just the slightest bit. Their attacker lands gracefully on the other end of the dark sea, and while he doesn't recognize her personally, one of the hearts within his own immediately does. And at the mere sight of how twisted and tainted she's become in this horrid forgotten realm, that heart wavers in dread every bit as the one that's sheltering it does. "Is that…?"

"Yes," Riku sighs dejectedly, glancing away. "That's… Master Aqua. We finally found her, but… we were too late. Her heart's been corrupted by darkness."

Sora nearly drops his Keyblade upon hearing this. He stares at the fallen Master as she slowly begins a calculated approach toward them, the tip of her stolen Keyblade skimming the surface of the water the entire time. "S-she's been…" he trails off in a whisper, unable to even finish such a terrifying thought. But sure enough it's clear to see just by looking at her alone, from her darkened hands to her whitened hair to her golden eyes, all traits Sora knows he shares with her just under the glamor spell hiding it all away. Without a doubt, Aqua has already fallen victim to the horrific fate he's slowly been facing. His heart practically turns ice cold with frigid fear at the realization. For if a seasoned, stalwart Master like her couldn't stand firm against the deepest depths of darkness, then what hope did he ever have for saving himself from their greedy clutches too?

His fear does begin to melt just the slightest bit, however, as he looks back at Riku again. For as many distressing thoughts Aqua's fateful fall brings him, he forces them out of his mind as quickly as he possibly can for the time being. After all, he still has a job to do and someone to save. "W-where's the king?" he asks Riku, knowing he'll need some extra help here.

"In there," Riku nods to Demon Tide still surging erratically not too far away from them. Sora takes aim with the tip of his Keyblade at it, hoping that a powerful wind spell will be enough to break it apart without harming the king. Yet as he prepares to cast it, Riku can't help but ask the most pressing question out of plenty that are on his mind right now. "Sora… h-how did you get here?"

"I just… followed my heart," Sora explains as he unleashes a strong aerora spell at the Demon Tide. He briefly smiles back at Riku as it begins tearing the threatening storm of Heartless apart behind him. "And it led me to you. Though…" He holds the Keyblade he found on the shore up a bit, still just as mysterious as it's been since the moment he picked it up. "I did have a little help."

Once again, Riku finds himself in awe, but he smiles all the same despite it. Because by simply following his heart, just as he's always done so naturally and so easily, Sora managed to do the impossible and make it to the unreachable depths of the Realm of Darkness. And even more than that, he managed to save his life.

The wind spell succeeds both in repelling Aqua back once again, and splitting the Demon Tide up entirely. Mickey falls out of the scattering swarm of shadows, landing semi-consciously upon the surface of the sea, though he does quickly stir once Sora calls out to him. "Your Majesty!"

"Huh?" Mickey sits up blearily. He's soon shocked into focus though, as he spots Sora waving over at him from his spot in front of Riku not too far away. "Sora!? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to help," Sora assures as the king hurries over to the pair. "Riku's hurt. Can you take him somewhere safer?"

"Of course," Mickey nods, rushing to Riku's side. "B-but what about you? And what about Aqua?"

"Don't worry," Sora says, gripping his Keyblade a bit tighter as he watches Aqua start to approach once more. "I'll deal with her."

"A-are ya sure?" Mickey frowns as he helps Riku stand. The king allows him to lean against him for support so he won't have to put pressure on his injured leg. "I mean, s-she's-"

"He can handle it," Riku speaks up, offering Sora a weak, but proud smile as he does. "In fact, there's no one I'd trust to finish this off more."

Despite any former shred of fear or doubt he might have had before, Sora beams brightly upon hearing this. Because if Riku believes with full confidence that he can do this, then there's no reason he shouldn't be able to believe the exact same.

In order to give Riku and the king a clean getaway to the shore, Sora rushes forward, meeting the first swing Aqua lashes out with head on. The force behind it forces him to stumble back, but that does give him a chance to get a better look at the fallen master up close. Her hands are sharp, deadly, and crimson-tinged, her teeth barred and pointed ever so unnaturally. Sora can't help but wonder if, somewhere under the glamor, his own hands and teeth are slowly becoming the same. Still, if there's one thing he can take solace in not having in common with Aqua right now, it's the unbridled malice in her eyes as she aims the tip of her Keyblade straight at him, darkness brimming around it all the while.

"Who are you supposed to be?" she asks him haughtily. Most of her former memories are buried under the hatred eating away at her heart, otherwise she might have realized that she actually does know the boy standing before her now. That they'd met on a much sunnier shore when he had been much smaller years ago.

"My name is Sora," he says, making no move to attack her. Surprisingly, she does the same, and instead the two begin to slowly circle each other across the surface of the water. In doing so, Sora can see that the distraction he's provided has served Riku and Mickey well as they both reach the shore safely. Even so, this dangerous ordeal is still far from over. "And we don't have to fight; I want to help you-"

"Your friend said that too," Aqua sneers coldly, her nearly glowing yellow gaze piercing him more and more each second. "Sora…" she repeats almost thoughtfully, though her cruel expression doesn't change. "I've heard of you before. They say you save everyone who needs it, that you're the boy who brings hope to everyone you come across."

Sora frowns upon hearing all this, unsure of where such a lofty reputation could have come from. Especially since he doesn't feel like he lives up to it in the slightest, at least not anymore. Yet before he can get a word in edgewise out, Aqua continues, her tone turning far more bitter as her clawed hand clenches around her Keyblade. "If that's true, then where were you to save me when I needed it most?" she asks, her voice quiet yet sharp as a dagger all the same. "Where was my hope when I was left to waste away here in the shadows, when I had no choice left but to let them turn me into this… monster!?"

"I-I… I'm sorry that… t-this happened to you," Sora says as steadily as he can. He means every word too. He would never wish what he's going through, what Aqua has so clearly been through, on anyone, after all. "Believe it or not, I-I… I know how you feel."

Aqua scoffs, ire and scorn filling her even more upon hearing such a claim. "How could someone like you possibly understand what I've been through? How could you even come close to knowing the kind of pain I felt?"

Sora hesitates, sparing the briefest glance back at the shore. Both Riku and the king are far enough out of earshot that it would be safe for him to admit the truth, but even so he doesn't. He can't even bring himself to try, as much as he might want to, as much as it might make Aqua realize that he isn't her foe after all. "B-because I… I'm…" he stammers, his words running dry as he shakes his head hopelessly. It's all the incentive Aqua needs to finally bring this temporary cease-fire to an end.

She lunges forward suddenly, catching him off guard as she lets a heavy wave of dark magic fly just ahead of her Keyblade's swing. Sora only has time to block it with his Keyblade alone, and despite the sturdy build of the weapon in his hand, he finds himself flying back all the same. He barely maintains his hold on the weapon as he lands hard upon the water, and Aqua gives him no time to recover as she brings her Keyblade down hard toward him. He's fortunate enough to roll out of the way of the devastating strike just in time but the lost Master keeps moving, slashing and striking away at him even as he hastily stumbles back to his feet. Sora does his best to defend against her brutal blows, but her sheer strength alone far surpasses his. He knows won't stand a chance against her for too long, not with a Keyblade alone at least. Which is why he decides to use a different weapon against her entirely: words.

"Please, M-Master Aqua, just… listen," he begins nervously after her Keyblade collides with his. She presses hard against his weapon, but he maintains the tension on his end too, even if his arms quickly begin to ache from the effort. "You don't have to do this. Y-you're stronger than the darkness inside your heart." He says this steadily, with conviction in his tone too. If only he could actually believe that when it comes himself. "You can fight this, a-and you can win!"

"No," she hisses, her sharpened teeth bared in a ruthless scowl as she keeps her Keyblade in place. "You're wrong. The darkness consumes everything eventually. Even me… and even you!"

The tension between their weapons is finally broken as Aqua fully pushes hers down. It's easily enough to throw the Keyblade out of Sora's hands, and in the moments that follow, he has no time to call upon the Kingdom Key to defend himself against Aqua's next, clearly fatal strike toward his chest. But he does have enough time to block the blow through another means instead.

Acting on impulse and fear alone, he throws both of his hands out in front of him. Darkened light envelops them both and his magic creates a shadowy, glistening surface that's strong enough to shield him from the attack. It shatters when Aqua's Keyblade slams into it, splintering into thousands of glittering black shards that are sent flying across the sea. Aqua catches one of these shards in her clawed hand, briefly inspecting it and the magic it's made of before looking back to the boy who made it with newfound interest. For his part, Sora is distracted with the shore, his eyes wide with alarm as he briefly fears that he's exposed his powers at the worst possible moment. And yet, it seems as though, as distracted as the king is by doing what he can to tend to Riku's injuries, and as preoccupied by the pain of those injuries as Riku himself is, neither of them happened to see what he'd done to save himself in the heat of the moment.

But Aqua, on the other hand, has gotten a perfect front-row seat to what he's capable of. "Oh, I understand now…" she says, holding the contrasting shard up between her claws. There's a soft, yet sadistic smile on her face, and when Sora turns to meet it, a terrified chill shivers down his spine at the realization of what she now knows. "You're already being consumed by darkness. A hero of light, with a heart cast into the inescapable shadows." She throws the shard down, laughing as she does; it's an empty, mirthless sort of sound, cruel and cunning and cutting every bit as much as the words that follow it are. "You're exactly like me."

Despite his first thought to protest such a twisted claim, Sora knows he can't. Mostly because it's so deeply, so undeniably true. "Y-yes… I… guess I am…" he admits softly, shame in his voice as he glances down. Knowing that the fallen Master is giving him a glimpse into his own grim future, a future that he's far too terrified to fully face even now that he can see the awful outcome that will inevitably await him.

"Why are you trying to hide what you really are?" she asks him. Her tone almost conveys what sounds like genuine confusion, and even her piercing expression seems perplexed, as if he's a mystery she can't quite figure out. "You know you won't be able to resist it forever; so why don't you just let it take over? After all," A hint of remorse, grief even, starts to slip into her icy tone; grief that isn't lost on Sora. Nor is it lost on one of the hearts lingering deep within his own. "It's far easier than trying to fight a losing battle all alone…"

"You're not alone!" he protests, but the words aren't his own. The tears that are starting to well up in his eyes aren't his own either. But he lets them both happen all the same, lets those borrowed words fall out of his mouth in the place where his own have fallen painfully short in reaching her. "A-Aqua, you're… you aren't alone," he reiterates, memories flooding his mind that don't belong to him either. His heart aches with sadness and longing that are someone else's, and the more they say through him, the clearer it becomes exactly who it's all coming from. "You can't give up. Not when you still have Terra and you still have me!" Aqua jolts with genuine surprise at this, her golden eyes wide as she reels from the name he just said. Her bewilderment only rises with each word he speaks after it. "Do you remember what you once said? About there being an unbreakable connection between us?"

She's upon him before he can say or do anything else. She grabs him by the front of his shirt, pulling him in close as she holds her Keyblade dangerously close to his neck, just in case. Her expression is severe, yet… scared almost as she searches his face for answers she can't seem to find on her own. "What did you just say…?" The question comes out soft, desperate. He answers it every bit as quietly.

"A-an… unbreakable connection…" he whispers, a few of those borrowed tears slipping down his cheeks as he does. "Y-you said that… no matter where we go… the three of us will never be apart…"

"H-how…?" she takes in a shuddering breath as once-lost memories slowly start returning to her. As something else begins to permeate the malice that's consumed her. Something far less hateful. "H-how do you know that…? How could you possibly know that?!"

She hasn't loosened her restrictive hold on him, but he smiles between his tears all the same. She isn't sure if she's just hearing things, but his voice sounds less like his own when he speaks again… and more like someone else's entirely. "Aqua… look closer," he says and she does. She looks as closely as her shadow-streaked heart capable of doing. "I need you to see who I am… please…"

Silence fills the sea at this, and even from their spot on the distant shore, all Riku and Mickey can do is watch and wonder what Sora's doing, wonder what's about to unfold. Aqua doesn't move, her Keyblade doesn't push in any closer to harm him. All she does is stare at him. And share stares at him… and stares at him… until she finally sees.

Her vision flashes and suddenly, the boy standing before her is different. Suddenly he's someone she knows so very well, someone she's promised to protect with her life. Someone whose familiar, comforting light is finally enough to cut through the veil of impenetrable darkness sealing her true heart away.

"V-Ven…?" she dares to ask. Dares to hope again for the first time she can really remember.

"Hi, Aqua," Ventus greets her. His smile is as warm as the sun itself, but the image of him is quickly fading. He's starting to slip away from her, she can tell. And after having been separated from him for so very long, she can't bear to watch it happen. "I'll see you soon, ok?"

"N-no!" she cries, gripping his arms. Her claws dig into his skin as she desperately tries to keep him here, with her. Desperately tries to hold onto one of her two closest friends to fill the insatiable void of loneliness filling her soul. "Ven, p-please! Don't go!" she begs him. But all he can do as disappears from her view is smile at her sadly, unable to linger any longer than he already has within the world of the waking. "Ven…" she sobs, tears streaking down from her golden eyes. Tears that turn bitter with raw, burning anger as she looks up, and sees that she's holding on, not Ventus, but to that other boy, to Sora, instead.

Her claws leave bleeding gashes on his arms as she rips them away from him, only to brutally shove him away from her a second later. Sora stumbles back, his own thoughts and actions suddenly in control once again as he watches her in apt alarm. An agonized scream tears from Aqua's throat as she clutches her head and her heart tightly, both of them waging a tumultuous war against the darkness that's invaded them. Fury pounds through her veins, grief presses against her heart, despair tears away at the edges of her mind and it all happens at once, it's all so much, too much for her already broken spirit to handle. Too much for any remaining part of her to even try to bear.

The Keyblade she'd stolen from the king vanishes from her grip. Darkness begins to pool upon the already blackened water under her feet, and it starts to consume her, blanketing her in shadows of the very same shade. Overwhelmed by anguish as she is, she doesn't fight it; instead, she falls back into it, knowing she can't resist, knowing that the only option she has, the only option she's ever had is to succumb.

So that's what, in what she knows must be her final moments, she decides to do.

She collapses into the dark sea, its stable surface finally breaking to eagerly pull her under its lifeless waters. Sora lets out a horrified gasp as she watches her begin to silently drown, and in that moment, he doesn't think about the danger this realm could pose to him. He doesn't think about whether or not it's Ventus' thoughts and feelings pressing him onward or his own. He doesn't think about anything at all really; he simply acts.

He runs forward, leaping at the pool of shadows pulling Aqua down. He manages to clasp onto her prone wrist, maintaining his footing at the edge of the swirling darkness and for a moment, he thinks he might have a chance at pulling her out to safety. But the darkness still has a hold on her, both in body and in heart. And it's more than ready and willing to claim another victim, just as it already had done to Aqua before.

Sora lets out a startled cry when Aqua's claws suddenly latch onto his wrists, digging in deep to the point that he can't break free from her hold, despite his best efforts to. From the far shore, Riku bolts upright from the rock he's been propped up against the moment that cry reaches him. But even despite the multiple healing spells Mickey's been treating his leg with, they still aren't enough to repair the damaged limb back to working order. He isn't able to pull himself to stand, isn't able to rush out to help him, isn't able to do much at all but fearfully call out his name…

And hopelessly, helplessly watch as Aqua pulls Sora completely under the surface of the darkened sea.


Ohohoh CLIFFHANGER! Been awhile since we've had one of those, huh? I'm super excited about the next chapter its leading into as well, its gonna be... VERY fun for me to write, to say the very least ;) Though tbh I'm not sure if I'll be updating again before 2020 ends, mostly since I'm moving at the end of December, though once I'm all settled in my new plays, getting another chapter of Keys out will likely be my priority! So until then, please don't forget to REVIEW! Until next time :)