Chapter Thirty Two: Connect

Kairi wasn't certain what exactly was happening in Hollow Bastion's altar room when she arrived at the double doors. It sounded like fighting, and someone was talking from behind the wooden doors. It was too difficult to make out who it was or what they were saying. She hesitated before putting a handle to the door, maybe it would be better to wait?

But then she heard Sora scream her name, and knew that there was no time left to wait.

She didn't see who it was that the Organization member was holding up. A laser blade from their hand pulled back and ready to strike. She did know, however, that she had become a lot stronger through her fights against the heartless in Castle Oblivion. Strong enough to hold the boy's grip back for the hostage to run towards Sora. Certainly strong enough to give them a kick to knock them towards the wall.

As the boy was sprawled on the ground, she glanced back over to Sora, who seemed to be looking at her stunned in shock. Despite the current danger, Kairi couldn't help but smile at seeing the one she cared about so much after climbing up this castle alone. "Sora, are you okay?"

Her voice snapped Sora out of his stunned stupor, and he managed to get out, "Kairi...you...but how?" She glanced over to the one behind him that was being held captive and tried to make out who it was. As the girl behind Sora peeked out from behind him, she managed to make out…

Herself?

Was this another of the castle's illusions?

"An admirable gesture, but ultimately futile." The voice of the boy in black cut short her confusion. She and Sora spun to face where he had landed, and saw him beginning to float in the air. Two books gathered from one end of the room to him, while even more appeared above.

Sora had his keyblade at the ready, and glanced over to her as she did the same. His eyes widened and he asked in awe,"You've got a keyblade?!"

"It's a long story. We'll talk after we deal with him!" She began to take aim and cast fireballs at the arrayed books. She had seen enough fights in the castle to know that they couldn't be anything good.

"Take cover!"

Sora's voice was the only warning before they opened, pages glowing with red light. A warning that came in just enough time for her to dive behind one of the braziers on their side of the hall as that red light rained down lasers on both of them.

She looked over to Sora at the other brazier as he hid with the other her as she watched with horrified eyes at what was happening. Eventually, the barrage ended, and her lookalike poked her head out from cover as she pleaded, "Zexion, why are you doing this?!"

"Why?" Zexion chuckled as he opened his tome and the pages turned on their own. Two of the books above mirrored the book's actions before copies of Zexion appeared to grasp them. The one in the center asked back tersely, "Why should one of the greatest weapons in existence be given to a boy who knew nothing of it?" With a gesture, he sent the two duplicates forth, beams of light appearing in their hands as they approached.

"Why does that even matter?!" Kairi stepped forward and focused the light within her before casting it forth. The glowing pearl shot from her keyblade and struck one of Zexion's copies, causing it to shatter into paper in a flash as she argued,"He's saved so many lives fighting the heartless!"

"Yeah…she's right!" From his cover, Sora lunged at the other duplicate of Zexion, his keyblade clashing with the ethereal blade as he began to talk back. "The keyblade chose me, even after Riku took it back!" With a kick, Sora broke the parry by knocking his opponent back. Flames gathering around his weapon, he threw the keyblade at the Zexion copy again and again, reducing it to smoldering pages.

"It chose you only after he had fallen to darkness. A choice made in desperation." The books above began to glow again, but this time, Sora was ready. He aimed his keyblade up at the artillery of tomes floating above and responded with a barrage of flame of his own. As the books burned above him Zexion only scowled, "That power is older than you know, and it does not belong in the hands of one so insignificant. One who cannot understand its true purpose."

Sora's eyes narrowed as he glanced behind Zexion, Kairi followed his gaze and saw what had his attention. Of all the books that Zexion had, he seemed very keen on keeping two of them out of the line of fire. Speaking of fire, the embers that Sora's attacks were kicking up had seemed to gather around him, almost empowering him. Sora looked to her, and then glanced over to the other Kairi.

She didn't need to think twice before nodding back. If what she stopped when she barged in was anything to go by, the…other her needed some cover while one of them went on the offensive. Kairi ran over as the few remaining books took aim at the defenseless duplicate, and the flames around Sora erupted into a firestorm. Lasers fired, but it was far easier for Kairi to deflect the attack as Sora charged towards Zexion shouting, "I know exactly what I need to do with this power! Saving my friends and stopping people like you!"

Sora's burning keyblade met against a hastily called ethereal blade in a clash of sparks. Blow by blow, he managed to push Zexion back to the wall despite his parries. But in a critical moment, when he had a chance to hit his back, Sora swung far past him. Zexion scoffed at the seeming blunder, "How unrefined." Zexion's smirk fell, however, when he saw that Sora's seemingly wide strike had actually hit something else that was important. The flames radiating from the blade began to burn away the two books Zexion had been trying to keep away. As the two books vanished in a flash of light, he muttered a simple,"I see."

"Alright! No more cheap shots!" That was the only warning before one of the lights from the books materialized into a frothing mad Donald Duck who proceeded to repeatedly swing his staff at Zexion's head. Even as the laser blade prevented the attacks from connecting, Donald hardly let up as he joined Sora on the attack. But after a few seconds he glanced over to the other light and called out to it, "Goofy, you coming or not?!"

On cue, Goofy rematerialized from the destroyed book's light with a yell of, "Right behind ya!" Winding up, he slung his shield into Zexion's side. Zexion caught the blow at the last minute, while still holding off Donald. But the increase of fighters against him was finally one too many, as Sora's burning keyblade found an opening to hit his back and send him crashing to the floor.

With Zexion's fall, the books that were firing at Kairi and her other self fell to the ground. It was an opportunity that Kairi wasn't going to miss. "Sora! Let's finish this!" At her call, the two of them lept at Zexion still struggling to stand. Light gathered around them and their keyblades as they flew forward, hearts as one. In a flash, their keyblades collided with Zexion, knocking him down as darkness gathered around him before he vanished.

With the fight over, Kairi could finally breathe a bit more easily. Even though they had won, it was cutting it close. She looked over to Sora, both of them smiling in relief. But then she paused in surprise. Was that a wing of light on Sora's back? Seeing similar surprise on his face , she glanced to her shoulder, she saw she had one as well. But as quickly as it had appeared, they had both vanished from their backs.

And at the familiar sound of darkness gathering, she and Sora quickly ran to where Donald and Goofy were now guarding the other her. Sure enough, Zexion reappeared from the shadows, scuffed but still standing as he sighed. "How annoying. Though darkness lingers, its moment has passed."

Sora almost shouted as he asked back, "Then why are you still here?!" Kairi couldn't help a raised eyebrow. If what was going on in this castle was anything like what she interrupted, it made sense that Sora was so angry. But even so, it was jarring to see first hand.

On the other hand, Zexion's nonchalance at the outburst was outright baffling, seeing him simply straighten his coat as he answered, "So you understand that this means absolutely nothing. While this loss is unpleasant, events are already in motion to set the stage for the new war."

"War?" There was only one war that Kairi could really think of. A half-remembered tale from her childhood of those who fought to control the light. Was this like that battle that tore creation apart? Even worse? "What do you mean?"

Darkness gathered around Zexion again as he calmly smiled back, "Well, I do hope you all live to find out." And in an instant, that darkness vanished, leaving the five of them in the main hall.

They all relaxed as they realized Zexion was not returning any time soon. But then for Sora, Donald, and Goofy, that gave them time to ponder another question. One she began to realize as they looked between her and the doppleganger. Kairi had to admit, she was curious about who or what this lookalike was.

The other her tilted her head as she looked at her and smiled. "You're very pretty. Who are you?"

That certainly got everyone else to do a double take, though Sora, Donald, and Goofy were the most taken aback. Regaining her composure a bit quicker, she managed to reply, "I'm Kairi. And you are?"

"My name…" The girl trailed off for a moment, looking over to the door. She sighed and finally answered, "My name is Xion."

Sora finally managed to recover from his shock and asked, "So…Xion, you really don't know what you look like?"

Goofy gave a shine to the back of his shield, and turned it towards Kairi and Xion. The latter marvelled at the sight of both of them as she leaned forward, "Huh. We do look alike, don't we?" But then her shoulder brushed Kairi's and there was a flash of light close to the two of them. When it finally cleared, she saw that Xion now had black hair instead of red, but otherwise still looked similar. Xion tilted her head at the change and shrugged, mumbling, "Not anymore, I guess."

Though everyone was surprised, Sora especially was dumbfounded by the change, "How…What was that?!"

Donald crossed his arms as he began to explain. "They say that illusion magic doesn't hold up well against pure light. It gets dispelled with a single touch."

Hopping out from one of Sora's pockets, Jiminy Cricket crossed his arms unhappily as he realized, "If they went to this effort to make someone and disguise her like Kairi, then I'm pretty sure this whole castle was just a trap."

Donald groaned at the conclusion and shook his head, "Yeah, I don't think Riku and the King were here at all."

"Look on the bright side!" Goofy put a hand on Sora's shoulder, and explained, "If what was going on wasn't real, then all our friends probably remember us! Riku too!"

Kairi had to do a double take at that, "Remember you? Sora, what happened here?"

Sora rubbed his arm and winced. "It's a long story."

Kairi walked up to Sora and offered, "Maybe we can catch up on our way to the exit?" It definitely looked like Sora's journey had taken a few twists and turns. Just as her own had as she climbed the tower. And right now, maybe this was the chance they needed to finally talk to someone else about what was weighing on them.

"Could...could I come with you?" Xion's nervous voice got everyone's attention as she began to fidget, looking down at the floor. "I don't have anywhere to go, and I'm pretty sure Zexion never really wanted me to live this long since he tried to kill me."

The group was silent at Xion's words, Donald and Goofy especially sobered by learning just what happened while they were gone. Kairi could feel her heart clenched at the idea of someone created just to die and cause suffering for people who cared about them. There was no way she'd accept that fate for anyone, much less leave them behind. She walked forward and put a hand on Xion's shoulder with a smile. "Of course you can come with us Xion."

"Yeah. No way we're leaving you behind," Sora answered with a bit of his familiar cheer. Kairi chuckled at that, glad that whatever Sora had endured here hadn't taken away who he really was inside.

Xion looked at both of them with bewilderment before smiling and whispering back, "Thank you."

Watching from the dark, DiZ felt some relief as one problem was finally resolved. Yet in its wake, there left another question that again gave him pause. If the keybearer who defeated the dark seeker was not the primary objective of his apprentice, then what was?

He shook his head. Those questions could wait for the moment. As urgent as their situation was, explaining it when they were exhausted from fighting for their lives would be fruitless. Let them have their reprieve. He could use the time to evaluate the best approach to handle the replica and the keybearer's nobodies.

Of course, that left the other charge in this castle that needed his attention. Or rather, the attention of the king. At this juncture, he could no longer hesitate. Reaching out to the dark, he called to King Mickey to summon him where he was needed.

Assuming Riku could muster the spark.

Sparks flew from clash after clash with Exon's blade. Though they had become less clashes, and more Riku trying to keep the high speed copy of himself from hitting him. Every time he spotted an opening or caught Exon off guard, the chance vanished as soon as it appeared. Like he had taken Riku's own penchant for moving around in a fight and perfected it.

Riku needed a game changer, and right now his darkness was all he had. He felt the familiar sensation of his own darkness creeping over him, turning into the familiar suit he used so often since Hollow Bastion.

Ansem chuckled from inside his mind, "Yes, that's right. Give into what is…"

But he had learned enough since then. To tap into enough of himself to gain an edge, but not so much that he would call on the dark seeker. A dark aura surrounded Riku as he raised his sword before rushing towards Exon. He felt the familiar sensation of his blow being parried, but rather than keeping up with pure speed as usual, he could feel the dark teleporting him around his target. Each blow finally managed to break through Exon's defenses before knocking him back in one final burst.

Riku gasped for air as he felt the aura fade, was it enough to finally stop Exon?

His answer came in a dark blur rushing towards him, darkness roaring around Exon as he charged. Riku held up his sword and tried to stand his ground, only to be flung back by Exon's blade. Riku cried out as he hit the wall, Exon pushing against him as he growled out in growing frustration, "Why…do you still…resist?!"

Slowly, Riku pushed his sword back against the darkness, straining to answer, "I can't let…what my friends did…be for nothing!" As much as he feared a day he would have to face them again after he betrayed them in a fit of ego, there was something worse. The idea that everything Sora fought for, and that Kairi believed in, would mean nothing. That worse machinations would destroy what they put their lives on the line for. They had believed that no matter how dark things got, there was a light that would never go away.

Riku tried to hold onto the light within himself. His connection to his friends.

And suddenly that light became real.

It began with a flash, one that caused Riku's dark suit to shatter and knocked Exon back. But it wasn't just a spark of light from Riku. A ball of light appeared between the two of them.

"No! Must you interfere again!?" The voice was clearer now, and Riku was certain Exon and Ansem were speaking together. Exon rushed forward again in a blur of shadow.

But the ball of light materialized into the familiar form of King Mickey, who stopped the attack with his own golden keyblade. "I don't know who or what you are. But I'm not letting you hurt Riku!" With a push of his Keyblade, Mickey knocked Exon to the far side of the room. He tried to stand back up and charge again, but Micky cast a blinding spark of light at him, blowing away his Aura and knocking Exon to the ground.

Riku waited for him to stand up and attack again, but it seemed as if Mickey's strike stopped him for good. Stumbling forward from the marble wall, Riku caught his breath as he approached, "Your Majesty? You're really here?"

"Sorry it took so long. Now let me see if I can help you out with Ansem." Mickey jogged over to Riku and squinted as he looked over him, no doubt looking over his heart. He smiled and nodded, "Actually, it seems as if he's lost a big chunk of his power. I should be able to get rid of him for good!"

"That I cannot allow," The twin voices spoke again as Riku saw Exon jump to his feet. And then, in his chest! A horrible pain!

"If losing one pawn is the price of survival, so be it!"

That was the only warning he had from within, before he felt something tear. The pain knocked him to his feet, but he managed to hold on long enough to a figure of shadows leap away at him. Mickey leaped between the shadow and Riku, keyblade ready to defend. But the shadow didn't move. It simply held wide its arms as Exon leapt into the darkness.

As both of them joined together, the shadow finally took a familiar form. Ansem, The Dark Seeker, stood before them with a smirk. Mickey shouted as he brandished his Keyblade, "Ansem! Let him go!"

A chuckle from Ansem was his only reply."The puppet cannot hear you. It's only purpose is to act as my vessel." Riku slowly staggered to his feet and called Soul Eater to his hands. There was no way he could let this monster go free, even if losing Ansem's power left him feeling like garbage. Ansem simply raised an eyebrow at him as a familiar shape of darkness gathered around him. "I see you're still alive. We shall see if you can still stand if we meet again."

"Wait…!" Riku groaned out, but it was too late. Ansem had already made a dark corridor and vanished through it with his new body. Riku might be free from his influence, but it was at the price of releasing a threat to all worlds once again.

All the more reason for him to go after it. As soon as he caught his breath. He slowly sat on the ground and tried to clear his head.

"Riku, are you okay?" But at Mickey's voice and hand on his shoulder, any thoughts of plans or preparations went out the window.

"I'll be okay." He managed to smile despite his exhaustion. "Just glad to see a friendly face after so long." He'd almost forgotten about that sort of kindness after so long in the dark.

Maybe this was the chance he needed to find it again.

Lexeaus didn't even bother waiting when they found that the door to Vexen's lab was locked. Marluxia simply stepped back as Lexaus summoned his Tomahawk and broke open the door, shouting "Vexen, we must discuss…!"

But then Lexeaus' voice died down as he saw glowing blue stones strewn across the lab, each fitted with metal holdings that flashed ever faster.

Marluxia grabbed Lexaeus and pulled him away from the door, just as the lights became a blinding blue flash and ice erupted from the room. The two of them barely avoided being encased in the frozen block that had completely barred entry into the room.

Marluxia dusted himself off as he surveyed the scene. "Either Vexen reached a similar conclusion to you, or Xemnas got to him first. Either way, it seems we are on our own." He turned to Lexaeus, still staring at the frozen pillar in shock, with a smile and suggested, "Fortunately, I do have a liaison we can cooperate with."

After a moment, Lexaeus regained his composure and sighed. "Larxene I suspect?"

Marluxia nodded and conjured a dark portal to leave, "I can contact her at Hollow Bastion. From there we can regroup." And perhaps they could get some answers about what Xemnas could be plotting.

Ventus yawned as he went down the stairs to the main hall. After yesterday's dream, he was glad for a relatively straightforward night's sleep. Opening the door, he saw almost everyone had gathered around the table closest to the fire. While the main hall had begun to resemble an actual hall instead of a room full of rubble, the team tended to use that same table. He took a quick look around to see who was up and about, before spotting a familiar blue and green dress at one of the other doorways. "Naminé, how'd you sleep?"

She stretched for a moment before answering, "Not too bad. No dreams, but no nightmares tonight either." Ven nodded at the answer, it might mean there was a connection, or it might simply be nothing. And besides, a good night's sleep was hardly a bad thing.

"Well if you're both rested and ready," Cid answered as he sat up from his spot at the table, we've got a few things we should talk about now that you've handled the off world errands."

Ven nodded, between the old fort, Pete and Maleficent's plans, Naminé's visions, and the dreams about Aqua and Vanitas, there was a lot to go over. But as he thought about it, he realized there was one choice he really could make.

Because more than anything, he wanted to help his friends.

"Naminé, Let's see if we can figure out what you're seeing."