debello -are intransit. [to fight to the end , finish a war]; transit. [to fight out] a fight; [to conquer] an enemy.

Act III, Scene Six: Debello.

            "The Door is closing.  This is the end of your quest, Sora.  You have opened the Door to the Light."

            "The voice…all along…it was the King," Sora mumbled in disbelief.  "Wait—Riku!  Where are you going?"

            Riku's feet were carrying him into the deep blackness that was framed by the blinding light, the True Light.  He froze in his sprint.  "I can't go home just yet, Sora.  I have to get her back."

When you walk away
You don't hear me say

Please, oh baby, don't go
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go

            The golden light neared.  "What I meant to say was, 'Where are you going without me?'"

            Riku flashed Sora a relieved smile.  "Thanks."

            "Aw, c'mon.  We'd better hurry."

            The Door began to swing shut.  The two young men leapt into the remaining opening, leaving the world of light.  Maybe leaving behind their own chance to get home.  But they both knew the risks.  They weren't children anymore.

            As they entered Caelestis—it smelled so wretched, it just had to be Caelestis—Riku felt the darkness sinking down like a heavy fog, settling into his bones.  Yes, he had once been tolerant of this feeling.  Now it hit him like a wind.

            For Sora, it had to be a hundred times worse.

            Sora grunted as the waves of darkness washed over him, but he said nothing and his feet splashed steadily in the wet streets.

            "This is the birthplace of all Heartless," Riku said.  "They're going to be drawn to us—you especially."

            "I'm used to it," Sora threw back, his breathing steady, almost rhythmic.  Obviously, he hadn't been lying.

            "Here they come!" Riku cried out as the shadows crept into his line of vision.

            "What—where—oh, I see now!"  Regular sight was obviously not as good at detecting light and darkness.

            The sounds of Key against Heartless came, Sora cutting his blade through the monsters.  Riku was close behind, swinging in his wide arcs as his extra sharp weapon tasted its first prey.

            "Man, those were some ugly guys," Sora joked when the first batch of the enemy had been properly dispensed.

            Riku found that he was able to smile.  Sora had a hero's strength and a man's experience, but still he retained a child's humor and optimism.

            But he had Sora, and Sora was all right.  He didn't have to worry about Sora right now.  He had to worry about who he didn't have, who probably wasn't all right.

You're giving me too many things lately

You're all I need
You smiled at me and said,

            "Riku…we'll find her," the younger man assured his friend.  "If you never give up hope, you can do anything."

            "You can even save universes," Riku added quietly to himself.  Saving one person from the darkness should be easier than that.

            "Watch out!  There's a big one up ahead!" Sora warned.  "Right in the middle of that square!"

            "Got it!" Riku called back.  The rain was picking up, drowning out all other sounds.  The ground grew wetter and he fought not to slip.  An enormous orb of darkness twice as tall and three times as round as he and Sora put together was sitting a few yards ahead.

            "I'm going around to the right—you take the left!"

            "Sounds good!"

            They came at it together, golden Key and bloodied Key hitting at once from either side.  The enormous Heartless roared in protest of being so effectively slain by hit after slice after strike.  In less than ten minutes, it had turned to smoke, and Sora's golden light was running around (collecting the spoils of battle?).

            "Phew," Sora breathed.  "Thanks for the help."

            "No problem."  Riku wiped sweat from his forehead and took a deep sigh.  "So, where are we?"

            "On a big street…  Hmm.  It looks like there's some sort of square or whatever down that way."

            "That's the middle of the city.  Let's go."

Don't get me wrong I love you
But does that mean I have to meet your father?
When we are older you'll understand
What I meant when I said "No,
I don't think life is quite that simple"

            Sora helped Riku maneuver around the trashcans and boxes that clogged the alley.  Their steps were slow and soggy; the water had dammed up in places to make puddles as deep as one or two feet.

            They came to the open area that existed in the center of Caelestis.  Shadows were littered everywhere, more entering with each second.  Sora ran right and Riku left until their battles converged in the middle of the swarming creatures.

            "They're everywhere…  What are we going to do?" Sora asked before grunting and taking down a flying Heartless.

            "We have to find Ava," insisted the other through gritted teeth.  Every minute that passed…

            "Ah!"

            "What?  What is it?"

            "There's a person over there…  What's wrong with him?"  Sora sounded entirely disturbed.  Riku knew it must be the sight of a Caelestis man.  His eyes must be barren, his cheeks sunken in past the bones.

            "There's more—what's going on!  They look…possessed!"

            "It's all right," Riku said.  "It's just what this city is like."

            "I think I'm gonna be sick," Sora said bitterly.  "What an awful world..."

            "We have to worry about the Heartless."

            "I know.  Looks like they're ready to get us."

            "We won't let that happen!" Riku cried, pumping his legs to capacity in a split second.  He was racing toward the swarm, swinging in huge circles.  He almost laughed as he fought.  His eyes were no good to him now, but his heart was in his hand.  He was going to fight with it.

When you walk away
You don't hear me say,

Please, oh baby, don't go
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go

            Riku launched himself into the air.  He sliced at the flying monsters, the shadows that thought they were beyond his reach.

            If this is all they've got, they'd better be ready to give up!

            Swing, cut, stab.  Over and over he twirled his blade expertly, to this side and then that.  He had taken down three quarters of the opponents while Sora patiently used spells from the center for the larger foes, as well as for healing.

            Sora's magic didn't have the same warmth to it as Avarielle's, but it was powerful and felt good pumping through Riku's veins.

            How does it feel to be defeated by a blind opponent?

            He had so much confidence now.  He didn't have time for doubts.  He didn't consider Fate's meddling.  His mind was on saving Ava.  And that was only a matter of time.

            "This batch is done!" called Sora from many yards back.  He continued speaking as Riku walked toward him.  "I think we'd better look for her now.  You fight really well, Riku, so how about you take care of the Heartless down here.  You can have my blade—"

            Riku took his bloodied Keyblade from his shoulder and shook his head no, silver hair dancing.  "Uh-uh.  This time, Sora," he announced, holding out the weapon with both hands, "I'm the delivery boy.  You fight with my Key, and I'll find her."

            Sora slowly took the blade.

            "It's heavy," he commented.

            Riku reached up with both hands and tightened his blindfold.  He no longer even had his special sight, but he knew that he could find her.  In this place, they had first found each other.  Her heart and his had called out for one another.

            In Caelestis, he was sure he could find her.

The daily things that keep us all busy
Are confusing me
That's when you came to me and said,

            "You'd better be on your way," Sora advised.

            Riku said nothing more.  He only nodded to his friend and began to run.  He no longer needed his eyes to see or his Keyblade to detect.  He needed only to feel with his own heart.

            He was surprised when his path took him up stairs.  Stairs had always challenged him before.  He tore his way past unseen obstacles, climbing—flying—upward, around and around.  He was wet, the building was wet, each stair was wet.

            I won't let the darkness claim her!  Ava doesn't belong in this place!

            Riku slipped once but caught himself, the palms of both hands dragging along rough concrete.  He ignored the stinging pain and continued his ascent until he stood on the roof.  He knew he was on top of the whole city.

            "Avarielle!" he screamed with his lungs, mind, and heart.

            Several stories below him, shadows were congealing next to Sora.

            The echoes of battle rose to Riku's ears.  But Sora could surely handle himself.

            The wind came up, running its moist fingers through the silver strands of Riku's hair, pulling at his clothes.

            Riku smiled a confident smile and ripped off the blindfold.  He didn't need it anymore.  His clouded eyes were no longer his shame.  They were his gift.

            "Avarielle!" he cried out a second time.

            The rain began to die off, the clouds pulling back to reveal the cold, naked sky.

            "Riku!" her voice screamed inside the man's mind.

Wish I could prove I love you
But does that mean I have to walk on water?
When we are older you'll understand
It's enough when I say so
And maybe some things are that simple

            He whipped his head around.  Right.  Left.  Up.

            Riku saw nothing, but he knew she was ahead of him, many feet away.  A world away, maybe.  But it didn't matter.

            Their hearts were connected.

            "I can't escape this monster…"

            "Sora!" bellowed Riku, hoping he could reach his friend far below.  "I need my Key back!"

            Everything was unreal beyond that point.  Riku was thrown off his balance, like the world was shifting beneath his feet.  Like the building was slanting backward.  He jumped and landed on a buzzing glass surface.

            Sora's feet slammed along the side of the building, coming closer and closer as he banished all the Heartless in his way.

            "Catch!"

            The Keyblade spun through the air with a whir.  Riku, running, reached out and caught it.

           He also caught sight of the purple light so far away, so weak.  He took a flying leap past Sora, forsaking gravity, Fate, and whatever else hoped to intervene.

When you walk away
You don't hear me say

Please, oh baby, don't go
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go

            "Riku!" Sora tried to call after.

            "This guy is mine!" Riku yelled back, already wearing the sneer he planned to show his enemy.  "Watch my back!"

            Riku found himself on a chunk of metal and concrete, floating in a pool of darkness.  He couldn't tell with his modified sight if that sea was just regular darkness, or a fleet of enemies ready to strike.  He found he didn't much care.

            "Ava!" he yelled, practically doing the splits as he tried to steady himself.  He slammed his Keyblade downward to whine against a twisted piece of metal.  This thing he stood upon seemed almost like a fragment of the city.  He wondered if Caelestis was falling apart.

            He was more than correct in his assumptions, but that is something for Fate to take care of.

            "What's happening to this place?  Everything's breaking up…  It's like we're all above the sky…"

            Hearing Ava's bewildered thoughts, Riku was glad he couldn't see at this point.  There were no ethereal sights to hurt his concentration.

            He tensed his legs before making a jump for the next fragment or world.  He catapulted rather effectively, soaring up and over until his knees slammed down onto fractured cobblestone.

Hold me
Whatever lies beyond this morning
Is a little later on
Regardless of warnings, the future doesn't scare me at all
Nothing's like before

            Avarielle's light was right in front of him, with the darkness swarming all around her.

            "Look out!"

            He slunk down into a battle position, holding his blade out, pointed at his enemy.  It was a challenge to the shadows, and the shadows accepted.

            Riku jumped and spun in the air, crashing his Keyblade down and letting it sink deep into the Heartless.

            It cried out and Avarielle's purple light tumbled downward.

            "Riku, finish it off before it pushes us both off into space!"

            The voice that echoed inside his mind was worried and weak, but it was able to give him strength.  Since he had entered Caelestis for the second time, he had kept fixed in his mind pure confidence.  He would save Ava, he would leave.

            Riku's second strike was aimed right for the middle of the Heartless, but the thing had an arm—or a tentacle, or something—and used it to bat the man away.  His unused arm flew backward over the edge of the concrete.

            He felt Avarielle's warm curing energy pour over his body and he jumped to his feet.  He looked to the side and saw the purple glow that was his partner up again and approaching the Heartless.

            Before Riku knew it, his body was wrapped in the darkness.  The thing brought him up and swung him in the air, teasing him.  He slashed wildly at the arm until it broke, dissolved, and promptly dropped him to the ground.

            But it was hardly the ground.  It was the edge, and he was barely clinging on, trying with all his might not to release the Keyblade hanging down into the darkness.

When you walk away
You don't hear me say please
Oh baby, don't go
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go

            But the golden light had made it over to catch him, Sora's gloved hand wrapped around Riku's.  "The fight's not over yet."

            "It will be soon," Riku replied boldly, crawling back over the edge with his friend's aid.  He wasted no time in charging his opponent, burying his blade deep within the smelly flesh.

            "Come on!" he urged his partners.

            "You got it!" Sora said.  He and Avarielle came at the monster from either side, delivering the final blows to the giant Heartless at the same instant.

            The monster melted away into a pool of shadows before disappearing for good.

            Avarielle's small body leaned against Riku's.

Hold me
Whatever lies beyond this morning
Is a little later on
Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all
Nothing's like before

            "It's over," Sora breathed.  "After all of that, it's got to be over."

            Riku just smiled.

Epilogue

            On their journey back to the Destiny Islands, Riku had managed to piece together bits of information he acquired from the people he and his friends encountered.  He couldn't fully comprehend the 'miracle' that was Caelestis, nor did he want to.  For the rest of his days, the man wanted nothing more than to be a simple mortal.

            He knew that there would no longer be a City of Darkness.  He also knew that the universes would no longer be filled with the True Light.  He fully understood that evil would be in every world.

            But isn't that how things should be?

            Riku had never agreed with the statements King Mickey had made at Kingdom Hearts.  That one world so evil should be permitted to exist so that everything else was perfect.

            Nobody needed to live in perfection.  Besides, perfection wasn't bliss at all.

            "A coin has two sides, and so does a heart," Avarielle had told Riku once.  She had been right.  There is good and evil in every heart.  It is up to each person to be strong enough to overcome the darkness within himself.

            Caelestis, too, was being reformed.  Light trickled in constantly, and darkness out.  Of course, it would never again be hailed the sacred birthplace of life (that indeed it was), but it no longer would be feared as the evilest of worlds, the birthplace of Heartless.

            Kingdom Hearts, the bridge between the realms of evil and good, failed to exist.  The Door had been opened, the Door had been closed, and the need for the Door had been eliminated.

            Riku and Sora had also discussed at length their Keyblades, which had since disappeared completely.  Not even Riku's chains or Avarielle's pendant remained.  This was a sign that the threat was over, and relieved everyone involved.

            They had also determined that four Keys existed in all.  King Mickey had his, and, of course, Sora had always held his own Keyblade, the one that had come to him for his first adventure.  Avarielle had held the Key that Riku had once summoned, the one capable of unlocking people's hearts—the weapon that had almost cost Sora his light, and many worlds' their existence.  And Riku's blade this time had been harvested from the depths of his own heart, from his own grief for having caused the first set of tragedies.

            Riku was confident in finding out that the worlds would be separated less rigidly than before.  A person would belong to where his heart most wanted to be.  Quistis, Vincent, Leon, Yuffie, Aerith…they might be able to return to their childhood homes.  And Kairi could stay on the Islands.

            Riku fulfilled his promise.  He brought Sora home to Kairi, and Kairi began to return to her old self:  silly and joking and bubbling over with happiness.

            Time passed quickly and slowly, as time as apt to do, as Riku and his best friends lived happily on the island.  They had all been forced to grow up in the face of tragedy, and the easygoing tropical life permitted them to put the battles with the darkness behind them.

            One evening on the beach, as the setting sun warmed Riku's face (which was tan again, of course), and after a hearty desert of coconut sundaes, they all stretched out together in the warm sand.  The sky was beautiful, the girls were beautiful, and life was beautiful.

            Riku had one arm around Ava's shoulders and the other placed gently on her belly, where his child, a child he would never see, was growing.  He could hear Kairi's shrill cries as Sora laughed; he was probably tickling her ruthlessly.

            Riku just held Ava close, leaning his head back to take in the salty breeze and absorb the warm rays of the dying sun.  His blindness was very much a part of him now, and he didn't mind at all.  Avarielle had promised faithfully to describe to him every sunrise, every sunset, and every smile on their child's face.

Hold me
Whatever lies beyond this morning
Is a little later on
Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all
Nothing's like before

[End fatalis]