Sora found himself on the soft white sand beach of Destiny Island. Down
the beach he saw an endless sea of deep blue, rolling with gentle waves.
Further out, he could see the point where the blue sea met the blue sky.
It was a clear day, completely cloudless save for the a few large fluffy
clouds that floated nimbly along. But he couldn't focus on any of that,
there was something more beautiful still - a young girl with intense azure
eyes. They seemed to steal the very essence from the sea and sky,
surpassing the color of the others. She looked at him and smiled, her
purple hair waving in the soft ocean breeze. She waved. He ran towards
her.
"Kairi!" he shouted in joy. "Kairi!"
"Sora!" she greeted back.
He hugged her tightly. They talked for awhile about many things,
eventually being content just to gaze out over the vast, beautiful ocean.
Sora was too awed by her to even consider revealing his true feelings or
even move much closer to her. He was too afraid that he would say
something wrong, upset her. After awhile, he looked over at her and
decided he had to speak.
"Kairi! I still can't believe that it's really you. I've been searching
for you for so long. I had this terrible dream, or vision maybe, that
Ansem was after you and so I came searching. But I've finally found you."
"What're you talking about? You're always joking around Sora!" she
laughed.
He realized that what'd he'd just said didn't make much sense even to him. Then, something came over him suddenly. Sora suddenly stood up, took both of Kairi's hands and held them in his. He had no idea what he was doing. He was in way over in his head. But he didn't tell her the last time how he felt, maybe if he didn't tell her now it would be another eternity. He stuttered, "Kairi. I've got. something I want to tell you... I've been thinking a lot since our last adventure, and well.. I uh. I have to tell you." Sora was still trying to choke out words when the sky went dark. Behind smiling, unsuspecting Kairi, a dark figure rose. There he was, the mighty and awful man who controlled the Heartless, Ansem. The black mist swirled up around both Ansem and Kairi. Ansem grabbed Kairi and dragged her down into the eternal darkness. He tried to move but found himself frozen in place. He could only watch as the girl he had only just seen again disappeared into a deep void. "Kairi!!!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. He sat up quickly, awakening in a cold sweat. 'What just happened? Was it a dream? Was that just a horrible nightmare? I've got to get a hold of myself,' he thought. 'But why have I had that dream more than once? There's something more to this. We've got to hurry on.' "Sora? You ok?" called Zidane from the next tent. "I'm ok. yeah, I'll be alright," he called back, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He could no longer sleep, so he went outside to sit near the now extinguished campfire. Zidane joined him, it was already late in the morning, but in the eternally white room, there would be no way to know. After not too long, the rest of the party joined him there. "Today may be the day. This Keyblade has been leading me through these worlds intentionally. It is becoming one again. There is only one blade remaining. The only place that this keyhole can lead us is to the next blade. I have no doubt that beyond this hole we will find Ansem and then end of our journey. Once we find him, the Keyblade will be united and I'm sure that we'll be able to find a way to bring back all of the people we've been searching for. If anyone wants to leave, I'll understand. The danger beyond us is unimaginable. The battles that we've fought so far have been nothing compared to what is to come. Ansem controls the power of the Heartless; everything up to now has just been part of his plan. He has a Keyblade and he'll be more powerful than ever. Let's go!" he commanded. Sora stood and began walking towards the keyhole. He materialized the Keyblade out of the air and swung it over his shoulder. It seemed that every enemy was getting easier as the power of the Keyblade increased. The Emerald Weapon had suffered from its attacks and since, the blade had recovered almost its total power. As he walked, Zidane and Cloud proudly joined at his side. Not far behind, Yuna ran up and followed Sora. Serge and Crono walked slightly more to the side and behind Zidane and Cloud. Each warrior wielded their own ultimate weapon. The weapons shone in the bright white light all around. Sora broke into a run, pointing his Keyblade towards the keyhole. As it sealed up, the six valiant soldiers ran through.
As his run slowed to a walk, Sora found himself looking up into a dark black and purple sky. A great castle stood on top of a floating rock. A waterfall poured down the cliff side. Many floating rocks formed a staircase to the castle. The clouds swirled all around, the castle seeming to be the central axis. As the remaining members of the group emerged, they all stared in awe at both the immense beauty and terror that was the castle. They had finally arrived; they had reached the Hollow Bastion. "This is it." said Sora softly. He began his assent towards the castle. The climb was rigorous. He eventually reached a mid level platform, where an arch and broken rubble of a staircase decayed. Sora remembered back, this is where he lost his Keyblade to his best friend Rikku. While he was staring into the distance, he failed to notice the dark black blobs that were creeping up around the edges of the platform. Up until now, they had faced little resistance from the Heartless. Since they left Traverse Town, there had been few battles of significance, just the same types of weak creatures that Sora had faced on his first journey. However, things were about to change, the trip to Hollow Bastion would not be so simple. The platform that Sora was on shifted suddenly and violently, almost hurling him downward; after another moment, Sora watched as all of the platforms in front of him fell to the earth. He ran and grabbed tightly onto the archway, seconds later, he was freefalling towards the jagged rocks and water below. Behind him, he heard the screams of his friends as the platforms on which they stood plummeted downward. In a triumphant crash, water sprayed upward and the rocks strangely created a level platform. The waterfall that flowed off the castle now swept over the new riverbed, forming shallow inch stream flowing over the warriors. Sora rose first, shaking the water out of his ears. He turned to see most of his friends already sitting up and trying to stand. They were all rubbing their heads; the impact had been tremendous and despite some bumps and bruises, they had all emerged virtually unharmed. However, the worst was still yet to come.
"You all OK?" called back Sora. A variation of muttered responses confirmed that everyone was in one piece. By the time they stood, the water had risen slightly; it was now about ankle deep. A thick mist covered the area; the falling rock had sprayed up a good deal of water and the waterfall sprayed up more. Then, without warning, the ground began to vibrate, not a gentle rumble, but one that made it as though the entire planet was going to shake itself apart. "Bad day!" yelled Sora, his voice shaking to the rhythm of the quake. After a sort time, the shaking stopped almost instantly. Everyone wondered what was happening, but no one could see anything. All of a sudden, hundreds of pairs of red eyes began to glow from the mist. As the massive figures marched, all of the members of the party were quickly up, standing at Sora's side, armed and ready. "So they've been waiting." stated Sora. "That's why we haven't seen any this whole time? They've been building an army?!" questioned a shocked Zidane. "Yeah." stated Sora. "Even obtaining all of the Keyblades up to now, it was just a distraction so the Ansem could build up his power. I'm sure that he had all of the other blades; he just sent them to other planets to keep us from the real goal. We've been played for fools." "HA! Right you are my little fool!" scoffed a deep and powerful voice from the front of the enemy lines. "The Keyblade wasn't the goal. It was just a distraction. I've been gathering my forces here, awaiting your arrival. You see, the real prize lies within Kingdom Hearts itself. I've found the second door, my boy! Once I control what is within, I control the world. I have the sixth and seventh blades and most importantly I will soon have the true key." "Seventh Keyblade?" demand Sora, shocked. "Yes, it is a mirror image of King Mickey's that I can use since he's not here," he responded with a sinister grin. "I possess both the dark Keyblade that Rikku's hate created and that one, none of the others matter, with just these two, I can conquer the universe. Do you wish to see the key?" He clasped his hands together, spreading them, creating an image that revealed the face of a girl, young, with beautiful blue eyes and purple hair. She stared peacefully out towards the ocean. "Sora. I know that you'll come for me." she said serenely as she closed her eyes and folded her hands. "Kairi!" Sora shouted. He ran towards the image, arm outstretched, but Ansem waved his hand through the image, dispersing it. "Oh. I am sorry." said Ansem smugly. "And it was such a touching reunion too. Well, if you'll excuse me, I've got a date with destiny." He turned and pulled out the sinister black Keyblade and swung it through the air. Lighting flew from the spot he swung as a rift opened in the wall of space. Ansem stepped through. A soft breeze smelling of salt blew past Sora. He ran towards the rift; he couldn't miss this chance. He dove at the hole as it was closing quickly. The last of the distortion closed and Sora rolled painfully on the rock, having missed his chance.
He remembered his dream. He thought of Ansem taking up Kairi and using her for his evil purposes. He looked up, finding himself looking at the legs of the Heartless army. But he wasn't worried about them, he had to reach Kairi. He jumped straight to his feet from his stomach. The water dripped from his body. His eyes were different, they were no longer the innocent eyes that he usually possessed, these eyes were determined, focused, angry. He threw his arms violently out to the side, tossed his head back, and screamed "Ansem!" His body practically lit on fire, he shone more brightly than the sun. He pulled the Keyblade, which possessed the same fire that he did. The Heartless rushed at him. He swung the Keyblade, sending a flying blade of light through their ranks. Having instantly obliterated a quarter of the giant Heartless in the army, the light beam smashed into the rock wall over which the waterfall tumbled. He had far surpasses the power of Trance, in his current state, he held within him the power to defeat the entire Heartless army in moments. But Sora had more important things to worry about. He swung the blade vertically with all of his might, tearing his way through space and time. His gap was much larger than the one that Ansem had created. He tossed the Keyblade over his shoulder and rushed through the hole. Zidane called behind him, "Take care of him Sora! Save her! We'll take care of things here!" He disappeared into the vortex, leaving the five other warriors to fend off the thousands of Heartless that still formed this army. "Get ready kids, we've got quite a battle ahead!" ordered Zidane.
They all drew their weapons; the army was reorganized. Suddenly, it began to march forward. The five warriors quickly entered Trance, following Zidane's lead. They rushed through the ranks, cutting down the Heartless quickly and mercilessly. However, they arrived in a central area where they found themselves surrounded by the rest of the group. Things weren't looking good, but then, Cloud began chanting some unknown language, holding a small red orb in his hand. The sky went dark, then a group of knights came down from the sky, sweeping through the enemy forces and eradicating almost a fifth of the remaining Heartless. No longer surrounded, they again went to work. More and more went down, but eventually, they were backed into a corner. Serge and Crono stepped forward, attacking with a double Luminaire. The fighters again prevailed, knocking out a quarter of the remaining force. The Heartless saw their army falling, without Ansem's leadership, they were child's play to defeat. However, the battle was far from finished, something was happening among the Heartless. All at once they all liquefied. There was nothing left but a black liquid that floated on top of the water. "Did we win?" asked Zidane. "You know it's not that easy," responded Cloud. "Watch." The liquid began to move. It flowed together and swelled up. It began to take shape, first it was just a tall black column. Next, its arms and legs formed. Its muscles bulged. Then the head took shape. It was gigantic, at least the height of the castle. It spread its arms out, stretching. The sign of the Heartless appeared, glowing on chest. "We're in trouble," stated Zidane bluntly. The monster roared and stomped towards the heroes. They could barely manage to avoid it and found themselves diving out of its path constantly. Any attack was nearly worthless against the great beast. But finally, Cloud reached his Limit Break and Yuna achieved Overdrive. With the amplified power of Trance and Limit Break, Cloud attacked one of the legs of the golem. The slashes cut through like a hot knife through butter. The leg was decimated and the golem collapsed, throwing up water with the impact. The golem again melted into liquid only to reform as a smaller version of itself. Yuna used her Overdrive to cast an Ultima spell, since her Aeons had already been released. The blast hit the creature right in the chest, blowing a hole through it and knocking off the arms as well. Reforming again, the creature was only about twice the size of Heartless creature that Sora and Zidane had fought in Traverse Town. The warriors gathered in a line again. "Let's finish this," stated Zidane.
The five rushed it at the same time. Yuna reversed its left knee, Serge severed the other. Crono destroyed the left arm; Cloud, the right. Zidane flipped through the air, the Heartless looking up just in time to see the Ultima Weapon slice between its eyes. Zidane used the force of his flip to cut through vertically down the body of the creature. With a terrible screech, the Heartless split and disappeared into black smoke. "It's up to you now pal," stated Zidane, looking up into the dark sky. In another place, far across the galaxy, Sora was staring up at a clear blue sky. The waves rolled in softly over the crisp blue sea with the gentle salty breeze. Light footprints lead down the beach. Sora suddenly snapped back to attention remembering the reason that he returned here. He had returned to Destiny Island, but this was no time to rejoice.
He realized that what'd he'd just said didn't make much sense even to him. Then, something came over him suddenly. Sora suddenly stood up, took both of Kairi's hands and held them in his. He had no idea what he was doing. He was in way over in his head. But he didn't tell her the last time how he felt, maybe if he didn't tell her now it would be another eternity. He stuttered, "Kairi. I've got. something I want to tell you... I've been thinking a lot since our last adventure, and well.. I uh. I have to tell you." Sora was still trying to choke out words when the sky went dark. Behind smiling, unsuspecting Kairi, a dark figure rose. There he was, the mighty and awful man who controlled the Heartless, Ansem. The black mist swirled up around both Ansem and Kairi. Ansem grabbed Kairi and dragged her down into the eternal darkness. He tried to move but found himself frozen in place. He could only watch as the girl he had only just seen again disappeared into a deep void. "Kairi!!!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. He sat up quickly, awakening in a cold sweat. 'What just happened? Was it a dream? Was that just a horrible nightmare? I've got to get a hold of myself,' he thought. 'But why have I had that dream more than once? There's something more to this. We've got to hurry on.' "Sora? You ok?" called Zidane from the next tent. "I'm ok. yeah, I'll be alright," he called back, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He could no longer sleep, so he went outside to sit near the now extinguished campfire. Zidane joined him, it was already late in the morning, but in the eternally white room, there would be no way to know. After not too long, the rest of the party joined him there. "Today may be the day. This Keyblade has been leading me through these worlds intentionally. It is becoming one again. There is only one blade remaining. The only place that this keyhole can lead us is to the next blade. I have no doubt that beyond this hole we will find Ansem and then end of our journey. Once we find him, the Keyblade will be united and I'm sure that we'll be able to find a way to bring back all of the people we've been searching for. If anyone wants to leave, I'll understand. The danger beyond us is unimaginable. The battles that we've fought so far have been nothing compared to what is to come. Ansem controls the power of the Heartless; everything up to now has just been part of his plan. He has a Keyblade and he'll be more powerful than ever. Let's go!" he commanded. Sora stood and began walking towards the keyhole. He materialized the Keyblade out of the air and swung it over his shoulder. It seemed that every enemy was getting easier as the power of the Keyblade increased. The Emerald Weapon had suffered from its attacks and since, the blade had recovered almost its total power. As he walked, Zidane and Cloud proudly joined at his side. Not far behind, Yuna ran up and followed Sora. Serge and Crono walked slightly more to the side and behind Zidane and Cloud. Each warrior wielded their own ultimate weapon. The weapons shone in the bright white light all around. Sora broke into a run, pointing his Keyblade towards the keyhole. As it sealed up, the six valiant soldiers ran through.
As his run slowed to a walk, Sora found himself looking up into a dark black and purple sky. A great castle stood on top of a floating rock. A waterfall poured down the cliff side. Many floating rocks formed a staircase to the castle. The clouds swirled all around, the castle seeming to be the central axis. As the remaining members of the group emerged, they all stared in awe at both the immense beauty and terror that was the castle. They had finally arrived; they had reached the Hollow Bastion. "This is it." said Sora softly. He began his assent towards the castle. The climb was rigorous. He eventually reached a mid level platform, where an arch and broken rubble of a staircase decayed. Sora remembered back, this is where he lost his Keyblade to his best friend Rikku. While he was staring into the distance, he failed to notice the dark black blobs that were creeping up around the edges of the platform. Up until now, they had faced little resistance from the Heartless. Since they left Traverse Town, there had been few battles of significance, just the same types of weak creatures that Sora had faced on his first journey. However, things were about to change, the trip to Hollow Bastion would not be so simple. The platform that Sora was on shifted suddenly and violently, almost hurling him downward; after another moment, Sora watched as all of the platforms in front of him fell to the earth. He ran and grabbed tightly onto the archway, seconds later, he was freefalling towards the jagged rocks and water below. Behind him, he heard the screams of his friends as the platforms on which they stood plummeted downward. In a triumphant crash, water sprayed upward and the rocks strangely created a level platform. The waterfall that flowed off the castle now swept over the new riverbed, forming shallow inch stream flowing over the warriors. Sora rose first, shaking the water out of his ears. He turned to see most of his friends already sitting up and trying to stand. They were all rubbing their heads; the impact had been tremendous and despite some bumps and bruises, they had all emerged virtually unharmed. However, the worst was still yet to come.
"You all OK?" called back Sora. A variation of muttered responses confirmed that everyone was in one piece. By the time they stood, the water had risen slightly; it was now about ankle deep. A thick mist covered the area; the falling rock had sprayed up a good deal of water and the waterfall sprayed up more. Then, without warning, the ground began to vibrate, not a gentle rumble, but one that made it as though the entire planet was going to shake itself apart. "Bad day!" yelled Sora, his voice shaking to the rhythm of the quake. After a sort time, the shaking stopped almost instantly. Everyone wondered what was happening, but no one could see anything. All of a sudden, hundreds of pairs of red eyes began to glow from the mist. As the massive figures marched, all of the members of the party were quickly up, standing at Sora's side, armed and ready. "So they've been waiting." stated Sora. "That's why we haven't seen any this whole time? They've been building an army?!" questioned a shocked Zidane. "Yeah." stated Sora. "Even obtaining all of the Keyblades up to now, it was just a distraction so the Ansem could build up his power. I'm sure that he had all of the other blades; he just sent them to other planets to keep us from the real goal. We've been played for fools." "HA! Right you are my little fool!" scoffed a deep and powerful voice from the front of the enemy lines. "The Keyblade wasn't the goal. It was just a distraction. I've been gathering my forces here, awaiting your arrival. You see, the real prize lies within Kingdom Hearts itself. I've found the second door, my boy! Once I control what is within, I control the world. I have the sixth and seventh blades and most importantly I will soon have the true key." "Seventh Keyblade?" demand Sora, shocked. "Yes, it is a mirror image of King Mickey's that I can use since he's not here," he responded with a sinister grin. "I possess both the dark Keyblade that Rikku's hate created and that one, none of the others matter, with just these two, I can conquer the universe. Do you wish to see the key?" He clasped his hands together, spreading them, creating an image that revealed the face of a girl, young, with beautiful blue eyes and purple hair. She stared peacefully out towards the ocean. "Sora. I know that you'll come for me." she said serenely as she closed her eyes and folded her hands. "Kairi!" Sora shouted. He ran towards the image, arm outstretched, but Ansem waved his hand through the image, dispersing it. "Oh. I am sorry." said Ansem smugly. "And it was such a touching reunion too. Well, if you'll excuse me, I've got a date with destiny." He turned and pulled out the sinister black Keyblade and swung it through the air. Lighting flew from the spot he swung as a rift opened in the wall of space. Ansem stepped through. A soft breeze smelling of salt blew past Sora. He ran towards the rift; he couldn't miss this chance. He dove at the hole as it was closing quickly. The last of the distortion closed and Sora rolled painfully on the rock, having missed his chance.
He remembered his dream. He thought of Ansem taking up Kairi and using her for his evil purposes. He looked up, finding himself looking at the legs of the Heartless army. But he wasn't worried about them, he had to reach Kairi. He jumped straight to his feet from his stomach. The water dripped from his body. His eyes were different, they were no longer the innocent eyes that he usually possessed, these eyes were determined, focused, angry. He threw his arms violently out to the side, tossed his head back, and screamed "Ansem!" His body practically lit on fire, he shone more brightly than the sun. He pulled the Keyblade, which possessed the same fire that he did. The Heartless rushed at him. He swung the Keyblade, sending a flying blade of light through their ranks. Having instantly obliterated a quarter of the giant Heartless in the army, the light beam smashed into the rock wall over which the waterfall tumbled. He had far surpasses the power of Trance, in his current state, he held within him the power to defeat the entire Heartless army in moments. But Sora had more important things to worry about. He swung the blade vertically with all of his might, tearing his way through space and time. His gap was much larger than the one that Ansem had created. He tossed the Keyblade over his shoulder and rushed through the hole. Zidane called behind him, "Take care of him Sora! Save her! We'll take care of things here!" He disappeared into the vortex, leaving the five other warriors to fend off the thousands of Heartless that still formed this army. "Get ready kids, we've got quite a battle ahead!" ordered Zidane.
They all drew their weapons; the army was reorganized. Suddenly, it began to march forward. The five warriors quickly entered Trance, following Zidane's lead. They rushed through the ranks, cutting down the Heartless quickly and mercilessly. However, they arrived in a central area where they found themselves surrounded by the rest of the group. Things weren't looking good, but then, Cloud began chanting some unknown language, holding a small red orb in his hand. The sky went dark, then a group of knights came down from the sky, sweeping through the enemy forces and eradicating almost a fifth of the remaining Heartless. No longer surrounded, they again went to work. More and more went down, but eventually, they were backed into a corner. Serge and Crono stepped forward, attacking with a double Luminaire. The fighters again prevailed, knocking out a quarter of the remaining force. The Heartless saw their army falling, without Ansem's leadership, they were child's play to defeat. However, the battle was far from finished, something was happening among the Heartless. All at once they all liquefied. There was nothing left but a black liquid that floated on top of the water. "Did we win?" asked Zidane. "You know it's not that easy," responded Cloud. "Watch." The liquid began to move. It flowed together and swelled up. It began to take shape, first it was just a tall black column. Next, its arms and legs formed. Its muscles bulged. Then the head took shape. It was gigantic, at least the height of the castle. It spread its arms out, stretching. The sign of the Heartless appeared, glowing on chest. "We're in trouble," stated Zidane bluntly. The monster roared and stomped towards the heroes. They could barely manage to avoid it and found themselves diving out of its path constantly. Any attack was nearly worthless against the great beast. But finally, Cloud reached his Limit Break and Yuna achieved Overdrive. With the amplified power of Trance and Limit Break, Cloud attacked one of the legs of the golem. The slashes cut through like a hot knife through butter. The leg was decimated and the golem collapsed, throwing up water with the impact. The golem again melted into liquid only to reform as a smaller version of itself. Yuna used her Overdrive to cast an Ultima spell, since her Aeons had already been released. The blast hit the creature right in the chest, blowing a hole through it and knocking off the arms as well. Reforming again, the creature was only about twice the size of Heartless creature that Sora and Zidane had fought in Traverse Town. The warriors gathered in a line again. "Let's finish this," stated Zidane.
The five rushed it at the same time. Yuna reversed its left knee, Serge severed the other. Crono destroyed the left arm; Cloud, the right. Zidane flipped through the air, the Heartless looking up just in time to see the Ultima Weapon slice between its eyes. Zidane used the force of his flip to cut through vertically down the body of the creature. With a terrible screech, the Heartless split and disappeared into black smoke. "It's up to you now pal," stated Zidane, looking up into the dark sky. In another place, far across the galaxy, Sora was staring up at a clear blue sky. The waves rolled in softly over the crisp blue sea with the gentle salty breeze. Light footprints lead down the beach. Sora suddenly snapped back to attention remembering the reason that he returned here. He had returned to Destiny Island, but this was no time to rejoice.