Chapter 8: The Way Home

The group walked to the door, then when the heartless started to attack Sora raised his keyblade with heroes cause attached, and dug it into the ground. The white light shot from the ground and all the heartless standing where the light was vanished. The group ran to the door but more heartless came after them.

"Stop," shouted a voice, the sound echoed through the place.

Sora and the others stopped moving, along with the heartless.

"Do not leave yet, I first need your assistance with something, then you may leave," said the voice.

"Who are you?" asked Sora.

A figure appeared near Ansem, who stood up immediately. "Please, to save my people, I need your help," said the being.

Sora and the others walked up to the being, it looked like an unknown in a black robe. But as they got closer, Sora saw the glowing eyes and crocked mouth of a heartless under the hood.

"You're a heartless," said Sora stopping.

"Yes, I am, I am the one you know as World of Chaos, the one residing beyond the great doors," said the being.

"Why should we help you?" asked Sora.

"I, along with all my people were once living beings. We were more advanced than all the other worlds; it was us who came up with gummi ship technology. We visited other worlds, and saw how primitive they were, and looked down upon them. When they asked for help, we denied them. We only thought of ourselves, we were heartless people.

"Our greed had a consequence, and we became true heartless. I was the only one who still possessed my human mind. This is out true world, but we are locked beneath it as heartless. The world became End of the World before another world had a gummi ship. And we were locked behind the door. But sometimes a shadow could sneak through. We all knew that humans had hearts, and that we didn't. We were still greedy, and tried taking hearts for ourselves. But it didn't solve anything.

"Then Ansem came along, his heart was taken, but his body stayed alive, and he didn't go where the other's went. When I saw you and your friends enter beyond the door, I knew you were the ones who could help, but only one of you needed to survive. I gave the others the idea with out them knowing it was me. And you've filled everything out. Sora is here because he is the other one who lost his heart but came back. Their difference is that Sora has his body back, Ansem doesn't," said the World of Chaos.

"Do you remember you name?" asked Sora.

"No, as time passed even I forgot about being human," said the World of Chaos.

"What do I have to do to help you?" asked Sora.

"I only need one of you, you see, since Ansem, we've taken many more hearts, trying to find others like him, I have never taken a heart, and the heart I take, will be shared by all the heartless, all those ever taken will go with the other dead, but the one whom I must take will also go there, if it is you, you will die, but me and all my people will be restored. It might even be that I need both of you," said the World of Chaos.

"I can't be taken, I am of the same as those in the other room, just the heart," said Ansem.

"I know, that's why I got here as soon as I could, after hearing the tale of the heartless," said DiZ as he walked towards the group.

"We don't even know if we can become one again," said Ansem as he took a few steps away from DiZ.

"It worked for Sora," said DiZ.

"You know that us becoming one is your demise, I will be the conscious one," said Ansem.

"Yes, but you will die to save the heartless," said DiZ.

"Not if they need the child, I will fight every last one of your people off and get out of here," said Ansem.

"You said it yourself, you're like the ones in the other room, and they're bound there, you need a body to leave this place," said Auron.

"Will all the heartless change?" asked Leon.

"No, just the ones who were people first, the heartless formed by others loosing their hearts will remain heartless. But they will be unable to multiply since they can't leave, "said the World of Chaos.

"But if we want to save the ones in the other room, we have too kill them all," said Raz.

"Yes, you will," said the World of Chaos.

"You'll need our help more than you think," said Cloud.

"How?" asked the World of Chaos.

"Once you and your people are restored, you'll lose you're control over the other heartless, you'll need us to fight them off while you leave," said Mickey.

"Don't they vanish when the door opens?" asked Kairi.

"No, they remain, didn't you notice they stayed while the door was open when DiZ entered," said Leon.

"Get all your people by the door," said Sora.

"I don't know which are which," said the World of Chaos.

"Were all your people changed, even the children?" asked Kairi.

"Children became Shadows, women became NEOshadows, men became Invisibles, soldiers became Darksides, and the animals became Darkballs," said the World of Chaos.

"How horrible, well, I'll be leaving," said Ansem.

"I may not kill you, but I'll beat you near death," said Raz drawing his blade.

"A rather unfair fight, seeing, as my powers are gone here," said Ansem.

"So are mine," said Raz.

"Lets get going, what do you need us to do?" asked Sora.

"Sora, you're going to help them, but, if they need you, you'll die," said Kairi.

Sora took the heroes cause off his keyblade and gave it to Kairi, "I said I was just borrowing it, it'll keep you safe on your way outta here," said Sora.

Kairi put it back on her necklace and backed away.

"Keep her safe till I get back," said Sora.

"No problem," said Riku.

Everyone but DiZ Sora, Ansem and Raz went over by the door. Raz was holding Ansem down so he couldn't leave. DiZ walked over to them and Raz let go. Ansem got up.

"Well, it's my only way out of this place, but don't think I'm helping," said Ansem.

DiZ stuck out his hand and Ansem grabbed it. Ansem was pulled into DiZ, but it was Ansem who was in control. He still looked like DiZ but they could all tell it was Ansem.

"Ah, I've forgotten what its like to have a body of my own, but now I will be leaving," said Ansem.

Raz was about to hit him in the back of the head and knock him out when he froze and rose off the ground. Ansem grinned and threw Raz far into the distance.

"I may not have my powers, but I have DiZ's," said Ansem.

Auron started forward, Mickey and the others close behind, only Riku and Kairi stayed. But they weren't even close when the wings burst out of Raz's back and he flew at Ansem. Ansem turned to fight back but before he could attack Raz reached out his right hand and Ansem fell over. Raz landed and the others stopped walking.

"What did you do?" asked Sora as Raz's wings retracted.

"A dark spell he used on me, it'll be about an hour before he wakes up," said Raz and he walked to the door and the others.

"I believe I must take both your hearts at the same time," said the World of Chaos.

"I won't come back from this will I?" asked Sora in a whisper.

"I would be greatly surprised," said the World of Chaos.

Sora took something out of his pocket and held it in his hand. "I'm ready."

The World of Chaos picked Ansem up in one hand and put the other on Sora's chest. Sora tensed up, then fell backwards at the same time Ansem twitched and the World of Chaos dropped him. Kairi was crying as the World of Chaos and about twenty heartless glowed white and became human. It was immediate that the heartless were free of the World of Chaos.

The few people ran to the door Riku opened it and pushed Kairi out, before he and the others ran in killing the heartless so the people could escape. Kairi watched from just beyond the door, the heartless couldn't reach her but she could see them. The first person made it out, there were twenty-two left and Kairi ran in towards Sora.