Chapter 15
Hallow Bastion
Riku stood with Maleficent in one of the rooms deep inside that castle at the ruins of Hallow Bastion.
"All the princesses are here," Riku said. Maleficent turned to see that there were six women locked inside some kind of capsules.
"Good. Our plan is almost complete," Maleficent turned to what she was looking at before, the Final Keyhole. A load roar came from outside.
"What was that?" Riku asked.
"Just a straggler. He came here by pure will alone," Maleficent seemed amused. "Take care of him."
"Of course," Riku grinned and walked outside.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy landed on the next world. As they got off the ship they saw that they were on a floating, blue-colored rock. There were many blue rocks floating ahead of them and waterfalls all around them. The rocks seemed to lead up to a large castle ahead of them.
"I have a weird feeling," Sora said. "Like I've been here before."
"Aw, you're just hungry," Donald said.
"Hey! I'm serious!" Sora shouted.
"Fine, fine," Donald waved it off. "Lets get going." They nodded and followed. As they climbed the rocks and got closer to the castle it seemed that it had been left in ruins and there didn't seem to be any life at all.
"What's that?" Goofy pointed up ahead. Two figures were on what looked like archway that leads to the castle. As they got closer Sora's eyes widened in fury as he recognized one of the figures.
"Riku," Sora muttered. The second figure was very large beast of some kind in royal like robes.
"I'm very impressed," Riku said. "No vessel, no help from the Heartless. How did you manage to make it to this world?"
"You took Belle," the Beast yelled. He was injured seeing as he held his hand over a cut on his arm and blood came from his leg. "I came to get her back!"
"Take her, if you can," Riku raised his sword once more.
"Riku!" Sora shouted as he ran up to his former friend.
"Sora, I see you finally made it," Riku grinned.
"Where's Kairi, Riku?"
"Straight to business huh? First, my business!" Riku yelled as he put his sword away. "You have something of mine!" Riku held out his hand. The presence of the Keyblade resting within him suddenly vanished. In Riku's hand was the Keyblade.
"What? How?" Sora asked.
"I am the true Keyblade Master!" Riku told him.
"No! I'm the one who fought my way here with the Keyblade!"
"You were just the delivery boy," Riku laughed. "You can have fun playing hero with this." Riku tossed a wooden sword at Sora's feet and walked away.
"Goofy, let's go," Donald said as he went to follow Riku. "We have our mission from the King and that's to follow the Keyblade."
"But, what about Sora?" Goofy asked as Sora looked on to what was happening with pure shock on his face. He was losing everything he had, again.
"Sora, sorry," Donald said as he kept walking. Goofy gave an apologetic look and walked on after Donald. Sora dropped to his hands and knees and tears came to his eyes. It was all just a lie. He was no hero.
"Belle," he heard the large beast mutter. He slowly got to his feet and stood on his shaking legs as he tried to walk. Sora looked at him with amazement. Sora got back to his feet and went to go help the beast.
"Stop! Your hurt."
"I must help Belle. I won't stop until I do."
"Then I'll go with you. My name's Sora."
"Just call me Beast," Sora nodded. He turned and picked up the wooden sword that Riku had thrown to him.
"I swore I'd save my two friends and I'm not done yet," Sora said. He used Cura on Beast and they continued to the castle. They saw that the castle was farther away than they thought. Almost half a mile of lake was in their way. Sora and Beast stepped onto a large, lift-like device. Soon the lift was moving and they were headed for the castle.
"What is that symbol?" Beast asked. Sora looked to see what he meant and saw that there was a large symbol that covered the front wall of the castle and Sora noticed it immediately. He had seen the crest his whole journey.
"Heartless."
Sora and Beast walked up to two large doors that lead into the castle. Three Heartless suddenly appeared before them. They were black spheres and nothing more.
"Darkballs!" Sora scanned them. Sora wondered how he would fight with only a wooden sword. This would be hopeless.
"Aside!" he heard Beast yell. A brown blur passed by him and Beast had suddenly ripped through the Darkballs with his claws in one strike each. Beast was incredibly powerful it seemed.
They opened the door to see Riku, Donald, and Goofy standing before them. Beast heard something behind him and turned to see the beautiful form of Belle. Belle was suddenly replaced with Heartless.
"No!" Beast yelled. He had been tricked. He lunged at the Heartless and the doors closed and locked behind him.
"Give up now," Riku told Sora. "Without the Keyblade you can't win."
"I know now that I don't need the Keyblade! I have a better weapon! My heart!" Sora said with defiance.
"Your heart? What can that weak little thing do for you? It's of no matter," Riku laughed as his clothes suddenly changed. His normal attire vanished and was replaced by a black long-sleeved shirt and black pants. He had black boots and red gloves with a white material hanging from the back of his waste. On the front of the shirt was the Heartless symbol. Black energy swirled up from under him and he fired a blast of dark magic at Sora.
Time seemed to slow down. The magic was getting closer and Sora had no way to defend himself. Just before it hit a figure ran in front of Sora. The magic bounced off of Goofy's shield.
"What's this?" Riku asked. "You would betray your King?"
"Not on your life!" Goofy told him. "But I won't betray Sora either. Donald, can you tell the King I'm sorry?"
"Hang on Goofy," Donald yelled as he ran to join them. "We'll tell him together. After all, all for one and one for all."
"Thanks Goofy, Donald," Sora said. "You see? Right now my heart is the strongest weapon of all!" He yelled. Riku stared in shock as the Keyblade disappeared from his hand and reappeared in Sora's.
"Impossible!" Riku yelled as he pulled his Soul Eater sword from behind him. Sora grinned and ran straight at his former friend with renewed fury in his eyes. He swiped with the Olympia but Riku blocked the strike and jumped back. Goofy came running at Riku but Riku ducked under Goofy's shield and then fired a blast of magic into his back.
Donald began to run at Riku and used Fira to cancel out a magic blast. Riku blocked another strike from Sora but was hit in the chest with a Blizarra and was sent flying back into the wall.
"Charge!" Goofy yelled as he ran forward at high speed with his shield in front of him and crashed into Riku, both busting through the wall. Riku growled and sliced at Goofy but he blocked with his shield. Riku placed his feet into Goofy's stomach and pushed as hard as he could, sending Goofy to the front of the room.
Sora was upon Riku in a heartbeat and Riku had to block another strike but he was starting to lose strength. He rolled out of the way as the Olympia crashed into the ground and made a small crater. Donald fired a Thundara that hit Riku in his arm but Riku kept running and kicked Donald in the head.
"This isn't over Sora!" Riku yelled as he gripped his arm. His clothes returned to normal and he ran off. Sora was about to go after him but decided against it. He helped Donald and Goofy up.
"Why'd you let him go?" Donald yelled.
"Because we have more important things to do," Sora said. "Like finding Maleficent and ending this once and for all."
"So it was your heart that won that battle," the voice of Beast said. They saw that Beast had ripped the doors open to join them in finding Maleficent.
Riku ran through one of the many corridors of Hallow Bastion. He was out of breath and still held his arm.
"No! How can he beat me?" Riku yelled as he stopped to catch his breath.
"He wanted it more," a deep voice said. Riku looked over to see a man in a brown cloak with a hood that covered his head. The same man that had met with Sora the day the island was destroyed.
"You saying his heart was stronger than mine?"
"For that instant it was. But you showed no fear in stepping through the door to darkness. Complete the journey."
"Will it help me beat Sora?"
"Of course. The great darkness will allow you to overcome any foe. You will grow stronger then you ever imagined."
"Then I am ready," Riku held his arms out. Both Riku and the cloaked man started glowing with blue energy. Riku's eyes went blank, as the Keybearer was lost to the darkness.
The Olympia ripped through the back of one of the new Heartless they had encountered called a Defender. It almost just looked like a regular man in blue armor but it had huge arms and a shield just as big. The shield seemed to be alive with the head of a vicious looking dog on the front.
Donald was currently locked in a battle of magic with a Heartless called a Wizard. They were like a man Donald's size that floated in the air wearing purple robes a pointy purple hat. It held a staff in one hand. Donald dodged a bolt of lighting and fired a Blizarra right in the Wizard's face, destroying.
Beast and Goofy were fighting several of another type of new Heartless called Wyverns. They were large dragon-like creatures with blood red skin. Goofy was able to distract a Wyvern by hitting it in the head with his shield and Beast took the time to destroy the Heartless.
"Summon!" Sora yelled as he raised his Olympia in the air. "Tinker Bell!" A golden light filled the air and Tinker Bell appeared. She flew over them and released a waved of golden energy. Instead of destroying the enemies the energy restored the tired warriors back to full health. Sora grinned as his energy returned.
"Strike Raid!" He tossed the Olympia at a Wyvern that flew high into the air and it was destroyed. Goofy destroyed two more with his Tornado attack and Donald blasted the final one away with a powerful Fira.
The group had been journeying through the castle and had found their way onto a large balcony where the Heartless crest was. They climbed on top of the giant platform the crest was carved into and proceeded to enter the castle through another door.
Maleficent stood in front of the Final Keyhole. All of her plans would end at the Keyhole when she used the princesses to unlock it. In the front of the large room was a short hallway and in the hallway were six large capsules, each with a different princess inside of it.
"I see the Keyhole is nearly complete," Maleficent jumped at the new voice. Riku walked up behind her with his dark clothes on again. His voice was different now. Riku's voice was still there but it seemed there was much deeper voice speaking as well.
"Yes, it is almost over," she ignored the voice. "Princesses of Heart! Reveal to me the Keyhole!" She held her staff over her head. The Final Keyhole was shaped like the Heartless Crest and dark energy started to flow from it until the Keyhole was brimming with darkness.
"Good," Riku said and pulled out a new blade.
"Is that?" Maleficent gazed in wonder.
"Yes, a Keyblade," Riku smirked. The Keyblade was similar to Sora's but the handle was red and the blade black. The key part was also red and unlike Sora's Keyblade was very sharp. The blade came to a dangerous point as well.
"Marvelous!" Maleficent said with a wide grin on her face. Riku pointed the Dark Keyblade at the Keyhole but nothing happened.
"Odd, my Dark Keyblade should be able to unlock the Keyhole and unleash the darkness. The Keyhole is not complete," Riku said.
"I must be her," Maleficent said and pointed to the lifeless form of Kairi on the ground behind them. The noise of battle caught their attention. "The king's fools are here. I'll deal with them myself. We shall finish this when I return."
Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Beast walked into a large room and the doorway disappeared behind them.
"We're not leaving that way," Donald told them.
"You're not leaving at all!" Maleficent's voice shouted from the back of the room. She stood there with her staff beginning to glow. A large chunk of ground under Maleficent broke off and turned into a floating platform high above their reach.
Sora ran forward, looking to end his journey when a Defender appeared in the way and with a swipe of its shield, slammed Sora into a wall making a nice size crater. Goofy ran up to the Defender and shield clashed with shield. The Defender's shield began glow red and a stream of fire burst from it. Goofy blocked the fire with his shield and leaped over the Defender, slamming his shield into the Defender's back to kill it.
Sora ran straight at a Wyvern but jumped to the side. As the Wyvern turned its head to see where Sora went there was enough time for Beats to slash through it. Beast turned to many of the other Heartless with a roar. He jumped forward and started slashing through them.
"Gravira!" Donald shouted and brought down Maleficent's platform. When she was all the way down Maleficent fired a blast of magic at Donald, making him fly back and hit the wall. Sora leaped into the air and raised the Olympia above his head. A black meteor flew through the air and crashed into Sora making him fly back next to Donald.
"You fools! I am untouchable!" Maleficent yelled.
"Trust me, no one wants to touch you," Sora said with a grin. Maleficent's face turned into a scowl as she fired more meteors at Sora. Sora rolled out of the way as each meteor crashed behind him.
"I will finish you!" Maleficent raised her staff and a huge beam of energy came flying from it. Sora and Beast were the first caught in the beam and then Donald. Goofy raised his shield but the force of the attack blew him back as well. Maleficent did not stop firing the beam but expanded it so it took up the whole room.
A flash of gold and blue appeared from the other end of the beam and there stood Simba and Genie firing their own magical beams and starting to push Maleficent's back. Sora stepped to the side of the beams and walked up to Maleficent with a calm look on his face.
"As long as you keep that beam going you can't attack me. Even if you broke it off there would be no time as Simba and Genie's attack would hit you before you even got the chance to attack again," Sora laughed and raised the Olympia. Maleficent decided to take a chance and broke her beam off. She tried to fire an attack quickly but the combined gold and blue magic slammed into her and she crashed through the wall behind her into another large room.
"We did it!" Goofy started doing an odd dance. "We beat the leader of the Heartless! It's finally over!"
"Interesting," Riku said as he stepped into view. He offered his hand to Maleficent. "Do you need any help?" She did not have the energy to answer him.
"Riku! What's happened to you?" Sora asked he they stared each other down. Riku smirked and held up his Dark Keyblade. "A Keyblade?"
"Yes. But unlike yours it holds the power to unlock people's hearts. Behold!" Riku turned and shoved the sharp tip of the Keyblade straight into Maleficent's heart. He laughed and walked away.
"I can feel it!" Maleficent shouted as the place where she was stabbed started to glow. "I feel the greatest darkness!" Maleficent then changed. She was no longer the one in control of the darkness, she was a part of it. She had transformed into a gigantic black dragon as big as the room itself. Her eyes glowed an eerie green and the same color smoke came from her mouth.
"I don't believe this! She got bigger!" Sora yelled in an annoyed voice. "This has got to stop happening!" The Dragon reared back and from its mouth came a great stream of green fire. Goofy dropped behind his shield but the heat was so intense it threatened to overwhelm him. Sora was behind a large boulder and closed his eyes as the green fire passed by his sides.
Donald and Beast had not been in the path of the fire and were now charging the Dragon with cries of battle.
"Aerora!" Donald surrounded himself with the shield of wind but the Dragon whipped its tail around and Donald was knocked back. Beast managed to slash at the underbelly of the Dragon but there seemed to be no effect and he too was knocked back.
"Thundara!" Sora and Donald shouted at the same time and the Dragon was stunned but just for a moment. Sora buried the Olympia into the Dragon's side and the Dragon roared in pain and knocked Sora away.
"Rocket!" Goofy blasted into the air and caught the Dragon in the face but while he was in the air he was an easy target and the Dragon caught him with a breath of green fire. Goofy yelled out in pain and slammed into the ground hard. As bad as he felt he looked even worse and convulsed in pain.
Donald crawled over to Goofy and used the best Cura he could but was quickly running out of energy. Goofy was partially cured and stood on shaking legs, ready to go another round with the Dragon.
Beast dug his claws into the Dragon's side and climbed onto its back. With a great roar he sunk his teeth into the Dragon's neck. The Dragon roared in pain and fury and jumped to its hind legs, making Beast slide off and crash into the ground. The Dragon prepared another blast of fire.
Goofy used his strength to toss Donald into the air. Just as the Dragon was about to unleash its attack Donald was heading straight for its mouth. As the Dragon opened its mouth wide Donald fired his most powerful Blizarra into its mouth and this made the attack backfire on the Dragon.
With one great sweep of its tail the Dragon had pinned Goofy and Donald against the wall and they were knocked unconscious. Sora was slowly getting to his feet, still recovering from the Dragon's last attack. He needed a summon but did not have the energy. It was too early to summon Simba, Genie, or Tinker Bell anyway so he leaned against the wall trying to think up a plan.
Beast let out a thunderous yell and charged the Dragon but another stream of fire left him to weak to battle anymore. The Dragon turned to Sora and prepared a final attack.
"No!" Sora shouted. "I must win!" Sora screamed into the air and the Dragon stared curiously at him. In Sora's hand was a Summon Gem he had picked up from the ground while he was down.
"Summon Dumbo!" He shouted and the small elephant appeared. He slammed his new Gem into the Olympia while energy swirled around him. "Summon Mushu!" He yelled and from the tip of the Olympia in a great huff of smoke appeared another dragon but this one was a Chinese type dragon and was barely as long as Sora's arm.
"Attack!" Sora pointed to the Dragon. Mushu hopped on top of Dumbo as they flew toward the Dragon. Dumbo sprayed a great gush of water at the Dragon and at the same spot Mushu fired a tremendous stream of flame. They both connected and the Dragon yelled in great pain.
In a flash of light Dumbo and Mushu disappeared and the Dragon started shrinking in size. Soon all that was left of the dragon was a pool of black blood.
"She was just another puppet after all," Riku laughed as he walked up to them and rubbed his foot in the blood.
"I won't let you win Riku," Sora said as he started walking slowly toward him.
"You can't put up any kind of fight the way you are now," Riku smirked. He waved his hands around the room and Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Beast found themselves suddenly fully restored. "That's better."
"What game do you think you're playing Riku?" Sora shouted. Riku said nothing a created a dark portal and walked inside. He left the portal open for them to walk through as well. Before he walked in Sora noticed something on the ground covered in the blood. It was a piece of paper, Ansem's Report 5. Sora was the first to go through the portal and the others followed.
They found themselves in the room with the Final Keyhole and the sleeping princesses. Beast held his hand up when he saw Belle's capsule and placed his hand on it.
"What have they done to you Belle?" Beast said with great sadness. They kept until the reached a set of stairs that led to a platform with the Final Keyhole on it. Sora ran onto the platform as he saw Kairi lying on it. Donald followed but as Beast and Goofy tried to follow a force field of some sort blocked them.
"Kairi! Wake up Kairi!" Sora shook her slightly.
"It's of no use," Sora looked up to see Riku sitting atop the Final Keyhole. "That girl has lost her heart. And the Final Keyhole cannot be complete until the seventh princess awakens." Riku pointed at Kairi with the Dark Keyblade.
"Kairi's a princess?" Sora asked in disbelief.
"Yes. She can never awaken as long as her heart rest within you," Riku said.
"Kairi's inside me?" Sora asked. Of course! Those times when he had visions of Kairi but there was nothing there. "You're not Riku. Who are you?"
"I am Ansem! Seeker of Darkness!" he shouted as the deeper voice that had been behind Riku's took over and floated down to the platform very slowly. "And I have taken your friend so I can take Kairi's heart from within you." Riku slowly started walking toward them. Donald ran to stop him and jumped but Riku simply flung him out of the air and onto the other side of the force field. He raised the Dark Keyblade over Sora's head.
"Sora look out!" Kairi's voice rang through Sora's head. Sora whipped around and blocked the strike with his Olympia.
"I will never let you have Kairi's heart!" Sora shouted and raised the Olympia. Riku and Sora ran at each other and Keyblade met Keyblade creating a wave of electricity from the point where they met. Sora spun around and blocked one of Riku's strikes and struck as well but Riku dodged.
Riku used powerful strikes, forcing Sora to take a step back with every attack. Sora dodged the last swipe and struck at Riku's side but Riku blocked. They both swung their Keyblades with everything they had and were dead even as they entered a fierce stalemate.
"Let Riku go!" Sora shouted.
"I'd rather not, I like having a Keyblade," came Ansem's voice. Sora screamed in rage and struck at Riku's head but Riku ducked and stabbed Sora in the gut. Sora stepped back and used Cura to heal himself and ducked another strike quickly.
"Ars Arcanum!" Sora shouted and the Olympia became a blur. Sora got in two or three hits but Riku jumped back to avoid the rest of the attack. Sora moved back as well and started to gather energy for another attack.
"Strike Raid!" Sora shot off only to see Riku had duplicated his attack. The twirling Keyblades met with a great display of electricity in the air and each Keyblade returned to its owner's hand. Sora and Riku were soon locked in close range combat once again with neither showing signs of slowing down.
Riku raised his hand and a bolt of magical energy ripped through the ground and hit Sora on his chest. Sora grabbed his chest in pain and slowly got to his feet and had to raise the Olympia at once as Riku struck again. He stabbed at Riku but Riku spun in the other direction. Sora predicted this and swung the Olympia in a wide arc and struck Riku in his side, knocking him to the ground.
"You know what?" Ansem spoke through Riku again. "Though you are not the true Keyblade Master you are doing quite well."
"Who the true Keyblade Master is has nothing to do with this!" Sora shouted back.
"Come now. That Keyblade was meant for Riku and you know it. Had the boy not embraced the darkness the Keyblade would have been his."
"Maybe, but now it is mine! I will not allow you to take it from me!"
"I can't take it from you! That is why I needed Riku for only a Keybearer can even hold a Keyblade. That is why only you and Riku can hold the Keyblade at all. You're both Keybearers!" Riku slammed the Dark Keyblade down on the Olympia but Sora did not stagger and kept a strong hold on it.
"Fira!" Sora shouted and hit Riku in the chest and he went flying back. Sora used the time to use Cura on himself. Riku cured his chest and side and they stared each other down once more.
They were upon each other once more as quick as lightning. The Keyblades met in another struggle for strength. Riku broke off and swiped at Sora's head. Sora ducked and swung his leg around, knocking Riku to the ground.
Despite curing themselves they were both covered in blood and the platform they fought on had cracks and craters all over. They jumped at each other and Sora moved away as Riku struck. Sora slammed the Olympia into Riku's gut and blasted him away with a powerful Thundara.
"You shouldn't play with electricity!" Ansem laughed and Riku launched another powerful electric blast that ripped through the ground again.
"Aerora!" Sora shouted and the shield came to life just in time. Sora was still thrown back but the blow was lessened. Sora and Riku got a running start and the Olympia crashed into the Dark Keyblade once again. Riku pushed the Keyblades away and socked Sora with a right across the face.
Sora brought his head back and stared at Riku's grin for a second and then punched him in the jaw making Riku's head snap back. Riku got back to his senses and blue energy surrounded him as he started floating in the air.
"Now you shall fall Keybearer!" Ansem shouted. "You shall now face my ultimate attack! Prepare to suffer!"
"No thanks!" Sora charged his own attack. "Ragnarok!" Sora launched himself into the air as the Olympia started to glow with tremendous energy. He swiped the Olympia at Riku and a great wave of energy erupted from it. Riku was hit and screamed in pain as he fell to the ground. Riku stared at Sora with great anger and in a flash of light he disappeared, Dark Keyblade falling to the ground behind him.
"Sora! You did it! You beat Riku and Ansem!" Goofy ran up to him and helped him up but Sora ignored the praise from Donald and Beast as well. His gaze fell on the Dark Keyblade and then to Kairi.
"A Keyblade that unlocks people's hearts," he said under his breath. While the other three examined the Final Keyhole Sora walked slowly over to the Dark Keyblade and picked it up from the ground. It felt the evil powers flow through it and shivered at the touch.
"Sora?" Donald turned to see Sora with the Dark Keyblade over him with the sharp end pointing straight at his heart. Sora turned to them and gave them his trademark smile before slamming the tip of the Keyblade straight into his heart.
"No!" Goofy yelled. Beast stared in complete shock. The Dark Keyblade floated out of his chest and turned into six balls of light. Each ball of light went to one of the sleeping princesses in the hallway.
"The Dark Keyblade was created by the hearts of the captive princesses," Beast said as the capsules opened and the princesses started to stir.
The form of Sora continued to fall as a ball of light flew from his chest and landed in Kairi. Kairi stirred and her eyes blinked open. She looked around, greatly confused but all thoughts left her head when she saw Sora beginning to disappear.
"Sora!" she cried and ran to him.
"Sora! No!" things seemed to go in slow motion as Donald started running toward Sora hoping against hope there could be a way to save him. Goofy couldn't move and was stuck in his spot. As Kairi reached Sora and tried to wrap her arms around him he was gone. All the worlds wept, as the second Keybearer was also lost to darkness.
"Falling, falling into darkness," Sora muttered as he plummeted through the black darkness with no end.
"Sora," Kairi muttered as tears formed in her eyes. Donald was about to cry as well but tried to hold them back as he put his hand on Kairi's shoulder.
"Ah, the final defense against the darkness is lost," the familiar deep voice chuckled and the others froze in fear. Then the true Ansem appeared. He had sliver hair that came to the small of his back and golden eyes. He had very tanned skin and wore black pants with sliver boots. He had no shirt, just a long black coat that was fastened only at the top with the Heartless crest.
"Don't take another step!" Goofy and Beast ran over to join Donald. Goofy leaned over to Donald. "Think we can take him by ourselves?"
"Don't know," Donald said as he raised his staff. Ansem chuckled again and started walking forward. He had barely taken a step when he stopped and had a look of shock on his face. A bright spirit image of the real Riku came from him and struggled against going back in.
"No! You won't use me for this!" Riku shouted.
"Riku!" Kairi yelled.
"Kairi? There's no time! Run! The Heartless are coming! Go now!" Riku shouted his warning but his spirit was pulled back inside Ansem. Beast grabbed all three of them and set off for the castle entrance. No one noticed the small Shadow that watched them.
Beast had become caught up in a battle with a bunch of Heartless and Kairi, Donald, and Goofy were now running on their own. On the way to the castle entrance Donald and Goofy explained most of the story to Kairi. They ran down the main steps to the door that led outside but Kairi stopped when she heard the Beast roar in pain.
"Kairi, come on!" Donald yelled. Kairi nodded and quickly ran down to them but a Shadow followed her down. "Get lost!" Donald hit it once on the head with his staff and Kairi noticed something familiar about the Shadow.
"Sora?" she said softly. Twenty more Shadows appeared around them and Kairi threw her arms around the Sora-Shadow. The Shadows jumped on her and Donald and Goofy couldn't get to her. "I'll protect you now Sora!"
There was a blast of golden energy and the Shadows were blown away and destroyed instantly. Kairi felt a pair of strong arms around her. She was no longer holding Sora the little Shadow but a fully restored Sora had his arms around her.
"Thanks Kairi," he said as they stood in their embrace wishing they never had to let each other go again. But it was not this way as the roar of Beast drew closer and he appeared on the top of the steps.
"Go now!" he ordered.
"There's to many Heartless! Come with us!" Sora pleaded.
"I'm not leaving without Belle! Go!" Beast told him with great authority and Sora had no choice but to comply. They ran back to the Gummi Ship and blasted off.
"So it was Ansem the whole time," Leon said as they stood in the small house back in Traverse Town.
"Yeah," Sora said, still with a tight hold on Kairi's hand as if she would disappear again if he let go.
"He used to be such a nice man," Aerith was on the verge of tears.
"I have to go back to Hallow Bastion. Riku is still there," Sora said as he finally let Kairi's hand go.
"You can't go in the way you came, the Heartless will be waiting for you," Yuffie warned them.
"Cid will know a way," Leon said. "Go talk with him." Sora nodded and left with Donald and Goofy.
"I need some fresh air," Aerith said and walked outside. A few minutes after she left one of the scariest men Kairi had ever seen walked in.
"It's time Leon," he said.
"I know Cloud," Leon grabbed his Gunblade and put it over his shoulder. It was time for them to search for Sephiroth.
"Going back!" Cid yelled so loud Sora had to lean back a little. "You crazy, kid? The place will be swarming with Heartless!"
"If I don't go back to Hallow Bastion, Ansem will have control over Riku forever and I can't allow that," Sora said, still firm in his decision.
"Fine. But you can't go in the way you did before. You go to Leon's training area and there will be a moon mural on the far wall. I put something there just for this occasion. Never though you'd get it, kid."
"Thanks gramps," Sora smiled and headed for the tunnel.
Sora emerged from the water in the tunnel to find Kairi already standing there. He climbed up to her. Goofy went to climb up but Donald grabbed his shoulder.
"Hey Kairi," Sora said as he stepped up to her. "How'd you get here?"
"Yuffie showed me the way," Kairi said and stared at the moon mural Cid had mentioned on a far wall.
"When I was a Heartless, I was falling in darkness. I started forgetting things like my family and friends. Then a light broke through. You're light Kairi."
"Your welcome," Kairi held her hands behind her back. She and Sora were standing a little closer now. Their faces were inches apart.
"I need to go back to Hallow Bastion and get Riku, even if it means fighting and army of Heartless to do it."
"I want to go with you Sora."
"No!" Sora grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away slightly. "It's going to be way to dangerous!"
"Pleeeease!"
"No! I'm not taking you. I'll beat Ansem and bring Riku back and then things can go back to the way they were before."
"Do you think it could ever be the same? After what Riku's done?"
"Riku was drawn into darkness little by little until it took him completely. I will save him from that darkness."
"Take this," Kairi handed Sora a small object, a Keychain. "But it's my lucky charm so you better bring it back!"
"I will. I promise," Sora placed the new Keychain on. The hilt now had two angel wings around it. There were two blades and both were the same brilliant white color that gleamed even in the dark tunnel. The key part was a very intricate oriental design. "I'll call this the Oathkeeper." Sora examined it.
"Bring it back Sora. And remember Sora, I'll always be with you," Kairi sniffled as she almost cried. Sora nodded and with a fierce look of determination walked over to the moon mural. He placed his hand on it and it changed from the moon to the sun and a Gummi Block came floating out.
"This Gummi Block will create a warp that will put you directly behind Hallow Bastion and you can sneak in that way," Cid said as he finished installing it.
"Thanks," was all Sora said as he, Donald, and Goofy climbed into the ship and blasted back off to Hallow Bastion.
"Good luck, kid," Cid said as he lit another cigarette. "I'm getting to old for this."
Sora, Donald, and Goofy snuck through Hallow Bastion as quiet as they could. They stopped to look around a corner when someone placed a hand on Goofy's shoulder and Goofy screamed and whipped around.
"Quiet!" Beast ordered. "The princesses are waiting for us, this way." Beast led them through the castle. They eventually ended up in the room they fought Maleficent in. The portal to the Final Keyhole was still there and the six princesses stood around. Some Sora knew some he didn't.
"Sora!" Jasmine hugged him tightly. Sora waved to Alice who stood behind Jasmine and there were four women Sora didn't know. He soon learned them to be Snow White, Aurora, Cinderella, and the one standing next to Beast was Belle.
"Keybearer, Ansem has gone," Cinderella said. "He was pulled into the Final Keyhole and engulfed by darkness, but he is far from dead."
"Then I'll have to finish him myself," Sora said as the Oathkeeper appeared in his hands. Donald, Goofy, and Beast stood behind him. He walked through the portal and saw the Final Keyhole.
"What is that?" Sora pointed to a small object on the ground. It was a small black Keychain lying in the same place the Dark Keyblade had disappeared. When Sora picked it up he could feel evil energy running through it. He placed it in his pocket, not wanting to use it and walked up to the Keyhole.
"This is it Sora," Goofy said and patted Sora on the back. Sora nodded and walked up to the Keyhole and held up his Keyblade but nothing happened.
"That's not the Keyhole," Sora said. "That's the entrance to the Keyhole." He walked up to the Heartless crest and placed his hand on it as the darkness spewed out. He was suddenly inside the crest. It was completely black with the golden Keyhole shining not to far away. He laughed as Donald, Goofy, and Beast landed in a heap on the ground behind him.
"Let's just finish this!" Donald screamed as they started walking toward the Keyhole. There was a loud rumbling, almost knocking them completely off their feet. A large creature even bigger than the Dragon appeared before them. It was a mixture of different shades of purple with two horns coming from the sides of its mouth and a horn coming from its head.
"A Behemoth!" Goofy yelled before Sora could Scan it.
"Behemoths are ancient monsters that are extremely powerful! Ansem must have resurrected one! Look!" he pointed to the large Heartless crest on the Behemoth's large chest.
"Then let's make them ancient again!" Sora yelled as he summoned the Oathkeeper to his side and ran forward. He moved to the side to avoid a large foot stomping down on him and brought the Oathkeeper into the foot.
The Behemoth didn't seem to notice however and leaned down so he was face to face with Sora and with a roar it generated a powerful wind that blew Sora back, almost out of the room.
"I don't believe it will be that easy my friend," Beast said with a grin. Despite their situation Sora grinned back and stood with the Oathkeeper ready. Goofy had rammed into one of the Behemoth's feet but was knocked back like Sora had been. Donald used a Thundara and even though it seemed to affect the Behemoth a little it still shrugged the blow off.
"Magic," Sora said as he saw that at least magic had some affect. Sora looked all over the Behemoth for some kind of weak point. And soon he found it. The horn on the top of its head was glowing with blue energy. He ran as fast as he could to the back of the Behemoth.
Goofy and Beast used physical attacks and Donald kept firing magic but there was still very little affect. The Behemoth reared back and when he slammed back on the ground there was a great shock wave that knocked them back.
"Fira!" Sora shouted from his perch on the back of the Behemoth's head and the magic attack hit the horn and the Behemoth let out a terrible roar and tried as hard as it could to throw Sora off of its head.
"Sora! Second level magic won't cut it!" Donald yelled and dodged another attack from the Behemoth. Sora thought about what Donald said. Could he pull off a third level spell? Only one way to find out. He started to gather energy inside the Oathkeeper and he felt the magic swell up inside him. Yes! He did it!
"Firaga!" Sora shouted and a giant fireball launched from the tip of his Oathkeeper. The fireball slammed into the horn on the Behemoth's head and completely destroyed it as soon as they connected. The Behemoth let out a roar and exploded in a great burst of black smoke.
"Sora!" Goofy yelled as he ran and caught Sora out of the air. "You can rest now Sora! We won!"
"Not yet," Sora said as he breathed hard. "I need to seal the Keyhole." Sora refused help walking as he walked in front of the Keyhole. He raised the Oathkeeper and the familiar beam of light hit the Keyhole and it clicked shut.
"Sora, you did it," Leon's voice came from back in the other room. Sora and the others walked out to him to see Aerith and Yuffie there too. Sora had noticed that Cloud seemed to not want to meet with Aerith so it was clear he was not there.
"Cid couldn't make it," Yuffie told him. "He's back at Traverse Town getting the rest of our things."
"Sora, you need to beat Ansem," Aerith said. "That is the only way this nightmare can truly end."
"And by beat…" Leon started in a quiet but firm voice. "We mean kill. This may be the last time we ever see each other."
"What do you mean? After we beat Ansem we can come visit you guys in the Gummi Ship, right?" Sora said hopefully.
"No," Aerith had her head down. "After Ansem is defeated the walls that separated the worlds before will return."
"Don't worry!" Yuffie said with her usual upbeat attitude. "Even if we never see each other again, I couldn't forget you even if I try!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sora turned to her.
"You deserve to have this Sora," Aerith handed Sora several papers. "It's Ansem's Report 2,4,6, and 10. The first page still seems to be missing."
"It's time Sora," Leon said. Yuffie nodded and grabbed Leon's hand in hers. "Go beat Ansem and don't let anything stop you." Sora could only nod his head and motioned for Goofy and Donald to follow him. They walked through the rest of the castle that was now devoid of Heartless. It was time to end this journey.