Chapter 21
End of the World
"My God," was all Sora could say as he laid his eyes upon the world of the Heartless, or as Cid called it, End of the World. It looked like a very small galaxy and that was the only way he could describe it.
"We're going down there?" Goofy asked. Donald gulped and nodded as he motioned for Goofy to land. This wouldn't be easy.
It was an endless expanse of white. They had landed at a small island on a sea of light. Ahead of them was what was obviously their destination. It appeared to be a swirling mass of stars.
"So this is it?" Sora asked. "This is the end?"
"Sure is," Donald said. "You know, I've been thinking. When we defeat the Heartless and Ansem this place will disappear. Will we disappear too?"
"No way!" Goofy said firmly. "Our hearts ain't going nowhere! Even if our bodies are destroyed our hearts will live on. So let's turn these frown upside down and get going!" Goofy pointed ahead.
"You're right," Sora smiled and nodded.
"Sora, we've been working on something," Donald said and looked expectantly at Goofy but Goofy was just staring around. "Goofy!" Donald kicked Goofy's leg.
"Oh yeah!" Goofy said and pulled something out of his pocket. It was a Keychain and a very elegant looking one too. It was a gold and blue crown.
"We call it the Ultima," Donald said as Sora replaced the Oblivion with the Ultima. The Keyblade then took the shape of a real, crystal broadsword. Then a gold and blue frame formed the shape of a key over the sword.
"It's amazing guys! It feels even stronger than the Oblivion!" Sora said as he swung it a few times. While putting the Oblivion Keychain away he pulled out the Oathkeeper Keychain. "I promise Kairi, I will come back to you. With Riku."
"Let's get going," Donald said and they started forward.
Ansem was deep inside End of the World as he felt Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive. He chuckled to himself and stood.
"Let the fun begin."
After stepping through the large sphere they found themselves at the top of a giant crevice. The odd thing was that there was hundreds of Gummi Blocks inside the walls of the crevice.
"If we keep jumping on those rocks we should be able to get down," Sora pointed to the many rocks sticking from the walls and making a way down.
"Hey Sora," Goofy stopped him. "What about that report?"
"Oh yeah," Sora pulled the completed Ansem's Report from his pocket. "I guess we should take a look." Sora put them in order and they started to read.
"Entry 1- Much of my life has been dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. That knowledge has guarded this world well. Not a soul doubts that I am blessed with my people's smiles and respect. But though I am called a sage, there are things I do not understand.
I believe darkness sleeps in every heart, no matter how pure. Given the chance, the smallest drop can spread and swallow the heart. I have witnessed it many times. Darkness…darkness of the heart. How is it born? How does it come to affect us? As ruler of this world I must find answers. I must find them before the world is lost to those taken by darkness.
Entry 2- It is my duty to expose what darkness really is. I shall conduct the following experiments. Extract the darkness from a person's heart. Cultivate darkness in a pure heart. Both suppress and amplify the darkness within.
The experiments have caused the test subjects' heart to collapse, including those of the most stalwart. How fragile our hearts are! My treatments produced no sign of recovery. I confined those who had completely lost their heart beneath the castle. Some time later I went below and was greeted by the strangest sight. Creatures that seemed born of darkness. What are they? Are they truly sentient beings? Could they be the shadows of those who lost their hearts in my experiments?
Entry 3- The shadows that crawl beneath the castle…Are they people who lost their hearts, or incarnations of darkness? Or something completely beyond imagination? All my knowledge has provided on answer. One thing I am sure of is that they are entirely devoid of emotion. Perhaps further study will unlock the mysteries of the heart.
Fortunately, there is no shortage of test subjects. They are multiplying underground even as I write this report. They still need a name. Those who lack hearts…I will call them the Heartless.
Entry 4- The Heartless appear in groups, and are multiplying rapidly. I've provided them both living and nonliving samples. They've responded only to the living. They seem to multiply after absorbing something from the living creatures. Their prey vanishes without a trace.
I believe the Heartless are taking hearts. They are born from those who've lost their hearts, and thrive on hearts seized from others. The hearts taken by the Heartless become Heartless themselves. Though I lack proof, I am confident in this hypothesis. I must also study their behavioral properties.
Though they lack emotions, they do seem to have some intelligence. How to communicate with them? It's just occurred to me; Could they be the darkness in people's hearts?
Entry 5- To study the Heartless behavior, I picked one out for observation. It wiggled its antennae and, as if sensing a threat, headed deep into the castle. In the deepest part of the castle, its antennae began vibrating, as if searching for something. Suddenly, a strange door appeared. I'd never known of its existence. It had a large keyhole but didn't seem to be locked. So I opened the door.
What I saw on the other side mystified me. What was that powerful mass of energy? That night I observed a great meteor shower in the sky. Could it be related to the door that I have opened?
Entry 6- A massive core of energy lay beyond the door sought by the Heartless. It may well be the ultimate goal of the Heartless. But what is that energy? I have devised a hypothesis, based upon my observations of the Heartless. The Heartless feed on others' hearts. There is no proof, but having felt that immense energy, I am certain that was the heart of the world. The Heartless are trying to take hearts not only from living things, but from the world itself. But what do they mean to do with the heart of the world?
Entry 7- I am now studying material from the meteors that rained down that fateful night. What a find! The material is foreign to our world. It is elastic to the touch and when two pieces are combined they bond easily. None of the records I've scoured even mention such a substance. Was it introduced to this world when I opened that door? I wonder how many other such materials drift through the atmosphere of this world…I wish I could soar off and find out!
Could there be uncharted worlds out there? My curiosity never ceases to grow. But I should stop speaking of such unrealistic dreams. For now, there is no way to venture outside this world. My people and I are all but prisoners of this tiny place.
Entry 8- There is no doubt that the Heartless are deeply connected to people's hearts. Further study may unravel both their motivations and the mysteries shrouding the heart. As a start, I have built a device that artificially creates Heartless. By recreating the conditions that spawn the Heartless naturally, I should be able to produce them artificially. The device is a culmination of all my research thus far.
The machines test run successfully created a Heartless. This may be a step toward creating a heart from nothing. The artificially and naturally created Heartless showed nearly identical traits. But the two types should remain distinct for the purposes of this experiment. So, I will mark the ones that are created artificially.
Entry 9- Simply astonishing! Today I had a guest from another world. He is a king, and his vessel is built of the material that composed the meteors. He called the pieces Gummi Blocks. It seems that opening the door has opened a path for interworld travel. We talked for countless hours, but one story in particular caught my interest: that of a key called the Keyblade.
The Keyblade is said to hold phenomenal power. One legend says its wielder saved the world, while another says wrought chaos and ruin upon it. I must know what this Keyblade is. A key opens doors. It must be connected to the door I have opened.
Entry 10- Just as people have hearts, so do worlds. The same can be said of the stars in the night sky. And deep within each world lies a door to its heart. The Heartless desire those hearts. Born of the darkness in people's hearts, they seek to return to a greater heart. Yes, that's it. The Heartless come from people's hearts as does the darkness.
Is the core of the world's heart the world of the Heartless? I will pursue the answer there, and become all knowing. My path is set. I shall seek out the wielder of the Keyblade, and the princesses. My body is to frail for such a journey, but I must do this. I will cast it off and plunge into the depths of darkness."
Sora, Donald, and Goofy were speechless. So many things had been explained. Ansem created the Heartless and unleashed them upon the worlds.
"I don't believe this!" Sora slammed the Ultima into the ground. "All of this is happening because Ansem decided to play God!"
"We must beat Ansem," Goofy said. "Maybe then everything will return to normal."
"We won't get anything done just sitting here, let's go," Donald said and they nodded back. They started jumping from rock to rock to the bottom of the crevice. About halfway down a new set of Heartless appeared.
The first looked human enough but had small wings coming from their back and long horns went form their head sticking into the air. They had longs tail and held large sword in their right hands. They were called Invisibles.
The next kind seemed best described as a large light bulb with the Heartless crest on the front and four golden wings coming form the top. They were called Angel Stars.
Donald started off the battle by launching a Firaga at an Angel Star but it moved quickly to the side and came down even faster, hitting Donald hard. Donald got back to his feet and used Graviga as soon as he was on his feet and it crushed the Angel Star.
Sora crossed sword with two Invisibles. The first brought his sword down and the second to the side making Sora have to duck and sidestep at the same time. He came back by slicing through the first and blocking an attack from the second.
Goofy was also fighting and Invisible but wasn't having such good luck. He had already been cut twice and almost received another but blocked with his shield. He spun around and tried to cut through the Invisible's side but all of a sudden it was gone. Its sword was stuck in the ground with small purple flames around it. The purple flames moved so they surrounded Goofy and then closed in on him, burning him.
Sora stabbed forward but the Invisible moved backwards to avoid the attack. Sora blasted it with a Blizzaga and killed it. Two Angel Stars flew his way and he ran straight at them with the Ultima raised.
Donald was facing one Angel Star and one Invisible but was still holding his own. He blocked at attack from the Angel Star and ducked under a sword swipe from the Invisible before shoving his staff into its gut and blasting it away with a Thundaga.
Goofy got to his feet to see the Invisible reappear and two more coming up behind that one. Goofy ran up while the Invisible was pulling its sword out the ground and bashed it as hard as he could in its head killing it. The other two were on him in a second but Goofy blocked both attacks and jammed the side of his shield into the stomach of one of them and destroyed it but the other had its sword raised already.
Sora knocked one Angel Star away and then quickly stabbed through the other. The Angel Star he knocked away came in fast and crashed into Sora's head. Sora was sent to the ground and cast Stopga as the Angel Star came toward him. He jumped up and sliced through the Angel Star to destroy it.
Donald faced the last Angel Star with his staff ready for any kind of spell. The Angel Star came in quick and it suddenly flashed a brilliant light and Donald was blinded for a second but this was all the Angel Star needed and hit Donald hard in the stomach. Donald fired off a Firaga even though he couldn't see and by some impossible luck, struck and killed the Angel Star.
Goofy dived out of the way as the Invisible brought its sword down. He got back up and jumped into the air, landing a kick into the Invisible's chest on the way down. He landed on his feet and sprung forward with his shield out and went straight through the Invisible. The three of them looked around and nodded as they saw the Heartless were all gone.
"That wasn't that hard but I'm sure Ansem has something much worse than a batch of Heartless to stop us," Sora said.
"Look down there," Goofy pointed to the bottom of the crevice where there was a pool of light. They jumped down to it and saw that it was apparently the only way out. They stared at each other and shrugged as they jumped in.
It was endless space. The three of them stood on one of nine floating rocks with shafts of purple light shooting up from them. There seemed to be no way off of the rock so they stepped into the purple light.
"No way!" Sora shouted as he looked around. They were in Traverse Town in the Third District. "This must have been how the Heartless got to the worlds so quickly. Those pillars of light transported them here."
"Watch out!" Donald pushed Sora out of the way as a Soldier appeared with its claws extended. Standing around them was a few Shadows, Soldiers, and Large Bodies. Goofy was the first to jump into action, easily taking down two Shadows before dodging an attack from a Soldier.
Sora ran at one of the Large Bodies and blasted a Firaga at it but they seemed to be resistant to even this more powerful form of magic. He dove to the side as the Large Body attacked and ran around it, slashing through its back.
"Thundaga!" Donald easily blasted away all of the Shadows and many of the Soldiers with his one attack. Goofy took care of the remaining Soldiers and Sora finished off the last two Large Bodies. They all felt a pull and they were suddenly back on the large rock in the endless space.
"This is like some kind of…World Nexus," Sora said as a bridge suddenly extended to the next rock. They went into the next purple pillar and they were pulled into Wonderland. There were many Red Nocturnes, Blue Rhapsodies, Yellow Operas, and Green Requiems.
They first attacked the Green Requiems so they couldn't heal the others. Sora slashed through two, Donald blasted one away, and Goofy finished the last two. Donald was hit in the back by a Yellow Opera's thunder spell and thrown forward. Sora turned and sliced through it.
Goofy went straight at the Red Nocturnes. He knocked one hard enough into the wall it was killed and then turned and used the edge of his shield to slice through another. He punched one out of the air and then kicked it away to kill that one as well.
Sora ducked under a blizzard attack and cut up and through a Blue Rhapsody before turning and slicing through three more. Donald blasted the remaining Yellow Operas away with a large Blizzaga.
"Yeah!" Sora pumped his fist in the air. "These little Heartless don't stand a chance!" They were then pulled back to the World Nexus. They crossed the new bridge to the next rock and stepped into the light. Now they were at the Coliseum.
There was a large assortment of Heartless here. From Shadows to Defenders they were surrounded by Heartless. They sprung into action. Sora cut through a Soldier and turned to block and attack from a Defender. He covered himself with an Aeroga and jumped into the fray.
Donald moved away as a Wizard blasted a hole in the ground with some lightning. Donald destroyed it with a Firaga then turned and destroyed two Shadows with a Blizzaga.
Goofy went straight against a Defender with their shields clashing in between them. Goofy spun to the side and then hit the Defender's defenseless body to kill it. A Search Ghost appeared before him and he had to duck an attack from it and turned around quickly to slice through it.
"Is that it?" Sora looked around and they were suddenly pulled back to the Nexus. "I guess so." Into the next light they went. It was Deep Jungle this time.
Twelve Powerwilds stood before them and split into groups of four to come after them.
Sora ran forward to meet his group but had to jump back as a Powerwild swiped at him.
He jumped at the Powerwild and sliced through it and then spun around to kill the one behind him. He launched a Firaga to destroy another and killed the final one with a dodge and a strike from the Ultima.
Goofy held his shield in front of him as a Powerwild crashed against it and then pushed it back, sending it back into the other Powerwilds. Running forward Goofy used Charge but three of the Powerwilds were able to move away. Quickly turning he cut one down and then kicked one hard enough to kill it. The last one was on him incredibly quick but Goofy was faster and ducked backwards. While the Powerwild was over him Goofy sliced though it.
Donald sent forward a powerful Thundaga and caught two of the Powerwilds and the other two split up. One jumped at him from the left and the other from the right. Donald stepped back and they collided in the air. Donald blasted them both with a Blizzaga and finished them.
The next world was Agrabah, the Atlantica, the Halloween Town, then Neverland, and finally Hallow Bastion. By the end of it they were starting to get really tired.
"You think Ansem meant for us to go to all the worlds?" Sora asked and Donald just smacked him over top the head. They were on the final rock and there was a weird blue light that overtook them.
It was endless space yet again except now there was a gigantic mountain in front of them with something rising from it.
"No way! Impossible!" Donald yelled as they got closer and that something began taking shape.
"Yeah! I though the King banished that thing!" Goofy shouted in agreement.
"What is it?" Sora asked and at the same time they said: "Chernabog." Sora now saw that Chernabog was as big as the mountain itself and he could only be described as a demon with incredibly large black wings.
"Let's take it down!" Donald flew forward and it was at this time Sora looked down to realize there was no ground underneath them. Yet it felt as if they were flying around Neverland again.
"Yeah!" Sora shouted and followed quickly. Goofy shrugged and flew forward as well. Chernabog did not want them there it would seem as it suddenly swiped out a large claw at them but they were able to fly over it.
"Firaga Breath!" Chernabog shouted in an incredibly deep voice. A stream of fire like Sora had never seen flew forward and straight at them. The fire was to wide to fly away from so Sora cast Aeroga on himself and Donald cast I ton himself and Goofy. This softened the blow but it still hurt, especially in their tired state.
"Strike Raid!" Sora tossed the Ultima forward and magical energy burst around it and it slammed right into Chernabog's chest. Chernabog noticed the attack but didn't seem to be affected by it to bad.
"Rocket!" Goofy sent himself forward and slammed into the same place the Strike Raid had hit and Chernabog growled in pain. Donald shot a Blizzaga at the spot but Chernabog got his second wind and knocked the attack away.
Sora flew forward to deliver a hard blow to Chernabog's injury but it suddenly hunched over and when it sprung out the entire mountain erupted and Sora was caught in the middle of it. When the eruption ended Chernabog looked down at a beaten Sora. Donald came down and tried to heal him but Chernabog created a ball of energy and blew Donald away as well.
"Summon," Sora said weakly as he struggled to hold on to the Ultima. "Tinker Bell." And with that Tinker Bell came forth from the Ultima and in a wave of energy they were all cured instantly. Chernabog had a very confused expression on his face but it wouldn't be there much longer as Sora took the Ultima and dug it right into Chernabog's exposed injury.
Chernabog screamed in pain and then exploded, taking most of the mountain with it. All that was left was a large crater. Sora, Donald, and Goofy flew down into the crater sure they would be transported to another place.
So they were as they ended up in what appeared to be a stone hallway. The walls scared them. It was as if a world was being destroyed but in very slow motion and the farther they walked the worse it got. Finally they got to a pool of white energy on the floor and they hopped in.
Now they were in a large cave and on one side was a Heartless crest. Sora walked over and placed his hand on it and it crumbled away to reveal another, but much smaller, cave behind it. In there was a door.
"That door," Sora said. "It looks, familiar." Sora walked up to the door and grabbed it and it opened slightly.
"Be careful," an incredibly familiar voice filled Sora's head. "Beyond this door, there is no light to protect you." He remembered now. The voice from his dream long ago that had guided him along.
"Well, are we going?" Donald asked.
"Give me a minute!" Sora shouted. He grabbed the door and paused, expecting the voice to say something but all was silent and he opened the door. It was another cave but this one was very familiar and Sora knew it well. "Can't be." Sora made a mad dash to get out of the cave.
"Sora!" Goofy yelled and they ran after him only to meet the blinding light of day. They had been in the dark room longer then they thought apparently. When their vision returned they saw they were on an island.
"Is this?" Sora asked. "Is this my island?" Sure enough they were on Destiny Islands where this whole thing had started.
"This world has been connected," Ansem's voice came and a part of the island disappeared right in front of them. "Tied to the darkness. Soon to be completely eclipsed."
"No," Sora was in shock. This was the same thing the man in the brown cloak had said long ago. Ansem had been that man in the brown cloak.
"A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing," Ansem's voice came to their ears again and then they saw. It was Riku, and he was standing on the beach. Then the crystal blue ocean water became a disgusting purple and the beach started to crack and raise from the water.
"This can't be," Sora shook his head.
"Take a look at this tiny place," Ansem's voice came from Riku who was facing away from them. "To the heart seeking freedom this island is a prison, surrounded by water. So this boy sought to escape from his prison. And he opened his heart to darkness." Riku turned around and while he was turning his body was transformed and Ansem stood in his place.
"Riku!" Sora shouted and reached forward.
"Don't bother," Ansem smirked. "Your voice can no longer reach him where he is. His heart belongs again to darkness. All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts with in it, it grows, consumes it. Such is its nature. In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came!" Ansem suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind them. "You see, darkness is the heart's true essence."
"That's not true!" Sora stopped him. "The heart may be weak and sometime it may even give in. But I've learned that deep down there's a light that never goes out!"
"So you've come this far and still you understand nothing," Ansem began to rise from the ground and floated there. "Every light must fade, every heart return to darkness!" With this shout a form appeared behind Ansem. It was just an upper body but very muscular with two jagged antennae.
"What's that?" Goofy asked.
"This is the Guardian! My own personal Heartless!" Ansem explained and with this the fight began. Sora ran straight at Ansem and brought the Ultima up. He swung the Ultima down but the Guardian appeared in front of him and the attack bounced off. Ansem held his hands up and razor sharp disks of energy came from them. Sora ducked under one but one caught him on the leg.
Donald had set up Aeroga right away and the disks bounced off his shield. He ran at Ansem and blasted a Firaga at him but the Guardian appeared. As soon as the Guardian went back behind Ansem Donald brought up his staff and landed a hard blow to Ansem's face. Ansem glared at him and blasted him away.
Sora and Goofy ran at Ansem at the same time and both got on a different side of him. They both attacked at the same time. Ansem made the Guardian block Sora's attack and grabbed Goofy by the throat right out of the air.
"I am not defenseless without my Guardian," Ansem told him and punched Goofy several times in his gut and then a final time across his jaw sending Goofy to the ground. Ansem turned around and blasted Sora with some powerful magic. Pain ran through Ansem's head as Goofy had gotten back up and crashed his shield against his head.
The enraged Ansem turned to blast Goofy away but had to duck a swipe of the Ultima and was hit by a Blizzaga. He shouted in rage and unleashed an attack in every direction sending them all flying back. Ansem then pointed to Sora.
"Come Guardian!" he shouted and the Guardian flew right at Sora and hit him but instead of going back to Ansem the Guardian went inside Sora. Sora shook his head and went to try an attack. "Come, open your heart." Ansem said and the Guardian appeared from Sora and held him still in the air. A sphere of energy came from Ansem and Sora was caught in it, sending him flying back. The Guardian went behind Ansem again quickly as Goofy and Donald got back up.
They ran over to Sora and helped him get to his feet. Donald cured Sora and they stood ready to face Ansem again.
"Maybe I should level the playing field," Ansem said to himself and the large tree behind him started shaking and soon the entire island shook with it. Then with a deafening noise the tree split in half revealing it to be hollow inside. Ansem smirked and floated back into the tree.
"Let's get him!" Sora was the first to run at him and jumped into the tree but as Donald and Goofy tried to jump in some kind of force field knocked them away. "Donald! Goofy!" Sora shouted up to them.
"You should focus your attention on something else," Ansem laughed and created a pool of darkness under them and from the pool came a gigantic form. It was the first true beast Sora had ever face. It was Darkside.
"I don't have time for you!" Sora shouted and raised the Ultima. Darkside brought his hand down to squash Sora but Sora laughed at how slow it was. He ran up Darkside's arm and slammed the Ultima into its head. "I told you to stay dead! Anything tougher Ansem?" Sora questioned as Darkside disappeared. A blast of energy knocked Sora to the ground.
"As a matter of fact," Ansem said as he flew down and punched Sora several times across the face and then blasted him away again. Sora rolled onto his feet and ran forward with a strong swipe at Ansem but the Guardian blocked it. Ansem was suddenly surrounded by a great swell of energy and flew at Sora. Sora was not prepared for this and Ansem crashed into him very hard. Sora slammed into the nearby wall and blood began to pour from the back of his head.
"That hurt," Sora said as he stood and healed himself. He ran forward with the Ultima raised again and began to swing. Just as the hit was about to connect with the Guardian Sora flipped over it and sliced into Ansem's back.
"You fool," Ansem spat out as he healed his back. "I'll show you true power." He began to glow with an amazing orange light. Suddenly a beam of energy hit Sora from underneath him and while he was in the air Ansem launched another beam that crashed into Sora and made him hit the ground again. The Guardian went inside Sora again but this was what Sora had been waiting for.
Sora ran straight at Ansem knowing the Guardian was waiting for him to attack and then grab hold of him. Instead of using a normal attack he'd have to use something much better.
"Ragnarok!" Sora shouted and leaped into the air cutting deep into Ansem's chest then unleashing the great wave of energy right into the cut. Ansem screamed in pain as the Guardian returned to him.
"You will not survive Keybearer," Ansem said and then there was a flash followed by complete darkness. Sora was still able to see Donald and Goofy who were now at his side but next to that there was absolutely nothing but darkness.
"What?" Sora looked around desperate for something. Ansem's voice suddenly shouted from the darkness.
"Behold the endless abyss! Within it lies the heart of all worlds: Kingdom Hearts!" Then there was a small flash and a floating platform appeared with a large pure white double-door that must have lead to Kingdom Hearts. "Look as hard as you are able, you'll find not even the smallest glimmer of light. From these dark depths are all hearts born. Even yours." Then it appeared.
If Sora had to describe it, it would be a giant platform with a head sticking out the front and a large dome coming up from it with Sora a bug compared to it. Its face was twisted and horrible and the dome was just a large and transparent force field. Sora could see inside of it and there was some kind of blob in there.
On the top of the dome was the Guardian but the Guardian was now as large as the thing it was attached to. The Guardian's antennae had now turned into large horns and there were two large, blue spheres on its shoulders. From the Guardians stomach came about twenty tentacles.
Attached to these tentacles was Ansem. The tentacles were attached to his back and he now only wore black pants with yellow lining and his black boots. Ansem had grown as well and now Sora only came up to his waist.
"Darkness conquers all worlds!" Ansem shouted. Sora felt the ground leave him and the three of them started falling. A dark portal appeared and Donald and Goofy were pulled into it while Sora kept falling. Falling into darkness.
"Giving up already?" Riku's voice filled Sora's ears. "Come on, Sora. I thought you were stronger than that." Sora nodded. He was stronger than this and it was time to prove to Ansem that he was. Sora suddenly stopped and flew into the air coming to a stop in front of Ansem with the Ultima appearing in his hands.
"So you are prepared to do this the hard way?" Ansem asked and a double-bladed halberd appeared in his hand.
"Tell me, Ansem, what is this giant turtle you're attached to?" Sora asked.
"This is the great beast, the World of Chaos. It is my Guardian's true form," Ansem said and the guardian nodded behind him. Sora shook his head and flew forward and brought the Ultima down on Ansem but Ansem used the halberd to block the strike and knocked Sora away. Ansem brought his halberd up and tried to slice through Sora but Sora flew back quickly.
"Can't get me back here while you're attached to your precious Guardian, huh?" Sora taunted Ansem but apparently this was not the right thing to do as Ansem held his hand in the air and several spheres of energy appeared. The spheres fired lasers straight at Sora and he tried to dodge but the lasers were too accurate and most hit him.
Sora quickly decided to remain close to Ansem as he flew back in. He swung the Ultima but Ansem blocked and counterattacked. Sora spun to the side and stabbed Ansem's stomach but Ansem quickly healed himself and struck back. Sora avoided it with a back flip, kicking Ansem in the chin as his feet passed Ansem's head.
"I will not lose!" Ansem started to swell with energy and let lose a blast of terrible power. Sora was hit and hit hard. He shouted out in pain and floated there almost unable to move. "Were are your friends now?"
"I have plenty of friends," Sora said weakly. "You just can't see them."
"Oh really?" Ansem smirked and brought the halberd over his head. "Then they had better get here very fast."
"They're already here!" Sora shouted out and the Ultima began to shine with a brilliant light before many forms appeared from it. One by one they appeared. Simba, Genie, Dumbo, Tinker Ball, and Mushu. His summons stood defiantly behind him staring Ansem right in his face. Tinker Bell healed Sora and she stood with him. Simba let out a beam of golden energy, Genie a beam of blue, Dumbo a gush of water, and Mushu a stream of fire. Ansem let out a scream of pain as the attacks left him beaten.
"Impossible," Ansem muttered and the tentacles pulled Ansem inside the Guardian and a giant Heartless crest appeared, covering and protecting him. Sora's summons disappeared back inside the Ultima. A portal of darkness appeared beneath him and he was pulled in.
It was another room of darkness Sora landed in. The Heartless crest was shining on the floor and Sora thought he saw something move over it.
"What was that?" Sora walked a little closer when he felt something cut through his leg. Sora concentrated on Scan and found that there were nearly a dozen Shadows all around but he couldn't see them.
He sliced in front of him with the Ultima and he felt it tear through two of them and barely miss another. He cast Aeroga on himself and he felt a Shadow bounce off the shield and he sliced through it before it hit the ground.
"Thundaga!" he shouted and more than half of them were killed. He felt two more left in the room. "Strike Raid!" He launched the Ultima and it hit the first Shadow and then the second, killing them both. There was a flash and an orb of energy appeared in the darkness. Sora walked up to it and sliced through it with the Ultima and it exploded.
Sora was in front of the World of Chaos again. Ansem was still behind the Heartless crest so it would be best to take out the World of Chaos now. A small blast went past him and he saw ten pointy blue things shooting at him like they were the artillery of the World of Chaos. He would have to take them out.
He flew down and cut through one and dodged a blast from another then cut through two really big ones. He focused on the three remaining on one side and cut through them and then used a Thundaga to destroy the four on the other side. Now the World of Chaos couldn't attack. There was another portal of darkness and Sora was pulled in.
It was the same dark room with the Heartless crest but this time Sora felt seven Darkballs flying around him.
"Firaga!" he shot at one but it dodged.
"Sora?" Goofy's voice came from the darkness.
"Goofy! Have you been fighting these things the whole time?" Sora asked as he dodged and attack from a Darkball.
"Sure have!" Goofy shouted as he destroyed one. Sora brought the Ultima up and felt it go through another leaving only five left. "Tornado!" Goofy began spinning and cut through three of them. Sora dived forward with the Ultima extended and felt the tip penetrate another.
"One more!" Sora shouted.
"Charge!" Goofy yelled and he went straight through the final Darkball to make the orb of energy appear. Sora walked up to it and slashed through this one as well.
"Now what do we do?" Goofy asked as they appeared near the World of Chaos and Sora inspected it for some kind of weak spot.
"The face!" Sora pointed down to the head sticking out and the horrible face on it. He flew down with Goofy close behind him. Sora had to move back as the face snapped at him but Goofy slammed the edge of his shield into its forehead and carved through it to destroy it. Then another portal pulled them in.
This had to be the most dangerous dark room as Sora felt six Invisibles flying around him and he saw a fireball blast into one and kill it.
"Donald?" Sora asked.
"About time!" Donald shouted as a Thundaga hit the ground a little bit away from them. Sora ran forward but sensed an attack coming and brought the Ultima up to hear and Invisible's sword hit it. He knocked the blade away and stabbed through the Invisible as he felt Goofy kill two more and Donald kill the remaining one.
"I got one!" Goofy suddenly shouted.
"That's me you idiot!" Donald's voice followed as the final orb of light appeared in front of them and Sora sliced through it.
As the reunited heroes appeared before the World of Chaos the force field protecting the large dome was blown away. Sora flew down into the dome with Donald and Goofy behind him to see some kind of shining blob.
"I think it's some kind of core, that's why it was so well protected," Donald said as they inspected it.
"Really?" Sora smirked and brought the Ultima up and slammed it into the core, burying it to the hilt. The core exploded and they were thrown from the dome and looked up to see the Heartless crest disappear and a fully revitalized Ansem come out of the Guardian's stomach.
"This is the end!" Ansem shouted and began to gather energy for some kind of attack.
"You bet it is!" Sora flew straight for Ansem but the large arm of the Guardian knocked him away. Then he suddenly couldn't breath. His windpipe felt like it was being crushed and he saw Ansem with his hands outstretched. He grabbed his throat and looked over to see Donald and Goofy doing the same.
"Face it Keybearer," Ansem got closer to him. "You can't beat me."
"No…I…can't," Sora wheezed out when Ansem's hold over him was blown away by some new power. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were surrounded by a fierce golden energy, creating a gold flame around them. "But we can!"
"Trinity!" Goofy screamed out.
"Limit!" Donald shouted as both he and Goofy pushed their arms forward.
"Attack!" Sora finished and pushed his arms forward as well. Three beams of energy came from them and formed one giant one as big as the World of Chaos itself. The three of them screamed in a perfectly synchronized tone.
"No! This can't be!" Ansem shouted as the beam connected and there was an explosion the likes of which none had ever seen. When it cleared Sora, Donald, and Goofy stood before the beaten Ansem. Ansem was back to normal with his Guardian gone and clutching where his heart should be.
"We win Ansem," Sora said simply.
"It is futile," Ansem said weakly. "The Keyblade alone cannot seal the door to darkness. Kingdom Hearts!" Ansem turned toward the white double-door. "Fill me with the power of darkness!" The doors opened just a little bit and darkness began to pour out form them. "Supreme darkness!"
"You're wrong!" Sora shouted. "I know now, without a doubt, that Kingdom Hearts is light!" As if answering Sora's call the doors burst open all the way and the purest light they had ever seen came from it.
"The light," Ansem said softly with his voice slightly cracking. "But why?" And then in a dazzling display, Ansem was gone and a shockwave went out from the center of the fantastic explosion.
The light died down and the door to Kingdom Hearts was slightly opened. Sora, Donald, and Goofy ran forward and landed in front of the doors as they tried to push them closed as they could but the doors were far too big. Donald and Goofy took one door and Sora took the other as they struggled to push them back together.
"Oh no!" Goofy shouted as he looked beyond the door.
"Stop staring and keep pushing!" Donald shouted at him but couldn't help but look himself and was terrified at what he saw. Thousands of millions of Heartless all with their eyes turned on them.
"The Heartless!" Goofy screamed.
"Hurry!" Donald doubled his efforts but neither part of the door would budge.
"I can't…" Sora was about to give up in this impossible task.
"Don't give up!" a black-gloved hand grabbed the door from the other side. Sora looked in to see Riku trying to pull the door closed. "Come on Sora! Together we can do this!" He shouted and Sora nodded to him as he pushed harder. Behind Riku not one but two Darksides arose from the depths.
"It's hopeless!" Donald yelled. Then two golden blasts came form nowhere. Each blast hit a Darkside and the two of them exploded. Then he appeared, surrounded by a great golden energy. He stood inside the doors like Riku did.
"Your majesty!" Donald and Goofy both shouted. Sure enough, standing before them was the King, Mickey Mouse, the ruler of Donald and Goofy's world. Mickey held his hand out and a Keyblade appeared. It looked just like the Kingdom Key but it was smaller and instead of a gold handle and silver key it was a silver handle and a golden key. It was his Golden Kingdom Key.
"Now Sora, let's close thisdoor for good," Mickey said.
"Close it quick!" Donald screamed.
"But…" Sora looked to Riku and then Mickey. "How will you get out?"
"Don't worry," Mickey turned toward him and the golden energy went away. "There will always be a door to the light."
"Sora, you can trust King Mickey," Goofy assured him.
"Hurry, they're coming!" Riku shouted as he saw the Heartless start to crawl closer. Sora took out the Ultima and changed it back to the Kingdom Key. He held it high into the air and Mickey did the same and the doors slowly began to close.
"Donald, Goofy, thank you," Mickey said as he lowered his Keyblade. Sora walked up to the closing door and his eyes met Riku's.
"Take care of her," Riku said and Sora nodded as tears came to his eyes. Then the door slammed close. Sora turned around and was shocked to see Kairi standing there but the place she was standing on started to turn to sand.
"Kairi!" Sora shouted and ran up to her. He was sure since he and Mickey had closed the door everyone was going back to his or her own world. Kairi was going back to Destiny Islands. Sora knew he wouldn't go back. His journey wasn't over yet.
"Sora!" she shouted back. He reached his hand out and she grabbed onto it.
"Kairi. Remember what you said before? I'm always with you, too," his eyes began to water again. "I'll come back to you! I promise!"
"I know you will!" she shouted back and their hands were pulled apart as Kairi was taken back to Destiny Islands. She was standing on the beach as trees began to sprout and grew back right before her eyes. The water became crystal blue again and soon Destiny Islands was restored to normal.
Kairi watched as countless stars flew into the night sky and found places for themselves. It was all the worlds being restored. She didn't go home right away but just wandered around the island and eventually ended up at the Secret Place. In the cave she saw the drawing her and Sora had made of each other.
Then she noticed the extra part Sora had drawn on right before the island was destroyed of his arm out giving Kairi a Paupu Fruit. She began to cry as she could just picture him sitting there drawing with that silly smile on his face the one that always made her laugh. Even just remembering it made her giggle through her tears as she ran her hand over the drawing.
She picked up a rock and began to draw. She stood when she was done and headed for home. The drawing was of her giving Sora a Paupu back, making their destinies become intertwined. She was home but Riku and Sora weren't.
"Pinocchio! Pinocchio!" Geppetto laughed as Pinocchio jumped around on top of a table with great joy. "You're a real boy!" Geppetto shed some happy tears and Pinocchio pinched himself to see if it was real, and it was.
"Jasmine," Aladdin said softly as he softly wrapped his arms around her and bent down to kiss her. Outside looking in the window Genie covered Abu's eyes.
Queen Minnie and Dasiy smiled to each other as Chip and Dale danced and Donald's nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie jumped around in celebration.
"Look who I found sulking around!" Cid laughed as he walked into the library at Hallow Bastion where Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith were talking. He waved his hand and Cloud walked in behind him.
"Cloud?" Aerith asked speechless. She walked up to him but he turned his head away. Aerith put her hand on the side of his face and moved it so they were looking at each other in the eye.
Leon looked down to see his arm had somehow found its way over Yuffie's shoulder. He jumped and blushed as he moved away. Yuffie just laughed.
Cloud suddenly wrapped his arms around Aerith and held her tightly. For the first time in many years Cloud finally felt happy. So he did the only thing a warrior could do at this point, he cried.