"Raaah!" Sora charged at Riku, who was still recovering from the last attack. He hit his friend straight on, and Sora knew that this was the final blow; the fight was over.

Riku stumbled back, dropping his Keyblade. He looked up at Sora, eyes filled with disbelief. He seemed to be saying, i "How could a weakling like you defeat me?" /i He began to fade away, and within seconds was gone.

"Riku!" Sora cried out, but his friend had disappeared. He stood there for a minute, contemplating what had happen.

"Sora!" The voice snapped him out of his trance. It was Donald, who was running towards him now that Riku was defeated and his barrier gone. Goofy was coming, too, from the other side. "Sora, look!" Donald exclaimed upon reaching Sora. He pointed towards to Keyhole.

Goofy looked too, and said, startled, "The… the Keyhole!"

i A Keyhole… in that case, I have to seal it, /i Sora thought, approaching the Keyhole, Donald and Goofy following close behind. He thrust out his Keyblade, ready for the all-too-familiar beam of light to shoot out, to hear the clicking noise that meant the heart of this world was secure… but nothing happened.

"It won't work!" Goofy exclaimed. "The Keyhole's not finished yet!"

"What can we do?" Sora asked, frustrated.

Goofy looked over at Kairi's sleeping form. "Maybe we've gotta wake Kairi up."

Sora looked up, then over at Kairi. "… I think you're right," he said. "If we can free her heart… but… but how?" His eyes searched about for anything that might give them a clue, and they fell upon the Dark Keyblade. "A Keyblade that unlocks people's hearts… I wonder."

"Sora?" Goofy asked.

Sora walked over to the fallen Keyblade, and picked it up. It was lighter than his, he noticed, but had a weird feeling about it.

Goofy realized what Sora was doing, and cried out, "Sora, hold on!"

"No, wait!" Donald yelled, as he too caught on to Sora's plan.

Gripping the Keyblade, Sora turned and grinned at his friends. Without any hesitation, he thrust the Keyblade into his heart. It took less than a minute, but time seemed to barely move as Sora sacrificed himself.

The Keyblade began to glow. That glow changed into seven streams of light. Six of them flew out to where the six Princess of Heart lay sleeping, and the seventh spiraled downwards into Kairi, illuminating her, if only for a moment.

Sora himself began to glow, and slowly, fall. His safety didn't matter anymore. All that he cared about was restoring Kairi to life, giving her back her heart. As he began to disappear, a thought crossed Sora's mind: i I wish I could have seen her… one last time. /i

"Sora… Sora!" Donald shouted, distraught.

Beside Sora, the girl lying on the ground began to stir. A finger twitched. Her eyelids flickered, then opened completely. Kairi awoke.

She sat up slowly, then stopped as she saw him.

"Sora!"

His head turned slightly, and he saw her get to her feet and run towards him, arms reached out, as if to catch him. A slight smile hovered on Sora's lips as he faded away completely, seconds before Kairi's arms could reach him.

Donald and Goofy ran over, while Kairi sank to the ground. "Sora! Come back, Sora!" Donald cried.

Kairi sat there, staring at her hands. Sora was gone. i My voice can't reach him anymore. My hands can't touch him anymore. /i Tears streamed from her eyes as she realized that she'd never see Sora again.

Hopeless, she looked up towards the heavens. "Sora… are you really…" For a moment, she thought he was truly gone, but that quickly changed. Kairi was stubborn, and she wasn't going to give up on Sora: not now, not ever.

"No." She got to her feet. "It can't be. I won't let him go!"

"What's… what's happening?" Sora opened his eyes to darkness. All around him, an endless night. "Falling… falling… into darkness." He closed his eyes again.

This time, when he opened them, he was somewhere different. He was… back in the Great Hall? He was! The Keyhole was behind him; the Sleeping Princesses before him. But where was Kairi? He had to find her! Sora dashed down the steps and through the open doors of the hall.

He continued on, until he reached the Entrance Hall. As he entered it, he saw Kairi, Donald, and Goofy at the base of the stairs.

"Kairi, hurry!" Goofy was saying.

The girl shook her head. "I can't leave them behind!"

Kairi! Sora was overjoyed to see her again. He bounded over to the steps, and quickly ran down them. Donald saw him, and barred his wand.

"We can't stay here!" Donald said, nodding towards Sora.

Goofy saw him, too. "A Heartless is after us!"

A Heartless? Sora figured that there must be one close by, so he rushed across the floor, wanting to protect Kairi from it.

"I'll take care of him!" Donald lunged at him with his wand, and Sora barely avoided it. What? Why was Donald attacking him? Didn't they know it was him? Didn't they recognize him?

"Confounded Heartless!" Donald muttered. "Get lost, will ya?"

Sora suddenly realized that they were talking about him. He was a Heartless! So that's what happened when he gave up his heart… he should have realized it sooner! But… how could he tell his friends that it was him?

He tried to speak, but nothing came out. This was bad! At this rate, they'd keep attacking him, and Sora knew he couldn't evade them forever! And he didn't want to hurt them, so attacking wasn't an option!

A footstep. Kairi moved forward, her eyes fixed on the small Heartless. It seemed so much like him… "Sora? Is that you?"

"Uh-oh!" Goofy exclaimed suddenly, pointing. Heartless were popping up like crazy, surrounding them. Goofy took his battle position, and he and Donald launched an attack against the Heartless, getting farther away from Kairi and Sora.

Kairi held the Shadow Heartless in her arms. She knew in her heart that this was Sora, and she wasn't about to lose him again. "This time, I'll protect you," she whispered.

Goofy hit a Heartless with his shield, and while it was disappearing, glanced back. A mob of Heartless surrounded Kairi and Sora. Their bodies faded, merging into pure darkness. "Kairi!" Goofy cried out.

The Heartless surged forward, hungry for hearts to feed upon. Kairi squeezed the Shadow, and closed her eyes, bracing herself for the attack that was sure to come.

But it didn't. A blinding light emitted from Sora, destroying the Heartless. When it faded, it wasn't a Shadow that Kairi was clutching onto, but Sora himself. He hugged Kairi, and she hugged him back, not wanting the moment to end.

Sora opened his eyes and gazed down upon her. "Kairi… thank you."