Disclaimer: Characters/Locations are property of Square and/or Disney. I own nothing.

Break The Chains That Bind Us

Chapter Eight

Kaze gripped both Keyblades, ready to the face Organization member before him. His hooded opponent however appeared to have other ideas. They stepped away, summoning up a swarm of Nobodies in the tight space of the corridor, blocking Kaze's way to get to them. The creatures lunged, diving straight for him.

He backed up, using both weapons to cut them down before they could reach him. The cloaked figure didn't seem to approve of his efforts, sending a second wave for him and opening a doorway behind them to retreat into.

With no intention of letting them just leave, Kaze ran forward, attempting to clear a path by focusing only on the creatures that got in his way. As he got near, Oblivion swept in a wide arc towards the Organization member, just as they were swallowed by the swirling cloud, disappearing completely from view.

"Hey! Come back!" Skidding to a halt, he sighed in frustration before spinning around in time to knock aside a leaping Nobody. So much for holding them off for Sora. Obviously there were more important matters for them to attend to.

Disposing of the remaining creatures didn't prove much of a problem, the Keyblades making short work of them. Satisfied the area was clear, Kaze hurried in the direction that Sora had gone. His task became more difficult when he came to a split in the hallway, a corridor branched off to either side, and there was another possible path directly ahead.

Deciding to keep going forward, he rounded a corner only to find the tip of a blade pressed against his neck. His hand twitched at his side, ready to bring up one of the Keyblades… Until he realized who it was he'd just walked into.

The oddly shaped weapon was lowered, and Kaze grinned shakily, relived his head hadn't been taken straight off. "Riku?"

"Did you find Sora?"

"Yes…"

The older boy's eyes narrowed. "Then where is he?"

"I sorta lost him again…"

Apparently unimpressed, Riku brought a hand up to slap against his forehead. "Hey!" Kaze pouted, "It wasn't my fault."

Riku brushed past him, checking the corridor. "Do you know where he went?"

"Not really." Noticing the mage that had almost fried him earlier when he'd stepped off the train, Kaze hurried over to stand behind Riku, where it was at least a little safer. "He said something about finding the Keyhole for this world…"

"And do you know where that is?"

"…No."

"This is just great. This building is going to take forever to search, it's full of a bunch of unhappy Organization members, and we don't have the first clue where to start looking for Sora."

Kaze cringed, it didn't sound like Riku was very happy either. "It's not my fault," he added helpfully. "Besides, you're the one who's pally with the Organization, why don't you just walk up to one and ask them where Sora went?"

Riku glared at him. "I am not pally with them." He sighed, rolling his eyes. "Are you going to help me look for him, or not?"

"Where do you want to start?"

There wasn't a chance for Riku to reply.

"You will not find him in this world any longer."

Kaze twisted around sharply to face the sound of the voice, both Keyblades at the ready. A hooded Organization member stood at the far end of the hallway. Riku pushed past, taking out his own weapon. "Where is he?"

"Not here."

"Then you're going to take us to wherever he is."

"There isn't any reason for you to go there."

"If Sora is there, then that's a perfectly good reason. Where is he?" Riku held the blade at his side. Kaze suspected he was getting ready to attack if he didn't get the answer he wanted.

"If you want to find him, you'll find him at Castle Oblivion." There wasn't an opportunity for Riku to reach them; once the statement was finished, they faded away as suddenly as they had appeared.

While it was awfully nice of them to show up just to let them know where they could find Sora, Kaze wasn't convinced. "How did he get from here all the way there?"

"You've been there before?"

He nodded slowly. "You think he's there?"

Riku gave a shrug before moving off. "Do you have any better ideas of where to check?"

Without any other suggestions, Kaze agreed to go with him. There wasn't any harm in checking, they'd just have to be careful. If Sora was there, it was going to be an odd place to meet him… The same place he'd first seen him and learned the truth…

At least it was fitting.

Kaze stared in horror at Sora's form on the ground before turning and leaving the cave. He didn't stop until he hit the beach where he sank to the ground and gazed out over the ocean. The sun had already completely disappeared, now replaced by the pale moon that reflected off the surface of the water.

He watched each rippling wave intently, trying to calm the sick feeling inside of him. Whatever had happened to Sora, was because of him. He knew that, he'd figured it out long ago. Ever since Namine had told him… He wasn't meant to be there. He'd tried to ignore it, hoping in the end, it wouldn't matter, that he could keep on existing even though he wasn't supposed to, alongside Sora. But now he knew…

Sora needed him. He needed his other half to complete his task. The Door to the Light wasn't going to open for someone who was lacking part of their heart.

Kaze stirred at the sound of someone approaching, but he didn't look back at them. Kairi crouched next to him. "You left…"

"Is he alright?"

She settled down alongside him, looking out across the sea. "I don't know. I can't tell what's happened to him… It's like he's sleeping, but I can't get him to wake up." She regarded Kaze carefully before speaking again. "You know what's wrong with him, don't you?"

"It's my fault, Kairi." He shut his eyes, unable to look at her. "I'm just a part of Sora. I shouldn't be here."

"A part of him?"

He gave her a weary grin. "You remember when Sora used that Keyblade on himself back at Hollow Bastion? That's how I was born. …I'm not supposed to exist. That's why he's laying in there like that."

"That isn't your fault. You couldn't have known that was going to happen to him."

Kaze shook his head firmly. She was wrong, he should have known. Picking himself up, he dusted the sand off and fixed his eyes on her. "It doesn't matter, I'm going to fix it." Not giving her a chance to respond, he started to walk away. He could hear her moving to stand up and follow.

"Where are you going?"

"I can't say. You'll tell Sora, then he'll come and try to stop me."

"Kaze…"

"I'm going to end this where it started. I'm going to open the last Door myself." Would that work? The last one would be In-Between, and he was certain that he already knew where that would be. If he could find it, would it be enough to put things right?

"Wait."

Coming to a brief halt, Kaze faced her, ready to tell her to go back and stay with Sora. It didn't matter what she had to say, his mind was already made up. He was surprised to see that she was holding her hand out, offering him the same good luck charm that Sora had brought back. "If you're a part of Sora, then I know you'll take care of it. When you've done whatever you have to, you can give it back."

"I can't take it." He smiled ruefully at her. "I'm not going to be coming back."

Kairi's hand dropped back to her side and her face fell. "But… what about Sora?"

"Sora will be fine without me." Kaze brought his own hand up to place it against his heart. "I'm going to give him back what he needs."

He started to leave, this time with no intention of stopping. As he moved away down the beach towards, the area they'd left the boats at, he spoke quietly to himself. "I know you'll take good care of him for me, Kairi."

The sensation that he was falling, plunging into darkness all around him, was a familiar one. Sora remembered this all too well, but this was somewhat different; it felt like time was passing painfully slowly. Still, he could relax, knowing where he was…

He had no way of telling how much time had passed before an object came into view below, a brightly coloured platform that stood out against the pitch black that surrounded it. Sora's descent slowed as he came to settle on it.

The pattern that decorated its surface shattered his calm.

Backing away, he shook his head in alarm as he took in the picture under his feet. The shape of the Keyblade was easy to make out, and so was that of the person that was holding it.

It was him.

"You are the one…"

Why was he back here? Was it even the same place as before?

"You are the one that will open the door…"

If that was true, then what had happened when he'd gone to open it?

"You are the one…"

Sora's confusion was quick to turn to frustration. "I tried! I tried and it didn't work."

"…that will open the door."

The surface beneath him shattered without warning, sending him plummeting into the shadows below. The world around him shifted as he hit a solid floor. Pulling himself to his feet, he recoiled in shock, recognizing the area that he now found himself standing in.

Skyscrapers jutting to either side of him, pale glowing signs covered the buildings…

…There was only place where he could be.

One structure stood taller than the rest in front of him, steps lead up to the entrance, and a screen flickered at the top. Images flashed across it.

Images of him and of his other half.

Sora watched as pictures of him and Kaze wavered in and out of focus. He titled his head back to the sky, "I don't know what you want me to do!"

There was no reply, and with no further instructions, Sora decided to take a better look around. What was he supposed to do? He had to have been brought here for a reason.

He cautiously walked up to the front of the building. His hand reached out to touch the doors, and passed straight through it, as the world around him melted, fading away. Everything shifted to darkness and he found himself falling backwards, once more.

Reeling, he squeezed his eyes shut…

"You are the one who will open the door to the light."

…and opened them to find a very surprised Kairi looking down at him. "Sora!"

He jolted upright, blinking slowly as he glanced around him. Catching sight of the various scribbles that adorned the walls, he realized where he was.

"Are you alright? What happened?"

Sora carefully stood up, turning towards her to give a reassuring smile. "I'm fine." He avoided the other question; he didn't know what had happened. His eyes continued to wander around the cave, narrowing. "Where's Kaze?"

At the question, Kairi's expression grew more sorrowful. "He's gone, Sora."

"Gone? Gone where?"

"He wouldn't tell me." She followed him as Sora headed back outside. "He said if you knew, you'd try to stop him."

He turned to face her, bewildered. "I don't understand…"

"Kaze seemed to think what happened to you was his fault," She hesitated, reluctantly adding, "He said he wasn't supposed to exist, so he was going to fix it by opening the last Door on his own."

Sora reached a hand out to press against his chest. Now he understood why he couldn't do anything with this Door; he was missing half of himself, and Kaze knew that. His idea of 'fixing' it could only mean he was going to try and find a way to make Sora complete again, and if he was going to do that…

"Didn't he say anything that might give you a clue to where he was going?"

"I'm not sure…Maybe." Kairi paused, "I don't know what he meant, but..."

"What did he say?"

"He said something about ending it where it started."

Sora knew what he meant; for him, it had started here on his own home, and it should end there when he opened the Door, but for Kaze, it was different. "Twilight Town. The last Door is the one to In-Between, it'll be there." He frowned, as he tried to think. "Or maybe that other place… The Other Side." The one that he was just shown… Did he have to go back there?

He started down the beach, his decision made. He knew where he was supposed to go, he just had to find a way to get back there.

"Sora…"

Stopping, he looked back towards Kairi. "I'm sorry, I can't take you with me. I'll come right back, I promise I won't leave you waiting so long this time."

For a moment, she didn't answer, and then slowly she nodded. "You kept your last promise, so I expect you to keep this one."

Sora smiled and gave her a small wave before turning to leave. As he moved towards his boat ready to return to the main Island, he made another silent promise to himself.

He'd come back, and he'd bring Kaze with him.

He slowed, gradually coming to a halt as he felt the eyes of someone watching him from the shadows. He wasn't surprised, and it wasn't very hard to guess who it was.

"You've been following us."

"You figured it out yourself? You're really going to go ahead and do it?"

Kaze closed his eyes tightly. "I don't have a choice." He paused, considering his options. "I need to go back. Can you find a way to get me there?"

"What makes you think I'd want to?"

"Can you get me there, or not?"

"…Possibly."

The answer was good enough for him. Kaze gave one last glance over his shoulder, in the direction that he'd come from. "Then, let's go."

I'm sorry, Sora…

He turned around to follow the sound of the fading footsteps ahead of him.

… I'm sorry, that I didn't get a chance to say goodbye.

Notes: Sorry for the delay! I had all sorts of problems getting this ready, but it's here now. A slightly shorter chapter than some of the others, but you can probably tell; this is getting ready to move things into the final stretch. Although, there's still quite a bit to cover…

Going to be alternating between updating this and TDK now, but the waits shouldn't be too long. I hope!

Hm, think that was all. Enjoy! ;)