Author's Note: I'm still waiting on some suggestions for third part: Twilight Exodus. The next chapter after this is the Epilogue. Thank you for the reviews! I love you guys!

Chapter 17

Roxas:

When Mickey finally got away from Oblivion, he quickly went on the offensive. It was getting harder to avoid his strikes, which came at close and fast intervals. Demyx and Axel had summoned the dancer and assassin Nobodies to help them against the wave of creatures, but it didn't help. I could only hope that Kairi could return Sora to normal. Mickey struck again hard enough to knock both keyblades out of my hands.

I backpedaled to get out of his reach. Surprisingly, he didn't pursue me. I continued to back up into the safety of my allies. Mickey made his keyblade vanish. The air grew heavy. The Nobodies and Heartless backed away.

"What are you doing, Mickey?" Riku asked.

"Destroying the world."

The floor shook violently beneath our feet, throwing us off-balance. I landed on top of Axel, which in other circumstance, would have been excellent. But this wasn't the time.

"Ultima!" Mickey shouted.

The walls around us literally exploded outward. I managed to shield my head from the onslaught. The sky was a deep crimson color. Where the moon used to be was a swirling burnt orange ball that was leaking streams of fire. I tried to get back onto my feet, but I found that I couldn't. Some mysterious force was keeping us pinned down.

Kairi:

The ground shook violently beneath us, forcing both of us off-balance. I wasn't sure what was going on, but all I knew was that some serious magic was in the air. It affected Sora greatly for he was holding his head in pain.

"Kairi…what's going on?"

Sora?

He was now staring at me with bright amber eyes.

He was back to normal!

I rushed over to him carefully.

"You're in the World that Never Was," I replied.

"Mickey…he took me…"

I embraced him tightly.

"I know."

"You need to get away. He still has my heart. I am still a danger to you."

Out of the corner of my eye, black cracks began to form in the pavement. Parts of Memory's Skyscraper began to break off and float into the sky. A powerful wind swept through the area lifting up large chunks of the pavement. I had to admit that I was terrified.

"Sora, what's going on?" I asked over the noise.

"He's destroying the world."

The sound of destruction grew louder. I could only pray that Axel and the others were okay.

"I don't want to die now…"

"Don't worry, Kairi…You won't," was the last thing before the world went dark.

Dark Depths—Remnants of The World That Never Was

Kairi:

I opened my eyes before I knew that they were closed. It was dark…much like the darkness of the dark realm. My eyes took seconds to adjust. What I saw next made me wish that I had kept my eyes closed. The 'walls' were composed of Heartless arms and bodies writhing in what seemed like agony. It was absolutely horrifying to see.

"Kairi!"

The rest of the group gradually appeared in front of me, no worse for the wear. I silently thanked the gods for their safety.

"I'm so glad you guys are safe."

"What about Sora?" Riku asked.

Sora?

I turned around. My bonded was lying on his side on the 'ground'. I checked our link. Nothing. Panic welled up in my chest. I had to bring him back somehow. I touched his head with my fingers and mentally prepared myself to cross our link. I felt myself falling…

When it stopped, I was sitting on the sand of a beach. I stood up and glanced around. This was Destiny Islands.

How did I get back here? Wait…I must be in Sora's mind.

"Sora?" I called.

I took yet another look around and saw him standing in the middle of the beach. Behind him was darkness.

"Sora…is that you?" I asked.

"You shouldn't be here."

"I came here to see you."

"Go away."

I walked across the beach until I was inches away from him. Sora stared at me with startling blue eyes.

"Do you remember why I ate the paopu fruit?"

"Yeah…but…"

"But nothing, Sora. I ate the fruit so that I could be with you. I am your light now!"

Sora simply stared at me. There was a tear rolling down his pale cheek. I took my thumb and brushed it away gently.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Take your heart back."

Roxas:

"All right, I'll bet eight-thousand munny that Demyx will aid in Mickey's defeat," I declared.

Axel and Riku gave me an incredulous look.

"I doubt that'll happen. Ten-thousand munny says that he won't," Axel muttered.

"Fifteen-thousand munny says the same thing," Riku added.

I kept my snicker to myself. We left Daisy by Kairi's side to ensure protection and ventured into the dark depths. It didn't take long to find Mickey. Axel attacked first, creating a firestorm that scorched the area in front of us. The mouse king emerged soon after, glowing a deep yellow. I rushed at him, intending to impale him. However, he vanished before I could do so. I slid to a stop and glanced around warily.

"Roxas, move!"

Axel?

All I saw as a flash of light before I felt a searing pain across my midsection. I fell backwards. Axel rushed over to my side with a concerned look on his face.

"You bastard! Come back here so I can fry you to bits!"

Mickey appeared again and was instantly trapped in a column of water. Riku approached the column warily. All of a sudden, the mouse broke free of the spell and started towards Riku. Seconds later, Riku was attempting to block his blows.

Kairi:

I was relieved when Sora got up onto his feet. So far, everything was on it's way back to normal. Now we had to help the others. I followed him further into the dark depths. Axel was shielding Roxas with his body. Riku was struggling to get up from the ground. Demyx was trying desperately to keep Mickey away with water spells. He wouldn't be able to keep this up for long.

"Kairi…you know what to do," Sora whispered.

When I was in his mind, he taught me one spell. There was only one spell he couldn't cast…

I took in a deep breath.

"Holy."

Power instantly poured out of my body and engulfed the area in white light. Mickey stopped and screamed. Several white orbs materialized above him and fired laser-like beams at his body. The lsers tore through his body, vaporizing it completely. The light faded as quickly as it came.

"Hey you guys, you so owe me," Roxas announced.

"Are you kidding?" Axel asked.

"He aided in the defeat of Mickey, now pay up."

"Roxas, I swear I'll kill you."

"I doubt that."