Kingdom Hearts: The Nintendo Version

by KingdomKey23

What would happen if Nintendo and SquareEnix teamed up to make Kingdom Hearts? You're about to find out as Sora, Luigi, and Yoshi do battle against the heartless, in your favorite Nintendo worlds. Enjoy it from start to finish.

35. The Final Duel in Darkness Part II

Chapter XXXIV: The Final Duel in Darkness Part II

They floated through an empty void, lost in the darkness, the silence haunted upon them as they softly flew down. Luigi took the time to heal Sora and Yoshi in the process, who were too exhausted from their duel with the hands. They continued to float gently down, lost in the dark, wondering where they were going to end up. It seemed like hours to them, falling through the bottomless pit like Yoshi's stomach.

"Guys?" Sora asked. "How long have we been falling?"

Luigi looked at his watch, "About ten minutes, Sora. I don't know where we're going to end up. I just hope it's somewhere that causes no pain."

"You'd wish," Sora chuckled. He then looked around, trying to find a way out of the darkness. "But we have to find away out of here. Ansem is waiting for us."

"Look!" Yoshi abruptly pointed.

Sora looked down, noticing a white circular light at the bottom of the darkness. The group could feel their bodies tense up, feeling as though this may lead them to the king of darkness himself. Sora flew head first into the light, the others following close behind, shutting their eyes from the light. They felt the force of gravity, pushing down on them like they were rocks falling off a canyon.

They kept their eyes shut from the brightness as they flew into it. They felt the wind as it brushed lightly against their faces, the force pulling them faster then ever. Slowly opening his eyes, Sora saw the portal of light they were flying in. They looked around and wondered, where are they going? Finally, the portal of light brightened again, causing the foursome to squint. As the light dimmed they noticed a multi-color cave coming into view.

The four quickly put their feet out first, so that they could land safely on the ground. The four finally flew out of the light and into the area. They slowly floated down and landed on the ground. Luigi wiped his forehead with relief, knowing he didn't crash for one. The four looked around the room. It was simply beautiful, a purple cave filled with crystals that stuck out from the sides of the room. The floor underneath was mixed with colors that had a green outline. Sora's group noticed a giant heartless symbol at the other end of the cave.

"That must be the way to the next room." assumed Toadsworth. "Onward, masters!"

The four headed to the heartless symbol when all of a sudden, as if out of nowhere, another Behemoth appeared from the sky, giving a hard pound to the ground. The impact knocked Sora's group over.

"Come on!" Luigi groaned with anger. "Can't we ever take two steps without running into this fatso?"

Behemoth growled from Luigi's insult and powered up it's horn.

"I think you got it mad!" Sora cried, taking his keyblade out.

Toadsworth quickly ran for cover behind a giant stone as the trio braced themselves for the assault. The giant fired a giant laser at them, which the trio dodged. Standing back up, Sora quickly jump up and onto the monster w. Sora slashed horizontally across the beast's horn, delivering the piercing pain. It screamed in pain and whipped it's head around, trying to knock Sora off. The boy quickly grabbed onto the horn tightly as he held on for dear life.

Luigi quickly fired gravity at the horn, weakening the monster's power. Yoshi joined in with a few eggs as well. Sora continue to slash the beast as it jerked its head back and forth, trying to knock the boy off. It finally spun its head enough to knock him off. Sora caught himself as he hit the ground and retaliated towards the monster. It shot more energy balls at the heros who rolled away from the attack.

The trio quickly ran under the monster's legs at full speed. Behemoth stomped at the heros who quickly dodged the attacks. Appearing at the other end, the trio jumped onto the giant's back and charged for the horn. It then fired an electric shock wave, knocking the trio back, feeling the shock from bolts. The trio, using all of their might charged forth and braced themselves for another one. Sora held his keyblade up as he blocked the attacks.

Finally, Sora gave a hard thrust, stabbing it right dead center in the horn. The monster screamed with a loud roar, feeling the extreme sharpness of the keyblade. The battle didn't last too long as the trio knew Behemoth's strategy. So predictable, Sora thought. The trio continued to attack with everything they've got, until the heartless final fell and disappeared from sight.

The trio sighed with relief as they know the battle was over. Or so they thought? Ahead, they noticed a small part of the upper right corner of the heartless symbol flashing. It slowly formed a hole and slid into the hole. A white piece covered up the hole to take its place. Shrugging their shoulders, the trio pressed on to the heartless symbol, unaware that they've only begun this part.

As they walked for the heart, a group of heartless appeared before them. There were tons surrounding the foursome as they formed a circle around Toadsworth, protecting him. Sora gripped his keyblade tightly, feeling the tension rising. They knew this was a final test before Ansem as heartless appeared from all corners of the room.

Sora bravely pointed his keyblade forward and yelled, "Charge!"

Sora slashed his way though the heartless, cutting the pieces of darkness away. One with a sword dashed forward and attacked with a thrust, but the boy jumped over the attack, giving Yoshi the chance to ram his head into its stomach, sending it flying. Luigi shot a fire spell at it, destroying it. Sora slid across the floor on his feet and caught himself with his hands.

Yoshi dove under an attack from an Angel Star's energy ball. Turning onto his back, he fired an egg at it, causing the egg to go splat. The heartless flew around, aimlessly looking for its target. It fired another energy beam which hit one of its fellow heartless in the back. Sora bolted forward and jumped into the air, ready to land his blade on another one. He brought it down with full force, knowing he wasn't going give up.

Sora vertically slashed through the heartless, breaking its sword and itself in half. Sora quickly spun around and got knocked aside by another one. He quickly kicked against the wall and pushed back with all his might. He then rammed the heartless in the stomach, sending it flying back. Luigi threw a smash punch at it, knocking it into the air. Sora threw his keyblade at it, shredding it into dust and particles.

The group gasped as more came at them, charging with full energy. The latter proved to be much more stronger than the first group, but the trio managed as Sora slashed through every single heartless, putting his heart and soul into it. Each fierce blow more powerful than before. Two charged from each side while one flew from above. Sora quickly jumped up doing a split in the air, kicking at the two heartless, and then, bending his back from the third, flipping over and kicking it in the jaw.

Yoshi curled into a ball and made an egg appear around him. The egg then spun at the heartless, knocking them all over the place. The egg slid to one end of the room and bounced back, knocking the heartless over. Luigi used the P3000 to suck some of the heartless in. Luigi then shot them at other heartless, knocking them over.

Sora also called in Ness again to clear the field of any heartless with his psychic powers. The group couldn't believe their eyes as more heartless appeared. The group went into the battle again, delivering every hard blow, feeling the sweat dripping down from their bodies, their hearts pounding which each movement they made. Finally, the trio combined their powers together for the "Trinity Limit" attack. Together, their amazing force of mustard color energy obliterated every single heartless.

As the smoke cleared, the trio panted, too tired to go on. Sora sat down for the moment, his breathing heavy from all the fighting. Toadsworth ran over to the others making sure they were alright.

"Masters," Toadsworth said in concern. "Are you alright?"

"Wow, that was a hoot!" Luigi sighed tiredly. "I don't think my scrawny little body can go on." He then fell over, dramatically clutching his chest with his hand. "You go ahead. Don't worry about me."

Sora chuckled lightly, "Come on, man! We're almost there!" Sora noticed that the heartless symbol has now completely turned white. The outline around it turned a golden color. He knew that this was it, the path to their destiny, their fate, where they may not come back alive. "Grab Luigi and let's move!"

Sora walked to the heartless symbol with the others dragging Luigi along. Sora stepped towards the heartless symbol, scanning it carefully. He didn't notice any doorknobs to even open their way. Curiously, Sora, slowly but surely, tapped his finger on the symbol and was shocked to see his finger pass right through it. It was a fake wall, he thought.

Taking a deep breath, he bravely stepped through the heartless symbol, noticing he was passing right through it. On the other side, he saw a small room with rocks on the ground. He noticed a small pot on the side with a stream of water filling up in it. He felt his mouth become dry, he felt a bit dehydrated from the fighting. Sora bent down and cupped his hands together, gently lifting the water into his hands.

He drank the water thoroughly and quickly. He felt the water clear the dryness, cooling his body down. Sora greedily did it again. He was too thirsty to even think. Soon he heard footsteps and quickly turned around to see the others.

"Master Sora?" asked a confused Sora. "What are you doing?"

"I found some water, guys." Sora explained. "You can have some if you want."

Luigi, Yoshi, and Toadsworth ran over and drank the water. They felt their stomachs fill right to the top as it quenched their thirst. They sighed and stood back up, feeling more energized.

"Where do you think we are?" Sora pondered to himself.

Luigi looked around the room. It was pretty small with the pot and the small stepping stones on the ground. However, Luigi noticed a strange door in the corner of the room. He was baffled by it.

"Hey, look at this!" Luigi called.

The others turned to notice the door standing before them.

"What with funny door?" Yoshi asked Luigi.

"Could lead us to Ansem I bet." Sora said boldly. "Let's check it out."

The foursome walked over to the door. Their minds were filled with riddles as they looked at it. Could this be the gateway to darkness? And if it was, would Ansem be waiting for them? There was only one way to find out. Sora turned back to his group, looking for support. Without saying a word, the others nodded to him, telling him to press on. They had not time to waste, and at this point, there was no turning back.

Luigi was even serious as he too wanted to end this nightmare. Sora gulped as he slowly brought his hand up and moved it towards the door. His anxiety rising with each slow movement he made. All of a sudden, Sora stopped. He thought he lost his mind as he blinked with question. The others looked at their friend, a bit confused.

"Kid, are you alright?" asked a concerned Luigi.

"Can you hear that?" Sora replied. "Listen, there!"

Sora heard a voice inside of his mind, a voice that was somehow familiar to him.

"Careful." warned the voice, whispering into Sora's mind "This is the last haven you'll find here. Beyond, there is no light to protect you, only darkness flows through here. But don't be afraid. Your heart is the mightiest weapon of all. Remember, you are the one who will open the door to the light."

"Yeah, I hear it," Luigi said jokingly. "The sound of silence is what I hear."

"I'm serious!" snapped Sora. He then closed his eyes and whispered, "And that voice...it sounded familiar to me. Am I imagining this?"

"Why not take a break for a few minutes?" suggested Yoshi.

"No," Sora rejected. "I'm fine."

"Then press on, Master Sora." Toadsworth said.

Sora gently gripped the handles of the door, his shoulders tensed tightly as he slowly pulled the doors open. As the door opened, a bright light appeared on the inside of it. It consumed them, blinding them for an instance. The brightness continued to flow through them as they felt their bodies being pulled into another dimension. Finally, the lights dimmed and the group was able to their new surroundings.

Luigi, Yoshi, and Toadsworth saw a small, beautiful, island, the palm trees surrounding it, a small wooden house like area in the corner of the area. They were on the beach part of the island, their feet in the warm sand, the gentle breeze rushing into their faces. The three figured that this was possibly another world they've encountered, but there was one problem, they've never seen this world in their life.

"Hm, this is a nice island." Luigi complimented. "Nice, small, and peaceful. But, I've never seen it in my life."

"This is most strange," Toadsworth thought out loud. "The places we visited in this world were memories of the other worlds we've encountered. Yet, I've never been here in my life."

"Yoshi haven't either." Yoshi nodded in agreement.

"Then if you never been here, and if Toadsworth has never been here, and I've never been here, then that means..."

Everyone turned to Sora, who's face was frozen from seeing the island. He knew the truth, this was his childhood home, he couldn't believe it. His heart pounded rapidly from the excitement of seeing his island again.

"Is this...Is this my island?" Sora startled.

"Your island?" Luigi exclaimed.

"This your home," assumed Yoshi. "Isn't it?"

Sora nodded to Yoshi. He looked up, everything felt very real to him, but at the same time, all was not well. He felt a tingle type of feeling that slowly crept up his spine, moving towards his brain.

"This looks exactly like my island." Sora stated. "But, this isn't my island at all."

"Why not?" Yoshi asked, slightly tilting his head.

"Think about it, Yoshi," Toadsworth said. "If this was Master Sora's island, we wouldn't be here with him, now would we?"

"Great," Luigi grumbled. "And I didn't want to fight anyone."

Sora felt a bit disappointed by this, knowing this was not his island. He then felt a strange source of power, a feeling that was telling him to go to the secret place by the waterfall. Without even thinking, Sora slowly, but surely walked towards the secret place. Sora's concerned friends wondered why he was doing so without even giving them any notice.

"Master Sora?" Toadsworth asked in concern. "What are you-?"

Still facing the other way, Sora called to his friends, "I feel strange...like, something is telling me to head over to the secret place."

"You told us about that place once," Luigi said. "Are you sure about this?"

Sora nodded and walked on. Shrugging their shoulders, the others followed. Sora walked up the board on the side of the area that moved up and slowly walked up it. He then started to run, he felt more desperate to make it to the secret place. He didn't even know why he was feeling this way. The others were astonished as they looked at their surroundings. They noticed that the trees, the ladders, the wood shop was disappearing from them.

As Luigi stepped onto the wooden platform, it disappeared which caused the man to fall into the sand. Standing back up, he shook his head, getting rid of the sand in his face, spitting out the crusty substance from his mouth. The others finally arrived at the small cave, the gateway to the secret area. They all stopped suddenly, they felt the earth begin to shake below their feet. Luigi began to panic.

"Holy macaroni!" exclaimed Luigi. "It's an earthquake!"

Sora quickly spun his body around, knowing more elements of the island was disappearing from his sight. They then heard a familiar voice.

"This world has been connected." called a deep voice.

Yoshi hugged Sora's leg, frightened by the voice.

"Ooh, what that?" Yoshi whimpered.

"Ansem?" Sora whispered perplexed.

"Tied to the darkness...soon to be completely eclipsed." the voice continued. The group noticed the beautiful blue ocean turning into an eerie, dark, purple ocean. The world began to vibrate faster then ever. "There is so very much to learn, and yet, you understand so little."

Sora realized something to his horror, "That voice! That speech! It belonged to that hooded man from my island! That was Ansem!"

"It's a meaningless effort, for one who knows nothing can understand nothing." the voice finished.

The group could see the island change rapidly before their very eyes. The ground began to split all over towards the edge of the water, dark spiky trees appeared around the sides of the island. Sora now knew, without a doubt, that this was a mere memory of his island. Sora felt his jaw drop as he looked out to the edge of the island. He saw Riku, standing there, looking at the shore of the water. He was wearing the dark suit he wore from Hallow Bastion.

"Riku!" Sora cried. "Hang on, man!" He then ran towards his friend

Luigi tried to stop Sora, "Wait! It could be a trap!" It was too late, Sora was gone. Luigi rolled his eyes. "That kid." He then turned towards Yoshi. "Let's go catch up with him!" Yoshi ran to catch up with Sora while Luigi turned to Toadsworth. "Toadsworth, I think things are about to get ugly. Could you stay here?"

"I will comply, Master Luigi." Toadsworth nodded. "Do be careful though."

Luigi nodded to Toadsworth, giving him assurance. He then left to catch up with the others as they ran to Riku. Sora didn't care about anything at the moment, except to speak with Riku again. He got closer and closer, his excitement building. He couldn't even hear Luigi and Yoshi calling to him. The trio then heard Ansem's voice again, stopping them dead in their tracks.

"Take a moment," Ansem said softly. "Look at this tiny place. A luscious island nestled between night and day. Its magnificence brings the children to it. It seems peaceful, but in reality this island is nothing more then a prison on water, to the hearts that seek freedom from it."

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked, dumfounded by Ansem's words.

"There are those foolish enough to believe they can cross between worlds, find a new meaning to justify their existence." continued the king of darkness. He then put his arms into the air, lightly scoffing. "Then there was this boy, a foolish boy who sought out to escape from the confinements of his prison. He sought a way to crossover into other worlds, but in the end he opened his heart to darkness."

Riku slowly turned towards the trio, a dark wave engulfing his body. They gasped as Riku slowly disappeared, his image being replaced by Ansem as he slowly turned his way towards the trio.

"Riku, come back!" Sora cried.

"It's pointless," Ansem lightly laughed, grinning evilly. "Don't even waste your breath. His voice can no longer be heard where he is. His heart belongs again to darkness."

"No, it can't be." Sora spurned.

Ansem cocked an evil grin, looking at Sora who still refused to believe his friend was lost in the darkness.

"Silly boy," he laughed. "You remain in denial. A childhood fantasy of believing in anything you want. You can't comprehend the truth. Darkness is all around us. Our mere existence begins in darkness, as does the worlds that twinkle in the blackness of space. And for every beginning there is an end, thus concluding that all worlds shall end the darkness." The trio looked at Ansem, his words truly frightening to them. "The heart itself is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, grows, consumes it. Such as its nature." The trio could feel time has stopped, that something was making them still see him, but his voice came from another direction. "In the end result, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came!"

The trio turned around to get startled by Ansem who was levitating in midair. His face showing a frightening sign of evil and darkness. Yoshi became too scared and jumped into Sora's arms, hugging him tightly, whimpering with fear.

"Oh, Sora, make the bad man go away!" Yoshi cried.

"Do not worry, young one." Ansem said softly to Yoshi. "Soon you too will be absorbed by the darkness. You cannot escape it because darkness is the heart's true essences." He then shook his hand down at them with spastic movement as he finished saying this.

"Is shaking your hand like that suppose to make you look cool or something?" Luigi thought with a raised eyebrow.

"Stop it!" Sora snapped at Ansem. "You're wrong!"

Ansem looked at Sora, shocked at what he just said. He was a great researcher, he knew no limits. He couldn't believe a boy was questioning his research, research that took an entire lifetime to pursue.

"You dare challenge my knowledge!" snarled Ansem. "I know everything! I know that there is darkness. The heart is nothing more then a weak organ. The darkness can overcome it."

Sora put his head down, "I'll admit, the heart can be weak and sometimes it may give in," He then looked up at Ansem, determination in his blue eyes, confidence spreading through his heart. "But I've learned, through the experience of my journey, that deep down there is a light that never goes out!"

Ansem was stunned by Sora's words. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. A boy was challenging his knowledge, his research, his studies. He wasn't going to let Sora get the best of him anymore. He knew that it had to be done now. Slowly, he flew up even more.

He smirked lightly at the boy, "Impressive. You've come so far and you still understand nothing. So, it is time to show you what real power is. Every light must fade, every heart return to darkness!"

A dark wave appeared behind him, displaying a giant creature with two horns and no legs. The group got shocked upon seeing this.

"We're in trouble." Luigi gulped.

Sora took his keyblade out, ready for one more battle.

"We can beat him!" Sora assured bravely. "We just need to pull through!"

"You think you can defeat me and my guardian, keyblade master?" Ansem laughed "Think again! Prepare for battle!"

Putting his hand out at his side, Ansem magically made Riku's weapon of choice, the Souleater appear in his hand. Sora's group stood ready, staying focused on the king of darkness. The wind blew lightly through the island, the trio standing ready for the final duel. Ansem held his sword with one hand, and flew at our heros.

Sora put his keyblade up as the man brought his sword down on him. Electricity flew out from the impact with a big clang. The battle has begun. Sora quickly side stepped to the left, gripping the keyblade in his left hand. Sora kicked forward, charging at Ansem. Sora gave a hard thrust, but Ansem effortlessly dodged the attack. Ansem kicked Sora in the jaw, knocking him into the air. The dark guardian from behind quickly grabbed his leg and harshly threw him into the ground.

Luigi shot a fire spell at Ansem while Yoshi shot eggs at him. Ansem smirked with confidence, noticing their pitiful attempts.

"How foolish." he muttered under his breath. "Guardian come forth!"

The guardian from behind quickly appeared in front of Ansem, taking the hits. However, it seemed to have no effect on the monster. The duo gasped in horror as the monster charged at them, smacking them aside with its giant hand. Sora quickly recovered from his attack and clashed with Ansem. Sora put all his weight into the attack as he pushed him back. Ansem, unfazed by the boy's efforts, quickly slid the sword under the keyblade, knocking it out of his hand.

Ansem slashed at Sora again, knocking him into the ground. Ansem flew at Sora with full force, pointing his sword downward at the hero. Sora looked up to see Ansem bringing it down on him. He quickly spun to the side, retaliating with a kick to the hip, knocking Ansem aside. Sora stood back up and grabbed his keyblade. The trio ran at Ansem again, who called his guardian to shoot dark energy disks at them.

One of the disks missed Sora by an inch, tearing a piece of his shirt off. Luigi quickly ducked under another one, and Yoshi avoided one. Yoshi stuck his tongue out to try and eat one, but Sora quickly grabbed him, jumping out of the way.

"Yoshi!" Sora shouted with warning. "Don't try to eat those! They're too sharp!"

Yoshi nodded, understanding Sora's terms. Luigi cast Aeroga on the three of them, which deflected the attacks away. One which hit Ansem in the chest. He cried out in pain from the sharpness of his own attack. The trio quickly flew to attack now that Ansem was stunned, but as they approached him the guardian clenched its fist, forming a dark energy wave. It then threw a punch at them, knocking them back into the sand.

Sora quickly kicked his feet into the air, pushing himself to stand up. Ansem flew towards the group again, ready to strike them down. Ansem vertically slashed at Sora who did a back flip over the attack. As he hit the ground, he bolted forward and clashed with Ansem again. The two struggled with the blow. Sweat dripped down Sora's face as he pushed against Ansem.

Luigi and Yoshi quickly jumped over Sora and delivered a hard kick to Ansem's chest, sending the man crashing into the ground. Ansem stood up, a bit annoyed, but still not too worried about losing. Toadsworth watched, giving the trio his full support. Yoshi threw an egg at Ansem which he sliced in half with his sword. Luigi shot a gravity spell, but the guardian came to Ansem's defense, blocking the attack.

Luigi and Yoshi continued to fire magic and eggs at the evil king. The guardian continued to take the duo's hits, but sill remained unfazed by their attacks. Ansem simply laughed at their foolishness, expecting them to pray that they would actually hit him at this angle. He then noticed something, there was only two. Where did Sora go? Ansem then felt something lightly tap his shoulder. Turning around, Ansem saw Sora, standing there with a cocky smile.

"Surprise!" Sora shouted.

Sora slashed Ansem in the back with a harsh blow, knocking him into the guardian, who flew into the sand. Ansem quickly flew back up, firing more disks at the trio. Sora moved around, evasively dodging the attacks. Luigi quickly rolled behind Ansem, firing another fire spell at Ansem which hit in the back. He felt the burning inferno hitting his back, he screamed from the damage.

Ansem growled angrily, he couldn't let them win. He angrily charged at Luigi who gulped nervously. Holding his sword out, he slashed at Luigi who jumped over the attack. Luigi powered up a fire punch, but the guardian grabbed him and threw him into Sora. Yoshi rammed his head into Ansem who grabbed his neck. Yoshi giggled nervously as he came face to face with the seeker of darkness.

"Um, hello.." gulped Yoshi.

"Good-bye." Ansem smirked as he dropped Yoshi.

Ansem quickly spun his body around and gave a hard horizontal slash to Yoshi, knocking him into the waterfall. Toadsworth quickly ran to Yoshi's aid, but turned to see Ansem flying towards them. Even though he was old, he would still protect Yoshi. Ansem stopped in midair, looking at the two.

"Time to show them what real power is!" Ansem said. He then flew over to the group at an incredible speed. "Guardian...SUBMIT!"

The heartless was about to strike them with a hard blow, when Sora nimbly jumped in front of them, taking the hit. Sora flew back into the waterfall, hitting the ground. Sora stood up, wiping his face off. He charged at Ansem again, but gasped as the guardian appeared before him, punching him aside. Sora stood back up, confused about what happened.

"What did you do?" Sora asked.

"My guardian has clutched onto to you and he doesn't intend to leave." Ansem explained. "Surrender now!"

"No way!" Sora shouted.

Sora tried to attack again, but he felt his body being restrained. He looked to see the guardian giving him a giant bear hug, holding him back from moving. Sora tried to release the grip, but it was far too strong.

"Now," Ansem began. "Open your heart!"

Sora gasped as Ansem created a giant energy ball around him. He flew slowly into Sora, ready to attack with it. Sora tried to escape from getting hit by the attack, but it was no use. Sora closed his eyes, not wanting to see the end result of the attack. All of a sudden, Yoshi and Luigi quickly rammed their heads into the guardian, knocking it into the blast.

The heartless screamed in pain as it took the blow instead of Sora. Ansem stopped his attack and called his guardian back. Sora jumped into the air and brought the keyblade down on Ansem, who blocked with his sword. This time Sora pushed down on the sword, making Ansem push harder. Ansem realized that together, Sora, Luigi, and Yoshi were an incredible force of their own. Apart however would weaken their link.

Sora quickly slid the keyblade out of the sword, bringing it over his shoulder and delivered a hard blow to Ansem. The man went flying into Luigi who charged up his fist for another attack. He then gave a hard punch, sending Ansem flying into the giant trees to the left side of the island. The four regrouped after the attack.

"Is everyone alright?" Sora gasped weakly.

"We fine." Yoshi nodded.

Sora sat down for a moment to catch his breath. He felt a bit tired from his first scuffle against Ansem. Already he proved to be a foe even stronger then Sephiroth was. He feared that their battle has only begun. The four then heard a rumbling sound, feeling another earthquake coming on.

"Mama-mia!" Luigi cried. "When will it end?"

The others stumbled back as the trees split in two, revealing a dark purple area that pointed upward. They then heard Ansem manically laughing at them. Yoshi jumped into Luigi's arms in fear.

"You fools actually believed you won?" he bellowed. "That was merely a warm up."

"He was just warming up?" Luigi screamed in shock. "I'm out of here!"

Luigi quickly ran for the edge of the island, but stopped at the edge, realizing there was no way out.

"Luigi!" Sora snapped. "This isn't the time to be a chicken!"

Luigi began to cluck at the group, displaying his cowardly ways. Ansem roared at Luigi with a laugh, causing the plumber to fall down.

"You humor me," Ansem laughed. "However, it is time you feel the full extent of my power."

"Where are you?" Toadsworth demanded to know.

"See that new area that formed?" Ansem said. The others noticed it. "That is where I await your arrival. Hurry, so that this battle of ours may continue to be a great one. Unless of course you don't want to save your friend."

Sora now had fire in his eyes. He was more determined then ever to beat Ansem, so that he could save Riku.

"Come on!" Sora announced. "We're far from done!"

The group ran over to the new area where they knew that Ansem was awaiting their arrival. They had to hurry, wasting no time at all. Luigi, of course used cure spells to revive everyone from the first assault of Ansem. The group finally made it to the area. Sora saw a small area split opened for them. Sora ran for it and leaped in, falling off a small area. He was able to land on the ground safely. He turned back to see Luigi and Yoshi approaching the entrance, but was shocked to see an invisible barrier knocking them back.

"Whoa!" they both cried.

Luigi and Yoshi rolled down the hill from the impact and fell into the sand. They stood back up, brushing the sand off them. Yoshi had some in his mouth, but turned the wrong way and spat it into Luigi's face.

"Hey!" Luigi cried.

"Sorry, Luigi." Yoshi giggled sheepishly.

The duo returned to where the entrance was and tried to enter it again, but found out that they couldn't break through the wall. Sora was trapped like a rat.

"We can't budge it!" Luigi said dismayed.

"Sora!" Yoshi called to his friend. "Sora stuck!"

"We must find someway to help Master Sora," Toadsworth said. "He can't tackle that madman alone."

Sora was left speechless by this turn of events. He knew that this was another trap planned. He stood with total awareness and alert, watching every corner of the arena for his opponent. Sora could feel the ground starting to shake yet again. Luigi, Yoshi, and Toadsworth felt it too. They all of a sudden saw a giant creature of darkness rise above them, their mouths dropping in awestruck from seeing a giant creature of darkness. This creature was Darkside, the creature that Sora encountered from his dream and his island.

The creature looked down at Sora who was still looking around the area. The Darkside lifted it's hand into the air, ready to bring it down on the plucky keyblade master.

"Look out!" Yoshi cried.

Sora quickly turned around, only to see a giant hand smack him aside. He hit the wall, groaning upon impact. He looked up to see Darkside looking at him.

"You again?" Sora moaned. "Hasn't your butt been kicked enough times already?" The creature growled at him. "I'll take that at as a no."

The creature brought it's hand into the air again, gripping it tightly. Sora quickly sidestepped the fist from the creature as it slammed it into the ground. Sora noticed it was reaching for something underneath the surface. He took this chance to attack the creatures head, not holding back anything from it. Sora attacks were fierce, delivering each blow right on the spot. The creature final pulled a dark energy out from underground, holding both hands tightly.

Sora continued to attack the hand, remembering the previous duels he's faced against the heartless. The creature finally released the energy from its hand, shooting dark red balls at Sora. He quickly rolled out of the way, jumping over some of the attacks. He even blocked one with the keyblade and threw it into another one, which caused an explosion upon impact. The heartless pounded his fists into the ground again, making another dark wave appear around it. Sora charged at it and slashed it, causing darkness from the hand to shred out of it.

"Go for it!" Luigi cheered. "You can do it, kid!"

Sora smirked as he landed the blows, "Man, this guy is so predictable!"

The shadows emerged from the ground, trying to tackle Sora, but he shooed them off of him. Sora continued to slash his way through the hand. He quickly jumped up on the arm, running at full speed and quickly, but surely, he brought the keyblade down on the face, delivering a vertically slash across the face. The heartless grabbed Sora with its giant hand and slammed him into the ground, bouncing him into the air. Sora kicked against the wall, pushing hit feet against the wall with all his weight. Pushing back, he flew at the creature, keyblade held high in both hands.

The heartless bent its back over, causing a dark glow to appear on its chest. It fired dark energy waves at the boy who blocked each attack. Sora then used Strike Raid on the beast, throwing the keyblade directly at the face. The creature shouted in pain from the heavy blows. Sora obviously had the battle won, his opponent wasn't challenging enough. Sora jumped on the heartless' arms and jumped up and over the heartless. He then brought one final vertical slash down, slicing directly through the creatures' body.

It felt every minute of the sharpness of the keyblade, screaming pain from the intensity of the blow. Sora landed on the ground, his body bent over, using one hand to hold the ground while the other held the keyblade out, his head lowered. The creature then split in half as a result. It then fell on each side of the room with a big boom. Sora stood up, rubbing his nose and grinning with pride. The others cheered over his victory.

"That's how it's done!" Luigi cheered. "Awesome job Sora!"

Sora turned to his friends and gave them a thumbs up, giving off his famous goofy smile. Sora then heard the wind rustle behind him. It felt very familiar to him, but when he heard the voice he knew who it was.

"I guess that Darkside's wasn't a good enough challenge for the mighty keyblade master to tackle." called a voice. Sora turned around to see Ansem floating down to him.

"Ansem!" Sora exclaimed.

"Your power is truly spectacular," Ansem said with an evil twinkle in his eye. "However, that power comes nowhere close to the darkness." Sora was about to say something when he was cut off. "You're wondering why I've trapped you here, aren't you? Your pathetic friends are pain in my side. They would simply get in the way of global conquest."

Sora lightly chuckled, "You're just afraid to face us because you know we would beat you. You're nothing more then a lowlife coward, and would do anything to get what you want." Sora then got into a ready position, keyblade in hand. Ansem was a bit annoyed by the boy's words.

"No one calls me a coward and lives!" Ansem growled in his thoughts. He then took a deep breath, calming himself down. "Of course it doesn't matter because you haven't seen the full extent of my power."

Sora smirked, "Don't think I've given you my all either."

Ansem lightly chuckled as he made the guardian appear before Sora's eyes again. Ansem took out not one, but two Souleaters. Sora was astonished by this as he's never faced someone with two before. Ansem spun his swords around, each swords missing each other. He then spun them together, clashing them which sparked electricity out from the force.

The audience looked on as their friend had to face Ansem in a one-on-two duel. The guardian at Ansem's side, the battle was about to get intense. Sora stared at Ansem, displaying his bitter hatred for the former ruler of Hallow Bastion. He had to end it here, he wasn't going let this madman win. Sora charged at Ansem, screaming all the way.

Sora jumped into the air and brought his keyblade down on the villain, who blocked the attack with both swords of darkness. He then pushed Sora back into the air, and commanded the guardian to attack with a hard punch to the chest, knocking Sora into a wall. Ansem flew at Sora, both swords held high. Sora looked up to see Ansem charging at him. He quickly charged at Ansem, holding the handle of the keyblade with both hands.

Ansem clashed both swords with Sora's lone keyblade, struggling against each other. Sora leaped back and attacked again, striking the right sword. Ansem a hard thrust with left sword, but they key wielder ducked under the attack. Ansem spun his swords around at Sora, who clashed at a fast pace with both sword, clanging sounds being made upon impact.

Sora did his best to block the attacks with his one keyblade, but Ansem was too quick and rammed his head into Sora who quickly slid back. Rubbing his head, Sora quickly looked up only to see Ansem gone. He looked around the area, quickly, leaving no stone unturned. He then turned to his right to see Ansem charging at him with a dark blue shield on.

"Take this!" he hissed.

The energy hit Sora, sending him crashing into another wall, leaving a big hole as a result of the attack. The others looked on in horror as Sora was losing. Ansem flew down, hands crossed, an evil smirk across his face. He expected the battle to be over when Sora weakly stood up, brushing the dirt off his shirt. Sora ran at Ansem again, the man awaiting his next move. Sora tried to use fire spells, but the guardian simply blocked the attack. Sora ran at Ansem again, keyblade ready to strike.

Ansem charged again and slashed at Sora, who jumped over the attack, returning with a kick, which Ansem was able to dodge by moving his head back. Sora landed on the ground and gave a hard thrust, which Ansem blocked with one sword. He slashed the boy in the back with the other one, knocking him down, sliding across the floor. Sora felt his bruises and cuts from the damage he received so badly.

Sora quickly got to his feet, only to get smacked aside by the guardian again. Sora slid back and jumped forward, ready to give it another try. He wasn't planning on giving up so soon, though his odds of winning was pretty slim at this point. How we wished Luigi and Yoshi could help him. He knew in his heart that he couldn't give up now. All of those worlds were depending on him to win. Sora slashed at Ansem again who ducked under the attack, countering with an uppercut clash. Sora went spinning into the air again as Ansem charged at him with the shield up. Sora quickly put the keyblade up, stopping the attack.

Ansem was surprised by this unexpected move. Sora quickly hammered Ansem with a hard slash, sending him crashing into the ground. A giant hole was a result of impact and four cracks appeared on the sides of the circle, slowly moving outward. The others cheered as Sora final landed a blow. Sora landed on both feet and hands, bending his body like a frog. Standing up, he looked to see where Ansem was.

The floor then began to rumble right under his feet. Bright purple lights surrounded him, more cracks began to form in the ground. Finally, an explosion occurred, giant stones floated into the air. Sora looked up to see Ansem on one of them.

"You haven't won yet, boy!" Ansem shouted.

Sora jumped onto one of the giant stones and jumped up to where Ansem was. Sora brought the keyblade down, but Ansem flew off the stone and jumped onto another one. He then charged back and kicked at Sora who ducked under the attack. Sora clashed with one sword and then the other. The two jumped off and landed on two stones that were moving vertically up. Sora landed on his right-side-up, while Ansem landed on his upside down.

The two spun around, clashing back and forth, the sounds of their swords hitting each other was loud and harsh. Everyone else looked on at a truly fantastic battle. Sora quickly sidestepped another attack, which cut the stone in half. Sora gave a hard thrust back at Ansem, who blocked the attack. Finally, Ansem knocked the keyblade out of Sora's hand, giving the villain the chance to attack with his sword. He slashed hard at Sora, knocking him into the ground. Sora looked to his side, noticing his keyblade right near by.

Ansem charged at Sora again, who quickly spun to the left, grabbing the keyblade in the process. He clashed with Ansem again, who started to get annoyed.

"It amazes me," said Ansem, straining against Sora. "How can you still be fighting?"

Sora struggled to find the answer, but he felt like he was losing confidence. He couldn't win as the man had him pinned down to the ground. He then remembered what Kairi told him

"Don't forget," she whispered in his head. "Wherever you go, I'm always with you."

Sora's keyblade changed into the Oathkeeper right before his eyesHe could feel her right by his side, a feeling telling him he had all the power to win.

"Because..." Sora stuttered, pushing back. Ansem's eyes widened upon seeing this. "My...friends...will...always...be in my HEART!"

Sora fully pushed back the swords, knocking Ansem back. Sora angrily gave a horizontal slash at Ansem who called his guardian to block the attack, but was left in shock as Sora slashed the heartless in two, destroying it. Ansem gasped in fear, slowly walking back from the keyblade master. Where did he get this power from?

"That's impossible!" Ansem exclaimed, totally shocked to the core. "How did you destroy my guardian? This cannot be!"

Sora weakly stood up, panting heavily. Finally things seemed to be looking good for him. With Ansem left in shock for the moment, Sora used Ragnarok on Ansem, giving an uppercut, right jab, let jab, vertical slash, and finished with a horizontal spin. Ansem went flying into the air as Sora pointed the keyblade at Ansem, charging up an energy attack in the keyblade. When it reached full power, he released it upon Ansem, blasting him with ten red balls of energy. Ansem screamed in pain from every single one.

Sora then rapidly slashed at Ansem, giving hard blows, not giving him a chance to counter. Luigi, Yoshi, and Toadsworth jumped for joy as Sora finally had the advantage in the battle. Ansem couldn't understand how Sora managed to turn this battle around. He knew that playtime was over. Sora kicked Ansem in the chest, knocking him into the air. Sora quickly jumped passed and hammered him into the ground. As soon as he hit the ground, a giant explosion of a bright light consumed the entire area.

Everyone screamed as the blinding light hit them, consuming them into it. Everyone shut their eyes from the brightness.

"Mama-mia!" Luigi cried. "You'd think I would have gone blind from all this light flashing in my eyes!"

Sora shielded his eyes from the blindness. He put his arms up, only to see even more darkness in his vision. Sora kept his eyes closed for a few minutes wondering if it would stop. Slowly, he took his arms away from his eyes and looked around. He noticed he was in endless abyss of darkness. He looked around, darkness all around him. Sora wondered what Ansem was now planning or was hoping that the nightmare had ended.

Looking to his left, Sora saw Luigi and Yoshi flying up to him. Sora flew over to his friends with relief. Yoshi and Luigi were also relieved to see their friend.

"Sora!" Yoshi cried happily. "Is Sora okay?"

"I'm fine now," Sora responded with a smile. "I'm just glad you two stuck by my side."

"Hey, all for one and one for all." Luigi smiled. "We needed to stick together like great trios should. Like the three musketeers, the tree amigos, the Marx brothers..."

"The Marx brothers?"

"Never mind," Luigi sighed. He then looked around the area, noticing not all heads were accounted for. "Have you guys seen Toadsworth?" Yoshi and Sora shook their heads. Luigi began to panic. "I have a bad feeling."

The trio then looked around the dark area, trying to search for their friend, but saw sign of him.

"You know..." Sora began. "We should probably figure out where we are first."

The trio then heard Ansem laughing manically. Yoshi ran into Luigi's arms, hugging him tightly.

"Great," Luigi groaned. "I just had to hear that creepy voice of his again."

"Ansem!" Sora shouted. "Where are you? Better yet, where are we?"

"Behold, you stand before the endless abyss of darkness," Ansem's voice announced. "Within this world of darkness lies the heart of all worlds..." The trio turned to see one thing standing out in the darkness. A giant white door, which at the moment they couldn't get see in detail because it was too far away from them. "Kingdom Hearts!"

"Kingdom Hearts?" Sora whispered. "The day you will open the door is both near and far away."

"What?" Luigi asked a bit puzzled by Sora's words.

"Um...it's nothing.." Sora said shaking his head.

"Look at the realm of the sacred heart," Ansem continued. "You'll not find even the smallest glimmer of light from it. From those dark depths are all hearts born." What he said next was directly towards Sora. "Even yours."

Sora tried to find where exactly Ansem's voice was coming from. He then looked down, gasping in shock upon what he saw. Luigi and Yoshi felt their mouths drop at what they saw as well. Standing before them was a giant vessel of some sort. It made the trio look like ants from where they were standing. At the front of it was a giant head with sharp teeth and sinister yellow eyes. Above them was a circular area, that looked like branches around it.

Around were yellow spikes that stuck out of it. Above it, Sora saw Ansem without a shirt on, wearing dark pants. Even further up was the guardian monster except it was huge now, it had a yellow ring around its back, and two blue energy balls on the shoulder. They felt their hearts pounding from the fear of this giant ship of. It was inexpressible to explain the fear they felt.

"DARKNESS CONQUERS ALL WORLDS!" Ansem shouted.

Ansem stuck his hand out at the trio, creating a dark wave around them. The wave then formed into a hand which grabbed Luigi and Yoshi. Sora tried to rescue them, but the hand smacked him aside, making him fall to his doom. Sora tried to use the power of flight to recover, but he couldn't it. Luigi and Yoshi screamed as they were pulled by a force of darkness. They tried to push against it, but it was no use. A multicolored portal appeared before them, pulling them into it.

"Help!" Yoshi cried.

"I'm too young to be absorbed by the darkness!" Luigi bellowed.

The duo disappeared into the vortex of darkness. Sora fell to his doom in the world of darkness. His body felt numb, he couldn't move at all. He tried with all his might, but was unsuccessful. Sora knew that this was it. Ansem proved to be powerful, even without fighting. Sora felt depression fall on his heart, the force he was dealing with was too strong.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered sadly. "He's too powerful..." A tear gently streamed down his eye. "Luigi...Yoshi...Riku...I couldn't save you."

Sora fell deep into the darkness, hearing Ansem laughing with success. His self doubt clouded his judgement. He was about to let the darkness absorb him when he heard a voice call out to him.

"So, giving up already you lazy bum?" laughed Riku inside Sora's mind.

Sora opened his eyes in surprise.

"Riku?" Sora thought in shock.

"Come on, Sora," Riku continued. "You're way stronger then that! Don't let this guy push you around!"

Sora realized that failure was not an option. He knew that he shouldn't easily give up because of Ansem's advantage, in fact he now felt up to the challenge. He knew if he was going to die, it was at least because he tried. Finding the strength within, Sora was able to push himself out of the darkness, back into the sky. Sora flew as fast as he could, pushing every inch of energy into himself. Finally, he arrived back at World's Chaos, seeing the giant vessel appear before him.

"This is it," he muttered lightly. "No turning back."

Ansem looked on in triumph, so sure his victory against Sora was successful. He gasped in surprise as he saw the youth fly up to his level. The evil king gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Grr..." he growled. "Such persistence!"

Holding the keyblade with both hands, he stood ready. This was the final battle and it was going to be easy. Everyone was depending on him to bring this nightmare down, a nightmare that would haunt the lives of all living things unless he could stop it.

"Ansem!" Sora shouted. "In the name of the moon, I will punish you!" He then smacked his mouth shut, realizing what he said. "Note to self: never let Kairi force you into watching Sailor Moon again." Clearing his throat, he bravely flew forward a little. "I mean...Ansem, I'm going to finish you, in the names of all the hearts you took!"

Ansem laughed, "Really? I dare you to do so!"

Sora didn't say anymore as he held the keyblade tightly, his muscles aching from the previous scuffle he got into. However, the pain didn't stop him. He looked on with a stare of determination in his eyes, the sweat pouring down his face. Sora flew at Ansem, keyblade held in hand, screaming with all his might. Ansem drew a giant staff that had the two Souleaters attached to each end.

Sora brought his keyblade down on Ansem who blocked it with the staff. The two struggled against each other, pushing back and forth with each other. Sora noticed that Ansem was a lot taller then before, but that wasn't stopping the key bearer. Ansem pushed Sora back with all his weight, knocking him away. Sora quickly recovered from the attack and charged at Ansem again. The villain spun his staff around like a fan, trying to knock Sora back.

The boy held on with all his might, pushing against the strong breeze. Sora managed to make it all the way over and deliver a hard slash to the chest, knocking Ansem back. Sora realized that a bunch of wires were plugged into his back, preventing him from moving freely. Sora slightly grinned, knowing he had an advantage, only to realize that Ansem's attacks were much faster as he gave an uppercut to Sora that was faster then Sephiroth's attacks.

"Whoa!" Sora cried.

"Foolish, boy," laughed Ansem. "Do you really think you have a chance? Even when I can't move freely?"

Sora gained control from the spinning and flew at Ansem again. The man spun his staff around, trying to hit Sora who quickly moved his body back. Ansem brought the staff down on Sora who brought his keyblade up, blocking the attack. Ansem righted jabbed, but Sora moved his hip to one side. He gave a hard thrust at the boy's chest who ducked under it. Quickly, Sora grabbed the blade and pulled Ansem into him.

The man simply laughed and threw Sora into the air, who quickly flew back down, countering with a kick to the chest. Ansem slashed at Sora who moved his head left, a small piece of his brown hair taking the hit, falling into the blackness of the abyss. Sora spun forward, clashing with Ansem again. The two fighters gave a hard clang from the impact. They pushed back and forth, both giving it their all. Ansem was no longer playing around, Sora was simply magnificent. Sora and Ansem got into a huge blade fight, clashing and dodging their attacks. Ansem gave a thrust, Sora dodged. Sora vertically slashed, Ansem sidestepped. The seeker of darkness elbowed Sora, knocking him back.

"Ugh!" groaned Sora.

Ansem put his hand out, "Perhaps this will enlighten you!"

A group of pink energy balls surrounded Sora, circling around him like vulture ready to attack. Sora noticed they were glowing brightly, blinding him. They then fired a small energy beam, hitting him from all sides. Sora felt the burning pain from each attack, and slowly fell down. Sora quickly landed on the surface of the vessel, recovering from the damage. More came at him and jumped over it. He moved left and right, dodging blasts after blast.

The beams formed different shapes by colliding with each other, trying to confuse Sora, but the boy managed to make it through them safely. Ansem gritted his teeth, this kid was better then he though. Ansem fired more beams at Sora who spun around, evading the attacks. Sora flew through them beams, dodging them quickly. Making it through all of the attacks, he clashed with Ansem again, the fierce metal of their blades against each other.

Sora flew back and slashed at Ansem, who moved his head out of the way. Ansem horizontally slashed, with Sora ducking under the attack. Sora gave a jab at Ansem's head, but the man moved it right. Ansem quickly kicked at Sora, knocking him into the air. Sora quickly flew back, only to see more beams coming at him. Getting annoyed with that attack, Sora stuck his keyblade out, the beams hitting the blade part, and he redirected that attack back at Ansem.

Ansem put his staff up, ready to block the attack. Sora was clever, but not that clever. All of a sudden Sora quickly flew to the other side of the area and threw his keyblade at Ansem. The attack hit him in the back, causing him to scream in pain. Fed up with Sora, he turned to face him, forgetting the beams were still coming at him. Ansem charged a dark energy ball in his hands, laughing sinisterly.

"Well, boy," Ansem smirked. "Any last words?"

"Yeah," Sora replied, chuckling. "I'd look out if I were you."

Ansem abruptly turned around, only to get hit by his own attack. Ansem screamed as the beam blasted his chest. He lunged back, damaged from the attack. The pain was unbearable considering it was his own attack. Clenching his chest tightly, he looked up at Sora with anger in his eyes.

"This insolent brat has more power than I thought he did," Ansem thought weakly. "He thinks he can defeat me? He still doesn't understand the full extent of darkness." He then looked up at Sora, panting weakly. "You're a lot more powerful than I comprehended. However, you haven't seen what true darkness can be. I shall now achieve my maximum power, but I must go into a short slumber in order to obtain it." Sora was confused by his words. If Ansem in fact did that, he would be left wide open by Sora, who could end this fight. Why would he tell him that? "By all means, you may defeat me now. However, in doing so will cost you the lives of your friends."

"You wouldn't dare!" snarled Sora, shocked by Ansem's words. "You're really low!"

"The choice is yours," Ansem explained. "Now, observe!"

Ansem made his staff disappear and he crossed his arms over one another. Slowly, he rested his back into the guardian, closing his eyes, his power beginning to grow. A heartless symbol covered his body in the end. Sora knew that he could attack, but he wouldn't want to put his friends' lives at risk. The decision was unanimous, he had to rescue Luigi and Yoshi. He scanned the area, hoping to find a door that would lead him to them. Finally, he saw another portal appear. The same one that sucked his pals into it. Sora flew into the portal quickly, hoping he would run into them.

"I'm coming, guys!" Sora called to them.

A flash of light appeared and Sora was in a room of darkness. Below him was a heartless symbol that glowed blew, the only source of light. While looking down he saw a shadow appear in the light areas. Sora used scan and sensed more then just one, in fact there were about fifteen in the entire room. Sora got knocked aside by the creatures because of the darkness. With the help of scan, Sora was able to detect their locations and defeat them.

Sora used Strike Raid to knock them all down, and finish them with a hard blow, turning them into dust. That was easy, Sora thought, but he had to move on. A flash of light appeared before, revealing a giant red core. Figuring it was only way out, he quickly slashed the giant core, turning it into pieces. The pieces exploded before Sora's eyes, sending him flying through a dark portal, knocking him back into World's Chaos.

Sora shook his head as he recovered from the blow. Looking up, he saw another portal appear right by Ansem. Sora then heard a familiar voice inside of his head.

"Sora, help!" said the voice of Yoshi.

"Yoshi! Hang on!"

Sora flew towards the portal as fast as he could. On the way, the heartless tried to stop him by firing blasts of energy and giant fireballs. One fireball knocked Sora off his course. The guardian through a burst of energy at him, sending him flying away from the vessel of darkness. Sora quickly charged back, ready for another go. The attacks came at them again, but Sora deflected the attacks back, hitting the heartless in the process.

Sora finally reached the portal and flew through. He arrived in yet another room, which had the same design as the last room. Sora looked around them room, hoping Yoshi was around. Unknown to him, a round heartless was slowly sneaking up from behind, ready to stalk its pray. It pushed back a little bit and then charged forward, snapping its mouth as it went. Sora heard the snapping sound, and quickly turned around to see the heartless. It was about to attack when a red, skinny, slimy substance wrapped around the creatures body and pulled it away.

Sora happily turned to see Yoshi running towards him, arms opened with joy. Yoshi knocked Sora over and licked his face. Sora felt the slimy wetness of his friend's licks as it got all over his face, tickling him in the process. How much he missed Yoshi's friendly licks.

"Yoshi, you're okay!" Sora laughed happily. "Now stop it, I'm okay! Honest!"

Yoshi sat up and Sora sat up as well, petting Yoshi's head.

"Sora save Yoshi," Yoshi cheered. "Sora's my hero!"

Sora blushed at the comment, "Well, you saved me too, so you're my hero little buddy." He then looked around the room. "Where's Luigi?"

Yoshi shrugged his shoulders, "I no sure. Yoshi too scared in here to even look around."

"Don't worry," Sora smiled with assurance. "It will be okay." The duo turned to see more heartless appear before them. "Let's deal with these guys!"

Yoshi nodded and the two charged at the heartless. Sora slashed through the heartless, cutting them into shreds, taking the attacks from close range. Yoshi stayed his distance and ate some, turning them into eggs. He then fired it at them, knocking them back from the egg. Sora slashed through some more, using everything at his disposal. Magic, badge abilities, and more combined attacks. Finally, the two finished off the remaining heartless. As they took a chance to recover they saw another core appear before them.

"What that, Sora?" Yoshi asked dumfounded.

"Our ticket out of here." Sora responded.

Just like last time, Sora slashed through the core, destroying instantly. Knowing what was to come next Sora quickly grabbed Yoshi, embracing him as another explosion occurred, knocking them back out into world's chaos. The two looked around at their surroundings as they tried to locate Luigi next. Sora felt a chill in his spine, wondering how much time left before Ansem reached his full power. He knew that he would need Luigi and Yoshi to finish off the villain.

Sora and Yoshi then heard Luigi's voice and it seemed a bit faded.

"Yow! Hey, watch the hat! Ha! Ha! You missed! Ow! Hey, can't you take a joke?"

Sora and Yoshi followed Luigi's voice, noticing it was getting louder every second. They finally flew to the front of the vessel only to notice the giant face at the front, roaring at them. Yoshi hid behind Sora, frighted of the creature. Sora turned to Yoshi and stroke his nose lightly.

"Listen, I know you're scared, but I need your help." Sora said. "I can't win this alone, and deep down past that endless pit you call a stomach is the heart of a fearless warrior, Yoshi."

"Sora think so?" Yoshi asked.

Sora smiled, "I know so."

Yoshi looked at Sora, seriousness in his eyes. He wasn't going to be scared, but he was going to fight now. Anything to save Luigi. The duo nodded to each other and turned to the head. It roared at them loudly, but they showed no fear as it came at them. Sora and Yoshi charged for the head, flying at top speed. When they arrived they released an array of attacks upon the creature. The two attacked the forehead, avoiding the mouth so it wouldn't bite them.

However, the creature fired lightening from above which seriously damaged them. Sora used cure to restore their health adding Aeroga to protect them. The damage lessened as they struck again, Sora slashing and Yoshi punching, kicking, and biting at the head. The creature felt the pain of the combined attacks and if finally got mad. It charged up energy and released it upon them, knocking them back. Sora went back farther then Yoshi did. The little dinosaur quickly returned with a harsh blow with his head.

Sora looked on with an impressed look. Yoshi was doing it on his own as he continued to deliver the hard blows. Finally, Yoshi began to get tired and soon enough, he fell down into the endless darkness. Sora quickly flew down, catching him in his arms. Sora flew up and landed on the surface of World's Chaos, gently placing him down. Sora pet Yoshi's head as he was so proud of him. Yoshi looked up at Sora with a smile.

"You've come along way," Sora smiled. "You're a true hero." He then made a sad look. "Won't be the same without you."

"We need to worry about Luigi first." Yoshi weakly pointed out.

Sora used Curaga to revive Yoshi's strength. The two flew at the head again and continued their strategy. Finally, the head couldn't take any more abuse and disappeared before the heros' eyes. They noticed a giant hole taking its place. A magical portal appeared, giving the duo an entrance to their third friend. They quickly hurried in. Inside, they saw the demon like heartless with swords, chasing a familiar green capped plumber.

"Mama-mia!" Luigi cried as he dodged a sword attack. "Why me? Why me?" He then tripped and fell onto the ground. Looking up, he saw the heartless bringing its sword down on him. "This is it! I'm going to that great pizza parlor in the sky!" Sora quickly dashed forward and blocked the attack. Luigi looked up and sighed with relief. "Boy, thank goodness you got here, kid."

Yoshi ran over to Luigi and licked his face, happy to see him again. Luigi was able to get Yoshi under control and stood up.

"We still have work to finish." Sora announced. "These heartless aren't going to run away."

"I would." Luigi said nervously.

The trio stood ready as the heartless flew at them. Sora ran at one and kicked it aside. He jumped over one and spun around, slashing its back. Luigi used gravity to bring it down and Yoshi finished it with a pound to the ground. The group plowed their way through swarms and swarms of heartless. They put their hearts into every attack, knowing they still had to finish this battle. Finally, the trio combined their powers to perform trinity limit, wiping out the heartless.

The trio then noticed the core appearing before them. Without wasting time Sora slashed the core again, destroying it. The explosion knocked them out the vessel and into World's Chaos. They looked up to see Ansem was still charging his energy.

"Why is he snoozing?" Luigi asked Sora in confusion.

"He's powering up to his maximum power." explained Sora.

Luigi gasped in fear and tried to fly for it, but he felt Sora and Yoshi holding him back.

"Luigi have to pick worse time to be coward." Yoshi groaned, holding Luigi back.

"What? No time like the present, right?" Luigi chuckled nervously.

Sora looked to see World's Chaos glowing brightly, giving off an incredible amount of energy. Sora knew they were too late to stop Ansem. The group quickly flew up to see what happened as the energy dimmed. Ansem came out of his slumber, holding his staff, looking at the trio with an evil glare.

"You fools are too late!" Ansem laughed manically. "I have achieved my full power! You cannot stop my onslaught! You shall all bow before the king of all darkness!"

"Bowing is last thing we want to do!" Yoshi cried bravely.

"Then you shall perish before my twin blades of terror!" Ansem laughed.

Sora looked up at Ansem as he spun his staff around his body. This was it, he thought. This was their last chance to set things right. The final battle for the fate of all worlds hung in the balance. Sora turned to Luigi and Yoshi, both with fire of determination in their eyes. Sora held the keyblade in his hands, sweating nervously. He then glared at his friends again, the friends who were true blue to him. They weren't afraid as long as they stuck together.

"You guys ready for one last battle?" Sora asked.

Luigi gave a thumbs up, "We wouldn't miss it for the world!" He then turned to Yoshi. "Right?"

"Uh-huh" Yoshi nodded in agreement.

"And..." Sora said closing his eyes. "I just want to let you guys know, it's been a real honor fighting along side of you."

"Likewise," Luigi responded warmly. "We may have had our differences in the past, but you've been like a son to me. Someone who is close and I wouldn't have it any other way."

Sora smiled back, "Thank you." He then bravely turned back to Ansem. "LET'S DO IT!"

The three flew at Ansem at full speed with the seeker of darkness awaiting their attack. The three attacked and Ansem blocked with his staff.

CLANG!

A loud sonic wave erupted, creating powerful high waves. World's Chaos began shaking abruptly from the force of their attacks. Sora swiped at Ansem who dodged and kicked him aside. Luigi and Yoshi kicked from behind, knocking him back. Sora quickly brought his keyblade down on the man who blocked it, and bent his head back as Yoshi came by with a ram from the head. He then quickly ducked as Luigi threw a fire punch, missing the attack. He then grabbed the plumber and threw him back.

Sora gave a hard uppercut to the jaw, knocking him up. He countered with a slash which the plucky keyblade master dodged. The two clashed again and moved back. Sora swiped at Ansem who dodged and Ansem swiped at Sora with a thrust which he dodged. The two continued to swipe at each other, dodging their attacks. Luigi and Yoshi came in and rammed their heads into the man's stomach. Grabbing both of them, he threw them into Sora, knocking them back to the ground.

Ansem fired more lasers which the trio dodged by flying all over the place. Sora quickly ran up the ship of darkness, dodging blasts as he went. At one point he tripped and fell, but quickly spun on the floor, dodging more lasers. Sora quickly kicked into the air again, furiously charging at Ansem. The two clashed again, creating sparks from the energy. Sora and Ansem got into a melee of sword attacks, clashing and dodging their attacks.

Ansem gave a thrust at Sora's head who dodged it. He quickly kicked his foot up, knocking the evil king over him. Ansem went so far that the cords he was attached to were tight, ready to tear off. Ansem flew back at Sora again, ready to attack. Ansem was about to bring his staff down when Yoshi and Luigi came from above, hammering him into the ground. He kicked back up and slashed them with a hard blow.

They spun through the air and finally gained control. They flew back with full force ready for another round. Ansem fired three energy balls at them, all which were dodged. Sora and Luigi shot fire at him, while Yoshi fired an egg which Ansem dodged. He then fired red beams at the heros and Sora quickly cast Aeroga, knocking the attacks away. A giant explosion occurred from the impact. Ansem noticed smoke and dust covering the area. As it cleared, they saw the trio reappear, panting heavily.

Ansem was still having a hard time defeating them. He couldn't believe his eyes at this turn of events. He got angry, his plans, his tactics weren't working on these three. He knew there was only one way to end this battle.

"That's it!" Ansem screamed. He then took a deep breath, calming down. "You're powers are amazing, but now I shall end this all with one strike."

"How come the leaders always have to finish it with a final attack?" Luigi moaned.

"NOW DIE!"

Ansem slashed at the trio, knocking them onto the platform of World's Chaos. Sora landed directly behind Luigi and Yoshi who were more forward. Ansem held in hands into the air, conjuring up a spell. A small dark energy ball appeared in his hands, charged with energy. It began to get bigger, and bigger, and bigger, until it was bigger then a house.

Sora sweated nervously, "I'm going to file this in the category of not good!"

"Stop saying that!" Luigi said in annoyance.

Ansem put his hands up, "Behold, darkness! You weak hearted fools are about to witness real power!"

Ansem threw the energy ball at the trio who looked up in shock. It came down at them in a fast pace, not stopping for anything. Luigi tried magic, but it didn't work. This was it, they couldn't win. The attack was too powerful. Luigi and Yoshi embraced themselves in fear while Sora looked at the energy ball. They were scared of what was about to happen. The shivered rapidly feeling the chill.

"Good-bye, Yoshi!" Luigi cried.

"Good-bye, Luigi!" Yoshi also cried.

The duo watched the attack get closer to them. They were too scared to look at the end results, but they looked up as a shadow was over them. They saw Sora, looking at them, his back to the energy ball, his arms out on each side. Sora looked at them with a stern look.

"Guys! Run!" Sora shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Sora, are you out of your mind?" Luigi gasped in horror.

The energy ball then hit Sora's back, making the pain unbearable. He felt the burning pain abuse his back. It was so bad that he thought he was going to be sick. Using all of his will, he pushed against the ball, holding it back.

"I SAID GO!" Sora shouted again.

Luigi and Yoshi didn't want to leave their friend behind, but were amazed to see Sora risking his life for them. They hesitated at first, they didn't want to leave, but as the attack pushed down on Sora, they didn't seem to have a choice. Luigi quickly took Yoshi's hand and flew for it. Yoshi tried to release Luigi's grip, but Luigi held on as he pulled the dinosaur safely from the battle field. Ansem grinned as he watched Sora, screaming hysterically in pain.

The beam finally pushed Sora onto the ground, too strong for him to handle. The ball of darkness finally exploded, sending a dark wave flying through out the area. The force knocked Luigi and Yoshi back into the darkness of the abyss. They watched as the explosion finally subsided, making everything peaceful. The duo quickly flew back to World's Chaos which was now in pieces. What they saw shocked them; Sora was lying on a small piece of land, out like a light bulb.

A smile appeared on his face, knowing he had done good. Luigi and Yoshi quickly flew over to their friend and tried to wake him up. He wouldn't wake up. He didn't budge an inch. Luigi took Sora's hand and took his pulse. Luigi looked at his watch, timing it. He didn't feel a pulse. Luigi was left speechless by this turn of events.

"Why did you do that?" Luigi whispered, tears angrily filling up in his eyes. "You can't be..." Sora remained like a lifeless doll. Luigi got so angry that he slammed his fists onto Sora's chest. "SORA!" Luigi buried his face into Sora's chest, crying his heart out. He felt like it should have been him to take the blow instead of Sora who made a heroic move. Sora's just a kid, and yet, Luigi sat there like a frightened puppy, unable to do anything to help.

Yoshi understood what happened. He was speechless. Sora was really gone for good. Yoshi screamed at the top of his lungs, tears bursting down his face. He slammed his fists into the ground, crying uncontrollably. Standing before them, watching with no regret was Ansem. Evil filled his eyes, he was so happy to finally be rid of the keyblade master.

"I WON!" Ansem roared with laughter. "THE FOOLISH BOY IS GONE FOR GOOD!"

Ansem laughter echoed throughout the endless abyss of darkness that stretched out through eternity. Luigi and Yoshi continued to cry their hearts out for the lost. They looked at him again, so peaceful as he lied there, a warm smile upon his face. It seems that it was all over as their last hope fell to the darkness ...or did he? Sora was floating underwater like at the beginning of his dream. He couldn't feel anything, he remained lifeless. He could only feel remorse, knowing he failed to protect his loved ones.

"I...failed..." he whispered lightly. "I...tried...but...couldn't do it. I'm...sorry..." He said the last part even quieter. "Kairi...I...love...you..."

He fell into the endless water unable to do a thing. He slowly opened his eyes and looked to see a wave of darkness consuming him. Once he entered, he wasn't coming back. He felt the darkness pulling him at a fast rate. He closed his eyes, getting a picture of his friends one last time. Luigi, he was going to miss the goofiness from him. Riku, the friend he grew up with and was his greatest rival. Yoshi, always gave him the boost of confidence and was fun to be with. Kairi, the girl of his dreams, the one he truly loved with all his heart.

Sora was about an inch away from hitting the portal when he stopped. He was confused, what was happening. Slowly opening his eyes, he gasped upon who he saw. It was Kairi, holding his hand, pulling him out of the water.

"Sora," she whispered. "Are you okay?"

"Kairi?" he replied in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"Silly bum," she giggled. "I told you I wouldn't let you do this alone."

Kairi began to pull Sora up faster. Sora began to feel his body again. The water against his face, the water clogging up his nose. The two reached the top and stopped, floating their in the water. Sora all of a sudden noticed he wasn't alone. He saw the seven summons appear before his every eyes, as well as the other princesses.

"Where they did they come from?" Sora asked in surprise.

"They came because you're in trouble, silly." Kairi giggled. "We all put our hearts together and we're giving our power to you."

"Your brave sacrifice showed that your strength didn't come from the keyblade, but your heart." Peach said. "With such a brave person, there is no way we're going to let you lose this fight."

Sora looked on as he saw every single person he met on the journey appear before around him. They were in this together. They all put their hands out, creating giant orbs of light. Sora was amazed at their power and knew this is just what he needed.

"They went through all this trouble for me?" Sora asked Kairi, a bit misty-eyed. Kairi nodded and Sora put his head down. "You guys are the best friends a kid could ever had. Thank you."

The light orbs formed into one giant ball. It began to glimmer down on Sora, who could feel his life force coming back to him. He felt his power growing even stronger then ever. Every single person from Leon, Cloud, Ash, Pikachu, Link, Kirby, and others all smiled at him, giving him a ray of confidence. He even saw Riku near by who gave a thumbs up.

Finally, the light dimmed as Sora's body began to glow. Kairi leaned over to Sora, smiling warmly.

"Don't lose." she whispered. "Here's a good luck present."

Kairi kissed Sora lightly on the cheek, causing him to blush. Everything faded away as he felt himself regain consciousness. Back at the World's Chaos, Sora's body began to glow brightly, the keyblade transformed into a more powerful form, the Ultima Weapon. It was embraced by golden diamonds shape holes. The yellow lines going diagonally up to the top of the blade which had a golden flame.

Everyone was baffled by this turn of events. Sora's body was glowing in a beautiful aurora of gold. The light finally dimmed and everyone looked over Sora. His eyes opened. He sat up, looking at himself to see his wounds were healed. Luigi and Yoshi screamed in joy and hugged Sora tightly.

"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed. "Take it easy guys!"

Ansem couldn't believe it. How did Sora survive? He became afraid, this boy would not die.

"This...this can't be," Ansem said in fear. "That was my most powerful attack." Sora stood up, holding the Ultima Weapon in his hand, eyeing Ansem. "How can you still be standing?"

"Because," Sora smirked with confidence. "My friends will always be in my heart. And as long as the light shines brightly, and we believe in each other, anything is possible. This ends now!"

Sora flew at Ansem with the keyblade tightly gripped in both hands. Ansem growled angrily and tried to strike Sora, but the boy slashed the staff, splitting it in two. Ansem was left stunned by this. He lost the battle. He knew that it was all over. Sora finally ended the battle with a giant slash to Ansem, creating a giant cut of light. Ansem felt the pain rise in his chest, unable to take it. Sora stabbed the bottom of the remains of World's Chaos, releasing a ray of light upon it.

The broken vessel began to explode before their eyes. Luigi and Yoshi quickly grabbed Sora and flew for it as the ship of darkness exploded. The cut on Ansem turned into a ball of light and engulfed him.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ansem screamed.

The giant vessel exploded before their eyes, creating a giant ball of fire appear. The wind blew hard, pushing them back ever so slightly. Finally, the explosion ended taking everything with it. It remained calm for a moment as the trio stood in the blackness of the area, knowing they finally did it. Sora panted heavily as his new powers took a toll on him. The Ultima Weapon vanished from Sora's hand, exchanging it for the normal keyblade. Sora thanked all who helped him win the fight. He slowly began to fall, but the others caught him.

"Whoa there, partner." Luigi said. "You're not going anywhere."

"Is Sora okay?" Yoshi asked concerned.

Sora made his famous smile and gave a thumbs up, "You bet!" He then looked back at the blackness of the area. He couldn't believe it, they really did it. "It's over. It's finally over."

"Kid, you were amazing!" Luigi cheered. "You were all like..." He then pretended to hold a sword and swipe it. "Hiyah! And Ansem was all like..." He then waves his hands out, indicating to stop someone. "Ahh! Darkness! Ahh!"

Sora and Yoshi both started laughing their heads off when they heard that. Sora was still in pain so he could feel his body ached as he laughed.

"Oh, man, that was such a good impression," Sora laughed. "But stop making me laugh I still ache!"

It felt good to have a joyous moment the three of them. They knew that their battle was finally over and they looked at each other, proud of what they've accomplished. The trio weren't done yet though. They had to take care of the door to Kingdom Hearts. They slowly made their way over to the door, Luigi and Yoshi supporting Sora who was too weak to fly.

The trio then heard a familiar voice, "Wait up, I say!"

The trio turned to see Toadsworth flying up to them. However, he took a long time as he was still far away and was moving rather slowly. Yoshi flew over to Toadsworth and got him onto his back. Yoshi then flew back to join the others. Luigi sighed with relief, knowing the elder was alright.

"Thank goodness you're okay, Toadsworth." Luigi sighed with relief. "I was beginning to worry about you."

"No worries, Master Luigi," Toadsworth chortled. "I was kind of lost in this place until I found you three." He then noticed the trio were beaten up. "So, I take it you won in my absence." Sora and the others explained about what happened with Ansem and how they won. Toadsworth was astonished by this. He then made a disappointed look. "Oh, darn it. I missed out on a truly fantastic battle."

"Well don't expect an encore performance," Luigi said. "Cause I've had enough of hearing that nut job saying 'darkness' all the time." He then made his finger move in a clockwise way. "On and on like a broken record."

"Agree with you there, buddy." Sora chuckled. He then made a serious look. "We have one more task to complete."

"The door?" Yoshi asked Sora. The boy simply nodded. "We need to move!"

Luigi looked down at the darkness as he could of sworn he felt something. He then saw something slowly rise from below them. It was in the shadows at first, but upon it getting closer Luigi saw who it was. He was petrified with fear as he saw it float up. His knees started to shake, his heart rate went up, his teeth started chattering. The others noticed this strange behavior.

"Master Luigi?" Toadsworth asked with curiosity. "Are you okay?"

"A...A...A..." Luigi stuttered

"Dude, if you're going to sneeze at least cover your mouth." Sora said disgusted.

"ANSEM!" Luigi shouted.

The others quickly spun around and gasped in horror to see Ansem floating in front of their path to Kingdom Hearts. He was in his original clothing again and was clutching his chest tightly. He felt very weak, his breathing was hard, his muscles twitched a little bit.

"But...that's impossible!" said a stunned Sora. "How could have you survive that attack?"

Ansem looked at Sora weakly, breathing heavily, exhausted from the final battle. The sweat dripped down his long air as he stood there, panting. Ansem slowly lifted his head up so he can get a good look at Sora.

"Because the darkness lives on." Ansem responded. "Darkness cannot be destroyed, and you simple fools may have won the battle, but you've lost the war."

"You're the one whose lost." responded Sora with a snap. "Lost your mind that is."

"Hasn't he lost his mind from the beginning of this whole ordeal?" Luigi asked rhetorically.

"Silence!" Ansem hissed. "You think you can stop me by reaching the door? That effort is futile, you four, let alone the keyblade cannot seal the door to darkness." It was a last ditch of effort, but he needed supreme power. "It's not too late! I can still win this!" The group watched as Ansem turned towards Kingdom Hearts, his hand reaching out dramatically for it, trying to grasp its energy. "Kingdom Hearts! I command you! Fill me...with the power of darkness!" The door slowly began to creep open, revealing dark waves around the edges of the door. Ansem grinned with delight, he was about to gain true power. "Yes! That's it! Supreme darkness is mine!"

"Ahh, shut up with your darkness, motor mouth!" Luigi said putting his hands on his ears.

Sora looked at the door, feeling something different about the door of darkness. He couldn't feel any darkness come out of it. In fact, he didn't even think Kingdom Hearts was a door to darkness. He then remembered what Kairi's grandmother said.

"But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open. And the true light will return. So, listen, child. Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you. Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away."

Sora knew the truth right there and then. He bravely flew forward, looking at Ansem.

"You're wrong, Ansem!" Sora shouted. "About everything!"

Ansem glanced at Sora, "Wrong? How can I be wrong?"

Sora took a deep breath and spoke fully and clearly. What he said next changed everything around.

"I know now, without a doubt. Kingdom Hearts is...light!"

Ansem's eyes widened in surprise as the door crept open even more. A bright light flashed out of it, hitting the king of darkness. He grunted as he covered himself from the light. Its spectacular power was draining his energy. He became paralyzed by the light that shined upon him. Ansem was not expecting something like this to happen. The light was too much for him to take. He began to feel extremely weakly.

"Lights?" Ansem grunted, his voice sounded so weak he could barley form words. "But why?"

His body got consumed by the light, blinding everyone for the moment. It truly was an amazing sight as the light finally dimmed. The group looked to see Ansem was no longer present. The light completely consumed him, but Sora had a feeling they would meet again. He didn't know why, but for his sake he hoped not. Luigi smacked his forehead in frustration.

"Now, he says light." Luigi groaned. "Mama-mia! Make up your mind!"

"Where did he go?" Toadsworth asked Sora.

"I don't know, but let's not stick around to find out." Sora said. He then flew towards the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" Luigi called to Sora.

"We have to take care of Kingdom Hearts!" Sora said as he flew towards the door.

The others followed him to the white narrow path that led to the door of darkness. Luigi took the chance to recover everyone from their epic battle against Ansem. Sora landed on the ground and ran to the door with the others following him. Sora looked at the door with amazement. It the biggest door he's ever seen in his life and was very majestic. Sora saw the sides of Kingdom Hearts' doors wide open.

"We did it!" Yoshi cheered. He then made a confused look. "Um, now that we find door, what we do with it?"

"We have to close it," Sora proclaimed. "If we don't, the darkness will flow out and that won't be good." Sora scanned the door. He knew they would have to close it at the exact same time because that would waste time. "Okay, Luigi and Yoshi take one side and I'll take the other." Sora then looked Toadsworth. "I would ask you to help, but I don't want you to get hurt."

"Indeed, Master Sora." Toadsworth nodded.

"Why doesn't he ever say about me?" Luigi muttered to himself.

The trio ran over to the door of darkness and put their hands on each side. Luigi and Yoshi were together on one door, while Sora was on the other door. Sora looked to Luigi and Yoshi who nodded at him.

"Okay, 1..2..3...PUSH!" Sora directed.

The trio began to push against the doors of Kingdom Hearts. However, they had a hard time pushing the doors. They pressed their bodies against the door, adding more weight to close the doors. The doors barely moved as the darkness was preventing them from doing so. Their feet started to slide on the ground as they pushed. They felt their bodies starting to ache, sweat poured down from their faces as they pushed and pushed.

Yoshi, being the curious dinosaur he was, wanted to see what was behind the door. While Sora and Luigi continued to push, Yoshi stuck his head in. What he saw shocked him to the core. Luigi leaned his back against the door, pushing with all his might.

"I think I need to go workout at the Glitz Pit." Luigi struggled. He then stopped to see Yoshi peaking in the door. "Hey, this door can't close itself you know! Stop staring and keep pushing!" He then began to get a bit curious himself. "Then again...it wouldn't hurt just to take a tiny little peek." Luigi looked into the door and well and what he saw startled him. "Shocking spaghetti!"

Inside the door was a dark room with uvula like structures sticking out from every inch of the area. Small blue energy tubes were stuck all around it. Luigi and Yoshi noticed dark waves on the ground. They knew this meant big trouble.

"The heartless!" they exclaimed in unison.

"Hurry, I'm not planning on spending the rest of my life in darkness." Luigi said. "I have too much to live for..."

"Relax, Master Luigi," Toadsworth said calmly. "Surely if you push hard enough..."

"We're doing our best, but it's not working." Sora interrupted. He then got on one knee. "I can't budge this stupid door!" He angrily slammed his fist into door, angry with himself. He knew they couldn't do it. The doors were too powerful. He was about to give up when heard a voice.

"Don't give up!" called Riku.

Sora at first thought is was a voice inside of his head again, but he heard something touch the door. Looking up, he saw a familiar white haired figure looking at him with a smile Sora gasped happily upon seeing him.

"Riku, you're alive!" Sora cried happily.

"There's no time," Riku said with a rush tone. "Come on, man! Let's work together and close this big old door!"

Sora knew that Riku has returned to his old self. He knew he could put his trust back in his childhood friend. He nodded with seriousness in his face.

"Right!"

The boys, Luigi, and Yoshi continued to push the door shut. With the combined strength of the friendly rivals, the door on their side began to shut. Luigi and Yoshi was also able to get the door to shut on their side. After only a few moments, sadly, the doors stopped again. Sora and Riku both gasped at seeing this.

"What happened?" Yoshi asked.

"There is something blocking it," Riku groaned as he pulled with all his might. "The darkness is getting too strong."

Riku glanced over his shoulder to see two darkside heartless emerge from the ground. He gritted his teeth in anger. They couldn't close the door. It was just too powerful. They pushed for what seemed like hours, endless, long, and hard. The four were getting exhausted from trying. Finally, Luigi started to panic.

"THAT'S IT!" Luigi panicked. "WE'RE DONE FOR! WE'RE THROWING IN THE TOWEL! GAME OVER, MAN! GAME OVER!"

Toadsworth grabbed Luigi' shirt collar and smacked him rapidly across the face.

"Master Luigi, calm down!" Toadsworth snapped. "There must be someway to close it!"

"Okay, but could you stop slapping me?" Luigi cried in pain.

"Oops, sorry," Toadsworth said putting Luigi down. "A tad over done I say."

"Look!" Yoshi called.

Everyone looked into the door to see the darkside heartless disintegrating before them. The inside of Kingdom Hearts became less dark now as the darkness slowly faded away. Everyone was confused as to who or what destroyed them.

"What just happened?" Luigi asked. "How did those heartless get destroyed?" He glanced at Sora.

"It wasn't me." Sora said shaking his head.

"Why don't you ask 'him' yourself?" Riku chuckled lightly.

"Him?" Sora said baffled.

The trio peeked into the door, trying to see if anyone was there. It seemed peaceful for a moment when they noticed a beautiful golden glow. A mysterious round figure jumped out from behind the uvula like structures, surrounded by the light. Sora squinted his eyes to see who it was more clearly. Sora was amazed as the figure was a bit similar to Luigi as he wore blue corduroy pants, a red long sleeved shirt inside it, white gloves, brown leather shoes, and a cap with the letters "M" on it. Unlike Luigi though, he was shorter and was more plump then the tall man.

Yoshi's mouth dropped wide open upon seeing the figure. Luigi was shocked the most, he felt his heart pounding, tears streaming down his eyes with hope. He felt a bit feeble from seeing this person. He felt so happy. Was it true? Is it really him?

"Hey," said the figure with a cheery voice. "It's-a-me, Mario!"

"BRO!" Luigi cried in excitement. "You're alive! I can't believe it! Is it really you? Is this a trick?"

"Hoo-hoo!" Mario laughed. "Relax little brother, of course it's-a-me. I'm-a-glad you're safe, too."

Yoshi jumped up and down with excitement, "Mario! We find Mario! Yoshi missed Mario!"

"And-a-I missed you-a-too, Yoshi." Mario responded. "However, we-a-have no time to lose. We'll-a-all be goners if we don't seal this-a-door."

Sora's eyes widened in surprise at what he saw Mario do next. He drew his very own keyblade. His was exactly the same as Sora's except the colors were on the opposite ends. The blade and keychain were gold and the handles were white.

"Another keyblade!" Sora exclaimed.

"Now, Sora, it's-a-time for us close this door for good!" Mario announced.

"But, bro," Luigi asked nervously. "Aren't you coming?"

"Sadly, I cannot pass to the other side," Mario said to Luigi's dismay. He then sighed sadly "But, it's-a-best this way."

"No!" Luigi shouted. "You're my brother, Mario! We're the Super Mario Brothers and we were born to stay together!"

"Luigi, please," Mario said warmly. "I want-a-to be with you, but it isn't my decision." He then smiled. "Little bro, it's-a-your turn to shine now! I-a-want you to take-a-my place as hero of-a-the Mushroom Kingdom."

Luigi dropped his hands, tears poured down his face. He didn't want to lose his only brother, although it would be his chance to take the spotlight, he could never be the hero Mario was.

"I'm nothing but a wimp." Luigi said as he started to breakdown. "I can never be like you, bro. You're brave, I'm not. I can't do this without my big brother. Please, don't leave!"

"Luigi..." Sora whispered, feeling sorry for his friend.

Mario walked over to the crack of the door and smiled warmly, "Luigi, stand-a-before me." Luigi walked over to the crack of the door. Mario gently placed his hands on his younger siblings shoulders. "I have-a-faith in you. You helped-a-Sora defeat Ansem and-a-save the world, putting your-a-own life at risk. You've-a-come along way as-a-I watched you grow. I'm so proud to have a little brother like you, Luigi." Luigi looked up at his older sibling who took off his hat and brushed his hair. "Now, the Mushroom Kingdom needs a new champion, and I can count on you, right?" Luigi wiped his tears and looked at his older brother, nodding. "I-a-knew it! You'll-a-do find, Luigi. I'll always be with you little brother."

"I love you, Mario." Luigi sniffled.

"I love you too, Luigi." Mario replied, his eyes filled with tears as well.

"Such an amazing man," Toadsworth smiled. "You truly are an honest and kind person, Master Mario."

Mario made his way back towards the center of the innards of Kingdom Hearts. Turning back, he looked at Luigi once more.

"One-a-more thing," Mario said. "Tell Peach I'm-a-sorry." Luigi dried his tears and nodded. He then turned to Sora. "Okay, kiddo, it's-a-show time!"

Luigi looked up with determination in his eyes and turned to Sora, "Quick, close this door!"

Mario noticed a guilty look in Sora's eyes, like he didn't want to seal the door. Also, Riku would be trapped in there as well, so he would never see Riku again.

"Sora, don't-a-worry." Mario said with reassurance. "Just-a-remember that no matter where you go, there will always be a door to the light."

Sora didn't know if he could take his words for granted, but he saw Yoshi smiling at him.

"Sora, Mario is very trustworthy." Yoshi said warmly. "You can always count on him."

"Hurry!" Riku shouted. "They're coming!"

The group began to close the door as it finally moved more easily. Mario smiled at his brother and friend.

"Luigi, Yoshi, thank you for helping." Mario said. "Good-bye."

The trio finally got the door to a point where it was inches away from closing for good. Luigi and Yoshi pushed with all their might, while Sora stopped for a second. He saw a small crack left of his best friend. He knew that he would never see him again, and he wished it didn't have to be like this.

"Riku..." Sora said softly

What Riku said made Sora understand everything. Four little words was all he needed to hear from the silver haired boy. The words would stay with him for a long time to come.

"Take care of her." Riku said, warmly smiling.

Sora took those words for granted and nodded at his friend. Though they may never see each other again, he would always search for the door to the light. Somehow, someday, someway, he would find Riku again and they would be reunited. The door finally closed, causing the crack in the middle to glow brightly.

"Time to finish this!" Sora said as he drew his keyblade.

Sora jumped back and pointed his keyblade into the sky, holding it with both hands. The tip glowed brightly as it prepared to make the seal. Mario took his keyblade and spun it around, making sparkles appear around it.

"Here we go!" he cried.

Mario pointed his keyblade into the sky, the tip of his also glowing brightly. The power of the two keyblade masters released the energy upon the door, sealing the door. A magnificent display of light surrounded it as the door continued to get brighter and brighter. Small light waves traveled up, surrounding the door. Finally, the door of light dimmed out of the group's eyes. Kingdom Hearts vanished completely, never to be seen again.

It was finally over. The door was finally closed and piece was restored. Sora, Luigi, and Yoshi fell on their backs, laughing weakly. They finally did it. Toadsworth smiled upon the three heros and walked over to them. Though they were happy, the realized that they've lost someone special to them. A tear streamed down Luigi's face as he went into memory lane, remembering his childhood days with Mario.

He remembered the two of them playing in their play area as babies. He chuckled, remembering they would always fight over the toys. Other times they would play with each other like brothers should. In their teen years, he remembered Mario always being supportive when he had zits on his face. Mario would use creams to wipe them off. They went to their first prom together with a girls from their high school. Luigi remembered when he tripped and fell, landing in a punch bowl.

Mario protected him from being embarrassed, by quickly getting him to the bathroom. He remembered their adult years when they opened their plumbing business. He then remembered when they were whisked away to the world of the Mushroom Kingdom, becoming the sworn defenders. He remembers how they rescued Peach from Bowser the first time. He remembered all the games they would play there: party boards, baseball, golf, tennis, soccer, basketball, and dance parties. He also remembered when he saved Mario from the haunted mansion, making him feel so proud of himself.

Yoshi also remembered getting in on the sports games and parties. He also remembered when Mario would ride his back to save Peach from Bowser. He remembered Mario telling him bedtime stories, feeding him, and kissing him good-night. Mario was like a father figure to him. He remembered when Mario would throw a frisbee, and Yoshi would catch it in his mouth, only to swallow it. Yoshi giggled at those memories.

"Bye-bye, Mario." Yoshi whispered sadly.

Sora had his own memories as well. He went back to his younger days on Destiny Islands when he and Riku would hang out together. They would play tag, play in the water, or get into scuffles for fun. They got older and talked about other worlds that were out there. He remembers when he and Riku met Kairi, and the two boys showed her how to have fun. They would play together, and Kairi would always have them run errands around the island, mostly Sora though. He then remembered the day Riku gave him the fruit to give to Kairi. Sora never thought he would do something like that. More memories appeared, but Sora wanted to end it for now.

The trio took a few minutes to catch their breath, and then they stood up. They looked at each other, knowing that since Ansem was defeated, this was the last time they would see each other. Luigi and Yoshi walked over to Toadsworth. The three magical citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom looked at Sora, who started to get a little misty eyed. Luigi stepped forward.

"Sora, you made our journey a good one," Luigi smiled. "Because of you the deed has been done. Mario got his wish and we completed our mission." He then made a sad look. "Now, the worlds will become separated again, and well...three of us will be returning to the Mushroom Kingdom. You're not one of them sadly."

"Guys," Sora sniffled. "I'm going to miss all of you." He started to sniffle a little more, tears building up in his eyes. The others put their heads down in sorrow. His voice cracked a little bit. "It's going to be so hard for me to say good-bye. I wish we could stay together, but thanks to those stupid walls, we can't." Sora walked forward. "You granted me the wish to travel to other worlds and you made my adventure magical and fun." He then walked over to Toadsworth and bent down to him. "Toadsworth, I'm going to miss you, man. You were like a Grandfather, and I mean that. Very wise, though a bit panicky."

Toadsworth hugged Sora, tears lightly streaming down his face.

"Thank you, Master Sora." Toadsworth said. "You take care of yourself and remember to brush your teeth after every meal."

Sora chuckled, "I'll keep that mind." Sora then walked over to Luigi. The plumber turned away from Sora, tears building up in his eyes again. "Luigi, I'm sorry for all the times I insulted you. I know you'll make a great hero." Luigi sniffled. "I know in the past we would have our problems, but as Sonic would say 'you're way past cool.'"

"You mean that?" Luigi choked.

"Every word, man." Sora honestly responded.

Luigi turned around and ran into Sora's arms, crying hardly on his chest.

"Oh, Sora!" Luigi bawled. "I'm going to miss you, too!"

"You're a great friend and I'll always remember you." Sora said, his voice still cracked. He then pulled away from Luigi. "And about your jokes...I think they're okay."

"Really?" Luigi asked in surprise. "Knock, knock.."

"Who's there?"

"Orange."

"Orange who?"

"'Orange' you glad we beat Ansem." Luigi joked.

Sora rolled his eyes with a chuckle, "I could be wrong though."

Luigi hugged Sora again, crying away. Sora finally managed to get Luigi off and stood up again. Toadsworth patted Luigi on the back, trying to calm him down. Sora looked towards Yoshi next. Sora's heart pounded as he looked at the dinosaur. He couldn't even do it, he was too heartbroken. Sora breathing became rapid, tears were streaming down his face. He didn't want to leave Yoshi, but had too.

Sora was about to say something, but he stopped. He couldn't do it. This was worse then Yoshi's Island, he thought. He had no say in the matter this time. Finally, Sora turned away from Yoshi, too afraid to say good-bye. Yoshi looked at Sora and walked up to him.

"What's the matter with you?" Luigi asked a bit upset.

Toadsworth shushed Luigi, telling him to back off. Yoshi walked up to Sora and smiled at him, tears streaming down his face. Sora was the brother he never had, and would never forget him.

Yoshi stammered as he tried to form words, "I...I...I love you, Sora."

Sora couldn't keep it bottled up anymore. He turned around and grabbed Yoshi, pulling him into his arms, hugging him tightly. Sora started crying his heart out, his head rested on Yoshi's shoulder. Sora felt Yoshi's gentle loving licks wiping the tears away. He felt warm in the boy's arms right now as he held the young dinosaur. Luigi and Toadsworth looked on sadly as Sora continued to hug Yoshi. Sora put his face up to Yoshi's ear, whispering in it.

"I...I think..." Sora sniffled. "I...think I'm going to miss you most of all."

Yoshi stroke Sora's back, trying to comfort him. Tears were pouring down Yoshi's eyes as well. He was going to miss Sora so much, but he knew in his heart that Sora would always be with him.

"Sora..." Yoshi whispered lightly. "It's okay. I miss Sora the most times a hundred. But, Sora and Yoshi never be apart."

"How?" Sora sniffled as he gently moved Yoshi away from his arms, still holding him.

"If Sora and Yoshi never forget each other, we live on in each others hearts." Yoshi explained with a sniffle. He then held out his hand, extending his pinkie finger. "Pinkie swear Yoshi that you never forget him. Promise?"

Sora lightly chuckled at the whole pinkie swear thing, but realized it was the only for Yoshi to feel better. Sora too knew that he would feel better. Sora held out his pinkie to Yoshi, tears rushing down his face again. The two fingers curved around each other, holding on tightly. The two looked at each other, their emotions mixed with joy, anger, and sorrow. The two have become close, and although they would be broken by the walls, they would always be with each other. In their dreams, they would find away to each other, and be together forever.

"Promise!" Sora replied.

The two hugged each other again, both not saying a word to each other, lightly sobbing in each others arms. Luigi grabbed Toadsworth's vest and blew his nose into it, causing the mushroom elder to look at him in disgust.

"Master Luigi!" Toadsworth gasped.

Luigi sheepishly pulled away from Toadsworth, "Oops, sorry."

Yoshi whispered in Sora's ear, "Sora and Yoshi stay together forever, okay?"

Sora nodded to his dinosaur pal and petted his head. All of a sudden, Sora felt a familiar energy pattern behind him. Placing Yoshi down, he turned and gasped upon who he saw; a familiar red haired girl with a purple skirt. She looked around the area, lost and confused by her new surroundings. Not wasting anytime, Sora ran over to her.

"Kairi!" he called.

Yoshi wanted to follow, but he felt two hands gripping his shoulders. He looked up to see Luigi shaking his head at him. Yoshi sat down, legs spread out, head hung down, tears rushing down his face. He was heartbroken. Luigi put his arms around the dinosaur, comforting him. Toadsworth walked over and joined the others.

"It's okay," Luigi crooned to Yoshi. "We'll all miss him."

The three watched as Sora ran over to Kairi, getting one last look at the boy who turned their rescue mission into the biggest adventure they ever went on. They would never forget him, as Sora would never forget any of them. Finally, the journey appeared to be over. Sora ran at Kairi with full speed, his heart beating with excitement, his breathing becoming hard from running. Kairi looked at the ground, she noticed sand slowly appearing below her feet. Water slowly slid down the sand, revealing more land.

She was still confused about what was happening when she heard a voice.

"Kairi!" called Sora.

She looked up, her eyes widening with excitement. She saw him coming towards her. His brown hair, his yellow shoes, his red jumpsuit, she was happy to see him again.

"Sora!"

Sora finally reached Kairi, panting all the way. Upon stopping he took her hands and smiled. They felt so happy to be with each other after all of this time.

"You did it, Sora!" she said happily. "You really did it!"

"Not alone," Sora responded. "You helped me Kairi. When I saw lost in the endless river, you came to me. You helped me find the true light." He gently stroke her hair. "Now, we're together and nothing will ever separate us."

The two blushed at each other. They truly have fallen in love with each other for the first time as their blue eyes were fixed on each other. Slowly, they leaned their heads in, their lips slowly making their way towards each other. They felt the deep passion as they got closer and closer. Nothing could ruin this moment...or so they thought. Something unexpected happened, something both of them weren't counting on.

The ground began to split as they were ready for the kiss. The two children were both startled by this. They lost their balance and Kairi was about to fall, but taking one hand, Sora grabbed Kairi's hand, pulling her back up. Kairi tried to pull Sora over, but was shocked to see he was being forced back.

"Sora!" she exclaimed. "What's happening?"

"The walls are returning." Sora said sadly. "I...can't...crossover to you."

"WHAT?" Kairi screamed in shock. She began to panic. "No! This wasn't suppose to happen!" She tried to go over with Sora, but she couldn't get over. A powerful force prevented her from doing so. She became frightened. "Sora, we're suppose to go back together!" Tears filled up in her eyes. "I don't know what I'm going to do without you."

"Listen to me," Sora said. The land began to pull Sora away. He held Kairi's hand for as long as he could. "Remember when you told me you're always with me? Well, I'm always with you, too." They began to get more distant from each other. Their hands slowly lost a grip. "No matter how long it takes, no matter how old I get, I will come back to you! I promise!"

"I know you will!" Kairi replied.

Finally, their hands let go. Sora felt the island pull him farther and father away from Kairi. He tried calling out to her, but he went too far. Kairi sadly looked on as he began to disappear from her. She put her head down slowly folding her hands together. She felt depression upon her, she couldn't believe the love of her life was gone. Kairi noticed a small ball of light drop onto her hand. Looking up she saw a rain of light, gently pouring down from the sky.

Sora looked up at the beautiful lights, but they soon warped around the entire area he was on. Kairi watched Sora try to call to her one last time, but soon a misty glow surrounded him. The glow brightened and Sora disappeared from Kairi. She turned around to notice Destiny Island reappearing around her. The trees grew back, the buildings, the waterfall, the way she remembered it. She was finally home, only two people were missing.

Kairi saw a beautiful display of shooting stars fall down from the heavens. Kairi was left speechless as she saw the lights glimmering in her eyes. She put her head down, knowing she would never see Sora again. She then remembered her grandmother's story, the door to the light. Kairi knew that as long as that light was still out there, Sora would try to find it. She knew that if she waited and had faith, Sora would one day return to her.

A few hours have passed and everyone else forgot about the storm of darkness. Kairi explained everything that happened to Wakka, Selphie, and Tidus. They were completely stunned to hear that their friends were out there still.

"This looks bad, ya?" Wakka said disappointed.

"I hope they're okay." Selphie added worryingly.

Tidus put on a cheery smile, "Relax, guys. Sora and Riku are the coolest dudes ever. They'll find away back to the island."

Kairi nodded from those assuring words from her friends. She slowly walked off to wander around the island. She needed time to be alone, and respecting her wishes, Tidus and the others left to go play. Kairi walked over to the secret place, knowing it was the only place she could seek comfort. Inside, she walked through the cave, admiring the hand written pictures on the wall. To her left she saw the picture she and Sora drew so long ago.

She gasped upon what she saw. It was the picture Sora recently drew of him giving the paopu to her. She had no idea that out of all people, he would be the one. Kairi had tears streaming down her face. She took a piece of chalk and drew another star, giving it to the Sora head. Finally, she pressed her face against the wall and started to cry. She cried for minutes as she missed his quirkiness, his kindness, and his bravery.

There was no person she would rather be with. She felt sad deep down, missing him every moment as time passed on. However, if she waited, it would be possible to see him again. Kairi smiled at his picture, knowing he was out there searching, and she would be waiting. One day, she prayed that they will finally be reunited. But for now she could only think about him in her dreams, the boy she met at the night of the meteor shower.