Hi there, folks! Hope you are staying happy, healthy, and filled with hope. Honestly, we are in a bit of world-wide turmoil, what with the CV-19 happening. I understand people are afraid, and I bet you folks are, too. However, I quote something from RWBY from the season finale of the last volume: 'Fear itself isn't worthy of concern. It's who we become while in its' clutches.'

I am afraid and frustrated at how this world is turning to be, and how separated we are physically from one another, how so many are unable to go to work, including me, and if it weren't for technology, we would be even more distant. However, in my fear and anger, I choose to write stories, as I know that there are so many who have lost hope, who have no idea what tomorrow will bring, and wish for things to just end. So, I write, even though it is not a paying job cash-wise, but it is paying to see that those who read my work realize there is still hope, there is a future, and there is an imagination that inspires to make sure we rise above our suffering.

I want you all to not only stay healthy in the body, but in the mind and heart. Do not give into your fear, your despair, your sorrow. Know that there is a bright future, and we can overcome it together. We may not be together physically, but as one mind, we can overcome this. Trust those who are finding a cure. Trust those who are supplying us with the necessities to survive, like the pharmacies, the grocery people, even businesses who prepare food for us just to bring back home. Have a healthy and happy heart, and stay safe.

And now, onto the story!

(Philia Speaking) Hi, my name is Philia. A while ago, I ended up getting sent away from my world, and now I have no memory of my past, other than my skills with a dagger and the fact that I was a treasure hunter. I am currently joining alongside my new friends Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy, as we journey to different worlds, and using the power of Sora's Keyblade to stop the dark threat known as the Heartless, and sealing the Keyholes before the Heartless take the hearts of the worlds.

Last time, our team ended up backtracking to a few worlds, treasure-hunting a bit with our new Glide ability. We also ended up in a new tournament at Olympus Coliseum, where we not only faced Cloud again, but Sora and I faced Hercules alone, and won! Our teamwork was strong enough to defeat Herc himself, and even got rewards, from weapons to a new Quartet move.

We went back to Traverse Town to install a new Navigation Gummi piece we gained from Neverland. While we did that, Sora took torn pages he found in worlds we had been to, and returned them to the book they originated from. Turns out, the book was its' own world. A world known as '100 Acre Woods', where Sora made friends with Winnie the Pooh, along with all of his friends he helped reunite him with. All his efforts didn't go to waste, as he did gain stuff from restoring the book to normal, including a boost to his own strength and defense, along with magic and items. According to Sora, it wasn't a violent world in the slightest, unlike any other world we visited, but he had a lot of fun.

With the navigation piece installed and our strength and spirits improved, we readied ourselves for the next world. However, none of us had any idea how tough it would be, nor how it would test the bonds we had, and the strength of our hearts.

(Cue 'Digimon Adventure Tri Opening 1 - Butterfly TV Size', music on Youtube)

My wings are full of images of holding back, They are still weak but I'm sure I can fly

(As the viewer zoom in on a grassy field, a red shape passes the viewer, revealing Sora in the distance. A light blue shape passes, revealing Philia, then a green one reveals Goofy, and a dark blue one reveals Donald.)

Oh My Love (guitar intro)

(The viewer zooms in and circles around to see the four of them standing there, looking off into the distance. The image becomes blurry as the title appears in front of them.)

I become a happy butterfly and flying the shimmering wind And I will go to see you right away

(Sora was asleep on the shore of the Destiny Islands, but was awoken by a voice behind him. He turned to see Kairi and Riku standing there by the raft, the latter looking somewhat annoyed by Sora's laziness while Kairi waved him over to help. Sora got to his feet and raced to his friends. The screen fades to white.)

Better you forget about unnecessary things, There's no time to joke anymore.

(The viewer zoom out of the white in Philia's eyes as she practices with her Sword Breaker, with Leon and Yuffie watching her. Her blade glowing yellow-green as she thrusted her blade forward in a Dagger Skill. She holds her position for a moment as Yuffie applauds her, then Philia lowers her weapon, looking up at the sky with a sad expression. The viewer looks into the sky, seeing the stars as they shined for a seconds, before quickly disappearing one by one.)

I wonder, wow wow wow wow wow, what will reach the sky

(The viewer zooms out as Maleficent comes into view, standing at the table with the shadowy silhouettes of her villainous allies, and Riku at her side.)

But, wow wow wow wow wow, don't even have a plan for tomorrow

(The scene changes to six of the seven Princesses of Heart, their eyes closed as if they were asleep. Kairi appears in the middle of it, her arms crossed in front of her as she opens her eyes and her body scatters into lights, replacing her position with Sora as he stood there beside Philia, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy on Donald's head as the viewer shifts the angle to behind them, seeing the hundreds of Heartless in front of them.)

Living in a world of nothing after the infinite dream, My love to you is growing weak

(The four begin to display to the viewers their combat skills against the Heartless one at a time, starting with Sora, then Philia, then Goofy, then finally Donald, who rains down lightning onto the Heartless before the heroes charge in to continue fighting.)

My wings are full of images of holding back, They are still weak but I'm sure I can fly. Oh My Love

(The viewer passes the Heartless to see Riku standing at the end, reaching out to Sora as to invite him to the darkness, with the shadowy image of Heartless Ansem mimicking his movements. Philia clears the path for Sora as he races forward, reaching out to his friend. The view shifts to Sora's view, his hand reaching out to Riku as he and the darkness fade away into the light.)

Guitar solo ending

(The screen shines an image of King Mickey holding the Keyblade as Donald and Goofy looking in from the sides. The view shifts to a dark image of Aincrad as it crumbles away, with Philia's face looking to the viewer. The view zooms out as Sora pats Philia's shoulder, causing her to look and smile at Sora as he grinned back. The view zooms back even further to show quartet and Jiminy standing there, smiling at the viewers as they stood on the same hill as before, before the view shifts back to the sky again, with the flower petals flying by once again.)

Hollow Bastion

Riku was within a sort of throne room, crouching down on one knee in front of Maleficent, absolutely worn from the trip he made through the dark portal. What he felt like he had to do was taxing on him. Not just his body, but his heart, as well. Carrying Kairi back with him was the only thing pushing him through all the pain and power.

"It was reckless to bring her here without at least using a vessel." Maleficent scolded him, "Remember, relying too heavily on the darkness could cost you your heart."

Riku gritted his teeth, glaring up at Maleficent as he sneered, "Shut up." Maleficent fixed her cold gaze back into his eyes, seeing the will he had. Truly, this boy was ambitious. After all he went through, she was rather amazed at how quickly he was gaining strength.

Before either one of them could say anything, there was a loud roar that came from outside the castle. A roar of a monster of sorts. Riku stood up, looking back at where the roar came from, concerned.

"A castaway." Maleficent noticed, "A remnant from a vanquished world who followed the princess here. He's been lingering around here, daring not to leave. He apparently followed her through sheer force of will. But fear not. No harm will come to you. He is no match for your power."

"My power?" Riku echoed, surprised.

"Yes, the untapped power that lies within you." Maleficent explained, "Now, child, it's time you awakened that power and realized your full potential." Riku glowed an eerie green energy, accepting the new power that was given to him, prepared to awaken the power Maleficent told him about. He was prepared to face the monster that was outside the castle.

Gummi Ship

"Watch it!" Philia cried out, as Donald veered the Gummi Ship away from some Heartless and obstacles that were in their path. The path they were taking was riddle with swarms of Heartless and airships that were trying to destroy them. If they hadn't gotten the upgrades to their arsenal, engine and shields, they were sure they would be killed making their way to the next world.

"How come there are so many enemies in our path?!" Sora questioned, bracing onto dear life to his seat.

"If I had to guess, I'd say we might be nearing the enemy stronghold." Philia answered, bracing herself as well, unlike Goofy behind her, who was tumbling every which-way, "If I remember correctly, Hook said that it was a place called 'Hollow Bastion'."

Sora looked seriously ahead as he muttered, "That's where Riku took Kairi, right?" Philia looked to Sora, saw the seriousness in his eyes, and nodded in response to this.

"That's also where Maleficent resides." Jiminy added, "We'll finally be able to take the fight to the leader controlling the Heartless."

"She caused so many worlds to be consumed in darkness, including Leon's world." Donald recalled, glaring ahead as he fired attacks at the enemies.

This witch has done enough damage for one lifetime." Philia finished, "It's time we put down the woman who started this mess!" The others nodded in agreement, with Goofy dizzyingly doing so.

There was an alarm from the ship's computer, followed by Donald calling out, "I see it!" They looked on ahead, and saw the upcoming world. It had dark grounds that looked like large amounts of water covering it. However, in the center of it all was a massive castle, which looked rather complex, with trails of energy going around it like pathways, and a smokestacks that billowed wispy light smoke into the air.

"Guys, you ready?" Philia asked, rising to her feet. Everyone else stood up, as well, looking serious as they prepared for what was to come. Jiminy and Tink both dove into their respective pockets. Donald entered the coordinates, and they entered into the teleportation device, vanishing from sight.

When they reappeared, they fell down onto the cobblestone platform of sorts, surrounded by ever-falling waterfalls…only, the waterfalls were going upwards rather than downwards. They looked about the place, already feeling the dark aura that consumed the place.

"Hey, fellas. Look over there!" Goofy stated, pointing towards the only open path ahead, which had numerous floating platforms. High above the path ahead, above the rising falls, was a large castle, with the main entrance having the main symbol of the Heartless.

"I know this place…" Sora muttered, surprised at the feeling he had.

"You…do?" Philia asked.

"That's strange." Goofy stated.

"I shouldn't but…" Sora touched his heart, feeling the emotions rising up within, "I feel this warmth inside, right here."

"Are you hungry?" Donald asked sarcastically.

"That's totally unrelated!" Sora exclaimed at the duck.

Suddenly, the heroes heard a roar of some sort, like it came from a beastly monster, not too far off. It sounded like it came from one of the platforms up ahead.

"What was that?!" Tink exclaimed, popping out of Philia's pocket for a moment, before diving back in from fear.

"Let's go!" Sora declared, running forward, leaping up towards the next platform. Donald, Goofy, and Philia all pursued him, jumping and gliding from one platform to the next, slowly reaching higher and higher up, as they were getting close to the source of the roar and the castle.

At one point as they raced upwards, Goofy accidentally bumped Philia off the platform, causing her to fall towards something that looked like a bubble in midair. "Philia!" Sora exclaimed, seeing her suddenly vanish the moment she made contact with the bubble. Sora, Donald and Goofy looked towards the bubble, to all around them, wondering what happened to her.

"Guys!" A few moments later, the trio of boys heard an outcry, and looked down to see Philia literally standing on the waters below them. They couldn't understand what had happened, but watched her as she raced along the water like it was completely solid, leap up to the platform they started, and raced up to join them.

"Sorry about that." Goofy apologized.

"It's okay." She replied, "Besides, I ended up discovering something." She looked down at the air bubble she disappeared to before, which still hung in place, "The moment I entered into that bubble, my body was suddenly transported underneath the water. I was able to breath fine, and in a few seconds, I ended up rising back onto the surface of the water. I can definitely tell there is some crazy magic at work here. Not only that, I found some Gummi pieces to upgrade our ship with."

"That's neat!" Sora stated.

"Might be useful to traverse this place." Donald pointed out.

"Let's be sure to remember that next time we get stuck in one place." Philia noted to the team, before they continued onwards.

Suddenly, the team saw a pair of characters ahead of them. The one closest to them, standing on a lower platform, was a beastly character. He was rather big, with the look of a bull, a lion, and other such beastly animals of sorts. He stood on two feet, like a human, he had horns on his head, and he wore a torn purple cape, fastened by a gold medallion of sorts, and torn blue pants, with his tail sticking out the back. The one standing on the higher floating platform, which had a stone arch on it, was Riku.

"Bring back Belle." The beast growled in a grizzly voice.

"How did you get here?" Riku questioned it, "Without a vessel, nor help from the Heartless… Tell me."

The beast growled, touching his heart, before answering, "I simply believed. Nothing more to it. When our world fell into darkness, Belle was taken from me. I vowed I would find her again no matter what the cost. I believe I would find her. So, here I am. She must be here. I can definitely save her from the midst of darkness."

"Only believing…is enough to save her?" Riku questioned, summoning his dark-winged blade, "Then take her if you can!"

The beast roared, before bounding upwards, about to strike Riku. He casually backflipped out of the way, keeping himself stable, before shooting forward, and slashing his opponent with his blade. The beast grimaced, before collapsing onto the ground.

"Riku, stop!" Sora called out, bounding up to the platform they stood on, with everyone behind him. He had the Olympia Keyblade in his right hand, wary of using it on Riku. The two former friends stood near opposite pillars of the stone archway, in an almost symbolic way.

"So, you finally made it. About time." Riku said slyly, "I've been waiting for you. We've always been rivals, haven't we? You've always pushed me as I've always pushed you."

"Riku…" Sora muttered, wondering if this meant there was some hope. Philia, on the other hand, was both cautious, and aware that something bad was gonna come.

"But it all ends here." Riku continued, "There can't be two Keyblade masters."

"Two of them?" Philia questioned.

"What are you talking about?" Sora demanded.

"Why don't I give you something, as a present." Riku stated, pulling something out using magic, and tossing it at Sora's feet. It was a wooden plank sword, much like the one Sora used back on the Destiny Islands.

"What is this?" Sora asked, confused.

"Your new sword." Riku answered, "As for the Keyblade, let it choose…its true master!" He reached out to Sora, as if pulling something in. What he was pulling in? Sora's Keyblade, which struggled to pry itself out of Sora's grip for some reason. Sora tried to hold onto it with both hands, but before he knew it, the Keyblade vanished in a sparkling of lights, before reappearing, as the Kingdom Key, in his hand. The transfer of the weapon shocked all the heroes behind Sora, including the boy himself.

"Maleficent was right." Riku told himself, then to Sora, "You simply don't have any idea how to use this blade proficiently, or what it takes to save Kairi."

"You mean to tell me that you can?!" Sora demanded, still in shock.

"Sora has fought hard to reach this point, trying to reach Kairi!" Philia barked, "He fought countless Heartless, saving many lives, thanks to the power of the Keyblade! What gives you the right to wield it instead of him?!"

"Simple. He was only the delivery boy." Riku answered, "Don't try to fool yourself. Surely, you've already sensed it? How vast the difference is between our powers…" Sora gritted his teeth, having a hard time accepting the truth.

"Only the Keyblade master can open the secret door…and change the world." Riku finished, raising the weapon up, "Sorry, your part's over now. Go play hero with that 'sword'." He pointed to the plank sword at Sora's feet.

Sora was unable to bear the weight of all that had happened. He collapsed to his hands and knees, in complete despair. Philia crouched next to him, placing her hand on his shoulder, worried for him. Donald and Goofy looked to Sora, then to Riku, who wandered away from the group.

"Goofy, let's go." Donald told the anthropomorphic dog. Philia looked incredulously at his statement, as did Goofy.

"Donald? But…" Goofy started.

"We have to remember the mission the king gave us." Donald told him.

"Well, I know the king told us to work together with the key-bearer and all, but…" Goofy looked to Sora and Philia, who had an expression for them not to leave. However, Donald made it clear to him what was important. He turned and followed Donald, who was wandering off to follow Riku.

"You're just gonna leave Sora behind?!" Philia questioned the pair incredulously.

Donald paused for a moment, looking back at the pair sadly, before saying, "Sora…Philia…sorry." With that, the two bounded up the platforms, following Riku, leaving Philia and Sora alone.

The moment they left, Tinker Bell and Jiminy came out of the two's pockets, looking up sadly at Sora. "You don't plan to follow them?" Philia asked the cricket sternly.

"Of course not! I obviously know what is right and wrong." He answered.

"I knew those two were idiots when I first met them, but this…" Tink growled, folding her arms, looking angrily up at where they left.

Philia looked to the two small characters, then to Sora, who was as still as can be, unable to move.

"Sora…" Philia muttered, getting in front of him, shaking his shoulders, "You gotta get up, Sora. Now's not the time to mope."

"I'm…sorry, Philia." Sora said quietly, "I guess I really wasn't worthy of any of this."

"What are you talking about?!" Philia asked.

"I wasn't worthy of the Keyblade…" Sora stated, "I wasn't suppose to be the one to follow. I guess…maybe you were better off finding your memories with Riku than with me…"

Philia, who should've been sympathetic towards Sora, was instead disgusted that he would say something like that. She forcefully pulled Sora off of his hands, until he and Philia's eyes met, and she smacked him hard across the cheek. The smack was very audible, and it left a rosy mark on Sora's cheek. Jiminy and Tinker Bell were rather surprised, though understanding, at why she did that. Sora touched the placed he was smacked, then looked to Philia, and was surprised. Tears were falling down her face. Tears made from someone who hated what she heard.

"You complete dummy!" She sobbed, "You'd think I would choose to follow that over-egotistical idiot than you?!" Sora watched as she calmed her emotions slightly, wiping away her tears, before looking at him again.

"Sora, you remember how I felt like I needed to leave you guys back in Traverse Town?" She started, "Riku stated that I only followed you because your Keyblade would help me restore my memories. However, after you made me reconsider all my doubts, it made me realize something; I didn't follow you because of the Keyblade. I followed you…because of your heart."

"My…heart?" Sora echoed.

"That's right." She answered, "Sora, you are amazing, even without the Keyblade. You're selfless, you're kind, and you know when people need help. I don't need to tell you how far you've come since we first met in Traverse Town. Your open heart and caring demeanor has helped so many other people. You fought overwhelming odds, but still continued to fight, all for the sake of your friends. You rallied people like me by your side, because we can see that the path you are taking will lead us to a bright future. So don't give up just because Riku took away the one thing you thought was the big reason you came this far. Don't give up, please…for my sake."

Sora and Philia looked to each other. Sora could see that everything she was saying at this point came from deep within her heart. She wasn't just praising him out of pity. She genuinely cared for him so much, that she wouldn't give up on him for a second.

Just then, the small group saw the beast that Riku took down, rise back up, and struggle to make his way forward. However, he collapsed near them, barely able to keep himself up.

"Hey, don't move. You're hurt." Sora stated, standing up and coming to the beast's side."

The creature didn't respond at first, but glared at Sora and Philia, asking, "Why… What did you come here for?" Sora looked surprised at this question, as it continued, "I came here to fight…" He straightened himself up, glaring at the castle, "Even if I am alone, I will protect Belle! I won't leave without her. That's why I'm here."

Sora, Philia, Jiminy and Tink all watched the beast wander off, before Sora looked at the wooden plank sword, then back at Philia. "Me, too…" he answered, "I came here to find someone important to me. I'm not gonna give up now." Philia nodded in understanding, ignoring the slight disheartenment that she felt for a moment to see Sora overcome his despair.

"Well, then…" Philia started, rising up to her feet again, and pulling something out of her pocket, "…You're gonna need something better than a toy sword, wouldn't you say?" She pulled out the Sword Breaker dagger, and placed it in Sora's hands.

He looked at it in surprise, before asking, "You sure?"

"Yeah. I got other daggers on hand." She replied, producing her Alexander dagger, "Besides, I want you to know that you are not alone. I'll be sure to share my power with you, okay?"

Sora looked to Philia, then at the dagger. It was Philia's first dagger, and according to her in Neverland, it held some of sort of significance to her past. To give him that weapon meant a whole lot. But there was more in what she said. She was giving him her power.

"My friends…are my power." He told himself, causing Philia to nod in approval. He gripped the handle of the dagger, which wasn't long enough to hold it like he did with his Keyblade, but he still held it at the ready.

Sora and Philia looked to the beastly person as the latter asked, "So, who should we call you as?"

"I have no other name but 'Beast'." He answered, "It is what I am."

"Alright Beast. I'm Sora." The former Keyblade wielder introduced himself.

"And I'm Philia." The treasure hunter followed, "We're looking for someone, too. Someone precious to Sora, and someone else we wish to defeat. We should work together."

"Very well." Beast replied, "Let us go."

"Hold that thought." Philia stopped him, "I see some treasures to collect. Give me a moment." Sora and Beast watched as Philia glided towards some floating islands that required some gliding to from where they were. She was fortunate to get all of them, from a Mega-Elixir, to a Blizzara Ring, to even more Dalmatians, which she sent to the ship.

Jiminy and Tink came to either side of Sora as he stated, with a smile, "I can't say enough how glad I am to have her with me all this time."

"Same here." Tink agreed.

"She really cares a lot about you." Jiminy noticed.

Sora looked to see her glide the way back to one of the rockier floating platforms. He looked up the stone archway, to the platform that would lead even higher, over the rising falls, to where Riku and his friends left. He was gonna reach Kairi, no matter what.

Joining back with the two males, Jiminy and Tink went into the pockets of their companions, as Philia followed Sora and Beast as they leapt onto the arch, then towards the high platform. When they arrived, there was a glow from the castle beyond, followed by a sort of cage-like platformed that floated towards them on an energy line. They climbed onto the platform, and it floated its way back to the castle, with the trio on it.

They got off the lift, and found themselves along a pathway that split a couple ways, one way heading towards the entrance into the castle. "That's our way in!" Sora declared, racing along the path towards the big set of double doors. He raced to it, and shoved his body onto the door to bust it open, only to ricochet off of it, and land on his butt.

"What gives?!" Sora demanded.

"Figures. It's locked." Philia understood, looking up and down the door, "There has to be a way to unlock it…" She looked to Beast and asked, "Any ideas on where we should go?" Beast only shook his head in response.

Sora stood back up onto his feet again, and looked about. To the left of the lift they got off, a couple of hanging lifts that were a bit too far to reach. On the right, there was a pair of iron gates that led to another unknown place. "Let's try going that way." Sora suggested, pointing to the iron gates.

"Let's hope that way isn't locked, either." Philia hoped, as the team made their way towards the iron gates. Sure enough, they were easy to swing open, and they found themselves at a dead end, with only a couple of strange statues near them, one of them sparking with red energy.

"Now what?" Sora asked, as Beast wandered to the sparking statue. He touched it, and it didn't shock him. It did change color, and it did catch the attention of something off in the distance. One of the platform lifts did shift position. However, it was still a bit of a distance for them to even glide to.

"Okay…" Philia muttered.

"Let's try this one." Sora suggested, touching the statue that didn't spark. It sparked for a moment, and a lift rose up from down below. "Hey, here we go!" Sora cheered, and they climbed aboard. They descended down with the lift, heading to the ground below.

They made it to the base level area underneath the castle, and saw many platforms and rocks sticking out of the magic water they could stand on. Unfortunately, they also discovered Heartless, which were new, spherical-shaped Heartless that were pretty much heads with three tentacles with frayed pink tips, two acting almost like ears, and one underneath its' body. According to Philia, they were Darkball Heartless. They were rather aggressive when attacking, and a bit evasive, dodging by turning into puff of dark cloud before reappearing a short distance away.

Sora was able to use Philia's dagger, though he did have to adapt to the fact that it was a shorter blade than the Keyblade. He was able to adapt, however, thanks to remembering how Philia fought with the dagger. He also used a lot of magic, too, while relying on Philia and Beast to fight up close and personal. Beast was definitely more the brute strength fighter, and with his figure, it was rather obvious to see.

"You doing okay, Sora?" Philia asked, once the fighting was done.

"This is pretty difficult." Sora answered, looking at the dagger, "It's so short. I'm not use to it, unlike you."

"Yeah. I guess daggers are definitely my specialty." Philia admitted, "Don't you worry. You'll get the hang of it. I'm sure. I'll give you a tip or two, if I can, on wielding a dagger properly."

"Thanks. I really didn't expect it to be this hard." Sora stated, looking at the dagger, "It shows how awesome you really are as a fighter."

Sora's compliment made Philia blush. She looked away, trying to control her emotions. However, she was rather elated in happiness from his compliment towards her.

"My, aren't you rosy in the cheeks." Tink poked out of Philia's pocket, smiling slyly at Philia.

"Er…" Philia couldn't find the words to respond, but instead stated, "L-Let's just get a move on. There has to be a path forwards around here somewhere, right?" She raced off ahead, with Beast and Sora watching her fleeing the scene, wondering what was up, before chasing after her.

The area they were in did have some tricks to deal with. On one hand were the bubbles that transported the team, blocks on the ground they had to push in order to get to higher places, and crystals that the team had to activate in order for them team to produce platforms that came out of the castle wall nearby for them to cross to higher and farther areas. On the other hand, though, there were some treasures to be found, like Gummi blocks and materials for synthesizing. And as for the platforms that formed a path forward, they ended up finding treasure, rather than a path forward. Thanks to Beast breaking down a wall within, they ended up discovering a powerful Gummi block.

"It seems to be some pretty strong firepower." Sora noticed, "I can't wait to equip it to the Gummi ship."

"True, IF those two idiots allow us to use it." Philia stated, irritably realizing who the real owners of the Gummi Ship are, "…When I get my hands on those two, I'll beat them up and talk them down until they are sick of apologizing!"

"I…I know they left us behind, and it really hurts that they left. But I'm sure they'll come around. I know it, as soon as we save Kairi."

"Or defeat Riku. One or the other." Philia added, punching a fist into her other hand, "Either way, do not stop me from giving them a good beating." Sora looked a bit scared, seeing the expression on her face, and knew one fact; there was no way he could stop her from doing this.

They discovered another bubble and, going into it, discovered they had entered the waterways underneath the castle. Thanks to Beast, they were able to get through a wall to make it to the other side, where another bubble was at. Sora was about to enter into it to move forward when Philia stopped him.

"My treasure hunter senses are tingling." Philia told him, looking about.

"You have treasure hunter senses?" Sora questioned her.

"What are you talking about?" Beast asked.

Philia didn't answer, but she looked about, her eyes looking for any treasure around the area. Sure enough, she saw it; up on the area above them, was a treasure box. "Bingo…" she told herself, drawing the attention of the box to the other two, "Now how to get up there…" She looked to the box, to the thin path above the wall Beast barged down, to the bubble in front of them. She couldn't tell if the bubble would take them up there, as it showed all the time before it only went underwater. However, she took a moment to think before coming up with an idea.

"Boys, step back." She told the two, who agreed, and stepped away. She pointed her dagger at the bubble, and prayed this would work. "Blizzara!" She shouted, unleashing ice magic onto the bubble. The result? The bubble froze, surprising Sora.

"Okay, here goes!" She declared, and she bounded up onto the frozen bubble, pivoting around before she could start slipping off the spherical block of ice, and pushed up onto the top of the wall, keeping her footing stable as she landed. She raced along the top of the wall, and leapt over to the area where the treasure box was at, giving a thumbs up from down below.

"Alright!" Sora cheered, seeing her open the box up, and pull something out. She revealed it to be Dark Matter, a rare material. "I'm sure we'll find something to make this into." She told herself, pocketing the material, before descending down to join the pair. At this point, the bubble defrosted, and they used it to continue forward.

The waterway was narrow, and wound all over the place, with walls that needed to be busted down, switches that needed to be activated to move parts of the wall around, bubbles and lifts they needed to carry them deeper into the waterway, and Heartless that needed to be taken down. The three had to work together, using their strength and wits to figure out their way through this maze.

They eventually reached the final button they needed to press. However, there was one tough opponent that was in their way; a Defender Heartless, which looked like a blue and purple-armored humanoid with a bulky right arm, while the other carried a large shield, which had a ferocious dog-like face on it. It lunged forward, the face of the shield ready to chomp onto their opponents. Beast grabbed it by the rims of the shield, preventing it from hitting anyone. It was strong, so he struggled. However, Sora and Philia raced to either side, the latter's dagger light blue. Sora unleashed a horizontal slash with the Swordbreaker, while Philia unleashed the Side Bite Dagger Skill. They did some serious damage to it, causing it to lose its' strength, giving Beast the opportunity to shove it high into the air.

"Thundara!" The two shouted together, unleashing a unified lightning bolt that eliminated the Heartless.

"Great teamwork!" Jiminy cheered from Sora's pocket.

"I'm just glad I have you two on my side." Sora sighed in relief.

"Agreed. Things just get easier when we work together. Right, Beast?" Philia asked the monster, who nodded in response to this, though showed no signs of smiling.

Sora pressed the button the Heartless was protecting, and the gears around it started to move. From high above, they could hear something like a door opening. "You think that was the entrance opening up?" Sora asked.

"If it isn't, I'll be ticked." She answered, "Let's go see." They doubled back the way they came, prepared for whatever was to come.

It took them a little while to backtrack the way they came, but they found themselves back where they started. There were a few Heartless to meet them as they returned to the front doors. They dealt with them before pushing the door open, and entered in.

They walked through a dark corridor, and found themselves in what they assumed to be the entrance hall. It was large, with two set of stairs that curved up to the second floor, and a dried up fountain mounted on the wall in between the stairs. Columns were lined about the exterior part of the hall.

They passed the columns, looking about the room. "Be on your guard." Beast told the pair, "They're close, I can feel it. Are you ready for them?" Sora and Philia nodded in response, and walked further into the room.

Suddenly, Beast sensed something, and looking behind him. A beautiful woman was standing there at the entrance doors, wearing a gold ball gown. "Belle!" He gasped, recognizing the young lady. Sora and Philia stopped and looked behind them.

"Oh, Belle. It's a good thing that you're alright…" Beast started, until he saw something that horrified him and the others. Belle's body became consumed in darkness, and she was replaced with a Shadow Heartless. It turned around and wandered away, as Beast stood there, his body tense, his growl growing stronger and stronger until it became a roar, and he charged after the Shadow.

"Beast, wait!" Sora called out, but too late. The moment he passed the doors, they slammed behind him, leaving Sora and Philia alone in the entrance hall…or so they thought.

"Why didn't you go back." The two turned around. There, standing in front of the fountain, was Riku, with Donald and Goofy standing right by him, looking rather conflicted at the situation.

"Riku! What have you done?!" Sora demanded.

"Curse you…" Philia growled, "You tricked Beast!"

"Sorry for interrupting your little adventure game." Riku scoffed, "But you should quit while you can. This is not a children's playground. Get out!"

"No! Not without Kairi!" Sora retorted.

Riku's body glowed a dark aura, and his attire changed drastically. He wore a skin-tight suit of black and purple material that looked like muscle tissue. Around his waist was a white frayed cloth, and on his chest was the Heartless emblem, except the red cross was not there.

"Do you want to be swallowed by the darkness?" He asked, raising a palm towards Sora.

"I won't, Riku!" Sora retorted, "The darkness may destroy my body, but it can't touch my heart. My heart will stay with my friends. It'll never die!"

"And I vow to protect Sora, both his heart and body, even if he can't fight by himself." Philia followed up, stepping in front, readying her dagger, "Because…I find him a better person than you, and a way stronger person!"

"Well, then, let's test that vow!" Riku barked, and he sent a dark energy projectile at Sora and Philia, Sora seemingly stunned at what was to come, while Philia braced herself, ready to attempt to counter it. However, before either one could make a move, someone else blocked the attack for them; Goofy.

"Sora and Philia ain't gonna go anywhere!" He barked, "So please spare them!"

"Goofy!" Donald gasped.

"Have you forgotten the King's orders?" Riku questioned his actions, "The one you need to follow is me. You'd betray your king?"

"Not on your life!" Goofy answered strongly, "But I'm not gonna betray Sora or Philia, either, 'cause they've become a couple of my best friends after all we've been through together!"

"Goofy…" Sora muttered, please to see him back on their side.

"Bout time you came to your sense." Philia told him.

Goofy looked to Donald and called out, "See ya later, Donald! Please apologize to his majesty for me, because I'm stayin' with Sora and Philia. You go on and follow the Keybearer."

"Wait a minute! You're not being fair!" Donald squawked angrily, stomping towards the others, "I-I'm also Sora and Philia's friend, right? All for one and one for all."

Philia reached out, and wrapped her arms tightly around each returning friend's neck, pulling Donald off the ground and strangling them. "About time you figured that out!" She told them with a smirk and a glare, "You realize how much of a pain in the butt it was without having you two around? Don't go walking away from us again, okay?" She squeezed their necks tighter at this question.

"Okay! Okay!" Donald gasped, trying to breath.

"You're stuck with us! Promise!" Goofy coughed.

Philia was satisfied with the pair's words, and released them, causing them to gasp for air. She looked to Sora, giving him a grin that showed she was satisfied. "Guys…" Sora muttered, glad to see the gang back together again. He then glared at Riku, as the four of them readied their weapons.

"You honestly believe you can fight with that poor excuse of a weapon?" Riku scoffed, seeing the Sword Breaker in Sora's hand, then producing the Kingdom Key Keyblade into his hand, "You don't have the power to fight me."

"It may not be the Keyblade, but I got a greater weapon; my heart." Sora stated, tightening the grip on his dagger, "And this weapon is connected to it."

"Your heart? What good will that weak little thing do for you?" Riku asked.

"It's way stronger than yours, in every sense of the word!" Philia growled, "Because it is connected to all of our hearts."

"My heart may be weak, it's not alone." Sora followed, "It's grown with each new experience, and it's found a home with all the friends I've made…" His mind flashed through all the people he had met in other worlds, all the allies he formed bonds with.

"I've become a part of their heart just as they've become a part of mine." Sora continued, stepping forward, placing his weapon-free hand on his heart, "And if they think of me now and then, if they don't forget me…then our hearts will be one."

All the allies that Sora thought about suddenly became light, and merged with Sora, making his heart shine. Suddenly, Riku felt something about the Keyblade in his hand. He looked down, and and suddenly felt it pull away from him. It shined brightly, then vanished, shocking him. It then reappeared again, as the Olympia Keyblade, in Sora's free hand. "My friends are my power!" Sora shouted, holding both the Keyblade and the dagger in his hands.

Riku growled, then leapt at the heroes, summoning his Soul Eater, and prepared to fight all four of them. However, Philia leapt over Sora, and clashed her dagger with his blade. She shoved him away, causing him to move a good distance away from them. He growled as he looked at Philia, who readied her dagger.

"Sora, let me fight him." She told the revived Keyblade wielder, "You support me by cheering me on."

"You sure?" Sora asked, worried for her safety.

"Trust me." She answered with a smirk, turning to Riku, and twirling Alexander in preparation, "I've been waiting a loooong time for this one."

Riku growled as he readied his fighter's stance. "You were always getting in my way, even more than Sora. It's about time I let the darkness consume you!" He charged forward, as Philia lunged at him, and the two clashed blades.

Sora, Donald and Goofy kept their distance as the two engaged in a clash of blades, moving all about the area, trying to one-up one another. Riku was trying so hard to overpower her in the strength department. However, when it came to skill and speed, Philia had that in spades. She kept parrying Riku's attacks, and slashing him every time.

"Damn you!" Riku growled, lunging at Philia, who leapt back to avoid the tip of his wing blade, "You were always such a nuisance. Why choose to go around with a total weakling like him? What made you constantly stay with him?!"

"Sora is just someone I can't help but stay right next to!" Philia answered, leaping forward, and clashing with Riku, "His care for other and his willingness to help, even if no one asked for it, makes him such a likable person. I wanted to help him out like he has been helping me and everyone else. We grew stronger and stronger, and our hearts became stronger and stronger. I have been looking for memories for so long, but thanks to him…" She sent Riku's sword upwards, making him fumble back, "…My heart is brimming with bright memories thanks to being by his side!"

Her dagger shined a yellow hue, and she felt a surge of power. She crouched her body, then spun upwards, creating a tornado of blue energy as she slashed Riku four times with her tornado spin. She sent Riku flying, Landin onto his back, while his blade clattered to the floor.

Philia stood there, glaring at Riku, as he sat up again, too injured to keep fighting, as his dark garments reverted to his normal ones. He glared at Philia, then Sora and his friends. He hated how someone like her would end up with a weakling like him. He couldn't stand being the weaker one here. He slowly got to his feet, took one last look at the group, before running away.

"Riku!" Sora called out, watching him leave.

"Let him go." Philia told Sora, walking back to his side, "He's learned his lesson."

"What kind of move was that?" Goofy asked, "The one you beat him with?"

"A new Dagger Skill, and probably my strongest." Philia answered, "It's called 'Eternal Cyclone'. Guess the strength of my heart awoke to it."

There was a moment's pause, before Sora handed Philia back her Sword Breaker. "Thanks for lending this to me." He thanked her, "And thanks…for staying by my side when I needed it."

"It wasn't a big deal." She answered, taking the dagger, "Besides, I couldn't leave you…" she looked to one side, blushing as she muttered quietly, "And you're such a special person to me."

"Hm? What was that?" Sora asked, not hearing the last sentence.

"Oh, nothing." She answered, feigning ignorance, as she pocketed her dagger away, and stored her Alexander away via magic. Sora looked confused, as did Donald. Goofy, having the better ears, heard what she said, and chuckled, knowing what she meant.

Just then, the Beast entered onto the scene, having seen the last bit of Philia's fight with Riku. He walked towards the group, startling Donald and Goofy at first, only to see Sora and Philia at ease in front of him. "So, your heart won this battle." Beast acknowledged. Philia nodded in response, looking to Sora, who agreed to this.

"We should keep going." Beast told the group, "Belle is still further in the castle.

"And so is Kairi." Sora added.

"And Maleficent." Philia finished, looking to Donald and Goofy, "I don't suppose you have any clue where she might be, being with Riku."

"No…" Donald answered, shaking his head.

"He didn't take us too far. But he did look like he was in a bit of pain." Goofy recalled.

Sora and Philia looked to one another. Now that Philia thought about it, he was struggling a bit in the fight, not just because of her skills. It looked like he was pushing through some sort of pain.

"We do know that way leads to a higher part of the castle." Donald pointed to the door that was on the upper far side of where they stood. "But you need to unlock the puzzle to enter in."

"And we know that part of that puzzle is in the library over there!" Goofy stated, pointing to the left door on the upper floor.

"Guess you guys being with Riku paid off." Philia told the pair, "But that still doesn't mean we've fully forgiven you from abandoning Sora. She wandered up the stairs to the library, with Donald and Goofy looking a bit regretful at the choice they made back then. They followed behind Sora and the Beast as they caught up with Philia before entering the library.

Just like the waterways before, the library had puzzles within it. They ended up reaching a dead end amongst the shelves of books. However, Goofy discovered a red book that was not on its' shelf, and placed it with a group of other red books. The book activated the shelf, and slid it to one side, opening up the path much more for the heroes to go on.

There were more of this same kind of puzzle all throughout the library, as well as rotating shelves that had hidden treasures within. Finding books to get onto the bookshelves was sometimes easy, on the ground, or placed in the wrong shelf, whereas others were hard to find, like a book they discovered high on top of a shelf, which required the Green Quartet to reach. They investigated the library thoroughly, trying to find where the books they discovered should properly go.

After a good long while, they ended up finding a hidden book shelf, which they placed a blue book that was missing from its' shelf. It opened like a door before them, and they entered through the hidden path. They entered into an area that had a few lifts in it. They found a chest on top of a floating device, which they brought down with Gravity magic, revealing to be Dalmatian puppies that were locked away in a chest. They sent them back to the Gummi ship, before climbing onto one of the lifts, which took them out of the room. It took them outside the castle, climbing up before going back in to reach a higher part of the same room they were in. And what did they get out of all that trouble? A new Gummi block, which according to Goofy, was a very rare Gummi. They decided to use it when they needed it, and went back the way they came.

They returned to the library, where they discovered a hidden button to unlock a door that led to the area high above the entrance hall. They investigated the place, discovering many hidden puzzles that revealed. Puzzles varied from pushing about statues, lighting candles, breaking pots, and even performing a Red Quartet, gathering up the four pieces that formed the symbol of the Heartless, which was the key to unlocking the door on the second floor of the entrance hall.

"We got all four pieces!" Sora cheered, as he, Philia, Donald and Goofy all held the pieces they gathered together.

"Let's unlock the door, and reach the top!" Philia told the team, who nodded in response. They raced to the door, each placing their piece into the door, creating the Heartless Emblem. It shined, and the door slid upwards, giving access to the heroes. Without hesitation, they raced through, wanting to catch up with the enemy.

Meanwhile, Riku was racing along a hallway, his breathing heavy and his body sore. "Why? It was mine. And how was SHE able to beat me?!" Riku questioned, feeling the pain, "What the hell is wrong with me?! It feels as if I'm about to feel flattened!"

"Know this…" Riku stopped, hearing a voice, and turned to see someone. It looked like a brown-cloaked figure with cross-straps around his chest, and his hood hiding his figure. He emanated a dark blue aura.

"The heart that is strong and true shall win the Keyblade." The figure told Riku.

"What? You're saying my heart's weaker than his?" Riku questioned his words.

"For that instant, it was." It answered, "However, you can become stronger. You showed no fear in stepping through the door to darkness. It held no terror for you. Abandon your confusion. Walk deeper into the darkness, and your heart will grow even stronger."

Riku looked down. He refused to be the weaker person compared to Sora, or even Philia. He wanted strength. Strength was all that mattered to him. "What should I do?" He asked, giving up all hesitation.

"It's really quite simple. Give your heart directly. Embrace the darkness." The robed figure walked ever closer to Riku, as his body emanated a dark aura. Riku looked up at the figure, watching it ever closer, almost ready to touch him.

Philia stopped as they entered the waterways, having just gone through the lift station, and felt absolutely cold for a moment. The boys stopped and looked at her, seeing the slight fear in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Beast asked Philia.

"Just now…it's as if the atmosphere got even colder than it was before." She answered, "The darkness suddenly became more potent than ever before. I…I think it has to do something with Riku."

"Riku?" Sora asked.

"I don't know how I know this…" Philia looked down, touching the area over her heart, "I have been able to sense the light and darkness in people's hearts before, but this…it's like I could tell the darkness is swallowing Riku's heart more and more."

Sora looked down, touching his chest. He should've been the one to sense this, being Riku's closest friend. Yet, he knew Philia had some sort of innate ability to sense the light and darkness in people's hearts. He never knew why she was able to do this, nor did he question it before now. But now, he wondered why Philia was really able to sense these things.

"Come on! We have to keep going!" Donald told the group.

"Yeah. If Riku's heart is being swallowed by darkness, maybe we can stop it." Goofy assumed.

"You're right." Sora answered, "We may be on opposite sides, but in the end, he's still my friend. We have to stop him, and save Kairi!"

Philia looked to Sora. Despite everything that Riku put them through, Sora had this much faith that he would bring his friend back from the darkness. She had no idea how a boy like him could have this much faith in a person. Was it just a childish suggestion?

Suddenly, two Guardian Heartless appeared, and charged at the heroes. "We must keep pressing forward!" Beast roared at them, grabbing the nearest Guardian by the shield and tossing it into a wall, "Save your talking for after we rescue Belle and your friend!"

"R-Right!" Sora answered, readying his Keyblade, as he led the charge against the Heartless.

Beast was right. Not only were there Guardian Heartless to deal with, but also draconic-looking Heartless called Wyverns, which were aggressive in the airs above them. They did find treasures here and there, mostly material and consumables for them to use for later. They doubled back to the lift station, and made their way to a door that led outside, onto paths outside the castle walls.

Out there, they had to deal with activating platforms to move about for them to find more treasures. Fortunately for Sora's team, they did have the Glide ability, and were able to move about in the air fine, even dealing with Wyverns that crossed their path. Sora did come up with a brilliant plan of using Gravity magic on them to send them flying far down below, while Philia ended up using Thundara to shock the midair targets. They did find some rare material and even Dalmatian puppies, before taking another lift that led them to another platform that contained a very large lift. They climbed aboard, and it slowly took off.

"This has to get us closer to where those guys are." Goofy hoped.

"It has to!" Donald exclaimed, "There was no other way besides this. All other ways led to dead ends."

"Dead ends with treasures, I might add." Philia stated, "They weren't total losses."

"But they wasted time." Beast growled, "The more time we spend loitering around, digging for scraps, the further away Belle and your friend are from us. By the time we find them, it might be too late!"

The heroes looked to Beast sympathetically. They knew Belle was an important person to him. They didn't want to let him suffer without bringing back the one he loves. Sora kinda understood that. After all, he believed Kairi was also in the same position as Belle.

Suddenly, Philia thought of something, and asked, "Hey, Beast. Is there any reason why Belle was taken in the first place?"

Beast looked to her for a moment, then answered, "I am not sure. However, I do remember them targeting Belle specifically because she was 'one of the seven princesses' they were searching for. I have no idea what they meant, nor do I care."

"It might for us…" Philia answered, thinking on something.

"You figured something out?" Tinker Bell asked her.

"Maybe…" she mumbled, her brain in overdrive. Based on the past, in Agrabah, they learned about the Princesses of Heart, and that Maleficient's group was after them. If this is connected, Belle might also be one of these Princesses. And if that's true, two more theories could connect. One is that Alice and Jasmine are also here. The second theory is that Kairi might also be one of them, if she was brought here. The base of this theory wasn't completely solid for Philia, so she didn't vocalize this, but she felt all of this might actually connect.

Before the conversation continued, mage-looking Heartless appeared on the large lift they were on, surrounding them. "Sorceresses!" Philia recognized, readying her dagger, as everyone readied their weapons for combat. The lift came to a halt, meaning they had to deal with the Heartless before it continued. Working together, they quickly annihilated the Sorceresses, which produced a switch that allowed the lift to continue forward. During their fight, Philia actually managed to steal one of the staffs the Sorceresses used. She gave it to Donald, realizing it might be far more powerful than the staff he was using.

The lift came to a halt on the other side of the castle, and they continued onwards, entering the lift station before going to a higher level, and going outside again to go even higher up, where they encountered a large swarm of Heartless to deal with. The others backed off as Philia summoned out Dumbo to help her wash out the Heartless that came at their team, while Sora decided to see what Bambi was capable of.

Using the magic on the tip of his Keyblade, Sora drew a half-circle along the ground around him, before tossing the magic away, which landed close by. In a flurry of large petals, a grassy patch appeared, and on it, a young buck also appeared. It pranced over to Sora, bounding around him before stopping on his left side, where Sora patted his head.

As Philia was riding Dumbo about, Bambi was prancing about the place, producing mists of energy that either healed their wounds, or restored magic energy. And it seemed that with every enemy defeated by Sora, Bambi was able to produce more and more, even producing items such as potions and ether for them to pick up. They defeated the Heartless with their combined effort, and got rewarded with great benefits out of it.

"Well, that was easy to deal with." Philia stated, pocketing a potion, "And we got so much good stuff out of it."

"Big deal. So the deer can give you items." Tink scoffed, "I'm way more useful than that!"

"Jealousy is a sin, Tink. Don't cling onto it." Philia smugly told the pixie.

"I am NOT jealous!" Tink retorted.

"Guys, let's keep going." Sora told the two girls, grabbing a Thundara ring he found in the battle, and activating a switch. A wall slid down ahead of them, revealing itself to be one-half of a path forward. With no where to go, they went back into the lift station again.

They fought a few Heartless inside the station, before making their way to the other side of the blocked path, dealing with more Heartless before activating the switch over there. The wall slid down to a lower level than the first one, revealing a stair-like path that led the team up to the next level. There was another switch there, guarded by Wyvern, which the team used Gravira to send them crashing to the ground to be easily destroyed, before activating the switch. The platform they just lowered now rose up, creating another set of stairs that led them to an even higher level. They climbed it, and reached another level that had another switch, and a treasure box that contained a very powerful consumable called Megalixer. As for the switch, it seemed to rotate a tower nearby, which connected to an energy line, meaning a new path for a lift for them.

"Let's head back down to that lower floor." Goofy told the others, "I think I saw a door that led back to the lift station."

"Then that's where we're gonna head." Philia told the team, and they doubled back to the door Goofy noticed before.

Meanwhile, inside the Grand Hall, Maleficent stood about machinery, which seemed to be focused upon one machine in particular. She looked upwards at the said machine, which looked like a Heartless emblem-shaped door to something, the interior of which was distorted with a dark rainbow aura and black electrifying energy. This machine was activated thanks to six of the seven Princesses of Heart that were encapsulated within the hallway just beyond the Grand Hall. Kairi was laying on the floor behind her, unconscious to anything.

Riku had wandered up the stairs to join Maleficent, his expression cold, wearing the same dark garments he wore when fighting Philia and the others.

"So, I see the path has emerged at last." Riku spoke, his voice sounding as if two people were speaking as one.

"Yes. The Keyhole to the darkness." Maleficent answered.

"Unlock it, and the Heartless will overrun this world." Riku told her.

"What do I care?" Maleficent brushed off, "We're only going to use that power to rule all worlds. The darkness holds no power over me."

"Such confidence." Riku sarcastically stated, reaching out in front, and through dark powers, he summoned a Keyblade. It was red and black, a rather simple design like the Kingdom Key, only the teeth of the weapon mostly forming a thorny outline of a heart. Unlike a Keyblade, though, it had no keychain.

"Oh!" Maleficent gasped gleefully, seeing the weapon in Riku's hands, then noticing something that shocked her, "It is incomplete. Impossible! The Princesses of Heart are all here!"

"It is because this girl lost her heart." Riku answered, looking to Kairi on the floor behind them and walking towards them, "Without it, she will never be able to release her power.

Just then, the two heard the sound of something beyond the halls. Heavy doors were opening up. "The king's fools are here!" Maleficent realized, looking to Riku, seeing that he had once been defeated by them before, and chose to take matters into her own hands. "I'll deal with them myself." She told him, "You stay here and guard the princesses."

As she wandered off to deal the interference, Riku watched her leave, glowing an eerie white aura, scoffing at how overconfident she was.

Inside the castle chapel room, the heroes raced along the long path towards the front chapel. "We'd best be careful." Philia told the group, "I feel like we're finally reaching the pinnacle fight."

"Aw, we got this!" Donald answered, "Come on! Let's keep pushing forward!"

They had just reached the front of the chapel when a dark aura made them stop. In its' place, Maleficent stood there, her eyes narrowed as she gazed upon the group of five. They could feel the intense darkness she controlled.

"Maleficent!" Sora growled, recalling her back in Agrabah.

"I'm afraid you're too late." She told the group, "Any moment now, the final Keyhole will be unsealed. This world will be plunged into darkness. It is unstoppable!"

"We'll stop it!" Sora and Philia declared, brandishing their weapons as they got into their fighter's stances, as the rest of the team readied their weapons.

"After coming this far, there's no way we're gonna let that happen!" Sora barked.

"And if you think we'll let you just trounce us, then you have another thing coming!" Philia followed.

"You poor, simple fools. You think you can defeat me?" Maleficent asked, "Me, the mistress of all evil?!" Using her magic, she made a circular piece of the floor break off, creating a platform for her to stand above the team. A blue aura formed underneath it, keeping it levitated.

"Well, do you think you can beat us?" Philia retorted, "You haven't even felt what we're capable of!" She jumped up at Maleficent, her dagger shining a dark blue hue, before unleashing Cross Edge. Maleficent placed up a dark aura, and she took the hit, not even flinching. Philia seemed surprised at this, but braced herself as Maleficent raised her staff.

"Aerora!" Sora shouted, creating a wind barrier around everyone's bodies. Philia obtained this in time to take the magic-enforced swing from her staff, taking the hit pretty well, all things considered.

"Take that!" Donald shouted, unleashing a Thundara spell, while Goofy and Beast leapt upwards, getting in front of Philia to swing their shield and claws, slashing her body.

"Come out!" She shouted, raising her staff high, summoning two Defenders to her side, who thrusted their shields forward, sending the two brawlers off the platform. The Heartless pursued them, and they began to struggle against their adversaries.

"Goofy/Beast!" Donald and Philia shouted, racing to the respective sides to deal with the Guardians, while Sora made a straight line for Maleficent, leaping up onto the platform, and unleashing several slashes onto Maleficent, ending with a Stun Impact, which did not do as the name implied.

"You will see how outclassed you are, boy!" Maleficent roared, raising her staff high, "Meteors of heaven, unleash thy fury!" Suddenly, portals appeared into the air behind her, and blue aura meteors shot out, shooting towards the heroes. Sora took a meteor full on, and got blasted back hard. As for everyone else, they avoided all by darting to sides, though Beast was struck dead in the head by one of the meteors, knocking him unconscious as he fell to one of the sides of the chapel.

"Beast!" Philia cried out, seeing his state of being.

"That beastly creature may have gotten this far through his strength of will, but it is no match for the Heartless!" Maleficent mocked. Sora drank a potion, but glared harshly at the witch.

"It wasn't just his will that brought him here." Philia told her, placing her dagger into a reverse grip, "His heart yearned to protect a person he cares for so much. And that's the same power we're using, too!" She charged forward, with Sora leaping up to attack Maleficent. Donald and Goofy recovered, and joined the pair.

"That power, as you call it, is nothing compared to the powers of darkness I possess!" Maleficent retorted, readying her staff, "You will see soon enough!"

Fighting the evil witch took great effort amongst all the heroes. Beast was able to recover again, but even fighting her five-on-one was still tough. Standing on her platform, her aura preventing her from flinching from any of their attacks, she was taking all attacks, knocking people off her platform, which she moved towards the other side of the chapel halls to distance herself from them, and dishing out Heartless and meteors in response. The Heartless were one matter, but her meteors were the main threat to the heroes. The only way they could avoid the attacks were to be at least on the sides of the platform she was on.

"She's not the leader of the group for nothing!" Philia stated, panting from exhaustion.

"But she has to be reaching her limit, too!" Sora grimaced, looking high up at Maleficent, who had her platform high above them, "If only we can reach her…"

"In that case, let's bring her to us!" Donald shouted, raising his staff, "Gravira!" He created a force of gravity magic impact the platform Maleficent stood on, and it crashed to the ground before them.

"Nice one, Donald!" "How did I not think of that?" Sora and Philia asked respectively.

"You think you're so clever?" Maleficent questioned, raising her staff high. Storm clouds formed above and around a large area, with purple thunder sparks coursing all about it. The team looked cautiously up at the storm that was surely to come.

"Away!" She roared, and lightning started to fall directly onto the heroes. With their reaction speeds, Philia and Sora evaded the first bolts. Donald, Goofy and Beast were not so fortunate, getting zapped from the first bolts hitting them. Sora and Philia saw what was happening to them, but couldn't do any thing to help them.

"A bolt of lightning to strike them down!" Maleficent cackled, sending more and more lighting down upon them all. The three that were struck down before got up and tried to evade the attacks as best as they could. Goofy tried blocking by using his shield, but it didn't do anything, the attack coursing through to electrify his body, making him fall unconscious. Sora was dodge-rolling like crazy to avoid getting hit, while Philia raced as far from the thunderclouds as she could.

Maleficent cackled as her attack ended. Philia panted from exhaustion, and saw the state everyone else was in. Donald, Goofy and Beast were all unconscious, while Sora took a couple hits, and was barely able to move.

Philia then dug into her satchel, and pulled out a Megalixer, raising it high, broke the container. The essence of the container shot out to all five of the heroes, and restored them completely, bringing them back onto their feet once more. Maleficent stopped laughing, and looked irritably at how everything turned around.

"Thing about treasure hunters: They always use everything they find to their advantage." Philia mocked Maleficent, though give a slight look towards Beast, remembering that he argued how much time they wasted in making detours gaining items.

"Ha! A simple act like that won't change anything!" Maleficent retorted, her platform levitating again to a higher level, "Meteors of heaven! Unleash-!" Before she could finish, Donald, Goofy and Beast all struck the bottom of the platform, causing it to fall to the ground again. Maleficent lost her footing, as well as her tongue. The moment she stabilized again, she looked to see she was surrounded in front and back, by Sora and Philia, who quickly got onto the platform.

"Go!" Donald and Goofy shouted together.

"Here goes!" Sora shouted, his body glowing as he readied to unleash Ars Arcanum.

"Time to end this!" Philia roared, her dagger shining purple, indicating her Rapid Raid Dagger Skill. Simultaneously, the two unleashed their strong combo attacks, striking Maleficent so strongly, even her aura was unable to endure the combination attack. The two blade-wielders roared as they unleashed the attack with all their might, until finally, with their final attack, they sent Maleficent flying towards the other end of the chapel, tumbling to a halt at the very spot she started at.

The five heroes raced towards her as she got back up to her feet, clutching her chest as she backed away onto the stand behind her, opening a portal as she did so. She disappeared into it, though the portal didn't disappear.

"She's leaving!" Donald shouted.

"But she did leave something behind…" Philia noticed, wandering over to where she fell, and picking up something. Showing it to the others, they realized it was an Ansem's Report, the fifth page.

"Another Ansem's Report!" Goofy noticed.

"What is that suppose to be?" Beast questioned, his tone warning them it better not be time-consuming.

"Something that can be analyzed later." Philia answered, folding it up and pocketing it.

"Agreed. Let's go after Maleficent!" Sora ordered, and the team raced into the portal, not even fearing what was to come on the other side.

Inside a large circular room, where what seem to be large, thick vines with thorns growing on one side, Maleficent was panting in agony from the amount of damage she had just endured, hobbling as fast as she could to the Grand Hall. From behind her, a dark portal opened up, and out came Riku, his Keyblade in hand.

"Do you need some help?" He asked the evil fairy.

At the same time, the five heroes entered the scene, with Sora recognizing his former friend…or he thought, at first.

"Is that…?!" Donald gasped.

"Yes. A Keyblade. One forged from the crystallization of all the princesses." Riku answered, holding the weapon aloft, "But unlike yours, this Keyblade holds the power to unlock people's hearts."

"Unlock…people's hearts?" Philia echoed, getting a foreboding feeling about the weapon.

"Allow me to demonstrate…" Riku declared, "Behold!" In an instant no one could react to, he turned and stabbed Maleficent in the chest, unleashing dark powers that came from within her. "Now, open your heart, surrender it to the darkness! Become Darkness itself!" He pulled back the weapon, opening up another portal, and disappeared, closing the portal from behind.

"Riku!" Sora called out, but Philia held him back, seeing the condition Maleficent was in. It was not good for them, as she emanated a light green aura that reeked with more darkness than what she had before.

"This is it! This power!" She stated, her shock turning into glee, "Darkness… The true darkness!" She suddenly erupted in green flames, causing the heroes to endure the shockwaves from the power unleashed. Maleficent was growing, her body transforming before them. Darkness consumed about the place, making it impossible to see for a moment. However, as the darkness faded, the five heroes were greeted to a horrific sight. Maleficent had transformed into a very large, black-scaled dragon, her underbelly a deep purple, her eyes, nostrils, tongue, and interior of her mouth a shocking yellow, and her transparent wings spread out, looking a bit too small to make her fly at the moment. Green flames emanated from within her jaws, streaking out to the sides, making her even more menacing than ever before.

As it roared at the group, Donald and Goofy cried out in fright as Sora exclaimed, "This…isn't good one bit!"

"So this is the full potential of her unrestrained darkness!" Philia gasped, horrified at the sight.

Beast came forward, growling at the dragon before them, then stated, "We must not falter! We must get to Belle and Kairi, and the only way to do that is through her!" Reminded of what was on the line, the four heroes mustered their courage, readying their weapons as they prepared to fight Maleficent again, in a much more dangerous fight.

She reared onto her hind legs, and slammed them onto the ground, creating rings of energy shockwaves, making the team fly backwards. They recovered, and Beast, Sora, and Goofy charged forward first, with Donald and Philia holding back before acting. Beast leapt forward at the belly of Maleficent, and slashed a couple times to try and damage it. However, it did nothing to damage her, and she swiped back at him with great force, sending him crashing away from the others.

Sora and Goofy saw this, and the former stated, "Well, the easy target is out of the question. Guess we have no choice. Aim for the head!"

"I got it, Sora!" Goofy answered, doing a Rocket technique to uppercut Maleficent in the head with his shield. She retaliated by snapping her jaws, grabbing Goofy, and throwing him into the vines.

"Goofy!" Sora shouted, seeing where he went.

"Sora, watch out!" Philia cried out. Sora redirected his gaze to Maleficent, who readied herself, before swinging her body about, striking Sora with her tail, causing him to gag in pain, and crash into the wall, before collapsing to the ground, terribly injured.

"Sora!" Philia and Donald shouted, as Beast got back up onto his feet again. They looked to Maleficent, and Philia let her anger get the better of her, as she charged at Maleficent. She snapped at her with her fangs at Philia, who countered with her dagger, before making it shine yellow, before unleashing her Eternal Cyclone Dagger Skill, unleashing her powerful whirlwind slash at the dragon, damaging it. She reeled back in pain, before glaring down at Philia, as Sora, Beast, Donald and Goofy all gathered up around her.

"Wind!" Sora shouted, and he performed Aerora, creating wind barriers around all the heroes. With their defenses now improved, they charged forward, while Maleficent raised a claw, roaring at the group as she slammed it onto the ground, creating shockwaves that the heroes leapt over, targeting her head. They struck it together, causing Maleficent to screech in pain from the attack she took.

Her eyes flashed, glaring down at the group, and she roared once more. This time, several green fireballs form a ring around the heroes. They gazed about them, only to see all of them suddenly move, home in onto all five of them. At the same time, Maleficent inhaled deeply, then exhaled green flames at the ground where they stood. None of the heroes got out of that double attack without getting some burns from it, and Maleficent was no where near done, ready to attack them soon after what they were dealing with.

"Stopra!" Philia shouted, unleashing time magic to stop Maleficent in place, then called out, "Regroup and heal up!" Everyone got away from the flames, getting together again as Philia dug out a Mega Potion, and used it to heal the team.

"Donald, you'd best stay from a distance." Philia instructed the anthropomorphic duck, "Attack if you need to, but I'd say save your magic for healing us."

"Why?!" Donald demanded, "I can deliver damage to her! You heal yourselves!"

"Stop arguing, Donald." Sora retorted, seeing Maleficent recover from the time magic, "Philia's right. Maleficent is really tough for all of us. You should keep your distance so we know you have our back. Here…" He gave ethers to Donald, while giving hi-potions to Goofy and Beast.

"Watch out!" Tink suddenly appeared from Philia's pocket, looking at where Maleficent was at. She unleashed a deluge of flames at the group, who scattered.

"Stick to this plan! Attack her with everything you got!" Philia shouted.

"You got it!" Goofy answered.

"She is more of a monster than I am, and must be eliminated!" Beast roared, rushing forward to attack Maleficent, with everyone else joining with him at the same time.

Donald ended up climbing onto the vines, keeping his distance, though firing a Thunder or Cure spells, while the four other heroes were struggling to dealing damage to Maleficent. The woman they fought before was rather child's play compared to her dragon form. She snapped her jaws, slashed her claws, created shockwaves, swung her tail, and unleashed more flaming attacks onto the heroes. She seems to have no restraints or hesitations to her attacks. Having that strength, as well as her wits still intact, made her such a threat, it was constantly putting the heroes near the edge of defeat more times than they could count.

"She just won't go down!" Goofy cried out, running from a shockwave that nearly swept him off his feet.

"I will not resist being brought down again!" Beast roared, grabbing Goofy, and tossing him far from the shockwave, before leaping over and racing to Maleficent like a wild animal on all fours. Sora had just done some damage to her, seeing Beast come in, and used Gravira to force her head down, making it easy for Beast to unleashing a charging slash that hurt her greatly. She glared at Beast, about to snap at him, only for Philia to come in from the side with her Round Accel Dagger Skill. This bought Beast enough time to fall back, getting the rhythm of the battle.

Philia was very exhausted, but refused to go down so easily. She made a battle cry as she charged at Maleficent, who slashed at her with her claws. She countered with her blade, but was pushed back a distance from her forceful attack. Philia skidded to a halt, and charged at Maleficent again, who stomped her feet, creating shockwaves that Philia bound and glided over. She landed on the ground, and saw that Maleficent had just inhaled, and unleashed a green dragon flames, hitting Philia point blank, and sending her crashing into the ground in a deluge of flames.

"Philia!" Sora and Donald shouted, fearing for her as they saw her in the midst of the green flames, struggling to get back up, her body covered in burns. She got onto her hands and knees, but was barely to go any further than this. She looked to see Maleficent bearing down on her, summoning a ring of fireballs in the air to rain down onto the scene.

"No!" Sora shouted, racing towards Philia, as did Donald, who threw his own safety out the window. Maleficent saw the two, and unleashed her ring of flames onto them, roasting Donald from the attack. Sora deflected most of them, but was pushed back and unable to come to Philia's aid in time.

As the treasure hunter tried to get back up again, Tink came out of her pocket and cried out, "Philia, pour your magic into me! Summon my power for you to use!"

Philia looked to her through one eye, then saw Maleficent inhale, prepared to unleash another breath attack. "Okay…" she weakly answered, struggling to raise her dagger. Tink landed on the tip of it, as Philia chanted, "Summon…Tinker Bell." Tink emanated with energy, just as Maleficent unleashed her fiery flames, consuming the two girls.

"PHILIA!" Sora, Donald and Goofy shouted, fearing they lost Philia for good. Even Beast was open-mouthed, fearing the life that was most likely lost. Maleficent cackled at place where her flames consumed Philia. She knew that without her, the others would lose hope, and be easy pickings. This made her laugh even harder.

"What are you laughing at?" A voice spoke from within the flames, causing Maleficent to stop laughing. She looked down to see Philia's shining body, with Tink right next to her, glowing just as brightly. Philia's expression was filled with anger and determination as she pulled her dagger back, her blade shining a yellow hue once more. She unleashed Eternal Cyclone, slashing Maleficent's face so much, she reeled back, howling in pain.

"You're okay!" Sora cheered, as she landed right by him, "But…I thought you died!" Sora could see all the injuries she developed before had suddenly vanished.

"I thought I did, too." Philia answered, "But thanks to Tink, she revived me right as I was at the brink of death. What's more, she's keeping me healthy with her pixie dust." She smiled at her summoned partner as she said, "Thanks for the save, Tink. You're the best pixie I could ever ask for."

"I'm the ONLY pixie you could ever ask for!" She corrected, causing Philia to giggle.

Philia stopped smiling as she and the others gathered together, with Donald healing himself thanks to normal, as they glared to Maleficent, who also recovered. "Sora, go from behind, and get on her back." Philia instructed, "Strike her from there."

"Right!" He answered, running off.

"Everyone…" Philia growled, raising her dagger, and restraining the urge to change one of her words into an inappropriate word, "…Let's take this dragon 'witch' down!"

Donald unleashed Stop magic, freezing Maleficent long enough for Philia, Goofy and Beast to charge in, unleashing bashing and slashing onto her face, which she felt after coming out of the spell. She snapped at all three of them, causing them to evade. She then tried to spew flames at all of them, scarring Philia a bit. However, thanks to Tinker Bell, her body was in a regenerative state, healing her of the wounds in battle.

At this point, Sora pounced and glided up onto Maleficent's back. She felt this, and felt Sora leap high off of her back. She turned her neck up to see Sora pull back his Keyblade, and unleashing his Strike Raid technique, sending his Keyblade spinning like a buzz saw, striking Maleficent over and over again. She was barely able to hold on as she took all the hits.

"Goofy!" Philia shouted, leaping up to Goofy, who used his shield as a springboard for her to push her off of, aiming for Maleficent. At the same time, Sora came diving down, his Keyblade ready. The two roared as they crossed paths, slashing either side of Maleficent's neck with a single swipe. Sora did a front roll, pivoting his body after coming to a halt to look at the dragon. Philia did a somersault in the air, landing neatly on her feet as she and Tink also gazed upon the dragon. Maleficent strained to stay up, but was unable to, and collapsed to the ground. In a few seconds, her body was consumed in green flames, along with all the vines and thorns around the room. All of it vanished, eaten away by the flames. All that remained from Maleficent was her shredded cloak on the floor in the place of where the dragon was at.

"Maleficent…disappeared." Sora noticed, a bit surprised. Philia was also amazed, not even noticing Tink's summoning time done, and their glow vanished.

Suddenly, a portal opened up, and Riku stepped out of it. He deliberately stepped onto Maleficent's cloak, looking down onto it. "How ironic. She was just another puppet after all." He stated, his tone not even the least bit surprised.

"What?!" Donald squawked, surprised.

"The Heartless were using Maleficent from the beginning." Riku explained, "She failed to notice the darkness in her heart eating away at her. A fitting end for such a fool." He grounded the robe with his foot, magically making it disappear before everyone's eyes.

"But, if Maleficent wasn't the true mastermind…" Philia started, looking from where the cloaked disappeared, to Riku, who looked behind to gaze at her for a moment, before opening up a portal and stepping backwards into it, closing it from behind.

"We have to stop him!" Sora told the team. Beast, Donald and Goofy all nodded in agreement.

"I agree. There's more to this mystery than what we realized." Philia stated, walking towards the group.

"Philia, look!" Tink stopped her, pointing to something on the ground near where Maleficent's cloak was before. A red glowing stone was there, and it gave off a familiar feeling.

Philia took it and picked it up, examining it. "Looks like someone's spirit is in here." She noticed, "I bet we can get a summon out of this stone!"

"We can do that later!" Donald called out.

"Yeah. We gotta catch up to Riku!" Goofy followed.

"Belle…" Beast growled, looking to the ceiling.

"Riku…" Sora muttered, looking down. When he gazed upon Riku just now, he felt as if there was something completely wrong with him, now. Sure, he was bad before, but this…this felt different. It was as if Riku wasn't himself anymore. He was no longer Riku. He had to stop him, and find out if he was right. Once Philia caught up with the group, they exited through the portal they came through.

They exited the room, finding themselves back inside the chapel. At the same time, they noticed that one of the walls near them magically vanished, revealing a hidden passage forward. "That's our next stop." Philia told the team. They used their minor resources, healing themselves up, making sure they were ready for whatever was to come.

"I'm ready." Sora responded, curling his fists, prepared to face whatever laid ahead. They raced forward together, prepared for whatever was to come, and hoping they could take it.

Oh, how they hoped they did.

Next Time on Sword Art Kingdom: Heart's Origin!

Seeker of Darkness! Light's Sacrifice!