DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.

A/N: This may be my favorite chapter so far. Out of everything I had written for this story, this was my first idea, years ago, when I was still a kid waiting for KH2 to drop. Hope you enjoy, because I loved writing this one.


Chapter 28: Deep Dive


Kairi crashed onto a cracked, marble floor. Sitting on the cold surface, she waved her hands to ease the stinging in her palms. Looking around revealed a few things. First, she sat at the top of a staircase in a white and grey room that looked as though someone had released a raging hurricane inside it. Second, the room only had three walls. The missing wall opened out into a dark city, letting in a breeze of wet concrete, rain and, Kairi stiffened, darkness. It wasn't just outside. The darkness coated the cracks, craters, and dents all over the room like the residual stink of an oil spill.

Kairi stared at the two halves of the keyblade. Resting on the floor right in front of her knees, the two pieces looked grey and worn. Pocketing her good luck charm, she picked up the two halves of Sora's weapon and held them close to her chest. They burned, white hot. Hissing, Kairi dropped the two halves, watching them float upward. They glimmered, and vanished. Kairi panicked. Then she froze.

A soft, buttery warmth lit up in her heart. She sat still, letting the feeling spread from her chest to her head and down to her toes. The weapon, or was it weapons, rested in her heart.

Kairi walked to the missing fourth wall. Standing on the border between the white, damaged room and the city beyond, she reached out to put her hand under the rain. Her fingers pressed onto something cold and hard. There was a magical spark, like one of her reflect spells. Stepping back, Kairi threw several fire spells at the barrier. They bounced off the invisible wall.

Silver words appeared in the air before her eyes.

Only those that don the garb of the prisoner may pass.

Something black appeared overhead. A leather coat fluttered down from the ceiling to land perfectly in Kairi's outstretched hands. She put on the cloak, pulling the dark hood over her head.

"Here goes."

Carefully, she extended her leg. Her boot splashed into the puddle on the other side of the barrier. After taking several steps in the rain, Kairi turned. The white room was gone. Only the silent city streets were behind her. There was no going back.

Lonely, hollow buildings towered over her. Flashes of lightning glared off the windows. The flickering neon signs blurred through the storm haze, reflecting in the puddles on the concrete. Kairi pulled her hood lower, down over her eyebrowns. The city lights glared into her eyes, an unnatural, a sad imitation to lure one in and destroy them, like moths to a flame. The wind felt like a warning as it whispered in her ears. Even with her cloak, Kairi's skin prickled. In the ripples below her feet was the sizzle of darkness. An echo followed her footsteps. She felt the breathe of darkness on her back.

Kairi turned sharply. The misty streets were empty, and yet she still felt a evil gaze directed her way, as though the abandoned buildings were watching her. There was darkness everywhere, but it wasn't concentrated yet. It was waiting, for the right moment. Careful not to let her guard down, Kairi walked as though suspecting nothing, yet her hand clutched her lucky charm, and she felt the keyblade inside her glowing, ready.

She paused in a square. The sound of static caught her attention, and she looked up. A skyscraper watched her. The top of the building had screens. A shadow moved over the roof. Kairi narrowed her eyes. An aura of loneliness and regret floated down from above, as well as a feeling of...hope?

The echo was back. Kairi returned her attention to the water on the concrete. All around her, black ink spread under the puddles. Wide, unblinking, yellow eyes appeared in the darkness. Writhing neoshadows rose up from the ground. The army of heartless surrounded her, waiting, hungry.

It was now or never.

Kairi took a deep breathe, reaching into the light of her own heart. Like unleashing a pair of swords, Kairi summoned a pair a keyblades, one silver, one black. One a keeper of oaths, the other an invitation to oblivion. She twirled and crossed the two blades against each other, resting them next to her hips.

"Where's Sora," she growled.

The heartless did not answer. The raindrops slowed, the storm clouds above parted to reveal comets flying through the dark sky. Fueled by her fury, a glowing, heart shape appeared on the ground around Kairi's feet. The light woke the heartless. They pounced.

Kairi swung the two keyblades, slicing the first heartless into quarters. Just as it burst into nothing, the other heartless charged at her from all sides. Kairi spun, rotating each blade in her hands. Basics, just as Max had taught her, but it was absolutely devastating for the heartless as she minced and diced them one by one. For every neoshadow she felled, another melted off the building walls, rose up from the floor, fell down from above, surrounding her.

Kairi jumped away, falling back. Her back hit the glass doors of the sky scrapper. She raised the keyblades, getting ready for the next round. The neoshadows crept closer, blending together like a black avalanche that was ready to bury her alive.

The sound of ocean waves at sunset.

Kairi stilled, looking up.

The heartless charged. Kairi ducked, jumping onto a pillar near the building's entrance. Before she lost her momentum, she ran up the side of the building. Heartless appeared overhead, and Kairi threw the dark keyblade, watching at it razor sliced through the heartless. Someone appeared behind the slain creatures.

A cloaked person fell from the top of the roof. He caught the keyblade on his way down. When he passed her, Kairi's heart leapt up into her throat. Surprised, she lost her momentum and her feet slipped. She landed behind the stranger. Back to back, they raised their half of the keyblade. Without a word, her new, or was it old, companion fought the heartless at her side.


Riku's hands and knees splashed into a puddle. His new cloak felt heavy, and he gasped. The air felt thin, barely rejuvenating his lungs with each sharp inhale. Behind his blindfold, his eyes widened so much that they stung.

Mickey's hands were on his shoulder.

"Are you all right?"

Riku shook his head, trying to clear away his shock, but his racing thoughts were as loud as the thunderstorm overhead.

"It can't be. There's just no way." Riku stood. "Mickey, go ahead without me."

"But-"

"Don't worry, I'll find you, I promise. There's just something important I have to check."

Mickey squeezed Riku's arm. "Be careful."

"I will."

He raced back through the city, jumping from roof to roof until he stopped on a skyscraper that overlooked a square below. There was a light in the square, one so powerful and familiar that Riku's chest ached with longing.

Through the rain and mist, a scent reached Riku's nose. The salty, crisp air of the sea filled his mind. Everything around him slowed. Riku pulled the blindfold away from his eyes, unable to believe it, or dare to hope it was true. But the light was indeed below him, and she was slicing through the darkness one by one.

He could feel her jumping and dodging, swinging a light weapon in one hand and a dark weapon in the other. How? Was this a trick? A phantom created by his memories and hopes? Footsteps reached his ears. She was rushing up the building. A heartless appeared between them. She threw her weapon and the heartless burst into dust.

Riku jumped off the roof. He grabbed her weapon in midair. As he passed her on his way down, her light collided with his. It was her!

Landing on his feet, Riku raised his new weapon and was greeted with another surprise. A keyblade? She landed behind him, and he found that he didn't have time for questions. The heartless clawed and kicked at him. Riku fought fought beside her, cleaving through heartless, until there was utter silence. Except for his thoughts, which raced with questions, excitement, and fear.

The sound of her footsteps stopped right behind him.

Turning around, Riku heard the shuffling of fabric. She had pulled her hood down. He didn't need to see in order to know who stood before him.

"Kairi? How are you here? I thought I told Sora to take care of you. Don't tell me he-"

She flashed forward and jabbed him hard in the chest with her finger.

"I don't need anyone to 'take care' of me! You. Big. Dumb. MORON!"

Riku stumbled backward, putting up his hands. "Whoa! I didn't mean it like that! J-just calm down for a second!"

"No, I will not calm down!"

Poke.

"Ow!"

"I have so many things to say about all the stupid," poke, "stupid," poke, "stuff you did on Sora's last adventure!"

"Y-you know about all that?"

She stomped forward and he felt her face right in front of his.

"Of course I knew, you idiot!" She hissed. "I was in Sora's heart the whole time!"

"Kairi, I'm sorr-"

"Did you really think that fighting Sora was a good idea? Huh? Did you seriously believe that everything you did 'to save me' would make me happy? Huh? You did the exact opposite of helping, you jerk!"

Riku bowed his head. "You're right. I let my jealousy and fear control me. I really messed up. I don't even know if I deserve-"

She slammed into his chest. Riku, winced. Kairi threw her arms around his waist, sobbing.

"I though I'd never see you again, you dummy! Do you know how worried I've been? The last time I saw you, you were nothing but a ghost keeping Ansem away! How was I supposed to know what happened to you? I thought you lost your heart!"

She squeezed him as though she couldn't believe he was real. Riku stiffened. Anger he had been prepared for, but this was way worse. How long had he wandered the darkness, hoping that someday, just once, he'd get to see his friends again? He had practiced apologizing a thousand times, had wondered how he would show his face again to the people on the islands, had questioned if he even wanted his friends to find him, and now that they had, he had no idea what to do. So he settled on patting Kairi's head while she cried.

She had grown since the last time they had met. Her hair was longer, down to her shoulders. Her voice had lost its giggly ring, and she now carried a power that rivaled his. Even standing there, feeling her warmth, being surrounded by her light, and thrown by her fiery temper, he couldn't believe she was there, and, better yet, that she still cared about him after everything that had happened.

Kairi let him go.

She cleaned her nose with her sleeve, clearing her throat. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Well, more or less," Riku said.

"What do you mean?"

She learned toward him. He heard a gasp and then felt her hands on his cheeks.

"You're eyes have been touched by darkness."

Riku nodded. "I can't see anything anymore."

"Why?"

"It's the price I paid for using the darkness."

He felt a tingle of light from under Kairi's fingertips. She grunted.

"I can't fix this. It's permanent."

"It's okay," Riku said, gently pushing away her hands. "I'm okay. I knew what I was getting into. I've accepted it."

"But wait, how were you able to fight?"

"I'm in complete control of my own darkness now."

Kairi stepped back. "I thought I felt a hint of it in your attacks."

Riku clenched his teeth. Cold fingers squeezed his heart. "Don't worry. I'm not using any darkness except my own."

"Not controlling the heartless anymore?"

"No. Never again."

"Good."

"I'm sorry."

"For?"

"Giving in. I had a choice. I could either let my fear of the darkness control me forever, or I use it, but without letting it take over me and affect my judgement. I know that's probably not something you'd be proud of."

Kairi walked around him. He held his breathe, waiting for a lecture, disappointment, more pokes, anything. Finally, she patted him on the shoulder.

"It it seems like you've changed a bit since leaving the islands."

The ice around Riku heart melted, just a little. "You think?"

"Yeah, you're less focused."

"Oh."

Kairi huffed. "It's a compliment. You've always been like that, the responsible one. Always setting a goal and doing everything to get it. Maybe now, after you've made all those stupid mistakes, you can be more flexible." There was a smile in her voice. "More balanced. That's how you found me, isn't it? You use the darkness, and the light to sense things, right?"

"Right. Darkness has increased my senses. I caught your scent on the breeze and followed it. I don't know how you got here but I'm really happy to 'see' you."

Kairi giggled.

"Though I'm probably going to have a permanent fingerprint on my chest now."

"Oh, I could do way worse then a few pokes," Kairi warned, twirling her weapon in her hand.

"But the way," Riku said as he ran his fingers over his own keyblade, "why do you have a keyblade." He held up the dark weapon in front of him. "Scratch that, how did you get two keyblades?"

Kairi reached out and tapped his keyblade with hers. A rush of energy zipped up Riku's arm just as she did so. The dark keyblade in his hands burned. A blast of warm wind threw him to the floor. Kairi yelped as she too was knocked down. Even though he couldn't see the light flash, he felt its heat on his face. Then it was gone and a familiar shape landed in Riku's lap. Still reeling from the sudden attack, Riku could only move his hands over the object on his thighs. He gasped.

"This is Sora's keyblade! How did you get this?"

Kairi crawled over to him. "No way? We fixed it? How? Oh, who cares! It's fixed!"

"Wait. It was broken? How do you break a keyblade?"

Kairi didn't answer. She took the keyblade, and then helped Riku to his feet.

"Again, who cares?" She danced around. "We just have to get this back to Sora."

"He's here?"

"He is." Kairi held the keyblade close to her chest. "He has to be."

Riku's vertigo passed, and the distant, ever lingering feeling of darkness returned. "Well, if you don't mind the company, can I help you find that lazy bum?"

Kairi bumped his shoulder with hers. "You can serve as my backup."

"Wow, aren't you confident. Also, since when did you learn how to fight? That was amazing!"

"What? You really think I stayed on the islands, patiently waiting this whole time?"

Riku chuckled. "Clearly not. Those were some sweet moves. And you've gotten taller."

"Still not as tall as you," she retorted. "And nice try, but I'm still mad at you."

"Can you at least tell me who taught you how to duel wield?"

"Goofy's son."

Riku's forehead wrinkled. "Goofy has a son?"

"Yes. His name is Max. He's pretty cool, actually." Kairi sighed. "And I owe him a huge apology. Okay, you're completely forgiven, Riku."

Riku's heart flipped, warmth tingling in his chest. If he had pixie dust, he would have flown. He pulled his hood over his face, but he was sure that Kairi already saw the glimmering in his eyes.

"T-thank you."


The rain stopped. Mickey looked up at the clouds, watching the shooting stars fly over the rooftops. He stood at an intersection of alleyways. The stars pointed toward the path to his left. Gripping his keyblade tight in his hand, he entered the alley. The air shivered behind him and his sensitive ears picked up a rumble from deep within the earth. Mickey jumped, flipping in midair as a giant, thorny, decayed, spike ripped out of the ground, nearly skewering him.

"Triple firaga!"

The spell charred the dark vines, but more broke through the buildings all around him. Mickey flipped in midair. The vine flew underneath him. Landing on it, he jumped to the next vine when it attacked, climbing higher and higher as more thorns broke through the windows. Mickey weaved through the glass and thorns, reaching the roof.

Darkball and shadow heartless were ready and waiting for him when his feet touched down. Spikes burst out from the walls of the building, trapping him in a thorny cage. The heartless surrounded him. Mickey ground his foot on the roof, concentrating on the light within himself. The heartless flashed forward to try and swallow that light.

Mickey stabbed the first heartless and easily sliced through the next three. Jumping back from a barrage of claws and teeth, Mickey raised his keyblade. Seven shining orbs of light zoomed out, smashing into the heartless, turning them into dust. More shadows and darkballs appeared. Mickey prepared for the next round, when, suddenly, the heartless behind him were smacked up into the air.

Turning around, Mickey spotted a shield ramming through the dark bodies. There was a furious yowl and then lightning crashed down on the darkballs. Mickey swore he saw a familiar mage's staff. The shield drew his attention. It barreled toward Mickey, then spun around, like a tornado, knocking heartless away.

Mickey couldn't help but laugh.

The shield stopped spinning, and then Goofy, his eyes still rolling in their sockets, collapsed at Mickey's feet.

"Oh, hey there, Your Majesty," Goofy moaned from the ground. Then his eyes focused and he did a double take. "Your Majesty!"

Before Mickey could react, Goofy picked him up, squeezing him. A second later, Donald jumped onto Goofy's back, quacking happily as Goofy jumped up and down.

"It's you! It's really you!"

Mickey reached over Goofy's shoulder and clasped Donald's hand. "How dog! I missed ya, fellas!"

Goofy, still bouncing, sobbed. "I knew it! Ahyuck! I just knew we'd see each other again!"

Donald couldn't contain himself. He vigorously shook Mickey's hand, bawling.

"Your Majesty! You're safe! You're here! I can't believe it! I was worried we'd lost you to the realm of darkness forever!"

Mickey, grinning stupidly from ear to ear, lifted his keyblade in the air. "All for one."

"And one for all!" Donald and Goofy echoed, banging their weapons against his.

The heartless scratched at Goofy's legs, as though annoyed that they were being ignored. Not missing a beat, Goofy threw Donald and Mickey up into the air. Lifting his shield, Goofy bulldozed through the heartless while Mickey and Donald bludgeoned the heartless in the air with light and thunder magic.

Donald was the first to land back on his feet. His threw up his fists.

"Confounded heartless! Always ruining the moment!"

He turned into a bowling ball of unbridled rage, trampling down the heartless with his staff and magic, while Mickey and Goofy watched with matching grins. Donald's rampage cleared a path, and soon the trio found themselves at the thorny barrier. Mickey and Donald held out their arms and Goofy flopped to lie horizontally between them, holding his shield above his head.

"CHARGE!"

Using Goofy like a battering ram, Donald and Mickey smashed through the thorns, slipping off the side of the building. Up above, the heartless jumped off the roof, falling after them.

Perfect.

Goofy threw his shield. It pin-balled between the heartless, bursting several at once and confusing the others. Then Donald and Mickey aimed and shouted.

"Thundaga!"

The lightning shot upward like a thousand harpoons, zapping the heartless into pieces. The trio were several feet away from the splatting against the concrete. Just as Goofy caught his shield, Donald turned in midair, aiming at the ground.

"Aeroga!"

A sphere of wind cushioned their fall. Landing safely on the ground, Mickey, Donald and Goofy jumped, giving each other a high five, which was quickly ruined a second later when a group of neoshadows melted out of the walls. Before the party could fight, a series of dark firaga spells burst through the neoshadows, destroying those closest to Mickey, Donald and Goofy. A moment later, a magic, glass ball rolled past them.

Kairi popped out of the glass, raised her arm, and shouted. "Waterga!"

A tidal wave washed away the heartless. They flowed down the alleyway toward Riku, who dispatched them easily with quick keyblade slashes. Mickey's jaw dropped at the sight of the weapon, but grunts from Donald and Goofy made him turn back around. Instantly, he forget all the questions he had. Kairi had gathered up both Donald and Goofy for a fierce hug.

"It's been so long! It's great to see you!"

Donald, his beak smushed against Kairi's arm, flapped his arms. "Put me down! Put me down!"

Kairi let him go in favor of grabbing Goofy's hands and jumping up and down. "You're okay! Max will be so happy!"

"You know Maxie? How is he?"

"Only the best sword instructor ever! He's been worried sick about you, even if he won't admit it. And he finally got a date!"

Goofy teared up. "Gee."

Kairi let him go, looking around. "Where's Sora? He's not with you?"

Donald and Goofy hung their heads. Sensing their pain, Mickey put his hands on Donald's shoulder and Goofy's arm.

"What happen to him?"

"An evil man named Marluxia took 'im. We've been searching the city, but there's no sign of him."

"Stupid Sora! He just had to go play hero!" Donald crossed his arms and tapped the floor with his flipper, yet his eyes were full on concern.

Riku leaned against the building, a nostalgic smile on his face. "Yeah, that sounds like him."

"Say Riku," Mickey said, "where did you get that keyblade?"

"This is Sora's," Riku explained.

Kairi raised her hand. "I found it. Max and I also destroyed the heartless machine you wrote about in your letter."

Mickey blinked. "Wait a minute. I wrote that letter for Donald and Goofy. How did you-" Mickey smiled, rubbing his forehead. "That Pluto, always wanting to play and wondering off. He found you?"

Kairi nodded.

Mickey bowed. "From a king to a princess, you have my humblest thanks."

Kairi stumbled back, awkwardly bending her knees in a rushed curtsy. "No, no, I don't deserve all the credit. Queen Minnie, Daisy, Max, Mr. McDuck, and Mary all helped too."

"Uncle Scrooge helped you? For free?" Donald hid his hands behind his back. "And Daisy, how is she?"

Kairi bit her lip. "I think you might have some apologizing to do."

Donald shuddered.

"It sounds like you've all had quite the adventure," Riku said. "But can we talk about it later? We've got to find my best friend and Kairi's crush."

Kairi pouted at Riku. "What? He's not my-okay fine, you meanie, you're right. He totally is."

Donald, Goofy, and Mickey looked at each other, covered their mouths, and giggled.

"Sora is a lucky guy," said Goofy, "to have such good friends."

"And such a nice sweetheart," Donald winked.

Kairi glared at Riku. "Is it too late to un-forgive you?"

Riku burst out laughing.

"Man I miss messing with Sora," Riku wheezed, "he'd be turning all kinds of red."

"Yeah, ahyuck, he'd be stammering all over the place."

Donald snickered. "And getting that dreamy look in his eye."

Mickey sighed. "Gosh, I miss Minnie."

Kairi pulled her hood down over her face. "Oh hush, all of you!"

She only made them giggle harder. She opened her mouth to say something but then felt a tingle of warmth. Leaning forward, she pointed at the rocket shaped pin that was on Donald's shirt.

"I can feel the light."

Donald took off the pin. "From this?"

"Say, isn't that the pin that Cornelius gave us? Didn't Sora have one too?"

The pin shined. The party huddled around Donald, watching as the pin floated up from between his fingers. It glowed in the air for one second before it zoomed off.

Mickey ran. "Quick! After it!

The party chased the tiny rocket through the city. Heartless poured out of the buildings, getting in their way.

"Everyone, get close," Kairi commanded.

She threw a reflect spell around them. They spun in the class ball, running over heartless. The glass popped after one too many heartless speed bumps, but the party didn't stop running. The further they ran, the more the world around them fell apart. The buildings crackled and crumbled. Chunks of concrete, hot, electrical wiring, and metal beams rained down from overhead, slamming into the ground, nearly slicing, tripping, or flattening the party into pancakes. Mickey and Donald blasted away the debris with magic. Kairi and Goofy defended the party from the glass knives that stabbed into the ground.

The buildings bent forward. Like trees tipping over, they thundered onto the ground. The ground cracked and then broke apart. The party sprinted, running from the deep hole that was growing behind them. The heartless chasing them vanished into the darkness below. Breathless, they did not stop, running through the deadly rain, reaching out toward the pin's light.

Up ahead was a tangle of thorns. The pin flew right through it. Riku used the darkness to flash forward ahead of everyone. With a dark fire spell, he blasted a hole through the horns. The atmosphere popped and sizzled, the buildings burst apart, the floor slipped away from their feet. The party dove through the tangle of thorns, ignoring all the scratches on their arms and legs.

There was nothing on the other side. The pin stopped glowing and fell into a great, dark, chasm. Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Riku and Kairi fell after it.


Icy water licked Kairi's cheek. Whipping sand off her face, she sat up. Alone on a dark beach, she watched the waves lap peacefully, too peacefully, onto the obsidian sand. Black boulders, with shining white veins, poked out of the dirt. Kairi sat down on one of the rocks, staring out into the moon that hovered over the dark water. Stone arches rose out of the endless sea, curving over the waves, framing the moon like a star trapped in a thorny cage. The sea mist smelled like nothing, but try as she might, Kairi could not stop staring out into the water. There was a tiny flicker of light out there. It was so small that she could barely sense it. But there was also a darkness so powerful, that Kairi felt the weight of a thousand bricks pressing down on her spine.

She heard footsteps coming her way, but she didn't turn. The light out in the water was getting weaker. Someone came to stand at her side, watching the sea with her.

"Do you sense it too?"

Riku's voice.

Kairi went to the shore and stepped onto the water. She walked over the bottomless sea toward the moon, listening to the splash of her footsteps, the howling wind, and her own quickening heartbeat. Riku walked silently at her side. Up ahead, under the sharp, stone arches, was a sphere of swirling darkness. There was a figure inside.

"Sora!"

Kairi and Riku ran.

The sphere of darkness shuddered. Black oil dripped off of it and into the ocean. Arms burst out of the depths below. Neoshadows rose up between Riku, Kairi, and the dark sphere.

"A princess of heart," said a smooth voice,

A man in a dark coat floated down in front of the moon. His shadow loomed like an evil curtain over the water, hovering over Kairi and Riku.

"I'm guessing that you're Marluxia," Riku said.

The man ignored him, his eyes not moving away from Kairi's face. "So it is possible after all. If the princesses of heart can enter the realm of darkness, then it really can be destroyed." He extended his hand. "Come."

Kairi wrapped her arms around her stomach. "You. Oswald told me about you. A great man that once tried to destroy the realm of darkness, but failed and was sealed away."

"You are correct."

"How? That was a long time ago."

"It matters not. You will join me, or," he snapped his fingers. The dark sphere collapsed, tightening around Sora's body.

"Stop!"

Riku growled. He flashed forward, slicing through the neoshadows. He lunged at Marluxia. A weapon flashed in Marluxia's hands, slashing Riku across the chest. He fell. Catching Riku, Kairi fell onto her knees.

"Cura!"

Riku opened his eyes.

Marluxia's cruel laughter hovered over their heads.

"Why resist, princess? Do we not want the same thing? To rid the worlds of all darkness."

"No. Messing with things that are out of our control is the very thing that destroyed my grandpa. I won't make the same mistake."

"Force it is then."

Marluxia snapped his fingers. The neoshadows lunged. Kairi pulled Riku to his feet, but they weren't fast enough to counterattack. The neoshadows blended together over them, creating a dome of darkness that was quickly getting smaller and tighter. Kairi closed her eyes.

Lightning flashed above. It slammed down onto the neoshadows, bursting them one by one. Goofy and Donald ran to Kairi and Riku's side, waving their arms.

"Hey, you big palooka! Didn't anyone tell you that nobody messes with my friends!"

Goofy clenched his fists, glaring. "You call yourself a great man and yet you prey on other people's feelings? You're a coward!"

Marluxia gave the pair of them a look of cool contempt. He raised his arm.

"Such foolishness."

Mickey materialized behind Marluxia. He swung his keyblade. Marluxia vanished, reappearing further into the sea. His eyes narrowed, focusing on Mickey's keyblade.

Landing in front of Kairi and Riku, Mickey pointed to the dark sphere.

"Get Sora. We'll hold him back."

Donald raised his staff. "Blizzaga!"

Icicles stabbed the neoshadows from above. Those that remained were quickly squashed by Goofy's as he stomped around with his shield under his feet. The knight and mage joined their king while Kairi and Riku raced to the sphere holding Sora captive.

Kairi reached into the dark smoke, crying out as the darkness stabbed her skin like a million icy needles. She refused to pull her hands back, pushing deeper into the sphere until her fingers curled around Sora's pinky. Riku reached into the sphere next to her, grunting as the darkness slid up his arms. Lines of back ink appeared on his face.

"Riku, stop! We don't know what more darkness will do to you!"

"You think this is bad, just think of what it's doing to him!"

Riku grabbed Sora's wrist. "Come on Sora! I know you're stronger then some lame dark spell! Wake up!"

The sphere expanded, creeping up to Riku and Kairi's chests.

"You promised me you'd come back to me." Kairi reached deeper, grabbing Sora's arm. "Don't you dare break your promise!"

The darkness had now reached their necks. Kairi and Riku screamed as its cold touch stole their breathe. Grunting, Kairi grabbed Riku's hand.

"Do you trust me?"

"One hundred percent."

"Good, because I have no idea what I'm doing!"

The darkness choked her. Riku squeezed her hand back. He coughed, his eyes fluttering. Calling on her light was like swimming through a frozen lake. She fought against a dark current that threatened to push her down into the depths. Even as her legs numbed, her skin burned, and her lungs filled with water, Kairi broke through the ice, and took a deep breathe of light. She reached toward Riku heart. He pushed through the ice as well. His faith, unbreakable will, and loyalty collided with hers. The light overtook them.