The World That Never Was, Organization Stronghold

Xemnas was standing at the top of the Alter of Naught, gazing at the giant heart in the sky, Kingdom Hearts. The time of its' rebirth was almost at hand, and the Keybearers were drawing near as well. He even detected one inside his own castle, but it wasn't Sora. He continued to watch the glowing heart in the dark sky, pondering on his goals.

Just then, a black portal opened from behind him, and Gouxus stepped out. He walked towards Xemnas, and stopped a few meters behind him. "How goes the preparations for your weapon?" Xemnas asked him.

"It is done." Gouxus answered, bowing to him, "Once Kingdom Hearts is fully complete, I shall use it so that the hearts of everything in this and my dimension will be under our control. It is only a matter of time."

"Indeed…" Xemnas replied, turning to Gouxus, who raised his head, "You are a great help to our cause, Gouxus. As for your reward, I hereby officially add you to our ranks."

"Thank you, Lord Xemnas." Gouxus responded, bowing to him again.

"Now all that is left is to wait for the full completion of Kingdom Hearts." Xemnas stated, turning away to Kingdom Hearts again.

"And what of the Keybearers from my world?" Gouxus asked anxiously, "Shall I dispose of them for you?"

"In time." Xemnas answered, "When it is time, you shall have your chance to do whatever you want with them."

Gouxus couldn't hold back the smile produced to his face. Finally. he thought, I shall have my revenge against you Kirito. And as for you Asuna, it would be my honor to create a Nobody out of you, and make you mine, forever. He walked away, opening a portal and walking right through it.

While wandering the streets, Sora, Kirito and the team were reunited with Mickey, who told them where they could get closest to where the Organization's floating castle. They followed Mickey's instructions and walked all the way to where they could get close. When they arrived at the spot, they saw the floating castle out in front of them, but they were literally standing on the edge of the city. It looked like the ground gave way a long time ago, and now the only thing they could see at the bottom of the cliff they stood at was aqua green mist. There was no way of getting to the stronghold from where they were at.

"Dead end?" Sora assumed.

"No…it can't be." Kirito replied.

"There's gotta be a path somewhere." Mickey guessed.

"Yeah, but where?" Asuna asked. The team looked on, staring at the castle in front of them.

Down in the castle dungeon, a large, deep purple cell, that stuck out to the white exterior on the outside, held two people; Kairi, and the dog, Pluto. Kairi was curled up in the back of the cell, Pluto walked up to her and nuzzled her, trying to make her feel ok. Kairi pat his head in response. Suddenly, Pluto's ear perked up, detecting something. Kairi saw his movements, then she also heard footsteps. She stood up and ran to the bars of the cell. Saïx was walking past her cell, but stopped to see her.

"What are you going to do with us?" Kairi asked him.

"You're the fire that feeds Sora's anger." Saïx answered her. With that, he turned back the way he came, leaving Kairi startled.

"No…" she gasped, "Sora's in danger because of me…"

Pluto's bark drew her attention back into the cell. A black portal was opening up from behind her, and within it stood a girl the same age as Kairi, and looked somewhat like her. It was Naminé. "This way!" she whispered to her.

Kairi cautiously stepped back, hesitating. "Who-?" she started to ask.

"Believe in yourself." Naminé told her, "C'mon, hurry!"

"Trust her, Kairi." said another voice from behind her. Leafa stepped into view, standing right next to Naminé.

"You!" gasped Kairi.

"We're here to help you escape." Leafa told her, "Hurry, before he comes back!" Kairi thought for a second, then stepped forward to them. Naminé had her hand reached out to her, and Kairi took it. All of a sudden, a light shone from their grasped hands.

Leafa was startled, but then realized. I see… So that's there connection… Leafa figured out.

Outside the castle, the team saw a bright light that came from the lower part of one of the towers of the castle. It blinded them for a second then all of a sudden, Sora's Keyblade, which while wandering the streets he changed to the Oathkeeper, appeared in front of him. He grasped it and looked at it for a second. It was as if the Keyblade was telling him what to do. He pointed it towards the castle, and the Keyblade lit up. It shot a beam at the center column of the floating castle, and a bright pathway formed itself from the spot they were at to where the castle was.

"Nice going, Sora!" Kirito congratulated him.

Sora paused, looking to Kirito, then to the castle. "Kairi… We're almost there." With that, he led the team of the shining pathway to the castle.

After a while of running, the team finally arrived into the interior of the castle. The place was as white inside as it was outside. The interior did look a bit more cybernetic, but that was it. "Kairi! Where are you?" Sora shouted.

"Oh sure, wake up the hornet's nest while you're at it!" Asuna growled at him.

"Shhh!" Mickey hushed the two of them, "Remember where we are! This is their stronghold!" With that, Mickey took off without warning.

"Wait! Your Majesty!" Donald squawked after him, but Mickey was too far ahead to hear them. Kirito sensed a presence other than their own, and whipped out his Keyblade.

"Careful, everyone. I think we got company!" Kirito warned them. Everyone brought out their weapons, ready for a fight.

In another part of the castle, Leafa was leading Kairi and Namine, who held hands, down the exterior pathway of the castle, with Pluto in the rear. "This way!" Leafa shouted, turning back to them. She noticed something was off with Namine, with the way her body seemed to phase a bit. They rounded the corner, and found themselves face to face with none other than Saïx, along with three Berserker Nobodies.

"Naminé… There you are." Saïx said as he appeared.

"Naminé…?" asked a surprised Kairi. She heard her name before.

Leafa produced her Keyblade, ready to face him. "So we meet again, Keybearer." Saïx greeted her, "Move out of the way."

"Not gonna happen!" Leafa spat in response.

He looked at Leafa for a second, then up at the two girls behind her. "Kairi. I'm afraid leaving is not an option." Saïx told her, "I'll take you to see Sora." He held his hand out to her, but Kairi recoiled. "You don't want that?" Saïx asked.

"I do. More than anything." she answered, "But not with you around." Both Kairi and Naminé looked poised and ready to fight.

Leafa looked at her as she answered, and smirked at her response. "You heard the girl." she told Saïx, "Now move out of the way! Were going to see Sora and my brother!"

"If I had a heart, this would be where I die of laughter." Saïx said monotonously, but with a hint of humor. He waved his hand, and one of the Berserkers attacked. He came down on Leafa with its' claymore, but Leafa blocked it with her Keyblade. She shoved it off, and she twirled around her Keyblade, striking swift and with distinction. The Berserker stumbled back, then vanished, leaving its' claymore behind.

"Next?" she taunted at him.

Saïx wasn't fazed by her knocking off one of his Nobodies. What did faze him was the sound of a couple sounds of slicing from behind. He turned and saw both of his Berserkers fall, and Recon with a cloaked figure that was Riku stood there.

"Recon!" Leafa gasped in relief.

"Found you, Leafa!" Recon cried in return, "We were wondering where you were. Guess Naminé found you first, didn't she?" Leafa nodded in response.

"You…" Saïx said, seeing Riku with his special Keyblade, The Way to the Dawn, at hand, "Didn't Roxas take care of you?"

"You can take it from here, Riku." Naminé told him.

Kairi looked to her at the sound of her friend's name. "Riku?" she echoed, then looked to the cloaked figure.

Riku, Recon and Leafa were all in a triangle formation around Saïx. Riku put his Keyblade away and formed a ball of dark energy. "Aeroga!" shouted Recon, his palm out front. Together, the two shot their attacks at Saïx. The attack made him flip in the air, but he landed onto his feet as Riku charged at him. He grabbed him and shoved him to the wall, pinning him there.

"We got this!" Leafa said as she and Recon pointed their weapons at Saïx's face. The Nobody smiled as he tapped the wall with his hand, and he produced a black portal, and falling into it. Riku, Leafa and Recon were all startled, then Riku looked like he was about to enter it.

"Wait!" shouted Kairi, rushing to Riku. He stopped, almost like he was frozen. Pluto barked happily as he bounded forward to Riku's side. He moved Riku away from the portal. Leafa stepped back to let Kairi through to Riku, who turned to her. "Riku…you're really here…" Kairi said in relief, unveiling his head. Riku's face looked exactly like the picture of the Heartless Ansem in the castle in Radiant Garden. He looked down at Kairi, looking a bit woeful.

Back with Sora and Kirito's group, the team were rushing through the pathways, trying to catch up with everyone. Plenty of Nobodies got in their way, including a more dangerous Nobody called a Sorcerer, which was using cubes of energy to attack them in many different ways. The team had to work together getting though what they guessed was the entrance hanger of the castle. After defeating a Gambler, Sora managed to find that it dropped a shield, which Yui described as a Nobody Guard, and Goofy decided to use it. They then had to go up an elevator, which had Dragoon Nobodies arriving at them while they went up. This time, when Asuna knocked out a Dragoon Nobody, he dropped a lance smaller than it carried, and Yui described it as a magic staff-styled weapon, and that Donald could use it.

"Maybe THIS is the welcoming committee they sent for us." Kirito assumed, smiling at Sora, who grinned back from the joke.

"Uh, guys! We're not here to joke around!" Asuna warned them.

They finally made it to a curved pathway full of stairs. Sora was able to find himself a Cosmic Belt, which to Yui's information is the strongest defensive equipment there is. They continued rushing their way up the stairs to the next room. They found themselves in a large hall, tall, and they could see another floor above them.

They were about to rush right through when they were stopped by a voice. "Sora, Kirito, Asuna… You've done well." They looked around until they found where the voice was coming from. Saïx was standing on the figure head above them.

"You again!" shouted Kirito.

"Where's Kairi?" Sora demanded.

"Who knows?" Saïx answered, "I expect she's catching up with her friend from the darkness."

"What do you mean?!" shouted Sora.

"She doesn't need you anymore." Saïx replied.

"I'm supposed to believe that?" Sora asked sternly.

"Well, you don't have to…" Saïx responded, "But you can believe this: Organization XIII has no further use for you… Just look there." He pointed to the large window behind him, towards where the large heart in the dark sky hanged there like the moon. "Our Kingdom Hearts…" Saïx continued, "Thanks to you, we've collected countless hearts… Can you hear their euphoria?"

"Sorry, but all I can hear is your ongoing blathering!" Kirito spat at him.

Saïx frowned at him, almost looking like he was angry, except he didn't have a heart to be angry. "Now, all they need is one more helping from the Keyblade bearers!" he stated, and he snapped his fingers. Suddenly, countless portals opened around them, and with it came a ton of gleaming eyes. Shadow Heartless appeared from them, along with a few dozen Armored Knights. They surrounded the group, who were now back to back with each other.

"We gotta fight!" Donald proclaimed.

"But… Kingdom Hearts!" Sora moaned.

"We have no choice in the matter!" Asuna retorted.

"Guys!" shouted a familiar voice from above, followed by another voice that was new to the SAO trio, who shouted, "Sora!" The team looked up and saw who was calling them. Leafa and Kairi were two floors above them on the right side of the room from Saïx, seeing the group.

"Look who I found for you, Sora!" shouted Leafa, cocking her head to Kairi, who was smiling.

"Sora! It's really you!" Kairi shouted, looking over the edge.

Sora turned his body to where they were at. "Kairi!" he replied happily. Kirito and Asuna looked to where Leafa is, seeing Kairi for the first time. Suddenly, the trio were being pounced upon by a ton of Heartless, knocking them to the floor.

"Kazuto! Asuna!" gasped Leafa.

"You leave Sora alone!" Kairi warned the Heartless. She ran back a few meters from the banister, then as Leafa flipped herself over the railing, Kairi followed with a running leap. They landed on the floor beneath them, and were about to run to the next floor when they too got surrounded by Heartless. Leafa was about to produce her Keyblade, but the Shadows attacked both her and Kairi, pinning them to the floor.

"No…!" groaned Leafa.

"Sora…!" gasped Kairi, desperate to get free.

"Hang on, you two!" shouted Recon's voice. Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and all of the Heartless that surrounded Leafa and Kairi vanished. As Riku helped Kairi up, Recon did the same for Leafa.

"That was a close one." Leafa sighed, "But we need Kairi to be battle-ready for this place. It's too dangerous for her in this state."

They turned to see Riku hand Kairi something they didn't expect; a new Keyblade. "Take it." he told her. Kairi took it with delicately, then grasped the handle as she raised the tip up.

Kairi…can use the Keyblade, too?! Leafa and Recon both realized.

"This time…I'LL fight." Kairi declared, readying her Keyblade, "You know Sora's completely hopeless without us!"

"Yeah, and my brother is too reckless to do things on his own, too." Leafa added, walking to her side. The two girls smiled to one another.

"C'mon, Riku!" said Kairi.

"Let's go, Recon!" Leafa declared. The girls charged at a group of Heartless, striking at them, with Riku and Recon in tow.

Meanwhile, Saïx watched both parties struggle against the Heartless, then looked up and saw something else. Pete and Maleficent arrived to the scene as well, on the opposite end of the hall from Saïx. "Well, well." he sighed, "Will the intrusions never end?" With that, he vanished into a black portal again.

Maleficent looked around the place, grinning. "Why, Pete… this castle is perfect." she stated, looking to Pete, "Perhaps we should…acquire it."

"Well, the setup is…kinda nice, I guess, but…what about all the Heartless?" questioned Pete, "This in-between world; it's way too close to the darkness! They ain't gonna listen to us here!"

"Once again, you underestimate me." Maleficent retorted to him, turning to the room again.

Mickey was rushing up one of the exterior pathways of the castle, knocking away any Nobodies and Heartless that came in his path. He continued upward until he reached a corner, where he saw someone in red clothing being pinned down by a group of Dusks. Mickey rushed in, and knocked all the Nobodies away. He then saw the person that was on the ground. It was DiZ, and he had a strange contraption right next to him that looked like a telescope mixed with a gun, and a large bubble of glass on the end of it. DiZ struggled to get up. With Mickey's help, he stood up again. He then unraveled the cloth that covered his face, revealing the face of Ansem the Wise himself, his face smoking slightly as the cloth came off him.

"It's been too long, my friend." Ansem greeted Mickey.

"Ansem the Wise..." Mickey addressed him, "Why didn't you come to me before things got so bad?"

"Xemnas, the Organization's Superior, is the Nobody of Xehanort, my foremost apprentice." Ansem answered, "The burden was mine to bear."

"Is that all?" Mickey asked him.

Ansem walked away from Mickey, going towards the railing, looking up into the sky. "I won't deny there was more." he added, "I was…obsessed with thoughts of revenge. My apprentices stole everything precious to me; my research, and my pride."

"I can't help you with revenge." Mickey said with a sorrow expression on his face.

"I know." said Ansem, "Riku's told me a thousand times."

"Where is he?" Mickey asked.

"He must be with his friends by now." Ansem replied, "Riku was a great help to me. I found him wandering the darkness, after you and he lost track of each other."

"Gosh, we didn't lose each other exactly." Mickey corrected him, "Riku left…well, 'cause Xehanort's Heartless was still inside his heart, troubling him. And he sure must've been suffering. But I don't understand is why he looks like that now, when he's still Riku at heart…"

"I am to blame." Ansem answered, turning his head to Mickey, "When I met Riku the first time, he still had the appearance of a boy. Probably because he had such a strong heart. I asked him to find a young man named Roxas from Organization XIII, and bring him to me. When I told him it would help Sora awaken from his slumber, Riku left without a word. He fought Roxas. And I can only surmise Riku lost that fight. Riku mist have realized then: to fight in the realm of darkness, he would have to immerse himself in that same darkness. And when he did…you saw what become of him. When Riku brought Roxas back to me, he was introducing himself…as Ansem. If that was what it took to awaken his friend, he was ready to live in darkness."

He paused for a second, then continued, "Riku was the victim of my revenge. Oh, how my heart ached. I could only laugh to hide my shame."

"I guess it musta been after that when I saw Riku again." Mickey assumed, "He said he wanted to help Sora, but he made me promise. Promise that Sora wouldn't ever find out about what happened to him while he was out in the darkness."

Mickey paused a second, then he asked, "But what about the others; Kirito, Asuna and Leafa. Were they a result to your revenge as well?"

"In a way, yes." Ansem answered, "It started when I brought 'her' to our dimension. Surely, you know who I mean."

"I remember her." Mickey recalled, sadly looking down, "Riku does, too. We are only a few who do remember her."

"She was almost made a member of the Organization, just like others." Ansem explained, "While I was able to save her, I was still not sure whether what I did was right. She lost who she was as a result for my hasty actions. In the end, her ties with Sora were put to sleep, and now she wanders endlessly to find who she was. But during my progress to restore Sora's heart, I discovered that the Organization was still searching for more members to join their ranks after she, Sora and Riku dealt with many of their former members. They discovered a way to open to another dimension, outside of the virtual world, and they searched their world. There, they found the man who calls himself Sugou, and became interested in what he was capable of doing. They believed his abilities were to be useful to their cause. And so, they made him a Nobody, and casted his Heartless away to wander the dimension alone."

"What happened to it?" Mickey asked.

"That, I am not certain about." Ansem replied, "All that I knew was that this man's Nobody, who then became Gouxus, was a major threat, and that he must be stopped. I thought, at first, that maybe I should send Riku after him, or perhaps let Sora fight against him. But then I thought maybe there was a way to stop the threat by using help from those I kept an eye on in that dimension; Kirito, the boy who saved countless hearts in SAO, ALO, and performed many acts through the power of his strong heart. Asuna, who had been by his side, and whose heart shined so brightly and with such strength to keep the boy from falling into darkness. And Leafa, who I could tell was very special, and had a very powerful heart."

Ansem stopped, thinking back on the moments as he continued, "I created a test, and Kirito, Asuna and their daughter, Yui took it. They passed, and I added a special system that I used to help bring things from the digital Twilight Town to reality. I sent them to this dimension, and the moment they crossed the border, they were born as Keyblade wielders, something I hoped would happen. I left before they arrived, preparing to fight against the Organization myself in secret. Naminé, who I thought was gone, came back again, and she brought Leafa and Recon to this dimension. How ironic that in spite of my decision to get rid of her, she instead aided in my choice. From there, the five young ones fought against the darkness in different places. Their hearts were as strong as Sora's and Riku's, and they did not falter even after everything. I will promise them that after everything is over; when the Organization is crushed for good, I will send them back to their dimension again."

"Gosh, it did surprise me when I saw those two with Sora at first." Mickey recalled, "I had no idea there were other Keyblade wielders other than the ones here. Makes ya wonder how they became ones in the first place…"

There was a moment of silence, then Ansem turned to Mickey again. "My friend, the time has come." he stated, "I must make amends to these young people." He turned and walked over to his machine. He picked it up and carried it with him, with Mickey as support.

In the hall, Asuna used Firaga to blast away all the Heartless on top of her, then she turned her sights onto Kirito and Sora, who both pushed the Heartless off with brute force. "Get off!" growled Sora, pushing them aside as he got to his hands and knees. Kirito groaned as he got to his feet with support from Asuna. Yui flew out and landed onto Kirito's shoulder.

The trio got to their feet again, and looked up to where Leafa and Kairi were at. They saw them fighting together, and saw Recon and, to their bewilderment, the Heartless Ansem fighting at their side. "Is that…Xehanort's Heartless?!" questioned Kirito.

"What's going on?!" asked a confused Sora.

Suddenly, something was fired at them. It was a laser arrow that the Sniper Nobodies used. It landed near the trio's position. They turned towards the spot where Saïx was at before. Someone shot a barrage of laser arrows down at them. Kirito prepared himself, but instead the shot hit all of the Heartless around the team, including Donald and Goofy, destroying them.

"What in the world?" Asuna gasped, looking around, then they set their sights on the spot above them.

"Have you been good children?" he asked the trio.

"Show yourself!" shouted Sora and Kirito in unison. A black portal opened, and out came the man they met way back in Mulan's world.

"Oh, it sounds like you haven't." he stated, then he shouted, "Sora! Roxas!" The group looked surprised.

"Roxas?" Sora echoed, turning to the others, "Hey, did he just call me Roxas?"

"Seems like it." Asuna replied.

"You three've really put Organization XIII in a pickle." the man told them, "I guess that must be why the Keyblade chose you three. But MAN, did it pick a few duds this time. You don't look like you're half the heroes the others were."

"Oh, shut up, will you!" barked Kirito, not understanding what he meant by 'the others', "Are you done rambling?"

"Rambling? As if!" the man responded, looking from Kirito to Sora "All I'm trying to tell you, traitor, is that your time is up!" He then summoned a couple of arrow arrowguns to his hands.

"Here he comes!" cried Goofy. He dove down to meet them, and the group produced their weapons. He looked at them and smiled. The battle was about to begin between them.

"Yui, can you tell us anything about this guy?" Kirito quietly asked her.

"Well, he is someone that was known in Ansem's computer in Twilight Town." Yui responded, "His name is Xigbar, number II of the Organization. He is able to warp through space, and is a sharpshooter."

"Got it." Kirito understood, realizing this guy, being number II, could be second in command.

"You really shouldn't have betrayed us!" he told Sora. Sora growled as he charged at Xigbar. Xigbar warped away, and stood a on top of of another ledge. He then turned his two arrowguns into one sniper rifle, and took aim at the group.

Kirito saw where he was at before the others noticed. "Move, now!" he shouted, and the team started running around the arena as Xigbar was firing at them. The arrows barely grazed their feet. Kirito noticed a couple of the warp arrows, which stopped to follow Asuna's position. He and Sora quickly got to the two, and shot them back at Xigbar. A third one came, and Kirito knocked that one away, too.

"Clever little sneak!" groaned the sharpshooter.

"You should play GGO!" Kirito answered, mentally adding, 'His shots are slower than a physical bullet, so its easier to deflect!'

He teleported back into them, only he was now hanging upside down in the air, firing at them in at one corner of the arena. Kirito blocked the shot, repelling the arrows back at Xigbar. The guy kept warping around to a different part of the arena, firing at them. He kept doing this until he had to reload, giving the team a chance to strike. They waylaid at him, striking him firmly and powerfully. He reloaded and warped away. The team did their best to follow him, and it was clear Asuna was the best at catching up with him, being the fastest.

After another failed attempt to hit them, Xigbar shouted, "Graviga!" Suddenly, the entire arena changed. Parts of the platform were missing, and now the team had to deal with a narrow box like path, with a single platform that reached the middle of the place.

"Ok, this is new…" Kirito said, looking down below. Xigbar started hovering in the middle of the arena, shooting at Sora this time. Sora repelled the shots with his Keyblade, shooting them back. He kept warping around, shooting at every angle, and shooting at Sora.

"Roxas!" he shouted as he shot his last round before reloading.

"Stop calling me that!" shouted Sora, and he did a mid-air assault on Xigbar, striking him continuously until he finished it. The arena flashed and went back to normal.

Xigbar now shifted back to Asuna again, shooting rapidly and strongly at her. She used Quick Run to dash her way from the shots. Not yet… she though to herself as Kirito and Sora attempted to strike, but Xigbar teleported away from them. He shot at the two boys, and they barely avoided the shots. Asuna watched Xigbar charge up a large blue version of the laser arrows, and it shot out, bouncing around the area in the arena. The shot finally hit Sora and Donald. Kirito barely avoided the strikes by diving behind Goofy with his shield. Asuna dodged from side to side, counting all of the rounds he did until finally, she saw Xigbar take aim at her with the final round.

"Now!" she shouted, and she jumped at him just as he pushed on the trigger. She then performed her secondary jump, twirling in midair and repelling all the arrows back at Xigbar. Then she went into a full pelt jabbing spree onto Xigbar, who fell to her attack, until she finally ended it with a 'Shooting Star' Sword Skill. As soon as he recovered from the attack, Xigbar tried shooting from straight above Asuna, but she dodged them all. Sora came from behind and made a few strikes of the Keyblade on him.

"Oh, now we're talking!" Xigbar said humorously, then the arena flashed brightly, and the crew found themselves inside a small, square platform. Xigbar was in the center of the platform, the team surrounding him. He then spun around, shooting at all of them. Asuna, Kirito and Sora jumped, but Donald and Goofy were not so fortunate, and got hit. Xigbar then started shifting around the outside of the platform, out of their reach, shooting rapidly with fast, bright blue arrows. He kept warping around the square, shooting so quickly and rapidly, that the team was having a hard time avoiding getting hit. Regardless, the only way of avoiding was to run counter-clockwise around the platform. Finally, Xigbar finished by having his guns float in mid air around him as he hovered over the center of the platform. Then out of nowhere, a multitude of arrows showered down onto the group. The team ran around as best as they could from the rain of arrows, but eventually, they got caught within it, and were pelted rapidly and without any time to recover. When the assault was done, The team was holding on slightly from being obliterated. Donald and Goofy were knocked out.

Sora saw Xigbar reload his guns again, then called out to Asuna and Kirito. "Guys! Let's test out our new Drive Forms!" he shouted to them. Kirito and Asuna nodded in agreement.

"Final!" shouted the trio, and their clothes glowed brightly, transforming them into their new, white clothing.

"Ooh, a challenge!" said Xigbar, seeing them. He took aim at Sora and tried shooting him. Sora jumped up, and his Keyblade twirled around him, repelling the shots. Kirito and Asuna followed, and the trio then started flying at Xigbar, or rather Sora glided, Kirito and Asuna used their bright fairy wings. Xigbar tried shooting them away, but their Keyblades, which were no longer in their hands but levitating around them, blocked the shots. The trio then started striking Xigbar one at a time. First it was Asuna with her Keyblades teleporting around Xigbar as they flew at him with piercing jabs. Then Kirito came in with a swirling and diving of Keyblades, slashing like crazy. Finally, Sora finished it up with a few combo moves of his own, ending with a full blast final strike.

The trio gathered together, and healed up Donald and Goofy, bringing them back to them as they floated there, on the opposite side of Xigbar, who was now grounded. He tried taking aim at the group with an arrowgun, but his vision was fuzzy, and he was too damaged to continue. He slumped to the floor, and dropped his arrowgun.

"Why did you call me Roxas?" Sora demanded.

Xigbar merely chuckled, then looked up at Sora as his body started to vanish. "Wouldn't you like to know…" he answered simply.

"Hey! Hold on!" Sora shouted, nearing himself to the disappearing Xigbar, but Kirito grabbed his shoulder. Sora turned to him, and Kirito shook his head, saying it was no use. Xigbar finally vanished in a vapor of black smoke. He was finished.

"Sora! Kirito! It's Kairi and Leafa!" Asuna cried, pointing to where she was at. The two girls, along with Recon and Xehanort's Heartless were still fighting the Shadows surrounding them.

"Kairi, everyone, we're on our way!" Sora stated. Just as he said this, their Final Forms ran out of time, and they reverted back to normal. Seeing as they couldn't fly up there, they decided to run forward to the exterior pathway up to them.

Up above their sight, Mickey and Ansem the Wise were on the balcony above them where Kairi and Leafa were at before. They looked down to where Kairi, Leafa, Riku and Recon were at. They were totally surrounded by the Heartless. "Uh-oh, they need our help." Mickey stated.

"Sora and Riku are together." said Ansem, "We have no part to play here."

"Gee, I wonder if Riku ever change back…" Mickey wondered out loud.

"Riku chose that form so he could use the power of darkness." Ansem explained, "It won't be easy." With that, he turned around and headed back the way they came, with Mickey right behind him.

While Sora, Kirito and Asuna were climbing the pathway, fighting Nobodies as they went, the quartet still were trying to strike the Heartless, who proved to be evasive for them. "This is really getting old!" Leafa grumbled as she and Kairi stood back to back, their Keyblades raised, "Kairi, let's see what we can do together." Kairi nodded in agreement. The two turned to each other just as Sora, Kirito and the group ran through the hallway to them, their weapons at the ready. The two raised their Keyblades, and a piercing white light ignited from them. The two then went back to back again, locked elbow, and spun around, and the stream of light shot from their Keyblades. Everybody near them other than the Heartless jumped out of the way. The two cleared the area of all the Shadows. They stood there, breathing deeply slightly, but thankfully unscathed.

"That was a close one…" Kirito sighed, seeing how much power the attack did.

"Kairi, Leafa, you were great!" Donald complimented them. The two girls turned to them, realizing they were there.

"Oh, it was nothing." Leafa replied, and the two girls high-fived each other.

"What kind of Keyblade was Kairi's?" Asuna asked Yui.

"If I remember correctly, that was Destiny's Embrace." Yui answered, seeing Kairi put the Keyblade away.

They all put their weapons away and gave some room as Kairi and Sora walked to each other. "You are different, Kairi, but I'm just glad you're here!" Sora stated.

"You and Riku never game home, so I came looking for you." Kairi explained.

Sora looked down in shame and turned his head away. "I'm sorry." he apologized, but Kairi ran into him with a hug. Sora was startled from this.

"This is real…" Kairi whispered to him. Sora took a moment, then he wrapped his arms around Kairi as well, hugging her back. Donald and Goofy were looking to one another, happily enjoying the moment. Kirito and Asuna were holding hands as they smiled and watched, with Yui flying in between them. Recon chuckled slightly as he leaned next to Leafa, who shrugged him off, blushing.

Riku watched them, then he opened a black portal behind him and started walking to it.

Sora relinquished his hug and turned to him. "Wait, Ansem!" he called out, "I mean, Xehanort's Heartless. I never thought for a second that I'd ever see YOU again. Just thinking about all the things you did makes me really mad. But…" he paused before smiling a bit, "But you saved Kairi, right? I have to be grateful for that… Thanks."

By the time Sora finished this, the portal vanished, but Ansem was still there. He didn't make any movements of courtesy. He started to walk away. Leafa and Recon were struggling to figure out what to say. Before anyone else moved, Kairi dashed up to him and grabbed ahold of his arm.

"Riku, don't go!" she begged. Everyone but Leafa and Recon were startled at Kairi's plea, particularly who she called him.

"Huh?" Goofy questioned.

"Kairi, what did you just say?" Sora asked exasperatedly.

"Riku." Kairi answered. Kirito, Asuna and Yui were also surprised.

"He's Riku?" Asuna asked. The two turned to Leafa and Recon, who nodded in confirmation.

"I'm no one, just a castaway from the darkness." Riku corrected them.

"Sora, come here. Say something to him." Kairi asked. Sora was hesitant, but he walked towards her and the guy she claimed to be Riku. Kairi pulled Riku's hand to Sora, while reaching for his hand, too. "Here. You'll understand." she said to him. She placed Sora's hand on top of Riku. "Close your eyes." she told Sora. Sora looked to Riku for a second, then closed his eyes. The minute he closed them, he could feel it; Riku's heart. It was almost like he could see Riku's true form with his eyes closed. He felt like smiling as he and his two closest friends held hands in the center. The team was reunited.

Sora opened his eyes, seeing the man before him, and realizing at last who he was. He was surprised, then he became overly sad. "Riku…" he said, sinking to his knees as he still held Riku's hand, "It's Riku. Riku's here…" Sora even started to cry as he sobbed, "I looked for you!"

"C'mon, Sora. You've got to pull it together." Riku told him, and his voice changed from the tall deep manly voice to a voice that was in the same level as Kirito's.

"I looked everywhere for you!" Sora cried, looking up at him.

"I didn't want you to find me." Riku responded, surprising Sora.

"But it was him that was helpin' us, wasn't it?" Goofy asked Donald, who was a bit confused, "Those clues we kept finding . That musta been Riku."

"I was starting to worry you guys weren't ever gonna catch on." Riku told the two as Sora stood up again, "Sora never did pick the brightest friends."

"What do you mean by that?!" squawked Donald.

"Although…" Riku continued, looking to Kirito, Asuna and Yui, "You three were probably the exception. Thanks for looking out for him."

"No problem." Kirito responded, "But Sora did help up too many times too count as well." Asuna and Yui both nodded in agreement.

"Why didn't you let me know you were okay?" Sora asked Riku.

"I told you." Riku answered, "I didn't want to be found. Not like this… I couldn't."

"Oh, give me a break." Leafa cut in abruptly, "You should've told him sooner. That way, you wouldn't have to go through this drama alone. Believe me, I know…well from Sora's point of view, anyway." She turned to Kirito, who recalled the time when Leafa discovered Kirito was really her brother after a few days of traveling with him. She even fell in love with him during that time. It was kind of a shock to her that time.

Riku looked to Leafa, then sighed. "It wasn't that easy." he told her, "I fought with Ansem. With…Xehanort's Heartless…when it invaded my heart, and I won. But to use the power of darkness, I had to become Ansem myself."

"Does that mean…you can't change back?" Kairi asked as Kirito and Asuna joined into the group.

"This battle isn't over." Riku responded, "And until it is, I still need the power of darkness."

"Then…let's finish it." Sora decided as the rest of the team gathered around, "You're still Riku, no matter what!" Everyone else nodded in agreement. "So how 'bout it." Sora asked, turning to the entire group, "Think we can handle one last rumble together? The King's waiting!"

"Yeah! Let's get going!" squawked Donald.

"We a quest to accomplish!" Leafa stated excitedly, "Let's complete it like we do back in Alfheim Online! Right, Recon?"

"You make it sound like we're back in the online world again." Recon mumbled, "Still, I'm sure we can do this."

"Looks like we formed a strong party together." Asuna stated, "This should keep the Organization on their toes."

"You know I'm ready and willing!" Yui chimed.

Kirito walked up to Sora, who turned to him. "Sora…" he started, giving into the thoughts that came to his head, "I know that after this, me, Asuna, and my friends and family WILL be going back to SAO again. It is very likely we'll never see each other again. But…"

"I know we will." Sora cut in abruptly, surprising Kirito.

"Wha…how do you know?" Kirito asked him.

"I don't." Sora answered, "But…"

"I believe we will." Kirito and Sora said in unison. The two boys smiled at each other. How could he forget that?

"And no matter what, we keep a courageous face, even through the darkest of times." Asuna added, stretching her hand out front.

"And as long as we have our memories right here, we can always see each other again." Yui quoted, tapping her chest. Sora and Kirito smirked as they placed their hands on top of Asuna's. Leafa, Recon came in next, followed by Donald and Goofy, then finally, Kairi, Riku and Yui on top.

"Let's do it!" Sora cheered, and the team roared in response, releasing their tower of hands into the air.

The moment they started to leave, Riku handed Sora a Keyblade Keychain, one that Kirito knew too well of. "Hey, that's the Oblivion!" Kirito pointed out, seeing the black chain and crown medallion.

"It is strong, physical-wise." Yui explained, "Plus, while your magic power is restoring, your Drive power also charges up faster." Sora decided that it would be best to save it for his Final form's secondary Keyblade. Once the preparations were all set, they moved out.

Meanwhile, nearing the top of the Alter of Naught, Mickey and Ansem the Wise walked out of the inside to the edge of the exterior pathway. "This spot should do." Ansem stated walking to the corner where they had a clear view of Kingdom Hearts. He set the end of his machine down on the ground, and prepared it for use.

"What's this gadget for?" Mickey asked.

"It's a device to reclaim Kingdom Hearts and encode it as data." Ansem explained.

"Not sure I get it." said a puzzled Mickey.

"I do not know the outcome of this venture, either." Ansem agreed, "After all… Hearts are unpredictable." He then pointed the needle of the machine to Kingdom Hearts. It charged up, then fired a data stream at the large heart, bringing Kingdom Hearts in one bit at a time.

The team wandered their way into another room. They found themselves in an enclosed, dark grey room, surround by dead circuitry and dark red panels here and there. There were three portals that were scattered in the room; one lit up with blue energy and the Nobodies insignia, the other two inactive. There seemed to have been other doors, but they were broken and destroyed. The pathway onward was blocked by a weird energy barrier.

The team looked around, some of them foreboding the place. "I don't like this place." Kairi mumbled, looking around, "It feels too much like a graveyard."

Kirito walked forward and looked down at a name on the steps of one of the broken doors. "I guess that's because it is." Kirito answered, looking down, "Take a look." Sora and Riku walked to where he was looking down at. The words stated below were 'The Melodious Nocturne'. The team was confused a bit. "This must be that Demyx's grave." Kirito assumed.

"The guy back in Radiant Garden we beat?" Sora asked. Kirito nodded in response.

"Hey, check this out!" Asuna called out, seeing another panel with Leafa and Kairi next to her, "This must be for that Xaldin guy we beat at Beast's Castle. It say's 'The Whirlwind Lancer'. It kinda sounds like him, right?" Kirito nodded in agreement.

"Which means…" Sora realized, seeing the last three doors, "That these three are all that's left of the Organization."

"And Xemnas." Kirito added, "He is the leader. We probably have to fight all his subordinates before reaching him."

"Sounds justified to me." Riku stated. Everyone looked to the glowing portal in the room.

"Let's start with that one." Sora suggested. One at a time, the team stepped into the portal.

Next thing they knew, they were outside again, and were on a large, sloped opening. They could see the tops of the Organization's stronghold all around them. Up above them was Kingdom Hearts, only now a green beam of energy was shot at it from somewhere above them.

"What's that?" Sora asked.

"It's the King and DiZ…I mean, Ansem the Wise. They must be higher up. We better hurry."

"Yeah. Ansem was the one who brought us to this crazy dimension in the first place." Kirito recalled, "We should get moving."

Sora dashed ahead of the pack, going to the portal. Yui flew up to meet him. Just as they were far enough away, a black portal opened up from behind. The man they met in Jack Sparrow's world before, Luxord, came out. He snapped his fingers, and large playing cards encircled the others. It started spinning rapidly, and Sora and Yui couldn't see within it. Finally, Luxord snapped his fingers again, and the cards moved aside revealing that the others disappeared.

"Everyone!" gasped Yui.

"You!" Sora growled at the man before him.

"I'd rather we just skip the formalities." Luxord stated.

"What'd you do with everyone else?!" demanded Sora.

"Don't worry, they're safe." Luxord answered, "I just don't want any distractions while we play our game."

"Game?" Sora asked in a confused manner. Luxord snapped his fingers again, and above came a silhouette of two life bars; one for Sora, the other for Luxord. "What's that?" Sora asked.

"Simple; the first to run out of time is the loser." Luxord explained. Sora and Yui looked up at the life bar, which was more of a time bar than anything. "If you hit someone, your bar decreases. Other things will cause your bar to drop fast as well, but that will reveal itself in time." Sora and Yui both glared at Luxord, ready to take him on.

"Ready…go!" he shouted, and immediately, Sora disappeared in a puff of smoke, turning into a large die. Sora was unable to speak, and he was struggling to move in this form.

"Roll, Sora!" shouted Yui. Sora managed to move himself around in his form, but not until he got hit by Luxord's cards. Sora started to dart around, avoiding getting hit until the die form wore off, and he reverted back to normal again.

"That was cheating!" shouted Sora.

"I struck when I said go." Luxord stated with a grin, "Therefore, I wasn't cheating." Sora snarled and charged at him.

The two engaged in a fight for time. Sora was able to put in a few strikes onto Luxord, knocking his time bar down a bit. Luxord retaliated by flipping cards up in front of him, blocking Sora while retaliating back with his attacks. Sora either struck them out of the way or flipped them, causing them to reveal what was on the front of the card. Sometimes, by flipping, the result would be a booby trap, like a fireball which knocked Sora away, dropping his time bar. After a minute of back and forth battle between the two, Luxord stopped and raised his hand, summoning a black orb of energy that started to make tendrils of energy around Sora.

"Wha-ouch! What is this?" Sora asked, getting hit by the attack.

"A challenge." Luxord answered, "Play my game, and test your luck." Sora didn't see anyway out of this mess, so he had to take his 'challenge'. Sora agreed to it, and Luxord produced four cards behind him; three with black X's, and one with a red O.

"Do you know the rules?" he asked Sora, "You must hit the O in order to succeed."

"Sounds easy enough." Sora stated.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Luxord said with a smirk, and suddenly, the O started to move rapidly across the four set of cards, making it hard to target for Sora. Sora was struggling to watch its' movements, so when he tried to hit the O, it skipped the spot, and he got the X instead. He suddenly turned into a card himself, his body postured in the front of the card. He was knocked away by Luxord's attack. Sora tried spinning his way out of Luxord's reach, and it seemed to work slightly, though it was much more difficult to move around as a card rather than a die.

After a while of this, Sora reverted to normal, shaking off the feeling, and looking up at the time bar to see his was somewhat lower than Luxord's. "This isn't good." Sora moaned, seeing how much time he had left.

"Don't act so rashly, Sora!" Yui scolded him, nesting herself on top of Sora's hair, "You need to think before you act. Keep your eye in the game and get the timing right."

"That's not really my strong suit…" Sora mumbled, "I can watch things fine, but when it comes to those games, I kinda lack. I even have trouble with fair games involving that."

"Fine, I'll help you." Yui huffed, "But you need to listen to me when doing that game." Sora nodded, and the two charged ahead at Luxord.

Their battle ensued, and Sora was getting attacked from the cards Luxord threw at him. Sora did his best to endure. As his stamina was getting weaker, Luxord transformed himself into a card and summoned four more cards. The cards shuffled themselves and scattered among the ground. Sora watched the shuffling, eyeing the card he knew was Luxord's card. When the shuffling was over, Sora went straight to the one that had Luxord's figure on it, summoning him back to normal. "Nice try, but not good enough!" Sora shouted, and he did a flurry of slashes onto Luxord, damaging him.

Luxord backed off and summoned another black orb again. Sora dashed in and accepted the challenge. It was the same as before, hit the O before it got away. It started to go down the cards, and Yui was calculating the timing. "Hit the far right on my mark…" she muttered to Sora, "Three…two…one…NOW!" Sora hit the far right card just as Yui cried, and the O slid right in as Sora struck. The result not only replenish Sora's stamina, but Luxord was magically stunned from being defeated in the challenge. Sora turned to him and started waylaying at him like no ones business.

The battle was breakneck intense, Sora and Luxord were going back to back with their attacks. However, it did look as if Sora was getting the upper-hand. Luxord attempted another card shuffle trick, and Sora managed to get him on the second try, the first being a trap that caused his time bar to go down a bit. Luxord did another challenge, and Yui's calculations worked out again. Luxord was having plenty of trouble, and he tried making it even trickier each time. When he did the card shuffle, he used ten cards, including himself. And he even mixed up the cards quicker. Sora's keen eye was having a hard time keeping up with it, but he managed to guess where it was in three tries.

After a few minutes of fighting and challenges, the time bar showed that Sora had a third of time remaining, while Luxord had a fifth remaining. "We can do this." Sora said to Yui.

Luxord was recovering from the latest attack, and noticed how much time he had left. "That's it." he stated, pulling out some cards, "Now luck is part of the game!" He threw cards all around the arena, covering the field. Yui flew high up as Luxord disappeared in a card. He then appeared out of one from behind Sora, who didn't see it coming, and got hit by several card throws. Luxord did the same back attack again, and Sora dodge rolled it. Sora started moving around as Luxord popped out from behind him two more times, swinging cards around like he was Axel with his chakrams, and he sent cards on the field flying at Sora as well.

In the last of his attack, Luxord dove into a card as Sora came at him, and suddenly, he was surrounded by monstrous cards, forming a circular wall around him as Luxord appeared from behind him. "Here's the challenge; time right when all the cards show O." Luxord explained with a grin. Sora looked around. All the front of the cards were facing outward.

"Yui!" shouted Sora.

"I don't know, either!" Yui replied, watching the outside of the wall, "I can't keep up with it! The patterns irregular!" Sora grimaced at this moment. It was all about luck right now. He did not know if he was gonna be right or wrong this time. He looked up at the time bar. His was nearing the same amount as Luxord. He looked to Luxord, who smirked at Sora's situation.

Sora did his best to keep calm at the moment. He closed his eyes, concentrating. He was relying only on his instincts. He waited for his instincts to kick in then raised his hand. "Now!" Sora shouted. The cards stopped changing. Yui gasped. Luxord was stunned. All of them were O.

"Impossible!" shouted Luxord. The cards all dove into Sora's hand, who made sure to get them all, then tossed them straight at Luxord, who was repetitively hit by the barrage. He was knocked back, seriously damaged.

Sora paused as he got himself together, then he charged at the guy before him. Luxord attempted to put up a barrier of cards, but Sora slashed right through it, coming out the other side, his Keyblade raised. The top half of the cut cards started to slide, then all of them vanish, leaving Luxord falling to one knee, defeated.

"How could you…Roxas…" Luxord gasped as Sora turned to him.

"That's SORA!" Sora shouted back. Luxord dipped his head as he disappeared into black smoke, just like the other members. He was defeated.

"Way to go, Sora!" cheered Yui.

Sora paused, seeing Luxord's body vanish, then smiled at Yui. "Couldn't have done it without you." he stated to her, smiling. Yui giggled in response.

Suddenly, eight cards appeared from behind the duo, and they turned to see them part, revealing Kirito, Asuna, Donald, Goofy, Kairi, Riku, Leafa and Recon standing there, confused. "Wha…what was that?" Kirito said, grasping his head.

"I don't know." Recon replied, "But it sure wasn't fun." The team walked over to Sora and Yui.

"You okay?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah! No worries." Sora responded, "Let's keep moving."

"Look!" Yui cried, pointing at the spot where Luxord's body was at before. Three magic orbs appeared, and came to Sora, Kirito and Asuna. "Those are the Magnet Elements." Yui explained, "With it, your Magnera becomes Magnega."

"We got all the magic now." Kirito guessed as the team took the orbs. With that, they walked back through the portal they went through before, going to the next place.

The team came out of the portal, and looked to one side. The pathway forward was still sealed by the magic, but one of the other portals became active, beckoning them. "Looks like that's where we'll go next." Riku assumed.

"Then let's get to it!" Sora declared, and he marched the team over and into the next portal.

Coming out of the portal, the team found themselves rounding the outside of a large chamber. There was a clear view of Kingdom Hearts hanging in the sky from there. And standing in front of the view was none other than Saïx himself, looking up at the heart-shaped moon, holding his special claymore, Lunatic, in one hand. He turned to them at their presence, and smiled.

"Only you could have made it this far in one piece…Roxas." he told Sora.

"That's really getting old!" shouted and irritated Sora. Donald and Goofy stepped in front of Sora, their arms raised.

"Yeah! He's Sora!" squawked Donald. Goofy nodded in response. Kirito and Asuna came to either side of Sora, nodding as well.

Saïx lifted his claymore, signaling the group to prepare for battle. Saïx charged up his claymore, until it he flipped it to one side, and spikes circled the tip of it. "Different name, same fate." Saïx stated, and with a swing of his blade, a huge gust of wind was blown at their direction. Sora, Kirito, Asuna, Donald and Goofy held their ground, their weapons produced. Yui, Leafa and Recon were sent flying backwards, and Riku protected Kairi as they were flung back. The wind died down, and a barrier separated the two parties, leaving Sora and Kirito's team to fight against Saïx.

"Can you feel it? The moon's power." Saïx asked as he floated into the air, his claymore floating behind him. Kirito and Sora dashed in first as Saïx shouted, "Moon, shine down!" Basked in Kingdom Heart's light, he suddenly grew more powerful as he roared with rage. Despite being a Nobody, Saïx was filled with rage at this moment, and his face was more bestial. He slammed his claymore to the ground, and shockwaves of energy bursted from it, sending Sora and Kirito flying. Donald and Asuna attempted using Thundaga, but the attack was ill-efficient. Saïx swung his claymore around, sending shockwaves at all of them. Sora quickly recovered and dodge-rolled the next storm of attacks.

Saïx threw duplicates of his claymore at them, and Donald and Kirito got hit hard. Sora saw the claymore stuck in the ground, and had an idea. He grabbed ahold of the handle of the claymore, and felt the rage coming from it. Just as Asuna and Goofy were tossed back by another shockwave, Sora came in with claymore at hand. He got up close to Saïx, and started entering a combination of attacks onto him, knocking him high into the air. The last barrage of attacks sent Saïx flying, who not only lost the raging powers he had, but his claymore lost its' spikes on it's head. "It seems…I misjudged you." moaned Saïx.

Sora landed to the ground, losing the claymore as Kirito led the team into attack. He unleashed a barrage of attacks, and Saïx tried blocking his attacks, but ended up losing his claymore. Kirito switching out with Asuna so that she could have a go. Donald fired magic from a distance while Goofy threw his shield like a boomerang at Saïx, damaging him definitely. "Master!" shouted Sora, and he entered his Master form, diving at Saïx as Asuna dove out of the way. He then started a storm of strikes from his Keyblade, and added a bunch of Thundaga and Firaga attacks to boot as he circled around.

Saïx was being flung into the air, nearing a wall. Saïx saw this and pushed off of it, landing on the ground far from the team. He then felt fully charged as he rose into the air, and entered his Berserk mode again. He then dove down at the group and unleashed a tremendous shockwave that nearly got all of them had they not jumped up. Saïx then attacked Kirito and Asuna, and the two were unable to avoid his attack, so it was fortunate that Asuna used Reflega at the right opportunity. Sora got Saïx's attention, and he started attacking him. A claymore was right in front of Kirito and Asuna, so Kirito decided to take it and use it like Sora did before. Just as Sora was knocked back, Kirito went in with the same combo of attacks that Sora did, releasing Saïx from the berserk stasis he was in as he fell.

Kirito dove at him with a series of attacks, and Sora, reverted to normal form again, charged in as well with a plethora of attacks as well. Saïx swung his claymore around, causing the boys to double back. He then lifted his arms towards Kingdom Hearts, absorbing its' strength so he can go berserk again. Asuna, Donald and Goofy all charged in with a series of strikes, stopping his meditative state. Saïx blocked the last bit of attacks, and unleashed a combo of moves that knocked back Donald, and made a guarding Goofy and Asuna skid back. Kirito tried striking from behind, but Saïx saw it coming, spun around, and repelled his attack. Sora fired a series of Blizzaga attacks from a distance, and Saïx blocked them as well. He was getting better and better as they fought.

"Is this all you have to show, Roxas?" Saïx asked Sora.

Sora grit his teeth. "Stop calling me Roxas!" Sora shouted, and he attempted another Drive Form. Unfortunately, through his rage, Sora became enveloped in a black energy, which produced a shockwave all around the room. Everyone braced themselves as the shockwave passed them.

"What's going on?!" Asuna cried out loud.

"Sora!" shouted Kairi, being held by Leafa as she braced herself. The shockwave was over, and everyone saw what Sora became. Sora was now ink black from head to foot, with hints of gray and deep blue on him. Sora was emitting violet wisps from his hands, which now became claws, and back. His face was all black except for his eyes, which were glowing yellow. It looked as if he turned into a human Heartless.

Sora stood there, with everyone staring at him, both surprised and afraid. "Sora?" Kirito called out calmly.

Sora looked to everyone around him, then at Saïx, who smiled eagerly. "It would seem you have a new power you yet to show me, Roxas." he told him. Sora didn't say anything. Instead, he let out an roar of an animal, and charged at Saïx on all fours. He did not have his Keyblade on him, so he used his new claws and feet and started striking powerfully and ferociously at Saïx, who found it somewhat difficult to catch up with Sora's speed.

"What's up with Sora?!" Recon gasped, watching Sora go.

"It couldn't be…" Kirito started, remembering what Yui told him before when he became Gleam Eyes back in Beast's world.

"That's Sora's Anti-Form!" Yui exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention.

"Anti…Form?" Leafa asked, not sure of what that was.

"So this is Sora's negative side." Kirito stated, seeing Sora knock Saïx into the air and deliver a barrage of kicks and scratches.

Asuna and Donald ran in closer as Saïx and Sora landed meters away from each other. "Sora!" Asuna shouted, and she drew his attention. He saw the two in front, flipped backwards and flew towards them, striking them. Everyone but Saïx was surprised at this assault.

"Sora, what are you doing?!" Kairi shouted as he stood up right, with Asuna and Donald sprawled out on the floor behind him. Sora looked to Kirito and Goofy, who backed away slightly. He charged at the two. Kirito dove out of the way, and Goofy held up his shield to protect himself. Sora pounced onto it, and bounced off Goofy, sending him to the ground on his back.

"What's going on?!" Kirito demanded, seeing Sora roar in fury.

"Sora has lost all sense of reasoning!" Riku explained, "He is in an uncontrollable rage right now." Kirito grimaced at this news. Sora was out of control.

Saïx started to float into the air again. "Perhaps I should join this charade." he suggested, and he entered his Berserk mode. He started running around, slamming his claymore as he moved, producing shockwaves everywhere they went. It took everything they had for Donald, Goofy, Asuna and Kirito to avoid both him and Sora, who tried attacking Saïx, only to be flung back. Asuna attempted to throw a potion to Sora in order to heal him, but he slashed at it, spilling its' contents.

"Sora's not gonna let us heal him!" Asuna shouted as she dodged an incoming shockwave from Saïx, "If we don't do something, Sora's gonna end up killing himself!" Kirito looked to Sora, who fell to the ground after another failed attempt to hit Saïx. Then Kirito came up with an idea.

"Asuna, Donald, Goofy! Do what you can to stop Saïx!" Kirito shouted to them, "I'll deal with Sora!"

"What will you do?" Leafa asked her brother, who stood close to their position.

"I'm gonna see if I can reach him." Kirito replied, and he charged at Sora. Sora looked up and saw him coming. He got on all four and pounced at Kirito, who lifted his Keyblade sideway, blocking Sora and making him flip over him. Kirito wanted to make sure he didn't hurt Sora. Asuna grabbed ahold of one of the thrown claymores, and went into a rage as she charged at Saïx.

Leafa, Recon, Kairi, Riku and Yui watched both parties as they fought against each other. Kairi was only watching Kirito and Sora go at it with one another. "Sora…" she mumbled, folding her hands together.

"Kirito can do it." Leafa assured her, "He's done crazier things than this. Believe me, I know."

Kirito made sure that he blocked or repelled all of Sora's attack, while at the same time trying to avoid damaging him as much as he could. This proved to be difficult, as Sora was fierce and fast, and he was wearing Kirito down with all of his attacks. Kirito was starting to sweat from fighting off his Anti-Form friend's attacks. Another frontal assault caused Kirito to fall back. He held his Keyblade firmly across his chest, shielding Sora's claws as he had him pinned to the ground. The two opposing forces struggled as they were on the ground.

"Dammit, Sora. Wake up!" Kirito gasped, "Is this really what you want? Do you want to hurt your friends like this?" Sora growled at Kirito's face. "What happened to the happy-go-lucky Sora I know?" Kirito asked him, "Remember what your here for! Remember who you are fighting for!" He shifted his Keyblade slightly so that Sora was now in range of seeing the others behind the barrier. Sora looked up and saw Leafa and Recon, looking at him with a worried expression. He noticed Yui and Riku, both looking calmly back at him. Finally, Sora noticed Kairi, who was looking afraid as she saw him stare. He paused, then looked down at Kirito, who was struggling for strength as he was pinned to the ground.

Suddenly, Sora's eyes started to sadden. Somehow, Kirito managed to reach Sora's heart. He crawled off of Kirito, and stood upright again. Kirito slowly got to his feet again and turned to his comrade, who looked at him with a sadden expression. "Don't worry." Kirito reassured him, patting his shoulder, "It takes a lot more than you to stop me." He smiled at Sora. Sora's ink black face hid the fact that he was smiling back as well.

"Kirito did it!" Leafa cheered.

"Sora came back!" Yui added, flipping in the air with joy.

"Amazing…" Riku gasped, seeing the two boys, who raised hands to shake, "Even though Sora is in his Anti-Form, Kirito was still able to reach him." He watched the two shake hands with each other before turning their attention to Saïx, who was rising into the air, powering up as Asuna, Donald and Goofy stood there, prepared.

"Sora, follow my lead." Kirito told him, who nodded in response. The two charged in as Asuna, Donald and Goofy leapt back to avoid getting hit by the series of shockwaves that Saïx was producing at the moment. Sora and Kirito drew his attention, and started striking at them with a series of shockwaves and diving slashes. Kirito ricocheted himself off the wall to avoid getting hit, while Sora started to run along the wall. An attack almost got Sora, but Kirito used Reflega to block the attack. When the series of strikes were over, Kirito reached for a thrown claymore, and unleashed a series of strikes onto Saïx with it, relinquishing him of his Berserk mode.

Sora came up to meet him, clawing and kicking at him with a ferocity of an animal. Kirito landed to the ground and ran into the battle. He quickly grabbed ahold of Sora and leapt into the air just as Saïx attempted to slam his claymore down onto him. He looked up just in time to see Sora and Kirito miraculously reach the ceiling, placing both feet onto it, before shooting themselves down at Saïx. As they dove, the darkness shed itself off of Sora, and he turned back to normal. He produced his Oathkeeper, and the two made a downward slash onto Saïx, landing onto the ground in front of him before flipping backwards to the rest of the group, who were happy to see Sora back to normal.

They watched as Saïx was slightly bent over, stumbling back a bit, paused for a few seconds, then dropped his claymore, which fell to the floor and disappeared. Saïx turned to Kingdom Hearts and stumbled his way closer to its' view. "Why… Kingdom Hearts…" he gasped, reaching up to the heart-shaped moon, "Where is my heart?" Just as he reached out to his limit, he started disappearing. His body deteriorated until finally, he was gone. Saïx was defeated.

Kirito and Sora looked to each other, their expressions somewhat exhausted. "Thanks a lot out there, Kirito." Sora thanked him.

"And I thought I freak out when in the battle." Kirito stated amusingly. Sora grinned as Asuna casted Curaga onto the crew, healing them. The barrier lifted in front of the crew who didn't fight. They walked towards the five winners, who stood there, looking at the spot where Saïx disappeared from.

"You guys ok?" Leafa asked them.

"Yeah, no problem." Asuna replied. Kirito nodded in agreement.

Sora continued to look at the spot where Saïx disappeared at, forming a confused expression as he thought of something. He turned to Riku with a question in mind. "I don't get it. Why's everybody been calling me Roxas?" Sora asked.

"Because, Sora…" Riku started, "Roxas is your Nobody."

"My…Nobody?!" exclaimed Sora, and the news startled the others as well, "But that's crazy, I never turned into a Heart… Oh, right." He realized something, and Kirito, Asuna and Yui looked to one another, understanding what he meant.

"You became a Heartless before?" Asuna asked him, "But when did this happen?"

"It was when Sora came to rescue me, over a year ago." Kairi answered her, "You remember, Sora?" Sora nodded in response.

"Xemnas was the one who found Roxas." Riku explained, "He could use the Keyblade because he was your Nobody. That's what Xemnas brought him into the Organization. But Roxas betrayed them. After that I fought him because I thought it would help you wake up. I lost, but the next time we met, I made sure I was the stronger one." Riku paused, recollecting that fight he had with Roxas. "Maybe I didn't need to fight him after all." he continued, "I think he left the Organization because…he really wanted to meet you."

Sora was surprised, then looked solemn, wondering. "Roxas…" he sighed, "I wish I could meet him, too." Riku walked in front of Sora, and pointed at his heart. It was as if he was saying 'You can meet him, he's right there'. Sora looked to it, then touched his heart closing his eyes, feeling for Roxas.

Riku turned around and walked off. "All right. Let's go." he stated, and the team walked out, leaving Kirito and Sora there.

Kirito looked to Sora, who still looked sad. "Come on, Sora." said Kirito, "Let's finish this. Then, you can talk to Roxas afterwards, ok?" Sora looked up at Kirito, put on a brave face, and nodded. The two boy ran to catch up with the others as they left the room.

The team walked out of the portal, and looked to the other side. The pathway forward was still blocked, but another portal was active now. The final one. "My guess is this is the next opponent we have to face." Riku assumed.

"And I have a feeling I know who it is." Kirito stated, and the team walked over and went through the portal.

Next thing they knew, they were in an narrow passageway to an enclosed circular space on top of one of the towers furthest from Kingdom Hearts. Blue circuitry was displayed throughout the walls. Watching through the crack of the wall was Gouxus, staring at Kingdom Hearts, the digital laser firing at it, not even flinching as the team made their appearance. However, he did detect their presence.

"This is really getting old." Gouxus stated, "I had everything all set up. My project is complete, Kingdom Hearts is nearly completed, and yet… And yet you still keep getting in my way!" He turned sharply to the group. Kirito and Asuna were up front, glaring at Gouxus. They walked forward, ready to produce their weapons. Leafa and Recon came in right behind them.

Donald made an attempt to follow, but Sora stopped him. "This is THEIR fight." Sora told them, "This is why they are here."

The four SAO and ALO people stood there, facing the man who was the Nobody of someone they loathed. "Before we get anything started, I want to ask you a question." Kirito started, "Why? Why did the Organization pick you? Surely, there must've been other candidates who were better for this. Plenty of minds by far better than yours. So why you?"

Gouxus paused at this, then answered, "I suppose I can give you an explanation to that, seeing as where we are now, and that it won't harm the fact that you will die today. Very well then, I shall tell you." He turned his head to where Kingdom Hearts was at. "You probably don't know this, but when a person becomes a Nobody, they lose their ability to remember the past. Oh sure, there are some cases where they actually remember parts of their past, but still, it's not full."

"So…you don't remember?" Asuna asked.

Gouxus turned to them, grinning. "On the contrary, I do remember. Every bit of it." Kirito and everyone else showed confused expressions. "You see, I am what you call 'a special case'. Even Xemnas found it interesting that I am able to remember everything. So let's start back to how everything got started…"

(Flashback w/ Gouxus speaking) The scene is Sugou's (Oberon's) battle against Kirito at the empty digital space, with Asuna in her Titania form hanging in the air by chains. Sugou struggled to fight against Kirito, but he was parrying his attack and slicing at him, one part at a time.

"Back then, I almost had everything; the perfect world that covered my little project, the ability to control the minds of everyone in the online world was nearly complete, and I had the most beautiful bride that would have been mine. I had the powers of a god, I was perfect. And yet you, Kirito, ruined me, destroyed everything I worked hard at!"

Kirito picked up the top half of Sugou's body that remained by the hair, seeing his tear-soaked, panicked face. Kirito snarled and tossed him high into the air, and making Sugou drop head first into the tip of Kirito's blade.

"I was destroyed. I, who was god, defeated by you and that damn Akihiko Kayaba. I came back to reality, and tried attacking you in reality, where you were vulnerable. The result of it was you defeating me again. I should be grateful you spared my life that day, since it's the reason I stand before you today."

"I was sent to jail. All through that year since then, I brewed upon how to exact my revenge on you. I hid the records and data on all my research that I worked so hard on before I came to you that night, making sure it wasn't to be found by anyone else. I stayed, waiting patiently. My fury towards you, Asuna, and everyone that got in my way didn't die whatsoever. My heart blackened, and I succumbed to this anger. I wanted nothing more than to destroy you, and take back what was rightfully mine. Then one evening…"

Sugou was sitting in one corner of the jail cell, his arms folded, contemplating. Suddenly, he heard cries from the warden. "Hey…w-what are you doing? Who…? No! Gah!" A sound as if an arrow was shot could be heard. Two prison guards came running past Sugou's cell, running to the problem. Suddenly, two laser arrows came from one end of the hall, hitting the two guards and knocking them out. Sugou ran to the bars, seeing them out, then suddenly, they vanished, revealing themselves as two Dusks. Sugou was panic-stricken, backing off slightly at the sight of the strange new creatures.

"Man, if this is the security here, I wonder why these people haven't already broke loose." came Xigbar's voice.

"You!" gasped a male prisoner, "Are…are you here to break us out?"

"Break YOU out? As if!" Xigbar replied, and another shot was heard, followed by the sound of the prisoner's outcry of pain, "We're here to see one person, so if you want to be like the others, pipe down and don't speak to anyone about this." Xigbar came into view for Sugou, carrying his arrowguns. He cocked one onto his shoulder as he looked into the cell, seeing Sugou's panicked face. Xigbar smiled eagerly.

"Xemnas, I found him!" Xigbar shouted.

Footsteps could be heard coming nearer to them. Then Xemnas himself came into view, turning to Sugou's cell. "Are you the man they call Sugou Nobuyuki?"

"Wha-who are you?!" asked a petrified Sugou, "And how do you know my name?"

"Hey, no need to get jittery with us, pal." Xigbar told him, "After all, were the ones who are gonna bust you outta here."

"You-you are?" Sugou asked, surprised.

"Assuming you will cooperate with us." Xigbar warned him, "If not…well, you will just have to end up like these guys." He pointed to the Dusks behind him, "Believe me, it's not pretty being them." Xigbar laughed as he walked away, going to make sure nobody else would intrude.

Xemnas watched Xigbar go, then turned to Sugou again. "What kind of cooperation do you want from me?" Sugou asked.

"Before I tell you, let me explain myself. I am Xemnas, the leader of Organization XIII. The Organization is filled with Nobodies."

"Organization? Nobodies? What are you talking about?" Sugou asked haphazardly, thinking maybe it was all a big joke.

"Nobodies are beings without hearts." Xemnas explained, "We cannot feel, nor do we even exist. We are neither from your world or this dimension. But we came here to seek out new followers to aid us in achieving our goal."

This was a lot to take in, even for Sugou. True, the online world should've prepared him for such things, but for actual aliens to come to their world? This was hard to see. However, Xemnas did not look as if he was lying to him, nor did he think he should argue with him. So Sugou asked, "And what kind of goal are you seeking?"

"To create Kingdom Hearts." Xemnas answered, "It is the world of hearts. Once it is complete, we Nobodies can truly and fully exist."

"So why do you need my help?" Sugou asked, getting back to his first question.

"You see, we know you have attempted to control the hearts of people before." Xemnas reminded him, "However, someone in this world thwarted your plans, and that is why you are here."

Sugou gritted his teeth, just thinking about Kazuto and how he ruined him. "That damn brat!" he spat, "He doesn't have any powers. He was no god, and he still took everything away from me! My power, my bride, and my god-status! He's gonna pay, I swear to you!"

"Indeed." Xemnas agreed, his plain tone as he saw Sugou's angered face, "Though I do not have a heart, I am still able to feel the rage burning from yours." Sugou looked up at him, still angered.

"But, what if I told you that you can have everything you want back again, and more?" questioned Xemnas.

Sugou looked surprised. "You…you can do that?" he asked.

"Kingdom Hearts is the world of hearts." Xemnas reminded him, "It is also the place where one can control the hearts of others. But we do not have the ability to make such things happen. Our scientist was unfortunately destroyed thanks to a boy and his friends who was also troublesome to our Organization."

"Seems like there are people who thwart your Organization as well." Sugou understood, feeling like this boy would probably be like Kazuto.

"The boy sleeps for the moment…" Xemnas stated, "He has been for almost a year now. Which is why we now need a new member to join our ranks. What do you feel?"

Sugou thought on the suggestion. "The power to control all hearts…" Sugou muttered, "And it is a power that reaches the people of reality?"

"In both your's and my dimension." answered Xemnas.

Sugou smiled ominously. "Very tempting." Sugou answered, "It just might be the revenge I was looking for. But what's the catch?"

"All of this will be for the Organization." Xemnas reminded him, "As such, I am your leader. You must create the power to control hearts in order to earn your rightful place in my inner circle."

Sugou walked forward to the cage, standing a parallel distance from the cage as Xemnas. "Very well then." he answered, "I shall help your Organization achieve its' goal."

"Very good." Xemnas said, showing a shadow of a smile on his face, "Now in order to join our Organization, you must become…" He quickly reached out and placed a palm on Sugou's chest, "…a Nobody yourself."

There was a bright light, and Sugou's cry of agony came along with it. Within the silhouette of the light, Sugou's body contorted, transforming itself. At the same time, a shadowy body came out of Sugou, and it flew away to who knows where. When the light vanished, Sugou stood there, taking the form of Oberon himself, only his ears weren't pointy, and he now wore a black coat with hood.

Sugou looked down at himself, surprised. "Wha-what did you do to me?!" he demanded, looking from his body to Xemnas.

"I made you a Nobody." he replied, "You are an advanced form of Nobody, unlike these Dusks." He waved to the white creatures that stood there, not moving away. Sugou looked to them, then looked back at his own hands. He did not feel the rage he was use to before. In fact, he couldn't feel anything at all. Like he had no heart.

"Now for your new name…" Xemnas stated, and he waved his hands to reveal letters that formed the name 'Sugou' in front of him. They started to spin around, and Xemnas added an X into the letters. They finally came to a stop, forming his new name, 'Gouxus'. "Number XV, Gouxus." Xemnas addressed him, "You are now a member of Organization XIII."

Sugou calmed himself, understanding what his duty was, and what he was prepared to do. Xemnas used his powers to cut down the bars of his cell, and he opened a black portal. Xemnas led Gouxus into the portal, the last look was Gouxus' smiling evil face. (Flashback ends)

Everyone was still as they stood in the wide area on top of the castle tower. Kirito and Asuna were surprised after hearing all of this, but they listened intently to his story. "And so you see," Gouxus continued, "My goal has been achieved. Within the main computer of Organization XIII lies the ability to manipulate the hearts of all the dimensions, once Kingdom Hearts is complete! And now all that is left is to destroy all of you, for good this time!"

There was a pause, then Kirito started, "I see. So that's your story, is it? You degraded yourself, and caused so much pain to come about in this dimension."

"You hurt innocent lives." Asuna followed, "You joined a group of thugs just to show your cowardly figure as what? A superior being? That's just plain stupid!"

"A coward? Degraded?! Me?!" Gouxus growled, "Hardly, my sweet Asuna. This world has made me much stronger than you think. I learned all of my new powers, how to control Nobodies and even create the new Guardian Nobodies as well."

"But once again, we came here to stop you." Kirito barked, "Just like back then!"

"Yes… You just had to come to this dimension." said Gouxus, "I was rather surprised when Ansem the Wise, who posed the name as DiZ, decided to bring you lot to this world. But then again, I found this as an opportunity, and so did the rest of the Organization. More Keyblade wielders meant more hearts can be gathered. I thank you so much for gathering more hearts for us. I'm so glad you enjoy fighting so much, Kirito. It was really beneficial to our cause." Kirito gritted his teeth, angered at his amused praise. "And how did you like my present before?" Gouxus asked sarcastically, "You know, the world of Aincrad that could've brought more troubles because you had to be involved?"

"Enough!" barked Kirito, whipping his Elucidator Keyblade out, filled with rage, "This ends here, Gouxus! I've had enough of you!"

"And me as well." Asuna added, whipping her Lambent Light Keyblade out, "Last time, you took away my ability to fight back. But now, I'm dead serious on defeating you!"

"And we have some complaints of our own!" Leafa added, her and Recon coming on either side of Kirito and Asuna and pulling their weapon's out, "You created that Grand Quest that everyone was hoping to accomplish, and yet it all a lie! You caused harm to Kirito and Asuna, and we won't let you get away with it!" Recon nodded in response, slightly nervous, but his face set.

Gouxus looked to all his opponents, smirking. "You four are gonna be a special treat for me!" he stated, and he raised his hand into the air. A stream of dark colored data contorted into his hand, and a green and grayish gold weapon revealed itself. It had a strange resemblance to Excaliber he used in ALO, only sharper, creepy looking. He whipped it down, and the blade of the sword separated into smaller parts, with a black energy string connecting each piece, forming a sword whip (Like the Valentine from Soul Caliber). It was known as Greed's Redemption. A barrier formed itself in front of Sora's group, separating them from the four in the arena.

"I shall have the pleasure of destroying you, Kirito." Gouxus sneered, "And as for you, my sweet Asuna, I was given special permission to turn you into a Nobody as well. Tell me; does the name 'Uxanas' sound good to you?" All four SAO fighters focused, tightening their grip on their weapons as they took their stance. Their long awaited battle was about to begin.

Kirito ran at Gouxus first, his Keyblade ready to strike. Gouxus whipped his chain sword at Kirito, who barely blocked it in time. Gouxus quickly retracted the whip into sword form and side-swiped Kirito so fast, that Kirito was unable to block it in time, sending him flying back. Asuna dashed in, but Gouxus thrusted his sword, where it went into whip form for longer reach. Asuna blocked the first attack, but Gouxus retracted and shot his sword out again, hitting his mark onto Asuna and sending her tumbling back. Leafa produced her wings and came charging in with a couple Aerogas. This time, the attack hit Gouxus, but he recovered just as Recon came in close. He wrapped his sword whip around him, then sent him hurdling into Leafa, causing the two to fall out of the air.

"I am a lot stronger than you remember." Gouxus snickered as he saw the four get to their feet again.

"I admit…you have some new moves." Kirito acknowledged, "But then again, so do we!" Kirito dashed at Gouxus again, who expected another frontal assault. Kirito whipped himself behind Gouxus, who spun with his retracted sword to meet him.

"Was that suppose to be a back attack?" Gouxus asked as their swords locked with one another.

"No…" Kirito grunted, and immediately, Asuna and Recon came from behind and attacked him, sending him flying pass Kirito. "That was a back attack." Kirito answered.

Gouxus quickly got to his feet again and jabbed his whip sword into the ground, creating a small, digital wormhole. Immediately, the whip-sword's tip came flying out from underneath Kirito, hitting him hard as it did a straight jab from below and sending him flying. The others watched in shock as Kirito fell back to Asuna and Recon, but he managed to land on his feet.

"What the hell was that?!" Kirito shouted as Gouxus recoiled his sword.

"I can manipulate digital energy." Gouxus stated with a grin, "My sword can reach you, no matter where you are, just by creating digital wormholes." Leafa flew at Gouxus, attempting a downward slash from the air. Gouxus lifted his free hand, and a digital barrier surrounded him, blocking Leafa's hit. "And that's not all I can do…" Gouxus stated as he released the barrier, and the digital energy surrounding him dispersed, damaging Leafa and sending her crashing to the ground, gasping in pain.

"Sugu!" shouted Kirito.

"It's just like Reflega!" Asuna realized.

Kirito growled as he charged at Gouxus, his Keyblade at hand. Asuna and Recon followed suite, and Leafa joined the team. The four entered a brawl with Gouxus, who's powers were much more dangerous than they expected. It was clear that his skills were powerful like Saïx in close range, and just as tough in long range as Xigbar. The only difference was that he didn't move around as much as the other Organization members, making him easier to lay attacks on. It was quite troublesome that he was able to use such wide swings with his sword whip, and was able to send his sword through digital wormholes, only for them to spike up at the team. However, sending the spike attacks left him vulnerable, and it takes him a few seconds to retract the sword, giving the team a few strikes before going on the defense again. Magic was also difficult for Gouxus, as his only protection against it was his digital barrier.

Kirito charged once again at Gouxus, who whipped his sword to meet Kirito's. His sword whip entangled itself around the Keyblade, and the two entered a tug-of-war. "Time I disarm you, Kirito!" shouted Gouxus eagerly as Kirito struggled. If Gouxus won this match, he could use Kirito's Keyblade back at him.

Kirito braced his feet, and he started pulling back. Gouxus tried to stop him, but too late. Kirito relinquished Gouxus of his sword whip. "Taste your own demise!" Kirito shouted, and he started swinging around his Keyblade with the sword whip attached. Gouxus was hit several time before Kirito swung his Keyblade so hard, that it released the sword whip, sending it flying back at Gouxus again.

The fighting ensued, and Gouxus had another trick up his sleeve. He swung his sword whip at Asuna, who tried cutting it down. This was a bad idea, cause as she tried, all the separate pieces of the blade suddenly dispersed as the chain connecting them disappeared. They flew all around at random, striking at Asuna like hornets before coming together again as Gouxus' sword again. So cutting the whip was not a wise move.

As the fighting went on, and as Gouxus kept getting damaged more and more, his strength increased. He used the digital barrier more often, and when he slammed his sword into a wormhole, half-a-dozen tip spiked out all around him, knocking away anyone that was too close. Gouxus had certainly trained his new powers very well. The two sides were equally matched, and both struggled to beat the others. Gouxus' weapon got tangled on Asuna's Keyblade this time, but the tug-of-war result was just the same as Kirito's.

Out of the battlefield, the others watched intently, seeing the battle going on. "Come on, Asuna!" squawked Donald.

"You can do it, Kirito!" Goofy shouted.

"Hang tough, you guys!" Sora shouted.

After fifteen minutes into the battle, Gouxus was wearing down, and Kirito used Curaga on the entire group, making sure they were ok. Recon was struggling the most in this fight, and despite Leafa's continuously asking him to step out, Recon refused flat out to leave them during the fight. They foursome were poised and ready as Gouxus was doubled over slightly, pained from their assault.

"Face it, Gouxus. You lost!" Kirito shouted.

Gouxus panted a few times, then looked up at Kirito, and the group noticed his determined face. "Oh, this is far from over, Kazuto…" Gouxus stated, "I haven't even shown you the true powers of my godly powers!"

He then glowed white as he lifted into the air. His sword whip started to coil itself around him in a spiral, and he wasn't even holding onto the grip. Kirito realized he was unleashing his most devastating move. Suddenly, the sword whip disappeared, and a second later, a wormhole appeared in the middle of the air, and the sword tip came flying out at lightning speeds, hitting the spot the team were at only a second ago. The wormholes started appearing all around Gouxus, twenty of them. And with it came more shots from the sword whip, which pursued the team, mainly Kirito, as they darted around the field. Then once he stopped that, Gouxus made all portals around him activate, sending multiple blades shooting out in different angles. Leafa, who avoided most of the ground attacks by being in the air, was hit hard from this attack. Gouxus did this four more time, the blades going out at different angles each time. Finally, the retracted sword whip came back into Gouxus' hand, and a larger wormhole opened up underneath him. He sent the sword into the wormhole, and a circle of spikes shot out and came outward to the ends of the arena like a wave, destroying anything in its' path.

When the attack was over, Kirito was knocked to the side of the arena, his Keyblade out in front of him. Asuna was breathing heavily as she leaned back against the wall, her Keyblade sagged to one side. Recon was somehow ok, lucky enough to avoid most of the attacks. As for Leafa, she was barely conscious as she was on the floor on the far side from Kirito. Gouxus landed onto the ground again, his sword retracted in his hand. He looked at the results of his attack. "You see, this is what happens when you mess with me." he snickered as he faced Kirito, "These are the benefits of having no heart. They grant me exponential powers, ones that you could never face. Now Kirito, I'm going to destroy you, once and for all, but first…"

Gouxus walked aways from Kirito, over to Leafa. He pointed his sword at Leafa's body, who was unable to move at the moment. "I'm going to rip everything you care for in this world, starting with this one." he stated, seeing Leafa squint with one eye to look at her situation, "If I recall correctly, this girl is really your sister-in-law, correct? She was also one of the people who ended me way back when. I am so gonna enjoy this."

He started to lift the sword, and Kirito, panicking, struggled to get to his feet. "No…stop it…" he gasped. Gouxus didn't bother listening to him. He formed a demonic grin and started to chuckle as he readied to attack. Then with one swoop, he started to plunge his sword down at Leafa. Time seemed to slow down as Kirito and Asuna watched the falling blade, their eyes filled with shock. "SUGUHA!" Kirito shouted with all his might, his hand reached out to his sister.

Then out of nowhere, Gouxus' blade was stopped…by Recon's dagger. He got in the path of the sword just in time to stop the attack from reaching Leafa. Gouxus was startled at first when he saw his attacked stopped, then frowned at the boy that came in his way. "You WILL not hurt Leafa!" Recon growled at him. Leafa looked up a bit at Recon, stunned at what he had done. Gouxus lifted his sword and spun it around, hitting Recon on the side and sending him flying in pain. Recon fell to the ground, and groaned as he sat up.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Gouxus asked, turning to him, "You have no meaning to this team. Just get out of the way."

"I do have meaning!" grunted Recon as he stood up, "I'm here to protect Leafa, and that also includes everyone else here."

"You? Protect?" questioned Gouxus, and he laughed in amusement, "You couldn't protect the key to my locker room. Face it, kid, you are just dead weight. You aren't as strong as the rest. Just sit back and…"

"I know I'm not as strong as them!" interrupted Recon, stopping Gouxus' speech, "I admit it, I'm not strong like Kirito. I'm not as swift as Asuna. I can't bring people together as well as Sora can. And I'm nowhere near the level of Leafa power and skill."

"Recon…" Leafa muttered softly as she heard him.

"You know you aren't powerful, yet why do you proclaim you want to protect them?" Gouxus asked amusingly.

"Because that's what my hearts telling me!" Recon shouted back, and he charged at Gouxus full pelt, his Pixie Sting at hand. He made rapid strikes at Gouxus, who repelled them easily, and knocked Recon back again. Recon flipped himself up, and fired an Aeroga spell at him. Gouxus put up his digital barrier, and attempted to unleash another spike attack. Recon activated his Haste spell, and he moved so swiftly, that the spikes were too far away from his position. His faster attacks took Gouxus by surprise, and he was knocked back several times from the attack.

He was knocked aways from Leafa, and the two entered a clash of blades. Leafa quietly used Cura and stood to her feet again. She watched, horrified as Recon struggled to fight against Gouxus. His Haste wore off, and now he was being tossed around continuously from the sword whip's strikes. "That's enough, Recon!" Leafa shouted, "Just stay out of it! You've done enough!"

Recon wasn't listening. He got to his feet again, and charged once more at Gouxus, but once again, a flick of the whip knocked Recon high into the air, sending him crashing down to the ground again, sending rubble everywhere.

"Recon!" Sora shouted, placing his hands on the barrier.

"No!" Kirito gasped as he and Asuna stood side by side.

Recon was damaged severely, covered from head to foot in cuts and bruises. Yet somehow, he got to his feet again, breathing heavily, his dagger at the ready, setting his sights on the calm Gouxus. "Just give it up, boy. You can't beat a god." Gouxus taunted at Recon.

"Recon!" Leafa shouted, "Do what he says! Just stand back!"

Recon looked down, realizing his situation, hearing Leafa's words, but still, he looked up at Gouxus, tightening his grip on his dagger. Everyone else was shocked to why he was continuing.

"Tell me, is your heart telling you to die?" Gouxus asked amusingly, "Or is it afraid of losing? I can't really tell what it is, so why don't you explain to me why you wish to continue fighting."

Recon took a few exhales, then finally he answered, "It's telling me neither." Gouxus looked puzzled. "My heart is telling me one thing; that I am suppose to protect Leafa no matter what. There's no way I would let you kill her like you tried to. As long as I can fight, I will protect her."

"You seem to care a lot for her." Gouxus stated, "I may not have a heart, but I do know the feeling when I see it. You're in love with her."

Recon and Leafa both made eye contact, then Recon smiled. "Of course I do. I love her without a doubt." Recon confessed. Leafa blushed as she looked surprise.

Just then, Gouxus snickered loud enough for everyone to hear. "It almost does feel like I have a heart after all. I'm practically amused at this!" he chortled, "You doing all of this for what, love? That the reason why the heart is so easy to handle. I might not even need to use my program, I could easily control this weakness you all have." He walked forward, his sword-whip at hand. Recon tried moving, but he stumbled a bit in pain. "I think it would be best to put you out of your misery." Gouxus suggested, stopping halfway and raising his weapon, "Die with your love!" He thrusted the whip forward, and it shot itself at Recon, who didn't have the strength to dodge it. He closed his eyes, ready for the strike.

Leafa dove in front of Recon and repelled the attack, sending it back at Gouxus again. Gouxus didn't realize Leafa was able to move. Leafa held her position, while Recon saw her back to him. "Leafa…" he gasped.

"You really are an idiot Recon, and reckless." Leafa told him, and Recon looked ashamed at the criticisms, "But you know…Kirito has those same characteristics too." Kirito and Asuna watched and listened intently as Leafa spoke to Recon. "You may not be as strong as him, but…" she turned to Recon, who saw the soft smile on her face, "I guess you'll do for me."

Recon realized what she was meaning by that. "Leafa, does that mean…?" he started.

"Yeah." Leafa nodded, "I…I love you, too." Recon was stunned, blushing, then he beamed happily.

"Leafa." he said joyously.

Just then, a light started to glow from both Leafa and Recon's chests. Everyone was shocked by this, especially the two. "What's going on?!" Donald squawked.

"I don't know, Donald!" Goofy replied.

The light grew brighter, blinding everyone, including Gouxus, who shielded his eyes. The two lights then shot in above them, merging together. suddenly, something started to form from within the light. It looked like a new Keyblade keychain. The chain floated itself down to Leafa's Keyblade, and it magically switched itself with the Fairy Harp Keychain. The Keyblade lit up, and all lights disappeared to reveal a new Keyblade.

It's body looked a lot like Leafa's ALO katana, including the hilt. The teeth and parts of the guard had Sylph fairy wings. There was a yellow heart at the point where the guard met the blade, and yellow and light green lines spiraled around the blade to the end. The guard of the blade was green, and it had some Leafa characteristics, like her hair ribbons and hair. The keychain was leathery and green, and the medallion was the mark of the Sylphs.

Leafa was awe-inspired by her new weapon she carried. "Wow." she gasped, holding it up.

"What kind of Keyblade is that?" Sora asked, seeing the new Keyblade in Leafa's hands.

Yui dove out of Kirito's pocket and flew over to Leafa, observing her new Keyblade. "It seems to be a new Keyblade forged from your two hearts." Yui analyzed, "It's strong with magic, and it gives a boost in wind magic. Its' name…I don't know."

Leafa looked at the weapon, then closed her eyes, focusing on connecting with the Keyblade. "It's name…" she muttered, opening her eyes and readying herself, "…is Sylphwing!"

Gouxus snarled as he saw what happened. "It doesn't matter!" he barked, raising his sword whip, "I shall destroy it and you at the same time!" He thrusted his sword straight at the two, but Kirito appeared in front, ricocheting the blade away.

"You forget us?" Kirito asked as he and Asuna stood in front of Leafa and Recon, with Yui flying above them.

(Cue Amanda Lee's 'INNOCENCE')

Gouxus growled as he saw the four ready to fight. "Damn you!" he shouted, creating another digital wormhole and thrusting his sword into it.

The four dispersed, Leafa carrying Recon to the side of the arena. "Stay here. Rest up." Leafa told him, and she turned her attentions to Gouxus. She pointed her new Keyblade at Gouxus' position and shouted, "Aeroga!" Yui was right about the wind boost. Her attack was much stronger, and it shot at Gouxus like a cyclone, knocking him high into the air. Asuna jumped up to meet him, and Gouxus barely retracted his sword in time to block her jab. Her jab was so hard, however, that it sent him crashing back down to the ground, causing rubble to explode everywhere.

He got to his feet, and Kirito stood in front of him. "You see, this is why we keep beating you." he told Gouxus, "It's because our hearts as one can overcome anything that you come up with. You wouldn't know that. You tried giving up your heart for power. This only made you more vulnerable than before. Quite a tragedy, don't you think?"

Gouxus gritted his teeth as he glared at Kirito. It looked like he was full of rage; rage that should've disappeared with his heart. "You damn bastard. How dare you lecture me!" growled Gouxus, "You…are nothing but a pathetic common rat!" He swung his elongated sword out to hit Kirito, but he leapt over it and struck him in a spinning slash, causing him to double back.

Leafa dove in and clashed blades with Gouxus. The two ensued a fight until Gouxus' sword whip got tangled with Leafa's Keyblade. He attempted to free it, but Leafa saw this as a chance, and fired another Aeroga in close range at him. The attack caused him to fly back, releasing his grip on the handle of his sword. He fell doubled over on his feet, and saw Leafa move aside as Kirito came running at him, with Asuna not far behind. As they ran, Kirito and Asuna swapped positions, and Asuna's Keyblade glowed a purple hue. It was as if angel wings appeared behind her. "Time for you to fell the strongest attack from the strongest swordswoman in the current ALO!" Asuna roared, and she thrusted her Keyblade five times down one angle, followed by five more times down another angle, forming an X on Gouxus's chest. "You're finished!" she and Kirito roared together, and with a stab from one and a slash from another, the two simultaneously struck Gouxus, passing by him as they did so.

Both Kirito and Asuna skidded to a halt, turning to Gouxus, who stood stock still. Leafa unraveled the sword whip, and threw it on the ground next to Gouxus. The sword disappeared in a stream of data as Gouxus collapsed to his knees. He looked at his hands, and saw it deteriorating. "No… This wasn't suppose to end like this!" he said, horrified, "I can't disappear like this. I was suppose to succeed. NOOOO!" his terrified cries were the last thing to be heard as his body deteriorated in a black wisp. After a few seconds, his body vanished completely. Gouxus was defeated once and for all.

The barrier lifted, and Sora rushed over to the trio. Donald helped Recon out with his healing spell, and he and Kairi assisted him to his feet. "You guys ok?" Sora asked Kirito and Asuna.

Kirito smirked as he turned to Sora. "Couldn't be better." Kirito responded.

"Nice finisher, Asuna." Leafa congratulated her.

"Thanks." Asuna replied, grinning in pleasure, "Kirito insisted I finish him, just for a little payback." She looked at her Keyblade, thinking to the person who gave her that last Sword Skill, Mother's Rosario.

"You three just been through a hell of a fight, and you are still smiling?" Riku asked.

"Yeah… Sora's the one who taught us to keep smiling in these situations." Kirito stated, "Plus, I'm glad we finished this long-awaited fight."

"Gawrsh, it sure looked tough." said Goofy, "You guys still ok to fight?"

"Yeah, we'll be ok." Kirito responded, "Besides, we can't rest now. We have an Organization to crush." Everyone nodded in agreement.

Recon stumbled himself towards Leafa, who turned to him. The two paused to look at one another. "We did it, Leafa." Recon stated.

"Yeah…" Leafa responded, smiling at him, "Hey, thanks for the Keyblade." She held the Sylphwing on its' side between the two. Recon placed his hand on Leafa's hand that gripped the Keyblade, feeling the connection the Keyblade got from each other. They Leafa looked down at their joint hands, then at Recon, then the two smiled at each other.

"C'mon. Let's go." Riku stated, and the team walked out of the place, back through the portal again. The fight was still not over. All that was left was Xemnas, and it was time to end him…for good!