Sword Art Kingdom: Falling Fantasy

by Jacob Pendra-Huth

The Mark of Mastery has begun for Kirito, Asuna and Leafa, where they must unlock the seven Sleeping Keyholes. However, trouble follows them into their trials, making their test more of a challenge. The Organization already got Leafa in their sights, and are attempting to bring down Kirito and Asuna, too. It is up to the two to get to the bottom of this, and save Leafa.

16. TWTNW! Trapping Nightmares!

Sora's Team so Far

Meow Wow MAXED

Magic

Cure

Cura

Curaga

Spark

Slow

Stat Boost

HP Boost

Item Boost

Attack Haste

Magic Boost

Defense Boost

Light Screen

Confusion Block

Poison Block

Support Boost

Leaf Bracer

Spirit Boost

Link Critical

---

Sudo Neku (Sudoku) MAXED

Magic/Techniques

Slot Edge

Circle Raid

Fira

Stat Boost

Blizzard Boost

Fire Boost

Thunder Boost (x2)

Magic Haste (x4)

Magic Boost (x3)

Slow Block

Reload Boost

---

Cyber Yog (Prog) MAXED

Magic/Technique

Thunder Dash

Thunder

Thundara

Thundaga

Stat Boost

HP Boost

Thunder Boost (x3)

Attack Haste (x2)

Attack Boost (x2)

Thunder Screen (x2)

Confusion Block

Support Boost

Treasure Magnet

---

Flowbermeow (Flow) MAXED

Magic

Sparkra

Sparkga

Faith

Stat Boost

Attack Haste (x4)

Magic Haste (x4)

Light Screen (x3)

Reload Boost

Support Boost

Once More

---

Thunderaffe (Wattson) MAXED

Magic/Technique

Zantetsuken (Given to Riku)

Thundara

Thundaga

Triple Plasma

Stat Boost

Thunder Boost (x3)

Attack Haste (x5)

Thunder Screen (x2)

Slow Block

Support Ability

Damage Syphon

---

Tyranto Rex (Flare) MAXED

Techniques/Magic/Reprisal

Rapid Descent (Given to Riku)

Meteor Crash (Given to Riku)

Firaga Burst

Mega Flare

Stat Boost

HP Boost (x3)

Fire Boost (x3)

Attack Boost (x3)

Fire Screen (x2)

Support Ability

Once More

---

Meowjesty MAXED

Magic/Techniques

Thunder Dash

Cura

Curaga (Given to Riku)

Spark

Sparkra

Stat Boost

Attack Haste (x2)

Magic Haste (x2)

Magic Boost

Defense Boost (x2)

Dark Screen

Light Screen

Bind Block

Support Ability

Second Chance

---

Riku's Team so Far

Komory Bat (Fang) MAXED

Magic/Techniques

Confuse

Zero Gravity

Zero Gravira

Drain Dive

Confusing Strike

Stat Boost

Dark Screen (x2)

Magic Haste (x3)

Attack Boost

Magic Boost

Confusion Block

Attack Haste (x2)

Spirit Ability

Waking Dream

---

Fin Fatale (Piranha) MAXED

Magic/Technique

Gravity Strike

Zero Gravity

Zero Gravira

Zero Graviga

Stat Boost

HP Boost

Water Boost (x3)

Attack Haste (x3)

Attack Boost

Water Screen

Slow Block

Sleep Block

Spirit Boost

Support Boost

---

Kab Kannon (Rhino) MAXED

Magic/Technique

Salvation (Given to Sora)

Dark Firaga

Zero Graviga

Stat Boost

Defense Boost (x3)

Fire Screen (x2)

Blizzard Screen (x2)

Thunder Screen (x2)

Water Screen (x2)

Reload Boost

Defender

---

Fishboné (Bones) MAXED

Magic/Techniques

Dark Break

Poison Dive

Zero Graviga

Stat Boost

HP Boost (x2)

Water Boost (x2)

Attack Haste (x2)

Magic Haste

Attack Boost

Defense Boost

Dark Screen (x2)

Poison Block

Spirit Boost

Leaf Bracer

---

Cera Terror (Trihorn) MAXED

Techniques/Reprisal

Steep Climb (Given to Sora)

Dark Break

Sonic Blade (Given to Sora)

Zantetsuken

Stat Boost

HP Boost (x3)

Attack Haste (x2)

Attack Boost (x2)

Defense Boost

Mini Block

Sleep Block

Defender

Support Boost

EXP Boost

---

Skelterwild (Tyrant) MAXED

Technique/Magic

Ars Arcanum (Given to Sora)

Limit Storm

Deep Freeze

Ice Barrage

Stat Boost

HP Boost (x3)

Blizzard Boost (x3)

Defense Boost (x3)

Poison Block

Reload Boost

Support Ability

EXP Walker

---

Lord Kyroo (Paladin) MAXED

Technique/Magic

Blitz

Zantetsuken

Ars Arcanum (Given to Sora)

Triple Plasma

Stat Boost

HP Boost

Thunder Boost (x2)

Cure Boost (x2)

Attack Haste

Magic Haste

Attack Boost

Magic Boost

Defense Boost

Defender

Support Ability

Combo Master

---

Chapter 1: Organization's Trap

Asuna's Side

Asuna quickly walked up the path she was on, keeping her eyes on the birdcage off in the distance. Olympia and Leo retreated into their cards for rest, while Kooms and Wowzer were running along from behind. "Hold on, Leafa." she told herself, "I've already defeated that fake Recon, and stopped that mind control device for you and Sora. Now, all that's left is to wake you up."

As Asuna continued to race upwards, she couldn't help but worry about Sora. If he was gonna be controlled, then that would mean that the Organization was targeting him, too. She wasn't in the position to go and make sure he was okay, and considering Kirito was here, she believed he wasn't in the position to find out, either. The only other person that would be capable of helping out Sora, besides himself, was Riku. However, based on what he had told her, he and Sora had not been in contact with one another since opening the first Sleeping Keyhole from the Destiny Islands. It was just like Kirito, Asuna and Leafa before, only now Kirito and Asuna were together again, as far as she knew.

"Riku, you're Sora's best friend." Asuna told herself, "I know you can feel that Sora might be in danger, so please, with all of my heart, find him, and save him! While you do that, Kirito and I will go save Leafa, and together, we'll all stop the Organization from succeeding in separating us!" Asuna hurried her pace, getting closer and closer to where Leafa was, all the while, worrying for both her and Sora.

---

(Insert 'Ignite' TV Size by Eir Aoi)

Without hesitating, Take the world of paradoxes,

(The scene opens with Kirito's face fading in from the left-hand side, his eyes opening as the symbol of the Original Keyblade wielders appear in the center. Kirito's face fades out as Asuna's face fades in on the right-hand side, opening her eyes as the Dream Eater Spirit symbol replaces the Original Keyblade wielders symbol.)

And shoot it with your hands

(Asuna's face fades out as Yui's and Leafa's faces fades in, back to back as they looked towards either side while Sora's crown pendant appeared between them. The crown shines brightly, then showing the title of 'Sword Art Kingdom: Falling Fantasy', with the Sword Art Kingdom symbol right behind it.)

In the warmth of fallen tears
We should've learned kindness

(The scene opens to Asuna standing on top of the school rooftops, looking out in the distance with a solemn expression. She looks down at the white Wayfinder in her hand, the ghostly image of Aqua passing by her. She closes her eyes as she clutches the Wayfinder tightly, then she looked seriously ahead, ready to proceed.)

So why do we keep hurting each other
And give birth to more hatred?

(Kirito is sitting on the porch outside his house, holding one of his kendo stick Keyblades he made in his hands, looking down at it with a serious expression. He then stands up and whips it around before stopping in his fighter's stance, as the ghostly image of Terra in his battle stance stood behind him.)

From the stinging pain I learn to be strong

(The first scene shows Gretinal at her desk, with Yui on one side, and Jackson, Latias and Cypress on the other, all looking at the screen. The next scene shows Yen Sid at his desk, with Donald, Goofy and Mickey on one side, and Sora and Riku on the other side.)

And gently blanket the future

(The next scene shows Leafa closing her eyes as she fall backwards into the black screen, only to be scooped up by the large hand of Young Xehanort. He waves his other hand forward as Heartless Oberon, Gouxus, Saïx and a black coat Recon stand around him, grinning maliciously. The screen distances from them to where Kirito and Asuna stood, angrily looking back as they charged.)

Without hesitating, Take the world of paradoxes,

(The scene next shows Kirito using Flowmotion to move around the city of Alne in Alfheim Online, taking out Nightmares that came at him, then slamming his Keyblade into the ground, causing a shockwave of energy that blasts away nearby Heartless.)

And shoot it with your hands

(Asuna appears leaping across the rooftops at high speeds with her Eaglider and Pegaslick at her side, unifying together into Dual Style: Bladecharge, and swinging her energy-extended Keyblade around, sending all Nightmares around her flying away.)

I ever so softly embrace, The sorrow that is covered in red tears

(The scene shifts to Asuna and Recon fighting with one another within the experimental lab at the top of the World Tree, Sora and Leafa's minds showing behind the two as they fought. Then it shows an open room within the top of the World Tree, and Saïx is going into Berserk mode as he faces Kirito, who roars in rage as he charges at him, determined to defeat him.)

Just as the ringing vibration, Marks the sound of the beginning

(The scene ends as Asuna and Kirito race forward towards the golden bird cage where Leafa was, surrounded by darkness and fast asleep, with Heartless Oberon and Gouxus standing in front of the locked gate, waiting for the two. Asuna and Kirito leapt at the two, producing their Keyblades to fight. Heartless Oberon and Gouxus produce their own weapons and leapt at the two, Oberon going after Kirito while Gouxus went after Asuna, and the frame freezes as they near each other, ready to attack.)

---

Sora's Side

Sora had just dealt with another dive, in which he had to face a Queen Buzzerfly, just like the one Asuna had faced in a dive a long while back. When he opened his eyes, he found himself gliding down from above, through the dark streets of a very gloomy and familiar area. The angle of the flight was leading him to another familiar sight; a tall skyscraper with neon lightings and the front floor's interior lights on. A damaged truck that crashed to one side of the skyscraper, its' back lights flickering with life. This was the Memory Skyscraper, in the World That Never Was.

Sora angled his body as he reached the ground, and touched down neatly onto his feet. He looked about, muttering, "Wait, isn't this…" He knew the place well, since he had been here, once before. "Is the Organization's world sleeping too?" Sora questioned, walking forward to examine the skyscraper closer, "No, it can't be."

He raised his hands, counting down seven fingers as he continued, "I know I definitely found the seven Keyholes already. So, I've gotta be awake again and in the real world. But why here?" He rubbed the back of his head, thinking on the question.

"Aw, what's the matter, sleepyhead?" called out a sarcastic voice, startling Sora as he looked about.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Sora barked, ready to move as he searched for the voice. It was a familiar one to him.

"We jumped through a lot of hoops to get you here." the voice called out, "But it looks as if it's gonna pay off."

Sora heard the sound of a shot being fired from behind. He turned and jumped out of the way as a laser arrow struck the spot he was standing at before. He then looked high up at the building top that he had his back turned to before, and saw someone standing on top of it, wielding a pair of familiar-looking arrowguns. He leapt off the building's roof, landing neatly down onto the ground in front of Sora, who recognized the face of the man in front of him. It was Xigbar, the number II member of the Organization. He grinned at Sora's surprised expression.

"You're a part of this?" Sora questioned.

"Hey. Let's hit these plot points in order, Sora…Roxas." Xigbar responded, naming both Sora and his Nobody's name, "First, you must be wondering about your revised itinerary. 'Why am I here, not back home?' The answer's simple. We brought you to this place! Hijacked your little slumber party before it started. And ever since, we've been both your companions and your constant guides."

"Before it started?" Sora questioned, thinking how this was possible. He then recalled back when he and Riku started the Mark of Mastery, when the two dove into the waters of the Destiny Islands after being pushed off their raft. It was when he saw him before he sunk deep down into the watery depths; a man, dressed in a brown robe, standing on top of the water, watching them sink. "The man in the robe!" Sora recalled, "And so that guy in the black coat, Xemnas, and Oberon…"

"Bingo." Xigbar responded, walking closer to Sora, "You were able to go back in time to just before your home became a Sleeping World, only because a past version of you already existed there. And I can see, in the past, you already met Mr. Robe Guy." He stopped with his back to Sora as he finished, "Yup, he was there then to make sure you ended up here now."

"That's ridiculous!" Sora barked.

"It sure is. It's too perfect." Xigbar stated, continuing to walk away, "Who'd ever believe it? Which is why you idiots never saw it coming. Even after getting some surprising information from that other dimension your friends are from, it didn't falter our plans one bit. We were able to add to it, make it better, and even snag in another heart. And boy, she was an easy grab to make!"

"You mean Leafa, right?" Sora questioned, frowning at Xigbar's back.

"You got it." Xigbar responded, "You thought you guys were off doing some kind of test, right? Well, test this; how come you're wearing the same clothes if you're already back home? You are not gonna wake up, okay? Look, there's no real versus dreams anymore. There's just you, us, and this."

"I see. Fair enough." Sora stated, raising one hand, summoning his Keyblade, "So what? At least I know who to blame for it!" Sora got into his fighter's stance, glaring at Xigbar. He wanted to take him on, and force him to lead him to Leafa, so that she can be saved.

Xigbar looked back at Sora, seeing the expression on his face. "Ooh, I see you've still got that angry look down." he stated, reminding himself of a certain young boy he met in the past. He looked away as he continued, "But, here is where I tag out. I got just a few more hoops I gotta jump through."

Suddenly, Xigbar vanished, and Sora looked about, wondering where he might reappear. He then sensed a presence from above, and looked up to see Xigbar hanging upside down in midair, his guns pointed down at Sora's position. He chuckled as he started firing away. Sora braced himself for the attack, but instead, fourteen energy arrows were shot about him, forming a circle around him. The lasers then disappeared in a black cloud, and were replaced with fourteen people dressed in black coats, their hoods hiding their faces.

The Organization in the black coat in front of him had his hood removed. It was the same silver-haired young man that Sora met several times during his journey in the Sleeping Worlds. "Come with me." he said, raising a hand forward. Sora had a recalling memory of Riku raising a hand to him exactly like the man, before his first adventure. This moment was short-lived, as Sora was suddenly impacted with a sense of drowsiness. He tried his hardest to stay awake, but sleep was taking him, and he started to falter.

Confused, he looked hazily at Xigbar, who stood just slightly outside the circle. "Pleasant dreams, kiddo." he told Sora as he finally fell back, and everything went black.

---

Riku's Side

At this point, Riku's dive had already taken place, and he had just finished the task at hand before he thought he was going to reawaken back into the real world again. However, when he opened his eyes to the world, he saw that he was floating down to a terrace with a familiar structure and design. The terrace led into the interior of a massive structure, the colors being nothing but white and multiple shades of gray. The outside was dark, with floating pieces of the structure and massive rings that slowly turned.

As soon as he touched down, Riku looked about at the area. "Where am I know?" Riku questioned. He looked behind him at the floating pieces, trying to figure it out. Finally, it clicked, and he realized where he was. He was standing on the terrace that led into the Organization's stronghold.

"Why am I here?" he questioned, "I unlocked all seven Keyholes, so I should be back in the world I came from." He looked into the interior of the structure again, concerned. Something wasn't adding up. If he was brought here, then that would mean there was something left that he needed to do. Suddenly, his two Spirits, Trihorn the Cera Terror, and Paladin the Lord Kyroo, appeared by his side. He looked to the two of them, and into the stronghold. "Guess I'd better find out what's going on." he told himself, and he wandered in.

The interior was a slightly complex design, but the one thing Riku had to worry about more was the Nightmares that appeared to stop him. Thunderaffes, Keeba Tigers, Drak Quacks, and Majik Lapins were the main trouble in this area. Fortunately, Trihorn was a powerhouse in close-ranged combat, while Paladin was practically Riku's strongest fighter, unleashing close and long-ranged attacks with incredible force, while aiding Riku with all kinds of power boosts, such as healing, temporary defensive boosts, and even hastening his attacks. Riku already had powerful moves at his disposal, which composed of Dark Firaga, Dark Break, Zero Graviga, Limit Storm, Zantetsuken, and Ice Barrage.

The way in came to a halt when Riku found himself standing at a wall with a floating metal ball that had lights coming out from within. It reminded Riku of an oversized disco ball. "What is this thing?" Riku asked, knocking his knuckle on it. Riku wasn't sure what it might do, but Trihorn came next to him, roaring something at him. "I have to break this open?" Riku questioned, understanding what his Spirit was saying. Paladin came to Riku's other side, nodding in agreement. He understood, and started slashing strongly at the ball. It started to crack in parts, then as pieces broke off, Riku saw the unmistakable pink aura that made him realize what he needed to do.

"Drift!" Riku shouted, and he entered the Reality Shift. Once he dove out of reality, he fount himself staring at a set of long, moving chains that moved in opposite directions, with parts of it containing hexagon-like gems. He then noticed he still had his Keyblade at hand, and a sense of understanding on what he needed to do. "All I need to do is break the chains with as few strikes as I can." Riku understood, "I just need to slash at the parts where the gems are…" Riku waited patiently for the moment, then when he saw two of the gems on the two chains line up, he slashed at them simultaneously. He broke the chains, and dove out of reality. A pair of long Keyblades flew up into the sky, one with a golden aura, and the other with a blue aura, and joined together, forming the Combined Keyblade. Riku and a ghostly image of Sora grabbed the two handles of the blade, and started swiping furiously at the sphere, finally breaking it with a final slash. With the sphere gone, it revealed a path that led further into the stronghold. "I guess that thing made the illusion of hiding the path ahead." Riku understood, "Now I know what I need to do with those."

Riku progressed further onto the hidden corridor, finding himself in a tall, cylindrical room with a central pedestal that was blocked by energy beams. Riku knew he would get back to that, but he went through a door that was on the right side of where he entered. After taking out some Nightmares, which also included a Skelterwild, he progressed further into the area, grinding on a pipeline that led him to the far end of the path, where he saw an Illusion Sphere like the one he saw before. He used Flowmotion to reach it, then almost got shot at by a pair of tiny sentinels that were protecting the Sphere. "Distract it for me!" Riku told Paladin and Trihorn, who understood and started being decoys while Riku started slashing repeatedly on the Illusion Sphere. He used the Reality Shift when he could, and destroyed the Sphere.

With it gone, Riku saw that a hole glowing of a neon blue light suddenly showed on the floor in front, and the sentinels disappeared. Riku recalled his Spirits, since the hole was small, and dove in. When he fell, he found himself inside the beam cage that surrounded the pedestal. There were lasers that suddenly appeared, coming from more sentinels. As soon as he reached the pedestal, he jumped down to the narrow gap between it and the beams. The column of the pedestal was glowing, with red pieces that held the column up. The red pieces began to glow, and Riku dove into another Reality Shift, and used its' power to destroy them. With them gone, the pedestal sank down, hiding the neon blue glow it brought. The moment it fully sank into the ground, the laser cage and sentinels vanished, replaced with a glowing path that spiraled up to the higher parts of the cylindrical room.

"Guess I know where to go next." Riku understood. He felt his Command Pad vibrate, and he pulled it out. Riku discovered that he was given a brand new Movement Technique, 'Doubleflight', which was basically a double jump to help him reach higher areas without Flowmotion. Riku nodded in approval, and placed his Command Pad away.

He raced up the glowing path that rose up into the higher parts of the room. Riku then noticed there were two different routes that he could take, and chose the one closest to him. The corridor had a violet hue to it, and it led to a larger terrace than the one he started at. The wall to Riku's left was glowing red, and cube-like parts were coming in and out, with small holes in the walls, the highest one containing a glowing light. "What is that?" Riku asked, "Is that a new attack?" Riku figured that while he was here, he might as well find new powers to get stronger.

Riku approached the wall and touched the red part with a finger. It shocked him, and he relinquished his finger. "Figures. I can't use Flowmotion on this wall." he stated, "I'll just have to rely on my new technique, and climb the shifting pieces of the wall." He watched the parts of the wall go in and out, seeing the pattern and knowing what path to take. With a plan set, he started climbing the parts of the wall using his wits and the Doubleflight technique. It didn't take him very long before he reached the new attack, and pulled out his Command Pad as it went in. Riku discovered the new attack to be called 'Dark Splicer', which was a powerful attack that allowed Riku to unleash a combo similar to the one in his 'Dual Style: Ghost Drive'. He decided to switch out Dark Break for it. "I guess this is all I can find in this area." Riku told himself, "I'd better go take that other path." Riku leapt off the gap in the wall, and raced back the way he came.

After reaching the cylindrical room again, he took the alternate path and progressed onward, facing more Nightmares as he did so. He entered into an enclosed room, and found another Illusion Sphere on the far side of the room. After striking heavily at it, Riku used the Reality Shift's power to destroy the Illusion Sphere. The moment he did, he revealed more space and higher levels in the room forward. Without a word, he progressed further in, dealing with a group of Ghostabocky while reaching the upper levels. When he got as far as he could higher up, he saw another Illusion Sphere waiting for him, and used all he had to destroy it, as well, revealing more room that looked more like a maze.

He looked about the area, and saw one more Illusion Sphere at the far end of the room once more. Leaping down to the ground floor, Riku raced towards it, his Spirits taking care of the Thunderaffes and Keeba Tiger Nightmares as he destroyed the Sphere. With the device gone, the whole room flashed, and Riku found himself standing along an extra long bridge still inside the Organization's stronghold, but with holes below the bridge that revealed the glow of the sea beneath. At the end of the bridge was a wall with the large emblem of the Nobodies, and a ramp that lead higher up, towards the exterior of the stronghold. Riku almost found what he had to do before to be complex, but he progressed forward without a word.

The exterior path Riku progressed on was tough, mainly because of the Nightmares that awaited him. The path did split in two; one of which was shorter, but it had shifting dark lasers along the path, but the longer one only had a pipeline to grind on, but it went around the shorter way. Riku decided to take the risk, and leapt through the bolts of dark energy, recalling his Spirits while he did so. It was kinda difficult, but Riku was able to get through the shorter route, gaining more time needed than before. He could see the point of destination was at the highest tower in his vicinity, and wondered what he might find when he reached it.

After taking a floating lift to a higher level, he fended off and defeated several Nightmares before realizing that there were no other lifts that led higher to the tower. Riku could see the path to it above him, and he looked at the wall that rose up to the path. He noticed the larger pipelines that went up the wall, and decided to take a chance. Using his Flowmotion, he was somehow able to grind vertically up the pipeline, switching between ones whenever he could, finally reaching the level where the path to the tower started.

It was a simple grind run on a pipeline surrounded by walls and needle-pointed lampposts that led to the tower, climbing up vertically, finally reaching the tower. After walking up a few steps, Riku walked towards a glowing orb with streams of black energy surrounding it. Someone was asleep inside the orb, fast asleep. "Is that…Sora?" Riku questioned. Indeed, it was Sora, floating inside the orb, inside a nightmare that he was not able to wake up from. Riku was in shock. 'What the heck is going on here?!' Riku thought to himself.

---

Sora's Side

When Sora opened his eyes, he was blinded by the bright sunlight in the blue sky. He raised a hand to shield his eyes from it, and rose into a sitting position, looking about. He was on the beach shores of the Destiny Islands. In front of him, standing near the water's edge with his back to Sora, was the same young man in the black coat he met before, only wearing a black, sleeveless jacket with coattails, a belt around his waste, dark baggy pant and boots, and long arm bands on his lower arms.

Sora watched the young man, then witnessed a familiar figure approaching him. It was the same man in the brown cloak that he met at the beginning of the trial. The young man turned to the approaching figure, and it looked as if they were speaking.

"Yes. This was where it started." the young man's voice stated, but it wasn't coming from the one Sora noticed. He turned to his left and saw the same young man, but in the Organization's coat, sitting back and watching himself converse with the guy in the cloak.

"At this point, I still had no idea that I was talking to myself." he continued, "He cast away his bodily form just to set me on the appointed path."

"What do you mean?" Sora questioned.

"That is Xehanort reduced to just a heart, the being you and your friends called 'Ansem'." Sora turned back to the shore, but saw the man in the cloak directly in front of Sora, staring down at him. He was shocked at first, but the sensation of sleep succumbed him, and he fell back.

---

When he woke up again, he was still on the Destiny Islands, only it was dark, and he was staring at the waterfall on the inland, with the secret place behind it. Standing in front of the secret place for a brief moment was the same man in the cloak, but he disappeared. Moments later, Sora noticed himself, the same young boy he was before going on his journey, rushing into the cave.

"Is that…?" Sora realized.

"Yes. The point in time that Xigbar mentioned." the young man answered, standing next to Sora again.

"Me, right before my world was swallowed by the darkness." Sora understood.

"To move through time, you must leave your body behind." the young man explained, "Ansem first sent me on my way, and then placed himself here when the time was right. That is what set all these events in motion."

"What are you saying?" Sora demanded, "That he knew everything that would happen?"

"No, not everything." the young man replied, "But remember, Ansem possessed Riku and saw his experiences in real time."

"So? That could only tell him so much. How did he know I would be here today?"

"Simple." the young man answered.

Just then, Sora heard what sounded like a door slamming heavily, along with the ground shake slightly. He turned to the secret cave, and was shocked to see the young Kairi fly out to him, her eyes blank. "Kairi!" Sora gasped, attempting to catch her, but she vanished the moment she came in contact with him. Sora had a sudden feeling of déjà vu, but it was short lived when sleep took him once more.

---

When he woke up, Sora found himself floating from the sky above down into Traverse Town. Looking about, Sora saw many multiple versions of himself floating down with him. "What is…" Sora moaned, seeing all the other versions of himself. He looked down, seeing he was landing in the First District of the world. He slowly floated down to touch the ground and looked about, seeing his doubles wander or run about the area, one of which even fell backwards as if defeated, and disappeared from existence.

"You've been here many times." the young man stated, surprising Sora at his sudden appearance, "Your first journey…your voyage through memories…in the datascape…in your dreams. relived again and again…like déjà vu."

Sora wondered about what he meant. Sure he remembered his first journey and his recent journey to this place in dreams, but according to King Mickey and Kayaba, the data version of himself journeyed into this world in the datascape, not him, personally. As for the 'voyage through memories', Sora had no clue. Even so, something about that nagged at his mind, like he should know it.

While he thought, he saw someone coming down the steps in his line of sight. It was Mickey, his Keyblade at hand, racing towards the doors to the Third District. Sora reached out, calling to him as he somehow phased through the doors.

He then noticed another figure. Someone was rushing down the steps, looking about. She looked young, around Sora's age, with short, dandelion hair, blue eyes, and wore a short blue coat over a tube top that has several shades of blue, a silver arm-guard on her right arm, thigh-exposing black shorts, and thigh-high black socks.

"Who is...?" Sora asked, racing to the girl, who went into Cid's shop, closing the door behind. He tried to open up the door, but it didn't budge. It was as if it had locked him out from seeing her.

He turned around and was then shocked by an appearance by Donald and Goofy, who came out of nowhere without noticing him or the clones of him in the district. Sora raced to their side as Goofy was pointing out something to Donald in the sky, and Sora looked up to see a star vanish. A world had disappeared into darkness.

Sora looked back down, and saw that Donald and Goofy had already left him as they wandered to the steps, with Pluto by their side. "Donald! Goofy!" Sora called out, reaching out to them. As they were passing Cid's shop, Sora raced after them, but by the time he reached the spot he saw them last, they were gone. 'What is going on?' Sora thought to himself.

He then heard pattering paws, and saw Pluto race out from the alley on the left side of Cid's shop. He passed Sora as he went to the Third District. Sora called out to the king's hound, but he didn't respond. Sora looked from the path Donald and Goofy took, and to the scampering dog, and decided to follow him. Sora raced to the doors of the Third District that Pluto phased through.

Upon reaching the door, Sora could've sworn he started to hear Riku's voice as he shouted, "Sora!" When he heard this, Sora succumbed to sleep again, only this one somehow felt different as he fell backwards, and closed his eyes.

---

When he reawakened again, Sora saw that he had arrived back in the Organization's world once again, only this time, the world seemed slightly distorted, like his mind was playing tricks on him. "Huh? Am I back?" Sora questioned in a confused manner. Sora heard pattering feet, and saw Donald, Goofy and King Mickey passing him as they raced through the streets. "Wait, your Majesty!" Sora called out, "Donald! Goofy!" Sora reached out a hand, realizing that the glove had changed into something familiar. Unknown to him, he had transformed into his original garments before entering the Mark of Mastery.

Suddenly, the same girl he had saw before in Traverse Town was running along. "Wait!" Sora called out to her. She stopped, only slightly to tilt her head back slightly, not enough for Sora to see her eyes, before turning back and running ahead around the corner. Sora was confused at this whole scenario, and decided to chase after his three friends and the mysterious girl.

He turned a corner on the street, and saw a familiar person standing on the steps that led up the path. The blonde hair, white dress and blue eyes of the girl was easily recognizable. "Naminé, is that you?" Sora asked, seeing the sad expression on the girl. She turned to Sora, smiled, and ran up the street. "Wait! Naminé!" Sora called out. He raced after her, grabbing ahold of her hand. "I've got a message for you." Sora started, "I meant to tell you once this was all over."

He suddenly blinked, and Naminé was no longer there. Instead, a girl with black hair stood there, wearing the Organization's cloak. Her eyes were the same as Naminé's and Kairi's as she turned to him. "Huh? Who are…you?" Sora started, surprised at the new character. The girl looked down, her expression indifferent. Sora felt something come down his cheek, and he let go of the girl's hand and felt a tear on his face. "Wha…why am I…?" Sora questioned, confused.

He looked back up to see the girl place her hood over her head, and she took off into the streets. "Hey, wait!" Sora called out, just as Riku's muffled voice called out, "You gotta wake up!" Sora had his hand reached out to the girl as she disappeared. He retracted it, and placed it onto his head. He felt confused, a mixture of emotions filling up inside him. Sora wondered if this was because of that girl he saw. He needed to find out the answer to all of this, so he took off after the girl, hoping he can reach and ask her some questions.

---

Riku's Side

Riku was tugging at Sora's arm as he floated inside the orb. He saw the images of the dream Sora was in, and knew that he needed to wake him up any way he could. He also recalled the words that Gouxus and Ansem told him and Asuna at Twilight Town, and realized that Sora must've been the second victim to be captured, after Leafa. He tried calling out to him, but Sora was sound asleep. Nothing would wake him. 'C'mon, Sora! Now is not the time to be dozing off!' Riku thought to himself as he struggled to pull his best friend out of sleep.

(Cue KHDDD OST 'The Dread of Night')

Suddenly, the dark energy circling Sora's bubble started to swirl outwards, coming together a good ways away from the two boys, forming into a figure. Riku turned and witness this scene take place. The person before him was in a black coat, but it has magenta flare-like marks on the ends of his sleeves and bottom of his coat. His hood was up, but red eyes glowed out from underneath the hood. "Are you what's trapping him in that nightmare?" Riku demanded, pulling out his Keyblade and summoning Trihorn and Paladin to his side. Reflecting the Dream Eater symbol on Riku's back, the Anti-Black Coat produced his Nightmare emblem on the back of his coat, ready to fight. "Cause if you are…I'm what nightmare's fear!" Riku barked, and the two opponents charged at one another

Riku unleashed his Dark Firaga spell at the Anti-Black Coat, hitting on the mark. However, just as he did so, the Nightmare made everything around them turn as dark as night. Sora was no longer visible, and the Anti-Black Coat was trying to make sure he wasn't visible, either. "Trying to hide in the dark, huh?" Riku barked, "Fine by me if you want to try to get away!"

Riku felt the presence of the Anti-Black Coat behind him, and he used his Dark Barrier to block the attacks it unleashed onto him. Riku then used his Counter Aura, unleashing a pulse of dark energy from all about. This was followed by Paladin's Thundaga spell and Trihorn's charging cross attack. The cloaked Nightmare retaliated by summoning a red, four-pronged claw that wrapped itself around Trihorn, squeezing him. Riku charged forward, unleashing his Ice Barrage spell. It created a glacier underneath that sent the Nightmare skyward, making it flail.

Riku turned to Trihorn, who was freed from the attack's clutches, but it was still worn from fighting so much, up to dealing with this battle. "Why don't you take a break, and let Tyrant fight in your place." Trihorn nodded, and Riku switched it out with his Skelterwild, Tyrant. It roared with fury as it appeared, while Riku readied to fight the cloaked Nightmare again.

Skelterwild's style of combat was much more aggressive, not only unleashing tail swipes and chomping attacks, but sending a variety of icy attacks at the Nightmare. The most formidable attack it unleashed was detaching its' head from its' body, and while the head unleashed an icy breath all about, its' body went on a charging rampage. Both were hard to counter, and both were difficult to dodge for the Anti-Black Coat when it was close.

Riku's battle with the Nightmare was similar to Asuna's battle with the Anti-Recon; the combo swings from its' short sword, the pincer claws from the front and below, the poisonous arrows that homed in on Riku and his Spirits, and the red line that, when in contact, would cause the target's stamina to be reduced to barely any, and all the purged stamina to become a mist that the Anti-Black Coat could absorb and heal. The only difference between Asuna's and Riku's fight was that the one Riku fought was not able to speak. The Anti-Recon was only able to speak due to its' experimentation by Gouxus and other members of the Organization.

Riku barely avoided a red line of energy that came in his path, retaliating by charging forward and unleashing his Dark Splicer technique. He started warping about the Anti-Black Coat, unleashing several slashes at a time, moving so quickly that the Nightmare couldn't retaliate. Riku ended the attack by slamming his Keyblade into the ground, unleashing one final burst of energy that tossed away the Nightmare.

"Don't think I'm done with you!" Riku shouted, "Dual Style! Ghost Drive!" Riku fused his Spirits with himself, emanating a ghostly aura. The Anti-Black Coat got up, looking at Riku with its' beady red eyes. It summoned a plethora of poison arrows, and shot them at Riku. He simultaneously unleashed his Ice Barrage at the same time as the Nightmare. The Nightmare was once again shot into the air by a glacier produced underneath it, while Riku's figure was hidden by the blasts of the poison arrows.

Just when the Nightmare though it had Riku, the Keyblade wielder appeared right behind it, having teleported just in the nick of time. He started slashing furiously at the Nightmare while it was stuck in midair, not giving it breathing time to retaliate. Riku was in full concentration of defeating the thing that was causing Sora's nightmares. He unleashed the final attack, unleashing several teleport rushes about the Nightmare, finally unleashing a diving slash that sent the Nightmare crashing into the ground below with an explosive result.

Riku backed off, seeing the Anti-Black Coat stumble as it rose to its' feet, its' eyes flashing at Riku as it readied itself to continue. It unleashed its' red line attack at Riku, who dodged it, then was shocked to see it unleash a pincer attack quickly, snatching Riku and squeezing him. He moaned as he struggled to break free. He finally managed to do so, but was immediately struck by several poison arrows that homed in on him. He fell backwards, but managed to hold on as he landed onto his feet, panting. Fortunately, Tyrant gave Riku the ability to avoid poison affects, but the attack still cut down his stamina a good deal.

The Anti-Black Coat charged in, ready to finish Riku off with a combo attack. Riku glared at the opponent in front of him. "Like I'll let you beat me!" Riku barked, and as the Nightmare got close, Riku unleashed his Limit Storm. Because of the lack of stamina he had, his sword spin attack was that much more powerful than before. The Anti-Black Coat was knocked aways, and tumbled to the ground. Riku still had enough of his Ghost Drive left to unleash one final series of attacks onto the opponent. He started warping around, continuing to attack the Nightmare with everything he had. With one final flurry of slashes, Riku unleashed the Ghost Drive's finishing attack, unleashing a series of teleport rushes, followed swiftly by a diving slash that slammed the Nightmare heavily into the ground.

Riku teleported a safe distance from the Nightmare as his Dual Style wore off, and his Spirits reappeared by his side once again. They watched as the area cleared itself of the darkness. The Nightmare rose into the air, its' body stiff as it slowly disappeared in front of Riku in a similar fashion as a Nightmare did. It was finally defeated.

Riku sighed in relief, recalled his Spirits into their cards, then he turned to see Sora still hanging inside the bubble, fast asleep. Even though the Nightmare was gone, he still wasn't awakened, yet. Riku rushed up to his best friend, looking at his figure with worry. "Sora, don't chase the dreams." he warned him, "They'll lead you nowhere, just to an abyss you'll never be able to wake up from."

Just then, Riku noticed that Sora's body began to distort, followed by the entire area. The entire place was warping into a new environment. Riku now stood in front of the Memory Skyscraper in the city below the Organization's stronghold. "What? What's going on in Sora's world?" Riku questioned, looking about. Parts of the area shifted back to where Riku was before to the area in front of the skyscraper. "Why won't he open his eyes?" Riku demanded, "Is he still in the nightmare?"

"That is right." a familiar voice answered Riku, surprising him.

"Ansem!" Riku barked, gritting his teeth and ready to fight again.

"Sora can no longer wake up." Ansem explained, "No matter how many nightmares you consume, you cannot wake someone who has fallen into the chasm of dream."

"What?" Riku questioned, confused as the environment now held back at the tower of the stronghold, but it was distorting.

"Dreams hold our memories. Sleep holds our dreams." Ansem explained, "And darkness…it holds our sleep. Sora's heart belongs to the darkness now."

"Sora would never give in to the darkness!" Riku barked angrily.

"But you feel it, don't you?" Ansem asked, "This world, the nightmare, the abyss. Why haven't you returned to the reality whence you came?"

Riku thought for a second, then he gasped in realization, "No. This is a…"

"Dream of a dream. A twofold nightmare." Ansem answered, "This whole journey, you have been inside Sora's dreams. And now darkness within darkness awaits you."

At these words, Riku felt the ground beneath him start to sink. He was shocked, and looked down to see a hole of darkness that slowly made Riku sink into, like it was quicksand. Riku struggled to get out, but he wasn't able to do so. "No. I can't get loose!" Riku moaned as he was halfway in. Riku reached a hand upwards as his head and body sunk into the darkness completely, and everything went black.

---

Sora's Side

Sora continued to wander the streets of the black city, although it was much different to what he remembered. Believing this might still be a dream version of the world, Sora continued on his path see many white-striped buildings that were blocking his path forward, but that he was able to use a Reality Shift that was pretty much the same as Riku's in this world, creating the Combined Keyblade that he and a ghostly image of Riku used to slash through the building, leaving the rubble behind, forming pathways that led further on. There were plenty of Nightmares that he had to deal with, some similar to the ones Riku had to deal with, such as Drak Quacks, Skelterwilds and Keeba Tigers.

Sora had his partners, Wattson the Thunderaffe, and Flare the Tyranto Rex, fighting alongside him, both of which were powerful in their own manner. Wattson unleashed dashing attacks and thunder magic while creating protections and hasten boosts for Sora. Flare was using its incredible physical strength while unleashing fire attacks that damaged a wide-ranged area. Sora's attacks that he set up included Ars Arcanum, Faith, Triple Plasma, Curaga, and Sonic Blade.

While Sora destroyed the buildings with the Reality Shift, he came across blue-striped buildings that suddenly rose and pushed Sora up into higher levels of the city, reaching the rooftops, where he was able to progress further. He could see the path set out for him, and although he felt a part of this to be a trap, he still wanted to figure out who that girl in the black coat was. He felt that he was able to endure anything that the Organization could pull on him, and that he, his Spirits, and the hearts he shared with all of his friends would be enough to help him. With that kind of confidence in place, Sora was not gonna back away from the path ahead.

As soon as he reached the top of one building, he saw the girl in the black coat, staring at the distorting path ahead, with the aqua green energy rising up from below like heat vapors.

Sora approached the person from behind. "C'mon, wait up. Who are you?" Sora questioned. The cloaked figure reached up and lowered her hood, only for Sora to see a different, but very familiar face. The blonde hair that spiked upwards in the front, the blue eyes like Sora's. There was no doubt who he was.

He turned and smiled at Sora, who was amazed by this encounter. "You're…Roxas." Sora realized, "How can you be here? Am I dreaming?" Roxas shook his head without a word of response. "C'mon, say something." Sora told him.

"This could have been the other way around." Roxas told the confused Sora, "But it really has to be you."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"There are so many hearts that are connected to yours." Roxas continued, "You're me, so you can feel what I felt."

Sora sighed and said, "No. Roxas, you're you. We're not the same. I wanted to tell you that. That you deserve as much as I do to be your own person."

Roxas looked slightly surprised, then he smiled as he responded, "Sora, see? That's why it has to be you."

Roxas approached Sora, and grabbed Sora's hands. Sora looked from Roxas to his held hands, wondering what he was planning. Suddenly, Sora started to feel something enter his heart. A flow of memories that were not his own, but of the one who held his hand. Sora's face tightened as he endured the memories that became a part of his, with the emotions that came with it. Happiness. Sadness. Laughter. Anger. Friendships. Enemies. All the things that Roxas had felt were suddenly placed into Sora's heart.

When the memories ceased, Sora was dazed, feeling the happiness and the pain that had entered his heart. Roxas was no longer there, his location had changed to a new path in the dream version of the Organization's world, and he found himself in his regular garments again. Sora still had his hands out where Roxas held them, but Sora didn't move. All he could think about was what happened just now, along with the memories he had gained.

"Not again." Sora moaned, "Did they cause all this pain?" Sora curled his fists as he roared up high, "What do you want me to see?!"

As he waited for an answer, Riku's muffled voice echoed, "Sora, don't chase the dreams. They'll lead you nowhere, just to an abyss you'll never be able to wake up from."

Whether Sora heard it or not, he didn't respond to it. Instead, he sighed as he looked down, not sure if he got an answer. Instead, he glared as he looked up at the path again, wondering if it would lead him to where the Organization was. 'I'll make them pay for placing all this pain in Roxas.' Sora thought to himself. With his thoughts set, he progressed further on the path.

He proceeded as he led to a blue-striped platform with buildings attached, which compressed and decompressed very quickly, sending Sora up like it was a trampoline. White-striped buildings rose to block his path, but Sora used his Reality Shift to cut them up and make them fall. The path ahead was nothing but broken grounds and fallen buildings. It was a one-way path, so he had no choice but to take it.

The Nightmares were incredibly powerful, and appeared in awkward areas. However, it was the path itself that was the more difficult part. Not only did Sora have to utilize his Reality Shift to clear a path for him, but there was also the floating red-striped buildings that floated in the air. They somehow detected Sora, angled themselves towards him, and shot at him like massive javelins. Sora had to time his Reality Shift right in order to cut them up before they connected with Sora. This was slightly difficult at times, considering he also had to deal with fighting monsters at the same time.

After a while of running along fallen buildings, Sora found himself in a town square part of the area, seemingly ripped from the rest of the city, and the path of white-striped fallen buildings that led off into the distant vapors of energy. Sora recovered himself, seeing as the area was clear of Nightmares and all other kinds of trouble. "This is seriously getting nowhere!" Sora moaned, looking about.

Suddenly, Sora saw a pair of familiar characters near the fallen buildings. It was Kirito and Asuna, standing side by side, looking at Sora. "Kirito! Asuna!" Sora called out, happy to see his friends there. He raced towards them as they turned and walked down the fallen buildings. Sora attempted to race after them, but someone placed a hand on his shoulder and cried, "Wait!" Sora stopped, turning around to see none other than Leafa, standing right behind him, still wearing her Sleeping World attire.

"Leafa? What are you doing here?" Sora asked, "I thought you were taken by the Organization."

Leafa looked down slightly, sad. "I am." she replied to the confused Sora, "And if things pan out the way they are, you will, too!"

"What do you mean?" Sora questioned, turning fully to her.

Leafa turned to one side as she explained, "I was tricked. Those guys created a Nightmare replica of Recon to lure me to them."

"They what?" Sora questioned, surprised that they were able to do that.

"They used my desperation to find Recon against me." she muttered, closing her eyes, "They knew my heart well, and made it easy for them to capture me and send me into the darkness…"

She then looked up and smiled at Sora. "I don't know whether it's my ancestral powers, or because you and I are parallel counterparts, but I was somehow able to reach you. But, I don't think it will last that long." She turned her body to Sora as she warned him, "Sora, the Organization is using your heart against you. If you keep progressing through this dream, you will never wake up from it!"

Sora looked at Leafa's serious expression, then he smiled. "I know that this is a dream, but I don't have any other path to take, right now." Leafa looked surprised at this. "Listen, I know there's a chance I might have to fight the Organization, and that this dream is not gonna help me get back home. Even so, it's not like they are gonna let me out of this dream. However, I know one thing; even if you and I are both sent into the darkness, Riku, Kirito, Asuna and all our friends are out there to pull us out."

Leafa was perplexed by Sora's statement, but then she chuckled. "What?" Sora asked.

"Nothing, it's just that…I can't believe how optimistic you are, despite knowing what's ahead." Leafa answered with a smile, "Still you are right; Our friends and family are out there, and I firmly believe that they'll rescue me, and you if you get dragged down."

"Who said I was gonna make it easy for them?" Sora asked, leaning back, "If I'm gonna go down, I'm gonna take at least one of them with me!" Leafa nodded in agreement. That was the same exact thing she felt when facing the Organization.

Sora reached forward and took Leafa's hands. "I promise you, we're gonna get through this!" Sora told her, "For now, keep your heart strong, okay? Know that I'm always a part of your heart!"

"Thanks, but the way you phrased that, you almost sound like you're saying something romantic." Leafa responded.

"Waah?!" Sora gasped, the reaction making Leafa's day.

"Still, I will do that, cause we have each other." she finished, "After all, I'm a part of your heart, too!"

Sora grinned, then he blinked, and suddenly, Leafa disappeared. Sora looked about, wondering where she went. "Leafa!" Sora called out. He didn't hear a response. Leafa had already returned to her sleep in the darkness again. "Just you wait, Leafa." Sora muttered, "I swear to you, we will fix this!" He turned to the path where the dream versions of Kirito and Asuna went to, and followed after them.

As he chased through the line of fallen buildings, seeing two figures off in the distance that were distorted thanks to the vapors of energy surrounding the bridge. At first, Sora thought it to be Kirito and Asuna, but as he drew closer, he could see they were a different, but familiar pair; Riku and Kairi, both of them in their modern looks. Sora smiled at the sight of them as he got closer and closer. "Riku, Kairi, I found you!" Sora cheered as the two stopped with their backs to Sora

Sora caught up to them and doubled over to catch his breath. Sora looked up to see the two turn to him, but their figures started to change. Sora was startled at this, looking to the two as they changed completely into two different characters. One was a young woman with short blue hair and lightning blue eyes. the other being a tall young man with brown hair fashioned with a look similar to the young man in the black coat. It was Aqua and Terra, both smiling at Sora.

"Who…?" Sora started, wondering who the two were. They looked so familiar to him.

"Ven." Terra addressed Sora.

"Ven." Aqua echoed.

Sora was confused at who Ven was. What he also didn't realize was that his entire figure had transformed into the very same boy the two addressed him as. Terra and Aqua reached out their hands to Sora. Sora looked to them, and started to take them. However, just as he was about to do so, Terra and Aqua's figures changed as they lowered their hands and turned around, leaving Sora as their figures shifted back to Riku and Kairi, then to Kirito and Asuna. Sora's figure changed back to his attire before entering the dream realm, and almost shifting to Leafa's figure before he started to chase after his friends. Something seem to slow Sora down, as if he was running in slow motion. "What is going on?" Sora wondered. The two figures kept shifting into the three different pairs that wandered away, their figures distorting in the vapors.

Riku's muffled voice once again called out, "Sora! Don't! You gotta wake up! Sora!" This time, Sora looked back slightly, wondering if he just heard Riku's voice just then.

He turned in time to see the pair suddenly vanish in front of him. Once they vanished, the whole area distorted, reverting Sora back in front of the Memory Skyscraper. "Wait!" Sora called out to the disappeared pair. He needed to know what was going on. He wanted to find out who the pair were that he met only recently. They seemed so familiar but he didn't know who they were.

As he struggled to run, Sora saw a spec of light that suddenly appeared, and it shined brightly, enveloping Sora. Suddenly, he started recalling lost memories that he had when he was four years old. He remembered his constant races with Riku back on the Destiny Islands. He recalled that one moment when he passed by the young man that he had just met, then to watching Riku encounter that same young man, which Riku never told what he had told him.

He then remembered the young lady that suddenly appeared one twilight afternoon on the Destiny Islands, meeting him and Riku, smiling at them. He then remembered the promise that she told Sora, about if Riku ever went off the wrong path, Sora would help lead him back. Sora also then realized why the lady looked familiar, too. It was a recent memory, when Sora almost lost Kirito, Asuna, Leafa and Recon thanks to Oberon, only to have Asuna free all of them, and enter into the Aqua Soul Drive.

'That must be her!' Sora told himself, 'That has to be Asuna's sister, Aqua…'

Suddenly, Aqua's figure distorted, surprising Sora. She disappeared, only to see the back of Heartless Ansem standing aways. As he turned, Sora suddenly got pushed away, and everything went white.

---

Moments later, Sora felt himself falling and landing on the path of fallen buildings once again, the light rising about him like fire, dwindling away. Xigbar stood right in front of where Sora fell. "Oopsy-daisy." Xigbar stated sarcastically, "Wasn't easy putting you into a second sleep, and he almost woke you up."

Sora rose up onto one foot and hand, catching his breath. "So then, all that stuff I just saw…did you put that in my head?" Sora questioned, rising to his feet and glaring dazedly at the man before him.

"No. That wasn't 'stuff', it was a dream." Xigbar corrected him, "The falling asleep part was definitely our bad. But we can't put stuff in your head, not anymore at least."

Sora looked confused, and Xigbar read his expression and added, "Gouxus was planning to change your's and Leafa's outlook on the light while you were asleep, but it seems one of you guys was able to beat us to the punch. Still, it wasn't all a waste. Gouxus did help us keep track of you, lead you all the way here." Sora had a feeling it was Riku, Kirito or Asuna that had completed the task, and it was the third person that he was right about.

"But getting back to your that stuff in your head while you were asleep." Xigbar digressed, "I'm kinda curious about what was going on as well. Hey, I got an idea. Ask your heart. See if it's got a clue."

"Well…my heart was aching." Sora thought out loud, "That's why I kept going."

"Oh… Thank you, Sora's heart, for pushing him right into our clutches." Xigbar said sarcastically, "Aren't hearts great? Steer us wrong every time."

Sora glared up at Xigbar, the pieces of the puzzle starting to click in his head. Ever since he felt the memories of Roxas enter him, Sora knew that one detail that was told to him before was actually wrong. "You know, right, because you all have hearts!" Sora claimed, "Axel and Roxas and Naminé, and that other girl. I felt what Roxas felt and…they laughed together, got mad, and they grieved. You need to have a heart to cry!"

Xigbar chuckled. "It's about time you noticed." he told Sora.

"Indeed." said a familiar voice from behind, "A heart is never lost for good." Sora turned to see none other than Xemnas step out of a Corridor of Darkness. "There may have been variances in our dispositions, but a number of us unquestionably showed signs of a burgeoning replacement. Once born, the heart can also be nurtured. Our experiments creating Heartless were attempts to control the mind, and convince it to renounce its sense of self."

'Controlling the mind?' Sora thought, 'That sounds a lot like what Kirito and Asuna said Sugou was trying to do before they stopped him. His Heartless and Nobody were attempting similar things, too. Guess that proves that he really was the counterpart of Xehanort.'

"But understand, one can banish the heart from the body, but the body will try to replace it the first chance it gets, for as many times as it takes." Xemnas continued, "And so I knew, even after we were divided into Heartless and Nobodies, it was just a temporary separation."

"Why, then?" Sora demanded, "Why did you lie to them and tell them they had no hearts?!"

To this, Xigbar answered, "Xemnas and Xehanort formed the Organization for a specific reason; round up a bunch of empty husks, hook them up to Kingdom Hearts, then fill them all with the exact same heart and mind. Translation; they were gonna turn all the members into Xehanort."

"Make more Xehanorts?" Sora questioned, shocked at this revelation, "You tricked your friends to…"

"It wasn't required for every member." Xemnas continued, drawing Sora's attention back to him, "I believe you were informed that Sugou, the man from the alternate dimension, was my Somebody's dimensional counterpart. Since he already possessed a heart that sought darkness, there was no need to change his Nobody. He had already qualified to join our ranks because he thought and acted like us."

Sora was shocked at this, then turned to Xigbar, and asked, "But you…aren't you scared of just turning into someone else?"

Xigbar smirked menacingly. "Me? I'm already half-Xehanort." he answered, glaring down at Sora with his eye, to which Sora realized was the very same as the eyes of Xemnas and Ansem.

"That's nuts…" Sora gasped.

Xemnas continued to explain, "However, through weakness of body…weakness of will…or weakness of trust, most of the original members we had chosen for the Organization were inadequate. Thus, naturally, they never had a chance to attain their goal. Yet, even this was to be expected." Sora gritted his teeth as he glared at Xemnas, angry at the lack of sympathy for his comrades.

"We have learned of the heart's folly, and we have achieved our other goals." Xemnas finished, "This last excursion has proven to be a worthy closing assignment for the Organization."

"Just stop it!" Sora barked, "You treat people's hearts like bottles on a shelf, but they're not!" He produced his Keyblade as he continued, "Hearts are made of the people we meet, and how we feel about them. They're what ties us together even when we're apart! They're what…make me strong."

"Duh!" Xigbar responded, poking his fingers at Sora, "You're strong because of the ties you have with other people. As if the Keyblade would choose a wimp like you. But no pouting. We see much bigger and better things in your future…once you side with us."

Sora looked down at the Keyblade he held, then tightened his grip as he admitted, "I know the Keyblade didn't choose me, and I don't care. I'm proud to be a small part of something bigger; the people it did choose."

Sora focused his eyes on Xigbar, who was shocked. The images of all the people connected to Sora suddenly appeared behind him, from Riku and Kairi, to Donald, Goofy and Mickey, to Roxas and Xion, to Ven, Terra and Aqua, and finally, to Kirito, Asuna, Leafa and Yui. Even the mysterious girl from before stood by his side.

All of them stood ready to fight as Sora declared, "My friends. They are my powers!"

Xemnas narrowed his eyes, seeing Sora's resolve. "Those are just words. Y-You've lost!" Xigbar barked, taking a step back. He was tensed up at this point, then he snarled, "Fine. See where your power gets you here." He looked from Sora to his old boss as he shouted, "Xemnas! He's all yours." With that order, Xigbar disappeared into a Corridor of Darkness.

Sora turned to see Xemnas raise his arms, and suddenly, the two fallen buildings that were on either side of the building they were on broke free of their positions. Xemnas floated into the air as the two buildings floated right above him on either side. Sora summoned Blaze and Wattson to his side, both of which were ready to fight. "As your flesh bears the sigil, so your name shall be knowns as that of the recusant." Xemnas told him. The battle between the two was about to begin.

Xemnas teleported to the edge of the building they were standing on, and started tossing the buildings at Sora, making them bounce and roll at him like barrels. Sora charged forward, and used his Slide Roll technique to quickly get underneath the two. Xemnas produced three more, tossing them at Sora, but he quickly avoided them, unleashing his Sonic Blade technique at him, striking him several times before he moved away in the form of a dark orb.

Sora pursued as Blaze charged in from the opposite side of the dark orb, creating a pincer attack on Xemnas. He reappeared, summoning his Ethereal Blades, two laser-like blades from the palm of his hands, and unleashed several strikes that sent Blaze flying and placed Sora on the defensive. Xemnas disappeared, quickly appearing behind Sora again, unleashing a propellor spin with his blades. Sora got knocked flying, but retaliated with his Payback Raid, unleashing a Strike Raid at the defenseless Xemnas.

Sora came back down, pursuing the ever-moving black orb Xemnas was in. He kept appearing all about Sora, hoping to throw him off guard. Sora and his Spirits, however, were keeping their guard up, able to keep on their toes against Xemnas and his onslaught. Sora managed to guard an attack from the front, and unleashed his Ars Arcanum technique, swinging wildly with a string of combo swings at Xemnas, ending with a heavy swing.

Xemnas moved aways from Sora, and started circling him, summoning lasers all about him. "This isn't good!" Sora muttered. "Fire!" Xemnas shouted, crossing his hands. Sora endured the blast of laser shots all about him, but fell to one knee because of it. Xemnas raced towards Sora to finish him, but Wattson used a laser shot that ricochet in midair, striking Xemnas in time for Sora to use Curaga to heal himself. "I'm back in the game!" Sora cheered, glaring at Xemnas and unleashing a Triple Plasma, sending three electrical spheres at the Nobody, hitting them with all three shots. Sora led his Spirits in for the charge against him.

Xemnas was extremely agile, moving about the area in his dark orb, coming out with either blade swings, laser fire, or a roundhouse kick. One kick struck Sora's stomach and winded him, sending him flying. He almost got struck down by the Nobody's blade after the attack, but unleashed his Faith spell to push away Xemnas and healed himself. Sora kept his guard up while combating him, but Xemnas was doing the same, since he also summoned barriers in front of him to protect himself when he had the chance. He also summoned multiple barriers around Sora, attempting to box him in, but Sora's athletic skills helped him escape.

Sora and his Spirits kept up the fight, utilizing their combined skills in the battle. Sora even linked with Blaze to unleash the 'Link Action: Flame Raid', which mad Sora ride on Blaze's back and guide him as he charged around the battlefield, breathing fire or slamming into Xemnas whenever the opportunity revealed itself.

The Nobody took a heavy beating, but he suddenly unleashed a burst of energy, and suddenly, Sora and his Spirits found themselves one end of the building, and Xemnas floating beyond the other end. Sora adapted quickly, and started racing towards Xemnas as he summoned two buildings out of nowhere, and tossed them like pinwheels as they vertically rolled down the building. Sora's divided up as they dodged them. Xemnas then summoned three more buildings, and made them bounce as they tumbled horizontally down the building platform. Sora avoided the first two by sliding underneath, but mis-timed the third building, and he crashed into it, causing him to fall over. Sora massaged his head as he rose, and saw Xemnas summon one more building, and tossed it well enough to make it slide down at Sora. He panicked, but Wattson came from behind, picked up Sora by his hoodie, and helped him leap over the building while Blaze took the full blow of the building's impact, making it flip over the building and fall on its' side.

Sora regained himself as Wattson dropped him, turning to Blaze, who got back on its' feet again, roaring in fury at Xemnas, as if to tell him it was not down yet. Sora smirked at Blaze, then turned to Xemnas, who declared something as he summoned another building, and sent it flying so strongly at one end of the building platform, it started to flip about, tossing Sora into the air as his Spirits retreated into their cards. Sora utilized his Glide ability to float in midair, coming closer to Xemnas.

The Nobody summoned five buildings this time, tossing them one at at time at Sora. With the fifth one, Sora saw it glow pink as it stood in between him and Xemnas, and he quickly entered the Reality Shift, completing the challenge it gave to allow Sora and a ghostly image of Riku to swing the Combined Keyblade at the building furiously. Not only did the building shatter, but they also got Xemnas.

There was a bright light, and the pieces of the building Sora broke apart formed a rising path towards Xemnas, who was dazed by the attack. Sora utilized Flowmotion as he raced and ground up the path, reaching Xemnas, and slamming him with the power of the Flowmotion. He then unleashed his Ars Arcanum on him, swinging furiously with all he had, ending with a final slash that knocked him to the ground.

Xemnas recovered himself, and in a flash of dark energy, Sora's team and Xemnas found themselves back on the building platform they were on before, and they resumed the battle. Xemnas became more fierce with his attacks, not giving Sora any time to recover as he relentlessly pursued him. Wattson and Blaze did their best to support Sora with their attacks, but Xemnas wasn't gonna leave them alone to attack him, either. He kept the two Spirits out of the way as he kept attacking Sora.

The Keyblade wielder was growing more and more tired as he used his Keyblade to endure the swinging ethereal blades. "You keep enduring, and yet you never fall." Xemnas growled at Sora, his voice emphasizing the syllables every time he swung, "Is this the power that which to speak of? I'm deeply disappointed." "Trust me, I have a lot more power than that…" Sora responded, "With my friends' hearts by my side, I promise you, I will always have the strength to beat anyone!"

Sora flipped over a cross-slash made by Xemnas, firing his Triple Plasma at point-blank range, shocking him three times. Sora then backed off as Wattson and Blaze came to his side. "Let's go! Dual Action! Chaos Snake!" Sora fused with his Spirits' powers, and unleashed a swirling stream of dark energy at Xemnas. He attempted to escape the energy stream in a dark orb, but Sora kept shifting the beam in pursuit, moving along with Xemnas.

After a few seconds, Xemnas became tired of the pursuit, and charged at Sora, attempting to stop him with his Ethereal blades. He pushed against the beam with his incredible powers, glaring at Sora as the Keyblade wielder struggled to try to knock him out. Sora used every ounce of his strength he had left, and unleashed a final blast of energy all about him. Xemnas roared at he was engulfed in it. From outside the floating building, the Chaos Snake's final blast was so powerful, it nearly engulfed a third of the stage.

Xemnas was tossed into the air, his body enveloped in dark vapors as he disappeared into thin air. Although Sora won the battle, he became incredibly exhausted from fighting off Xemnas. His Spirits were no longer with him, and his body started producing a black smoke. He toppled backwards, exhausted. He was so tired, his Keyblade disappeared as he didn't have the strength to keep it with him. Why was he feeling this way? Surely, Sora felt he shouldn't be this tired after a fight. Was it because of the dark smoke from his body?

Just then, a Corridor of Darkness opened up, and the same young man Sora had met countless times reappeared once more, standing over him. "You…again." Sora panted, looking up at the man's face.

"You just make it too easy." the young man stated, "I know you think you've won, but you lost the moment you dived this far in. You're in the deepest pit of slumber, and you've worn yourself down to nothing. There's no returning to the world above."

"What do you mean?" Sora moaned.

"We told you. It was not the Sleeping Keyholes that guided you." the young man responded, "They are not the reason you are here. You've been on a path, one we laid out for you. That sigil on your chest is the proof." He pointed to the white cross on Sora's shirt underneath his vest. Sora placed a hand on it as he lifted his head to look at it, confused.

"See? That sigil, the X, it tells us where you are at all times." the young man explained, tracing an X with his finger, "This was also how we lured your friend, Leafa, into falling into darkness. She had already been marked with the sigil, just like you did." Sora thought hazily, then finally remembered that he saw the white X on her top, similar to Sora's white X on his shirt.

"You had wondered aloud before why we kept showing up where you were." the young man continued, "It's because we need you, Sora. You and Leafa. Or, to be more precise, we need what will be left of the two of you; the fifteenth and sixteenth dark vessels."

"Why…I…" Sora whispered, seeing his vision starting to darken.

"Why was it assured you would come here today? Because I followed my destined path, and I'm here looking at you right now." He knelt down to Sora as he tried rubbing his eyes to stay awake, but had no strength to even move his arms. "You can move through time, but time itself is immovable. Today, all of my selves throughout time were meant to gather here, and to welcome you and Leafa as our fifteenth and sixteenth member. These facts cannot be changed."

Sora could barely think now as he mumbled, "What's…gonna happen…" He couldn't even find a way to finish his sentence, and the darkness around his body started to swallow him more and more.

"I have now told you all that I know." the young man stated, "We are all here, and what the future holds in store is beyond my sight. I will return to my own time, and grow into the man who becomes all these others. While I know this future, now that I have lived it, returning to my own time will erase the memories and experiences I have gained here. Still my appointed path is now etched in my heart, which will first lead me to seek the outside world."

Sora could feel himself drifting away, with no power allowing him to stay awake. All he could think of at this point was his three friends that were still out there in the Sleeping worlds. He wondered if they were okay, or whether they knew what was happening to him. "Riku…Kirito…Asuna…" he moaned.

"Your heart will sleep forever in the folds of darkness." the young man told Sora, "And your body will be another vessel for me. So light gives way to darkness. Good night, Sora." He reached out a hand to Sora as he closed his eyes, and everything went dark.

He could feel himself falling deeper and deeper into darkness, unable to escape, with no power to even move. As he fell, however, a ball of light containing an individual that he once rescued flew down to him. Sora's body started to be enveloped in the darkness, but the light approached him, and started to shine brighter and brighter. It enveloped Sora's body, and suddenly, he found himself wearing a full body armor of gold, silver and black metal pieces, with red lines on his thighs and waist. His helmet had a visor, along with two silver horns on his head. He gently landed on his back on his Station of Awakening, looking up at the black abyss above, waiting for the one person who would set him free from slumber.

---

Riku's Side

Riku's eyes were closed as he was in a dark abyss, his body glowing slightly within the pitch black area. He didn't make any signs of opening until he heard Ansem's voice speak in front of him. "At the start of your test, when you struck out from that tiny island, you saw me there dressed in a robe. Immediately you knew something was wrong, so without even knowing it, you dove into Sora's dream."

Riku opened his eyes, and looked up at the Heartless Ansem, standing in front of him as he finished, "And you became exactly what that sigil on your back represents; a Dream Eater to protect Sora from nightmares."

"Me? I'm a Dream Eater?" Riku asked.

"Correct." Ansem answered, pointing a finger at Riku, "But you failed to protect him. After all your efforts to command the darkness and protect those you cherish, it is a shame you locked that power away in the end."

Riku looked down, hearing Ansem's words, then he curled his fists as he said, "Except…it's not over. I can still save Sora."

"So you understand what to do." Ansem responded, narrowing his eyes, "Set the darkness in you free, and you can rescue your friend." He raised a hand to Riku, as if he was welcoming him to the power of darkness.

"Ansem. Or…Xehanort." Riku addressed the man in front of him, "You used to be a Keyblade wielder. But darkness stole your heart, and the Keyblade with it. Don't you see? That's half the reason I'm even on this journey. After allowing darkness into my heart, am I still fit to wield the Keyblade? Even after locking you away, here you are, haunting me again. So I get it now. There's no point in trying to hold the darkness back."

"At last, you see clearly." Ansem stated with a hint of happiness in Riku's words, still holding his hand up in welcome.

"You know…when I look at you…there's this memory that flashes back." Riku stated, looking at the palm of his weapon hand, seeing the face of the brown-haired man that he met so many years ago, "A secret I said I'd keep when I was little. The main reason I kept dreaming about seeing the outside world…was 'cause of him. My journey begins here, and now."

He summoned his Keyblade into his hand, raising it horizontally in front of him. "I'm going back to the real world, and then to Sora's side." Riku declared.

Ansem lowered his welcoming hand. "That…is your answer?" Ansem growled.

"Yes. I know the way." Riku replied, "Consume the darkness, return it to light." He got into his fighter's stance, ready to do exactly that for Ansem.

(Cue KH3D OST 'L'Eminenza Oscura I')

"You can try." Ansem growled, and he crossed his arms as the scenery changed into a purple and black swirling abyss, and the two began floating in midair. Ansem summoned his Guardian Heartless behind him. Riku's Spirits were not able to summon themselves in midair, so he was on his own as he prepared to fight Ansem.

Immediately, he knew he was at a disadvantage in this space, meaning he had to find some way to create ground. Before he could figure out how, Ansem floated above and around Riku, summoning several energy disc blades that homed in on Riku. He used his Dark Barrier to block all of them, making them scatter into particles.

Ansem then created a cone of dark energy, and rushed at Riku. He started air dashing about the area, moving as quickly as he could, trying to avoid getting hit by Ansem. "Looks like you're trying to run from the darkness!" Ansem taunted.

'Dammit! I can't fight at my best in the air!' Riku thought to himself, 'Is there any way of making this battle on the ground?'

Riku dodged to one side of Ansem's rush, saw an opening, and dashed into a Sliding Crescent technique. The moment Ansem was doubled back by the technique, Riku saw the pink aura, and immediately went into a Reality Shift. He completed slashing the chains, and unlocked the Combined Keyblade. He and an astral image of Sora slashed Ansem several times, and the attack not only did plenty onto the target, but it forced Ansem to produce a platform for all to stand on. Now, it was time for the counterattack.

Paladin and Tyrant reappeared by his side, and the two charged in as Riku unleashed a Dark Firaga that struck its' target. Ansem endured, then got subjected to Tyrant as he snatched him in its' jaws, shaking him about, and tossing him away, followed by Paladin's swift slashes from its' blade.

Ansem landed back down, and saw Riku racing in with a fast assault. "Protect me!" he told his Guardian, who came in front of him. Riku slashed strongly at the Guardian, but he knew that so long as Ansem was still able to go, the Guardian could not be defeated. Instead, Riku unleashed his Dark Splicer to start attacking Ansem at random directions, catching him off guard and preventing him from blocking his attacks.

As Riku struck him with a final blow, Paladin rode on Tyrant as it charged at Ansem. Paladin leapt off, diving at Ansem with a thrusted blade. The Guardian raised its' hands, unleashing an overhead slash downward, striking both of the Spirits. Riku came from behind and attempted to unleash his Sliding Crescent, but Ansem flew to one side, avoiding the attack, and unleashing more energy disc blades that homed in on Riku, who took the full blunt of the attack. He toppled backwards, but caught himself with one hand and flipped back onto his feet as Paladin used Curaga to heal the team.

Ansem and his Guardian were a strong pair that were better up close and personal, but also strong from a distance by throwing energy disc blades that homed in on their target. Riku had to keep on his toes as he and his Spirits were doing anything they could to get at him, all the while avoiding the Guardian's assault and defensive measures on its' master.

As Riku blocked an attack from the Guardian's swiping blow, and skidded backwards. As he came to a halt, he felt the ground beneath him start to shake. The platform they were on wasn't going to last much longer. "I have to hurry!" Riku growled, glaring at Ansem and the Guardian, who summoned more energy discs. Riku used his Zero Graviga to cause the homing attack to miss its' target, surprising Ansem. Riku then followed this up with an Ice Barrage, sending Ansem into the air with a glacier from below. "Paladin, unleash your Thundaga!" Riku declared. Paladin did just that, striking Ansem with a lighting bolt.

Ansem was coming back down, and Riku saw him and the Guardian charging up for something. If memory suited him, he was gonna unleash his powerful shockwave attack. "Like I let you do that!" Riku declared, and he twirled his Keyblade into position, and swiftly struck him with his Zantetsuken just as the man landed. There was a moment's pause, then Ansem toppled over, his Guardian disappearing from him. Riku's final attack did the job in finishing him.

As Ansem straightened himself back up, the floor disappeared, and the two fell down further into the dark vortex below, landing on what looked like a large, black, meshed floor, surrounded by swirling violet energy that was in brighter shades than before. Ansem stood near the edge as Riku landed close in front of him.

"Ansem! You're part of my heart now. Part of the light!" Riku shouted, raising his Keyblade to continue fighting.

"Ever the fool, boy." Ansem growled, emanating a stronger dark energy from his body, "And forever a pawn of the darkness!"

(Cue KH3D OST 'L'Eminenza Oscura II')

The dark energy became larger than ever before, shrouding itself around Ansem, forming a large orb of black, organic energy with Ansem in the center. Large wings formed on either side, and the Guardian appeared on top of the black orb, larger than before. Ansem was not holding back, now.

Riku and his Spirits charged in as the Guardian unleashed dark shots of energy outwards, swarming in onto the trio. They leapt about, avoiding the shots, then Riku unleashed his Dark Splicer at Ansem, striking him repeatedly, while Tyrant unleashed a freezing breath and Paladin used Thundaga again. The full force of the attacks didn't even cause Ansem to flinch. Instead, the Guardian slammed his fists down on top of Riku, putting him into the ground. He flipped onto his feet again, and unleashed his Limit Storm, slashing heavily with his sword spin. He backed off, grabbing a Mega Potion and downing it, restoring his health before continuing.

Riku was about to go back into the battle again when suddenly, Ansem and the Guardian released a power that sent Riku and his Spirits all the way to the far end of the battlefield. "Look who's trying to run away, now!" Riku barked, and he charged back to Ansem again, who summoned a pair of large balls of dark energy.

As Riku and his Spirits continued to race, Ansem unleashed light purple bursts of darkness in front of him, which merged into the orbs, and fired quick lasers which struck all about Riku and his Spirits, striking down Tyrant, and grazing Riku's cheek and pant legs. He ignored the singes and continued forward with Paladin as Tyrant tried raising itself again.

Ansem then summoned a rain of dark energy that fell all about the two. One blast made Paladin stumble and fall, while one that appeared in Riku's path blinded him in the smoke. When he reappeared, he saw that he was heading to one of the large orbs in front of Ansem. He tried to avoid it, but it was producing a gravitational pull that sucked Riku into it, trapping him within. He struggled to break out as Ansem positioned the orb in front of him, unleashing a storm of shots onto Riku, and finishing it with an explosion that sent Riku flying backwards. He toppled over, groaning as he got back up.

'He's much stronger than before.' he thought to himself, 'I need to be more careful on those attacks he delivers!'

Riku's Spirits rejoined him as Paladin used Curaga again, healing the team. Riku then unleashed his Dark Firaga just as Ansem unleashed his own Dark Firaga. The two attacks collided, canceling each other out. Riku then used the stalled moment to unleash the Zantetsuken, slashing quickly onto Ansem, delivering heavy damage. Ansem retaliated by backing off and unleashing waves of dark energy at Riku, who countered with Zero Graviga, making the attack misfire.

The battle was brutal and full of dark attacks from both Riku and Ansem. Ansem and his Guardian were not fooling around, unleashing dark energy attacks in the form of crescent waves, shots, Dark Firaga, downward punches, and even more energy disc blades. Of course, this was all the attacks that he unleashed when Riku and his Spirits were up close.

When he unleashed the power that sent Riku flying into the back of the arena, he summoned more pairs of dark orbs in front of him, blocking the path for Riku to him. He then would unleash long-ranged dark waves, not to mention rain down dark blasts or Firaga spells onto Riku, and more of the laser attacks, which Riku discovered a way to time it right so that he could avoid them. Riku also realized two ways of moving closer to Ansem much quicker than by running; by using Flowmotion on the walls on either side of the arena, or unleashing his Dark Splicer when he was close enough, instantly appearing and attacking Ansem furiously.

"Why don't you accept the darkness?!" Ansem roared as the Guardian unleashed Dark Firaga from it's hands.

Riku used his Dark Barrier to block the homing attacks, then retorted, "I could ask you why you won't just accept the light!" He charged in with Paladin, the two unleashing a storm of slashes on Ansem. They backed off as Tyrant then unleashed Deep Freeze, dealing more damage.

Ansem roared as the area went dark, and suddenly, spikes of light-purple energy started appearing randomly about and at the trio of heroes. Riku could not see a pattern in the attack, and got struck a few times, along with his Spirits. Tyrant took the worst of it, and it toppled over, unable to continue. Riku saw that his partner might fade away, and called out, "Hold on, Tyrant! I'm coming!"

Riku raced through the minefield of attacks that shot all about him, but just before he reached Tyrant, Ansem stopped his attack, and sent him and Paladin flying to the back of the battlefield once more, leaving Tyrant on the other end. "Damn it…!" Riku growled, and he raced to the wall, and started using his Flowmotion. As he did so, Ansem unleashed a barrage of black balls that rolled along the path towards Riku and Paladin. The Keyblade wielder felt like a pin in a bowling alley as he got struck down before he could go into his Flowmotion, along with Paladin.

He groaned as he got back up, and saw that Tyrant didn't have much time left. He needed to get to him, fast. He unleashed a burst of speed, racing to the wall and activating his Flowmotion. He bounced along the wall, coated in energy, as he avoided a swarm of Dark Firaga balls that came at him. He finally reached Tyrant, utilizing his powers to heal him just in the nick of time.

Tyrant rose to its' feet as Riku sighed in relief, then he heard Ansem laugh. "Fool! You cannot keep up this farce long." he taunted, "You think you can return the darkness to light, but you are too busy clinging onto the little light you have in your heart. Face it, the darkness is your true power! Accept it, and you might be able to defeat me!"

"You're right, the light in my heart is not bright." Riku agreed, "However, my light isn't the only thing there. I also have Sora's light, and all my other friends. They are connected to me, and they make me strong enough to vanquish any kind of darkness you put up, and turn it into light. I'll make your darkness part of my light, too, Ansem, whether you like it or not!"

Riku's Spirits gathered together, and Paladin croaked to Riku, who understood that he wanted Trihorn to take his place for what he planned next. Riku understood, and replaced Paladin for Trihorn, with Tyrant on his other side, ready to go. "Dual Style! Bladecharge!" Riku shouted, and he merged with his two Spirits, surrounded in a white aura, with a long blade of light shining in his weapon arm. Ansem and his Guardian both shielded themselves against the light as Riku glared at him, and went to work.

Riku slashed a heavy combo onto Ansem, using wide swings and sword spins that pummeled the Heartless down. The Guardian tried to unleash its' Dark Shot attack, but Riku swiped it away, destroying the shots. "Impossible!" Ansem gasped. Riku unleashed his Ice Barrage that froze the pair of enemies in place, then Riku unleashed an overhead swing, slashing it through Ansem. He became totally phased by this as Riku twirled his Keyblade at the ready, and with the power of the Bladecharge form, he unleashed a powerful Zantetsuken straight through Ansem.

There was a delayed reaction, then the orb of dark energy around Ansem shattered into several pieces as the Guardian roared in pain. Riku returned back in front of his dark enemies again, reverting out of his Dual Style, and his Spirits returned to their cards. Ansem closed his eyes as his head limped forward. The Guardian attempted to reach out to Riku, hoping he would save him. Riku raised his Keyblade to it without words, but his message was clear. The Guardian lowered its' hand as it and Ansem vanished into darkness. His enemy was finally finished.

Riku sighed in relief, and he looked at his Keyblade, seeing how much it helped him win this fight over the darkness. "Strength, to protect what matters." he stated. He had said this before, long ago, when he met that young man nearly twelve years ago. It was the reason why he wanted to travel to other worlds. It was what the Keyblade had given him.

---

Riku watched at the area around him faded into darkness. He closed his eyes, waiting for the transition to take place. When he opened his eyes again, he saw that he was brought back in front of the Memory's Skyscraper, in the Organization's world, the World That Never Was.

"This place… Did I finally make it out of the dream?" Riku asked himself. He paused as he looked at his surroundings, but he felt like he was out of the nightmare that Sora was in. However, he knew based on his clothes and his gut that this was not over yet.

'Sora and I have been split up since the start of our journey, because Ansem…no, because Xehanort planned it.' Riku summed up in his mind, 'And that means…we're a long way off course from the Mark of Mastery exam Yen Sid gave us. I bet the same went for Kirito and Asuna with Leafa. I bet they're trying to find their way to her, right now. As for me…'

He looked about as he muttered, "All right. Sora's gotta be here…somewhere." Riku started walking towards the path that would lead him to the Organization's stronghold, believing that to be the best place to start. Walking through the alleys, he could feel the eerie silence about him. There were no Nightmare Dream Eaters, yet he could feel the power of his own Dream Eater Spirits still in their cards. He guessed that this was probably due to him being a Dream Eater, himself, now that he learned this. He was thankful, since he knew he would still need their powers.

He reached the end of the broken road, seeing the large and deep ravine down below, and the large Organization Stronghold floating in the sky above. He looked about for a way up there, but he could see no way of reaching it. "End of the road, huh?" he told himself, "I know I'm back in the real world, but I still have my Dream Eater powers. Which means…he still hasn't woken up. Where are you, Sora?"

As he looked up at the rotating disc spinning about the stronghold, he heard an outcry. It was a familiar meow-bark-like sound. He held his hand up to his ear, listening. He heard the sound of a dog whining, coming from the bottom of the stronghold. He looked about it, hearing the barking and meowing. Finally, he saw it; standing at the entrance to the lower level, a Meow Wow Spirit, rolling about and raising one paw out to Riku.

"A Dream Eater!" Riku gasped, "Is that where Sora is?" He looked about, rechecking his surroundings. "How do I get across?" he asked himself. Suddenly, he felt someone land on his shoulder, and he looked to see Fang, his Komory Bat, landing on his shoulder, looking down at him. It screeched something to Riku, who looked from it to the Meow Wow, finally putting the pieces together.

"Right. I get it." Riku understood, smiling at Fang as he pat its' head. It screeched happily, then flew off of him, glowing a bring pink aura. Riku knew what to do, now. "Drift!" Riku shouted, and he dove into a Reality Shift. He saw that he had to create something similar to the Faithline he made before, only it had Fang and the Meow Wow on it. Riku connected the two together, forming a bright line. He came out of the Reality Shift, and ground up the line he made, glaring as he looked up at the Stronghold. 'Hold on, Sora. I'm on my way!'

---

Asuna's Side: Top of the World Tree

Asuna looked out to one side of the path, seeing how much closer she was to the cage. "We should be able to reach it in a couple minutes." Asuna told herself, turning around to her and Leafa's Spirits, "Let's make that final run to her!" The Spirits cried out in response, and Asuna raced up the path, hoping to reach the cage soon.

---

Kirito's Side

Kirito had just a minute to catch his breath, then he looked up, facing the golden birdcage from the opposite end of where Asuna saw it. "Suguha, I'll be right there." he muttered, "Sora, Riku, I hope you two are not having as hard of a time as we are…" He heard Rebbi call out to him, and he saw that it, Ryu and Komory were up the path a bit further. Rebbi was calling out in anger. "Sorry, I didn't mean to stall." he told it, "I know you want to save her, too. Okay, then." He raced up the path, and Rebbi lead the team onward.

The fate of the three Keyblade wielders was about to take place, all of which wish to save their beloved friends and family, and the Spirits who wish for this as well. The hearts of Sora and Leafa hang in the balance between darkness and light, and the trio was determined not to let the darkness win them over. Their final fight in the realm of Dreams was about to take place.

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Next time on SAK:FF

Kirito: Oberon! Don't think I'll let you get away with my sister!

Oberon: There's no way you will stop our goal. Soon, we will have her and Sora as our final vessels for the Organization!

Asuna: Vessels? You plan to put Xehanort's heart into both of them?

Gouxus: That's right. And once everything is in place, our true form will be revealed; a form taken from us many centuries ago!

Oberon & Gouxus: Soon, we will have control over all hearts!

Kirito & Asuna: We will never let the darkness win! We'll stop you and the entire Organization!

On the season finale of 'Sword Art Kingdom: Falling Fantasy'

Dream Drop Fantasy! Guardians of Light!

Sora, Asuna, Kirito, Riku, Leafa: Let's unlock the final Dream!